by S J Abbott
“So glad to know you’re enjoying my pain. Now what kind of deal?” She plopped down next to Shannon.
“I told him that he could ask me one thing about you or the situation or whatever, and then that would be it. We need to be able to work together and all that. Then I threatened him, and we went on a tour of the dildo factory.”
Julie wasn’t sure where to start. There was so much wrong with what Shannon had just told her. She decided to focus on the most important thing. “So, what was his question?”
“He hasn’t asked it yet.”
Another blow. She hadn’t expected him to not be interested. It knocked the wind out of her before she could remind herself she didn’t care. She couldn’t have a relationship.
Shannon perked up and Julie realized her disappointment must be showing. She tried to smile. “Well, tell me about the dildo factory, then.”
Shannon put a hand on Julie’s knee. “He hasn’t asked because he said if he only had one, he wanted to make it count. He’s mulling it over, making sure he doesn’t waste the opportunity. And the dildo factory wasn’t really a factory, they make them at a different location. I’m going to see that next week. It was more of the pre-factory stuff. The design, development, research, and trial stuff.”
Julie absorbed her words. She could almost deal with him waiting to ask questions. That meant that he really had way more than one question he wanted to ask. That was good. But then she realized again that she couldn’t care, because she couldn’t have a relationship. So she focused on the dildos instead. “Testing, huh? What’s that look like? Do they hire for that, or do people just volunteer? Who watches? Or is there just a survey?” Julie laughed so hard she had a hard time breathing.
Shannon laughed with her. “Can you imagine the ad for something like that?” They continued to laugh for several minutes before Shannon continued. “It’s way less fun the way they actually go about things. There are computers and machines. No people. It’s all very scientific. Once a product has been approved through all of that mechanical testing, here is a clinical-type trial. But they hire a company to handle that for them. They’re very professional about it all.”
Julie sobered up while Shannon spoke. “I know. It’s just easier to think that it’s silly than it is to think of it as an actual business. One that is majorly profitable and serious.”
“Easier? That’s actually the last thing I figured you were thinking. I assumed you were on the adult-toys-are-for-deviants bandwagon.”
Julie shook her head and rolled her eyes at her friend. “Look … I’m not a vicious prude. I know that isn’t how it is. I do find aspects of the whole thing mildly disturbing, but that’s on a completely different level. It is easier because Aaron already intimidates me. To think that he started this company that is doing well is really scary. I mean, I can barely pay for groceries. And I thank the universe for insurance every day, because without it we’d be homeless. He probably makes thousands of dollars a month.”
“A day.”
“What?”
“I said, a day. He makes thousands a day, not a month. It actually might be more like thousands an hour, really.” She shrugged.
Julie’s jaw dropped as she deflated. “Thanks for that. It helped a ton.” She got up and went to the kitchen, still shaking her head.
She didn’t want to care. She didn’t want the differences between her and Aaron to matter … but they did. Their lifestyles just didn’t fit. She had to stop thinking about it because she had to work the closing shift at the restaurant, and it started in an hour. It was the perfect excuse to get away from Shannon ... which, at the moment, was a huge bonus.
Julie went back to the living room after having dumped the last of her coffee and gotten her head straight. “I have to head to work.”
Shannon got up, making sad puppy-dog eyes at Julie. “You know that none of what you’re thinking is actually the reality right?”
Julie shook her head. “Thanks for the coffee. I have to go get changed.”
Julie could see that Shannon knew she wasn’t going to discuss it further by the resignation in her eyes. She nodded. “Okay. Call me tomorrow.”
Julie followed her to the door, let her out, then closed and locked it before rushing upstairs. She really did need to get ready for work.
It was busy for a Monday, but Julie was glad. Not only would she make a few extra bucks, but keeping busy kept her mind off all the stuff going on in her life. She didn’t have time to think about Aaron because she was too busy trying not to drop plates on the tiny hoodlums that were running in circles just outside the kitchen door.
She was exhausted by the time the final host locked the front doors. She spent an extra two hours getting everything put back in its place and completing her cleaning before she said good night and headed home.
Julie almost didn’t take a shower; she was spent to the point of being unsure that her legs could hold her up, but she had to try. She didn’t want to wake up still smelling of food and disinfectant.
She checked on her mother first. She was sitting up in bed, watching her favorite show. “Did you have a good night, mom?”
Her mother looked up from the TV, smiled, and nodded before returning her gaze to the flashing screen. She was in for the night. Once she got that absorbed in her show, she’d watch until she fell asleep. Julie headed for the bathroom where she showered quickly. Wrapped in an oversized fluffy towel, she tiptoed down the hall to her room and tossed herself onto her bed.
She stared at the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling, she’d stuck them up there back when she was in middle school. She followed them with tired eyes, remembering how she and Nikki had spent hours sticking every single one of them up by pulling tiny little balls of sticky putty from the clump that came in the package The more she thought about it, the more she decided that sticky putty should be used more often, seeing as how every one of those stars were still up there after all these years.
So much around her had changed, yet little things, like the stars on her bedroom ceiling hadn’t. She couldn’t make sense of which parts mattered and which didn’t. There seemed to be some significance in the fact that she hadn’t tried to change some of those little things … but right now, she couldn’t focus, so she let her heavy eyes close.
Julie was back in the elevator at Genesis Inc. She could tell because the buttons in that elevator were digital, and she’d never seen anything like them before. She started to get nervous, not knowing why she was there. She was wearing a slim-fitted black dress with lace straps that came gently over her shoulders. She waited, tapping her foot while watching the number indicating the floors light up as they went by. Finally, the elevator stopped on the number ten. The tenth floor, where the founders and their assistant had their offices. She took a breath as the doors opened, and Aaron stood before her. Her breath caught as he stepped in and quickly engulfed her in his arms. Julie started to protest but quickly gave up as his hand trailed down her bare back to cup her backside. She exhaled against his lips. Aaron took advantage of her separated lips, taking the moment to trace her upper lip with his tongue before nipping her full bottom lip with his teeth.
Julie wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders and pulled herself as tightly to his chest as she had strength for. She gasped as she could feel his heart beat against her own. Aaron squeezed her bottom and lifted her off her feet. Following his lead, Julie wrapped her legs around his waist as her back hit the cold steel wall. Her head was fuzzy from the shock currents racing through her body. Every nerve was on fire … her head and her heart couldn’t keep up.
Her heart beat faster and faster, making it harder and harder to think. Blood pounded in her ears as Aaron moved his mouth along her jawline and down her neck, settling in that little dip at the base of her throat. She tilted her head back, closing her eyes and gasping for breath as his fingers traced the delicate lace over her shoulders, and down across the top of her breasts. Aaron moved the hand he’d been
using to hold her backside slightly further toward her center, finding the edge where her damp panties covered her. Julie’s eyes flew open as a moan escaped her lips. That was when she noticed them; hundreds of plastic glow-in-the-dark stars were swirling on the ceiling of the elevator. Some moved together, and others moved apart. Some formed pictures, and others moved by themselves sliding down each wall and languishing in the corners.
Julie watched the stars move and transform as Aaron teased her panties aside and tenderly traced his fingers against her. Her eyes blurred when he cupped a breast in his free hand, kneading it until her nipple became a tight bud, deliciously chaffed against its lace confines. He moved his lips back up her neck and to her ear, where he sucked the diamond-clad lobe into his mouth, nibbling before releasing it. Julie felt herself open further to him, her legs spreading wider, her breaths becoming shorter. Aaron whispered encouraging words against her ear as he dipped one, then two fingers inside her. He moved slowly and carefully as Julie’s body became languid and she was having a difficult time helping him hold her to the wall. She breathed his name against his neck.
“Aaron. Aaron, please.” She couldn’t believe her own words. She was practically begging. Aaron responded exactly how she’d hoped, adding a third finger to her center as he pumped his hand faster. Julie panted against the wall, slipping down the now slick metal, and watched as the stars on the ceiling combined with the ones that popped before her eyes when Aaron pushed his thumb against her clit and told her roughly, “All you have to do is decide.” She exploded and the world went black.
Julie jolted up from her pillow. “Aaron!” she cried.
Eight
“I’ve decided what my question will be.”
“Well, that didn’t take long. Only … hmm … three days.”
Aaron lifted his hand from the top of her desk and held it up defensively. “Well, this was a crucial thing. I only get one, as you keep reminding me, so I wanted to make sure I got it right.”
Shannon smiled at him. “I can’t wait to hear it.”
Aaron laughed a little. “Okay … are you ready?” he asked playfully before he made a crappy imitation drum roll on her desk with his hands.
She rolled her eyes at him. “You’re so lame.”
“Shh,” he told her as he continued his drum roll and then suddenly stopped. “And the question is … when is her next shift at work?”
A smile crept across Shannon’s face and Aaron knew she’d figured out what he was doing. Although, she probably thought he was completely mental, taking three days to come up with that. But it had been hard—he’d given it a lot of thought. He wanted to see her but couldn’t ask where she lived, because that would be stalking. He also couldn’t ask for her phone number, because she could simply not answer. He assumed that Shannon had told Julie about their deal, so now she’d be expecting something. The question he’d come up with seemed the best way. It was at her work, so her territory. It also happened to be public, and he worded it in such a way that Shannon could tell him the time and place without feeling like she’d answered more than the question. He winked at her.
“You’re slick. Not as slick as you think you are, but still. I like it.”
Aaron patted his hands against her desk again. “So you gonna answer me, or would you like a drum roll?”
“Oh no. Please don’t.” She looked at him thoughtfully. “If I answer, you have to promise me something.”
Aaron wasn’t really in the mood to play games with her. He’d already spent days trying to figure out her last demand … but he also wasn’t exactly in a position to negotiate. “Okay, sure.”
“You have to promise you’ll actually go.”
Aaron’s eyes popped a little. He hadn’t been expecting that. “It took me three days to come up with that, and you think I won’t follow through?” He shook his head. “No. No way. I’m going. I promise.”
Shannon tilted her head at him. “Seriously. You’d better. Like I better get a phone call from her tonight, or at least a text. Do not disappointment me,” she said as she poked at him.
Aaron may not have known Shannon long, but he knew not to cross her. She was a formidable female who was sharp as a tack, and smarter than him, Seth, and Gideon combined. “Scouts honor,” he said, holding up two fingers.
She sighed, letting out a long breath. “Okay. She waits tables at a little Italian place just outside the city, called Nikos. She always works open to close on Thursdays, so she’d be there tonight starting at around two.”
Aaron tried to thank Shannon even as a plan was forming in his head, but she wouldn’t have it. All she said was, “Make sure I get that phone call.” And she went back to the papers she’d been focused on when he’d interrupted her.
The rest of the day went at a snail’s pace. Aaron tried to focus on work but ended up fidgeting and being restless. He could hardly wait to see Julie. The days that had passed since he’d seen her at Anthony’s, were long and made him itchy. He wasn’t used to the ways his mind and body had been treating him lately. He hadn’t realized how used to Bella’s presence he’d gotten, until she was no longer there. She’d been a carefree, fun escape. They never talked about anything deep or personal. All subjects stayed light and fluffy, and it worked for them. It allowed them to have the sexual relationship that they’d carried on for so long. They had great chemistry in bed. She was brazen, and in the beginning, he’d needed that. He’d been a little shy.
Sitting at his desk, thinking of Bella and their first few sexual encounters brought him to back to the day Gideon had come home proclaiming he’d solved their financial issues. Aaron and Seth had been skeptical—after all, Gideon didn’t have to worry about trivial things like money. His allowance covered all of his expenses and then some. The “and then some” had come in handy, because while both Seth and Aaron had been struggling to get rent paid, Gideon had been floating them cash to cover their shares.
Skeptical or not, their ears had perked up as they’d waited for him to explain. He had his laptop out and called them over to show them the ad he’d found. Aaron would never forget reading it.
Attention College Aged Males
Are you in need of cash?
Want to make it quick so you can focus on your studies?
Lily and Oak are here for you.
Open Casting for Models
Thursday 569 Main St. 1pm
Both Seth and Aaron had looked at Gideon, dumbfounded. Aaron had never thought of himself as unattractive, but a model? There was no way. They’d tried to explain that to Gideon, but he’d just sat there smiling and laughing. As crazy as Aaron had thought the idea of modeling had been, it would pale in comparison to the next words of out Gideon’s mouth.
He’d looked at them with bright, mischievous eyes. “They’re an adult toy company.” He’d waited for them to have any kind of response, and when they didn’t, he continued, excitement taking over his voice. “They want models … they want to make molds of our dicks.”
Aaron had waited a second to make sure his brain had registered the words his friend had said before cocking back and punching Gideon hard in the arm. “Dude, you’re a dick. You know how hard-up we are for cash. I thought you had a legit fix for us, and you try to give us this shit.” Aaron walked back to his seat across the room, Seth following behind him shaking his head.
“I’m not kidding, guys. Seriously. They pay a ton. It’s somewhere in the range of a ten thousand dollar signing bonus for one product and then after that you get paid more for any additional products that are created. The payout depends on the product.” He’d set his computer aside and sat on the edge of his seat. “We could totally do this.”
Aaron had stayed quiet, but Seth didn’t. “Ten thousand. Really?”
Gideon had focused on their friend. “Yeah, and that’s just the beginning. If they like you and your products sell, you could make a ton more. There could be more shoots, more lines, and eventually bonuses. There’s a lot of potent
ial here. But the best part is, no one will ever know any of it is us. None of the ads have faces. They’re just bodies.”
Seth and Aaron had looked at each other pointedly, and then at Gideon. “Fine. We’ll go to the call, but we’re not promising anything.”
Gideon had smiled and jumped from his seat. “This is it boys. I can feel it. We’ve found our It.”
Aaron remembered sharing a laugh with Seth. He hadn’t been able to imagine actually going through with it. But it all turned out to be much more professional than he had expected. He’d been drawn in, they all had. Gideon had been wrong about the money, though. The signing bonus hadn’t been ten grand. It was fifteen. Less than eight weeks after Gideon had shown them the ad, all three of them were adult models who each had their own sex toys made in their likeness. It was completely surreal.
Aaron relaxed as the happy memories washed over him. A knock on his door interrupted his thoughts. Looking up, he saw it was Seth and smiled. “Hey man. Remember when Gideon showed us that ad for Lily and Oak?”
Seth smiled back. “Of course. How could I forget? It’s not every day a guy gets to hold his dick in every color of the rainbow.”
Aaron laughed. It really had been a lot of fun. He sighed. “And that one moment led to all of this,” he added as he looked all around the room.
“Yup. It also led to this,” Seth said, dropping a file folder on Aaron’s desk.
“What’s this?” Aaron reached for it, pulling it closer so he could open the file.
“Those are our Lily and Oak contracts. Amanda just sent them over. They’ve reviewed and reviewed them. There’s nothing there. We weren’t obligated outside of that first molding and photo shoot. We also never signed a no compete clause, so basically, they have no grounds for a case. We should be good to go. We can put this all behind us.”
