by Clara Reese
I glance over at Gina and I’m a bit put out to see her on her phone. Her face is drawn with concentration under the light of the screen and she stares into it like it’s a crystal ball. I’m about to make a comment, but I just take a huffing breath and look out my window. If she has important business on her phone, I guess it’s none of my business.
The cab moves slowly through the streets and the lights above flicker across our faces as we slip under them. All the warmth and friendship we had between us before seems to have been left in our past. In the back seat of the car, two strangers are sitting as far apart from each other as they can get.
This is never going to work. How can we convince anyone we’re in love when we’re clearly not even friends right now?
I’m working myself up into a real state when we reach the condo. As we get out of the car, Gina comes around and slips an arm around my waist. Her smile seems genuine but she’s obviously distracted. I really don’t know if we can pull this off.
When we enter the foyer there seem to be far too many people. It’s not just my family that has gathered, but a few of the hangers-on that are always trying to get in with Dad.
“Darling!” My mother moves through the crowd to give me a stiff peck on the cheek. “Lovely to see you!” As she pulls back her eyes rake over Gina and her face pulls closed like a curtain. So much is there. Disapproval. Judgement. Even a little humor.
“Who is your little friend?” She raises an eyebrow as she sips her wine.
“This is my fiancée, Gina.” I take her hand and squeeze it, looking at mother defiantly.
“Oh, yes.” She starts to move off with a glance over her shoulder. “Still stuck in that phase, are we? What a pity about that young doctor. Feldman, was it?”
“I don’t remember.” My voice comes out through gritted teeth. “Where’s father?”
“In his study, dear.” She wanders off, gown flowing and glass held high as she nods her head toward her loyal followers. I turn my back and start pushing through the crowd. I keep ahold of Gina’s hand and she trails me slowly. I can sense her taking in the looks of everyone we pass, and I know she’s getting upset.
We are being looked at like a couple of wild horses bolting through the ballroom: disruptive, unkempt and thoroughly unwelcome.
I reach the study and Dad’s talking to a small cluster of cronies, chewing on a cigar. At least Larry isn’t here. Small mercy.
I try to push through the crowd to talk to my father. I feel Gina’s hand slip from mine, and I keep moving, thinking she’s right behind me.
I finally make it to the edge of the mahogany desk, and he eyes me as if I’m a mole that just came up through the floor.
“Dawn?”
“Father. I’m here because of something Larry told me recently. He can’t undertake this legal action. Gina and I are really in love and—”
“Dawn. Nice to see you at a family function. You only came to respond to some accusation of Larry’s? You didn’t come to honor your family?”
My heart feels like someone rammed a spike through it. He’s not going to help. He doesn’t even care.
“In love, you say?” He puffs his cigar. “Where is this ‘lady love’ then, huh?”
I turn around and Gina isn’t there. It’s a moment of heart-stopping fear. I start running through the room, eyes peeled for the slightest glimpse of her. I hear her voice on the balcony and hurry that way.
As I come through the doors into the cool night air, I hear her talking. Then I see her, a silhouette against the night sky, talking on her phone. What could be so fucking important? I start striding up behind her, ready to ask her what the hell is going on.
Then I hear her words.
“Yes, Mama. Give Carlo a big hug for me, okay? I’m sorry I couldn’t be there. I’ll call you later. Yes, I’ll see you in the morning. Sure, I’ll give Dawn a kiss for you. Thanks. Bye.”
I stand behind her, utterly shocked.
It’s the big day before Carlo’s surgery. She came with me instead of going to be with her family.
My eyes sting and there’s a lump in my throat. I don’t know how to feel. Surely, she wouldn’t go this far just for a business deal.
Would she?
28
Gina
This weekend is turning out to be a total bust.
Dawn’s family is awful. I know they want her to be someone that she’s not. We have to keep our eye on the prize. If we get the right people on our side, they can pressure Larry to stop making legal headaches for Dawn.
But there’s also the issue of Carlo’s surgery. That’s this weekend. I can’t help but imagine him lying in a hospital bed somewhere. I know that I’m here to help him, but it kills me that I can’t be there by his side. Why did these things have to be the same weekend? I can’t stand the thought of something happening and me not being there. I keep telling myself that being there won’t change the outcome, but the money will. I’m doing this for my family as much as I’m doing it for Dawn.
It’s frustrating being here. There’s only so much more I can take. I can tell she’s as down in the dumps about everything as I am. I need to take action. Dawn is shrinking into herself the longer that we’re here. The strong, passionate woman I know is disappearing right before my eyes. She’s gone from someone so powerful to someone so defeated in record time. It breaks my heart to see. We’re partners in this, even if it’s just for the chalet. I need to act.
Everyone is hanging out in one room, but no one is really paying attention to us there. That’s fine by me. Dawn sits next to me. I lean over and whisper to her.
“Follow me,” I say softly into her ear.
I get up and take her hand, leading her out of the room. As soon as we exit, I feel lighter. We leave her family behind and walk through the condo. I take her to a room I spotted earlier. It’s one of the nicest bedrooms I’ve ever seen in my entire life. It’s definitely the best room in the condo.
I wrap my arms around her and pull her onto the bed with me.
“What are you doing?” She asks, looking up at me.
“I’m going to turn this night around,” I tell her, leaning in to give her a kiss. “I’m going to give you so much pleasure you won’t be able to walk straight tomorrow.”
I close the gap between and kiss her. She kisses me back like she needs me. I pull her closer to me, pressing my body against hers. She hugs me back tightly.
I run my hands over her back and through her hair as we kiss. I know that kissing was something we originally only intended to do in public, but I wouldn’t want to do something as intimate as this in front of others. Her family would have a heart attack if I did. This is something different than little pecks in public. This is affection that fills a need. We need to focus our energy on something other than the surgery or fulfilling the legal requirements of the chalet. We need each other right now, and we need this badly.
I run my hands under her shirt. I feel up her stomach to her bra. She arches her back and thrusts her chest towards my touch. I feel over her breasts and push her bra out of the way. I cup her breasts in my hands and run my fingers over her nipples. She moans lightly into the kiss as I do so.
I keep running my hands over her body, feeling her under her clothes. She does the same to me. She slips a hand under my shirt, then into my pants. She’s feeling me like she’s never felt anyone else before. I’m feeling her the same way. Our movements all come from desperation and a need to feel something other than dread. We need to make each other feel good. Every touch is like electricity bouncing wildly between our bodies.
I start to pull her clothes off, frustrated with how much they’re impeding my need to feel close to her. She pulls mine off as me as well. We’re kicking off bottoms and pulling off shirts.
When we’re both finally undressed, I kiss her deeply. I wrap my fingers in her hair and slide my leg in between hers. She does the same to me, and soon we’re a tangle of limbs. Someone could walk in on us right n
ow, but I don’t care. Hell, it will likely just help our case at this point.
I push her onto her back and begin to finger her. She moans as I enter her. My fingers explore inside her, hitting spots that I know will make her see stars. I kiss along her neck. She squeezes her breasts with her hands, continuing to pleasure herself. I love the way she looks when she’s filled with lust and orgasmic pleasure. I smile to myself as I kiss her, determined to find every sensitive spot on her neck.
She begins to feel all over my body as well. Her hands glide over my breasts and across my collarbone. It’s like every movement she makes sends me closer to the edge. I want more of her. I want all of her to myself.
I begin to finger her more furiously, adding more fingers, thrusting in and out of her quickly. She lewdly thrusts her hips against my hands in an erotic display of lust. I can’t get enough of her. It’s incredibly hot knowing that I can drive her wild just using my hands. I love being able to make everything else fade away for her.
She clutches my shoulders and bites her lip. She looks up at me with need in her eyes. She needs to come and she needs to do it now. I start to finger fuck her even harder than before and kiss over her breasts. She wraps her fingers in my hair.
I feel her muscles contract around my hand as she orgasms. Her body shudders and she moans loudly as she does. I worry for a moment that we’ll be heard, but then I remember that I really don’t care.
I wrap my arms around her, ready to just cuddle and kiss, but she pushes me on my back. She has a mischievous grin on her face and a look of determination in her eyes. She situates herself on top of me.
She kisses me deeply and begins to feel my breasts as she rubs her body against mine. She feels so incredibly good as she does this. I wrap my arms around her. I want to always be touching her.
She kisses down my neck and across my chest. She leaves a trail of kisses to her destination. I realize what she’s doing. I give her a grin of my own as I part my legs for her. She slides off the end of the bed and pulls my hips down towards the edge. She kisses each of my thighs and gives me another grin before beginning to eat me out.
The things that she can do with her tongue are incredible. Dawn has a real talent for getting me off and making me come as hard as I possibly can. I wrap my hands in her hair as she goes. I feel almost lightheaded from the pleasure. Her arms snake up my torso and play with my breasts.
I feel my insides begin to knot up as the orgasm starts to come. Every touch and motion she makes just drives me closer to the edge. When I finish, I call out her name.
As the orgasm recedes, she climbs back up onto the bed, hovering over me. She kisses me. I deepen the kiss, wanting to taste myself on her. We cuddle together in post-orgasmic bliss, forgetting for a moment all the troubles surrounding us.
Right now, it’s just her and me.
29
Dawn
Everything around me seems a little darker.
I knew before coming here that my family would be difficult to deal with, but I guess that I foolishly hoped things would be different. I don’t know why. Things are never different. With Gina, I can save the chalet, but I have to suffer through all of this to do it. Even if I do, I might still lose everything. The chalet will go to Larry. I’ll never be accepted by my family. But what’s worse, no matter what happens, I’ll lose Gina.
I can hardly look at her while we sit with my family. It hurts too much. I stare off into the distance, willing myself to be somewhere else. I will for things to be different. I’ve never felt so uncomfortable and helpless. I feel awful thinking it, but I almost wished I wouldn’t have tried. If I didn’t try, I couldn’t be this disappointed. Trying only gave me more things to lose along the way.
My feelings for Gina span so far beyond this fake relationship. It has started to feel real to me. I feel ridiculous saying it, but I need her near me. I don’t want this to end. I would almost rather extend this miserable limbo that we’re in and have her beside me than have this come to the inevitable end. She has helped me so much. I know that technically I helped her too, but I need her. I need her in my life and by my side for the rest of my days.
She leans over to me. I feel the gap between us closing. I prepare myself for the disappointment of a simple kiss on the cheek, all part of the act. It’s just enough to show the family that we’re serious about this, but it’s an illusion.
To my surprise, she whispers in my ear instead.
“Follow me,” she says huskily into my ear.
She takes my hand and leads me out of the room. The noises from my family grow smaller behind us as we make our way through the condo.
She leads me to a bedroom. I don’t know what she’s getting at. It’s a nice room. Perhaps she needs some time alone for a while. Maybe we need to go over some plans in light of how shitty this all is going.
But then, she wraps her arms around me and pulls me down onto the bed with her. My eyes go wide in surprise.
“What are you doing?” I ask, confused. I can’t complain about being in this position with her, but I don’t know what’s going on. There’s no one around to see what we’re doing. Usually affection like this is saved for when we’re in public. Though, there have been a few exceptions lately.
“I’m going to turn this night around,” she says, moving her face closer to mine. “I’m going to give you so much pleasure you won’t be able to walk straight tomorrow.”
I immediately feel a twinge of lust jolt through my body. I realize how much I want her. I know this will have to end, but until then, I want to savor every moment I have with her.
We kiss, and it’s like electricity shoots through my body. I kiss her passionately. I kiss her like I’ll never kiss her again. And, honestly, it’s a possibility that this may be our last time together like this. I want to make the most of it. I want to memorize how her body feels against mine and the way my heart flutters when we kiss.
She pulls herself closer to me, pressing her body against mine. I wrap my arms around her and pull her closer to me. I sigh into her. This is a feeling I could get used to. I love the way my body feels against hers. I love the way we feel together.
Right now, it feels like we’re in our own universe. The chalet and the surgery and my family all fade away into the background. Right now, the only things that matter are the two of us and how we’re making each other feel. The cloud of lust that we’re in shields us from the rest of the world.
She runs her hands through my hair and over my back. Then, she slips her hands under my shirt. I feel goosebumps form over my skin as her hands slide over my torso. She reaches up to my breasts and feels them through my bra. It’s a simple action but feels really nice.
She pushes my bra out of the way and begins to fondle my breasts. I try to focus only on the motions she’s making and how she’s making me feel. It isn’t hard. She’s doing amazing things with her hands.
She unbuttons my pants and slides her other hand into my underwear. I can feel how wet I’ve already gotten from this foreplay. She rubs my clit and kisses me.
I want to feel her as well. I stick my hands under her clothes and feel all over her body. She’s warm and soft in all the right places. My hands slide over the curve of her breasts and down her ribs. I feel over the curve of her hips and veer towards her womanhood. She’s wet as well. I feel relieved that she wants it as badly as I do.
It isn’t long before she starts tugging at my clothes. I start to undress her as well, ready to see her naked. We get our clothes off and for a moment, I just admire her. She looks so beautiful. I try to take in everything I can. I may never get the chance to see her like this again.
She leans down and kisses me deeply. We hold each other close, and our limbs end up in a tangled mess. Even pressed against her like this, I wish I could get closer.
She rolls towards me and I end up on my back. She gives me another peck before kissing my neck. I moan as she does. My legs fall open in my haze of pleasure. She takes the opport
unity to begin to finger me. Her other hand plays with my breasts.
I’ve been with other women before, but it’s never been like this. Tiffany was never able to make me feel this good. It’s sexual pleasure, but it’s also the closeness between the two of us that I want to savor. I thrust my hips against her hand as she gets me off. She starts adding more fingers, filling me up deliciously.
I want to hold on as long as I can, but I can’t take the overwhelming sensations she’s giving me for long. I come hard against her hand. My body convulses in orgasm. I clutch onto her, trying to find something to hold onto as my head spins with satisfaction.
She kisses me and cuddles me as I come down from my high. But I’m not done with her yet. I kiss her face then kiss all down her body.
I get off the bed and kneel just by the edge. I pull her body down towards me so her hips are situated right in front of my face. She spreads her legs for me with a smile. I feel another jolt of lust course through me. Now it’s my turn to get her off. I kiss both of her thighs before beginning to lick all over her pussy.
She gasps as my tongue explores her and thrusts her hips against my face. I reach up and play with her breasts. I can feel her body tense, yearning for a release. I know I have a real talent with my tongue, and I use it to the best of my ability to push her ever closer to the edge.
When she crests the next orgasmic wave, she calls out my name. I feel my heart flutter as she does. I record the memory and play it in my head as many times as I can so I can hold onto it.
I crawl back up the bed and give her a kiss. She kisses me deeply. I wrap my arms around her, wanting to hold onto this moment for as long as I can.
30
Gina
I don’t know exactly how much time we spent in the bedroom. I do know that it might not have been enough time to completely rid ourselves of all of our collective worries. Dawn still looks as though she wants to be anywhere but back in the main room. I know I certainly don’t want to go back there.
