“Don’t take me for a fool. I know all about his flings. Most of them took place in that apartment. I especially know about Veronica. Maybe my mom was right….”
“What?”
“Well.” Sophia rolled her eyes. “My mother thinks I took the penthouse to get back at him. And in a way, she’s right. I know he had all of his affairs there. He’d charm them with the fancy TV and the view of the city. I know that Veronica lost her apartment, that he let her stay there, and that spent every night he was working in the city with her. He’d call me and say he was working late, but really he was there with her. I even know about all the money he spent on her and the diamond necklace he bought her. It was all there on the bank statements. He wasn’t good at hiding anything. So, anyway, that penthouse sometimes feels like the scene of the crime, like a slap in the face. In a way, the penthouse is what destroyed my marriage. So, it feels like I’m taking myself back by living there. Like I’m rubbing it in his face. I know it makes him uncomfortable. He gave me the place, no contest. So, I took it just to…you know.”
Adam nodded. “I can understand where you are coming from. I’d probably do the same. You have every right to be angry.”
“Thank you.” She was surprised that finally someone understood her side of things. After fighting with her mother about what seemed like such an obvious decision to make, it was nice to not have some support,… especially from Adam.
“Well, he was a fool, that’s all I can say. None of the women he cheated with could possibly even compare to you.”
“Really?” She looked at him hopefully.
“Well, I don’t know personally. I just imagined. I mean, you are absolutely amazing.”
Sophia beamed. “Well, thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
“I imagine you have dated many women finer than me, though,” she added. “I read about your affair with that model, Esmee Blanc.”
“Pff. What they don’t tell you is those models are all illusions, layers of makeup and lighting. They’re not that pretty in real life. And they’re way too thin.” He suddenly looked forlorn. “Honestly, I’m tired of that life. I’m tired of the charade. I’m looking for a real woman, a woman I can be myself around. A woman who isn’t all high maintenance. I don’t want some starry fling with cameras on us all of the time. I want something real, something simple…something normal.”
“High maintenance?” She laughed. “Well I guess I’m not high maintenance, but I’m not low-maintenance either, that’s for sure.” She did not want to give him the idea that she was some cheap fling he could dazzle with just a few dinners.
“Well, I guess I used the wrong term. But see, most of the women I’ve dated have had life handed to them. They’re spoiled. They’re bitchy. They expect everything to be given to them. They only care about the superficial, about how they look and how everyone else looks, and what designer everyone is wearing. They don’t value people for who they really are. It’s all just for show. And they are certainly no fun to talk to. They just constantly drop names and trash talk people for how they look. There’s no depth there. And the drama, oh the drama. Dating celebrity models is all just catty jealousy and being over the top drama queens.
I’m not saying that you aren’t beautiful. Hell, you could be a model, but, well, you have had a real life. You have gone to school. You have a real job. Pay your own bills. You have an interesting back story and a lot of thoughts and even a background that is way different from mine. When we talk, there’s depth. That’s very attractive.”
“Really?” She giggled, unable to imagine how being ordinary could be interesting to anyone, especially someone as dazzling as the man sitting across from her. But what he said made sense, and showed her another side to a celebrity world that she had never even caught a glimpse into.
“Really.” He seemed totally sincere.
Dinner proceeded nicely after that. More comfortable and secure, Sophia started to really open up and enjoy her time with Adam. After desert, he took her over the Manhattan Bridge to see the city lights. They leaned back in the limousine, both a little wine drunk, as they observed the lights. His chauffeur navigated traffic expertly and the ride was so smooth. As smooth as Adam’s hand as he began to stroke her thigh.
Sophia didn’t object. She reached her hand behind his neck and pulled him toward her for a kiss. They touched lips. His tongue brushed against hers. She felt giddy with desire, and really just wanted to jump on top and straddle him, but forced herself to maintain her composure. Still, they snuggled and made out the entire way back to their building.
“Do you want to come up?” he asked as they groped each other and kissed passionately in the elevator.
Sophia suddenly felt overwhelmed. She had never been with another man besides Tony. This freaked her out completely. “I – I need to think,” she managed as she pulled away from him, straightening her clothes. The idea of going to his place also made her nervous because then she might run into Blake. Her dirty fantasy from the night before still lingered.
“That’s fine,” Adam said kindly. “I understand.” He held the elevator door open for her, walked her to her door and gave her one last goodnight kiss before she went into her place and softly shut the door behind her.
All day at work the next day, Sophia could not stop thinking about her amazing evening with Adam. To clear her cluttered mind after work, Sophia donned some active wear and went for a jog in Central Park. She had never done that before and it made her feel alive as she joined hundreds of other joggers. It felt like a scene from a movie as she ran through the crisp air, flushing up pigeons and passing others dressed like her with their headphones in and knots of concentration on their foreheads. The Park was stunningly beautiful as the sun started to descend over the trees. The peace of the park felt nice after being in the inner city all day, walled in by huge buildings and streams of traffic.
As she rounded a bend in the path, she felt someone fall into place alongside her. She popped out her earphone and glanced sideways, wondering why she hadn’t brought Mace with her. Maybe her mother had induced paranoia in her, but her heart started beating a bit faster. Was she safe jogging at this hour? Was she about to be mugged, or worse? It had certainly happened in the Park before. Her mother had fed her plenty of horror stories about living in the city.
But then she took a second look and gasped with releif. It was Blake Franklin jogging alongside her! He looked sleek in his jogging gear, with his hair gelled back. Blake shot her a huge grin, as she took out her other earphone.
“Wow, small world. There are millions of people in this city and guess who I run into? My stunning new neighbor!” he teased.
“Are you stalking me?” Sophia joked.
“I am not. But if I were to stalk anyone, it would be you.” Blake seemed more confident in flirting with her without his brother around.
“You’re incorrigible,” she told him with a humorous laugh. It felt good to be flirted with so fiercely. Tony was always so reserved with his affection. She liked feeling wanted and admired.
“Well, I must admit, I’m pretty beat. I had a long day at work and I’ve jogged this track twice. Would you like to go grab some coffee?” Blake asked
Sophia agreed. They crossed the street to a little coffeehouse that Blake swore by. “It’s a great place to grab a bite after a workout,” he told her.
“You don’t look like you load up on too many calories.” Sophia didn’t bother to hide it as she looked up and down his body, admiring his perfect physique through his tight jogging shirt. Not only was he slim, but his muscles were also incredibly finely toned, adding sleekness rather than bulk to his frame. Then it all ended up in a mop of red hair and a faint touch of a red beard. And those eyes! She had only been with one man, Tony. Sophia briefly wondered what Blake would look like naked and if he was different in bed from what she was used to with Tony….
“Sophia?” Blake peered at her, his cheeks turning red as he real
ized she was checking him out. It was their turn at the counter.
“Oh! Um, I don’t drink coffee much. What should I order?” She squinted at the board, loaded with fancy Italian names that meant nothing to her.
“I usually get an almond milk latte. I think you’d like it. You can add a syrup if you want it to be sweet,” he suggested.
She took him up on his suggestion and got a plain latte. They collected their hot drinks and took a seat near the window. Joggers and shoppers streamed past.
“This place is nice.” Sophia glanced around, taking in the funky coffeehouse vibe.
“My favorite.” Blake leaned back in his seat. “So. How are you enjoying the single life so far?”
“This would be one of my first dates,” she admitted. Then she glanced up at him, embarrassed by her own indiscretion. “That is, if you count this as a date.”
“Hey this is nice, Sophia. But I would rather take you out on a real date. To dinner, with wine and dessert and dancing after.”
“Dancing, huh?” Sophia felt herself warm up to him even more. She was a Latina and loved to dance!
“Do you like salsa?” he asked.
Tony and Sophia used to go salsa dancing every weekend early in their relationship. It was their thing. “I haven’t been in years,” she cried. “I’d love to….do you know how to salsa?” She took him in, surprised that this white boy might be able to dance.
He shrugged humbly. “I try. Maybe you can teach me a few moves.”
“I’m sure I could,” she winked.
The coffee date continued, full of playful bantering and flirting. Then Blake hailed a cab and paid for the ride home. As they sat very close in the back, Sophia recalled the night before and felt somewhat guilty. Surely Blake didn’t know that she had been out with Adam the night before. If he knew, he wouldn’t be so flirty, right? Then she wondered if she should tell him. It seemed that things were heading in a sensual direction, especially as he put his arm around her shoulder and started to pull her tighter as they got closer to their building. This seemed wrong…yet right too.
“Do you want to come over for a bit?” he asked.
She decided that it would be best if she declined. Who knew if Adam was home? “Maybe after we go salsa dancing,” she offered.
Blake grinned. “Deal!” Then he softened his voice as he pressed the button on the elevator. “Look, Adam told me about last night. I just wanted you to know so you don’t worry about it.”
Sophia’s heart sank. She searched his blue, blue eyes for a clue about how he felt.
“I really like you. So does Adam. So I don’t want to make you feel like you’re in a bad spot. We both understand that it’s up to you what you want to do, and we are OK with that.”
She nodded slowly. “I’m new to this whole dating game,” she finally said. “So I don’t know quite how to handle this.”
“You’re not used to two brothers going after you?” Blake asked with a little laugh.
She shook her head vehemently. “That too,” she said with a laugh. “But this is entirely new… I have never even really dated before! I just dated my husband.”
“Well, there is no pressure. I understand if you like Adam more. But just let me take you out dancing. Let me show you what I’m made of.”
“Then I can choose,” Sophia laughed. But inside, she was not so sure.
Chapter 5
For the next few weeks, Sophia was sucked into a whirlwind between the Franklin brothers. One night she saw Adam. The next she saw Blake. The choice was only becoming more difficult rather than easier, as her attraction to both men grew by the day. Where did she think she was, on the Bachelorette?
The problem was that both men encompassed what she really wanted. They both lavished her with attention and strove to please her. They both cared about her and were extremely flattering to her. They each were dashingly handsome, had ambition, success, and prestige. Moreover, both men were wealthy! What more could a woman want?
Of course, there were differences between them. Blake was more reserved and more eager to please. Adam was more dominant, but also more traditional with his dates. While they both liked to have fun, they did it in different ways. These differences still did not make her decision between them any easier because she still liked them both. A lot. And while there were differences, mostly they were the same. Gentlemen. Figuring out which one she liked most was proving to be a nearly impossible task.
Basically, neither was anything like Tony, which was exactly what Sophia needed.
It was Sunday, and Adam’s turn for Sophia’s next date. They decided to go to Ellis Island, which surprisingly, neither had ever visited before. As they finished their iconic tour, she gazed at him as the sun reflected in his blond hair, bringing out the red like fire. The stubble forming on his jawline was also red as fire. She reached out without thinking about it and touched his face, feeling his stubbles under her fingertips. “You are so handsome,” she laughed when Adam glanced at her, surprised by her touch.
While Sophia had made out a bit with each of the brothers, she was doing her best at holding back, unwilling to sleep with either of them until she figured out what she wanted. The choice was still not at all clear.
“Let’s say we take this back to my place?”
“How about mine,” Sophia said. Desire was getting the better of her, and she just couldn’t wait any longer. It was time. She wanted him.
They held hands all the way back. When they got off the ferry, they hurried back to his car, where his driver waiting. They kissed passionately, the entire trip home.
Arriving at their building, their making out continued into the elevator. They were so engrossed, they didn’t realize that Blake was standing in the lobby.
By the time they stumbled into her penthouse, Adam had Sophia could wait no longer. He quickly unbuttoned Sophia’s blouse, as she tugged on his belt. After fantasizing about it for weeks, she wanted to finally see his manhood. But Adam had other plans. With the utmost deftness, he steered her towards the couch and gently bent her over its arm, while at the same time unzipping and pulling down her skirt. Adam surveyed her beautiful and tight ass and noted how sexy it looked in the lacy black thong she was wearing. He fell to his knees, and grabbing her cheeks, kissed each one. Sophia let out a loud moan of desire. Adam pulled on her thong and Sophia spread her legs allowing the thong to be pulled down, revealing her pink sex, waxed free of hair and shiny with hot, slick wetness. Her pussy glistened with a sheen of wetness as he eagerly licked them. After a few minutes licking her from behind and probing with his tongue, Adam took her lips into his mouth, sucking just slightly. Then his slid his tongue into her pussy and she cried out from the sudden release of having Adam inside her rather than fantasizing about it from the privacy of her bed. She turned over and laid down on the couch. Adam’s face returned to its home. She wrapped her toned legs around his head to push his tongue deeper into her and she arched her back as he chowed down. She could tell that he was savoring her. She was thrilled by the faint prickle of his beard against her tender flesh. As he worked his tongue deeper and deeper into her, she wanted him more and more.
Without hesitation, he stood up, pulled down his briefs, and directed his manhood towards her waiting wetness. She was ready and willing when he thrust into her. She gasped with surprise at the sudden feeling of his entry. It had been a long time since she had a man inside of her, and he really was as big as she had imagined - much larger than Tony! The feeling filled her with a sort of crazy urgency and she bucked her hips, and grabbing his hips, pulled him down deeper into her waiting quim. They fucked for a while enjoying the intense pleasure, and somehow ended up on the edge of the couch with their heads on the sofa. As he continued to thrust into her, Sophia grabbed his hips and squeezed so hard that her nails dug into his skin as she forced him into her harder.
She had never been so excited, or so wet. Heat began to rise in her groin, then down her legs, then throughout her body
. She could feel it coming. “Keep going,” Sophia implored as she clawed at his back. Adam continued thrusting hard and deep. Then she came hard, as an intense orgasm rocked her from head to toe. Her entire body was pulsing in extreme pleasure. She was out of control. A loud scream of pleasure escaped her mouth and filled the whole penthouse and probably the neighbor’s too. “Fuck me! Oh, yes, fuck me!” she screamed, as her orgasm intensified. Almost in unison Adam howled in pleasure as his jism exploded out of him, filling her waiting womanhood. Sophia’s pussy contracted in its orgasm around his pulsing cock as they came together. After a few moments, they both collapsed, exhausted and totally satisfied.
With a gratified look on his face, Adam whispered, “I just came”.
“I know. I did too!” Sophia said. She tried to get up, but the pleasure left her flushed and weak at the knees. She felt dizzy.
“You shouldn’t have cum inside me. But it’s almost that time of the month, so I think we’re safe.” Adam was obviously relieved.
“Tony and I tried for almost our whole marriage to have kids, and nothing. So, I’m not even sure I can have kids.”
“Are you sure that is was you and not Tony with the problem?” Adam suggested.
Sophia had considered that in the past, after a doctor told her that forty percent of fertility issues lay in the man and not the woman and there appeared to be nothing wrong with her reproductive system. But Tony had been too proud to ever go get tested. He insisted that men in his family were extremely virile. The one time she requested that he get a sperm test, he had exploded at her and then taken off to the city, and didn’t speak to her for three days. She never brought it up again. Her fertility tests came back positive, but the doctor suggested that perhaps she had scar tissue or some other issue that was preventing her from getting pregnant. She had accepted that as the truth and assumed it was her fault since there was no talking about it with Tony.
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