The Daring Assignment

by Victoria Bright

“Of course he’s here; he lives here! What are you doing here, and where are you coming from to be dressed like that?” I asked, folding my arms across my chest. Gia dug through her purse and pulled out a small bottle of eye drops.

  “I’m here to save your life.”

  “What? Save my life how?”

  “Just follow my lead,” she instructed, tilting her head back to squeeze a few drops into each eye. Shaking my head, I turned to go back inside before Gia grabbed my arm.

  “When I walk in, pretend to comfort me,” she whispered. My forehead wrinkled in confusion.

  “What? For what?

  “Stop asking questions, and just comfort me!” she whispered firmly. I sighed and opened the door with Gia following behind me.

  “It was just so sad. I just saw him a few days ago, and now he’s … he’s … gone!” she wailed, so loudly that it scared the hell out of me. Julius turned on the couch and frowned when his eyes fell upon Gia. This will be rather interesting, I thought, awkwardly patting Gia on the back.

  “I’m so sorry for your loss,” I said slowly, watching her reaction to make sure I was properly doing what she asked. Gia dabbed at her imaginary tears from behind her sunglasses and sniffled.

  “Yes. My uncle … ” she started, her eyes drifting to the coffee table where two bottled waters sat, “Dasani will definitely be missed,” she said solemnly. I quickly covered my mouth to hide the grin that was tugging at my lips. I couldn’t believe she couldn’t think of another name for her fake dead uncle.

  Julius rolled his eyes and stood up. “What, did your Uncle Dasani die of an STD?” he mumbled sarcastically as he walked past us. Gia tossed her hair over her shoulder with a dramatic sigh.

  “No, he somehow got his dick stuck in the vacuum cleaner, and his panic attack caused his heart to stop. I’m pretty sure you’re familiar with getting your Vienna sausage stuck in places it doesn’t belong,” she replied dryly.

  I could feel Julius’ glare burn through me as I concentrated on the shiny wood finish on the floor beneath my feet. I was now starting to wish that I hadn’t told Gia about the time Julius had gotten his penis stuck in the suction hole of my parents’ pool. I cringed at the memory of his swelling and screaming when the paramedics had to rescue him. I’m sure he cringed at the memory.

  “He was my favorite uncle—“

  “Why? Did he teach you your whorish ways?” Julius interrupted again, heading back to the living room with a bowl of fruit. Gia snatched her sunglasses off and jabbed a finger into his chest.

  “Look, you limp dick fucker—“

  “Guys, please,” I interrupted, trying to gain control of the situation. I didn’t know what Gia had come here to do, but everything was bound to go off course if she continued arguing with Julius.

  “Look, I don’t want to be alone tonight. Do you mind staying with me?” she pleaded. Although her voice sounded sad and a bit shaky, her eyes twinkled with anticipation. There was definitely a reason for her shenanigans. I glanced at Julius, who only shook his head and walked back to the couch.

  “Um … sure,” I replied hesitantly. A grin spread across Gia’s lips.

  “Good. Go pack an overnight bag then,” she beamed, folding her arms across her chest as if she were pleased with herself. I nodded and quickly moved to my bedroom. As soon as I tossed a small bag onto the bed to prepare for my overnight stay, Gia popped her head in.

  “Oh, and Arianna?” she called out. I looked over my shoulder. I could hear the excitement in her voice as she said, “Be sure to pack that lingerie set. The white one.”

  ***

  I took a deep breath as I studied my reflection in the mirror. Everything looked exactly the way it did the night I wore this same lingerie set for Julius. Nerves were running rampant within me, and I was starting to have second thoughts about meeting Zane at his place … wearing only this under Gia’s trench coat. Sensing my anxiety, she gently squeezed my shoulders. “You’re going to be fine,” she assured me with a smile. I warily continued checking my reflection and sighed. If I was going to write this book, it was now or never.

  Gia had apparently gotten sick of me complaining about not knowing what to write about for the past week. Once she heard about the change that Julius was trying to make and that I had practically been blowing Zane off when he would invite me out, she decided she needed to intervene and “help” me. So here I was, half naked, preparing to go meet a man at his home.

  I was nervous and thinking of every possible scenario that could go wrong. I had watched too many movies on Lifetime where women did things similar to this, even with men that they knew, and they ended up missing or dead. I took a deep breath and tightly closed the trench coat with the leather sash around it and turned around for Gia to make her final inspection.

  “Jesus, girl. You almost look better than I do in this thing,” she complimented me with a smile. I giggled and spun around. I had to admit that wearing the coat made me feel like some kind of sex goddess, probably because it was Gia’s coat. Gia held up a pair of white stiletto heels and a pair of white pumps. “Which ones?” she asked. I thought for a moment and grabbed the pumps. The heel on the stiletto looked a little too thin for walking on cracked sidewalks. The last thing I needed was to fall and expose myself somehow.

  My heart pounded against my ribcage when I heard a horn outside. Gia bounced off the bed and peeked out the window. “Your cab’s here. You have everything? Journal? Phone? Condoms?” she asked. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my purse.

  “Stay by your phone in case I send a smoke signal. I pray I don’t regret this,” I said and headed to the front door. Gia scoffed as she followed behind me.

  “The only thing you’re going to regret is not getting laid by that man tonight. Now stop complaining and go get some juicy material to write about. See you … whenever you’re done,” she grinned.

  I glared at her disapprovingly as I opened the front door, immediately tensing up when the cold, fall air whipped underneath the coat. I looked back warily and saw Gia standing in the doorway, hands on her hips.

  “If you get into the cab fast enough, perhaps you can avoid having a frostbitten vagina. What are you waiting for? Go!” she urged, waving her hands as if to shoo me along. I sighed deeply and moved over to the cab, carefully sliding into the backseat to prevent any revealing openings in the trench coat. “And don’t get any bodily fluids on my coat!” she yelled.

  I glanced back at her in horror. She looked as if she were so proud about what I was doing, but why couldn’t I feel the same way? I was scared out of my mind. I didn’t know what to expect from this night, or what to expect from Zane.

  “Where to?” the overweight, scruffy cab driver drawled. I looked at the text message containing Zane’s address.

  “Um … 150 Myrtle Avenue in Brooklyn, please,” I replied. As we pulled away from Gia’s block, I tried to relax. During the 20-minute ride, all I could think about was how Zane would react to what I was wearing. What if he just wanted to hang out or something? I didn’t think I could just step into his home, rip off my coat, and give him some kind of seductive “fuck me” look to start off our night. Although he was kind of bold by kissing me on our first date, I don’t think I could be bold enough to reveal myself to him. I didn’t know what I was going to do. It was obviously too late to turn back now. We were only a couple of blocks away from his place, so I had about 2 to 3 minutes to get myself together.

  My hands trembled nervously as we slowed to a stop in front of a tall building. “Here you are, miss,” the cab driver said. I quickly paid and gave him a $50 tip, which he was definitely happy about. He even jumped out of the cab and ran as quickly as his chubby legs would carry him to open the door for me. “You have a great night!” he said with a bow as I stepped out. I gave him a small smile and looked up at the building before me.

  The Toren building held many condos and was an interesting piece of architectural work. There was a ton of windows, and the parts that weren’t
glass looked like large Lego pieces. I’d passed this place a bunch of times whenever I had business in downtown Brooklyn and also thought it was either a business or a museum. I sighed as I gazed up. There was a man waiting for me behind one of those windows, and I wondered if he was looking down at me.

  A gust of chilly wind brought me back to my senses, causing me to hurry inside. The lobby was brightly lit and decorated with many vibrant colors to contrast with the white walls and floors. The room was empty, aside from a woman who sat behind the desk, eyeing my coat suspiciously. I gave her a small, nervous smile as I moved toward the elevator. I was becoming more and more self-conscious regarding my outfit. I would eventually have to take the coat off, and I was terrified of what Zane would think. He obviously wasn’t like Julius, but I wasn’t too sure how he would feel if a woman showed up at his home for the first time hardly wearing anything.

  When I reached his condo on the 10th floor, I hesitated a bit before knocking. I still had the chance to turn around and go back to Gia’s, but what would I tell her when I got there?

  She’d probably drive me all the way back here and watch me until I accomplished my task. I sighed and tried to gather my wits. “Here goes nothing,” I muttered to myself and tapped firmly on the door. My heart was racing in my chest as I waited for him to answer. It’s still not too late to leave, a little voice nagged. I shook the thoughts from my head as I heard the soft click of a lock and the door open.

  “What’s up?” he asked with a warm smile. I returned his smile as I wrapped my arms tightly around myself, feeling completely naked under his gaze. Even in sweat pants and a tank top, he was still incredibly sexy. The grey tank that he was sporting clung to him, perfectly molding every muscle in his chest. I blushed slightly at the thoughts forming in my mind. I definitely wouldn’t mind seeing this man naked tonight.

  “Sienna?” he called, waving his hand in front of my face. I blinked and giggled nervously.

  “Sorry. Hi,” I said. He stepped aside and let me in, closing the door behind us.

  “Can I get your coat for you?” he asked. I started to untie the sash around my waist and immediately stopped when I remembered what I was wearing.

  “Um, no, not right now,” I stammered, quickly closing the coat again. Eyeing me suspiciously, he shrugged and moved toward the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink? There’s wine, wine, and more wine,” he offered. I smiled and nodded, watching him walk away before turning my attention to my surroundings.

  His studio condo was definitely made for a bachelor. The wooden floors shined underneath the soft lights coming from the skylights in his ceiling. The black suede couches were decorated with a couple of red throw pillows, and a small red rug was underneath a glass coffee table. His entertainment center held a large flat-screen television, a PlayStation 4 with a stack of video game cases as well as family photos.

  “I’m guessing black and red are your favorite colors?” I asked, retrieving my wine glass from him when he returned to the living room. He looked around as he took a sip from his glass and nodded.

  “Something like that. I thought it was pretty manly. What do you think?” he asked, still eyeing my coat curiously. I took a drink from my glass and nodded approvingly.

  “I think it suits you perfectly,” I responded, moving past him to sit on the couch. He followed and sat next to me.

  “I almost thought I did something wrong,” he started, placing his glass on the coffee table. I picked at the loose threads on the end of the trench coat sash, finding it hard to make eye contact. I obviously couldn’t tell him that I had to entertain my suddenly clingy boyfriend for the past week. The thought of Julius sent a pang of guilt through me. The feeling was confusing because deep down inside, I knew that I didn’t want to be with Julius, but I didn’t want to hurt or embarrass him either.

  “Sorry. It’s just been a frustrating week,” I admitted with a sigh, taking a large gulp from my glass before setting it on the table next to Zane’s.

  “Want to talk about it?”

  “It’s nothing. I’m just frustrated because I still haven’t started this book.”

  “Is there anything that I can do to help?”

  “I don’t even know where to start,” I muttered, fishing through my purse to locate my notebook. Zane’s eyebrow rose in curiosity when he saw the cover of my journal.

  “That’s a rather, uh, interesting stamp,” he grinned. I ran my finger across it and smiled.

  “Yeah, it is. My literary … my mentor thought it would help bring out my inner sex kitten,” I chuckled, flipping through the journal to a blank page. Zane moved closer to me, his cologne clouding my senses with lust. I cleared my throat and tossed my hair over my shoulder.

  “So, um, I guess I’m having a hard time trying to figure out where to start,” I admitted. Before I could even react, Zane quickly swiped the journal from my hands and jumped to his feet.

  “Zane! That’s private!” I shrieked, trying to grab it from him. He held it over his head and continued flipping pages as I continued reaching for it.

  Tall bastard.

  I huffed and folded my arms across my chest as a smirk pulled at his lips.

  “I knew it,” he finally said. I rolled my eyes and tried to snatch my journal away, missing it by a few inches.

  “Knew what?”

  “Knew that you were staring at me the day we ended up running into each other,” he chuckled. Although he sounded amused, I was starting to feel like some kind of creep or the main character in an erotic version of Harriet the Spy.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said dismissively, flopping back down on the couch with a pout. There was no need to continue trying to take the journal from him. In order for him to be able to help me, he’d have to know everything that I was trying to do anyway. He pointed to the page that he was looking at in amusement.

  “You called me ‘guy across the street from Barnes and Noble.’ Plus, I was watching you for a full minute before you even realized that I was, and you became all flustered,” he said and laughed. I folded my arms across my chest and shook my head, feeling my cheeks burn from embarrassment. So, he did in fact see me. Maybe it wasn’t a coincidence of us bumping into each other then.

  “Well, I could have been writing about someone else,” I protested. He shook his head and turned back to the journal.

  “Nope, you describe what I was wearing that day and everything. Let’s see what else you have in here,” he said with a wink. I sighed dramatically. He paced back and forth in front of me with a smile plastered on his face as he continued flipping through the pages.

  My cheeks burned when I saw his eyes widen when he got to the page I had folded in half. He had just discovered the Fuck List. He glanced at me with a devilish grin and continued his pacing, flipping past a few more pages and reached the scene that I wrote. I watched on as he read, noticing his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Anxiety crept through me as I watched his reactions ranging from confusion to slight displeasure.

  “Is it that bad?” I finally asked. He raised an eyebrow and slowly brought his eyes to meet mine.

  “This scene is okay, but you write as if you’ve never seen a man who’s well-endowed,” he said, passing my journal back to me. I shrugged and leaned back into the suede couch cushions. Julius was the only guy that I’ve been with, so I only described what I knew. I thought that he was a pretty nice size, but it seems I hadn’t seen enough penises to properly describe one without offending a man who was apparently gifted.

  “I haven’t,” I admitted bitterly. My confession made me feel a little foolish. He silently stood before me for a few moments and suddenly moved toward the bookcase behind the couch I was sitting on.

  “I’ll be back. Try to write something decent in the meantime,” he said, disappearing behind the bookcase. I sighed and opened my notebook to a blank page. What was I supposed to be writing about, another sex scene? I opened the trench coat a bit. It was starti
ng to get a little warm in here, and I wasn’t necessarily ready to take the coat off yet. Thinking of the coat gave me the perfect idea of a scene to write. Just as I was about to start writing, Zane appeared before me again, only this time, he was naked.

  “Now,” he stated, a sly grin tugging at his lips. “Write what you see.”

  I swallowed the lump in my throat as I gazed at him. There was no way this man was real. It was as if an artist had taken a slab of marble and sculpted a beautiful statue. Every muscle that I had envisioned was now in front of me. My imagination definitely served this man justice. As my gaze traveled down, I could feel my jaw drop as my eyes took in his hardened rod. He chuckled at my reaction and put his hands on his hips.

  “Are you going to write or drown yourself in drool?” he joked. After opening and closing my mouth a few times like a fish out of water, I turned my eyes to my journal, feeling like an idiot. My hands were shaky as I tried to think of the words to describe the most perfect dick I’d ever seen in my life. I found myself glancing up at him every few seconds instead and after a while, he just laughed and took my journal away from me again.

  “You’re thinking too hard. Can you verbally tell me what you see?” he asked. I cleared my throat as I focused on him once again.

  “Um, well, you’re thick,” I started, immediately feeling silly. He nodded, encouraging me to continue. “And … long and hard. I can see … veins, and it looks as if … ” I hesitated. He tilted his head to the side.

  “As if what?”

  “As if you could break someone in half with that thing,” I admitted. In an attempt to not laugh, he snorted loudly before he finally burst into a hearty laugh, causing me to feel ridiculous. What was it about saying embarrassing things around him? The first time I met him, I admitted that he made me horny, and now I pretty much told him that I thought his penis could destroy me. I buried my face in my hands as he laughed. This was starting to feel like a bad idea. After a few moments, he finally calmed himself and bent down in front of me.

  “Hey, hey. I’m not laughing at you. Your shyness is cute, that’s all,” he coaxed, caressing my cheek gently. I gazed at him and gave him a small smile.