Explicit Detail

by Scarlett Finn

  ‘This is Lisa,’ Whyte said to Flick, bringing them into the group and keeping his hand flat on the small of her back. ‘She is—‘

  ‘Joey’s girlfriend,’ Flick said, broadening her smile.

  ‘You know Joey?’ Whyte asked, and the question increased Joey’s swagger.

  ‘We met last night,’ Joey said. He winked at her, and because he was right next to Rushe Flick hoped her love had missed the gesture.

  ‘You remember Joey’s father, Joseph Galante?’ Whyte asked, gesturing to the man on the other side of Lisa, who now stood between father and son.

  Whoever the woman beside Galante was, she wasn’t introduced. But when Davis came back to the group he handed the third woman a drink and took his place next to her.

  ‘That’s Davis’ wife, Eleanor.’

  ‘It’s very nice to meet you,’ she said to the married couple, while wondering if Eleanor knew how much of a sleaze her husband could be.

  The awkward introductions were over, and Flick looked around the group. Joey was leering and Lisa was sulking, but Galante couldn’t have been less interested in any of them.

  ‘This guy is new, we don’t know much about him yet,’ Whyte said, and it took Flick a few seconds to understand that her date was introducing her to her lover.

  The fact that Whyte hadn’t noted the few seconds she and Rushe spent alone in his suite on the night of their first date only further highlighted to her how narcissistic Whyte was. It was quite a feat not to notice a man like Rushe when he entered the room.

  ‘Oh.’

  ‘No woman on his arm tonight,’ Whyte said. ‘We’re still figuring him out. This is Rushe.’

  ‘Rushe,’ she exhaled.

  All of this time that she had spent trying to break down barriers between them evaporated. She still had to sledgehammer down walls over the simplest thing, like holding his hand or going out to a movie. Flick knew next to nothing about Rushe’s past, but she wriggled closer every chance she got. Now, standing here in front of him, Rushe’s cold, detached eyes dragged over her body as if they were strangers.

  ‘Doesn’t she have the most incredible voice?’ Whyte said.

  Rushe’s eyes settled on her breasts for a few seconds, and then he lifted his vodka to his mouth and sipped. Flick had never seen him drink vodka. But this wasn’t the man she shared a home with. This man had never seen her before in his life, and while Flick knew it was part of the game, part of the process, she hated it.

  ‘Where did you come up with this one?’ Eleanor asked Whyte.

  ‘They met in the Lounge,’ Davis answered his wife.

  ‘Oh,’ Eleanor said, and cast an eye over her, then over Lisa. ‘That place is turning into—‘

  ‘Eleanor,’ Davis warned, and ever the dutiful wife she stopped talking.

  ‘I’ll get you a drink,’ Whyte whispered, and left Flick’s side.

  Lisa hissed at Joey, who then turned his back on the group to retort. Flick let herself look at Rushe again, but her legs were his focus. She recalled the many times he’d looked at her body, she thought about the things he’d done to it, and the things she had done to his.

  Rushe glanced up toward the bar. Flick noticed the scratch on his neck, and a smile sloped to her face. She’d made that mark, there in their living room, on that floor, when he came inside her, filling her with his come as she screamed out his name in her own release.

  ‘Here.’

  Flick had to regain her senses quickly, because Whyte arrived back at her side and handed her a glass. With a sniff, she identified the liquid as vodka.

  ‘Excuse us,’ Galante said, grabbing his son and Lisa to drag them away.

  Flick hadn’t been aware of the couple arguing with Galante – or maybe they hadn’t been, and the father was disciplining the children. However, that would take some gumption and imagination on Galante’s part, because apparently he was sleeping with Lisa too.

  Sex was on the menu here, with anyone of the opposite sex, and loyalty seemed to be nothing. Flick thought about Rosa too, and about what the hostess thought of Galante bringing a date to this event. She had to know about Galante’s affair with his own son’s girlfriend as well. Rosa must have on some heavy-duty blinkers to be able to see the best in a man like that, especially after all these years.

  ‘Have you seen the Hart exhibition?’ Davis asked Whyte. ‘She has pieces in the auction at the end of the month.’

  ‘No, do you have the catalogue?’ Whyte asked.

  ‘Yes,’ Davis said, guiding his wife away.

  Whyte followed on, with Galante’s date not too far behind. The other three were arguing in a darkened corner, a curtain blocking her view of them.

  Flick didn’t immediately follow Whyte, but she turned to observe them all move into a long thin part of the room that she hadn’t seen initially. The room was actually L-shaped.

  With a sigh, she brought her glass to her mouth. Just as it met her lip it was gone – Rushe took the glass so quickly she hadn’t seen it go.

  Then there was another glass in her hands, his glass. Rushe didn’t pause. He tossed her drink into a plant on the bar, then shoved the glass aside before he strode off after Davis and Whyte. Whatever was in it, or he suspected was in it, wasn’t there anymore.

  On bringing Rushe’s glass to her lip, she sipped, and then squinted. It wasn’t vodka at all; it was water.

  Chapter Thirteen

  After Galante and son had re-joined the group with Lisa, Galante dismissed his date and the men poured over the auction items. They discussed what they believed each was worth¸ and whom they thought would be interested in purchasing certain individual lots. Then there was a brief discussion and a phone call was made.

  ‘This is when the pissing contest starts,’ Eleanor said, coming up beside Flick, who was still sipping the water Rushe had given her.

  ‘Sorry?’ Flick asked.

  ‘Poker,’ Lisa said, joining them. ‘They get a dealer in, and they set up the table. They say it’s all in good fun, but...’

  ‘But they’re all good friends, aren’t they?’ Flick asked.

  Lisa scoffed. ‘Is there a single man in here who can stomach the others?’

  Eleanor took a knowing but resigned breath. ‘I don’t know why they bother. They do this frequently, and none of them feel any better at the end of it.’

  ‘I don’t know,’ Lisa said. The women watched the men seat themselves at the table that the dealer was prepping. Flick noted there were no extra chairs, so the women weren’t allowed to play. ‘Rushe is new.’

  ‘Yes, and they’ll all feel so much better if the new man wins and embarrasses them all... We should just get a ruler out and have them line their penises up on the table, and we could be done with this for good.’

  Lisa laughed, and Flick wondered how many drinks Eleanor had consumed. ‘I’m game if you are,’ Lisa said. ‘I’d be very interested to know how Rushe would measure up.’

  Flick was thankful she hadn’t been drinking or she might have choked. ‘Should I phone for a cab?’ Flick asked.

  ‘Don’t let Lisa distress you,’ Eleanor said, directing Flick to a table nearby, and Lisa joined them. ‘She’s young and preoccupied with sex. Though, forgive me, you must be around her age.’

  ‘Am I?’ Flick said, proud of herself for acting the innocent. ‘I’m twenty-seven.’

  ‘Oh well, you’re nowhere close,’ Eleanor said. ‘Lisa is twenty-one.’

  Lisa took a drink, and Eleanor drew her eyes toward the men’s table. No one was fooling anyone here, but no one spoke the truth aloud.

  ‘How long have you been married?’ Flick asked Eleanor.

  ‘Fifteen years,’ she said. ‘I was young and idealistic.’

  ‘Is that a reason or a regret?’ Flick asked with a smile.

  Eleanor’s eyes left the poker table to smile back. ‘Maybe both.’

  ‘Davis is great,’ Lisa said. ‘He always gets you a drink; Joey never gets me a drink.’


  Young was right, Flick thought, then again her own boyfriend hadn’t got her a drink either, more thrust one into her hands in replacement for the sustenance offered by another predator.

  It would probably be quicker and easier just to have him piss on her in the shower... not that they would be sharing a shower any time soon. Flick examined Lisa, sitting tall and alert at the table, eager for something to happen. Yes, she was the type out looking for adventure.

  ‘Do you have any family, Lisa?’ Flick asked. From how the blonde’s attention snapped down, Flick wondered if the question was too heavy handed.

  ‘What does that matter?’

  ‘It doesn’t,’ Flick said. ‘Eleanor has Davis, so I wondered if...’

  ‘Wedding bells are not in their future,’ Eleanor said.

  ‘I wouldn’t marry Joey if you paid me to,’ Lisa said, but as soon as she uttered the words, Flick saw her consider them. It would be unlikely that they would marry because she’d been intimate with the father of the groom, how would they explain that one to the kids.

  ‘You’re young,’ Flick said. ‘It’s ok to have some fun.’

  ‘Some,’ Eleanor said, with a note of displeasure.

  ‘Joey and I have a lot of fun, and the sex is great, like really, really great.’

  ‘That’s... good,’ Flick said, mentally reminding herself that she was a virgin. ‘I hope you weren’t too worried about him last night.’

  ‘I guessed he was in the Lounge,’ Lisa said. ‘He was so crazy mad that he would miss it tonight. I mean big deal, we’ll just go later.’

  ‘He said he frequented the Lounge on a Monday,’ Flick said. ‘He said it was special; he’s going to try and change my shift for me.’

  Both women moved with equal recognition of something Flick had said, yet she missed why it was significant.

  ‘He said what to you?’ Lisa said, a woman on a ramp up to indignation and anger.

  ‘I asked Rosa and she said no, but—‘

  ‘Rosa runs that ship,’ Eleanor said. ‘Joey won’t get her to move.’

  ‘Rosa is a shrew. Who knows what my brother ever saw in her,’ Lisa said to Eleanor, then slapped her hand down on the table. ‘What the hell is Joey doing saying that to her for?’

  Being spoken about as if she weren’t there was disconcerting for Flick, but Lisa’s mention of her brother made Flick pause. Michael hadn’t said anything about being acquainted with Rosa. Thankfully, Eleanor seemed interested in quieting the youngster.

  ‘Not now, Lisa.’

  ‘Why not?’ Lisa snapped. ‘We all tiptoe around, but if my boyfriend is propositioning another woman—‘

  ‘Joey propositions every woman,’ Eleanor said. ‘And you encourage it.’

  ‘Uh, she’s here,’ Lisa said, pointing over the table at Flick without looking at her. ‘It’s different in the Lounge, but here it’s... that shit’s not allowed.’

  Lisa shoved away from the table and started across the room toward the poker table, where heads were beginning to turn. ‘Oh my goodness,’ Eleanor sighed out.

  ‘Do you want to have sex with her!’ Lisa hollered at Joey, before she’d actually reached the table.

  ‘God, bitch,’ Joey said. ‘Sit on your fucking ass and shut up!’

  ‘No!’ Lisa said, stopping at the head of the table with her hands on her hips. ‘I want to know if you paid for sex last night, did you? Is that where you were? Did you fuck her?’

  Flick tried to convince herself that Lisa wasn’t talking about her, but Lisa clarified any misunderstanding.

  ‘Flick!’ Lisa shouted. ‘Come over here; tell me what the fuck you two did last night.’

  ‘Oh my goodness,’ Flick breathed out, in much the same way Eleanor had not long before her.

  Eleanor patted her hand, but that did nothing to alleviate the embarrassment. The woman actually made things worse when she picked up Flick’s hand, then took both of them up to their feet. The last thing that Flick wanted to do right now was to get up, or face this audacity but Eleanor was taking her across the room.

  ‘Son, you must control your—’ Galante started.

  ‘This has nothing to do with you,’ Lisa snapped at him. ‘Joey, I want to know if you fucked her. Why won’t you answer me? Did you? Did you fuck her?’

  ‘Yeah, I did,’ Joey said, kicking his own chair out of the way when he leapt to his feet.

  All of the heads around the table came up, including Rushe’s, and usually nothing affected him.

  ‘No, you didn’t,’ Flick said.

  ‘Sure you did,’ Lisa said, glaring at her and then at Joey. ‘You think you’re going to be clever, to talk your way out of this? I don’t think so, Joe. I’ve had enough.’

  ‘You know where the door is,’ Davis said; no one acknowledged him.

  ‘Lisa, you need to calm down,’ Whyte said, on leaving the poker table.

  ‘I don’t need to do anything,’ Lisa said. ‘I’m not one of your little bitches anymore. She’s fucked you, she’s fucked Joey, how many guys you fucking, Flick?’

  ‘I didn’t—‘

  ‘Hmm? Have you fucked them all? Fucked your way around the table? Bet Eleanor would like to know that, you fucked Davis too?’

  ‘I’ve not had sex with anyone here,’ Flick said, briefly forgetting that Rushe was present.

  They hadn’t declared their relationship, so this lie was necessary, but that didn’t stop Flick’s eyes from pinging to meet his. But the guy at the table wasn’t her Rushe, he was a guy watching the drama unfold from his unscrutinised position.

  A part of Flick was awed by his ability to hold himself away from everything. Somewhere inside Rushe was a button, and once he pressed it, everything went off.

  In their time together, he’d convinced her of many things by putting on that mask. When he was that person, he was cold and cruel, and completely unaffected. Though the experience of their imprisonment had been traumatising, Flick was glad that they had been together. If they hadn’t been through that, then Rushe might never have confessed the depth of his feelings for her.

  ‘I don’t believe her,’ Lisa said. ‘Do you guys want to raise your hands?’

  ‘What the fuck do you care about them?’ Joey asked. ‘Who cares if she’s fucked every guy at the table, she’d only be a couple ahead of you, wouldn’t she?’

  ‘This is inappropriate,’ Whyte said.

  ‘He knows the rules,’ Lisa shouted. ‘You want to fuck another woman, you bring her to our bed, our bed, not you on your own in some shitty restroom, is that what you did? Is it? Where did you take her?’

  ‘I didn’t take her anywhere, you crazy bitch,’ Joey said. ‘You make up this shit in your head.’

  Joey picked up his chair and sat back at the table, but the game was long forgotten. ‘You trying to tell me you didn’t fuck her?’ Lisa asked.

  ‘No! I didn’t fuck her!’ Joey said, tossing his cards away. ‘Fuck this, I’m going downstairs.’

  ‘No, you’re not,’ Lisa said, galloping after Joey when he tried to make a break for it. ‘You’re not going down there, not tonight, not alone!’

  The shouting followed the couple out of the room until the door closed with a concluding click. No one said anything. The room remained silent. So silent that Flick could hear the tick of someone’s watch.

  She was afraid to move. The whole dynamic had changed, and Flick was glad that she hadn’t tried to gain Lisa’s trust, she was a woman unhinged. Though if Joey messed with her head, it wasn’t all Lisa’s fault.

  Then again, she had slept with her boyfriend’s father. Oh, and they apparently had threesomes too. The sex had to be interesting, if nothing else. Flick just hoped the threesomes and father thing didn’t overlap.

  ‘I’m going to go home,’ Flick said, and headed straight for the door.

  Enough time had passed to ensure that Lisa and Joey would have cleared the corridor. Flick was confident that she could find her own way out. The trauma of the drama remained
clenched around her heart, and Flick was ashamed of her foolish desire to go to Rushe.

  She felt compelled to go to him. Flick wanted to curl in his lap, just like she did at home when he watched sports, or late night movies, and she would curl up in his lap to sleep while he fondled whichever part of her body he fancied.

  But tonight he wouldn’t be at home, because he was in the room she had just fled. Rushe was her rock and her salvation. If anything ever went wrong in her life, he would be the one to fix it. Flick didn’t know how to do the job. Rushe had been right all along. She had run into this without checking the road was clear. Rushe knew the obstacles, and he’d tried to warn her but Flick had believed she could help, believed she knew best.

  ‘Flick!’

  At the sound of her name on masculine lips, Flick tried to speed up. She got through the door with the security guard and onto the casino floor. But the noise was disorienting, and Flick looked one way then the other. It all looked the same, and she didn’t know which way was out. None of the walls had a sign to indicate where she would find the exit.

  Striding out into the swell of money and machine, Flick wanted to get out, she wanted to be free, she didn’t want to be a part of this anymore. She just wanted to go home and read a book, or to sit at her computer, or make love with the man she adored.

  ‘Flick.’

  Again her name was on those lips, and this time it was closer, close enough that when her arm was grasped and she was whirled around, she knew to expect Whyte. Rushe had watched her embarrassed and upset, and he’d let her go without a word or action. Flick had to concede that Rushe had seen the truth of this. She had been hurt, just like he told her she would be.

  How he did it, Flick would never know. She had been interested in learning how to fight, how to defend herself, but she hadn’t been able to comprehend the emotional detachment it took. Rushe had prepared himself mentally for years, he had the practise behind him, and she didn’t.

  Flick couldn’t imagine seeing Rushe hurt and being able to walk away from him, or to watch him walk away, but Rushe did it to her tonight. He did it in their living room both times that he left her. Flick had to be stronger, she had to accept that this was the job, and she needed to get better at it.