Caged

by Shanna Ehrlich

  “I just feel bad. You didn’t need to sit back here with me. I knew what I was getting into when I used a buddy pass. If you were up in first class with Sara and Mandy you’d already have a drink.”

  “Well I wasn’t going to let you sit by yourself.”

  If it were any one of her other friends she would have done the same thing, not because she wanted to, but because she’d look bad if she didn’t. With Trevor, at least she wanted to. He had his own unique qualities just like her, his moral compass often wavering in the eyes of society. The only difference was he embraced his ideologies while she shied away from hers. In theory, she was the one in the closet.

  The flight attendant came by minutes later and Trevor and Annie both ordered two vodka diets and a set of ear phones to watch the inflight movies. Annie paid. She was happy to do so.

  The movies helped kill time during the long flight, but Annie often found herself barely paying attention. She was too excited for their vacation. Not only had she been looking forward to it for months, but it’s what she desperately needed. Things were getting too hard, too confusing. She felt herself having thoughts, the bad kind she used to have before she spent years pushing them away. She didn’t want to break again, do something stupid she would regret. She wanted her perfect life, the one she had finally put together for herself. This trip would help her get back to reality. She’d spend the next week letting off steam and would go back home reformed, the same person, but with a new resolve for what mattered. At least that was the plan.

  Four hours and fifty-two minutes later their plane finally landed and they stumbled off joking and laughing. Catching a cab to their hotel with a driver who didn’t care to stop for red lights or pedestrians, they quickly arrived in front of the extraordinarily tall, brown building known as The Carlyle, and their home away from home for the next six days. Sara, one of the friends they were traveling with, insisted they stay in the most iconic hotel in New York, so they all decided to splurge and split two rooms; Trevor and Annie in one, and Sara and Mandy in the other. At close to seven hundred a night per room, it would easily be the most expensive part of the whole trip.

  Making their way up to the two conjoined rooms they laughed when they saw each room had only two full-size beds. So much money per night and they couldn’t even get two queen-size beds, but it didn’t matter, they were having fun this week and barely planned on sleeping.

  Trevor and Annie took turns showering and got ready for their first night out in the Big Apple, their outfits mirroring their personalities to a tee. Trevor, dressed in slacks and a tight shirt displaying his abs for days, whistled loud when Annie spun for him in a backless dress stopping just short of her plump rear end.

  “Damn girl! Looking good.”

  “Thank you. You’re not so bad yourself.” They stood in front of the floor length mirror checking themselves out and Annie looped an arm around his. “Look how hot we’d be together. It’s a shame.”

  “A damn shame.”

  A damn shame was a mantra they said to each other often, ever since they were teenagers and Annie tried to sneak in a kiss, not realizing Trevor played for the other team. Embarrassed of his rejection she ran away and it took him a week to get her to talk to him again. Once they finally made up, Trevor told her it was a shame he wasn’t interested in her like that because she would have been perfect for him. Annie replied by smiling and saying A damn shame. After that they were inseparable. Best friends. And not a week went by where one of them didn’t bring up what a shame it was they weren’t actually together.

  Trevor un-looped their arms and ran a hand through her hair, pulling up some of the strands. “You should wear your hair up tonight. It works better with the backless thing you have going on. Shows you off more.”

  Annie considered it and pulled up the rest of her hair, twisting it into a messy bun on top of her head. Huh. He was right. When it came to fashion Trevor was always right.

  Searching for Bobby Pins in her make-up bag, Annie worked on her updo while noticing Trevor in her peripherals perfecting his short, wavy, brown hair. She smiled and shook her head. He couldn’t look any better than he already did. Asshole.

  After finishing the final touches, they headed next door. Sara answered wearing a red dress so short you could almost see her vagina and more makeup than a model on a photoshoot.

  “Hey slut,” said Trevor, not waiting for an invite before walking in.

  The slut comment didn’t bother Sara. He called her that all the time, just friendly teasing, but tonight she almost considered it a compliment. Slut was the exact look she was going for.

  Trevor parked himself on one of the beds and Annie sat down beside him. “Where’s the other one? Mandy!” he called out. “Get your sexy ass out of the bathroom. I want to see the dress you were telling me about.”

  Mandy peeked her head out the bathroom door, pulling down the hem of her dress while staggering toward them in black pumps. “You don’t think it’s too short?”

  Both Trevor and Annie stood from the bed in shock. With long lace sleeves, a lace back and ending mid-thigh, the black dress was perfect.

  “Babe, it’s not too short. You look beautiful.”

  Trevor walked over to kiss her cheek and Annie nodded her head agreeing. She really did look beautiful. Not like she wasn’t always pretty, but after two kids, sometimes getting dressed up and going out becomes less of a priority. It was years since they all had a night out together. Annie almost forgot how pretty Mandy could be.

  This was the first time any of them had been to New York and the excitement was palpable. Once Mandy and Sara were finished with the final touches, they gathered in the entry way to take selfies of themselves like all normal young people, and then made their way down to the hotel’s Bemelmans Bar for some dinner and pre-gaming.

  At ten past eight the bar was rather empty and they had their pick of seating, choosing one of the half booth, half chair tables. A waitress in a maroon dress promptly came over to take their order of appetizers and a round of beers. They would normally go straight for shots, but they wanted to take it slow on the drinking since it would inevitably be an all-nighter.

  The drinks arrived, then their food and then another round of drinks. Before they knew it, it was nearing ten and the bar was packed. A jazz band played in the corner and people streamed in to watch, albeit old people. Not a single person besides themselves, and maybe the waitress, were under the age of forty, and they were all dressed to perfection, looking for an entirely different night than the girls and Trevor were hoping for.

  “This bar’s lame!” exclaimed Sara. “There isn’t one cute person in here. Where are we going next?”

  “I vote Stage 48,” Mandy chimed in. “It’s not that far from here and I heard the music is awesome.”

  “I’m down,” said Trevor.

  “Me too,” Annie agreed. “Any place is better than here. I need eye candy people!”

  Clapping her hands together she looked toward the door, mostly as reflex for wanting to leave, and if on cue, the most handsome man she ever saw walked in. Just like every cliché movie, time moved in slow motion. She couldn’t take her eyes off him. He strode through the place with a carefree expression, but the rest of his body said different: muscular, bulging arms stiff at his sides, dark hair hanging to his shoulders, and a white dress shirt fitting flawless. The neck button was undone and the sleeves were pushed to his elbows, displaying a plethora of tattoos on his forearms. Annie found herself wondering how far up those tattoos went.

  As if he sensed her stare, his face turned in her direction, effectively ignoring the middle-aged balding man he walked in with. Annie swallowed. Under normal circumstances, when you’re caught staring you instinctually look away. She didn’t. Couldn’t. It was impossible. He was just too sexy, and the way his eyes held hers with a demanding authority, she didn’t want to look away. She wanted to go to him. Felt the pull. Like he had hooked her on a fishing line and was reeling her in. S
he had no choice. Her heart sped at a frantic beat, her palms began to sweat. This man was dangerous, you could tell just by looking at him, but her body didn’t care. It wanted him. Needed him. The way he kept looking at her made it seem like he felt the same way. His expression now raw and serious, no glint of humor. He wasn’t teasing, wasn’t playing, it was a picture-perfect display of pure lust, and it was directed toward her.

  A faint commotion registered in the background, but her brain no longer had the resources to make sense of what it was. All that mattered was him. He sat at his table, looking down once at his chair and then back to her. She unconsciously edged over in the booth, needing to stand, needing to do something other than just look. He moved too, using the edge of the table to push back up, like he couldn’t bare to sit. The man with him said something and he looked away again, then gave an answer while looking back at her. She couldn’t make out what he said. It didn’t matter. Again he looked back toward the man, then back toward her. And with every look away, his resolve to go to her would fade. She could tell. He was standing, about to walk toward her, and then began lowering himself again. Annie could feel the moment dissipating, but she was still hanging on, wasn’t ready for it to end, and then all of a sudden, with no warning at all, her hand screamed in pain. “Ow! What the hell?!” she yelled at Sara who had just released her skin from a tight pinch.

  “Well well, we finally got you back,” she laughed. “Thought you became a vegetable the way you were just sitting there drooling all over yourself. I wanted to make sure you were okay before we decided to carry you back to the room.”

  “Shut up! I wasn’t that bad. I mean, did you guys see him? So fucking sexy! I take back everything I said earlier about there being no hot guys in here.” She risked a glance back at her man, but he was now deep in conversation.

  “Yes we saw, but you obviously already called dibs and I’m not sticking around here all night to hit on all the other UNattractive men,” Sara over pronounced to drive her point home.

  “Fine fine. He’s out of my league anyways. I’ll just have to make do with him starring in my fantasies for the next few weeks…” Annie looked up and closed her eyes pretending to be thinking about him and the rest of the group broke out in laughter.

  “Yeah, mine too,” Trevor added.

  Mandy, the prude of the group, nodded her head as well. “I think we should buy him a drink. He clearly earns the award for hottest guy in the bar.”

  Before they left for the trip, Annie bought a bachelorette party card game consisting of fun dares to spice up the night. Though this wasn’t a bachelorette party, they still thought it would be fun to play. One of the cards (worth 100 points) was to buy an attractive guy a drink. “You know what, you’re right,” said Annie as she pulled the cards out of her purse and searched through for the right one. Setting it aside she divided the rest into four separate stacks before handing them out. “Sorry guys, I’m cheating a little, but the drink card is mine, and mama’s about to earn her first hundred points.”

  Her three friends hooted over her comment and then simultaneously groaned as they looked through the dares they would have to complete by the end of the night.

  The waitress stopped by the table one last time to ask if they needed anything before dropping off their separate tabs. They each threw down their credit cards before she circled back to take them.

  “Why didn’t you add on the drink?” asked Sara. “Don’t tell me your chickening out.”

  “I’m not chickening out. Don’t worry. I just want to do it on our way out since we aren’t sticking around to chat. I don’t want it to be awkward or anything.”

  The waitress came back with the paid checks and distributed the black pocket folders to each of them.

  “Excuse me miss, can you bring me one of those small napkins at the bar please?”

  “Of course!” she told Annie in a cheery voice and scampered toward the bar before bringing the napkin back.

  “Thanks, and I actually have one more order, but I’ll just pay cash.”

  Annie handed the waitress twenty-five dollars and picked up the pen, sitting with the check awaiting her signature, to write out a short note. “I would like to buy a shot. A blowjob shot to be specific,” she smiled toward her friends. “And if you could please deliver it to the man sitting right over there.” She jerked a thumb toward her man’s table, trying not to be noticeable. “Just to be clear, it’s for the young, hot guy. Not the old one.”

  The waitress laughed, and nodded her head. “You got it! I know exactly who you’re talking about.”

  “And please make sure he gets this as well,” Annie handed her the napkin note and blushed as she read what was written.

  “You’re funny,” she chuckled again. “Do you know who he is? I mean, I’m sure he won’t mind, it’s just pretty bold. I like it.”

  Annie didn’t respond, though she was curious about the ‘do you know who he is comment’, but if she asked she feared she may lose her nerve, and instead kept her mouth shut, watching the waitress walk away toward the bar.

  The group timed their departure in an expert fashion. They wanted to leave right as he received the drink so they could see his expression, but not have to stick around any longer.

  As the waitress walked toward his table with her tray and single shot glass, they all stood to make their way out. Annie turned back toward him and he was looking directly at her, their connection still sizzling; the focus only breaking when the waitress stopped to deliver the shot. She handed him the napkin and pointed in Annie’s direction.

  Walking one foot behind the other she watched as he read the note. The alcohol consumption giving her a level of confidence she didn’t usually possess, and when he looked back up at her, she winked.

  Raising the shot in her direction he threw it back, right as they were out the door and on their way for what would end up being a fun-filled crazy night.

  Braxton looked back down at the napkin and smiled again. Wish I could have given this to you in person flowed in blue script.

  “Looks like you have an admirer,” said Benny, his right hand man.

  They normally met on Sundays, but Braxton had business to attend to the following night and had to push the meeting up a day. They always met at Bemelmans, a place he could easily blend into. There were so many well off men and women frequenting the bar no one batted an eye when he walked in. Except of course for tonight, not that he minded. When he walked in and saw her sitting in the booth he had the strangest urge to cancel the meeting, take her by the arm and drag her into the nearest bathroom, caveman style. Even now he was still thinking about it. She couldn’t have gotten too far. He could easily catch up with her, pull her away from her friends and make her follow through with what she had insinuated. His dick grew hard just thinking about it and he had to readjust himself. “Yes, looks like it,” he finally responded to Benny. “One of many,” he laughed and took a large sip of Scotch from the tulip shaped glass.

  Silence engulfed the table. Benny was never privy to Braxton’s personal life and it felt weird to jump right in where they left off, but he wasn’t apt to start talking about his sex life. “Back to business though. Where were we?” He paused to think. “Oh right, I need the deal to go down tomorrow. Vinnie’s boys are getting antsy and I don’t want them to figure out what we’re up to. The longer we wait to deliver, the more they’re going to think they are being iced out. Which they are, but obviously they don’t need to know that just yet.”

  “No problem. I’ll get a team together. You’ll receive confirmation through the chain as usual regarding the drop point.”

  Benny was all business and always a ‘yes’ man. He complied with Braxton’s orders and never once gave his opinion. Braxton didn’t need it, had other counsel for suggestions and appreciated how Benny just did what he was told. If he didn’t, he would have been gone a long time ago. Everyone had a place in the organization and Benny knew his. “And one other thing,” Braxton
continued. “I want you to call Roland, have him look into Cyrus and see what he knows. He’s been coming around the office lately and I have a feeling he’s up to something.”

  Cyrus was the lead attorney for the DA’s office and had been holding a grudge against Braxton for years. Constantly getting warrants to look into his accounts, questioning him on money transfers and the likes. For the longest time he had no idea what he did to piss the guy off, but after having Roland look into it he learned he had fucked his wife several years back. Whoops. Hasn’t done a married chick since. They’re great in bed, but not worth the trouble afterward.

  Benny and Braxton finished up quick and went on their separate ways. Exiting the hotel his ever-prompt driver, already waiting at the curb, came around to open the SUV door. Braxton silently sat down, sans courtesies. That’s the thing about being rich and over charged for services, you don’t feel like you need to say thank you all the time.

  Pulling the folded napkin out of his pocket he read the print once more, though he already knew exactly what it said. Maybe if he read it enough times an invisible phone number would suddenly appear and he would have someone to help relieve a bit of the stress he’d been harboring all week. No such luck though.

  Turning in his seat he looked out the window. They were almost back to his high rise, as it was only a five-minute drive from The Carlyle, when he spotted a long line of people waiting to get into one of the secret hotspots only the locals knew about. A red brick building that looked out of place in the Upper East Side, but somehow courted flocks of young millennials trying too hard to be cool while listening to punk rock bands scream their souls out on stage. But still, it had exactly what he needed. “Pull over and wait,” he ordered the driver. “I’ll be five minutes.”

  Braxton left the SUV on his own and walked up to the bouncer, handing him a couple hundred-dollar bills and was instantly granted access. He strolled into the dim room, scanning the faces of everyone he saw until he found her. He preferred women slim, with hips he could hang on to while railing them from behind, and while she didn’t fit that description, she had blonde hair cut like the girl from Bemelmans and would do for the night.