Two Player Games: (Corrupted 5-8)

by Klaire, Jamie

  I got a phone call from her the other day, completely out of the blue. Turns out I got her pregnant that night. She panicked when she found out, she didn't know if it was mine or his, so she tried harder to make it work with her husband and never told him about that night. I guess the relationship got better, and life went on. Only he recently died of some aggressive kind of cancer, and once he was gone, her curiosity got the better of her and she had a DNA test done. He wasn't the father, and she said I was the only time she had ever cheated."

  "Holy crap. That is big. That only happens on TV. Wait, are you sure it's yours? Maybe you weren't the only time she cheated. You're getting a DNA test too, right? Did she have a boy or a girl? How old is the kid now? What does she want from you? Money?" Questions were pouring out of me.

  "A boy. He's eight. His name is James. She kept calling him Jimmy. Yeah I'm getting a DNA test done, but she sent me pictures. He looks just like I did at that age, my guess is that he is mine. She said she doesn't want anything I don't want to give. She said they are fine on money, I guess the insurance paid well and he'd had investments. She said she just wanted me to know, that I could be involved as much or as little as I liked. It's still a shock, I'm not sure of anything really. I don't know what I'm going to do. Nothing until I'm sure though, until the test results come back. No point in anything until we are sure. So many thoughts and emotions constantly. I haven't told my parents yet. Or anyone actually. Except for you. This was what I was going to tell you that night. This is why I bailed when you told me your stuff.

  Everything I said about looking for simple, not complicated was true, but it was my life that had just gotten complicated. I wasn't sure if you wanted someone who may or may not have a son he didn't know about. I couldn't get away from your words. I'm not proud that I got a married fling pregnant, but it is what it is. I have a son, I'm almost certain. I'm not sure yet how this is going to affect my life, but I can't seem to feel ashamed of him either, and I haven't even met him yet.

  I've done a lot of thinking since I left here, and I keep coming full circle to one thing. You. I know it's not fair to ask anything of you. None of this is your concern, but we both have awkward and complicated pasts that have come back around. We don't get to choose simple over complicated. You have gotten under my skin, and I guess what I'm asking is if I can be around for your complicated. Will you hang around for my complicated? Can we be there for each other, and let the rest take care of itself?"

  Chapter 25

  Fork

  Roger hadn't stayed long, he had stopped by to see me on his way to work. He was scheduled to work his normal flights and said he would get back in touch when he got back in town.

  That left me with a lot of spare time on my hands to think about everything he had said. And to think about what in the hell that dream had been all about.

  Obviously I had feelings for both men. Caleb had just last night made it very clear he still had feelings for me as well, and with Roger's visit this morning, I had some decisions to make. Mainly, did I want to see where things with Roger could lead, or did I want to take advantage of being single to play a bit more with Caleb?

  My body was no help. Caleb had reminded me vividly of my physical attraction to him when he kissed me in that parking lot, when he'd tied me up in that club, and most recently in my dream activities last night. Caleb was hot. Caleb got my juices flowing just by being near. He had a way of short circuiting my brain and taking control of my body. Caleb was excitement, Caleb was a loss of control. Caleb was another heartbreak waiting to happen. Unless he wasn't.

  I knew Caleb had cared deeply about his ex. We had discussed her at length back after our first fight, before our very first trip to our first sex club. They had lived together, and when she left him he had kept all of her things exactly where they were for a long time, hoping she would come back. Near the end of our dating relationship he had told me that he cared for me more than he had ever cared for anyone else, her included. He told me he loved me, in the only way he was capable of loving me. But I knew if I chose Caleb I'd have to give up on any thoughts of marrying him and having children.

  It was possible Caleb would change his mind, that as we got older he would decide marrying wasn't the hell he thinks it would be. Of course there were many women before me who had ignored their partner's disregard for kids and had gotten 'accidentally' pregnant, to varying degrees of success. Maybe having a kid would show Caleb how wonderful having a family could be. Or maybe he would walk away from both of us, a child support check the only acknowledgement of our existence.

  The dishonesty of an accidental pregnancy did not sit well with me. That wasn't my style. I've always tried to believe people when they told me who they really are. Actions speak louder than words, and neither Caleb's words nor his actions make me think he could suddenly change his mind and want what I want.

  I had confronted this fork in the road once before, and chosen to walk away from a life with Caleb. The path I had chosen instead had led me to Roger. It was too early in the relationship with Roger to know if a future with him included a wedding and children. Roger was new and exciting. Roger had been a chance for me to have a normal relationship again, one without the drama and heartache of sex clubs.

  Life had thrown him a curveball, he had a son he just learned about. Instant parenthood thrust on you without the nine months one normally gets to become accustomed to the idea. I wasn't sure I was ready to date a man with a kid. Especially one he didn't know he had. What doors would that open up? If the DNA test proves he is the father, and he meets his son and sees Jimmy's mother in a new light, where would that leave us if they got back together. If Roger felt responsible enough to marry Jimmy's mom, then what? Or if they didn't get together, how do you help raise a son you didn't know existed. Can you still form a strong bond when you miss those first important years? Does the boy's mom want a lot of involvement or just a little? She said she wasn't looking for money. So what was she looking for from Roger?

  Add to all that the fact that we were still searching for Jessica. Whatever I chose I was still planning on helping Caleb find her. How would that work now that Roger knows everything?

  My head was spinning, and I wasn't any closer to making a decision. I tried to put all these swirling thoughts away and started to get ready for work. Sometimes the mindlessness of working really helped. Being alone in a car, driving for hours, knocking on doors allowed my brain to ponder things in the background. Sometimes a quiet car was where I did my best thinking.

  I got out of the shower to the sound of the phone ringing. I followed the sound, dripping water all over the house before I located where I had laid the phone in the confusion of my morning.

  I answered, breathless. "Hello?"

  A female voice purred into my ear, "We have a reservation for you next Saturday night at 10 pm at Submission. Tardiness in not accepted."

  "What? Who is this?"

  "You expressed an interest in a session with Mistress Jessica, did you not?"

  Hearing the name Mistress Jessica in my ear got my attention, even though the voice seemed to switch from a purr to an irritated school marm in a flash.

  "Yes, we did. You said 10 pm? What is Submission? A club? Where is it located?"

  She rattled off a website and said again "Tardiness is not accepted" before hanging up. I tried to stop her, saying "Wait, hello? Hello?" a few times into the dead receiver, and then called Caleb.

  Chapter 26

  Girls Night

  By the time Friday came around I was desperate to blow off some steam with my friends.

  Caleb and I had exhausted our thoughts on the phone call I received about showing up Saturday at Submission. We didn't find much out from the website she had given me, it looked to be an after-hours club with an S&M leaning. The main page was very discreet, it asked for the invited couple's first names to be entered, and we put fake names in to see what would happen. The fake names generated a "Thanks for the interest in
our club" response that went on to basically say 'Don't call us, we'll call you.'

  When we tried it again, entering our real names at the main page's prompt, it brought up a page that welcomed us. It reminded us we had an appointment Saturday, mentioned again in big, bold letters that tardiness was not accepted and listed the address of the club but no phone numbers. It listed three core rules as well:

  1. All activities are to be safe, sane and consensual.

  2. All playmates are to play sober.

  3. Don't scare the vanillas. What goes on inside is not to be discussed with anyone outside the club. General, coded discussions are allowed between members, but no one must ever talk about even the existence of the club with the Vanilla members of society.

  I'd had to look up what a vanilla member of society even was. It refers to those who prefer basic sex, with no extras. It included non-kinky sex- no tying up, no whips, no swinging, just your basic one on one lovemaking. Kinky then touches on fairly common practices like restraints, spanking, and anal, leading into more specific fetishes involving foods, fuzzy cartoon animals, diapers, obsessions with feet, and more. It seems there is a very large spectrum from which to choose to add to what turns a person on.

  The website mentioned a dress code that welcomed everything from latex to harem girls, and mentioned that more codes of conduct would be mentioned at our appointment. Caleb said he would ask around in the department to see if anyone had any helpful information, but we had determined between ourselves to keep doing what we had been doing- dressing the part and pursuing the rest with an open mind and an eye out for the best way to get Jessica alone. There was nothing left to do on my end other than to wait for Saturday and see what happens.

  On the Roger front I was still at a loss. We hadn't talked since he left my place after telling me about the boy who is probably his son. We had been texting though and had scheduled a date next week once he got back into town to talk.

  That meant tonight I was free, technically single and ready to party. I met up with my two favorite girls inside my club, and in the usual drunk fashion we found ourselves at a back table in a heated discussion about which Star Wars character was sexiest. Did I mention the part about us being drunk?

  Maria, my married friend of Caleb's, was singing the praises of Luke Skywalker. She thought his easy-going but responsible nature and general likability made him sexy. Kate, the girlfriend we had initially gone to the swing clubs with was passionately pushing Han Solo's cocky, cynical, tough-guy attitude as way sexier. She liked the bad-guy loner aspects of him, along with the basic statement that Harrison Ford was just hot.

  After a few back and forth jabs at each other's choices they turned to me for the tie breaker. "Sorry guys, neither one. I mean if I had to choose between just those two I'd go with Han Solo, but you will never guess who got my attention in those movies. Not in a million years."

  That started them up all over again, wild guesses flying one after another, each funnier than the last. They finally gave up and I had to admit where my fantasies lay in that series. "It was the storm troopers I couldn't get enough of."

  Squeals of "What?" and "What in the hell is wrong with you?" were met with my embarrassed giggles. "I lived near a military base as a teenager. Watching all these buzz-cut cuties running everywhere in tight formations chanting their cadences was awesome. Young, testosterone-filled, fit, sculpted, macho guys all over town, wearing their camo training outfits? Oh yeah. Plus I have a thing for men in uniform anyway. Watching them practice with their rifles all lined up like a military man buffet. Then movies like 'A Few Good Men' didn't help. Yep, that's my style. So when the storm troopers were running or walking all together, being all gruff and tuff and similar, I admit it, I was smitten."

  I endured a few rounds of harassment after that, then that lead to teasing about both Caleb and Roger. Both Kate and Maria knew Roger and I were having issues, I'd told them about his possible kid earlier in the evening, and of course both knew Caleb pretty well.

  Maria said she really hoped Roger and I could make it work. She compared Caleb to Han Solo, mentioning that even though I was the only woman she had ever seen come close to taming Caleb, he was a loner bad-boy type who would probably never settle down.

  I watched Caleb from afar as she spoke about him. He sat at another table, looking to be the life of the party over there, as usual. He threw his head back in laughter at something someone said, and I felt the familiar flash of erotic longing somewhere in my groin watching Caleb be Caleb.

  Maria went on to say that Roger seemed more like her favorite, Luke Skywalker- a quiet, unassuming hero who had everyone's best interest at heart, not just his own. "I can see you settling down with Roger. I think he would be good for you. Plus as ex-military and current airline pilot, you still have the uniformed military man you seem to like so much."

  As she voiced her opinion her husband Mark came looking for her, asking her to dance. She let him lead her away with a smile saying, "It's the stable, loving one who has my vote. It has worked well for me in Mark."

  I smiled and nodded at her, taking her advice to heart. She did seem very happy married to Mark.

  Kate smiled at me, sipping her drink. "What? You don't agree?" I asked her, finding an odd amusement in her shining eyes.

  Kate shook her head, saying "I'm partial to Caleb, but I'm partial to Han Solo as well. I think you guys are right for each other. I think over time you will get bored with Roger. Problems aside, I think you and Caleb balance each other out. Caleb brings out a wildness to you, and it suites you. I think you are good for Caleb as well. You do tame him a bit. As much as he says he won't settle down, he would with you. You understand each other. I think you would keep him grounded and he would keep you wild and on your toes."

  I nodded at her as well, just as torn and confused as ever. "I wish I could magically combine them into one man." I told Kate, thinking out loud.

  "Caleb's fire with Roger's loyalty. Caleb's fucking with Roger's lovemaking. Caleb's adventure with Roger's security."

  "What are you going to do?" Kate seemed genuinely concerned about me.

  "Play it by ear, I guess. I'll see how tomorrow night goes with Caleb at Submission." I had asked her what she knew about the club earlier, but she hadn't been very helpful. "Just vague whispers," is all Kate had heard.

  "Enough with all this talk." I pulled Kate out onto the dance floor to accomplish the mission I had set out on this evening, planning on forgetting about both guys for a few hours, and partying with the girls.

  Chapter 27

  Uncomfortable Truths

  There were no surprise kisses against the truck this time when Caleb and I arrived at Submission, although I was so nervous I probably could have used the distraction.

  We climbed out of Caleb's truck and glanced around. The address was a high-rise building downtown that looked to house offices in the daylight hours. We had been directed by the website to go to a small glass elevator next to the service elevator around back and hit the 'up' button.

  I laughed when we found the elevator, there were only two buttons inside- a button with an arrow pointing up, and one with an arrow pointing down.

  "I guess that simplifies things." Caleb grinned, pressing the up arrow.

  I looked Caleb over as the elevator began to rise. He looked hot in black leather, painted-on pants, his spotless white button-down shirt unbuttoned almost all the way. My gaze lingered on the deeply tanned expanse of chest showing in the V created by his open shirt.

  He caught me looking and mistook my appreciation for something else.

  "This is what Frank said to wear." Caleb said with a defensive tone, shifting uncomfortably in the leather. Frank was one of the police officers Caleb had started on the force with as rookies.

  "I didn't say anything." I grinned up at him, enjoying the fact that he seemed to feel out of place.

  "I don't do leather."

  "Actually, you do leather very well." I teased, tryin
g to lighten the mood by leering.

  "Oh no, if anyone is going to be leered at tonight, it is you in that outfit. You're channeling the best Princess Leia I've ever seen." Caleb said, teasing me back.

  I was quite proud of my outfit, especially for finding it on such short notice. I wasn't sure what to expect here, but I knew I wasn't ready for latex and rubber. So when Harem Girl was mentioned on the club's website, and after my Star Wars conversation with the girls, I ran with it. I had managed to put together a harem slave outfit from pieces I had found at a theatre production's costume house that sold to the public. The place was a well-known costume shop for Halloween outfits and local college and community playhouses. Caleb was right, my bikini-based slave outfit with fabric draping in all the right places was very similar to the famous Princess Leia's iconic outfit. I caught a glimpse of my reflection in the elevator as we rose and preened. I must admit, nervousness aside for a minute, I did look fabulous.

  My gaze passed through my own reflection and focused instead on the view of the city through the glass walls of our elevator. We had been rising for a while and showed no signs of slowing. The city lights glowed all around us, the lower storied buildings started to fall away as we rose above them. The elevator finally came to a stop at the rooftop level, and the doors swooshed open.

  We exited into a small alcove facing a solid black, beautifully ornate door, with a recessed button in the middle of what looked to be an onyx rose on the corset of an elegant, well-endowed figure carved into the door.

  "Beautiful." I murmured, appreciating the amazing craftsmanship. A square in the door swung open and a face reminding me of Angelina Jolie gone Goth peered out at us. Before we could announce ourselves, the square shut again, leaving no obvious cracks in the door's surface.