Masked Indulgence

by Michelle Love

  I needed to find a way to be closer to him, but also to have a life of my own. After a few minutes of thinking, I knew exactly what I was going to do.

  Arsen

  About three days had gone by and I hadn’t spoken to Lola. I knew that her schedule had been rather empty, but I was going to change that. I was going to do a little shopping and I wanted to take her along with me. I went to her bedroom and I knocked on the door.

  "Yes? I'm not exactly able to open the door, but who is it?" I heard her voice through the door.

  "It's Arsen. I'm coming in." I unlocked her door and went in. She was tucked under the blanket, reading a book. She looked so adorable. "I'm going to the mall and I want you to come with me"

  "Okay. Um, how should I dress?" she asked, lifting her head from the book and turning to look at me.

  "Just something simple and comfortable." I replied. "I'm leaving your door unlocked. Come get me from my room when you're ready"

  She nodded and got out of bed, walking into the closet. I quickly left, making sure to leave her door unlocked, and went back to my bedroom to change out of my sweats. I took a quick shower and threw on a t-shirt and jeans. I also decided to wear a pair of shades and a hat. Believe it or not, but people failed to realize who I was in that simple disguise.

  As I sprayed on cologne, I heard a knock on the bedroom door. When I answered it, it was Lola. She was wearing a nice flowy blouse with jeans and flats. I already knew that people were going to view me as some type of sugar daddy, although I look really great for my age. It was something about the ponytail and soft makeup that made Lola look younger than she actually was. Maybe it was because she wasn't wearing her signature bold red lipstick.

  But at that moment, I couldn’t care less what anyone had to say about us. All I knew was that I was having fun and spending time with a girl—no, woman—that I really liked. I knew we were going to get stares from various people, and I didn’t have a problem with that, but I did take those feelings into consideration. She was tough enough to handle it, but that didn’t mean that she was comfortable with it. This was going to be in the back of my mind the entire time we were out.

  "You ready to go?" I asked.

  "Born ready," she replied with a smile on her face and turned to walk down the hall. She could make the simplest things so cute and attractive. It was amazing.

  I decided to drive us to the mall myself, instead of getting a new driver, because I wanted this to feel more personal. I wanted to show her that I was putting thought into our outings and also show her that not everything was fancy and professional when it came to me. I opened the door for her and closed it after she got in. I smiled to myself and spun the keys around my finger while walking around to the driver's seat. Today was going to be a great day.

  While driving to the mall, we both sang along to the classical rock songs that played on the radio. It was cool to know that she was into the same music that I was, and that she actually knew about these older songs in the first place.

  We finally made it to the mall and I parked in a specific spot that was usually more convenient for me. It was a place off in the corner of the parking garage, which is right next to the elevator that led to the store that I liked the most. We both got out and got on the elevator going up to the second floor. As soon as the door opened, I led her straight across the mall to the store that I needed to go into. It was a menswear store.

  I needed something new to wear for the interview and I was sure that Lola could help me find something. My mother always told me that a woman's opinion could go a long way and I believed that since I was a child. And while all women may not be the best, the nicest, or the most intelligent, their opinions on different things can give you the answers that you need. That was why I went to Ms. Rose with a lot of the problems that I had. Not only was she trustworthy, but she'd been with me for so long and her knowledge and wisdom had gotten me through some of my toughest times.

  "Can you help me pick out a suit to wear to the interview?" I asked, looking over at Lola.

  "Sure." She smiled and walked further into the store. I walked behind her until she made a sudden stop. "Is there anything specific you're looking for?"

  "No, not at all."

  "Hmm." Index finger against her chin, she walked over toward a dark grey suit. "This would look amazing with a red tie."

  "You think so?" I asked, smirking and holding the suit up to my body.

  "I do," she stated bluntly. "It's a bit slenderer than what you usually wear and it will definitely make you stand out. You have the perfect body for it."

  "Well then I’m buying it." I smiled and took it to the cash register. Lola followed behind me with a silk red tie in hand.

  After paying for my things and leaving, I wanted to take Lola to get something that she wanted.

  "Do you see anything that you like around here? Better yet, what were you planning on wearing to the interview?" I asked.

  "I was thinking about wearing a nice dress with a blazer, a pair of heels, and a nice necklace and watch combination. Maybe even some rings." She looked really passionate about what she was planning to wear and I loved it.

  Any other time I’d taken someone out shopping, they had acted shy and claimed that they didn’t know what they wanted, that they didn’t know the type of clothing they were into, or that I should choose for them. It was kind of weird that girls would even act that way around me. I knew that I had a lot of money, but I'd always made women feel comfortable enough to be bold and straight up with me. Or at least I thought I had.

  "I think I might know the perfect store. My treat. Get whatever you want," I said, and she followed me around the mall. We finally made it to a women's wear store which was more modern, so I thought that would be perfect for her. I knew she wouldn't like to go shopping in a store for women much older than her.

  We walked inside and she didn't hesitate to go directly to whatever she wanted or whatever caught her eye. I liked that. I loved a woman who knew what she wanted. She picked up a few things and two blazers.

  "Follow me," she said as she walked to the dressing room. I followed her to the main area of the fitting rooms, where there were seats. I sat down and waited for her to come out and show me whatever she chose to try on first.

  She came out in a lilac-colored dress that was fitted at the top but flared out at the bottom. She had decided to put the white blazer over top of that.

  "What do you think about this?" she asked, spinning around the circle.

  "Personally, I think you look super adorable in it. That's not what we want. You're a grown woman and that needs to be shown in this interview." I spoke in complete honesty and she nodded in agreement.

  "I'm glad you said that because the next two options are just that." She went back inside of the dressing room to try on the second option.

  The next time she came out wearing a long-sleeved, knee-length, fitted dress that was black. She covered that with the same white blazer that she had tried on before. She lifted an eyebrow and waited for my response.

  "Now this ..." I paused. "This is beautiful, Lola. The only thing that I don't like about it is that it's a little bland. We need something that will really catch the interviewer's eye. It's going to be recorded and broadcasted on their website."

  She nodded again, but this time she didn't say anything in return. I waited a little longer this time. I scrolled through my phone, sending a few short texts, until I saw a pair of legs stand in front of me. I looked up at Lola in complete awe. She was wearing a red jumpsuit with a dark grey blazer. It was perfect, and I didn’t know if she did it on purpose, but it matched the outfit that she had picked out for me to wear.

  "This is the one." I nodded. "We're getting it."

  "I knew you'd like it. That's why I saved it for last." She giggled and left to go put her clothes back on.

  When she came back out, I helped her pick out the jewelry she said she was going to wear, and she picked out a nice pair of heels. I
paid for everything and we were on our way. I started going downstairs where there were more stores and the food court.

  "Where are we going next?" Lola trailed behind me like a lost puppy.

  "Well, you can't go to the interview without a new bag, can you?" Her eyes lit up and she smiled from ear to ear.

  "You really are the best, Arsen. Thank you so much." I felt her fingers slide between mine as we were walking side by side.

  The thing I mentioned earlier, about people staring at us, neither of us bothered to look, nor did we care to. We were both having a great time and we were cherishing that moment between us. I never knew if I would feel like this again. I never thought the pain of heartbreak that I had felt for the last seven or eight years would subside all in the name of a twenty-one-year-old. Quite the gap, but age shouldn't matter as long as it's legal.

  I swear, every time I was with the woman I fell harder for her. Her personality, her confidence, and her elegance inside and out. She was a woman of pure beauty, and I knew I had to have her. She was like a book that I couldn't put down.

  We made it into the store to get her a new bag and her eyes opened wide. I knew that there are a lot to choose from, so I whispered in her ear to get three different types of bags.

  “Thank you so much!" She stood on her toes to give me a kiss on the cheek. She wandered off around the store, looking at different bags that caught her eye, and I walked behind her slowly, just admiring her beauty and her excitement. I knew a lot of men had a problem shopping with a woman because they found it boring, but honestly, I found it relaxing.

  How could you not love watching your woman do something that made her happy? Even if it was not your thing or your hobbies, why be negative about it? A woman that you like or love is genuinely happy and you complain because it's not what you want to do? I couldn’t relate.

  I paid for the three bags she chose and we started to walk toward the food court.

  "Do you know what you want to eat?"

  "Chinese," she answered. "It's my favorite thing to get while I'm out shopping. What are you having?"

  "Chinese. It's your favorite, so I'll have what you have" I smiled and held my hand out for her to lead the way.

  She blushed and made her way over to the Chinese restaurant. It was one of those all-you-can-eat places, but cleaner and with better food because of the area of the city we were shopping in. I paid for our entry and got both our plates, looking around for what we were going to eat. I stuck with vegetable lo mein and spring rolls, while Lola got orange chicken and steamed rice with vegetables on the side.

  I didn’t eat Chinese food that often, but I had a craving for it that day because it looked so good. We went back to our seats and began eating. It was silent for a few minutes, just the sound of chewing between us, until Lola spoke up.

  "I have something to tell you," she said as she looked down at her plate, pushing a piece of chicken around with her fork.

  "What is it, love?" I put a forkful of lo mein into my mouth and began to chew it up.

  "I want to help you with the drug cartel." She dropped her fork onto the plate and looked up at me.

  "What?" I nearly choked on my food and hurried to swallow it. "What do you mean you want to help?"

  "I want to be a part of it. I want to help you. I know that this means a lot to you and that you're still working on trying to trust me again, but this could really help. If I'm a part of the cartel, telling someone could get me in trouble too." She smiled sneakily.

  "Uh, I don't know about that. This is a very dangerous business and I wouldn't want you getting hurt." I took a sip of my drink and sat up in my seat, looking at her. She had a point about her taking the fall as well if this secret were to ever get out.

  "I don't care, Arsen. I want to be a part of this and I want to help you. Even if I'm doing work behind the scenes and no one knows who I am. It'll be like anonymous work ...you know?" She took a few more bites of her food and waited for my response.

  "Are you sure about this, Lola?" I raised an eyebrow.

  "Yes! Now tell me what I have to do." She smirked and finished her plate of food.

  Lola

  I was glad to have finally been able to leave the house, to be able to get new things, to be treated like a princess, and to top it all off ...for my plan to work. Yes, my plan to be closer to Arsen and to not always be trapped inside of that room had begun. Working with a cartel had its pro's and con's, but the way my life was looking, I didn’t seem to have that much of an option.

  "Yes! Now tell me what I have to do." I smirked and finished my plate of food. Maybe my tasks within this cartel wouldn’t be that big of a deal.

  "We should go home first before we discuss this topic any further." Arsen spoke under his breath. He finished his meal and took a sip of his drink.

  I flashed a small smile to let him know that I understood. We grabbed our bags and left, getting on the same elevator that let us off right in front of Arsen's car. I didn't notice until we pulled out that the parking spot actually had the name "Lockhart" painted on it in big, yellow letters.

  I chuckled and rolled my window down. I felt the breeze push my ponytail toward the left, to where it hit Arsen's arm. I laughed at the overly-dramatic look of annoyance on his face and pulled my ponytail into a low bun. I tied an extra hair tie around it to keep it secure.

  There was silence between us, but it was a comfortable silence. The radio still played those classic rock songs and we were just cruising. I liked the fact that he wasn't in a rush to get home. It made me feel like he did in fact feel the same way I did, somewhat.

  This marked the start of some crazy adventure that I was about to get myself into. But who cared? I was young and I felt even younger. This was the excitement that I had been craving since I turned twenty years old. I never expected for an older man to bring out the youth within me, but that was exactly what happened. He brought out a side of me that had become very foreign. My wild side was starting to show.

  When we made it onto the highway, Arsen pulled the roof of his car back and turned the music up louder. He began picking up speed and swerving past other cars.

  “Did you enjoy yourself, today?” Arsen asked.

  “I did!” I giggled. “Thank you so much for taking me out, and also, thanks for the new things!”

  He smiled and nodded.

  Suddenly, I had a flashback to when we first went out.

  I’ was twenty-one years old and I had butterflies before going on a date. Nothing wrong with that. I just always thought life would turn out differently for me. Maybe that was why I’ was so open with Arsen. It might not seem like it on his end, but I didn’t even give guys the time of day, so he was lucky. I felt like he could be that missing excitement that I needed in my life. I was just so used to being by myself without any distractions. I wasn’t sure if a relationship was what I needed right now, but I was willing to try it out.

  My phone lit up, showing a text from Arsen. It said that he was outside and that his driver was waiting for me. I laughed a little and slid on my shoes. I didn’t even know why I would have expected a billionaire to drive himself to a restaurant. I made it outside and saw the driver open the back door. I kindly thanked him and got inside. Arsen sat, watching me get in the car with a smile on his face. His teeth were the whitest I’d ever seen. All of his teeth were perfectly straight. It was mesmerizing.

  “You look absolutely stunning, Lo,” he spoke.

  “Thank you. You look good as well, Arsen.” I blushed slightly at the nickname he had given me.

  The ride there was lovely. I got to see the view of downtown at night while music played softly in the background. The air was fresh while blowing through my hair. I felt like my nineteen-year-old self again. I heard a chuckle and turned to see Arsen watching me.

  This adrenaline rush within me caused various flashbacks.

  Before I could even make it to the door, Arsen stepped in and closed it behind him. “Did you ...find all th
at you were looking for on the computer?”

  I gulped and nodded. “I’ll just be leaving now.”

  When I tried to walk past him, he grabbed my wrist, and I felt myself being pushed against the wall. I gasped and looked up at Arsen, who was now hovering over me. I could tell by the look on his face that I was caught and this wasn’t going to be easy.

  “You know, it’s really not polite to go through people’s emails. You don’t have the right,” he spat.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about—“ I mumbled and was quickly cut off.

  “Don’t play stupid with me, Lola. I was standing in the doorway the entire time,” he scoffed.

  “Arsen, I swear—“ I was cut off again.

  “I know what you saw on that computer and you don’t know how much trouble you’re in now, Lola. But you don’t seem like the type to be a loud mouth about these type of things, so I’m considering letting you go.”