The Romance Vote

by Ali Vali

  “What do you think my secret is?” she asked as she took the phone from Chili.

  “You’re multi-orgasmic, but that’s not a secret anymore. That’s more like our little secret now, and I’ll take it to my grave.” When Chili said it, she got wet and hoped Chili wouldn’t mind another shower after she painted her abdomen from top to bottom later.

  “What else?” she asked as she pressed her center down to get some relief.

  “You’re excellent under pressure,” Chili said, pointing to the phone, then moved her hand down Sam’s body until it was between her legs.

  “You’re not that cruel, are you?” She dropped the phone when Chili stroked her need back to life with a vengeance.

  “There’ll never be any cruelty between us,” Chili said as she kept her fingers moving and Sam grabbed her wrist. “And I’ll never get enough of you. I don’t care who knows because I’m not going anywhere, no matter who doesn’t like it.” Sam moved up so she could place Chili’s fingers where she most needed them and cried out when she came down on them.

  She hoped the walls of her apartment were thick enough not to bother her neighbors, but she couldn’t hold down the volume when she said Chili’s name as she went at her pace until the walls of her sex clamped down on Chili’s fingers. Giving in to what she wanted had left her with no regret and a need to be with Chili like this.

  Chili lifted her upper body and flipped them so she was on top, but Sam didn’t complain since Chili could move her hand better and her strokes were deep and strong. Sam hung on and rested her feet on the back of Chili’s thighs, wanting to make it easier to move at the pace Chili had set. It didn’t take long for her to surrender and come so hard she started crying again.

  “What the hell are you doing to me?” she asked when Chili dropped next to her and held her.

  “Something good, I hope,” Chili said as she kissed her forehead. “Or maybe I want to get you hooked so you can’t live without me.”

  That answer surprised her more than anything else Chili had said so far that night, and the chill left her body. Maybe loving Chili wasn’t such a scary notion, if in turn Chili fell in love with her. Frightening things weren’t so bad if you had someone to hold your hand while you worked out the kinks. The prospect that Chili would be next to her made her anticipate what came next, because if Chili’s mom was right, it’d be a joyful and color-filled life.

  “I might already be there, so don’t say things you don’t mean,” she said, pushing her luck.

  “I rarely do,” Chili said as the phone rang.

  Sam looked at the evil device that had interrupted the most important conversation of her life, but she answered it, not wanting anyone else to show up on her doorstep. When she gazed up at Chili, her smile reassured her that their talk wasn’t over. “Hello,” she said, putting her head down on Chili’s shoulder.

  “Sam, did you give Maria Poplin a comment about Chili?” Huey asked, and that it was him saved her a call later.

  “No. I told her I’d call her back. I wanted to talk to you first, but I thought it’d be rude to phone you this late,” she said, making Chili laugh quietly but enough to shake the bed.

  “Have you talked to Chili?” Huey asked, obviously either missing her jibe or choosing to ignore it.

  “Daddy, whatever happened between you and Chili is between you and Chili, but if Maria’s right, you’ve got a small window of time to fix it. I doubt Chili is out actively seeking new employment, but once this gossip, which people think it to be now, is confirmed by someone like Maria, it’ll be too late. From what you’ve said about Chili through the years, she won’t be available long, and you’ll have no one to blame but your pride.” Chili moved the hand she had on Sam’s stomach and pinched her nipple. She grabbed it before Chili got any other ideas while she was talking to her father.

  “I didn’t fire her, so don’t blame me for this. It was her decision.”

  Her father seldom sounded like a petulant child but he was doing a good job of it, and it was starting to work her patience. “Okay, like I said, it’s your company, so if Maria wants a comment, call her back and give her one.”

  “No need to throw me under the bus. I need you to be on my side on this, Sam.”

  “Okay, tell me who Bradford is, and I’ll be happy to do whatever you want me to,” she said, and Chili laughed again.

  “That’s not important,” Huey said, extremely too fast and too defensively.

  “Then good luck, Daddy.” She moved her head to the side so Chili could continue her line of kisses from her shoulder. “Let me know how it turns out tomorrow.”

  “Wait,” Huey said loudly. She figured it was to keep her on the line in case she planned to hang up on him. “If I promise to phone Chili in the morning, will you call Maria back and get her off the scent?”

  “It depends.”

  “On what?” Huey sounded aggravated now.

  “Are you calling her to tell her what she wants to hear, or are you going to apologize?” Chili pinched her nipple again, and she reached down and grabbed her hand so she could bite her index finger.

  “If it’s that important to you I’ll apologize.”

  “Good night, and let’s hang up while you think you’re ahead,” she said, and laughed.

  “You get more like your mother every day.”

  “I’ll take that as a compliment.” She hung up. “Let me call Maria, and then you get to tell me who Bradford is.”

  “There’s no fun in me telling you, so I’ll save that one for your father.” Chili rolled them over so she was pressed up against Sam’s back. The move gave her full access to the front of Sam’s body. “What are you going to tell Maria?”

  “That you’re not going anywhere since I’ve stuck my flag of possession in your ass and will shoot anyone who tries to steal you away,” she joked as she dialed. “Maria, did you call my father after I hung up?”

  “No. I called him before I called you, and since he gave me nothing, I thought I’d get you to spill the coffee if I caught you in one of your dead sleeps.”

  “So the sex question was to throw me off?” Chili moved her head closer to hear the other side of the conversation.

  “I called a bunch of times and you weren’t home, so I was hoping that’s what you were doing. Were you?”

  “I’m not telling you on the chance you’re going to add it to the story you’re working on, and for your information, Chili’s not going anywhere.”

  “Are you sure? My source said the meeting at Virgil’s was missing Chili, and she walked out early this morning. When I heard Huey had gone to the meeting instead, I knew they weren’t full of shit and there was something to this. He’s your father and I know you love him, but Huey seldom ventures out of that ivory tower, and he doesn’t have to because Chili runs the show.”

  “All I can tell you is what I know, Maria, so don’t think I’m trying to be an asshole by putting you off. You can call tomorrow afternoon and ask for Chili. I’m sure she’ll give you a quote herself.”

  “Where were you earlier tonight? That’s off the record.”

  She moved around so she could look at Chili when she answered. “I was out on a date, but I heard you were too, so we’re even.”

  “Not remotely close since you know who my date was. Who were you with?”

  “I’d wait to pass you a note in math class tomorrow, but I know you won’t leave me alone until I tell you. Chili asked me out and I accepted. A good time was had by all.” She smiled at Chili as she reached over and pressed her hand to Chili’s cheek.

  “Where’d she take you?”

  Sam sighed and rolled her eyes. Maria was seldom this chatty, but when she was it was impossible to get her off the phone. “It’s kind of late so can we talk tomorrow?”

  “Since when did you become a farmer who needs twelve hours of sleep?”

  Chili held her hand up and pointed to the phone, so she handed it over. “Hello, Maria,” Chili said, causing mome
ntary silence on the other end. “How about you, Sam, and I go out to lunch tomorrow and we’ll answer all the questions you have, up to a point, and all of them are confidential?”

  “Out past your curfew, aren’t you?” Maria asked, and laughed. “I’ll leave you and Sam alone and take you up on your invitation. You can confirm your employment tomorrow, and I am reporting that no matter what you threaten me with.”

  “I can’t wait,” Chili said, and hung up. “Sorry if I overstepped there, but sometimes I find she talks in circles to confuse you. We have better ways to spend time.”

  “As long as you know you just painted a bull’s-eye on yourself by talking to her.”

  “That would worry me if I was afraid of what Maria would find out. If it’s that I want to spend time with you and get you to do that as often as I can talk you into it, I don’t have a problem.” Chili kissed her and encouraged her to roll over again. “You were right about one thing. It’s late so let’s get some sleep. You want me to go?”

  “That’s a wasted question. Go to sleep, and don’t think of sneaking out on me in the morning.”

  “You should be thinking about how to get rid of me,” Chili said, and put her arm around her waist.

  “We shouldn’t have too many problems then.”

  “We’ll compare our list of demands soon enough.” Chili kissed her on the temple. “Once you find out some of my bad habits you might kick my ass out the door.”

  “Do you plan to run around with strange women and drink yourself to sleep every night?” Sam pulled on her finger to get Chili’s attention.

  “Only on my birthday, and only if you agree to act a little strange for me.”

  “Good answer.”

  “I aim to please, and I promise to do my best since you seem to come with a posse that expects perfection.”

  Chapter Twelve

  “Are you sure I can’t call in sick today?” Sam asked the next morning as they shared a shower. “Your morning workout isn’t something I’m about to forget all day. It’ll be cruel to make me wait until this afternoon to see you.”

  Chili turned Sam around and put shampoo in her hair. This was so far out of her usual comfort zone it was crazy, but she couldn’t imagine being anywhere but here. “I’m hoping to be back at work today, and if that’s the case you have to be there.”

  “What’s on tap for today then? I don’t want to be stuck at the office until late tonight.”

  “You need to talk to Beth this morning and see if she got someone into our opponent’s town hall meeting and if he answered the abortion question the way I think he would, given the chance in his backyard with an audience he was comfortable with. I want all of you to meet this morning and work up some mailers and cull the labels to pinpoint the areas where they’ll make the most impact.” She put Sam under the spray and moved to the conditioner next. “We’ll need some volunteers as well to follow up with some personal visits to drive the importance of voting home.”

  “Is Beth going to wonder where I’m getting all these wonderful orders?”

  “Tell her it’s in your blood. Don’t worry. She’ll be fine with taking directions from you.”

  When they were done, Chili put her pants back on and only the shirt from the night before. It was cold outside, but she figured she could make it to the car without freezing to death.

  “Stay out of trouble and answer your phone if my father calls you,” Sam said as she walked out of her closet, zipping up her skirt.

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  She got Sam down to her car and walked around the block to pick up hers and get home and change so she could give Huey a call. As she drove up to her spot at home, Huey was already waiting for her, and she was glad she’d taken the time to wash off every essence of Sam.

  “Good morning,” she said as she held her hand out.

  Huey shook it and looked her up and down. “Late night?”

  “Could be early morning, but you don’t have to worry about me anymore. I did, after all, give you what you wanted.” She knew she’d promised Sam, but Huey had forgotten every bit of loyalty she’d given him in the years she’d been with him, so she figured she was due some snippiness.

  “I didn’t come to preach, Chili. If you want me to beg I will, but can we simply agree to tear up that smart-ass letter you wrote and move on?” He took what looked to be the letter she’d given him and held it up.

  “Give me a chance to change and I’ll see you at the office.” She walked past him and slapped him on the back.

  “From now on,” Huey said, and then seemed to lose his train of thought when he fell silent.

  “We’ll be fine, Huey, as long as we go back to that mutual-respect thing we had going. I’ve never given you a reason to question me, and I’m not planning to, so get going before I write you another note, and this one won’t be so nice.”

  She shook her head when he took a deep breath but then just turned and did as she asked. That was one thing out of the way, so now she could concentrate on more important issues. “Like how to wipe that image of Sam in those pink bikini underwear she was prancing around in this morning from my memory,” she said aloud.

  Her phone rang as she kicked her shoes off in her bedroom, and Dale’s smiling face showed up on the screen. “Did the chicken make an impression?” he asked.

  “Will you bug me all day if I say I have no comment?”

  “No, since that means I’ll be getting a new sister-in-law,” he said, and she heard clapping.

  “It’s a wonder you cook such good stuff, the way you rush things. We had a nice evening and that’s all I’m confessing to, besides the fact that my chicken dish was a success.”

  “What about the stir-fried snap peas I put in the fridge?”

  “I’m sure those are wonderful too, but I didn’t get that far.”

  “Who knew vegetables were such a challenge and your downfall? Are we still on for tonight?” Dale said, thankfully changing the subject.

  Usually kissing and telling wasn’t a problem, since she wasn’t planning any more than that, but with Sam as the subject it’d be disrespectful. “Do you mind if Sam tags along? I promised dinner tonight, and if you’re cooking I’m sure it’ll be more well-balanced anyway.”

  “Not a problem, and I doubt she had any complaints last night. Any requests?”

  “Surprise me,” she said as she threw a new suit on the bed. “And I love you but I’ve got to run. I’m already late for work.”

  “He gave in, huh?”

  “For a little while anyway. Once he figures out I’m dating Sam I’m sure he’ll chase me through town with his car and murderous thoughts, but I’m dating Sam.”

  “Good for you, and good for you. I think Sam is exactly what you need in your life.”

  “For once we agree on something.”

  *

  “Good morning, Daddy,” Sam said when she went up to her father’s office at his request. “What can I do for you?”

  “I went by Chili’s place this morning and we buried the hatchet. She should be here in a little while.”

  “Since I don’t see any blood on you I’m guessing it went okay, and I’m happy for you. I’m not blind as to what Chili means to this place.”

  Huey nodded and cocked his chair back. “If only she’d grow up and live her life as well as she does this job.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “She was just getting in when I got there this morning. All that catting around catches up to a person sooner or later, and I keep telling you about her behavior so you don’t fall victim to that charm of hers.”

  Sam tried her best to scowl at his latest attempt to whip up her contempt. “I’m not that easy to sway,” she said softly. “And I know bullshit when it’s put under my nose, so don’t worry about me and what I might fall for.” She turned when she reached the door and pointed her finger at him. “I’m not sure where you got the idea that I’m some sort of simpleton when it comes to fa
st women, but that’s not the case. I’ve met people like Chili Alexander over and over again since I’ve started dating, and I didn’t fall for their crap then. I’m not about to start now and make a fool of myself at work.”

  “I know that, honey, but I also don’t want you to think I’m falling down on the job as your dad.” Huey opened his appointment book and flipped to what appeared to be today’s date. “What time is the staff meeting downstairs? I might come down and get my feet wet like I did yesterday.”

  “Beth said in about an hour, but I’ll have someone call up for you.”

  “You want me to pick you up for dinner tonight?”

  “Sure,” she said, and almost slapped the side of her head since she’d forgotten what was basically a weekly date.

  She decided to take the stairs for the two flights down and congratulated herself when she heard footsteps below her. The only person in the office who ever took the stairs was Chili, so she waited on the landing for her to make it up.

  “Did you insert a LoJack in my ass cheek when I fell asleep?” Chili said as she pressed Sam to the doorway.

  “Clean living and luck made me take the stairs, so I’m not stalking you.” Sam put her arms around Chili’s waist and turned her face up for a kiss.

  “Did you get called to the principal’s office then?” Chili didn’t hesitate to kiss her and to put her hand on her ass. “It sounded like you were on your way down.”

  “Daddy wanted to tell me you were back and that he caught you skulking back home in some sort of walk of shame. I hope the woman was worth it.” She pinched Chili’s side and laughed. “She wasn’t some slut you’re seeing on the side, was she?”

  “I’d never kiss and tell, and that’s exactly what I told my brother earlier when he called. Do you mind if he comes over and cooks for us tonight? We get together every week and I don’t want to put him off, but I will if you’ve got other plans.”