The Middle Man

by K. S. Adkins

  “Jesus Christ,” he groans loud. “This oughtta be good.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I ask while reaching in and jerking him off.

  “It means I don't have a lot of experience. Since I’ve never had sex without paying for it, it was never part of the deal,” he arches up proudly. “Don’t stop tweaking my balls, shit that feels good.”

  “Uh yeah, about that…care to elaborate?”

  In an impressive reverse tackle, Nix takes me to my back, pins my arms above my head and says, “Until you, I never wanted to kiss a woman, let alone hold her while I fuck her. With you, I want those things. What I did before you means shit compared to what I have now. What I did before, wasn’t often and when it happened it was…”

  “It was what?”

  “Lonely and detached.”

  I wasn’t judgmental by nature. Sex was sex. But I had to make sure, “You were careful, right?”

  “Had I known one day this would be waiting for me,” he whispers against my mouth. “That you would be waiting, fuck Finn… every time with you is my first time.”

  “Good enough for me,” I say breaking his hold and fisting his hair. Kissing him with all I was worth, Nix breaks away, sits up and stares. The reverence, the want…I could come from it alone. Because the simple fact was, Nix had done for me what no other man or machine could. And I was ecstatic to be that for him too.

  “Allow me to undress you, Finn.”

  Nodding to him, I held my breath as he slowly and carefully finished removing my clothes. My bra came off and was placed over a chair as if it were priceless. My jeans were rolled from my body as if he held the key to immortality in his hands. My panties didn’t get the same treatment considering he slid those off with his teeth, but the way his eyes danced for me was worth every second. Socks we flung carelessly and once I was naked, Nix looked his fill before shuddering. “There’s a word for this,” he says in a thick voice. “But fuck if I can think of it.”

  “Horny?”

  “I was thinking more along the lines of jackpot.”

  “Undress yourself for me, Nix. I want to watch.”

  “Anything for you, Finn.”

  Watching him strip for me was honestly the hottest thing I had ever seen. “Your abs are an altar deserving of worship, Nix.”

  “Are you religious, Finn?”

  Opening my arms to him I smile and say, “I’m about to be.”

  Now, most girls probably want a fair amount of foreplay and kisses. I was not most girls. And I let him know this by wrapping my fist around his dick and demanding he, “Fuck me, right now.”

  Without breaking our rhythm, Nix plunged inside my body and everything around me shattered.

  There was no dirty talk or ego boosting. No. This was two adults incredibly drawn to each other and fucking their brains out. Eyes locked, Nix fucked me as I fucked him right back. It was rough, loud, and even slightly painful.

  “I’m not gonna last,” he grunts thrusting into me forcefully.

  “We come together.”

  “Get your cream, Kitten,” he says licking my neck. “Ride my cock, own it.”

  “Nix,” I moan in ecstasy.

  “Come on it, Finn. Fucking drench me.”

  This man, he could detonate me with just his words...

  So when his thumb covered my clit and he applied the perfect amount of pressure...I soared.

  And so did he.

  Half on the couch, half on the floor, with Nix still inside of me, I found myself like I always do.

  Wanting to thank him.

  I had been having a fuck-all day when her text came in.

  Nursing an unexpected injury, I grabbed a beer and fell into the nearest chair eager to see what she had been up to. Because it had been a week since she had texted, I was going out of my mind missing her.

  It didn’t take a genius to figure out the only good days were those that involved her.

  Clicking on the photo, I see long tanned beautiful legs with her toes tucked into the sand.

  I noticed both knees were bruised and the backdrop was miles and miles of water.

  Where was she?

  How had she been hurt?

  How long can I stay away from her?

  Watching Finn sleep had quickly become an obsession.

  As for me, my lifestyle didn’t allow for critical rest, therefore, I didn’t require much. But after the ride I gave Finn last night, she needed hers.

  Finn Lee.

  The woman I fell in love with by text message, by luck. And it was shitty luck too considering her best friend had to die for that wheel to be set in motion. I hated that for her, but I couldn’t help feeling grateful for his sacrifice too. Because like Ryan’s, my reality wasn’t going to end with the love of a good woman and a happily ever after.

  While I suspect his death was painless, mine wouldn't be.

  Grabbing my phone, careful not to wake her, I open up her last message scrolling back to the top. Studying each photo, I noticed the little things like; I never saw the same person with her twice. While she traveled all over the world, she had no home base or family to come home to. I couldn’t say why this made my chest hurt, I just know that it did.

  Maybe because our lives weren’t so different. We were loners.

  And dammit, I wanted to be home for her. I wanted to be her base, her anchor.

  When she curled into me, I rested my hand on her tit, wondering how much time I had left before they either took me out or she walked away. Kissing my chest Finn asks, “Have you ever been in love before?”

  Instead of answering, I ask, “How did he die?”

  Resting her cheek on my arm she says sadly, “Wingsuiting.”

  “Explain that to me.” Because she was the best story teller I had ever met.

  “Think of a squirrel or bat. The jumper wears a suit that resembles that with a parachute inside that unzips into arm wings for landing. Basically, once airborne you look like a flying animal. Anyway, we’re are required to have a minimum of two hundred free-fall skydives along with one-on-one instruction from a wingsuit jumper or have five hundred jumps experience to fly in a wingsuit without an instructor.”

  “How many did Ryan have?”

  Closing her eyes, she confesses, “Ninety-six dives.”

  “Why did he fly without a jumper?”

  Sucking in a breath, she looks up at me and says, “Because I didn’t show up as promised.”

  “You were his instructor?” Fuck. Plot twist. “Why didn’t he wait?”

  “To prove that he could do it? To impress someone? Stupidity? I don’t know. He’d never taken risks without me before.”

  “And you blame yourself.”

  “Yes, because there is no one else to blame. He died because of me, Nix. Period. The crew had seen him around enough to know he was trained by me and while they should have checked his flight logs, the point is, he still jumped.”

  “Finn…”

  Sitting up, she brushes the hair from her face and explains, “Ryan and I had a bucket list. Or rather, I had a bucket list and Ryan, being my best friend, wanted to share it with me. But, as adventurous as he was, Ryan was not like me, Nix. Yes, he did a lot of shit people think is crazy, but I was always there to watch out for him and he always knew his limit. For the life of me, I have no idea what in the fuck he was thinking that day and I never will.”

  Sensing there was more to this I press, “Where were you?”

  “I thought I had time,” she winces. “I just needed to see it for myself. And I did when I walked in and found my boyfriend slash manager cheating on me and because my head was all fucked up, I decided to participate in a high-speed car chase that ended with the media having a field day at my expense, the other guy taken into custody and my best friend dead.”

  Knowing she was close to losing it, I surmise, “All your texts to me, to Ryan, that was you finishing the bucket list, wasn’t it?”

  “Yes, for him and for me
too.”

  “He knew the risks, Finn.”

  Shaking her head, she says, “It should have been me.”

  “Had it been you,” I say pulling her on top of my body. “Where would I be?”

  “Right,” she rolls her eyes. “And because of me your own people are hunting you.”

  “You don’t get it, do you?”

  “That I’m toxic?” she says pushing away angrily. I’d never witnessed Finn angry and wasn’t sure how to handle it. “I totally get it. The only one who hasn’t gotten the memo, Nix, is you.”

  And then she left the bed only to slam the bathroom door behind her.

  Fuck, was this our first fight?

  Slamming the lid closed on my laptop, I dialed Talon ready to war.

  “What is it now, Finn?”

  “I took a chance on you because I appreciated your tenacity and drive. Yet every time I see an article or video it is not in my favor. You know it’s important to me that young girls see me as a role model, Talon. Get on board with my wishes because I’m over feeling like I’m just paying for mediocre sex.”

  “Maybe you should consider the youth you want to impress so badly before doing dumb shit,” he fired back. “I’m good at what I do, Finn. Both in and out of bed. Perhaps you could make an effort to make my life a bit easier. Because I can’t make a positive out of a negative.”

  “How in the fuck is free-climbing Smith Rock a negative, Talon?”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he sneered. “Maybe it was the video taken with you hanging there without any rigging?”

  “Are you serious?” I yelled. “It was a three-second clip for a photo-op and the rest of the shots from that day I wore full rigging.”

  For fucks sake, I was ten feet off the ground when it was taken.

  “No one cares about the rest of the day. That three-seconds is what they focus on.”

  “I sent you that clip as well as the others! So why didn’t you upload all the videos together, Talon?”

  “Because I didn’t receive all the clips until later, Finn. By then the damage was done.”

  “Yet you saw the video you yourself deem harmful to my career and posted it anyway?”

  “Are you accusing me of something here?”

  “The talk you and I are going to have is best done in person,” I warned. “I’ll be in touch, soon.”

  When I came out from the bathroom, it was to an empty bed and an absent Phoenix.

  Certain this was a record, I started dressing for work when I saw his note on the table.

  Be back,

  Nix

  Last night I had no problem going to bed with a man that kills people for a living. Only to wake up explaining the role I played in killing my best friend. Unable to cope with that, I knotted my hair, grabbed my back pack and left the hotel before he returned. The entire drive was spent crying or raging and even parked in the lot, I still didn’t move.

  You had to be a special kind of fucked up to take no issue with a hit-man’s career yet couldn’t look at yourself in the mirror without seeing a murderer you despise. At least Nix killed bad guys for the greater good. I killed my best friend because I was pissed at a shitty ex.

  Unlocking my trailer, I read over my itinerary and start a pot of coffee.

  When my door opens, I expected just about anyone except Talon to walk through.

  Since firing-dumping him a year ago he was smart to stay gone. So his sudden reappearance today was not appreciated. Especially when his favorite past time is sicking lawyers on me for breach of contract.

  “I don’t have the energy or the restraint for you right now.”

  Making himself at home he says, “The NSA called me to confirm my dismissal and pay out. Of course, I refused it.”

  “You can’t refuse to be fired, asshole.” A full year of this idiot fighting me on being canned was ridiculous. The little prick wouldn’t give up. See, I told you…tenacious.

  “I can when my employer added me to her union contract.”

  Stilling, I bit the inside of my cheek and counted to ten. Facing him, I take a moment to look him over and struggled to find a single thing appealing. “Are you sure you want to play this game, Talon?”

  “What I’m sure of,” he says crossing his ankles. “Is that I loved you, and in return for years of faithful service, you’ll gladly let Silas Goode, whose contract is up for renegotiation, know that I’m the best his money can buy.”

  “That just screams love,” I say blandly. “And if I don’t?”

  “I’ll have no choice but to release our sex tape.”

  “What sex tape?” Wouldn’t we need to have sex to make a tape? And hello, we call them videos now, idiot.

  Winking at me, he opens the door, takes a step down and smiles, “Think about it, babe. But don’t wait too long to call me. Let’s not forget how important your image is to you. What would the future little Finns think?”

  Wondering what in the actual fuck just happened, I was about to track Talon down and beat it out of him when Silas walked in.

  “I can’t deal with you right now either,” I groan in frustration.

  “Uh,” he says scratching the back of his neck. “I take it you haven’t seen it?”

  “Seen what, Silas?”

  “There’s a video of you, having some serious sex.”

  All the blood drained from my face so fast that I almost fell over. Steering me over to the couch, Silas tucks me into his side saying, “It’s everywhere, Finn.”

  Oh my fucking God. Talon wasn’t lying. “Last I checked, I think you broke the internet.” and of course he sounded smug about it, asshole.

  “I need you to leave,” I choke out. “Now, Silas, you have to go.”

  “Finn, this isn’t a joke. You’re on the brink of serious fame and this tape could ruin our – “

  “Get out!” I scream right in his face.

  Backing away, he sneers, “Maybe Talon was right about you. You already killed Ryan. I’m not about to let you kill my career too.”

  “Mention his name to me again and I’ll slit your fucking throat,” and I said this with promise.

  Then I slammed my aluminum door in his face which was way too anticlimactic for my mood.

  My head was spinning, my heart was racing, and I was having trouble forming a single thought.

  Talon was right. My image was important to me. And unfortunately, I’ve made enough mistakes that my image suffered for it. But those mistakes were manageable and I had never done anything malicious or endangered anyone other than myself. Even then I was safe, not that the public always caught that. Talon spent a lot of time and my money pretending to clean up my messes only to blackmail me with a sex tape.

  A sex tape I had no idea I even starred in.

  Since the day I walked onto that set as a smart-assed know-it-all kid, I had fallen in love with stunt work.

  I busted my ass to be the best, gave every scene one hundred percent, trained harder than my counterparts and bled for my art. So, it should have been shocking for me to look around my trailer while feeling this empty, knowing I no longer belonged here.

  Because yesterday, I would have told you there was nothing that could steal the love I had for my job.

  Today though, was a different story.

  Slinging my pack over my shoulder, I tossed my keys on the counter, scaled the steps and walked away.

  Heartbroken.

  While she slept, I did what any man dangerously in love would do.

  I Googled her. IMDB'd her. Finn Lee already had over fifty movies under her belt.

  I checked her Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter too.

  And my God, she was impressive.

  Utterly audacious and free.

  And so naturally gorgeous, it hurt to look at her.

  The woman who laughed at comfort zones and dared you to tame her.

  The same woman who brought out the beast in me and wrestled us both into submission.

  When I returne
d and she wasn’t at the hotel, I started sending her text messages in rapid secession only she didn’t respond. Figuring she was on set and unable to reply, I drove over and sneaked by security easily. Coming up on her trailer, I was nearly to it when I heard that fucker Silas say, “I can’t believe it took her this long to lose her shit. She actually threatened to slit my throat,” he laughs nervously. Ah, so he fears her. As he should. But, the question is why? “She wouldn’t even have a career if it wasn’t for us.”

  “I’ll take care of Finn,” the other guy says smugly. “And I’ll get my job back.” Ah, so this would be the infamous, Talon. A preppy dressing fuck with overdone hair, fucking boat shoes, little muscle and two damn cell phones. I would enjoy breaking him.

  “You cheated on her and published a sex tape, Talon. All you did was open up the playing field for me to take a swing. So don’t fuck this up for me, I need her if I’m going to get cast in Starstruck. And you need me to get that role if you want me to consider hiring you.”

  “She doesn’t belong to you,” Talon says but confesses, “Besides, the role is already hers if she wants it. You, on the other hand, are going to need me. Apparently, the studio doesn’t feel you’re the draw you used to be.”

  “Wait, she doesn’t know?”

  “Since she hasn’t hired new management since our split, I haven’t made telling her a priority.”

  “Fuck, Talon,” Silas groans. “You have to tell her! She’s my way in. We can’t let her walk away, you need to find her and fix this.”

  Like hell she would be this guy’s anything. I was fixing this. Coming around the corner, I approach them both asking, “Where is Finn?”

  “Don’t know,” Silas shrugs guiltily.

  “Hard to say,” Talon smirks in victory. “But my guess is the unemployment line.”

  “And why would she be there?”

  “Hey,” Talon defends smugly. “I just came here to talk business. You’d have to ask her why she threw her career away.”

  Glancing from Talon to Silas I promise, “I’m going to find Finn and if she mentions either of your names, I’ll be back to kill you.”