by C. C. Morian
Lauren had only teased him with that story, she had any number of much wilder things she had done, especially in college, and especially with that girlfriend, but now she wasn’t sure she wanted to share those stories. “You started this,” she said. “It’s only fair that you at least tell me something you did.”
“Okay,” said Bob. He leaned back and thought. “One time, me and my twin brother—”
“You have a twin brother?” It was the first real personal thing that Bob had shared.
“Yes, didn’t I tell you that? Anyway, me and my brother, Jack, we were dating these women, and one night we went on a double date. Except that we switched dates. Just to see if they would notice.”
“You mean you took out his date, and he took out yours?”
“Exactly. Except we were all together. And the women were more than dates, if you know what I mean.”
Lauren was trying to get her head around that. “And so, you, the two of you. . .”
“The two of us what?”
Lauren was trying to figure out how she’d feel about that, finding herself with her boyfriend’s brother instead of him. She’d know, of course. Or would she? Lauren had an image of Bob and another Bob, Jack, not being just with Jack, but with both of them, wow, all of them rolling around in bed. She’d fantasized about two men, but never twins for some reason. Her skin grew hot thinking about it.
“Lauren?”
“Sorry, I was just thinking. . .” Lauren tried to get herself under control. “What did you do?”
Bob wagged a finger at her. “I’ll let you fill in the details.”
“You didn’t!”
“I never said I did. Or didn’t. What details are you filling in?”
Bob was going to leave her hanging. “That’s not fair,” she complained.
“Who said conversations have to be fair? Now it’s your turn.”
The topic was fun, or could be, as well as hot, but Lauren didn’t want to share anything specific unless Bob was going to reciprocate, and it didn’t sound like he was going to. And the thought of being with Bob and his twin had her so flustered she couldn’t think fast enough to come up with something that sounded crazy, but could be left open to Bob’s imagination.
“Let’s talk about something else,” she said.
Bob shrugged, and for a moment Lauren thought she saw something in his eyes, disappointment maybe? Then it was gone, and he was his charming self.
When Bob dropped Lauren off at her apartment, she considered asking him up, but her place was not very nice, the most she could afford, and she didn’t want to seem cheap, going to bed with Bob on the first real date. Not that she wouldn’t have. Just being able to throw it up to Gina would have made it worthwhile.
“I had a great time,” she said, waiting, hoping Bob would kiss her.
“Me, too.”
“I hope we can do this again,” said Lauren. “I’ll try to think of something crazy I’ve done.”
Bob leaned over and gave her a kiss, but not on the mouth, just a friendly peck on the cheek. “Lauren, I like you, I really do. But I’m not sure we are exactly compatible. I think we should just keep our relationship professional from now on.”
Lauren was stunned. What had she done? The whole date had been good. Something about the crazy stories? Had she sounded like she was hiding something, did Bob think she was too risky for him?
She fought back tears. She’d been rejected before, and she’d done her share of rejecting. But this was a real surprise. “Okay, Bob, if that’s the way you feel. Or should I say, Mr. Evans.”
“Lauren, don’t be like that.”
But Lauren was already out, and even slamming the door didn’t make her feel any better.
Lauren fumed about it all week, her mood shifting from disappointment to sadness to anger. On Monday she considered calling in sick, she didn’t want to face Bob again. But she wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction. And she had her job to think about, the last thing she needed was for Bob to be upset at her.
So he wasn’t interested. So what.
On Monday morning she was still mad, but feeling better. Why did she have to be like this, always trying to get ahead, always trying to force things? For the hundredth time she wished she could just let things go, accept the way things were, maybe the way she was supposed to be. In everything, her weight, her position at work, her attitude.
She tried to convince herself she didn’t need Bob. She dove into her work with a purpose, she wasn’t going to give him any reason to complain.
In the afternoon Lauren finished a report she knew Bob needed right away. She looked around for Gina, but Gina was nowhere to be seen, probably copping a feel with Tony in the break room. Sighing, Lauren brought it to Bob’s office. He was on the phone, so she got his attention by holding up the report. He beckoned her in, and she placed it on the desk, then turned to leave, but Bob held up his hand for her to wait. She stood there self consciously while he finished his phone call.
When Bob hung up she said, “That’s the report you needed, Mr. Evans.”
Bob gave Lauren a long look. “Are you still mad?”
“I’m not mad at all. Just doing my job.”
“Very well. Sit down while I look this over.”
Lauren had no choice but to do what he told her. She kept her legs primly together. She wasn’t going to give him a leg cross this time. Not today.
Bob took his time reviewing the report. Finally he said, “Did you do this yourself?”
“You don’t think I could?”
“Lauren, this behavior doesn’t suit you.”
And you leading me on doesn’t suit you, she thought. “I’m sorry, Mr. Evans. Was there anything else you needed?” Lauren tried to keep her voice flat.
“I didn’t mean to suggest you hadn’t done it yourself. Just the opposite. It’s very good. Your work is getting better all the time, and it was good from the start. I do have a few suggestions, though. That is, if you want to hear them.”
This was something else Lauren had no choice in. He was her boss. Plus she had learned a lot from him. “Of course.”
Bob got up and walked around the desk so that he was on the same side as Lauren. He opened the report and ran his fingers over a few lines. “This section, right here.”
Lauren tried to concentrate on where he was pointing, but she was distracted by his long fingers and large, powerful hands. How had she not noticed them before? She was mesmerized as they moved across the page. Bob was talking, but she didn’t focus on the words, just the warm cadence of his voice.
“And here.” Bob pointed to something on the far page, bringing his arm and body very close to Lauren. She wanted to be mad at him, she wanted to listen and learn, but she was caught up in his presence, in his scent. This was actually the closest together they had ever been, even closer than his quick kiss in the car, which had only lasted a second. Lauren froze, not wanting to trust her body, which seemed to want to push up against him on its own accord, and at the same time, not wanting to lose the connection, lose his touch.
Damn, damn, damn, she thought. What is wrong with me? Am I feeling this way because he rejected me?
Yet it wasn’t something she was thinking, it was what she was feeling. The warmth, the arousal. . .She didn’t dare look up at him, she was afraid her lips would tremble, or she would squeak, or even moan, just this little touch, his body against hers, was driving her wild—
“Am I interrupting something?”
The voice from the doorway shattered the moment, Lauren jerking away from Bob, at least as far as she could in the chair, like she had been caught doing something wrong. For his part Bob just turned his head.
“What is it, Gina?”
Now Lauren turned. Gina was leaning in the doorway, taking it all in. How long had she been there?
“I was just making sure you got the report you wanted,” said Gina, but she was looking at Lauren, not Bob, her eyes flaming.
“Yes, Lauren brought it in. It’s almost there. We’re just going over a few things.”
“I’d better take a look, in case I have to split up the rest of the work,” said Gina, her eyes never leaving Lauren.
Bob shrugged. “Sure.”
Gina came into the office and reached between Lauren and Bob for the report. “I’ll take it from here, Lauren.”
Lauren felt uncharacteristically sheepish. She hadn’t been doing anything wrong with Bob, but for some reason she felt like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar. She got up without a word and left.
Lauren did call in sick the next day. She actually did feel sick, deep in her stomach. Everything at work seemed so fucked up. Bob hadn’t done anything wrong by her, but Lauren for some reason felt cheated. And then there was Gina, who always managed to make her feel humiliated. Why was she letting Gina get so under her skin? Lauren wasn’t normally one for revenge, but she thought a lot about it all day. Revenge. Even the word sounded good. But today she couldn’t even bring herself to go to the gym.
The next day was no better. Lauren called in sick again, doing it early so she’d only get Gina’s voicemail. Shit, Gina even managed to make her message sound sexy. Today Lauren vowed she’d get her head straight, so she forced herself to go to the gym, where she worked out with a frenzy. Later that night she took a long hot bath and had a few glasses of wine, and felt a lot better.
The next day, Lauren tried to put everything out of her head. She knew she was a strong woman, normally very confident, she’d dealt with much worse situations than a petulant supervisor and a man who wasn’t interested in her. She went in to the office extra early, and managed to catch up on most of the assignments she had missed the last two days.
None of her co-workers seemed to notice anything amiss, greeting her as usual when they came in, a few asking her if she was feeling better, all seemed genuinely concerned. This helped Lauren feel better too.
Gina was late, arriving at the office with wild hair, like she had fucked in the elevator. Again she made a show of parading by Lauren with an overnight bag, but of course Lauren had no idea what Gina had worn the day before. Besides, Lauren shouldn’t care, she had to stop being so affected by Gina. Although, truth be told, Lauren wondered if she looked as good as Gina after having just had sex, if that’s what Gina had been doing. The woman, as jealous as she was, looked damned good all the time. Lauren sighed and marked her calendar for an extra spinning session at the gym.
An hour later Lauren went to the bathroom. She was just finishing up in the stall when she heard two other women come in. At first she thought nothing of it, but when she heard Gina’s voice, Lauren sat back down. She didn’t want to talk to Gina, even in the bathroom.
“God, I look like shit,” said Gina.
“You look like you just had sex,” said another woman, it sounded like Gina’s friend Julie.
“Well, I did, but that was hours ago,” said Gina.
Lauren heard the sound of someone rummaging in a purse, and the unmistakable pull of a hairbrush.
“Tony is keeping you busy,” said Julie.
“Tony, please,” said Gina, drawing it out, dismissively. “I’ve gone on to bigger things. And I do mean bigger.”
The bathroom reverberated with laughter. Now Lauren was really stuck, she couldn’t come out of the stall now, Gina would think she had been eavesdropping. Shit, if Gina were to check under the stall doors. . .
But Gina didn’t seem to care who was listening. “If you know what I mean.”
“Who?” asked Julie, eager.
A few more whisks of the brush. “Let’s just say that I’m getting a big rise—I mean raise—out of the boss.”
Julie’s voice was full of shock. “You are not!”
Lauren had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from yelping. They were talking about Bob! Gina was sleeping with Bob! Lauren realized she was biting her own finger.
“What about Tony?” asked Julie.
“He’s passable. You can have him if you want.”
Julie laughed. “Gina, you’re so bad.”
“Funny, that’s what Bob said.”
Again the two women laughed. Long after they had left the bathroom, Lauren was still in the stall, so angry that the blood dripping from her finger didn’t register until she tasted it.
Bob and Gina. Fuck them both.
Lauren washed off her finger in the sink, slapping on a band aid from the first aid kit. She didn’t remember the last time she was so mad. First Tony, and now Bob. She wanted to bitch slap Gina, and scratch Bob’s eyes out.
When Lauren looked at herself in the mirror, her eyes were red, and a small blot of blood was on her lip. She looked like she had just been fucked as well, as in fucked over.
She looked sad and beaten. Not like her at all.
And worse, she was jealous.
Lauren splashed cold water on her face and dried her eyes as best she could. She had to leave the bathroom sometime.
She walked slowly back to her cubicle, torn between jealousy and anger and sadness. A new stack of work was piled on her desk, no doubt busy work from Gina that would force her to stay late.
Lauren just couldn’t face that, not now. She marched to Gina’s desk, ready to have it out, but there was no one there. Full of purpose, but not sure what to do, Lauren found herself heading for Bob’s office. Better to get it out in the open.
Lauren walked in without knocking. Bob looked up from some papers, surprised.
“I need to talk to you,” gritted Lauren.
“Have a seat,” said Bob.
“I’d rather stand.” Lauren closed the door. It was glass, anyone could see them, but she didn’t care. She spun on Bob. “You’re sleeping with Gina!”
Bob didn’t say anything, which wasn’t exactly what Lauren was prepared for. Actually, she wasn’t prepared for anything, she hadn’t thought this through, her anger just carrying her along.
“Is that why you didn’t want to see me again? Because you had something going with Gina?”
“Anger doesn’t suit you,” said Bob.
“That’s the second time you told me that something doesn’t suit me. You don’t know me.”
“I don’t think you know me very well, either,” said Bob.
Lauren realized Bob hadn’t admitted or denied anything about Gina. “You never gave me a chance.” That was her sadness speaking, she knew, but it came out anyway.
“Look, there’s no reason to be jealous,” said Bob.
“Why would I be jealous?” asked Lauren, trying to regain control.
“Okay, okay, calm down. From your reaction, I just thought—.” Bob paused. “It’s not the other jealousy, is it? Are you interested in Gina yourself?”
“What?” Lauren was so flabbergasted she had to lean against the door. “Are you serious?”
“There’s nothing to be ashamed of,” said Bob quietly. “She’s quite an attractive woman. In fact, I’ve seen you staring at her more than once.”
“What are you talking about? Me staring at her? You’re the one who can’t pull your eyes away from her chest!”
“Is that what it is? Your are jealous of her breasts?” Bob shook his head. “I admit, that’s a surprise to me, it sounds a little—superficial.”
Lauren, in shock, opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Then she was ready to speak, but the things she wanted to say would probably get her fired. “I am not jealous of Gina in that way—”
“Are you trying to convince me or yourself?”
“—or her breasts.” Lauren’s voice was shaking. And yet, she couldn’t help but throw in, “Mine are better anyway.”
Now Bob smiled. “I’m not sure you’d be the best judge of that.”
“Fuck you, Bob,” Lauren hissed, now beyond caring what she said. “You’re just trying to get me to show mine to you.”
“Lauren, you practically threw yourself at me. If I wanted to see your breasts, don’
t you think you would have shown them to me already?”
This conversation was not going the way Lauren had imagined, if she had bothered to think about it beforehand. “I can’t believe you,” was all she could manage to say.
Bob stood up. “Listen, Lauren. I had a nice time with you. I told you that, and I meant it. Maybe if you had shown me this side of you things would have been different. I just need someone with a little more—spunk. Spontaneity. Willingness to try new things.”
“Like what?”
“Well, a lot more than cutting out of an exam to go shopping.”
“Are you going to throw that up at me? I can do much more than that!”
“Oh really? Like what?” Bob seemed genuinely interested.
“I can—.” Lauren had a few things she could tell him, but right now it would sound like she was making them up. Plus words were useless at this point. “I’d have to show you.”
Bob gave her a long look. Lauren realized her chest was heaving, her face flushed, with anger, excitement, maybe even arousal. Damn him, Bob did that to her.
“Do you really mean that?” asked Bob.
“Try me.”
Bob’s grin was downright cocky. “I may at that.” He ushered her out the door. “Now get back to work. You wouldn’t want to make Gina jealous if she sees you here. No telling what she might be willing to do.”
Work was the last thing Lauren could think of now. She stormed back to her cubicle, looking over her shoulder at Bob, who had gone back to work like nothing had happened. She wasn’t looking where she was going and slammed into someone, her arms reaching out protectively.
Right into the arms of Gina.
“Watch where you’re going, bitch,” hissed Gina.
“Gina, not now, believe me, not now,” said Lauren, her voice hard. She realized she was still holding on to Gina, their breasts pressed together, Gina’s body stunningly warm. Lauren quickly pulled herself away, feeling a peculiar heat. Damn Bob, she thought, that’s who has me so worked up.
“What’s wrong with you?” asked Gina. Then, her voice softer, “Are you okay?”
