by Kenya Wright
“I did.” Frederick nodded.
“No you didn't. You said your parents own Prism which is pretty impressive, but that’s your parents. What do you two do?”
Frederick tilted my way. He was close. So near that I could feel the gentle whisper of his breath against my skin. His cologne embraced and touched me like I'm sure the man would, if given the chance. “We're in the business of lust.”
I stepped back. “Well, too bad I'm already taken care of in that department.”
“Boyfriend?”
“No, but I have friends.”
He licked his lips again. I was really starting to detest the way his tongue's movements snared my attention to the point that I couldn’t look away.
“I feel really bad for these friends, Dawn.”
“Why is that?” I asked.
“They'll be nothing once you and I become friends.”
My brain wasn’t intrigued, but my body reacted with warmth. It seemed that my flesh was willing to forgive Max and Frederick's bad lines just for the chance to see if they were all talk or not.
“Have a nice day, Frederick.” I slung my bag over my shoulder and turned away. “Nice meeting you, Max.”
Twenty feet into my defiant and hopefully sexy walk, I realized that I left my plastic smoothie cup, blanket, and rented umbrella back there with them. I glanced over my shoulder.
There they stood among my things, rock hard and pulsing with desire.
How the hell did I not start touching myself when they first came up to me? Oh yeah, I know. They opened their mouths like men do and said stupid things.
I decided not to go back to them and just head to the car. The blanket had been a four dollar deal at Goodwill, the bottle just one of many I filled with breakfast smoothies. As far as the umbrella, there'd already been a five-dollar charge for if I wanted to leave the thing there and not return it to the beach rental’s office.
A nine-dollar loss is not worth going back into the lions’ den.
And they were lions, bad pick-up lines or not. They were the kings of their pack, rich, sexy, and utterly over-confidant. I was sure the photography line worked on many women, hoping to just get a few seconds in their presence. Maybe the guys shared the women or something. I could sit for hours thinking about the sensual things these two did to spend their days.
They’re odd, but hey, who am I to judge? Either way, they won't be sharing me, but they definitely will be splitting my bill.
ACT ONE
Chapter 2
Frederick
Dawn has taste.
Koti's restaurant menu boasted some delicious possibilities. The food was a fusion of Cuban and Japanese cuisine, a combination I never knew existed, but was excited to find out. Instead of typical tuna or salmon rolls there were ones filled with mojo marinated pork and rolled with caramel salted plantains. The chef was a genius and regardless, if Dawn arrived or not, I’d planned to enjoy myself by diving into great food.
“She’s not coming,” Max mumbled.
Ignoring him, I scanned the captivating restaurant’s decor.
A multicolored mosaic of tiles served as the walls—aquamarine blues outlined jagged green crystals, copper circles dotted silver stones. They glittered in the dim lighting and soared high up into the air where massive sculptures dangled, twisted, and turned. The black stone sculptures were nude bodies tangled and intertwined into each other.
I found it fitting for tonight because I planned to be tangled and nude with Dawn as soon as our forks hit our empty plates and it was time to go.
“This chick's too hard. I vote for another woman.” Max checked his watch. While I drooled over the entrees’ descriptions, his menu lay untouched on his side of the table. He'd been flicking his thumb against his watch all night which meant he was on edge. “She's fucking twenty minutes late now. Is she fucking serious? She's beautiful, but not that much.”
“Things happen.” I sipped my glass of red wine. “You're just pissed she didn't fall for the photo shoot trick.”
“No I’m not. Trust me. I'll get a naked picture of her eventually.” He waved my comment away. “Damn, did you see that sensational ass of hers?”
I'd more than saw it. I'd been thinking about the possibilities that nice cushion could provide me. Bent over my yacht's kitchen counter and her legs spread open ranked the highest of my thoughts. Taking her from behind in my Jacuzzi was another. Then there were the many whipped cream images that danced in my head. I couldn’t figure out where on her body I would put the cream first, but I damn sure knew I’d enjoy licking if off. I planned on taking her in every part of the yacht even in my brother’s room as he watched and cried in defeat. I’d give it to her everywhere.
But not the bed. Never the bed for her.
Dawn needed the unusual, something different, an experience that she'd never had before. She was too tight and wound up with her bulky books sprawled on the beach while so many men and women partied all around her. She needed some man to loosen her up, fuck her good.
And I can tell from just the way she held that book that she needs a good fuck.
Any regular person studying would've causally had the book in their hand. Yet, she gripped that volume hard, like she owned nothing else and could see no other option in life. This goal of hers to go to law school had to be some sort of desperation for something.
Desperation for what?
I didn't know, but I planned to find out.
Half of winning in this game I played with Max was that I took the time to learn each woman as well as discover their dreams and fears. Max over-sexed his game play, which turned many of them off. While he tried to flaunt his bedroom skills, I asked them questions. Once I realized the one thing that would make them happy, I became the pathway to it. If she dreamed of being an actress, I discussed how I had a movie in the works. If she'd just had her heart broken, I transformed into Romeo, catering to her needs and massaging those broken feelings.
What does Dawn need? Let’s hope it’s simple. Let’s pray she just needs to be fucked.
“Why are you over there grinning like that?” Max pinched a bit of his bread off and flung it at me.
“Stop.” I dodged the bread and watched it drop to the floor. “Can you pretend like we're out in public?” I motioned to the other people dining in immaculate clothes.
“You just make me sick with that stupid smirk on your face. If she comes, you won't win.”
“She will come and yes, I will win.” I flexed my fingers. “There are two simple facts happening right now. Although a real beauty, she probably doesn't know anybody around Miami. She’s all alone here. What type of person studies at South Beach? A person that is crying for help. Plus, by looking at that brown clump of metal that she drove away in, there's no way she can afford this place. She'll come because she has great taste in food and wouldn't miss an opportunity to try a spot that's out of her budget.”
“You think you already understand her, don’t you. Oh God. Here we go. Frederico's Master Plan.” Max twirled his fingers in the air and did a horrible Spanish accent. “First, you must learn about the woman, and then you must be the woman's desire.”
“I don’t sound like that. You can barely hear my accent anymore. You're just jealous you never have a means for attack. You're winning depends on my failing, nothing else. If a female decides she doesn’t want me, then she considers you.”
“Oh they come to me willingly way before they've listened to one word you've said.” He rubbed two fingers together. “Let's bet some money on this one.”
I had a worry antenna in my head that only my brother could trigger. At his mention of gambling, no matter how small, my antenna sprung up and delivered waves of anxiety throughout my nerves. “You want to bet money?”
“Sure.”
“I don’t know. How much are you talking?”
“Let's go big. She's definitely not a sure thing.”
I slumped in my chair, not liking where this conversa
tion was going. Anyone who didn't consider gambling as a real-life disease never witnessed a family member devoured by it. My brother gambled on everything. It was how our games with women started. Back then our wagers involved non-monetary things. We both hated Sunday dinner with our parents. No matter where we were in the world Mom and Dad expected us to be there. So one of our bets dealt with the other going to Sunday dinner for the both of us. But in the past three years, the stakes shifted to large amounts of money. Lately, Max had been on a winning streak with our bets, doing all he could to win and then rushing off to Monte Carlo to gamble it away.
“Let's place six figures on the bet with Dawn,” Max suggested.
Shock hit me. “Six figures? Have you been doing drugs these days?”
“It's not too much for you. I know it. You save more than an animal preparing for hibernation.”
“It's the smart thing to do when I'd rather not work. I won’t bet six figures on a woman, no matter how delectable she may be.”
“Anything lower would be boring.”
“Or the fact is that you need six figures.”
He averted his eyes. “Who said I needed it?”
“Do you need it or not?”
With his thumb, he smudged a circle on the surface of his watch. The more seconds passed by, the more my heart increased its beats in my chest.
“I'm a little low this month, Freddy,” he admitted.
“How low?”
“I haven't been able to pay things.”
I placed my hand under the table and formed my fingers into a fist. “What things? Why don't you elaborate?”
“Because I don't want to hear a speech.” He slumped in his chair. “I just need some help.”
“Like a counselor for gambling addiction?”
“No. I need money.”
You always need money these days.
“How much?” I asked.
“Six hundred thousand.”
In my world six hundred thousand wasn’t a big thing for him to ask of me. I could transfer it to him with a few flicks of my finger on the phone. The problem was that he’d been borrowing more and more these past months. The total had reached well past a million.
“Don’t tell me you already blew away your whole summer's allowance? The funds just hit our accounts last week.” My voice rose in the restaurant. The couple next to us ended their conversation and peered our way for a few seconds.
“I may have taken a bigger risk than I should have this past weekend in Las Vegas.”
So he'd changed up his usual stomping grounds in Monte Carlo and shifted to Las Vegas. I wonder why?
“Are you telling me that you played poker until the point where you emptied out your bank account?” I asked.
“I wouldn't go that far, but my account's seen better days.”
Not this crap again.
We'd been through this mess last year. If I totaled up all the loans I'd given him, it would be several million. Our parents kept us on a huge budget. If we went too far and spent it all before the next quarter deposit, they didn't care and expected us to figure out a way to make it until the next payment. And frankly they shouldn't have had to care, they're financiers gave us more than half a million each quarter, which was more than enough for our pursuits. Yet, Max always lusted for more money, women, clothes, everything. Even before his gambling, he was broke before the next allowance deposit. He spent money like he lived, fast and hard. He was never satisfied, never truly happy in any given situation, except our female games and gambling.
Now your spoiled behavior is getting the best of you.
“Let's bet six hundred thousand that I get her in bed before you,” he said.
“No.”
“You didn't even think about it.” He held his hands out.
“If you win, what will you do with the money?”
“Go have fun.”
“Where?”
He raked his fingers through his blond hair. “Wherever the fun is at the time that I've got the money. What's your problem?”
“You lost a lot and quicker than normal. That’s my problem. You still owe me from last year and now it looks like I’ll be footing the bill for all of your exploits this summer.”
“I know. I know. I've learned my lesson from last weekend. From now on I'll be making smaller bets.”
“You shouldn't even be betting at all.”
“Oh really?” He crossed his arms. “I shouldn't bet on things besides these wagers with you?”
“This isn't about us! This is about you having an addiction.”
“Oh please,” he hissed. “You're addicted to this game we play with women as much as I'm addicted to the feel of cards in my hands as I sit in a casino. Admit it.”
I glanced at the front of the restaurant and spotted Dawn. She stood there waiting for the hostess to check her name in the book and show her to our table.
My brother continued saying stuff, probably things about me that would make him feel less worried about himself. Either way, I ignored it all at the sight of her.
On the beach, she'd exuded beauty in her conservative one-piece bathing suit. Although the swimming outfit covered a lot, I still spotted those thighs from several feet away and then gazed up at that wavy hair that swayed back and forth in the light ocean breeze. Something about that moment made my heart pause for a few seconds and stare at her longer. I hadn't even told Max to follow me over, I just headed her way with the urge to hear her voice. Inside, I hoped she'd be the woman for us this summer, someone to stir up the monotonous things that happened day to day in my life.
Once she called Max out on his weak photography line, I knew she was perfect. The truly intelligent ones always gave us an increased challenge. They weren't so easy to fool and made the game last weeks longer than others.
Tonight, this dress wrapped around her thick frame in strips of metallic colored satin—bronze cupped her breasts, gold caressed her hips, and silver formed further down until it ended at her knees. As she patiently waited by the entrance and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, an odd sensation coiled within me. I’d never experienced it before. I wouldn’t say it was magical. It wasn’t love at first sight. This was anticipation and lust in its purest form.
My dick came to life in my pants. Hard and solid and so ready to be inside of her, I had to grip the edge of the table to keep me there. It was so unlike me, to crave without even a sample of her flesh. To yearn, without an endearing reason for why.
She hadn’t even sat down next to me and I was already impatient to be inside of her.
Max stopped whatever he was saying and glanced over his shoulder. “No wonder you’re sitting there with your mouth open and drooling.”
I closed my mouth. “I wasn’t drooling.”
“No saliva spilled out, but it was pretty close.” Max never turned back to me. His gaze also remained on her, probably following the outline of those amazing legs. She must’ve run every day. There was muscle within the luscious curve of feminine fat on her hips and perfect bottom. Why women always wanted to lose so much weight, I didn’t know. Some fat was necessary during sex. It allowed men like me to squeeze and suck.
I’m going to have so much fun with you, Dawn.
Although possessing a vibrant caramel complexion, she was more exotic than our usual targets. Wilder and unpredictable too. In the dialogue on the beach, she’d hit several records with us—the first woman to insult, threaten, and seemingly blow us off in less than five minutes. My dick pulsed with the memory.
“She cleans up well.” Max ceased with rubbing his watch. His attention was busy now and all over Dawn. He stirred in his chair.
Is she giving you a crazy effect too?
Max sighed. “If that damn hostess doesn’t hurry up and bring her to us, I’ll just do it myself.”
Yeah. She’s having the same effect on him. He’s just as impatient as I am.
“Calm down.” I grinned.
He turned back to me with
his own wicked grin over his face. “Six hundred thousand for the first man that can get her in bed.”
“Not bed. I plan on taking her many places, but it won’t involve a damn mattress.” The urge throbbed all through me. “And not six hundred thousand either.”
He laughed. “For someone so confident that they’ll win, you’re pretty scared to up the ante.”
“I’m not stupid. I just don’t make wagers with people that don’t have money.”
“Oh, I have it.”
“Correction. You’ll have six hundred thousand for the next quarter, but not now. However, if I win then you won’t have any money still and I’ll be footing the bill for not only this summer, but for the fall, which means that I’ll never truly win either way.”
“Fine.” He gritted his teeth. “Let’s do two hundred thousand. That way if I lose, and I won’t, I’ll still be able to pay my portion of the bills in the fall.”
“No. Let’s bet something else, and hurry. The host just returned to the door.”
“Two hundred thousand is my final offer.”
I almost laughed at his audacity. “No.”
“Then no bet.” He shrugged. “We won’t play the game at all.”
Rage sparked into me, so quickly I hadn’t realized I would get that upset from such a simple sentence. “What do you mean we won’t play? You promised we would this summer.”
“What’s my motivation?”
“It’s fun.”
By the entrance, Dawn moved those succulent lips, probably telling the hostess her name. The other woman opened the book and nodded.
“I won’t play if we don’t put money in the wager,” Max informed me.
“That’s stupid.”
The hostess guided Dawn our way.
“It is what it is.” Max placed his hands on the table and threaded his fingers together. “Two hundred thousand on this wager or I walk.”
“Whatever.”
He rose from his chair. “I’m out of here.”
I tensed. “Are you kidding me?”
His eyes glittered with annoyance. “I never kid about betting money. Two hundred thousand or you play the game by yourself.”
