Friends With Extra Benefits
Page 9
Stanley exhaled deeply. “Brian, please answer the question.”
“We did go back to my suite.”
Josh smiled. “And you rushed her into your room. Is that correct?”
“Well, yes.”
“And what happened then?”
“Nothing, really. She left pretty quickly.”
“Why’d she leave?”
“I’m not sure.”
Josh gave him an impatient look. “Isn’t it true, Mr. Nash, that Miss Brown rushed out of your dorm room after you quickly stripped off all your clothes and exposed yourself to her?”
Jillian stared at Brian in mild shock as Natalie covered her mouth to keep from laughing out loud.
Brian began, “Hey, look, we were both drunk. Like, really drunk, and I don’t remember everything that happened at the bar, but we were getting along really well, and we must have both been feeling like we wanted to, you know, so…” He glanced toward Natalie’s bright-eyed expression then shot back, “Look, it’s not like I was date raping her or anything. She just left. I didn’t touch her.”
“While you were stripping all your clothes off, was Miss Brown doing the same?”
Brian answered in a tired voice. “No.”
“So, you exposed yourself to Miss Brown, and she ran away, terrified.”
“I wouldn’t say she was terrified.” Brian scoffed.
“So, was she laughing, then?” Josh asked calmly.
Brian glared at him. “No. I don’t think she was laughing either.”
Brian looked at Stanley, who widened his eyes and cleared his throat. “Mr. Roth, could you please move on?”
“Sure.” Josh glanced down to his legal pad. “Mr. Nash, at the end of your sophomore year, did you meet a woman named Jessica Bell?”
Brian searched his memory for a moment then replied, “I’m not sure.”
“You met her at a bar…” Josh glanced down to his legal pad. “Chubby’s. And it was the night after the last final exams. You accompanied Miss Bell back to her apartment, isn’t that correct?”
Brian paused a moment to run his hands through his hair. “Yes, I think I remember Jessica.”
“What happened when you returned to Miss Bell’s apartment?”
“We, um, had sex.”
“And you had never met Miss Bell before that night, correct?”
Brian returned a sarcastic look. “Yes, it’s what you call a one-night stand.”
“Thank you,” Josh replied snidely. “The next morning, Miss Bell claims that she was awakened to find you on top of her and having sex with her again.”
“That’s not true.”
“So you didn’t have sex with her again in the morning?”
“We did.”
“While she was asleep?” Josh shot back.
“No, she wasn’t asleep!”
“Do you often rape women in their sleep?” Josh asked casually.
“I didn’t rape her. Jesus, where are you getting this information?”
Josh stared down at his legal pad. “We interviewed Miss Bell, and she said, quote, ‘I woke up to find him inside of me, like, pumping away, and I was hungover, and I could barely feel him.’” He glanced up at Brian, grinning, and then returned to the pad. “She went on to say, ‘I probably would have stopped him, but I just wanted to get it over with and get him out of there.’”
Stanley frowned. “Is there a question in there somewhere?”
Josh replied, “We’re just trying to establish a pattern of Mr. Nash forcing himself upon women and being aggressive.”
“I was never aggressive with any women.” He sighed. “Look, I was a shy guy. For some reason, usually at the start and end of each school year I would somehow get lucky and, you know, meet someone. And yes, we usually met at a bar, and yes, I was usually drunk, but I never forced anyone to do anything.”
“Alright, Mr. Nash,” Josh said.
Brian looked at Josh in shock. “You’re not planning on bringing all this up during the trial, are you?” Without waiting for a response, he looked to Stanley and asked, “He can’t ask me all this at the trial, can he?”
Josh interrupted, “We may very well explore these issues at trial.”
Stanley looked at Brian. “They’ll be required to submit a witness list prior to trial, so there won’t be any surprises.” Then he turned to Josh. “Do you have anything else for Mr. Nash?”
Josh glanced down to his pad, and Natalie leaned in as Josh pointed to a line near the bottom. Natalie stretched up to whisper in his ear. He nodded, and they shared a grin.
Brian stared at them. Concerned and craning his neck to get a look at the pad, he whined, “Who else do you want to ask me about? Come on.”
Josh glanced up to him with a grin. “Uh, I think that’s all we have for now on your previous relationships.”
“Good.”
Opening a folder, Josh pulled out a photo and slid it over to Brian. It was a full-color image of a naked man hiding behind a tree. It was slightly grainy and shot from above, but it was unmistakably Brian.
Brian’s jaw dropped. He pushed the photo toward Jillian, and her eyes widened as she took it in.
“Is that a picture of you?” Josh asked matter-of-factly. “It looks just like you.”
“Um, I, uh…” Brian stammered.
“Take your time, Mr. Nash. Here, I have another. In this one you can see the street sign that’s just a block away from your house.” Fighting back a grin, Josh added. “If it’s not you, it’s someone who looks an awful lot like you.” He slid toward Brian the second photo, which showed the street sign clearly.
“How did you obtain these pictures?” Stanley asked.
“Let’s just say that one of Ms. Grayson’s neighbors is an active member of the neighborhood watch committee, has a very expensive security system, isn’t a big fan of Ms. Grayson’s books, and really hates her neighbor’s landscaping choices.”
Jillian’s jaw dropped. “What’s wrong with my landscaping?”
Opening his hands, Brian shot her an incredulous look.
“Sorry,” Jillian replied.
Stanley glanced at the photo for a moment before pushing it away, embarrassed. All eyes returned to Brian and he nervously scanned the faces at the table.
“Is that you in the photo, Mr. Nash?” Josh asked.
Closing his eyes tight, Brian exhaled, paused and then began, “We were locked out of the house, okay? And I was walking, actually running, to Jillian’s friend’s house to get the key, and—”
“Do you often run around naked through the neighborhood?”
“What? No, we… What? No, I…”
Josh grinned. “Wait, I have one more.” He pulled out another picture. This one was a close-up of frightened, tiny male genitalia.
“Was it cold that night, Mr. Nash?” Letting the picture fall from his hand, it slid across the table until Brian slapped his hand down on top of it. Natalie let out a loud chuckle as Brian stared down at the picture in horror.
Slowly, his angry glare traveled up to Josh’s face. “Cold… I’ll show you how cold it…” Biting his lip, Brian cut off that thought. It took everything he had to not dive across the table and choke the life out of Natalie’s weasel attorney.
Josh widened his eyes and pushed his chair away from the table. Stanley put his hands up. “I object to this. There is no way you are introducing these pictures at trial.”
“We’ll see what the judge has to say about that,” Josh announced.
“He can’t show these in court, can he?” Brian pleaded to Stanley.
“Don’t worry about this. I’ll take care of it,” Stanley said.
Clearing his throat, Brian looked at the stenographer. “Um, I’d just like to note for the record that I’m a grower.”
Stanley looked confused, and Jillian nodded enthusiastically. “He really is.”
The stenographer stared back like a deer in headlights until Brian motioned with his finger for her to ac
tually record his comment. After she finally did, he nodded and almost smiled in celebration of the small victory.
Stanley glared at Josh. “Do you have anything else for Mr. Nash?”
“No, I think that just about does it.”
Brian looked around the table, dizzied, before he rubbed his hands over his eyes.
“Who’s next, Mr. Roth?” Stanley asked.
“We’d like to depose Ms. Grayson now.”
“Fine.”
“And we’re going to need a lot of time,” Josh added.
Sighing, Jillian looked at Brian. He was staring down at the picture of his shrunken manhood. She gave him a sympathetic look. “Brian?”
When he didn’t reply, she repeated, “Brian.”
“What?”
“You can go home now, if you want. I’ll get a ride back with Stanley.” Jillian glanced to Stanley, who returned a supportive nod.
Rising slowly from his chair, still shell shocked, Brian said, “Yeah, I think I’ll go. Yeah. Okay.”
Hours after sunset, when Stanley dropped Jillian off at home, she found Brian in the great room with seven empty beer bottles on the table and one in his hand. She gave him a hesitant look. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah sure. I’m just fine,” he shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “How was your deposition? Any naked pictures of you, or—”
“It was a nightmare, but no pictures. I’m so sorry about today.”
Jillian slipped down next to him on the sofa. After taking a big sip of beer, Brian motioned to the kitchen counter. “Oh, and we made the local paper.”
She cringed. “What’s it say?”
“Just that I’m your unemployed, boy-toy, loser husband. There is good news, though, along with some bad news.”
Brian took another sip and looked her in the eye, waiting.
Jillian grabbed his beer, finished it off, then asked shyly, “Um, what’s the good news?”
“The article doesn’t feature a picture of my shrunken penis.”
Jillian nodded as if that were actually a victory, albeit a small one. “And the bad news?”
“The story was picked up by CNN, USA Today…” He ran his hand over his face and then added, “Oh, and we’re trending on Twitter. I’ve been getting text messages from friends all night and, uh, I accidentally dropped my phone in the garbage disposal.”
“Wow.”
“I’ll need a new phone.”
“Okay.”
“And we’ll need a new garbage disposal.”
“Huh.”
“Of course, you’ll need to pay for both, because I’m a big, giant, unemployed boy-toy loser.”
Placing her hand on his shoulder, Jillian said, “You’re not a loser.”
Rising up from the sofa, he headed to the kitchen. Seconds later, he returned with another beer and glared at her. “Why can’t you just settle this lawsuit? Give her whatever she wants. Shut her up before—”
“I can’t.”
“Great. So my little flaccid penis picture will be displayed for the jury and then go viral on the Internet, and maybe David Letterman can use it in one of his Top Ten Lists.”
“Stanley assured me that the picture would never be admitted into evidence.”
“Great,” Brian replied sarcastically. “But why can’t you settle the lawsuit?”
“Because…”
“Because why?”
“It’s great for book sales.”
He stared at her, dumbfounded. After taking a big gulp of beer, Brian glared at her. “Book sales.”
“Look, I know everything is stressful right now. I’ve been going crazy with the lawyers, and I’ve been a little grumpy, but we’ll—”
“Grumpy.” He glared at her. “This has turned our lives upside down. We don’t have sex like we used to. I know we still do it and all, but you used to like when I, you know…”
“What?” She narrowed her eyes.
“When I licked your pussy. The last three weeks, you keep telling me you’re ticklish down there, and you’ve been stopping me after, like, one minute.”
Jillian shook her head, defeated. “I’m sorry. I’ve been in a rut.”
“You used to beg me to lick you, and now…”
“I know. I just need some time.”
After taking another gulp of beer, Brian frowned at her before staring up at the ceiling. “How many times have we had to cancel the Scottsdale trip? Like, three?”
Closing her eyes, Jillian let out a long, slow breath. “I’m sorry.”
“When are we going to go, huh?” Brian shot her a frown.
“Soon, I promise.”
“Soon. Great. How about next week?”
“I can’t. I have meetings with the lawyers starting tomorrow for the next few days, and then I leave for a book tour.”
“Well, just let me know when you want to go. God knows my schedule is wide open.”
Jillian looked at him, unable to find the words.
He shrugged. “I’m going to bed.”
She widened her eyes and gave him a hopeful smile. “Brian?”
“Yeah.”
“You want to lick my pussy tonight? I’ll let you do it as long as you want.”
Narrowing his eyes at her, he scoffed then walked out of the room without saying another word.
She slumped down on the sofa and shook her head. After staring straight ahead for a moment, her eyes brightened. Her jaw fell open, and she smiled and reached for her phone.
Jillian was up until two in the morning, confirming strategy with her attorney, rearranging her schedule, making reservations, and packing for the both of them. She set the alarm for 10:00 a.m. and slipped into bed next to the snoring Brian, almost too excited to sleep.
The next morning when the alarm blared, Brian groaned and punched the snooze button. Springing from the bed, Jillian smiled at him. “Get up.”
“Why?”
“The car will be here in one hour.”
“What car?”
“The car to take us to the airport.” She climbed in bed and straddled his hips. “Get up.”
Fighting his way to consciousness, he glared up at her face. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“We’re going to Scottsdale.”
“What about your meetings and the book tour?”
“It’s all worked out. I’ve packed everything. We’re booked and ready to go.”
“Really?” Brian’s jaw dropped.
She gave him a bright smile. “And you can lick my pussy all you want on this trip.”
“Are you serious?”
“About the trip or the pussy licking?” she asked with a grin.
“The trip.”
“Yes.”
“Great.” He narrowed his eyes. “Are you also serious about the pussy licking?”
She slipped off the bed, pushed down her panties and replied, “I’m really serious about that. So serious that I need to shave before we go. Now get your ass in the shower.”
Grinning, Brian sprang from bed and rushed to the bathroom. Jillian followed right behind.
15
During the ride to the airport, Jillian assured Brian she would not mention the lawsuit during the trip, and she told him she would return to her normal happy self immediately. She promised to keep her legal distractions to a minimum and go back to being his blissfully happy wife. That was exactly what he wanted to hear.
About an hour into the flight, Jillian was staring at the restroom in the front of the first-class section of the plane. She was in the midst of a fantasy featuring their return flight from St. Barts, when they joined the somewhat exclusive Mile High Club. Brian was lazily looking out the window as Jillian turned to him and eyed him up and down. She was wet and horny and desperately wanted to screw her sexy husband in the bathroom again but decided the danger was just too great. Doing it on a plane she had paid to charter was one thing, but banging on a commercial flight was quite another.
“Okay,” she murmured, a little disappointed.
Jillian glanced across the aisle at a woman who was sleeping under a blanket, and an idea hit her. She grinned. “Are you cold?”
“Uh, no. Not really.”
“I think I’m going to get a blanket.”
He nodded and went back to his book as Jillian located a flight attendant. After the plush blanket was delivered, Jillian covered her lap, lifted up the armrest between them, and leaned toward Brian. “You mind if I sleep on your shoulder?”
He shook his head and smiled at her.
“You sure you’re not cold?”
“No, I’m fine.”
Closing her eyes, Jillian leaned her head up against his shoulder. Her hand slid down to his bare knee, just below the leg hole of his shorts, and she slowly swirled a finger around his inner thigh. Electricity shot through his body, and his brain quickly sent blood down to that general area.
He swallowed hard and opened his mouth to tell her to wait until they were in the hotel, but as Jillian’s finger slipped into the leg hole, and she drew little circles over the soft hair on his legs, he instead closed his eyes in order to simply enjoy her touch. Brian glanced nervously around the cabin and breathed a sigh of relief as he realized no one was watching them. He placed his Kindle in his carry-on bag and smiled.
Jillian stretched up to his ear. “Are you sure you aren’t cold at all… not even maybe your lap?”
“Why, yes, I am a little cold down there.”
She grinned and covered his important parts with the blanket. She glanced over to check if they were being watched, smiled, and returned her head to Brian’s shoulder. Moving her hand up to his penis, she felt that it was already nearly hard and let out a long, sexy sigh. Jillian heard rustling in the cabin and quickly pulled her hand from him. A flight attendant rushed by as they both held their breath.
When the coast was clear again, he whispered, “Okay, she’s gone.”
Jillian returned her hand to his groin. He exhaled softly as she squeezed his bulge carefully through his shorts.
“Oh,” he moaned softly.
With her eyes rolling back in her head she squeezed him more firmly.
“Ouch,” he whispered.