Friends With Extra Benefits

by Luke Young

  Losing his balance, Rob dropped down to his knees as Carl stood still for two seconds before collapsing to the floor in a heap. Carl moaned and began to lift his head up as he slowly raised the gun, pointing it toward Rob.

  Springing into action, Brian stepped on Carl’s arm, smashing it back to the floor. The gun went off with a huge bang that reverberated through the steel walls of the vault, and the bullet lodged into a stack of cash.

  Crying out in pain, Carl dropped the gun and fought to move to a sitting position as Brian remained with his foot trapping his arm to the floor. Rob leaned forward toward Carl and punched him hard in the jaw, knocking him out cold. He glanced up at Brian with a grateful smile as he struggled to catch his breath.

  Raising his eyebrows, Brian stared back at the naked woman’s ass. “I don’t think you really needed my help. He was a little preoccupied and didn’t see it coming.”

  Rob said, “I know, her ass is spectacular isn’t it?”

  Bridget called out, “Okay, seriously. Please untie me.”

  “Do I really have to?” Rob grinned.

  “I’d better wait out there.” After stealing one more glance at Bridget, Brian stepped out of the vault.

  Thirty seconds later, Bridget with her bathing suit re-secured, emerged from the vault with Rob. She gave Brian an embarrassed smile. “Hi.”

  Rob said, “It was my idea to have her bottoms off.”

  Brian shook his head with an approving grin. “Good thinking.”

  “Brian, this is Bridget,” Rob began. “Bridget, this is actually my stepfather.”

  Looking at him, a little shocked, Bridget said, “Really?”

  “Yes, that’s me, his old man…” Brian grinned. “Oh, hi, nice to meet you.”

  A loud moan spilled out from the vault. They all turned to look through the door at Carl lying face down on the floor. Brian said, “You tie him up, I’d better call Jillian.”

  While Brian was on the phone with Jillian, Bridget called the F.B.I., and agents were en route immediately.

  Almost two hours later, Brian and the now-fully-clothed Bridget and Rob were finishing up their interviews with officials as F.B.I. and local police swarmed the apartment building. At the Wealth Stone headquarters, another group of federal agents located the safe in the basement of the building and were in the process of opening it. When the contents were finally totaled from the safes in both locations, a little more than eight hundred million dollars worth of gold and ninety million in cash were recovered and transported safely away.

  After their interviews and after promising to remain available for further questions, the three went up to Rob’s apartment. Bridget headed to the bathroom as the boys slumped onto the sofa together. Rob asked, “So, how’s the trial going?”

  Brian just shook his head.

  “That bad?”

  “They destroyed your mom on the stand. They made her out to be some revenge-seeking witch. I think they’re talking about settling the case to avoid some huge judgment against her.”

  “Shit. So, do you think I still need to testify?”

  Brian shrugged. “Maybe you should call Parrish.”

  Nodding, Rob picked up his phone and checked the display. “Someone from the law office just called. I’ll check my messages.”

  Rob began listening to voice mail. When he reached Brian’s second message, he heard something interesting. After listening to it while wearing a grin, he opened his mouth wide and said, “Holy fuck.”

  Brian asked, “What is it?”

  “Natalie.”

  “What?” Brian moved to the edge of his seat.

  Rob put his finger up. “Shhh…” As he listened to more, his smile grew wider right along with his eyes. Returning to the room, Bridget stared at both of them, perplexed.

  “You’ve got to hear this.” He replayed the message on the speakerphone as Bridget and Brian looked on. It began faintly, until Rob turned up the volume, and Brian’s voice filled the room.

  “Look I’m trying to find Rob. He’s missing, and—”

  “Seriously she thinks… I don’t kill men, I please them… I know you’re with that old hag just to make me jealous.”

  “You’re out of your mind.”

  “I’ll bet she can’t do this.”

  After hearing some soft rustling and then a faint gasp out of the speaker, Rob stopped the message and stared at Brian. “What’d she do?”

  “She did this handstand with her legs spread wide and her skirt flipped up. I could see pretty much everything. Did you know she had this birth mark right by her—”

  “Of course, I know about that.”

  Brian nodded casually.

  Rob asked, “So what kind of panties was she wearing, or wait was she not wearing any?”

  Bridget looked on horrified, as Brian replied, “No she was wearing just this tiny little—”

  “Jesus, guys! Can we get back to the message?”

  The boys shared a “what’s-gotten-into-her” look and a smirk.

  “Sorry,” Rob said sarcastically as he hit a button on the phone. The message continued with Natalie speaking:

  “Imagine your cock slipping inside my tight ass while I’m in this position.”

  Dropping her jaw, Bridget stared at Rob, horrified. “Who the hell is this?”

  Rob stopped the message, but Brian beat him to it as he casually replied, “Oh, just Rob’s old girlfriend.”

  “No, it’s your old girlfriend.”

  “At least I never had sex with her,” Brian shot back.

  “You wanted to, you freaking douche bag.”

  “Guys, knock it off,” Bridget interrupted.

  As Rob began to play the message again, the Brian in the room conceded, “Good point,” while the Brian in the phone said:

  “I, uh, you…”

  “Do you know how flexible I am? I don’t think you do. I can get into a position where you’re actually deep inside me, and while you are fucking me… I’m curled up and actually licking your balls.”

  Bridget wore a sour look; conversely, the boys were almost panting. With a sickened look, Bridget said, “This is your ex-girlfriend? She sounds like a skank.”

  “Oh, she is.” Brian said.

  Rob nodded matter-of-factly. The message continued:

  “Wow, that sounds, um, impossible. You can really do—”

  “Just ask Mitchell Garrett. I did that to him.”

  “Your roommate Cindy’s boyfriend?”

  “Oh yeah he played hard to get… just like you.”

  “Aren’t they engaged?”

  “Not after I got done with him. He got so hung up on me that he left that chubby bore.”

  Rob stopped the message once again. “Do you really think she can do that ball-licking thing when you’re in her…?” Rob glanced down like he was actually trying to picture the logistics of it. He began again, “She’s… How can—”

  Bridget stared at Rob in disbelief.

  “I know, I was thinking of that on the drive here, and then I remembered… Have you ever seen those videos of the guys who can suck their own dicks?”

  “Oh, yeah, yeah.”

  “So, I think it’s a little like that,” Brian concluded.

  “But the guys who can pull that off are, like, a foot long, so she would have to…” Rob shook his head, confused, as he processed this. Bridget stared at both of them with a wide-eyed look that screamed, “You’ve got to be fucking kidding me!”

  Brian wore a serious expression. “I see what you’re saying, but when you’re facing away from her…” After jumping to his feet, Brian spread his legs and squatted down, demonstrating, as Rob hung on every word. He added, “… like this, then it could work, since she wouldn’t really need to reach her pu—”

  “Okay, stop,” Bridget demanded.

  Rob ignored her request. “I would so never leave the house if I could do that.”

  Brian nodded in complete agreement as Bridget stared them do
wn.

  Brian’s eyes went to her slowly. “Sorry.”

  “Yeah… sorry,” Rob added.

  Shaking her head in disbelief, Bridget sighed. Then they all remained in silence for a few moments.

  Brian’s expression brightened. “I can’t believe we have this recorded. Would we be able to use this in court?”

  Bridget replied, “Probably not.”

  “Well, at least now we know a name of another guy she had sex with.” Brian paused for a moment. “And maybe if I played this for Cindy, she would actually…” he made quote marks in the air as he continued, “… ‘remember’ some of the names of the guys Natalie dated. At the very least, she could help us find Mitchell.”

  “Yeah, if this message doesn’t make her realize that Natalie is a complete psychotic bitch, then nothing will.”

  Brian nodded in agreement.

  Rob’s eyes brightened. “Wait, I know. I’m friends on Facebook with a couple people, who I’m sure have Cindy’s number.”

  Rob rushed to his computer and after successfully retrieving the number, he emailed a copy of the voice message to Brian. Brian called Cindy and received her voice mail greeting, but he didn’t leave a message. Instead, he decided to keep trying to reach her while driving back to Miami.

  Rob called Stanley Parrish and found he was needed in Miami on Monday to testify.

  Bridget called to check in with her office, and was told she was being placed on administrative leave pending an investigation of the day’s events. This suited her fine, as she was beginning to question her career decision and very much wanted to accompany Rob back to Miami.

  Brian dialed Cindy’s number every half hour as he drove. On the fifth call, she finally answered with an angry, “What?”

  He hesitated a moment before he replied, “Um, Cindy?”

  “Yeah.”

  “It’s Brian Nash from Georgia State.”

  “If this is about the lawsuit, I really don’t have—”

  “Listen, I really need to talk to you. Sorry… One second. I’m driving, and I…” Brian quickly pulled the car onto the shoulder. After taking a moment to collect his thoughts he said, “Look, I know you and Natalie are, like, best friends, and I hate to be the one to tell you this, but she… she—”

  “What?” Cindy asked in a tired voice.

  “She slept with Mitchell while you guys were still together.”

  “She did not. You’re lying—”

  “I’m not.”

  “You just want me to testify against her, and I won’t do it.”

  “Look, I have a recording of her admitting it. Just listen to it.”

  Cindy didn’t say a word. After ten seconds, Brian asked, “Cindy, are you still there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I really am sorry to be the one to tell you this, but it’s true. I swear. Let me email you the voice message… please.”

  “Okay.”

  Cindy supplied her email address and ended their conversation with a promise to call him back. Brian got back on the highway and began to worry after nearly thirty minutes went by without a return call. After another ten minutes, the phone finally rang.

  “Cindy?”

  “Sorry it took so long, but I called Mitchell, and that bastard admitted it.”

  “She called me a chubby bore, and she actually had sex with him.” Cindy began to sob.

  “I know. She’s a horrible person.”

  Cindy sniffled and blew her nose with an ear-piercing blast that had Brian cringing on the other end. Then she said, “I’ve always known it, but she gets in your head and makes you feel special, even though half the time she’s treating you like shit.”

  “I know. I know,” he agreed.

  “Brian?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I should apologize.”

  “For what?”

  After pausing a moment, Cindy began, “I knew she was messing with your head. I knew, and I didn’t tell you. You’re the only one of her boyfriends who didn’t treat me like her fat, ugly friend, and I—”

  “You don’t need to apologize. I was a moron. I should have seen what she was really like.”

  She took a deep breath. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Will you testify?”

  “I don’t think I can. At the deposition, I told them I didn’t know anything… I think I can get in serious trouble if now, all of a sudden, I change my story.”

  “I don’t really know anything about how that works. Let me ask the lawyers, and I’ll get back to you. I’ll keep your name out of it until I can make sure you won’t get in any trouble.”

  “Okay, thanks,” she replied.

  “Aside from that, can you help us find some of her old boyfriends?”

  “Some. I think I know the names of a few of them.”

  “Do you think Mitchell will testify?”

  She scoffed. “I can get him to do pretty much anything right now.”

  “Great.”

  “Oh, and Brian?”

  “Yeah.”

  “If they can figure out a way for me to testify, wow, do I have a lot of stories to tell. I read the book, and I know she looks bad in there, but in actuality she’s even worse than the book makes her out to be.”

  Brian smiled brightly. “Wow, that would really help. We just want the truth to come out, so…”

  “So do I.”

  “Thank you so much. I’ll get back to you soon.”

  31

  Both starving and desperate for some fresh air, Rob and Bridget picked up carryout from a local restaurant and ate by the pool. When they returned to Rob’s apartment, they sat on the sofa, both exhausted. He turned to her and smiled. “Well, that was fun.”

  “Yeah, I’ve never had such a good time,” she replied with a grin.

  “I still can’t get that image out of my mind of you tied up with your ass in the air,” he said while sighing and looking away. He shook his head coyly then asked, “Any chance I could see you that way again?”

  “Maybe tomorrow.”

  “Oh, okay.” He asked innocently, “You want me to run you a bath?”

  She gave him a skeptical look.

  Rob’s jaw dropped as he stared at her. “No, I, uh… just thought you might want to relax. You could stay over, if you want. I’m not trying to have sex with you or anything.”

  “Okay. I’d like to stay.”

  “I mean, if I get to see you naked one more time, that’ll be a bonus, but…”

  She grinned. “A bath might be nice. If you behave yourself, I’ll even let you get in.”

  “Cool,” he said with a smile. He rushed off to the bathroom, and she watched him while wearing a wide grin.

  About an hour later Bridget and Rob were lying in bed, watching television. On the screen, a reporter appeared as the news began:

  “The founder of Wealth Stone Investments was arrested today and will be charged with fraud as the mastermind behind an apparent ponzi scheme, which had taken in a more than five hundred million dollars in client investments. It is being reported that a substantial amount of gold and cash was recovered during the arrest. Rodgers was captured as he was preparing to move the contents of a safe from an unnamed location in Orlando. It’s not known if the recovery is enough to pay back all the defrauded investors. A press conference is planned for noon tomorrow.

  As the reporter moved to another story, Rob turned off the television. Bridget said, “Those bastards didn’t even mention you.”

  “I know, here we save the day, probably recover everyone’s money and then some, and no one gives a shit.”

  They shared a laugh.

  She wore one of his tshirts, and he couldn’t help but stare since she looked pretty fucking amazing in it. The gentle curve of her breast stood out deliciously beneath the thin fabric.

  “Well, I guess we should go to sleep,” he said a little sarcastically as he slipped down to lie flat.

  Following him down, she gave him
a grateful look. “Thanks again for saving me.”

  They stared into each other’s eyes with their noses nearly touching.

  “Don’t mention it.” Pausing a moment, Rob looked toward the ceiling, seemingly reliving the horrifying experience, but wearing an expression which told her he was just trying to get some sympathy action. “But I could have been killed, you know. It was, uh…”

  She grinned. “I promise I’ll make it up to you tomorrow.”

  “I’m just kidding.”

  “Well, good night. I’m wiped out.”

  “Me, too.” Rob turned off the light, then they both adjusted their pillows before turning onto their backs.

  In the pitch darkness of the room, they both lay staring up with their eyes wide open and their minds racing. Rob could feel he was rock hard, but he tried to focus on something else. Taking a deep breath, he put his arms behind his head and closed his eyes.

  After ninety seconds, Bridget moved her foot to his and slowly ran it along his ankle.

  “Hey, that’s not helping me sleep,” he said.

  “I don’t think I can sleep.”

  “Well, that’s making me ha—”

  Before he got the words out, her hand was holding his erection through the fabric of his boxer shorts. He moaned as she extracted his length through the flap and gently massaged it with one hand. Rolling over, she placed her head on his chest. “You did risk your life for me today, and maybe I should try to pay you back at least a little tonight.”

  Bridget tossed off the covers and trailed kisses down his chest. He stared down at her and said, “I guess, if you really wanted to, you could—”

  He shut up when her wet lips plunged over his erection. After ten minutes of that, Rob slipped it inside of her. Five minutes later, they both came and two minutes after that, they were both out cold.

  32

  After Jillian called Stanley to relay the new developments, he was overjoyed and called an emergency meeting of the legal team. Stanley promised to protect Cindy Taylor’s interests in the matter and directed a team of lawyers to review her deposition testimony for any possible legal exposure if she were to now “recall” some pertinent facts and become a witness for the defense. The lawyers worked until after 2:00 a.m. and found what they needed.