Taken

by Mia Ford

  Everyone at the table was staring at her. “Sorry, I was daydreaming,” Suzie said with a laugh.

  “We are going to stay for a few drinks,” Laura said and winked. “You look like you need one.”

  Suzie nodded and pretended to be part of the conversation again, after a few rounds and conversations, it was becoming easier to relax and fake it. Jared, polite as always, kept her drinks full and his arm around her. Jeff was telling stories in his animated way and Laura was soaking it up. Jared was laughing at his brother’s antics. Suzie excused herself to go to the bathroom. As usual there was a line up at the ladies’ room. Waiting in line, she debated leaving and just going home but decided in her fuzzy condition who knows where she would end up.

  After a few minutes, still waiting, Suzie felt a hand on her shoulder. Before she could register the tingle of excitement building within, he moved his hand to her lower back and guided her away from the line up and towards the men’s room.

  “What are you doing?” she hissed at him.

  “Chill, it is probably empty.” Jeff winked at her. And it was. Suzie was relieved to not have to wait in line, and when she exited the stall she went to thank him, until she realized he was standing at the urinal. She froze in place. His eyes caught hers in the mirror and she blushed. With his back to her, he finished off and both moved to wash their hands at the same time. “You’re a bit jumpy today? Or did you just drink too much.”

  “I don’t know,” was all she could reply. “When do you start work?”

  “Not for a few days but I have some prep work to do first,” Jeff said.

  Another guy walked into the bathroom, looked at Jeff and Suzie and turned and walked out.

  “We better get out of here before we get into trouble,” Suzie said, then hesitated and finally forced herself to say it. “Don’t say anything to Jared about what happened last weekend.”

  “What happened last weekend?” Jeff asked and he raised an eyebrow. His stance shifted and he leaned into her a little.

  It was enough that she could smell him, earthy, cologne free. “In the studio…Anyway, just don’t say anything.” Suzie felt flustered.

  “I already told you not to tell anyone about me painting. It didn’t happen,” Jeff said.

  “None of it happened.” Suzie looked him directly in the eyes.

  Jeff leaned in as close as he could without touching her and he whispered, “Then why are you talking about it.”

  Following him out the door, Suzie was silent. Laura met them in the hallway to the bathroom. She was in line.

  “Hey, follow me,” Jeff said to Laura. “I will help you skip the line.” And he and Laura went into the men’s room. Suzie went back to the table.

  “Now I have got you all to myself,” Jared said as she sat down beside him.

  She sighed and leaned her head on his shoulder. Closing her eyes and taking a breath she said, “Yes I like it. It is quieter.”

  Jeff came back to the table with Laura giggling beside him. By the time they were all ready to leave, Suzie’s buzz had turned into a headache. Jared rubbed her neck.

  “We better get you home. We all work tomorrow,” Jared declared.

  “Yeah, early morning,” Jeff said in agreement.

  On their way home, Jared reminded Suzie he had stuff at her place and she asked him, not caring who heard, if he was staying over. He asked her to come stay with him instead as he had to drive Jeff to work in the morning.

  “No, that’s alright,” Suzie said. “I will let you boys have your little sleep over.”

  Suzie enjoyed some time to herself and fell asleep quickly. Hours later, she woke before her alarm feeling aroused. A hazy dream was trying to replay itself in her mind. She remembered lying naked on a cold surface but feeling warm and wet. It was coming back to her and Suzie moaned remembering the pleasure of the dream. She slipped back into the dream state and the haze lifted. She saw Jeff painting her. He was shirtless. And he carefully examined her body before putting brush to canvas.

  This time it was the alarm that woke Suzie up and she shook the dream out of her head. In her conscious mind, she lied to herself that it had been Jared painting her. And on top of that lie, she told herself that she couldn’t really remember the dream at all.

  Ignoring it and moving on with her day, Suzie was pleased to work most of the day on her own. Not stopping long enough to consider current attractions, she kept herself busy enough that work was always at hand. Jared and half the office were out of town for a one-day seminar so the office was quiet.

  Towards the end of the day, Suzie received a text from Jared explaining that he would be home late and asking her to pick up Jeff from work. No, she said to herself. Yes, she wrote back. Jared told her to get Jeff and meet him back at his apartment. He would bring supper.

  When Suzie arrived to pick up Jeff, he was surprised to see her and looked at her quizzically. Climbing into the passenger seat he smelled like sweat and his tight shirt clung to him. Fumbling through his pockets for his phone, his shirt tugged upwards revealing his rippled abs.

  “We can go whenever you are done staring,” Jeff said.

  Sputtering in embarrassment, Suzie drove off. Jeff found his phone and learned Jared was late. They walked into the apartment in silence. Suzie paced around checking her phone to hear an update from Jared. Suzie sat on the couch trying to relax.

  “I’m going to shower,” Jeff said. Suzie nodded in acknowledgement.

  In the meantime, the phone rang and it was the restaurant saying their food was ready. She arranged for it to be delivered and called Jared. Unfortunately, there was more bad news and he would be two hours still. He asked her to wait for him.

  “I am pretty tired. I might be asleep before you get here,” Jane said quietly.

  “So go crawl into my bed and sleep. I miss you and really want you there when I get home. Please,” Jared asked sweetly.

  As Suzie agreed to stay, Jeff came out with a towel wrapped around his waist. Walking over to the couch, he stood in front of her. As she choked a goodbye to Jared she envisioned pulling the towel off Jeff. Just a quick tug was all it would take.

  “What are you doing?” she asked him.

  “It might not look like much but you are sitting on my bed. My clothes are right behind you,” Jeff said with a smirk.

  Suzie shrieked and jumped up, bumping into Jeff as she tried to get past him. She walked into the kitchen for a drink of water. A minute later, a knock on the door brought food and Jeff answered wearing jeans, but otherwise still naked. Food made Suzie feel a bit saner and gave a distraction from Jeff’s naked chest and stomach. This Jeff stuff had to stop, she wanted Jared and that was that. Jeff had asked her something and was waiting for an answer. She had to ask him to repeat himself.

  “So, tell me a bit about Laura,” he asked.

  “What happened to Candy?” she replied to his question with a question.

  “Come on, you met her,” he laughed. “She was hardly worth the effort.”

  “So you are looking for a girlfriend while you are here?” Suzie asked. “What’s your type?”

  “More like a distraction,” Jeff replied gruffly. “My brother’s girlfriend keeps taunting me with compromising positions and since he loves her, I would be an asshole if I did not at least try to resist her turning me on. Hopefully Laura can release some of this pent-up frustration for me.”

  His frankness and accusing her filled her with rage and she threw her water across the table at him and jumped up. Startled, he staggered back from the table, dripping from head to toe.

  “Me taunting you! You kissed me,” Suzie said, pointing her finger at him in accusation.

  “I thought you said nothing happened,” Jeff said, still dripping.

  Suzie grabbed a towel and brought it to him, wiping the floor when he was done wiping himself. Her breathing slowed and panic subsided. “We cannot tell Jared.”

  Shaking, she turned away from him and went to clean up the t
able. Her appetite was gone and she felt exhausted. Jeff grabbed her arm and turned her to him. At his touch, she felt energized and alert.

  “I said I wouldn’t tell him. So stop whatever it is you are doing. What is this?” Jeff said.

  “Stop what? I am not doing anything. I’ve tried to stay away from you yet here you are again, touching me.”

  “You’re tempting me. Sending mixed signals. Shaking your amazing body around me. The laughing and teasing. I cannot resist it. And it’s pissing me off. Any other girl, I would have made mine and the one driving me crazy is the one my brother is in love with.”

  Suzie opened her mouth to speak. She wanted to defend herself, to insist she had been sending no signals at all but she knew it was a lie. Though she had not consciously thought about it, there were signals exploding between her and Jeff. She felt it too. And her body moved in desire for Jeff. But she couldn’t. A quiet moan escaped her mouth and she took a step toward Jeff. She intended to excuse herself to Jared’s room so they could both catch their breath.

  Jeff moved to follow her when his phone rang. Seeing a text from Jared, he tided the food and table instead of following her to the bedroom. Suzie sat down on Jared’s bed looking into the next room through the small crack she had left the door open. She pretended to sleep while Jeff cleaned up and Jared came home. He came in and kissed her, showered and changed while she still pretended she was sleeping. After his shower, Jared, also shirtless sat beside his brother. Suzie looked at them both, desired them both.

  Suzie woke up when Jared came to bed. He wrapped his arms around her and they talked about their day. Jared was exhausted, and holding her tight fell fast asleep. Suzie, on the other hand, could not sleep. She was full of disappointment in herself; so unsure what to do or what was really happening.

  It was the other lie that was eating away at Suzie. It was true that she had lied to Jared about what happened that day. There was another lie though. The lie she had been telling herself. The other lie was that she didn’t like it and it was completely untrue because she liked it a lot and wanted more of it. Since seeing Jeff paint, having him touch her, kiss her; she wanted more of it. Rubbing herself gently she moaned in pleasure remembering her interaction with Jeff and imagining it had gone a bit further. As she wiggled and touched herself, she aroused Jared and he began to use his hands, all over her. Suzie kissed Jared, trying to emulate the kiss she had with Jeff, and then giving in to panicked desire she cried out. Whispering quietly to her afterwards, Jared thanked her for staying with him. Finally, they both fell asleep.

  In the morning, Suzie was up early and felt refreshed. She got up and made breakfast and coffee. Jared joined her and set the table, made them a bagged-lunch and worked alongside Suzie, both smiling happily. Jeff woke up surly and disengaged. He ate nothing but toast and drank black coffee, complaining there was no newspaper to read. Eventually he muttered something about lovebirds and took his coffee to the couch by himself.

  At work Suzie was faced with completing a report for her first committee meeting which was later in the week. She was allowed to choose an associate to partner with on the project and had chosen Laura because she thought it would give her someone to talk to, make the project more fun. But of course all she wanted to do was talk about Jeff.

  “Is he seeing anyone, do you know?” she asked. When Suzie replied that he was not, Laura continued with a giddy voice. “I totally got the vibe like he was interested yesterday but he didn’t try anything. He said he might text me but nothing yet. Was he sending signals? He is so gorgeous!”

  “Signals seem to be a common problem,” Suzie said, feeling lightheaded.

  “What?” Laura asked.

  “I think that’s a song,” Suzie added, saying the first thing that came to her mind. Eager to get back to work, Suzie changed the subject; she did not like Laura with Jeff at all. Her jealousy made her even more impatient with herself. A few minutes later, Jared came in and asked Suzie to come to his office. They left the door open and sat across from each other at his desk.

  “This is way too formal, move your chair over to me,” Jared said.

  “No I have to get back to work right away anyway. I am sure this is better from a policy standpoint,” Suzie replied.

  “You are so cute when you quote policy. I wanted to steal you away a minute because I have to go away for a few days. Just till the weekend and then we will have some fun,” Jared explained.

  “Why do you have to go? Never mind I know why, I just feel safer when you are around,” Suzie said.

  “Nothing to be worried about, it will go by fast. It came up quite suddenly and I will try to get back sooner. Will you stay in my bedroom while I am gone?” Jared asked.

  Quiet for a moment, Suzie finally said, “Why would I stay at your house with your brother while you are gone?”

  “I like you in my bed. Never mind. I forget you guys don’t know each other as well as I know you. Will you spend some time with him while I am gone? He does not know anyone here and I know he came partly to spend some time with me. I kind of feel bad.”

  “Quit trying to fix everyone. He will be fine,” Suzie said to reassure Jared.

  “You’re right. He will probably bring home a different girl each night I am gone,” Jared said with a laugh. “Jeff is never alone for long.”

  “Yeah he seems to have his sights on Laura,” Suzie said and she let herself relax.

  “He told me,” Jared said. “I would prefer not though because we work with Laura. Jeff always leaves things messy.”

  “Why?” Suzie asked.

  “He doesn’t do long term and women can’t seem to get enough of him,” Jared replied with a laugh.

  “Typical guy can’t handle commitment. Maybe you have been around him too much lately, you are always off somewhere. Starting to crave a similar life?” Suzie asked. Yawning she shook her head. “That came out wrong. Go get going, call me when you get there.”

  “Yeah ok. Keep an eye on Jeff for me, please. And I will call you later,” Jared said. “Love you.”

  Suzie agreed and said goodbye before getting back to work. If she avoided Jeff it would be an easy few days but Jared wanted them together. So after work, she picked Jeff up from work and they went out to eat. Afterwards, she went home expecting to shower and spend the evening watching re-run television. She had to meet with the committee in two days to give an update to the project and unwinding in a hot shower was exactly what she planned.

  Letting the hot water drip all over her body, Suzie was relishing the long shower with no obligations. The water dulled the Jared/Jeff battle going on within her and she simply stood under the hot steamy water for what seemed a long while. When she finally got out, the bathroom was full of fog. She must have been in there for longer than she thought. She wrapped herself in a towel and opened the door. Strangely it seemed like the fog had leaked out of the bathroom and into the hallway. Upon taking a breath though, Suzie realized it was smoke, not fog. She choked. The thick smoke was coming from her kitchen. Choking, she felt with her hands until she could find the fire extinguisher. She began spraying down the flames in the kitchen. (She hadn’t remembered turning on the tea kettle and had no idea how that dish cloth had gotten there. She was never this confused.) The smoke first increased and then decreased substantially. Suzie opened a window and slumped down onto the floor.

  Sitting in her towel, unsure what to do, Suzie answered the phone when it rang. It was Jared and she absentmindedly spoke of her accident and the fire. Immediately he called Jeff and sent him over. He begged Jeff to take care of Suzie for him until he could get there. Jared reassured Suzie and she encouraged him to stay where he was and get the job done. Of course she did not remember any of it, she was still in a daze. Jeff arrived to a smoky apartment and Suzie wrapped in a towel, in a daze on the floor.

  He walked over to her, touching her bare shoulders. “Are you okay?”

  No response.

  “Let’s get you out of her
e then,” Jeff said. “What the hell happened?” he asked as he picked her up in his arms.

  The towel she was wearing loosened as he held her and her breasts almost burst out of the top of her towel. Jeff slowly eyed her toweled body in his arms especially her breasts, smooth and inviting. She smelled like smoke but still looked amazing. And the trick she could do where her touch ignited his every sense and drove him wild, yeah that. She could still do that just fine. Jeff shook his head reminding himself he was being inappropriate. This was his brother’s girlfriend.

  Finally, he decided he would pack her in the car as is and bring her to Jared’s. It was what Jared wanted anyway. Suzie fell asleep on the way to Jared’s house, the towel slipping further as she slumped over. Before he drove away, Jeff stared. It would be a small tug and she would be completely naked, and he wanted to see her breasts, those teasingly full creamy breasts. This temptation was getting ridiculous. Slapping himself he started the vehicle and drove away, forcing himself to look at the road. Trying to take command of his self-control, he focused his mind on getting her back to Jared’s and into bed without ravishing her. When they got across town to Jared’s apartment, Jeff nudged Suzie awake. He did not trust himself to carry her up the elevator and into the apartment. It was too much touching and Jeff might not be able to stop himself.

  Suzie stretched and looked around. She vaguely remembered the fire and talking to Jared. How did she get here? She looked over at Jeff who was staring out the window, and would glance in her direction periodically. He seemed to be waiting for her to say something. It was a small car and she was so close she could smell him. She saw his face, his muscles tight with tension and she looked down, realizing she was in a towel. She got out of the vehicle and started walking in her bare feet, walking away from Jared’s apartment.