by E. C. Towers
Jessica leaned in and finally asked the question that had desperately wanted to ask him.
“Are you..? I had heard around town that...um, do you go to the parties?”
She had seen him walking by Linda’s yacht the other night when she was going through the Jack In the Box drive-thru after work, and suspected that he might have been part of Linda’s ‘mythical’ orgies. Lord knows, if she were Linda, she would definitely do him.
Hardie looked down at his shoe and feigned interest in cleaning a smudge of dirt off the side.
“Parties? Yeah, I go to parties all the time,” he said, playing dumb.
“Come on Hardie; you know what parties I mean. Linda's orgies? Do you go to those?”
“Orgies? Orgy parties? Is that story actually for real? I thought for sure Tim made that shit up in his head after hitting too much of the pipe.” He was impressed with his unusual talent for acting.
“And you think I go to those parties?” He laughed loudly and shook his head. “Wow, what did I do to make you think I was a pervert?” returning the spotlight to her. Nice touch, Hardie thought.
“No! No! I don’t think you’re a pervert; that’s not what I was insinuating. It’s just that, the other day I went…well, it was dark, so I’m not sure, but I thought I saw you by Linda’s yacht.”
“Which one is her yacht?” He was slightly disturbed at how the alcohol improved his lying skills.
“You can’t miss it. Well during the day you can’t miss it. You can easily miss it at night because it’s black. It’s a huge yacht, so calling it a boat is almost insulting. It’s basically a mansion on the water. I can only imagine what it looks like inside.”
Hardie flinched a little as he realized that not only had he seen the inside of the yacht, he had probably jerked off in all the rooms with Linda and a few choice people.
Jessica didn’t notice his reaction, but she didn’t have to because she didn’t believe him right off the bat. A normal guy who had just found out about an orgy party would’ve bombarded her with questions, in hopes that they could participate. Hardie didn’t, though. And while he wasn’t a regular guy, he was still a guy, and he tried to disregard her question a little too quickly.
Jessica decided to change the subject because she could see he was starting to put up his defenses.
“Okay, let’s change the subject, I have another question for you.
“Let me have it.” Hardie leaned back and relaxed into the couch like he was preparing for a long night, which excited Jessica a little.
“Why did you move here? It’s kind of a random spot, Driftwood Cove. I can’t imagine someone from Idaho sitting around thinking about moving to Driftwood. California? Yes. San Diego, Los Angeles, San Francisco? Sure. But, Driftwood Cove? It seems random.”
“Oprah told me to. “
Jessica laughed, “What!?”
“Remember that episode…oh, wait. Please tell me I’m not the only one in this conversation who watches Oprah.”
Jessica smiled, “What kind of human being would I be if I didn’t watch Oprah? Of course, I watch Oprah.”
“Of course, you do, because you’re not a terrible, awful person,” Hardie joked.
“Exactly.”
“And also, if we can keep the fact that I watch Oprah just between us, I would really appreciate it.” Hardie stuck out his hand to shake on it, Jessica took it happily and wondered how a simple handshake could give her the shivers. His hand, warm, slightly calloused and gentle. She panicked and thought she was holding on too long and snatched her hand away quickly.
“So anyway...” Jessica began speaking before he could comment on it. “Let me guess. It was the episode about the happiest place in America.”
“Bingo. And at the time, I wasn’t feeling too happy because my girlfriend had just dumped me.”
Jessica tried to imagine what type of girl would dump Hardie. A girl whose four senses were clearly dulled, she was certain. How could any girl not immediately want to marry a guy like this?
“So, I figure I would go to the happiest place on earth.”
“Place in America, not on earth; that would be Disneyland. But at least, you would have been in the same state.”
He laughed and said, “No, I actually did go to the happiest place on earth with my aunt for vacation. I decided that if I liked it, I would stay. So I went, I rode some rides, the weather was nice, but I still wasn’t convinced…until I saw a pair of flip flops.”
“Flip flops? Did I hear you correctly?”
“Yeah, flip-flops. My aunt pointed them out at one of the gift shops and asked if I wanted a pair to remember the trip. And I did, because they looked awesome. Black with light brown, wide straps made of suede, or fake suede, I suppose. It was like walking on pillows. They were so nice, but I couldn’t picture wearing them back in Idaho. These flip flops were meant to be on the beach.”
“So you moved… for a pair of flip-flops?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry if that ruins your image of me as this profound and deep person,” he chuckled, leaving Jessica to quickly lean in and kiss his lips softly.
Hardie was in shock. Jessica was kissing him. After he had realized what was happening, he relaxed and kissed her back. She was a good kisser, and he always thought she was pretty hot, but way out of his league. She was classy, smart, and what the hell was she doing kissing him?!
“Jessica, are you okay?” Hardie pushed her off just long enough to ask. He looked into her eyes, wondering if she was drunk.
“I’m okay. I’m way more than okay,” she whispered in a tone of voice he’d never heard her use before. Low… and sultry.
This time, he took the lead, leaned in and kissed her. After a few seconds of slowly pressing his lips against hers, he realized that liked her more than he had led himself believe. She pressed into him and soon, they were exploring each other with their hands as well as their lips. Jessica ran her hands across his back to feel what her eyes had already indulged on. She knew every muscle and every dent of it. Hardie was quite the opposite. His was just discovering that Jessica was sexy. So much, in fact, he was practically beside himself. He ran his hands down to her hips and her ample bottom, which he’d never really noticed before, but which now his hands couldn’t seem to get enough of.
Her affections and his reciprocation to those affections were all a surprise to him. And quite frankly, it made the entire situation unexplainably hot to experience.
Hardie hugged her into him, and knowing what he was trying to do, Jessica wrapped her legs around his waist. They continued to kiss each other, frantically, as Hardie carried her to his bedroom. She couldn’t believe it was finally happening. Jessica couldn’t believe that the bulge in his pants was pressed up against HER. She got instantly wet with the anxiety of seeing him again in all his glory. As soon as they got to his room, Hardie gently laid her down on the bed, closed the door, walked back to the bed and stood over her, like he was trying to decide what to do.
Jessica knew exactly what to do. She sat up and slipped his pants down to discover the promise of that bulge, and it sure as fuck didn’t disappoint. Jessica looked up at him as he cradled her face with his large, gentle hands. He leaned down to kiss her passionately and although they had been kissing for at least 20 minutes now, this kiss was different, and they both knew it. Jessica thought there was some feeling to this, feeling an intense longing and pulling in her chest as he laid her gently back down on the bed. He slipped off her shorts slowly, and then her t-shirt before finally unhooking her bra, freeing her breasts fall freely. She was laying there, naked and vulnerable to him. Hardie took off his shirt, stepped out of his pants that had already fallen to his feet and kissed her all over. Her smooth neck, her delicate shoulders; he ran his mouth through every bump and curve of them, and then finally down her breasts. Hardie lightly brushed his lips on her nipples as if they were made of extremely delicate and breakable porcelain. He ran his tongue around them, feeling them harden and rise to
his touch. She laid back and felt the sensation of his warm tongue circling her sensitive nipples before he firmly held that breast in hand and wrapped his mouth around it, hungrily devouring as if it were to be his least meal.
As he did this, he slowly pulled her legs apart and the heat there was overwhelming. He could’ve warmed his hands next to them on a blustery winter’s day. Instead, he caressed it with his index finger, spreading her moistness all over and running it up to her clit. He used his thumb to brush across it gently as his index finger found its way inside of her.
She moaned and arched her back as he his finger went deeply inside her, searching for her g-spot and finding it. Jessica felt her stomach tighten, feeling the swell of an orgasm building inside of her. Hardie moved his attentions to her other breast, continuing to lick and suck on her nipple, and that was all it took for her to climax powerfully.
Hardie felt her convulse against his hand, feeling more intoxicating warmth seep out of her. He couldn’t stand it any longer and moved in between her legs, slowly pushing himself into her wetness. Hardie slipped in easily and much like their kissing, he started off slowly before finally finding his rhythm.
He was making love to Jessica.
How this could be love, he didn’t know, but this is what he imagined it would feel like to make love to someone you cared about. Warm, comfortable, and yet so intensely passionate that he felt like he couldn’t get close enough. Being inside her was amazing, but there was still an undefined sense of dissatisfaction. He wanted more and tried to satisfy his want by thrusting faster and faster until he could go no further.
For a moment, they lay there together; him on top of her, still shaking from the most powerful orgasm he’d ever had. Jessica wrapped her arms around him, buried her face in the crook of his neck and held on for dear life. She couldn’t get enough either and climaxed again simply from seeing him explode.
What was this, Hardie thought. Jessica was gorgeous. How had he missed this? How had he not seen that he was living under the same roof with an amazing girl who pretty much had it all? Was it because he had been too occupied trying to land Linda?
And with that thought, he looked up and saw the camera.
14
Witness
Linda had fallen asleep in front of her computer, waiting for Hardie to go into his room. He was a man of routine, so Linda had been expecting him to come on screen around 9:00 p.m. She drifted off to sleep after about 9:30 p.m. and was jolted awake a couple of hours later with a soft moan. Linda woke up with a start and looked around the room before she realized that the noises were coming from the laptop.
Hardie had finally walked into the room, and he wasn’t alone. He was with a girl, someone she recognized but couldn’t quite place. She was a local girl, though; that much Linda knew. And this fellow local girl had her legs wrapped around Hardie with her lips vacuuming his face. Linda couldn’t quite believe what she saw right now. Is he doing this on purpose? He had fooled around with many girls in front of her, and it never bothered her before, but this… there was something more here. The sexual energy between them was electric. Something she had never seen in him with any of the girls she gave him at the party. Her body and her heart knew this was different. Hardie was involved in this. This wasn’t a show or simple exercise. Hardie clearly cared for this girl, and, in fact, as she watched, it appeared as if he was in love with her. His kisses were urgent but not hasty. There was tenderness within those desperate animalistic gestures.
It was also clear that this girl had feelings for him. Linda knew that the right thing to do would be to stop watching, but she couldn’t bring herself to do it. Watching their bodies meld together as Hardie finally entered her looked positively beautiful. It was as if their bodies were specifically made to work together, as a very well-oiled, or in this case, well-lubricated machine. She sat there and watched another girl take what she had turned away.
There it was, and there he goes, she thought. Did she really think that someone as handsome and wonderful as Hardie would wait for her to have sex with him? Especially when she had made it clear to him that it wasn’t what she wanted. She had no one to blame but herself for this. Her hurt feelings were somewhat unexpected, but the tears in her eyes were not.
15
Avoiding And Processing
Three weeks.
It’s been three weeks since Hardie had seen even a flicker of light from his app, which confirmed his fear that Linda had witnessed the whole event in his room. At first, he panicked, but then became so caught up with what was happening between him and Jessica that Linda sort of fell by the wayside. He was almost glad that there hadn’t been a party. He didn’t want anything to ruin his chances with Jessica, should she have ever found out, and he wanted to marinate in their special time together.
It was a nightly routine now to sneak into her room, make love to her and fall asleep. It was something they looked forward to every night. The friend facade in front of her brother was very believable, mostly because 90% of the time, he never paid attention to their interactions. Jessica would sneak in a quick leg rub in the middle of dinner, and Hardie would grab her ass the minute her brother turned his back.
It was fun and exciting, and Hardie was deliriously happy with her. He almost didn't notice the lack of parties until one day at work when Tim started talking about Linda.
“So, Linda’s coming today,” he said, out of nowhere. Hardie nodded, barely acknowledging his statement, let alone responding.
“You gonna go outside for a cigarette break?” Tim asked.
“For what?”
“LIIIINDAAAA,” Tim wagged his tongue suggestively as he said her name.
It was all Hardie could do not to shove it back in his mouth with his fist.
“Not really of any interest.”
“I saw you go out there last time she had dinner here. That look on your face, man. You know she’s fine. You couldn’t take your eyes off her, and I can’t blame you. She’s so fuckin’ hot. Mmmm!”
Was he that obvious? If Tim saw it, then he definitely was that obvious.
“Yeah, she’s pretty,” he admitted, “but I’m not so hot on her like everyone else is?”
“Give me a break, dude, you’re not strong enough to withstand Linda’s beguiling ways,” he smiled, knowingly. Did Tim know about them?
“I know why you're cold, though. You want me to enlighten you?”
He rolled his eyes, “Yes, please, enlighten me, Dr. Freud.”
“Because despite all your nice-guy-with-model-looks act, you haven’t gotten an invite to a party. Zip. Zilch. Nada.” Tim smiled smugly at the thought.
Hardie smiled, feeling a little pity for the guy. He held back the urge to gloat and tell him that not only had he been invited to the party, but he was also Linda’s personal voyeur sex partner.
WAS.
Past tense. Did he mess it up by fucking Jessica? She couldn't possibly think that he could turn down a beautiful woman who came on to him when Linda wasn’t even willing to let Hardie go down on her. What did she expect?
But regardless if he were right about the situation, Linda could still stop inviting him for any reason. She could not like the way his breath smelled after he switched from Colgate to Crest. It doesn’t matter; Linda had all the power, and he had none.
It angered him a little when he realized that their relationship had no equal footing. She pointed the way, and he was the mule that pulled the cart wherever she wanted to go. Screw her. If he had lost his invitation, then well enough. He was no one’s beck and call boy.
Even as Hardie tried to make himself believe in his steely resolve, his heart knew that it was a lie. He still wanted to see Linda, to be near her. Despite the fact that he longed to make love to her, there was still a certain sense of satisfaction in being next to her as they watched each other pleasure themselves. It was comfortable and intoxicating, all at the same time in a way that he couldn’t explain. And he longed for it. He was torn.
But what he had with Jessica was a connection that he had never felt before in his life, one that could easily turn into love. She was definitely a woman worth marrying.
So why couldn’t he just walk away from Linda?
He noticed the general mood change in the kitchen when Linda was due to arrive. His heart quickened along with the kitchen crew’s pace. He wondered how he could get her alone.
“You know what Tim, you’re right. I do want an invite to that party, and I’m going to get it!” He feigned determination as he pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his back pocket and walked out to the back alley.
“Yeah right, good luck!” Tim cackled, arrogantly. Hardie made a mental note to start looking for a new job. The longer he stayed there, the higher the likelihood that Tim was going to have an accident with his fist. As he walked out the door, he saw her car pull up. He wondered how he could effectively communicate to her with his eyes that he wanted to speak.
Linda stepped out of the car, looking pulled together and pressed, as usual. She had giant Jackie-O sunglasses on her face; he didn’t even know if she was glancing his way.
Linda pulled up to Edges in hopes that word would spread, and Hardie would be smoking outside, waiting for her like the first time she had laid her eyes on him. She was at a loss for what to do after watching Hardie have sex with that girl. Her first reaction was anger, mostly at herself for holding back and deciding not to have sex with him. How long did she really think that could go on? But, by far, the most surprising turn of events was the amount of affection that she realized she had for him.
There was definitely a physical attraction to him, but she never in her life dreamed that she would grow to care for him as much as she did. She had played with fire when she decided to partner up with him on the orgies. She hardly even watched the other couples making love in front of them; the main show for Linda was Hardie’s face in ecstasy. One time, as he was jacking off with his eyes, half closed, his chest groaning and as he went faster, she heard him whisper, “Linda,” as he reached his climax.
