Julia's Second Collection

by Bridy McAvoy

  “Is that…? Oh, Shit! It is…It’s a fucking saloon!”

  She doubled over, laughing hard. Josie stood there next to her and sniffed as she fought to control her laughter.

  “Well, what did you fucking expect?”

  “I don’t know, but not that.”

  “Well, come on, we need to move that way anyway.”

  “I’m kinda waiting for Clint to step out from between the two buildings, throw his blanket back over his shoulder and flex his fingers near the butt of his gun.”

  “Oo…Clint Eastwood flexing his hand near a butt. Make it mine in your fantasy, girlfriend.”

  “Stop it! You’re ruining the ambiance.”

  Now it was Josie’s turn to crack up laughing, and Julia frowned at her friend before Josie straightened and strode forward. She had to almost trot to keep up. They hadn’t seen any of the other teams for several minutes.

  Julia played the instructions back in her head.

  Third on East and Above the Spit. Right and see it reflect its count.

  Try as she could, it didn’t make sense. The first bit had been easy. The main street along the edge of the lot was called East Street, and the third road from their entry point had been this one.

  They walked along the middle of the street as far as the saloon and Julia peered ahead.

  “It still doesn’t make sense. I can’t see a barbeque pit anywhere near here.”

  Josie shrugged and turned in a full circle. “Okay. You go right, and I’ll go left. Have a look up a couple of the side streets.”

  “’Kay.”

  Julia walked between the two buildings and immediately came to a stop. She could see straight up behind them. Every single one was just a front—a façade. There weren’t any buildings her side. The words of the senior guide played in her head—their answer couldn’t be over here.

  She turned back and returned to the middle of the street just as Josie emerged from the side street opposite.

  “No barbeque pits back there.”

  “But are they buildings?”

  “Yep.”

  “Well, they’re not, not on this side. Just fronts.”

  “Sounds like a lot of the guys I meet.”

  “Stop it.”

  “All right, all right, don’t get your panties knotted. Let’s look inside a couple of them.” She chuckled. “Come on. I’ll stand you a drink in the saloon here.”

  Julia rolled her eyes. “They won’t actually have anything to drink.”

  “You never know.”

  Julia couldn’t prevent a giggle escaping her lips as they pushed through the batwing doorway together. The inside was exactly like a movie set, even more so than it had been outside. They even had half-filled whiskey glasses on the table, although there was nobody there. Josie went over to one and picked it up.

  “Josie! Put it down.”

  Her friend took no notice and poked her finger into the glass then put it down with a disgusted look on her face. “Feels like Jello, not wet and alcoholic.”

  “Yuck! You did put it back in the same place, didn’t you?”

  Josie rolled her eyes. “Yes.”

  “Good.”

  “Stop being such a goody two shoes. Rules are made to be broken.”

  “No they’re not.”

  Julia looked around the room, able to pick up more details as her eyes adjusted to the gloom.

  “Well, there’s no barbeque pit in here.”

  “True. Maybe there’s a kitchen through that door.” Josie walked over toward the bar and then round behind it. “What’ll it be, stranger? Rotgut or rye?”

  Julia laughed. “Whatever’s cheapest.”

  “Rotgut it is.” Josie kept walking to the far corner and tried to open the door. It didn’t budge. “Nothing through there to see.”

  “Nope. Give me a refill while y’all at that end of the bar.”

  Now it was Josie’s turn to laugh at her mickey-taking accent as the two friends met in the middle of the bar.

  “I give up.”

  “It’s got to be in here somewhere. It’s the only building that’s two stories along this street, and it stands to reason it’s upstairs somewhere.”

  Julia shrugged. “No idea, sorry.”

  Josie seemed lost in thought as the two friends scoured the room. Suddenly she barked out a laugh. “We’re total idiots.”

  “We are?”

  “We assumed spit meant a barbeque pit, right?”

  “Yeah, we did.”

  “Well, what do they always do in a western when they take a good ʼol chaw of tobaccy?”

  Julia’s eyes immediately returned to the spittoon next to the bar. “Of course.”

  “So ‘above the spit’ would be above the spittoon.”

  “Got it, Josie. Good one.”

  They both turned to look at the rickety looking staircase at the far end of the bar. Julia’s eyes scanned up it and, seeing the sign at the top of the stairs, almost choked as she laughed again.

  Josie spun around to her. “What?”

  “The sign. Oh shit! The sign!”

  “What about the sign?” Josie looked up too and Julia could almost see the wheels spinning as she read it then she too cracked up.

  “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Shit! They are twisted here.”

  “Somebody should tell them we’re not in Texas.”

  They had to hold onto each other to stop each other falling down laughing.

  “I’m glad someone’s enjoying their quest.”

  Julia spun around at the sound of a male voice. They hadn’t heard anyone approaching but as she watched, Chris and Andy, one of the other teams strode through the batwing door.

  “What’s so funny, ladies?”

  Julia just shook her head and Josie was hardly in a condition to speak, so just pointed to the top of the stairs. Julia watched as the two men read the sign and both cracked a grin.

  “Let me guess. Your clue is up there and you’ve never been in a brothel before.”

  “Correct, thank you very much.”

  “Well, our clue is over there…” He pointed to the spittoon “…so I guess we’ll just read the name off it and be on our way, unless, of course, you two ladies need some assistance.”

  “We’ll be fine, thank you.” Julia felt a blush creeping onto her face as she checked the position of the spittoon relative to the doors along the galleried landing above the bar. She counted the one she wanted as the third on the right from the top of the stairs.

  She followed Josie over to the stairs and immediately noticed Josie was putting that little bit of sexy extra into her walk. Glancing back, she saw the two guys had also spotted it and were watching them. On an impulse, she followed suit, matching Josie wiggle for wiggle as they climbed up to the gallery.

  Turning right, they headed for the third door and opened it, revealing a period bedroom, complete with a brass bedstead, and a tiny dressing table with a basin and jug on it, behind which was a mirror.

  Moving over to that corner, Julia clapped her hands in glee and pointed to the pattern on the jug, printed on the far side. A simple arrangement of O’s and I’s, just four characters reflected in the mirror as IOIO.

  “Is that the answer then, a thousand and ten?”

  Julia shook her head. “No, that’s too simple.”

  “It is?”

  “Yeah. I think it’s more likely to be a code, but I can’t work it out.”

  They both heard a chuckle from the gallery and Andy walked into the small room, closely followed by his teammate.

  “Is that your clue, then?”

  Julia nodded. “Yeah, but I think it’s a code.”

  Andy chuckled. “What’s it worth to solve your code for you?”

  “You can solve it?”

  “Dead easy, that one.”

  “Oh? We’re stumped.”

  “So, if we can give you a solution, what’s it worth? After all, this is supposed to be a whore house, so
an answer has to be worth something in return.”

  “Just for solving a puzzle? I don’t think so.”

  Andy grinned at her. “I was thinking of a kiss.”

  “Oh.”

  “But if you want to offer anything more, I’m sure Chris is game, aren’t you fella?”

  She could see the way Chris had locked eyes with Josie. There seemed to be a lot of unspoken conversation being exchanged along that connecting line.

  “A kiss?”

  “Just a kiss, one each. There’s two of you and two of us, so a kiss from each of you for each of us.”

  “Don’t you think that’s a bit high school of you?”

  “Nope. You’ve done ninety percent of the work. We can solve the puzzle for you, for the price of a kiss with each of us.”

  “I’m game.”

  Julia whirled on her friend and frowned, but Josie just smiled. “Answer first.”

  “Isn’t that also a bit high school of you? There’s a trust issue here.”

  Julia sighed. She was outnumbered here, and she assumed neither guy would settle for just a brush of lips against lips. When they said kiss, they meant kiss.

  Andy broke the silence. “One kiss, and we give you the answer, then we have the second kiss. Okay?”

  Josie nodded and stepped past Julia. “Okay. Are you going first? With me, or with my friend?”

  Andy looked past her, straight into Julia’s eyes before answering Josie’s question. “First with you, I think. I want Chris to warm your friend up for me first.”

  “Cheek!”

  Andy grabbed hold of Josie’s hand and pulled her close, then with the brunette in his arms, spun around and sat down on the bed. Josie gave a little shriek as she landed on his lap. The low giggle that followed told Julia her friend was perfectly happy with the way things were turning out.

  Chris stepped past the tangle of legs that protruded from the bed and walked up to Julia. She was acutely conscious she couldn’t back away—she was already next to the wall. He smiled down at her. At least in the bar the night before she’d been closer to his height with her four-inch heels. Here, in strong walking boots, she didn’t have that help, and she was acutely aware of how he towered over her. He took both her hands in his and slowly lifted them up above her head. Pressing them back against the wall, he held them pinned there with one hand. She swallowed hard as, beyond him, she could see Josie and Andy already engaged in a passionate lip-lock.

  Unable to look Chris in the face, she closed her eyes and waited for the now inevitable kiss. She’d expected he’d be harsh, hard even, as he mashed his lips against hers, but he was anything but. His hold of her hands above her head had made her expect something rough, but he was gentle.

  Chris’s lips brushed against hers, never still, but never losing contact, never breaking a connection that seemed to fire like electricity through her veins. He was a good kisser—no, a great kisser—and she could feel her body responding to the stimulation. Andy might have joked about Chris warming her up for him, but he was doing precisely that. His lips parted, the tip of his tongue flicking out to tickle her lips. She shuddered in his grasp as he pushed his lower body against hers, pinning her tightly to the wall as his tongue grew more insistent, demanding entry.

  His tongue pressed harder and she felt his hand caress the side of her face, trailing a sinuous pattern down across her cheek toward her chin. She opened her mouth, unable not to respond, and his tongue slid past her teeth to take possession of her. He let go of her hands, but she kept her hands where they were as both his hands trailed down over her face, and then to her neck. She stiffened as they moved lower, onto the upper slopes of her breasts, but all her reaction did was make her suck on his tongue. As he cupped her breasts through her T-shirt, she tried to stifle a moan. Her nipples peaked inside her bra and down below she could feel her panties seem to tighten across what were now moistening outer pussy lips.

  She groaned and lowered her arms behind his head, clasping him to her as he continued to work on her breasts through her clothes, then his hands left her chest and started to move down toward her waist. She knew he was going to pull her T-shirt from her jeans and push his hands up underneath to take possession of her sensitive breasts. Grabbing the short hairs at the back of his neck, she twisted her fingers together and pulled. It worked. He was forced to break the kiss.

  Her words were breathless. “Just a kiss, buster, just a kiss.”

  She heard a soft chuckle from the direction of the bed. “He had you going there, girlfriend.”

  “You can shove a sock in it, Josie.”

  Josie just laughed and, as Chris backed away, she could see her friend didn’t seem to have a hair out of place.

  “Good, was he?”

  “None of your business.”

  “Oh, he was, then. Good. I’ll find out in a minute. First, though, there’s the little matter of an answer.”

  Andy nodded. “That was the agreement. The answer is simple, it’s binary.”

  Julia did a classic facepalm mime. “Of course. Why didn’t I think of that?”

  “Because you didn’t, that’s all. To an IT guy like me, it was obvious the second I saw what you two were looking at.”

  Julia did a quick bit of arithmetic in her head. “So the answer is ten. Josie, grab your phone.”

  Andy shook his head. “I wouldn’t be too sure of that, but there again I haven’t seen your clue.”

  “Why?”

  “Answer to that might cost you more than a kiss.”

  “Forget it.”

  He chuckled. “Can’t blame a guy for trying. Again, it’s simple. The reflection is ten, but the printing on the jug is 0101, so only five. Check your clue wording to see which is your answer.”

  Josie grabbed the clue sheet and read it out. Julia nodded. “It reflects its count. The answer has to be five, not ten. Send that.”

  “We still have part of our bargain to collect.”

  “True, but we need to get the answer sent in. We’ll honor our side—you helped.”

  “Good girl. So why don’t you come over here.”

  “The bed?” She eyed it dubiously, but he patted the counterpane next to him.

  “I don’t bite, much.”

  “Would you believe I’ve heard that line before?”

  “And would you believe I’ve seen the move you’ve pulled on Chris before. But no woman has ever needed to do that to me.”

  She shivered as Josie looked up from her phone. “Done!” The phone in her hand chirped and she beamed as she read the return message. “And it’s right, too! Thank you, guys.”

  Chris shrugged. “Andy solved it, not me. I’m in sales. I didn’t have a scooby.”

  “Still, thanks.”

  “Maybe you can thank me for this.”

  This time, it was Chris who moved fast, grabbing Josie’s hand and towing her out onto the landing. Josie gave another low giggle but clearly didn’t object. As soon as they were out of sight, Andy patted the bed next to him again. Rather than let a standoff develop, Julia crossed the room and sat on the edge of the bed next to him.

  He patted her hand. “I meant it, I don’t bite.”

  “Hmm…”

  Anything she might have said was cut off as Andy turned to her, pulled her into his arms, and started to kiss her. Just as Chris had been, his lips were gentle, the kiss persistent but not insistent. Julia relaxed as he pulled her tighter against his body. At least sitting down she wasn’t quite as conscious of their height difference as she had been with his friend.

  She found herself responding to his touch; to his kiss. She heard a thud from outside followed by another low throaty giggle from her friend. She tried to stop her own giggle rising in her throat at the idea she was in the arms of a man inside a brothel. Okay, it was a fake western one supposed to look like one from a hundred and fifty years ago, but it was a whorehouse according to the sign.

  The thought bubbled up inside her and she had to pull
away, allowing the giggle out.

  “What? Am I that bad?”

  She shook her head. “It’s not you, it’s just…” Julia tried hard to say the words, but they wouldn’t come out.

  “Let me guess. You just heard Chris and your friend try one of the other doors in the whorehouse only to find they’re not real.”

  “Not the door…”

  “Ah, the fact you’re inside a whorehouse, sitting on a bed, in the arms of a stranger.”

  “Sorry, yes. I can’t help it.” She started laughing again and Andy just grinned at her.

  “Well, we’ll have to do something about that.”

  “Such as?” Her voice still betrayed her amusement. She couldn’t help it. Andy kept hold of her and pulled them both backward, leaving them lying on the bed. “Well, for starters you’re no longer sitting on a bed in a whorehouse with a stranger. You’re lying on it.”

  She giggled, unable to stop.

  Andy’s hands moved to her waist and pulled her T-shirt clear of the waistband of her jeans. His fingers found the snap at the top of her fly and that was opened just as quickly. The sound of her zipper being drawn down followed, echoing in the tiny room. Then he was tugging her shirt up, exposing the bottom of her bra.

  “That’s better. Now you’re wearing a bit less, showing a bit more skin, you look more like you should in a whorehouse, lying on a bed with a stranger.”

  The efficient way he’d partially stripped her sobered Julia quickly. She’d agreed to a kiss, but suddenly she was a long way past that, way outside her comfort zone. She stared at him wide-eyed, almost breathless from the combination of her laughter and the recognition of her own sudden arousal.

  Andy hadn’t finished. “My pappy always told me the fastest way into a woman’s panties was by laughter.”

  Julia giggled again, unable to stop it. He placed his hand on the flat of her stomach and she sucked in a breath at the sudden contact with his hot flesh. The hollowing of her stomach provided a gap between her flesh and the now visible waistband of her panties. Quick as a striking snake, his fingers slid into the access and she gasped as his fingers smoothed their way down toward her mound.