by Michele Reed
“It doesn’t run,” Kerry said. “It needs a lot of work to get it looking pristine again…but I think you knew that. I think that’s what you want? That’s what your father would have wanted too, to work on it?” Mercedes walked around the vehicle, unable to draw her eyes away. She became excited and started listing off a few things she could do to get started on the project. She was more than happy to work on this car for him. The dream car had finally arrived, and she would be the one who got to fix it up. “That’s it, you know?” Kerry said suddenly, interrupting her excited ranting and forcing her to look up at him and away from the car for a moment.
“What’s it?” she asked.
“The reason I find you so beautiful. It’s that look in your eyes that you have right now. That spark. That excitement you get when you have something to fix. When you have something to work on.” He came around to where she was standing and placed a hand on her hip, admiring the car along with her. He placed his free hand on the car and took in a breath of air. “I’ve seen you when you’re working at the construction site…the way you get with that look in your eye as you all build. I love that look. You’re so motivated and so excited by, well, everything.”
Mercedes allowed him to put his arms around her. She felt comfortable in his embrace. “So once I get this car fixed up, what are you going to do with it?” she asked curiously.
“Mercedes,” he spoke her name as though she were a silly child who did not understand some sort of simple concept, “that’s up to you. Don’t you see, I bought this for you?”
She turned around to face him. “You bought this for me? It’s mine?” She felt that surely she must have misunderstood him.
“Of course it’s yours,” he said. “It’s a gift for you, but I hope you will at least take me for a spin in it once you’ve got it up and running.”
Mercedes stared at him in disbelief, knowing that he could see her eyes watering from the surprise. Her father’s dream car was hers. It was hard to believe. Kerry leaned in to kiss her but he paused just as he had done on their first night together, desperate to be sure that she wanted him too. Mercedes decided not to toy with Kerry this time. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him so close that their noses touched. They kissed one another and he caressed her waist and clutched her tight in his arms. They continued kissing for several minutes before Mercedes had the ingenious idea to get him into the car for another fun evening of love-making. He was incredibly eager at her brilliant suggestion.
The two of them climbed into the driver’s seat of the car and she made her way on top of him closing the door just before leaning the seat as far back as it would go. He started to move his hands upwards in an attempt to undress her, but she playfully slapped his hands away. He grinned, clearly sensing that she had a plan for him this evening, and he was all too willing to find out what that was. She got him undressed first, leaving him as exposed as she had felt on their first night together. He knew she had turned the tables on him intentionally, and his cheeks flushed from the lack of coverage he was feeling. She pulled her belt out and told him to put his hands above his head. He obeyed, acting a bit flabbergasted by her request and still a bit embarrassed by his nudity because she still remained fully clothed on top of him.
Mercedes used her belt to tie his wrists to the headrest. She had never been particularly kinky, and she was almost certain that this was a new experience to someone like Kerry as well based off of how red his face was turning. He did not protest being bound, but she could tell that it made him a bit uncomfortable. Once his wrists were secure she gave him a few tender kisses and then removed her top and bra. Mercedes gently scratched her nails against his chest and ran her fingers all over his body, intentionally avoiding his genitals. His breathing grew heavy as she carefully stroked his inner thighs. “Don’t tease me,” he said, his voice practically shaking from the intense desire that was building inside of him. Mercedes had not expected to enjoy being so in control as she was. He had been so adamant about providing her with pleasure during their first sexual encounter that she was hoping to repay the favor. Already his eyes were wide with suspense, and she happily could see that she was providing him with a sensual high.
She got down on the floorboard, her face coming close to his appendage. She continued teasing him with her breath as she stroked the inside of his legs with her palms. She traced his genitals with the tip of her tongue but only for a moment. Kerry’s legs tensed; she could see his toes were curled up. Glancing up, she could see him staring up at the roof of the car, his jaw shaking a bit from his uncontrollable breathing. His eyes closed when she clasped his inner thighs tight and used her hands to push his legs apart, making him sprawl before her. Her lips momentarily skimmed over his sex before she crawled back up into his seat and straddled him. Kerry was practically shaking now, staring at her with questioning eyes as though to ask what are you going to do now?
She leaned towards him, her breasts pushed against his chest while she nibbled at his neck. She gently stroked his sides as she started to suck on his throat. This went on for several minutes before she heard him stutter, “Oh, God, please…” begging her to stop playing with him, her tortured prisoner. His desire had heightened. She knew this for certain by the way his legs bent up eagerly, his fingers curling and pulling at his restraint, and he was pushing his hips upward just so as to have his manhood touch her even slightly. His eyes were now shut tight for a moment, but when he heard the sound of her jeans zipper at last coming undone they shot open again. Now Kerry’s breathing had become a slight pant as she started to lean into him, faintly crushing down on his chest.
Mercedes could see the relief on his face as she finally finished undressing. She at last gave him the satisfaction he had been waiting for, moving her hips up in down with the motion of his own, matching his rhythm perfectly. She had gotten him so incredibly worked up that he was moaning and groaning as much as she was. She heard the horn of the car honk, and she tried not to laugh knowing that he had hit it with either his foot or knee during their aggressive movements.
When at last they came to a climax, Kerry seemed to collapse beneath her. She remained straddling him for a moment, taking time to catch her own breath and to look Kerry up and down. His chest rose and fell with each passing breath, hardly able to breathe at all after his intense exertion. His eyes were closed, his head leaned back slightly. After a moment, Kerry blinked his pretty blue eyes open, his famous smile slowly becoming brighter and brighter as he gaze upon her. He jiggled his arms. “Are you going to let me go?” he asked spiritedly.
Mercedes leaned over and undid the belt from the headrest. His right wrist was completely freed, the belt remained strapped around his left wrist as he brought his arms down to his side and touched her bare hips. “You’re amazing,” he told her, his entire body still tensing up from the aggressive lovemaking. Kerry was completely inebriated by the act. His arms acted almost like limp noodles as his hands explored her thighs and he remained lying back in the seat, enjoying the view he had of her body from beneath.
“No,” she said and leaned down on top of him, running her fingers through his blonde hair. “You’re amazing. All that you’ve done for me…”
He reached up and grabbed her face, kissing her several times on the lips. “Mercedes, I think I’m in love with you,” he said and then suddenly a look of concern passed over his face. “I don’t want to scare you away.” He regretted his words, fearful that he had said too much. “I know we’ve just met-”
“I think I’m in love with you too, Kerry,” she said more confidently than he had so as to reassure him that she was not going to run away from the kind words.
A long moment of silence passed. They were smiling, but they had run out of things to say in that moment. He pulled her down next to him and wrapped her in his arms; the two of them squished together in the driver’s seat of the car, enveloped in each other’s embrace. Her head landed on his chest as he rested his own on top of he
r head. Their breathing became synced together. This was the moment Mercedes realized how perfectly everything was suddenly falling together. Not long ago she thought her life was coming apart, but being curled up next to Kerry showed her just how wrong that assumption had been. Everything had seemed so difficult not too long ago, but now the world seemed so much simpler just by being next to Kerry. Slowly, Mercedes found herself drifting off to sleep.
Mercedes did not awaken again until an unfamiliar ringtone disturbed her rest and she felt Kerry moving beside her. The two of them sat up as she located his phone in the floorboard within his pants pocket and handed it to him. While he spoke into the phone, she attempted to stretch although they were squeezed tightly together in the seat, so it proved to be quite impossible. Looking outside of the car, she could see by the light coming in from the high windows that it was early morning. Another night spent in the garage, it seemed.
“Hello?” Kerry’s voice grumbled slightly after being woken up so suddenly. Mercedes could tell he was only halfway listening to the caller when his eyes suddenly grew large. “Wait, say that again?” he paused and shook his head. “Oh, wow, okay… yes, thank you, Miss Harris. Please, tell your husband I will be there as soon as I can. Yes, yes, thank you.” He hung up his phone, a slight look of urgency in his eyes. “I have to get to the office. The CFO is on his way to my office and Mr. Harris, the man I told you about who’s looking to merge, he’s there waiting on me. Geez, I didn’t expect this to happen today. The merger meeting is about to be underway…Oh, my God - I slept in a garage last night!” He jumped out of the car. He was panicking. She tried not to laugh at him, but it was hard not to as he stood there completely naked outside of the car.
Mercedes began throwing his clothes out at him as she found them; she exited the car and the two of them quickly got dressed. Kerry was obviously distraught by the sudden shift in moods; he needed to get focused, but he was far from focused. “Slow down,” Mercedes grabbed him by his shoulders. “You put your slacks on backwards. Take a breath.” He smiled and thanked her as he forced himself to slow down. She pointed towards a back corner. “There’s a bathroom right there. You’ve got grease on your face. Go in there, get yourself cleaned up and ready for this meeting. I’m going to walk next door, there’s a little café there. I’ll order us some coffee and something to eat on the way to the office while you are getting ready - just swing by and pick me up once you’re cleaned up, all right? Just make sure you lock up before you leave.”
“Thank you,” he said happily and kissed her forehead. He looked down, “I really did put my pants on backwards.” He rolled his eyes and grabbed the rest of his clothes, waddling to the bathroom, his legs restricted by the way he had put on his slacks. She laughed at him, lightening the intense mood by making fun of him while she searched for the rest of her own clothes.
Mercedes quickly got dressed and hurried down the long stretch of sidewalk that led to the rundown café. There thankfully was not much of a line- not that there ever was at that particular location. The coffee there was not the best, and it was not the most glamorous place to get coffee, but it would have to do. In addition to drinks, she also ordered one of the café’s enormous blueberry muffins for her and Kerry to share; the muffins there were better than the coffee. By the time she was wondering outside with the two to-go coffees and blueberry muffin in hand, Kerry was already pulling up. She climbed into the passenger’s seat of Kerry’s car, “Did you lock up?” she asked.
“All locked up,” he assured her. “Do you mind riding with me to the office? I don’t have time to go by the worksite, and I’d hate to make Yury rush out here.”
“You’re fine,” she waved it off. “Al and the others probably weren’t expecting me back today anyways with how I left them yesterday. Al can handle the worksite for a few hours without me.”
Kerry thanked her and pulled the car away from the café, eagerly heading out Brooklyn. He thanked her for the coffee and she fed him bits of the blueberry muffin while they were stuck in traffic. She laughed and made fun of his sudden aloofness that had come with his panic, although he was not so panicked that he could not lick playfully lick at her fingers when she passed off bits of muffin to him. “I can’t believe you put your slacks on backwards,” she teased.
He laughed, “Thanks for helping me to keep my head on straight.” He sipped on the coffee eagerly. “This is awful,” he said and stuck out his tongue. “It tastes like watered down instant coffee.”
Mercedes laughed, “That was the best I could do so last minute.”
“Thank you,” he said again just as they were pulling onto Lexington Avenue. Mercedes could see the Chrysler Building as they turned the corner. “When we get there you can wait in my office. The meeting will be held in the board room.”
Mercedes nodded, agreeing to this decision. She certainly did not mind waiting in his oversized office with the great view, large library, and fully-stocked kitchen. She was certain she could find something to do to kill time while he had his oh-so important meeting. The two of them walked up to the building together after getting his car parked. She had to double-time to keep up with Kerry’s quick, panicky strides. They boarded the elevator and headed up to the twenty sixth floor where his business was run. “Quit acting so nervous,” she told him and straightened his tie.
“Sorry, I just was not expecting that phone call today. I look like a mess,” he explained his unusually flustered behavior. “This is sort of a big deal, you know? It’s a big change in the company, so I need to be focused today.”
“You will be fine,” Mercedes said, although she had no idea what a merger meeting was like, and she knew she was speaking out of ignorance. She spoke to him when it seemed appropriate, but for the most part she tried not to distract his thoughts. It was a very important day for him, and she did not want to get in the way of his mental prepping.
Kerry, before the elevator arrived on the twenty-sixth floor, leaned over to her in the elevator and kissed her lips, “You’re a bit of a distraction, you know that? I don’t know if I will be able to focus at all after last night.”
She grinned and leaned her back against the elevator wall, “Easy, big-boy.” She told him, “You’re acting like a teenaged boy who just lost his virginity.”
He laughed loudly at her taunt, “Am I?”
“You’re just so…excited,” she said.
“And excited is bad?” he questioned.
Mercedes kissed him. “No, not at all. I like seeing you…distracted. Distracted by me.”
“Don’t get cocky,” he said and then pulled her into a tight hug. “You’ve got my head spinning this morning.” He was clearly pleased that they were alone on the elevator. “I’ve never been so…” his voice trailed off as he tried to think of an appropriate word to describe what he was feeling.
“Aroused?” Mercedes asked.
“In love,” he said, and her face turned red; he kissed her nose. “And aroused, yes, that too.” He released her from his grip, knowing that they were coming close to their stop.
At last the elevator doors opened and the two of them exited into the large lobby where the two secretarial desks were set up. Across the way, Mercedes could see Miss Lawrence seated at her desk, chatting away with a woman who was seated at the desk across from hers. That must be Miss Harris, Mercedes thoughts, although there was a man in a business suit blocking her view of the mystery woman. “Mr. Harris,” Kerry called out and the man in the suit turned around to greet them. Kerry paused momentarily, “Oh, Miss Harris… I did not know you were…coming in today…” Kerry seemed increasingly nervous as he shook hands with Mr. Harris. Something was off about Kerry, but she was not sure what.
Mercedes stood aside awkwardly as the two men exchanged greetings. She attempted to lean around Mr. Harris to get a glimpse of the man’s wife who was seated at the secretary’s desk, but the woman was looking down and her hair was in her face. She was acting strange. While Kerry and Mr. Harris spok
e to one another, both expressing their eagerness for the arrival of Kerry’s CFO, Mercedes at last got a good look of Mrs. Harris’ face. “Mom?” Mercedes spoke the word clearly, not expecting her voice to catch against the walls and echo loudly throughout the lobby.
The woman’s face turned red. Mr. Harris, without missing a beat, smiled at Mercedes. “So this is Mercedes Mercado, then?” the man asked, mispronouncing her last name. “Lilly, you didn’t tell me your daughter looked just like you.” The man was so nonchalant about this discovery that it made Mercedes want to reach out and strangle him. He was looking at her with a clearly fake smile. There was almost a hint of hatred in his eyes, but he was not the one she was most furious with.
Lilly, Mercedes frowned, where did that name even come from? She thought for a moment, attempting to recall her mother’s full name: Maria Jane Lilliana García Martínez De Mercado, but she had always gone by Jane not Lilliana. Mercedes had not even recognized the name Harris as her mother’s new married name. She had never met the man who had swiped her mother away, so she had never bothered to remember much about him. The woman who had bought her suit and had sent her the dress and kind letters had been her mother working as a temp agent at Kerry’s company in an attempt to win him over for her husband. Mercedes felt sick to her stomach. She wondered if she, too, was a part of some money-grabbing game of her mother’s, and it infuriated her. Had her mother intently set her and Kerry up? Mercedes stomach churned, of course she had. She gritted her teeth, that’s why she sent me those clothes. She wanted me to impress him for her.
