Stud

by Jamie K. Schmidt

  STARKAD HAS LOGGED ON.

  Well, either Mick had just been hacked or he was enjoying the game more than I thought he was. After a few minutes, he tracked me down. Lucky for him, I was delivering mead to the tavern in the newbie area. Well, maybe I stuck around to see if he would come looking for me. My character was fishing when he came up to me and sent over a group invitation. I accepted, wondering if he forgot to tell me something and this was easier than looking up my cellphone number—which I still wouldn’t give him. He had it. I know he did. He was just too lazy to look it up.

  WANT TO GO SOMEWHERE MORE PRIVATE AND TALK?

  I had my character look around and I typed: LOOKS LIKE WE’RE THE ONLY ONES HERE.

  I WANT TO MAKE LOVE TO YOU.

  My mouth dropped open. He had to have been hacked. The tingles started up again. It wasn’t him. It couldn’t be him. But I could pretend, I suppose. Of course, if it wasn’t Mick, who was using his account?

  DID I SHOCK YOU?

  I gave a breathless laugh. YEAH, I’D SAY SO. JUST SO I’M CLEAR, YOU’RE OVER 18 RIGHT?

  DON’T YOU KNOW WHO THIS IS?

  Making up my mind, I typed back: YOU’RE STARKAD AND I’M YRSA. I’M SINGLE AND WOULD VERY MUCH LIKE TO WARM YOUR FIRES TONIGHT.

  THEN COME WITH ME.

  His character opened up a portal and I stepped through it with him. We were in an inn. Mick wouldn’t say “make love.” He would say “fuck.” I got the tingles just thinking about it. And second thoughts flooded through me. Who was this?

  I START BY KISSING YOUR SWEET MOUTH. MY TONGUE SEEKS OUT YOURS, appeared on my screen.

  Was I about to have cyber sex with my very sexy boss? There was enough plausible deniability that might be the loophole we were both looking for.

  WITHOUT WASTING A MOMENT, I PLUNGE MY HAND DOWN YOUR PANTS AND TAKE YOUR COCK IN MY HAND, I typed. In for a penny, in for a pound.

  Mick’s character stripped out of his clothes. I did the same even though it was a little ridiculous. I would have on a tank top and shorts and he’d have on shorts. Only this time, it didn’t work out like that.

  “Holy shit,” I said with a giggle.

  We were both naked. I had huge cartoony tits with big nipples and I was shaved bare. He was also manscaped well and was sporting a large erection.

  This had to be an Easter egg that the programmers put in to mess with us. I was going to give Curtis hell for this on Monday. Jim was going to have liability issues with this patch. They would have to put a huge lockdown on where and with whom you could get naked. Still, it was a little weird and a little arousing at the same time. However, it confirmed that this was Mick. Only he and I had access to the pre-beta expansion that did this.

  Mick’s character lay down on the bed and beckoned to me. I had my character kneel in front of him.

  I TAKE YOUR COCK IN MY MOUTH AND SUCK ON YOU. I WANT YOU TO ENJOY ME GIVING YOU THIS PLEASURE. I was crap at this sort of thing, but I squirmed waiting for what he would type next.

  I TURN YOU AROUND SO I CAN EAT YOUR PUSSY AT THE SAME TIME. I’VE BEEN DYING TO TASTE YOU AGAIN.

  Again. My breathing quickened. It was definitely Mick. I had my character lie on the bed next to him in the sixty-nine position. The videogame wasn’t porn, so we just lay there. But my imagination was going into overdrive.

  YOUR MOUTH FEELS GOOD ON MY COCK. I HOLD YOUR HEAD IN PLACE WHILE I GO TO TOWN ON YOUR SWEET CUNT.

  I could picture it. His tongue had been amazing when we were together and his dirty words were doing it for me. Slipping my hand into my pants, I fingered myself while trying to type with my left hand.

  MAKE ME COME. THEN FUCK ME HARD.

  NO. I’M GOING TO MAKE YOU COME. THEN I’M GOING TO FUCK YOU REAL SLOW. I WANT YOU SCRATCHING YOUR NAILS DOWN MY BACK AND SCREAMING MY NAME.

  My fingers moved faster. He was going to make me come all right. This was ridiculous and hot and I could just about scream in frustration. Pushing the laptop aside, I rolled over to grab my vibrator. Kicking off my pajama bottoms, I eased the vibrator inside me. Closing my eyes, I groaned as the pressure eased a bit.

  ARE YOU ENJOYING YOURSELF? he asked.

  YES.

  ARE YOU TOUCHING YOURSELF?

  YES.

  ME TOO.

  My hands shook as I pictured him lying on his bed stroking his cock. I hit /dance so my toon writhed and danced in bed with him. That just looked ridiculous, so I stopped. I didn’t want to watch them. I wanted to see Mick. I wanted Mick in my bed, doing the things he was typing.

  PLAY WITH YOUR TITS. PINCH YOUR NIPPLES. IMAGINE ME SUCKING ON THEM WHILE YOU BOUNCE ON MY FAT COCK.

  I threw my head back and did what he asked.

  Pushing the vibrator in and out of my needy pussy, I gripped my breast and came fast and hard.

  ARE YOU COMING?

  I GAVE MY VIBRATOR A WORKOUT, BUT I LIKE THE REAL THING MUCH BETTER.

  ME TOO.

  DID YOU COME? I was feeling a little self-conscious now that it was over. It had been silly, but hot and sexy at the same time. I liked that he was thinking about me enough to do this, but I wish he had just stayed instead.

  YEAH. SHOULD HAVE KISSED YOU ON THE MOUTH TONIGHT.

  SHOULD HAVE DONE A LOT OF THINGS TONIGHT, I came back with.

  GOOD NIGHT MY BEAUTIFUL YRSA, SWEET DREAMS.

  Chapter 13

  Terri

  Mondays still sucked, even when I wasn’t slinging beans. I was a little put out that Mick or Starkad never logged in for the rest of the weekend. I had a hard time looking my brother in the face, though, after giving him so much shit about him and Maeva. I did ask him if he ever wanted to meet her in person and Billy told me not to be ridiculous.

  When I walked into work, there was a huge scene going on in the lobby. One security guard stood in front of the elevator with his beefy arms crossed.

  “I’m sorry, ma’am, I have orders not to let you up.”

  An elegant older woman, wearing a fur coat and diamonds, flashed a flawless manicure as she tried to strike the other security guard, who was dragging her toward the door.

  “I will have your heads for this. You know who I am. I own this business. I demand you get your hands off me.”

  “What’s going on?” I asked the beefy guard as I sidled up to the elevator.

  He just shook his head at me and swiped his key card to bring the elevator down.

  “Who’s she?” the woman screamed. “One of my son’s whores?”

  I blinked at her. “Hey, crazy lady. Don’t call me a whore.”

  “Don’t engage her,” the guard said and stared at the elevator as if by sheer will he could get it to come down faster.

  “What the hell is going on here?” The elevator finally arrived and Mick strode out. I had to jump away before he barreled me down, without sparing me a look.

  “Michael, I want you to fire all of these people.” The rich old hag waggled her manicure at the guards and me.

  “Me? What did I do?” I asked, ready to enjoy the show.

  “Mother, I told you not to come here anymore.”

  Mother? Oh, shit.

  “Go upstairs,” he snapped at me.

  I raised an eyebrow. Oh, really? So much for secret kisses and special in-game meets or whatever I had convinced myself this week would hold. At least he didn’t snap his fingers. I took my time getting into the elevator, shamelessly eavesdropping.

  “Are you going to get a restraining order against me?” his mother asked. “Maybe you can put me in prison like you did your father. We could share a cell.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. You’re overreacting.”

  “I still own shares in this company and you are still my son.”

  “You do not work here and while I appreciate you coming to visit your sons, you need to make an appointment. You taught us that business comes before family, after all.”

  That was all I caught before the elevator doors closed and I shot up to the tenth floor. Holy
moly, that was one hell of an argument. Dropping my purse off at my desk, I headed over to Simon’s office. I should probably give him the heads-up. My hand was raised to knock when I heard a deep moan. It didn’t sound like he was hurt.

  “Yeah, suck it like that. You know what I like.”

  Holy crap. I did not want any part of that either. I backed away and sped to my cubicle. It was barely seven o’clock in the morning. I had wanted to get a jump on the day, but apparently the Wentworths were early risers. I logged on to my computer and saw that Curtis had already left me three messages. He was in California. I wasn’t sure he slept. Even though it was only four a.m. there, I called his cellphone.

  “You’re in early,” he said, answering immediately.

  “You’re up late,” I countered.

  “Got a few more hours in me. Did you read my emails?”

  “I just got in, but I saw the subject lines. I was working with the new equipment in the beta a bit this weekend. As we predicted, the pet got a lot of attention. I was able to generate some interest.”

  “Now who’s the workaholic? Speaking of which, what’s going on with Mick? We were in the middle of a conversation and he had to hang up. It was rather abrupt. Is the place on fire?”

  I gave a half laugh. “Yeah, something like that. His mother showed up and I guess there’s some bad blood there.”

  “That whole family is a nightmare,” Curtis said.

  “What do you mean?” I knew this was office gossip and not very professional, but it wasn’t as if Mick talked to me about these things.

  “We almost didn’t go with the Wentworth Agency. They’re a great marketing group with a fantastic professional reputation. However, personally they’re a wreck. Mick threw his father in jail for stealing over a million dollars from the company.”

  “Oh.” Mick had left out the part that his father had been embezzling from the Wentworth Agency.

  “His brother can’t keep it in his pants. He’s had a string of girlfriends cherry-picked from the agency. He hasn’t been bothering you, has he?”

  “No, he’s been a perfect gentleman.” Except for the person giving him a BJ in his office. I thought guiltily that I shouldn’t be so surprised. After all, that could have been me and Mick last Friday.

  “But Simon gets it from his mother. Mick had her fired because her assistant filed sexual harassment charges against the old broad.”

  I frowned at his term, but she hadn’t seemed like a pleasant person so I didn’t say anything about it to Curtis.

  “Wow,” was the only thing I could say. No wonder Mick had been so adamant about not fooling around with me. Shit.

  “Anyway, if you see him, tell him I would like to finish our conversation about GameCon. I hear you’re coming out to see us.”

  “Just for the weekend, but I’m really looking forward to it.”

  “All right, I’ll give you some time to read my emails and get settled. I’ll probably talk with you tomorrow about them. Happy Monday.”

  I made an appropriate noise of agreement and hung up. I managed to avoid both brothers until the afternoon. I was headed out to take Billy to his appointment that he missed on Friday.

  Mick was on a tear. I could hear him berating some poor SOB for leaving some drives out on the table instead of locking them up. I had made it to the elevator and thought I was home free.

  “Where are you off to?” Simon said, stepping into the elevator with me.

  I tried not to blush. “I’ve got to take my brother to the doctor.”

  “Or are you avoiding the wrath of Mick?”

  “Two birds. One stone.”

  “I heard you saw our mother today.”

  I nodded, hoping he’d let the subject drop. That wasn’t all I saw, or rather heard in his case. I wondered who he had been with. One of the interns? I frowned. I hoped it wasn’t the young one from the Midwest. She was a little naïve for the big city. I wasn’t sure how I would broach the subject with her, though.

  Are you sucking on the owner’s dick?

  Just curious, because I was considering doing the same thing with his brother.

  “She’s a little high-strung,” Simon said, breaking me out of my thoughts. “Might have been hitting the bottle a little early, you know?” Simon tilted an imaginary bottle to his lips.

  Giving him a sympathetic smile, I faced forward. Why did the elevator take so long when you were talking and go too quick when you were fucking? I caught myself blushing in the reflection of the doors as I remembered Mick holding my hips while he thrust inside of me.

  I wiped a thin sheen of perspiration from my forehead. It was getting hot in here.

  “We’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention that little scene you witnessed this morning to anyone.”

  Which one?

  “My lips are sealed,” I said and then had to repress a shudder when he looked at my lips and grinned. If his brother had done that, I’d be aroused. From him, it was a little gross. Especially after knowing he had been getting his knob shined this morning from someone else in the company. He was like one of those Tinder jerks who set up a date at five, eight, and another at eleven, hoping to get lucky on each one.

  “Once your contract is up, I’d like to consider you for a permanent hire,” Simon said.

  What would have thrilled me last week now made me wonder if he was coming on to me after hearing what Curtis said. I also wondered how he wanted me to earn that. On my knees or with hard work? I could see why Mick was so nervous about office relationships.

  “Thanks.”

  “Let’s go out to lunch again tomorrow. Luigi’s at noon?”

  “I can’t,” I said, thinking fast. “I’ve got a working lunch with Mick and Lemmingware.”

  “Well, stop by after. I wanted to get your opinion on the social media posts that Janet did.”

  “Will do.”

  He didn’t get out of the elevator at the ground floor with me. He just waved and took it back up.

  —

  Billy didn’t look good to me. He was tired, his face stretched and wan. He hadn’t shaved in a few days and I saw the dotted gray in his whiskers. He wasn’t old enough to look so old. He was only ten years older than me but looked twice my age. The doctor had upped his pain medications last week, but I didn’t think Billy was taking them. While we waited for the test results to come back, I shook the nearly full pill bottle at Billy.

  “I don’t like how they make me feel,” he said. “It feels like I’m floating over my own body and I can’t concentrate.”

  “You can take a few days off from studying when the pain is bad.”

  Billy was trying to get his degree in computer science. He chose not to go to college, because the landscaping business he worked for paid a shit ton of money. And he liked working outside and with his hands. It killed him to be inside and it was worse when he didn’t have anything else to do but play videogames. He found an online college that had a good reputation and based on the coursework I’ve seen from them, it was warranted. He wanted to design videogames and I think he’d be great. Maybe I could get him an internship at Lemmingware, if they allowed telecommuting.

  “I’m fine.”

  Stubborn asshole.

  The doctor came back in and his face looked grim. Panic flared through me. “I’m going to recommend a wheelchair.”

  Billy was already shaking his head.

  “You got lucky with the fall. Next time you could break a hip.”

  “I told you. I got up too fast. I got lightheaded and I lost my balance. I don’t need a fucking wheelchair.” Billy shouted the last word. He struggled to get up, but his legs refused to move. “Fuck,” he sobbed.

  I put my arm around him, but he shrugged me away.

  “Doctor, isn’t there another way of handling this? Our house isn’t set for a ramp and the bathrooms aren’t…”—I swallowed hard—“…handicap accessible.”

  “You’re going to have to make some arrangements,” th
e doctor acknowledged. “But this isn’t going away and it isn’t going to get better. I know this isn’t news we wanted to hear. Maybe once you start the trials, if you aren’t in the placebo group, we’ll see some progress. However, until that time, you need to think of your safety, William.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Billy said, clearing his throat.

  The doctor motioned and a nurse brought in a wheelchair. “From now on, you are going to come and go to your appointments in a wheelchair. Let’s practice how to get in and out of it.”

  For a moment, I thought he would refuse. But he gritted his teeth and let the doctor instruct him. Meanwhile the nurse and I talked about the types of wheelchairs. For the immediate future, we could pick up a basic transport model at the local hospital supply store for under two hundred bucks.

  “You need to look ahead and consider a motorized one,” she said.

  “How much do they run?” I asked, looking at the catalog she showed me.

  “You can get a basic model for about fourteen hundred dollars. Your insurance should cover some of that.”

  I winced. “Yeah, we don’t have any.”

  She looked uncomfortable. “I can look into seeing if there are any secondhand chairs being offered. Sometimes we get lucky.”

  “Thanks.” All of these treatments were out of pocket. Billy was rapidly running out of savings and I didn’t have diddly-squat to my name.

  It was a subdued ride home. “You want to run through a dungeon or something?” I asked.

  “You should get back to work,” Billy said. “I’ll call around for contractors and see what quotes I can get for ramps and redoing the bathroom.”

  I bit my lip. “You know, instead of putting money into that, maybe we should sell the house.”

  He was already shaking his head at me, but I continued talking, pretending I didn’t see him getting pissed off out of the corner of my eye.

  “For the right price, we could find a two-bedroom apartment in Westchester County or around there. One that’s already got all the equipment we need.”

  “Our house is paid for. I’m not going to take on another mortgage or a monthly rent. At least if something happens to me, you’ll have a place to live.”