The Crime of Seduction

by Nadine LaForet

  She picked up one of the shot glasses in front of her and reached for a salt shaker further down the bar. Turning back to him she asked, “What was that? Lick, suck, shoot?”

  “Close. Lick. Shoot. Suck.”

  “Ahhhh...” She smiled and licked the web of her hand between her thumb and pointer finger. She sprinkled salt on the wet trail and held a wedge of lime with the same hand.

  Then she picked up one of the shot glasses with her other hand and licked the salt off her hand, tossed back the shot, and sucked the lime - hard.

  “Holy crap, that is nasty! Even the good stuff is nasty!”

  Cody smiled at her, his dimple showing. “I like nasty.”

  “I bet you do,” she replied. As Alex was about to pick up the second shot the juke box started a new song.

  “Finally! They’re playing my song!” she screamed, looking around the bar for Mari. Mari screamed too, “Alex!” as they ran toward each other, their arms up in the air.

  Cody watched them as they danced with each other in a small open space between the juke box and one of the pool tables. He found himself admiring Alex’s curves and booze-fueled abandon. Cody and David knew each other, and as the ladies danced like only drunk women can they nodded in acknowledgement to each other.

  Alex and Mari were having a blast, bumping their hips and butts together and laughing. As Alex tucked her hair behind her ears she looked up and caught Cody watching her. He didn’t take his blue eyes off of her this time and Alex could feel the intensity of his stare. She made her way toward him, shaking her hips to the disco music.

  “Come on, Wallflower,” she said. “Dance with me.”

  Cody smiled and shook his head. “No can do. I’m hobbled, remember?” he said, laughing at how soon she forgot about his ankle brace.

  She stuck her bottom lip out. “Then I guess you’ll just have to watch. I mean, if the mountain won’t come to Mohammed...”

  Alex put one hand on each of Cody’s knees and moved to the music. “Just because it’s 2 o’clock, don’t mean that you have to stop. Don’t stop the music...”

  Cody enjoyed watching Alex swivel her hips. She pushed his legs apart and moved in closer to him. She rubbed the sides of her hips against his thighs and watched him closely for a response. Cody could feel himself growing excited with each movement of her hips against him and he knew she was enjoying her visible effect on him.

  Alex stared unabashedly at Cody and he stared back without flinching—even as she ran her hands up his thighs and moved closer to his growing erection. She turned around and moved her ass so it was rubbing against his crotch, her hands in the air over her head as she gyrated against him.

  Alex turned around again and smiled. “I bet you’d never stand me up,” Alex said, trying to keep a straight face in light of her silly, drunk play on words.

  “You’re right. Clearly I would never do something like that to you,” Cody said, glancing down to his lap and playing along.

  “I like you. You have it all under control. Unlike me.”

  All of a sudden the color drained from Alex’s face.

  “You OK?” Cody asked, noticing the abrupt change in her demeanor.

  “Not so much,” she said, frowning. “I think I better go home. Like now.”

  “I can take you,” he offered, looking around for David and Mari.

  Alex shook her head. “Mari won’t let you. She’s the boss of me and making sure I stay safe and sane tonight.”

  Cody caught David’s eye and waved him over, pointing to Alex. David interrupted Mari, who had her back to the bar and was talking animatedly to some women in the far corner of the billiard room. She turned toward David with a smile and then looked concerned as she and David walked over to Alex and Cody at the bar.

  Alex was sitting on a bar stool now, her head propped in her right hand on the bar. Mari bent over to look at her.

  “You doing OK, Alex?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I’m—” she hiccuped. “Uh-oh.” She laughed and hiccuped again.

  Mari, David, and Cody all exchanged amused looks.

  “I’m happy to take her home,” Cody volunteered.

  Mari looked at David, her eyebrows raised. “I don’t know…”

  “Cody’s solid, Mari,” David pitched in. “I trust him. He knows I’ll kick his ass if he does anything to Alex.”

  He and Cody shared a laugh as Cody said, “Yeah, and I know you still can, Old Man.”

  “Alright then,” Mari said, turning to look at Alex again. “Cody’s going to take you home now, OK, honey? David and I will bring your car back to you tomorrow.”

  Alex hiccuped in response, her head slipping off of her hand.

  “Take care of her Cody,” Mari said sternly. “And good luck,” she smiled and shook her head while David gave Cody Alex’s address.

  Cody ordered a couple of bottles of water and a packet of Tylenol from the bartender and put his arm around Alex’s waist as he walked her out the back door of the bar and to his truck. Before he opened the passenger side door he tore open the red packet and handed her the small white pills.

  “Here, take these,” he told her.

  She obliged by sticking her tongue out and putting them on it, one by one. She stood there with her tongue out until he unscrewed a bottle of water and put it in her hand. She gulped the water down, nearly finishing the entire thing. She held her breath, thinking her hiccups were gone.

  Hiccup.

  Cody shook his head and chuckled as he opened the door to his truck and helped Alex climb in. He walked around the back and hopped in to the driver’s seat.

  “My, what a big truck you have. You know what they say about men with big trucks,” she giggled.

  Cody laughed, his face coloring. “Yes, I do. But it’s not true. At least not in my case.”

  Don’t I know it. Alex thought, remembering how he reacted to her dancing. Just thinking about the outline of his big cock in his jeans made her horny—even through the hiccups.

  * * *

  Alex woke to Cody gently shaking her shoulder as she lay back on the seat, her head against the window and her mouth open.

  “Hey, Alex, we’re here.”

  “Huh?” Alex woke with a start, confused. Where am I?

  “Let me get you home,” Cody said, opening his door and walking around to Alex’s side. He opened her door and helped Alex get out of his truck. She basically slid off the seat and into his arms, trying to stand up but not having much luck. She held on to Cody’s arms and steadied herself.

  “You have such nice, strong muscles,” she slurred as she ran her hands up and down his arms.

  “OK, come on, Alex, let’s get you home and into bed.”

  “Bed? Are you coming to bed too?” she giggled, stumbling.

  “No, not tonight, Alex,” he said. “Maybe some other time.”

  “You are such a gentleman,” she said. “How will I ever repay you?”

  “You don’t need to repay me, Alex,” Cody said. “I’ve done my duty making sure you are home safe and sound.”

  Dang, he’s cute. Look at him, just standing there like a tall glass of sober. I should thank him. Like, really thank him.

  “I have an idea,” she said, fumbling with the key to the front door.

  “Here, let me help you with that,” Cody said, easily slipping the key into the lock and opening the door.

  Even drunk, Alex was too embarrassed to invite Cody into her house. She didn’t want anyone to see that her living room consisted of a hand-me-down couch, a yard sale coffee table, and the smallest TV known to man sitting on a thrift store shelf unit.

  She turned to Cody and said, “Wait here.” She walked partway through the door and then turned to the left and turned on the light for the living room and then turned off the porch light, leaving Cody in the dark.

  “Wrong one, Alex,” he said gently.

  “No, I meant to do that,” she said, turning around and pushing on his chest with her left
hand while pulling the front door closed behind her with her right.

  “What are you doing?” he asked, stepping backwards.

  “I want to kiss you, but you can’t come inside.” She laughed at herself, but you can’t come inside.

  She leaned in towards him, both hands on his chest now, but he leaned back. “No, I don’t think that’s a good idea right now, Alex.”

  “What? Why not? I think it’s a great idea,” she pulled her head back, looking at him quizzically. “But wait!” She held a finger up. “I have an even better idea!” and with that she pointed the same finger down towards Cody’s crotch. She wobbled and put her hand on his stomach to steady herself. She could feel his taut abdominal muscles. She ran her hand down his stomach to his waist and began to tug at his belt.

  “No…” he laughed, mildly amused at her drunk antics. “That’s not a good idea right now either, Alex. I promised Mari and David I would get you home safely, and that is what I intend to do.” He grabbed her wrist and held it.

  She bent down in an attempt to crouch down in front of him. “Why not?” she whined. “It looks so yummy and I know you like me.”

  “I do Alex, you’re right. But I want you to remember our first kiss.”

  “If it ever happens,” she said, stooping unsteadily and putting one arm out against the door frame in an effort to maintain her balance.

  “Let me suck your dick, Cody. You’ll remember that.”

  “Stop,” he said firmly, pulling her up by her armpits. He opened her front door. “Good night, Alex,” he said, holding the door open for her. “Go to bed. Make sure you lock the door.”

  “Fine,” she said, exasperated, but feeling more than ready to lie down. “Good night, Mr. No Fun.”

  “Good night, Alex.” He guided her gently into her apartment and shut the door. He waited outside until he heard her fumble with the lock and then finally engage it.

  The porch light came back on and Cody smiled to himself as he hobbled back to his truck.

  * * *

  11

  Chapter Eleven

  Alex slept until noon on Sunday and, even then, all she did was get up to go pee and brush her teeth. She drank water out of her hand she filled at the faucet. Standing there— hunched over, propping herself up on her elbows at the side of the sink—she felt like she was going to puke and pass out, but she wasn’t sure which would come first.

  Maybe I’d feel better if I puked.

  I really need to stop drinking. I feel like shit.

  She rummaged in the medicine cabinet for some ibuprofen, took a double dose, washed it down with a few more handfuls of water, and crawled back under the covers. Her head felt swollen, and she could feel each heartbeat as a heavy pounding at her temples. After tossing and turning in an effort to find a comfortable position, she eventually fell back to sleep. She slept soundly, without moving, for hours.

  * * *

  When Alex woke again she was drenched in sweat, tangled in her damp sheets, and extremely thirsty. She sat up slowly and gingerly propped herself up against her pillows. Checking in with her physical state she knew she needed to eat something and drink a lot of water. The events of the night before were foggy at best, although she did remember meeting Cody. And then she remembered…trying to blow Cody. Jesus Christ. That’s an awesome “how do you do.”

  She was more than a little embarrassed. Oh God, what else did I do? She felt around for her jeans on the floor by her bed—which was literally just a mattress on the floor, since Josh had taken the bedroom furniture when he moved out.

  Alex hadn’t cared when Josh took everything when he left. She was so happy he was gone that sleeping on the floor on a hand-me-down mattress from Mari seemed like a small price to pay. She didn’t know why six months later she still hadn’t bought new furniture. With just a few months left on her lease she thought perhaps she would move out then. The idea of starting fresh with a new place and new furniture sounded good.

  Eventually she found her jeans from the night before and slid her phone out of her back pocket. The screen said she had three texts and a couple of missed calls. She immediately thought of Heath. Finally! He better have a good excuse.

  She had butterflies in her stomach as she punched in her password. The disappointment she felt when she realized the messages were all from Mari was deep and depressing. She didn’t want to, but she started to cry. What the fuck?!? This is ridiculous. What did I do to deserve a total blow-off like this?

  Mari had texted Alex at 3:00 to make sure she got home safely. At 9:00 she texted again to see if she was up yet. At noon she texted to see if Alex was alive, and at 1:00 she called to say she was coming over to drop off Alex’s car at 3:00. Alex saw that it was nearly 2:00 and she had just missed a second call from Mari.

  It was comforting to have a good friend who checked up on her. She knew Mari would show up at her door soon with her car keys and either a strong cup of coffee or a ginger ale. Alex was hoping for both. She still felt like complete shit and if she moved too quickly, a wave of nausea hit her full force.

  Alex called Mari back. She answered immediately with a breathless, “Are you OK?” Once Alex assured her that yes, she had gotten home fine and yes, Cody had delivered her in one piece Mari dropped the concerned friend act and went straight into angry-parent mode.

  “Why didn’t you call or text to let me know you got home OK? I have been stressing out over here. You are lucky David has been here calming me down—he told me Cody was a gentleman and would never do anything to hurt you, but I was really beginning to worry. I had visions of coming to drop off your car and smelling your rotting body!”

  “Oh my God, Mari!” Alex laughed at her friend’s overreaction. “I’m so sorry. I’m fine, all things considered. I’ve been passed out all day. I feel like shit, thanks to you.”

  “Thanks to me? What do you mean?”

  “I’m so fucking hung over, I can barely stand.”

  “Ha! Blame Cody for that. He’s the one who bought you the shots of Patrón.”

  “Oh God. Cody.” Alex’s head was beginning to pound even more.

  “Alllllleeex. What did you do?”

  “Mari, you know better than to send me home hammered with someone like that.”

  “Like what?”

  “Fucking hot,” Alex said. “Geeze, he’s a cutie. Where did he come from?”

  “David said he’s a cop. I don’t know him.”

  “A cop? From here? How do we not know him? We know all of the cops at the office.” Alex was surprised that she had never seen him before.

  “I don’t know—all David said was he was a cop on some special task force or something. Maybe you’ll run into him at work now; that’s how those things work, right?” Mari laughed.

  “Yeah, that wouldn’t be so bad if I wasn’t totally embarrassed.”

  “Oh don’t worry so much. He’s used to drunks if he’s a cop.”

  “Oh, really? How about drunks who try to give him head on their front porch?”

  “Oh Jesus, Alex! Really?”

  Alex was silent.

  “Oh my God, you kill me. What happened?”

  “Thank God he was a total gentleman and refused to let me give him head at my front door as a thank-you for taking my drunk ass home.”

  “Oh no!” Mari was laughing uncontrollably. “That’s classic. I can only imagine how that went down.”

  “Or didn’t, as the case may be… Hey, at least he took my mind off old what’s-his-name.”

  “Yes, there is that,” Mari said. “Does that mean you haven’t heard from ‘He Who Shall Not Be Named’?”

  “Nope. Not a peep. What a prick.” Alex tried to hide the disappointment she was feeling at the mention of Heath and his major league blow-off.

  “I’m sorry, Alex,” Mari said, sounding sincere. “Seriously, try to enjoy it for what it was and what he is—a smooth operator who is good at seduction.”

  “Yeah, damn good at it. And other thing
s too.” Alex flashed back to Heath pushing her against the wall in his loft, grinding his hips into hers as he kissed her hard and held her still.

  “Hey,” Mari said, interrupting Alex’s flashback. “I gotta go get the kids from a birthday party. Dave’s gonna drive my car and we’ll swing by and drop yours off. “

  “Ok,” said Alex. “I’ll be here. Trust me, I am not moving.”

  They hung up and Alex stared at the phone wondering what the hell was up with Heath and when—if—she would hear from him again.

  Her heart hurt almost as bad as her head.

  * * *

  Monday came about a day too early for Alex. She wasn’t quite ready for the workweek and was beyond pissed at Heath. After her alarm went off and she checked her phone—again—she lay in bed and stared at the ceiling.

  She was pissed at him for making plans for an entire weekend together and then completely, totally, 100 percent blowing her off. She couldn’t think of any other time in her life when anyone had treated her like that. She felt like crap and was humiliated and angry at herself for being duped. How could I be so gullible?

  She felt like an idiot when she thought of all the preparation that she put into the weekend getaway: she had gotten approval to have the weekend off and leave early; her apartment was clean; and she was packed, waxed, and wearing new lingerie. She had looked forward to the relaxed time with Heath and imagined a splendid weekend in the city with the man she was clearly falling for. She had to admit that, in a moment of weakness and silly romantic daydreaming, she wondered if he would tell her he had fallen for her too. She knew, logically, that that would be ridiculous, but she had to admit to imagining it. Maybe they would fall in love and carry on this crazy, hot, sexy relationship they had started.