Seven Days: A young black woman makes a deal with a mob boss.

by Diana Hoffman

"I mean, I can dance, but I've just never done the seductive stripper type of dancing." Victoria didn't know why, but she was embarrassed to admit that to him.

  Nic flexed his index finger for her to come to him. Shit. She wasn't getting out of this. She took a huge gulp of her wine and quickly shook her head. Perhaps she shouldn't have downed it that fast. She stood up and walked over to him. Okay...it's just him. It's not like she was doing it for an entire club of people. She would just pretend he was her boyfriend, and that it was his birthday or something like that.

  'Okay, I can do this,' she thought. Plus, she wasn't willing to have him add yet another week. She'd keep her mouth closed and do as he asked. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and started swaying to the beat of the music. She turned around and gave him a great view of her backside. She playfully lifted the white robe up so that he got a quick shot of her ass cheeks with the thin light blue material separating them. She giggled. Yes, the wine was feeling really good right about now. Victoria slowly slid the robe off and bent over until her hands touched the ground. She looked between her legs, and from her upside down view, she could tell he was enjoying what he saw. He shifted in his chair. She leaned up and turned around. She walked closer to him until her legs were touching his knees. Yeah, she'd just pretend this was her boyfriend. Actually, she was starting to enjoy it, but she hated admitting that to herself. She felt sexy...free. She wasn't used to feeling this way. Her life had been spent serving food to ungrateful customers and ringing up and bagging groceries.

  Now here she was in an expensive loft, wearing expensive French designer lingerie with names she couldn't even pronounce and dancing for a wealthy, handsome mob boss or whatever he was. Like the commercials, life sure does come at you fast.

  She began to slowly unhook her bra, and slide it off. She cupped her breasts and tossed her head back as she pinched her nipples. She looked at him again, and saw him lick his lips. 'His beautiful lips,' she thought. She then slowly hooked her thumbs through the threadlike material of her thong and pulled it down.

  Nic watched in awe as she became completely uninhibited. She then shocked the hell out of him, and straddled his lap, completely naked. He was at instant attention. She started to grind her body on top of his. There was something intensely erotic about the fact that he was fully clothed and she was completely nude. And her body...Goddamn, it was beautiful. It was soft and one hundred percent feminine looking...like a young Pam Grier. He had to have her!

  He grabbed her wrists and locked them behind her back with one hand, as he bent down to assault the hard nipples that had been teasing him. He heard her moan. He used his other hand to quickly unbuckle his pants and remove his stiff member.

  At that moment, Victoria didn't know if it was pleasure or pain that she was feeling. He was biting her nipple, and it hurt...but in a good way. She had never had someone be so rough with her. But she'd also never been so turned on before. He then released her hands and lifted her up by her waist, before pulling her back down onto his lap. She gasped as she was forced down onto all of his thick, long cock. It had almost knocked the wind out of her. For a few seconds, he didn't move, perhaps he was letting her adjust, but then he grabbed a handful of her hair and brought her face within inches of his.

  He stared into her eyes. She waited to see if he was going to kiss her, but he didn't. Instead he whispered, "Do you want to come?"

  Victoria slowly nodded. But he gripped her hair even tighter and yanked it backwards.

  "Aah!" Victoria squealed. His grip was painful, but it was driving her crazy. "Tell me what I want to hear," he commanded, wrapping his other hand around her neck.

  "Yes, I want to come," she whispered. With that said, he began to drive his hips up and into her wet vagina. The feeling was so intense and overwhelming that she couldn't breathe. She tried to grab hold of his shirt to steady herself, but the force of his thrusts was so overpowering, that she couldn't think. His hand tightened around her neck, while his other hand gripped even more of her curls. Was he trying to kill her or fuck her? Either way, she would die a satisfied woman, because he was hitting all of the right spots.

  His intensity was turning her on like she had never been turned on before. She could feel every inch of him sliding in and out of her. But then suddenly he stood, with her still straddling him. She squealed again as he pushed the small coffee table out of the way, and gently placed her back to the soft carpet, without disconnecting their bodies. He began to fuck her harder and faster this way. Her legs wrapped around his hips. She could feel it...that fluttering feeling building in the pit of her stomach and pulsing through her pussy. Suddenly her eyes rolled back as she was swept away with the intensity of her orgasm.

  "Oooh my God, oooh.....," Victoria screamed as she came, until her voice was lost and no words were coming out. After the last of her orgasm washed over her, she felt him expand within her.

  "Fuck!!" he yelled as he continued to pump his seed into her pussy. "Shit."

  Nic felt so fucking good at that moment. Nothing relieved stress better than sex. Good sex. When he was done with the last drops of his essence, he rested his body on top of hers, but he still tried to support some of his weight with his elbows. He was still dressed, and now his shirt was sticking to his sweaty skin. He looked down at her face. Her eyes were closed, and her lips were slightly parted and pouty. God, he would give anything to kiss them. But...he didn't want to confuse their relationship. So as difficult as it was, he resisted temptation. She had some soft curls that were wet with sweat and sticking to her face. Fuck, she was hot.

  Victoria finally opened her big brown eyes and stared up at him. She started to wiggle, and he figured his weight was starting to wear on her. He rolled off of her and onto his back. He turned his head and watched as she closed her legs and crossed her hands over her chest. He chuckled and stared back up at the ceiling. Now she wanted to be shy, he thought amused.

  "Worth every penny," Nic muttered.

  Shit! Why the fuck did he just say that? As soon as the words left his mouth, he regretted it. He knew he wasn't going to take them back, but fuck if he knew why he even said them. Was he trying to hurt her?

  She immediately sat up and stared at him. Then she got up and stomped off to the bathroom and slammed the door.

  He sat up and adjusted his penis back inside his pants. He stood up and walked to the bathroom door.

  "Victoria, open the door," he said.

  No answer.

  "Open the fucking door now, before I add on another week," he said, leaning against the frame.

  The door swung open, and she stood staring up at him with tears in her eyes. He sighed.

  "I—I'm not some cheap girl that you can talk down to. I'm not, I'm not like other women you, you might know. You sh--should treat me with respect!" she said, stumbling over several words while trying to wipe her tears away.

  "Respect? Victoria, you are not my wife. You are not my girlfriend. In fact, you and I have a business arrangement and that's it. You ask me to respect you, yet you're fucking me for money. Am I missing something here?"

  She opened her mouth like she was about to say something, then suddenly closed it. She just stared up at him. She then lowered her head. "I'm really tired now. I'd like to go to bed." He turned his body sideways, so that she could exit the bathroom. She started walking down the hall towards the living room.

  "Bedroom is this way," she heard him call out.

  "Fuck you," she muttered under her breath. God forbid he hear her and add more time. She just wanted to get the hell out of there before forgetting who she is.

  The routine for Nic and Victoria stayed constant over the next few days. They spoke as little as possible to each other in the mornings, had phenomenal sex by night, spat words of hate before he left, and then they repeated the events the next day.

  Victoria was so confused. If she could magically make seventy grand appear out of thin air, she wouldn't keep one cent. She'd throw that entire amount in
his face, and stomp out.

  But she had more pressing things on her mind. Next month's rent would be due soon, and she didn't have a single dime to contribute to her parents. What a crazy web she had woven. This had been the longest she had ever gone without working since she was thirteen, and at times it bothered her. She felt useless.

  She sighed and placed the book she had been reading down on the table when she heard a knock at the door. She prayed it wasn't Nic. She just didn't have the energy to deal with him at the moment. Funny how much work it took to ignore someone.

  She got up and looked through the peephole. Raymond, thank God. She had become used to his humorless presence. He was definitely a man of few words. Her car rides back and forth from the loft to Nic's mansion were usually composed of her humming or talking. She used to think she was mainly talking to herself, because Raymond never turned around to ask her any questions, or give her any reason to believe he had been paying attention. Until one day she had forgotten her place in a story she was telling him, and he repeated the last things she had just said. Victoria sat there, just staring at the back of his head, absolutely amazed. Then she tried to quickly scan her memory over the past few days for anything she could have said negative about Nic, praying Raymond hadn't told anything.

  Victoria smiled at Raymond as she let him in. But before she could close the door, a small woman stepped in behind him. She looked...like no one Victoria had ever seen before. She had two huge bags in her hands, and her eyelids had several bright colors of eye shadow on them. Her hair was a whitish blond color that was almost shaved on one side, but hung in a funky style on the other. And she was wearing a strange jumpsuit.

  "Hi Victoria, I'm Mina. I'm here to handle your dress, hair and make-up," the young girl said, smiling brightly at Victoria.

  "What? Dress, hair and make-up for what?" Victoria questioned, looking back and forth between Raymond and Mina.

  Raymond answered, "Mr. Andretti would like you to get ready. That's all I can tell you, Ms. Victoria."

  Victoria nodded her head. She should be used to Raymond's cryptic messages by now. "Alright. Um, I guess you can follow me back to the bedroom," she said to Mina. Victoria noticed Raymond standing stiffly by the door. Victoria sighed, "Raymond, he's not here. You can sit on the couch and relax. I think there's a game on tonight anyway."

  She saw Raymond hesitate for a moment, but then he relaxed and walked over to the couch to sit down.

  Victoria walked down the hallway as she heard the TV turn on. She smiled to herself. Raymond wasn't half bad. Just a bit stiff.

  Victoria took a quick shower as Mina laid out all of her make-up and accessories.

  "Okay, this is the dress he'd like you wear. It's gorgeous, don't you think?" Mina said, as Victoria got out and dried off.

  Victoria stared at the dress. It was amazing. It was an exact replica of the white Seven Year Itch dress that Marilyn Monroe had worn...except this one was blood red. She had seen the movie a few years ago on one of her rare free days off. She had gone to a two dollar theater near her family's apartment that played old movies. They were playing all Marilyn movies that weekend, so she stayed and watched three of them. Anything to stay away from her apartment. Her mom and dad weren't exactly a blast to hang around.

  Mina helped Victoria carefully fit into the dress. "Oh my, this is to die for on you! You have an amazing body. I can't believe he got the measurements right. When he came to me, he had to use his hands to describe your height and physical measurements," Mina said, smoothing down the material. Then she giggled. "He said you reminded him of a black Marilyn Monroe."

  If it could come through her skin...Victoria was definitely blushing. She thought she was okay, but in her mind, she wasn't all that. And she blushed even harder at the thought that Nic had described every portion of her body to this stranger. Even if she was a friendly stranger.

  "Um, thanks. I...I've never worn something so beautiful before," Victoria said, staring at herself in the mirror. Mina quickly worked on her makeup and accessories. They chose to let the plunging neckline speak for itself, so the only jewelry she wore was a pair of diamond earrings. Mina said that Nic had given her specific instructions regarding her makeup. He wanted it subtle. Nothing heavy. But when it came to her hair, Nic hadn't given her any direction.

  "Hmm...do you mind if I straighten it and loosely pin it up?" Mina asked, while staring at her thick, curly raven hair.

  "You're the expert. I trust you," Victoria said, smiling at the young girl in the mirror. She just didn't trust Nic. What had he planned for her tonight?

  On the ride over, Victoria was nervous. She wasn't sure what to expect. When they pulled into the driveway, Victoria couldn't believe her eyes. She saw several men and women getting out of their expensive cars, and waiting on the valet. Raymond drove past Mercedes, BMWs, Bentleys and every other expensive car she could think of. She shook her head as she thought about the fact that one could run a small corporation from the money that was put into these vehicles.

  When the car finally pulled up to the steps, Raymond hopped out and opened the door for Victoria. She flashed him a smile as she slowly ascended the steps leading into Nic's house. She was suddenly nervous as classical music filled her ears and the lights became brighter. Raymond escorted her down the main hall into a large ballroom area. Jesus, how big was his house?

  Inside, she saw several people dressed to the nines. Some stopped to stare at her before they turned their attention back to their conversations. Raymond excused himself while she searched around the room looking for Nic, but she didn't spot him. She walked over to a long narrow table, which was lined with all sorts of appetizers. She didn't know what was what, but they looked really delicious and she was starving.

  "Can I help you?"

  Victoria looked up at the young guy staring at her with a smile spread across his face. "Um, I'm not sure what I'd like. Could you suggest something?"

  "Sure. Try this," the young guy said, placing a small appetizer onto a plate and handing it to her. "Trust me, it's really good. One hundred percent Italian...as am I," he continued, with a wink.

  Victoria laughed at his open flirtation, and placed the small bite in her mouth. Damn, that really was good. Really good. "Thank you," she said once she finally swallowed the delicious food.

  "Anytime."

  Victoria didn't really know anyone else there, other than Nic, Jimmy and Raymond, and they were nowhere in sight. So, she decided to stand by the table with her new 'friend'.

  "My name is Antonio, by the way," he said, extending his hand to her.

  "Victoria. Nice to meet you."

  "Likewise," he said, giving her a once over. "You don't seem like the normal fare at these events."

  "Excuse me?" Victoria said, raising her voice slightly. What the hell was that supposed to mean? What, she didn't fit in with the wealthy?

  "Hey, I meant no harm. That was actually a compliment. You don't seem like the regular girls I see here. You know, high maintenance, stuffed and pulled, evil stare...the works. Like her," Antonio said, pointing to the tall blond that was gracefully entering the ballroom. The blond may have been all of those things Antonio just mentioned, but she was still gorgeous. And extremely tall.

  Victoria looked down at her dress and smoothed it with her hands. She knew Antonio meant no offense, but she decided to play hurt anyway. "So, if I don't look high maintenance, then I must look LOW maintenance, right?"

  "What?! No! I didn't mean that. It's just that you're standing over here with me, instead of flaunting your diamonds and dress in front of everyone else. You just don't seem like one of them. That's a good thing. You actually seem more like...well, I mean, more like a girl I would date."

  Victoria turned to stare at him. He was definitely cute. His black hair was slicked back and he had tiny studs in both of his ears, a thin straight nose and light brown eyes. Yes, he was definitely handsome. He wasn't as tall as Nic, but he was still taller than she was and in go
od shape. She had to laugh to herself. She had gone most of her life surrounded predominantly by blacks, Koreans and Puerto Ricans...and now she couldn't go three feet without bumping into some Italian guy.

  "I mean, not saying you would date a guy like me, but...okay, going to shut up now," Antonio said, slightly blushing. Victoria smiled and turned her attention back to the crowd.

  Nic was over in a corner, sipping on his drink and trying his best to pay attention to some of the men talking around him. Mostly they were talking business. He knew that's why he threw these parties, but tonight, he really didn't feel like it. Earlier, Raymond had come to tell him that Victoria was here, but he scanned the room and didn't see her. He wanted to know what she looked like in her dress. He had dreamt about it. Fuck, he needed to get his shit together.

  "Oh, shit," Jimmy whispered. Nic looked at him, and followed his eye line. Fuck. Amber was walking toward them as if she were a model on a catwalk. Her long blond hair bounced as she made a straight line for Nic.

  "Hi Nic," she said, faking a smile as she reached their group.