Midnight at the Oasis

by Thomas Henry

  “So, where would you like to go now?” I asked as the valet brought my car.

  “Well…where did you plan to take me before you knew it was me?”

  “Oh, I know this sleazy hotel out by the airport.”

  “Yeah, that sounds just like you. But really?”

  “Well, there’s my house and my man-cave. Before I knew you were you, I’d figured on the house because I thought I might alarm you if I took you to a building in a desolate industrial park out in Halawa. But since you know me and you’ve been there before…”

  “Yeah…but I’ve never been to your house. Karen says it’s really nice. I mean, if you were going to take the other me there, I assume your little Vietnamese girlfriend is gone and we’d have the place to ourselves.”

  “She’s in Vietnam, so no worries. It’ll be nobody but us and the marching band.”

  We cruised around Diamond Head and through Kahala on our way up to my house on Waialae Nui. “Isn’t this where we parked last time?” Marilyn asked as we passed the scenic lookout.

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Remember how Bill and Karen were making out in the backseat?”

  My stomach knotted. “Sure do. Rounding third and heading for home.”

  “Never imagined we’d be back here again…especially just the two of us.”

  Nor had I. But at that point, I hadn’t even imagined that we’d end up together at Turtle Bay. Despite the discomfort I felt from thinking about Bill and Karen, I was looking forward to spending the next few hours with this feisty redhead.

  I generally avoid bringing other women to my house because I think of it as Mai’s territory, but I was relieved that Marilyn and I weren’t going to my man-cave. That most definitely had become Karen’s territory.

  As we rolled up to my house, I noticed a “for sale” sign in the front yard of the house next door. That was interesting because that house had sat empty for quite some time, but now it looked like I might get some new neighbors one of these days.

  I showed Marilyn around the main level of the house. “Bedrooms upstairs?” she asked.

  I nodded. “And pool down below.” I led her down the stairs to the pool deck. “Something to drink?” I asked.

  “Not right now, thanks. Wow! That’s a beautiful view of Waikiki. Hard to believe we were all the way over there just a few minutes ago.” She pulled her phone out of her purse. “Um…I just need to make a quick call.”

  “No problem. I’ll make myself scarce.”

  “No, no. Stay right here. Won’t take long.” She touched her phone a couple of times and put it to her ear. I figured she was checking in with Sally.

  “Hi. It’s me. Just wanted to check in and let you know everything is fine. At his house. No, no, I’m in the bathroom. Yeah, he’s really nice. Oh…no, not yet. We just finished dinner. I don’t know. Could be late. Why don’t I just stay at Sally’s and come home in the morning? That way, you can get some sleep. Don’t worry. Everything’s fine. Love you, too.”

  I tried to read her expression as she touched the screen and dropped the phone back into her purse. She didn’t seem to be troubled. She set the purse down on the deck and led me by the hand around the pool to the valley side. “What’s that big black area there?” she said, pointing to the left of the Waikiki lights.

  “Diamond Head. No lights on it, so it just looks like a big black blob at night. It creates an interesting illusion when a ship passes on the other side of it. Looks like the ship just disappeared into thin air.”

  “I didn’t know ships could fly.”

  “It’s a figure of speech, smart-ass.”

  Marilyn turned to face me and rested her forearms on my shoulders. I placed my hands on her waist. “I was wondering,” she said, “if I’m allowed to kiss you…you know…since this is supposed to be a business relationship.”

  “Oh, you are. You’re supposed to be providing me with the girlfriend experience.”

  “I see. So…is this where I tell you I have a headache?” She leaned forward and kissed me lightly on the lips.

  I drew her to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck as I wrapped mine around her waist. The touch of her body sent a current of excitement through me.

  “Too bad Bill’s not around when we need him,” I said.

  “Afraid you can’t handle me all by yourself?” She kissed me again.

  “Perhaps I should clarify. Too bad Bill’s seduction music isn’t around when we need it.”

  Marilyn gave an exaggerated nod. “Ahhh…from Turtle Bay. Yes, that is too bad.”

  “Wait. I have an idea.” I fished my phone out of my pocket and tapped the icon for the Napster app. I had made up a playlist of slow songs awhile back, but until now, I’d never had occasion to use it. A couple more taps, and Anne Murray began to sing “Could I Have This Dance.”

  “You came prepared.”

  “Boy Scout.”

  “Oh, I’ve got my doubts about that.”

  We started swaying with the music. She pressed her body hard against mine, the way she had that first night at Rumours.

  “I think you’re gonna give me another case of blue balls,” I said.

  “Not for long.”

  The Flamingos started to sing “I Only Have Eyes for You.” Pretty song, but the title always irked me. It should have been “I Have Eyes for Only You,” but try as I might, I couldn’t fit those words to the melody. And in the current circumstances, I wondered why I even cared.

  When Johnny Mathis started to sing “Chances Are,” Marilyn squeezed my neck and pressed her breasts against my chest. “He’s singing our song. Remember?”

  “I do.” As I recalled, they played about five of his songs in a row that first night we met.

  We swayed together and kissed tenderly for several more songs until Gladys Knight started singing “Every Beat of My Heart.” By the time she had finished, our clothes lay in a pile on the deck. I swept Marilyn up in my arms and carried her to the spa.

  As we settled into the warm water, she straddled me and guided me into her. She pressed hard against me and whispered, “Oh, God, I’ve missed this.”

  I stroked her gently. From a distance, I could hear Sinatra singing “Teach Me Tonight.” The words seemed ironically appropriate.

  “You know,” Marilyn said, “If Sally finds out how sweet and romantic you were tonight, she’s going to want me to pay her.”

  “Well, she doesn’t need to know. You can tell Sally I used you mercilessly all night long.”

  “I hope I won’t be lying.”

  * * * *

  A couple of days later, I was at my man-cave waiting for Karen. Now that her children were on the Mainland with their grandparents, she was free to spend the whole night with me. I was really looking forward to it. I feared we wouldn’t have many more opportunities to spend the night together.

  Since Mai was gone, I had suggested that Karen come up to my house, but she wanted to be together in “our” place where no one would know how to find us. I couldn’t argue with that.

  I had been expecting her about seven. But now it was nearly eight, and the pizza was cold. I didn’t know if Ted had delayed her somehow. I’d sent one of my stupid anonymous text messages, but she hadn’t replied.

  Finally, I heard the rollup door, so I knew Karen was pulling into my building. I trotted down the stairs to greet her and to help her with her overnight bag.

  Her kiss was warm, but her smile was guilty. She was sweaty and disheveled, and I smelled traces of a male cologne. No words were necessary. She had just left another man, and she knew I knew.

  She tilted her head toward the stairway. “Come on. Let’s go up and I’ll tell you.”

  She paused in the kitchen and looked at the pizza. “Why don’t you warm that in the oven while I freshen up?” I followed her through my office to the bedroom and set her bag next to the closet. She disappeared into the bathroom. I went back to the kitchen to see to the pizza.

  By the time she re
appeared, wearing different shorts and one of my t-shirts, the pizza was hot. She quietly slid slices onto our plates and headed into my office. I followed her with a couple of ice-cold beers recommended by the most interesting man in the world.

  We sat on the sofa to eat. Karen took a bite and chewed. She swallowed and took a drag on her beer. Without looking at me, she said, “Bill.” She repeated the pizza-and-beer routine and then said, “Last time. I told him I couldn’t see him anymore.” She turned and looked at me. “I’m really sorry I was late. It was a little hard to get away, you know?”

  I knew. I wouldn’t let myself think about how hard it was going to be for me to say goodbye to her our last time together. So my brain understood, but my heart was heavy and my stomach was in a knot.

  I just had no words, and apparently, Karen didn’t either. We ate in silence until we were finished. We carried our plates and beer bottles to the kitchen. I wasn’t sure what would happen next. I turned to head back into my office, but Karen slipped into my arms. She pressed her face against my chest and hugged me.

  “Let’s go to bed,” she said. “Shower first?”

  I nodded. I didn’t know if she meant the both of us or just me. I wasn’t too clear on what all her earlier “freshening up” had encompassed.

  Karen finished undressing before I did. She went into the bathroom and started the shower. I joined her under the warm water. She hugged me again. Her soft voice was barely audible over the sound of the water. “You know I’m in love with you.”

  “Says the woman with a belly full of another man’s sperm.”

  Karen looked up at me with tears welling in her eyes. “Don’t. Please don’t…”

  I knew it had to be difficult for her. She’d had a real connection with Bill that went beyond just the physical, and I’d always been jealous of that. But she had said goodbye to him, and now she was with me. My resentment melted. I kissed her tenderly as the water streamed over us. After a while, she picked up the bar of soap and pulled me out from under the water so she could lather me up. I took the soap and did the same to her, paying particular attention to her pussy.

  “You belong to me,” I whispered.

  “Always and forever,” she replied.

  I knew it was true, and yet it seemed to count for nothing in the real world.

  We kissed and rubbed our soapy bodies together. It was more sensual than sexual. Eventually, we worked our way back under the showerhead and rinsed off.

  When we got into bed, she hugged me and laid her head on my chest. She pushed her knee between my thighs and intertwined her legs with mine. I knew we’d make love before the night was over, but neither of us seemed ready just yet.

  “I said goodbye to Bill tonight,” Karen whispered. “I’m never going to see him again.” She kissed my cheek and then rubbed her face against my chest. “But I’ll never say goodbye to you. I have to go with Ted and my children, but my heart will always belong to you. Part of me will always be here with you.” She started to sob, and my eyes overflowed as well.

  It was like I was losing Rachel all over again. And yet it was different. It took me a while to put my finger on the difference. Karen was choosing to leave me for reasons that were bigger than just the two of us, but I still had her heart. But that hadn’t been the case with Rachel. She had left me because I had lost her heart to someone else…or maybe because I’d never had her heart in the first place. I guess I never really knew.

  I kissed Karen’s forehead. “I hope you know that I’m in love with you, too,” I managed to say without choking.

  “I know…but that’s because you think I’m Rachel. But it’s ok. I made my peace with that a long time ago.”

  I lifted her chin and looked into her tears. “I suppose that was true at one time, but not anymore. I think maybe Rachel has become you…and not the other way around. I think you’re what I always wanted Rachel to be for me, but she never actually was.”

  And then there was nothing left to say. And nothing left to do but make love. It was tender and bittersweet, and when we finally drifted off to sleep, we were still coupled.

  * * * *

  I had arranged for Ted to meet Crystal at my house again. But this time, while Crystal was entertaining Ted, I was going to take Karen out to dinner. Even though we recently had spent the night together, it had been quite a while since we had dressed up and gone out to a nice restaurant, and I was looking forward to it.

  I hung around my house until both Ted and Crystal had arrived. I told them to have fun and lock up when they left. I hopped into the Merc and sped off for my rendezvous with Karen at my place in Halawa.

  I was a little early and was already upstairs changing into dress pants and my black hornback lizard boots when I heard the rollup door. For once, Karen was right on time.

  A minute later, I heard the mezzanine door. “Just putting on my boots,” I called out. “Be ready in a minute.”

  I got no response, but a moment later, a shadow fell across the floor. I looked up. It was Marilyn, looking like she was dressed for a date. I was stunned. Something was really wrong. “What happened to Karen?” I asked, trying not to let my alarm show.

  Marilyn gave me an apologetic look. “Don’t worry, she’s fine. She just can’t make it tonight,” she said. “She thought maybe…well, maybe it would be a good idea if I took her place.”

  My first thought was that Karen was having some problem with Ted. But that couldn’t be the case. He was busy with Crystal. “What happened?” I asked, trying not to seem overly disappointed.

  Marilyn came over and sat down on the edge of the bed next to me. “She had to do something for Sally.”

  My heart was in my throat. “And that was more important than keeping her date with me, I guess.”

  Marilyn sat silent for a minute. I could tell she was reluctant to tell me something. Finally, she spoke. “I guess you could say she’s paying a debt in advance. She made some kind of deal with Sally to provide a couple of her sorority girls for Ted’s entertainment. Since Ted can’t know about the arrangement, he can’t pay Sally for them…and couldn’t afford them anyway…so Karen is making it up to Sally instead.”

  “And she just had to do it tonight?”

  Marilyn nodded. “Well, actually, yes.” She offered no further explanation.

  “Look,” I said. “I’m not going to shoot the messenger. What’s going on?”

  Marilyn took a deep breath. “Karen said to tell you how sorry she is and to ask you to try to understand why she had to do this. She’s at Sally’s Club, putting on a show for some kind of stag party.”

  “A show for a stag party?” My stomach knotted. What kind of show? I had a vision of Karen being gangbanged again.

  Marilyn nodded. “With that huge guy. What’s his name…Body? Anyway, they’re putting on some kind of live sex show for a group of guys.”

  I felt like I couldn’t breathe. But at the same time, my rational mind understood Karen’s motivation. Body had been willing to pay at least two thousand to have her again. Add to that whatever Sally was going to pay her for doing it in front of a bunch of horny men, and it would be quite a sum. Enough to provide Ted sex partners for a while.

  But after these men had watched Karen with Body, they’d be all sexed up and want some, too. “What happens after the show?” I asked. “Sally’s going to have a bunch of horny men on her hands. What is she planning to do about them?”

  “Yeah…I don’t know. That’s all Karen told me. She just said to tell you she was sorry and not to worry about her. And she thought it might be good if you went ahead and took me to dinner instead. Of course, if you don’t want to do that, I understand.”

  I certainly did not want to sit around by myself and obsess over what might be happening to Karen. I put my arm around Marilyn’s shoulders and kissed her forehead. “You know what, that sounds great. Let’s do it.”

  We left her car parked in my building and took my car to dinner at Restaurant Row. I had a
nice time with Marilyn as I always did, but she was more subdued than usual, and I suppose I was as well. I kept worrying about Karen, and I think Marilyn was sensitive to that. She wasn’t nearly as sassy as she normally was.

  When we got back to my place, I thought Marilyn might just get in her car and leave, but instead she headed for the stairway. I admired the sway of her backside as I followed her up.

  “Drink?” I asked.

  “Sure.”

  “Give me a hint.”

  “Oh…how about gin and tonic?”

  I mixed two Tanqueray-and-tonics for us.

  We looked at each other. Marilyn smiled and touched her glass to mine. “To Karen,” we said in unison.

  Marilyn took a sip of her drink. “Mmm…good.” She took a bigger sip and set the drink down. Then she took mine and set it down, too.

  She rested her forearms on my shoulders. “Still got that music on your phone?”

  “I do.” I pulled my phone out of my shirt pocket and opened the Napster app. I started the playlist and dropped the phone back into my pocket.

  Marilyn eased her arms around my neck and gently touched her body to mine. I held her waist as we swayed with the music.

  “Maybe this isn’t the right time to bring this up,” Marilyn said, “but I don’t know when we’ll have a better time. Look, I know how you feel about Karen. I could never take her place, and I wouldn’t try. But I was thinking…after she’s gone…well, maybe you and I could see each other sometimes?”

  I had no words, so I slipped my arms around her waist and gave her a gentle hug.

  “Dean is okay with me working for Sally,” she continued. “So far, it’s been okay for me, too. But I need a little more, you know? More than just an occasional roll in the hay with a stranger. And you and I…well, we have a connection…we have since that very first time we met at Rumours. It’s like I told you that night, I love my husband. I don’t want to lose what he and I have. But…well, I crave intimacy in a sexual relationship. I…uh…had a talk with Karen, and she…well, she thought it might be good for you, too.”