The hotel Jacob prepared was one of my regulars and as soon as I stepped in with Jacob’s and my driver following me with my stuff, the concierge who was attending to some other guest immediately dismissed them and hurried my way.
“Mr. Evan! How lovely to have you,” the average-height man said loud enough to attract the attention of everyone in the lobby. I nodded.
“Thank you, Adam. How is your lovely family? And little Emma, I believe she must be a big girl now,” I jest. He laughed with his eyes gleaming. I have learned in my dealings with people, especially folks like Adam, that remembering their names and little details they had dropped here and there about their lives or family always goes a long way in making them feel special. After all, they say people never forget the way you make them feel. And I am a strong believer that no one is insignificant to have in your corner.
“I can’t believe you remember Emma! She is not quite a big girl just yet, and I can't wait. Her teenage demands are giving me gray hair.”
“Of course, I remember Emma, and I can just imagine,” I said, striking a conversation with him, as he subtly collected the key to my suite and followed us to the elevator on the sidewall.
By the time we were on the last floor, I now knew young Emma would be graduating middle school the following week. I retrieved my phone from my pocket and asked him what Emma would love for a graduation present, he told me before he realized what I was doing. I ordered the device and asked for it to be delivered to the hotel. He went speechless for about a minute or two before he started to thank me profusely.
“It’s nothing. Thank you, Adam,” I said as he opened the suite with my keycard and handed it over to me.
“I will let the chef know you are around, sir,” he said. I waved dismissively, already calling Jacob.
“So, I am here, what now?”
“Yes!” he said, pumping a fist in the air. I shook my head in fake exasperation, pinching the bridge of my nose.
“You do recall we are no longer in college?”
“We are not dead yet though,” he said, chuckling. “Why don’t you freshen up, and Paul there will wait to bring you to where we are. Make sure you dress casual and no phones or such devices,” he said with a somewhat devilish relish.
“What have I gotten myself into and who-–pray tell—are the ‘we’, Jacob?” I asked, feeling a bit apprehensive.
“You will see,” he said mysteriously and before ending the call added, “hurry up Evan, you are already late!”
“I will be downstairs, waiting sir,” Paul said. I nodded.
“Ben, stay with Paul. I might need to get away if it turns out to be something I would rather not be part of,” I said to my driver. He gave me a polite smile and left. I started to unbutton my shirt to freshen up, then my phone rang again. I lowered my gaze to the phone screen on the bedside table, where I had placed it, silently noting the caller before answering it.
“Yes, Mary Antoinette?” I said in a bland tone.
“Hello, E - Evan. I’m just calling to see how your trip went,” she said from the other end.
“Good,” I said curtly without elaborating. “How are you doing? I hope mother is keeping you company—”
“I’m fine. And yes, you know I love having her here with us… the house would be lonely otherwise—”
“Good—” I said with no change in tone whatsoever, completely ignoring her subtle mention of my constant absence, choosing to focus instead on taking off my clothes and preparing to shower.
Anyone listening in would not have a clue of whom I was talking to, and might even think it was someone I especially don’t like talking to but have to, just to be polite, and they would be right.
“So, are you staying alone in the hotel or with all the other groomsmen? Do you have plans to join the others for the um… bachelor party, or Stag Night or Buck's Night, whatever you guys are calling it?” she asked. I paused with a frown pulling the skin on my forehead.
“Yes, why did you ask?” I replied.
She went all quiet for about a minute then stuttered, “Just… um c - curious.” Her voice was barely audible.
“Ookay, take care, and say hi to Mother. I will see you when I get back,” I said in a rush and cut the line just when she was about to say more. I dropped the phone in front of the bathroom vanity mirror and walked inside the shower stall and began to soap my body.
I probably scrubbed my skin harder than necessary, but by the time I stopped to let the water wash off the soap on my skin, the conversation I just had with … Mary Antoinette replayed in my head.
Even in my thoughts, I could not bring myself to refer to her as my wife. After all these years one would think I should be used to it -- be used to her, but it still feels strange like the day I signed those damn papers.
Perhaps it was because I never thought of her as my wife -– I have no reason to, coupled with the fact that I never consummated the so called marriage, never ate with her on that elegant dining table I was forced to spend a fortune on, in the equally outrageously expensive house I didn’t need. I could not even qualify her as my housemate. Housemates often hang out together and do stuff together, but it was not that way with Mary Antoinette. She was just… there. Perhaps as a house guest?
I recalled at some point I was tempted to be fully committed to her. She was not bad looking, after all, she was quite pretty, but then her father made it a point to remind me I was expected to give an heir. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
I was literally the mule, breaking my back for her and her father with their fifty per cent share of my family’s company, and taking away my choice of who to spend my life with, invading my space! Just because of that bloody Edward…! I took a deep breath to calm myself, breathing hard. It’s been close to six years now and I still get riled up by the recollection.I recalled pointedly facing the old gizzard to tell him right there and then that Mary Antoinette was free to fuck anyone she likes, because I do not intend to be a saint myself, but I would definitely not be burying my dick in her gut. I immediately regretted my outburst for about a moment when I saw Mary Antoinette blanch, directing a dismayed gaze at me, then her father had the bright idea to threaten me some more and then lunge at me and that was the end of my remorse. If my mother had not been present, I would have done something I would definitely regret. Back then, I was really raw with the card life had dealt me. I w
The lady wore her witch black hair in full fringe and, for some reason, a torturous scene from the past flashed in my head, making me tense up with the intense emotion that came with the memory. For the life of me, I found myself unable to take my eyes off the girl and spaced out. I swallowed hard when Jacob said, “They are really eye-catchers aren’t they?”Then I heard myself say, “Can I get a private dance with the one in the middle facing us?” My voice sounded a bit different and I wondered if Jacob caught the intensity. “You have to be a gentleman and ask her yourself. We asked them to stay for the party, so go and mingle, Evan,” he teased, and walked away to attend to some other guests. The sound of my heart pounding was quite loud in my ears, even though I knew the probability of the woman I knew turning out to be a stripper or dancer was nil. But then I was never given the chance to even ponder on the probability of what she did to me and yet she had, blowing my heart sky
“Estie—you are still here…” I said in a low, deep voice ridden with feelings. “Yes…” she said in almost a whisper. “Small world, huh?” I said, letting out a pitiful chuckle. “Evan…” she said and looked as if she wanted to say more, then stopped. “Were you really going to run off without as much as a word to me, baby?” “I don’t know. You scared me!” she replied in an emotional tone. “Please… please tell me you went ahead and went to med school.” “I'm in my intern year!” “Then why the hell, Estera, are you in that getup, acting like a fucking stripper? What is that about? Do you need money?” “No, I don't need money. I’m doing this for a friend.” “How much?” “No, Evan. No. Just leave it be—” she said, still standing so far from me. I felt like I was in some bizarre dream and the need to touch her to assure myself it was real and she was actually there overtook me. “Come to me, Estera,” I said in an intense, commanding tone. “I shouldn’t… Evan—” “Don’t make me beg,” I said p
After the first round of our sexual indulgence, I bundled her off of the bed with her squealing with surprised delight to have a shower with her. I later left her in the bathroom to change the bedsheets, then returned to her to have her again in the shower stall. I was like an insatiable Stallone and I could only blame it on the alcohol, and the adrenaline caused by the chase and the escape from reality.With the few drinks that I had—okay, more than a few drinks—coupled with the emotional roller coaster and the pleasure of release with the only woman that I have ever wanted so desperately, it wasn’t a surprise that I slept off after getting her back in bed. Wrapping my arms around her firmly like I was afraid she was indeed a dream, nothing but a cruel play of my faculties. The sound of my phone ringing jolted me out of sleep, and I saw we had repositioned ourselves. She was now having her back to me, pressed snugly to my front in a perfect fit. Even with the blaring sound of the in
“Doctor Roberts?” the familiar voice of one of the nurses made me halt my strides. I had just finished assisting one of the attending physicians in major surgery and I was pretty satisfied it had gone well with no hiccups.“Yes?” I responded, turning around to face the dark-skinned skin, average-height young woman. She was about my age and I could say part of our clique. Most of the interns in Memorial Hospital often band together for one activity or the other to the point that we even have a popular bar a few blocks from here that we go to unwind at least once a week for a drink and a good time. Meredith was one of the few nurses that had somewhat drifted into the gang. She smiled at me and offered me a file.“Dr. Yen had a family emergency but was supposed to perform an Appendectomy this evening, she called and asked that you cover for her.”I took the patient’s file and flipped through it deftly. “Harrison Michaels…” I read the patient’s name aloud, “Is he here?”“Yes, Doctor.”“Ok
The surgery didn’t take me more than an hour, and we were on our way out of the hospital's main entrance by seven-thirty in the evening.“What’s the plan?” I asked as we walked past the parking lot heading away from Madison Avenue to Riverside Boulevard walking towards E 99th St.“We go home to change, and join the girls at Sapphire nightclub,” Ashley said, “They want us to watch them perform, before giving us a few pointers. And tomorrow we go shopping!”“It’s a good thing tomorrow is Saturday, I am beat!” I said, sounding like I felt -- tired.“Thank you, Estie for doing this,” Ashley said and I waved her off.“We need something fun for a change anyway,” Ameera said.“Are you saying our lives are boring, Doctor Ameera?” I said in theatrical shock. She giggled and rolled her eyes.“Our lives are a boring routine, Doctor Roberts, we are in dire need of an adventure,” she said with a sigh.About ten minutes later we were already at our apartment building. We chatted animatedly as we he
“It is nice to officially meet you all,” Anna said, the Hispanic beauty placed her hands on her ample hips and openly assessed us.“Wait till I tell my mum, we have doctors working at the strip club now,” Tamika said, taking us all in. Ashley quickly made a sound to negate the claim.“Just like I said, my friends are involved because they want to help me and it’s only going to be a one-time thing,” Ashley explained in a rush, letting out an awkward laugh.“That’s all they all say,” Tamika replied, throwing Ashley a skeptical glance.“Ignore Tamika, she is messing with you,” Anna said and cut her eyes at her friend. She responded with a raised eyebrow. Ameera shared a look with me. “I already told my boss about you and he has something huge coming up you might be interested in, but he would like to see what you can do before he can hire you three for the gig.”“And since we are to train you, and serve as agents, we get a 20% cut, aside from Bobby’s 30% of course,” Tamika interjected.“
We all watched as the girls left the stage and another lone figure came out. She wore a black leather bodysuit with a matching mask, holding a horsewhip. I smiled. She reminded me of Catwoman. The mask covered almost all of her face and I wondered if, like us, she was someone who wanted to be incognito or just one of her acts. I watched with interest as she moved about, sinuously, slowly snapping the whip with expertise. Then she began to pull down her front zipper exposing her full chest, narrow waist, and wide hips. When she stepped out of the bodysuit she was completely naked. The boys went wild, but not once did she disturb her mask. It was riveting and I watched till the very end. Anna and Tamika came back up to get us and took us to a private room for practice. And like the private box, it looked like a place where a wealthy client would enjoy a striptease all alone. “Do you think they allow the girls to go further than just showing off their goods?” Ashley asked evidently we