CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
It seemed like a good idea at the time, waiting for the project to end. I was sure it would go without a hitch, that things would progress at the same pace that they had been. There are only two more stores to visit. Even if we only visit one a week, that means I'll have my answer in two weeks.
Work is excruciatingly boring, and the tension hasn't let up between Derrick and I. Tyra has caught onto it, the lingering distance between us. She stops by my desk one day to casually discuss it though I know she's more concerned with how it's going to affect the project—if it's affecting it at all.
“What's up with you and Derrick?” She nods over at his desk, nonchalantly fidgeting with the petals of a flower pen that's sitting in my pen holder. My eyes fall to it, and I have to fight back a frown.
Derrick gave me the blue daisy pen as a welcoming gift shortly after I started working at Environ Design. I've used it until it ran out of ink, but I still keep it as a memento of those first few months when I was getting my feet wet and Derrick was patiently showing me the ropes. God, I miss talking to him.
I'm not sure how much I should tell Tyra, or if I should tell her anything at all. It's obvious that things haven't been good with me and Derrick since that day we were caught arguing outside. I want to smooth things over with him, but it just seems like it's too soon. Maybe I should wait until the Reddick project is over for that too.
“We had a personal conflict of interest.” It's vague but the truth.
“Hopefully something that will be settled soon.” She lets her long, blood-red nails fall from the petals of the flower pen and taps them on my desk, making a clicking sound that sends a shiver down my spine and draws my attention to her hand. Always superbly manicured. Her fingers are long and dainty, and she seems to have a knack for picking out the perfect colors of nail polish to accent her chocolate skin. She's a beautiful woman.
I shrug. “There's no way of knowing, honestly. We haven't talked about things since it happened.”
“You should.” She glances over at Derrick's desk where he's pretending to work on the layout of the furniture in Derrick's bedroom. It's a job that would usually only take a few minutes, but he knows that Tyra has a good view of his computer from where she's standing.
“Maybe next week.” I offer her a weak smile.
“Well, do it soon. I'm sure it's stressful working together when there's so much tension between the two of you.”
“Yes, ma'am.” I nod before she walks away. As soon as her back is turned, I frown, then glance at Derrick. Nothing would please me more than to smooth things over with him. Hopefully, he'll be ready to talk soon.
My days are spent waiting for Lucian to contact me. When Friday hits with no correspondence from him, I decide to send him a casual text message asking how he's doing. Not surprisingly, he doesn't respond.
On Saturday, I watch Janice prance around the apartment in a new leather outfit. Sometimes it makes me sick how flawlessly attractive she is. She's wearing a tight black corset that clasps at the front with thigh-high stockings and knee-high lace-up leather boots. The bust is conical with a swirling pattern that caps off at her nipples. It reminds me of something that Madonna would wear though not so dramatic. Her blonde hair falls over her shoulders in soft ringlets. Her eye makeup is dark and her lips are cherry-red. I pray to God that Lucian doesn't see her like this.
“I'm gonna hop on Sir's dick tonight.” She wiggles her butt as she dances around the living room.
I can't help but grin. “You go get you some.”
“I plan on it. It just sucks that I have to pay for it. Mayhaps I'll suggest a more permanent arrangement for us.” She wiggles her eyebrows. “Surely, he would want a gorgeous submissive like me.” Janice presses a dainty fingertip to her lips and pouts. It makes her look absolutely stunning and completely sexy. If I did something like that, I'd just look like an idiot.
“You never know,” I sigh, not wanting to be a downer but also wanting to speak my mind. “I have a feeling that all of the Doms who work at Flesh have commitment issues.”
“Pfft. Not everyone is Blue Eyes.”
“I suppose not.” I shrug.
“Speaking of which, how are things going with him?” She sits down on the sofa beside me.
“You actually want to know?” I smirk.
“Not really, but what are friends for.” She wrinkles her nose.
I roll my eyes, knowing that she's not really being sincere. Janice cares, even if she doesn't want to admit it.
“I haven't heard from him since he banged me in the furniture store.” My shoulders slump a bit.
“He banged you in a furniture store?” Janice's eyes go wide and her mouth forms an O.
“Yep. One I occasionally visit for work, no less. And to top it off, we got caught.”
“Holy shit, Amy. That is so fucking kinky. I never knew you had that in you.” Her lips split into a huge grin and she pokes at my side, causing me to squirm.
“Stop.” I slap at her hand. “I don't have it in me. He kinda forced me to.”
“Even hotter.” She pokes me a final time. “Well, one definitely can't say that he's not interested in you.”
“You think so?” I relax and smile.
“At least he's interested in your V.” Janice smacks my arm before standing up.
That doesn't make me feel any better. For a split second, I thought she was genuinely going to comfort me. I suppose that was high hopes though.
“If you see him there, tell him to return my text messages.” I twist to look at her as she walks around the sofa to grab her trench coat.
“Will do.” She mock salutes me before picking up her purse and keys from the bar. “Are you sure you don't want to come?”
“Nah. It's too late to make an appointment, and I kind of just want to take it easy tonight.”
“Alright. Well, I doubt I'll see him, but I'll tell you if I do.”
“Have fun.” I wave to her over my shoulder, then listen to the sound of the door opening and closing.
As soon as she's gone, I let out a deep sigh and pick up my phone off of the coffee table, scrolling through my text messages to the ones that I left for Lucian. I really wish he'd text me back...or call me. Anything. Nothing would make my weekend better than spending it with him. That's probably not going to happen though, which means that it's going to be a lonely weekend filled with television and unpleasant thoughts.
After looking at my unanswered text messages to Lucian, I scroll up to read my last conversation with Derrick. To be honest, I feel kind of bad about how things turned out. Maybe I made the wrong choice by going with Lucian instead of giving Derrick a chance. I believe what Janice said though about him just wanting to date me because he feels threatened that there's another man in my life. His confession of love was too unexpected—too out of the blue.
Against my better judgment, I tap out a text to him. “I hope you're having a good weekend. I just wanted to let you know that I'm sorry and I miss you.”
After hitting the send button, I set my phone down and stare at it, waiting for him to respond. Minutes tick by and then they turn into hours. For as much as I'd like to pretend that he's at a club and just hasn't had time to look at his phone, more than likely he's purposely ignoring me. Perhaps he and Lucian aren't so different after all.
***
With nothing better to do, I go to bed early, so Janice doesn't get a chance to regale me with her tales of BDSM glory until the next morning. We sit at the kitchen table together eating cereal, and she lifts up her shirt to show me the red marks that her Sir left behind.
“I let him cane me,” she tells me, her eyes going wide.
I cringe at the thought. “Doesn't that hurt?”
“Yes, but it's a good kind of pain. A different kind of pain than the flogger. I don't think it's something I'd do all the time, but it's good for a more intense experience.
He also put these really tight nipple clamps on me and shoved ice up my pussy. I honestly thought that the ice would hurt more than it did, but my body melted it fairly quickly. Then he made me lick the puddle off of the floor.”
“Ew.” I screw my face. “Weren't you worried about...I don't know, getting something?”
She laughs. “Oh, Amy. Loosen up. I bet Blue Eyes likes to do all of that stuff too. Speaking of which, I didn't see him, but that doesn't mean he wasn't there. You know how the process goes. You see the guy at the front desk and then he sends you to a room. If Blue Eyes was with a client, I wouldn't know.” She shrugs before shoving a spoonful of Cap'n Crunch into her mouth and chewing noisily.
“I suppose not.” I try not to let the information dampen my mood. If anything, it should make me happy that she didn't see him. Just knowing that he could have been there though causes unpleasant emotions to pass through me.
“But anyway, I talked to Sir about becoming his submissive, and he said that he'd have to get to know me better first.” She frowns. “I have a feeling that you were right about the Doms there.”
“It makes sense.” I shrug. “While I know it's not out of order for Doms to do what they want, I doubt the guys who work at Flesh would have time to manage their own submissives when they're spending so much time at Flesh.”
“Yeah. It kind of sucks though.” She pokes at her cereal with her spoon. “I really want a Dom of my own. I guess I should start attending some munches.”
“No more Flesh?” I quirk an eyebrow at her.
She sighs as if the thought displeases her. “I enjoy going, and I kind of like that the experience is always custom designed to me. I'll probably keep going until I find a Dom of my own. At least that way, I can rack up some more experience instead of coming off as a noob to potential Doms.”
“Whatever floats your boat. It's a rather expensive addiction.” I dig out a few raisins from my Raisin Bran and pop them into my mouth.
“I know.” She frowns. “But I like it so much.”
“Well, it's your time and money.” My eyes widen to indicate that I think it's a waste. For what she wants, she'd be better off trawling munches for a Dom. At $150 for a thirty-minute session and $300 for an hour, I don't see how she's going to afford going as frequently to Flesh as it sounds like she wants to go. I know I was cringing when I handed over the money for my session with Lucian.
“It's something I enjoy. Some girls like to get their hair and nails done every other week. I like to let a hot, muscular leather-bound man make me submit.” She grins.
“To each her own.” I raise my glass of water in mock cheers.