Felicia

After spending an extra twenty minutes in the shower with the Demonizer, I order an omelet and French toast from room service and have them deliver it in takeout boxes. I send Rex a text letting him know that I’ll be bringing breakfast to him because I’m running a little behind. Once I saw the pulsating shower head, I just had to try the combination. Now, I’m scrambling to get ready for the day. I giggle as I look in the mirror. I can’t believe how incredible it feels to be sexually liberated, a phrase that’s thrown around freely at this event. Self-imposed oppression is the best way to describe my sexuality before meeting Rex. It’s true that once you’ve seen the light, there is no going back.

I pick out a flirty little sundress since it’s a gorgeous day. I love wearing white and yellow in the summer when my skin has been sun-kissed. Adding my Aldo Camilia wedge sandals finishes off the outfit. Since I’m running late, I decide to leave my hair straight, simply brushing it out and throwing on my Ray Bans. Glancing in the mirror, it looks like the perfect Southern California attire.

By the time I get to the convention room, it’s already filled with vendors, and the signs on the doors say that it opens to guests at noon, so there is plenty of time. “Sally told me the wrong time to make sure we had plenty of time to set up,” Rex grumbles as he takes a bite of the omelet and washes it down with some orange juice.

“At least we know for tomorrow,” I tell him, digging into the delicious looking French toast. “We should check out some of the other vendors since we have some time to kill.”

“Sure.” He picks up the pace of his eating. “There’s one thing I saw last night that I want to show you.”

I’m sure whatever caught his eye will be interesting. He hasn’t led me astray yet. I take a couple of bites of omelet, needing some protein, and then I’m ready to go. “I really like the vendors I’ve met so far. They’re all really friendly and helpful.”

“Yeah, I was planning on stopping by the Toys for Boys booth to thank Billy for teaching you how to use that Felix thing. That still blows my mind.” He shakes his head with an enamored look in his eyes. “Are we done here?”

“Yeah, I’m good.” We toss our trash and begin walking through the exhibits. The first banner that catches my attention says: A one-night stand is like snow. You never know how many inches you're going to get or how long it will last. That’s hilarious.

“Here you go,” Rex says, tugging at my arm. “You would look awesome as a leopard.” He points to the body painting booth where the workers are busy painting costumes on each other.

“Maybe I’ll be that brave by next year . . . or the next,” I reply, amazed by how comfortable these people are with their bodies. “You know . . . it would be awesome to paint elephant ears on your hips and make him into a trunk.” I gesture toward his package.

“I can do that for you,” a makeup artist named Jimmy immediately offers.

“Oh, I’m sure you could,” Rex says, taking a step back. “Thanks, bud! Maybe if I weren’t a vendor.” He takes my hand and guides me toward the next booth. “I don’t think you would handle it well if women were wanting to pet the elephant.”

“You’re right. I was only kidding, but I think Jimmy was up for it.”

“I think Jimmy is probably up for anything. I don’t know how people can pierce some of the things that he had pierced.” He shudders at the thought.

“Yeah, this place is awesome. I definitely have a lot to learn,” I admit as we approach an older woman who appears to be a dominatrix with a leash in each hand. On one leash is a young guy with a spiked dog collar and leather chaps. The other leash leads to a young woman who has a leather face mask, dog collar, and black leather body suit.

“Do you like my pets?” the woman asks as my intended glance turns into more of a stare.

“Lovely,” I reply, this time being the one to tug at Rex’s arm.

Up ahead, two young women dressed in lingerie are talking into a camera that looks pretty legit. They have a camera man, teleprompters, and an official looking anchor desk. “Ah, the Naked News,” Rex says, stopping to watch the action. As they continue to talk about the events that will be talking place today at Sexapalooza, the brunette suddenly pops off her bra, letting it fall to the floor. When the camera turns to the blonde for the next segment, she follows suit.

“There is seriously something called Naked News?” I ask, immediately seeing it as a pretty innovative way to get young guys to watch the news.

“Yeah, they actually report real news stories on a daily basis.”

“And you’re a subscriber?”

“Maybe,” he says, flashing the girls a smile before turning toward the next booth. “It was only ninety-nine bucks for a lifetime membership. I was young and impressionable at the time,” he adds in his defense.

“Any other secrets you want to share?” I give him the motherly glare.

“Not at the moment.” He winks and nods to the next booth. “Here is what I wanted to show you. It’s called the Tantric Chair.” He points out a pair of curved leather pieces of furniture that resemble contemporary lounge chairs.

“They come in beige, tan, brown, and black,” a young guy named Brix, with short dark hair and six-pack abs informs us as we approach. “Go ahead and try it out. The video will give you some ideas of what you can do on it.” I turn to see a naked woman straddling a guy who is reclined in the chair. Again, a twinge of shock pulses through me as I see two people fucking on the big screen TV.

“I think I should get a couple of these,” Rex says, tossing me a sexy look. “A black one for my bedroom at home and a beige one for the cabin.”

“I can just hear my mom. ‘That’s such an interesting piece. Wherever did you get it?’” I laugh, imitating her voice. “Ah . . . tantric-chair dot com.”

Both men laugh. “If anyone knows what it is, they’re probably into this kind of stuff,” Brix adds in an attempt to curb any apprehension.

“We could start with one out at the cabin,” I suggest, slipping one leg over the beige one and sitting back, allowing my sundress to ride up on my thighs.

“Go ahead and check it out,” Brix tells Rex with a nod. “Unless you want me to demonstrate.”

“That won’t be necessary,” he replies, swinging his leg across and sliding into position between my legs.

“Now you can put your feet up behind him, and that gives him perfect access,” Brix instructs, guiding my feet up behind Rex. “Oh, now that’s hot. You guys want me to take a picture of you?”

“No,” I reply a bit too abruptly, actually startling him.

“We had a little incident this week,” Rex explains with a chuckle. “Someone caught us doing it out on the deck. They posted pictures online yesterday, so the wounds are a little fresh.”

“I post my own stuff all the time,” Brix admits with a big grin. “Just type Brix Fux into Google and you’ll find a ton of my work.”

“So you’re a porn star?” I ask, thinking he might make a pretty good one.

“Just part-time,” he replies, patting the Tantric chair. “Since I use one of these in most of my videos, they hired me as a full-time promoter, so I travel around to shows like this most of the time. I still shoot porn on the side though. Gotta keep those paying members happy.”

“How many paid members do you have?” I ask out of sheer curiosity.

“Four hundred and twelve. They each pay twenty bucks per month, so it’s not a bad gig.” He turns to welcome other vendors who are checking out the video that’s still playing on the screen. Now that I look a second time, it’s obvious that Brix is the man in the video. I hadn’t really paid attention to his face the first time.

“We’ll be back,” Rex tells him with a slap on the back. “We have to get back to business.”

“All right, stop back later,” Brix says, reaching out a hand to shake mine. “I’ll give you a twenty percent show discount if you buy it here. We offer that to all vendors.”

“Sounds good! We’ll hit you up later tonight or tomorrow morning,” Rex says, handing him a business card. “We have booth number eight, just to the left of the entrance if you want to stop by ours.”

“Lucky bastard. I’d kill for a spot like that.”

“My receptionist pulled it off somehow,” he replies with a shrug. “She’s got a way with people.” We both laugh, since we know that Barb got us that spot through sheer tenacity and persistence.

Rex

The more people Felicia meets, the more at ease she seems to be with everything. Even though many of the vendors deal in fetishes, they are very friendly and eager to help others explore any curiosities. By the time we make it back to our booth, my business seems a little like plain vanilla in comparison to a lot of them. Not that I would change a thing.

“That guy makes about a hundred grand a year on his porn stuff,” Felicia says out of the blue. “That’s crazy.”

“So now you’re interested in doing a little of that?” I tease, knowing the answer.

“Hilarious,” she says, slapping me on the arm. “I’m just amazed at how much money there is in all of this stuff. I mean, I never knew it was such a big business.”

“I honestly didn’t either until I started doing some research. Once I saw how much money other people were making, I thought why not emulate it?” He picks up a box from the RH Signature line. “It doesn’t get much easier than sticking your dick in a mold and mailing it off to a manufacturer.”

“China?”

“No. We do it all in the US. It costs a little more, but the turnaround is so quick. We’ll be able to fill all of the backorders in just a couple of weeks instead of a couple of months,” I tell her as the doors open and people begin flooding onto the convention room floor.

Due to the great spot that Barb secured for us, Felicia is busy running credit cards within ten minutes while Sally and I talk to potential customers. “I’m thinking we should put together a video like the one they’re using for the Tantric Chair,” I mention to Sally during a lull. “Maybe you and Sylvester could be our models.”

She simply glares at me. “After the shit that Jessica sent me the other day, I think we all know who the models are in this company.” She slaps her hands to her hips and gives me her signature glare.

“Our porn days are behind us,” Felicia declares, giving me a look of disdain. “Right, honey?”

“Yes, dear.” I give her a wink. “I’m simply interested in selling a shitload of silicone from here on out. We’ll keep our future escapades out of the public eye.”

“It was you two on that video that Miss Turner posted,” a woman announces after overhearing our conversation. “These are the two!” She squeals to the small posse behind her.

“What was that little gadget you were using?” another woman asks Felicia.

“It’s the Demonizer,” she replies, pointing to a stack of them on the other side of the booth. “Be careful, though—that thing’s addictive. I was almost late for the show this morning.” She giggles and gives me a guilty look.

“That’s why I had a cold omelet and soggy French toast for breakfast?” I huff, coming to an immediate realization.

“Hey, I saw the Waterpik shower massager and thought . . . you know.” Her cheeks immediately take on the red glow that I miss from the early days. “Believe me, I tried to resist but it was futile.” She giggles while turning away to process another order.

“This combo is currently the bestseller on our site.” I place a Demonizer next to an RH Signature dildo. “For the next five minutes, I’ll give you twenty percent off. All you have to do is fill out an order form for Sally and give your credit card to Felicia, our official Demonizer advocate.” Much to my surprise, one woman actually throws her credit card over the shoulder of another, hitting Felicia in the side of the face with it. “Everyone, relax,” I add. “I’ll keep the special going until all of you have gotten a set.”

“Sorry,” the lady says sheepishly. “I just love a deal.” She slinks over to the side of the booth with her toys in hand and waits patiently for Felicia to catch up.

As the day wears on, things settle down just a bit and we are down to our last ten cases of product. Sally is on break to have a bite to eat, but Felicia and I can easily handle the flow. She has people filling out the order form while she processes the card, so everything is flowing efficiently.

“Hey! You stuck up fucker!” I hear off to the side of the booth. I turn to see what the fuss is about. “Yeah, I’m talking to you! Fucking dick head!” Much to my chagrin, the woman yelling at me is none other than Kathy Summers. Fuck me.

“Hey, what are you doing here?” I ask politely, trying to tone her down a bit.

“I saw Jessica’s posts, so I grabbed a couple of friends and we flew down for the weekend,” she replies, motioning to two other attractive blondes. “I thought I would come kick your ass in person for not even replying to me.” She crosses her arms and continues to glare at me.

“Hey, it’s nothing personal. I just don’t do that anymore . . . for anyone,” I tell her honestly.

“You do it for her!” she snaps, pointing at Felicia. “You were doing all kinds of shit with her on that video.” By now, I’m thinking where the fuck did she post a video? I guess Jessica used the one final card she held after all. Bitch.

“That’s different.” I pick up one of the RH Signature boxes and show it to her. “You’re in luck, though. I’m selling a clone for only a hundred and thirty bucks,” I tell her, half teasing, half serious.

“So you’ll fuck the intern, whom you’re already paying, but you won’t fuck me for five fucking grand?” she screeches with viciousness in her eyes.

“It’s not like that. I was celibate for almost five months before I met her. I wasn’t returning any calls, so it’s not like I was avoiding you.” I reach out to caress her arm, hoping she will simmer down and quit making such a spectacle. “You’re a gorgeous woman. I’m just not doing that anymore.”

“Well, the three of us will pay you fifteen grand for the night,” one of the other girls says, stepping up next to Kathy. “Your floozy little intern can watch if she’s into that,” she adds snidely.

“I’ll tell you what. The show goes until midnight tonight, so if you girls stop back about that time, we’ll go have cocktails and talk about it,” I tell them, trying to give them a glimmer of hope so they move along for now. With any luck, things will sell out and we can abandon this booth before midnight.

“Okay,” Kathy says, holding out her hand to shake mine. “We’ll be back, and you’d better be ready for some action this time.”

“We’ll discuss your proposal over drinks,” I reiterate, trying to make it clear that I’m not accepting their proposal on the spot.

“See you tonight,” Kathy says, lunging at me and kissing me right on the lips with her ruby red lipstick. “Ha! Gotcha.” She cackles before turning and mixing into the crowd.

“Holy shit,” is all I can say, turning back to share my thoughts with Felicia. “Felicia?” I quickly scan all sides of the booth but she’s nowhere to be found. “Dammit!” I hop up on the table and quickly scan the crowd just in time to see a blonde in a yellow and white sundress storming out the main entrance. “Fuck!!” I grab my cell and call her but it goes right to voicemail. “Goddammit!”

I click to call Sally, who luckily picks up. “Are you on your way back?”

“Yeah, I’m actually at the Toys for Boys booth that Felicia was raving about. Why?”

“I need you to come back to the booth right away,” I tell her, not wanting to mention that I might have scared her off again. “I have to go find Felicia.”

“What did you do this time?” she asks, sounding like she’s moving through the crowd.

“It’s a long story, but Kathy Summers basically attacked me. My mouth is covered in red lipstick.” I scan the crowd in her direction, wanting to see her before abandoning ship. “I see you. I’m going up to the room, so I’m assuming you can handle things for a bit.”

“Yes, sir,” she says with a sigh. “You’re going to have to behave yourself or that little girl isn’t going to trust you. You do have quite a reputation, you know. Especially after all those videos and such.”

“I know. It’ll be okay. I’m going to run.” I hang up, jump down from the table, and quickly cut my way through the crowd. She’s already gone. Hopefully, she’s back at the room. I find myself practically sprinting the entire distance to the hotel. She can’t hold this against me. Kathy is just another psychopath. The thought drifts through my head that some man made her that way. For now, I’ll blame her father.

Totally winded, I finally reach the door, swipe the key card, and fling it open. Startled, Felicia spins around with clothes in hand and her empty bag already open on the bed. This has to be one of the biggest overreactions in history. “Kathy lunged at me. I wasn’t seriously planning on taking them up on their offer. I was just trying to get rid of them for the day,” I spew forth, covering all the bases.

“My mom just had a major heart attack,” she replies, bursting into a full-fledged bawl. “I was going to call you as soon as I got myself calmed down. I knew I wouldn’t even be able to talk,” she squeaks, trying to get it out.

“Oh baby, she’ll be okay. Who called?”

“The hospital. I’m her emergency contact. She called 911 and collapsed before they got there,” she says, completely losing it again. “They’re doing an emergency bypass in a few minutes. I don’t even know what to do!” She looks at me helplessly through tear-filled eyes. “She’s my only family. She’s all I’ve got.”

“She’ll be okay.” I reach out and take her in my arms. “I’ll get us tickets on the next flight out. We’ll be there by the time she wakes up.”

“She’d better wake up.” Her whole body shakes as I hold her in my arms. She has more family than just her mother, but at this moment, I’m sure it seems as if her mother is the only one who is there for her. “You just sit down for a minute. I’ll call the airline.”