Authors: Joan Elizabeth Lloyd
Club Fantasy (6 page)
“Great. I'll call Harry when we get home.”
Chapter
4
4
A
fter a delightful evening with Chloe, Harry, and Brand, Jenna lay in bed thinking about the way her life had progressed since arriving in New York City just a week before. She'd had dates with two different men and had had fun with each. Where Toby was serious and sexy, Brand had been just plain fun. She and Toby had discussed a myriad of subjects, while with the foursome earlier that evening she had laughed more than she could remember. Harry and Brand tossed one-liners back and forth, keeping the women laughing with genuine good humor.
fter a delightful evening with Chloe, Harry, and Brand, Jenna lay in bed thinking about the way her life had progressed since arriving in New York City just a week before. She'd had dates with two different men and had had fun with each. Where Toby was serious and sexy, Brand had been just plain fun. She and Toby had discussed a myriad of subjects, while with the foursome earlier that evening she had laughed more than she could remember. Harry and Brand tossed one-liners back and forth, keeping the women laughing with genuine good humor.
Toby was very attractive and sexy looking and made her heart skip a beat or two, and, while Brand was ordinary looking, with thinning toast-brown hair, a thick nose, and a body like a fire hydrant, she quickly forgot to notice his looks at all. Two different men with two different personalities, both of whom she had enjoyed.
As she thought about dating, her mind inevitably drifted to sex, and, while Brand was fun, it was Toby who filled her mind. Thinking about Toby she imagined how his mouth would feel against hers, how his hands would feel on her breasts. Would his touch excite her differently than Glen's had? She remembered her last sexual, rather ordinary, experience with her ex and sighed. Her ex. Interesting way to think of him, but she guessed that that was exactly what he was.
Ex-what,
she didn't know, but he was history, at least for now. Would she consider going back to Seneca Falls and her old life with him? Certainly not right now.
Ex-what,
she didn't know, but he was history, at least for now. Would she consider going back to Seneca Falls and her old life with him? Certainly not right now.
Where was this all going? What was she here for? Was Chloe right when she said that getting back on the sexual horse was the perfect way to begin to sort things out? Maybe, but that didn't mean tackling some man on a first date. But what about on the second or third? She quickly realized how awkward it would be to bring some man back to the brownstone with Chloe's bedroom right off the living room, possibly entertaining there or in the main room. As Jenna fell asleep, she realized she'd have to talk to Chloe about it.
The following morning the two women were sprawled in the living room, surrounded by pieces of the Sunday
New York Times.
After a long period of silence, Jenna said, “Chloe, there's something we need to figure out.”
New York Times.
After a long period of silence, Jenna said, “Chloe, there's something we need to figure out.”
Chloe pulled off her reading glasses, ones she wore only at home to give her eyes a rest from her contact lenses. “Sure, Jen. What's up?”
“This is a bit embarrassing. I was thinking about last evening. I had a great time, by the way, and thanks for kicking me in the behind and getting me to accept the invitation. Anyway, the guys dropped us off and avoided an awkward moment by simply saying good night and getting back into the taxi. But what do we do about inviting a man back here for, well let's just call them, extracurricular activities?”
“Extra ... Oh, yeah.” Her face took on a hopeful expression. “Are you starting to think about real dates? Like with sex afterward?”
“Don't go jumping to conclusions, Chloe, I just want to think things through in advance.” And, yes, I'm thinking about sex.
“I understand what you're getting at. Living here, together, is like having a college roommate, except that you can't just hang a ribbon on the door and ask the other guy to come back in three hours. I've actually been thinking about it.”
“Any ideas?”
She crossed her legs. “How about this? What if we set up a second living room upstairs? We have all those just-about-empty rooms. Let's get a small sofa, a chair or two, and stuff. That way you can have the upstairs and I can have the downstairs. If I'm in the living room and you and a friend want to go upstairs, just move quietly and we'll all pretend not to notice.”
“That's a great idea, but won't furniture cost a lot? I'm really not sure how long I'll be here, after all. It sounds like a giant undertaking for what might only be a month or two.” She knew that, at best, Chloe's finances were precarious. Although a second living room was a great idea, she wasn't about to spend much on it, or allow Chloe to.
“Shopping will be such fun. Hold on a minute.” Dashing from the room, Chloe returned with the Yellow Pages. Flipping through the much-used volume, she said, “Let's see where we can start.”
“Chloe,” Jenna said, stemming the rush of shopping enthusiasm bursting from her friend, “I don't have money to spend on furniture and you don't either.”
“I know, but shopping's such fun.”
“It might be fun but we can't afford it. Isn't there another way? Do you know anyone we can borrow some stuff from?”
Chloe deflated, then brightened. “Wait a minute. I remember seeing something in here.” She began rapidly turning pages, wetting her middle finger occasionally.
“Do you read that thing in your spare time?” Jenna said sarcastically. “It's worn and dogeared like an old bible or something.”
“The Yellow Pages is a gas to browse through. You'd never believe what goes on in this town, and you can find such interesting places to shop and stuff. Lots of people are switching to using the Internet, but to my mind computers are a great mystery, except for graphics, of course. For me the good old Yellow Pages does the trick.” She flipped a few more pages, then said, “Here it is. Furniture rentals.”
“You can rent furniture?”
“Sure. Several guys I know come to town for several months at a time on business. Their company finds a sublet and sometimes they need to add a few pieces. So they rent.” She scanned the page. “Look. There are several places right around here. We can pick up a few big pieces on a month-to-month basis and fill in with small stuff. Looks like they all deliver, pick up, and everything.” She tapped one finger on a large display ad. “This one's even open on Sunday.”
“Only in New York,” Jenna muttered.
That afternoon, after deciding which room would work out best for a second living room, Chloe and Jenna visited a nearby rental company and picked out a nondescript sofa, side chair, end and coffee tables, and a couple of lamps. The salesman did a few calculations and came up with a surprisingly reasonable monthly charge. Since Jenna had only two days of work booked for the following week, they arranged to have the pieces delivered midweek. After that, Jenna would see how the room shaped up and decide what little touches she wanted to add.
Every day she'd fallen more in love with the house, and it seemed more and more important to help her friend with the taxes. She found that, to compensate for Chloe's extravagance, she was suddenly reluctant to spend money. Jenna vowed that they would eat home every night and that when she worked she would bring a salad or a sandwich from home. She'd try her best to get through at least the next payment. Would Chloe take money from her if she really needed it? Jenna didn't know but, just in case, she decided to try her best not to touch her savings.
The agency had said that she could expect to work on an average of one or two days a week. “Of course, it might be an entire week and then nothing for a while, but as long as you're available we'll do the best we can.”
I can always get a full-time job,
Jenna thought, then stopped herself. Chloe wasn't her responsibility. She was a big girl and well able to take care of herself.
I can always get a full-time job,
Jenna thought, then stopped herself. Chloe wasn't her responsibility. She was a big girl and well able to take care of herself.
She spent some time working on a budget, thinking of how Marcy would laugh. Budgeting? Jenna? When she'd juggled the numbers and made some conservative projections, she decided that things would be okay for a while. It was summer and she'd be filling in for lots of vacationing translators, but once fall came she was afraid her work days would dwindle and she might have to start digging into her meager savings.
Monday evening, she and Chloe disassembled the bed from the larger of the two remaining rooms on the second floor and wrestled it and the dresser to an upstairs room Chloe used for storage. “Holy shit,” Jenna said, when she entered the small room. “It looks like the photos of King Tut's tomb.” She wandered around, poking into stacks of boxes and jumbled piles of odds and ends. “If you don't mind,” Jenna said, picking up a magazine rack, “I might move some of these things to my âsitting room.' ” She said the last two words in such a mock-snooty voice that Chloe had to giggle.
“Sure. Great. Aunt Elise was quite a collector and this was what was left over after we sold off the furniture. I was in such a state that I just dumped stuff up here.” She tapped on a box of books. “I don't even know what all is up here, but I know that Aunt Elise would be glad to see some of this stuff being useful again.”
“Collector?”
“Well, she shopped a lot on her travels, buying all kinds of things she just âhad to have' at the time.” With a self-deprecating smile, Chloe said, “I guess that's where I get it from.”
Jenna prowled. In addition to the boxes there were a few small tables, one with a missing leg, four standing lamps, one particularly ugly one with a red-tasseled shade, a rolled-up throw rug, and a number of oil paintings that were balanced against one wall. An old-fashioned, full-length mirror, in a mahogany frame that allowed it to tilt, stood off to one side. She'd read about those in the occasional romance novel.
Pier glasses,
she thought they were called.
Pier glasses,
she thought they were called.
Tossed in one corner were a pile of pillows of all sizes, some with satin or velvet covers, others fringed, many embroidered with phrases like “Memories of the Catskills” and “April in Paris.” One had a picture of the pyramids of Giza and another the Tower of London. “Phew. What an eclectic woman she must have been.”
“Eclectic. That's a good word for it but let's be frank. Elise was a junk collector and she freely admitted it. She picked up nicknacks from anywhere and everywhere.” Chloe pointed to several large cardboard boxes dumped haphazardly in one corner. “Those are filled with the contents of two large china cabinets we sold. Some of the stuff ... well, you'll never believe it. From the beautiful to the unusual, to the just plain ugly.”
“Can I rummage?”
“Anytime you want. And whatever you want for your sitting room, or anywhere else for that matter, use with Aunt Elise's blessing.”
About a week later Jenna used her sitting room for the first time. She and Toby had had a second sexually charged dinner with a kiss as they parted that, as Chloe would have put it, curled her toes. The previous evening they had talked on the phone, a teasing conversation peppered with double-entendres and innuendoes. It had become clear to her that, after dinner that evening, she'd be dessert. Why the hell not, she told herself when she started to have second and third thoughts. Why the hell not! They were adults and could indulge in adult pleasures if they wanted to.
Toby picked her up at the house and they went to a trendy East-Side restaurant that specialized in what they called nouvelle fusion cuisine, whatever that meant. Knowing what was to follow, Jenna found it difficult to eat her appetizer, some concoction of crab and kiwi fruit, washing most mouthfuls down with sauvignon blanc. She was concentrating so much on her nervousness that she didn't notice that Toby wasn't eating at all. “Jenna, this is silly,” he said after the tenth long silence. “I think we know what's happening here and we're both nervous as hell. It's going to ruin what might be a great meal. Let's get out of here.”
Relieved, yet increasingly jittery, Jenna merely nodded. The waiter looked disappointed when Toby asked for the check before they ordered the main course, but he was quite obviously pleased with the large tip Toby added to the credit-card receipt. Silently, the couple left the restaurant and hurried back to the brownstone.
Jenna led Toby to her new upstairs sitting room and the two settled quickly on the sofa. Without much preamble, Toby's arms were around her and his lips were pressed against hers. Toby's mouth was soft, coaxing not expecting. His tongue requested entry to her mouth and she granted it, reveling in the emotions, the flaring heat, the excitement of something so new. She slipped her hands beneath his jacket and pulled his shirt from the waist of his pants so she could feel his skin, drowning in a now frantic need for him.
It seemed to take only moments until their clothes were off and his hands were on her naked breasts. They kissed and fondled, driving her to the heights of arousal. All too quickly, however, Toby unrolled a condom over his erection and thrust deeply into her. It took only moments for him to climax.
Jenna was bitterly disappointed. She had expected all the things she hadn't had with Glen and here she was having experienced the same kind of sex she'd had before. Quick, ordinary and unsatisfying. Later, as they lay stretched out on the sofa, Toby sensed her feelings. “I'm so sorry, Jenna. I've been anticipating this evening all day and I got a little ahead of you.” His fingers idly played with her nipple as he talked. “You're so beautiful, so sexy that I got carried away.”
“It was wonderful, Toby,” Jenna said, trying to sound upbeat. “Anticipation got to me too.”
He cupped her chin and turned her face so she couldn't help but gaze into his eyes. “Don't lie to me, Jenna,” he said. “Don't ever lie to me like that. Just relax and let me see what I can do to make it up to you.” He pinched her nipple until she gasped.
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