Sunday, September 23, 2018

Love is not enough


                Love has been defined by many people in many different settings.  Many things are said about love.   Yet, upon further review, all the descriptions seem vague.  I won’t go into all of them but one that always interested me was, “Love conquers All.”  There was an Italian painting depicting my favorite interpretation of this phrase.  It shows a couple looking miserable with cupid standing over them seemingly attacking them.  I can’t tell you the name of the painting or who painted it but I can tell you what I was told that part of the painting was depicting (it is a large painting and this is but a small part of it).  It’s saying that when they say “love conquers all” people always assume that love is on your side.  It assumes that love is looking out for you, guiding you, helping you, but in reality, love conquers you too.  You are just another victim for the selfishness and destruction love causes.  For love conquers all, so what made you think you weren’t included in the “all”?

                In Greek, there are four words for love.  “Phila” the love for a friend, “Adelphi” the love for family, “Eros”, “The love of the flesh” and “Agape” the love you have for your spouse.  For those that have been in love, “Eros” doesn’t belong on the same level as the other three.  The ancient Greeks got that wrong, infatuation, though debilitating, though prone to make you do stupid things, is not love.  It has a lot in common but a cubic sequonia may look like a diamond, but it is not nearly as valuable or as precious.  As Ayn Rand simply states, A = A.  If it’s not A, then it can’t equal A.  Infatuation, which is what “Eros” is, resembles love but is far from it.  As someone who speaks Greek, ancient Greek has strayed from these four distinguishing features.  After all, parents almost always call their kids “Agape mou” as in their love.  Technically, that should be in the Adelphi since it is family.  As it stands now, the word “Philh” means friend, “Adelphi” means sibling but Agape is still love.  The ancient Greeks did say that Agape was the most important.  I tend to agree but this still doesn’t do it justice.  I guess I will say my experience with love. 

                Growing up, I loved my best friend, Drew.  He is the only person who I will mention by name in this piece.  I was a dork growing up and Drew was someone I always considered my only friend.  Looking back, this is a huge disservice to my other friends at the time as I even told them this.  But, to me, Drew always made me feel good about myself.  He never made me feel ashamed of who I was.  Before I developed self-security, Drew was the one who lifted me up.  I don’t know how my childhood would have gone without Drew helping me in the vulnerable stage of my childhood.  Even though Drew and I went to different high schools, and I didn’t go over to his house every weekend like I used to, I loved Drew and he was the most important person in my life.  It was the ultimate since of “Philia.”  Oddly enough, two days after I was legally an adult, Drew died.  Thus, the person that got me through childhood left my life at almost the precise moment I was legally not a child. 

                It wasn’t long before I found “Agape.”  When I was in college, I fell in love with a redhead girl.  Now, the odd thing about this is that even though I knew I was in love with her, I knew deep down that we weren’t compatible.  This is the beginning stages of my realization of the title of this piece, “Love is not enough.”  For Yes I loved her, I can’t speak for her but she did keep me around.  Some say she’s toxic for me.  Some say it means nothing that when guys who wanted to fuck her in college told her to send me home so they could, she sent them home.  She was promiscuous but when ultimatums were made, she chose me, something that other female friends in college, some I consider closer and better friends than she, did not do in college.  That’s got to account for something.  One of the best things that ever between my relationship with her is when she told me she fucked my roommate.  It was a couple years after college and it happened sometime during college, though I’m not sure when.  But, it finally made me shut off my feelings for her.  To me, the other guys didn’t matter but my roommate who hated her, that was enough for me to finally stop wanting her.  The main reason was still that we weren’t compatible and when you love someone that you know won’t be happy with you, you need to let them go.  That’s what I did.  She’s now married with two kids, I’m still a part of her life, and see her twice a month when I’m a guest at her and her husband’s apartment.  Her 4-year-old knows me very well and I’m pretty sure the couple months old will as well.  My mom hates that I’m friends with a married woman but the husband doesn’t mind and even told me to ask my mom why she thinks he should.  I asked, and my mom was shocked at the question and had no answer.  By the way, in case you’re wondering, my parents have a great relationship so my thoughts on love are not from having parents with a loveless marriage.  If anything, the opposite; I know what it looks like so I know when something isn’t it.  In the movie Life Iteself, Javier Rodriguez does what I did with the redhead.  He knew that he couldn’t be what his wife and child needed, so he left and let a man that loved them but could also support them financially do it.  I absolutely loathe men who leave their wives.  I do not credit Javier, because I do think he made the wrong decision, but I understand it.  It’s just that, you married her, you had the child with her, you need to make it work.  The redhead taught me agape, and honestly, I’m not sure what was greater, my love for Drew or for the redhead but this is not where the story ends.

                In 2008, I baptized the daughter of a high school friend of mine.  She had stayed in touch with me despite moving to Greece and unlike others in my life, didn’t stop seeing me just because she had a husband and kids.  Many say that the oil that you rub on the baby during the baptism does something to you.  I never believed it until I did it.  Most talk about that you rub your traits off on the kid and my goddaughter’s mother will tell you several traits of mine she has.  I, however, never realized the attachment I would feel.  I don’t know if it was from the oil or before.  Unlike most babies, she loved me from the moment I saw her.  I did too, which is why I chose to baptize her.  I asked my friend and her husband if I could.  When I see her, I realize that the love I have for her far surpasses my love for the redhead and Drew.  I didn’t know this level of love existed.  It only emboldened my not wanting kids because something tells me there’s a level above this one.  I can barely handle this level let alone something more.  I tell her she’s my number one person.  She tells me I’m hers.  I will love her till the day I die for she is the closest thing I’ll ever have to a kid. 

                Short break to talk about the topic I get harassed about the most.  My unwillingness to marry or have children.  Everyone always talks about “You haven’t met the right girl yet.” But that’s not it.  I realize how much work goes into it and it’s hard.  Since I don’t like pleasures of the flesh such as sex, oral or vaginal, I never saw any point in playing the game.  Not playing guarantees I will not have a significant other.  Given that I haven’t had one since I was 17, and I’m not 34, it appears, I am right.  What I tell people now so they can handle it and I don’t have to get in a massive argument over it, “I would get married if I find a girl I’m willing to put the work in for.”  Though, I’m beginning to think now that that’s disingenuous.  The fact is, I’m just not willing to put the work in at all.  Even if I found the girl, I don’t think I’d do it.  My biggest proof is the next girl on my list.  I guess I should also say that I would marry any girl that would be okay with letting me come down the aisle as the Undertaker to the theme music and do a skit when they announce us for the reception.  Even that though, is a joke that all but one person doesn’t take too seriously.  She is still searching but I doubt very hard.”

                Now there’s my “niece.”  I put that in quotation because biologically, she is not my niece.  She’s my friend’s niece though she calls me “Uncle” but doesn’t call her “Aunt.”  In truth’s defense, I insisted on it, my friend did not.  I have two blood nieces and one blood nephew.  I do love them but not like I love my “Niece.”  I try to tell myself it’s because she’s the first one to call me “Uncle.”  But, I’m not sure if that’s true.  Of course there’s no way to know because I did wait a very long time to be called the Greek version of “Uncle” as it is the same as my first name so it’s like they’re saying my name twice, which is cool to me.  This hasn’t gotten old for me.  She’s 25-years-old and still calls me it and I still love it.  It also depresses me when she doesn’t. 

Chris Rock said in the 90’s that “If you’ve never held a can of rat poison and contemplated killing her and the only thing that stopped you was an episode of CSI, you’ve never been in love.”  I always thought that that description was good.  The girl you love, yes you have the rainbows and unicorns, and all the touchy feely shit, but you also get the other side of the spectrum that this person can infuriate you more than anyone you have ever met.  This sums up my feelings for the redhead prior to her telling me she fucked my roommate.  Oddly, fucking my roommate didn’t enrage me yet almost every time I saw her, I would leave her apartment enraged and ready to kill someone.  Luckily, I never did.  I thought Chris Rock was on to something.  This being almost two decades later, Chris Rock is divorced and I am not with the redhead because I knew we weren’t compatible.  Chris Rock found the love that I found in college and, like me, didn’t realize there was a higher level.  Now, if I was with the redhead, I wouldn’t have cheated on her like Chris Rock did.  Many will say, I’m not as rich as Chris Rock so girls wouldn’t be throwing themselves at me left and right and there’s no way to disprove that unless I ever become rich and famous which I doesn’t’ look like I will.  The rich thing would be nice, but being famous sucks.  I think only shallow people would actually want to be famous.  Even the rich thing I wonder about.  I grew up upper middle class never wanting for anything.  My father’s extremely high work ethic gave me a pretty good childhood but also the fight over money through my siblings and even my extended family destroyed most of my family dynamic.  It is for this reason that I don’t value money too much.  I understand it’s important to make ends meet and to live but anything beyond that, I have little desire for.  This has stopped me from trying to get better paying jobs and sticking with the first real job I’ve ever had even though it will do fine to support me but could never support a wife and family.  Now back to my “niece.”

                  I first met my “Niece” when she was six years old.  Even back then, I knew there was something different about her.  I hated little kids not related to me before I met her but something clicked when I first saw her.  When she first called me “Uncle” I almost melted.  As she got older, I became closer and closer with her and she was a character in many stories.  As I read one of the stories that I gave to her mother, I realized that in explaining my relationship with her, I was describing all the symptoms of love.  Now, I knew I loved my “Niece” but I always thought it was “Adelphi” not “Agape.”  I tell my “Niece” I love her all the time and she always returns it.  She actually was the first one to say it to me.  It caught me so off guard that I froze.  I was climbing stairs after saying good bye to her and it was like I hit a brick wall.  I returned it but I saw a look of nervousness on her face almost like she regretted saying it.  Now, I think she gets sick of me saying it to her but hey she started it.  Although I have a vivid imagination and I have fantasized about many girls, my “Niece” is the only one I’ve ever fantasized about living with.  I live alone, I enjoy living alone, and always have.  My “niece” however is the only person I’d be happier living with than living alone.  I don’t know what that means.  I’ve visited her in Chicago twice to see if anything sparks.  The first time I was way too exhausted to think but the second time I finally got my answer.  My brother told me that “When you have a daughter, you develop a crush on her.”  I wanted to respond, “How do you tell the difference” because there in lies the answer to which I feel for my niece.  I don’t even remember if I asked but I know he never told me the answer.  This question unnerved me for years.  Now that I have gone to Chicago, I feel no spark that I want to marry her.  I realized that she has always treated me exactly the way I wanted her to, like an uncle.  To be honest, over the years, it always bothered me that I was not even close to the most important person in her life. I love her more than I’ve loved anyone else and I rank very low on her love list.  The movie Adaptation says something about love that few realize but it is true.  Someone’s opinion of you should have zero effect on your opinion of them.  I’ve always understood this and have found that most do not.  So, the fact that she doesn’t love me as I love her is pretty much exactly what our relationship has always been on paper.  Parents love their kids much more than their kids love them.  Uncles love their nieces and nephews more than their nieces and nephews love them.  So, I’m getting everything I wanted so then why am I so sad?  Let’s pretend it’s the reason that everyone thinks.  I’m an economist so I make ridiculous assumptions about the world.  So let’s assume that my “niece” doesn’t want to be my niece and wants me to grow a pair and ask her out.  Like the move Life Itself with Will.  My opinion of asking her out has always been the same as Will’s in that “If I ask you out, there will be no turning back.  If I ask you out, then I will never want to be with anyone else, I will never ask anyone else out, and I will want to spend the rest of my life with you, so I want to do it right because it’ll be the most important moment of my life.”  Unlike Will, though,  Abby never considered him an uncle, and Will never called Abby his niece.  While watching the movie, the narrator leads you to believe that Abby leaves Will and I was happy to hear that because I likened it as what would happen if I ever asked the question to my “niece” knowing that Abby didn’t say what Will said to her and may not have even thought it.  I believed I dodged a bullet but alas the movie didn’t go that way because you find out what Will means by “Abby left me.”

                I know that I need my “Niece” in my life.  I know that there are times I wish I never met her.  In fact, there are times I wish I never met my friend whose blood niece she is.  I don’t like having someone mean this much to me.  I don’t like being so attached to this person.  I don’t like that if life takes her away from me, I don’ t know how I’ll function.  Unlike the redhead, my “niece” doesn’t enrage me.  I never contemplate killing her with a bottle of rat poison.  But, my “Niece” depresses me more than anyone I’ve ever met.  It’s either the unicorns, rainbows and touchy feely shit or it’s severe depression forcing me to drink alone.  Something that I only did under extreme situations.  Yet, she can do it with the slightest neutral word.  I’ve yet to have her say an unkind word to me.  Given my reaction to unkind gestures and neutral words, it scares me what would happen if it did.  Now, I haven’t answered the question I asked.  Assuming that I did ask her out, then what?  Well, I can’t give her everything she wants.  I’m not going to say she’s a gold digger but ever since college she hasn’t dated anyone who’s family wasn’t a millionaire a few times over.  I don’t blame her for this.  She didn’t grow up like I did.  She has no reason to dislike money like I do.  Money is important.  I do not have the financial resources to give her everything she wanted.  More importantly, I’m not sure if I’m willing to try, which brings me back to an earlier point, if you’re not willing to put the work in, then you shouldn’t marry her. I know that nobody, except maybe her parents, will ever love her more than I do.  I know that if I was with her, I’d love, honor and cherish her for the rest of my life.  But, to be honest, that isn’t enough.  She deserves more.  She deserves someone that loves her almost as much as I do but has the financial capacity to make her never have to worry about money.  That is not something I can do, so for the second time in my life, I have to let the woman I love go.  Though this time, I really think it’s a love that wasn’t specified by the Greeks but in modern Greek, we use “Agape” for, the love you have for your children.  The love an uncle has for their niece. I don't think I'll ever find a greater love than my "niece."  but as the country song goes, "But I've said that before."  The movie Life Itself says "Life with bring you to your knees but if you get up, and move forward you find love" as if that's the end game.  I agree that you do find love moving forward, but it's often love that brought you to your knees in the first place.  It assumes it's the "end" but a lot of times, it's the beginning of the work.   I guess the quote most apropos to those I love is a song from Guns and Roses, “When everything’s meant to be broken, I just want you to know who I am.”  The reason I feel this way is that when it comes to relationships, love isn’t enough. 
 
 

Saturday, September 15, 2018

Millionaire Daughter Rescue


            Larry lives in New York City, a place he’s wanted to live since he was four-years-old.  At 34, he’d been there for 16 years and working for his current company for ten.  This had given him a comfort in the construction firm that he worked for.  Larry was never very handy so he worked in the office doing the accounting as he much preferred the white collar job over a blue collar one.  Although the firm he worked for was large, it was small enough that he was on a first name basis with the CEO and other officers in the company.  During the summers, the CEO’s daughter and son worked in the office doing grunt work.   This is how Larry got to know the eldest daughter, Lily.  Larry had an affinity to travel and did so often. 

At 21-years-old, Lily was in college in Las Angeles and living a life typical of a multi-millionaire daughter’s life.  College was just for fun not to actually get a career.  She used her time to party in LA and have fun but keep her grades at barely passing before marrying either a rich guy she met through her father’s connections or some guy that would worship her since she elevated his status.  Money would never be an issue for her and she had never had any real obstacles or hurdles to overcome in her life.  It was Thursday night, which meant college night.  Lily put on an outfit that with the dress, shoes and jewelry had cost thousands of dollars.  She would spend about that much at the club tonight as she did most weekends.  She skipped the line and the bouncer let her in no problem for the owner of the club knew her and how much she dropped.  It also didn’t hurt that she was a very attractive girl.  She walked to the VIP section at a table filled with two bottles and joined some friends prepared for a very fun night.  Her sheltered world, however, was about to take a huge hit by the night’s end.

Larry had flown to LA to visit his brother.  Truth be told, Larry hated LA.  He had been there a few times and found the people way too fake for his liking.  He didn’t smoke marijuana so the druggie hippie crowd never appealed to him.  His brother didn’t drink but loved marijuana so there wasn’t much they could do together since neither partook in the other’s vice.  They went to a casino and played poker as they both enjoyed that.  At the end of the night, Larry’s brother was tired so he went home.  Larry was in the mood to drink so he took an Uber to a bar to do just that.  He rarely drank alone but he had a lot on his mind tonight.  He sat at a bar and ordered a drink.  Larry hated dressing up and a casually dressed person in both LA and New York will guarantee that nobody is going to talk to you.  Even if he were to try to buy a girl a drink, they’d refuse.  Fine for him, he had long ago swore off the dating game and preferred to be alone.  He always carried a spring-assisted pocket knife with him and he had it clipped to his waist tonight.  He sat there drinking ignoring the sympathetic or judgmental looks of the bartenders.  After a few drinks, he decided to just walk around as being at a bar alone was starting to get to him as it was weird.  It was around three in the morning but Larry didn’t care.  One thing he hated in LA is that nobody walks.  In New York, there’s always people out walking and in a way it made you anonymous because nobody’s eyes are focused on you.  When you’re the only one walking, you can feel people staring at you and it gets kind of unnerving.  This was the one thing he loved about New York, the sensation that you are alone amongst a bunch of people.  Almost as if strangers are protecting you from glaring eyes.  In LA, however, this would not be the case but it was just one more thing he had to deal with tonight.  What he would stumble on would cause him to come out of the shadows even more.

Lily was drunk.  While in the club, she had danced the night away and had guys buy her drinks.  One guy in particular had been chasing her all night.  At first she played coy with him to see if he could handle being turned down.  As he persisted, she gave in and danced with him and now the night was over.  She felt his hands all over her body while dancing but she knew she wouldn’t be taking the guy home.  Despite her party persona, she wasn’t as promiscuous as many college girls; which isn’t to say she was very prude either.  She walked out of the club and the guy followed close behind.  Being the daughter of a Venezuelan-Greek and a Greek father, Lily was not a typical American girl in that she could dance all night in high heeled shoes that weren’t coming off until she got home.  She looked down upon women that would walk on the filthy streets of LA or dance on the dirty dance floors in bare feet or flats because they couldn’t handle being in heels.  The guy followed her out and Lily tried saying “Good Bye” and thanking him for a great night.  The guy responded, “The night’s not over, why don’t you come back to my place?”

“Sorry, I can’t, I just met you” she said with a large smile turning on the charm as high as it could go.

The guy wrapped his arms around her starting on her lower back and then letting them drop to her butt and said, “Come on, don’t be like that, you know you want to have some fun tonight.”

Lily hugged right back not reacting to where his hands were and said without losing the charm or the smile, “I already had fun tonight.  I’m just not the type of girl that goes home with a guy they just met.”

“Alright, can I have your number then?”

“Of course” she said as she gave it to him and then continued, “I hope you call me.”

“I definitely will.  Let me at least drive you home.”

“I have my car.”

“You alright to drive?”

“Yea, I’ve done it a thousand times.”

“Let me walk you to your car then.”

Lily smiled wider and tilted her head to the side and said, “Okay” as she removed her arms from around his back.

Lily walked side by side with the man the short distance to her car.  As she approached, the guy slowed down and let Lily inch ahead of him unbeknownst to Lily.  Suddenly, Lily felt a sharp object against her lower back, the smile ran away from her face and she felt hot breath on her neck and ear.  The man said very forcefully and aggressively, “Give me your keys.”

Lily panted heavily and said fearfully, “Okay, please don’t hurt me” As she reached into her purse and grabbed her keys holding them behind her not daring to turn to face him.

The man pressed a button and Lily’s trunk popped open to reveal clothes and other stuff but for the most part empty.  The man said, “Get in”

Lily said pleadingly, “Please, you can have the car but please let me go.  I won’t tell anyone, I won’t call the cops, just please let me go.”

She felt the object jab into her back forcing her body forward and again she heard the command, “Get in.”

            Tears streamed down Lily’s cheek but she nodded her head, and lied down in the trunk.  She looked up to see the man cut the child release cord to open the trunk from the inside.  Lily didn’t even know that was there.  The man grabbed her purse and cradled it as he slammed the trunk shut.  He was going to have some fun tonight.

 

            While Larry was walking he saw sporadic people walking out of bars and night clubs.  This made him happy because now he wasn’t alone so he could lose himself with what little people there were.  He knew it wouldn’t last though but something is better than nothing.  As he did, he recognized one of the girls walking out.  It was his boss’s daughter Lily.  She was with a guy who seemed in his mid to late 20s.  He contemplated saying “hi” but he was really hoping to be alone.  He couldn’t believe that of the handful of people he knew in LA, he had run into one of them.  Secretly he hoped Lily didn’t see him as she would recognize him as she had helped Larry out with grunt work in the office and Larry was friends with her two aunts.  He even went to one of her aunt’s wedding and forced Lily on to the dance floor.  Although Larry hoped she wouldn’t see him, he found himself following them.  Larry always had a good intuition for people and something didn’t seem right.  Everything in him told him that she’s a 21-year-old rich college girl.  They are generally very promiscuous so she found someone in a club and she’s going home to have a one night stand like many, if not most, college girls do.  Larry wouldn’t say he liked Lily but part of him thought her to be respectful and down to Earth as much as a really rich girl could be.  She didn’t have an arrogant air about her and never was condescending.  That’s about all he could hope for when the CEO’s daughter was in the office.  As he followed a decent distance behind, he saw them stop behind Lily’s car.  Larry stopped as well and walked behind a street crossing sign knowing it didn’t really shield him but there wasn’t much cover.  He looked off onto the road but used his peripheral vision to keep track of what was happening.  It was odd that they stopped behind the car and not at the side to get in.  After what seemed like an eternity, Larry saw Lily get into the trunk.  That’s when he knew that something wrong was happening.  He walked over to the car dreading that he got himself in this situation.  Millennials are generally not as violent as Larry was when he was a kid.  They were verbally confrontational for misguided leftist causes that their professors brainwashed them into thinking but once there was even a hint of a physical confrontation, they backed off.  Larry was hoping that this guy would do the same because he really didn’t want to fight.  Lily just didn’t mean enough to him to fight for her.  He screamed out in a passive-aggressive manner, almost trying to persuade him rather than confront him, “Hey man, get her out of there.”

            The guy froze for a minute and turned toward Larry and said, “This is none of your fucking business man, just walk away and go back where you came from.”

            “Come on, I saw what you did, I don’t really care, but I know the girl.  She’s annoying, she’s kind of out of touch but I can’t let you just hurt her.  Just give me the keys, walk away, and we’ll forget this ever happened.”

            At this point, Larry was standing face to face with him.  His posture was very confrontational but his voice remained calm and steady.  Suddenly, Larry felt cold steel against his neck from behind.  A male voice said, “No, you have that backward, you’re going to get the fuck out of here or I’ll slit your fucking throat.”

            Larry rolled his eyes and looked at the smug look of the guy who put Lily in the trunk.  He wasn’t going to like what happened next.  He knew he had no time to grab his own knife from his waist without the man behind him acting.  He grabbed the guy’s arm lightly and put up his other hand in a surrender like motion and said, “Alright, take it easy man, like I said, I don’t really give a shit about the girl…” Upon completing the sentence, Larry gripped the man’s arm with both his hands and leaned back against his chest.  He knew that the initial grab would cause the knifer to set his feet and balance himself to help prepare for Larry to struggle.  This meant he wouldn’t topple back when Larry leaned back, which is what he needed to swing his left leg around the man’s right left leg to duck under the right hand, which wielded the knife.  Larry maintained his grip on the man’s arm.  He knew that when he grabbed the knife-wielding arm, the man instinctively pulled towards Larry’s neck to counter Larry pulling out.  Given their relative position, it would be foolish to think Larry could overpower him as he’d have to be much stronger than him to counter the difference in leverage.  Since the guy had slight pressure toward Larry’s neck, which meant it was very easy to guide it in that direction with Larry now behind the guy, it was not difficult for the knife to end up in the guy’s side by Larry and the guy’s pulling in the same direction.  The shock of being stabbed numbed the man’s body and Larry took advantage of this by pulling his arm out and jabbing it into his side two more times before taking hold of the knife, which the guy quickly released.  Before Larry knew what he was doing, he found himself dragging the knife across the guy’s throat slitting it as blood poured out and he dropped to the ground with Larry holding a crimson knife.  Larry dropped the knife in shock at what he had just done.  He saw the guy who put Lily in the trunk bend over to check on his presumed friend.  His back was to Larry.  Larry snapped out of his shock and unclipped his knife, using his thumb to release the spring to fling the blade out.  He stabbed the man in his right hamstring and then pulled the blade out only to slam it into the guy’s left Achilles’ Heel.  The attempted kidnapper grabbed both legs and screamed in pain.  Larry looked around and found they were alone.  He searched the presumed kidnapper’s pockets and took out keys.  He walked around to the trunk and clicked the button to find the trunk pop open.  If Larry had planned on his night going this way, he may have said something else but instead he said, “Get out of the fucking trunk.”

 

            Lily was curled in the fetal position in the dark crying.  She couldn’t believe that she was in this predicament.  She blamed herself for being dumb enough to let the guy walk her away from people to her car so they were alone.  She wondered why it seemed to take a long time before her car started up.  She thought she heard people talking but didn’t dare scream for help thinking that if the guy heard her, he may hurt her.  She assumed that since she was terrified, it just seemed like she had been in the trunk for a while.  She tried to control her breathing but was failing.  She was panting and hyperventilating as her stress levels skyrocketed and lactose acid formed on her shoulders.  As she lay there, she heard the unmistakable sound of a guy screaming.  Her breathing slowed and her eyes cringed in confusion.  What was going on outside?  Surprisingly, the trunk flew open and Lily opened her eyes looking at a face she thought looked familiar.  He said something but Lily didn’t really pay attention, the voice and the face clicked, it was one of his dad’s employees, Larry.  She leapt out of the car and wrapped her arms around Larry’s neck and relaxed the rest of her body as she squeezed him tight.  Larry returned the hug with the side of the blade of his knife against her back.  He now wished he put the knife away before he clicked the trunk open.  He said, “You’re okay Lily, just take your keys and go home.”

            Larry eased his grip on her back but Lily did not.  It occurred to Larry that she wasn’t going to any time soon and Larry wanted to get away from there as quickly as possible.  He pulled Lily out of the trunk and walked around the driver side, which was the opposite side of the two men Larry fought off.  He clicked the “unlock” button on the keys and opened the door trying to ease Lily off him and into the driver’s seat.  Lily said, “Please, take me home, I’m too drunk to drive.”

            Lily was still grabbing onto Larry’s neck but her body was limp so easily moved by Larry.  Larry stepped into the car and guided Lily to the passenger seat where she finally let go.  Larry closed the door and put his foot on the break and hit the start button to start the car.  He checked the mirrors only to realize that he could see the attackers in the side mirror.  He glanced at Lily to see where her eyes were but couldn’t really tell what was going on with her.  She still seemed in shock.  He pulled out onto the street and drove down the street taking the first turn so that he was no longer in view of the men.  He turned toward Lily and said, “Where do you live?”

            Due to what happened, Lily was no longer inebriated.  The shock and stress of being forced into the trunk and almost kidnapped snapped her out of the alcoholic daze.  All she knew is that she didn’t want to be alone.  When she let go of Larry’s neck, she glanced over at the side mirror and saw a faint image of a guy wreathing on the ground.  Her mind didn’t process it but she turned toward Larry and smiled.  Just as quickly, she turned back and glared out the window as the shock came back.  She heard Larry ask where she lived but she ignored it.  She wasn’t snapped out of her trance until Larry said her name.  She shook her head and turned towards him and looked down at her seat.  She said, “I don’t have my purse.”

            Larry turned towards her and said, “Well, it’s gone.”

            “We have to go back and get it.”

            “No, we don’t.”

            “I need my phone.”

            “You’ll get a new one tomorrow, where do you live?”

            “You don’t understand, I don’t know how to get home without my phone.”

            Larry reached into his pocket and handed her his phone, “Type in your address.”

            Larry had his thumb on the home button to unlock it and Lily held the button down and told the phone to give her direction to her address.  After a slight pause, the phone had figured out the route and Larry followed the directions.  Larry and Lily didn’t say anything the entire 20 minute car ride.  Larry pulled into a driveway to find a house that was a little too big for one person.  He said, “Who do you live with?”

            “Nobody, it’s all mine.”

            Larry nodded, “Alright, I’ll call an Uber” as he took out his phone.  Lily put her hand over his phone and looked at Larry.  She was over the shock and said, “Do you want to come in?”

            Larry was sexually immature but even he knew what Lily was getting at. It’s not like he didn’t think about it during the silent car ride.  Lily was 21 and very attractive.  At 34, 21-year-olds looked better and better to Larry.  There was the slight thrill of having sex with the CEO’s daughter but he knew that that would jeopardize work and he liked his job and didn’t really want to look for a new one just for some fantasy that you see in movies.  Even in the movies, people normally do it to get back at their boss for something.  Larry had no ill feelings towards her father.  He was vulgar, loud and had no filter but he was always nice to Larry and Larry expected that in a construction company.  It’s why he loved working there because Larry was foul mouthed too and didn’t need to censor himself.  He decided that he wasn’t going to do anything with Lily tonight.  For these reasons, he said, “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

            Lily nodded her head but gave an expression that indicated she wasn’t expecting to be turned down.  She said, “Please”

            Larry sighed and said, “Look Lily, you’re a very pretty girl, but it’s just not appropriate for me to go in with you right now.  You’re shaken and vulnerable with what happened tonight but you’re okay now, so you don’t have to worry.  Just go to the safety of your home and cope with this night any way you deem fit.”

            Lily gave an exasperated laugh and said, “it’s because I’m shaken and vulnerable that I want you to come in.”

            “It’s not appropriate.”

            Lily smiled, she got what he meant now.  She said, “Oh no, I’m not saying that.  I’m definitely not in the mood for any extracurricular activities after tonight.  I have a guest room, you can stay in there.  I just really don’t want to be alone tonight.  Please don’t make me beg.”

            “You’ll be fine.”

            “Come on.” She changed her face to seem innocent and vulnerable. 

            Larry looked at Lily looking back at her and sighed deeply, “Fine.”

            Lily smiled.  Larry texted his brother that he wasn’t coming home that night.  His brother was already sleeping so wouldn’t get the text till the following morning.  Lily said, “You want a drink?”

            Larry noticed that she had transformed into hostess real quick.  Watching her now, the stunned trance-like girl he sat next to while driving for 20 minutes was gone.  Looking at her now, he never would have known she had such a rough night.  He always found it remarkable how women all seemed to be able to perk up when needed.  He said, “Yes, what do you have?”

            Lily opened a cupboard to find a bunch of bottles of liquor and wine.  Larry smiled and said, “Do you have gin?”

            Lily said, “hmmm let me check” and then found a bottle of Bombay Sapphire and held out to Larry, “Does this work?”

            That was Larry’s gin of choice so he said yes.  Lily grabbed a glass and pushed the ice maker on her refrigerator as crushed ice fell into the glass.  Larry said, “Do you have tonic?”

            “Yup”

            Lily grabbed the gin bottle in one hand and the bottle of tonic in the other and poured them at the same time until the glass filled.  He handed Larry the glass and then grabbed one of her own.  She again pressed the nozzle to unleash ice in the glass and pulled out a bottle of Grey Goose and poured it over the ice.  She held her glass to Larry.  Larry said, “Thank You, cheers” and clicked his glass against hers and took a sip of his drink.  Lily took a deep drink of hers and let out a gasp of air as she dropped the glass on the table with a large thud.  Larry thought to himself that behind that façade, she’s still shaken up as she just took a big swig of pure vodka.  He didn’t know what to say and was happy that Lily spoke first, “Look, I’m sorry I forced you to come in here but like I said, I can’t be alone tonight.  I don’t expect anything from you.  I just want you here because I feel safe with you.  Being in a house alone right now is not something I can handle.”

            “That’s fine Lily but you’re going to have to be here alone eventually.  I mean, my flight leaves in a couple days.”

            “I know, I should be fine tomorrow.  Or, I’ll just stay with a friend or have them stay here or something.  It’s just four in the morning right now and I can’t call anyone now.”

            Larry said, “Alright” because he didn’t know what else to say.  He was still not very comfortable about this.  After a bit, he said, “Lily, you have to look at this from my perspective, I’m here alone with the boss’s daughter.  It looks really bad.”

            “My dad is on the other side of the fucking country right now.”

            “I know that, but it’s not like you can’t communicate with him.”

            “If you don’t want me to tell him, I won’t.”

            “That’s the thing, I don’t even know what I want you to do.  I guess I just feel I shouldn’t tell you what to do.  If I tell you not to tell them, then it makes it seem like I did something wrong but I didn’t.  If you do tell them, then your dad may overreact and I lose my job even though I didn’t do anything wrong so I’m kind of conflicted.”

            “Don’t think so much.  You’re job will be fine.  My dad’s not going to fire you for rescuing his daughter.”

            “I just hope he sees it that way.”

            “There’s really no other way to see it.  You’re really being paranoid.”

            “Just do me a favor, if you have to tell them, tell your mom, she can handle it better.”

            “Okay fine, but you’re not going to get into trouble.”

            “I hope you’re right.”

            Larry and Lily finished their drinks and then Lily showed Larry to his room.  Larry said good night and Lily gave him a hug and said good night and then walked to her room.  Larry waited until Lily left before stripping to his boxers and lying in the bed.  He needed some much needed sleep to forget about this night. 

            Lily went to the bathroom and brushed her teeth, removed her makeup and went to her room.  She changed into pajama pants and a T-shirt and lied down on her bed.  As she closed her eyes, she found herself back in the trunk.  Her eyes snapped open and she started breathing heavily.  She kept trying to sleep tossing and turning but she kept going back to when the night turned on her.  She could still feel the knife in her back; she had already checked her back for blood but found none.  As she struggled to sleep, she knew what she needed to do.

            Larry was a heavy sleeper and didn’t budge when his door creaked open.  He didn’t even wake up when a weight collapsed the springs on the other side of the bed as Lily came into bed and lied down next to him.  She turned her back towards Larry and reached back grabbing his right arm.  She pulled it around her and rested it on her stomach and scooted her back into Larry’s front.  Larry’s eyes barely lifted a quarter the way up but enough to notice who was in bed with him now.  Too tired to even think, he slid his other arm under Lily’s neck as an extension of the pillow and closed his eyes again.  He felt Lily ease her leg in between his and let it happen as he wrapped her legs around hers and pinned it in between his.  Lily smiled and felt her entire body relax.  She fell asleep shortly thereafter.

            Larry woke up first and eased Lily off him.  As he awoke, he was slightly jarred with seeing Lily but he had a vague recollection of her coming in last night and him tiredly cuddling with her.  He found the bathroom and opened a closet to find a bunch of towels.  He took one and placed it near the shower door and got in.  He turned the water on and bowed his head into the jet stream.  He wasn’t looking forward to what was waiting for him in New York.  He took a longer than normal shower and then got out putting on the same clothes since he didn’t have any other clothes with him.  He went downstairs hoping to leave before Lily woke up.  To his surprise, Lily was sitting in her kitchen drinking coffee still in her pajamas.  She said, “Good morning” a little accusatorily

            Larry smiled and said, “Good morning.”

            “You weren’t going to leave without saying ‘good bye’ were you?”

            “No, I was just coming down to let you sleep.  But, I’m glad you’re up because I do need to go now.”

            Lily nodded her head and said, “I know, but can I ask you something?”

            “Of course” a little fearful what she was going to ask.

            “Why didn’t you try to fuck me last night?”

            Larry shook his head and said, “Many reasons.  One, I like my job, two, you were vulnerable and scared and it’s almost like I would have taken advantage of you if I did.”

            “You saved me from being kidnapped and raped. I think that warrants being fucked and not taking advantage.”

            “I disagree and you have no idea if he would’ve raped you”

            “Well, I feel bad, you helped me so much and all I did was make you a drink and give you a place to stay.”

            “You don’t owe me anything, I’m glad I could help out.”

            “Yea, well, there’s a slight problem”

            “What’s that?”

            “I don’t have my purse so I have no money and no phone.”

            “You have a car, you can go get a phone and then go to a bank and get money...wait you don’t have your ID either.  Fuck, this is a problem”

            Lily nodded.  “Yea, I’m gonna need your phone to get money and then get a phone.”

            Larry handed Lily his phone and she immediately called her mom.  She didn’t mention whose phone she was using but she did tell her who she was with so that she had someone to send the money to.  Larry didn’t really know her mom and her mom thought the name sounded familiar but didn’t know from where.  She wired the money to Larry’s name and Larry got the money from Western Union and gave it to Lily.  Lily’s mom had someone cancel all her credit cards and contact the banks to give Lily a new debit card that same day.  She used the money to buy a phone and used the cloud to transfer all her data into her new phone rendering the one left at the club obsolete.  In a couple weeks a new ID and credit cards would be arriving at her house in LA and the debit card would take care of any expenses until then.  When she finally said good bye to Larry, Larry said, “Hey, you know, now that you’re back on your feet with a phone and money again, if you’re still feeling grateful when you get back to New York, give me a call.”

            Lily smiled coyly and said, “Oh yea? Well what’s your number?”

            Larry gave it to her and Lily said, “Will do.” As she hugged Larry good bye. 

            Larry took an Uber back to his brother’s house and flew back to New York a couple days later.  He told his brother all about what happened and his brother told him he should have had sex with her.  Larry saw it coming but shrugged it off.  When he returned to work, he heard the CEO’s voice roar, “Larry?!”

            Larry sighed.  It wasn’t the first time he’d been called into his office but it was still rare enough.  It sort of intimidated him but he got over it quickly.  He walked into the office and said, “Yes”

            The CEO gave him a knowing look and said, “How was LA?”

            He remained stoic and said, “it was fun”

            “Oh yea, did you run into anyone you know over there.”

            “Well, I ran into Lily”

            The CEO didn’t do a very good job acting surprised, there was tension in the conversation.  He was never much to beat around the bush and this charade was exhausting his patience.  He said, “Oh did you? I had no idea.”

            Larry nodded his head and said, “Yea,”

            “And how exactly did you run into her and what did you guys do?”

            “I found her in a tough situation that I helped her out of.” Larry was being deflective before but now he worried on giving up too much information because he didn’t know what the CEO knew and didn’t want to be the one to tell him.

            “By getting her out of this tough situation, did you do something that may be interpreted as illegal?”

            “Sir, respectively, there’s an amendment to the United State Constitution that gives me the right not to answer that question.”

            “This isn’t a court of law.”

            “But it is America”

            The CEO chuckled, “Well, even though you won’t tell me what happened, I do appreciate that you helped out my daughter.  So, if you find yourself being forced to fly to LA for what did happen, let me know, and I’ll get you the best defense lawyer in California to represent you.”

            “Thank yoiu sir, I hope I don’t have to take you up on that offer.”

            “Me too.” There was an awkward silence and then the CEO said, “One more thing….”

            “Yes”

            “Did you fuck my daughter?”

            “Nope”

            “Would you tell me if you did?”

            Larry’s eyes looked up and to the right as he seemed to be contemplating this question.  He said, “No, probably not.”

            The CEO laughed.  He continued, “It’s weird but that actually make me believe you.”  Larry couldn’t help but chuckle himself.  The CEO ended it by saying, “Alright, get the fuck out of my office.”

            Larry smiled and did just that letting out a huge sigh of relief when he walked out.  He replayed the conversation in his head all day.  He didn’t think he let out anything he shouldn’t have.  Really, it couldn’t have gone better.  He didn’t have to confess to murder and he got an offer to help if the worst case scenario happened.  That summer, Larry got a call from Lily.  She said, “Hey Larry.”

            “Hey Lily”

            “I’m in town and I was wondering if you wanted to meet up for some drinks.”

            Larry knew that Lily lived in Long Island a decent ways away from Manhattan where he lived.  He said, “In the city (Manhattan), or by you?”

            “Of course in the city”

            “Sure, just let me know when and where.”

            Lily told him the bar and when she’d arrive.  Larry arrived early and waited.  Lily walked in and saw that Larry was already half way done with his drink.  She ordered herself a Vodka Cranberry and hugged Larry hello.  Larry said, “I’m sorry to be so blunt and forward but nothing has really changed.  I’m still nervous about this situation.  So, don’t play coy, don’t play games.  Your answer now I will take as your answer for the rest of the night regardless of what you say afterwards.  I just want you to answer this question before you drink any alcohol.  Are you coming home with me tonight to properly thank me for what happened in California.”

            Lily smiled.  She was a little surprised at the forwardness of it but she didn’t lead on.  She said, “Well, as long as we’re being blunt, I’ll put the question right back to you.  Do you want to fuck me?”

            Larry took a deep breath.  He honestly didn’t know the answer to this question.  On one hand, Lily was attractive and when he was 21, he wouldn’t have been able to get a girl that hot.  On the other hand, he felt he was taking advantage how college girls assume that men in their 30s are more mature.  It’s only later they realize that men don’t really mature past the age of 12.  Now that he was put on the spot, the answer became somewhat clearer.  He knew he had one fetish and he was going to lay his cards on the table.  “I know that I want to take a body shot of that ass that I saved.  Beyond that, it’s a little hazy.  I will tell you that whatever we do, it’s casual, I’m not going to ask you out.  I’m not assuming monogamy of any kind for you or me.  It’s a one-time thing.”

            “Once the summer break is over, I’m going to California for four months so yea, definitely not anything permanent!”

            “Good, we agree.”

            “This isn’t a contract negotiation.”

            Larry smiled, “Isn’t it though?  Don’t you think that people not having these discussions is what leads to misinterpretations and all of a sudden the guy is being accused of being a molester or a rapist?”

            “That’s way too intelligent of a conversation for a bar”

            “Well, now you know my position.”

            The drink had come and Lily purposely hadn’t taken a sip.  She licked the straw noticing Larry was waiting to see if she took a drink, which he seemed to intimate would end the negotiation; as if one sip made someone instantly inebriated.  She said, “I suppose that since you did save my ass, you earned the right to take a body shot off it.  As for beyond that, I’m not going to tell you; you have to man up and tell me you want it.”

            “I want it.”

            “And what exactly is ‘it’”

            “I want to fuck you.”

            “Okay” she said nonchalantly as she took a sip of her drink “see that wasn’t so hard was it?”

            Larry hated to admit this but the danger of it actually turned him on more.  In the back of his mind, he was being told that she wasn’t worth losing his job over but she could’ve gone to the cops and told them his name.  Lily had worried that since she gave out her phone number, the guy could press charges since he wasn’t dead.  What Lily and Larry didn’t know is that the guy was a lifelong criminal and loathed cops.  He refused to say anything and relied on California’s lax health care policy to get his stab wound healed up at no cost to him.  He lied about his name and claimed not to have ID.  They had to help him.  The system was so easy to manipulate.  As for the deceased, police don’t pursue a case if nobody is asking.  What nobody knew was that he wasn’t a friend of the alleged kidnapper.  He was a member of the gang Crips that the alleged kidnapper bribed for protection.  Originally his purpose for him was to take out a boyfriend or if he got pepper sprayed.  Since he had no connection to the deceased, the kidnapper didn’t care that he died and gang members die all the time and an unwritten code within the inner cities is never to involve the cops.  That was why Larry was never questioned despite very easy evidence that led back to Lily.  Lily was a rich girl who easily would give up Larry at the slightest pressure by law enforcement.  It just never came to that. 

            As they continued to drink, Larry leaned in and kissed Lily.  She kissed back and said, “You know I could fuck up your life right?”

            “Yes, but I have no delusions that women are always in control with hook ups.  Even in 50 Shades of Grey situations, the guy is only doing what the girl allows him to do.  Even women who like it, tell the guy to do it, so the guy is still obeying the girl.”

            Lily kissed Larry again and said, “Is that what you have planned for me tonight?”

            “No, bondage and shit unnerves me.  I may spank your ass but not with a foreign object.”

            Lily pulled back not losing her smile and said, “Too bad.”

            Larry detected a tinge of sarcasm but he wasn’t exactly sure.  Lily told the bartender to give Larry back his card and put everything on hers.  Larry said, “Wait no, you can’t pay for me.”

            Lily gave him a dirty look.  “Yes I can, Larry.  You saved me from being raped.  My father pays your paycheck.  Whether it’s you paying or me paying, it’s still coming from the same source.”

            Larry was an economist and knew the problem with this common argument.  Her dad pays him because the work Larry does grows the company to a size that compensates him more than Larry’s paycheck is worth.  If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be worth him to hire Larry.  He can’t do everything by himself so he needs to hire people to expand his business.  Once the transfer of money is made, it is no longer his money, it’s Larry’s.  He likened this to the common fallacy at a casino when someone is up at a table.  They argue, ‘I’m playing with house money so it doesn’t matter.’  Once the chips are passed to you, however, you have a choice, put it in your bank account or give the house a chance to get their money back.  It is the exact same as the money you took out of your bank account to go to the casino.  The house money is no longer house money but your money once you win.  He decided not to argue this point.  He just said, “Thank You.”

            “No problem babe” she countered with a large condescending smile on her face.

            They left the bar and Larry called an Uber to his apartment.  Normally he’d take the train but since he was with a girl who had just paid for drinks, he decided not to be frugal.  They got to his apartment and went upstairs.  Lily looked around and Larry knew she wouldn’t be impressed but was curious if she’d say anything.  She didn’t.  Larry said, “Do you want anything? As he opened his freezer and took out a bottle of vodka and tequila. 

            Lily said, “No thanks.”

            Larry grabbed the bottle of tequila and said, “Then take off your pants, give yourself a wedgie and lay face down on the bed.”

            Lily smiled and obliged.  Larry grabbed a salt shaker and lemon from his fridge and brought it over to his bedroom.  Staring at Lily’s bare round smooth butt excited him, he never knew why he enjoyed body shots off the butt so much but he did.  To him, it was better than any blowjob or sex he’d had, though he hadn’t done either more than three times.  He straddled Lily’s right leg rubbing his crotch against her hamstrings.  He licked her right butt cheek and sprinkled salt on the moistened area.  He licked the salt off and took a swig of the tequila before biting into the lemon.  He slapped both hands on her butt cheeks and squeezed.  Lily said, “You can kiss my ass on the other cheek if you want.”

            Larry said, “This time, you’re not getting off so easy.  I’m just getting warmed up.  Stay there.”

            Larry got up and went back to his kitchen and got a shot glass.  He poured the tequila into the shot glass and inserted the glass in Lily’s anus.  He then placed another lemon wedge below the cup.  He straddled her left leg and moistened the left butt cheek with his tongue.  He poured salt over the area and removed the salt with his mouth and tongue before grasping the shot glass in his jaws and leaning his head back downing the contents before hoisting the lemon in his mouth and sucking the juice down his throat.  He spit the lemon out and watched it bounce off Lily’s back.  Lily turned around and spread her legs with a ‘come hither’ look.  Larry looked down at her and even with her shirt still on, Larry knew he was a fool to think he could resist her after the body shot.  He mounted her and slid his hands under her shirt pushing it up over her head and using it to pin her arms back as he kissed her neck and used his right arm to caress Lily’s leg that was around him and his left hand to squeeze her breasts.  He rolled over so that Lily was on top and Lily straddled him with her waist perpendicular to the bed.  She removed her shirt and threw it to the side.  She slapped Larry across the face playfully and said, “I thought you weren’t into bondage.”

                “Larry sat up and buried his head in her breasts.  Lily undid her bra and leaned forward allowing Larry’s mouth to explore her breasts.  Larry removed his shirt and leaned back and Lily gyrated her hips and grinded hard against Larry.  She kissed his neck and moved her mouth down kissing Larry’s chest down to his waist.  She undid his pants and pulled his pants and boxers off at the same time.  She stood at the foot of the bed and Larry rose up facing her.  He grabbed her by the hips and yanked down her panties.  He reached around and grabbed her butt hoisting her in the air as he stood up.  Lily wrapped her legs around his waist and squeezed.  Larry drove her to the wall and humped her as his penis drove deeper into her.  He pulled his head back and said, “Are you on the pill?”

                “Not only am I on the pill, but I have an IUD”

                Larry buried his head in her breasts again and pinned her against the wall as Lily moaned.  He backed away and sat on the bed and now Lily gyrated against him.  Larry said, “Turn around”

                “Lily got up exiting Larry from her and turned her back to him. She sat on his lap reinserting his penis in her vagina from behind.  She reached behind and grabbed the back of Larry’s head as Larry reached around her and fondled her breasts in his hands kissing her neck.  He moved his left hand to her groin and massaged her clitoris and inserted two fingers into her.  Lily turned her head and made out with Larry.  The triple penetration caused Lily to yell out as she achieved orgasm.  Larry stood up and Lily wrapped her legs around his.  He continued to fondle her breasts, kiss her neck and lips and finger her.  His fingers were long enough to both massage her clitoris and stroke the G-spot.  He could feel the end was coming so he slowed down and sat back down on the bed.  He wanted to prolong this as long as he could.  He was about to command Lily off him to reposition her so he’d have time to calm down but Lily leaned forward before he could.  She started shaking her hips and bouncing using her legs as springs.  Larry didn’t last long before semen ejaculated from his penis into Lily’s birth canal only to be stopped by the IUD.  Lily smiled but didn’t stop, she said, “Tap out.”

                Larry slapped the side of Lily’s butt and Lily stopped shaking her butt and stood up freeing herself of Larry’s penis.  She turned toward him and said, “Sit up.”

                Larry felt himself obeying.  She grabbed the back of Larry’s head and shoved it into her crotch.  Larry reached around and grabbed her butt as his tongue licked the area around her clitoris.  After a little while, Lily climaxed again and backed away from Larry.  Lily dropped to her knees and stroked Larry’s penis.  He thought it was too soon afterwards but he found that the plumbing was working again real fast.  Even before he was fully erect, Lily put Larry’s penis in her mouth and forced it to elongate toward the back of her throat.  She bobbed her head back and forth as Larry grabbed her hair and guided her head back and forth.  Ejaculate sprayed into Lily’s mouth and her eyes darted upward to lock with Larry’s.  She then theatrically swallowed the semen.  She got up and lied in the bed.  Larry lied next to her and grabbed her spooning with her in the manner he did in her house.  He said, “Thank You”

                Lily smiled and said, “Thank you for saving me from being forced to do that.”

                “Don’t mention it.” He said with a nod.

                They both fell asleep and Larry awoke first.  He ordered breakfast and left Lily in his bedroom while he watched TV.  By the time the food came, Lily was still sleeping.  Larry ate his food and decided not to wake her up.  When she finally awoke she came out to find breakfast.  Larry heated it up and served it.  Lily said, “Thank You.”

                This was the part that Larry hated.  He never knew what to say to a girl the morning after.  Luckily Lily started the conversation, “You weren’t too bad last night.”

                “I was just following your lead.”

                “Yea, so what now?”

                “Well, I’m of the opinion that your dad can go the rest of his life without finding out about this.”

                Lily chuckled, “Well, I’ve never told my dad about anyone else I’ve had sex with so I’m not  starting now.”

                “Fair point”

                “You really are paranoid aren’t you?”

                “Yup”

                “Hmmm, I’m not sure how to handle this.”

                “Handle what?  The power I just gave you?”

                “Yup”

                “Well, that’s just something you’re gonna have to figure out for yourself now isn’t it.”

                Larry walked over to her and kissed her.  She kissed back, which Larry took as a good sign.  When Lily was done with her breakfast she said,  “Good bye Larry.”

                “Bye Lily, have a safe flight to Cali”

                Larry walked her out and waited for her Uber.  They hugged good bye and Lily got in the car and headed back to her house.  Although neither would ever forget their rendezvous, that would be the last time Larry and Lily saw each other one on one.  When Larry returned to work, he was pleasantly surprised that he was not called into the CEO’s office.  Lily kept the secret and didn’t exploit her power.  Although Larry had put the incident in California behind him, Lily never did.  She was always nervous being alone with men she didn’t know just in case a similar situation happened.  She quickly forgot her escapade in New York with Larry.  Larry, on the other hand, never forgot how her supple, smooth young body felt and tasted.  The fact that no consequence came of it made him consider himself lucky.