Diluted Desire (15 page)

“Shit!  Don’t be talking about your marriage as though it was a loaf of bread.  Have a baby!  That should freshen up things.”

Barrett sighed.  “I don’t want a baby.  We’re happy just the way we are.”  A baby took a lot of energy, something she didn’t want to exert right now.  Although for the past few years, Tavis had been begging her to start a family.  “We’re just bored in the bedroom, everything else is fine.”

“And you really think that an extra pussy will magically make all your problems go away?”

“No, not at all,” Barrett lied.  She did hope that it would make Tavis appreciate her more and see her as adventurous once he got the threesome out of his system.  And she was a little curious about it as well.  “It’ll all be for fun, once it’s over, it’s over, we won’t see her again.”

“You’re crazy you know that?  Just crazy!”

“I’m just trying to keep everything fresh, can’t you understand?”

“Nope,” Sierra said with a finality that let Barrett know that no matter what she said, Sierra wasn’t going to change her mind.

Barrett tightened her lips.  “So it’s pretty hot out today, huh?”

Hours later Barrett was sitting at her desk with her laptop open, surfing the net.  She didn’t have a clue on how to find a third person for her planned threesome.  Time was running out, Tavis’ birthday was next week. 

She glanced out through her glass door, everyone was busy.  They had a big case coming up and it was going to trial on Monday and most of the staff was assigned to it, and so was she, she was the lead attorney, but she had more pressing matters to worry about, like finding a lover.

“How the hell am I going to find a lady for our threesome?  It’s not like I can ask any of my friends,” she muttered, thinking back to her conversation with Sierra.  “That had been a mistake.”  Sierra had sent her an e-mail expounding the evils of a ménage a trois.  After skimming it, she had chuckled to herself then erased it, she and Tavis weren’t going to have any of those problems. 

Moments later she sighed and focused on her work and didn’t pull away until her shoulders were burning.  Normally she’d shrug it off and work right through it, but today she needed a break.  She grabbed her Coach bag from her desk drawer and made her way to the cafeteria.  After getting a cup of coffee and a cupcake, the snack of champions, she was back at her desk, eating and working.

Barrett was bent over her desk, poring over law books, when there was a knock on her door.  She looked up to find LaTonya, the mail clerk, holding a certified letter.

“Hey Ms. McKenzie can you sign this?  The receptionist isn’t at her desk.”

“Sure.”  Barrett took the pen and signed the form.  “Just leave it on her desk,” she instructed. 

“Sure will.  Thanks.”

Barrett watched LaTonya as she sauntered to the office door, her work uniform of a navy blue polo and khakis, did little to contain her curves.  LaTonya had a reputation around the firm as a partyer and a slut, not necessarily in that order.  Barrett heard that she had slept with most of the male lawyers and a few of the females. 
I bet she would know where I could find a willing partner.
Barrett called to her.

LaTonya turned around, a frown furrowing her brow as she braced herself to be reprimanded, she wasn’t sure for what, but LaTonya learned that people always found something to complain about.  “Yes Ms. McKenzie?”

Barrett suddenly froze, unsure of how to phrase her question without LaTonya figuring out that it was for her.  “Um, I hate to bother you…but I have an unusual question.”

The frown eased from LaTonya’s face and she relaxed, she wasn’t in trouble; at least not with Ms. McKenzie.

Barrett continued, carefully picking her words, “I have a friend who wants to spice up her marriage and she would like a special gift for her husband.”

LaTonya patiently listened, sensing that a solution wasn’t needed just yet, there was more to come, she was correct.

Barrett’s gaze slid sideways then returned to LaTonya before resuming, “She would like to give him a lady.”

LaTonya’s eyes widened.  “You mean like a prostitute?”

“No!  At least I don’t think so,” Barrett said a little flustered.  “She wants a lady who would be willing to have a threesome with them.  They don’t need a prostitute for that do they?”

LaTonya grinned brightly.  “Okay, I see what you’re saying.  Cool, I didn’t know you had freaks for friends Ms. McKenzie.” 

Barrett bristled.  “They aren’t freaks, they’re just looking for something different.  A little fun,” she said defensively.

“Oh, okay sorry,” LaTonya said confused by Barrett’s tone.  She was only making an observation on how she saw the situation. 

“You’re fine,” Barrett said, embarrassed by her attitude.  “I’m sorry, they’re good people.  Anyway,” she resumed, while smiling tightly, “do you have any suggestions?”

“Sure, that’s easy.  They can try girlsliketohavefun.com, or 3scompany.com or post an ad on brandislist.com.  I kinda like brandislist, because it’s free.  You have to pay for the other two.”  Barrett raised her eyebrows at LaTonya’s knowledge.  She shrugged in response.  “Hey, don’t judge, I ain’t a saint.  I like to have fun.” 

“I’m not judging, really I’m not.  Hey thanks for the information I really appreciate it.”

“No problem.  I hope your
friends
find what they are looking for,” LaTonya said then sauntered out the door.

Barrett sipped her wine and set it aside.  Since Tavis was working late she was taking advantage of her free time and was looking for their threesome partner.  Instead of creating an ad, she decided to review existing postings and she began second guessing her decision.  “These people sure are bold and some are just plain old nasty,” she decided.  After clicking on a dozen links at brandislist.com she had seen so many close-ups of women crotches and breasts that she was nauseated. 

Twenty minutes later a profile caught her eye.  It was the picture that made her pause.  The lady had her wavy hair blowing behind her, like a blanket of black silk, with a white sheet covering her breasts, the shot was demure and sexy at the same time.  It was the eyes that drew her in, they were staring boldly at the camera, but Barrett could easily imagine her casting them shyly away. 

Her eyes lingered on the picture for a moment before moving to the profile.  Barrett skimmed her bio, she was twenty-five, with a bachelor’s degree, five eight and bi-lingual, with her being fluent in Spanish.

“She’s it,” Barrett breathed, unable to take her eyes off the picture. 

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Barrett McKenzie pushed the shopping cart through the grocery store, it was eight o’clock on a Friday evening, the worst time of the week for her to shop.  The grocery store was filled with single people hoping to find something to squeeze in the produce department that didn’t spoil in fourteen days, people running in to get last minute items for dinner and families like herself who always forgot about the Friday evening crowd and think that they could run in and out in ten minutes.  Three years ago, she would’ve been in and out so fast that she would’ve left skid marks.  But no more, her two-year-old, daughter, Kelsey, and six-month-old, son, Tavis Junior, T.J., changed all that.

Barrett had made the mistake of going down the aisle with the miniscule toy section, however; no matter how small, her daughter found it and picked up a Hot Wheels car.

“Put it down,” Barrett said softly.  But instead of returning it to the shelf, Kelsey got down on her hands and knees and began pushing the car on the dirty floor.  Barrett’s grip tightened on the nylon strap wrapped around her hand.  “Come on Kelsey.  We need to finish shopping.”

Kelsey looked over her shoulder at her mom.  “No!”

“Put it down Kelsey,” Barrett murmured.  Her daughter ignored her and continued playing.  Barrett tugged discreetly on the leash that was attached to a harness buckled around her daughter’s torso.  She didn’t want to draw too much attention to them; she had already gotten the usual looks from other shoppers. People pointed and giggled at her, some scowled and made her feel like she was treating her daughter like a disobedient puppy.  She had seen it all.

You don’t know how hard it is, she wanted to yell.  Over the last two years she had gone through fifteen different nannies.  She caught one yelling at Kelsey and one hitting her daughter.  The beating was so bad that it left bruises.  There were the ones who never showed up on time, some who showed up for a couple of days then stop coming and some who never showed up at all.  A couple of them even tried to hit on her husband.

“Put it down,” she repeated.

“No!”

Barrett sighed, rounded the cart, pulled Kelsey up and wrestled the car out of her hand. 
You either have supernatural strength or I’m tired.
  Kelsey wailed loudly as soon as the car was returned to the counter.  Kelsey’s screech cut through every nerve ending in Barrett’s body. 
Damn you Tavis.
  He had to work late again at the hospital.  She debated whether to stick her daughter in the buggy, but the two twenty-four mega roll packs of toilet tissue took up the majority of the room and she still had more shopping to do.  She imagined wedging her daughter between the toilet tissue, but decided against it when she imagined the hateful looks she’d get from strangers.

Barrett knelt in front of her daughter, cupped her chin and forced her to look her in her eyes.  “You’re going to stop that crying and behave yourself.” Kelsey paused and looked her mother in the eyes, they had a stand-off.  They locked eyes, both stubbornly eyeing each other, neither backed down, until T.J. burst out crying.

Barrett pointed her finger at her daughter before she stood up.  “You didn’t win this, and you’d better behave yourself.” Kelsey laughed and stood still.  T.J. was sitting in his carrier, in the seat of the buggy, exactly where the stores discouraged parents from putting the carrier.  But Barrett ignored it.  “Try shopping with a toddler and a baby without using this, then come talk to me,” she’d mutter every time she’d put the carrier in the buggy.

Barrett stroked T.J.’s cheek, normally he was a quiet baby.  “Are you okay, sweetie.  What’s wrong, you just ate.”  T.J. wailed.  “It’s okay, Mommy got you.”  She unbuckled T.J. from his carrier and pulled him into her arms.  His screams grew louder and Barrett gently bounced him while patting his back.  She heard a loud burp.  “You had to burp.”  She pulled him away along with a string of spit up.  “Oh crap!”  He’d destroyed her suit jacket.

Just then she heard Kelsey’s laugh.  “Oooh!”  She looked and saw her two-year-old daughter jetting down the aisle leaving behind a wake of laughing adults.  Barrett held up her hand, the one that was gripping the harness’ strap, it was bare.  “It must’ve slipped off when I picked up T.J.”  She quickly returned T.J. to his carrier.

She wanted to cry.  At least once a week she argued cases in front of judges, other lawyers and juries, but none of them ever came close to making her want to whimper and roll up into a little ball to escape it all, like her daughter did.

“Come back here!” Barrett roared.  “This is why I use the harness!” she yelled as she raced after her daughter while pushing the shopping cart.  Shoppers jumped out of her way and a couple good hearted ones really did try to catch her daughter, but Kelsey wiggled out of their grasps as though she was covered in baby oil.  For a two-year-old she had feet like roller skates, she zoomed along the aisles, squealing loudly. “Kelsey come back here!”

But having her mother chase her while yelling, made Kelsey think they were playing a game, so she ran even faster.  She turned the corner and out of Barrett’s sight, a wave of despair washed over her.  Adrenaline propelled her forward, she rounded the corner, narrowly missing a Pepsi display.

“Is this what you’re looking for?”  A familiar lady was holding her wiggling daughter.

Barrett skidded to a stop.  “Sage?” she croaked.

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Drew Atkins logged into her profile on www.ineedaman.com. She grinned when she saw the number of messages waiting to be read.  Thirty.  She already knew that more than eighty percent of them were either from sixty-year-old men, married men or men so disgusting looking that they made her ill.  Ten percent was usually bi-curious women, she wasn’t ready to go that route yet and the remaining ten percent were actual possibilities.

And for the last six months she had been dating those possibilities.  After a few dates or for some it took only one date for the maybes to become actually nos.  She liked the system she devised.  Round one started off with coffee.  Only a few moved on to dinner, round two.  And only a lucky man made it to round three, dinner and sex.  That had been Darius.  He had sexed her and kept a smile on her face for a whole month.  They were inseparable, that was until his wife showed up at her house threatening bodily harm.