“Wow!”
“Great, isn’t it? Love the smell of cedar,” Tom said, beaming. “Cost me a goddamned pretty penny, but it was worth it. You should smell it on a nice rainy day. It’s even better.”
They sat down at the long table along the edge of the deck. The huge conifers cast dark shadows over most of the large backyard, but enough sun made it through to lend the deck an airy, forest glen atmosphere that Keihl loved. He sipped the drink, feeling the liquid burn down his throat and warmth bloom in his belly.
Single malt.
“A beer would’ve been fine, Tom.” Keihl grimaced at the harshness of the Scotch. “This stuff ain’t cheap.”
Tom laughed. “Do you know how many nights off an OB gets? I make sure I enjoy them anytime I’m lucky enough to get them.”
Keihl could see the fatigue around his friend’s gray eyes. Doctors were always tired. Always.
“So, where’s Sharon? Figured she’d be waiting on you hand and foot since you’re home.”
Tom’s eyes flashed, and he cocked his head toward the house. “She’ll be here in a sec.”
Keihl looked around, laying an arm along the stained wood railing. “This is
some
place, Tom. If Kirsten ever divorces me I’m definitely riding your couch for a few weeks. A guy could get used to this.”
“Heh. You’d have the place to yourself, most of the time. We don’t get many chances to stay up here.”
“So, this is what? A vacation home for you?”
Tom lifted a shoulder. “Something like that, I guess.”
Keihl realized what was so odd about the place: the silence. No cars, no people, no city.
He loved it.
They were silent for a moment, both of them looking out at the beautiful yard. Vibrant green grass was accented in places by the deep maroon of the pleasing, amorphous shapes of Japanese maples. Several stone benches were dotted here and there through the yard, a faded stone path meandering through it all. A weathered wooden frame, deep in shadow, could be seen close to the edge of the lawn.
“Is that one of those Shinto frames? From Japan?” Keihl nodded toward it, Tom’s gaze following.
“Oh that? You mean a
torii
gate?”
“Okay, Mr. Intercontinental.” Keihl rolled his eyes.
Tom shook his head. “Nope, that’s for… something else. I’ll show you sometime.”
“Ookay.”
Something was up with Tom, the way he was suddenly playing things close to the vest. It felt like he was enjoying an inside joke whose punchline Keihl wasn’t yet privy to.
Tom’s expression sobered, and he leaned forward, twirling his glass between his hands. “How’re you and Kirsten doing? You guys talk yet?”
Keihl frowned. “Not yet. I know she wants to, but I — I’m not even sure what to say.”
“What do you mean? How about ‘This is great’ or ‘I’m so excited’? Might be good places to start.”
Keihl ran a hand through his hair, then took another sip of the scotch. “Little more complicated than that.”
His friend cocked his head. “Is that so? It’s a baby, Keihl, not a death sentence.”
“Easy for you to say, my friend. You’re knee deep in them. Old hat for you.” Keihl poked himself in the chest with his thumb. “All new to me.”
Tom sat back, a little-smile curving his lips. “You have any questions about it?”
Keihl shook his head.
“Let me guess: you read up on what to expect?”
“A little.”
Tom burst out laughing. “I fucking knew it. Always prepared. Boy Scout.”
Keihl shrugged. “I want to be able to help her if something — you know — goes wrong.”
“Is that all? Really?”
“Yeah,” Keihl said, looking away. “Basically.”
Tom stood up, stretching. “Man, back is killing me. They never warned us about that in medical school. Bad backs among OBs.”
“I would’ve figured your asses would be sore from being screwed by your malpractice carriers.”
“Don’t remind me, Mr. Bloodsucking Lawyer.”
“So, why did you invite me out here?” Keihl held up the scotch. “Not that I’m complaining about the hospitality, mind you.”
Tom walked over to the railing, and leaned on it, looking out at the trees. “You’re wondering why it’s taken so long for me to have you over, right?”
“No, no,” Keihl said, shaking his head. “Not what I meant. But now that you say it, sure. Why? This isn’t exactly a dump. If I had a place like this, I’d be running my friends through here like the fucking Parade of Homes.”
Tom laughed.
“You never answered my question, pal.”
Keihl swung long legs over the bench and stood up.
Tom turned, leaning against the railing, his arms crossed over a broad chest.
“Sharon’s been nagging me to bring you here for months, actually.”
“What?
Sharon
has?”
Tom nodded, his intent gaze locked on his friend. “I wanted to be sure you were ready, that’s all.”
Keihl propped a foot on the seat of the bench. “Ready for what? You gonna tell me you’re a wise guy or something?”
“Not quite, but you’re on the right track.”
Whoa. What?
“Uh, would you mind being a little less mysterious, and get to something resembling a point?”
Tom looked back at the trees again.
“We’ll get there, don’t worry.”
Keihl moved over to the railing next to his friend, setting his scotch on the top rail. “Where’d you find this place anyway? You can’t even see it from the highway. I had no idea there were houses built anywhere up here.”
Tom shrugged, leaning over the rail once more. “There aren’t any. I don’t think we have a neighbor within two miles of us.”
“Jesus, Tom. How much did you throw down for this dump?”
“More than you want to know.”
“Try me. If you’ve ever seen my
per diem
rate, you’d know large sums don’t faze me.”
Tom lowered his head, chuckling. “Fucking lawyers.”
“Damn straight. Now answer the question.”
“I put down three hundred fifty. The rest, well… “
Keihl whistled. “Three fifty is a lot of babies. Damn.”
“You have
no
idea.”
“What about the rest?”
Tom was silent a moment, then glanced at Keihl. “The Dominion Trust.”
The sun’s angle was getting longer, the shadows from the huge trees swallowing up more and more of the deep green grass.
“Hmm. Bank? Mortgage company? Never heard of it.”
“Definitely not a bank or mortgage company. It’s actually a… business venture.”
“So you’ve got some business on the side ponying up
half
of your down payment?”
“Not
my
business, but I’m a partner in it.”
Keihl picked up his scotch and swigged a large gulp, wincing at the burn. “When were you going to tell me about this side business?”
“Didn’t think you’d react well to it. Just being careful.”
“’React well’? Damn, Tom. You think I’m some kind of head case or something? What is this Trust? Ven cap? REIT?”
“It’s more of a society, actually. Hard to explain. If you can be patient, I’ll clear things up a bit.”
“Don’t know why you’re being so evasive, but whatever. I have all night if need be.”
Tom put a hand on Keihl’s shoulder. “Good.”
He walked to the slider, then looked back at Keihl. “I need to go grab something real quick. I’ll be back in a minute.”
“Take your time,” Keihl said, waving a hand.
Tom disappeared into the house.
Keihl wondered what the hell his friend was into. If he was going to tell him he was moving blow on the side or something, then tonight’s visit might have to be cut a little short. Maybe, maybe not.
The quiet of the backyard was soothing, the complete lack of the background noise of civilization still somehow unsettling. He’d quickly get used to it, given half the chance.
“Hey, sorry about that,” Tom said, walking back out. “Here, this is for you.”
He handed Keihl a small package wrapped in expensive silver and blue patterned paper.
“Sharon wanted me to extract a promise from you not to open this until the baby is born.”
“Uh, okay. Sure.” Keihl held the package a moment, trying to decide what it might be. The size and weight was consistent with a book. Maybe it was a copy of Dr. Spock?
“Just leave it on the table,” Tom said, noting Keihl’s confused look. “I’ll have Sharon put it in the car for you later.”
“So are we going to actually
see
Sharon tonight, or is she on some top secret hide-from-Keihl mission?”
“Soon,” Tom said, moving to the table and sitting down again. He waved Keihl over. “Dinner’s going to be out here, so we might as well sit.”
“I feel like I’m at Mass. Stand up, sit down, stand up—”
“Asshole.”
Keihl grinned, then sipped his whiskey.
“Do you remember Jacqueline?” Tom asked.
“No, should I?”
“Come on.
Jackie
. You don’t remember her?”
“Hmm, that’s not the broad — sorry,
girl
— you dated before we moved to the bigger house, is it? Sophomore year?”
“You do remember then.” Tom’s smile brightened, softening the normally craggy face, and hard jaw. His chin was showing the blue of stubble he’d never allow while at work.
“Damn man, it’s been what, ten years? What made you think of her?”
Keihl wondered what the fuck his friend was doing bringing up some piece of ass he’d had back in college, when his wife might show up any minute. Not too swift.
But Tom ignored him.
“How long were you standing there before you said something that night?”
Keihl was taking a sip as Tom asked the question, and he almost spit the alcohol out through his nose. The intense burn brought tears to his eyes.
“
Fuck
.” Keihl rubbed his nose, his eyes squinting. “What do you — damn that hurt.”
“Sorry, sorry,” Tom said, chuckling.
The truth was Keihl needed a moment. He was stalling.
All those years ago, he’d jiggled the keys in the front door extra loudly, and waited three beats before walking in that night. It was their mutually agreed to signal, just in case one of them had a girl over and they happened to be
in flagrante delicto
. Two people living in a single studio apartment necessitated such measures.
“I wasn’t — look, Tom.” Keihl rubbed at his watering eyes. “I wasn’t standing there ogling you two, if that’s what you mean.”
“Sure you were.”
Keihl opened his mouth, then shut it, seeing a cool glee in Tom’s eyes.
“Hell, I didn’t blame you,” Tom said. “She was a good girl. A
very
good girl.”
Keihl remembered standing there, absolutely dumbfounded, his cock hardening almost instantly. A naked young woman crouched on her knees, her head down, pressed to the mattress of the fold-out bed of one of their couches. It was actually Keihl’s, but at the time his brain didn’t have the processing power to notice. Instead, it was trying to cope with the sight before him.
Her long raven hair was entwined in Tom’s fist. The girl’s ass was a bright pink, numerous red hand prints and darker marks visible over the flushed background. Tom’s bare buttocks flexed and relaxed as he knelt over her, pounding into the wet sex. The slick sounds of her soaked pussy, the slap of his hips against her ass, and her repeated moans filled the late-night stillness of the apartment.
The fact that Tom had spanked the girl’s ass hadn’t been the thing that stunned Keihl — though it was eye-opening, to say the least.
No, what
had
stunned him was the fact that the girl’s arms were bound together at the small of her back with garish, multicolored cloth, and she’d been blindfolded with her own dark cotton stockings.
“Christ, with your
grandma’s
scarves? I still can’t believe it.”
Tom burst out laughing, his face reddening. “God, if she’d only known what use they’d be put to.”
“Sick fuck.”
“Whatever, Keihl. You stood there and watched us!”
He could feel his cheeks heat, and his technique for masking embarrassment in depositions — thinking of another completely different subject — was failing him miserably.
He’d stood there longer than he wanted to admit. He remembered the rushing sound in his ears, warring with the urgency of the girl’s cries as she came, the grunting of Tom as he ground his hips against her, pouring himself into the clutch of the girl’s pussy.
“Hey, I was just shocked that’s all.” Keihl looked away, the embarrassment as fresh as it had been ten years earlier. Embarrassment… and something more.