Everyone's Favorite Girl (11 page)

She scooted close to me, tossing the blanket down to our legs, and abandoned all inhibition.  We pulled each other’s pajama pants down and fingered each other while massaging our tongues together.

Sean walked in on quite a scene.

A normal man would stop dead in his tracks.  Sean coughed deliberately to interrupt us.

“Let’s go,” he said.

Pulling away from her terrified me.  She sat up in bed and watched me go, one breast peeking out behind her unbuttoned shirt and wave of hair.  This could be the image of Flora I took to my grave—or to the incinerator, rather.

I crawled quickly across the bed, my bare ass pointing toward Sean, and kissed Flora one last time.

“I love you,” I said.  “See you soon.”

Flora mouthed the same words, but only a squeak came out.  As I crawled away a second time, she collapsed on the bed and drew the blanket over herself.

I pulled up my pants, stood, and fastened a few middle buttons on my pajama top as I walked listlessly up to Sean.  My hair was a mess.  I probably looked like I was ready to hump anything warm and willing.

Sean wasn’t amused.  His temperament seemed foul.

I followed him in silence out to the lobby.  My distorted memory made me feel like I hadn’t seen this room in three weeks.  It was empty, dark, lifeless.

We rode the elevator to Level B, where I was led into the room I’d seen in the video.  Patton, Kate, and Judy were already there.

“Morning, everybody,” I said, not sure myself if my tone contained sarcasm, joviality, or indifference.  I still felt a strong desire.  I held it like a keepsake—one given to me by Flora.  It made me feel protected in a weird way.

Kate looked eager.  A kid on Christmas mornin
g begging her parents to skip breakfast and get straight to the presents.  I couldn’t help but wonder what she would do to me if given the chance.  Then again, I thought wondered that about all of them—except Judy.

And Patton, I couldn’t lie.  He didn’t want to be here right now.  Anyone could see that.  He clearly didn’t want them doing this to me.  No matter how angry with him I was, I had to acknowledge he was different from his brothers—even Brian, the one for whom he grieved so much.

Judy stood hovering over a clipboard, scribbling notes or filling out some sort of form.  Probably some scientific information logging that would make my brain hurt.  She didn’t turn when I spoke.

Sean instructed me to get in the chair
.

“Gladly,” I said with a conveniently timed yawn.  I plopped into the chair and lay back with my arms on the rests, ready to be strapped down.  I knew what was coming, but I was okay with it.  All I cared about was seeing Flora’s face again.  I could take anything that stood in the way.

Kate stared me down while Sean strapped me down.  The moment I became immobile, she started talking.

“This is always my favorite part,” she said, sounding so eager you
’d think it was her birthday.

I turned to her, paused, then said, “You look amazing, Kate.”

It wasn’t a lie.  She’d fully recovered from her coma, at least by the sight of her.  Pretty, youthful, athletic—as good as or better than the day we met outside the Showcase Hall.  Truth be told, Kate could be a Favorite Girl.  She wasn’t as beautiful as Flora, but then again who was?  To attain that level of beauty requires much more than an aesthetically perfect exterior.  Ugliness on the inside shows through.  It leaks through your pores.

Kate sauntered up next to the chair.

“Don’t give me your fake courtesy,” she said.  “You tried to kill me, and now it’s my turn.”

I laughed.  I have no idea why.  It was as involuntary as my heartbeat.

The look on Kate’s face was priceless.  That bulled up, childish frown.  She might kill me if given the chance, but she would do so looking like a little kid who’s just been grounded.  The only murderer to ever pout and stomp the floor as she explained why she had to do this.

“Kate, baby,” I said.  “You and I both like to lie, but let’s be honest for once.  Mr. Shriver isn’t here yet, and I’m sure Sean doesn’t give a shit.  That day—”

“Just
stop
,” Kate said.

I paused only for a moment.  “That day, you were planning to drug Pete and Judy so
they
would have sex.  And, well,
whoops
—I handed
you
the wrong drink.”

“That’s not the—you spiked three drinks, Melissa!  It was only supposed to be two!”

Everyone in the room, including Sean, was now paying attention.

I made eye contact with Sean, and for the first time this morning he cracked a smile.  I smiled back with no effort.  One might almost construe it as flirtatious.  That’s how much Flora’s affection still lingered with me.  I was honestly prepared to fuck Sean.  Willingly, despite the restraints.

“I see,” Sean said, and he spoke no more of the matter.

Neither did anyone else.  Kate stormed across the room and sat next to Patton at a row of waiting room chairs.  There she set herself to the task of eyeballing me.

My eyes fell upon Patton and got stuck there.

“Hi Patton.”

“You’re not allowed to talk to him,” Kate said immediately.

I smiled.  “Kate, would you mind telling Patton I said hi and that I’d love to see him cheer up a little bit?”

Patton’s head stayed down, but I could see a little smile forming down there in the shadows of his face.

“I’m not telling him shit,” Kate said.

I laughed again, and this time Sean chuckled.  I real chuckle.  Not the deep, malevolent laugh I was used to, but a bona fide that-was-funny man-giggle.

“I missed you guys,” I said.  Again, I wasn’t really lying.  Long periods of isolation can make you happy to be around anyone.  I had Flora, of course, but I also carried a lot of anger inside me, and I needed a few punching bags for friends.

A few minutes went by with no one doing anything.

Finally, I asked, “What’s the hold up?  We doing this or what?”

“We’re waiting for Mr. Shriver,” Sean said.

“Where is he?”

He shrugged, and all at once his ill temper appeared to return.

It occurred to me Ja
mes was supposed to be here too, and just as I began to speculate a correlation between their absences, the door opened, flooding the room with laughter.  Mr. Shriver entered first, with James following close behind, actually patting Mr. Shriver on the shoulder, like they were best friends from decades back sharing an old joke.

“How’s everyone doing this morning?” Mr. Shriver asked, as chipper as I’d ever heard him.

When no one responded, I took a breath and chimed in: “It’s a little gloomy in here.  I think everyone needs a nap.”

He gave me a curious look.  “You do know what’s about to happen to you, right?  Last time you had it figured out.”

“You’re drugging me, right?  The Love Drug.”

“Yes.  How do you know?”

“Because I know what it feels like.  I bought a Flora, remember?”

“Do you know why we’re doing this?”

I shrugged.  “You can tell me if you want.  It’s not like I’m gonna remember.”  I thought a moment, then added, “I’m having trouble remembering a lot of things.”

Judy spun around suddenly.  “Like what?”

Everyone looked at her, then at me.

“Uh . . . how the fuck should I know?”

This generated a round of laughter from Sean, Mr. Shriver, James, and even Patton, though Patton did little more than grin.

“Okay, okay, enough with the shenanigans.  Sean, if you would…”

James took a seat on the other side of Kate.  Mr. Shriver sat in the high-backed leather chair by the door.  Judy turned back to her paperwork as Sean approached me.

Kate drew her knees up and started clapping lightly.

Patton put his face in his hands.

I looked up at Sean and watched him remove his suit jacket, then his cufflinks.  He rolled up his sleeves methodically.

He came at me fast.  I jumped a little but forced myself to stay still as his fingers curled over the seam of my pajama pants.  He yanked them off me like someone pulling a tablecloth out from under a full set of dishware.

My lack of resistance dampened his aggression.  It also seemed to confuse him.  Now naked from the waist down, I spread my legs for him.  He sat down at the edge of the chair and ran his palm down the inside of my left leg.  Then his middle finger was pushing inside me.  It went in with ease, and soon followed his index finger.

I stared at him with my mouth slightly agape, breathing, embracing the moment.  Sean grabbed the bulge in his pants like an adolescent boy in gym class.

Lucky for me, he knew exactly what he was doing.  I could feel a climax building—and not the kind that leaves you wanting more.  The kind that renders you useless for the remainder of the day.

“Are . . . you going to use . . . that thing?” I asked between moans.

“What thing?” Sean asked, barely above a whisper.

“Your…”  Moan.  “…cock.”

The idea must not have occurred to him.  As soon as the word “cock” escaped my lips, Sean retracted his fingers, stood, and dropped his pants.

“No!”  Patton jumped to his feet, startling everyone.

“Sit down,” Mr. Shriver demanded.

Sean was chuckling again as he kicked off his shoes and pants.  This time he sounded malevolent.

Patton shook his head.  “You’re taking this shit too far.”

“Not me,” Mr. Shriver said.  “Her.  She just said she wants to fuck.”

“Because you’re
brainwashing
her!”

Mr. Shriver studied me for a moment, brow curled.  “Judy,” he said, “it looks like you might be on to something here.  Let’s continue.”

“I won’t stand for this,” Patton said.

“Patton, shut up,” I breathed. 
I wanted to feel bad for him, but right now I couldn’t.  I had a show to put on.  “Somebody fuck me, please, for God’s sake.”

Sean crawled upon me pulling off his shirt. 
A pale, muscular, hairless creature, he handled me like prey, gripping both my hips so hard it cut off the blood circulation in my legs.  By the end they would be numb.

The moment Sean entered me, I closed my eyes.  If I planned on avoiding all the risks of faking an orgasm by actually having one in front of all these people, I certainly needed to forget it was Sean’s dick inside me.

When I closed my eyes, the image of Sean’s athletic but alien body stuck in my mind.  I couldn’t erase it.  All I could do was shrink it down to the size of a spider and place it upon an imaginary leaf.  It’s early morning and I’m standing at the edge of a meadow, the warm orange sun on my bare back, the front of me chilled by the air seeping out of the dark forest.  I’m stark naked, and somewhere out there in the high grass, sprinkled like confetti with daisies, marigolds, and wildflowers of all colors, I know Flora is naked, too, and waiting for me.

As I turn away from the darkness and face the meadow, I see on the ground and seated on low-lying branches countless other insect-sized people.  Mr. Shriver, James, Kate, Brian, Clifton, Murphy, Liu, the businessmen and politicians whose faces I could recall from the party where Mr. Shriver caught them all in his sticky flytrap of Favorite Girls.

Everyone was watching me.

And I could see Flora, poking her head up over the grass, hair lighting afire in the golden sunlight, and springing away.

“Okay, I’ve seen enough,” Mr. Shriver said, dissolving my fantasy.

“Sean, stop,” Patton chimed in after a moment.

“A minute,” Sean said.

“We don’t have all night,” Mr. Shriver said.  “You’ll have to fuck something else.  Get off her.”

I kept my eyes closed until Sean stopped thrusting.  It took long enough that I thought he wasn’t going to listen.  Twenty-two defiant thrusts.  I counted them.

He crawled off of me grumbling, picked up his clothes, and walked over to a chair holding his dick like it would fall off if he let go.

I started to feel disgusting, self-conscious, nervous, and angry.  I had to remind myself the show wasn’t over.  Next came the drugging.  I could only pray Judy went through with using a placebo.  She might well chicken out, shoot me up with some Love Drug, and erase my memory once again, bringing me back to square one.

But if she went through with the plan—if the needle went in and came out without me falling unconscious—I would have to make them believe in me wholeheartedly.

On that front, I still had no idea what to do.

I watched Sean get dressed, and the sight of him made me nauseous.

When Mr. Shriver asked Judy if she was ready to proceed, I started to panic.  This wasn’t going to work.  I wasn’t an actor.  I had to signal to her somehow to just go ahead and drug me.

No, that’s stupid.  Don’t be a pussy.

Then suddenly Patton let out a loud, angry sigh and stood, throwing his arms out.  “I guess we’re abandoning common decency now, too.”