The Sunday Arrangement (24 page)

Kat looked at me. I
could see the nervousness in her usually confident eyes. “Why did you stop the
elevator, Lo?”

In one quick motion,
I pushed her up against the metal wall of the elevator, mimicking the erotic
movement Pierce had performed on me a few weeks ago. I was in control now. My
hands were on either side of her, our bodies mere inches from touching each
other. The shock on her face was matched only by the longing I saw there. Her
dark blue eyes locked on mine. Slowly, she licked her cherry red lips. I
couldn’t help myself. I kissed her quickly, my entire mouth covering hers in a
heated, passionate moment. Just as quickly, I pulled away.

There was a spark
there, an undeniable ignition, that I knew, once fanned, would turn into a
blazing fire. Relief washed over me like water on a sinking ship.

Kat pulled me in for
another kiss. Her lips were soft as they moved against mine. I moaned as her
tongue broke through my lips, deepening the kiss. I moved closer to her until
our bodies were touching. I could feel her breasts against mine. Her long leg
swung around to rest on my hip, and my hands moved down to her sides. One of
her cool hands cupped my cheek while the other moved over my neck and down my
chest. Our tongues continued to dance and explore. I pulled away to look at her
and to get a full breath. She looked at me and smiled knowingly.

“I wanted to do that,”
I whispered. My hand rubbed her thigh resting on my hip.

She kissed me again
briefly before putting her leg on the ground. “Well, I don’t think we have any
concerns about how this whole thing is going to play out,” she said as though
voicing my very thought.

I smiled and fixed my
hair and blouse, and Kat did the same. I knew Pierce was already in my condo,
waiting with the camera for our arrival. And for some reason, I didn’t want him
to know about the moment we had just shared. That was meant just for Kat. Restarting
the elevator, we finished the ride to my apartment.

The doors to my
penthouse opened. Pierce was sitting on the couch waiting for us. From across
the room, I could see his eyes look me over. He didn’t even look at Kat as he
walked toward me slowly. He stopped just in front of me, and I resisted the
urge to kiss him. I stared up at him, waiting to see what he would do. He
licked the pad of his thumb before using it to wipe along the side of my mouth.
It took me a second to realize that he was wiping off some of Kat’s lipstick.

“Have a fun time?” he
asked. He didn’t wait for an answer as he turned to Kat. He held out his hand
to her. “I’m Pierce. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Kat.” She looked at
his hand and took several seconds before she lifted her own in return.

“Likewise,” Kat said.

The aggression
between them was tangible. Having two people want me wasn’t something I was
used to. They both clearly felt entitled to me in some way, and I found myself
not hating their desire for me. I stood between them. I didn’t like the angry
looks they gave each other, like young children fighting over a toy.

“Why don’t we get
started?” I said, hoping sex would ease the awkwardness starting to surface
within the room. I then pushed Kat back closer to the couch, making a bigger
gap between her and Pierce. Both seemed to relax more the farther apart they
were from each other. I’d have to ask Kat why she was so quick to dislike him, especially
since he hadn’t been his usual arrogant self.

I moved to the couch
as well and pulled her down to sit next to me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw
Pierce turn on the camera to begin recording us. The power of the recording
device no longer terrified me. Though I still hadn’t seen the tape Pierce and I
had made the week before, I felt confident in my own skin.

Kat still focused her
death glare on him. Not wanting to have her so emotionally invested in whatever
was going on between them, I moved to straddle her lap. That got her attention.
She looked up at me and her hand went to my side automatically.

I ran my hand along
her cheek and made her look me in the eyes with her big beautiful blues. “It’s
just the two of us, okay? No one else.”

She smiled and gave
me a slight nod. I leaned down and kissed her. Her lips hungrily accepted mine.
We kissed long and hard, the moisture of our lips hot and heavy as our tongues
danced together. I loved the way she coaxed her tongue against mine, drawing
out sensations that sent thrills down my spine and into my panties.

She broke the kiss suddenly
and looked at my blouse; without a second thought she used her hands to rip it
open. The
clinking
of buttons could be heard throughout the room. My
breath quickened at the thrill of having my shirt ripped off me. I quickly removed
the rest the rest of the blouse, and she expertly unhooked my bra. Soon her red
lips were encircling my nipple. Her tongue moved over the taut peak, and I moaned
as I watched her. This was happening. This was really happening. A woman was
sucking on my breast, and God, it felt incredible.

My hand went into her
short hair. Her other hand came up to massage my other breast, and my own hand
moved downward and underneath my skirt to touch myself through my panties.
Before I could really start, however, her free hand pushed mine out of the way
and replaced it with her own. I rocked myself on her lap and into her hand as
she stimulated my clit. The pressure started to build, like a rocket just
before launching into space, as I watched her continue to circle my nipple with
her tongue.

As I came down from
the high, I moved off her lap and had her sit forward so I could undo her
corset. She slipped out of the dress and her panties. Quickly, I removed the
rest of my clothes. I pushed her back to lie on the couch and moved to have a
better look at her body. It was then that I noticed Pierce standing near us
with the camera. I smiled up at him before returning my attention to Kat. I
spread her legs apart and looked at her pussy. She was bare. Her outer labia were
swollen and flushed pink; I could see her clit was aroused. With my thumb I
lightly touched her clit.

She jumped and
laughed. “Sorry, I can’t have the front of my clit touched unless I’m sopping
wet.”

I nodded my understanding.
“Well then, I’ll just have to make that happen now, won’t I?” For the next few
hours, we explored each other’s bodies. I tasted her, smelled her, and learned what
areas of her almost made her come when kissed. Every sensation was heightened
because it was Kat.

Eventually Pierce
stopped filming, and Kat and I fell asleep together on the couch.

“I think it’s time
you go now, Maverick,” Kat said as we lay on the sofa. I heard my front door
open and close. Kat lightly touched my arm. “Lauren, wake up. Let’s go to your
bed. It’s more comfortable than this couch.”

“Where’s Pierce?”

“He didn’t want to
take up the space on the bed.” She pulled me up and led me to the bedroom where
we crawled into my bed and fell asleep.

~*~*~*~

“How
ya feeling?” Kat said the next morning.

I
stretched my arms over my head and yawned. “You wore me out,” I teased.
Glancing at my friend, I saw that she was sitting on my bed. Her usual perky
self seemed glum and melancholy.

 “You
said Pierce in your sleep several times.”

I
laughed. “Look at him—he’s even penetrating my dreams.” Kat didn’t budge. She
didn’t even acknowledge my silly pun. “Hey, what’s wrong?” I asked.

“Nothing,
really. I should be happy right? It finally happened.”

“Finally?”
I asked, sitting up against my tufted headboard.

“After
all these years, you and I finally fucked.” Kat still avoided eye contact with
me. Her tattooed arms were crossed against her flat chest. Her black tank top
was haphazardly wrinkled.

I
put my hand on her shoulder. “You okay, friend?”

“I’m
okay, Lo.” She finally faced me. Her usually bright eyes were overcast. “I just
wish we hadn’t done that. Part of me feels like our friendship just died . . .”

“What?
How could it have?”

“Everything’s
going to be different now. I wish I had thought this through. I wish I wasn’t
so blinded by my desire for you.”

“I
thought we agreed that this was just sex. You were helping me. I wanted you to
be my first. I don’t understand—”

Kat
gave me a weak smile. “No, and I don’t blame you. We’re different, you and I.
This really meant something to me.”

I
squeezed her shoulder even tighter. “It did for me, too, friend. It really,
really did.”

“Thanks
for saying that, but I don’t think last night meant the same to us.”

I
let my hand fall limply onto the bed. It was as lifeless as I felt. “What are
we going to do now?”

“I’m
going to go home now, and I think I may need some space. Really, I’m not trying
to be all dramatic on you, but I think last night had a much bigger impact on
me than I could have anticipated.”

“No,
I get it. Trust me. I really, really do,” I said softly. “And for that, I
couldn’t be more sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. Ever.”

“Don’t
sweat it, okay? I’ll be fine. You know me. Tougher than your grandma’s toenails.”

I
smiled though my heart was heavy. “Are you gonna take the jet?”

“It’s
already been arranged. I was just waiting for you to wake up. I didn’t think it
was right to escape in the night like this was a measly one-night stand instead
of a simple mistake between two best friends.”

“Thanks
for waiting for me, Kat. I really and truly do love you.”

“Me
too, Lo. Me too.” She reached to the floor and grabbed her tan combat boots.
Slipping into them, she quickly rose to her feet, leaving the laces loose and
untied. “I’m going to head out now. I’ll call you in a few days, okay?”

It
felt strange not to hug her as she walked toward my bedroom door, though I
suspected physical touch from me was not what she needed at that moment.

She
turned toward me when she reached the door. “Lauren, I know I’ve told you this
and I know you know . . . but be careful, okay? Sex, as last night proved,
really does change things. I don’t want you to get hurt.”

I
nodded, forcing the lump in my throat to go away. Tears brimmed in my eyes as I
realized with an undeniable certainty why she uttered those words. My best
friend was in love with me.

“Goodbye,
friend. We’ll talk soon,” she said, and with that, she was gone.

I
crumpled into my bedroom, clutching my body pillow as I let the tears pour
unreservedly. My sweet, wonderful Kat. I would take it all back in an instant
if I could.

After Kat left, I had
to return to reality, to deal with my current situation. Now I had two secrets.
Toby and Pierce were planning something, and my father was being blackmailed. Undoubtedly,
the two things were connected. I tried to focus on this rather than the
sickening feeling I had in my gut ever since Kat walked out of my apartment.

I felt conflicted
about the unwanted feelings that were starting to grow for Pierce. I knew he was
planning something with Toby to hurt his father and mine. I didn’t know their
motive or what they wanted to do.

My cell phone rang. It
was Toby. He always had the uncanny knack for calling when I was thinking about
him.

“Hello,” I answered.

“Hi, I was calling to
let you know that I have the new model done. I won’t be able to fly out until
next week, however. Mar is sick and she needs my help caring for the kids. I’ll
call you Monday and let you know if I can fly out on Wednesday. The deadline
isn’t until then, so I figure it will be okay.”

“Wow . . . that was
fast. I understand. Don’t worry about it. It should be fine for you to wait
until then. Margret wasn’t too hard on you about you calling her drunk, was
she?”

“Not too bad. She was
madder about the fact that I had gotten drunk several days after our daughter
was born. She thought that was the reason why I did it. I explained that wasn’t
the reason at all, that you and I were just having fun and lost control a bit.
She was a little more understanding after that. I only had to sleep in the
guest bedroom for four days before she let me back in our room. That was better
than the time she caught us playing poker and smoking cigars in her dining
room.”

I laughed. That was
just before his son was born. We had a nice game of poker going with a couple
of his friends, and she had come home to us smoking in her house. She wasn’t
too happy about it; in fact, she was livid. Toby had to stay with me for three
weeks while she cooled off and had the room repainted. “How are my new niece
and the Troublemaker doing?” I asked.

“The baby is good.
Troublemaker is ecstatic about having a baby sister. He likes help do
everything for her. He told me when she’s old enough he’s going to teach her
how to hit a ball out of the park.”

“I hope he does. All
the Hart women need to know how to do that.”

“Exactly! That’s what
I’ve been telling Mar. Well, the baby is crying, so I’m being paged. I’ll call
you next week. Bye.”