Chapter 4
IT WAS EARLY FRIDAY EVENING BEFORE PETE happened to see Sandra again. He was about to enter a supermarket when he caught a glimpse other near the exit. He turned quickly, went back to his car and waited until she had disappeared. He didn't want to run into her, or have anything more to do with her. He thought.
He entered the market, made his purchases and then headed for his apartment. As usual, he parked in the rear and entered by the rear door. He peered down the corridor before going to his door, saw that it was empty and hurried inside his place. He removed his jacket just as the phone rang.
He lifted the receiver. "Hello?"
"Hello, Pete. Helen. What's the matter, you mad at me?"
He grinned. It was nice hearing her voice. "Hell no. What makes you think that, Helen?"
"Well...you haven't been around to see me. You left in kind of a huff Monday night, so I thought maybe you were."
"I've had a lot of work to do this week," he said lamely, though it was true.
"How about me coming to see you?"
"Fine. Know where I live?"
"Sure. Found your name and address in the phonebook. I'll be right over, if you want me to."
"Sure. Come over. I'm about to take a bath. I'll leave the door unlocked. Apartment six. First floor."
"Crazy. I'll bring a jug." She hung up before he could tell her that wasn't necessary.
He made sure the door was unlocked and went to the bathroom and stripped off his clothes. He stepped beneath the shower and stayed there for several minutes enjoying the feel of the warm water running over his muscular body. He dried himself, pulled on a pair of shorts, and returned to the front room. He was startled to see Harry March standing in the doorway leading to the hall. Apparently, the man had opened the door. This annoyed Pete and it showed on his face.
"Mr. Drake," Harry March said hastily. "Hope you'll forgive me for opening your door. I knocked several times, but you didn't answer. I..."
Pete could feel his cheeks burning a little. "What do you want?"
"My wife...Sandra...She's quite ill, keeps asking for you. Ier-wonder if you would come over and talk to her for a few moments."
Pete ground his teeth and studied the man, noting for the first time that he had a thin mustache and very small eyes. The small eyes seemed to be looking at Pete's body speculatively.
"Why me? I'm not a doctor."
"Sheer--likes you, Mr. Drake. She sometimes becomes unmanageable. I thought you might be able to soothe her down. Of course, if you don't want to..."
"I'll get my pants," Pete said, more annoyed now than before. He didn't like the way the man was staring at his body. Pete wondered if the guy might be a homo. That look in his eyes...Pete went to the bedroom, drew on a pair of slacks and a shirt and followed the man across the hall and into the apartment to the bedroom.
Sandra lay on the bed beneath the sheet, one leg exposed. Her eyes were closed and her face seemed pale.
"Honey," Harry March said, speaking sharply. "Mr. Drake is here. Open your eyes."
"Hello Pete," Sandra said, but didn't open her eyes.
Pete felt uncomfortable. He wished he had refused the man's request. What the hell was he doing here? "Hi," he said shortly. "Your husband tells me you're ill."
Sandra did a startling thing, considering that her husband was present-she flung off the sheet, exposing her breasts. "Kiss them, Pete. Take my breasts in your mouth, darling."
Pete moved away from the bed and flashed a look at Harry March. The man's expression was the same as before-impassive. What could ho do? It was a ridiculous, situation. There seemed to be but one thing to do-walk out of the' place fast. He did so and got as far as the door to the hall when he felt Harry's hand on his arm. Pete stopped and turned about to face the man. There was some kind of undisguised lust in Harry's eyes now. Pete pulled his arm free.
"Mr. Drake, please don't go. I must apologize for my wife's remark."
Pete looked at him coolly. "Okay," he said. . "I hope she gets to feeling better." He stepped into the hall.
"Mr. Drake, would you care to join me in a drink?"
This was an open invitation. Pete felt like smacking the guy, but instead he shook his head and entered his apartment. The moment he did so the phone rang again and he went to answer it.
"Hello."
"Pete," Helen said. "I can't come, after all. Jeanie and George are here. I forgot I promised them. We're having a party. Would you like to come to my place?"
Pete didn't want to attend a party. Parties bored the hell out of him. "Afraid not, Helen. If you can't come we'll try again some other night."
"It's just that I promised them. Some other people are coming here, too."
"Okay," he said. "Good-bye."
"Wait, Pete. Don't hang up. You sure you wouldn't like to come to my place? There's going to be a lot of interesting people here."
"Some other time," he said, and hung up.
What to do this evening? He didn't have to work the next day. Perhaps he should go downtown, take in one of the clubs, see a show, look around for a-likely woman. It seemed like a good idea, so he got dressed in his best-looking suit, and prepared to leave the apartment.
He frowned when the knock came on his door. He hesitated for a moment because he didn't want to talk to either Harry or Sandra, and he suspected it would be one of them. Shrugging, and knowing he had to open the door, he did so. and it was Sandra. She was wearing a short skirt and had a light coat thrown over her shoulders. She was in her bare feet, and when he looked at her closely he saw she wasn't wearing anything on the upper part of her body, save for the coat.
"Yes," he said coldly.
"Please don't be angry. I'm feeling much better now, Pete. May I come in?"
He shook his head. "I was about to leave."
"I must apologize for my husband." She bit her lips, her face flushing slightly.
"That's funny," he said evenly. "He apologized for you, too."
"Yes, I know. I overheard him talking to you. I just don't want you to think..
He waited for her to complete the sentence, but she didn't. Her pretty brown eyes appeared to be begging him. Her dark hair was slightly mussed and he had to admit she was lovely standing here like this and staring into his eyes.
"Never mind what I think," he said. "You'd better go back."
She. pulled the coat open, deliberately revealing her great breasts. Her chest was heaving and he had to tear his gaze away from her. Excitement was passing through him and he didn't want this with her.
"Pete, please...I just ache to have you caress me, to fondle me. Don't be mean to me."
"I'm not being mean," he said uncomfortably. "You have a husband, get him to caress you."
"Oh, that creature," she said, spitting the words. "I might as well be married to apiece of furniture."
"That's your problem," he said coldly.
"I know it is." She apparently noticed that he was dressed up. "You're going out somewhere, aren't you, Pete? Please...take me with you. If I don't go someplace, if I don't get away from him for a while, I'll go crazy."
"Yes, I'm going out, but I can't take you along. Damn it, you do have a husband."
"He-won't care if you do. Besides, he has just taken a sleeping pill and is lying down. He'll be asleep in a short time. Please let me change into something and go with you."
"No. Sorry. I have a date," he said, lying a bit.
Her brown eyes flashed. "So you have a girl, have you? Who is she?. "
"That," he said firmly, "is none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me." He started to close the door.
She flung herself into the room, tripped and fell to the floor and lay there moaning. Pete knew it was probably just an act, that she hadn't hurt herself; the carpet was too thick.
"Get up," he said roughly. "Get up and go home."
She seemed dazed when she got to her feet. Her eyes looked strange. She whimpered and moved to the doorway, turning about and looking at him reproachfully. "You are a very mean person, Daddy. I hate you, I just hate you. I think I'll tell Mother on you." She was gone then, for all the world looking and acting like a small child.
Pete closed the door and ran his hand over his eyes. The woman was very sick. He cursed himself for having made love to her. He knew she was going to make life a living hell for him from now on. The only thing to do was to keep his door locked at all times and if anyone knocked he wouldn't answer. He Ht a cigarette and was surprised to see that his hands were trembling a little. Waiting until the cigarette was almost gone, he finally left the apartment and walked to his car. He drove toward downtown and then, on an impulse, turned up Third Avenue on the street on which Helen lived. He stopped in front of the place, but across the street, and looked up at the lighted windows of her place. It very well could be she was having a party, but just the same he felt she had been lying to him for some reason. She had told him she wanted to come to his place. Surely she must have known she was throwing a party-who could forget a thing like that, especially a woman?
He sat. there for several minutes watching the place and was pleasantly surprised to see Jeanie Price come out of the front entrance. She was dressed fit to kill, he noted. He watched her step to the curb and glance up and down the street. The thought came to him that she was looking for a cab. He called out to her and she looked around as if trying to spot where his voice had come from..
"Hey, Jeanie! Over here."
She saw him then and smiled.
"Come on. I'll take you wherever you want to go."
She smiled and ran across the street. "Hi, Pete," she said. "That's very nice of you. Hard to get a cab in this town, I see."
He opened the door for her and she seated herself beside him. He caught the scent of her perfume and it was nice, heady stuff.
"I'm a lucky guy," he said. "Just happened to be passing by and saw you coming out the doorway."
"Glad you did. George had to go to a meeting of some kind. He was supposed to take me out tonight, the big oaf."
"Is he your...husband?"
"No. Just a friend. Not a very good one, letting me go out on the town by myself, wouldn't you say?"
"Two people with the same idea," he told her, as he pulled the car away from the curb. "I'm out on the town tonight, too."
"I thought you and Helen had a date, or something." she said, hesitating slightly before saying it.
"She told me she's throwing a party and I didn't want to attend. I-er-thought you were going to be there."
"I was' supposed to, but George couldn't, so I begged off."
She had just told him that George had intended taking-her out on the town. Why the inconsistency? "Any place in particular you'd like to go?" he asked, as he swung out all the way into traffic.
"Now that you mention it, I'd just as soon go for a ride in the country. I don't think I really want to go to a bar or anything."
It was beginning to get dark, so Pete turned on the car lights, the dash illuminating the front seat a little more. He glanced at her quickly, taking his eyes from his driving for the moment, and saw her very short skirt, noting how sleek and sexy her long legs were clad in nylons. He felt something happening to him, something pleasant.
"I'd like to take a drive into the country," he told her, switching his gaze back to the road just in time to see the Stop sign. He slammed on the brakes, the car coming to an abrupt halt.
"Better watch what you're doing," she said, smiling.
"Think you're right there," he commented, grinning slightly. "We want to get out of town in one piece."
"And when we get out of town, where shall we go?"
"Why...we can park or go to a motel," he said bluntly, wondering what her reaction would be.
Her reaction was the right one. "Fine," she said. "I've been wondering if you are as good as Helen says."
The three women he had met in the past week-he wondered if any of them ever thought about anything but sex. He hoped not. "What did Helen say, if I may ask?"
Jeanie touched his leg and it sent a thrill up his back. "You really want me to tell you?"
He started the car in motion, turned the corner and picked up speed. "Sure. Naturally. My male ego demands it." He grinned.
Jeanie squeezed his thigh. "She said you were the greatest thing in bed she'd ever seen."
"Helen was exaggerating," he told her, but the remark pleased him.
"I wonder."
He laughed. "We'll find out, won't we, Jeanie?"
"I hope she was right. I'm sick of half-men."
He stopped laughing. Another girl with a no-good man? What was going on these days? "What do you mean by that?"
"Oh, I wasn't talking about George. He's okay, sort of. I meant the usual guy a girl runs into these days-some of them anyhow."
"Maybe you go to the wrong places," he suggested.
"Maybe. Say...how far is this motel?"
He laughed again. He liked having a girl be direct about it. "There's one up ahead about a mile or so, Can you wait?" he teased.
She didn't answer and they rode along in silence until he turned into the court of the motel. He parked the car, went in the office, got a room and came back out. She was already out of the car. "Number Six," he said, and took her arm. He unlocked the door and they entered. It was a nice but small room, but who cared about that particularly? Pete didn't.
"So..." she said, smiling and thrusting out her large bosom. "The
man has me in his power."
"I should have thought to stop and get a jug."
She opened her large purse. "I have a half-pint bottle. Will that help you?"
He grinned. "I don't need it, if that's what you mean. I meant for you' to have a few drinks."
"I don't need stimulants. I was born stimulated."
There was nothing quite so exciting and at the same time so awkward as being in a motel room with a woman you hardly knew. Pete stood there momentarily and then thought to close the door and lock it. He turned around to see her removing her blouse. Then she took off her bra and her great breasts tumbled out in full view. He immediately got a hard-on.
"Hey," he said. "Give me that bottle. Maybe I'm going to need it." She passed it to him and he took a drink, passing it back to her. "Go ahead. A couple" of drinks makes it better." She smiled and drank a long one, surprising him.
He walked closer to her, placing his hands on her breasts and felt the heat of them. She sighed and lowered her head to his chest.
"Take your clothes off, Pete," she urged.
He didn't need to be urged, but there was something wild about hearing her say it to him. He removed his clothing as she did hears and they stood naked together. He put his arms about her and pulled heir body up tightly against him. She giggled a little when she felt his hard-on touch her stomach.
"You like that?" he asked, his tone shaking a bit in spite of himself.
"I love it," she said. "You're really built, man."
"And so are you. We ought to have quite a session."
"Give me another drink. I've changed my mind about it. I do need a few after...seeing you."
He laughed nervously, handed her the bottle and watched her drink. She spilled some of the whiskey and had to wipe her chin. "Boy," she said. "Am I nervous. Never been like this before. Not since I was fifteen, I mean."
"I'm nervous too, it's natural, I think. We hardly know one another, that's why."
She fell back on the bed, her arms about him and half-pulling him down on top of her. He made the insertion quickly, feeling the heat of her body as it surrounded him. He heard her cry out, felt her entire body stiffen as he worked. She grabbed him by the buttocks and pressed her body to his eagerly, breathing hard and furiously as she did so.
He went deep inside her and felt the quiver of his body even as hers quivered. "Terrific," he muttered thickly.
"Oh, Helen was right," she said, her voice also thick with passion. "You hit the spot every time you move. Wonderful."
He moved hard and fast on her, his thrusting going ever deeper with each stroke. She was moaning and purring, both, and her fingernails began scratching his back, but he paid no attention. The feeling was so marvelous the motel room could have burned down without his noticing it.
"Beautiful," she sighed, the passion fairly dripping from the word. "Go faster, baby. .Hurt me."
He moved as fast as he could. Her body stiffened even more and she clung to him with amazing strength. Finally, the pinnacle was reached by both of them-he could sense it in her-and he kept on battering her for several minutes afterward. Finally, she patted him on the back and told him she had finished, that he could stop.
He did so and lay limply on her, contact not yet having been broken.
"Beautiful," she repeated. "Helen knew what she was talking about."
"I liked it, too," he said, rising up on his hands and looking down at her perspiring face. "You're not so bad yourself."
She smiled wanly. "Boy, what a guy.-You can have me any old time you want it. I mean that. Right now, if you like."
He removed himself from her body. "We," he announced, "shall now take a short recess."
She laughed and placed her arms about his neck. He went down and kissed her mouth wetly. She snaked her tongue into his mouth and he felt the thrill go up' his back all over again. This was a truly passionate woman, perhaps the most passionate of the three. He felt very good and lay down oh her body heavily, not caring if his weight crushed her or not.
"Boy, are you ever heavy," she gasped. "I can hardly breathe."
"You don't need to breathe," he teased.
She choked a little and he lifted himself from her to let her get air. "Gee," she sighed. "How long do I have to wait to get some more of that?"
"Would you believe five minutes?" he asked, using the rather tired expression that people had been using for some time.
"I'd believe it if I saw you with something to prove it."
He moved off her. "Take .a look, baby," he told her, indicating his stiffening cock, still glistening with their love juice.
She looked down, drew in her breath and, purring like a kitten, reached for him and began to fondle him. Now it was his turn to purr like a kitten, and he was not at all surprised when she cried out and flung her body low on the bed, her red hair completely covering his abdomen.
He felt her warm lips circling him, felt her tugging at him and after a few moments of this, he was no longer purring like a kitten-he was more like an aroused, roaring lion.