“Thank you,” Blake told the waitress as breakfast was laid before him. Three fried eggs, four pancakes coated with Aunt Jemima Syrup accompanied by a mug of hot Earl Grey. He placed his bookmark to Chapter two’s beginning from The 48 Laws of Power to indulge in this freshly presented breakfast. Drained from early morning studying, replenishing all that was lost was the only way he was going to regain focus. To get back to what needed to be done. About halfway into breakfast, he looked up and the figure of a middle-aged man appeared at the round table before him. The gentleman wore a long sleeve black, wool turtleneck with grey joggers and a pair of black and white converse shoes. He had a medium build; around five foot ten with a low-cut full beard and haircut with a receding hairline – both being snow white.
“That’s a good piece of literature ya have there,” he said with a nasal voice, smiling towards Blake. The tone was one that would give the impression they knew each other for a lifetime.
“Um…thanks,” Blake replied with mismatched energy.
“Oh Jesus, where are my manners? Hi, I’m Kellam Bridgeford,” he said broadening his smile to show some white and extending his hand for a handshake.
“Nice to meet you,” Blake replied, shaking Kellam’s hand tentatively.
“How long you’ve been reading it? I swear to God it took me about a year to finish the entire damn thing,” Kellam said with a slight chuckle.
“Am well…I guess about two weeks now. I’m so sorry my name’s Blake by the way. Uh, Blake Moss,” he said while making inconsistent eye contact.
“It’s alright, bud, no need to apologize. I’m the one that interrupted your breakfast; hell, I should be apologizing,” he said in a light manner while putting up both hands signaling surrender.
Kellam then asked if he could sit and Blake obliged. They engaged in small talk surrounding the book, current events and even the expenses of Blake’s current college education. Kellam also spoke briefly about his marriage and real estate business before the vibration from his cell phone interrupted proceedings.
“Video call from the old ball and chain. Gotta take this,” Kellam jokingly said. “Heeey, dear.”
Blake handed his empty plate and mug to the waitress as his guest had a friendly discourse with his wife. For all of his optimism, it was apparent Kellam beamed even more during his interaction with her. Something Blake hoped to attain one day but had very little faith that he would.
“Hey Blake, say hi to my wife Lydia,” Kellam said as he turned the face of his cell phone towards Blake who awkwardly raised his hand and shook at her.
“Awww, he seems shy, Kell,” Lydia said as if speaking about a child. Her pink, satin robe was slackly tied around her belly button; Cleavage and abs both visible with her right breast seeking escape from its clothed prison. Blake looked everywhere but into the camera as this all went down.
“Ah, he’s a good kid, hon. Probably doesn’t want me to think he’s checking out my hot young wife,” Kellam winked and laughed out with his wife following suit. Blake chuckled nervously and switched eye contact between the husband and wife, hoping that the camera face would turn soon to end this awkwardness.
“Well, he’s cute, so I don’t mind him checking me out. Don’t forget what we discussed earlier okay, dear?” her tone became serious in her latter statement.
“Oh trust me, hon; I won’t. See you later,” Kellam said as his voice dropped an octave and his smile faded. Blake became intrigued as this was the first time his conversation partner’s face was serious for the entire time they’ve met. Kellam placed his phone face down and kept looking at it; not removing his hand as if pondering his next step. He peered over the top of his glasses at Blake, raised his head back to a neutral position and spoke again.
“Blake, I wanna be straight with you, bud,” his face was now drained of all emotion. With both palms down on the table, his slouched posture held during their conversation transformed into an upright seated position.
“Kay…sure,” Blake uttered followed by his eyebrows making a slow, downward motion. Fully engaged, he sat back into his chair to hear what followed.
“Today isn’t the first time I’ve seen you in here. I’ve been watching you eat breakfast in here for about a month now give or take.” A grin from the right corner of his mouth formed but the emotion of his eyes remained stoic. Blake swallowed upon hearing what was just presented. What was he to make of this? Why was this newly met stranger watching him for an entire month? Furthermore, why was he admitting all of this to him?
“My wife and I…let’s just say that our marriage isn’t…traditional,” he said dipping his head forward, raising his palms from the table and clasping them before resting his chin on top.
“I don’t understand. What…what does that have to do with you well…watching me?” Blake queried while pressed into his seat.
“Well, we do this thing where we...” he paused to snicker for a moment and then resumed, “We do this thing where we seek candidates for the other to have...fun with.”
“Fun?” Blake asked with a heart beating as if it wanted to escape his chest.
“Yes. Fun,” Kellam replied with raised eyebrows, “Tell me something, Blake; would you fuck her if given the chance?” Blake’s pulse beat against his ear-drums at an increasing rate.
“Mr. Bridgeford, I absolutely wouldn’t. I mean, that’s your wife. I would never imag-”
“Blake…Blake,” he firmly interrupted. Blake’s mouth closed immediately and he stared at Kellam before looking down at the table, “You’re a smart kid. I think you can read between the lines and know that I’m not going to be offended by you saying what you want to say.”
“Sir, I-”
“Son, it’s a yes or no question,” his hands dropped down to the table, still clasped.
“Ye…Yes,” Blake stuttered while still looking down at the table, glancing at Kellam before looking to the side and back to the table.
“Perfect,” a close-mouthed smile appeared on his face.
There was around thirty to forty-five seconds of silence after this. Kellam took back up his phone and held it with both hands as he clicked away at it. The changes in brightness off his glasses’ reflection held Blake’s interest – especially considering the exchange that just took place.
“Mr. Brid-”
“Give me just a second, bud,” he interrupted while still focused on his phone. Blake shuffled around in his seat; awaiting the path this conversation would take next. This was all peculiar to him; a stalker and open marriages. Part of him wanted to get up and walk out immediately, but the other had a morbid curiosity as to what would follow.
“Mr. Bridge…Kellam. What does all of this even really mean? Are you proposing that I have sex with your wife as part of some little game you guys play?” Blake sat forward and rested his forearms on the table. His fists couldn’t decide what position they wanted to keep; constantly clenching and unclenching.
“Jesus, you make it sound so bad. Look, kid, my wife and I aren’t exactly re-inventing the wheel here. This kind of thing is way more common than you think. Plus, I’d make it worth your while,” he said while turning his phone’s face towards Blake. Before the young man was the online banking page for First Bank. To be more precise, Kellam was on the funds transfer page.
“Here’s the deal, kid: I pay ya twenty large to have sex with my wife. Half now if you agree, half after the deed’s done,” he said while not breaking eye contact.
“What if I say no?” Blake asked while shrugging his shoulders and opening his palms to face up.
“Then I move on to find someone else and we never speak again.”
“Well, what if…What if I say I’d do it and get half now, but then I don’t come through when it’s time?”
“You’re ten Gs richer. You’ll be missing out on a lot more money so it would more be your loss.”
“You mean the other half?”
“Oh no, way more than that.”
Blake raised his eyebrow for a millisecond before responding, “What do you mean way more than that?’”
“I mean, every time you fuck her afterwards, you’d get paid a sum. This wouldn’t be a one-time deal son. Plus, I know you don’t want to be swimming in student loan debt until you're fifty.”
It definitely was an attractive offer. Was the encounter in itself strange? Yes. But when would he get the opportunity to see this kind of money again in a lump sum?
“I know I’m crazy for saying this,” Blake said while inhaling deeply and looking down at the table.
“Uh-huh?” Kellam leaned forward, anticipating what would fall out of Blake’s lips.
“Yea. Yes, I’ll um, I’ll do it,” he exhaled slowly and slouched into the soft cushy seat.
“Good, good,” he said as a Cheshire cat-like grin stretched across his face, “Alright, so on top of the ten thousand dollar deposit, I’ll give ya extra for a full STD panel test. Three weeks from now is when you guys will meet in person.”
Kellam then gathered accounting information from Blake and made the initial deposit – he also explained to him it would take three to four business days to appear. To think even more was coming was surreal, to say the least. Mobile numbers were exchanged and Kellam sent his address to Blake via a Map application.
“One last thing, bud: Don’t tell anyone about this, alright?” Kellam said as he got up and was getting ready to leave.
“Sure thing; got it,” Blake said followed with folded lips, nodding and giving a thumbs up to his parting guest.
“Jesus Christ, Lydia is going to love you,” Kellam turned and hollered as he walked away. The scanty crowd in the diner glanced over to the activity but quickly went back to minding their business. Blake’s stomach was a bubbling mess after this entire ordeal and he rushed to the establishment’s facilities to relieve himself. Hopefully, he would be settled when the time came to do what had to be done.
***
Three weeks had passed since the encounter in the diner. Blake, already having rung the doorbell was at the Bridgeford’s doorstep with butterflies in his stomach still. Nervousness subsided somewhat but he was still wary. Not knowing what to expect, he told his best friend Chris where he was going. In his mind, he didn’t technically disobey Kellam’s order as Chris wasn’t informed of the arrangement, just the location. The door opened and before him stood the man who provided this proposal three weeks prior. Adorned in a teal dress shirt, two top buttons unbuttoned showing wispy trails of grey chest hair; khaki shorts resting just above his knees and flat low-cut white shoes.
“Why is he answering his own door? Thought all rich people had butlers or something.” Blake put that all on the back-burner as his host opened his mouth to speak.
“I knew you’d come. Lydia owes me a full body massage,” he said excitedly with a fist shaking and a grin.
“Am, that’s cool I guess,” Blake replied flatly with both hands tucked into the pockets of his Levi Jeans. He also wore a close-fitting white T-shirt with a crew-neck that showed off the hard work he put in at the gym. His face clean-shaven, exposed a strong jaw-line, grey eyes resembling slits and curly, dirty blonde hair with some falling onto his forehead.
“Well, don’t just stand there. Come on in,” Kellam guided Blake inside with his hand placed onto one of the young man’s muscular shoulders and closed the door behind them. Blake took his time soaking in what was before him. The Bridgefords home was much more modern than he ever thought it would be. Fully expecting a rustic presentation, his face and body relaxed at the different shades of white and polished marble surrounding him – definitely not the Devil’s lair he imagined for the last few weeks, “Lydia honey, our guest is here!” Kellam bellowed while looking up the winding staircase.
“Coming!” she sang as a door creaked open and subsequently closed upstairs. Her footsteps got louder with every step until finally, a slim, athletic figure was in eyesight of both gentlemen on the ground floor. Her downward approach so graceful, she caught both men’s attention in her bright green high heels and V-neck, ocean blue sun dress. Her hair was straight, brown and shoulder-length, parted in the middle; eyes brown and slanted with crow’s feet set on a long face and angular jawline. Upon reaching the ground floor, she appeared slightly taller than her husband. She leaned forward and whispered into his ear while resting palms on both shoulders. They glanced over in Blake’s direction, looked back at each other and the husband nodded as if in agreement with what was just told to him.
“Alright, buddy, I’m heading out of here. Oh, wait before I do that: Blake, this is Lydia; Lydia, this is Blake,” he said, seemingly in a rush, “Lydia darling, I’ll see you later tonight.” The two pecked each other on the lips; then Kellam took up keys from a nearby counter, exited through the front door and made himself scarce. As a diesel engine switched on and roared away on the outside, Lydia strolled over to Blake, placed her left hand on his right and kissed him on the jaw.
“It’s nice to meet you, Blake,” she whispered while parting her lips from him; eyes fully transfixed to his. She caressed his face before removing her hand, turning around and walking towards the fridge. “My husband told me you were an anomaly,” she said with her back turned still; picking up a bottle of sparkling wine from inside the fridge, then collecting two wine glasses before heading back towards Blake.
“How so?” he asked while his eyes shifted from her face, cleavage then away to the distance.
“For a guy this well built and good looking, you’re so nervous and lacking confidence,” she said with a husky, yet refined voice. She poured two glasses of wine before offering one to Blake. He took it and looked down to the ground, jaw clenching. Lydia’s free hand lifted Blake’s chin up so that he could face her, “Let me guess: you were some skinny dork in high school that no one ever paid any attention too? High school’s over, you decide to hit some weights, take better care of yourself but…”
“But…”
“But no matter what, you still can’t get past who you were before. You’re letting your current life be dictated by someone who doesn’t even fully exist anymore. Tell me something, young man: Do you want to have a personality matching this killer body and gorgeous face you have, or do you prefer to be a timid little pussy for the rest of your life?” she asked while raising both eyebrows and taking a sip from her wine glass. Her hand dropped from his chin and shifted to her hip. Standing tall before him with her challenging stance, Blake was emasculated, yet intrigued.
“No one’s ever said something to me like that before,” Blake mumbled.
“Then your social circles are just as pussy as you, sweetie,” she said with a hip angled to the side as the remainder of the wine disappeared from the glass and into her throat, “I see potential in yo,u handsome. Trust and believe that when I’m done with you, you’re going to look back and laugh at the fact that you held onto this baggage for as long as you did.”
Blake upset now, turned towards the counter and put his glass down. Lydia set aside her empty wine glass, took his up and planted it firmly onto his muscular chest. He looked at her with a frown still intact, but it relaxed a bit before taking the glass from her and gulping it all down. Without any warning, she cupped his manhood and smirked. Grabbing the back of his neck with the other hand, her lips caressed his. She nibbled the bottom and then top before releasing the grip around his neck and sliding her other hand into his.
“Follow me,” she said, followed by a slow blink and turning around to walk upstairs. With each step they took going up, Blake couldn’t remove his focus from her well-toned ass. The way the sundress eased between her cheeks and out, flouncing around every inch of it caused his excitement to grow exponentially. At the top of the stairs, she pointed to the second door on the left and said, “In there, you will shower and when finished, meet me in the room at the bottom of this hallway.” She pointed towards the door at the very end of the hallway, directly facing them.
“Okay,” he gulped and blinked quickly before she turned around and kissed him again, holding his face with both hands. When removing her lips from his, their faces still close enough for their breath to bounce off each other she whispered, “I’m going to take care of you; stop being so fucking nervous.”
Lydia released her grasp and Blake made his way towards the bathroom door before receiving a slap on the ass. He paused momentarily, chuckled and then continued walking towards the bathroom.
***
With a fluffy, white towel wrapped around his waist, Blake exited the bathroom and slid across the long hallway towards what was expected to be his awakening. He’d been with girls before, but never a woman as mature, dominant and frank as Lydia Bridgeford. No question, she was younger than her husband but carried more years than Blake. In front of the door, he stood squeezing the knob with tightly closed eyes and his head bowed; bracing for what was on the other end. A quick twist and pull on the knob swung the door open akin to tearing plaster from a wound; exposing him to a room dimly lit in yellow light – a colour scheme of vibrant peach mixed with white decorated the walls, furniture and carpeting – with a faint aromatic scent. Lydia stood beside the bed with bright red lipstick applied, black crotch-less panties exposing her heart-shaped pubic patch and garters attaching long black stockings with both feet tucked into blood-red stilettos. Side to side her hips swayed – hands akimbo – and she pouted and licked her puffy lips.