Shiraz (3 page)

I hooked my phone up to the stereo and
hit the shuffle button on my playlist, completely oblivious to
whatever song began to play through the car speakers. The blur of
traffic lights, stop signs, and cars whizzing by me felt like a
daydream. Those ten minutes flew by and before I knew it I was
pulling into our parking lot. Our building was relatively quiet
thanks to a lack of college students or drug dealers. The
occasional dog would bark at a random foot stomp, but the loudest
source of noise was our swinger next-door neighbors, Don and Anne.
They are incredibly nice couple who always make time to check in
and feeds our kitties when neither of us is around for a day.
Brandon and I have turned down more than one invitation to their
alleged parties which is a thinly-veiled reference to their orgy of
the month.  

The parking lot was ten steps from the
front door of the building in which our landlord decorated with
trees and shrubbery to make it seem more lively. Twelve apartments
across three floors, and none of them were small by any stretch.
Each apartment has high ceilings that made the rent pricey.
 

I fumbled through my pockets as I
searched for my keys, unlocking both doors that secured the
entrance which often delayed pizza deliveries. My non-slip shoes
made my steps echo as I tip-toed up the stairs and through the
hallway, announcing to the rest of the second floor that I was
home. Our apartment, 202, was the first on the right. Don and Anne
were away for a couple of days at one of their vacation homes, and
boy was I jealous. Finding the key to our apartment I shoved it in
the top lock, turning to the left which granted me access to my
sanctuary. The wooden floors made cleaning and maintaining the
place easy, and helped with the décor of the kitchen as everything
matched the color brown. The only sound coming was the
refrigerator, which quietly hummed as it rattled against the
counter. I half-expected one of the cats to greet me, but they must
have just eaten and seen no other use for me. I threw down my keys
next to an empty pizza box on the counter, a sign that Brandon had
managed to feed himself, so I threw my purse down on the same spot.
I kicked my shoes off and tugged at my scrubs as I walked toward
our bathroom as I was in desperate need of a shower. I passed
through our laundry room as I stripped off my scrubs, dropping them
by the washer hoping I remember to throw a load in first thing in
the morning. I glanced in the direction of our bedroom which did
not show a single ray of light. It was pitch black.

I shut the bathroom door behind me
just before starting the water in the tub, waiting for the
temperature to get somewhere between hot and scalding. One towel
was left on the rack for me to use, another pile of laundry I
didn’t get to do thanks to being called in today. I stared at
myself in the mirror for a minute while the water adjusted, glaring
at the craters forming underneath my eyes from a lack of proper
sleep. Nursing is a stable career, but I had a feeling I would be
searching feverishly for grey hair sooner than later. Good thing my
legs would always be in shape no matter how much my head felt like
mush at the end of the day. Admiring my legs, I had calves like an
Olympian.

I undid my bra and slid off my panties
dropping them on the floor. The shower head began to spit water as
I turned the faucet. I slid back the animal print shower curtain
and stepped in, hovering directly underneath the shower head
letting the steaming water assault my body as it washed away the
grime of the hospital. I hadn’t even reached for the body wash and
I was already hoping Brandon was still awake for me.

Above my head I reached for the loaf
dangling from the white shower rack, soaking it in water mixed with
lavender-scented body wash. I began at my neck and moved down to my
tits, scrubbing them hard enough to make my nipples rise with
hardness. I thought about Brandon sleeping in the bed just a couple
feet away and what I was going to do to him as soon as I got out of
this shower made the thought all the more enticing. Twelve hours of
administering injections, recording observations, and changing
folly bags worked up my sexual appetite into a frenzy. Peeking at
the photo he sent me a few times throughout my shift only made
things worse. I massaged my stomach and moved down below my waist,
my clit already engorged, begging to be touched. I could have stood
here and let my fingers work their magic in combination with my
shower, but I wanted Brandon on and inside of me.

I shut the water off, not wanting to
waste any more time. I greedily reached for the towel, patting my
body dry then half-ass wrapping the towel around me. Just before I
opened the door, I changed my mind and dropped the towel to the
floor. I wanted to sneak into bed naked and surprise
him.

I left the bathroom light on and
crossed the hall to our bedroom. Our two black cats, Nettie and
Ollie, were curled up on their own bed in the corner where we kept
our books and music. They didn’t even let out a peek as I got on
one knee and crawled into bed, lying on my side as I grazed
Brandon’s uncovered back with my hand. I was already wet and
yearning for his cock. He was wearing his usual sleeping choice of
satin black boxers accompanied with a grid pattern that gave his
balls enough room to breathe but still kept his whole package
presentable.

I pressed my naked chest to his back,
feeling my way around his stomach, searching the inside of his
underwear for my prize. I could not stop my thighs from writhing in
agony, begging to be split open and ravaged. Wishing he would fuck
me until I woke up the entire building, I inhaled sharply when I
wrapped my thumb and two fingers around his soft head. I began to
caress it, finally deciding this would be my way of waking him
up.

Brandon snorted and shifted away from
me, obviously in much of a deeper sleep than I thought. I continued
dancing around the head of his cock, tracing a circle around the
helmet and enticing it as it began standing up. My other hand was
squeezing my left tit anxious to explore the rest of my body. I
licked the back of his neck, and just when I thought he was waking
up, he mumbled something about the litter box and shifted even
farther away from me.

I rolled over on my back, frustrated
and saddened. I knew this was going to happen. I should’ve just
stayed in the shower and let the water bill double its value. I
slowly sat back up, my pussy still heated, but it began to calm
down thanks to the buzz kill of a comatose lover. Blindly searching
through my drawers I found a clean pair of pajama pants and a plain
black t-shirt to match, just enough for me to parade around the
rest of the apartment. I sure as hell wouldn’t be sleeping anytime
soon after that hopeless encounter.

Giving Brandon one last look as he
snore ever so softly, I headed back to the laundry room and threw
in the piles of clothes that needed to be washed. As I started the
cycle, I wrestled with a few different emotions at once. Was it
wrong of me to want more from Brandon? We both worked long and
hard, but our time together was limited, and when we had time,
nothing ever got done. Our relationship reached the point where we
practically had to make an appointment for sex. Of course, I had my
vibrator as it was always ready to go, but it just isn’t the same.
I wanted to fuck and make love to him all at once. . . not get off
from the backup hunk of plastic.

I sauntered back into the kitchen
looking for the bottle of wine I still had from a few nights ago.
While I reached into our cupboard for a glass, I heard a muffled
vibration coming from my purse. I poured a generous portion of my
red Cabernet as Ollie came out to finally greet me, rubbing his
tail against my left leg. I bent down just as I finished with the
bottle and nuzzled his head, making sing-songy noises to his face
that I really don’t feel like sharing. Once Ollie was satisfied he
retreated to his bowl of food, possibly forgetting my existence in
the process.

I took a sip of wine, swirled it, and
reached for my purse as I swallowed. It was Antonio once again
asking me about the Broken Griffin show. I stared at this message,
wondering if I should check to see if Brandon was able to go. I
glanced at the calendar tacked on the freezer, and decided it
didn’t matter.

“
Sure thing!” I replied in
text. “Pick me up at nine,” I added.

Chapter 2

Melinda

The next day Brandon wasn’t even a
factor. He had finished work for the day and reminded me that his
roommate from college was taking him and a few other guys to a
hockey game. He told me we had already spoken about it but of
course, I managed to forget at some point during the barrage of
call-ins and regular work days. We quickly ate breakfast together
while discussing what we wanted to add to the queue on Netflix –
Daredevil was likely our next pick whenever we would finally find a
night to sit around and enjoy it.

As he left in a hurry I managed to
kiss him goodbye before he drifted out for the day. Washing the
dishes I thought of Antonio and what he had in store for me
tonight. I had no fucking clue if I was going to like the sound of
the band, but the combination of music, a bar, and Antonio’s
stories would make this a perfect night.

Finally reaching 8:47 P.M., Antonio
should be here any minute. I had dressed to kill – black lace
corset with red stitching, a strapless bra underneath to show off
my shoulders and neckline, and a black miniskirt to keep things
simple and dark. The pumps I dug out from the back of the closet
added about four inches putting me at roughly five-nine for the
night.  

I studied my reflection in the mirror,
happy with my face. Remembering my skills from High School I drew
on dark makeup in adjacent to my red lips that matched the pattern
on my corset, enough to tell any potential wandering eyes to pay
attention to my face. I kept my chocolate brown hair at
shoulder-length as opposed to pinned up like I usually have it. I
straightened and sprayed it in place, and my choice of wardrobe
made my green eyes stand out like olives in a garden salad. I
sometimes had my self-conscious moments about my stomach, but I
looked damn good tonight.

I touched up on my eyeliner once more
just before hearing a rhythmic knocking at the door, with sign that
Antonio was making a dramatic entrance per usual. I checked the cat
bowls to make sure they were both full and fresh, and lastly
turning off any lights just before walking to the door.

I nearly laughed out loud, but stopped
just short at cupping my mouth. Antonio looked like an extra from
an Anne Rice fan film. His leather pants hugged his crotch so hard,
I hoped for his sake he didn’t get aroused at any point tonight. To
top it off, he wore stylish boots and a dressy button down shirt
with three quarter sleeves, so I’m sure there is no way he was not
going to get hit on this club.

“
Don’t crack your little
laugh at me like that, vampire!” he said in a comically bad
Romanian accent. “Vampire? What?”

“
You came out of the dark,
not me. But I can see why, you’re a walking emo now.”

I opened my mouth wide trying to make
it clear I knew he was joking yet still in awe he said I dressed
emo. We laughed as I locked my door behind me. “You all
set?”

Grabbing my red clutch from my hand,
“Of course I am, and I just want to say I am so happy you are
finally getting out for a night, you deserve it. I even made space
in the passenger seat for you because you mean that much to me,” he
winked.

I ranked pretty high on Antonio’s list
if he took his own purse out of his passenger seat just to make
room for me.

The Avalon was a twenty-minute drive
from my apartment. During the drive Antonio and I traded horror
stories from work over the last few weeks, including a disastrous
occasion with a catheter that resulted in Antonio needing an
emergency rinse-off and clean scrubs.  

“
I told that bitch I don’t
do golden showers unless you pay me top dollar. It’s a hospital,
not a German porn set, you know?” Antonio said as I
laughed.

I was laughing so hard, but that’s
exactly what I needed to take my mind off of what happened with
Brandon the other day. Since Antonio loved to keep my mind off of
things, this worked out well and I am glad that the topic never
came up throughout the car ride. I didn’t feel like getting grilled
about relationship woes on a Friday night . . . I needed to enjoy
some live music. It had been far too long since I had seen a live
band, let alone gone out, so I was way too excited for what Antonio
had in store for me.

The parking lot surrounding the club
was nearly full, but we were directed in by an attendant happy to
take our $15 for the privilege of not getting t-boned on the
street. By the time we awaited our turn to get in, it was 9:15 p.m.
The opening band that was advertised with posters on the outer
windows were wrapping up as we found a seat on stools at a tall
rounded table.

Several dozen people were still
pouring in, while tons of fish netted arms walking past greeted
other fishnet wearers. Looking back at the entrance, one bouncer
was checking licenses while the other checked bags.