It had been three weeks since Eugene and Audrey had had
sex, and he was ready to explode.
He had tried everything, from subtle hints to fancy
dinners. Gradually, he got increasingly direct. Tonight,
he had coated his request in flattery, with a touch of
humor, ribaldry and raw desire, and she still turned him
down.
“Are you playing some kind of game with me?” he said.
“No.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
“I’m not in the mood.”
“You haven’t been in the mood for three weeks.” He
waited for her to respond.
Audrey was a woman of few words in private. The first
time he met her was at a party, and she was charming and
chatty. But on their first date, he sweated blood to
extract a response. So he was used to her terseness.
“What’s wrong?” he said.
“Nothing.”
“Why won’t you have sex with me?”
“I don’t feel like it.”
“Shouldn’t you see a doctor?”
“No.”
“But we can’t go on like this?”
“Why not?”
“Wait a minute. We used to have sex two or three times a
week. We celebrated our 10th anniversary last month. And
all of a sudden, you have no interest in me?”
“I didn’t say I have no interest in you.”
“But you just said you don’t care if we go on like this.
You’re contradicting yourself.”
“No, I’m not. I have an interest in you.”
“But you don’t have an interest in having sex with me.”
“Right.”
“Do you have any idea how this lack of interest
started?”
“No.”
“When did you first realize you didn’t desire me
anymore? Was it something I did?”
“No, it wasn’t something you did, and I don’t know when
I first realized it.”
“Was it exactly three weeks ago, or earlier?”
“Earlier.”
“How much earlier?”
“I don’t know exactly?”
“Was it more than a month?”
“Yes.”
“Was it more than three months?”
“Yes?”
“Wait a minute. Was it more than a year?”
“Yes?”
“But why didn’t you say anything before this?”
“Because, I didn’t want a divorce.”
“But now you do.”
“I’m fine with the way things are.”
“Wait. I want to go back so I get this straight. Has it
been more than five years?”
“Yes.”
“More than 10 years?”
“Yes.”
“Did you ever desire me?”
“I wanted to marry you, didn’t I?”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
“No, I didn’t desire you sexually.”
“Then, why did you marry me?”
“There were other things about you I desired. And you
desired me.”
“Back to divorce. Did you say you don’t want a divorce?”
“No, I said I’m fine with the way things are. But if you
want a divorce, I won’t fight it.”
“You can’t anyway in California. Everything’s split 50-
50. I wonder what the jury would say in a different
state about you deceiving me for more than 10 years. You
say you don’t mind staying together. What am I supposed
to do?”
“I don’t mind if you go to whores, since I won’t have to
worry about catching anything. It’s none of my
business.”
“What about you?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Have you been seeing another man?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“That’s right. You seem to know the law, too, Audrey. If
you’re seeing someone else, all I could do is divorce
you, which you don’t mind, because you’d get half of
everything. But why wouldn’t you want to be with him —
unless maybe he’s married. I don’t really give a damn,
anyway.”
“Is this conversation finished?”
“Yes, Audrey, I’m only going to say this once, but I
have to say it. You are a cold-hearted bitch, but a hell
of an actress. Do you have a lawyer?”
“Yes, it’s Portia.”
“Oh yeah, your friend. So she’s been advising you. I
always thought she was a nice person and felt sorry for
her because her asshole husband runs after every skirt
he sees. I’ve never done that to you. It looks like
you’re about to yawn. OK, we’ll let the lawyers do the
talking.”
***
For some reason, Eugene procrastinated. He woke up the
next morning feeling like a dead man. Everything he had
taken for granted had turned out to be wrong. It was as
if he were a ghost in his own marriage. He walked around
in a daze day after day.
He took care of his needs with some nice looking call
girls, but he felt like an animal being serviced and got
little pleasure from them. He was starting to think that
his whole life was a lie, and a couple of times the
thought of ending it even crossed his mind. The
realization that Audrey would inherit the entire estate
stopped those impulses.
He alternated in feeling sorry for Audrey because
apparently ice flowed in her veins instead of blood to
feeling tremendous anger and rage that she had cheated
him out of true happiness.
He was sitting in a Starbucks bent over his double shot
one afternoon when he felt someone’s eyes on him. He
looked up to see Portia gazing at him from a nearby
table. When she saw him looking back, she smiled until
she saw his face turn dark. He got up and headed for the
door.
“Wait!” she shouted as he was walking down the street.
He stopped and she ran up to him.
“I know I haven’t seen a lawyer yet, Portia,” he said.
“Don’t ask me why.”
“I feel so bad for you, Eugene,” she said. He looked at
her, and her eyes were moist.
“OK, fine, Portia,” he said. “I’m not blaming you for
representing Audrey. She’s your friend. But I shouldn’t
be talking to you. I don’t know what she told you, but
I’m still in shock, and I might say things that you
could use against me. So goodbye.”
“I’m not representing Audrey anymore,” Portia said. “I
can’t tell you anything she told me because it was
privileged, but when I started to ask her some
questions, she clammed up. The next day she called and
told me she decided to use another lawyer because we’ve
known each other as couples. But she doesn’t really need
a lawyer anyway. I think she knows family law as well as
I do.”
“Anyway, I just wanted to tell you how badly I felt for
you, and I also wanted you to know that I’m divorcing
Jake.
“I’m sorry,” said Eugene. “Actually, I take that back.
I’m happy for you, because you’ve always seemed too nice
a person to be punished with a husband like Jake. I’m
sure you’re going to find a wonderful man the second
time around.”
“I hope so,” said Portia. “And I wish you the same with
your second wife.”
“Oh, I don’t know if I’ll ever trust a woman again,” he
said.
“Don’t say that,” she said. “Audrey is not your average
woman. When Jake and I used to get together with the two
of you, we would talk about business, and I found out
she’s totally amoral. That’s one reason why she’s been
so successful. She won’t do anything illegal, but only
because the risk is too great. But she’ll do anything
short of illegal to come out ahead, including cheat.
It’s not even something she thinks about. She’s a
special woman. I don’t think that came out right.”
“No, it’s true,” he said. “She certainly is something
special.” He laughed a hollow laugh. “Thanks for your
good wishes. I’ll see you around.”
***
He called Portia a week later and asked her for a
referral.
“Would you think it strange if I suggested myself?” she
said.
“Could you do that?” he said.
“I’d have to get permission from both Audrey and her
lawyer,” she said. “But if you like the idea, I’ll try.”
The next day, she called and said, “They both said they
didn’t care, so if you want me, I’m yours. I should tell
you that it’s pretty cut and dried. Audrey has prepared
pretty well.”
“What do you mean?” he said. “In this state, there’s not
much she or I can do?”
“You’re wrong,” said Portia. “When you come in, I’ll
tell you what she’s done to you. But you’re right that
there’s not much you can do now. Can you come in early
tomorrow. I’m all booked up, but I’ll come in an hour
before my first appointment if you want.”
The next morning, she told him, “We don’t have much
time, but before we talk about anything else, I need to
tell you about the 10-year rule. When Audrey consulted
me, I asked her if she knew about it, but she didn’t
answer me. I could tell she did, though.”
“What are you talking about,” said Eugene.
“I thought you didn’t know,” said Portia. “In simple
terms, if a woman is married to a man for 10 years in
California, she gets a huge advantage in a divorce. It
could be the man, too, like when the woman is a wealthy
movie star.
“After 10 years, the court considers the spouse more of
an integral part of whatever success the other partner
achieved, and entitled to more. So Audrey will receive
from you, in addition to half your joint assets,
payments that allow her to live in the same style that
she’s been accustomed to.”
“So she stuck it out with me for 10 years so she could
hit the jackpot,” said Eugene.
“Well, she can point out that when you were married,
both of you had nothing except student loans to pay
off,” said Portia, “but everyone who knew you in school
felt you had a high probability for success.”
The talked about legalities, options, timing and costs,
and the hour was soon almost gone. “I haven’t even had a
chance to get your history,” said Portia, “but if you
like fish, you can come over tonight and we can work
during dinner.”
“Thanks,” said Eugene, “but I know you like Indian, so
I’m picking some up on the way over. And I know we’re
sort of friends, but I insist that you bill me for
tonight.”
“OK,” said Portia, “but I won’t bill you for the chewing
and swallowing time, although we do have a computer
program in the office that does that.”
***
Dinner was a group therapy session. First, Eugene told
Portia his life story. He broke down several times when
he told her how he met and fell in love with Audrey and
about their seemingly happy marriage. Now he was
beginning to notice some tell-tale signs, such as her
postponing starting a family, but he still couldn’t
understand how someone could pretend to love someone
else for 10 years. And he blamed himself for not seeing
through her.
Portia tried to comfort him. She told him about some of
her unusual family law cases, and said that she had
handled more than a dozen cases where the wife not only
didn’t love the husband, but used him as a baby-making
money machine. Once the kids were out of college, she
quickly divorced the husband, who often had no clue that
she had never loved him.
Then Portia told him her story, about how she found out
that Jake had started cheating within a year after their
marriage. Though she was tough as nails at work, she was
afraid to face her personal failure and get her own
divorce. She bitterly talked about some of the
humiliation she put up with for years.
“You know, it was Audrey coming in to see me that
finally pushed me to do what I should have done eight
years ago,” she said. She was thoughtful for a moment
and took a deep breath.
“Eugene,” she said, “I’m hesitating to tell you this,
because it makes no difference to your legal situation.
But I can’t help thinking of you more as a good friend
than a client, and I know that somehow or other you will
find out, and then it will be another shock. I think
hearing this from me here tonight will soften it a
little bit. But you have to promise me you won’t do
anything rash if I tell you.”
“What are you talking about, Portia?” he said. “It’s
something about me and Audrey, isn’t it? I’ll bet it’s
another man. I’ve been thinking there’s got to be
something else, unless Audrey is a sexless robot. But I
don’t care who he is at this point, and I’m not angry at
him. I guess I’m curious, that’s all. So I won’t track
him down and kill him, if that’s what you’re worried
about.”
“It’s a little different than you think,” said Portia.
“Did you have any idea that Audrey was bisexual? The
other man is really a woman, and her name would mean
nothing to you, so I’m not even going to tell you.
Audrey never talked to me or her other friends about her
friend, but we found out and know all about them.
They’ve been together at least eight or nine years.”
“A woman,” he said. “I was thinking back and could never
remember Audrey flirting with another man. But I never
would have guessed it was a woman, because of how she
was with me in bed. Of course, now I realize that was
just an act, but I still can’t get over how good an act
it was.”
“Does that upset you more than a man?” said Portia. “Are
you homophobic?”
“No,” he said. “It makes no difference who it was. She’s
the one I’m angry at. Actually, I’m thinking she’s not
bisexual. Since she didn’t like sex with me and never
sought out another man, she must be a lesbian. That
means she was even a better actress than I thought.”
“I never told anybody, but when we first met, Audrey
came on to me,” said Portia. “I think it was either
before she knew her lady friend, or they weren’t really
together yet. She got me all red in the face at lunch
one day when she was trying to seduce me and tell me it
would make no difference to our husbands because she
wasn’t a man.
“I didn’t know what to do, so I told her I was
flattered, but I couldn’t do that to Jake and you. I
already knew Jake was running around, so I was really
thinking of you, and I really felt sorry for you then.
Afterward, I thought to myself that I should have told
her I wasn’t bisexual so there were no
misunderstandings. But then I heard about her and her
friend, and they’ve been monogamous as far as I can
tell.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have used that word considering
how she was deceiving you. Whenever Jake and I got
together with Audrey and you, I enjoyed your company,
but I always had a tear in my eye when we went home,
because I felt so bad for you. There, that’s all of the
true confessions I can think of for tonight.
“Thank you, Portia,” he said. “Despite the psychodrama,
this has been a wonderful evening. I hope I haven’t
intruded on your private life. I feel that because of
your friendship, I’m getting much more from my lawyer
than I’m paying for.”
She ignored his words, but he saw her wiping a tear from
her eye. “Speaking of money,” she said, “I want to wind
this up quickly, because the more I drag it out, the
more it will cost you. I think I have all the
information I need for now. I’ll call you if there are
any questions, and when I’m ready to lay everything out
for you, my secretary will schedule an appointment.”
***
The call came two weeks later. The secretary said that
Audrey was overbooked for the next week but didn’t want
to delay seeing him, and would it be all right if they
met at her house for dinner the next night. He was not
to bring anything, except a bottle of wine.
After the plates had been cleared, Portia put a large
folder of papers in front of her. “This is it, and it’s
all ready to go whenever you want to file,” she said. “I
didn’t date anything yet, and you can take your time
going through everything. The news isn’t good. There’s
no legal way she’s not going to get half of everything,
plus those healthy lifestyle payments for staying with
you 10 years. I hope you can afford them.
“By the way, even though I think I’ve researched every
possible legal way to change the settlement, I may have
overlooked something, and I don’t mind at all if you
take all these papers to another lawyer or two for their
opinions. I’ve done all the work for them, so they can
get the picture quickly and shouldn’t charge too much.”
“I’m sure I don’t need to do that,” he said.
“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” she said. “I really
wish I thought there was even a slight chance for
another lawyer to find something I missed. I feel so bad
for you.”
“It’s funny,” he said, “listening to you right now, do
you know what I picked up on? I think you said it twice,
something to the effect that there’s no legal way to
fight this. What popped into my mind was, is there an
illegal way?”
She laughed. “Yes, I thought about that, too, when I was
working on this,” she said. “What could you do that
might not be legal? The only thing I could think of was
blackmail. Do you want to hear what I was fantasizing
about?”
“I’d love to,” he said.
“Well then, the consultation part of this evening is
over, and we’re moving to the living room. What I’m
about to tell you has nothing to do with my profession,
and I’m not advising you in any way. You’re just going
to listen to the sick ravings of a demented mind. Is
that understood?”
They sat down facing each other. She looked at him and
laughed again. “You are so innocent and naive,” she
said. “You would never be a good lawyer.
“I was thinking to myself, if you had something on her,
you could use it against her. But what could it be? It
couldn’t be her cheating on you with her girlfriend,
because this is a no-fault state, and she knows it. You
could out her and maybe cause a little embarrassment,
because it’s obvious she keeps that part of her life
private. But enough people already know about it that
you couldn’t do much damage. She probably knows that,
too.
“That made me think of embarrassment. Since we both know
her so well, we know that she is deathly afraid of any
kind of mortification and humiliation. I’m sure she
hasn’t been able to hide that from you for 10 years. So
if there was a way you could threaten her with exposing
something that would embarrass her in front of the
world, maybe you could get rid of the extra payment.
“That’s where I got stuck in my blackmail scheme. I
can’t think of anything like that. In your 10 years
together, can you think of anything she did that would
make her vulnerable to humiliation or contempt if you
exposed it?”
“No,” he said. “I’m excited about your extra-legal idea,
but you’re right. She was so protective of herself. She
would do strange things sometimes just to avoid the
slightest chance she could be embarrassed. I’ll think
about it some more, but I doubt I’ll come up with
anything.”
“Too bad,” she said and laughed. “I guess I won’t lose
my license for helping you commit a crime after all.”
After that, the talk turned to their personal lives. He
still hadn’t found anyone he wanted to date and
confessed that he had been using call girls and feeling
horrible about it. She told him to be careful about
disease and said she felt sad about him being
conflicted, but she also felt glad, because it confirmed
what she felt about his character.
As for her, she had dates now and then, but she hadn’t
found someone she wanted to see again, even though there
had been some interest from a couple of men. When he
left, she gave him a hug and kissed him on the cheek. He
looked at her and saw her eyes were teary.
“Don’t worry about me, Portia,” he said. “I’ll be all
right. I’m still not ready to make a move, but now I
know that once I can talk sense to myself, it will go
fast because of all the work you’ve done.”
***
That was the last time Eugene spoke to her for three
weeks. He couldn’t seem to drag himself out of the rut
he was in. One morning at the office, he received a call
from her, and she spoke fast in an excited voice. “I’ve
got some interesting news for you,” she said, “but I’m
booked until about 9 tonight. Can you meet me then. I’ll
stay at the restaurant after my meeting and call you as
soon as I’m free and you can come over. It’s not far
from your house.”
When he sat down, he saw her eyes were blazing.
“The restaurant’s almost empty, but it doesn’t close for
an hour,” she said, “so we can have coffee and talk. You
won’t believe this.
“I’ve talked to Audrey five times in the last three
days. At first, I wasn’t going to tell you, but I
decided I had to. So I told her how much I liked you,
and I shouldn’t even be talking to her because I was
disgusted with her for what she did to you. She had no
response other than shifting right back to what she was
interested in. So I don’t feel as guilty now since she
knows how I feel. I’m still a bad girl, though.” She
giggled.
“What?” he said.
“First, her girlfriend dumped her. Well, the way she put
it was her friend accepted a good job in another city
without even thinking about her. She said her friend
knows how critical it is for her to stay in her career
path for the next few years. She would lose everything
by moving.
“When she told me how inconsiderate and selfish her
friend was, I couldn’t help telling her, ‘It sounds to
me like she’s a cold-hearted bitch who thinks only of
herself.’ She looked at me, and she knew exactly what I
was saying, but she ignored it.
“Let me go back. This all started with a call at work.
She was crying so hard, I could barely understand her.
She pleaded with me to have dinner with her that night,
and I agreed, even though I don’t consider her a friend
anymore.
“She told me the whole story at dinner and had a good
cry. And then things really got weird. Guess who’s the
prospective replacement for her lover? You’re looking at
her.
“I reminded her that I don’t go that way, but she
started in on how Jake had used me, and how I obviously
hadn’t found anyone to replace him yet. Then she started
up on how men just wanted one thing, and their brains
were between their legs. She even mentioned you and your
call girls, and that got me really angry for some
reason.
“She told me she was loyal and would never cheat on a
lover — I guess she doesn’t count you as a lover — and
that she knows she could fulfill me both physically and
emotionally. You know how persuasive she can be when
she’s trying. Well, she pulled out all the stops.
“I didn’t respond at all. In fact, I kept shooting her
down. Finally, I could see the restaurant was anxious to
get rid of us, and I told her I had to go. She begged me
— right in front of the staff — to see her the next
night and said she might do something drastic to herself
if I wouldn’t. For some reason, I agreed.
“I thought about her a couple of times during the next
day, and I was more prepared for her. She wanted to come
to my house, and I told her OK, but no monkey business.
She promised.
“I pretended that I was curious about lesbian sex and
started asking questions. I got more and more specific.
You know how she clams up whenever conversations get
personal, but she told me every detail I wanted to know
about her and her lover: what they did, how they did it,
how she felt about her. I think she thought it would
help her seduce me.
“It turns out that the Audrey we know is a lot different
than the Audrey in her relationship. She was totally
subservient to her partner, almost a slave. She even
told me that her lover had betrayed her many times.
Sometimes she was forced to watch her with another
woman. Sometimes she forced Audrey to participate in
degrading sex, and sometimes Audrey had to put on shows
for her with other women that also involved humiliation.
“I couldn’t believe my ears. I told her, `You would
never have put up with something like this from Eugene.
How can you be so forceful and self-confident in all
your relationships at work and in your marriage and let
your lover do that to you?’
“You know what she said. She would do the same for me if
I would take her. She would devote herself to making me
love her by doing everything I asked, no matter what.
“I asked her if she really enjoyed being degraded, and
she said, no, she hated it. She said she was sure I
wouldn’t be as cruel as her previous lover, and she
would teach me a pure love that was — how did she put
it — so exciting that I would feel like I was exploding
like a rocket and so warm and comforting that no matter
what happened to me at work, I would know that she would
heal me that evening. What a sales pitch!
“Now comes the part where I turn into an evil witch. You
know what I thought about after the second meeting? I
thought, maybe there’s some way I can take advantage of
her crazy infatuation and find a way for you to
blackmail her. She gave me so much ammunition with the
story of her relationship. There has to be something we
could use. And I found out just how much she cares about
her position and career, because even though she was
totally dominated by her girlfriend, she wouldn’t
destroy her career to follow her.
“I twisted and turned that information around in my mind
so many ways, you wouldn’t believe it. And I came up
with some great schemes for you to get revenge, or at
least get a better deal on the divorce. I feel so
strange. I’m disgusted with myself and excited at the
same time. And I couldn’t wait to tell you.”
“I guess I’m slow,” said Eugene, “because I don’t see
how we can do anything?”
“I’m always shutting down restaurants lately,” she said.
“I can see they want to go home. Do you want to come
over to my house? Audrey’s still living with you,
right?”
“Yes, she is,” he said. “I stupidly haven’t even looked
at the papers you gave me.”
“Well, don’t look at them now.” she said. “I’ll meet you
at my house in 30 minutes.”
When she opened the door, Eugene saw that Portia had
changed clothes. She wasn’t wearing anything revealing,
but the material of her dress was clinging to her in a
way that emphasized every curve. He realized again what
a beautiful woman she was and wished he had met her
before she had met Jake and before he had met Audrey.
She made some coffee, and then they started discussing
conspiracies. “She knows how I feel about her and you,”
said Portia. “I’m sure of it. But she knows what she
wants, and that doesn’t matter to her. She’s called me a
few times after the second meeting, and she’s trying
different approaches, but each one has only one purpose.
“What I was thinking is what if she did become obedient
to me, and what if I made her do some disgusting things,
and what if I videotaped them. At first, I was thinking
of doing the videos in secret, but then I thought, why
should I? I’ll even have her help me with setting up the
cameras and everything. I won’t hide anything. Either
she’ll do it for me or she won’t.
“If she does, I’ll gather some really embarrassing video
recordings of her and give them to you, and you can use
them against her. I can’t believe I’m saying this.”
“What a fantasy!” said Eugene. “You’ve got me excited. I
can’t believe you’re even thinking of doing that for me.
You’re such a wonderful person!”
“Please shut up with the wonderful person stuff,
Eugene,” said Portia. “As you can see, I’m as evil and
conniving a bitch as Audrey is.”
“I’m sorry, Miss Horrible Person,” he said. “But I will
treasure the thought that you would sacrifice yourself
in such a disgusting way for me.”
“What do you mean?” she said. “I would have a great time
humiliating her.”
“Yes, that part sounds good, but you’re not thinking of
the stuff that goes with it,” he said.
“Like what?”
“Like, you’d have to agree to be her lover. And for her
to agree to do the humiliating stuff, you’d have to
agree to do the other stuff with her. I couldn’t ask you
to do that. You told me yourself that it’s not for you.”
“Now I see what you’re talking about, Eugene,” she said.
“Yes, you’re right. That’s how I used to think a long
time ago.” She laughed. “Yes, last week.
“But I’ve been thinking it over, and Audrey does make
some points. Like I haven’t really had a man approach me
who I wanted to sleep with since Jake and I split. And
I’m not like you — or I should say like a man — who
can just hire someone to take care of my needs.
“I’ve never desired a woman, but the idea of having sex
with a woman doesn’t disgust me either. I guess I’m
neutral. I’m looking at it as a learning experience.
What is the downside? She’s not going to get me pregnant
or give me a disease. Maybe I’ll be turned off, but
maybe I’ll enjoy it a little, maybe only because it will
be so different. I’m not thinking this is going to be a
sacrifice for me. Do you find that strange?”
“Frankly, yes,” Eugene said. “I guess I will never
understand how women think. So you are really ready to
go through with this?”
“Yes, I think I am, and part of my excitement is
thinking about sharing everything I do with you at my
progress reports. It like I’m Scheherezade and telling
you a new story each night, although we can’t get
together every night. I’m thinking about whether you’ll
be excited by my stories. Maybe you’ll get so turned on
that — I don’t know — maybe you’ll lose control and
… I mean, maybe you’ll have to call up one of your
girls and get together with her right away. No, I don’t
want to watch.” She laughed.
“Well, you have my blessing if you want to do this,” he
said. “But I have a feeling after you think about it for
a while, you’ll calm down and be more rational. This is
too weird.”
“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” she said. “I’ve
got to go now. I have some early appointments. I’ll call
you when I have something to report.”
***
He didn’t hear from Portia for two weeks and decided
that she must have gotten cold feet. But whenever he
thought about her and her scheme, it put a smile on his
face. She was really a lot crazier than he had thought
she was. Although they rarely exchanged a word, he saw
Audrey around the house occasionally, and she didn’t
look any different. But then, he thought, she never did
look different. She can hide anything.
“I can’t talk,” said Portia’s voice when he picked up
her call. She was speaking so low, she was almost
whispering. “She’s in the bathroom, and I may hang up in
a hurry. I’ve got to see you. You won’t believe — oops,
bye.”
The next morning, she called him at work. “Audrey has a
long evening appointment tonight,” she said, “and then
she’s going straight home. But just in case, let’s meet
at that Denny’s outside the mall, I mean the big mall
right outside of town. I’ll see you at 7.”
She was once again wearing a dress that didn’t show much
but clung to her so tightly that it really showed
everything. She is so sexy, he thought, and she is
glowing.
“You look great,” he said. “Better than I’ve ever seen
you.”
“I’m going to blush,” she said. “It’s all because of
lesbian sex. It’s too bad you can never experience it.
I’ve had some amazing orgasms since I last saw you, and
I think it’s improved my digestion, my skin and my
attitude. I feel radiant.”
“You look radiant,” he said. “So it sounds like you’ve
fallen in love with Audrey.”
“Quite the contrary,” she said. “Lesbian love is great
all right, but I still need a big, hot — oops. I don’t
mean to be crude. Anyway, let’s just say that I think
I’ve experienced the best of what lesbian love offers,
and I really like it, but I like men more. Each to his
own. So are you interested in hearing about it?”
They sat in the corner and barely ate their burgers as
they talked nearly four hours. Every hour, he gave the
waitress $15 to pour coffee and keep people away. The
place was almost deserted anyway, so that wasn’t hard.
As she told him her stories, she sometimes had to stop
and laugh at the expression on his face. “Your jaw is
going to fall all the way to the floor,” she said once.
Sometimes he had to laugh at some of the sillier things
she did and how seriously Audrey responded. Sometimes
they both laughed at the same time, and once a delighted
Portia leaned over and impulsively kissed him on the
cheek and said, “Even if nothing ever comes of this, it
was worth it to see you happy and smiling again.”
She told him how her strategy was to reject Audrey at
first. But sure enough, Audrey persisted and gradually,
Portia allowed herself to be worn down.
The first date was a riot. Audrey was earnestly trying
to create a romantic mood of seduction, and Portia would
torment her by playing clueless. The evening ended in
frustration for Audrey.
When they finally consummated on the third date, Audrey
pulled out all the stops and Portia climaxed at least
eight times at her count. She said Audrey was in
ecstasy. For a while, she let Audrey take the lead and
introduce her to all the ways she could be pleasured,
and she learned quickly how to pleasure Audrey back.
Then slowly Portia began taking command. It started with
her suggesting some of her favorite things to Audrey,
which Audrey eagerly responded to. After a while, Portia
directed their lovemaking sessions. Sometimes Audrey
would make a request, and Portia would grant it. She
consciously lowered the percentage of times she allowed
Audrey to have what she wanted, and now it was around 30
per cent, but Audrey hadn’t complained yet.
When Portia had absorbed everything Audrey could teach
her, she started trying other things that Audrey hadn’t
mentioned. That’s when she found out there were things
Audrey didn’t like. One of them was fingers in the
vagina, which she thought was too much like a man making
love. Fingers in the anus were even worse.
Audrey loved to give and receive cunnilingus, but she
had a phobia about touching her tongue anywhere below
the vagina. She was deathly afraid to have any contact
with Portia’s anus or let Portia touch hers. She told
Portia that it was even more disgusting than swallowing
semen. “But I found out that she swallowed your semen
for 10 years without complaining,” said Portia, “so she
can do anything if she has enough motivation.”
The other thing Audrey hated was anything that involved
pain, even slightly. Her old girlfriend had enjoyed
slapping her and spanking her in their sessions, and she
put up with it even though she hated it. She told Portia
she was so glad that she wasn’t sadistic, like her old
lover.
“I said that I had thought once or twice about spanking
and slapping her and squeezing her breasts after she
told me about her old girlfriend,” said Portia. “Would
she mind if I tried it to see if it turned me on. You
know what she said? She said she knows I’m more loving,
and she wouldn’t mind at all. I tried a couple of spanks
one time, and I could tell it bothered her, but she
didn’t try to stop me. She’ll really do anything I say.
“I think I’m at the end of the preliminary stage now,
and I’m slowly going to ask more often for things she
doesn’t like. She’s already agreed to letting me make
videos of our lovemaking. In fact, we are learning how
to set up cameras and lighting now, and she’s excited
about editing the videos together and watching them
while we play with each other. I pretended to torment
her, and I asked her how she’d feel if I showed the
videos to you. She didn’t say anything. Whenever I bring
up your name, which isn’t often, she clams up.”
They were swaying like two happy drunks when they left
Denny’s, even though they’d only been drinking coffee
and water.
***
The next progress report took place at Portia’s home in
the living room, where she showed Eugene some videos and
added her comments.
“Look at the expression on her face, when I stuck the
third finger into her vagina,” said Portia. “She’s
really disgusted and mortified. See how she’s looking
into the camera with that horrified expression. She
forgot it was there. When she remembered, she turned
away and hid her face. But she forgot that the camera on
the other side was still on her face.
“And here I’m putting a second finger into her anus. At
first she’s hysterical, but I stroked her with my other
hand until she calmed down. Notice, I never took the
fingers out. In a second I’ll start moving them a
little. I alternate the humiliation with sessions where
I give her everything she wants. I wonder what she’d do
if was mean to her all the time.
“Look at how red I got her ass in this video. When I was
spanking her, I was thinking of you and how many spanks
equaled a month of what she did to you, and how many
equaled a year. You notice that even though she’s
screaming like crazy, I have no sympathy at all. I
wasn’t faking that for the camera. She told me after
that session, she couldn’t sit down without pain for
five days, so I think I’ll have to cut back next time.
“Slapping is the same. You see, I can’t slap her as much
as I’d like, because I’d injure her. As I was slapping
her, I was thinking, I wish I could slap some sense into
you so you’d beg your husband for forgiveness.”
When the videos were finished and Portia turned the
lights up, Eugene’s eyes were glazed. “Wake up!” she
said. “Show’s over!”
“I’m stunned,” he said in a quiet voice. “I can’t
believe that’s Audrey, that’s the woman I’m still
married to. She looks the same as Audrey, but she’s
nothing like Audrey.”
“That’s the real Audrey,” said Portia. “Don’t forget why
I’m doing this — I mean in addition to enjoying every
minute of it. I’m so evil, and you’re so good.” She
grabbed his face and kissed him on the cheek.
She smells so good, he thought. I’d like to grab her and
make love to her right now. It must be the videos that
got me so worked up. But I can’t ruin our friendship.
I’ll call up someone when I leave.
When he left her house, she said, “I’ve got a business
trip next week, and Audrey’s going to join me at a
resort on the weekend. I’m thinking about what I can do
to humiliate her there. I know she’s modest, but I think
she’s going to be buying some bikinis where I shop, so
she’s going to have to let everything hang out.
“I’ll call you for another video session in two or three
weeks. By that time, I hope I’ll have what you need.”
***
She had everything he needed and more. He watched videos
of Portia fisting Audrey in the vagina and anus day
after day, each time in a slightly different position.
Sometimes two hands were in one hole or the other.
Sometimes one hand was in one hole, and the other in the
second. A few times Portia managed to get her entire arm
up to the shoulder into Audrey’s anus. “I saw that
online and didn’t believe it,” she said, “but it can be
done. Did you notice that you can see Audrey’s face in
sharp focus, but all you can see of me is my arms and
hands some naked breast? I edited the video so it’s
Internet ready.
The most horrible video was the one where she forced
Audrey to eat her anus out and pretend as if she loved
the taste. She told Audrey that she hadn’t washed there
in two days and had been holding back just so Audrey
could really enjoy herself. Audrey did an incredible job
of acting right after she almost threw up, but Portia
wasn’t satisfied. She kept telling her she wasn’t making
it sexy enough. She had to act as if eating out Portia’s
ass was the most thrilling thing in the world.
Eugene was amazed that Audrey got better each time she
did it, until by the last take, he could almost believe
she loved it if he hadn’t seen the earlier ones. “That’s
the one we’ll use right after I explain how dirty my ass
was,” said Portia. “Of course, I lied to her. I cleaned
myself out really well before doing that scene. I was so
clean you could have eaten dinner from inside me, so to
speak. But after I watched that one, I was so disgusted
that even I couldn’t make her do that again.”
“Thank goodness,” he said. He was breathing heavily, and
when he looked at Portia, she was, too. They sat there
looking at each other for a few minutes as they calmed
down.
Finally, he said, “Well, what next?”
“I was thinking about that,” she said. “I would love it
if you let me present the case to her as your lawyer,
although in this case I’m your accomplice in extortion.
Is that OK? I want to see her reaction. You know,
although I know her sexual side pretty well now, she is
so unpredictable in other ways that I have no idea what
she’ll say.”
“You’ve got the job,” he said. “I’m actually relieved. I
don’t know if I’d have the guts to carry this off. I’d
much rather stay quiet and let you do the talking.”
The next day they knew Audrey would be home at night,
Portia called her when she was leaving work and said she
was coming over. Audrey protested that Eugene was home,
but Portia said she had to see her right away and
wouldn’t take no for an answer.
He stayed in his home office until Audrey came and told
him Portia wanted him to join them. He tried to keep a
straight face.
They sat down in the living room, and Portia went
through her presentation. She explained it without any
frills, from the plot to the execution to the
consequences for Audrey. She would get 50 per cent of
the assets and no more. Portia finished and looked at
Eugene quickly, then focused on Audrey.
Audrey had ignored him the entire time and gazed only at
Portia. He didn’t see her face change expression once,
even when Portia spoke in terms so graphic that he was a
little shocked.
No one spoke for a while. Then Audrey calmly turned to
him.
“I’ve been thinking about this, Eugene,” she said, “and
I’ve come up with a solution. None of us, especially me,
is going to like it, but I think it will work. You will
divorce me and marry Portia and have kids with her. I
will have at least a few hours alone with her once a
week every week, except when she’s on a family vacation.
“As for the money, I don’t care. I’m making plenty. I’ll
give you as much of our assets as you want. If you want
more than 50 per cent, Portia can decide how much you
can get without the court getting suspicious that you
took advantage of me.”
Portia and Eugene looked at each other and looked at
her. Eugene decided Audrey must be in shock and denial.
She was making no sense. Portia must have been thinking
the same thing.
“Maybe I need to go over some things again, Audrey,” she
said. “I don’t think you understood what I was saying.”
“I understood you perfectly,” said Audrey, “and you know
I don’t like to waste time with a lot of hot air. So
I’ll try to make my explanation brief.
“I figured you were making those videos for Eugene, and
I didn’t care. Yes, I did originally plan to get extra
money from our divorce, but now that doesn’t matter. I
don’t care if Eugene and I stay married or get divorced.
I think you love him, and he loves you, but I don’t care
if you marry him or not. All I care about is being with
you for the rest of my life, even if it’s only once a
week.”
“But that’s not going to happen, Audrey,” said Portia.
“Now you know our fling was only for one purpose. It’s
over.”
“Maybe,” said Audrey, “but think about this. Despite
your threats, I know you and Eugene would never put
those videos on the Internet, because you’re both too
decent to destroy someone that way — even me. But you
know I’m not like you.
“You talked about editing yourself out, Portia, but you
didn’t notice that I made copies of the originals on my
computer when you were in the bathroom. They show your
face as well as mine. You wouldn’t do it to me, but if
you tried to leave me, I think I might be capable of
posting the videos of us. My life would be over anyway,
so maybe I would drag you down with me.
“Maybe this will tell you how I feel. When I watch those
videos, I feel nothing but pain and humiliation, and I
want to tear you to pieces, Portia. And then I see you,
and I melt. All I want to do is adore you.
“I don’t care what you make me do, even if it’s a lot
worse than you’ve already done. You can hate me for this
and hurt me as much as you want. The only thing you
can’t do is leave me.”
She turned to Eugene. “You know,” she said, “I never
could understand your feelings for me, but I think now I
may have some idea what real love is. No matter what she
does to me, I will do anything to keep her, even if it
means sharing her with you.
“I was never religious, as you know, but now I pray to
God every night to thank him for having Carol leave town
so I could find the one person in the world that I would
do anything for.”
Audrey got up and went into the kitchen. Eugene and
Portia looked at each other. His mind was racing in
every direction, and his head was hurting from all the
thoughts running through it. He felt he should say
something, but he didn’t know what to say. Portia had a
legal mind. She would think of something. But she looked
distraught and wasn’t saying anything either.
After 15 minutes of silence, Audrey walked back in the
room. “Take as long as you want,” she said, “but until
Portia asserts her authority, it looks like I’m going to
have to take charge for a while. And I’m hungry, so
we’re all going out for dinner. We may be spending a lot
of time together from now on, and I need to practice
being nice to Eugene for Portia’s sake. I’m treating.”
She went to the door and turned around and looked at
them expectantly. Portia and Eugene looked at each other
and then slowly got up.