Chapter 36

With the abundance of people and the equipment, Rachel hired a jet to fly them to Paris. Only Trevor didn’t join them, pointing out he didn’t have a European driver’s license. Eddie protested, and Trevor would miss him, but Trevor pointed out the drummer they hired turned out to be bisexual. Even better for Rachel and Eddie.

The drummer being distracted by Rachel and Eddie was a blessing for Joe. He couldn’t help noticing the man’s interest in the others. The worst being Charlie. But the man’s libido getting tapped by those two, or the man finding a groupie to play with, kept Joe from firing him. He was a nice enough guy and a capable drummer, but Joe was never all that comfortable with him. Unfortunately getting rid of him with no real reason would have made Eddie very unhappy. Eddie needed to be confident of the players behind him. Joe would have to wait until the tour ended to find a replacement.

The old, restored chateau at the edge of Paris delighted everyone. They would remain there for a week before beginning the tour in Britain. Days exploring Paris. Evenings rehearsing. Some nights they worked late, Eddie using his studio to record the new MIRE songs and Rhonda’s newest songs. Other nights they’d return to Paris to enjoy the nightlife. At least the adults, although Charlie joined them a couple times. It wasn’t exactly a respite before the tour began. But it did create a creative energy.

The combined tours, MIRE featuring Rhonda, and Joe’s readings and signings, began in London. As promised, Joanne and Joe stayed at Gayle’s flat all three nights. The final one joined by Liang. Not the first choice of wives for Gayle, but she certainly didn’t mind. Liang being charming and having her own version of a spectacular body.

Liang volunteered for the visit. A sexy addition when Cheryl decided not to join the threesome. “I have been with Hal,” Cheryl explained. “For a reason, and not to be a slut.”

“I know,” Joe smiled and kissed her.

“Are you proud of me?”

“Always,” Joe responded, kissing her again.

When it ended, she giggled. “I was angling for something more specific.”

“You know I’m glad you’re helping him and diverting his attention from Charlie. I’m glad you feel it’s more fulfilling and not just a bit of fun. But I’ve always told you your promiscuity was beneficial. Bestowing your beauty and talent on others. Lucky recipients. Making their lives better, even if for a moment. They can relive it as much as they want.”

“Wanking to the memory,” Cheryl giggled.

“Yep.”

“Can I go?” Liang volunteered.

“Be my attack dog?”

“Please?”

“Of course.”

“Even if she’ll be disappointed.”

“She won’t be Yanhuo,” Cheryl giggled and kissed her. “Not in the least.”

And Gayle wasn’t. Not in the least. Especially when two dildos fucked her while she tasted Liang on Joe’s cock.

The following morning, the telephone rang in Gayle’s flat. Gayle handed Joe the phone. “Jonny needs Cyn,” Cheryl sniffled.

“When is she leaving?” Joe asked.

“This afternoon.”

“You want me to join you?”

“Please.”

They needed to be in Edinburgh in the evening. “I’ll take care of it,” said Joanne. “She leaving from Heathrow I presume.”

It ended up being Gatwick. A commuter jet to Amsterdam where the big jet would fly her across the proverbial pond. Joanne arranged another commuter jet to Edinburgh from there. Just Joe and Cheryl after their shared goodbyes to Cynthia. The rest of the entourage would drive up in a rented tour bus and a limo. Both with rented drivers. Taking their time, because MIRE’s show would be the following evening.

The tour of Britain met with surprising success. It helped that they’d played live on the BBC for their first gig there. Also Rachel booked smaller clubs. Also, with both Joanne’s and Cheryl’s help, she had been wise in her choice of promotion. Like the on the air gig.

MIRE wasn’t quite as successful in Amsterdam, their next stop. Though Eddie had a blast sampling the wares at the “coffee houses.” Joe proved the more interesting for the public. Enough for Rachel to book an auditorium for Joe to do a reading. The first time combining his prose and poetry. Additions of every book were available in the lobby. Some were presigned by Joe for the more impatient. He signed others after his reading well into the night. Nearly every book sold out. The first being No Contest, both the translated version and the English one. The next, soon after was the poetry collection. Then the play. Only a couple copies of the trilogy remained, and a box full of moms. It had been by far the most plentiful of the books, and actually did sell more than the others.

The tour of Scandinavia returned MIRE to full houses. Again, live performances proceeded them. As it would in most countries they visited. Joe read from No Contest and had a translator. He sold many copies of the older translated book. And a few of hers, untranslated.

That was the model for the tour. Live TV. Successful concerts. Joe reading from No Contest. Signing translations and a few copies of moms.

Paris was different. For one, it had a huge fan base for Eddie. Enough to turn things around, having Rhonda be the guest. Eddie biting the bullet and playing a lot more of his older stuff. A weekend stint, and a brief tour of the provinces.

For another, Joe was popular as well. No Contest. And moms had had its first translation and been selling extremely well. Topping the charts. And Joe, who had studied French in high school and college, and had prepared, restudying the language he hadn’t looked at in years, read from both translations. No Contest and moms. His accent forgiven enough for his efforts to be well approved. Another signing at least in Paris that went well past closing. Speaking in French except for those who approached him speaking English. Appreciating his efforts to speak their language the way only French people could, proud of it to the point of arrogance. Letting him off the hook.

The reading, the first event upon their return to Paris, also brought out another young woman needing saving. Eloise, or El as she preferred, never Elly, looked to be about Essie’s age. Short and petite. Shaggy dark hair just reaching her shoulders. Small perky breasts and tight young ass. Obvious in her clothing. A clingy baby blue baby-doll t-shirt revealing her slim tummy. Tight cut-off jeans barely covering her ass cheeks. A cute elfin face with intense blue eyes. Somewhere between the light blue shirt and the dark blue jeans. Tears pouring from them and over her high cheekbones, threatening to drip from her subtly pronounced chin.

“What’s wrong?” Joe asked her in French when she approached with a copy of moms to sign.

“Too close,” she murmured, gesturing to the book.

Joe nodded sadly. “What’s your name?”

“El,” she swallowed. “Eloise.”

“Eloise okay?”

“Yes,” she smiled.

He wrote in English “To Sweet Eloise: Things can only get better, Joe Solomon” and handed it back to her.

“What does it mean?” she asked.

“My friend can tell you,” he smiled. He had caught Liang’s eye. Liang who spoke great French. She was already prepared to intervene.

“Want to talk?” Liang asked her.

“Okay.”

“Outside?”

“Yes please.”

Passing through the electronic posts set off the alarm. Liang immediately held Eloise to keep her form bolting. “It’s okay,” she insisted.

“But...”

“I know. It’s okay.”

Liang saw the guard approach. “Turn off the fucking alarm,” she growled.

“But...”

“Now!”

“Yes Mademoiselle.”

The manager approached. Liang handed him money. “Keep the change,” she muttered and led Eloise outside.

As soon as they stepped onto the sidewalk, Eloise’s hand entered her tiny purse and pulled out some bills. “I can pay you back,” she blushed.

Liang laughed. “Not necessary, but you could have paid for it.”

“Uhm, sorry.”

Liang’s laugh continued. “For what? Joe would have gotten his cut no matter if you paid or not. Hungry?”

“Starved,” the cute elf smiled.

“Beautiful,” Liang murmured.

“What?”

“Sorry.”

“You called me beautiful?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t mind,” she giggled.

“It’s just ... it’s caused you trouble.”

“Yes ... but not from girls, silly.”

“You like girls?”

“I do.”

They stepped into a crêperie. Liang bought two crepes for Eloise. Ham and cheese. Mixed fruit. And café au lait for both of them. They sat.

“How long have you been a runaway?” Liang asked.

“Since school ended.”

“June?”

“Yes.”

“Are we going to be honest?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“Just seventeen. Last week.”

“Happy birthday.”

“Thanks,” she giggled.

“How have you survived?”

Eloise bowed her head. “Fucking.”

“Doubly illegal. Especially for the john.”

“Yes.”

“Do you have... ?” Liang didn’t know the word.

“Pimp,” Eloise said in English. “No.”

“So you just...”

“Approach them. Older gentlemen. When my money ran out. The money I stole from my fucking step father.”

“He raped you?”

Eloise nodded, her eyes pooling. “He was nice. He’d touch my face. Call me pretty. Then I guess he couldn’t hold back his desire. He ... actually prepared me. I mean he forced himself on me but ... he went down on me first. Made me nearly cum. Got me wet. Then fucked me. It hurt, but I guess it would hurt more. He came, but kept going. Got hard again I guess. And it actually felt good. I didn’t cum. Never have with a man. But ... I hated him overpowering me like that. But worse ... he threatened to kill me if I told my mother.”

“Did it happen again?”

“Yes. Sometimes he ... didn’t prepare me. After the first time, I got some lubricant.”

“Wouldn’t he have tasted it?”

“I kept it near. Whenever he had me alone. Besides, I think he preferred me slippery.”

“Noble of him.”

“Right. Cunt.”

“So...”

“I’ve always been a good student. It was stupid of me, but I wanted to wait until school ended before I ran away. It gave me time to figure things out. Where him and mom stashed their money. When they had the most. Stuff like that.

“Blew the landlord to get a cheap little apartment. Something the cunt also taught me. Fucked the landlord when I started bringing johns. Both so he wouldn’t call the flic, you know?

“Then I guess I lucked out. One of the johns got me a nicer apartment. I have regulars now. Guilt I guess. He said I was his niece. It had a back door I found out about so I could sneak in my johns. I fucked the maintenance guy when he caught me.”

“You like to fuck?”

“Not really, no. I hate it. But my body doesn’t. It’s like my body responds. And I’m a good performer, you know?”

“Fake orgasms.”

“And enthusiasm.”

“And girls?”

“The first time I came with someone else. A schoolmate. My best friend. She had some tits unlike me. We ... fantasized it was boys, but I thought it was hot watching her and feeling her touch me and eventually tasting her. I think the last thing kind of freaked her out, but I told her to imagine it was a boy’s tongue. After the second time she told me she didn’t want to play anymore. I think she wanted to taste me but was afraid. She got a boyfriend and sort of forgot about me.”

“First, you have tits. Delightful ones as you do little to hide.”

“Why you thought I might be a whore.”

“It seemed likely. I saw you scoping out older guys, until Joe took your focus.”

“He’s amazing.”

“I agree,” Liang chuckled.

“But the book...”

“moms?”

“Yeah. I loved No Contest. I read moms as soon as it came out. In the library as soon as they got it in. I practically live there when I’m not on the streets, or ... you know. But ... Joe just seems to know.”

“It was his best friend, but he’s quite empathetic.”

“Eddie?”

“Yeah. You know.”

“I’m a huge Monsters fan. There’s a bio. French. Joe’s in it. But not the incest.”

“It’s a guarded secret.”

“I suppose it should be.”

“Mostly because he didn’t want people feeling sorry for him. He’s ... dealt pretty well with it, all things considered.”

“It’s a bit fresh for me.”

“You’re a classic nymphomaniac stemming from abuse, El. Sort of insatiable but without the reward.”

“Orgasm.”

“Yes. I think it comes from someone you admire, who you wanted to please, be the good girl, turning around and becoming your worst nightmare. You blame yourself.”

“Do I?”

“Don’t you?”

“I ... Maybe I teased him. The way I tease men now. Maybe not so obvious but ... I did wear my lingerie around him.”

“Because you were home and you thought you could trust him.”

“Or maybe I was just provoking him. I liked when he was so gentle, calling me his little princess. His little beauty. Maybe I wanted him to touch more than my face. And he did,” she wept.

“Mademoiselle?” the proprietor approached Liang.

“She’s okay,” Laing smiled sadly brushing fingers through Eloise’s short hair as the young woman brought her head down onto her folded arms on the table. “Just sad.”

“Sorry,” Eloise said, brushing her tears off with her arm.

“Never be sorry for that,” said Liang.

Eloise smiled, heartbreakingly, and focused on eating her crepes.

Finishing them, she sighed. “I need to get my bag. I left it at the store.”

“Joe will keep it open for a while,” Liang grinned. “If you want you can sit with him. He’ll be busy and his French isn’t all that great...”

“I noticed,” Eloise giggled.

“But he won’t mind.”

“Okay.”

They collected her bag at the counter and Liang led Eloise to the table. Essie sat behind Joe. Liang made introductions. “This is Esther. Essie. Essie meet Eloise. El.”

“Bonjour,” said Essie, who knew French almost as well as Liang. Her knowledge of other language had helped on the trip.

“You’re so beautiful,” Eloise practically purred.

“And you are adorable,” Essie returned. “Sit.”

“I don’t want to take your chair.”

“But I do. Sit. I’m young enough to enjoy sitting on the floor.”

“Okay,” Eloise giggled.

“Feeling better?” Joe asked her.

“Thank you, yes.”

“Great.”

Between signings, Joe and Eloise talked. She told him she was from Brittany without going into detail. They talked about Paris and Manhattan.

“It seems like a magical place,” Eloise said, translation helped by Essie.

“Manhattan?” Joe smiled. “I think Paris is magical too. Never ceases to awe me.” That too needed translating.

“New York too?” Eloise asked.

“I’ve gotten quite used to it, but yes. Especially sailing into its harbor.”

“Sailing?”

“The beautiful blonde there. Her father owns a ship.”

“Which beautiful blonde?” she asked and they laughed.

Joe decided he loved her laughing.

Between the distractions of signings, Essie and Eloise talked. Even if Essie pretty much talked down to everyone in a way, always being the smartest in a room, but didn’t affect arrogance, or even feel it unless she thought the person an ass for whatever reason, Joe could tell she found Eloise to be a surprise.

He also noticed Liang, Moe and Cheryl talking, glancing at the runaway. “I’m going to go back to the Chateau,” Cheryl finally told Joe, giving him a kiss. “I need to make a few calls.”

“Marcel can take you,” Joe said, referring to their driver. “We’ll probably be a while.”

“Of course.”

After another kiss she rushed away.

“Wait, Cheryl,” Victoria yelled, stopping her. “Leaving?”

Cheryl nodded.

Victoria and Charlie left with her.

“Sorry,” Joe said to the next person in line. In French.

“Understandable,” the woman smirked.