Chapter 17

I had the security company on the phone before the G-Wagon came to a stop in the driveway. The voice on the other end exuded competence.

“I’ve already spoken with the team at your house, Mr. Cameron,” he said. “It was a florist’s delivery driver who dropped them off. We have someone at the flower shop right now, to see if we can trace back where these came from.”

“Thanks,” I said, and we got out of the car.

“If there are any developments, we’ll call you immediately,” the security representative said. “And there are still two guards at your home.”

“I appreciate it,” I said and hung up. I turned to Kat and Crystal and said, “Well, this certainly puts another twist on the day. I sure could use a drink.”

Kat made a direct path to the vase that held a card.

“Oh god,” she said. “Read it.” She handed it to me.

I read it aloud. “Every single day,” I said. “Christ. And every word you say. Every game you play. Every night you stay. I’ll be watching you. Fucking hell. And fucking unoriginal.”

“What’s this about?” Crystal asked.

“We have a stalker,” I said. “We think Rita does. But maybe Kat, too.”

“That’s so creepy!” Crystal said.

“We’ve got security working on it and protecting the house,” I explained. “So we’re fine. But it’s definitely disconcerting.”

“They’re pretty flowers at least,” Crystal said.

Kat looked at me and subtly shook her head. Now I questioned my previous skepticism about Crystal’s innocence. If she was playing a game, she was excellent at it.

“Let’s get these inside,” Kat said.

“I’ve got it,” I said. “Can you please check on Jess and Rita?”

Kat went inside, and Crystal followed. It only took a few minutes to pile the vases inside the front door. At least the roses smelled good. As I set down the last two, I heard Kat whisper across the room to me.

“John,” she hissed. Then she beckoned me with an urgent hand.

I walked briskly toward her, my heart pounding, but Kat put a finger across her lips.

“Look in the bedroom,” Kat whispered.

I heard the moans before our bed came into view. And then the familiar, high-pitched orgasmic scream of Rita.

When I reached the doorway, and the girls came into focus, the fires of desire lit instantly. Rita had her back toward me, her arms behind her, and her hips thrusting up and down rapidly. As her body moved, I caught glimpses of Jess, who was in a mirrored position across from Rita. Her back arched backward, and her arms were behind her. She humped up and down rapidly. They were scissoring.

“Fuck! Fuck! I’m cumming again!” Rita cried out.

Their two lithe, beautiful bodies moved in tandem, blurring together as if they were one. Rita kept climaxing, and then an almost mist-like spray ejected from her.

“Oh, Jesus!” she yelled. “I’m squirting!”

Jess’s face lit up in ecstatic surprise. She opened her mouth, welcoming the splattering of the second and third jets that splashed against her tongue.

“Fuck yes,” Jess said. “Fuck yes! Fuck! I’m cumming, too!”

I felt a warm body behind me. It was Kat. She took my hand and rubbed it gently.

“They’re so beautiful, aren’t they?” she whispered.

“It’s incredible,” I said.

I cursed under my breath when I felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I glanced at the notification, and it was the security company. I had to step away and take it. I put the handset to my ear and walked past Crystal, who was at the bar practicing chopping and cutting lines of cocaine. She smiled at me with dilated pupils, her dimples appearing every time she chomped her gum.

“Hi, this is John,” I said.

The security company had a lead. The flower shop was a small operation without security cameras. The buyer had paid in cash. The owner didn’t believe he had ever seen the customer before. But across the street? There was a gas station across the street, and it had a security camera perched on the canopy covering its pumps. Because of its generous angle, it also captured the front entrance of the florist. The security team sent me a picture. It was surprisingly clear given the distance yet still a little fuzzy. I turned around, walked past Crystal as she snorted more cocaine, and tapped Kat on the back lightly. I motioned her to follow me. The moans from the bedroom had not abated.

“They got a picture,” I whispered to Kat as we sat on the sofa. “Do you recognize this guy?”

She took my phone and squinted. The image was of an average-height male with legs that looked short because his pants weren’t pulled up very high, likely because they coudn’t get past his ample belly. He also seemed to have a mustache. I noticed Crystal wander from the bar to the threshold of the bedroom. I thought her eyes might pop out of their sockets when she saw the scene on the bed.

“Holy shit,” Kat said, recapturing my attention. “This is Jeremy, the guy who runs our teleprompter at the station.”

“Are you sure?” I said. “Look really closely.”

“I don’t need to,” Kat said. “We see him every day, all day. It’s Jeremy. I can’t believe this. He is the nicest, most shy guy.”

“I need his full name,” I said. “Do you know it? What else do you know about him?”

Kat gave me an entire rundown. I put her on the phone with the security company to relay it. They told us to sit tight until they gave us the all-clear.

“I don’t know about you, daddy,” Kat said, “but I feel good knowing they think they found the guy.”

“Me, too, Kitty Kat,” I said.

“I’m sad about who it is,” she said. “If it’s him. He is always so nice, especially to Rita and me. Nice but not creepy. At all. This really is shocking.”

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine, daddy,” she said. “It’s not like I really know him. Obviously. It’s a shock, but I only care about our safety.”

“Do you want a drink?” I asked.

“God, yes please,” she said.

Before I got up, Kat embraced and kissed me.

“You’re such a good protector, daddy,” she said. “I always feel safe with you.”

“I love you,” I said. “I love all three of you. Nobody will ever fuck with you.”

“Unless you say it’s okay,” Kat said flirtatiously, and we laughed a much-needed laugh.

I pulled a bottle of Champagne from the chiller under the bar and popped the cork loudly. Crystal turned around and smiled at me. She walked over.

“Want a drink?” I asked.

“Yes!” she said happily. “I’m so thirsty.”

“How do they feel?” I said, gesturing to her chest.

“A little sore,” she said.

“Oh, sweetie,” Kat said, getting up from the couch. “Let me get you something for that. Have you ever taken oxy? It will knock it out.”

“Is that a pain pill?” Crystal asked.

“Yes,” Kat said. “I’ll get you one. We keep them around just for things like this.”

“The coke helps a lot, too,” Crystal said.

Kat disappeared into the bedroom. I heard muffled voices and then a boisterous laugh. It sounded like Jess and Rita finally were done with their epic fuckfest. I went ahead and poured the full bottle of Champagne out in five glasses. I passed one to Crystal and raised one of my own as I came around the bar to stand next to her.

“To your beautiful new piercings,” I said.

We toasted, and I leaned in to kiss her. Crystal’s lips were always generous and soft. Kat returned and handed Crystal a pain pill, which she swallowed with a gulp of Champagne.

“So I guess we’re stuck here partying all day, huh, daddy?” Kat said.

“It looks like it, Kitty Kat,” I said. “Any ideas on how we can pass the time?”

Before I could answer, Jess and Rita emerged from the bedroom. They wore light, short white silk robes. Their hair was tousled, and they had electric grins on their faces.

“I guess we put on a bit of a show,” Jess said. “According to Kat, anyway.”

“Five stars,” I said. “Absolutely incredible.”

“You’re amazing,” Rita told Jess. They kissed.

“Kat told us about the stalker,” Jess said.

“I can’t believe it,” Rita said. “Jeremy is always nice. On-time. Polite. He’s literally the last person I would think would do it.”

“Let’s see what we find out,” I said. “But until then? We’re on lockdown.”

“That kind of sounds like fun,” Jess said. She took a glass of Champagne in each hand and gave one to Rita.

“I feel incredibly satisfied after tennis today,” Rita said with a breezy laugh. “But there really is no substitute for a dick.”

“Maybe we should see how many times we can get John to cum before they bring our stalker to justice,” Jess suggested.

“Yeah,” Kat agreed, “Crystal is the only one who’s gotten any action from him today!”

“Oh! Let us see your piercings!” Rita said.

“Are you sure?” Crystal said. “They’re still kind of ugly because they’re new.”

“Just show us,” Jess said.

Crystal pulled her hands through her dress straps and pushed down the top. They were gorgeous. The girls all said so, and Crystal basked in the positive attention. She was covering her breasts again with her dress when Jess suggested we go skinny dipping.

It was a perfect way to ease into the afternoon. None of us thought about eating. We just did lines of cocaine and headed to the pool. Time slipped by effortlessly. Crystal’s pain pill kicked in, and she extolled the virtue of cloud-like floating she felt. Kat and Rita shared a large float, slowly rotating around the pool from the current created by the jets. Jess and I escaped under the brisk ceiling fan of our patio, sharing a bowl from the hookah.

“I might be starting to like smoking as much as I like coke,” Jess confided.

“You look good doing it,” I said. “Weed is better than cigarettes.”