Chapter 43

Her reunion with Brandi had been so thrilling, exhausting, ecstatic that she had briefly forgotten about the encounter with Arthur, though some of the bruises on her body remained for days. Finally, they were gone. After Brandi, she went without sex for a while. Yvette had been out of town on business, so fortunately Laura did not run into her at work.

She did spend an evening with Rob, who somehow redeemed her faith in men. He made her come repeatedly without the horrible violence she had endured from Yvette's enraged husband. And Rob, whose cock was even bigger than Arthur's, knew how to use it without hurting her.

She also spent a hot after-school afternoon with Chanitra, who somehow knew where to find Laura at lunch and had tempted her into taking the afternoon off work. She couldn't resist Chanitra. One glimpse of the girl's body was enough. They had spent hours of exuberant fucking, and Laura had thought of Yvette only a couple of times, and of the trouble they were in. Thank god you're not married, she wanted to tell Chanitra.

But when Yvette returned from her business trip, Laura knew she couldn't avoid the issue any longer. She got a call at her desk.

"Meet me in Bob Scheinbaum's office," Yvette said in a whisper.

"When?"

"Right now. He's out of town. His secretary is at lunch. No one will see you."

"Yvette--"

"Please... Laura."

Her voice sounded so plangent with need and pain that Laura couldn't refuse. She couldn't forget, either, the times they had fucked passionately on the floors and sofas in the offices of out- of-town executives.

"Where do you get the keys to these places?" she asked as Yvette let her in and locked the door.

"I went to bed with the pompous old shit once," Yvette said. "He's been trying to get me to do it again ever since."

Laura's eyes raised slightly. She was learning more about Yvette. "How about the other two offices?"

Yvette smiled mysteriously. "Just friends."

She moved close, putting her arms on Laura's shoulders, bringing her mouth close to Laura's. But Laura was stiff, cold, unyielding.

"Did you go to bed with them too?" Laura asked, aware that she was being gratuitously nasty in order to keep a distance between them, and to counter her own desire.

"Why not?" Yvette's eyes twinkled with malice. "Every fat old bag of shit around here wants to screw my hot black pussy. So do you."

Laura blushed. The shoe fit very well, she knew. She gulped. Yvette tried to kiss her, and she turned her head away. Suddenly, the sharp, sarcastic Yvette changed. Her voice broke. Two huge tears rolled down her cheeks.

"He told me," she sobbed softly. "Oh Laura."

"How did he find out?"

"Chanitra told him."

"Chanitra?" Laura was shocked. I just spent an afternoon fucking with her. The little minx.

"She wants you for herself." Yvette dropped her arms from Laura's shoulders and walked away, furtive, distant. "Did he... hurt you?"

"Yes."

"Rape you?"

"Yes. He said next time he'd rape me, then kill me. I felt like he meant it."

"He does." Yvette's big eyes were jeweled with tears. "But I can't live without you."

Now she came over to Laura again. She embraced Laura and kissed her, but Laura did not respond.

"Laura, please..."

"He'd probably kill you too."

"I know he would. He just about did already."

This got to Laura. She was able to stay distant from Yvette until she imagined Arthur hurting her. She knew her feelings for Yvette ran very deep.

"Oh baby," she said, involuntarily.

They came together, kissing heatedly, Laura kissing away Yvette's tears.

"I want you," Yvette whimpered softly. "I want you bad."

"We can't."

"Why not?"

"It's too dangerous."

"No one will know. Bob fucked me right there on that sofa with his secretary sitting outside. She never knew a thing."

Laura walked away from her. She didn't like the way she felt so tempted. She wanted Yvette too. It also hurt her to think of Yvette being 'fucked right on that sofa' by anyone else.

"Yvette... we're putting both of our lives in danger."

"You mean Arthur? He doesn't know you work here. Nobody here could tell him."

She walked over to Laura and started to unbutton the back of Laura's blouse. But Laura pulled away again.

"No."

"Laura..."

"Yvette, we can't." Now Laura felt tears in her own eyes.

"Please," Yvette asked softly, eyes pleading.

Laura shook her head. She went to the door and let herself out. Her eyes were clouded with tears, but she noticed that Bob Scheinbaum's secretary had already returned from lunch, a thin but shockingly beautiful black woman with chiseled features, a little older than Yvette, probably in her early thirties, whom Laura had never seen before. She smiled at the secretary, not daring to look any longer at her, then fled down the hall before Yvette could follow her.

But that Sunday afternoon Yvette showed up at her door.

"I can't let you in," Laura said, keeping the chain on, as she always did now, after Arthur's visit. "This is even riskier than the office. He might be following you."

"He's at the ballgame with a friend," Yvette snorted. "Let me in. You know you want to."

Laura knew she was right. She wanted Yvette more than anything. It had been weeks since they had made love in the hotel room during lunch hour, fucking so tenderly and passionately that they had surprised even themselves. But that had been before Arthur.

Yvette leaned close to the door and whispered through the open crack, so that the neighbors, if they were listening, couldn't hear. "I'm wet for you. All I do is think of you. I masturbate in the bathroom, thinking of you. I came in my sleep last night dreaming of you. Please."

Laura's hand shook as she unfastened the chain. Yvette was inside in a flash. Laura closed the bolt, and they were in each other's arms, devouring one another. It felt like they hadn't been together for months, instead of a couple of weeks. Kissing Laura hungrily, Yvette also pulled Laura's loose sweatshirt up to her neck, then pulled away only long enough to lift it over Laura's head.

Laura wore no bra, and Yvette's hands scooped up her breasts, while her mouth fell to them. They had not moved from the front door. Yvette sucked Laura's nipples passionately, bringing small helpless whimpers from Laura.