Chapter 2

The dining room had many empty tables when Craig dragged in his weary body, and he had no trouble spotting Louisa drinking coffee, an absent expression on her face. A middle-aged man was at her table. He thought he was chatting her up.

“Have you been here long?” Craig asked Louisa when he joined her at a table, bearing coffee and a bagel.

“Only a few minutes,” she said, “but it seems much longer.” The middle-aged man took his leave with a decided lack of good grace. Louisa watched the man’s retreating form, noting yet again how men seemed to physically shrink after she’d shot them down. She turned her eyes back to Craig.

“Did you sleep well?” she asked, getting immediately to the point.

“Fine, thanks.” He paused. Started to speak. Paused again. “Louisa, I want to talk about the elephant in the room. About last night. I can’t just-”

“Elephant? You are rather well endowed, no question there. Far above average. But elephant? That’s a bit much, don’t you think?” Craig had used a cliché. Louisa did not like clichés, and always punished those who dared to employ them in her presence.

“You know what I mean. Please don’t make this harder for me that it is.”

“I made it softer, not harder, or have you forgotten?”

“You win. Mock me until you’ve had your fill, and when you tell me you’re done, I’ll say my piece.”

“You’re smarter than most men. I’m done. You may speak.”

“Thanks. So what the hell happened last night? What does it mean?” Louisa leaned forward and dropped her voice.

“Does it have to mean anything? When you really think about it, does it matter? Through no fault of your own, you were sharing my bed. You’re a young, healthy, physically fit male, and could anyone be surprised that you were aroused? I would have been shocked if you hadn’t been. You did your best to hide it, but, as I said earlier, you do have a rather impressive specimen, and your need was urgent. Should I have ignored you? I tried, you know. I really did. But you stayed awake, and so did I, and it was doing neither of us any good.” The sound of Louisa’s smooth contralto brought back more memories of the previous night. Craig shifted uncomfortably and, he thought, surreptitiously. Louisa’s eyes missed nothing, but she continued without a pause.

“And so I gave you an orgasm. That’s all. A simple hand-job between friends. You didn’t make a pass at me; you didn’t ask me for anything. You certainly didn’t make any demands. The perfect gentleman. But, through no fault of your own, you had a hard-on. And I took care of you. Now when you got up this morning, I’ll bet you were thinking, ‘where do we go from here? What happens tonight?’ And then you asked yourself the toughest question of all, ‘do I reciprocate?’ That’s really what you mean by the ‘elephant in the room’, isn’t it?”

“I think you’re expressing my thoughts better than I could,” replied Craig, grateful that Louisa was doing the talking for him.

“Then you can relax. The hand-job I gave you was gratis. Freely given, imposing no obligation on you of any kind.”

“But it must have been difficult for you, to do something like that with me, and then leave. You must have needs on your own.”

“No kidding. But you were in a state of shock when I’d finished with you. I thought it best to leave you alone, and deal with my own needs elsewhere, with some other guy.”

“Really? But who could you find at four in the morning?”

“Juan the busboy. I doubt he’s recovered yet.”

“Lucky bastard,” said Craig. Louisa’s throaty laugh sent chills through all the men within hearing range.

“I’m not sure he thought he was lucky. I was six inches deep in him before he realized I have a a bit more to offer than most women.” Now it was Craig’s turn to laugh.

“How did he take it, when he found out?”

“He took it in the missionary position.”

“You know what I mean.”

“He took it like any good sub should take it. Once he realized I had him, that he was mine, he gave in, and after that, we had a great time together. But first he had to surrender, and I think it’s the act of their own surrender that really shocks these guys, more shocking even than when they realize I have a cock.”

“Aren’t you taking a chance, seducing men when they don’t know what they’re in for? Aren’t you afraid they could get hostile, if they feel their masculinity has been undermined?”

“That’s for sure. I’m really careful about whom I choose to surprise. You, for instance, would be right out.”

“Why?”

“If I met you at a club, I’d never take you home with me, not unless I met you at Goodhandy’s, or El Convento Rico. You’re too big, too strong. And you’re no sub, not if I’m reading you right. If things got out of hand, I wouldn’t be able to control you. Juan, though, was altogether different. He wasn’t a wimp, I’m not saying that. Wimpy guys don’t interest me. Juan’s your typical guy’s guy, a flagrant heterosexual who likes to chase girls. He just happened to chase one that was a bit more than he could comfortably handle. Just my type, when I’m in the mood, and last night I was in the mood.”

“What’s that Spanish club you mentioned?”

“El Convento Rico.”

“Could you say it again? I love the way that rolls of your tongue.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you were flirting with me, Craig. El Convento Rico. El Convento Rico. RRRrrrrrrico.”

“Nice. Now why would it be safe to take me home from there, or that other club you mentioned?”

“Those are clubs where the girls are shemales. If you’re a guy and you go to one of those clubs, you know what you’re in for, and the girls know that you know. Makes things a lot easier.”

“Do you go there often?”

“Now and again.” Louisa stood up and waved. Craig turned, and saw Nickie and Amanda. The two woman waved back, and headed for the buffet.

“I was wondering when those two would join us,” said Craig. “Any guesses as to what kept them up last night?”

“It must have been crowded with the two of them in a single bed.” The two chatted on while they waited for their siblings to join them. Louisa listened carefully, waiting for the inevitable request. She waited for Craig to ask her, almost beg her, not to tell anyone about what had happened the night before. But the question never came.

“Why not on the bed?” asked Juan later that day, after he’d entered Louisa’s cabin at the appointed time and locked the door behind him.

“Two reasons,” replied Louisa, sitting naked on the small loveseat in her cabin, her legs crossed and a glass of white wine in one hand. She took a sip. Juan stared at her swaying breasts, and started to remove his clothes. “The first reason is because I said so. And that’s a good enough reason, don’t you agree?”

“Of course,” said Juan, folding his shirt neatly and laying it on the arm of a chair. On the seat was a video camera, already recording. “And the second reason?”

“I share that bed with someone else. He’s not my lover; we’re just sharing the bed. But it would be disrespectful of me to fuck you in that bed.”

“Or for me to fuck you.”

“Very funny,” said Louisa. Her hard tone caught Juan by surprise. “Get on your fucking knees,” she said, and when Juan hesitated, she stood and in an instant one of her hands grasped him by the hair, and the other, by the balls. “I said, get on your fucking knees.” After Juan complied, Louisa returned to the loveseat, and took another sip of wine, staring at the now silent Juan. Then she spoke.