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“I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse,” Rex said.
Jessica peered at him over the brim of her menu. Her devilish smile and mischievous tone hid behind it.
“I don’t know about a horse, but a big, juicy piece of meat sounds fabulous.”
A sharp stabbing pain shot through Ron’s chest. At that point, he could deal with Jessica seducing every man on the island. All except one. He never expected a muscular, handsome man to like him, much less take him on as a workout buddy. In his experience, jocks made fun of nerds. Beat them up. Toyed with them. But Rex befriended him. Even invited him to workout together.
“What about you, Sugar Ron?” Rex asked.
“I don’t know. I’m kinda craving Mexican. But would they have that here?”
“Even after you devoured my taco the other night?” Jessica asked.
Ron smirked, casting a side glance at her and shaking his head.
“How did you make tacos here on the island?” Jennifer asked.
She frowned as her eyes narrowed on Jessica. Ron interjected.
“She didn’t. Honey, you must be referring to the night before we left to come here. That was a week ago.”
Jessica lowered the menu and sat up, her shoulders back, as she turned to look at Ron.
“Oh, that’s right. I remember now. You inhaled my taco, and after that, we both came.”
Ron blinked as he pressed his lips together.
Oh my god, Jessica, just stop, he thought.
Rex chimed in with an ignorant, giddy tone.
“And then we met you and Sugar Ron at the airport!”
“Like it was destiny,” Jessica said.
Her tone carried dramatic flare, finished off with the wry grin on her face.
“Well, you joke about it, but I haven’t had a workout partner in years,” Rex said. “Sugar Ron, over there, can really pound a punching bag.”
Ron’s ears grew hot as he smiled and shrugged.
“What can I say? Punching is kinda my thing. But what about you, Rex? I’ve never seen someone lift as much weight as you do. You’ve got some serious guns.”
“You mean these?”
Rex lifted his arms on either side of his head and flexed his biceps. Jennifer smiled, looking up at him.
“Sometimes, Rex uses me for a bench press. He just lies on the ground. Then I lay on his hands, and he lifts me over and over,” she said.
Jessica turned to Ron and put a fingertip between her teeth.
“Just imagine that, Ron. Little Jennifer over there getting on top of Rex and letting him use her.”
“It’s not much of a workout. She’s light as a feather,” Rex said.
“But it’s fun. I feel like I’m flying when you do it.”
“Oh, I bet you do,” Jessica said. “I know I would.”
Jessica turned to Rex and reached out a hand to touch his bulging bicep, still lifted and flexed.
“Rex, honey, I imagine any woman would be happy to let you use them for your workouts.”
Jennifer’s tone turned stern.
“Jessica, do you always touch people without asking?”
Jessica withdrew her hand, and Rex lowered his arms, reaching out to Jennifer to stroke her shoulder.
“It’s ok, babe. She just wanted to feel my guns. I get that all the time.”
Jennifer continued, nostrils flared, glaring at Jessica.
“I realize you probably cut your preschool classes, but when the rest of us were two, we learned to keep our hands to ourselves.”
They all returned their eyes to their menus. The table shook from Rex’s restless leg, twitching up against it until he stopped.
“Sorry,” he mouthed.
Ron turned the menu over. The sounds of seagulls in the distance failed to penetrate the thumping of his heart inside his head. He dared not look at Jennifer. The heat from her temper radiated across the table towards Jessica, roasting him in the crossfire. He pretended to study the menu, but he knew what he wanted. A large helping of “get me out of here.” He hated awkward tension.
“I hope I’m not interrupting.”
Ron looked up, relieved at Rayan standing next to him.
“Hey, Rayan. Not at all,” he said.
“You can take one of our seats. Rex and I were just about to leave,” Jennifer said.
Her smug smile clashed with her curt tone and cold eyes. Rex frowned.
“But babe, we haven’t even ordered,” he said.
Jennifer turned to him, her tone instructive.
“I’m not hungry. I’ve lost my appetite.”
“But I’m...”
“Leaving. Now.”
She glared at him, and Rex put his menu down on the table.
“See y’all later. Sugar Ron, maybe we can hit the gym again soon.”
“Sounds good, man.”
The feet of Jennifer’s chair scraped on the pavement as she stood and turned her back to Ron and Jessica. She extended a stiff arm and open hand to Rex, who waved at the rest of the table. Jennifer huffed.
“C’mon, Rex.”
She grabbed Rex’s hand and dragged him away from the table.
Wow. Demure Jennifer can be assertive when she wants to be, Ron thought.
“I’m sorry if I interrupted something,” Rayan said.
“No, your timing was perfect,” said Jessica. “Wanna have a seat? Those two are still warm.”
She leaned back, gestured to her lap, and winked.
“This one is even warmer.”
Rayan’s voice cracked as he laughed.
Ron’s nerves clawed at the inside of his skin, his mind still anchored to the departure of his workout buddy with an angry wife.
“I won’t stay. I just wanted to apologize again for my wife’s behavior.”
“Relax, Rayan. You have done nothing wrong,” Jessica said. “Not yet, anyway.”
Jessica pursed her lips and eyed Rayan like prey. He swallowed hard and shifted to stand behind Jennifer’s vacated chair.
“She’s a very charitable woman. We come from a very conservative culture. She is not used to the ways of a more modern woman like yourself, Mrs. Jessica.”
Jessica grinned at Ron and stroked his arm with her fingertips.
“You hear that, babe? I’m modern.”
Ron still held on to his menu, his smirk appearing for an instant before fading to flat, his forehead wrinkled from the thoughts still racing in his mind. He wanted to feel playful with Jessica as he had over the last several days, but her flirtations with Rex vexed him. Rayan continued.
“But she can also have a mean side. Mean as a viper. It is best not to awaken her anger, Mrs. Jessica.”
“Trust me, Rayan. I’ve dealt with vipers before. She’s not the first.”
“I just wanted to caution you. I will leave you two alone. Have a beautiful day.”
Rayan bowed and turned to step away. Jessica called after him.
“Don’t be a stranger!”
Her eyes tracked him as Rayan’s steps scuffed the stoned path, dirtied with sand grains.
“Do you ever worry that you’re going to burn in hell for these games?” Ron asked. “Because I do.”
“You worry for me?”
“I’m worried for both of us.”
Jessica looked down at the arm of her chair and stroked it with her fingers.
“What’s the story? That some guy named Peter guards the pearly gates?”
“That’s the story.”
“Well, with a name like that, he’s bound to have a cock capable of a rock-hard erection.”
Ron sighed.
“See what I did there?”
“Yeah, clever.”
“I mean, I do have heavenly tits, and I can give one hell of a blob job. Those have opened doors for me in the past.”
Ron shook his head and rolled his eyes.
“I’m serious.”
“I know.”
She looked away. A breeze passed across the patio and brushed at her hair, causing it to dance.
“I think I’d rather burn in hell for being my authentic self than live forever among righteous people who are not my people. It’s what I love most about my new job. My boss. She’s just as evil as I am.”
Ron raised his eyebrows and curled his lips. He admitted to himself that he respected her response. Honest. Twisted. Real. He folded his hands in front of him on the table and stared at them.
“You are evil, but you catch blame for things that aren’t your fault. All these men you’ve seduced. They are adults. They make their own choices.”
He reached for a fork and poked at a folded cloth napkin.
“I think it’s easier for people to blame the woman. To label her the slut. To give the man a pass. Like he couldn’t help it.”
“I am pretty persuasive.”
“Yes, but they have a choice. When they choose you, it’s because you radiate something that resonates inside of them.”
“I know. And I love bringing it out of them. Exposing the truth.”
“That said, Jessica. Please, stay away from Rex.”
She turned her head towards Ron and leaned back in her chair. Her eyes narrowed.
“Don’t want me to seduce your new boyfriend?”
“C’mon, Jessica. You can fuck every other man on this island for all I care, but I haven’t had a guy friend in a long time.”
“Which would make it so evil of me to seduce him. Just think of it. Your hateful wife using her wicked mouth and body to lead him to betray his new friend.”
Ron’s crotch pulsed, and his heart fluttered.
“I mean it. Stay away from him.”
“You don’t want me on my knees sucking his big, beautiful cock?”
She licked her lips and looked down at Ron’s shorts. They pressed against his rising erection, and his balls drew up underneath it.
“Jessica, oh my god. Seriously, no. I don’t.”
“Mmm-hmm. Ok,” she said. A wry grin on her face. She picked her menu back up and returned her gaze to it.
“Jessica, please. Not him.”
“Relax, Ron. I won’t fuck your boyfriend.”
He studied her face as it perused the menu in front of her.
I don’t believe you, he thought.
He adjusted his shorts and felt a wet spot where the tip of his cock pressed against them.
“Thank you,” he said.
