Greg Gifune - Night Work

Pepper slid into the chair at the bar next to Frank. "Did somebody say boobs?"

"Watch out for this one," Charlie warned with a chuckle. "A woman like Pepper could ruin a man, if he's lucky."

"Wanna buy me a drink?" she asked Frank.

Frank glanced over his shoulder. Luther and Claire had started dancing again. Sal had returned from the deck and was sitting in a chair, his eyes taking everything in, and Sandy was still on the couch with Steve and Beth, each of them taking turns snorting lines from a fresh pile of coke. "Sure," he said, turning to Charlie. "One of whatever the lady wants, on me."

"Lady? Who the hell let a lady in here?"

Pepper hissed at him like a cornered cat and Frank felt her arm wrap around his back and fasten onto his shoulder. Charlie gave her the drink and left them alone. Frank could hear laughter behind him, but his mind was quickly fogging over and he feared for a moment that he might lose control. Steve seemed to materialize out of thin air to his left, the acrid smell of pot wafting all around him. They passed the joint between them twice, and Steve wandered off without ever saying a word.

"Are you as high as you look?" Pepper asked.

"Probably a little worse."

"Me too, let's get some air."

They made a quick stop at the coffee table and shared another line. Steve was looking through a tall rack of CDs, trying to decide which one to play next. Luther and Claire continued to dance until Charlie cut in. Unfazed, Luther strode to the bar. Beth and Sandy were still on the couch giggling like schoolgirls, oblivious to everyone else.

"Come on," Pepper said, tugging at Frank's arm.

The room titled and swayed more than once on their way to the deck, and once they arrived the cool air felt good.

Sandy watched them go then looked to Beth. "I don't think Pepper likes me."

"You're a woman, aren't you?" Beth smiled. "That's enough."

"She does look sort of – "

"Plastic," Beth interjected. "I can spot a pair of fake tits from across the room."

Frank leaned back against the railing and lit a cigarette, watching Pepper as she removed the sash from her waist and tossed it aside. She moved closer, her nipples and a black smudge of pubic hair visible through the thin material of the bodysuit. As if in slow motion she plucked the cigarette from his lips, took a drag herself before crushing it under the sole of her boot, then wrapped her arms around Frank's neck. Their faces touched, and her tongue found his ear.

The top portion of the bodysuit peeled down to her midriff easily. Pepper's breasts tumbled free in sections until Frank felt the tips of each between his fingers. He pushed on the small of her back and she arched it, thrusting her chest upward, twisting at the waist so he could take each breast into his mouth. She moaned, threw her head back and snaked one of her legs around his. They nearly fell, and she began to laugh.

"Maybe we should turn the flood light out," she suggested with slurred speech. "Or do you want to go back inside?"

"Go back inside?" Frank heard himself ask, heart racing.

She smiled, brushed a wisp of hair from her face. "Some couples only play – they don't go all the way. I don't know how far you and Sandy go."

The sound of his wife's name startled him and he had a sudden desire to find her. "This is just fun and games to you, isn't it?"

"Of course."

"Of course?"

"How can anybody take something like sex seriously?" she giggled.

Frank watched as she slid one hand beneath the bodysuit and between her legs. "Maybe we should go inside," he said.

"Are you sure?" Pepper reached out with her free hand and massaged his crotch, her eyes widening. "I don't think he wants to."

His face twitched into something that felt like a smile. "Go ahead. I'll meet you in there in a few minutes."

Pepper leaned in and kissed him on the mouth. He allowed her tongue between his lips and responded with his own. "Don't be long," she whispered, then glided back through the sliding doors and into the house, not bothering to cover herself.

Frank slowly made his way to one of the chairs on the deck and collapsed into it. Time, it seemed, had lost all meaning, and he sat quietly with his blurred thoughts.

"Are you all right?" a voice asked.

Frank looked up, hoping to see Sandy's face but finding Charlie's instead. "Yeah. I'm just really fucked up."

"Figured I better check in on you. You've been out here quite a while."

"I can't remember the last time I did coke," Frank told him, feeling as if the words had taken on lives of their own and were tumbling from his mouth without his approval. "Hell, I can't remember the last time I smoked a joint."

"You sure you're okay?"

"I just need a few minutes to get my head together."

"Pepper really likes you."

"I sort of figured that out."

Charlie grinned lasciviously. "Trust me, don't pass that up. It's not too often you get a chance to fuck a real live Barbie."

Frank nearly fumbled his cigarette bringing it up to his mouth. "Have you had her?"

"Couple times. She fucks like a bunny." Charlie lit a cigarette, handed it to Frank and lit another for himself. "As open-minded as Beth is she's not half as wild in bed as Pepper is. How about Sandy? I'll bet she throws a good one."

"Why don't you go ahead and take Pepper off my hands?"

"You really are wasted." Charlie shook his head and sat in a chair across from Frank. "What do you think of Claire?"

"Not my type."

Charlie took a hard pull on his cigarette. "What about Beth?"

"Very nice."

"Thanks," Charlie said, as if Frank had just complimented him on his wardrobe. "I think Sandy's fucking gorgeous."

Frank's eyes found him through a cloud of smoke. "So do I."

Charlie let the statement hang in the air for a while before he spoke again. "Remember that time you asked me if I ever partied with Delta Diamond or any of the other girls?"

"You told me you never shit where you eat."

"Do you think this is the same thing, though? I mean, we're business partners and all, but aren't we friends, too?"

"I don't know, Charlie. Are we?"

"I'm trying to be cool about this," he said. "Sandy was pretty uptight when you guys first got here, but she's really loosened up. Shit, she's wasted worse than you are. I can't tell if she's fooling around or really looking to get into it. I danced with her a couple times, rubbed a little ass, squeezed a little tit and she didn't seem to mind, but… hey, you think she'd go skinny-dipping?"

Frank drew a deep breath. "I doubt it."

"The pool's a great way to get things going," he said, licking his lips. "Some broads get all worked up once they're naked. It might make it easier for Sandy to get into it."

"And what if she does get into it?"

Charlie nervously cleared his throat. "Then… you know, whatever."

Frank's chest felt like someone was sitting on it. "You're asking for permission to fuck my wife?"

"Yeah." Charlie fidgeted in his chair. "I guess I am."

"Then you're asking the wrong person."

"Out of respect, I wanted to talk to you first."

"Respect."

"Hell, it's no problem if you wanna take a shot at Beth."

"What a guy."

"Trust me," Charlie said, "you won't be disappointed."

"This is your wife we're talking about."

"And if I don't mind her playing around with somebody else from time to time, why the hell should you?"

Frank looked at him. "I don't."

"Listen," Charlie said, pulling his patio chair closer, "Beth and I understand each other. We don't always like each other, but we do understand each other. When I'm with someone else, or she sees a body that turns her on, whatever happens, it's just sex. It's not love – shit, it's got nothing to do with love. It's sex for the fucking fun of it. You know what I'm saying?"