Greg Gifune - Night Work

Sandy took her hand and slowly entered the pool. They treaded water together, their faces nearly touching, Beth speaking to her in a tone too soft for anyone else to hear.

Frank staggered back through the sliding glass doors. His mind told him he was walking quickly, but his feet moved as if trudging through quicksand. He followed the beat of the music, sound, sight and smell gradually merging as he crossed into the living room. He stood firm for a moment, allowing his eyes to adjust to lighting he had originally perceived as dim, but that now seemed unnecessarily bright. He found the bar, mixed a drink and emptied it with a single gulp. After somehow managing to successfully maneuver himself onto one of the barstools, he poured another drink and lit a cigarette. In the distance he heard a loud splash, and then another, followed by laughter.

It was some time later when Frank was distracted by voices behind him. Initially he'd mistaken the giggles and whispers as figments of his own imagination, but when he looked back over his shoulder he realized he was no longer alone in the room.

Luther, Pepper and Claire were lying on the sofa; tangled together in a naked heap that made it difficult to tell where one body ended and another began. Frank shifted his eyes, found Sal standing in the doorway, his face expressionless. "Feeling better?" he asked.

"Where's Sandy?"

"Charlie's still floating around in that tube. I better get him out of it before he drowns."

Frank slid off of the stool. "Where is she?"

"She went off with Steve and Beth," he said, pointing to the ceiling. "The stairs are at the end of the hallway off the kitchen. I can show you if you want."

"Fuck off." Frank stormed past him and headed for the kitchen. He found the stairs and climbed them, nearly losing his balance twice before reaching the top. At the end of the hall was Charlie and Beth's bedroom, the door open sufficiently for him to see that no one was inside. Frank stumbled to his right, focused on a closed door, and stared at it for a time.

When he heard muffled voices, he quietly pushed the door open a crack.

Steve was nude, sitting in a large soft chair in the corner of the room. Beth and Sandy, both topless, had knelt facing each other on the floor in front of him. All three were still wet from the pool and seemed unaware of Frank's presence. Beth leaned closer and kissed Sandy tenderly on the forehead, cheek and neck, her hands slowly gliding across her shoulders onto Sandy's breasts. Shaking, Sandy hesitantly touched Beth's hips, and then her buttocks, pulling her closer until first their breasts met, and then their lips. Beth gently took one of Sandy's breasts into her mouth and massaged the other with her palm.

Steve sat forward in the chair and Beth turned, bent over, and took his erection into her mouth. Sandy either fell back against his chest or leaned into it; Frank couldn't be sure. Steve's free hand caressed Sandy's breasts, gently gliding over her taut stomach before disappearing inside the front of her panties, a soft tuft of pubic hair greeting his fingers as her legs parted slightly. He rubbed in a slow, rhythmic motion, waiting to penetrate her until his fingers had grown moist. When he eventually sat back in the chair, Sandy followed, lowering her mouth onto his erection and sharing him with Beth.

Frank hadn't been certain any of this would actually happen until the exact second that it did. Emotions surged through him – too many to focus on one specifically – and he was certain he'd pass out.

Instead, he turned and moved slowly down the hallway, his heart smashing against his chest, his head throbbing from a pounding headache. He hesitated at the head of the stairs, heard moans and laughter from the room below. He felt like a caged animal, and let the wall support him.

At the edge of the darkness halfway down the staircase, Sal appeared. He stood silently watching for a time, then with an almost militaristic stride, climbed the remaining stairs and joined Frank at the top. "Are you all right?"

Frank glared at him, focusing to remain upright.

"They in there?" He motioned to the bedroom behind them with his chin. "Yeah," he answered his own question a moment later. "Look, I've seen this kind of thing a lot. Sometimes it gets too much, not everyone can handle it. You want me to – "

"I want you to leave me the fuck alone, Sal," Frank growled. "That's what I want."

His mouth twitched into the slightest hint of a smile. "No problem, asshole."

Frank steadied himself against the wall as Sal moved by him. He didn't bother to look over his shoulder. He knew where he'd gone.

After what seemed an eternity, Beth strolled from the room totally nude. "Hey, Frank," she said evenly. "Where have you been? Knee deep in Pepper, no doubt."

Frank moved to the side so she could pass, offering no reply as she descended the stairs and drifted into darkness.

The smell of his breath, stale from marijuana and liquor, was nearly intolerable. Groggy one moment and relatively alert the next, her awareness of the situation seemed to come in waves. Gliding backwards, Sandy felt two strong, callused hands tighten around her waist and realized that she had been propped up into a sitting position.

"Yeah," someone said, the voice distant and distorted. "Fuck her, man."

She looked down and saw Steve lying beneath her. He was inside her.

"That's it, baby, that's it," Steve said beneath her, his lips moving but slightly out of sync with the sound drifting about. His hands clutched her waist and she felt him pushing deeper.

She slumped forward and collapsed next to him on the bed, curling into a fetal position as if to go to sleep. "Stop," she sighed.

Undeterred, he rolled her over.

"You do her mouth yet?" the other voice said.

"Before you got here."

"Soon as I catch my breath I'm gonna stuff it in there again."

"You almost drowned her last time, dude. Big Sal, still the man!"

Laughter, joyless and dirty, echoing around her followed by more bursts of hot breath. Large hands tightened around her again, and the world began to spin. Nothing seemed real. Swallowing was nearly impossible, her mouth mucky and covered in thick cum still dribbling from her lips, a physical memory, residue of the man belonging to the other voice. The man who had opened her mouth with rough hands and put himself inside her, telling her to suck, holding her head and pumping his erection deep enough to gag her, even when she'd gone along with what he'd wanted, before finally releasing, emptying himself into her.

"It's okay, honey." Another voice – Steve's voice? "Roll over on your tummy, okay, baby?"

"Wait." She struggled to raise the volume of her voice but felt too weak. "Please… wait."

"Its okay, baby." A hand stroking her forehead, feigning tenderness, Steve's voice pretending to sooth. "Help me turn her over. Let's fuck her ass, man."

"Please…" Her voice? Had she spoken, was she only thinking? Was any of this real? "Stop… stop."

"Did you hear what she said?"

Steve turned; surprised to see Frank standing in the open doorway. "Hey, man, I – I ah, I didn't know you were watching. If you're gonna get off come on in and have some – "

"Did you hear what she said?"

His smile slowly vanished. "Yeah," he said softly.

"Then get the fuck away from her."

Steve slid off the bed as Sal casually zipped his pants. He motioned for Sal to follow him, gave an apologetic nod and slipped quietly from the room.

Sandy was sprawled out on the bed, her head lolled to one side, resting against a pillow. Her eyes searched for Frank, and when they found him a quiet whimper escaped her. Unable to look at him now, she rolled over, gathering the sheets along with her.