Perspectives Series: Martin

She hung up the phone. Shit!

It didn't help. Our phone conversation just made my excitement/nervousness feel stronger. I'm sure she knows that.

I arrived outside her apartment early. I tried to sit in the car and wait, but it was too confining. I decided to just take the ribbing for being early like a man.

She went relatively easy on me. We decided to walk to Kona Grill for dinner. She held my hand as we walked. Every time the cold night air would whip around the buildings, she would wrap her arms around me and press her body to mine. I couldn't wait any longer; I ran my fingers around her neck and held her face still with my thumbs. I leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. I pulled back to look at her.

"Kiss me again", she whispered with her eyes still shut.

I barely touched my lips to hers and caressed her lips with mine. I slid my hands down around her back to hold her close to me. She opened her eyes and gazed into mine. The moment was so intimate and tender. I felt her tremble.

"Are you cold?"

"I don't think so." She shook her head slightly.

"Let's get out of this cold air." I started to move toward the restaurant and she planted her feet, stopping me. I was about to ask her what was wrong when she took a step backward and pulled me toward her.

"This way." She was headed back to her apartment.

"Are you sure?"

She nodded her head.

"Don't you want to get a drink first?"

She shook her head as she coaxed, "Come on, let's go."

We walked up to her apartment and didn't make it past the living room floor. We were desperately clawing at each other's layers of clothing until there was nothing left.

"Nice scar you have there." I commented, as I ran my fingers down her perfectly smooth skin.

"Well, maybe I exaggerated a little." She looked at me with a wicked grin. Then she pushed me onto my back and went down on me. I thought Teresa was good at that; Jill was phenomenal. I could hardly catch my breath.

She pulled away for a moment and said, "I can't help it; I've got to have you." She sat up and straddled me, sliding down onto my cock. "Oh, God you feel good."

She continued to move her hips so that I was sliding in and out of her. I came right away. I would have liked to have prolonged the moment, but I couldn't.

"I'm sorry. I've been thinking about this all week."

"It's OK. I know what you mean." She said, between pants.

"I feel bad. You...you're..." I couldn't think of the right words.

"Oh, I'll get mine. Don't worry about me. Just try to keep up."

I laughed, because I had no idea what she was talking about. Three hours later, I was no longer laughing. She had more orgasms than anyone I'd ever seen – live or on video.

As I lay there spent, I thought I would test the waters...

"You should let me videotape you. You're positively beautiful when you have orgasms."

"Thank you, but no way. This is between us, and us alone. I'm kind of old fashioned in that way."

"OK." At least I tried.

She fell asleep in my arms and we remained in that position until morning. I woke up first, trying to crane my neck to see the clock without waking her. It was no use; she felt the movement on the pillow.

"What time is it?" She whispered.

I moved my arm and lifted my head up higher, "7:23"

"What time do you need to leave?"

"Soon," I sadly reported. I couldn't hide the disappointment in my voice and I didn't try.

Jill rolled over to face me. Her hands slid down to feel my morning hard-on. She smiled.

"Do you have enough time?" She didn't have to finish the question.

We made love again.

"I think I could do this all day." She yawned, as she stretched her arms and legs.

"You're insatiable."

"I'm not usually like this."

"Oh, sure you're not. I bet you say that to all the guys."

Jill's eyes widened. "I'm serious, Martin."

"Uh, huh." I wanted to believe her, but it was difficult.

I got dressed and walked to my car. It felt so wrong to leave.

I called Simon and told him I was on my way home. He didn't ask any questions, and I didn't volunteer any information. It didn't feel right to talk about it; it would just make it feel like less than it was.

Chapter 14

It was difficult managing two girlfriends over the holidays. Especially when the one you wanted to spend time with was the one you couldn't. Eventually, I guess I just got careless.

It was the second week of January. Jill and I were seeing each other regularly, every Wednesday evening and as often as I could get away on the weekend. I was pretty sure she was seeing me exclusively, and I was certainly sleeping with her exclusively. This was beginning to cause some problems at home. Not because Teresa missed the sex between us, but because she wanted to attend club events.

My interest in The Club waned pretty quickly. It wasn't as exciting as I thought it would be. I continued to attend events for Teresa's sake. And I attended the meetings on Wednesday evenings to get out of the house. But since I started seeing Jill, my desire to have sex with anyone else but she, was non-existent. I used the Wednesday night meeting time as my excuse to meet Jill, and just skipped the meetings. They weren't mandatory, and I didn't want to belong to the club anymore, anyway. That was where I made my mistake.

Teresa called Donna to talk about how depressed she was about missing club events. Donna consoled her and asked her why I had stopped coming to meetings. Teresa didn't have an answer for Donna, but didn't want to make her suspicious, either. She told her that work was keeping me late at the office. After all, if Teresa told Donna that she suspected I was sleeping with someone else, our membership would be terminated and she didn't want that.

I walked in one Wednesday night to find the house disheveled. Teresa's eyes were black from her dilated pupils. She had been drinking.

"Where have you been?" Teresa slurred. "Because I know you weren't at the meeting."

"You've been drinking."

"So, WHAT! You've been FUCKING!" She yelled.

"Yes, I have. What do you care?"

She stepped back. She wasn't expecting me to tell the truth. "Who is it?"

"No one you know."

She glared at me. "The least you can do is tell me her name."

"Okay. Her name is Jill."

"Jill? That slut that Simon dated?"

I slapped her face. It was totally reactive. "Shut up, Teresa. I've had enough."

"You slapped me, you fucking bastard! How dare you." She came at me with her arms flailing. I grabbed her wrists and held her. She tried to kick me, so I tripped her and set her onto the floor.

"Settle down."

"You're ruining everything."

"I'm not doing anything of the sort." My composure surprised even me.

"Well, I'm not going to hang around while you fuck another woman on the side."

"OK. Then leave."

"You think I won't?"

"I think you can't. When you sober up you'll realize that this isn't any different than fucking around with 7 other couples. You'll also realize that you have nowhere to go, no money, and no way to make money."

"Oh, fuck you! I do, too." She scrambled to her feet. "And you're wrong, I am leaving."

"You're not driving in this condition, Teresa."

She already had the phone in her hand and was dialing Sarah's number. I knew in my gut that it wasn't over. It wouldn't be that easy.

The next morning she came back and apologized. She told me that she wouldn't mention Jill again.

At first, I thought it might all work out. Instead of lying about where I was going, I would just tell Teresa I was headed to Jill's. My ignorant bliss didn't last long.

Teresa hid it at first. She drank while I was at work, and then hid the empty bottles so I wouldn't find out. I could tell she had been drinking, but I had no idea how much. She wouldn't eat dinner, and she started making excuses for not cooking. One day I came home to find that she never made it out of bed.

Then she started getting sick. First, she had some kind of upper respiratory illness that turned into pneumonia. She was bed-ridden for a week. Just as she was pulling out of that, she developed a stomach virus. She started vomiting violently. By the second day, she was passing out frequently. Her body temperature was around 101 degrees and I couldn't get it to drop. I had to run her to the emergency room. She was severely dehydrated.

I stayed with her until she recovered. It was my fault. No matter what the physical cause, her illnesses, her drinking, and her depression were my fault.

I thought about it for a long time. I wasn't ready to walk away from Jill. I liked her too much. But I couldn't leave Teresa in this condition, either. I decided to wait until Teresa was better to tell her that Jill and I were broken up. It was the most decent thing I could muster up the courage to do.

A couple weeks after that, I announced to Teresa that I/we had bought the house in the Northland and we would be moving. Her mood elevated dramatically and everything started to get back to normal.

Chapter 15

Some time in late January, early February when all that was going on, my silent investor, William Stoward, introduced me to Edward and Howard Tillman. They were brothers who were looking for investors in their startup business. William thought I might be interested.

Having just bought a million dollar home, I didn't have the means to invest. I did, however, possess the connections and could make the proper introductions to money. It would be a win-win-win. All parties would benefit financially.

It was essential that Teresa and I get the house together in time to host a house warming party for my business associates. I allowed her complete liberty to decorate it the way she liked. She had a rough budget to follow, but it was very generous.

I did equip this home with video cameras in nearly every room. Partly for security, and partly for my own entertainment.

We settled on a date for the party, May 21^st. That gave me another month to work on my targeted investor, Jason Ward, before making the introduction. I presented my role in this deal to the brothers, as being the one who would actually sell the relationship, and thus, close the deal for them. I also would handle a lot of the paperwork for them. For that, I would expect 5% of the amount of money being invested.

The original deal was 3% for an introduction, but after having met the Tillman brothers, I knew I was on tenuous footing; they had about as much charm as my pool deck. I would earn the extra 2% by building trust with Jason myself, and consulting him to invest. The more money Jason invested, the more money I made, so it was in my best interest to do a good job. I was going to ask for $2m, which would yield me $100k in a single transaction.

I spent nearly every waking moment thinking, planning, and strategizing that deal. After all, it was a big payout, and I could see that becoming an excellent side business for me. Teresa was pouring herself into setting up house. She was occupied, and that suited me just fine.

I had very little recreation time. I joined a workout facility to bond with Jason, but that was business. The real highlights of my day were my phone conversations and rendezvous' with Jill. I would find myself in the middle of drawing up contracts and out of nowhere, her face would appear in my mind. Next thing I knew, several minutes of daydreaming had passed and I was on the phone with her. She was like a drug, a highly addictive drug that I couldn't quit if I wanted to.

Mid April rolled around and my Business Manager, David Wineland, announced his engagement to Cassandra Jones. Cassandra was probably 20 years older than David, but you could hardly tell by looking at her. She was fit, young-looking, and fresh, and she was loaded. She had married well her first time around and inherited a small fortune, along with a house in Mission Hills. They had no children.

Since David knew both Jill and Simon from their visits to the office and occasional happy hours, they were both invited to his engagement party on the 16^th. It was the only social event I allowed myself to attend. I was unusually excited about going. The thought of seeing Jill in a social setting literally made me hard.

Jill brought her neighbor, Damon to the event. It was a last minute decision as a result of Simon changing his mind and deciding to bring a real date. He was supposed to be Jill's date. All of that was orchestrated to throw off Teresa. Jill wanted to cancel when Simon pulled out. It took three phone calls of pleading with her to come, in order to convince her to find someone else to ask. In my excitement about seeing Jill, I totally forgot that it would be the first time that Jill and Teresa would actually meet.

Jill and Damon were already at the party when Teresa and I arrived. I decided the best tack would be to just approach the introduction head-on as if there were nothing to hide. We strode up to Jill and Damon.

"Hi, how are you?" I asked Jill.

"Good. How 'bout you? How have you been?" Jill replied.

"Good, thanks. I'd like to introduce you to my girlfriend, Teresa Lieber. Teresa, this is Jill Harrison."

Teresa's eyes widened for a split second and then she regained complete composure.

"Nice to meet you, Jill."

"This is Damon Grimes. Damon, this is Martin and Teresa."

"Nice to meet both of you." Damon placed his hand on the small of Jill's back when he leaned in. Nice touch, asshole!

"How is business going, Martin?" Jill asked, as if she didn't know every minute detail.

"It's good. It's keeping me real busy. We just bought a house and we're in the process of moving in." I knew that the we would settle any doubts Teresa might still have.

"Really? That's great. Where?"

The conversation went on like this for awhile. I was surprised that Damon had no problem playing along. I noticed Simon walking through the front door with his date. She was petite, like Jill but not nearly as attractive. She is cute, though.

They approached us and we made the introductions. Her name was Jessie. She was polite and articulate. Smarter than Teresa. Simon seemed fairly enthusiastic about her. I mean, for her to make it to the second date she must have something special. He was coming off of the longest run of first dates I'd ever heard of.

I excused myself to go talk to David. Simon and Jessie stood with Jill and Damon while Teresa busied herself with some other ladies. Eventually, Simon and Damon peeled off into their own conversation while the girls stayed in a pack together. Simon came over to David and me, and managed to congratulate David just before he excused himself to greet another guest. It was just Simon and I surveying the room.

"She's cute. Second date, right?" I said, turning to Simon.

"Yeah. I like her. She's funny, sort of like Jill."

I looked over at Jill. She was standing next to Teresa. I tried to avoid comparing them physically, but it was right in front of me. I looked back at Simon.

"No one is like Jill."

Simon smiled and chuckled. "Uh, huh."

We stood there for another minute in silence.

"Who are all these people?"

"They're mostly Cassie's friends. David was allowed to invite two of his college friends, you, me, and Jill. And the only reason we were allowed is because she considers the three of us business acquaintances."

"Oh?"

"She didn't want this to turn into a drunken college brawl. Notice they aren't serving beer; only wine and mixed drinks?"

"Yeah, I wondered about that."

"Cassie doesn't want to advertise the difference in their ages."

I looked over at Simon. His gaze was fixated on Jessie. "I need to go rescue Jess from Teresa. I'm sure she's freezing by now." Simon laughed at his own joke.

"OK. See ya."

Damon walked up as Simon was leaving.

"Hey, Martin, how ya doin'?"

"Good."

Jill saw Damon approaching me and started walking up to join us. Her hair bounced with every step, reflecting light in all directions. She smiled big as she approached, showing her white teeth and deep dimples. There was nothing reserved about her. When she was happy, everyone knew it.

I could feel myself smiling as I watched her. I quickly shot a glance toward Teresa. She was facing the other direction and didn't notice.

"Hey, guys."

Damon extended his left arm and pulled Jill to his side with his arm around her.

Jill looked up at me, "Did you meet Jessie?"

"I did."

"She seems real nice. I like her."

"We'll see how long this one lasts. Don't get attached, yet."

Jill giggled. Damon's arm relaxed lower on Jill's back and his hand came to rest on the waistband of Jill's jeans. Ahem.

"Still, I think she is more Simon's type, don't you?" Jill continued.

"I don't know. If you say so."

Damon slipped his fingertips inside her waistband. Fucking asshole...watch it!

"Would you like me to get you something to drink?" Damon said, as he looked down at Jill.

Jill pulled away a little and said, "Sure. A glass of white wine would be nice."

"OK. I'll be right back. Martin, do you want anything?"

I want you to stop touching my girlfriend. "No, thanks. I'm cool."

Damon walked away, leaving Jill and I alone.

"You don't drink white wine." I started.

"No, not usually but if I tried to explain how to make a martini, he might insist I go with him. It got rid of him for a few seconds, didn't it?" She whispered the last part.

"Yes. He did a good job earlier faking it in front of Teresa. You would have thought he didn't know a thing."

"He doesn't. I couldn't risk telling him and having him blow our cover."

"Then, this isn't an act?"

Jill absentmindedly shook her head as she scanned the room. She took notice of Simon and Jessie curled up together alone on the loveseat talking intimately, and smiled.

"You better watch it, Jill. This guy wants you."

"Oh, please, Martin. Don't be ridiculous."

"I'm not. He is going to put the moves on you later. You watch."

"Oh, yeah...whatever. I don't think so. He's just being nice."

I wanted to convince her, but she could be so stubborn.

"Still, call me after you get home tonight so I don't worry."

"Martin, there's nothing to worry about. I'm a big girl; I can handle myself."

Damon walked up with Jill's glass of wine. She took one sip and cringed slightly. I noticed that Teresa had managed to change her position so that I was in her line of sight. I became very conscious of where I allowed my eyes to wander. It made me anxious and irritated. Or maybe Damon was making me anxious. He kept touching Jill, caressing her waist and the small of her back. I love the small of her back, it's so soft. I wanted to punch him.

I finally spotted David again across the room talking to one of his college buddies.

"I've got to ask David something about work. I'll catch up with you guys in awhile." Teresa was in my path toward David so I affectionately grabbed her waist and kissed her cheek as I passed. I hope Jill saw that.

I spotted Simon and Jess leaving the party at the same time Jill and Damon left. I checked my watch, 11:40pm. I made sure my cell phone was set to vibrate and mentally calculated how much time it would take for Jill to get home. I estimated that she would be calling around 12:10, worst case.

I couldn't concentrate on any conversation, and the party was starting to irritate me. I walked up to Teresa and informed her that we were leaving. By the time we said our goodbyes and got to the car, it was 12:05.

At 12:38, I pulled into the driveway. Shit! Why hasn't she called?

I announced to Teresa that I wanted to stay up for a bit and watch television. Ordinarily, she would just go to bed without me, but for some reason, she decided to stay in the living room. I fixed myself a martini. Then another one. I didn't want to look at the clock but I couldn't resist. 1:24. My heart was racing. I wanted to drive over there but I couldn't think of a reasonable excuse to leave the house. Teresa's voice startled me.