Wound in Time: At First

She pondered even as she left José to his work and returned to hers. For the entire day, her mind remained unsettled. Oh, but at least it didn't feel like a crash anymore, or did it?

********

Meanwhile, in her office at the art gallery called Illusions, Bellinda Ross sat in her executive chair and replayed the curious incident again and again in her mind; trying to figure out what about the tall, dark skinned woman, had so enticed her.

She had left the place in a rush of sensations which would have been ill to express with her uncle nearby. Something about the gentle expression behind those honey-hazel eyes, that brief but eloquent handshake that sent shivers up and down her spine. Her pussy was tingling and damn it, she needed some relief. It's been almost four months since she got any action and that was saying a lot.

She had been crushing her thighs together all through afternoon meetings with important clients and upon slipping her hand down under her skirt she was shocked, but not entirely surprised to find her panties damp. Stifling a moan, she rubbed the silk material against her aching sex. Just enough to feel more of the wetness that didn't cease to flow. She knew she had work to do but her liberal mind said, "Fuck it!"

And so she did. She buzzed her secretary, Adam, and told him to forward all calls to the answering machine, after all, she was covered in work and needed time to sort it all out.

Adam, the sunny gay boy who knew his boss too well, rolled his eyes sarcastically outside the door and promised to follow the order.

With that taken care of, Bella returned to her self-served ministrations. She opened a small box hidden in a side cabinet and took out her favorite vibrator,- for work anyway. It was a slender-looking blue thing, about three inches long with enough power to drive her insane for hours. She smiled at herself in the mirror on the opposite wall.

She spread her legs over her desk and put the vibrator to work. Letting it massage her swollen lips and slowly dragging it up her slit to the fleshy bundle of nerves. She let the vibe play there for a while, using little pressure as she enjoyed the build up of tension in her loins. Her breathing had become ragged and only when she paid attention did she realize who's name she'd been moaning all along.

The realization brought her hard over the edge as her orgasm rippled through her lithe frame, radiating from her pussy and spreading fast to her toes then jerking up her spine, all the way to her brain. She was so high-strung, the intensity of her climax brought on strong aftershocks and at the height of it, "Oh...Mavin!" She gasped.

Outside, Adam, laughed to himself.

**********

Mavin sat on her Lazy-boy chair in her dilapidated, but spacious apartment, thinking about the day's events and washing them down with a cold beer. She looked around the shanty looking place she called home. The walls were bare, with no sign of life. The plain beige color did nothing to help it. Dark drapes hung over the windows because she couldn't stand the abundant, morning sunlight. The wide-screen TV and a mega-watt sound system were her only effort to give the place any type of lift.

She most definitely had the wealth to live lavishly but she didn't have a reason to be lavish. Clothes, clean and otherwise, hung about. Papers she never read clung to the center table. She didn't cook often these days, so there was nothing in her fridge except beer and water and the occasional protein shake. Alone, on the far side of the large apartment, stood a trophy case with more than two dozen trophies. Many from her days in college, but most from her days as a professional bodybuilder.

Mavin, now in her mid-thirties, had been a successful bodybuilder half a decade ago. She had been an elite, with excellent shape, form and most importantly, size. Her 6'0 foot frame held just about 270 lbs of hard muscle. She had the genes and the drive in the gym and the supplements and the encouragement of her colleagues. She won competitions because of her grace and martial routines. She had everything anyone in the business could ever dream of, but then the crashes came and she sunk lower and lower with each passing one.

She had suddenly lost the drive to compete and be the best; the growing emptiness she felt tore at her. She had gotten tired of the parties, the women and the inevitable excesses the lifestyle brought. The women had equally grown weary of her. Her fiery temper made her an enigma; her lovers didn't understand why she would become suddenly irrate at the most irrelevant things. Like a piece of paper out of place, or something missing from the fridge.

There had been many lovers, more than she cared to count or remember. Then, there had been Cecelia. The short fitness model that caught her eye and her loins. She had been so enthralled in the woman that in a matter of three months, Mavin had asked the blond girl to live with her. The sex was great and things had been good for a while.

Then Mavin crashed and it all fell apart. Mavin stayed out late and came home drunk. She had one-night stands with women she barely knew and of course Cecelia heard about them. Mavin missed competition preliminaries and soon fell in the ratings. She still had her professional card, but it wasn't getting much use.

It had all ended when Cecelia came home and found Mavin in their bed with another woman. She had blown her top off and Mavin, in her drunken stupor had said things that led to Cecelia threatening the other woman with a butcher knife. There had been a fight, still very fuzzy in her mind, but Mavin remembered the knife at her neck searing the flesh and Cecelia leaving her in a pool of warm blood.

The doctors who patched her up, told her that her vocal cords were badly damaged and that while she would heal, she would never been able to speak in anything higher than a very low contralto. Mavin had to relearn how to speak from a lower point in her throat as anything higher would result in no sound at all.

Mavin let her mind drift back to the events earlier today. 'Bellinda.' She let the name echo in her mind for a while. Guzzling down the rest of her beer, she got up and headed to her workout room. She donned her boxing gloves and took out her feelings on the heavy bag in the corner of the large, heavily-equipped room. She unleashed all the fury she had to give and more than two hours later, she was sweating a river.

Instead of heading to the shower, she collapsed on the floor and passed out.

************** A few weeks later **************

"Yes...No I understand. No problem. Thank you." 'click' The line went dead. "Bastards," Bellinda murmured to herself behind a mountain of paperwork.

She had just finished talking to some lenders about a show she was organizing at the gallery. It was a big art museum and she wanted to borrow some pieces to display in her gallery. They had denied her by way of saying she had to wait for ten months because those particular pieces were already out on loan.

"Fucking assholes!" She muttered angrily. So what if her gallery features art with homosexual undertones? It's still art, for crying out loud!

She buzzed Adam, "Hey Agua Lad, hold all calls and cancel all appointments."

"They refused your request?" Adam asked, guessing the nature of his boss and friend's predicament.

"Pretty much. I'm not worried about it though, they'll be begging me to take the pieces like they're evidence from a crime scene."

"What are you gonna do?"

"Well, I was thinking of hitting the club. You up for it?"

"Hell yeah! Oh, by the way, this guy has been calling a lot about one of your not-for-sale pieces and-"

"Adam, you know those are off limits."

"Oh, but he's really cute though."

"Wait, come in here." Bellinda realized they were talking on the phone with just a wall between them.

"Yes ma'am!" Adam said excitedly as he hung up his line and flew through Bellinda's door.

"Okay, go on about his cuteness and we'll see." Bella sat back in her chair and pinned her eyes on Adam.

"Come on Bella, he's willing to pay for it."

"And I'm not really in need of cash at the moment. You know I don't sell my originals, not just to anyone."

Adam sighed, "Alright look, what if you met with him and I dunno, have him write a thesis paper on what he thinks of your work?"

Bellinda smiled at her friend's antics, "You know, that's a very good suggestion. What I really want to know is why you're playing middleman."

"Like I said, he's a hot guy." Adam grinned.

"Fine, have him call me, I'll see what I can do."

"Oh, you're so kind." Adam said genuinely.

"Yes, but I'm also about to go crazy, so what do you say to packing up early and hitting the club?"

"Si, Si, Señorita!" Adam nodded in deep approval.

Bellinda just smiled and gathered some papers off her desk.

*************

The days flew by as emptily as ever. Mavin didn't see Bellinda or hear anything about her. She'd pushed thoughts of anything between her and Bellinda out of her mind. She'd be crazy to hope for anything like that, she couldn't handle it.

Mavin had been hard at work, analyzing the new wonder drug. She had a few more tests to run and program into the database, but she got paged by José about something urgent. She abandoned her work without a second glance and bounded for José's office across the building. If it was urgent why was he calling her and not people who could actually help? She figured José needed help with something, so she hurried in as fast as her long legs carried her.

When she practically stormed into the office, she nearly fainted. In part because she was out of breath and secondly because José didn't look as urgent as he'd sounded. With a motion José offered her a seat in the office.

"What's the emergency?" Mavin asked as she sat.

"Well, there's an event on Saturday and I'm in need of a bodyguard, you interested?"

"What?!" Mavin said as her eyebrows jumped on her forehead.

"Gotcha!" José said as he burst into laughter, slapping his good knee.

"Come on man, you know I've got work to do." Mavin sighed as she got up to leave.

"Oh, sit your ass down, Mavin. You need a break every now and then."

"José, having me run down here at ninety miles per hour is not my idea of a break." Mavin said as she sat again.

"Alright, I'll keep that in mind." José kept smiling, "But, there really is an event this weekend, and I wanted to invite you."

"That's great and all but-"

"I won't take no for an answer today. I know you have nothing but a sleeping marathon planned for the weekend."

"I'm not big on parties man, you know that." Mavin smiled tiredly. It wasn't the first time she'd turned down an invitation to a shindig.

"Well this one's different mi compadre, my niece is celebrating the anniversary of her gallery."

"Bellinda?" Mavin said as memories flashed through her mind.

"Yeah, she's owned the gallery for about five years now. Doing very well too" José gushed happily.

"What does that have to do with me?" Mavin said and regretted it instantly as José wore a pained look.

"Listen, she's like a daughter to me. Her happiness is my happiness. You're like family, who else would I want to share that joy with?"

Mavin remained quiet. She wanted to kick herself for spurring this guilt-trip.

"I'm just asking you, because we've known each other for a long time. Besides, she wants you to come to the party as well."

Mavin's ears perked up at that bit. "Get outta here, I don't buy that." She said tightly.

"Well, then you'd be missing out on a really good thing." José chuckled.

"Look man, I've got work to do. Let me get back to you on that."

"Alright, take it easy." José sighed tiredly.

Mavin nodded as she made her way out of Jose's office.

The rest of the day had been hell for her. She couldn't work with clouded thoughts and shaky hands as a mixture of fear, anger and lust consumed her.

***************

The week couldn't have gone by more excruciatingly. Bella had reported the museum incident to her father, Senator Jack Ross. He was a liberal man with no difficulty in bringing ferocious litigation against his enemies. He had called a friend of his who was a well known judge and that in turn led to the art museum getting threats of a legal shakedown by various anti-discrimination groups and First Amendment advocates.

Bella didn't usually run to her father about such things, but this time was different. She was expecting a peaceful weekend and was tired of getting the short end from conservative morons. She sighed contentedly when she received a message from the museum that they were willing to lend her the pieces and let her keep them for an extended amount of time.

It was still Thursday and Bella hadn't heard a word from her uncle about Mavin. She hoped the tall woman accepted her invitation. After all, Bellinda was an attractive woman of twenty-eight. Her 5-foot-7, 135lb frame that held her 36D breasts, wide hips with a tear drop ass, never failed to make anyone drool.

She had a smooth, dusky complexion that when combined with her fiery red hair and intense green eyes, no doubt left strangers in a trance. She had gotten those from her mother, as far as she could tell from pictures. Being a mix of Irish and Spanish had many good qualities, one of which was her father. Bellinda smiled to herself as she imagined the details of her father's actions.

She lived by herself in a mildly lavish condo that her father insisted she have. Her taste for art didn't exactly follow her home, but she liked the Victorian decor that clothed her place. Her kitchen was the only modern looking area in the apartment with marble floors, electric grills and the shiny cookware that screamed of a cookaholic. And it was where she sat now, by the small island sipping her favorite French vanilla tea.

She eyed the clock, it was nine-thirty and very dark outside. Her mind wandered back to the alleyway event. She shuddered at the thought of what could have been done to her. She remembered how tired she had been that day, walking home because she didn't trust herself behind a wheel.

The drunk, foul-smelling man had requested for her purse, actually, he had tried to grab it from her. She had screamed and he changed his mind about the purse and decided to rape her. She saw it vividly, how the tall, dark figure had saved her by effectively beating the sense out of her assailant and then run off.

****************

It was Thursday night and Mavin had had a treacherous week. Not only had she basically snapped at everyone at work, but had done so with the irksome anger directed at herself. She was angry at the way she felt about Bellinda's invitation. She was afraid of screwing up whatever chance Bellinda seemed to be offering.

"Damn José," she mumbled. He had set her up. If it wasn't for his irresistible good cheer, she would've served him a can of whoop-ass.

"Bellinda." She almost groaned, as she stood in the shower, letting the warm water relieve her aching muscles. She had just finished a high-intensity session of weight-lifting. She was no longer competition size, but at 220 lbs she still kept her body very much in shape. Her curly, black hair was short and in lock-twists mainly for convenience. She didn't bother with roasting her scalp or sewing hair into it. She preferred the simplicity of being as natural as possible. Her justification for her career as a bodybuilder was just as easy; she had the natural ability for it.

Her depression had set in unexpectedly as old childhood memories magnified by the stigma of being a female bodybuilder pushed and pulled at her psyche. She didn't see anyone about them, she told herself she didn't need to. Try as she might, she couldn't properly attribute her reasons for her rampant behaviors.

The infidelity was no doubt ingrained at birth. After all, her Nigerian background was one where which men took numerous wives and were encouraged to, as a way of displaying their wealth and manhood. She herself came from a large family. Her father had four wives; one of her uncles had ten. The numbers of siblings, legitimate and otherwise, were amazing.

But that was how she was raised. She never saw herself with a husband, and she was too selfish to even want children. Sure, children were bundles of joy, but she didn't deserve them. Her degrees in chemical and computer engineering as well as fitness and nutrition served her well. Some of the choices she made, however did not.

Mavin turned off the shower and proceeded to dry her body. She stood tall in front of the wall-length mirror, looking at someone she almost didn't recognize. The long crescent scar that dragged on from the left side of her neck down to her right collar bone caught her attention, as it always did. She examined herself, her shape was relatively masculine but the sheen of her dark skin softened her look.

Her breasts were very small but she'd always been flat-chested and her pronounced pectorals did not hide her years of pumping iron. She flexed a bit. Her thighs rippled with taut quadriceps. Her pussy was waxed bald, but she didn't pay much mind to it. Of course, she knew her body well and in some regard, she knew she was appealing. Still, the redhead's invitation threw her for a loop. "What does she see in me?" She asked no one in particular.

Her wide back and slim waist were offset by her thick thighs and strong calves. She remembered herself at 270 lbs and smiled. She'd had her share of lovers and it puzzled her what they found so attractive in her. She knew she was a capable lover, at least until her temper rose and all hell broke loose.

She frowned. Her strong, handsome features set in a gruesome scowl. She chuckled a bit. No doubt she enjoyed being a devil every now and then. But just as Mavin sank deeper into her own mind, Bellinda's soothing voice once again echoed through her. She couldn't help but shiver even though her body was already dry and her skin was starting to complain. She shook her head clear and proceeded to the bedroom.

"Might as well get a head start," she murmured as she left the bathroom and dialed José.

****************

Bella was sleeping like a log when her phone rang and shook violently on the bedside stool. She groaned sleepily, her clock glaring at her. It was 10:15. What kind of person would disturb another's rest at such an hour? She reached for the screaming phone.

"Hello?"

"Hi, it's José." The cheery voice said, knocking Bella out of her dream state.

"Oh, hi Uncle. Sorry, I was asleep."

"Lo siento mucho mi hija."

"No. It's fine, really."

"Listen, I have some news for you." José said with a hint of graveness and paused.

"She said no?" Bellinda said, the disappointment already dripping on her tone.

"Well, I spoke to her earlier, and she's accepted your invitation."

"Oh my goodness, are you trying to give me a heart attack?" Bella sighed, the relief evident.

"Ah, but you know I love you." José chimed and cleared his throat. "Do me a favor Bella."

"No problem. What is it?" Bellinda said quickly, her breath almost failing her.

"Go easy on her." José laughed.

"Estas muy loco." She sighed.

"Yo sé, yo sé." José said, anything for a laugh.

"Anyway," Bella said "I'll see you tomorrow Uncle."

"Si, buenas noche." José said.

"Good night Uncle." Bellinda yawned as she hung up.

Bella couldn't contain herself anymore; she squealed with delight into her pillow and couldn't sleep fast enough.

*****************

After a trip to a Men's Warehouse location, Mavin had a new tieless suit. It was black and pinstriped with deep blue rays. It had silver trimmings on the pockets and pants. A silk, pale-peach colored shirt with high a collar and platinum cufflinks would be very eye-catching on her. She'd gotten new, leather shoes and a belt to match.