86th and Park

After watching for a little bit Allie got up and moved close to the TV. Suddenly her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my God, I know that girl!" She indicated the blonde. "That's Jessica. I met her. Shit, my girlfriend and I had sex with her!"

Helen was incredulous. "You know this girl?"

"Yes, yes, we met her. I think it was last Thanksgiving. Around that time anyway. We were at this club in the East Village, Orifice. You ever been there?"

"No, but I've heard of it," said Helen. Sandy shook her head.

"Yeah, it's a wild place. It's an S and M club for both straights and gays and Renee and I met Jessica there. She was with a much older guy, her boyfriend. I forget his name. I mean, she's like my age and he's probably like fifty. And there was a black girl with them too. Jasmine. Yeah, that was her name. And we like went back to the boyfriend's place. Jesus, it was right here on Park. I forget which street. But he's real rich and he's got one of these amazing old apartments like this one. And we had this wild orgy and he filmed it. Wow, she got into porn. That's too wild."

Helen said, "Can you introduce us to her? I would love to meet her." She looked at Sandy. "Maybe the old guy is Jon Lynch, the guy who makes these movies. You feel like getting into porn." Sandy made a face. "Oh, baby, I'm just kidding."

Allie said, "No, I only met her that one time. I don't know where she lives or anything. But you know, I have seen the boyfriend at Orifice a couple of times since then. I wish I could remeber his name. Jon Lynch doesn't sound right. Hey, maybe we should go there sometime. Maybe we would see them there. I would love to meet her again. She's awesome. You wanna go sometime?"

"Yeah," said Helen. "Yeah, let's do that." She got up from her chair and went into her closet. She came out with an armful of whips, paddles, handcuffs and dildos. "In the meantime I think it's time we got medieval with little sister here."

"Ooh," breathed Allie.

T E N

The smell of duck cooking in the oven wafted in from the kitchen. Gerald sat in the living room, Scotch in hand, his second. WQXR played on the radio, but he paid it no mind. He was brooding. Maria, his housekeeper and cook, was in the kitchen preparing dinner for him, Jess, Jane and Sandy. Jess had gotten back from school yesterday. They had made love last night, but it had been perfunctory, and afterwards she had left him to sleep in her own bed. At breakfast she had been monosyllabic. When he told her about dinner plans, about meeting Jane and Sandy, she had sighed dramatically. He hadn't seen her since.

It was nearing seven, and their guests would be arriving shortly. More than anything he wanted to pick up the phone and cancel their plans, but it was too late to do that. All the good feeling generated by his conversation two weeks ago with Jane about his daughter had vanished, replaced by indecision, even dread. Something was definitely wrong between Jess and him. Or something unrelated to him was making her very unhappy. What to do? Have a frank talk? Give her time? Jane had told him to follow his heart. At this particular moment he might as well follow his gall bladder. He had no idea what was in his heart. He shifted in his armchair. There was one thing he could be decisive about -- have another drink.

Distractedly he made his way to the kitchen for the Scotch. He began to sing under his breath, "Que sera, sera/Whatever will be, will be." Jess was already in the kitchen when he got there, pouring herself a glass of wine. That was a first. While she might have a glass of wine with dinner, he had never seen her have one beforehand.

Rather than say something about it, he complimented her appearance as he filled his glass.

"Thanks, Dad." She sniffed and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

He meant it. She was impeccable in black pants and a white blouse, finger- and toenails painted bright red, her blonde hair shining. He wanted to run his fingers through that hair, breathe in its essence. He noticed that the top three buttons on her blouse were undone. Again, that was unlike her. She always presented herself more demurely. Had she been careless? Did she do that for him? For Jane and Sandy? He had mentioned this morning that they were gay. Maria stood at the sink peeling shrimp for an appetizer. He drank off about half the Scotch in his glass, more than he had intended. He almost coughed. "Why don't we go out to the living room? Jane and Sandy should be here any minute."

She preceded him out of the kitchen. Over her shoulder she said, "Dad, I may go out after dinner."

He kept a stiff upper lip. "That's fine, honey. Is Hitome home?"

"No, she's still at school finishing up. She'll be down here next week." She didn't volunteer any more information.

He resisted the urge to ask the obvious question. She sat on the couch, he in his armchair. She sniffed again and wiped her nose.

"Are you getting a cold?"

"No."

Silence. He drank. So did she. He was relieved when the intercom squawked, which meant the doorman was announcing Jane and Sandy. He pressed the button on the intercom and spoke into it, "Send them up." He had a minute before they would buzz at the front door, so he dropped his glass off in the kitchen, draining it first, and went to the bathroom for a rinse of mouthwash.

He heard the buzzer and went to the door. He plastered a smile on his face as he opened it. He bowed deeply and did a silly flourish with his hand to admit them. God, he thought, I'm drunk. Jane didn't seem to notice. She entered, looked around and said, "Gerald, your foyer is exactly like mine." She was wearing a pale-blue, low-cut summer dress. Her deep cleavage was fully on display. He had never seen her dressed like this before.

"If I'm not mistaken, Jane, the layout of our apartments is exactly the same. How are you, dear?" They exchanged a quick peck. "Hello, Sandy, it's nice to see you again. Welcome." He shook her hand and noticed she now wore a Sappho ring. He also noticed she was dressed like Jess, black pants, white blouse. He gestured ahead and fell in behind Sandy as they walked single-file to the living room. He wanted to rub his eyes. He was sure she was not wearing a bra. Her uncaged tits bobbed. Oh, Jane, he thought, Jane, Jane, Jane. What have you done to this girl? He laughed, a little crazily, to himself.

In the living room Jess was on her feet. He said, "Jane, I'd like to introduce my daughter, Jessica. Jess, please meet Jane Worthington, who is a litigation partner at the firm, and her friend is Sandy Pokanovich. Did I get your name right, Sandy?"

"Yes." She was looking at Jess. Suddenly she said, "Oh my God."

Jane said, "Is something the matter, Sandy?"

"Uh ... no. No, I just got a cramp in my side. But it's gone now."

Could it get any weirder? he thought. Aloud he said, "Well, let's have a drink."

* * *

Dinner had gone without a hitch, which was a pleasant surprise to Gerald. Now with dessert plates pushed to the side Jess and Sandy lingered over the last of their wine while Jane and he had moved on to Cognac. They had finished off nearly four bottles of wine. He was officially drunk and had trouble focusing his eyes, but he studied Jane's face. She was seated to his left and was staring across the table at Jess and Sandy who were deep in conversation, as they had been throughout dinner, just as he had been with her. He shifted his glance to the two young women. Good, he thought, they're hitting it off. His only concern was how much wine Jess had drunk. Counting the one before dinner this was her fourth glass. He had never seen her have more than one before. Plus she had excused herself three times during dinner to go to the bathroom, returning each time sniffling. Well, now was no time to criticize. He had had too much to drink himself. His mood soured a bit.

Jess interrupted his thoughts by saying, "Dad, I'm going to show Sandy the apartment."

"Good idea. Enjoy the tour, Sandy." He turned in his chair to watch them leave. Was it his imagination or were they holding hands? He continued to have problems with his eyes. He turned back to Jane, who was also looking at the departing figures. She felt his gaze and met it. They didn't speak till she reached and took his hand in hers.

"Penny for your thoughts," she said.

"No."

She laughed. She had had a lot to drink as well. "Your daughter is beautiful."

"You should have seen her mother." Part of him didn't want to have this conversation. The part that did manifested itself in his stiffening cock.

"Yes, I wish I could have known her." She paused. "Sandy is beautiful too, don't you think? I'd like to give her to you. Do you know she's never been with a man? Well, Helen told me she was raped once, but that doesn't count. I too have never been with a man, dear Gerald. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

He felt his willpower cracking and didn't say anything.

"Show me your apartment, Gerald. Actually, show me that ballet studio-cum-torture chamber you told me about."

He rose, a little unsteadily. "We'll take the Cognac with us." He led her out of the dining room, Cognac bottle in hand, down the long, narrow hallway that led to the rear of the apartment. He had converted the last three rooms on the left at the end of the corridor into themed sexual playrooms. The first one they passed was a doctor's office, complete with a genuine gynecological examination chair. Next came a faux schoolroom. The last was his pride and joy, the ballet studio. It had a perfectly restored oak floor, a piano and an actual barre. One wall was mirrored floor to ceiling with sectional panels and another wall was lined with numerous whips, paddles and dildos. Jane circled the room. "This is marvelous, Gerald."

"Let me show you something really nifty." She followed him to the mirrored panel farthest left along that wall. It had an unobtrusive handle attached to it. He pulled on the handle. The panel was hinged and swung open like a door. He stepped aside and indicated she should enter the small room, which was bare except for two chairs. "Sit down," he said. She did and he closed the mirror and sat beside her. She realized at once it was a one-way mirror. She could see clearly into the room.

"Very clever, Gerald. This satisfies the voyeur in you, I suppose."

"It does indeed." He lifted the Cognac bottle to his lips and took two swallows. He wiped the top, then handed it to her.

"You're a terrible influence, Gerald McNeil." She took a sip and returned the bottle. He set it on the floor between them.

Just then Jess and Sandy burst into the room, giggling like mad. When they calmed down Jess put her arms around Sandy's neck and kissed her. The kiss became long and passionate. When it ended Jess said, "You're really cute."

"So are you. God, that coke was excellent. I'm so horny right now." She looked around. "Wow, it's like you said. God, your dad must be really kinky. You know, he's really cute for a guy."

"So they say." Sandy reached for her, but she went over and sat at the piano. She began to play a Chopin mazurka.

"Oh, wow, you play." She sat next to Jess on the bench. "God, you're really good."

"Thanks." She stopped playing. "I started taking lessons when I was six." She faced Sandy and began to unbotton her own blouse. Sandy reached in and began to caress her breasts through her bra.

Gerald and Jane sat riveted. He looked at her and saw that she had pulled her dress up to her waist and was masturbating. His cock bulged. She caught his eye and nodded at his crotch. He unzipped his fly, took his cock out and began to stroke it. They watched each other jerk off.

Suddenly Jane squirted three feet in the air and cried out. Jess heard the cry and immediately looked over in their direction. She knew of course about the one-way mirror and knew they were being watched. Sandy's face was buried in her breasts, and she hadn't heard anything. Jess put her hands on Sandy's shoulders and gently pushed her away. She got up and took all her clothes off, staring at the mirror the whole time. She went over to the barre, grabbed it with both hands and bent at the waist. She looked at Sandy and said, "Do me." She looked back at the mirror. Gerald thought he saw hate in her eyes. "Do me," she said again. "Hurt me." She spoke to the mirror.

Sandy took her clothes off and selected a paddle from the ones hanging on the wall. She stood behind Jess, held the paddle in one hand and caressed her bottom with the other. She said, "I really wanna be your lover." She paused. "There is something I wanna tell you. I've seen you before. I saw you in a porn movie. I thought you were incredibly --"

Jess straightened up and hastily put her hand over Sandy's mouth. "Ssshh," she said. "Don't talk about that right now."

Gerald raised his head. He was looking down at Jane, on all fours, sucking his cock. What had he heard Sandy just say? His mind was flooded as he came into Jane's mouth, the question sinking with the ship.

He remembered nothing about that moment or anything about the rest of the evening when he awoke late the next morning. Had he even seen their guests to the door?

E L E V E N

The phone rang. It was Friday afternoon, and Gerald was making final edits to a document. He hoped to leave the office by five o'clock. The phone call was an intrusion, but he answered it anyway. "Gerald McNeil."

"Hello, counselor." It was Jane.

"Ah, counselor. How are you? I haven't talked to you in a while."

"Well, we're going to rectify that tonight. We're all going to meet at Orifice, right?"

He had no idea what she was talking about. He temporized. "Was that tonight?"

"Yes, Gerald. Wait a minute. Do you not remember last Friday after dinner inviting me to go to Orifice with you? I in turn invited Holly, Helen and Sandy. Helen and Sandy in turn invited two friends of theirs whom I've not met, Allie and Renee. A whole gang of us are going. You were awfully drunk that night, Gerald McNeil."

"I was. You would not have wanted my head the next morining. And no, I don't remember inviting you to Orifice. Shame on me. But I'll go. If I said I would, I will. I didn't make any plans for tonight."

"Good. We'll see you about ten then. You gave me the address. It's on West 20th, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, see you later."

"Okay. Bye."

Once home he headed straight for the Scotch. The truth was, he had been drinking heavily since Jessica had returned. She was barely speaking to him, and they had not made love since her first night home. He wasn't even sure she was spending nights here. He thought she might have been going to Hitome's. Her parents lived in the city. Or she was spending the night someplace else. He didn't want to think about that. He had continued to avoid any confrontation with her. He was in the kitchen pouring his second Scotch when she walked in. "Oh hi, dear. Listen, I'll be going out tonight about ten o'clock," he said.

"That's okay. I'll be leaving soon myself. I probably won't be back till tomorrow."

He tightened his grip on his glass. "Where are you going?" He tried to sound casual.

''To Hitome's. She's home now."

He loosened his grip. "Okay. See you later then."

He was in a cab shortly before ten. Fifteen minutes later it pulled up before a two-story brick building that was painted over entirely in black. Even the windows were blacked out. No sign announced this was Orifice. This stretch of West 20th was quiet, with only a couple of apartment buildings. Graffiti defaced the walls of buildings up and down the street.

He entered the club. Immediately to the right was a large closet that had been converted to a coatcheck room. He paid a twenty-dollar admission there and had the back of his hand stamped, which meant he could leave the club and return without repaying. Ahead of him was a lounge with a bar that served juices and soft drinks. The club didn't have a liquor license. After five Scotches he didn't need any more alcohol anyway. He stopped at the bar for a cranberry juice.

Juice in hand he wandered into the first play area. No Jane and friends. Then he noticed Allie and Renee. He hadn't seen them in months. He and Jess had played with them once, last year, and on his own he has seen them a couple of times since. He liked them, especially Allie, who reminded him of his daughter. Allie was upright and naked, and Renee had wrapped her head to toe in Saran Wrap. Other than holes punched for her mouth and nose she was totally mummified. He approached them. "Hello, hello. I know you two."

Renee turned to him. "Oh hi. It's Gerald." She kissed his cheek. Allie was wrapped so tight she wasn't able to speak but she acknowledged him with her eyes.

"How long will she stay fresh?"

Renee laughed. "As long as I want her to." She played with Allie's clit through the wrap. Allie began to pant. "Hey," said Renee, "is Jessica here?"

"No ... no, I don't see her much anymore." Suddenly a terrible thought occurred to him. Jane had said they would be meeting an Allie and Renee here. Was this who she had meant? "Are you meeting friends here tonight?"

"Yeah. Allie met some girls named Sandy and Helen. They're coming down here and I think some of their friends are too."

He had to leave. These two girls knew Jess as his girlfriend, but Jane and company knew her as his daughter. He couldn't risk being there when they all met up and the conversation turned to Jessica. It was one thing for Jane to know about his relationship with Jess. She was the soul of discretion. But he couldn't trust anyone else. He had to leave -- now. "I'm going to wander a bit. See who else is here. See you two later."

Renee smiled at him. "Late."

He dropped his glass off at the bar and went straight to the front door. He was reaching for the doorknob when the door swung open and he stood face to face with Hitome. They were both so startled that neither spoke for a moment. She looked over her shoulder, seemed about to leave, then stepped inside and closed the door behind her. She said, "Mr. McNeil, this is so embarrassing. I don't know what to say. No, wait, it's good you're here. Jess needs your help. She's really in trouble. She's outside now with two guys we've been ... working with. Do you know who Stone is?" He nodded. "One of the guys is Stone and the other is his dad. I used to like them but now I think they're assholes and I'm sure they gave Jess roofies or something. She's so stoned now she can hardly stand up."

That was all he needed to hear. He was past her now, out the door. Sure enough, to his right, thirty feet away was Jess, supported on one side by a tall, muscular young man and on the other by a tall, thin guy about his age. He was on automatic pilot, fueled by rage, headed for them. "Hey, what are you doin'. That's my daughter." He rushed at the older man and pushed him as hard as he could. The guy flew backwards and hit his head on the sidewalk. He didn't get up. He turned to the younger man, who was bent over laying Jessica on the ground. This must be Stone, he thought. He lunged at the boy to tackle him, but the boy was ready for him and they wound up in a bear hug. He knew immediately that Stone was much stronger than he was and he had no hope of winning a fight. Just then though Hitome came up behind Stone, grabbed a garbage-can lid and hit him over the head with it. Stone covered his head with his hands, and Hitome came around to face him and kicked him in the balls. Stone dropped to his knees like he'd been shot.

"Mr. McNeil, take Jessica home. I'm sure she'll be okay. She just needs to sleep. Tell her I'll call tomorrow."

He lifted his daughter to her feet. She was semiconscious. Her eyes were closed, but she could walk. Her lips moved, but no sound came out. He walked her to the curb. Fortunately a cab was coming by. He waved it down and helped her in, then got in beside her.