Always Belle Ch. 11

"Anyway," he continued, "It's my first time in here. Any recommendations?"

"I'm no regular. Been here two, maybe three times when I was younger. Hey, listen man, I've gotta go do--"

"Cool, what'd you have back then?" He quickly followed, keeping me from leaving.

"Um, the 'pancake party' platter. Not sure if syrup, chocolate chips, and sprinkles would suit an adult palette."

"Fair enough," the guy chuckled. "Hey man, I'm kinda out here just killing time right now. I know you were just about to leave, but if you're hungry, I'd trade you a meal for some friendly conversation."

"My mom taught me not to accept food from strangers," I said half-jokingly.

"Your mom's a smart woman. My name's Leon. And no, I'm no serial killer. Just a regular guy," he smiled.

-Ken, take this moment as a sign. Squash that paranoia of yours. One, Colin's taking a nap. Two, the girls are still out in the village. And three, you just scored yourself a free dinner. You gotta chill dude, everything's copacetic.

-Fuck, maybe you're right...

-Take a seat. Eat up now so your stomach can soak up the alcohol later.

I took another second to convince myself. "Alright Leon, sure, why not." I sat back down, getting comfortable again.

Leon looked pleased to have my company. He called the waitress over, and put in our desired food orders.

"So what brings you to Swantree Lake?" I asked him, making small talk.

"I own a cabin out here, out on R street," he answered, mindlessly scribbling on a napkin.

"Cool. Do you like living out here?"

"Oh, I'm not a resident. I purchased a property out here as a vacation home. Recently rebuilt it in the whole 'cabin style,' but, between you and me, all the neighbors hate me and my house. They've been crying to the local council that it has too much concrete and glass."

"I'm not surprised man. The people here skew older, more traditional."

"Yeah see, you get me. These puritans think I've ruined the whole cul-de-sac."

"Well Leon, for what it's worth, I support your architectural rights," I said with whimsy.

"You're a man of culture, I can tell. If I knew you better, I'd invite you over to show you the finer details I put into my lake house."

"And that's when you'd tie me up and torture me to death, right?" I joked.

"At least I'm buying you dinner first," he returned, getting me to actually laugh.

He continued, "To be honest, would love to say I'm out here in Swantree Lake purely for leisure. But I am doing a little business. Trying to nail down a big negotiation. How about you man, what brings you out here?"

"A group of us are celebrating my cousin's birthday. He turns 21 today."

"Cool." He sipped his glass of water. "So what do you do for a living?"

"Currently? At the moment, I'm unemployed--well technically--I'm a personal assistant for someone. But that's just temporary."

"We all gotta start somewhere, Jim."

I immediately shot the guy laser eyes. "What'd you call me?"

"Mr. Wilcox, relax. We're friends here."

Fuck me! This motherfucker was the Host from Castle Slate!

I stood up. "What the fuck man, are you stalking me or something?"

"No. You're the one that fell into my lap, first at the castle, then here at this diner. You know, you never called me back. Wasted a perfectly good business card."

I stood up livid. "I'm gonna head out 'Leon,' if that's even your real name."

"You tell me." The Host seemed wholly prepared for my reaction. He presented me his phone, which showed his biography and photo on the company website for Seelby, a big tech company that'd been making waves lately with virtual reality.

I examined the webpage closely, verifying that he indeed, was the head of some high-up division.

Leon calmly continued, "Let's start from scratch, Jim. Man to man, no frills. You know who I am now. You could blackmail me if you wanted to. And I don't even know your real name. I've got no leverage."

"What do you want from me?" I shot back.

"Just a simple answer. Are you interested in a real job at Seelby?"

I started thinking this guy's gotta be nuts if he thought the advice I gave him for his sex parties made for a great tech employee. "Why me?"

"The way your brain works, I need that on my team. If you need more convincing, here's what I'm offering as a starting salary." He slid me the napkin he had scribbled on, which listed a string of digits that imprinted dollar signs in my eyeballs.

He added, "And there'd be flexibility from within. You can work on what you're interested in. My team dips our feet into a bunch of cool shit."

I took a second to give this proposal some serious thought, trying to weigh the pros and cons. This guy's credentials were genuine. His company was also legit, one that I had applied to but never heard back from. And what he said was true, that I did have 'dirt' on him now if he tried to unfairly fuck me over.

Shit dude, this was all suddenly feeling real! I could feel myself leaning into accepting this potentially career-defining position. I just needed to make good on one final thing...

"Leon, if I say yes, I've got one condition."

"What's that?"

"You've got to hire my friend Devin as well," I said with firm conviction.

"That wasn't part of the deal."

"We're a package. He's tech-savvy, hard-working, and persistent."

Leon weighed the risk on his end. "You're saying you'd vouch for him, better or worse?"

"100%."

"Okay then. In that case Jim, you've got yourself a deal." He extended his hand for me to shake.

I stared at his open palm, thinking how crazy this moment was. Wave sayonara to unemployment dude! You did it! I brought my hand to his, firmly gripping it to seal our agreement.

"So Jim, got a real name I could call you?"

I chuckled at the fact that I was still anonymous to this guy. "Yeah Leon, my name's--"

"Ken!" A female voice shouted.

I adjusted my eyes, seeing Belle walking toward me, having just entered the diner. She was accompanied by her agent Sol.

"Hey, funny seeing you here!" Belle side-hugged me.

"Uh, hey Belle," I awkwardly greeted her.

"Oh, do you and Leon know each other?" She asked, a pleasant tone.

"Just met," I quickly inserted, before Leon could speak.

At Castle Slate, Belle had hinted to Ned that she and the Host knew each other's faces, after having allegedly showered together without masks. It appeared now they knew each other personally, which for me, spelled trouble! Leon had basically seen me spying on Belle at the castle. Surely he was now trying to connect the dots as to my relationship with her. Shit...

Sol spoke, "Ken, always a pleasure to see Belle's family."

Fucking Sol! Why'd he have to greet me like that! I glanced at Leon, seeing the gears turning in his head, eyebrows furrowed.

"Um, so, what are you and Belle doing here?" I asked the agent, trying to divert attention away from me.

"Business, coincidentally with this guy here." He pointed to Leon with his thumb.

Belle chimed in, "Sol, do you mind grabbing us those coffees to go?"

Her agent went to the other end of the counter, giving the three of us some privacy. I could feel my heart beating. I knew I had to play this cool, be the one in control here.

"Belle," I projected confidently, "I didn't know you'd be in Swantree Lake today."

"Pure coincidence. Sol and I met Leon here to negotiate a deal."

"Are you going to Colin's bar outing later? At Moosejaw."

"Hmm, I wasn't invited to party with you 'cool kids.' But maybe I'll try to stop by. Depends if Sol and I get business done in time. We're just here taking a coffee break, then we're back at it."

Now the gears were turning in my head. What overlap did Belle's modeling career have with a big tech company like Seelby? Curious, I casually pressed her on it, "Are you trying to work out some endorsement?"

"Something like that. If and when my modeling career winds down, I've gotta make sure I have other investments lined up."

Her words had logic, but I smelled bullshit. It then occurred to me what they might actually be conducting business on. If Leon was taking the advice I'd given him at Castle Slate, then he must've been hashing out a monetary arrangement with Belle and her agent, trying to foster a pipeline of models to attend (and grow the brand of) his sex parties.

Sol returned, holding two to-go cups in hand. "Belle, love, ready to head back?"

"Yep. Leon, are you coming with us?" She asked.

"You two go ahead, I'll be fast here," he responded.

"Sounds good." Belle then turned to me. "Alright, see ya Ken. Maybe I'll catch you later."

Leon suddenly interjected, "Wait Belle, so how are you related to Ken? Your stepbrother, perhaps?"

Belle warmly smiled at his guess, then side-hugged me once more. She gleefully addressed him, "Step-siblings? Come on Leon, you don't think this handsome young man and I could be blood-related?"

"Wouldn't be my first guess," he slyly countered, probably dwelling on my Belle-centric voyeurism at the castle.

"Well," she continued, "Ken here is my fiancé's nephew. He lives with us. Oh, and he's also my personal assistant," she buoyantly tagged on.

"Fascinating." Leon then returned his eyes to me, which I could feel burning a hole into my chest.

After Belle and her agent left the diner, Leon immediately said, "So Belle's your boss, and, your aunt."

"In-law. And not yet." I clarified, trying to save face, if that was even possible.

"You seemed pretty taken with her at Castle Slate. You had asked me what room she was in. Then on the security cameras, I observed you observing her. You watched her fuck her date. Then you watched me fuck her," he broke out into laughter. "Gotta admit, this shit's hilarious!"

I remained painfully silent, unable to refute anything he was saying.

Leon continued, "Damn Ken, I gather you must really enjoy spying on Belle. I don't blame you man, she's a diamond. And I guess not technically your blood. And look, here I am now, taking the advice you'd given me, negotiating with her and her agent. Funny how the universe works!"

Fuck me.

The waitress walked over and handed us our food.

Leon cackled, picking up his fork. "Shit, a revelation like this has suddenly got me extra hungry. If it's of interest to you, I already fucked Belle once today. Or maybe you only get off on the watching part?"

I could feel sweat building on my temples. I'd been exposed! This was the only guy who now knew my dirty little secret involving Belle.

I coldly pushed my plate forward. "Lost my appetite."

Leon walked back his teasing, suddenly getting serious. "Ken, this doesn't need to affect professional matters. The job's still yours, as promised. I'm gonna keep fucking Belle though, if that matters to you. But I'm a reasonable man. I won't blackmail you or anything. Just like you won't use what you know about me against me."

I stared at him to gauge his intentions.

"I mean it," he added, sounding sincere. "We good?"

I took a deep breath. Then I pulled my plate back toward me.

"Sure. Yeah," I simply said.

***

After my meal, I left the diner feeling like I could do nothing but take Leon's promise at face value. I trusted my instincts, giving him the benefit of the doubt.

When I returned to the lodge's lobby, I stumbled onto Roux and Darius sitting at one of the fireside lounges.

"Sup guys!" I greeted. "Are you staying here overnight too?"

"Hey Ken, yeah we are," Roux replied. "Might as well if we're gonna be drinking late."

"Yo man," Darius spoke, "We got a pull-out couch in ours. You can crash on it later if you need," he offered.

"Thanks Darius, appreciate that." In truth, I would've preferred sharing a room with Eva, hoping that that was still a possibility.

I asked, "So did you two get in touch with Colin yet?"

"Was gonna ask you where he was," Roux replied. "The little shit isn't answering his phone."

"There he is, the b-day boy himself," Darius pointed.

Colin suddenly appeared in view, walking in our direction, accompanied by Eva and Nina.

When Colin arrived next to his sister, she slapped the side of his head, telling him to check his phone once in a while. The sibling interaction made us all laugh, setting a light, easygoing tone for our night out. Colin introduced everyone to one another, telling us this was our crew for the bar. We all engaged in small talk, getting acquainted.

"Hiya Ken," Eva said, pulling me aside to chat privately. "Where ya been?"

"Grabbing a bite in the village. How was your spa thing?"

"Relaxing! We just got back from it not too long ago. I think we accidentally woke Colin up from a nap."

"Is that all that happened in the room?" I probed, trying not to sound like a paranoid lunatic.

"Yeah, why?" She confusedly smiled, trying to read into my question. Then a knowing grin formed on her face. She inched closer, speaking in a low tone, "Wait, did you think that--"

"Never mind," I quickly interrupted, cutting her off.

Eva then took my hand, rubbing it as a sign of trust. "You know I'd tell you if I did something like that, right?"

I appreciated her honesty, but I swiftly changed topics, wanting to avoid digging myself into a deeper hole. "Are you staying in Swantree Lake overnight?"

"I was, but I know Nina's gonna want to boot me from the room she booked. She'll want 'alone time' with Colin on his birthday."

"Looks like we're in the same boat then. Should we get a room together?" I proposed. "Separate beds, of course," I hedged, just in case.

Eva giggled. "You're so cute."

"What, is that a no?" I followed with a smile.

"Sure, let's do it. We'll split the costs."

Eva accompanied me to the reception desk, where we booked ourselves a room with two beds. After being handed our keycards, we walked back toward the group.

Eva added, "Just so you know, I wouldn't have minded sharing a single bed. If that's all they had."

"You're so cute," I mocked Eva in her voice, which made her poke me in my stomach.

When we rejoined the group, Colin got everyone's attention. "Alright folks, let's head over!"

***

We all made the short walk to Moosejaw, Swantree Lake's longstanding bar.

For the first order of business, we made a beeline to the bar counter, where Darius was kind enough to buy each of us a shot. We all clinked glasses and downed some cognac.

"Happy birthday baby!" Nina said to Colin. "Let's do another!"

Nina's term of endearment for my cousin felt like something out of the blue, but it looked like he didn't mind it. She bought two more shots, handing one to Colin. The two of them took it together, swiftly followed by Nina brazenly planting her lips on his.

We spent the next hour chatting, drinking, and snacking on Moosejaw's greasy fried foods. At one point, I walked over to the bar alone, seeing if they had that tripel IPA I enjoyed at Ox's barbecue long ago. The bartender told me I could get it on the second floor, where they had it on tap. As I turned to head over, I saw Nina approaching me.

"Kenny boy, be honest, do you still like Eva?" She asked so matter-of-factly, a level of inebriation to her speech.

Of course I still harbored feelings, but I sure as hell wasn't going to share that with Nina.

She continued, "I hear you two are sharing a room tonight. Don't try any funny business."

"I could say the same to you when it comes to Colin," I countered.

"I'm giving your cousin the best birthday fuck of his life later, and guess what, there's nothing you can do to stop it!"

"Jeez Nina, way more than I needed to know."

"Just don't hurt my best friend again or I'll cut you open, swear to god. I knew what you were doing at that ice cream shop, trying to make Eva jealous with whatever 'girl' you were with. That was fucked up."

"That's old news. Eva and I are past that now."

"Whatever. I'm keeping my eye on you Kenny boy!" Nina made a V with two fingers, then pointed to her eyes, before menacingly pointing her nails back at me. She then retreated, disappearing into the crowd.

I could only laugh at Nina's veiled threat, welcoming her to do her worst.

***

The bar was way more packed now than earlier.

Along the side wall, I marked Roux and Colin. The two siblings were playing table shuffleboard, seemingly getting the other to take a shot for whoever lost the round.

Still in pursuit of that tripel IPA, I decided to walk up the stairway to the less-crowded second level. The bartender upstairs happily served me a pint of it, to my delight. I chatted him a bit, enjoying our conversation so much that I tipped him an extra five dollars.

In return, the bartender kindly offered me access to the empty balcony deck, saying me and my group could use it if it got too stuffy downstairs.

Curious to check it out, I stepped out onto the unlit balcony, facing a patch of pine trees lining the rear of the property. I took a moment, sipping my beer in peace as I soaked in the serenity of nature, away from the crowd inside.

"We're good, it's quiet here." A low, baritone voice said. "What do you wanna talk about?"

I curiously peeked my head below the deck, seeing a Black man speaking to a blonde-haired woman. I squinted my eyes, focusing my vision to see that it was Belle. She had changed from when I'd seen her earlier, now wearing a dress, showcasing her curves in all the right places.

"We need to get some things straight," she firmly said.

"Why'd you have to act so cold to me at the steakhouse?" Darius smoothly slithered his hand over the swell of her ass, getting her to immediately shove his arm away.

"It's pretty obvious, don't be fucking dense with me," Belle said with bite.

"Chill out, it was an accident. You happened to be at my hotel bar. Shit happens."

"I was there for a business meeting with my agent, which had nothing to do with you."

"Yeah, but when he left, you were the one that came up to me. Asking me to buy you a drink. An engaged woman flirting with a stranger? That's on you."

"Fuck, whatever, I regret it," she scoffed.

"Regret talking to me or regret what we did up in my room?"

"All of it. It made me late to Colin's dinner."

"Who gives a fuck, I was late too. It was worth it. I made you cum so you can't say you got nothing from it."

"But I wouldn't have done anything with you if I knew you were my niece's boyfriend."

"Roux ain't even your blood. Shit, she ain't even your niece-in-law yet."

"Still. You can't be staring at me like you do anymore."

"Gimme one last time with that pussy."

"No, absolutely not."

"I'll just finger you then."

"Darius, what part of 'no' don't you understand!"

"You gotta give me something," he pleaded, grabbing his crotch. "I'm fucking hard for you right now girl."

"Stop with that."

"Come on, I know you loved my bbc. You took it so good baby."

"Shut the fuck up!"

"One final time and I'll never bother you again. Please..." Darius gave Belle his best puppy dog eyes, begging for a bone.

"God..." Belle placed a hand on her hip, looking annoyed, the other rubbing her forehead. "Okay, here's what we'll do. I'll pull down my top, you can jerk yourself off."

"I can't cum to that. Gimme a handjob at least, while I suck on your tits. They look so good in that dress. I gotta taste them again."

"You're pushing it."

"It's what I need."

"Ugh! Do you promise not to take long?"

"Yeah fine whatever," he hurriedly accepted.

"Five minutes. Max. Either you finish or you don't."

"Just don't get all slack with your grip. I want it tight like your pussy."

"Fine. Hurry."

Darius wasted no time. He cornered Belle until she leaned her back against the trunk of a pine tree. He took her hand and spit into it, lubing it up for action.