An Open Entanglement Ch. 03

"Maybe with this new account, Nicholas might consider promoting you?" Taylor hoped the hours he'd been putting in would finally produce some results.

"No, the promotion would take... Oh, you know what, let me make a call." Jim pulled out his phone and went through his contacts. Looking back at her, he dialed a number and stepped away from her to walk into the kitchen area, which muffled his conversation.

He hung up after a few more minutes and came back into the living room.

"I called in a favor with an old college friend of mine, Andrew. He's a licensed therapist with his own private practice. He said he'd love to help you and he'll write off the first two appointments, along with some sort of discount on the following appointments. You shouldn't need too many sessions anyway. I told him Monday afternoons were your flex time, so he's expecting you next Monday at 3pm!"

He seemed cheerful, proud even, that he had pulled this off so quickly. It probably gave him some sense of control over their life together, solving problems by way of executive decisions without input from her. This was just another instance for her to sweep under the rug if she wanted to make it work.

"That... sounds really good. I'll have to thank him when I meet him. Thank you for handling it so well." She gave him a kiss - a chaste kiss that didn't turn into anything more.

***

Almost a week passed by, with Taylor doing her best to avoid Brad in the hallway and to stop fantasizing about him. It led to a lot of ruined orgasms for her in the shower, because she'd try to imagine someone else fingering her and her mind would suddenly go back to Brad. The fucking sounds coming from next door every night weren't helping either.

Come Sunday, with a day to go before her first therapy session, Taylor woke up from a terrible night's sleep, with a lot of wet dreams she didn't want to think back on.

When she met up with Kate for their weekly run, she knew she had to talk to her friend, while she had the time for it. Despite Kate being on decently friendly terms with Jim, Taylor hoped her passionate friend would be on her side.

"Kate, I.. I have to tell you something."

They had been running quietly for about 10 minutes. Taylor continued running next to her friend, only slightly decreasing her speed.

"Yeah, anything. What's up?"

"Remember the neighbor the other day? Brad, the guy with the.. the loud sex and all?" Taylor usually wouldn't have felt the least bit ashamed talking about sex, but the situation she found herself in, confiding in her friend, called for at least a bit of embarrassment.

"Sure, what about him? Did he knock on your door and ask you to join them or something?" Kate laughed at her own joke.

Taylor couldn't form a response to her friend's teasing. She could feel her face burning. When she didn't respond, Kate ran across Taylor and cut her off, stopping both of them in their tracks.

"Oh, babe... Did you sleep with him?" No longer teasing, Kate's tone was measured, caring and concerned.

Taylor quietly and furiously blushing answered the question.

She could see Kate's mind working and trying to decide on the best thing to say. If she asked about Jim, Taylor was ready to break into a sprint and run away from her friend. If she asked about Brad, maybe there would still be a friendship to repair.

"How was the sex?" Kate's tone was still more careful than encouraging, but Taylor didn't sense any judgment in her voice. It looked like their friendship would survive this.

"Honestly? Mind-blowing. But, he's just a man, right? Sure, he probably thinks he's God's gift to women, but... I don't know..." She rambled, not really knowing what she was saying.

Growing more and more nervous about her confession, Taylor played with her ear and looked away. To her surprise, Kate's eyes were anything but judgmental, when she put her hand on Taylor's shoulder.

"I totally understand having amazing chemistry with a stranger. That's me, at least once a month, right? Meeting someone new can be electrifying. I mean, you've been with Jim for a while, the magic does fizzle out. I get it, but..."

"I know... I know. With things being the way they are at home, I got confused and made a huge mistake. He doesn't know why, but I asked and Jim got me in to see a therapist friend of his; that should help."

Kate chewed on her lip.

"Therapy? I mean, I guess it would help with communication issues, but it's not like this is an underlying condition that you'd have to treat or anything."

The words "underlying condition" weighed heavily on Taylor; she was ashamed to disclose her history of indiscretions.

"And this Brad guy? He can't just keep slinging it around town, not taking any responsibility for wrecking other people's relationships, especially yours! I have half a mind to sort him out myself!"

"He's not..." Taylor wanted to say something in his defense, or in her defense.

"He's not what? Not seducing every other woman within sightlines?"

"Well, yes he is. But..."

"Tell me you're not defending him, Taylor. To me, he sounds like a pretty shitty guy to bed you, knowing full well you're engaged to be married and you live next door with your fiancé."

"It's not like he assaulted me. Kate, I slept with him. Twice. Consenting fully. I'm the problem, not him." Taylor's voice broke a little towards the end, letting the full weight of the guilt hit her.

"Ugh, he even has you thinking it's all your fault, while he gets off without so much as a slap on the wrist. Oh, he'll be hearing from me, that bastard." Kate's small hands balled up instinctively into fists before relaxing.

Taylor was hesitant to let her confront Brad. The hesitation was part worrying about Kate's safety, part worrying about Brad's reaction, and if she was being honest, part being jealous of them possibly having chemistry.

"Say you do go over with the intention of yelling at him. He opens the door and looks at you. What makes you think you'd be immune to his charms?" Thinking back to his warm hazel eyes and naughty smile was enough to cloud Taylor's judgment.

"Oh trust me, I know how to deal with guys like him. By the time I'm done with him, be prepared for him to sob and apologize to you and to Jim, possibly right before moving out of your building in shame." Kate lifted her freckled chin up in confidence.

Taylor found it endearing, that her friend would defend her honor and relationship so fiercely. She loved her for it. However, she did have her doubts about how the confrontation would actually go down...

***

Monday evening, Brad came home alone from work for a change. He had left his evening free for Jack, who was supposed to come over and hang out, but he had canceled last minute for a girl.

"Typical Jack," he thought to himself, mildly annoyed, as he changed out of his clothes, standing in the living room. He put on his favorite red gym shorts that he used for lounging around the house and grabbed a white T-shirt from the basket of clean laundry. He didn't feel like doing his evening workout for a change.

He could use a quiet night, maybe watch a movie with dinner and catch up on some podcasts. The apartment was a bit messy, but he had no one to impress.

The banging on his door took him by surprise. He opened it do find a petite and gorgeous redhead. He was almost completely sure he had never met her before; a quick scan of her tight body and perky breasts, ending with the unruly red hair and fuming green eyes, confirmed he had no clue who she was.

She seemed to take a quick measure of him, further confirming his suspicion that she was a stranger to him. He had no explanation for her anger, unless she was knocking on the wrong door. While her demeanor didn't change much, after seeing him, she did briefly play with her hair before tucking it behind her ear, letting him know he had already gotten through to her on a subconscious level.

"Hi. Can I help you?" He wasn't smiling, because he didn't have to, but remained approachable to give her a chance to explain. Having a loud evening with a petite redhead could easily replace his plans of a quiet evening by himself.

"Yes, you can help me, by keeping your hands to yourself!"

She tried to push her way in, but Brad stood in the doorway. The left side of his mouth curved upward in a condescending smirk; he was easily 10 inches taller and good deal more muscular than her. There was no way she was getting through without him letting her.

"Can I help you," he repeated, emphasizing the word "help", now more confused that this strange woman was trying to enter his apartment without so much as an introduction.

She looked up at him. She didn't look like she actually knew him; there was no recognition in her eyes, just a firm belief that she was talking to the right person kept her in place.

"I'm Taylor's friend. Let me in. We need to talk." She wasn't shouting anymore, however the snap in her tone made it clear she wanted to be taken seriously - a bit too seriously, in his opinion.

At the mention of Taylor's name, Brad inadvertently looked over next door, almost expecting someone to come out. He hadn't really seen Taylor since last Monday. He had kept up his routine, but that didn't mean her blue eyes hadn't haunted him every night. His stomach tightened. Then he looked back down at the woman at his doorstep.

"You know, it's really more polite to introduce yourself before trying to barge into someone's apartment. I'm Brad Morris, and you are?" He didn't reach out a hand.

"Kate O'Connor. I work with Taylor. Now, may I come in?"

He placed her accent as she said her name. It explained the strange cadence in her speech and her complexion, if he was being stereotypical. He stood aside and let her into his place.

"Is something wrong? Is Taylor OK?" The inflection of his voice subconsciously changed when saying her name, the usually indifferent tone replaced with something subtly tender.

She waited until he closed the door, then sat down, obviously avoiding his cast workout clothes. He stood in front of her, completely unfazed and maybe a little amused by her hesitation to sit down on the couch. As far as bachelor pads went, his was actually a lot cleaner than most, but he had no intention of explaining himself to a strange woman.

The sudden draft in the apartment got his attention; he moved to close the window and was reminded that he was going commando under the shorts. When he turned back to face Kate, he felt the familiar stir. She was quite gorgeous, possibly a runner with those toned legs, the soft tops of her breasts exposed; it was surprising it had taken him that long to react.

Judging from her face, she'd seen the stirring, too. The energy in the room changed in an instant.

"Do you mind putting some proper clothes on? It's really not appropriate the way your..." She followed her unfinished sentence with a vague hand gesture in the direction of his crotch. It made him chuckle briefly.

"Good thing we're in my apartment then. You're the one that knocked on my door, remember? You don't get to make demands. "

"I came for a reason."

As gorgeous as she was, he was starting to get pissed off at this strange woman in his house, who was neither naked nor clear about what she wanted.

"What's going on with Taylor?"

"Did you really just ask me that? Honestly! You're what's going on with her. Where the hell do you get off seducing an almost married woman? Have you no respect for the sanctity of marriage?"

Brad paused for a minute, composing his answer. He had slept with dozens of married women. It simply wasn't his responsibility; Taylor had come to him on her own, engaged or not.

"Why is it my respect that matters? It's their relationship; it should be sacred to them. I can't be held responsible for every person that commits to a relationship, but doesn't show it the respect it requires."

Kate opened her mouth and closed it, possibly changing her mind about what she wanted to say. His calm, logical response had caught her off guard.

"You know, they're really good together. And you're threatening that right now, as we speak. She's going to therapy because of you!" Unable to contain herself, she stood up.

"Uhh, what?"

"You ought to know better than to seduce unavailable women!" She was less sure of herself than when she had first come in.

"Believe me when I say, that they all come to me willingly," he replied with a glint in his eyes.

"You really do think you're God's gift to women! Believe me when I say you're not. Taylor might have slept with you twice, but she can do sooo much better than you!" Kate spat out the last words, but her emerald eyes did inadvertently give his chiseled body another quick scan.

"You can't possibly mean Jim. And what do you care anyway? Are you his sister or something?" That was probably the only thing that could potentially stop Brad from fucking the redhead. Potentially.

"Oh God, no! I care, because you're making my best friend think she's crazy. Jim is... He cares for her - something you're clearly not capable of."

Kate had seemingly come to stop him from ruining Taylor's relationship, which she must have known was already going downhill. It made Brad think there was an ulterior motive to her appearance at his doorstep.

Following his gut, he set about getting her off her high horse and ultimately on her knees.

"Jealous, are we, Kate?" Brad smirked.

"What? No!" Kate replied, too quickly, her eyes wide in protest. He was onto something.

"Oh, I think you are jealous. And worried Taylor's gonna run away from that wimp and right into my arms, instead of yours. You're afraid my nice and very thick cock has already ruined any chances of Taylor running to you for rescue."

His tone was sweet, rather than menacing, almost like he was talking down to a child. It would be enough to drive any self-assured woman crazy and it worked like a charm on Kate. Her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Before she could say anything more, Brad took a step in her direction and continued quickly.

"You're close friends, right? Maybe you've even seen Taylor naked. Don't tell me that you never thought about kissing her, feeling those full breasts pressed up against you or running your hand between her thighs to find out what makes her wet."

She started blushing crimson red that hid all her freckles. Her arms automatically crossed against her chest in a defensive stance. It also happened to push her breasts together. The voice, which had been so confident moments ago, broke a little.

"She is my friend! Very much engaged to another one of my friends! I don't..."

"You don't what? Fantasize about your drop dead gorgeous girlfriend? Why don't I believe you?" His wore his smug grin, like a predator watching his prey struggle inside the trap.

"It's none of your business what I fantasize about!" she spat back, but she didn't make eye contact. The blush had started to spread down her neck into her cleavage.

He stepped into her personal space, forcing her to look up at him. She didn't step back, but had to crane her neck to meet his hazel eyes. He towered over her with his impressive frame, the sexual charge between them palpable. Her breaths got more erratic, making her chest heave almost hypnotizingly.

"I bet you she's never been with a woman before. Would you rather go next door and have her virgin tongue eat you out or you want me to throw you down right here, right now?"

The word he spoke softly made Kate's brows furrow and lips open in protest, but she made no sound. With a finger, he pulled her trembling lower lip down. Still looking up at him, she grazed his finger with her tongue, unable to withstand the growing tension.

"Would she know what to do with these?" She was whispering, as she pushed his hand from her lip, down to the tops of her breasts that were exposed by her top.

He didn't stop there, further putting his hand down under the fabric and under the bra to get to her nipples. As he twisted a nipple under his fingers, her hand reached out to his crotch, easily grabbing his erection with the lack of confining underwear over his shorts.

Her confident smirk at having him in her hold diminished, when they both realized she couldn't wrap her hand completely around his thickness.

"She knew what to do with that, but yeah, you might need both hands." It was Brad's turn to smirk.

"Don't.. tell me.. what to do." Instead of confident, she sounded whiny, being out of breath from the way he was still playing with her nipples.

"You should probably take my shorts off; the way you're going, they're going to chafe." He was smiling down at her. He felt the nipples grow even harder under his thumb and could see a blush of desire spread again across her freckled cheeks.

She hooked her hands around the waistband of his shorts. Brad looked on with amusement to see her bite her lip as she knelt down and pulled the shorts down his muscular legs. The 10-inch slab of meat almost hit her on the cheek.

Continuing to smirk, Brad took off his shirt, revealing the chiseled broad chest and everything else he had to offer. His pecs flexed at Kate, who was ogling the naked form of the Greco-American god before her.

"Looking is free, but you'll have to pay to touch," he joked.

"Ah, I was right. You are a gigolo. That explains it."

She was regaining her confidence after the few breathless minutes. Her quick wit was amusing and her accent was starting to become enticing, dissolving the annoying first impression she had made.

"OK, I'll give you that first touch for free, but you have to pay for the rest, like everyone else."

In response to Brad's taunt, Kate peeled off the long-sleeved top she was wearing and revealed the purple push-up bra that was responsible for the delicious silhouette. Under his gaze, she continued to strip; the tight jeans came off and exposed her red panties, followed by slightly freckled and toned legs.

"No, pretty boy, I won't pay, but you're going to have to," she whispered, as she beckoned him and pulled his head down between her sensitive breasts. He nibbled on the exposed tops; his tongue snaked under the bra to get to her nipple, which was already hard from earlier.

Expert hands snapped the bra immediately. He couldn't help sneak a peek at the tag to confirm his suspicion of 36B. Even with a push-up, there was no fooling him. His mouth watered all the same at the sight of her pale breasts, topped with rosy nipples, begging to be feasted upon.

As his tongue and lips efficiently alternated between her breasts, his hands caressed her lower back and dipped under her panties to hug her taut cheeks close to him. He could already feel how warm it was between her legs, but there was still plenty of time to get there.

He intentionally drooled on her. They both watched it run down the front of her body, down her abs and navel, only to soak into the waistband of the panties.

"Aren't you a messy eater... You know what, I already forgot your name, but what the hell. Why don't you make yourself useful and clean up your mess?" Kate's voice came out a bit raspy with the anticipation.

"Don't worry. Soon, you'll forget your own name, too. But if you want something to moan out loud, the name's Brad. Or God. Whichever floats your boat." He shot her a mischievous grin, letting her know it was all meant in good fun, before ducking his head down.

He followed the wet trail, all the way down to her waistline. Looking coyly up at her, he dragged the panties down with his teeth. The red curls between her legs had been trimmed down neatly, to where the pale skin could peek through. He couldn't yet see all the details of her folds, but he could certainly smell her excitement.