Behind the Mask Ch. 11

All characters are at least 18 years old.

------

Alain held the limo door open while Stef and Brie climbed inside. They looked around, clearly impressed, before sliding next to me.

"Damn, Lex, we going to prom?" Stef joked, spreading his arms over the tops of the seat backs. Alain seated himself back behind the wheel and began driving to Leon and Cherry's house.

I shrugged, smirking wryly. "I figured we all skipped prom, so none of us got this experience before. Such a shame too," I added, shaking my head in disappointment. "I would've loved to see you two together at prom."

"You mean you would've loved to see everybody else's reaction," Brie corrected flatly, unamused. I shrugged again with a mischievous smile, and she scowled before continuing. "But seriously, why the fancy ride?"

"Because I can afford it," I scoffed. "We're four people, plus Alain. I didn't wanna squeeze in a town car, and you won't catch me dead in a minivan. So..." I spread my arms to gesture to the limo. Stef simply chuckled and crossed his legs, savoring the spaciousness.

"You sure your parents don't mind you spending money like this?" Brie asked. As long as I answered this properly, that would be the end of her concern. But boy, was this a funny question.

"Oh, my dad has no idea how much I spend," I said dryly. I had to refrain from smiling too widely; I just found it hilarious that they had no idea it was my own money. Brie's eyes widened, but I waved her off. She assumed I was joking, or at least exaggerating, and let it go. She switched to sit beside Stef, then glanced at Alain before looking at me. "Don't worry, he's discreet," I assured her. She nodded once before leaning into Stef's body, and he pulled her close. She almost caught me smiling at them, lost in thought. I was a huge sucker for a good romance. It was why I did all this. That, and I also got front row tickets to locally-sourced amateur porn for my eyes only. That in itself was priceless.

"So why the sudden decision to go shopping in the city?" Brie asked. "It wouldn't be because SWAT is there, would it?" Stef did a poor job of withholding a smirk, waiting expectantly for my answer.

"If you must know, he's taking me on a nice romantic raid today," I chuckled. "Nothing gets me like a suspect with a hostage."

We laughed it off and chatted casually until we stopped to pick Cherry up. She climbed in, taking a cursory glance around before her eyes went straight to me as she sat down. "Wow, you really don't know how to hold back, do you?" she laughed.

"I like indulging my friends. Sue me," I replied with a grin.

"And risk going up against your team of twenty lawyers?" Stef snorted. "No thanks."

"Smart boy."

"Well, thanks for letting me come," Cherry continued, looking at Brie. "After everything happened, I seriously can't hang around our other friends anymore. Like, they're doing their 'last hurrah' this summer before they all go their separate ways, and then there's us who are staying in town. And they make you feel like you're being left behind or something. And it's like, bitch, I'm staying here for a reason! And I can't tell you the reason, because..." She trailed off with an exasperated sigh.

"Because," Brie agreed, nestling a bit deeper into Stef's embrace. Cherry nodded, and a meaningful silence fell upon us. It was a big decision. None of their parents were happy about them giving up their college prospects, yet all of them were happy they were staying. Fear of empty nest syndrome, or perhaps simply a touch of parental brand of separation anxiety. In Leon and Coco's cases, probably a dash of jealousy as well. Couldn't very well have their kids go off to college and find other people, could they? I grinned, savoring the delicious sentiment embroiling this group of friends. It wasn't just about the sex for these guys, although it was a very, very, very nice perk.

"So, where are we going today?" Cherry broke the silence, and everybody seemed to rouse from the contemplative stupor that had enveloped us.

"I was thinking... Fifth Avenue," I said, and their jaws dropped.

"Probably need to sell a kidney if we're going shopping there," Stef muttered.

"Oh c'mon. You don't think I'd invite you to go shopping with me to the most expensive place in town and make you foot your own bills, do you? What fun would that be? You guys would all go home empty-handed!"

"Lex, no," Brie said sternly, and I lazily stared her down.

"Lex, yes," I said simply. She scowled at me, not breaking eye contact. The other two didn't say anything, almost shrinking back into the seat cushions. That wouldn't do. "Stef, tell the truth. Wouldn't you like to see your sister in the most expensive lingerie money can buy?"

Brie's head whipped around so she could glare at him. His eyes darted between me and her as if trapped, and I grinned. Everybody already knew the answer. Brie was just daring him to follow through, which he would. Stef was a true-to-his-nature kind of a guy, after all. And although it made Brie annoyed for the rest of the trip there, I still got my way.

--

The country club attendant drove me and Alain across the golf course, headed for the sixth hole. It had taken some doing to convince him that we were a party with Senator Barnes, but it was done and now I had to focus on the game. I'd even changed into the whole golf get-up, with a lilac polo and white skirt. My hair was up in a ponytail, and honestly I felt like it could rival how good Brie's looked.

Barnes looked up from his next swing, frowning and straightening as Alain pulled my clubs off the golf cart. I stepped off and sauntered toward him, smug as can be. He had a male caddy with his clubs and a female aide taking notes on a tablet. The golf course was the rich man's boardroom, after all.

"Miss Rochester. What a surprise," he said, the bite of ire in his voice.

"So good to see you again, Senator Barnes," I replied. "I hope you don't mind if I join you."

"Not at all. I was just about to tee off."

"Then by all means."

He returned to his ball, reassuming his posture and eyeing the hole in the distance. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

Alain handed me my driver, and I stood a short distance away from Barnes. "I just wanted to follow up on an accounting error."

"Oh? What kind of accounting error." I knew he was supposed to be golfing, but he seemed to be doing his best to avoid looking at me.

"Well, my people seem to be under the impression that your contribution still hasn't arrived," I explained. Barnes drew back and struck the ball with more ferocity than was arguably needed. Instead of overshooting, his power seemed to lend more to height, as the ball landed impressively on the green.

"Is that right. We'll have to get that cleared up as soon as possible, then." Finally he met my eyes, completely devoid of apology or alarm. "Jane, double check the, uh... the thing."

Jane was a wiry woman in her mid-thirties, a future cat lady in the making and somewhat resembling a bird. Her hair was tied into a tight chaste bun, and a few more strands of strays leapt out as she busied herself on her tablet. She was wearing a mauve cardigan outdoors in May, and I suspected she couldn't leave the house without it or risk having a panic attack.

He was giving me the runaround. If he hadn't forgotten what I had on him... I eyed him again. He was too confident. He didn't plan to pay and he was ready for whatever I had up my sleeve. Fuck. He was on the offensive. In fact, whatever 'thing' he just instructed Jane to follow up on could very well be his countermeasure. All manner of crazy possibilities went through my head; Drew would've been proud. Exposing the club, threatening my friends, offing me, there were too many outcomes to plan for, especially on short notice.

I stepped back close to Alain and whispered, "Is the Pigeon ready?"

"Oui, mademoiselle."

I nodded and took my golf ball, placing it on the tee. Any more of these meetings and I'd have to brush up on my posture. Stupid sport, but it needed doing. "Well Senator, the only reason I bring it up is because your contribution is equivalent to your silence. And as we all know..." I swung the club, sending the ball sailing through the air. Ugh, golf balls were so hard to see sometimes. They really should make them bright red or something. The ball landed on the green and trailed along, heading in an arc toward the hole. I chuckled to myself. No way. What a way to punctuate what I was saying. Barnes and I both watched in disbelief as my ball rolled straight into the hole. There was a beat before I remembered to finish my line. "...silence is golden."

God, I was fucking cliché.

"Very... impressive," Barnes said faintly, still frowning at my hole-in-one. He turned back to me, a disarming smirk on his face. "Of course, I understand. And you'll have my contribution presently." Filthy liar. I wouldn't be surprised if he was banging Jane just because he could. A pity fuck, his moment of charitable kindness for the day. It had nothing to do with him being on a power trip, of course.

I supposed it was hoping for too much to expect this would be resolved so neatly. The fact that I had to make this trip meant he was up to no good. At least now I had a better idea of the extent. Lexi always has a plan. As I gave Barnes a grin of my own, I began feeling the weariness setting in. Being a self-made woman was tiring work, and it felt like in the past week I was constantly beleaguered by something or other. When was I gonna catch a break?

--

The drive to Fifth Avenue was done in silence. I had to stew in my thoughts, running various hypothetical scenarios in my head, making sure I was ready for each one. Which, of course, was impossible. Nobody could plan for every single possibility, and even if they could, they still might not be mentally or emotionally ready to perfectly execute it. For example, how was I to react if an assassin hired by Barnes almost sniped me in the head? Naturally, I'd get a bulletproof car and a 24/7 security detail around the house. And then what? Stay inside for the rest of my life, cautiously being ferried between my home and the club? Live in fear forever? I was reminded of what August had confided, of dying miserable. And similarly, to living in fear, I said "Fuck that."

"What would you do, Alain?" I murmured.

He looked at me in the rearview mirror and was silent for a spell. Finally, he said, "Ne fais rien."

I scoffed, eyes distant as I watched the city glide by outside the window. "Do nothing? I thought about it. Better to do nothing than to do something stupid. But is being passive, becoming completely reactionary, the right thing to do?"

"Is the spider that waits in its web not doing the right thing?" he offered.

"This spider hasn't spun its web yet," I sighed.

"Not true. You 'ave prepared the Pigeon, non? Nonetheless, you cannot send it before Senator Barnes 'as done anything unwelcome. Code Red is still in place. Planning beyond that is a waste of effort. We will deal with whatever else as it comes."

I nodded, still mired in doubt. "What was it that you were always quoting at me?"

"Conceal weakness in strength. Conceal strength in weakness."

"That's the one. So me showing up today, which one was this?"

He smiled, almost chuckling. "It could be neither. It could be both. I suppose it depends on 'ow 'e perceives where the two of you stand. 'E could think you came because you were scared of what 'e would do because you are losing control of the situation, when in truth you 'ave prepared more than 'e expects. 'E could think you came to threaten 'im in a show of force, and 'e might panic and make a mistake. That is when you do your best work."

"But what if he--"

We stopped at a red light, and he turned back to face me. "Your plans are set, your web is spun. Believe in yourself, mademoiselle."

I took a deep breath and nodded, and he smiled before turning his eyes back to the road. There were days where I fantasized that Alain was my real father. He couldn't stop me from thinking, but he always took the edge off, enough that I let all the tension out of my body. And he trusted me with myself, sometimes more than even I did. I had one final nasty thought cursing Charles, and then I felt relaxed. I watched the city skyline pass, and before I knew it, we were on Fifth Avenue. Alain double parked, which was all he could manage in a limo.

"Enjoy your afternoon, mademoiselle," he urged.

"Thank you, Alain," I mumbled, then cleared my throat and stepped out. I was back in my normal clothes, a white sundress with a bit of frill. Alain drove off before he was issued a ticket, and I pulled my phone out and texted Brie.

Me: where you at, girl?

Brie: you finally done?

Brie: we're just coming out

In a few moments, I spotted my friends stepping out of a cafe, and I put my mask back on.

"Hey, Lex," Brie greeted. "You said to eat without you, so..."

"Yeah, yeah, of course. Mi dinero es su dinero, as they say," I said dismissively.

"Literally only you would say that," Stef chuckled. "But maybe you shouldn't have. Cherry ordered the surf and turf."

"I--! You're the one who brought it up!" Cherry snapped. "I only got a chicken salad, fatass."

"Staying off the carbs, huh?" I teased. "Staying nice and slender for daddy?"

All she could do was blush like a beet, making me and Stef laugh. Brie put her arm around Cherry's shoulder defensively, leading her off toward the boutiques. "They always choose to pick on me," I heard Cherry grumble.

"You know they're not trying to make you feel bad," Brie reassured. "You're an easy target. You're the youngest, and the littlest, so..."

"Guess we're going shopping now, huh?" Stef sighed before falling in line with me.

"You don't need to pretend around me, Stef," I snorted. "I'm well aware this is why you came at all today."

"I came 'cause I got a free trip to the city with my friends."

"Right..."

He looked at me with a wry smile before looking back at Brie and Cherry ahead of us, walking at a leisurely pace. "Lex, y'know you really don't have to do this. Brie and I can get on by fine."

"I must say, I've never heard somebody complain so much about how I spoil my friends." I gave him a meaningful look, and he chuckled. "It's my money, I can spend it how I want. Frankly, it's insulting."

"Heh, then I apologize." He had his hands in his pockets, and looked up at the skyscrapers overhead, lost in thought. "Your money, huh? Thought it was your dad's money."

"Is allowance money your money?" I countered. "Allowance money is money given to you to spend. Once something's given, it can't be taken back."

"Hm. Fair enough." He'd missed that I never said the money I was spending was an allowance from Charles. Or maybe he hadn't, who knew; Stef was smarter than he tended to let on. "Sometimes I realize that applies to more things than I thought."

I turned to look at him and asked in a low voice, "Is Brie pregnant?"

He whipped his head around in shock. "What? No! What-- Why would you think that?! We weren't even close to the subject!"

"Once something's given, it can't be taken back...?"

"Jesus fucking Christ, Lexi. No, that's not what I meant, okay?" He ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation, and I giggled. "Fucking hell. Are you ever not thinking about that stuff?"

"No," I said, smiling sweetly. He squinted for half a second as he figured out the double negative, then shook his head wearily. I tilted my chin up at one of the stores, and he looked at the high-end clothing store Brie and Cherry were walking into. "You ready for this, stud?"

He scoffed as we entered. "There's no right answer to that."

"Pity," I laughed.

We three girls went about looking for clothes to buy, leaving poor Stef to fend for himself, searching for a place to sit or an unoccupied wall to lean against and pull his phone out. It had been too long since we had gone shopping together, and without having to look at the price tags, we kind of went nuts.

As I passed Stef sat on a tiny ottoman, I coaxed him to his feet. "You seriously gonna waste this opportunity here? Pick some stuff out for your sister!" I hissed.

With a faked lack of enthusiasm, he too set about going through dresses and blouses. The four of us ended up getting separated, and when Cherry and I finally met up at the changing rooms, Stef was already waiting outside for Brie.

"You guys move fast," I remarked with a wink, and Stef shrugged.

"Stef!" Brie called from inside a stall. "Can you come help me with this?"

"Be right back," Stef said quickly, and I gave him a lascivious smirk. He scowled and went inside, and I folded the clothes I'd picked out over my arm before tapping Cherry on the shoulder. Indicating for her to lean down, we both peeked under the walls of the changing stalls. On the floor were Brie's jeans and panties, and Stef was standing behind Brie when she let out a stifled moan. Cherry straightened quickly, though her lips were scrunched in restrained laughter. We heard a slight squelch and then another soft moan, and I facepalmed with unsurprised humor.

"Is everything fitting okay?" one of the saleswomen asked, popping her head in the changing area.

Cherry floundered, and I kept an ear out for the sudden silence from Stef and Brie's stall. "Thanks, we were just deciding what to try on first," I replied, then turned back to Cherry. "I really don't think you need the black dress. You look skinny already, you put that on and you'll look like a stick of charcoal." I turned back to the saleswoman. "Don't worry, we got this."

"Call if you need anything," the woman said with false cheer before departing.

I watched her walk away and waited a few seconds before softly saying, "Clear." On cue, we heard the light clap of hips as the twins resumed a slow rhythm.

Cherry hid a smile and shook her head. "Jesus Christ," she murmured.

"I know," I replied. "We should probably keep an eye out for them, in case somebody comes back."

Cherry sighed, looking at her clothing picks sadly. "You're probably right. I'll try these on when they're done, I guess." She paused, and we listened to the sounds of incest coming from the changing stall. I always knew Brie was a slut for her brother. He'd whittled down her reservations, to the point where she was initiating public sex. The very thought was getting me excited. "So how are things going with August?" God damn, this girl and her timing.

"Oh, it's going," I said vaguely, but Cherry grinned.

"I'll bet. You guys disappeared during the first pool party. What were you up to, huh?"

"Nothing that a child's ears are supposed to be exposed to," I quipped, brushing her earlobe with a finger. She scowled at me, but it still gave way to a knowing smile.

"That good, huh?"

I rolled my eyes. "Honestly? Just some kissing."

She chuckled and brushed her hair behind her ears. "Really? You?" I shrugged. "You practically launched me at my dad. But now here you're holding back?"

"Mhm. Here's the key difference: you and your dad were in love."

"Alright, well I guess it's a bit soon for you two, but seriously... I can feel something between you two."

"Yeah, can you?"

She frowned. "Mean."

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."

"You're oddly defensive about this, huh? Like you're scared somebody's gonna find out." At times, Cherry was even more direct than Stef. I loved that about her. Her innocence cut right to the heart of things, and with how I had to be all the time, it was refreshing. In this way, she was calling me out on my bullshit in a way even Brie hadn't. "Or maybe it's you who doesn't know it yet."

That caught me off guard. I guess she was right though, I was in denial. "I dunno," I admitted. "I guess I'm not ready."