The Devil's Bargain Ch. 10

Kim and I had fun on our dates (once a week), though she also found excuses to invite me to her place, where she did her best to kill me with sex. Who needs a health club when they've got a tiny nymphomaniac with imagination?              

Alanna was a pleasure to take out. She was talkative, but very interesting. She dressed up really nice, too; she had an extensive wardrobe and quite a collection of lingerie. Yet she remained extremely passive when we had sex. She would accept oral, but never offered; I thought it would be rude to just stick my dick in her face and see if she got the hint. She was ready for intercourse, but only in the missionary position. I had some work to do on that front.

Her Professor - my new tenant - arrived from Britain, with his wife and daughter, who was starting her own Masters program in the Fall. Alanna brought them over. They were very polite and friendly, and extremely grateful when I walked them through all of the fixtures in the house, and showed them how to keep the pool clean - one great thing about salt water: you don't have to keep a lot of chemicals around.

I introduced them to George and Anna, which also went over very well. The Bennetts were relieved to know that I was only a few minutes away, and I encouraged them to call me if they had any questions.

George had a question for me, too, when he got me alone. "You and the lady agent?"

- "Alanna?" I had to admit it. "We've been seeing each other."

- "You're killing me here, Dan. Killing me."

Renting my house made an enormous difference in my life. I had only one pool to clean, one lawn to cut, one garden to maintain. I also cut all of the travel time between my house and Mom's.

I could linger and chat with the Dog Club; I got to know Ron and Sue much better. I accepted George and Anna's offer to join them for a barbecue (George wanted me to bring Alanna, but I went solo).

Holly and Lisa were still keeping in touch. I got emails and the occasional phone call every so often. Holly was in a relationship, and Lisa was keeping her distance, so our conversations weren't particularly intimate, but it was nice to stay connected.

I could also accept invitations from Pete and Josh to socialize after work. A couple of the girls from the office sometimes came along, including Kim. We played it cool, and avoided public displays of affection, just to avoid firing up the office rumour mill.

Josh seemed more upbeat than usual. I mentioned it to Pete.

- "I think he has a girlfriend. He won't tell me, but he grins like an idiot when I ask him about it."

- "Good for him." I bought Josh a drink, and then asked him myself. He just grinned.

But the Bennetts' arrival also meant that I no longer had a place of my own. Alanna didn't want to bring a strange man into her house, with her impressionable daughter there. I decided to try sneaking her into Mom's house after 8:00 (by which time Mom was usually on her way to bed). She was getting deafer all the time, too - I didn't think that she'd hear anything (and Alanna wasn't very noisy).

I felt like a horny teenager, sneaking my girlfriend into the house - something I'd never been able to do when I was younger. Alanna - real-estate agent that she was - wanted to see the whole house, but I promised to show her around another time.

I took her upstairs, went down on her, and fucked her, then snuck her back out of the house, with no one the wiser.

Yes, I fucked her. It wasn't making love.

When I told Alanna that we weren't going to be exclusive, she just smirked, and said 'For now'. She was quite confident that I would soon want her, and only her. She also began asking me odd questions. Did I want more children? (I didn't have any.) If I had to plan another wedding, would it be bigger of smaller than my first, with Connie?

Was she completely unaware of what was going on between us, in the bedroom? For the first time in a while, I found myself reflecting on my bargain with Tansa. I had specifically asked for a guarantee that my female partners would enjoy sex with me - that it was going to feel like the best sex of their lives. I had never thought to ask for a guarantee that I would enjoy it.

Then Brenda's roommate changed jobs. She was no longer working nights, and that meant that she would be home in their shared apartment on many of Brenda's TV and Oral nights. Now I had to buy a TV for Mom's upstairs guest room, and then sneak Brenda in, too.

Worked like a charm. Thank goodness that Kim had her own place; deaf as she was, Mom would have heard Kim if I'd tried to have sex with her upstairs. Actually, the neighbours (including Ron) would probably have heard.

Kim insisted that I try fucking her while standing up, while holding her up off the floor. Challenge accepted. She wasn't very heavy, but it is hard to hold onto (and fuck) someone who's squirming around as much as she was. I cheated a bit, and propped her against the wall as I pounded up into her.

Alanna and I went to dinner at a fine restaurant. I tried to address the subject of sex - not as a criticism, but as a way of perhaps a little more variety to our (rather limited) repertoire. Alanna was good company, and tremendously attractive - how lucky would I be, if she had the libido of Kim, or of Aarti, or even of Brenda?

- "I understand that men need sex, Dan." she said. "It's very important in a relationship. Don't worry: I'll keep you satisfied. I don't mind. Sometimes I even enjoy it myself."

I managed to keep my jaw from dropping, and my mouth closed. Somehow, I got through the rest of the meal. I skipped coffee and dessert.

Now I understood her passivity during sex. She wasn't all that interested in it, but put up with it to get what she wanted. And whatever Alanna was after, I knew that it wasn't something I would be happy with.

Alanna obviously expected me to take her to Mom's. Instead, I drove her home.

- "Is everything alright, Dan?"

- "Alanna, I have to tell you something."

She smiled. "You're ready to become exclusive?"

Really? That's what she thought? I had been about to tell her that I needed time, to think about what her attitude towards sex meant for us. Would I be content to have her as a friend, a dating companion? But she expected me to commit to her alone?

We were, quite simply, on the wrong page - maybe even in completely different books. I'd told Alanna, early on, that our relationship wouldn't be exclusive. She either chose not to believe me, or decided that she could change my mind. That obviously involved a considerable lack of respect. I made up my mind on the spot.

- "No. In fact, I don't think that we should see each other anymore."

I invoked the broken heart clause in my bargain. That was the end of my relationship with Alanna.

***

It was hardly the end of the world. I still saw Brenda three or four times a week, and brought her upstairs at Mom's twice a week. She was entirely predictable - and I really, really liked it that way.

Twice a week with Kim was just about all that I could handle. She wanted me to watch her masturbate. To masturbate for her. Sex in the shower. Sex on her kitchen counter.

I had it all: a sweet, loving relationship with orally-fixated Brenda, and a fun, sexual wild-woman whose inventiveness was mind-boggling.

I decided to get my Christmas shopping done early, in November. Mom was easy - candy. I also bought little gifts for the members of the Dog Club. But I wanted to do something special for Brenda and Kim. Jewellery. Connie had always said that jewelry said it all. I'd been too poor to buy her an expensive engagement ring, or wedding ring. She made up for that a decade later, and bought one for herself. Apparently, it's not the thought that counts.

I walked into the jewelry store. I was surprised to see someone I knew.

- "Josh?"

My nerdy friend from work was examining some pretty expensive stuff. He was very embarrassed to see me.

- "Ah... hey, Dan."

- "What's up?"

- "I'm, ah... buying an engagement ring."

I smiled at him. "I thought so! Josh said that you had a girlfriend. And you're getting engaged? That's great! But why didn't you say anything?"

- "Ah... we didn't want to make a big deal of it at work."

- "At work?"

- "Yeah - you know her. It's Kim. The short girl?" Josh held up the ring he'd been looking at. "What do you think?"

*****