The Intern

Having no idea if Alice would even show, he left his cash payment, a nice tip, and his nearly full screwdriver on the bar top. He then moved back up the stairs and toward the elevators.

He decided, on a whim, to head to the third floor where Alice was staying. He stood in front of her door trying to will his arm to knock. After several seconds, he closed his eyes and shook his head before leaving for his room.

********************

The next morning, Jerry sped through the lobby wearing a baseball cap that clashed with his professional attire. The brim was pulled low and his hand covered his left eye as he moved toward the exit to go to training. He was not interested in garnering the attention he had received in the bar the night before.

To his chagrin, he didn't get very far before he heard, "Mr. Nunez! Mr. Nunez!" He turned around to see Luis frantically calling to him as he was preparing to come from behind the front desk and chase him down.

"Damn!" Luis said as his head snapped back at the sight of Jerry's black eye. Luis then covered his mouth in horror.

Jerry held up his hand. "You're fine. Believe it or not, that's not the loudest reaction I've heard."

"Are you OK, Mr. Nunez?" Luis asked, grimacing as he stared at the wound.

Jerry nodded. "It looks much worse than it feels."

"You would have to feel like you were dying for it to be worse."

"Thanks, Luis."

"I'm sorry, sir."

Jerry chuckled before asking, "Did you need me for something?"

"Oh, yeah," Luis said. He then returned behind the lobby desk and pulled up Jerry's information on the hotel computer. "I'm going to need the key card to your hotel room."

"I'm getting kicked out?"

Luis grinned as he continued typing. "No, sir. We have to transfer you to another room." Luis activated another key card and slid it into a small paper holder before handing it to Jerry.

"Thank you," Jerry said, tucking the card holder into his back pocket. "I won't be able to move my things until this afternoon."

"We will take care of it for you. All of your things will be moved in the next couple of hours. May I please get your original key card from you?"

Jerry nodded, reaching into his wallet to retrieve the card. Not finding it there, he searched his other pockets before scanning the floor of the hotel toward the elevators. He then looked apologetically at Luis.

"It's fine if you misplaced it. It will be deactivated anyway. If you find it, could you bring it to the front desk, please."

"Sure," Jerry said before leaving for training.

********************

Jerry debated continuing to wear his ball cap into training. He decided it made little difference since everyone there had not only seen his black eye, but how he got it. He knew there were going to be stares and whispers, regardless. And there were.

As he approached his teams' table he saw that it was empty. He also noticed Alice had beaten him to class... and was sitting at another table. He smiled and waved at her. She returned an awkward wave before looking away from him. Confused and dejected, he took his seat.

"Jerry... could you join me in the front of the class?" Rosa asked.

As she looked through paperwork, she said to him, "Since Mr. Jordan will clearly not be joining us, we had to reshuffle your group. Your remaining two partners are... Damn," Rosa said, looking up from the paperwork at Jerry's eye. "Can you see through that?"

"Mostly," Jerry said.

"Does it hurt?"

"It's pretty tender when I touch it so I try to avoid doing that."

Rosa nodded. "I bet." Still staring at his eye, she continued, "Since... umm... Evan was dismissed, your other two teammates were reassigned to other groups. You're now, unfortunately, the odd person out, so you will be with me today. I hope that's OK with you."

Jerry looked back at Alice. She glanced at him before avoiding any further eye contact. Jerry's heart sank as he turned back to Rosa and nodded. "Sure. That's fine."

"Good," she said. She then turned to the class. "Guys, this is it. The last day of training..."

Jerry sat at the front table with Rosa, who had her paperwork strewn across it. Not hearing most of her speech, he felt like the kid in elementary school that was teased for being the teacher's pet. He also mourned the fact that his chance with Alice had seemed to vanish.

********************

"You're really good at this," Rosa said to Jerry after having dismissed her training group for the last time. While gathering her papers into a file box, she said, "I know I told everyone I would contact them about whether they would be offered a position with Emporium..." Rosa then paused to ensure the other exiting interns were out of earshot before continuing, "...but we will definitely be extending you an invitation to join our team."

James forced a smile. "Thank you," he said as he collected his own belongings and prepared to leave.

Rosa held out her hand and grabbed his arm, halting his progress. "What's wrong? I usually see this look in the eyes of the students that know they aren't getting the job."

James shook his head. "It's been a wild week for me. I'm just not... I'm not sure I'm cut out for this."

"Because of the black eye?"

"That... and other things."

Rosa offered Jerry a chair at the table before sitting down with him. "What's going on?"

Jerry hesitated before saying, "When I first took your online assessment, I wasn't even sure I wanted to do this type of work. I signed up because a friend told me about the job and it sounded interesting. My life is dull and boring back home and... I guess I wanted some excitement." Jerry chuckled before continuing, "But this was... a bit too much excitement for me. I don't know."

"That's why you should take the job and stay here," Rosa said. "Because you don't know. And you'll never find out if you don't stretch yourself. I'm sure whatever dry, dull ass job you have back home will still be there if you go back. But you'll never find what you're missing if you don't at least try to search for it."

Jerry nodded. "Thank you," he said as he stood. "I'll think about it."

"OK. I'll be sending emails out this evening. The job is yours if you want it. OJT starts in two weeks. I hope I see you there."

"Thank you," Jerry said before leaving the training room. "I'll think about it."

********************

"Another screwdriver?" Terri asked as Jerry located himself on the back side of the bar, nearly opposite from where he usually sat. He had a limited view of the entrance staircase and didn't want a better one.

"I'm good," he said, handing Terri his credit card.

"You don't look like you're having a great time tonight," Terri said as she turned to run Jerry's card. "Where's your friend? I haven't seen her in here since the night of the appletinis."

Jerry smiled as Terri laid his card and receipt in front of him. "That sounds like the name of a really old, really bad horror movie."

Terri grinned as she leaned on the bar toward Jerry. "Well, hopefully your next date can hold her alcohol."

"Yeah," Jerry said with a grin. He was captivated by Terri's flirtatiousness, as well as her attractiveness, while wondering how much of a tip she was attempting to work out of him for one drink.

After gazing at one another for a few seconds, Terri asked, "So how much longer will you be in town?"

Jerry rolled his eyes. "I'll be leaving in the morning. I was just here for training. And that is, mercifully, over"

"Emporium?" she asked as he nodded. "You don't like the job?"

"It's fine, I guess. I just... I don't know if I'm cut out for the big city."

"I think you'd fit in fine," Terri said, making Jerry blush. She then polished glasses as she said, "Well, I'm going to miss seeing you here at my bar."

Jerry nodded. "Yeah. This part of the trip I'll keep."

Terri flashed a big smile that made Jerry's heart race.

********************

Jerry searched his wallet for quite awhile before finding the keycard for his room. It was pitch black as he entered, which made him wonder how much time he had spent at the bar nursing his one screwdriver. "Lightweight," he said about himself, shaking his head.

Deciding to make it an early night, he disrobed down to his boxer-briefs before sliding under the covers and lying on his back in his unlit room. Staring into the darkness, he contemplated his day and his future. He then heard a chime on his phone. It was the promised email from Emporium, offering him the position and laying out the time, date, and place for him to report for his on-the-job training.

He sat his phone back down, remembering how excited he was to be notified that he had been chosen for the intern training. He contrasted that with his reluctance to accept an actual job offer. Jerry wondered if Alice's rejection and his black eye weren't coloring the experience. He was beginning to lean toward moving to town and taking the position.

He then heard what sounded like a woman's soft moan through the walls. Jerry concentrated on the voice, wondering if his neighbor was watching pornography or having sex. As the volume increased, he was pretty sure it wasn't television. The lack of a second voice also made him think the person was alone. Though, he thought, if she were being licked the other person's mouth would be occupied.

He became aroused as the moaning grew louder and faster. He sat up, leaning his ear close to the wall. The sound was hot but so loud that it seemed as if the person was in the room with him.

The woman let out an ear-piercing scream that brought Jerry's dick to life. "Damn," he said, grasping his stiff shaft through his underwear and smiling at the fun his neighbor must have been having.

He then chuckled just before seeing light shine from behind the closed bathroom door. His brow furrowed as he heard someone moving around and wondered what the hell was going on. Finally, the bathroom door opened and from it emerged a fully naked - and fully hot - silhouette of a woman. A stunned Jerry sat up straight in the bed, causing the woman to stop walking and start panting.

Jerry reached for and turned on the lamp on the nightstand next to his bed. "Shit!" he said at the same time the woman screamed the same. She then attempted to cover her nudity with her arms and hands. The woman, after several seconds of them staring at one another, ran back into the bathroom and slammed the door.

Jerry slid out of the bed and eased toward the bathroom. "Umm... why are you in my room?" he asked through the door.

"This is my room!" the woman yelled back. Jerry could hear her scrambling - presumably for clothes - as she continued. "Why the hell are you in my bed?"

Jerry's mind then flashed back to Luis telling him earlier that day that he would have to change rooms. "Oh shit," Jerry said in shock. "Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit!"

A nervous Jerry sped back to the side of the bed where he had disrobed. "They said the key would be deactivated," he said to himself as he grabbed his clothes and threw them on as fast as he could. "They said the key wouldn't work. They said the key wouldn't work!"

As he pulled his shirt over his head there were a series of firm knocks on the door. "Ms. Barton?" a voice said as Jerry stood by the bed, completely dressed but frozen. Another series of knocks and another call of her name prompted the woman in the bathroom to sprint to the door and open it as fast as she could.

She ran behind the large gentleman standing in the doorway, pointed into the room, and said, "I don't know who the fuck he is but he is in my room! He was in my bed!"

Jerry held up his hands. "I can explain. It's just a misunderstanding."

In Jerry's panicked mind, all he could think was, Fuck this city!

*****

Jerry stood at the hotel front desk with his hands still shaking. "You told me this thing would be fucking deactivated," he said to Luis as he surrendered his old keycard.

A nervous Luis said, "I'm so sorry. They are supposed to deactivate automatically."

"Well, it didn't," Jerry said as he and Luis watched a wet-headed and frazzled Ms. Barton give her statement to security, which he had already done.

"I'm really sorry, Mr. Nunez. For all of this. Your belongings are in your room and if you need anything..."

Jerry held up his hands. "I'm good. I just need to get to bed and then get the hell out of this city."

Jerry stormed to his room, fumbling with his phone along the way. As he walked, he pulled up the email from Emporium and began crafting a response, turning down the job.

When he reached his room he looked at the number on the door. Holding his keycard, he sneered as he realized he, again, went to his old room.

"Mother fuck," he said before moving over one door.

"Having a bad night?" a familiar female voice said.

Jerry turned to see his bartender standing several feet from him. It took his brain a few seconds to process that it was her. "Terri?"

She smiled as he recognized that she was much shorter when she wasn't behind the bar and he wasn't sitting down. "Yeah. I asked the front desk for your room number. They told me to make sure I didn't go to the wrong room?"

"Yeah, I bet they did. It's a long story. So... why did you..." Jerry couldn't imagine why she was looking for him. The small part of him that hoped she just wanted to come see him - as any guy would - was suppressed by his continued anger at his situation with the hotel.

"Oh. Here," Terri said, handing Jerry his credit card. "You left it at the bar."

Jerry looked at the card and shook his head. "I really am having a bad night all around."

"Don't worry," Terri said. "I only ordered myself a couple of appletinis before I brought it to you."

Jerry looked at her and couldn't help but grin.

After a few seconds, Terri said, "Well... I just wanted to bring you your card."

Jerry nodded. "Thanks."

"Sure. Have a good..."

"Is your shift over?" Jerry asked.

Terri smiled and nodded. "I'm on my way home."

"Well... since I've already bought you two appletinis tonight, it would be impolite if I didn't offer you something to eat as well."

Terri giggled. "Thanks. That would be nice."

"OK," Jerry said with a nod and a smile. "OK. Just let me get dressed and..." Fumbling with his keycard, it took him several seconds before he could get his room door open. Terri giggled as she watched.

Getting the door open, Jerry stepped inside. He then poked his head back out the door. "I'll be... just a minute."

Terri continued to grin as Jerry closed the door.

********************

"I'm surprised you like sitting at the bar," Jerry said as they enjoyed the atmosphere of a late night downtown bistro that Terri suggested.

"Honestly, after a long shift, it's nice to be taken care of for a change."

"Yeah, I can understand that."

"Plus..." Terri said, "... we get to sit next to one another."

Jerry looked at her and smiled.

"So, who is the woman you were with the other night? Ms. Appletini."

Jerry laughed. "Someone from my training class. We just went out that one night. I guess she wasn't into me."

Terri lifted her glass of gewurztraminer toward her lips. "I can't imagine," she said before taking a sip.

Jerry's heart sped as he studied Terri. With the week he'd had, he was beginning to wonder if she wasn't conning him in some way. He decided, since he invited her out, that he would relax and see where the evening would take him.

********************

Jerry was stunned at the speed at which he and Terri were able to remove one another's clothes once they returned to his proper hotel room. She was petite and cute and nude and crawling all over him, which was a welcome salve for the week he had experienced.

Her professional demeanor behind the bar was belied by her fiery sexual passion. He was happy allowing her to take charge as he laid on the bed and she straddled him, taking his cock in her hand and rubbing his tip along her wet pussy lips.

He rested his hands on her thighs as she began to work his shaft inside her. Once she eased halfway down his erection, she placed her hands on his torso and slid her lips down to his base until her ass touched his balls.

Terri rose back up until Jerry could feel her lips on his tip. Once there, she dropped her wetness back down onto him, causing him to gasp. She then rode him hard, slamming her ass and pussy on him with each fierce stroke, making his shaft sore and rock hard at the same time.

Jerry was nervous of exploding too soon from such intense, euphoric physical arousal. He then watched as Terri closed her eyes and her mouth fell open. She looked to be screaming, but no sound was heard. She slammed down on Jerry's dick a few more times while squeezing it, as he could feel the walls of her pussy pulsing and constricting around his cock.

After a last, long clutch, Terri's head dropped as she panted while holding herself up with her hands still on Jerry's stomach. He looked up at her as he felt his dick aching. She looked him in the eyes, smiling as she caught her breath. "You're still so fucking hard," she said. "I guess I need to do something about that."

Jerry studied her naked body as Terri slid him out of her and climbed down off of him. She moved between his legs, grasping the base of his shaft as she rested on her knees and the other hand. She began stroking him before saying, "Shit you made me wet."

She then rose up on her knees, continuing to stroke him as she touched herself with her other hand. "Damn, I'm really wet."

Still toying with her pussy, Terri lowered herself back down onto her elbow. The base of Jerry's cock still gripped by her hand, he watched with great anticipation as she took his tip into her mouth and slid up and down his shaft with her lips and tongue.

"Oh fuck," Jerry said. His eyes rolled back as his entire body reacted to the sexual heaven in which he found himself.

Terri, after several seconds, slid him out of her mouth and looked at him until he opened his eyes. "Did you want me to continue?" she asked with a wry smile.

Jerry, moments from reaching his climax and his eyes begging her to resume, could only muster a shallow but rapid head nod.

Terri's smile widened. She then placed his tip on her closed lips. She lowered her head as she slid him inside her mouth as far as he would fit. He could feel his tip touching the back of her throat, which brought him to the brink. In that moment, his fuzzy, sexually absorbed mind wondered if this was the cosmos' reward to him for surviving training.

*****

"You're really cute when you cum," Terri said as she laid nude at the foot of Jerry's hotel bed while his naked body laid at the head, rubbing her feet.

Jerry chuckled. "Is this where I say, right back at you?"

Terri smiled. "I don't know what I look like when I cum."

Jerry thought for a few moments. His erection returned as he pictured her face, and remembered how she felt. He then shook his head. "I can't describe it."

"Is it that awful?"

"Oh, no. It's that incredible."

Jerry could feel his heart beating stronger in his chest as Terri's bedroom eyes penetrated his soul. He then flipped around on the bed. He placed wet kisses on her neck, evoking moans from her. At the same time, his hand moved up from her thigh until his palm slid over her clit. His middle finger then eased between her lips and penetrated her pussy.

As he artfully fingered her - her eyes closed and concentrating on every sensation - he said, "I want to see it again."

Gasping each time his hand grazed her clitoris, Terri asked, "See what?"

"Your face. When you cum."

Terri, her mouth agape, opened her eyes as her head snapped toward Jerry. After another gasp as he slipped a second finger inside her, she said, "Then don't stop. Please."