The Color of Sex Ch. 19-21

Chapter 19

Two weeks went by before Candice was given the opportunity to leave the house. Her mother had called her cell phone, wanting to visit her apartment and catch up on what was happening. She also wanted to see if there was anything Candice needed before school started.

It was mid-July, and Candice had everything she needed, but she also knew her mother was feeling a bit left out of her daughter's life. Her only child now living on her own and holding down a job had to have made Renee feel a little useless.

Jon had given Candice the weekend off, and had told her to stay at her apartment, thus continuing the charade of Candice living there. She had arrived late Friday night to any empty apartment, closed the door and leaned against it. Her gaze drank in her surroundings and she felt as if she were once again Candice. She had been driven by Ted, but this time she had not been forced to perform for him.

Her mother would be dropping by in the morning. They would have breakfast, as well as lunch, not to mention possibly do some shopping and catch a movie. Candice couldn't believe how anxious she was for some sense of normalcy to return to her young life.

She pushed herself from the door and headed to her bedroom, where she peeled off the thin trench coat she wore and the clothes that Jon had made her leave in. Today she wore a fishnet leather teddy with matching gloves, and stockings. She walked over to her bed, naked and free of everything Jon had given her; she flopped down onto the soft quilt and closed her eyes, breathing in the scent of her home and sighing contently. A brief nap was her reward.

When Candice woke up, she rolled to her back and stared at her ceiling. She wanted to talk to Gregory, catch up on whatever it was he'd been doing, but also to ask him where in the house the cameras were. She'd yet to find any, but she knew they were there. She seemed to feel him, then again maybe she was wrong and it was the idea of him watching her that kept her feeling safe. Either way she liked the feeling. She sat up, picked up her phone and dialed his number.

"Evening Sunshine," Gregory said immediately after he picked it up.

She smiled and wished him a good evening. "Can you come over?" she asked.

"Sure, figured you'd want to meet. I'll pick up Chinese if that's okay. I know you've been cooking and cleaning a lot more than usual," he replied in a soft, teasing voice.

"I would so love that!" she said, her words laced with a hint of exhaustion and annoyance. "I think I've cleaned more in two weeks than I have in a lifetime."

Gregory's laughter rippled through the air waves and reached Candice's ears. Her grin grew wider, as she thought of seeing him again. Though they'd not talked or communicated since she moved into Jon's house, she had spoken to him in her head. He was now her close friend, even if he didn't know it. She also hoped one day to call him, lover. They hung up and she left her room to shower and get dressed.

Gregory left his apartment and hurried down the hall to do as he'd promised. As he made his way to the restaurant to get their food, he thought about the woman he'd come to desire more and more every hour of the day. Without being told to Candice had fallen into the role of obedience like a fly to honey. She was made to serve, but not to be enslaved. She had shown him not only a side full of passion and desire, but one full of confidence and a keen sense of reality.

Though he hadn't gotten to tell her about the cameras or about the audio feed, he sensed she'd somehow realized it on her own. There were times that Amelia would ask her about something that only audio sound would have divulge; it was the same with actions. There were times Jon would lead a conversation back to an event that had accord that he shouldn't have been privy too, but he was. Candice had played the part of a seasoned actress and for that he found himself feeling not only want, but pride as well.

When Gregory arrived at her door it was with a case of her favorite soda, a brown bag full of Chinese food. Once they were put on the counter he pulled out card and handed it to her.

"What's this?" she asked, looking at the small computer disk.

"Your copy," he told her.

"My copy?"

"Yeah," he walked around her kitchen, pulling plates and glasses from their respective cabinets. "That's a copy of everything I gathered over the past two weeks."

Her skin grew hot and her cheeks flamed a bright pink. "Everything?" she squeaked.

Gregory winked. "Everything," as he began to dig out silverware and ice. "I don't fuck around with chopsticks," he casually explained after pulling out a couple of forks. "I told you I'd be watching."

"Even that first night?" Candice asked, ignoring his rummaging through her kitchen.

Gregory sighed. He placed the ice tray on the counter. "Yes, baby. Even that first night."

She looked up and felt unshed tears fill her eyes. He groaned and reached out. She went into his arms willingly and sobbed. Gregory touched her hair, stroked the long curls and whispered that it was okay. She shook her head no and continued to weep. When she was done, he pulled back and wiped her face with his thumbs.

"You did good, Candice. I know it was hard. I saw it on the monitor. I heard it in your voice. I hurt for you. That life, the life of a pet, is not for you. You have a streak of stubbornness in you that can't be broken, but you also have a weakness for a strong firm hand. That lifestyle, the humiliating aspect of it that some embrace," he tucked a loose curl behind her ear, "that's not for you."

She shook her head. "I don't want to go back there," she finally admitted. "It's been such an emotional roller coaster. I've been flogged, smacked, fucked, sucked and denied orgasm. I've also been learning how to do the same things to Amelia. It's so hard to force her to stand there while I give her lashes and make her feel the bite of a whip."

"I know sweetie," Gregory said. He took her hand and led her to a bar stool that rested under the kitchen counter. She willingly sat on it, while he placed food for her on a plate. "Two more weeks babe and it'll be over. I thought you liked Amelia though, fucking her and such."

Candice toyed with her food. "I do, but I also like her as a friend. I don't like punishing her. Sometimes she's not even done anything wrong. Jon just wants me to punish her so I know how to hit someone without damaging them. But, I know what that flogger feels like, and I know how that cane and that whip feel on my privates. I know she's not enjoying it!"

"Candice," he reached out and touched her cheek. "That's where you're wrong. She's enjoying it. You just don't see it, because you've closed off your mind. When you have a chance, I want you to look at everything on that drive, okay. Really watch. Look long and hard at Amelia's reactions to not only you and what you do to her, but what happens when you lay that whip across her ass. She loves it. You just need to see it as giving her pleasure, not pain."

Candice shook her head. "I don't want to watch it," she told him, before shoveling food into her mouth. She swallowed and took another bite before starting a new path for their conversation to travel.

"Mom's going to be here in the morning. We're going to have a very much needed mother-daughter day."

Gregory allowed the conversation to die. He would tell her later about the surveillance cameras and how he tied into the feed; he'd also make sure she knew about the audio feeds and how keeping her thoughts and opinions about Jon and Amelia to herself. Right now he wanted her to focus on their meal and the serenity inside her home.

"So I hear," he winked, as all matters of Jon and Amelia fell to the wayside. "I can also tell you're looking forward to it."

"I am, a lot more than I realized. I need a dose of reality," she admitted.

"I understand," Gregory confided. "Sometimes I do to."

Candice shook her head in understanding. "So Gregory Steele, what do you do for a dose of reality?" she asked, before plucking up one of the fortune cookies and tearing open the wrapper.

"I usually head out of town, grab a couple of drinks with some friends, laugh a bit, shoot some pool, buy a few rounds and then debate on which lovely lady would best warm my sheets for the night," he said with a grin. "What's your fortune say?"

Candice lifted the paper from the cookie, read it to herself, and smirked. She licked her lips, smiled and said, "Skills gathered will aid you in the future."

Gregory grinned, chuckled and read his. "One hidden loves you deeply."

"Aww," Candice said, "isn't that sweet. One of the hoes at the bar loves you!"

Gregory rolled his eyes, and the paper, then tossed it at Candice. It bounced off the sweatshirt and landed on her plate.

"Why'd you choose that?" he asked.

"What?" Candice asked, her gaze questioning and curious.

"Those clothes you're wearing. Why'd you choose them?" Gregory asked, before taking a drink from his soda.

Candice shrugged her shoulders. "They make me feel like me," she told him.

"Do they?" he asked with a lift of his brow.

"Yeah, why?"

"Because I'm curious if they make you feel like you, or keep you from feeling like her," he said.

Candice stared at her plate. "Like who?"

"Like the woman on that disk, the woman that both loves and hates what she's doing and what she's becoming. You're probably wearing a bra and panties for the first time since your mother left last month aren't you? And the jeans, sweatshirt, socks, tennis shoe. Hell there isn't an inch of flesh visible to the naked eye, except your hands, neck, and face. You've even got your hair down, so you can turn into it and try to shield your looks."

She pushed away from the table and headed into the living room, where she sat down on her couch. Candice said nothing when he joined her after cleaning up after them. He sat down and pulled her against him. She allowed herself to relax into his embrace. He held her as they stared at the TV, each drinking in the other's reflection.

Candice saw Gregory as a protector and a smart man that could read deep into her soul. She wondered what he saw. She saw a young woman playing an adult game, living in an adult's world. She rolled over and looked up at him. Candice said nothing as she leaned in and upward. Her mouth rested softly against his lips. She pushed his lips apart with her tongue and slowly teased him until his tongue darted out to taste hers.

His arms tightened around her as he began to take over the kiss. His tongue moved alongside hers. His hands moved down to cup her ass and slide her onto his lap. She whimpered and moaned against the gentle assault on her mouth. Candice felt her pulse race; her fingers moved down to stroke his hardening shaft. He took her hand and held it still against the throbbing member.

She grinned. "Come on," she said in a low seductive tone. "You and I both know I'm good at what I do."

Gregory took a deep breath, laid his head back on the couch, and took her hand from his crotch. "Yes, I do," he told her.

Candice sensed the change in his mood as well as the air around them. "What?" she asked, confused by the sudden difference in his demeanor.

He coaxed her off his lap and rose from the couch. "I want you Candice more than I've ever wanted anyone, but I can't do this, not here and not now, not like this."

She stared at him with a furrowed brow of confusion.

"I wish I could say it was because you're so young and I'm so old, but hell that's not it at all. You're old enough to fuck, that's obvious," he lifted his hand to ward off the words he knew she was getting ready to fling at him, "I don't mean your job. I mean you as a person. You're old enough to make your own decisions. But you just got home. You're vulnerable and I'm safe. I'm not going to hurt you. Not going to humiliate you, or use you, but you don't need safe right now. You just need this weekend to be about Candice and not Candice getting fucked."

She couldn't think of anything to say, so she said nothing as he grabbed his keys and headed out the door. It closed behind him and then she heard the apartment across the hall open and close. Candice jumped up and peeked out. He was gone. She knew then that he had done what he said he would do, and he had moved in to her complex in order to keep a better eye on her.

How much he had to pay the other residents to vacate their apartment so he could have it, she didn't know. But she knew it hadn't been cheap. She smiled and as much as she hated to admit he was right, it was good that he'd left. Candice locked her apartment door, went back to the couch and turned on the television. Eventually she settled into a nice quiet evening at home, something she hadn't realized she missed until she was alone and forced to embrace it.

The following morning, she woke up, scrubbed her face, brushed her hair and picked up another sweat shirt. She immediately thought of Gregory and what he'd said about her clothes. She knew what he was implying with his comment. He was asking her if she was hiding from herself. A long drawn out sigh was her answer. She pushed the shirt back into her dresser drawer.

In the end, she greeted her mother with a smile and hug. Her bra and panty set was not over the top erotic, but it wasn't old and matronly looking either. She felt desirable and attractive in the simple underwear, as well as a pair of denim shorts, and purple tank top.

Renee smiled at her daughter, took a quick peek at her apartment and looped her arm around Candice's. Candice leaned into her, closed the door, checked its lock and headed down the hall with her mother. They passed Gregory, who was coming up with a couple bags of groceries. He nodded to the two women, but made no other sign of recognition.

In the parking lot, Renee offered to drive and Candice took her up on it. She wanted to feel like the daughter, not the playmate. Having her mom by her side made her feel more her age and she found herself relishing in it.

They had breakfast at a diner just down the road from the mall, where they talked about Candice's classes and she shared with her mom a few things she needed to pick up for school. She also mentioned she was looking into taking some finance classes, that way she could better plan for her future. Nursing was an excellent and rewarding career, but it wasn't the highest paying one out there.

"Looking for more money, isn't what leads to happiness," her mother gently chastised.

Candice laughed. "Oh, I know, but it helps. You can't argue that. I'm pretty sure you and dad are enjoying the perks that have come with his promotion."

Her mother laughed. "Yes, we are. About work though, since you brought it up."

"What about it?" Candice asked.

"Your dad said you've not been in for the last couple weeks. He said that Ben told him he sent you off to do some schooling. What kind of schooling and why weren't we made aware of it?" Renee asked her daughter.

Candice paled. She blinked several times, curious as to how Ben expected her to bluff her way out of a lie he told, but left her out of. "Well, honestly mom," she sipped her juice, "I didn't think it was any of your business." She saw the hurt in her mother's eyes and wished she could take the words back, but she couldn't. "I mean mom, I'm an adult now. I have my own place, a great job and the fact I needed more training shouldn't surprise you."

Renee sat there with a stunned expression on her face. "No," she admitted. "It doesn't. I was just surprised you didn't tell us. Ben told your dad, only because your dad hadn't seen you around. You were calling us, checking in, but you never told us you were in San Francisco. I mean, it was the first time you'd ever gone there, I assumed you would have mentioned it. Did you have a good time?"

Candice coughed and waved off her mother's concern. In her head she was trying to weave the blanket of lies she was about to release on her mother. "I guess," she took a deep breath, "I didn't tell you because I knew you guys would either not want me to go, or insist on coming with me. I wanted to do this, just like I would if you weren't here. Like an adult, living my own life. Having my own experiences. I'm sorry if it hurt you. It wasn't my intention. Honest."

Inside Candice was fuming. Her palms itched. She wanted to give Ben a piece of her mind, as well as Jon. He had to have known she would be asked about this phantom trip. She should have been warned and included in their little mind game.

"Honey, don't get angry. I know it's your life, and... ."

"No mom, it's not you. I just, I was wrong. I should have told you and I'm sorry I didn't. I'm going to be heading back there on Monday, actually I'm flying out Sunday night. Two more weeks to finish training and then I'll be back," Candice said.

"What are you learning?" Renee asked, her voice gentle and anything but prodding.

Candice sensed her mom was only asking in hopes to move the conversation away from the hostile gaze coming from her eyes. She tried to soften her expression and touched her mom's hand. "Just some corporate crap."

"But why? You still want to be a nurse don't you?"

Candice took a deep breath. "I do, but well --- I like the idea of learning something else too. Something that, if I don't want to be a nurse, I can walk in and say, 'Look, I know how to run a business. I've a head for finance. I'm not just some bimbo who looks good in a skirt.'," she explained.

Her mother laughed. "You really are growing up, aren't you?"

"I am mom. Faster than you or I ever thought I would. But in the end mom," she smiled and thought back to her fortune cookie, "the skills I'm gathering will aid me in the future."

Renee laughed.

Eventually the conversation turned to dating, and Candice waved off her mother's attempts at setting her up on blind dates. "I'm sure I'll meet someone eventually. Let's not jump the gun."

"Okay, guess I see you living on your own and like the idea of a man being there to take care of you," Renee confessed.

"It's okay. When I fall in love, you'll be the first to know," she promised. They finished their breakfast, Renee covered the cost, and the two headed out to spend more of Rick's money, though Candice spent her fair share too.

By the time Renee was pulling back onto the highway and Candice was making her way back up to her apartment, she felt like a young girl and not the ten-thousand dollar a night hooker she was training to be.

When she reached her apartment she felt her phone vibrate. She saw the number, muttered a curse and opened it. "Yeah?" her voice was full of annoyance.

"You're free tonight, right?" Ben asked.

Candice closed her eyes. "I guess, why?"

"You home?"

"Yeah."

"Good. I've got your first job lined up. He'll be there in an hour," Ben said.

Chapter 20

"What?" Candice shouted. She looked down the hall to see if anyone was disturbed by her obvious display of shock. "What do you mean my first job? I thought I wasn't going to have to do anything until after...," the words hung in the air. She quickly opened her apartment, shut the door behind her and slammed her purse on a side table.

"I called Jon and he said it'd be okay to use you tonight. He says you can handle this guy and you'll play your part well," Ben told her. "He's paying for a cum slut, so be eager to please. You need to wear it, swallow it, and fucking enjoy it."

Her jaw ached from the amount of force she placed on it, in order to keep her mouth shut. "Do you trust him?" she hissed out.

"Yeah, he's clean. He's around our age, a bit on the heavier side than Jon or I, but nothing that will make your skin crawl. Do this babe, it's what you've been trained for and it's what you're being paid for."