"Do it," he commands. "I want to see your clit."
I do, cringing but smiling at the same time.
"That's it, Jon. Call me tomorrow night. I'll make a point of staying home all evening. Alone." I raise my eyebrows meaningfully.
"Deal. Talk later," he says and then blows me a kiss. I blow one back and then our call ends. I imagine him leaning back and taking his erection in hand, beating off – choking the chicken – while he looks at our video feed.
I adjust my pajamas and take in a deep breath, running the water to fake Marina out. When I finally get back to the living room, Marina shoots me a glare over her bucket of popcorn.
"What happened? I was going to send in a search and rescue team."
"My stomach's a bit off," I say, and, as much as I want the popcorn, I push the bucket away to stay in character. "I'll just have a few Twizzlers."
She turns back to the screen and together, we spend the next couple of hours watching Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.
Don't ask me why. It was Marina's pick.
Chapter 20
JON
I sit on the edge of my bed, hand pumping my cock, and replay India's video feed. I stop it so I can look at her spread pussy while I finish, groaning while I spill, wishing I was buried deep in her body instead of in my hand.
I recover, clean up all the evidence of my solitary confinement, and then lie back on the bed and watch some late news before I turn off the flat screen.
When I finally can't keep my eyes open, I switch the TV off and lie in the darkness, wondering what India's doing and expecting that Marina will be staying until at least three o'clock my time. I have to get up early and meet Chris for a run before the final session at the convention. Otherwise, I might consider calling her back once I think she's alone.
Instead, I fall asleep soon after the light goes out and wake up to my alarm.
When I do finally open my eyes, the sun is streaming in from the cracks between the curtains and I can see motes of dust floating in the air. I roll over and wonder what India's doing now.
When Marina texted me to ask if I was coming to the party, I was shocked to learn that Blaine was back in town.
I read over our texts from earlier.
MARINA: Why would he locate an office in San Francisco of all cities? It must be because of India. I think he still has a thing for her and realized it after being separated from her this past year.
JON: Or it might be because he wants access to Silicon Valley's finest techies?
MARINA: I have it on good authority that the first thing he did was go to Pacifica's office to see India. I think she was the reason he came back. I think he's going to make a play for her.
JON: Well, he broke her heart so I don’t think she'll take him back.
MARINA: That was her choice. She could have gone with him, but she didn't because she knew he couldn’t commit to the relationship. She didn't want to go all the way across the country with a man who couldn't say the word, let alone commit to it.
JON: Exclusive?
MARINA: Yep. It's India's bottom line with men. Exclusive or nothing. I had a great choice for her tonight but she turned it down. I wonder if she wasn't hoping to hook up with Blaine again and that's why she turned her MATCHED date down.
JON: Maybe she thought your latest match was a wash. Like the other three…
MARINA: Maybe she's hoping Blaine will see the light this time. To come all the way back to San Francisco to open an office to be closer to her… That's a pretty big commitment.
JON: You’re reading too much into it. There's no proof he came back because of her.
MARINA: There's more proof that he did.
JON: Whatever. I gotta go. Meeting some colleagues for drinks. Later.