Quarantine Pet - His Pet
“Now, what’s that mean?”
“There are certain aspects of my lifestyle you haven’t seen yet,” he said worriedly. “It can get a bit dark.”
“That’s what makes it exciting,” I said. “I want to be your pupil. Teach me.”
For a moment, I thought I got through to him. Jack looked like he actually wanted to do it. Then, something behind his eyes told him that it wouldn’t work. He turned and walked out of the library.
“I can’t, Sandra,” he said. “I’m sorry.”
I was left in the library, standing alone. Sighing, I decided to call it a day. I couldn’t see myself getting any work done after an experience like that. The drama had been intense, but at least it was all self-contained in the house.
That night, I called Isabella again.
“Wow, he’s a tough nut to crack,” she commented. “You sure you don’t want to just throw yourself at him.”
“I want him to respect me a bit,” I responded gregariously. “If I send him a bunch of naked pictures of myself, I’m not going to get credit for being a good woman. He’s going to think I’m some kind of sex maniac.”
“He’s certainly way more into sex than most guys.”
“No, I prefer to think of it as having a more sophisticated palette,” I countered. “I mean, if you eat nothing but pizza, eventually, you’d like to try more toppings.”
“Or you just get locked into the same bizarre pizza over and over again,” countered Bella. “Wait a minute? Who are you in this scenario? The pizza or the toppings?”
“That’s not important. I figure as long as we keep our relationship a secret, it doesn’t matter what we do,” I suggested.
“Well, I think you have to get him to go along with that!”
“He’s into bondage,” I reminded her. “People like that are already discreet. I mean, it’s already kind of a secret.”
“It’s not illegal,” she pointed out. “I don’t know why people can’t just, well, no, I guess I do know why they don’t talk about it.”
“We’re lawyers, Bella. Things that we do impact our clients and our clients are mostly about an image,” I reminded her.
“What if he doesn’t want a relationship?” she asked. “He could just be using you for sex.”
“Why do you say that?” I asked, suddenly defensive.
“Why does any guy do it? Remember that biker I dated?”
“He wasn’t a biker. He rode a motorcycle or owned one.”
“That’s a biker.”
“No, a biker is in a motorcycle club like the Hell’s Angels or the Mongols or something,” I pointed out. “He’s not some weekend cycle guy. He had a job, right?”
“Yeah, he was a florist.”
“See? Bikers aren’t florists!”
“My point is,” Isabella said, getting the conversation back under her control. “We dated for a while, and I wanted a relationship. He went along with things for a time and then suddenly revealed he was married when he didn’t want to take it further.”
“He was married, Bella.”
“Yeah, but he didn’t need to tell me that. Plus, he could’ve left his wife.”
“I think that’s a bad example,” I countered. “Although I guess in your story, there is a terrible secret to keep out of the public.”
“You need to corner him. That’s what I failed to do with the biker guy,” she noted. “If I had told him I was pregnant or something, he would’ve made a serious commitment.”
“Jesus, Bella! I’m not going to lie and tell Jack I’m pregnant! That’s awful!”
“Just keep it in mind. If you need the tool, use it.”
“That’s not a tool! Not an option! We haven’t even had intercourse. I’m still a virgin.”
“Oh, yeah. Man, you lawyers think of all the loopholes, don’t you?” she noted.
“Will you please treat this seriously?” I begged. “I’m really into Jack. I’ve never, well, I’ve never felt like this about anyone.”
“Look, I’ve been watching the news, and according to that, this virus might keep us locked down for weeks, even months,” she told me. “That’s more than enough time to slowly worm your way into his heart. Take the long view. Seduce him slowly over time. You’ll wear him down.”
“I don’t know if I like the way you phrased that, but yeah, I see your point.”
“Now that he has broken the ice once, there’s no way he could resist you for that long,” she insisted. “Just keep being your sexy self. Really tempt him, ya know? And at some point, stop wearing underwear.”
“That seems a little unprofessional.”
“You’re in the house of a co-worker who is technically above you, and you had a sexual encounter,” she stated. “The whole thing is unprofessional. If you worked at the office, you’d probably both be getting a lecture from HR right now. Forget about being professional! This is about love. Or lust. Or something.”
“Okay, it’ll be seduction by a thousand cuts,” I proclaimed. “Thanks for talking this out with me.”
“Just make sure I get all the juicy details if this works,” she requested. “I have to live vicariously through you, especially now. Dating in the time of the virus blows.