Chapter 20: New York ll

The elevator dinged, and the LCD display informed us that we'd reached the top floor nightclub. At this time of year, the sun had long disappeared below the horizon and tomorrow would be the new moon, so the only illumination outside was that from the artificial lights of The City That Never Sleeps.

Inside, the illumination was set for "mood lighting", ambient and reflected lights in a variety of colors casting plenty of shadows. The music, likewise, was rhythmic but sedate. The patrons within relaxed on the various couches and booths, and the dance floor was currently empty. It was a Monday evening, still relatively early after all, and not a Friday or Saturday night.

Despite the muted atmosphere, Moon was positively giggly as she led the way. The epitome of a high-fashion sexy-skinny model, her figure was more like a science fiction alien than a normal human being, and she moved with an otherworldly grace. In contrast, June followed rather awkwardly in her borrowed heels that were at least an inch taller than anything she'd ever worn before in her life. Hell, I wasn't entirely sure if she'd ever worn heels, and I paused for a moment to offer her my hand for stabilization.

At first, June looked at me incredulously and waved me off, wearing a look of determination that insisted she could do this. But a few steps later, she reached her hand out to me and I quickly took it.

Moon glanced back at us, executed a graceful pivot, and explained, "It's all in the hips. Proper balance on a stiletto means keeping your weight directly above it, not off to the side. Pretend you're on a balance beam and walk in a straight line."

Taking a deep breath, June nodded and did as instructed. Walking alongside her, I couldn't really see what her hips were doing, but she didn't need to put much weight on my hand to maintain her balance. I worked much harder to help BJ when he'd first started walking.

The three of us soon joined a trio of familiar faces that I nevertheless didn't quite recognize. I knew they were all models I'd met at some point or another on my last trip to New York, but their names escaped me. Fortunately, Moon did the honors. "Katerina, Danita, and Jovon ... You remember Ben, right?"

"How could we forget?" Katerina asked in a smoky Eastern European accent, smiling at me rather lasciviously.

"And this cute little doll is June," Moon finished, waving her hand with a flourish.

The three other models smiled and waved while June blushed and did a poor job of not looking self-conscious. I had to admit, though, Moon was right: June was quite the cute doll. It started with her makeup – little sister Eve had done June's makeup before, but Moon took it to a whole 'nother level. It was much heavier than June had ever worn before, something that worked much better in this dimmer evening illumination. The face of the plain Jane I usually worked with had been transformed into that of an exotic East Asian beauty, with the shape of her eyes accented and her cute pouty lips highlighted in red. And it occurred to me that June's facial features were much like that of other high-fashion models, Moon herself included.

As for June's hair, Moon had curled it, teased it, and styled it in a way that fit June's youthful beauty. She'd only turned 22 a couple of months ago, after all. And finally, there was the outfit.

Let me first state for the record that I never thought I'd ever see June in an outfit like the one she'd worn tonight. It was tight. It was short. And it was sexy. The ones she'd borrowed from Eve in the past were downright frumpy in comparison. Moon was right in that she had several outfits that would fit June, and she even had quite a few that were tasteful and tame. June, naturally, had gravitated toward those, and even picked out one within the first two minutes. But Moon had insisted June at least look at some of her suggestions, and over the next twenty minutes she somehow managed to get June to agree to switch her top, and then her skirt, and then her top again, and so on until June was finally attired in the two-piece outfit she now wore to the club.

The top wasn't quite strapless, but you almost had to look carefully to notice the tiny spaghetti straps that looped over each shoulder. It was cropped quite short, short enough to be nearly scandalous on Moon's 5'11" frame, but on June's shorter 5'4" height it was merely quite revealing, exposing several inches of bare midriff. The sheath cut skirt hugged June's slender figure and would have scandalously stopped just below Moon's crotch, but on June it was merely "precariously short" and elongated her legs. And both top and skirt were made of shimmery, almost metallic materials that reflected the many disparate lights that surrounded us.

Moon did have earrings that went perfectly with June's profile, delicate bracelets adorned June's wrists, and finally a pendant necklace drew attention to my co-worker's cleavage. On a busty girl, the outfit would have looked obscenely ridiculous, but June's pert B-cups were perfect and even put on display a little, pushed together by some Victoria's Secret strapless bra. All in all, she was cute, she was pretty, she was ... well she was eminently fuckable.

Not that June and I would be fucking anytime soon. Our relationship wasn't like that, and despite our close proximity together in a strange city far from home, I had no intentions of changing the nature of our relationship. I was merely happy to see her getting out of her shell a bit, trying new things, and if she went right back to her standard uniform attire and plain style without makeup the minute we got back home, that would be fine with me.

Besides, I soon got quite distracted when a fifth pretty model joined our group. The newcomer wasn't the sexiest woman I'd ever seen in my life, not overtly curvaceous nor hyper-skinny. She wasn't tall like some high-fashion models nor particularly short and petite. She was simply a young woman in good shape with firm, perky breasts, a fit tummy, and pleasantly rounded hips. She had fine, dark brown hair and a glowing, tanned complexion. And all it really took was her strikingly beautiful face and large doe eyes to make me believe she was the only girl in the room.

"Rania," I breathed in surprise, immediately lurching rather awkwardly to my feet. The six of us had been seated on couches around a low table in pleasant conversation with our first round of drinks, and I couldn't help but circle around the table and nearly trip over Katerina's legs in a hurry to get to the Arab beauty. But as I approached her, I found myself unsure of whether I should hug her, shake her hand, or what, so I wound up skidding to an awkward stop right in front of her, stammering, "Hey! I, uh, I, you're here! I mean of course you're here, but Adrienne told me that you'd moved back home and stopped modeling and ... wow ... Hi! Let me start over."

The beautiful young brunette blushed and gave me a sweet smile. "Hi, Ben. It's good to see you."

I couldn't help myself, so I reached forward and gave her a firm hug. She laughed musically in my ear and hugged me in return. And when I finally let go of her to take a step back, I found those large, luminous brown eyes staring straight into the back of my soul. "Hi..." I intoned with a goofy smile.

Rania laughed again, a noise that illuminated the entire dimly-lit room. She coyly brushed a lock of hair behind her right ear and then clasped her hands together over her left thigh, angling her chin down and then flicking her eyes up to look at me. And finally she replied warmly, "Hi..."

The five other girls glanced back and forth between us while Rania and I continued to stare at each other in silence for an extra few seconds. Finally, Moon announced, "He does have a hotel room if you're interested."

That broke the moment, as Rania blushed and averted her eyes while I sighed and shot Moon a 'look'.

The Korean girl just laughed and waved us over. "C'mon. Sit down. Order a drink. The night is still young, and he's not going home until Saturday. You've got all week to make goo-goo eyes at each other."

With everyone making such a big deal about me making goo-goo eyes at Rania (and by everyone, I mean 'Moon'), I made a conscious effort to NOT make goo-goo eyes at the pretty brunette and instead engaged in conversation with the two girls closest to me: Katerina and Jovon. Both were flirtatious, and I got the sense that if I really wanted, I could probably talk my way into their panties. But I honestly wasn't looking for a one-night stand or anything like that, so I kept the conversation casual and kept my hands to myself.

Plus, I really wasn't drinking. Having already downed four cocktails with Zach and Raven a few hours earlier, I knew there was only so much my stomach could handle. I sipped at my drink, maintaining just enough of a light buzz to take the edge off my nerves. And I simply enjoyed being in this atmosphere: a trendy Manhattan nightclub full of gorgeous women.

June, on the other hand, was both drunk and giggly. Tonight wasn't her first time drinking alcohol, but it was honestly the first time I'd seen her drunk. Her head seemed a little too heavy for her neck and would suddenly tilt left or right for a second or two before she regained her balance, even sitting down. Her posture had been demure and a little stiff when we'd first sat down, but an hour later she was gesturing animatedly with both arms, leaning forward to get closer to whoever she was talking to, and breaking into laughter every thirty seconds. She wasn't too drunk, at least not yet, but I'd resolved to keep a close eye on her and make sure she didn't go overboard tonight.

In the meantime, I'd let June have a good time. She definitely seemed to be enjoying herself, and it was nice to see her loosen up. At the same time, I found myself wondering what had prompted such a radical change in her normal behavior. Why had she let Moon talk her into coming out with us tonight? Why had she decided to let Moon give her a makeover and put her in a skimpy, sexy dress? And why have more than one cocktail and really get drunk? Was it simply the thrill of leaving town, of breaking away from mundane routine and starting her own Manhattan adventure? Was it the opportunity to make new first impressions, to try on a different identity with new people who didn't really know the way she was back home? Was this a natural evolution of June's personality, an extension of the progress she'd already been making over the last several months? Or was she taking things a step too far a little too fast, dangerously close to losing control of herself?

I didn't know the answers to any of these questions, and short of sobering June up and subjecting her to an interrogation, I wasn't likely to get any. For now, I wanted to give her the benefit of doubt and trust that she could handle herself; June was a 22-year-old adult, not a 15-year-old kid. So long as she didn't lose all sense of tact and start volunteering personal information about MY life or anything like that, I was willing to see how things played out.

As the evening progressed, the ambient lighting stayed the same but the music turned up a notch. More and more people arrived, until every couch, table, and booth was occupied. And a dozen or so patrons moved onto the dance floor. Moon, of course, wanted to dance, and she first asked me to join her. I was actually willing to go, but made a half-hearted protest that I was fine right where I was just as a matter of social ritual. Had she asked me a second time, I would have gone, but instead, Moon grabbed June's hand and dragged my young co-worker up to her feet, enthusing, "C'mon, let's go!"

June went.

Chuckling, I shook my head in surprise. Once the two Asian girls were gone, I glanced around the table at Katerina, Jovon, Danita ... and Rania. But just when I started to smile at the pretty brunette, she glanced down at her empty glass and stood up, saying, "I'm going to go get a refill."

I watched her go, and even watched her glance back over her shoulder and flash a coy smile. And then I grabbed my own drink, taking a sip before looking over at Katerina and Jovon, ready to pick our conversation up where we'd left off.

But Katerina abruptly backhanded my forearm.

I blinked at her in surprise and sat up straight. "What?"

Katerina rolled her eyes like I was a stupidly dense moron and growled, "Go AFTER her."

My eyebrows went up. "Who? Rania?"

Now Katerina gave me a look like I was the stupidest, densest moron in the history of stupidly dense morons, and without another word she turned her back on me, muttering something to Jovon.

A second later, my brain finally caught up to me and I lurched to my feet.

I'd lost sight of Rania, but I headed straight for the nearest bar, since she'd said she was getting a refill. But she was nowhere in sight, so I turned and scanned the room 360-degrees without spotting her. On a hunch, I thought about the last time I'd been at this nightclub, and I recalled that she and I had briefly chatted outside on the balcony back then.

As cold as it would be this late at night in early January, and on the top floor of a Manhattan skyscraper, the big sliding doors to the balcony were closed and there was nobody outside. But Rania stood by the doors themselves, staring out through the glass with a now-full tumbler of amber liquid, sipping at her drink and taking in the view. There was no one else within twenty feet of her.

I'd forgotten to bring my own drink, but I came alongside her and similarly looked out through the glass. The Empire State Building hadn't moved, still visible down 5th Avenue to the north between a couple of other skyscrapers. "Hi..." I muttered a little awkwardly.

The pretty brunette turned to smile at me. "Hi... ," she replied warmly, big eyes sparkling and her facial expression that of a girl who couldn't be any happier to see me.

"How have you been?" I asked, unable to think of anything more interesting to say.

"I've been good," she replied automatically before frowning and adding, "Been better, actually."

"I'm sorry. Anything in particular? Work issues? Family issues?"

Rania sighed. "Bit of both." She frowned again and stared out the window, the sparkle in her eyes going away.

I immediately felt bad for killing her mood. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you dwell on unhappy things."

She smiled and looked back up at me. "It's alright. Not your fault."

"I'm glad you're here. I wasn't sure I'd ever see you again. Adrienne told me – like a year ago – that you'd stopped modeling and moved back to Brooklyn with your parents."

Rania nodded. "I did. Modeling is tough. The shelf life of the average model can be measured in months, not years, and I was one of those that couldn't cut it. The stress of constantly searching for work. The grind of long, inconsistent hours. I was only twenty-two and already burnt out. Seemed easier to move back in with my parents, get a 9-to-5 job, and calm things down."

I nodded. "I can understand that. Not that I've ever tried my hand at modeling or anything, but I understand the appeal of a regular job with regular hours and a steady paycheck."

Rania blushed and took another sip of her drink. "That, and ... well ... there was a guy..."

I arched an eyebrow and smiled like a gossiping girlfriend. "Do tell..."

Her blush darkened, not easy to notice with her tan skin and the dim lighting, but I noticed. Taking a deep breath, she began, "My parents set us up. Such a cliché for an Arab girl. Hassan's family traced their roots back to Palestine not far from where my family does, even though he's from Pittsburgh and about as ethnic as I am. Still, after he moved to Brooklyn his parents made a few phone calls to friends, and they made phone calls to friends, and ultimately his parents ended up making phone calls to my parents asking about their daughter they'd been told was available."

"Really? Like an arranged marriage or something?"

"Not exactly. More like a really awkward blind date. We didn't meet cute in a coffee shop for sure."

"How did you meet?"

Rania stared out the window, back into the past. "At first I wanted nothing to do with him. The very idea of my parents arranging for me to meet up with some strange guy even they'd never met just because they'd talked to his parents over the phone a few times ... Like, what criteria could they have possibly used in his vetting process? How could they possibly know he wasn't a serial killer? I was only 21 when we met. What, I was supposed to date and possibly marry this guy just because his last name is a little like mine?"

"Crazy..."

Still staring out the window, she repeated, "Crazy ... But then I came home one weekend to visit my parents and there he was, sitting in the living room, chatting with my mom and dad. I was mortified. But my parents disappeared, Hassan gave me an awkward smile, and he told me that none of this was his idea, either. Rather, his parents were giving him the third degree about finding a wife and settling down just because he was turning 25. So to get them off his back he'd agreed to at least show up and meet me. He made sure I understood I was under no pressure to ever see him again after that. But ... well..." Her voice trailed off.

I waited her out for a bit, letting her think.

With a sigh, Rania continued, "He was cute, and he was nice, and he was kind."

I winced. "I'm hearing a lot of past tense."

Rania shrugged and looked up at me. "It didn't work out."

"I'm sorry."

"Not your fault. Nobody's fault, really. Nothing really bad happened. Some things just don't work out."

I sighed and muttered, "I can relate."

Now it was Rania's turn to wince. "I'm sorry. I heard about Adrienne. Well, everyone heard. How are you doing?"

I shrugged. "I'm fine. We're fine."

She gave me a bemused look. "I don't think you're using that word the way it really means."

I chuckled and shook my head. "I'm not taking my own advice to never use the 'f-word'. Then again, I suppose that means I'm using it correctly, the way that -I- define it."

"And how do you define it?"

"As a word to cover up all manner of resentments. It says I'm 'fine' when I'm not really fine because there are things going in my life that are the exact opposite of 'fine'."

"Well in that case, you could say that I'm 'fine' as well."

"Still hurt? Still feeling a sense of loss?"

"Yup. You too?"

I sighed. "I tell the world 'no', but yeah, I'm still hurt. I feel... 'abandoned' isn't the right word. Adrienne definitely didn't 'abandon' me, although she does have a habit of flying off to some exotic locale for a week or so rather than stick around and talk to me in the aftermath. But I do feel alone."

Rania gave me a tight smile and went back to looking out the window. "I can relate. Before, the two of us were a 'we'. Now, I'm only 'me'."

"Sounds pretty recent."

She shrugged. "I got you beat by a couple of days. Adrienne's press release came out on New Year's. My relationship ended the Saturday before."

"Well actually, I got you beat. Adrienne and I broke up the week before Christmas."

"Fine. You win."

I sighed and shook my head. "Not a game I'd ever want to win."

The two of us went silent for a bit, both of us now staring out the window. I started to feel bad again. Rania had first looked at me with a sparkle in her eye, but after a few minutes of actually talking to me I'd dragged her mood down and left her frowning as she reminisced about her recently lost relationship.

"I'm sorry," I said again. "I really didn't come over here to make you sad."

She raised her eyebrows and glanced over at me. "Why did you come over here?"

I smiled and replied, "I just wanted to talk to you. I haven't seen you in a long, long time, and didn't get much of a chance earlier in the evening."

She narrowed her eyes, a flash of ... something ... in them, as she asked, "So you didn't come over here to try and worm your way into my panties?"

I arched an eyebrow. "Do you really think that's the kind of guy I am?"

She blinked a couple of times, and the hard edge in her eyes melted away. Taking a deep breath, she shook her head and replied, "No, I know you're not. There ARE guys like that here – especially here, actually – but I do already know you're not one of them."

"Glad you think so."

Rania sighed mournfully. "I have to admit, though, at the moment I kinda wish you were trying to get into my panties."

I blinked in surprise and snapped my head back. "Really?"

Rania stared down into the bottom of her drink for a moment before taking a deep breath and chugging the entire thing in one gulp. She gasped hoarsely after that, her eyes watering up just a bit as she took several deep, inhalations to catch her breath. And then she exhaled slowly, set the empty glass down on a nearby shelf, and turned to lean against the glass door.

With slightly watery eyes and a raspy voice, she muttered, "I've spent a few lonely nights thinking about that last night we spent together. Did you know that?"

I arched an eyebrow. "No, I didn't."

She nodded her head out toward the balcony behind her, explaining, "It was right outside there that you told me you weren't very good at chasing girls. On the other hand, if an opportunity presented itself, well, that was something different."

"I remember."

Rania sighed, again looking regretful. "I distinctly remember lying on that bed, spineless and satisfied after you ate me out for what felt like ... well, it felt like hours."

"I remember," I said again, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly.

Rania stared off past my right shoulder, looking at nothing. "I'd never felt so exhausted, so content ... just ... utter bliss really ... And I thought, why not? So I gave you an opportunity."

The visual memory came to mind: The two of us staring back and forth at each other, silly grins on our faces. We were both exhausted, and both content with what we'd done. I'd already fucked the hell out of Adrienne, Moon, and Talita, multiples times and in all three of their holes each, so it wasn't like I needed more sex. Rania had already made it clear that she wasn't really the casual sex type, wasn't the kind of girl to have a one-night stand only hours before I flew away. And yet she'd given me an opportunity, raising her left knee and moving her right leg out to the side.

"But you didn't take it," she said quietly, obvious disappointment in her tone.

My throat raspy, I said again, "I remember."

Pushing herself off the glass door, Rania raised her hands to my face and traced both sides of my head with her palms. She scooped her hands around so that she briefly cupped my cheeks, continued onward down my throat, drifted across my broad chest, went up and over my shoulders, and finally clasped her hands together behind my neck. From only inches away, the achingly beautiful young brunette stared up at me with those luminous, gorgeous doe-shaped eyes that looked positively huge this close to me. And in a soft voice that barely carried above the background hum of the nightclub around us, she murmured, "What if I gave you another opportunity tonight?"

I didn't reply verbally. I simply drew Rania into my arms, tilted her head back, and sealed our lips together with a kiss.

Our lips met again the instant we got through my hotel room door, Rania's urgent need driving me back against the unyielding wood surface. For a few seconds, we left our hands to ourselves as I shrugged out of my peacoat and she worked to take hers off as well. But then our hands were on each other, hers fumbling with the buttons of my shirt while I slipped the straps of her dress off her shoulders.

Rania broke our kiss when she got frustrated with my shirt buttons, and I got frustrated that she was frustrated, so I pushed her hands out of the way and unbuttoned the rest of them myself. Instead of watching me, Rania dropped her hands to my belt instead, jerking my waist left and right as she fought to unbuckle it. And once she succeeded, her hands immediately darted to my slacks, this time managing to slip the catch without incident and also drawing down my zipper.

Meanwhile, I got my shirt unbuttoned and untucked, and I managed to shrug out of the sleeves to let it fall to the floor behind me. I was just starting to remove my undershirt when Rania yanked my pants and boxer shorts down to my ankles, stood up straight, and reached beneath her cocktail dress to jerk her thong panties down to her knees. She danced in place for a second, kicking off her heels and drawing her left leg out from her panty hole. And without further ado, she leaped into my arms, wrapped her legs around my waist, and growled, "Fuck me, Ben! Right here! Right now! Don't make me wait any longer! Fuck me, fuck me, FUUUCK!"

Rania's last exclamation was punctuated by my penis penetrating her pussy. After wrapping my left arm around her waist and pinning her body against my belly, I'd reached down with my right hand to grab my erection and center my mushroom head into place. As soon as it did, without hesitation I released my grip and let gravity drop her body weight down around my shaft, skewering her tight cunt in a single lunge.

And then I FUCKED her.

At first, I palmed Rania's naked butt cheeks beneath the hem of her dress and tried to do bicep curls to help her bounce up and down my dick. She humped herself against me with her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist, but she didn't have much leverage and she wasn't able to go that fast. Fortunately, she was very light, and I was able to spin us around and slam Rania's back against the hallway wall. And digging the toes of my shoes into the hotel room carpet, I bent a little at the knees and started pounding her into the wall.

"Ngh! Ungh! Oh! Oh! Oh!" my pretty Palestinian paramour yelped as I pistoned in and out of her pink pussy. She clutched me with all four limbs, whimpering and shaking and spasming ecstatically as I pumped in and out of her body over and over and over again.

But there was only so long I could keep this up, and if we kept doing it much longer, I knew I'd run out of steam faster than I really wanted. So I concentrated on getting her off, pounding her fast and pounding her hard while putting a tremendous amount of pressure on her clit until she shivered, shook, and screamed in orgasmic ecstasy. My mission complete, I stopped thrusting and pinned her to the wall while catching my breath. I scooped my arms beneath her butt and stepped on the backs of my shoes to slip out of them, and then I kicked my pants and boxers off. Now with my legs free to move, I backed away from the wall and carried Rania over to the bed. When I hit the bed frame, I lowered her onto her back while withdrawing my cock from her cunt, climbed onto the mattress on top of her, re-slotted my mushroom head, and slammed my way back home.

"FUUUUCK!" Rania howled as my dick drove deep into her welcoming body. But after that, she relaxed and stretched all four limbs out to the sides, giving her muscles a break. I too paused to catch my breath, keeping myself fully imbedded in her tight snatch as I smiled down at the beautiful brunette and leaned down to give her a surprisingly tender kiss.

She hummed and held my head as she kissed me back, and when we broke for air I could see that sparkle back in her eyes. We stared at each other for a moment, grinning like idiots, and I asked with a smile, "Did you plan on ending up here with me when you showed up at the club tonight?"

Rania gave me a coy smile and shook her head in the negative. "I didn't plan it, but I admit the thought crossed my mind. It crossed my mind the second Moon texted me that you were in town and invited me to the club, actually."

"The lost opportunity I didn't take a year and a half ago?"

"What can I say? You made a memorable impression on me."

I popped my eyebrows. "Well that's a long time to be left with that kind of memory. I'd better make sure I live up to your expectations."

She quickly kissed me again. "You already have." And she flashed another sparkling smile up at me that melted my heart.

What came next I can't categorize as "fucking". Certainly it was nothing like what we'd been doing up against the wall. Really, the only way you can describe it is "making love", and for the next twenty minutes, Rania and I made love.

Slowly, but rhythmically, I pumped my prick in and out of her tight pussy while letting my hands rove up and down her body. She reached for the hem of my undershirt, ripping it over my head so that I was finally naked from head to toe. I responded by grabbing the hem of her dress and helping her wriggle it up her body. She finally kicked her thong panties off her right ankle, the matching lacy bra went next, and finally she too was fully-unclothed beneath me. And then we kissed again.

After breaking for air, I nibbled my way along Rania's jawline, down her neck, and across her shoulder while she stroked my spine and cooed happily in my ear. I scooped my hands beneath her arms, sliding them up to hook my fingers over her shoulders from behind, not gripping tightly but rather just ... holding her ... while I continued to thrust in and out of her wet snatch.

I didn't worry about any user manuals. I didn't search out her trigger spots or analyze ways to maximize her orgasmic pleasure, consciously or otherwise. Normally if a girl had said I'd already lived up to her expectations, I would simply try to exceed them. But for some reason, Rania telling me I'd already lived up to her expectations freed me from worrying about them any further. I could hear in her voice that unlike any other girl who'd ever heard of the Big Ben Experience, her expectations of me had nothing to do with sex. Rania's expectations of me were entirely about my character, about the person I am, and those expectations had truly been already met. Any sexual pleasure was just a bonus.

So we made love. I didn't worry about my performance. I didn't worry about her pleasure. I simply enjoyed the moment, enjoyed the intimacy of being with her. And from the way she couldn't take her eyes off me the whole time we continued making love, I was sure she was enjoying the moment as well.

I stared down at her just as much as she stared up at me. I studied her face, committing to memory the shape of her eyes, the texture of her cheeks, and the touch of her lips. The only times we broke eye contact were to kiss, when we closed our eyes and concentrated on the feelings kissing each other and making love stirred up in both of us. But then we'd back away to breathe and go right back to staring into each other's eyes.

She wanted me close, I could tell. Instead of long, full-length plunges I made short strokes and did a lot of grinding, mashing my pelvis down on her clit and carving out my cock along her inner walls. I moved at a steady pace, neither too fast nor too slow. She wasn't screaming, and I wasn't grunting. But she sighed happily, moaned occasionally, and generally looked completely satisfied with exactly what we were doing.

Rania's eyes were shining as she looked up at me. She whimpered softly, squeaked cutely when I got particularly deep, and finally closed her eyes to cry out tenderly when I brought her to her second orgasm of the night. I held her much smaller body against my chest, feeling the vibrations of her climax as she literally shivered against me. And after she finally relaxed and went limp beneath me, only then did I speed up to get my own.

It didn't take long. All I really had to do was visualize my dick thickening inside her tight pussy just before the first jet of sperm flew out from my mushroom head to splatter against her inner walls. She cradled my head in her hands, smiling and enjoying the sight of me taking pleasure from her body. And six strokes later, I turned that visualization into reality as I slammed forward one final time and began blasting jets of sperm into the back of her womb.

"Cum in me..." Rania cooed happily, her big brown eyes sparkling. "Cum deep, deep inside me..."

"I'm cumming," I grunted as I twitched back and pushed forward again, firing another three globs of sperm into her welcoming body. And she wrapped all four limbs around me, holding me close as if she'd never want to let go.

Finally, my dick stopped spurting, and as the energy left me I sagged down against her body. Rania held my weight on top of her, clutching me even tighter. I panted for breath while she kissed my cheek and ear. Eventually, I managed to raise my head high enough to look her in the eyes, feel my heart warmed by the joy in her smile, and close my eyes again as I wearily set my forehead down against hers. And as we breathed deeply together in the aftermath, intimately joined together as closely as two human beings can ever be, I think we both found a measure of peace.

-- TUESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2008 --

Sometime around 4am I awoke to find Rania stroking my shaft. When she realized I was awake, she stopped playing around and ducked her head beneath the covers to suck on my schlong until Big Ben was as hard as El Capitan. Then she climbed aboard and rode her way to a satisfying climax before rolling onto her back so I could ride her to one of my own. And we fell back asleep with my post-ejaculate penis slowly softening inside her snatch.

My alarm went off at 7am, which was extra-terrible because it felt like 4am to me. But rather than disturb Rania, I quickly silenced the alarm and slipped out of bed to let her sleep. Besides, I really had to pee. But I was just shaking off the last dribbles when she joined me in the bathroom and led me by the hand into the shower. I wound up pinning her to the wall with her legs around my waist, and for the third time in the last eight hours I filled up her quivering quim with a load of sperm.

Rania had no extra clothes or makeup, so I offered to order room service rather than take her downstairs for breakfast, but Rania declined. She was suddenly in a hurry as she cleaned herself up in front of the bathroom mirror as best she could.

"I have to go home and change," she sighed. "I'm gonna be SO late to work."

"So pack a suitcase or something when you come back," I replied immediately while leaning against the bathroom door frame.

Bent over the sink, Rania suddenly went stiff, turning her head to look at my reflection through the mirror. "You're expecting me to come back?"

I grimaced and instantly got apologetic. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to presume. I, uh ... You're under no pressure to ... I'm not expecting you to ... I'm, I'm sorry."

"No, no. You don't have to apologize." She stood up straight and turned around while patting her cheeks dry with a hand towel. Blushing, she glanced at the floor for a second before looking up at me with a smile. "I'm too used to meeting guys who just want to add more notches to their bedpost. I was thinking you might be satisfied having finally gotten around to nailing me after tagging Moon and Talita on your last trip, and that perhaps I'd never see you again."

"Do you really think that's the kind of guy I am?"

She blushed and shook her head. "I suppose not."

"I'd really like to see you again," I stated sincerely.

"I'd like that, too."

I took a deep breath and glanced at the clock. "Now I don't know exactly what my work schedule is like, or yours, actually. But if you give me your phone number I'll text you and maybe we can meet up for dinner, if you'd like."

Rania gave me a sweet, almost hopeful, smile. "I'd like that."

"Maybe I can even come to you in Brooklyn, if that's more convenient."

She blushed cutely and shook her head in the negative. "There's no way I could bring you to my parents' house. Better I take your suggestion and pack a suitcase to come over here."

I arched an eyebrow. "Won't your parents be suspicious about you being out for the night with a suitcase?"

She shook her head again. "I spend nights in the city with friends quite a bit, and they've gotten used to the idea of me being a grown-up who can take care of herself. They still interrogate me about it when I get back, but they don't freak out when I spend a few nights away from home."

I blinked, and in a hopeful voice, I asked slowly, "Would they be okay with you perhaps spending every night away from home for the rest of this week?"

Rania blushed again, staring at the floor for a second trying to contain a really wide smile at my implied invitation, and ultimately failing. She looked up at me with that sparkle in her eyes, replying, "So long as I keep checking in with them, I think they'll live."

I actually beat June into the office, arriving at our reserved conference room with plenty of time before Max was due to start our next training session. So while my computer booted up, I quickly called Kim just to check in and have a brief conversation with BJ so he could hear my voice. I don't think he quite got the concept of me being thousands of miles away on the other end of a cell phone line, though, because it sounded like he wanted to give me one of his trucks. After we hung up, I sat back and wondered what Adrienne and Sasha were doing right now. But after shaking those thoughts from my head, I shot a quick text to Dawn to let her know I was alive and in the office, and that my hangover from last night wasn't that bad.

That's when June arrived, wearing dark sunglasses indoors and saying "Hello" very quietly as she set her bag down on the floor and pulled out the chair next to me.

I was still finishing up my text to Dawn, so I barely glanced at June until after I hit 'send'. But after putting my phone back into my pocket, I looked over at her with a quip on my lips about how she'd enjoyed her evening, but the words never got out of my mouth.

It's hard to talk when your jaw is on the floor, you see.

June had been replaced by her little sister, Eve. At least, that's what it looked like at first glance. My eyes yo-yoed up and down her figure from head to toe as she sat down beside me and removed her sunglasses, a coy smile on her lips. It was obvious she was watching my reaction, and just as obvious that she was enjoying my reaction.

"Is it really such a big difference?" she asked with dancing eyes and a mirthful smile. "It's not like you haven't seen me wearing makeup before, and I was styled much more ... exotically ... last night."

I blinked twice, muttering, "That was at a nightclub. This is the office. There's a difference."

"Different good or different bad?" she asked, suddenly nervous.

"No, it's good. It's all good." I took a deep breath to get my bearings and regain my voice. "You look ... You look beautiful."

June blushed and averted her eyes. "Thank you."

She did look beautiful, but tasteful at the same time. She was right: her styling had been much more exotic at the nightclub last night. But I'd watched Moon doing June's hair and makeup, and had also been in Moon's bedroom evaluating and commenting on each outfit as June came out of the walk-in closet, much as I'd done for my own girls many times outside of dressing rooms on various shopping trips. So I'd been able to witness the gradual transformation from plain Jane makeup-free "office June" to "hot and sexy nightclub June", so there hadn't been any shock. Today, she'd surprised me by arriving out of the blue with a style somewhere in-between.

Her makeup was not as heavy as at the nightclub, but still heavier than she'd ever worn to the office. Her hair was still curled, and she wore a hot pink blouse beneath a form-hugging black jacket that only had three-quarter sleeves, so that the hot pink cuffs could be rolled up to her forearms. A matching hot pink leather belt encircled the waist of a slender black knee-length pencil skirt, and three-inch black pumps adorned her feet. All of it was perfectly appropriate for an office environment, but I KNEW that none of it had come from June's suitcase.

"Moon?" I asked with an arched eyebrow.

June shrugged. "Of course."

"You went back to her apartment this morning?"

"I ... uh..." June blushed. "I went back to her apartment last night."

I blinked twice, not sure how to react to that.

June smiled as she clasped her hands together in her lap and fiddled with her fingers in embarrassment. "I was ... well ... I was pretty drunk last night and in no shape to go home by myself. I still have a heck of a hangover right now..." She grimaced and rubbed her temples.

I grimaced as well. "I abandoned you. I'm sorry," I apologized quickly.

"No, don't be. I saw you leave with ... with ... uh..."

"Rania."

"Right, Rania. Anyway, don't worry about it. Moon looked out for me. She took me home, helped me clean up, got me out of that really tight dress, and..." June's voice trailed off and her eyes went wide as if she'd just said something she shouldn't have.

I arched an eyebrow, my imagination certainly running wild, but I immediately dismissed the idle fantasy and stated evenly, "She helped you with the morning hangover and decided to give you another makeover before you came into the office."

"Right ... right..." June blushed again, her cheeks turning almost as pink as her shirt. She picked at her blouse, saying, "I don't know where she got stuff like this in my size, but she did. She's also taking me clothes shopping for more later – says my new bank account can afford it."

Just then, the door opened and Max walked in. He took one glance at June's new appearance and stopped in his tracks, exclaiming, "Holy shit!"

Rania got off work at 5pm and took the subway into Manhattan, and since I'd given her the second key to my hotel room, she'd dropped off her duffle bag inside. She and Moon were waiting in the lobby when June and I arrived, and the four of us headed uptown to do some clothes shopping and then get something to eat.

We spent an hour further updating June's wardrobe (and the girls even picked out a few things for me). Dinner was at a nice but cramped Japanese restaurant, the same one the Model United Nations had brought me to after meeting for the very first time a year and a half ago. June and Moon sitting together on one side of the table, and Rania snuggled up against my side with my left arm around her back. Apart from the occasional inquisitive stares from people who couldn't help noticing three beautiful young women, nobody bothered us. The mood was far more low-key than last night, as we simply enjoyed each other's company. Moon did ask if we wanted to hit up another club, either the same one or someplace new she could show off. But June mentioned that she'd never gotten the chance to sightsee around the city, and Moon immediately went into tour guide mode.

June wanted to see Central Park, but Moon immediately warned her off doing so after dark. Instead, we headed for the most obvious tourist spots: Times Square followed by a trip up to the Empire State Building's observation deck. Throughout the evening I noticed June and Moon giving me and Rania a lot of space, and the pretty brunette took advantage by staying close to me all night, holding my hand wherever we walked, and cuddling up against my chest every chance she got. Her excuse was that she was cold – early January, remember – but I got the feeling she would have cuddled up close even if it were 90 degrees and humid out.

I was so busy paying attention to Rania cuddling up close and stealing quick kisses that I barely noticed what June and Moon were up to, other than to make sure we didn't get separated from each other and have difficulty catching up. So I was caught completely by surprise when I broke away from a passionate kiss with Rania in front of the 86th-floor view of the Manhattan skyline to find June and Moon caught up in their own fiery kiss right next to one of the telescopes. Sure, my imagination had perked up when June mentioned Moon helping her out of the tight dress last night, but I'd immediately dismissed the thought as wild fantasy – no way June would have hooked up with a total stranger like that – and my jaw dropped to the floor at the unexpected sight.

"They're cute together," Rania murmured into my ear.

I glanced at her and nodded.

Rania studied my eyes for a moment, gave me a curious look, and said, "You look surprised. Didn't you know?"

I took a deep breath and answered, "No, I didn't. June's been full of surprises these last couple of days."

"In what way? You surprised she's a lesbian?"

"Not that. I knew she was into ... Well, rather, I knew that June's been with girls, but she's never had a boyfriend OR girlfriend."

"Really?" Now Rania sounded surprised.

"It's complicated. You don't know June like I know her. Did you meet her back in 2006 when all my co-workers came to the club that one night?"

"June?" Rania searched her memory. "No, I don't think so."

"No surprise, given that she looks completely different now. June was pretty much asexual when I first met her, although she's been gaining experience over the last few months. Moon, on the other hand, is hyper-sexual. They're so radically different from each other, and you should have seen the two of them when they first met over breakfast yesterday: like oil and water. I never thought those two would get along."

"Evidently, you were wrong."

"Evidently," I agreed.

"You are right about one thing: I don't know June like you do. I don't remember meeting her before the club last night. But from what I saw of her and Moon together then, and what I'm seeing now, they seem like a good match."

"Opposites attract. I mean, they obviously got along much better AFTER work. And June's certainly been far more open to trying new things with Moon than I've ever seen before. I suppose I should say that while I'm surprised to find her making out with Moon over in the corner there, when I stop to think about it, it sorta makes sense."

"As long as she's happy, right?"

"Right. And she DOES look happy." I sighed, feeling a little bit ... proud ... of June, for some weird reason. That didn't make much sense, though. I certainly couldn't take any credit for it. But I was happy to see her personality blooming, even if I couldn't be sure of what might happen between the two of them when Saturday arrived and it came time to fly home.

"You look worried about her. Don't be," Rania encouraged. "Moon would never hurt her."

I frowned. "I'd like to think that..."

"And you look protective of her. Maybe even..." Rania studied my face. "Maybe even a little ... possessive? ... of her?"

I looked away from the kissing couple and frowned at Rania. "Possessive?" My tone was a little indignant.

Rania shook her head. "Not that she belongs to you. But rather..." Rania studied me, and her eyes brightened as a light bulb went off over her head. "She's like a little sister to you. I know the feeling."

"You have a little sister?"

Rania smiled. "She's finishing up community college. You're looking at June the way I looked at Enaya when I saw her kissing her first boyfriend. Happy for her but scared of her getting hurt, patronizing in the sense that you're more mature and she may not have thought everything through, and maybe even a little possessive in the idea that she might not look up to you the same way if she has a new important person in her life."

I shook my head and shrugged. "We're just co-workers and friends."

"I didn't say otherwise."

"I'm happy to let her find out what she and Moon can mean to each other on her own."

"I'm glad."

Chuckling, I turned my back on the still-kissing couple and drew Rania against my chest. "But enough talk about them. I've always tried to be content to let June be June, and that's not going to change now. I'm much more interested in you and me, and in finding out what WE can mean to each other on our own."

Rania grinned. "Sounds good to me."

After the Empire State Building, June and Moon told us they wanted to go hit up a new club, but Rania preferred to call it a night. We parted with me telling June to be careful and remember that we had work in the morning. June blushed and nodded her understanding while Rania drawled jokingly, "She understands, big brother."

I shot her a look but chuckled and shook my head. Then Rania interlaced her fingers through mine and raised her arm to hail a cab.

She was all over me the instant we got through my hotel room door. Last night, we'd been pretty drunk and horny when we finally got to my room. Tonight, although we'd sipped hot sake with dinner, the two of us were drunk only on lust as we clawed at each other's clothes. And within two minutes I found myself pinning her against the hotel wall with her legs wrapped around my waist while I pistoned in and out of her pink pussy.

Last night, our initial frenzied fucking had quickly given way to tender lovemaking once we got onto the bed. Tonight, it was frenzied fucking all the way. No more sighing or whimpering or even squeaking. Well, there was a little bit of squeaking, especially her squeak of surprise when I popped a thumb up her butt while banging her from behind, doggy-style. But it was mostly screaming, grunting, and howling at the top of our lungs.

Rania surprised me. I'd known immediately upon meeting Moon that the skinny Korean babe was a wanton sexpot, and Talita Ribeiro and her Brazilian booty had screamed 'SEX' in capital letters the first time I laid eyes on her. But my first impression of Rania had been of a much more conservative, very demure young woman. She was friendly and talkative, and occasionally brash in a Brooklyn-native way. But she didn't have a massive rack to put on display, nor skyscraper legs to leave bare as much as possible. Her style of dress was pretty, but not skimpy. She'd been a cosmetics model, showing off her pretty face, not a porn star body. She acted like a lady. She was a "nice" girl. So it just sorta made sense that after her initial frenzy against the door wore off, the two of us settled down to quieter lovemaking last night.

Tonight, though, the lady in street became a freak in the sheets. Rania fucked herself to one orgasm up against the hallway wall, and when I carried her over to the bed, she stayed on top in cowgirl-position, grabbed my hands to mash them against her boobs, and rode herself to another one orgasm before dismounting my dick, shoving it in her mouth, and using her hands to jack my shaft until I blew all over her face.

Turned out, she'd grabbed her cell phone as well and immediately snapped a selfie of her cum-covered face. She tapped a few more keys, and when I asked what she was doing, she laughed told me she was sending the picture to Moon with the caption: Wish you were here.

Next, she licked up every drop she could find and used her finger to scoop up the rest, popping every last glob into her mouth and moaning as she savored the taste. Once she was done, she hopped into the bathroom to rinse her face, and she returned to the bedroom still patting her cheeks dry with a hand towel. Then she turned on the big screen LCD TV, found the porn channels, and selected a movie that was all about blowjobs while she bent over my lap and started sucking me back to life.

Once I was hard, Rania showed me that her duffle bag held more than clothes and toiletries. She retrieved a blindfold and a pair of handcuffs, playfully asking if I wanted her to cuff me to the bed or the other way around. After everything I'd already been through, I had something of a knee-jerk aversion to being blindfolded, and told her I'd rather be the one in charge. She giggled, that sparkle in her eyes right up until the moment I covered them with the blindfold. And she absolutely quivered, to the point that I wondered if she'd just had a mini-orgasm, when I clicked the second handcuff into place.

The sexual creature took over then, and I brought Rania to four successive orgasms in less than ten minutes until she was a limp, whimpering mass of flesh shedding copious amounts of sweat into the duvet. She was helpless to resist when I pulled out of her pussy, clambered up her naked body, and grabbed her head while cramming my cock into her mouth. Holding the top of the headboard, I skull-fucked the shit out of her before withdrawing at the last second and ripping the blindfold away as I jacked out a second load of sperm all over her gorgeous face. On a whim, I grabbed my phone, snapped a pic, and texted it to Dawn.

Hilariously, my best friend texted back: Wish I was there.

We'd done cowgirl and we'd done missionary, so my Palestinian paramour now wanted doggy-style. Rania selected another porn movie and groaned as I slid a fresh erection into her twat from behind. She started mimicking the porn stars with cries for me to fuck her harder, spank her asscheeks, and pound the shit out of her pretty pussy while I hammered away. And I already mentioned her squeak when I popped a thumb up her butt.

But in the end, it was all screams.

"FUUUUUUCKKK!!! MEEEEEEE!!!" Rania howled as I blasted away, my pelvis repeatedly bouncing off her butt.

"FUUUUUUCKKK!!! MEEEEEEE!!!" she screamed, clutching the bedsheets and trying to hold on for the ride as my powerful lunges knocked her entire body forward again and again and again.

"I'M CUMMMING! I'M CUMMMING! I'M CUUUUMMMMMIIINNNGGG!" she wailed with her cunt muscles clenching while she hung her head, letting it sway back and forth like a pendulum.

"FUUUUUUCKKK!!!" she shrieked. "FUUUUUUCKKK!!!

A dozen more times I rammed her, each one battering away at her defenses until her forearms buckled, dropping her down onto her elbows. I felt her inner muscles spasm as she climaxed, but since I didn't let up, her body started to go for another one as well.

"FUUUUUUCKKK!!!" she shrieked again. With another dozen thrusts, her elbows collapsed as well, so that her face was buried into the mattress, the bedsheets now muffling her screams. "fuuuuuuckkk!!!"

Rania's second of back-to-back orgasms hit just then, her pussy muscles going into overdrive at milking my cock. Quickly, I pinched her right nipple, tickled the undercrease of her right boob, and finally swiped my hand up and around the globe of her ass to pop that thumb back up her butt. At the same time, I reached around with my left hand to strum the hell out of her clit, fast and furious and as hard as I could. And exactly like I wanted, Rania threw her head back as she freaking blew her top.

"FUUUUUUCKKK!!!" she bellowed at the top of her lungs, her entire body shaking beneath me. I kept strumming away, and kept fucking away, and somewhere in the middle of her hurricane-spasming I felt my floodgates release to let massive bursts of cum jet forth to make it rain sperm inside my lover's cunt.

Rania's voice died out as every muscle in her body relaxed. Her cunt muscles relaxed too, allowing for greater flow from my balls to her wet box as my testicles emptied out. And as she hung her head down, she mumbled something just before crumpling to the bed and passing out, completely unconscious.

The background noise of the porn movie ensured that the room didn't descend into silence, but I wasn't paying any attention as my hips twitched a couple of times while I jammed my cock into Rania's cunt to squeeze out every last drop. I finally finished sperming her and collapsed straight down, gasping for breath. But conscious of my heavy weight, I quickly rolled off her body to lie beside her and stare up at the ceiling.

Only then did her final words finally register in my brain, and I stiffened at the implications:

"Fucking A, Ben. I think I love you."