Mark grinned as he pulled out his wallet, motioning at the waitress to bring the check.
“Here. Maybe this’ll change your mind,” he replied, handing me his credit card. The Amex Centurion, surrounded by black, with Mark Selzer as the name on the bottom. This was the fabled Black Card, invitation only, for the richest of the rich.
“Alright, I believe you,” I answered, handing him back his card. “It doesn’t make it any less surreal.”
“Well, I’m still the same as I was three minutes ago, so don’t worry about that. It’s not like my snootiness level has gone up because you know how much money I’ve got.”
“You’re right, I’m sorry. Listen, do you want to come back to my place for coffee or something? Or you know, we could go back to yours, it’s probably nicer than my apartment.”
“I wouldn’t know, you wouldn’t let me in your apartment last time,” Mark teased.
“Well, take my word for it. There are flea infested motels by the highway that are nicer than my apartment.”
“I’m sure it’s not that bad. Coffee sounds nice.”
It was weird, going back to my place, knowing that I was driving a billionaire in my early 2000s Honda with the passenger side window that wouldn’t quite close and seats that had holes from God knows what.
“Sorry about the car.”
“You know, Caroline, you don’t need to apologize for anything. I’m used to this sort of thing, I don’t need luxury.”
“What kind of car drove you to the restaurant?”
“A Lincoln Town Car,” he admitted sheepishly.
“See? This is definitely a step down from that.”
“I said I don’t need luxury, I didn’t say I don’t have it. You know, it’s funny, most women when they find out about me insist that the Town Car drive them home. I like your different reaction.”
“Well, if your Town Car drove us, I’d be stranded at my apartment tomorrow.”
“That’s a very sensible way of looking at things.”
I pulled into the driveway and silently cursed myself for not cleaning the apartment before our date. I mean, it’s not like my place was messy, I kept it pretty organized, but I didn’t expect to be bringing home a billionaire. He would probably think I was a gigantic mess.
“Sorry about the mess,” I told him as we walked in.
“Don’t worry about it,” he replied, making himself at home on my couch in the living room while I put the coffee on.
“Cream and sugar?” I asked.
“Just cream thanks, if I’m really lucky I’ll get some sugar later.”
I threw a dish towel at him and he grinned. As he looked at me, I could almost sense that he knew. He knew my stomach had just done a 180 at those words, knew that my panties were getting moist, that my skin was tingling. Surely he just had to know.
We sat down with the coffee and got to talking. Pretty soon, the talking became more than talking, and we moved into my bedroom. My world spun as Mark proved that Hawaii wasn’t just a one time fluke. He made me feel things I could never have imagined. Orgasm after orgasm rocked my body as he discovered me, not only with his shaft, but with his mouth, something I’d never experienced before.
I couldn’t deny it anymore: when Mark completely took over, when he had complete and total control in the bedroom, I was more turned on than I’d ever been in my life. I didn’t understand it, didn’t realize why my body reacted the way it did when he ordered me around, pinned me to the bed, brought me closer and closer to the edge of orgasm then denied me, making me beg for it, making me plead for that sweet release I craved so strongly. But I did. I did react that way, there was definitely no denying it anymore.
As I fell asleep, Mark’s arms wrapped protectively around me, I thought about the fact that he was flying out tomorrow, that once more I was only going to have him for a night. For the first time in a long time, I wanted more than that.
*
Mark and I both woke up at the crack of dawn. He had a flight to catch, and I had to get to work. He helped me make eggs, which we ate in silence on the couch. I suddenly began to wish I’d invested in a dining room table, but there was nowhere to fit one in my apartment even if I had.
“So when’s your flight leave?” I finally asked.
“Around ten. I’ll have to be at the airport by nine.”
“I guess that’s it then?” Despite myself, despite how much I enjoyed Mark’s company, I was starting to feel used, like he had just come here to bang me. I knew that wasn’t true, I knew it was more than that, but my mind was a mess. A completely unconfident mess.
“Well, about that, Caroline. I was thinking.”
He paused for a minute, almost as though he was trying to figure out what to say.
“I don’t want this to come out as creepily as the last time. I honestly don’t mean this in a creepy way at all. I want you to come and work for my company. We can always use a good financial analyst.”