Training Amy (5 page)

            Eric put up his hands in mock surrender. ""Don't look at me. Only in your wildest dreams."

            She threw her head back and laughed then gave Brad a narrowed look.

            Brad shook his head. "Don't look at me like that woman."

            Kali turned and looked expectantly at Amy. At that point, Amy felt outnumbered and intimidated and wished there was a place she could hide. "No?" Kali asked. Then she turned to Brad and Eric with a raised eyebrow.

            Eric had one of those don't-talk-about-this-around-her looks on his face. Brad shook his head. "No. Amy is our shop assistant and she only deals with the books."

            "Pity," Kali said, looking Amy up and down again. "Oh well, I suppose I can give it a go without a test subject."

            "Come on back." He and Kali slipped into the back.

            Eric visibly relaxed. "Dommes," he muttered under his breath.

            Amy gave him a puzzled look. "What?"

            "Nothing," he gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Don't pay any attention. Some of our private collectors and special customers are a bit eccentric. If any of them ever give you any trouble and one of us isn't right here, just tell them you only deal with the merchandise out here and then immediately grab either me or Brad, okay?"

            “Okay.” Her mind raced with what they could possibly be selling in the back that first off, required testing, and second, would bring in interesting characters like Kali and that motorcycle gang looking guy from last that first night she’d worked here. Since she couldn't come up with anything she decided to ask. "So what exactly are you guys selling in the back rooms?"

            He gave her a look that told her she was treading on forbidden ground.

            She gave him a smile, knowing Eric wasn't nearly as scary as Brad, and if she could charm him enough he'd at least give her a clue. "Okay, so it's clearly not books. Neither of you look like drug dealers and neither do your clients but they do look a little," she paused, searching for the right word. "Scary," she finished thoughtfully.

            He laughed. "Actually, some of it is rare, out of print books. Some of it is imported merchandise or specialty stuff."

            "What's
she
here for then?" She looked at the door leading to the back room when she heard a pop noise.

            "Furniture and
specialty
items," Eric said carefully. He handed her a phone order sheet. "Here, go pull these books for this order. The woman is going to be in for them tomorrow."

            She took the list just as the door to the back swung open and Kali breezed out.

            "It's perfect, Eric. You and Brad always take care of me." She kissed him on the cheek, leaving a little red lipstick there. She wiped at his cheek. "So here is my receipt. Brad is taking it out the back and loading it in my car. Where did you find it?"

            Amy buried her nose in the list and pretended to look it over.

            Eric went to the cash register and started ringing Kali up. "We have a guy in Bridgeport who makes it all by hand. That will be thirteen-hundred-forty-two and sixteen cents."

            Amy thought she was going to choke on her own disbelief but held herself steady, regarding the list even longer. Once she was certain she was lingering too long, she cautiously made her way out from behind the counter and went into stacks to pull the books on the list. Concentrating on her task was easy. The first two books were on the erotica shelf and both were in stock. She flushed red when she realized the rest of the books were in the bdsm non-fiction section. She pulled each title carefully, curiously sneaking a look into the books only to see pictures of women bound by ropes and suspended in air, along with pictures of sex toys. A male customer was browsing the political section in the next aisle. Swallowing, hard, she closed the book she was looking at in a panic realizing the pictures of the bound women inside excited her.

            Not seeing them bound per se, but imagining
being
bound up like they were.  After a few minutes she was able to compose herself, finish pulling the rest of the list, and take it back to the counter. By this time Kali and her furniture were gone. She stifled a smile. Books and made-to-order specialty furniture, it was an odd combination.

            Going through the list quickly, Eric checked to make sure everything was there. Once again, Brad was behind the desk looking at the computer. "Eric, take a look." He turned the monitor toward Eric.

            "Oh, nice," said Eric.

            She rolled her eyes when she saw what they were looking at. "Custom built saw horses? Seriously? Why is the top padded?"

            Both men burst into laughter.

            "To keep the wood from getting scuffed," Brad said with a chuckle.

            Eric broke out laughing again.

            Men. It always amazed her how seriously they took their tools and shop equipment. She shook her head and went back to the non-fiction section to straighten up a shelf she noticed earlier that someone had already messed up. 

            Nine o'clock came quickly. Since she still had no one able to pick her up, tonight it was Eric who drove her home. He drove a restored '65 black Mustang with a leather interior. 

            Once they were both seat-belted in, he turned to her. "Ready?"

            Her eyes went wide. "Are you going to drive like an asshole?"

            He laughed. "No, I'll drive carefully. But I sometimes have to, you know, work the bugs out of the engine by flooring it."  With that, he pulled out of the parking lot onto the street. "You'll have to tell me where to go since Brad has had the pleasure of taking you home regularly for two weeks now."

            Conversation was tremendously easier with Eric. "So how did you get into selling furniture?"

            He laughed again. "It's just something we do."

            "What kind of furniture?"

            He seemed to think about this for a moment. "Specialty stuff."

            Then it hit her. "Oh, like theme stuff? I have a girlfriend who is really into the middle-ages and she had to order some cross frame chairs from a place in Chicago."

            "Exactly like that," he agreed. “We just have a lot of local customers who prefer to buy it from us. People who frequent our club," he stopped dead then tried to change the subject. "So straight on Sycamore, then a right at sixty-eighth?"

            "Yeah," she said. No, it hadn't gone unnoticed that he changed the subject. "You guys have a club?"

            "Just a private thing we have on the side with a few other friends. They run it, we're just investors really."  He turned strangely silent.

            She knew she should probably just leave it alone and so she did. "So my parents go to bed at eight-thirty every night and my friends are all blowing me off so it might take me a bit longer to arrange a steady ride than I'd hoped..."

            "That's okay," he said brightly. "I don't mind driving you home. I'm pretty sure Brad doesn't mind either."

            That's when she recalled the look Eric had given Brad earlier. “So am I doing a good job?”

            “Of course, why?” he looked over at her with a bit of concern. “Did you think maybe we didn’t think you were doing well? Because I assure you you’re doing great. We have plans to keep you as long as we can. Having you around is going to mean Brad and I can take more time off.”

            She yawned but didn’t want to stop the conversation. "So was Brad ever in the military?"

            "Marines actually, before college. Why?" Eric gave her a quick sidelong glance.

            "He's always so," she paused, trying to find the right word. "Commanding?"

            "Brad is a very in-your-face kind of guy. But, you always know exactly what he expects and where you stand with him, right? He's also fair and honest and one of the nicest people I know. I couldn’t have a better friend,” he said.

            “I didn’t mean anything by it. I like Brad. I was just curious. He has a very orderly, always prepared, practical, military thing going on. And he sounds like a drill sergeant sometimes. That’s all,” she said with a quick smile, worried she might have again treaded on forbidden territory yet again. She was famous for doing that.  

            Eric chuckled. “Yeah, he is very much like that. That doesn’t scare you does it?”

            Shaking her head she said honestly, “It will take some getting used to but really it makes me want to call him
Sir
and salute.”

            A full belly laugh came out of Eric. “Wow. That’s funny. I have to tell him that.”

            Panic flooded her. “No, don’t tell him that, he’ll want to fire me.”

            “Doubtful. Last I heard he was already planning the schedule through next year. He does have a sense of humor, you know. He just isn’t as open with it as I am with mine. Once you get to know him better you’ll see.” He gave her another reassuring smile.

            Then they began talking about movies and before she knew it, they were in front of her house.  She hated it when that happened. There were days she wish work never ended just so she could talk to Eric. Now, she was wishing the ride home was longer. “Thanks for the ride. I’ll see you tomorrow at one again.” She gave him a sweet smile. She really did like Eric despite the fact he was older. A lot older, she’d discovered. Of course he probably wasn’t interested in some twenty-nothing college girl, but it didn’t keep her from flirting.

            “Alright. Get some sleep. Maybe read a book, relax. That will help.” He flashed that brilliant smile at her.

            She closed the car door and hurried up to the house, unlocked the door and waved before going inside. He waved back, but waited to pull away from the curb until she was safely inside. Closing the door behind her, and locking it, she went straight to the kitchen to grab a soda. Then, giant bag of books in tow, she descended into the basement and threw herself onto the bed, exhausted.

           
But she couldn’t sleep. She was going to have to wind down first. Looking warily at the can of caffeine-free soda in her hand she sat up, set the soda on the bedside table and opened her book bag. The three books Eric had given her were sitting on top. She took them out, setting them on the headboard.  Maybe she would read. She reached back and grabbed the books again and looked at them. One was called
Story of O
by Pauline Reage. Another was
The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty
by A. N. Roquelaure, and finally there was one called
Carrie’s Story
by Molly Weatherfield. They were all dog-eared as if they’d been well read. The first two had boring covers. The third, however, had a mostly naked woman’s backside on it. That’s the one she decided to start with. She was a relatively fast reader and the book wasn’t too long.

            Settling in she began reading. As she read she found herself getting warm and felt the familiar tingling of arousal between her legs. She paused long enough to strip down to her underwear and continued reading. It was tempting to rub herself off, but she refrained. She wanted to know what happened. Before she knew it, she’d finished the book and it was only eleven-forty-five. Her nimble fingers slid between her thighs, finding her clit.  Starting slow, she rubbed herself, increasing speed as the fantasy of Eric tying her up and licking her clit ran through her mind. She could imagine him
flogging her ass. Oh God he was beautiful. She wondered how big his cock was and what it would feel like buried deep inside her. As she came, she lifted her hips, imagining them meeting his.