Cheryl's Secret (Two Stories Series) (6 page)

“What’s wrong, you don’t like me?” Akiko
asked, looking a bit sad.

“No, I
don’t
,” Mark replied.

H
e walked to the car, not looking back. As Mark got into the car with Cheryl, he turned to her and asked, “Cheryl, don’t you think I should drive?”

“I’m fine. I only had two glasses of wine, and the last one was an hour ago.”

What the fuck. She’s sober! What’s with the nude swimming then?

As
Cheryl got out of the driveway, Mark’s head scrambled.

Do I ask her why she did that?
How do I even broach that subject? This is too weird. Maybe these two are just like each other. I should make a break for it at the next light.

After a few blocks, s
he turned into an empty parking lot, and looked at Mark with an expression he couldn’t interpret. Was this fear? Arousal? He didn’t know
what
to expect.

Although he’d considered it before,
Mark didn’t run.

I don’t even know if I could resist
Cheryl if she put the moves on me. Coming to this was a BAD idea.

M
ark’s thoughts were interrupted. Much to his surprise, her face was full of tears. What started as tears, evolved into crying, then erupted to hysteria.

“
Hold me Mark, PLEASE!”

Cheryl
put her head down in Mark’s lap, putting her arms around him as her sadness intensified.

“
Dear God! Cheryl, what’s wrong?”

“It’s Akira.
He’s the one who took my bikini off, not me.”

Holy Shit
! I thought Akira might just be a pervert, with all this “open marriage” stuff, but this, oh no, not THIS.

Mark never thought he’d h
ave this conversation with anyone. He wasn’t going to back off, though, not when a friend needed him.

Mark gently picked
Cheryl out of his lap and tilted her face up. He asked the inevitable question.

“
Did Akira rape you?”

Cheryl
shook her head and composed herself more.

“No, he didn’t”

“Then what happened?” Mark asked, compassionately.

“Mark, please, promise
you won’t do anything to Akira and don’t
ever
mention this to Akiko…”

Mark interrupted.
His voice was firm this time. “Cheryl, you
know
I can’t keep that promise.”

“Well, I should tell you, so at least you don’t go back there, or call the police or anything like that.”

“Cheryl, come on.
Tell me.”

“I was just joking.
But I think Akira took it the wrong way. I said ‘If Akiko had her way, she’d have us all skinny dipping and taking turns with each other in the pool tonight’ and then Akira took my suit off
for me.”

Mark calmed down a bit
but was still concerned.

“
Well, you did kind of open the door for him there, but it’s still not right. Cheryl,
tell me,
did Akira try anything else besides that?”

“
He removed my bikini. But that’s all he did. Believe me.”

“He didn’t try to kiss you, or touch you or anything like that?”

“No, he didn’t. He just unstrung my bikini, so I ran out to the pool.”

“So, if you ran, then you weren’t
totally sure
he wasn’t going to do anything else.”

“
Yeah, but I don’t think he could’ve done much more. He’d had a lot of wine, and I think he must’ve passed out after I ran from him. Maybe it wasn’t that big a deal after all.”

“Well, he’s Akiko’s problem.”

“Yeah,” Cheryl said with a weak smile.

“Has he ever done anything to you before?”

“Akiko’s husband once… touched me between my legs.”

Alarmed, Mark
asked “Did you tell Akiko about this?”

“I
didn’t need to,” she responded. “She was sitting next to him. She just laughed.”

Mark
didn’t know how to respond to any of this. For the moment, he was glad that there was no chance of ever marrying into this family. He didn’t think he could endure this madness for the rest of his life.

“I learned from the experience
. I learned about myself, Akiko and her husband, and what kind of people they are. I shouldn’t have gone to the kitchen alone with him.”

“
They are most likely swingers,” Mark asserted.

“
I have no doubt about it.” Cheryl replied.

Cheryl
insisted on driving the rest of the way home. Her tears had dried, and she appeared to be coming back to normal.

“
Cheryl, does Akiko well, flirt with and flash every guy?”

“
Pretty much. She flirts with some, flashes others.”

“So she’s a tease, r
ight?” Mark asked.

Cheryl
looked up thoughtfully while she put the keys into the ignition.

“Well,
sometimes she’s teasing, even when she’s completely naked. Other times she means it, even when fully clothed,” Cheryl said.

“H
ow do you know when she’s teasing?”

“After you make a pass
, and she exposes you to everyone,” Cheryl said, smiling.

“
O.K., how do you know when she means it?” Mark asked.

“You won’t know until
you’re negative six inches away from her if you know what I mean,” Cheryl said, smiling wider.

“Well, in my case, it would be negative seven
,” Mark said proudly.

“REALLY?”
Cheryl responded while she stopped at the traffic light, looked down at Mark’s bulge and noticed he wasn’t lying.

“Well Mark, that’s good to know.”

They both laughed
hard
which was exactly what they both needed after the night’s events. Eventually, Cheryl’s tone turned serious again.

“
I’m sorry about Akiko’s behavior tonight. It’s been a long time since she last did that to a boyfriend of mine, so maybe you should be flattered. But I’ll say one thing...”

“What’s that?” a
sked Mark.

“I
’m so proud of you.”

“
Boyfriend of mine?” and “Proud of you?” is Cheryl even listening to herself?
Mark thought to himself, curious.

The rest
of the car ride was uneventful as Mark reflected on the events at the barbecue and what Cheryl had said on the way home.

Cheryl
parked, leaving the car running with the lights on.

“Are you going to be
O.K. Cheryl?” Mark asked.

“Yeah, I’m a tough girl.
Don’t worry about me, O.K.?”

“Well, goodnight
Cheryl, thanks for taking me,” Mark said while he unbuckled his seatbelt.

“Wait Mark, don’t go yet!
”

Cheryl
leaned toward Mark, and gently turned his face toward hers, and kissed him, gently touching her tongue to his lips for a split second, then withdrew.

“Is that part of my training?” Mark asked.

“No, Mark, that’s one good friend saying ‘thank you’ to another. And as for Tanya, she’s a lucky girl. And you Mark, are an exceptional man, with a lot of self-control. I admire that.
I’m so glad you came with me today.
”

“
Cheryl, I never said this to you, but I’m so sorry I said Tanya’s name when we kissed the first time. And I don’t blame you for saying Richard’s name back.”

“It’s all in the past now, can’t change it.
But thanks. It means a lot to me. Goodnight now.”

“Goodnight
Cheryl,” Mark said.

Mark walked away
. Cheryl ran up to him. They both stopped, looking at each other.

“Mark, you
know, you could’ve had me tonight. You saw me naked. I was in distress. We were in a parked car while I wore next-to-nothing. It would’ve been
so easy
for you. But you didn’t take advantage of me. Was it because of Tanya?” Cheryl asked, looking him straight in the eye.

“
Cheryl, you’re a beautiful woman, and a good friend to me. You’ve
helped me.
Tanya or no Tanya, sex with you tonight would’ve been for the wrong reasons. I mean, even
I knew
you were ready for me to take you. But I couldn’t, not like that.”

Cheryl
looked up. “So, you would’ve slept with me if I
weren’t
in distress?”

“That’s not fair,
Cheryl.”

“I’m sorry Mark,
that’s not a fair question. You’ve been fucked with enough today, and now I tell you that, well…”

“
Cheryl, we’re good. No worries, O.K.?”

“Yeah, we’re
more
than good,” Cheryl said, relieved.

Cheryl
looked down at the sidewalk and said quietly, “I must’ve had you figured wrongly. Have fun with your girlfriend. I hope you’re both happy together.”

“She’s not my girlfriend yet, but thanks.”

Cheryl was still looking at the pavement and said in a slightly louder voice “Good luck then.”

Cheryl got back in her car, and watched Mark walk back into his apartment.

Mark walked in,
locked his door, and went to his room to rest on his bed. He looked out his window, noticing that the headlights from the car were still shining. Cheryl had not left. He cracked his blinds further. Cheryl was in the car with hands on her face, leaning onto the steering wheel, crying again.

Should I invite her in?
No, I can’t. I know what would happen. I best not complicate my life any further. I can’t do anymore for her than I have.
Besides,
I’ve been tempted enough today.

Partly out of
respect for Cheryl, and partly out of not bearing to see it, he walked into the living room, shut the bedroom door behind him, and set down at his desk. He looked through his emails. There was nothing new or exciting today. So he went back to his older emails, and clicked on the first email he got from Cheryl.

He then read:

Message from dating site member:

Dear Mark17,

I think you’re
hot, and I like the things you say on your profile too.

Do you like Asian women? If so, I think I might be what you’re looking for. We can at least have some fun together, right?

I like the line in your profile about “Not trying to sleep with you on the first date”. You’re such a gentleman!

Just
so you know, if things go well, I won’t hold you to that.

Email me back if any of this excites you
.

This message has been sent by Cheryl1369. To verify this message,
click here.

To respond to this message,
click here.

Mark put his hands on his face, shaking his head.

I
found a hot woman that was cold to me. I tried to make her my girlfriend anyway. I’ll be masturbating for months. After that, she might give it up to me, or she’ll just dump me. Damn it! If I hadn’t said “Tanya” when I first kissed Cheryl, I know we’d be having sex by now. I could still run out to the car, but I won’t.

Tanya won’t. Cheryl’s distr
essed, and Akiko is married! All that’s stopping me is this “noble morality” of mine. How did this happen? Am I just trying not to get laid? Whom should I be dreaming of? Maybe I should just start over and ask out the waitress at the café. But she could be a tease too.

I miss the days when women just ignored me.

Chapter 9

On Tuesday,
Mark called Cheryl right after he came home from work. He didn’t bother calling Tanya. He’d already seen her Monday night. He remembered how Tanya didn’t talk on the phone between dates. It still annoyed him.

Cheryl
answered on the second ring. She couldn’t talk right away, but asked Mark if he could come over.

When Mark arrived,
Cheryl came to the door and invited him in. While Mark had walked Cheryl home once before, he never actually was inside of her place. The apartment was very nicely decorated and well furnished. Mark was surprised to see that someone who had no car and worked a regular Jane-job would have all this fancy stuff. There was even a big screen TV. Mark especially liked this part.