Claimed Harder by Em Brown
Chapter 16
BRIDGET
Past
Aspanking doesn’t scare me. I’ve got padding where I need it. But I’m not going to go out of my way to get a spanking.
After dinner, Darren drives us to the clinic where we both get swabbed for STDs. The results take a few days.
“No sex without protection, no drinking before twenty-one,” Darren says as he drives me back to my apartment. “You’re the straightest arrow I’ve ever met.”
I keep coming back to opposites attract, which I didn’t really believe in before. Darren claims he doesn’t have a moral compass, but he hasn’t shown me he doesn’t have one, even if it may not be a large one.
“Hanging out with you might have a corrupting influence on me,” I joke.
“I hope so,” he replies.
“Or maybe the opposite will prove true.”
“God, I hope not.”
“What’s so bad about being good?”
“It doesn’t fit my lifestyle.”
“How come?”
He stares ahead at the road. “It just doesn’t.”
“You worried that you won’t attract as many women without your bad boy image?” I tease.
“No, I don’t worry about that, even though it’s true that women prefer bad over good.”
“I don’t think that’s true.”
“No? Then how come all your favorite heartthrobs in movies, shows and books are billionaire playboys?”
“They’re not my favorite.”
He turns to stare at me. “Then what are you doing with me? Why aren’t you with some guy who’s out there saving the environment or registering voters and shit like that?”
What am I doing with a guy like Darren?
I cross my arms. “I don’t know. Lapse in judgment, I guess. And the sex is good.”
My answer surprises him at first, then he smiles broadly. “Works for me.”
“And what’s a bad boy like you doing with someone like me?” I challenge.
“The sex is good.”
“But it’s not like you can’t get it with one of the models wandering around your club. I’m guessing pussy is pussy for a guy.”
“You said it, not me.”
“Seriously. Why are you hanging out with me?”
“Lapse in judgment,” he replies, his tone a little dark.
I think he means it.
“So we have that in common, along with the sex,” I summarize.
“That’s good enough for me.”
I guess it’s good enough for me, too. At least for the time being, though I’m a little disappointed he doesn’t see more than that. I’m not expecting a long-term serious relationship with Darren. But is he capable of any level of commitment?
“Just so we’re clear,” I say, “an STD test doesn’t do much if we’re looking to have sex with more than one person at a time.”
“You looking to have sex with someone else?”
“No! But I don’t think I’m the concern here. It’s a typical gender inequity: men are less likely to be monogamous.”
He looks disgruntled, probably because he’s a typical guy who doesn’t like discussions pertaining to relationship status.
“I’m not looking to have sex with anyone else at the moment,” he grumbles.
“Okay. Just let me know if that changes. I’d let you know if it changes for me.”
The thought seems to startle him. “When you’re with me, there’s no one else unless I allow it.”
“As long as that rule goes both ways.”
He opens his mouth as if he’s about to protest but changes his mind. He pulls up in front of my apartment building.
“You don’t have to park,” I tell him. As usual in Berkeley, parking spots are hard to come by. “I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable. I know how much guys love to talk about relationships.”
“What relationship? I thought we were just having sex.”
“I still like to be clear what’s on or off the table.”
“I’d like to put birth control on the table.”
Given how often Darren and I are having sex, it would be smart to have something more reliable than condoms.
“I’ll look into it,” I reply.
He looks at me with hunger. “Good. I’m looking forward to fucking you without a condom.”
I swallow with difficulty. The thought turns me on, too.
“And before you go to bed tonight, I want you to text me your measurements,” he says.
“Why?”
“You need an outfit for the wedding.”
“How do you know I don’t already have one?”
He lifts a brow.
“I could borrow something from Simone,” I tell him.
“There’s no discussion on this—unless you want to do it splayed across my lap.”
“I can go shopping on my own.”
“Did you hear me, Bridge?”
I bite my tongue—for now.
“Measurements,” he reiterates. “By midnight.”
This trip to Phuket is turning into one of the most complicated situations for me. I can hear Darren’s response: It wouldn’t be so complicated if you didn’t make it so complicated.
Back in my apartment, I try to forget about Phuket and Darren and review the steps Taiwan took to successfully contain Covid-19 for my health policy class. I text Darren my measurements and let him know to keep the outfit under seventy-eight dollars, the balance in my bank account. Maybe I can try to squeeze in another shift at the library before I leave for Thailand. I should have insisted on getting my own outfit for the wedding. I don’t know how or why I let him have the last word. Maybe I need to assert myself more so I don’t end up on some slippery slope with him, and the next thing I know, he’s dictating my life.
At least I got him to take the STD screen. I half expected him to balk, and I’m glad he didn’t even complain. See, you’re not all bad, I could have said to him.
But there is something off about him. I don’t know why I think that. The bigger mystery is why I’m going to Thailand with him if I feel that way. Is it because I like the sex that much?
Must be.
I figure sex can only take us so far, so when he gets bored of me and wants to go back to dating models or I come to my senses, we’ll move on to our normal lives. Until then, I’ll just enjoy the chemistry and rush I get in his company.
The following day, I manage to get a same-day appointment at the student health center to look into birth control shots. Luckily, I’m still in the 7-day window from my period so the shot can take effect immediately.
The next few days, I don’t see or hear much from Darren except an update that my passport and travel visa are ready and to check in about the STD results, which are clean. I credit him with knowing that I need to focus on my schoolwork and internship. Which is more than I can say for Amy, who wants to talk about Thailand every possible minute. She’s shown me over a dozen outfits, returned nearly as many, and gone shopping at least three times. I end up bringing my laptop to the library just so I can have some peace and quiet.
“Do you think I should go with the matching tropical bottom for this bikini or the solid black?” Amy asks, holding up the options, after I get back from the library late Thursday night.
“They both work well,” I say. “How was work today?”
“Oh, I quit. They weren’t happy with me taking a week or more off since I had missed a few days already. I think I’m going to go with the solid black. Or maybe I should bring both. Yeah, I’ll bring both. You going over to The Lotus tonight?”
I shake my head. “My paper for health policy is due tomorrow.”
“I should probably skip it, too, though JD said he’d be there. I don’t want him to think I don’t have a life outside of him.”
I’m tempted to say she doesn’t seem to think about anything else, but I keep my mouth shut. Instead, I say, “So things are going well between you two?”
“OMG, it’s amazing. He’s definitely the one. I think he feels it, too, otherwise why would he invite me to his sister’s wedding? I mean, I’m going to be meeting his family. I can’t wait for my family to meet him. They’re going to be so impressed. I check off all the boxes with JD: he’s Asian, he went to a good school, he’s a successful businessman. He’s sexy as hell. The sexy part is my box, of course.”
“Your parents aren’t going to be disappointed he’s not a doctor?” I tease.
Amy smiles. “Given how much money JD must make, I think they’ll live with it.”
“He imports chemicals?” I recall.
“Something like that. It’s kind of boring.”
She grows quiet.
“Something the matter?” I ask.
“Just that he seems stressed from work lately. My Cantonese is a little rusty, but it sounds like a recent shipment isn’t going well, and he might lose out on a lot of money. Maybe I should go over to The Lotus tonight in case he needs cheering up.”
While Amy gets ready to go to the club, I get a call from Darren about coming over to view the outfits Cheryl will have picked out for me. The flight’s on Sunday, so there’s not a lot of time left.
“Maybe tomorrow,” I reply. “I need to finish my health policy paper, which is due tomorrow, and I’d like to finish at least one grant application.”
Secretly, I also want to find a way out of this outfit business.
“How’s the paper coming along?” he asks.
“Pretty good. I’m just having second thoughts about my conclusion.”
“What’s your conclusion?”
“That, had the US done a fraction of what Taiwan did, we could have saved hundreds of thousands of lives.”
“You don’t really believe that?”
“There’s always the issue of scaling up. Taiwan’s population is a small fraction of the US’s.”
“We’re the richest country in the world. Why should that stop us?”
“It shouldn’t.”
“We’re supposed to be badass, right?”
“That’s a compelling argument. The United States can replicate Taiwan’s success on a larger scale because we’re ‘badass.’”
“Don’t we have the resources?”
“We should. Our GDP is much larger. In fact,” I plug some numbers into calculator app, “our per capita GDP is fifteen percent higher. I could argue that the US has more issues to deal with, but ultimately it’s a matter of prioritizing what’s more important. Okay, I feel better about my conclusion. Thanks.”
“So I’ll pick you up tomorrow at nine.”
After hanging up, I sit down on the bed. I’m proud of myself for the amount of work I finished this week, even though thoughts of Darren crept into my mind often. I called Coretta to let her know I was going to Thailand. She asked me to check in with her daily. I assured her I would. Coretta always treated me as if I were one of her own.
“You want to come with me to the club tonight?” Amy asks as she applies another coat of mascara.
It’s tempting, but I shake my head. “I told Darren I’d come over tomorrow.”
“I still can’t believe we’re going to Phuket. In just a few days!”
I flop down onto my pillow and stare at the ceiling. I can’t believe it, either. Phuket. Thailand. And all I have to cover is meals?
Just then, I remember the one payment Darren would accept: a night at the BDSM side of his club.
Am I really up for that?
