Park Avenue Player by Vi Keeland
Chapter 16
Hollis
Ever wish you could go back and change something you’ve done? A stupid mistake made on impulse that had lasting repercussions?
I have many regrets in life. But if I could change only one thing, it would be the moment I ever thought it was a good idea to slip Elodie Atlier’s thong into my back pocket.
Apparently, I believed I could get away with murder that night. Instead, I opened a huge can of worms I wouldn’t be able to get myself out of. I certainly never thought she’d taunt me about touching them the second I walked out of her bathroom. Perceptive thing, she is.
At this point, I suspected she knew I did more than touch her lingerie. Was there a chance I might have gotten lucky and the theft had gone unnoticed? I suppose. But the not knowing was driving me crazy. The uncertainty kept me agitated all day and unable to focus on my job. Basically, I was now paranoid, as if I’d committed a crime and knew the police were going to show up at my door any minute.
But as the evening wore on, I calmed down somewhat. Hailey told me all about their day at the museum over dinner. Elodie’s lasagna was phenomenal. After a couple of glasses of wine and a full belly, I felt a bit less on edge.
I decided to assume that even if Elodie suspected I’d taken the thong, there was no way she could prove it. That seed of doubt would always exist. Eventually, this whole situation would blow over.
Later that night, as I lay in bed, though, I realized how depraved I really was. Because as much as I regretted taking her thong, I kept thinking about the fact that it was under my pillow. I wanted nothing more than to take it out again and use it for inspiration as I jerked off. What’s one more time?
Yes, I’d in fact masturbated with her panties over my face last night and was now considering an encore.
I’d convinced myself that if the opportunity arose and I could get back into her house, I could return them—maybe slip them behind a radiator in the bathroom or something. It would be like this whole thing never happened. So, taking them out one more time would harm no one. Right? No one would ever know.
In the end, though, I rolled over and decided against it.
I can’t.
But after several minutes of lying there staring into space, insomnia won. I finally succumbed to the fact that I would need a release to fall asleep tonight. I slipped my hand under the pillow and pulled the thong out.
My heart went from racing excitedly to skipping a beat when I noticed the silky fabric. The hot pink color. This was not the same thong.
This. Was. NOT. The. Same. Thong.
I stared at it in my hand as if it were alive.
What the fuck now, Hollis?
How did she know to look under my pillow? What was she doing in my bedroom? I wanted to give her a piece of my mind for trespassing. How dare she snoop when I was at work?
But she had me exactly where she wanted me, because I couldn’t even address it to reprimand her.
I was madder at myself than Elodie. I’d caused this. Why? Because I was impulsive, horny, selfish—and a goddamn panty snatcher, apparently.
I opened my bedside drawer and threw the hot pink thong into it before slamming it closed. So much for sleeping now.
I stared at the drawer as if I’d stuffed a body in a trunk. Elodie could have taken her black thong back and left nothing behind. She could’ve snapped a photo to taunt me. Instead, she opted to leave another one. She was enjoying this little game, messing with me, capitalizing on my sexual attraction to her.
She wants me to have it.
I opened the drawer slowly and took the thong into my hands, threading the silky fabric through my fingers. I brought them to my nose and took a deep whiff in. Ohhhhh. Fuck. Me. Whereas the other pair had just come out of the wash, smelling like detergent, these smelled like a woman. She’d worn these. There was no debate left. I got up and double-checked that my door was locked.
Then I returned to bed and lay back, placing the panties over my face. Taking out my rigid cock, I stroked it hard, simultaneously breathing in. If I was going to hell for something, at least this would be worth it. And getting off to her actual scent—knowing she’d taken these off for me, knowing they’d been up against her pussy today—made me crazy.
It didn’t take long. I came fast and hard, all over my abs. One would think it had been days since I’d last jerked off, when in fact it was last night.
But as the high of my orgasm wore off, I started to come back to reality. I was back to seeing myself as a filthy pig lying here with her panties on my face. I crumpled them up, threw them in the drawer, then slammed it shut again.
***
The following afternoon, my concentration level at work was even worse than the day before. Once again, I hadn’t been able to look Elodie in the eye when I left for work this morning. I’d taken her damn panties out again when I woke up at the crack of dawn, took care of business, then left them under the pillow exactly where I’d originally found them. I wanted her to think maybe I’d done nothing at all with them, maybe I’d never found them, maybe I’d redeemed myself and no longer wanted anything to do with her.
I knew I was kidding myself. I’d had aftershave on, and she’d smell me all over them.
Maybe a part of me wanted that, too. I was sick.
Addison’s voice snapped me out of my thoughts. “Hello? Earth to Hollis!”
I’d been twisting a pen around in my hand when she interrupted my rumination.
I threw the pen down. “What?”
“We’ve been waiting for you in the conference room for nearly a half hour. Did you forget about the two o’clock meeting?”
Shit. I totally forgot.“Sorry. I’ll be right in.”
For the entire meeting, Addison kept staring at me, squinting…assessing. She’d known me a very long time and could see through anything.
After we left the meeting, she cornered me in my office.
“What the hell has gotten into you now, Hollis?”
At first, the thought of Addison knowing what was going on seemed mortifying. But the truth was, I could use her unbiased opinion on how to handle this situation. In the end, I was Elodie’s boss, and what I’d done was beyond inappropriate. So from both a professional and personal viewpoint, I needed input.
“Today is your lucky day, Addison.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“Because I’m about to give you blackmail material you can hold over my head forever.”
“Uh-oh. What did you do? And please tell me this has to do with Elodie.” She grinned. “I’ve been waiting for some juice.”
I braced myself and began to tell her the story.
***
Addison was all too amused. “You dirty dog. This is better than I ever hoped. Although I don’t know who’s worse, you or her.”
“Skip the taunting. How do I handle this?”
“I’m just kidding. This isn’t a real problem, Hollis. It’s all in good fun.”
“You don’t see a problem with this? If I stole your underwear, you could sue me for harassment, and it would ruin my career. How is this any different?”
“Well, you definitely took a risk. But I think you did it in part because you know there’s a reciprocal attraction there. You’re comfortable with her. And you also stupidly assumed you wouldn’t get caught.”
I sighed. “Okay, so what now?”
“Just see where things go. Why do you have to have a plan?”
“Because I can’t even look at her.”
“Well, you need to get over that. You’re both adults, and clearly she’s enjoying this.”
I pulled on my hair. “This is such a fucking mess.”
“Why? Why is it a bad thing? It’s innocent fun. Although, I don’t expect it will end up innocent.”
“I’ve already explained the ramifications of getting involved with her. Have you not heard anything I’ve been saying?”
“Oh, that’s right. If things don’t work out, Hailey could get hurt.”
“Precisely.”
“This has nothing to do with the fact that you could get hurt, too, right?”
I paced. “Now you’re overanalyzing.”
“Am I?” She crossed her arms. “I think you see Elodie as exactly the type of woman you would want in your life if you weren’t so damn scared to let someone in. I think that’s why you’re afraid of messing things up. It’s not only about Hailey.”
I stopped moving. Her words shook me, but I was unwilling to accept that she was right.
When I didn’t say anything, she added, “We’ve had many drunken conversations, Hollis. You told me yourself once that the only two women you’ve ever loved—your mother and Anna—disappeared on you. You said you’d never make the mistake of getting attached to anyone again. If you thought you could just have meaningless sex with Elodie, and that would be it, you’d be running toward this situation and not away from it. You see the potential for something more here. And that scares you.”
Speaking of running away, I needed to get the fuck out of this conversation.
I walked back over to my desk and rustled some papers. “I’m behind on some admin stuff.”
“See? This is what you do. You run away before you have to deal with things that hurt.” She stopped in front of my desk and leaned into it until I had no choice but to look at her. “Stop letting your past determine your future, Hollis. Allow it to make you a better person, not a bitter one.”
I shut my eyes briefly. “I get what you’re saying. But even if I didn’t have whatever issues you think I have, anything more than a business relationship with Elodie is not a possibility because of Hailey. So this isn’t open for discussion.”
After Addison left, her words haunted me. I knew she was right.
Still, I was unwilling to accept the possibility of something more happening with Elodie. I needed a distraction. That meant I needed to get off on something other than Elodie’s underwear.
Hailey had a sleepover on Friday night. I’d have the apartment to myself for the first time in a while. I picked up my phone and sent a text to someone I knew would be a sure thing with no strings attached.
Hollis: My place Friday night?
