Aidan shook with frustration as he leaned back in the brown leather chair and brought a hand up to cover his face. He then sighed deeply into his fingers. Aidan sat in the room that served as his office in his home in Indianapolis. Being his base of operations within the state, the office actually occupied the master suite of the house. The room was dimly lit by electric wall lamps and the walls were covered in dark wood paneling. His leather-clad oak desk dominated the wall opposite the door and sat under a large window. Leather couches encircled the rest of the room allowing him to seat approximately twelve men, which currently it was. His simple white tie felt constricting and he moved to loosen it as he heard Evvie’s voice break the silence.
“Charlie, you must realize how serious this was?” Evvie sat perched on the edge of the desk with her legs crossed. She wore a simple baby blue knee length satin dress with a square neckline. She was leaning with one arm planted on the desk while the other hand circled the lip of a martini glass filled with her newest blueberry moonshine and a sprig of rosemary. She looked tired. After Charlie’s accident she had stayed at his side as he recovered in the local hospital. Charlie had sustained a broken nose, a broken rib and a concussion. He was lucky. It could have been worse. Most people did not survive such a devastating car crash.
Charlie was sitting to her right looking bruised and battered but, it seemed, no worse for the wear. The rest of the room was filled with the men who represented the most important aspects of his business. All eyes were on Charlie and he seemed to shrink slightly under the weight of the collective gazes. His answer to Evvie’s question seemed to come from a cornered and wounded animal. “I’m not the first person in this room who has crashed a car.”
Aidan did not take kindly to the suggestive nature of the comment. Charlie of course was referring to a time long ago when he had crashed a car trying to outrun the law. Aidan worked to keep his voice even, “You were not on the lam. You were driving while fried to the hat. Hank here told us how impatient you were to leave the shop. This shouldn’t have happened, deer or no deer.” Aidan stood up to walk to the window turning his back on the room. Outside the light was beginning to fade over the horizon and the city was in a pre-evening lull making ready for the Friday night festivities. Hopefully those festivities would be well lubricated by booze from his operation.
Evvie once again spoke up trying to smooth over the fractious energy in the room. “I don’t think you realize how lucky you were. If it wasn’t for the fact that the bull that showed up on the scene was on the pay docket you would have been pinched. As it is, this accident of yours has not been cheap; a car, and an entire shipment. We can afford it but it doesn’t look good with the customer. There are 10,000 other bootleggers out there right now. What sets us apart is the quality of the product and our reputation that we always deliver.”
As always Evvie touched onto the heart of the matter. Their reputation was not broken, but it was tarnished. Aidan decided that the conversation had gone on long enough. He turned from the window and placing his hands on the desk, leaned forward. “Charlie, you are family, and we always take care of family here, but there needs to be consequences. The other drivers must understand that this sort of action will not be tolerated. You will not be driving for the moment. You will be given other duties and your salary will drop accordingly.” He could see anger in Charlie’s eyes. He knew that the wallet was the best place to hit him, and even though he could see Charlie simmer like a spoiled child he was able to keep his mouth shut and nodded his head in acceptance of the punishment. Aidan rubbed his eye with his thumb and waved the other at him as he said, “Alright dry up. Get some rest.”
Charlie slowly nodded his head and shifted in his deep leather seat as he tried to figure out how he was going to get up with only the use of one arm. He awkwardly pushed his hips forward, and Evvie came forward and, grabbing his good arm, helped him to his feet. Charlie’s face tightened as the embarrassment clouded his vision. Evvie could only sigh in an exhausted manner as Charlie walked stiffly out of the room. The room had been tense like someone had been scraping their nails down a chalkboard, and as the door closed at Charlie’s back the room let out a breath as the bone-tingling screeching stopped.
Aidan moved to fall back into his leather seat behind his desk. Evvie moved silently behind the desk, cradling her martini in one hand. She paused beside him, and he looked up into her eyes. She rubbed the back of her hand along his jaw line, and they shared a silent moment of comfort before she moved to the window turning her back on the room.
Aidan cleared his throat expectantly, “Well, thoughts on how we can remedy this little situation of ours?”
Hank spoke up first, “Well, we could give The Whistle Stop a discount on the next shipment. Nothing too big though. Just enough to give our reputation a boost.”
Aidan nodded, “Yeah, It sounds like as good a plan as any. Anyone have any major objections? No? Alright moving on… We need a new driver to replace Charlie. Any suggestions?”
Freddy Broke spoke up from the corner, “Yeah, I’m working with this new kid out of Detroit. He’s been parking my car for me and running messages. He’s got nerve. I’ll bring him by for ya if you want.”
Again, Aidan nodded and exhaled in a single smooth slow movement, “Sounds good Freddy. Alright guys I think that’s gonna be it for the day. That whole Charlie business has really taken it out of me.”
The room seemed to rise as one and everyone shuffled out of the room. The door closed and Aidan slumped a bit in his chair chewing on the inside of his lip. He lazily fumbled in a side drawer and pulled out a cigarette. He tapped the cigarette on the wood of his desk in an old habit. It was so quite that the normally soft tap, tap, tap of the end of the cigarette seemed to fill the room with noise. He twisted the cigarette in his hands in the same manner he turned problems over in his head; quickly and repeatedly before pausing to tap, tap, tap once again against the smooth surface of his desk.
“It bothers me too, though I’m not sure if it’s for the same reason.” Evvie’s voice cut through the sound of his cigarette tapping on the desk and it startled him. He had forgotten that she was still in the room standing at the window. He grabbed at a match and lit his cigarette as he swiveled in the chair to face her. She stood at the side of the window, with her shoulder leaning casually on the window frame. Her hip was lazily cocked to the side. One arm was folded across her chest while the other was bent holding up her martini glass as if she were raising her glass in a toast to the city below her. Her eyes looked down on the lights that were beginning to make the city glow with a warmth like that of a fire. It simultaneously illuminated parts of her while casting shadows over the rest.
Taking a drag from his cigarette he asked, “In what way?”
She looked at him from over her shoulder, half of her face hid in shadows. “I think it’s our fault.”
He immediately scoffed at the statement and swiveled his chair to once again face the desk. “How can you say that Evvie? He understood our rules for working in this profession and he understood that those rules exist for a reason; to keep everyone safe and profitable.”
She moved back into his vision as she walked to the table and leaned against the edge of the desk in front of him. She looked down at him, but her posture was full of doubt and worry. He was instinctively drawn to comfort her and he pushed his chair towards her. He gently pressed his knees between her legs and she scooted onto the desk and slightly spread her legs around his. He moved his hands up and down her leg trying to comfort her. “Why do you think it’s our fault?”
“We are the only family he has and while we choose this life, what choice did he have? He was young and impressionable, and this life is too fast, too wild not to have sucked him in. He’s a good boy but this life chews people up and spits them out. I’m afraid of losing him.” Her eyes locked with his and gave him a pleading look.
Aidan shook his head slowly. “We’ll take care of him Evvie, we always have.”
Her voice struck back, “But how can we as long as we expose him to this lifestyle? Maybe we should back off for a little while. Go back to my parent’s house. Let someone else take care of the business.”
He stood up to be at eye level with her and when he spoke it was not loud or harsh but pleading. “Evvie, no! We’ve worked so hard to get here and we are on the cusp of really making something of ourselves. This just isn’t our business, it’s our livelihood.”
“Aidan we don’t need the money anymore.”
“Evvie, you know that if we stopped that the money would dry up. We’re not there yet. When it’s time we’ll move into legitimate businesses and we’ll be set for life, but not yet.”
She looked away from him and ran a finger along the rim of her martini glass. “My mother once told me that money was the root of all evil.”
Aidan’s response was immediate and his voice rose. “People who say that have never been poor. They don’t know what it’s like to be hungry. They have never had to choose between shoes on their feet or food in their belly. I have. I will not go back to that.” Evvie deflated slightly in front of him and he knew that his response was too harsh. He brought his hands up to Evvie’s face and tilted her face towards him. “I’m sorry Evvie. I just want something better for us. Charlie will be fine. You’ll see.” He leaned forward and kissed her softly cradling her lips between his own. He kissed her slowly, massaging her lips. He tried to comfort and sooth away her worries but he felt her lips tremble with desperation.
It happened slowly and insistently. Her hands were on his tie pulling him closer. Her legs opened wider. Her chest arched into his and her lips began to push against his own. She required, it seemed a different sort of comfort. Her lips opened against his and her tongue slid into his mouth as she leaned back onto the table, slightly, pulling him by the tie with her. His body felt like a knotted coil and she was pulling the knot tighter. He tasted the faint sharpness of alcohol on her tongue and the knot immediately unraveled. He pulled away from her and she whimpered in frustration.
“Evvie, you’ve been drinking.” He said it simply, but it held complicated implications.
She sat up and slapped him squarely on the face causing his cheek to sting painfully. He had not expected it but now that it had happened he wasn’t surprised. He rubbed at his cheek as she glowered at him. Her lips, swollen from his kisses, were drawn in a tight line.
“Don’t give me that line. I am not some delicate flower daddy. I can make my own decisions and I take responsibility for my actions.” As she said it, she stood and began to stomp towards the door leaving him to chase after her.
Aidan was able to sputter something that sounding like, “Stop” before he crashed into Evvie near the door. She swiped at him trying to slap him away but he held her tight and their momentum carried them into the door. Anger began to bubble up in Aidan’s stomach as he pinned her in place. Evvie pushed back against him, trying to escape his grasp, inadvertently pushing against his painfully confined erection which had not diminished from her slap. He couldn’t contain the animal groan that rumbled in his throat. Still, she struggled against him and she was able to swivel around to face him.
“Let go of me!” she growled as she squirmed against his body. Her breath once again filled his nose with the sharp fire of alcohol, but this time he also smelled the undercurrents of the sweet blueberries and earthy rosemary, hidden underneath the burning aroma. The subtle flavors had been hidden there all along if he had only taken the time to notice them. Aidan ignored the anger that Evvie continued to assault him with and pushed against her claiming her mouth as his own. As his lips found purchase, her hands calmed for a moment; still tense but no longer pushing against him. He pulled back slightly for breath but still held her pinned to the door. Their faces were inches apart and her heavy breaths continued to blow across his face intoxicating him. Aidan opened his eyes slowly to look at her and he saw everything he loved about her hidden beneath the slowly diminishing anger.
As Aidan tried to drink in the sight of her, he felt another sting fall across his face as she slapped him again. He had only a moment to hold his face in surprise before she was on him. He was locked in another kiss before he had time to consider why she had slapped him again. Her arms wrapped around his neck and her legs around his waist. His hands found the undersides of her thighs instinctually to hold her in place as he fell forward, her back hitting the door with a thud. He pushed against her causing her to disconnect from his mouth with a low groan. Unable to resist the taste of her, he began to suckle down her neck leaving a trail of rough kisses and bites.
Evvie’s nails seemed to bite into his skin as she clung to him, her breath coming in raged gulps in his ears. Aidan pushed against her causing friction against his erection which was becoming painfully constricted. His need became overwhelming and he gripped her thighs securely as he pulled away from the door and carried her back to the desk. With one hand he swiped everything away from the desk and set her down never disconnecting from her lips. Aidan’s hands were frantic as they moved to her thighs and unsnapped her garter belt. She was quick to lie back on the desk and lift her ass so that he could smoothly pull her satin underwear up her legs. Aidan didn’t take to the time to fully remove her panties and left them dangling on the heel of her stiletto next to his ear. He quickly pulled his suspenders off of his shoulders and pushed his pants down far enough to free himself from the confines of his pants. By now Aidan felt delirious and he quickly pushed himself into her. Evvie slapped her hands down on the desk and arched her back with a groan that left him trembling. He took a moment to secure her legs to his chest and began to rhythmically pump against her.
The slap of skin on skin filled the room as night fell and shadows filled the room. The darkness crept up on them like a silent predatory and Aidan watched as Evvie’s translucent skin turned a darker shade of mocha as she bounced on the desk under him. Aidan pushed harder increasing his pace causing shrill moans to escape her lips in time to the slapping of their skin. The room was almost completely dark and shadows obscured her face and fell across her body like long midnight hair. Aidan reached forward and grabbed the front of her dress and ripped it open exposing her breast to the darkness. He felt the tightness in his stomach as he marched a rhythm closer to his release. He reached out and grabbed one of her breasts and massaged it firmly. He turned his head and bit possessively at one of her legs and for a moment tasted chocolate that left a burning on his tongue. Evvie’s hand had found the little bundle of nerves hidden within her folds and she was massaging herself in time to his thrusts.
Aidan didn’t know she was coming until her walls were vibrated and squeezing around him sending him over the edge. He gripped at her leg, trying to hold on as his climax was pulled from him. He squeezed his eyes closed as the last wave pumped through him. When Aidan opened his eyes he saw a glint of gold and looked up at Evvie to see a large gold earring the size of a golf ball protruding from her ear lobe stretching the hole in her lobs to an unfathomable dimension. Her normally short hair fell long and dark across her glistening mocha body as she gasped for air below him. She brought one hand to wipe the sweat soaked hair from her face filling the room with the tinkling noise of many large golden bracelets tumbling around her arm. Startled, Aidan shook his head and immediately reached to turn the lamp on the desk on. As the light flooded the room, Evvie laid just as she was, spent and satisfied below him with short black hair and normal creamy skin. Her small pearl earrings glowed an iridescent white and her wrist lay bare, devoid of jewelry. Aidan stood there hunched over Evvie for a moment trying to catch his breath and his sanity.
Finally Evvie looked up and asked, “What’s wrong?”
Aidan cleared his throat, trying to think of what to say. “Nothing… I’m sorry…”
Evvie chuckled and closed her eyes, “I’m not.”
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