The Ugly One
Chapter Ten
by be287m

I wanted to get away.  I really wanted to get away.  The problem was, I didn’t know how to run away from the thoughts in my head.  Playing computer games helped some, but that was just numbing, not what I needed.  I talked to my therapist and that helped.  It wasn’t enough, though.  I still needed to get away.

I did get support from surprising places.  I wasn’t surprised at Lynn checking up on me, but Summer also called in from Nevada to encourage me to come out to visit.  My boss was also supportive when I told him I wanted a few days off.  He appeared surprised at the news that I’d had a girlfriend, but agreed that time away would probably help.  He joked that it would be better than watching me mope around the office, anyway.  I didn’t quite know what to make of that.  Fortunately, my project was ahead of schedule, so it really didn’t matter whether I was around those days or not.

The day before I left, I called Angie again.  I got her voicemail and left her another message.

“Angie, this is John.  It’s been a week and I suspect you’re still pretty upset.  But since you haven’t called, I haven’t had a chance to explain.  What happened is that I asked my courtesan friend for some advice and she gave me pointers verbally and through gestures.  We never touched or did anything sexual together.  In fact, I haven’t been with anyone, sexually or otherwise, since I started going out with you.  Frankly, you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me and I would hate for what’s basically a miscommunication to screw that up.

“Anyway, I’m headed out of town tomorrow for a few days.  So please call me.  I’d really like to fix this.”

I hung up and did my best to keep busy the rest of the evening instead of moping by the phone.  It largely worked this time, I suspect because I was so tired with all the sleepless nights of the past week.  At least there was the chance I’d sleep in Nevada.

I began to have second thoughts about that when I got to baggage claim in Reno.  Summer, dressed in jeans and sunglasses, she greeted me with an enthusiastic hug that almost pulled me off balance.

“*So* glad to see you, John!  We are going to have so much fun!”

“Uhhh. . . .”

“Relax!  I’ll only make you fuck me once a day!”  I did a double take and then realized she was teasing.  “I have to live up to my reputation as a nymphomaniac, after all!” I blushed, but all that did was draw another chuckle from Summer.

“Lynn did warn you that she was going to tell me,” she joked.  “And I get a kick out of it.”

“Good,” I sighed in relief.

“You have nothing to worry about, John.  We’re going to have a good time.  Besides the brothel, we can go to Lake Tahoe if you want, or go gambling in Reno or Carson City.”

“Gambling’s a tax on the mathematically challenged,” I commented, drawing a giggle from Summer.

“Life’s a gamble,” she replied.  “Sometimes ya gotta bet big.”  I just nodded.  This trip was certainly a big bet.

“Let’s go then!” she said.  With that, we headed out to the parking lot.  It was a pleasant late afternoon, sunny with a slight breeze.  Summer led me to a white, mud splattered Jeep 4x4.   I threw my bag in the back.

“What’s the plan?” I asked.

“First we’ll stop at my place and drop off your stuff.  Then we’ll go see Tamara at the Ranch.  I imagine we’ll hang out in the parlor for a while, since she’s working evening shifts this week.  Then tomorrow we’ll head back late morning.  Marvin, the owner, said she’s free to join us then if we want to go out.”

“I thought once you cleared medical you had to stay at the Ranch.”

“That’s only true at the Southern brothels near Vegas.  We can take Tamara on an ‘outdate’ if you want, as long as we get her back in time to make some money that evening.”  I nodded in response and then realized Summer had shifted the name she was using.  We were in Nevada, which meant Lynn was Tamara once again.

We drove South toward Carson City, but detoured off the highway before we got there.  After winding down some county roads, Summer turned off onto a dirt driveway.  We pulled up in front of an old ranch house next to a well-kept barn.

“You live here?” I asked.

“Sure do.  It’s the best way to balance work and raising horses.”

“You raise horses?”  Summer laughed at my incredulous tone.

“You never knew there was more to me than being a nymphomaniac, did you?”  I blushed again, but followed her up to the house.

Summer showed me to the guest bedroom that would be mine and gave me a few minutes to unpack my stuff before offering me the nickel tour.  The property was old but well-maintained.  In the barn I met Blaze, Starr, and Demi, all Arabian horses.  They were beautiful beasts and well-behaved once they got their treats handfed by Summer.  After some encouragement, I let Blaze eat some apple out of my hand.  Summer was more calm and subdued than I remembered ever seeing her.  I asked about it as we walked back to the house.

“That’s your passion, isn’t it?  Raising horses?”  Summer gave a small smile and nodded, then winked at me.

“That and sex,” she replied.

“Well of course!  We couldn’t forget the sex!  Not for a nymphomaniac!”  Summer laughed in response.

When we got back to the house, we wandered towards Summer’s quarters.  She glanced down at her pants, dusty from the trip to the stables.  I’d managed to stay relatively clean.

“I want to shower and change clothes before we head down to the Ranch,” she announced, then met my eye.  “You haven’t told me about Angie yet.  Why don’t you keep me company and tell me the story while I get ready?”

“You want me to sit in the bathroom and talk to you while you shower?”

“Why not?  Do you have a problem with talking to me while I’m naked?”

I was smart enough to recognize that as a trick question and so soon found myself leaning against the wall talking about my romance while I watched Summer soap up and wash off.  It was a little surreal.  I’d have these pangs when I’d mention something endearing that Angie had done on one of our dates, but then I’d get distracted as Summer turned and gave me a new view.  I’d gotten to describing the Valentine’s date when she got out and started drying off, asking me questions where I was glossing over details.  I followed her into the bedroom where I tried to explain what had happened on my final date with Angie while Summer got dressed.  I wasn’t particularly coherent, especially when she bent over to get some fresh underwear out of a dresser drawer and took extraordinarily long finding a pair that she wanted.  My groin was definitely stirring but I also felt guilty, as if I were cheating on Angie.  Which I knew was ridiculous, because we weren’t together anymore.  Something Summer asked about directly once she had clean jeans on.

“So, are you two still together?” she asked, still topless, looking for a bra.

“No, I don’t think so,” I sighed.  “I wish we were.”

“So you don’t feel guilty about that?” she asked pointing to the bulge in my pants.

“A little,” I admitted.  She nodded knowingly.

“Do you know the difference between sex and love?”

“I think so.”

“Good.  Because no one’s going to ask you to give up your feelings for Angie.  Anything that happens this week is purely sex.”

“Something’s going to happen?”

Summer got a mischievous glint in her eye as she pulled her shirt on.

“Well, if you got that good at going down on a girl after a few pointers, I might just have to try your tongue out myself.”  With that she licked her lips salaciously, causing me to blush once again.

“Let’s go,” she said, giving me a chance to recover my composure.  About a half hour later we were turning onto Kit Kat Lane and pulling up in front of Fantasy Ranch.  I’d been drumming my fingers on my thigh while we drove, but realized I wasn’t nearly as nervous as I had been during my last visit.  I was sure that some of my calm was due to Summer’s presence.  But most, I realized, was because I knew that I wasn’t going to have to face rejection inside.  I wasn’t looking to get laid and so it didn’t matter if the women inside pulled back in disgust at the sight of me or not.  Not caring was surprisingly comforting.

None of the women recoiled.  In fact, they barely looked at me as we walked in.  A couple of them waved at Summer as we headed over to the bar and settled in at one corner.

Tamara came out a few minutes later, looking gorgeous.  She was in a long gown, slit up the side, her hair and make-up perfect.  She stood in the entryway from the hall, surveying the room.  My breath caught, remembering the last time I’d seen her there.  She saw us and smiled, nearly lighting up the room.

Tamara greeted both Summer and me with long hugs and a kiss on the cheek.  My blood raced a little, but I was able to relax by remembering this was the same mom that wore jeans and no makeup as she cooked dinner for Billy and me.

“Good flight?” she asked once she’d ordered her own drink.  I nodded.

“No problems.  A little bumpy getting out of Denver but the Reno approach was fine.  Summer took me to see her ranch before we came here.”

“He met Blaze,” Summer chimed in.

“Blaze is a dear,” Tamara commented.

“Yeah, she is,” I replied.  “Once I got over the surprise of finding out Summer raises horses.”

“What can I say?” Summer responded.  “We whores can be surprising sometimes.”  Tamara shot her an irked look.  Summer just rolled her eyes.

“She doesn’t like the word whore,” Summer said.

“Names are important,” Tamara interjected.  “Particularly the names we give ourselves.”  Summer just shrugged her shoulders.

Just about then, a short Asian woman walked by us.  Tamara reached out and brushed her arm.

“Mei-Ling, this is my friend John.  He’s the one that bought Billy the bow.”  Mei-Ling stopped and turned to me, smiling.

“Really?  How nice!  Good to meet you, John!”

“Good to meet you too.”

“So, what made you think of a bow?” Mei-Ling asked.  Tamara and Summer shifted around and an empty stool appeared next to me.  Mei-Ling pulled herself up on it and ordered a drink while I described my meanderings through the toy store in search of a new MechWarrior.

“So what did you think of ‘The Lord of the Rings’?” she asked next.  “My little brother is really into the movies.”

“Has he read the books?” Summer asked.

“Oh yes!”

With that, we were off into a four-way conversation about films and fantasy and books and kids.  Summer snuck in an innuendo about Legolas’ shaft (arrow shaft of course), and soon the conversation turned a little raunchy.  Tamara started cracking us up by keeping her face pure and innocent as the double entendres dropped from her lips.  We were into our second round of drinks when a long-haired brunette drifted over.  She was tall and thin and almost slinky in her elegance.

“Mind if I join you?” she asked.

“Oh, absolutely!” Summer answered.  “Sherri, this is Tamara’s friend John.  John, this is Sherri.”  With that, Sherri brought a stool around and we reformed our corner into a little cluster.

“So, I hear you’re helping Billy with his bullies,” Sherri mentioned once she’d gotten settled.  A quick glance at Tamara confirmed her as the source of that information.  The other girls started joking about Johnny Depp’s role in ‘Pirates of the Caribbean,’ having gotten there from ‘Lord of the Rings’ through Orlando Bloom, letting Sherri and me slide into our own conversation bubble.

“I’m trying,” I said.  I told her about Billy’s fight and suspension.

“It’s interesting,” she observed, “that Mr. Henderson is telling you how to raise dogs with love and patience, but then not showing much of that towards Billy.”  That set me back.

“I suppose he has to follow the rules,” I replied.  Sherri made a dismissive gesture.

“Did he show any sympathy to Billy?  Any empathy?  It doesn’t sound like he even listened to him.”  I stopped and thought about that for a while.

“I suppose you’re right,” I said.

“Not a good way to raise a kid,” Sherri said.  I nodded.

“You’re pretty wise,” I observed.  Sherri grinned.

“Master’s in psychology,” she said.  I avoided letting my jaw drop.

“That begs the question.  Why are you working here?”

“It’s good money if you can stay away from the drugs.”

“Drugs?” I asked.  Sherri took another swig of her drink.

“It’s Marvin’s biggest problem--keeping the drugs out of the house.  He does a better job than some of the other owners.”

“Oh,” I replied, at a loss for words.  Just then, Tamara broke in.

“John!  Mei-Ling’s never been skiing!  Tell her what skiing is like in Colorado!”  I smiled and let the conversation turn to other subjects as the general merriment increased.

After a while, a couple of guys came in and asked for a line-up, which temporarily left Summer and me alone at the bar.  We watched the men size up the courtesans and make their selections.  Sherri was one of the girls picked.  However, our little group grew as a black woman and another brunette drifted over with Tamara after the line-up had been dismissed.  I was introduced to Rochelle and Bambi, who both gave me a big hug before finding their own seats.

Meanwhile, the parlor was filling up, both with other working girls and with potential customers who’d chosen to skip the line-ups so they could socialize before deciding whether to party with a lady or not.  The noise level was up and cigarette smoke was drifting from the other end of the bar.  I remained ensconced in the circle of ladies, which grew and shrank as a courtesan would break off to go talk to a new customer or return from a private chat that hadn’t resulted in a party.  I met three more courtesans but their names flew by too quickly for me to remember.  Even Marvin, the owner, came over and introduced himself.  My head started swimming with all the excitement.  I left my jacket with Summer and headed for the bathroom.

When I got back, Summer was holding my cell phone, having taken it from my jacket pocket.

“You’re phone went off.  You might want to check your messages,” she said, handing it to me.  I checked the caller ID.  It was a Colorado area code.  I turned to Tamara.

“Any place more quiet?” I asked.  She nodded and led me down the hall to her room.

Her room hadn’t changed much.  It was still fairly generic, though this time any books were tucked away.  She headed into the bathroom and made a show of touching up her makeup, obviously giving me a little privacy.  I sat on the bed and hit the voicemail button.

It was Angie.  Her voice was strained.

“Hi . . . Hi John, it’s Angie.  I got your messages.  Look, maybe I dashed out of your place too quickly.  I don’t know.  Right now I’m not sure I’m really ready to be dating again anyway.  Mike’s gone to court to reduce his child support payments and Ashley got really sick and . . . and, I’m just not sure I should be starting anything new right now.”  Her voice cracked a little with those last words.

“I’m, I’m sorry, John.  I think you’re a really great guy and I know it sucks to get this on your voicemail.  We can talk in person when you get back, if you want.  You deserve better than this, better than me.  If you still want to talk, call me in a couple of weeks.  I need to deal with Mike right now.  I know you’ll understand.”

With that, the message ended.  I held the phone in my lap and stared at it.  Tamara came back in and sat next to me, putting an arm around me.  

“What was it?” she asked.

“Angie,” I replied.  I hit ‘replay’ and handed her the phone.  Her face fell as she listened.  When it was over, she saved the message and then handed the phone back.  I turned it off and leaned into her.  Tamara wrapped her arms around me and held me.

“I don’t understand,” I whispered.

“She’s scared,” Tamara said.  “She realizes that running out was a mistake, just like I said she would.  But now she knows you’re fallible, like her.  That’s a little scary.”

“Huh?”

“Look at how easy your early dates went with her.  She idealized you.  After her bad experiences with her ex-husband and other guys, she was eager for a knight in shining armor.  Or a Little John, at least.”  I snorted, remembering how Angie and I had met.

“If you’re only human,” Tamara continued, “then she has to learn when she can trust you and when she can’t.  It’s no longer black and white, trust you 100% or not at all.  That can be scary.”

“I suppose so,” I said.  “It was certainly scary to think that she might actually like me, instead of just assuming she was either crazy or repulsed by me.”

“Your own form of black and white thinking.”

“Yeah,” I admitted.  “All I could see was my own ugliness, not her problems or fears.”

“True,” Tamara said.  “And you’re going to have to get over that if you’re going to make it work with her, or with the next woman if things with Angie don’t work out.”

“Get over what?”

“Thinking of yourself as ‘The Ugly One.’”  I snorted.

“And how do I do that?” I lamented.  “It’s not like I can change my appearance.  And as much as you and my therapist have helped, that’s still what I see when I look in the mirror.”

“Maybe.  But that’s not what other people necessarily see.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Oh yes,” Tamara affirmed.  “Weren’t you saying just a week ago that you were getting used to women sleeping with you because they wanted to, and not because it was a bet or you paid them?”

“Well, yeah, but we just agreed that Angie was idealizing me and that left you and Summer, which doesn’t really say much about my appearance.”  Tamara glared at me.

“Weren’t you just sitting, surrounded by women, joking and having a good time, not twenty minutes ago?”  I nodded.  She had me there.  I couldn’t remember ever having as much fun talking to a group of women as I had before the phone call.

“We need to get you back there,” Tamara asserted.  “You can’t do anything about Angie right now, and moping isn’t going to do you any good.”  With that, she stood up and extended a hand.  I let her pull me to my feet and followed her back to the parlor.  We got there just as another line-up was forming.

“I’ll catch up to you,” Tamara whispered, letting go of my hand and hastening to the end of the line.  I watched her as a slowly edged my way back to the chaotic merriment surrounding Summer and my reserved seat.

Tamara got to the end of the line and struck her pose, turned slightly like the other ladies.  Then she looked at the men who’d asked for the line-up and gasped.  She turned her head, trying to avoid eye contact with a twentysomething guy wearing a goatee.  It didn’t work.  His eyes lit up when he saw her and he pointed to her.

“Her!  On the end!”  His call was almost a demand.

Tamara turned her face back, a plastic smile in place.  It faded a little as he approached and she took his hand, leading him down the hall.  I glanced over and saw that Summer had observed the scene as well.

“What was that?” I asked Summer once I’d returned to my seat.

“I don’t know,” she mused.  “My guess is that she recognized him.  We’ll have to ask her when she gets back.”

“Hey John!” Rochelle called, interrupting me before I could ask Summer anything further.  “Is it true that the first time you saw Summer was when she was already riding your cock?”  She and Bambi started laughing as I blushed and nodded yes.  That led Mei-Ling to relate a story about a client that had wanted to be blindfolded and given a blowjob without ever knowing who the girl was.  Another round of drinks got served as the stories continued--about past ‘parties,’ other brothels, various owners.  Just about any topic.  In the buzz, I lost track of the time.  I felt like I was giddily drunk on more than just the alcohol.

Tamara’s approach an hour later sobered me up a little.  She didn’t look happy.

“Who was that?” I asked, as she settled between Summer and I.

“That was Greg.  He’s a classmate of mine back in Colorado.”

“Oh.”  Oh shit.

“I explained about this being a part-time job to pay for school and that I hoped he’d be discreet when we got back to Colorado.  He agreed, but I don’t trust him.”

“Did you ‘party’ with him?” Summer asked.

“Yes.  I tried to pricewalk him, but he agreed to my first suggestion.  I figured then that maybe he’d be more willing to keep his mouth shut if he’d had a good time.”

“Was he any good?” Summer probed.  Tamara sighed.

“The usual macho bullshit.  Pumped me hard and fast, constantly asking if it was ‘good for me.’”  Summer, along with Sherri who’d drifted back and was listening in, both winced in sympathy.  I reached over and took Tamara’s hand and squeezed it.  She gave me a squeeze back.  Before I could say anything, another line-up was called.  The ladies all excused themselves, leaving me with Summer.  She looked tired, as if the evening was catching up with her.  She looked me over and must have seen the same.

“You want to head home soon?” she asked. I nodded.  We waited for the ladies to return from the line-up.  Then we said our goodbyes.  I collected a long hug from Tamara and saw her speaking softly with Summer while I was getting goodbye hugs from Mei-Ling, Sherri, Rochelle, and Bambi.  After that, we were back in Summer’s 4x4, driving through the dark.  We rode in silence until we were halfway home.

“Tamara said that Angie called,” Summer said, breaking the stillness.

“She did,” I admitted.  “She said she didn’t think she should be in a relationship right now, but that we could talk.  She also admitted she ran out too soon.”

“So there’s hope.”

“Yeah.  But it’s hard to feel that right now.  I feel pretty alone.”  Summer gave me a quick glance of concern before returning her eyes to the road.

“You’re not alone.”

“I guess not,” I admitted.  I certainly hadn’t been alone tonight.  I was still a little dazed from all the female attention.

“In fact, Tamara and I think you should sleep in my bed tonight,” Summer stated.  “Just sleep!” she quickly added.

“Why?” I asked.

“For the touch,” she said.  “It’s hard to feel really alone when we get enough touch.  At least that’s what Tamara says.”  I thought back to cuddling and kissing with Angie.  Then I thought further back to Tamara running her fingers over my scars.  She was right, I craved more touch.

“Okay,” I agreed.

We pulled into Summer’s place and parked near the barn.  She went to check on her horses while I got ready for bed.  I took some aspirin and water to try to ward off any hangover.  When I heard Summer moving around her room, I wandered in wearing an old t-shirt and clean boxers as pajamas.  Summer was nude, just finishing washing up.  She took one look at me and shook her head.

“Lose the shirt and shorts, John.  We’re skin to skin tonight.”  I was startled, but her look was firm.  I stripped off my clothes and threw them in a corner.  Summer turned off the lights and we crawled into bed.

I could feel the stirrings of an erection, but with the fatigue, I was only semi-hard.  Summer ignored it.  Instead, she curled up with her head on my shoulder, one leg hooked across me.  We didn’t speak.  I just lay there, feeling her warmth.

After a while, I was starting to fade towards sleep.  Summer rolled to her side and I began to spoon her, one arm held in hers between her breasts, my cock nestled against her ass.  It didn’t feel sexual at all.  More nurturing than anything.  I slowed my breathing to relax some more.  In the end, sleep took me away.

--fin--
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