My name is Maxi McConnell and I live a double life. Don’t worry. It’s not nearly as nefarious as it sounds. It’s more a simple case of perfection vs. reality. The Perfect Maxi is just that… perfect. Impeccable clothes, immaculate hair and make-up, topped off by a sparkling personality. The Real Maxi…not so much.
I’ve happily played the role of Perfect Maxi for Thomas Graham, my sexy attorney boyfriend over the last several months. But something happened recently that sent our relationship careening into uncharted territory. It seems Thomas doesn’t want Perfect Maxi, he wants Good Girl Maxi. The only problem is I’m not sure how Real Maxi fits into the equation, or if she does at all.
Read Chapter One - Here
Read Chapter Two - Here
Read Chapter Three- Here
Read Chapter Four - Here
Read Chapter Five - Here
The Good Girl
By Fiona Summerville
Chapter Six
Thomas had given me one week. The
gauntlet had been tossed, the ultimatum issued, and it was time for me to either
give him a safeword or fade into the ether. And, to be honest, right now a trip
around the universe with or without a spacesuit was looking pretty good.
Have I mentioned yet that I don’t
respond well to pressure?
Real Maxi was slowly clawing her
way back to the surface. Thick, unruly golden waves that refused to be tamed by
any sort of clip had replaced Perfect Maxi’s sleek and shiny flat ironed hair,
and her floral and frills sundresses had given way to Real Maxi’s favorite buttery
soft, well-worn jeans. Good Girl Maxi, the one I never knew existed until
Thomas came along, was fast becoming BFFs with Real Maxi and the two of them huddled
around the computer as they visited a bevy of online sex toy shops picking out
fur-lined cuffs, nipple clips and blindfolds as they planned ways to break
Thomas’ rules in order to maximize the benefits, erm…punishments. And, while
all this was going on, poor Perfect Maxi sat balled up in a corner, rocking
herself and humming “I Feel Pretty.”
In short, I was a mess.
Thomas and I had met up earlier in
the week. We’d gone to dinner and a movie one night, and a jazz concert at the
Museum of Contemporary Art on another. He didn’t ask me about safewords, and I
didn’t offer. He didn’t seem fazed by my appearance either. In fact, he seemed
to like it. His hand had taken up residence in the back pocket of my jeans as
we walked through the museum, and on more than one occasion, he’d reached over and
wrapped one of my errant waves around his finger, giving it a playful tug
before releasing it with a wink and a wry grin.
I should have been ecstatic by Thomas’
apparent acceptance of Real Maxi, but I wasn’t. She had always been my ace in
the hole when it came to breaking things off with a guy. I’d let them get to
know Perfect Maxi, but if they started to get too cozy, I’d give them a glimpse
of the real me. Not that the real me is all that bad, mind you, but the
deception and subsequent revelation was usually enough for them to break off
the relationship without much drama. They would just stop calling, and I could
once again let my guard down. It was a familiar pattern and one in which I
found an odd sort of comfort.
Unfortunately, that modus operandi
wouldn’t work if Thomas actually liked the real me, would it? I wouldn’t be
able to force his hand as I’d done with so many others. The break, if there was
to be one, would have to come from me. I just didn’t know if I could do it. My
heart ached at the thought of how boring life would be without him, and, now
that it was open, I wasn’t sure I would ever be able to close the door of dark
desires he had unlocked.
So, I stewed. And I pondered. Evenings
found me at home researching Thomas’ seductive world, and by the end of it all,
I’d lay in bed touching myself as all the things he’d promised to do flickered through
my mind like a Super Eight porno.
If
you’re late again, I will spank you.
If
you go behind my back, I will tie you down.
If
you look at porn, I will clamp your clit.
His words resonated deep within me.
I knew these were not just idle threats. He would make good on them. Hell, to a
certain extent he already had. And, God help me, I wanted more. Still, an odd foreboding
managed to seep in tainting my desires with fear and uncertainty. Reasons why I
should not follow Thomas down the path he was forging ricocheted through my
mind like a ball in a Pachinko machine, colliding and warring with the
overwhelming sensations his promises elicited. I was terrified of giving in and
losing myself to him. If I did, what would happen to me if…no, when he eventually
discarded me for a new, more willing girl?
The real me wasn’t enough. She
never would be, especially for someone like Thomas.
***
When Saturday arrived, I was in
hyper-drive. Thomas needed an answer. Either I gave in, or I moved on. But, I
still hadn’t made a decision. One moment found me quivering with anticipation
of what delicious things might happen if I gave him my safeword, the next I
wanted to jump online to book a flight for Rio and never look back.
So I did what I do best; ignore the
problem at hand by distracting myself with the mundane. I read, dusted, washed
dishes, and reorganized my closet. I even braved the blustery October weather multiple
times trekking to and from the laundry room. It was on my last trip from the
laundry room that I heard my phone chiming, alerting me to a new voicemail.
Rushing over to the coffee table where I’d left it, I dropped the laundry
basket on the sofa as I picked up the phone. My heart skipped. Thomas had
called and left a message. No! Leave me
alone! It’s too soon. I still have a few more hours to think!
Groaning, I tossed the phone onto
the sofa, picked up the laundry basket and started to walk down the hall towards
my bedroom only to stop. Heaving a heavy sigh, I turned and walked back to the
living room. I silently cursed the voicemail function as I reached for the
phone and retrieved Thomas’ message.
Hi baby, I’m still at the office. I hate to do this, but can we move… (long static, garbled
message)…meet…(static)…at three…(more static)…I have a surprise …(still more static)…and
tomorrow afternoon? See you…(static) baby.
My shoulders sagged as relief
washed over me. From what I could make out, Thomas would be working late, so he cancelled our date until the following afternoon. Hallelujah!
I had one more day to avoid the unavoidable. I was giddy. I had the overwhelming urge to break into a happy dance right in the middle of my living room, but instead called
Kendall and arranged to meet her at The Three Clubs Lounge later that night. I been given a reprieve, albeit
temporary, and I wasn’t going to waste a moment of it.
***
Later that evening, I blew into
Three Clubs, ready to party. As I bellied up to the bar for a drink, I spotted
Kendall across the room and waved. Kendall grinned and gave me the thumbs up,
clearly pleased that Real Maxi had come out to play. My hair was a riot of soft
waves, and I was rocking a leather mini skirt with a sheer black blouse, and my
favorite skyscraper high Christian Louboutins that had cost me a month’s pay. I
knew I looked good, but more importantly I felt
good. For once in a very long time, I felt good being me. No caricature. No
pretense. Just me.
That realization helped me make the all important decision that had weighed me down
all week. I was going to come clean with Thomas. Show him the real me. He
deserved the truth, and so did I. While being far from perfect, I was generally
a good person. People thought I was smart, funny, and quirky. Definitely quirky. If Thomas accepted
the flawed, not so perfect Maxi, then and only then, would I give him my safeword.
Drink in hand, I moved away from
the bar and started walking towards Kendall when I bumped into my ex-boyfriend Eric.
“Hey Maxi! How’s it going?”
“It’s good, Eric. Great, actually.
What brings you this far East? You rarely make it past La Cienega.”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I just
felt like trying someplace different.”
“Well, it’s just me and Kendall.
You’re welcome to join us if you’d like.”
“Sure! Hey, happened with that guy
you told me about? Did you give him your safeword?” He winked and gave me a
nudge with his elbow.
“Not yet. I’m supposed to tomorrow.”
“I guess that means no more vanilla
lattes, huh?”
Rolling my eyes at his comment, we
walked to join Kendall on the sectional she had scored in the far corner of the
bar. Eric sat, and planted a friendly kiss on Kendall’s cheek in greeting. We took turn buying rounds and by the fourth, Kendall was on a quest to find Eric the perfect girl. He played along, but I knew nothing would come of it. He had more quirks than I did and it would take a very special woman to accept him for himself and not set out to change him. Besides, he really didn't need our help finding a woman. The man was sex on a stick when he wanted to be.
When Eric left us to order another
round, Kendall took the opportunity to dish on her kinky neighbors’
latest tryst. She was just getting to the juicy part when she paused mid-story,
her eyes growing wide as they came to rest on something or someone behind me. I
gave her a quizzical look watching her down what was left of her martini in one
gulp.
“Maxi, I thought you said that
Thomas was working tonight.”
“He is.”
“Well, then his twin just walked in
and he's coming this way.”
My head snapped in the direction
Kendall was looking. Sure enough, that was Thomas, and he was winding his way
through the crowd toward us. Crap!
I’d obviously screwed up and misinterpreted his message. Why hadn’t I called
him back to confirm? And, how did he know I was here?
His dark gaze raked over me, but
instead of the smoldering heat I usually felt, a chill coursed through my body.
The hard line of his jaw told me he wasn’t pleased.
“Good evening, Kendall. Maxi…I take
it you didn’t get my message?”
“I did! I mean, I thought I did.
The message you left was garbled. It was a bad connection. I thought you were
cancelling until tomorrow afternoon. How did you know I was here?”
His brow arched and he cocked his
head to the side as he considered the plausibility of my excuse. Just then,
Eric returned with drinks in hand and brushed past Thomas without a second
glance as he set two martini glasses and a shot glass down on the ottoman in
front of us.
“Here you go, lovelies. Two dirty
martinis for two very dirty girls.”
Eric plopped down next to me and
playfully nipped at the air just millimeters from my ear. I locked eyes with
Thomas, silently pleading for him not to jump to conclusions. His jaw clenched for
a moment then relaxed, giving way to a tight smile. Clearing his throat, he
extended his hand to Eric.
“Thomas Graham.”
Eric glanced over at me and smirked
then sat forward in his seat, extending his hand. “Eric Walker. It’s nice
to meet you, Thomas. Maxi’s told me a lot about you.”
“Has she now?”
“Oh yeah.”
Oh
Lord, just take me now.
Eric snorted as he picked up the
shot glass and tossed back the contents. “Dude, let’s just say the lady
overthink-ith too much.”
Kendall smacked Eric on the shoulder
as she tried to stifle a giggle. I shot her a furious glance which only made
her giggle more. Thomas’ eyes shifted from onyx to sapphire as he fought back
a grin. He held out his hand to me before finally letting the grin break loose.
“I have noticed that. If you two
don’t mind, I’d like to get Maxi alone. Come on, baby. Let’s go home. We need
to talk.”
Placing my hand in his, he pulled me up
of the couch. Kendall and Eric were both waving me off and
giggling like fools. Big help they were. A heavy sigh of resignation escaped my lips as I followed the path Thomas cut through
the crowd to the front door and we walked in silence to his car.
Thomas opened the passenger side
door and waited for me to climb in before leaning in to fasten my seatbelt. I
swallowed down the knot that had formed in my throat. He’d seen me – the real
me. I’d screwed up, essentially blown him off to go out with friends, and was
still taking me home. Did I dare believe he might really want to be with Real
Maxi? I sighed softly, drinking in the comfort of his nearness and all my remaining doubts evaporated.
My heart did a little flip flop as his
hand drew away from the seatbelt latch and grazed across my lap. I inhaled
sharply and he paused, turning his head so that his lips were little more than
a whisper above mine.
“I really hope you have a safeword
picked out, baby. I think you’re going to need it tonight.”
***
I woke up just then.
Staring at the ceiling, slowly
unwinding fantasy from reality.
There’d been no movies or concerts
at MOCA. No Three Clubs with Kendall or Eric.
I hadn’t seen Thomas since the night
he’d issued his ultimatum. I’d done what I've done so many times before; faded off into the ether without even so much as
a goodbye.
And in that moment, as the veil of
my dream finally lifted, I realized I’d made the biggest mistake of my life.
Oh wow grat story i was on the edge of my seat!! But i wish it hadnt been a dream....
ReplyDeleteWas that really all just a dream??
ReplyDeleteJust wait... :-)
ReplyDelete