Interlude (39 page)

Soren and Ethan stumbled over the threshold
as they came in. “What is it about this place that you like so
much? It costs a fortune to stay here, and it looks like it was
left back in time.” Ethan teased.

“I told you, it's my sanctuary.” Karen said,
as she stood up to smooth out her tight, little black tube dress.
Right on cue, Cal stepped out of the bathroom and gave a cautious
look to the trio. Karen regarded him with a consoling smile and
said, “Oh honey, you're not wearing that are you?”

Cal got defensive and said, “Yeah, why? Isn't
this some kind of convention?”

Karen took in his outfit. He was wearing a
red tie and dress slacks. His white shirt was immaculately pressed,
and his pants were crisp and pleated. Soren chuckled quietly and
coughed, “NERD ALERT!” into his hand. Ethan smiled and gave Soren a
playful nudge.

Karen just shook her head and said, “I was
afraid of this, so I picked up an outfit for you before you flew
in.” She reached into her suitcase and threw him pants, a shirt,
and some shoes.

“Guys don't wear outfits babe. We just wear
clothes.” He said in his insecure voice.

Karen thought he was so cute when he was
vulnerable. “Is it clothing that matches?” She asked him with
authority.

“Well, I guess so.” He said in a
non-committal tone.

“Then it's an outfit. Now put it on,
otherwise you'll look like a tax accountant out there.” She
commanded.

“Fine fine! I'll go dress in the play clothes
that you bought me.” He grumbled as he went back in the
bathroom.

Karen turned to face the two men. “So, have
you boys been drinking already?” She asked in her maternal
voice.

“Jeeze mom, just a little.” Soren shot
back.

“I know we're all here to have fun, but we
still need to lasso some good hardware to make the trip worthwhile.
Especially since you both insisted on coming out here too.” She
said, glaring at both of them.

Cal stepped back out, and Karen turned to see
her man's alter ego. Her insides melted as she took in her new toy.
His pleated pants were switched out for khaki cargo pants that fit
over his black combat boots. The pants fit just snug enough to show
off his impressive package and tight ass, as he did a mocking
little turn for her. His shirt and tie were swapped out for a tight
fitting red muscle tee that showed off his impressive pecs and
tight, six pack abs like it was sprayed on him. She loved how he
squirmed under her appraising watch.

Her voice dripped with uncontrolled
sensuality as she said, “What's wrong babe? Aren't you
comfortable?”

“Not really. This shirt's a little tight.” He
said, while trying to pull it into place on his body. He looked at
her, and he must have just noticed her eyes. He fell silent and
just locked in on her like a guided missile. As his eyes left hers
and trailed up and down her body he said, “Goddamn, you look
great!”

Karen blushed at his awestruck compliment.
“Thanks baby. You still need something though.” She pursed her lips
and furrowed her brow in concentration, as she looked him over some
more. Reaching into her makeup bag, she loaded her palm with some
styling product and motioned him over. As she ran her fingers
through his hair, she could still feel his electric blue eyes
focusing on hers. “All done! NOW you look like you belong.” She
said, stepping back to take in his hot, rebellious new look.

Cal looked in the mirror. She had pulled his
hair into a sort of messed up faux hawk. He shrugged and said, “If
this is what you want, then it's what I'll wear.” He said, giving
her his famous knight's bow. “By the way, why are we dressed like
we're going clubbing if it's some kind of weapons convention?” He
asked her.

She ran her hand over his chest. As she felt
his nipple through the tight fabric she said, “That's because this
isn't a normal convention baby.”

Cal was nervous as hell as they all piled
into his black Aston Martin. Money wasn’t so much an issue anymore,
as he now had enough to buy one of these for each of Karen’s crew,
and his friends. He was just nervous about dealing with the snooty
attendant who rented it to him last week. If he scratched this
beautiful machine, it was his ass in a sling. He just didn't
understand why it bothered him so.

The drive out to the desert was tense and
weird, as Karen kept trying to lay her hands on him like he was
some kind of plaything. The weirdness was only magnified by Ethan
and Soren's childish protest at her public displays of
affection.

“Aw you two, get a room!” Ethan teased. His
Australian/Irish accent that much more pronounced by his
drinking.

Karen leveled a glaring look at him as they
came over one last hill. Cal watched as the cars on the side of the
road started to get closer together in an attempt to park
somewhere. “Well, it looks like we're here, so you don't have to
worry about it anymore.” She said in response to the teasing.

Cal looked up ahead as the event came into
view over the horizon. “What the hell...?” He said in a quiet,
confused voice.

Chapter 19

Cal wracked his brain for something to
compare this event to. Concert? No. Monster truck rally? No.
Fireworks show? No. This was something much different. There was an
energy that seemed to emanate from the center of this convolution
of light and sound that was like a solid mass. Even before he could
hear the booms and crashes of the music, he could feel it in the
cab of the car. In the middle of the massive gathering, there was a
large scaffolding setup that extended fifty feet into the night
sky. If he wasn't mistaken, there looked to be a DJ up there in a
large booth. There were large speakers mounted to point in every
direction also. This, of course, was all partnered up with the
endless rows of military hardware. There were a whole section of
tanks, a circular arrangement of old MIG fighter jets, and row
after row of light arms and assorted artillery arranged on tables
and under canopies. Cal’s attempts to survey the odd event were
hindered both by his fear of parking his car out here, and by
Karen's continued groping. Her touch continued to make parking that
much more difficult out in the dark, desert night.

“Well, are you happy now?” Cal asked her
rhetorically. He had just swapped paint with a white Bugatti Veyron
because of her distractions. His heart jumped into his throat as
the driver got out of the car to confront him! Cal got out, and
prepared his best apology for the guy. As he stepped over to the
short man, he could see that he was wearing a white tank top and a
mass of gold chains. The chains disappeared into a blooming of gray
chest hair that crept out the top of his shirt.

The little man regarded Cal with a broad
smile and thick accent and said, “Iz okay ked! I got two more back
at de house!” He punctuated his jovial statement with a hard kick
on the two million dollar super car, while Cal stood in shocked
silence. He then cackled loudly and strode off into the epicenter
of the event.

“See? No problem!” Karen said mildly as she
grabbed playfully at his cute ass. She turned to her crew and said,
“You guys know what to do. Don't get lost, and we'll meet here by
sunrise.”

“Okay mother.” Soren teased as he and Ethan
bounded off into the mass of party people bobbing and flowing under
the DJ scaffolding.

As they slowly strolled into the crowd, Karen
turned to face him. She took his hands in hers and brought them up
together as she looked in his eyes. “Babe, I just want you to know
that I love you. You're probably going to see some stuff here
that's kind of confusing and weird, but just go with it. I'll make
sure you stay out of the truly dangerous stuff.”

Cal felt his insides knotting up in anxiety.
“What are you talking about sweetie? How strange is this gonna be?”
He asked her.

“You'll see!” She said cheerily, holding his
hand as they walked toward the tumultuous celebration. Her odd
enthusiasm did nothing to slay his fears. Karen turned to him one
more time.

“Also, I need you to carry my phone. I left
my purse in the car, and it's not exactly like this outfit has
pockets.” She said.

Cal took in her appearance once more. His
brain couldn't process all of her hotness in one sampling while
they were still at the hotel. She was struggling to keep her tube
dress from slipping below her nipples, as it hugged her chest and
simultaneously tried to climb up over her ass as well. Her St.
Christopher medallion dropped into it quite nicely, as she reached
her foot up behind her to struggle with the strap of her heeled
sandals one last time. The black dress wrapped around her body like
it was some kind of second skin. In the oblique lighting from the
festivities he could make out her thong, and every other little
bump and dimple, underneath the thin stretchy fabric. Cal was faced
with the problem of being aroused all night long, and the problem
of batting other guys off her like she was playground
equipment.

“Hey babe, Hello? Are you still with us?” She
said, looking into his eyes as she teased him.

Cal shook his head comically, like a boxer
shrugging off a hard punch. “Can you tell me how it is you manage
to look so goddamn beautiful all the time?” He said with his
telltale, blazing eyes.

Karen looked up at him. Her guy, who had
somehow found a way to tolerate her strange life. Her heart
fluttered and skipped in her chest, as she pulled him into a
strong, forceful hug. Her hands balled into fists as she clenched
and sucked in a deep breath. He smelled divine! His body spray only
ended up mixing with his own essence. It created some kind of
powerful attractant that she knew would be impossible for her, or
any of the other girls at this event, to resist. She ran her face
over his chest, the tight t-shirt letting her watch his body
respond to her contact. His nipples both grew rock hard, and his
muscled chest and abs tightened and moved about as he returned her
embrace. How she wanted to just rip his shirt off and suck on those
nipples right now! She settled for running the tip of her index
finger over one of them while she bit her bottom lip. She let loose
a sinister giggle as he squirmed under her touch.

“What's wrong baby? You don't like this?” She
purred, looking up at his dark blue eyes. She continued her little,
candid assault on him as he closed his eyes and groaned quietly. He
tilted his head to the side, and fell under her strange power as
she stood on her tiptoes with his nipple between her thumb and
forefinger. Out of nowhere, he snapped his eyes open and grabbed
her wrists in his strong hands. He held her arms to either side of
her, the movement jutting her ample chest forward into his body.
She couldn't help but gasp at his quick little attack.

As Karen held her dark lips open in
astonishment, he leaned in close and ran his nose along the side of
her neck. “If you keep doing that, I'll have no choice but to fuck
you right here in front of everyone.” His voice was commanding and
deviant all at the same time. He would never do that. Would he? “Is
that what you want?” He asked. Karen's eyes were closed, and she
was currently trying to figure out how wet her undies really were
as her legs squirmed with uncontrolled arousal. “Answer me.” He
insisted, his whisper hoarse and breathy on her bare neck and
shoulders.

She opened her smoldering green eyes and
shook out of his grasp. As she turned her head to look at a cluster
of tanks she said, “I think if we do, you'll have to find another
place.” As they both stared, a couple of blond haired uber-aryans
were going at it like rabbits. The woman had her hands on the tank
tracks for balance as the man slammed his pelvis against her under
the flashing strobe lights.

Cal struggled with this new sight. Karen's
little public assault left him trying to find a place in his pants
to hide his rock hard manhood, as he followed to catch up to her.
His heart was racing, and his nipples were piqued and rubbing
against the synthetic fabric of that tight shirt she made him wear.
His nerves were set on edge as they descended into the celebration.
He grabbed her hand, and she gave his a firm squeeze in
affirmation.

She turned back to him and said, “One last
thing, you're the designated driver tonight.”

“Oh, okay.” Cal said. His voice was rising to
compensate for the incredibly loud music as they drew closer to the
epicenter of this weird event. Karen seemed completely in her
element, as she led him like a lost child. “One question, why is
this taking place at night, and in the middle of the desert?”

Karen yelled back to him, “This is
technically the closing event to the real convention. The official
name is 'Worldwide Surplus Armaments and Munitions Expo'. It draws
in requisitions specialists from all over the world to buy surplus
weapons and vehicles. The actual convention takes place on the
north side of the island, in a big facility that can house the
entire event. Us gun runners and collectors, who aren't associated
with a country or military, come to the closing ceremonies. This is
where we do a little buying and selling, and a lot of drinking. We
all use social networking sites to talk over the hardware specs
before we come here to buy stuff.”

Right on cue, they passed a large table that
was setup underneath a fighter jet. The table was completely
covered with every kind of liquor that ever existed. Cal looked up
at the looming guns and missiles on the bottom of the jet, as Karen
mixed herself a drink in a clear plastic cup. She turned and threw
Cal a Red Bull and said, “Here, you'll need this.”

Cal grabbed the can and motioned up to the
jet that was serving as the table's awning. “What kind of jet is
this?” He asked. He was never into war toys as a kid, so he felt a
little out of place asking a girl to explain things to him.