Shades of Shame (Semper Fi) (9 page)

Yet here she was, now having drinks on the balcony of a three star hotel with a five star name discussing unions with her mother.  Finally her mother turned the subject back to Logan.  It was only a matter of time; Leila knew that the conversation was far from over regarding what Patricia had heard downstairs, and then again in Leila’s bedroom, and once again in the shower.  She knew her mother cared little for personal relationships, but for once she actually felt like her mom was interested in her.  It struck her as odd that of all the accomplishments she’d made through the years, that her mother chose her having sex with Logan as worthy of discussion.  At the same time she was somewhat flattered that her mother cared about something Leila did at all.

“He’s a fine young man, really.  A perfect gentleman.  I trust you had a pleasant dinner at his house?”

Leila knew that her mother already had Logan’s version of it from Elise.  In fact, she was a little suspicious that her mother was so supportive; it made her wonder what her angle was.  She knew her mother very well, and she knew enough to know that her mother didn’t do anything off the cuff.  Every move, every dinner, every event was carefully planned and strategized.  She left nothing to chance, a trait she engrained in her from a very young age.

“It was very nice.  And yes, he was very much a gentleman,” Leila pursed her lips to indicate a smile.

“Not bad to look at, either,” Patricia added with a creepy grin.

“No Mother, he’s not.  In fact, he’s quite attractive.  Something that runs in the family, I suppose.”  She said it to gauge her mother’s reaction.  When Patricia barely lifted an eyebrow, she knew something else was afoot.  Perhaps her mother had a thing with the Senator.  She’d wondered that before.  Her mother travelled with him almost constantly, and it wouldn’t be too farfetched to believe they had a little thing going on.  Still, she doubted her mom would involve herself intimately with someone so close to her.  It wasn’t her ‘MO,’ but then again, she wouldn’t put anything past her.  Leila knew that Patricia and Elise had a very strong relationship.  Unlike Logan, she knew what ‘girl time’ meant.  It was the only relationship that her mother seemed to value.  It was the only reason she doubted her mother had ever slept with David McNarry…
unless it was a threesome thing?
 
Very complicated
, she thought,
and very risky
.

“I’m tired, Mother.  I think I’ll turn in.”

“Goodnight, Dear.”

*-*-*-*-*-*

She woke a little after 1:30 a.m.  Sleeping in a strange place was never something she was comfortable with.  Leila pulled on the cotton hoodie with the Boston College logo and decided to grab a drink in the lounge before last call.  The alcohol would soothe her aching crotch and possibly help her sleep.  She needed sleep so desperately, but Logan had raised the dead when he fucked her like he did.  Now all she could think of was sex; she’d tossed and turned in her hotel bed trying to satisfy herself.  It’d ended in a fit of frustration that did nothing but anger her.  Had he ruined her for everyone with his giant cock?  Even herself?

The bar was dark, empty and the bartender was placing the last of the chairs on top of the table.  “Already closed, huh?” she asked.

He shook his head, but took pity on her decided one last drink wouldn’t hurt.  Her bloodshot eyes and purple coloring indicated to him that a drink was crucial.  “Fix it in a to-go cup for you?”

“That would be great.  Vodka tonic, please.  On ice.”

He handed her the drink in the tallest plastic cup he could find, and she made her way out into the lobby and out the side door.  She sat on the concrete bench overlooking the ocean.  The moonlight shimmered on the calm waves.  She had barely relaxed when the voice came out of nowhere.

“Mind if I join you?”

She looked up to see the Senator standing next to her, his drink also in a plastic cup.  “Certainly,” she said, waving him over.

He sat beside her, staring out at the sea, intentionally not looking at her.  He knew she watched his every move.  “Guess I’m not the only one who can’t sleep.”

“I only sleep a couple of hours each night,” she said.  “Been that way for years.  I figured you’d be exhausted.”

“Nah… I’m fine.  Sorry about the other night.  Didn’t mean to interrupt you and Logan.”

“You didn’t interrupt anything, sir.” Leila studied his haphazard appearance.  She’d never seen him so casually dressed, in sweatpants and a polo shirt he looked twenty years younger.  His chest was broad in the cotton shirt, now she knew where Logan got his size.  The Senator was much shorter and certainly not as massively built, but the structure was there.  At one time he was probably as well built as his son.

“That’s not the way it looked to me,” the Senator said as he sat down on a wrought iron chair and leaned back with his drink in hand.

“Trust me, you didn’t.  Besides, it seems my mother and Mrs. McNarry are pushing Logan to take me out.  I don’t think he’s that into me.”

“I can’t say I agree with that assessment; I’ve never seen that look on his face before.  He’s been unusually chipper this week.  Sounds like someone has feelings.”

“He’s sweet, sir.  A perfect gentleman, but…”

“But what?”

“Not really my type, sir.”

“And what is your type?” he asked, turning his eyes towards Leila.

She swallowed hard, forcing the knot in her throat back into her stomach.  This was her chance, it was time for Leila to make her move and gather the Senator into her fold.  She chuckled, “I prefer my men…”

“Excuse me folks but I’m going to need to lock these doors.  I’m afraid you both will need to come inside now,” the bartender stood at the open glass door waiting for them.

“Well my dear, I hope to continue this conversation at a later date?” The Senator said as he rose from his chair.

“Absolutely sir.” Leila pulled the wisps of hair from her face that’d broken loose under the Hyannis breeze.

He held the door open for her as they entered the hotel lobby, as she walked past him he whispered lightly into her ear, “You really have grown into a stunning woman, Leila.”

She smiled to herself, “Thank you, Senator.” She downed the remainder of her drink and tossed the cup into the trash can just inside the door.

When the latch caught on her hotel room she could barely contain her joy.  She stepped inside and did a dance around the room.  It’d been an accident, but now she knew for a fact that the Senator had seen her bare bottom the other night in his office and hadn’t gotten it off his mind.  Step one was complete; she had the Senator’s attention.  She crawled into her bed, this time her fingers completed the job with ease.

Finding Your Shade

The unions in District 2 settled and the mediation was over in one day.  Monday, Senator McNarry’s office was back to normal.  Before Leila realized it was almost 6:00 p.m.  She stood up and noticed that the only other person left in the office was Lindsay, the Senator’s latest fling, and she seemed upset.  Leila didn’t think much of Lindsay; she was mousy looking girl with thick glasses and thick straight brown hair that needed a cut.  The girl was from some remote part of the Senator’s home state, and judging by her looks, it was the only tacky redneck town in Massachusetts.  Now the girl was constantly looking at her watch and then to lights on the phone on her desk.  “Damn!” she said.

“Everything alright, Lindsay?” Leila asked, not bothering her hide her irritation at the girl’s agitated actions.

“I’m supposed to meet my parents for dinner, but I still have to take this in to the Senator.  I thought he’d be off the phone by now.  My parents are waiting for me at the restaurant!”  She chewed her lip as she stared at the phone.  The red button that indicated the Senator’s main line was still brightly lit.

It seemed like the perfect opportunity Leila had been waiting for.  She’d been trying to get the Senator alone.  It wasn’t in her nature to help another intern, but Leila put on her best ‘empathetic’ face and said, “I’ll take it in for you, if you want.”

“I really appreciate it, but, I should probably do it,” the mousy girl said, chewing her lip again.

“I don’t mind,” Leila said, her mind already running in high gear. 
This was perfect
, she thought.

Leila snatched the stack of papers off Lindsay’s desk and headed down the hall to the Senator’s office.  She stopped halfway down the hall and turned back to Lindsay, “Oh, and Lindsay, happy birthday.”  She popped her pen behind her ear and left the mousy intern staring at her in silence as she knocked on the Senator’s office door.  Leila smiled to herself, it didn’t hurt to be nice to Lindsay on her birthday, and after all she was on her way in the office to steal her lover.

“Come in,” the gruff voice sounded from inside the office.  Leila stepped inside, closing the door snuggly behind her.

The Senator looked up at her with surprise.  “Where’s Lindsay?” he asked.

“It’s her birthday; she wanted to go have dinner with her parents.  I said I didn’t mind dropping this off for her.”

“I see.”  David pushed his chair back away from the desk and sized her up.  “Fine.  Come on in, it’ll give us a chance to talk,” he said with a smile.  “I suppose you think I’ve been avoiding you since you got here?”

“Oh… uh... no, I hadn’t noticed.”  She really hadn’t noticed, to her it seemed like every time she turned around he was there.  But she tried to act surprised with his sudden friendliness, maybe even a little sheepish.  It was a charade, but Leila knew how to get a man under her control and the Senator definitely needed to be controlled.  Adding the Senator’s rung to her ladder this early in her political career was the bonus she’d hoped for.  She walked across the room, acutely aware of the tightness of her skirt.  The summer sun had tanned her legs and she was glad she’d decided to forego stockings today.  She gave him a Paris Hilton style peek as she slid into the chair across from him casually.

David McNarry raised his eyebrows as she settled into his office chair with confidence.  It didn’t shock him that Patricia’s only daughter oozed sensuality; on the contrary, he would’ve been shocked if she didn’t.  He didn’t miss one single signal the young blonde sent him, but the fact that his manhood twitched at her presence annoyed him.  “So Leila, how’s your internship been so far?”

The buxom girl pulled the pen from behind her left ear and opened a leather notebook in her lap as if she was prepared to take notes.  But instead of writing, she toyed with the pen against her pink painted lips, “Umm… I think I’ve learned a great deal already, sir.”  Her voice seemed to hum against the pen as she spoke.

Son of a bitch!
 
She’s coming on to me!
  He leaned back in his deep leather chair and enjoyed the view of her, even though he knew he shouldn’t.  “Good to hear Leila, I’m glad we could offer you a summer internship.  Your mother is my most trusted advisor; without her I’d be selling shoes at the mall.  That woman’s a campaign mastermind, I swear,” he continued.  “When she asked me to offer you an internship it occurred to me that we should expect great things from you in the future!”

Leila nodded politely, “Thank you, Senator, for giving me this opportunity,” her tongue flicked against the pen as she spoke.

“You’re quite welcome, dear.  I suspect you’re going to make us all quite proud.”  David was struggling to maintain some sense of office formality as he watched her uncross and cross her lengthy calves.  Damn she was hot!

“I hope so, Senator.  Is there anything else I can do for you?”

David nodded, “Yes Leila, would you mind closing those curtains and pour me a scotch?”  He just wanted to examine her and she knew it.  She stood and took careful note of the sway of her hips as she walked in front of him.

“So Leila, I saw you having lunch the other day with that intern, the guy.  What’s his name again?”

She pulled the heavy curtains closed against the Washington skyline.  The sky outside was already pink the setting sun, typical of a hot summer evening.  “Dan Dougherty, Senator.  He’s from South Boston.

“I see,” David smiled and studied her as she poured from the decanter.  “Feel free to pour yourself a drink too, Leila.”

Leila nodded, “Thank you, sir, I think I will.”  She poured straight vodka for herself and carried both drinks back to his desk.

She slid like silk behind him, and reached provocatively around his shoulder to set the drink on the desk before him.  That confirmed it in David’s mind; she was coming on to him!  He couldn’t help feeling flattered and he certainly couldn’t help the stiffness in his crotch as her sensual scent crept so close to him.  “So is there anything between you and this Dan fellow?”

Leila smiled to herself as she walked back around his desk and settled into the chair with her vodka. 
I have him asking about my personal life already!  Damn I’m good
.  “Senator, you can be assured that Dan Dougherty is not my type!”

“What about Logan?  I’ve heard your mother and my wife practically planning your wedding.”

She sipped her vodka daintily, “Sorry sir, Logan isn’t my type either.”

The complicated office phone lit up on his desk; he gazed at it with curiosity.  “Should I answer it?” he asked.

“It is
your
phone, Senator,” Leila said blankly.  Clearly it’d been a long time since the man had answered his own office phone without the call having been screened first.

David studied the blinking phone; it was probably some constituent who had a beef to report.  If he answered it there was a strong chance he’d be on the phone for a long time.

“It will switch over to voice mail after the next ring, sir,” Leila raised her eyebrows as if to ask him if he was going to answer it or not.  If he answered it she’d know he wasn’t interested in her… if he didn’t…
well then this night could become interesting pretty fast!

She stared at him, waiting for his decision.  The phone stopped blinking and David McNarry lifted his head and his eyes narrowed in on her, “You were telling me what your type of man was.”