Bought and Paid For
Six
Six
Dinner was very good; Hunter’s chefs were clearly worth the money he was spending on them. They started with asparagus soup with hot fresh bread for the men, a bowl of fresh mussels cooked in garlic for Evelyn, who was delighted that Hunter had remembered she didn’t like asparagus. Somehow, even when eating with her fingers, using one mussel-shell as a pair of oversized tweezers to tug the rest out of their shells, she managed to look refined and elegant, and didn’t let eating interfere with her animated conversing on everything from which mascara was best to carburettors to holidays in Caribbean islands to the intricacies of the stock market.
Jade tried to pay attention while concentrating on eating his soup without dripping any down his shirt or knocking anything over, but every now and then out of the corner of his eye he’d catch a flash of pale creamy flesh between the tops of her stocking and the hem of her dress that rode up her thigh every time she shifted position and he found it disturbingly distracting.
“Yes, but you’d have to refurnish! The van Holde’s have terrible furniture! And they have no airstrip! Just that silly helipad.” Evelyn’s voice cut into Jade’s mild daydreaming and with a jolt he realised that the table conversation wasn’t about buying holidays on Caribbean islands, but about buying the islands themselves.
“Yes but they have all those acres of pasture.” Adam’s voice, though quiet, was firm and thoughtful.
“Oh yes, that reminds me, I bought that bay stallion from Levy. Sorry, forgot to tell you.” Evelyn stretched in her chair, the hem of her dress rising ever further. Jade snapped his eyes away, focussing on Davey at the other end of the table.
“A new horse Evie? Don’t you have enough already?” Davey laughed, this was obviously an in-joke between them.
Adam smiled exasperatedly at his wife. “How much?”
Evelyn licked mussel-juice off her fingers. “One twenty.” Jade blinked. That seemed very cheap for a horse, and these certainly weren’t cheap people.
Adam nodded. “Not too bad then, only twenty grand more than we agreed…” He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and smiled across at Jade who had finally caught up and was trying to imagine firstly just having a hundred and twenty thousand dollars – and then spending it on a horse like it was nothing more than a newspaper.
A second wine was brought round with the second course, venison for Adam and Hunter, swordfish for Jade and Evelyn, nut roast for Davey. Conversation flowed as they ate. Jade was finishing his third glass, nerves making him thirsty, when he felt a socked foot caress his calf. The anonymous, purposeful touch nearly made him choke on his mouthful and he forced himself to keep still. Hunter was on his right and Adam directly opposite him, he couldn’t tell which one of them it was: both seemed absorbed a heated discussion about rival sports teams.
The foot slid smoothly further up his leg and Adam suddenly fixed Jade with a penetrating gaze that lasted just a moment longer than was civil. At the same time, Hunter shifted in his seat and glanced between the two of them. Jade’s guts twisted with fear and excitement. The waiter topped up his wine and he took a large mouthful, trying to hide the tremble in his hands.
Dessert was lemon and orange sorbet, served with another wine. By now Jade was decidedly tipsy – having consumed more alcohol in an hour than he usually did in a week – and he found himself fascinated by the people around him. To his right, Hunter’s lips were wrapping round each spoonful he ate in a way that filled Jade’s imagination with intense images; Davey was in full flirt mode, eyes and smile flashing seductively across the table, oozing the promise of sex; Evelyn was still unintentionally flashing glimpses of thigh and breast every time she leaned forward and every now and then Adam would glance across the table and catch his eye in an intensely deep gaze. The anonymous foot was still softly stroking the side of his calf.
Jade swallowed, realising that he was working himself into a state inappropriate for a formal dinner party. He shifted uncomfortably, his pants now tight in the crotch, his blood pulsing through his veins. To his right, Hunter glanced at him with concern, noticing he looked pale. Under the table, he stretched out his hand and gripped Jade’s thigh, rubbing soothingly. Jade all but groaned, this was not helping his situation.
The waiters cleared the table and the guests stood, Hunter ushering them out the French windows to look at something he’d just added to the gardens. Trying to hide how drunk he felt, not to mention the bulge in his pants, Jade began to follow but was pulled back by Davey. “No no. You stay with me.”
Jade didn’t argue, in fact it was a relief to not have to walk anywhere. Standing up had made his head swim and he swayed on his feet. Davey jumped in alarm, helping him across to the now-bare table. With hidden strength, he lifted Jade up to sit on the table, his feet resting on the seat of a chair. “You okay?”
Jade nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m just… not used to wine.” He hiccupped.
“Aww, you’re cute.” Davey giggled, carefully helped Jade out of his jacket and made him lie back against the table, with the balled-up jacket under his head.
Jade shut his eyes, the change in position making a surge of alcohol rush to his brain. He heard Davey moving about somewhere to his left. The room spun a little. “Oh fuck…” He fretted; worried that Hunter would hate him for being so pathetically lightweight.
“Hah. Soon honey, soon.” Davey grabbed Jade by the wrists and pulled him up the table so that he was lying fully on it. Jade’s body was lax and he didn’t think to resist until after Davey had cuffed his wrists.
He opened his eyes to find that the lights had been dimmed, the room lit only by a pair of candelabras above him. “Wha…?” He turned his head to look for Davey, finding him changing the background music to something a bit heavier, wearing just his suit trousers. “What’s happening?” He struggled to sit up, cuffed hands slipping on the highly-polished wood.
Davey smiled evilly. “The entertainment.”
Dinner was very good; Hunter’s chefs were clearly worth the money he was spending on them. They started with asparagus soup with hot fresh bread for the men, a bowl of fresh mussels cooked in garlic for Evelyn, who was delighted that Hunter had remembered she didn’t like asparagus. Somehow, even when eating with her fingers, using one mussel-shell as a pair of oversized tweezers to tug the rest out of their shells, she managed to look refined and elegant, and didn’t let eating interfere with her animated conversing on everything from which mascara was best to carburettors to holidays in Caribbean islands to the intricacies of the stock market.
Jade tried to pay attention while concentrating on eating his soup without dripping any down his shirt or knocking anything over, but every now and then out of the corner of his eye he’d catch a flash of pale creamy flesh between the tops of her stocking and the hem of her dress that rode up her thigh every time she shifted position and he found it disturbingly distracting.
“Yes, but you’d have to refurnish! The van Holde’s have terrible furniture! And they have no airstrip! Just that silly helipad.” Evelyn’s voice cut into Jade’s mild daydreaming and with a jolt he realised that the table conversation wasn’t about buying holidays on Caribbean islands, but about buying the islands themselves.
“Yes but they have all those acres of pasture.” Adam’s voice, though quiet, was firm and thoughtful.
“Oh yes, that reminds me, I bought that bay stallion from Levy. Sorry, forgot to tell you.” Evelyn stretched in her chair, the hem of her dress rising ever further. Jade snapped his eyes away, focussing on Davey at the other end of the table.
“A new horse Evie? Don’t you have enough already?” Davey laughed, this was obviously an in-joke between them.
Adam smiled exasperatedly at his wife. “How much?”
Evelyn licked mussel-juice off her fingers. “One twenty.” Jade blinked. That seemed very cheap for a horse, and these certainly weren’t cheap people.
Adam nodded. “Not too bad then, only twenty grand more than we agreed…” He rolled his eyes good-naturedly and smiled across at Jade who had finally caught up and was trying to imagine firstly just having a hundred and twenty thousand dollars – and then spending it on a horse like it was nothing more than a newspaper.
A second wine was brought round with the second course, venison for Adam and Hunter, swordfish for Jade and Evelyn, nut roast for Davey. Conversation flowed as they ate. Jade was finishing his third glass, nerves making him thirsty, when he felt a socked foot caress his calf. The anonymous, purposeful touch nearly made him choke on his mouthful and he forced himself to keep still. Hunter was on his right and Adam directly opposite him, he couldn’t tell which one of them it was: both seemed absorbed a heated discussion about rival sports teams.
The foot slid smoothly further up his leg and Adam suddenly fixed Jade with a penetrating gaze that lasted just a moment longer than was civil. At the same time, Hunter shifted in his seat and glanced between the two of them. Jade’s guts twisted with fear and excitement. The waiter topped up his wine and he took a large mouthful, trying to hide the tremble in his hands.
Dessert was lemon and orange sorbet, served with another wine. By now Jade was decidedly tipsy – having consumed more alcohol in an hour than he usually did in a week – and he found himself fascinated by the people around him. To his right, Hunter’s lips were wrapping round each spoonful he ate in a way that filled Jade’s imagination with intense images; Davey was in full flirt mode, eyes and smile flashing seductively across the table, oozing the promise of sex; Evelyn was still unintentionally flashing glimpses of thigh and breast every time she leaned forward and every now and then Adam would glance across the table and catch his eye in an intensely deep gaze. The anonymous foot was still softly stroking the side of his calf.
Jade swallowed, realising that he was working himself into a state inappropriate for a formal dinner party. He shifted uncomfortably, his pants now tight in the crotch, his blood pulsing through his veins. To his right, Hunter glanced at him with concern, noticing he looked pale. Under the table, he stretched out his hand and gripped Jade’s thigh, rubbing soothingly. Jade all but groaned, this was not helping his situation.
The waiters cleared the table and the guests stood, Hunter ushering them out the French windows to look at something he’d just added to the gardens. Trying to hide how drunk he felt, not to mention the bulge in his pants, Jade began to follow but was pulled back by Davey. “No no. You stay with me.”
Jade didn’t argue, in fact it was a relief to not have to walk anywhere. Standing up had made his head swim and he swayed on his feet. Davey jumped in alarm, helping him across to the now-bare table. With hidden strength, he lifted Jade up to sit on the table, his feet resting on the seat of a chair. “You okay?”
Jade nodded. “Yeah. Yeah. I’m just… not used to wine.” He hiccupped.
“Aww, you’re cute.” Davey giggled, carefully helped Jade out of his jacket and made him lie back against the table, with the balled-up jacket under his head.
Jade shut his eyes, the change in position making a surge of alcohol rush to his brain. He heard Davey moving about somewhere to his left. The room spun a little. “Oh fuck…” He fretted; worried that Hunter would hate him for being so pathetically lightweight.
“Hah. Soon honey, soon.” Davey grabbed Jade by the wrists and pulled him up the table so that he was lying fully on it. Jade’s body was lax and he didn’t think to resist until after Davey had cuffed his wrists.
He opened his eyes to find that the lights had been dimmed, the room lit only by a pair of candelabras above him. “Wha…?” He turned his head to look for Davey, finding him changing the background music to something a bit heavier, wearing just his suit trousers. “What’s happening?” He struggled to sit up, cuffed hands slipping on the highly-polished wood.
Davey smiled evilly. “The entertainment.”