Desert Trading Post Read online

  I said, “You mean that thing about, you know, coming up behind you?”

  She grinned and said, “You do remember! Great. OK, is this all we need?”

  I said, “We need drinks, snacks, and some ice for my little cooler in the back of the car. It runs on electricity too, but we could use some ice. And, Courtney, do we need, you know, condoms?”

  Courtney squeezed my arm, pressing her breast against and said, “No, we don’t need condoms. We’re riding bareback all the way. If we are going to live out of the same luggage, I’m certainly not letting you separate our bodies by wearing condoms. And there’s no need. Trust me, OK?”

  I said, “I trust you. Hell, you know better than I do in that regard. Is there anything else you want?”

  She said, “Let me think. Yeah, one thing. No, three things. Let’s get a cart and buy the snacks first.”

  We loaded up a few things that we each liked and Courtney headed us back to the women’s clothing section.

  She said, “First I want a skirt. Something short. Here, one of these. Pick a color.”

  I chose yellow. It was very short. It was ruffled, not tight. It was something for a summer day, not a night club. I didn’t know just how much of her it was going to show, but it was going to be a lot.

  She said, “You really like yellow, don’t you?”

  I said, “I think it looks good with your hair.”

  She said, “OK. Cool. I don’t have to try it on. I could take you into the changing room with me, but we don’t have to. Now, over here. A T-shirt. I loved wearing yours, but I want one that turns you on. One of these. Hey, yellow or pink?”

  I said, “With a yellow skirt, pink for sure!”

  She said, “I do like your sense of color. I’ve been wearing black and red and gold for so long that I’ve forgotten that there are other colors. I like this.”

  I said, “Um, these are for teens and petites.”

  She said, “Maybe so, but the relevant point is that these are tight. I want tight and tiny. You deserve it. And now that I think about it, I want another bra. Come over here.”

  The bras that she led us to were soft lace and looked like they were a match for the panties that she was wearing. They wouldn’t be much support, but really, she didn’t need much.

  She picked up a pink one and checked the size and then looked at another. She found the size she wanted on the third try.

  She said, “This will stretch. And be comfortable. I could even sleep in this.”

  I said, “Is that the three things you needed?”

  She said, “No, the bra was an afterthought. I need a nightie. I love your shirts, but a girl wants a nightie, too.”

  Courtney led me to a rack and started looking for what she wanted. She held up a yellow, soft lace chemise the had a band around the neck and no back and straps down the front. The top was like a halter top, but far softer and stretchier than something than a woman would wear outdoors. The bottom was a short skirt that would have to stretch over her hips and probably wouldn’t come down more than a few inches below her crotch.

  She said, “What do you think?”

  I said, “I think I’m going to pass out.”

  She grinned and said, “Then you won’t mind buying me two of them,” and she chose a second one in white.

  Then she smiled and said, “Fortunately, I am going to get to have to try these on. There won’t be a way to return them if they are the wrong size and we’re on the road.”

  I gulped and said, “You mean with me in the dressing room with you?”

  I was pretty sure that these nightgowns were going to have a swelling effect on me.

  She took my arm and said, “Of course. I can’t be alone, remember?”

  I said, “Courtney, do you really have to? We could get in trouble.”

  She said, “I need your help. It’s perfectly fine. They have to let us go in together. It’s probably the law.”

  I said, “Um, not that. I mean, I’m already kind of aroused and if you plan to let me see you, and them on you, I think that maybe we’ll want to…touch each other and stuff. I can keep my eyes closed, I guess, but if you tease me, I’ll have a problem.”

  Courtney frowned and then laughed.

  She said, “Babe, the whole reason for trying them on was so that we could get me naked and get you to play with me! But I think you’re right. We better not. I’m glad that you have some self-control in this area. I don’t seem to have any filters right now. And it’s not because of the porn. I feel freer now than I ever have in my whole life. But, no, I don’t really have to try these on. I do want them though.”

  I said, “Hell yeah. Hey, what about a bathing suit? I was planning to stay some places with pools, but there might be less selection there than here.”

  Courtney smiled and said, “OK, that sounds sweet, but Dave, I will have to try those on. But I’ll be good. Come on, they are over here.”

  We went to the swimsuit section and Courtney found her size. She had slim but wonderfully shapely hips, and she had to buy bikini tops and bottoms separately, obviously needing a larger top.

  She said, “One piece or two. Both of these would work.”

  I said, “Yeah, they work for me. Hey, my motto is, why choose? Buy them both.”

  Courtney grinned and said, “Well, OK! Let’s!”

  She marched us to the changing rooms and rang the bell to call someone to let us in. The girl that came looked askance at me, but Courtney announced confidently that she needed my help and that I had to assist her in the room. The girl quickly backed down in her attitude and held the door while we stepped inside.

  She said, “I’ll be right out here if you need anything.”

  I think it was a warning not to engage in any hanky-panky in her department.

  Courtney was all business. She stripped quickly and tried on each suit. They were both beautiful and very sexy. The one-piece especially. It was very high cut and fairly small in the back. It wasn’t a thong, but it was narrow and showed her butt beautifully. The bikini top had no straps. Just a band and a twist and cups that covered a minimum of flesh. Before we left the room, when she was naked, before putting her other clothes back on, Courtney grabbed my hand and made me squeeze one of her breasts, just because we could.

  We were back at the car about ten minutes later. I took a minute to put the ice and drinks in the cooler, and then we were on our way. Courtney stopped me before we made it all the way out of the parking lot and made me go back so that she could throw a few things from her old purse in a trash can. Then she figured that a store employee would never look in the store’s garbage and threw away the rest at the same time.

  Then we went back into the store again and bought her a disposable phone. From now on, we’d make lists and avoid having to go back several times because we’d forgotten something.

  We’d been in the store for about an hour. We had an hour until the banks would open. I wanted breakfast and so did she.

  We elected to eat at a chain restaurant that specialized in pancakes. I didn’t really like pancakes, but they served other things.

  Partway through our meal, Courtney pushed back in her seat and stopped eating.

  She looked at me and said sadly, “Dave, I’m a bad person.”

  I said, “What do you mean? How?”

  She said, “Lisa. I just realized what I was doing. I didn’t know it at the time. I thought I was just playing with her and doing something fun for her. And it was fun for her. That’s the point. Dave, I was recruiting her. I’m so bad. I didn’t even know what I was doing. I can see the whole plan now. I’m so bad. First, make her feel sexy. Then make her feel pretty. Then get her naked. Then get her comfortable being naked with us. Then get her to have sex. Then tell her that she can make some money. It won’t be scary, just us and a camera. Dave, I’m evil.”

  She was crying now, but she continued, “I don’t want to do that. Sure, I wanted to make her feel sexy, and even get her naked with
us and fuck her to a nice orgasm, but not take her down that road. It’s such a slippery slope. But I think I wouldn’t have known where to stop. And what if she went out and tried it with someone else and some abusive boyfriend sold her into sex? I should shoot myself. I’m a monster!”

  I said quietly, “Courtney, are you done eating?”

  She nodded weakly and I left cash on the table and took her out to the car. In the parking lot, after I’d gotten her into her seat, I tried to calm her down. But I was going to tell the truth.

  I said, “Courtney. Listen to me for a minute. First, nothing happened. You gave Lisa a fantasy to think about. Unless you push her into it, going into porn will never occur to her. I doubt that you did any damage to her. Not yet. And I’ll even entertain the idea that maybe it was somehow good for her. Were you honest about that?”

  Courtney looked up at me and said, “I think so. As long as that’s as far as it ever went. Yeah. I think it was fun for her and gave her something that she’d never had before. An erotic adventure. That wouldn’t hurt her. Not unless I got her to do pictures and stuff.”

  I said, “So, think it through. I know that you could have done exactly what you are saying. I believe that you could get her to become Amber. You probably could take her under your wing and mentor her and eventually get her to do anything that you, or anyone else, wanted. But will you?”

  Courtney yelled, “No! But Dave, what if I do?”

  I said, “What do you mean? Amber is gone, how could you?”

  She said, “It’s blurry. I don’t know where my own desires for fun and adventure and curiosity and the need to show Lisa a wonderland that I’m experiencing now ends and it crosses over into porn. Dave, do you know what porn really is? It’s a lie. From top to bottom, everyone is lying. From the people watching it, to the people in it, to the people promoting it. It’s all evil lies. We’re lied to when we get into it. You are lied to when you watch it. And the people running it lie to themselves and everyone else. And if I hadn’t stopped, I would have lied to Lisa and myself and to you!”

  I let her sit for a minute, quietly alone with her thoughts.

  She said calmly, “Dave, do you understand how it lies to you? From top to bottom? It tells you that the kind of sex that you are watching is possible in the real world, and for the most part, for most people, it never is. It tells you that the things that you see on the screen are real and out there waiting. It tells you that the girls on the screen are sweet and happy and loving everything that they are doing and that they’d love to do it with you. In some cases, it tells you that it’s OK to mistreat and even torture women.”

  I said, “Courtney, I never watched that kind.”

  She said, “I believe you. But people do. And the girls who do it are abused, just like I was. Sometimes they don’t even know it. I’m not even saying you have to stop watching it. We’re lying and you know we’re lying, and we watch the lies because it’s fun. We call it fantasy. Hell, we need fantasy. But if you look at the truth, it’s not all fun behind the scenes. Yeah, many of us go into it willingly. But it never ever really works out well for us in the long run. Most of us get ruined. And the rest of our lives are just coping. Amber’s happy ending with her high school beau on a farm in Kansas is a fantasy.”

  I said, “But Courtney, what about you?”

  Courtney looked deeply at me for several seconds and said, “Honestly? Dave, I got the miracle package. A knight in shining armor that truly did rescue me from the dragon. A good man who is going to be my dream lover. A guy who might never need porn because I’m going to be everything that he could ever want emotionally and sexually from a partner. I won the jackpot and so did you. I want my old life back, but with you, not with Tim.”

  I said, “I feel that way too. This is a dream come true. A dream that I never had.”

  Courtney said, “Let’s go to the bank. I want to end this.”

  Chapter 7 - Stewardship

  I patted her leg and we started the car. Courtney used the same bank that I did. It was only a few blocks away.

  As we walked through the doors, Courtney started toward the tellers, but I caught her and said, “Sweetie, let me take the lead on this.”

  I moved in the direction of the comfy chairs outside the cubicles where the personal banking assistants sat; the people who’d open new accounts and handle special requests, that kind of thing.

  I whispered, “Sweetie, you look beautiful.”

  Courtney smiled and relaxed a bit more.

  Very quickly, a banker came out to greet us.

  He said, “Hello, can I help you with something?”

  I stood up and helped Courtney to her feet and said, “Yes, we need to make some changes to a few accounts.”

  He said, “I can help you with that. Step into my office and we’ll take care of it.”

  He led us to his desk and Courtney and I sat facing him.

  He said, “Now, what can I help you with?”

  I pulled out my ATM card and said, “Would you pull up my accounts and start by getting me a balance on my checking account?”

  I put the card into the reader on his desk and typed in my ID number. I didn’t really care about my balance, but I wanted him to see who I was before he looked at Courtney’s accounts.

  He looked at his computer screen and quickly said, “Ah, Mr. Raskin. Thank for letting us help you today. Let me get that balance for you.”

  I said, “You know what, I have a close enough idea of how much is there. Don’t bother.”

  The man said, “As you wish. So, how can I help you?”

  I knew that I had a lot of money in several accounts. The bank always treated me like a VIP. Courtney probably got special favors at times because of her looks. I got special treatment at the bank because of how much they valued my business.

  I smiled and said, “I appreciate your help this morning. Thank you very much for taking the time with us. To start with, we want to close out some accounts that my partner has, related to a business that we are retiring. I don’t think that there’s much left in the accounts, but we want to make sure that everything is paid off and that the accounts get closed. We won’t be opening new accounts today, but we have some business on my accounts as well.”

  He said, “Certainly, Sir. Do you have the account information?”

  I handed Courtney her ATM and credit card and she handed them to the banker.

  He said, “If you will go ahead and put the ATM card in the reader and type in your ID, please, we’ll take a look.”

  Courtney did as instructed and the man took a look at his screen.

  I said, “So, first the credit card. Is there enough in the other accounts to pay it off in full? If not, we’ll transfer money from one of my accounts.”

  The man said, “The credit card balance is $312.81. The checking account has $640.77.”

  I said, “Courtney, is that what you want?”

  She said, “Yes. Pay off the credit card and close the account.”

  The man clicked a few buttons and said, “You can close the account by calling the number of the back of the card.”

  Now, Courtney understood what we were doing and why we were with a banker, not a teller. She had been in business before her divorce. This was Courtney, not Amber. The banker could facilitate this and save us some time and effort if he chose to. She just had to ask him to do it.

  She smiled and said, “Thank you, Joseph. But if you could get them on the phone for me and make sure it all goes smoothly, Mr. Raskin and I would appreciate it. I don’t want to talk to the accounts retention department. It’s important for business reasons that this card be closed and I will be very grateful for your help in facilitating that.”

  She wasn’t flirting with him at all. This was all business. This was the kind of thing that he routinely did for people with money or people who just needed extra help.

  The man, Joseph, said, “Yes Ma’am. I can help with that. Give me one moment.”
/>   He made a phone call and said, “Thanks. This is Joseph in branch number,” and he gave the information for the bank and his employee number.

  He said, “I have a client that wants to close out a card related to a business and we would like to bypass account retention protocols. Good. The card number is,” and he gave the person on the other end of the phone the information.

  He said, “Just one moment.”

  He handed the phone to Courtney and she listened for a minute and said, “Yes. That’s the card. Yes, I want to close the account. Thank you. OK, here he is.”

  She handed the phone back to Joseph and he acknowledged the end of the transaction and hung up.

  Turning back to Courtney he said, “And the balance of the account? How would you like that handled? We can easily transfer it to another account or get you cash, or open a new account and use it for the opening balance.”

  Courtney said, “I’ll take it in cash. It will be sent to a charity.”

  I broke in and said, “Joseph, what we’d like to do is have another $5000 added to it from my accounts and have an anonymous cashier’s check made out to Courtney’s charity and have it mailed today.”

  Courtney said, “We’ll need to buy an envelope and a stamp.”

  Joseph was working on his computer as he said, “If you’d like, I can provide an envelope and a stamp.”

  I said, “That will be really helpful. I do appreciate it.”

  Joseph said, “Of course, Sir. We appreciate your business.”

  Courtney whispered, “Five thousand? Dave, are you sure?”

  I said, “Is it for a good cause?”

  She said, “Yeah. It is. They’re good people.”

  I said, “Then it’s no problem at all. I want to do it.”

  Joseph said, “OK, please wait here for just a second.”

  He walked away and Courtney held my hand and said, “They took care of me when I needed them. The shelter did.”

  I said, “I’m glad. Then we need to help them and repay their kindness apparently.”