Tom led them across the long room, some of the people greeting Valerie as they walked, but Linda paid little attention to them as she was more concerned about the way Tom held her arm. It almost seemed as if he was being intimate, though he was only touching her arm. She tried to put it out of her mind, believing it to be her imagination, and forced herself to study the layout more closely. Halfway in the room, on the wall opposite the windows, was a large natural stone fireplace, a fire blazing brightly to add to the effect of the candles. Though the room was large, Linda realized it felt intimate simply because of the artistic lighting; and she found this discovery to be interesting. Moments later, she found herself standing in front of a bar.
"This is an important part of this room," Tom said, and Linda realized he had been talking the whole time they walked through the house. He had been pointing things out, but she had been too engrossed in looking to really hear. Tom went on, pointing to a buffet covered with exotic looking food. "Over there the tidbits and morsels of palatable pleasure, and here," he added motioning to the white jacketed man behind the bar, "Here you may quench your thirst."
"You have a beautiful home," Linda said nodding to her host. She was flattered by the extravagant manner of Tom Harvey to someone he had just met. She was after all, only a secretary, and he obviously was more monetarily powerful than her boss, Karl Williams.
"You are too kind… What may I order for you, Linda?"
His eyes again seemed to penetrate right through her, yet in a way that was complimentary, and the young mother felt herself blushing as though embarrassed by praise. She couldn't think of how to answer him. "Whatever you suggest will be fine," she said shyly.
Tom smiled and motioned to the man behind the bar. "Jason here makes a special drink that I am quite fond of… He keeps the ingredients a secret, but it does contain Pernod. You know, cloudy and nice!" He held up two fingers to Jason. "Your special, Jason."
"Linda, dear?" It was a female voice – familiar.
She had almost forgotten about Valerie, and she wondered how long the other woman had been calling her name. She turned to see Valerie approaching with two men on either side of her. Linda didn't recognize them until they were a few feet away, and then she thought she might faint. It's them! The men with Valerie last night. Oh my God!
"I want you to meet a couple of old friends," Valerie went on quite casually. "This is Ray, and this is Don… Linda Hall, boys!"
Linda felt dizzy as she nodded to each, hoping she appeared unshaken, but she was sure her face reddened as each man eyed her openly. God, she had seen them naked and fucking Valerie less than twenty four hours earlier!
"How do you do?"
"Pleasure."
"Honored."
"I'm showing Linda the view," Tom interjected before anymore could be said by either man. "Jason, fix Valerie one of your specials," he added as he picked up two tall glasses from the bar.
Linda was glad of the chance to avoid further conversation with the two men and Valerie, at least until she regained her composure, and she happily took the offered drink from Tom and put her arm on his to walk to the porch. She felt as if she were escaping from some terrible crime, and she took a sip of her drink to still her pounding heart. It wasn't until she was standing outside on the porch with Tom that she felt she could again speak normally, and she felt grateful to him for having saved her from possible embarrassment.
"Thank you for this," she said holding up her drink, "It's really quite good. I don't usually drink, but this is mild and pleasant tasting…"
Tom had guided her to the railing at the edge of the balcony. He clicked his glass against hers and took a large sip of his drink, "There's plenty more where this came from, and you can be sure it won't hurt you…" he said watching her gulp down nearly half her drink.
Linda felt warm and more relaxed with each swallow of the potent mixture, and it did seem to help her get over the embarrassment of meeting Ray and Don. She stared out at the lighted trees and grounds below, listening to the sounds of the river nearby, a sound that lulled her senses, pleasantly. It was such a cool night, and yet here on Tom Harvey's porch she felt warm.
"Are you sure this drink is mild?" she found herself questioning, as the first zephyrs of lightheadedness rippled through her brain.
Tom laughed as if she had made some joke.
"Take off your coat… It's not the drink, it's radiant heat out here," he said tapping his shoe on the floor of the balcony. "Tiles under the floor."
"Oh my gosh," Linda giggled feeling silly. She set her drink down on the railing and slipped out of her coat with Tom's help, and she still felt warm and comfortable. "That's amazing!" she added, picking up her drink again and taking another large gulp. "You have a remarkable home, Mr. Harvey."
They talked, Tom mostly, about humorously unimportant things that made Linda laugh a lot. She drank too, and each time her glass was nearly empty, Jason seemed to be standing by with a fresh one. She lost count after the third drink, but by then she no longer cared. The liquor, or whatever, did have an effect on her, but it came gradually, barely recognizable for what it was. She felt warmer and more aware of her own physical presence, and everything seemed all right, including the slightly off-color jokes that Tom told her. She laughed openly, surprised that she felt no embarrassment or shame, but instead, she felt a pleasant tingling in the pit of her belly, especially when he looked at her in his special way.
When they walked back inside the large room, it was darker… the only light now coming from the fireplace. Gliding, not walking, they moved to one side where she saw Valerie stretched out on a large pillow, smiling up at her. Linda returned the smile as she, too, made herself comfortable on one of the large pillows next to Karen's mother. Again Linda had a drink in her hand, and Tom was beside her, not threateningly, just there. Music was playing from somewhere, everywhere, while the room danced with the flickering light of the fire, and her young very aware body seemed to pulsate with it, the tempo increasing toward an infinite point.
"Wow!" Linda heard herself say, and she laughed as Tom nodded in response. She sipped more of the insidious drink, her mouth feeling dry, and she looked over to where Valerie was lying back on the large pillow, noting without surprise that Karen's mother's dress had slipped far up her firmly smooth thighs. Almost casually Linda saw that she was wearing no panties; oddly enough, it seemed funny and nice at the same time. Then Ray came over and said something about a movie to Tom, and everyone was smiling and nodding in anticipation. Ray was gone and back again, this time settling down comfortably on the same big pillow with Valerie. Linda turned, looking away to discover that somehow a large motion picture screen had descended just before them. Other people in the room were settling down, becoming even quieter than before, and Rick's innocent young mother drank more of the cool liquid in her glass, feeling as though she could never get enough.