Cully had tried to talk her out of it. “If your husband knows, he’ll kill you,” Cully said.
“If he finds out about my twenty-grand markers, he’ll kill me,” Crystin said. “So what’s the difference? And besides, you know I can’t stop gambling and I figure that over and above the fee I can get some of these guys to give me a stake or at least put down a bet for me.”
So Cully had agreed. In addition, he had given her a job as a secretary for the food and beverages officer of the Xanadu Hotel. He was attracted to her and at least once a week they went to bed together afternoons in his hotel suite. After a while he introduced her to thrashing and she had loved it.
Cully took out one of the five-hundred-dollar markers and tore it up. Then on a sudden impulse he tore up all Crystin’s markers and threw them in his wastebasket. When he came back from Japan, he would have to cover for it with some paperwork, but he would think about that later. Crystin was a good kid. If something happened to him, he wanted her to be in the clear.
He passed the time cleaning up details on his desk and then went down to his suite. He ordered up some chilled champagne and made a call to Charlie Brown.
Then he took a shower and got into his pajamas. They were very fancy pajamas. White silk, edged with red, with his initials on the jacket pocket.
Charlie Brown came first and he gave her some champagne and then Crystin came. They sat around talking and he made them drink the whole bottle before he led them into the bedroom.
The two girls were a little shy of each other, though they bad met before around town. Cully told them to undress and he stripped off his pajamas.
The three of them got into bed together naked and he talked to them awhile. Kidding them, making jokes, kissing them occasionally and playing with their breasts. And then with an arm around their necks he pressed their faces close together. They knew what was expected of them. The two women kissed each other tentatively on the lips.
Cully lifted the more slender Charlie Brown, slid underneath her so that the two women were next to each other. He felt the quick surge of sexual excitement.
“Come on,” he said. “You’ll love it. You know you’ll love it.”
He ran his hand between Charlie Brown’s legs and let it rest there. At the same time he leaned over and kissed Crystin on the mouth and then he pressed the two women together.
It took a little time for them to get started. They were very tentative, a little shy. It was always like this. Gradually Cully edged away from them until he was seated at the foot of the bed.
He felt a sudden tranquility as he watched the two women make love to each other. To him, with all his cynicism about women and love, it was the most beautiful thing he could ever hope to see. They both had lush bodies and lovely faces, and they were both truly passionate as they could never be with him. He could watch it forever.
As they went on, Cully rose from the bed and sat in one of the chairs. The two women were becoming more and more passionate. He watched their bodies flow around and up and down each other until there was a final climaxing of violent thrashing and the two women lay in each other’s arms quiet and still.
Cully went over to the bed and kissed them each gently. Then he lay down between them and he said, “Don’t do anything. Let’s just sleep a little.”
He dozed off, and when he awoke, the two women were in his living room, dressed and chatting together.
He took five one-hundred-dollar bills, five Honeybees, out of his wallet and gave them to Charlie Brown.
She kissed him good-night and left him alone with Crystin.
He sat down on the sofa and put his arm around Crystin. He gave her a gentle kiss.
“I tore up your markers,” he said. “You don’t have to worry about them anymore, and I’m telling the cage to give you five hundred dollars’ worth of chips so you can do a little gambling tonight.”
Crystin laughed and said, “Cully, I can’t believe it. You’ve finally become a mark.”
“Everybody’s a mark,” Cully said. “But what the hell. You’ve been a good sport these last two years. I want to get you off the hook.”
Crystin gave him a hug and rested against his shoulder and then she said quietly, “Cully, why do you call it thrashing? You know, when you put me together with a girl?”
Cully laughed. “I just like the idea of the word. It just describes it someway.”
“You don’t put me down for that, do you?” Crystin said.
“No,” Cully said. “To me it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.”
When Crystin left, Cully couldn’t sleep. Finally he went down into the casino. He spotted Crystin at the blackjack table. She had a stack of black one-hundred-dollar chips in front of her.
She waved him toward her. She gave him a delighted smile. “Cully, this is my lucky night,” she said. “I’m ahead twelve grand.”
She picked up a stack of chips and placed them in his hand. “This is for you,” she said. “I want you to have them.”
Cully counted the chips. There were ten of them. A thousand dollars.
He laughed and said, “OK. I’ll hold them for you, someday you’ll need gambling money.” And he left her and went up to his office and threw the chips into one of his desk drawers. He thought again of calling Merlyn but decided against it.
He looked around the office. There was nothing left for him to do, but he felt as if he were forgetting something. As if he had counted down the shoe in which some important cards were missing. But it was too late now. In a few hours be would be in Los Angeles and boarding a plane for Tokyo.
– -
In Tokyo Cully took a taxi to Fummiro’s office. The Tokyo streets were crowded, many of the people wearing white surgical gauze masks as a guard against the germ-laden air. Even the construction workers with their shiny red coats and white helmets wore the surgical masks. For some reason the sight of them gave Cully a queasy feeling. But he realized that this was because he was nervous about the whole trip.
Fummiro greeted him with a hearty handshake and a wide smile.
“So good to see you, Mr. Cross,” Fummiro said. “We’ll make sure you have a good trip, a good time in our country. Just let my assistant know what you require.”
They were in Fummiro’s modern American-style office and could speak safely.
Cully said, “I have my suitcase at the hotel and I just want to know when I should bring it to your office.”
“Monday,” Fummiro said. “On the weekend, nothing can be done. But there is a party at my house tomorrow night at which I am sure you will enjoy yourself.”
“Thank you very much,” Cully said. “But I just want to rest. I’m not feeling too good and it’s been a long trip.”
“Ah, yes. I understand,” Fummiro said. “I have a good idea. There is a country inn in Yogawara. It’s only an hour’s drive from here. I will send you in my limousine. It’s the most beautiful spot in Japan. Quiet and restful. You have masseuse girls and I will arrange for other girls to meet you there. The food is superb. Japanese food, of course. It is where all the great men of Japan bring their mistresses for a little holiday and it’s discreet. You can relax there without any worries and you can come back Monday completely refreshed and I will have the money for you.”
Cully thought it over. He would be in no danger until he got the money, and the idea of relaxing in the country inn appealed to him.
“That sounds great,” he said to Fummiro. “When can you have the limousine pick me up?”
“The Friday-night traffic is terrible,” Fummiro said. “Go tomorrow morning. Have a good rest tonight and on the weekend and I will see you on Monday.”
As a special mark of honor Fummiro walked him out of the office to the elevator.