Jenna felt clumsy and awkward, as if she were in her great aunt Myrtle’s china room as a bumbling eight year old. Everything around her glittered.

Her gawkiness hadn’t gotten much better with age.

She was on her best behavior, as if manners were limbs keeping her bobbing head above water. Waves of imperfection crashed over her but everyone else glided over the gleaming floor, chatting and nodding at each other with ease.

Gritting her teeth, she plastered a smile over her face.

Her boyfriend’s palm slid up the middle of her back, tilting her toward him to press his lips to her temple. She dipped her head, leaned into his kiss and inhaled. The leathery smell of his cologne washed through her senses, soothing the tension in her muscles.

“May I have this dance, young lady?” The obtrusive baritone was as smooth as a fine wine.

Chuckling, Daniel broke away. “Dr. Montiero! Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

She looked up at the head of surgery, past his gnarled nose and into his blue eyes, trying to ignore the rest. The man was always in a suit and tie, but the crisp tuxedo made the lines of his doughy body seem leaner. Somehow, even he fit into this mass of extravagance and propriety with no obvious effort.

“Too much booze here to sleep early.” Yellowed teeth peeked from behind Dr. Monteiro’s thin, pale lips. “I’m a poor excuse for a geriatric. Party animal. You know, all that nonsense.”

Jenna flinched as the old man’s veiny hand slid around her waist, his thick fingers tickling the crest of her hip. Clutching the stem of her wine glass, the back of her neck pinching, she reminded herself to smile as Daniel released her to the old man.

Her boyfriend’s mouth moved to her ear. “Humor the old guy, okay baby? Try to have fun.”

She curled her hand over his shoulder to prod him to lean toward her. “One hour and we get the hell out of here, into pajamas, and watch bad TV for the rest of the night.”

Lips curving up, he turned to her ear again. “Sounds great, but I’d rather get into you .”

The tenor lining his throaty murmur made the summit of her thighs swarm with heat. Warmth poured into her cheeks. She ducked her head, staring at the marble floor to hide her face. A giggle bubbled in her throat and she bit her lower lip to stave it off.

“That’s enough! Let an old, lonely man enjoy the company of a beautiful young woman for at least a dance . Just give me a taste of the fantasy.” Dr Montiero swept his champagne flute to the side as he bowed deeply to Jenna, his fingers never falling further than her waist. “If you please, of course.”

Mouth dry, she glanced at Daniel.

She had the agility of a baboon.

Her boyfriend grinned and straightened, the reflection of the chandelier behind her glittering in his dark eyes. He raised his glass.

Narrowing her eyes, Jenna gathered her strength.

You owe me, she mouthed.

It was the latest in a string of over the top functions for the leading surgeons in the tri-state area. She’d accompanied her longtime boyfriend to each, where at least one of his colleagues had always made sure to hit on her before the night was over.

Stumbling out on the dance floor, Jenna tried to keep up with the graceful moves of her boyfriend’s boss for one whole song. The piano had just taken a breath when the doctor led her toward the east wing, eager to show her the new artwork from Paris.

“Oh, thank you, sir, but I’m exhausted. You dance circles around me! I think I need a drink!”

He chortled. Deep lines at the corners of his eyes spiderwebbed to the rest of his face, yellowed teeth gleaming. “Dear girl, by this time a month from now, I fully expect you to have a diamond on that finger. The least I can do is show you real culture before you settle down with that horribly stuffy young man.”

“I... uh...” A moment after she lost her voice, she noticed her mouth was still hanging open. She cleared her throat. Her face burned, sweat prickling at embarrassing places on her body, and she knew the blush covered her.

A diamond. A ring.

“Come on, now.” He took her by the hand and led her down the short hall. Raising his finger, he swiveled around, his bushy grey brows rose and his watery eyes went wide. “I’m afraid I’m a bit drunk. You’ll have to act surprised when he proposes.”

She couldn’t do anything but nod.

Smiling, he turned back to the hall, chattering away as she wobbled after him.

At twenty-two years old, Jenna had no ambitions to lay claim to. A bartender by night, she’d volunteered at the homeless shelter downtown since she was sixteen. It was where she’d met Daniel, mere weeks after he’d arrived from years with Doctors Without Borders.

He was older than her. Profoundly worldly and devastatingly attractive. Their courtship was such a love drunk seduction that when alone she felt dazed. She was wary of his polished resume and how his education and experience stacked so high above her own.

When she’d mentioned her insecurities, Daniel laughed them off as if they were ludicrous, proclaiming her the most beautiful woman he’d ever met, through and through.

But fear’s poison festered. She’d always tried to ignore it; her boyfriend was the stuff of dreams.

And now he wanted her forever.

The doctor’s slip of secrets relieved the burden of the night. Despite all the cards stacked against them, the world’s most perfect man wanted to marry her.

She had to say yes.

Jenna did her best to appreciate Dr Montiero’s favorite paintings, but she was grateful when the old man finally led her back to the grand ballroom. Through the ocean of people dressed to the nines, she saw a flash of red hair, the towering lanky form of Daniel’s former roommate, Allen.

“Montiero!” someone called from the center of the room.

The old man’s eyebrow rose, but his eyes trained on Jenna. “I suppose this means our time is up. Now, remember what I told you. Act surprised. Daniel is a good man.”

“He is.”

Dr Montiero kissed the back of her hand, making her blush again before he left.

Scanning the blur of faces, she finally made her way toward her boyfriend’s former roommate. “Allen! Have you seen Daniel?”

“Yeah. He’s getting ready for his presentation. Check the room at the end of the north hall on the right. But hey,” he grabbed her hand, green eyes staring at something over her head, “no sexy stuff. He’s up in ten minutes.”

Jenna nodded, feeling her neck flush. All she could think about were the doctor’s words. The bounding pulse of elation shifted to fear.

The thought that a man like Daniel would end up loving her enough to marry her felt so alien. She was just a bartender, with only a high school diploma and a working class family. It was surreal. The only way to wrap her head around it was to see him, look into his eyes, let go and believe.

A thrill skipped up her spine.

Turning away, she hurried down the hall. All too aware of strangers’ eyes on her exposed, freckled skin. Like every inch of it would set fire to her black satin dress and leave her naked for all to see. Or she’d trip, the plush carpet rashing her face, breasts, and knees. There were no limits to the ungainly possibilities, especially since she’d lived through all the scenarios at least once.

Jenna’s ankle careened to the side. Stopping, she regained her balance. Glanced over her shoulder. She let out a rush of breath when she saw no one watching and turned back around to see an open door at the end of the hallway.

Relief flushed her blood.

Stumbling once more, she closed the gap to grasp the cold golden handle, looked up, and stopped dead.

Every cell in her veins froze.

Kendall, the Chinese-African American pharmaceutical representative that Dan had been working with for a week, had him backed against a desk. His jacket lay folded over its chair. The woman’s manicured fingers slid down the crotch of his pants. Fluent French spilled from the caress of her pale pink lips.

Jenna recoiled. Her gaze fell upon the swells in Kendall’s plunging neckline. Traveled up to her slim shoulders. Shoulder blades arched from the two lines of black sweeping down her back. The fabric’s edges met in a V-like center just above her waist. Like an arrow to make any observer aware of how the dress clutched the twin humps inches below, before it fanned toward the ground like an inverted flower.

The air was cold, the back of Jenna’s throat shivering.

Her body felt like stone. Everything, her entire relationship with Daniel, came down to this moment.

Her boyfriend shifted, lifting a palm to Kendall’s sternum. His fingers splayed over her silken breasts as if pushing her back. “I’m with someone.”

Jenna exhaled softly.

“I wouldn’t mind having a taste of that one too.” The woman’s oval chin hitched, her smile spreading. “But you... I’ve been very patient.”

Open mouthed, Dan’s eyes glued to Kendall’s fingers as they flew down the black buttons of his white collared shirt. She exposed a sample of his tan, heaving torso and bit her lip.

Running her caramel colored hands down his straining chest, she reached his waist. Looked up at him as she flipped the tail of his belt from the buckle. She pinched his zipper and lowered it with a creak.

“You... are a perfect specimen,” Kendall murmured. She shoved his fly open, glanced at the clock, and then saw Jenna. Her eyebrows twitched.

Jenna’s breath caught in her throat. Her fingers tightened around the door like a noose. Body ague.

The other woman smiled. Her almond shaped eyes pinched at the corners as her dark pupils slid back to Daniel. She sank to her knees. Kendall slid her coiled fingers up and down his thickening shaft as fluidly as if it were an extension of her.

“Five minutes,” she said to him.

“I...”

In a whisper of breath, Kendall’s buxom lips puckered around his paler thickness. Slid down his length like sheer elegance.

A moan ripped from Daniel’s throat.

“Fuck!” he whispered.

The crux of Jenna’s thighs baked, heat sweeping the curves of her body. Her mouth watered and she longed to cup the other woman’s face in her hands. To feel the contours of her delicate cheekbones, the sunken sides of her cheeks. Let her boyfriend’s dick slide between her own fingers before it disappeared into that gape of exotic beauty.

She watched his flared rim peek outside the woman’s puckered lips, only for them to plunge again down his fully charged cock. Each descent was a foul delight, the cords in Daniel’s neck standing as his eyes rolled.

Jenna’s heart departed with her breath, as if it lay suspended before her, cresting and bowing with Kendall’s graceful ferocity. Hot nectar wept from her pussy, but the rest of her felt like a ghost.

A gasp twisted through Kendall’s teeth. She smacked her lips. Lifted them into an open smile, a breathy giggle escaping. Her chin tilted toward Daniel’s face.

His abs rippled as his head rose to see her eyes.

Delicate wrist flexed, she stroked the length of his flesh. Shook her head. “I don’t want to be your wife. I don’t want to be your lover. All I want... is your spunk.”

“Oh... fuck,” Daniel muttered.

Jenna felt her nipples tighten, the moment growing heavier as those lips devoured her boyfriend’s dick again. The other woman’s hand dipped under his rigid rod, through his yawning fly, and disappeared.

Daniel’s throat clipped his moan. Mouth freezing open, his muscles flexed as his torso hitched higher and higher. His hand flew into her swarm of curls, pressing her closer until her lips followed her hand, vanishing down his shaft into the gape of his pants.

Staccatos of strain crackled through his larynx.

Jenna released the door handle. She stepped back, blinking hysterically, but she couldn’t rip her eyes away from them. Her hand rested over her stomach as she watched her boyfriend’s eyes pinch shut. Just like they had this morning when he spewed his hot sperm into her own mouth. He’d only opened them to stroke her cheek and watch her swallow.

Chest heaving, Daniel lay back on the desk. Unearthed his fingers from Kendall’s bronze ringlets. Cheeks concave, her lips reappeared as they slid from his shining cock. He stared at the ceiling, the half moons of his eyes glimmering between each kiss of his lashes.

Kendall’s mouth slid free, opening to allow dim light to catch the thin, sparkling strand of cum that webbed from her top teeth to her lower lip. She broke the string with her tongue and gazed at the clock. Pressed her lips together, the knot in her throat bobbing before leveling off.

Jenna’s soul felt like it shattered when the woman met her eye. Kendall’s toffee colored shoulder lifted, fragile collarbones sweeping forth.

The other woman turned back to Daniel, her glistening lips stretching into a smile. “Fantastic. And with two minutes to spare.”

“What have you done?” Voice hollow, Daniel tucked his softening dick back into his pants while staring at the ceiling. He pulled the zipper and sat up, his eyes falling on the pharmaceutical representative.

“My job. Making sure you’re happy and relaxed when you go out there to talk about my product.” Her finger glided along the rim of her mouth, collecting the smeared lipstick and the splurge of cum at the corners. Arching her high brows, Kendall stood. “Don’t act like you’re innocent. Whose hands were on the back of my head as you came in my mouth?”

Jenna flinched.

Daniel re-buttoned his shirt with shaky hands and got to his feet. He pulled on his tuxedo jacket, the fabric falling over his body as if it could hide his sin. Face pale, he snatched the messy stack of papers behind him.

Rising to the balls of her feet, Jenna shuffled to the other side of the door. She stared at the back of his suit as he faced the other woman until they fell out of view behind the doorframe. Jenna pressed her back against the cool wall.

Far down the hallway, the music drifted into a pitfall of silence.

“I’m not the devil. You could’ve turned me away at any time.” Kendall’s accented tone was just above a murmur, as if the girl wanted Jenna to hear. “It was fun, and that’s all it’ll ever have to be.”

It felt like a boulder raked Jenna’s esophagus. Her fingers flew to the base of her throat, the jagged flesh inside collapsing around her shallow breath. Tears burned her eyes, blurring the room at the end of the hallway. The crowd’s murmurs drifted from soft cadence to a low roar of chaos.

Daniel shuffled out of the room, startling her. Candlelight and glinting silverware flanked his form from the tables he headed toward. The world that would always belong to people richer than she could imagine. People who lived behind masks and hid their faces in shadows.

She blinked the flickers into focus. Watched his head straighten. His shoulders lifted with the pulse of his footsteps, as if the carriage of his body denied the moments on her end of the hall.

Closing her eyes, Jenna blew out a stream of breath.

“Better you knew now than later.”

Jenna felt her marrow disintegrate with the accented words. She looked up at the woman standing in the doorway. Flawless black liner swept across her lids, her lips shining with what seemed like gloss but Jenna knew was cum.

The woman looked perfect. Beautiful. She was smart. Had money. Education. Success. A woman superior to Jenna herself.

Kendall’s false eyelashes trembled, her gaze following Daniel’s retreating figure. Her eyes narrowed, and lips pursed. “They’re all like that, you know. These guys. Either pussies or whores.”

A burst of applause showered the dining room.

Jenna looked over the column of the other woman’s graceful neck. Her flowing body, jaunting ass. Then traced up her statuesque figure and looked into her face again.

“Which one are you?” Jenna asked, her voice breaking.

Kendall’s expression froze for a moment before her face softened. The striations in her thick lips gathered at their center. She looked at the floor, fake lashes fanning the still air.

Spine straight against the wall and shoulders pinched, Jenna’s bones felt like they’d petrified. But if she moved, she knew she’d crumble.

Her mass of curls fell back onto her sleek shoulders as the other woman lifted her head. But when her lost eyes met Jenna’s, she felt like she was looking into her own desolation.

“I don’t know.” Kendall’s voice was like a whisper from the grave.

Pity infiltrated Jenna’s ruin, but there was nothing to say. Nothing to do.

A scream of feedback blared through the speakers in the other room, followed by a chuckle and calm speech. The words didn’t matter.

But the speaker was Daniel.

Kendall crossed her arms, clutching her body as if she were suddenly cold, and walked toward the room. Her statuesque figure bobbed with each step, as if trying to stay afloat in the very sea in which she lived.

Closing her eyes, Jenna exhaled. Shook her head. She kicked out of the cramped high heels, letting them clomp to the ground as her aching feet relaxed flat against the cold marble floor. Opening her eyes, she began her trek down the long corridor.