The Girl Downstairs

Chapter 1

One Night, One Hotel Room; Do the Math

"Junior, come and meet Mr. Balvinni!" The sound of his boss's deep, unyielding voice drew an inner groan from Jonathan Hunter Jr., a young man with short-cut hair that was so blonde, some said it almost looked platinum in the right light. The hair stood out strikingly against his dark brown eyes, the rolling of which he took care to conceal from his approaching boss (and father), Jonathan Hunter Sr.

Mr. Hunter had an older, dark haired gentleman in tow, who Junior took to be 'Mr. Balvinni,' and he offered a handshake with an awkward smile. "Hello sir, how do you do?"

"Very well, young man, thank you." Mr. Balvinni replied in a thick Italian accent, accepting Junior's hand graciously.

"Mr. Balvinni was one of our startup investors. He's quite pleased with how Cornerstore has turned, aren't you signori?" Mr. Hunter remarked.

"Oh yes, very pleased." Balvinni agreed with a nod.

Junior began to tune out his father's business ramblings. To be honest, he simply wasn't that interested, and the discomfort of the pure white business suit he was wearing did not help the fact. It felt as though the light blue tie he was wearing was intent on strangling the life out of him, and a part of Junior wanted to give it a good strong pull to assist it in the endeavor. Death seemed a better alternative to being stuck in a hotel conference room full of men so old that they could probably remember their first Frank Sinatra concert.

"You're father tells me you will be taking over management of the company soon." Balvinni broke in on Junior's thoughts.

"Huh? Oh…yeah…yes, I will effectively take charge in a few weeks." Junior stuttered, earning him a chastising frown from Mr. Hunter.

"Ladies and gentlemen, a moment if you please." Hunter shouted above the sea of chattering voices, "I have arranged to have horderves and drinks provided by the hotel free of charge. Please proceed to the bar downstairs if you would like, and bon appetite."

There were cheers of appreciation, and some of the guests stopped to shake hands with Mr. Hunter and thank him as they passed by. However, the elder Hunters eyes never left his son, who sensed that a lecture was coming. Sure enough, as soon as everyone had cleared the room, Hunter's eyes narrowed.

"Do you want this promotion or not?" he demanded.

"Of course, dad."

"Ah, ah, ah!"

"Sorry, of course sir."

"Then keep your eye on the ball this evening. Everyone here is involved with the company one way or another, and you will need to know each and every one of them inside and out. Everything has to run smoothly, starting from the top down."

As he spoke, Hunter towered over Junior in a show of dominance. It was times like this that Junior cursed the fact that he had inherited more of his mother's figure. He was not of a stocky build like his father, who was also blessed with a height of six foot, two. Instead, the younger Hunter was only five feet, seven, and was as skinny as a student on a hunger strike.

"I understand da…errr…sir."

"Good, then get downstairs and start making acquaintances!"

They left the conference room and headed down the elevator. All the way Junior felt the urge to throw up. He wished that he would. Then at least he could feign illness and not have to put up with more of the glad-handing that was sure to greet them in the bar. With a ding, the doors slid open to reveal a short, stumpy man with dirty blonde hair and a pair of thick glasses. The man, Terence Beckley, squinted at Junior, crinkling his nose as if a most unpleasant odor had just wafted past.

"Mr. Hunter, Mr. Alvirez would like to discuss the renewal of the box manufacturing contract." Beckley said haughtily, shifting his gaze to the boss.

"Very well, come along, Junior. You should be a part of this." The younger Hunter wasn't given much choice as his father placed a hand on his shoulder and half-guided, half-dragged him into the bar.

As the pair departed, Beckley shot Junior a particularly dirty look.

Yeah, same to you Toady! Thought Junior annoyedly.

Toady was Beckley's nickname at work, not that any of the employees actually called him that to his face. His obvious physical features weren't the only thing that had garnered him the moniker. There had been many a time Junior was tempted to ask how the frumpy little suck-up managed to see with his nose stuck so far up Hunter Sr.'s ass. There was certainly no love lost between them. Toady had made it clear that he was not impressed by Junior, and that the company would be better off under his direction. Still, family was family so Junior got the job and Toady was sidelined. The whole situation seemed to have added a bit more bite to the sycophant's evil glares in recent days.

At the far end of the barroom, several Latino men sat around one of the larger tables. The head of the table stood up with a wide smile as the Hunters approached.

"Aaaah, Jonathan, so good to see you my friend. Come, lets us buy you something to drink." The man, presumably Alvirez, shook Hunter's hand warmly and offered him a seat. "And who is this young man?"

"This is my son, Jonathan Hunter Jr. He'll be taking over management of Cornerstore after the company goes public. I felt he should a part of the negotiations for the new contract, since you'll be dealing with him soon."

"Indeed, well, it is good to meet you, Mr…."

"Junior…you can call me Junior."

"How about Mr. Hunter Junior?" Hunter gave his son another patronizing look.

"Very well. What are you drinking gentlemen?" Alvirez inquired as a waitress arrived to take orders.

"Just water for me, thank you." Hunter waived his had dismissively.

"I'll have a Manhattan with extra…ow!" Junior's own order was interrupted by a sharp jab right in his ribs under the table by his father's elbow.

"Junior will have water as well!" He growled.

"Yes…please." Junior grunted as he rubbed his now aching side.

Alvirez let out a booming laugh. "Well, at least your son seems to know how to have a good time, unlike yourself, Hunter."

"My son still has much to learn about this business."

"Si, this is just my point, my friend. You are always about business. Do you ever think about anything else?"

"Cornerstore is my life's work, I've devoted fifteen years of my life to it. Surely you can understand it being my primary focus. It's no different than you and your box company."

"Perhaps...very well, since you are so intent on business, let us do business. I took the liberty of having our lawyers draw up the new contract." As he spoke, Alvirez reached into a brief case and produced a stuck of papers so thick they could have stopped a speeding bullet which he dropped on the table with an audible thump. "You will take note that we have been obliged to raise the rates on bulk shipments."

"What!?" cried Hunter incredulously as he grabbed the contract and began flipping through the pages searching for the offending amendment.

"What can be said, Hunter. The price of manufacturing paper products is going up. We must all accept changes if the wheels of business are to remain turning. Besides, what is a little price increase? You will continue to receive the same quality of material in a timely and efficient fashion. You know we are dependable."

"Cornerstore didn't get where it is today by paying higher prices on boxes. I came to you because you were one of the cheaper producers."

"And I still am. I'm not the only one who has raised his rates."

"I imagine I might find that is not the case if I were to do some digging."

The argument drew out like a blade, each exchange of words becoming sharper and sharper against the grindstone of competing interests. For Junior, the whole things seemed incredibly dull and childish, and the more things went on, the more he retreated within his own mind. The boredom had driven him to drink, and he nodded a thank you to the waitress as she refilled his glass of water for the fifth time in a half-hour. Internally he gave a loud sigh. He would have given anything to be anywhere but here, stuck listening to two old guard businessmen haggle over some cardboard boxes. About an hour later they were still going at it, and Junior was growing sick with the realization that his promotion to manager was going to mean a lot more of these: meetings at big tables with big egos seated around it while words and tempers flared. He would have preferred to stick with delivering packages. Yes, before his current promotion, Jonathan Hunter Jr., son of Cornerstore founder and CEO Jonathan Hunter Sr. had been a deliveryman. Hunter had always believed that one should start from the bottom of the ladder, and his child was no exception. After his mother had died and he had graduated high school Junior found himself driving around a truck delivering people's good door-to-door for several years. Despite the low pay and long hours, Junior had to admit he had enjoyed it. It was simple work, not like all this business stuff that required one to be thinking about a million different things twenty-four-seven. He liked things simple. In fact, he was getting pretty good at it, having just delivered his one millionth package when his father had called him into his office one morning to announce that he would be going on to head the new board of directors of Cornerstore, and would leaving the 'keys to the kingdom' as it were in Junior's hands. Now, here he was, stuck in a hotel bar staring his future right in its ugly mug. He didn't like what he saw.

"Very well, it's a deal then." After an hour and a half of arguing, debating, and haggling, Hunter pulled out a pen. "Junior, why don't you sign."

"Huh?" Junior shook his head, having been pulled back down to reality so suddenly.

Hunter sighed and shoved the pen into his son's hand. "Just sign."

'Just sign' failed to reveal that signing the damn contract included Junior going through almost every page, where he found line after line where he had to "sing here" or "initial here." It was an arduous process, and his hand was aching by the time he was done.

"Well, gentlemen, if that is all, we will take our leave." Hunter stood, and Junior followed suit.

As they walked, Hunter vented. "That sneaky little greaser thinks he can just raise the rates whenever he feels like?! Well, just wait and see. Once Cornerstore is bigger than UPS or FedEx, I'll buy his box company and see him and his family out starving on the street." Clearly, he was quite bitter about the whole thing.

"To be honest, I didn't think it was that big of a deal." Junior interjected. "I mean, yeah, the price went up, but only by five cents per box. That's not that much in the big picture of things."

"Oh, so you were paying attention, were you?" Hunter snapped, silencing his son's feeble protest. "Well, maybe you'll pay attention now when I tell you that men like Alvirez are a dime-a-dozen. They're all gonna be after a piece of you, trying to screw you out of what's yours! You need to turn the tables and screw them right back, that's how business is done!"

There was an uncomfortable silence that followed. Junior wasn't sure what to say. Neither was Hunter apparently, who sighed after a minute and said: "I need to speak to Grayson about those new contracts delivering his products. You should come with me, get to know him."

"Actually, I thought it might be better if I went around and introduced myself to some other people, you know? I mean, that whole thing with Alvirez took so long, and it's getting late, and I really think I should meet as many people as possible before this thing ends."

Junior stared at his father, and he stared back with an expression that was disquietingly unreadable. A part of the boy feared that he was in for another reprimand, but this dissipated when a wide smile broke out across Hunter's face. He let out a booming laugh, causing a sheepish grin to form on Junior's own lips as his father slapped him hard on the back.

"Good thinking Junior, good to see you're finally showing some initiative. We'll make a Hunter out of you yet!"

"Thanks dad."

"Ah!"

"Sorry…sir."

"Now get out there and get to know every nook and cranny of the machine, only then can a man understand how it can be well oiled."

"Uh huh." Junior's mouth muscles were burning as he continued his forced smile while waving at his departing father until he was satisfied that he was far enough away. "Wooooh" after letting out a long, heavy sigh his face fell and he made a beeline for the bar. If he had to spend the rest of the evening meeting sweaty old businessmen, he was getting a good buzz going first.

Despite the large number of people present for the conference (most of whom probably had a healthy thirst under their belts) the bar itself was relatively unoccupied, so he had plenty of stools to choose from. He chose one closest to where the bartender was standing as he whipped up a fresh platter of drinks to go out to the guests. As he sat down, Junior loosened his tie and un-did the top bottom of his dress shirt, and let out a relieved gasp as though he had been submerged in water near to the point of drowning. Damn shirt always choked him.

"What can I get you, pal?" Asked the bartended gruffly, not even looking up from the drinks he was already mixing.

"How about some drain cleaner?" Junior requested only half sarcastically.

The bartender glanced up at him with a new sense of sympathy. "Yeah, if I had any I'd split it with ya." With that he picked up the platter and carried it off, leaving Junior to decide what he really wanted to drink. This was exactly what he was mulling over when a soft giggle from off to his left drew his attention.

"Sorry, I think the last businessman dressed in an uncomfortable looking suit bought the last drop of Drano." Seated two seats down from him was an incredibly beautiful young woman with brilliant red hair that was tied up in a bushy pony tail. She had shiny green eyes that seemed to sparkle against her alabaster skin, beneath which lay a pair of lips colored ruby red with lipstick that outlined a broad smile with some of the whitest teeth he had seen outside of a tooth paste commercial.

"What?" Junior muttered. He had been so distracted by her beauty that he hadn't fully processed her jibe.

This elicited another giggle from the woman. She looked young, certainly younger than Junior anyway.

"You look like you'd rather be in Hell than here. You're not the first." She noted drolly.

"Why does it have to be Hell? You don't know me; maybe I'm a good guy who says his prayers by night."

"And may become a wolf of Wall Street, huh?"

"Maybe I already am."

"Haha!" this time the girl's laugh was obviously at his expense, and it irritated him.

"Do you always pick on people you don't know?" He retorted.

The woman looked surprised by his sudden hostility. A look of genuine regret came over her face. "I didn't mean anything by it, I was just…well…it's just my way of dealing with nervousness." She attempted to explain herself, and Junior had to admit, it was kind of cute.

"Uh huh, that must get you a lot of friends." He said sarcastically.

"Hey, my friends think I'm one of the nicest people on earth actually."

"I'm guessing you didn't meet them in a bar."

"No." She admitted with a smile.

There was a bit of an awkward silence on the heels of the admission, and Junior took the opportunity to look her over. She was wearing a black dress that exposed a modest amount of her shoulders and back, and ran all the way down to a few inches below her knees. This, combined with a pair of matching black high heels, reminded him of something a high schooler might wear to prom.

"Hey, I'm up here."

Damn! Junior cursed himself as his eyes, which she had evidently noticed wandering, shot back up to hers.

Now she's gonna think you're some kind a perv.

Thankfully, the bartender returned at that moment and Junior seized the opportunity for a distraction. "Can I get an IPA please." He requested.

The man grunted and reached under the counter to retrieve a bottle of the ale. "Thanks." Junior muttered, grabbing the bottle and hurriedly getting to his feet. He wanted to get as far away from this stranger as possible after making himself look like such a fool.

"Is it your usual custom to undress women with your eyes and then run?" The girl called after him, causing him to stop short. A part of him wanted to keep going, just cut his losses and run, but another part couldn't bear to leave her with such a poor impression of him. No, he owed her some sort of explanation.

"Look, I…you…let's just…" Junior struggled to find words.

"What do you say we start over, alright?" the girl suggested as she shifted down the two stools so that she was sitting right next to him. She patted his now empty stool with a reassuring smile. "C'mon, I don't even know your name."

Slowly, hesitantly, Junior sat back down, earning a pleased look from his new acquaintance. "I'm Tulip." She said.

"Really?" Junior's eyebrows raised a little, "Were your parents florists?"

"I don't know, I never knew them." She said it matter-of-factly, but he saw the flash of pain behind the veil of her irises, and instantly regretted his comment.

"Oh…well…I guess you can go ahead and stamp 'jackass' on my forehead then." Junior muttered penitently.

"It's alright, you couldn't have known, I mean, we hardly know each other. Speaking of which, what's your name?"

"Jonathan Hunter Junior."

"Wow, that's a mouthful."

"Yeah, most people just call me Junior."

"Junior huh?"

"Well, Mr. Junior."

At this Tulip laughed. "Oh, Ok, Mister Junior, just what is it you do then? You some kinda high powered stock broker?"

"No…not exactly."

"What's that mean? Do you work on Wall Street?"

"No, I'm more of a…well, I'm uhhh…" Suddenly 'delivery boy at, about to be manager of, Cornerstore' somehow didn't seem all that impressive. "I mean, I deal with stock occasionally." It wasn't technically a lie.

He suddenly became aware that now, more than ever, he could use the beer before him, and he started to try and pop the cap off.

"Oh, here, let me get that for you." Tulip reached into her purse nearby and pulled out a strange looking device. It reminded him a bit of a mouse trap. The redhead winded a small key on the side, pulling a small metal strip back like a catapult. She then took the bottle and pressed the end of the metal strip underneath the cap before pressing a small button next to the windup key. The metal strip was released and sprang forward, popping the cap off as it went.

"There you go." She offered him the now open beer.

"Wow, what's that?" Junior asked as he took his first sip.

"A bottle opener. I built it myself." Tulip explained, beaming proudly.

"Really, that's awesome."

"Thanks."

Junior took another swig before asking his next question. "So, are you, like, an engineer or something?"

Tulip laughed. "No, I've never even been to college actually." She admitted.

"Really? You seem very bright."

Junior thought he saw a bit of blush creep into Tulips cheeks. "Thank you," she said with a wide smile.

"So what do you do if you're not an engineer?"

Now it was Tulip's turn to choose her words carefully. "I have a little job repairing things, but I mostly build stuff just as a hobby."

"Have you ever thought about selling any of your stuff? I'm sure there's people who'd pay good money for that fancy automatic bottle opener."

"Nah, not when they can get a regular one for a few bucks at a corner store."

"No, I'm serious, I'd pay for it."

"Really?"

"Sure. Have you tried getting on one of those TV shows like Shark Tank or something? You could probably get some funding."

"How about you?"

"Huh?"

"You said you deal with stock, right? Why don't you fund me?"

"Uhhh…I uhhh…ummm…I don't really have a lot of extra cash right now; a lot of my assets are tied up in securities and currency exchanges and…"

Tulip closed her eyes and snored exaggeratedly. "Boring! Is business all you talk about?"

"No!" Junior snapped defensively. He wasn't like his father. "I talk about music. Who's your favorite band?"

"The Lumineers, hands down!"

"Who?"

"Wow, you've never heard of them? They're the greatest! Who's your favorite?"

"I dunno I…I always liked "Beautiful Day" by U2."

"U2? What are you forty?"

"Thirty-two, thank you!"

"Really? You look younger."

The sudden compliment drew a small smile from Junior. "I have a really boyish face. I get it from my mother."

Tulip was laughing again, but this time he laughed with her. It was kind of nice actually. He polished off his bottle of beer that he'd been chipping away at over the course of the conversation before ordering another.

"What are you drinking?" He asked Tulip, who looked a bit surprised by the question.

"Huh? Oh, no, I'm good."

"No, seriously, don't worry I'll buy." Junior offered.

"Ummm, Ok, I guess I'll have what you're having."

"Another IPA my good man."

For the next two hours, they talked. As the minutes wore on, and he drank one beer after another, Junior began feeling the familiar buzz of the ethanol pulsing through his veins, taking away his nervousness. He was now feeling quite comfortable. They talked about music, joked about the downfall of the industry if bands like Nickelback ever had their way, and drank the night away.

"So, you go a boyfriend?" Junior inquired at one point, the alcohol perhaps making him a bit bolder.

Tulip smiled sheepishly, and Junior once against could have sworn he saw a tinge of blush creep into her cheeks. "No." she admitted, "I haven't really had time to look for one, what with work and all."

"You work a lot?"

"Yeah, I live on my own and rent isn't getting any cheaper."

"I hear that!" Junior concurred, clinking his bottle with Tulips.

"How about you?"

"Not as much as I'm going to be with this promotion I just got."

"Yeah? Congratulations."

"Don't congratulate me just yet. It's gonna be a whole lot more stressful than my old job, that's for sure."

"You seem like the kind of guy who can handle it."

"It means I gotta wear a lot more of these business suits."

"Ooooo, on second thought you might wanna go ahead and order that Drano." They both laughed at that. Junior found himself becoming more and more enthralled by her laughter. It was so light and ringing, joyful. It was quite infectious.

"Ahem!" the throat clearing came from behind Junior, and he spun in his stool to find himself face-to-face with the scowling face of Toady.

"Your father wanted me to inform you that he took the liberty of renting a hotel rooms for himself and you this evening, since it is very unlikely that anyone will be driving home." The ass-kisser huffed as he plopped a hotel room key on the counter.

"Alright, thanks." Junior said, not even bothering to hide his own dislike. There was the alcohol to blame for that. Toady glanced at Tulip, who gave him a friendly smile that fell when he gave her his signature look full of venom.

"Good to see you're making so many 'acquaintances,' Mr. Junior." He noted with heavy sarcasm before slinking back to whatever stone he had crawled out from under.

"God I hate that guy." Junior muttered.

"Sure seems like the friendly type." Tulip deadpanned as she watched him go, "Who is he?"

"He works for my father as the resident ass kisser." The jibe earned him a rewarding giggle.

"So, what does your father do? He must be loaded if he can afford a room in this place."

"Yeah he's a…uhhh…he's an entrepreneur."

"How vague."

"Well, he handles a lot of different things." Again, technically not a lie, but Junior feared that if it was revealed that his father ran Cornerstore, it would inevitably lead to the overthrow of his lie that he was some Wall Street broker instead of a deliveryman.

"I see. Well, listen it's getting late…" Tulip stood and nodded at him. "…I should probably be going." Suddenly, a sharp pain dug into Junior's stomach. He didn't want this girl to just walk away. He needed to find out where she worked, or get a phone number, or…

"Where are you staying tonight?"

What are you doing!? Some semblance of rational thought screamed at him through the haze of alcohol that had pressed him into asking what might be construed as the boldest questions he had asked Tulip all evening. She stopped mid-step and paused for a moment. Junior felt his heart stop. He expected to see a look of anger and disgust on her face when turned to tell him what a dirty old businessman he was, and how he could go drown in a ditch for all she cared. Instead, however, she turned and looked at him with interest.

"Home I guess. Unless, of course, you have an alternative suggestion." Her voice grew heavier and her eyelid's dropped a little as the words left her perfect lips.

Wait, is she… Junior was stunned silent as he just stared at Tulip.

"Well?"

"I…I have a room." Junior stated the obvious, his wide eyes never leaving Tulip as he held up his room key.

The redhaired Aphrodite (it could well have been the alcohol, but she seemed to be getting more beautiful by the minute) smiled a smile just big enough to show a glint from those pure white teeth. It was a smile of acceptance, but also of anticipation.

"Alright."

It had to be a dream. It sure felt like one as Tulip followed him out of the bar, up the elevator to the fifteenth floor, and down the soft carpeted hall that stank of that stereotypical hotel smell. The whole way Junior kept secretly pinching himself.

Holy crap, am I seriously about to have a one night stand with her? I haven't had one of these since college. What if she's just drunk? What if she wakes up the next morning and decides this whole thing was a mistake? No, she's soberer than I am. She only had one beer, and I don't think she even finished it. His mind was running rampant with speculation as his slid the key card home and opened the door.

Hunter had spared no expense on the room. It was the size of a condominium with a fully equipped kitchen, mini-bar, and seating area with a couch and a couple of chairs. The far wall was dominated by an enormous floor to ceiling window that gave them a perfect view of the city skyline a blaze with twinkling lights of every color imaginable. He might have found the view quite stunning if he wasn't so distracted by the figure of his companion, who was looking around the room with her mouth half open and eyes wide.

"Wow, look at this place! It's bigger than my whole apartment!" she gasped in delight as she flopped down on the couch and sank into it as though it were made of cloud, "I feel like a movie star or something. Hey, we should order champagne!"

Junior couldn't help but smile at the young lady's enthusiasm while picking up the phone to do as she suggested before joining her on the couch. "I take it you aren't used to the finer things in life." He noted.

"If by 'finer things' you mean: 'used to living on canned tuna in a squalid hole in an apartment block that should probably have been condemned years ago,' then yes. Oh, and I'm pretty sure my neighbor cooks meth."

"Jeez, things are that bad in your neighborhood?"

"Well, when you make minimum, you can't really afford much else."

"I guess not."

They sat and chatted until a knock at the door announced the arrival of the bubbly. Junior wasted no time in opening it, and Tulip squealed in delight at the loud 'pop' of the cork and a stream of the golden colored liquor that gushed out onto the floor. He filled two glasses and, attempting to be the gentleman, handed her the first one.

"Thanks." Said Tulip gratefully as she lifted the glass to her lips and took a sip, only for her eyes to go wide.

"ppppppttttttfff" she spat the champagne out, some of it splattering on his suit.

"Hey!"

"Sorry…sorry…" Tulip apologized profusely as she made a disgusted face, "But this stuff tastes as bad as that beer."

"Hate to break it to you, but most alcohol tastes about the same, unless you get something so sugary that it overpowers it."

"My bad. This is only my third time drinking alcohol."

"Really?"

"Yep, my first time was just a few weeks ago, my buddy Chuck let me have a bit during my eighteenth birthday party."

Tulip mentioned the event so nonchalantly, but it was nearly enough to send Junior's own mouthful of champagne flying. "Wait…what?!" he gasped as choked it down.

"It was some crappy lager, I forget what he said it was called. Tasted really bad though, I don't understand how alcoholics get addicted to the stuff."

"No, I mean, you said you just turned eighteen a few weeks ago?"

"Yeah, so?"

"You're only eighteen?" A sickening sensation was filling Junior as he realized the horrible truth. "I bought alcohol for a minor!?"

And you were thinking about screwing her too.

"Oh will you calm down, it's not like I'm wasted or anything. It was half a beer and one sip of champagne."

"No, this is wrong, we shouldn't…"

"Hey…" Tulip moved closer and grabbed a hold of his arm, sending sparks from every nerve in the limb to and brain and heart, causing it to beat a little faster. "It's alright, really. I want to be here." She assured him with one of her first-class smiles.

"Yeah, but…huh!?" Junior's attempt at another objection was interrupted by a gasp when she leaned in and placed a kiss daintily on his cheek.

"You're sweet, you know that? Maybe a little high strung, but I can see beneath that." She whispered, placing another kiss on his face, this one a lot closer to his lips. "You know, you've looked really uncomfortable in that suit all evening. Maybe you should…take it off." Tulip's became lower, huskier…hell, just downright sexier as her lips neared his own.

Maybe it was the alcohol, or maybe it was the fact that he hadn't gotten laid in forever (at least, not since college), but Junior couldn't control himself as his head bent forward, pressing his lips against Tulip's. They were so soft. Comparing them to rose petals would have done them a disservice. They were so much more than that. For a solid minute he couldn't move as he relished in her scent, a spicy lavender odor, and the sensation of her lips on his. He suddenly felt rather self-conscious. His own mouth was probably hard and rough, uninviting.

Tulip pulled away suddenly, causing his heart to drop. He'd never been a very good kisser. She didn't look upset or disappointed, though. On the contrary, her eyes were heavy with lust. "Maybe we should take this into the bedroom." She suggested seductively.

He was under her spell now, and could only nod. She stood and grabbed his hand, leading him behind her like a dog on a leash into the massive sleeping space. There was only a single queen-sized bed inside, but there was certainly enough space for two. Tulip pushed down onto the bed before slowly unbuttoning his shirt.

"Sorry about the mess." She said as she ran her fingers along the stain from the champagne.

"It's alright, my dad will get the dry cleaning." Junior assured her.

Tulip grinned. "You must be so glad to have a dad that can buy you anything."

"He can't buy me a girlfriend."

"Sure he could, there's any number of girls that would go after that sort of money."

"Not the right one, though. They'd all just be gold diggers."

"How do you know I'm not?"

"You haven't asked me for anything."

Tulip finished undoing the buttons and looked up at him. Her eyes held a tenderness that took Junior's breath away. He might have almost convinced himself that he had fallen in love with her right there, but he knew better. Love didn't work like that. She slid the shirt down his shoulder, exposing his bare chest which she ran her hands over lovingly, as though it were a rare piece of art. It made him feel rather self-conscious. Sure, he was a skinny guy, but he had almost no muscle tone, not like those big beach body builders that the girls always seemed to drool over.

"Well, now I'm going to ask you for something…" Tulip whispered suddenly. Junior looked at her with a puzzled look. She puckered her lips a little.

"Kiss me."

This time it was Junior's turn to smile broadly before granting the request. Their lips met once more to provide that magical bridge through which passion flowed while she sat down on top of him, straddling his lap. As their tongues danced the Minute Waltz, Junior reached behind her and unzipped her dress.

"Oooh, someone's anxious to move along." Tulip teased with a giggle.

Junior grinned back. "No I just…though you might be more comfortable with it off."

"Mmmm, good point." Tulip gave him a small peck on the nose before hopping off of him to slip out of the offending clothing while also taking a moment to remove her shoes. Soon, all she was clad in was a light tan bra and white pair of panties.

Junior felt a telltale feeling of restriction around his own privy parts at the sight. Tulip gave a sultry look. "Your turn."

Without hesitation, and in fluid motions so quick they would have put a cheetah to shame, Junior pulled off his shoes, undid his buckle and zipper, and yanked his pants along with his underwear right off.

Tulip laughed, taken aback. "Oh wow, no strip tease for me, huh? You're just brining him right out." She took a moment to glance down at his member.

"Not bad." She muttered.

"Ahem, am I the only one who's gonna get naked here?" Junior asked with a fake pout.

Tulip smiled and reached behind her back to undo her bra, letting it fall to the floor and unveiling her breasts. Junior judged them to be about a 'B' cup, possibly bordering on an 'A,' but he didn't mind. He was never a big breast man anyway. She had other qualities that more than made up for it, including her curvy hips and near hourglass figure. Tulip undid the tie holding her hair, allowing it to cascade over her shoulders like a magical waterfall. Her hands started running over her smooth skin, slowly making their way down to the final piece that hid her most sacred part from him. She was teasing him again. He was patient, though, and soon her thumbs hooked into the waistband and slowly began to push it downward.

Well look at that, the carpet does match the drapes.

Soon she had her underwear down to her ankles and kicked it away nonchalantly before lying down beside him.

"You excited?" She whispered, staring into his eyes.

"You know it."

"You're right, I do." He gasped as she reached down and grabbed ahold of him. "Oh, I definitely do."

Their mouths melded, and the battle for domination between their tongues resumed as one of Junior's hands began massaging Tulip's breast, earning him a small moan, the vibrations of which tickled his lips. As things became more heated, Junior gently pushed Tulip onto her back and got on top of her, his eyes never leaving hers. To his surprise, the confidence, almost cockiness, that had been there up until now had disappeared. Instead, she looked very nervous.

"Are you Ok?" Junior inquired, suddenly worried that she had not intended things to go this far.

"No, I'm fine." Tulip reassured him with a small kiss. She could feel his member pressing against her entrance. "Go ahead."

They moaned in unison as they connected. She was no virgin, that was for sure, but then neither was he. Before long, they found a pace they enjoyed, and the room filled with a cacophony of pants, moans, and groans. Any doubts that had remained in Junior's mind fled at the tidal wave of euphoria that filled his brain as he pumped away. He was loving every minute of it, and he could that she was too. It was beautiful in its own way. They clicked so well for a pair that had just met only a few hours ago.

She's pretty as a tulip. Junior thought in pure bliss as they shifted positions, with her on top.

She's my Tulip.

Well, here we are again with another pairing. There's a part of me that feels a bit dirty for joining the hordes of internet authors who spend their days perverting innocent kid's movies, but hey, I guess we all have to start somewhere. Those of you who have seen the movie will notice that I've made significant changes, but still thrown in some references for you in my latest literary exercise. If the chapter feels a little long, I apologize, but I am a firm believer that the best lemons have some build up behind them, otherwise they're just porn for readers to wank off to. I was happy with this one, though, since I felt that there was enough interaction between Tulip and Junior for there to be some substance behind their lovemaking. Sorry if I didn't go into as much detail as your used to, but I refuse to go full on erotica with this one. It's meant to be more than that. For those of you who read the whole thing, rather thank skipping to the good part to relieve yourselves, I hope you enjoyed it. Leave a comment if you have any, well comments, or questions. Happy reading and writing everybody!