JENNIE
I ache all over. I check my phone for messages. It's almost eleven, but still early enough to call Nayeon, who has called me three times and sent seven texts.
"Where have you been? I called you twice."
I don't correct her. "I was busy getting laid." I sound tired.
"Ooh, by the hot, tall, sexy one?"
"Yep. She was waiting for me in the courthouse parking lot when I left tonight, so I invited her over for dinner."
"In front of everybody? Are you nuts?" She hisses her questions through her teeth as though people around can hear her.
I sigh. "Give me some credit. No. I slipped her my business card with my address on the back." I crawl under the covers and get comfortable. I won't last long, and I have an early start tomorrow. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for not calling you earlier. I was busy."
"Was she just as good today as she was yesterday?"
I smile. "Oh, I didn't think she could top yesterday, but she did."
"Let me settle in. Top yesterday, and go," she says.
"She brought me a present."
"Flowers? Oh, please don't say flowers. I'm going to be disappointed if you say yes. Or, worse, chocolates."
"Come on. That's so last decade. Or last generation. Or whatever." I wave her off as though she can see me. "Let me start over. I asked her to come over for dinner and to keep her sexy fire-inspector uniform on."
"Oh, the sexy uniform we saw on Instagram?"
"The very same. It's her formal dress uniform. Anyway, her uniform pants were so tight that she couldn't pack, so she gifted me a giant dildo."
Nayeon claps. "That's brilliant. And she used it a thousand different ways, right?"
"My couch and the bathtub." My voice is smug and proud.
"The tub? How is that even possible?"
"Well, that was more me alone with her watching, but eventually she took over," I say.
"I'm so jealous."
"You shouldn't be. You're having sex like ten times a week.Lisa is my first since Vegas."
"I'm jealous because you're always so creative sexually. And you aren't afraid of anything. I mean sex with O is really awesome, but you know how I am. I get comfortable with somebody and get bored."
Nayeon's not wrong, but I recognize a difference in her this time.
She wants to settle down. She's slipped into a life she's happy with, and I think Orlando is going to do everything he can to make her happy. She's a real catch. Smart, attractive, career-driven, fun, and classy. "You won't get bored. You haven't sounded this happy in a long time. Okay. I need to get to bed. I'm sore and tired, and this case is draining me."
"Kill it. Good night, Jennie Bear."
"On it. Good night." I plug my phone in to charge. I need to get to my office by seven thirty. My first case is interesting for so many reasons. Aside from one of the witnesses being a hot fire inspector who fucked me every possible way, I'm genuinely interested in why somebody would purposely burn down a warehouse and get caught.
What were they hiding?
I got lucky to have this as my first case. There are enough questions to keep it from being cut and dry, but there don't seem to be any surprises either. Even though it's not a high-profile case, it's meaty enough that people are either jealous I'm hearing it or laughing at me since I'm so green and they think I'll fuck it up.
When the alarm goes off, I feel like I just got to sleep. I'm sore everywhere. I stretch for several minutes and drink a bottle of water.
I should have done that before I fell sleep last night. I put on my black suit with a stylish sleeveless turtleneck sweater. It's the best I can do, given that the temperature outside is in the nineties. Lisa marked my neck, and I can't cover it with makeup. I'll have to set guidelines for next time. If there is a next time. I'm not a next-time kind of woman, and last night sated my appetite. At least for now.
I'm curious to see if I cross paths with her again, especially since we know how to get in contact if we want.
I pour a cup of coffee and grab my bag of notes I didn't review last night. Trust-fund baby Cassidy is dragging in from somewhere, and she looks wrecked. I lock my door and stop when I pass her in the hallway.
"Are you okay?"
She nods and holds her head. "Just a little bit too much last night. Ugh."
I'm thankful she didn't hear me last night. Our bathrooms share a wall. Sometimes I hear her singing in her shower. "Take aspirin and drink cold water before you get some sleep."
"Uh, thanks."
She slips into her apartment before I hit the elevator. I can't wait to move. Soon I'll be in my new place, where hopefully my new neighbors are closer to my age. I think I'm the oldest person on this floor.
The security line is short this morning. "Good morning, Judge Kim."
I hand the officer my bag and take off the jewelry I put on twenty minutes ago. "Good morning, Wayne." He smiles at me because I'm the only one in line who knows him by name. He hands me my things and nods as I leave.
I have forty-five minutes before I have to slip into my robe and head to the courtroom. I pull out my notes, click my pen, and stare at the pages I wrote yesterday. Lisa's name is doodled in the top right corner. Not only is it unprofessional, but also high-school-girlish. I cover it using a black Sharpie and flip to the next page.
Visions of last night pop into my thoughts, and I shake my head to get rid of them, as if that's even possible. My sexual encounters with Lisa have pushed me to a different level. It's one thing to meet a woman in a bar when we both know exactly what's going to happen. It's a whole different thing to meet a stranger in a museum, have sex in a public place, and not even know their name. It's decadent. It's dangerous. Lisa has given me the biggest sexual high of my life.
"Judge Kim? Court's in ten minutes."
April's voice through my intercom jars me back to reality.
Where did the last forty-five minutes go? I clear my throat before I answer. "Thank you." I put on my robe and twist my hair up. When I open my door, April points to her lips. Shit. I nod and retreat to my office for a tissue to remove most of my lipstick. Old habits are hard to break.
"All rise."
The rest of the day flies by. It's like a tennis match watching the prosecution cycle witnesses in and the defense take a whack at their credibility. By the end of the day, I'm exhausted. I barely remember lunch. I can't imagine what the jury's feeling. I hang up my robe and look out my office window. Lisa isn't there. Not that I expect her to be, but it's worth a check. I can't tell if I want to see her again or leave the entire thing a mystery. I remove my suit jacket and sit behind my desk. I have a feeling I'll get more done here than at home.
I'm overwhelmed. I've taken a break from reviewing case notes to box up anything personal that I don't want the movers to touch. I have only three empty boxes left and too many things. I've already packed my lingerie and most of my sex toys. The dildo Lisa gifted me is on top in case I need a stress reliever this coming week, which is a high probability. This case is growing bigger by the witness. The prosecution surprised me last week. Their opening remarks were lackluster at best, whereas the skillful defense dropped doubt from the opening remarks. But the prosecution presented a solid case.
And Lisa's testimony was hard to refute. The defense asked a few questions that did nothing to discredit it. But starting tomorrow, they would have the floor.
The intercom at my front door buzzes. "Yes?"
"Ms. Kim, it's Downtown Delivery."
Sunday dinner is angel-hair pasta with garlic and herbs from a small Italian restaurant not far from my apartment. I could have picked it up myself, but I'm too busy packing. I rarely cook, and I do it even less now that I'm in the middle of moving. I buzz the delivery person up. I'm expecting a pimply-faced teen. Instead, the delivery person is a man in his mid-thirties, dressed in slacks and a button-down shirt. Something's off about him. He's smug and entirely too confident to be a delivery person. I step outside my apartment and pull the door partially closed behind me.
"Ms. Kim?" he asks.
I take a step toward him to let him know I'm not easily intimidated. "Yes. Thank you." My voice is crisp and dismissive.
"Oh, hey. That smells great," Cassidy says from down the hall.
Thank God for the trust-fund baby. She's headed out somewhere, but I draw her into conversation so I'm not alone with this guy. "Have you tried Brio's pasta? It's delicious. They have the best garlic bread. Plus, their drinks are amazing. You and your friends should go there." I hate digging for conversation, but she seems excited that I'm engaging her.
"We go there for drinks all the time. Hey, you should come with us one night," she says.
It's so hard not to roll my eyes at her, so I nod. "That sounds great."
Smarmy guy smirks and hands me the bag. I watch as he turns, slides his hands in his pockets, and looks around before getting into the elevator. I'm not letting Cassidy get in the elevator with him.
I point at her wrist. "I love your bracelet. Where did you get it?" She looks down as if she doesn't remember what she put on tonight. "Oh, my parents got this for me for my birthday. It was last month. I think this is the one they gave me." She shrugs and smiles.
"Okay, well, have a good night. I'll see you around, and maybe we can all go out next weekend."
She gives me a tiny wave and heads to the elevator. Creepy guy is gone. I lock my door and deadbolt it. I dump the food right into the trash. I don't trust anything about that exchange. I find a yogurt and an orange to eat instead. Not as satisfying, but safer.
I call Nayeon. "Can you talk, or are you busy?"
"We're just hanging out by the pool. What's going on? Are you all packed?"
"Just the essentials. The movers will pack everything else Saturday." I peel the orange and pop a slice into my mouth. "The weirdest thing just happened. Some guy just delivered my dinner, and he didn't seem like a delivery guy. Well, he didn't look or act like one. He was dressed for Sunday church," I say.
"Maybe he just came from church and is simply a dude trying to make extra money on the weekends."
"Wearing designer slacks and Allen Edmonds shoes?"
"You got that close?" Nayeon asks.
"No. I don't know what he was actually wearing, but I know quality when I see it. That man didn't need a ten-dollar tip. It was just weird."
I hear children splashing in the pool. She must be at Orlando's.
He has two children from a previous relationship. Nayeon dropped that bomb on me last week. "Do you think it has something to do with the case?"
"The one I'm trying now?" I ask.
"No, well, maybe. I meant the pharmaceutical case. But could it be the one you're hearing now? Is it controversial?"
I can't divulge anything other than what's released to the press, and she knows that. "Not really. Just a guy who's accused of burning down a warehouse."
"Oh, maybe it's the mob, and he was hired to burn down the warehouse because it housed all their incriminating files or something sinister like that," she says. Nayeon has the more overactive imagination of the two of us.
"First of all, I think the mob left Kansas City in the seventies. Sure, there might be a straggler here, but I doubt it. And second, don't scare me. You know I'm all alone here."
"I'm sorry. You need more friends." She's right. Most of our friends from law school got jobs elsewhere after we graduated.
"What about anybody at your old law firm?"
"No. Everybody hates me because I landed the judgeship."
Most of my so-called friends either wanted a handout or a boost. I didn't like any of them enough to give them either.
"Join a MeetUp group there in town. Or do it the old-fashioned way. Go to a bar. But not for the reason we normally go to a bar. Look for friends or get a hobby."
I hear the teasing in her voice. "I definitely need more friends here, but I just don't have the time and certainly don't have time for a hobby. Maybe once this case is over."
"You'll always have cases. Find something fun to do. Well, after you move. Hey, maybe some of your new neighbors will be awesome. Doesn't your new building have a coffee shop and a library? Didn't I see that in the link you sent me? And don't worry about that creepy guy. It's probably nothing."
I take a deep breath and sit on the couch. She makes a good point. The new place has a coffee shop, a theater, a health club, and a rooftop pool. I'm bound to find new friends there. "You're probably right. Let's move on. Tell me about you and Mr. Bloom."
She laughs. "He's here with me and says hello."
"Hello, Mr. Bloom." I raise my voice so he's sure to hear me.
"Hello, Judge Jennie."
We go back and forth before I end the call. Nayeon doesn't have a lot of free time, so I don't want to monopolize it. It's nice to hear the happiness in her voice though.
I pack the three boxes and stack them in the corner with the rest. I don't have a lot of things. It won't take them long to move me. Most of what I have packed is clothes. I'm donating a lot of the furniture. I want a fresh start at the new place. Restoration Hardware is delivering a new living-room set and a new one for the dining room this week. The concierge will let them into my new place with specific instructions on where to put everything.
I can't relax. I'm too antsy and can think of only one solution.
I open the box I just packed and pull out the dildo Lisa gave me.
I find the lube and head to my bed. It's still light out, but I don't pull my blinds. I get comfortable on my bed and start by running my fingers up and down my slit. I smile and think of Lisa on my bathroom floor touching herself. It's refreshing to find somebody as sexually free and unguarded as she is.
I'm already wet and still sore, but that doesn't stop me. I lie on the bed and bend my knees. The lube starts off cool but warms up quickly. My clit twitches with delight as I run my fingertip up and down the smooth, tight skin that's swollen and ready. The tip of the dildo slides through my folds, and I gasp as I sink the head inside myself. I pull it out before the stretching hurts. It's takes a few times of adjusting before I can push it farther inside. I moan loudly when my pussy takes all of it. I pull it all the way out and fuck myself until I'm frustrated. It's heavy and big, and I drop it several times.
My sex machine is packed away so I improvise. Since it has a suction-cup base, I stick it to the baseboard of my bed and back into it on my hands and knees. The carpet burns my still-sensitive knees, so I grab a pillow and kneel on the soft cushion. I relax and ease the dildo inside me. This is so much easier than trying to do it to myself. I start off slowly and move my hips back and forth. I want to touch my clit so I lean over and press my forehead on the carpet to free my hand. It's hard to do everything, so I build myself up by flicking my clit, and when the need to come is no longer avoidable, I push up so I'm on my hands and knees again. I move fast and hard against the shaft. When I come, I throw my head back and moan. I slide away and roll onto my back, gasping for air. My stress is gone, and I feel relieved. It really is the perfect gift and exactly what I need.
