Firecracker Gone Astray - Firecracker #2 (Erotic Romance) (5 page)

Trixie realized in retrospect that she was being catty towards the woman, but who keeps standing there like that? Not that it bothered her in the least, but it was obvious what they were doing. Sure, as part business owner, it was her right to interrupt them. She would have done the same thing in her shoes, but with less overbearing superiority.

There was something about Vanessa that already rubbed Trixie the wrong way, like she was being judged by somebody who had no right casting stones. She never backed down to bullies, but couldn’t say for certain what they were locking antlers about. Was it a contest of wills strictly between them? Or was it possessive contest over Erik? Until today, Trixie had no claim or interest in him. She had just come off a wonderful weekend with Cy, followed by three stolen days. If anything, Erik was benefiting from her ramped up libido spilling over from the previous weekend. Trixie found it hard to shut it off, even when she knew more sex was coming.

Seeing Erik, however, and realizing what he represented -- a possible missed opportunity -- had changed everything. The whole afternoon with him, when held up against everything that Cy represented, a uniquely talented man among so many others who had come before, was a disaster waiting to happen. So why was she still considering going to Erik’s boot camp?

Vanessa acted like she had her claws in Erik, but Trixie could care less about what she thought. She wouldn’t play that game. If she had to fight for somebody, even somebody like Cy, then they weren’t worth her time. They either wanted to be with her or they didn’t. End of story. If she
did
go to Erik’s boot camp, it would be to trounce Vanessa’s impossibly tight ass.

Whatever dislike she felt towards Vanessa was between them. Hearing her exclaim
“THAT was Trixie?!”
meant she was privy to more than just business conversation with Erik. Had she picked up the broken pieces of post-Trixie Erik when he was researching her orgasm? Had Vanessa counseled him to move on, presumably into her arms? All conjecture pointed to yes.

What stuck in her craw was that Vanessa had clearly formed an opinion about her before they ever met. Sure, it was one thing to choose the side of your friend, but Vanessa seemed to pointedly look down at her, like she wasn’t worthy of a man like Erik, regardless of whether she actually wanted him or not.

Trixie unclenched her fists, not even realizing that she had been making them in the first place. Was she getting carried away with herself? She
was
making some pretty big assumptions, but they felt accurate.

It didn’t help that the only other women she interacted with from Bare All Fitness had made a crack about her being a porn star. Their opinions didn’t bother her in the least, but they did offer a larger glimpse into the kind of women who surrounded Erik. A class that Vanessa also taught. He deserved more than that. Whether Erik deserved what she had to offer was still unknown, but Trixie felt like she needed to see it through, even it that meant battling uber-camel toe Vanessa to see who had the higher threshold for pain.

The Bare All Boot Camp turned out to be an even bigger deal than Trixie first thought. They advertised as a weekend retreat, but in the city. You showed up Friday night, checked in to a five star hotel, three floors of which were completely closed off, and everybody exercised in a convention room, which was similarly protected behind lock and key. There was a three hour regimen early Saturday morning, followed by controlled meals and unlimited spa treatments. The evenings were your own and check out was Sunday morning.

Mortified at the way Vanessa behaved, Erik made the entire weekend complementary to Trixie. She offered to pay, but he refused to take her money, waving every cost if she decided to attend. They had interacted across e-mail and instant messaging all week, during which he dispelled all of her playful concerns that she was joining a cult.

The unisex philosophy applied to the retreat as well. You always had the privacy of your own room, but the idea Erik and Vanessa encouraged was that nobody should feel ashamed of their body. If you ended up stripping down to nothing during the workouts, that was your prerogative and nobody would bat an eyelash.

The retreat was an invite only affair. The boot camp was run irregularly, whenever enough people passed their screening process, so that they never made compromises by simply accepting whoever could pay. They only wanted people who were serious about fitness and weren’t there to gawk.

It couldn’t be that selective a process, Trixie thought, when she spotted the two fitness bitches wandering the hallways together. She decided not to judge everybody based on their behavior alone. To that end, she suspected that Erik muscled her invitation into the retreat, although Vanessa had said that she was looking forward to her attendance, but doubted she would come. Surprise. Trixie rarely backed down when challenged.

Erik and Vanessa received her graciously when everybody checked in Friday night. He did his best to be professional, but she could feel his eyes looking through her clothes. His stares were not unwelcome. Vanessa had either completely switched personalities or was extremely good at hiding her distain. She was dressed much more modesty than their first meeting, but still wore sheer clothing that accentuated every muscle in her implacably hard body.

Vanessa acknowledged their last meeting, hoped they could put it behind them, and start fresh. Trixie played along for now, but didn’t completely lower her guard. It could simply be a show for Erik and the other students. All that mattered was how she behaved when they were alone.

That opportunity came sooner than she expected. Trixie was just beginning to settle in when there was a knock at her door. Looking through the spy hole, she could see Vanessa standing outside.

Trixie swung the door open to find her much as they first met, now changed into her sports bra and tight pants. Her whole body rippled with muscle. Vanessa didn’t have the physique of a body-builder, but she did have broad shoulders and strong arms. Her face remained feminine, even pretty, but her breasts were smaller than Trixie’s, and bulged with muscle, no doubt reduced to that size by exercise. And of course, there was the camel-toe, displayed proudly for all to see. She may as well have shown up naked. As it was, Vanessa was dressed for battle.

Trixie decided to play it cool and let her break the silence. She had come knocking after all.

“Am I catching you at a bad time?” Vanessa finally asked.

“Not at all. Do you need my help with anything?”

Trixie knew very well that she didn’t want her help in any capacity, but Vanessa bit her tongue instead of saying so. She was on good behavior for some reason, but it wasn’t coming naturally.

“No, thank you, but could we have a moment, in private?”

Trixie stood back and held her arm out to the suite, inviting Vanessa inside. She was curious to see where this would go. Trixie closed the door once Vanessa stepped inside, who started talking directly.

“I was hoping we could talk about Erik.”

“If you like. Would you like to sit down?” Trixie said, gesturing to a pair of chairs and a coffee table.

“No, this won’t take long. Erik means a lot to me. He’s my business partner, but I care about him too. He’s also a friend. A close friend. I was there for him when he went through a rough patch… after dating you.”

Trixie bet she had. Generally speaking, guys were easy pickings, but a recently shot down guy who was low hanging fruit. Whether they realized it or not, their egos need a pick me up. Nothing accomplishes that more than a willing twist in which to forget about their past sorrows. Women weren’t much different in her opinion.

“Erik and I got to know each really well during that time. I feel like we formed a bond that brought us closer as people, if not a
couple
. I’ve invested a lot of myself into that relationship. I hope you can understand that.”

Trixie nodded. There was no harm in being understanding.

“I know Erik invited you to be here,” Vanessa continued, “and he insisted that I make you feel welcome, so I am. At least, that’s my intention, which is why this is hard for me say…”

Vanessa was double talking, and not by choice. Erik must have really given her a piece of his mind. Any respect she was affording her now wasn’t genuine and all this beating around the bush was contrived to the point of grating. Trixie decided to let her off the hook.

“Just say what you mean Vanessa. It’s only us here. I won’t tell on you.”

Vanessa’s eyes flared a little. The venom that Trixie correctly guessed hadn’t gone far returned.

“Back off Erik.”

That was more like it. She would much rather deal with Vanessa on the surface, without the veneer of politeness.

“I can’t promise that,” Trixie said, standing her ground.

“You had your chance with Erik. You threw him away,” she said, actually pointing at her with an accusing finger.

“And you had your chance picking up the pieces. But after all that time, you still can’t even call him your boyfriend, can you?”

“I make him happy,” Vanessa said defensively.

“He seemed pretty happy with me last weekend in the shower.”

Vanessa stood up straight. She was at least one-half a foot taller than Trixie.

“I’m more his size,” Vanessa said proudly.

Trixie raised a ginger eyebrow up at the woman. What was this, high school? Would they compare bra sizes next? If they did, Vanessa would lose. Instead, Trixie decided to bait the woman.

“You’re more his size? Really? Length and width?” she said, pointing at Vanessa’s all too visible loins.

Her mouth dropped open.

“How dare you!”

“Oh come on Vanessa, the way you parade that shaved squirrel around constantly I could describe every one of your folds to a sketch artist. It’s like a black hole for my eyes.”

“I… I can take Erik…
just fine
,” Vanessa stuttered.

That answered both of Trixie’s questions.

“You’ve been Erik’s friend with benefits, at best. That’s after almost a year of trying for more. If anything was going to happen between you and him, besides the occasional hook up, it would have already. So no Vanessa, I will not back off Erik simply because you
command
it,” she said calmly.

Trixie crossed her arms and stared up at Vanessa. She hadn’t decided whether or not she would revisit Erik during this retreat, but that was her business. It would not to be dictated to her by a body-obsessed peroxide-blonde used to getting her way.

“He fell apart after you dumped him,” Vanessa countered, “I put him back together. He’s mine now. And I have more in common with Erik than you do. We don’t just share a business together, we think the same way. We have the same uncompromising discipline. All you can offer him that I can’t is a spacious cunt. I can already guess at how it got that way!”

Okay, she deserved that. Still, Vanessa could throw all the stones she liked. Trixie was immune to them, but she wouldn’t be kind now. She menaced towards Vanessa, who reflexively stepped back.

“You’d be surprised how much that means to a man like Erik. Do you have any idea what he really needs? He walks on eggshells around a woman’s body. I’m guessing that’s your fault. He wasn’t like that when I knew him. He could cut loose and really enjoy himself. I managed to undo all of your damage in one afternoon, and I did it all with my
spacious cunt
.”

“He… cuts loose with me,” Vanessa said, not really knowing what she was talking about. Trixie put the lie to her statement.

”If you weren’t so obsessed with having such a tight snatch, you’d be surprised what a little juice means to a man like him.”

Trixie
was
a Harridan, and more than just in family name, especially when provoked. Vanessa was stunned. Trixie went in for the kill.

“Yes, I did discard Erik, but I’m also big enough to admit when I made a mistake,
to his face
. My apology was well received. Very well received in fact. A little softness can make a world of difference to a hard man like him. Let’s just say that he was most
forthcoming
. Does the discipline you and Erik share keep him warm at night? Does it help him relax when he’s tired? How about when you do spread that tight little package for him? Do you at least welcome his come on your body when he can’t fit inside you?”

She assumed that Vanessa was the kind of girl who didn’t celebrate sex, or the mess that it made. More often than not, discipline meant uptight. Vanessa was predictably stymied by her rhetorical questions.