Before There Was You, There Was You

Chapter 3

 How poor are they that have not patience! What wound did ever heal but by degrees?  Othello - Shakespeare

*****

 

Rena was many things, but practical wasn’t one of them. She was a creature of habit—mostly bad habits. She lived on instinct. She was selfish, self-serving, controlling and greedy, not in the monetary sense, but in life. She craved life experiences. She was greedy when it came to knowledge, pleasure and the few people in her life that she loved. She had her own code of honor: a code she, Brian and Andy formed when they were just babies really, a code she would never break, and was sure Brian had never broken either. It was a simple code really, just three rules they would always live by: never make promises you can’t keep, never compromise your beliefs, and never regret or apologize for living your life the way you choose.

And Rena never apologized for her wanton, selfish ways. When she first moved in with her Aunt Viv she had no idea what to expect. It took her a long time to trust her aunt. Up until the day she came to take her niece away, Aunt Viv was only a name and a photo her mother had left behind. Viv could never have children of her own, so in a sense her taking Rena to live with her was a selfish act in itself. But Rena was not one to look a gift horse in the mouth. Aunt Viv made sure Rena never wanted for anything. She was allowed to make her own decisions from day one. She decided where she would live, what school she would attend, what clothes she would wear, who she would befriend, and all the millions of other decisions a young girl had to make while growing up. Rena was just thirteen when she moved to France with her aunt. Viv had whisked her away to her château in the Loire Valley, and then just as quickly she had left Rena to go on her honeymoon with her sixth husband. She’d had three others since then. Rena had been left with Aunt Viv’s “man”, Tom, and her new bodyguard, James. Rena remembered the talk they had right before Aunt Viv left that first time.

“Rena, my girl, I know this is very inconvenient, but your Aunty Viv just got married and I’m off on my honeymoon! I wish we had more time to talk before I leave, but we’ll have the rest of our lives to get to know each other!” Viv smiled brilliantly, exposing perfectly white-capped teeth. “Now, while I’m gone you just let Tom know what it is you need.” She took both of Rena's hands into hers as they sat facing each other on the veranda of her chateau overlooking the magnificent gardens. Rena was young but not stupid. She knew Viv was loaded. Her house, her clothes, her mannerisms — everything about her screamed money. Yet, she seemed so unaffected by it.

Viv kissed both of Rena’s hands and leaned forward so that their faces were close to each other.

“Rena,” she said softly, “what’s done is done. It’s your time now. You make the decisions. I promise you from now on no one will tell you or force you to do anything you don’t want to do.”

Rena found little comfort in those words at the time, mainly because she didn’t trust them. But she liked her aunt. It hadn’t even been two days since they left Pittsburgh, and Rena had barely spoken a word to her. If Viv noticed, she never commented on it, but Rena was strangely comforted being around her.

Viv continued to hold Rena’s hands in hers, with their faces close, as if she was waiting for Rena to say something. Rena had no idea what to say so she simply said, “I don’t want to go to school.”

Viv threw her head back and laughed heartily. Rena loved the sound of her laugh. It was unaffected. Genuine.

“Oh, my dear child,” she managed to say between bursts of laughter, “one should never let such a mundane thing like school get in the way of one's education!”

Rena smiled. Oh yes, she liked this woman. And with those parting words and a kiss on Rena's forehead, Aunt Viv was off on her honeymoon. Rena did not see her again for eighteen months.

True to Aunt Viv’s promise, Rena was lady of the house. She did as she pleased. For the first few months she simply explored the beauty of France. She loved the Loire Valley best. Though she spent a lot of time visiting the Louvre, the L'Orangerie, and the many other famous attractions in France, it was amongst the beautiful gardens of the Loire Valley that Rena felt most at peace. However, after a while she grew bored. Having everything handed to you on a silver platter wasn’t as satisfying as she thought it would be. Truth was, even with all her newfound freedom, she was still very much a prisoner.

Rena was all too aware of the fact that Viv had technically kidnapped her. When she came to take Rena away, she told Rena and Brian that the only way she could keep Rena safe was to make sure no one knew where she was. Her father still had custody rights to her and if she were found he could take her back. As far as Rena was concerned, that was NOT an option. She would slit her wrists before going back to her father. Brian and Rena agreed that her safety was of the utmost importance even if it meant that she would have to disappear. She would never be able to tell Brian or Michael where she was, but in her mind the thought of never seeing or talking to her Bean again was something she could not accept.

Being a bright child, Rena came up with the idea of Tom hand delivering letters back and forth between her and Brian and Michael. Above all, Rena needed to stay connected to her brother. She had lost so much; she wasn’t about to lose him, too.

Years flew by and Rena decided she did want to go to school. She found she was insatiable when it came to acquiring knowledge. She read every book she could get her hands on. She studied art, history and politics. She took a special interest in human behavioral studies. She got her doctorate in Behavioral Genetics—a subject she obsessed about. She yearned to find out what made people tick, and especially why people committed such evil acts. What she found were more questions and no real answers. The human psyche was a deep mystery.

Rena also found that she was insatiable when it came to pleasures of the flesh. She loved sex whether it was with men or with women. She dabbled in S/M, BDSM, orgies, and many other variations of sex. To her, sex was fluid. It was never about gender or orientation. If it was right, she went with it. Her motto was, “Sex was a pleasure banquet and she was going to have her fill before the boat docked.”

She attended several universities in her quest for knowledge, and in the process racked up many sexual experiences. During this time she continued to correspond with Brian and Michael. Michael was easy. Her letters to him were colorful but innocent; she spoke of the many places she had visited and the interesting people she had met along the way, never giving out too much information to let him know where she was at any given time. In truth, Rena herself didn’t know where she would be at any given time.

Her letters to Brian were very different. She wrote to him about everything that was going on in her life—the good, the bad and the ugly. Brian understood her and accepted her for who she was. He particularly liked to hear about her sexual exploits. Of course, his were just as adventurous. It was one of the many things they had in common; both had overactive libidos, though neither one ever questioned the source of it. That was dangerous territory.

On her twenty-third birthday, Rena wanted to go home, back to Pittsburgh and her brother. In truth, she would have gone home when she turned eighteen, when she was no longer in danger of being taken by her father. She didn’t even know if he was still alive by then, but Viv said she should consider finishing school first. She wrote to Brian about it, and he agreed that she should finish her education. Rena was bright and worked hard in school. At twenty-three she had her PhD, a big party to mark the occasion and a ticket home. That was when Tom and Viv told her about Brian’s stint in rehab. Guilt washed over her like hot molten lava. She was living the high life, learning and loving—well, screwing anyway—and Brian was still dealing with past demons. He was stuck in time, and she was responsible for keeping him there. So she made that promise to Viv to never contact her Bean, her brother, again. To leave her past firmly behind her giving both her and Bean a chance at happiness, free from the shackles of their past that apparently Bean was still struggling with.

Damn! She wished she'd never made that promise. Well, no regrets, right? Instead, she found a loophole in her promise and coerced Tom into continuing his bi-yearly trips to Pittsburgh so she could keep abreast of her brother's life. She would have gone insane were it not for Tom’s reports on Bean’s progress. It kept her connected to him. But now it was time to go home. From all accounts, Bean was a successful businessman, had a son, and was dating a young blond man. She wanted to see her brother again. Having made the decision, she sent Tom off with the letter to Michael. She hadn't broken her promise. She'd promised not to contact Bean; she hadn't promised not to contact Michael. She hoped Michael was still the innocent caring person that she remembered him to be. From what little information Tom had brought back after each visit, she knew that Brian and Michael were still very good friends.

So, here she was, lying languorously on her side on a soft white leather sofa in her room at the Hilton Hotel in New York City, waiting for one very special phone call.

James, her bodyguard, was still with her after all these years. Wherever Rena went, James followed. He had an old-world European manner about him. He still called her “Domina”. Rena knew he was in love with her, But she just didn’t know what to do about it. Having sex with him didn’t help the situation, but hey, no regrets, right? At that moment he was checking out the hotel, making sure they had a good security system in place. He was always mindful of her safety. As Tom was Aunt Viv’s man, James was her man.

Shane, her best friend and assistant, had also joined her on this trip. She had met Shane several years ago in LA while visiting Margot Hathaway, Viv’s best friend, on the set of her new movie—a movie Viv was backing financially.

Margot Hathaway had been Hollywood’s darling at one time, and was still very sexy at the age of fifty. Her current leading man, Robert Connelly, was not as sexy—a fact that pissed Margot off. But Viv had insisted on casting him opposite Margot as part of the deal for financing the movie. Viv and Margot were always pulling pranks like that on each other. Margot had agreed because, although she was a great actress, with two Oscars to prove it, she wasn’t twenty anymore and Hollywood was no longer sending her decent scripts. She had bought a script with her own money but had needed financing to make the movie. For that she needed her pal Viv.

Robert Connelly would have been Margot’s last choice as leading man. Margot was famous for seducing all her leading men. She made it a point not to work opposite gay actors if she could help it; it would ruin her reputation as a worldly seductress, and at fifty, it was even more important to keep up that image. The problem was that Robert was gay, and she was determined to have Robert, even if it meant she had to grow a cock. On the other hand, Robert had no interest in her. He was, however, discreet. On more than one occasion Robert had been able to sneak a young man into his dressing room. Rena was aware of Robert’s exploits. It was one of those well-known Hollywood secrets.

On one particular night Rena had seen one of Robert’s tricks sneaking into his room. The trick had beautiful black shaggy hair, smooth creamy skin, and the largest blue eyes she’d ever seen. His lithe form exuded sex from every pore. That had been Rena’s first impression of Shane. Shane was young and gorgeous, and Rena had no doubt that many older gay men had been charmed out of their money by the beautiful young boy. The only problem was that Shane was a girl. One would only have to “watch” her to know. But most men—or, more precisely, johns—never looked too closely at their tricks. Rena marveled at the fact that men fell for Shane's ruse.

Rena had waited for Shane outside Robert’s dressing room that night. When she finally came out she was counting the stack of money in her hands and her hair was sticking up in odd directions. Rena had to clear her throat loudly to get her attention.

“Does your daddy know what his little girl does late at night?” she asked Shane playfully as she leaned against the wall near the dressing room door.

Shane turned to look at her, and without skipping a beat replied, “Now why the hell would I tell him? He’d want a cut.” They both laughed.

Rena offered her a job on the spot, and Shane, being no fool, had taken it. After all, how long could she go on tricking for gay men? Although she didn’t mind sucking cock, she’d had enough of it to last a lifetime. She didn't look girlie enough to trick for straight guys, and finding lesbian tricks was a bitch. Most of them wanted lipstick lesbians and Shane was not a lipstick lesbian. Shane was androgynous.

Rena and Shane had become fast friends and Shane had proved to be invaluable to Rena. She was extremely smart, talented, and resourceful. She handled all of Rena’s appointments and personal business. If someone wanted access to Rena, they had to go through Shane. Other than Bean, Shane was the only one who knew all of her secrets—well, almost all. Right now the only thing Shane needed to know was why Rena was in New York, and how important this trip was.

Shane paced in front of the large window in the hotel suite, cell phone clenched tightly in her hand. She was more nervous about this phone call than Rena was.

Rena shifted on the couch and propped her head up on her hand, her elbow digging into the soft leather. She watched Shane pace nervously back and forth, wearing a path in the plush carpeting. Her tenseness made her look extremely sexy. Rena wanted to ease some of that tension out of her friend and in the process relieve some of the tension she, too, was feeling.

“Come here, Shane,” Rena cooed seductively. Shane stopped and looked over at her. She blinked a few times, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I’m not having sex with you, Rena,” she stated definitively, then resumed her pacing.

Rena sighed heavily. Sex with Shane was rare but always good. They both had an understanding about sex. It had nothing to do with their friendship or their working relationship; it was just an activity they shared, like playing racquetball, but a lot more fun.

Shane stopped pacing and walked over to Rena. She knelt down and rested her chin on Rena's folded arms, leaning into the sofa. Rena reached down and ran her long slender finger down the side of Shane’s face. Shane turned into Rena’s soft caress and slowly looked up at her.

“What if he doesn’t call?” She asked the unthinkable.

“Of course he’ll call, Shane. Don’t be ridiculous.” How could she tell Shane that she had no doubt Brian would call, as long as Michael showed him the letter. However, that was in question.

“But it’s after ten. Tom delivered the letter at six this morning. Four hours? Michael must have talked to Brian by now. Tom said Brian was in town. He and Michael are still close friends. They haven’t heard from you in six years, Rena. Michael would have been on the phone to Brian the moment he closed the door on Tom, you know that. So why hasn’t Brian called yet?”

Shane was trying to prepare Rena for the big disappointment she felt Rena was about to suffer. Rena looked down at her, seeing concern in her friend's deep blue eyes. But Rena wasn’t concerned. Rena was horny.

She lowered her head and brushed her lips against Shane’s. Shane didn’t move away, which pleased Rena. She pressed her lips more firmly against Shane’s, her tongue slipping out a bit to caress the softness of Shane's bottom lip. Shane leaned in to deepen the kiss. Rena reached over with her hand and cupped the back of Shane’s head, bringing her in closer, forcing Shane’s mouth open with her tongue so that she could taste her better.

Shane always tasted so good. Right now she tasted like Mint and coffee.
 

Shane moaned deeply and slowly stood up, careful not to break the kiss, while lifting her left leg up and over Rena’s hips. She dropped the phone on the floor and crawled up on the sofa, positioning her body over Rena’s.

Rena laid her head back against the arm of the sofa and brought her free hand down on Shane’s ass, pressing her body down more firmly into her own. With one hand cupping Shane’s head and the other pressed against her perfectly shaped ass, Rena could feel Shane’s excitement building. She slipped her hand inside Shane’s jeans and lightly caressed the crack of her ass, her hand dipping lower and lower …

“All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride …”

“Shane …” Rena pulled her mouth away from Shane’s, breaking the kiss. She placed her hands on her shoulders and gently started pushing her away. Shane moaned out her disappointment at the sudden rejection and pressed her body more firmly against the length of Rena, her mouth searching out Rena’s to recapture the kiss.

All you want to do is ride around Sally, ride, Sally, ride …”

“Shane! “ Rena’s voice was sharp. “That’s the phone, Babe.” Rena’s mind registered the words to Tom Jones’ song Mustang Sally coming from the cell phone. It was Shane’s favorite song and she had her cell’s ringtone programmed to play it.

Shane pulled herself up quickly and leaned over the sofa to where the phone lay on the floor inches from her reach. She quickly flipped the top open before the third ring and answered in a very husky, aroused voice.

“Hello.” Shane attempted to gain control of her emotions. She was laying half on Rena, and her other half was dangling over the sofa. She cradled the phone in her hand and pressed it to her ear.

“This is Brian Kinney. I want to talk to my sister,” the man on the other end said.

Shane turned her head to look at Rena, her eyes wide with surprise. Rena laughed and reached over to take the phone from her hand.

“Bean!” she excitedly breathed into the phone. “Your timing's for shit.”
 

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