Devil's Work
Date: 10/8/2015,
Categories:
Cheating
Author: TamLin, Source: LushStories
... more tragic than the plight of the wrongfully accused," said the Driver. "Hey, what was she doing snooping through your phone in the first place?" James blinked. "I didn't think to ask." "Kind of an invasion of privacy, isn't it?" "I guess." He looked out the window; they'd crossed a lot of ground in a short amount of time. They were heading uphill, along Taylor Street. "Where are we going?" "There's someone I want you to meet." "You can't tell me who?" "You got anywhere better to be right now?" James said nothing. The Driver parked outside a rowhouse and dialed a number on his phone. "We're here," was all he said before hanging up, and then he indicated James should wait in front of the building. Before James could again ask what was going on the Driver sped away, leaving him blinking and uncertain in the street. The hill he was on was steep, and the wind pushed against his back, threatening to send him rolling end over end down it. Somewhere overhead, thunder tolled. A strange woman was walking toward him. She asked for him by name and when he said he was who she was looking for she threw her arms around him and hugged him like they were old friends. Bewildered, James let her take him into the building, through the garage. Now in the dark, James suddenly became anxious. He swallowed. "I don't mean to be rude," he said, "but who are you?" "Amber." "Right. ...but, more specifically?" Her smile was almost visible in the dark. "I'm a friend of a friend. He thought we should ...
... meet. Didn't he tell you about me?" "Not a word." "That naughty boy!" "Where are we going? he said. "To my room. Well, not my room, exactly. I call it the parlor. It's where I entertain." In the back of the garage was something like a tiny, one-room apartment. It looked like a college girl's dorm room; the bed took up about half of the space. A string of Christmas lights provided most of the illumination. Soft music was playing. The woman took James' coat, after asking for it twice. She looked 40ish but somehow still girlish. She wore loose pants and a t-shirt, and her hair was dyed red at the ends and pulled back in ponytail. The strange room made James feel like he'd just stumbled into a tiny, magical kingdom hidden in the back of a closet. "Do you like it?" she said, closing the door behind them. "I built it myself." "It's...cozy," James said "Do you want something to drink? Wine?" "Yes," James said, after deliberating for longer than was probably necessary. She had a glass ready for him. "Why don't you take off your shoes? Stay a while?" "Am I staying a while?" James said, taking a sip. "Your friend told me you were cute." "Yes, my...friend. Did he tell you a lot about me?" "Just enough. He told me about him, too. I know who he really is." She guided him to an overstuffed chair with no legs and letting him sink into it. She sat in the legless chair opposite his, drinking her own wine. "It's going to storm," she said. "Maybe it'll help end the heat." "Has the heat been ...