Page 32 of Choke

“Scout’s honor,” I say, grabbing her hand and dragging her toward the staff area.

We round a corner, and it’s only then that I feel safe to groan, “Christ, I will never get that smell off of me.” I look at Olivia and hold my arm out. “Smell me. I smell like that fucking pervert, don’t I?”

She laughs and leans away from my offered arm. “Hell no. I couldn’t get away from him. I think that shit was toxic. I might have brain damage from the fumes.”

Another server passes us with a tray of champagne, and I snag two glasses, passing one to Olivia. Her skin is glowy, and her hair is loose and waves around her shoulders. The tops of her exposed shoulders are red, reminding me she just returned from a client meeting that must’ve been somewhere nicer than our usually overcast city. While she tells me about the trip and the monster deal she landed there, I text Kendall to tell her where we are. Olivia is finishing the work story when Kendall rushes around the corner. As always, she looks fantastic in a little black dress, sky-high heels, and her bright blonde hair curled to look like an old-school movie star.

Olivia’s eyes shift to her, and she smiles brightly, the dimple in her left cheek popping out as it only does when she really smiles. “Perfect. Now that I have both of you, I need advice.” She laughs.

Kendall is the problem solver of the three of us, quick to offer a solution.

“Excellent, let’s hear it.” She says.

“As long as it’s not work-related,” I add.

Kendall nudges me playfully, and we both fall silent to let Olivia explain the situation. I sip my champagne while I listen, the bubbles popping on my tongue before they continue straight to my head.

“Well,” She starts, “Remember that guy I’ve been seeing?”

“Jackpot.” I rush out, and they laugh at the comment.

“Well, I told him I find dirty talk sexy.”

I nod while listening to her, extremely excited for whatever comes next.

“And suddenly, he makes this…” She pauses, deciding how to describe it, “he makes like a ‘mmmm’ sound whenever we are doing literally anything physical.”

She finishes, and Kendall and I stare at her.

Kendall breaks the silence by asking, “Is it a groaning sound?”

“No,” I say. “It’s like the ‘mmm’ sound you make when you’re starving and finally eat something delicious, right?”

Olivia laughs and nods.

Kendall looks confused.

I visibly cringe, and before I can stop myself, I mutter, “Ew.”

We dissolve into laughter. Olivia continues to tell us about the sounds and weird times it has happened, and the more she talks, the more I laugh. Ultimately, I end up pretending to dry-hump her, ‘mmm’’ing loudly. I offer zero advice, while Kendall suggests words of encouragement. We are in a fit of giggles, clearly forgetting where we are when our boss, Antonio, rounds the corner.

“Ladies, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, could you lower your voice or preferably return to the event? Everyone in the vicinity of this hall just heard you talk about how Olivia’s boyfriend demanded she ‘suck his cock’ and then made weird noises the whole time.”

Olivia blanches, Kendall straightens, and her expression drops to what I call her business face while I dissolve into laughter. Oh, that’s too good.

“Back to work, ladies.” He says sternly as he turns and returns to the way he came.

We fall into a hush a moment before I lean in and whisper loudly to them, “Someone should suck his cock. He needs it. Ollie - you up for it?”

Olivia shoves me playfully, her shoulders shaking with laughter. She says, “I volunteer you as a tribute. I am absolutely not it.”

Over the last couple of years, these two have become some of my closest friends. I spend all of my time at work, so I spend a lot of time with them. They are brilliant, powerful women, and I gravitated toward them when I joined our company. We all adjust ourselves. Kendall reapplies her lipstick, and we head back into the ballroom. The lights are lower now, and music fills the air. I turn to Kendall, remembering the man from earlier. I reach into my purse, fish out his card, and offer it to her. Her eyes go wide with excitement, and by some miracle, I locate him in the same spot I left him. I point him out and push her in his direction. There is no hesitation as she heads straight for him, grabbing his hand and dragging him to the dance floor.

I lean into Olivia. “She’s totally gonna win this month.”

Olivia rolls her eyes and laughs. “She wins every month. Let’s go before Antonio loses his mind on us again.” She nods to our boss, Antonio, who is standing with a group. He stares at us with a look that tells me we’ll get an earful tomorrow.

“Maybe one of them will suck his cock…” I muse.

---