Perfect Freedom by Gordon Merrick Read Free Book Online Page B

Infidelity hadn’t been a problem for so long that he’d forgotten the arguments against it; he knew only that all his instincts were trained to resist it. In New York, sex seemed as mechanical as all the mechanized artificiality of the city so that it was easy to keep it in its place. Here, it drifted in the air like dust. The sun made him want to cast off inhibitions just as it made him want to throw off his clothes. It would be fun to throw off his clothes with Odette, reveling in the approbation of the new world he was discovering.
    â€œWell, what about it?” he asked finally. He looked at her and caught a puzzled expression in her eyes. “Can we work something out together?” He wanted to establish the difference between helping her and buying her but it was a difficult point to make with a girl who had held his cock. He thought of his finances. The summer had been much cheaper than he’d expected. He could afford a small offering to the gods. Odette was watching him expectantly. “What if somebody gave you fifty francs a week?” he asked. “Could you get by until some other work turns up?” He leaned back, holding his glass up between them, and their eyes met. The desire in hers was unmistakable; he supposed that his were revealing, too. They burst out laughing together.
    â€œWhy would anybody give me fifty francs a week?” she asked.
    â€œJust like that. Because they like you. Why did we give you that little present the other night?”
    â€œI’ve wondered. I wondered if it was right to take it. I think not. You can’t take money from people just like that.”
    â€œBut it’s all right if you do something for it—like going to bed with them?” This was the tricky part, this was where he risked hurting her feelings.
    â€œThat’s natural,” she said as if it went without saying.
    â€œEven if you go to bed with people you don’t want, just for money?”
    â€œWant, want,” she burst out. “Rich people do what they want. The rest of us do what we have to do.”
    He smiled at her placatingly. “Not necessarily. You didn’t have to do anything for that present. Would you’ve preferred it if you had?”
    â€œI wouldn’t have wondered then,” she said.
    â€œYou make it difficult for me,” he said, his smile becoming mischievous. “I can’t do anything for you without asking something in return.”
    â€œOf course if you put it like that—” She took a thirsty swallow of her drink and looked at him with unabashed desire. “I find you odd. You make everything seem different from the way it usually is.”
    â€œYou haven’t answered my question. Can you get along on fifty francs a week?”
    â€œI could manage for the moment, as long as my friend lets me stay with her.”
    â€œWell, I can spare it for the moment. I don’t know for how long. For the next few weeks anyway.”
    â€œJust like that?” she asked.
    He avoided meeting her eyes directly so that whatever she might see in his wouldn’t give her the impression that there were strings attached. “Just like that.”
    A small frown creased her brow. “I don’t understand you. When you look at me, you make me feel that I please you.”
    â€œYou do, very much.” He wished she were holding his cock again to prove it. “I just want you to know the money has nothing to do with it—”
    â€œI don’t understand but I believe you. You’re nicer than most men. You know what I want more than money. You’ve warned me not to expect it.” As she spoke, she became merry and playful once more.
    Stuart was pleased. He had managed it without offending her. He chuckled as she leaned her breasts against the table and tilted her head flirtatiously at him. “Then it’s all settled. I don’t have much money with me. I’ll give it to you