Jake and Hollis were on their fourth date, making it official that they were a couple. They were walking in the park, a date they could afford, but it didn’t matter. They were young and having fun.
Spending time together.
Crushing on each other.
Missing each other when they were apart.
Jake turned to Hollis. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
Jake made a gesture. “Do you want to go make out behind that big oak tree?”
He grinned sheepishly.
It sounded romantic, and Hollis was in the mood to be kissed by a bad boy behind a tree in a public park.
“Not at all.”
Once they were hidden behind one of the massive oaks that lined the walkway, Jake pulled Hollis close and kissed her softly on the lips. Then harder. He pressed his pelvis against her, and she could feel his cock growing inside his jeans.
Then he said something that changed the whole dynamic.
“I’m gonna fuck you so sweetly tonight, baby,” Jake whispered in Hollis’s ear. “You’re gonna love it so much when I’m deep inside you.”
Hollis tensed up. She flashed back to Foster Prentice’s sexual advances in his office.
The tickling.
Lying on the leather couch.
Foster’s handkerchief.
Her pleasure with Jake turned into painful memories.
She panicked and pushed Jake away. Hard.
“Is that how you talk to girls?” Hollis glared at Jake.
“It’s our fourth date.” Jake was unfazed. “It’s time to have sex. Right?”
“Is that all you men think about—sex?”
Hollis was directing her shame and anger about her encounters with Foster onto Jake. But it didn’t stop her from lashing out.
“You can go to hell with your fucking self, you fucking date rapist!”
Jake was surprised at her reaction. He went by the traditional three dates, then sex. He had given Hollis an extra date because she was so nice. But didn’t women expect a man to take the lead? The women he knew liked forceful, dirty talk. They wanted to be fucked.
Hollis stood her ground. “Don’t look so surprised. I thought you were different—not every woman wants a filthy alpha male!”
Jake was upset with himself. “Hollis, I’m sorry. That was the old me. Maybe this was a mistake. I worked so hard to improve myself, and here I go treating you like you were a…”
Jake couldn’t say the word.
“A whore? Is that what you wanted to say?” Hollis was on a roll. She had found a new power—a power over men who thought of her as a sex object. She was no longer the girl who could be touched anywhere by a man, just because she had feelings for him.*
“No. I know you’re not a whore.” Jake was on the defensive. “I know you’re a good girl. What was I thinking?”
“Is that why you asked me out? You know I’m a good girl, but you thought I would go along with being fucked by you?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. That’s all wrong. I’m sorry.”
Thinking about what she did with Foster, Hollis toned it down. She was upset with Foster, not Jake. And upset with herself.
“I wouldn’t call myself a whore, but I’m not a good girl, either,” she said.
Hollis sighed.
“I have something to tell you.”
She put her hands over her face and started sobbing. Jake led her over to a park bench and held her when she leaned over to cry on his shoulder. Jake didn’t know what was going on with Hollis, but he knew this was a time to keep his mouth shut.
What Hollis wanted to say was that she had let Foster Prentice touch her inappropriately. That she liked it. That he made her come. But she wasn’t ready to admit that yet. It wasn’t anyone’s business until now.
Now, she had to tell.
She stopped crying.
Jake fished a tissue he had been carrying for Hollis out of his pants pocket. He cared that much. Hollis dabbed her eyes.
“This is going to be really hard for me to say.” Hollis looked Jake in the eye, then looked away. “It’s a long story.”
“Hollis, you can tell me anything. What is it that’s so bad, you can’t talk to me about it?”
Jake turned her face to look at him.
Hollis took a deep breath. “It’s Foster Prentice.”
“I knew it. I’ll kill him!”
Jake stood and clenched his fists. He was seething with rage.
Hollis started to cry again.
Jake softened and sat back down. He put his arms around Hollis.
“I promise I won’t get angry until you are finished, Hollis.”
Hollis was quiet. Then she spoke. “I need you to be quiet after I tell you, too.”
“I promise.”
“Okay. This is hard for me to admit.” Hollis took a pause. “Foster used to touch me in his private office.”
“That’s it!” Jake was up again. “I’m gonna fuckin’ kill him!”
“No, no!” Hollis had her face in her hands. “That’s not what I want.”
Jake was beside her again. “Then what do you want? Tell me before I break every bone in Foster’s manicured hands.”
“Calm down, Jake. Please. This is hard enough for me as it is. And when I tell you, you might not want me anymore.”
“Nothing you can say will ever make me not want you.”
Hollis took a moment to gather her thoughts. “You have to promise not to tell anyone and not go after Foster for this.”
“I promise.”
“Here goes then.” Hollis cleared her throat. “I went to interview for the job as Foster’s secretary. It wasn’t much of an interview. He just hired me. I wasn’t qualified for the job, but being as stupid as I was, I didn’t think about it. I was so in love with Foster and his job that I would do anything for him. I’m so stupid.”
“You’re not stupid. You’re young, and Foster took advantage of you. There’s nothing wrong with that.”
“That’s not the whole story.”
“Then take your time.”
Hollis continued. “It started with long talks in his office. Then he told me I was tense. Would I like a shoulder massage? I said I would, and when he touched me, it was so relaxing. I melted under his touch. And then I started fantasizing. What it would be like to be with him…”
“Oh.” Jake’s ego deflated.
“Then the massages became more frequent, and I looked forward to them. Especially when he touched me in other places.”
Jake tensed up.
“Over time, things progressed until he had me undressed in his office and touching me everywhere…including down there…
Jake was seething with rage. Rage at Foster Prentice.
…and the worst part was that I liked it. No, I loved it.”
Jake stood up and paced. Trying to hold everything in, but couldn’t.
“I’m going to kill him!”
Hollis was terrified for herself and for Foster.
Jake was pacing, muttering to himself. He crossed his arms and sat back down on the bench. “The only reason I’m not gonna kill him is that you asked me not to.”
A long pause.
“This isn’t your fault,” Jake said.
Hollis stared at him, eyes red and raw. “Then whose fault is it?”
Jake thought long and hard before he spoke.** He didn’t want to scare her. He didn’t want to be another man who made her feel small, or dirty, or like she had to fear his reactions.
“It’s his fault,” Jake said. “He’s a grown man with a college degree and a corner office at the city building. Are you telling me he didn’t know what he was doing when he hired you?”
“No,” Hollis said. But it didn’t start like that. He’s always been so respectful and kind. Never says a cross word, never corrects me in front of others.”
“That’s exactly how they do it,” Jake said. “These predators, they treat you really nice at first, then they lure you in, and when your guard is down, they pounce on you.”
“Foster isn’t like that, and I never said no.”
“You didn’t have to, by letting him touch you the way he did, you’re saying yes.”
“I must have done something to lead him on,” Hollis said.
“No, you didn’t,” said Jake. “He took advantage of a young, naïve teenager. Now answer me some questions. Have you ever had another job outside of high school?”
“No,” Hollis said quietly.
“Are you a virgin?”
Hollis turned red, then quietly said, “Yes.”
“So you have no job experience with men and no work experience,” Jake said. “Don’t you think that had something to do with him hiring you?”
“No, I’m good at my job.”
“And what do you do all day?”
“Get lunch, answer phones, make copies. Everything a secretary would do for her boss.”
“What else?”
“Nothing else. I sit there all day unless Mr. Prentice needs me for a meeting.”
“And what do you do in those meetings?” Jake asked.
Hollis couldn’t find her voice, then quietly said, “He massages me.”
“We can’t let that happen anymore,” Jake said. We have to get you out of there.”
Hollis stared at him like she didn’t know what to do with that kind of kindness.
“I’ve been fucked around with by older people, too,” Jake said. People in a position of authority who knew no one would believe them if they said anything. I don’t know exactly how you feel, but I know.”
“Thank you for saying all that, Jake. I’ve needed to hear it for so long.”
More tears.
“We don’t have to do anything physical until you want to. And when you do… it won’t be like that. I won’t talk to you like that. I won’t push you into something you’re not ready for. I don’t want sex if it means losing you.”
Hollis’s shoulders relaxed, without the help of Foster Prentice.
“I still feel dirty,” she whispered.
“You’re not,” Jake replied. “You were manipulated by a man who hides behind charm and respectability. That’s not dirty. That’s taking advantage of someone who doesn’t know any better.”
“So what happens next?” Hollis said, looking to Jake for an answer. For hope.
Jake gave a small shrug. “We don’t have to know. But whatever it is, we’ll do it together. The most important thing is that we talk to each other. We let you take this slow. And when you’re ready, we’ll figure it out.”
Hollis leaned into Jake, grateful for the comfort of his strength. Glad this was all over. Glad that Jake understood. Jake wrapped his arm around her, but suddenly pulled away. “Oh, my God.”
“What is it, Jake?”
“You know I go to his wife for therapy. What am I going to do?”
Hollis was pensive. “That’s one of the reasons I didn’t want to tell you. Jake, what are you going to do? Please, for the love of God, don’t tell her.”
“I won’t—because I’m not going back. Think about it. Foster was grooming you for his fantasy. Sick bastard. That’s how they do it. They find someone younger that they like, and they slowly make their move. By the time they are finished, you are the one who thinks they wanted it.”
“It’s true.”
“And if Foster is grooming you, what is his wife up to with me? We talk about sex. A lot.”
“Please don’t go back there. And I’m going to quit on Friday.”
Jake frowned. “Fuck them both.”