I’d tried every conceivable way I knew to get in Audry’s pants.

I tried the ‘wanna eat lunch with me?’ routine. I tried the ‘wanna go to the county fair and have an elephant ear with me?’ routine. I tried everything short of killing myself in the name of love, all to no avail.

She denied every offer I made.

That pissed me off.

Today, I tried something new. I used the indirect approach.

Audry and myself were all that remained in the main office, everyone else had punched out. Charleston was upstairs getting a blowjob, so he was of no concern.

"Hey Audry, do you know where Charleston put that damn file?"

She peered over her copy of "Excel For Dummies" and shook her head no.

"Cripes, I gotta find that file or my butt is toast."

Again she peered over her book, then back into her never-never land of info.

"No idea, huh?"

She didn’t peer that time.

Audry was a temp. She came from a hiring agency, and she was the sixth in the past year. Temps have a way of working a few weeks, then just up and leaving.

Margaret was the previous temp, and I would have given my right nut to fuck her. A redhead with green eyes and a set of tits that could start a war. Yeah, Margaret was way okay in my book.

Audry wasn’t a redhead, she was a blonde. And her hair was thin and greasy.

Her eyes were dull brown, the surrounding skin peaked and ringed with hollow circles. Her tits were mere mosquito bites and she had no hips.

She looked like my mother. That turned me on.

I got Audry’s attention the only way I could think of. I spit on her pants leg.

"Hey you fucking asshole!"

Yeah, the spit worked, I had her undivided attention.

"Sorry," I said, then tried not to laugh. I was unsuccessful.

"You are such an asshole! I’m telling Charleston right now!" Audry stood up fast, the wheeled office chair rolling backwards towards the filing cabinets.

As a hocker traced a jagged path down her slacks and towards her scuffed heels, I said, "He won’t believe you honey. Now why don’t you come over here and give me some lovin." A question, sure, but more of a demand.

I felt so much like my father right then.

"You’re out of your fucking mind!" Audry said, then walked towards the door.

I had a better idea. I sprang from my office chair and tackled her. She and I fell to the carpeted floor in a lover’s knot.

She screamed, "Get offa’ m-"

I had to stuff my fist in her mouth, otherwise Charleston or someone else from upstairs might hear her shouts. That would be highly counterproductive.

She lay on her back staring at me with big fearful doe eyes. A tear streamed towards her ear, then was followed by another.

I still had my fist buried in her mouth and I didn’t think she was getting too much oxygen.

Placing my mouth against her ear, I softly whispered, "I love you. If you make a noise, I’ll kill you."

I pulled my fist back and examined the tooth prints on my knuckles.

I know she didn’t cause the marks on purpose, hell she had very little to do with those marks. Still, I was mad as hell. I punched her again.

Audry hunched her eyebrows in confusion and fear, then tried screaming again.

Before too much whining escaped her, I slammed again.

Then again.

I banged her repeatedly, really screwing up the skin on my knuckles.

She tried to call out but could only utter muffled syllables, mostly because of my quick battering.

Audry and I worked for the City of Tillsville under the supervision of Charleston Bogart.

C.B. was upstairs with his managerial assistant/lover Robert.

Charleston, who reminded me of Winchester from MASH, was an okay boss but his breath always smelled like dick.

Always.

The way I had it figured: he’d suck off Robbie, then leave the semen in his jowl like a cow with a cud.

He and Robbie were upstairs playing cow right now.

I helped Audry stand up.

Then twisting her arm behind her back, I took her to my car.

She didn’t make a sound, not with my threats of more pain.

Eventually though, she spoke. Her lips were bloody and swollen and her smile contained a few less teeth. "Weaw you takin me?"

"Home." I said, trying to keep from dribbling knuckle-blood on the steering wheel.

"Weaw ith that?"

I backhanded her. "Now shut the fuck up and quit asking so damn many questions!"

Another tooth spilled out of her mouth, along with a fresh runner of blood/spittle mix, but she got quiet. She got quiet real fast. Dad would be so proud.

My knuckle was gushing again. A red tendril landed on the horn. Piss on it, I thought. It’ll clean off later. It always does.

The rest of the ten-minute ride was accompanied only by a cassette of Metallica. Enter Sandman began its ominous instrumental beginning.

I sang about exiting light while blood dripped on my clean slacks; Audry silently stared straight out the windshield.

Occasionally she’d cough, moan, or maybe whine a little, but I think she knew what too much noise would do... what it could cause.

Audry was afeared of my backhand.

Before I killed Dad, he would beat the living shit out of Mom. But deep down, he really loved her I could tell. Audry’s silence put me in mind of my father. I felt so much like him right then.

We got to my house, a single story rental near the outskirts of town. "Coming?" I asked, always the gracious host.

Audry nodded no.

I raised my hand as a parent threatening an unruly child would.

Audry nodded yes.

Being the gallant lover that I am, I held her hand as we walked from the car to the front door.

I held it behind her back almost up to her hairline. Still, it was romantic.

Inside, I shoved her hard enough to make her stumble and fall.

"This will be so nice, just you and me. Want a drink? I got Pepsi, Mountain Dew, and some nonalcoholic beer."

She shook her head slowly back and forth. I think she started to say something but decided against it. She was well aware of "the backhand".

"Okay. Well, if you don’t mind, I’d like to get started with the sex."

Her doe eyes became dinner plates. Then she did scream.

I shut her up real good though.

After an awful pummeling, Audry lay in a fetal position puking blood on the floor. More pretty teeth lay scattered in the spew.

She coughed like an end-stage cancer victim.

"You want a kiss now?" I was so horny I think I’d have fucked a horse right then.

She continued coughing up blood. It dribbled from her mouth like an overflowing kettle, soaking into her hair and my carpet.

Man, the sight of her full red lips made my pecker stand high in my slacks. Her full red blood covered chin also revved my motor.

"Kiss me Audry." I grabbed her hair and pulled up. She made an internal noise-probably a closed-mouth scream-and managed to spin to her knees.

I dropped down to her level and repeated my plea, "Kiss me right now."

Just like Dad use to tell Mom.

Either because Audry loved me, or maybe to keep from getting smacked again, she complied. She lifted her tear and blood streamed face and offered a slight peck on my mouth. Her liquid sweetness overwhelmed me. I grabbed a handful of thin hair and pulled her into a deep open-mouth kiss.

Kneeling before each other like we were posing for a cute Hallmark love-card, we kissed.

Blood ran between us and we kissed. I bore down on her like a porno star; meshing lips and tonguing ruptured gums and sharp tooth remains. I sucked the sweet juices from her mangled mouth, swallowing every precious red drop.

We kissed.

I wanted to softly caress her breast but I dared not release my grip from her neck. Who knew what this crazy chick was capable of?

Audry groaned because of my masculinity and love technique.

I pushed her backwards with little or no concern for her safety, then climbed aboard the Good Ship Audry. We still wore our casual work clothes; me in a white turtleneck and slacks, her in a bloody white blouse and bloody off-white dress-pants.

Now she fought back. She had taken the earlier beatings in stride, but when it came time to fuck, she fought hard. Just like Mom.

Audry slammed me for all she was worth. Soft fists banged on my head and long legs frantically kicked out in frenzied chaos. She called out, unmindful of the potential punishment. I didn’t care. I had no neighbors within hearing (screaming) distance.

This was so much like Mom and Dad, how they made love.

Kissing deeper... holding her by the throat... gotta get these close off... nearing climax... squeezing her tender throat in a lover’s embrace... nearing... squeezing... getting closer... holding tighter...

Every muscle contracting...

Ahhhhhhhhhmmmmommmmm...

"Oh shit, sorry ‘bout that. Didn’t mean to cum so soon." Sweat fell from my forehead. More sweat trickled and collected at the small of my back, then became absorbed into my turtleneck.

I was sort of upset about not getting in her pants. It always happens that way though. Last month, when I brought Margaret home, the same thing happened, I squirted prematurely.

"Fuck it," I said. There’s always a next time.

Audry’s doe eyes were now behind pink eyelids.

Also, she wasn’t breathing. My guess was, my hands ringing her throat caused her breath to cease which in turn caused her life to cease.

"Just like Mom and Dad!" I proudly stated.

After I chain sawed her into manageable pieces, I ran her through the trash compactor.

Audry went in as bloody chunks of human and came out as a gooey gray mulch. A forty-gallon trash bag was now her home.

I took the Hefty bag downstairs and put Audry’s pudding-like remains in the large Frigidaire freezer.

Cold air rose in Arctic waves. With little or no effort, I stuffed Audry between Margaret and my mother. Dad was somewhere in there along with a host of other temps and one-night stands, and there was plenty of room for more.

The secret to a well-organized freezer is the garbage disposal.

Still early-only six-thirty on a Friday night-I showered, put on my good bluejeans and a nice Metallica tee, then sprayed entirely too much smellies all over myself.

I wrapped a bandage around my gnashed and swollen knuckles, then put a condom in my wallet.

Charleston and Robert should be here any minute.

Who knows, I might get lucky tonight.