Chapter 1

Story tags: consensual, romance, male/female, oral, job

“There’s his Jeep.” Shelly steered her car into the parking space next to it. “Good. He’s working tonight.”

“Who is?”

“A guy who would be perfect for you.”

“What? You bitch! I’m not going in there.”

“Yes, you are, Kay.”

“No! I’m not ready to see men socially.”

“Socially? You and I met for sandwiches after work, went window shopping, and now we’re stopping for a drink. He’s the bartender.”

“Don’t play cute with me.”

“You frustrate me, Kay. Pull up your big girl panties, and check your hair in the visor mirror. You can’t just go to work and hide out in your apartment all the time.”

Kay gave her friend a withering look. “You don’t take relationships seriously like I do.”

“I haven’t found a guy I want to wake up next to every morning.”

“What Sid and I had was special. I thought you understood since you agreed to be maid of honor.”

“I understand YOU thought it was special. Obviously, Sid didn’t, or he wouldn’t have wanted to put his skinny dick in me. And don’t start. You know I told you right away.”

“Shelly, I said a hundred times I don’t have a problem with you. In fact, I’m glad it was you. Who knows if another girl would have said anything?”

“Exactly. I had your back then, and I do now. Let’s have a drink. I’m buying.”

The girls entered the softly lit cocktail lounge. The after-work crowd was gone, and most of the real drinkers hadn’t yet come in. Rock music played from somewhere. Shelly chose stools at the bar.

The man came to them drying his hands. They looked as masculine and strong as the rest of him. “Good evening. Do you ladies have ID?”

They pulled their drivers licenses from their wallets and handed them to him. He studied the images and handed the cards back to the girls. “I remember you, Shelly. Vodka gimlet again?”

“Ooh, you’re good,” she giggled.

“If I was good I’d have remembered your age,” he smiled. “What about you, Kay?”

“Black Russian.”

“Nice choice.” He turned to make their drinks.

“See?” Shelly whispered.

“See what? Yeah, he’s cute.”

“Cute? That’s it? He’s built like a brick shithouse, has a voice that should be doing phone sex, and you say he’s cute? You could use a real man after that creep Sid. My God, girl, this guy drives a vintage Jeep, not a bland grey Prius!”

“How do you know that’s his Jeep?”

He returned with their drinks, grinning. “She almost backed into it last week at the hiking and camping store.”

“Now, wait a minute, mister. I was at the nail salon next door. If you wouldn’t have been parked,...” Shelly began.

“In a properly marked space? We went through this. You missed my Jeep, so it was all good.” He smiled and turned to wait on new customers.

“Told you he was perfect,” Shelly giggled. “You should ask him out.”

“If he’s so perfect, why don’t you ask him out?”

“I’m not the outdoorsy type. You are.”

“Okay, so he’s hot and he goes to an outdoor shop. That’s all very nice, but he’s too old for me. He’s going grey.”

“Oh for pity’s sake! Grey, sun-bleached, whatever. Maybe twenty strands at his temples. Kay, honey, you’re twenty-three. Sid was half bald. How old was he? Fifty?”

“You know damn well he was thirty-one.”

“He looked like an old lecher, and he was boring. Finish your drink.”

“Why are we in a hurry?”

Shelly raised her hand. When the bartender nodded to her while serving another customer, she said, “We’re not in a hurry. I just wanted to get him over here again. Look at that ass.”

“You’re incorrigible.”

The bartender grinned his way over to them. “Ladies?”

“What do you want this time, Kay?” Shelly asked.

“Excuse me, girls,” he interrupted, “but who’s driving?”

“I am,” Shelly said. “Do you have Diet Coke?”

“Of course. You?” He turned to Kay.

“No, thank you.”

“She wants another Black Russian,” Shelly said. “She’s celebrating her freedom.”

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow.

“Fine. I’ll have another. She’s paying.”

He smiled and turned away.

“You little bitch,” Kay complained.

“Moi?”

“What do you think you’re doing?”

Shelly sighed. “You sit at home all the time now. I was cool with not hanging out every day when you were with Sid. He was your guy. You were getting married, looking at condos, and all that. You were like a kid waiting for Christmas, so I was happy for you, but I like being single.”

“Your point?”

“My point is you don’t enjoy being alone. You like having a man in your life.”

“Oh, suddenly you don’t like men?”

Shelly giggled. “I like having a man in my bed but I’m okay if he’s gone when I wake up. You’re different. You were never tempted by the fuck buddy thing, were you?”

“No!”

“Kay, honey. Come on. This isn’t the Victorian era. You’ve been with what? Three guys? Two in college and Sidney, right?

“Yes. So?”

“So, a loser frat boy who dumped you for a girl with fake boobs, a clingy gamer geek who missed his Mommy, and an aging cheater.”

“Dammit, Shelly! How many times are you going to recite my list?”

“Until it gets longer. You need to live. You’re young and sexy. You should be having fun, not sitting home watching ‘Friends’ re-runs.”

“Sex has to mean something to me.”

“Me too,” Shelly said.

“Really? I don’t fuck on the first date like you. I’m not a slut.” As soon as Kay said it, she knew the bartender heard.

He wore a completely neutral face as he served them. “That’s good,” he muttered to Kay.

When he was gone, Kay hissed, “Who do you want to give the eulogy at your funeral?”

Shelly couldn’t help laughing. “He said it was good. Personally, I have fun sometimes acting like a guy, which means going out and picking up someone to sleep with. You should try it.”

Kay shook her head. No point in trying to stop her friend when she was on a roll.

Before they finished their drinks, Shelly’s phone rang. She listened for a moment and said, “Wait. The music’s too loud. I’m gonna move.”