Chapter 2

Instead of brushing her question aside, Jake stood in front of Janet and lifted his chin, looking her in the eyes, "The woman I was thinking about asking to be my wife told her lover that I was a lousy fuck."

Janet's quick indrawn breath told him she was as startled as he had expected.

As if it were a closed matter, Jake took the dishes to the kitchen sink. After closing the door of the dishwasher, he stood at the kitchen counter with his back to Janet. "Will your parents miss you if you spend the night with me, say Wednesday night?"

"What about ... aren't you going to..." Janet stuttered, her voice full of surprise as she asked, "You mean you're going to wait until Wednesday night?"

Jake turned to watch her face as he answered her question, "Janet you are an alluring woman. You're beautiful, sexy as hell, and I imagine you can be everything a man wants as a sexual partner. That is, if all a man is looking for is a hot fuck. I'm beyond the age of thinking that's all I want from a woman. I'd like to take a few days to get to know you better and let you get to know me. It will make an intimate time with you much more pleasurable for me and I suspect will mean more to you, too."

"Oh." She answered easily as if it was something she needed to think about, and then turned to the table to pick up the remaining dishes.

Jake turned to the coffee pot, refilling his cup, as he watched Janet place the dishes in the sink. As he leaned against the edge of the counter, he watched her slender frame moving around the kitchen.

He took a quick sip from his cup, and when Janet turned to look at him, he placed the cup on the counter behind him. "Janet, do you masturbate?"

Her head jerked up, "What business..." Her anger dissipated almost instantly, thinking about their agreement. Instead of objecting that his question was an invasion of her privacy, she answered, "Yes, sometimes."

"How often, every day, a couple of times a day, every other day, or a couple of times a week?"

Janet took a deep breath and after lifting one shoulder then letting it fall back down, she answered, "Two or three times a week. And you, how often do you jack off?" Her last two words were said with a little grin of mischievousness.

"Let's be clear here, I'm not asking to be voyeuristic. I genuinely want to know if I can please you. My questions are in that vein. For your information, I don't jack off, but I do masturbate almost every day when I take my morning shower."

His words were plainly spoken. They sounded so honest and informative that Janet merely nodded and did not feel embarrassed to know what he had told her.

She stood, leaning against the counter a few feet across from him, and accepted his next questions as an interest in having information about her.

"When do you stimulate yourself? And do you use toys or just your fingers?"

"Usually at night and I use my fingers," she answered easily, and then added, "Sometimes I use the sprayer attached to my showerhead."

"Are your nipples sensitive?"

"Sort of, I guess," Janet answered as she looked down at her feet. "I touch them myself, but I've never really wanted anyone else to touch them too much." Her voice was almost a whisper as she added, "Most men are sort of rough." She looked up at him when he said her name.

"Janet, will you promise me you won't stimulate yourself or masturbate for the next five days?"

Her quickly indrawn breath told him she knew exactly what he was asking. He did not want her touching herself until they were together Wednesday night.

Janet nodded slowly, "Are you ... will you... ?"

"If it's what you want, I will also refrain. In fact, I'm looking forward to being around you for the next few days as the tension escalates. Does that do anything to you?"

A sudden blush worked its way up Janet's upper chest, darkened her neck, and filled her cheeks with color. She tilted her head to one side as her glance worked its way down Jake's chest, his flat stomach, and the slight tent behind the fly of the soft thigh length shorts he was wearing. Her eyes popped up to his eyes as a smile spread her lips attractively.

Jake raised his eyebrows, knowing what she was thinking. His voice was low and gruff when he asked, "Janet, are you wet?"

Her answer was barely audible with a hiss through her teeth, "Yes."

"Once again, Janet, will your parents miss you if you spend the night with me Wednesday night?"

Clearing her throat, Janet answered, "No, I usually have a lot of school work so I'm not gone at night very much. But if I'm going to be pretty late, I usually leave a note for them, letting them know where I'll be."

"What will you tell them about Wednesday night?" Although he didn't really intend to do it that way, he realized he was repeating the day he wanted to spend a whole night with her. Her reaction to the day and the questions she answered was telling him a lot more about her than she might have realized.

"I ... I'll tell them I'm spending the night with a man."

My name is Jackson H. Tranton. I'm a Senior Vice-President of Benys, Boyd and Associates in Clear Lake City. I've been with the company eight years, I own my home, and I've never been married. Will they ask you for any more information than that?"

"No, that should be enough. Thank you."

Saturdays were a busy day for Billy Tranton and thus in his absence, it was a busy day for Jake. He expected to sit at the desk most of the day, taking calls, or returning those from people who left a message on the second line while he was talking to someone on the first line. There were eight dogs about ready for delivery to a new owner who would attend up to two weeks training with the animal. Billy had the full training schedule documented for each animal, their pedigree was traced, and some had specialized skills which Jake could list but would not describe in detail. A potential purchaser would need to be present for a full demonstration. Only because Billy was so good at documenting everything could Jake have managed to sit at the desk and feel he was doing a barely adequate job.

He began each conversation with the explanation that he was filling in for Billy Tranton and would help as much as he could or return the call later with any specific information the dog's file did not contain. Because Jake and Billy's father had also been a dog trainer, Jake could manage to answer some questions and he made careful notes of questions Billy needed to answer when he returned a call.

"Tranton Tracking."

"Hi, Jake."

"Good afternoon, Janet. I didn't see you at the kennels this morning."

"I was out there real early. Today's a day I volunteer at the shelter. Lots of people come by to select a pet on Saturdays. It's going to be hot today. Can you check water pans later, or do I need to come out to do that."

"I can do that. What are you doing later, after you leave the shelter?"

"Oh, I haven't thought about it."

"Come watch a movie with me."

"Really? Okay, what movie."

"Whatever you like, Billy has a good library or you can pick one up you're interested in seeing, even if it's a chick flick."

Scoffing, Janet replied, "You don't like chick flicks."

Jake chuckled and added, "I'll enjoy anything you want to watch in exchange for spending a few hours with you. I'll even make the popcorn."

"Are you serious?

"Yes, I'm very serious. How else can I get to know you? I don't want to take a stranger to bed on Wednesday night." Jake did it intentionally this time, mentioning the day and what he planned for her later in the week.

When Janet arrived, Jake made sure she had eaten supper. He suggested she look through Billy's movie collection to find one that interested her while he made the popcorn. After eating most of the snack, without prompting, Janet snuggled against Jake as he put his arm around her shoulders.

When the major love scene of the movie began, Janet lifted her head and kissed Jake on the cheek. It was just a quick little peck and was probably induced by the actors in the movie who where involved in some very intense kissing while they tore each other's clothes off.

Jake turned his head and kissed Janet lightly at the temple. "Does this part of a movie excite you?"

"Yeah, doesn't it do the same to you?"

Jake was silent for a moment, then he said, "Yes, it does, but I'd rather see some tenderness than just button popping. It wouldn't make good entertainment, but it would be more realistic."

"You are a strange man, Jake."

"No I'm not, I'm just a man. Did I tell you how pretty you are tonight?"

Janet turned her face up to look at him, "I'm not sure you actually said anything, but I guess I could tell from the look on your face."

"Is that enough for you, or do you want the words, too?"

"Oh, I don't know. I don't want you to say something just to give me a compliment, but I guess I like some words, too."

"I see," Jake answered. "So what words? Just a simple, 'You look nice, ' 'I like your hair like that, ', 'Lord you smell luscious'? Or should I show you? Maybe I should put my arms around you, kiss you senseless, and tell you that I'm going to have a hard time waiting for Wednesday night."

"Are you?"

"Oh yes, you just don't know."

Before she could respond Jake turned her and was kissing her as he leaned back on the couch, pulling her on top of him. Their kisses grew with intensity and their arms moved around each other until they were both panting and breathless.

"Easy, baby," Jake whispered in her ear as he moved his hands down to press her hips against his trapped erection to slow her movements while she was moving herself against him.

Putting his hands on Janet's shoulders, he told her. "Sit up." When she was sitting upright he slipped his hands under the soft cotton shirt she was wearing, his hands moving from side to side across her stomach. "Your skin is so soft."