***
Monday morning rolled around, and I knew I had to call Joe to accept his invitation, but I was nervous. I’m not sure exactly why. I knew he’d want to hear from me, but there was this little, annoying devil in my head saying he’d changed his mind or would pretend he didn’t even know who I was. I know they’re crazy thoughts, but they’re there, nonetheless.
At ten-thirty, after finishing the first half of an audit I’d been working on for the last week, I called him. He picked up almost immediately, making me feel a little better.
“What a nice surprise.”
God, even his voice gave me shivers. That man was sex on a stick. “Hi, Joe. How are you?”
“Better now. I like hearing your voice in the morning.”
“Um, thanks.” I knew I had a big dopey grin on my face. “I got your invitation on Friday. I’m sorry I didn’t call you sooner.”
“And?”
“And I would love to go with you. I’ve wanted to go to Lions, Tigers, and Bears forever, but I never had anyone who wanted to go with me.” My father would have gone with me if I’d asked, but animals weren’t his thing.
Joe let out a loud sound. A ‘whoop’ maybe? I couldn’t be sure, but he definitely sounded happy. “Thank you, Faith. I’m glad you want to go. You’re going to love it. It’s one of my favorite places.”
I knew Joe loved his dog and all, but he sounded so sincere and it kind of surprised me. Most people liked animals, but could take them or leave them. I had a passion for them. I played anonymous Santa for a couple of shelters at Christmas. It was fun for me.
“Really? That’s great, Joe. Not enough people care about what animals go through in the world today. They need our voice. People need to start caring about what we’re doing to these poor creatures, not to mention what we’ve done to their habitats.” Shut up! Sometimes I can get carried away on the subject of animals. One deep breath later, and I tried to end my rant with a light-hearted comment. “Well, I just think they’re cute and stuff, you know?”
“I think you feel more than that, Faith. And I love it. We have that in common. I even find myself getting angry with people who buy purebred dogs. Do you know what would happen to all the damn puppy mills if people would rescue instead of buy their dogs? They’d go out of business. And so many unwanted dogs would have homes.”
“I know! I’ll never understand how people can support those places. I mean, if I had a choice, I’d prefer a German Shepherd or a Great Dane, but I just won’t do it. We always rescued our dogs growing up. My mother always wanted the most expensive dog she could find, of course, but that was one area where my father put his foot down.” And I swear, he’d find the ugliest dog he could, and I could not have loved any of them more. I know my father got those dogs for me.
“My Heidi is from a Shepherd rescue organization. If you’re in the market for one, I could take you.”
“Maybe. I have been thinking about getting a dog again. My Mollie just left me in January. Her death really got to me. I swore I’d never get another dog again. It just hurts too much to lose them, but I sure do miss having a constant companion around, you know?”
I used to take Mollie to the dog park on the weekends. She loved to run around, free of a leash, playing with the other dogs there. With nothing much to do but watch her play, I had plenty of time to daydream about the men in the park.
My most common daydream was the one where I met Mr. Right. He always ‘accidently’ threw his beagle’s Frisbee my way, ensuring he would have an excuse to come talk to me, but instead of talking, he’d grab me and push me up against a tree, taking my lips in a hard, lusty kiss.
With his hands beneath my shirt, molded to my breasts, he’d tell me how much he wanted me. He’d tell me how he’d been watching me for weeks trying to garner the courage to approach me, and how when he finally did, talking was the last thing on his mind.
The people in the park would disappear as he freed his cock and shoved my skirt up. I’d be so hot for him, I’d welcome him quickly, and with one hard, quick thrust, he’d be inside of me, my legs wrapped around him.
Of course, that never happened. Realizing my mind had wandered down an ‘oh, so familiar’ path, I pulled myself back to my conversation with Joe.
“I understand completely. If you’re not ready for a dog yet though, I selflessly volunteer to be your companion. And if you pet me, I can guarantee you’ll like the results.”
He never quit. Not only was he nice to look at but he made me laugh, too. “You’re incorrigible, you know that?”
“I do. Yes.” I could hear the smile in his voice. He was playing with me. I liked playful Joe. “You do that to me, Faith. And I’m not lying. Maybe we should try the whole petting thing.”
“I think we’ve been down that road once before. Or halfway, anyway.” What was I saying? I couldn’t pull off the whole seductive phone conversation. Sometimes I felt seriously socially inept.
“Oh, I think you went the whole way, sweetheart. At least, that’s what I think those sounds meant.”
“Okay. Stop. I’m not good at this, Joe. I’m awkward. Can we just focus on our date? Maybe leave the rest alone for now?” Now I sounded like a prude. Damn, I was going to screw this up before it even started.
“Anything you say, Faith. All of our dating decisions are up to you. You set the pace. I can’t promise that I won’t try to bring that sex kitten to the forefront, though. Like it or not, you’re one hot woman.”
Holy cow. He thinks I’m hot. Hot! Me. “Well, I guess I can’t stop you.”
His laugh was deep and rough, like he was getting turned on. “Not from trying, no. I admittedly have a hard time controlling myself around you, Faith.”
There was a somewhat uncomfortable silence then. I didn’t know what to say. Where should the conversation go now? I was about to say goodbye when he started talking again.
“You know, we play basketball at Mission Bay Park on Tuesday nights. It’s the guys from Perfect Ten against the guys from Stallions—yeah, the company really is Stallions. Anyway, why don’t you bring your friends and come cheer me on? I never have anyone there to root for me.”
“You can’t be serious. I’d think you’d have girls flocking you.”
“That’s just the job, Faith. Those women are clients. They’re not a part of my life. Just come. It’s not a date. Bring your friends. The worst thing that could happen is you’d have a great view of the bay and a relaxing night with your friends.”
It sounded like fun to me. I love being outdoors, and the weather was perfect. It hovered right around sixty-five or so in the evenings. “Maybe.”
“I’ll take it. I’ll text you directions.”
“No need. I know where it is. I like to go walking around the bay there.”
“Okay. Seven o’clock. I really hope to see you there, Faith. Have a good day.”
“You too, Joe. Bye.”
I felt great after I hung up. Aside from his sexy remarks, it was a very ordinary conversation. I could get used to that.
***
“You look happy today, Faith. Get laid, did you?” The café I met Chloe in for lunch was near the parking lot at the beginning of the beach walkway, making it a perfect place to people watch.
“Ha, ha, very funny. No, but I do feel happy today. I have a date.”
“Oh, yeah? With who?” As if she didn’t know.
“You know who. Joe. In just about two weeks. He’ll be a free man then.” I told her about getting the hand delivered invitation at work and the phone call. “And he wants me to go watch him play basketball tomorrow night in Mission Bay Park. He said he needs a cheerleader. It’s Perfect Ten versus Stallions, another escort agency. Since Bill has the kids tomorrow night, would you go with me?”
“What? You want me to go watch a bunch of hot guys get all sweaty and push each other around? Do you even have to ask? You know, when Bill and I got divorced, I thought I’d never be happy again, but I have to say, it i
s kind of fun being single.”
I knew she didn’t mean that. As much of a loud mouth and often times embarrassment Chloe was, her divorce almost broke her. It was the classic case of finding her husband in bed with another woman he’d brought home in the middle of the day. He brought the woman home while the kids were at school and Chloe was working. Nice, huh? But Madison had gotten sick, and Chloe picked her up from school and took her home to be greeted by his infidelity. We were all shocked. Bill was the kind of guy who wore his heart on his sleeve. He was always mooning over his wife He was so in love with her, or so we thought.
“I’ll let that comment slide and just take that as a yes.”
“We know each other too well. The truth is, I hate being single again. It’s hard, and the sick part is, as much as I hate Bill for what he did to me—what he did to our whole family—I still miss him. God, that’s pathetic, isn’t it?”
“Absolutely not. You were together for ten years! Of course, you miss what you had with him. For what it’s worth, he’s a good father to the kids.” I guess that was poor consolation for getting your heart stomped on by the one person who should have cherished it forever.
“That is true. He’s a lucky fucker that he’s good to my kids. He’d be missing one of his nuts if he weren’t. Maybe the whole nut sack!” That’s my Chloe.
We were sipping ice teas and waiting for our lunch to be brought out when we found our first victim. He was an extremely tall, dark-skinned man, wearing white Daisy Duke shorts and a red tank top with a pink sparkling heart in the middle of it. In the crook of his right arm, he held a Yorkie that was yapping away at anyone who ventured too close to them. You never knew what you were going to see on the beach walkway.
“Okay, I’ll take this one.” Chloe cocked her head to the side and pressed her lips together in thought. “Hmm. I have it. He’s a wanna be choreographer to the stars. His last boyfriend caught him in bed with a woman, but it turned out the woman had man parts also, so the three of them wound up becoming a thing. Now, he’s jealous that his boyfriend likes the new tranny better than him, and he’s strutting his stuff like a peacock showing its feathers. The Yorkie is for protection from any guy who shows interest that isn’t perfectly groomed.”
Chloe’s brain never ventured very far from sex, no matter what form. “God, where do you come up with this stuff, Chlo? A tranny, huh? Okay. My turn.”
My pick was an older woman on roller skates. She had on a white toga and was playing a ukulele with a joint hanging out of her mouth. Yes, a joint. It was amazing how many people strolled along the walk smoking pot just like it was a cigarette.
“She’s obviously a flower child, and she’s high as a kite.” Okay, that was too easy. I needed to dig deeper. “Her children are all highly successful, but still use only holistic healing and are all vegans—except her one rogue son. He owns a butcher shop and takes Advil. She’s shunned deodorant so she smells like yesterday’s dirty laundry, and she thinks it’s unhealthy to bathe regularly.”
“Eww. I like my guy better.”
We shared a laugh and I agreed with her. I’d take her guy over my stinky woman, too.
When lunch was over, we had our plans for the following night nailed down. I would pick Chloe up at her beauty shop, and she’d try to get me to let her do something fancy with my hair. Wasn’t going to happen. Not to go watch an outdoor basketball game.
CHAPTER 19
THE BEAUTY SHOP was buzzing with ladies looking for the latest celebrity styles when I arrived to pick Chloe up. One particularly voluptuous woman was asking a stylist to cut her waist length hair like Miley Cyrus’ when she had gone nutso and had shaved half her head. Another woman was getting long blonde extensions put in to make her short hair long. It just goes to show that we’re never happy with what we have.
“Hi, Faith! I’ll be right with you. Just finishing up.” Chloe’s customer looked gorgeous. Her warm mahogany colored hair was interspersed with several colors of honey blonde and a dark, subtle shade of auburn. She did such a good job of highlighting it that it looked natural.
I’ve thought about trying to do something like that to mine, but Chloe tells me it would never look like that. She says my strawberry blonde is perfect for my complexion. I don’t hate it; I just thought I’d like to try something different. She really wanted to get her scissors on me, but I’ve hid behind my hair for so long, I’m not sure if I could handle it.
When Chloe was done, she walked over to me and took my hand. “Come on. Don’t say no, just sit down, and shut up. You need to loosen up.” She pushed me down into the empty chair and picked up her brush. I decided to let her have her way. “No arguments? Wow, that’s a first.”
“Just no scissors.”
“Sure, hon. No scissors… tonight.” When Chloe was done, I couldn’t help the grin that brightened my face. I looked like a kid, but in a good way. She had given me two long French braids that she pulled forward to rest on my chest. “Now that’s cute. Perfect for sitting outside on the bay, watching hot guys run around in shorts.”
“I actually like it.”
“Good. Maybe someday you’ll let me give you that pixie cut that I know would look so fabulously hot on you.”
Yeah. I didn’t see that happening anytime soon. Maybe if I could drop thirty pounds or so. My face was too round for a short cut.
“We’re not having that conversation right now. Let’s go.”
Chloe grabbed a cooler out of the back room before we took off and cracked open a beer on the way.
“Are you crazy? If I get pulled over, we’re both in trouble!”
“Why? You’re not drinking and I’m not driving. Besides, I have these.” Chloe pulled her top down exposing both her breasts, which, as she knew it would, brought out a big snort of laughter from me.
“Jesus. Put those things away. You’ll poke an eye out.”
“Me? Damn, Faith. Your tits are twice as big as my girls.”
“Maybe so, but I’m not whipping them out in broad daylight! Think of the kids. What would happen if you got arrested for drinking in the car?”
“Geez, fine.” But instead of putting the beer away, she pulled out one of those new sleeves that looked like a soda can and slipped it over the beer can. Now it just looked like she was drinking a can of Coke. “Happy?”
“Yes, actually I am. You had better have more of them. I’m going to need some fortification when we get there, I think. I still can’t believe I’m going.”
“Have you heard from Joe today?”
“No. I think he’s trying to give me some space until he’s done at Perfect Ten. Honestly, I was kind of surprised he invited me tonight. I mean, his friends will be there. They’ll all see me, you know?”
“Grrrr. Yes, and it’s pretty obvious to me that Joe wants to show you off. Think about that, will you?”
“Yeah. I am trying, Chloe. I guess I have to try harder, but I’m not going to change overnight. I’m thinking about hiring a trainer. Maybe getting into running or something.” I hated to exercise. Hated it, and it showed. But there were only two ways, without surgery or pills, to lose weight. Diet and exercise. My diet wasn’t too bad most of the time, but I could definitely increase my non-existent exercise activities.
“If you want to hire a trainer, then that’s great, Faith, but running? Maybe start with walking first. Then you could add some light weight resistance training, but don’t go overboard. You already hate exercising. If you jump into running, you might never want to exercise again.”
“True, but hey, maybe I’ll love it. You never know.”
“Uh, huh.”
There were a bunch of cars in the parking lot when we pulled in. It took me a couple of minutes to find an empty spot.
I took a deep breath as my eyes wandered over to the guys standing around the basketball court waiting for the current game to end.
“Good God. Why have we never done this before? Look at all of that prime flesh.” Chloe’s mouth wa
s hanging open as she took in the scene before us.
“Remember, they’re all escorts. They actually date and probably screw many, many women on a regular basis. Not boyfriend material.”
“Except the one who’s quitting so he can have a chance with you.”
“Sure, and how many women do you think Joe’s slept with? I know that it’s really none of my business what he’s done in his past, but it’s a hard pill to swallow. What if we do get together? How on Earth can I compete with all those women? I’ve had sex a total of what, six times or something?”
Chloe shook her head at me and smiled. “See, that’s where you’re looking at it all wrong. Joe wants you. You’re not competing with anyone. They were competing with you—and they lost.”
“I guess that’s another way to look at it. I like that way.” I took one more deep breath, blowing it out hard enough to ruffle the long bangs, sweeping across my forehead. “Okay. Let’s do this.”
***
JOE
HOLY SHIT, SHE came. I couldn’t believe it. She really came. Yes! That had to be a good sign, right? And she had those cute yoga pants on women loved now. Do NOT look at her ass. I was going to have to be really careful if I didn’t want to play ball with full wood. Kind of hard to hide in my gym shorts.
She walked over to the bench farthest away from me and avoided eye contact. I wondered what else I could do to convince her I was into her. Seriously. I think it’s pretty damn obvious that she does it for me, but who the hell knows how women think? I need to figure it out though.
I tapped Brian on the shoulder. “See that beauty over there? That’s what you missed out on when you were in Florida visiting your mom.”
He looked over with an appreciative gleam in his eye. “Yeah? Well, I’m back now, aren’t I? Think she needs another date?”
I pushed him with so much force that he fell to the ground and landed hard on his ass.
“What the fuck was that for?”
Whoops. I put my hand out to help him up. “Uh, sorry, man. I’ve sort of staked my claim. Guess I shouldn’t even have brought it up.”
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