Perfect Ten

by Michelle Craig

  “No. No, it’s me. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m sorry. I’m a bit rusty at real dating. I promise I’ll get better.”

  “Is that what this is? Dating?”

  “I don’t know, Faith. I just—I can’t help the way I feel about you. You drive me crazy—in a good way. And I feel like I could fuck this up before it even starts.”

  I agreed with him, but I kind of wanted to finish our conversation. My body absolutely wanted to finish it. “Well, okay. I guess that would be best. So, okay. I’ll talk to you later.” Guess it was going to be another night with battery operated Bob.

  “Wait!”

  “Yes?”

  “I didn’t tell you about my date on Wednesday, and you haven’t said anything, so you obviously haven’t spoken to your mother.”

  I had no idea what he was talking about, but my mother seeing him with one of his dates kind of sucked. It was rather shocking that she hadn’t called me to tell me the gig was up.

  “Crap. How did my mother see you out on a date?”

  “Not like you’re thinking. This date was with one of my favorite ladies. Her name is Mrs. Covington, and she’s eighty-five years old.” He went on to tell me about this lovely woman and my heart softened toward him. The way he spoke of her, saying such nice things and with a smile in his voice, told me how much she meant to him.

  “She sounds great, Joe, but what does she have to do with my mother?”

  “Well, after we left the museum, Mrs. C fell asleep and instead of driving her home, I took a detour so that I could take her to dinner at her country club. That’s where we ran into your mother.

  “Ah, that Mrs. Covington. You mean Esther Covington? My mother has been trying to get in her good graces forever! She’s a great lady. And the best part is that she doesn’t give my mother or my sisters the time of day, but she’s always been very nice to me the few times I’ve talked to her.” I think the reason I remember her so well is that she went out of her way to make it seem like I was the best of the women in my family. I’d only talked with her a few times, but each time, she told me how beautiful I looked without mentioning anything about my mother. It was obvious that she didn’t like the way they talked to me, but my mother never quite caught on.

  “She mentioned how nice you were. I actually told her how we met, and when we saw your mother, she sang your praises and told her how glad she was that you and I were together. This is where it got interesting. You ready to hear the rest?”

  My throbbing body momentarily forgotten, I pushed myself up on my elbow, waiting to hear the rest of the story. I couldn’t imagine what he had to tell me. “Sure.”

  “Your mother asked if we, meaning you and I, could get to dinner early on Saturday so that your parents could get to know me. So, what time should I pick you up for family dinner?”

  Oh, he was smug. I’d been telling him no dates until he was done at Perfect Ten and here was one I couldn’t really say no to. “You have it all figured out, don’t you, Joe?” I admit it was cute how he was so sure of himself.

  “Faith, I don’t have anything figured out where you’re concerned, and frankly, I hate that, but I’m banking on the idea that you don’t want to tell your mother how we really met, and I’m cautiously optimistic that maybe you won’t ever have to. Or maybe you’ll tell her after we have our fourth kid or something.”

  “Whoa there, buddy. Now we’re married with children?” Although to get technical, he didn’t say anything about marriage.

  “Nah. Just thought I’d see if you were paying attention. So, dinner tomorrow? At your parents?”

  It wasn’t the worst way I could imagine spending my Saturday night. And I’d already decided to give Joe a shot, so dinner at the parents might be just the thing. “Okay. You can pick me up at five-thirty.”

  “Great. I’m looking forward to it, Faith. I’ll see you tomorrow. Oh, one last thing.”

  “Yes?”

  “What are you wearing right now?”

  And just that quick, I flopped back down on my back and my mind went back to where it was before we ended our flirting, or whatever you wanted to call it, just a few minutes ago. I wanted to tell him I was wearing sexy lingerie, but I’d already made up my mind to go with honesty. “Well, I’m wearing pink yoga pants.”

  “I’ll bet you look great in pink.” Pink actually wasn’t a good color for me, but whatever. “What else?”

  Uh, that was it. I kind of tossed my top and bra off when, well you know. “Nothing.”

  Joe made a choking sound at my answer. How satisfying to be able to take his cool away momentarily.

  “All that gorgeous skin of yours is just bare, waiting for the taking? If you have even a tiny bit of pity in you, describe for me in detail what you look like right now.”

  Why did a picture of the girls pop into my head at that very moment? All three of them were in there telling me to go for it. Chloe was telling me to finger fuck myself while I was at it, of course. Not an altogether unwelcome idea. Gracie was a bit more couth, but thought I should dirty it up just a tad, and Susie, well Susie thought it was romantic that he wanted to know.

  “I don’t know, Joe. I’ve never done anything like this before.” What if he laughed at me? What if I sounded like an idiot?

  “That makes it even better. What if we try it a different way? What if you just listen to me?”

  “Listen to you what?” He was going to do that again? On the phone with me? Oh, my God!

  “Trail your fingers over your belly and up your rib cage.”

  “Okay.” As I did, I tried to imagine they were Joe’s fingers. His hands gently caressing my skin. How I’d love to have his lips follow the path his fingers made.

  “Does it feel good?”

  The more I pictured him, the better it felt. “Um hm.”

  “Circle your nipples lightly. First one, then the other.” When I didn’t make any comment, he continued with his instructions. “Now lick your fingers and wet your nipples. Then blow on them.”

  “It’s cold.”

  “I know. And how do they look?”

  “They’re pinker and hard now from the cold.”

  “Ah, fuck, Faith. You’re killing me. Squeeze them for me. Gently at first and then pinch those pink, hard nipples until they can’t get any harder.”

  “Umm, that feels really good.”

  “That’s what I would do if I were there. After sucking them and nibbling every inch of your breasts, I’d sooth them with my tongue, making slow, torturous progress from one to the other. I’d warm them up for you, Faith.”

  “Jesus, Joe.” I needed Bob. Without telling Joe of course, I slipped my hand into my pants and rubbed my clit, letting out an involuntary low moan. “Hold on a second.” Battery Operated Bob actually had a little brother, who was quiet as a mouse. It was a tiny vibrator that was a part of one of my other toys. I grabbed it and nestled it in my pussy with the point directly on my clit. When I hit the button to turn it on, I about jumped off the bed. “Huh!”

  “Faith, what are you doing?”

  The heck with it. I was tired of being the nice girl, the sweet girl, the good girl—always living out my fantasies in my head. Why not play with the real thing? Even if it were just a phone call. “I put a small, um, toy on my, um—down my pants.”

  I could hear his door open and close. “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going into my bedroom so I can get my own toy out. This is getting to be too much for me. I’m a simple man, Faith.”

  Now that did surprise me. “You have toys?”

  “Yeah, I call it my cock.”

  “Oh.”

  “How’s that toy feeling, Faith?” I heard his sharp intake of breath and imagined him gripping his cock. My pussy clenched at the thought and my clit got even more sensitive. Holy shit, what am I doing? I really didn’t want to be the good girl, but it was just too much. I thought I could do it; I really did. What was I doing having phone sex with a guy I hardly
knew? No. I couldn’t do it. Why was it so damn easy to do this stuff in my head?

  “Jesus, Joe. I don’t know what I’m doing here. I—I can’t do this.” Now it would happen. Now he’d tell me I wasn’t good enough. I was too fat or quiet or boring. I’d heard it all before. Maybe I deserved it, but when I had an orgasm, and a real man was involved, I wanted him to at least be in the room! I’m such a mess. To my horror, a small sob escaped me before I basically hung up on him. Would I ever be able to just let go in real life?

  ***

  JOE

  What the ever loving fuck was wrong with me? I knew she wasn’t ready for phone sex. She’s not that type of girl. At least she doesn’t think she is. I think, buried underneath that insecure layer of hers, she’s hot as hell.

  So, great. Now she feels like she did something wrong. I heard her let out a sob before she hung up and now I’m stuck with this raging hard-on. To add insult to injury, I feel like such a shit. I don’t even want to whack off now. I glanced down at the offending organ. That’s right, big guy, just deflate yourself and go to sleep.

  Tomorrow. Tomorrow will be my day. My shining moment. Dinner is going to be fucking perfect. I am the master of my world, and I will make goddamn sure I’m the master of my dick for the entire day. I think I need to try reining it in. I’ll make her so hot for me with subtle moves that she’ll be the one trying to get in my pants. Perfect. I was made for this.

  CHAPTER 22

  THE PRE-DAWN BREEZE coming in through the open balcony door soothed my nerves while I sat at the breakfast bar nursing my first cup of coffee. As cool as I pretended to be, I still got nervous. I feel like dinner at the Graham’s could make me or break me with Faith. As determined as I was to be a perfect version of myself, in reality, I wasn’t one hundred percent confident that I could pull it off.

  Heidi thumped her tail against the kitchen cabinet, reminding me that I had yet to take her out to use the facilities, such that they were. The one thousand square feet of grass in the back of my building was used by all four hundred units. It was damn near impossible to take your dog out without running into several other tenants. For that reason, I invested in one of those leashes with the attached bags for picking up after Heidi and took her for walks instead. I wouldn’t want to have to share a bathroom with a hundred others, if not more, and I didn’t expect her to. So off we went for a walk to the park, coming back home through the meandering streets of the adjacent neighborhood.

  “Hi, Joe!”

  “Hi, Mrs. Entwistle.” I had gotten to know a few of the residential neighbors through the years.

  Amid the couple of high rises in my area were the park and some older homes, mostly inhabited by seniors. It was a quaint neighborhood where everyone knew each other.

  Each house had a small plot of land with a postage stamp lawn. I would say almost all of them were well kept. Flower boxes adorned windows and colorful awnings offered shade from the midday sun. Every house, without exception, boasted a narrow porch, just wide enough to place two chairs and one small table.

  “Come on up for a cup of tea, dear.”

  What the hell? I had hours and hours to kill before I could pick Faith up. Heidi gave a happy bark when I lead her up to the porch.

  “Oh, aren’t you a darling puppy.” Mrs. Entwistle scratched Heidi behind her ears and pulled a biscuit out of the pocket of her housecoat. There were a few ladies in the neighborhood that were prepared with treats for Heidi—and you better believe she knew who each one was and where they lived.

  I looped Heidi’s leash around a post at the end of the patio and took a seat next to Mrs. Entwistle.

  “So, why are you up and about so early this morning, Joe?”

  “No particular reason. I just couldn’t sleep anymore, I guess.”

  “Any big plans for the weekend?”

  She knew I was an escort, but thankfully, she thought I was simply an escort. She didn’t give me that disgusted look that most women gave me when they learned of my profession.

  “I have two appointments this weekend, and then one more next weekend, and then I’m done. Forever. I’m going back to school to finish my degree.” I knew she’d be glad to hear that. She’d been telling me for years to go back to school and do something that I really loved.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful! I’m so happy for you, Joe. What’s her name?”

  “Huh?” These seniors had a sixth sense. Nothing ever got by the ladies in the neighborhood, I swear.

  “Well, something big must have happened to make you want to hang up your fancy tuxedos and go back to school. You want more from life. Why now? Who is she?” She sat on the edge of her chair, hands folded in her lap, waiting expectantly for me to answer. I knew some of these ladies were lonely. They didn’t all have family to visit them and longed to hear stories they could share with each other.

  “How do you ladies do that? You always know when something changes. It’s amazing. You should be detectives.” She laughed, as I knew she would.

  “And?”

  “Her name is Faith. And you’re right. I want more. I want it all. I’m tired of being alone. I mean, I have my mother and sister, of course, but I want someone to spend time with, you know? And I know no woman would date a man who goes out with other women, right? So I’ve decided to make a change.” Every time I told someone, it felt more right. And I only had three dates left. Of course, one of them was a doozy. I still can’t believe I had to see Sophia again.

  She sandwiched my hand between both of hers. I don’t know what it was about seniors, but they made me feel like a little boy again, and all I wanted to do was please them. Some hard-ass I am, huh? “I think that’s smart, Joe. You deserve a nice girl. You’re going to have a great life, dear. Mark my words.”

  We chatted for a few more minutes, and after Mrs. Entwistle fed Heidi another biscuit from her pocket, we were off again.

  The sun was fully up when we ventured back home. As I looked around my ultra-modern condo, it just felt cold.

  Black granite floors ran throughout the entire space, even in the bedrooms. Most of the walls were painted in different tones of gray and all of the trim was stark white. It was definitely a bachelor pad. The only real splash of color was the glass tile backsplash in the kitchen, and those colors were a mix of gray, black, white, and slate blue. Even the kitchen cabinets were gray.

  Faith would hate it. She’d never say so, but she would. I’d be willing to bet her house was full of comforts. I got a quick glance when I’d picked her up for the wedding, but I can’t say much registered for me other than that amazing creation she was wearing.

  I made a mental note to call a realtor on Monday. I knew I could get a good deal on my condo because I was in a very sought after building with little turnover. Buying a house though would be tougher. I wasn’t exactly sure yet what my plans were for income while I was going to school. If I went to school full time and didn’t work, I’d have to juggle some things around. I could do it; I just needed to decide which path to take. Either way, I think the Audi R8 was going. I’d miss her, but that money would supplement my investment income quite nicely.

  Believe it or not, I had no idea what to wear to Faith’s for dinner. I had to assume knowing Mrs. Graham’s stuffy nature that they dressed for dinner. But I didn’t want to overdress and look like I was trying too hard. Maybe it was time to clue my mother in to the decisions I’d made. She’d be beyond happy. I’m sure you would imagine she hated what I did for a living.

  With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, I grabbed my phone and headed out to the balcony.

  I was just about to hang up after the fourth ring when my mom answered, sounding out of breath.

  “Hi, honey. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

  I don’t think she did it on purpose, but I always felt guilty when I called. Sons don’t call their mothers enough, and I’m no different.

  “You’re out of breath. Did I catch you on your way out or something?”

&nbs
p; “Uh, no. Phil and I were just … I mean …”

  “Oh, God. Never mind, Mother.” Why? Why couldn’t she just have said she had to run to get the phone? I needed bleach for my brain.

  She laughed at my discomfort. Laughed! “Oh, honey. It’s only natural, you know. What do you think? That when you hit a certain age—”

  “Stop. Enough! Do you um, want to call me back?” Did I mention ewwww?

  That earned me another, louder chuckle. Then it hit me, she was doing it on purpose. Probably because I hadn’t called in a while.

  “Relax, Joe. I was on the treadmill. So, what’s up, honey?”

  “You’re evil, you know that, Ma? That’s just not right.”

  “So would you like to tell me why you’re calling, or do you want to know more about Phil and me?” Oh, wasn’t she the funny one?

  When I finished telling her my news, she cried. She actually cried. I felt like a total shit. I had no idea my career choice bothered her as much as it did.

  “Thank God! I’m so glad you’re done with that crap. I always worried you were going to pick up something from one of those girls that you couldn’t get rid of.”

  Great. Now I felt like a scumbag, too. Stellar day.

  “Mom, it’s not like that. I mean it was sometimes, but—”

  All I heard at that point was “La, la, la, la. I can’t hear you.” Yes, that’s how my mother has always dealt with things she didn’t want to hear. Guess I couldn’t blame her. I can’t imagine she’d want to hear about my sex life any more than I would hers. I needed to finish this conversation.

  “Okay! I get the point.”

  “So when do I get to meet this girl? I already love her. She must be something special for you to give up that job.”

  “She is. And I’m having dinner at her house tonight with her parents.” Of course, I didn’t mention the fact that I had a date afterward with slutty Sophia and Vaughn. Makes me shudder just thinking about it. Like I would ever be in a threesome with another dude.