Rapid Pulse: A Limited Edition Spicy Romance Collection

by Gina Kincade

  Once the measuring was done and Maggie had gotten dressed, Ava handed her a sheet with several dozen measurements. The main 36-28-33 Maggie knew before looking. The others made no impact on her in any way. Ava shuffled her out and they went back to the first office, closing the door and settling in.

  “Not too shabby kiddo. I’d do you.”

  Maggie must not have hidden her shock very well as Ava smiled wide at her reaction.

  “Yes, I said that. Yes, I roll that way. No, I’m not hitting on you that would be out of line. As you consider what you want to be however, keep in mind until you declare otherwise, specifically what is and is not off limits, everything is open.”

  Oddly, Maggie was not as uncomfortable as she thought she’d be with the idea. They spent three quarters of an hour plugging in her measurements, allowing a small margin for give before everything was on paper for her very own leather suit. Ava tallied everything after putting several color samples on the table.

  To her dismay, ‘candy apple’ was not a choice. Maggie shuffled the samples several times before picking one. Turning it over Maggie couldn’t imagine a better choice. Her red leather suit would be in a color called ‘Wonder Woman’. Perfect. She had been secretly afraid she would end up somehow the color of her faux wall. Thankfully, that too had not been a choice.

  Maggie had been right to grab her credit card. The suit was going to be expensive and had to be paid in full up front. Once cut it couldn’t be uncut, thus it was also not returnable or refundable once in production. The order form was temporarily set aside. If she was going to have buyer’s remorse, it had to be before she signed.

  Ava pulled several things out of the pile and set them aside. From what remained, she picked up and put back several before selecting four and placing them on the desk in front of Maggie. The first item was a video.

  “If you proceed with the suit, you’ll get this. It is how to get it on and off as well as storage and cleaning information. For this kind of investment, you don’t read a manual.”

  Maggie was already quite well versed with the cleaning part but kept that to herself. The next item she showed Maggie was a book. From a quick flip through it was a cliff notes of the players and the different types of interactions that there could be as well as props, their names and usage.

  “As you figure out how you fit into this world, you want to understand the other people in it as well as the names they use. By understanding who, how, and perhaps why, you can figure out your own what. This is not the gospel on this, but it is a pretty thorough without clubbing you over the head version.”

  The third item was a companion video to the book.

  “I’m sure you can read, but there is this video too. It pokes fun at each type and described interaction or relationship so it’s a lighter-hearted look at the big picture where the book is more straight-forward.”

  Lastly was a box marked ‘Personal massager’.

  “This is not a traditional vibrator though it can be used that way. There are different attachments for different access or sensation. If you decide to use it solo you can, or if you are with someone else, you should first know what it does and feels like for yourself. I’m not assuming if you do or don’t have one, only putting this one out there as having versatility and a lot of different potentials.”

  Maggie was silent. There was an entire store down the hall and Ava could have railroaded her into who knows what, likely a great deal, without much effort. She hadn’t. The suit which Maggie had not come in to buy, but did want desperately, was a signature away. Everything else was proposed as a logical choice meant to educate without influence, but each would likely influence just the same. Deciding was the hard part. Altogether it was more than she was comfortable spending in one sitting.

  “Once in production how long would the suit take?”

  “Generally speaking, it would be two to four weeks. We don’t send the work out, it’s done here. It depends on how busy we are.”

  Maggie was quietly deliberating. She could have it done by her birthday or order it on her birthday. Either way, it would be summer before it was done. Short of the deep freezer or in high AC she wouldn’t be wearing it much right away.

  She looked at the price tag again, debated paying for it over the summer and how much her measurements might change. She had never paid much attention to the latter.

  “Let’s do this; because I have not been much aware of how much my measurements change, let me put one third down and see what the changes are, the main ones anyway, in a month. I’ll do another third then if they’re close, and probably even if they’re not with a final third another month later. I’m just not sure on the measurements and for this kind of money I want to be.”

  “I think that’s an excellent plan Maggie. If it was a moo-moo I’d say who cares. This is not even close. We won’t do the care video then until you actually go to production. What about the other three items? What are you thinking?”

  Maggie relaxed with Ava’s approval of her idea.

  “Those I’ll take today, along with one of the leather things with all the strings.”

  Ava roared. “Oh. My. God. Are you asking for a Cat-o-nine-tails?”

  Maggie tried to look innocent. She failed and broke out in loud laugher.

  “Yes, a Cat-O-Nine please. Do you have one in red?

  Ava play swatted at Maggie’s shoulder.

  “E-vil. E-vil. E-vil Maggie. Actually I have even better than one in red. I have one in Wonder Woman red.”

  Maggie squealed.

  “Not anymore you don’t.”

  ‘So unbelievable...’

  June fourth, twenty-seven days after her extended visit with Ava, Maggie finally was ‘legal’. She turned twenty-one on a Tuesday that felt like any other day as she woke up. Unlike years prior where she had roused to her mother chirping out ‘Happy Birthday’ over a scent collage that said breakfast was ready, this morning only the faint chime that the coffee maker was done heralded the day. What she wouldn’t give to smell bacon and blueberry pancakes.

  She had tried to eat and keep her normal activity the past four weeks, not wanting to skew the numbers, but a little voice inside had echoed about the opportunity to change for the suit and make it the reason to change for good. It had been battle royal for her will power and she couldn’t say who was winning. She had never been modest about her figure, she hadn’t exactly been proud either.

  Checking in with Ava in the afternoon, the tape measure came up with different numbers. Nothing more than an inch anywhere, mostly less, but it was still a change. Maggie signed for the second third of the payment as agreed and headed out empty handed. She had been tempted to shop but resisted. She had been several chapters into the book from her last visit when she decided that her future purchases would be with purpose, not for the novelty of buying something. It had meant staying away from Custom Helotry for the past four weeks and for the foreseeable future. It was a hard bargain she had made with herself, but it was one she was determined to keep.

  Maggie spent the rest of the afternoon taking a long soak in the tub before picking out comfortable but better than casual attire for the evening. A group of friends were taking her over the state line to a place that advertised ‘Vegas without the flight’ for dinner, a show, and some gambling. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been out. Other than her payment earlier, it was the splurge for her big twenty-one.

  She had pulled out cash on Friday from her account. She hesitated taking it all as she swapped her credit card for the stack of twenty-five bills, all twenties from the wardrobe drawer. She was hoping to win big. She was terrified however to lose it all in one night.

  In the end, she’d put back five of the bills. She separated the remaining twenty into four groups, put three of them into different places in her bag and the fourth in an envelope with her Triple-A card that she’d stash in the car. She wasn’t driving, but she wasn’t getting stuck if they all lost. She was ready to
roll and out the door when the buzzer rang.

  Without air, the five of them in the car would have been too much. Thankfully, Jade had insisted on driving and had the air cranked when Maggie climbed in. As they laughed and sang, Maggie discretely slipped the envelope between the seat cushions for the proverbial ‘rainy night’ if it came, but told no one of her preparation. She could now sit back and enjoy without worry or wonder.

  “We’re not in Kansas anymore” slipped out of Maggie’s lips as they entered the casino, to the amusement of the door attendant. There were svelte, gorgeous women everywhere she looked wearing more feathers than her room after a pillow fight with Jacob years ago. A niggle in her mind said she could never look like that, but could get somewhere in between. As she watched the room while they waited for dinner, the voice got louder.

  Maggie had to focus her attention more persistently as they watched the stage show. There were more women now, but the shapes and sizes had more variety. The inner voice seized the visual display to drive home the idea of the look of what Maggie’s deepest wish to become was. Contrary to what she had believed, thanks to pop culture, it wasn’t a size two.

  On the stage, amid many, stood a woman Maggie was drawn to. Curvy and endowed, the woman was voluptuous without being too much. As she watched, Maggie noted too that with only a few exceptions, that woman was also the one every male in the place was watching. In direct opposition to everything in the magazines that said the rail-thin women that flanked her on the stage should be considered the best, the woman everyone was watching wore dimples and an hourglass shape that had nothing to do with her costume.

  Maggie was fixated. In her mind, she considered her own shape, what it was now, and what it could become. Once the final image was clear, she superimposed the red leather suit. The visceral image gave her a jolt and a body full of goose bumps. If she was honest with herself, the mental image turned her on. She’d worry later about if that should bother her or not. For now, she knew she would not be ordering the suit in four weeks. She had work to do and needed a plan. The suit would be the reward.

  After the show the cast signed autographs and took professional photos with the crowd. Maggie waited patiently for a turn with the woman from the center stage, gushing openly when she finally reached the front of the line.

  “You were wonderful!”

  “Thank you sweetie, sign or pose?”

  “Oh a photo definitely. You’re gorgeous and the show was amazing.”

  The woman looked her up and down smiling.

  “You look like you would be amazing up there too. You should join us sometime.”

  Maggie gaped, hedged and stuttered.

  “T-t-two left feet.”

  The woman brushed it off.

  “Easy fix. Now, smile.”

  They smiled together in the moment, but Maggie’s mind was not in the room, maybe not in the same state. She took the ticket to pick up her photo later and rejoined her friends as they headed to the casino floor. Her mind was reeling, her smile stuck in place.

  They traded cash for chips and Jade pushed a drink into her hand as they went to play the most appropriate game for the occasion, Twenty-One. Maggie exchanged the second stack of bills for chips early but never broke into the third. Once she understood the game she’d had better luck. Her pile of chips had gone up and down but the mood had remained up through the toasts and laughter as the night wore on.

  It was well into Wednesday before they were done. Maggie was excited to get back her cash plus an additional hundred and change. The big surprise was the note and card when she claimed her photo. She was anxious to read it, but not to share it, tucking it away for later. No one in her party seemed to have noticed as she slipped the later items away and only passed the photo among them.

  They stopped for breakfast with the after bar crowd before returning to the city just as day broke. Maggie nipped the hidden envelope from between the seats as she got out, thanked them all profusely and went inside. She was tired but still riding the high as she tucked her winnings into the wardrobe drawer. She changed into sweats and a ratty t-shirt before she moved to the sectional to inspect the photo more closely, open the card and read the note.

  Set in a heavy card stock folder frame with the casino’s logo on it, the five by seven was in color and in focus. With years of blurry images to her credit this was a great picture. Blurring her eyes a little, she tried to see herself in the costume of the other woman. It didn’t actually take much effort. She liked what she saw too. The note was simple and direct.

  I meant what I said.

  I think you’d look wonderful in

  an outfit like mine.

  If you ever think to try, I hope you’ll call.

  Cynder

  Contact information completed the brief message. Maggie was elated, nervous, and scared at the prospect, but mostly elated.

  The wall came up fast and hard when the adrenaline wore off. Maggie found herself slumped on the sectional mid-afternoon with the photo and note on the floor. The crick in her neck shouted that she’d slept awkwardly. She put the photo and note in the desk drawer before moving to take a long hot shower to try to beat the knot loose.

  She was moderately successful before the hot water ran out. She decided some ibuprofen would be a good thing. She had come to several other conclusions as well under the scalding cascade. It was just after four as she retrieved her winnings from the wardrobe and headed out after getting dressed.

  ‘U got it bad...’

  Parking around the block in the only open spot she could find, it was four-thirty heading for five before she walked in to Custom Helotry for the second day in a row. Moving down the familiar hallway she found Ava in the office with the glass wall. She was not expected. Ava’s face showed clearly.

  “Maggie, were we to meet today?”

  “No-no. I just needed to ask a question.”

  “Shoot.”

  “Once I pay off the suit, it doesn’t have to go into production right? I mean, I can still wait...”

  “Of course, what are you thinking?”

  “I think I want to pay it off. Happy Birthday to me and all that cliché, but I’m not ready to order it.”

  “It’s your birthday?”

  Maggie smile. “No, that was yesterday.”

  “You dirty sneak, you didn’t say a word. Happy Birthday.”

  “I do have something else in mind. I just wanted to make sure on the suit. Can I pay that off now?”

  “Of course, let me get your slip. Have a seat.”

  Maggie counted out the bills to pay the balance, waiting while Ava went to get a receipt for the cash. The receipt, her change and a copy of the paid slip were handed over several minutes later.

  “Happy Birthday to you. Now, what else did you have in mind?”

  “I want to get a corset, but was hoping for something I could take with me today.”

  “That’s easily accomplished. There are several that are adjustable or have cinchers to the design so they can fit but be flexible. Are you looking for red again?”

  “Actually, I was thinking not red. Let’s save red for the leather.”

  “Okay, what are your thoughts on black?”

  “Black seems so common. Is that just me?”

  “No, it’s pretty common. Let me think.”

  Several moments passed. Ava booted up an inventory page and scrolled several times before hopping up. “I’ll be right back.”

  Maggie didn’t move but as before watched the workers through the glass wall. It was only after Ava returned that she realized she hadn’t noticed the fragmented table being worked on. She didn’t remember seeing it at all, yesterday or today.

  Ava set three pieces on the desk. The first was a shocking bright pink. Maggie was willing to bet it would glow in the dark it was so bright. The second was a material that looked like blue jeans. She immediately thought ‘country girl chic’ and pushed it aside with a single word, “No.”

 
; The third was a dark charcoal grey. Not quite black, depending on the rest of the outfit or the light, she’d wager it could look lighter or darker and just as easily be dressed up or down. All three pieces had side panels and cinch-style backs so no fitting would be required. Maggie debated for less than a second before choosing the grey.

  “Great choice Maggie. That one’s very versatile.”

  Maggie counted out the bills to pay once again as the ticket was written up. She waited again for Ava to go up front and complete the transaction. The balance of the money she decided she would redeposit with her check on Friday from Wenstry’s. The spending spree was officially over.

  Ava returned with her receipt and change letting her know her item was being wrapped and she could grab it on the way out.

  “Thank you for everything.”

  “My pleasure Maggie, I’m glad to help. It’s why I’m here. Let me know what else I can do, or when you’re ready to order the other item and we’re good to go.”

  “Great! I think it’s going to be amazing.”

  “It will.”

  Maggie got up and grabbed Ava in a big hug squeezing tight. She’d meant to shake her hand but switched mid-rise.

  “Thank you again for everything. You do not know how deeply I mean that.”

  Ava blushed as Maggie let her go. “Again...You’re welcome. And, Happy Birthday.”

  “Did someone say birthday?” a vibrato Maggie recognized once again came at her from behind.

  She spun around and came face to face with Thorne standing in the doorway holding up the jam. Maggie was tongue-tied, Ava answered for her.

  “Yes, you did. Our transplant here just had a birthday.”

  In a ridiculously fluid movement that he didn’t telegraph before it happened, Thorne leaned in, kissed her on the cheek and returned to his pose in the doorframe. Maggie fought not to swoon.

  “Happy Birthday Margaret.”

  “Thank you Thorne.”

  “Tell me then Maggie, did you get something special?”