"What are you drinking?" she asked as her gaze met mine.

2.

*There was a hunger there, and I didn't think it had anything to do with my boots.

"Another round of cosmos," Marvin called out.

"Thank you, but that one will have to be my last," I said to jeers. "I have to work tomorrow. I a.s.sume y'all do, too." All four of them shook their heads.

Three drinks later, I was as giddy as Marvin. The more Alicia pressed closer, the more I drank. I couldn't deny that a part of me was enjoying the attention.

"Do you like to dance?" she asked against my ear.

"I do, but gravity is a b.i.t.c.h right now."

"Come on, it's a slow song. I'll hold you up."

I let her take my hand and lead me to the dance floor. She pulled me snugly against her, and the warmth of her body pressed close to mine made me shiver.

"I don't think you're as bad off as you claim to be. You're moving pretty well," Alicia said.

"I just don't like falling on my face."

She laughed, and I felt it down to my toes. "Do you do that often?"

"No, but I don't want to start tonight."

Alicia's lips moved from my cheek to my mouth, and she kissed me, nibbling on my lip as she did. "I can think of better things to do with this evening."

And this is where my brain and body went to war.

You don't know this woman, my brain said loudly. I stepped back a little.

Well, we could get to know her if you'd shut up, the lower half of my body countered.

Kalen is going to have a fit, my brain said.

We are well north of twenty-one, and we don't need Kalen's blessing.

I was inclined to agree with the lower region.

Well, h.e.l.l, do it. I'm pickled anyway. Brain was on board.

"Marvin and the boys are on the dance floor. They'll never see us leave," Alicia whispered against my ear.

Apparently, my body was speaking directly to hers, so I didn't

2.

*try to intervene. I nodded, and we were on the way out the door before I could blink.

"My place is a few blocks over," Alicia said as the cold air hit me full in the face. I sobered slightly but found myself nodding.

With my hand clutched in hers, we walked briskly toward her place. Even though my brain was impaired, it did its job and tried one last time to dissuade me, but when we walked through her front door and she shoved me against it, I didn't listen to anything else but the sound of Alicia's breathing.

"Where's your bedroom?" I asked as I pushed her away from me. She gave me a toothy grin and tugged me down the hall.

I'm shy and introverted. Conversation is difficult, and this was my first one-night stand. Maybe it was the alcohol, then again, maybe it was just wanton desire. Probably both, but my body didn't have any problem doing the talking.

I pushed her down onto the bed and pulled off my jacket. She smiled seductively back at me as she pulled off her boots. I helped pull off her pants, then removed her shirt and bra. I shoved her hands away when she reached for my clothes.

"You like being in control?" she asked.

I nodded as she pulled off my boots.

She rolled over onto her hands and knees and reached into a drawer at her bedside, giving me a great view of her backside.

"Think you can handle being in control of this?" Alicia held up a harness.

I'd had some experience with a strap-on, but it wasn't pleasant. We never could get it tight enough, and the base of the d.i.l.d.o shifted, causing a painful sensation when it hit all the wrong spots. But I was willing to take one for the team.

After I stripped off the rest of my clothes, Alicia pulled me by the hips until I was standing directly in front of her. I watched as she strapped me into the contraption expertly. It fit tight and didn't slide when she gave it a tug.

"You're really going to enjoy this." Alicia pushed the b.u.t.ton on the first of two well-positioned bullet vibrators. My right leg shot out like I was being electrocuted.

0.

*"s.h.i.t," I blurted out. I'd not spoken a word since we'd entered her bedroom, and that was all I could mutter when the vibration met with the most sensitive part of my body.

Romantic and very smooth, my brain said in disapproval.

"f.u.c.k me now," Alicia demanded.

I was willing to oblige but not on her command. I went at her mouth hungrily, and she ground against me, trying to come in contact with the d.i.l.d.o. Her nails raked up my back as I moved lower and took a nipple into my mouth.

"Don't be gentle," Alicia said between clenched teeth, and I bit the tender skin as hard as I dared.

Alicia grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me up to her lips. She sucked my tongue as she writhed beneath me, then said against my open mouth, "Don't f.u.c.king tease me, f.u.c.k me now." I did as she asked. She was incredibly wet as I guided the tip of the d.i.l.d.o into her opening, then let her take it the rest of the way.

I felt her heels digging into my a.s.s cheeks, urging me deeper and faster. The bullets felt like they were vibrating the entire harness. The sensation was so intense, I thought I was going to explode like a teenager. We were sweating and making noises that I was sure they could hear over the music at the bar. And then another face appeared in my peripheral vision.

"What the f.u.c.k are you doing?"

I froze. The vibration of the harness being pressed so tightly against me robbed me of the breath I needed to scream.

"What does it look like, Ann?" Alicia said angrily.

"With my harness? The one you bought me for my birthday?"

I rolled away from the stranger, and Alicia slipped from beneath me. She rose up and stood toe to toe with Ann, and they began screaming in each other's faces.

I struggled to get the harness off, but my hands were shaking so badly, I couldn't unclip the d.a.m.n thing. Ann walked toward me and stuck a finger in my face. "Get the f.u.c.k out of here."

"I'm trying," I said like a fool. I grabbed my pants and the rest of my clothes off the floor and vibrated down the hall when the two resumed yelling. The harness wouldn't budge, and I knew at

1.

*any minute Ann whoever she was would be coming down the hall to pitch me to the curb.

I pulled my pants on over the diabolical s.e.x toy, but there was no way I was going to be able to zip them for two reasons. First, the d.i.l.d.o was too big. Second, the d.a.m.n thing was vibrating so much I couldn't control my hands. Putting my boots on nearly killed me.

I half ran down the street, holding my blazer in front of me to hide the party going on in my pants. My teeth were chattering not from the cold, but from stark terror and two bullets that must have had fresh batteries. I cursed the Energizer Bunny under my breath. Each step I took pressed the vibrators harder against me.

I stumbled several times when one of them hit just the right spot, causing me to lose control of my right leg. The sensation had gone from moderately pleasurable to agonizingly unbearable.

I nearly cried tears of relief when I found the lock to the courtyard undone. Fishing out my keys was not going to happen.

I was on my way up the steps when the door opened, and Fuzzy seemed to smile down at me. "Hold the door please," I said between clenched teeth.

"Are you okay?" Hailey asked with concern.

"Yes." My voice came out in a squeak.

Hailey must have been stunned by my appearance because she stood blocking the door while I tried to maneuver around her.

"Are you vibrating?" she asked.

"My phone, gotta go," I said in a voice two octaves higher than normal.

I dropped my jacket in the hall, but I couldn't stand the thought of bending over for it. I hoped whoever found it would look good wearing it. I stood breathing heavily in the elevator. The ride up seemed excruciatingly slow. No amount of wiggling or shifting could make enough s.p.a.ce between me and the harness. After a violent wrestling match at my door, I managed to get my hands on my keys and ran through the living room screaming like I was on fire. I hobbled into the kitchen, yanked my pants down, and cut myself free with a kitchen knife. I was still lying on the floor sobbing with relief when I heard a soft knock.

2.

*"Just a minute." I danced around, kicking off my pants, and grabbed a robe from my bedroom. I opened the door just a crack and peered out at Hailey. She held up my jacket.

"You...um...left this laying in the hallway," she said as she handed it to me. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"I am now, thank you."

"Okay, well, good night," she said with a smile.

I watched as she walked away, then closed my door. "Great, she probably thinks I wet my pants or worse," I mumbled as I staggered toward the bathroom.

When I pa.s.sed the kitchen, the harness was still vibrating on the floor like it had a life of its own. I stomped it a few times just for the pleasure of it before I found the b.u.t.tons and switched them off. I barely had the strength to toss the hateful contraption into the trash can. "Happy f.u.c.king birthday, Ann," I said as I limped away.

Chapter 5.

Try, try again.

I woke up the next morning and realized it was nearly noon.

After soaking my sore girl bits in the bath for an hour, I gingerly sat at my computer. Newbie had finally responded the night before when I was out getting hammered in more ways than one.

Hi, P.U., I've been enjoying the New Orleans flavor a little too much.

I'm gonna have to go back to eating nuts and berries if I keep this up. So I was wondering, what do you do for entertainment? Do you have any recommendations?

Newbie I wanted to write back and say stay away from cosmopolitans and cheating hairdressers, but that was a topic that I wanted to fade into oblivion. I'm not sure what got into me, but I decided to take a chance...

Hi, Newbie, I'm not really a barhopper, so I can't give you much advice in that area, but if you'd like to maybe see some of the sites around town, I would be happy to show you around.

P.U.

I had a few new messages, but I decided that work needed to come first, so I put my head down and got to it. I paid invoices