He was a carpenter in business for himself but maybe someone had passed along one of his Rick Mason, ‘no job-too-large-or-too-small’, business cards. But when she’d left her message on his answering machine she said she’d gotten his name out of the newspaper ad. “May I see the card you’re talking about please?”
“Isn’t your name Nick?” Blinking, Monica wound a strand of hair around her finger. Her oval-shaped eyes were the same pale green as a Coca-Cola bottle and mesmerising. She was one good-looking babe but nothing she said made sense. It was a damned shame all the beautiful women he’d met since Saranne left were whack jobs. At this rate he’d never fall in love and get married and have kids.
“Isn’t your name Nick?” Monica asked again, fluttering her hands.
“Close. It’s Rick,” he said. “What would you like me to do next?”
“Oh, then someone must have made a small mistake.” Smiling,
she motioned him to follow and led the way to the front room where she handed him a deep pink card.
What the fuckin’ hell? She thought he was a Fantasy Man? And look at the offerings on this menu of sexual treats. No wonder she’d worried about her appearance and wearing perfume. He’d choked trying not to laugh then, but he lost the battle this time. Monica stared at him and he shrugged. “I guess Nick … Rick … is a small mistake. I don’t know why it struck me as funny.”
He’d never heard of such a business but he supposed it was on the up-and-up and he’d bet it was expensive. “You must have a really close friend to send you this … jpgt.”
“Yes, Julie’s like a sister. We were college roommates. I was kind of surprised to receive … this. And a little nervous about what or who to expect. But it’s a marvellous gift and I can’t tell you how pleased I am she chose you, Nick. She said she hoped she knew my tastes in men. Sorry, I mean Rick,” Monica said, turning up her hands. “Nick stuck in my mind because of Christmas and Saint Nick.”
She was so jumpy she was babbling and he sure as hell wasn’t a saint or he wouldn’t be thinking what he was now. Going to bed with Monica wouldn’t be half bad. Just thinking about her cute little body curled up next to his gave him a hard-on. He’d never thought about sex with a complete stranger but it could be freeing. Some guys he knew paid for sex for just that reason. They said sex was hotter with no emotional strings attached. Nick had never considered following suit, but this was different. This would be clean fun. His palms grew wet and his breathing shallow. Could he actually go through with it? He stole a glance at the menu again. Monica was obviously ready to have sex with a stranger so what difference would it make if he was the one? At least with him she was safe. Who knew what kind of pervert Fantasies Unlimited would send to her door?
“Call me Nick, then. It’s your fantasy.”
He couldn’t do it. Could he? She was a knockout and obviously willing to go along with whatever he did and he hadn’t had a woman since he and his fiancée split up. She’d been gone eight months and he hadn’t felt alive since then. Hadn’t been hot for anyone. But he was hot for Monica now. His pulse pounded so fast he could hear it in his ears. His fingers itched to touch her. He wondered if she was as wet as he was hard.
“This is kind of embarrassing to admit, but when Jules and I were in college we used to fantasise, and my hottest fantasy was to have sex with a total stranger. Isn’t she amazing, Nick? Remembering and finding someone to deliver!”
“She certainly is.” Remember to thank her for me.
“You’re sure it’s okay if I call you Nick?”
“Positive. Like I said, it’s your fantasy.” And maybe it would make him feel like he was someone else. An almost anonymous liaison with no strings attached. It was the perfect situation … perhaps a gift for him as well as her.
Standing on her toes, Monica kissed him on the cheek. She smelled good even if she wasn’t wearing perfume, and wrapping his arms around her he discovered she felt wonderful. He drew her close and pressed her breasts against him and felt them harden. He pushed his rigid penis into her soft belly and when it throbbed, she shivered. His hand at her waist crept lower to caress the rounded cheeks of her bottom and losing control he let his hands roam. His breath came fast as he skimmed her curves, squeezing and fondling, and he knew he had to have her. The signs were good that he’d be able to perform. She was all that mattered. The past never happened.
He finished off his beer and set the bottle down. Just in case, I’ll warn her. Besides, I don’t know the Fantasy routine. “Monica?” he said, rubbing his hands together. “I may need your help. You see? I’m new at this job. So I may … er … stumble a little … or fumble.”
Handing her the Fantasies Unlimited Menu, Rick … Nick … took a deep breath. “Where would you like to start?”
Chapter Two
It was only five days until Christmas and luckily Rick had been stashing the presents he bought under the camper shell on the back of his truck. He was going to drive north to Michigan and his brother’s house where their parents and his sister and family would also gather for a celebration. He just hoped they didn’t get the snow that the forecasters kept predicting or he’d have a hard time getting there.
His sister and sister-in-law’s Christmas presents were gift baskets he’d had prepared at a specialty shop and boy was he in luck. Monica must think he carried the scented oils and stuff for this job in his toolbox. Shaking his head at the whole scenario, Rick was glad no one could see him. With a wicker basket on each arm he felt like Little Red Riding Hood walking back up the lane—only he was the wolf.
He felt uncomfortable deceiving Monica but she wasn’t expecting a relationship, just the kinky fun her friend sent her way as a gift. And for him it was an opportunity to move beyond finding his fiancée in bed with his best friend. Not that he really planned to go all the way with Monica although it was tempting. She was asking for sex. Expecting it, even. And he was long overdue for a good ‘lay’. If he couldn’t get his cock to rise to the occasion, something he’d worried about since that devastating incident, she wouldn’t even know who he was so she couldn’t run around telling people he was a loser.
“Want another beer?” Monica asked, greeting him at the door with two in hand. They weren’t open yet but she was ready to pop the tops. He could tell.
“I have champagne. It’s cold from sitting outside. How about some of that?”
“Wonderful.” Her face lit up like a beacon. “I’ll put these back.”
She skittered to the kitchen and he followed, trying to remember what he had inside each basket. He’d chosen slightly different contents from a list at the shop. Monica paced a few steps, sat down and got back up to get champagne flutes from another cabinet. Hoping to put her at ease, he popped the top and she nearly jumped out of her shoes.
“Relax,” he said, pouring his sister-in-law’s champagne into the flutes and handing Monica one. “Or are you having second thoughts about going through with this?”
“No. It wouldn’t be the right thing to do to my friend and besides, this is something I always wanted.” She held out her glass. “I was going to choose the bubble bath first and you obviously had it in mind as well since champagne is served with it.”
“Um … yes, but I think I was supposed to wait until your bath was ready.”