Title: Shall we play a game?
Primary people:
Sara Reilly -- married to Sean, very beautiful (it's a fantasy story so naturally she's very beautiful). Most stories go into detail about the woman's physical attributes (usually dwelling on her breasts and/or her ass) but this story doesn't do that. Instead, if you want to visualize how this perfect woman looks I suggest that you go online and check out the pictures of Laura Cover. I chose her because in her after Playboy days her pictures look like she's a very loving and good woman, the kind of woman that, in her arms, all the cares and worries of the world would cease to exist. However, (plot spoiler!) in some of her Playboy pictures she looks like a woman who could have used her beauty to control and almost cruelly dominate those around her. Sara works in an office with a lot of people under her supervision and she's very good at her job.
Sean Reilly -- no clear idea on how he looks, but his character is clear in my mind. He's an Alpha male, someone who can walk into a room and everyone can sense his presence. However he's a quiet man, he doesn't intentionally use his powerful aura to influence those around him. He's a very good all around couples dancer (small plot spoiler), and very much a romantic. His work is as an all around handyman, he works on commission with new home owners who want their new home to be something special, and he always delivers.
Others -- friends of Sara, Megan who is divorced from her cheating ex husband and is celebrating by being a little wild, Helen who is happily married but whose sex life is less than exciting, Claire who is single and has no intentions of giving up her independence, Beth who is a lesbian and in a good relationship, and Tiffany who works at a restaurant.
The story starts off with Sara driving up to a restaurant on Sunday morning where she and her friends have a Sunday brunch every week. One of the topics that always come up is who got some the past week and how good was it. Her four friends sometimes find themselves living vicariously through Sara when she tells everyone how her sex life has been in the last week. (To avoid shocking the other restaurant diners they always get a private room)
I'm sitting in my car outside of Monique's, wondering what I'm going to say to my friends when I go in. When I asked Sean on Friday night what I've dying to ask him for months, I didn't know what I was getting myself into. I still don't know, not really, not since I walked out to my car this morning and found the note on my window. Sean can make my heart sing and make my body ache with desire, but I felt like I needed more from him sometimes. When I asked him my question he'd gone silent for a while, and I started worrying, thinking that he was withdrawing from me, shocked that I had asked such a question. I was on the verge of apologizing, begging him to forget that I had every brought up the subject. Then he looked into my eyes, my heart, and...
Knock, knock
I only spilled a little of the coffee on me.
"I'm sorry Sara, I didn't mean to startle you".
Okay heart, slow down. "It's okay Claire, I was just thinking about something and you surprised me. I'll be in a..."
"Sara, are you all right? Is there something wrong?"
The good thing about friends you've had for years and years is that you're in tune with each other, when one of you is hurting the others know it and want to help. When Megan found out about that rat bastard Mark it took all of us to get her through the pain, but she got through it and has a much better life now. Occasionally a very good love life, sometimes she gets more you-go-girls than I do about my love life, which is saying something.
The bad thing about good friends is that sometimes it's difficult to open up if something is wrong and they want to help. Especially when it's something you did and reveals something about yourself that you maybe don't want them to know.
"I'll be there in a minute Claire, I just need to compose myself."
"Okay Sara, I'll wait for you at the door."
Deep breaths, deep breaths.
Do I tell them? Do I show them the note?
Walking through the restaurant toward our room with Claire my mind was on autopilot. Usually the food on the tables around me smell delicious, today I was barely aware that there
were
tables. Tiffany our server was standing outside our room, watching us walk toward her. She had just turned 19 and is a cute little devil, and I do mean devil. She'd occasionally "take her time" taking/giving us our orders when we were telling something really salacious. Sometimes she had really juicy tales to tell us! We considered her a sixth member of the group, and occasionally she'd join us for our Sunday brunch. As I walked towards her she lost that playful look in her eyes, she knew I was troubled.
"Are you all right?"
"Yes. No. I don't know."
"Would you like a glass of wine, something to calm you?"
"No, no, just some orange juice please." She didn't know that Sean and I have been trying to conceive a child for the last three months, and I was abstaining from anything alcoholic.
"One OJ coming up."
"Thanks."
I stepped into our room, and Megan, Helen and Beth were quietly laughing about something. Then they saw me, and their laughter stopped.
I need to work on my poker face.
Beth got up quickly and walked over to me. "Sara, what is it?"
"Let me sit down and collect myself for a moment."
"Here, sit here."
Slow, deep breaths, pay no attention to the four worried faces looking at you.
Helen asked the question that they were all afraid to ask. "Sara, this isn't about you and Sean trying for a child, is it?"
My voice, shaking a little, quickly assured them. "It's not. No success but still trying."
More silence.
Get it over with. "Friday night started out normal. Well, normal for us. Had a nice meal, listened to some good music, (impish voice) got into a tickle fight with Sean, then had a couple hours of good loving. Then... then, I asked him a question, a question I've been wanting to ask him for some time now."
Totally captive audience.
"I asked him how he would go about...taking me."
Totally confused audience.
Helen was the first one to recover, shaking her head a little. "What do you mean, take you. Take you where?"