"We're going to be late. Get in the car."
My best friend Quinn was at my door asking me to, well, honestly, I didn't know what she was asking me to do.
"Late for what?" I asked.
"I can't tell you that. You'll have to trust me."
We had been friends forever. I had always trusted her before. But it wasn't my birthday and I wasn't getting married or having a baby, so a surprise party seemed improbable. Would I like whatever was at the end of the car ride? There was only one way to find out.
Quinn tore out of the driveway and took off down the street, the tires screeching as she rounded the corner.
"Slow down!" I yelled. I knew she had said we were late (Late for what? I wanted to ask), but if we got pulled over for speeding, we'd really be behind schedule.
She shook her head. "Can't. There's a black bandanna in the glovebox. Tie it around your eyes so you can't see."
I opened the glovebox and took it out. "I don't suppose you're going to tell me what's going on," I said. "I mean, if we were going to rob a bank, I'd be putting this over my nose and mouth, not my eyes. You're not kidnapping me, are you?"
Quinn laughed. "Just do it. It's going to be fun."
Oh, yeah? Fun for who? I wondered.
We drove for about ten minutes. I wasn't able to follow the turns and make any sense of the route. But then Quinn stopped the car, so we must have made it to our destination. I reached up to remove the bandanna from my eyes.
"Nope!" Quinn said, grabbing my hands. "I'll lead you in. Hang on, let me come over to your side." She got out and came over to the passenger-side door, opened it and gently took my arm. "What's your number?"
"My number?" I asked. "Like my phone number? My social security number? What number?"
"You know, how many guys have you been with?"
"About half as many as you!" I teased.
"Do you think you'd be able to tell who's who blindfolded?" She helped me out of the car and led me away from it.
"Wait, what?"
"Watch your step here." We entered a building. I could feel the air conditioning on my skin. We walked for a short way.
"Hypothetically, you mean?" I asked. I was getting nervous. What the hell did she have up her sleeve?
"Hang on," Quinn stopped. "We have to wait for the elevator."
The elevator dinged. I heard the doors slide open. We got in, the doors closed, and I felt it ascend. I could have taken the bandanna off my eyes, but at this point I was curious.
"About twenty-five," I said.
"What?"
"You know, my number. Not all of them memorable," I added.
The elevator stopped. Quinn took my hand. "This way," she said and led me down a hallway.
I heard the click of the door. She must have held a key card up to the lock. She opened the door and I could feel that there was someone in the room. I could smell the faint scent of his cologne. We had to be in a hotel room because she sat me down on a bed.
"Ok. Here's your first challenge. I've arranged for some of your old boyfriends to stop by. They're going to come in one by one and it's up to you to identify them by their kiss. The rules are: you have to keep that bandanna around your eyes at all times. No peeking. And no talking. I'll give you about five minutes and then I'll come back to hear who you think it was. Got it?"
I said I did.
I heard Quinn leave and go into an adjoining room. She must have all the men corralled next door.
Contestant number one came over and sat next to me on the bed. He slipped his arm around me, put his mouth on mine and kissed me so sensuously there was no doubt who it was. It was my high school boyfriend, Gabe. I had always regretted not having sex with him when I had the chance. I was such a priss in high school. But I wasn't now. I could feel the wetness between my legs. I wanted his hands all over me. I ran my fingers down his arm and tried to move his hand to my breast. That hand was not budging. Damn it. I hadn't heard that no touching was one of the rules. A couple more minutes of this and I was going to be a puddle on the floor. Gabe must have felt the same way because the next thing I knew, he had jumped up and left for the other room.
"What the hell was that?" I heard Quinn say.
"That was Gabe, right?" I asked. "Send everyone away and let him come back in. I want to fuck him like I never did in high school."
"No." Quinn said. "I mean, yes, Gabe, but no, you can't fuck him. I'll explain later. Pull yourself together, here comes the next guy."
The second contestant came in, sat down next to me and shoved his tongue in my mouth. Louis. I'd recognize that lousy kiss no matter how many years passed by. Did I have to put up with five minutes of him? I needed a signal for when I was ready for the next one.
"You can go, Louis," I said. "Send Quinn back in."
"You're going through them too fast," she said as she hurried in. "And you violated the No Talking rule."
I apologized, said I'd try to take my time, and that she could send in the next guy.
I knew who it was before he even kissed me. There are some men who smell so good I would like to lick sawdust off their sweaty backs and this man was definitely one of them. It wasn't cologne, it was simply the smell of his skin. He took my face in my hands and kissed me deeply.
I wanted to devour this man. I wanted my clothes to fly off me. I wanted to feel his hard cock entering me. I wanted to kiss him for the allotted five minutes and then I wanted to get down to some serious business.