And the Winner Is

All of my writing is fiction, and the stories and characters are products of my imagination. They were created for my fun and, hopefully, your enjoyment. Some of the events in the stories are not particularly condoned nor encouraged by the author but are there to create and enhance the story of the imaginary characters and their lives. Comments are always encouraged and carefully reviewed. All characters within the story that need to be are 18 years of age or older. I hope you enjoy! And take a second to vote and comment.

~~~

It had been a difficult day, and Paula felt totally exhausted, although she knew the exhaustion was mental and not physical. She'd been very prepared for the presentation, but doing it in front of the Vice President of Sales, the Eastern United States Director of Sales, and her boss, the local Sales Manager, who was counting on her to showcase all the work they'd done on a new and very unique product, was daunting.

Surprising herself a little, and with trembling hands, she'd pulled it off and received warm congratulations from everyone, including the Vice President, who'd told her she had a bright future with the company. As the space cleared of dignitaries, Conrad Nottingsly took hold of her shoulders.

"Paula, that was amazing. I've been trying to figure this thing out, but not very successfully. Now, after your presentation, it's all suddenly as simple as a, well, safety pin. I wasn't certain anyone could do it, but you killed it. I'm buying all your drinks at the Christmas party.

Paula appreciated the sentiment, but Conrad was so new with the company that he wasn't aware there was an open bar at the Christmas party.

"Thank you, Conrad. I really felt out of my element doing it, but I guess it went well.

I'll send your boss a text that will bring him up to date. Too bad he had to be away and miss it." Conrad squeezed her shoulders

"We recorded it so he can watch it later," someone said.

"Oh, good. Well, let's all get back to work."

Paula headed toward her cubicle but was ambushed by Billy Joe Branson.

"High five, Paula."

She exchanged a less-than-enthusiastic high five with Billy Joe."

"Not only beautiful and brainy, but personable and slick as well."

"Slick?

"I just saw a couple of minutes of it, but you looked slick." He chuckled.

"I'm not sure that I was trying to look slick, whatever that means, but I was happy with what I accomplished."

"I've just heard a few comments from people, but they said it was great. You're an unusual engineer, Paula."

"Listen, Billy Joe, I've got to get back to work. I have more to do on this project, but I also have two more that I'm working on as well." Paula was getting frustrated with Billy Joe's intrusions into her life. She was married, and she didn't need another guy to be flirting with her.

"I don't mean to bother you, Paula, but I couldn't help but compliment you. When you're world-famous, I'll be able to say that once upon a time, I worked with you."

Paula sighed, said, "Thanks," and stepped into her cubicle. Thankfully, Billy Joe left. She looked at the work in front of her, but with her heart still pounding and her body filled with adrenaline, it was going to be difficult to get much work done. She grabbed her cell phone and sent a text to Sandy, her husband.

Are you available?

Seconds later:

I've got about 5 minutes.

She called.

"Paula, how did it go?"

"Better than I could have hoped for. Everyone loved it, and the Vice President told me I had a bright future with the company."

"Wow! That sounds fantastic. I wish I was there to congratulate you. I will be in two more days. Some of these meetings are a little boring or redundant."

"I miss you, hon. I may call Brenda and see if she'd like to go to dinner with me to celebrate."

"That would be nice. You sound really excited."

"I'm wired, and my heart is still pounding. I'll talk to you this evening. Love you, Babe."

"Love you too, Paula."

She fumbled through her work for the rest of the day, not accomplishing what she'd hoped to accomplish, but at least not just sitting there the whole time with a silly grin on her face. Just before leaving, she made another call.

"Hi, Paula. What's up?"

"Brenda, are you free tonight? The presentation went super well, and I'm so hyped that I need to go out and celebrate. Are you free for dinner and whatever?"

Brenda laughed. "I'm so glad it went well. You were really nervous about it, I know that. And yes, I'd love to go to dinner and

whatever

" Brenda knew that whatever would be a few drinks, lots of laughing, and depending on how many drinks there were, even more fun.

"Great. You want to go together or separately?"

"I'll pick you up, and you can tell me about your day." Brenda knew from experience that Paula would be in no shape to drive herself, and she wouldn't be much better. But the route was mostly small side streets, and if she could avoid parked cars, they'd both get home. They lived just two blocks apart.

"I'll see you about seven, then, okay?"

"See you at seven."

At home, Paula put her purse on the table, turned, and screamed as loud as she could. It was probably a bit of overreaction, but she had been so nervous about the presentation that she needed this to unwind. She hurried to the kitchen and poured a glass of wine. Relaxing in her lounger, she sipped her wine until her phone rang. It was Sandy, and they talked for fifteen minutes. When they hung up, the wine was gone, and it was time to dress for dinner. A second's debate, and she returned to the kitchen, then went upstairs to dress.

Paula removed her blouse and then her bra and went to the mirror. There was a spot on her side that was both sore and red. She'd worn a new bra for her big day and was paying the price. She took the last sip of wine and checked her bra drawer. It had been a hell of a day, and she needed to celebrate. She bit her lower lip and thought for a moment. A big smile filled her face.

She crossed the room to Sandy's dresser and, in the second drawer, found what she wanted. It was his fairly new Ohio State National Champions T-shirt, and it was an extra large. She pulled off her skirt and found a pair of shorts. A pair of sandals, and she was ready for a casual dinner and a fun evening. It was only six-thirty, and she considered another glass of wine. The first two on an empty stomach had her buzzing fairly well. She'd be eating dinner, so it might be okay. She headed for the kitchen.

She was feeling very relaxed, very relaxed indeed when Brenda's horn tooted. She

grabbed her purse and was out the door.

"Be careful," Brenda said as Paula stumbled into the car. Have you been celebrating by yourself?"

"Just a couple of glasses of wine. I just felt so good and proud of myself that I couldn't help it."

"I assume we're going to Maw-Maw's. You're not exactly dressed for something formal."

"You aren't dressed very formally either."

"I know you pretty well, and I didn't think you'd want to celebrate at Brandon's."

"I'm not sure I have a dress I could wear to Brandon's," Paula said, giggling.

"We'll have to see who's at Maw-Maw's to know how much you can celebrate."

When they arrived, and Paula was able to generally stumble inside, they discovered that Maw-Maw's was nearly full, unusual for a weeknight.

"I hope they have some food left," Brenda said.

"Maybe we should have gotten here earlier. I'd have been in better shape." She giggled.

Brenda shook her head and chuckled. She and Paula had been best friends since middle school. Brenda had never married, but once Paula married, they seldom got together except when Sandy was out of town, which usually happened a couple of times a month. Paula always enjoyed getting nicely buzzed, but she usually waited until they got to the restaurant, usually Maw-Maw's. Tonight was obviously different.

"Whatcha gonna eat tonight?" Paula asked.

"I'm not celebrating, so I think I'll have pizza."

"I thought of that, but I think I'll have spaghetti. And a glass of wine."

"I hate to snoop, but how many have you had?"

Paula giggled again. "At least two, and maybe more. Anyway, Janie is here. Order your pizza."

The pizza was ordered along with spaghetti, two meatballs, please, and a glass of wine.

Brenda asked about the presentation, and Paula talked about it until the food arrived. They ate in silence, Brenda insisting that Paula wear the bib that Janie brought with the food. It was successful in keeping the spaghetti off Sandy's special T-shirt.

As usually happened when they were finished eating, tables were moved together, and the evening began. Paula ordered another glass of wine despite Brenda's tilted head and raised eyebrows, who noticed that she was no longer sipping.

"Paula was a hero today."

"Tell, tell," someone yelled.

Paula laughed. "I had a presentation to make to company bigwigs, and I killed it," she said, slapping the table, her explanation a bit slurred, but still understood.

"High fives for Paula," and she got high fives from everyone who could reach her.

"The Vice President told me I had a bright future with the company." She had a huge grin on her face.

"That calls for a big celebration. You gonna dance on the table, Paula?"

"I've never done that here before." She giggled. "Can somebody help me get up there?"

Two men immediately grabbed her hands and helped her onto her chair and then onto the table. She looked around at all the faces watching her.

"A pretty girl is like a melody," someone began singing, and others joined in.

Paula began slowly spinning around on the table and waving her arms, a little uncertainty there for sure, and finally, Brenda suggested that it might be better if Paula were back to floor level. The same two men helped her down, and she plopped into the chair.

"Paula, that was great," someone said, "but there should be something we can do to help you celebrate."

"Don't you do something with kids?" someone else asked.

"Yeah, I do. It's a small group, but we take special kids to parks, the zoo, museums, and other places too. It's fun, but a lot of it takes money, and we're always trying to raise money."

One of the men laughed. "My best friend's wife figured out how to make money for her women's club."

The smile on his face worried Brenda a little, but everyone seemed interested in hearing what he had to offer.

"If you're interested, Paula, the ladies took turns going to someplace like this, finding people who'd pledge money, then they'd flash the group." He broke out laughing when he finished.

"Do you mean bare boobs?" Paula asked, giggling again.

"That's it. Who here would put up ten bucks to see a quick flash from Paula?"

Eight or nine hands went up.

"Wait. Paula hasn't said she'd do that." Paula said, but she was smiling.

Brenda was a little stupefied when she realized that Paula seemed to be considering doing it, probably due to glass of wine number five.

"Better yet, who'd give more bucks for the worthy cause for a ten-second flash, and since Paula's face would be covered, everyone could snap a photo. "

Paula wasn't too fuzzy to understand what they were talking about, and she wasn't certain she wanted to do it. She'd never been naked in public except the time that Dana and Tony Barnes had vacationed with them at the beach, and she and Dana had sneaked into the ocean in the late evening and stripped off their suits and skinny-dipped. There was no one around to see them, so it wasn't really daring, just something they might brag about to their friends who hadn't been there.

But this would be ten seconds with her boobs exposed to both men and women, almost all of them friends of hers. She remembered how much trouble the Groupon had raising money for the kid's things they did, and this sounded like it could raise quite a bit. Her ego was as big as it had ever been, and she decided, "Why not? I can do it if I want to."

Somebody keep track of the money and collect it, and I'll do it."

All eyes were suddenly on her. It had been sort of a joke or teasing, but it looked like it might happen, and right there in front of them.

Brenda spoke up. "I'll keep track of the money." She laughed. "And I'll make sure it goes to the kids. That's what this is for, the kids and not Paula, so give plenty."

People began coming forward and handing her money. Even Jane gave her some money from Maw-Maw's, saying this was certainly good for business. Finally, the collecting was complete, and it was Paula's turn. She had a big smile on her face as she looked around at the group.

The same two men helped her onto a chair and then onto the table again.. They stood close by since she seemed just a touch unsteady.

Paula grasped the hem of the giant shirt she was wearing and suddenly lifted it over her face, letting it drop down her back. There were her breasts, moderately large and very shapely. She could hear people talking and an occasional camera sound as she sensed her nipples hardening.

"Those things are pointy, and I love those nipples."

"Holy shit. I didn't expect to see beauties like that."

"Honey, would you like to come home with me?"

She moved a little so that her breasts swung back and forth and hoped someone was keeping track of the ten seconds. The comments were kind of exciting, things she hadn't heard for a long time.

"Okay, time," Brenda said, and Paula struggled to get the shirt back in place, finally helped by Brenda.

Paula knew she was blushing, but she felt uplifted by what she had done, much as she'd felt after her earlier presentation. She received kudos from several of the women for having the nerve to do it. She threw out a challenge to each of them to do what she'd done and have the money go to the children's group. Very quickly, there was another glass of wine in front of her.

"That'll be six, Paula, and I'm not sure you can handle six," Brenda whispered to her. "Plus, I think they're just trying to get you a little more drunk, so you'll do it again.

"I'm not going to do it again," she said, taking a drink from the glass of wine, "but you could, and they'd love it."

"That's not going to happen, but I'll have to get someone to help carry you to the car if you keep swilling that wine."

Paula laughed. "I have to pee, so I'll see if I can get myself to the ladies' room without any help. Keep an eye on me." She stood and tottered toward the restroom, using chairs and tables to help with her balance. She disappeared down the hallway.

As Jane came to the table to deliver drinks to some of the others, Brenda motioned to her.

"I think you'd be breaking the law if you served Paula another drink."

"No problem, but that was something else, what she just did. I don't think I could ever do that."

"You didn't see me doing it either," Brenda assured her.

"Maw-Maw said that if she's going to do it again, she should let us know so we can advertise." She laughed.

Paula made a successful return to the table; there was more chatter and suggestive remarks, and the celebration adjourned. Brenda was able to get both Paula and herself home without incident.

~~~

"Hey, Tony. Want to grab a beer before we go home?"

"Why not? I think the wife is visiting her mother today, so there's no hurry.

"I'll meet you at the usual place."

"See ya there."

They parked and went inside, the restaurant/bar being the usual busy. Two beers were ordered, and they reviewed a couple of things from their workday.

"So, Jerry. Someone told me you have a new girlfriend."

"Yeah, sort of. She's nice, you know--a divorcee with two little ones. The boy and girl love me already, and I'm enjoying them as well. And the lady isn't bad either. We've had a couple of dates, so we'll see how it goes."

"Good for you. I hope it works out."

"What the heck is going on over there?" Jerry asked, pointing across the room.

"I think they're having some kind of a celebration. It looks like a happy group." He laughed.

They continued to talk and watch the group on the other side of the room.

Suddenly, Jerry said, "Look, Tony. We're getting flashed.

Tony changed his position and could see a very nice set of breasts from a lady with a red shirt covering her face.

"What a pair."

"Some guy is a really lucky dude to have those to play with."

"Those things are big and beautiful."

Tony smiled at the comments since he was thinking the same thoughts.

People were taking photos with their phones, and he would have liked to get one, but it was too late as the boobs were now covered by the red shirt. He froze.

"Good lookin' woman," Jerry said. "I wonder what brought that on." He looked at Tony. "You look like you've never seen a good set of knockers before." He chuckled.

"Um, yeah, just surprised to see that." Surprised didn't nearly describe what he was feeling.

And he was surprised. Shocked might be a more relevant description. When the shirt was back covering the breasts, it uncovered the face of Paula Locke, the wife of Sandy Locke. Paula and Sandy were very good friends of Tony and Dana. He could barely comprehend what he had just seen. He'd seen Paula in a bikini but never totally bare. And certainly not in public. What was he going to do now? And why the heck had she done that? It didn't seem to be totally like her.

As he watched, he could see that Paula was laughing and being teased by the others. She seemed to be savoring the attention and had enjoyed being the center of attention just minutes ago.

"You wanna hang around and see if she gives us another show? You could run up there and get a photo this time." Jerry laughed.

"Naw, I think I'll head for home and see what the wife is up to."

~~~

The weekend came, and Sandy was home, sort of. He, Tony Barnes, and two others were getting together for eighteen holes of golf. All four were married, but there were no children, so they referred to themselves as the

Infertile Foursome

. They'd stopped for breakfast and moved on to their ten-forty-five tee time.

Paula called Dana and arranged to meet her at ten for shopping and lunch. Paula managed to find an Ohio State National Champions XL T-shirt in a department store and purchased it, a smile on her face.. When Dana asked if it was for Sandy, Paula promised to explain it to her at lunch.

They decided on Cracker Barrel for lunch. After they'd ordered, Dana reminded Paula that she was owed an explanation. Paula smiled and cleared her throat. She had called Dana and told her about the presentation, so she could skip that part today.

"Remember when we were at the beach and snuck out that one evening and skinny-dipped in the ocean?"

"Oh my gosh, yes. We thought we were so daring, but there was no one around." She laughed. "Even at that, I don't think there was ever a bare boob above the water."

"I know, and I've always wondered what it would have been like if we'd been seen."

Dana giggled. "Me too. I used to picture myself standing knee-deep in the water with people walking along and seeing me. I pictured myself standing there and smiling. But then reality would strike me, and I'd shiver and realize I could never do that. But I kept picturing it anyway."

"I felt that way too." Paula paused and looked around, almost guiltily. "If I tell you this, you have to swear not to tell anyone, not even Tony."

"Have you murdered someone, Paula?"

More laughter. "You have to swear."

"I swear." But she was eager to hear what Paula might say.

Paula related what had happened, how she'd gone to Maw-Maw's with Brenda and gotten almost totally sloshed.

"They asked me about the kids' group, and we talked about how difficult it was to raise money. One man related how one of his relatives raised money and suggested I could do it too."