Jay: How was your stress level today? Did it require fondling your balls in the company of strange men in dark places?I tossed back the rest of my scotch and slouched into my couch, stretching my long legs out in front of me—not entirely different than the two douche suits in the park yesterday. Only, I wasn’t about to trip an old lady. Bianca took more than a half hour to answer, and I’d started to wonder if she was going to blow off Jay. But then the dots started jumping around.Bianca: Sorry. Was in the shower. And today was peaceful, actually. I worked on a story, then went to go visit my mother. No ball fondling necessary.For you, maybe. But now that I was thinking of Bianca in the shower, there might be some ball fondling on my end. I probably should have eased into being a perv, but I couldn’t help myself.Jay: Shower, huh?Bianca: Get your mind out of the gutter. You’re a long way from washing my back. You haven’t even scored your first kiss yet.Yet. Sometimes it was one word that exposed my competitor’s hand. I smiled to myself. That kiss was a foregone conclusion in her mind—maybe I could quit slicing my fingers to shit then.
Although, I spoke too soon. She texted back before I had a chance to respond again.Bianca: Speaking of kisses, what are you whittling me?Jay: What would you like?Bianca: Hmm…what is your signature piece?I’m pretty damn good at making wood blocks into uneven sticks.Jay: How about an animal of some type?I’d seen some animal patterns on line with step-by-step instructions. Once I’d mastered control of the gouges, how hard could it be? There was one video where a ten-year-old boy carved a fish in less than five minutes.Bianca: An animal sounds great.Jay: So when is this little exchange happening? My wood for a kiss.Bianca: LOL. I know you smirked when you wrote that last line—My wood for a kiss.I smirked. Again.Jay: Are you suggesting I’m a pervert?Bianca: I am.Jay: And how do you feel about perverts?The little dots jumped and then stopped a few times. I was extremely curious at what her response would be this time.Bianca: I actually like a little deviant in my men, I’m finding.Although the thought of her liking a little deviant made my cock twitch with delight, something didn’t sit right with me about her last two words. I’m finding. It made me wonder if she was referring to Dex’s actions last night—sending her half-naked selfies certainly fell into the realm of deviant behavior. I wondered if she would tell me about him—about me.Jay: Any plans for this evening.She took a moment to respond.Bianca: Just going to do some work later.Hmm…technically, she was telling the truth. Dex was work.Jay: How about dinner Thursday night?Bianca: Can’t. I have plans already. Friday?Plans? Did she have a date? I had no right to grow annoyed, but that didn’t stop me from feeling that way. In fact, I had a date myself on Friday night—some mundane banquet that I was scheduled to take Caroline to.Jay: Busy Friday. Saturday?Bianca: I’m actually going out of town Saturday afternoon for an assignment. Maybe the next weekend will work out.There was no damn way I was waiting a full week to see her again. I didn’t hesitate when I made my decision.Jay: I’ll cancel my plans for Friday. Pick you up at seven?Bianca: OK. Sure.Jay had a date with Bianca for two nights from now, and Dex was gearing up for his 11PM chat. What had this woman done to me?Promptly at eleven the online chat box popped up on my laptop.Bianca: Good evening, Mr. Truitt.Dex: Yes, it is, Ms. George. Are you ready for round two?Bianca: I am. I gave a lot of thought to our discussion last night, and you were right.Dex: I usually am. You’ll need to be more specific.Bianca: I meant, that I think the article should focus more on you personally and less on the business angle of things.I liked the sound of that. Focus more on me, Georgy Girl.Dex: Are you telling me that your questions are going to be more intimate this evening? Because our deal still stands—question for a question, Ms. George.Bianca: I can take whatever I dish out. You ready?My dick twitched. Down boy. She was talking to Mr. Truitt.Dex: I’m always ready, Ms. George.Bianca: First question—Are you in a committed relationship?Dex: I date. But, no, I’m not in a committed relationship.It was the truth. I should probably be committed after the last two days, but my relationship with Caroline was open. We served a purpose for one another—attending required business functions and providing sexual gratification. Don’t get me wrong—I liked Caroline, and I was pretty sure she liked me. But neither of us wanted more from what we had.