Charlie was as good as her word and stopped at the bookstore on the way home. It was owned by a close friend she didn’t get to see as often as she would like because of their schedules.
“Hey, bless me, lookee here whose dropped in. You must be after the latest book on the environment or construction or business planning.” Sandi
laughed as she greeted Charlie and gave her a big hug.
“Actually, I’m looking for books by the author A.G. Foster. Do you
have any of those?”
“Oh, my Lord,” Sandi drawled, “What’s with you and erotic fiction
or bodice rippers all of a sudden? Remember when we used to read those when we
were in middle school? Our mothers would have had a conniption fit if they’d
ever found us with one of those. You needing a little fantasy to help your
libido?”
“You know I’m building my house out at the lake on the property
Grandpa gave me? Well, I found out tonight the guy living next door is that
author. I’m curious.”
“Y’all just met tonight? And A.G. Foster is a man?”
“Well, no and yes. Yes, he’s a man and we met a couple of weeks
ago when he showed up at the building site. He announced himself by pulling out
the main extension cord so everything came to a complete stop. Then he had a
hissy fit about the noise. He was a writer. He needed quiet. He demanded
quiet.”
“I’ll bet you didn’t let him get away with that.”
“Nope, I gave him a hard time and intimated he was so old he
couldn’t change his schedule. Anyway, he left in a huff, but apparently he
finished his book because he showed up tonight after the noise stopped to see
what we’d done.”
“So, tell me, is he an old guy. One of those old nasty guys?”
“No, he’s quite attractive. Tall, thin, blond curly hair. I think
he’d tan well if he got outside. Nice smile.”
“Oh, what’s that look on your face for? C’mon, share, you have to
share with this old married lady, especially if it’s about sex.”
“Sandi, just get me one of his books, please.”
“C’mon with me.” Sandi said, taking Charlie’s arm.
In the proper section, Sandi pulled out several books and
suggested, “Take your pick…or take them all. I’ve read a couple and my, oh, my,
Len loves it when I read those because they make me get busy chasing him around
the house until I catch him. I think he wishes I’d read one a day.”
“That good huh?”
“Yep, that good. Now are you going to tell me anything else?”
“Well, I’m sure it’s nothing. We shook hands when we met up
tonight and I couldn’t believe the electricity that seemed to flow from him to
me. Then, when he was leaving, we shook again, and I swear, every single hair
on my body was standing at attention.”
“How about your lady parts? Were they participating or ignoring?”
“Lord almighty, but my nipples were hard and my lady parts
tingling like they haven’t for a very long time.”
“It’s about time you found a man that makes you feel that way. All
the ones you’ve ever been involved with have been so blah. I never said much,
but I really felt you were seeing each one just to pacify your mom.”
“Pretty much, but what happens if Adam….”
“So that’s his real name, Adam?”
“Yes, but what if Adam doesn’t feel anything like I feel?”
“Only one way to find out, don’t you think?”
“We’ll see. I’m not going to chase after him based on my personal
reaction, but I’d certainly be happy to see him again if he shows up.”
Together they headed for the front of the store where Sandi rang
up every Foster book she’d pulled from the shelf. Bagged, she handed them to
Charlie and said, “I’m so glad you stopped in. I think I’m going to take one of
Adam’s books home myself. Len will be delighted you stopped in for more than
one reason. And, you’d better not be a stranger. I expect to hear everything,
and I mean everything about you and Adam.”
Charlie laughed and replied, “If there’s ever anything to report,
I’ll take you out and buy you a drink…or two…or more.”
When Charlie arrived home, she removed her sweaty and dirty
clothing in the mud room and added them to the pile waiting for her to do
laundry. That would be tomorrow. Showered and dressed in jammies, she threw a
frozen lasagna in the microwave and made salad from a bag.
While the microwave did its magic, Charlie pulled out her laptop
and put it on the counter by her placemat. She googled A. M. Foster and
discovered he had a web page. She had to laugh when she saw the photo because
it looked an awful lot like the hunk that illustrated the cover of every book
she’d bought. Adam didn’t look a thing like the hunk because while the hunk’s
hair color and clothes changed from book cover to book cover, the eyes were
almost always green. Plus, Adam certainly didn’t seem to have the muscle
definition the hunk displayed. Well, at least he didn’t appear to have the same
musculature. Charlie guessed maybe he didn’t want to post a real photo because
every woman who read his books would chase after him, that is if they were as
erotic as Sandi indicated they might be.
Lasagna, salad and a glass of wine in place, Charlie opened the
bag of books and sorted them by publication date. Yep, the hunk on the cover
did, indeed, look quite a bit like Adam’s photo on his web page. She giggled
again and opened the one titled, Savage Surrender.
Whoa, the author didn’t waste any time getting down to business.
The hunk, or at least the cover indicated he was a hunk, and his voluptuous
lady friend were having wild mad sex before she’d gotten to page three. As
Charlie continued to read, she barely tasted her food and she refilled her
glass without even considering whether or not she should have a second glass.
She left her dinner dishes on the counter and moved to the couch and the nest
of pillows she’d made a couple of weeks before when her parents left.
Charlie’s mother said she’d taught herself to read before she’d
ever started school and had been a voracious reader ever since, but she hadn’t
read any books like this since she was a teenager. During summers before she
first went to work, she would read a book a day. She sped-read, but always
retained what her eyes input to her brain. By the time she was 100 pages into
the few hundred-page book, she desperately wanted to meet Gerald, the handsome
lover with the huge cock who left a bevy of breathless babes in his wake. He
loved them and then left them because each one lacked something he desperately
needed that would make him stay and be happy.
It wasn’t really clear what Gerald wanted from the perfect woman of his
dreams.
It was after midnight by the time Charlie finished the first book
and while Gerald finally found the woman he desperately desired, she still
didn’t know exactly what he’d been searching for. Not only that, but her panties
were very damp, her nipples hard and she desperately wanted sex. If a real
Gerald had walked through the door, she would have tackled him to the floor
right then and there. Alas, it wasn’t meant to be and Charlie definitely
understood why Len loved it when Sandi read erotic fiction.
It was tempting to open the next one, but she had to be at work
the next morning. So, Charlie put her dirty dishes in the sink to soak, changed
her damp undies, brushed her teeth and climbed into bed. It didn’t take long before
she was able to bring herself to orgasm, and even less time before she was
sound asleep and dreaming.
In her dream, the hunk was Adam, and he knew every single thing
about sex, foreplay and satisfaction that Gerald did. Charlie moaned in her
sleep and moved about as though responding to a lover. She barely woke when
Adam, her dream lover brought her to orgasm. He was simply amazing.
When Charlie woke the next morning, she was astonished by the
memory of her dream and the fact she thought she’d had an orgasm while dreaming
and sleeping. It certainly seemed and felt that way. She stretched, yawned and forced
herself out of bed. There was no time to lay back and think about Adam and her
dream or his writing and whether or not he could possibly be as good a lover in
real life as he was at writing about his male protagonists.
For the next couple of weeks, Charlie continued to read Adam’s
books, satisfy herself sexually, have such erotic dreams that sometimes they
woke her up, and waited for Adam to come visit again. Every day, after the crew
left, Charlie sat and waited, but Adam never showed up. She wondered if he was
even at his place. Maybe he had to go to see his publisher. Maybe he was busy
writing another book. Maybe she should go visit him. Maybe she could offer to
read his rough drafts. Hell, maybe she could offer to be one of his
temptresses.
On Fridays, Charlie usually treated the crew to a beer at the
local tavern. They always stopped work an hour or so before quitting time so
they could have a beer or two before heading home to their families. That
particular Friday, they made their usual wise-cracking, noisy way into the pub.
The bartender was used to them by now and began pulling a couple pitchers of
beer which he would bring to the table with glasses.
Charlie was laughing at something Todd had said about his little
girl’s inability to yet say some of her words correctly when she glanced toward
the back of the establishment. There, in a back booth was Adam and he wasn’t
alone. She couldn’t see the front of the woman, but it was definitely a woman
and they appeared to be having a serious discussion. Charlie was surprised at
how annoyed she felt and chose a chair so her back was to them. She didn’t want
to watch whatever was happening there.
For once Charlie was the most silent member of the crew. Usually,
she joked and kidded the guys and acted as though she were one of them. Gordy,
who usually didn’t notice much of anything mentioned her silence and withdrawal
before any of the other guys.
“So, what’s up boss lady. You’re awful quiet over there. You
thinking serious thoughts? You planning to fire one of us?”
His comment caused Charlie to start just a bit, but she was quick
to respond, “Wasn’t sure I’d be able to get a word in the way you hens were
cackling and carrying on. Certainly have no intention of firing anyone,
although if I did, I guess I’d have to start with you Gordy for picking on me.”
“Hey I wasn’t pickin’. I was just wondrin’. You’ve seemed a bit
off fer a while now.”
“I have? I can’t imagine why or how, unless it’s knowing my folks
will be back the end of the month and mamma will be wanting to know if I’ve
found Mr. Right yet. Hey, one of you want to volunteer for that job, just to
help get her off my back?”
Her crew all knew her mamma and as one, shook their heads
negatively.
“Aw, c’mon, we don’t have to really get married, just act like
it’s gonna happen one of these years.”
Todd, who’d known her mamma longer than any of the others said,
“Hah. If your mamma thought you had an actual live fish on the line, she’d have
the church reserved, the minister prepped and the unlucky groom in a tux and
saying I do before the sun went down. Your mamma wants grandbabies. Besides,
we’re all married or promised, so we couldn’t help you out anyway.”
“Okay, you’re right, but do any of you know of any live male
person, age doesn’t matter, who wouldn’t mind making a bit of cash while
mamma’s home for a month or so.”
Again, Todd responded while the others all laughed, “Nope, we
don’t know a soul that’s single. And if we did, your mamma’s month at home
would become however long it would take to get a ring on that finger and a bun
in that oven.”
Charlie laughed with her crew and admitted her mamma could be
fierce when it came to wanting those grandbabies. She finished her beer, stood
up and said, “Well, just for that, I’m outa here. Y’all have a good weekend
because I’m gonna work your butts off come Monday.”
Charlie went to the bar and gave the bartender her card. She
purposely kept her head turned away from the back of the room. As she headed
for the door, she detoured by her crew and flipped a couple of hats over faces,
laughing and saying goodbye.
In her truck, Charlie took a deep breath and blew it out. What was
that all about, she asked herself. It was like you were back in high school,
determined not to let the popular guy know you might like him just a bit. I
can’t believe you acted that way. You should have gone over and said hi. It’s
not like you’ve dated Adam except in your dreams. Seriously, girl, you’ve only
met him once, well twice, but the first time doesn’t count.
Charlie started her truck and headed for home as she continued to
castigate herself for acting like a teenager interested in a boy. She told
herself she was lucky she’d now read every single one of Adam’s books. There
wouldn’t be any more titillating paragraphs to make her panties wet and her
lady parts interested. Just because Adam had come to occupy her dreams on a
nightly basis didn’t mean a thing. Besides no matter what he wrote in his
books, he was probably a really bad lover with a seriously poor personality. She
told herself she was only interested in Adam because of what he wrote. She
didn’t have to give it another thought because her interest in eroticism was
over, done, finished.