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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

The Spice of Life: End of Chap 2 and Beginning Chap 3 preview teaser


Kelli suggested that they meet the next day, a Friday. However, Jake told her that he needed to be at a charity event on Friday night, and was flying to Las Vegas for the weekend. So they arranged to meet on the following Monday, at 4:00pm. Jake offered her his business card, she toyed with it, before placing it on the bar. Shortly after that, Nina came careening over to both of them and grabbed Kelli’s arm. Her words were slightly slurred. “Kell, let’s get out of here. That creep in the corner won’t leave me  alone, and the hottie I was trying to seduce seems to have vanished into the toilet with some young guy. I’m over it. And…I’m just a little tipsy.” Nina’s eyes were faintly glazed, but she suddenly locked onto Jake. “Ooooh, well hello there, handsome! Where have YOU been all night?” Her eyes fell onto the business card on the counter. “Mmmm. Jake. Is that your name, big boy?”  

Nina leaned forward and whispered, “Do you want to fuck me tonight, big boy? Because if you do, I’m yours…” but Jake pretended that he hadn't heard her. Moving away from Nina, Jake smiled politely and responded, “Yes, Jake is my name. And I've been here, talking to your beautiful friend. But I’m afraid it’s time for me to go now, also.”

He turned, and took Kelli’s hand. “I’m very much looking forward to Monday”, he said in a low voice. He raised her hand to his lips and brushed it, ever so lightly. “Thank you.” His eyes were intensely green, but as he turned, they almost looked deep blue. It was startling, and had a thrilling effect. Kelli’s stomach lurched. 

He turned, and before Kelli could quite recover from the sensation of his lips on her skin, he was gone.

“God, Kelli. Who IS he? You've struck gold there.” Nina picked up the business card and stared at it, intently, before handing it to Kelli.

"I don't know, something about HIM, looks..feels so familiar, Nina"

"Ya know, Kells, something about HIM also seems to, I don't know, seem familiar also.  The way he talks, just froze me, and I'll be honest, made me wet" 

Kelli was transfixed, staring at the door where she’d seen Jake exit the building. The whole room felt empty without him. Suddenly, she realized something, and started to laugh, softly. The whole time she’d been talking to Jake, she hadn't thought of her online mishaps. Not even once. Jake’s charm and attentiveness had pushed the thought right out of her mind. 

“What’s so funny, Kelli? Why the hell are you laughing?” Nina slurred.

“Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. Come on. Let’s get you home.”

Monday. Monday. Monday.  It was a mantra echoing through her brain. Seeing Jake again was all that Kelli could think about. The few days that passed between meeting Jake on Thursday night and his therapy appointment on Monday afternoon seemed like an eternity. Kelli found herself adding up the hours and moments until their first session. What was it about him? There was something so mysterious and appealing. She kept reminding herself that therapists weren't allowed to get involved with clients, but time and time again, she found herself replaying the events in the bar, over and over again. Kelli re-ran each and every detail of their conversation, trying to find clues as to who he was, and what their interaction on Monday might be like. She was incredibly excited, but was trying not to admit it to herself.

Nina wasn't much help, either. “My GOD”, she said over lunch the next day, “I cannot believe the chemistry that was there between the two of you. You do realize that it was completely electric, right? I kept thinking that the bar was going to burst into flames.  Do you seriously think that you are going to be able to keep him as a client without jumping him?”  She nibbled on the very tip of a bread stick, suggestively, and looked at Kelli, while batting her eyelashes

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Monday, August 18, 2014

The Spice of Life: End of Chap 1, Beginning of Chap 2 Teaser Preview

By the evening, when Kelli returned home from work, there was still no reply. She knew it was irrational of her to feel irritated, yet she was annoyed, and frustrated. She had worked her way up to this, and now it had stalled.

She considered writing again -- just a line or two, to check in -- but quickly discarded the idea. It seemed far too attentive and needy.

The final straw came when it occurred to her to check whether or not EnjoyLifeNJ had signed into the website. She checked and saw that he had, indeed been online in the past 24 hours. Why hasn't he replied?

Kelli felt increasingly upset, and annoyed. Her annoyance was the top layer of a deep sense of disappointment. None of this was really working out. She knew it would turn out like this. It had just been a foolish idea in the first place, doomed to fail. She was married to Paul, would stay married to Paul, and would suffer through the next two or three decades of joyless, sexless, dissatisfied existence. That was how it was. She wouldn't break the girls’ hearts by leaving their father. She’d just stagnate, like old water in a pond.

*ping*   Kelli jerked her head up and stared at the screen. That sound meant she had a new message. Yes, there was something in her mailbox! It must be EnjoyLifeNJ. She felt far too eager as she opened it up.  Oh.  Her heart sank. It was a message from someone called Sexgod11, and read:


Your a real fox. I’d like to see if you’re sexy tale is bushy and red to match your pretty hair.


Ugh. Who ARE these people? This guy obviously had an IQ of 60.  Kelli was done. She quickly went to the “Accounts” tab and selected “Disable/delete account”.  Enough was enough.

Chapter 2

When Nina called, Kelli was thrilled to hear from her old friend. She had no idea that Nina was back in town. Nina had been in California for the past year or so, working as a banking recruiter. Kelli had seen her once or twice, but for the most part they were both busy with their lives.

Nina was one of Kelli’s oldest friends. They had met in the first week of their freshman year at college and had been nearly inseparable. After graduation, they’d shared a tiny apartment together in Clinton, NJ, as Nina pursued her career in marketing and sales and Kelli worked her way through graduate school. Kelli, Paul and Nina had shared an apartment together to help pay the bills.  Kelli and Paul had been struggling, especially with Kelli’s pregnancy, so they needed all the help they could get.

Nina was wild, and always had been. She possessed a Marilyn Monroe figure with long, luscious, black curls, full features, and latte-colored skin. She had led Kelli through all kinds of crazy escapades. Once, Nina had suggested that they go out in Greenwich Village and bar-hop while posing as obscure European royalty. She’d even come up with the unique accents for each of them. Kelli had been Romanian, and Nina, Croatian. They’d both drawn all kinds of attention to themselves; Nina absolutely soaked it up. Kelli enjoyed Nina’s pranks, but had always been content to enjoy them in tandem. She had often been the more sober of the two, rescuing Nina from all sorts of compromising situations.

On the answering machine, Nina’s message was typically enthusiastic:

“Kelli! My bodaciously beautiful goddess! How ARE you? I’m in New York for a few days. We really must go out. It’s been far, far too long. I have so much to tell you! CALL ME!”

It was perfect timing. It had been a few days since Kelli abandoned her online adventure, and she’d felt morose and slightly depressed since then. Before she’d gone on the site, she was still able to convince herself that there was some kind of hope for her and Paul. But since she’d come clean with herself and realized that the spark was completely dead, her married life had become almost unbearable. She could hardly stand to be in the same room as Paul; even the scent of his body made her feel slightly sick to her stomach and grossed out overall. Not that he’d tried to be near her, or make any sexual advances. Nothing had changed in that department. Kelli was grateful, for once. Instead, she’d turned to self-pleasuring, even more than usual. As she brought herself to orgasm in her bathtub, over and over, she’d fantasized about the nameless,masked man who had teased her so mercilessly, and then disappeared. She’d even given him a face, of sorts, in her mind’s eye. It was a composite of several ex-boyfriends, with a dose of George Clooney blended in. It worked pretty well. But even her sessions with her vibrator were growing stale.

A night out with Nina was just what she needed to relax and let loose a little. A few cocktails…talking about old times…yes, that sounded about right.

She picked up the phone and dialed Nina’s number. Nina answered on the third ring, sounding breathless.

“Kellllllliiiiii! So good to hear from you, babe! I was starting to think I’d have to make my own fun without you. Not that being on my own ever held me back…” she chuckled her throaty laugh.

“Haha…I know, I know”, laughed Kelli. “You’ve never been one to stay in on a Friday night, I know that!  But seriously, Neens, I’m thrilled that you’re in town. I am so ready for a good night out. Did you have anything in mind?”

“Me? Honey, you’re the native here now. I was hoping you could suggest a place.”

Kelli paused. There was a place that sprang to mind…

“So….there’s always Thorne, in Kenil, on the New Jersey side. I know you like it there. Or we could go to Casellino, on 52nd. There’s also this new cocktail lounge I’ve been wanting to try out. It’s in Soho. It’s called La Dolce Vita. Maybe we could check it out?”

For a second Kelli imagined that Nina hesitated, and her own heart skipped a beat. But then the reply came down the line.

“Thorne is definitely tempting, but I kinda want to get into Manhattan. Let’s go to that Dolce Vita place. What time? And more importantly…what are you wearing?”

The two friends made plans to meet at 9pm.  It was already a few minutes past 7, so Kelli jumped in the shower and then started getting dressed. With Nina’s input, she had decided to wear her red wrap dress, the ruched one with the v-neck. along with her favorite black Manolo Blahnik stiletto sandals. She added some tastefully dark eyeliner, put on some dangly, shimmery silver earrings and let her hair cascade long and loose. At the last minute, she added her white gold square-shaped pendant, with a sapphire. Looking in her full-length mirror she felt a thrill of excitement. She knew that it was silly to imagine that going to La Dolce Vita could possibly cause her to run into EnjoyLifeNJ, but still, the thought was in the back of her mind. And if she did happen to bump into him? Well, she’d show him! With how she looked tonight he’d clearly see what he was missing, and would regret not having replied to her email. Ha! Revenge would be sweet. He probably isn’t even that good looking or charming in person, she thought. Probably just another fat, old douchebag.

Kelli arrived at La Dolce Vita around 9:30.  She entered the bar and saw Nina sitting a small table, looking mildly disgruntled.

“I should have told you 8:30, Kells! I forgot your habit of being chronically late.” Nina gave a mock scowl and then embraced Kelli in a huge hug.

“I’m really sorry, Nina…I really am. You know how I just lose track of time. Forgive me?”

Nina’s dark eyes danced and she gave a huge smile. “Of course, hon. Now what ARE we going to drink? Let’s get to it!”

Kelli smiled back. “Well, I’m in the mood for a hot and dirty martini. You know, the one with the blue cheese-stuffed olives?”

Nina giggled. “Good girl! I’ll be right back...”

Minutes later, both women had a drink in hand. Sipping her martini, Kelli took time to take in the bar. It was chic and modern, with clean angles and dark wood accents. The lighting was just low enough to create great ambience, and there were lots of little nooks and alcoves with dark, velvet-lined booths. Nina was describing her latest relationship in great detail, and Kelli tuned out for a moment.

“Kelli? God, Kells, are you listening to a word I say? So, what do you think I should do, anyway?”

“Um, I guess you should do whatever you feel is right.”  Kelli had no idea what Nina was referring to.  Her comment worked, though, because Nina then launched into another detailed analysis of “he-said, she-said”.

The bar was rapidly filling up with beautiful people. It was mostly an older, professional crowd, but Kelli noticed a few young twenty-somethings in the mix. Their fresh faces made her feel self-conscious for just a moment, but she mentally shook it off. She felt good, sexy. And judging by the glances she was getting from a variety of male patrons, she could hold her own against a nubile 23-year-old anytime.

There was one man in particular who kept glancing her way. He was across the room, leaning against the bar. He was perusing the room with his eyes, much as a 4-star general might peruse a battle scene. Kelli gauged that he was about 5’10”. Her eye was generally drawn to taller men, but there was something about this guy. She took in his physique, dressed in a tailored suit jacket, over a simple black t-shirt and dark jeans, with nice leather boots. He was clean-cut, with salt and pepper hair, olive skin and a well-muscled frame. His features were unusually striking.  Their eyes met; she immediately noticed that his were a vivid green, and warmly inviting. Kelli was becoming more and more conscious of him and was finding it even harder to pay attention to what Nina was saying.

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Thursday, August 14, 2014

The Spice of Life: Chapter 1 Preview

He was fucking her, and it was fantastic. Her entire body was alive with pleasure and she was close to cumming, hard. He had her arms pinned down over her head, and he was thrusting fully into her, in missionary position, with her naked legs thrown over his shoulders. She lifted her whole body up to take him in. God, it felt good. So incredibly good. His cock must be absolutely huge; her whole pussy was full of him. She was almost there, straining against him to reach her climax. Now he grabbed her hand, and put her fingers in his mouth. Sucking on them. Then he started to lap at the top of her hand with his tongue. Kelli wasn’t sure why he was spending so long there and was annoyed. It started to feel strange. Why was his tongue so sloppy? Where was her orgasm? What was…what….?  Her eyes opened, and she immediately jerked her hand off the bed, where it lay on top of the sheets. Her golden retriever, Samson, was looking up at her from the side of the bed with big wet and yes, his drooling tongue. Her hand was covered in his drool. “ Oh my god. Gross, Samson!” Kelli groaned. “Ewwwwww.” She pushed Samson away and rolled over, feeling disgusted, but the atmosphere of the sex dream was still with her. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the face of the man who was fucking her, but it was just a shadow. Not someone she’d ever even met. Even as she tried to recall the details, the dream disappeared. Ugh, she thought. Forget about it. Better get up.  Even before she rose to check, she knew that the day outside was hard, cold and bright. She groaned inwardly. Not even any snow. Snow would have made today just a little bit easier.  She turned from the window, just in time to see Paul twitch and let out a snort in his sleep. Gazing at her husband of twenty-two years, she saw the slack, open mouth, the spot of dried spittle on his stubbled cheek, and the flannel pajamas she’d been trying to convince him to throw away for years. Looking at him, the familiar thought came: He looks ridiculous. Then the equally familiar pang of guilt, and ache of loneliness. Maybe we can make a new start this year. She made another mental note to talk to Paul about New Year’s Eve, and fresh beginnings.


It was early still, too early to call either of the girls, so Kelli went downstairs to make coffee. The tree lights were on; she hadn't had the heart to turn them off before bed. They winked at her, reminding her of all those Christmases with Kaitlyn and Simone. The girls used to wake them up at 6:00 a.m., or even earlier, especially when they were really small. Paul and Kelli would be dragged out of bed and stumble down in their bathrobes, exhausted from late-night gift-wrapping and glasses of eggnog, while their daughters squealed with delight and tore open stockings and gifts. As the girls became teenagers, they slept in much later, but there was still always an air of excitement and anticipation in the house on Christmas morning.

This morning, though, barely felt like Christmas at all. With both children gone for the first time, the emptiness in the house was palpable. Kelli sipped her coffee listlessly and gazed at the gifts under the tree. Definitely a smaller pile than usual. Her eldest daughter, Kaitlyn, was happily settled in CA, where she’d landed last year, after graduating from UC Berkeley with a degree in social work. Simone, Kelli’s youngest, was a sophomore at Columbia, but was currently travelling in Europe. Kelli had mailed all of Kaitlyn’s presents to her in California, but the gifts for Simone were there. They’d discussed it, and decided that it made more sense for Simone to open them when she returned from her  law firm internship in the spring. Kelli had pressed her youngest daughter, “Don’t you want something now? Let me send you one or two little gifts, at least!”, but Simone had been adamant. “It’s fine, Mom.”, she’d said. “Honestly! I’m going to be in Biarritz for Christmas, and presents would just get in the way. That is, if they even made it here on time.”  Kelli had felt mildly hurt, but she let it go. That was one thing about being a therapist: one learned to let go. Or at least, one learned how to let go. Doing it could be a whole other matter.

Her thoughts turned again to Paul. They’d agreed to take it easy on the gifts for each other this year. Not that it really made a difference; Paul had never really been a great gift-giver, even in the early days of their marriage. He’d made an effort for a long time, though; she had to give him that. At one point he’d even gotten it right a couple of times; a beautiful silk scarf one year, or a bottle of her favorite perfume. But things had changed lately, and it had become increasingly impossible to mask her disappointment at opening up yet another set of towels, or photo frames. She knew he tried, but couldn't help but wonder, did he really have so little sense of what she enjoyed, or needed? Eventually, his gifts to her trickled to almost nothing: a token bottle of hand lotion, a pair of gloves. After decades, she’d almost convinced herself that she’d accepted this part of him, but there was still that tiny sting, every Christmas, every birthday, every anniversary. Yesterday, on Christmas Eve, they’d decided to get the whole thing over with and had opened each others’ gifts. She bought him the latest tablet, and he bought her a set of new copper-bottomed pots and pans. She wasn't even surprised. She didn't even like to cook – never had – but whatever.  It was just another reflection of the state of their relationship.

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