Jeanette’s gaze swung to Roni. Lydia couldn’t speak.
“You’re actually considering this ludicrous bet?” Jeanette squeaked.
Roni grinned. “Why the hell not? It sounds like fun. And Lydia’s right, our lives are boring as shit. While I admit I do have some pretty wild sex, there’s still something missing. I want more, damn it.”
Lydia wished she could be more like Roni. She took life by the horns. All Lydia could ever control was her cat, Socrates. “I haven’t thought that far. What should the winner get? While we’re at it, what does the loser have to do?”
Jeanette held up her hand. “Wait, I’m already confused. How does one lose?”
“By not making your fantasy real,” Roni answered.
“So in order to win, I need to ask Mr. Motorcycle Man out?”
“Not just ask him out, but you have to do the very thing you’ve been dreaming of,” Lydia said, already wondering what she’d gotten herself into.
“I’ve had a lot of dreams about that man.”
“Make one of them happen and you’re safe from losing,” Roni said as she finished off her second sex on the beach.
Lydia took a deep breath and went for broke. “So, back to the question. What does the winner get and what does the loser have to do?”
“The winner gets to have her fantasy come to life, obviously,” Roni chimed in. “The loser…buys the rest a round of drinks?”
“No, that’s not incentive enough,” Jeanette said, as if she were beginning to warm up to the idea. “The loser has to…strip naked and walk down main street.”
Lydia shook her head. “Illegal. It can’t be against the law.”
“Then the loser has to clean my car,” Roni tossed out.
Lydia and Jeanette both shuddered. “That’s cruel and unusual punishment, Roni,” Lydia said. “Damn.”
Roni rubbed her hands together. “But it’s legal and it’s incentive enough to get you two busy.”
“What makes you so sure you’re going to win?” Jeanette shot right back, her back stiffening in pride.
Roni winked. “Because I never lose, honey.”
Lydia sucked down the last of her fuzzy navel, then ordered another. “Okay, now for the next part of this wager. We each have to reveal our fantasy.”
Jeanette shrugged. “Mine’s already been revealed. I want to have wild and crazy sex with Mr. Motorcycle Man.”
Roni frowned. “I want a man who wants me for me. A man who isn’t out to impress.”
Both women looked at Lydia. “I want to have sex with a stranger, no strings, no names, just sex.” Or maybe with two, she thought, but she wasn’t ready to admit that.
Jeanette’s jaw dropped and Roni’s eyes filled with awe. “Damn, I’ve never admired you more than I do right now,” Roni mused.
Jeanette laughed and soon they were all cracking up. Deep down Lydia shook like a teenager on prom night. What the hell did I just get myself into?
Secret Desires
1
“Good morning, Mr. Gentry,” Lydia said as Dane Gentry of the Gentry, Anderson & Dailey Law Firm strode through the door, a scowl marring his handsome face.
A grunt seemed to sum up what he thought of her chipper greeting. One thing Lydia had learned over the two years since coming to work for Dane, the man hated mornings. “Coffee’s on your desk and here’s your schedule for the day.” She handed him the printout. If it were possible, his frown deepened as he looked her over.
“What time did you get here?”