High Velocity PSA

The plates, the styrofoam containers, the empty bottles were all over the room when Claire stood up. "I have another good memory, better than Smilanksy's penis."

Lisa smirked.

"I am going to bare my heart to you—"

"Bare your boobs to us too," Lisa said.

Claire scowled. "For the past twenty years I've been working with amazing people, people that I love. Nurses, Nurse Assistants, Orderlies..." She smiled at Mike at the last one on her list. "Some good people have left, only to be replaced by other wonderful people."

"You love all of us?" Lisa said.

"Not all the staff, but definitely everyone in this room. I feel close to each of you, and will keep you in my heart. I love you."

"We love you too," said Lisa. "We need a group picture."

"Great idea."

Mike headed towards his bedroom. "Everyone go beside Claire. I'll get my camera and tripod, so we can all be in the picture."

"Cheese..." Mike set the self-timer, and hurried to stand with the others. He checked the result. "Nice, but kind of mundane. I have an idea."

Mike grabbed four empty beer bottles, and gave them out. Lisa was already working on another Jack Daniels. "Everyone hold up your drink, a toast to Claire." He cast the image to his large screen smart TV.

"Thank you Mike, I appreciate the toast, but you know what would make the picture a really special memento?"

"Tell me."

Claire pointed to the picture of Mike in his Speedo. "Can you wear that for the photo?"

Mike blushed. "I would feel kind of awkward."

"Mike, you're gorgeous. You have a great body, and you're a great guy. We know what you look like anyways, from the picture on the wall. Please?" Claire took both his hands in hers.

"For you, Claire." He kissed her cheek and retreated to the bedroom.

Lisa whispered to the girls. "He feels awkward because he'll be practically naked, and we'll be fully dressed. How about if we meet him halfway? Let's all quickly strip down to our underwear."

"Are you insane?"

"I promise you Barbara, it will be more fun than playing with Smilansky's dick." Lisa pulled off her scrubs and stood proudly in her bra and panties, her hands on her hips. "Claire, Mike's getting undressed at your request. The least you can do is return the favor."

Claire shook her head in disbelief, then pulled her clothes off. Michelle followed.

"What are you doing? This is completely inappropriate." Barbara was more than astonished.

"I'm coming out." Mike stepped into the room and gawked at his co-workers. His eyes stopped on Barbara. She sighed audibly, removed her top, and stepped out of her pants. Lisa grinned.

"Let's get this over with," Barbara said. They gathered again around Claire. Mike set up the camera, then ran to join them, wrapping an arm around Barbara's waist.

He cast the photo to his TV screen, and examined the four women in high definition underwear. He turned to the ladies standing in front of him. "I'm honored. Why?"

Lisa picked up her glass. "It didn't seem fair to have you wearing that tiny Speedo while we were dressed. We decided to make things even."

"You didn't. It's not at all even."

"Why not?"

"I'm wearing one item, my Speedo. You're each wearing two, a bra and panties. Lose the bras and we'll be even."

"You've got to be kidding."

"Definitely, but I would enjoy if you did it."

Michelle walked over to Mike and put her hands on his shoulders. "What do we get out of it?"

"You'll enjoy it too." He put his hands on her waist.

"Yes, I guess we will." She turned her back to him and waited.

Barbara poured herself a large shot of Jack Daniels.

Michelle looked over her shoulder at Mike. "Well?"

He reached up, unclasped her bra, and put his hands back on her waist.

"Finish the job," she said.

He slowly pulled the straps off her shoulder, removed her bra, put it on the coffee table behind him, and gave her a peck on the cheek. She stepped away, saying "next." Claire and Lisa followed, Lisa returning the kiss, but on his lips.

Barbara stood on the other side of the room, staring at Mike, ignoring the catcalls from Lisa, Claire and Michelle. She gulped the rest of her drink, choking and then coughing till her eyes were red from tears.

Mike held his arms open in front of him. "Come to papa." Still coughing, she walked slowly into his embrace. He patted her on the back till her throat calmed down, then unhooked her bra. "May I?"

"Yes, she whispered.

He gently tugged her bra off, leaving her breasts pressed against his bare, firm chest. His groin was squeezed against her belly; she felt him getting stiff.

"Now that's a sexy shot." Claire prepared to took a picture of them.

"No! My eyes are too red from coughing."

"Okay, I'll—"

Lisa came up behind Mike. "I know how to make it a sexy shot." She grabbed Mike's Speedo and yanked it down. She had it to his thighs when he snatched her wrists.

"No. Pull it up." He released her hands.

"Okay, sorry." Lisa slowly pulled the back of his Speedo upwards, touching his butt as Claire took a photo. The front of the Speedo was still down, his erection pressing against Barbara's skin.

"Sorry," he spoke softly into her ear.

"It's okay. Wasn't your doing." A tear dripped onto his shoulder.

"I'll get you a tissue.

She pressed against his groin. "First pull up the front of your Speedo."

"Yeah." He made himself decent.

"Let's take that group titty shot and wrap things up." Mike took his camera from Claire, re-set the tripod, and positioned everyone. He engaged the timer and scooted into position, one arm around Claire's waist, the other over Barbara's shoulder, his fingertips just above her breast.

He cast the photo to his TV.

"Can you email us copies?" Michelle found a scrap of paper in her purse and wrote out her email address.

"Nope." Mike ignored the proffered paper. "It's a nice picture, it's a sexy picture, but it's not a picture we should have taken. Not a picture to send on the net."

"You seemed to enjoy it." Michelle pointed to the swelling in his crotch on the TV.

"Of course I enjoy being with a bunch of beautiful, almost naked women."

"We all want copies."

"I'll give you prints. There's a specialty photo lab that makes prints which are impossible to scan or copy. Claire, I'll get yours framed, and we'll all sign it. Agreed?"

Everyone nodded. Claire leaned over and kissed his cheek. "Thank you for a wonderful party, and a keepsake I won't ever forget, even though it will be well hidden."

He beamed. "I won't ever forget this either." The others nodded in agreement. "Can I get some help cleaning up? Claire, it's your party, so you don't have to. Lisa, go home; you're too drunk to be of any use. Michelle, Barbara?"

"Um, my hip is really bothering me," said Michelle. "I'm getting old. Can I take a rain-check?"

Barbara turned to her. "A rain-check? Should he leave the mess until your hip is better?" Barbara picked up a dirty plate and carried it to the sink as Lisa, Claire and Michelle got dressed. A quick kiss to each, and they were out of Mike's condo. Barbara marvelled at how effectively the verb 'clean' could end a party, even among close friends.

"You can get dressed too, you know."

Barbara looked at the glasses in her hand, shrugged, and continued to the sink. "So can you."

"I'm getting undressed and going to bed as soon as you leave. It's after two o'clock."

Barbara's eyes opened wide as she looked at her watch. "Oh my god. I hope Ethan's isn't waiting up. He's already upset about me going out so often after work."

"Ethan's not going to like this question: when's your next day off?"

"Tomorrow. Why?"

"I'm taking Alayna out for supper. She's having some serious problems, and she's also off tomorrow. It would really be good if you joined us. She thinks the world of you."

"I just told you Ethan is upset about me going out so often."

"'Going out so often after work.' This will be just a couple of hours in the evening."

"Why?" She put the last of the dishes in the sink.

"It's a long story. I'll explain tomorrow."

Barbara put on her pants, and turned her back to Mike to attach the clasps on her bra. "Fine. Where and when do we meet?" She finished dressing.

"Come here for six. We'll take my car to the restaurant. We'll meet Alayna there." He handed Barbara her purse. "And... thank you."

She put her palm on his chest. "I enjoyed myself tonight. Thank you, for all of it."

***

September 13

I was eating a cheese omelet when Barbara plopped herself down on a kitchen chair.

"Coffee," she said.

I pointed at the coffee-maker.

"You usually make it for me."

"I'm having lunch. I don't want it to get cold."

She pushed herself up, got a mug, and stood in front of the machine. "Why did you sleep in your office last night?"

"You weren't home by one; I figured I would be asleep by the time you made it to bed. I wake up way before you. So at best, all we could accomplish would be to disturb each other. The bed in the office is comfortable."

She took her cup from the machine, added some milk, and sat down. "Why didn't you wake me earlier? It's one-fifteen."

"You didn't give me any instructions. You're not working today, so you didn't have to be up for any reason that I know of. It must have been some party last night."

"Yeah, nobody realized what time it was. We were talking about how the hospital is changing because of the new law. You know, we can't even find ordinary supplies now; bandages, urinals, catheter bags... If a patient drops his pill on the floor we have to order a new one by calling the pharmacy, getting it processed, and then waiting for it to be delivered."

"What did you do before with dropped pills?"

"We had a supply of the most common medications. We would just replace it. Now we have to wait an hour to get a simple Tylenol. It screws up our meds, our timetables, and makes everything take longer. The bureaucrats have to control everything in the name of efficiency. We were all getting so angry talking about it. It must have been one o'clock by the time we left the restaurant."

"It took you two hours to get home?"

Barbara looked down at her toast. "Oh, I guess it was later than one. I didn't look at the time."

"You got home at three," I said. "You took a quick bath, and went to bed at three-thirty."

"Oh. Why didn't you say anything then?"

"I wasn't in the room. Remember?"

Barbara looked at the fridge. "I need my toast."

I was finished my omelet, but didn't rise to prepare her afternoon breakfast. I sat with my elbows on the table, looking at her. I watched silently as she retrieved the peanut butter and jam, and stuck a couple of slices of her low-calorie bread in the toaster. I was on the last drops of my coffee when she sat down again, ready to eat.

Barbara lifted her eyes from her toast. "You're supposed to take care of my needs today. Remember?"

That instantly improved my mood.

She tilted her cup, finishing her coffee. "Let's do it after I finish breakfast and brush my teeth."

"I've got a project I have to wrap up this afternoon. Remember the Hudson Portfolio, that Smithson bought while I was in the hospital? He put down half a million dollars cash against my advice, but listened to me on how to fix it. Now he's sold it. He's making two million dollars on the deal, and is gloating about how wrong I was when I said it's a lousy investment. I'm getting thirty-seven hundred dollars in fees for saving his neck, and I have to do the report this afternoon. This evening I will take great pleasure in looking after your needs."

"I'm going out for supper with Alayna from work. Can't you do the report this evening?"

Barbara had put too much jam on her toast, and was oblivious to the red gob just under her nose. I fixed that image in my mind, went to my office and closed the door. So much for my improved mood.

***

September 13

Barbara parked across the street from Mike's building. He was outside leaning on his car, a blue Mustang convertible; the top was down. He opened the door, politely taking her hand as she tucked herself into the seat.

"How will we be able to talk? Won't it be too noisy from the wind?"

"We'll talk after," he said, as he turned the ignition key.

The engine was loud, the car was fast, and Mike enjoyed burning rubber. They stayed on city streets, but even without wind noise, it was impossible to converse. The drive took about fifteen minutes, winding through the serpentine streets of an elegant hillside neighborhood.

Mike took Barbara's hand and led her to the restaurant door.

She looked at the menu posted outside. "This looks like an ordinary American grill. Is there something special about it that we came out here?"

"The food is great," Mike said. "Everything else about this place is ordinary: the service, the prices, the décor, bar, the dance floor. That's what makes it special."

"Dancing?" Barbara resisted slightly as Mike tugged her inside. "I left my husband alone so I could go dancing?"

A look of concern washed over Mike's face. "Is he upset?"

"I don't know. He had an important report to work on, so it could be that he was concentrating on it. When I told him that I was going out for supper he went into his office without a word, shut his door, and didn't come out except to pee. When I knocked on the door to say goodbye he didn't answer."

"Sounds pissed to me." He escorted her through the door, and pointed to Alayna, sitting at a booth near a window at the far end of the restaurant.

"This is a normal dinner among friends. We're not going to talk about anything deep, anything political, especially anything personal. Maybe we'll have a dance or two afterwards. Then we'll go home. The main thing is to keep it ordinary."

"Why are we doing this?"

"Alayna looks up to you. She admires your nursing skills, your intelligence, your stable family life. Hers isn't stable. She needs a calm, ordinary evening. I suspect you do, too. We'll talk later."

Barbara sat beside Alayna, Mike across from them. The food was excellent. The conversation was about ordinary things. Mike danced one number with each of them, keeping an ordinary distance between their bodies. It wasn't even a couple of hours before they were at the door, saying goodbye. Alayna gave them each a hug, thanking them. Barbara wondered for what.

The conversation on the ride back to Mike's condo was the same as on the way to the restaurant. Mike didn't burn as much rubber, but the engine was just as loud, conversation just as difficult.

He drove straight into his garage rather than letting Barbara off at her car. "Come upstairs for a quick drink. We'll talk."

Barbara was startled by the photo displayed on the TV when they entered. It was her and Mike in a tight embrace, with Mike's Speedo down around his thighs. "Where's Lisa? She was standing right behind you when this was taken."

They sat down on the couch. "Photoshopped her out. Barbara, thank you for joining Alayna and me for dinner. Her life has been turned upside down recently. She needed some normality. A pleasant dinner with people she respects gave her tremendous relief."

"What's going on?"

"Her marriage was arranged by her parents back in Lebanon. She thinks her husband's parents wanted it only for the residency visas it could get them. Anyways, for the first few years her marriage was okay, but now her husband has started getting drunk regularly, berating Alayna and her daughter. They're Muslims, and they're not supposed to even touch alcohol. We gave Alayna a couple of hours to live for herself, to put her troubles aside."

"Wow, Mike. You're a good orderly, you're smart, strong, and, as it turns out, very sensitive."

He took her hand and brought it to his lips. "You left out gallant and handsome."

Barbara chuckled, then touched his lips with her finger. "You're supposed to let other people praise you, not do it yourself. Now tell me, why am I here?"

"Because I'm smart, strong, gallant... and my sensitivity tells me that you're not happy." He pointed to the TV. "But the main reason is that I want to apologize for that."

"Why? Drunk Lisa pulled down your Speedo."

"I shouldn't have pushed you all into removing your bras. I shouldn't have said "come to papa" to get your bare breasts against my chest. Most of all, I shouldn't have enjoyed it so much when Lisa pulled my pants down, and my erection was pressed against your flesh."

Barbara gnawed on her lip. "I enjoyed it too."

"I felt the way you rubbed your belly against me. You didn't pull away."

Barbara leaned her head against his shoulder. "No, I didn't."

They sat in silence for a few minutes, gazing at the photo on the TV.

Mike picked up his camera from the coffee table. "The picture could be better. The angle isn't good, the lighting isn't even. I fixed it up a bit with Photoshop, but I'd like to re-shoot it."

"You mean..."

Mike attached his camera to the tripod, and positioned it near the lamp. He moved a floor lamp a couple of feet, and tilted the shade. He extended his hand to her. "Would you?"

"Mike, you apologized for the last time, and now you want to do it again? I'm married, you know. I'm not going to have sex with you."

"I'm not asking you for sex, though honestly I'd love it. I'm an amateur photographer, and I want to improve a beautiful picture with a beautiful woman."

She took his hand and stood. "Alright, but I'm keeping my bra on." She unclasped her skirt as Mike pulled down his pants and underwear, exposing his arousal. She pulled her sweater over her head as he quickly removed the rest of his clothes. She looked him over, and said "Oh."

His erection kept bumping Barbara as he positioned her between the lamps. "This will be a test shot." He set the camera self-timer, ran and wrapped his arms loosely around her. Letting go quickly, he cast the image to the TV. "What do you think?"

Barbara walked over to the screen, lightly blushing. She pointed to the space between the two bodies, with his erection clearly highlighted by the backlighting. "That's obscene."

"True. For the actual photo, we should hug each other really tight." He had a slight smile on his face. "Are you ready?"

She nodded.

Mike stood behind her, his erection prodding her buttocks, as he turned her slightly towards the light. He took her thigh in one hand, calf in the other, putting her knee at an angle, her heel off the floor. He activated the self-timer, ran into position and grabbed her.

"Is this better?"

Barbara put her finger to the screen where their bodies touched. She turned to Mike standing at the camera, and gazed at his penis. He put his hands over it.

"No point to that now," she said.

He took his hands away. "I'm going to set the camera to video mode. Not recording, just projecting to the TV. Let's try to fine-tune our position." He wrapped his arms around her, this time holding her by the buttocks. He lifted her slightly in the air, squeezing her firmly against him. "How does this look?"

Barbara twisted slightly to see the TV. "I can't really tell. Looks okay to me. Mike, I have to get home to my husband. It's nine o'clock."

"Okay, what can we do to wrap this up?" Mike went behind her, his erection touching the small of her back.

"I don't know."

"Take off your bra?"

Barbara remained silent as Mike undid the clasp. He tossed it on the table behind them and cupped her breasts in his hands, rubbing her nipples with his thumbs.

"Your husband is lucky to have such a beautiful woman."

"Mike, I'm probably twice your age. Let's get down to business."

His thumbs stopped caressing.

"That means let's finish the photo." She lifted his hands and turned towards him. "Position me."

"I wish I didn't know what you meant by that, because I'd really like to position you on the couch with your legs apart."