Raincoating Ch. 01

"He asked you? Wow..." I kissed him again. "But you don't think I would do it. You don't think I could."

"I think... mmm... I really believe that any guy would chop off his equipment just to get a look at what you've got." I laughed at him until he muffled it with a kiss. "God. I would give up my own, but I'm hoping to use it..."

"You will..."

"Seriously, though, Erica... mmm... the Raincoating contest would be lucky to have you," Rory told me. "You would make the most beautiful picture any guy ever saw. But... mmm... you know he's just messing with your head."

"It wouldn't bother you if I did it? You wouldn't be mad?"

Rory tilted his head as he studied me, then smiled. "If you put your mind to something and I was dumb enough to argue with you, I would deserve the ass-kicking you would give me."

"Really?"

He was quiet, then asked, "Are you doing it?"

"Mmm. God no."

His hand went under my shirt and found my breast. I stared him in the eye as he fondled me. I felt my breath increase. Rory began to unbutton my blouse. I straddled his leg, my red skirt riding up my thighs. I unhitched it in the back and worked the zipper down.

"Are we alright doing this?"

I just nodded in reply. I opened the blouse and let it fall wide. We both looked at my breasts, cupped in a black bra, and I smirked at him.

"There's no way this was worth the wait," I said, then laughed a little.

Without any humor, he told me, "It's already worth the wait for me."

I got off of Rory and shook my hips until my skirt fell to my ankles. We smiled at each other.

"When it's your turn, I want a show, too," I whispered to him. I reached behind my back and put my fingers on the latch of my bra.

The phone rang. We both looked at each other, incredulous about the bad timing.

I debated letting it ring. I sighed and went to the phone, whispering my sorrys to him. It was Rachel's number.

"Oh, you won't believe how you're screwing up my night, darling..."

"You know I hate to do it," Rachel said, "but Kelly heard that Jack wants to do an all-girls Raincoating... but you said you would sue if they did it?"

"Sue who? For the love of... Rach, is Kelly friends with Conner, by any chance?" Surprise, she was. I groaned, then had to tell her the real story. I didn't even hesitate to inform her that my participation, and hers, was required to make it happen. "They're trying to blackmail me into doing this stupid thing. Actually, I think Conner's just trying to put me on the spot. Turn everyone against me. That's the reason for that story."

"Then are you going to do it?"

I made a freaked-out face and Rory had to stifle a laugh. "Me? No. Noooo way. Rach...? That's... you think I'd be disappointing Conner by posing naked on the internet?"

"I don't know about Conner. But better to not play into his hands, right?" I balked, naturally, and Rachel reminded me, "You're the one who keeps talking about how much you could use the money."

"I also keep talking about what happens if I lost. Remember that?"

"I could help you. You and me together, we could work to make sure you win." I called her crazy. We bickered for a few seconds. I couldn't believe she was suggesting it. I didn't want to think about the fact I had just been asking Rory if he would mind me in the contest, and I hadn't even suggested I would be the winner. Finally, Rachel recognized she was asking way too much. "You're right. I sound nuts, Erica. I've got no right. I'm jumping through all these crazy hoops just to lose a contest."

"I'll tell you what," I said to her, "I'll call Jack tomorrow. Try to convince him to do it without me. Conner would be an idiot to walk away from all that money. He's not going to do it. I can make Jack believe that. Then I'll try to make it up to Jack somehow. Borrow the money or reimburse him. If you're on board, if you really want to do this, I'm sure he can find five more girls that will make it work for him. Probably make him a fortune."

"It sounds like an idea," Rachel told me. I could tell she was disappointed, but she wasn't going to lay it at my feet. I was happy for that—or so I thought.

I hung up the phone and turned back to Rory and gave him my pouty face. He got up and started kissing my lips, my neck, all the way down to my breasts. I ran my fingers through his hair and couldn't focus much on what I had felt before the call. He backed away from me and sighed.

"Sorry."

"Bad night for it," Rory said. "I'll take you home."

"No, that's bullshit," I told him. I kissed him on the mouth and tried to let all the baggage drift away. It was another two minutes before he stopped me. I really thought I was faking my way through it pretty well. He wound his fingers through my long brown hair, put a hand on the back of my neck.

"I'll do it if you will."

"I'm getting in the mood. I promise," I told him, lying a little bit. I kissed him again.

"Raincoating," he said. "I can't guarantee Jack will take me. But he does have a thing for seeing his friends naked. So it might be a good bet—"

"That's crazy! No!" I snapped. I argued with him for a while, but before I knew it, we were both laughing at the idea. "Why would you do that? You can't!"

"Believe me, it's not my first choice," said Rory. "But I have the feeling you want to do it—if only to help out Rachel. To make Conner look like an asshole. Could be just to prove to yourself it's no big deal. If you have to do it, though... if you decide it's what you want to do... let's do it together."

I pinched him, slapped his arms, and he fought back by tickling me. We stayed up all night with this giddy euphoria between us, snuggled under a blanket together, and talked about how insane that idea was. I asked him how he felt about probably losing the contest, becoming a picture on the website—and after Rory finished pretending offense, he said he hadn't had much time to think about it. But in the end, who cared? Those were his exact words.

"The worst thing I could think about it is that I end up the ugly guy ruining the picture." I assured him there was no way that was going to happen—I wouldn't call Rory a teen heartthrob, but he was an attractive guy. "Well, even if I'm not the prettiest guy in the picture, I'm just another one. People who want to see me naked get to. I'm not going to get freaked out if people get off looking at me."

"Even if it's Jack—"

"Even if it's Jack," he said, almost in perfect sync with me, and we laughed. "Wow. Yeah. I imagine Jack will have more interesting things going on. But I don't really care. I think. At the end of it all, two or three years from now, I'll just be another naked person on the internet. I don't think there's a shortage." I asked him if he worried about losing any jobs, having some future spouse of his—careful not to imply it was or wasn't me—discovering his dirty secret. Rory just laughed and squeezed his fingers between mine. "Anyone dumb enough to hire me should know what they're getting. Anyone dumb enough to marry me..."

"Same difference," I said, then we laughed. I leaned my head on his shoulder and I was touched, er, emotionally, that he would put himself in that position, um, figuratively, just to make me feel better. "I'm not sure you're all that convinced."

"I'll do it anyway," he told me.

I leaned against Rory and welcomed the feeling of safety I had being with him. I really thought we would get back into the spirit, make love together. But I just drifted off. I woke up the next morning and he was asleep—and already running late for lunch with his family.

I waited to call him until later in the day and told him, as mad as it sounded, that I was going to do it.

* * *

CONTINUED IN PART 2