Today's Special Ch. 01

I waited until I was home and had texted the phone number of the website to notify them I was safe before I cried. I considered climbing into the shower, but my bed was more inviting and didn't require as much effort. Fully clothed, I pulled the covers over me in the dark and let my tears lull me to dreamland. Tears and memories.

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Two months later

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Jillian had never asked me if I'd taken her advice. If I'd gotten laid, at least. But maybe she'd known that by the way I had slept all Saturday on her return. I didn't even know if she really understood the gift she'd given me. It was a week later that she'd announced her and Chad were getting a place together.

The apartment was quiet all the time now. I'd had a couple of dates that I'd picked up at a bar, but none of them went beyond a drink or dinner. Occasionally, I'd see someone or smell something that made me think of one of the guys. But then, the moment would be gone, and I'd be left looking like a fool, staring off into space.

After several weeks of getting up to go to work and crashing once I was home, I was glad for the distraction of meeting up with Shelly. I took a cab over to the other side of the city that I'd never ventured to due to not having a reason before now. Ever since last night, I'd been psyching myself up to have some single-ladies time. Thinking of all the things we could do together now that we were living in the same town again.

It took everything I had to keep a smile on my face when she showed me the rock on her left hand...and an invitation in her right.

At her suggestion, we headed off to the nearest park since she was still unpacking. We walked the few blocks and sat at a picnic table, just enjoying the summer breeze, talking about her upcoming wedding. Or rather, she talked and I listened, trying to sound happy and supportive. The sacrifices one makes for friends.

We got up to walk some more after a large group showed up for a picnic and we graciously relinquished our seat. It had been about fifteen minutes since I'd mentioned I was hungry and maybe we could find a place to eat. I figured she'd not heard me since we'd passed at least three little restaurants. And she continued to educate me on the pros and cons of long versus short skirts for bridesmaids' dresses after she pointed out something she liked in a storefront window.

"How about this place?" Shelly asked suddenly, making me pause with her since her arm was linked through mine.

I looked up at the canvas awning striped in faded red and green with curling olive branches painted across the front section that hung down several inches. 'Luciana's' was embossed on the window beside the door. "I don't think I've ever eaten here."

"I discovered it last week. They have a marinara sauce that's heavenly. Come on." Sherry tilted her head toward the door then dragged me that way with her.

Inside, she finally let go of me. The smells of garlic, pasta sauce, and Italian spices filled the air, making my tummy rumble. There was an aluminum counter set up to order takeout on one side, a wall of street-facing windows on the other, and a podium in the middle with the standard sign to wait to be seated. No one was there to greet us.

Shelly chattered away about her choices for flower arrangements while we waited.

I tuned her out, my eyes drifting up and tracing the cursive Italian words above the windows, wondering what they meant. As my gaze lowered, I took in the edges of raised shades that matched the awning out front. Framed photos on the walls. The personal touches that made the mid-sized restaurant homey. Along the windows, there was one continuous banquette with ladder-back chairs across from them and various sized tables in between. The farthest wall had just a couple of booths. The rest of the space seemed filled with individual tables with chairs, but it disappeared behind a wall, indicating there was at least a little more to be seen.

Just like every restaurant I'd been in since that night, memories of a different time and place filtered in that had begun to seem like a dream.

Focused on one of the smaller arrangements that was set for two—a chair on one side and the banquette on the other—I considered that it looked about the size of the table where my encounter had started. I could almost feel the smoothness of the wood against my back and ass, my head dropped backwards over the side. The hard coolness against my breasts while I was bent forward, my feet braced on the floor. The hands...the mouths...the cocks on me and in me. Bringing me so much pleasure. All before we moved to a more comfortable location.

I'd found that within the dining areas of most places, the smells of the food penetrated the fabrics of the cushions. The lavender candles that night... Had they merely been there for their calming effect, or to mask other scents?

I remembered the panting and moaning. Skin slapping skin. Theirs. Mine. They'd all competed, seeming to try to drown out each other. The wet, squishing sounds of my arousal increasing until I'd been given respite. Only to start over, time and again, until every sensation blurred into one.

I'd been tempted to try the website as a paying member—especially when I received Emails advertising special discounts. But I feared that I'd just be disappointed. How could that experience have been topped? Had it even really happened?

"How many?" a man asked, breaking my reverie.

I slowly turned my head at the deep timber of his voice, my legs shaking. The first thing I saw was the edge of a black tattoo peeking out from under his collar. The tip of a feathered wing. My pulse raced.

The moment my eyes lifted to the deep brown of his, I heard his gasp. Echoed it. Saw his pupils expand, certain that they mirrored mine. Then I inhaled heavily, trying to catch my breath. His unmistakable cologne swirled up my nose.

I tried not to mewl. To tear up. My lips were suddenly dry, although my pussy wasn't. Oh, God.

Had this been where I'd had the rendezvous? Although it wasn't forty-five minutes by cab ride from my apartment, there definitely could have been some intentional extra driving around to confuse a client who didn't want to know where they were going. To think it was so close...

My gaze darted back toward the kitchen area. Noticed the still slightly swinging door from someone who had come through recently. The metal counters beyond the pass-through window that would probably require industrial cleanser after hours. The floor beneath my feet that was smooth concrete.

Somewhere in the back of the dining area with the shades drawn... Somewhere upstairs in someone's bed... Lights off, candles lit, passion unleashed...

I couldn't stop the guttural groan now.

"Nina?" Sherry asked.

I blinked and glanced at her—at her phone in her left hand—before returning my gaze to Diego. To him, I said a little huskily, "Hi."

His lips parted, but Sherry was faster.

"We have to cut our plans short." Her right hand rested briefly on my shoulder.

"Oh, okay." My pulse sped up the longer I stared into those brown depths on the other side of the podium. Was it suddenly hot in here?

"The wedding planner just texted," she continued, though I hadn't asked for an explanation. "There's an emergency with the cake. I'm so sorry... Can you get a cab from here?"

"Uh-huh," I nodded, still not looking at her. I licked my lips, willing my knees not to buckle.

Sherry gave me a sideways hug. "I'll call you. Bye!"

"Bye." My response was barely audible.

Once it was just us two, Diego stepped around the podium and placed his hand on my right cheek, his thumb stroking back and forth. His seductive tone was low yet seemed so loud in my head. "Remember, mi pequeña? All mine?"

I tried to keep my voice even when I answered, but it came out all breathy. "Sí, papi."

By the flicker in his eyes and the twitch at the corner of his mouth, I knew lunch was still on the agenda. A very private lunch. And I was going to be the special of the day...with him as dessert.

~H