Author's note: Many thanks to Jill, for her ideas, motivation and support all these years. Also, BIG thank you to good friend and fellow Lit author aimingtomisbehave33 (go check out his stories when you can), for keeping me sane, happy and focused, and for helping create the character of Kate.
Previously in the series: Taylor, frustrated by the lack of sex life with her fiancé Jim, gave in to the charms of Brad, the hot guy that lived next door. Worried Brad might catch feelings, his friend set up a night with two girls to get his mind off Taylor.
***
Chapter III - The Friend
"Good luck with Nicholas today!" Taylor yelled out to her fiancé, as she left early for the law firm on Monday. After her run the day before, she had gone home, brewed some tea and joined Jim on the couch, relaxing in front of the TV. They had had a chance to unwind together and mentally prepare for the week ahead; no one had mentioned the one-sided morning sex.
Jim, no matter how sweet and thoughtful he could be, was completely lackluster in bed. Period. She had met him right after getting out of an abusive relationship, and his intelligence, warmth and undemanding libido had been lifesaving qualities for the broken girl that she was at the time. However, after the self-healing process, Taylor was finding it impossible to stay faithful to him.
Her pattern of one-time affairs with strangers had been recently broken. She wasn't proud that she had slept with her next-door neighbor Brad. Twice. Truthfully, they had explosive chemistry together, nothing like she'd felt before, but she wasn't going to break off her engagement for a playboy like him. She had been thoroughly satisfied and was ready to go back to her home and figure out a way to make it work with Jim.
***
Mondays were generally quiet days at the law firm and allowed her to flex as needed, barring any fires she'd have to help put out. On that day, Taylor needed a head start at the office to catch up on the background research for a case.
First thing in the morning, she logged on to remind herself the specifics of her recent case and which files she still needed to pull from the antiquated paper archives. "Caleb v. Rowan 133 U.S. 177 (1971), Caleb v. Rowan 238..." She used her shorthand to note the citations on a piece of paper.
Chewing on a strand of blonde hair, she made her way to the file room, the paper with the squiggles in her hand. She found the dusty box she needed and was in the process of locking the cabinet, when someone snuck up on her.
"Good morrow," a melodic voice chimed behind her. Startled, she almost dropped the files.
"Oh, morning, Kate! You're in early."
Next to her colleague's petite build, Taylor actually felt tall and curvy; at 5'5, she was of average height, but the 38DD's she proudly carried and her round ass left no room for contesting her mouthwatering hourglass shape. Add the 3" heels, form-fitting suits and long blonde hair, she was used to jaws dropping twice around her: once upon her appearance and once after hearing her argue the finer details of a case.
As the morning light came through the windows, she looked at her friend. She was used to seeing Kate in running clothes that showed off her toned and pale body, with perky little breasts and a tight ass, but she had donned a two-piece dark gray suit for the work day, paired with a light green blouse that brought out her mischievous green eyes. Her curly red hair was fighting the tight bun she'd pulled it up in, as usual.
Katelin "Kate" O'Connor was a recent addition to the firm. She had been Taylor's running buddy and close friend for a couple of months, before she had started looking for a job. Taylor had immediately referred her for an administrative position at her firm; since then, they got to hang out pretty much every day.
Being a blonde bombshell, with the brains and the ambition to boot, didn't make Taylor the easiest person to make friends with, but Kate made it easy with her uncommon directness and understanding. Having a weekly scheduled run had brought them closer far more quickly than Taylor had anticipated and she was glad to have a friend in her corner.
While Taylor shared the issues with Jim and (lack of) their sex life, Kate frequently reciprocated with wild dating adventures. Although she was clearly not a prude, there seemed to be some moral lines she'd never cross, which made Taylor unsure of talking to Kate about Brad and her one-night stands - cheating while engaged would certainly qualify as crossing a moral line.
"I missed you on our run yesterday. Everything OK?" Following breakfast with Jim, Taylor had made it to the trail and waited for Kate to show up for 10 minutes before giving up. They didn't carry their phones with them to run; she had had no means of contacting her usually punctual friend.
"Oh right, sorry," she blushed, "had a bit of a night on Saturday, ended up being too sore in all holes to run. I should've texted you, but I slept in." Her Irish lilt was more pronounced so early in the morning. She licked her thin lips as she thought back on her weekend, with a wink that meant she was unwilling to say anything more at the workplace.
"I don't think I can wait until Sunday to hear this story. My place after work tonight? I'll cook." Taylor was enthusiastic to hear about her friend's latest sexcapade and more than mildly intrigued by her openness about having all holes filled.
***
"That smells wonderful, Taylor, you've outdone yourself yet again." Kate was running commentary in the kitchen, as her hostess ran around, picking up various spices.
"I'll give you a taste if you start telling me all about your Saturday," Taylor joked.
"I don't know if we have enough time before Jim gets home. This is definitely not a story for his ears." Kate's unwillingness to talk about her sex life in front of Jim was well deserved. They all got along really well, but Taylor knew Jim came off as a bit of a puritan.
She checked her watch, which showed a little after 7 pm. Despite it being a Monday, Taylor's flex day, they had ended up working late and the commute home had taken longer than usual. Jim would likely be home soon, before Kate could tell her story and do it justice. Taylor had to concede.
"Oh, well. How long a story are we talking?"
"Quite long," Kate giggled.
Blushing, Taylor returned her giggle. She had a flashback to Brad's massive erection swaying in front of her face and how good it had felt sliding into her. She bit her bottom lip; it wouldn't have been too obvious, had Kate not been looking intently at her.
"Oooh, I like that expression! Any naughty stories you want to share of you and Jim?"
They heard the front door open. The blush on Taylor's face paled quickly. She cleared her throat and turned back to attend to the boiling pot, before calling out to Jim to welcome him.
***
"So, Kate, how is the adjustment period at Mercer & Duncan LLP going?" Jim was making polite conversation, as the three of them enjoyed the stew Taylor had made.
Taylor wasn't too happy with the way Jim's eyes were narrowing whenever Kate spoke; she hoped it was her accent that was causing his microexpressions and not some misogynist attitude he was harboring toward her for enjoying the dating scene as a single woman.
