Irina was out of town for a few days, some sort of client meeting in Phoenix. She asked if I wanted to come, enjoy the hotel and the room with her. I needed a specialized setup for work, and a hotel wouldn't cut it, so I had to decline. Besides, the kids had just started back to school, and while Hazel, a sophomore, was technically old enough to stay by herself overnight, I'm not sure I'd leave her for a few days like that during the school year.
Irina had no such choice. I told her I'd be a back-up, and I checked in with her son, Jake, a couple times a day, but he went to school as he was supposed to and I saw no evidence of guests or parties, and the few days passed uneventfully with her texting at late hours saying she was looking forward to when we could get together again. She was very eager for another yoga lesson.
So, the morning after she got back, almost one week since the last time we were together, I got a text: Out of coffee, let's go get some. Can you be out in 10?
I had already been working for an hour, and had downed my prerequisite tumblers of cold brew, but if I had a chance to get together with her, I was sure to try. I had nothing pressing to do at work, and fabricated some excuse about Hazel and school, and set myself for out of office. That would buy me an hour.
Twelve minutes later I was walking out the door. She made a point of looking at her watch. "Don't I recall someone saying they appreciated being punctual?" She looked at me expectantly.
"It was a moment of weakness, and I assumed you'd appreciate it if I put some pants on." She giggled and it then dawned on me the absurdity of that statement. Chuckling with her I concluded that, "I could have saved two minutes and given you a little show."
"We'll work on it sexy yoga man. Besides, I'm rather desperate to get my coffee, I guess Jake had some and I can't find any."
"I have coffee, it's all cold brew but I could probably heat some water and do a French press." The house was a wreck, and as delightful as it would be having her over right now... the house was a wreck. Fortunately, she declined.
"I need ground, and it might be good for us to just chat for a while before rubbing squishy bits again."
"Excuse me? My bit is NOT squishy." She reached down unexpectedly and felt around my crotch.
"Mmmm, sorry, pretty squishy."
I laughed, "Not for long."
"Good boy. C'mon, I'm sexier with my coffee."
"Hmmm, I'm not sure about that, I remarked, adjusting the growing bulge in my shorts, "you seem your usual sexy self this morning."
"You just bring the worst out in me Tom". She took my hand in hers, and we started walking up the street to "Human Beans", a local mom and pop coffee and tea place in the neighborhood. It was only five minutes to get there, and we covered all of the mundane highlights of her trip, and Jakes apparent lack of a social life.
We arrived, walked in, and stood behind a young woman placing her order. There was only one other person, a man around my age sitting in the window, staring intently at his laptop screen. I was a little envious. As a security researcher for a major bank, I typically required a hardware connection to effectively do my job, which I just could not do in a coffee shop.
The young woman played with her bright blond ponytail while she waited for her payment to go through. Her dark roots indicated she was probably past time for getting it renewed. I couldn't help but notice her sleek, shoulder less red dress, and its extremely high hemline with black patterned stockings down to a pair of strappy high heeled shoes. She looked like something out of a lingerie catalog.
Irina noticed me, noticing her, and arched her eyebrow, barely suppressing a giggle. She held up two fingers and made the 'I'm watching you' gesture as I probably shifted uncomfortably. She laughed.
"Coffee, large, no room, for here, and 2 pounds of drip ground Colombian."
The woman behind the counter smiled, "The usual and 2 pounds. I'll have that ready when you leave." She looked over at me, "and your friend?" I hadn't given it much thought, so I just ordered a small coffee with room. She disappeared behind the coffee apparatus and after some frothing noises and alchemical measurements, handed the red clad young woman her order of two covered cups of whatever. We both watched as the young woman crossed the street and entered a shop called "Allure".
We looked at each other. "Is that a...," she paused. "Sex shop?"
"Intimate apparel and marital aids," I sagely agreed. "A fun toy shop. A bit small, but they have a decent selection."
"Oh? You're a regular there?" She was just so goddamn cute when she was teasing me.
"I've only been once, a few years ago." Luckily, our coffee appeared at that moment, but it would take more than that to throw her off the trail. She scooped up both mugs, and briskly walked to the back of the seating area.
She sat down and looked at me. "And?"
"And I still need cream for my coffee." I grabbed my mug and went back to the front to pour some half and half in it. When I returned, she was feigning indifference. "And I bought a toy. Or two." Her face lit up. I'm not sure why, but I was feeling a little embarrassed by that admission.
"And? What were they? What kinds of toys tickle Mr. Hot Yoga Man's fancy?"
"I believe the store is under new ownership, that girl wasn't working there when I was there before."
"Because you'd have remembered her when you went in to buy... what was it again?" She was clearly having too much fun with this. "Or were you just there to flirt with the hot girls in lingerie?" I thought her face must hurt with how much she was smiling. "What *do* you remember?"
"A Fleshlight. And maybe a dildo" The smile faded from her face.
"A flashlight? Sounds strange." And here I though the dildo would the thing she'd latch on to.
