Β©November 2018
Texas winter was characterized by a series of days of cold drizzling rain, alternating with overcast, drab days, and punctuated by days of soft sunlight and warm weather. Christmas Eve that year was one of those cold, drizzling days, and Janine rushed home from the store with the fixings for her solitary Christmas dinner in the rain.
This first Christmas after her divorce, Janine had rented a "tiny house" on a wooded property in a country neighborhood. She meant to spend a week reading hot romance novels, soaking in a scented tub, and sleeping nude, things she hadn't done in a long time. She was looking forward to enjoying herself in many ways.
After putting her groceries away and relaxing with a drink, Janine changed into yoga pants and a sweatshirt to do a slow walk through the wooded streets of the charming neighborhood, full of horses, deer, and other wildlife. She pulled on her walking shoes and headed out, only to realize it was now nearly midnight and pitch black without the streetlights found in the city.
Then the full moon came out from behind a cloud, and she grinned and started down the street, the Margarita warm in her belly, and a little tingling in her crotch as she felt her nipples harden from the cold.
Less than a mile down the street, according to her exercise program, she saw the Christmas lights of a house up ahead in the drizzle. As she approached, she was startled to see a figure coming down the drive toward her. Her heart picked up speed as she realized she was alone in the dark late at night in a neighborhood where houses were few and far between.
"Hi there, don't want to startle you," a sexy male voice called out. "I was going out for a walk, and I saw you walking too, shall we do it together? I'm Gary Carter by the way."
Janine knew she was deprived of sex too long when she felt herself warm up to the words "do it," but she stifled it and introduced herself.
They walked in silence, then Gary started to tell her that he was new to the neighborhood, having inherited the little cottage from the aunt who'd raised him. He was also recently divorced, it turned out, and lonely, hoping to meet some people by going to Texas two-step dance lessons.
"I love to dance," Janine said, hoping her throaty voice didn't give away the feeling she had as he walked beside her, smelling his aftershave and listening to his voice.
To her surprise, he put an arm around her, grasped her other hand, and swung her around. He hummed a few bars of "7 & 7" by the Texas Troubadours, a song she happened to like recently. "Ain't it strange," she chorused with him as he spun her and executed a few awkward steps.