In Our Wildest Dreams... (Closed for DM & DaveDuff)

[DaveDuff]

OOC:

This is a closed thread for Delicious Maiden and myself.
Readers invited to follow along.



Michael West
41 - 5'10' - 175lbs.
Light Brown Hair - Blue Eyes
Single, since his divorce a few years ago
Living alone in the Pacific Northwest, USA



IC:

I'd heard of this sort of thing, but would've never believed, even imagined for that matter, that it could or would ever happen to me.

I'd been somewhat of a loner all my life, had very few people I could consider friends, none that I would call close. I didn't let people in, kept myself and my feelings secluded. Maybe it was a fear of being hurt, or rejected, I never gave it too much thought, it was just how I had lived my life. I think it was that, along with her drinking problem, that led to my divorce four and a half years ago.

I can't remember for sure just how this journey started. I was on the internet alot these last few years, mostly playing online games; golf, cards, trivia..., just passing time more than anything else. I had ducked into the occasional chat room, not meaning to meet anyone, but just looking for some idle banter from time to time. I had found there were seemingly endless numbers of people out there, chatting, flirting, and playing, but I never seemed to find anything that appealed to me. I could easily count the casual conversations I'd had on one hand.

So, there I was, plodding along in my day to day life, no plans, no real desires. I had found myself having to write a paper, for a group class I was in. I hadn't written as much as a letter in years. I absolutely despised writing back in high school, but I wanted to do my best and had done an internet search for writing sites, hoping to get some ideas, or a refresher on some of the basics of semi-intelligent writing.

As it always seemed to happen to me, when using search engines, before I knew it I was lost in the depths of the internet. I had followed so many links, from this site to that, one link page to the next, with who knows how many clicks on the back button, it would be imposible to retrace the steps that got me to the site I had stumbled into.
It was a site where writers of all abilities posted their work, there were some pages with basic writing rules, styles, and ettiquitte, tons and tons of stories, and poems. It turns out that most of the content was erotic in nature, maybe thats why I hung around, reading some, but mostly just bouncing around the different pages, until I stumbled across a list of forums.

I had, in the past posted to some forums, getting help with some computer program, or the RC planes and cars I had enjoyed as a hobby, but here I found something completely different, something I'd never imagined existed, but seemed intriguing. There were stories written by many authors at once, in the form of forum posts. I began reading some of these, noticing the different writing styles and abilities of the people involved. The concept picqued my interest, so I made up a nickname, became a member, bookmarked the site, and found myself returning ever couple of days, following some of the stories I'd found interesting.

Some were hot, steamy nonstop sex scenes, and while quite erotic and stimulating, I found myself more attracted to the the ones with more complex storylines. I found myself drawn into the character building, the developing relationships and found it quite interesting at how the authors were able to react to unforseen twists in the plots, never exactly knowing where the story was heading next.

After a few visits, I got my courage up, and decided to try my hand at joining in on one. I got a feel for how they worked, posting one day, coming back and finding a response, then reacting to that, and posting again.

I was self concious about getting into anything to deep, or complex, as I felt my own writing skills as nonexistant. I was having fun posting doing my short posts in the simple story I had joined and reading the several I'd found myself following. Over the course of a few nights, I began to develop an idea for my own story. I worked out the basic details in my head, and when I felt I was ready to write up the background and set the opening scene, I started a new thread and posted it.

Much to my surprise, within an hour or so, I had a response, and within a day or two had 3 other people that were interested in joining in. Little did I know at the time, that one of these friendly people, a total stranger, would turn out to become more than just a writing partner.

Lucious Lady was her screen name, she seemed very polite in her 'out of character' comments she had made. She seemed to be a very good writer, I thought, after reading her initial posting. I was more than happy to have had her join in my little thread.

I can't even remember who PM'd who first, but I found us discussing the story that way, first through PM's on the site, then a bit later through one of the Instant Messanger programs that we both used. That option of communication allowed voice chat, so when times and circumstances permitted, we talked that way, cutting out the typing on at least one end at a time.

As time went on, Lizzie (Elizabeth Kent, I had learned was her real name), and I continued to talk about the storyline, but slowly, our talk expanded beyond that. We were talking about our pasts, our lives, things that interested us, just about anything and everything.

I found myself looking forward to out little chats...little is hardly the word for it, as they had sometimes expanded into hours on end conversations, taking me well into wee hours in the morning. Time just flew by whenever we found each other online, I was finding it harder, and harder to end our conversations.

The more we talk, the more we seem to know each other. More than just the things we've told each other too, I find it hard to explain, but it's as if we've known each other for much longer than we actually have.

It was a Friday morning, I had just wrapped up a short meeting at the parts center that I used as a quasi-office. My work allowed me alot of freedom. A truck full of spare parts, a pager, cellphone, and laptop for communications, and I was pretty much on my own. I attended the occasional meeting, but other than that, as long as I kept my customers happy, their machines running, and their networks up, I was pretty much free.

I glanced up at the clock on the wall. A few minutes after 10:05, I flipped open my laptop, and hooked up to the network, checking the call dispatch screen, to make sure nothing was pressing that I was unaware of. I had some parts coming in around noon, that I needed to install in a machine downtown, but seeing the call screen clear, I set about downloading my latest parts inventory, emails and technical bulletins. Everything was electronic at work these days, it did simpify things, but if your laptop went down...well it was back to the stone age it seemed.

I did a quick time conversion in my head... 10am here... that would be 6pm there... She'd be home by now, have had a chance to get settled and get online maybe if she didn't have something come up.

I clicked on the little yellow man icon on my start menu and singed in. The window popped up and there was her name; Luscious Lady-online. I minimized my work windows, allowing them to buzz away in the background. Before I had a chance to double click her name and send a 'Howdy, caught ya!' message, a message from her popped up on my screen...

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Elizabeth Kent

OOC:

Elizabeth Kent
35
Single – been there, done that and got the scars to prove it!
Too busy to have anyone clutter up her life…
Bubbly, popular, but private – “ complex” personality.
5 ft 4
Blue eyes, short fair hair – (jawline-length, “wedged”)


IC:

Thankfully I all but fell through the door, the heavy briefcase discarded and stepped over in my haste to get into my house.
I checked my watch. Only 5 pm! A miracle!
I’d had enough that day. The day had seemed interminable, figures were still buzzing through my head. The interpretation of data and generally number crunching was tedious; much less interesting than most of my work, my course, but it had to be done.

Stepping over the cat, I moved to the kitchen and took out a massive glass and filled it with the dry white wine kept ready in the fridge for daily solace, when needed.
After filling her bowl with the required delicacy, I grabbed a packet of crisps and passing the lounge, continued to head upstairs to my “study”.

My study consisted of desk, computer, laptop and papers … all the trappings of a woman who often worked and studied at home, however there was a small couch and a portable TV/Video in the corner. Over the past three weeks or so this room had developed into a kind of den, gradually the additions had crept in making it more welcoming than a mere study, a place to work.

Sitting down I flicked on the TV and let the old repeats play on in the background whilst I sipped the wine and nibbled a few crisps. My eyes moved to the computer and I checked my watch again, but doing the calculation this time… 5 pm… he’d be at work, but would have had time to post since last evening… still I resisted the urge to switch on and check.

Standing up, I moved to the bedroom along the hall and slipped out of my suit, pulling on joggers and a t-shirt and padding barefooted back to the room. I flicked the switch causing the computer to spring to life and boot up. Sitting down again I continued to nibble my snack and sip at the wine…

My lap top was set up on my desk. The assignment I was working on was saved onto the portable machine and regularly backed up on discs. I worked on that when I could not be disturbed, when I needed to maintain my train of thought. My main computer was the computer I used to reseach, not only because it was faster, but because I could run my instant messenger programme in the background… then of course there was the recreational time.. time I took for myself… after all… all work and all play would make Lizzie a very dull girl.

Leaving the half eaten crisps on the little table, I took up my glass and moved to my computer, clicking the connect button. I was not an “anorak” when it came to computers. My technical knowledge was limited, but as far as the applications and use of the programmes and Internet went, I knew that I could not survive now without "plugging in" on a daily basis …
This was not only true for work, but also for leisure.
I kept in touch with old friends via email and had for years been a regular visitor to various chat rooms … but people moved on and the internet kept changing and with that I developed new past times, new forms of leisure…

Whilst five years ago, my main Internet related hobby had been attending regular real time meets in London, big organised, safe events where you could meet other members who regularly attended the forums I hung out with, but times change, I was no longer interested in real time meets, now I was hooked on writers' forums, especially which encouraged collaboration with other writers, the role play sort of stuff.

I clicked on my control panel and scrolled down clicking one at a time on the threads that had been updated and that I now owed a post to…

I’d stumbled on this site via a … friend… of mine who had asked me to read some of his stuff…. So I began navigating round the links and… this was where I’d ended up.
The whole thing was totally addictive … but as a way of escaping reality, adopting a new persona … it was one of the most fun things I’d tried to date.

I sipped my wine chuckling, admiring how my character had been manipulated into an unforeseen situation and began trying to plan “her” next move. I wrote with lots of people, but there was a core of about 4 writers who seemed easier to write with… I clicked on the final story … Mike’s thread and settled down to read.

I knew I’d deliberately left this one ‘til last … I smiled as I read his words, the words of his character and became absorbed in the word play … I couldn’t remember exactly how long he’d been on this forum, but I’d joined his first thread and all but hi-jacked the poor guy from then on. I was drawn by his characters, the detail of his settings, the way he wrote.. But, as we began to chat in PM and then on Instant Messenger we kind of stepped out of our writing personas and had become good friends .. finally voice chatting regularly, which was a useful way of communicating when I was supposed to be researching or downloading…

I checked the time again and calculated how long I had before he would be online… he was coming home early.. Friday was definitely my “playing” time… and I knew we would share our schedules for the weekend and decide when to write or chat or let each other know if we were plannign to be away for any length of time over the next couple of days …

I knew he was getting a “habit”, just as much as the writing, but I’d regularly used forums before, chatted to people quite often online… there was nothing different or strange or… anything about that.. I told myself.. I knew online friendships were possible, I also knew that when they didn’t work out, they really didn’t.. but.. that was true about real life relationships.. and boy did I know about that too!

I clicked up the reply page and began to compose a response in Word.
The best thing about this, I told myself, was that I could become someone else, I could write as another person, be who I wanted to be or what a co-writer wanted me to be…
I didn’t have to let anyone close … it was safe …
the attraction of this forum was that I could keep reality at bay …


I jumped as the IM programme sprung to life and smiled widely, turning to click on the name and type a greeting.

Luscious Lady: Hey! Mike! I thought you’d still be working…? … Are you home or taking a break…. ?

Yep Liz, I thought to myself... Don’t let reality near..

Smiling I watched his response flash up on the screen.

 

[DaveDuff]

Michael West

As usual, a big grin spread across my face. It always made the day go better when we got a chance to chat.

Luscious Lady: Hey! Mike! I thought you’d still be working…? … Are you home or taking a break…. ?

Solitary Soul: Hiya there Lizzie... naw...still working...pickin' up some parts... you know me... work, work, work... laffin...

Solitary Soul: Just got one more machine to visit...if all goes well that is...hope to be at the northern office around 1 here...9 there...

The part center was on the northern border of one state, and I lived on the southern border of another, so 'The Northern Office' had become a code word for going home early...

Solitary Soul: Have ya had a chance to read my latest post yet?... whatd'ya think?...is it ok?....you know how i hate to dissapoint ya.... ggls....

I was chuckling as I typed, I did that alot...anticipating her response....

I pulled my chair up close to the table, settling in, knowing that I had some time for a change, and would hopefully be able to chat uninterrupted for awhile...

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Elizabeth Kent

Solitary Soul: Hiya there Lizzie... naw...still working...pickin' up some parts... you know me... work, work, work... laffin...

I laughed. Yes I knew him.
Working irregular hours, up at all times then working round the clock when he was eventually called out.
Before I could type a response, he continued.

Solitary Soul: Just got one more machine to visit...if all goes well that is...hope to be at the northern office around 1 here...9 there...

I reached for the keys and typed:

Luscious Lady: OK.. thought it was a bit early for you. I’ve got the usual domestics to do, but will make sure I’m on here about that time..

About three hours I calculated, that worked for me.
I guessed it would be another late Friday night at the keyboard.
Still, it was healthy to relax at home.

Solitary Soul: Have ya had a chance to read my latest post yet?... whatd'ya think?...is it ok?....you know how i hate to dissapoint ya.... ggls....

I clicked back on the thread I’d been reading shortly before.
I’d seen it, read it … as ever it was great … and very… hot…
Disappoint was not a word I associated with Mike's writing!

Luscious Lady: Yes I saw it. Just finished reading it in fact… I liked it.

I commented smoothly.

Solitary Soul: Great. Wanted to know what you thought … I can voice chat for a while if you want.

Before I could respond, he’d clicked the button, which had gone to automatic accept and the talk box appeared on my screen.
It wasn’t that I didn’t want to talk to him, it was just.. that I hadn’t quite worked out what I was going to say about it.. having only just read it.

”Hey.. so.. u thought it was ok huh?”

His voice came over the speakers, but I plugged in the headphones to hear him better, moving the mic in place. His voice was becoming so familiar, though I was always taken by surprise at his American accent as it came through over the airwaves.

”Yes… they’ve moved along quite a bit since last time… “

I heard him chuckle in response to my comment and smiled to myself; “moved along” was one way of describing it.
I had already decided that his post was one of the hottest sofa scenes I’d ever read…
We’d let our characters get progressively closer and I expected a pretty … steamy … exchange, but what he’d written had still taken me by surprise.

Once again his soft deep voice came through the headphones, sounding remarkably close.

”It’s surprising how intimate they can get when they drop the banter and let themselves get closer… “

I took my eyes away from the story I was re-reading and blushed before commenting as casually as possible;

”Yes.. very intimate.. she’s stopped trying to keep him at a distance … and it didn’t take him long to… make a move… “

Again that chuckle and a good humoured response.

”She wasn’t protesting Liz.. who was it took his hand and… ?“

“No.. true… “

I interrupted quickly, the rushed on admitting;

”She was drawn to him just as much as he was to her… and considering they’ve not yet actually … it’s all gotten very …

I broke off and giggled. Hell why was I being so ... coy?
I was no novice to this kind of writing.
We both knew that our characters’ sofa action would ultimately lead to the natural conclusion that all of the stories on here led to.

The key difference here was that, so far, although Mike and I had written in the same threads our characters hadn’t actually "teamed up" with each other.
It had made it easy to keep our reality and fantasy in separate categories... and it had worked well.

I was used to discussing my characters’ actions with him,
used to hearing his comments about how my stories were progressing:
Comments like, “Wow – looks like Mandy is in big trouble now.. “ and the swapping of wry observations seemed natural, whilst this ...

I wasn't really sure how to handle it, how to react... discussing our characters, Matt and Natalie respectively.
This felt... strange somehow...

I looked again at the story as Mike chatted on about how turned on "Matt" had been turned on by "Natalie" letting down her guard, returning his kiss, pressing against him …

I realised that I was feeling tongue-tied because I’d actually been really aroused by reading the scene.
I had been drawn into the descriptions of that kiss,
had felt myself responding to those touches,
and had let myself imagine how Natalie would feel when Matt pulled her towards him and how she’d let herself…

”.. I hope it worked for you… ?“

I could hear the uncertainty and worry in Mike's voice.
I pulled my attention back, having missed much of what he’d said before that.
I realised I’d been silent for too long, unable to hide behind the typed responses.

”Lizzie..?”

The familiar use of my name, the softly spoken voice with just a hint of concern:
I couldn’t let him think I didn’t like what he’d written or .. objected to the way he had … developed the story.
That was far from the truth.
It was going to be very easy to "be" Natalie responding to Matt on the couch...

”I’m here, Mike… I’m sorry..

I hesitated and decided to be honest with him as always.

"I was just re-reading your posting.
It really is great… very sensual… it’s easy to imagine just how she’d respond to his advances … that would certainly work for me… “

I admitted softly, wondering if he realised just how ... evocative ... his writing of the scene had been...

 

[DaveDuff]

I pulled up my post, and scanned throught it, re-reading the part where they started getting intimate...

We were sitting on the sofa, watching the movie, her head was on my chest, my arm around her. I was lightly stroking her arm, and her fingers were dancing slowly on my chest.

She took my hand in hers, moved it towards her face...pressing my fingers against her warm moist lips. Gently she kissed the tips of my fingers, running them across her barely parted lips...

Slowly, she raised her eyes to mine, and we were lost in a gaze. I could feel the passion in my heart, my soul. The look in her eyes told me she felt similar, if not the same.

Slowly, gently, I bent my head forward, my eyes never leaving hers. My lips found hers, and paused, just touching, grazing, moving so slowly, feeling her lower lip between mine. I closed them gently around hers, opened them again and pressed ever so gently against her...

I heard, and felt a light moan pass her lips as she pressed back against me... her tongue gently flicking at my lips, and darting quickly back into her mouth...

I was quickly becoming warm, excited, but tried to keep my movenemts calm, and slow. I slowly pressed my tongue out, grazing her lips, tracing the crease between them. I felt her lips part slightly, and she gently drew my tongue between them. The tip of her tongue met mine, and they gently swirled together, touching, tasting...

We pressed our mouths tighter against each others, her hand still grazing teasingly on my chest. I moved my hand to her face, my thumb under her chin, my fingers stroking her cheek gently. I pulled her in to me, slowly and gently, feeling my body shiver with delight....

Sheesh, I thougt, It was getting warm just reading it again...I minimized that screen and turned my attention back to the chat box...

Luscious Lady: OK.. thought it was a bit early for you. I’ve got the usual domestics to do, but will make sure I’m on here about that time..

I was already looking forward to getting home… to chat yes, but also to see if and how Liz replied as Natalie. This was new territory for us. We’d role-played together in several threads, but our character hadn’t yet interacted intimately, as it seemed was inevitable this time. This was a closed thread, meaning it was just the two of us, just Matt and Natalie. Previously we’d been in threads with other writers, other characters, and just in the chance way these things worked, our characters hadn’t yet had an ‘encounter’.

Solitary Soul: Have ya had a chance to read my latest post yet?... whatd'ya think?...is it ok?....you know how i hate to disappoint ya.... ggls....

Luscious Lady: Yes I saw it. Just finished reading it in fact… I liked it.

Good, I thought to myself. I wasn’t quite sure how she’d react to my writing them into a passionate scene on the sofa. I think we both knew the story line would end up there eventually, but…I guess I was still a bit self conscious, seeing how we hadn’t done this before…together anyway…and I wasn’t sure if or how it would affect our relationship. I had felt much different, much more personal to me writing it, knowing that it was Liz that was going to be responding to it.

Solitary Soul: Great. Wanted to know what you thought … I can voice chat for a while if you want.

I clicked on the talk icon, and the connect window popped up on the screen. Technology!…It was great having the ability to talk live, over PC’s, spanning several thousands of miles and the Atlantic Ocean. It wasn’t nearly as good on the laptop as on my PC at home, but hey…it was much easier than typing, and being free, it was hard to beat the price…

I spoke into my laptop:

”Hey.. so.. u thought it was ok huh?”

I could hear noises on her end…recognized them as her ‘plugging in’ as she called it. The sound quality wasn’t the greatest, choppy sometimes a little, and some hiss…headphones made it much easier to much easier to hear clearly. I used a headset at home, speaker on one ear and a small mike you could position close to your mouth. It felt a little funny at first, but I’d got used to it in no time.

”Yes… they’ve moved along quite a bit since last time… “

Her voice…the unmistakably British accent. I loved the sound of it, and it always brought a grin to my face.

I chuckled at her response to my question…moved along indeed I thought…I had advanced them from where she had left them, on the sofa watching a movie on television, talking, teasing, and flirting, into a steamy, erotic, passionate petting session. I had gone into great detail describing every touch, every caress, how wantonly they’d begun pressing their lips, and bodies together.

I had come to find, for myself at least, that the eroticism was in the details, the descriptions, slow passionate kisses, describing every movement of lips and tongue, every murmur, and heavy breath.

”It’s surprising how intimate they can get when they drop the banter and let themselves get closer…“

Matt and Nat had been teasing and flirting along for quite some time. It almost seemed that neither of us were quite sure of just when, or how to take it to the next step. Nat, I felt, had been keeping herself at a safe distance, but if Matt had been reading the signs right, she’d dropped that barrier, and even encouraged him to move on to the next level.

”Yes.. very intimate.. she’s stopped trying to keep him at a distance … and it didn’t take him long to… make a move… “

No, not long at all I thought…chuckling again out lout…

”She wasn’t protesting Liz.. who was it took his hand and… ?“

I couldn’t help but grin, as I thought back at how Liz had left her last posting.

“No.. true… “

I could almost hear the smile breaking out on her face as she admitted to the opening she had left me.

”She was drawn to him just as much as he was to her… and considering they’ve not yet actually … it’s all gotten very …

I loved the way she giggled. This one was brought on naturally, by our conversation, bit I have to admit, that I loved playing, teasing with her, wanting to hear the giggles in her voice as she responded.

“Well, I think Matt had been ready for a while. He didn’t want to press it, but, he was waiting for her to show some sign… I think that make him all the more exited…turned on… when he felt her lowering her guard… opening the door so to speak.

I paused momentarily, before continuing…listening…

Then when she pressed back against him, during their first kiss, he knew that she was ready. He could feel the passion she’d been holding back.

Hmmm… no response from her. Had I written too much response in her character for her?…I was always afraid of doing that, but she knew I’d go back and edit if I’d responded differently than she may have had in mind.

”.. I hope it worked for you… ?“

I asked curiously… still nothing… Damn, maybe she got booted again…that happened to her sometime, especially when the weather turned stormy over there…

”Lizzie..?”

I brought the chat window to the front of my screen, knowing that it would be the first sign that she’d been booted again…the irritating ‘Luscious Lady Signed off at …’ message. But, the last of our text chat was still at the bottom of that window.

”I’m here, Mike… I’m sorry..

Oh good, she didn’t get booted, she must have just been temporarily preoccupied with her work…

"I was just re-reading your posting.
It really is great… very sensual… it’s easy to imagine just how she’d respond to his advances … that would certainly work for me… “

I felt my face light up at her praise…She always made me feel good about my writing… I was still fairly new at this, and struggled at times to put my thought into words. I’ve seen whip out a wonderful posting in 10-15 minutes…something that might take me an hour or more to put down in words.

I found the last part of her response stick in my head.
”… that would certainly work for me…”

Did she mean that the way I heard it?
Had she been as turned on reading it as I had been in writing it?

“So, it’s something you could… relate to huh?…
I said with a giggle in my own voice now….
“I don’t know about you, but I’ll tell you that I … well I mean that writing that post was different for me than any of the others like it I’ve written. I really… umm… got into it, if you know what I mean. It felt like I was writing as myself rather than as Mike… or as a character. I think it’s something about it being us. You know the fact that we talk, know each other. Not like the others I’ve written… with strangers…

This was new ground for us…I hoped I hadn’t said too much… about my feelings. I was comfortable with sharing, I had promised Liz to always be honest, and truthful, but wasn’t quite sure how she’d respond.

“Really? You felt that way writing it?

She asked, sounding honestly curious.

“Yeah, closer somehow I think, definitely different that anything else I’ve done.

I was curious how she felt reading it, but didn’t feel right coming right out and asking…
I thought I’d be able to read some of that in her next post…

“Well I have to admit that I found it very erotic to read…”
She giggled again, a little nervously this time…
“I really like it Mike, it’s…hot…I’ve read it a couple times now, and, well it certainly makes me get heated….”

Heated?…So that scene had turned her on reading it as it had me writing…
This thread could get very ‘heated’ then, before we finished…

“Oh yeah?…really… it affected you that way? Wow, I mean if that scene got us both goin’ imagine how we’re gonna be as they get into it further…are you ok with that?…

I didn’t want to do anything that would compromise our friendship, I was sure that we could keep our fantasies separate from our realities. Writing these posts wouldn’t cloud that line if we didn’t let it…

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Elizabeth Kent

“So, it’s something you could… relate to huh?… "

Again the giggle and his question.
Something that I could relate to?
What exactly was Mike asking… and… how was I going to answer him?
Thankfully his voice continued, making a response unnecessary.

“I don’t know about you, but I’ll tell you that I … well I mean that writing that post was different for me than any of the others like it I’ve written. I really… umm… got into it, if you know what I mean."

His voice spoke casually, naturally, but I could tell he was trying to tell me something, confessing almost … being honest, just as we said we’d be.

”It felt like I was writing as myself rather than as Mike… or as a character.
I think it’s something about it being us.
You know the fact that we talk, know each other.
Not like the others I’ve written… with strangers… “

I sat unsure what to say, toying with the glass, now untouched beside me.
Was he saying what I thought he was saying?
I spoke softly;

“Really? You felt that way writing it? "

His voice came back, steady, open, explaining how he felt so clearly, calmly …

“Yeah, closer somehow I think, definitely different that anything else I’ve done. "

The detached way he spoke about it calmed my slight unease.
This was still writing wasn’t it?
Many of these stories … got me a little.. heated… both reading and participating.
This was nothing new I told myself.
Matching his conversational tone, I responded honestly:

“Well I have to admit that I found it very erotic to read…”

I could not hold back a giggle, wondering once again, why I didn’t just come out and say what it did for me, after all we had covered this ground before, though in relation to other peoples’ writing.

“I really like it Mike, it’s…hot…"

My voice was slightly breathless as I admitted;

”I’ve read it a couple times now, and, well it certainly makes me get heated….”

His answer was instant.

“Oh yeah?…really… it affected you that way?"

I nodded, forgetting for a moment that he could not see.
With the headphones on he sounded so close, so … real…

”Wow, I mean if that scene got us both goin’ imagine how we’re gonna be as they get into it further…are you ok with that?… “

I paused.
Our characters were on the road to become much better acquainted.
The whole point of these stories was for the reader to … react.. wasn’t it?
… and if the writers didn’t believe in it to start with… well… how could they expect their readers to feel draw into the plot?

”yes.. of course I’m ok with that… it’s just another story and we do write well together… after all this is meant to be erotic, ... sexual isn’t it?"

Though my voice was casual, I was actually uncertain as to how our “writing” partnership would fit in with our “friendship”.
I knew that it should be easy to keep fantasy and reality in two totally separate camps, but as my eyes moved over the posting once more I realised that it might not be as easy as that.
Almost needing reassurance, I had spoken the question before I realised:

”After all, we’re .. friends aren’t we?
Our writing ..err.. together like this won’t alter that will it?"

I bit my lip waiting for a reply, wondering if he had noted the slight anxiousness in my voice.
I was happy with our relationship as it was.
It was … real… close, but… not too close, which is where I wanted to keep it.

As I waited for his response I reflected that we'd known each other for about 5 weeks now.
We'd chatted occasionally the first two weeks and then with more regularity and length.
Still I was surprised that he’d hung around for as long as he had.
Usually when I hooked up with someone, writer or online chat pal, they tended to be about for a while and then just when I was getting… used to them being around ... they always dropped out of sight, usually without a word.

I sighed, forgetting about the mic.
OK.. that didn’t always happen, but it had, several times in the past...
story of my life really, whether in reality or out of it!
... so although our “friendship” was fun and we certainly felt “close”, I knew I was just waiting for the day that I would log on and he just wouldn’t be around any more.
I knew I'd feel let down, even though this was "only online", but I was prepared for it.
Now we would be role playing together and somehow that
seemed to cross a boundary and I wasn’t sure that I felt comfortable or … safe .. with that yet...

”Mike… I.. have to make a few calls… will you be around for a while or shall I see you later?”

I decided to retreat, take time to get used to the idea… to decide how to handle it ...

 

[DaveDuff]

Michael West

There was a pause after my last question.
Was she going to be ok with it?
We could drop it anytime if either of us thought it would become…a problem…

She answered in a casual voice.

”yes.. of course I’m ok with that… it’s just another story and we do write well together… after all this is meant to be erotic, ... sexual isn’t it?"

Well, yes it was ‘just another story’, I suppose… although it seemed more than that to me. She didn’t sound like it was completely ‘ok’…

”After all, we’re .. friends aren’t we?
Our writing ..err.. together like this won’t alter that will it?"

Hmmm, I was just thinking the same thing, maybe she wasn’t as sure about it as I was…
I didn’t hear a lot of certainty in her voice…
I gave it some more thought… could we keep the two separate?…Were we crossing a line that maybe we didn’t want to cross?…I certainly wouldn’t be worth compromising our friendship…

I head a sigh from my speakers….
I started thinking she was having second thought about the idea…

”Mike… I.. have to make a few calls… will you be around for a while or shall I see you later?”

Calls?… I wondered, then felt guilty for questioning her.

Lizzie?… you sure you’re ok?…
Hey, listen…If this thing is gonna make either of us uncomfortable, we should just forget it…
I sure don’t want to do anything that could… risk what we have…
We are friends… good friends in my book, and I’m not going to let any post, or thread come between us, or compromise that.
It sounded like fun, but it is just a thread…

Last thing I wanted to do was pressure her in any way…

Umm, I’ll be here for awhile, don’t let me keep you if you’ve got things to do…
We can always talk about it later…
I do have one machine to look at yet this morning.
If I’m not back when you free up, I will be home later…a couple hours I’m guessin’…
Remember Liz… No presure…I mean it…

I didn’t want her to go… but…shit…
I hated this feeling… not being able to read her feelings…not wanting to press her for clarification…
It may be my own over-reaction, but I felt as if I had done something wrong…
C’mon Mike… She probably did have to make a some calls… I worried too much…

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Elizabeth Kent

Lizzie?… you sure you’re ok?…

Damn.. he knew I was .. concerned.

Hey, listen…If this thing is gonna make either of us uncomfortable, we should just forget it…
I sure don’t want to do anything that could… risk what we have…
We are friends… good friends in my book, and I’m not going to let any post, or thread come between us, or compromise that.
It sounded like fun, but it is just a thread…

I sat silently and thought about his words.
I wasn’t uncomfortable, it was just that… it was…
I didn’t know how to explain it.

Umm, I’ll be here for awhile, don’t let me keep you if you’ve got things to do…
We can always talk about it later…
I do have one machine to look at yet this morning.
If I’m not back when you free up, I will be home later…a couple hours I’m guessin’…

I reached for the button, preparing to click the voice chat shut, getting ready to close the system down…

Remember Liz… No pressure…I mean it…

His voice stopped me.
He sounded so intense.. sincere…
I let out a sigh and spoke softly.

I want to do it Mike…
It’s a good story and the characters are great … it’s just…

I struggled to explain, to put it into words.

It’s very … intimate and… I have to keep remembering that its Mike and Nat not.. us..

Even behind the mask of the screen I blushed.
This wasn’t territory I wanted to get onto, even with him… especially with him because … it would be so easy… for the boundaries to become blurred.

But.. I can do that… as long as I have a cold shower running next door as soon as I finish reading your posts…

I giggled again, at ease now I had confessed my feelings…
I sipped the wine and moved to a lighter tone.

So.. did ya miss me today then….?
… I had one hell of a journey on the tube.. you would not believe…

The supposed calls forgotten, we chatted on and shared our days with each other, although in truth his was barely half over.

It was like that with us.
We seemed to reach the hub of intimacy, closeness and then in the next sentence we’d be chatting casually or bantering or sharing a joke.
Often teasing and deliberately winding the other one up.
It was the easy-going nature of the friendship that appealed to me.
No barriers, no obstacles, because there was no need for them.
He was miles away in the US and I was kept busy around London.

I smiled as he laughed once more.

.. then after my meetings I managed to get away for a few hours for lunch… can’t remember the last time I got to do that… met up with three colleagues who’d been at the exhibition… you will never guess what Chrissie brought with her…

We both laughed and chattered as naturally as if we were on the phone or indeed face to face. I described how the wilder member of our party had brought a book “BLOKE JOKES” and passed it around our group.
I explained to Mike that it was so politically incorrect, I couldn’t possibly tell him any of them and then giggled as I allowed him to persuade me to tell him some of the ones that had proved most.. memorable…

Even as our laughter mingled I told him that we had become increasing raucous in the bistro where our .. extended … lunch had taken place. I told him how I’d practically been under the table at one point, unable to stop laffing as the waiter moved round pretending not to overhear.

His deep chuckle continued almost non-stop.
I loved to hear Mike laugh as I told him my news and the amusing incidents of the day …

 

[DaveDuff]

There was a short silence … then…

I want to do it Mike…
It’s a good story and the characters are great … it’s just…

There was some trepidation in her voice…

It’s very … intimate and… I have to keep remembering that its Mike and Nat not.. us..

Us?… Not that that thought hadn’t crossed my mind. Both in reading and writing…

But.. I can do that… as long as I have a cold shower running next door as soon as I finish reading your posts…

I couldn’t help but break into a laugh at her admission… and, her good-humored way of dealing with it… That, mixed with her ever-pleasing giggles, definitely lightened the mood again.

So.. did ya miss me today then….?
… I had one hell of a journey on the tube.. you would not believe…

I loved listening to her stories. I grinned at the thought of hearing just what she’ been up to now… The little incidents in her life, or at least the way she portrayed them, continuously had me laughing. I had told her, on more than one occasion, that her life could be taped, and would probably be the top-rated sitcom here in America…

.. then after my meetings I managed to get away for a few hours for lunch… can’t remember the last time I got to do that… met up with three colleagues who’d been at the exhibition… you will never guess what Chrissie brought with her…

“I’d heard a story or two involving her and her colleagues… they usually involved a drink or two, and a whole lotta fun…

Oh, do tell, Liz… You know how I love your stories… Yes, I missed you, I popped on earlier, before my meeting, hopin’ to at least say hi, but… woe is me… no Lizzie online…
Umm… do I need to turn my speakers down for this story Liz,… You and Chrissy didn’t get into another… ummm… cleavage comparison a the bistro did ya?…

I chuckled heartily, reminding her of the last story she had told me of the two of them getting together out on the town…

I heard her gasp, laughing under her breath at my mention of that…

“Mike!… quiet… sheesh, don’t you forget anything?… No, all buttons remained fastened today, if you must know… Chrissie brought a book of jokes, you know, like the dumb blonde jokes you yanks love so much. Only this was titled ‘BLOKE JOKES’, same kinda thing, but with men in mind.

I could just imagine them, sitting round the table in a restaurant, laughing and telling jokes… man jokes especially… she had a great sense of humor, and loved to joke about men… all good natured of course, but she could really get going on that subject…

She let on that she couldn’t repeat any of the jokes… they were too… politically incorrect she said…giggling all along.

Oh, really, and since when have you become ‘politically correct’; I’m sure you’re dying to try offend me. C’mon, give me your best shot…

Her laughter told me I was right, she loved to try to put men down, jokingly of course, I think she enjoyed trying to get a reaction out of me…

Well, I suppose I could let you in on a few of the tamer ones…

She went on to start telling jokes… somewhat tame at first, but increasingly less ‘correct’, so to speak… She had me laughing intensely, and seemed to time the jokes so well, I would just get over one and another would come across the speakers… sending me into another fit of laughter…

She intermixed the story of her and he friends, laughing at the bistro, the waiter overhearing…I could picture it in my head… the laughing, giggling and playing, over a few glasses of wine….

So, that’s what you think of us guys, huh?… Nothing but a good subject for your fun?…

We were both laughing, the earlier subject all but forgotten…I looked at the clock, and knew I must be going soon… if I wanted to get home at a decent hour, before it got too late for her, and continue our banter…

You know how I hate to say goodbye, Liz, bit if I don’t get going soon, I’ll never make it to the ‘northern office’ in time to catch you before bedtime… If I go now… I should be there around 2… 10 there…will you be around?

Always cognizant of the time difference, I seemed to find myself planning my schedule around her time as well as mine lately. It wasn’t a problem, as the type of work I did, allowed me a lot of flexibility…

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Elizabeth Kent

Mike told me that he’d been looking for me earlier, but that I hadn’t been online.
I smiled. He knew I would most likely be out all day, although lunch had gone on a bit longer than I thought. Thank goodness that my meetings had been in the morning.

Umm… do I need to turn my speakers down for this story Liz,… You and Chrissy didn’t get into another… ummm… cleavage comparison a the bistro did ya?…

I gasped. Mike seemed to have a filing cabinet locked in there somewhere.
I remembered telling him about that meal … but that had gotten somewhat.. riotus …
I insisted pretended to tell him off, knowing that he would hear the laugh in my voice.

“Mike!… quiet… sheesh, don’t you forget anything?… No, all buttons remained fastened today, if you must know…

On and on we chattered and bantered until finally, with obvious reluctance Mike announced.

You know how I hate to say goodbye, Liz, bit if I don’t get going soon, I’ll never make it to the ‘northern office’ in time to catch you before bedtime…
If I go now… I should be there around 2… 10 there…will you be around?

I checked the clock and bit back a sigh.
Somehow it always seemed too soon.
Time seemed to fly when we were hooked up chatting and writing.

Yes. I can be here Mike, easy day tomorrow, well just shopping, but I’ll tell you about that later. I know you need to get going… see you soon babe..

Listening to his goodbyes and finally the click of the button, I logged out of the IM chat and pulled word up on screen, cutting and pasting his last post before closing down my internet connection.

Picking up my glass I headed to the kitchen and topping up my wine began to prepare something to eat. As I chopped the vegetables, my mind went over the conversation, Mike’s post. It was weird to imagine him all the way over there, in a different time warp and a different schedule. The occasions we did hook up were so good, I admitted. We should have been poles apart in everyway and yet..

Damn! Cutting my finger, poor knife skills as always I moved to the sink to rinse it and reached up to pull down the plasters kept there for the regular slicing occurrence – right next to the Burneze for the times when I decided to cook myself along side the meal. Accident prone? Me? I continued with the preparations and very soon had a massive Bolognese sauce simmering away on the hob. That would do me for a couple of meals, then I’d freeze the rest I told myself.

I checked the time – 19:30 – This would be best left about 45 minutes.. put pasta on… I calculated that I’d be through eating at about 9 pm.. more or less which still gave me an hour.. Checking the heat setting was low I moved upstairs once more and called up the word document now called ridiculously “sofa 2”. I focused on being Natalie and re-read the posting and began to type – “in character”.

Much later than I called up the website and pasted my most recent effort into the window, checked the post in preview then clicked submit. I watched as it flashed onto my screen, now public property. My eyes roved down to the last line …

The moan I gave was more entreaty than protest. My head spun. I’d been aching for him to touch me like this, but so scared of letting him close… as I felt his lips move along my neck, his breath against my ear, his other hand stroking my abdomen in that same tantalising, undemanding way I could not bite back the exclamation that broke from my lips.

“Mike…!”..

I whispered. “

I looked at the screen in shock and did a double take.

”Ohh.. shit.. ! “

I muttered to myself, clicking quickly on the edit button and scanning the post quickly. I’d only done it that once, thank goodness. I looked at the words I’d typed.

“Mike…!”..

Now why had I done that?
I deleted the ike and typed in att.
I clicked save changes.

“Matt…!”..

Yes .. that was much better.
It was gone 9 pm already and I still had to get the pasta sorted!
I hurried downstairs to organise dinner...

 

[DaveDuff]

Michael West

Yes. I can be here Mike, easy day tomorrow, well just shopping, but I’ll tell you about that later. I know you need to get going… see you soon babe..

I started closing down all my work windows as we wrapped up our always seemingly too short chat… If we didn’t’ pay attention to the time, we could, and have gone on for hours.

Okay, good hun… take care of yourself… c’ya soon…

I shut down the laptop, grabbed my parts and headed towards the door.
My boss met me in the parking lot…

“Hey Mike, glad I caught ya… You got a minute?…”

Oh brother, what now I thought…

“Sure Sheila,” I tossed my stuff in the front seat of the truck and closed the passenger door. “What’s up?”

She began to explain to me about a big account, up in Seattle. One of the tech’s up there had been called away on a family emergency, and there was a very important installation that had to be done by Tuesday. They were trying to reach the other trained technician, but he was on vacation.
It was on our newest product, I had just been trained a couple of months ago muself. We didn’t even have any in town yet. It seemed I was the only one within 1000 miles who could do the job, if they couldn’t’ get hold of the vacationing local.

“Well, I don’t have any plans… I was trying to keep it that way… But… if there’s no other options, I guess I could go.”

It’d make for a lot of overtime, but… I really needed my weekends.

“Any idea of when they’d need me…? If they can’t get through to their guy, that is.”

I really had some thing I’d have to take care of around home, if I was going to be expected to be gone most of the weekend, and possibly into next week… I’d been on plenty of these kind of things, and they never seemed to go to smoothly…

The service manager from Seattle will be calling me later this afternoon. I’ll get hold of you as soon as I hear, one way or the other. It’s a huge deal Mike, a bunch of bigwigs from our European division are due in on Sunday. They’re beginning their launch over there real soon I guess, and want to see the one on-site, in action, to prepare.”

Oh great I thought… as if it wouldn’t be challenging enough. All I needed was a bunch of suits looking over my shoulder the whole time.
Hey, I reminded myself… it’s not even a done-deal yet… hopefully they’d find the other guy, and that would be that…

“Okay, well if I don’t hear from you by 5, I’ll leave my radio on. I may try to get home a little early today then, just in case… I’ve got some things that just can’t wait… if I end up having to go on up that is…”

”Sure, okay, well like I said, I’ll get back to you as soon as I hear anything. Thanks Mike… and, have a good rest of the day… be talking to you…”

Crap… I’d been looking forward to a quiet weekend at home.
I jumped in my truck and headed out to see the customer I had waiting.

It was a simple repair… I was in and out in less than an hour.
Seeing that my pager had remained quiet, I pointed my vehicle north and headed home.

As usual, I booted up my PC, and unpacked my laptop, setting in on one of the swing out portions of my computer desk, and fired it up as well.

1:30… Home sooner than I thought… I plugged the phone line into the laptop and dialed in. While waiting for that I launched IE on my home machine. My “ESPN Fantasy Sports’ home page loaded in not time. I’d been spoiled by the broadband connection ever since it became available in my area… I logged in to that page, hit ‘crtl+n’ and linked the second window over to the lit site, wondering, as always when it was her turn, if Liz had posted yet.

I turned and logged the laptop into my work server, clearing my call and time from this morning, checking messages and pending activity… All clear… for now anyway.

Returning my attention to my non-work related activities, I pulled up my control panel on the lit main page.

Sure enough, Liz had posted to our thread just over 30 minutes ago… I clicked up my IM, but found she wasn’t signed in…probably doing dinner… or domestics, as she called them… little things around the house. I grinned, recalling some of the many words, and phrases I’d learned from her. It was amazing, all the difference in meanings of the same words, the same language…It seemed I was constantly saying something that had a quite different than intended meaning over there. I tried to make a mental note of them, and slip them in, innocently of course, just to get a reaction out of her…

I ran upstairs and changed, knowing I wouldn’t be going back out today. I grabbed a soda from the fridge on the way back to my desk, sat down, pulled up her posting, and began to read…


I felt it again, as I read her words… The same thing I’d felt writing my last post.
There was a closeness, some hidden familiarity to the characters.

Maybe that line was getting fuzzy… the two sides slowly melding…
It was exciting, different… But I remembered her earlier trepidation, and uneasiness.
It had seemed to pass quickly… her phone calls had been apparently forgotten, at the moment at least…
It certainly didn’t show in the post she had just written. Matt and Nat sure didn’t seem to slow down any, much less pull back…
I was anxious to see how she sounded about it now, when we talked about it again…

I re-read it again, closer, seeing if I could find any clue of Liz’s thoughts, between the lines…

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Elizabeth Kent

I poured a large glass of wine and set the water on for the pasta.
Catching my breath for a moment I went to sit in the front lounge.
It felt like I’d been on the go since I came home from work.
I sighed and realised that I’d already downed half of the generous glass I’d poured myself.
Leaving the glass deliberately on the coffee table, I went to put the pasta in… it would only take 3 minutes and the sauce was simmering away ready.

Deciding to eat from a tray this evening I flicked on the TV and watched the shopping channel as I ate hungrily realising that as lunch had been early and light I was more than ready for this.
No sooner had I finished the meal, then the phone rang.
“Dammit, “ I muttered seeing the clock show 21:50.

”Ohh hi.. Chrissy!”

I smiled and begun to chatter, hearing the news… news being what she had gotten up to since we left at 3 pm after lunch!
Sometimes I wondered if Chrissy and I were on the same planet!
I listened as she told me how she had bumped into another “friend” on her spree round Covent Garden and ended up in one of the wine bars round there… she told me excitedly that she had tickets for the little nightclub just down there and was ringing to ask me to go along…

“Come on Liz.. it’ll be a hoot.. tomorrow night…. You don’t have plans.. you said so today…. “

I sighed in exasperation. I had had one day commuting into London, I didn’t fancy doing it again tomorrow!

”… And Daniel’s dying to meet you!… “

She giggled obviously thinking this was a bonus.

”And who is “Daniel”… a “friend” of yours..?”

I enquired in laughing exasperation.

”Chriss… don’t try to set me up again… look what happened last time!”

She laughed and began to tell me where she’d met him and how interesting he was.. and supposedly good looking… she seemed to drone on and on…
Suddenly I saw the time 22:25… she’d been going on for ages!

”Look.. Chrissy. I got to go.. it’s late … I have to eat yet still.”

I lied convincingly.
Still she wouldn’t give up!

”Think about it at least… we’ll have fun.. we can always ditch the guys later… “

I rolled my eyes.

"I am NOT crawling out of the windows of the lady’s loos again Chrissy!”

I insisted, the as I heard her take another breath, knowing she was going to launch into another monologue I conceeded;

”Ok.. Ok.. I’ll talk to you tomorrow… maybe….
Only maybe!.. No promises!”

I couldn't hold back the laugh as I heard the explosion of enthusiasm at the other end of the phone.

”Yay….we’ll have great fun.. just you see…”

Cutting her enthusiasm short, I ended the call as quickly as I could…
I promised to confirm either way by about noon the next day..

”Yeah… ok.. yes.. bye.. yup..ok.. bye… Chrissy! .. byee…! “

She was irrepressible!
I smiled, bemused at being railroaded yet again, then, remembering the time suddenly I shot upstairs.

Gone half past ten already! Dammit!
I clicked to dial up and watched the screen as my computer crunched slowly through the logging on procedure!
I just hoped that Mike would still be around... !

 

[DaveDuff]

Michael West

Still no sign of her online… I switched back over to my sports page and made sure all my fantasy picks were set for the weekend… I had fun, with a pal of mine from work, but sometimes it seemed it was getting out of hand. I mean fantasy bass fishing…? Horseracing…? Where would it all end…? I laughed and went from game to game, making the choices I know I would question Monday when they all turned out wrong.

About the time I was checking my e-mails, I heard the telltale squeaky opening of the door, signaling that one of my ‘buddies’ just signed on the messenger service. I brought up my buddy list and clicked on her screen name.

Solitary Soul: Heya, how ya doin…

I typed the one line message and then clicked on ‘Talk’… It was so much easier, and left the keyboard and mouse for clicking through other sites…

Luscious Lady: Hi Mike… how’s your day goin?…

She clicked the accept button on the talk request, and the sound meter popped up on the screen. I minimized it as it always hung out on top of everything else and got in the way… I unwound the cord to my headset from the phone line to the laptop and the other various junk on my desk…

Slipping in over my head, and adjusting the mic position, I began to talk…

Hi Liz, day’s goin’ good as ever… home early, and quiet…how’s your evening? You get all your…domestics… done?

I quickly scanned through the seemingly endless amount of junk mail in my yahoo inbox. The Internet was getting to be worse than the US mail in that regard. I’d sometimes get 20-30 junk e-mails a day.

Yup, all sorted here… had a nice long chat with Chrissy too…

I could hear her giggling at the mention of her friend’s name. I wondered what those two had planned now… Another fun night out on the town I imagined…

Oh brother, look out London, huh? I said with a laugh. You two planning a ‘Ladies night out?”

Just then my radio yelped out its annoying ‘BEEP, BEEP, BEEP’. I picked it up and looked at the small screen… It was the boss calling… most likely to deliver my weekend destiny… Quiet time, home alone? Or busy weekend working?

Aw sheesh, Liz… I just got a radio call, I’ll be right back with ya. You know how it is… they just can’t leave me alone.

I pushed the ‘talk’ button on the radio, and answered.

“Hi Sheila, what’s the verdict…? I’m guessing that’s why you called.”

Jeez Mike, tell em to leave you alone… you’re busy, remember?

Lizzy laughed, as she usually did when I tried to deal with work stuff while we were talking…

The voice on the radio answered back…

”Well it looks like they’re going to need you up there Mike, they can’t reach anyone else, and they’re desperate… I asked the manager from Seattle to e-mail you the details, hotel and customer location, and directions… you should be getting it soon. It sounds like they want to get on it first thing in the morning. You can either go up tonight, and stay there, or drive up early… It’s up to you.”

So much for the quiet weekend at home… I didn’t want to make a 3-hour drive at 4 or 5 am… I’d be much better off going up this evening and getting a decent rest tonight.

“Okay Sheila, I’ll take care of it… I’ll check my e-mail and be ready to start up there by 8 tomorrow. I may need Monday off, depending on what time I get back and all… I’ll keep in touch on the radio, and let you know how it goes.”

Thanks Mike, I knew I could count on you… Give me a call Monday morning and let me know, either way. Drive safe, and I’ll be talking to you later… Thanks again.”

“You bet, no problem, talk to you later.”

I tossed the radio on the shelf and got back to Liz…

Sorry ‘bout that Liz… Duty calls… as usual… Seems I’ll be out of town all weekend, big job up north. Poor me huh…? Never a dull moment.

She laughed at the inside joke we shared about my work hours…

Yeah, right Mike… you actually have to earn your pay for a change huh?

I couldn’t help but laugh along with her… I did have a fairly cushy job in that regard.

Yep, looks like I’ll be driving up tonight and staying till late Sunday or maybe even into Monday, we’ll just have to see how it goes… Could make for a long weekend, hardly my style huh…?

I started making plans in my head… packing clothes, eating, hoping they booked me a nice hotel, one with decent restaurant, I laughed to myself. If I was going out of my way to help them out, I knew they’d set me up with more than comfortable accomodations…

 

[DeliciousMaiden]

Elizabeth Kent

Solitary Soul: Heya, how ya doin…

I smiled in relief. He was still online!

Luscious Lady: Mike… how’s your day goin?…

I clicked the accept button as Mike’s talk request came through and adjusted the headphones that were already in place.
I smiled as ever as I heard his sexy American voice coming through.

Hi Liz, day’s goin’ good as ever… home early, and quiet…how’s your evening? You get all your…domestics… done?

I settled down in my chair, turning away from the computer then as we began to chat.

Yup, all sorted here… had a nice long chat with Chrissy too…

I giggled as I heard his mock exasperation at the other end of the line.

Oh brother, look out London, huh?

We shared a laugh.

You two planning a ‘Ladies night out?”

I smirked and wondered just how much to tell him about Chrissy’s never ending plan to try to get me “set up”, but halted as I heard the familiar sound of his radio beeping.

Aw sheesh, Liz… I just got a radio call, I’ll be right back with ya.
You know how it is… they just can’t leave me alone.

Here we went again, I thought.
The good thing about Mike’s job was that he could be online at “unsociable hours”, meaning we could chat more easily, but all too often he got calls on his radio, which meant at best a sometimes lengthy conversation and at worst, resulted in him being called out.

I laughed as I heard his voice in the background.
I recognised his “work manner”, but couldn’t work out what was being said.
Mike never shut down the talk box when he was called away, which meant that I could “distract” him whilst he got “professional”

With a mischievous grin, I reached for my PM window and typed:

Luscious Lady: Jeez Mike, tell em to leave you alone… you’re busy, remember?

I giggled and heard an answering chuckle, quickly surpressed as Mike took care of his radio message.
Pretty quickly he was back on talk.

Sorry ‘bout that Liz… Duty calls… as usual…
Seems I’ll be out of town all weekend, big job up north.
Poor me huh…? Never a dull moment.

I laughed at his comments.
He worked hard enough, but getting called out was not one of his favourite occupations, especially once he was home and set up on the computer!

Yeah, right Mike… you actually have to earn your pay for a change huh?

Although we were laughing and joking, I couldn’t help regretting the fact that he would be incommunicado for the weekend. I had been looking forward to spending a bit more time chatting, writing … but… reality first we had always said.

Yep, looks like I’ll be driving up tonight and staying till late Sunday or maybe even into Monday, we’ll just have to see how it goes…
Could make for a long weekend, hardly my style huh…?

It was as bad if not worse than I thought.
I answered non-commitally.

”Nope.. not your style at all, Mike.”

I noticed that he didn’t comment and imagined his reluctance at losing his weekend.
As ever, I couldn't help being concerned about him.

”Well… stay safe.. won’t you… I’ll miss you…. “

Then lightening the tone, I continued.

”Looks like I’ll have to go on this blind date of Chrissy’s after all…!”

I heard him chuckle.

”Blind date! Oh man! What is she putting you up to now?”

I smiled as I listened to his voice, the mock exasperation.
He was good fun and always had me in stitches laughing.

”Nothing new Mike, just one of her, “you must meet this guy, he’s perfect for you” set ups… I told her… after last time… no way… !”

I sigh in exasperation.

”But you know she never gives up. Maybe I’ll give this one a go and then I should be safe from one of her schemes… well should be good for a few months at least….”

 

[DaveDuff]

Michael West

She agreed that it wasn’t my style at all, heck we joked about my having to work during work hours.

”Well… stay safe.. won’t you… I’ll miss you…. “

I knew she would, as I would her… I was about to answer, but she quickly changed the subject

”Looks like I’ll have to go on this blind date of Chrissy’s after all…!”

I chuckled, just thinking about the two of them, the stories I was sure were yet to be written…

”Blind date! Oh man! What is she putting you up to now?”

I tried to feign a hint of jealousy in my question…

”Nothing new Mike, just one of her, “you must meet this guy, he’s perfect for you” set ups… I told her… after last time… no way… !”

I heard her sigh, and chuckled again, knowing she was probably looking forward to the ‘date’.

”But you know she never gives up. Maybe I’ll give this one a go and then I should be safe from one of her schemes… well should be good for a few months at least….”

The more I thought about it, the less I liked the idea of her… Chrissy’s… scheme. I knew I was wrong, hell we were 6000 miles apart, and were just friends… writing partners… but still…
I made sure not to let that feeling come across in my voice…

”Well… you two have a blast… I know you will. And, hey… you stay safe too. I don’t want to hear about any bail hearings when I get back…”

I laughed as I imagined them, thinking just how fun it’d be to spend time with her, and watch the two of the together. They really seemed to be the best of friends..

I chuckled while trying to get the next words out…

”Remember now… I’ll be asking you about your night later… Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want to share…”

I heard her gasp dramatically and laugh at the same time…

”Mike…! As if…!”

I laughed even more at her reaction…

”Sheesh Liz… Okay, Okay, I was just kiddin’… You know you don’t have to share if you don’t want to…”

My face had taken on the permanent grin that it always seemed to during our conversations… I decided to play on that envious thought I’d had earlier…

”You know I’m jealous don’t you?….

I intentionally paused… knowing she’d be listening closely…

”You two out there having fun… and me… working my fingers to the bone…

I sighed dramatically… trying, unsuccessfully to hold back a chuckle…