I've found my spot for great painting during the afternoons, the deck is just right after about two in the afternoon when the sun's dropped far enough behind the house that I've got shade and don't burn like a piece of toast. I can tan better than the typical girl with Irish blood in her veins, but I’m still not the sort of person who should skip a daily dose of SPF 30 if I’m going to be out for more than ten minutes.

I've gotten a lot done over the past few weeks though, and I'm thinking of contacting the Chicago gallery in order to see if I can get a few more pieces into the show. I've got a good one that incorporates Dirk's fish with some of the rust patterns I saw on his truck, and another idea that's tickling at the back of my mind.

I just can't get Dan out of my mind. Yeah, he was a bit abrupt, and honestly was a bit of a jerk, but he was also magnetic. His body was flawless, his muscles full and ripped and lean, his eyes burning with intensity. Even his scars were interesting, the swirls and smooth sections flowing together and making him look almost like he was transforming before my very eyes.

A breeze picks up off the lake, ruffling my hair and cooling the sweat on my brow. I decide to put my painting aside for a little bit, and move my easel back indoors to protect it from the elements. Going over to the sink, I'm just filling up my kettle to make some tea when I see a bright orange Honda pull up outside, and I have to grin when Willow gets out. I open my window, sticking a hand out to wave. “Hey bitch!”

“Bitch?” Willow asks, mock offended. “Honey, don't make me come up there and show you just how much of a bitch I am!”

“Bring it on!” I call back, grinning. “Come on up!”

I unlock my front door, giving Willow a hug when she comes in. “How've you been?”

“Oh, nothing new, nothing old. Just blogging,” Willow says, grinning. “Have you been keeping up?”

“When you haven't been making me blush uncontrollably!” I laugh, heading back into the kitchen. I was surprised last week when Willow sent me an e-mail with a login and a password to her blog and premium site. While I haven’t watched the videos, her writing is hilarious and fun. “Want some tea?”

“Sure, but we can't stick around long, I told them we'd be there by four,” Willow says, making me lift an eyebrow. “For your new truck, silly. I found one for you.”

“Really?” I ask, grinning a little. “A pickup truck? For me?”

“Hey, you're the one who decided to go from small town to living straight up country,” Willow says, turning around. She glances out the side window of the house, which is currently showing Dan in his yard as he pushes something that looks like a giant rolling pin back and forth. “Damn, talk about country views.”

“Yes,” I reply, and there must be something in my voice that makes Willow turn around, raising an eyebrow. “What?”

“Come on, babe. I know that tone of voice. Let me guess, he was off putting? Rude? Smelled like a can of tuna fish?”

I shake my head, grinning. “Ugh, tuna fish. Where'd you get that one?”

“Professional story,” Willow says, waving a hand to tell me it’s not that important, but probably something she’ll pull out at the most inopportune moment to make me squirt milk out my nose or something. “You tell me your story and I'll tell you mine. Deal?”

I nod, pouring tea into a pair of travel mugs that I've got. “Deal. Milk and sugar?”

“That's right, gimmie some sugar, baby,” Willow teases. “By the way, how much cash have you got?”

“Not a lot,” I answer truthfully as I drop two spoonfuls into Willow's tea and stir. Any more, and it'd be liquid candy with the cups I've got. “But enough to get something. Let's bounce.”

We head out, and I have to grin as I slide into the passenger seat of Willow's car. “You just have to drive a car that sticks out around here like a neon sign.”

“Oh, I used to be worse,” she admits. “When I first moved here, I drove one of those tuner cars like you'd see in Fast & Furious movies. Problem is the damn thing only had about an inch and a half of ground clearance, which is no good on the roads around here. So I sold it to a co-star and bought this last time I was out in Cali filming. So, tell me about Dan.”

“You know his name?” I ask, and Willow nods. “Until he said it nobody had told me.”

“Most people don't call Dan by his real name,” Willow admits. “Let's see, I've heard him called the Taffy Man, the Fried Fireman, Yellow-”

“Yellow?” I ask, turning towards Willow quickly. “What the fuck's that about?”

Willow sighs, keeping her eyes on the road. “Okay, this is something that I really wanted to let Dan tell you since I think most folks around here give him a bad rap… mostly because of Bobbi Valentine and her trifling ass. By the way, she's already talking about how you shut down Justin. Says it's because you're my new girlfriend.”

I laugh a little, shaking my head. “I am, but not in that way. Back to Dan though. What's her story about him?”

“Well, how much of Dan have you seen?”

I swallow, looking down. “He was stripped from the waist up when I went over, he'd been splitting wood. I saw a lot.”

“Then you saw all his scars, I'm guessing. Nobody in town knows exactly how much of his body is scarred below the waist. Some say he burned his cock off.”

I shake my head, remembering the thick bulge I'd seen in his pants. “Nope… unless he was born with a cock that would put a porn star to shame... sorry.”

“No offense taken. I’ve worked with some of the biggest around, but size is only the beginning, trust me,” Willow replies matter of factly. “I'll ask how you know about Dan's cock later. But anyway, you saw how only one half of his body's burned, right?”

I nod. “I thought… I thought it was beautiful.”

“Whoa… slow the fucking truck down,” Willow says, grinning. “Beautiful? Just how did you come to that conclusion?”

“Well, the way it all swirled and whirled… you know my art is sort of a mix of the dark and the light, and like… Dan's upper body is that personified. He's tortured for sure, but looking at what he can do… it's like living next door to one of those Crossfit models or a Ninja Warrior competitor.”

Willow nods, smirking a little. “Yeah, guess so. I haven't seen him much, but watching him push that roller thing around, I bet he's got some legs on him too. But back to the rumors. When he showed up in town, Bobbi of course dug through all the rags that she considers non-'fake news.'”

“Ugh. So rumors and tabloids?”

Willow nods. “Seems Dan was a member of the Chicago Fire Department… there was a fire, and he was burned there. They rescued him with a boy, who didn't make it. A newspaper printed a story that was rumors and innuendo basically saying that Dan used the boy as a shield when the house they got trapped in collapsed on them to try and protect himself. That's why he's half-burned, according to Bobbi.”

I shiver, shaking my head. “I don't think that's Dan, though. I mean, he was sort of a jackass, but he didn't seem like that sort of man.”

“I haven't had a chance to talk to him, I just know what Dirk's told me about him. Apparently the newspaper printed a retraction later, but the rumors persisted,” Willow admits. “So Bobbi's got half the town believing that he's a coward of an ex firefighter who used a toddler to try and protect himself and now hides in the woods half crazy. So… now your turn. Tell me how you met him.”

“Well, after running into Justin,” I admit, “I decided that it was time to introduce myself to Dan. I didn't really know what to do so I baked him a pie.”

“A pie?” Willow snorts. “Have you been fooling me all this time? Inside that half goth Killer Frost looking hottie that I've become friends with is there really the reincarnated soul of June Cleaver?”

I laugh, shaking my head. “No! I just… I wanted a reason to go over, that's all. Besides, all that exercise he does, I figured the man doesn't ever get any fresh pie.”

“Oh, you could have offered him some of your pie, and I'm sure he'd have taken you up on it,” Willow jokes before seeing my face fall. “What?”

“Dan made a comment kind of like that. It seemed to slip out though, like he hasn't really talked to a girl in a long time, and well… okay, I'll say it. It turned me on. I mean seriously, he's pretty hot, Willow. But I think he took my look wrong. I was trying not to just outright hit on him so maybe he…”

“Maybe he thought you were looking at him the way Bobbi and bunch of other dumbasses around here look at him?” Willow asks. “Maybe he did. From what I know, he doesn't get many visitors, and he only comes into town once in a while to get veggies.”

“Gets a lot of UPS deliveries though,” I reply. “Like, nearly every day. I saw him unpacking one of the boxes, he gets most of his food delivered and the stack of collapsed boxes in his truck gets run out to the dump like once a week or something. Then again, I guess if I had half of town thinking that way about me, I'd be getting deliveries too.”

“Yeah well, unfortunately for Dan it only makes the loose lipped cunts around town flap all the harder,” Willow growls lightly. “So what happened? He turned you on, you send a mixed signal and at what point in all of that did you see how much meat he's packing?”

I blush, remembering the heat that I've been feeling ever since seeing Dan in the yard, so sexy that I was worried my nipples would poke through my top and my panties wouldn't be able to hold back my arousal. “Uhm, well, I put my pie down… no jokes please, and then we talked. At one point I guess I flirted back a little and he moved and I saw… well, his wrapped package.”

“Wrapped package, huh?” Willow asks. “Are we talking ping pong balls, tennis balls, a grapefruit in his pants?”

“Like I said, he's… big,” I admit, not admitting that Dan and his cock have been playing around in my fantasies for the past few days because of it. “But we just exchanged numbers, and that was that. I gave him a call when I got home, but he didn't pick up. Other than watching him work and exercise, I haven't seen him since.”

“Yeah well… I'd say give him another shot. Dirk's talked to him more than just about anyone in town and Dirk’s got a good opinion of Dan. Just off of that, I'd say Dan might be worth another shot. By the way, here's the place.”

We're at a trailer park of all places, but near the back is a decent looking doublewide that has four trucks with 'For Sale' signs in the window. We get out, and out comes a good ol' boy who smiles. “How can I help you?”

“Pete Fischer said you had a ten year old Toyota,” Willow says. “My friend here's looking for something to get her around town.”

I let Willow do most of the haggling, she's dressed for it really. When she pulled up at my place in some short shorts and a tight tanktop I thought she was just showing off, but as she flirts and gives the salesman little smiles, I can see what she's doing. Having a friend who knows how to work her body to distract men is advantageous.

“So… how's twenty five hundred sound?” the salesman says finally, trying not to look at Willow's cleavage. If I wasn't so secure in my own looks, I'd be jealous. I mean, I'm not exactly horrid, I’ve been able to keep my date book full when I had time to do it. But Willow is just too out there, and she's just so much fun I can't be upset.

“What do you think, Chrissy?” Willow asks. “Think twenty five hundred's legit?”

“Hmm… I'd rather do two thousand,” I reply, grinning. “That sounds a lot more fair, don't you think Willow?”

Willow nods, giving the salesman perhaps the cutest set of lips and 'fuck me' eyes I've ever seen a woman do. “What do you say? Two thousand? We'd really… really appreciate it.”

From that point it's just a matter of transferring the money. When I get behind the wheel of my truck, the receipt in my hands still, I'm pretty sure the salesman still doesn't quite know what hit him. We drive back to my place quickly, and when I get out Willow laughs. “That man still isn’t sure what the hell just happened. Ohh, his wife’s gonna be pissed when she finds out who sweet talked him down!”

“You did most of the work,” I demure, high fiving her. “Jesus, were you tapping into your acting skills?”

“Nah… most of those involve me being on my knees,” Willow replies. “But yeah, I flirted a little bit. You helped too though, being the good girl to my bad girl. No way would he have given me that last five hundred. You have talent… got that selling your art?”

“I wish. I let the gallery do that, and with what they take, I always feel like I've done a little acting on my knees when I get my check,” I reply, blushing a little as the image of Dan fills my mind. I could let a man like that get me on my knees for sure. “Anyway, thanks.”

“Oh, you gotta pay me back,” Willow says, grabbing a backpack out of her car. “You're gonna let me suntan on that dock of yours. My place gets shit for afternoon sun.”

Her idea sounds great, and ten minutes later the two of us are lying side by side on the dock. It’s not big, just enough for a single rowboat or something, but it’s perfect for this. I don't know what inspired me, but I'm in my tiniest bikini, although Willow's certainly giving me a run for the money in that area. “Hey, mind if I ask?”

“Plenty of lotion, I do lots of kegels, and I’ve had laser treatments to take care of the hair, although I get a Brazilian the day before filming,” Willow says automatically. She adjusts her sunglasses and makes sure the shade from her hat covers most of her face.  “Or were you asking something else?”

“Nope… guess you get that a lot. So… sounds like a good segue to your tuna story.”

Willow laughs, and takes a sip of the beer I'd snagged for her out of my fridge. “This was a few years ago, right when I was starting to make it in the industry. I got booked for a scene with a girl, which is pretty popular in the genre. A lot of girls get started doing just girl-girl, probably because that way they can tell their boyfriends that they weren’t catching dick from another guy at work. Anyway, the studio really wanted to go all out on this one, they thought it was my role to make me breakthrough to the A-list. And yes, there's a porn A-list.”

“I guess every industry has one. So who'd they get?”

“A girl who was pretty A-list herself, but was on the downswing. Too many girls get burned out in the scene, it can get… grim as fuck, really. Three years before the scene, she was the hottest teen sensation in years. But she made some bad choices, and when the studio offered her six grand to let me go hardcore strapon anal on her, she took it even though she didn't want to. But she made her wishes known when I had to go down to start the scene.”

“Let me guess… unwashed?” I ask, and Willow glances over. “Come on, as soon as you said tuna and work, I figured. Remember, I do have one and after a hard day in the woods-”

“Chrissy?” a voice calls, and I sit up to see Justin coming around the side of the house. “I just saw an unfamiliar truck and… oh, hi Willow.”

“Hi Justin. How're you doing baby?” she asks, giving me a surreptitious little wink. “How're those big deals going? Got any packages that are going to impress us?”

“Ah… no,” Justin says, looking like he'd rather be anywhere but by my dock. “Uhm, I just was wondering how you were doing. I'll see you later.”

“Sure you will,” Willow says, giving him a little wave. Justin nearly runs around the side of the house, and I give Willow an expectant look. She says nothing, sipping her beer and laying back down.

“Oh hell no bitch, you tell me all about Dan and I even told you he turns me on, and you won't tell me what that was all about? Don't make me push you into the damn lake!”

Willow giggles, and looks over. “Let's just say that Justin and I met when I first came to town, and I was willing to let him play a little. It wasn't until we were at dinner that someone recognized me and clued Justin in as to my infamous nature. Reminded me that I need to be more up front with people in this town about who I am. But that's not the funny part.”

“What is?” I ask.

“Guess who subscribed to my website not three days after saying he was disgusted and more?” Willow asks. “Top tier membership too.”

I giggle, laying back. “So he… he....”

“Spanks the monkey to me?” Willow completes for me, pushing me into gales of laughter. “Yup. Too bad he's such an asshat, too. He's kinda cute in that clean cut white boy next door sort of way, but no way would I want to be with a guy like that. I've got standards.”

I lift my beer, clinking it with her. “To standards. And pickup trucks.”

“Hear, hear.”