Annie perused the rack of dresses. She’d needed some shopping therapy after two grueling work days. She’d showed a dozen houses to a young couple who were expecting their first child. It wasn’t a big commission, but they had been preapproved by their bank. It had just been about finding the right place, in the right neighborhood, and luckily they found something they liked that day. They put in a solid offer and Annie knew the sellers were motivated. Fingers crossed and the happy couple would be buying their first home together.
To celebrate, she was buying a new dress for a party she had been invited to celebrating a coworker and his wife’s 10 year anniversary. So after taking her dog to the dog park for a good run and some play time, then bringing him back home, she went to one of her favorite boutiques downtown. She still wasn’t sure she was going to go, but just in case she wanted to have something to wear for this special occasion. She didn’t have a date either. She had contemplated calling Gerri, but when she accessed the website she had been a little shocked by what she discovered. This woman had some crazy clientele.
She had pulled out the card Gerri gave her, put on her glasses, and it was only then that she read the small print on the card. The website suggested that connections were made for shifters. People who could change into animals. The card had said PDA and the website made clear what that stood for. Paranormal Dating Agency. She’d always had a feeling there were other world spirits, but people who could change into animals was something she never considered more than Hollywood magic and fantasy. She looked at pictures of happy couples and read testimonials that promised Gerri had picked the right mate for them. She read one quote from a woman named Talia. “Gerri found me two perfect men. I couldn’t be happier.” The buxom brunette was pictured with two men who looked like they could be fitness models or Magic Mike dancers. The bodies of the men were so hot. Panty melting hot. In her air conditioned condo, she was having a hot flash too soon, or the damn thing was on the brink. She had to fan herself with a sheaf of paper from her printer to cool off. Incredible. Then she read another quote by a girl named Nita. “I found a man who I can’t BEAR to be apart from. He is everything I dreamed of and more.” Wolves, Tigers, and Bears, oh my! She giggled to herself, but kept reading more testimonials. It was fascinating in a weird way. She couldn’t stop herself from ogling all the pictures of the men who had been matched.
All of the men, every single fucking hot one of them, had a six or eight pack you could bounce nickels off of. They were stunningly handsome. But paranormal? Shifters? What kind of kook was Gerri Wilder? Was this some sort of new fetish? She’d heard about clubs where people pretended to be an animal and dressed up in animal costumes. Fluffies, was it? Was that the type of clientele Gerri worked with? I mean to each their own, she thought, but could she be into that if it got her a hot man like one in the pictures? All of the testimonials were accompanied by pictures of happy couples and threesomes and most had married if the pictures could be believed. Annie knew she had been drunk, but she thought the woman she met a few nights earlier was sane.
Then again, it took all kinds to make the world go round. She wasn’t one to judge people for their predilections. Hell, she even liked it rough from time to time. A little bondage spiced things up. Her last lover had been incredible, and he introduced to her some things that were quite enjoyable, but she had known from the get-go that he didn’t plan to settle down. That was until he met a woman who was his match. Sadly, it hadn’t been her. But she held no grudges against him. Andreas Marino was a good guy, and had been upfront with her from the very beginning. She respected that.
Plus, she had not been ready for a commitment for some time. She had come out of a bad relationship that had lasted ten years, and she thought she would marry him. She hadn’t wanted to rush into something else so soon. But once she was ready, the men who had taken her out weren’t relationship material.
She picked up a stunning aquamarine cocktail dress that would be great with her coloring. It nearly matched her eyes. She was about to ask one of the clerks to let her in the dressing room when a voice distracted her.
“Fancy meeting you here?” It was none other than Gerri Wilder.
“Oh. Wow. Yeah, isn’t it?” For a moment Annie was speechless which was totally unlike her. She was known for her barbs, and one liners. In fact, her friends teased her for some of her expressions, and even went so far as to call them, Annie O’isms.
“I came in looking to get a pretty hat to keep the sun off of me. I saw several in the window display. What have you come for?” Gerri asked after pointing out the display of hats not too far from where they both stood.
Annie wasn’t in the mood for chit chat, but she also didn’t want to be rude. “One of my co-workers is celebrating his 10 year wedding anniversary. I came in looking for a dress.”
“Well the one you are holding is very pretty and you will look quite fetching in it.” Gerri indicated the dress Annie still held in her hands.
“Thank you. I do like the color.” She turned back towards the rack hoping Gerri would move on, but she should have known better. The one thing this woman was not was shy. She’d shown that much of her personality when they met at O’Malley’s.
“And do you have a date for this occasion?” Gerri asked.
Annie tried to play dumb. “Um, the date. Well, it’s this weekend.” She heard the woman’s gravelly voice laugh.
“I think you know what I meant. Don’t be coy.”
Annie decided not to beat around the bush. “OK, you got me, Gerri. And no, I don’t have a date.”
“Oh, but you could. Bill arrived in town yesterday. I think he would suit you nicely,” came her quick and sultry reply.
Annie had to laugh at the implication the woman was making. “You are a persistent one, aren’t you?”
“I wouldn’t be as successful as I am if I gave up so easily. And you shouldn’t give up either on finding your perfect mate. Bill could be the one.”
“Touché,” Annie replied.
“So I gather, from your hesitancy and demeanor that you did check out my website and you have gone bashful on me.”
Again, Annie laughed. No one had ever called her bashful before. So she decided to be blunt. “Actually I did. Yes. And although I don’t disdain anyone from pursuing pleasure in whatever way pleases them, I don’t think I’m ready for . . . um, a relationship with a . . . person of a paranormal persuasion.” She hoped her explanation wasn’t taken as sarcasm. The woman had been kind to her and seemed sincere, although she was a tad peculiar.
“Oh, sweetheart. It would just be a date. I did not take you for the gun shy kind. And you did say you wanted an animal in your bed.” Her tone was teasing.
This time Annie laughed hard. She actually snorted. “I wasn’t quite thinking about that kind of animal.”
“You’ll never know what you like until you try it. And you don’t strike me as the type of woman who turns down new experiences.”
And she wasn’t. Andreas had taught her a few things. Maybe the fluffy thing would be interesting. The anniversary dinner was three days away. She definitely didn’t want to go stag. One of her co-workers whom she had briefly dated and ended it with would be there, and she didn’t want to fight off his flirtations all night. Plus, the photographs on Gerri’s website had some amazing specimens of the male species. “No, I don’t usually shy away from those. Oh, what the hell!” Annie threw up her hands. “You only live once.”
Gerri’s eyes lit up at Annie’s capitulation. “The man I have in mind for you is fantastic. As I said, his name is Bill and . . .”
“Wait? How much do you charge?” Annie’s budget was fairly fixed. She didn’t know if the woman was going to charge her an exorbitant amount of money for stud service.
“Like the password, satisfaction is guaranteed. I have fees, but there is no need to discuss them at all. Bill is technically my client, and he has already paid my fee.”
Well, shits and giggles. A freebie! Annie was glad to hear Gerri wasn’t going to double dip and charge them both. “Fine. That sounds even better. So tell me more about this Bill. Will he be um . . . discreet? And what kind of animal does he like to dress up as?”
The laugh that emitted from Gerri got the attention of several of the clients in the shop that Annie liked to visit. “Well, that is incredibly funny. But let me assure you,” she continued to laugh as she spoke. “Bill Armbruster is a man that appreciates discretion, but when he shifts he becomes a wolf. And not just an ordinary wolf. He is a dire wolf.”
Annie had heard of dire wolves. Her current night time passion other than using her special toys was chilling on the sofa and watching Game of Thrones. “Oh, so he is bigger than most,” Annie exclaimed. She did enjoy a fully endowed man. No small penis for her. Those who said that it wasn’t the sword, but how you used it were full of shit.
“Yes. Dire wolves are much larger than their gray wolf cousins.”
Annie just shook her head at the woman’s continued use of the gimmick her agency used to promote their business. Heck, she was a saleswoman, too, and knew that a turn of phrase could get you the deal. She wouldn’t hold that against a woman. Business was business.
“Okay, set me up then. When do I get to meet this Bill of yours?”
Gerri smiled broadly. “Oh, Annie, I’m going to do much better than that. Bill has just moved here from Cazenovia which is in Central New York, up in the mountains. He needs a place to live. He would like something on the beach. I’ll have him come see you tomorrow at your place of business. May I have your card?”
“Absolutely.” This was better than great. Not only did she have a prospective date, he was a prospective client who she could run a background check on. Plus, she might also get a sale out of it, too. Beachfront property always gave her a great commission. “If you could have him come by the office around 10AM, Gerri, that would be great. I’ll have a bunch of properties lined up to show him. We could stop for lunch. Any idea what his price range is? The number of bedrooms he would like?”
“I know he said that he needed at least two bedrooms if not three or an office. He wants something that is secluded, but has beachfront access as well. And not just access he prefers to be directly on the beach.”
“Those don’t come cheap.” Her eyebrows tilted up.
“Bill is a businessman and does very well. He will not quibble over price. If you show him property on the beach that has two bedrooms and an office, or three bedrooms, and all the modern conveniences, at the very least if you don’t like him, you will still get a sale.” But Gerri knew, Annie was it. There was no ‘at the very least.’ She would be his perfect match.
“Thank you, Gerri.” Annie was all smiles. A handsome man, a date for the stupid anniversary dinner, a big commission, and maybe some hanky panky with a dude that liked to dress up. This was a good day.
“You are quite welcome, Annie. But, I must be off after I pick up that hat. I have arrangements to make.” She gave Annie a big mischievous grin. “I will call Bill and let him know about the arrangements we have made. I have already told him about you and he is quite interested.”
“You already told him about me?” Gerri just smiled and nodded and picked up a hat without looking at it. Annie just shook her head as she watched the woman march over to the cashier. “Okay, well, I’ll be off to try on my dress. Happy hat hunting.”
From the register she heard the woman once more. “Oh, and I’d love to have you up to my hotel suite one night this week. We can chat about Bill and I can answer any other questions you may have after you meet him. If you don’t think he suits you, though I am sure he will, we can discuss perhaps another option for you.”
Oh my God, Annie thought as she quickly ducked into a changing room. She didn’t know what she was getting into, but if she could sell a house on the beach and get laid out of the deal, she’d call it a win.