victoria

 

 

Victoria checked her watch.

Oh, shit.

She was running late for her spa date with Ashley and the girls. After leaving Bradley’s place, she had gone home to have breakfast and take a quick shower. She received a call from Ashley inviting her to meet her and the girls at their favorite spa, and the idea sounded like heaven to Victoria, so she quickly changed, gathered her things, and was out the door. She could have used a nap, especially since she was up so late with Bradley, but sleep could wait.

The spa was different than most others. They offered typical services, but the big draw was the pools. Bathing suits were optional, and there was a salt water pool, a hot dipping pool, a cold pool, and a sauna and steam room. It was total relaxation, guaranteed.

She thought about the previous night with Bradley, and she couldn’t help but sigh. A devilish little smirk played on her lips as she remembered the way his hands moved across her body, exploring every inch of her. Teasing her, working her body. His lips, which could be both gentle and demanding at the same time. She knew she had made the right decision to have a good, satisfying fuck session with him, one that she wouldn’t regret.

He had seemed disappointed when she left as soon as they woke up, but she didn’t want to dwell on it. She didn’t want to complicate things. It seemed to her that they were meant to have had a one night stand, and that would be it. For now. Maybe they could be friends, but anything more than that was off the table. It was too bad, because he seemed like a fun and kind-hearted guy and was just about the best sex of her life, but she didn’t want anything serious. With anyone.

She managed to parallel park on the street in front of the spa and hopped out, grabbing her bag off the passenger seat. She was looking forward to seeing everyone. She saw Ashley quite often, but hadn’t seen the other girls since they went out for Melanie’s birthday. She hoped that Ashley had been able to keep her big mouth shut about Bradley – the last thing she needed today was a grilling about her non-relationship.

Her phone rang just as she was about to swing open the spa doors. It was her mother.

“Hi, mom!” She hadn’t spoken to her in a few days and had started to miss her.

“Hi, Victoria, dear, how are you?”

Victoria smiled into the phone. It was always nice to hear her mom’s voice. It had such a calming effect on her that she often called her when she was stressed or anxious about anything.

“I’m doing great. Just on my way to meet some friends at the spa.”

“That’s great, honey. I won’t take much of your time. Just wanted to remind you of dinner at our place tomorrow night. You will be coming, won’t you, dear?”

Victoria’s eyes widened. She had completely forgotten about dinner at her parents’ house! She tried not to let surprise seep into her voice.

“Of course, mom, I wouldn’t miss it. It’s been a while since I saw you.” Actually, it had only been two weeks, but it felt like an eternity to Victoria. “What time should I be there?”

“7pm would be fine. And don’t dare bring anything, sweetie.”

“Ok, mom, I promise I won’t.” Her mom always chastised her when she brought dessert or anything else to their family dinners. She was the matriarch of the family and always wanted to feel as if she was taking care of everyone.

“Ok, good. Bye, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Victoria said bye and hung up. She was definitely looking forward to seeing her family. She knew her father would grill her about her job at the firm, and it was the only part of seeing them she didn’t like, but it was a small price to pay for time spent together.

“Victoria, we’re over here!” Ashley’s voice rung out, attracting several annoyed looks from other patrons, which she ignored.

Victoria smiled and walked gingerly down the steps into the warm, relaxing pool. It was a pretty busy day, and the pool was dotted with groups of women. A low wall ran down the middle, and warm sparkling water cascaded down the sides into the pool.

“Hi, guys, long time no see,” she said with a smile.

“Hi!” they called out, and scooted over to make room for her.

“I hope you slept well,” said Eve.

Victoria thought she detected a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but brushed it off. Then she glanced at Ashley, who was sitting silently with a sheepish look on her face, and knew right away that she had spilled the beans.

Melanie giggled into her hand, and they all joined in, with the exception of Victoria.

“You didn’t!” Victoria said to Ashley, with a splash of water in Ashley’s direction.

“Come on, Victoria!” Ashley exclaimed. “How do you expect me to keep that a secret from our BFFs?” She continued laughing, which got Victoria even more heated up.

“So, tell us how it was. Does he have the same moves in bed that he does up on stage?” Eve teased her.

“Ashley, you told everyone that too?” Her face flushed bright red. She knew she’d never live this down.

“Vic, there’s no reason to be upset or ashamed. I think it’s awesome that you bedded a hot stripper. Hey, it’s been over a week since I saw him at the club when you met, and I still remember those biceps,” said Melanie.

“Ok, fine.” Victoria rolled her eyes. “It was really good. The best sex of my life, in fact.”

Eve let out a low whistle.

“So, when are you seeing him again?” asked Ashley.

“I’m not,” said Victoria, and sat down on the low bench in the pool with the hot stream of water hitting her back.

Eve’s eyes nearly popped out of her head. “What do you mean? You just said he was the best.”

“Because. It was fun while it lasted, but that’s all it’s gonna be. A nice memory. Come on, guys, he’s a stripper. Do you think I need all the complications that come with that?”

“Complications like what? Hot moves, hot body? Sounds sooooo horrible to me,” said Melanie with a smirk.

“Well, for one thing, he’d always be busy on the weekends. Second, how do I explain his job to everyone I know, if they find out? My parents, my colleagues…they’d all judge, and you know it. Granted, he is also a med student, but that doesn’t change what he does on the weekends. I can’t afford to ruin my reputation at work. And my father would have a fit.”

“Oh, a med student? That’s pretty awesome. I’m sure people will overlook his night job,” said Eve.

“I’m not so sure,” Victoria said with a sigh. “Anyways, even if he didn’t take his clothes off for a living, I don’t have the time or energy for a relationship. So, if he calls me again, which is a big if, considering he’s probably got plenty of girls on the go, I’ll just tell him it was fun but I’m too busy to hang out. No hard feelings.”

“Oh, whatever, I think you’re nuts. But it’s your life. Anyways, tell us how it was. You can’t keep details from us!!” said Eve.

Victoria figured they wouldn’t stop until she talked, so she told them a few juicy details while they oohed and aahed.

Her belly fluttered while she recounted how he handled her body. She longed to feel his touch again, to feel his thick cock inside her again, and she bit her lip. Memories of the weight of his body on top of hers rushed back to her, and she flushed red all over. She hoped her friends didn’t notice. She tried to get to the end of her story as quickly as possible so she could finally change the subject. Luckily, they were interrupted by staff bringing the smoothies they had ordered, and it gave her a quick out.

At one point, she and Ashley were left alone.

“How’s it going with Rob? Has he been calling?” She had been debating asking Ashley about him. She didn’t want to bring up bad memories, but she wanted to be reassured that Ashley was doing fine.

“Oh yeah, he called a few times. The first time, I listened to what he had to say, but I told him I won’t be answering any more of his calls. And I didn’t. You were so right, I could do so much better.”

Victoria smiled. “I’m glad for you. You don’t deserve to be treated like that. No one does. You’ll find someone much, much better, I’m sure of it.”

After a few rounds in the pools, sauna and steam room, they changed and went for brunch. When she finally looked at her phone, she saw that Bradley had texted her, and her heart jumped into her throat.

I can still smell you. Come see me again today. Dinner?

She looked around and locked her phone before anybody could see his text. Her body longed for him, but she resolved to ignore her instincts. She didn’t know what to write back, so she made a mental note to come up with something later.

 

****

 

When she was finally home alone later that day, she took out her phone and stared at it for a full minute before writing anything. She didn’t want to come off cold, but she wanted no room for interpretation – she wasn’t going to see him again.

I don’t think it’s a good idea.

It took only a minute to get his response.

You won’t regret it, I promise. But it’s up to you.

This was her last chance to change her mind. Before she could write a response, the phone rang. Her breath quickened; it was him. Now she was going to have to have a whole conversation about this, a conversation she was desperate to avoid. He already knew she was by her phone, so she couldn’t ignore the call. She answered.

“Hello?” she said slowly.

“Hi, Victoria.” He sounded cool and collected, as if he knew that she wanted more than anything to be with him and to be in his arms.

“Hi, Bradley.” Her nerves took over and she continued. “Listen, I didn’t want any misunderstandings between us. I had a great time the other night, I really did,” she said. She had much more to say, but he cut her off.

“I know you did, I could tell. And so did I. Are you sure you don’t want to hang out once in a while, and see where this takes us? No pressure. I’ll completely respect your decision. It just seems that what we have is good – for both of us.”

Victoria bit her lip. She wanted to say that she’ll be over there in twenty minutes, but if there was one thing she was good at, it was sticking to her guns.

“Bradley,” she sighed audibly, “I know, and I’m not disagreeing with you.” She paused, trying to think of her next words. She decided to be completely honest. “But the timing is all wrong. I just started at this new job and I can’t afford to lose focus. I need to give it all my attention. Fantasizing about you while I should be drafting memos isn’t going to help me in the long term. I’m sorry. Maybe if we were in a different time and place.”

And that was that. She breathed a sigh of relief as she placed her phone down on the coffee table, and grabbed the remote control. It was time to tune out for a while before she had to get ready for a night out with the girls. They had begged and insisted that they had to check out a new restaurant, and she figured it was the perfect diversion, so she agreed to go out.

But the memories persisted, and it took all her willpower not to pick up that phone again. His scent and the feel of his lips haunted her, but she kept herself in check. Get a grip, there are other men out there, she told herself. With that, she turned her mind to the newest episode of her favorite show and took a sip of coffee.