victoria

 

 

Hey, what's up?

She couldn’t believe she was texting him. It was Wednesday night, and Victoria was curled up on her couch after dinner. A feeling of utter boredom had overcome her after getting home from the weekly board meeting, and her mind had wandered and immediately focused on Bradley.

Those muscled shoulders, those piercing eyes, those lips…they were hot enough to melt her panties. No harm in just saying hi, she thought. He hadn’t left a great first impression, but he redeemed himself enough that she was considering seeing him once or twice – strictly on a casual basis, of course.

She rested her cell on the soft cushion beside her, and focused on the news ticker flashing before her on the television screen.

A familiar tone snapped her out of her reverie. It was her phone. Probably her sister Julia, her mom, or one of the girls. She flipped the phone around to look at the screen and her belly did a little flip-flop. It was Bradley. Well, that was surprising. Guys usually texted these days – only the ballsy ones actually called. It suited him to be out of the ordinary and more forward than most guys. It seemed to be in his nature. She hesitated for only a moment before answering. She gulped and swiped.

“Hello?” She winced. Her voice sounded unnaturally high.

“Hi. What are you doing?” His voice was deep and steadfast; it betrayed no hint of nerves or reluctance. It sounded like silky chocolate to her ears, and it was whetting her appetite.

“Not much, just watching TV.”

“Really? I thought you’d be thinking about me.”

“You thought wrong.” He was right.

“Well, let me do something to change that.” His tone was light and teasing, and it brought a smile to her lips.

“Hmmm, what did you have in mind?” He couldn’t tell through the phone, but her eyes were sparkling.

“Dinner, this Friday. Do you like Italian?”

“I like Italian, but I’ll have to double check my schedule. I think a friend mentioned something for Friday night. I’ll get back to you, probably tomorrow.” This was true. Ashley had mentioned getting together on Friday to discuss some pressing issue she was having with her boyfriend, but they were high drama. All the time. Nevertheless, Victoria wasn’t about to blow off her best friend for a guy she just met.

“Alright, then. You won’t regret it, I promise.”

“Ok, I’ll let you know. Bye.”

It appeared he was a man of few words. Confident and straight to the point, two qualities that Victoria greatly admired in a man – in anyone, for that matter.

She was tempted to call Ashley right then, to check the status of their Friday night plans, but held back. After her last relationship, she swore she wasn’t going to be the kind of woman who asked, “how high?” when a man said “jump”. She would wait until tomorrow. Bradley can wait.

She went to bed that night with him on her mind, and with her body abuzz. She had to admit that she half hoped that her plans with Ashley would fall through, so she can go out for dinner with Bradley. She felt like a horrible friend for even thinking that. After all, friends were always supposed to come first.

However, it had been a while since she had a lover, and there was that itch she had to scratch. Bradley would be perfect for the job. He wasn’t the kind of guy she would ever get emotional about, so he was a safe bet for a casual fling. Just for that one purpose. She couldn’t afford to take her focus off her work.

She still remembered her first day as a new attorney. It was her first job after graduating from law school and getting her professional designation. The work demanded absolute dedication – if she took her eyes off the prize for even a few days, she was bound to fall behind.

Her boss and the firm’s management watched all the junior associates like hawks, looking for any excuse to cull the pack. It was cut-throat competition among the new junior attorneys, and she had to watch her step and watch her back.

She couldn’t afford to give them any reason to trip her up. Her long-term goal, assuming she survived the first two years, was to make partner in a few years’ time. She figured a serious relationship with all its drama was clearly not in the cards for her now.

Her father was also an attorney, and a well-known one at that. She didn’t want to disappoint him or embarrass him in the small legal community. He had always supported her in her studies and extracurriculars, and was a goldmine of information and advice as she dealt with office politics. He was a little strict, and could be cutting with his criticism. Not a man that minced his words.

Later that day at work, she was staring at her computer screen and writing up a legal memo when her phone rang. It was Ashley. Victoria’s brows furrowed. It wasn’t like Ashley to call in the middle of a work day, so it must be something important.

“Hey hon,” Victoria said, while clicking through her report.

“Hi Vic. What’s up? How’s work?”

“Oh, you know, the usual. The boss is kicking my ass about this memo and the one that’s not due for another two weeks. So yeah, it’s going great.” She gave a light laugh. Her friends knew to take her griping with a grain of salt by now.

“That sucks. You’ll get it done, you always do,” Ashley reassured her.

“Thanks, sweetie. So, what’s up with you?” By now, she was curious about what Ashley was really calling about.

“Well, you know, about tomorrow...” Ashley said slowly, her voice full of hesitation.

“Don’t tell me – you’re cancelling?” She wasn’t nearly as annoyed as Ashley assumed her to be.

“Yeah, and I’m really, really sorry. We’ll do something else soon. It’s just that after acting like a cold fish all week, Rob made some surprise plans for us. And I need to talk to him about what this is between us, you know?”

Victoria turned away from the computer and frowned. She was concerned for her friend, and she couldn’t stay quiet.

“Listen, Ashley. I know you love him. I know that. And he’s been mostly good to you.” She could almost feel the tension over the phone. “But do you think that this relationship has ‘long term’ written all over it? I’m not trying to be harsh. You know I love you. I’m just worried for you and hate seeing you upset.”

There was a pause on the other end.

“I know all that. That’s why I’m going to talk to him, and if I don’t like what he has to say, it’ll be over.” Ashley’s voice cracked and she sounded like she was on the verge of tears. Victoria wished she was with her so she could give her a big hug.

“Ok, hon. You know I’ll support you no matter what you decide. I just want you to be happy. And let me know if you need to talk before you see him. Or if you want to recap afterwards, ok?”

“Thanks Vic, I love you, you’re such a good friend.”

“Anytime, hon. Now take care of yourself, and when you see him, don’t back down. Speak your mind and stick up for yourself, promise?”

“I promise. Bye, hon. And thanks for understanding.”

“No problem, bye!”

Victoria hung up and sighed. She’d been following the story of Ashley’s relationship with Rob since the beginning, about a year ago. Ashley had fallen hard for him, but he was less than committal. The latest issue was over the fact that he only seemed interested in seeing her at his place, and pretty much only for sex.

Ashley was suspicious that he might be seeing someone else and trying to keep their relationship low profile so the other girl doesn’t find out, and it was something that Victoria wouldn’t put past him. She hoped that Ashley figures out how to handle the situation and if she’s not happy, that she kicks him to the curb.

She thought back to her own situation. Her Friday night was free now, so she could take Bradley up on his offer if she wanted to. She looked at her phone, deciding whether to text him then and there.

Let him wait, she thought, and put the phone down on her desk.

 

****

 

It wasn’t until she was on her way to the gym after work that day that Victoria decided to let Bradley know about Friday night. She had a membership to a chain gym, so she could go to any of their many locations around the city, and decided that this time, she would go to the one near her condo. The weather was great, and perfect for a walk, so she left her car at home and decided to enjoy some fresh air on the way there.

She took her phone out of her purse and sent him a quick text message. Short and sweet, with no fuss.

Friday night is fine. We can confirm specifics later.

She held on to her phone for a while, half-expecting a quick response. When her phone remained silent, she put it back in her purse.

When she got to the gym, she changed quickly and started on the elliptical, her favorite for cardio. Her knees were a bit sensitive from years of diving for volleyballs, so she tended to avoid jogging or running too often.

After working up a good sweat, she moved on to resistance training, her favorite part of a workout. She was proud of herself for her discipline. She made it a point to get a workout in at least three times a week, though life did get in the way sometimes. She didn't live in the gym like some people, but she had seen enough improvement in her body that she was motivated to continue, week in and week out.

She sometimes noticed how some of the guys checked her out, but instead of being creeped out, she was proud that whatever she was doing in there was clearly working. She was just about to start a weighted squat set when she heard her phone beep. It was a text from Bradley.

I’ll pick you up at 8. Send me your address.

She pondered his response for a minute. Why did he assume that she would give a complete stranger her home address? And why did he assume she couldn’t get to the restaurant on her own? Speaking of which, she didn’t even know where they were going. She whipped up a quick response.

Thanks, but I can get there on my own. Where’s the restaurant?

The response was swift.

Don’t worry about that. It’s a nice place, so dress hot. Preferably something with easy access.

Victoria was shocked, and then she smirked. What a presumptuous ass, she thought. She had to admit that she found his assertiveness hot, and something about their previous interactions told her she should just let it go and meet him on his terms. She also figured that since she lived in a high-rise condo, giving him her building address shouldn’t present a huge security risk.

She sent him her address and a smiley, and locked her phone. There. She had a date the next night, with a cocky, but hot, actor. She wondered about that. Did he really act in musicals? For some reason, she couldn’t picture him singing or dancing up on the stage. The very idea of it, and the image of him doing a pirouette or whatever it was that dancers did, made her laugh.

“Hey, do you mind?” A voice with a hint of annoyance brought her back to the present. She looked around. She realized she had been standing at the racks, staring into space and blocking the way. Maybe it was a sign that her workout was over.

“Uh, sorry about that.” She quickly moved out of the way and cursed herself under her breath. It wasn’t like her to get so caught up with a guy she wasn’t even dating. The thought of his last text warmed her core. Something with easy access, he had written. So absolutely delicious, she thought. It had been a while since she’d been involved with such an assertive and aggressive man, and it was thrilling. It might even be a nice challenge to be able to teach that sexy devil a thing or two about respecting women.