Friends Upgrade (5 page)

“Someone wants their Hummer done in a Hello Kitty theme.”

“Kewl”

Doug smirked. “I thought you would like that.”

“I know you didn’t touch that job with a ten-foot pole.”

“Now you know I don’t discriminate, no matter how bizarre the request. But I know one thing, no one is going to carjack that vehicle.” He turned to her and smiled.

Judith giggled while refreshing her lipstick. “You got that right.”

“Any plans for the evening?” He hoped she would invite him over to stay a bit. Maybe watch television. Anything to be in her presence.

“Just getting ready for our vacation. I’ve been trying to decide whether I should pack light or not. I’m not familiar with any of the stores there.”

I’d rather you come nude.
“You’ll be relaxing every day, remember. Pack light.”

“You’re right. I need a break from shopping anyway.”

Thank God.
“Found someone to house sit for you?”

“My neighbor. You?”

“Raul said he’d do the honors. Now let me tell you what I’m packing. Pajamas, robe and flip flops.”
And maybe some adult books and boxes of condoms
... Okay, get hold of yourself! Ironically, that’s what he’s been doing, every night.

“Boy, you’re taking this relaxation to a whole new level.” Judith reached over and placed her hand over his while he maneuvered the stick shift. Doug had no problem imaging the shift as his swollen cock and Judith holding it with him.

“You just don’t know.” He sighed.

Chapter Four

“I’m free!” Judith said raising her hands in the air in victory. How would she describe this past week? Can she say brutal?

“You could be a little bit more excited,” Doug said laughing.

“You just don’t know.” She threw her organizer, pens and calculator in her purse.

This marked the end of hell week at Grumands Insurance. Three fraud cases, two people who
thought
they had fire insurance, and a payout to one family for over a quarter of million dollars. Not a good week, but it just got better.

“Ready?” Doug got up from the chair and grabbed her jacket.

“Was ready last week.”

They walked out the door joking with each other. Once in the car, Judith hugged Doug’s arm. “Oooh, I am so excited. I can’t wait to see this place. You know the first thing I’m going to do?”

“What?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. I am going to soak in the tub, crawl into bed, order room service and watch cheesy cable programs.”

“Sounds like a plan. Mind if I join you?” Doug looked over at her, wiggling his brows.

“Sure, why not. We’ll order hot fudge sundaes or something fattening.” She giggled.

They drove for a good two hours, but that didn’t bother them. They enjoyed the beautiful scenery and as usual, each other’s company. The mountains had fresh greenery on them from the recent rains and the closer they got to their destination, the closer they got to the ocean. With the sun setting, it completed the picture and made a gorgeous spectacle.

“You know this is the first time in a long time that we’ve spent this much time alone together. Usually there are other people with us. I like it better this way.” Doug put his free arm around Judith’s shoulders.

Judith felt the warm of his skin on her shoulders. It felt comforting, but she could sense a hidden undercurrent. “I like...being with you, too.”

“Alone?”

“Doug.” She pulled away, feeling the slight change in Doug’s demeanor.

“What would you say if I told you that I wanted to make love to you?”

Wow, where did that come from? Judith’s nerve endings nearly snapped. Hearing him say those words immediately transported her to her bedroom with him naked next to her. She never heard that tone of voice from him. It was smooth, dark, sexy, and inviting.

If the offer had come from someone else, someone she’d just met, someone without an emotional tie, she would jump at the chance. Maybe. After the Mark incident, she settled for relationships that she didn’t have to put much effort in. They weren’t totally meaningless, but when she broke up with them or they with her, she was no worse for wear.

It was better that way. She enjoyed the time they had together celebrating birthdays, going out, traveling—and sex. But she kept her emotions close to the vest. She didn’t look at them more than what they were. Someone to keep her company, have fun with and somewhat good sex. She settled in the fact that her relationships would be temporary, no matter how they started off in the beginning

If.
Such a small word, but it made a huge difference.

Judith glanced back over at Doug, who kept his concentration on the road now. She noticed him for the first time. Not just as a friend, but as a potential lover. What would he be like? Would he be a gentle lover? Attentive? Did he like it rough? Would he be more concerned with her pleasure first? How would she react to his touch?

She thought these questions would be easy to answer; after all, she fantasized about this every night. But with that one question, it brought her face-to-face with reality—and possibilities.

She needed to diffuse the situation. His face took on a look that only lovers gave each other with her being on the other end of it.

“I would say be serious. We don’t have it like that. We’re friends and that’s more important to me than a romp in the sheets.”

“Does the idea of me touching you other than holding your hand repulse you? Doesn’t being in the same room with me sometimes bring out something more than just brotherly love? I’m not talking vanity now. I’m talking basic animal attraction.”

“That’s just it. We’re not animals. We can think, reason, and come to conclusions.”

“We are animals. We just speak and walk upright. But the basic instinct is still the same.”

“Let me ask you then.
Have
you thought about making love to me?”

“I wouldn’t have asked you the question if I didn’t.”

“Really, I—”

He sighed heavily. “Don’t worry about it. Since it takes two to tango, and with you slamming on the brakes, we have nothing to worry about.”

“I value—”

“I know. I know. Trust me. If I knew this what it meant to be a friend, I would have signed up as an enemy.”

Judith placed a reassuring hand on his arm and rubbed it. Deep down, she shared the same sentiments. Then she thought a moment. “Is it just the sex?”

“No, no it isn’t. Just forget it. I’m talking out of my head. It’s been a long week.”

“Doug, what’s going on? Did I say or do something that brought this on? We’ve been friends for years—”

“Exactly. People do become close. I just thought...” He let the sentence drop.

She noticed a slight annoyance, but didn’t want to push. They were vacationing together and she wanted to have a good time, not ruin it with something that needed to be discussed in more formal setting and with clearer heads.

A few minutes later, a huge cottage came into view. “Here we are.” They pulled into the parking lot of the place.

Judith looked at the sign by the front entrance. “Shangri-La Pleasure Bed and Breakfast? That’s an interesting name for a bed and breakfast.”

“You know how businesses are today. They need to stand out anyway they can.” Doug grabbed their bags out of the trunk.

“I can’t wait to see our rooms, and I’m starved.”

“Patience, patience. We’re here now, just a matter of checking in and getting settled. Maybe they have a snack bar. You can munch on something before we order dinner.” Doug had their entire luggage, which didn’t consist of much.

Judith decided to pack light. She would be in her robe or a bath towel most of the time, getting massages and lying in bed vegging out.

She and Doug reached the front desk. He dropped their bags and rang the bell for service. Judith took this time to look around the lobby and find the elusive snack shop. Her stomach growled loudly.

How interesting. Pictures of exotic—no, scratch that—erotic art. Nude statues all over the place, and the smell of exotic flowers floated through the lobby. She walked over to a little newsstand just inside the lobby. It had magazines and periodicals that made her blush. Photos of naked couples and women in various states of arousal. Some pictures showed people actually masturbating. A red flag immediately went up in her head.

Judith joined Doug at the front desk. “Doug.” She tugged at his sleeve.

“Just a minute, hon.” He turned his attention back to the lady at the front desk. “What do you mean, you only have one room?”

One room? Judith nearly went into panic mode. Not only did they not get rooms next to each other, they only had one room. “I thought you made reservations.”

“I did, but they thought the other people would have checked out by now.”

Judith thought a moment. Too much of a coincidence. “I swear, if you had anything to do—”

“Just a minute, hon.” Doug brushed her off again, and returned his attention back to the receptionist. “What happened to the other couple leaving?”

“We are so sorry for the inconvenience, but they had an extra four days and our other reservationist failed to catch it. But if it’s any consolation, we do have the Luxury Suite. There’s only one and it’s very special. Since it’s our mistake, we’ll only charge you the standard rate.” She smiled a big cheesy smile.

Doug turned and looked at Judith. “That doesn’t sound too bad. You don’t mind sharing a room for a few days, do you?”

Judith looked into those bright blue, seemingly innocent eyes. No, she didn’t mind sharing—technically. But what did her hormones have to say? “I guess. I’m sorry I blamed you.”

“That’s okay.” Doug smiled. “I think this worked out perfectly. We can really get to know each other.”

Judith swallowed hard. She felt the warmth and dampness trickle down between her legs again. Get to know each other better, how? “Uh, yeah,” was all she could say.

“I think it’s wonderful that you two can share a room. You never know what could come of it.”

Judith looked at the receptionist again. She had that stupid grin plastered on her face. The lady handed Doug the key to their room. A man greeted them in the lobby and took their bags.

They reached a private elevator and went up three floors. But when they got off the elevator, they stood there shocked.

“Wow! Is this our room?” Judith asked as she approached the double red doors. Elaborate, wood caved, with exotic carvings of animals on them. Gold door handles and hardware everywhere. She bet the doors weighed a ton.

“Oh, yes. This entire floor is reserved for this room,” the man said as he opened the door and took their bags inside.

Judith and Doug walked in and both their mouths dropped.

A lover’s dream. As soon as they entered the room, smells of exotic incense attacked her senses. She smelled lavender, vanilla, jasmine and...pumpkin.

“I smell pumpkin!” Doug said taking a deep breath. “Nice.”

Judith laughed as she walked around the room.

The room had a red color scheme, except for the rug. The long cream colored fluffy carpet reached and tickled the ankles. She bent down and ran her fingers through the threads. It felt like the fresh silk from silkworms.

Red silk luxurious bedding covered the heart shape bed that sat in the middle of the room. The mountain of pillows kept the actual bed hidden. Judith flopped on the edge of it and slid to the floor, her butt making a loud thud.

“Ow!”

Doug ran to her and helped pick her up. “Are you okay?”

Judith giggled. “Yeah, the comforter is so slippery.”

She looked up and marveled at the red silk ceiling. A large red crystal chandelier hung from the center of the gatherings. Red velvet drapes trimmed in gold fringe and gold tiebacks flowed from one end of the room to the other. The furniture had a Baroque theme, as did the music, which could be heard throughout the room.

“You see this?” Judith asked turning to Doug to find him coming out of the bathroom.

“You should see it in there. That could be someone’s apartment,” he said.

“We hope you enjoy your stay here. Just call on that phone,” the man said, pointing to the elaborate Princess phone on the end table. “We are here to fulfill all your romantic needs.” He smiled and left the room.

Judith searched for Doug who’d disappeared. He stood in the far corner, still checking out the room. “I think he thinks we’re on our honeymoon or something,” Judith said with an uneasy laugh.

“Yeah. Uh...you really don’t mind, do you? I mean sharing a room. Look, the room is so big, we’ll hardly bump into each other. And the bed is ridiculously enormous.”

Judith walked over to the bed, which seemed to take up half the room. But with Doug in it with her, she knew it would become quite cozy. “I guess we should change and see what this place has to offer.”

“Good idea. You first,” Doug said, sweeping his hand in the direction of the bathroom.

Judith grabbed her things and went in. Man! Her condo could fit in here.

Finding a heart shaped tub didn’t surprise her. Very Vegas, and just like Vegas, this place oozed overindulgence. She ran her water, thinking how interesting this vacation had become already.

****

Doug watched Judith walk into the bathroom. He wanted to turn his daydream from the other day to a reality. Soon enough. Right now he had some work to do.

She’d nearly busted him downstairs when she heard they only had one room, all but accused him of having something to do with the little mix up. Okay, so she hit the nail on the head on that point. It didn’t help matters that they had that conversation on the drive up here. But now he knew her true feelings.

Or did he?

Judith balked a bit and began to squirm. When he asked her what would she say if he told her he wanted to make love to her, he saw a spark in her eyes. It quickly left and she tried to blow him off, but he saw it.

He needed to get that spark again and light a match under it. He put his head in his hands and sighed. Suppose this backfired. Suppose their friendship would be ruined if they took it one step further. Did he really want to risk if for maybe one night of passion?