The Sextet Presents... Playing in the Raine [A Toy Story] (Siren Publishing Menage Amour)

A Toy Story

MELLANIE SZERETO

Copyright © 2012

Chapter 1

SWM, 27, seeks SF, 25-35, for companionship and fun. Must be athletic, intelligent, and adventurous.
Hmm. This one had potential. Raine Michaels toyed with the pen in her hand, flipping it through her fingers. She circled the ad.

SWM, 25, seeks WF bi couple for good times. Age 18-25.
No. She’d never pass for twenty-five, let alone eighteen, and she wasn’t part of a bisexual couple.

SWM, 28, looking for SWF with interest in hiking, art, and Pythagorean Theorem. Age 25-35.
A geometry nerd who liked museums and the outdoors. Maybe. Another red circle on the newsprint.

SWM, 25, seeks experienced SWF, 30-35, willing to broaden horizons.
Raine laughed aloud, drawing the attention of three businessmen at the table next to hers. She raised her coffee cup and grinned at them.
A toast to the lameness of middle-aged men.
At least the guy in this personal ad was straightforward and honest. He wanted to spice up his sex life with someone a bit more practiced than he was. Who was she to judge?

Turning back to the six-page campus newspaper, she made a red ring around candidate number three. Even men in their twenties seemed to think thirty-eight was over the hill with one foot in the grave. Well, she’d make fools of them the way Gil had made a fool of her. His new twenty-three-year-old girlfriend could have the forty-year-old pig—and Raine would enjoy some hanky-panky with a boy toy or two, or maybe three.

She tapped her fingertips on the keyboard of her laptop, logging into her alternative personal e-mail account. If any turned out to be freaks, she didn’t have to worry about them knowing her real name. Now to compose suitable responses to bachelors one, two, and three.

Dear Younger Man, I enjoy the outdoors, appreciate art, and know more math than the average person. Tell me about yourself. What kind of art do you like? What’s the highest mountain you’ve climbed? What’s your sine?
She tapped her finger on her chin. How to close her note to the math geek? Ah.
Hope to hear from you soon. Hiker Chick

She hit “send” and moved on to bachelor boy number one. Within five minutes, she answered each of the three ads she’d circled. Surely at least one of them would show some interest in a mysterious, experienced woman.

Closing her computer, she stood to gather her belongings. Purse, leather tote, coffee. She slid her sunglasses from the top of her head down to the bridge of her nose and draped her linen blazer over her arm. With a purposeful stride, she aimed for the exit, ignoring the table of men behind her. Their reflections in the window told her they watched her, as most men of her generation did. They always decided she was old when they found out her age. Fickle, immature pricks. If they could dump her for barely legal babes, she could go on the prowl for young, hot studs.

As she reached for the door, it swung open. Several college kids crowded through the opening, pushing their way to the order counter. Did any of them offer to hold the door for her? Of course not. No, they practically trampled her in their hurry to get a caffeine fix.

As she reached for the door again, another group of students blocked her way. She raised her sunglasses to glare at them.
Rude, obnoxious, and inconsiderate
. Not much different from the men she’d dated. Maybe going for a younger guy was a waste of time. Evidently, the entire male population had no clue how to treat any woman with respect.

“Oh, excuse me.” A tall, lanky blond—grad student, maybe—stepped back as she started out the door for the third time. His blue eyes sparkled above a tummy-tickling smile. “Ladies first.”

Amazing. One polite man in a sea of cads. She walked through the open door. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Beside the handsome blond stood a second twenty-something heartthrob. Dark hair and eyes, olive skin, a hint of beard stubble like he’d just rolled out of bed.

Her pulse jumped.

“Anytime.” Another sexy male voice.

She locked gazes with a gorgeous pair of steel-gray eyes. His shaggy, chocolate-brown hair brushed his shoulders and begged for a woman’s fingers to feather through it.

Raine gave a slow nod. “Thank you, gentlemen.”

Catching her breath, she focused on dodging the seams in the sidewalk as she headed back to her office one block west and two blocks south.
How in the world can I date men ten, eleven, thirteen years younger than me? What do I have that women their own age don’t? Besides a doctorate in civil engineering.

Gil may have dented her self-esteem, but he hadn’t destroyed it. Any man would be lucky to share drinks, dinner, and a bed with her.

* * * *

Vince Niccolo whistled under his breath at the vision walking down the sidewalk. Fiery red hair, emerald-green eyes, and a body made for posing nude. He rubbed his hand over his bristly chin. “Damn, I’d love to form those curves out of clay,
after
I spent a couple hours exploring them.”

“I hear you.” Matt Augustine tucked his hair behind his ear and shook his head. “And you know what they say about redheads.”

“Actually, I don’t.” Rafe Leonard held the door as Vince and Matt entered the coffee shop.

“Kinky and unbelievably hot in bed.”

Rafe gave Matt a skeptical frown. “But what are the chances that’s her natural hair color?”

Vince grinned. “Fifty-fifty. Either she is or she isn’t. The fun is in the finding out.”

“You got that right.” Matt pulled his wallet from his back pocket. “Why don’t you grab a table on the patio? We’re going to need some privacy to talk about the project. I’ll get the coffee.”

The project.
Vince followed Rafe to the door leading to the outdoor seating as he considered their options. Matt didn’t think they’d have any problems recruiting several potential subjects, but Vince wasn’t so sure. Once they had a pool of interviewees, the details of the project would most likely eliminate most if not all of the candidates. He honestly didn’t expect any of their plan to work.

“How’s this?” Rafe stopped at a table in the corner away from the other patrons.

“Looks fine.”

They sat across from each other, both setting their computers on the table to check for e-mail responses. Logging into the Wi-Fi connection, Vince opened the account he’d set up specifically for this project. Three e-mails already. His muscles tensed.
Three? Is that good?

“Hey, Vin, you have anything?”

He nodded. “Yeah. How about you?”

Rafe raised his eyebrows. “Eight. As soon as Matt gets here, we’ll cross-reference.”

Eight? Speak of the horny devil.
“We have responses already. Set down the coffee and check your e-mail.”

Half a minute later, Matt laughed and shoved his fingers through his hair. “Holy shit! Twelve people responded to my ad. Wait a minute. ‘Go read a how-to manual’? What the fuck? They aren’t supposed to respond unless they’re interested.”

Vince couldn’t resist a jab. “I told you so. ‘Willing to broaden horizons?’ And using the word ‘experienced’ is like calling a woman a slut. Did you get any that
don’t
tell you to go jack off?”

“Give me a minute.” Matt’s frown changed to a scowl. “One. One woman wants me to answer some questions about myself.”

Rafe snickered. “Read it to us.”

“Whatever.” He took a quick gulp of coffee before he recited the contents of the e-mail. “‘Dear Younger Man, My horizons are fairly broad. How will you make them broader? I like to try new activities and enjoy learning. Are you looking for a teacher or an equal partner? In what areas? I hope to hear from you soon. Experienced Woman.’”

“Hey, that sounds a little like one of mine.” Leaning back in his chair, Rafe moved his computer to his lap. “‘Dear Younger Man, I might be up for an adventure. What do you have in mind? I know how to have fun, exercise regularly, and am well educated. Are you an athlete? What’s your IQ? Tell me about your favorite adventure. I look forward to your response. Explorer Girl.’”

“What’s the e-mail address?” Vince lifted the cup to his mouth, downing a long swallow. Only one of his could possibly match those two.

Rafe’s smile turned into a full-blown grin. “PlayingInTheRaine. Hey, she must have a sense of humor. That’s a point in our favor.”

“Does it match yours, Matt?”

“Yeah. How about yours?”

Vince nodded. “So, we have one candidate. Let’s answer and see what happens. But for God’s sake, don’t scare her off with your responses. The only way this’ll work is if she agrees to meet all three of us.”

“Hold up, Vin.” Matt raised his right hand, palm out. “We had to read ours. I want to hear what she had to say to you.”

With a nod, Rafe gave Vince a kick under the table. “Sounds fair to me.”

Shit.
“Fine. ‘Dear Younger Man, I enjoy the outdoors, appreciate art, and know more math than the average person. Tell me about yourself. What kind of art do you like? What’s the highest mountain you’ve climbed? What’s your sine? Hope to hear from you soon. Hiker Chick.’” Vince braced himself for the childish teasing.

“
What’s your sign?
How cliché can you get? Even
I’ve
never used that line.” Tucking his hair behind his ear again, Matt sighed.

“Yeah, that’s pretty lame. The ‘hiker chick’ bit sounds promising, though.” Rafe closed his laptop, setting it on the table.

“Not sign, you idiots.
Sine.
Like sine, cosine, and tangent. Math humor.” He waited for his cohorts to shoot down their only option. The likelihood of another woman answering all three of their ads was slim.

“Okay, we know she’s at least twenty-nine since she referred to all of us as ‘Younger Man.’” Matt leaned forward, resting his elbows on the edge of the table and rolling his coffee cup between his palms. “She’s brainy, cultured, and adventurous.”

“You’re actually considering her?” Looking back and forth between Matt and Rafe, Vince couldn’t cover his surprise.

Rafe nodded. “Well, yeah. Everybody gets a vote. I say we give her a chance.” He looked at Matt.

“I’m in.”

A weight lifted off Vince’s shoulders. “You both know I want to see if she’ll fit with the project. Thanks, guys. I appreciate it.” Turning his attention to his laptop, he clicked
“
reply
.”
“Let’s impress her enough to want to meet us.”