the
blame on Josh. Hence the name, 'ass hat'. After all, there is only so much
celibacy one woman can take. And he was gorgeous. She couldn't really be blamed
for a natural physical response to a stunning male's touch. Pent up lust did
crazy things to a person. No, not lust... lust implied some sort of feeling for
Josh specifically, and that just wasn't the case. Couldn't be the case. It was
just plain horniness and he'd had good timing. Or rather... bad timing.
So, since she had decided to join a gym anyway, she figured
that she could also find herself some nice eye candy, and possibly even a new
'friend'. Or, just some easy sex. She didn't want husband material, just
someone casual and fun to hang out with sometimes, and enough chemistry to make
it enjoyable. If she were being honest with herself, she just wanted someone to
replace Josh in the, now almost constant, erotic dreams she was having.
Unfortunately, no luck so far, but she was going to keep trying.
On the plus side, she had managed to find a new tattoo
artist in the last few weeks. He was definitely easy on the eyes, as well, if
you liked the dark hair, goatee, very buff, inked up type. Aaron, the new
artist, was funny, sarcastic, and great company to have in the shop. If
business kept increasing, she would even bring him in on a more full time
basis. His work was terrific and the customers seemed to love him as well.
Gia had even gone out with him a couple times after work.
They got along really well, yet as gorgeous as he was, there was nothing there.
No sparks at all. However, since he was willing to man the shop tonight, she
was going to change up her routine and go to the gym this evening, rather than
in the morning. Maybe, with a different crowd, she could find someone that
might at least intrigue her enough to flirt with. And, with any luck, she could
burn off this bout of cranky she seemed stuck in.
"Hey Aaron, if you've got everything here, I'm going to
run out to the gym for awhile. I'll be back in an hour or two."
"Sure thing, boss. I've gotcha covered."
Aaron, looked up from his drawing and let out a wolf
whistle. Gia was dressed for working out in a spandex tank sports bra and yoga
pants. She looked down at herself, then back up at Aaron and laughed.
"Yeah, okay. Thanks for the confidence boost. I'll be back in a bit."
She shook her head as she walked to her jeep, wishing she
could feel even the littlest bit of attraction to him. Unfortunately, though
she could list his attributes, and even appreciate the package as a whole,
there was just no chemistry. Oh well, maybe tonight!
* * * *
As Josh finally got his luggage, he turned and trudged
outside, never so glad to see the town car as he was right now. He always hired
a driver to take him to and from the airport. He hated leaving his car in the
long term parking. The driver opened the door for him and he slid into the
seat, feeling bone weary.
Melbourne, Australia was seventeen hours ahead of
Sacramento, which meant that he was now seventeen hours behind. He should be
feeling wide awake at eight o'clock since it was only about one in the
afternoon according to his body. Unfortunately he hadn't slept much in the last
few weeks, and he hadn't slept at all last night.
After his night with Gia, he had immediately called Deb.
She'd come over the next night, and a simple conversation had ended their
engagement. Not too surprisingly, she had felt the same lack of enthusiasm he'd
been feeling. He was a little more restless about it than she was, but even she
admitted that their relationship had gotten stale, and wasn't it a blessing
they had discovered this before they had gotten married and not after. Even
their break up had been relatively peaceful and emotionless. Somehow he found
that more disturbing than tears would've been.
After they'd talked, they'd immediately gone and told their
respective parents that it was over. Standing together, to display a united
front, they had diligently explained
Alys Arden
Claude Lalumiere
Chris Bradford
Capri Montgomery
A. J. Jacobs
John Pearson
J.C. Burke
Charlie Brooker
Kristina Ludwig
Laura Buzo