Total pages in book: 135
Estimated words: 126098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 126098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 630(@200wpm)___ 504(@250wpm)___ 420(@300wpm)
The bedroom door flew open and Sarah darted out. She threw herself at Tex and hugged him. “Oh, it’s so beautiful!” she cried.
The men rounded the women to get a better look at Abby who emerged from the bedroom wearing a red dress that matched the jeweled flower at her throat.
"It's so beautiful!" Sarah proclaimed again. "It's a collar? It doesn't look like it. It's gorgeous!"
Abby laughed. "Well, it's a necklace. Vintage Tiffany's. Unless they know us, no one will know what it means."
Sarah squealed. "It's so perfect for you!" She turned to look at Tex. "Mark, it's...amazing!"
When Slick had calmed down, Tex looked at their friends. "Thanks, you guys. For being cool about it. It means a lot that we don't have to hide."
Hawk chuckled. "Are we gonna have a group hug now? Might lead to an orgy."
"Fuck you," Tex replied, but he was grinning.
Doc put his arm around Abby's shoulders. "Well, aside from Slick, I've never seen a man make a woman so happy. So whatever it is you're doing,” he told Tex, “and I probably don't want to know what it is, but you must be doing it right.”
At the craps table, Hawk laughed. "Now, you're going to be shopping for jewelry," he told Shooter. "You know this, right?"
Shooter rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Nah. Not me. Slick likes panties. Lots and lots of panties. We have weekday panties and weekend panties."
The men laughed. "You mean they have Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday written on them?" asked Hawk.
"No. I mean the weekday panties are just Victoria's Secret. Thirty bucks a pair. Very cute, but no big whoop. The weekend panties she orders online. From Paris. I got excited and tore a pair. That did not go over well. Weekend panties are purely visual aids. Hundred bucks a pair."
Hawk coughed on his beer. "A hundred bucks a pair?"
"I know," Shooter said. "I know. But I figure, I have my bike, she has her panties. And it is sooooo worth it."
"A hundred bucks a pair worth it?" Hawk repeated.
Shooter grinned. "Well, each one comes with it's own little backstory. She's got this french maid thing. A naughty nurse thing. She's even got some frilly little knickers for Princess and the Pirate. Every weekend is like Sexy Halloween. What am I gonna say? No more Sexy Halloween? Yeah, that's not happening. I love Slick's little panties. Plus they make her feel pretty, and that's worth every dime I make."
The men frowned. "You guys talked about maybe plastic surgery?" Doc asked
Shooter nodded. "Yeah, but she doesn't want to spend the money right now or have to be out of work with Maria needing so much help. Later, when things are calmer, we'll discuss it some more. I'm okay with whatever she does. I just want her to feel good about herself."
"Maybe you guys could get a his and her discount," Easy replied, lightening the mood.
Shooter chuckled. "No, my scars are rugged, manly scars that make me more attractive. Or so says Slick."
The girls found them, Slick apparently having lost at the roulette wheel. "What are you talking about?" she asked as everyone got quiet.
Her husband put one arm around her. "Nothing baby. Just...you know...weekend panties," Shooter told her.
Sarah rolled her eyes at him. "Weekend panties?" Abby asked.
Sarah turned to look at her. "He ripped my La Perla's."
Abby gasped. "Part of a set?"
Sarah's eyes narrowed. "Sheer lace balconette bra."
"Brute!" she cried at Shooter. He grimaced contritely.
“I lost,” Sarah announced.
“I told you not to play,” Abby admonished.
“I need more money,” Sarah told Chris. He dutifully fished some bills out of his wallet.
“Don’t cheat,” he warned her.
Sarah stuck her tongue out at her husband, took the cash, and pulled Abby toward the Blackjack tables.
As they sat side by side at a table with two openings, Sarah looked at Abby and a smile crossed her lips.
“What?” Abby asked.
“I was worried, when you two met.”
“Worried?” Abby shook her head. “No. You were right. Tex would never, ever hurt me.”
“No, it was him I was worried about.”
Abby was shocked. “Why?”
Sarah leaned in a lowered her voice. “Well, I’ve known him a while now. And he was always pretty open about the fact that he was...dominant. I tried to be upbeat and positive about it, but he had a laundry list of things he was looking for. I’m not even talking about the kinky stuff. I don’t even know about that part. But he was holding out for an intelligent, independent, sexy woman who could hold her own against him outside of the bedroom, but still be strong enough to wear this,” Sarah said, running a finger along the necklace. “And like I said, I tried to stay positive for his sake, but honestly it seemed like the tiniest sliver of a Venn Diagram, finding a woman who could be both.”