Page 98 of Whirlwind

Charlie stopped listening because that was when the front door opened, revealing Carla’s trim silhouette in the late afternoon sunshine.

Charlie knew exactly what body part she was most attracted to. It was Carla’s gently curving hips under the broad men’s belt he was wearing today. There was just something intoxicating about the contrast, something that kept drawing Charlie’s eyes.

“Today’s not Tuesday,” she heard herself say. That wasn’t at all what she’d meant.

“Nope!” Carla agreed cheerfully. He wasn’t quite a customer, since he ran trivia nights, but he wasn’t quite an employee either. Why he was always lurking around when it wasn’t Tuesday nights was a mystery. “Hey guys,” he waved to the group. “How’s it going?”

He got five different versions of “good.”

“We were just sharing our favorite kinks,” Nina called out.

“Yeah,” Mandy agreed. “Nina was just going to tell us about her foot fetish.”

Carla smirked. “If she told you that was her favorite kink, she’s holding out on you.”

“What do you mean?” Nina responded with mock incredulity. “I’m completely vanilla.”

Everybody laughed.

Charlie smiled, enjoying how comfortable they were teasing each other and talking about things she never would have dared mention when she was young. Some of them she still wasn’t quite comfortable talking about. At least in reference to herself. Kink was for the younger generation.

“Your turn, Carla,” Nina directed.

Charlie stared hard at the napkin she was rolling. It didn’t matter what Carla said. She didn’t care. Carla was way too young for her, and probably wasn’t interested anyway.

She finished the last napkin, though, and looked up automatically. Somehow, Carla was standing right in front of her.

Carla’s crystal green eyes met hers, and she couldn’t look away.

“Hmmm…” Carla drawled out the sound. “I’d probably say rope. It gives me all of the control, but it can be stimulating or relaxing for my partner. It just depends on what they need.”

A shiver went down Charlie’s spine. She could almost feel the ropes... What did that even mean? And why was Carla so close?

Whistles and cheers broke out behind her. Dammit.

“I thought you guys were supposed to be working.” She wasn’t actually annoyed, though she sounded gruff. Hopefully the others knew that. She just needed a bit of space right now. Nothing made any sense.

She lifted the heavy bin and carried it to the kitchen, not looking at anyone else on the way.

“Really slick, Carla.” Nina laughed.

Carla’s laugh rang out like wind on a summer day. “Just wait until it happens to you, babe.”

Charlie could feel herself blushing. Wait until what happened?

She reached the safety of the kitchen.

Whatever it was, she hoped Nina got what she wanted. It was time for that girl to spread her wings.