ISBN: 978-1-60313-296-1
Cover Art: Jinger Heaston
Christmas Dreams
Morgan and Davis have been best friends since they were children and even Davis' move to Maine didn't affect their deep friendship. When Morgan's relationship with her fiancée falls apart, at Davis' urging, she moves to Maine to make a fresh start. She soon realizes that her feelings for Davis run much deeper than friendship.
The Fix-It Man
When Madison meets the new maintenance man, she uncharacteristically tries to seduce him. When her efforts backfire, she thinks she doesn't stand a chance until he comes knocking on her door.
TORRID TEASERS 53: CHRISTMAS DREAMS & THE FIX-IT MAN consists of two short stories about unique couples who find love in the last place they expected. Susan K. Droney presents each story so that readers care about the characters and can easily empathize with their situations.
I genuinely enjoyed the good natured friendship by all the characters in this tale. Morgan and Davis's friendship is apparent right from the start and they seem to genuinely enjoy just being together. Because they've been such good friends for so long they've missed the connection and never made the leap from friends to lovers. CHRISTMAS DREAMS is a fun tale with emotional angst and plenty of Christmas spirit to give hope to hopeless romantics everywhere.
THE FIX-IT MAN What a fun tale! Madison's friends Gwen and Lucy really liven things up with their ongoing discussions about Lucy's sex life and their butting into Madison's lack of one. I loved how the friends interact amongst each other but especially enjoy how they support each other.
Morgan turned up the thermostat the minute she entered her small, but functional apartment. It was freezing outside; the temperature had dropped twenty degrees from the time she had left her office an hour ago and had taken the two buses to her apartment building. She set down her briefcase and purse and walked to the window. The snow was steadily coming down and a brisk wind swirled it around those brave enough to challenge the elements.
She abruptly pulled the blinds, then flicked on the TV, but after twenty minutes of channel surfing and finding nothing but Christmas specials, she turned it off. She’d be glad when the season to be jolly was over. The last two weeks had been agony at the office with everyone full of Christmas cheer. All she had to do was get through the week between Christmas and New Year’s. That one wouldn’t be as bad. Once the new year came everyone would settle back into the familiar routine.
Morgan looked around the apartment making a mental note of the tasks she would complete this weekend. “I suppose the cupboards could use a good cleaning,” she said to her cat Scruffy who had sidled up to her leg purring for his dinner.
Morgan fed Scruffy, then fixed herself some soup and a sandwich. As she ate her solitary dinner, she heard the blaring music from the apartment below and the muffled voices of the inhabitants. “Oh damn. I’m supposed to go to Davis’ party,” she said to Scruffy. She set her dishes in the sink.
Davis Michaels was her best friend. They’d been born and raised in the same neighborhood in Boston. They’d gone from the sandbox, through puberty, high school and college together and had been there for one another when their hearts had been broken. Morgan always felt safe and protected in his arms. She would lean her head against his chest while he gently patted her back and patiently listened as she sobbed over one boy or another. When a girl he’d been dating for two years abruptly broke off the relationship the night before he’d been about to propose, she’d held him all night as he cried like a baby. She knew he’d never shown that side of himself to another human being. What they had was special. Their friendship was as solid as the first day they’d met as toddlers.
Morgan was twenty-eight now and Davis was a year older. Two years ago Davis had gotten fed up with the corporate three-piece suit life and announced to her one night, as they sat together in her apartment drinking wine, that he was going to chuck it all. Even though this abrupt change would be a culture shock on his wallet, he’d found a position as a maintenance man in a large apartment building in Connor’s Cove, Maine. He’d be provided a nice apartment and small paycheck. As he animatedly told her his plans for a more tranquil life, she had sat devastated not wanting to believe that he would be that far away from her. She masked her own sorrow and enthusiastically applauded his decision. Even though she had several close women friends and, of course, her fiancé Thornton Wilder, she still missed seeing Davis several times a week, in the flesh. Talking to him through emails or on the phone wasn’t the same. She’d made a few trips to visit him and had enjoyed the tranquility of Connor’s Cove. All tension seemed to have left his body and she knew he was at peace. She’d chided him a few times about his new reputation as a playboy, and he’d just sheepishly look at her like a little boy who had just been caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
When Thornton called off their engagement, Davis was the first person Morgan called. She was inconsolable. After a few months had passed and she still couldn’t come to terms with the breakup, Davis had persuaded her to move to Connor’s Cove. He found her a job with Linden Textile Company as a computer technician and an apartment in the same building in which he resided.
Davis was truly happy and it showed. Still for Morgan, something was missing from her life. She loved the serenity of Connor’s Cove and her job, but none of the men she met could ignite even a tiny spark in her heart. She’d built her life around Thornton and she couldn’t let go of the plans they’d made for their future. Now he’d be spending that future with someone else. Minutes later she pushed the buzzer to Davis’ apartment. He smiled broadly when he saw her. “I was wondering if I’d have to go upstairs and drag you down here.” He hugged her. “Get your butt in here.”
She eyed the Santa’s hat he wore. “Nice hat,” she said with a smile as she made her way inside the apartment.
The moment she stepped into the room, she was instantly surrounded by Davis’ friends, some she knew and others she didn’t, offering her drinks and food. A pretty brunette led her to a seat at the end of a long sofa.
“I’m just happy you decided to join us,” Lisa said. “Davis was just saying that he was going to find out what was keeping you.”
Morgan glanced at the large diamond ring on Lisa’s finger. “Is that what I think it is?”
Lisa beamed. “Yes, Tony asked me last night!”
“Congratulations!” She hugged her. “This is going to be a great Christmas for you and Tony.”
“We’re driving to Portland to spend the holidays with Tony’s family. I can’t wait to tell them,” she squealed.
Morgan liked Lisa and Tony. Lisa was cute in a perky kind of way; short, and petite with chestnut brown hair. Tony was a tall, handsome, husky, dark-haired man who right now seemed to be the life of the party, judging from the laughter coming from those standing around him.
“Tony’s telling jokes again.” She tossed her pretty head. “Did you know that was one of the first things that attracted me to him?”
“I can see why.” Her eyes traveled from Tony to Davis who was surrounded by a bevy of beautiful women. She wondered if he’d ever settle down. Even though he appeared happy, sometimes she saw a haunting sadness in his eyes which might have gone unnoticed by others but not by her. That was how well she knew him. She supposed he was still dealing with his own heartbreak.
Davis was extremely good looking like one of those men that graced the covers of romance novels. His dark brown eyes with sweeping eyelashes, strong chin and jaw line, dark brown hair, trim body and an engaging personality made him every woman’s dream. He stood six feet two inches tall with broad muscular shoulders and rippling muscles. Even in his corporate life he’d managed to work out at the gym three times a week. She had seen the envy in the eyes of men a few years younger who had let their bodies grow soft when they observed Davis’ abs and biceps.
“We’re having a New Year’s Eve party and hope you’ll come, unless you’ll be out of town for the holidays,” Lisa said.
Morgan turned her attention back to Lisa. “I’m not going anywhere. Davis and I are celebrating the holidays together. Thanks for the invitation; it sounds like fun.”
Tony hurried over to them. “Hey, that’s our song.” He looked at Lisa. “Do you mind?” he asked Morgan.
“No, go ahead. And congratulations, Tony.”
“I’m the luckiest man in the world,” he said, grabbing Lisa’s hand.
Morgan watched them walk to the small section of the living room where the furniture had been pushed aside to make room for dancing. Lisa tightly wrapped her arms around Tony’s neck and his large hands pressed her body close to him. Seeing them brought back memories of dancing with Thornton like that. Why had he so unexpectedly dumped her? She hadn’t seen it coming and consequently was totally blindsided. His excuse was that he wasn’t ready to settle down. He wanted to see other women.
A few months before the breakup she’d been jealous when he stayed late at work several times a week with his new business associate: a tall, leggy blonde whose father just happened to be the major investor in Thornton’s company’s latest venture. His excuse had been that the meetings were only business related, but when Thornton and the blonde started meeting for private drinks and dinners, Morgan should have seen red flags, but she trusted him. She believed that he loved her as much as she did him. Her friends had warned her that maybe his meetings were more than business related, but she refused to believe it. Instead of seeing other women, Thornton and the blonde had become an exclusive couple. Morgan was not only heartbroken, but also humiliated at her naivety. Davis was the only person who could console her. Maybe it was because he’d gone through almost the same thing himself.
A gentle hand touched her shoulder causing her to jump. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you.” Davis laughed.
Morgan grinned up at him. “This is a great party. I’m glad I came.”
“Thanks.” His eyebrows knitted together. “There are a couple of guys interested in getting to know you. What do you think? Are you ready to start dating again?”
She frowned. “I’m sure they’re nice, but I’m just not ready, Davis.”
He nodded. “I figured as much, sweetie, so I let them down gently. But you do look hot tonight. Dressing like that, what do you expect a guy to do?”
She knew she was attractive, but she wasn’t vain. Her blond hair was shoulder length, eyes green and she had a good figure. She was wearing a tight black skirt, pink blouse and heels. “What would I do without you?”
“You’ll never find out,” he said as he pulled her to her feet. “Would you like to dance?”
She smiled, looking at the dance floor. “I don’t think another couple could squeeze in.”
Madison fluffed her hair then peered into the mirror. Satisfied with the results, she quickly turned on her heel. “Where is that maintenance man?” she muttered to herself. “I have to leave in twenty minutes.” She picked up her phone to call maintenance when her doorbell rang. She hurried to the door and flung it open.
“You have a leaky faucet?” a soft-spoken voice asked.
“More like a steady stream. Where’s Joe?” She suspiciously eyed the stranger.
“He retired. I’m the new fix-it man,” he said with a wide toothy smile. “It’s nice to meet you, Apartment 308. I’m Nathan, but you can call me Nate.”
Madison gave him the once-over. He was huskily built with an angular face and his nose looked like it had once been broken. He wasn’t blatantly handsome, but he was attractive with longish jet-black hair and dark eyes.
He adjusted his tool belt. “Let me get to that leak.”
She led him to the bathroom and watched as he examined the faucet.
“This doesn’t look too serious.” He pulled a couple of tools from his tool belt. “If you have to leave, I can let myself out when I’m finished.”
“No, I’ll wait.”
He turned his head slightly. “Suit yourself.”
She wasn’t about to leave a stranger in her apartment. After all, what did she know about him? For the past five years she’d grown accustomed and rather fond of Joe. He was easygoing and she trusted him to let himself in and out of her apartment to complete repairs when she was unable to be home. Nathan would take some getting used to. He didn’t try to engage her in polite conversation so she stood quietly watching him for the next ten minutes.
When he finished, he turned to her with the same wide smile he’d greeted her with. “All finished.”
“Thank you.”
He nodded. “No problem, Mrs.—”
“I’m Madison Jones.”
“If you have any other problems, just let me know.”
She stared after him as he made his way down the hall noticing the slight swagger of his hips and his broad strong shoulders.
A few minutes later, Madison stepped into the elevator behind two of her neighbors. Lucy Allen, occupant of Apartment 310, a young feisty pretty blond was babbling to the woman in 312, Gwen Hopkins a slim stunning brunette.
“He’s so cute!” Lucy squealed.
Madison raised an eyebrow at Gwen.
“Good morning, Madison,” Gwen said. “It seems that Lucy’s infatuated with the new employee at her office.”
Madison smiled. “And I’m sure you can’t wait to give us the details, right?”
She grinned. “Would I ever hold back from my two best friends?”
“Well, sometimes I wish you would…just a little,” Gwen teased. “Have either of you met the new maintenance man?”
“I have. He’s hot!” Lucy swooned.
“As a matter of fact he was just at my apartment fixing a leaky faucet.”
“What did you think of him?” Lucy asked as she checked her makeup in her compact mirror.
“He’s pleasant enough,” Madison replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders.
“Of course you wouldn’t be interested since you’re married,” Lucy said, snapping her compact shut and looking pointedly at Gwen.
“And happily I might add.” Gwen rolled her eyes. “It seems that Lucy’s new co-worker is handy in more areas than just computer repairs. Isn’t that what you were just telling me, Luce?”
Lucy blushed. Her pretty face turned a bright shade of pink. “Hey, I’m free and single.”
“We know,” Madison said with a wink to Gwen. Lucy’s sexual escapades were notorious, at least to Madison and Gwen. She had a voracious sexual appetite and loved sharing the intimate details of her encounters. If they weren’t so fond of Lucy they might have been appalled. But her recreational sex didn’t label her a slut in their minds.
Madison had lived in Tarvan Towers for a year before Gwen and her husband Kyle moved in. Lucy moved in two years ago. Her bubbly friendly personality was what had attracted them to her. Madison lived a solitary life and dated little. Gwen’s free time was spent doting on Kyle unless he was away on a business trip. That’s how she’d first met Gwen. They’d been doing laundry and had begun chatting. When Lucy moved in she knocked on both their doors insisting that she liked to know the neighbors living on either side of her. Ever since the three had become instant friends.
The elevator stopped and the three women stepped off. Lucy continued babbling all the way to the parking garage.
“I swear he was only in the storage room for ten minutes before he was inside me.”
Madison’s face flushed. “Sorry, Luce, but I like to know the man I’m sleeping with.”
“Come on, Maddy, how long has it been since you’ve had any?”
Too long. But Madison wasn’t about to share that fact with Lucy.
Gwen laughed. “I’ve got to get going. I’ll see you two later.”
“I’ve got to get going, too,” Madison said.
“Don’t you want to know why I slept with him so suddenly?” Lucy asked.
“Okay, I admit it’s a record even for you,” Gwen conceded.
“Anyway, I was having a problem with the laptop at work. Somehow a little liquid got spilled on it.” Lucy feigned shock.
“And you, of course, had nothing to do with it, I suppose?” Madison asked.
Lucy frowned. “My elbow may have accidentally bumped my cup of coffee and spilled a few drops on it. So, of course, I asked Carson to take a look at it. He needed something out of the supply room so I went with him since I was almost out of copy paper. I climbed up on the ladder to grab some more copy paper while he was looking for whatever it was he needed.”
“Let me guess,” Gwen added. “You weren’t wearing underwear.”
Lucy giggled. “I haven’t worn any for a week on the off chance I could think of a way to get Carson into the supply room.”
“Lucy, you’re terrible!” Madison said, before she let out with a slight laugh as she tossed her head.
“He’s got this incredibly sexy voice and when he talks to you it’s like he’s caressing your body without touching you. He’s got incredible bedroom eyes and a smile that makes you want his lips on yours. I swear I was dripping the first day I met him. Anyway, he took my hand and helped me off the ladder and before I knew what was happening, I was on all fours and he was mounting me. He’s sooo good.” She sighed. “What a cock! It was the most incredible sex I’ve ever had. I didn’t think I’d ever stop having orgasms. That man certainly knows where the G-spot is.”
“Weren’t you afraid someone would walk in?”
Lucy shrugged. “I never thought about it, but maybe that’s part of what made it so incredible.”
Gwen coughed and then cleared her throat. “I really have to be going or I’ll be late for work. I’ll see you two tonight. “
“I’ve got to go, too,” Lucy announced as she sauntered off swinging her car keys. “Catch you later.”
Madison watched her friends walk to their cars, slip inside, then drive out of the garage. She couldn’t get the erotic image of Lucy and Carson out of her mind. Lucy down on the floor panting like a bitch in heat with Carson behind her ramming his cock inside of her made Madison’s pussy drip.
She unlocked her car, slipped inside, but didn’t start the engine. Her heart pounded and her hands trembled. How could she go to work when her pussy begged for release? There wasn’t time to go back to her apartment. She looked around the almost deserted parking garage as she sucked in her breath. She spread her legs and slid her hand under her skirt and then slipped a finger inside of her panties. She massaged her clit, growing hotter, then climaxing. She drew a shuddering breath and then grabbed a moistened wipe.
Madison leaned back into her sofa, crossed her legs and smiled at Lucy. She loved the nightly get-togethers with her friends. Almost every night the three of them met in one or the other’s apartment even if it was for only a few minutes. Three times a month they took turns cooking dinner and a couple of times went to movies, the theater or dinner.
Madison smiled, listening to Lucy’s recap of her day and sexual escapades with Carson. “How do you manage to get any work done at your office?”
She smiled widely showing off her perfect white teeth. “It pays to be office manager.”
Gwen touched Lucy’s arm. “Lucy, you’re too much! So, have you set your sites on Mr. Fix-It Man yet?”
Lucy tossed her pretty blond head. “As a matter of fact, I do have a couple of minor repairs. He’s fixing them on Saturday.”
Madison got to her feet. “Would either of you like another glass of wine?”
“No thanks, I’ve got to be going. Kyle’s in for a treat tonight,” Gwen said with a knowing smile. “I’ve got a romantic night planned.” She turned to Madison. “We’ve got to find the perfect man for you.”
“I’m capable of finding a man if I want one, but right now I like my freedom.”
“Dating doesn’t mean you have to lose your freedom,” Gwen replied. “Don’t you miss the opposite sex at all? Or is there something you haven’t told us?” she teased.
Madison raised an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”
Lucy’s jaw dropped. “That’s cool, Maddy. I slept with my dorm roommate in college, but it wasn’t for me. It wasn’t terrible or anything, though,” she quickly added. “I just prefer men, that’s all.”
Madison and Gwen burst out laughing.
“What?” Lucy innocently asked.
“She’s joking, sweetie,” Gwen said.
Lucy’s face reddened almost matching her red heels. “Oh, just forget what I said then.”
“You never cease to amaze us, Luce,” Madison replied. “Do you think you’ll ever settle down?”
“I don’t want to be tied down,” Lucy said, “but there’s nothing wrong with a good fuck and Carson certainly is that.” She smacked her lips together.
“Lucy, you don’t know anything about him. Maybe he has a wife or he could have a disease,” Madison cautioned.
She shrugged. “I always use protection and I am selective with who I sleep with. Besides I checked his W4. He’s single. I would never intentionally sleep with a married man.”
“Are you sure he always uses protection?” Gwen asked.
“He puts on a condom. He’s not some scum I picked up off the street.”
“We know that, but we worry about you just the same,” Madison softly said.
“Don’t…I’m careful.”
A soft knock sounded on Madison’s door. “I wonder who that could be?” she said, hurrying to answer it.
Nathan smiled. “I just thought I’d see how the faucet’s doing.”
“It’s fine, thank you.”
His eyes swept past her and settled on Gwen and Lucy. “Evening, ladies.”
“Are we still on for Saturday, Nate?” Lucy asked in a low sultry voice.
Nathan adjusted his tool belt. “I’ll be there,” he answered, then turned his attention back to Madison. “Let me know if you have any further problems.”
Madison noticed his smooth skin and the way his lips curled into a half, almost shy smile. He was much better looking than she’d given him credit for.
“Call me day or night…I mean if you need anything fixed,” he quickly added.
“Thank you, Nathan,” Madison replied, then closed the door. “He’s something else,” she said then laughed as she rejoined her friends. “I never heard of a repairman stopping by to check on his work.”
“Me either.” Lucy pursed her lips.
Gwen studied Madison. She stood with her hands on her hips. “You know what I think? He likes you, Maddy.”
TORRID TEASERS 53: CHRISTMAS DREAMS & THE FIX-IT MAN
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