Maybe she should cut her hair off short, die it black and see if that changed her dating luck. She shook her head and wondered if her friends would believe her if she faked illness and skipped lunch. Whatever Amy had cooking up was likely to be crazy, crazy, crazy.
Well, what was wrong with crazy? She’d tried responsible and respectable, and look where that had gotten her. Twenty-nine with a job she realized she didn’t like and no prospects for happily ever after.
With a deep breath she headed down to the lobby to meet her friends.
A few minutes later, they seated themselves at one of the outdoor tables at Café by the Bay. It was a beautiful spring day in Virginia with the sun reflecting off the blue water of Chesapeake Bay. It was almost enough to make Erin forget the site of Adam humping that skinny girl like a dog. For a moment, she wondered what that was like, having a guy jackhammering into him from behind.
Good grief, what was she thinking? Thank goodness it was warm outside and she could blame the heat in her cheeks on the sun.
After they placed their orders, Amy pulled what looked like a brochure from her purse and slid forward in her seat. "Do you believe in fate?" she asked Erin.
"Ugh, I don’t know."
"Well, I do," Amy said. "Because a friend of mine from when I lived in California has a business that I think is perfect for you right now." She slid the brochure across the table.
Erin picked it up and admired the scenic shot of mountains and cowboys on horseback. A gold belt buckle label was overlayed with the words Pleasure Ridge Ranch. "What is this, a dude ranch?" She took a drink of her iced tea, but that proved a bad idea when she opened the brochure and saw some of the pictures inside. Scenic landscapes they were not. She choked on her tea and nearly shot it out her nose.
Hillary grabbed the brochure. "Well, hello there," she said with appreciation. "Now that’s my kind of dude ranch."
Amy snatched the brochure out of her hands and gave it back to Erin. Pictures of bare-chested cowboys, couples in bed obviously enjoying themselves and a silhouette of naked figures in a steamy shower stared up at Erin. She could almost hear the moaning and panting as the couples hurried toward climaxes. She squirmed in her seat.
"What is this place?"
"A place where your every wish and desire can be fulfilled," Amy said.
Erin spotted those exact words on the brochure, the motto of the Pleasure Ridge Ranch, evidently.
"You said you wanted to buy the perfect guy, and you can." Amy took a sip of her own tea and waggled her eyebrows.
Erin closed the brochure and leaned forward after checking that no one was close enough at the neighboring tables to hear her. "You’re telling me I should get myself a man-whore?"
"Only if you want to. If you read the brochure, you’ll see that sex doesn’t have to be part of the package. You can go all romance if you want to, candlelit dinners and such, but man, why would you want to? Did you see those guys in the pictures?"
"Kind of hard to miss them." In fact, she was a little surprised to realize there was text in the brochure. How was anyone supposed to be able to read the package options when the cowboys’, uh, packages were demanding attention? "I can’t go some place like this."
"Why not?"
"Because it’s...wrong."
"There you go, being the little goody girl again," Amy said. "Have you ever done something naughty just because it felt good? Don’t you think you deserve some real pleasure with no strings attached? Hell, guys do it all the time."
A little voice in the back of Erin’s head whispered that Amy was right. For twenty-nine years she’d done what was right, what was expected. What would it feel like to just toss responsibility out the window and go on pure animal instinct? Could she allow herself to find out?
"I think you should go," Hillary said. "You can always just ogle the hot cowboys and let your imagination go wild."
"Or more," Amy said, a wicked
Well, what was wrong with crazy? She’d tried responsible and respectable, and look where that had gotten her. Twenty-nine with a job she realized she didn’t like and no prospects for happily ever after.
With a deep breath she headed down to the lobby to meet her friends.
A few minutes later, they seated themselves at one of the outdoor tables at Café by the Bay. It was a beautiful spring day in Virginia with the sun reflecting off the blue water of Chesapeake Bay. It was almost enough to make Erin forget the site of Adam humping that skinny girl like a dog. For a moment, she wondered what that was like, having a guy jackhammering into him from behind.
Good grief, what was she thinking? Thank goodness it was warm outside and she could blame the heat in her cheeks on the sun.
After they placed their orders, Amy pulled what looked like a brochure from her purse and slid forward in her seat. "Do you believe in fate?" she asked Erin.
"Ugh, I don’t know."
"Well, I do," Amy said. "Because a friend of mine from when I lived in California has a business that I think is perfect for you right now." She slid the brochure across the table.
Erin picked it up and admired the scenic shot of mountains and cowboys on horseback. A gold belt buckle label was overlayed with the words Pleasure Ridge Ranch. "What is this, a dude ranch?" She took a drink of her iced tea, but that proved a bad idea when she opened the brochure and saw some of the pictures inside. Scenic landscapes they were not. She choked on her tea and nearly shot it out her nose.
Hillary grabbed the brochure. "Well, hello there," she said with appreciation. "Now that’s my kind of dude ranch."
Amy snatched the brochure out of her hands and gave it back to Erin. Pictures of bare-chested cowboys, couples in bed obviously enjoying themselves and a silhouette of naked figures in a steamy shower stared up at Erin. She could almost hear the moaning and panting as the couples hurried toward climaxes. She squirmed in her seat.
"What is this place?"
"A place where your every wish and desire can be fulfilled," Amy said.
Erin spotted those exact words on the brochure, the motto of the Pleasure Ridge Ranch, evidently.
"You said you wanted to buy the perfect guy, and you can." Amy took a sip of her own tea and waggled her eyebrows.
Erin closed the brochure and leaned forward after checking that no one was close enough at the neighboring tables to hear her. "You’re telling me I should get myself a man-whore?"
"Only if you want to. If you read the brochure, you’ll see that sex doesn’t have to be part of the package. You can go all romance if you want to, candlelit dinners and such, but man, why would you want to? Did you see those guys in the pictures?"
"Kind of hard to miss them." In fact, she was a little surprised to realize there was text in the brochure. How was anyone supposed to be able to read the package options when the cowboys’, uh, packages were demanding attention? "I can’t go some place like this."
"Why not?"
"Because it’s...wrong."
"There you go, being the little goody girl again," Amy said. "Have you ever done something naughty just because it felt good? Don’t you think you deserve some real pleasure with no strings attached? Hell, guys do it all the time."
A little voice in the back of Erin’s head whispered that Amy was right. For twenty-nine years she’d done what was right, what was expected. What would it feel like to just toss responsibility out the window and go on pure animal instinct? Could she allow herself to find out?
"I think you should go," Hillary said. "You can always just ogle the hot cowboys and let your imagination go wild."
"Or more," Amy said, a wicked
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