A Girl's Best Friend

Maria was alone in her apartment, playing tug of war with her dog, Buddy, using an old rope toy. Buddy was an an Afgan Hound with long, silky fur that hung from his head like he was a supermodel. Maria had envied her dog's hair ever since it grew out when he was a pup. Her hair was messy and frizzy, so she always kept it short.

Maria's roommate, Maggie, walked in. "Don't forget that you owe me dinner tonight."

"Right," said Maria. "Thanks for making that stir fry that last night. I got an A on my test from all the extra studying, by the way."

"Another A, girlboss?" said Maggie. "Goals!" She walked into the bedroom. Maria tried to think of something to make for dinner but her mind was on something else. She kept glancing at an elegant yellow dress wrapped in dry cleaning plastic, hanging in the corner.

For a split second, the light over the oven became blindingly bright, then it made a loud popping sound and went dead.

Maggie came out of her room. "What was that?"

Maria stirred the pasta. "It was just one of the light bulbs. The little spotlight kind. They burn out after a couple years."

"Oh, good," said Maggie. "I thought that maybe something had caught on fire. I would have grabbed your dress and got the fuck outta here!"

Maria looked at Maggie. "You really would have saved my dress? You're so sweet!"

"You've got a dance to go to, girl! Home Coming only happens once a year and this is your last semester."

Maria sighed and shook her head. "Oh, Maggie. This whole thing is so stupid. This is college, not high school. Nobody does this. There's, like, forty thousand students at this school and only a dozen people go to the dance."

"Yeah, but everyone that does go is going to be checking you out because you'll look A. MAZ. ING!" Maggie draped the dress in front of her own body without taking it off the hook.

Maria blushed. She didn't go to prom when she was in high school and she hadn't ever had a real boyfriend until now. A month ago, she and Ryan had a "define-the-relationship" talk over coffee. Maria's heart jumped inside when Ryan admitted that he, technically, could be called her boyfriend. She begged him to take her to the university's Homecoming dance later that month. It was a fulfillment of a dream she had had since she was a teenager--to dance in a ballroom with a tall, handsome gentleman.

"And," she thought, "it would be the perfect time to sleep with Ryan for the first time." Maria wasn't a virgin, but she didn't feel like she had ever had "romantic sex" before. She thought that this time would be special. She had dipped into her savings to book a room at a nice hotel downtown. She imagined slowly taking off his tuxedo while he showered her with kisses.

"Maggie," said Maria. "I'm so horny for Ryan. I'm going to fuck...him...dry!"

"Hell yeah!" said Maggie. The two girls high fived each other and giggled uncontrolably.

Maria's phone vibrated in her pocket. It was a text from Ryan.

-Hey, Babe, it's not working. I'm out. You can keep my sweater.

There was a long moment when the message didn't seem to transmit to Maria's brain. Then, it hit her. "What the FUCK!" she shouted.

She showed the text to Maggie. The two women held each other tightly. Tears flowed from their eyes like a cold rain in November.

"That fucking fucker!" said Maggie. "What kind of shithead breaks up over a text? And only three days before your dance?"

Maria sobbed a little more, then caught her breath. "I don't know...this is so...fucking..."

Maggie let go of her, then said, "You know what you need. Alcohol!"

Maggie stopped abruptly and grinned widely. "No! Even better. ICE CREAM!"

They dumped the pasta in the trash and drove to Cold Stone Creamery. Each of them had a triple serving with lots of chocolate. They ate. They cried. They ate again. They almost threw up. They waited until the store closed at 11 p.m., then they drove home.

"We're going to be hung over, tomorrow," joked Maggie.

Maria still felt heartbroken in the morning. She didn't have classes on Thursday mornings, so she decided to visit her Italian Grandma who lived nearby. She brought Buddy with her.

Maria let herself in. "Nonnina! It's me, Maria!"

An elderly woman came in from the back of the house. "Maria! Have you come to do laundry?"

She looked up at her grandmother "No, Nonna," said Maria. "I want to ask if I can have a cappuccino with you."

"Uh oh," she said, pulling out her coffee machine. "Tell me what happened."

Maria told her grandma everything while they prepared and drank their coffee. She even told her grandma how she had booked a hotel room to have a special night with Ryan. While they talked, Buddy played with a ball on the floor. Music was playing on an Alexa speaker in the kitchen.

"Maria cara," grandmother said. "I'm so sorry! And all this right before your big dance?"

As her grandmother hugged her, Maria noticed an old black-and-white photo on the wall. It showed Grandma when she was much younger along with Grandpa, Maria's mother when she was a baby, and a border collie sitting in Grandma's lap.

"Nonnina, Mom told me a few months ago that Nonno is her step-father, not her biological father. Is that true."

Grandma replied solemnly. "Yes."

"Can you tell me about my real grandpa?"

Grandma paused. She looked at the old photo on the wall, then down to the floor..

"I loved him more than I loved my own life. He was always there to cheer me up. We were so poor after the war. We knew each ithet since i was a little girl. He was the only one i could always trust to always love me. But..." she paused "...we could never be together. It was impossible."

Maria forced herself to smile to fight back a tear. "Oh, Nonnina! Your heart was broken even worse than mine!"

Grandma looked at Maria in the eyes and said, "Nipotina, it's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all."

Grandmother paused. She looked like she was trying to make a decision.

A new song played on the speaker. "Oh, I love this song. Twist and Shout!" Maria stood up and started dancing.

Grandma laughed and watched her youthful granddaughter dance on one foot up, twisting up and down. Buddy came running in the room and Maria grabbed him by the front paws like he was her dance partner. Even Grandma danced off to the side. They didn't stop till the song was over.

"Oh! I need to drink coffee more often," said Grandma.

"Nonna, you already have, like, six cups a day!"

They both laughed and Maria fell on the floor to wrestle with Buddy. Grandma stepped out of the room and returned after just a minute.

"I'd like for you to have this...but only until Saturday," said Grandma. She was holding a small brass figurine of two wolves. It had a loop on one end so that it could be clipped to a necklace.

"What's this?" Asked Maria.

"It's an heirloom that has been passed down in our family for centuries. It's a figure of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome."

"But, they're wolves?"

"Raised by wolves," said grandmother in a surprisingly mysterious tone. "And, sometimes transformed, back and forth, from wolf to man."

"Cool!" said Maria.

Grandma clipped the figurine to Buddy's collar.

"I want you to do as I say, exactly," said Grandma. "And dont tell anyone about what you see. Leave the figure on Buddy's collar on Friday night. After the sun sets, take him for a walk in the moonlight, somewhere where no one will see you. Then, I promise you, by the grazia di Santa Maria, you'll have a date for the dance."

Maria furled her eyebrows. "Okay, that's weird..."

"Maria, I'm not joking. This is important. It's something that only happens once in a generation! Do it, and give the figure back to me on Saturday."

Maria clipped the figure to Buddy's collar. "Sure, Nonnina."

Friday night came. Maria and Maggie decided watch a sappy chick flick and eat popcorn. At 8 o'clock, Maria's cell phone rang.

"Maria, it's Nonna," said Grandma. "It's time for you to walk your dog."

"Oh, right. But I already took him out this afternoon."

"Do it again. Take him to the back alley behind your apartment."

Maria said she would do it and said goodbye. "I'm sorry, Maggie, but my crazy Italian grandma wants me to do this weird dog ritual."

"Oh, yeah, my grandma is always trying to get me to do that, too. Can I come with you?"

The two girls leashed up the dog and brought him to the alley behind the apartment building. "It's kind of spooky," said Maggie.

The sky was cloudy, but then the clouds parted and the full moon shone brightly enough to cast shadows on the dirt road. Buddy's body started to glow softly, like the light of the moon.

"What the f...?" said Maggie.

Buddy's body grew brighter until he was just a blob of light. That blob increased in size and rose from the ground until it was taller than both Maggie and Maria. Then, the light faded.

For once in her life, Maggie was speechless. A man stood before them, a NAKED man, over six feet tall, with silky blonde hair that went halfway down his back. His chest muscles were large, his abs were flat and toned, and he stood with his legs outstretched, totally unembarrased that his long, thick penis was exposed and hanging promentently in the moonlight.

The girls took a deep breath. "Buddy?" asked Maria.

"Yes, that's who I am," said Buddy politely in a British accent. "At your service."

"He's British?" said Maggie.

"He's naked!" said Maria. "Where are we going to find him some clothes?"

Maria decided to pull her car around to the alley so that Buddy could sit inside while they figured out something for him to wear. Maggie decided to stay to "stand watch".

When Maria climbed in the car, she discovered her grandpa's Italian suit was hanging in the back, fresh from the dry cleaners.

"Nonnina!" shouted Maria in the car. She drove around to the alley and Maggie and Buddy climbed in. Maggie helped Buddy get his clothes on. "No underwear, guess he's going commando tonight," said Maggie.

Once he had pants and a shirt on, they took him to their apartment.

"Maggie, Maggie, Maggie!" said Maria. "My dog! He's..."

"A hunk?" said Maggie.

"What are we going to do with him?" asked Maria.

"You're going to the Homecoming Ball with him. I'm going to watch."

"But, Maggie, he's my DOG!"

"If I may offer some helpful advice," said Buddy. "I would like to point out that I am not a dog. I am a man. And I love dancing."

Buddy found a hair scrunchie and put his long, straight hair in a pony tail. He had already finished tying his patent leather shoes, putting on his tie, and buttoning his vest. He finished the ensemble by swinging his jacket over his head, slipping the arms in the sleeves, and buttoning the front.

"God, he looks like a GQ cover!" said Maggie.

Buddy walked to Maria and held her little hand between his two large hands. "Madam, I would very much enjoy the opportunity of accompanying you to the ball this evening."

Maria's heart skipped a beat. Maggie's jaw dropped. Maria didn't know what to do, so she curtsied.

"Did you just curtsy?" laughed Maggie.

Maria excused herself to change into her dress in the bedroom. When she returned, Maggie was feeling the muscles on Buddy's arms.

"Maria, his biceps are huge!".

Maria stepped out from behind the door in her yellow dress. It had long sleeves and an ankle-length skirt. The bust was covered in a shear material so that you could see her cleavage. She did her hair up with a special hair piece that clipped in and made her hair look longer and more elegant.

"Maria!" said Buddy. "You look pulchritudinous!"

Maggie out her hands to her heart and silently mouthed the word "pulchritudinous".

Maria stared at Buddy. He was so handsome. She couldn't believe what was happening.

Maggie drove them to the ball and waited out in the car. The ballroom was elegantly decorated and a live ensemble of stringed instruments played soft music.

"Madam Maria," said Buddy. "If you would do me the pleasure."

They stepped onto the dance floor and Buddy took the lead. With sweeping, graceful steps, they danced like a prince and princess in a Disney movie. Maria's heart fluttered when he spun her and lifted her when the music swelled. At the end of the song, he dipped her and kissed her.

There was a loud uproar all around them. Maria looked around. Everyone was cheering for them. "That was amazing," said a woman next to them. "Are you on the ballroom dance team?"

Maria realized that all of the women were stealing glances at Buddy. He was the most attractive man on the dance floor. A modern, recorded song started playing while the live musicians took a break. Everyone stopped their fancy ballroom dances and held each other for a slow, tender shuffle.

Maria buried her face in Buddy's chest and they rocked side to side slowly. "This is wonderful," she said.

"Yes, Maria, it is. I love you."

Maria looked at him, "But, we just met?"

"I've known you for ten years," said Buddy. "And I've loved you the whole time."

Maria stared into his brown eyes that glistened it the sparkling lights. "Oh, Buddy, I love you, too." He tilted his head forward and they kissed. Maria melted in his arms. He held her up.

"Maria, what would you like to do after this dance?"

Maria paused, sheepishly "I...don't know. We could, maybe, go somewhere...alone?"

"That sounds like a grand idea."

They left the ballroom out the back entrance. Maria didn't want Maggie to see them. But, she he had to tell Maggie something so she didn't keep waiting. She decided to lie. She sent her a text message:

-Maggie, I'm going to take Buddy to grandma's to try to reverse the spell. You can go home. Don't wait up for me.

Maggie replied with a text message full of kissing emojis, lingerie, wine glasses, and every other erotic emoji she could find.

"Fuck, I hate that girl." Maria thought. She typed her a text:

-Love you! See you tomorrow.

The taxi took them to the hotel and Maria checked in. With the key card in hand, they took the elevator to the top floor. When they reached the room, Buddy picked Maria up in his arms and carried her through the door.

He set her on the bed. Maria was beaming with excitement. Buddy removed his jacket and loosened his tie. "Madam Maria, if you would allow me..." He gently removed her shoes and reached up her skirt to take off her knee-high stockings.

When he was finished, Maria leaned forward and kissed him, crossing her arms behind his head. She pulled his face to her breasts, but the shear fabric blocked him from touching her skin.

He pulled her up and unzipped her dress from the back. She let it slip off her shoulders and fall to the floor. She was standing in her white bra and panties.

Maria unbuttoned Buddy's vest and loosened his belt. They let all his clothes fall to the floor except for his shirt. Maria remembered that he was "going commando tonight." His cock was long and erect, like a soldier standing at attention.

He held her around the waist and kissed her again. She wanted to feel his cock against her pussy. She slipped off her panties and pulled him on top of her on the bed. When his manhood pressed against her clitoris, it sent shivers of electricity through her body.

He unclasped her bra and she unbuttoned his shirt. They held each other totally naked in the bed, kissing each other passionately and rolling over. Each one of them seemed to want to be on top. His muscles were so big and firm. He tossed her around like a doll, but she reined him in like she was riding a horse.

He began to kiss and suck her breasts. "Oh, fuck, that feels good!" said Maria. His tongue was so pleasant on her nipples.

Buddy curled his body so that he could hump her vulva while he simultaneously sucked her tits. He was rubbing her clit just right. Her whole body felt tingly.

"Don't stop!" she said. The climax built up in her, then released like a dam breaking open. Her whole body trembled in pleasure. For a moment, she forgot who she was, who she was with, and what she was doing.

"Oh, right," she thought nonchalantly. "I'm having sex with Buddy."

Maria turned over and got on her hands and knees on the bed. "Fuck me like this," she said.

He came behind her and guided his fat cock to her pussy. He was bigger than she had ever experienced, but it didn't hurt because she was so turned on and her pussy was so open and wet. He rocked his cock back and forth gently inside her. He must have been pressing her G-spot, because it felt so good. Both of them moaned for several minutes.

"Maria," whispered Buddy. "I'm about to reach a climax. What would you like me to do?"

Maria threw caution to the wind. "Cum inside me. I love you!"

"I love you, too, Maria." He thrust her harder and faster. Maria's pussy opened wider and dripped in anticipation. At last, his cock started pulsing inside of her and she felt a rush of warm cum fill all the spaces in her vagina.

Maria pulled away and turned over to face her lover. "Good boy," she said with a gushing smile.

He started licking the cum from her pussy with his long, firm tongue. Every time he went over her clitoris, Maria swooned in pleasure. Within a hot minute, she had the most powerful orgasm she had ever experienced-- even stronger she had had earlier when Buddy was kissing her breasts.

Buddy seemed to have limitless energy. He alternated between fucking her pussy and licking her clitoris until she had orgasmed four times. At last, she asked him to stop because her pussy was feeling numb.

They laid in the bed together, naked, and neither said a word. Buddy turned out the light and, eventually, they both fell asleep.

In the morning, Maria awoke. There was no man in her room anymore. Only a beautiful Afghan hound with long, blonde hair.