A Prayer Before Sleeping

Darla started to cover her up, whispering, "Naughty bitch!" The two giggled and Gracie covered up. "If you get tired of her, come find me. I haven't broken a cowboy in a while."

Why did she keep calling me a cowboy? Just because of my boots? You work in a farm and construction equipment store and you're going to wear boots but put me on a horse and I'd be worth less than a dead rat in a tampon factory.

I just hung out in the same spot while Darla cleaned the newly tattooed area, bandaged Gracie up, and ran her credit card. For her part, Gracie made herself presentable to the world outside by buttoning up, tucking her shirt in, and freeing her massive tresses from their restraint. She winked at me as she put her wallet away and slung her purse over her shoulder.

The two gave each other an awkward hug because of the completed work and made empty promises about seeing each other soon. It seemed like they were just friends instead of having an ongoing business connection.

After Gracie had left, Darla came back to her workspace, pulled a portfolio book over her shelf, and started flipping through the pages. She spoke as she flipped, "Thanks for saying what you did. That was her first work, and even though she seems like a total maneater, I know she was nervous inside."

"Well, I didn't exaggerate. It was great work and looked super on her." I almost said, "super hot on her."

"Here." Darla held up a sheet of paper. All I could see was a blank side. She closed the book and put it back in its previous spot. Standing up, she sidled up to me and presented a pencil sketch of a naked guy. It was me from our night tryst.

I looked at her. "Why?" I wanted to ask. Nothing came out. I didn't know what I felt. She nodded at the drawing, "When you nodded off, I just thought you looked like peace incarnate. Whenever I feel the inspiration, I draw." I suddenly became aware of a gentle buzzing to my right. 'Bena for her part had never stopped doing what she was doing and I had tuned her out long ago, but now I was suddenly aware of a lot of things happening around me. I felt weird. Exposed.

She put her hand on my arm, "I didn't mean to overstep. Take it. Burn it if it's a problem."

I took a deep breath and relaxed. I looked at it again. It was a beautiful drawing. Sure-handed lines but with a flowing and gentle touch. It was definitely me but still rough enough to have an abstract feel to it. The figure in the drawing was laying prone, half on his right side and half on his back. His heads and shoulders were on a pillow against what could have been a wall or headboard. His legs were on the bed and bent at the waist and knees like two letter S's placed side-by-side. His limp cock slumped against his right leg and an area of wetness was visible around the tip. Muscles rippled at various spots and the faint texture of hair throughout his body completed the effect. The face and hair were mine. The body didn't seem to be so much.

"Darla, this is beautiful. You...are an incredible artist." I paused.What else was I feeling? "I wish I had your talent. But..." I looked her in the eye. "...this isn't me. I don't look like this."

She smiled, "I draw what I see. What's there..." She motioned to the paper, "...that's what I saw that night." She took my hand and placed the drawing in it and closed my thumb on top of it. "And now it's yours."

I put my arm around her and pulled her to me. She complied and we hugged. "Thank you. I would have never guessed this was what you had in mind from your note." I let her go. "I came over to ask what you did with my phone that night. That really freaked me out for a bit."

"Oh, really? Shit, sorry about that. I was going to just send a text to my phone, so I had your number and then I saw you in the light and went to get my pad and pencil. After that, I thought it would be fun to see how long it took you to find me in your book."

I told her how I had noticed her name. And then I asked her to have dinner with me. That got a snort from the artist still at work.

"Don't mind Verbena, Michael. She's just a cynical bitch that needs to have her box dusted off and cleaned out." Her voice had increased in volume, and she had crept closer as she spoke until her last word was spoken directly into Verbena's ear.

"Fuck off, D." She looked at the door. "Don't worry about the place. I'll close up when I finish with Charlie here. Can you tell my sister that we can leave in 20 minutes?"

Just outside the door, Darla related the message to the friendlier of the two women I had passed on my way in almost 30 minutes earlier. We then walked down the sidewalk in what I assumed to be the direction of her car.

"Got someplace in mind for dinner?" she asked as she fished in her jeans pocket for something.

"How about your place?" I deadpanned at her.

She stopped walking immediately and her face snapped up and around to look me right in the eye. I didn't flinch. Her brow furrowed and she managed to spit out with a sneering disdain, "Well, you move right the fuck along, don't you?"

What the hell had I expected?Yeah, Michael. Gimme gimme. Imma have fun on that dick tonite for realz, yo! I suppose I was encouraged that it was a creative reply and not a "fuck off!"

"Look, Darla, I don't mean anything by it." I held my hands up in mock surrender. "You've told me before you like cutting through the bullshit, so let's see if you were serious about it. The no-bullshit version of this is that we've had good conversations over coffee and a fun romp in bed last week and I wouldn't mind having more of both with you."

I let my arms relax by my sides as I spoke. By the time I had finished my little confession and make-a-wish, I felt perfectly chill, despite her somewhat angry countenance. I'd have been able to handle "fuck yeah" or "fuck off" with equal aplomb at that point.

"So, time together over a few cups of coffee, a BJ, and a sketch and you think that makes you my boyfriend?"

She wasn't angry now, just defiant. The late afternoon sun from behind her caused the edges of her blond hair to glow orange.

I shook my head slightly as I spoke, "Jesus, no. My head's not in a space where I'd be much of a boyfriend to anybody."

She crossed her arms and stared at me unblinking and without speaking for a few seconds. Eventually, she managed an even-toned, and maybe even friendly, "So, 'Friends with benefits' then?"

"I was thinking more like, 'Fuck Buddies,'" I retorted without hesitation.

She snorted and offered with a smirk, "Fucker. You know, it would have been easier and a whole lot more fun if you'd have just kissed me like you wanted to suck out my soul and smacked my ass hard enough I'd still feel it next week."

So I did just that. I went right for her on the sidewalk in front of a busy pizza place and she tore back into me. Our mouths opened to each other immediately as we took turns trying to force our tongues down each other's throats. I tried to crush her body in my arms; she was clutching two handfuls of my hair as if I was a bronco trying to buck her off. I was insane with lust and pushed my stiffening member into her belly.

As soon as I felt her hand squeeze my cockhead, though, I remembered where we were and broke off our kiss immediately. Her eyes blazed fiery lust straight into my soul for a second, but then I spun her around and put a massive uppercut slap onto her right ass cheek. I didn't bother to turn around and look in the restaurant. I could imagine the horrified looks on the parents' faces and the quizzical expressions of the kids too young to know what they were seeing.

"You. Drive. I'll be right behind you," I assured her as I fished my keys out of my pockets and took a deep breath to will my cock into relaxing.

Darla squatted to pick her keys off the concrete. Once she was upright again, I could see her smirk as she retorted, "Yes, sir." There was nothing submissive about the way she had said it -- that was pure snark. She turned to walk toward her car and then started rubbing her ass. She looked back briefly and added with a smile, "Legit hit, stud."

I walked back to my vehicle with a purpose, only pausing to see what she was driving: a dark green 4Runner. Once inside my truck, I started it up, pulled out of my spot, and drove to the parking lot street entrance just in time to see her turn to the right and accelerate into the moderately dense but flowing traffic. I tracked her down the street as I waited a few seconds for an opening. She wasn't waiting for me but I got out into traffic quickly and kept my eye on her SUV. I caught up to her in about a mile. She drove like a maniac which was fine by me because I was ready to fuck. My hard-on just wasn't going to go away until I had her.

-----

It wasn't long after I caught up to her that she turned off the main drag from her shop. I followed her through a few turns down side streets until she pulled up to a gate in front of a group of townhouses. While she pulled through the gate, I found a spot on the street. As I got out of my car, my phone dinged from a text. "6306" was all it read.

Finding 6306 was quick and easy; I only managed a single rap on the front door before it swung wide and I was grabbed by my shirt and yanked inside by a frenzied Darla. Her mouth was on mine in an instant and her hand was on the front of my pants, caressing my stiffening dick.

For my part, I went on the offensive immediately. I stepped forward until I mashed her into the hallway wall. I grabbed her head in my hands and shoved my tongue into her mouth as far as I could. She sucked it greedily. I ground my stiff prick into her hand which was caught between our writhing bodies. I felt her drag her nails down my back like she wanted to flay the skin from me.

She wanted to hurt me and I wanted to hurt her, so I broke off our kiss and spun her quickly where she was facing away from me. Then I pressed her against the wall with my body weight. The action forced the air from her lungs audibly. I roughly moved her hair out of the way so I could take a big bite on the side of her neck. That elicited a loud, erotic moan from her as well as pressure from her ass being pushed into my crotch. That did it for me. I kept her pinned while I unbuckled my belt, unfastened my jeans, and fished my hard cock out.

Since I had her pinned against the wall and was biting her neck, shoulders, and back, she hadn't been able to do much other than hold up the wall. I reached around to unbutton and unzip her jeans.

"Yesssssssss," was all she managed to articulate. I pushed her pants and panties down just far enough that I could get my hard-on up into her. I inserted my middle finger into her to see how wet she was and got another moan in response. The entire area between her legs was coated in her juices. Her pungent aroma hit me as I positioned myself at her entrance.

"Ohhhhhhhh, fuck! Big dick!" she cried out as I sheathed myself within her fully in one firm motion. I grabbed her hips to really work my log deeply into her, which caused her to lose her fucking mind. She slapped the wall with both hands and pushed and bucked her ass into me as she grunted like a wild animal. I'm not sure I was much better as I tried to split her into two halves with my rock-hard prick.

It felt incredible and I wanted to cum, but I couldn't quite get as far into her as I wanted. I took a half step back with her firmly held to my groin and I spun her around until she was bent forward at the waist and holding on to the banister post at the base of the stairs to the second floor. Now that we were turned around, it was rather obvious that the front door was wide open and we were providing a free show to anyone lucky enough to walk by. I continued to work my dick into her juicy pussy with reckless abandon, getting close to unloading a week's worth of jizz into her. She at least had enough wits about her to swing the door closed after the third or fourth attempt to reach it, my less-than-gentle thrusts adversely affecting her aim and perception of depth.

As soon as the door slammed shut, her breathing quickened, her moans stopped, and I felt her body start to convulse. Her orgasm, though quiet, pushed me into mine, too. I roared as I released torrents of spunk into her womb. As the last of the half dozen waves washed over me, I released my death grip around her waist. Two red areas remained from where my hands had been -- excellent handholds for having my way with her. I backed up and let my softening prick slide from inside her. A large wad of my pearly white cum seeped from her cunt and down the inside of her thighs. A contented sigh escaped both our lips simultaneously.

"I needed that," Darla declared as she stood up. I mumbled something incoherent, vaguely interpretable as positive concurrence. She crossed her arms in front of her and pulled her T-shirt off in a single fluid motion. It went flying ten feet through a doorway and landed on her washing machine. She used the banister to steady herself as she worked her panties and jeans off.

"Let's get a DoorDash order going and then we can get cleaned up. Throw your stuff in there and we can get a load going."

The second load tonight, I thought. By the time my clothes flew through the air, too, she had pulled up a nearby Mediterranean place and carted something for her to eat. I threw a gyro wrap into the cart in the time it took for her to fling her bra. I got a chance to admire her tanned breasts that I hadn't gotten a chance to see yet as she placed the order. They were rather full, especially considering her svelte physique, and sat high on her chest. Her nipples and areola were smallish and burgundy colored.

She made no effort to hide herself from me as she moved everything into the washer and started a cycle going. I just leaned against the door frame and watched her as she worked. Once she had finished, she straightened up, put her fists on her hips, and grinned at me, "Time for a shower!"

I followed her down the hall, through a modest guest room, and into the adjoining bathroom. She turned on the light and then started the shower running.

She pointed behind the door, speaking loud enough to be heard over the water, "There's a clean towel and robe for you. When you're done, come upstairs. You can grab whatever you want to drink from the fridge and find something to watch if I'm not done by then."

I know I had a quizzical expression on my face. "You're not going to join me?"

She just threw her head back and guffawed in my face. "Save your energy, stud," was all I got before she was gone and literally closed the door between us.

I took a brief but hot shower and scrubbed all my bits and bobs clean with the soap and fresh washcloth I found at the ready. I took a hack at drying off, but I really only focused on my hair as I knew the rest would dry off eventually under the lightweight cotton robe she left for me. I threw it on and tied a shoestring knot in the sash as I headed upstairs.

The second floor was just a big open space with a kitchen, breakfast nook, and living area. All the lights were on, and the large TV was making low sounds of something I couldn't see well. Checking out the fridge, it was packed with various beers and a ton of takeout or delivery boxes. Ok, so it appeared that Darla wasn't much of a chef. I grabbed something that said, "stout" on the label with a twist-off cap. I flipped the cap onto the counter of the kitchen island as I passed by on my way to the comfy-looking, cream-colored couch. PLOP! I stretched out and just nursed my beer as I stared at the ceiling and thought about nothing in particular.

I was probably two minutes into my reverie when the doorbell rang.Food's here! I guess it's my job to grab it. I heard the car speed away as I got to the base of the stairs. By the time I got the door unlocked and open, the driver was long gone but the precious goody sack was waiting coquettishly for me to whisk her upstairs and enjoy her hidden secrets.

As I started to ascend the stairs for the second time of the evening, Darla popped her head over the rail, "My app just dinged. Was it down there?"

I held up the bag. "Yup and it actually smells Mediterranean-y to me."

"It doesn't matter," she commented as she disappeared from the banister overhead. "I'm so hungry, I'm going to eat whatever is in there."

I reached the top of the stairs and followed her swinging bottom into the living area. It was clad in a pair of full coverage, low-rise white sheer pair of panties. Her torso was covered by an oversized pink shirt that only covered one shoulder at a time and almost managed enough length to reach her belly button. It made her look super cute. Her hair was gathered high on the back of her head, completing the look of her being ready for a high school sleepover.

On the coffee table between the couch and TV, Darla already had plates, napkins, and flatware for us as well as my beer and a Monster for her. We unpacked the food and bumped into each other trying to get the food plated. She sat on the floor next to the table and I followed her lead, but on the opposite side so we could see each other easily as we ate and talked.

She dove right into her food and was chewing a mouthful of shawarma by the time I cheekily warbled out a blaspheming blessing, "Rub-a-dub-dub. Thanks for the grub. Yay, God!"

She tried to stifle her laughter, but it caused her to choke a little before she managed to swallow her mouthful. "A religious man, are you?"

"Of a sort." I managed a smile. I felt very mischievous at that moment. "Maybe I'll show you more of that side of me later." The religion I had in mind for here certainly wasn't taught from the Baltimore Catechism, that's for sure.

I took a bite of my wrap, and she swapped a few items from our plates. "Here, try some of mine. This is too much food for me."

I nodded, having a mouthful of food, preventing me from articulating much. I kept chewing deliberately while she eyed me in silence. And with a little mirth, apparently. I wondered if she enjoyed seeing me struggling.

After I managed to work through my way-too-large of a bite, I got us on a path that had been of interest since I pulled up to her workplace. "That shop -- how long have you worked there?"

I started the question as she was taking a pull from her drink. After setting the can back on the table between us, a more serious expression fell over her face as she spoke, "I bought it three years ago from the original owner and finished paying it off late last year."

Impressive. She owned it. My thoughts switched to the "Athena" and then to my being the only Y-chromosomer in the vicinity. "So, is it a women-only place?"

"Not exclusively, but mostly, I guess. I liked the idea of a space for women to feel safe and comfortable in, so that's become our main clientele since I took it on.

"But we've done work on gay guys, and then plenty of hetero guys come in to support their girlfriends or wives when they have work done."

Then my thoughts came back to the drawing.Boy, my mind was shifting like a roomful of cats tonight. "How did you get into tattooing in the first place? No doubt you're an incredible artist, but this isn't the first outlet that I'd expect you to devote your talents to."

"You know the usual: an old boyfriend, of course. A guy in my art classes was covered in tattoos and it wasn't long before we hooked up. He was gorgeous and I was wild back then -- you'd have loved me." She giggled somewhat throatily and continued without pause, "I went with him when he had work done and even got the few you see on me now. But from that first visit, I became obsessed with the artistry and the beauty of work on skin. I dumped him within a few months but kept the shop. I apprenticed there when I dropped out of art school."