Writer's Conference

"Oh my god, I just loved reading Miriam's Magic," Rachel said as she spoke to her favorite author, standing in front of the table behind which he sat. "I can't wait to read Diana's Hope."

Rudi smiled as he finished signing the copy of his latest novel for his gushing fan. "Well, I hope you enjoy Diana's Hope just as much. Thank you so much for reading my work and it was such a pleasure meeting you, Rachel."

"Oh my god, it's my pleasure," Rachel said as she received her book from Rudi.

"And, what's your name, sir?" Rudi asked the trembling young, effeminate man standing next to Rachel.

"Uh... my name? Umm..." The young man then shook his head and said, "Keith. My name is Keith."

Barbara - the author sharing with Rudi one of the four book signing tables set up in the lobby of a posh downtown hotel - grinned as she watched the scene unfold.

"Keith, it's very nice to meet you," Rudi said. "Did you get a chance to read Miriam's Magic?"

Keith's eyes grew as he said, "Uh... only about 12 times." Rudi chuckled as Rachel nudged her friend. Keith then said, "OK, only three or four times. But it was great. One of my favorite books of all-time. But I feel that way about all of your books. Well, not Diana's Hope. Not yet, anyway. But I will. I'm sure I will..."

Rudi finished signing Keith's copy of the book and handed it to him. "Keith. You are obviously a big fan of my work, and..."

"The biggest!" Keith said, interrupting Rudi.

Rudi, wearing a big smile, nodded as he continued, "Well, you can't know what that means to me. Seriously. People like you are who I write for. Take care and thank you so much for supporting my work."

"Oh... It's my... you're just such a great..." Keith spoke while clutching his signed copy of Diana's Hope.

A grinning Rachel tugged at her friend. "Come on, Keith," she said before looking at Rudi and saying, "Thank you so much. This was amazing."

As Rachel pulled him away from the book signing table, Keith said, "You're great. You're so great. Thank you!"

Barbara shook her head. "You've got some dedicated..."

"Sshhh," Rudi said as he watched his two fans turn and walk away.

"Oh my god! He's so great!" Keith said.

"I know, right?" Rachel said as their voices trailed off.

"I can't believe he actually touched the book I'm holding... " Keith said as they exited the lobby.

Rudi then turned toward Barbara. "I love hearing what fans have to say about me as they're leaving."

Barbara laughed. "You're as bad as they are."

Rudi nodded. "Yep."

Rachel and Keith were among the last trickle of fans that had made their way to the almost completed event. Barbara compared her much larger remaining stacks of books to Rudi's dwindling supply as she said, "I had to sit next to you. You know you're making me look bad."

"We both had quite a few people come by today," Rudi said with a grin. "Besides, the secret is to start with a larger stack and then pull some books off the table as the event goes on. It makes you look more popular."

Barbara looked beneath the table at Rudi's half-full box of books. She then shook her head. "You jackass."

Rudi shrugged. "Tricks of the trade."

A grinning Barbara then noticed a woman approaching their table from the side. "One of your adoring fans," Barbara said as she nodded in the woman's direction.

Rudi turned and smiled, instinctively grasping his pen with one hand as he slid a copy of Diana's Hope off the top of the nearest stack of books with the other. "Hello. It's so nice to meet you. What's your name?"

The woman looked confused as she said, "Delia. Um..."

As he began inscribing the book, Rudi asked, "So, have you gotten a chance to read Miriam's Magic? I'd love to know what you thought of it."

Delia shook her head. "Miriam's... what?"

Rudi finished his inscription as he said, "Oh, well it's OK if you haven't gotten around to it yet. I'm confident you'll enjoy this one all the same."

As Rudi offered Delia the book, she looked at the row of tables and the authors sitting behind them. "Oh. A book signing." She then chuckled. "No. I'm sorry. I was looking for the lobby restrooms.

"Ah," Rudi said, lowering his book and praying that Barbara wasn't paying attention to the scene. He then pointed to the signage behind the woman.

She glanced over her shoulder before turning back toward Rudi with a smile and nod. "Thanks," she said before moving toward her destination.

Rudi slowly turned around to find Barbara laughing so hard she was having trouble keeping herself upright in her seat.

A red-faced Rudi pursed his lips as he slid the signed copy of his novel beneath the table and into a box.

********************

Rudi stood in line behind two other patrons at the Starbucks in the hotel lobby, studying the menu behind the baristas. Once he decided on his choice, he turned to scan the location's decor and artwork when his gaze fell on the woman waiting behind him.

Their eyes briefly met before he looked away. Recognition then set in as his head snapped back toward her. Before he got the chance to speak, she pointed at him and said, "You're the book guy I just saw out in the lobby."

He nodded, discretely looking around in hopes that Barbara was not a coffee drinker before saying, "Yes. I'm Rudi. Author. Concierge."

She then giggled before saying, "Thank you for the help earlier. I'm Delia."

"Yes. I know. I still have a book inscribed with your name."

Delia laughed. "I'm sorry about that. I had no idea..."

"Yep. That's what every author wants to hear."

Rudi took notice of Delia's large, beautiful smile and dimples as the barista called to him to place his order.

He then said to Delia, "Oh, you go ahead." Looking at the barista, he said, "I'll be paying for hers as well."

"Thank you," a surprised Delia said.

"Hey, I'm a full-service concierge," he said, causing Delia to chuckle.

*****

"I'm here for a conference," Delia said as she and Rudi sat across from one another at a table next to a window overlooking the hotel lobby.

"What line of work are you in?" Rudi asked.

"Restaurant management."

"Oh. That's interesting. I've been to a restaurant before, so..."

Deila giggled as she said, "It's not really interesting. Not as interesting as being an author, anyway. What genre do you write?"

"Romance."

"Really? A guy?"

Rudi nodded. "There are a few of us."

"Well, I'm sorry, but I'm not a romance reader. I don't go for those fluffy, syrupy sweet, happily ever after tales."

Rudi grinned. "Good. Because that's not what I write. I write erotic romance."

A stunned Delia said, "Oh. OK. So you write porn."

"No. I write erotic romance. Pornographic writing is something different."

"You write about sex. What's different?"

"I don't just write about sex. I write romance stories that have sexual elements to them. When you are in a relationship, just because you have sex doesn't make the relationship about sex. Right?"

Delia grimaced. "But, in the end, you write about sex. Sex sells, right? And, no offense, but can't anyone write about sex?"

Rudi smirked as he sat back. "You think so, huh?"

"Again... no offense to you. And I'm sure your fans enjoy..."

Rudi shook his head. "I'm not offended at all. I just wonder if you've ever tried to write an erotic scene."

"I'm not a writer."

"But that doesn't matter, right?" Rudi said with a smile. "If anyone can do it."

Delia shrugged.

"OK. Come up with a scene. Right here, right now."

"A scene?"

"An erotic scene. Let's see what you can do."

Delia chuckled. "I'm not about to come up with an erotic scene in the middle of a Starbucks."

"The scene doesn't have to be set in a Starbucks."

Delia rolled her eyes. She then shook her head. "I'm not... I can't..."

"It's not as easy as it sounds, is it?"

Delia's eyebrow furrowed. "Not on the spot like this."

"A writer can write anywhere."

"Then you come up with a scene."

"Sure," Rudi said with a head nod.

Delia looked skeptical. "You probably have a ton of scenes you've already created that you can pull from."

"Fine. Give me a prompt."

"A prompt?"

Rudi nodded. "A prompt. Start the scene for me. However you want. Whoever you want. I'll finish it."

Delia's brow dropped as she smiled at Rudi. She then nodded. "OK," she said before taking several seconds to come up with an idea.

Rudi relaxed in his chair, comfortable in his creative element. As Delia conjured a prompt for him, Rudi turned and looked out the Starbucks' window. There, he saw Barbara walking by and looking toward him and Delia with her mouth open. He grinned and shrugged, causing Barbara to roll her eyes and continue walking.

He then looked back at Delia. "Do you have something for me?"

"With a mischievous smile, she said, "As a matter of fact, I do. A man's apartment."

Rudi stared at Delia before saying, "That's it?"

"That's it. I don't want to make it too easy for you and give you the entire story."

"You think this makes it difficult for me?"

"I think coming up with an entertaining story from a simple prompt is a greater test of your talents."

Rudi nodded. "OK. Let's go inside this man's apartment and see what we find..."

********************

"You're going to be a great wife one day," Roland said as he dropped his plate into Martin's sink as Martin rinsed and placed them into the dishwasher.

"That's sexist as hell," Jennifer said as she followed Roland into the kitchen with her dish.

"She's only saying that because she doesn't do the dishes at our house," Roland said about his girlfriend.

"So, you're saying you're the wife?" Cedric asked Roland as Cedric stood in the kitchen doorway.

"Why does the woman have to do the dishes," Jennifer said.

"Who said the woman has to be the wife?" Cedric said to laughter.

"Shut the fuck up," Roland said with a grin. "We all know my wife wears the proverbial pants in our family. We don't have to talk about it."

"Well, I don't do the dishes in my own place," Tori said, passing everyone and adding her dish to Martin's sink.

Martin - smiling as he watched the exchange - asked her, "So how do your dishes get clean? Or do you always order take out?"

"Sometimes I order take out," Tori said, standing in the kitchen with everyone else as they watched Martin finish his dishes. "Sometimes I invite a guy over and make him do my dishes before he gets to fuck me."

"Damn!" Cedric said as everyone laughed.

"Why do you think Martin is practicing so hard on his dishes?" Tori said to another round of whoops and laughter.

A wide-eyed Martin looked back at her as she gave him a wink and a grin. He then turned back toward his chore with the same swift-beating heart that he often had around Tori.

*****

"You need to make a move, man," Cedric said to Martin in the kitchen as the other three grabbed their coats and jackets in the living room. "She wants you."

Martin shrugged. "She's leaving. I can't make her stay."

"Tell her there's something you want to show her on your computer. Some random video or something. Hell, tell her you need help unloading the dishwasher."

Martin smiled. "That would be direct, after her comment earlier."

"Right. Just be direct. Go for it. Everybody here already knows you want each other. Just go for it."

Martin took a deep breath. He then nodded. "I'm going to go for it."

"Hell yeah," Cedric said as he slapped Martin on the arm. "That's my boy."

"That's my arm," Martin said as he rubbed the spot where Cedric hit him. "I'm going to need that, later."

"I'm sorry," Cetric said while putting on his jacket. "I just get excited when one of my boys is about to get some pussy."

Martin rolled his eyes as the two joined the others.

As they entered the living room a stunned Martin froze. Jennifer wore her coat and Roland his jacket as they stood near Martin's front door. Tori was sitting - sans her jacket - on his couch in front of the fireplace.

Jennifer and Roland wore knowing grins as Cedric looked back at Martin with a raised brow. He then hit him - much softer - in the same spot on the arm before joining Roland and Jennifer at the door.

"You're staying?" Martin asked Tori, attempting to be as nonchalant as possible.

"I'll call my Uber in a few," she said with a much more calm demeanor than Martin had mustered.

The three at the door continued to smile. "Have a good night," Roland said as they exited.

********************

"So Toni decides to stay behind with Martin while their other friends leave? Just like that? That's convenient," Delia said as Rudi opened the door to his suite for her.

Turning on the lights, he said, "There's an implied backstory that doesn't need to be rehashed. I like starting my stories in the middle of the action. It makes for a more natural flow."

"Wow," Delia said as she looked around Rudi's posh suite. On the opposite side of the room there were several large floor-to-ceiling windows with an incredible view of downtown. Beneath the windows was a round king-sized bed. At the foot of that bed, near the center of the room, was a plush couch.

Rudi glanced around the room as he took off his blazer and laid it over the foot of his bed. "It's nice. I like to spoil myself when I travel."

"This place will definitely do the job."

"Where are you staying?" he asked as he walked over to the mini-bar, loosened his tie, and poured himself a Blantons, neat.

"Several floors - as well as several square feet - below your room," Delia said, smiling as she sat on one end of the couch.

Rudi chuckled. He then asked, "Can I get you a drink?"

Delia glanced at the minibar area before asking, "Do you have any wine over there?"

"We have... a Napa Valley Pinot Noir, and a... Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc."

"Oooh. I love New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc," Delia said. She then stared with a furrowed brow as Rudi prepared her wine. "What is that?"

"It's a wine dispenser," he said, as he walked her glass over to her and sat on the opposite side of the couch.

"So you have a couple of kegs underneath the counter?"

Rudi chuckled. "No. The dispensers auto-pour your glasses of wine while keeping the bottle fresh and temperature controlled."

"OK. Well, they didn't put one of these in my hotel room," Delia said before taking a sip.

Rudi grinned as he held his glass of bourbon while studying Delia's hourglass figure through her sensible business attire. She wore a simple blouse and knee-high pencil skirt, but her curves belied her attempt at professional dress.

As Rudi enjoyed his Blanton's, Delia said, "So, Martin and Toni are conveniently alone in his apartment."

Rudi shook his head, "You're not going to let this go, are you?"

"I'm just saying. You didn't waste a lot of time throwing his friends out."

"I could have started with just Martin and Toni, but that wouldn't have been as interesting. You wouldn't have gotten any of their back story and you wouldn't have cared about their ostensible future tryst."

Delia nodded. "OK. So... they are alone in the living room... on a couch in front of a fireplace... they fuck, and... happily ever after?"

"That wouldn't be very entertaining. Besides, I said their ostensible tryst."

"So you're saying they're not going to fuck?"

Rudi grinned. "You have to be patient and see what happens."

Delia then waved for Rudi to continue as he bowed his head in ascent.

********************

Martin and Toni were in intense competition as they sat on the floor across from one another in front of Martin's couch. The two feverishly lifted single playing cards from the deck and placed them back down, face up on the discard pile. They were each searching for a second four-of-a-kind match. They had gotten one match a piece, each claiming a spoon as their prize. There was one spoon left.

Martin's eyes grew as he pulled the six of clubs from the deck. "Game!" he exclaimed, tossing his four sixes down for Toni to see.

"No!" she screamed, tossing her cards down on top of Martins'. She then grabbed the third spoon before he could claim it for his trophy, jumped up from the floor, and ran behind the couch.

"What?" Martin said, rising and chasing after Toni, though she did a deft job of keeping the couch between herself and Martin as they both laughed. It took him a couple of leaps over the back of the sofa - and a lot of grabbing for air - before he got a grip on her arm.

He then pulled her toward him as she attempted to wrest away... until he got his arms around her waist and held her tight from behind as they both panted. After a couple of seconds she surrendered, smiling as her body went limp and her head laid back on Martin's chest.

As he loosened his grip on Tori's waist, she grabbed his hands. "No, you can't let me go now," she said as they continued to catch their breath.

"Why not," he asked, his heart racing for more than one reason.

She looked back into his eyes and said, "Do you really want to?"

Martin smiled.

"Yeah, I didn't think so," she said with a grin.

He continued to hold her as they walked back over to the couch and she sat in his lap. She then swung her legs and feet onto the couch cushions so they could face one another. Both still glistening and with labored breath, he said, "You're stronger than you look."

"You still man-handled me."

Martin paused, his mind imagining working Toni into a sweat in other, more intimate ways.

She stared at him with a pleasant smile. "What are you thinking about?"

"Man-handling you," Martin said.

Toni blushed before shaking her head. "I think you want to be woman-handled."

Martin chuckled. "That wouldn't be terrible."

Toni then leaned toward Martin as they kissed.

Once their lips parted, they glanced at one another. Their mouths then dove into a more passionate entanglement as their tongues released months of sexual tension onto one another. Martin's head swam while struggling with where to put his hands - or where to put them first - on Tori's body. One of his hands landed on her stomach, where his..."

********************

"Her stomach?" Delia said, her head raised from the couch arm on which it was laying. "He put his hand on her stomach? That's supposed to be sexy?"

Rudi, sitting with Delia's bare foot in his lap and his hands rubbing it, stopped and waited for her to finish before saying, "Are you going to let me continue?"

"With my foot massage, yes. Please. But, how do you expect me not to say something about... her stomach?"

Rudi took his hands off of Delia's foot and folded his arms. He then smiled as he stared at her.

"OK, OK. I'll be patient and see where this goes. If for no other reason than you continue to massage my feet. Did you go to school for this, because you are very good at..."

"Good at writing?" Rudi asked.

With a grin, Delia nodded toward her feet. "I was referring to your skills with your hands."

"Well, I do type out my stories," Rudi said before resuming her rub down.

Delia shook her head. She then began to pant as Rudi worked the pit of her foot with his thumbs. "It's good... that you have... confidence... oh, don't stop."

"I won't," Rudi said, staring at Delia as her mouth hung open and her body began to writhe. "And my confidence comes from my readers. You don't find the story entertaining thus far?"

Delia's eyes rolled back as she said, "God, that feels so fucking... oh..." She then nodded as she said, "Yeah. The story's... better than I thought it would be. But... still... oooh yeah..."

Rudi nodded. "But her stomach. I know. But you didn't let me finish."

He then ran the fingers of one hand along the top of her foot while moving his other hand to her leg.

Delia's head, again, raised from the couch arm as she stared at her foot in disappointment. "You're not going to finish?"