“Alli, we never go in the hot tub. I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

Charlie’s hot tub is usually the place where the parties end up, generally after most of the guests have left and just a core group remains. We are traditionally some of the last to leave of the pre-spa group, departing about the time that everyone starts to head for the hot water. We’re always invited and encouraged to join them, but in the past we’ve always politely declined; it’s just not in our nature – either Allison’s or mine – to get naked with a bunch of other people! I had actually tried to talk her into it the first couple of times, when the tradition was just getting started, but without success; after taking time to reconsider I’d had to admit that I was possibly even more reluctant to do it than she was, and that partying naked with a bunch of co-workers – some of whom I was in a supervisory position over – would be horribly inappropriate in any event.

And make no mistake, that’s what the hot tub portion of the party always is; a bunch of fairly inebriated people naked in Charlie’s huge spa, doing, no doubt, whatever drunk naked people are inclined to do in a huge bubbling vat of hot water. His hot tub is enormous, designed precisely for large parties – or maybe for swimming laps or for commercial venues like hotels and things. It will easily seat about ten to twelve people, and I’d imagine as many as sixteen or even eighteen could enjoy it together if everyone was cozy with it. I think he usually got around ten volunteers from our parties.

I’d heard a few stories about it, although there’s apparently a general rule that “what happens in the hot tub stays in the hot tub”, a phrase which has hygienic connotations I don’t even want to think about. I have to admit to being curious, and even titillated about what types of things my friends and co-workers might be up to – as was Alli. We’d talked about it, even teasing each other about how maybe we should try it sometime just to satisfy our curiosity, but we’d never managed to work up the courage to actually follow through on it. I took Alli’s question to be just another of our curiosity things that we’d never follow up on.

Until she said, “C’mon, hon’, it might be fun… I just thought maybe we should relax and try it this year.”

“Babe, I don’t know…”

She interrupted me. “Come in the bathroom and we can talk about it while I trim up.”

The mere fact that she was following through on that personal grooming chore made me think maybe she was more serious than I’d suspected; there was no other reason for her to worry about grooming that area just now. I followed her into our master bath, where she stripped off her little thong, leaving the top part on, before spreading a small hand towel over the edge of her vanity and then perching her little butt on it. She kept one foot on the floor and put the other up on the back of her sink, leaving the entire little playground open and ready for play, but rather than letting me play she fired up her tiny little battery powered trimmer and went to work trimming up the length and perimeter of her soft little bush. I could watch her do this all day – and I was pretty sure that the little pup tent I’d pitched in my thong would stay just like that as long as I was watching her.

This is the enigma of Allison – or one of them, at least; she was utterly at ease with me watching her perform this little ritual, or any of a hundred other intimate acts, but until now she’d never shown any interest in having anybody else see her body in all of its naked glory – just the opposite, in fact. I think she knows that I enjoy seeing and watching her, and enjoys the fact that she can so easily arouse me. The thing is, any guy watching her would probably enjoy it as much as I do; she’s a beautiful, sexy woman, and guys are programmed to enjoy that kind of thing! There was no physical reason for her to be so shy about her body, she just was.

She paused in her efforts long enough to look up at me. “What was it you started to say?”

“What? Oh, sorry; watching you kind of took my mind off of…well, everything else, really.” She laughed. “I’m just trying to figure out if you’re serious, you know, about doing the hot tub portion of the evening. You’ve been dead-set against it in the past.”

She shrugged and went back to trimming as she spoke. “I know, but you know what? While I was getting my picture taken for you I was basically naked in a room with two people that were fully dressed, and it turned out it was really pretty easy; I wasn’t that uncomfortable at all, especially after the first few minutes. If everyone else is naked too it should just make it that much easier, right?”

“That’s one theory, I suppose. I don’t know. Maybe if it was a vacation somewhere with a bunch of strangers that we knew we’d never see again it might be easier.”

She stopped trimming long enough to look at me, the tiny device buzzing impotently in her hand. “Really? See, I’m just the opposite; I think I’d be much more at ease with friends, or at least people I know.”

“If it was just friends, maybe, but I work with these people – you don’t.”

She nodded and returned to trimming for another moment before completing her task. She shut off the tiny gadget and looked at me, still holding it. “I suppose that might be awkward, seeing them in the office again on Monday morning.”

“Ya think?”

She laughed. “Okay, I’ll concede the point – but some of them do this every year, and they still manage to work together! Look at Marci and Michael; she hated Charlie when she first started and he pulled that whole exposing himself stunt on her, but now they get along great – and they do the hot tub party with him and everyone else every year!”

I nodded. “I know, and I always wondered about that. But the fact that Marci will probably be there is one more reason for us not to! She works for me, Alli, and I see her every day; it would just be too weird.”

She held the trimmer out to me. “Check me and make sure I didn’t miss any stragglers, okay?” I took it and knelt in front of her, my face inches from her pussy as I tried to focus on making sure she’d been thorough. It wasn’t an easy task, focusing with her pretty little pussy right there in front of me, but she continued to talk about the hot tub as though she was seriously trying to convince me. “Marci being there should be just one more reason why you should want to try it! I know how much you’d love to see those big boobs of hers.”

“Well, yeah – but not at the price of her seeing me naked!” I found a small area where she’d left some longish hairs, and quickly trimmed them. “You trimmed yourself really short this time.” She had, leaving very little cover and largely exposing her cleft, but she didn’t say anything. “Have you ever considered shaving down here?”

“No. It would always have stubble, and I think it usually makes red bumps. Plus, when it starts to grow out it would probably feel like a porcupine in my pants. No thanks!”

I chuckled. “Oh. Well, what about one of those Mexican wax job thingys?”

She laughed. “It’s called a Brazilian wax, not Mexican – and it all sounds a little too personal and very painful to me.”

“Oh c’mon! A lot of women do it, how bad can it be?”

“All right then, tough guy; I will if you will.”

I cringed at the very thought of anyone yanking all the hair off my nether regions. “Never mind then; it was just a thought.” She laughed at my sudden cowardice as I leaned in and blew on her to remove any loose hairs, which made her jump.

“Oooh, nice! Is that your version of giving me a blowjob?” I laughed, but rather than answering I nuzzled her and flicked her hooded little hidden clit with my tongue, and she gasped. “Oh, mmm! Davey, don’t start something you can’t finish! What’s with all the wax and shaving questions anyway? Do you think you’d like me all smooth-looking?”

I didn’t answer, although the thought of that was very intriguing to me. Instead I continued to use my tongue on her most tender parts and was rewarded by the sensation of her clit stiffening rapidly under my assault. Not surprisingly, a certain part of me was stiffening at about the same rate. She pushed at my shoulders half-heartedly. “Davey, c’mon – stop!

I didn’t. Instead I kept at it, licking and nuzzling her sensitive sex until I felt a shudder of arousal run through her body and heard a low moan start deep in her throat, and then I stopped and looked up at her. “I’m sorry, what did you say?”

“I said Davey, c’mon, don’t stop!” I was chuckling as she put her hand on my head and pulled me forward against her, wanting my lips and tongue on her to complete what I’d started. I was happy to oblige – and it didn’t take all that long, maybe a couple of minutes until she rocked through her first orgasm, which was followed seconds later by another.

After the second I rose to my feet and pulled her to me, her butt still perched on the edge of her vanity as she wrapped her legs around me. I was hard as steel, still trapped in my little leopard-skin thong with a string up my ass – a string that was pulled tighter by my erection straining at the front of the pouch. I know I had significant wet spots by now, and when she pressed her pussy to my hard bulge and began grinding on me she no doubt added a bit of her own moisture to my copious leakage.

“I think I’m going to need to be inside of you.” I really did, too! In fact, I ached to be inside of her.

“Davey, we don’t really have time for that.” Her lips were saying one thing while her hips were singing an entirely different tune.

“I can come in less than a minute if I need to.”

“Mmm. I wonder if any woman has ever been able to turn down a wonderful offer like that.”

“Hey, I’m just sayin’.” I ground my cock against her moist heat. “We have an hour and a half before we need to leave, so I don’t really need to be a minute man – I could maybe even take two whole minutes, if you insist.”

She laughed. “Much better! Davey, we really don’t have time; when we get home tonight we will though, I promise.”

“An hour and a half is plenty of time! We could even do it twice, maybe.”

“Dream on, stud! Look, it’s probably going to take me at least an hour to do our makeup – at least – and we need to get out costumes figured out, and basically just get ready to go. Save it for later; just think how horny you’ll be by then, especially if you see Marci naked in the hot tub!”

“Mmm, nah. I’d rather see you naked anytime.” I reached down and tugged the front of my thong down so that it was behind my balls, allowing my hard cock to thrust out and grab a breath of pussy-scented air. I began to rub myself against her, feeling both of us becoming slippery with arousal. “Maybe I could put it in just a little bit…”

She laughed. “I haven’t heard that pitiful lie since I was sixteen!”

“You could probably do our makeup in less than an hour.”

“Maybe I could – if you promise to cooperate.”

That was all I needed to hear; I reached down and pushed my stiff cock down to get it to align with her opening, and then slid into her tight, hot, slick embrace with one long, slow thrust, balls-deep inside of her, and it left me shuddering with the intensity of the sensations it created as I gasped out “I promise to cooperate.”

She cried out and convulsed with equal sensations, driving her hips forward and her pussy fully onto me, and wrapping her legs around me. “Oh god, Davey! You were right; we do have time for this!”

“Uunhhh, yeah; I thought you’d see it my way. How do you keep it so hot in there without bursting into flame?”

“Ssshhh, don’t talk – we don’t have time for that.”

So we didn’t. We just made love – or maybe even just fucked, and it felt really, really good. I drove into her as she kept her legs locked around my hips, her heels pressing into my ass and thrusting me forward. It would have been a perfect position for her to take advantage of a set of spurs, but I was pretty glad she didn’t own any; her heels were encouragement enough! Another nice feature of this position was that I could watch her back and her ass in the mirror above her sink and see her hair swaying across her back and her firm, round glutes tightening as she pushed forward to meet each thrust; that sight alone was worth the price of admission!

I didn’t bother trying to keep track of the elapsed minutes; I figured it would take as long as it took, and that as long as we were both enjoying it, who cares! I’d guess that it took several minutes – not long enough, in any event – before I started to feel the inevitable pressure building. My thrusts became more urgent and more rapid, and Alli, sensing the approach of my orgasm, bit me on the shoulder and muttered “Not yet! Please, not yet!” into my ear.

I knew what she was saying, that I needed to wait for her, and I tried heroically to do so! A momentary pause is usually my most effective means of delaying my orgasm, but I sensed that a pause was not what she was looking for right at that point, so instead I continued to pound into her as I resorted to trying to distract my mind, at the same time willing every muscle and nerve in my body to hold back. I did a bit of math in my head, thought about a contract I was working on at work, strived to remember and recite a bit of Dylan Thomas silently to myself “Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light...” etc., and all of my mental and physical calisthenics bought me all of perhaps thirty additional seconds…but it was just enough.

I felt her body tense and heard her gasp as she dug her heels into my ass and jammed me deeply into her, my cock clamped tightly in her spasming pussy, and then that was the best I could do. I felt myself tense and stiffen, and again, and suddenly felt my cock spurt a long, hard shot of cum deep inside of her, and then she was crying out and coming in a huge, intense orgasm, and I was pumping and spasming helplessly inside of her, draining out all of my need, all of the insistent pressure and desire that drove me. When I was finished, my load spent, she was still grinding onto my erect cock and reveling in the late throes of what had been a very powerful orgasm for her, the kind that she rarely has with me inside of her. It was impressive, and gratifying, and incredible, not to mention deeply satisfying and exhausting!

She continued to ride me, sliding through the last part of her orgasm and grinding the underside of my cock, where it met my scrotum, against the edge of her vanity. I was glad that the towel she’d been sitting on was between me and the hard granite! When the last vestiges of her orgasm faded away she collapsed limply against me. “Oh my god! That was incredible! Thanks for waiting for me.”

I nuzzled her ear. “Mmm, I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. Wasn’t sure I was going to make it.”

“You were perfect, great timing!”

“You too. That was a good one, huh?”

“Oh my! To call it ‘good’ is damning it with faint praise! It was a great one; I’m so glad I let you talk me into that!”

“Me too. I love it when you come like that.” I hesitated. “That doesn’t happen very often with me inside of you, does it?”

“Mmm, no, I suppose not – but that’s fine, it always feels good anyway, and you know all the other little secrets for making it happen!”

“What made this time so different?”

She shrugged, and when she did my softening cock slipped out of her in a small gush of semen. “Oops!” She giggled. “It was fun while it lasted. Hon’, I don’t know why this one was like that, really. Maybe the playing first or you watching me trim myself, which was very arousing for me. But you felt so good in me too, you felt huge, and so deep inside – maybe it was the position. It was wonderful, for whatever reason! Ours is not to question why…”

I laughed. “…ours is but to do or die. Well, it would be worth it, just to have you come like that. I suppose we’d better start getting ready, huh?” I backed away from her and stripped out of my cum-spotted thong.

“Yup!” She hopped down off the sink and grabbed the bag full of makeup. She pulled out pictures of what we were supposed to end up looking like once fully made-up and taped them to her mirror, and then began to read the instructions for applying the makeup to make us look that way – or at least that was the goal. Apparently the instructions were pretty rudimentary, more about what goes on first, and then next, and so on than about how to achieve the proper striped or spotted look, but Alli seemed fairly confident that she could pull it off.

I pulled a chair in from our bedroom and she went to work on me, both of us still naked. As she was smearing a light brownish-colored base layer on my face she giggled and said “My knees feel all weak and shaky – you really did it to me good, mister!”

I agreed. “If I wasn’t sitting down I’d probably be falling down. Look at my poor little cock, all wet, shriveled, and shrunken – I think you killed it!”

She laughed. “I bet I can breathe some life back into it – later though, not now.”

“Later is no challenge, it will be easy then. Now would be a better test of your lifesaving skills.”

“Forget it, Sluggo, not gonna happen! Does it bother you that I’m working on your face while I have cum running down my legs?”

I groaned. “You do that on purpose! You know how much I love to play with you when you’re all wet and slippery and full of cum!”

She laughed again. “Guilty as charged! Of course, your hands are free, since you’re just sitting there doing nothing, so…”

So I played, touching and exploring all of her delectable, wet, slippery little bits, all the nooks and crannies, my finger sliding easily inside of her, trying my best to distract her but failing miserably as she focused on painting me to look like a cat. I did notice that she was breathing more heavily than a little light makeup work should have required, and that her tattletale nipples remained rigidly erect, so I spread a bit of cum on them with my fingers and then licked it off. An occasional shudder would run through her, so I knew that my efforts weren’t totally for naught - which was only fair, since my play and the feel of her wet and dripping pussy had made me hard all over again!

She noticed. “Well, well! Like magic, I’ve raised it from the dead without ever laying a finger – or a tongue – on it. Damn, I’m good!”

“Yes, you are. You know, if it’s easier for you to sit on my lap while you do this, it’s okay with me.”

She grinned.” Very subtle! You never give up, do you?”

I leaned forward and kissed her tummy. She smelled of warm female, and of sex…and of spring flowers. She always smells of flowers for some reason, no matter what she’s been doing, how much she’s been sweating or screwing or whatever. I have no idea how she does that. “Nope, where you’re concerned I’ll never give up.”

“I’m glad. It’s one of the many things I love about… oh, shit!”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Davey, I should have had you put your hood and cape thingamajig on before we started this! I need to know how far out on the sides and forehead I need to go, and now it’s going to be really hard to get it on without messing this all up! Damn it! This is what I get for letting you distract me.”

She was right about that, but I didn’t point out that it had been her idea! “Yeah, especially since I need to put that damn tight shirt on before I can put the head piece on. Maybe if you help me we can do it without messing me all up.” We did, with a lot of stretching and tugging and her holding stuff out away from my face while I pulled it on. We somehow managed to get me half-dressed – the upper half – without ruining all of her work. After that we focused on finishing up with the minimal amount of distraction; in other words, no more fun and games.

When she finished me I used a wash cloth and warm, soapy water to clean myself down below in preparation for donning the lower part of my costume. She did the same, washing herself thoroughly to get all of my semen off of her legs and groinal region, her strategy of letting as much of my deposit as possible drain out while she worked on me paying dividends at this stage. She remembered to put on her own hood before doing her own face with cat makeup, and in just a little more than an hour we both looked weird as hell, with big fuzzy cat heads, painted faces, and no pants on.

I looked at her and laughed. “Very nice – a pussy and her pussy!”

She giggled. “That’s stupid – and tacky. Put your pants on.”

“We still have fifteen minutes…”

“No we don’t. We need to stop at the liquor store and pick up some wine. You told Charlie you’d bring some, remember?”

“Crap! You’re right. We’d better get going.” I put on my ridiculous little pouch-style thong – the one with no butt-floss, since that one was wet and sticky – and my pants, while she did the same. I zipped the back of her leotard once she’d stepped into it, before she donned her tights. Then it was leg warmers, fingerless gloves, black slipper-style shoes and a few other odds and ends that only a costume designer could dream up before we stood side by side, looking in the mirror. Not bad, with our painted faces, little black painted on cat noses and whiskers, and the ears and all on the costumes. We looked remarkably like the players in the Broadway show, if I do say so myself!

Allison looked absolutely spectacular, cute as could be and all sleek and slinky and sinuous and sexy, and I told her so; as for me, l had to settle for being a master of alliteration. “You really do look great, babe, cute and sexy all at once. How come we never got a cat?”

She laughed. “Meow! You look great too, my powerful, virile tomcat.”

I nodded. “You did a good job on my face; I can hardly tell it’s me. Still not crazy about the pants, though.”

“Really? I totally love your bulge – makes me wanna purr!”

“Oh great, that should help! I don’t feel at all self-conscious now.”

She laughed before squeezing said bulge. “You’re a man – men are supposed to have a bulge there! Would you rather look androgynous, like a Ken doll?”

“No, I suppose not. I would, however, rather be wearing pants that didn’t put it on display quite like this.”

“Hey, if you’ve got it, flaunt it!”

“It’ll be a minor flaunt, I’m afraid. I’ll probably walk around carrying something in front of me all night.”

She had walked across the room as we talked, and now, from behind me, she said “You know, the backside looks mighty sexy too! Very nice tush, my love.”

I turned around. “Super, now I can be embarrassed coming and going. I can see your nipples, by the way – turns out the fur collar doesn’t quite cover them after all.”

She looked down at herself. “Oh well. Guess I’ll be doing a little flaunting myself.”

That surprised me! It was not at all the response I’d expected from her. “Yeah, you look hot as hell; if any of the other guys are wearing pants like I’m wearing, they’ll probably be providing visible evidence of just how hot you look!”

“You think so? Gee, that should be fun!”

Again she’d surprised me, but I had to laugh. “Listen to you! Where do I carry my wallet in this thing, by the way?”

She looked at me, eyeing me up and down. “In your console, I guess.”

I looked down at myself. “Which part of this thing is the console?”

“In your car, you goofball!”

“I know, I was just kidding. Are you taking a purse?”

She hesitated. “Yeah, I guess. I was talking to Marci and Elaine this week, and they asked me about my picture in your office and I ended up telling them about the other pictures; well, some of them, at least. They want to see them, so I guess I’ll need to take my purse.” Elaine is Louis’s wife, and I knew that she and Alli were sort of friends – and that they had been talking to each other about the upcoming party. In addition, Alli speaks to Marci on a regular basis, usually when she’s trying to get in touch with me and Marci either takes the message or helps her track me down.

“I thought you said that nobody but you and me would see those.”

“I know, but it’s just the girls. Don’t worry, I have no intention of letting any of the guys see them!”

“I would hope not. Are we ready?”

“Tell Ruby goodbye while I get my purse together and then go start the car and get it warming up, it’s gotten a little chilly outside. We may still want jackets.”

“I’ll grab one for each of us.” I made a fuss over the new girl, petting her and reassuring her that we’d be home soon, while Alli got her purse, and then she did the same while I headed to the garage to start the car. I threw a couple of jackets in the back seat and, after feeling the cold leather seats against my ass through the one thin layer of the tights, turned on our seat heaters before putting my wallet in the center console.

Alli joined me minutes later and we headed to the liquor store. Bingo Liquors is an amazing place, 15,864 square feet (just on the sales floor alone, which I happen to know because I represented the store owner on the build-to-suit lease) of just about every type of alcoholic beverage or mixer that you can imagine.

The amazing thing about it is that it’s always busy, and on holidays or other major party days even more so. There are larger liquor retailers in major cities, of course, but for a town the size of ours it was far and away the biggest…and I wondered sometimes if the fact that it was always so busy was a worrisome comment on our town.

I lucked into a parking space not too far from the door, about six places up the row directly in front, and I swung in and shut down the car. Alli looked at me. “What are you going to get?”

“I thought maybe we’d get a case of Merlot and one of Chardonnay. Those two are pretty universally popular, and it covers the bases. If there’s any left over Charlie can keep it – small price to pay for using his house.”

“Yeah, that plus the five hundred bucks you and Louis each gave him for food and catering!”

“And cleaning. Would you rather have it at our house? Last year somebody threw up in his dishwasher.”

She nodded. “Good point; buy really nice, expensive wine.”

I laughed. “I thought maybe you’d feel that way – except one thing; I’m not going in the store, you are.”

“Me? I have no idea what to get!”

“Well I’m not parading around in this costume, so it’s got to be you. Just ask the guy; they always have that guy that manages the wine department, I think he’s always there. Damn, what’s his name…oh yeah, Roger! He’s great at helping you pick, he’s never steered me wrong. Just tell him what we’re doing and that you’d like a case each of a decent Merlot and Chardonnay.” I’d seen a couple of other people in costume go in or out of the store while we’d been sitting there, but I was not about to become one of them!

“You go, you big coward!”

“That’s just not on the agenda, sorry.”

“But it’s cold out!”

“All the more reason – cold accentuates the positive for you. For guys the result is just the opposite.”

She shook her head, but she laughed. “You are such a pussy sometimes! Okay, I’ll go – but if something opens up closer to the door, move up.”

“You got it. Hurry back.”

“Oh, shut up and give me your debit card.”

I did, and she slid out of the car and headed in. I watched her. Hell, everybody watched her, because she didn’t walk in; no, that would not have been cat-like enough for her now that she was in character, so instead she slunk in. Slank? Slinked? Maybe “stalked” is what I’m looking for. Whatever the right word may be, she went into the store with a lithe, feline strut, putting one foot across in front of the other, like a model on a runway, a walk designed to move the hips and twist the body in sort of a sensuous, sinuous way.

It sounds cliché, but heads turned. Hell, some of them turned so far or so fast that I swear I could hear necks popping – and I had my window rolled up! One guy was so obvious as to even lean out the window of his big sport-ute so that he could see around another vehicle…and I really couldn’t blame any of them, because she truly did look smokin’ hot, with her tight little costume molded to her form. Her ass looked especially fine to me, but that may have just been the fact that a perfect rear-view was the angle I happened to have.

I swear I heard a collective sigh of longing and loss when she disappeared into the store, but it was probably just me. I watched a few other costumed people come and go; obviously the fact that Halloween was on a Saturday night had made it a prime party event! I saw the usual – a witch, Dracula, a clown, some big, hairy thing that may have been a werewolf, or possibly a Wookie, but which looked more like something a cat might have coughed up. There was one other woman – a very well-endowed one - that came out of the store wearing a very sexy costume, something tight and sparkly around the middle but all deep, bare cleavage and sequined mask above and long, bare legs above five inch heels down below, but to my mind Alli still had the win, hands down!

She wasn’t in there long, maybe ten minutes or so, which I thought was pretty good considering how busy the store was. She came out pushing a cart with one case of wine in it, followed by a tall, slender young man in a red smock carrying the other case on his shoulder. I wouldn’t have thought anything of the fact that she had a helper, except that both cases would have stacked very easily in the cart; that caused me to suspect the motives of the helpful employee just a bit! Well, that and the fact that he followed her at a distance that allowed him to keep his eyes locked tightly on her ass. I swear, if she had stepped over a curb he would have tripped and injured himself, so intent was he on ass-gazing. More importantly, he would have broken all of our wine bottles!

He remained very attentive as they put the cases in the trunk, and then took the empty cart back to the building with him as Alli got back in the car. She seemed rather flushed with excitement as she settled in next to me. “Mission accomplished! Let’s get going, shall we?”

“Did you tip your helper?”

She looked momentarily taken aback. “No…should I have?”

“How would I know? Nobody ever helps me to the car with my purchases!”

She laughed. “You sound a little jealous.”

“I am! I think they should help me, too.”

“Not what I meant.”

I smiled at her as I backed out of my parking space. “I know. What the hell, he got to ogle your ass and probably get a hardon – that should be tip enough.”

“Well, I hope so, because I don’t have any cash on me anyway.”

It was my turn to laugh. “You hope so? You hope he got hard looking at your body?”

She probably blushed, although it was impossible to tell with all the makeup on. “Okay, that’s not what I meant either, but if I brightened his evening just a little I’ll try not to feel bad about not tipping him.”

“Trust me, you did. His eyes were practically bugging out. Did they flip a coin to see who got to help you to the car?”

“No, they drew straws.” When I turned to look at her, surprised, she laughed. “Just kidding – he was there at my checkout line, so he helped me. It was all very innocent.”

“Nothing you do while wearing that get-up is going to be innocent, I’m afraid. Nice nipples, by the way!” They were, too, sticking out proudly through her tight, thin top, hard and erect.

“Davey, don’t! You’ll make me self-conscious and I won’t be able to relax and have fun tonight.”

“It was just a compliment…but okay, I’ll stop making reference to those gorgeous tits of yours and the inviting, delicious looking little nubs that are so proudly displayed front and center there.”

“Thank you, that’s much better.” She giggled. “You want to know a secret?” I nodded, and she went on. “That was kind of fun, walking around in the store in something as sexy as this. I saw people looking at me, and it made me feel very naughty – and a little bit horny too!”

I was floored by her admission! “Really? You actually enjoyed that?”

“I really did; I’m probably more surprised by that than you are!”

“That seems unlikely. It made you horny though, huh? I do like the sound of that!”

She laughed. “Win-win for you, right? Sort of like the day I got my picture taken and then was so turned on that I practically raped you when you got home. I am pretty horny right now; why don’t you see if you can find a dark alley…”

“You got it!” I started looking around, trying to find a private spot.

“David, I’m kidding! These costumes don’t allow for it, and besides, we need to get to Charlie’s pretty soon. I can save my arousal for when we get home – and you need to do the same!”

“Oh. Well damn; it sounded like a good idea to me.”

“You’re a slut, my love; is there such a thing as a male slut?”

“I certainly hope so – it’s been one of my life-long ambitions to be one.”

She just smiled and shook her head. We rode in comfortable silence for awhile before she said “I talked to Jennifer and Derek today, when I went to the mall.”

It was just sort of out of the blue, and my mind spun in neutral for a moment, trying to remember if we had any friends named Jennifer or Derek. Finally it thumped into gear and drew up the fact that those were the names of the photographer and his assistant. “You did? Why?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know; I saw Jen up by the front counter when I walked past so I walked over to say hello, and she told me that Derek was there and that she was helping him get ready for a photo session, and that he wanted to talk to me.”

I looked sideways at her. “He wanted to talk to you? About what?”

“Well…” She seemed hesitant, but I waited. I rarely have the self-discipline to do that, but this seemed like a good moment to exercise a bit of that rare commodity. Eventually she went on; “He got the contract to do all of the advertising photos for Dunstan’s, and they asked if he could use me in the ads. He said he was planning to call me a little later, and he was glad I’d stopped in.”

Dunstan’s was our local department store, a one hundred and fifty year-plus tradition in our town, started by a family named, not coincidentally, Dunstan back in the mid-1800’s. It had started as a general store on Main Street back when ours was still a town on the western frontier and Main Street was dirt, and had held on through the years, weathering blizzards, tornadoes, droughts, the Great Depression, and everything else that came along, eventually becoming the large, two-story department store which still anchored our old downtown area.

The descendants of the original family still owned and operated that flagship store, but they had also had the foresight to open an additional location at the mall when it was built, thus buffering themselves from much of the competition brought by the national chains; they had also opened a couple of other stores in small to mid-sized towns in our region. Against all odds they still did remarkably well, in part because of tradition and loyalty from long-time residents and satisfied customers, but mostly because they did a damn fine job of operating their retail stores. His getting the contract for their advertising was probably a nice plum, and all of that made sense to me; the part about them asking for Allison to be used in their ads did not.

“What do you mean, ‘They asked for you to be used in their ads’? How could they ask for you? Do you know any of the Dunstan’s?”

“No, you know I don’t. They saw my pictures in his portfolio when he was making his presentation to them, trying to get their business, and they asked if he could use me in some of the advertising shots.”

“Oh. Well that makes sense, I guess; they’ve always made an effort to spend money locally.” They did, and they also contracted for their own advertising photos rather than using the stock pictures provided by the garment manufacturers, which I thought was probably a fairly rare thing. “Which picture did they see that made them want you for the ads?”

“You know, I didn’t even think to ask!”

“Huh! I would have.”

She laughed. “Obviously – you just did! Does it matter?”

I shrugged. “Well, it’s just that some of those pictures are pretty revealing, and you did give him permission to use any or all of them.”

“That’s true, but to them I was just another model; their advertising buyer probably looks at thousands of pictures of models of all ages and sexes, so no big deal, right?”

“No – except that they specifically asked for you, according to your new boyfriend.”

She laughed. “Oh stop it! He’s not my boyfriend, and you know it!”

“Considering the state of undress that he’s seen you in he might as well be.” I paused, and she just looked at me, a look that I interpreted as her waiting to see if I was serious. “No, I’m just kidding; it’s weird for me to think of you as a model – I mean, you’re certainly beautiful enough, and you’ve got the figure for it, but the whole concept is just strange.”

“To me too, Davey. I never imagined myself doing anything like this.”

It was a little weird talking to this big, striped, furry cat about her doing sexy modeling, but probably no more strange that it was for her to have an even larger furry cat asking her about it. The whole situation felt more than a bit surreal. “Their ads tend to be a little bit risqué, you know.”

“Not really – they’re pretty mild, compared to some.”

I looked at her. “Compared to Victoria’s Secret, maybe, or to someone like Calvin Klein, or Abercrombie and Fitch, but for a little local department store chain they can get pretty edgy.” It was true; their ads had created controversy on several occasions in our conservative little city. They showed a lot of skin sometimes, and they did poses that had men and women touching each other – not intimately, of course, and when you’re selling parkas, jeans, or sweatshirts it was no big deal, but they often used that same type of pose when they were selling swimwear, or lingerie and underwear as well, which could get dicey. They’d had one a couple of years earlier that had a very fit guy in snug and revealing boxer briefs carrying a gorgeous blonde in skimpy bra and panties in his arms, a picture that had generated some protests and a lot of talk – and which had become something of a collector’s item.

“You’re exaggerating; they’re not like that at all. Well, maybe occasionally, but we’re just shooting spring sportswear, so how bad can it be?”

“I suppose. You know, you say that like you’ve decided to do it.”

“David, it pays ninety-five dollars an hour, which is money I can use for the shelter – so yes, I’d like to, unless you have any major objections.”

“Wow, that’s a pretty good rate!”

She smiled. “Don’t plan your retirement party just yet. It’s only for about three or four hours per day, and for maybe three days to a week, total. He’s shooting children’s spring fashions next week, and then men’s and women’s spring sportswear the week after that. The ads won’t run until after Christmas, but he has to get the work done soon.”

I nodded. “Well, it all sounds fine, I guess, and I know the money will be well-used for your critters. I suppose I’ll just have to get used to being married to a supermodel and having men lust after you, and people always interrupting us in public to ask for your autograph. The pesky paparazzi will get old quickly though; I hope I can refrain from punching one of them. ”

She laughed, and reached out to stroke my arm. “I hardly think we’ll need to be concerned about any of that! So you’re okay with it?”

“Sure, why not? Hey, I wonder if I’ll be able to keep my own name, or if I’ll just become known as ‘the husband of that famous supermodel, Allison Baxter’?”

“Oh, I’ll probably have to divorce you and marry a well-known actor or athlete or something when I get famous; either that or go back to using my maiden name. Or maybe just one name, like Cher, or Madonna. And you know how we famous supermodels are, we’re very spoiled and flighty, and we sleep with everyone we meet.”

“Yeah, that’s true; I suppose if the money was good enough I could get used to that.”

She slapped my arm, laughing. “Hey! You were a little too eager to agree to that, buster! How very mercenary of you!”

I was laughing too, the whole conversation having gone from the ridiculous to the sublime. “Hey, you know - I was just envisioning living in the lap of luxury, supported by my rich, famous, and somewhat promiscuous wife! Try to look at the bright side.”

“Which is?”

“Well, you could probably get laid by a whole string of very studly young hunks, if you wanted to.”

“Oh, Davey! I could do that now – you know, if I wanted to.”

That stopped me in my tracks, partly because I knew she was right, partly because I hadn’t considered that fact before speaking, and mostly because I wasn’t sure if she was serious or kidding. “Good thing for me you don’t want to, right?”

“Good thing for you that you’re such a great lover that I never even need to think about it!”

“Well yeah, there’s that. You seriously never think about it?”

She shook her head. “Never! Well, maybe a little fantasizing from time to time, but never seriously. You know, just like you fantasize about other women.”

“I don’t do that!”

She laughed. “Bullshit! I’ll watch you watching some of them tonight and point it out to you when you start.”

“I never said I didn’t look – I said I don’t fantasize about them!”

“Well, since this is Charlie’s place, I guess we’ll just have to explore that topic some other time. But you’re lying.”

“We were talking about you fantasizing about other guys, a subject which you brought up, by the way; how did this become about me?” I made the turn into Charlie’s driveway and followed its winding path up to his house, where a number of cars were already parked. I found a spot and pulled in, and then shut off the engine.

Alli stretched across and gently kissed me. “I very skillfully flipped the conversation to you, silly! I do it all the time; I can’t believe you can actually negotiate multi-million dollar contracts when I can manipulate you so easily.”

I laughed. “Oh, so that’s how it is, huh? You know, most of the people I negotiate with are not beautiful, sexy women, so the blood flow to my brain is not impaired the way it is when I’m around you.”

“You say the sweetest things!”

“I do, don’t I?” We kissed – carefully, so as to not mess up our cat faces – and then opened our doors and got out. Another car pulled in behind mine, washing us in the glare of its headlights before stopping, blocking me in. It turned out to be Louis and his wife, Elaine, and we greeted each other and made all of the obligatory comments about the situation and our respective costumes. We know Louis and Elaine well and occasionally socialize with them, going out to dinner or having the other over to our respective homes for dinner and drinks. We all get along well and have a great deal of respect and affection for each other, and we always enjoy their company. Elaine’s gentle grace is a nice compliment to Louis’s own quiet dignity, and his rare displays of his dry, subtle, and understated sense of humor is always an unexpected delight.

As I’ve mentioned, Louis is a small person, diminutive in build and stature, and Elaine is smaller still, probably not much over five feet tall, and slender. She’s very pretty, and has a nice figure, but because of her tiny frame she comes across (to me, at least) more as cute than sexy; it’s almost like looking at a young girl of perhaps twelve or thirteen or so, and my mind just refuses to go to “sexy” in that situation! In a nod to their small size they had come dressed as Raggedy Ann and Andy, and the costumes were perfect for them. I was sure that the fun and whimsy of their choice were Elaine’s contribution, while the conservative nature of the costumes at what had increasingly become a very adult-themed party was all Louis’s idea.

In any event, with her gingham pinafore and ruffled bloomers and his matching gingham shirt and blue bib overalls, the bright orangey-red yarn wigs, and rosy-cheeked face makeup they were cute as hell, and Alli and I told them so. They oohed and aahed over our ‘Cats’ attire as well, and I watched Louis subtly run his eyes over Alli’s sleek form admiringly. When Elaine’s eyes flicked briefly to the crotch of my embarrassingly tight costume - and she realized that I’d caught her glance – we both blushed.

Louis ended up helping me by carrying one of the two cases of wine, while Alli helped Elaine with two large bags of various accoutrements – plastic ware, Solo cups, plates, etc – that they were supplying. When we got to the front door it was obvious that the alcohol was already flowing freely - despite the fact that it was just now the designated starting time of the party - and that a number of our associates and their spouses had arrived early to take advantage of Charlie’s legendary hospitality. It was loud, and busy, and, all-in-all, shaping up early to be a good party.

Just inside the door our packages were taken from us by a number of hands, eager to assist, and we were greeted by our host, Charlie, and his date for the evening – and it was every bit the spectacle I had anticipated! Because they greeted Louis and Elaine first, I had an opportunity to appreciate the spectacle:

First his date; a tall, statuesque young woman with long, shimmering black hair that was as black and shiny as coal, and which was a sharp contrast to perhaps the most perfect - and whitest - skin I have ever seen on another human being. I’m not entirely sure what alabaster skin looks like, but I suspect that this was a prime example of it. The contrast of her white, white skin to that pitch black hair was almost startling, and, when combined with her small, elegant nose, full, luscious, perfectly bowed lips, which were done in bright red lipstick, and her pale, icy blue eyes beneath narrow, deeply arched black eyebrows and long, thick lashes it all came together to give her face an exotic, other-worldly, almost cruel beauty. She was stunning, actually, but stunning in a way I had never seen before.

In addition, her tall, lithe form was almost brutally, garishly sexy, a sexiness accentuated by very long legs in thigh-high black leather boots with five inch heels, a black garter belt attached to black fishnet stockings that rose just above the tops of her boots, a black leather g-string, and black leather straps and chrome chains around her waist and throat. Up top she wore a black lace and leather bustier which ended just above her navel and which pushed up and then struggled mightily to contain a pair of enormous, perfect breasts, breasts which were incongruously large for her slender body, but which overflowed the cups of her snug top in a most fetching way. I stared, I know, because at some point Alli poked me in the ribs and stretched up to whisper in my ear, “Roll your tongue back into your mouth, Romeo!”

That broke my trance, and I was able to take in the rest of the scene: Completing the picture of our friendly neighborhood dominatrix was a black leather riding crop in one hand, and in the other the loop end of a three-foot long chain leash, which ran to a studded black collar around Charlie’s neck. Charlie…well, Charlie was a sight; first, I’m sure it was him, despite the black leather hood that covered his head and face completely, and the apparent complete lack of body hair, at least on his torso, which used to have a pretty solid mat of sandy-red fur back when we’d played racquetball together. Now it was as smooth as a baby’s behind, and naked save for two very cruel-looking steel clamps, one on each nipple. His mostly nude, stout, barrel-shaped body and fireplug stance were a dead giveaway that it was him, even before he spoke.

Beyond that he had a metal bracelet around each wrist and ankle, which were made with some sort of device attached to them that looked as if it was intended to clip them together, like handcuffs. His only other attire was a very snug – and, as a result, very revealing – pair of black Spandex trunks of some sort, designed like boxer-briefs, through which his thick phallus and egg-sized balls were clearly imprinted, and plainly visible.

Louis stopped dead in front of him and just looked at him for a moment, shaking his head. “Well, Charles, tasteful and elegant as always, I see.”

Charlie laughed. “Hey, partner, I know where you can get this rig in your size, if you’re interested. Whatta ya say, Elaine, think you could crack a whip?”

She blushed, laughing, but stepped forward to give Charlie a quick hug. There was something about him, despite his gruff crudeness, that women seemed to like. Maybe it was his irrepressible, fun-loving attitude, or his boyish charm, like a kid that never truly grew up, or maybe it was his generous spirit and lack of self-awareness, but whatever it was, against all odds, Elaine was actually quite fond of him. Louis shook his hand, smiling. “Thank you for that generous offer, Charles, but I’m afraid we’ll have to pass. I will say that I’ve never seen Lycra perform more heroically, however.”

Charlie laughed again, his booming chuckle which seemed to come from deep in his belly. “You do have a way with the English language, Louis! You think it’s performing heroically now, you should see it when I get a hard-on!”

Louis nodded, looking very serious. “Mmm, yes, I’m sure. If there truly is a God I’m sure we can manage to avoid that blessed event.” His voice positively dripped with sarcasm.

Their banter complete, Louis and Elaine introduced themselves to Charlie’s date – something which, not surprisingly, he had failed to do. I heard her say that her name was Diamond as I turned to say something to Alli, only to catch her with her eyes locked on Charlie’s groin. I nudged her. “Hey babe, time to roll your tongue back into your mouth, huh?”

She seemed to shake herself, her makeup no doubt hiding a crimson blush, and then stepped forward and gave Charlie a hug. I couldn’t help but notice that he managed to press her body against his bulging genitals in the process, but then he stepped back and took her by the shoulders, looking her up and down – not an easy task when peering through the eyeholes of his hood. He whistled – again, muffled by the hood – and said “Wow, you two kittens look spectacular! Very sexy, if I do say so myself – even you Dave, although if I was going to eat one of these two pussies it would definitely have to be this one here! Whatta ya say Allison, are you as tasty as you look?”

She smiled. “I’m sure I am, Charlie, but you should probably ask Davey about that.”

He laughed and turned to me. “You’ll have to tell me about that in great detail sometime, Dave. Love your outfit – now I’m not the only one around here with his cock showing. Nice package, buddy!”

It was my turn to blush, and I was, for the first time but probably not the last, thankful for the layers of makeup. “Thanks Charlie, the fact that you like it makes it all worthwhile.” My own effort at sarcasm. I waved my hand over his wide chest. “Didn’t all of this used to be carpeted?”

He chuckled. “Yup. Waxed it all away, every last hair from neck to toes.” He hooked his thumbs in the waist band of his shorts and tugged them out. “Wanna see?”

I backed away. “Thanks, but no; I’ll take your word for it!”

He turned to Alli. “How about you, you wanna see?”

She actually giggled! “No – maybe later. Right now you should probably introduce us to your friend.”

*****

I'd like to thank all of the readers that have followed the story up 'til now for your support and patience as it is being written, with a special thank you to those that have taken a moment to vote and/or leave a comment. It is very much appreciated!