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After tossing and turning for over an hour, Sarah couldn’t stand it anymore.
She pulled her laptop out of its case and switched it on. The melodic chord that sounded when she pushed the start button made her glance toward the bedroom door with a guilty wince, listening carefully. The house was silent, but she got up and tiptoed across the hall to Devon’s door and peeked in.
He lay sprawled on his back, one leg under the covers and one leg out. With every exhalation, a cute little snore burbled from his lips.
Sarah sneaked back to her room and quietly closed the door behind her. After climbing into bed, she propped herself up on the pillows and slid the computer onto her lap. Telling herself she was just going to check on the restaurant account, she opened her iMail program and clicked on that mailbox. She had a few notes from vendors and customers who had heard about Emile’s illness, and a little junk mail. She worked her way down the list then let her eyes wander over to the sidebar on the left. One unread email was waiting in her personal mailbox. She clicked on the icon, a prickle of anticipation flashing through her.
It said she had mail from HotNCold at the online dating site, and the subject line read, “Meet Me Tonight?”
Her throat clenched, and she stopped breathing for a moment, staring at the monitor.
But then her hand reached out, seemingly all on its own, and clicked the hyperlink. She logged in to the dating site as CocoLvr and read the note waiting there.
HotNCold: Sorry to duck out, phone rang and had to go. Another chance? Promise you won’t be disappointed.
Sarah stared at the screen, tapping her fingernail on the keypad. It was really her fault for answering his message the other night. She had definitely led him on. No reason to be nervous. She was in control. And nothing had even happened. Not really. Not yet.
Just then, a small window appeared at the top of her computer screen, and a chime sounded as a message appeared in the window. “You have a private message from HotNCold. Do you want to accept?”
He was online right now, trying to contact her. Her hand shook as she clicked “OK,” and his greeting appeared in the window.
HotNCold: Hi Coco. How’s it going?
She fumbled as she slowly typed her reply.
CocoLvr: Good. And U?
HotNCold: Good. Sorry about the other nite.
CocoLvr: Me 2.
She paused while she tried to think of an intriguing remark. She remembered what he had said and wondered if he always slept in the nude. This thought swept all intelligent conversation right out of her mind.
HotNCold : U online for a while? Want to play?
Yes! she thought.
CocoLvr: Sure, I guess.
HotNCold: OK. What’s your pleasure?
Sarah thought frantically, but her brain wouldn’t cooperate. She kept picturing a man’s naked torso lit by the green glow of a laptop, crisp white sheets pulled up to his slim waist.
HotNCold: Coco? Lover? You still there?
CocoLvr: Be right back. I mean... BRB.
She sat back and took a quick inventory of her conflicted emotions. On one hand, she couldn’t believe she was actually considering going through with this. But being anonymous was fun and exciting, like going to a costume party while wearing a great disguise. She could tell him she was a twenty-two-year-old flight attendant, or a famous science fiction writer, or a Playboy bunny. Whatever she said or did wouldn’t be real, anyhow, since this was all a fantasy.
HotNCold: ;-)
When she saw the wink appear on the screen, she put her hands on the keyboard.
CocoLvr: Back. Hi Hot, good 2 C U again.
She added an emoticon kiss.
HotNCold: Welcome home.
He added a cyber-hug.
CocoLvr: Did you miss me?
She imagined skin on skin as she slipped into his arms and they pressed their bodies together.
HotNCold: Oh yeah baby. Big time!
She could sense the smile in his words and smiled back.
CocoLvr: The other night... It was soooo frustrating.
HotNCold: Just when we got started, poof!
She pictured his eyebrows rising comically.
CocoLvr: Yes, I was interrupted by... someone.
HotNCold: The boyfriend?
CocoLvr: Sort of.
She didn’t want to get into details about her personal life, especially about Devon.
HotNCold: You single, Coco?
CocoLvr: Yes. Divorced, actually.
HotNCold: I’m single too. Never married though.
CocoLvr: How come?
Now she was curious and a little worried.
HotNCold: We lived together for a long time, then she dumped me.
Hercules/Tarzan started to transform into someone more human, though still wildly handsome and wearing a similarly scanty loincloth.
CocoLvr: Bummer. Sorry about that.
HotNCold: It’s okay. For the best, I guess. I was just going along, ignoring reality. I thought we’d get married when we were ready to have kids.
Now Sarah was picturing someone a lot more brotherly, possibly wearing glasses.
CocoLvr: So, what happened?
HotNCold: She fell in love with someone else. She’s having his kids. Twins, actually.
CocoLvr: Wow.
HotNCold: Yeah. We liked each other a lot, but we weren’t really in love.
She was impressed by his philosophical attitude.
CocoLvr: So were you, like, devastated?
HotNCold: Disappointed. But in a way, relieved.
Sara’s mixed emotions about her breakup came back to the surface when she read his words.
CocoLvr: I can relate to that.
HotNCold: Same for you? It’s weird, isn’t it? It’s over and you fight it, can’t stand for it to end, but then it does and you’re secretly happy.
Sarah remembered when she was finally able to begin leaving Jim’s betrayal in the past and get on with her life.
CocoLvr: You’re not glad it happened, but you’re sure glad it’s over.
HotNCold: I hear you, sistah!
CocoLvr: LOL!
She actually did laugh out loud.
HotNCold: Coco? I have to work before the crack of dawn tomorrow. And here I’ve wasted all this time talking about myself... will you forgive me?
Don’t go! she thought.
CocoLvr: Oh, sure. I mean, I enjoyed it.
HotNCold: Mind if we continue tomorrow night? Sorry I wandered off the subject.
CocoLvr: It’s been fun to get to know you, Hot. We can have sex any old time, right? :-)
HotNCold: <Putting one hand on each side of her sweet face, he kisses her gently on the eyelids, the nose, then the lips.>
CocoLvr: Good night, Hot. C U tomorrow night.
Sarah felt a goofy grin form as she stared at the screen, dreamy-eyed. He was such a nice guy. What a great vibe.
HotNCold: <Slipping his tongue between her lips, he gives her a gentle taste of what is coming tomorrow night.>
CocoLvr: Yummy.
Sarah smiled into the darkness of her bedroom, which was filled with his invisible presence.
HotNCold: Bye, lover!”
After that last message, his screen name disappeared from the Members Online list as he quit the program.
Sarah gazed at the inactive chat window for a minute while, in her mind’s eye, Hercules/Tarzan closed the lid of his laptop and lay back in bed, his strong arms crossed behind his head. Moonlight shone on his skin and glinted off his dark eyes as he pictured her lying in her bed. How did he imagine her, she wondered. Blond? Brunette? African-American? Latina?
However he saw her, that was cool. Sarah was happy to look any way he wanted her to, in his mental pictures. And whatever they both looked like in real life didn’t matter, because something else was drawing them together.
Their minds were attracted. She could sense him out there, on the other end of the keyboard somewhere in cyber-land, and she knew he could feel her too. It was powerful and electric, like being wired directly into each other’s brains.
She had never experienced anything like this before. Absolutely intimate and as drop-dead sexy as hell. Her body pulsated, an ache between her legs.
After shutting down her laptop, Sarah put her hand into the drawer of her bedside table and pulled out a small plastic bag. Inside was a piece of almond bark candy made from marbled white and dark chocolate, scavenged from the kitchen at work. She popped a piece into her mouth and savored the flavor as the chocolate encountered her body heat and melted, spreading across her tongue. Closing her eyes, she trembled with pleasure.
Dark, sweet, crunchy... ecstasy.
A rush of blissful sensation flowed over her. Paisley had told her that the theobromine in cacao caused the same chemical response in the brain as sexual orgasm. According to her cousin, the connection between sex and chocolate wasn’t mythological or urban legend but scientific fact. Whether or not this was true, Sarah had found chocolate to be downright addictive.
Her social life was getting more and more interesting every day. Honestly, it was enough to keep a girl up all night, wondering what was going to happen next.
* * *
JUST AS SARAH WAS DRIFTING off to sleep, Hershey suddenly barked, a single sharp explosion of sound. His toenails clicked as he raced from his bed to the open window, and she heard him sniffing. When they both heard the sound of scraping metal outside, the dog raced down the stairs, barking with passionate intensity. His deep voice echoed through the house.
Sarah sat up in bed, disoriented. The thud of Miki’s feet hitting the floor came from upstairs, and Devon’s sleepy voice called, “Mom?”
Sarah jumped out of bed and ran into the hallway as Miki thumped down the stairs, carrying her lacrosse stick. Devon appeared in his bedroom doorway, his eyes huge.
“Why is he barking, Mom?”
She didn’t want to frighten him. “Probably just a skunk or something.”
“I don’t smell one, do you?” His voice was very high and squeaky.
“No, but—”
“What was that?” Miki said and jumped as they heard something crashing at the back of the house.
“The garbage cans. See, it’s just an animal. Raccoon, maybe. They love to eat trash.”
“Let’s go find out,” Devon said bravely. He glanced at Miki, who was waving her improvised weapon aloft. “Wait a second, Mom.” He ran into his room and got his baseball bat. Carrying it in one hand, he slipped the other into Sarah’s. “Okay. Ready.”
They trooped down the stairs in a tight pack, turning on lights as they went.
Hershey continued to bark hysterically. When they arrived in the kitchen, he was throwing himself against the back door, frantic to get outside.
“Quick, open it!” Devon rushed to pull on the door handle.
“No, wait. If it’s a porcupine, he might get hurt. Just hold on,” Sarah said, turning on the outside lights. The two garbage cans that normally sat under the kitchen windows had tipped over on their sides and were rolling around in the driveway. No creatures were in sight.
“Looks like Hershey scared them away.” Sarah got a leash from the hook by the door and snapped it onto the dog’s collar. “Here, hold him while I see.” She handed the leash to Miki.
After unlocking the back door, Sarah stepped outside. She looked both ways and peeked under the bushes. She saw no signs of raccoons, skunks, or feral cats, so she lifted the garbage cans up, straightened their lids, and dragged them back to their place.
Sarah noticed that one of the azalea bushes next to the foundation had some bent branches hanging down.
“Wonder what would do that.” She went inside and locked the door behind her then moved to the window and pointed out the damage to Miki, who shrugged.
“Good boy!” She patted Hershey’s head. He panted and grinned.
“Cookies ‘n milk?” Devon suggested, his eyelids already drooping.
“No way, kiddo. Back to bed.” Sarah picked him up and carried him up the stairs, noticing how heavy he had become, his long legs dangling as he lay over her shoulder.
Miki let Hershey off the leash and turned out the lights, following them. They wished each other good night, and Sarah took Devon to the bathroom for a quick pee before she tucked him under the covers.
Back in her own bedroom, Sarah sank down on the pillows and was soon asleep, unconcerned.