The Messy Maiden

by Shona Husk

  She arched her back as she squirted the sauce onto her cleavage. With her other hand she caught a little of the topping and brought it to her lips. She gave the camera another moan.

  She could fake pleasure.

  But it would be nice to have some actual pleasure in her life…maybe she should agree to lunch.

  By the time she’d cleaned up, showered and was sitting down in a pair of yoga pants and an old t-shirt—the epitome of sexy splosher goddess—to edit the clip, she was reconsidering her sugar induced madness. Going to lunch with Ian would be a big mistake.

  Sharing this part of her life would be all kinds of horrifying. She had lived the horror once and had no desire to do it again. But a tiny part of her knew that it didn’t have to get that serious. They could date and have sex and as long as she maintained her other commitments it would be fine.

  Now that she’d thought about the possibility of getting laid, even on a casual basis, her body was keen to try.

  She wanted, no she needed, a life beyond the webcam. After one final watch of the clip she’d spent the afternoon working on, she posted it. There’d be people waiting for it to go live. Her dead keen subscribers no doubt had a box of tissues at the ready.

  She seriously needed to date a real guy, even if it was just once. Maybe twice…then she could hit him up for sex. From the look in Ian’s eyes she was pretty sure that he was keen on getting naked. She smiled at the memory. The heat and intensity had freaked her out, that he’d then acted on it and asked her out…she shivered and sighed. Not with cold, but longing.

  She couldn’t remember the last guy to look at her like that.

  As she sat there she was able to see how many times the video was viewed. Some would watch it multiple times over the next few hours. She’d stopped puzzling over the why when she’d started making more money doing this than she did in her real job.

  Instead she sat there and shook her head, but stayed because some people would message her. Some she answered.

  Those that wrote you made me come so hard or worse got no response.

  The men that were polite did get a response.

  It had been one of the guys who’d suggested the change in lighting. Whoever he was he knew something about filming or photography.

  Numbers101 came on line. It was a moment before he typed his comment. Saskia found herself holding her breath. Please don’t be creepy.

  I’ll never look at cheesecake the same way again.

  It was your idea.

  I know. And I regret nothing. Thank you for doing that.

  She smiled and typed. My pleasure.

  And for a change she did feel happy. He hadn’t made what she’d done weird. If everyone could be as nice she’d do special requests more often.

  Do you do live sploshing?

  You watched me in the kitchen.

  But she knew that wasn’t where he was hoping to take this. He wanted something more from her. Did he understand the effort that went into her videos? No, because she made it look like spontaneous fun. Like she just happened to feel like getting kinky with food for strangers. She sighed.

  I was hoping for something more.

  The words seemed stark on the chat screen. Her stomach fell. What could she say?

  That’ll cost more.

  Now she sounded less like the woman next door and more like a hooker with her hand in the john’s pocket. She hated that feeling. And for a moment she hated him for making her feel like that.

  That’s fine.

  Could she raise price enough that he’d back down? She considered it for a moment before typing. Equivalent to 2 hrs live chat for every 30 mins. First 30 mins deposited before we start.

  It was several moments before he typed again. Next Friday?

  Saskia sighed, he really wanted to see it live. Maybe he didn’t get out much. Was this the next step in her business? Taking live sploshing requests? No, she wasn’t going to do it. Couldn’t. But how was it really that different to doing her legs live? It wouldn’t be, except it would be one on one and usually her individual chats were just that, a chat, even though she’d still be made up and dressed for the occasion.

  Sure. Any special requests?

  Dessert. You pick.

  Then he was gone. While she’d been chatting to him several other messages had come in. Eww including a video of what she’d done to one guy and a message about how much better his cum would look on her instead of cheesecake. Suddenly Numbers101 looked like a saint.

  Ian started at the blank screen of his computer for a moment. It was easier to make a date with the Messy Maiden than it was with Saskia. He wasn’t sure he liked what that said about him. That the cheesecake video had made him achingly hard was another nail in the coffin of his respectability.

  Maybe Saskia was right to want to avoid him.

  His ex-fiancée’s words echoed.

  “You are a pervert. When you take me out to dinner you’re more interested in the food than me. Don’t touch me. God, I let you use whipped cream on me. If I’d have known I was feeding your….just leave.” She’d thrown the ring at him.

  He hadn’t bothered to pick it up off the floor. He’d just left. Later he’d gone back to get his things. He’d taken his name off the lease. And they’d gone their separate ways. He’d claimed it was mutual. He had no idea what she’d said. Obviously not the truth though as nothing had got back to him through mutual friends.

  He’d been with her for three years. She hadn’t freaked out with any of the small things so he’d felt save enough to trust her with the true extent. He couldn’t have been more wrong. His erection wilted at the memory. Remembering that argument was a sure fire way to get his lust under control.

  Since that day he’d told no one.

  It wasn’t as though he needed food involved to get off, but he did like it. He liked the mess, the intimacy of putting it on and licking it off. He wanted to be able to try stuff.

  His reflection stared back at him in the darkened screen. With his sunglasses on in the dark room he looked like a weirdo.

  Did the Messy Maiden think her clients were odd? If she did, she hid it well. But then why would she damage her own business? Just because she looked like she was enjoying herself didn’t mean that she was. He took the glasses off and placed them next to the computer.

  He shouldn’t be escalating the online behavior. He needed other interests. He needed to get a life. And he was trying. He had tried to arrange a date—with a woman who sounded just like his ideal fantasy woman—in the real world. Saskia didn’t need to know. Hell, she hadn’t even accepted yet.

  He wasn’t even sure he wanted her to.

  As much as he liked her he couldn’t determine if he liked her because of who she was or because of who she sounded like. He shouldn’t be bringing his two worlds closer. If they ever touched, he was pretty sure both would implode and he’d be left with nothing but ashes.

  Usually he loved new video night. Tonight should’ve been extra special because she’d fulfilled his request, and it had been better than he’d even imagined. And he was going to get a live video.

  But it wasn’t a live video that he wanted.

  He wanted the reality.

  Chapter Six

  When Saskia logged on to her computer at work there was a tentative meeting request for a Wednesday lunch with Ian. It was coded private so anyone else checking her schedule wouldn’t see who it was with or what it was for.

  She’d give him points for not being careless. And also for making it so she could quietly decline and neither of them ever had to mention it again. She stared at the invite for a while, undecided. Dating was a complication she literally didn’t have time for. Did that mean she was destined to be dateless until she shut down the website? That didn’t seem fair, and yet that was turning into her reality. Dates usually happened when she was working online.

  Except for lunch.

  Lunch was fairly safe. It wasn’t like they were going to start talkin
g sexual fetishes—and if they did she was out of there. That was not a first date topic. Or even a second date topic.

  She ignored the request and responded to a few emails, typed up three letters, and then watched as Ian walked past her desk on his way to get coffee. It was only when he’d gone past that she released the breath she’d been holding. He hadn’t said anything; he hadn’t even glanced at her…okay he’d been talking to another auditor about one of their clients but still. Not even a glance?

  Was he ignoring her until she accepted the invitation?

  Maybe he was playing it cool at work, that was the smart thing to do, but he’d been quite happy to come after her on Friday night. The memory of him calling out her name still made her smile and her heart flutter in delight.

  He walked back to his office alone, his charcoal grey suit immaculate and hiding what must be great body if he truly cycled. His dark hair was pushed back, the ends almost brushing his collar. His stubble was carefully trimmed. No, not classically handsome as there were too many edges. However she suspected that he’d caught the gaze of more than one female in the office. This time as he passed her desk he gave her a small smile. Nothing more than a polite acknowledgement that she existed. It set her heart racing anew.

  God she was pathetic. Insta-lust in the workplace was never a good idea. Even if was only her work place temporarily. Three more weeks.

  The idea of multiple lunch dates with him was far too appealing. Just lunch. They didn’t have to do anything else. It would be nice to date…a real date with a real person who wasn’t using a fake name and hiding their identity.

  The older secretary cleared her throat and Saskia realized that she was still gazing into space where Ian had been.

  Before she could change her mind she accepted the meeting.

  Wednesday was usually a nothing day of the week. Halfway to the weekend. Saskia didn’t like wishing her life away—and trying to race through five days just to live it up on two was exactly that—but this week Monday and Tuesday had really dragged their heels.

  She tried not to dress any better, but she made sure that instead of being in strictly boring office wear she put on nice underwear, not that he was going to see, and nicer earrings. Small things that he wouldn’t notice, but that made her feel like this was less of a business lunch and more of a date. Things that made her feel special.

  By agreement she waited until he’d left the office before she went to lunch. He’d picked a café a short walk away and had taken a table away from the counter. Should anyone walk in hopefully they’d be too busy reading the specials board to notice them.

  She, however, spotted him straight away. He already had menus on the table and a bottle of water. Given that they only had one hour that was a smart move. Should she have expected less from him? Of course he’d be organized so they could make the most of the time they had.

  A smile formed on her lips and her chest grew tight as she walked over. She couldn’t help it. When she looked at him her body took over and her brain seemed to switch off. It took a moment, but she realized she had the first date jitters. Unlike the last couple of dates she’d been on, which had been set up by her well-meaning friends, she was hoping that this went well and that they’d get to do it again in the near future and she hadn’t even sat down yet.

  Saskia gave her palms a surreptitious wipe on her skirt, before she moved into Ian’s line of sight. He smiled as she approached. The light in the café was making the difference in his eyes stand out. He had sunglasses in the pocket of his jacked. She swallowed as memories of her messages with Numbers101 snagged in her mind. She had a chat scheduled with him later this week.

  Would Ian view her other job as cheating if the two of them got serious?

  She pushed the thought aside. She’d cross that bridge if and when they got serious. That said, she didn’t want to become emotionally invested in a guy who couldn’t deal with her second job. This is why dating had become awkward for her. At what point did it become something that needed to be discussed?

  She inhaled and sat. First date. One thing at a time. “Hi.”

  “Hi.” He was smiling, and he looked just a little relieved that she’d shown up.

  “Got any recommendations?” She was guessing he’d been here before. On other lunch dates or just to grab something for himself? Surely if he was a serial office dater she’d have heard some gossip over the last week. So far she’d heard none about him and she’d made sure to listen.

  “The paninis are pretty good, and quick too.”

  “That sounds like a good idea then.” She scanned the sandwich section and saw the paninis alongside the more usual steak sandwiches and fries. “The grilled vegie one looks good.”

  “Are you vegetarian?” His eyebrows drew a little closer together.

  “Is that a deal breaker?”

  He shook his head.

  “I’m not…I was going to ask them to add turkey to it.” She grinned. And maybe extra cheese. If she ate enough at lunch she could just skip the tragedy of cooking dinner for one tonight and just have a can of soup.

  “Good I won’t feel bad about getting the three meats then.” He glanced at her, the smile on his lips reaching his eyes.

  The waitress took their order and for a few moments they were alone—surrounded by the other diners and the people in line at the counter who weren’t stopping—but they were more alone than they ever had been.

  She swallowed, realized her mouth was now a little dry and took a sip of water. “So, did you have a good ride on the weekend?”

  “I did. Beautiful weather for it too, not too hot or cold. It’s lovely along the coast this time of year.”

  “Did you drive to the coast first?”

  “Change of scenery. I don’t mind the drive. I ride for a few hours, stop for lunch and a stretch then head home. In summer I might go for a swim. There’s usually a group of us, but sometimes it’s nice to go alone.”

  That filled her with a lovely image of Ian getting out the ocean in his bathers. Was he a budgie smugglers or board shorts man? It was her private fantasy so she went with the smallest bathers possible.

  “And that’s how you spend every weekend?”

  “Saturdays, unless I’m going to a football game. During the week I go to the gym, but I prefer to get out. I’ve also gone inland to the mountains. But I usually make a weekend of it and stay overnight. How did your paint shopping go?”

  The trouble with hardware stores was that most of the guys there assumed that as a chick she needed everything explaining to her. What they didn’t realize is that she was the maintenance man in her house. Nor did she need the different types of paints and preps explained to her. She’d repainted the house when she’d bought it as the original walls had been pale pink. She’d been lucky that the bathroom tiles were white, as she wasn’t ready to gut bathrooms or the kitchen. That would involve more work than she was ready for. Plus she hadn’t wanted the down time from her business, the one that was paying for her mortgage.

  “Pretty good. I picked up some sample pots and did a few tests on the wall I want to paint.” The wall behind her bed was going to be a pearly shade of something. Right now she was leaning towards the sea green. The gold was a bit too much and as much as liked the lilac in the sample on the wall it was just wrong. Purple wasn’t her color in any shade apparently.

  “So now you have to paint because you’ve made a mess.”

  “Yep.” That would be this weekend’s job. It didn’t sound half as much fun as getting out and going somewhere new. When was the last time she’d gone for a day trip on a weekend? Not since she’d started her own business.

  While she didn’t like to ask for breaks between temp jobs, maybe she’d get lucky and get a few days off. Then she’d get out of the city for a day.

  The waitress put their meals on the table. And for a few minutes they ate. He’d been rights about the paninis. They were good and had plenty of cheese; some places were a bit stingy.


  One thought had been crawling around her head as he’d talked about cycling. She watched him for a moment and made sure that he hadn’t just taken a mouthful of food.

  “I have to know. Do you shave your legs?” She knew that some cyclists did, how serious was he about his riding?

  “Is that going to be a deal breaker?”

  She had no idea. Would they both be in the bathroom doing their legs? She almost choked on the idea. Her clients wouldn’t want to be watching Ian in her bathroom. She shook her head and took a drink of water. “Why, surely a little hair wouldn’t really matter to your speed?”

  “It’s not about wind resistance—not unless you’re super competitive. It about what happens when you hit the road. It makes the abrasion easier to clean and bandage.”

  Oh…well that made things a little more serious. “Have you ever come off?”

  “Plenty of times. Want to see the scars?” He winked with his green eye.

  “We don’t want to scare the other patrons.” But she did want to see the scars…or more correctly she’d like to see him out of the suit.

  Ian laughed. “Good point. Got any dangerous hobbies?”

  Nothing. She had no hobbies except researching what food she should use for her next video. She was thinking either chocolate mousse or tiramisu for Friday, although part of her thought that lemon meringue pie would be fun. Crunchy meringue and squishy filling. Plus pie crust. She loved pie crust.

  “I like cooking and experimenting with new recipes.” Not a total lie, but not particularly close to the truth either.

  He glanced down for a moment. “Cooking is more fun when it’s not for one.”

  “Yeah. I cook and freeze because I don’t want to eat the same thing all week.”

  “I stick to stir-fry or things like steak and salad. I try not to do too many premade meals.”

  “It’s an easy trap.” But they were loaded with salt or sugar or ingredients that you needed to be a chemist to understand.

  He nodded but the talk of being single had taken the shine of the conversation as if they were both reviewing the lameness of their lives outside of work and hobbies. She needed to get a fun hobby so she’d have something to talk about.