Capri's Fate

Chapter One
- Capri

My erotic adventure began the minute he whispered, "Do you happen to own a pair of
red, fuzzy handcuffs?"

Well okay, it didn't exactly start there. If I'm going to be perfectly honest, I think it started with Kat's text: "Meet me at -
insert name of five-star restaurant here
."

Kat is always getting me to take her out for expensive dinners. I don't mind, I'm a high paid executive, in a very large corporation, while she's a receptionist in a small dental office. Besides, I like good food and her company.

Kat and I have been BFFs since third grade. We were in each other's wedding parties, and cried on each other's shoulders at our subsequent divorces. Now, we're each other's go to person whenever the mood strikes. Obviously, the mood struck and it involved my credit card. I texted back a reply –"Xavier's. 6 pm."

~ * * ~

Kat waited outside the restaurant when my cab pulled up to the curb. "Timing or what? I just got here."

After
the requisite cheek kiss we stepped up to the Maitre D'. He smiled his,
I- must-be-friendly-because-they're-guests
, smile and escorted us to our table. We ordered drinks and chatted. We talked about the weather, her new dress, my job—you know, just old—no, scratch
old
, put longtime—girlfriend stuff.

After a diet conscious meal, followed by a calorie-loaded dessert, we
waited outside for a taxi.

"Do you trust me?"
With a goofy grin on her face, Kat's dark chocolate mellowed-from-too-much-wine, eyes gazed at me.

Having
seen that innocent demeanor before;
it meant nothing but trouble
. I was a bit wary. Okay, a lot wary! The last time she'd gawked at me like that and asked the same brainless question, we ended up at a frat house beer slosh during Homecoming and I wasn't in college anymore.

A cab pulled up and stopped. She
grabbed my arm and dragged me into it. "Convention Center."

I
slid next to her and shut the car door. "What's at the convention center?"

"That's the
trust me
bit." She raised her hands and flicked two fingers up and down at the words "trust me".

You have to love air-quotes.

I checked my Blackberry for messages then glanced at her. "Is this going to get me arrested? Again?"

She shook her head.

"Is it going to get me hit on—again—by horny, beer-soaked, college drunks?"

Kat giggled.

"Is that a yes or a no?"

"Nope. Not going to tell you. You need to
trust me
."

Air quotes.
Again.

I stuffed my smartphone into my royal blue Coach purse. "Okay, let's see what the Fates have in store."

A cold breeze tickled the back of my neck.
What the hell?
I twisted around, looking for what caused it. The windows were up. I doubted the AC was on, as it was early April, and still cool outside. I shook my head and settled back for the ride.

Traffic picked up as we neared the convention center. The driver wormed his way through the congestion and parked at the curb by the main entrance.

"Well, it seems like a popular attraction." I paid the cabbie, and we followed the crowd into the building. As I read the convention billboard, my feet froze to the sidewalk. I snapped my face in her direction. "Erotic Notions! The…the sex show!"

"Yup. Keep moving. You're blocking people behind us." She nudged my arm to urge me forward. "I pre-ordered tickets. You just need to pay."

"I'm not going in there." I moved to the side and placed my hands on my hips.

"Oh
, come on." Kat tugged my elbow. "It'll be fun. What else were you going to do tonight? Wash your hair?"

"But, what if…" My stomach dropped to my knees.

"Don't say it. I know, what if someone sees us. Girl, we're over twenty-one. We've both been married and divorced. We’re thirty-three."

"Excuse me. Thirty-two until August."

"Thirty-two. Geesh. But still, I think we're labeled as cougar wannabees. Not old enough to be a cougar. Not young enough to be a cheerleader."

I opened my mouth to voice another valid complaint, but Kat shushed me with a perfect teenage roll of her eyes and the first logical thing she'd said all night. "If somebody sees us, they're in there too—duh!"

I think I should've had more wine at dinner
.

Kat directed me to the ticket kiosk and then in some blur of disbelief, I was standing inside the nation's biggest sex toy show.

The last consumer trade show I attended was for the company. It featured displays of state-of-the-art computers, software and how to make your office environmental and ergonomic. The dispassionate side of me said this was very much the same. Display booths lining the walkways with sales people pitching their wares.

The entire rest of my being said, "Run!" The
wares
here weren't technological. They were fruit-scented anal lube, blowup dolls, crotchless panties and…and…what the hell is that?

Kat grabbed my shoulder. "This is so exciting. I've always wanted to come to one of these. We get to do the private rooms."

"Oh! Uh, great." Words exited my mouth, but my brain was still in shock.

"Come on, this way. We, also, get to use the VIP area.
Champagne and chocolate." Her voice rose two octaves.

Champagne
! I could use a slug. I mean a sip. We showed our passes to a large security guard then sat at a table overlooking the convention area. A server placed two unbelievably tiny, plastic glasses filled with champagne on our table and a plate of four chocolates. Who eats only four chocolates?

I snapped my fingers. "Waitress."

She turned back toward our table.

With one hand, I picked up more champagne flutes and with the other I grabbed another plate of dark delight. "I paid seventy-five dollars for these tickets. These are mine."

She started to protest, but I flashed my best corporate-bitch stare down. She hitched her head, spun on her heel and left.

I sipped the champagne, trying to absorb the scene in front of me. Kat talked nonstop and at high speed about the throngs of people and the nearby display advertising, in gaudy colors, the benefits of this dildo over that one.

"Ladies." A young woman with a vine tattoo that ran up the side of her neck and ended on her cheek, stood next to our table. "I'm Tee. That's T-E-E. And I'm guessing it's your first time at a sex show."

She smiled at me. "Yes. It's written all over your face. I'm a hostess here and I can make this experience more pleasurable if I guide you around. I'll start with the introduction. Hmm. Hmm."

Tee struck her best spokesperson pose. "Erotic Notions is a trade show dedicated to entertaining and teaching the ins and outs of all forms of sex. Straight, gay, kinky, etcetera."

I
gulped. It was the etcetera that worried me.

She continued, "Be prepared to learn new ideas and tips while visiting our display booths. We have the latest and hottest toys for you and your bedroom. And that's not all
…"

I knew there w
ould be a
wait, there's more
. I swallowed another mouthful of bubbly bliss.

"For the delight of our VIP guests," She pointed a well-manicured finger at both of us. "We can visit the Rooms of Desire. Where you can witness—or maybe join in—the play."

The champagne had increased Kat's excitement and had at least mellowed me to the point of being willing to give this a try. Gulping the last of her champagne, Kat rose and headed for the displays. "Time to go."

I walked along beside Tee. "Your name's quite unusual."

"My father's a professional golfer."

I turned to our hostess. I think I had a big question mark glowing over my head.

"Yes, he named me after that little piece of wood they stick into the ground and hit the ball off of. And no, my brother isn't Cart or Club."

"Been asked that a few times?"

She rolled her eyes.

"I so get that. My name is Capricious,
Capri for short."

"
Capri. I like that."

"To add insult to injury, I'm a
Capri--corn. That crazed woman," I nodded in the direction of Kat. "Is my best friend, Kathy Stoller."

"What would you like to do first? See the displays or visit the rooms." Tee, being very good at reading my confused expression, explained the difference. I voted for the safer of the two.

"Displays it is. Follow me." She led the way through the crowd. Kat tight on her heels.

A deep
, male voice whispered, "Buy something fun, something erotic and something dangerous."

I turned to see who
spoke. No one seemed to be trying to disappear into the mass of people. No newspapers were suddenly flung up in front of someone's face to conceal it. Everyone nearby was busy chatting or checking out displays.

"Hello!" Kat grabbed my hand. "Keep up."

I randomly waved my index finger around as I glanced in several directions. "But someone just spoke to me. I don't know who."

"You probably walked through someone's conversation." She giggled as she bounced on her heels. "I love this place. I'm going to buy a bunch of toys. It's going to be a long, cold winter."

I raised one eyebrow. "It's April."

"Long hot summer." Kat grabbed my sleeve and pulled me beside her. "The longer and hotter the better."

We stepped into a display area. A gray-haired lady with silver-rimmed glasses walked over to Tee. They did the double cheek girl-kiss thing. "Patsy, this is Kat and Capri. This is their first time here."

"Welcome to 'Patsy's Party'. Are you looking for anything in particular? To please yourself or that special other?"

"I want toys for me." Kat's cheeks flushed, and her eyelids were wide open. I think she was panting. "There is no
special other
for either of us at the moment. But we are both actively looking."

Patsy
glanced at me. I did a gasping fish impression, then I heard it again.

"Buy something fun, something erotic and something dangerous."

I spun and looked around. No male stood near us and the little brunette, who was looking at a sex manual, couldn't have a voice that deep. A chill slithered down my spine. I started to tell Kat what I'd just heard, but I stopped. She'd just have some totally plausible explanation and somehow I didn't think hearing voices at a sex toy convention had any possible sane reason. And I wasn't about to admit I thought I was going crazy.

"Well
then, let's start with dildos. Every girl's best friend." Patsy led us toward a shelf covered with phallic pieces of all sizes and colors. She began her sales pitch by picking up a largest penis I have ever seen. "This is our best seller, Mr. Monster Dong, guaranteed to drive you to new heights of sexual satisfaction. This fat boy starts at eight inches and gets bigger so you experience the feel of a really big cock. And best of all, this bad boy never goes soft! The three pages of instructions, which give a wide range of self-satisfying suggestions, are included."

I thought Kat was going to have an orgasm on the spot. She squealed three times during the description and practically ripped the thing from the woman's hands.