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Excerpt From FAST BOYS in the "WICKED" WOMEN WHODUNIT Anthology Copyright - 2005
“Tess? Tess!” “What?” Tess Collins turned from the TV. Then she flushed when all three of her long-time friends burst out laughing. Damn, she was caught lusting after Ark Underwood while watching his interview in the NASCAR winner’s circle after winning the race. The four of them gathered every week during the NASCAR season to watch the race and root for their favorite drivers. Ark was Tess’s favorite. To head off the onslaught of teasing, Tess said, “I was thinking about one of my patients.” Yeah, right. She never thought about her patients in her marriage and family therapy practice the way she thought about Ark Underwood. Josie ate the last brownie from the plate on the coffee table and said, “Ha! You were thinking of Ark. And not as a patient or you wouldn’t get to see him naked.” Nikki laughed. “Who could blame her? Look at the cover of People magazine.” She picked up the magazine where Ark was this month’s featured “Fast Boy of NASCAR.” Against the background of a race car track, Ark stood with his arms crossed over his well-formed chest, while staring at the camera with his mysterious hazel eyes and wicked half smile. Tess sighed. She was in for it now from her friends. But she had to admit, Ark looked hot on the cover. Nicknamed “Hollywood,” Ark was a natural-born bad boy. The man was made for sex. But that wasn’t why her friends were warming up to their topic. It was because they cared about her. And since the last of Tess’s close family, her grandmother, had died a few months back, her friends had been on a crusade to get Tess into a relationship with a man. They felt it was time Tess worked through her fears and took a leap into a relationship with a man so she didn’t end up old and alone like her grandmother. Tess tried to relieve their worries. She picked up the tabloid, The Breaking Buzz, and said, “I’m dating Fred Ranger. He’s a journalist.” Gwen fixed her silver-blue eyes on Tess. “Bet you haven’t slept with him. That you are holding him off while fantasizing about Ark.” She wasn’t holding Fred off. Not exactly. “We’re planning to go away for a weekend soon.” Someday. She wasn’t sure how she felt about Fred yet. He traveled, was ambitious to become an on-air entertainment journalist and he had great stories about people he had met. He was different from her usual nine-to-five-suit-type of dates. They had been safe. Okay, boring. Tess knew she had dated those men because she shied away from men who stirred real passion in her. Her parents had had real passion, and it led to a turbulent marriage, and finally to their deaths in a car accident when Tess was fifteen. That made Tess cautious in relationships with men. But she was taking a chance on Fred. He was different; he wanted her opinions on his work. Asked her advice on how to approach different people he needed to interview. He seemed to value her. Tess hoped that when she slept with Fred she’d feel sexual passion, a great orgasm. But not the darker side of passion that drove people to crazy behavior. Josie sat forward. “Oh yeah? When are you going away with Fred?”
Figures Josie would nail her. “I
haven’t committed yet.” He’d been pushing more and more lately. He wanted a
weekend with her. He had said he liked to be prepared ahead of time. Tess
assumed that meant he wanted to create a romantic scene. Nikki shook the People magazine. “Ark Underwood is holding her back.” “He is not!” Tess said, but it was true. Embarrassing, but true. She had a PhD in marriage and family therapy, and she had been a licensed therapist for a few years now. And yet, she shielded herself by holding onto a fantasy built around her one meeting with Ark when they were kids. Tess’s father, a sports photographer, had been doing shots on the beach of Ark’s dad, a famous stunt car driver. Tess had been nine, and Ark around twelve or thirteen. They had played in the waves to pass the time. Suddenly, Tess had gotten caught in a riptide. She could still feel the terror of the current dragging her under. But then Ark grabbed her hair, gotten an arm around her, and dragged her to the shore. It had been Ark’s dad who scooped her up into his arms and soothed her, while at the same time pulling Ark into his side and telling him how proud he was of his son. Her parents had yelled at her for getting in the way. Tess had always been in the way of her parents’ jet-setting life style. “Hey! Tess!” She blinked and saw the three of them staring at her—again—with Nikki waving the stupid People magazine. “All right.” She grinned. “So maybe I’m a little hung up on Ark. Or my fantasy of Ark. Big deal.” Josie stood up. “Well, then, we will fix that. Stay right here.” She headed to the foyer table by the front door and picked up Tess’s laptop case.
Tess frowned at her. “What are you
doing?” Tess groaned. They had done this since their college days. When they wanted to change a behavior or something along those lines, they wrote an e-mail and sent it to all four of them. It was a kind of therapy. That’s what she got for hanging out with women who all had PhDs or MDs. They just weren’t normal. And Tess loved them all. They were her family. “All right.” Josie turned the laptop toward Tess. “Sign on to your Internet service.” She narrowed her eyes. “What are we doing exactly?” Josie grinned. “Ark Underwood is ruining your sex life. We’re going to fix that by pointing out all his flaws.” Nikki clapped her hands. “Now, this sounds like fun!” Gwen jumped up. “Wait, let me get some wine. We need wine!” She raced off to the kitchen. Once they were all settled with glasses of wine, and after a great deal of giggling, Tess came up with the e-mail: ARK UNDERWOOD AND SEX THERAPY
Professional Assessment of Ark Underwood, the hot Fast Boy of NASCAR, known for being a bad boy. The very personality that drives him to succeed and win also has some serious drawbacks for personal relationships. 1) Self-centered and used to being center of attention. A woman with a career would threaten his over-inflated manhood. 2) All flash but no substance. Called “Hollywood” for his brat antics, Ark is probably as shallow as his reputation. Can’t hold a conversation unless the subject is about his penis or race car. 3) He has a competitive, risk-taking personality that drives him on to the next conquest. Could even suffer from erectile dysfunction if he doesn’t have the adrenaline rush of a new babe or some other sexual device. 4) Serious commitment phobia since he never stays with any woman very long. Probably harkens back to self-centeredness, competitive streak and risk-taking traits. 5) In short, Ark Underwood needs a mother, not a girlfriend or life partner. Who wants to sleep with a man who needs a mother?
So, in conclusion, I declare myself free of my fantasy of Ark Underwood. The next time my sometime-date, Fred, asks me on a long weekend, I am there! “Perfect!” Josie declared. “Send it!” After two glasses of wine, Tess was mellow. She clicked onto all three of her friends’ e-mail addresses and sent the e-mail. Amazon.com: Books: Wicked Women Whodunnit Barnes & Noble.com - Wicked Women Whodunnit Back to Books |