Pillow Talk - Choni

Chapter 23

Toni's POV



Toni's alarm went off and instinctively, she reached her arm over and smacked the top of her phone. It shouldn't have turned off the alarm, but it did. She'd have to worry about whether she broke her phone or not later, because right now she had to focus on why her face was ridiculously hot at the moment. And hairy.

Cheryl slept on her sometimes, but not with her head pressed onto Toni's face. And this didn't feel like Cheryl's hair at all. She reached her other hand up and connected with a ball of fur. And then something cold and wet.

"God dammit! Shithead, get off me!" She didn't even give him a chance to move because she shoved him to the side and he landed clumsily on Cheryl's face instead.

"Why are you yelling, it's like three in the morning," Cheryl grumbled.

"It's actually not. And why is Shithead in bed with us?"

"Didn't you hear him crying all night?"

"No? I was sleeping. Peacefully. Without a care in the world."

"Real nice Toni. He was crying because he was alone so I thought I would cuddle with him just to help him fall asleep. And then I guess we both did."

"Well I woke up with him on my face."

"Hey! I'm the only one allowed to sit there," Cheryl said with a smirk. Toni glared at her, still in a sour mood from the animal sleeping on her face. "Jeez, tough crowd in the morning."

"Whatever. Keep him off me when I'm sleeping. And awake. Just, keep him off me. Period."

Cheryl sat up and rubbed at her eyes. "Okay cranky-pants, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong."

"Bullshit. You're moody in the morning but this is a new level of asshole."

Toni sighed. "Alright fine, I'm just really nervous about work today."

"Why? You've never been worried about work before."

"Well this week starts the reviews for who's being considered for the CEO position for the end of the year."

"You shouldn't be nervous. You're the best COO the company's ever had. Cowell said so himself."

"That's what worries me. What if he thinks I'm so good that he keeps me there and then I don't get the higher position?"

"Could that actually happen?"

"It's possible. There are a few underneath me who could be good enough. One of them is that idiot Hayward and I'm pretty sure Cowell hates him so he probably won't be getting my job."

"You should hope he gets your job. Then you get Cowell's, become his direct boss, and then you can ship him to Siberia or something." She smiled and kissed Cheryl on the cheek because she is literally the perfect wife. She gets it.

"You're perfect, you know that right?"

"Awe, babe."

"No really, I don't know what I would do without you. I would die without you."

"Of course you would. I am the greatest good you are ever going to get."

"Anddddd, it's gone," Toni said and stood up so she could go get ready for work.

"Nooo! Come back here and love me!" Cheryl whined from the bed, but she could tell she was laughing behind it.

She went into the bathroom, brushed her teeth and took a quick shower. She contemplated leaving her hair alone but she figured she had to be on top of her game all week so she sat down and took the extra time to straighten it. When it was all finished, she picked out her sleek black suit and black red-bottomed heels. She set them up on bed and went back into her closet to grab her underwear.

"Damn, busting out the louboutins. People are going to die today when they see you," Cheryl said looking at the outfit she picked out.

"Better than you killing them I guess."

"True. Then I won't go to jail and I won't have to worry about you trying to replace me while I'm locked up."

"Baby, I wouldn't replace you if you went to prison."

"You wouldn't? I think I might."

"Cher!"

"I'm kidding. I'd visit you at every opportunity. And then I'd tell everyone that you killed a man in my honor."

"The saddest part is that I don't think you're joking about that." Toni finished getting ready at the same time Cheryl did and they walked out of their closets to see each other dressed up for the day.

"Holy fuck, you look good in a suit," Cheryl said grabbing onto the flaps and pulling her closer. "I am positive that you're gonna get that job, babe."

"How do you know that?"

"One look and your boss will drop dead. Then by default, his job becomes yours."

"I'm going to pretend that was actually encouraging." Toni kissed her on the forehead and checked herself out in the mirror one last time before leaving the bedroom. And then she had a mini heart attack when she almost stepped on the puppy because he was racing out of the room to catch up to Cheryl who had already gone downstairs.

"I was just curious, what's going to happen to Shithead today? I do not feel comfortable leaving him here alone."

"Crap, I didn't think about that," Cheryl said peeling her banana. "Maybe we could hire a sitter?"

Toni looked at her Rolex and back at Cheryl. "One that will be here in fifteen minutes?"

"Okay, bad idea. Maybe one of us can go to one of those like pet daycares? Actually, the dog store I went to yesterday has like a sitter service; Grace told me about it. It might be pricey, but it's kind of our only option right now."

"Great. Now to pay more money for a furball I told you we shouldn't have offered to take care of." She glared at the puppy who was happily munching on his $200 dry dog food. He stopped to look at them like he knew they were talking about him. "What are you looking at," she sneered and he dropped his head back to his bowl and finished his breakfast.

Cheryl smacked her on the arm and pointed a finger at her. "Stop being rude to him. This isn't his fault."

"Nope, it's yours," she said and filled her travel mug with coffee. "But if you're going to drop him off you should find out how much it's going to be for the rest of the week. Might as well."

"Alright." Cheryl threw out her banana peel and dug around in her phone until she pulled out her phone, which was buzzing. "Hey Veronica. I'm putting you on speaker."

"Hey guys! How was your assignment yesterday?"

"Amazing. Definitely my new favorite," Cheryl said.

"Good. Good. How about you Toni? Do you agree?"

"Nope. Nothing we ever do will top getting a lap dance from her."

"Yeah, I can imagine. Her ass is great."

"Veronica! I'm right here!" Cheryl yelled and Toni could tell she was blushing.

"I know. Your ass is great by the way. Do you do squats?"

"Not unless you count it when she hovers over toilets in public bathrooms," Toni answered with a snort. "Or drops her keys when her hands are full."

Veronica and Toni laughed and she dodged a smack from the younger woman. She wrapped her arms around Cheryl's body, trapping her arms so she couldn't try to hit her again.

"I hate you both. Just give us the assignment."

"Okay. So before I tell you the assignment, I have a question. How do you two feel about roleplaying?"

"Never really thought about it? I'm super awkward, like as a regular human being, so playing some kind of sexy role would probably suck for me," Cheryl said honestly.

"Yeah, and I just found out that I don't suck at talking dirty, so I didn't think of going any further than that," Toni added after.

"Okay, follow up question. Do you own a video camera?"

"I think so? Somewhere around here?"

Toni's eyes widened when she caught the implication. "No. No. Absolutely not. Not doing it. Nope."

"Oh come on Toni, just hear me out," Veronica pleaded.

"No, fuck that. I'm not making a sex tape!"

"It's not a sex tape! That's such a trashy term. I was thinking more like a mild pornographic film."

"Fuck you and your book, I'm not doing it," Toni said, filling Shithead's water bowl when she saw that he finished it and was whining again.

"Okay, calm down, I was kidding. But I was serious about the roleplay thing."

"I can do that. As long as you don't make me call her a slut or anything," Toni said, her tone softening considerably.

Cheryl squeezed her forearm gently with a smile. "Okay, what kind of roleplay are we talking about?"

"You two will be going to a bar tonight and pretending to be strangers. I'll decide later, but one of you will be trying to pick the other one up. And then the other will pretend fall for it and then take you home and then you'll bang each other."

"Will we have like personas?"

"Yes you will. Later on, I will text you the details of the bar you're going to along with each of your characters. Just remember to give it a chance and have fun with it, because just about all of your assignments so far have been on the more serious side. I know how much you both love chapter 14."

"Sounds good. Talk to you later Veronica."

"Until later. Happy humping...with a pretend stranger."

Cheryl put her phone back away and Toni grabbed her bag for work. "You should probably leave soon if you're going to drop Shithead off," Toni said.

"Yeah, I'm right behind you." They left the house and went to their separate cars. Toni settled her items and started the car. She was looking for her sunglasses when the tap on her window scared the hell out of her.

"Jesus, you scared me. What is it?"

"My car won't start. You're going to have to take us today." Toni sighed and gestured for Cheryl to come around. The younger woman settled into the passenger seat with the puppy on her lap, panting happily with his tongue flopping out of his mouth.

"If he throws up in here, I will throw him out the window. I just got the leather upgraded."

Cheryl scoffed and rubbed the puppy's back. "Are you going to threaten our children that way?"

"Probably. Once they're old enough to understand," she shrugged. She pulled out of the driveway and onto the street. As she drove the familiar route to Marjorie's, she couldn't help but to glance over at Cheryl and the puppy in her front seat. Her wife was so cute with it. But at the same time she was picturing the same amount of care being applied to a baby human instead of a baby dog. The thought made her smile like it always did and she had to drag her eyes away from the way Cheryl whispered little things in the puppy's ear and he would lick her face as a response.

"Okay, we're here," she said as she parked in front of the restaurant. Cheryl gently tried to encourage the puppy to go to Toni willingly but he took one look at the brown eyes and cowered back.

"I don't get it. He was sharing an apple with you yesterday. And you two were civil."

"That was before he slept on my face and decided to make me spend more money on him."

"I told you I would pay for the daycare," Cheryl argued.

"What's the point? Your money is my money and vice versa."

"Whatever. Go to Toni cutie. Toni, stick out your hand."

"So he can gnaw on my fingers? I don't think so."

"First of all, he only does that to play with you. And second, it tickles." Cheryl gave up and dropped the puppy into Toni's lap. He stood there instead of sitting and Toni was glad he knew to be afraid. "You two be good." Cheryl gave Toni a kiss on the lips and the puppy a kiss on the nose.

As gently as she could, she drove the car across the street and into the parking lot of the small plaza where the dog store was. She got out holding the small animal and walked into the much cooler store. She looked around and finally spotted someone behind the counter.

"Hi, I'm looking for Grace?"

"She's off today, but maybe I can help? I'm Hannah." The shorter girl with short blonde hair held out a hand and Toni shook it with her free hand.

"Toni. I was wondering if you would be able to look after this little guy for the day?"

The girl gave a small apologetic smile. "We can't, sorry. Drop off ended at eight-thirty."

"You're kidding," Toni said with an annoyed face.

"Wish I was. They actually take all of the pups to our center across town and the van leaves at eight-thirty."

"Can I take him there then?"

"It's against our policy, I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault. This just really sucks."

"Hannah! Where are my scalpels?!" Toni craned her neck to find out where the super loud voice that rivaled Tabitha's was coming from. Sure enough, a woman in a lab coat with her red hair tied into a side ponytail walked up next to her to talk to the blonde cashier.

"I told you like fifteen times Mam, I don't know where you keep your scalpels."

"Well how else am I supposed to cut into this mutt?" Toni gaped at the woman and she turned to acknowledge her.

"I'm just kidding. Hi, I'm Dr. Hart. We've never met but I believe I do know this little monster," she said scratching the top of Shithead's head. "Is he okay?"

"He's fine. I was just trying to find some last minute babysitting for him but I apparently missed check in and I don't know what to do with him because I have to go to work."

"Wow. Sounds like you deserve a drink."

"Yeah, a shot sounds great," Toni muttered.

"Don't tell any of the uptight customers, but I actually have a flask back here," Hannah said in a quiet voice. "I'm actually slightly buzzed right now," she said, looking proud of her confession.

"Maybe next time, but I actually have to get going. But I will see you tomorrow at eight."

"See you then Toni and..."

"Oh, his name is Shithead."

Hannah squinted her eyes like she was trying to tell if Toni was serious, but then she beamed. "I like it. See you tomorrow, Shithead." The puppy barked and the duo left the store.

Toni looked at the puppy who was sitting in her passenger seat as he looked right back at her. "I sure hope Hermosa likes dogs." She pulled out of the parking lot and drove off to work, hoping she wouldn't be late on the first day of review.

She reached her office, sent her car with the valet, and rushed up to her office floor ignoring all of the strange looks she received for showing up at the office with a dog. She stepped out of the elevator and stopped at Hermosa's desk.

"Thank God you're here. Mr. Cowell is expecting you in a meeting in five minutes with all of the other board members and the others under review."

"Shit, why didn't you call me?"

"I did. You didn't answer." She checked her phone and saw that she had three text messages from Hermosa and two missed calls. "And why do you have a dog?"

"Cheryl and I are fostering him for the week. And I need you to take care of him today." She handed over the small animal and Hermosa took him awkwardly.

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"I don't know, just keep him occupied. And don't let him eat anything important."

"What if he gets hungry?"

"Then go out and buy him something. This really isn't that hard Hermosa." The younger girl didn't get a chance to argue any further because Toni was already in her office dropping her bag off and grabbing her work tablet so she could get to the meeting somewhat early. She shuffled past Hermosa who was pointing at the puppy and telling him to "stay" as she picked up her own papers and hurried after Toni.

"Here. They plan on going over the newly acquired accounts," Hermosa said handing her a slim black binder. Toni took it and crossed her fingers as she walked into the conference room and left Hermosa outside.

"Ah, Toni, you're here," the old man at the head of the table greeted. "Have a seat."

"Thank you. Good morning gentlemen." She took a seat at the table, a little too close to Cowell for her own comfort, and set her things up for the meeting. Cowell started his drabble that Toni was tuning out. And then the meeting complete with the projector in the front of the room began and still Toni was too lost in her thoughts to pay attention.

"Toni?"

Her head snapped up and she noticed all eyes on her. "I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"

"No problem. I was just mentioning to everyone how successful your benefit last week was and the amount we turned in from the donations and auctions. Truly amazing job, Topaz-Blossom."

"Thank you sir."

"People like her are how we stay on top. Which brings me to the main reason you are all here. As you very well know, this year is my last with the company. And so, there will be a need to fill my position. The members of the board and I have decided on the four of you to be considered for the spot." He gestured to her, the man next to her, and the two others seated across from her.

"And so this week is very important. Your history with the company will be taken into consideration, along with everything you do this week. Take care of your accounts and do the great jobs you've been doing and you should have nothing to worry about."

Toni's office headset began to beep and she hit the button to decline the call quickly. It still brought the attention to her and she smiled shyly. "Sorry, must be my assistant."

"I get it, you want to get to work now. No problem. Ms. Topaz-Blossom, Mr. Metcalfe, Mr. Somerhalder, Mr. Wesley. Good luck."

The four associates waited for Mr. Cowell and the board members to leave before gathering their things and standing up to leave. Four sets of eyes gazed at each other with malice and conviction.

"Well I assure you that you'll be able to maintain your positions once I become CEO. I need good people like you working for me," Ian Somerhalder said with a tug on his blue silk tie.

"I can't make such promises. You'll have to work to maintain your spots under my leadership," Paul Wesley said with a smug grin.

"Guys, how about everyone calm down, alright? Cowell's crazy, for all we know this could be a hoax and he's not actually retiring," Jesse Metcalfe reasoned.

"Sounds like Jesse's scared. Afraid you'll lose out to us? Or worse. A girl?" Ian mocked, winking at Toni.

"Well if you paid attention, I made more money than you this year Ian. Or were you too distracted by your secretary's chest when you were banging her against your desk? We all know, you're not very discreet. But then again, it's always over so fast some people might have mistaken your dalliances as a few quick knocks on their doors."

He sneered at her and shook his shoulders to adjust his suit jacket. Paul must've choked on the water he was sipping because he started coughing loudly. Jesse covered his mouth to keep his laughter in and Ian turned away with a huff. Wesley followed shortly after, leaving Jesse and Toni alone in the conference room.

"I don't think I've ever seen Ian with his mouth shut. Nice one Topaz," Jesse said giving her a high five.

"He's a sexist, misogynistic, piece of shit. And my wife says I have an instinctive need to be an asshole to people who feel the need to open their mouths when they don't have to. Looks like it worked in my favor today."

"I'll say. Plus, if he becomes my boss after this, now I've got some blackmail to use against him, so thanks for that."

"Let's all hope he doesn't get the job. Because then we're all screwed."

"Couldn't agree more. You got lunch plans later? I'd love to talk business with you. If I don't get the job, I'd want you to have it."

"Sure, I can have my secretary bring us something around one?"

"Sounds good."




*****




Toni paused mid-email to put her headset in and answer the incoming call. "Hi, this is Toni."

"Toni! It's Tabitha."

"Tabitha, why are you calling me at work?"

"Are you saying you're not excited to talk to me?"

"Not particularly. Especially since your furry little present is giving me headaches and it's only been a day."

"Well you should get used it him. It's been a whole day, which means Cheryl's already in love with him."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"You're whipped as fuck. So you're keeping that dog because Cheryl wants to keep that dog."

"I'm waiting for you to get to your point. I have actual work to do today, Tabitha."

"Rude! But I should tell you that Veronica is super busy doing the many interviews I set her up with because I am the greatest manager anyone's ever had." Toni rolled her eyes because she could practically see Tabitha flipping her hair over her shoulder. "So, I'm giving you the part of your assignment for your freaky little role play thingy with Cheryl."

Toni stopped typing and gasped. "No! I did not sign up for you to have any part of this."

"Too bad, shouldn't have fucked your wife in my bathroom. Twice! Now, your persona tonight is a thirty year old dildo salesman from Oklahoma."

"Tabitha, where is Veronica?"

"Are you listening? You have to be a dildo salesman from Oklahoma!"

"That's not even a real job!"

"Yes it is. And it's your job for tonight. You should go buy some so that way you can go to the bar tonight and show her a bit of your product." She didn't get a chance to tell Tabitha to shut the hell up because the line went muffled and there sounded like a struggle.

"Hi, Toni? It's Veronica."

"Oh thank God. Tell me Tabitha really isn't in charge of this."

"Of course not. I told her to call you for me, but I guess she got a little carried away. Let it be known that at no point has Tabitha been involved with any of your assignments and the only knowledge she has of them she had learned either from the book or from what you guys have told her. I have never disclosed the information of your assignments or their results with her, no matter how much she has pried."

"It's alright Veronica. I was just a little concerned for a second. She said I was a dildo salesman from Oklahoma. Why would someone even want to sell just dildos? From Oklahoma no less."

"She's not very smart, I know." There was another scuffle on the other line and Veronica finally came back clearly. "She's acting like a child so I'm going to make this quick. You're a single girl who happens to be in grad school working on getting a chemistry degree. You're sexy, but nerdy, and you've never had a one night stand before."

"I haven't been a nerdy virgin since I was seventeen so I don't know how this is gonna work. Plus, I almost failed chemistry. Three times."

"Okay fine, engineering then. Be at the Scene downtown at nine. You just might meet someone you'd like to go home with."

"Veronica, I'm going to suck at this."

"No you won't. Cheryl's got the dominant persona so all you have to do is sit back and let her hit on you. Simple enough."

"Okay." There was a knock on her door and Jesse poked his head in and held up a white paper bag. "I'm going to lunch, I'll talk to you tomorrow."

"Yes you will. Have fun tonight, make bad choices!"

She shook her head with a chuckle and hung up the phone.

"You can come in Jesse."

"Did I interrupt something important?"

"Not at all, it was just a friend of mine." He dropped the bag on her desk and pulled up the chair to sit across from her.

"I hope you don't mind my assistant picked up Mexican."

"Not at all."

"Oh that's nice. What does she do?"

"She's a successful business owner. She's actually on her way to being an entrepreneur."

"Damn, a power couple. That's not something you see every day."

She ate a mouthful of her rice and beans and laughed. "I guess not. But I guess our dual positions of power can be inspiring to some."

"No kidding, how long have you two been together?"

"Since we were fourteen. We grew up like down the street from each other and I've known her pretty much forever."

"That's great. I should probably settle down too. I'm already thirty-six, not like I'm getting any younger."

"Oh my god, if you're thirty-six, I'm thirty-six." He laughed but she wasn't kidding. For a man who was thirty-six, he was fit and great looking, and didn't look a day over twenty-five. If she wasn't so incredibly gay, and he didn't look like he could be a Topaz-Blossom himself, she would be all over that.

"You're sweet, but it's true. I guess I'm just super unlucky with women."

"Have you tried men? Not to imply anything, but being gay has worked out incredibly well for me." He laughed again and she didn't. "I'm not even kidding."

"I appreciate your suggestion, but I am very straight. Thank you though."

They continued their lunch with light conversations about women and work and cars and just regular things she used to talk about with her friends. She had always known Jesse as one of her nicer peers but she never really gave him a chance to have a conversation. She was seated at their table at the benefit but they were on opposite sides, and while she worked more on the consumer side, he was more on the tech side of their position.

After lunch, she finished up with her work and bitterly took the puppy so Hermosa could finish hers. She had a whole hour to do absolutely nothing so she flew her helicopter around and watched Shithead bark at it and follow it around the room. It was surprisingly entertaining and she would have to get another one to keep in the house to do the same thing when he got on her nerves. Maybe she'd get a car this time. Or if Cheryl taught him to swim, she could get a boat.

"No," she mumbled to herself. Not possible. Cheryl couldn't teach him how to swim because there wasn't enough time. He would only be with them for a week. To hell with what Tabitha said, they weren't keeping him. She would put her foot down this time.

When he tired himself out and flopped onto his back on the floor, quite dramatically in Toni's opinion, she made Hermosa find her a paper bowl and gave him some bottled water since it was all she had in her office. He lapped it up eagerly and then rubbed himself against her legs. Maybe in affection or maybe because he wandered over and was too stupid to find his way from behind the desk. Either way, Toni didn't care.

It was finally time to leave and Toni picked up their temporary pet and her bag. She said goodbye to Hermosa and left the building. The drive home was short and she didn't see Cheryl's car in the driveway when she got there. Inside on the counter was a little note, which she should've expected.




Took my car to the mechanic & I'm staying at Tabitha's tonight. Love you babe

-Cher <3




She tossed the note back on the counter and went upstairs to change out of her work clothes. It was way too early to go to the bar so she put on some sweats, after finding a pair in Cheryl's closet, and a t-shirt. Her hair went up into a messy bun and her contacts were replaced by her glasses. She went back downstairs, grabbed an apple, and plopped onto the couch to watch a little TV to pass the time.

Across the room, the puppy eyed her curiously. And then he made his way slowly over to the couch. She flipped through the channels and pretended to ignore him, even as he got closer and closer until he was right in her line of vision.

"I don't care how you look at me, I'm not going to cuddle with you."

The puppy tilted its head and it reminded her of when Cheryl did it. Except Cheryl was cuter. She munched on her apple and continued to ignore him. He barked and she looked away from the TV.

"What do you want Shithead?" He barked again. "Okay, because I understand your incessant barking. If you don't speak English, don't expect me to understand you."

He barked yet again and she refocused on the TV. "Nope. Not giving in. I don't care how big his eyes are," she mumbled to herself. The puppy jumped so his front paws were resting on the couch next to her arm. He was panting and his tongue was out and flopping to the side and she glared at him. "I hate you," she said, but still picked the puppy up and set him down on her chest. He immediately laid on his stomach and got comfortable.

He was light and not overly warm so she barely felt him there. He even seemed to enjoy the way he rose and fell as she breathed. Okay, maybe he wasn't all bad. But she still hadn't forgiven him for thinking that her face was a suitable bed. She hadn't even realized that he scooted and now had his head on her collarbone. His tongue came out and he licked the underside of her chin. "Alright, Shithead, let's not get carried away. Just because I let you lay here doesn't mean you can kiss me." He did it again anyway and she sighed because either he didn't understand her or he was simply ignoring her. She suspected the latter. And before she knew it, they were both asleep on the couch, the TV acting as mere background noise.

Toni awoke with a jump, which scared the puppy, and they both looked around the darkened room to figure out where they were and what time it was. She picked up her phone from the coffee table and saw that she still had an hour before she needed to go and meet up with her wife, who would be playing some unknown character to her. She put the puppy back on the floor and slowly made her way up the stairs.

She took a quick shower and stood around her closet wondering what to put on. She repeated the word 'nerdy' out loud over and over again. And then she almost face palmed because all she really had to do was dress the way she did when she was high school. Because she was a huge nerd. She was popular and had a lot of friends and played sports, but she was still a nerd through and through.

Toni pulled out two different flannels, one red plaid and one blue plaid, and held them in front of her. "What do you think?" she asked the puppy who had been sitting at the door and watching her. He tilted his head to the right, toward the blue one, and she took his confusion as a decision. "Yeah, Cher likes blue." She picked out a pair of black jeans and some white slip-on vans. She put on the clothes she decided on and looked in the mirror.

"I still don't look nerdy enough. I just look...gay."

The puppy barked and she looked back at him. "Again. Not understanding any of that." She put on a grey Neff beanie and her glasses back on. She returned to the mirror and grinned. "Shit, I look like I'm twenty-one again." She checked her watch and saw that she had twenty minutes to get to the bar.

She hustled down the steps and picked up her keys. Before she left, she turned back to the puppy. "If I catch any sign that you were in my closet, I will kill you." He stared at her blankly and she nodded in acceptance; he understood.




*****




She stood at the bar nursing a rum and coke and absentmindedly stirred her drink with the skinny black straw. The music was pretty good and the bar had a club atmosphere, so the lights were low and there was a black light glow to everything. And surprisingly, there were a lot of people for a Monday night.

"Hey, why is so packed on a weeknight?" she shouted to the bartender.

"It's an event. Singles mixer." She scoffed. Of course Veronica would send them to pretend to be strangers at a fucking singles mixer. It also must've been why she got carded for the first time in ages at the door. The bouncer clearly did not believe that she was twenty-seven but let her in anyway.

She was surprised when the bartender dropped another drink in front of her when she wasn't even finished with hers. Apparently her face conveyed her confusion. "That guy over there bought it," he pointed across the bar. A guy with way too much hair gel winked at her and chugged from her beer. She shrugged because free liquor was free liquor. And her old one was getting water down anyway.

She sipped on her new drink and nodded her head to the music. She looked around the bar to see if she could find her wife. If she saw her first, maybe she could prepare herself for what Cheryl's persona would be.

"Hel-lo Gorgeous," someone said behind her. She turned to see a completely different guy eyeing her up and down. "You must be new around here because I'm sure I wouldn't be able to forget that ass in a million years."

He was way too douchey, way too young, and way too male to be her type. But she went with it because why the hell not, right?

"Oh, um, thanks?" she said, truly embracing her character.

"No problem. I'm Jake. What's your name so I can call you something besides gorgeous?"

"Toni."

"So, Toni, what do you say we skip all the small talk and we just grab a cab."

She was about to respond, but a voice from behind him interrupted her. "Excuse me, dick, but could you please leave?"

He held up a finger, as if to tell her to wait a second, and turned to the new party. "And who are you?"

"I'm her girlfriend. And she's not interested, so keep it pushing, Tattooes."

He turned back to her suspiciously. "You know this girl?" She peeked behind him and sure enough, it was her wife. Or random beautiful stranger for the night. She nodded and the guy shook his head in disbelief but walked away.

"Thanks for that," she said as Cheryl took his place in front of her. Her eyes raked over Cheryl's body and the tight, black dress she was wearing. She recognized it as one she bought and God she had never been happier to have spent $200 on a piece of cloth. A piece of cloth that hugged Cheryl's curves so perfectly, it was like a second skin. And the black stilettos she wore made her tanned legs look even longer.

"Hey you, keep those brown eyes up here," the younger woman said with a smirk. Toni wasn't in character when she blushed and turned back to her drink. "So since I totally just saved you back there, can I get your name?"

"I'm Toni."

"Toni. I like it. I'm Cheryl." They shook hands and Toni noticed Cheryl checking her out this time.

"So I can't check you out but you can do it?"

"Absolutely. That body deserves to be checked out."

Toni blushed again and she realized she was playing her part very well. Without even trying.

"Bartender! I'll take a mineral water with lemon and whatever this beautiful girl is having." He nodded and went away to make their drinks. When he came back, Toni had to abandon her unfinished drink yet again for a new one. "So are you here alone?"

"No, I'm supposed to be meeting a friend," she lied. "Apparently, I need to take a break from studying."

"Studying? What do you study?"

"I'm in grad school for engineering."

"Wow, beautiful and smart. I guess I came to the right bar, huh."

Toni smiled and shrugged. "What do you do for a living?"

"I'm a lawyer. Blossom and Associates. Maybe you've seen our ads around town?"

She grinned and played along. "Yeah. I'm pretty sure I sat on a bench with your face on it."

"Well I'd rather you sit on the real thing, but that's good to know," Cheryl smirked.

Toni choked on her drink and gave Cheryl a thumbs up when the younger woman looked genuinely concerned for her well-being. "I'm good, I promise. You're, uh, forward aren't you?"

"What can I say? I'm a woman who knows what she wants. And I am one hundred percent sure that I see something I want." Cheryl leaned by Toni's ear and she shivered. "Did I mention that I always get what I want?" She was glad Cheryl couldn't hear her heart because it was thumping in her chest.

"I don't even know what to say to that," she said honestly.

"Well you could start by telling me what I could say to get you to leave with me tonight."

"I'm not really that kind of girl. I don't usually do that kind of thing."

"You're not the kind of girl who appreciates a mind-blowing orgasm? That's insane."

"No, I mean the going home with strangers thing." Toni felt ridiculous because Cheryl was actually making her nervous. She really felt like a young grad student getting hit on by a seductive older woman in a bar. An older woman who was very close to getting her to abandon her morals.

"Okay, fair enough. How about we get to know each other then?" She nodded and allowed Cheryl to lead her to one of the open booths in the corner. She sat for what felt like hours and listened to Cheryl talk about her "job" and her "past" and her "dog at home". She was almost convinced that she was talking to a completely different woman who was wearing her wife's face. But then Cheryl would smile with her tongue between her teeth or laugh her super obnoxious laugh or do that thing where she fluffed her hair to the side and she knew it was the same girl she fell in love with when she was fourteen.

"So Toni. We've been talking for a bit and we know a lot about each other now. Safe to say we're not strangers anymore." Cheryl scooted closer and rested a hand on the middle of her thigh.

"Yeah, I guess not."

"So how about that original offer?"

"I don't know, I have class tomorrow and I also have this big test coming up that I-,"

She got cut off when the younger woman fused their lips together and she kissed back without even thinking. Cheryl was really on tonight and her tongue was tracing Toni's bottom lip after not even two seconds. Toni granted the entrance it desired anyway and let their tongues caress each other. She whimpered when Cheryl pulled away. "You were saying something about a test?" the younger woman whispered against her lips.

"Hmm, what test?" Her eyes were still closed and she waited for Cheryl's lips to come back to hers and she opened her eyes when they didn't.

"I'll take that as you saying yes. I'm going to go to the bathroom and then we'll get out of here. I'll be right back." Cheryl pecked her lips one last time before sliding out of the other side of the booth and maneuvering around the people to get to the restrooms on the other side of the bar. Toni sat back with a dopey grin on her face. She kept it in her mind that she was about to have sex with an extremely alluring and sexy stranger and it turned her on more than she thought it would.

She jumped in surprise when someone pushed her further into the booth so they could sit and it wasn't Cheryl. She noticed her wife's blonde manager and she was looking around frantically. "Tori? What are you doing here?"

"It's a single's mixer and I'm single. I'm trying to meet someone. But the question is, what the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh, I'm just-,"

"Nevermind, it's not my business. But you need to get the hell up out of here before that chick comes back. If Cheryl finds out that you were here, and some girl was all over you, she would murder you. And that girl. And probably me for seeing it."

Toni chuckled and looked at the fearful drunken look in Tori's eyes. "Tori, Cheryl won't be upset."

"We both know who your wife is. I work for her and I've seen her at her scariest. And I'm telling you to bounce before she sets you on fire. And that poor girl doesn't deserve to die. She probably doesn't know that she's a homewrecker."

Toni laughed. Tori's eyes were still darting around waiting for the "homewrecker" to come back. And the fact that her words were slurred made it even funnier. "Tori, how much have you had to drink?"

"This isn't about me, this is about you," Tori said poking her on the cheek. Or at least trying but missing and hitting her chin instead. Toni laughed again. "What's so funny? Cheryl is insane and I refuse to die for you Toni. You're great and everything but I'm too young to be murdered as an accessory to adultery." Cheryl was spotted by both of them and Tori scrambled to her feet and dodged into the crowd of people.

"Was that the friend you were supposed to be meeting earlier?" Cheryl asked with a curious tilt of her head. But Toni could see the semi jealous glint in her eyes. Apparently, neither of them recognized the other.

"Yeah, but she's drunk," Toni dismissed with a wave of her hand.

"Oh, maybe we should call her a cab before getting out of here?"

Toni craned her neck to see if Tori really was a danger to herself. But she was busy dancing on some guy in a snapback and Toni figured she was fine. "She'll be alright." Cheryl accepted the explanation and pulled Toni to her feet and out of the bar. They went to the parking lot where Toni had parked her car and she allowed Cheryl to drive after the younger woman insisted because Toni had two drinks.

They arrived at "Cheryl's house" and Toni followed her inside. "Nice place," Toni commented, kicking off her shoes at the door.

"Thank you. The bedroom is this way," the redhead said continuing to pull Toni around. They went up the stairs and to "Cheryl's bedroom" where Shithead was playing with a tennis ball in the middle of the floor. "Sorry, let me get rid of our company."

She tossed the ball down the hallway and the puppy scampered after it eagerly. She shut the door behind him and turned her back to Toni. "Help me with my dress, Toni," Cheryl said in the sexiest voice Toni had ever heard from her. She gulped and pulled the zipper down with shaky hands.

Cheryl allowed the black fabric to fall from her body and pool at her feet. Her naked back still faced Toni and her red lace underwear was anything but innocent. "Are you nervous Toni?" She turned around and Toni's gaze landed and stayed on her chest.

"Not at all," she replied. Lie.

Cheryl giggled and took Toni's hands. She placed them on her breasts and threw her head back when Toni began to massage them and roll her nipples between her fingers. "Fuck," she whispered. Toni groaned and began to rapidly undress herself. When she was down to nothing, Cheryl quirked an eyebrow. "Eager much?"

"Only a little." She pushed Cheryl down onto the bed and practically pounced on top of her, connecting their lips messily. She was only able to stay on top for 6.5 seconds before Cheryl flipped them over.

"Nice try, nerd. But I'm on top," Cheryl said with a smirk. Toni moaned when Cheryl started sucking and scraping her teeth over her nipple, while gently pinching the other.

"Are you going to tease me all night?" Toni asked, arching her back on a particularly rough bite.

"I was going to take it easy on you, since you're so inexperienced." Toni scoffed and Cheryl lifted her head. "Alright then. I hope you can handle it."

"I can handle anyth-OH!" she screamed out when Cheryl suddenly plunged three fingers inside her. "Oh God!"

"That's not my name. I'm Cheryl, or did you forget?"

"N-never." Cheryl pumped hard, never even giving Toni a chance to adjust. She curled her fingers and Toni clutched the sheets so hard, she thought her nails would shred the fabric. "Fuck, Cheryl!"

"That's much better, sexy," Cheryl whispered in her ear and began to tease her neck with her tongue. "Are you close, Toni?"

"S-s-so c-close!"

"Come for me, Toni. I want to hear you scream for me."

"C-CHERYL!" Toni came, hard, and her back actually ached from how much it arched. The brown-eyed woman licked her fingers and then shimmied down Toni's body. "What are you doing?"

"You ask too many questions, nerd." Cheryl's tongue stroked her clit and Toni's vision went dim again. She pushed her head back into the pillow and tried to keep her hips planted to the bed. But the suction she was feeling down below was too much and she frantically bucked her hips, as if that would make it any better.

"Oh my, are you close again? Really Toni, it's barely been three minutes."

"Stop making fun of me," Toni groaned, wishing Cheryl would put her mouth to more pleasurable use.

"Wouldn't dream of it, love. But if you're going to come, I'm so glad it's going to be in my mouth and not in my hand."

And that was it. She saw stars behind her eyelids. Cheryl's slick tongue was too much and she couldn't hold on any longer. She came with a guttural moan and it took a full minute for her to come back down to Earth. She finally opened her eyes and saw Cheryl looking down at her with a gorgeous smile.

"Hey," she said, voice cracking embarrassingly.

"Hi," Cheryl replied, stroking her cheek with her thumb.

"That was fun," she said lamely.

"Yeah, that was pretty fun." Cheryl laid down beside her and rested her head on her shoulder. "I wasn't too much, was I?"

"God, no. You on top is never a bad thing. It is literally my second favorite thing in the world."

"And your first?"

"Getting to hold you after. Because then you're back to being my cuddly little Cher."

"I am pretty cuddly," she said with a giggle. She kissed her on the side of the head and pulled her closer.

"Shit! The puppy!" Cheryl said letting go of her and jumping out of bed. Toni figured Cheryl didn't even realize that she was still only in just her underwear. And when she came back holding him against her chest, Toni laughed. "He was scratching at your office door. Wonder why."

She glared at him in Cheryl's arms. "No clue, but we'll never find out."

"So how did you two handle being together all day?" Cheryl said crawling back into the bed, puppy still clutched against her.

"We weren't. He spent most of the day with Hermosa."

Cheryl brought him up to her face and sniffed his fur. "I knew I smelled hooker. But I wasn't sure."

"Cher!" Toni said looking up at Cheryl who was still sniffing the puppy with a frown on her face.

"Relax, I'm kidding. Sort of."

Toni shook her head and pulled the woman to lay down next to her. "It took me eight months to get to second base with you and his face is already in there after two days."

"Yeah, well he's cuter than you," she said Eskimo kissing the puppy. She let him go and he moved to Toni's face and sniffed at her face. "Babe, he wants a kiss from you too."

"Not happening, Shithead," she said, her eyes crossing so she could see his eyes from her close proximity. Cheryl laughed, like she always did when she crossed her eyes.

Cheryl pulled him back and pet his head. "One of these days. You two are going to be inseparable."

"I highly doubt it. Now stop kissing him and kiss me, dammit!"

"Jeez, you're so needy." Cheryl put him on the floor and got closer so her nose was touching Toni's. "Better?"

"Than a dog? Absolutely."