Better pace myself

You're tempted throughout the day, of course. In the breakroom, you meet a couple of the same women who were there yesterday. They're friendly now, but no one flashes or gropes you. One of them, from the bookkeeping office, you think, asks if you've seen Loni or Linda today. You answer that they're out sick as far as you know, but you note a bit of whispering and giggling between her and the other women at her table as you leave the room.

You guess that some gossip has sprung up surrounding yesterday's "tour" of Documentation. Not that your arm-in-arm departure with the ladies yesterday was going to throw anyone off the trail. Still, it's tempting to give yourself a spray and see how quick they are to gossip after they've spent the day fighting over your cock.

You attempt a string of similar rationalizations throughout the day, but somehow manage to stick to your work until quitting time. You've completed the storeroom clean out, and Scruffy informs you that tomorrow he'll teach you how to deal with "red bag" lab waste. Oh, joy.

That evening you "enjoy" a frozen dinner and flip around the TV channels, but every swimsuit model or dancer or reality show bimbo reminds you of how horny you are, and how the can in your jacket pocket could get you under the skirt of any woman with a sense of smell. You sleep fitfully.

The next morning, after you shower, you find yourself standing in the bathroom with your AXE can in hand, thinking about that hot Indian girl who works the morning counter at Dunkin' Donuts, when the phone rings.

"Hi, John ? It's Tami."

"Oh, hi! Feeling any better?"

"Yeah. I'm still kind of wheezy, but not so horribly tired and weak. I'm pretty sure I'll be able to go in tomorrow. I kind of have to... I've used up all my sick days for the year playing hooky."

Her voice is still arousing, even with a little too much rasp, but it also seems to have a comforting effect on you. You pocket the can, unused, and head to pick up Tami.

She greets you with a smile as she gets in the car, a bit pale and bleary-eyed, but lively, and her voice is almost back to normal. After the initial greetings, you're both quiet for the first block or so, before she says "You know, I didn't really mean what I said yesterday morning."

"What was..."

"That I shouldn't have overexerted myself? I'm really, really glad I did," she chuckles. "It was really incredible, and I didn't want you to think that I, like, regretted it or anything." She turns in her seat to face you. "I'm still not sure what came over me. Well, besides you..." You snort at her joke, and she giggles before continuing. "I mean, I've had some flings with guys I didn't know very well, but I've always felt kind of distanced from them, even though I probably talked to most of them more than we have. With you, I don't know... I just felt this incredibly powerful desire, but also this trust..."

You realize as she speaks that you're having the same feelings toward her -- a sense of affinity, perhaps even of love, for someone you've barely met. Is this a side effect of the AXE, or just a side effect of fantastic sex? Unfortunately, your testing of the latter has been rather limited prior to this week.

"Now, usually people have one-night stands, and they call them that for a reason. But I really don't want this to be like that, because it was just too fucking good." You glance over when she says that, and note the wicked smile on her lips and fierce gleam in her eyes. "If we really hit it off socially, and we decide to like, date, then fine. But there shouldn't be any pressure to do that, because we already know that we're, like..."

"Friends... with benefits?" you offer.

"With really awesome benefits," she laughs, as you pull into the Beef n' Beer lot. You share a long, deep kiss before she leaves your car, and the two of you proceed separately to Biogentech.

You consider delaying your lunch break to eat with Tami, who generally has lunch hour phone duty, but Scruffy insists on conducting his briefing about biohazardous materials in the afternoon. At your normal lunchtime, however, as you sit down at your table, you notice Loni and Linda passing the breakroom. Did they see you first, and decide to go out to lunch instead?

After your session with Scruffy, you contrive a reason to head over by Documentation to gauge the girls reaction. As you pass the door, you see only Linda inside.