Tamara Larson - Open House

Her innocence both delighted and horrified him. On one hand, the thought of her with anyone else sent him into a jealous rage, so he would be relieved if she hadn't been with a lot of other men. But, if she was relatively inexperienced, it was unlikely she would want to be with someone who was incapable of any kind of emotional connection.

If he was really lucky, like lottery-winner lucky, then she would be innocent and adventurous. What were the odds of that? He was pretty sure this phenomenon never happened outside of really bad porn. But this was exactly what he needed at this point in his life. If there was even a chance Lacey could deal with his limitations and still wanted to explore her sensual side with him then he really needed to broach the subject with her. He would be kicking his own ass if she got away from him again.

Until Lacey had walked into that Open House he'd thought his libido was dead. But apparently it had just been dormant. Now that it was active again, his lust was like a constant hunger in him that refused to be ignored. He was used to keeping that side of his nature in check. Even while married, he had learned to repress it. But all his usual tricks, like cold showers and exhaustion, weren't working anymore. He needed to let the beast loose.

He was a deeply sexual person, but Deborah had not been an enthusiastic lover. She had barely tolerated his touch, and yet he had remained faithful, even when it was obvious that their marriage was over. He had pushed his body and mind to the limit of his endurance with work and exercise, and yet it would still be there. That need. He had hated that weakness in him. Despised his inability to control his thoughts and the way his mind would shift into a fantasy world of women, usually not his wife, when he was not diligent in repressing his impulses. He never acted on them, but his fantasies were vivid and he feared that they would take over if he ever gave them an outlet.

Man, would he love to play out some of those fantasies with this woman. He had many years of frustration to make up for. If only she was willing to buck traditional values and have some fun. He would do everything he could to ensure she didn't get hurt. They were adults. They could be honest about their needs and what they hopefully both wanted. He didn't see why they couldn't enjoy each other without getting too heavily involved. Now, if he could just figure out a way to bring it up without sounding like a complete scum-bag.

"Okay," Serena said, looking down at her watch. "This is what I propose. Just give me three minutes, and then take a day to think about it before you guys react, okay?" She waited for Lacey's vigorous nod, and Jack's impatient, "move this along" gesture before she continued.

"Jay, you know that big old house on Elm you're currently working on? You were going to put a gatehouse sort of building out back, right? Well, I was thinking why don't we have it rezoned as two properties, and then we could build something like this for Lacey." She spread her arms to indicate the cottage.

Jack couldn't help it. Serena's idea was ridiculous. He needed to interrupt before her big ideas got out of hand. "Ess, you know that's not possible. When you brought her here to see the cottage, I thought she already had purchased the land for us to build on. What you're talking about is a very expensive piece of real estate. If the row-house was out of her price range, then your idea is way, way beyond her means." He looked apologetically at Lacey. "I'm really sorry. You have no idea how much I hate disappointing you, but Serena's plan is totally unrealistic."

"That's okay. I totally get it. I kind of had a feeling it was too good to be true," Lacey responded, trying not to let her profound disappointment show.

Serena stomped her foot in impatience. "What did I say? Give me three minutes, and then react. Just listen for another two minutes, and then you can both go back to shooting down my idea before you even give it a chance." She glared at them and then continued. "What I was thinking is that the market is changing. Look at Lacey, she's single and childless. Sorry, Lacey, but you are. Usually someone like her would be restricted to an apartment or a small townhouse. But she also has a dog, which kind of limits her ability to live in either. Right, Lacey?"

"Yup, the neighbors complain if he makes any noise, so I leave him at my mom's house with her during the day while I'm at work."

"See. Lacey doesn't need a lot of space, but she needs some separation from her neighbors. And it's the same for a lot of single moms. They want a yard for their kids to play in, but can't afford your standard three bedroom house. But what if we created something new? A community of very small, detached houses, with all the luxuries people want, but on a very small scale."

Serena smiled, knowing she had their attention, and gestured toward the front of the house. "If you used a similar floor-plan to this place, you could put a small bedroom or den there, with an attached en-suite. For guests or for a kid. Or you could build a loft over the living area."

She waved her arm toward the back of the house. "I know what you're thinking. It would still be pricey. But it wouldn't have to be this customized. I mean, I'm sorry, Jay, but that shower is ridiculous. And why do you need a front door that's ten feet tall? Do you guys see it? And how about seniors? Their population is skyrocketing, and they want to downsize. Many of them don't like apartments after living in houses for fifty years, and townhouses aren't an option because of all the stairs. Do you see the potential?"

Jack was looking at her speculatively. "I don't know. It seems like a gamble."

"It totally would be, if we were going to create the whole huge community at once. But what if we started off with just one unit? One very special place that would pilot the whole project. We could build something Lacey would love, at a discount that she could afford, and in return, she would let us use it as a Presentation Centre for a potential new development, just for a month or two. If there's no interest in it, then we could forget about the whole thing. But if it revolutionizes the real estate market, as I think it will, then we'll all be wildly successful and you'll have me to thank. Now, what do you think?"

"Wow. I'm speechless," Lacey said, looking at Jack. "What do you think? Is it possible?"

Jack rubbed his chin, and looked thoughtful. "I think Serena knows that it's not quite that easy. You can't just show people a property that may or may not be built somewhere else. It's vaguely fraudulent. But the idea itself has merit. A community of small scale detached houses. Hmmm…I wonder where you came up with that?"

"I know. I totally stole the idea from Lacey. That's why I wanted her to be a part of it. She got me thinking about options for single professionals and how they are a huge untapped growth market."

"I'll admit it. It has some merit." Jack said. "But I need some time to think about it, work out the logistics, and maybe, just maybe, if I can get my idiot brothers onboard with it, we can talk about it."

Serena squealed and hugged Jack fiercely. "Oh, and since it was my idea, I get a big chunk of the profits, plus my commission, right?"

"We'll talk about it." He turned to Lacey, who was looking a little shell-shocked. "What do you think, Lacey? Would you consider it? I mean, if we decide to go ahead with it. You and I might have to spend some time together, going over plans, and deciding on where we can cut costs. Could you handle that?" He held his breath, waiting for her response.

If this actually happened, then it was the perfect opportunity to get to know her better and see if she might be open to a strictly physical relationship. Otherwise, he was going to be forced to be direct, and that didn't really feel like the right approach. Asking a sweet woman like her if she wanted to be his sex toy seemed unlikely to get a positive response. It might even get him a slap. Maybe prolonged enforced contact with him would take care of the awkwardness and things would just happen naturally. He wasn't a saint. If a little seduction was required, then he was certainly up for it.