“I can’t believe you had a one-night stand.”

“Why not?”

“Well, aren’t we too… too…”

“Too what?” I asked my best friend, even though I knew perfectly well what she was getting at. “Too beautiful? Too vivacious? Too damn sexy?”

“Too old?” Bella hissed.

I checked out my reflection in the mirror behind the bar. Too old? I didn’t think so. With my gold-streaked hair up in a high ponytail, and my full lips slicked with berry-colored gloss, I didn’t look too old in the slightest. Sure, my co-ed years were behind me, but I was far from ready to believe the bloom was off my rose. Regardless, when are you considered too old to have fun? I hoped the answer was Never.

My friend, Bella, seemed sure that we’d passed our prime. Well, maybe she had. Maybe the idea of a little freewheeling sex was more than her 45-year-old mind could comprehend.

“Speak for yourself,” I said emphatically. “I’m not too anything…”

She licked her lips and looked me over. “You’re right,” she said. “I’m sorry. You’re not. You look amazing.”

“Maybe it’s the young guy who was in me last night,” I said. I made sure to say the words loud enough to put a blush on Bella’s face and a look of interest on the bartender’s handsome mug. I’d been clocking him since we’d placed our first drink order. I was much more interested in telling him my story than in telling Bella, but I could use her as a tool. I could address the story to her, but make sure he was able to hear every word.

“Tell me about it,” she insisted, leaning forward and lowering her tone, but only barely. “Tell me everything.” It was almost as if she understood my plan, but I was sure she didn’t. She’s far too naïve for her age, if you ask me.

Still, maybe she wasn’t too old to get turned on by my tale. Maybe she was as intrigued as I’d been. She was simply a little more repressed. Sometimes the pressures of society can weigh a person down.

I settled in and said, “You won’t believe it. If last night hadn’t happened to me, I wouldn’t have believed it either. The whole night was like something from an X-rated movie.”

“Stop being a tease!” Her eyes were wide and bright. She clearly couldn’t wait. I took a sip of my wine, enjoying this moment. By sharing my fabulous night with her, I was reliving the excitement myself.

“I hadn’t even wanted to go to the gym,” I said. “I was dog-tired, and I really wanted to head home, make dinner, and fall into bed with a book. But I’d made myself a promise this year. I was going to hit the gym four times a week, no matter what, and if I hadn’t gone last night, I would have broken the promise to myself. After eight months of keeping my resolution, I wasn’t ready to break it. I’m so glad that I ended up going. I mean…” I met the bartender’s eyes and held his gaze. “I ended up coming.”

“Tell…” Bella said. She still didn’t seem to realize that I was flirting. That was fine with me.

“I am,” I insisted. “I’m telling you in my own way.”

She seemed beyond curious. I caught the way she was moving around on her barstool. I’d whetted more than her appetite. This was delightful. If my words were turning her on, then maybe they were also working their magic on the stud in the black shirt and checkered vest. But I took pity on her and shared a few more details.

“So I took this class I’d never taken before &mdash ;all in the name of challenging myself. It was led by a guest instructor, and hot damn was he gorgeous.”

Bella said, “You can’t just say gorgeous. You have to describe him. What’s gorgeous to you might not be to me.”

“Built, of course,” I said, “with blue eyes. Black hair. And this wicked smile, as if everything he said was an intentional double entendre…”

“How old?”

I raised my eyebrows at her. “Twenty-five? Maybe.”

That was about the same age as the bartender, I was guessing.

“And I could see that he was well-hung,” I continued. I lifted my arm and indicated the length from my wrist to my elbow. Bella sighed. “I mean, in those snug blue gym shorts he was wearing, his cock had my mouth watering all evening.”

It was right about then that the bartender coughed.

I looked up at him and caught him standing a little too close to us. The bar wasn’t busy. He could have been anywhere. But he was standing close enough to hear every word I told Bella. I saw that he looked quite a bit like the trainer I’d fucked the night before. At least, similar in height, build, and age. I decided to continue to have a little fun with him. Who knew where it would lead?

“Twenty years my junior,” I said, “at least. But he obviously didn’t care. Throughout the whole class, he came over to me repeatedly. Helping me find the right… position.” I hit that word hard. The bartender met my eyes again. I watched as he blushed. Good. Blush away, cub, I thought.

“Honestly, I was dripping wet by the end of class, and I don’t mean just from sweat. I was so turned on, and I hoped like hell he was, too.”

“Was he?”

“Well, I waited until everyone else had left. I pretended I had a question for him about the proper way to do a sit-up. Like I give a fuck. Then, when he had his hands on me once more, I told him I needed a little more assistance back at my place. He understood exactly what I meant, and he followed me home.”

Was the bartender still listening? I leaned closer to Bella, but I didn’t lower my voice this time. I said, “We worked out all night long. And what a night…”

“You’re leaving out all the best details,” she said.

“Am I?”

“Was he good?” she asked. Then, as if she’d shocked herself, she put her fingers to her mouth.

“That’s okay,” I said. “You can say things like that. There have to be some benefits to getting older. Saying what you want is one of them.”

“Was he?”

“Like you wouldn’t believe,” I told her. For a moment, I simply remembered what I had felt like the night before. How excited I’d been to strip off his T-shirt and yank down his shorts. How his hard cock had sprung forward as if it had a will of its own.

“I went down on him as well as I could. He was almost too big for me to blow properly.”

“What did you do together?”

“What didn’t we do?” I countered. “He ate me out to start with. He had that youthful exuberance for the act, licking me with such fervor that he brought me to an orgasm far quicker than I’d ever had one before. I was shocked by the power of his tongue. Then I returned the favor. I went down on him as well as I could. He was almost too big for me to blow properly, but I did my best. Next, he fucked me doggy-style and missionary…” Bella stopped me.

“You’re going too fast. Slow down.”

“We didn’t,” I said. “We went fast all night. We hardly paused for breath.”

“But you don’t have to skimp in the storytelling. It’s been six months since I last had sex. I want to know everything.”

I took pity on her. “Do you remember what it was like to be with a 25-year-old?”

“It’s been a while,” she admitted.

“They can go all night,” I told her. “I mean, without any need to reboot. Teddy was intense. He would come in a gush, like a geyser, and then want to fuck all over again. And he made sure I reached climax every single time. He had no problem finishing me off with his tongue in between all the other acts.”

“Oh, youth,” Bella sighed.

“I know,” I told her. “He was insatiable! We even did it on the balcony at dawn while the sun was coming up. Then we culminated the sex marathon with anal in the shower.”

“You dirty girl!” Bella said, grinning. She seemed much more relaxed now. In fact, I noticed that she was actually eyeing the bartender. My bartender! Down girl, I thought. I’d have to act quickly.

“I’m sure I’ll have more details tomorrow,” I said. I put down money on the bar. Bella looked confused. How would I have more details? “Did you make plans to see him again?” she asked me. I shook my head.

The bartender came over to me. “Do you need change, ma’am?”

“No,” I said, “I need something else.”

Bella looked at me with her mouth open. She didn’t understand what I’d learned the year I turned 40: Where there’s a cougar, there’s a cub. I gave the boy my address, whispered something so dirty in his ear that I knew he’d leave work early, and went home to prepare for my second one-night stand in a week.

I’d meet Bella for breakfast and tell her all the delicious details. If she was lucky.

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