The Perfect Taste

More Smut for Chocoholics is out, and I've got a story in it! My entry, "The Perfect Taste," is about a character having her first experience with another woman—all because of a mix-up over a box of chocolates. Here's an excerpt:

“Hmm, there’s a card,” Pam said, at the precise moment Katrina remembered that fact with a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.

Katrina knew she had to say something to stop Pam opening it. She didn’t need the humiliation of sharing her futile crush with anyone beyond its object.

The words didn’t come in time. Pam slit the envelope open with a hot-pink nail. Katrina had selected her card with an eye towards elegance, but now the florid gold cursive letters on the outside made her cringe.

“Thinking of you,” Pam read aloud, and opened the card. “To Barry...” She trailed off. “God, I’m sorry. I didn’t know you and Barry were together. Didn’t think you were into men, actually. Oh hell, I’m babbling. Why didn’t you stop me opening this?”

She folded the card quickly, replaced it in the envelope, and handed it and the chocolates to Katrina, who was too stunned to receive them. There were so many things Katrina knew she ought to say, but one of Pam’s statements had consumed her mind. “You didn’t think I was into men?” Katrina had entertained some fantasies, perhaps, but she’d never kissed a woman, and she’d never given her sexuality much thought. Every straight girl had a few fantasies about women, right?

“I thought that was why we always got along so well.”

Katrina wrinkled her forehead in puzzlement. Pam’s cheeks reddened. “I just put my foot in my mouth and kept right on going,” Pam said. “Please. Take your chocolates back. I’m sure Barry will like them.”

Wheels turned very slowly in Katrina’s mind. Pam had just told her something important, but it was taking time to process what it might have been. She found her attention drawn to Pam’s lips. Had Pam kissed women? Was that what she was saying? Katrina wondered what that had looked like. She pictured Pam’s mouth pressed against another woman’s mouth, delicate but also hungry. Fascination made her want to see Pam’s mouth working, and her stalled brain suddenly caught up with her and provided the perfect solution.

“Actually, Barry and I aren’t together. He, um, didn’t want the chocolates.”

“Oh?” Pam’s tone was careful and polite, but there was a spark of interest in her eyes. “That’s foolish of him. They look like very nice chocolates.”

Katrina’s hands began to tremble. The way Pam was looking at her reminded her of the last office party, when Pam had made Katrina laugh so hard her cheeks had hurt and she couldn’t catch her breath. At the time, she hadn’t thought much about it—hadn’t let herself think about it—but now she realised she’d only ever behaved that way with a crush. She remembered the times she’d stared at Pam, thinking she felt admiration. Could that have been something else instead?

“Do you want them?” Katrina asked quickly, before she could change her mind.

“Are you sure?” Pam murmured, stepping slightly closer. She was still holding the chocolates, and again she offered them to Katrina. “They’re wrapped so nicely, you could probably still get a date with them if you wanted to. If you asked the right person.”

Katrina lifted her chin and took a deep breath. It seemed too easy to move on so quickly after months of giggling at every joke Barry made. She had, however, been giggling at Pam’s jokes just as frequently, often enough that Pam hadn’t realised Katrina normally dated men. And there seemed to be no better cure for her tears of humiliation than indulging in whatever consolation prize Pam was offering. “I think I am asking the right person.”

You can find the full table of contents and buy links here. May I also recommend you check out the first anthology, Smut for Chocoholics? I've got a story in that one, too—a decadent tale of menage and chocolate-flavored mind games.