“What? I wasn’t…” I made a show of turning my head to look in the complete opposite direction of our new friend.
But that tactic quickly failed, because another beautiful man walked in and dropped his towel. He wasn’t quite as impressive as our first guest. But he brazenly looked me up and down and gave me a mischievous little grin.
I turned to Tanner. “Are they supposed to be naked?” I whispered.
“Sure. Back when I lived in Finland, I saw naked people every day at the sauna. No one cares about such things there.”
“You lived in Finland?”
Tanner coughed a little. “Yup. For a few years. When I was young.”
“What were you doing in Finland?”
“Oh, you know. My businesses take me all over. Anyway, you still haven’t told me why you want a day off.”
So…he was in Finland when he was young? But also when he owned a business? What?I looked at him to try to figure out why he was lying. But the first naked dude was positioned so that his penis wasrightin my vision. “You’re lying.”
“What?” he asked. He sounded so guilty.
“I don’t believe you lived in Finland. Because if you had, you’d be naked right now too.”Gotcha, bitch.
“Oh.” Tanner relaxed a little. “Of course I would be. But I knew you’d be joining me, and since I’m kind of your boss, I didn’t want to be inappropriate.”
“Are you sure about that?” I bit my lip seductively.
His eyes dropped to my lips, but he quickly looked away. “I’m sure. You made your decision. And it’s for the best. We can’t be together, nothing’s changed.”
Um…what? We’d had a good time at the museum before he left. And what was all this about making a decision? Oh God, does he know I blew Dr. Lyons?!
Three more guys walked in and all dropped their towels. Was this place always such a sausage fest? If so, I was beginning to think that maybe Tanner really didn’t want to be with me because I didn’t have the uh…right equipment for his taste.
“So you’ve gotten to sit here like a boss,” said Tanner. “Which one of these fine suitors are you gonna seal the deal with?”
I stared at him. “Say what now?”
“Based on how you keep staring, my money is on him.” He nodded his head towards the first guy who had walked in.
“Um. What are you talking about?”
“You said you’ve always wanted to surprise a stranger in a sauna. And as much as I hate the idea of it, I can’t selfishly keep you all to myself when I know that we can never be together.”
“Did Chastity put you up to this?”
He looked genuinely confused. “No. In the elevator like 20 minutes ago…you said you’ve never been in a sauna, but that you’ve always wanted to sit there like a total boss and then make someone’s wildest dreams come true. I wasn’t sure you were serious, but when you walked in here wearing nothing but a towel and heels, I figured it was really happening. But then it seemed like you were hitting on me, so I tried to get you to put up a last-minute privacy sign and you practically yelled ‘no way’ in my face.”
“What?! No! I was talking about investing moneyShark-Tank-style, not banging some stranger in a sauna!”
All five guys looked at me.
Oh fuck.My face turned a million shades of red. I wanted to crawl under the benches and never show my face in public again.
“The name’s Karl,” said the guy who had been checking me out. “Now we’re not strangers anymore. And it would be my pleasure to make your sauna fantasy come true.”
I stared at Tanner, praying he’d save me.
“Back off,” growled Tanner. He grabbed my hand and led me away from the five naked perverts.
I couldn’t help but laugh when we were safely outside. The stale city air felt so refreshing compared to the germ trap we’d just been bathing in. And once I started laughing, I couldn’t stop.
