EXTRACT FOR
Independent Contractor: A Story of The Consortium
(Blair Erotica)

And so, Friday had snuck up on her again, and she greeted it with a combination of relief and dismay. "My weeks need a couple more days in them," she told Taylor.



"That's the bitch about running a clipboard instead of a backhoe," Taylor said, laughing. "If you need days, you can take a couple of mine. In fact, as long as you take Mondays and Tuesdays, you can have all you want. I like my Wednesdays and Thursdays, though, and there is no way in hell you are touching the weekends."



The intense week had taken its toll and Liz was ready for some dancing and drinking. She'd found herself dreaming of getting up close and personal with several of the hotter guys. 



Her erotic dreams about Tom had made her wake in a sweat, and she looked forward to reviewing the possibilities for real distraction. 



She resisted asking if Taylor thought Tom would be at the bar, and just got ready to go. She already knew that if she said hello and Tom said, "strip," she'd have her clothes off in a heartbeat. 



If Tom wasn't available, well, fortunately, he wasn't the only game in town.



Just the best.



They arrived to find the bar pretty empty for a Friday night. 



They sat down at a table with a tall black man, named Ray. Taylor slid in next to him. Ray was a roofer who owned a huge fifth wheel that he parked across the parking lot from the bar at one of the hookups. Liz remembered hearing that Tom rented Ray's second bedroom. 



Ray was a long and lean man, with shiny black skin and big eyes that absorbed whatever was going on. Liz found him handsome and very sexy. 



Of course, the eyes had a lot to do with it. Liz's way of reckoning men depended a lot on their eyes??"whether they were alive or dead. A man with lifeless eyes was as uninteresting as one who was hopelessly out of shape.



"Where is everyone?" Liz asked him.



Ray laughed. "Sulking at home. It's the end of the month. The days before payday can be pretty fucking sad around here. A lot of the guys haven't a clue about how to make their money last."



Liz chuckled. "Having just started on the job, I'm not into the rhythms yet."



"Where the fuck is Tom?" Taylor asked. Liz was happy to have Taylor ask. She wouldn't seem stupid or eager by asking about him, and it was the question on her mind. "I know he is careful with his money. You must know where he is, Ray."



Ray chuckled. "Well, as a matter of fact, I think this is one of his patriotic weekends. I know he headed over here a few minutes before I left, and he was gone when I arrived. I conclude that his patriotic nature distracted him."



Looking at his smile told Liz that he was dying for her to ask him what he meant. Although she hated giving him the satisfaction, Liz couldn't resist asking the obvious question. "What does that mean? What is a patriotic weekend? Is he in the reserves or something?"



Ray's smile told her that this was the response he had hoped for. "No. Nothing like that. You see, as a patriotic gesture, Tom sometimes offers to relieve the pain and suffering of lonely Army wives. When he is so moved, he often dedicates the entire weekend to that most-noble cause."



"Neglected military pussy can be a national disgrace," Taylor said.