“Hold on a sec, Babe. And keep it nice and hot for me.”

They weren’t the romantic words she’d longed to hear, but Ellen smiled up at him anyway as he picked up his pants and carried them into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him.

It seemed to take a very long time to do whatever he was doing in there. Ellen shut her eyes and prayed that everything would be all right. What if he’d guessed that she was a virgin and decided it wasn’t worth it? Or what if he was sitting in there, trying to think of a nice way to tell her that she didn’t turn him on?

By the time he came out, at least five minutes later, Ellen was a bundle of nerves. And then, without a single word or even a kiss, he was probing between her legs and pushing himself inside of her.

She must have fallen asleep, after, because when she woke up, Johnny was gone. She switched on the light and found the note.

You’re terrific, Babe. Wish we could do it again, but I’ll be a nice guy and let you sleep. J.

Ellen slipped the note into a drawer and sighed deeply. It hadn’t been at all what she’d expected, but she remembered her college roommate telling her the first time was a disappointment and after that, it was heavenly. She must have done something right because Johnny had written that she was terrific. She could kick herself for falling asleep, but there would be plenty of other opportunities now that they were lovers at last.

Her new dress was in a crumpled heap by the side of the bed and she hung it carefully in her closet. She’d go right out tomorrow and order another, maybe two, in different colors.

The nap she’d taken had refreshed her and she felt sexy and elegant as she ran a hot bubble bath and relaxed in the steaming water. When she climbed out of the tub, she put on the lovely silk robe Johnny had given her for Christmas and glanced in the mirror. Her hair was perfect, it hadn’t lost its body at all, and she knew she’d never looked better. She wandered into the living room and poured herself a glass of champagne, feeling like a woman of the world as she sipped it. Even though it was almost midnight, she was wide-awake. There was work to do on her new mannequin design, but what she really wanted to do was make love with Johnny again.

Ellen began to smile as a wonderfully bold idea occurred to her. Johnny’s note had said he wanted to make love again. Why should she make him wait? He’d given her a key to his apartment just last week in case she needed to get something from the files. A second glass of champagne helped Ellen make up her mind. She needed to feel Johnny’s arms around her again, his body pressing against hers.

Ellen shivered slightly. The tile floor in the elevator was cold beneath her bare feet, but she didn’t bother to go back after her slippers. She was sneaking out in the middle of the night to meet her lover. It reminded her of countless romance novels.

The ride seemed to take forever, but at last the elevator came to a stop on the fourth floor. Ellen fairly ran down the hallway and opened Johnny’s door. There was a light in the living room, but he wasn’t there. Then she heard water running in the shower. She’d climb into his bed and be waiting when he came out.

Johnny had a heated water bed and Ellen giggled as she got under the covers. This was definitely a night for firsts and she could hardly wait to make love on a water bed. She had just settled down when she heard Johnny laughing over the sound of the shower. That was odd. Lots of people sang in the shower, but she’d never heard of anyone who laughed.

Ellen got out of bed and padded over to listen at the bathroom door. She had almost decided to open the door and ask him what was so funny, when she heard another voice. A woman’s voice.

“I missed you, Johnny. What took you so long?”

Ellen gripped the edge of the door so hard, her knuckles turned white. It was Vanessa! She’d taught Ellen how to dress, given her advice on how to attract a man, and even helped her with her makeup. Ellen had poured her heart out to Vanessa, thinking she’d found a friend, and here she was in the shower with Johnny!

“Couldn’t be helped, Babe. I told you I had to go up to Ellen’s place.”

“You spend more time with her than you do with me.” Vanessa sounded slightly miffed. “And you know my time is limited. Hal keeps me under lock and chain whenever he’s home.”

“But you still manage to slip away, don’t you?” Johnny chuckled. “And if I’m not home, you knock on Marc’s door. He told me you were up there twice last week.”

“What else can I do? You know I’m not getting any at home, and a girl like me gets lonely. But you made me wait for over two hours and I was bored out of my skin.”

“I told you I’d be gone for a while. And I made up for it when I got back, didn’t I?”

“You sure did.” Vanessa gave a contented sigh. “So what’s going on, Johnny? I know Ellen’s crazy about you because she told me. What are you going to do when she gets romantic?”

Johnny groaned. “That’s what happened tonight. You should have seen her, all dressed up and acting sexy, trying to drag me to bed.”

“So what did you do?”

“I put her off. We spent some time talking about the business and then I hightailed it back down here to you.”

“And that’s all you did with Ellen? Just talk?”

“I sure didn’t jump in the sack with her if that’s what you mean! Relax, Babe. No reason to be jealous. There’s no way in hell I could get it up for Ellen.”

“Really?”

“Well, maybe one way,” Johnny answered. “It might work if I put a bag over her head and pretended she was you.”

Ellen stifled a gasp. Not only was Johnny lying, now she knew why he’d turned off the lights on his way back to bed. That two-timing bastard hadn’t made love to her at all. He’d pretended she was Vanessa!

“You should be ashamed of yourself, Johnny Day!” Vanessa sounded angry. “Ellen’s a nice person and she can’t help the way she looks. I think it’s time for you to be honest with her.”

“I should tell her she doesn’t turn me on?”

“No, that’d only hurt her feelings. You should say something like . . . uh . . .” Vanessa began to giggle. “That you really want to, but you’ve got a terrible disease and you don’t want her to get it.”

“Oh, sure. Or maybe I could tell her I got it shot off in the war.”

“Don’t be silly. Anyone who looks at you can tell that. . . never mind. Just think of a real good excuse that won’t hurt poor Ellen’s feelings.”

“Like what?”

“You could say that you respect her too much to treat her like a casual romp in the hay. Ellen’s innocent enough to go for that, and it’ll make her feel good besides.”

“You’re really a good friend to her, aren’t you?” Johnny sounded surprised.

“Of course I am and I’ll scratch your eyes out if you ever touch her. There’s no way I want you to get all hot and bothered thinking about me and then waste it all on Ellen!”

Ellen came back to the present with a sigh, brushed away a tear that was rolling down her cheek, and straightened a little in her chair. When Johnny had come to see her the next morning, she’d gone into her speech before he could open his mouth. She’d told him that she knew he respected her too much to treat her like a casual romp in the hay. And wouldn’t it be wiser to keep their relationship on a platonic level? Johnny had blinked twice and exclaimed that she’d taken the words right out of his mouth. Vanessa’s words, but he didn’t know that she knew. She wasn’t about to admit that she’d hidden in his bedroom like an eager, blushing bride only to overhear his conversation in the shower with Vanessa. Then, after he’d left, she’d thrown every one of his CDs down the incinerator chute. It was a childish gesture and it hadn’t made her feel any better, but at least it was appropriately symbolic.