Simone's Little Project (Silver+ Exclusive)

Simone had been crammed into economy for four whole hours already, and yet somehow she hadn't gone completely insane.

That was quite a feat for her, she mused: certainly seeing as she'd completely forgotten to charge her bluetooth headset. Having been forced either to screw the medieval torture devices known as free airplane earbuds into her unfortunate ears, on the one hand, or to sit back and endure the rushing roar of a continent whizzing by five miles beneath her, she'd chosen the latter.

Because when all was said and done, even with this lingering hangover she could put up with a bit of noise. Especially since she had some very interesting thoughts to reflect on.

Visions of her best friend's house flashed unbidden before her eyes. Ping Pong balls dropping adroitly into yet another plastic cup of beer. The faint whiff of baby powder as Alyssa's husband Keith sidled past on his way to the dinner table. And then, the oddly musical combination of crinkling plastic and Alyssa's adorable laughter. Laughing as she showed Simone the intimate little secrets of how to diaper her blushing, full-grown husband...

Simone blinked, and the flimsy tray table before her swam back into focus. Yeah, that last one was quite a memory. Oh, she'd heard of stuff like that even before Alyssa had confided in her. There'd been something on reality TV or a shitty tabloid somewhere, perhaps: about diapers and full-grown men getting off on acting like babies. But nothing had prepared her for the delightful intimacy and playful sexiness that Alyssa and Keith so clearly shared.

He wasn't actually a weirdo, she reflected now as she sipped at her cranberry juice. Nor was Alyssa – though naturally enough Simone was likely biased in her favor. Sure, the first sight of that telltale little bulge in his trousers had been odd, and his shameful waddle out of the movie theater had been strangely laughable. But when it came right down to it – when she thought back to how caring and sexy and sweetly humiliating that little scene in their bedroom had been – she found herself struck by an completely unexpected feeling…

Holy shit. Was that envy?

Simone sighed and, shaking herself free from such meditations, glanced over at her gently snoring seatmate. Jesus – every fucking time! But whatever - nothing she could really do about it now without being insufferably rude. Just take another sip of juice and wait it out…

Yes, it was envy, she realized now with a start. No sense in denying it. She really did want that. She wanted intimacy, or trust, or whatever the hell Alyssa had. She wanted control. She wanted someone to be vulnerable for her, to need her, to, to-

She wanted somebody to be her Keith.

But how to find someone like that? she mused over the deafening crackle and babble of the pilot announcing the start of their descent into LAX. Alyssa had privately assured her that there weren't many folks like Keith out there: adult babies, she'd called them before going on about some weird acronym. Whatever. Even in LA, the odds of finding a decent, financially responsible, likable, reasonably handsome, straight guy who also happened to be into pissing his pants for fun had to be slim to none…

But couldn't you maybe *teach* a guy to be into it?

A flicker of a smile darted across her lips as she recalled the hackneyed saying her older sister Corinne had trotted out years before: "Unless he's still in diapers, girl, don't think you're going to change him." Talk about ironic. But maybe, just maybe, it was possible with the right guy?

A guy like… Vijay?

Simone's brow furrowed as she thought back to that date scarcely a month before. Vijay, an agent for a corporation that was currently one of Simone's biggest clients, was a decent young fellow by all appearances. Maybe mid-twenties, only a few years out of college. Well-groomed and affable. Handsome dark hair and eyes, glowing copper skin, and an adorable shyness that had made her smile even during that first informal date. And he'd certainly seemed interested in her, at least at the time…

Yes. Maybe he was the one.

She wasn't remotely interested in settling down and starting a family, of course. She had a career, after all - and a damned good one. But that didn't mean she couldn't have a significant other, right? It'd been a few years since the last guy, after all, and vibrators and body pillows only went so far. Maybe it was time to start something fun: a little fling, a little romance if he was down for it… A little project.

Jesus, she hoped this wasn't some strangely perverted nesting instinct. Simone could almost hear her mother's grating voice in her ears, lecturing her about how all women wanted to settle down eventually, how the maternal instinct was a real thing, rooted in biology… No, no, no. That couldn't be it, she told herself furiously, taking one final sip of her juice. It wasn't a maternal thing at all, really. She just wanted trust, and connection, and a real human being. And that's what she had seen between Alyssa and Keith…

As her seat lurched with the jolt of landing and the roar of braking engines filled the cabin, she drew a sudden breath of resolve. Nothing risked, nothing gained, right? Open went her phone, and off went the airplane mode, and up came her messages. Fingers flew as she bent over her screen, racing against the sudden loss of resolve she feared might strike at any moment. Gotta just do it, see what happens-

"Hi, hope you're doing good. Back in LA at last. Thinking about project some more. Want to chat over dinner sometime?" And "Send", with slightly trembling fingers. Dammit, why was she so nervous about it all? It wasn't like she'd never dated a guy – or girl – before. Maybe she just needed some sleep. Maybe it would all fall into perspective tomorrow.

***

As Simone strode up the jet bridge, sleek leather bag in hand, she breathed a sigh of sudden relief. She was back in LA now – back home. She'd done the right thing, texting Vijay. It was just a date, after all – nothing else. It might lead to a hookup, or not. That hookup might lead to a relationship, or not. So all those nagging thoughts: all those delightfully inappropriate visions of what that handsome young guy might look like, naked and blushing before her in complete vulnerability... She'd let them go… for now.

After all, who knew where it all might lead?