Wait for Me in Vienna by Lana N. May

soon,” he said as the taxi pulled up in front of Martin’s apartment.
    “Yes, absolutely!”
    He looked at her. “May I come in?”
    Johanna was aghast. “Ah, um, no, not right now.”
    Then he looked appalled. He nodded as if he’d been gravely offended. He kissed her good-bye—on the cheek. Johanna felt her irritation growing. She thought she would at least get a kiss on the mouth. She was sure he’d done that deliberately. She wanted to take her time because, after all, she had very little experience with men. She’d only had sex a few times before, and it hadn’t exactly been the best experience in the world for her—quite the contrary. She’d felt dirty, uncomfortable, and always had the urge to wash herself and the bedding afterward.

9
    Daylight broke through the dark curtains as Thomas embraced Clarissa. One arm lay over her right breast; the other was under her back, gently snuggling up next to her protruding vertebrae. She liked his athletic body and cuddling with him after he came home from an intense workout. She found the veins in his arms and hands masculine and sexy; she liked to stroke them gently. He was sensitive about the protruding veins, though, and hated when people noticed them.
    After a few minutes, Clarissa looked at the clock and whispered into his ear, “I’m going to the Power Plate gym.” She climbed out of bed and slipped her Victoria’s Secret underwear on.
    “That’s fine,” he said sleepily, rolling onto his side. He wasn’t the least bit interested in getting up so quickly.

    The next morning, Johanna told her brother about her date. Linda listened intently, too, eyes wide open with interest; she didn’t even go to the bathroom, though she really needed to. Linda and Martin began to analyze her date in detail, although they didn’t agree on all aspects. Johanna gave up listening after a while and went to take a shower. Her brother and his girlfriend remained seated, intent on analyzing Johanna’s date even further.

    The days went by in a flash. There was no word from Daniel, and Johanna found herself missing him. She would have liked to contact him, but since he didn’t try to contact her, there was no way she was going to be the one to reach out again.

    Clarissa flew her perfect butt to the New York modeling job she’d been going on about. Thomas was happy to have a little more time for himself. Besides, he had the cooking class the following evening; he was looking forward to it so much he’d circled the date in red on his calendar. He wanted to finally learn how to make a proper Viennese cutlet. He called his friend Martin to ask whether he’d like to accompany him in Clarissa’s absence.
    “Unfortunately, I can’t make it.”
    “Why? No time? You don’t want to get in touch with your inner chef?”
    “No, I’m going to a musical with Linda. We already have tickets.”
    “Ah . . . that’s a shame. Well . . .”
    “Wait, which cooking school are you going to? My sister works at one of those places now . . .”
    “Just a sec, Martin. My secretary just brought me something. I’ll call you back.”
    “No, it’s okay. I have a meeting soon anyway.”

    Johanna arrived at the cooking school for her first shift and put her chef’s outfit on. It was way too big, boxy, and unsexy, but she wore her new uniform with pride. What could she do about it now anyway? Probably nothing.
    “Well,” said the assistant, “this is the smallest adult size available; we’ll need to order a children’s size for you.”
    Were there children who knew how to prepare venison, rabbit, or other types of game? Johanna wondered as she crammed the oversized chef’s jacket into her waistband.
    The assistant shook her head at the strange woman and gave her a full tour of the school. She explained all the ins and outs of working at the school and showed her where the toilets were, noting that one of the toilets didn’t flush well and that it would be better if she would