Covid Lockdown Birthday Swap  -  part 1 -   Listen to the podcast at Steamy Stories Orange-pink clouds swirled amid the deepening blue sky as the sun sunk close to the horizon, but Kelly was missing the sweeping view of this Texas sunset as she navigated a path through the parking lot in her black stilettos, carrying bags of food. The food delivery was just part of the birthday gift - she was the other part. Her heart raced from more than the steep incline from the parking lot. Kelly was heading to knock on the door and deliver a birthday fantasy to a guy she had never met. Well, okay, technically she met Tara’s boyfriend Michael on a Zoom call a few weeks ago when they worked out this arrangement to swap places for his birthday celebration. Tara couldn’t be here since her flight was canceled due to the pandemic travel restrictions. So Kelly was delivering the birthday gift, or rather she was the birthday gift. She was looking forward to the night more than regretting this swap, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t nervous as her mind raced through the weeks of discussions that now led her to be standing here on the sidewalk of Michael’s condo complex in northwest Austin. The idea, or proposition, to swap boyfriends arrived in Kelly’s inbox about six weeks ago. Tara had read her blog post, “Coping with COVID: How to Stay Close When You’re Apart.” Kelly had written about how she and her boyfriend in Washington DC kept their long-distance relationship going during the quarantine and COVID travel restrictions - using plenty of creative video chats, among other things. Yes, it was a struggle, but they were in love and she thought maybe he could be the one. So they put in the effort to make the unusual circumstance of the pandemic as romantic as possible. As a counselor writing a relationship column, Kelly was used to getting odd questions from readers. Sure she’d get angry responses, a crude comment here and there, and the occasional obscene request from some guy, but that was the price of being a young woman with a photo online. The similarity of their relationships and that geography was an interesting coincidence, but even so, Kelly initially planned to just ignore the proposal. However, it didn’t stop her from using it as fodder for her Zoom call with her boyfriend that night, teasing him with the prospect of a pandemic buddy. She had slipped her phone onto the tripod, flipped on the ring light and knelt in front of the camera as she adjusted settings and navigated to the link Mark sent. “Perfect! On your knees just the way I like you!” Mark said as the camera joined his screen. “Did you bring the present I sent you?” “I’m fine, and how was your day?” Kelly said, ignoring his question and looking at his delicious chest with just enough hair to be manly, tapering to his waist where the camera shot ended. “Oh right, pretty good,” Mark said. “Yours? You look gorgeous - as always.” “Well I got the oddest email,” Kelly said looking up through her long lashes into the camera. She had spent the time to make her eyes up the way she knew Mark liked, setting off the pale blue irises amid the smoky grey shadow. “Do tell,” Mark said. “Some reader, who is in your city, and believe it or not, her boyfriend is here in Austin, wrote to say her travel restriction wouldn’t allow her to fly to him to give him his special birthday present. So her solution is for me to go do her boyfriend for his birthday,” “Well what do I get out of the deal? Can I watch? Can I do her? What does she look like? Is she hot? Does she have big tits?” Mark asked. “Wait - even more important than hot, are you actually considering this?” “I don’t know,” Kelly said, wanting to roll her eyes at how this is all about him and he had not questioned sharing her - just if he got laid. Really? “What don’t you know?” “Any of it.” “Find out more.” “Oh you’d like that wouldn’t you? Some new babe to torment.” “Of course! It’s been a long time. Don’t you miss it too?