Red.

The color beckoned to Carol like the checkered flag at a finish line. She closed her eyes and slid her hand across the sinuous, curving object before her. It felt silky. Alive. Stepping back, she gazed into the car's lacquered finish. Inches. No, feet. Its red color seemed to plunge downward forever. Something akin to lust pulsed through Carol's veins.

She sighed and stepped back. Corvette Stingray. The name evoked images of wind whipping through her hair, while miles of cliff-hung road stretched before her.

"Hello."

A masculine voice shattered her reverie, yanking her back into the exposition center. She turned to see who had spoken and saw a handsome man. No, "handsome" didn't come close. More like a call-your-best-friend-and-howl-with-glee kind of guy. Without glancing around to confirm it, she sensed that, at the moment, the two of them were as alone as if they sat on a north California beach in November.

The man smiled. "You're beautiful. I'm handsome. Kiss me."

"Huh? What?" Carol blinked, and blinked again. His clear crystal gaze excited hot confusion in her normally logical mind. It's those demon blue eyes, she thought. They're the reason I'm babbling.

The man's smile faded, replaced by a flippant half-curve of his lips that called to secret corners in Carol's imagination. "Kiss me. Leave with me. I can make your dreams come true."

"You can what? Who are you? I didn't see you walk up." As she crossed her arms in front of her, she added, "I don't know who you think you are, bud, but I'm not going to kiss you, and I'm certainly not leaving with you."

"Kiss me, Carol. I promise you won't regret it."

"How do you know my name? Have we met before?"

"Leave with me and I'll tell you everything you want to know. But first, kiss me. Let me give you your heart's desire."

His husky voice imbued "desire" with lingering, erotic undertones that provoked X-rated images in the back of Carol's mind. An image of his lips touching hers taunted her. The vision became a whim, which grew into an urge, and finally, became a breathless compulsion. A seductive sensation, like the liquid tug of summer-warm ocean currents, filled her consciousness. She gazed into his eyes and tilted her head back. When he covered her lips with his own, Carol heard a sound like waves tearing at a beach, and saw a ray of brilliant, orange-red light.

When she opened her eyes, he was gone. She stood in the parking lot of the expo center next to the narrow space where she had parked her car. A metal ring, enclosing two keys, dangled from her right hand. In her other hand she held a piece of paper. Her eyes traveled down its length and she blinked as she recognized her signature at the bottom.

She lifted her gaze from the paper. Her dream had come true. It crouched before her on wide, black tires. Sleek. Shiny. Perfect. And very red.