Ariel Jones: Sassy. Sexy. Swirling. A long-legged, sophisticated black woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. She is sexually adventurous and indulges her libido with whomever and wherever she likes. Okay. So sometimes this gets her into real trouble. Ariel just chalks it up to experience and moves on down the road … Read more
Ariel Jones: Sassy. Sexy. Swirling. A long-legged, sophisticated black woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. She is sexually adventurous and indulges her libido with whomever and wherever she likes. Okay. So sometimes this gets her into real trouble. Ariel just chalks it up to experience and moves on down the road to … Read more
Ariel Jones: Sassy. Sexy. Swirling. A long-legged, sophisticated black woman who knows what she wants and goes for it. She is sexually adventurous and indulges her libido with whomever and wherever she likes. Okay. So sometimes this gets her into real trouble. Ariel just chalks it up to experience and moves on down the road to the … Read more
A complete short story by Candy Caine
Inscrutable billionaire, Ivan Littlefield, is reported to be a sexually insatiable, uncompromising, manipulative playboy who discards lovers who are unwilling to share his explorations into the darker side of eroticism. No one knows that behind the arrogant, stoic façade there is a lonely, emotionally scarred man haunted by his past and driven by an obsessive, … Read more
Chapter One
The shifting of her husband’s body on the mattress woke Jill Stone in time to catch him getting out of bed. It was her first Saturday off from work in months and she’d hoped they’d be spending it together.
“Come back to bed soon,” she whispered, focusing on his delectable tight ass as he walked with nonchalant grace toward the bathroom. Jill was definitely ready for some good morning loving.
Adam stopped and turned to face her. She felt the heat in her body rise as she took in his enticing morning erection. “Can’t. I’m heading into the office today.”
Jill groaned disappointedly. “Not today of all days.”
“Why not? Somebody’s got to make a decent living.”
That remark wounded Jill on so many levels. The very fact that Adam chose to work rather than spend some quality time with her was bad enough. But his insinuation that she didn’t help pull her own weight made her feel insignificant.
All remnants of sleep had been swept away and Jill was now wide awake—and steaming. Her amber-colored eyes narrowed. “That’s an unfair remark.”
“Really? Do you honestly think we could survive on your salary alone?”
“I don’t want to get into an argument. All I want is for us to do something together for a change.”
“Didn’t we sleep together last night?”
“If you meant in the same bed, yeah,” she said with cold sarcasm.
Adam ignored what she’d said. “Why wouldn’t I go into work today?”
“Because it’s Saturday and the first one that I have off in such a long time. Most people don’t work on Saturday unless they really have to. And I doubt you really have to—”
Adam thrust out his hand to stop her. “Please don’t start that tired old argument with me today, Jill. I’m not in the mood to hear how unfulfilled you feel.”
“It wasn’t my intention to argue.” Jill’s voice was hoarse with frustration. “All I want is for us to have a modicum of a life together. With me here and you always at the office, we have hardly a marriage, let alone a life.”
“You know I’m doing this for us—”
“Do I? That argument’s just as old and worn-out. Maybe it sufficed early in our marriage when you had just started your job and you felt you had to prove yourself, but now that you’ve accomplished so much…I don’t think so.”
Jill watched the expression on Adam’s handsome face quickly change from annoyance to anger. That he didn’t know she’d feel this way was simply mind-boggling. And how long did he actually think the I’m-doing-this-all-for-you line would make everything all right? Perhaps if she were a naïve child. However, she was a grown woman with real needs and desires.
“I don’t believe you just said that, Jill,” Adam replied, a critical tone to his voice.
“Why not? You’re not married to me anymore. I’ve been replaced by your precious advertising accounts.”
Adam stiffened as if Jill had struck him and shot her one last penetrating icy-blue look before finally entering the bathroom.
Jill watched him disappear behind the door and lay back down. As tears welled in her eyes, she felt irritated and unhappy with herself for allowing Adam to draw her into another argument. She didn’t want to cry and certainly didn’t want Adam to see her tears. She was done crying over him and the loneliness he left her to suffice as a companion during all the long, empty evenings. He just didn’t comprehend how she felt, and she saw no way to reach him. They just went round and round on a merry-go-round of miscommunication.
At least she knew that it was his work and not another woman that kept him from her. Perhaps if it were another woman, she could fight her…
Adam walked out of the bathroom and picked up the argument where they’d left off. “You’re acting ridiculous,” he said in a tone one would use when speaking to a child.
“I’m ridiculous?” His remark grated on her, causing her anger to bubble once more to the surface.
“Can’t you, for just one moment, look at things through my eyes? Put yourself in my shoes and take a real good look around you. How do you think we’ve managed to buy all this? It’s because of my dedication to my work and the solid hours I give to it,” Adam said, as he swept his hand around him for emphasis before thumping his thumb against his chest. “I worked my ass off to give you all this.”
However, it was the expression on his face that said it all. The tightening of his jaw and the faint pulse to the nerve on the side of his forehead silently shouted out his anger with her selfish attitude. His narrowed blue eyes glared at her like bits of stone. She knew that the conversation was over. Nothing was ever discussed beyond this point. Whenever Adam felt threatened, he shut down, ending any further discussion. By doing so, they never resolved anything and merely left another gaping wound in their marriage. One day they’d run out of Band-Aids to cover those open sores.
“Adam?”
“What is it now?” he said through perfect, white, clenched teeth.
Realizing it would be futile to try to reach him at this point, Jill murmured, “Never mind.”
She slipped back down into the bed and turned over to face the wall. Tears of frustration and anger began to refill her eyes. She refused to let him see how upset she truly was.
Jill listened as he put on his shoes and left the room. Then several minutes later, she heard the front door open and close, followed by the sound of his car engine starting. Adam was gone. Perhaps he’d be home around dinnertime—perhaps not. At that moment, Jill hardly cared. She was too miserable.
As she lay there sobbing in the silence of her bedroom, Jill thought back to how things used to be in the early years of their marriage. It seemed like so long ago, but it had only been eight years.
She and Adam, like any other newly married couple, had been terribly in love and practically inseparable. It was as if they could never get enough of each other. She would be at her teller’s job at the bank watching the clock with one eye and counting the minutes until she could rush home to be enfolded in his loving arms. She’d always find him there waiting to make love to her. Half the time, they hardly made it to the bedroom. Where had all that love and passion gone?
Jill hugged herself as the memory of years past gently drifted through her mind…
They were celebrating their one-month anniversary of being together. Adam had gotten home first and had been waiting for her. He opened the door to their apartment and just seeing him standing there caused a surge of excitement to rush through her. As he swept her into his arms, his nearness made her senses spin. And when his lips hungrily covered hers, she felt a delicious shudder heat her body. Her purse fell to the floor, quickly followed by her coat.
His lips seared a path down her neck and shoulders, eliciting a low moan from her. She eagerly responded with her own feverish kisses. Her restless hands, needing to touch him, threaded their fingers through his thick, blond hair and slipped under his shirt, feeling the smooth texture of his hard back.
Adam had opened her blouse and kissed the swells of her breasts. Hungrily, he reclaimed her mouth. They began to slowly make their way to the bedroom. Clothing dropped as they kissed and bumped their way there. By the time they fell onto the bed with Adam straddling her, they were naked. Jill loved that feeling of skin on skin and had insufficient words to describe what it did to her.
Jill was halfway to heaven by the time Adam entered her. With their hearts hammering in their chests almost beating as one, a sense of urgency dictated their movement. Within moments, Jill's world exploded into a myriad of vibrant colors as noises of pleasure filled the room.
The memory faded and tears of disappointment filled Jill's eyes as she wondered once more, where had all that passion gone?
Jill traced her unhappiness back to that one day following their honeymoon when Adam had gotten out of bed and decided to become God’s gift to advertising. He set his sights on becoming his agency’s director of client services, which was the person in charge of the entire account service team. From that day on, he was transformed into a workaholic.
The effort paid off for him, which she couldn't deny. He worked hard and in short time became an account director, responsible for two important accounts. Six months later, two more accounts were added. Within three years, he held the title of group account director and was responsible for a group of accounts and had other account directors working under him.
The bonuses and commissions he made were intoxicating, but like any drug, they only served to whet his appetite. He desired to sell more. And like any drug, the more money he made, the more he wanted.
At first Jill thought it was all so very wonderful. She couldn’t be any more proud of, and happy for, Adam. They were able to move to the suburbs and buy a beautiful home, one that she’d hoped to fill with children. She also thought that once Adam had established himself, he’d have more time to spend at home and enjoy the fruits of his labor. However, none of this had ever happened.
The reason was simple. Adam was determined to become the director of client services, and because of this, he worked even harder, putting in longer hours at the office. He stopped taking vacations and virtually any time off. Jill couldn’t remember the last time they’d spent two consecutive days together.
Having been replaced by his new mistress, work, Jill tried to tell him how lonely she felt. Either her complaint fell on deaf ears or Adam was too consumed by his job to listen. Perhaps he was too selfish to place her needs above his. Whatever the reason, this discussion would nearly always lead to an argument.
Jill assumed this drive to succeed, which propelled Adam to work incessantly, had to do with his dad being an alcoholic who wasn’t able to hold a job very long. That would explain Adam’s need to achieve. He feared becoming like his father. And he certainly proved her parents wrong.
Her parents, middle-class African Americans, looked down on Adam and his family. To them, he was white trash who’d most likely end up no better than his father. They wanted her to marry a black man and had had several picked out for her. But a handsome, blond, blue-eyed Teutonic god of a man named Adam had come into her life and simply swept her off her feet. And the rest, as they say, was history.
Adam’s solution for her loneliness was far from what Jill had envisioned or desired. He suggested she find a hobby to fill her time. However, she didn’t want or need a hobby. What she needed was a full-time husband who cared about her and her happiness. One who was at home more than doing God-knows-what at work.
Along with everything else, their once wonderful sexual relationship had gone missing. When Adam came home from work he was usually way too tired to even think about being intimate. It would seem that his career was far more important to him than Jill. It hadn’t been long before she grew to hate his job and its intrusion on their lives.
Chapter Two
The week stretched out interminably for Jill. Find a hobby, Adam had told her over and over again. He thought that was the solution to all her problems. It wasn’t their problem, because he found nothing wrong with their marriage. She simply had too much time on her hands and too few time management skills to deal with it. To Adam, Jill was being ridiculous and unreasonable—or worse, needy.
Adam simply blamed her job. Her working in a bank skewed her understanding of the bigger picture. Being in the fishbowl atmosphere of a small bank didn’t allow her to appreciate the big, wide world outside of its confines. Sometimes she wondered if he even thought she had a functioning brain.
It wasn’t as if Jill hadn’t considered taking up a hobby. She had. Nothing seemed to interest her. She hated to sew or knit. And cooking was out. Adam, strictly a meat and potatoes kind of guy, would never appreciate any new dishes. She’d end up eating her own masterpieces and turn into a backup replacement for the Goodyear Blimp or, God forbid, on a weight-loss reality show.
“A hobby is not what I need,” Jill muttered aloud. “What I do need is a more attentive husband,” she said pushing every word through a clenched jaw.
As she stepped out of the shower stall and began to towel herself off, she caught a glimpse of her reflection in the full-length mirror. What she saw did not make her happy. She finished drying off her smooth, caramel colored skin, studying her entire body carefully. It looked as if she’d put on some weight, and it wasn’t in places that flattered her figure. That would explain why her clothes were beginning to feel snug.
Jill sighed. Maybe it was time to join a gym. Her job as a bank teller wasn’t helping. Seated behind a window keying numbers into a computer was not much exercise. Her sister, Lynne, who lived in Arizona, swore by her gym membership and loved her personal trainer, Joey, with whom she scheduled maintenance sessions every so often. And from the way her husband, Haywood, looked at Lynne, he definitely appreciated her toned, petite body.
Jill sat down in front of her make-up table and pulled the towel off her long, dark-brown hair. Brushing it as she used the blow dryer, she thought further about the gym idea and pooh-poohed it. She’d hated sports in school, and if she signed up for the gym, she’d probably go a few times and then let her membership lapse. Perhaps, if she watched what she ate and did more walking, she'd be able to shed those extra pounds.
***
Adam was late for dinner. What a surprise, Jill thought sarcastically as she curled up on the den sofa and booted up her Kindle to the story she’d been reading. She might even finish the book while she waited for “his highness” to come home.
A little voice inside her head chastised her for her attitude. It would only press the wrong buttons and start another argument like the doozy they’d had on Saturday. That was the last thing she needed. She wanted peace and harmony. But most of all, she desired to return to the days when they couldn’t keep their hands off one another. Just thinking about it made her horny.
***
As Adam sat on the train taking him home from Manhattan to Locust Valley, an upscale suburb on Long Island, he thought about the arguments he and Jill had been having frequently over the long hours he'd been putting in at work. He knew she was lonely, but there was little he could do to change that.
So many times he wanted to tell her about how stressful his job had become. When he had first joined Roberts, White and Gould Advertising Agency, the firm felt like a second home. The CEO, Joseph Roberts, had taken Adam under his wing, obviously having detected his potential. During that time Adam worked his butt off and was rewarded with handsome raises as he rose from the rank of account manager to account director and eventually a group account director. He was definitely on the fast track to becoming the director of client services.
Unfortunately, Joseph Roberts succumbed to a heart attack and died. The agency continued without Roberts for nearly a year before the economy took a downturn and revenues fell. White and Gould sold the agency to Hartford Advertising, a larger, more global agency.
Everything changed with the sale of the company. Things became very volatile. The director of client services was let go, along with several other account directors. Even though Adam was spared, more stress was added to an already tense situation. The new director of client services was a ball buster and constantly on Adam’s back to speed up the timelines of projects and bring more revenue into the agency. Fortunately, that guy had lasted only several months, but during those months, he’d expected one hundred and twenty percent from Adam and his team of account directors, which had been decimated.
It was as if Adam had to prove himself all over again. It was his responsibility to ensure that all the work for over a dozen accounts was completed on time and within budget. It was his head on the chopping block if the clients weren’t happy.
With the economy so sluggish, most companies had to cut their spending. Advertising was the first expense item to go, and the agency was feeling the pinch. People who had been there as long as he were being let go. For a long while, when he walked in each day, he felt his guts liquefy, wondering if it was his turn to receive a pink slip.
Adam was taught by his father it was a sign of weakness to tell anyone—especially women—of your flaws. “Never tell your problems to a woman, boy. They'll just use them to emasculate and eat you alive,” his daddy had said. And lately things with Jill hadn’t been so hot. So, he'd told her none of what was happening at work. There was no way he'd want to worry her or have her think of him as anything less than a success. He'd rather die than lose his job and fulfill her parents’ low expectations of him. Therefore, he kept all his apprehensions about work to himself.
It mattered little to Jill’s parents that he had provided their daughter with a beautiful home in an affluent area of Long Island, because they’d never forgiven him from taking her away from them and her culture. To them, Adam was white trailer trash and would remain so. They’d tarred him with the same brush as his father, an alcoholic, who couldn’t seem to hold a job for long. Adam was worthless in their eyes and they never turned down a chance to let him know it.
How could he even hint to Jill his job had been in jeopardy? There was no way. He loved Jill, but blamed her attitude on her parents, who he felt had filled her pretty head with unrealistic expectations about marriage. Adam was doing everything he could to make her happy. But, unfortunately, he was human and not a superman. And he doubted that those black guys her parents had hand-picked for Jill were, either.
Chapter Four
A week after meeting Lynne at the restaurant and declaring war on her fat, Carla forced open one eye and then the other. Today was going to either be the best or worst one of her life. She was going to meet Joey, Lynne’s personal trainer, for the first time. Doubts began to seep into her mind like water flowing through a hole in a bucket. She needed to remind herself, why was she doing this? Why was she bent on adding more stress to her life? Besides, when Joey discovered how uncoordinated she was, he’d pee his pants. Again she asked herself, why was this necessary?
She replayed the scene at the restaurant in her mind. “How are you going to keep me on track?” she remembered asking Lynne.
“Look at it this way. If you get derailed, you’d only be hurting yourself. Just think of the satisfaction you’ll get by winning your husband back from some young bimbo.”
“Yeah!” she said as if those words were an elixir energizing her body into motion.
* * *
The phone rang just as Carla got out of the shower. The towel hardly covered her ample body and she held it tightly around herself as best she could as she went to answer the phone.
“I’m glad I got you before you left for the gym.” It was Lynne.
“Why—what’s up?”
“I have a last minute house showing and can’t go with you.”
“That’s okay. I’ll wait until you can.”
“No. Keep the appointment with Joey.”
“I don’t want to go—”
“Carla, you can do this. Trust me.”
Beads of perspiration began to break out across Carla’s forehead. She feared making an idiot out of herself. With Lynne at her side there might have been hope.
“You still there?” Lynne asked.
“Yeah, but I don’t wanna go without you,” Carla whined.
“Joey’s a nice guy and he doesn’t bite—”
“But…”
“You sound like a baby, Carla,” Lynne admonished. “I’ll go with you next time. Oops! Gotta run. Let me know what he says.”
Carla realized she was standing there holding a dead line. Lynne was right, she could do this. She went back into the bathroom and finished drying. What she saw in the mirror nearly made her cry. The woman who stared back at her looked older than her 35 years. Her breasts, always ample, were now over-ripened melons that hung there as if on the vine. Her once foxy figure was now marred by roles of fat at her disappearing waistline. Her ankles were still trim though those thunder thighs definitely had to go. Carla impulsively stuck out her tongue at her image. Well, at least she still had her high cheekbones and smooth skin. But what she saw in that mirror cinched it.
She’d take the plunge and go to the gym alone. What’s the worst that could happen? She wondered. Then she wished she hadn’t thought about that.
* * *
Carla drove to the 24 Hour Fitness Center on Camelback Rd. in Phoenix and parked her Honda in the lot. Entering the air-conditioned building, she immediately felt intimidated and wondered why.
Perhaps it was seeing all those perfect-looking bodies there to become more perfect, while she looked like a pickle barrel with feet.
Or could it be the rows and rows of shiny chrome bicycles in the cavernous room to her right looking like props in a torture scene from some Sci-fi movie? Whatever. She’d come this far. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the polished reception counter.
An attractive brunette, with a perfect tan and dazzling white teeth, asked her if she needed help.
“I have an appointment with Joey, the personal trainer.
The brunette opened an appointment book. “You’re…?”
“Carla Millhouse.”
“Okay, then. He’s waiting for you in room number 6.”
“Which is where?”
The brunette gave her a of-course-you-don’t-know smile as she lifted a slender arm and pointed with a tapered finger to a set of doors on her right. “You walk through there and make a right.”
Carla hurried through the doors, but was so nervous that she made a left instead—straight into the men’s locker room. The sight of two huge, cellulite-filled, naked buns belonging to a man struggling to bend down and pick up his towel that had fallen under the bench, caused her to snap her eyes shut in fear of having been struck blind.
As she reversed her gears and retraced her steps, she came to another room. Half afraid that she’d find naked men doing cartwheels inside, she hardly wanted to take a peek. However, reminding herself that Lynne had gone to the trouble to set this appointment up gave her renewed courage.
A bronzed god was doing sit-ups on an exercise bench. All she could see was sweat-slicked muscles—flexing and releasing. It took her a moment to realize her breathing had become in sync with their movement. Even the legs emerging from his gym shorts looked like they were pumped with air. Martin was in good shape, but his body was nothing compared to this guy’s.
He sensed someone was there and grabbed a towel to wipe his face and under his arms, which she noticed were just as hairless as the rest of his gleaming body. She felt warmth spreading from her center. Good Lord! She mused. If the sweat glistening on his arms looked erotic, she’d been neglected by Martin far too long. She was going to make this work.
“Hi! You must be Carla,” he said, smiling warmly which made her feel welcome. “I’m Joey.”
She nodded. Prying her eyes from his body had been difficult. If a person’s body was considered a temple, she wanted to join his congregation.
He put down the towel and she studied his face for the first time. It wasn’t what she might consider handsome, but he was cute in a boyish kind of way. His hair was light brown and cut really close to his scalp making it look as if someone had sprayed it on. She loved his eyes, though. They were amber-colored with dark brown specks and became tight slivers when he smiled.
He came closer and offered his hand to shake. Carla shook it and noticed how small her hand looked next to his. Were the muscles in his hands pumped, as well?
“I wanted to meet here for the first time so we can get your specs in order to make an exercise chart. We need a jumping off point.”
“Forget about anything that concerns jumping. If I haven’t done it by now, I’m not going to. And as for my specs, just half of what you see now.”
Joey broke into a throaty chuckle. “Lynne mentioned you had a good sense of humor. Keep it up. A good mental state is important.”
Carla hadn’t meant to say anything funny. It was just the way she got when she was nervous. That’s why she avoided going to funerals.
“Let’s get started then. Put your things down on that chair and hop onto this scale.”
Carla hated scales. Just the sight of the abominable instrument made her shudder. Scales had the power to suck the very self-esteem right out of a person. And all you had to do was merely step on it.
Joey saw the hesitation in her large brown eyes. “Hey, by this time next week you’ll want to jump on the scale to see how much you’ve lost. Come on, trust me.”
Carla took a few tentative, baby steps in the direction of the damn thing and stopped. Joey nodded his head toward the scale to get her moving again. When she finally reached the base, she closed her eyes and stepped on. She heard him push the slider back and forth until he was satisfied.
“Open your eyes, Carla. It’s not that bad.”
She looked at the number and thought he was humoring her.
“You’re about 5’6”, right?”
She nodded, wondering how he knew.
“Okay, for a woman your age and height, factoring in your bone structure, you should be somewhere between 127-141 lbs.”
She sighed. She tipped the scales at 181. Jeez, how did she ever let herself go like that?
“I’m going to work up a plan of action for you and I promise results. But hey, you’ve got to work hard and have patience. Follow what I say and you’ll have a body you can be proud of,” Joey told her.
Great pep talk. He probably told all his clients this, Carla mused, watching him stride over to a desk and pick up a form. Muscles rippling everywhere.
“This is a medical form I need you to fill out,” he said attaching it to a clipboard along with a pen and handing it to her.
Carla filled out the information as best she could and handed it back to Joey. He read through it quickly and then gave her an overview of what he would be doing. Then he gave her a quick tour of the place.
The gym, which remained open 24 hours every day, was huge. There was a nutrition center, a daycare, a room filled with free-weight equipment, a group exercise room, another with treadmills, a tiled locker room with individual shower stalls and an Olympic-size pool. Located near the pool was a sauna, steam room and whirlpool.
Then Joey put her through a series of “easy” exercises and stretches. Carla ached in places she didn’t even know existed. Before he left her to work with another client, Joey suggested she try out the treadmill or bicycle to fill out her hour. Next time, they’d be working out for most of their hour together.
Feeling pangs of hunger, Carla felt like going home and having some lunch. Maybe a nice roast beef on rye with a side of fries. Then guilt overpowered her and she decided to take a more positive attitude. That meant taking Joey’s advice and trying out the treadmill. Maybe she’d even get one for the house.
She spied a free treadmill and ambled over to it, half-hoping that someone would beat her to it. It was a big one with lots of buttons and switches. She stepped onto the belt and pushed a switch. It lurched forward and she lost her balance falling against the panel of switches. All the lights lighted up like a car’s dashboard and the machine bucked and sped forward like a racehorse hearing the gunshot at the starting gate.
Frantic, Carla tried to get off, but the belt was going way too fast. All she could do was try to keep pace and hold on for dear life as she screamed for help. Unfortunately, no one heard her. Most of the other patrons had earplugs in their ears listening to their iPods.
The belt continued to speed under her slipping feet and her heart was beating nearly as fast. She didn’t know how much longer she could hold on. Then she heard a man’s voice over the tumult. “Hang on!” He came closer and yanked the plug from the wall socket.
“Oh, nooooo!” Carla cried out as she flew off the back of the machine like a cowboy being thrown from an angry bronco. She landed on her rear with a solid thump.
“Are you hurt?” a deep voice asked, as her rescuer looked down at her.
“Only my pride,” Carla replied, gazing up into a pair of green eyes sparkling behind black square-rimmed glasses.
“Here, let me help you up,” he said, offering his hand.
She extended her arm, but she was still a little shaky and lost her balance, her weight pulling him down on top of her. He wasn’t able to get up easily and the more he tried, the harder it got—especially with them both laughing. They both realized how ridiculous they must have looked, with her squirming under the guy in a vain attempt to get up and the poor man trying to get off what must have felt like jiggling Jell-o.
Finally, he rolled off and they sat there laughing until the gales of laughter subsided. The guy had a marvelous laugh, full-hearted and catching. Each time they stopped laughing to catch their breath, they looked at one another and burst into uninhibited laughter all over again. They laughed until the tears flowed.
Mr. Tall blindly felt the floor around him and found his glasses, but before he put them on, Carla got a glimpse of the long, thick eyelashes fringing his almond-shaped, green eyes making them more spectacular. When he looked directly at her, they nearly took her breath away.
“Give me your hand,” he said.
Carla gave him both and with a mighty tug he finally hauled her to her feet.
“Let’s go sit down over here,” he said, as he led her to an empty wooden bench nearby.
“I’m so sorry,” Carla said, feeling like an idiot, tears of mortification filling her doe eyes and her sweet, round face now flushed with embarrassment.
“It’s okay.” He said. “We both survived.”
“Not really. I feel so…so incredibly clumsy. You go out of your way to save me from being splat on the wall and I nearly yank both your arms out—not to add, making a scene that rivaled Abbott and Costello.”
He held up his hands and gave her an adorable crooked little smile. “I needed a good laugh. My name is Richard Stein.”
“Klutzy Carla Millhouse.” They shook hands.
Carla got nice vibes from this man, liking him instantly. He was quite tall, a little over six feet she’d guessed, with high cheek bones covered by taut olive-toned skin giving him an exotic Mediterranean look. Okay, Antonio Banderas, he wasn’t, but if she was in the market—which she wasn’t—she wouldn’t put a bag over his head in bed. His striking green eyes were warm and yet filled with impish mirth. Sitting there, she had to tilt her head back to look up at his face. He didn’t have a pumped body like Joey, but looked fit probably from working out at the gym often. And his chest had felt hard against hers. The rest of his physique looked well-proportioned, as well.
The guy was definitely attractive in an understated way. Carla noticed his dark-brown colored hair had specs of silver at the sides. He seemed to smile easily and often with full, soft, sensual looking lips. His teeth, even and white, contrasted pleasingly with his olive skin. The deep cleft in his chin matched the cute dimples in his cheeks.
Suddenly, Carla had this desire to reach over and grab this guy’s face and kiss those tempting lips. When she realized what she was thinking, she gave herself a mental slap. A quick glance at the gold band on her finger helped remind her she was off the playing field.
“Would you like to go get some coffee?” Richard asked. He had a deep voice that sent a little shiver through her, heaping on more guilty thoughts.
“I’m…married,” Carla blurted out in reaction to those very sinful unmarried thoughts.
A slow infectious grin crept across his face like an early morning sunrise. “It’s only a cup of coffee, not a date.”
Oh, boy, did he read my mind? How embarrassing. Then as it dawned on her they were only thoughts, not deeds, her anger over Martin’s infidelity resurfaced like pond scum. “You’re so right!” she erupted. “Sharing a cup of coffee with another man is a helluva lot more innocent than what my husband’s been doing lately,” she muttered, startling Richard.
“Ouch!”
Carla felt her face heat. What was wrong with her? “Sorry. I didn’t mean to blurt that out, but I’d love to have coffee with you, Richard. Only, I insist on paying as a small token of thanks for saving my life.”
“It wasn’t as dramatic as that.”
“Depends on from whose point of view you’re looking,” Carla replied quickly.
“It’s probably none of my business, but it sounds as if you need to talk.”
“Only if you’re not a divorce lawyer,” she quipped.
He chuckled. “Close, but no cigar. I’m a corporate lawyer.”
After changing out of their gym clothes, they had coffee in a small Internet café nearby called “Call Me”. People with laptops sat at round tables as they sipped their coffees and lattes. It would be Carla’s last latte for a very, very long time. As if the tangible guilt of indulging and having a drink dripping in calories wasn’t enough, she began to fear she’d been impulsive and had second thoughts about being with this total stranger.
And yet, there was something about Richard that put her at ease giving the impression she’d known him a long time. It was like finding a favorite old worn pair of jeans tucked away in a dresser drawer. And she rather liked that feeling.
After they’d gotten past the fact that she wrote children’s books and how her friend, Lynne, had set up an exercise program with Joey, the conversation took a more serious turn.
“So Carla Millhouse, why are you so angry?” Richard asked.
She couldn’t believe it. There she was, the same person who refused to try on clothes in a communal dressing room with other women, telling a complete stranger the sad story of her marital discontent.
Richard was a good listener asking questions only when necessary to clarify something she’d said. It would seem that all that was missing was a couch. At the moment that was a good thing. The vibes she was getting from this guy made her think of other uses for the couch. Perhaps she missed sex more than she thought and blamed her wayward thoughts on that.
“Just because you may have put on some weight is no excuse for Martin to cheat,” Richard said.
Carla bit her bottom lip. “I know, but I shouldn’t have let myself go.”
“What’s he? Some kind of perfectionist?” Richard asked. He could already tell Martin needed an arm broken.
“I guess you can say that. He’s in great shape and quite handsome. I’ve seen other women turn their heads to look at him.”
Richard frowned. Maybe he should throw in a kneecap for good measure. “Sounds like he might be too full of himself or maybe he’s going through some kind of mid-life crisis. You did say he was going to be 38.”
“With Martin, I guess anything is possible. It just gets so lonely sometimes even with Blondie, our yellow Lab,” Carla said.
“I take it you have no kids.”
Shaking her head, “Not a one.”
“It sounds,” Richard said mildly, “like you’d want to have children.”
“More than anything, but Martin’s not ready. I fear that by the time he is, it’ll be too late.”
Richard put a comforting hand on hers. “That’s too bad. I think you’d make a terrific mom and can picture you romping in the park with a couple of kids.”
Carla’s face lit momentarily. “Yeah, I’d probably be a great mom.” She sighed. “Maybe in my next life.”
“Have you spoken to Martin recently about starting a family?” Richard asked, still touching her hand. “No. I gave up trying to reason with him,” Carla answered. The quiver in her voice was quite evident.
God, what a jerk! “Richard patted her hand. “It appears you truly haven’t closed the chapter on having a baby.”
Carla smiled at him ruefully. “Truthfully, I’ve always wanted to have kids, but like I said, perhaps in my next life. This one’s done for.”
Richard’s bottle-green eyes looked directly into hers and said, “Never say never.”
She glanced at the time and realized she’d been out longer than she’d planned. She should be heading home to finish the story she’d promised her agent. Besides, poor Blondie, her mush of a yellow Lab, must be crossing her legs by now.
Richard noticed her looking at her watch. “Gotta go?”
She nodded. “Thanks for the shoulder.”
“My pleasure. I enjoyed the company.”
“Just don’t send me a bill.”
He laughed. “I look forward to running into you again at the gym,” he said taking her hand in his.
She noticed how warm his hand felt and yet she felt goose bumps race up her arm. She gave him a smile and nodded. Yes, seeing him again would be very nice.
As Carla drove home, she realized she couldn’t wait to start working with Joey. She wanted to lose the weight as quickly as possible. She might not be able to control everything in her life, but she sure as hell could do something about her appearance. Perhaps she’d see Richard at the gym the next time she went. She held on to that thought a moment longer and broke into a wide, open smile.
* * *
Walking to his car, Richard Stein smiled as he thought about Carla Millhouse and the way her soft body felt under his when they rolled around on the floor at the gym. She smelled like wild flowers. He wondered how she’d taste. He’d felt her ample breasts brushing against his chest. Were her nipples dark? How did they taste? Richard was startled to find himself semi-aroused from his thoughts.
What the hell was he thinking?
She was just a sweet, sad woman with a narcissist jerk for a husband. He really liked her. Why did all the nice women end up with men who didn’t appreciate them? Her husband, Martin, obviously had no idea what a gem he had. A guy could get lost in Carla’s brown Bambi eyes. Even a little overweight, she was an attractive woman—more than attractive. Martin better wise up and start treating her better…
Claudia Brown was horny. The combination of good wine, male pheromones and aftershave—not to mention the fact she couldn’t remember the last time she’d even had sex—was all it took. Okay, Darnell was hot with a decent body that towered well over her 5’11” frame and that was a plus. Personally, she hated talking to the bald spots on little men. And the fact that she didn’t mind looking at his handsome face with those soft molasses-colored eyes of his didn’t hurt, either.
By the time Darnell drove her home, she was primed and ready to jump his bones. Judging by the smoldering kiss he gave her at the apartment door, she could tell he was ripe for conquest and went in for the kill.
“Would you like to come inside, Darnell, for a nightcap?”
His answer was a wide gotcha-grin revealing a set of nearly perfect white teeth making her stop and wonder exactly who the real shark was in her little scenario.
“Nice crib,” he said as his gaze traveled around the living room taking in the comfortable chairs and a sofa in soft earth-tones.
Watching him; gauging his reaction, Claudia took off her coat. “Thanks. Make yourself at home.” Figuring some nice mood music would complement things, she went over to the stereo and selected an Alicia Keys CD and popped it in the player. Then she headed toward the kitchen for the bottle of wine she had chilling in the refrigerator.
When she returned holding two glasses, Darnell had taken her up on the suggestion and had removed his sports jacket. She couldn’t help but notice how his shirt hugged his wide, hard chest. They sat facing each other on the sofa sipping their wine. Then Darnell put his glass down on the coffee table and reached for hers, placing it on the table beside his. “Let’s dance, Claudia,” he said, stretching out his hand.
Claudia took his hand. They rose from the sofa together and she melted into his arms. He wrapped his arms around her ass and pushed her bottom firmly into his cock bulge. Her immediate response was to rub herself against him. For her, it was a win-win situation and she definitely enjoyed her half of the results.
As they slow-danced in place to the mellow vocal strains of Alicia, Claudia ran her restless hands up and down his hard, muscled back. His response was to sweep her long black hair to the side enabling him to nuzzle her neck a few moments before seeking out her lips. The man was definitely a good kisser. He outlined her waiting lips with the tip of his tongue before covering her mouth with a heart-stopping kiss that nearly sucked all the breath out of her. When his lips were finished with Claudia’s mouth, it felt on fire and that wasn’t the only place within her heating up.
Claudia repositioned her legs in order to rub her entire pussy on his now straining cock bulge. So she’d be able to feel his hot flesh, she tugged the back of his shirt out from his slacks. Darnell slipped his hands under her sweater seeking out her breasts which were already aching for his touch. He pushed the lacy cups aside and began to caress them. Wanting him to have total access to them, Claudia moved back away and pulled the sweater over her head and unclasped her bra, tossing both items onto the sofa.
Darnell smiled and said, “Beautiful, baby girl,” before he closed his large hand over her left breast and began to suckle at her right one.
Claudia moaned and raked his back with her nails. He was driving her slowly crazy as he first gently lathered her nipple with his tongue before nipping at it. Her juices, which had been simmering within her, were now pooling in her panties and her blood was beginning to boil. She grabbed the zipper on his slacks and slipped it down, freeing his beautiful, hard cock. She covered its head with her hand and stroked it down to his balls and then back up again. Darnell made a growling sound deep in his throat.
His hands were now buried under her skirt, slowly feeling their way up her long, coffee au lait legs, his fingers skimming the bottom of her panties. Claudia made things easier for him by removing her skirt and slipping out of her panties. His eyes were now riveted to her naked body as he opened his slacks and stepped out of them. Then Darnell scooped her up in one fluid motion and carried her into the bedroom where he placed her lightly on top of the bed. She leaned on an elbow and watched as he removed the rest of his clothes.
He had a beautiful body. It wasn’t overly muscled, but hard and lean in all the right places. Claudia hated muscle-bound men who looked more like the Michelin Man caricature than human. Darnell’s working as a weight trainer in a gym certainly had its compensations. The only thing her brain registered as she fixated on his gorgeous body was how good that beautiful big cock of his was going to feel deep inside of her. She never kidded herself. Big cocks were always better. In fact, the bigger the better was her motto. She preferred having trouble getting all of it into her snatch than wishing she could feel the damn thing. From what she could see, this guy was going to be just perfect.
Darnell didn’t need a roadmap to find his way around her body. He knew exactly where he was heading. Standing at the foot of her bed he rolled her over onto her belly. Then he pulled her closer to the edge of the bed where he stood. She lifted up her rump, resting on her hands and knees, offering herself to him. He pushed his right thumb into her ass before he thrust most of his big, beautiful cock into her pussy. With the thumb and forefinger of his other hand, he kneaded Claudia’s left nipple and began to rock her world.
As he pumped into her, Claudia rubbed and stroked her clit ratcheting up the tension. Darnell moved slowly at first, but it wasn’t long before he was going as fast as he could, their bodies slapping together. She kept up with him, enjoying the ride. However, it wasn’t long before she could feel the beginnings of an orgasm. Not wanting to surrender to it until the last moment, she allowed the tension to build like the torque on an engine. However, the way that boy was doing her, the first wave of spasms grabbed her, making her a very vocal goner.
“That’s it baby girl. Let it all out,” he said, just as he let himself go.
They cuddled together while their vitals slowed back down to normal. Darnell was a nice guy and she liked him. They’d met at the University of Pennsylvania last week. He had registered for a course in CPR and couldn’t find the building where it was being held. Lost, he somehow ended up in the building where Claudia taught. Her class had ended and Darnell caught her heading to the cafeteria for some lunch. She found herself very attracted to him. They started talking and one thing eventually led to another.
She didn’t see him as a potential relationship. That was the last thing Claudia desired.
She wasn’t going to put herself in harm’s way and let another man hurt her. The very fact that she had been able to allow men back into her life to fill her basic sexual needs had been a giant step. However, she had no intention of jeopardizing her progress by going out with a man more than once. Claudia was the original no strings—no attachment girl.
“How’s about an erotic shower?” Darnell suggested.
“All right.” Sex was a messy thing with all those drippy bodily fluids, so Claudia was all for that. It was the golden shower that she tended to avoid.
She led the way into her bathroom which, thank goodness, was large enough to be occupied by more than one person. Grabbing two fresh bath towels from her linen cabinet, Claudia slid open the glass doors and turned the water spigot on. Another thing which she was most thankful for was plentiful hot water. As she was adjusting the temperature, he ran his hands down over her body keeping her internal engine purring. When the water felt right, she stepped inside and Darnell followed, sliding the door closed behind them.
Once inside, he soaped up his hands and began to wash her breasts. The feeling of his hands on her skin began to excite her, pushing the needle on her passion barometer up. Claudia wanted to return the favor and turned around to soap Darnell’s body, as well. Starting with his wide chest, she kneaded his man-buds with her soapy fingertips. They turned out to be sensitive and Darnell groaned. Emboldened by his reaction, she worked her way down to his cock which was now hard. She applied soap to his balls and adorable butt before she paid homage to his beautiful instrument of pleasure.
Even while Claudia lathered Darnell’s gorgeous body, he continued to wash hers, as well. He was erotically soaping every conceivable—and inconceivable—spot on the front of her body driving her wild. However, when he went down on his knees and opened the folds of her sex, tonguing her from one end of her pussy to the other before latching his lips onto her clitoris, she wanted him so badly, she thought she’d die. She was literally about to beg him to thrust that beautiful cock into her pussy when he turned her around to face the tiles. He slipped two of his fingers inside her dripping pussy. Instinctively, she roughly rubbed herself against his fingers. That’s when Darnell spread her ass-cheeks and began to lick her a-hole. No one had ever done this to her before. Between that and the fact his fingers felt like a cock, she was able to reach another earth-shattering climax.
When she was finished with her last spasm, he lifted her up slightly against the tiles and entered her pussy. It felt absolutely wonderful. Holding her against the wall of the shower, he pumped into her until she felt him stiffen and then come. He let her down and the water cascaded down over them both, washing them clean.
About this time they both began to resemble a pair of dried prunes, so it was time to get out of the shower. They toweled dry and headed towards the bed. Originally, she hadn’t planned on him staying the night. However, he worked so hard, she didn’t have the heart to throw him out. Claudia was exhausted herself and within minutes of placing her head down on the pillow, she was out for the count.
When she opened her eyes the next morning, which was Sunday, he was gone. He’d left a note explaining that he had several appointments at the gym and would call during the week. Claudia dreaded that phone call. She didn’t want to have to tell him that, though he’d been a wonderful lay, she didn’t want to see him again. That part was always the stickiest and was never easy. Men didn’t take rejection well. However, women took longer to recover from rejection. She’d been a prime example. And the man who had rejected her was a jerk named Jerome.
She’d been seeing Jerome for more than two years. He’d spent a lot of time dogging her for some kind of commitment. Just as she was about to tell him yes to their moving in together, the unthinkable happened. Claudia had spent the night at his place but left early the next day to pick up some papers from her office. Half-way to work, she’d realized she’d left her cell phone on the nightstand in the bedroom. When she returned to the apartment, she let herself in with the key Jerome had given her. She found his buxom next-door neighbor riding him as if he were a prize stallion.
So much for commitment.
The shock was overwhelming, since she had thought he was happy with the relationship. She certainly had been. What upset her the most was the fact she never saw this coming. She was now more vigilant and wiser, and she vowed never to allow something like that ever happen to her again. Claudia made up her mind then to go back to school, get a degree and become independent. She would never again rely on anyone but herself.
Because most people tended to look at her self-preservation program as a way of running away from reality, or worse, just a form of eccentricity, Claudia kept her personal and professional lives separate. She never dated anyone from the teaching staff or administration at the university. This in itself earned her the nicknames, The Iron Maiden or The Frost Queen. If that was the price she’d have to pay in order to keep her heart safe, so be it. It was her life and she could do whatever she damned well please with it, anyway. They didn’t know her or why she chose to travel down this path. And she intended to keep it that way.
Things ended up working out just fine for her. She applied to the University of Pennsylvania right after she discovered Jerome’s infidelity and put herself through school. Deciding on becoming an English professor, she continued on to grad school while she worked as a teaching assistant. Claudia landed a job as an assistant professor and finally a professor. Now at the age of thirty-five, she was in line to become the next head of the English department. Claudia had no husband or family to vie for her time, so she was able to put most of her energy into teaching. When she felt the urge for sex, she merely went out on a date. An attractive woman with a lithe body and exotic, high cheek bones, she was never at a loss for dates. Her lifestyle may not work for everyone; however, it worked for her. That’s why she braced herself for the awful conversation that would eventually come when Darnell called her back to make another date.
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