Note 1: Thanks to Jasmine, Atikov for their helpful suggestions and wonderful editing of my first story. I can't thank you enough.
Note 2: Special thanks to Jasmine whose stories inspired me to write one of my own.
*
It had been a hellish week with thirty plus hours of overtime. As I leaned back in my chair, I plopped my feet on my desk and thought: '
TGIF, just two more hours and I can call it a week'.
Fortunately weeks like this do not happen often. But after this week I was really looking forward to just kicking back for the whole weekend and relaxing, but at the same time dreading being in an empty house. Jennifer, my daughter, left home to attend college four months ago. I was defiantly feeling Empty Nest syndrome.
I sat there with no premonition that my simple and unexciting life was about to be flipped upside down over the course of the next few days.
Just then Karen a co-worker of mine stopped by my desk. I knew she was there before she even spoke, as I smelled the sweetness of her perfume that she wore just a touch of, just enough so you could tell, but not so much it over powered you. I had a sudden rush of excitement, knowing she was there right behind me. The truth is that I have had a bit of a crush on her. It was a feeling I got the moment I first meet her six months ago; when she started working here and was put on the same team as me. I sat up and turned to face her.
"Jeff I know what you are going to say, but thought I'd ask one more time. Would you care to have drinks after work with me and some of the others?" She asked with a dejected look on her face.
Karen had invited me out for drinks several times before and I had always declined, mainly because I had more than just a crush on her, it was more like full blown lust.
But I have always lived by the adage
'you don't go fishing in the company's pond'
, so I had always declined her previous invites to go have drinks at the end of the week. Plus I would get a sense of guilt, that I would be being disrespectable to my late wife's memory if I accepted.
I thought for a moment,
'What the hell screw it. Nothing is going to happen, and I deserve to have a little fun for a change. Besides how could I say no to that pouty face?'.
"You caught me in a good mood Karen; I'd like that, so where do you all go for drinks?"
Her expression turned from dejection to one of surprise and a bit of excitement. "Just down the street at Murphy's Tavern, do you know where it's at?'
"Yeah I go home that way every day and have seen it before, so meet you all there after work."
"Great see you there" she said as she walked away with a bounce in her step that I had never seen before.
It was 4:53 I had shut down my computer and was just locking it up in my file cabinet, when the phone rang.
'Damn who the hell is calling me, this late on a Friday?'
I wondered. It was the help desk, there was a problem. I quickly booted up my computer again.
'Damn I am going to be late. Karen is going to think I flaked out on her'.
But luckily it was a minor problem and only took me fifteen minutes to resolve it. I locked up my computer again and rushed out to my car. It was 5:25 by the time I got to my car. Luckily Murphy's tavern is just a mile or so away, so I would only be a few minutes late.
As I walked into the tavern I looked around to find Karen and the others. Over in a back corner I saw her waving at me. There were more people than I expected, at least a dozen of my co-workers. I was surprised to see Judy a co-worker and dearest friend of mine these past fifteen years as part of the group.
I walked over to the table directly behind Judy. "Hello everybody," as I leaned over kissing Judy on the cheek, "How you doing Hot Stuff."
"Just fine Stud," using her pet name for me, one of several she even used when we were around her husband Greg and my wife Laura. Many the times our spouses would tease us with "God you two, get a room already."
Karen motioned to me again, "Sit here by me, I saved you a seat, I was worried you got lost. So what took you so long?" Karen appeared to be annoyed at my attention to Judy.
"Sorry, a last minute call from the Help Desk" I apologized as I noticed a sparkle of excitement in Karen's eyes.
"We are about ready for a second round, you are going to have to catch up Jeff," Jason another co-worker announced before adding, "Nice to see you here for a change, we were beginning to think you don't like us."
"Oh it's not that at all, I just have a one drink limit, else someone would have to take me home with them is all," I chuckled back at him.
"That wouldn't be a problem," Karen replied with a mischievous grin and a wink.
'Damn is she flirting with me?'
Just then the waitress came to the table and took drink orders. I ordered my usual Bloody Mary. I really don't care much for hard liquor, but the tomato juice masks the taste, so that is what I drink, whenever I do have a drink. My next drink will be a Virgin Mary.
As I sat down Karen asked "So how long have you known Judy? Are you two...?"
A little disturbed by her suggestion that Judy and I might be anything more than friends, I answered, "Judy is my best friend, without her I doubt I would have survived Laura's death or raising my daughter."
"Oh," is all she said.
For the next few hours, the conversation was lively and there was lots of laughter. More than once Karen seemed to be flirting with me; even placing her hand on my thigh while laughing at one of my jokes. I was having a good time so I flirted back.
The jokes being shared got bawdier as the evening progressed. So I offered up "Does anyone know why women and men get crow's feet around their eyes?"
"Oh this I have to hear," Karen chirped in. "Please tell us."
I squinted my eyes as much as possible for effect, "It's because women are always saying .... You want me to suck what!"
Still squinting I added, "While men are always saying PLEASE!"
Everyone within ear shot burst into laughter. Karen grabbed my leg and held on as she leaned into my ear stifling her laugh long enough to whisper, "Guess I'll never get Crow's feet," as she slowly removed her hand from my thigh, but not before moving it ever so close to my crotch.
Suddenly I zoned out, trying to make some sense of what just happened.
Karen nudged me with her elbow, "Earth to Jeff, come in Jeff, are you ok?"
Before I could reply she said, 'It's a woman isn't it?" A look of disappointment crept into her face, "Girlfriend?"
"Girlfriend, God no, I married my last girlfriend and that was twenty years ago, but you are right it is a woman," I divulged, but not about to reveal that it was her that had me so rattled.
"Care to talk about it?"
"Not really, I think I best be going home."
"Me too, will you walk me to my car?"
"Sure I can do that."
We said our good-byes to the others still there. Judy stood up and I gave her a hug. "Good night sweetie; drive home safe, see ya Monday," she said. I turned to see Karen shooting daggers from her eyes directly at Judy. Judy just smiled back at her as if not noticing.
As we walked to our cars she said, "If you need someone to talk to about this woman problem, I'm a good listener," before adding, "Was nice having you here tonight, I enjoyed spending time with you outside of work. So can we do this again next week?"
"Sure I'd like that." I said actually meaning it.
"Are you ok to drive?" The gentleman in me asked.
"I am fine, see you Monday," she replied as she got into her car and drove away.
As I drove home I began to ponder the events of this evening.
'Was Karen really flirting with me with all her innuendos?'
By the time I got home I was convinced I was just imagining things, she had had a few drinks and was just being friendly. I went to bed and fell asleep not giving Karen another thought the rest of the weekend.
The rest of the weekend was just a repeat of my usual routine since my daughter had moved away to college. Saturdays I would run any errands needed and do any food shopping. Once those things were out of the way; I would load up a half dozen CD(s) from the mid 60's to early 80's of classic rock bands, put on my headphones, and press random play on the CD player. Then I would settle down to a few hours of reading a book from the 'Dragon Lance' series of books by my favorite authors Margaret Wiess and Tracy Hickman', until it was dinner time.
Now days I most often would go out to dinner, not up to cooking just for myself. After dinner I would spend two to three hours reading stories on Literotica. I mostly read stories in the BDSM genre, especially ones of a Master/Slave nature.
Though tonight, I wasn't enjoying reading the stories, nearly as much as I usually did. Tonight they just caused me to reminisce to what I had with Laura before she was taken from me by a tragic auto accident. Laura had been every man's dream wife. Laura was a perfect lady, incredible mother, but my submissive whore by night. Yes I had been blessed to be married to this woman for ten years and had it not been for Judy, Laura's best friend since kindergarten, I think I may have lost my mind grieving Laura's death.
Judy, her husband Greg, Laura and I were as close as a band of thieves. For seventeen years they lived across the street from me. Judy was now not only my co-worker of the past fifteen years, but my dearest and most trusted friend. She had helped me get past Laura's passing, and was like a second mother to my daughter Jennifer, and I had returned her friendship by helping her get over Greg leaving her three years ago.
But tonight, for some unexplainable reason I pondered, how different things may have been had I met Judy before Laura. Judy and I had an instant connection the moment Laura introduced us. Until Greg came along, it wasn't unusual for Judy, Laura and I to spend all our free time together. It was almost as if I had been dating them both at the same time. As I turned in that night I couldn't seem to shake this thought from my head, I tossed and turned for over an hour before drifting into sleep.
Sundays are much easier, football from 10 am to 9 pm, and a full day of eating all kinds of junk food. The menu varied from week to week; pizza, chili dogs, hoagie sandwiches, chips soda or beer. But I sure missed Laura and our half time sexual exploits.
Now most people dread Mondays, but not me, Monday meant I would have lunch with Judy. It was our special time to check on each other and lend any support to one another as needed, and most importantly to see if either of us had heard anything from our daughters since they left together for college. This had become a ritual the past three years after Greg left her. Now because of the divorce Judy lived on the other side of town from me and I could no longer just walk across the street to ask her advice, or to cry on her shoulder.