"Do you, Richard, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to live together in holy matrimony, to love her, to honor her, to comfort her, in sickness and in health, for as long as you both shall live?"
"I do."
"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride."
Richard leaned over, and Caroline put his arms around his neck and they kissed. The congregation broke out in rousing applause.
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard Harris, age 42, did not believe this day would ever come. It had been 15 long years since his first marriage had ended in divorce, and he never thought he would find another woman who could make him feel all of the same feelings he had experienced as a young man, when he was first dating and got engaged.
He had been successful in many aspects of his life up to this point--he was a successful lawyer who worked as legal counsel for a major record label in Los Angeles. He was very wealthy as a result of his strong work ethic and prudent investing. And he had a wonderful home in Malibu that his family back in Wisconsin would consider a "honest to God mansion".
But when it came to romance, love, and women in general, it was always a tough road for Richard. He never considered himself a handsome man. And his body did not project strength either--he stood 5'11", rather slender, and no matter how much he worked out, never really could build any semblance of a muscular body. His memories of high school were just fragmented scenes of being bullied by larger boys, being talked down to by domineering teachers, and being rejected by girls after he finally worked up the courage to ask them on a date, or asked them to a school dance. It was as if everyone else sensed his inferiority and preyed on it.
He couldn't get to UCLA fast enough--finally a place where no one knew him, where he could be a better version of himself for all of these new people. And things were slightly better--while he did go on more dates with coeds around campus, he always felt intimidated by the really pretty California girls that were in his classes, no matter how nice they were, or how close they got working on class projects together.
Compounding this feeling was that Richard, to put it mildly, was not the most well-endowed man in the world. Erect, his penis was at most five inches long and not particularly thick. Once in college, he had been making out with a girl in the back seat of his car when she moved to pull down his pants. When she saw his erection, she laughed out loud, and promptly opened the car door and walked away, still giggling.
Law school followed, and it was only at that time that Richard met the woman who he thought would be his soulmate for life. Allison Randall was a slim brunette, with pretty green eyes, who was in a lot of the same classes. She wasn't a knockout, but he thought she was cute, and there was a definite emotional and intellectual connection from the get go. In some ways, Richard thought that Allison may have been as desperate to find someone as he had been. They dated for almost a year and got married just after they graduated.
Life was wonderful for two years. Their careers took off, Richard's in a legal firm that had several clients in the entertainment industry, she as a corporate attorney. While they both worked long hours in those early years, they strived to make time for each other and keep a strong emotional connection.
This included in the bedroom, where they had what he felt was at least a satisfactory sex life. While they loved each other very much, the sex was often vanilla, and while she didn't say it out loud, Richard always sensed that he wasn't satisfying her sexual needs. It was as if she had a particular type of man that really turned her on, and that type wasn't him.
But they were very much in love in those early years, and despite the shortcomings physically, they had a perfectly regular sex life.
But eventually the rift started to grow, and after five years, she dropped the hammer on him. She wanted a divorce. Richard was heartbroken, but there was nothing to be done--her mind was made up.
Six months after the divorce was finalized and she moved out, Richard learned that Allison was already about to be remarried, to a personal trainer she had been going to for the past year. His name was Jake--a 6'2", 225 lb stud of a man who was nothing but muscles and pheramones. Richard wasn't convinced that Allison hadn't been involved with him while they were still married, but he never knew for sure.
The emotional damage from the sudden divorce, coupled with her quick remarriage, drove Richard's feelings of inferiority and weakness to further depths. He decided to throw himself into his career, where he had some control over his successes, and some semblance of authority over others. He eventually landed a dream job in a leadership role as legal counsel at a record label for huge money, and spent the next decade turning his loneliness into material successes.
Working for a record company was about as hip a career as someone in his line of work could hope for, but being in that department, he was again considered a nerd in the high school clique-iness of that professional world. But his high standing in the organization did allow him perks, like attending high-profile industry parties from time to time, and rubbing elbows with some of the most powerful and glamorous people in Los Angeles.
And that is where he met Caroline Bond.
* * * * * * * * * *
Richard had taken up his customary position at one of these parties--drink in hand, an empty table to his right, a potted palm to his left. He had already said hello to the three or four people he knew at the party, but was now standing alone, gazing at the crowds of beautiful people, looking a bit like a little boy who had lost his puppy.
Suddenly, a woman emerged from a crowd of people, and started walking straight towards him. He couldn't help but stare, his mouth slightly agape. She was blonde, almost as tall as he was, 5'8" but appeared taller thanks to the three-inch heels she was wearing. She had absolutely gorgeous legs and a full, C-cup chest. She was in a black cocktail dress that exuded beauty, grace and sex, all at the same time.
But it was her eyes that really hooked him. Piercing blue eyes, locked on his, as she walked confidently toward him, a glass of champagne in her hand.
"Hello", she said, smiling at him.
Richard fought the urge to turn around and see if she was speaking to someone behind him. "Um, hello."
"I hope you don't mind me coming over to talk to you. I noticed you from across the room and I felt like maybe I knew you from somewhere."
