Aiding and Abetting

Friday, the week before Thanksgiving, I was busy clearing the pending work from my desk. I was going to get this done by the end of the day if it killed me. My plan was to take a few days off next week combining them with the holidays and it would give me nine straight days out of the office. I would kick back, take some time to sit on my ass, regroup, watch football, and eat turkey sandwiches with no interruptions.

I'm called Don to most people. My mother calls me Donald, I don't like it but what are you going to do? Calling me Donny will get a pissed off response, my ex called me that and it brings bile to my throat. I can still hear Janice's voice, "Donny, don't leave, it's not what it looks like, Donny please let me explain."

It was what it looked like, she was fucking some asshole she worked with in MY bed and she got caught. I thank my lucky stars every day that I found out before we were married. Janice and I were to wed the next week, I walked away and never looked back.

The episode with Janice made me take a hard look at myself. I let her walk all over me, I held Janice on a pedestal. I tried to change the way I was just for her. She changed the way I dressed, we hung out with her friends not mine. She told me time after time I was too nice to people. When any of my friends asked, I was always there for them. She tried to get me to learn the word no, but in my world helping friends was second nature.

What is that old saying? One good turn deserves another. Well, something along that line. Anyway, it comes to mind that if I ever needed anything, my friends would be right there for me. They all owe me for something but I'm not the type to hold it over their head.

At five I had filed the last folder and was rushing out the door with the crowd. It had been a hectic day and I looked forward to a beer at the pub across the street. My friends and I were sitting at the bar and relaxing with a cold one. All in all, life was pretty good.

We played a few racks of eight ball and generally mingled and shot the shit. I was back at the bar when Candy, one of the girls from the sales department walked up with a smile. It always gives me a chill up my spine when a salesman gives me that smile.

Candy and I have known each other since she joined the company about five years ago. I'm the director of human resources and know, or have at least met, all the employees. Candy and I rotate in different circles, but know each other.

How can I describe her?

Tall? Definitely, probably five foot ten at least.

Slim? Yeah, but with curves in strategic alignment. A walking wet dream.

Stylish? Like a model, correct to the last detail.

Beautiful? Out of my league, way out.

Blonde? No way, raven black. Hair loose, down to her wonderful heart shaped ass.

Lesbian? WHAT! Yep, has a girlfriend. She swings from the other side of the plate.

So that's Candy, she's good at her job, real good. She could sell ice cubes to Eskimos. She's always at the top in her division and next in line for the director of sales position.

"Don, have you got a sec? I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute," her voice oozed sex appeal.

Oh shit, here comes the sales pitch.

"Sure Candy, would you like a drink?"

"Yes I love one, beer please," she smiled as she sat down beside me.

Shocker there, I'd have said chardonnay or merlot. I ordered and turned back to see where our conversation was going.

"So what is it you want to talk about?" I queried.

"I have a small problem and I was wondering if you could help?" she wasn't quite so confident now, "I need a husband... well, really a boyfriend," her voice trailed off.

"Ok, I'll bite, what's the joke? What is this, candid camera? Am I being punked?" I asked looking around the room.

"It really is no joke Don. My parents are flying to Hawaii for a vacation and they're stopping here next week to spend a couple of days with me for Thanksgiving. They want to meet my... partner."

I started to get the picture, "And you told them you were living with a man," she was looking down now, afraid to look at my eyes, "Why not just dress Vivian up like a guy?" I said with sarcasm.

"Come on Don, this isn't funny. If my dad found out about me it would kill him, he'd have a freaking stroke," she said.

"Candy, this shit sounds like a bad situation comedy, I keep seeing old I love Lucy reruns here. There is no way this is going to work unless your parents are complete morons. Why don't you just tell them the truth, trust me the truth will set you free," I told her.

"I... I... I just can't," she stuttered.

Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes now. Great, just fucking wonderful, I was in the middle of a snow job and starting to feel like that Eskimo I mentioned earlier. I wish I could cry like women do. I'd walk right in to a new car dealership and bawl my eyes out until they gave me a new Mercedes.

"If I agree and I do mean 'IF', you're going to have to do something for me."

"Anything Don, anything, I would be so grateful," the smile was returning now.

"I want... turkey, and lots of it. Yeah, and no giblets in the gravy, I hate giblets."

Her face lit up like the sun. I think she was expecting me to ask for more, a lot more. Like maybe something really disgusting to her, like sex with a man.

"You won't be sorry Don, I promise," she said giving me a kiss on my forehead.

"I seriously doubt that, I'm already sorry," I said to myself.

As she turned and hurried away I called out, "Candy, no marshmallows on the yams either," she waved back and rushed out the door.

What is that word? It's right on the tip of my tongue... NO... that's it. That's what I should have said. Well, so much for a peaceful lazy week off. That turkey better be good, damned good.

The next morning I was trying to sleep through a hangover. I don't usually get drunk but after Candy left, well you know. It sunk in what kind of screwed up mess I was in for.

I could hear bells ringing, God make them stop please. Shit, I sat up, it was the doorbell. Who the hell could be ruining my day at this hour, it was barely noon.

"Candy? What the hell are you doing here?" Candy was standing on my doorstep with four large suitcases.

"Are you going to ask me in?" she asked.

I stood there in my underwear shading my eyes trying to figure out what the hell was happening. It was too hard, screw it. I left the door open and walked back to my bedroom scratching my ass as I walked.

"Don, I hate to bother you. Where are the cleaning supplies?" Candy whispered.

"Kitchen sink," I grumbled.

Fifteen minutes later, "Don, do you have a broom?"

"Pantry door,"

Five minutes, "Dust pan?"

"Entertainment center."

Two minutes, "Windex?"

"Wall safe, behind the Rembrandt."

It was obvious there would be no peace. I crawled to the bathroom and rummaged through the old prescription bottles and found some old Vicodin the dentist had given me for pain. I took two. Fifteen minutes later I was mowing the lawn, my I-pod was at full volume, and I had a smile that wrapped almost all the way around my head. I laughed to myself about doing yard work in November. That's So-Cal for you, I'm sure we'd have another green Christmas.

Bad things were coming, bad things indeed. Less than a day after talking to Candy, I had a drug and alcohol problem, shit, but my yard looked good. I assumed Candy had come early to get things 'Mommy' clean for her parents visit. I'm no slob, but a bachelor just doesn't clean the same as a woman. I also figured that Candy had moved in. By the size and number of bags she had brought with her, she intended to be here the entire week.

Candy had been a busy girl, the house looked like somebody else lived there. By then, I had sweated the hangover away and the drugs were worn off. I walked into the kitchen to get a bottle of water. Candy was bent at the waist cleaning the refrigerator. Her perfect ass in those short shorts was almost more than I could take right then. Oh Lord, what have I done to deserve this?

A cold shower, that's what I needed right then. I had to get my mind off Candy. Without the bottle of water, I headed for my bedroom. Goddamn, I had been invaded, all of her things were in my room. We would have to talk about this after my shower, I had a hard on to get rid of first.

The water was as cold as I could stand, my body was freezing but my dick was still hard as stone. I changed tactics and turned the tap to hot. I may as well face facts and be comfortable while I stroked my problem away.

I had no more than lathered up when I heard her.

"Don, I'm going to run to the store. Do you need anything while I'm out?" she asked.

I could just make out her outline in the doorway through the opaque glass of the shower, "Yeah, I could use your help with my hard cock. How about you wrap those perfect lips around the head of my dick?" I wanted to say, but didn't.

"No, I don't think so," was what I really said.

"Don, do you mind if I pick up some new curtains for the kitchen? I hate to say it but the ones you have now are terrible," she asked.

She asked, that was the key, she had asked. Janice would have just done it and never even considered my feelings.

"Yeah, go ahead, I don't mind."

"Oh Don, by the way, you have a cute butt," she giggled.

"Not nearly as cute as yours," I thought to myself.

For the next few minutes, I punished Don Jr. for acting the way he did after seeing Candy's ass. I literally beat the snot out of him... twice. It was going to be a long hard week, and I do mean hard.

For the record, I felt bad about using Candy as a masturbation fantasy. She wasn't a piece of meat to be drooled over. She just had that affect on me. It occurred to me that I would just have to be more careful around her.

When she got back from the store, her face was red as if she had been crying. Crap, was she a mind reader too.

"What's wrong? Have I done something?" I asked with genuine concern.

"No, Don, it's not important. It wasn't anything you did," she replied.

"Are you sure?" I looked closely to see if it was my fault.

"It's... Vivian," she blurted right before she broke down and the tears and sobbing started in earnest.

Should I run? Should I try to comfort her? I didn't know what to do. It wasn't really my business but we were friends, well sort of. I did what a good husband would do and held her in my arms. I stroked her hair. I held her until the moment passed.

She looked up at me, "I went back to my apartment, and Vivian was already in bed with another woman. Goddamn her, I mean it was never serious between us but..." and then the crying started allover.

It was pretty quiet around the house that night. Candy's bad experience had brought a lot of bad feelings about Janice to the surface. I tried to keep Candy's spirits up, but that's not easy when you feel like shit yourself.

I went to bed early that night, not because I was tired. That creepy lonely feeling was getting to me. Laying there in the dark, I really knew how Candy was feeling.

"Don, are you awake?"

"Yeah, come on in," I said.

"I know that I've already asked a lot of you but since most of my stuff is already here. Would it be ok if I stayed until I found an apartment? Just a few days," she asked.

I didn't answer, there was really no need. I held my hand out to her and she took it. I pulled her to me and wrapped my arms around her. I embraced her, there were no words. Eventually, I sensed she had fallen asleep in my arms.

It was extremely difficult to sleep with this wonderful creature in such close proximity. Her soft skin and wonderful smell filled my head with obscene and very vivid thoughts. I remember thinking that it would be nice to die this way, with Candy in my arms.

Candy woke me early, about six I'd say. She handed me a hot mug of coffee and sat down on the bed.

"I'd like to say thanks for last night Don. I needed that more than I can explain," she said, with softness and sincerity.

"I'll be there for you any time Candy," I said.

"You already have,"

"You're up pretty early, are you going somewhere?" I asked noticing she was wearing a jacket.

"Yeah, I thought I'd go get the rest of my things. I want to get it over with."

"Give me five minutes, I just have to brush my teeth," I told her.

Candy was surprised but didn't refuse my offer to help. I wanted to be there for moral support as well if things went badly with Vivian. She was quiet on the ride over and I sensed some bitterness, but not toward me. I suspected she was gearing up for a confrontation.

As luck would have it, Vivian was gone when we got there. The packing went smoothly and we were ready to leave in less than an hour. Vivian arrived as the last box was loaded into my old truck.

"So this is it, you were going to sneak away without a word?" Vivian said.

"What's left to say? You made your choice, now have a happy life," Candy said walking up to stand next to me. She maneuvered herself under my arm and put her hand on my stomach. It was a very suggestive gesture, "Let's go Don.

"I see you wasted no time finding a replacement. I'll bet he's not as good as me, how's the sex with a stinky hairy man? It makes me want to puke just thinking about it," Vivian spat.

"Actually, it was more than I could ever dream of. The sex was so much better than with you. Think about it Viv, having a big hard cock sliding in and out of your tight little pussy. Real flesh Viv, hard and throbbing, it's real Viv, it's not like that plastic strap on of yours. Oh yes, and the way he makes me feel like a woman. When I'm in his arms, it's so safe, I feel protected. God, I get tingly just thinking about it," Candy now had her hand down the front of my pants. She was rubbing her hand back and forth on my crotch. She looked up at me with her dreamy bedroom eyes. I felt like I was about to have a heart attack, but played along.

Vivian must have been struck dumb, her mouth was moving but nothing audible came out. Candy pulled my head down and planted her lips on mine. She kissed me passionately, her tongue was exploring my mouth. I was afraid I was going to cum as Candy broke the kiss.

"Viv, do yourself a favor, find a real man and get laid."

"Come on Honey lets go," Candy said to me.

I opened the driver's door and Candy slid in stopping in the middle. I barely had room to get in, she was sitting that close. Vivian's mouth was still moving, but she hadn't uttered a single word as we drove off down the street.

When we'd rounded the corner, we both started laughing, "I'm sorry Don, but the opportunity was too good to pass up," she continued giggling.

"Candy, you're evil. That was priceless, well worth the price of admission,"

"I'm starving, let's get something to eat. Sex always makes me hungry," She laughed.

We'd unloaded all of Candy's things by noon. It had been a hell of a morning. Candy seemed to be over Vivian already, she was humming and singing as she continued the make over of my house. Later, we ate and watched football on T.V. Candy seemed to enjoy the game more than me. I hadn't pictured her as a sports fan.

For quite some time after the game, we talked and really got to know each other on a more personal level. Candy, I found to be a genuine down to earth sort, far from the high maintenance type that I'd imagined. I was feeling very comfortable being around her, we clicked together. I found myself wanting her, and not in just sexual terms. Candy was yawning, we both decide it was time for bed.

After a shower, I crawled into my bed. Candy came in carrying her pillow.

"Don, I've been thinking. We'll be sleeping together while mom and dad are here, would it be alright with you if we kind of got in the habit?" she asked.

There was some logic in what she was thinking, but that didn't mean I thought it was a good idea. I envisioned the lamb crawling into the lions den, I just wasn't sure yet which one of us was the lion, "Sure," was my reply.

"I'm going to take a hot bath first, you go ahead and go to sleep and I'll join you in a while," she skipped off to the adjoining bath.

Sleep, Ha, what a joke. That goddess in my bed and I was supposed to sleep, as if. To make matters worse, she had not closed the door to the bathroom. Fifteen feet away, she was bathing, her nude body languishing in the steamy hot water. I could hear her soft voice singing as she lolled in the oversize tub. Torture, that's what it was. I rolled over and tried to sleep, no goddamn way was it going to happen.

It couldn't possibly get worse, or could it? Yes, when I felt her slip into bed next to me, it was assuredly worse. I was on fire, all I would have to do is reach for her. I could already feel the heat radiating from her lithe body. She was there for the taking, but no, that wouldn't be appropriate. It wasn't what she wanted, or was it? Was she subtly offering herself to me? Fuck, I was going insane.

As you might have guessed by now, the entire night was a slow burning never ending hell. I could have, so easily, but I didn't. I wanted to, so badly, but I didn't. She trusted me, implicitly, but she shouldn't. In the end, I couldn't, but you can bet you're fucking ass that I thought about it, and I thought about nothing else.

The next morning, Candy told me she had never had a better nights sleep. I didn't bother telling her that I had slept like an insomniac in a church bell tower. I wasn't sure how I was going to stand five more days like this.

The lack of sleep was chipping away at me, being near Candy was becoming increasingly difficult. I did something that day I swore to myself I'd never do in a million years. I cleaned out my garage. It was hard dirty work, but it was something that I could do with little brain power. I had damn little of that left. My sleepless night yearning for Candy had put doubts in my head about her feelings for me. How could she possibly be interested in a nobody like me?

I spent the entire day cleaning and rearranging. I was a zombie when I came back in the house that evening. The house smelled wonderful, Candy must be in the kitchen cooking. I headed straight for the bedroom, a shower was definitely in order. A hot shower and then I planned to jump into bed. If I was lucky, I'd be asleep before Candy even realized I was in the house.

My sorry ass was dragging as I stripped down in my walk-in closet. With out another thought I hit the bathroom, peed, jumped into the shower and almost fell asleep under the showerhead. As I dried myself, I thought of how wonderful a good night's sleep would be.

"Dinner is in the oven," I heard Candy say.

Jeezus, I realized all too late, she was in the bathtub and had been since I'd come in. It was surreal, I stood there, naked, staring. How could I have not noticed? I was too stunned to even try to cover myself, and why bother now. I'd been there for at least ten minutes. Candy didn't seem fazed at all, she wasn't the least bit embarrassed. I tried to act cool, that is, until I realized Don Jr. had noticed Candy's beautiful body soaking in the tub.

Another fine mess, why Lord, why. Screw it, what's done is done. I didn't apologize, after all she could have said something earlier or at least closed the door.

Candy rose from the water and stepped out of the tub. My life was getting weirder by the minute, Candy took my towel and began to dry herself.

"You must be exhausted, you've been at it all day. You go jump into bed and I'll bring you something to eat," she said.

That's what I did, I was too beat to argue and I didn't even bother with clothes. Candy brought two plates and we ate in bed, thankfully she had put a robe on. When she took the empty plates back to the kitchen, I wondered if after only two days together, we had somehow already become an old married couple. Comfortable around each other and no sex.