part two -
One Ringy Dingy...
And so it evolved - the weirdly wonderful, flirty long distance friendship between Catt and Tom. In the beginning, he called her because it was easier; sometimes he called from the construction trailer on the job site. He usually called at the end of his work day which was just before her dinner service, so she had a bit of a break to chat. They discussed world events, politics and so much more, but also there was a certain amount of flirting, sexually charged innuendo and sexy teasing. It was hot dirty, sexy double entendre and very often initiated by Tom, knowing full well that she was in a much more public environment and couldn't respond tit-for-tat. He got a charge out of her reactions -- she got tongue-tied and whispered into the mouth piece: 'Just wait until I get you alone!' laughing at the ludicrous position in which she found herself.
"I can't wait for that! What are you going to do to me? Or should I ask -- for me?" Tom would tease.
At other times, he would call her late at night from his hotel room, usually catching her at the end of a long day in the restaurant kitchen when she was tired but always horny for him as soon as she heard his voice. Those were the most fun phone-sex chats! What are you wearing eventually evolved into describing 'what I'd like to do with you, and to you,' until the two sexually frustrated, aroused lovers pleasured themselves on the distant ends of the telephone cord as they attempted to describe the physical stimulations and pleasurable touching that aroused them and brought orgasmic bliss by masturbation.
While the sexually provocative conversations relieved sexual tension between them, it was also very frustrating. Catt had never again broached the subject of her travelling to Texas after Tom first raised the possibility. She knew it was too dangerous to even consider and assumed he had realized it too.
Sometimes during their conversations, when he slurred his words a little and sounded as if he'd had too much to drink, the subject would wander into what-ifs territory. One night, Tom made a remark, almost to himself, 'I wish I had initiated something with you that night when we first met... but you and Cory were newly married... and well, I thought... and I couldn't. Damn I wish I had.'
For her part, Catt tried to keep their maturing friendship on an even keel, but she often found herself thinking about what her life might have been like if Tom had initiated interest in her before... before their lives had switched tracks in different directions and went off the rails. Tom certainly seemed more interested in Catt, more protective of her and certainly was the kind of lover she had never imagined could bring her to orgasm beyond comprehension. Tom would've absolutely been a contender for her affections in those early days. And now, what she knew firsthand about their abilities to arouse and sexually please each other - Tom would have been the sole member in her private Hall of Fame for Outstanding Performance of Sexual Gratification and Pleasure.
*****
Spring had turned into summer in the Nation's Capital and the restaurant had been given superb reviews by several renowned local food critics, while Catt was falling into a predictable routine. Food was becoming more important to her than anything else in her hum-drum life. Once or twice a month Tom would call her, usually after work when they could talk in a more relaxed mode -- often a little flirty with splashes of sexually erotic undertones -- but nothing overtly sexual. Both Catt and Tom innately knew if they started to sexually tease and arouse the other it would not stop until they were physically together again. The physical attraction was that strong. As a result, the unspoken rule was they would try to maintain a platonic (G-rated albeit flirty) friendship because they each cared so deeply for the other.
Catt learned from one such call that Tom's family home in South Florida had been sold; school had just ended for the children and Tom would be going home to move Giselle and the kids to Texas where they had purchased a small ranch near his current job site.
Catt was surprised to privately realize her envious reaction their family dynamic, but truly happy for them to have reunited together in Texas after so many months apart. She assumed she would hear less from Tom now because of his demanding job and his busy and growing family. She was correct.
Every couple of months Catt would receive a call from Tom -- usually after her lunch service was completed at the restaurant. It was a time she could take his call and be away from the kitchen area for a while but always nearby if she was needed. It kept their conversation chaste.
He always asked about Catt's wellbeing, her job and then seriously probed her personal life: was she dating, was she sleeping with anyone, did he satisfy her... needs? She thought it was sweet, and knew that his concern was genuine -- she began to think of Tom as a big brother, and decided that was most probably a healthy thing for their relationship. Catt did not want to lose Tom from her life -- she had an emotional, physical and physiological attachment to him and if there was no longer a sexual component to their friendship, she hoped that they could still be friends.
With each call Catt learned more about his busy life and the responsibilities of a construction manager. She knew a little bit about construction from her former father-in-law's business so she could ask pertinent questions when he discussed some problem on the job site. Tom seemed to like the work and was really enjoying the ranch and their children growing up in a rural area. They had four kids, in a blended family, so when Tom casually told Catt on the phone one day that he was about to have a vasectomy she was surprised at the intimate reveal, but not that he had made the decision. When she reflected back on the conversation years later, she decided their relationship had been deep enough that he felt at ease talking with her about something that was especially intimate for a guy -- his manhood. He was comfortable enough with his relationship with Catt to discuss it. Tom even managed to tell the tale of the aftermath of the 'snip-snip' with some dispassionate humor, albeit it a little too gory, even for Catt.
She felt, without ever seriously discussing the topic with Tom that the friendship was solid and either one of them would stand fast to help the other out in an emergency.
*****
Catt sensed a change in her work environment. The owner of the building was increasingly involved in the day-to-day management of the restaurant and not in a good way. He and the Chef argued every time they were in the same space for more than five minutes. The Executive Chef was away from the kitchen more frequently, and for unspecified reasons, so it fell to Catt to cover his absences working very long hours, often with no days off to recharge her mental batteries. Fatigue was causing her to make stupid mistakes in food ordering and kitchen assignments; she began to dislike being around food preparation and presentation -- a concept previously unimaginable to her.
At the end of dinner service one night, Catt sat quietly in the Chef's cramped office planning the next day's menus when she overheard a conversation between two of the wait-staff in the hallway outside the door.
'So are you going to take the offer?'
