AUTHOR'S LAMENT
I have been disappointed at the response, or should I say the lack thereof, to the first two chapters of my story. I am sure there are thousands of men and probably a number of women who have had an experience similar to mine. If you ever longed for someone but didn't pursue it because you were not attractive enough, or not personable enough, or not charming enough, or most likely, just plain not confident enough, you know what I went through -- in spades!
Please send me your comments, complimentary or derogatory. I'll be happy to answer if you desire a response. I can't change the story itself as it is 100% true. On the other hand I can try to change the way I tell it. My writing background is in business, reports and memos, which upper management always wants to be brief and direct. In this chapter I've tried to be more descriptive in telling the facts. The story is continuous so you need to read Chapters 1 and 2 for Chapter 3 to make sense.
THE BUILDUP
I spent a lot of time thinking about my date with Melissa, on the trip home and throughout the days that followed, until my return to Pennsylvania on Monday. That's probably why I can remember so many details of the date even now, more than thirty-five years later. I often thought about the change in her body language, so stiff at the start of the evening to so relaxed at the end. I thought about how open she was in her comments and the fact that it caused me to be equally open with her (except for the lie about my age). I thought about dancing with her, how I enjoyed so much an activity that I normally found to be painful. And of course I thought most often about her comment that it was the best date she ever had, and the kiss that followed. I REALLY thought about that kiss a lot!
Finally, it was Monday afternoon and I left for my flight to Williamsport, home of the Little League World Series, and the airport nearest to Melissa's house. In order to be hungry enough to eat pizza later, I skipped the free airline meal. In all the traveling I did this was the only time I turned down the airline food. Many of the other consultants would routinely reject airline food, then pay for an expensive meal when they reached their destination, charging it to our company of course.
After we landed I headed for the Avis counter where I was told I was upgraded. It took me over ten minutes to convince the girl behind the counter I preferred an inferior car, as long as it had a bench seat.
It was a little past eight o'clock when I rang Melissa's doorbell, about fifteen minutes later than I had expected to be there. She answered the door and saw it was me, said "I'll be with you in a minute.", then closed the door again.
She really doesn't want her parents to meet me!
She came back out a minute or two later. She was wearing jeans and a checkered flannel shirt, what we used to call a lumberjack shirt, and she was zipping up a stylish looking suede jacket as she came out. We exchanged hellos and got in the car. She seemed rather reserved, no big smile or real enthusiasm in her voice. Once in the car she stayed at the far side of the bench seat. I don't know what I expected but I was disappointed that she didn't slide over to the middle of the seat.
I realized we'd only had one date, and even teenagers wouldn't normally snuggle up after just one date -- and we were not teenagers! But for some reason I was disappointed! We made casual conversation as she directed me to a pizzeria. We weren't talking about anything important but I kept getting a vibe that things had cooled off considerably.
I'll bet she told her parents about me, including the fact that I'm married, and her parents have been lecturing her about the risks of seeing a married man, that no matter what I say I'm just out to take advantage of her and she'll get hurt in the end.
The pizzeria was typical of the shops I'd been to in the Philadelphia area years ago. I ordered a medium pizza, which was hand tossed, then baked in a brick oven with small openings for individual pies. We were the only customers eating there, but they got several take-out and delivery orders while we were there. Melissa ate two slices, again displaying a good appetite given that she had eaten dinner. Of course I had no trouble eating the other six slices -- it was a real treat!
We got back in the car and, although she still sat in the right hand seat, Melissa seemed to be in a friendlier mood, smiling and speaking enthusiastically. She didn't say anything or react in any other way when I drove right past her house. I had wanted to kiss her so badly when I picked her up but her demeanor had cautioned me against making a bold move. But now I intended to pursue a make out session.
I pulled into the parking lot behind the Downtown Hotel where I'd be staying on this trip. I didn't really want to stay there but I sort of got forced into it. The day I first used the desk in the customer service department the CEO had previously told his secretary to phone me at the hotel to tell me the conference room was not available. When she told him I was not staying there he was livid. The family that owned the business I was working at also owned the Downtown Hotel. Later that day the CEO called me to his office to chastise me. I explained to him that we did not bill his company directly for our expenses for food and lodging so we were free to stay where we liked. I had stayed at the hotel on my first trip but did not like it, mainly because the towels had no absorbency. Central Pennsylvania has very hard water and the Downtown Hotel either didn't use a water softener or it was not operated properly. All their towels had little calcium carbonate coatings on every cotton fiber. Wiping your body was like using a chamois on a wet car -- it broke up the droplets but left you wet. I had to use my hair blower to dry my body. He insisted they had corrected the problem so I promised I would stay there on my next trip.
I parked far from the building where the parking lot was the darkest. I don't remember what I said to Melissa during the trip, but once I parked I said, "I have wanted to kiss you ever since our lips separated last Wednesday." We moved toward one another and kissed. And when that kiss ended (less than five minutes this time but still a long sensuous kiss) we kissed again. We continued kissing for about fifteen minutes during which time I unzipped her jacket and held her close to me. Her lips and tongue felt so good I didn't want to stop, just like a teenager. When I slid my left hand up to her right breast I found out just how flat she was. I felt her hard nipple through her shirt (she was not wearing a bra) but did not feel any fatty tissue under the nipple. This did not affect the intensity of my feelings for Melissa; it was simply something I noted in an academic fashion.
We continued necking. I shifted my hand down to her hip and tried to pull her on top of me so I could caress her ass but she resisted so I backed off and settled for kissing and holding her close. Finally, I decided to go for broke. "I haven't checked in yet, but will you go up to my room with me?" "No, but I will tomorrow night." Well, that was the second best answer she could have given me! I took her home and kissed her goodnight shortly thereafter.
