Winds of Change

It was really good to see Gray again. It had been years. Years of growing up and life changes that take people's lives in different directions. He looked good. Damn good. Gone was the boyish rebellion replaced by a more mature filled out form of a man.

We sat in our hometown bar catching up on the old times as the jukebox blared out the latest tunes from the corner. "So Gray, what's going on with you? What made you call up Paul out of the blue? I understand it's been years since you've been in contact with him?" I smiled at him, genuinely curious.

"Nina, why don't you just let the guy relax!" Paul snapped as he took another swig of his Red Dog. He handed the darts to me. "Your shot anyway."

I took the darts and silently fuming sent them flying with practiced grace to put Paul 30 more points in the hole. I turned and smiled sweetly at him and handed the darts off to Gray. I tried to ignore the fact that his fingers had brushed against mine during the exchange. He stood almost a foot taller than me so I was faced with his chest. I cleared my throat and stepped around him. He was definitely not a boy anymore.

"Thanks a lot, Nina." Paul gruffed.

"Oh, calm down. It's just a game."

"Sure. Just thought since you're supposed to be my girlfriend you might be on my side." he whined.

"I'm not on anybody's side but my own."

Gray returned and handed the darts off to Paul.

"I don't mind filling you in," he said. I watched him through the haziness of the smoke filled room as he took a swig of his beer "Just out of high school Linda and I got married. Four years and two beautiful kids later we divorced."

"I didn't know that. I'm sorry to..."

Paul stuck the darts in my face. "You're up." I could see he was getting mad.

I took the darts to the line remembering the last time I had seen Gray.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We were standing on the edge of the fresh cut hayfield. The bon fire blazing between us. I don't remember who we were each there with, but I remember vividly the look he gave me. I raised the cup to my mouth and took another sip to calm my nerves. I licked the moisture from my lips nervously. He was watching me so intently that it almost made me weak at the knees with teenage giddiness. Yet, neither of us moved. We just stood there staring. Neither breaking the bond.

At that point, I wanted him to read my mind. That he would sense that I wished we could ditch whoever we had come to the party with, take my hand and whisk me away to a magical place we could be free to do all the sexy things that I had running through my head. But still we stared, with the hunger and want ebbing between us.

So intense was I that I hadn't even noticed the rowdy crowd break into a small tussle with two over zealous fighters bearing down on me until I felt myself suddenly thrust forward and toward the fire. I felt the heat as I threw my hands up trying to protect myself as much as I could. It was as if the whole thing happened in slow motion - a surreal nightmare I couldn't wake from. I heard my scream and then those of others. I felt I was truly going to die. My lungs filled with smoke. When all I could see and feel was the white hot fire and light, I was held suspended and dragged back to the safety of the darkness and enclosed in strong arms that held me and stroked my hair, and crooned soothing words calming my shaking body.

When I finally could move on my own I raised my head to see who my savior and consoler was. He was watching me. His head was bent over my own, concern etched on his face. Gray had been there to save me from a fate worse than any horror I had ever known. He tenderly had stroked away the tears I had unknowingly shed.

"You okay?" he had asked.

I was so stunned, all I could do was shake my head yes.

"She's fine." I heard the shrill female voice declare, and as if finally brought to my senses by the irritating voice I pushed against his chest and forced myself out of the protectiveness of his arms.

"I'm fine." I whispered, and at that point he was pulled along by the voice. I stood there feeling empty and out of sorts. I hadn't seen him since that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Nina, are we shooting darts or taking a break in dreamland?"

I threw the last dart realizing that at some point I had thrown the other two. I pulled the darts and checked the score. Closed out twenties and seventeens. I smiled and thought to myself that I was shooting great, but one look at Paul's disapproving face told me it was going to be a long night if I won, so I made the decision to throw the game from there on out.

Gray took the darts from my hand and whispered quickly in my ear, "Don't let him get to you."

The night continued with me losing and Paul winning the game. I opted to sit the next one out, content to just watch and nurse my beer. Paul continued to get more and more drunk, while both Gray and I switched to soda without Paul noticing.

"Come on Paul," I prompted, "lets go home. It's almost closing time." I could predict how this evening was going to end, and I wasn't looking forward to it.

"Why babe? Can't wait to get me in the sack? You want my hard cock tonight don't you?" He turned to Gray and flipped him the keys. "You drive. I intend to be a little preoccupied." He leered at me as he reached forward and openly pawed my breasts.

I flushed a deep red as he humiliated me, and I brushed his hand away. "Knock it off."

He laughed at my embarrassment. "Aw, come on Nina, loosen up. It's not like Gray's never seen tits before."

"All right Paul. Let's go." Gray stepped between us and guided us out the door.

We piled into Paul's truck with Gray driving and myself in the middle. Paul continued to tease and touch me all the way home, sticking his hand between my legs and placing my hand on his cock. I could feel the tension in cab as we got closer to home. Since Gray was spending the night at Paul's it was sinking in that both of these men were going to be in the same house with me and it was setting my nerves on edge. That knowledge now combined with Paul's attitude had me just wanting to disappear.

We walked in the door and flipped on a light.

"I'm sure you'll understand if we don't stay up, right Gray? Make yourself at home. If you need anything, help yourself. There's the couch and two more bedrooms, take your choice." He grabbed my arm and pulled me along behind him and into his bedroom.

He closed the door and leaned against it heavily. I turned my back to him and started to remove my clothes. I hoped that maybe I could either get him into bed and he'd pass out, or maybe I could just get it over with. He came up behind me and placed his hands on my shoulders and moved my hair and kissed my heck. My hands stilled on the button I was opening and I held my breath.

He nuzzled his lips into my hair near my ear and whispered. "I'm sorry baby. I know I've been a jerk tonight. Gray and I have been friends for years, and I guess I was jealous of the way you two got along. I didn't now you two knew each other."

"There's no reason to be jealous. It was a long time ago. You two have known each other a lot longer." I whispered back and finished unbuttoning my blouse.

He peeled it off my shoulders and partially down my arms then reached around front and opened the clasp on my bra releasing my breasts. He pinched and rolled my nipples between his fingers, sending shivers down my spine even while I just wanted to turn him away.

Grasping the shirt with one hand he twisted it and pulled it harder back towards himself, effectively trapping my arms behind my back. In no time he had my jeans open and them and my panties forced to the floor. As he stood behind me I felt his cock probing between my thighs

"Spread your legs for me a little baby." I did as I was told. Slowly he slid through the juncture and I again brought my legs back together again. Reaching around me with one hand he roughly probed my clit, brushing against the head of his cock at it parted my pussy lips. The heat and revulsion warred with each other until finally all thoughts of Gray and the events of the evening were blocked out.

"Yeah, Baby. Let me fuck you like this. I'm so fucking horny. God, I just want to come with you squeezing me between those tight thighs. Tell me you want me to."

He continued to thrust against me. I was starting to get turned on and my pussy juices were making his cock slippery as it slid back and forth over my opening, but I knew that if I let him come now I'd be left on the edge of frustration. "No Paul. I want you to really fuck me. Fuck me like you really want me. I need to feel you sliding that cock up inside of me."

He jerked the shirt harder and the material pulled at my arms. "Bend over," he ordered as he roughly pushed me over the pedestal bed and held me down.

"Wait Paul."

"Shut up Nina," he said. "This time it's what I want. I want to feel you sliding and squirming on my cock. I'm just going to pound into you and you can't do anything about it. I know you want it. You're all wet already." He reached around me and roughly pinched and pulled my nipple and I let out a yelp in pain and I struggled, pulling on my arms.

"You're not going anywhere. This is what you've wanted all night. I could tell. Although judging by the way you were drooling over Gray, you'd rather have him, wouldn't you?" And with that he forced his cock deep inside of me and started to jack hammer his cock into me.

"No." I tried to deny.

"Then it's my cock you want? You want to feel it pounding into your tight little hole. I know you do."

I wasn't going to win this argument. The assault was feeling good, but I need more than just a fucking. He was breathing hard and I knew he was getting close to coming, but I wasn't ready yet. I tried to relax. To let the heat and passion I knew was there work through me, but I just couldn't do it, and then he was there calling out to me. "Fuck, yes! I'm gonna come baby! Fuckin' take it. Yes!" He pumped and emptied himself into me and when he finished he slumped over me.

In the darkness he couldn't see the tear that ran down my cheek and soaked into the comforter. Finally I nudged him off me, removed my clothes and we climbed under the covers. My heart was still pounding and my pussy ached. I had wanted to come so badly. This was becoming a regular occurrence.

"How can I have such a crappy life?" I stared at the ceiling as Paul started to snore.

I couldn't take anymore. I climbed out of bed and stepped out into the living room, closing the door behind me. I grabbed an afghan and walked into the kitchen. I opened a wine cooler and then stepped out onto the front deck.

Wrapping the blanket around myself, I sat down and hugged my knees to my chest. I looked up to notice the sky was cloudless and the stars were twinkling brightly. I watched the full moon as I took another drink. The Indian summer evening was beautiful. A slight breeze danced across my face. "How could this happen?" I said to myself and I buried my face in the blanket the tears flowing steadily from my eyes.

I almost didn't hear it, but then the noise registered again - the door latch. My head shot up as Gray stepped out. Barefoot and shirtless, and almost larger than life he stood over me. His jeans were hung low on his hips.

"Mind if I join you?"

I tried to inconspicuously wipe my eyes. "No. Go ahead." I was acutely aware that I was naked under the afghan. His muscular legs rippled as he squatted, then sat next to me on the step.

The silence stretched between us and I reached over and offered him my wine cooler. He accepted and as he swallowed the quenching liquid, I watched the muscles in his throat work.

"Couldn't sleep?" I asked.

"Nope." he simply answered and continued searching the sky.

"Bed not comfortable?" I ventured.

"Don't know." he replied.

My forehead wrinkled in confusion. What did he mean, he didn't know? Recognition dawned on me and my utter and total embarrassment took over. He had been on the couch. Which meant not only had he most likely heard everything that had happened between Paul and I , but in my upset state I had pranced naked right past him and hadn't even noticed him lying there in the darkness.

"Damn." I whispered half to myself and I again buried my face in the afghan.

"No shit!" he answered.

My heart was beating frantically in my chest.

"Nina, we need to talk."

I took a deep breath, raised my head, and took another swallow of the wine cooler. "All right."

"Talk to me. Tell me what you've been through what's going on now. I really need to understand. Explain to me what's going on between Paul and you."

I ran my fingers through my hair brushing it off my face. "Tonight was somewhat representative of how things have been lately - only worse. How much of what happened in the bedroom did you hear?"

"Well I guess other than the obvious I could hear you two talking and could make out what was happening, but most of the time I couldn't tell what was said."

"He apologized for being such a jerk. Said he was jealous of you. That's the way things have been lately. He treats me like a jerk and then apologizes and goes on like nothing happened. Like I should just accept it and go on, and it's been getting worse. When it's just the two of us, things are usually okay. Probably because we don't talk much, but I don't know what to do anymore."

"Jealous of me? Why?"

"Because you and I knew each other and we got along. I told him that was stupid. The two of you have known each other since you were kids. You and I hardly knew each other."

He didn't say anything and I looked at him in the darkness. He seemed to be thinking that over.

"Maybe he did have some just cause for feeling slightly threatened."

A shiver ran down my spine, and I brushed it off as the cool night air.

"Why?

"Nina, I haven't been totally truthful. Most of what you know is correct, but I'm sort of here under false pretense."

"What do you mean?"

"Paul and I have been friends, so it was easier to get here than it might have been otherwise, but I'm using him for my own benefit."

"I'm confused. You're using him? How?"

He took the last swallow of the wine cooler and turned to look at me with the intensity I'd seen only once before from him.

"Do you remember the last time we saw each other?"

I dropped my eyes from his. "How could I forget. You practically saved my life by pulling me out of that fire." Intentionally I pushed aside the thoughts of the sexual heat of that evening.

"But there was more to that night. Nina, I remember looking across that fire and watching you. I wanted you so badly, but I just couldn't make the move. You were so young - only a freshman while I was graduating the next day. I knew I was leaving within a couple of weeks, and I knew if I got involved with you I wouldn't want to walk away. My life was set. I was to go to school. It was what was expected of me. So that night when I was pulled away from you I thought it was for the best. Everything went as planned. Sandy and my relationship moved along as everyone expected and we were married, but after a while we decided we didn't get along as well as we thought we would, so we divorced. We share custody of our kids and are friends now. But for a long time we were not. Since the divorce I just lived each day as it came. That is until I ran into your dad last week."

"My dad?"

"Yep. I saw him at the last convention, and I was trying not to be obvious, but I was curious as hell as to where you were. Eventually I was able to bring the conversation around to you. When he told me you were with Paul, you could have pushed me over. That was my turn to be jealous. I thought I knew Paul pretty well and my initial reaction was that he wasn't good enough for you. Anyway, there were a few things that he mentioned that got me curious about your relationship, so I thought if I was going to find out, I might as well start at the source. I called up Paul under the guise of renewing old ties and basically invited myself so I'd be able to see for myself if you were happy." He paused and looked at me again. "When I came out here, you were crying. That doesn't sound like you're happy."

I swallowed hard and blinked back the tears. "No, I'm not happy. I should have gotten out a long time ago. Sometimes it's hard to make those changes. I don't want to hurt him. The thing is I don't think he has a clue as to just how unhappy I am. For that matter I don't even know that he would actually care.

He reached over and put his arm around me and I could feel his strength. I placed my head on his should and my hand on his chest. I could feel the muscle tense under my fingers.

"Then if your not happy, why stay with him?"

"It's been a long time since I've dated anyone but Paul."

"Do you love him?"

"No," I answered quietly.

I felt the blanket slip down one shoulder as Gray's hand moved up and down my arm. I could feel the tenderness in my arm where I had strained against the shirt and it felt comforting to have him stroking it. He nuzzled his face into my hair.

"Paul's been a good friend to me, but I don't love him. There was a time in my life when I thought I could just accept things between Paul and I as the way things should be. Everyone keeps asking when we're getting married and for a while I even considered it. Would it be so bad to be married to someone you know will take care of you? It's not like I expect everyday in a relationship to be fireworks and roses. Especially with Paul. He's just not like that. But then I started to pay more attention to the way that he treats me, and I decided it wasn't the way I wanted to be treated the rest of my life. I just cannot see myself right here in 20 years. Just going through the motions of a relationship without any conviction or love. Having you here just sort of brought that to a head. I can't take the emotional or physical roller coaster ride."

"So what are you going to do about it?" he whispered so intimately close to my ear.

"I'm going to call it quits. While I don't think that he loves me either, like I said, I don't want to hurt him either. Do you think I'm wrong to feel that way?"

I tilted my head up to look Gray in the eyes. They were almost black in the moonlight. I felt his hand stroke along my jaw line, and he brought my lips beneath his own. After what seemed like and eternity his lips brushed against mine and the fire took over my body. The fire that had been kindled in my teenage heart and had smoldered for 15 years. The kiss consumed every fiber of my body as it drew me further and further in until we had no choice but to break for air. His lips continued to travel down my neck as his strong arm wrapped around me and started to guide me onto his lap. The movement caused the afghan to shift, leaving my upper body naked and open to his scrutiny in the moonlight. The combination of the cool air and Gray's hot gaze caused my nipples to pucker and tingle. I could feel Paul's come dripping from my pussy and I tried to keep my legs together. Momentary panic set in as I realized what was happening.

"Wait Gray. We shouldn't be doing this."

"And why not? I've been thinking of this for years Nina. I've wanted you for so long.

"God, this is so embarrassing. As much as I'd love for this to continue, well, you know what happened just before I came out here.

"Yes, but it doesn't matter to me."

"Gray, this is serious. Your talking to a girl who just had sex with someone else." I tried to pull the afghan back up to cover myself.

"Please, leave it down." Gently he pulled it back down and brushed the back of his hand across my nipples. "Nina, when you came flying out of that room you were not acting like a woman who had just been made love to."