I take a shortcut down a backroad to get home each night after work. The drive takes me by a small park where the neighborhood kids play. Everyday, she is there. You know who I mean, the girl from your past that you dreamt about, except now she's a woman. Most days, she would sit on a bench that faced the road, watching her niece play with the other kids, but her eyes would stray to the road when a car drove by. Some days she was alone, but still watching cars drive by, more often than not, she was drinking a beer with a cigarette in her other hand. She looked out of place sitting there on a park bench with her hair perfect, those shiny nails, and a glittering rock on her finger that could finance a third world country. I knew that her house was not too far up the road, had watched her once as she walked to that same spot,
her
bench, in my mind.
I knew her name, hell, every guy in town knew her. We had all loved her in school, wanted her, spent our youth jacking off thinking of her face between our legs. She was homecoming queen, prom queen, student this, student that. She had smiled, waved as expected when she won, but there was something behind that smile that seemed gone and hollow.
Back then, I had pictured her in my mind many times, her cheerleader outfit being pushed up by me, and not that brainless jock she later married. My hands had played across her tan skin to squeeze those pert tits, lips kissing hers, my hands fumbling into her panties, touching that place of velvet jelly inside her. I usually came at that image, drifting to sleep with sticky fingers.
Now, she lived down this quiet stretch of road from me, married to Mr. Asshole, still beautiful, but sad looking, too. Every day she was there, a drink or cigarette as her best friends, just looking at us. I never stopped, never had the nerve. I started to count on her being there. If she was gone, I panicked a little, wondering if something was wrong. If she had left him, left me also. But, she would always be back, her feet keeping beat to a tune only she heard.
One day, she waved. It happened so quickly I almost missed it. She waved at me. I didn't wreck, luckily. My eyes were so far behind me trying to see her, I clipped the tree with my side mirror, causing the spring to snap back hard, totally scaring the shit out of me. I jerked the truck back hard, too fast now... 'fuck' ...fishtailed, then went straight again. I was embarrassed and sweating from adrenaline. Great! Just great... she waves and I damn near kill myself. I didn't turn around. I jerked off that night, alone in the bathroom while my wife slept. I pictured her waving and her smile. Of course, she was naked now, her breasts tan, no lines. Her hips swayed as she walked to me, she smiled as we touched, it was electric. Her hands were cool, delicate as they touched me. I came as soon as she pushed her hands inside my jeans.
"God damn it!" I thought, "Fifteen years, and I still can't go all the way with her."
She was not there the next day, or the next. I started to think that she had wanted to talk with me, but after watching my near crash had thought better of it. Each evening as I came around the bend I sat up straighter, then slumped again as I drove by the empty bench. The third day she was there again. Sitting on
her
bench, drinking again as a misty rain started to drizzle on her. She waved at me again. I stopped clean this time, I had to talk to her. I had to know that this was real. I parked close to her, started to get out. My heart was pounding as her hips swayed as she walked up to me, pushed me back inside.
"Wait, not here. I wanna get in. We can go on down to mine, he's gone on a trip with his loser buddies. He called from Florida. It's all fishing and strippers by now." She climbed in my truck, her hand never leaving the beer or the cigarette clutched tight in one small fist.
"Do you remember me, from school I mean?" I asked her.
"Honey, I remember
everyone
from school," she took a drag on the smoldering cigarette; "I wondered why you never left here. I was a little disappointed that you never seemed interested enough to ask me out" she smiled wanly at that, like she was going back there in her head, then she shook a little, smiled at me again.
"Hell, you know I wanted to ask you out, but you were always with Mr. Sports, and I liked walking without a cane." I lied. I would never have had the nerve back then.
She laughed at me, not mean, just a giggle. Then more loudly until she spilled a little of her beer on her T-shirt. Damn! A nice wet spot right on her breast. Right there!