Mostly true story of chance meeting with an old friend.
Even though we lived in a small community of less than 10,000 it had been at least 5 years since I last saw her. I first saw Suzy from a distance across the pits at a local dirt track on a Saturday night in September. I recognized that beautiful face and shapely body and could easily see she was still beautiful and even with 3 kids and about 38 years old was still in fantastic shape. I was there serving as crew chief for a friend who had a car. I had started helping him as therapy while going through my separation and divorce. Working on the car, hanging out at the shop and going to the races was a great way to help me focus on something other than the turmoil in my life and it reconnected me with a sport I had long loved since my childhood when I used to go with uncles who raced back home. I learned that she was there hanging out in the pits with friends of another driver who normally raced at another track. They were there because this was a regional race paying $20,000 to win.
Years ago our families had gone to church together and we had attended parties at both our homes. Though we were never close friends our families had enjoyed each other's company on several occasions. A few years ago she and her husband Mick had divorced and she dropped out of church so our families lost contact. Mick was kind of shy and introverted whereas Suzy was more of a social butterfly. She was always friendly toward me and like most guys, I naturally felt like under difference circumstances she would have been glad to keep company with me. There was this one time while we were both married that she complimented me about some weight I had lost so naturally I thought she wanted to jump in the bed with me. I don't know why guys think that way but we do. I admit on more than one occasion I had taken an additional second or two to take in her beauty, well actually you might call it lusted after her fantastic body while fantasizing about her riding on top of me. She is about 5' 8" tall with long brunette hair and hazel eyes and I'd guess 36D's. You could say she was a MILF before anyone knew what a MILF was.
As for me, I'm 5' 11" and about 190 lbs. with sandy brown hair, brown eyes and 46 years old. I was in pretty decent shape as I had used exercise to help me deal with the ups and downs of the last few years. I could not tell you for sure how long it had been since I last had sex but it had to be at least 5 years. That was partly by design as the separation with my wife was a long one and I had remained faithful throughout our separation. Fortunately temptation in the form of an available, willing woman had not really been a problem. It wasn't that I shied away from it, just that for whatever reason I never found myself in a situation where a hookup was possible. I know that's hard to believe but when you live in a small town and don't get out much, that's what happens. Though I was clearly available, and at least slightly above average looking, it didn't seem that any available women in my town were interested in me. Since the divorce was pretty public because of the long separation I suspected some gossip stories got passed around. So, let's just say my confidence wasn't the greatest. I learned years later that stories were circulating but they were completely fabricated. Such is life in a small town in the south.
So, on this night in September and enjoying some fantastic racing I had walked away from our pits to watch Shane (my driver) take hot laps when I saw Suzy at a distance of 50 yards or so. Instantly my heart raced as if I had been injected with a shot of adrenaline. I remembered the impact she used to have on me when we were at church socials and she would wear sundresses and sandals. Since it was a bit cool she was wearing jeans, boots, a white turtleneck and denim jacket. She filled them out nicely with perhaps 10 more lbs. than the last time I saw her but with all of it packed in the right places. Suddenly I was faced with a decision. Do I turn and walk away and try to douse the fantasies of yesteryear or do I go over and make small talk? I thought to myself she has to be here with someone, probably another driver. Before I could process that decision she noticed me and flashed a big smile and waved excitedly. I figured at that point I had to at least go over and say hi. I tried to calm myself as I walked toward her by reminding myself not to have too many expectations. After all, with 8 years difference between us and the likelihood that she was with another man, there really wasn't any reason for me to expect anything other than a friendly reunion with an old family friend. And, for that matter, did I even want anything more than a conversation with an old friend? The feeling in my heart and the stiffening in my groin told me the answer was definitely "Yes!"
As I approached her I couldn't decide how to break the ice so I finally just blurted out, "Hi Suzy, my, it has been a long time."
She replied, "Yes, Jeff it sure has. You look great."
I replied, "And you are as beautiful as ever. How have you been?" And with that we started talking and laughing as if we had been around one another every day for years. The chemistry was instantaneous as we caught up on what we had both been doing and what our children were doing. We marveled how we had not seen each other in years even though we only lived just a few miles apart.
We sat together and watched our drivers while they were on the track and she came down to our pits while I worked on the car between races.
As the night wore on, I knew we were enjoying each other's company but I didn't know if there was even a chance we could hook up and possibly start dating. I learned she wasn't seeing anyone else though she had been in a steady relationship up until a few weeks prior to our chance meeting. The track we were is about 60 miles from my home and I had driven over to meet my driver at the track. The races ended about midnight and of course we had to load everything up for the drive home.
Since it was getting late, and being the gentleman that I am, I asked her if she would like for me to follow her home to be sure she got there safely since she was driving alone. Suzy replied with a wink, "Well, actually I have a room at the Hampton in Columbia. Room 224".
I'm sure with a flabbergasted look on my face, the only response I could come up with was, "Is that an invitation?"
She laughed out loud at me, winked again and said "Are you going to turn me down?"
I replied, "No way!"
The 15 minute drive to the hotel went by quickly and my head was spinning. I knew that after 5 years with no sex with anything other than my right hand I was about to make out with a woman I had lusted after many times. Performance anxiety set in and I began to prepare myself for a bit of embarrassment if I finished too quickly. But, no way was I going to walk away from this.
We arrived at the hotel and made our way down the hall to her room. Just outside the door before she inserted the key card she looked up at me and for the first time we drew close and kissed. We both left our eyes open as if we didn't want to miss the moment. Our lips parted and still nervous I said, "Suzy, I'm not sure how this is going to go. It has been a long time for me. I might not be very good."
