For Both of Us
By: William Schaeffer Β© 2020
Just a short romantic story to give a little background for the character 'Vic' coming up in Confessions of a Videographer. The characters in this story are all over eighteen, and are complete figments of the author's imagination. The views expressed in this story are those of the fictional characters.
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One Saturday evening, a few years ago, I was walking through the mall carrying a couple of suits in bags on hangars. I hate shopping, but I needed some decent business suits for my job which I was to start on Monday. My idea of shopping was to walk in, get what I needed and get the hell out. The mall hadn't changed much in the few years I was away at college. Some of the same stores were still there, others had come and gone, but mainly it was no different. The clusters of teenage girls still looked the same, except they dressed trashier these days.
As I headed for the exit, I saw a familiar face, alone in the crowd. Susan had changed some in the last six years, but she was still recognizable . . . rich, dark auburn hair, although it was a lot shorter, with bangs that framed her face. She used to wear it long and parted in the middle, making her face look overly long.
Susan used to be as skinny as a rail, flat-chested with absolutely no ass at all! I used to wonder how she could sit. She was a stick. The joke among the guys was that she was so skinny, she couldn't take a greased needle. She had changed in the years I was away, she was still slim, but her boobs had grown into what appeared to be a nice, solid 'B' cup, and her ass had also filled out to a nice pair of handfuls.
She was wearing short shorts and a snug Tee shirt. Her legs had also filled out and looked like they had been sculpted by a master. She was wearing heeled sandals on her tiny feet, giving her a couple of extra inches in height.
She smiled as she approached. I stopped dead in my tracks. "Susan?" I said. "Is that you?"
"In the flesh! God, Jerry, it's been a long time! Where did you disappear to? What have you been doing? Are you just visiting? Are you staying for good? We have a lot of catching up to do. Do you need to be somewhere? Want to go get a drink?"
She always had the habit of running her mouth when she got excited. The one time I had kissed her years ago was to shut her up as I was dropping her off at her parents' house.
"Sue, slow down! It's good to see, you, too! There's a bar just back there," I said, nodding my head back and to the right. "It should be quiet enough to talk."
"Okay, let's go. Gee! It's good to see you again. It's been what, six years?"
"Yeah, six years of college."
We got a booth in the bar and ordered our drinks. "Well, tell me what you've been doing! I've missed you!"
"Well, after we had our talk that day, I sorta dropped out for a while. I withdrew from all my college classes. I was so far behind, I couldn't possibly catch up anyway. I quit the band I was in with Vic, and pretty much lived like a bum for a few months. I was a mess, depressed and sorta lost. I lost interest in everything."
"Finally, I got my act together, and found a small college that would accept me a couple of hundred miles away. I just stayed there, working to pay my way, and studying and nothing much else. I pissed myself off for being stupid enough to let assholes like Vic and Bobbi ruin my life! I sorta have you to thank for that slap upside the head, but it took a good six months before I realized you were right! And to be bluntly honest, you were letting yourself fall into the same situation."
Vic had been my best friend, and the lead guitarist in our band. I had fallen hard for a blonde babe by the name of Roberta . . . Bobbi to her friends. While I was working on her, I neglected college, and fell behind in all my classes. What eventually broke me was when Vic went out with Bobbi and bragged about how easy it was to get her in bed. Shortly afterwards, I happened to run across Susan, who had been Bobbi's best friend since they were kids. She had talked to me and made me realize that Bobbi was the type who was self-destructive. She was attracted to the 'bad boys', the guys who treated her like shit. The worse they treated her, the harder she tried. Susan told me I was too good for Bobbi, that I deserved somebody better.
I had kissed Susan that night just to stop her ragging on me, and I was surprised at her response! I had just meant to give her a peck on the lips, but she clung to me, her mouth opened, and I found her tongue tangled with mine! She gave me her number, but I was too messed up to even follow up. It took me another six months of self-loathing before I got back on track and went off to college.
"You said I was falling into the same situation . . . what do you mean?" she asked.
"Vic is or at least was, an attractive guy. Every girl I had any interest in throughout high school, and there were at least four, he managed to take away from me. You pointed out to me that Vic was not my friend. Actually, you were in a similar situation with Bobbi. You never seemed to have a boyfriend, and Bobbi always did. She was doing to you what Vic was doing to me. It just took me a while to realize it. I can't remember you ever having a date, and it certainly wasn't because you were ugly or unattractive, or a bitch or anything. You were just overshadowed by Bobbi, and she took advantage of it."
"Yeah, it took my conversation with you that night to make me realize that in describing your relationship with Vic, I was describing my relationship with Bobbi. I was hoping you'd call me after that night we talked, but you never did."
"Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but like I said, I was too wrapped up in my own depression to even think about another girl, even you. I thought about you a lot over the last six years, if that means anything to you."
"It means a lot. I've been thinking about you, too!"
"Are you seeing someone?"
"No, I haven't found anybody I could be bothered with. Any guy who hits on me, is automatically disqualified. Unlike Bobbi, I need a nice guy. They aren't that easy to find. So what about you? "
"No, I don't have anybody. I'm back in town permanently now. I got my MBA and I'm starting with a local company on their management track. So I'm in a much better place than back when you knew me. What do you do?"
"Real estate. I got my license a few years ago. The commissions are pretty good, but it is really spotty . . . boom or bust. But my clients seem to like me. I have some repeat business, and the occasional commercial sale really helps! I like my job."
"Where do you live? Not with your parents anymore, I'm sure."
"No," she giggled. "I moved out years ago. I have a nice little apartment downtown. How about you? Have you been back very long?"
"No, I just got back a few days ago. I've been in town a few times for holidays since I went away, and for my parents' funerals, and again for job interviews. I inherited my parents' house, so that's where I'm living."
"Oh, I was sorry to hear your parents passed away. I remember hearing about it at the time, and I almost went to the funeral home to see if I could see you, but I chickened out at the last minute."
"Sue, we're dancing around here, trying not to say some things. I think doing that six years ago cost me what could possibly have been six years with you instead of the crap I went through. Listen, I'm an honest slob, and at the risk of getting shot down, I'm gonna say I'm interested in you. I always liked you, but I was too stupid to be able to see past Bobbi. She was toxic for my mental health. I don't think you would have done that to me. So what do you think? Can we put the past back where it belongs and get a fresh start? I'd like to see more of you."
"You want to see more of me? Hmmmm! Should I gain weight or take my clothes off?"
I laughed, "You sure do know how to lighten things up, don't you. Sorry, I got a little intense there for a minute. Not cool, I know."
"Jerry, to be serious, I would love to get to know you . . . this you, better. Are you ready for a girlfriend? I'm taking applications."
"Then I'm applying for the job."
"Cool . . . and if you play your cards right, I might just take off my clothes for you anyway!" she grinned mischievously. "I gotta warn you, though, I still can't take a greased needle."
"You know about that? I never said . . .'
"I know, you wouldn't. That was something Bobbi started. I thought it was funny, but later I realized, it was her idea of a put-down."