Help Me Stay Out of Jail

Help Me Stay Out of Jail

Tom Lombardo looked like an athlete; 6'2", muscular, broad-shouldered. Not nerdy looking in any way. Not what might have been expected for a large manufacturing company's Chief Information Technology officer. When those background facts combined with a handsome face, short black curly hair and warm brown eyes it caused the female employees at both management and secretarial levels, to take notice of his movements. On this particular day the trip was a short one, down the hallway and around the corner to Mrs. Weatherly's office.

Mrs. Weatherly, at 50 years of age, was old enough to have been Tom's mother. Her desk was in a cubicle, centrally located for the convenience of Tom's group. She was exactly what Tom had wanted for the position; a super-efficient, well-organized mother hen taking care and keeping track of the youthful IT group.

"Mrs. Weatherly, in a few minutes I am going to have to get on an international conference call that will run for some time. I am guessing that you are probably going to the cafeteria for lunch. Would you mind picking up something for me to eat at my desk?"

"I would be happy to. What would you like?"

"Surprise me. You know what I like, maybe a salad, maybe a bowl of soup, maybe a pastrami sandwich. Whatever looks good and fresh today. Also an iced tea." Tom offered her a $20 bill.

"That's too much. Let's see what I spend first." Then, with a smile, "I think you're good for it."

About an hour later there was a faint tap on Tom's door, after which Mrs. Weatherly entered, discreetly placing a salad, a container of ice tea, utensils and a napkin on Tom's desk.

Tom was still engrossed in his call, but waved a 'thank you' to Mrs. Weatherly as she left.

Still later that afternoon Tom retraced his steps to Mrs. Weatherly's cubicle. When he arrived he found her in the midst of a conversation with Joann Bloom, secretary to the Vice-President for sales. Joann was a controversial figure in the Company for a number of reasons. She was often loud and outspoken and always extremely prideful of her 40+ inch bust line, given to wearing tight sweaters in the winter and revealing tops in the summer. At the same time, and, possibly for at least some of the same reasons, the men in the sales department were effusive in their praise of her.

When Tom entered the cubicle the conversation stopped and Joann stepped to the side.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." He took a $20 bill from his pocket and offered it to Mrs. Weatherly.

"That's way too much."

At that moment Joann reached out and snatched the $20 bill from Tom's hand, immediately transferring the bill from her left hand to her right in a 'keep away' move.

"It's not too much for me! I'll take it."

Tom instinctively reached out, using his height advantage to try to recapture the bill. Joann at that moment reached out and grasped Tom's crotch. Mrs. Weatherly's face lost all color.

"Joann!!"

For a moment, everything was frozen. In the next instant Joann released her grip on Tom's crotch and relinquished the bill.

Somewhat sheepishly, Joann spoke. "I can't believe I just did that. My instincts just took over." Joann left the cubicle.

Tom was still in a state of shock facing Mrs Weatherly. "Did that really happen?"

"Yes, I am afraid it did. You should have seen your face."

*****

It was close to 5:00 when Mrs. Weatherly again came to Tom's office. "May I interrupt?"

"Certainly."

"I am afraid I have some bad news. After Joann left my work area she apparently spent a lot of the afternoon telling various groups of women that she groped you."

"Oh, man!"

"It gets worse. The theme seems to have been focused on your physical attributes. I understand how personally offensive this is, but I felt you should know, just in case you want to do something about it."

"Thank you for telling me, I think. I am not sure what to do."

"I understand. Good luck."

It was closer to 6:00 PM when Erin O'Malley appeared in Tom's doorway.

"Do you have a moment?"

"Sure, come in." It was clear to Tom that Erin was in some kind of distress. "What's wrong Erin?"

Erin had been with the Company less than two years but had been doing excellent work. She had gotten an associates degree from the Community College and worked hard at improving her skill set, taking night school classes. She was somewhat of an introvert, a listener rather than a talker. She was already a favorite in the Company. Her shy beauty in a petite body combined with a serious work ethic charmed everyone.

While Tom and Erin frequently interacted on assignments, a serious talk after working hours was not at all usual. "I am so angry about what happened today. She is so disrespectful. She has no right to talk about you the way she did. I want to kill her."

Tom was again taken by surprise. Erin was normally very shy but the intensity of her feelings seemed magnified coming from her petite frame. The rage seemed completely disproportionate to her tiny body.

"Erin, this has been an embarrassing day for me. I am at a loss as to what to do about it. If I go to HR or her boss to complain it just perpetuates the controversy. I don't know exactly what she actually said about me. Mrs. Weatherly only said that she made references to groping me with references to "physical attributes".

"Mrs. Weatherly is way too polite to tell you, but Joann was crude and vulgar. You would be furious. I can tell you what I heard if you want."

"I don't want to embarrass you."

"I am not embarrassed. I am mad. She bragged about handling your "package". Said that you weren't just a Big Mac, you were a Whopper - because it would take two hands to handle it. She said that it wasn't her first rodeo. She had been on a few 'bucking broncos' but compared to you, they were 'ponies'. She said you were a 'stallion'. A real 'stud horse'. I hate her." Erin was in tears.

Tom got up from his chair and closed the door, then returned to where Erin was standing. He put his arm on her shoulder in a half hug. She turned into him, completing the hug, but continued to sob.

"Erin, I am very moved by your loyalty and your concern for my privacy. But I don't want to see you in pain like this."

"The hug helps. But there is one more thing I still have to tell you. I am jealous. I wish I could have been the one to discover your hidden assets. But if I had been the one, I certainly would not have told anyone. I would have wanted to keep knowledge of those assets completely to myself. I love working here and really love working with you. And I know that the company policy is that an employee can not have a romantic or sexual relationship with a supervisor because they can both lose their jobs. If that wasn't the rule, I would have invited you to a candle-lit romantic dinner at my place a long time ago."

"And just so you know, if that wasn't the rule I would have asked you to go on a date, to the beach, or to a show, or somewhere, a long time ago. You are very smart, beautiful, graceful...everything a man could want. I have often wondered if you had a boyfriend but I did not want to be intrusive."

The hug had never stopped but now became more serious. The sobbing stopped. "Your saying that really helps me feel better. You would have no way of knowing this but I think one of the reasons I feel so angry is because I have been fantasizing about you for more than a year. In my fantasies you are just mine. That is probably why it's so personal to me."

The comment aroused Tom's curiosity. "I probably shouldn't be asking this but do you have a particular favorite fantasy?"

Erin blushed and smiled. "My favorite fantasy is very elaborate. It involves being shipwrecked with you on a tropical island, no food except what we forage, no way to make a fire, using our bodies to keep each other warm at night."

"Wow. I like the sound of that! How do we manage to stay shipwrecked so that no one comes to rescue us?"

Erin grinned. "Easy. We just hide when the search plane flies over."

"You really have been thinking about this!"

"For more than a year. So now I have to ask you if you are willing to help me stay out of jail?"

"What?"

"I feel better, but I am still jealous because Joann has more 'first hand' knowledge of your body than I do. I might still have to kill her. They would probably put me in jail, even if it would obviously be justifiable homicide. On the other hand, if I have no reason to be jealous, I would not have to kill her. What do you think?"

"Erin, it seems like we are on the verge of taking a big step here. Are you sure this is what you want?"

"From my perspective, you and I have been making love almost every night for more than a year. You just happened not to be physically in the room with me. I have been very shy all my life. If I let this moment pass and don't go for my own happiness now, when do I have any hope that anything will be different? I understand that there are risks, but I can accept the risks if you can. If you can't accept the risks, I would be very disappointed, but I would understand."

Tom's mind was racing. "Okay. I have an idea. What do you think about this? In the next half hour I will provide you with 'first hand' knowledge vastly superior to Joann's, giving you no reason to be jealous. But we won't kiss. Tomorrow, you will go to HR and tell them that you want to officially request a waiver from company policy regarding romantic involvement, citing the situation with Joann as bringing your attention to the fact that you have a strong feelings and attraction for me and want to have a romantic dinner to 'see where it goes'. If you are the one asking for the waiver, it will be clear that I am not hitting on you, especially with what just happened."

"You can even point out the hypocrisy of having a married woman like Joann grope a man with no consequences while two single people could be penalized for exploring a healthy and totally legal mutual attraction. You will be able to say truthfully that we have never even kissed. You have never been in my apartment and I have never been in yours. Our relationship has only been professional except in your imagination of what might be. You can tell them that you told me today that you would ask for the waiver."

"You might even add that while you love working here, if there was no waiver you would be willing to look elsewhere for a job to then have the opportunity to date and hang out with me without putting my job in jeopardy. My guess is that they come to me for verification, but I think there is at least a decent chance that they go along. But no guarantee."

"I love that idea. What happens now?"

"The first thing is setting expectations. I would guess that you are not on any kind of birth control. I want you to be able to say that sex hasn't happened between us, but that's at least partially what the dating exploration is about. I don't know what the odds are or what the timing might be for a waiver but we would certainly need birth control in place for immediately after that first romantic dinner."

"Sounds right to me. What do I do now?"

"Come stand next to me. I want you to go back to the beginning of the tropical island shipwreck fantasy and tell the story. Not the 10 second condensed version but a longer more detailed narrative that would be in your head at night in your bedroom."

Erin's eyes were shinning with excitement. Tom took Erin's left hand in his and guided it to his crotch. She grasped him and sighed contentedly.

"Now tell the story."

"I have saved for almost a year to take this cruise. I haven't met a guy who interested me yet, but the food and service have been great. I have met some people who were fun to talk to. The weather has been great. I spent time at the pool, lathered up with lots of sun tan lotion, enjoying my first real vacation. On the second day out of Miami I am in my cabin about 11:00 at night when there is a huge explosion which shakes the ship. Horns blare and the cabin lights go out. I am petrified but find a pair of shorts and a top and a pair of flip flops and go out on deck. It's chaos. There is smoke. People are screaming. There are problems with the lifeboats. The ship seems to be tilting. Some people are already jumping into the water. I am panicked."

"I go to the side now closest to the water and jump in. I am treading water and my flip flops come off. I am frightened out of my mind. Another passenger jumps into the water nearby. He is tall, with short curly black hair, handsome, with warm brown eyes. He is wearing a life jacket. I bite my lip when I realize that I did not put one on. He hands me a life jacket that he has in his hands. 'Put this on', he says. 'I saw you jump in without one.' I do as he instructs. Once I have the life jacket on he tells me that we must swim away from the ship. He explains that when it sinks there will be an undertow that could suck us down. He shouts out to others to swim away from the ship. It's dark, impossible to see much of anything except that the ship is listing badly."

'Swim hard, he says. This is a critical moment".

"I do. A few minutes later there are more screams, a sucking, swallowing noise and then deathly silence. He calls out. 'Anyone out there?' There is no response. I am way beyond frightened. He reassures me. 'There will be search planes or helicopters here soon. They must have sent a 'Mayday' message'. I am cold, shaking, starting to cry.

'It's going to be alright. We have survived the worst.'

"He hugs me and I hug him back fiercely. At that moment something nearby breaks the surface of the water. I scream. He just laughs. 'We are in luck'. He swims to the spot and retrieves a wooden deck chair which has apparently floated off the ship. 'We are going to use this chair for additional buoyancy and protection. Just hold on the arm of the chair and only use your legs to kick. Rest whenever you need to."

"But where are we going?"

'I think the nearest land is under those clouds on the horizon. We will have a better idea after the sun comes up. By the way, I am Tom.'

"Tom, I am Erin. Thank you for saving my life."

'My pleasure.'

"Hours later, the sun began to make its first appearance in the East, I say that I still don't see land. He is reassuring."

'See, there are more birds around. There is a mist over there to the West, that could be significant. We are going to be fine.'

"Tom, I am going to make a request. If you see that we are not going to make it, I want to have sex with you, at least once, even if it's the last thing that I ever do. I never did it in the water before, so I don't know how that would work. But please, that's what I want."

'Erin, I want to have sex with you, too. Not in the water, and not just once but many times, after we are on land, not because we are going to die, but to celebrate life and survival. And not just on the island we ultimately come to, but lots of places.'

"His words energize me. I am reinvigorated. Then, in the distance an island appears under the mist. It is probably still a couple of miles away. The sight inspires both of us. We kick hard and soon find ourselves on a sandy beach. He drags the chair up past the high water mark and invites me to sit. I collapse into the chair. I realize how enormous the moment is. I owe this man my life! I ask him, "Is it too soon to think about sex?"

"We need to find a place to escape the sun. We will absolutely cook without sunscreen, especially you with your fair skin. We are going to survive, but we need to continue to be smart. We will leave the chair here for now but while the sun is still rising we need to do a little exploring. We also need to get out of these wet clothes and let them dry. We could be rescued in a few hours or not for days. But we will need dry clothes to attract attention by waving them and then to have something to wear when we are rescued."

"I take his hand, and, somehow the intimacy of that simple contact melts me to my core. We walk and explore, soon finding a grassy area above a rocky outcropping facing East. He explains that search and rescue will likely come from the East where the ship sank, meaning that we should have good visibility in that direction. There is a shaded area nearby which will provide protection from the mid-day sun. He finds a tree on the edge of the outcropping."

'Let's dry our clothes here'.

"He strips completely, hanging his clothes on the branches. His body is magnificent. I follow suit, thrilled to be in this moment. He hangs my clothes on the tree. We are both naked. His eyes are filled with desire. I am wet."

Back in the office in real time Tom pulled down the zipper of his trousers exposing his semi-erect manhood. Erin's hand quickly returned, sensuously stroking and caressing him.

"I don't know anything about horses or stallions, I'm an IT person. But I do know I like the looks of your hard drive. I can't wait to install my software."

Tom smiled. "Continue your story."

"Okay. Back on the island, Tom tells me that he wants me, more than any woman he has ever known. But, again we need to be smart. He does not want to make me pregnant. He lets me know he wants to go down on me. Making me cum in his mouth. He wants more, but only when it's safe. I am so turned on! I ask him if I am allowed to go down on him. He tells me he would like it, if that is okay with me. Okay? Are you kidding me? He takes me to the shaded area and we start to make out. His tongue is powerful and delicious. I totally lose it. When I can think and breathe again, I go down on him. He is big and gorgeous. I feel his tension build. I want this more than anything I can ever remember! He cries out, 'I'm going to cum'. I swallow every drop."

"Later I tell him it was easily the most satisfying sex I ever had. He tells me that he wasn't sure that it was okay to cum in my mouth. I let him know that we are in survival mode. Without food or water I wasn't going to waste one drop of digestible protein. I would not have wanted any other outcome for any reason."

Back in reality, Tom was fully erect and totally engaged. Erin dropped to her knees, taking him into her mouth in slow sensuous strokes. Tom was overpowered and overwhelmed by Erin's sensuality. His climax was urgent and powerful. When he could speak again he saw Erin's eyes glistening with joy and excitement. She was ginning from ear to ear.

"See. We are still in survival mode. Very digestible protein! And I am not jealous anymore. That's the good news. The bad news is I want a lot more of that. Often. I have been waiting for you forever. I can't wait for us to have our first kiss!"

"And why would you think that's bad news? And by the way, I want much more from you. How soon can we get you on birth control?"

*****