Perfect Strangers

Jason can still recall exactly what Kaley was wearing the first time he saw her. The nicely fitted tan jacket couldn't be buttoned even if she had wanted it to, it being a size smaller than she would normally wear, and her bust being, size-for-size, a noticeable fuller look than most girls of five foot four. Jason's eyes followed her as she strode effortlessly down the sidewalk, Kaley's jeans seemed to be tailored specifically for her perfectly shaped legs and firm, pert behind and Jason had mused that they may have been painted on her form. Jason watched as Kaley's glamorous, brunette curls bounced with each step, showcasing a gorgeous facade with some of the widest, brightest green eyes he had ever seen. He had spotted Kaley on one of his evening walks and found himself enamored with her, wanting to taste her, to feel her. But, just as he was going to make his approach to introduce himself, Kaley ducked into a car full of friends that had pulled up to the curb, speeding off in the opposite direction.

Kaley had been getting accustomed to her new home. Delphi, Indiana was a lovely little town not unlike her hometown of Tellico Plaines, Tennessee and she had seemingly absorbed the locale just as quickly as it had her. Delphi had it's share of small town amenities: The grocery store, Get 'n Go, carried a good variety of supplies and locally-grown fruits and vegetables, a pleasantly surprising alcoholic selection, and a fantastic in-house butcher, family-owned real estate agency, and a quirky family owned bakery.

During one of her frequent visits to Get N' Go, she noticed a gorgeous man helping an elderly woman load her groceries into her car. A tall, broad-shouldered man with dark, wavy hair, a precisely-trimmed beard, and an alluring assortment of tattoos on his forearms. The man could have been a biker or a recent parolee, but he was there, smiling warmly and speaking gently to this frail woman and she seemed to be brightened by his mere presence, smiling up at him as he lifted the sack of onions into her trunk. Kaley caught herself staring as she walked, and nearly bumped into a group of ladies exiting the store. With hurried apologies and a side-step, Kaley ducked into the store.

Jason loved loving women, he would drink them in and, unlike men his age, appreciated and adored the inches of skin generally seen as vanilla just as much as he would appreciate and adore the bits that are generally reserved for sweaty, mid-Summer's trysts. His eyes nearly glossed-over when he caught the slightest glimpse of an attractive girls' midriff. He imagined the feel of her stomach on his lips and what she tasted like.

Living in such a small town in Indiana, slightly humid, breezy Summer nights were welcome and you would be hard-pressed to take a walk and not run into neighbors, old school friends, and family friends. This was the fourth time Jason and Kaley had found themselves approaching one another.

Jason was wearing his normal attire: Blue jeans, worn-in boots, a t-shirt, and a Nordstrom dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to allow for the breeze to graze his skin. When Kaley turned from 8th Street toward him on East High Street, he had to make a conscious effort to keep his jaw from dropping.

Kaley was wearing a pale blue, thigh-length Sun dress with little white flowers imprinted on it. Her hair was down around her shoulders, curls writhing about her neck in such a way it reminded Jason of the writhing appendages of Medusa. The world seemingly stood still around him, the air caught in his throat, his forearms subconsciously flexed. The stopped world around him was silent until the sudden, cutting edge of Kaley's heels tore him back to reality. The Summer Sun had been very kind to her: bronzing her body to a gentle warmth of brown and her eyes were glinting in the setting Sun.

Jason approached, slower then. He had been hyper-aware of his stature and outward demeanor since his teenage years. He had developed much faster than his age group. Reaching an imposing height of six foot six at 15, growing a full beard by 18, his masculinity hyper-accentuated by his constant desire to improve his musculature; Jason lifted weights daily to achieve the broad-chested physique he had. Being raised by women, he knew that many women would become nervous by simply crossing paths with average men, let alone men Jason's size.

As they stepped closer, Jason smiled at Kaley with genuine intention, his neatly-groomed beard revealing a friendly face underneath, the crow's feet at the corners of his eyes shown the years of smiles he had had. Kaley had been distraught. The slight puffiness around her eyes, the moisture on her cheeks...Jason's smile faded.

"Miss? I'm sorry, I don't mean to bother you, but are you alright?" Jason asked, concerned.

Kaley stopped just short of three feet in front of him, sniffled, and sighed out in the slightest of Southern accents, "I'm alright, just got dumped," she started, "he told me I was 'too smart', if you can believe that."

Jason chuckled at that. Kaley's expression changed in an instant, from a sad resignation to an anger not often considered.

"Why is that so funny? Are you like him? You think women can't be smart?"

Jason smothered the chuckle and replied, "No, not at all. It's just, the idea of someone being too smart is ridiculous. It seems to me that if he was intimidated by you, he had his own shortcomings he has to deal with. I certainly didn't mean to offend."

Kaley pressed her lips together in an attempt to hide a smile. Her demeanor changing nearly as quickly as it had before, "That's what I thought, too. I guess I shouldn't say I was dumped, we were on our first date. What I mean is that he left me at the restaurant and now I have to walk back home. These heels aren't exactly made for long walks."

As Jason's eyes began the delightful journey down Kaley's body, a breeze caught the hem of her dress, lifting it just enough to give him a glimpse of her upper thigh. He kept that thought for now, his eyes desperately trying to memorize her as best he could. His eyes reached the heels, and Jason noticed a smear of blood on her outside her left foot.

"Are you bleeding?" He asked as he gestured with his eyes and a nod down towards her foot.

Kaley's head began her gaze downward before her eyes, she had to will herself into looking away from his face. She weighted herself on her right foot, angled her wound upward, and she saw her foot was indeed bleeding.

"This may sound very, very straight-forward, but my apartment is about a quarter-mile down the road this way," Jason began as he pointed over his shoulder, "I have some sandals and Bandaids if you'll let me?"

Kaley left her head hanging low, looking up at Jason with a smile on her lips and in her eyes, brushed a curl from her face and said with an excitement she could barely contain, "I'd love that."

They began their walk back towards Cener Road. Jason had lucked into a spacious loft apartment over the real estate agency several months ago, owing that luck to his best friend who knew it could be rough for an aspiring author to get his foot in the door. Marvin owned the real estate agency, as his father did before, and as his grandfather had before that. The loft was sitting nearly empty, save for about two dozen, brightly colored For Sale! signs and miscellaneous home cleaning supplies and buckets stuffed into a closet. Jason and Marvin had struck a deal: When Marvin had a house he was going to show, Jason would tend to the landscaping, and Jason could stay in the apartment until he caught his big break, whenever that may be. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement and they were happy to see each other more often than they could have before.

Delphi, Indiana was an old town. Being founded in 1828, the quiet little town had seen the world change from the inside looking out. Jason's family had owned Grable's Stables for carriage and horse rentals, and his great uncle had one of the nicest hotels for it's time, The Wyatt Inn. Jason had not told many people of his small link to the history of this little town, but he enjoyed the looks people gave when they realized that his family had been partially, and to some wholly, responsible for the town's early financial stability.

Knowing he could stay at any number of his family member's homes never sat right with Jason. He needed the feeling of solitude when he plunged himself into his writing. The option to blare heavy metal, classical, or, on some rare evenings, the most recent pop selections, was a boon to him and his creative itch. More so, the option for total silence in this isolated loft allowed him the ability for quiet reflection after particularly trying days.

As they strode lazily up East High Street, Kaley threw up an open palm in surprise, "God, I don't even know your name! I'm going to a man's home and I don't even know his name!"

Jason found himself chuckling again. He had wondered if she felt the sexual tension as well, as the connotation of coming to his apartment seemingly stuck her as taboo.

"Jason Grable." he spoke through his chuckle.

"Grable," she pondered, "Like 'Grable's Stables', that Grable?"

He hesitated. While some would argue his family held the town up from mediocrity, others would argue they stole the town from a rival family, the Johnson family. He had been confronted by antiquated zeal for old family pride before.

"Er, yeah. Grable's Stables was owned by my grandad and my dad use to own Get n' Go Grocery," he admitted cautiously.

"Oh, wow! That's pretty cool. How come you weren't at the Fourth of July Jubilee? Your grandma still donates to it, doesn't she?"

"Well, yeah, she does. I just enjoy my privacy, is all. Plus, I don't care for the fireworks they blow up every night of the Jubilee," he said, "But Grandma is just all about the festivals and get-togethers. I help her cook and load up the pies for the pie eating contest every year, though! I promise."

Kaley giggled and had wondered how she had not seen Jason before that first walk, having moved to Delphi about two months ago. She speculated that he was more of a homebody or a night owl.

"I would have loved to have seen you there," Kaley commented while looking down at her feet.

Jason glanced quickly down at her with raised eyebrows, and returned his gaze back to the street ahead of them.

"Maybe I have a better reason to go now," he replied, "My place is just up on the fifth story, but not to worry; there's a freight elevator in the back we can use to spare you more wounds."

Jason opened the wrought iron gate barring the back door to the building. He unlocked the door, switched on a dim light, and held the door for Kaley. As she passed, it was surprisingly natural for him to place his large hand at the small of her back as she walked by.

As she passed through the door frame, Jason grabbed her forearm. She stifled a gasp, spun her face up to look at him, and scanned his eyes.

"Wait, you know my name and my family's 'illustrious' history and I don't make a habit of treating just anyone's foot wounds...," he joked.

"Oh, right," Kaley exhaled, "I'm Kaley Worsde."

"Well, it's a pleasure to finally meet you, Kaley," a genuine response.

The elevator ride was in damnable silence. She had taken off her heels some time ago and was standing in the back corner of the rickety old cage, fingers laced through the straps of her heels, curls dangling by her cheeks. He stood in the opposite corner, arms neatly crossed in front of him, one hand cupping the other. The light in the roof of the elevator cast a deep, dark shadow over his face, pooling into nearly perfect orbs of black into his eyes. Kaley glanced up at him and felt a pang of fear and, to her surprise, caught a sense of excitement.

But, why, she wondered? At 26, Kaley had seen her fair share of how cruel the world could be, but knew she had to push on to make a name for herself. Having graduated at 22 with a degree in journalism, she had witnessed and written about the cruelty of the world. The cruelty of the world scared her, and it was why she moved to Delphi to work for an Indianapolis news station - she wanted to focus on banal local news stories, stories dealing with local heroes and covering whether or not the local fleet of school buses had pentagrams in their brake lights. Upon her arriving, she found the job was gone, having been filled quietly by a friend of a friend of the station manager, and had to take a job photographing weddings and birthdays. She normally found herself stressing over things that she thought could make her life Hell, and it would keep her up at night.

But with this man, this fear she felt for a fleeting moment...she found herself excited. She could swear he could sense her excitement and suddenly became self-conscious of it. She only just learned his name moments ago and here she was, ascending up a dark corridor to his apartment.

Their eyes adjusted to the dim light during the cage ride, the lattice work in the walls created a mesmerizing, kaleidoscopic effect on the walls as diamonds of light fell all around them. Kaley's train of thought was suddenly halted as the elevator lurched to a stop and the bell announced their arrival with a loud, sharp "Ping!"

"So, here we are," Jason said simply. He unhooked the safety latch from the bottom of the elevator door, slid it up, and held his hand out for Kaley. She paused in the corner of the elevator - the slight sense of certainty of the elevator and the last place she knew she had some control. Her hand reached for his, and he helped her into the dark apartment. Kaley glanced back into the dimly light metal cage and felt her step away from the security it provided. She felt her pulse quicken and her knees were weak.

"One moment, please," Jason's voiced boom in the sudden quiet of the void in front of her and Kaley jumped. Just as quickly as she had begun to second-guess herself, before she had the chance to step back into the security of the cage, the light on the ceiling poured into the room, flowing over stacks of books of all kinds, scattered papers both printed and hand-written, and the unmade, king-size bed in the center of the room. The floor was a darkly-stained oak, and the metal shelves that obviously been installed recently clashed together, but meshed to create a pleasing aesthetic of antique and modern. The only window in the large open room was the large hand-painted stained glass window above the bed. It was painted a deep red with a scattering of symbols around the edges. Kaley caught the scent of orange in the fresh air; she presumed Jason may have been using a diffuser somewhere nearby. The only seating she could see in the literal use of the word was an oversized love seat in a deep purple color, an old office chair behind the simple desk in the corner, and an ottoman near the window.

Kaley's eyes had seen Jason's life all at once, but her focus had lingered on his bed longer than anything else. She had, for a moment, wondered if he had pleasured other girls in that bed? She wondered how big...

"Here, have a seat," Jason spoke so suddenly Kaley jerked where she stood. "Over here." he gripped her wrist delicately and pulled her gently towards a low sitting love seat.

"May I get you a drink? I have pop, beer, wine, water, pretty much whatever you'd like." he asked with a smile.

"Oh, uh, what's a pop?" She asked with a devilish grin.

He had started toward the kitchenette, but her questioning made him pause, and turn his gaze to her and, in faux irritation and exaggerated toning replied, "Oh, y'know, like a bubbly juice drink? A pop?"

"It's called 'soda' and I'll have one, thanks!" she shot back.

Jason opened his refrigerator and grabbed two cans of cola and two glasses from his dish rack. He strode back to Kaley and sat the drinks on the table and turned, walking briskly towards the bed and slipping behind a wall. Kaley opened both drinks, poured them in the glasses, and watched after the door Jason disappeared into. She could hear the sounds of a cabinet opening and closing, rattling pill bottles, and water running. He stepped back into the loft with a little white, plastic box and a washcloth. He handed her the box, sat opposite to her on an ottoman, and reached for her leg. She did not immediately lift her leg for him, modesty in her Sun dress made her nervous.

"Kaley, I just want to clean your cut. I will be a perfect gentleman," he assured her.

Kaley lifted her leg so that his hand could grasp the back of her ankle. His long, thick fingers wrapped around her ankle easily. She wondered how easily he could manhandle her, but even with such strength, this man was undeniably gentle. Jason eased her leg up towards him, coaxing a reflex from her body to lie back in the deep cushions, setting the box in her lap. He turned just so on his seat to rest her leg on his knee and smiled up at her. He held her leg still as he maneuvered his head around her leg to inspect the damage.

"Ouch, you got yourself a pretty nasty blister back here," Jason said apologetically.

Kaley smiled and let out an adorable mix of a whimper and a laugh. She felt like a school girl. In her time at college, she had been touched by what could only be described as boys: Fumbling, quickly moving boys who showed no true desire for her, but only for their own sticky, selfish ends. She had faked orgasms and her own pleasure while, in reality, she had never enjoyed the pleasure of a man making her tremble and breathless. She felt a pulsing between her legs as Jason's massive hand cupped her ankle, stretching up to her lower calf.

During her inner-dialogue, Jason had cleaned the blood from her heel, reached into the box in her lap to grab medicinal supplies, and swabbed her broken, stinging blister with iodine and she hadn't even noticed. When she returned to the moment, she watched as he bent his head towards her foot, pursed his lips, and blew to offer an affectionate, cooling respite. As he did this, his eyebrows raised up her body with his eyes, meeting her's. Kaley looked away and felt herself blush. Jason finished applying the Band-aid and smiled at her.

"There, that looks much better now. Are you feeling alright?" He asked as he reached for her. Kaley's eyes went wide as she watched his large hand approaching her lap and, when it retrieved the box and Jason set it on the table, she blinked in disappointment. She looked down towards her heel, trying to discreetly gaze between Jason's legs. As she looked after his manhood, he caught her, and smiled a wide, Cheshire cat-like grin. As she glanced back up at him, his knowing gaze caught her own and she felt the warmth of a blush once more and quickly she looked down to her tended wound.

She started with a stutter, "Oh, uh, it...it looks good. Thank you so much, Jason."

He didn't let her leg go. She suddenly realized his fingers had crawled further up her lightly-tanned skin. Kaley felt that pulsing strengthen and her pulse quicken. She felt so open to him, her right leg falling just a bit further away from her left. Jason eyes went wide as her sundress slipped further up her thighs and enjoyed cradling her delicate and unrealistically smooth leg. He found his pants shrinking up around his groin. Jason began drinking her in.

The air around them felt electric, the tension exciting them both in ways they had either forgotten or had never experienced. Jason's nostrils flared and his lungs filled repeatedly with the intoxicating aroma of her perfume and the lotion she used. He could find hints of fruit, perhaps mango, with an undertone of light vanilla.

Jason watched her chest as she filled her lungs, her breasts rising and falling rhythmically, he would let his eyes roam across her body as one would while viewing art in The Louvre: Inspecting each area carefully and trying to burn the imagery into his mind. She was gorgeous and filled him with a passion that could nearly make this mountain of a man cry; a strange mix of desire, desperation, and pure lust.