Tough Choices

“Darling,” I whispered, trying to hide my boredom, “You look fantastic.” Kate had made an effort, to be fair to her, her pretty features carefully made up and her hair painstakingly fashioned. She wore a daringly cut black dress beneath which, she had hinted, she wore nothing else. The dress revealed a tantalizing glimpse of the top of her breasts and displayed her perfect thighs.

Her lips were parted slightly as she leaned towards me and whispered huskily, “I’ll look even better later when I’ve got your cock in my mouth and your come on my face.” She loved talking dirty, knowing how deliciously her words contrasted with her sweet looks and her innocent reputation. The fact that there was a room full of people at the party would only have added to the thrill. And, as I had experienced over the past three months, it wasn’t just words. There had been plenty of action to go with it. Her hand rested lightly on my arm as she kissed me on the cheek.

But I could no longer hide the fact that our affair no longer excited me, at least not from myself. At first I had enjoyed her gorgeous, firm young body, gloried in the sex, been thrilled by the fact that I was fucking my boss’s twenty year old daughter (we had kept it secret, of course. Her father would have been furious, after all). But the excitement was fading as it had become clear that she was, well, dull. We could fuck for hours, but we couldn’t talk for more than five minutes, not about anything interesting. And the sex had become repetitive, impersonal, strangely anemic. Yes she was gorgeous, but it was who she was that had excited me. Now I had her, the excitement had passed. She was so...boring. It was a good thing that from the start she had obviously saw me as just a bit of fun - only made more exciting because daddy really would not have approved. It would make breaking up easier.

She moved away before anyone noticed that I was anything more than just another of her father’s minions, a small smile on her lips, pretending to have seen someone on the other side of the room who she just had to speak with. I watched her go, my eyes drifting to her perfect bottom. I remembered how that beautiful bottom had looked as I had penetrated her from behind. The memory brought a smile to my lips. Kate was good for that much at least. Maybe I could put off the breakup for a little while longer.

“You’d better drag your eyes away before someone notices. You’re supposed to be casual acquaintances, remember.” I blinked in surprise. I hadn’t realized that I wasn’t alone. I looked down at the grinning young woman who had spoken. Stephanie was the only person who knew about my affair with Kate - in fact without Stephanie it couldn’t have happened. She had let us meet in the house she had inherited from her parents who had died when she was a young teenager and which was big enough for Kate and me to have the noisiest, messiest, dirtiest sex we could think of while Stephanie could be at the other end of the house and hardly know that we were there. It was at her house that Kate and I would meet after the party. Even so, I didn’t really know her very well; I had only ever been in her company twice and on those occasions I had been with Kate and had other things on my mind. Stephanie had seemed to watch us with a sort of detached amusement wearing the same ironic grin that she displayed now, before discreetly disappearing. I had just assumed that she had simply not wanted to be involved in our relationship, yet it was with some surprise that I realized that I had never had a conversation with her and that everything I knew about her came second hand from Kate.

“Its all right,” I told her, “Everyone will be watching her, not me. And anyone who is watching me will think I’m just another smitten fool. Half the men here will be looking at her in exactly the same way.”

“Maybe not exactly the same,” she said with a thoughtful look. “After all, everyone else here who is undressing her with their eyes will be using their imaginations.” She smiled again - it really was a very pretty smile - then looked around the room. “Stephanie dragged me along here tonight so she would have an excuse not to leave with her parents. She doesn’t think she’d be able to get away without making her daddy suspicious and that means that she wouldn’t get laid with you.” She gave me an arch look, eyes sparkling naughtily, “That means its your fault that I’m in a room full of lawyers celebrating how much money MacAdam, Burns and Cartwright made last year, which isn’t actually my idea of a good night out. So you can make up for it by getting me a drink and keeping me company.”

Which didn’t sound like a very difficult assignment. Actually, this party wasn’t my idea of a fun night out either. Okay so my law firm was now officially the biggest and most successful in the country, which was a cause for celebration even for those of us on the very bottom rung of the company, but we also threw the dullest, stuffiest parties in history. I knew I was good enough at my job to manage without schmoozing so I normally gave the firm’s idea of a social scene a miss but I had still been in the first flush of lust when the invitation had arrived and an evening of secret flirting with Kate as a prelude to a night of fucking had sounded very tempting. At least now I would have someone to talk to who might be interested in something other than the latest case or the office gossip. Even if she turned out to be as air headed as her friend Kate, it would at least be some different air.

From the bar I looked around for Kate. She was chatting with one of the senior partners, batting her eyelids at him as the dirty old geezer leered down at her. His wife glared darkly at his back as Kate laughed at something the old boy had said, throwing back her head and giving him a great view of her tits, all the while acting the innocent little girl even as she knew exactly the effect she was having on him.

I ordered drinks. Kate was peering in my direction now, I noticed. She held my gaze for a second before looking away again. I felt a hand on my arm and turned to find Stephanie, wearing that knowing look again. “Don’t be jealous,” she said, “its you she’ll be with tonight, not the old man. She just can’t help playing the game.”

The drinks arrived and we took them to a table in the corner. “Of course,” she said as we walked, “Someday she will meet someone she wants to do more than just play with, but I don’t think you have to worry about that just yet. She seems quite taken with you.” Her dress rode up to show her thighs as she sat at the chair that I held for her. They were very attractive legs, I thought.

I sat opposite her. She looked at me across the table. “I must say that you are quite different from the usual sort.”

“Is that a good thing or a bad thing?” I asked.

“Oh a good thing,” she said, “At least from my point of view. The others have been attractive enough, of course, but she normally goes for bimboes, you know, pretty boys with a great body, big dick and no brain. I mean, she tells me that you qualify on the big dick count and there is nothing wrong with your body as far as I can see but you’re no pretty boy and you can’t be an idiot if you’re working here having had your background.” She was right about that much at least. I was a working class boy from the wrong part of the country. I hadn’t been to the right schools and I didn’t have parents with the right connections. As for the rest, well, I’m good looking enough, in a rugged sort of way but no one ever described me as pretty. As for the size of my cock....I’m always surprised that women talk about that sort of stuff.

She seemed to be enjoying the fact that I had had no idea how to respond to what she had said. Of course, I’m relying on what Kate has told me here, and she tends to concentrate more on talking about your body and dick and all the things you’ve been doing to her with them, which is all very intriguing I must say,” she flashed a filthy grin at me when she said that, “but its pretty difficult to get her to talk about what you are actually like.”

I was still completely tongue-tied. “Are you always this direct?” I stuttered.

“No.” she said. “Actually, I’ve never spoken to a man like this in my life. Only Kate. I know I don’t really know you at all but I feel as if I do.” She smiled a bit awkwardly, the first time she had appeared less that absolutely confident. It made her look younger, like a pretty eighteen year old just out of school rather than the young woman of twenty-one that she was. It made her look, I thought, quite beautiful.

“Well,” I said, “I hope I can live up to what you’ve imagined.” She smiled at that and asked me to tell her how I had come to work for Kate’s father. So I told her, employing all the wit and charm I could muster, about my childhood and how I had worked hard at school and earned a place at university, how I had moved to the capital and got my first law job, earning a good reputation before being hired by my current firm a year ago, at the age of twenty-seven. She told me about her own childhood, privileged and idyllic until her parents death when she was fourteen. She had been at the same all-girls boarding school as Kate, who had been a dear friend to her in the horrible time after her bereavement. Their friendship had remained solid ever since even as their lives and interests had diverged, Stephanie into quiet academia, Kate becoming a talented sportswoman. Stephanie had accommodated Kate’s burgeoning but forbidden interest in men, beginning on her sixteenth birthday when, Stephanie told me, she had seduced the son of one of her father’s rich friends in Stephanie’s spare bedroom. There had been a new man every couple of months since then, none lasting very long before Kate lost interest.

“I’ve never been able to decide if she picks bamboos on purpose, because she doesn’t want to have relationships that she wouldn’t be able to hide, or if the relationships are non-existent because of her taste in men. Either way, she seems pretty happy with her sex life. There has been one serious boyfriend, a couple of years ago. That didn’t seem to make her anything like as happy. She’s gone back to casual affairs since.”

“What about you?” I asked her. As we had spoken, we had found ourselves drawing closer, and I had found myself admiring her more and more. She was a small woman; no more than 5’2” tall and very slim, with small breast. Her long auburn hair was attractively held back in a simple ponytail exposing the pale skin of her neck. I was painfully aware of her bare thighs as her leg touched against mine.

“Oh well, I’m not very experienced with men,” she said quietly, and a bit shyly. She looked me in the eye. “Actually, I’m still a virgin.” I was surprised. The frankness with which she had spoken about Kate and me had suggested sexual experience. Before I could ask more, Stephanie looked up and smiled brightly, “Kate,” she said.

She was just walking up to the table and flicked me a quick sexy look before ignoring me completely and speaking to Stephanie, “I’m sorry I’ve left you alone, Steph,” she said, “You know how these parties are. All of daddy’s friends expect their turn. I’ve managed to prize myself away at last, so we can go.”

Stephanie took this with equanimity. She stood gracefully - she had, I noticed - a very nice bum - looked at me and said, “It has been very nice to meet you. Perhaps we will meet again sometime.” I politely said my farewells. As the two of tem turned to leave, Kate gave me her secret ‘I’ll see you later’ smile. As they walked away, it was Stephanie who looked back over her shoulder. And this time it was Stephanie’s bottom that I imagined naked as penetrated her from behind.

It was Kate, however, who met me at the door of Stephanie’s house when I arrived half an hour later. She threw her arms around my neck and kissed me passionately. “Thank fuck to be away from those old men. I want you so fucking badly.”

I looked around. “Where is Stephanie,” I asked.

“Oh she went to bed. Thanks for looking after her tonight. It was very bad of me to drag her along then abandon her like that.” She shook her head with a slightly wondering look in her eyes, “Sometimes I don’t know why she puts up with me, you know. I take her for granted sometimes. I really love that girl.” She looked at me curiously, “Did you like her? I hope you did. I know she can be a bit quiet, I mean, she’s very shy really, but she’s a lovely person. In fact she’s the only person I’ve ever been able to be myself with.” Her expression was intent - she really wanted me to like her friend. I was a bit taken aback. I had never heard her speak with so much passion in her voice. Maybe there was more to Kate than I had believed.

“Its okay,” I assured her, absolutely truthfully, “I liked her. A lot. She’s really nice.” Kate looked genuinely pleased, not suspecting that I would have been more than happy if Stephanie had been there in my arms instead.

“I’m so glad,” said Kate, a happy grin lighting up her face. She gave me a warm hug. Then she sighed and rested her head against my chest, speaking in a quiet voice. “Actually, I was surprised that she sat with you. When I said she could be shy I meant she is really painfully shy, especially with men but even with people she’s known for years. She never really recovered from her parents’ death. She hardly leaves this house except to go to classes or to the library. I used to try to drag her out to parties or to set her up with boys but it never made her happy.”

“You’ve never really spoken about her before,” I said. Before tonight I had assumed that Stephanie was just another of the air headed young women who orbited Kate, probably living the same sort of lifestyle. Tonight I had learned differently and had wondered what kept the two of them together. Then I had thought that Stephanie’s loyalty must have dated from Kate’s kindness when they were girls, and perhaps that Kate was exploiting that loyalty so that she could use Stephanie’s house. That had seemed to be the only way of explaining why Kate spoke about her friend so infrequently. But now it was clear that Kate cared deeply about Stephanie. He could hear the feeling in her voice.

She shrugged, “It has sort of become a habit. She’s such a private person it hardly seems fair to talk about her.” She smiled awkwardly, “Actually, its a relief to be able to talk about her. Now that you’ve spoken to her yourself it feels okay.” She shrugged again and frowned, “Does that make sense?” She sounded worried. It seemed to be the night for people to act out of character. The painfully shy Stephanie had been absolutely frank with me and now the supremely confident Kate was coming over all coy.

“You don’t seem to have been too worried about telling her about me.” I said, thinking that I would be lightening the tone but she actually blushed. I had seen her with flushed cheeks before, but only with sexual excitement, never with embarrassment. “She told you? Oh, please don’t be angry. I never told anyone else, only Stephanie and she wouldn’t tell anyone else. Please don’t be angry.” The words came tumbling out in a rush. Her eyes were wide. She was really concerned!

“Its okay, its okay,” I said, taking her face in my hands and hushing her with a kiss on the lips. “I’m not angry, really. Besides, from what she tells me you’ve only been saying good things.” I smiled reassuringly. She gave me a serious look.

“There have only been good things to say.” She held my gaze for a second. Her familiar playfulness had disappeared. “Make love to me.” She whispered. It was the first time she had ever used the phrase. Normally she enjoyed using cruder language. She took a step back from me, undid her dress and allowed it to drop to the floor. She had never looked so beautiful as she did standing naked in the hall.

I slowly began to remove my own clothes, all the while drinking in the sight of her. Her lips were parted slightly and her breasts rose and fell as her breathing deepened. One of her hands wandered towards soft hair between her legs as she watched me intently. My own fingers twitched in anticipation of following hers into that welcoming warmth. But not yet. I stayed a couple of steps away from her while I removed my clothes.

It was cool in the hall. Kate’s nipples had noticeably hardened. I paused for a moment as we stood admiring each other’s naked bodies. Her face was flushed as she reached out towards me, beckoning. I looked past her towards the stairs - we always used a guest room on the first floor at the back of the house but she shook her head, “I’ve been waiting all night. Take me. Now”

I walked forward into her embrace, kissing her deeply, my erect dick pressed against her belly, my hands cupping her buttocks. Her nipples were hard against my chest. She was breathing heavily, her fingers entwined roughly in my hair. I pushed her back against the wall, and she gasped loudly as my fingers moved between her legs and slipped easily inside her. She moaned as I masturbated her, but I could tell that she was impatient. She wrapped a hand around my dick and, turning her back to me, guided me towards her pussy. I reached an arm around her and cupped her breast with my hand, and I penetrated her roughly. She cried out in abandon, thrusting her bottom back towards me, urging me on. I thrust hard and deep, groaning, losing myself in the softness of her body.

But as I came, the thought that crept into my mind was of the small redhead with whom I had spent the evening.

Kate’s breathing was evening out. She turned back to face me and drew close, resting her body against mine. She let out a little giggle. “That was nice,” she murmured. “I don’t think I’ve ever lost control quite like that.” Guiltily, I pushed the thought of Stephanie out of my mind and held Kate tightly. She looked up and kissed me lightly. I couldn’t help responding, our kiss deepening. Kate pulled away after a moment, grinning like her old self. “Lets go upstairs before I get carried away again.” She looked around, blushing again, “And tidy up.”

We spent the night making love, and talking. About Stephanie at first, and Kate’s friendship with her. Kate revealed a whole side to her character that she had never allowed me to glimpse before. For all Kate’s popularity, it seemed that Stephanie was her only true friend, the only one she felt truly comfortable with, who she could tell secrets to, discuss lovers with. It became painfully clear that she dearly loved the redheaded woman, and even more painfully clear that she was opening herself to me in a way she had done with no one other than her dearest friend. And I found myself growing more ever more attracted to the woman she was revealing, an infinitely more complex woman than I had begun to guess existed, even as thinking of Stephanie led inevitably to thoughts of her slim thigh resting softly against my leg.

We talked about her family, an easier subject for me, but many times more difficult for her. She told me that her relationship with her parents was distant, how she had felt abandoned when she had been dispatched to boarding school, how she had always found it impossible to become truly close to anyone, other than Stephanie. “And,” she said quietly, giving me that serious look again, “Maybe you.” I stared wordlessly. She gave me a contented smile, kissed me once on the lips, then laid her head against my chest and closed her eyes.

I stared at the ceiling. It had been quite a night. This evening I had been absolutely sure that I wanted to break up with Kate. Then I met another woman who I had not been able to stop thinking about since, even as I orgasmed inside Kate. Then she had opened up to me and I discovered that Kate was a completely different person than I had thought, one that I found far more attractive than the Kate I had known, one that I would surely like to develop my relationship with. Somewhere along the line, we had become lovers rather than sex partners. I couldn’t possibly leave her now.