The Strange Case of Marie
One
I'd always fancied Marie. Right from her first day at the company over six months ago. She wasn't a classic beauty but she was pretty. The most amazing legs, and a lovely rounded arse. Not big, just round. And there was an underlying hint of tiny freckles on her face that seemed to whisper to me when the sunlight caught them.
More than once I'd fantasised about running my fingers through her naturally loosely curled hair. At first glance, its colouring edged towards the blonde. Closer up, there was a tint of redness to it that just seemed to excite me all the more. Oh yes. I noticed every little detail about her. Even the quirky twists of her mouth when she was deep in thought. Marie was almost an obsession to me, one might say.
Another issue in my life was making Marie even more pertinent. I'd just broken up with Louise. Nothing serious. We'd simply drifted apart and decided to call it a day. Stupid arguments and her expecting commitment. We lived together, what more did she want for fuck sake.
Being single sucked when I needed a shag, but it did have the advantage of allowing my eye to wander with actual purpose and no guilt. Cute little Marie was the one I found in the crosshairs.
Thoughts of sinking my cock deep in her tight juicy pussy were always on my mind, especially when I was knocking one out.
I'd made my mind up that I was going to do her but it wasn't easy. She seemed aloof. Friendly enough but never quite responding to my attempts to get her attention. It just made me all the more determined. As if her indifference was an affront to my masculinity, my self-assured confidence that I could attract any girl I put my mind to. Until now that'd been a certainty for me. Girl after girl until I'd met Louise had fallen for my boyish grin, thick wavy boyband hair and charming chat. Marie's apparent immunity just fired my resolve. A challenge to be met head-on.
Perhaps several years of being in a relationship had blunted my skills, I couldn't even establish if she had a boyfriend, and to be honest, that was my number one priority to know. Did I have competition? It hurt to think that someone other than me might be enjoying that sweet little body.
Nor could I figure out her interests, what she liked to do, and where she went out. Everything was just more information that I was failing miserably to glean from her. When we chatted she was friendly, always smiling but never revealing anything about herself. Every question seemingly turned back on me or deflected. It was maddening.
"Thanks, Marie." I said looking up as she passed me yet more paperwork for signing.
"I should teach you how to fake my signature."
"That would be wrong."
For a moment I looked at her face, taken more with studying her skin tone and the line of her mouth than the seriousness with which she'd taken my flippant comment.
"I was joking." I eventually responded with a smile.
"Oh. Sorry."
I scribbled my moniker on each page without fully checking. I trusted the people I worked with.
"All these signatures give me a cramp in my wrist."
"Oh. Sorry."
"You sure it's not all the wanking doing that?" Bob had his head in the door, brazen as ever and uncaring about how many lines he was crossing with his talk.
"Sorry Marie. Man talk."
He said, crossing another one.
"You coming to the pub at lunchtime Julian? We're having a few bevvies for Mick. It's the ol' git's birthday."
"Yeah, sure. Call me when you go."
I looked at Marie again as I handed back the signed papers.
"You coming along? I'll buy you a drink."
She looked down.
"No. Thank you. I'm not good in places with lots of people."
"You sure?
It's people you know. And I'll look after you."
She smiled sweetly but still shook her head.
"I'm fine thank you."
That was how it always went. Six months and every attempt to draw her out of the office had failed. If there had been even a glimmer of a crack in her amour I would have just asked her out directly. But there was nothing.
A sensible person would move on and forget her. Not me. And the sight of her lovely arse in that short white skirt and booties as she left my office just made me all the more determined to find a way.
I stared at her legs as she went back to her desk. Unblemished youthful skin and delicate muscle tone. I'd sell my soul to run a hand over one of those thighs just once.
Fuck it.
I tried again as we left for the pub.
"Oh come on. It's only for an hour."
I made a pleading face as Bob dragged me away toward the door.
"Come on Julian. She doesn't fancy you. She wants a real man."
I spotted the glimmer of a smile on her face but she was still shaking her head as I was manhandled through the door.
"Why do you bother?"
"What? I'm just being friendly. Trying to include everyone."
"No. You're only being friendly with Little Miss Goody-Two-Shoes. She's just a cock teaser."
I didn't argue. Bob had hit on her the first week she'd been there. Twice her age and he wondered why he'd failed. Bob hit on everybody. If, when I succeeded, Bob would be pissed. He thought of himself as the ladies' man. I felt good about proving he was over the hill, and even more determined.
We reached the bottom of the stairs and joined the others in the foyer.
"Where's Mick?" He said looking around. Marie was forgotten.
"Can't have a party without the main attraction."
"Gone ahead in Pete's car." A voice said.
It was Julia. Julia Swanson. Always calm, always alert. And generally, the only one keeping a check on everything happening around her which most of us missed
I followed along as we headed for our cars, pairing up with Bob in his boy racer Focus ST. Fun chap even if he was a bit of a dick. And he wasn't going to be a replacement for Marie's company.
It was one of those typical modern, family-friendly pubs with a restaurant and bar meals. A spacious new build pretending to be old. There were a million of them up and down the country. Nothing special. Just reasonable prices and quick service. Ideal for a lunchtime bevvy.
"So what is it with you and the weird bitch?"
"She's not weird."
I rolled back in my chair.
"Come on. She looks like she stepped out of a Pathé News Reel. And her eyes... creepy."
"Bob, you were all over her the first week she was here. You're just jealous because you didn't get in her knickers."
"Lucky escape if you ask me. She's weird. Trust me on this."
"No Bob. What's weird is you hitting on someone half your age. She's twenty for Christ's sake. What are you now? Forty?"
"Thirty-nine if you don't mind." He came back.
"The young 'un's like the mature man. We can keep it up better than you lads."
"That's the Viagra."
"Fuck you.
Get another round in for that."
I sighed and dug my hand into my pocket.
Julia was at the bar when I got there. She had a sweet face for someone older than me. What was it? Ten years maybe? Yeah, she was fit but I liked the young ones. Same as Bob, but my excuse was that I was a lot closer to them than he'd been in a long while. And most definitely not old enough to be Marie's dad.
"Bob being a dirty old man as usual?"
"Of course. It's his default setting."
She looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I went out with him once."
That distracted me as I pushed the glasses towards the barman. Just a bland delivery of a fact she didn't need to tell me.
"Really? I didn't know that."
Julia was single and nearer Bob's age so it shouldn't have surprised me. She was decent looking. Too old for me and a little posh. I imagined her as being boring between the sheets. Missionary position and definitely a spitter. That said, I would have done her as a one-off. Older bird and all that shit.
"Yeah. Full of himself. Thinks he's a teenager still. I heard Marie kicked him in the balls when he put his arm around her at the water cooler."
"You're joking? I never heard that."
