Special thanks to kenjisato for the editing, whom I cannot recommend enough.
This is the first thing I've written. Comments would be appreciated.
This story is about meeting my soul mate, the friends we met that made up our 'family', and our adventures When We Were Young, tragedy, death, and coming out the other side. I hope you enjoy it.
Please note I met Linda in 2000 and our story together starts then. Current day activities come much later on in the tale.
This part contains M/F consensual sex
***
My name is Tony, and I'm blaming my recent actions on a mid-life crisis. Or maybe PTSD. Whatever gets me sympathy from the reader, I'll take it. Eighteen months ago, I had, for me, a perfect life and everything I wanted. And now? Well, let's just say things have taken a turn.
In the fall of 2021, I was 43, and starting my second year as a professor at my alma mater, a major midwestern university. Twenty-five years ago, I was a walk-on point guard here on the basketball team, meaning I practiced, worked out, and attended all the games, but rarely saw the court. Like fifteen-minutes-on-the-court-for-the-whole-season rarely. And I loved every minute of it. Well, mostly.
Being part of a team is my thing, I've learned. From the moment I began playing at the local Y at eight years old, team success always meant more to me than personal glory. As the point guard, my job was getting my teammates the ball in a position where they could be successful. Their success was my success. Making someone happy makes me happy and content in a way that is difficult for many people to understand.
Is that what nurtured my submissive personality, or was I born this way? I guess it doesn't really matter. What's important, is that I recognize it now and need to embrace it to get what, or who, I need.
The other thing being a part of a basketball team, especially at a large school like mine, means that I have seen my share of large dicks, in more ways than one. I was six-foot-two-inches tall and 190, which was short on the court, and my seven-and-three-quarter-inch manhood (yes, I measured it in college) was not very impressive in comparison. Our center, Jamaal, was a foot taller and sported a twelve-inch tree trunk between his legs. There's a story there, but it'll keep a while.
Between my team commitments, and earning a degree in Information Systems (IS) in three years, I didn't have a lot of time for women and dating. A few I-fucked-a-basketball-player experiences and short relationships, but nothing to write home about.
And then I saw Linda. September 2000, first day of grad school, first class. Five-foot-three-inches tall, and maybe 110. Brown hair to mid-shoulder pulled back in a ponytail, and an incredible, tiny, muscular ass. That's what I noticed, as she walked by and sat two rows in front of me for Data Visualization. Watching that ponytail bob back and forth was exquisite, exposing a long, graceful neck and ears calling to be nibbled on. I was visualizing, all right, but not about data.
And when she gathered up her books after class, that ass, oh my, encased in a tight pair of stone-washed denim, made me lightheaded. And then she turned around to leave and...the greenest emerald eyes, with mesmerizing little flecks of gold; freckles on the edge of her small nose, and a mouth I knew I needed to kiss. Her golden-brown skin spoke to southern Europe, or maybe South America.
In contrast to her tight jeans, she wore a bulky sweater, which was sort of odd, considering the still-warm weather of mid-September. Her breasts appeared small, which I personally loved. Between the ponytail, that ass, those eyes, and ears, she checked boxes I didn't know I had. For the first time in my life, I was in trouble...and I knew it.
My success on the court and in the classroom in high school gave me a natural confidence I carried through college. I was used to working toward what I wanted, and getting it. I had just never focused that determination on a woman before. And I was crazy nervous, more nervous than I can ever remember being. It was weird, the effect just the sight of her had on me. How should I approach her? What could I say to break the ice? How do I not look like an idiot in the process?
Turned out to have been super easy. The dean, over those of us getting our Masters in Information Systems (MIS), threw a mixer at the end of our first week and as I was talking to my best friend, Rich, I felt a tap on my shoulder.
"Mind if I join you?"
As I turned around and made room in our semi-circle, the word 'sure' on my lips, those greenest of eyes smiled up at me, and I lost the ability to speak. I managed an elegant, "Uhh".
Luckily, Rich was there to rescue me. By which, I mean, bust my balls.
"Well said, Tony. That communications major really paid off for you." Noticing my continued inability to speak, he stuck out his hand, "Rich, a pleasure to meet you. And this Neanderthal is Tony. And you are?"
"Linda!" I blurted out.
Rich stared at me like I had lost my mind. "Well, his speech has returned," he grinned at Linda, who was laughing as they shook hands.
"Tony got it in one. I'm Linda. Nice to meet you."
I was grinning stupidly, lost in her laughing eyes. Rich shook his head, grinning slightly. "Oh boy. I'm gonna go get Tony here another beer. Can I get you something, Linda?"
"Beer would be great, thanks. I'll keep an eye on him until his speech comes back," she grinned.
And Rich, like a true friend, disappeared. I laughed, though much too loudly.
Linda just grinned, stuck out her hand, and said, "It's nice to meet you."
When our hands touched, it electrified me and grounded me at the same time. My nerve endings were firing on all cylinders, and yet a calmness settled in my mind. "Uhh...I'm Tony. (she knows that already, you idiot!) It's, ah, very nice to meet you. Would you like to sit?" I managed, almost like a normal human being.
And so we sat. Rich brought our beers and excused himself. And my obsession grew. Linda was also 22, and had been a Division II All-American soccer player upstate, leading the nation in goals scored as a senior. We were both from the St. Louis suburbs, had loved our athletic careers, and were anxious about our next steps.
For me, that meant--a stable job, white picket fence, two-point-three kids, and a corgi. But at just 22, being ready to settle down was not the norm. And the last thing I wanted was to scare Linda away, not when I'd just found her. Over the next hour and a half, we cautiously laid out where we saw our futures taking us, and the more we revealed, the more we realized a desire for the same things. It was unsettling and thrilling at the same time.
After the mixer, we walked to an all-night diner just off campus for a piece of pie. It was a warm evening, probably low-80s, and Linda had a sweater draped over a peasant blouse and tied in front.
"Isn't that sweater warm?" I asked.
