Chapter 1
Mike looked around his brand new luxury condo and cringed at the disorganized mess left by the movers. It was a strange feeling being alone in a new place after 25 years of marriage, but it was definitely a step up from the dingy apartment he had been living in since he moved here six months ago.
Mike Williams was a moderately successful business executive in his late 40s. He was generally a cheerful, easy going guy with a good sense of humor, equally comfortable in the board room or the mail room. His colleagues at the office called him 'steady', mostly because of the way he worked hard and consistently produced results. He was pleasant looking, about 5'10" and 170 pounds with brown eyes and light, reddish-brown hair that was thinning a bit.
Mike had been faithfully married to the same woman since college. At first they were quite passionate for each other, but over time a solid, comfortable relationship displaced that early ardor. Both he and his wife worked, and their developing careers consumed a great deal of their energy. As a result, they never got around to starting a family and that lack of children contributed greatly to their eventual breakup. As the years passed they both realized that although they were still comfortable with each other, being married no longer made any sense. After an amicable divorce, Mike had decided to move back east to the home office and start over. It turned out to be a great move because he was soon promoted.
Since the divorce, Mike hadn't thought much about dating. He had been too busy getting settled in his new job and finding a place to live. Recently his friends had fixed him up a couple times, and although nothing had clicked, he had begun to realize that he wanted someone else in his life. He and his wife had always had a plentiful although somewhat unimaginative sex life, and after 6 months of single living Mike was beginning to feel that need again. But he was out of practice and the thought of asking a woman for a date still made him very nervous.
Mike began to rummage through the boxes looking for the coffee pot. It already felt like it was going to be a long day, and he knew he was going to need a good, strong cup of coffee to get him moving. He had just found the box labeled 'Kitchen Stuff' when his doorbell rang.
There was an installer scheduled to hook up his high-speed Internet service today, but that was supposed to happen in the afternoon. "Those people never show up when you expect them" Mike thought to himself. He pulled the 'Mr. Coffee' from the box, set it on the counter and waded through the sea of boxes. When he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised to find a very attractive woman holding a basket.
Stylish clothes hugged her soft curves suggestively outlining what appeared to be ample sized breasts, shapely legs, and a firm, heart shaped ass. Her dark auburn hair fell in waves loosely around a classic face, with smooth skin, high cheek bones and an elegant nose. But it was her bright hazel eyes and broad, friendly smile that riveted Mike's attention.
"Hi, I'm 36C." She said cheerily.
Mike blinked and said "You certainly are!"
She giggled, "Oh, you are just being silly. You know, building 3, apartment 6C. Just across the way…"
"Yes, of course. And I am 36A." Mike said.
She laughed, "That's right."
Mike froze for a moment, then clumsily blurted out, "Please excuse my manners. My name is Mike Williams." He held out his hand.
She took his hand and shook it, "Anastasia Parker. Please, call me Stacy. I saw you moving in this morning and thought I should welcome you to the building."
"Thank you Stacy. Would you like to come in?" He asked nervously.
Stacy stepped inside the door and said, "OK, but I can only stay a minute." She glanced around at the mess and said, "It doesn't look too bad. At least most of it is in boxes. You should have seen my place when I moved in."
"Well, thanks…most of it is new. I am sort of starting over."
"You said 'I'… So, you live alone?" Stacy seemed to like getting right to the heart of things.
Mike admitted a little reluctantly, "Yes, I am divorced."
"I am so sorry to hear that. I know how you feel. I am divorced too." Stacy said quietly. Then she brightened, "Well, enough of that depressing stuff. If you are anything like me, you probably don't have a thing in the fridge, so please take this."
She handed him the basket. Mike peeked under the linen napkin that and saw two ham and cheese sandwiches, some chips, a thermos, sugar packets, a container of potato salad, and a bottle of wine. With a wide, toothy smile he said "This looks fantastic. How can I ever thank you?"
Stacy just shrugged, "Don't give it another thought!"
"What about the basket?" He could see it was an expensive one.
Stacy laughed curiously, "Don't worry about it. I am sure you'll be seeing a lot more of me." Then she looked at her watch and said, "Uh oh, I'm late." Mike opened the door for her and she smiled. "Don't be a stranger, Mike!" With a wink, she turned and walked down the hall to her apartment.
He admired her nicely shaped ass as he watched her walk down the hall to her place, thinking to himself, "What a nice lady. Things are definitely looking up!"
Anastasia Parker was a smart, confident, and independent woman. Until two years ago she had been married to a highly successful attorney. They hadn't exactly been rich, but they had lived very well. They met when she was right out of college and working as a temp in his firm. He was 12 years older than her and it was no secret he married her for her looks and her ability in bed. For twenty years she had been the perfect country club wife, always looking good as she raised 2 children, kept the house, did volunteer work, etc.
Suddenly, right after Stacy turned 40, she discovered that her husband was having an affair with his secretary. She knew she should have seen it coming. The girl was young, sexy, and aggressive; all the things she had been at that age. She tolerated it until her kids were in college and then she moved out, hired a good attorney, and quickly got a cash settlement. With the help of a good friend, Stacy invested wisely and knew her basic needs would be covered for the rest of her life.
Beneath the surface Stacy wasn't exactly the "nice lady" that Mike thought she was. In fact she was far from it. She had discovered at an early age that she was one of those females that seemed to attract men and she quickly learned how to use that power to her advantage. She took great pleasure in wearing provocative clothing and showing off her body, relishing the immoral looks she got from men. Even in high school she had enjoyed the thrill she got from making the boys drool. Now, just the idea of anyone watching her or lusting after her excited Stacy immeasurably.
While they were married, Stacy's husband had actually cultivated her little fetish. He would often buy her sexy outfits just so he could show her off like a trophy at parties and other social gatherings. He found it powerfully exciting to watch other men lusting after her. They would always rush home and have incredibly hot sex after those events and together they learned many ways to please each other.
Stacy smiled as she walked back to her apartment, allowing her hips to sway provocatively, knowing Mike was watching her firm ass. She thought, "Hmmm, there is something about him I really like." She could tell by his clothes and furniture that Mike was clearly successful. But he was also polite, respectful, charming, and exuded a calm, self confidence that she found hard to resist. "I definitely want to get to know him better", she thought. She was sure it wouldn't be long before he asked her out on a date.
Mike spent the rest of the week getting the apartment into shape and he ran into Stacy a number of times around the complex. She was bubbly and friendly and always seemed to have time to chat about anything and everything. More impressive was they way she dressed. She seemed to have an endless number of spectacular outfits and every time he saw her she looked even sexier. Mike quickly realized that he enjoyed her company quite a bit.
One evening Mike sat down to survey his new surroundings. There were three buildings in the complex arranged around an enclosed parking garage. Each building was shaped like a wide 'W', eight stories high, with one bedroom, two bedroom, and three bedroom units on each floor. Mike's balcony was directly across from Stacy's balcony on the interior of one side of the 'W'.
Mike's unit was an 'A' unit, which is to say it was a one bedroom model. He could easily afford a larger place, but he didn't want to deal with the upkeep. There was a large combination living/dining area, a full kitchen, small breakfast bar, a largish bathroom with both a shower and a whirlpool tub, and a good sized bedroom. Both the living room and the bedroom had sliding glass doors that opened onto the long but somewhat narrow balcony.
Stacy's two bedroom 'C' unit was essentially the same as Mike's 'A' unit, except that it had an extra bedroom and bathroom tucked down a hall on the other side of the kitchen.