Andrea regarded her image in the fitting room mirror critically.
Objectively, it was not bad at all for her being forty-three and having borne two sons. A few wrinkles, but not enough to distract from her deep hazel eyes with naturally long lashes, her strong but graceful nose, and her wide, lush lips. Her dark hair, cut medium length to frame her face, had a few strands of grey, which she left in defiantly.
Looking down at her body, she saw that it too was younger looking than her age might indicate. Her belly was convex rather than flat or concave as common beauty standards dictated, but smooth; her stretch marks from childbearing had faded over the years to the point where they were neglectable. Her figure narrowed to a waist above the wide hips that Jeffrey adored. The tee-shirt bra that she had just purchased in Penney's held her breasts in firm seamless cups that would complete the effect of the top she was about to try on. Without the bra, they would sag more than enough to fail the pencil test, but her nipples would still point proudly forward.
Her inspection should have been reassuring, but Andrea Delgado was not satisfied. She could not remember ever being happy with her appearance, especially during the years with her ex-husband Brian. His constant criticism had worn her down, she supposed. Then there was his infidelity, which had crushed her. He was gone now. Thank God her sons were grown now and living independently. There was no reason left to have to interact with him.
This must have something to do with her being there, in the fitting room at "Forever 21", while outside the door young girls in tight jeans and close-fitting, provocative blouses and tees shopped for the latest fashions, and she herself was about to don a sweetheart-neck tee that would hug her body and that was designed with a woman twenty years younger in mind.
She pulled it on and straightened it all around. The neckline came to just above the top of her bra, as it was designed to do. The tops of her breasts, like Solomon's twin fauns, peeked over it and guided the eye of any naturalist there on safari to the valley between them. The stretch fabric clung to her waist unapologetically. Tucked into her jeans or a skirt it would be perfect. Jeffrey would love it, she was sure. But more than that, part of her hoped that it would give other men, and women, a moment of thrill at her daring, her audacity to be flaunting her middle-aged but still feminine body in public.
She couldn't wait. After she had paid for the top and left the store, she slipped into the mall rest room and changed back into it. Walking through the mall, she saw the eyes fixing on her bust, the looks of lust on some faces and of disapproval on a few, and in one case a knowing smile from a fortyish woman in a short skirt and a tank top. It all excited her in a way she had not expected. A familiar tingle of pleasure and need emanated from her sex. She caught herself hoping Jeffrey would be in the mood for some loving tonight. Which was needless, because he always was.
***
Jeffrey Logan considered himself the luckiest man alive, at least right now. He had almost been reconciled with being alone, two years after the sudden death of his wife had devastated him. He and Liz had had no children; he had no comfort to turn to or responsibility to keep him centered. Just the black hole of depression that had taken almost a year to crawl out of. But then he had started to come alive again, pursuing his interests in life again, going places and doing things for the enjoyment of them. He could walk into a restaurant and ask for a table for one without shame.
Then he had met Andrea.
He could not imagine how any man who loved women could look into those soulful eyes and not be utterly captured.
He was home now after work, waiting for her to arrive for their regular Friday night date, the one that usually lasted until some time Sunday afternoon. They lived, as it happened, only a few blocks apart, within easy walking distance. So she would arrive on foot, as he would at her house when that would be their home base for the weekend. And here she was now.
He opened at her knock and took in the sight of her, breathing deeply from the slight exertion, the skin of her face, chest and neck aglow, her breasts, as revealed by her low-cut top, rising and falling with each breath, and most of all her excited smile.
"Oh my, honey, are you a sight for sore eyes. Beautiful! New outfit?" he greeted her, as she stepped forward to embrace him. Her kiss was long and passionate.
She pulled back and whispered, "Missed you."
"I missed you too baby. Oh, do you look good tonight." He kissed her again, and she crushed her mouth against his. After a long minute she pulled back, breathing fast.
"Jeff, I need you," she panted. "I need you right now. Please, before we go out..."
He smiled, took her hand and led her to his bedroom as if she didn't know the way by heart. She unbuttoned his khakis and pulled them down while kissing his neck, then quickly removed her jeans and panties. She climbed to the middle of the bed, still wearing her top, and reclining on her back, spread her legs while he finished removing his pants and shoes. She reached down and rubbed her mound with her palm, using two fingers to tease her clit. She shuddered at the sensation.
"Please," she said. "Right now. Just get inside me. Just fuck me, please." The feeling of need inside her was almost painful.
He pulled off his briefs, which had been binding on his insistent erection. He was ready. This was an urgency he had never seen from her before. It excited him more than ever.
"Yes," he said.
"I'm so close," she explained. "I need to come so bad. We can go slow later. Right now I just need you in me. And don't be gentle."
She was very wet, glistening. He knelt between her parted thighs and entered her. Andrea gasped as his cock filled her aching need. It felt like an electric current running through her. She rocked her hips, sliding him in and out of her. He started thrusting in time with her movements, until their bodies were thumping together in a frantic rhythm. He leaned forward and kissed her as he continued to drive into her.
She screamed into his mouth as the fire of her orgasm flashed through her. Her hips were off the bed and working him in spasms while her inner contractions milked at him. He rose up and with a roar of pleasure and one last hard thrust released his seed into her. The first load felt like a ball of lightning traveling down his cock to explode inside her.
Time lost its meaning for a brief while.
A little while after that, he was lying by her side, alternately kissing her breasts and her mouth as he cuddled her. Their breathing was gradually slowing to something approaching normal.
"My god, babe, you were one hot firecracker," he murmured, while running a hand over her warm, smooth bottom. "What was it got you going so? Really good dream last night?"
"No, but it...well, it's a story. I was shopping at the mall. I had bought this bra, and was looking for a nice top to go over it, something casual, you know. So I was in front of 'Forever 21', and it was just calling to me to come in. I know that their stuff is for the young girls and I was being kind of silly to want it, but I was like 'Dammit, I want to be hot too. I want to be beautiful and sexy like they are in those clothes.'"
"But Andie, you
are
beautiful and sexy. I must tell you so every day," Jeffrey said.
"You just say that because you love me."
"Can't I say it both because I love you
and
because it's true?"
"No, it doesn't work that way. You're biased."
"Well, okay. So you want independent verification, then?"
"Something like that. So I put this top on—it works really well with the bra, doesn't it?—and started walking around in the mall. And the looks people were giving me were really turning me on. If I could tell they liked it and wanted me, that was great. But even if they were frowning, like 'You shouldn't be wearing something that revealing, you look like a slut', that did it too. I would be thinking 'Screw you, this is what I look like, like it or don't.'
"Anyway, by the time I got here—there were lots of people on the street—I was
really
worked up. Then when you kissed me, I felt like if I didn't have you right then and there I was going to explode."
"Wow," said Jeffrey. "So that's what it was. I have to tell you, I'm all for it, honey. I sure got the full benefit from it. Do you think it maybe gave you more confidence too?"
"I don't know. It did feel good. Maybe I should try this some more. You know I've never been able to really like my body. I've always felt like it wasn't good enough. I wish I could."
"I wish I could find a way to help you with that. To make you feel like it is good enough. Because it is more than that to me."
They lay there in silence, holding each other.
Presently he said, "I guess we should see about getting up and going to dinner soon."
"Another minute," she said.
***
They were seated at Givanni's, their favorite Italian place. They were just finishing their salad when a familiar voice spoke near them.
"Well, look who we have here."
Andrea looked up at Brian, who was just coming into view between them. He was a little taller than Jeffrey, with dark hair that was thinning on top. He had in tow a blonde who had to be not more than twenty-five.
"Oh, hello Brian," she said. "How are you this evening? You know Jeffrey, don't you?"
"Yes, we've met. Say, you're really dolled up tonight. Dress to impress, right?"
"The only person I need to impress is me," she retorted. "Who's your date?"
"Oh, sorry, my bad manners. This is Sherri." They could almost hear the 'i' spelling.
Sherri gave them a smile and a quick wave. "Hi," she said. She was conventionally pretty, with a narrow waist and large breasts, which her tight dress did everything possible to show off. She looked vaguely familiar to Andrea, though she couldn't place her.
"Hi," they responded, almost in unison. Brian did not then proceed to introduce them to her.
Instead he asked, "So, Andrea, heard from the boys lately?"
"They're hardly boys now, Brian. They're grown men, and I'm very proud of them. I hope you are too."
"Yeah, sure," he said.
"Anyway, Ben has a new job. They're telling him he's manager material. He's still going with Beth, guess it's been a couple of years now. They're a cute couple, wish they'd come visit again."
"They should be visiting their dad, too," Brian broke in. "I mean Ben and Chris, both. They spend enough time with you." His voice had an edge that Jeffrey didn't like.
Neither did Andrea. "I can't imagine why they wouldn't." She left off the sarcastic follow-up that was right there in the air, ready to be plucked. No point in getting into it here, on their night out.
Instead she said, "Why don't you give them a call and invite them. I'm sure they would be happy to spend some time with you when they're free."
Brian was successfully defused. He said, "Yeah, I guess I'll do that. Anyway, nice seeing you, Andrea. Have a good evening."
"Good night, Brian. Oh, and nice meeting you, Sherri."
Once they were out of sight, Andrea sighed. "It's difficult to be polite sometimes."
