Casualty of Chance

If Kelli Zellers had a fault, it was the fact that she couldn't easily say the word, "No". It was a trait borne somewhat out of her DNA, her Mother was such a sweet woman that most who knew her thought she was a prime candidate for Sainthood. Between the selflessness Kelli showed with her Husband and two daughters over the years, not to mention her chosen career as a registered nurse, Kelli had long ago given more than she would ever take on this Earth.

That word, "No" often crept out of her lungs and into her throat, but very rarely did it ever slip off her tongue, and even when it did, Kelli felt a silly but real discomfort thinking she might be disappointing the person making the inquiry. It was simply the way she was wired.

Kelli's inability to say 'no' was what had her driving towards the Interstate on-ramp that unusually warm, late September Thursday morning, so she could head back to her home in the 'burbs after a 3rd straight 12 hour overnight shift at the St. Louis hospital she worked.

She was only a couple of blocks away from the entrance to I-64 West when she looked down and saw her gas gauge creeping towards a quarter of a tank. While it was certainly enough to get her home, Kelli decided to stop and fill up anyway so she wouldn't have to pump the gas on her way back out that night to go back in to work.

Kelli had worked the dayshift at her hospital for nearly a decade and a half, and certainly had the seniority to turn down the hours on graveyard if she wanted to put her foot down. But with several girls on 3rd shift away on vacation and many of the less tenured girls on her shift having young children who needed a steady routine in their lives, Kelli had offered to take the bullet for a few weeks until the night crew was back at full strength.

It wasn't the worst thing in the world. While it did mess with her internal clock, Kelli had found it quite nice to get off work a little after sunrise and be able to go home to a quiet house after her Husband had left for work and her 16 year old Daughter had left for school. She could make herself a little breakfast in peace, watch some of Oprah or The View perhaps, then get a good dose of sleep before waking up around 5 o'clock, put on some dinner, eat with her family, then get ready for her shift at work.

Kelli made the right into the gas station's parking lot and took a deep breath of thanks seeing the place wasn't that busy. The last thing she needed after being in her work clothes all night was to have to wait in line around a bunch of strangers, much less without a dab of make-up on, running into someone she knew. Quickly pulling up to the pump, Kelli got out, pumped $37.00 into her Subaru Outback and went inside to pay.

Other than the two clerks and a handful of customers milling around the store, the place was pretty much dead. After paying for her gas, a bottle of V-8 and a pack of peanut butter crackers to tide her over until she got home, Kelli walked back outside and clicked the remote to unlock her car.

Everything was going so routinely Kelli allowed her mind to drift as she walked to her car, thinking about a variety of things from a few incidents that happened the previous night at work to perhaps buying a new outfit to wear for a dinner party her Husband's office was throwing in a few weeks. She was completely oblivious to everyone parked or pumping gas around her.

Kelli was able to lose herself in thought a little easier at 9 o'clock in the morning at a place like that than she might if she'd stopped at 9 o'clock that evening. Still, she jumped a little and froze when she heard a male voice call out in her direction just as she'd rounded the front of her vehicle.

"Ma'am...excuse Ma'am," a deep but very friendly voice caused Kelli to turn around just before she reached for the driver's side door handle.

"Yes," Kelli answered, fumbling a little with her juice and crackers as she turned to see a well dressed and smiling black man pumping gas two pumps over.

"A co-worker and me are staying here in town a few days on business...up at the Best Western right up the street...we were both saying we're getting a little burnt out on fast food and we're wondering if there's a nicer sit-down diner or something a little further up the road?"

"...Yeah...I think so...I know there's a steakhouse that's open for lunch right up at the stoplight past the interstate exchange and the closer you get downtown there's plenty of Mom and Pop places," Kelli offered, completely at ease answering the unassuming man's question.

"Thanks," he replied. "And a few malls up that way, too?"

"Yeah...a couple of strip malls and a big indoor one," Kelli added before opening the door and preparing to step back inside.

Just before she did however, the 12 ounce glass bottle of V-8 that she'd been struggling with slipped from her fingers and shattered in a blood red puddle directly at her feet.

"AAAHH," a quick shriek burst from Kelli's throat the same time the exploding glass caused everyone in the parking lot to look her way.

Instantly pulling her feet away from the expanding mess, Kelli was thankful only a trace of the thick red juice dotted her white work shoes. Taking a quick look around to see just how many people had been outside to hear her little case of the 'dropsies', Kelli once again said a private prayer of thanks that the station wasn't all that busy. Only the gentleman that was pumping gas a few pumps over, who'd asked her a couple of questions a few seconds earlier, had apparently witnessed her act of clumsiness. And he only stood there behind his sunglasses smiling.

"OOPS," Kelli said out loud with a half a laugh, now faced with what to do next.

Like most people, her first instinct was to sneak back into her car and drive away but her conscience quickly stopped her. Kelli immediately imagined how she'd react if one of her children had made such a mess only to turn their back on it and disappear as if nothing had happened.

Stepping aside the growing puddle of juice and broken glass, Kelli swung her purse over her shoulder and started to walk back inside the store to get a broom. Before she could get halfway to the door however, a short, gray haired man with a noticeable slump and limp hobbled outside with a broom and walk along dustpan.

"I'm so sorry," Kelli mouthed with heartfelt apologies to the attendant who ambled up to the smashed glass and began sweeping it up into a loose pile.

Several of the customers who were inside the store gradually began filtering out the door and passing Kelli as she stood in the center of the parking lot, trying to decide whether or not she wanted to go back inside and get another bottle of juice.

"Just leave and go home," she told herself, the tiring brunt of her discombobulated work schedule, and messed up sleeping habits, finally catching up with her.

In the process of spinning around to head back to her car however, Kelli plowed face first right into a man who'd just walked out of the store.

"UUUAAAHHH," Kelli's voice squeaked as her forehead bounced off the stranger's shoulder.

"Oh...You OK Lady," the very tall and well built man she'd stumbled into asked, barely flinching from such a tiny woman running into him. Still, he instinctively reached out with his right hand to grab Kelli by the arm in case she might fall.

"...I'm...s...s...sorry...,' Kelli stuttered, now doing her best to clumsily pull backwards as she and the gentleman did that awkward "you go left at the same time I go right" dance to try and peel themselves off each other.

Kelli and the stranger tried several times to dodge away from each other before finally pulling themselves apart. Smiling nervously as she backed up, Kelli nearly collided with the older man who'd cleaned up her broken bottle as he tried to limp back inside the store.

"God...I just need to go home before I run over somebody...,' Kelli laughed, the pale, Irish white skin of her neck and cheeks showing a noticeable blush as she looked down at her left arm, still feeling the stranger's grip seeming to tingle her skin even though he'd let it go a few seconds earlier.

"Oh ...don't worry...My Mom was a nurse for a lot of years too...I know you probably have a million things going through your mind every day when you get off from work," the gentleman she'd just about smashed into said warmly after noticing Kelli's outfit.

Kelli found herself dumbstruck for the moment by the stranger's kindness and understanding tone. It had been years since her Husband, or anyone really close to her for that matter, ever wanted to talk about her day at work and the stuff she had to deal with on occasion. So like most people with the same caring make-up as Kelli, she kept most of those things locked up inside her in a neat and tidy, private place. She couldn't blame them really for not wanting to know, hearing about death and sickness usually cast a pall around the dinner table and frankly Kelli had learned to process most of it on her own, with the occasional gab session with one of her fellow nurses who endured the same hardships she did on a regular basis.

To have a complete stranger give her that quick word of encouragement and understanding, especially after she barreled into him, brought an appreciative smile to Kelli's tired face.

"That's sweet...thank you, yes it can be a little overwhelming at times," Kelli said to the black man in his early 30's that was standing in front of her.

With that, both nodded and turned to head back towards their respective cars. Kelli instantly noticed the man she'd run into was the travel partner of the other black man she'd talked to who was pumping gas beside her. She cast the two men a pleasant wave goodbye as she approached her own car. Looking down at the still wet outline of the V-8 she dropped, Kelli took a deep breath hoping that minor tragedy was the worst thing she'd have to deal with all day.

Opening the door and stepping inside, Kelli scuttled through her keys before raising the right one towards the ignition.

A full tank of gas and some of her dignity left intact, Kelli checked her rearview for any vehicles behind her before dropping the transmission into drive and attempting to finally head home. Just before she could however, a moving shadow of light sparkled in the corner of her left eye. Taking a look out of the driver's side window, Kelli saw the man she'd originally talked to while he was pumping gas now walking towards her car, waving politely.

"You're gas cap's still open," Kelli heard him say through the window before pounding her head once again in embarrassment.

The gentleman quickly reached for the cap, twisted it back on and then closed the latch tight.

"Thanks again" Kelli told him after rolling her window half way down.

"No problem," he replied.

"One more thing," the man added, knowing he still had the woman's attention.

"Sure," Kelli offered.

The next few words out of the younger man's mouth caused the married mother of two's heart to stop. With simple, sober and calm clarity, the man who'd asked Kelli for casually for directions a few minutes earlier now asked Kelli if she'd be interested in following him and his friend back to their motel room down the street. There wasn't a hint of crassness or intimidation in the man's tone, just a direct and succinct offer.

Completely taken aback by the invitation, Kelli tried to respond but it suddenly felt as if her tongue had been stung by several bees. Looking off to her left, doing anything she could to avoid eye contact with the man standing a few feet in front of her door, Kelli eyes settled on the man's friend, the one she'd bumped into in front of the store. The well dressed, burly man was leaning against the fender of his car, watching with his arms folded in curious amusement as his co-worker tried to pick her up.

Even though there wasn't a hint of outward harassment or force in the stranger's demeanor, the fact that he continued to stand there staring inside the car at Kelli, his gaze unflinching as his offer hung in the air, caused Kelli to feel as if she was stewing in her seat. Her nervous system still too overloaded to allow her to turn her wrist so she could start the car and drive away, Kelli apprehension grew with each passing second knowing her silence might be construed as interest.

"...I'm...marri...," Kelli started to say through the half opened window.

"I know," the stranger efficiently cut her off. "I saw the ring. So you're saying if you weren't married, you'd be interested?"

Once again Kelli was left too dumbstruck to respond. And the man continued to just stand there, hands in pockets, waiting.

Her head already spinning from a long night at work and the shock to her system from the shift change, Kelli knew she wasn't in her right mind to begin with. Compounded with dropping the bottle in the parking lot and about knocking down everyone in her path trying to get back to her car, Kelli knew her emotional tank was already on empty. And now she was being confronted with the crudest of offers from a man she didn't even know.

Despite the blow to her moral decency, something deep within Kelli's core was scratched open like a scab.

Even though it was an 'on again/off again' relationship in her teens and early 20's, Kelli had wound up marrying her college sweetheart. Pencil thin and freckled, Kelli had never remotely considered herself a 'man magnet'. Only 5 foot 2 with curly red hair and narrow facial features, the last thing she ever would think of herself as was sexy or desirable. The middle child of two other sisters, Kelli had also grown up use to flying under the radar when it came to attention. Thankfully she'd learned early on in life that she had a gift for compassion and helping others, and those traits had helped Kelli carve out a wonderful two decade career in the medical field.

Like anyone however, she still harbored a few scars from the past. Whether it was not being asked out by the guy she wanted for Junior Prom, or always seemingly being the last person chosen for sides in gym class, or even being picked over for promotions at work because she was sure the woman hired had been selected because they were either more buxom or fun in a locked store room.

The thought of being propositioned so bluntly in public was something Kelli never contemplated. Especially considering how haggard she looked from a long night at work. Her hair was a mess, she didn't have a hint of make-up on and she still had on her scrubs and yet here was this handsome stranger with his full attention concentrated on her.

Looking out the car's windshield, Kelli watched as a rather attractive blonde, dressed in a business suit and heels, walked across the parking lot headed towards the door of the store. It was the same type of woman Kelli had always found herself inferior to and she was sure the blonde woman was on the stranger's radar, but he kept his gaze locked directly on Kelli, waiting for her to say something as she sat in the driver's seat of her Outback.

"Come on back with us to the motel," he said once again in a very polite, measured tone.

Kelli turned to try and make some sort of visual stand but when she did, before she could utter a word, she was sure she saw the stranger ever so subtly squeeze his right hand over an obvious protrusion in the crotch of his tailored pants.

"...I...just...I...can't...I have...to...go," Kelli stammered, both her hands now buried in her lap to keep the man from looking in and seeing them shaking.

"I'm guessing your Husband's well on his way to work by now...and if you have kids...I'm sure they've already left for school. House is probably empty when you get home...nobody will miss you all day, will they?" the man said with deliberate ease, seeing the truth of his words glisten in Kelli's watering eyes.

"Tell you what," he added a few moments later. "Roll your window down all the way."

"...Why...?" Kelli's voice creaked.

The man didn't answer, just nodded his head down and smiled.

With her left hand, Kelli tentatively reached for the button and did what the stranger asked, having no clue what he wanted.

Taking a casual step forward, the man leaned his 6 foot 2 inch frame forward and extended his left hand through the opened window. Kelli instantly tensed and recoiled against the seat seeing the stranger's open palm approaching the right side of her face.

Kelli watched with a mixture of befuddlement and fear as the man's left arm extended before her eyes. She didn't comprehend that it was all real until she felt the stranger's fingertips brush gently across her cheek. Stifling a scream, Kelli trembled ever so slightly as the scent of the man's cologne wafted through the window. His touch was soft but Kelli could feel the man's strength coursing through his fingers and before she could manage to stop it, just for a brief moment, she quivered as the image of his dark body intertwined with her pale white one exploded in her mind.

Her first inclination was to lay on the car's horn, but there was no way at that moment to make her arms move. Instead she just sat there staring straight forward feeling the man's fingertips drift first down her cheek then across her chin before descending down her thin neck. Kelli then felt her entire world go black when the man extended his palm out an instant before brazenly squeezing it around the small orb of her right breast through the dark blue material of her uniform top and bra.

"Somebody has to be seeing this...how can this be happening in broad daylight?" Kelli's internal voice wheezed, but when she managed to focus her squinted gaze outside the car, it seemed the few people in the parking lot were oblivious to her plight.

Not only did the man reach inside the car and grab Kelli's tit, he proceeded to massage it softly as he leaned through the open window. His free hand propped along the edge of the door, he made it appear to anyone that might take notice that he was just having a casual conversation with the woman inside. The entire time however, he was thumbing and pawing at Kelli's right breast until her nipple had grown shamefully erect through the shell of her bra and top. Looking down at the breast he wasn't groping, he noticed Kelli's left nipple was puffed up and straining the fabric of her top as well.

Giving her tit one good hard last squeeze before letting it go, the stranger felt a virile jolt of adrenaline race through his system hearing the gurgling sigh that rose from Kelli's throat when he did. Turning to quickly survey the parking lot, as well as cast he friend a wry, wicked smile, the man standing at Kelli's window then turned his full attention back to her.

"If I dropped my fly right now, I bet you'd suck my dick right here in the parking lot, wouldn't you?" the stranger said with cool callousness.

Reaching for the fly of his slacks, the man seemed to mock Kelli, taking a real measure of satisfaction from the way she gulped and her lips quivered ever so slightly when his fingers wrapped around the zipper holding back his blatantly visible bulge, as if for a moment she actually thought he was going to pull his cock out right there in front of her.

The stranger then just laughed a deep soulful laugh.

"You can come back to our motel room like I said...you know you're gonna dream about this...I can see the need in your eyes, Lady. No reason to spend the rest of your life wondering 'what if'...what's stoppin' ya...come on and make a little selfish memory for yourself," the man offered calmly before patting the driver's side door twice and nodding down to Kelli one last time.

He then turned and walked as if nothing had happened back to his car.

Kelli's breaths were short and pained watching the man to walk back to his car, get in with his co-worker and close the door. There was nothing now preventing her from turning the key and starting her car so she could finally get back on with her life and forget the last few minutes ever happened. Instead, she just sat in her seat, the bundle of keys still wedged tightly in her sweaty right hand as she stared down at her work scrubs, seeing the way the material was bunched right where the man had fondled her breast a minute ago. As much she fought it, Kelli could still feel the fleshy, champagne glass shaped orb inside her bra cup tingling from the stranger's brief but illicit massage.