Audrey Moving Forward Pt 02

The next day she was up late, but ultimately by late afternoon she was once again in her office, still refusing to accept that she was no longer needed in the shop, at least not on a daily basis. It would ultimately be two days before Fatima would call her. As soon as she saw that it was Fatima, Audrey picked up immediately.

"I'm so glad you called. I was actually thinking about to call you." Audrey could swear she heard the grin in Fatima's voice.

"I wanted to call you sooner, but I was trying to reign in my eagerness. So what are you doing later?" Audrey grinned as she sat back in her chair.

"Well, there's one or two things I want to do here at the shop, but Gwen will probably say I'm just puttering around because I don't want to admit I'm not needed here." This time Fatima laughed as she continued.

"All right, I'll be there in an hour, don't dress up." She hung up before Audrey could speak, she put her phone down, shaking her head as she thought about what Fatima had in mind. Again she found herself eagerly anticipating Fatima's arrival, not even bothering to attempt to occupy herself while she waited.

After about forty minutes she stood and decided to wander the shop for a while, straightening things and thinking about what she wanted to do with the shop in the coming months. Mostly she was just trying to avoid thinking about starting a relationship and about her own track record there. But at last after avoiding Gwen and aiding the occasional customer before Fatima arrived. Fatima didn't hesitate to walk swiftly to Audrey and embrace her not caring that they were practically in the middle of the shop, with several observers. However she did not kiss her on the lips as Audrey had expected, but merely gave a kiss on the cheek that was just a bit longer than a peck.

"Ready?" Audrey blinked, knowing she was blushing furiously, and struggled to gather herself while focusing completely on Fatima.

"Trust me?" Audrey barely hesitated before nodding. Fatima grinned as she practically ran to the door, dragging Audrey behind her. Audrey barely managed to call out to Gwen before she was pulled out the door. Fatima led her to the car and opened the passenger door for Audrey, closing it once she was seated. Fatima climbed in behind the wheel and drove off. They had only been driving a short time when Audrey turned to Fatima.

"Okay Fatima, I do trust you, but seriously where are you taking me?" Fatima grinned, but didn't immediately answer. However she did when they were pulling into a parking lot.

"Look and see." Audrey looked around, but quickly spotted what the building was.

"The cinema?" Fatima nodded as she got out of the car and moved quickly to open Audrey's door. Audrey smiled as she took the offered hand and stood.

"Yeah, I'm taking you to a movie." Audrey nodded as she followed Fatima inside. It was afternoon so the place was practically empty. Fatima bought tickets and they entered the screening room. It was a short time before the movie began and the room was all but empty, with only an older couple in attendance. Audrey had noted the title of the movie and was somewhat familiar with it, but nothing specific. She however continued to watch. Not surprisingly it proved to be a comic book based film, so had its quota of explosions and action, but the characters were good.

Despite her limited knowledge of comics she found herself getting into the story because of the characters. She was so focused on the screen that she nearly jumped when she felt a hand on her leg. The hand was just above her knee and she struggled to avoid reacting too much as the hand slowly moved up her leg, but stopped before reaching the top. The hand remained in place for several moments before continuing to move up. Audrey struggled to keep her breathing under control as the hand now moved between her legs, lightly pressing.

Now she was struggling to keep her moaning down as the palm was now rubbing through her jeans. Audrey now tried to focus on the screen as the hand now unbuttoned her jeans to reach inside so she could rub her with only the panties in the way. Audrey felt herself growing wet and knew that it wouldn't be long at this rate. Then the hand moved inside her now soaked panties and she moaned out loud. Feeling her cheeks burning in embarrassment Audrey grabbed the hand and whispered softly.

"No." The hand immediately withdrew and Audrey fixed her pants. She returned her attention to the movie, however her mind was on the last time she had been at a movie with Susan. It had been over a year before the divorce, although she couldn't remember what the movie had been, and she had tried something similar in an attempt to bring some spark back to their relationship. Susan had not been amused, afterward she had berated Audrey for behaving like a horny teenager.

Finally the movie ended and she followed Fatima out, this time she hadn't taken Audrey's hand. The drive back to Audrey's shop was quiet and Audrey was beginning to think it had all been a mistake, until Fatima parked and came around to open her door. Fatima spoke as she offered Audrey her hand.

"I'm so sorry for getting carried away. I promise to be more careful. I don't know when I'll be free for another date, however I

will

call you tomorrow Audrey." She briefly embraced Audrey, but this time did not kiss her. Audrey walked to her car feeling confused by the situation. She was sitting in the car, deep in thought when her phone rang. The ringtone identified the caller as Rochelle.

"Hi Rochelle, what is it?" Rochelle's tone was light and she sounded mildly distracted, causing Audrey to sigh.

"So Audrey...I've heard about your latest love...interest. I'm so happy for you. So Maddie is engaging in another culinary experiment, so how about you bring your new paramour to dinner this Friday." Audrey shook her head as she heard expertly suppressed moaning.

"I don't know what her schedule is like, but I promise to pass the invitation on. See you Friday, Rochelle."

"See you...then." Audrey drove home, made dinner and sat to begin eating mechanically. She went to bed early, but only slept fitfully. Her sleep was filled with dreams of Fatima and Susan, both seeming huge to the point of filling her vision.

She awoke late the next morning and almost considered not going into the shop, but shrugged as she considered that she had nothing better to do. Before left she got a call from one of the escorts she managed, asking if she could have a week off. Audrey sighed.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I only ask that you check to see if there are any clients scheduled. However you don't need to actually ask for time off. You have only asked for a week in the last year. So enjoy." The girl thanked her and they hung up. Audrey left for the shop and Gwen smiled when she arrived, but Audrey could tell that she was redundant. Later she was in her office, having just had lunch, when her phone rang. It was Fatima.

"Hello Audrey, I was hoping you would be willing to join me for dinner tonight. Shall we say around six thirty?" Audrey hesitated but she knew that both Rochelle and Gwen would never let her hear the end of it if she didn't go for it.

"Okay, sounds good."

"Wonderful, I'll text you the address. See you then." They broke off the call and a short time later Audrey received a text from Fatima. She didn't readily recognize the address, but she would be the first to admit that she never really explored the city she lived in. She soon left the shop, she suspected to Gwen's relief, to go home and prepare for her date. She was soon ready, but this just meant that she was spending a lot of time waiting. Just before six she decided to get going as she wasn't exactly sure where the address was.

However her phone app quickly got her to the address about ten minutes early. She stopped short when she realized that she was driving into a nice neighborhood, clearly Fatima's home, and had been expecting something different. While the home was nice, it wasn't quite a home on a private acre nice. Ignoring the unexpected change in circumstances Audrey walked up to the door and rang the bell. It was several moments before the door was answered by Fatima, who brightened immediately when she saw who had rang the bell.

"Audrey, come in." She led Audrey through the house, with her usual enthusiasm, to the dining room. "Dinner should be ready momentarily, red wine?"

"Yes, please." Fatima swiftly disappeared through another door and soon returned with a bottle and two glasses. She poured a glassful and disappeared again. As she sipped her glass Audrey noted that it was a good vintage, despite her limited knowledge of wine, it also tasted good as well. She was just considering the idea of going to the kitchen when Fatima returned carrying a dish.

"Wait there, it will only be a few minutes while I bring out the rest of dinner." Audrey sat back in her chair, sipping her wine, watching as the table soon had several dishes placed upon it. This started with soup, then salad, finishing up with rice and lamb. Audrey was in awe, Maddie's cooking was close, but even it couldn't compare to the dish she was partaking of. She looked up to see that while Fatima had hardly skimped on her own eating, was watching her intently. Audrey swallowed and smiled.

"It is wonderful, thank you." Fatima's usual grin returned.

"Excellent. I even have dessert. Ready?" Audrey considered this a moment and returned her attention to Fatima.

"Yes, dessert sounds lovely." Fatima nodded and with the grace of an experienced waitress cleared up the dishes and in a short time the table was clear except for the wine and glasses. She soon returned with two plates containing a slice each of some sort of cake with a spoon. She set one in front of Audrey and the other at her own place. Audrey found the slice to be quite soft as she sunk the spoon into the side. The bite virtually melted in her mouth. Audrey felt a warm contented feeling spread throughout her body. Although she was briefly thinking that the one bit was probably doing a number on her hips. Suddenly Fatima spoke with an amused sound.

"How is it?" Audrey looked up startled and looked down to see that she had nearly finished the slice in a short period of time. She smiled contentedly.

"Heavenly, although I just know I'm going to pay for it later." Fatima laughed for several moments, by which time Audrey had finished the slice. Fatima swiftly gathered the dishes to disappear into the kitchen. When she returned to the dining room. She grabbed her glass and the bottle.

"Let's move this into the living room." Audrey picked up her own glass and followed Fatima. Fatima set the bottle and her glass on the coffee table before sitting on the couch, while Audrey followed suit. Fatima poured more into their glasses. They both sipped their glasses before Fatima leaned into kiss her. Audrey briefly hesitated before surrendering to Fatima's lips, soon followed by her embrace. However just as soon as Audrey felt she could lose herself in Fatima's affections, she suddenly had a vision of Susan. Audrey flinched and briefly tensed up. Fatima immediately released her.

"What's wrong?" Audrey shrugged as they separated. "Are you still not over your ex?" Audrey shook her head as she felt the tears coming to her eyes.

"I don't know." She stood and turned toward the door. "I better go. I'm sorry." She continued to babble her apologies as she continued toward the door. Fatima was quickly beside her a hand on her arm, not restraining just to let Audrey know she was there.

"Audrey, wait. Please, let's just talk, I don't want to throw this away before we've had a chance." Audrey hesitated, turning away as the tears began coming down her cheeks.

"Not now...got to go." Fatima pulled back her hand and stood still as Audrey continued to the door. She was soon driving away, wiping her eyes. She probably speeded the whole way, but she got home and once inside she barely started to undress before curling up in her bed, now truly crying as her thoughts swirled around Fatima and Susan.

She was awoken the next day by a call from Fatima. She initially considered ignoring it, but soon found herself picking up anyway.

"Hello." She was in no mood to talk.

"Audrey please can we just meet up to talk? Can we just give this a chance to see where it goes?" Audrey sighed as she considered how she felt, both emotionally and physically, but she quickly reached a decision.

"Fine. Where do you want to meet?" A slight hesitation before Fatima spoke with obvious relief.

"Thank you. How about I just come get you? I know this lovely little tea house, nothing too fancy." Again Audrey hesitated, torn between her uncertainty and her growing desire for someone to share her life.

"Okay, I'll text you my address."

"Wonderful. See you soon." They hung up and Audrey sat for several minutes as her life hit hard, filling her thoughts. Finally she rose to make herself presentable and throw on some clean clothes. She had barely finished checking her appearance in the mirror when she received a text from Fatima indicating that she had arrived. Audrey texted her reply and quickly left to meet her.

"So good to see you Audrey, I'm so glad that you consented to come with me." Audrey nodded.

"I didn't want to blow you off after last night, although I'm not much better today." Fatima glanced over, but did not comment as she put the car in gear. The drive was brief and although Audrey had never been inside she was aware of the place. The interior was welcoming and cozy, with little homey touches that made Audrey lose some of the tension she had been feeling since she had awoken. Fatima waited until they were seated and had ordered before speaking.

"Audrey I care a great deal for you, I think it is now important we establish some sense of where this is going. If you want to take this slow, I will go slow, but if you are not over your ex, I want to know now." Audrey took a carful sip of her tea while she considered her answer, torn as she was. Finally she set the cup down, fighting back the tears as she spoke.

"I don't if it's

her

I can't get over, so much as my own guilt over what happened." Fatima nodded her own tea largely ignored.

"Why did you cheat on her?" Audrey practically gulped her tea to delay answering.

"I'm not prepared to tell you the full details, but part of it was I felt ignored. She was working long hours, I barely saw her. When I did see her she never seemed fully with me. We had sex rarely and when we did it was brief, mechanical, as if intimacy had become an obligation because we were married. I was beginning to wonder if I really meant anything to her anymore." Fatima hesitated a moment before reaching across the table to take Audrey's hand in her own.

"Did you ever talk to her about?" Audrey looked up sharply, blinking back tears, struggling to find her voice.

"Yes, many times. But she would always tell me to be patient, that once she had secured the coming promotion it would be better. Only she would get the promotion and have all new responsibilities as she worked for the next promotion. Never an acknowledgement of my feelings as a true reassurance that she still

loved

me." Fatima sipped her own tea, realizing that continued conversation would be unwelcome, given the tears that were now flowing down Audrey's face. Fatima held onto Audrey's hand waiting patiently for the other woman to calm down. Finally she saw the tears slow and Audrey's breathing slowly returned to normal.

"Audrey, how about we give this a little time? I have been putting off a trip and if I go, I'll be gone about a month. In the meantime, how about you give this all some thought and seriously consider seeing someone about this. I'll call when I get back and we can go from there." After a moment to consider Audrey nodded.

"Probably a good idea. I feel like I..." Fatima held up a hand to silence her.

"Don't apologize. I have enjoyed the little time we've spent together and I still hope we'll have more in the future." They stood, Fatima still insisting on paying, and they returned to Audrey's house. This time Fatima only took Audrey's hand.

"Goody bye Audrey. I am hopeful for my return. But please, promise me one thing." Audrey stopped in mid-turn.

"Yes?"

"Let yourself be happy. It sounds like you have put yourself through so much in penance." Audrey nodded.

"I will try, good bye Fatima." Audrey walked slowly inside, noticing that Fatima had not driven off until she was inside. Life was pretty uneventful until Friday arrived and she briefly considered not going, but she didn't want to hurt Maddie's feelings, so she decided to get ready. She ultimately left her place in time to reach Rochelle's just before six. Rochelle answered the door smiling when she saw Audrey.

"So glad you made it. Maddie always loves it when there are more people to enjoy her cooking. She promises it will be ready shortly. Sit in the living room and I'll get us some wine, while we wait." Audrey smiled and found her way to the familiar living room. She did not have to wait long before Rochelle returned with the wine. She joined Audrey on the couch, passing her a glass.

"So Audrey, how are things going at the shop?" Audrey smiled.

"Probably too well, I don't think Gwen really needs me there. I have been thinking about doing more dress design, but I'm not sure." Rochelle nodded.

"Why don't you get away for a week? Clear your head. Then when you get back you can focus fully on this new venture." Audrey sipped her wine as she considered what Rochelle had suggested. Before she had reached any conclusions they heard Maddie call from the kitchen.

"Ready, come to the table." Rochelle grabbed the bottle and her glass as she stood.

"Well, you heard her. We better hurry, you know she hates to be kept waiting?" Audrey followed Rochelle into the dining room and no sooner had she sat down then Maddie entered with the first dish. Maddie was a lovely young woman with long blond hair, she had recently turned thirty, although most thought her to be more like twenty-five. She was just over ten years younger than Rochelle's forty-two. They had been married for seven years.

Maddie had only been out of school a year when she had met Rochelle. She had been working as the personal chef of a longtime friend of Rochelle's. Rochelle had eaten with her friend once a week for over a month before she finally asked the younger woman on a date. Six months later she had asked Audrey to stand with her during the wedding ceremony. Her response was one of skepticism, marrying someone over ten years younger that she had known for such a short time. However they quickly won her over and the ceremony was beautiful. Audrey's mind returned to the present as Maddie finished laying out dinner. As the meal began Audrey began to slowly relax. Halfway through she turned to Maddie.

"So Maddie, what are you up to these day, besides taking care of our dear Rochelle?" Rochelle tried to look as if she hadn't hear the last part. Maddie smiled as she spoke.

"Well there's a lovely couple who call me in about once a week to cook for a dinner party. Beyond that I'm usually here." The dinner proceeded in this fashion with Maddie doing most of the talking as Audrey and Rochelle were avoiding more serious issues. Once they were finished they adjourned to the living room while Maddie cleaned up. Audrey sat on the couch sipping her wine. Rochelle spoke, her own wine in hand.

"So Audrey, I want an honest answer to this. You broke up with Fatima because of your guilt over Susan. Is that right?" Audrey sipped her wine and didn't answer for several moments, but with Rochelle looking intently at her she knew that she wasn't going to get away without an answer. Sighing she set her wine on the coffee table.