Jason Pyle walked into the local Starbucks and looked around... to be more accurate, he scanned the establishment. He was looking for... her... and he found her, sitting by herself at a two-person table, reading a paperback.
There were about two dozen people sitting at tables and another half-dozen online. Virtually all of them turned to look at Jason when he walked in. He was a big man who exuded confidence, and people just seemed drawn to his magnetism, even when he was just standing toward the back of the café. It was much more than his 6-4, 235-pound size, or the colorful tattoos running down both of his muscular arms.
The woman Jason picked out in his mind had joined most of the others in briefly looking at the man when he walked in, but quickly went back to her book on Egyptian history. She was engrossed heavily in her reading when she heard the empty chair at her table move, and the large man sat down.
"I know there are empty tables I could have sat at, but I fancy sitting with the best-looking woman in the place while I take my coffee break. I'm Jason, by the way," he said with a bright smile.
Under most circumstances, Lucy Grimaldi would have gotten up from her spot and left the café. For some reason, this time, she stayed glued to her chair. She gave the interloper a shy smile and a deep blush as she met his eyes with hers.
"Thank you for the kind words, even if I think you're not exactly being truthful," she responded.
Lucy looked directly into the man's big brown eyes. His gaze never wavered from hers. She noted his long, curly dark brown hair and a rakish scar running down his left cheek. She also noted the tingling that she was suddenly feeling between her legs, a feeling that didn't happen very often in her well-ordered life.
The woman always went to this Starbucks every Tuesday afternoon after her four-hour shift at the Medford Public Library. She usually enjoyed a salted caramel latte while reading a book before going home to do some usual home chores and cooking dinner for her husband and herself.
The large man noted the slight look of discomfort on the woman's pretty face. Her shoulder-length dark brunette hair was pulled into a high ponytail, which helped highlight bright electric-blue eyes and full lips. Despite the fact that she was dressed like a conservative businesswoman, Jason noted the blazer and the white dress blouse did little to hide the woman's large chest, and her skirt, which had ridden up her legs to about mid-thigh, did little to hide her toned, athletic legs. He estimated she was about five years older than his 34 years.
Jason's smile turned into a lecherous smirk, Lucy thought, which gave him a bad boy visage.
"Trust me, I'm not lying." Jason answered. "And you are...?"
"Lucy. Lucy Grimaldi," she responded with a smile of her own.
Lucy took a deep breath, which Jason thought did wonderful things to her blouse. She caught him looking at her chest, but unlike most other men, he didn't try to shift his eyes away. He lifted his eyes back to hers, maintaining his smile.
Lucy blushed hard.
"Cheeky bastard," she thought to herself, but she again took another deep breath, again causing the man's eyes to move down to her blouse.
"So what's your drink of choice?" Jason asked the woman.
"Salted caramel latte. Yours?" she responded.
"Black coffee. I'm one of those," he said. "I don't know anything about their sizes. I just ask for the largest black coffee they serve, and I take my coffee the same way I take my booze: straight, with nothing else mixed in."
"My... husband drinks it that way, too," Lucy said, hesitating as she thought about her husband for the first time since the strange man sat down at the table with her. She briefly thought that he wouldn't be pleased at all with her chatting with a handsome, large stranger... who had no problem ogling her large chest in front of her.
"Ah, yes, your husband. Well, he's a lucky man. How long have you been married? Any kids?" he asked.
Almost despite herself, Lucy told the man about her 23-year marriage and her two children in college without any discomfort. She realized Jason was an excellent listener. Jason then gave her his life story, which didn't include a wife and children, but did include the fact that he was head of a motorcycle club and was the owner of a car and motorcycle repair shop.
"A motorcycle club. Like a gang?" Lucy queried.
Jason hesitated for the first time since he sat down at the table. He looked uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I guess so," he replied. "We don't do the crime stuff, though, like you see on TV. Not every bike crew is like 'Sons of Anarchy.' That show makes us all look like out-of-control thugs."
He could see by the self-conscious smile on Lucy's face that he had guessed correctly about what she was thinking. She could see he knew that, too.
"Sorry. I didn't mean anything by it," she said.
"No offense taken. Most people have had the wrong impression of bikers since 'Easy Rider' was made more than 50 years ago," he chuckled.
"Maybe you'd like to ride with me someday."
Lucy blushed at the very thought of herself riding on the back of a motorcycle with this man up front. The joke among her friends was that she was the queen of the conservative moms.
"You'd have to give me some notice, because I'd never be able to get on the back of your bike in this skirt without completely giving up my modesty. I'd need to wear some jeans," she giggled.
"Yeah, but they can't be 'mom jeans.' They'd have to be tight jeans... and you'd need a halter top or a tight tank. I have a reputation to maintain, you know. After all, I am the president of the Diamonds," he asserted.
Lucy was surprised at her own interest in riding on this man's motorcycle.
"I'll have to go buy something appropriate then, if you're serious about letting me ride with you. I don't have any clothes like that," she said.
"Seriously?" Jason said. "A body like that and you don't have any tight, sexy clothes? How did you ever have two kids?"
Lucy knew she should have been embarrassed with the stranger's familiarity, but if anything she was turned on by the man's frankness. There was something arousing and confident in his manner.
"If I dress appropriately, could we go next Tuesday?" she asked boldly.
"Absolutely!" he replied brightly. "Meet you here same time next Tuesday."
The two bid each other good-bye a few minutes later. Lucy left the café practically floating on a cloud due to the attention the handsome young man lavished on her.
Twenty-three years of marriage told Glenn Grimaldi that his wife had something very positive happen during the day before he got home from work. She was gliding around the kitchen humming a happy tune with a large smile on her face. He walked over to her and gave her a passionate kiss on the lips, which she returned with every bit as much fervor as she received.
"Good day?" Glenn asked, assuming that she would tell him why she seemed to be in such a great mood.
"Mmhmm," she responded before gliding over to check on the food in the oven. "Dinner in five. You need to get out of your suit."
Glenn just froze in place, not believing his ears. He frowned and shook his head as he headed upstairs to change his clothes. Lucy never looked back at her husband. In truth, she barely was aware that he was still in the room.
Dinner was an inordinately quiet affair that night. Glenn repeatedly started conversations only to have them die quietly as Lucy would either mumble a one-word answer or grunt instead of speak. Her face had an unreadable expression. Glenn finally gave up, being at least thankful that whatever was going on wasn't causing Lucy to be upset with him.
It wasn't until the next morning at the library that Lucy was brought back to her senses. One of her younger co-workers noted Lucy's spaciness and the far-away look in her eyes.
"You've got a lover!" Annie Wilson whispered excitedly to Lucy as the pair was in the break room during the morning. "Good for you!"
The words spoken out loud shook Lucy to her core and she almost dropped her mug of coffee, confirming to the other woman that she had hit the nail on the head.
"Uh... what... no!" Lucy muttered. "Well..."
"Not quite then, but soon," Annie said. "Wow. I never would have guessed that Mother Teresa would go over to the dark side. Details, woman."
Lucy looked stricken. Had she been this transparent in front of her husband last night, she wondered?
"Shh. Quiet. Come over here," she said, pulling the younger woman over to the far side of the break room.
"Who told you?" Lucy whispered tersely to Annie. "I haven't even done anything yet."
"Maybe, but you want to... and are heading toward the finish line at a full sprint," Annie responded.
"Have I been that obvious? Umm... I've never... never... even considered anything like this before," Lucy said.
"Nobody told me," Annie asserted. "You're walking around like a 16-year-old with a secret crush.
"If you're doing it or even considering doing it, walking around in a fog is the worst way to hide it from the world... or even your husband, girl. You get to control this narrative. Hubby doesn't ever have to know... unless you want him to, that is. And that's usually because he's a freak or you've got a revenge thing going on."
"I... haven't... done anything. Honest," Lucy started.
"But you want to. And you're considering it really hard," Annie said, looking Lucy directly in her eyes.
