Aren

I would like to thank those readers who emailed comments to me re. Chapter 1 of this story. I had a small problem with my email so I hope that my replies were received. I would also like to apologize for the erratic scheduling of these chapters. I didn't take into consideration the time lag involved.

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Karen sat, across from Jack, her needlepoint in her lap, but with her thoughts far from what she was doing with needle and thread. She was extremely conflicted. She had a strong suspicion that Jack was uneasy with her. His "casual" questions were anything but casual.

"Why would he ask would I did for lunch?" she thought guiltily. Jack and Karen had been together for too many years for her not to sense his uneasiness.

"He suspects something. Perhaps I should have told him the truth. Having lunch with an old friend is not something shameful. Why did I lie?" she wondered. "I have nothing to be ashamed of, so why did I lie to him? Does he know that I just lied?"

She quickly glanced up at him. He had been staring at that page of the newspaper forever. She knew that his thoughts were not on the newspaper. "He knows that I lied. What should I do? Can I just admit to him that I lied, that I did not want to tell him that I had lunch with Jim Belsen? Damn it, it was just lunch - but if it was just lunch, then why did I just lie to Jack?"

Karen had not seen or even thought of Jim Belsen since her college days. Now, out of the blue, he turns up at her company as a sales manager. He had been headhunted, accepted the offer and had started in his present position last week. She had been shocked to see him - had recognized him almost immediately. He had been striding down the hall when she came upon him.

She stopped, stunned and called out, "Jim? Jim Belsen? Is that really you?"

He stopped, turned and looked at her. His face reflected that same shock, "Oh my God, it's Karen! Karen Palmer. I don't believe it. I haven't seen you in, what? 25 years? and it doesn't look like you have changed a bit."

Karen laughed a bit nervously and replied, "It's Karen Bell, Jim. I've been married since graduating from college and I have two grown children, so don't tell me that I haven't changed." She had to smile at his discomfort.

"I'm sorry, Karen. I'm just a little stunned. I certainly didn't expect to see you here, and I do remember that you married - Jack, isn't it? And if you have changed, it is certainly not for the worse, you look terrific," he said softly.

Karen actually blushed, something that she didn't remember doing for some years. They spent a few minutes chatting and then promised each other that they would have lunch later in the week and catch up with each other's lives.

Karen sat at her desk, her face flushed. She felt her heart beating rapidly and she took a deep breath. She knew that she had to calm down. She also knew, almost subconsciously, what was again happening to her. Why now?

"Damn, damn. Why now? Was her life going to be impacted by that cruel, fickle finger of fate?" she worried.

She recognized why she was so flushed. She also realized that her nipples had hardened and that the crotch of her panties was moist. She quickly arose and walked purposefully to the ladies room where she washed her face in cold water and redid her makeup. She knew that she had to get hold of herself.

"Damn it, I'm 46 years old, not 18. I can't believe that he can still make me feel this way. He hadn't really changed all that much. A little gray in his dark hair, and perhaps a few more pounds, but he still looked good, damned good, and that small smile - just like years ago. This is dangerous, I have to exercise some self-control," she thought to herself.

"He is going to be working here and I'm going to see him daily. I have to steel myself. No way am I going to jeopardize my marriage and my future," she told herself grimly.

Yet, when he asked her to lunch the next day, she accepted with no hesitation.

Karen again glanced up at Jack. The newspaper lay in his lap and his eyes were fixed on the tv. "Is he actually watching that slop on the boob tube?" she wondered, "or were his thoughts elsewhere. Damn, it was just lunch, nothing more," she told herself again. But, being honest with herself, she knew that she had been deeply aroused and was not able to concentrate on her work that afternoon. She had to visit the ladies room, where in the privacy of a closed stall, she lowered her panties and used her fingers to bring herself to a quick orgasm. She felt horribly embarrassed, this is something that she hadn't done in decades.

She rushed out of the office at quitting time and broke a few speed laws in her efforts to get home as quickly as she could. She saw Jack's car in the driveway and breathed a sigh of relief. Rushing into the house she called to him and literally attacked him. She needed him to make love to her - no, not make love - she needed him to fuck her and she made that need known in no uncertain terms. Their coupling did not take long, they were both too keyed up. Lying together after, she had tears in her eyes and she prayed that her love for her husband would protect her from the fire generated in her loins by Jim Belsen.

Karen rose from the sofa and said, "Honey, it's after ten o'clock. I know that we're both tired and it's time for bed, especially after the workout we both enjoyed earlier," Seeing Jack return her smile, she heard him state that he would be up shortly.

It didn't take Karen long to prepare for bed. She was truly exhausted and she knew that the present situation was going to be impossible for her. Lying in bed, her thoughts again retreated to her early college years.

She met Jim Belsen the very first day she arrived at school. He was standing in back of her in line. They, and many other freshmen, were in the library waiting to get their library cards. They struck up a conversation and she knew that she was really taken with him. His dark eyes and hair were complimented by his fair complexion. He was not especially tall, but that small smile captivated her. She actually thought that it was love at first sight. Like a typical 18 year old girl she was already planning their wedding in her mind. When he asked her to join him for a coke, she knew that they were destined for each other.

They started to date. Just casual meetings at the student lounge and a pizza at the local Italian eatery. Karen was anxiously waiting for Jim to make a move on her. His very presence aroused her. A simple goodnight kiss caused her to almost pant with desire. He was either totally unaware of her sexual desire for him, or was, with almost diabolical intent, slowly torturing her.

Karen was not a virgin. While she was not promiscuous in high school, she did have a steady and was initiated into the joy of sex in her senior year. The romance did not last long, but, thankfully, her boy friend was a considerate and imaginative lover (strange for a 18 year old boy) and she found that she thoroughly enjoyed a wide range of sexual activities.

The next two months with Jim were almost surreal, a confused, almost hallucinatory time period. Neither had a car and they both lived in separate school dormitories, so finding time alone was difficult. Whether it was a bench in a secluded park, a private corner of the library at night or in a deserted picnic area, they enjoyed each others bodies.

The irony of that time was that, for one reason or another, they never were able to take that final step and have intercourse. Oh, they knew each others body very well. They had engaged in mutual masturbation, they enjoyed oral sex and those experiences left them sated. Karen found that when she was making out with Jim she had almost continuous orgasms. Objectively, she realized that he was not all that remarkable a lover, but his very presence was almost intoxicating to her.

She recalled their last date with vivid detail. Jim had been able to reserve a study room in the library and had managed to bring a blanket in with him. She met him there and they soon were on the blanketed floor and in each other's arms. Clothes were quickly shed, despite the possibility of someone walking in through the door.

Karen remembered how excited she had been. Her thoughts lingered on these memories. How she had taken him in her mouth and laved his cock lovingly. Jim moved and returned the favor, burying his face in her moist warmth, his tongue playing with her clitoris. His tongue had moved further and touched her anus and how she had exploded in a huge orgasm which touched off his ejaculation deep in her throat. They had separated, exhausted and then heard footsteps outside the door. This was enough to frighten them and they quickly dressed and sat at the desk. Karen smiled as she remembered their giggles as well as the frustration at not being able again, to consummate their relationship. They had promised each other that that would happen and happen soon. Soon had never come.

A call, not long after, to the Dean's office finally brought Karen to her senses. Her grades had suffered dramatically and she was in danger of flunking out. That notice was like a cold slap in the face, an abrupt return to reality. It caused her to take stock of what she was doing and brought her to the realization that she really was not in love with Jim Belsen, she was more in lust with him. The attraction was strictly physical and had become dangerous.

Karen was no fool. She tracked Jim down and they had a very frank and open discussion. Thankfully, Jim did not make a fuss about Karen's decision to stop seeing him; he seemed almost relieved. He also recognized the fire that was consuming them and the danger hidden therein.

Karen had been able to keep her resolve to step away from Jim. The shock of her failing grades and the humiliation of her possible expulsion from school was enough to return her to sanity. And, of course, falling in love with Jack Bell enabled her to, she thought, put her sexual fantasies about Jim Belsen out of mind.

Except for that night, the night when she pulled Jim to the dance floor. Her inhibitions and her resolve had melted away. The slow dances were torture for her, feeling him tight against her, his obvious erection rubbing against her belly. She felt she would rape him on the dance floor. Thank goodness she was able to come to her senses and insist that Jack leave with her. She remembered virtually attacking Jack in the car and the wild passion in the back seat. She knew then that resisting her sexual attraction for Jim was going to be a full time job.

Karen heard Jack in the hall and feigned sleep. She was much too confused and upset to engage in late night chats with her husband. It was easier to just pretend to be asleep.

Jack quietly prepared for bed and crawled in beside Karen. He leaned over, kissed her cheek and whispered, "I love you, honey." He then turned and settled down, hoping that he would be able to sleep.

Karen inwardly cringed at his kiss. She felt terribly guilty, as if she had somehow betrayed her husband. She knew why, she knew why this feeling. Somehow she knew that she actually would do that, betray Jack, her lover, her best friend, her life partner - her husband. She got very little sleep that night.

* * * * *

Jim Belsen was not having a peaceful evening. He had been anxious since first discovering that Karen Palmer (oops, Bell) worked for the same company. He had told himself that their attraction for each other was a thing of the past and should not interfere with their present relationship. They would be old friends and would treat each other accordingly. He envisioned his wife Sara and he visiting Jack and Karen. It would almost be like college. Just casual get-to-gethers - good buddies.

It was with that thought that he invited Karen to lunch the next day. His thoughts went back to that meeting.

Karen clung to his arm and he felt a bit uncomfortable with her closeness. They were shown to their table and chatted , but with an underlying tension that was obvious to both of them.

"This is lovely, Jim" said Karen. "I hadn't realized that the Marriott had such a beautiful dining area,"

Jim agreed and added, "I find that they usually do, Karen. The menu is quite nice also."

Their conversation was awkward and stilted and they both realized that. Karen looked at Jim, and in a low voice, spoke her mind. "We both know what we're thinking, isn't that true, Jim?. We can both feel the excitement, the passion. I know that you feel it too." She colored as she murmured those words. Her eyes lowered and she felt her face flushing.

Jim, visibly upset, took her chin in his hand and said, "Yes, Karen, I do feel it, but it would be terribly wrong to give in to it. I am insanely drawn to you. I want nothing more than to take you and ravish you right on this table, or, more appropriately, take you up to a room and screw the daylights out of you. But, you know the possible consequences, the horror that we could be unleashing. We are both married, do we really want to risk it?"

Karen took a deep breath and replied, "You're right, Jim. I know that it would be terribly wrong, so we have to pretend that we're just old friends. I just hope that we can maintain that pretense. I would be devastated to cause your marriage any harm, and I'm sure that you feel the same."

The rest of the lunch went well, the two of them rehashing old college days, but with no reference to their sexual relationship. Jim maintained a semblance of normalcy during the lunch, and showed no outward stress the rest of the afternoon. But his brain was awhirl with conflicting thoughts.

He knew that what he told Karen was very true, any resumption of their sexual activities could backfire big time and totally destroy their lives. He could sense though that Karen, while agreeing with him outwardly, was not going to accept his warning. He did not know why, but he knew Karen and he knew that for some strange reason, his presence was to her like catnip to a horny feline. He prayed that he had the strength to resist her and to resist the fire that could destroy them. But, somehow he knew, deep in his gut, that they would finally do what they had not been able to do while in school.