That First Time

I

I stood peering through the blinds in my kitchen waiting for him to leave. "Just get in your car and fucking go already." I mumbled under my breath as he made yet another trip up his stairs for who knows what. Eventually he came back down and finally entered his silver Mustang and started the engine. I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched his car exit the condominium complex we both lived in. Finally able to exit my own house, I walked down my stairs to the pathway that separated his unit from mine and crossed the parking lot to my own car, somewhat irritated that I was going to have to rush to avoid being late for work.

His name was Gary and I was avoiding him. I had in fact been avoiding him for days. Not because of some neighborly dispute or that he was menacing or creepy, it was actually quite the reverse. You see, five days prior I had woken up with a heavy head. It wasn't precisely a hangover mind you. It was the groggy feeling of not having drunk too much the night before, but making every effort to flirt with the edges of too much. As I lay there in my mild stupor I slowly came to the realization that a grave error had been committed and while I wasn't solely responsible for said error, I was certainly complicit in its commission.

As I lay there attempting to sort through the conflicting feelings of dread, mild arousal, remorse and elation the phone rang. I knew it was my husband and that I had to answer. We had been talking on the phone at that time every Saturday morning for weeks now. Very convenient for me, for him not so much. I was obligated.

"Hello?" I answered meekly.

"Hey baby." He greeted. He had been drinking.

"And why shouldn't he be?" I admonished myself at my brief flash of irritation. "It's Saturday night for him."

We recounted our week to each other and made small talk for 30 minutes or so before saying our goodbyes. If it had been just five years later we would have had smartphones and technology that would allow us to talk as often as we wanted. As it was, he had to purchase a pricey phone card in order for us to talk for 30 minutes per week. This on a meager military salary.

Back to reality. "It didn't happen. It didn't happen. It didn't happen." A mantra. Could I believe deeply enough to make it true? Never one for religion or superstition, I resigned myself to the fact that yes, it had in fact happened and it had to be dealt with.

"Not today though." I said out loud. Nor would I for the next two weeks as I avoided contact with Gary at all costs. Even going as far as to not answer the door within minutes of closing it behind me, screening phone calls and watching for him to leave before exiting my own house. "I'll just keep this up until my husband gets back." I lied to myself. "Once he's here things will go back to normal."

II

It hadn't been the first time I had peered through the blinds. Months before, shortly after we had moved in, I had been standing at the kitchen counter of the small two bedroom condo putting dishes away when I caught movement out of the corner of my eye. The units sat on top of their garages, so every house had an upstairs entry with a spacious deck adjoining the landing. When I turned my head to investigate I saw him. He was 51, though I guessed early 40s at the time. His short salt-and-pepper hair was combed up in the spiky style of the time. His clean-shaven face displayed his prominent jawline and sharp features. He had just come back from the gym or a run, as evidenced by the sweaty cutoff t-shirt and gym shorts. Obviously a habit if his fit, toned body and muscular arms were any indication.

"Damn....well hello neighbor." I said to myself out loud as I watched him climb his stairs and enter his house. I turned to the dishes and sighed.

"At least the views are nice." I thought. I hadn't been thrilled about the neighborhood. It wasn't that it was a dangerous area, it was just so far from the highway. On top of being in a new city without any family nearby, I was literally 30 minutes of driving through stoplights from just about anything more significant than a drug store or fast food restaurant. In the end the price was right and my husband and I had settled for the place.

I had met my husband Jay years before. We grew up in the same neighborhood, though we never went to school together due to our age difference. I had a girlhood crush on the guy who was always in front of his parents' house in coveralls working on his truck and it had stuck with me. He was 7 years my senior and I had attempted to flirt in my girlish way, but I mostly walked by his house multiple times a day hoping to catch a glimpse of him.

Years later while in college I had bumped into him in a club near my school. I recognized him immediately, but had to remind him who I was. Despite the initial sting of him forgetting me, we ended up exchanging phone numbers and eventually dating. He had gone in the Marines after graduating high school and ended up being stationed near my university. A whirlwind romance followed and by the time I was ready to graduate a decision had to be made. It was either go home to my parents or make a commitment. We ended up pooling our meager salaries and renting a studio near his base.

In the meantime I began looking for a better job than the internship I had been doing for the previous two years. Within a short time I scored a position doing accounts payable and receivable at a coffee distributor. Though it was far removed from my field of study, I felt I couldn't pass up the money and I took the job. Shortly thereafter we were making wedding plans. Our relationship had been great. We were partying as if we were still single and continued to do so after the wedding. We had a group of friends who we partner swapped with on occasion and spent a lot of time with them. Any other chance we had to be off together we were traveling within driving distance. I was having a blast. I was under no Illusion, however, that the party would go on indefinitely.

I knew at some point he would be deployed for 6 months. I thought that I was prepared for that eventuality and even had plans to keep myself busy. When the day finally came we said a tearful goodbye and I set about my new life alone. Boredom and loneliness set in and my distance from my immediate family made it doubly tough. As the days turned into weeks I compartmentalized my relationship with Jay, viewing it as a source of pain. I began to go through the motions. A letter here, a call there. None of it seemed real. I had always considered myself fairly introverted and independent. I discovered that I valued interaction more than I had previously realized.

III

It wasn't long after we moved into the condo that Gary introduced himself to Jay and I. He presented himself as a friendly and helpful neighbor and often offered to help when he saw us trying to move furniture up the narrow stairway, or when he saw Jay tinkering with one of the cars. As the weeks wore on he became a little more comfortable and a flirty side of his personality came out that I hadn't yet seen. Until then I noticed that he rarely had any company, male or female, and I had begun to wonder if he might in fact be gay.

After sharing a few barbecues and afternoons at the pool with us and other neighbors he loosened up a little. He had been in the Navy and married for over twenty years. When he was six months from retirement his wife left him, taking a big chunk of his pension with her. He told me that he was in the process of building a second career and that dating was low on his priority list.

While he was not unattractive, as I got to know Gary in the months after moving in I began to feel the slightest bit uncomfortable around him. I had caught him sneaking glances of me when he thought I wasn't looking and his flirting was at times brazen. Even in my husband's presence he would not let up. My husband took it good naturedly, naively telling me to calm down and that he was just a "horny old dude". I had seen and experienced this particular game before and I had a feeling that he was playing an angle. The fact that we were right in the middle of our swapping adventures had possibly lowered both Jay's and my own defenses. He was also very uninhibited, apparently, as I had caught a flash of him walking up to his blinds in the nude to close them a handful of times. I had to wonder if he knew that I could see and it was purposeful, or if that was just how he walked around his house.

That inevitable day came when Jay was to leave. The day I came home from seeing him off, I bumped into Gary in the parking lot. He could tell I had been crying and said a few comforting words, but they fell on deaf ears. I just wanted to get upstairs and hide for the next six months. We walked together to the foot of our respective stairs and he for once dropped his usual banter, patting me on the shoulder and saying, "Honey, it'll be over before you know it. If you need anything or just want to go eat lunch sometime I'm right across the way." I thanked him and went upstairs to wallow.

As I said before, the weeks and months wore on I began to compartmentalize my marriage. I hadn't known the loneliness would set in so hard and the few friends I had made through work were little comfort, all being either married or otherwise attached themselves. Jay and I had discussed our situation concerning our swapping friends and came to the agreement that they were off limits. Six months wasn't forever and we could pick up where we left off.

Gary's playful flirting continued, only now with the added invitation to drinks or dinner most weekends. I would demur and decline, only to sit in my house in front of the TV. I was bored, lonely and admittedly horny the longer Jay was away. Finally, I surprised Gary one Saturday and took him up on his offer to lunch.

"Really?" he asked, incredulously.

"Yeah! Just lunch right? I'm tired of sitting around in my house every weekend." I answered.

"Uh, o-okay..." he stuttered "Let me get my keys."

He had stuttered. I should have taken it as yet another sign that he was more interested in me than I realized. The naiveté of a twenty five year old. He returned with the keys and we rode in his car to a nearby diner and had lunch. It was innocent and he was a perfect gentleman. I enjoyed my lunch and his company, so much so that when he brought me home and stopped at the bottom of our stairs, I gave him a little side-hug. Nothing suggestive or sexual, but an affectionate gesture of appreciation nonetheless. When he asked if I'd like to go some other time I readily agreed and we parted ways.

IV

My lunches with Gary continued. Soon the lunches morphed into dinners and not long after into drinks at a local bar. Through it all he maintained his gentlemanly behavior. The flirting continued, but didn't become any more sexually suggestive than it already was. Side-hugs at the bottom of the stairs were replaced by brief face to face embraces. Lingering touches to the hand or arm, a touch on the small of the back, all signs that I only later realized were a gradual shift towards greater intimacy. Once after he helped me fix a leaking drain pipe under my kitchen sink, I added a peck on the cheek to the embrace. I didn't realize that I was teasing him, or maybe I did, but it didn't feel like I had a solid objective. I was simply enjoying Gary's company. I had justified these forays under the guise of friendship, but he was becoming much more to me subconsciously. He would creep unbidden into my daydreams and in my nighttime fantasies I would invite him into my bed and into my body.

Perhaps eight weeks after my husband left and maybe the sixth or seventh date with Gary, as I had come to think of them, I drank a little too much. I flirted back a little too hard. Both my body language and speech became more than vaguely suggestive. It had turned the corner into the territory of overt sexuality. It wasn't brazenness, but there was a clear invitation to more than polite conversation. During a trip to the restroom while at the lounge I had nudged my top down to reveal a goodly portion of cleavage. With every laugh I consciously leaned forward to allow him a look down my shirt. I would lean, he would glance. Lean, glance. Lean, glance. In the car ride on the way home I had touched his thigh, lingeringly so and dangerously close to the crease made by his upper thigh and pelvis. As I did, I looked not for the first time at the bulge in the crotch of his slacks and briefly wondered what lie beneath the fabric. I could feel the steamy dampness that had built in the crotch of my panties. I had made a decision. It hadn't come all at once, but slowly and deliberately, after peeling my own logical layers of defense away piece by piece.

It was the alcohol. I don't blame it for controlling my actions as some will, but I do blame it for lowering my inhibitions enough to take the step that would change the next two years of my life. When we leaned in for what had become the customary hug, I turned my head and caught his lips with mine. I could smell his aftershave and the beer on his breath. A cool breeze ruffled my skirt as I stood on tiptoes to reach him. The kiss went on for a moment or two before he stopped me, pushing me back to arm's distance.

"Allie, I...." He trailed off, searching my face. I again moved to close the distance and he stopped me. "Are you sure you know what you're doing?"

"I'm not drunk." I lied.

"No I mean....are you sure about this?" He asked.

In answer, I again closed the distance between us, wrapping an arm around his neck as I placed the other on his chest. This time he was more receptive to the kiss and our tongues darted experimentally into each other's mouths. His hand trailed to my lower back while the other brushed my hair back and behind my shoulder.

We stood like this for what seemed minutes, lost in the moment. The slogan of a car door brought me to my senses as I broke the embrace and looked around. There were other neighbors. Nosy ones who would love this little tidbit of drama and spread it like wildfire. Up to now I had plausible deniability. If discovered it would evaporate in a moment's passion. I turned and looked up at my landing just feet away, contemplating. After half a moment's consideration I grabbed Gary's hand, and led him up.

V

At my door I rummaged through the clutch I had chosen to accompany my skirt and blouse, looking for my keys. It was now almost dark and when at last I got them in my hand I fumbled them, dropping them to the decking. Gary was standing very close to me and we knelt to retrieve them simultaneously. I was quicker, being almost a foot shorter than he and thus closer to the ground and he returned upright. I paused and smiled up at him as my hand closed around the ring and as I stood up I ran my palm up the inside of his leg, pausing when the side of my hand contacted the bulge in his crotch. We leaned in, kissing briefly before I turned my attention to getting the door open. As I did strong hands closed around my waist, before one of them slid down to caress my right buttock through my skirt. I arched my ass back at him as I turned the key in the deadbolt and the caress turned into a squeeze.

Goose flesh stood out on my neck as I turned the key in the door lock and led the way over the threshold. The door had barely closed behind us before I was captured in Gary's embrace. All pretense of timidity had fallen away as our lips met anew. Our tongues explored each other's mouth and intertwined as a throbbing pressure began to build in my lower abdomen. He backed me to the wall next to the door and I tossed my clutch on the secretary that stood inside the entryway on the other side of the room, scattering the items gathered there. I could feel his cock straining against my own leg as I ground my crotch into the leg that I straddled. His hands were everywhere, up my blouse, pulling my skirt up to expose my panty clad ass, rising to run fingers through my hair. His strong tongue was licking my teeth, my tongue and the roof of my mouth before pausing and allowing me to suck on it.

I had managed to get his shirt unbuttoned when his warm hand contacted the crotch of my panties for the first time. I moaned into his mouth as I involuntarily humped into the palm cupping my mound. I pulled his shirt from the waist of his pants and ran my hands through the hair covering his well defined pecs as his Fingers hooked into the fabric covering my slit and tugged them down. Closing my legs a little I let them slide to the floor While he pulled my hair into a ponytail, never breaking our kiss. First one, then two of his fingers entered me, causing me to gasp out loud. I felt a string of my own wetness contact my inner thigh while Gary slid his hand up my back and deftly unhooked my bra. His cock felt like an iron bar in my hand through the fabric of his slacks and I fumbled hopelessly with his zipper against the onslaught of his fingers. I felt a small orgasm building in my lower abdomen and when his mouth closed around a nipple which had become exposed from my now loose top, it released, causing the squelching sound of his fingers in my pussy to increase in volume ever-so-slightly as I came.

I moaned my approval and Gary's fingers slid from my cunt, rising to meet my lips. I sucked them hungrily, grasping his hand and taking them far enough into my mouth that I was able to lick his palm. The tangy sweetness of my juices made my mouth water and the action stirred something in my brain. Suddenly becoming aware of his yet untouched cock, I finally put my mind to opening his zipper.

Reaching into the opening, I immediately came into contact with pubic hair. I giggled, expecting to find the fabric of underwear. Gary moaned out loud as my hand cupped his balls and began to roll and fondle them while simultaneously leaning up to kiss him. I could feel his hardness and the heat of his crotch peripherally as I massaged his scrotum. The night was cool, but a sheen of sweat had gathered below his belt. My hand further explored, closing around what felt like a thick, heavy wand. I stroked the shaft a few times before carefully guiding it out of the fly of his pants, then slowly sank to my haunches. I was somewhat surprised to find that he was uncircumcised and I admired the way his foreskin peeled back and then covered the swollen head of his cock. Gary's shirt dropped to the floor and I leaned in, deeply breathing in the scent coming off of his body. He smelled like soap, with the slightest tinge of sweat. I stroked the side of my face against his hardness, feeling the hot skin against my own and again breathed in the scent of his crotch, this time with my nose and lips positively inside the fly of his slacks. I shuddered as I inhaled the essence of his manhood. My pussy was absolutely drooling as I ran my tongue across his balls and up the underside of his bobbing cock. I could taste the salt of his skin and the vague tang of soap or cologne.

Placing my hands on his thighs I took him into my mouth and began to suck his cock. By this point in my life I had become very experienced at giving head and I started out to give him the best blowjob that I knew how, but for the first time the man receiving my attentions took control. He wasn't overly rough, but firm as he took a handhold of my hair in one hand and fucked into my mouth. He didn't go particularly deep, I couldn't have taken him all at that point, but he did cause me to gag slightly several times. My mewls of pleasure at each gush of pre cum encouraged him and he would pull my head back and put his balls up to my mouth for attention. This I did with just as much enthusiasm, lapping and sucking at each hairy orb as it was presented.