A Warm September Night

"Hi. What are you doing here?" I heard the familiar voice as I felt the tap on my shoulder. It was the girl who serves coffee to me every day at the local Starbucks. I instinctively stood as I turned to face her.

"Hello. Well, I came to the restaurant for dinner, and since my table won't be ready for a while, I thought I'd come in to the lounge to have a drink and relax. How about you?"

She laughed lightly. "Well, my date was supposed to meet me here over fifteen minutes ago."

"Would you like to sit down and join me until he arrives? Unless, of course, you think he would mind..."

"Thank you. I don't really care if he minds since he's the one that's late. Are you here alone or with your wife?" she asked as she sat down.

"Wife?" I looked at her quizzically.

"I'm sorry. I saw your wedding ring..."

"Don't be embarrassed. My wife and I are permanently separated. She's in Southern California shacked up with her 30-year old realtor boyfriend. After she moved out, I moved up here to resume my life. My knuckle is a little enlarged, and I'm not quite to the point of having the ring cut off yet."

"Ah. By the way, my name is Lara. I've seen you so much at the shop I feel like I already know you."

"I'm Lee. Yes, coming in for my morning coffee and reading the New York Times is a great way for me to start the day." Of course, I didn't tell her that I also looked forward to seeing her in that almost-too-tight Starbucks uniform tee-shirt. (Hey, I may be 48 years old, but I'm not dead!)

On this very warm September night she looked even better in a white lacy halter mini-dress. The dress and her shoes with the 2-1/2 inch heel accentuated shapely legs that needed no stockings. She was obviously expecting to go dancing. I could and did imagine what a fast spin on the dance floor would cause her flared skirt to reveal.

We exchanged a small talk for probably another twenty minutes before the hostess from the restaurant came to tell me my table for one was ready. Then she asked if the young lady would be joining me (at least she didn't say my daughter or, God forbid, my granddaughter!). I looked at Lara, but before I could speak, she said, "I'd love to."

Over dinner and a bottle of wine Lara explained that she was a graduate student in forestry at the University of Idaho. She had lived in Idaho all her life and really had no desire to move. Unfortunately, after her parents died, she had to work full time to make it through college. I commented that it was hard for me to picture her in a wool plaid shirt, green heavy trousers supported by wide suspenders, wearing steel-toed leather boots and a helmet and wielding a chainsaw. She laughed, then went on to explain in remarkably interesting detail that there was more to forestry than the Paul Bunyan image. She was both very pretty and very articulate, an excellent conversationalist.

Before I realized it, we had finished dinner. It seemed as if it had only been a few minutes, but nearly two hours had passed. Good conversation with a beautiful woman in a knockout dress does cause the time to pass quickly.

"Would you like to join me in the lounge for an after-dinner drink? Or are you opening at the shop tomorrow?"

"I'd love to. Join you, I mean. No, I don't open tomorrow. I've got a class, but it's not until early afternoon."

As we walked from the restaurant into the lounge, she paused and said, "I don't believe it. There's Carl at the bar. He was to have been my date."

She seemed reluctant to proceed, so I suggested that we just leave through the restaurant, I'd escort her to her car, and she could head on home. She agreed, but just as we turned to leave, her way-late date spotted her and called out her name. A little too loud and a little too drunk. We walked over to him in hopes that he would quiet down a bit.

"So, Lara...who's this? Your grandfather?" Ouch. That hurt. But, since he was about 22 or 23, Lara's age, I guess I should have expected it. Lara, though, was very cool.

"No, this is my friend Lee. I saw him here, so we started talking while I waited for you. When it was obvious that you weren't going to show up, Lee very graciously invited me to join him for dinner."

"So...gracious Lee," he said trying to be clever, "Do you normally come here to pick up college girls?"

"No, just to have dinner and a quiet evening. Now, if you'll excuse us, I'll walk Lara to her car." I opened my wallet and took out a ten-dollar bill, threw it on the counter, and called out to the bartender, "Karen, I'm buying this gentleman a drink." It seemed like a good way to try and make a graceful exit.

Lara and I turned to leave, but the Carl-the-creep grabbed my arm.

"Wait a minute, gramps. I don't want a drink. I'm here for my date with Lara, and I'll be the one taking her home." Unbelievably crudely, he winked.

I looked at Lara. Barely perceptibly, she shook her head "No."

"Please let go of my arm."

When he didn't release his grip. I glanced at Karen, the bartender, whom I've known since moving to the area. A slight smile was forming on her lips, and her eyes looked skyward with that "some people never learn" look. She knew what was about to happen, but she was more amused than alarmed.

I gripped Carl's hand on my sleeve with my right hand and ground my thumbnail into the pressure point on the back of his hand. He instantly released his grip on my arm, but no sound came out of his mouth. There was only a very surprised look on his face. While maintaining my grip on his hand, I moved my left hand up to his shoulder as if I were putting my arm around an old buddy. He grimaced in pain as I applied a second come-along hold to the pressure point near his collarbone.

"Now, Carl," I said evenly, "We're going to quietly walk outside. Don't squirm, or I promise the pain you're feeling now is nothing compared to what you will feel. Once we're outside, you're going to get in the cab that Karen will call for you, and you will go straight home. You're too drunk to drive your own car. Do you understand?"

Carl nodded as much as he could considering the painful pressure he was feeling.

Karen grinned and picked up the phone to call the cab. Lara just stared at us with stunned speechlessness.

Carl and I walked out as if we were long-lost friends. Lara followed behind. When the cab pulled up to the curb, I nodded to Lara to step forward and open the door.

"Carl," I said, "I'm sure Lara would appreciate it if you didn't call her any more unless it's to apologize for your bad behavior tonight. Okay?"

Once again, he nodded. Carl seemed to have lost his voice. I pushed him into the taxi and slammed the door shut behind him. Off he went to wherever drunks go to salve their humiliation.

"Where in the world did you learn to do that?" Lara stammered. "I thought sure he was going to punch you and really create a scene in there. I knew from getting your coffee every day that you were a gentleman, but I never would have thought that someone your age...I mean...Carl is my age, and he's much taller than you, and you handled him as if you were a young man. Oh...! I'm sorry. That really came out all wrong. But, thank you very much."

She looked genuinely embarrassed, but I started laughing.

"Don't worry about it. Hey, I am twice your age. As for Carl, remember that old age and treachery will always prevail over youth and enthusiasm. I was a deputy sheriff for 22 years. Being only 5-foot-7, I had to learn to control people much larger than me. Most cops know pressure point holds that work pretty well. That's what I used on Carl. He'll be okay, but his shoulder and hand are going to be pretty sore for a couple days. Now, how about that nightcap?"

Lara looked at me for a couple of seconds, then said, "No, I don't think I'd better have another drink right now. I think the dinner wine made me a little lightheaded. I probably shouldn't be driving. Would it be too much to ask you to drive me home? I don't live far from here. My girlfriend from work can drop me off here on the way to class tomorrow so I can pick up my car."

"Certainly, let's go." As we started to walk toward my car, she slipped her arm through mine and moved a little closer. I looked at her, wishing that I were much younger.

We pulled up in front of her apartment. She glanced out the car window, and almost immediately a look of concern crossed her face.

"That's odd. My roommate left early this afternoon to visit her parents for a few days, but I can see a light on inside. She's usually very careful about turning stuff off before she leaves."

"Well, I'd be happy to escort you in and make sure everything's okay before I leave..."

"I hate to impose, but I am a little concerned, especially after that thing with Carl at the restaurant. Look at me. I'm still shaking."

I smiled at her, took her hand, and tried to be reassuring. "You're just coming down from the adrenalin high you felt at the restaurant. It's perfectly normal to have a delayed reaction to an unpleasant situation like that. It'll pass quickly. In the meantime, let's take a quick look at your apartment. I'm sure everything's fine."

We walked up the stairs to her third-floor apartment. When we were standing in front of her door, I took the key from her hand and unlocked the deadbolt. "That's a good sign. The deadbolt is still locked. Is this the only door in?"

"Except for the balcony door. But there's no way to get to it from the ground without a ladder."

I unlocked the key-in-knob lock and cautiously stepped inside while motioning for her to remain outside. The balcony sliding door was obviously still closed and locked, and there was a stick in the track to keep the door from opening. There were no signs of any disturbance. The light she had seen from the street was plugged into a timer. Beside the light was a note from her roommate. I took it to Lara.

She looked at the note and blushed. "I'm so sorry to have troubled you. Vicki told me she planned to get a timer for that light. I didn't realize she was going to get it before she left."

"It was no trouble at all. Do you want to check all the rooms before I leave?"

We walked through the modestly but tastefully furnished two-bedroom apartment. Nothing was missing or out of place.

After we returned to the living room, Lara said, "You've been so nice this evening. I can't recall when I've had a more enjoyable evening with a more gentlemanly...ummm... gentleman. Sorry. I guess I'm still a little flustered." She smiled that soft, lovely smile. "Since you're here, would you like that drink we talked about at the restaurant?"

"Sure. Do you have any soft drinks? My house is out on the lake, and I've got a bit of a drive on a twisty road."

She walked toward the kitchen, flipping on her stereo to some easy-listening FM station. "Ginger ale okay?" she called out as I sat down on the couch.

"That's perfect."

She brought in two glasses of ginger ale and put them on the coffee table.

"You've got to watch me," I said. "Two ginger ales and I get really wild."

She smiled, then sat down on the couch with her hand resting on mine, looked me squarely in the eye, and said, "I was hoping one might do the trick."

There was no mistaking her message.

I raised her hand to my lips and began to gently kiss her fingers. My fingers traced outlines on her wrists and palms as we continued to look into each other's eyes. I began to kiss her wrist and taste it with my tongue. I could feel her pulse and feel the heat.

She whispered. "Dance with me...please...just for a while. I need to be held."

Suddenly, the years between us dissolved. As I stood up, I took her other hand and pulled her up and to me. I placed her arms around my neck, and then released her hands. My fingertips moved slowly, slowly, slowly down her arms as we began to move to the music. I touched the bare skin of her shoulders and back while my arms encircled her and drew her still closer. Even through her dress, her thighs were warm against mine. Her breasts pressed against my chest. She laid her head on my shoulder and sighed contently. It seemed that with each passing minute, our bodies melted closer and closer together. I could feel my erection growing. She must have felt it, too, but she didn't pull away. Instead, she seemed to move closer.

We moved together with the music for what I suppose must have been two or three songs...I don't know...I only cared about holding her close and not letting her go for fear she would ask me to leave.

I desperately needed to kiss her, to let her know the feelings I was having. As if she could read my mind, she took her head from my shoulder and lifted her face to mine. I kissed her lower lip, then again, and again. She responded in kind. My lips moved to her upper lip, tasting it from corner to corner with oh- so-light kisses. Intuitively I knew there was no need to hurry. I savored each opportunity to touch her skin with mine. Her responses, murmurs of satisfaction, kisses, the messages as we looked into each other's eyes, and our touching bodies, told me that the night would be ours.

I wanted so much to kiss her all over, to hear and see how she would respond to my kisses and caresses. And yes, I wanted to make love to her. I wanted so much for us to share our sexual energies, to share our sexual desire for each other, to feel both sexual release and sexual renewal for as long as we could. I wanted for her to feel all those things as badly as I wanted to experience them for myself.

She laid her head back on my shoulder, in her own way guiding me to her pleasure areas. I felt my lips touching the side of her throat, moving first upward, then back down, then upward again to her ear. I kissed her ear tenderly and quietly, then whispered, "Do you know how much I want to make love to you tonight?" Her response was to pull me closer and then very gently place her hand on my trousers that no longer concealed my hardness.

"Yes, I do," she whispered.

I moved my fingertips up and down her bare back, then her arms, then again to her back. She seemed to grow warmer with each kiss and each touch. I moved my left hand up her back, gently massaging the back of her neck with my fingers, then intertwined them in her hair. I brought her head up off my shoulder slightly and began to kiss her closed eyelids. Her lips moved, but she did not speak. Our bodies were moving now to our own music. Touching. Pushing. Enjoying our bodies with our bodies.

I moved my lips to her cheek. A soft kiss.

I kissed her lips. This time a kiss of arousal. Her lips parted as she moaned softly. My tongue traced her lips, first outside, then just inside. Her arms tightened around my neck, and she inhaled sharply. Her tongue just touched mine, then drew back, then pushed hard against it. I moved mine across her teeth, touching each one as if it were hot. Touching their edges as if they were blades. She became more urgent. She drove her tongue under mine, then tried to encircle it. Our sexual desire for each other was taking over. Now her hands were in my hair, then her arms again pulled against my neck. Her hands were becoming frantic as she sought to find a way to use them to somehow to increase the pleasure of our kisses. Her sounds approached moans. Her breathing became uneven, and I could feel her body alternately tensing and relaxing.

I broke our kiss and moved away from her, causing her eyes to come open in surprise. But only for a moment. I released my arms from around her back and dropped down on one knee. Almost instantly I put my hands on the back of each of her heels. I arched my fingers so that only the fingertips were touching her skin and then slowly began to rise, drawing my fingertips up the backs of her calves. She shivered when I briefly caressed the backs of her knees. Then, as I was beginning to stand, I traced circles the backs of her thighs with my fingertips. My hands began a caress-massage of her ass cheeks. Her eyelids began to flutter almost as if she were entranced. We kissed passionately again while I kneaded her rounded but firm cheeks. She purred as our tongues made their own love to each other.

Then again I broke our kiss, moved my hands back down the backs of her thighs slightly, bent my knees, and wrapped my arms around her legs under her dress. I straightened my legs quickly, lifting her off the ground. Instinctively she crossed her legs behind my back, her thighs riding on my hipbones. She bent her neck down to kiss me in an unbroken kiss as I carried her to the bedroom. I heard her shoes drop from her feet to the floor.

I began to lower her, and she released her legs from their grip on my hips. Her feet touched the floor, and I moved my hands again over her ass cheeks, continuing on to her hips. My hands, hungry for the smooth touch of her skin, moved upward over the sides of her thong, upward along her ribs. As my hands moved, they drew her dress upward toward her head. I extended my thumbs so that they barely but perceptibly brushed the sides of her breasts. They lingered there only for a moment. She inhaled sharply to my touch. My fingers were under her armpits, feeling their slightly damp warmth. Lara automatically straightened her arms over her head, and I pushed the dress further upward, exposing her beautiful white breasts but momentarily covering her face with the bunching dress. My hands moved from her armpits to the inside of her upper arms, then her forearms, then her wrists. Fingertip touches, firm and sensual, not rough. I pushed the dress over her hands, and it dropped to the floor behind her. As it did, our fingers intertwined in a lover's grip. We kissed, again, then again, arms extended, her breasts touching my shirt. She was wearing only her white satin thong now.

Then she pulled away from me and stepped backward to her bed. She laid down on her back and extended her arms outward to beckon me.

I smiled, but did not go immediately to her. I wanted to enjoy the picture of her reclining beauty. I unbuttoned my shirt and removed it. Again I looked at her. She was enjoying looking at me as much as I at her. I kicked off my shoes and unfastened my slacks. They dropped to the ground, and I stepped out of them. Lara could still see my entire body as I pulled my jockey shorts down and off and then removed my socks. My cock was fully erect as I stood up.

Lara's eyes traveled up and down my body, apparently appreciating mine as much as I did hers. Her tongue moistened her lips seductively and her eyes revealed her sexual hunger. Again, she extended her arms to me. This time, I went to her.

Her hand reached out to grasp my cock as I sat down on the bed beside her. Her hand tenderly explored it all over. I moved so that I could lean over and kiss her again. We kissed while her hand continued to arouse me even further. My right hand traveled from her left shoulder, down over her left breast, barely brushing its nipple as it passed over and to her abdomen. With my fingertips, I began to trace the skin along the elastic top of her thong. Lara voiced soft "oh's" and "ah's" as we touched each other. Her breathing was quickening. As we kissed, her breath would push and pull on my mouth. I felt her sounds of pleasure as much as heard them. The warmth of my hand, fully on her abdomen was increasing her pleasure; her hips pushed slightly upward as if to encourage my touch.

I moved my hand over the outside of her thong, resting it on her mons. Through the now-damp fabric I could feel the sponginess of her hair. My middle and ring fingers found her wet and enlarged lips defining their outlines in the fabric. We continued to kiss while my fingers moved up and down her pussy lips. Lara became more vocal and she pushed her hips upward. She grasped my cock harder and pulled, perhaps involuntarily. I moved my right hand back to the top of her thong. Then, one finger just under the elastic, moving left then right then left, each time exploring further under the fabric. At last I could feel her hair. My hand found its way down so that it covered her pussy completely. Its heel was resting on her hood with only the slightest pressure. My fingers explored her lips, their heat, their wetness. Lara pushed hard against my hand, seeking relief yet wanting more.