Audrey's Awaening

I sat on the floor of the foyer with Audrey cradled in my arms as she cried. My heart went out to her. She had inadvertently walked in on her husband with another woman.

Holy shit, I thought, I had difficulty imagining Ken with another woman. Mild-mannered, conservative Ken? The right-wing, religious zealot who took pointed exception to his daughter marrying a musician because he knew musicians to be of low character and loose morals. THAT Ken? It seemed inconceivable.

Audrey drew up her knees, curling into a fetal position, completely unmindful of her skirt as it rose well beyond the middle of her thighs. She wore pantyhose and, even in the dim light of the foyer, I could see the nylon glinting sleekly from the living room lamp.

I held her silently, bending occasionally to kiss her forehead as I gently stroked the length of her exposed leg from her ankle to her knee and thrilling to the sensation of her sleek hosiery.

Finally, her crying quieted and I felt the tenseness leave her body as she sagged against me. She raised her head and, lowering her knees, opened her purse which was beside her on the floor. She removed a handful of tissues and began to wipe the tears from her cheeks, blotting her eyes and wiping away the dark smudges of her eyeliner from her cheeks.

"I'm so glad you're here, Jessie," she said, her voice shaking with emotion as she leaned forward to kiss my cheek. "I honestly don't know what I would have done if I was alone."

"I'm here for you, Mom. Do you want to talk about it? Can you tell me what happened?"

Audrey nodded and blew her nose delicately into the tissues, balling them up in her hand as she retrieved fresh tissues from her purse, "I think I'd like to get a drink first," she said as she began to stand up.

I hurriedly rose and helped her to her feet, and she took a moment to modestly lower her skirt as we made our way to the kitchen. She took a bottle of Jack Daniels from the liquor cabinet and scooped up two glasses. We sat together at the kitchen table as she carelessly splashed the bourbon into our glasses. She lifted her glass and took a very large swallow, gasping and coughing as the whiskey burned her throat.

"I'll bet that you were pretty surprised to see me back home so soon," she said, looking up into my eyes and smiling half-heartedly.

I smiled, "I think surprised is pretty much the operative word, Mom," I responded softly.

Audrey nodded and sipped her whiskey once more. "Well," she began, with another half-hearted laugh. "I think surprise is going to be the word of the night. Ken looked pretty damn surprised to suddenly see me standing in his hotel room. And the woman with him looked rather surprised as well. Suffice it to say, I was probably even more surprised than they were."

I nodded, "But, surely there must have been some kind of a reasonable explanation. What did Ken say?"

Audrey shook her head and pressed her lips together as her eyes welled with tears once more, "He didn't say anything," she said, her voice filled with emotion. "There was no possible way to explain it away. They were both naked on the bed and Ken was lying between her legs." She paused, to wipe away a renewed welling in her eyes. "It certainly didn't take a rocket scientist to understand that Ken was fucking her. And he was still fucking her as I backed out of the room and closed the door."

I swallowed, it still surprised me to hear Audrey using the word 'fuck', but I certainly had a better understanding of her anger and outrage. It gave me pause to imagine how if Ken had come home early this afternoon, to surprise HER...he might very well have found her coupled with me on the living room floor. I doubted very seriously that Ken would have cared very much for her explanation as to the experimental nature of our actions either.

She took another swallow of bourbon, "There was even a box of condoms on the bedside table," she continued, wiping her nose with the tissues. "I suppose I should at least be grateful that he was taking precautions THAT way."

I swallowed a large gulp of whiskey and shook my head, finding the whole thing difficult to believe.

She blew her nose softly and I replaced her balled tissues with fresh ones. "Thanks," she said softly as she took the tissues from my hand.

"So...what's going to happen now?" I asked softly. "Have you given any thought to that?"

Audrey shrugged and laughed softly, "That's just about all I HAVE been thinking about all the way home," she said. "He is supposed to be home on Monday. At least I assume he'll still return home. I'm not going to make any major decisions until I've at least talked to him, but I sure don't feel very good about our life together right now."

"That's completely understandable," I replied, reaching out to place my hand over hers.

She laughed softly and shook her head, "It's funny, you know," she said. "I mean, I had told him that I thought we needed to work a little more on our sex life, maybe he was just practicing."

I laughed with her, happy to see her normal cheerful composure begin to reassert itself.

"Oh well," she continued with another shrug. "I suppose I can definitely write off this year's birthday celebration."

Damn, I thought, I had completely forgotten all about her birthday. She had been so looking forward to having a fun time with Ken in Las Vegas, combining her birthday with a hoped-for second honeymoon. My mind began to race, trying to form some kind of a plan of action. I couldn't let her spend her birthday with this huge mess weighing so heavily on her mind.

"Now, hang on a second," I said. "Let's not jump to conclusions."

"What?" She asked, looking at me skeptically, "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," I continued. "That no matter what, your birthday is a special occasion. I know it's not going to be quite the same as you had imagined, but you're not alone, I'm right here with you and, if I do say so myself, I can bake a pretty mean birthday cake."

She looked at me curiously, then smiled and shook her head. "God, you are such a sweet man," she said, reaching over to pat my hand affectionately, "You really are. And I'm EVER so glad that you're here right now. I really appreciate what you're trying to do, but I really don't think I'm going to feel much feel like celebrating, if you know what I mean."

"Of course," I said, smiling sadly. "Look, I know you're really hurting right now, but you can't just let yourself drown in all those bad feelings. It's unhealthy."

Audrey tried to smile and ended up only grimacing.

"At least let me take you out to dinner tomorrow." I offered.

She shifted her eyes up to mine and this time her smile was more genuine, "All right," she said, wiping her eyes once more. "That actually sounds rather appealing to me right now. I think I can handle going out to dinner."

"Good," I smiled. "It's a date."

Audrey stretched and rubbed her face in her hands, looking very tired. "I'm sorry, but right now I think I'd just like to go to bed."

"Absolutely." I returned, rising from my chair as she stood, "You just call out if you need anything."

She smiled and stroked my cheek affectionately as she passed. "Thank you, Jessie," she said. "I know I already said it, but I'm REALLY glad you're here."

I watched Audrey as she left the kitchen and, even though I was ashamed of myself for doing so, I couldn't take my eyes from the sensual sway of her hips and the flexing of her buttocks beneath her skirt as she walked.

I sighed heavily, sitting alone in the kitchen, and my heart went out to her. Ken had crushed her spirit, not only putting off her celebratory birthday getaway to Las Vegas but doing so in order to spend time with another woman. What an asshole.

I made up my mind at that moment that I would do whatever I could to ease her mind and, at the very least, give her a birthday celebration she would enjoy. I didn't have to think long on the matter, and I made two phone calls. I telephoned Laura's friend Dana, the travel agent, asking her specifically for any Las Vegas specials. After only a few minutes, she returned my call with a perfect solution. Two nights' accommodation in two adjoining rooms at the Bellagio Hotel/Casino, with complimentary breakfast and dinner for two in their fancy dining room overlooking the fountains. And, all for the stunning price of one hundred and fifty dollars a night. Needless to say, I had her make the arrangements right away and to start tomorrow night, Audrey's birthday.

My next call was to my friend Larry. Larry was a big strong Ukrainian who would act as an occasional bodyguard and bouncer for my band when we played in town. He was also the owner/operator of Larry's Limousine Service. Once I had explained my plan to him, he was immediately on board. He had always had a special fondness for Laura's mom and was happy to donate his time and effort on her behalf.

I put away the whiskey bottle and put the glasses into the dishwasher, switching off the kitchen lights as I exited. Returning to the living room, I switched off the television and, as I was about to turn off the living room light, I caught sight of Audrey's suitcase where she had left it in the foyer and placed it behind the sofa where she would not immediately see it when she came downstairs.

I was reasonably sure that she would vehemently decline a trip to Las Vegas for dinner, let alone an overnight stay. So, my plan was to keep that part of the dinner outing a secret until it would be too late for her to back out of it.

I turned off the lights and made my way up the stairs, surprised to see a dim light coming from Audrey's bedroom. I peeked in the doorway and sighed, seeing she had collapsed onto her bed without even removing her clothing and was breathing deeply as sleep had finally overcome her anxiety. She lay in a semi-fetal position with her knees drawn up, her skirt carelessly revealing a great deal of her lovely legs.

I stepped into the room and carefully unbuckled her strappy sandals and removed them without waking her. I gathered a quilt from the bench at the foot of her bed and gently draped it over her. As I switched off the bedside lamp and made my way to the door she spoke, startling me.

"Don't go," she said, her voice soft and breathy. "Will you...stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone."

"Of course," I said, grieved by the sad tone of her voice. I kicked off my shoes and crawled onto the bed beside her and slipped under the quilt. As I settled onto my back beside her, she rolled over and threw her arm over me. I raised my arm and she settled into my embrace, my arm around her shoulders as she nestled her head against my shoulder.

"Thank you," she murmured, snuggling her body against mine. In only moments I heard her breathing deepen and knew she had slipped off to sleep once more. I closed my eyes, warmed by the physical intimacy of lying with her in her bed. Even fully clothed, the inherent sexuality of being so near to her was not lost to me and my erection was immediate.

The smell of her hair was almost intoxicating, and I kept turning my head to breathe in her scent. She murmured in her sleep and slid her leg over mine, the silky whisper of her nylon pantyhose sent a shiver of deeper arousal coursing through me. With the sensual warmth of her body nestled against me, I very slowly inched my fingers beneath the waistband of my jeans. I moved slowly and patiently, moving my hand only a few inches and then pausing to listen for her deep regular breathing.

My erection was straining the confines of my briefs, springing free as I slipped my fingers beneath the waistband. I waited patiently for a full minute until I was sure Audrey was still soundly asleep and then closed my hand around the tip of my cock. I laid perfectly still, moving only my fingers as I gently squeezed the tip of my cock. I cradled Audrey's body a little more firmly and held my breath as pulse after pulse of warm semen flooded into my hand and squeezed through my fingers. As I let go, I turned my head to take in her scent, my heart pounding in my chest.

As my orgasm waned, I couldn't help but smile broadly. I was almost astonished by my own shamelessness, but as my heartbeat began to slow to normal, the sheer pleasurable satisfaction of my release could not be denied, and I continued to smile as I wiped the semen from my fingers against my already inundated briefs.

I nestled closer to Audrey and closed my eyes as I felt myself slipping away into sleep. I awoke several hours later with the daylight only beginning to lighten the curtains of her room and gently got out of bed so as to not disturb her sleep. The thought of Audrey's sexy dress hanging, never worn, in her closet fueled the fantasy I had created in my mind while lying sleepless. While I knew her secret fantasy had always been to wear something so utterly sexy and revealing out in public, I doubted very seriously she would ever act upon that fantasy without some kind of external pressure. But now, given her present situation, her feelings of pain and anger toward her husband might just be the catalyst I needed to remove most of her inhibitions or feelings of guilt.

I quickly made my way to her clothes closet and retrieved her special cocktail dress, as well as the stiletto heels she had purchased to go with the dress. I spirited them to my room where I put her dress into my garment bag along with my navy, pin-stripe suit. I packed her shoes into my suitcase, along with my dress shoes and a couple of changes of clothes.

Making my way downstairs, I placed my suitcase and garment bag with hers behind the sofa and then made my way into the kitchen to put on some coffee.

As I sat down with my coffee at the kitchen table, I heard the upstairs toilet flush and knew Audrey was up and around. She arrived in the kitchen a few minutes later, padding quietly in her stockinged feet and still in the clothes she had slept in.

"Hey...happy birthday," I greeted with a smile as she entered the kitchen. She returned my smile, somewhat wistfully, and thanked me, seating herself at the table as I poured her a coffee. Even without her usual makeup and her hair slightly disheveled from sleep, she was still one of the most physically attractive women I had ever seen.

We chatted for quite some time, making our way through an entire pot of coffee, and never once broached the subject of Ken or her aborted second honeymoon attempt. I was actually quite pleased to see how she seemed to maintain a relatively cheerful demeanor despite what I perceived to be an underlying sadness in her eyes.

I reminded her about going to dinner and she smiled, "Yes," she said. "I'm actually looking forward to it."

"Good," I smiled. "But you have to be ready to go by noon. That's when Larry is picking us up in his limousine."

"Larry? The one I met at your wedding? The big man?" She asked, looking confused.

"That would be him," I smiled.

"Oh," she said with a nod. "Why noon? That's awfully early for dinner. It sounds more like it's going to be lunch instead."

I shrugged noncommittally and smiled, "Well, it might take us a bit of time to get to the dining room." I replied enigmatically.

Audrey frowned and then smiled slightly with a shake of her head. "Really? Where on earth are you taking me?"

"It's a birthday surprise," I said, unable to hide my smile.

"All right," she said after a pause. "I suppose I should dress for the evening now then. What kind of place is it? Should I be dressy or casual?"

I pursed my lips as if thinking it over. "Maybe just casually dressy," I replied.

Her eyes widened slightly, "All right," she said. "I sincerely hope you haven't made arrangements for someplace too expensive."

My smile widened. If she only knew. "Not to worry," I answered. "I have everything well in hand."

Audrey smiled and shook her head, then turned and left the room. As she showered and dressed, I too took the opportunity to quickly do the same, wearing a nice pair of gray slacks with a white shirt and tie and my best black blazer. Larry arrived a little before noon, while Audrey was still attending to her makeup. I took the opportunity to run out with our luggage and clothing bags, stowing them in the spacious trunk of the long, stretch limo.

"So, where is the birthday girl?" Said Larry with a smile.

"Coming right up," I said, quickly returning to the house to find Audrey was just coming down the stairs. She looked lovely, wearing a black, silk, shift style dress that formed to her figure rather provocatively and revealed just a hint of cleavage while displaying her glistening, shapely legs to just above the knee. She wore black, patent leather pumps and accessorized with a silver, charm-style bracelet and a single strand of pearls about her neck.

As she entered the living room, she was attending to the final adjustments to one of her pearl stud earrings. She smiled as she entered, filling the room with the intoxicating scent of her perfume.

God, she looked amazing. It occurred to me to wonder yet again, for probably the hundredth time, what kind of woman Ken could possibly have found to be more appealing than the woman he had at home.

"Would you do me the honor?" She asked, turning her back to me to reveal the very top of her dress unhooked with the zipper still several inches from the top. I performed the finishing touches to her dress as she looked out the living room window to see Larry standing beside his long stretch limo.

"Oh, my," she said, turning to me with a smile. "I think this is going to be a fun evening." We left the house, locking the door behind us and made our way down to the waiting limousine.

Audrey smiled as she approached, "Hello, Larry," she beamed, embracing him and kissing his cheek lightly. "It's been a long time. Thank you for this...I've always wanted to go somewhere in a limousine."

"Happy birthday, milady, your chariot awaits," returned Larry with an effusive bow and parting his arms widely. "And it's my pleasure."

Audrey laughed, her eyes almost twinkling." Oh," she said. "I can hardly wait."

Larry bent and opened the door, elegantly ushering Audrey into the limousine with his hand on hers, and then slapping my proffered hand playfully with a roll of his eyes as I stepped into the vehicle and he closed the door behind me.

In a moment we were off, pulling away from the curb with a swirl of fallen leaves in our wake.

"This is WONDERFUL," said Audrey, her eyes wide with happiness as she looked around at the opulent interior. Two long, plush seats faced one another across the expanse of the limousine, which was darkened dramatically by the smoked black, privacy windows and romantically lit by soft, indirect lighting. She crossed her legs and her hosiery glistened sleekly in the subdued lights.

"Wow," I responded in agreement, having never been inside one of Larry's vehicles before.

Moments later, Larry's voice came over the intercom. "We'd like to thank you for flying with Larry's Limousine Service this evening. We'll be cruising at an altitude of...well, let's just say a fair amount above sea level, with an airspeed of...whatever the speed limit happens to be at any given time. Please feel free to move about the cabin and avail yourselves of the refreshments from the bar and the refrigerator. As I know this is a birthday celebration, I have stocked the refreshment area with an assortment of celebratory items as my way of expressing happy birthday to the lovely lady. So, relax and enjoy the flight...I'll see you all again when we arrive at our destination."

Audrey giggled almost girlishly as Larry spoke. "That man is so sweet," she said with a smile. "I've always liked him."

I opened the refrigerator to discover a silver champagne bucket filled with two bottles of champagne, both with decorative ribbons tied about the neck.