Madison and I sat at the bar around the corner from our hotel, margaritas in hand as we waited for our mozzarella sticks and wings to be brought out. This time of year the Outer Banks were quiet and I was enjoying every second of it.
"I've enjoyed this little get away so far. Thanks for inviting me, I really needed this." She sighed, sipping on her fruity drink.
"Right? Between our full time careers and my kids, plus your recent divorce, we're a pair of hot messes." I joked, looking over my best friend.
Maddy was a really pretty platinum blonde with light blue eyes, who had an amazing personality to boot. It was her now ex-husband who was an absolute moron. She had married her high school sweetheart about five years ago, just for him to wake up one day and want to "date" a female friend, also from high school.
It was a mess.
Then there's me. Having been widowed at twenty-three with two kids under the age of six and a large sum of insurance money, I had had no clue what I was going to do with my life. I had never pictured a future without my husband but knew for my kids' sake I had to move on in some way. So I went to school for something more unconventional for a woman. I'm now a licensed contractor and followed my dream to flip houses in more poor areas. Not just the design aspect of it but I loved getting my hands dirty and doing the actual manual labor.
But as it turned out I was actually really good at it and had made a decent living for my family. Now twenty-seven, I had very little debt, a nice house, a decent truck, a cute little family but yet I still didn't feel whole. I probably never would and I had come to accept that.
"Here's your food ladies. I'll come back with plates for you." The bartender set the two baskets down and smiled. She was an average looking redhead and had been very attentive on this slow night.
"Could I actually get a side of ranch too? Thank you." Maddy asked, turning her attention back to me. "So any guys I should know about? It's been four years. I wouldn't blame you if you started looking."
I huffed, picking up a wing. "I haven't even thought about it really. I've been so fucking busy between the kids, the properties, and kickboxing that I'm surprised I remember to eat most days. Getting laid is the last thing on my mind, let alone a relationship."
She thanked the bartender, grabbing a plate and a wing with her well manicured fingers. "Well I would add it to your list of priorities girl. You're getting close to thirty and I don't want you being lonely for the next fifty or sixty years. You only have so many sexual prime years left." She shrugged, baffling me with her ability to clean the bones in basically one swipe.
"One, you act like I'm over forty, not my mid to late twenties. Second, you're only two years younger than me, Bitch. Plus why do I need a man? If I bought a decent dildo, I could literally do anything a man could."
That had her laughing and me smiling. What we didn't realize was her laugh had also caught the attention of two guys on the other end of the bar.
"Damn Matt, look at those girls at the end of the bar!" Chris elbowed his buddy, sneaking glances at the extremely attractive blondes.
Matt sighed, taking a sip of his beer. "I'm assuming by the terminology "girls" that looking over there would make me an old perv. So I'll pass thanks."
As a forty-five year old, divorced Marine vet, he was taking life easy. Younger women tended to be easy to get in bed but trouble in the long run, so he tried to avoid them at all costs. His dark friend on the other hand, had no issue with an age gap. To him, ass was ass and he would toss them in two seconds if they became trouble.
"Normally I'd say "fine, more for me." But I seriously think you should look. The one really looks like she'd be your type." Chris insisted, out right staring at this point.
Somewhat curious and also wanting to have a face to go with Chris' conquest of the night, he looked over at the pair of blonde women. The one was really petite with a pretty face but a flatter chest, wearing more revealing clothes than Matt desired. The other one caught his attention immediately though. More of a dirty blonde, he could see how curvy and toned she was. She just had this tough girl vibe to her but her profile and thick, wavy hair were just gorgeous. Eyeing her well worn work boots with her skin tight skinny jeans had him smirking.
"I had a feeling that one would do the trick. You always liked them a little more tomboy." Chris stated, sipping his own drink.
"Not necessarily tomboy, just able to hold her own. I can't stand needy women and usually girls under thirty are interested in me at my age because they have daddy issues. They want to be taken care of and I'm not putting up with that shit." He told his friend.
Chris flagged down the bartender. "What's the scoop on the ladies at the end, Kayla?" He asked her when she approached.
She rolled her eyes at him, used to his antics. "Vacationing from New York. From what I've picked up, the thinner one is recently divorced and interested in mingling and the other is a single mom with a "doesn't have time for your shit" attitude."
"Hmm." Matt was both intrigued and cautious of that information.
Before he could think about it much, Chris was sliding off the stool. "I'm going to go talk to them."
I stopped talking when I noticed Maddy smiling at something behind me. Turning slightly, I saw a good looking black guy coming up to us. 'Well, I'll most likely be spending the rest of my night alone.' I thought to myself. I leaned against the bar top on one elbow while cradling my second margarita.
I felt a presence behind me before I heard the scrape of the bar stool. Looking at the new comer, my alcohol influenced mind couldn't help going blank at the sight of the attractive stranger now sitting next to me. I instantly felt guilty finding another man attractive. But I suppose Maddy was right and it was about time I thought about moving on. "Are you with him?" I barely managed to ask, pointing at the guy behind me.
"Unfortunately." Was his response and I couldn't help the light laugh that escaped. "I'm a shitty wingman but he seems to do just fine on his own."
The other guy had taken the empty seat next to Maddy and they were talking animatedly, so she left them to it. "Are you two from around here?" She asked politely.
"Kind of. I'm originally from Ohio but after moving all over the place; North Carolina was the place I loved the most. Waking up to a beautiful sight every morning is just the icing on the cake." He explained, looking down at his beer.
I thought for a second before speaking. Was the beautiful sight the ocean or his wife because it honestly could go either way? He didn't have a wedding band on or even a slight tan line there but I decided to be upfront and ask. "Before I allow these margaritas to make a fool of me, I just want to double check that you're not taken."
His eyes flicked over to me as he smirked but it turned into a smile when he noticed my full attention was on him. "Divorced twice. Married to the Marine Corps for twenty-two years before finally retiring five years ago and divorced a cheating wife about seventeen years ago. Haven't been the attached type since."
Understanding that mentality, I rubbed across his shoulder blades comfortingly. "I feel that. Twenty-two years as an active marine is a serious achievement in itself but thank you for your service. I can see how that would be considered a divorce. At least you got the alimony from that relationship."
I felt his muscles twitch lightly under my hand and I couldn't help the clench of my pussy. "Not gonna lie, when the end of each enlistment came up, I always swore I wasn't going to reenlist. But I was too damn good at my job and couldn't help thinking that the guys would be fucked without me. Then eventually my reason became if I could manage to not die in the next decade, I get a full pension."
I let out a breath, my eyes getting watery. Fucking alcohol making me emotional. "Well I'm glad you managed not to die because I'd be very bored watching Maddy get hit on."
"To be fair, I probably would have left after finishing my beer if you weren't here. Though I still feel like I'm committing a crime by talking to you, considering you're practically a baby." He teased, sitting up straight and turning towards me, so I dropped my hand.
I narrowed my eyes playfully. "Twenty-seven is hardly a baby, though I will admit you're probably close in age to my parents."
He laughed and I couldn't help the flirty smirk that I gave him. "Well then I'm glad I never had any kids." He said, sliding closer to me. "I don't have to be guilty about hitting on a woman that could be my daughter's age."
"I think it would only be considered hitting on me if you were attempting to get in my pants." I joked, moving my knee so it was touching his.
