Note to reader: This story is pure fiction, with certain portions taken from the author's life experience. All characters are over 18, and any resemblance to persons living or dead is purely coincidental. Copyright © 2023 All Rights Reserved. No portion of this material may be reproduced without the author's prior written permission. Everyone is over 18.
A reader accused me of plagiarism. NOT TRUE! I am the author of these stories. I abandoned my Literotica account for a few years and rejoined under this pseudonym.
Although this story is in the Mature section, it could easily fit into the romance category. Polite and constructive comments are most welcome. Derogatory comments will be deleted.
James' Story
Chapter 1
James Nelson is not a stunningly handsome man. He's average-looking, a bit lanky, and very tall. He has broad shoulders, a narrow waist, and a moderately hairy chest. With blonde hair and blue eyes, James' Nordic-European DNA is his defining feature. When James graduated high school, he stood 6 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 150 pounds. James was so skinny in high school that when standing sideways and stuck out his tongue, you'd say he looked like a zipper. James was so skinny that he had to move around in the shower to get wet. Unfortunately, James did not have much luck with the girls, partly because he did not know what to do or say and partly because he was a squirrel. After high school, James had put on a few pounds but is still painfully slim and has tremendously low self-esteem. It's not debilitating, but enough so that he has given up on attracting women. To be sure, James is not gay.
James had earned enough credits to graduate high school early and stopped taking classes at the end of the first semester of his senior year. Not knowing what to do with his life and that the Selective Service could call James to enter the Viet Nam war when he turned 18 in a few months, James learned that if enlisted in the active reserves instead of waiting to be drafted, he could choose which branch of service and the type of job that would interest him. Because James enlisted and did not wait to be drafted, he also would not be stationed overseas. James would spend time with his Air National Guard (ANG) unit near his home and still fulfill his military obligation. He stayed in the ANG for 15 years.
Convincing his mother to sign the age waiver, at age 17, James went to Air Force basic training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas. After eight and a half weeks of basic military training, James transferred to Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois, for his specialty training. At Chanute, James learned how to use special equipment and procedures for inspecting aircraft components for cracks and metal fatigue that might otherwise cause an airplane to crash. James loved this work and looked forward to finding a similar job upon his return to California, where he grew up.
Unfortunately, when James returned home from training, he could not find a job near where he lived in his Air Force career field. James learned that all the potential employers were too far away to commute from home, and they wanted many years of experience that he did not have. A friend from high school told James of an auto-mechanic school in Phoenix, Arizona, and James decided to attend classes there. Upon graduating, James returned to California and got a mechanic job the next day.
Life for James was not so hard now, and he felt better about himself. He met a girl a few months older than him, and they married after a year of courtship and engagement. Both James and his bride were virgins on their wedding day. For the two years after the wedding, James thought he was happy, but his relationship with his wife slowly deteriorated. Because neither James nor his wife knew how to be married, and both had little experience dating, they argued over trivial things. To try and figure things out, James went to the Priest for counseling.
James explained about the arguments he was having and was looking for answers to help save his marriage. James recalled one argument about who should turn out the bedroom light after both were horizontal in bed. James and his wife were in bed watching television. When it came time to turn off the television and go to sleep, his wife became belligerent and demanded that since James was the man, it was his responsibility to get out of bed and turn out the overhead light. The Priest offered several suggestions but finally offered the best solution.
The Priest said to James with a smile, "Have a baby. It will change things."
It changed things all right. Life became much worse. During her pregnancy, the wife refused any sexual contact with James. Not realizing that once the baby came along, his wife would keep her legs slammed shut like a bench vise gripping a piece of steel. Their marriage lasted about six years before James filed for a divorce. Neither James nor his wife was mature enough to be married or parents. James' wife punished him for divorcing her. Despite the court order, the ex-wife made it nearly impossible for visitation with his daughter. By the time his daughter turned 13, the ex-wife had turned his daughter against him so much that James never saw her again. Years later, James learned from a source that his daughter went to college, married a nice guy, and had two kids. James never saw his daughter again.