Author's note: This is another prequel story to the love affair between Jennie and Jamie. (The first being the Holiday story -- New Year's Eve 12-31-21) Once upon a time Jennie and Jaime were madly in love as high school students and fully expected a long life together. But as sometimes happens to young people, the couple drifted apart when Jaime went searching to find the meaning of life and got so lost that Jennie didn't think he'd ever find his way back. Ultimately, she went on with her life without him, and Jaime was left wondering what happened. Sadly, both spent the next 30- years wishing they could be together again. This is the beginning of the saga that will detail the complex, challenging, and fun relationship that eventually re-emerges. Enjoy!!
It had been a long and trying few weeks for Jennie. She felt like one of those ping-pong balls in a lottery machine. Up and down, back up again, and then back down. In her heart she knew she should be happy for all the goodness in her life. Each of her children was happy and healthy, and pursuing life in their own way. All faced challenges, but generally each child was finding some level of adult success. Just this week her middle son, who had been away for years trying to obtain his doctorate in Psychology, finally achieved that goal and recently got accepted at a prestigious northeastern university to begin his teaching and research career. And for that Jennie was thrilled.
She was also thrilled with her current social life. She had recently re-connected with numerous old high school friends and had met with them on a few occasions. Together, they talked a lot about their current lives, children, careers, husbands, hobbies, etc., but more frequently they talked about the old high school days, old friends, and most interesting to Jennie, lost loves. To Jennie, the only lost love that mattered was Jaime, and the wonder of whether he ever thought of her, as she does of him.
Combined, these issues were the source of Jennie's yo-yo sensations. So happy for her life, her family, and especially for the well-being of her children, but so saddened by the shattered relationship she had with her husband, and by the sudden onslaught of emotions that have overwhelmed her with the recent discussions of Jaime. It had been over thirty years since she had seen him. Occasionally, she would meet one of his old friends or relatives, and briefly get a jolt in her heart discussing him. Mostly however, she'd lived these past thirty years without him, happily, but for the small hole in her heart filled with questions of what might have been. At the end, his lost soul had treated her with complete disregard, and she knew it. And that's why she decided to stop waiting for him and get on with her life. But he was the only man she had ever truly loved, and to this day she couldn't say anything different. So, this week in particular, the emotions, and wondering, were becoming difficult to manage, and Jennie wasn't sure how she would ever get her mind free of Jaime again.
Jaime was not only her one true love; he was also her first real love as well. They had a very passionate and loving relationship for almost five years before it kind of withered away. She knew from the start that he had a restless soul, but she truly found that exciting. She thought it was partially due to his quirky upbringing, (mother married six times, moved around a lot, not much guidance) but knowing Jaime as she did, she knew it had as much to do with his unique character than anything his family did to him. He wanted something out of life, but didn't know what, where, or how to find it. Ultimately, his search took him to places that didn't include Jennie, and thus she had to move on without him. She always doubted whether she made the right decision, because in truth, she had never loved anyone else as much as she loved Jaime. But the reality is that he never came back for her either, so despite her doubts, she made the best life that she could, and until now, didn't much second guess herself.
Tonight however, she was second guessing herself more than just a little. Tonight she was sick and tired of her husband. They got married not very long after she finally convinced herself that Jaime wasn't coming back. He was a nice guy, had a good family, and they truly developed a happy life style in which to live and raise children. But, she never quite loved him with any passion. He was everything Jaime wasn't in a lot ways. Mature, responsible, good family, and he understood his place in life. But he was also shallow and unsatisfying. He picked on her for stupid things, and he always wanted to tag along with her wherever she went. It seemed to Jennie that he could never quite make himself happy, so his default defense was to latch onto others and make them unhappy as well. Looking back, maybe she did compromise her standards just a little after Jaime, but none of that mattered now. What mattered now was that she wasn't happy with him and needed change.
Tonight however, change meant going out with her best-friend Marcy. And Marcy always made her happy. Marcy was one of those old high school friends she had recently re-connected with. Truth be told, Marcy was actually a friend since elementary school, and that seemed such a long time ago. Tonight, they were heading out to dinner, which was code for some appetizers and few bottles of wine; preferably Italian, and preferably red. Jennie always had fun with Marcy, especially when she told the fun stories related to her work as a product spokesmodel for the local television station. Jennie knew that they would trade a lot of old high school memories as well. And while those tales would be fun during the telling, she was sure they would send her emotions to the depths once she was alone on the ride home and contemplating the possibilities of Jaime.
Tonight, the two ladies were heading out to a nice restaurant, that featured a good after-dinner band and dancing. Jennie wanted to dress and look especially good this evening for a couple of reasons. One, due to her television work, Marcy always looked fabulous, and Jennie did not want to look like Marcy's slouch friend. Also, Jennie wanted to look good in the event someone asked her to dance. Given her current situation, a little flirting might do wonders for her self-esteem. So with those thoughts in mind, she chose her outfit carefully.
Jennie knew that she was still a fairly attractive woman. Despite having adult children, and being thoroughly into middle age, she was still only a couple of pounds heavier than she was in high school. She was also relatively tall, about 5'-6", in very good shape, and with the help of her hair dresser, still had a nice head of blonde hair. To go with her God given (and hair dresser assisted) assets, she chose a favorite little black dress for the evening. Soft shimmering material, backless halter top, cut a little low in the front, and just short enough to show off her fantastic legs. The black contrasted well with her fair skin, and helped set off the blonde tint of her hair. A thin, strapless, black bra for her C cup breasts, bare legs to help withstand the summer heat, and a sexy pair of black, strappy, 4" heels for her feet. Then she made an odd, but spontaneous decision to go without panties. This decision was prompted by an old memory of Jaime. The mere thought of Jenn without underwear would drive him crazy, and to this day, whenever she chose to go "commando" she always thought of Jaime and his "growing" approval of her choice. That made her smile. And, with that little smile on her face, she checked the mirror once again to confirm makeup, dress, hair, and nails, all looked good. It wasn't exactly a "come fuck me" look, but she strode confidently out the door knowing that she did look good and was somewhat pleasantly surprised by how good she felt.
Jennie met Marcy at the restaurant as promised, and it was a wonderful place. Italian, elegant, dimly lit, with a large bar, dance floor, and dining area. Each of the areas was crowded with diners and drinkers, but not uncomfortably so. As usual, Marcy looked terrific. She chose a short, little dress as well, but hers was a little tighter, red, and cut even lower in the front to provide a healthy view of her ample, double-D cleavage. She complemented her outfit with a really-hot pair of red, platform, pumps with 5" heel. Together the two middle aged women looked like the stars in a movie that might be titled "MILF's Night Out".
The two women had a wonderful evening together. They ate and drank, and they shared all the stories about family, and work, and high school, and everything else in their lives. And by the time the band started, they both wore that healthy glow that comes with being a slightly drunk, confident, happy, mature woman. The band was covering some great 70's music, and when they played Rod Stewart's 'Maggie Mae', Marcy said, "Come on Jenn, let's dance." And dance they did. Two beautiful, middle aged woman, dancing like high school girls, and having a mindlessly happy good time. They danced to the Rod Stewart tune, then to Fleetwood Mac, a little Bee Gee's, and some Elton John until the band announced they were going to slow it down a bit with the Billy Joel song, "Just the Way You Are."
That song always held a special place in Jennie's heart, as it had been one of Jaime's favorites. And it never failed to make her heart flutter just a touch. The distinct beginning, "Don't go changing, to try and please me..." almost made Jennie wish she had worn panties. There were more than a few times with Jaime when they were dancing to this song, lost track of time and place, and almost became embarrassing as they loved each other right on the dance floor.
These thoughts filled Jennie's head as she and Marcy were returning to their table, only to be interrupted, when a young man broke in to ask Jennie if she would like to dance. Flattered, but not wanting to be rude, Jennie looked at Marcy for guidance, and Marcy shooed Jennie away saying, "go ahead and have fun." Before she had time to think otherwise, the young man grabbed Jennie's hand and led her back to the dance floor.
As she followed him back to the dance floor, Jennie took stock of the guy. He was young, probably no more than thirty or so, but tall, certainly over 6', well built, and ruggedly handsome with mid length, wavy, dirty blonde hair. He was certainly too young for her, but he was very nice to look at. Upon reaching the dance floor, the young man gently swallowed Jenn's left hand with his large right hand, and wrapped his left arm around her shoulder, pulling her softly, but surely, into his body. Not enough to alarm her, but with enough certainty to let her know he was confidently in-charge. Jennie liked that. As the song played, they moved with a very comfortable and enjoyable rhythm. He wasn't a great dancer, but there was something very special about him. He possessed a noticeable comfort in his own character which made Jennie unusually comfortable in his arms. And the young man smelled great. Not over powering, but a scent of something wild, a little fruity, and maybe something else that she couldn't quite define.
As the song ended with Billy Joel's sweet voice singing "Just the way you are," the young man squeezed Jennie a little bit tighter and said, "thank you; you remind me of someone I once knew. I enjoyed this dance more than you can ever imagine."
