For those who asked me to continue this story, I say thank you for your patience. It took me a while to figure out where it was going, but once it did, it just took off.
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I hope you enjoy it.
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"Karen?" I called.
I had taken 'our' shortcut through the bushes, and was closing the back gate behind me.
"Ah, there you are," I smiled. My sexy neighbour / friend / lover was smiling back at me, peeking over her sunglasses. She blew me a kiss, and went back to the conversation, on her phone. That's why she hadn't responded.
The first time I saw her naked, getting out of my shower, I had noticed her tan lines, and wondered what the suit that caused them had looked like. I think I was seeing it now, as a very brief string bikini, black in colour, cradled her large breasts, and barely covered her delicious pussy. It was, as I thought, a very naughty suit. It would have been revealing on a teenager, but on a woman with her mature curves and ample endowment, it was devastating.
It had been three weeks since the plumbing incident, and we had spent most of those evenings together. That first time had been a whirlwind of unrequited need, as we had both been on our own too long. That time, we just both had to have each other...and right that second. It had been a departure for both of us. Since then, we were a little more restrained, and relaxed, but the urgency was still boiling just below the surface.
For the most part, I let her set the pace of our physical relationship, because I didn't want her to think I was just using her for sex. As far as her using me? Well, I was absolutely fine with that.
Please, help yourself.
I took a seat beside her, giving her body the once over again, and trying not to listen to her conversation too obviously.
"Really, Cindy, I'm fine...yes, I know...I know I said I was feeling better, but..." she said. "No. That's not what I said. I said I might be ready...well, I didn't tell you to tell him that, did I?...No... Cindy, don't give me that... Cindy! I'm not kidding! If you?... Oh, fuck, alright! Fine, but I'm holding you responsible. If he does anything I don't like, it's your ass...fine. Friday night. Seven o'clock...I have to go. Bye."
I didn't want to pry. I really had no right to pry. Karen was my neighbour. She was my friend. She was my fuck buddy. She was not my girlfriend.
But, just the same, I was more than a little curious.
"Who was that?" I asked quietly, "if you don't mind me asking."
She seemed a little miffed, not at me, thankfully.
"That..." she exhaled, "...was my sister-in-law. Or should that be 'former'? Does that relationship terminate when a spouse passes?" she asked, a quizzical look on her face. "I suppose it doesn't matter. Cindy, my husband's sister, has been trying to set me up for months...telling me to get back in the game, and stop moping around the house. Of course, she doesn't know about you, but that's none of her business anyway." She took a deep breath.
"A couple of weeks ago, I told her I was feeling a little better," Karen said quietly, "and she took that as meaning I wanted her to get me a date! Fuck! I don't want to go out with some guy on a blind date, just because she guilted me into it! Damn it!"
I was immediately struck by two thoughts. First, I was happy that us being 'together' had broken her out of her grief. She was far too beautiful and loving to be alone and miserable.
The second thought surprised me a bit.
I was jealous!
I couldn't tell her that, could I? No. We were supposed to be free of emotional strings. I wouldn't pressure her like that.
"That's great!" I smiled, trying a bit too hard to be nonchalant. I may have swung the pendulum too far the other way.
"It is?" she asked.
"Sure. I'm sure there are plenty of men out there that would love to spend time with you," I replied. It didn't come out the way I meant it to, but I didn't know quite how to fix it, without sounding desperate. I certainly didn't mean it to sound like I didn't enjoy being around her.
Unfortunately, that's what she heard, although I didn't realize it at the time.
Shit.
***
There were three days before Friday night arrived, and everything remained pretty normal between us. We spent two of those three nights together, and it didn't seem like there was any fallout from my inadvertent faux pas.
We were supposed to be 'friends with benefits', whatever that means. Maybe there's a rule book somewhere, with a list of things I could or couldn't say or do. I'd pay real money for that list right now.
Damn! Why did she have to be so beautiful, and sexy? Actually, that wasn't really the problem. Beautiful and sexy would be just fine, if she was only a very pleasant roll in the hay, but she passed that stage a couple of weeks ago. In addition to being built, and gorgeous, and a demon in the bedroom... and taking it up the ass like a champ...she had turned out to be a wonderful person.
Someone I could easily fall for. In truth, I may already have.
That
was the problem.
After ten years married to a 'wonderful' woman, I had discovered that she wasn't quite as wonderful as it first appeared. Belinda had proven that looks could be deceiving, even to those who are close enough to see everything. Maybe I was too close, or maybe I didn't want to see it, but the sight of those three men using her like a cheap hooker, while she begged for more, had clearly illuminated the truth.
Part of me didn't trust my own judgement, and didn't want to make that mistake again. Or maybe I really was in love, which would be great...if only I knew she was ready to move on, beyond a little bedroom fun. Okay, that was an understatement. She was so much more than just a little bedroom fun.
Friday arrived. I was still feeling jealous, and it was about to get worse.
I was at home, working on my upstairs bathroom, and trying not to think about the evening without her. I had accomplished a lot recently, and nearly had a fully functioning ensuite bath. The work was therapeutic. My phone rang.
"Hello?" I asked as I answered it. The voice that responded made my heart warm.
"Hi, sweetie," Karen replied. "I could use your help over here in about an hour, if you're available? Can you come over?"
"Of course, baby," I answered. "See you soon."
I wondered what she needed my help with. Something she couldn't reach? Maybe a quickie? I suppose I would find out soon enough.
When Karen let me in the back door an hour later, she was wet from the shower, wrapped in a towel. It barely covered her crotch, and her big breasts were nearly spilling out the top. She thanked me with a peck on the cheek, and led off, up the stairs, to her bedroom. Following her up, I could clearly see her firm ass under the towel. Maybe I was right about the quickie.
As we reached the top of the stairs, she let the towel come loose, and I found myself looking openly at her delicious backside. She patted residual moisture from her body with the towel, completely unconcerned with her nudity in my presence. I suppose we had both seen each other naked often enough in the last month that it was no longer a big deal, but I would never tire of her smooth, soft, luscious curves.
"So," I asked, taking a seat on the corner of the bed, "you need my help? Feeling frisky?" I added hopefully.
"Oh, I'm quite sure you'd be willing to help me with that, wouldn't you?" she giggled, smiling at me. "No, honey...that's not really the problem, although it does sound like fun. I need you to help me dress for my date. It's been almost twenty-five years since I went on a date, and I'm scared shitless. I don't know what to wear. You'll help me, won't you?"
I suddenly realized she was right. We had never actually been 'out' together. Other than our shopping trip to Home Depot to get her plumbing supplies, and the neighbourhood party where we met, we had never been anywhere but the bedroom. Okay, also the kitchen, living room, bathroom, pool... nearly every room of her house, and a few of mine, had been the site of some sort of sexual activity. We had been trying to keep a low profile for gossip reasons. Now it was biting me in the ass.
I was her friend, and while I was benefitting greatly from my proximity to her smouldering sensuality, we were not really a couple. At least, not as far as she knew. I would have given a different answer if I was being honest, but I didn't feel like I could tell her how attached I was becoming to her yet. Certainly not tonight. I had to play it cool.
"Oh! Right! Tonight's the big date!" I laughed, hopefully not too transparently. "Well, I suppose what you wear depends on what your goal for the night is," I smiled. "Hoping to get laid?" I was trying to use humour to ease the tension I was feeling.