Sexual Soul Mate Pt 04

Melanie drove cautiously over the icy roads. Maybe other drivers didn't recognize the danger or maybe they just didn't care but Melanie knew just how dangerous the slippery freeways were in the rural area. She knew it all too well, actually.

Just 11 months before, during the huge snowstorm, Melanie's husband had been killed in a fatal crash on the very same road. For over 20 years he had driven tractor trailers earning many safe driving awards. She was blessed to be able to stay home with their children as they grew because her hard working husband dedicated himself to providing for the family. Getting in a 20+ car pile up as he returned from his route turned out to be unavoidable. He was killed instantly when another semi driver slammed into him, crushing him between the door and the steering column. At least his was a quick death. Others in the same accident weren't so fortunate. Melanie was thankful that apparently he didn't suffer.

The next months were a blur. Dealing with the accident, insurance, business, lawyers and extended family all took time and energy but Melanie concentrated on the children that they had shared. The 'kids' were grown and one even had children of their own but the loss they felt was intense and difficult. Melanie worked hard to support them emotionally even as she struggled to continue living on her own.

Melanie and Buck had been married 31 years when he was taken too soon in the accident. Together they raised 3 great kids and enjoyed their grandkids immensely. Mel was thankful for the memories and missed him terribly as she tried to build a life without him.

Their marriage was far from perfect. Both had made their share of mistakes, both discovered and hidden but somehow they had learned to forgive and move forward. They did so mostly for the sake of the kids but also they genuinely loved each other, accepted that they were married to an imperfect spouse and were willing to work hard to keep the marriage together.

Melanie's mind wandered as she approached the area where the accident had happened. The roads were very icy and Melanie suddenly shook her head in frustration. "Pay attention, Mel! You're not ready to join Buck yet and not willing to take anyone else to the grave with you." With new resolve she gripped the steering wheel tightly and soldiered on down the treacherous freeway.

Before long flashing lights caught her attention and as she approached them she could read the signs. DANGEROUS ROADS AHEAD. ROAD CLOSED IN 2 MILES. FOLLOW DETOUR SIGNS. Both annoyed and relieved Melanie crawled along until she was forced to get off the road along with all the other drivers.

Thankfully the exit was close enough to the big city ahead so at least there were options for those stranded during the storm. Melanie drove past the handful of hotels where the parking lots were quickly filling. She was more optimistic than most having grown up in wintery conditions and fully anticipated that the road would open before night fell.

Melanie called her son as she checked out her options. Perkins, a family owned diner, a Dollar General and a few small strip malls seemed to be her only choices. She reassured her son that she was safe and would be careful when the roads reopened. She also promised to keep in close contact and asked him to convey the information to his brother and sister.

Just as she was resigning herself to an afternoon in the diner, Melanie spied a large furniture store down the road. It was a relatively upscale place, kind of surprising in the area, and Melanie pulled into the parking lot hoping that the employees might forgive a bit of loitering on her part. She parked, pulled her hat down around her ears and gingerly ran to the front door. The door opened heavily against the drifting snow but Melanie managed to slip in and then bumped against a man who had come to open the door for her. They both awkwardly laughed as Mel struggled with her balance and the man grabbed her arm in an attempt to steady her.

"I'm so sorry," he said "I tried to get the door for you but you were quick. Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, thank you. My ego is just a bit bruised. I'm glad to be out of the storm though."

Melanie attempted to wipe the snow from her face so that she could at least see whom she was speaking to but her gloves were soaked and not useful. The man quickly gave her a few tissues to use. Melanie wiped her eyes and finally was able to see her rescuer. "Thank you so much. It's pretty wild out there...". Her voice trailed off as she realized just who he was. As she tried to hide her surprise the man suddenly recognized her too. This time they both laughed out of shock and wonder.

He spoke first. "Wow! You're about the last person I thought I'd ever see again. I'm stunned! But," he quickly added, "I'm really happy to see you."

Melanie smiled broadly. "Me too! And I'm happy to have bumped into you. Literally, that is."

Jack pulled the inside door of the entrance open and held it for her. Then he held her gloves, hat and coat as she peeled them off.

"We've got to get you warmed up. Follow me." He said.

As he lead her to the break room Melanie took in the showroom. The furniture was high quality and beautifully displayed. Mel had to walk quickly to keep up with him as very intense memories began to flood her mind.

Walking with him around a picturesque lake, suddenly being grabbed and kissed. Responding naturally and allowing things to escalate quickly. A nine month FWB relationship that both surprised and thrilled her so many years earlier.

At the same time Jack's mind was racing as well. Remembering how she felt, smelled and tasted as he explored her body and began to fall for her. That part wasn't in the initial plan and contributed to the end of their intimate friendship. Seeing her so many years later was unexpected but stirred something deep within himself that he didn't yet understand.

Remembering that she didn't drink coffee, Jack asked, "Do you want some tea or hot chocolate?"

"Tea would be great," Mel answered watching him as she shivered. Those hands and his beard stirred something inside her she couldn't yet put her finger on.

As Jack joined Melanie at the small table they smiled and held each others' gaze for long minutes. Then, as if on cue, they both laughed softly and dropped their eyes.

"Well, this is awkward. I never expected to see you again. What's it been? Nine years?" Jack asked while leaning in closer to her.

"Nine years last October. I remember I was just an innocent at 48 and you were the perfect older man at 53." Melanie teased.

Jack chuckled in agreement. "I can't believe it's been that long but in some ways it seems like no time at all."

That made Melanie blush and stare into her tea. After a few minutes of silence Melanie took a big breath and looked into his handsome face as she boldly asked, "What happened, Jack? Things were so good between us and although we both knew it couldn't last forever, it ended so abruptly. I know you had every right to end things, as did I, but I thought at least you'd give an explanation."

Being a mature and decent man of 62, Jack looked intently at Melanie as she spoke, knowing that he did, indeed, owe her an explanation.

Jack took a deep breath and softly said, "You deserved one, I know. I'm sorry I didn't give you that. I'm so happy to see you again and would like to talk more but there are too many people here for us to have this conversation."

Melanie nodded her agreement. "Well, looks like I'll be here for a while. Could we go over to a restaurant and chat for a while?"

"We could but I have a better offer. I live just 10 minutes from here. I sold my house and bought a townhouse after ...". Jack's voice trailed off. "Why don't we go to my place? I'll make dinner and we can catch up." He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "No expectations, just two friends catching up."

"I'd like that. Plus I have nowhere else to go at the moment," Melanie said beginning to gather her wet things.

Jack stood and placed his hand on the small of her back as he said, "Give me a minute to close up. I was about to send everyone home early because of the roads anyway. I'll let the rest of the crew go and then we can head out."

Melanie sat back down and relaxed. Although she had many wonderful memories of her time with Jack, she never expected to see him again. And yet, here they were. As she waited for him to finish up she realized that those tingly butterflies were once again present in her stomach. Yep, Melanie whispered to herself, this could be a very interesting day.

Within 20 minutes Melanie was slowly following Jack's truck over the icy roads. He had assured her that it wasn't far and that she should follow him since she could park in his garage. If she left her car in the store's parking lot it could be towed once they started clearing the snow. At that, Melanie thought, 'I wonder how long he thinks I'm staying.' Still she willingly followed him not knowing what may happen but knowing she would be open to most anything. She glanced at her reflection in the rear view mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled. Nine years ago Jack had easily attracted her. Nine years later, he obviously still did.

Jack drove slowly knowing that Mel was nervous about driving the slippery country roads. Her showing up at his work was so shocking, exciting and full of promise. Although he knew he couldn't expect to pick up where they left off all those years ago, still he was hopeful for a bit of the natural passion they both felt. He could already feel the chemistry between them. "She feels it too,". He thought as he pulled up in front of his garage and the door began to lift. He was sure to pull over as far as possible to give her room to park her car. He was there opening her door as she turned off the ignition. Her cheeks were pink and her eyes glistened when she looked up at him. "Yep," he said with a grin, "Now I've got you where I want you."

Melanie startled as she stepped out of her car at his comment but relaxed quickly remembering his playfulness. She stepped toward him and reached her hand up to stroke his beard. "How do you know it isn't you who's caught?" Jack grinned and lead her to the door to the house.

The mud room was neat and organized. Melanie was sure he had done much of the inside work himself. She knew his talents from the home and pool/hot tub she had seen so many times. He may be running a furniture store, using his marketing abilities but he had other gifts too. Sure enough Jack took her wet things and hung them to dry in the laundry room and began to point out to her all the work he had been doing.

"I've done most of the inside work myself. I just have details to do with the tile. I'm happy with how it's turned out. What do you think?"

Mel smiled up at him, "I think it's beautiful and I'm not surprised that you've been doing most of the work. I remember your standards being very high so I'd expect nothing less."

Jack grinned, "Thanks. Actually only a few neighbors have been in here to look around. You're the only real guest I've had so I'd love to give you a tour and get your honest opinion."

She nodded in agreement as Jack led her down the stairs to the walk out lower level. A large media/family room took up most of the space with plush leather theater seating and a huge flatscreen. An large unfinished bedroom was next with a ¾ bathroom and French doors to a patio. The utility room finished the tour.

As they headed up the steps Melanie stopped abruptly and turned around to face

him. "I remember spending quite a bit of time in the lower level of your old house. Are you going to keep this one as cold as that?"

"I seem to remember you liking it cold down there. You liked how I warmed you up anyway." He said playfully. "And I liked how your body reacted." He added, his hand reaching up to tweak a nipple through her blouse.

Melanie calmly placed her hand over his and held it there pressing his fingers against her breast. "Ok, I guess we both know where this is going. Are you going to keep me warm again?"

Being on the step above Jack put her fairly close to eye level. She reached out her hand and fingered his beard that was now more salt than pepper. Then keeping her eyes fixed on his she leaned in and kissed him softly. His arms encircled her waist and drew her closer as their kisses grew in intensity. The moment her tongue touched his was electric. Being with her was so natural, just as the very first time had been. They kissed for long minutes on the stairs until she gently pulled away.

"I think we should finish the tour. I'm sure you have more comfortable places to continue this than the stairs." She turned and started up the steps. He climbed right behind her, his hand grasping her ass as she teased him.

The rest of the townhouse was, not surprisingly, beautifully done. An open floor plan included a kitchen with a big island, a dining area and a large living room. There was a full bathroom off the kitchen, a fireplace off to the left and a closed door to the right. Melanie was drawn to the windows at the far end of the room. They overlooked a deck and a wooded area that was covered in snow. She stood before the windows and breathed out a contented sigh.

"I could stand here all day. It's so beautiful and so private."

Jack stood behind her and placed his hands on her hips, drawing her back into him. "It is a great view but having you here makes it better than ever."

Melanie turned in his arms and placed her arms around him.

"This is not how I expected my day to go. A snowstorm closing the roads and bumping into you. It's surprising but somehow it seems just meant to be. I was always amazed at how easily we became lovers so I guess this shouldn't really be a surprise."

Jack nodded and took her hand, leading her over to the chairs in front of the fireplace. "I think we should talk for a bit first. You deserve to know what happened nine years ago."

He went to the kitchen for a bottle of wine and two glasses, poured it and held her hand as he spoke. "Now, I don't want to you to feel bad about anything. It's so long ago and things eventually worked out so please know that it was all on me. That last day when we were sending messages, building sexual tension as we were so good at doing, I was unaware that I'd left my yahoo account open at home. As I was working outside in the heat and playing with you online my wife was at home reading through our messages."

Melanie watched his face intently as he spoke. Of course she felt bad but he shushed her when she tried to speak.

"No, this is why I didn't tell you back then. It was all me and I didn't want you to feel guilty or responsible for any of it. I contacted you, I seduced you, I kissed you first, I invited you to my house. I did all of that and I knew that you were under my sexy spell."

He shot her a million dollar grin that made her laugh. "I won't sugar coat it, things were rough, really rough for quite a while. I didn't think we were going to make it. I'll spare you all the details but just know that it took marriage counseling and also some long, painful talks with our sons before things began to heal. I don't really think she needed to tell our grown sons about it but in the end it was good. It didn't hurt that our first grandchild was born soon after the shit hit the fan. Grandkids have a way of helping to heal hurts. At least in our family."

Melanie's eyes had filled with tears as he shared his story. He reached over and brushed them aside. "I really don't want you to feel bad. It's a long time ago and I haven't finished my story yet."

"Things did get better. I was hired at the store and it turns out I'm a damn good salesman and manager. Who knew?" He paused and leaned in for a kiss. "So my self confidence grew and our marriage became more like a friendship but that was good for both of us. Then three years ago she got a friend request from an old high school boyfriend and you can imagine what happened." Jack shook his head slowly, "They reconnected, in secret, of course, and a few months later she told me she was leaving to be with him. I guess I wasn't surprised she was leaving the marriage but I didn't know about him. It took about six months to sort everything out but things are better for both of us now. I'm happy working and living here and she's moved to Corpus Christi with him to live close to the grandkids. I won't lie, it's been hard but I can honestly say I'm happy and satisfied with my life."

He reached over and took her chin in his hand. "I really can't believe you're here. I'd like to hear about your life but you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to." Melanie stopped him by getting up and straddling him in the chair.

She kissed him slowly and ran her fingers through his hair. He drank in her sweet and salty kisses as his hands ran over her back and ass. After long minutes she leaned back and began to share.

"Jack, after I got over the shock of how you ended things with no explanation, I was kind of relieved. I worried about my husband finding out about you and even though I knew what I was doing was wrong I couldn't stop it. I didn't want to. So you ending it, even without an explanation, was a good thing. Don't get me wrong, I missed you terribly and I dreamed about being with you for a long time but I came to accept it and didn't try to contact you. I figured you must have had a good reason for ending things and I knew it probably wasn't easy for you either. At least that's what I wanted to think."

Jack's hand had worked its way under her blouse and he began drawing lazy circles on her skin. She smiled at him and said, "Now you're just trying to distract me." His hand stilled but she wiggled in his lap. "No, don't stop. I can finish telling you my story even as you seduce me." She leaned in for a long passionate kiss. Amazing how natural things between them were again.

"After you disappeared I was determined to make it up to my husband. He never knew about you and our affair but I still tried to make it up to him by being the wife I knew he wanted and deserved. I started making better meals and building him up with little love notes in his lunch. I pretty much became the perfect wife doting on her husband. I offered him blow jobs on a regular basis. I became a cougar in the bedroom. Admittedly, in the beginning it was forced but over time it became more natural and I don't think he ever thought of it as anything but my attempt to please him and be more loving. I'm glad I about that."

"I never took another lover. I guess I felt fortunate that I was never found out and wasn't willing to risk being caught."

"Besides," Jack interrupted, "you could never find another lover who compared to me." He grinned at her as his hand slipped down the back of her jeans.

"True. Then almost a year ago he died in an accident on an icy freeway."

Jack's hand froze and then he wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly.

"I'm so sorry Melanie. I had no idea."

It was her turn to shush him. "Of course you didn't. How could you?"

"It's been a rough year - well almost a year now. The pileup on the freeway took him and another eight people. Once the initial shock wore off and I had time to reflect, I was so grateful that things were so good between us. He died knowing that I loved him and I'm very thankful for that. No matter that it was somewhat forced after you disappeared, our relationship grew much stronger. Having the kids move out made a difference too but I found that by making such an effort to be the wife he wanted, he began to change. The friendship part of our marriage grew stronger and we began to enjoy each other much more. Our sex life improved and our dispositions did too. Not surprising, I guess."