Chapter 01: The Beginning
For mid-January, the weather was perfect. It felt like spring, so I decided to take advantage of the break in the weather and walk the path around the lake behind my house. It would be a good time to start training my new puppy, so I grabbed the leash, hooked him up and led him down the small path from my deck to the paved walkway.
Being the middle of the week, there aren't too many people out. I walk past a few seniors who are probably retired and some housewives out for their daily walk, some pushing strollers. Everyone had to stop and pet the puppy. He is very cute and at only 2 months, he is quite large. His paws lead me to believe he is going to be huge. I had found him through the local rescue so I didn't know too much about his history, but I knew he was going to be big.
I spent much of the walk thinking about my divorce which had only been finalized a few days earlier. My ten year marriage had dissolved to the point that we hardly even spoke to each other. It hadn't always been like that, but when we found out my ex couldn't have kids, things started to go downhill. I did everything I could to help get her through it, but nothing worked. She didn't want to try the fertility drugs and when I suggested adoption she went nuts and accused me of not being sympathetic. She took it as an insult to her womanhood.
Things only got worse. At first it was small things like sudden mood swings. Then she lost interest in sex to the point we were only having it once a month. The last year of our marriage, we weren't having any sex whatsoever. I tried marriage counseling, but that failed miserably. Then she started working all the time, leaving the house at sunrise and not returning very late at night. Then she started putting in time on the weekends. I figured she was having an affair, but I couldn't find any proof.
When I finally decided to leave, she didn't even put up a fight. I figured it would be an easy divorce. We both made very good money, her as an accountant and me as a network engineer. Things were going fine till she decided to try and get more money from me. We had already decided she'd keep the house, but now she wanted more. Even though we both did pretty well, I was a more successful.
The next six months she fought me about everything. I was pretty frustrated by the whole thing till one night a buddy of mine from work called me. He had seen my ex out with her lawyer. I didn't really think much of it till he told me they were not out for business. He had seen them kissing in the parking lot and taken a few pictures. From what I saw, it looked like more then kissing was going on. I stored this information and spoke to another friend of mine whose wife was a lawyer. He set up a meeting and I told her what was going on. Up until then, I had assumed everyone was on my ex wife's side of the divorce, but my friends wife told me that she couldn't stand her. She offered to help me for free, but I wouldn't do that. We agreed to payments which I knew were well below normal rates.
She hired a PI and he found all kinds of crazy stuff. Krista, my ex, was partying every weekend, sleeping around with a bunch of different guys. With all of that information I went on the attack. The first thing was to let her lawyer know about her slutting around town. I figured it would at least scare him off enough to put an end to everything, but a week later he quit being her lawyer. Apparently he thought she was exclusive. Her next lawyer tried to play hardball with me, but since I kept my nose clean, he couldn't find anything to useful.
By the time we met in front of a judge she was defeated. Not only did he not give her anything that she wanted, he also made her pay me for half of the house. All in all it was not really a satisfying victory, but I was finally free.
I had been walking with my puppy for about forty five minutes when I saw one of the most gorgeous girls I'd ever seen jogging towards me. As she came close I moved off to the side so that the puppy wouldn't get in her way. I stared at her as I knelt to pet the pup.
She was tall, about 5'8 with raven black hair that was pulled back into a pony tail. He breasts were huge and being held in by a tight sports bra. She had a sweatshirt tied around her waist, but I could see that she was wearing short running shorts. Her legs had the muscular look of someone who took care of themselves. I couldn't help but stare.
She barely paused as she ran past, but did give me a slight smile, probably more out of courtesy and because she knew I was staring. I watched her for a bit till she went around a bend and was out of sight. I shook my head slightly and smiled. I stood up and continued my walk for another mile or so before turning back. The entire time the puppy was bouncing along, sniffing everything he could reach.
I had reached the path to my house when I saw the beauty running back towards me. As she got close she slowed and stopped to pet the puppy. When she bent down, I got a great view of her cleavage.
"Hi," she said. "Your puppy is really cute. What's his name?"
"I haven't given him a name yet. He's only been with me a couple of days and I'm trying to find a name that fits his personality."
She chuckled at that and continued to scratch his belly as I stared down the valley between her tits.
"I'm Judy. I saw you earlier and was itching to pet your dog but I wanted to get my run in. When I saw you again I just couldn't resist. He reminds me of my dog when he was a puppy."
"I'm John." I said as I held my hand out. She stood up to shake it and smiled. Her eyes are a deep blue and her smile is perfect. "It's nice to meet you."
"Same here. Do you live around here?"
I pointed up the hill to my house.
"This is where you live? How awesome is that? It must be nice to have such a great view."
"It is. I come out here every morning. What about you? Do you live around here?"
"Fairly close. I live about a mile from the lake. I run here just about every day so maybe I'll see you around."
"Maybe so," I responded.
She smiles at me again and gives the pup another pat on the head. I watch her run for a bit and just before she is out of sight she turns and waves to me. I wave back and then she is around the bend. I keep staring after her, hoping that maybe something will make her come back. After a few minutes I lead the puppy back to the house.
That night I am doing some work in the garage. I bought the house out of foreclosure and the people who had owned it previously had decided to take their frustration out on the house and did a large amount of damage. I spent the first month replacing windows and fixing holes or putting in new sheetrock just to make it livable. After I was finally moved in, I started working on different parts of the house. I've only completed the kitchen and master bathroom so far, but am pleased with the results so far.
My current project is to fix the stairs leading to the second floor. The carpet was badly stained like someone had taken mud from the lake and smeared it into the carpet. I'd had it cleaned, but you could still see the stains. I decided to tear the carpet out and was hoping to find decent wood beneath the steps, but it turned out to be ugly, thick pieces of cheap wood instead. I thought about just putting in new carpet, but I knew it wouldn't make me happy, so I tore out everything except the stringers. At this point I had replaced the skirt and all of the risers and treads. It had become quite tedious as each step had to be measured individually. I just finished cutting the last tread when I heard someone call my name.
I turned around to see Heather standing in the doorway to the garage. Heather is the agent that assisted me in purchasing the house. She is in her early 40's but looks much younger. Since she works in high-end realty, she makes a special point in taking care of herself and always dresses sharp with just a tease of sexiness.
"Hey John, sorry to bother you, but I was in the neighborhood and wanted to look in on how the upgrades were going. Looks like your busy, so maybe I'll stop by another time."
"No, that's OK. I was just finishing up here. Let me get this step put in and I'll take you on a quick tour."
I find it odd that she is here right now, but who am I to discourage her. She is a great looking lady with long dark hair, green eyes and a great smile. She has a nice body and her legs are long and nicely toned, probably because she always wears at least 3 inch heels. Part of me is hoping that she's stopped by for more than just a tour of the upgrades. Unfortunately, she is also friends with my ex-wife, which is why I find it odd that she is here now. In truth, I can't figure out why she had volunteered to help me search for a new house, but I was grateful. I just guessed it was because she knew I had money to spend and she'd make a great commission. The entire time we were house hunting she was completely professional.
Heather follows me into the house and I place the board where it would be installed. I'm glad to see that it fits perfectly.
"Wow, this is amazing. I never knew you were so good with your hands." I look at her quickly because it sounds like there was something more in her voice, but I can't tell. I still have one more riser to install, then I can stain the treads, paint the risers and install a new hand railing.
"You do wonderful work. I could use a guy like you to help with some of the other houses I'm trying to sell," Heather said. Again I look at her to see there was some hidden meaning, but again I'm not sure.
"Thanks, but I'm really not in a position to take care of the things you need right now. I'm too busy trying to take care of my own projects right now." I went back down stairs and into the kitchen to wash my hands. "Can I get you something to drink? I have a bottle of Pinot in the fridge."
"Do you have any beer? I'm not much into Pinot. I prefer something a bit more strong."
I reach into the fridge and pull out a couple of bottles, pop the caps and start to grab some glasses when she just grabs the bottle out of my hand and takes a swig. I am more than a little surprised. I never took her for a beer gal.
At that point the puppy came into the kitchen and Heather looks down squeals "Oh my gosh, he's so cute. What's his name?" Just like the girl on the path, she squats down and gives me a great view of her cleavage. Heather's cleavage isn't as impressive as Judy's but it is still nice to look it. Boy it's been a while.
"I haven't named him yet. I just got him a couple of days ago and I'm just trying to get a feel for him."
"He's adorable. You have to name him. What do you call him when you want him to come over to you?"