The sound of the alarm was cut off abruptly by the downward motion of his hand as Joseph Templeton rubbed the sleep from his bloodshot eyes. The room was still blurry, and he reached over to pick up his spare glasses from the table next to the bed. He could just make out the aroma of coffee coming from the other room. His view of his surroundings swung around wildly as he threw his legs over the side of the bed and sat up.
"There should be a law against getting up this early," he thought in disgust.
It took a supreme act of will, but he managed to get to his feet and walk to the bathroom where he slipped on his robe over his t-shirt and boxers. Still trying to shake the cobwebs from his head he removed his glasses long enough to bend over the sink to toss some cold water in his face. He pulled a small towel from its holder near the light switch and dabbed away the water. In the mirror above the sink, he caught sight of his reflection and wished he hadn't.
A blond haired man in his late twenties starred back at him. His mother would have complained he was too thin and she would not have been wrong on that score. At his last physical his doctor had wanted him to put on some weight, and he was trying to do so, but his hectic work schedule made eating regular meals a chore. Standing just a bit over six-foot tall but weighing only about one-hundred sixty-five pounds Joseph, Joe to his friends, was definitely on the skinny side of the ledger. He frowned in the mirror wrinkling a not unattractive face. His looks had always favored his mother's side of the family with dark green eyes and a narrow nose over soft looking lips.
"Joe! Coffee!" came a shrill voice from the other room.
Wincing at the sound, he placed the towel back on the holder well aware of his girlfriends need to have everything in its place.
Joe made his way into the kitchen of the small two bedroom apartment he shared with his girlfriend, Gloria. He found her there sipping from a steaming mug as he entered.
He had met Gloria Stein during grad-school. The act of dating had been a foreign concept to Joe who had done little of that activity growing up. There wasn't a lot of demand for skinny, nerdy guys with glasses, and his lack of social skills had not helped his cause. Gloria had solved that problem by taking charge of the entire operation the same way she seemed to dominate everything else in her life. A severe-looking blond haired woman barely five-foot two-inches tall her natural arrogance made her seem far bigger. She had set her sights on Joe from the first day and decided that he was at least roughly her intellectual equal. They would, therefore, produce optimal children when the time came. Joe had found himself cornered and ordered into a date while being given the exact time of pickup and mode of dress required.
He had appreciated that she seemed so interested in him were so many other women had not been. The fact that he had to do very little was a big plus as well since she carried most of the conversation on that first date though it did seem a bit like a job interview at times. It was apparent from the beginning that Gloria Stein had a plan for her life and she was determined to follow that plan to the letter. Joe soon found himself caught up in a carefully dictated romance. Lacking experience himself he assumed that the way he and Gloria came together was entirely reasonable. She had a written timeline for their relationship and ticked off milestones with the careful observance of a born engineer. As time passed Joe did find himself enjoying Gloria's company. They were both a bit odd but accepting of each other's quirks and eccentricities. It helped that Gloria was a reasonably attractive woman with dark blue eyes in a round face set off by a small pert nose and soft light pink lips.
Exactly two months to the day after they first met she casually remarked that they should be at the point where their relationship should advance to the physical stage. Joe had assumed that when he lost his virginity, it would be an extraordinary moment both beautiful and magical. Gloria went about it like planning an amphibious assault on a hostile shore. She told him when to arrive at her apartment and what to wear right down to the brand of boxer briefs. When he showed up at the appointed time she had shown him a task list that included five minutes of kissing followed by ten minutes of intimate massage and progressing from there right up to the moment of vaginal penetration. In the heat of the moment, he had nearly tried to stray from her planned program a few times but was met by a raised eyebrow and a quiet admonishment to "stay on task."
Joe was in the biological sciences program at the university while Gloria was studying aerospace engineering. When they graduated both had been offered positions at Modern Dynamics a company that had its fingers in many different technological pies including the commercialization of space travel, and the development of new pharmaceuticals. Joe was assigned to a project in the latter area which fitted his area of expertise. At the moment, he was working on a project to extract enzymes from the venom of a newly discovered South American species of insect.
"Thanks for the coffee," said Joe as he poured himself a cup.
"There is no need to thank me according to the schedule on the refrigerator I make the coffee on Tuesday's," replied Gloria.
Joe smiled, but it faded at the serious look on his girlfriends face sometimes he forgot just how matter of fact she was about things.
"Well, I had better go shower I have to be in the lab on time today we have a new scientist coming up from Peru to deliver the latest samples."
"Please be sure to be home by five p.m. today my parents will be arriving at six for dinner."
Trying to hide his disdain at the idea of dining with two of the most boring and odd individuals he had ever met Joe took his coffee with him and headed back to the bathroom. He placed his cup on the bathroom counter as he lathered up his face to shave. Meeting Gloria's parents the year before had shed quite a bit of light on why she was so literal and regimented. Her father was ex-military and still ran his household the same way he had run his submarines in the service with the absolute focus on schedule and discipline. Gloria's mother was a former engineer herself and seemed to lack anything remotely approaching an imagination. They had raised Gloria in a very strict home without television and with very limited time for play or other wasted indulgences as they saw them. Still, for all her oddities Joe did acknowledge that Gloria had been a positive influence on his life in a lot of ways. She had taught him to organize his scattered thoughts and stay focused on achieving his goals. Many people saw her as being controlling and aloof, but he felt that she did care about him in her way.
Joe exited the shower and went into the bedroom to dress, Gloria was there putting on her clothes for the day, but at the moment she was standing there in just an everyday white bra and matching panties. Her body wasn't spectacular but was still quite lovely with a tight rear end and small perky breasts. He stole up behind her and slipped his arms around her slender waist while trying to kiss her neck. The kiss missed its intended target as Gloria neatly pivoted away displaying impressive reflexes.
"Why are you trying to engage in romantic behavior overtures it's not Wednesday or a special holiday?" asked Gloria with a puzzled expression.
"Well, you just looked so cute standing there I thought we might be a little late for work for once."
"Late? That would be unprofessional of us and would negatively affect our team members."
"Come on Gloria. Just a few minutes late we surely could spare that time to be with each other."
He moved in again, and for a moment he seemed to gain the upper hand pressing his lips to Gloria's small, firm mouth. Her hands touched his arms, and he tried to deepen the kiss. She started to respond opening her mouth slightly to accept his tongue, but just as swiftly she broke away.
"Joe, please, this is not the appropriate time. We have responsibilities to fulfill that need our attention."
"What about our responsibility to each other Gloria? I feel responsible for making you cum."
