It had been one of the most embarrassing things that had ever happened to me. Now, standing on the fringe of a group of my brother's pretentious friends and hearing my sister-in-law repeat the story for their amusement, it was even more so.
Cheryl loved to do those little things that put me down in front of others. It was as if she had to point out for them that she had made the right choice in dumping me and taking up with my brother. He's the big shot entrepreneur. I'm just the klutz ... the fuck up. She, of course, is the one who almost picked the wrong brother, but didn't. The next thing she'd be telling their friends that my cock is shorter too, I thought. Five minutes later, when I'd returned from getting myself a beer, her little circle of groupies laughed out loud and looked my way just as I heard her say ...'it's true. I swear. What can I say? Their mother called the wrong one Dick.' A real stand-up comic.
I was getting tired of being the brunt of her sarcasm. We'd had words about it before but she got really nasty. She as much as told me if I didn't like it I could take a hike. That my brother had just given me a job because he felt sorry for me, and that that could end real fast if she gave him the word.
The sting of being embarrassed still lingered in my gut when I saw Cheryl a few days later. I was twenty miles from home in a neighboring town picking up a tendering package from their municipal offices. There she was, scooting along the main street like she was going to a fire. I knew I didn't want to face her so I just hung back to see where she was going.
I followed her into an out-of the-way bar and watched from a distance while she slipped into a booth next to a guy I'd never seen before. It sure as hell wasn't my brother! They were obviously more than just friends. His tongue was half way down her throat on the first kiss and his hand ran up her leg and squeezed her ass cheeks like he'd been there before. Cheryl nestled back in his arms rubbing herself against him like a horny cat. They ordered a drink but didn't even stay to finish it. Fifteen minutes later they were tucked in at a local motel making noises that I could hear right through the door.
It was almost four o'clock when she returned to her car. She didn't see me at first and it startled her when my old Mustang slid into the spot beside her deep blue Mercedes.
'What are you doing here?' she snapped. 'Aren't you supposed to be working?'
'Just picking up the tapes from your motel room,' I smiled, indicating the generic brown envelope on the seat beside me. It was the tendering documents, but she didn't know that. Her face had gone blank and she leaned back against the car like the world was about to end. Several times she opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. There was anguish in her eyes as they searched my face for some escape, some shred of hope that would release her from her predicament.
'I wasn't ...' she began and then stopped.
'Yes you were Cheryl,' I smiled confidently and patted the package beside me. 'And it's all on tape.'
Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and her face contorted in wretchedness. 'I was just ... breaking it off...' she bleated, her voice trailing as she realized the pointlessness of her excuse.
A long silence ensued while she pressed her forehead to her clenched fist and wept. They were real tears and it was true remorse that she felt. She turned her pleading eyes on me looking for some sympathy, but I just arched my eyebrows, smiled and patted the brown paper envelope. I really wanted to tell her my compassion was as short as my dick but I didn't want humour to diminish her suffering.
Arrangements were made for her to follow me on the short trip back. She wanted to talk, negotiate right there in the parking lot. But I didn't. Desperate and frustrated at having no indication of what I was going to do, she begged me not to tell my brother. In her desolation she blurted out 'I'll do anything. To which I replied, 'Yes you will.'
To further underscore her situation, I made her take off her panties beside the car and give them to me.
The next day I didn't phone her at all. Several times she tried to call through to me but I wouldn't answer. When I got home from work she was parked outside my apartment, waiting. She looked as if she hadn't slept and the puffiness around her eyes was definitely from crying.