Fireproof

"How did I know? Oh no, I'm not owning that one. I'm not a mind reader."

"It takes two to communicate. We won't go out of business if you take a vacation when you've got plenty of comp time piled up. Ask her to the party."

Ben stared out the window.

"What do you say? I think you and Amanda would enjoy a night out. For Christ sakes, take her out on a date."

*******

Friday night, Ben drove into the cul-de-sac, and into the long driveway to the house they once called home. He could see the curtains were pulled back and when he got closer, they closed. He knew Amanda was ready, and had been ready for some time. His gut felt like there was a dozen rattlesnakes crawling around inside, and they were all poised to strike.

Amanda quickly opened the door, stepped out, and closed it with a solid thud. She watched the car's door swing open. Out stepped Ben. The glow from the streetlights allowed Amanda to catch a glimpse of his muscular build where the neat pale-blue shirt tucked into his belted chinos. The normal tranquility of his blue eyes seemed to be replaced with something like broken glass that glinted on tacky asphalt. He was darker and perhaps a bit scruffier than what Amanda was use to. Amanda stood petrified against the cold hard door. God, he looked good.

A dark, navy-blue skirt stopped above her knees. Amanda wore black heels that seemed so fragile they'd break when she walked. Sheer, transparent blue hose clung to every curve of her legs. Her hair flowed down her shoulders and across her chest. The first few buttons of her sky-blue lace shirt were open, and a silver cross lay around her neck. She clutched a small white purse.

Ben walked with absolute confidence toward Amanda. The vaguely predatory look caused Amanda to step back until her body pressed against the closed door. Her shoes clunked when they hit the brass kick plate.

"Hi." Amanda squeaked.

Ben smiled. His white teeth set against his tan face caused Amanda's skin to turn to gooseflesh. He walked up to her, and without saying a word, twined his fingers through hers. Closer still. Amanda squeezed against the door. Ben moved her hand above her head, holding her captive.

A fingertip moved seductively across her forehead, pushing back a few errant strands of hair only to move between her eyes to the tip of her nose. He traced the outline of her lips, smearing her lipstick. His finger finally lifted her chin slightly.

"Hi."

Ben's fingertip continued down her chin then along the soft skin on her neck until it came to rest on the silver cross so delicately suspended between her breasts. Amanda closed her eyes for a second as she felt his warm breath on her chest. He widened the gap between buttons and placed a soft kiss on the cross.

Ben kissed her ear and sucked on her earlobe, and then he traced the outline of her ear with the tip of his tongue.

Amanda's heart slammed against her ribs. Her body flushed with heat. She rose on tiptoes as Ben placed a slow wet kiss on her lips.

The sound of Amanda's purse hitting the concrete porch went unnoticed.

"Ooh, damn—" Amanda moaned.

She felt his lips touch hers. Then she willingly opened her mouth slightly, and she felt his tongue enter her. Ben's hand squeezed her breast as he moved his lips across her cheek.

They say that scent calls memories like no other sense. The way water smells as a cool slow creek bubbles along its bank, the smell of hot tar on a stretch of road, or the choking, earthy smell of a dusty day. The intoxicating aroma of her perfume filled his mind with memories of the past good memories.

Amanda shivered as though a feather stroked her bare skin. Hands filled hands, and Amanda looked into his eyes. Under the glare of a yellow security light, their bodies pressed against a door. She struggled for the right words to say. She wanted Ben to take her there on the front steps. There were several minutes of awkward silence when Amanda finally said, "We should go." Hand-in-hand he led her to the car.

Slowly, he drove down the cul-de-sac, and to the main road. The streetlights flashed overhead one-by-one as they approached the intersection.

Sitting in the car, feeling the hot, dry Kansas air slice though her hair, she questioned herself like she did the night she sat in the park behind the steering wheel with a bottle of pills in her hand. She questioned whether Ben stilled loved her. Mrs. Frederick was right. Amanda knew the answer, too. Ben did love her. She could feel it.

"Pull the car over."

Ben eased the car to the curb. A streetlight filled the interior with bright yellow shards of light. Amanda reached out and pulled Ben's hands from the steering wheel, then placed them on her lap.

"What's wrong?"

"What are your plans for tonight?"

Ben thought for a few seconds. "I guess dinner and a few drinks. Shake a lot of hands and slap some backs."

"I mean after the party."

Ben's chest heaved against the pull of the seat belt. "Take you back to the house."

"And that's all?"

"Yeah, that's all I have planned."

"I thought you might have something special planned. With me perhaps?"

"I don't have any expectations with you tonight. The last time I made plans was ten months ago. You had a headache."

"Amanda squeezed his hands gently. "What about what happened a few minutes ago? That wasn't planned?"

"No it wasn't."

"What if I told you that right now you could have anything you want, as much as you want, and as long as you want? Tonight."

Ben looked at Amanda as he shut the car off. "Just like that?"

"Huh-huh. Just like that. Anything you want." Amanda's jaw twitched a few times. "I do have those feelings, Ben."

Ben's hand hovered over Amanda's knee. "So if I were to ask you to take your skirt off in the car right now, that would be okay?"

Amanda's fingers moved over the front of her skirt, and quickly slipped one button then the next as she worked her way up. Ben watched, nonplussed and astonished, as the last button relinquished its hold. She folded her skirt back, and Amanda lifted her butt and slipped her skirt out. Two careful folds later she place it on the center console.

Ben seemed to be paralyzed. "Is that what you had in mind?" Amanda asked. She gently placed Ben's hand on her thigh. "Anything you want—"

Ben's fingers moved over the silky softness of her hose and ran a fingertip around the elastic surrounding her panties. Ben looked out his window at the black street then back at Amanda.

"Why?"

"Because I'm sorry." Amanda took Ben's hand and slid it over her shirt. She pushed his fingertips between the gaps of buttons until they rested on her soft flesh. His thumb traced the top of her bra in long slow movements.

"Would you do me a favor?"

"It depends. What?"

"Let's go to Walker's Point. Right now. Just the two of us."

"We haven't been there since high school. Why do you want to go there?"

Amanda batted her eyes. "Would you take me? Please?"

"We'll be late for the party."

Amanda pushed his hand harder on her breast. "Please?"

The black Suburban rumbled to life and Ben pulled out. He knew Walker's Point. Every kid that could drive knew about it. It was the place to go necking. Five miles out of town, it was out of the way, dark and generally safe. In their youth, Ben and Amanda spent many weekend nights exploring each other's bodies at Walker's Point.

Amanda didn't put her skirt on and while they traveled down the highway, Ben kept his hand on Amanda's thigh. It seemed only minutes later, Ben pulled onto the dirt lane. As he did when he was a kid, Ben flashed his lights twice, a warning that an incoming car was approaching, and then turned the headlights off. The lane was bumpy, and the SUV rolled over the ruts and through dry mud holes with ease. Ben pulled off the lane and onto a grassy section. He shut the engine off and it sputtered then died. The sounds of the night filled the evening. The moon hadn't risen yet and the SUV filled with darkness.

"We're here. Now, what's this all about?"

"Remember when we'd come here?" Amanda began, "You had so many beautiful girls here before me, and I hadn't been with anyone. We'd mess around. It was all so new and exciting. You'd have me down to my panties, and I'd get so wet we'd put a towel on the front seat to keep it from getting soaked. We were so much in love."

Ben grinned. "Those were the days. Remember the night I talked you out of every stitch you had on and we were really into it. I don't know how Dad got those guys up here in the squad but when they hit those sirens "

"I damn near died. Your Dad laughed at us and each time he told the story, he'd laugh harder." Amanda twisted her wedding band, and then pushed the door open. The yellow dome light punctured the darkness. She stepped out and leaned against the hood staring at the starry night. Ben's door slammed closed and he walked over and stood beside her.

"Ben, please make love to me tonight. I'll do whatever you wish. How many times must I say "I'm sorry' before you're convinced?"

Amanda's fingers touched the short stubble on his cheek, and her heart hammered her chest. Her knees wobbled, and she wrapped her arms around Ben's neck. Their foreheads touched, and Amanda placed one of Ben's hands on her breast.

"Since my skirt is already off, I'd personally start at the top and work my way down," Amanda whispered.

Ben couldn't resist. His fingers made quick work of the shirt's buttons. Soon her shirt was off and tossed on the hood. Seconds later Amanda's bra was a crumbled wad of clothing. Ben's hand slipped behind her head and his fingers caressed her warm bare back. His hands buried under a blanket of gold to follow the curve of her spine. They stood, their arms around each other, surrounded in a shroud of darkness.

"Oh, God, I've missed you so much," Ben whispered. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, too. I should have listened. I should have pressed why things changed."

Amanda's arms tightened. "Kiss me. Kiss me, Ben."

His hands cupped Amanda's face and kissed her lips, then down across her cheeks. He kissed the tears from her eyes. His hands found her breasts and he held her, savoring the softness of her body.

Ben's hands moved across the front of Amanda's breasts. He stared at her hard nipples her little bullets. Amanda could feel her pussy hum with excitement. Wetness built 'til it oozed from the crotch of her panties. The cotton panel of her pantyhose was saturated with her moisture. Amanda felt a surge; a surge of light pushed the darkness surrounding her. This surge was so powerful, so intense, her knees buckled and Ben held her in his strong arms. Amanda's breath rasped in and out of her tortured lungs. She wanted to scream for Ben to take her.

The dust hung in the dry air. Amanda closed her eyes and for a second she was back in 1986. She heard the crickets chirping in the high grass. She felt Ben's thick, pulsing cock trapped between her thighs. God, she remembered the last time they were here. A screech of an owl yanked her back to the present.

She lifted Ben's hands from her body and in one continuous motion she tugged her panties and hose to her ankles. "Please!" Amanda begged. "I want to cum. I want you to fuck me with your fingers. Fuck me with your cock, your tongue. For God sake Ben, do me!"

Ben swept her off her feet and carried her to the rear of the Suburban. He opened the hatch, and with one hand hurled bags of fire fighting equipment to one side. He lowered her onto the floor. With jittery fingers he battled the straps on her Ferragamos, only to give up in desperation and jerked them from her feet. He yanked her hose and panties off and jammed them in one of her shoes.

Ben's fingers were on her pussy. His palm pressed down on her short curly hairs letting them slip though his fingers, and then Amanda's fingers joined his; a willing collaborator. She dipped Ben's fingertip across her quivering pussy lips. Amanda moaned Ben's name. She spread her pink lips apart. "Kiss me!" she demanded. "Down here!"

Ben's hands pushed against the soft flesh of her inner thighs. Her right knee hit the side of the SUV with a thud. Darkness surrounded them and the SUV filled with the aroma of loveÐthe hot, musky scent of a man, the sweetness of a woman, and the sage and lemongrass of her perfume. Ben's fingertips grazed across her delicate saturated folds. The very tip of a finger flowed gently over the stiffness below the silky hood enfolding her clit.

"Spread your lips for me," he whispered across her tummy. Amanda pulled aside the lips of her pussy with two fingers. The exposure and openness, and the hot Kansas air, made her clit hypersensitive. The tip of Ben's tongue touched her stiffened clit, and she arched her back. She caught a scream and held it.

"Ohmygoddontstop!"

She grabbed her breasts, squeezing them in time with Ben's licks. Amanda tightened her thighs against Ben's head. She ran her hands through Ben's hair, and she pushed her crotch into his face.

Up and down. Ben's tongue licked over the very center where her folds were soaking wet. Up and down he went. Amanda's body quivered.

A large, hot hand slid along the underside of her thigh 'til it cupped one cheek. Every nerve ending in Amanda's body was screaming for release. She felt it coming. Deep down in her toes it was building.

"Ben!" Amanda wailed. "I'm. Going. To. Cum!" Amanda clenched her teeth while she fisted her hands. Her thighs crossed with Ben's head still between her legs. Her whole body lurched, and she brought her arms over her chest holding herself together while her climax ebbed.

Her body was flushed. Her hair, in disarray, fell across her eyes. Amanda's mascara smeared across her eyelids. Beads of sweat covered her body. She reached out for Ben's arms but he wasn't there. She heard the distinct sound of a zipper being lowered and within seconds the dim yellow glow from the dome light revealed Ben, naked from the waist down.

He grabbed her calves, and yanked her body down so her feet almost touched the ground. Ben spread her legs apart, and with a quick dip of his fingers between her thighs, he covered his cock with her moisture.

The head of his cock was shiny, red and almost purple in the darkness. God, she couldn't remember the last time she saw Ben that hard, that huge. She rose up taking his cock in her hands. Hot, pulsing and ready. She longed to kiss its head, to taste the salty sweetness of her husband and to feel his heart thumping in her mouth. A few eager drops of cum oozed out and dropped onto the grass.

Ben slipped his cock from her fingers. "I want you. I want inside you," Ben commanded.

Amanda lay down in the SUV and Ben stood over her while the upturned head of his cock found her channel. He slowly pushed it in to allow Amanda to feel every hot hard inch of him as he went deep. Amanda groaned. Her mouth made an O and she pushed back.

"Easy! Easy. It's been a while."

Ben slowed briefly, allowing Amanda's sex to adjust to his cock. Ben felt her pussy tugging at his cock, desperately trying to suck more of him in.

Ben's hips started to move. Bare balls slammed into bare flesh. The sounds of wet sex filled the SUV. Amanda palmed her breasts, and then dug her nails into the carpeting. Amanda's eyes flew to Ben's. His cock swelled, pushing at her slick walls.

Ben leaned over as far as he could; his hot breath blew over her nipples, rosy pink and hard as rock candy. Between breaths, Ben's voice cracked the silence of the night.

"Tell me you want fucked!"

Amanda rose up and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Fuck me. Fuck me! FUCK ME!"

Seconds later, Ben's body jerked, and his hot seed filled Amanda. His hands squeezed her breasts, and he lowered his head onto her tummy. A moment later his spent cock slipped out of Amanda, leaving a long wet trail along the inside of her thigh. Ben's breathing slowed, and he held onto the edge of the SUV's hatch. He pushed Amanda's legs over, and he sat beside her. A long filament of pearlescent cum dripped onto the grass.

"Damn," Ben said, still panting. "It's been a while." His fingers moved along the soft white flesh of her inner thigh. Ben reached down and picked his pants and boxers from the grass.

Amanda squeezed Ben's hand. "Not bad for an old woman?"

Ben leaned over and kissed her. "Not bad at all." Ben picked up one of Amanda's shoes, and for a few seconds he stared out at the glow of the city's lights. He rubbed his face with his hands when he felt Amanda's arm wrap around his shoulder.

"Why Amanda? Why now?"

Amanda shrugged, and then looked at the night sky. "Maybe I wanted it. Ben, would it make it better if I told you that how I acted these last several years was wrong?"

"Would it make any difference if I told you I'm sorry for what I did in Vegas?"

"We can't undo the past, can we?"

"No— I'd better put you back together. We still have a party to go to." He pulled her hose from a shoe and gave it a quick shake then placed it across his lap. "Guess these go on first." Ben said as he held up her panties. "Tag to the rear?"

"Yeah."

"Not much here for the price is there?" Ben asked as he snaked Amanda's panties up her thighs to her hips. He let the elastic snap against her skin.

Amanda grabbed his arm. "It was you and Sharon, you stinkers! I wondered how she had the money to buy me all new things."

Ben grinned. "I supplied the credit card. It was Sharon and her friends. But the idea came from Mrs. Frederick." Ben rolled Amanda's pantyhose over her delicate toes and up her calves to her knees, struggling and making little progress. "I didn't know these were that hard to put on."

"Let me," Amanda said as she reached down.

"No!" Ben barked. "I like doing this." Ben finished working Amanda's hose up to her waist. Ben unbuckled her shoes and then slipped Amanda's heels back on. Their legs dangled from the hatch of the SUV "It might be years before you allow me to put your hose on you again."

They sat in silence in the back of the SUV while Amanda's grip tightened on Ben's hand.

"You can do it everyday if you want. Can't we start over again? Ben, please, I don't want to be alone. I love you."

"Is that was this was all about? An half-hour worth of sex and then back to the same old ways."

"No— A clean sheet of paper; a fresh start, that's all I want. Please, Ben, let's give our marriage another chance. Remember what Rachel said?"

Ben swung his legs as he stared into the darkness. The rhythmic tapping of the deathwatch beetles in a nearby tree filled the night. Crickets chirred in the high grass that lined the lane. An owl hooted in the distance. Ben's hand moved along Amanda's thigh then followed the elastic surrounding her panties. "I guess we should run back home and let you freshen up. You got that just fucked look on your face."

Amanda squirmed and she felt more of Ben's cum ooze out of her sex. "I don't mind the look, but yeah, some dry panties and hose would be nice."

"Would you— I mean would you mind when you get back home, if you'd wear some stockings and a garter belt under your skirt?"

Amanda gripped his hand. "I noticed some in the drawer." She tightened her squeeze on Ben's hands. "It would be—different."

They stared out into the sky while a zillion stars poked holes in the blackness.

In the quiet, Amanda began to softly sing.

Don't take your love away from me

Don't you leave my heart in misery.

If you go then I'll be blue

'cause breaking up is hard to do.

I beg of you don't say goodbye.

Can't we give our love another try.

Come on baby let's start a new—

"Amanda, I've been a fool."