Getting Back in the Game Ch. 04

I hesitated for a second, then picked out a middle-aged lady in a bizarre dress that seemed to be assembled of scraps and chain, and said "Lady Ga-Ga Grandma."

Courtney giggled, bumped me with her shoulder, and said "You're getting it," and we kept going like that, back and forth, long past the time it took to finish our desserts. In fact, when I finally looked down at my watch, I realized that nearly three hours had passed.

"I suppose I should get you back," I offered.

"Nah, I don't have anywhere to be right now," she shot back. "I have the day off, and no plans. We can keep hanging out if you want."

"You really want to hang out with an old guy like me? Don't girls normally have plans on a weekend nights?" I asked.

"Well, I usually did, but they got cancelled," she said, with a slight edge to her voice.

"Sorry," I countered. "You said you didn't want to talk about it."

She hesitated with a pause that was more than pregnant. "Yeah," she finally mustered. "Anyway, I'm hungry."

"Me too. Want to hit some sushi?"

"That's kind of expensive," she hesitated.

"Nah, it's not too bad," I offered. "I know a place right down the road that does a great happy hour deal."

A little back and forth, and she finally relented. We cruised 5 minutes to a little conveyer belt place I know, and I couldn't help but laugh at the waitress's judgmental reaction when she saw the two of us. As she left, Courtney remarked "I think she thinks you're a cradle robber."

As it happened, I knew the waitress. "She probably does. But she's also the best friend of a girl I have turned down multiple times." Courtney cocked her eyebrow at that revelation. "Secretary for a client of mine. She's constantly inviting me to come do drinks with her or both of them."

"Why don't you?" she inquired.

"Well, first, she's kind of slutty..."

"So's Emily," she shot back. I winced a bit internally.

"Yes, I suppose. But Emily keeps her mouth shut. She's proven that to Erin and, by extension, to me many times over the years. That gal and her friend over there would tear my clothes off and then crow about it all over town. And I hate people knowing my business."

"Okay. So why else wouldn't you go for that? A threesome with decent looking girls your own age? Sounds alright."

"I'm not attracted to either of them." She scoffed in reply. "No, I'm serious. I like ladies my own age just fine, but those two turn me off. I think it's a personality thing. It was six weeks after Mandy died before those two were sniffing around. It just made me really uncomfortable. Give me some time to heal, at least."

She was silent for a long time. "I suppose I can respect that." She paused again. "Can I ask a personal question?"

"Sure. Worst case, I won't answer it," I joked back.

"How long after Erin's Mom died did you wait until you...well, you know."

"What? I slept with someone else?"

"Yeah."

"Well, she passed two and a half years ago next month. And the first person was Emily."

"Two Years?!!" She spat out, a little too loudly. A few people looked over in surprise.

"Keep your voice down, please."

"Sorry. Two Years?"

"Yes. Two years. Well, if you want to be technical, one year and 11 months. But yes."

"Wow," she said, looking somewhat defeated and confused.

"What?"

"A lot of things," she responded.

"Do you think less of me for sleeping with someone your and Erin's age?"

"No. Martin, I don't judge you," she said. "I'm sorry for what I said earlier, I'm just mad right now at all men. And I know Emily would probably have torn your pants off chasing you even if you had refused her. We've been friends for years, I know how she gets around guys she has a thing for. Cece too, though maybe a bit less. I'm just..." she exhaled, and I could see she was looking for the right words.

"Angry? Defeated? Disappointed?" I offered.

"Yes. At all men, really." She sat in silence. I decided to take a chance, figuring if it didn't work I could just step back.

"So. Did your boyfriend just screw up, or did he cheat on you? I'm guessing the second, by your reaction." I had to stifle a laugh when I saw the look of amazement on her face that served as instant confirmation.

"How did you..."

"Years of experience," I said, dismissing her reaction. "It seemed the most logical reason, given your reactions."

She considered my face for a second, before seeming to make up her mind. "Cheated. While I was gone two months ago on my 3 week exchange to Thailand. With some really horrible girl I dislike. Multiple times."

"Wow. Did he come clean, or did you find out on your own?"

"Her friend told me. By text."

"Ouch. Then what happened?"

"I snooped on his Facebook. Found messages. They not only did while I was gone, since I've been back, they've been talking constantly, and he's been planning on getting with her after he apparently dumps me, or so he claimed. Plus, she's horrible. Nasty and catty and dumb, kind of strange looking..." she trailed off.

I looked at Courtney and wondered how any man with half a brain could cheat on her. She was tall, with pale, ivory skin, some of the biggest and most beautiful deep blue blue eyes I had ever seen, gorgeous features, thick and cutely bent lips, and a mane of long, thick, wavy red hair. Her body was curvy yet she was in incredible shape, a product of rowing team and regular workouts, and I knew from conversations previous that grown men had been hitting on her since before she was even legal to drive. Not to mention she was intelligent and a all around great girl.

"He's an idiot. Sorry. Um, did you confront him?"

"Yeah."

"What did he say?"

"That it only happened because I was away for so long and he was sexually frustrated. And he didn't admit to talking to her since."

"Did you mention it?"

"No. I wanted to see if he'd come clean completely. And he failed."

"So he can't keep it in his pants when you've only been gone for literally days."

"Yeah. And...yeah. And then he had the audacity to hint that I was boring in bed and that was why he had to cheat!"

That was a softball. But instead of swinging wildly, I chided my inner pervert to keep under control and merely said, as flatly as possible, "Okay."

"What?" she spat out, with a look of confusion and distrust.

"Not to pry, but I'm assuming from your tone that you have some confidence that you aren't a bad lay by any means."

"Oh, yeah. I've had a few boyfriends before him, and nothing but compliments. But he's obsessed with the fact that I won't let him give it to me up the butt."

"So that's his big thing? That's kind of dumb."

"Yeah, I think he watches too much porn lately. Says he likes bigger boobs than mine. Wants me to go blonde." Without meaning, to, I glanced down at Courtney's chest, wondering how on earth he could be dissatisfied with them. Despite the shirt she was wearing being a bit loose, her breasts loomed large and looked amazing. I regretted it immediately.

"38DD," she said, and I felt myself flush.

"Sorry," I said, as I cast my eyes down and felt myself blush deeper, "I wasn't trying to stare. I just was wondering what jackass wouldn't think your chest isn't big enough. Not to sound like a perv, but if yours were any bigger they'd be ridiculous."

"Thanks."

"And please don't ever go blonde. You have some of the most gorgeous hair I've ever seen."

She blushed slightly. "Thank you. You're sweet."

"Nah. I'm a man who doesn't want to see a beautiful girl destroy her appearance because of some shallow boy."

"Thank you. Again." She blushed deeper.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable."

"It's fine. I'm not uncomfortable. Just flattered." She stared at me for a second warmly, and things went uncomfortably silent.

"How are you feeling overall?" I said, feeling a bit flustered myself.

"Upset. Relieved. Betrayed. A bunch of things. I don't know...Maybe just annoyed that I've put up with him being a jerk for so long, and that he obviously doesn't value me."

I felt good about doing something nice for Courtney, even if the day had been a bit unusual, and as we walked out of the restaurant, I was prepared to drive her back to get her car and wish her a good night, but she suggested we do something else so we could keep talking. We ended up setting on a coffee place she knew where all the hipsters congregated, and we sat with overpriced lattes and dessert, bantering easily and poking occasional fun at the more ridiculous of the shop denizens. I was amazed at how easy it was to talk with her, and told her so.

"Yeah, despite my abnormally large breasts, I have a brain," she scoffed.

"No, I mean, you're easier to talk to than most of Erin's friends."

"Thanks, I think."

"Well," I countered, "you don't respond the same way most of her friends do. You act a bit...older, I suppose. I don't know."

"Probably because I'm a bit older than them."

"What, a few months?" I joked.

"No, I'm 26."

"But you just graduated from University," I said, confused. "And weren't you and Erin in the same class at Lincoln High?

"No, I was a year ahead of her. Plus, I graduated from high school late. I lost years due to my surgeries." I shot her a questioning glance. "I was hit by a drunk driver on my bike when I was 12. I wasn't supposed to live, but they got me airlifted to a good hospital and saved my life. But I broke my back in several places, and I've had to have five different surgeries over the years to insert rods into my back to help me heal properly and correct my posture. Each time I've lost a lot of school. And even with correspondence, I could only make up so much. So I'm older than the rest of the girls."

"I'm sorry," I offered somewhat weakly.

"Don't be. It's given me a good perspective on life and I think a lot of gratitude. It was harder on my folks than on me, really. And I've been able to be active and have a pretty good life, overall."

I found myself in amazement of this young woman. We talked for a bit of time about the accident, and she showed me a couple of surgery scars and talked about rehabbing her injuries. We bantered, and the conversation turned to life, fate, and even philosophy and god. And I got lost in it all, as we unwittingly scooted closer to each other until knees brushed, talking over the coffee house indie rock and leaning in to hear.

Finally, my drink nearly exhausted, I glanced down at my watch to realize that it was now after midnight, so I put my foot down and told her I was taking her back to her car. I got up, offered her my hand, and she not only took it, but as we walked out towards my car, she put her arm around my waist and pressed herself into me. I was surprised, looked over at her, but she just beamed a smile and gave me a look with those gorgeous eyes of hers, and since I'm a sucker for big, pretty eyes, I shrugged it off. Truth be told, she felt and smelled nothing short of amazing, and I had to work to keep my cock under control, with this warm and wonderful creature in the crook of my arm. I took her back to my place, and was going to wish her goodnight at the door, when she asked if she could use the restroom, and quickly darted inside. I found myself in my living room, wondering what the hell had just happened. I was on the couch, scratching the dog behind his ears, when she came back and sat down next to me so close that our thighs just barely touched. I tried to ignore how good it felt, though I felt a little stir down below again. She gave my thigh a little brush and said "You're a good man, Martin. Thank you for today." My stomach flipped a bit. What was going on here?

"It's pretty late. Do you mind if I hang out here tonight? It's a good 40 minutes back to my folk's house, and I'm a bit sleepy."

"Not at all." I was trying to play it cool, but my heart rate was quickening and I was failing miserably.

"Mind if I switch on a movie?" she asked.

I indicated the remotes on the coffee table to tell her to go ahead. She flipped through the channels until she found something that suited her, some action flick I wasn't really familiar with. I sat back and she animatedly started describing the plot and characters, and I had a moment of amusement watching her as she went on. She stopped, and cocked her head back. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing," I said, trying to play it off. "Sorry, I just remembered I have to take care of a couple of things before bed." I was getting uncomfortable, and I thought I could see where this was going, but instead of getting excited, I felt myself getting anxious and a bit scared. So I got up, and went across to the kitchen and started straightening up stuff that didn't even need it. What was I doing? I never got this way around women, and here I was behaving like a 14 year-old boy. I was halfway through wiping down the counter, when Courtney walked up behind me, turned my shoulders around to face her, put her arms around me, and kissed me deeply. After the initial shock, I let her tongue probe it's way into my mouth, and relaxed as she coaxed my tongue into hers. She moaned and exhaled slightly, and I groaned as I enjoyed the sweet sensation that was her mouth.

I felt her relax and move into me slightly. She stayed pressed against me, her arms still around my neck, and put her forehead against mine. "Hmmm," she said, lowly. "That was nice."

"What was that for?" I asked, somewhat surprised.

"I needed to break the tension. No matter what happens the rest of the night, or any other point in the future, I needed that. Apparently you did too. Why did you walk away as I was trying to make my move on the couch?"

"I'm not sure. I got incredibly nervous for some reason."

She responded by kissing me again, but this time, instead of freaking out, I pulled her in closer and kissed her deeper. She pulled her face back to an inch away again, and was so close I could feel her breath and even her lips slightly against mine. "Why?"

"Because I like you. And that freaks me out a bit. And you're way younger than me."

"It didn't with Emily or Cecelia."

"I barely knew them, and it was just physical. And I've found myself really getting into you the better I get to know you. Especially tonight. And I'm just nervous about creating any more harm or complications for myself or anybody else in life."

I was still a bit nervous, although I had stopped shaking. But Courtney seemed to know just what to do and say.

"Martin, I'm not that young. I'm old enough to know what I want and what I don't, and smart enough to figure out if something isn't for me. I like you too, but I'm not going to get sprung on you or any other man just because I have a few orgasms. Now, come back to the couch. We can take this as slow or as fast as you want tonight." She held out her hand, and I took it, looking her in the eyes as she smiled sweetly in a way that made me melt inside. She leaned up and kissed me gently on the lips, and I found myself reaching out when she pulled away. She tugged a bit with her hand as she turned toward the living room, bringing me with her...