Lotto Changed my Life

With the barely black stockings she wore underneath it her legs really did look great, and not just for a woman her age. The open-toed heels with an ankle strap were a bit much, but she felt...sexy...in them. In fact, the whole package made her feel like she hadn't since she was dating her late husband.

For a moment she felt ridiculous. She was dressed like she was 20 years younger than her age, and that caused a moment of deep embarrassment. But when she realized she could still pull it off, the embarrassment was replaced with a feeling of pride, something she rarely experienced.

Rebecca walked in just as Kim turned around.

"I was right!" she said with a huge smile on her face. "Are you ready?"

"Ready?"

"Yes. Jared is waiting for you."

"Wait. This was...his idea?"

"No. Not at all. It was mine," Rebecca proudly told her. "But he is waiting for his date."

"Date? What are you talking about?"

"I had to twist his arm, but he agreed to let me set up him up with one more...girl."

"Oh. You mean...bimbo."

Rebecca laughed again.

"That's what he's expecting. But when he sees who it really is...."

"I'm not sure I can do this," Kim said, suddenly feeling sick to her stomach.

Rebecca put her hands on Kim's shoulders.

"If I looked like you, I'd be doing this myself," she told her. "Jared is going to love it. I guarantee."

Kim thought of the Cajun on TV who used to say that but couldn't recall his name which was Justin Wilson. The thought somehow made her feel better. So did remembering what Rebecca had told her earlier about Jared's comments.

"Okay. I just hope I don't humiliate myself."

"As long as you don't trip or fall in these heels, you'll be fine," her new friend promised.

Rebecca was right. In every respect. When Jared saw her it took him several seconds to realize who it was.

"Kim? Is that really you?" he asked, the surprise so genuine it made her smile.

"It is," she told him quietly. "Is it too much?"

He walked over to her then reached for her hands. Her heart beat quickly as she gave them to him.

"Wow. You are absolutely gorgeous!"

It didn't bother her at all that he took his time taking in every part of her from her beautiful, soft hair to the heels that almost allowed her be the same height as him.

"Thank you," she told him as he continued to stare at her.

"My god. You are so beautiful."

"I wasn't sure I should even do this," she admitted even as her confidence grew.

"Nor was I when I assumed Rebecca was bringing me another vacuous airhead."

Kim laughed nervously as she looked behind Jared. There was a huge table with lit candles and more of them around the room.

"Please. Come join me," Jared said as he turned and extended an elbow.

"Thank you, kind sir," Kim said as he slid her arm in his.

"Of course, ma'dame," he replied with a little laugh.

As he helped her with her chair, he said from behind, "Did I mention how beautiful you are?"

"Hmmm. Maybe once or twice," she said, a smile on her pretty face and a feeling of warmth in her heart that slowly it made its to points south.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Good. I don't want you to forget that. Ever."

The word 'ever' sent a flood of emotions coursing through her, not the least of which was the realization that she liked this younger man. A lot. Not because he'd won the lottery but because he was winning her heart.

An hour later Kim felt like she'd known Jared for years. There was never so much as a short lag in the conversation as he opened up to her like he'd never done with anyone else since losing his wife.

He was clearly very intelligent. He was also a pilot. Mostly, he was just a warm, kind, thoughtful young man that made Kim feel safe and special, two of the things she'd loved the most about her late husband.

She'd never really been concerned or even all that interested about this 'thing' he seemed to have for a certain kind of women's clothing, and as long as he didn't want to wear them, she really didn't care. But to be sure, she asked him about it once she felt comfortable enough to do so.

"Right. That," he said in a way that made her regret asking.

"If that's too personal...."

"Other than Shari, the only person I've ever told this to was my best friend from 4th grade through high school."

He looked at her in a way that gave her that same warm feeling then said, "I trust you, and I want you to know, too. It's not complicated. It's just...weird. Or perhaps I worry too much and it's not really all that...odd."

"No judgment. I promise," Kim told him supportively.

"When I was 14, and full of testosterone," he began.

Kim smiled but didn't laugh.

"My dad took me to a baseball game. I remember turning around to look at something and I saw the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen."

"In your whole 14 years of existence?" Kim teased, hoping it didn't sound mean.

Jared laughed and said, "Yes. My entire, long life."

She laughed, too, before he finished the story.

"She was wearing a white, long-sleeved, rib knit sweater. I could not stop staring."

"What was it about the sweater you liked so much?"

"I guess the way it clung to her like a glove. She had an amazing figure, and it showed off...everything."

Suddenly aware that she was wearing the same thing only in a different color, she asked, "Like this one?"

"Yes. But it isn't the sleeve length or the neckline. It can be sleeveless or anything in between and a scoop neck to a turtleneck. Just no thick, heavy, chunky looking sweaters which, ironically, are what every guy with a sweater fetish posts on his site."

"There are websites for that?" a very surprised Kim Thomas asked.

"Oh, yes. Quite a few. But I'm the only one I know of who not only doesn't like what turns them on. I uh, I despise them. You know, HUGE, thick turtlenecks that cover the chin or even the nose and wrap her up like she's in a cocoon."

"Ahhh. Okay. Now it's starting to make sense. What about the short skirts and the very high heels?"

"They're not fetish items. The girl I saw and whose image was well, imprinted, on my brain, was wearing blue jeans, and I've never cared for them one way or the other. I just think a woman looks more feminine in a skirt than pants, but I don't really care. Same with the shoes. I like heels, I'll grant you that, but they don't...do it...for me."

"You know, if it's just this type of top, I don't think this is very unusual at all," Kim said after learning what his big secret was. "I suppose if you had some need to tie me up and...."

She felt her face turn a little red as she said, "Spank me...I'm not sure I could handle that. I'm not saying I wouldn't at least be willing to try it, but it would really push me to my limits. Or at least I think it would."

"I have no interest in tying you up, Kim," he told her, that amazing smile on his handsome face. "But I am interested in you."

She had to admit she was interested in him, too, but she still wasn't sure exactly how big the age difference was, and she felt like she had to ask.

"Jared? You know how old I am, right?"

"Sure. I saw the paperwork you signed for Rebecca. Why?"

"You can't tell me it doesn't concern you."

"I can, and I am telling you," he quietly replied. "We both said we thought we'd never find anyone else again, and I was so convinced of that I um...I hired...all of these...."

He laughed as he said, "Bimbos...to try and fill the emptiness in my heart."

He reached for her hand, and it only took her a second to give it to him.

"And then came you."

He gently squeezed it, but Kim didn't squeeze it back, although she wanted to.

"Does it bother you?" Jared asked as though he was afraid to hear her answer.

"I don't even know how old you are," she confessed.

"I'm 28."

She pulled her hand back but felt foolish for doing it.

"Sorry. I was thinking you'd at least be 30, and when I heard 'twenty-anything' I just reacted."

"I can't change that about me, Kim. But I believe you and I could be happy together."

She moved her hand back for him to take, if he still wanted to, and he did so immediately.

"Very happy."

She'd already had that thought, but because she barely knew him, she wasn't about to say it out loud. But now that he had she told him she thought so, too.

"Really?" he asked, his smile bigger than she'd ever seen.

"We'd have to get to know one another...really get to know one another...but yes, I think that could be possible."

She looked down at her plate causing Jared to ask her if anything was wrong.

"No. I just need you to know that I don't care about...the money. It has nothing to do with any of...this."

She used her free hand to indicate everything else around them.

"But I'd want to share it with you. If things...worked out."

"I'd insist on a prenuptial agreement."

He started to interrupt, but she asked to let her finish.

"I have no idea how far this might go, but that is non-negotiable."

"Okay. I understand," he told her even though he really didn't.

"And while I don't care what you do, I...I'd really like you to have a job. Not for the money, obviously, but...."

"To fill that area of my life," he said, finishing her thought.

"Exactly. Men especially need to work. You...you could work for an airline or maybe fly Learjets or whatever."

"I do miss flying a lot. I'd have to go through some remedial training, but I was a pretty decent aviator."

"Do you want children?" she then asked in as non-threatening a way as she could.

For the first time, he thought about her age. It wasn't that she was too old. It was more that she had a child and might not want to do that again at this stage of her life. But he did want children.

"I think I would," he told her honestly, knowing it could end things before they even got started.

She did the math in her head and realized she'd be 44 or 45 by the time a baby was born. The thought filled her with sadness, but when she thought about holding a tiny bundle of joy in her arms again it made her smile.

"I might have one more left in me," she said sweetly with and ever sweeter smile.

"May I kiss you?" Jared asked out of the blue.

Kim didn't need to think about her answer.

"Yes. I'd like that very much."

He leaned across the table and kissed her softly for the first time. It was slow and sweet, and when the tips of their tongues briefly touched, she moaned softly. When their lips parted, Kim stood up, walked around the table, and looked at his lap. Jared pushed back then took her hand as she sat on it.

She put her arms around him then said, "Is this crazy or what?"

He looked at her very seriously then replied, "Or what."

"What?" Kim asked, very confused.

"You asked if this was crazy...or what. I say it's the 'or what' and not the 'crazy'."

She got it then laughed. As she looked into his eyes she said, "Did I tell you how handsome you are?"

"No. No, you haven't."

"Well, Jared Porter, you are very handsome."

As they kissed their passions rose. When she felt him...rise...she moaned again. He sensed her response then slide his hand up her body until if found the soft, full mound it wanted. As he squeezed she gasped then kissed him harder.

"Do you want me to keep the sweater on when we make love?" she asked as though she wear purring and asking a much simpler question.

"Is that too weird?" he asked hoping it wouldn't be.

"I'm always cold in bed, so that won't be a problem."

She stood up, the look of an evil woman in her eyes, then held out her hand.

"Cmon. Let me show you."

******

Jared did go back for additional flight training. But this time he wanted to fly helos. All he wanted out of flight school was the F-22, but for some reason he really wanted to get qualified in helicopters, and went through a crash course like Tom Cruise had for an upcoming movie.

He and Kim had fallen deeply in love with one another, and not long after he finished his certification for helicopters, he bought one of his own. For a mere $15 million he purchased a Bell 525, a luxury helicopter that had caught his eye early on. He had a helo pad built behind the mini-mansion, and a month later he asked Kim, and her daughter, whom he'd gotten to know quite well and liked very much, to go with him for a ride.

Somewhere near the Yellowstone Park, Jared turned the flight over to his co-pilot and joined Kim who was sitting in a luxurious white leather chair next to Jenny. The sun was setting and the view was breathtaking.

"Are we going to crash?" she teased when she saw him coming her way.

"No, and I hope I don't crash...and burn...right now."

She started to laugh, but when he got down on one knee she stopped. She also stopped breathing as her daughter opened her purse and handed something to him.

"You...you knew?" Kim asked Jenny as her hands began to shake.

"Uh-huh," her daughter said. "But you should pay attention to Jared."

He looked up at the woman he loved then said, "Kimberly Marie Thomas. I thought I would never love again. And then came you."

She was fighting back tears as she tried to listen to every word.

"You rescued me. You...saved me. Literally. You've given me a reason to live, and I want to live the rest of my life with you. If you'll have me."

He opened the box to reveal a diamond so large it looked fake, but that didn't matter. It could have been a cigar band for all she cared.

"Will you marry me?"

"Yes. Yes, I will marry you," she told him as tears streamed down her face.

Jenny clapped hard and loud and squealed with joy as she said, "Yaaaayyyy!!!"

After her mom and her new fiancé kissed, Jenny demanded a look at the ring.

"You've already seen it!" her mom teased.

"Yes, but not on you hand, so...give!"

She sat down, held her hand out, then both of them squealed so loud it made Jared laugh. It also brought a tear to his eye which he didn't want his 'girls' to see. He blinked a few times then looked up slightly and said, "I know you're watching, honey. And for some reason I think maybe you had something to do with this."

Jared didn't know and never would, but he believed that until the day he died. In between, his new wife gave him a child. A son. A little boy they both loved with all their hearts. They named him Michael after Jared's father and gave him the middle name of Kim's.

Jennifer had indeed lost her scholarship, but after coming to her senses, and with some help from her new dad-to-be, went back to school, buckled down, and graduated with a degree in nursing. She found a job in a children's hospital which she said had the highest of highs and the lowest of lows when a child she'd gotten close to lost the battle with some disease.

Kim stopped working until Michael was five years old then went back to being an executive chef. Just not in their home, but in one of the restaurants her husband purchased as an investment in the metropolis of Casper, Wyoming. It had been struggling, but once Kim took over the kitchen business picked up and the restaurant was making a tidy profit a year later.

True to her word, Kim signed a pre-nup. It was a moot point as she could spend whatever money she wanted, but she rarely spent much at all. The only exception was to buy the kinds of things her very handsome, much younger husband loved to see her in. She never felt 'controlled' or burdened because it was something she could so easily do to make him happy. And just as she'd dreamed, Jared did everything any man could do to make her feel loved and appreciated. And even at 50 and beyond--beautiful.

As they took their baby home for the first time, Kim insisted they be in a 'normal' car with a child seat. No helicopter. No limo. Just a car like anyone else would have. It was one of the many things they often did to remind themselves that money could buy a lot of things. Happiness just wasn't one of them. It was something each person had to create on their own. But if she could help that along for the man she loved, Kim was more than happy to do it.

And as soon as she got her figure back, she did just that. One night a week or two after that the three of them plus Jenny went to dinner at a Red Lobster--just like normal people. The only difference was that Mrs. Jared Porter looked like a stunningly attractive 35 year old woman.

As they sat there eating, talking, laughing, and loving one another, Kim realized she hadn't been sad or lonely for a very long time, and one of the many reasons why was because of the lottery her husband had played. Money hadn't made them happy, but it had brought them together.

"Lotto changed my life," she thought to herself as she asked her daughter to pass the breadsticks just as Michael reached out to try and take it.

"Hey! That's mine, you stinker!" she said with a laugh.

"Me no stinker. Me Michael!" her little boy said as everyone laughed, soaking in all of the love they possibly could.