Rob and Mickey

A week later she was off to State.

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The week she left I checked my bank balance and saw that I finally had enough for the first and last months rent and security deposit for an apartment and I found one close to work.

The first weekend Mickey was gone she didn't come home, but then I hadn't expected her to. I knew she would be busy settling in and getting acclimated to the place. I was a little pissed when she didn't come home the second weekend and didn't call to let me know that she wouldn't be there. She called me the Thursday of the third week and told me that she would be home around six on Friday. We made arrangements for me to pick her up at seven.

When she got in the car she asked me where we were going and I told her I was taking her to dinner. When I pulled into the apartment complex parking lot she looked at me confused and said:

"What are we doing here?"

"I said I was taking you to dinner. Come on" I said and got out of the car. She followed me and I led her to my apartment and ushered her in. She looked around and said:

"What is this?"

"This is where I live now."

"I thought you were taking me out to dinner?"

"I said I was taking you to dinner, not 'out' to dinner."

I walked to the oven and took out the meatloaf I'd made and the baked potatoes. I set them on the table that was already set with plates and silverware and then I got the salad out of the fridge and set it on the table. Then I said:

"Of course if you would rather go to the bedroom and have desert first I guess I could accommodate you."

She chose desert.

From then until her holiday break she came home on the average of three out of every five weekends. When her parents went to Cartersville for a week over the holidays she didn't go with them and for the entire week she stayed with me at my apartment. It was a taste of what married life would be like with Mickey and I liked it. Mick went back to school in January and then it was back to her coming home two or three weeks out of every four. Then it was summer and she was home.

Mickey's dad had thirty years with his company and was entitled to six weeks vacation every year. He and Mickey's mom were always traveling and when they were gone Mickey lived with me and then in September it was back to school for her. She came home three out of four in September and October, but in November it dropped to two or three out of every five or six. She told me that it was because the class work was getting harder and her professors were into assigning more projects than her freshman professors did.

Holiday break did get me a week of living with her when her parents went to the farm. In January she didn't come home for any of the weekends and in February I only saw her on two of them. In March she casually told me that she was going to Panama City with some girlfriends over spring break. I wasn't happy about it, but what could I do?

When spring break was over she went back to school and it was another three weeks before I saw her again. The weekend following spring break since Mick didn't come home I went out with some friends and we ended up at a party. There were a couple of guys I went to school with and one of them, Wendell Haight, came up to me and asked me how I was. We talked for a while and then Wendell asked:

"Any girls in your life now that Mick is gone?"

From the look on my face Wendell figured that he'd just said something that I didn't understand and he said:

"Oops. I'm guessing you don't know."

"Don't know what?"

"You and Mickey are still together?"

"We were until thirty seconds ago. Come on Wendell -- give. Why did you think Mick was gone?"

"Don't shoot the messenger Rob, but she has been going hot and heavy with Stan North for the last six months. She even went on spring break with him."

"On spring break with him or as part of a group that he was one of?"

"There were a bunch of kids there, but she and Stan were a couple."

"A couple? How? Sharing a room or something like that?"

"I don't know what went on behind closed doors, but they didn't room together."

"What about the 'hot and heavy' before spring break?"

"They were dating and keeping steady company. Again, I have no idea what went on behind closed doors, but they did an awful lot of hand holding and hugging and kissing and a couple of time I saw them at dances and his hands were all over her body and she didn't fight him off."

I rolled that over in my mind for a bit and then said, "Thanks Wendell. I didn't know. I thought Mick and I were strong, but it seems that I'm wrong. Do me a favor please? We never had this conversation. I don't want Mick to know that I know."

"You got it."

My party mood was shot and so I headed home. The next morning I called Rich.

"Bev and Mickey still on the phone all the time to each other?"

"Almost every day. Thank God I've got unlimited long distance."

"Can you do me a big favor?"

"Sure. What do you need?"

"Without sounding like you are digging for me try and find out what Bev knows about what Mick is up to at State."

"What's up?"

"I'm hearing some things that are not making me a happy camper."

"I'll do what I can."

"Thanks bro."

I started thinking how I would handle what I knew when Mickey came home for the week end, but she didn't come home that weekend. Wednesday of the following week Rich called me.

"I couldn't get anything out of Bev so I got sneaky. When she was talking with Mickey I listened in on the basement extension. I don't want to talk on the phone. You going to be home for a while?"

"I don't have any plans on going anywhere."

"I'll be right over."

Twenty minutes later we were sitting at the kitchen table. "Nothing but bad news Rob. Apparently Mickey has a steady boyfriend up at State. You remember Stan North don't you?"

"He was our quarterback in high school and I hear he is going to be State's starting quarterback this year."

"Well he is also Mickey's boyfriend. The good news is that she isn't putting out for him. According to what she told Bev she has Stan convinced that she is still a virgin and won't give it up until they get married."

"She is talking marriage with Stan?"

"Her exact words to Bev were, "I think I have him about ready to propose. What have you been hearing that made you want to check things out?"

I told him what I had gotten out of Wendell. "What I don't understand is why she comes home, acts like we are forever, fucks my brains out and then goes back to school and her new boyfriend."

"She's a female Rob and us mere men are never going to understand them."

"Well I understand one thing. Mickey and I are going to have an interesting conversation when she comes home."

"I'll keep listening in and if I hear anything that concerns you I'll be on the phone ASAP."

"Thanks Rich. I appreciate it."

That weekend Mickey came home on Friday and called me. I picked her up and asked her where she wanted to go and what would she like to do.

"How about we go to your place and do whatever occurs to us."

I fully intended to confront Mickey but I wasn't dumb. I'd do it after our last love making session before she left for school on Sunday afternoon. Hey -- I hadn't been laid in over a month and after the confrontation I probably would be getting any until I hooked up with another girl. We got to my place and Mick left no doubt about what she wanted to do. She started undressing as soon as she was in the front door.

DESC++++++++++++++++

She woke me with a blow job and then I had to return the favor which ended up with us making the beast with two backs after which we showered and I fixed us some breakfast. I was going to miss weekends like that.

That night we attended a party and we had a good time. Wendell was there and when he saw us together he gave me a raised eyebrow and I gave him a small smile and a small shrug. When we got back to my place it was a repeat of the previous night and Sunday morning was a repeat of Saturday morning except that it continued off and on until two when she started dressing to leave for school.

I wondered about Mick's sexual appetite when she came to me on the weekends and I decided that it had to be because everything she did with North during the week got her all hot and bothered and since she wouldn't go all the way with him she was horny as hell when she got to me. Another thing I decided was that I wasn't ready to confront Mickey about what she was doing with North. I figured that since she had been playing me I would play her. I'd take all the weekends I could get until I could find a replacement for Mick and then I would break it off with her before she could dump me. At four Michelle gave me a passionate kiss, told me that it was so I wouldn't forget her until she came back and she headed off for school.

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It didn't take me as long to find a replacement as I thought. Tuesday Bill Marks, the dealerships general manager asked me if I would like to make a few extra bucks and I said sure. His sister was moving and she needed some help. After work we drove over to her place and he introduced us. Her name was Alicia and she was a stone fox!!! Not that I ever expected to have anything to do with her.

The story I got from Bill was that Alicia had gone through a divorce and had gotten the house until her two kids turned eighteen and then the house had to be sold and the proceeds shared with her ex. The son had turned eighteen two years before and had joined the Navy. The daughter had turned eighteen three months ago and had left for college. The house had been put up for sale and had sold so Alicia was moving to a condo.

I spent two evenings helping Alicia move. The last night, after we had moved the last of her things she told me to have a seat while she made us dinner.

"This will be my first meal in this place and I don't want to eat it alone."

We made conversation as we ate and when she asked me if I had a girlfriend I said:

"Sort of."

"What does sort of mean?"

I explained to her the situation and she asked me what I was going to do.

"Find a girl to date and then break it off with her before she can dump me. Knowing her like I do I know that it will severely torque her off to be the one dumped."

"Have you started looking yet?"

"Not yet. I'll probably hit some parties this weekend and see who is unattached."

"Does it have to be a girl?"

"Oh yeah! I'm not into guys."

"That's not what I meant. What I meant was does it have to be a girl or would a woman do?"

I just sat there and stared at her. Was she...? Nah! No way. And then she surprised the hell out of me and said:

"I know what you are thinking and the answer is yes that is exactly what I'm doing. If I understand what you just told me is that you are going looking for a bed buddy to give you what you were getting from your girlfriend. Something to hold you over until you find someone who might be marriage material. Am I right?"

She was right of course and I shook my head "Yes."

"I'm looking for the same thing. I'm not a bad looking broad and I could have gone out and found a bed buddy to give me what I used to get from my ex, but I didn't. My kids adored their father and the one time I dated after he was gone neither one of them would speak to me for over a month. I put men out of my life for the three years it took for the two of them to leave home.

"Jessica left for school three months ago and my plan was to find a bed buddy as soon as I was moved into this condo. I am as horny as a billygoat and I'm more than ready. What I need now is a partner for sex, not for life. Maybe down the road I'll go looking for a new hubby, but right now all I want is someone who can help me play catch up and here you are. Plus you have the added benefit of being young and able to recover quickly. How about it Rob. Want to play around with an older woman?'

Talk about stupid questions!

DESC++++++++++++++++++++++++

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I stopped by Alicia's place every night for the nest two weeks and also the two weekends since Mickey didn't come home on them. Three times we went out to dinner and once we went to a movie. We were friends with benefits and nothing more and we knew it. The big thing is that we were both getting what we needed out of the relationship.

The third weekend Mickey came home. She called me Thursday and told me that she would be home Friday and said:

"We need to talk Rob."

"Sure Mick. What time you want me to pick you up?

We agreed on six and I got there to pick her up at ten after six. My being late would piss her off and that was my intent. As soon as Mickey was in the car she said:

"What's this I've been hearing about you being seen with a woman? I thought I could trust you to behave when I was gone. I guess I was wrong."

"Once I found out about you and North I figured if you could have a guy while you were away I could have a girl while you were gone. Actually she isn't a girl she's a woman and one hell of a woman at that."

"I don't know what you are talking about."

"Get off it Mick. There are over twenty of our high school classmates who are also going to State. Didn't you ever stop to think that a couple of them might clue me in? I know all about you and North and that includes your trip to Panama City and what you and North did while you were there. Face it Mick; you have been busted."

She gave me a long look and then said, "I'm sorry Rob, but you just don't have the get up and go that I need in the man that I marry. I want more out of life than you can give me as a mechanic. If you had gone to college and kept up your level of play you could have made it to the pros, made big money and we could have been very happy together."

"So you never saw me as anything more than a ticket to big money?"

"Don't be stupid Rob. I love you and I always have, but love isn't always enough. My family is what you might call comfortable. We don't lack for much, but we have to budget like hell. I don't want to have to budget for everything that I want to do. I want to go places and do things and I don't want to have to pinch pennies to do it. Stan is going to go to the pros and I'm betting that he will be a first round draft pick. I don't love him like I love you, but I do like him a lot. Like I said; sometimes love just isn't enough. Stan can give me the life I want. I'm sorry Rob, but that's the way it is."

"If that's the way it is why have you been keeping company with me?"

"I just told you that. I love you Rob and I wanted as much time with you as I could get. Can we go to your place now so I can show you just how much I love you?"

"Get serious Mick. After what you've just told me? I'm supposed to say "Oh goodie; she loves me" and overlook the fact that you are going to kick me to the curb as soon as North marries you? Just get out of the car Michelle.

"Please Rob; let's go to your place."

"Michelle I have loved you since forever and I probably always will love you, but if you don't get out of the car right now I'll get out, come around to your side and drag you out. You just killed me and I need to get away from you. Get out!!!"

She looked at me for several seconds and then she got out. As I pulled away leaving her standing there it was all I could do to keep from crying. I had loved her; I still loved her and I probably always would love her, but to hear her tell me that she loved me but that I was too poor to suit her ....shit!!! Life sucked!

But I did know what would help me get by Mickey's statements. Alicia told me to call her if my weekend with Mickey didn't go well and call her I did and that night we only left the bedroom to eat and rest up for the next time.

As I dressed on Saturday Alicia asked me if I was going to be all right.

"I'll get over it especially if I have you to help me."

"I'll help you during the coming week, but you are on your own for next weekend. Jessica will be coming home so I'll have to cool it. It might do you some good to go out and see if you can't find someone your own age. You are going to have to start sometime."

"I don't know about that. A certain older woman has kind of spoiled me. I don't know that a girl my own age can offer me much."

"Don't go getting all that serious on me lover. You know that all we are and that all we are ever going to be is friends with benefits."

"I know that, but I don't mind telling you that I'm hoping that the arrangement will last another thirty years or so."

"You say the sweetest things. I think I'll have to reward you when you stop by tomorrow night."

"You could reward me tonight after I take you to dinner."

"You haven't had enough of me yet?"

"I doubt that I'll ever have enough."

"There you go saying sweet things again. What time?"

"Say six?"

"I'll be ready."

It was pure assed luck and it made my day. We entered Duke's Steak House and we were ushered to a table. As we sat down I saw Rich, Bev, Nancy Wilde and Mickey sitting on the other side of the room. I saw the look on Mickey's face when she saw me with Alicia and the expression on her face was priceless. I gave a little chuckle as we sat down and Alicia asked:

"What's that all about?"

"Don't look right this moment, but my ex-girlfriend is sitting on the other side of the room and if looks could kill the one she just gave us would have both of us stone cold dead."

"Which table?"

"Directly across from us against the wall on the other side of the room."

Alicia waited a minute and then she casually checked out the room. Her gaze swept by the table in mention without slowing down or stopping and then she asked:

"Which one?" All three are beautiful."

Mickey is the one in the blue sweater. The guy is my brother Rich, the girl in the white blouse is his wife Bev and the other girl is Nancy."

"Your brother? Shouldn't we go over and say hi? Wouldn't that tweak her nose a bit?"

"I never knew that you had an evil streak in you."

"It is called 'being catty' dear."

As she said it I saw Rich get up and head our way. He walked up to the table and said:

"I didn't know that you were going to be here tonight. Would you and your lovely lady like to join us?"

Before I could say "No thanks" Alicia said, "We would love to wouldn't we Robbie." There wasn't anything I could do except say yes and introduce her to Rich. The four of them were sitting at a table for six so there was room for us. I seated Alicia and then made the introductions. I could see from Michelle' face that she hadn't been in favor of Rich extending us the invitation and I knew that Alicia could read Mickey's expression as well as I did and I also knew that she was loving the situation.

Bev got the ball rolling with, "How did you two become a couple?"

"Oh my goodness" Alicia said, "We aren't a couple, just good friends right Robbie? Very good friends. My brother got Robbie to help me move from my old place to my new one. Since then he has helped me with several things. I do have to say that if I was a bit younger I'd give that couple thing some serious thought."

From the way she was putting emphasis on what she was saying there wasn't anyone at that table that didn't know we were bed buddies. It was written all over us. I saw Bev give a knowing smile as she said:

"Well Rob would be a good catch for someone."

Mickey's facial expression when she heard that almost caused me to laugh. During the conversation it came out that Nancy knew Alicia's daughter Jessica and she asked how Jessica was liking the school she was going to. While Nancy and Alicia were talking Rich and Bev were inviting me to a barbecue at their place the next day. Bev gave me an evil grin and said:

"Make sure that you bring your very good friend."