Running into Trouble

I was out for a hot Saturday afternoon run in July when I saw her. She was walking a dog in the field adjacent to where the jogging trail passed by the playground. She wore white shorts and a sleeveless red top. She was still a fox and her body was still fine, just like it was back when we used to be a couple.

Her name was Helen and she had been one of the prettier girls in my high school. She had long brown hair, deep brown eyes and a body that turned heads. She was a very nice and considerate person, but she intimidated a lot of guys in those days, including me, partially because of her exquisite looks, but mostly because her mother was an English teacher at our school. In the spring of our senior year Helen and I acted in a school play together and we hit it off. I found her very easy to talk to with a great sense of humor. She was hot, but she didn't act like it. We dated the last several months of our senior year and through our first year of college. She went to a different school to get her nursing degree so we ended up going our separate ways. We were by this time in our mid-twenties, and it had been over five years since I'd seen her.

"Helen? Helen, is that you?" I asked as I coasted to a stop a few feet away from her. The dog leaped toward me but she yanked back on the leash.

"Down, Babs," Helen said. "Will? Holy Smoke, I can't believe it!"

We shared a brief, sweaty hug and the dog was jumping up almost to my shoulders.

"This is Babs," Helen said. "She's a Jack Russell Terrorist. And not too well trained, I'm afraid."

"Is she your dog?" I asked.

"No, she belongs to my mother. Mom lives right over there," she said, pointing to the entrance to The Ridge, an upscale subdivision of nice homes on fairly large lots.

Her mother was Connie, my old English teacher. She was also a knockout, at least back in high school she had been. I guess she was still in her thirties then, with a slim athletic body, tight ass, firm titties and a beautiful smile. Most of the boys in school thought she was hot, and they all fantasized about her, and that helped make Helen seem hands-off to many of them.

"How's Mrs. Connie doing?" I asked.

"Okay, I guess. But it's Miss Connie now. She and my father split up a couple years ago, but she's doing fine, just hates men nowadays. He was messing around with some little harlot at his work and got caught. So she nailed his ass in the divorce and bought a nice house with a pool and a hot tub!"

"Is she still teaching?"

"Oh yeah," she said, laughing. "Still in the same old classroom, same old syllabus, and still setting adolescent boys' hearts a-flutter!"

"Well, you look good, Helen," I said. "Where are you living these days?"

"All over the place," she said. "I'm a travelling nurse. I go to work at places where there are severe nurse shortages, get paid well and get to see the world. I just got back from Alaska a couple of weeks ago; I was there for six months. I'm staying with Mom for a few weeks now, and then I'm off to South America!"

"South America! Wow."

"Yep, Venezuela. I've been brushing up on my Spanish. How about you? Where are you living? What are you up to?"

"Been selling medical equipment. It's been going pretty well. I bought a town house overlooking the park, about a mile from here."

"Oh, nice, we're practically neighbors! We should get together while I'm here. And I'm sure Mom would love to see you."

I wasn't so sure about that. When I'd taken her classes, she seemed to like me a lot as a student and enjoyed my comments and humor. But after I started dating Helen she'd seemed to act colder toward me.

"Sounds like a great idea," I said, "I'd love to. It will be fun to catch up and see Miss Connie again!"

She told me the phone number and I repeated it a few times so I wouldn't forget. She said to call the next day and I promised I would.

-

When I called the next day Connie answered the phone.

"Well, if it isn't the sparkling wit of Franklin High!" she laughed. "Helen said you might be calling. How are you doing, Will?"

I gave her the brief update and then she told me that Helen was out but they wanted to invite me over for a cookout by the pool.

"How about Thursday evening?" she asked. "Would that work for you?"

"That would be fine," I said.

"Okay, then we're all set. Come over around six. We'll grill out by the pool, have some drinks, catch up on everything and then we'll have a pop quiz on Antigone!"

"Ugh," I groaned, laughing.

"Okay, maybe not Antigone. How about Stevie Ray Vaughan?" she laughed.

She had a nice laugh. It was cool that she remembered that I was into the Blues. And any coolness I had detected from her in the past was nonexistent.

-

On Thursday at six p.m. I was knocking on their door. I held a twelve pack of beer in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other, which made hugging awkward when Helen and Connie saw me in. So I put down the merchandise, gave them each a hug and thanked them for having me over.

They both looked ravishing. Helen's hair was in a ponytail and she wore short denim cutoffs and a tight, white t-shirt, her tanned arms and legs glowing in contrast and the lace of her bra contoured through the thin cotton of her shirt. Connie was foxier than ever, and even though she had to be in her mid-forties she didn't look a day older than she had when I'd taken her classes eight and nine years before. Her dirty blond hair was shorter and slightly frizzed. She wore a flowery summer dress hemmed above the knees, and her long legs and arms were beautifully toned and tanned.

I followed them through the house to the pool area out back. I put the beer on ice and grabbed one for myself. They each already had a glass of wine.

"You two look great!" I said, as we took seats on the patio. "And Miss Connie, you don't look a day older than when I was in high school."

"Oh, please," she blushed. "And, it's just Connie, now. We're not in school anymore!"

"Okay, Connie. But, I'm serious, you look great. You must be working out, you look in fabulous shape."

"Pilates, aerobics, I swim a little and I've gotten into running. Helen said she bumped into you when you were running Saturday, so obviously you are still at it."

I had run cross country in high school and college, and kept it up after graduation, running races, marathons, and even a couple ultra-marathons.

"Yes, I'm still at it. My positive addiction, I guess. It helps me justify my beer drinking!" I laughed, raising my bottle.

"You ran a few marathons if I remember correctly," Connie said.

"I have," I answered. "I ran New York last year. None in the plans right now, though."

"I think that would just be an incredible accomplishment," she said. "I've run a few 10Ks, but I don't think I could ever run 26 miles!"

"Oh, if you can do a 10K," I said, "You could do a marathon. It's all just a matter of committing to the training. There aren't any short cuts!"

"Maybe one of these days I'll try it."

"You can do it. Like I said, it's really a matter of planning and training and not rushing it."

The night progressed with easy conversation between the three of us, burgers and chicken on the grill, potato salad and corn on the cob. It was all delicious and I washed it down with a number of beers. At about a quarter till ten Connie said she was going to turn in and said her goodnights. She disappeared behind the French doors that led into her master bedroom. Babs, who had been floating on a raft in the pool for most of the evening, was right behind her.

Then it was Helen and me alone. We'd all been reminiscing throughout the night and we continued along those lines, talking about the times we'd shared. We caught each other up on our personal lives and various gossip. I told her I hadn't been serious with anyone for over a year; she was vague and just said that relationships wouldn't fit too well into her current life as a travel nurse.

"You want to take a swim?" Helen asked me.

"I didn't bring my trunks," I said.

"You still wear boxers?" she asked.

I told her I did.

"You wearing them now?"

I told her I was.

"That'll work!" she said. "Go on, get in. I'll be back in a jiffy!" and she bounced into the house.

I took off my shirt and pants and shoes and dove in. In about sixty seconds Helen reappeared through the door to the living room in a black bikini, strutted to the edge of the pool and walked down the steps into the shallow end. Her suit didn't leave much to my imagination. She had a killer body and I admired every inch of it. On this hot summer night the water was cool against my skin, but I still felt a warm tingle down below. After a few minutes of playful splashing around we sat on the pool steps and continued our catching up. We sat close but we weren't touching.

"Remember the first time we went swimming together?" she said.

"How could I ever forget?" I said. "You were so bad!"

I had dived into the pool at school and the rush of water had yanked my swim trunks right off of me. Helen grabbed them and had gotten out of the pool before I even came up for air. She pranced around with my trunks laughing and I couldn't get out of the pool for half an hour.

"You made up for it later, though. I forgave you."

"I remember," she said, smiling. That night she gave me a blowjob in the woods near the fourth fairway at the public golf course.

"Remember when you wanted to be a stripper?" I said.

She laughed. "Yeah, thank God that didn't work out!"

"I think it worked out just fine," I said.

This was right after we started dating. We were drinking at a party and were kidding around and talking about what we wanted to do for a living when we got older, and somehow she said she thought it would be fun to be a stripper. I told her that sounded great, I'd like to watch her practice. So we went back to my house and down to the basement...my parents were out at some social event...and I put on some music. Soon Helen was swaying to the music and soon her blouse came off, and then her skirt as she grinded to the groove. Then she tossed her bra aside and was wearing nothing but her panties, and my dick was hard as nails. Once she slid out of her panties I couldn't control myself any longer and I slid in front of her on my knees and started eating her hairy bush. I didn't know what the hell I was doing but by that time we were both so horny it didn't matter, and soon I was fucking her brains out, our first time together.

"Maybe for you!" she said. "But I was in mortal fear until I had my next period!"

"So was I!" I replied. We laughed about it. But it wasn't funny back then.

Soon we got out of the pool. Helen went to change and I got out of my wet boxers and into my dry shorts. As we were saying goodnight I asked her if she wanted to get together and go out on Saturday night.

"Will," she said. "You need to know, I'm really not interested in getting into a relationship. And I'm only going to be here a couple more weeks..."

"I know that," I said. "Relax. But while you're here, why not? Tonight was fun, don't you think?"

She smiled and said yes, it was.

We agreed that I'd pick her up at seven and we'd figure out something to do.

-

We went out Saturday and just winged it. We went to a local joint and had pizza and beer and talked, then hung out and listened to a guitar and bass duo play a set out on the patio. When I took her home it was a tad awkward when I dropped her off.

"I don't know what to do!" I said, as we said goodnight.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Should I try to kiss you or not?"

She burst out laughing. "What do you want to do?"

"Seems like a kiss would be appropriate," I said.

"Okay, go ahead, Romeo!" she said, puckered her lips, closed her eyes and posed.

I laughed and pecked her on the corner of her mouth.

-

A couple days later I was out running in the same area where I had encountered Helen when she was walking Babs. While I was in my typical mid-run dissociative daydream I noticed another runner approaching me from the opposite direction. It was an attractive woman, slim and athletic with a smooth, even stride. She was dressed in yellow running shorts that clung to her upper legs and crotch and a white singlet that was sweat-plastered to her firm tits and waist. It was Connie.

She didn't recognize me as we closed in on one another so I ran off a few yards to the right and circled back around behind her. I caught up and started running beside her on her right.

"So Connie, you've started your marathon training already, I see!" I said.

She was startled and looked over at me and laughed.

"Oh, Will!" she said, "I didn't see you come up. But uh, no, just out for a jog."

We chatted as we ran together for a couple miles. She asked me if Helen and I had had a good time when we went out the other night.

"Oh, sure," I said. "We spent the night catching up and reminiscing and laughing about it all."

"So you won't be getting back together I take it," she replied.

"Oh no, nothing like that. It would be hard to try to have a relationship on two different continents!"

"Yes, I believe it would. And Helen hasn't had a steady guy for several years and I think she prefers it that way."

As we ran, the topic of discussion became running. I asked if she was serious about running a marathon.

"I'm not sure. Do you really think I could?"

"Sure," I averred. "Why not? Many people in not nearly the shape you're in have done it. As I said before, it's all about the training. If you plan it right, and do it right, you'll be prepared and be fine. And when you actually do it, you'll not only be in the best shape of your life, but you will have done something that 99% of the people on Earth couldn't do!"

"What's the training like? How long is it?" she asked.

"Three or four months. The key is you have to get a long run in once a week."

"How long?"

"You want to get it up to at least 20 miles."

"Ugh," she groaned. "Twenty miles? In the summer?"

"You don't start with that, you build up to it. You can do 10Ks, that's a good base. Start with a long one of eight or nine miles and build from there. In a couple of months you'll be doing 20 plus."

"I don't know," she said. "Sounds complicated."

"It's a lot simpler than Antigone!" I said, and she burst out laughing. "But you can do it if you really want to," I went on. "You just have to commit to it and stick to it. It's not easy, but it's worth it for the feeling you'll have afterwards. If you want to do it, I'll help you. I'll train with you."

"You would do that?"

"Yeah, I'd be happy to. It will be fun."

By that time we had looped around the whole massive neighborhood to where I would cut off and head back toward my place. I told her to think about it and we said our goodbyes and jogged off in opposite directions.

-

The time was nearing when Helen would be flying off to Venezuela. I called her and asked if she'd like to get together once more before she took off. She said she couldn't because she was swamped with preparations and had agreed to meet with an old girlfriend Friday night before she flew out on Saturday. She suggested that maybe I could come along with her and her mother to the airport Saturday morning. I agreed and she said to be at her mother's house at around 7:00 am to ride along.

-

I stayed in Friday evening listening to some music and catching up on some reading. The phone rang and I didn't bother to pick it up. It happened several times but no message was left. I figured it was after-dinner telemarketers looking for a sucker. Then at around 8:30 my doorbell rang; imagine my surprise when I flipped on the porch light and opened the door and saw Helen standing there!

"Helen!" I exclaimed.

"May I come in?" she asked.

"Sure," I replied, pulling the door open wide. "Is everything all right?"

"Nothing's wrong. I just need someone to talk to, I guess."

She came into my living room and sat on the sofa. I asked her if she's like something to drink and she asked if I had any wine. I'm not a wine drinker but I told her I had a cheap bottle of something for use in a pinch. She said that would be fine so I went to the kitchen and returned with a glass of merlot for her and a beer for myself.

"So, I thought you were going out with a friend tonight," I said.

"I was...I did. It didn't go very well so I left. I called you but you didn't answer. When I drove by her I saw your car so I rang your bell. I'm sorry to barge in..." She took a healthy swig of her wine.

"It's okay."

"I'm glad I didn't interrupt anything!"

We sipped our drinks and sat through a thorny silence.

"Can I tell you something, Will?"

"Sure. We could always say whatever we wanted to each other, you know that."

"I know. But there's something I never told you that I should have."

"Okay..."

"I don't want you to be mad, but remember when I was in nursing school and our relationship kind of petered out all of the sudden?" I nodded. "Well, I kind of was involved with somebody else."

"Ah," I said. As if it all made sense now, which of course it didn't.

"It's not what you think, Will. I wasn't running around on you or anything. It just sort of happened naturally. It was with one of my classmates. Her name is Geri. That's who I met with tonight."

"There was another dicey silence as I digested this news update.

"Anyway, we became lovers. I'd never had sex with another girl before. Geri had, but I hadn't, it was all new to me, and I couldn't get enough. We lived together, worked together, played together, studied together, slept together. It made everything else in life better; I thought, so this is who I am! Then after almost three years she dumped me for a man! I caught her fucking him in our apartment."

"Oh, I'm sorry..."

"That's when I went into travel nursing. To get far away from it...from her. But it only helped to a certain extent. I just couldn't quite get over the hurt...the betrayal...the insult!"

I reached over and put my hand on hers. She gripped my hand and squeezed tight.

"I'm sorry to dump all this on you, Will."

"It's okay, it's okay."

"Anyway, that's who I met with tonight: Geri. I ran into her last week at the gym where Mom works out. It was awkward...really weird...but we chatted for a minute or two and she suggested we meet for a drink. So I thought okay, bury the hatchet and let bygones be bygones and all that, and I'm leaving tomorrow anyway but maybe I could finally reach some kind of closure and move on."

"So, what happened?" I asked.

She took another gulp of wine and her glass was almost empty. I took her glass to the kitchen and returned with it refilled.

"So," she continued, and took a deep breath. "She's now married to the guy. Then she starts talking about how her husband really wants to watch her doing another chick, and since I was the last chick she was with, maybe I'd like to join them in the sack. And she said that she wouldn't mind seeing Hubby fucking another woman either, so what did I think, am I up for it, it would be fun. I mean, can you believe that?"

"Oh, wow!" I said. "What did you say to that?"

She let out with a nervous laugh. "Well, I'm not proud of what I did, but I can't say I'm sorry about it either. I mean shit, she made me feel so dirty, so cheap; like some monkey in the zoo that they can watch and get themselves off!" She shivered and took another anxious sip of wine. "I called her a fucking cunt, threw my drink in her face and got up and walked out!"

"You did?"

"I did!"

"All right, you go girl! Touché!"

"I'm over that bitch!"

Another pregnant pause ensued as we held hands and sipped drinks. Then Helen put her drink on the table and turned her body to face me more directly.

"Thank you for listening to me rant, Will," she said with liquid eyes.