1 comments/ 15926 views/ 2 favorites Renee, Again By: LenNeal "AAAAAHHH!" She screamed out loud at the freezing cold and the snow. It was the perfect end to a perfect day. Just perfect. "This just fucking perfect," Renee said, hissing in anger and stymied rage. Her car wouldn't start. It wasn't the battery, either; she knew enough to check that. The battery wasn't dead and jumping wouldn't help. She had no idea about anything else that might be wrong. There was no warranty on the car; she'd gotten it through a repossession from the bank. She'd been late to work, filling in at a crosstown branch her bank had taken over. The suburb wasn't that big, but it was unfamiliar, and she'd gotten lost. The new supervisor at the place was throwing her weight around to prove her authority, and had bitched her out for being late, telling her some bullshit about setting an example for the angry, scared employees of a failed bank. Her day had been a parade of dickheads and scared, crabby, crazy, angry people. People arguing about their plastic bread bags full of change, people arguing about their account balances, people shouting at the drive-through microphone, people, incredibly, who had dumped out their car ashtray into the vacuum canister and sent it to explode on her clothing when she opened it. Everyone working in the branch was angry and miserable, and wouldn't even talk to her. She whirled her arms and just screamed in the empty parking lot. "SON! OF! A! BITCH!" Standing in the writhing snow of the lot she pulled out her phone and thought of who to call. She had to call a tow truck, but didn't know any numbers. Digging through the pockets of her skirt she realized she'd left most of her stuff at home, under the Marilyn Monroe poster, and didn't even have her Triple-A card. She'd learned not to take her purse to work, instead taking only the minimum paperwork for driving.The bank was locked, everyone was gone, and if she tried to get back in the alarm would go off, and she'd have to deal with the security people. They were just a drive-by company, and wouldn't be around for another hour. If she called them for help she'd just create another issue with the bitchy boss. "Perfect." It was almost the holidays, and she was alone in a stupid parking lot. She had no boyfriend, no family around, nothing. She had nowhere to go and her job sucked and her day sucked and she was lonely and miserable and now her fucking car wouldn't start and she was freezing to death. She got so frustrated she started to cry. She got angry with herself and tried to stop but couldn't. She got mad at herself for being weak, then even more frustrated and furious, angry she was standing in an empty, freezing parking lot crying, unable to control it any more. Her nose was running and her ears hurt, her feet were cramped up in her stylish shoes, and she was absolutely miserable. She tried to stop crying and riffed through her little pink phone and looked at numbers, scrolling through her mother, who was states away, and, unbelievably, Rocket's number. Finding it still in her phone she got even angrier and frantically deleted it, sobbing and pounding on the tiny keypad with homicidal intensity. When Rocket was gone she found she had Ray's number in her phone. Confused, she tried to think of why she had his number, but then remembered her neighbors had gone out of town almost a year ago, and she'd casually taken their number in case of an emergency at the house, just a neighborly thing from last year. She took a deep breath and called him. After three rings it went into voice mail, and Renee almost hung up, but decided to leave a message. She said, "Hi, this is Renee, your neighbor, and I don't want to bother you, but I'm stuck in the parking lot at work and my car won't start, and I-" Ray picked up. "Hello." She controlled her voice and said, "Hey, this is Renee, your neighbor, and I'm stuck at work. My car is dead, I don't know a tow company, and I'm freezing to death." She sucked in a huge, desperately cold lung full of air, and continued, "Could you help me? I'm way far away." Ray said, with no hesitation at all, "Sure. I'm taking my daughter to swim lessons right now; where are you?" She told him, and he said, "I know right where it is. I'll be there in about 20 minutes. Get in your car and try to keep warm." She openly sobbed out loud as she gave him the address, then helplessly blurted out, "Thank you!" Renee got into her frigid, plastic lined car and hugged herself, shaking violently from cold and emotional dump. Ray showed up in a little gray car almost exactly 20 minutes later, with his daughter in the front seat next to him. He pulled in next to her little Korean car and got out. She did too, and she wanted to hug him for coming to her rescue, but stopped herself. Then he walked over to the other side of his car and waved his kid into the back seat. His daughter clambered back between the front seats without getting out, and Ray held the door open. Renee couldn't help it and started crying again, unable to control herself over a simple, old-fashioned thing like someone holding a door for her, just that little thing after a shitty day. She was pathetically grateful for just that little thing, and she looked at Ray and cried. She plopped down on the warm, cloth seat, cozy from Ray's daughter's sitting on it. Renee turned to the girl, whose name she couldn't remember, and said, "Thank you so much." The girl nodded her head and said, "No prob." She was about ten years old, and looked like Ray's wife. Ray said, "Give me your car key." Renee handed him her key ring, the metal loop festooned with little trinkets and fuzzy pink bling. Ray looked at it and smiled. He closed the door and walked to Renee's car. He fooled around with the car a little, popped the hood and looked, then got back in the little gray car and turned up the heater fan. "I'll call you a tow. It should be about fifty bucks, and I can give them my card number for the bill. You can pay me back, or whatever works for you. They'll call me when they know what's wrong. I'd give them your number, but it's usually better if a guy deals with mechanics. As much as I hate to say that. Is that okay with you?" Renee couldn't think straight and just nodded, an exaggerated nod, just feeling grateful for the help. He handed her back her arrangement of keys, minus the ignition key. "I left the key under the front floor mat. It's not like anyone's going to drive it away." He turned to his daughter and said, "All righty then! You ready for swim time?" His daughter yelled, "YEAH!" and they were off. Ray leaned across Renee, opened the glove box, and produced a travel pack of tissue. He handed it to Renee, and she grabbed it and loudly and messily blew her nose three times. The trombone sound made her giggle helplessly, and Ray's daughter snickered. The daughter behind her said, "There's an elephant in the room." Ray put his hand on Renee's shoulder in a comforting gesture and said, "You okay?" Crying and laughing at the same time, she nodded and touched his hand with her freezing palm, feeling warmth filtering into her skin. Ray's daughter said, "Were you in a fire?" Renee turned and said, "What?" "You're all covered in ashes." Renee huffed, still crying a little, and said, "Some assho-, some JERK sent their car ashtray through the vacuum canister to me in the drive through." The girl's mouth dropped open and she said, "OOH! What a dick!" Ray said, "Hey! Language! We talked about that! Just because someone says something on TV or YouTube doesn't mean you can, too!" Renee started laughing. It was so... 'family.' Ray said, "Well, actually, yeah. What an unbelievable dick," and laughed. They pulled into a parking lot, up to a front door, and Ray turned and said, "Okay, Kiddo, two hours. Have fun!" His daughter leaped out and ran into the building, trailing a "Bye!" behind her, and they were alone. Ray turned the car around and parked along an outer lane, then flipped out his phone and made the call to a towing company Renee recognized. He finished up then turned to her. He looked like he was going to say something, and she wondered instantly if he was going to bring up their little thing from months ago, but he closed his mouth and sat still for a minute. They hadn't talked about their little tryst at all, and it had been months. Renee knew he'd been working a lot, and they'd said the usual hellos and heys in the yard, but that had been it. She'd waited to see if Ray was going to talk to her some more, but after he didn't she'd decided it was just a thing, and had stopped thinking about it. They were neighbors, she figured. He said, almost to himself, "I usually go out for a cup of coffee while Aubrey's in lessons." He turned to her and asked, "Would you care to join me for a cup of coffee? My treat." She nodded, an exaggerated nod, silently watching him. He checked the time, then pulled out of the lot and within minutes they were at a coffee shop. While she was undoing her seat belt he jumped out, quickly moved to the passenger side, and opened her door for her. She felt weak again, from the little gesture. It made her feel good. Ray did it again going in, holding doors and waving her forward. It was stupid but nice, and she caught herself smiling. She excused herself and headed straight for the bathroom to clean up. On the way there her mood crashed. She knew she looked awful, with red eyes and soot and cigarette ash all over her blouse. She felt like shit as soon as she left Ray, and in the bathroom she got depressed and upset again. She made an intense effort to get ahold of herself, and after several minutes she managed to think halfway clearly. Renee took a deep, deep breath, exhaled, and made the hard decision to simply let the day happen and do what might make her feel good, right that moment, and not dwell on the future or the past. She lowered her head down and looked in the sink, then stood straight up, trying to feel tall and pretty. It didn't really work. She was standing in a chain coffee shop bathroom, days before a holiday, going over and over to a dead-end job, her family miles away, playing a stupid game with some married man with a crazy wife. She wanted to cut it short and just go home, but didn't want to risk being alone and all upset. Renee struggled to control her emotions, and looked in the mirror at herself. She quickly patted down her puffy face and wiped off the worst of the ash, sucked it up, and went out into the shop feeling deeply awful. The shop was almost empty, and Ray was chatting with a young, attractive woman behind the counter, joking and laughing, and Renee had an unexpected jolt of anger, a mixture of jealousy and a feeling of betrayal and being used. She was surprised and tried shaking it off but couldn't; she was too upset. She did find the anger and shock of jealousy brought her out of the depression and gave her some energy. Ray turned to her and said, "What would you like, Renee?" She couldn't say anything right away, and Ray looked confused, then like he was thinking, and then he did something unexpected: he turned up a palm towards the pretty young girl behind the counter and said, "Oh; I'm sorry, this is Angela, Aubrey's sitter, and this-" he made the same motion towards Renee, "-is my neighbor, Renee. Renee, Angela; Angela, Renee." The girl waved from her elbow and said, "Hi! Heard you had some car trouble! That sucks so bad!" She brusquely pointed at Renee's stained blouse and said, "I can't believe that, someone sending their ashtray inside to you! I'd be so pissed!" Renee felt herself being defused, and also had the feeling she didn't want to be placated, she wanted to vent and be angry. The girl said, "I'll make you something extra, EXTRA special! EXTRA special! Do you like caramel?" Renee nodded again, then caught herself and said, "Yes." The girl exclaimed, "Cool! This is SOOO good!" She winked. "It'll cheer you up, promise!" She waved her hands out, shaking ringed fingers. "You guys go sit! I'll bring it out!" Renee headed for a table by the window, but Ray gently took her elbow and said, "This way." He led her to a little nook towards the back, and she was surprised to find a fake fireplace set in a wall, crackling and artificial, but toasty and warm. Ray pulled a soft chair by the fireplace and she sat down and curled her feet up, trying not to be angry and worked up. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back. She stayed that way for a while. When she opened her eyes Ray was looking at her. Their eyes met, and he looked like he was going to say something again, but closed his mouth. Then the girl showed up again, bringing the happy voice and exclamation marks with her. "Omigod, it's so cozy back here!" She thrust a cup at Renee and said, "Here you go!" She handed a cup to Ray and stopped, propping a fist on her hip, young and bouncy and pretty. She smiled, a great big, joking smile. She looked at Renee and winked. "So, is this like some bad porno movie?" Ray looked up. "What?" "You know, 'Oh, my car won't start! But I don't have any money!" She put her hands on either side of her face, like the kid from HOME ALONE. "'HOW can I PAY YOU?'" She put her elbows in and undulated in a completely exaggerated way: "Chicky chicky wow wow!" and burst into uproarious laughter. Ray's mouth fell open, and his expression of shock and embarrassment made Renee laugh too. She suddenly quit the angry feeling and laughed with the pretty young girl. She knew it was kind of mean, but it was really funny, and it cheered her up a little. The girl slapped Ray on the shoulder and whisked off, laughing. Renee asked, "Is she always like that?" Ray rolled his eyes. "Yes. Always." He sighed and said, "She's really nice, and Aubrey loves her. They're like little buddies." Renee sipped her drink, and the Angela girl was right: it was so good it cheered her up. She was toasty warm next to a fireplace, she had a delicious cup of coffee stuff, she was curled up and comfy, and, she realized with a shock, she was with Ray. Her thinking stopped completely. Ray leaned towards the fire, cradling his cup. He tilted his head to look at Renee. He said, in a completely matter-of-fact voice, with no sleaze at all, "It's nice. This is nice." She made a face at him. "I mean it." He shifted his hands. "I'm sorry you had such a bad day." She said, sincerely, "It's getting better." When she said it she had a flash of what she wanted. Renee, Again Ch. 02 They sat quietly for a while, and Renee started feeling almost sleepy. Then Ray's phone beeped, and he picked it up to have a conversation with the towing company. He uh-huhed and yeahed for a while, then said, "Do it." He snapped the phone shut. He mentioned something about an ignition switch or relay or something, and asked Renee if it was okay, and said her car would be ready tomorrow afternoon. She just nodded and didn't really listen. She didn't want to think about it. She tipped her head back, feeling relaxed and nice, and looked at him under heavy eyelids. She said, "Did you tell your wife?" Ray sat silent for a minute, then made a weird smile and said, "No. I didn't." He continued, "I haven't." She asked, "Why not?" He hesitated, then laughed a little, maybe laughing at himself, "I'm not really sure. I think maybe it's not her business." Renee felt a small stab of anger; she wanted to be more important than that, than to be someone Ray didn't talk about. It felt weird. She thought a little, and let her mind wander while Ray looked at her. Her small anger faded. Then her thoughts came together. Renee knew what she wanted, right there. She said, "Can you take me home? Do we have time?" Ray looked around, and said, "Sure. We've only been here a half hour, we've got all that time to go. No problem." He laughed, a low, friendly laugh, and mimicked his daughter's voice: "No prob." Renee said, "One second, I'll be right back." She got up and headed for the bathroom again. When she got inside, she hiked up her skirt and pulled off her panties. Wrapping them up, she tucked them into an inner pocket in her coat. She knew she was going to freeze her ass off for a minute or two, but it would be worth it. She considered, then decided to go ahead with the rest of it, and reaching behind her, she unhooked her bra and pulled it out of one sleeve. It was luckily a thin, filmy thing, and she managed to fold it well enough to slip it in a front pocket so it didn't peek out. She buttoned her coat up and walked out. When she got out, Ray was gone. She saw his drink was there; so he was around. The chirpy, happy girl yelled from the counter. "Ray'll be right back in! He went out to warm up the car!" A second later, Ray came back in. "Hey, let's wait a minute or two for the car to warm up." He sat down. Renee hesitated, then sat down too, kind of awkwardly, and very aware of not having panties on. She looked at Ray and smiled, and he smiled back, clueless. Renee felt sexy and hot, and more than a little naughty and evil. She managed to forget about the state of her shirt, and her bad day, and she felt warm, toasty, and naked. It was good. She had to say it. "This is good." Ray nodded. She watched him, feeling very, very naked and aware of herself, and started thinking about what she was going to do, and couldn't help herself from getting fidgety and almost itchy. She could feel herself getting wet. It felt different than anything she'd ever done before. She felt dirty and cool and special, all together. Renee didn't have anything with her for birth control, and she'd gone off the pill, but she had a couple of morning-afters at home for emergencies. She intended to use one of them today, for Ray. Ray said, "That ought to do it," and got up, holding out a hand to her. She stood up and took his hand, folding her legs carefully as she got up. They walked to the door together. Renee was wondering if he could see she wasn't wearing panties through her skirt when the chirpy girl yelled out. "Bye you two!" Ray half turned and waved casually without saying anything. At the car he did the same thing as before, holding the door and helping her in. When he got in Renee tucked her skirt carefully. She didn't want to tip him off too soon. They pulled out of the lot, a plain lot in a kind of mall-ish thing along a former county road, and Renee knew where she was, and where they were going. After a few minutes, when she knew they were getting close to a small, private forest preserve, she raised a finger and pointed. "Pull in at the sign." Ray turned. "What?" She raised her eyebrows and said, "Pull in. Let's go park." Ray hesitated, looked at her, looked at her again, and at the last second, did what she said and pulled into the preserve. She scanned the lot, taking her time, and pointed again, at a small parking place off in a little pulloff. "Over there." Ray did it. When the car was fully stopped, and they were sitting still, Ray turned to Renee and was about to say something when she cut in. Shimmying in a good humored way she said, "Chicky-chicky wow wow." Ray burst out laughing, head back, and Renee laughed with him. When she unbuttoned her coat, and could see she wasn't wearing a bra, he stopped laughing and stared at her. She undid a few buttons on her ash stained blouse, showing off, and shoved up, patting her seat. Ray looked down, and she knew he could see she didn't have anything on under the skirt. Ray leaned over and kissed her on the mouth. That was it. Renee felt herself go almost crazy. She didn't know why, exactly, and didn't think about it. The rescue, the coffee, the fireplace, she didn't care why. She muttered, almost to herself, "It doesn't matter." Then they were wrestling on the seat like a couple of 18 year olds, and Renee was trying to position herself somehow when Ray, with unexpected power, lifted her up and off the seat, moved himself over, and set her down on him. She was straddling him on the passenger seat, the windows already fogging up, and as Ray's seat went back she clasped her arms around his neck and kissed him. Renee rocked herself on his crotch, almost giggling from delight at the feeling, and Ray hiked up her skirt and palmed her ass with both hands. His hands were warm, very nearly hot, and she wriggled in anticipation of fucking him. She unbuttoned a couple more buttons on her blouse, and reared up so Ray could kiss her breasts and nipples. His lips brushing her breasts sent a shock through her chest and up into her face, and she felt her cheeks flush. It made her feel uncomfortably hot, but not in a sweaty way, and she shrugged off the rest of her coat, leaving her in nothing but a blouse open to her waist and the thin office skirt. She was damn near naked, breasts and ass open to Ray's hands and body, and for whatever reason his having his clothes on made her feel even more sexual and dirty. "Fuck me," she said, forcefully, and pressed herself on his cock. She could feel him through his trousers, and the hardness against her soft body made her pussy wet. She raised up and slammed on him a little, and the feeling made her exhale in an almost embarrassing grunt. "UH!" She went soaking wet and had to grab his neck, nibbling, and then she bit him, not hard, but enough to make him gasp. He put his hand on the back of her head and pressed her close, and she moved herself against him, squirming and feeling more and more worked up. When he pulled back and kissed her mouth, she tasted the coffee and caramel flavor, and the taste and smell made her weirdly comfortable but dizzy, a confusing feeling of rightness and wrongness. She grabbed for his belt and pants. She wanted him inside her. He cupped her breasts, stroking and rubbing gently, and she pressed her boobs against his hands while she extricated his cock. When she had him all the way out, she grasped the entire shaft with one hand and wrapped another around his neck to hold them close. She lifted up, a little, held him, and slipped onto him, just a little, and moved up and down. She felt him inhale with a whooshing noise, and the sound made her smile. Then she lowered herself, gently, until he was inside her as far as she could get him in their position, held tight together. Renee let herself get accustomed, while Ray made an obviously involuntary effort to get deeper into her. She liked it, but held herself up a little bit, and turned his head to kiss his mouth while she fucked him. It felt fantastic and her head got whirly. She could feel her ditzy little jewelry move, and hear her rings and necklaces clink, but she could also feel the gold cross, an important and antique family piece her grandmother had given her, pressing and poking between her breasts, and for whatever reason the sensation made her feel fiery and beautiful. Ray leaned forward, holding her close, and the angle made him move deeper inside her. She moved some more, shifting carefully, waiting and maintaining the moment. It was good, too good to rush, too good for a car seat quickie. Renee wanted it and, she realized, at that moment she wanted Ray. She closed her eyes and pressed against him, tight, feeling her breasts pillow on his shirt. It felt special and sexual. She could feel the fabric against her nipples, pushing and sliding, and she got really, seriously wet brushing against him. He relaxed his arms, enough so she could lean back and face him. She opened her eyes and watched his face, while she positioned in a way that allowed her to press up and down, slipping him in and out of her body. It felt fantastic, and watching Ray's face was so enjoyable to her she couldn't help but smile. He reached out and caressed her nipples and cupped the undersides of her breasts, and she squirmed in his hands. She lifted up, almost all the way out, and then slipped firmly back down, taking him inside her, enveloping his cock in her warmth. Renee knew it was good; it was way good. It was the kind of thing that made people crazy. She had to move some more, fucking Ray, and she managed to find the room to spread her knees a bit and get him deeper into her. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, breathing heavily. Ray reached up and touched her face, placing a palm on her cheek and side of of her face. It was a gentle, sensual gesture, and it made her feel emotional and special. She leaned in and kissed him again, and when she did he lifted her a little and pushed into her. She got flushed and excited, or more so, and couldn't help making a noise. Ray did it again, kissing her mouth, and she could hear herself making quick little sounds, uncontrollable and vocal. It felt a little embarrassing but she knew Ray wouldn't care. Renee had a shocking feeling that radiated from her belly and made her gasp and squirm when it hit her, and she had to clutch Ray close. He kept lifting her, carefully and gently, but she could feel a desire in his body through his hands and through his movements. Ray tilted forward, fucking her, and Renee got her knees up around his waist, and he got all the way inside her. It did it. Ray wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her, and put the other behind her head and rocked her up and down, slipping easily in, retreating, then in again. Renee felt it hit, a small but piercing spark, and then she had what she had to think was a delightful and small orgasm. It was a friendly little thing, pleasurable and nice, making her toes tingle and her body tremble just slightly. She pulled Ray over her, and when he moved in her she had another one, a quiet, perfect effect. It wasn't earth-shaking or anything, but she loved the experience. She loved it. Then the thought shot through her head, and made her scared, more than a little, when she felt herself use the thought-word 'love', and she opened her eyes to look at Ray for... she didn't know what. Ray was looking at her eyes, not intently but with a certain kind of interest and shine, and she felt reassured and special again. He kept moving in her, and that felt very good, although Renee figured she was done coming for the time being. Now she wanted Ray to have his. She wanted that very badly, to do that nice thing, to provide him with the warmth of her body and to allow him inside her in that intimate way. Renee got more physical, deliberately fucking this time. She wanted Ray to come. She pushed and wriggled and slammed on him, watching his face until she could see it behind his eyes, knew it was right there and ready. She shifted her feeling, somehow, to where she wanted to, and closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation fully, moving her center to where Ray was about to come. She concentrated, and knew it was as good as these things got. The focus in her body moved her around and made her sway, and as her breasts heaved on her chest Ray touched her again, there. She knew she felt great, she felt emotional and solid and one, and it was awesome. It was awesome, and she fell back, facing Ray, and looked at his face. It was nice, and cozy. Cozy. She felt cozy and together and it was awesome. He was about to come. It was in his eyes. She wanted to say something, meant to say something, and CRACK It hit her so hard it sucked the oxygen out of her and slammed her head into the inside glass. She heard the 'thump' but didn't feel it at all. Her hand flipped out and slammed into the steering wheel, and she barely heard the cartoonish 'beep' of the horn as it knocked her out of her body. She had the tiniest fragment of time to think she hadn't realized how worked up she'd been, she was, to have this happen and CRACK Fuck! It was like a ball being slammed out of a stadium, it was so hard and the blood made a high-pitched shriek in her head. She lost control of her body, totally and completely, and was looking down at herself, and CRACK She slammed into Ray, feeling his hard, pounding cock coming inside her soft, welcoming, yielding body, his hands on her, and then- Renee blacked out. "Renee?" She heard it down a tunnel. It reverberated and pinwheeled in her head along with the pounding blood circulating in wavy gyrations, making spots inside her eyelids. She fought to open her eyes, and Ray had his face close to hers, looking down at her, holding her carefully. He shook her, gently, and said her name again. "Renee." She could feel he wasn't inside her anymore, and she was sitting kind of crossways on his lap with her legs pulled up. He was cradling her. She fought her eyes open, and when she could see fully again, she saw Ray's worried face. She tried to think, but couldn't, and had to wait it out, watching his concerned expression with growing amusement as her thoughts cohered again. Ray said, "Are you okay?" Renee had to fight to put words together, but finally managed to speak. However, she didn't say what she was thinking, or trying to formulate at all, but instead said something she must have been feeling in her chest, or maybe in her heart. She said, clearly and firmly, "I want you to tell your wife."