32 comments/ 62867 views/ 4 favorites Do You Remember Ch. 01 By: FreyJohnson Somehow, I couldn't get too mad about Viv cheating on me. It wasn't that I didn't love her. I did. Very often. We were twenty five and in love with each other's body. Viv had a vibrant personality too, but it seemed the more we talked the more likely it was that we would piss each other off. Just before the wedding I remember my brother Leo saying he thought our relationship was more about lust than love; even waiting there at the altar I thought my brother could have been right. Not that it slowed me down when it came time for the vows because if it was just lust it was a very fulfilling lust. After two years of marriage, we still were madly horny for each other and whenever we were together sex was never out of the question. Though I was all but sure Viv was cheating on me, I couldn't look at her body without becoming excited. Maybe it was that uncertainty that was the spark. Even on a lazy Sunday after a knock down, drag-out, exhausting night of sex, I was hot for her. The football game had gone to commercial, but that was alright because I wasn't really paying attention. Viv sat on the couch toying with a throw pillow while she tried to talk her sister down from one of her "episodes." Sundays were my wife's down time, but that didn't mean she looked frumpy. Viv was wearing what I called her PJs, a black silk t-shirt that reached just to her belly button and a full cut, silver pair of panties. Her pony tail was pulled to the side framing her neck's long elegant slope. The gleam of the chain and locket I got her for her last birthday attracted my gaze, the gold of the chain perfectly complementing her pale neck. Damn, giraffes envied that neck. I was just happy any time I kiss my way up it to her slightly crooked lips. Viv shook her head at something her sister was saying and I was captured by the sight of her pale red fingernail that she rubbed up and down her long sexy legs. God, I loved her body. As easy as that the game was forgotten. I tried to creep up on her unawares, but at the last moment Viv glanced up. Before she could escape with the cordless I grabbed her and pulled her down into into my lap. She glanced annoyance at me. "Sorry Jane, that's just Ben." She listened for a second and then pulled the phone from her ear. "My sister says hi." "HELLO JANE." I smoothed my hands over Viv's taut abdomen. My wife giggled and batted my hand away as I tickled my way up to her ribs. "Can't you wait until I get off the phone?" "I'm just trying to keep my hands occupied..." I kissed her quickly. "You don't mind, do you?" Viv shook her head though I wasn't sure if it was because of my question or something her sister asked her. "It's nothing, Jane. Ben's just acting silly." Viv laughed. "No, I more than took care of that last night. The Victoria's Secret models could come walking through now and the only thing Ben would do was drool. He..." Viv twitched as I smoothed a finger over the panty fringe above her pubic mound. "Oops, muscle spasm." Viv was trying to give me a hard look but broke off as my hand snuck under her panty and smoothed up her crease. "Yes... sorry Jane, where were we?" She tried to wriggle my hand away from her panties, but only succeeded in giving my growing erection a vigorous rub job with her tight ass cheeks. Abandoning the south pole, my hands worked their way under her t-shirt. I was taking it slow, wetting my pinky with saliva and smoothing it around her belly button while my other hand came within an inch of her left nipple. Viv rocked back and then forward and off my lap. Turning, she jumped back planting her knees on either side of my right leg. "Jane, men aren't so bad, you just have to make sure to keep an eye on them," Viv said as she settled her pussy firmly against my thigh and began a slow circular motion. I grabbed her ass and massaged her cheeks to the same rhythm. "JANE YOUR SISTER IS MOLESTING ME!" Viv shivered as I kissed her collarbone and teased her bra strap underneath her black baby t. She stared daggers at me as I slipped both hands under her ass and shifted her panties directly over my crotch. she ground against me hard even as I slipped one hand under he panties from the front and the other inside from the back. God her panties just swam in her juices and the moment my hands glided over her lips, she exploded. I swallowed her scream with a kiss. "No it's not you, Jane. My husband is just trying to be... funny." To give Viv a second to cool down I slowly licked her climax off my fingers. God, her juices were addictive. Unfortunately, my wife saw the direction my thoughts were going and pushed herself close to me and sat down hard. "Viv I'm so thirsty, wouldn't you mind giving me a little drink?" My wife rolled her eyes. "No Jane, Ben's more than capable of getting his own beer." Sadly, I was forced to taste her one finger at a time and even then Viv made sure I never got anywhere near her clit. Anytime I looked to try to improve my position she grabbed onto my dick and squeezed hard. Viv smiled as I pushed first one and a second finger inside her pussy, but reined me in when I started stroking too quickly. Slow or not, ten minutes of this brought my wife to the edge and just as her sister told her something that demanded her full attention, my thumb took possession of her clit. Viv started to strangle my cock. Just as her orgasm hit I whispered that I loved her. Her orgasm became even more explosive and all she could do was cover the receiver and groan. Once the orgasm had puttered out she leaned over and gave me a long slow kiss. "I love you too, baby." She pulled off and walked out of the room. "My husband was just trying to show me how he couldn't live without me." Viv and I had dated for six months before flying to Vegas with my my brother and his wife to get married in a wedding chapel four blocks from our hotel. I caught her cheat four months later and then she caught me a few months after that. I guess we could have become swingers, but we were both the jealous type. We didn't mind doing the cheating; we just didn't like getting cheating on. It could be my affair was a reaction to hers, but it probably was more about opportunity. Okay, I was kind of a shit, though after my affair I remained faithful. Sadly, I didn't think Viv had it in her and was pretty sure that she'd been cheating on me for the last year. Not that I was a saint. I flirted all the time, it was just that I was a tease and though Viv teased just as much as I did I didn't think that was all that she did. Still, in my heart I was cheating too because I had stopped trying to fix our marriage and now was just looking around for something better, kind of window-shopping for my next girlfriend. It bothered me that Viv was cheating... well, I didn't know for sure. At first I didn't want to know because there was no way I could have stayed with her if I caught her a second time. I'd have to give up that beautiful neck and crooked smile and that oh so know and sexy tongue of hers. Getting rid of Viv would mean a return to the old days of hanging out in bars and going through a dozen one night stands that neither the girl nor I would admit was a one night stand. Despite Viv's probable cheating, STDs weren't a worry. Of course Viv and I always used protection and I knew she had used protection in her last affair and with all her old boyfriends. She was pretty fanatic about condoms, but her aunt becoming HIV positive was pretty good incentive. In the end I'm not sure which of us put our marriage out of its misery. I mean Viv was no Mata Hari. Maybe her lies had just become too transparent. Last month she just casually mentioned that she'd joined a book club. Viv going to a book club? I mean my wife might have had a degree in marketing , but the only things she read for pleasure were tv guides and fashion catalogues. I knew this was it. I'm still not sure if had been a false alarm six months when she told me about that conference in Seattle. Maybe she just aborted the attempt when she figured out that I would be checking up on her. Not that there wasn't something that stunk about the whole set-up. The conference had been a day and a half not three and I couldn't see why she would have told me that just so she could spend the extra time visiting her aunt and shopping. But there was no way she was going to a book club. She was cheating and even if I tried to tell myself it didn't matter, it did matter. On the other hand, by then I had met a cute little blonde CPA named Jaylee that I wanted to ask out. At first glance there was nothing special about the way Viv dressed that morning. But the black skirt was a lot shorter and sexier than her usual. There was nothing wrong with her conservative blazer, but she had put it on quickly and if I hadn't been looking for it I wouldn't have noticed how sheer her white blouse was. Because I was scheduled for depositions tonight and she had her book club, we weren't going to see each other until very late. I tried to act normal and that wasn't hard because as usual we were running around like crazy trying to eat breakfast and get ourselves ready after a late start. I was really suffering because I had gotten up in the middle of the night and methodically worked my way through her PDA and her cell phone log. The thing was between Tuesday and Friday she was usually swamped with work. Monday really was the only reliable time for her to cheat, but it didn't make sense. On a Wednesday after a night or two of half-awake quickies maybe, but on a monday. Mondays were the days we woke late because we had been having sex to the wee hours. On Mondays we languished in the feelings, sacrificing our lunches for torrid bouts of phone sex and teasing conversations about the fun we had during the weekend. My secretary told anyone that called I was in meetings with clients all day. Instead I was parked in a cyber cafe a couple blocks from Viv's office. According to the tracking device in her purse, my wife was still in her office like she was supposed to be. I paid a couple of teens to pretend to be office help and breaking up the flow of our Monday bout of phone sex. As sick as I felt there was no way I was going to get through it otherwise. The afternoon finally rolled around and I was ready when Viv came out, following behind her silver BMW roadster in a SUV rental. When her car pulled into the Hyatt's parking lot, I felt sick. I was going to be ringside for this humiliation. God, I wanted to just crash into her car and I was so angry I almost did. If Viv hadn't been so excited to get to her rendezvous, she would have seen me, but as it was she just ignored the SUV that nearly clipped her. Viv's walk was its own way of flirting, the sensual hip sway that occasionally lifted her black skirt high enough to show the band of her black thigh highs. As she walked into the lobby a couple of young professionals tried to chat her up, but she just breezed past them settling herself in one of the plush red chairs in the Hyatt's lounging area. The tracking device from the spy store had worked pretty well, but my disguise was ridiculous. The gray wig looked like a half assed halloween costume you'd get from the dollar store and the spirit gum for the mustache was more like post-it stickum than anything else. Also I think I was either having a panic attack or an allergic reaction to the gum, because my face was red and itchy and sweat kept getting in my eyes. A couple times strangers stopped me and asked if they should call an ambulance. I satisfied myself with walking past the front entrance a couple times until a couple taxis pulled up at the same time and I was able to get in by hiding behind other people. Viv waited for about fifteen minutes before a distinguished older man in a tweed suit walked up to her. God, he looked like a villain drawn out of a Sherlock Holmes story. At any moment I expected Basil Rathbone to walk in and solve the case of The Slut of the Baskervilles. Quickly I settled into a chair in the corner and hid behind a newspaper. The tweed guy kissed her on the cheek and sat down opposite her. They chatted comfortably for maybe twenty minutes. Viv laughed suggestively once and gave him a couple of naughty little smiles, but there was nothing unusual in that. Any man with a pulse elicited this kind of response. The only thing unusual in their behavior were their frequent glances towards the restrooms and the front desk. I don't know what they were waiting for, but when they stood up together and walked hand-in-hand toward the restrooms, I knew what was going to happen. Instead of feeling miserable I looked for silver linings. Losing Viv just meant finding Jaylee, beautiful Jaylee who said how much she loved skiing. Viv abhorred snow so for over two year my love for the slopes had been put on hold. With Jaylee I could slalom to my heart's content. This was just a fleeting thought as I watched Viv and Tweed Guy calmly walk into the woman's bathroom. It was a relief to take off the fright wig and pull off the soggy caterpillar from under my nose. The spirit gum didn't come off as easily and even after a minute there was a slight line of stickiness above my lips. Anyone who tells you it gets easier the second time around is lying. It was worse. It really hurt to see Viv betraying me... though maybe it was as much bitterness as anything else. I didn't want Viv anymore, but that didn't mean anyone else should have her. Ideally, we should break-up because she said something unforgivable about my mother. After that, I wanted her to pine away after me for the rest of her life. Having some distinguished looking red faced fifty-year-old guy in tweed pounding into Viv from behind so hard her head was clanking into the handicapped railing like a timpani chorus was way down on the list of reasons for ending our marriage. The guy didn't notice when I opened the bathroom stall; he just kept pounding away at Viv -- that damn chorus of bells. He heard me when I cleared my throat loudly though. He glared at me and his pace faltered as his flush lit his face up like a stop light. I tried to look impatient. "Would you mind hurrying this up? I've got things to do." The guy's face flushed even redder. Against his sallow kind of pasty skin it made him look like a pimple that was about to burst. "Find another fucking bathroom..." Tweed Guy turned back and was about to start slamming his cock into viv again , but she had pulled herself off him and was turning around. "God, Ben... I thought the meeting was supposed to keep you late today." Maybe her words weren't remorseful, but at least she looked embarrassed. "The meeting was canceled." Shit my wife was a stereotype. Yeah, Tweed Guy had a big dick. It was probably a couple inches longer than my six and half inches. Of course I was angry, but I was embarrassed too. It just felt kind of gay standing there and staring at another guy's dick. My eyes dropped to the ground and I noticed Viv's spilled bag and the twelve pack of condoms and a hardcover book that were at her feet. When I looked closer I saw two paperbacks were just inside the purse flap. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. "Viv, don't tell me you're really in a book group." My wife glared at me. Standing up her black mini skirt fell to cover her crotch, but her gauzy white blouse gaped showing off her open bra and wet breasts. "Of course I'm in a book group. What did you think I was doing?" Viv glanced at the saliva sheen on her breasts and then at the blue condom stretched over Tweed Guy's big gnarled dick. She fumbled for something to say as the guy hauled up his pants. I took one last look at her body and then caught her eye. "So Viv... how was the book?" *** Once Mr. Tweed got out of there, Viv straightened up and we took our confrontation -- which by now had become just an uncomfortable silence -- to the restaurant across the street. Viv ordered a Martini and I got a Pellegrino. We were oddly calm. i guess on her part it was because she just figured it would be a replay of the last time I had caught her. There would be tears, promises, talk about therapy, a week of abstinence followed by a month of torrid unrelenting sex and then life would go on. And at some point it Viv would start looking for more men to fill her dance card. I looked at the chain and lock I had given my wife and thought of asking for it back. But why would I want that kind of memento? As it lay there on her neck I could only wonder at how many infidelities it had taken part in. "Ben, if you wanted a divorce you could have just asked me." Even now Viv's eyes flirted with me. She didn't even seem worried. I was just barely there trying to remember the things I'd planned to say if I caught her, but this just wasn't going like I thought it would. From the look on her face, it was like I had tapped her awake to ask her where her car keys were. As much as her romp with Mr. Tweed, this disregard showed how casual was her betrayal. I leaned over and gave her cheek a serious kiss. It was not a loving kiss or a fond kiss, it was a formal, hold her in head in my hands kiss. It was that mafia kiss that said good-bye and good riddance and see you in the next life... unfortunately I knew Viv didn't get that because most like most women she did not understand the lessons taught in The Godfather. "Viv, we need to talk business now." I sipped on my Pellegrino to cover the dryness in my throat. "The apartment was mine before the marriage, so..." Viv kissed the tip of my nose. God, even now having seen my wife rutting with another man and seeing the big red bruise on her forehead that was the proof of it, her kiss was exciting. I considered indulging in a good-bye fuck, but it wasn't in me. I would never really be able to fuck her alone anymore. Tweed Guy would always be in the room. And worse than Tweed Guy would be the shadowy figures of the other guys she had probably fucked. "Penny for your thoughts," Viv said. I took a slow breath. "There's no problem with you staying until you can find a new place..." Gently I took her hand out of my lap. Viv's eyes flashed surprise. "My cousin Kim said there are some nice apartments downtown, mostly unfurnished one and two bed rooms. I think they're just slightly more expensive than here, but they'll be a hell of a lot closer to your work." Viv actually looked surprised. "You had this all planned out, didn't you?" "You could be out in say... three months? If you'd like I'll be happy to help you move your things. The finances should be simple, no joint accounts so no joint mess. As far as being together until you can move out goes, can we agree that neither of us will bring back our friends to the apartment?" "Sounds like you've put a lot of time into thinking about this, Ben." My wife's smile became awkward and strained. "You're not even mad about this, are you?" "Why should I be mad?" "And why should I expect you to answer a straight forward question." My wife's cracked smile turned into a frown. "This is just some passive-aggressive attempt for you..." "Passive-aggressive? Does that mean my sitting around being pouty made you stick Mr. Tweed's cock inside you? Viv, you cheated, not me. I'm just trying to clean up the mess you've made." My words enraged her, but I didn't care. I could still see Mr. Tweed fucking the shit out of her when I looked at her. Suddenly I didn't care about trying to do this nice and neat. I wanted her to feel just like the slut she was. "You were fucking him, Viv. You! If you wonder why we're sitting here just reach down and feel your panties for a second because they're not wet because of me." "You fucking hypocrite. You act like you never cheated." Do You Remember Ch. 01 "Nice try shifting the blame. That was more than year ago and after the first time I caught you." God, she was spitting mad now and when I say that I'm serious because as she spoke little spitlets came out with every curse. "Asshole! Not last year. NOW! This whole thing is a cover so you can hook-up with that little blond CPA. YOU LITTLE DICKED FUCKER! I'm tired of you acting like this is some fucking tea party. This is about you wanting to fuck little Jaylee. What's the matter, you want a virginal little blonde girl to make you feel big? You're just going to replace the whore and throw her out on the street?" I laughed. "Why would I want to do that to my dear faithful wife." I paused and went to take a drink. My water wasn't halfway to my lips when Viv smacked it out of my hand. "Tell the fucking truth!" "Viv, you know I could never replace you," I said, calmly pressing down on my knuckles where the shattered glass had gut a shallow gash in my skin. Her body shivered, her tiny clutched fists hovering just above waist level. "YOU GOD DAMN PIECE OF SHIT! DON'T JUST FUCKING SIT THERE!" And then she was running out of there crying her eyes out. No, this was no pre PMS syndrome or a fiendish attempt by a soulless bitch to manipulate reality. This was Viv, the passionate woman with the emotions of a yo-yo. For the last eighteen months I had begged her to get professional help, but any time I had even mentioned it she had exploded at me. Anyway, that was the whole break-up. When I went back to the apartment the next day, her stuff was gone and my stuff was pretty much destroyed. Well, the things I had left there. I kind of worried she was going to act this way and had planned ahead. I don't know if it was because Viv was worried that I was going to take her to court about the vandalism or something else, but laid end-to-end the divorce took just under six weeks. Strangely, I never ended up asking Jaylee out. About four months later she took a job on the east coast. It wasn't something that bothered me much though because shortly after the break-up with Viv my office was overwhelmed by business. After putting in ninety hour work weeks the only relationships I had time for were the ones with my family, my tax guy, my running partner, Don, and the sixteen-year-old barrista who made my mocha lattes in the morning -- actually the relationship with the barrista was not a faithful one because there were a dozen barristas who were servicing me, all seemingly sixteen and without the ability to fit a lid tightly to a cup. Finally after six months the bullet train of my life came to a halt. I was going to be assigned to a big case, but before my boss would give it to me he made me take a two week vacation. *** Two Years Later Last night I was in bed with Taylor, this slinky redhead pilot and she was perfect, medium height, natural, medium-sized breast with out thrust pink nipples, long legged, colt like, okay maybe she was a little spindly for my tastes, but she had a muscular spareness like a rick climber. Taylor's impaled on my cock, pushing me deep inside her and I was humping and grunting and the sweat poured off me; we were kinetic. My cock was a little sore, the sheets were a mess and the smell in the room was pure sex funk. "Is that the best you can do?" She broke off as my brutal thrust threw off her rhythm. "Fucking little bitch..." Taking advantage of her unsteadiness, I flipped us over and really began slamming my cock into her hole, laughing as my first thrust inside her forced out a little pussy fart. "This is nothing, little dick." Her words sounded funny because I was pounding her so hard her teeth crashed together at the end of each thrust. "When... God... when you want to get started could you wake me up?" I paused to gather myself. "You're going to regret that one, you skinny no tit bitch!" I lean down to capture her lips, but she thrust upward and our lips devoured each other, sloppy, animalistic kisses, all spit and tongues and then Taylor bit into my lower lip. "BITCH!" My first slamming thrust pushed Taylor back a foot on the bed. With each shouted syllable or two I slammed into her again, pushing her body back a couple inches, straining my body forward, then gathering myself for another huge thrust. "FUCKING BITCH! YOU WANT MY COCK? THEN FUCKING TAKE IT!" "You hairy fucking caveman!" I'd forced her body against the end of the bed and now each thrust slammed her against the headboard. "I'M GOING TO FUCK YOU - SHIT! I'M GOING TO FUCK YOUR PUSSY INTO THE WALL." "Pleassssee... my nipples." My cock was swelling. I could feel the orgasm busting loose from behind my eye, before it overwhelmed me I twisted her nipples hard. She screamed and the pressure in my head was so tight it felt like I'd burst a blood vessel in my eye. The cum rocketed out of me, straining to burst the condom tip or escape down the rippled sides for an end around attack. Taylor sank her teeth in me, my sudden bounce triggered an aftershock orgasm that was almost as strong as her first. God, spurt after spurt, my scrotum was as wrinkled up as my face as the orgasm shot through me, the feeling continuing even as the pump ran dry and still I was straining and pulling for nine seconds more, the explosion as intense as a bull ride. I rolled to the side even as my hard cock kept us connected. Taylor patted my chest and then looked down and noticed my hard cock was still inside her. "Well, aren't you just the fucking optimist?" I flexed my cock inside her and watched the smirk on her face disappear. "I'm up for another go. How about it?" "If I didn't have a flight in the morning, I'd love to take you up on it," she said as she pulled herself off my cock. "But tomorrow's my second go round in the big boy's chair of a 747." Taylor got up and walked off in the direction of my bathroom. "One of these days I'm going to devote a three day weekend and see if I can't tame that bad little boy of yours," she said just before I heard the sink turn on. "Oh, crap, I didn't mean that. Sorry for breaking this to you like this but it's starting to look serious with this guy I'm seeing, so I don't think we're going to have any more get-togethers for now. But if things don't work out, I'll give you a call." And with that the bathroom door shut. After stripping the bed and rinsing my face and chest in the guest bathroom, I went into my office and took a look at my notes for tomorrow. I knew that my relationship with Taylor was over. If nothing else the timing said it all. Taylor needed to get to the airport early and I had a client meeting bright and early. I got lost in my notes for awhile and when I went back to the bedroom Taylor was already asleep and snoring gently. Normally our post sex routine was uncomfortable, but more so than usual I just wanted Taylor gone. Not that I had any place being so broken up over this; our whole relationship was seven get together in the past four months. And from an offhanded remark of hers, it seemed I wasn't her only man in LA anyway. I had a hard time getting to sleep and when I woke up it only seems fitting that Taylor is already gone. Why did Michelle have to take the job? Or why didn't I decided to relocate? Sure, love is love, except if you're on the brink of a partnership. Shit, I couldn't even blame Michelle. LA just had too many lawyers now and the firm she had been at was penny ante. Our relationship had hit the four month mark with everything going well. Or rather it hit the three month mark like gangbusters and then she got a job offer. For the next month we had walked on eggshells, each in our own heads, with me trying to decided if I should ask her to stay and Michelle trying to decided if she would stay if I asked her. The only thing that would have kept us together was if I had asked her to marry me and it had been too soon. If we'd had four more months it might have been a different conversation. We'd promised to keep up a bicoastal romance and the first two months we did manage to get together for three weekends. After that ours was a relationship kept on life support by phone and internet. Six months later the romance had become just a deep friendship. Maybe if I could have found a job in New York then I still could have saved it, but I doubt it. Though she hadn't said it, I knew she had met another guy. We continued our weekly phonecalls though more and more I could sense her talking around the new guy in her life. We had promised to be faithful, but getting together with women like Taylor had been my attempt to keep myself sexually satisfied but still open to the possibility of Michelle coming back. Maybe it was because of the divorce or just my getting annoyed at how I'd screwed things up with Michelle, but somehow I'd just gotten to the point where I didn't care anymore. It just was a matter of satisfying lusts now and since my cock had been serviced by Taylor last night I would probably be able to make it to the weekend. Now it was just a matter of getting my daily dose of caffeine. The line at Starbucks was huge and I was still tinkering with my PDA when someone pushed into me. I was wearing new shoes and as I stepped back onto a slick of spilled coffee, my feet went out from under me. Whatever the reason it must have looked pretty funny. I guess it looked like what happens in those Road Runner cartoons where Wiley Coyote runs in midair for a couple seconds before falling down a gorge. Can you hate a woman just for her laugh? I was laying on my ass in a pool of latte froth wet and dusty from a fine coating of cinnamon dust from the shaker that had fallen onto me from the condiment table. Oh it wasn't just that one woman. There were other people laughing too and I was mad because they were smug, sniggling little laughs. But the statuesque blond was standing over me, staring me right in the face and cackling her head off. She didn't even offer me a hand-up. I looked up and glared at her. "Have you finished yet..." No, I didn't say bitch, but my eyes were saying it. "Not yet." I noticed she had her cell phone in hand and was panning the little black bead on the back over me while staring at the phone's display. "I just need a couple more angles..." "Hold up .." I was struggling to my feet, but was slipping around so badly it looked like I had revisited my elementary school days and was playing a game of crab soccer. The woman's cheery little smirk grew brighter. "Wait a second. I've just got to get this in movie mode." When I got to my feet, I was scowling. "Okay you've had your stupid laugh now give me the fucking phone..." The blond drew herself up straight and looked me square in the eyes and now I realized that I was looking up an inch to meet her gaze. She was wearing a business suit, but there was no disguising her big swimmer's shoulders. Also she had a broad, but not unpretty, face and a strong neck. Close up she looked like what I imagine a female defensive lineman looks like. She took a couple steps back and the line shuffled forward taking our place. I took a big step forward and we were face to face, but only for a second as she pit two fingers in my chest and pushed me back. Her face was cold. "And suppose I decide not to give you my fucking phone?" Damn it, if she had been a guy and a couple inches shorter and had a smaller neck I would have hit her. As it was, I was too angry to back down, but didn't feel like ending up in a jail cell especially if it was after receiving end of an ass kicking from a woman. "What are you going to do? You're going to blackmail me? I'm supposed to be worried my friends and family will find out I fell over in a Starbucks?" The woman snorted like a bull moose. "It's not great now, but with a little sound editing and some digital compositing, it might get some good play." Then the smirk on her face just blossomed. "After all who wouldn't enjoy seeing a corporate lawyer falling on his ass?" God, I wanted to her, but just then my PDA beeped reminding me about the client meeting. I pushed down my anger and screwed on my reasonable face. "So what do you want?" "If you had just asked me instead of being an asshole, it would have cost you nothing." She flipped her long blond hair in an oddly delicate gesture of annoyance. "Now I'm not sure. You can't just put a price on something so quickly." I didn't have time for this. Despite the possible consequences, punching her lights out just kept getting more and more appealing. Pushing the feeling down, I smiled so hard my gums bled. "I'm sorry, but I've got to get a meeting now, if you..." The blonde smiled. "Go to your meeting. We have a bargaining session in our future and I'm going to think a lot about what it's worth. And the next time we meet you better come with a different attitude because if Mr. Asshole makes another appearance this goes straight onto the net." I nodded absently imagining her big head exploding. "Fine, So we meet when?" "Let's try tomorrow morning, here at 7:15." I held onto my scowl until I made it outside. Of course the rest of the day stunk. Caught in the rush of my crazy day, it wasn't until I had eaten a late snack and crawled into bed at 1 AM before I had a chance to think about the stupid run in that morning. Shit, I should have got her name and threatened to sue her. Waking up I knew I was unprepared. I was in just the same bad mood as always and whoever this woman was, there was no point in trying to piss her off. Except that she pushed my buttons and I was the farthest thing from mellow now. So instead of reading through briefs and taking my morning run, all I did was sit down in front of the tv and watch half of a Bill Murray comedy. God, it had been so long since I'd laughed. It felt like months though I knew it couldn't have been that long, I'm sure I must have managed a few fake chuckles for some of my firm's partners. Suddenly with that laughter I just didn't give a damn anymore. On the way to the Starbucks, I left a couple messages and had the morning free until 11 AM. It was strange, here I was getting extorted and for the first time in weeks my life felt... well, not so bad. It took all my will power to climb into my suit and even then I didn't bother with my tie for now. This was all wrong, I was going into a negotiation and I didn't give a damn how it turned out and this after I took half a day off work three weeks ago to argue my way out of a $35 parking ticket. "Over here." The woman's voice came from one of the back tables. I wandered over to her. "Just give me a second to get my..." The woman gestured to the tall cup opposite her. "mocha latte, right?" I nodded and sat. The moment was uncomfortable for both is was and we both sipped at our drinks for several seconds. This morning, sitting down the woman didn't look the least but belligerent. She nodded at my chest. "Where did your tie get to?" "Late day for me, so I figured why put it on until I have to." She smiled nervously and it surprised me. Was this the same ball breaker that I had run into yesterday? Her cream colored top softened her face and her lipstick had gone from a harsh red to a mild pink. But it was more than that. She couldn't seem to figure out what to do with her hands and went from holding her coffee to tapping the table to fingering her purse strap every couple of seconds. "Oh, by the way, I'm Ben Terell." "Allison Chemanski." Again she hesitated this time her fingers hovering over the table and then returning to her coffee. "Allison." I watched her eyes jump to mine and then drift away. "I'd like to apologize for yesterday... it was just an asshole morning for me. Actually, I probably should apologize for tomorrow in advance because chances are it will be another asshole morning." "That's an interesting apology. You take being an asshole for granted?" I smiled. "It is my profession." She snorted and then quickly covered her mouth and laughed more quietly. Several people from the nearby tables looked up in annoyance. "You know, Allison, I remember you saying something about me being a corporate lawyer yesterday. How did you know that?" Allison suddenly became occupied brushing something off her pants, but I could see her momentary flush. "Aren't we getting a little ahead of ourselves, Ben? Or do you really want everyone seeing you doing you mocha latte break dance?" She had tried to put some bite into her tone, but it sounded all like a put on. "Name your price. How about a month's service as your handyman, your body servant, or your sex slave. Any one or all I'd be more than happy." Allison went back to rubbing at the invisible crumbs on her clothes and the flush crept in her face. I cleared my throat. "I can understand you don't want to go into this with blindfolds on so I'm willing to give you a free sample. If you're free now?" Now the redness in her face looked less like embarrassment than anger. "If you're not going to take this seriously, I can just..." "I was about to say if you're free now maybe I could fix a slow drain or oil a couple hinges." God, she looked confused, not sure whether to be embarrassed or angry. "Forgive me, that's just me being silly. So just tell me what you want, but I'm warning you, whatever you ask I'm more than likely to agree to it." She fingered her coffee some more and I just laughed. "Allison, you know whether you out my breakdancing or not I want to thank you. I haven't felt this good in months." She smiled at me and then looked away her face steepling in concentration. "Why do you have to act nice now? I was all prepared for you being an asshole." "If it makes simpler, do that. What do you want me to do? Wear lingerie for a week for underwear, get a temporary tattoo of a clown on my forehead, try out to be a member of a chorus line?" "You have to take me out." I must have looked like I was about to laugh because her face darkened and she surged to her feet. "Allison, stop." She hesitated as I grabbed her hand. "You just surprised me. Why would you hand out as a punishment something that I would be happy to do on my own..." "You egotistical shit." She pulled her hand out of my grasp and balled it into a fist the rings on her hand looking like a small gold pair of brass knuckles. "Do you think I'm an idiot?" For a second I was distracted by her body, enjoying the size and strength of her. All the women I had dated up to now were pixies. Allison was an earth mother with muscles. "Allison, you're not an idiot. And honestly," I could see the growing tension in her fist as I said "honestly." "Okay, if this had been yesterday and I said that, you're right it would have been complete bullshit. But I'm not acting like I did yesterday, if I was I think those rings of yours would have given my face a couple more dimples by now." I laid my hand on her fist and she unclenched it. She glanced down at my hand, expecting to let go, but I let my hand rest on hers, enjoying the contact. No matter how angry was her stare, I could feel he nervousness and even gentleness in her hand. I squeezed her fingers and saw her hard look falter. I captured her other hand, "How did you know I was a lawyer?" Allison looked away for a second and I felt her fingers tense. "Isn't it..." She broke off as my hands squeezed hers. "I don't want to cross-examine you, so why don't we just go with the truth from now on?" She nodded. "As long as that goes both ways okay. I know you don't remember but Michelle introduced me to you at a party a while back." "Well, it's good to know you're not a stalker." Allison's eyes froze. "So you are a stalker?" At this point I was just enjoying her embarrassment. A woman blushing that hard couldn't be a danger to anyone. Do You Remember Ch. 01 "I'm not stalking you." She tried to pull her hands from mine, but I didn't let her. "It's just I've been seeing you in here for the last couple months. Are you happy now? I feel like an idiot and you think I'm psychotic." She looked so cute with her pink blush matching her lipstick. "Allison, it's funny how simple men are. You say you're stalking me..." "I'm not stalking you," Allison said trying to interrupt. "You say you're stalking me and instead of running away screaming, I look you over and think just how psycho could this pretty woman be?" I smiled. "As long as this isn't some Fatal Attraction thing? Allison, you're not about to butcher my pet rabbit, are you?" "You don't have a pet rabbit." The words were out of her mouth before she could stop herself. "Please God, just let me die now." "Assuming I don't buy myself a pet rabbit any time soon when would you like to go out?" Allison was muttering to herself something about having to find a new coffeehouse. "Honey, people will think you're crazy if you keep muttering to yourself. So answer my question, when are we going out? I figure since there still is blackmail involved it should be obscenely expensive, probably French or Italian, but I'll leave that to you. We should really follow up the meal with an evening of dancing too and of course I mean ballroom not disco. I'm not a great dancer, but I can do a decent fox trot and the odd waltz. After that I will drop you off at your door and if I've been an exceptionally good escort maybe I'll get a kiss. Well, I may press your for more than a kiss, but if you want more or not is up to you." "You're not just trying to..." Before she got the words out, I leaned over and kissed her. What had started as a peck on the cheek turned into a barn burner and if I hadn't been bent over a table and off balance I would have been glad to take this a lot further. "Wow," she said, perfectly expressing my feelings. "What do you say to Friday?" She nodded, but I kept talking. "And until then we'll just have to make do with coffee. How about we meet back here at 7 tomorrow?" God, we were both smiling like idiots. *** Chapter 2, the conclusion to the story, should be finished soon. Hope you're enjoying this so far. Either way please take a moment to vote.