11 comments/ 36497 views/ 8 favorites A Night For Old Time's Sake By: Penelope Street (c) 2005 by Penelope Street Danielle read the e-mail again. She'd read it a hundred times, but it never seemed to lose its allure. ~~~ Danny, I'm glad you have the family you always said you wanted. I know we missed our chance to be together as a couple and I know we both have partners that deserve our respect and loyalty, but it seems ridiculous that we cannot still share something of our lives. Although I would not want you to imagine the rest of you lacked appeal, it was always your mind I truly coveted. As the traditions of our society go, I do not believe there is any prohibition from us sharing that, at least to some extent; if, or course, you wish to do so. You must know, however, that no matter how society expects me to feel, I can never think of you as a sister. Ok, maybe one from Arkansas. Seriously though, I need you to understand that part of me still loves you and always will. I'm just a human being and I don't feel embarrassed about admitting the level of affection I still harbor for you. That said, I do not seek to woo you from your husband. Even if you and he separated, I could never pursue you in good faith without his blessing. Not that it will ever matter anyway, since I have no intention of leaving my fiancee. But that does not change how I feel about you. Though I don't intend to act on those feelings, I have no intention of denying they exist either. I don't know where to go from here. I'm still surprised by the emotions just conversing with you has stirred within me; I didn't know they were still there. I guess we should just take it slow, get to know one another again, and find a level of interaction with which we are both comfortable. I know you said in your previous message that you much preferred talking to writing. That's fine, you can call me anytime. My number's below my signature. Don't worry if Judy answers the phone. I've told her all about you. She's not threatened. She has no reason to be; I would never leave my one true love for anyone else. I do hope Ken feels just as comfortable with you and I re-establishing contact. Hope to hear from you soon. Yours Always, at least in part, Craig P.S. In my opinion we had a relationship. A very special one. That it was never physical does not lessen what we shared in any way. ~~~ Danielle looked from the monitor to the clock. Four A.M. Her eyes moved from the clock to a bottle, and the two ounces of rum left in the bottom. A hand began the slow journey to the bottle, but only made it far enough to enter the woman's field of view. Her open palm frozen in mid-reach, she shifted her eyes to the computer screen and the bottom of the message. A second later, her hand was in motion again, but not for the liquor. Danielle knew the number anyway, but confirmed with care each digit on her computer monitor before pressing the corresponding button on her phone. Then she closed her eyes and held her breath. The line rang twice before a masculine voice answered. "Hello?" "Craig?" "Danny?" The woman nodded her head, as if anyone could see her. "Yeah. Did I wake you?" "Yes," Craig replied. "You woke us." "Oh. Is Judy mad?" "She's giving me that one-eyed, 'who the hell is that' look." "I'm sorry," Danielle offered. "But you did say I could call anytime." Craig released an audible sigh. "Yeah. I suppose I did." He paused to scratch his head. "I just didn't expect you'd take me quite so literally. I do have to work tomorrow." "I'm sorry. I was just feeling, well, like I wanted out." "Out of what." "Life." Craig snapped upright in bed. "You're not serious?" "About wanting out? Yeah. I'm serious. About doing it, no. I love my kids and I'd never be so selfish as to do that. But just now, I really want to." "Give me a second," Craig suggested. "I'm gonna go to another room." "I can call back." "No. I'm already awake." "I'm sorry," Danielle repeated. "I shouldn't have called." "If you're feeling suicidal, then damn straight you should have called; me and everyone else you can think of, that's who you should call." "Ok. Let me know when you get where you can talk." Craig chuckled. "Already am." "Does Judy hate me?" "Maybe just this second, but she'll get over it. Especially after I tell her why you called?" "You're going to tell her?" "I tell her everything." "I hope she doesn't think I'm trying to steal you." "Are you?" Danielle stiffened. "No." Craig grunted. Or maybe it was a chuckle. "Why not?" "Because it'd be wrong. That's why." "Is that the only reason?" Danielle considered the question for a handful of seconds before admitting, "I suppose if we were both available, yeah, I'd want to see you. You hear about that sort of thing all the time, people getting back together with old sweethearts." Craig could not suppress a second guffaw. "I don't know that we were ever really sweethearts. I never even kissed you." Danielle smiled. "Oh yes you did!" Craig brought four fingernails to his beard stubble and scratched. "I did? When?" "Valentine's Day. Our last date." Craig jaw fell as he recalled the moment, and his spontaneous decision to at last kiss her. "You're right," he mumbled, as much to himself as anyone else. "I think it was a goodbye kiss," Danielle suggested. "You were already dating Michelle." "Goodbye kiss, huh? Yeah. I guess it was. Just a peck. Hardly a real kiss anyway." "Yes it was!" Craig swallowed. "Ok. Maybe it was." "Why didn't you ever try for more?" The man's mouth fell agape, but no words emerged. Two breaths passed his open lips before he at last spoke. "If I remember, I was the one that asked if you wanted to date exclusively, with the prospect of something permanent." Danielle's mind floated back twenty years. She could still remember his words, and hers. "Yes," she admitted with a sigh. "I should have said 'Yes', but I was young. And stupid. I didn't know you were going to be the proverbial 'one that got away' in my life." "Me?" "Yes, you." Craig grinned. "When did you figure it out?" "When you walked away after you kissed me. When you said 'bye', there was something about the way you said it; I knew right then it was a real goodbye and not just for the night." Craig inhaled a sharp breath. "Why didn't you say something?" "I'd had my chance. I figured Michelle deserved hers." "You mean all I had to do was..." "... turn around. Ask me out again. Anything" Craig's shoulders sagged. "You know, this isn't why you called. What's got you so down?" "Oh," Danielle sighed. "No one thing. The whole drudgery of being a parent. It just gets so old." "That's it?" "Hey! You only had one and you don't even have to put up with him on a daily basis." "I'd love to put up with him on a daily basis." "You're right. I have to get past feeling sorry for myself. This tedium just isn't what I expected when I said I wanted a big family." Craig nodded. "I know. I'm sorry I didn't want kids until after you were gone." "It's no picnic. Maybe you were right after all." Craig shook his head. "No. Even though Michelle was a mistake, Josh wasn't." "So you miss him." "Everyday. But at least Michelle and I split on good terms. And they just live on the other side of town, so I get to see him a lot more than most divorced dads." "That's nice." "Yeah, but you didn't call to talk about my son either." "No, I guess not. Thanks. Maybe I just needed to vent." "Are you still feeling suicidal?" "No. I was never feeling suicidal, just a bit down." "You said you wanted out of life?" "Yeah, I want out of my life. But I don't want to die." "Oh," Craig grunted with a nod. "I see." "Are you mad I woke you now?" "No! And promise you'll call me again if you're in trouble, no matter what the time?" "I will." "Right then," Craig responded, his head still moving in a slow bob. "I should get back to bed." "Yeah, uh, me too." "Ok, goodnight." "No!" Danny cried. "Wait!" Craig moved the phone back to his ear. "What?" "When can I call you again if I'm not in trouble?" Craig tongued his lips but once before suggesting, "Tomorrow night? Or I guess that would be tonight." Danielle closed her eyes and clenched her empty hand into a fist. "What time?" Craig shrugged. "Nine?" "Your time or mine?" "Yours." "Make it eight," Danny suggested with a smile. "And thanks for letting me vent." "My pleasure. Goodnight then?" "I suppose so." "Ok. Bye." "Yeah. Bye," Danielle finished, almost as a whimper. She waited for the click, then leaned forward and hung up the phone. A second later, she collapsed in tears, arms folded atop the desk, her forehead resting on her arms. Seven states away, Craig wandered to his computer instead of bed. Scrolling through the folder marked 'Danny' he found the e-mail with the subject of 'pics.' A double-click later he was looking at her. Short. Dirty-blonde hair. Big nose. Bigger glasses. The trim frame of youth was gone, but she was hardly fat. "All I had to do was make one more call?" He mumbled. "Would it really have been that simple?" His eyes strayed to the message that accompanied the photo. ~~~ Craig, San Diego, huh? You never struck me as a California boy! Then again I never expected to end up in Ohio either. Come to think of it, I never expected a lot of things. Like how much I missed you when you left. I don't know that I ever really told you just how highly I thought of you. If the timing had been a little different, there could have been a relationship. I even tried to look you up a few times, but do you know how many Craig Johnson's there are? I'm sorry to hear you and Michelle didn't make it, but at least you got a great kid out of the deal, right? And of course, I was really happy to hear you found someone special in the end. I did too. I married Ken, an army officer. I met him during my army reserve duty a year after you and I were together. He's retired now. Put in his twenty. Does civil service work on the base nearby- same job he used to have when he was active duty. Double dipping, I think they call that. We've four kids, two cats and two dogs, all spoiled rotten. Sometimes it's like a zoo, but that's my life. Speaking of kids, I need to go pick them up. Here's a few shots of my husband and family, and the house my husband bought me so I'd have a place to put all those kids and pets! LOL! Cya Later! Danny P.S. How did you find me? ~~~ Craig scrolled through the pictures, passing over the husband and children until the last, the one of the house, filled his screen. "It's a fucking mansion," he uttered, vocalizing what he had thought on many an occasion. "Ken must be loaded." With a sigh, Craig shook his head and closed the computer screen. Shoulders low, he rose and stumbled off to bed; but sleep would not come before the alarm beckoned several hours later. Danielle and Craig spent most of the following day in an eerie delirium, thinking again of what they had missed, what might have been, and, against their own wishes, what might still be. For each, the anxiety built as evening approached. Craig watched the second hand sweep across the top of the hour. In spite of his expectation, he jumped as the phone rang. He started to reach for it, but stopped and just looked as it rang twice more. Only then did he pick up the receiver. "Hello?" "Hello." Craig's eyelids dropped as he passed a single large breath, savoring the sound of the her voice. "Are you feeling better?" he recovered to ask a second later. "No. But no worse." Craig's head moved in a shallow nod. "I thought about you a lot today. So much it surprised me." "Me too," Danielle admitted. "What'd you think about?" "One phone call. Or if I'd just turned around. What could have been." "Me too!" "I should have made that call." "No," Danny countered. "It was my fault. You told me how you felt. I pushed you away. Took you for granted even." Craig chuckled. "I was like a little puppy on your leash, wasn't I? You could have taken me for granted." "I should have taken you period." "Did you really think that highly of me?" "Yes." "Why?" "Remember when you changed my oil for me?" Craig shrugged. "Sure. And a tire too." Danny smiled. "Yeah, that too." "My roommate told me I was the worst kind of idiot- whipped and I wasn't even getting any." "He was the idiot. I bet he never held a door for a lady the way you did. The way you do; you get Judy's door, don't you?" "Yes. But those are just little things." "No! They are not little things. They show how much you care about the other person. I knew how you felt about me. I should have admitted to myself that I felt the same way about you." "I, uh," Craig stammered before pausing to swallow. "I still love you." Danielle felt a tingling shiver traverse her body. "I love you too," she whispered back, almost before she knew her mouth was moving. Craig chuckled through a grin. "I don't think we ever said those words before." "Amazing what goes unsaid when you're young." "And scared." They both laughed. "Yeah," Craig said. "You were scary." "I was scary?" Danielle stammered. "Having someone so much in love with you that you know they'll do anything for you. Now that's scary. You were exactly like my little puppy on a leash. All I had to do was tug it. That's a lot of power. Too much. I was so afraid I was going to take advantage of you." Craig issued an audible snort. "Please. If the opportunity comes up again, take advantage of me." "Again?" Craig shrugged. "Sure. I thought about what you said last night, old sweethearts reuniting and all. For the record, if we were both available at some point in the future, I'd consider seeing you again. Not that I want that to happen. A lot of awful things would have to happen first, you know?" "Same here." "But if we ever end up in an old folks home together, you better put out before the third date." Danielle smiled. "I will. So if you were my puppy, what was I?" "A feline, of course." "Why? Because dogs are for boys and cats are for girls?" "No," Craig said. "Because of the way you used to purr when something made you really happy." Danny's mouth fell. The tips of her two longest fingers found her lower lips. I used to do that, didn't I? she mused. When was the last time I was that happy? Her thoughts drifted to her children. At once she felt like a bad mother for having made a wish that, if granted, would undo their very existence. Craig didn't know what to make of the silence, but sensed it might be a good time to change the subject. "But you didn't call to talk about the past, or the future. Did you?" Danny shook her head, forcing her focus back to the present. "Well, maybe not," she admitted. "But we probably should hash it out and put it in perspective. Before we move on, I mean. Don't you agree?" Craig managed a shrug. "Sure. If that's what you want." "Surely you must have a few questions you'd like answered?" "Maybe." "Well, spit it out. We're adults now. I know we were technically then, but somehow I think of the two people we were as kids." "We were kids. Just twenty year old kids." "But we aren't now. So ask away." "Ladies should go first," Craig insisted. "Fine. When did you decide to look elsewhere? To dump me." "Dump you?" "Yeah. That's what you did even though you didn't say so. You just quit asking me out." "Maybe I did," Craig admitted. "Right then. When did you make up your mind?" "Ok. I decided that as soon as you declined my invitation to be exclusive. I didn't start looking actively until you joined the army reserve. You know you didn't even talk to me about that beforehand?" "Not like I needed your permission!" "No. But that you didn't discuss at all it said you didn't care what I thought. That conversation that didn't happen said a lot more than many that did. That's when I knew you really didn't care about me anywhere near as much as I cared for you." "That's not true!" "Sure looked like it from where I was sitting." "Maybe so," Danny admitted. "But I did care for you. A lot. And I should have talked to you about it. But I was taking you for granted, remember? It never crossed my mind you wouldn't be waiting with open arms when I returned. When I came back from boot camp and you were with Michelle, I was shocked. "Then when you called and asked me out, on Valentine's Day no less, I was sure you were dumping her; taking me back. I was so thrilled. Then I cried all night when I realized it was just a night for old time's sake and that you were moving on. I thought about throwing myself at you. All of me. But decided I didn't deserve you." "You thought that?" "I was sure of it." Danielle paused to sigh. "Would fucking you really have made any difference at that point?" Craig moved his off hand to stroke his chin. "I don't know. If I recall you said something early on about how if I wanted sex I should find a different girlfriend. What was that about?" "I never said that you should find a different girlfriend!" "Maybe not in so many words, but you did make it quite clear you were not interested in being physical. Why?" Danielle shifted in her chair. "Well, I'd had sex with a few boys before and it always seemed to mess everything up. Afterwards, it either made them all clingy or that was all they thought I was good for." "I could never think that was all you were good for." "No, but you could have been clingy. Hell, you were clingy. Who knows what you'd have been like if I had fucked you." "In the end, I wasn't as clingy as you thought." "No," Danielle admitted. "I guess not. So why didn't you ever try to make a move? I gave that same speech to other boys and they still tried." "I didn't want sex either." "What?" "What, guys can't be interested in a woman for any other reason?" "Maybe. But they always want that too." "Not at the time. I was willing to wait for marriage." "Come on?" "Yes." Danielle suppressed a chuckle. "Do tell more." "Ok. Before you there were four others. Lisa, Cindy, Charlotte and some blonde named Allison. Although I didn't really think of it so much at the time, I only wanted to date them so I could fuck them." "See! I knew you wanted..." "Wait," Craig insisted. "Let me finish. That was before you. Allison was the last one. She was Charlotte's friend even. Met her at a party. We'd chatted before. Found out we were each on the rebound. Classic one-night stand. She must've needed a confidence boost; can't think of any other reason she'd have hooked up with me. She was the hottest babe I ever bedded, but she lived in another town. "Anyway, six weeks or so passed and I get this call from Charlotte. She says, 'You need to call Allison.' Wouldn't say why, just gave me the number. So I called. Guess what? She's pregnant." "Really?" Danny interjected, barely suppressing a snicker. "One night and you knocked her up?" "Yeah!" "Ok. Sorry. Go on." "Well, she decided to have an abortion, which I was all for at the time. I even went with her, and paid. Never saw her again. But that scared the hell out of me. I mean, I'd always wanted some hot babe as my wife, but suddenly faced with the prospect, I realized that sex and looks weren't the most important things a girl had to offer. I decided that the next girl I fucked would be my wife." Craig paused for a long sigh. "That's at least one promise I kept." "And I was the next girl? I mean that you dated." "Yep. So you see, that 'I don't want sex' policy of yours was right in line with what I wanted anyway. I was willing to make do with good old Rosy Palm for as long as it took. I would have too, but I thought I was just a blip on your radar, unworthy of real consideration." A Night For Old Time's Sake "Wow. And all that time I thought you were a twenty year old virgin." Craig flashed a wide grin. "Hardly. Your little puppy knew how to change a girl's oil in more ways than one. You missed a real treat." "I missed more than that," Danny insisted. "I just didn't realize how much I cared about you until you were gone. I was the one that didn't deserve you." "Don't say that." "It's true." "That's for me to decide." "After the way I treated you, what's to decide?" Craig paused to tongue his lips. "You never hurt me. Until now, at least." "What?" "I never knew you cared, so I never thought I had a chance. When you were honest about not wanting to be exclusive, you allowed me to keep my feelings in check. I'm not saying I didn't love you. I did. But you never lied to me or broke any promise. And it was me that essentially, uh, dumped you, remember? Is that the action of someone that's hurt?" "I guess not," Danielle admitted. "But how have I hurt you now?" "Knowing I had a chance after all, and missed it; with the most perfect woman I've ever known. How can that not hurt?" Danny inhaled a gasp. "Most perfect woman? How can you say that? You're engaged to someone else!" "I still intend to marry Judy, but it can't help my marriage if I deny I have feelings for you. It's better to admit, accept, and deal with them, don't you think?" "What are we going to be then? Friends?" "More. There's no word for it because our culture doesn't make allowances for such things, but they exist whether society accepts them or not." "And Judy's ok with that?" "You're married. You're not a threat." "What if I wasn't?" "Well, that might be different?" "How?" "I suppose she might be worried you'd try and steal me." "I'd be more than worried. My claws would be out. I wouldn't even let you talk to me- if I were in her shoes, that is." "Yes you would." Danny dropped her brow. "What?" "I don't need her permission to talk to you. And if the situation were reversed, I wouldn't need your permission to talk to her. There's nothing wrong with talking to you. I wouldn't hide it from you, but it would be my decision. If you couldn't accept it, you could go sharpen your claws elsewhere." Danielle lips formed a circle. Wow. That's not the little puppy dog I thought I had on a leash. "I, uh," she stammered, "I guess you're right. I would be jealous though." "I know. Judy is too. But she's a good woman. She understands." "You're really lucky to have her. You should send me a picture of you two." "I will," Craig promised. "What about Ken?" "I already sent you a picture of Ken. You want another?" "No. Is he jealous? Of me?" "He would be; if I told him." "What? You have to tell him. Secrets are like cancer to a relationship." "It's my relationship. I'll decide what's cancer and what's not." Craig shrugged. "Ok, but I..." "Ok," Danielle interjected. "Now what?" "You mean what should we talk about next?" "On second thought, Judy's awfully nice letting you talk to me at all. We should call it a night." "I told you, Judy's not letting me do anything." "Oh. Yeah. But I still don't want to intrude." "Ok. We can call it a night if you want. When do you want to talk again?" Danielle's eyebrows bounced high. "Same time next week?" "Monday again? "Yes!" "Ok," Craig agreed. "That'd be great. Shall I call you this time?" "Do you have my number?" "No. Reply with it when I send you the pic of Judy and I. Will give me some incentive not to forget about it." Danny smiled. "Deal." Several seconds of silence followed before she spoke again. "Well, guess I better let you go." "Yeah," Craig replied through a sigh. "I guess so." "Until next week then?" "Yeah, until then." "Bye." "Bye." Danielle shuddered as she hung up the receiver. Replaying the conversation in her head, she stood and wandered into her kitchen. "He said he loves you," she muttered as she opened her fridge. "And not in the past tense." She grabbed a can of cola and snapped the top open, before setting it down on the counter so hard a portion of it spilled. "But he also said he wasn't leaving Judy. Ever. So what the hell are you hoping for?" With a sigh and a nod, Danny reached into her cabinet and grabbed a tall glass and a fresh bottle of rum. "I guess we're waiting for Judy to die, if that's what it takes," she mumbled, mixing the rum and cola in near martini ratio. Leaving the open liquor bottle and the spilled soda on the counter, she made her way out of the kitchen, through the living room and onto the token balcony of her apartment. There, over the next several hours, she wept, drank, and remembered; occasionally reminding herself aloud, "He did say he loves you," until she at last lost consciousness. * * * * * The e-mail Danielle waited for with anticipation did not arrive for three days. Her heart bounced and a broad smile spread across her face as she saw his name in her inbox. And I was starting to think you'd forgotten, she mused. Then her eyes drifted left to the title, 'Judy and I.' The woman's smile melted. She double clicked on the message. A large, crisp shot of a smiling couple appeared. He wore a sharp black suit; she, an elegant green dress. It was obviously a formal occasion. But not too formal, Danielle mused. Probably one of those Christmas parties where the women all try to outslut one another. You can see half her tits! And even that half's bigger than anything I ever had. And how old is she? Thirty. At most. No fucking wonder he's not leaving her! She forced her eyes the few degrees to the other half of the picture. The corners of her mouth curled upward again. "You've put on some weight too," she murmured. "But it suits you. And the beard. Makes you look like a teddy bear." Yes, she continued silently. A teddy bear! She squeezed her clasped hands between her thighs. Oh, to cuddle with you just one night. * * * * * Danielle's phone rang promptly at nine the following Monday. She pounced on it at once. "You lied to me!" Craig's eyes bolted wide on the other end. "Uh. Hello?" "Yeah. Hello. You still lied to me." Craig's hand began to tremble, and his phone with it. "About what?" "Allison." "Allison?" Craig's eyes wandered under a low brow. "The one I got pregnant?" "Yeah, her." "Are you saying I didn't get her pregnant?" He shrugged. "I suppose I only have her word..." "No. I'm saying she's not the hottest babe you've ever bedded." "What?" "Hello! Judy?" Craig's mouth formed a full circle as he exhaled a sigh of relief. "Oh, that. Well, I guess Judy's pretty nice looking too." "Nice? She could be a fucking model." "I suppose so. But remember, I did say looks aren't everything." "I bet they don't hurt!" Craig smiled. "You should know." "What do you mean?" "You're even prettier than when you were twenty." "Now I know you're lying. I'm forty pounds heavier. Twenty; uh, I mean, ten per kid." "So am I. Forty pounds I mean." "But you carry it better," Danielle countered. "Men always do. Makes you look like a teddy bear. You were too scrawny before anyway." "You were scrawny back then too," Craig noted. "Don't assume weighing more makes you less attractive. It doesn't." Danny bit her tongue for a second as she searched for any hint of dishonesty in his word or tone. Finding none, she smiled. "Nice of you to say," she replied, but in the back of her mind she added, There's still no way I can compare to Judy. "Not nice," Craig countered. "Just honest." "Ok. I still think you lied." "You never saw Allison." Danielle issued a crisp grunt. "True enough, but she'd have to be awfully pretty." "Thank you. She was. So I'm acquitted?" "For now." "Good. Can we talk about something else?" "Sure. How was your week?" Craig shrugged. "It was just a week. You know; eat, sleep, work, and stuff." Danny giggled. "I don't think you ever told me what you do?" "I just did. Eat, sleep..." "For a living!" "Oh. Install fire alarms and sprinkler systems." "Really? In houses?" "No. Commercial buildings. We design and install systems. Most city codes require a new system every so many years and the codes are always changing." "Sounds difficult." "Difficult thing is putting up with the users that break their system because their janitors or whoever they let mess with it didn't bother to read the instructions. I guess you could add 'Get bitched at for somebody else's fuck-up' to my job description." Danielle giggled. "Can it be all that bad?" "Nah. But it is thankless, that's for damn sure." "Pays the bills though, yes?" "That's for damn sure too. You?" "What?" "What do you do?" "Take care of kids," Danny chuckled. "What else?" "Nothing else?" "There isn't time for anything else." "Isn't that what you always wanted?" "Yeah, but sometimes it seems pretty thankless too." "I don't think it's ever thankless," Craig contended, "but it's always work." Danny smiled her agreement. "Maybe you're right." Several seconds of silence followed, too many for either party to feel comfortable breaking it, or not breaking it. "So how did you find me?" Danny asked at last. "I mean if my name was still Medgewick, that would have been easy. But Williams? There must be hundreds." "One of those school reunion websites." "Really?" "Yep." "But I put myself on all those about six years ago, hoping you'd find me. What took you so long?" Craig shrugged. "I guess I never was one for looking back much. Remember, I never thought of you as 'the one that got away.' I wouldn't have been too surprised if you didn't even remember me." "Don't be silly! How could I forget you?" "I think we only dated about, what, six months. Never fucked. Kissed once, and I didn't even remember that. Sounds pretty forgettable." "But you're the one that insisted we had a relationship." "You're right," Craig conceded. "We did." Danielle smiled. "We still do." Craig smiled as well. "Yeah, we still do." The conversation drifted to spouses, jobs, friends and other mundane topics, but returned all too frequently to old times, and what could have been. Before either knew it, an hour had passed. Then another. "Shouldn't I let you go?" Danny asked, though she dreaded the answer. "Yeah," Craig said. "I suppose we have talked a while." Danielle paused for a long second before replying, "Sometimes I think I could just talk to you forever." "Me too." "Really?" "Yeah." "Judy must wonder? You and me talking this long." "Maybe. But I tell her everything we say." "Everything?" "Yes. Everything. What about Ken?" "Oh, he's watching football. Why do you think I picked Monday?" Craig smiled. "So he doesn't know you're on the phone?" "No." "Won't he be mad?" "Yeah. That's why I'm not telling him." Craig shook his head. "That scares me." "It shouldn't. Not like he's going to beat me or anything." "That wasn't what I was worried about. You'd never stay with anyone abusive. But I'd never stay with anyone disloyal." "Relax. He's not going to leave me. Trust me." Craig nodded. "Ok. I guess you haven't lied to me yet." Oh, if you only knew! Danielle thought. "Same time next week?" "Sure." "Ok. My turn to call, right?" "Sure." "Right. Talk to you then." "Ok," Craig said. He paused. Do I dare tell her I love her again? What if she doesn't say it back? Will she feel pressured to say it again? Why do I need her to say it again? He terminated his deliberation with a heavy sigh followed by a resigned, "Bye." "Bye," Danielle agreed, again waiting for the click before she hung up the phone. Parting was never sweet sorrow for her. Just sorrow. She looked at her empty little apartment and again wept, then began counting the minutes until next Monday. Craig was not as overwhelmed by loneliness, but he too began to look forward to their weekly chats. They spoke of many things, but the conversations were always bittersweet as each heard about the other's life and family. Although they tried not to discuss the past much, it seemed every week they managed to confirm that each still dreamed of what might have been. Neither would admit to dreaming what might still be, but they did this as well, no matter how much they tried not to. After each such long-distance rendezvous, the two would retire to their respective beds, each thinking of nothing but the other. Slumber was never quick to claim them. For Danielle, rarely did the sun of Tuesday morning find her asleep. A month passed. Then two. As the holidays loomed, Danny's spirits sank. She spent many an evening staring at the phone, wondering if she was really allowed to call anytime. Her previous misadventure in that regard always prevented her from ever picking up the receiver other than on Monday. This did not prevent her from practicing what she felt she had to say, over and over again. At long last, on the Monday after Thanksgiving, her conscience and confidence united. "So how was your turkey day?" Craig inquired. The silence at the other end left him a bit uneasy, but nothing could have prepared him for what he heard next. "Lonely." He cocked his head. "What?" Danny whispered the word a second time. "Lonely." "What do you mean?" "I mean I lied to you. I'm sorry." Craig's eye wandered as he tried to put meaning to the word, but he could not. "For what? About what?" Danielle released an extended sigh. "Ken and I divorced six years ago." Even across the gulf between them, both hearts still managed to skip a beat in unison. Craig waited a few seconds, but then concluded that Danny was waiting for his response to her admission. "Why?" he whispered. "Why did we divorce?" "No. Why lie about it?" "At first I was jealous," Danielle began. "No. Not jealous. Embarrassed. You have everything. And I have nothing. I didn't want to admit I was a failure. Especially to you." "Why not to me?" Danny clamped her eyes tight. "Because I care more about what you think of me than anyone else. Ever. Not Ken. Not my parents. Not my kids. You. I care what you think. And then I lied to you." She paused to sniff back a tear. "Can you ever forgive me?" "Of course I can forgive you," Craig assured. "But I do wish you had told me sooner." He paused for a moment, but hearing nothing continued, "Do you want to tell me the truth now? I promise I will think none the less of you, no matter what it is." Danielle smirked. "How can you promise that? How can anyone promise that?" "Trust me," Craig insisted. "Fine. I only have two kids. Jesse and Tonya. Both are in college now. The younger two, Sam and Yvonne, I made them up. All the stories I've told you about any of them, the ones that I said had happened in the last week; well, they all happened, just years ago." "So Sam breaking his arm trying to jump the trash dumpster on his bike?" "Yes," Danny said. "That happened, except it was Jesse, not Sam, and it was sometime in the early nineties." "And Tonya's first date?" "Five years ago." Through pursed lips, Craig exhaled an elongated breath followed by a long, low, "Wow." "Yeah," Danielle said. "Kinda sad, huh?" "More like kinda unnecessary. You can always trust me with the truth." "Really?" "Sure." "Ok. You probably already saved me from being an alcoholic." Craig's brow plummeted as he sat upright. "What?" "I couldn't really afford liquor and the phone bill," Danielle explained. "You gave me a reason to pick the phone bill." She paused to sigh. "And a reason to live until next Monday." "Wow," Craig muttered again, mostly to himself. "So, when you called me that night, you were feeling suicidal?" "Yep." Craig swallowed. "Thanks." "For what?" "For calling. And sticking around." The couple shared a chuckle. "So what's the rest of the truth?" Craig asked as the laughter faded. "Well, I'm a waitress in a truck stop on I-80. It's a twenty-four hour buffet, so the tips suck, but I can eat for free, so that helps my budget- and my waist." "And your waist?" "Yeah. I eat before and after my shift. Don't have any food at home. I even unplugged the fridge to save a couple bucks on electricity." "You know, I can send you a little if it would help," Craig offered. "I thought you were saving for a wedding?" "I am, but we still don't know when it'll be. If you need it..." "No," Danny snapped. "Sure, I could use it. But I don't want it, if you know what I mean." "Yeah," Craig muttered with a nod. "I think I do." "Ok then. I won't be getting any anonymous donations in the mail, now will I?" "I guess not. Do I even have the correct address?" "Yeah," Danny said. "I just left off the apartment number. Sixteen-C." "What else?" "That's it. Sixteen-C." "No. What else have you not told me; or told me that wasn't true?" "Well," Danny began with a sigh. "Let me see..." The two continued to chat for another hour and change, occasionally returning to Danny's deceit, but never lingering. As she hung up the phone she smiled, more broadly than she had in many years. Well, she mused with a nod. He knows it all and it didn't seem to change a thing. You should have just told him in the first place, you fool. You should have known you could trust him not to judge. Feeling like she could easily make it to the next Monday, she headed to her bedroom, still grinning from ear to ear. Little did she know Craig was already in bed, wearing a similar smile. As he reached for his lamp, he glanced to the pillow next to him and winked. "Well, Judy. I think it's time we set a date, and I know the perfect one." * * * * * Danielle didn't check her mailbox that often. Usually she only found bills and she was playing catch-up on most of those. Expecting more of the same and perhaps a Christmas card or two, she turned her key and opened her letterbox door. A barely perceptible scent wafted from within. She didn't think much of it. Grabbing her post, she slammed the door. She sifted through the envelopes on the way back to her apartment. The aroma lingered, though it remained subtle. Danny's hands stopped as her sorting as it brought a pink envelope to the top. Her feet stopped as well. Only her eyes moved as she sought the upper right corner. It was not the flowers on the stamp that caught her eye, but the postmark: San Diego. She scurried back to her apartment. Slamming the door and dropping the remainder of the mail on the floor, she ripped open the envelope. Inside was a card with a bouquet on the cover. As she opened it, dozens of red rose petals fell from within. Danielle gasped as the fragrance from the falling flower pieces floated upward to greet her. For several seconds, she but closed her eyes and breathed. Then she returned her attention to the card. Inside, a piece of paper had been pasted over the token sentiment. And on that paper was a poem. ~~~ Danny, I've been wanting to send you flowers, but thought your hubby would get mad. Even now, I'm not sure whether it might also make a certain fiancee sad. But if sending flowers is out, can I still send just the parts? To represent some of the pieces of a little boys heart? Pieces that I try keep contained, but they escape anyway; Breaking out all times of the week, but especially on Monday. When the phone rings these pieces can't help but dance and rejoice, Knowing they will soon hear the sound of a special girl's voice. Always Your Puppy, Craig ~~~ Danielle just stood, her jaw hanging limp. Raspy breaths passed through her open mouth as she read the poem again and again. Each time her eyes traversed the lines, they were moister than the time before. A Night For Old Time's Sake Only minutes later, as she stooped to gather the remainder of the mail, did Danny notice a slip of paper had fallen out of the card along with the rose petals. Her smile vanished as she read the computer-printed note. A pair of deep eyebrows matching the level of her thought, she wandered to the phone and dialed Craig's number. He answered, as usual, on the third ring. "Hello?" "I, uh, got your card," Danny said. "Thanks." "Oh. My pleasure. I take it you got the note too?" "Yeah. Flight from Columbus to San Diego. What's that about?" "No. I meant the poem." "Yeah. That was nice. Corny, but cute." "If it made you smile, it was worth it." "It did. But what about the flight?" "Oh. Judy and I set a date. We'd like you to be here, so we made you a reservation. That's your flight and confirmation number. I assume the truck stop can do without you for a few days?" Danielle felt her chest tighten. She looked back to the note. "Mid-February. So soon? After you two waited this long, what's the rush?" "Soon? It's seven weeks, maybe even eight." "Seems soon." "Maybe Judy is a little more nervous about you than she lets on and wants to get it over with. Anyway, you still have plenty of time to ask off. That shouldn't be any problem, right? Especially with everyone else probably wanting off for Christmas." "I, well, I'm not sure I really want to come anyway. "Please," Craig said. "It's important to me. I'd like to see you, of course, but I can more than see you. Judy's big into tradition, including not seeing her the night before. So I was thinking you and I could have dinner, maybe catch a movie. For old time sake, you know?" "That does sound nice. What day is the wedding?" "Saturday. The fourteenth." Danny's lips formed a seething pout. She gets Valentine's Day, and every day after that. And I get Friday the thirteenth. How fucking appropriate! Tonguing her lips, she considered the possibilities. I should take what I can get, she decided. After all, I did wish for one night, didn't I? "Judy won't mind?" "Hardly," Craig replied. "She suggested it." "She did?" "Yep. Said since we weren't married yet I could do anything I wanted." Danny's pushed her brow low over her eyes as her head leaned toward her right shoulder. "That seems a very strange thing for a bride to say. Unbelievable even." Craig shrugged. "I guess maybe she figures you can't be much worse than a bachelor party." Oh, I could be a lot worse, Danielle mused, a thought that quickly became a vow. "What did you have in mind; for your last night as a free man, I mean?" "I was thinking a nice little cafe patio overlooking the ocean at sunset, for starters." "It's winter!" "It's never winter here." A troubling thought crossed Danny's mind and before she even realized it, she had verbalized it, "What if we don't get along after all these years?" "I wouldn't worry about that," Craig replied without the slightest hesitation. "But if we don't, so what? It's just one night." Danielle nodded her agreement. "So it's dinner and a movie then." "Sure. Or we can just walk along the beach and see what happens." Danny's tongue rushed between her lips as she nodded. Yeah. We'll see what happens alright; and whatever it is, you're not going to forget it this time! If I only get one night with my teddy bear, it's going to be a good one. Her tongue retreated as a smile broke upon her face. "Ok. I guess we could have one night for old time's sake." "Great! I'll have a car pick you up." "A car?" "Yeah. Company perk. The driver will meet you in baggage claim. And I'll get you a room too. It's all on me." "That doesn't seem quite fair." "Can you afford it otherwise?" Danny swallowed. "Probably not." "Ok, then. I want to see you and this is the only way. And it's my choice. What's unfair about that?" "Nothing, I guess." "Then it's a deal?" "Sure." "Oh," Craig began. "I'm most likely going to be busy planning things. Do you think we can skip talking on Mondays until then?" "Not talk?" Danny gasped. "Until February!" "Who said it was soon?" Craig reminded. "After that I'm pretty sure we can talk every Monday after we get back from our honeymoon. Judy will have met you and she won't have any real reason to be worried anymore." "Ok," Danny agreed. "Unless you hear otherwise, I'll be there." * * * * * It was the longest eight weeks in the history of the universe, but it did eventually pass. Danielle could almost feel her heart melt in her chest as she saw Craig waiting by the curb exactly as he had said he would be. With a charming, natural smile, the man walked to her door to meet the limousine as it stopped. He looked so much like the picture, except he had shaved. She smiled. He looked younger without the beard. Probably shaved for the wedding, she thought. The smile vanished. She tilted her head. Does he look younger or does he just look more like I remember him looking when I was younger? She had not decided the answer by the time he opened the door. "You, uh, look great," Craig announced, offering his hand. "It's so good to finally see you." Danielle paused, tried to swallow and found she couldn't. She settled for twitching her lips instead while she placed her palm within his. "You too," she replied as he helped her to her feet. "On both counts." Both sets of eyes wandered for a second as the couple stood on the sidewalk. Then Danny eased forward, initiating a tentative hug. "Thanks," she whispered as her lips settled near his ears. "My pleasure." Craig pulled away, bring her face into focus. "Your, uh, bags in the trunk?" "No, just the one in the seat." Craig leaned into the car. Danielle glanced away, assuming he was settling the fair and tip. Her eyes found the ocean. I can't do this, she realized. What was I thinking? Planning to seduce him on the eve of his wedding? As much as I want to, it's just so wrong. But what if he tries something? Can I resist? Oh, God, I ... "How was the trip?" Danielle turned to find her companion holding her modest suitcase. "Fine," she said, reaching for the bag. Craig moved his hand away from hers. "I've got it." "Ok," Danny agreed with a brisk nod. "Thanks." Her gaze shifted behind him to follow the departing vehicle. "That's some car. Not what I was expecting. Walked right past the driver before I even realized he was holding up my name." "Told you. Company perk." "It was a nice surprise. "I already have our table," Craig said, motioning along the walkway with his free hand. "If you're hungry?" Her smile turned genuine. "Quite!" She started along the sidewalk toward the restaurant. Craig fell into stride a half-step behind and to her left. "Good. I already ordered too." Danny's head bobbed in a brisk nod. "Ok. Thanks." "You don't have to thank me every other sentence." She paused at the entry, offering a meek shrug and a grin. "I guess I'm just a little nervous." "Me too." Craig admitted, grabbing the door handle. "Thank you," Danielle said, passing through the entryway. She waited inside, expecting him to lead. "There you go again with the thanks." "Oh, yeah. Sorry." "And the apologies. Relax. It's natural to be tense, but everything's going to be fine." Easy for you to say, she thought, before issuing a nod and a simple, "Ok." "Beauty before age," Craig insisted, placing his palm just inside her elbow. Danielle's smile returned. "But I don't know where I'm going." "Don't worry," Craig said, enunciating each syllable in a slow, deliberate drone. "I do." The woman tilted her head. Her gaze fell as she walked, trying to dissect the four simple words and the odd way he had spoken them. She was certain there was something more in them and, though she could not determine what, she was somehow less worried, less anxious than she had been only moments before. He's right, she agreed with an unconscious nod. You don't need to worry. Relax. It's going to be ok. You can get through this. "This way," Craig directed with a motion at the first intersection inside the restaurant. "Then up the stairs and onto the balcony." Danny's mind continued to race. You were just flattering yourself anyway, thinking he was going to try something. Keep up a happy face, at least for him. You have to help him look forward, not backward. The breeze carried the scent of the ocean as it caught her hair, pulling her focus back to her surroundings. She stopped. Her eyes moved from the floor to wander the length of the horizon. "The water's lovely," she muttered, as much to herself as anyone. "Pales in comparison to the company." Danielle beamed as she turned her head to face her companion. The tip of the woman's tongue was between her incisors before her entire mouth froze. She withdrew her tongue, offering a smile and a nod in place of any verbal thanks. Craig smiled as well. "Far corner," he directed with a nod. Danielle's eyes returned to the sea as she made her way to their table. She glanced down and started to move her hand toward a chair, but Craig's was already there. Trying, and failing, not to blush, she again resisted the urge to offer thanks, silently taking her seat. "I hope you don't mind," Craig began as he slid into the chair opposite her, "but I thought salmon would be perfect." A broad smile graced Danny's face, chasing away her few wrinkles. "Not at all. Than... uh, that's, yes, fine; an excellent choice." Craig ignored her stammering and grabbed a bottle of wine from a nearby bucket. "Fume Blanc? Goes well with fish, and not bad by itself." Danielle shuddered. Her head shook in a brisk motion. "Uh, no. I'll stick to water." "Well," Craig began, returning the bottle to its place. "I, uh, maybe we'll wait until dinner then to open it." He turned his attention back across the table. "So, I don't think you ever said how your trip was?" "Nothing special really. Everything went pretty smooth." "That makes it a good trip, right?" Danielle smiled. "Right." The conversation turned to mundane topics as the couple dined; travel, work, the weather, the news, the scenery. There were but two subjects neither seemed comfortable broaching; the past and the future. "Some desert for you, ma'am?" the waiter inquired as he cleared the plates from the table. "Uh, no." Danielle moved both palms vertical before her. "I am quite comfortable, thank you." The server turned his attention to Craig, "And you sir." "No, we're good. Thanks." "Very well, sir." Danielle shivered in spite of the sun as she realized the meal was winding down. Shoulders sank with spirits, and her gaze with both. Her eyelids flapped at a more rapid pace as she sought to evade weeping at the parting she felt approaching. Prying her eyes from her napkin, she forced a smile and her attention across the table. "Thank you for a wonderful dinner." "It was my pleasure," Craig said. "Sometimes I think I could talk to you forever." Danny's mouth parted as she heard, and cherished, the sound of her own words. "Could you?" "Certainly." Danielle's eyes fell again, before she caught them and drug them horizontal. She passed a single larger breath. "Even when I lie." Craig tilted his head. "About what?" "Ken." "I thought we already discussed that." Danielle shrugged. "I still feel unworthy." Craig smiled. "You shouldn't." "I don't know how you can say that." Craig shrugged, all but mimicking her motion of seconds earlier. "Because it only makes us even." Danny tilted her head to one side. "How so?" "Judy." "What do you mean?" "There is no Judy." Danny's brows dropped with her jaw. Her neck extended as her head straightened. "What? No Judy?" Craig nodded. "Yep. No Judy." Danielle could feel her heart begin to race. "What happened? Did she change her mind? Because of me?" Stupid! she scolded herself at once. Don't sound so happy about it. "No," Craig began. "There never has been a Judy. I invented her when I found you. In case you were married, I didn't want it to look like I wanted to reignite an old flame. I thought that would be wrong. Maybe embarrassing too. Then that lie led to another and, well, I think you know how that goes." Danny blinked as she absorbed the knowledge that the woman she had been so jealous of had never existed at all. "But the picture?" "Her name is Rhonda. She was a bride's maid at a wedding in which I was a groomsman. That's where we took the picture. And that was the only time I ever met her." "So you made it all up?" Craig nodded. "About Judy, yes. But not about Michelle and Josh." "But why didn't you tell me sooner?" "I wanted to tell you in person." Danny's brow remained low as she tried to absorb the revelation. "I don't understand. So this entire wedding thing, is just a charade?" "I pray not." Before she could blink, Craig was on his knees by her side, diamond in hand. "Danielle Medgewick, will you marry me?" Danny's mouth fell as she inhaled a sharp gasp. Her lips quivered as she sought to confirm she had truly heard words her heart had only dared dream of. Glazed eyes overflowed seconds later as she at last accepted it was not just another one of her many wishful fantasies with this conclusion. "Oh, G-G-God," she at last managed to stammer. "Yes!" Danielle slid from her chair even as Craig slid the ring upon her finger. "What are you doing?" he inquired as she joined him on the patio floor. "I figure," she managed between sniffles, "this way I don't have far to fall if I faint." "But why would you faint?" "Ok. You're right. I'm not going to faint; any more than you're going to forget this." Her hands bolted, fingers intertwining within the man's curly locks even before his eyes had moved to follow their flight. In the next instant she yanked his head, forcing her lips to his. His eyes snapped forward. Her chest shuddered as their lips meshed with one another, confirming with every caress that they never wanted to part again. When their lips at last did separate, Danielle began to weep, each tear taking with it a portion of sorrow from her soul. Craig grinned. "Ready for that walk along the beach?" Danny nodded, reaching for her napkin. * * * A quarter hour later found the couple strolling down the beach, hand-in-hand, while the sun dropped toward the watery horizon. "That was pretty cool how everyone clapped when we stood up," Danielle recalled. "I thought Californians were aloof." Craig smiled, recalling the moment. "I guess we did make a bit of a scene." Danny stopped and turned to face him. "How did you know I wouldn't make a different kind of scene?" Craig issued a meek shrug. "I didn't know. How could I know? But I was confident enough I was willing to risk it. Actually I'd have risked it if I thought I had any chance with you. But six years is what really made my decision easy." Danielle dropped her brow as she cocked her head. "Six years?" "Yeah. That's how long ago you divorced Ken and that's when you said you put yourself on all those websites so that I could find you. That's some pretty easy math when you bother to think about it." Danny's gaze fell for a few seconds before she recovered to speak. "When did you really look for me?" "Two years ago, after Michelle and I split." "Two years!" Craig issued a meek nod. "Yeah." "What took you so long?" "I looked you up right away, but since your name was different I figured you were married. But even if you weren't, I still had to recover from the divorce, both emotionally and financially." "Still," Danielle whispered, almost whimpered. "Two years?" "Well, I was ok after one year. It took me the other to build up the nerve to contact you." Danny forced a pout. "You made me wait a whole year?" Craig replied with a shrug. "You'll have to forgive me for being timid. You are the love of my life. Thinking you were married was one thing. Knowing you were married would be another. It hurt every bit as much as I imagined it would after I heard about Ken." Danielle stepped forward bringing their forms adjacent. Looking into his eyes, she parted her lips, then ran her tongue back and forth below the upper one. "You're the love of my life too. And I never want to be with anyone else again." Craig could but swallow in response. "Are you still willing to wait until we're married?" Danny inquired. Craig nodded. "Sure." Danielle leaned into him, rubbing her modest bosom against his sternum. "I'm not," she whispered. "You made me wait a whole year longer than I needed to and I don't want to wait a minute longer." "Are you sure?" "If you keep asking questions, that'll be a minute longer." Still holding his hand, Danny turned and started to retrace their steps up the beach. But Craig did not budge. Instead he offered a sly grin and a wink. "Our room's the other way." "What? Our room?" "I said I'd get you a room, didn't I?" Danielle looked down the beach into the gathering darkness. She saw a few structures and some lights, but nothing that remotely resembled a hotel. Turning back to her companion, she asked simply, "Where?" The finger of Craig's free hand traced an arc as it moved to point to the bluffs overlooking the shore. "Up there." "What? One of those houses?" "Yes. The smallest one, on the left end of the ridge." "What is it? A bed and breakfast?" "Sure. You can have breakfast there too." "But my suitcase?" Danny protested. "You asked the waiter to watch it?" "That's Terry and he's a maitre d', not a waiter," Craig explained. "But, yeah. He'll keep it for us. I mean, you weren't really thinking to wear anything in that bag tonight, were you?" "But I have some things in there. You know?" "I think you just wasted a minute arguing. If you want to spend fifteen more going to get your suitcase, then by all means; let's." Craig took one step before Danielle's cry halted him in his tracks. "No!" Craig tilted his head as he widened his eyes for effect. "Yes?" "You're right. Let's go." * * * The sun was long gone by the time the couple hiked to the top of the bluff. Danielle shivered as the full force of the evening breeze struck her. "I thought you said it was never winter here?" Craig peeled off his shirt and wrapped it around his companion. "I guess I didn't quite think of everything. C'mon. It'll be warm enough inside." Danny smiled and twitched her nose. "If it's not, we'll just have to warm it up." "Yes," he agreed, though he missed her provocative gesture in the dimness. "I suppose we will." "Not really what I pictured as a bed and breakfast," Danielle noted as they approached the house. "It's more like a little cottage. I take it the owner doesn't live on site?" "Oh, he does." Craig pulled the key from his pocket. "You see. I'm the owner." "What?" "It's mine. I own it." "Really?" "Yep." Danny stepped back and gave the bungalow another look, trying to imagine how it might appear during the day. "I always figured beachfront property in California would be kinda pricey." "It is." "Mind if I ask how much?" "Of course not," Craig said. "After all, it's about to be yours too. The cottage itself is near worthless, of course, compared to the lot. I paid several million when I bought it five years ago. Might be worth twice that now." "Million?" Danny gasped. "You mean dollars?" Craig shrugged, doing his best not to flash a gloating grin. "Yep. We use dollars in California too." "Funny. How did you manage that just installing fire alarms?" "I don't install fire alarms," Craig explained as he worked the key. "I started that way, of course. Just me and my partner. That was sixteen years ago. We've expanded a bit since then. Now we have about fifty employees." A Night For Old Time's Sake "Fifty employees?" "Yep." "You own the business?" "Yes. Half of it, anyway." "Did you lie to me again?" "About what?" "Your job." Craig winked as he opened the door. "Maybe a little." He reached inside to flip the light switch before standing aside and allowing the lady to enter first. Still reeling from this latest revelation, Danielle entered the modest structure. It was an older building with smaller rooms and a simple layout. "What a cute little place," she noted. It's hardly bigger than my apartment, but so much nicer. Maybe not a million dollars nicer, but... "Thanks," Craig replied, interrupting her thoughts. "Michelle and I bought it as a little weekend getaway. We always imagined we'd retire here. When we split, she wanted the big house in the hills. That was fine with me. I prefer this one. It's cozy, but big enough for one." He paused to smile as he latched the door. "Or two." "But you're a millionaire. You could have had many a girl with you, almost any one you wanted." Craig scooted a step closer. "Maybe. But I only wanted one." Danielle swallowed. "What would you have done if I'd really been married?" "Exactly what I did when I thought you were married." "What's that?" "Wait until you weren't." "But you never tried to break Ken and I up? As I recall, when I invented problems between he and I, you suggested solutions." Craig shrugged. "I wanted you, sure. But even more than that I wanted you to be happy, even if it was with Ken." Danny shifted her head, looking sideways at her companion. "Did you propose so quickly because you wanted to be sure I was interested in you and not your money?" "I proposed quickly for the same reason you accepted quickly." "And what's that?" "Twenty years is long enough to wait." Danielle looked to her engagement ring. As if to confirm its presence, she spun the band once with her left thumb before turning to face her fiancee. "Your right. It is long enough to wait." Craig stepped forward. "Too long." Danny looked up. "Are you really my puppy again?" "I never quit being your puppy." "Oh, but you're a different kind of puppy now." Craig cocked his head. "What do you mean?" "You lied to me. More than once. That was very naughty." "So what, do I get a spanking?" "Is that what my naughty little puppy really wants?" "Depends. What are the choices?" Danny passed her tongue once across her lower lip. "I was thinking he might want to bury his bone in my backyard." "Oh," Craig grunted, his brows bouncing into his forehead. "Who's being naughty now?" Danielle bounced her eyebrows in return. "This bed and breakfast does have a bed, yes?" "Yes, but don't you want to see the rest of the place? It'll only take a few minutes..." Craig's voice trailed off as the last word left his lips. He smiled as his head began to bob in a shallow nod. "A few minutes," he repeated in a whisper. Danielle shook her head. "Now." Craig issued a sigh as his nod ceased. "Yes, ma'am. Now." Grasping both of her hands, he turned and walked backward toward the bedroom. Each pair of eyes locked on the other as they moved in a deliberate, almost teasing, gait. Neither said a word until they had cleared the threshold. Danny felt her heart begin to race as she realized the moment she had longed for was upon her almost without warning. Was I really in that crappy little dive next to the truck stop only this morning? Her eyes moistened as she realized it was all true, the dive, the ring, this place, her man; all that she had hoped for; and more. Too good to be true, she mused. Too good. Craig noticed her eyes cloud and brought the last knuckle of his index finger to catch her first tear. "What's wrong?" She managed two quick sniffs before replying, "Nothing. That's the problem. It's all so perfect it's scary." "Scary, huh?" Moving his hand behind her head, he began to comb her locks with his fingers. "Remember when you were scared I loved you too much?" "Yes." "Is it still scary?" "Yes." "Why? You're not still worried about taking advantage of me?" Danielle head moved, in more of a shudder than a shake. "No. I'm afraid you're going to peel off these clothes and realize the twenty year old you once loved is long gone." Craig's head moved at once, in a far more resolute shake. "Although I would not want you to imagine the rest of you did not have its appeal, it was your mind I truly coveted." Danny swallowed. "But I want you to covet my body too. I need you to..." Craig moved his mouth to hers, terminating the sentence with exactly what she needed. As their lips reacquainted, her doubts receded. Soon two pairs of hands moved over two bodies, fabric falling in their wake. Not until Danielle raised his undershirt was the couple compelled to end their lip lock. Craig thrust his arms upward as she tugged upon the garment. Dropping to his knees, he slid free of the cloth. His mouth at once found her fleshy tummy. The undeveloped muscles of Danny's paunch tensed as she felt the warm moistness of his lips on her flesh. For a heartbeat, she tried to suck in an abdomen that had carried two children, and would forever carry the scars of that burden. Then her confidence and pride asserted itself. She released her breath and her muscles, allowing her paunch to assume its natural shape. Her fingers began to comb her lover's hair while his lips roamed every malleable inch, working his way north from her navel. Moving at a deliberate pace, Craig's mouth at last came upon her bosom. There on the soft underside did his mouth linger, suckling on the subtle sag before sliding his lips upward to the apex. Danielle issued a welcoming whimper as she felt her nipple engulfed, then nurtured, by his loving mouth. He would have happily suckled her for hours, but after mere minutes she was ready for more. Her fingers tightened in Craig's hair, then issued a gentle tug, urging him to his feet. Releasing his locks, her hand sprang to his already rampant cock. He tensed for an instant, then relaxed. She but smiled, leading her lover to the bed before reclining onto the mattress. As soon as she released his cock, Craig shifted his body. Crawling perpendicular to her form, his lips again found her bosom. "No," Danielle hissed. "We've had months of foreplay. Just fuck me." "But..." Craig began. "Now!" Craig nodded. "Ok." With that he moved to the nightstand and opened a drawer. She dropped her brow. "What are you doing?" Craig produced a foil wrapper. "Condom." "Are you infected with anything?" "No." "Me neither. Put it back." "But I thought..." "You thought wrong," Danielle said. "I want to feel you inside me, not some chunk of rubber. Put it back." "What about children?" "For once in my life, I'm willing to believe that things happen for a reason." With a single nod, Craig dropped the contraceptive into the nightstand and closed the drawer. Without a word, he crawled across the mattress and moved atop the prone form of his lover. Unsure if her body was as ready as her mind, he moved his hips, sliding the head of his shaft up and down her crease. Danny's hips began to pivot as she felt his cock tease each extreme of her vulva before moving the other direction. "Lower," she whispered as his cock once again moved northward. "You need to go lower." The glow through the open door played across Craig's face as he smiled and brought his eyes to hers. "I know what I'm doing." As if to prove the point, he moved his crown to her passage and prodded the sodden entryway before withdrawing to slide upward once again. After the fifth such journey, Danielle realized he did know exactly what he was doing. She began to move her hips in response, trying to capture his head with her canal, but each time he adjusted to her motion and just teased her more. After another half-dozen trips, she issued a massive sigh. Her body went rigid. Both palms smacked the sheet in unison. "Now!" Craig smiled. He paused with his cock nestled in the concave beginning of her passage. This time, after leaving her wait a few seconds, he relaxed his muscles and simply leaned. Both held their breath as the blessed moment they had awaited for half their lives at last arrived. The couple exhaled in unison as Craig's cock bottomed. He eased himself backward, then leaned into her again. Danielle closed her eyes and swallowed, feeling her womanhood engulf his shaft on its second stroke, whimpering as the engorged pole slid just that little bit deeper than it had the first pass. Her thighs quaked as she savored the moment. He's really in me. After all these years. And not just for tonight, he's mine. All mine. Forever. "Stop," she moaned as she sensed his penetration was again at it's maximum. Her hips moved as he complied, her pussy grasping at his cock, savoring the pleasant warmth and fullness of his masculinity within her. "What?" Craig gasped. "Is something wrong?" "No," Danny whispered. "It's perfect. You feel so good inside me. Sit there for a moment. Just like that. If you move, I swear I'll scream." To her horror, Craig moved. In a single motion he sprang backward. Her pussy bounced upward, as if to reclaim the cock that had left it void. Yet before she could mouth a protest, his mouth found her loins, using his face to push her ass back to the mattress. Wiggling his lips once over her saturated enclave, he plunged his tongue within, twirling his appendage within her entry, honestly trying to lick her ovaries; though he knew it to be a futile quest. I don't want foreplay. The words were on her lips, but she never uttered them as she suddenly came to understand this was not foreplay. Instead, something else left her mouth as it opened. True to her oath, Danielle did scream, but it was not a wail of anger or frustration. Her body shook with the first convulsion before she even understood it was upon her. Her hips bounced again from the mattress pushing against her lover's face. He pushed back and increased the intensity of his probes. It's true, she realized. My little puppy does know how to change a girl's oil in more ways than one! She had no time to think anything else before a second, far more powerful, seizure gripped her. Craig coughed as her offering sprayed deep into his throat. She pretended not to notice. He pretended not to mind, returning to tongue fuck her to several more climaxes before he felt her fingers curl within his locks. Danielle tugged his head upward. "I want you in me again," she insisted, pulling his face from her womanhood. Craig offered no resistance as he crawled back up her form, reassuming his previous position, wasting no time in reentering her warm moistness. "Yes," she whispered, almost gasped, as she felt his fullness within for the second time. "Oh, oh; you should have been my first." Craig managed a smile. "I'd rather be last." "You're right," Danny agreed in an instant. "Now do it." An involuntary grunt left the woman as her lover plunged into her core. He leaned as he withdrew for a second stroke, his mouth finding her neck. There his lips and teeth nibbled and suckled while his cock began to thrust within her snug confines. How can I be tighter? Danny wondered, her pussy pulsing with pleasure beneath each stroke. As second later her eyes flew wide. I'm not tighter! He's bigger! "Yes!" she gasped, understanding the implication. Her hips began to move in time with his motion. Craig took the cue. Lifting his torso on stiffened arms, his eyes locked on hers. He increased the tempo. He was not gentle. The time for that had passed. His thrusts were long, fast, and hard, just like the moans she began to issue with each such stroke. Each stroke, like each moan, was longer, deeper than the previous one. Inside of a minute, Craig's long contained love for this woman began to demand its release. A raspy growl began to resonate within his nasal passages. Beads of sweat mixed with cunt juice fell from the ends of his hair and the tip of his nose. "Yes!" Danny urged. "Go for it!" And go for it he did, pounding her pussy with a powerful relentless ramming until at last he plunged within her and there began his release. He collapsed upon her form as his climax ensued. His hips began rutting, trying to push his spurting cock another fraction of an inch farther into her core. With a snarl, Craig brought his lips and teeth to her neck and suckled as he came. To his surprise, and thrill, he heard with his ears and felt with his mouth the purring within the woman's throat. A half-minute later his cock twitched its last, issuing a final feeble offering. Danielle closed her eyes and squirmed, savoring the warm feel of his seed spreading within her. The couple just lay together, the sweat of their torsos mingling, the only sound the passing of the air through their open mouths, the only movement a pair of chests expanding and contracting with each labored breath. After several minutes, Craig pushed himself upward. Looking straight into his lover's hazel eyes, he whispered, "I think it's time for another lie." Looking upward, Danny cocked her head. "What?" Craig smiled. "Allison is still the hottest babe I ever bedded." Danielle's eyes wandered for the half-second required for his meaning to sink in. Her hands bolted to his head as her head sprang from the pillow. She smothered his mouth with hers, moaning as she tasted her own flavor upon his lips. "That was a sweet lie," she admitted as her head fell back to the pillow. "But while we are on the subject of deceit, I owe you another apology." "What for?" "When I left Ohio this morning," Danielle began, put she paused; her eyes shifted a few degrees to find the ceiling, but her focus was beyond that. "Was it only this morning?" She shook her head for a second, then put her eyes back to his. "Whenever it was, when I left, I had in mind to seduce you tonight." Craig shrugged. "Mission accomplished." "But I thought you were getting married tomorrow." "Vegas is only five or six hours away," Craig winked. "I still plan to." "That's not what I mean!" "So you don't want to? That's ok. Tomorrow, next year. Big wedding, small wedding. Whatever you want is fine with me." Danny's eyes wandered for several seconds, before she reined them back to her lover's face. "I do want to marry you tomorrow, but just a few hours ago I thought you were marrying someone else tomorrow. And I still planned on seducing you." Craig shrugged. "I don't see what it matters. There never was anyone else." "But I thought there was," Danny noted. "And it was wrong of me to plan to take what I believed to be someone else's." "No." Craig shook his head. He moved his hand, fingered splayed, to the far side of her head and began to comb her tresses. "It was wrong of you to think I ever could be someone else's." "Ok," she whispered. "But enough lies, don't you think?" "But we only fibbed because we were insecure. And they all started early, and grew from there, yes?" Danny nodded. "Yes." "And are you insecure any more?" She smiled before whispering, "No." Craig shrugged. "Me neither. I can't imagine ever feeling to need to hide something from you again." "Me neither!" Danielle issued another inadvertent purr as she inhaled. "And to think I imagined I could die happy if I had my teddy bear for just one night." "Teddy bear?" Craig queried as he cocked his head. "I thought I was your puppy?" "I don't care," Danny whispered. "As long as you're mine tomorrow and every tomorrow after that." Craig winked. "You needn't worry." About tomorrow, I promised you breakfast didn't I? Anything sound good?" Danielle nodded. "Yes. I want my breakfast in bed." She leaned, offering her mouth again to her fiancé, a gesture he at once accepted. Lips meshing, her hand slid along his frame to grip his manhood. Her palm had but formed a fist when her pulse began to race. He's already getting hard again! She bared her teeth in a snarl even as they kissed. How purrrfect! THE END A Night for Old Time's Sake Copyright 2005 by Penelope Street Posted with permission at Literotica.com All other rights reserved.