A Rat's Chance Ch. 1

Chapter 1: Take It From The Top

From the very first moment I saw her, I knew I had a rat's chance in hell of ever being with her. Given our situations, there was absolutely no reason to believe that we could become anything more than just friends. Yet there was something in the way she looked at me with her bright steely blue eyes, and the way she would look away when I returned her glance; and the way she would fiddle with her silky dark hair, twirling it between her fingers whenever my glance grew too long or too admiring; and her subtle smile that was never too broad, that would curl up her lips and create kissable dimples in each cheek, but was always graced with a flash of teeth and tongue; and the way her hip jutted out to the side when she stood beside me, her tanned legs and petite curvy body swaying, her pert breasts jiggling; they all gave me in some small measure, a glimmer of hope, and my heart and body and soul called out for her touch, her kiss, her love.

So why was she so impossible? Let's start with the fact that I'm twice her age, and a pretty average guy at that, not real rich, not real good-looking, while she's this rare simmering beauty. Then there is her ..., but wait! As I huddle now on the deck in the crisp air of fall, next to the warmth of the chiminera, scribbling down these crazy thoughts, I realize that I'm getting ahead of myself, for it really began early in the summer when my best buddy brought over his new girlfriend on a sleepy Sunday afternoon. I had just finished vacuuming my pool and was putting away the tools when I heard his familiar voice calling out and the doorbell ringing.

"Hey, Greg!" Jack called out. "You home, buddy?"

"Sure, coming!" I called out hustling up to the front door. Jack Wilson was standing on the porch beside a lovely young woman. "What's up?"

Jack's tanned, handsome face was spread with a great smile, and his dark blue eyes were smiling as well. The young woman beside him had a lovely smile, her clear, light-blue eyes twinkling as she shook her soft thick amber blonde hair back from her face and behind her narrow shoulders.

"We were just in the neighborhood," Jack said, "And thought we'd pop in, if you don't mind."

"Not at all," I remarked swinging open the door.

Jack held the door open and stepped aside to let his lady go ahead of him. She was maybe mid five feet tall, with a heart shaped face and a heart shaped butt, with nice round breasts and a pair of long legs that her cutoff shorts showed off well. Knowing Jack as well as I do, she was certainly younger than he, but it was easy to tell that they were together and feeling every bit a part of the same whole.

As Jack continued to hold the door open behind him, I saw a third unannounced member of their party step through the door and was instantly nailed to the floor. She was a short brunette with the most striking steely blue eyes I had ever seen. I've heard a lot of descriptions of beautiful women, walking wet dream, drop dead gorgeous, and you've probably heard them too. But this beautiful creature was the epitome of every one. I knew I was staring because she looked down and away shyly, her silky dark hair falling into her face. When she tilted her head back and ran her long slim fingers through her hair to brush it away, I was stunned again. For the moment that we stood looking at each other, it felt as if the world had stopped still. When she smiled sweetly, I could swear I heard bells ringing or fireworks shooting off. The pretty face, the gorgeous hair, the gentle curves of her body, but most of all, the amazing look in her eyes made my fingers tremble, my heartbeat race, and my mouth grow dumb.

"So, Greg," Jack began by placing his hand on the back of the blonde woman, "This is Kate."

"Oh, uh, nice to meet you," I said trying to recover. "Kate? That's nice."

"Hi, Greg," she said sweetly, with a big smile. "Nice to meet you. Jack's told me so much about you, I feel like I know you already. Oh, and this is my friend, Allie."

"Hi," said Allie in a quiet voice and with a dazzling smile that reached inside and pulled at me.

"Nice to meet you, Allie," I said after a brief pause as I struggled to keep my composure in the face of this absolutely stunning young woman. "Very nice indeed."

For another moment we all stood in the foyer looking and smiling and I forgot all sense of manners. All I could think of was this beautiful woman with the stunning blue eyes standing a foot or two away and the sound of my heart pounding in my ears. And the best part was that she seemed to be returning the look. Her mouth opened almost as if she were going to say something. Being the older worldly type, Jack glanced from one to the other and could see what was happening and cleared his throat.

"So, you got the pool open, Greg?" he asked loudly.

"Uh, yeah. It's open," I said returning to the real world. "Yeah, right. It's open. Well, what's wrong with my manners? Come on in, you guys. Can I get you something to drink?"

"I'd like to see the pool first," said Kate, edging toward the family room where the pool could be seen.

Allie and Jack followed behind and I brought up the rear. Jack made a pointing gesture toward Kate and I returned a thumb's up. She did look like his current type, a much younger, blue-eyed blonde, and very pretty. I pointed toward Allie, but he shrugged.

"It's just outside through the patio door," I called over to Kate, who was a few steps ahead of us.

We trooped out onto the deck and down to the pool.

"This is outstanding!" Kate remarked, turning back with a big smile. "Aren't you glad we got new suits?" she said to Allie, who nodded.

"We were shopping for bathing suits," Jack said softly with a nudge to my ribs.

"You dog!" I said, shoving him playfully. "And you didn't invite me!"

The girls had stepped over right to the edge of the pool. Kate had slipped a sandal off and was trying to toe the water.

"The water's 84 degrees if you're interested," I shouted over to her. "Just finished brushing and vacuuming."

"It looks so clear and inviting, I think I want to go in," Kate remarked. "How about you, Allie?"

"Sure," Allie replied. "That sounds like fun."

"How about you bud?" I asked Jack.

"Hey, man I don't have a suit," he said halfway protesting.

"Come on, man. I'll lend you some trunks or something."

"All right," he said relenting easily.

I led them back inside and showed the girls where to find the spare towels and the guestroom so they could change. Jack handed Kate the keys so that they could retrieve their new suits from his truck, and then he followed me upstairs to get his own. I fished around in a drawer and pulled out an old suit that would fit him since we're about the same size. I could tell he was bursting inside waiting to hear what I thought about his new young lady friend.

"So what do you think, man?"

I let out a soft wolf whistle. "She is beautiful. She's the one you met at work, right? Does she still work for you?"

"Well, yeah. Sort of," he said. "But I talked Hal into giving her some more responsibilities and having her report directly to him. That way we're just employees at the same company and he'll look the other way if word gets out."

"He doesn't know yet?"

"Nah, and I really don't want him to, at least for a while," Jack said, starting to change out of his clothes and into the borrowed trunks.

"Well, she is a real beauty," I said. "I guess she makes up for Nikki, eh?"

"Hey, don't get me started," he laughed. "How was I supposed to know that she'd go for a British punk with blue hair?"

"Well, this one looks like the jackpot!"

I picked out my own suit and went into the bath to change.

"So what's the deal with her friend, Allie?" I asked.

"Man, I knew you were going to ask," Jack answered quickly. "I wish I knew more about her. I know she just started working for Thompson Advertising and is assisting on our account. She and Kate really hit it off well and have started to hang around a lot. That's about all I know."

"Well, with my luck there's usually some Tom, Dick or Harry in the picture," I remarked.

"There is a Chad somewhere that she talks about, but I've never met him," Jack replied. "So what about that cute little one you were seeing, Gina or Tina or something?"

"We still see each other, but nothing serious anymore. I think she's caught the eye of an old boyfriend who's come back to town."

"You have the worst luck, man," Jack said with a laugh. "One day your dream will come true, buddy."

We were both dressed by now and had started to head back downstairs. I could hear the girls talking away in the guestroom downstairs.

"Just wait till you see the suit Kate bought," Jack remarked with his sly smile. "And the one Allie picked out is, well, you'll see!"

As we passed along the hall I could hear the sounds of the girls voices. It sounded like Kate's voice and Allie's laugh. Jack and I continued outside and checked out the pool. Of course a few leaves and crap had blown in so I grabbed the skimmer-net and started scooping out the junk. Jack stepped down into the pool on the steps so the water rose up to his knees. As I gathered up the last scoop of junk, I looked up to see the girls coming out through the patio door. Kate led the way dressed in a skimpy pale blue string bikini that showed off her luscious curves to perfection.

But when Allie came out I was thunderstruck again. She had on a black bikini that was barely more than three tiny triangles of cloth held together by kite string. As they headed out to the lounge chairs on the deck to set down their towels and cover-ups, her breasts nearly fell out of her top. Not that they were so big, but a decent pair on a short, petite woman always looks bigger and her suit could barely keep them contained. She stood up and tried to adjust the suit, but I could tell it would be a difficult job and I would have to work on keeping my tongue in my mouth.

Kate hustled right down to join Jack on the steps. With a couple of playful shoves they ended up falling together into the water with a big hearty laugh. I put the skimmer back and went to join Allie up on the deck. She looked as if she wasn't sure whether to have a seat or go for a swim.

"Are you up for a swim?" I asked.

"I don't know," she said. "Now that I think about it, I wasn't really thinking about swimming when I bought this suit."

"Well it looks outstanding on you," I said, hoping a compliment would help. "Actually, I meant that you look terrific in it."

"I know what you mean," she smiled. "Thanks."

"Can I get you something to drink?" I offered. "Beer, wine, whiskey, soda, whatever's your pleasure."

"Sure, whatever sounds fine," she answered, showing off her wonderful smile again.

"I've been told that I whip up a pretty nice pina colada. Interested?"

"Sure," she replied.

I looked off to the pool and was going to ask if Jack and Kate wanted something, but they seemed to be occupied with a friendly little game of dunk and dive. Jack had dunked Kate, who was rising up from the water, grabbing for an arm or leg to flip him.

"Be right back," I said and quickly went off to do my thing in the kitchen. Luckily I had everything ready and within a couple of minutes had returned carrying a tray with tall glasses, slices of lime, and a tall sweating pitcher of colada. Allie had moved down to sit at the top of the pool steps, her feet splashing in the water. With the light and shadows being what they were, from the rear, it looked as if she were naked since the back and strings of her suit were so small. Even so, there were no tan lines showing, which only made my mind race faster. I set up and poured a couple of glasses and brought them over to sit beside her, careful not to get too close.

"Thanks," she said as I handed her a glass. She brought the straw up to rest in her pouty little mouth and took a sip. "Mmm, this is good!"

I nodded modestly and tried to keep my eyes focused on her face, but they betrayed me by lowering down to check out her beautiful breasts nestled in the tiny bikini top. Self-consciously she fiddled with the suit, but no matter how hard she tried, the suit could cover only so much of her luscious body. I immediately raised my eyes back to hers, only to see her sparkling blue eyes look down and away shyly.

"Forgive me for staring," I remarked, "But that is some kind of suit, Allie!"

"I know," she replied with another disarming smile. "I bought it for a trip I'm taking in a couple of weeks."

Although she spoke wonderful English, there was something about her accent that I couldn't place. It sounded eastern European of some sort, perhaps Russian or Ukrainian or Slovakian.

"You have the cutest accent," I commented. "Where'd you get it from?"

"I'm from Russia," she answered. "A little town south of Minsk that you probably never heard of."

"That's what I thought!" I replied. "Say, that's not far from where my mother's family came from. They're Lithuanian, but don't ask me exactly where."

"You have a nice place here, Greg," she said looking around the yard. "Have you lived here long?"

"A couple of years."

"By yourself?" she asked, taking another seductive sip through the straw.

"And I sort of like it that way. I discovered after my divorce that I like being on my own a lot."

She looked over at me flashing her great eyes and smiled.

"So what's up?" called Jack as he stepped up from the pool.

"Greg here makes the best pina coladas," Allie said taking her last sip.

"I want one!" Kate said as she joined us.

Jack and Kate quickly dried off and we adjourned back to the deck. I poured a round for the group and we spent the next hour drinking coladas and getting to know one another. It was obvious to me how Kate and Jack felt about each other by the way they touched and talked. I hadn't seen him so happy in years, perhaps since the best years of his marriage. And she was very much in love with him, a fact easily seen by the way she looked at him, listened to him, and played around with him.

As for Allie, I was mesmerized. I kept thinking of the old show tune, "Bewitched, Bothered, And Bewildered." I tried to act the part of the perfect host, making sure that my guests were taken care of, but I'm sure that she noticed the extra amount of consideration I extended toward her. As the afternoon edged toward evening, we all had relaxed (although the rum may have had something to do with that) and I found myself chatting with her like old friends. Like me, she loved to laugh, she loved jazz, and she thought that the recent Van Gogh portrait exhibit was the best thing she had seen in years. And when I admitted that "Waiting For Guffman" was my favorite movie in recent years, she began to laugh.

"I don't believe this, sweetie," she said to Kate. "What was I telling you last night?"

"That 'Waiting For Guffman' was your favorite movie," Kate said with a similar laugh. "I told you they'd get along," she said to Jack, giving him a nudge with her hand.

"So would you folks like to stay for dinner?" I asked looking at my watch.

The look passed from one to the other to the next and back again. "We didn't really have any plans, did we?" Jack said.

"I'm pretty easy," Kate said. "How about you, Allie?"

"I don't need to be home till late tonight," Allie replied.

"Well, great!" I remarked. It was always more fun to cook for others than for just myself. "What's your pleasure?"

"Greg is known as the Grill Meister!" Jack proclaimed. "He can do stuff with a hibachi that would make Emeril jealous!"

"You know, Hiller's had a sale on beef tenderloin yesterday," I remarked. "Are you guys up for filets and sweet corn?"

"Sounds great!" Jack replied when Kate nodded emphatically.

Excusing my self to the kitchen to get started, I couldn't help but overhear my guests talking on the deck through the kitchen window.

"So what do you think?" Kate asked.

"I think he's kind of cute," I heard Allie reply. "He's tall and distinguished and seems so secure about himself."

"Take it easy on him cause he hadn't been around much since the Big D, if you know what I mean," Jack remarked.

"He's a charming host," Allie added.

"Well, duh," Kate said kiddingly. "Charming? I saw all that 'How is your drink?' and 'Can I get you anything else' business."

"What's wrong with that?" Jack said. "Greg's a gentleman. You won't find many like him around."

"I know," Allie replied. "That's part of the charm."

I felt my cheeks get flushed as I eavesdropped so I started making some noise to block out the sound of their voices. I laid out the tenderloin and sliced some nice thick filets. As I rinsed the vegetables to make a salad I heard a stirring and looked up to see Allie moving in beside me.

"Need any help?" she asked sweetly, leaning on the counter, her slender legs crossing slightly.

She smiled when I couldn't resist giving her another up and down look. I was sure that my eyes lingered a bit on the curves of her breasts and hips barely covered by the tiny bikini. Hardly self-conscious, her hip jutted out and her hand rached up to finger her long dark silky hair

"Well, I think I've got everything under control," I replied looking back to where I was working. "But if you'd like to chop some more stuff for a salad, I can get the marinade going for the filets."

"Sure," she said pitching right in.

Through the kitchen window, we could both see Kate and Jack move back down toward the pool. The shadows were growing longer and the two lovebirds appeared to be taking advantage of the late afternoon sun. Jack dove in and surfaced right near the steps. Kate proceeded slowly down the steps toward him, her body swaying, and her head tilting to the side. I could tell by the look on Jack's face that he really liked what he saw. As she surrendered herself to the water, and dove toward him, he dove down as well and in a moment they emerged wrapped in each other's arms.

"Isn't that sweet?" Allie said softly. "They are so nice together."

"Yeah," I replied. "I haven't seen Jack this happy in a long time. I'm glad for him."

Allie looked over at me and smiled. "So what about you? Are you happy?"

"Happy? Me? Like everybody else, I'm still looking for it," I said. "Been looking for a long while. Thought I had found it once, but I was only kidding myself."

"I know what you mean," she said. "It's like things just never turn out the way you want."

"I hear you," I replied. "Once I gave up looking for happiness, then good things just started happening to me, so I just take life as it comes along. A lot fewer disappointments that way."

"The way I see it, where you've been and what you've done to this point doesn't matter much to me," she said. "I'm more interested in where you're at right now and what you're doing tomorrow."

"You're right," I said turning back to the steaks. "It's the here and now that counts most of all."

As we worked to make ready the meal, our hips bumped together. More of a brushing together really, but I caught myself looking over at her more than once and thinking about how nice it was to work together side by side. At one point, she looked up from what she was doing with a wonderful look on her face; her lips were curled into a warm smile but there were questions in her eyes. I just shook my head and turned away, but then a minute later there we were again checking each other out. It didn't take much to get our little dinner together with Allie helping out. The four of us pigged out on filets, steamed corn, baked spuds and a salad. Maybe it wasn't the most heart-smart menu, but all enjoyed it, and when finished, we all pushed back from the table.

"Oh, this was great!" Kate remarked, patting her rounded little belly.