Best Friends Forever

This is a relatively short story of around 4,500 words. It came to mind yesterday as I was driving to Lowes or Sam's Club and I started thinking about the theme of romantic timing. It's fiction but loosely based on a very special female friend I once had. We were certainly physically attracted to each other. We never had any sex or romance; we met at the wrong time in our lives; we were both attached. We both went through divorces which weren't timed so as to have allowed us to find each other. Thankfully we both enjoyed very happy remarriages to others.

The four of us met and had lunch together purely by accident in Cabo San Lucas a few years back and shared pictures of our blessed families. I found myself wondering...what if? Just for a split second I saw her looking at me in a funny way and I will always believe the same thoughts were crossing her mind. It was in her eyes...those amazing eyes.

What the hell was that woman doing? God she's hanging all over him---and he's her boss for Christ's sake! She has to know him well enough to realize what a straight arrow he is; you can see that his not comfortable. Good, she's getting up and going to get another drink; I need to talk to her!

"Renee, what the hell were you doing? Damn, you were all over Dave...why didn't you just go down on him right there in front of everyone?"

"Look, Jack, you're a friend...a very good friend...so I'll let it pass. I wasn't doing anything; Dave has treated me very decently through all of the recent bullshit. I thought he would be the one guy who wouldn't think I'm making a pass at him. I know he's a straight arrow. He's treated me like a decent human being when everyone else---including you---is judging me without knowing the facts...and I appreciate it. I'm leaving the bar anyway."

Jack continued to walk with Renee as she left the resort's main bar. Renee...probably his best friend in the world. There had never been any romance between them; they'd never fooled around. The only time he had even kissed her was on the forehead when he'd taken her to the ER and she had been in so much pain.

He'd met her three years earlier when she assumed a product marketing role in the office he worked out of. On first look he felt the way every other red blooded male felt—he wanted to jump her bones. He'd fallen completely in lust with her. He found excuses to stop by the office when he knew she was in; he worked the product line she was responsible for harder than any other ones in order to have a reason to work with her. His wife, well, that would be ex-wife, hated her...was threatened by her. Almost all of the wives felt that way.

The lust phase passed as he got to know her and just liked her a hell of a lot. He liked her more than any woman---any other human being---he had ever met. Then again it was hard to ever fall out of lust with Renee. She was a very pretty girl. She was confident and "take charge" and he had always found that to be supremely erotic. Those eyes were impossible to ignore...they looked right into your soul. With a quick smile and a throaty, mature laugh, the package would have been complete as far as Jack was concerned. As was appropriate in this particular business environment Renee never dressed remotely provocatively; it was when she moved, walked or turned her body that one could sense what was underneath. He'd watched her play golf and tennis; she was an athlete. He had decided that watching her strong thighs sliding beneath sleek fabric was probably more enticing them seeing them bare.

For two years they were regular work mates and increasingly close friends. There was not a word that Renee had ever said to him that he didn't remember...favorite songs, drinks, colors...he filed it all away. It was at the beginning of the third year. She had called him after her shit head and now former husband had been too busy in a meeting and told her to call 911. She'd called Jack instead. She was in horrible pain when he got there; he'd rushed her to the hospital. He stayed with her in the ER and waited for her outside the Operating Room and then held her hand in the Recovery Room after her emergency appendectomy. He'd kissed her forehead; she had gripped his hand and said, "Thank you." Her husband Matt had finally shown up so Jack left. It was at the moment at the beginning of the third year when he fell hopelessly in love with another man's wife. She didn't have a clue.

Jack's first marriage was dead before he'd ever met Renee; meeting her certainly had something to do with his decision to finally stop procrastinating and end it. But even on the day his divorce was final, Renee was still a married woman. Overnight, things got very complicated. A rumor had floated that Renee and another guy in the company had been fooling around; no one seemed to know the details. Renee and her husband quickly were divorced. The other couple went with the same program. Renee became a pariah and the subject of lascivious office gossip. "The whore who had broken up two marriages." A third marriage which had not been on good footing for some time went over the edge. The husband in question worked directly for Renee. The wife in question was sure that they were having an affair and filed for divorce.

Jack was angry; since the blow up and the reputed affair with husband number one he and Renee had seen little of each other. He was angry with himself; he felt impotent. He was confused. His anger at himself turned into anger at Renee and he crossed the line.

As they came to her room he said it. "Renee, God dammit, stop acting like a fucking whore!"

She had wheeled around and slapped him hard. Instantly sensing that he had asked for what he had gotten, he froze. And then he kissed her, not a tender kiss on the forehead but a hard, probing open mouth kiss which said, I want you. She had pushed against him; he had held her tightly, wrapping her in his strong arms for the first time. Almost instantly her arms were around him and she was kissing him back. She had broken the embrace, slid the key card through the slot and the two of them had almost tumbled into her room. Any love either felt for the other was lost in the violent tearing off of garments. Her hand found his cock and grasped it almost causing him pain. He found her furry slot and probed her moistness with no hint of tenderness.

Renee slipped to her knees and engulfed his cock, taking him deep in her throat and sucking him with an animalistic fury. He came quickly, then half dragged her to the edge of the sofa, threw her down on the arm and descended on her glistening little cunt. He found her other hole, probed around the rim and then slipped a moistened finger inside. She mashed her dripping little slot into his mouth as if demanding satisfaction. She got it; he was still rock hard and almost crazed with lust. He flipped her over the end of the sofa and almost lost it completely when that amazing rump came into full view. He had imagined how perfect it must be; reality exceeded his wildest fantasies. He slapped one, then the other milky white globe.

"Oh, you want to punish the little whore? 'You think I deserve to be spanked? Well fire away, you son of a bitch! Whatever floats your boat."

Jack spanked her several more times, probably harder than he realized. She cried out; he instantly felt remorse. Renee was the last person on earth he could ever hurt.

"Anything else you want to do with that ass, Jack? My ex-husband seemed to prefer it to my pussy. I didn't totally understand why until we got around to the divorce. Do you want to fuck me in the ass, Jack? Don't worry, it's hardly virgin territory."

Lust consumed him again; he went down on his knees and lavished her sweet little hole with spit. Returning to his feet he placed the engorged head of his cock at her tight opening. As he was having second thoughts, Renee pushed back and he was inside the dank and fiery furnace. The incredible vista of her amazing rear...the one he had dreamed about...fantasized about...the view as his fat cock split her full, cheeks and plunged to her very depths. Renee responded with a series of grunts, whimpers and groans...she was fingering herself...trying to get there...both got there almost in unison.

He stepped into the bathroom and retrieved a wet washcloth, cleaning Renee's tender ass and his own organ. She had not turned over; she just laid there like some fucked out whore; and she cried. Her cries turned into uncontrollable sobs. All Jack could think about at that moment was that his best friend in the world was in pain and he had been part of the pain. Gently rolling her over he picked her up and carried her to the bed, slipping her under the covers. He kissed her forehead as he had that day in the hospital. He said, "I'm sorry". She turned her head and mouthed the same two words she had that day in the recovery room. And then she kissed him as he knelt beside her; she pulled back the covers to indicate where she wanted him. Their arms were quickly wrapped around one another's naked bodies; they kissed; they explored. And when their passion reached a level that neither could ever recall feeling before, they made sweet, tender almost ethereal love for a very long time. When their physical ability to continue was exhausted they held each other more tightly than ever.

"Please don't answer; you don't need to do that. I love you. I've loved you for at least the last year...maybe longer. Head over heels...out of my mind...completely."

"That's not possible, Jack."

"Of course it is. When I first saw you I was in lust with you; like every other man who meets you I wanted to fuck you. You were married; so was I. I found every excuse in the world to spend time with you. The more I got to know you, the more I liked you. Assuming the fucking was never going to happen I decided that being friends was pretty special. By the time you called me in agony to take you to the hospital, I was pretty sure you were the best friend I'd ever had in the world. I knew more about you---your upbringing, your likes, dislikes, high school and college---than I'd ever known about anyone. And I let you know more about me than I'd ever shared with anyone. And that day that I could not take the horrible, excruciating pain inside your body away from you---it happened. I fell in love with you."

"You never said anything...didn't act any differently."

"You were married---I had assumed happily. I was married not so happily and within months of ending that episode in my life. Wait a minute! One question: did you ever see me in the same way? You never really flirted with me, oh maybe a few times during year two...but..."

Renee sat up and fixed him with those amazing eyes. "We need to clear some air here, Jack. I found you physically attractive the first time I saw you. When I flirted with you a couple of years ago I was very close to seducing you. But...I would hope if you really think you know me that you would know I couldn't lie to you. I guess we need to take it in order. I didn't have an affair with you---because you were, I thought, a happily married man. I was not at the time a particular happily married woman---but I never did cheat on Matt. He was, however, at the time cheating on me...with a guy. Matt, it appears, married me for cover. "Oh, Mark married that hottie Renee! He must be straight!" Well he's not. Looking back on it, other than the fact that Mark preferred boys to girls---and didn't want children---he was a seemingly sensitive and caring husband. At least I bought it for several years. It probably has something to do with why when we did have sex—and that became less frequent as time went on---he preferred to do me in the ass with my face buried in a pillow. Next chapter in the saga: Ron and I exchanged one---count that, one---pretty steamy phone conversation one night. He was not a very happily married man; half of the last year he was living at their beach house while she stayed in town. The foolish man taped the damned conversation; accidentally or on purpose he left it where Cynthia could find it. I think the office rumor mill has us having phone sex over an extended period of time. We had one erotic conversation; since I know I didn't get off it wouldn't even have qualified as good phone sex. Finally, let's talk about Tom---who reports to me and has for the past two years. Tom is a cutie; women respond to him in a certain way. His wife has become clinically jealous---convinced that Tom is banging every skirt in sight. To my knowledge, he is not---and he certainly never had sex with me. He's a sweet guy who tried to make a fucked up marriage work...and stuck it out longer than was probably good for either of them. And then there's your marriage."

"My marriage was..."

"Hold on, I'm not done. You and Paula were the best actors in the whole gaggle. Everyone was positive that yours was a marriage made in heaven that would last forever. The entire office was shocked when you moved out of the house and filed for divorce. As much as you and I have shared over the last three years, neither of us really ever shared a heck of a lot about out marriages or our respective spouses. I always liked you; you were my best friend. I always found you physically attractive. I also always assumed that you were married for life and I accepted that---in no small measure because the friendship meant so much to me. When I found out that you two had separated I assumed you'd get back together---everyone did. Assuming you were in a vulnerable period and knowing you had feelings---some affection for me---I became distant. I did not want to be a factor in screwing up your marriage. I'm done now."

Jack kissed Renee tenderly. "I love you."

"You don't know me well enough to love me."

"Bullshit! I know the name of the first boy who ever kissed you and the first time you fell in love. I know the day, time place and partner when you lost your virginity. I know your high school fight song and mascot. I know what classes you took in college and which ones you liked and those you hated. I know your favorite foods and the ones you can't stomach. I know your legs tan perfectly and your nose, cheek bones and breasts freckle. I know every word to your favorite song. I know your voice across a crowded room; I even can smell your essence when you're within ten feet of me. I know exactly how you got that scar on your left knee. I even know when you start your period---and which brand of tampon you use. I know the names of every member of your family. I know who you voted for in every election since you turned eighteen. I know your favorite breed of dog; I bought one, remember? You helped me pick her out. I know your favorite book; I know the first one you ever read, the most important one you ever read and the last one you read. I know your favorite city, color, concerto, dance number and even the kind of music you enjoy making love to. I know all of your hopes and dreams. I know you better than I know me. I know every curve of your body and every millimeter of your face...and your neck...oh my God...your neck! I even know how many children you want---two. I even know the names you have picked out for them---and you know the same about me. If you think back over the last three years...you know all that and more about me...don't you? Because I have told you things...shared things with you...that no one else on earth knows. You know it's true."

"Yes...that's true."

"So, what's your problem? If you're not in love with me---don't think you could love me---well, it's not okay but I guess I'll have to live with it."

Renee kissed him; it was a long, tender, lingering kiss. "I've spent the last several years convincing myself that you and I were never going to be...a couple. That we would just be special friends. You do not know how many times I fought against the idea of loving you as more than a friend---being in love with you. It seemed that the deeper I buried any romantic feeling I might have had for you, and in the absence of the sexual tension that I seem to bring out in relationships, the friendship just got better and better. Having you as that one special, 'tell all' friend helped me get through some difficult times. It became too important to me to do anything that might have jeopardized it. Now I'm lying here in your arms and you tell me you are in love with me and that...it's okay to be in love with you. Forgive me if I find it a bit overwhelming. What a bizarre idea! Falling head over heels in love with your best friend in the world. By the way, just for the record, the sex was pretty hot but that last time...oh my. You know me Jack; you know I'm direct to a fault. Where is this going?"

"Yeah...I fantasized about you and me, naked...but the reality was well beyond anything my imagination could have conjured up. Where in hell do you think this ought to lead? There is simply no one else in the world I enjoy being with more than you. It's inconceivable that you---or I---could have 'fooled' each other for the last three years. Why would we have? Generally in this society two people who enjoy each other's company the way we do and have seen into each other's hearts and souls the way we have...make plans...to make it permanent. Damn Renee! I want to have babies with you, raise a family with you, grow old and cuddle in front of a crackling fire with you. I suppose there is a one in a million chance that we're not right for each other---are you willing to risk walking away from what seems by any measure you can come up with to have astounding possibilities?"

"Ah, the scandal! 'The whore who broke up every marriage she touched...marrying the guy who everyone is now sure she's been fucking for the last three years.' I'll always be a whore to those people; they'd never believe the truth. It's too bizarre to be believable."

"I don't need this job; I've had lots of offers. I'm not remotely attached to this part of the country---neither are you---and I know you've turned down offers. I don't care where I live---as long as it's wherever you are. On the other hand I don't give a damn about what those people think so I'm with you regardless of which way you want to go. Wait a minute! You just said, 'marrying the guy...' I knew it! I am winning the war of wits!"

"Look, I've just left a marriage that went into the dumper....you too. Maybe we should live together for a while---just to be sure."

"How long?"

"I don't know! We may know each other pretty well but we've never lived together under the same roof. Maybe you snore...maybe I do. Maybe you leave the toilet seat up...no, I already know you don't do that. Currently we both live in houses that we shared with our previous spouses...that's not going to work."

"I've already listed my house; there's an offer on it."

"Yeah, same here."

"Look, we can go house hunting together---tomorrow morning! One of us can buy it and the other one pay rent---hell I don't know all of the legal ramifications. It has to have a yard for my---our dog---hell she likes you better than she likes me. I've already been looking; I have some possibilities. You'll probably like them---I do know what kind of house you would like; you told me in infinite detail. We'll sell all of our furniture---buy everything new---together. If we can't live with the office gossip, we'll start considering other job offers and find a place where no one knows either of us."

"You've got this all planned out, don't you?"

"Yes...no...maybe. Stop being difficult! I love you. I'm more convinced than I've ever been of anything that you love me."

"Okay...you win! I'm willing to explore the possibilities. You are the best thing that has ever come into my life...my best friend. I'd be an idiot to deny what we might be together. But...if it's not...will we still be able to be friends?"