Damsel in Distress

I put my beer down on the bar, disappointed I couldn't get it to go down smooth tonight. Sometimes, even when I wanted nothing more than to get a good drunk going, it just wouldn't happen. I had come into the little neighborhood bar to drink. To get shitfaced. Now, even that goal would go unachieved.

To say I was in a mood would be a massive understatement. I was in a fugue. A morass of ennui. I was questioning life and all that entailed. The bar, a quiet little place, was picked to drink quietly with no chance of striking up a conversation. I drained the glass and threw a couple of bucks down for the bartender before walking out into the warm night air.

I lived near downtown and had walked to the bar, not wanting to add a DUI to my list of life complaints. I started the trek home, head down, hands in my pocket.

My route took me by a busier part of town, a street where the clubs were located. There were pockets of people standing around smoking, and other than the occasional nods, no one disrupted my journey.

I turned the corner onto the street which would take me home. It was a quiet road, with small businesses, and I stopped to tie my shoelace. As I bent down to retie it, I heard a small scream.

"No!" I heard a woman scream. It was coming from the alleyway on which the clubs backed. I walked towards the opening to see what was going on. "Stop!" I heard her cry out.

In the lowlight of the alley, I could see little, but what I did see set me into motion. There were three men surrounding a woman, and it was obvious she wasn't appreciating the attention.

As I neared, one of the men, the largest, ripped the woman's skirt, exposing her panties. The tank top she wore already had one strap torn, and she was in danger of losing it on one side. As I got closer, the man hooked his fingers into her panties and ripped then off, exposing the woman's pussy, even though one side was still attached. Even though I was scoping the situation out, my male nature did a double take, taking in the woman's pussy.

"Please stop," she cried. "I don't want this!"

The man stepped forward and pulled his hand back to slap her when I stepped in close and grabbed his wrist. The other two men were between the big man and me, so I wasn't in immediate danger of being jumped.

"The lady said stop," I said, applying pressure to the wrist. He futilely tried pulling his band away, but despite his size and strength, I had leverage.

He looked over his shoulder at me and sneered. "Turn around and mind your fucking business." He jerked his arm and I let go.

"This is my business," I said. "I won't stand here and let you hurt a woman."

"There's three of us and one of you, so I guess we'll do whatever the fuck we want."

He stepped forward and swung, putting all of his bad intentions into one wild haymaker thrown at my head. Unfortunately for him, my head was already gone. After I moved to the side, I kicked sideways and heard a crunch as my foot made contact with the side of his knee. He buckled, his head dipping and coming into contact with my upcoming knee. More crunching flattened his nose and he fell on his side, all the fight gone.

The smaller of the two remaining men came forward more cautiously, and I managed to get the girl behind me. I could tell the man had more ability than his friend and as he approached, I knew it wouldn't be over as quick. The last man was frozen in place, so I kept him in my periphery as I faced the other.

The man came in quick, feinting right. I don't bite, but took notice he was a lefty. He settled into place in front of me and watched me. I stood back, not wanting to be overly aggressive.

He acted, coming in quick with a three punch combo. Unfortunately for me, he led with his right when I expected his left and he clocked me, splitting the skin in my eyebrow. I felt the blood pour out, but ignored it.

He reset and came again. I blocked his punches with my arms, then hooked my left arm around his right and spun him. With him compromised, I hit him with three hard punches to the back of the head. They staggered him, but he stayed upright and stumbled out of my grasp.

He came at me with a kick, which I caught against my ribs. I tipped him onto his back and stomped at his midsection. The stomp connected and he groaned in pain. I jumped on him and rained punches down, battering him. Finally, a well placed elbow against his temple turned out his lights.

I jumped up, ready for the last guy, but all I saw of him was his back as he disappeared down the far end of the alley. I turned and the girl was standing, looking at the two men on the ground. She was sobbing slightly, but looked at me as I came close.

"We need to call the police," I said.

"No police!" She cried. "Please, no police. Just get me out of here and I will explain."

I ushered her out of the alley and back onto the street. I walked behind her the two blocks to my street and stopped. She was clutching her torn clothes against her, and I waited as she readjusted what remained.

"My house is right down here," I said. "Let's get my car and I will take you wherever you need to go."

"I really don't have anywhere to go," she said. "Let me think."

I nodded and led her down the street to my house. I keyed the lock and held it open for her. Without hesitation, she walked inside as I followed her. She sat on the couch, trying in vain to keep her clothes together.

I walked down the hall into my room and found a pair of sweats and one of my t-shirts. I gave them to her and showed her the bathroom so she could change.

When she came out, I handed her a drink and settled in to hear her story.

"You were almost raped," I started, "so tell me why you didn't want the cops involved."

"It wasn't like that," she said. "Well it was, but not totally. The guy who ran?" she asked. "He was my boyfriend. The other two were guys he owed money. As partial payment, he agreed to let those two have some fun with me. I didn't know why we were going to the alley. I thought we were just gonna smoke a joint. When I resisted, it started to get a little rough."

"Nice boyfriend," I commented.

"We've only dated a couple of weeks. I had no idea what he was like. We met and went out where I live and things were good. He asked me to come see him for a week, so I flew down. Then tonight happened and I'm just really confused and scared."

I nodded. I didn't really know what to do or say, so I did nothing, just took a long drink of my vodka. My heart rate was still elevated from the alley, and I was trying to compose myself.

"That was pretty incredible....what you did in the alley. Where did you learn to fight like that?"

"Honestly? That was the first real fight I have ever been in. I workout with some friends training mma. I don't fight and have no desire to fight, but I guess all the gym time came in handy."

"I guess so," she said with smile that lit the room.

"Do you want me to take you to a hotel or something?"

"No. I mean, my purse is at his apartment. I need to get it, but don't want to see him tonight. I don't know what to do. Can I just stay here and sleep on the couch?"

"Is that a good idea? Going from being almost raped to staying in a strangers house?"

She smiled again. "A stranger that stopped me from being raped by beating up two guys and scaring my ex-boyfriend to death. I feel safe enough with you."

"I have a spare room," I said. "You can sleep there."

I showed her the room and the bathroom across the hall. I handed her a towel from the linen closet and went and sat down on the couch to finish my drink.

As the water turned on, my mind went unbidden to the image of nakedness in the alley. No matter how gentlemanly I was, I had not had a naked woman in my house for far too long, especially one I had seen mostly naked.

The girl, whose name I still did not know, was pretty. Very pretty. Probably 25 or so, she was short, about 5'2" or 5'3", and had short, dark hair. She filled out her tank top nicely, and had her breast actually been exposed, it would be a very generous handful with a little excess. She had a flat, toned stomach, nice hips, and slender legs. I had seen her cute, round ass very clearly, and the rest of her was beautiful as well. I dislike pubic hair a great deal, but for some reason I could not get the image of her pussy, complete with more hair than I had seen in years, out of my mind. The hair was dark, and though a bikini would contain it, it was not trimmed on the sides much more than that. It was close trimmed in length, looking smooth and touchable.

I heard the shower stop and managed to drag my mind back, adjusting myself to accommodate the growing hardness in my pants.

Five minutes later she came out, the sweatpants rolled at the bottom and the t-shirt hanging down almost to her knees. Her hair was wet, and she combing it out with her fingers. She was prettier bare-faced than she had been with her club make-up on.

"Don't look at me," she said, "I know I'm a mess."

Other than her reddened eyes from crying, I thought she was adorable.

"You look great," I said truthfully. "My shirt looks better on you than me."

As I looked down on my well-worn shirt, I could see the hard nubs of her nipples poking towards me. I stared a beat too long.

"Sorry," she said, "I have THO almost all the time. Drives me crazy. I usually wear band-aids to keep them from showing."

I swallowed back a grin. "That's okay. I just wondered why you were pointing at me."

She laughed. "I can't thank you enough for what you did tonight."

"No problem. I'm glad I was there. Let's get a good night's sleep and we'll figure things out in the morning."

"Deal."

I got her settled in the guest room and went and took a long shower. I couldn't help having images of her in my head, but managed to resist abusing myself. I tumbled into bed Ina pair of boxers and dropped immediately into a deep sleep.

I woke up with the sun coming through a crack in the blinds and knew it was mid-morning. The light didn't hit the window until at least 9. I stretched and noticed the smell of cooking food. I walked into the kitchen after brushing my teeth and pulling on a shirt over my boxers. I was greeted by a pair of bare legs and a nice bottom poking out of my fridge. My t-shirt covered all the good bits, but enough skin was showing to wake me up.

"Good morning," I said.

She jumped a little and turned quickly. "You startled me!"

"Sorry," I said, walking to the pot of fresh brewed coffee. I looked at the stove and saw what looked like a pretty incredible breakfast in process.

"I didn't want to intrude too much, but I figured a good breakfast was in order to say thanks."

"No problem. Smells delicious."

"It's what I do," she said. "I'm a chef for my job."

"Even better. How'd you sleep?"

"Like the dead, considering. Once I stopped thinking, it was lights out. I don't know if you needed to be up, so I let you sleep. Do you have to work today?"

"No. I'm sort of in between jobs right now." That was partially true. I really don't work as such. I had career once, and had taken advantage of a very lucrative salary which I had invested wisely. This gave me the opportunity to not work unless I wanted. Right now, I was choosing to not work. That, combined with the very ugly end to a recent relationship, had led me to my depressed state of the night before. Having a beautiful, mostly nude, though completely covered, woman cooking breakfast in my kitchen had improved my mood greatly.

"I hate to ask this now, but what is your name?" I asked.

She laughed and covered her mouth. "Oh my god! I can't believe we don't even know each other's name. Carissa," she said, crossing the kitchen to shake my hand.

"Paul," I said, taking her soft hand in mine.

"Nice to meet you, Paul."

"You have heterochromia," I said, looking at her eyes. She had one green eye and one blue.

"I can't believe you know the name! Yes, I am a genetic mutant."

"My aunt has one brown eye and one green eye. It's the only reason I know the name."

She smiled and returned to the stove. Thirty minutes later we finished eating and I pushed back from the table. "I'm gonna shower real quick and we'll figure out what to do next." She started cleaning up as I walked down the hall. I showered and got dressed and walked back to the kitchen as she was drying the dishes.

"Sorry, I should have shown you the dishwasher."

"I saw it. I like doing dishes by hand. Just a quirk of mine."

"So, what now? I guess we need to find your boyfriend and get your stuff back, huh?"

"Yeah. He's probably working. I hope he will give me the key without any trouble. I like your shirt, but I don't want to run around town dressed in your clothes longer than I have to."

"I have to run an errand real quick, then we can get started. You know where everything is?"

"Sure. I'm just going to shower."

I waited until I heard her in the shower, then went over to where she had discarded her clothes. I checked her sizes on her skirt and shirt, then tried to feel uncreepy as I checked her torn panties. She had been braless, so I was going to have to guess on her size. I got in the car and drive a few streets over to a shop my ex had shopped at frequently.

The owner helped me pick out a pair of shorts and a top, and even though I was going for chivalry, I had to admit the shorts I picked were pretty brief. I grabbed a pair of bikini panties and a pair of thong panties to let her decide, then pondered her bra size. She was very petite, so I went with a 32C. I grabbed a pair of flip-flops and paid, leaving after 10 minutes of shopping with my bag.

She was sitting in the living room on the couch, wearing my t-shirt with her damp hair. I handed her the bag.

She looked inside and back at me. "You needed something to go out in," I said.

"You shouldn't have. Thank you, though. I swear I will pay you back."

"No need," I said. "Consider it a breaking up gift."

She ran into the guest room and came out a few minutes later. She looked fantastic. The shorts were not scandalous by any means and fit her perfectly, showing a nice expanse of tanned thigh. The top was form fitting, and I noticed she was wearing the bra.

"Are they okay? We can exchange them if not."

"No, they are perfect. Are you sure you aren't gay? How in the world did you know my size?"

"I cheated. I looked at your torn clothes."

"Smart. I wasn't wearing a bra, though," she said with a smile.

"Educated guess?"

"Know your way around a boobie, huh? And a choice of pantie styles, too."

"Well, yeah. I wanted you to be comfortable. There wasn't enough of the old ones left to tell what they were."

She crossed and gave me a gentle hug. "Thank you," she said.

"Where to?"

"He works at a garage over by Denny's. I don't know the name of the place, but will know it when I see it. I've only been here two days, so I don't know my way around very well."

I knew the place. We went out and out of habit, I opened the Jeep door for her. I almost put my hand on her butt to boost her in, but stopped. My ex was short and had a hard time climbing in the lifted car, so it was a habit for me to give a helping hand.

I settled behind the wheel and we drove over. I was expecting trouble, but she told me to stay in the car. "I can handle this. His coworkers won't let anything get out of hand. I'll be right back."

Within two minutes, she returned brandishing a key. "He gave it right to me. He begged me to let him explain, but what was he going to say? 'I'm sorry I was going to let guys I owed money fuck you'? Douchebag."

She directed me to a small apartment complex and we parked in front. I followed her up the stairs, entranced by her bouncy butt in the shorts. I decided through careful observation that she had gone with the thong.

Once inside, she gathered her belongings quickly. She checked her purse and wallet and announced nothing was missing. She grabbed her phone and charger off the end table and stuffed them in her purse. I grabbed her suitcase and duffel and followed her back to the Jeep.

I drove away and looked across at her. "We made a clean getaway," I laughed.

"Yes we did! I hate to say it again, but thank you so much!"

"How about thanking me by having lunch with me?"

"Only if I treat."

I turned into my favorite restaurant and we got a table. We ordered and sat back. "I hope you aren't in any trouble," she said. "You don't think those guys will come looking for you or send the police after you?"

"I doubt I have too much to worry about. I have never seen them in my life, and I really doubt two wannabe rapists will report me to the cops. Just in case, please tell me you will back my story?"

"Of course. I just felt so stupid last night. Coming to stay with a guy i barely knew and getting in that situation. If it comes right down to it, I will expose my stupidity to the world in order to save your butt."

In the car after lunch, I asked her what she wanted to do. Airport? Hotel?

"I need to check on flights. My ticket out isn't for 5 more days so I need to change it. I hate to be a chicken, but I really am afraid to stay by myself after last night. Can I stay with you until I get my flights straightened out?"

"Sure."

She got on the phone and talked to her airline while I sat on the couch with an afternoon beer. She finished and came and sat across from me.

"No luck until at least day after tomorrow."

My town had very limited flights, so I knew how hard it could be to get a flight in a hurry. With only two flights departing daily, it was a nightmare trying to get flights out on short notice.

"Well, I guess we are roommates."

I took her bags into her room and settled back on the couch as she straightened her stuff out. She came out a little later and sank on the couch beside me. She had put on a little eyeliner and mascara, but was otherwise make-up free. I could see I a little swell of cleavage through her v-neck, but heroically managed to maintain eye contact.

"What now?" she asked. "Do you feel invaded?"

Oddly, I didn't. "No, it's actually nice to have some company."

"No girlfriend?"

"Not in a few months. We were together for three years and she had moved in here. Everything was great and I had even started shopping for wedding rings. It's trite and cliche, but I came home unexpectedly one afternoon and found her in my bed with one of her coworkers."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Better I found it before we got married."

I made drinks and opened the doors to the back patio. She followed me outside and made a little squeal.

"I didn't know you had a pool!"

"Sorry, I'm a bad host. Didn't think to tell you."

"This is a beautiful yard."

I smiled. I was inordinately proud of my backyard. I had designed the landscaping myself, and it was my oasis away from life. The pool and hottub was surrounded in rich, green vegetation, and despite being a loner, the space was perfect for entertaining.

We sat on the patio and drank, and before long I was feeling relaxed. Carissa was feeling no pain, and after an hour or so asked if she could go for a swim.

"Of course. Do you have a suit?"

"Forgot about that," she sighed.

"I can run and buy one if you want. Or you can take the Jeep and go?"

"I hate to ask you to do that. You can take my card. How about if I make a pitcher of sangria while you go?"

"Perfect. Trust me to pick out your suit?"

She glanced down at her clothes and laughed. "Sure."

I went back to the boutique and looked over their selection of swimwear. The pig in me came out and I looked at the smallest bikinis in stock. The owner saw me looking and ran to the back.

"I just got a new shipment in this morning," she said. "Give me one minute."