Every Year, Every Christmas

(This story is inspired by The Luther Vandross song of the same name.)

What you are about to read is odd for me. As a rule I never try to post my stories to more than on site. This is a unique situation in that this is the first of two reprints of stories posted on another site. My thanks to my friend Isaac Newton for his editing and his challenging comments. If you have Luther Vandross's Christmas CD listen to cut number 4. I think it sets the mood for the story just as it did my imagination.

It's Christmas Eve in Albuquerque NM. The evening air is chilly, just like I like it. My visible breath marks time with my step as I briskly walk through the park. The hawk tries to whip open my charcoal grey wool coat, but this is only a baby hawk. It would take Mr. Hawkins from Chicago to even get my attention tonight. I pull my cap down and my scarf tighter around my neck, and just keep steppin. I dropped Jr. and CeCe at their grandparents. They're getting old enough now to know I don't have to work every Christmas Eve, but maybe by next year I'll be over the pain and heartache. Hell, she's only been gone 4 1/2 years.

I quicken my pace. I need to get to the restaurant before it fills up.

My name's Nathan Saunders, and to look at my life you'd think I had it made. I'm a successful up-and-coming entrepreneur. My bank accounts show I have enough money to buy pretty much anything I want, but I've always maintained a lifestyle that looked like I was just making it. Right now the greatest joys of my life are my 8-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter. Concern for their health, growth and well being is all that kept me going those first months after she left. It was hard to make them understand that their loving mother still loved them but had to leave because of her addiction. They are still too young to be told the total truth. I was her husband for 5 years, her man for 2 years prior to that; and I still can't totally grasp the situation. Some people, happy in their alternate lifestyles, may say that I should have stayed and gone with the flow to keep her happy. Most of them never understand that, in a marriage, meeting the other's needs not only comes first, it goes both ways. There are some dreams or desires that are better left unfulfilled for the sake of the relationship.

Like I said, life on the outside is all good. It's inside that I keep falling apart; inside that I keep trying to rebuild my broken heart and synthesize some kind of patch for the chunk that my ex-wife Maime took away when she walked out. By now I almost make it through the year, and then Christmas comes and Luther Vandross's song "Every Year, Every Christmas" plays, and my heart shatters back into the pieces she left it in. In the video Luther waited under a lamppost on a crowded street for the love that left him, as his friends watched from inside a special restaurant. Me, I'm going to go into mine and hopefully get OUR seat -- the seat where we had our first dinner date, the seat where I proposed to her, the seat where I last saw her smile before my world came to a crashing halt.

Let me tell you a little about Maime. Born in Brazil, she stands 5'6 1/2" tall, with a clear honey brown complexion and dark brown eyes that draw you into her sensuality. She has a face that people say favors the actress Raven Simone except darker. After each of our 2 babies, she worked out hard 3 times a week and got down to a 39DD chest, 28-inch waist and 38-inch hips. She sported a booty that made men trip over their dropped jaws when she walked by. Pair all that with her thick almost muscular legs complete with a gap between the thighs (you brothers know what I mean), and you have a true-to-life traffic stopper. She usually kept her thick hair cut right at her shoulders. When she was 8 years old, her parents were one of the few black families allowed to immigrate to the US that year. She was the oldest of 5 kids and the first in the family to go to college. That's where I met her. For me it was love at first sight. She didn't get the picture until her third (and though she didn't know it, her last) opportunity to go out with me. She did, however, and from that point on we were inseparable. She had a sharp mind and common sense that sent most of the players' home with their tails between their legs.

We didn't make love right away. I always assumed it was Maime's way of testing me to see if I was for real. I remember what Maime said to me the night we first made love: "Nathan, baby, you need to understand a couple of things. First, I'm in no way a virgin. I gave up my virginity when I was sixteen and had my first grown man at seventeen. I've discovered I have a very big appetite when it comes to sex. Second, and this is important, I only want to have sex with one man, MY man. As long as you never cheat on me or play me for a bitch, I promise you I'll do everything I can to make our sex life as wild as possible. Now, you think you're ready for some of this?"

I didn't answer her. That night I let my actions answer for me. She was the one that went to sleep first, about 3:30 AM! When she did, I woke her up with my cock deep inside her pussy in a long slow fuck that had her screaming and left her curled up in a fetal position after she pushed me away. I leaned down to her ear and whispered, "I'll expect you to hold up to your end of the bargain on the wild sex, cause what you got so far is just the start. Oh yeah, I don't share either." [wr3] We started on Friday night, and by Sunday morning both of us went to breakfast walking funny.

After we graduated, marriage seemed like the natural thing to do, just like it seemed natural to include her in the fledgling computer networking business that had been my dream. I guess the laws of the universe were in our favor because after 3 years, with her handling the front office and scheduling and me handling the client prospecting and onsite work, we were showing a nice profit. Through all the struggles our relationship just kept growing. Even with the added pressures of the business and the additions of the kids we still had what I thought was a healthy sex life.

I arrive at the restaurant. The hostess and manager remember me. They have my/our usual table ready. Jenny the waitress brings me my usual glass of wine and leaves the menu. I pull out my wallet, remove our picture, and prop it up against the napkin holder. She's still beautiful. She told me I was her best lover, the one that met all her needs. To me, she was the freak of my desire. To everyone that knew us, we seemed a perfect pair. I never even came close to wanting another woman. How could I when every time I looked at her I saw freak that I hadn't touched yet. I never once thought that there was anyone else out there who could see it, much less touch it. My bad. Near as I can tell our troubles didn't start until the business's fifth year, when we developed a business relationship with Strem Technologies Inc and it's president/owner Todd Strem.

Todd was a unique man. He had a Mellow Yellow complexion with a 6-foot tall muscular body. A Leon Isaac Kennedy face with a Billie D. Williams's presence and personality that usually had all the ladies drooling when he walked by. He had a dual reputation of being a shrewd businessman who got what he wanted and a player who got who he wanted. I had worked hard to break into his little clique of associates and was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to land some small contract work on a minor job. Maime and I stayed up late most nights making sure everything was perfect on that job. We did so well that Mr. Strem himself came to our offices to congratulate us and to lay out several other projects that he thought he could use us on. We worked hard and got great reviews of our efforts and service. Todd laid out still more projects, and I must admit each time he did, the money got sweeter. We started spending a lot of time with Todd, to the point that he became a regular visitor at our house and we were invited to his parties. We did a lot of networking at those affairs, but always Todd was there in the mix. Some people began to regard the three of us as partners.

Maime, at first, was nervous around him. Her intuition told her he was dangerous. He would always be very polished and professional with the both of us. Maime said he at times seemed overly polite to her, but he seemed to look through her. Maybe that should have started bells to ringing in my head, but I was running so hard to make sure that everything was right that I never focused on him and Maime. As time went on, she grew accustomed to his presence. To hear her account of how things happened, even if I had been looking, I probably wouldn't have seen anything. She claimed she didn't see the trap until she was already in too deep.

The months before our explosion saw our company make a lot of money and impress a lot of people. The work also kept me out of town quite a bit, but we always tried to visit our special restaurant just before I left on any extended trip. Near the end I was literally dead on my feet but again from what Maime said to me later, I could have been at 110% and it wouldn't have made any difference. When Todd made his move it was a slam-dunk. I never knew there was a game, much less that it was lost, till that particular Thursday night when I came home a day early from a business trip set up by him. I was exhausted. All I could think of was climbing into the hot tub with a bottle of champagne and pulling Maime in with me. Hell, I didn't even care if she was on her period; I would have gotten off just holding her in my arms. What I found was a videotape propped up between the front door and the storm door of our house. On the outside of the box were the typed words, "Watch this. Your wife is very photogenic."

I assumed that this was some special video that Maime had made of herself modeling some lingerie or telling me where to meet her for some special fun. The strange part of it was I hadn't told her I was coming home early. I wanted to surprise her and the kids. The house was empty so I assumed she had sent the kids to her cousins' for the night, and further assumed that Todd had told her I was coming in early. I was only half right. Over the next four and a half hours I would see just how wrong things were.

I poured myself a gin and tonic and slid the tape in the VCR. As I sipped on my drink I saw a living room come into view. I knew it well since I'd spent many hours sitting in it hashing out details on various projects - it was Todd's living room. I remember thinking, "Now this is strange. Why would Maime be showing off lingerie in Todd's living room?" I heard voices from outside of the camera's range and was shocked to see Todd walk in and sit on his plush leather sofa, followed by Maime. The first shock came from what he was wearing - a light robe and red silk boxers. Then Maime dropped her coat to reveal the special sweater that I had bought for her some months ago. It was special because it could be worn as a regular sweater or off the shoulders and folded up to reveal her midriff. I was surprised and a little irritated to see her exposed shoulders but also that she had it rolled up, not only showing off her flat belly but also accenting the way her short leather skirt rode her wide hips. About a third of her thighs were showing, something she never did unless she was with me. She had completed the outfit with her black see-through, thigh-highs and black 4-inch pumps, which always made her big legs almost irresistible to me.

Todd seemed to have a concerned look on his face and Maime's face showed equal concern. They sat and talked about the usual conversational topics as if trying to refrain from getting into the main event. Finally Todd started the conversation that sparked the end of my marriage. The hidden microphones picked up every word.

"Maime I'm thankful that you took the time to come over. You really didn't have to. You look gorgeous as always. That outfit is fantastic."

"Thank you, Todd. You sounded so upset, I thought I'd better check up on you. What happened?"

"I broke up with Sherry tonight."

"What? Why?"

"(Sigh). You know why."

Maime leaned back either in surprise and shock or to better show her legs; I don't know which.

"No, Todd. You can't mean that..."

"I told her that the timing wasn't right for us. I let her down as easy as I could. I just couldn't tell her the whole truth."

"Todd, no! Don't lay this on me."

"No, Maime. You know that's not me. But the truth is the truth. If you read the letter I sent to you, you know I could never do that. Just like I can't change the way that I feel."

"Todd, please don't go there. I'm a married woman - a happily married woman."

"I know that. I've never deceived myself. I know how much you love Nathan. He's my friend. I'd never do anything to hurt him, but I can't deny my feelings for you either. That's why I wrote you the letter. I needed to confess my true feelings for you and try to move on, but I can't."

"Todd, your letter touched me very deeply. You know that. I even hid it from Nathan, something that I've never done before. You have become more special to me than you know, more special to me than I ever want Nathan to know. I love Nathan..."

Todd's demeanor changed; "You love Nathan, but..."

"There is no but; I love Nathan."

"But you do have feelings for me."

"I just told you that you're special to me."

"Maime, please, after all the hours we've spent talking over the phone and at each others houses, please don't shut me out now."

"I'm not trying to shut you out or anything, but..."

"I know, I know! You love Nathan. But over these past months I've developed very deep feelings for you, a passion that sometimes threatens to drive me crazy. I couldn't continue to sleep with Sherry when all I could think about was you."

"Todd, I'm s-"

It looked like a scene from a soap opera as Todd stood up and angrily cut Maime off, "No, I don't want your sorrow or your pity. What I want is the truth."

"You already have the truth."

"No, what I have is part of the whole truth, laid out as a defense. I can't live with that anymore."

"Todd, what is it you want me to say?"

"That I'm not crazy, that I'm not out here all alone. I've bared my heart and soul to you, knowing full well you belong not just to another man but also to my good friend. But I feel our relationship, yours and mine, goes deeper and covers so much more. I don't expect it to be as powerful as your love for Nathan. I just need some acknowledgement that it exists, that you do have feelings for me. Just some acknowledgement that I matter, that my passion for you is, at least in some small way, returned by you."

I saw Maime shiver and turn away. "Todd I..."

Todd didn't wait for her to finish. He grabbed her shoulders and turned her back toward him. Then he took one finger and gently lifted her chin till their eyes met. Suddenly a chill went down my spine. You see, when Maime and I first got together and were learning each other, defining our relationship, one of the things we agreed on was that neither of us would ever look the other in the eye and lie about anything. She has blown 3 surprise parties because she made me look in her eyes and tell her the truth. That Todd would take this particular action surprised me. To my knowledge, she had never lied when we did this.

"Maime, look me in my eyes and tell me the truth. If you can look me in the eyes and say that you feel nothing for me then I will never mention it again."

"Todd, please don't."

"Maime, all these months I've watched you and Nathan together. I know that you have never looked him in the eye and lied to him. Now I'm asking you to do the same for me. Look in my eyes, and tell me that you have no feelings for me."

Maime froze. Again I saw her shiver as she tried to look away and tried to decide what to say. Finally she froze again, and my gut twisted into a knot when she whispered, "I can't."

"Can't what, Maime?"

"Todd, please?"

"Maime, you need this as much as I do. Tell me what's in your heart."

Maime closed her eyes and stifled a whimper.

"Todd, I love Nathan with all my heart ... but, god forgive me, I find you physically almost irresistible."

Todd enveloped Maime in a tight embrace that I knew took her breath away. He kissed her neck, her cheek and finally her lips. Maime fought him when their lips first touched, but Todd never relented. Seconds later the embrace became mutual. I began to hear the breathing and moaning that was formerly heard by me alone. Maime was hot and getting hotter by the moment.

Todd's hands were now on the move, caressing her bare back up under her sweater. Maime jumped, and I could tell from her gasp and moan that Todd had successfully unclasped her bra. Her groans went to the next level as she felt another man's hands fondling her for the first time in 7 years.

"Todd, please stop! We can't ... (GASP) Ohhh shit!"

Todd ignored her. He lifted her sweater and began to suck on one of her exposed nipples. Maime has always had sensitive breasts. There had been many times, when I wanted to tease her or turn her on but she wasn't in the mood, that I would ever so lightly stroke her breasts, especially her nipples. It worked every time. Several times I'd made her cum on the dance floor during a slow dance, not by grinding between her legs, but by holding her gently and letting her breasts move back and forth against my chest. I knew that Todd's mouth and tongue could soon have my wife climbing the walls. I watched as her willpower crumbled. She tried to cram more of her 39DD into his mouth, while his hand pinched her other exposed nipple. The harder his tongue lashed her nipple, the louder she moaned. When he reversed nipples, I knew she was well on her way to a huge climax.

"OH god...YES! You're making me cum."

Her climax left her shaking and shuddering as she lay back on the sofa, covering her breasts with her hands. I was stunned. Maybe 1 out of 6 times I could make her cum hard just from directly playing with her tits, and then she had to be super horny. His first time ever tasting her, and he makes her knut so hard that she has to take a break after her first climax. I had never gotten that kind of orgasm out of her till I put tongue to clit.

Todd pressed his advantage, letting his tongue explore her midriff on its way to her centerplace. She squirmed and giggled as he found every sensitive spot on her belly and sides. All the while, he was busy unfastening her skirt and pulling down her panties. Her legs trembled as the cool air hit them. When he finally tasted her pussy, she screamed.

"Oh! Oh, my god! Todd, that's so good! Fuck me with your tongue baby."

He did just that, bringing her to two more climaxes before he came up for air. By the time he was done, he had her legs wrapped around his head, and she was bouncing off the sofa as she screamed her climax. While she curled up, reveling in her last orgasm, he quickly ditched his own few clothes. Then he knelt between her legs, spread her already wet kitty, and brought her to a third tongue-fucking orgasm. In the aftermath he finally spoke to her.

"Maime, you taste so sweet. I had no idea you were that multiorgasmic."

Maime shivered and whined, "That was so good. Only Nathan has ever made me cum like that."

"Hmm... Let me see if I can do a little better." Those sounded like the words of a confident, experienced player, and another chill went down my back.

However, before he could do anything more, her hand made contact with his hard cock, and immediately she pulled him to her lips. I noted, as she swallowed his cock, that he wasn't much bigger than I was. He was maybe a little thicker but definitely not longer. My ego surged, telling me that she would handle him and then say, "Thanks, but Nathan does it better." Both my ego and my heart were shattered by what was to come.