Perspectives Series: Martin

It was a cloudy day in early October. I was sitting at my desk thinking about Simon for some reason. I was wondering how he was getting along in Dubai. With all that was going on with Jill and Teresa, I didn't realize that I wasn't going to see my best friend for at least a year. I didn't even realize that I might miss him.

Joann was calling.

"Yes, Joann?"

~There's a Miss Harrison to see you but I don't think she has an appointment.

"Miss Harrison? Jill?"

~Yes. What would you like me to do?

"Oh, uh...hang on a second." I checked my calendar. I had about 30 minutes until a lunch date with David. "Uh, send her in."

Jill tapped on the door as she entered.

"Hi! This is a surprise." I walked around my desk, kissed her on the cheek and hugged her.

"I know I should have called first but I kind of came on an impulse."

"That's OK. Sit down." I shut my door and walked around my desk and sat down. "Are you on your lunch hour already?"

"Sort of. I just told them I needed to run an errand. How have you been?"

"Good."

"Good."

We sat there for a couple of seconds in uncomfortable silence.

"Did I interrupt anything?"

"No. Actually, I was just sitting here wondering how Simon was doing."

"Oh, he's gone already, isn't he?!"

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry. You must miss him."

I nodded.

"I wanted to come by to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"I know you told me not to worry about you and Teresa, but I can't stop thinking about you having a baby."

"Okay."

"You never talk about it. Are you...is she pregnant?"

"No. I told you I didn't think there was a chance and believe me, there isn't."

"Because you aren't...uh, complying?"

"No."

"Oh."

We sat in silence for a few seconds, and then my impatience started to show.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

There was a short pause.

"Things aren't working out with us the way I'd like them to."

"What do you mean?"

"I was sort of hoping that we could maybe be a little more romantically involved."

"You mean, date?"

"Martin, that's not funny."

"Yes it is. What did you have in mind then, sweetheart?"

"Quit being a jerk!"

"Ah, you forget that I live with the 'Ice Princess Teresa', I can't help myself." I could see that she was getting upset. "Okay, I'm sorry. I'll be serious. It's just that you can't expect me to just turn on the heat when you say so." I'm being asked to do that a lot lately.

"I'm trying to tell you that I want to take our relationship to the next level."

"Okay. What is the next level?"

My phone rang; it was Joann.

"Yes?"

~David wants to know if you want to reschedule lunch.

"Uh..." I looked at Jill, "Yes, please."

~OK, I'll tell him.

"Thanks, Joann."

I hung up the phone and looked up at Jill. "My lunch appointment just cancelled; do you want to continue this discussion over lunch?"

"Sure." She nodded and stood up.

We walked out toward the parking lot and she started to peel off toward her car. I stopped walking and stood there. She finally turned around. She put her keys back in her purse and walked up to me. I placed my arm around her waist, walked her to the passenger side of my car and opened the door for her.

When I sat down, I turned to her, "People who date, don't drive separately."

She nodded. "I know."

We went to a family-owned bistro that I frequented at lunch.

I sat on the same side of the booth as she. "Couples often do this, too."

I couldn't resist teasing her.

"They do?" She played along.

I ordered a dessert for us to share and got another dig in, "And this. Couples do things like share dessert."

"Ah, I see. This is delicious. I could get into this whole couple thing. What else do couples do?"

"Mmmmm, well they say sweet things to one another."

"Really, like what?"

I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "You smell fantastic!"

"Thank you." She whispered.

"And you look gorgeous today."

"Oooooh" She took a deep breath.

"They would say stuff like that." I said in a plain voice.

"Would they do something like this?" She ran her hand up and down my thigh.

"Yes, definitely. They do lots of that."

I sat straight upright in my seat. It was truly an aha moment.

"In fact, I think that's what our problem is. It's good that we've been talking a lot but maybe we've been talking too much. Maybe we should just relax and have fun together. We have such great chemistry when we just do stuff like this."

Jill looked up at me. "You're absolutely right."

She placed her hands on the table and stared at them for a moment. "I've been missing you so much."

I cocked my head to the side and looked at her with a quizzical expression.

"I miss loving you." She finally said.

"You mean, making love?"

"No." She didn't say any more. She stopped there. I didn't want to make a big deal out of it, but she had just came awfully close to saying I love you. I put my finger under her chin and lifted her face up toward me.

Very slowly I leaned in to kiss her. I brushed my lips past hers several times before resting them gently on hers. I kissed her with my mouth partially open, begging her to invite me inside. Her lips parted and I pressed harder against them, slowly extending my tongue inside her mouth. Her tongue met mine and I could feel a shot of electricity run down my body to my groin. I let out a moan. Her hand reached up toward my neck and her fingers wrapped around until they were caressing the back of my scalp.

I pulled away to look in her eyes. "I think we better stop before we get kicked out of here."

"I don't think they'll kick us out for kissing." She said in a gruff voice.

"Another second longer and we won't be just kissing."

She shut her eyes and groaned, "I see what you mean."

We couldn't get to the car fast enough. Once my door shut, I turned to look at Jill.

"What now?"

"I want to make love to you."

The words reverberated through my body. My dick grew rock hard. I threw my head backward against the seat.

"God, I want you, too." I sat there with my eyes closed, gripping the seat cushion.

"No, Martin. Don't sit and think about it. Please. Just drive somewhere."

I paused a brief moment and then started the car. I pulled into a Marriott down the street. I ran in and quickly checked in. The heat was simmering down and rational thought was beginning to take over my brain again. By the time we got to the room, I knew what I really wanted.

I picked Jill up and laid her down on the bed. I nudged her thighs apart with my legs and lay on top of her. I took my time kissing her, driving her wild with my tongue. Nestling my face in her hair, I took her earlobe in my teeth and then played with her neck. She tried to unbutton my shirt but I stopped her.

"Relax, baby."

She closed her eyes and surrendered to my pace. I went back to probing her mouth with my tongue, pressing my lips hard against hers for a deep, passionate kiss. She spread her legs wider and squirmed beneath me.

"Please, Martin..."

I acted as if I didn't hear her pleas. I focused on that sensitive part of her neck, biting, sucking and kissing. She began moaning louder.

"You're driving me insane, baby. Please..."

I pinned her hands above her head and rested my weight on her arms. I looked into her eyes. She was out of breath and panting.

"I want to hear you say it."

"What, baby?"

I kissed her neck some more and dropped one of my hands down and slipped it up her blouse. I massaged her breast through her bra. She arched her back.

"Say what you know I want to hear most from you."

She shook her head, "I can't."

I planted my lips onto hers again and circled her tongue with mine. I unbuttoned her blouse and ran my hand up and down her bare sides and stomach. I slipped my fingers inside the rim of her pants and ran them along the edge until I reached the button. I tugged until the button was free and unzipped her pants. I slid my hand down inside her panties and teased her opening with my finger.

She gasped, "Ohhhhhh!" She was out of breath.

I bit her earlobe. "Say it."

"I, I..."

"That's not good enough."

"I'm trying..."

"Say it."

"Martin, I...hardly breathe."

"Say it or I'll stop here."

I wiggled my finger just at her opening, making sure not to penetrate. She was soaking wet. Her eyes were clamped shut. She gripped my arm and yelled out.

"Ahhhhh...I love you."

I didn't move a muscle. I waited for a few moments until she opened her eyes and looked at me.

"Again," I whispered between breaths.

In a tiny voice, she uttered, "I love you."

My fingers started to slide inside her wet warmth.

"Oh, God," She gasped. I wiggled them hard against her front wall. "I'm...oh, I can't...don't stop..."

Jill climaxed violently. She yelled out and her body shook with spasm after spasm of delicious orgasm. The spasms died down and then the tears came. She started to tremble and I wrapped my arms around her and held her. She cried with her face against my shoulder for a few moments before she regained composure.

"I'm embarrassed."

"Don't be."

"It was just so ..."

"I know."

I started nuzzling her neck and delivering tiny pecks along her jaw line. "You really let go. It was wonderful."

"But you didn't..." I put my fingers on her lips and shook my head. Then I whispered in her ear.

"Shhhhh...it doesn't matter. I got what I wanted."

"I do, you know...love you. I've loved you for a very long time."

I closed my lips onto hers and kissed her deeply. When I pulled away and looked at her, there were tears in my eyes.

"I've loved you for a very long time, too."

We undressed as we kissed. We made love. It felt like the first time. I couldn't remember ever having such a powerful orgasm. And every time after that just got better.

Chapter 22

The most important appointment I missed that afternoon was with Jason Ward. Joann covered for me by saying that I was out on a family emergency. I promptly rescheduled the meeting for the following day. It was difficult to focus on work with Jill lying in bed beside me.

I waited until Jill was in the restroom and it was past Teresa's cocktail hour to call. It rolled to voice mail and I left a message stating that I would likely not be home. I kept the message short and simple.

I didn't expect to hear from Teresa. I suspected she kicked up her wine drinking a notch and probably passed out. She just got her period days before and the thought of another barren month sent her into a drinking spree. Teresa thought she was hiding it from me, but I would have had to have been deaf, dumb, and blind not to notice.

In the seconds before Jill rejoined me, my mind wandered.Now what! I had to think of a way to get Teresa out of my hair. I can't just kick her out. She has nowhere to go. Even if I gave her money, it wouldn't last long with her. I tried to come up with possible solutions. She could move in with her parents. I thought about her mother and cringed. I wouldn't do that to my worst enemy.

I fell back on the pillow, closed my eyes and took a deep breath. A solution will present itself. It has to.

Jill climbed onto the end of the bed and crawled up toward me. I outstretched my arm without opening my eyes.

"What are you thinking about?" She asked, sweetly.

I shrugged and opened my eyes. Jill was poised still waiting for an answer.

"I'm just trying to work everything out. The ball is in my court now."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't keep living with Teresa. Not if we're going to be together."

I felt Jill's body get tense. She sat up slowly.

I grabbed her arm and held it tight. She looked like she wanted to bolt but was frozen in place instead. "Don't run!" I said abruptly.

Her eyes widened, "I won't; I'm not running."

"What's the matter, Jill?"

"Nothing is the matter."

"Yes, it is. Please don't do this to me again."

"Martin, I'm not doing anything." She ran her fingers through her hair, pulling the strands out of her face. She showed signs of being stressed.

"Sweetheart, what could possibly be bothering you now? We love each other. We should be together."

"I know. I...it's just...I don't know why it scares me, honestly I don't. If I knew that, I would be married with children by now."

"Hey, hey, hey. Don't worry about it so much. It's OK."

She laid her head on my chest. "Just don't rush me. I'm still trying to get used to the idea of being in love."

I chuckled. "I'm in no hurry. It's OK, baby. I love you."

"I love you, too."

The next morning I drove to the office and Jill got in her car and left. My heart sank. I found it difficult to be without her for even a minute.

Joann gave me a strange look when I appeared in the office wearing the same clothes as the day before. She wouldn't say anything, not just out of respect for me, but because she despised Teresa. Early on, Teresa made it clear that she was my significant other and deserved to be treated with the kind of respect incumbent upon that of the owner's wife.

For that alone, I paid Joann well above the industry standard for her duties. She repaid me a hundred times over by remaining loyal, dedicated and watchful. I could trust her to be completely discreet with company business as well as personal business. On days like today, I thanked God that I didn't keep Teresa in that position.

I glanced at my watch. It was 8:15. I checked my cell phone for missed calls; there were none. I was relieved. I didn't want to talk to her yet.

My meeting with Jason was scheduled for 10:00am. At about 9:50, I impulsively picked up my cell phone and dialed.

~Hey

"Hey, there"

~Miss me already?

"Yes, as a matter of fact I do."

~I'm not going to make it through today with my eyes open. I'm exhausted.

My mind wandered to visions of our lovemaking throughout the night.

"It was worth it, wasn't it?"

~Oh, yeah.

My desk phone rang. It was Joann. Jason must be here.

"Listen, I've got to go. My ten o'clock appointment is here."

~Okay. I'll talk to you later.

"Love you"

~Love you, too. Bye.

I got up and walked out to the lobby. I looked at Joann as I passed, "Sorry, I was on the phone." She nodded.

"Jason, come in."

"Hey, Martin. How are you doing?"

"Good, good."

We got settled in my office.

"Joann told me you had a family emergency. Is everything OK?"

"Yeah, it was nothing. Everything is fine. I'm sorry about having to cancel like that."

"Oh, it's no problem. Is...everything OK with Teresa?"

I perked up. Holy shit! I can't believe I didn't think of this before. You are going to be my savior, Jason.

"Yeah, she's fine. You know, speaking of Teresa...we haven't had you over to the house since the party, have we?"

Jason shook his head.

"We should do that. Are you free this Saturday?" Of course you are because unless I'm totally off-base, you stay at home every weekend. And besides, if you did have plans, you'd cancel them to see her.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay. I'll double-check with Teresa..." lie "...and then I'll call you to confirm the time. So let's talk about this deal..."

We continued to talk about business. My mood was elevated tremendously. I felt like a huge weight had been lifted off my shoulders. He wants her, I'm sure of it. Every time we met to talk about business, he made it a point to ask about Teresa. It won't be hard for me to get Teresa to fall for him...all I have to do is feed her ego a little and she'll grab the bait. I know she won't have any qualms about cheating on me. She proved her lack of integrity many times over. My real challenge is to get Jason to betray me.

I skipped lunch and finished all the paperwork I needed to do for the day. When Joann returned from lunch I met her at her desk with my briefcase in hand.

"Joann, I'm going home."

She laughed. "That's funny, Martin."

"No, I'm serious. I'm tired."

Her eyes narrowed, "Wait a minute...something looks different about you. What is it? Oh, I know, you look...human."

I laughed, "Well then you're really going to love this."

"What?"

"Go home."

"Huh? I can't. I still have to type up these contracts."

"No you don't. These aren't closing until next week. You have plenty of time. Go spend time with your husband."

"Are you serious?"

"...as a heart attack. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Have a good day."

"Bye," she called out as I was walking out the door.

It was true, I was exhausted. But I could've mustered up the energy for a marathon if I had to, I was so high.

The house was quiet. I set my briefcase down in my office and walked down the hall toward the bedroom. Teresa was watching television in bed. She was in her pajamas and the lights were off.

"What are you doing home so early?"

"I took the rest of the day off."

She lifted her head from the pillow, "Why?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to, I guess."

I started undressing in the bathroom area, placing my clothes in the dry cleaning hamper. I threw on a pair of shorts and a t-shirt and walked back into the bedroom. Teresa was sitting up, combing her fingers through her hair and wiping the smudged mascara off her cheeks. I ignored the obvious signs that she had been crying.

"Hey, do you remember Jason Ward from our house warming party?"

I studied her face for the reaction. Her eyebrows raised and lowered.

"Yes, I believe so." Her tone was distant. Ha! She likes him, too.

"Well, he remembers you. He asks about you all the time."

Teresa studied my eyes to see if I was telling the truth.

"I've invited him over Saturday. I thought you could make a nice dinner for him while he and I discuss business. Is that OK?"

"I guess that's fine." Her cool demeanor was further proof that she was more than a little excited about seeing him. This is encouraging.

Teresa's depression was gone the next day, like magic. I laughed to myself. This is going to be too easy. It's almost not fair.

Jason arrived with two bottles of red wine. He sure knows how to work Teresa. I made sure that I was unavailable to answer the door. I walked up and caught the end of their exchange. The sexual tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife. They were both fidgeting like crazy.

I tried whenever possible to steer the conversation to a more personal level. My intention was to highlight Teresa's strengths to Jason; soft sell her to him. It was difficult to do. If she were worth having, I would keep her, myself. I began to see that this wasn't going to be a slam dunk like I thought. Jason was too smart to just fall for the old, try this, it doesn't work for me but you might like it, line.

My phone rang and I excused myself to answer it. It was Jill, right on time as planned. I asked her to call me so I would have a reason to leave them alone. I walked into my office.

~So, why did you want me to call you at exactly 9:10?

"Oh, just a little experiment I'm working on. It's nothing. What are you up to?"

~I'm waiting on Marcus.

"What are you guys going to do?"

~We're going to dinner and then probably out for dancing. How 'bout you?

"Oh, I'm in the middle of a business dinner. Jason Ward is here."

~Oh, good. How is that going?

"On task so far. I don't know if I can swing it but if I can sneak away later, I'll call you."

~OK. I'll have my cell on me. I'll try to remember to check it every once in awhile. I know I'm bad about that.

"Yes, you are. It's going on your performance review."

~If you say so, boss.

"Why do you have to be so darn cute all the time?"

~I didn't know I was. I'll try harder to be more serious, I promise.