Rainy Day People

"Well, at least I got a foot into the stirrup" I thought as I looked around the crowded room.

For 2 years now, since my divorce had been finalized, most of my friends on both sides of the sexual war had been urging me to get back in the saddle. This place seemed too busy and far too stressful for me to even consider staying for this speed dating party.

There were more men and women here than the hotel's safety codes would allow. People were crammed in like sardines, with barely enough room to move. Almost the entirety of human society was represented here; there were people of every shape, size and ethnic strata. Only one thing united this teeming mass of humanity and that was the fact that nearly all of them were individuals, who didn't want to be. They all succumbed to the drive to blend with another. Nature seemingly made us with one glaring flaw, the need for company and to find the perfect mate. Most of these people were almost desperate to find their other half. The rest just wanted some pussy.

A quick scan around the room to try and locate my wingman Greg proved fruitless and I'd decided to retreat to the safety and solitude of my apartment when I saw her.

She sat at the bar with another woman, she looked almost as nervous as I was. I saw and felt a lot of things in that brief instance of eye contact. In my head I heard the opening line to "True Blood's" theme song. It goes "When you came in, the air went out"; and it did because I stopped breathing for the duration of our eye lock. In an instant we lived our entire lives. I saw our meeting, courtship, engagement, wedding, the births of our children then our retirement, and finally the two of us buried side by side flash through my brain. Love in a microcosm, it had never happened to me before or since. It was both a miracle and a curse, because as I came to my senses I realized how ridiculous it was.

Just as I took my first step towards the door, without even a 2nd glance at the woman, I bumped into Greg.

"Brett, you're going the wrong way" he said to me. "We're here to jump start your life. There's no time for fear, Under-dog is here. Besides, I think someone is already looking at you" he continued pointing at the dark haired woman I'd been obsessing over.

Greg had a table for us already, and we went over to it and sat down. Tables were at a premium here, obviously the organizers had over-booked the event. There was literally nowhere to sit. Almost as soon as we sat down, we noticed the two women making a beeline for our table.

The more forward of the 2, a short chunky red-head with enormous boobs, immediately stepped up and smiled at us.

"Hey" she said.

"Hey yourself" Greg said to her boobs.

Her top was so low cut that it was almost impossible to look anywhere else.

She also looked as if she didn't mind the attention to that part of her anatomy. In this case it was a truly inspired strategy since the rest of her was not nearly as remarkable.

The exchange between her and Greg gave me a chance to look at my dream girl up close. She was tall, maybe 5' 8" or 5" 9" and slender. Way smaller than her friend on top, but any more than a mouthful is wasted. Her tight tummy and heart shaped butt were in a class of their own, but her legs could stop traffic. They were just a tiny bit bigger then you'd expect for her frame, but were just exquisite. Well toned thighs that appeared to be buttery smooth and shapely calves that led into thinner ankles and delicate feet.

Looking up I saw Raven's wing black hair cut in one of those collar length asymmetric cuts that is longer on one side. As she flipped her hair out of her face I was astounded by her pale gray eyes. She had a few freckles on either side of her upturned nose, and lips that just screamed out to be chewed and licked. They weren't those over-sized fake lips, that all of the movie stars were getting. No collagen injections here; every detail of this woman was real, and perfect. I was so lost in her gaze that I didn't realize that a conversation was going on around me.

I came out of my stupor when Greg punched me on my shoulder.

"What?" I asked.

"Do we mind if they sit down with us?" Greg asked, as if he was talking to a deaf person.

"Oh. Of course not, please do" I sputtered out

"Brett, this is Rae and Timella" Greg supplied.

I remember thinking that their names fit them perfectly.

Rae the walking rack's name was short and to the point, which pretty much fit her.

Timella's name longer, multi-syllable and mysterious and also fit her. But no name could ever do this woman justice. They would literally have to invent a new word just for her, I thought.

After the ladies got settled, the conversation which was carried mostly by Greg and Rae got started.

"So what drags you guys down here?" asked Rae.

"Well I'm here trying to help my bud get his life re-started after his divorce" said Greg. "He needed a little push to get back in the game" he smirked.

"No I didn't" I said quietly, "I just needed some time"

"You've been divorced for 2 years, and haven't gone out once" he said. "His ex wife jumped ship and now plays for the other team. I knew from the first time I met her that bitch was a closeted carpet-muncher"

"Well my friend Timella is just as bad" said Rae

"Timella's a carpet munch, I mean a Lesbian?" sputtered Greg as I looked on in shock.

"No" laughed Rae "she's a loser magnet" she explained.

"If you drop her into a room full of 200 millionaires and one bum, she'll find the unemployed drunk and fall for him EFT" said Rae.

"EFT?" asked Greg

"Every Fucking Time" laughed Rae. She was rubbing his arm as they spoke and he already had his arm around her.

It was good to see that they were getting along so well. Timella and I were another story. For some reason I just couldn't think of anything to say to her even though I wanted to badly. It was partially because I wanted to think of something so witty that it would make her feel about me the way I felt about her. Then there was the abject fear that whatever I thought was incredibly cool or smart, might come across as being arrogant or just so ass-brained that she didn't want to talk to me at all. If that were to happen I'd be crushed, and suicide might not be off the table.

"High School" she said, and the world exploded around me.

Have you ever been in the middle of a rain-storm and the rain just stops and the clouds part and the sun comes out. That was the feeling I got when Timella spoke.

"High School" she had said. I analyzed the words for every nuance of meaning and subtext. The way she said those two single syllable words spoke volumes. First off there was the accent, it was soft and definitely southern. She stretched those 2 syllables into at least four. The accent was also subdued as if she'd been trying to get rid of it and sound like everyone else in Chicago. Getting rid of that accent would have been akin to painting a red mustache on the Mona Lisa.

All of a sudden I noticed that everyone at the table was looking at me. I'd gotten so lost in hearing her say those two words that it hadn't registered to me that she was trying to make conversation. I also hadn't the slightest idea of what she was talking about, so I didn't know how to respond.

"I'm really sorry" I said, "I just got lost in that wonderful southern accent of yours"

It was a desperate shot, but it was all I had, so I'd thrown it out there.

She smiled and looked away for a second, and then there it was, those gray eyes opened and just beamed at me.

I could tell that my desperate shot had scored at least a minor point.

"This is like High School" she explained. "All of the cool kids running around and hooking up left and right. The rest of us kind of slink off to the sides to hide" she said in a quieter tone.

I couldn't imagine any reason for her to ever hide, she was beautiful and becoming more so with every passing second, and I wasn't drinking yet.

"I don't think you could ever hide" I said.

"Why couldn't I?" she asked.

"Uhm, I just don't think you could" I said, too embarrassed to finish my thought.

This was going better than I thought. She might just like me a little bit.

"Well, since Greg and I aren't actually doing the speed dating thing, we're going to go uhm...." began Rae.

"Next door for coffee" finished Greg, nervously.

They got up and looked at us as if they were unsure they should leave.

"It's really easy" Greg began.

"When the announcer starts talking, all of the women will be assigned to tables, and the men will stand around the walls while they're given a number" Rae continued.

"The women just sit at their tables, and the guys just go to every table they're sent to until you either meet someone you like or you've been at every table" Greg finished.

"You guys can handle it" said Rae. Then she and Greg left in search of their coffee.

"I don't think they're getting any coffee" said Timella smiling.

"Hunh," I replied getting lost in watching her again.

"Is there some place you'd rather be?" she asked.

"I'm sorry again, but what?" I said quietly.

"You keep zoning out on me, so I was wondering if you're wishing you were somewhere else" she said.

"Right now I can't think of any place I'd rather be" I said seriously.

"Oh so you're into this whole speed dating thing?" she asked.

When she said it even mundane sentences like that just sounded sexy.

"No actually, I think it's a totally stupid thing for someone like me, but I'm sure you'll do great" I hastily assured her.

"Actually, I was thinking that I'd be more comfortable just chucking it and taking a walk, but we can't have much of a conversation if you keep blinking out on me. You know that really isn't a good thing for boosting a girl's confidence" she said sadly.

I stood up and took her hand, and then God damn it, I almost did it again. The smile she gave me was so much like the way she looked in my 5 second vision that I almost got lost again.

"So what kind of name is Timella" I asked as we started towards the door.

We were briefly interrupted as another group of people came into the already over-crowded room.

"I'm glad to be getting out of there" she said.

"We'll stay in sight of the hotel" I said.

"Why can't we go for a walk over there by the waterfront?" she asked.

"Because you don't know me, so it's not really safe. I could be an axe murderer" I said.

"I don't think so" she said smiling.

"But you don't know me" I said in a frustrated voice.

"But I want to" she shot back.

"So what kind of name is Timella?" I asked again.

We stopped and she flashed those gray eyes at me and pursed those lips. I could feel certain parts of my anatomy becoming more rigid. Just what I needed, I thought, a woman who could give me a boner just by looking at me.

"Well my dad's name is Tim" she began.

"And your mom's name is Ella" I finished for her, trying not to hold in my laughter.

"Go ahead and laugh" she said. "Everyone starts out thinking it's some mysterious, sexy, ethnic name, when actually it's as "Country" as grits and gravy"

"I'd never laugh at you" I said solemnly, and I think she believed me.

We walked a long, meandering circle around the hotel, talking as we went. We had hotdogs and soda from a street vendor and watched homeless people do awesome tricks for a few coins. Through all of this I listened as Timella told me about her life. I'd gotten the accent wrong, it was Tennessee, not Texas. And she was 5' 10" not 5"9" as I'd estimated.

She told me about her series of loser boyfriends and her terrible luck in relationships. And how she'd almost lost faith in men in general.

"All they want to do is get in your pants then get in your wallet then get in your face. Some of them start out sweet as pie and gradually turn mean, while others start out mean and just become assholes. And all of them, as soon as they've gotten what they want from you, start to treat you shitty" she told me in a frustrated tone of voice.

We rounded the front of the hotel again as she finished her rant.

"Why do we even bother? Sometimes I wish I'd been born a century earlier. A hundred years ago most people didn't have sex until after they were married" she said solemnly.

"We all hope for the fairy tale" I said, "we all want to believe that there is someone out there who will love us and that we can love in return. But in most cases we set ourselves up for failure, because we set up expectations for how we want the person to act, and when they do things differently we're disappointed. We're also kind of shallow, because we expect the person to look a certain way and we refuse to even consider anyone who is less than perfect"

At that point I stopped talking and got quiet, because I realized that I was as guilty as the people I was talking about. I had just gone ape-shit nuts over a woman that I knew nothing about, for no other reason than the fact that she was fucking gorgeous.

"Why do you do that?" she asked.

"What?" I asked, sheepishly.

"We'll be talking and then you're just gone" she said.

"Do you want to know the truth?" I asked.

"Nope. lie to me because more I'm used to that" she said.

"Well, uhm, it's going to sound really corny" I warned her.

She smiled and said "I'm from Tennessee, I'm an expert on corny"

"Your eyes are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. Your mouth is mesmerizing, and sometimes when you talk or your face gets a certain expression, I just get lost in it" I confessed.

She started laughing, and didn't stop until she was doubled over and bumped into me. I had to grab her waist to keep her from falling over on the dirty sidewalk.

Then she looked at me and said "Okay I did say lie to me didn't I"

But when she saw the look on my face she stopped laughing and held her hand over her mouth.

"You really meant that didn't you?" she asked.

"Every word" I said sadly.

"But I'm just another tall, lanky girl with barely any boobs!" she exclaimed. "All the guys like Rae. I've got enough issues to fill a magazine rack, and a lot of guys get upset because I don't put out until I know someone"

Just then my cell phone and hers decided to ring at the same time.

"Hello" I said.

She smiled and said "Hello" into her phone a few seconds later.

After we were each informed by our friends that not only was the date over, that they were pissed at us for leaving, we started walking towards the hotel. I loved her cell phone ring tone, it was something old and almost familiar, but I couldn't put my finger on it.

I asked her what the song was and she smiled again, and told me it was a song by an old folk singer named Gordon Lightfoot. The song was called "Rainy Day People" and it was her very favorite song and had been for as long as she could remember.

As we walked quickly back to the hotel, she grabbed my hand and I was in heaven.

"Would you like to continue our conversation sometime?" she asked. "I mean you never did get to the punch line of your joke"

"What joke?" I asked, slowing down.

"You know all the stuff about my eyes" she hinted.

"I would love to" I said seriously.

She took my phone from my pocket, causing my entire body to tingle. Then she punched out a phone number and called it. From the depths of her purse I heard the cheerful yet sad tones of the song.

"Well you can call me whenever you'd like now" she said handing the phone back.

As we got back to the front of the hotel we were greeted by the sight of our respective friends.

"Where the fuck did you disappear to?" snapped Rae. She was definitely not happy.

"Let's book Brett" said an equally pissed yet still smiling Greg.

"Hey why are you so mad?" asked Timella.

"He's such a fucking prick I could scream" yelled Rae "Let's get away from these losers.

"Back at you bitch" snapped Greg

"Fuck you" screamed Rae.

"I already did. Wanna do it again?" smirked Greg.

Rae ran at Greg as if she would slap him, but Timella grabbed her and held her friend back.

"Rae what's wrong?" she asked.

"This asshole mauled my tits like a high-school boy, then just starts fucking me in the alley like I was some slut. He came inside me, and he didn't even have a fucking condom" she screamed.

"She loved it" snapped Greg. "Notice I said "She" loved it. I didn't feel shit because her pussy is so damn loose I couldn't touch both sides at the same time."

"Because he's got a really tiny dick" screamed Rae, holding her finger up like she had invisible tweezers. "So he decided to fuck me in the ass"

"It was loose too" snapped Greg, "I didn't need lube or anything"

"You weren't complaining" snapped Rae.

"You didn't either bitch" said Greg "bad pussy, and I mean terrible pussy, is still pretty good"

"Maybe that's all your wife gives you" snapped Rae.

"His wife?" said Timella.

"Yes" said Rae "this asshole is married and has a kid. Let's go Timella" she snapped walking away quickly.

As I turned to follow Greg's laughing form, I looked back and saw Timella.

"Call me" she said, and I knew that I would. I had no choice.

Chapter 2

Brett

When I woke up the next day I was on a mission. I got to my computer, went to iTunes and looked for Gordon Lightfoot. I bought the song "Rainy Day People" and listened to it 12 times. If Timella really loved that song that much then the song would be my approach for wooing her. I also remembered most of the things she'd told me last night about how terrible most of her relationships had been. She'd gone through enough arrogant, cheating and abusive guys that it almost made me ashamed to be male. I couldn't imagine how anyone could treat that woman in particular badly, She was so beautiful. I decided to forego any thoughts of trying to get into her pants for a long time. This was going to be really hard because just thinking about her got my dick harder than a steel pole, but I was going to become her friend first. Everything else would have to wait. I didn't want her to become just another relationship; my goal was to make her my last relationship. So maybe I could even wait until after we were married, or at least engaged, to have sex with her. I knew it sounded crazy after just meeting her, but love doesn't have to make sense.

I also knew that she had to have some issues concerning men, so I vowed to just take my time and work through them, at her pace. I was already sold because after only last night's brief encounter I was sure she was the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Timella

When I woke up the next morning, I got up and started making the coffee. I knew that Rae was going to be pissed this morning; first, because Rae was not a morning person and secondly because of last night's situation. I hoped that her bad encounter with Greg wouldn't mess up my chances with Brett. Just the little bit of time we spent together already had me thinking some pretty deep thoughts about him. But I kind of suck at picking men so I doubt that he'll even call me back. The ones that do call only seem to want one thing, and once they get it, they always change. Just once I'd like to have a guy really try to get to know me, before he tried to get to know my pussy.

"Shit Timella, will you and that herd of fucking elephants stop stomping around out there. Can't you tell I've got a fucking headache" screamed Rae at the top of her lungs.

I went into her room carrying a tray of coffee and juice with a muffin. When she smelled the food she took the pillow off the top of her head and sat up.

"You're so sweet T" she said. "Maybe I should be after you and not some asshole of a guy"

I shuddered to even think about it. Although I knew that Rae wasn't a lesbian, she was pretty wild and unpredictable, and nothing she did surprised me.