Rainy Day People

After 2 weeks of not going out at all, Rae dragged me out on a double date with her and Greg and Stan. I just sat at the bar and drank.

"Hey Greggie, ya wanna dance?" asked Rae

"Fuck Dancing" said Greg

"I'll dance with ya Rae" leered Stan, who was supposedly my date. I guess the chance to rub him-self against Rae's tits could not be ignored.

Greg and I were at the bar alone and I noticed that turned away from me.

"Look Greg, you and Rae seem to be getting along, so whatever you guys do is your business" I said.

Greg just laughed coldly and turned back towards me.

"I don't avoid you because I'm ashamed of what I'm doing" he said. "I already know the consequences of my actions and it makes me feel bad, but I'm not ashamed. I know what I am. I'm a scumbag and probably, depending on who you ask, I'm an asshole. But I'm a lot better than Stan. He's just a rotten, bottom of the barrel asshole and your friend is a skanky whore, plain and simple but I saw something different in you at first" he said sadly.

"I've known Brett for years, he's the kind of guy we all hope our kids will grow up to be like. Hard working, honest, compassionate, tough but fair. His first marriage broke up because his wife had a car accident, he took off 6 months from work to nurse that bitch back to health. She got hooked on the pain-killers, which led her to harder drugs when her prescription ran out. Next thing you know she's doing heroin and selling her ass on the street to get it. Then she just disappeared. He spent months trying to find her, and when he did it was worse than you can imagine. She was out of her mind, paranoid and just crazy, her own parents wouldn't have anything to do with her. Brett stuck by her, trying to get her back into a treatment center until one day he came home and she and some homeless guy tried to kill him so they could empty out his bank account. She finally ran away again this time with a woman because she discovered she's a lesbian and when Brett got out of the hospital he divorced her. For 2 years he never left his house, not even to go out with the guys or to a fucking baseball game then, on his first night out, he meets you" he said looking at me.

"He listens to all of your shit about how badly you were treated and he decided that you deserved way better, like in that fucking song. It was just his way of showing you that you were special to him. At least with me and Rae, nobody gets hurt" he sneered. "You just ripped his fucking heart out of his chest. You do know that he loved you with all of his heart? I'm pretty sure he had something special planned for the two of you but at least he's getting over it and he started doing some stuff now. I just hope he doesn't run into another one like you" he said turning away from me again.

I had tears in my eyes before he even stopped talking. Rae and Stan came back and they were both smiling.

"Stan, take me home" I said.

"What's wrong?" asked Rae

"Stan, take me home!" I shouted.

"This bitch acts like her pussy is gold plated" sneered Stan.

As we got away from the others he told me "you know it's gonna cost ya"

"I don't care" I said "I just need to get home"

As we got into Stan's shitty car, my need to get home as quickly as possible took over. I pulled his pants down roughly and started on him.

"Unh unh" said Stan "It ain't gonna be that easy this time"

"What do you want?" I snapped.

Stan pulled my panties aside and stuck his dick in me. He had reclined the front passenger seat and just humped away at me. I just looked up at him without any emotion.

I wondered how my life had gone so wrong. For once I had what I'd always complained about in the palm of my hand, and I'd let it get away. I also realized that it wasn't the dates with Brett that I missed, it was the man himself. He saw me as something special and it made me feel special about myself. No one else in my life except my parents ever had. Even my supposed best friend Rae, who had suggested the ridiculous idea that ruined my relationship with Brett, didn't really think I was special.

Another thought occurred to me as well; why didn't I know all of the stuff that Greg had told me tonight about Brett? Why didn't I know the reasons for his divorce and the other stuff? that must have been horrible for him to have experienced.

I already knew the answers to my questions. I loved the fact that Brett wanted to know all about me. But I had not reciprocated; I never even bothered to find out anything about him. I loved the fact that he spent lots of time and money coming up with dates and activities to make me feel special, and I just went on them. I had never once lifted a finger to do anything for him. With Stan I bought drinks, I bought gas, and he still made me feel like shit. Brett treated me like I was special and Stan treated me like I wasn't.

I was so deep in thought that I didn't even realize that Stan was done.

"I'll take you home now, that was great wasn't it? You're a lot tighter than Rae" he said. "Next time I'm doing your ass" he smirked.

"Whatever" I said "I just want to go home"

Chapter 4

For the next month or so, I was desolate. I went out occasionally but mostly I stayed in. Every once in a while I called Brett, once he even answered. I remembered my heart beating so loudly I thought I could hear it, but before I could even begin to say the things I was dying to tell him, he had to politely end our conversation because "someone had come to his door"

Since he and Greg worked together, I found out from Rae where they worked and started spending a part of my lunch hour there. I watched his car trying to catch him coming or going, but it never happened. I did see Greg and Rae a few times doing a lunchtime quickie. They accused me of being a stalker.

I went on dates a few times but, my heart really wasn't in it. I didn't even bother to fix myself up. I thought that if they don't like me, fuck them. And if they did like me all they wanted was to fuck me, so what was the point?

Mostly my social life consisted of twice a month I'd go out with Rae and Greg and Stan. Stan pretty much considered himself my boyfriend now. He introduced me to everyone as his woman. It was so ridiculous that I didn't even bother to explain to him that I wasn't anywhere near his. I just laughed every time he said it. We, or mostly he had sex pretty regularly but it didn't register. It seemed like some cosmic joke I complained about Brett because he treated me like a precious gem, but wouldn't touch me. Now I missed him so badly I could barely function, but I didn't bother complaining about Stan who treated me like shit and forced me to have sex. And every night I wore out my vibrator imagining Brett making love to me.

Pretty much the highlight of the relationship, at least something different from the usual pattern happened on my birthday. While we sat at the table and Stan had me buying him drinks, Greg handed me an envelope. Actually he threw it across the table to me. It would probably have been better if he'd just handed it to me later or had Rae give it to me at home, but he thought so little of Stan and even less of me that he just threw it to me. The funny thing was that he didn't even tell me what it was, just threw it.

I opened the envelope and it was the most beautiful Birthday card I'd ever gotten. The writing was in metallic gold foil there were roses and when I opened it, it played Rainy Day People.

There was a note at the bottom of the card saying how he wanted me to have the happiest birthday ever, and it was signed "B". I started analyzing it for every nuance and asking Greg questions. I was grinning from ear to ear when Stan grabbed the card from my hand.

"Who is B" he asked.

"Brett Parker, a friend of mine" said Greg.

"Why the fuck is he sending my woman cards?" asked Stan. "If I wanted the bitch to have a card, I would've given her one. She doesn't even like shit like that" he snapped.

"Then why the fuck is she smiling like that?" asked Greg.

His hands moved so fast I didn't have time to duck as Stan slapped me so hard I fell out of my chair.

All I felt was one blinding flash and I was on my ass. A couple of people at the bar snickered, but no one protested or did anything about it.

"I see it now" said Greg.

"See what, honey?" asked Rae

"The attraction between those two. Brett always treated her like a fucking princess and that asshole, Stan, is really a fucking prince" he said.

Over the next few weeks things got worse. Stan became more and more demanding and more and more controlling. If I did something he didn't like or refused to do something he wanted, he usually reacted violently. When I looked in the mirror, I didn't see me anymore. If I thought that things couldn't get any worse, I was wrong.

One evening Greg had to attend a function with his wife, and Rae in typical fashion decided to go out with someone else.

I think her exact words were "what's the difference? a dick is a dick"

I think she was actually trying to make Greg jealous because she was upset that he was doing something with his wife.

Anyway, her new guy wanted us to meet him at a bar that was a lot more upscale than the places we hung out in. We got a table and were sitting down drinking as usual. It seemed like that was all we ever did, we went to bars or clubs, we drank, maybe occasionally we danced. Rae and Greg left us to go fuck, they came back or they didn't. Stan took money from me and made me either blow him or screw him.

Anyway my back was to the bar when I saw Rae stiffen suddenly. As I was turning around I heard a woman laughing. There he was at the bar with 2 really pretty younger women. They looked like college girls and Brett looked happy. One of the girls held up her hand and he twirled her around as if they were doing a ballroom dance move.

The other felt neglected and said something that I couldn't hear. He reached for her and brushed her hair out of her eyes, the same way he used to do mine.

I had stopped breathing, nothing mattered anymore.

Greg had told me that Brett was doing stuff, but I guess in the back of my mind I saw him with a hobby or something. This was just too much. I slumped down into my chair and just stared at him, and at Stan. Then I looked at Rae, and at that moment I hated her. Somehow she had managed to turn me into just another version of herself. If only I hadn't listened to her.

I saw the waiter approach them and direct them to follow him.

Unfortunately they walked right past our table.

At first it didn't seem like he'd recognize me, but then he turned and smiled at me.

"Timella" he said "Nice to see you"

I couldn't make my mouth form words. I was so happy, but at the same time I didn't want him to see me like this.

"Who's she?" asked one of the girls.

"Is she the one?" asked the other.

Both of the girls had that glow that came only from youth. They were in the prime of their lives and knew it.

None of this was lost on either Stan or Rae's date; they openly ogled the girls without saying a word.

"You must be the lucky guy" said Brett extending his hand to Stan. "She's really special so treat her right" he said.

"I'd be willing to talk trades" said Stan.

Brett laughed and he and his girls followed the waiter to their table.

The mood at our table died. Rae's date asked all kinds of questions about Brett that she couldn't answer. When I answered them, Stan got angrier and angrier. Finally the shit hit the fan. Brett and his girls left the bar, laughing and having a good time. I watched him all the way from when he stood up till he was out of sight. I wondered if he ever thought about me any more. He had told Stan that I was special; did he mean that? If I called him later or tomorrow could we talk about this? Did he even know how I felt about him?

I guess Stan had been talking to me but I wasn't paying him any attention. That was the last straw for Stan and he punched me in the face. My eye started swelling up immediately and I ran out of the bar.

"That bitch had it coming" Stan snapped.

Rae got up and walked away too. I didn't see her because I went out the back and she went out the front. I was going home and I didn't know or care where she was going. The doorman at the bar took one look at me and grabbed my arm.

"Do you want me to call the police miss?" he asked.

"No" I said "I just want to get home"

He called me a cab and it was there in less than 5 minutes. He spoke to the cab driver and put me in it.

When we got to my building, the cab driver wouldn't take any money. He told me that the bar often paid to have patrons who couldn't or shouldn't drive, taken home.

When I got into my apartment I took off all of my clothes, put an ice pack on my eye and took a sleeping pill and a pain-killer. I just drifted off to sleep on a soft puffy cloud. I remember Rae trying to wake me up, but I just didn't want to. I also vaguely remember her talking to another person and the door slamming really loudly.

The next morning I woke up and my eye was swollen, but not as bad as I expected. The ice pack I'd put on it had kept a lot of the swelling down. I stood up and looked in the mirror. I looked awful.

"I look like shit" I said.

"I've seen much worse T, recently" said Rae handing me a cup of coffee.

I was shocked, in all the years we'd lived together Rae had never made the coffee. I was further shocked that Rae had on a sweat shirt and long pants.

"Whatever you're trying to get me to do isn't going to happen Rae. I know you want me to forgive Stan so we can date some guy you want to fuck" I snapped.

"Actually, I'm considering celibacy for a while" said Rae seriously. "And Stan won't be dating anyone until he gets out of the hospital"

"What?" I said.

"Last night I took a long look at us and realized that I had really fucked up your life. I saw you die a little bit when prince charming came over to the table, but I also saw something that I think you missed. He looked at you and he was just as hurt as you were. Maybe even more. The whole time he was there, even with those 2 bimbettes, who are not what you think by the way, he never took his eyes off of you. So when Stan hit you I did the only thing I could do" she said seriously. "I went and spoke to Brett and told him how miserable you were and how it was my fault. He told me not to worry about it, that it was water under the bridge and as long as you were happy he was happy for you. Then I told him that you weren't happy, that Stan was just another loser, and that he'd hit you. Prince charming went ape-shit. We came over here to see you but you wouldn't wake up"

She paused to take a long draw from her coffee.

"Oh yeah, he saw your black eye and just flipped out. Unfortunately he saw your miniature titties too. He looked away like he wasn't supposed to look" she laughed. "Even though I told him that this was a great chance for him to have a preview of the real estate. He said he couldn't do that to you. Then he asked me to take him to Stan's place so they could talk. When Stan cracked the door, Brett kicked the door into Stan's face knocking him down. Then he jumped on Stan and just started pounding him" she shook her head. "If I hadn't pulled him off I think he would have killed him. I called an ambulance, and Brett called the police and turned himself in. When everything came out, it's all became a wash. Stan refused to press charges because he knew you'd press charges against him. No one goes to jail, but prince charming has to go to anger management classes for 120 hours or 3 months or some shit like that. They also gave him 2 weeks in jail, but because he turned himself in, and some of the people in the bar clearly remembered Stan punching you, he'll probably get out by day after tomorrow" she said.

She paused for more coffee and seemed to be thinking about something, which I think might be a new experience for Rae.

"I'm getting too old to be a whore" she said to me seriously. "It's really time for me to settle down and find a man of my own, and stop borrowing everyone else's. I got you hooked up with Stan, and I got you unhooked. I also got a chance to talk to Brett, but you need to too, because you caused a lot of this shit yourself. He was crazy about you from the time he walked into that fucking hotel and you went on and on about how every guy you went out with only wanted you for one thing, we even told him how you were a loser magnet, so he got it into his mind that the only way he could show you that he was different" she laughed. "Was to do what you talked about"

"What?" I said.

"When you guys went out, did he ever get a hard on around you?" she asked.

"All the time" I said "I could get him hot just by smiling at him"

"Does that sound like someone who really only wanted to be friends?" she asked. "I already know how you reacted to him. I was thinking about getting you a generator to power your vibrator for Christmas" she laughed again "But what about Stan?" she asked "You did have sex with him"

"No. Stan just used me like a blow up doll. There was no sex, only one of us got off, and most of the time he forced me. Just another brick in my wall of losers" I smirked.

"So what are you gonna do about it?" she asked

"Brett doesn't need me" I said "He has two hot college girls"

"Yep and both of them have bigger tits than you do" she laughed "But he also doesn't love either one of them" she said more seriously "He loves you. Enough to put his own feelings aside for you. He even tried to prove it to you by doing what you wanted. Remember how you talked about the old days and how people had to wait until they were married to have sex?"

I remembered now. I had gone on and on about it.

"The 2 bimbettes are his classmates, nothing more" she said" Did you see him do that little twirl with the blonde one?"

"He's taking a ballroom dance class, and they're in the class" she said.

"He was ready to marry you when you bailed on him" she said.

"Whose idea was it again for me to try and make him jealous?" I asked.

"Why would you listen to me? I'm a slut" she retorted.

2 days later my eye had gone down. Rae even commented on how I was starting to look like my old self again. I knew that the battle wasn't over and that the toughest part was yet to come. I waited outside the courthouse for Brett to come out he never did. Finally I went inside and was told that he'd been released early. He'd been out for over 24 hours.

Why hadn't he called me? Why would Brett beat someone half to death over me, go to jail for it, and still not call me?

I went to his job and asked for Greg. Greg told me that Brett didn't start working again until next week. He was using his vacation time to cover his jail time and his recovery.

I went to his house and knocked on his door. No one answered so I started yelling through his door.

"Brett! I know you're here, your car is out front" I yelled.

After awhile he came to the door. He looked so good. Only the bandages on his hands gave any indication that he'd been in a fight.

I laughed when I saw him. He was carrying a suitcase that even I could tell was empty.

"Hi Timella" he said "what can I do for you?"

"We need to talk" I said.

"I'll call you when I get back, I'm going out of town" he lied.

"Why are you going out of town with an empty suitcase?" I asked.

"Haven't you ever heard of traveling light?" he said with a straight face.

"We may as well talk now because I'm not leaving" I said blocking his way.

"Okay let's get it over with" he replied. his face was set.

"I'm sorry" I said.

"You have nothing to be sorry for. We went out a few times, it didn't work out" he said in a matter-of-fact tone. "We were never more than friends, you had a perfect right to go out with someone else. I only wanted for you to be happy" he said this sadly. "We both moved on" as he said that he started to reach down for his empty suitcase.