Send Ch. 04-05

Chapter 4

The sun shone high and flooded the day with comfortable warmth. I drove the route to my apartment, caught up in a replay of the last hour. Truth was, I didn't want to go home where I'd surely spend the evening wishing I was with him. Internally, my entire essence was twisted in knots. It was like I had eaten too many cookies, ended up with a stomach ache, but still craved more.

To solve my dilemma, I decided to go shopping. A leisurely afternoon popping in and out of stores seemed like the just the right therapy for my one track mind.

"I need a distraction from my distraction, how fucked up is that?" I mused about the irony of the situation. No way would I have imagined such a predicament. The car screeched as I hooked a U-turn and drove over to my favorite shopping district.

With my panties now intact, I began to feel more in control. I turned up the radio and a smile began show on my lips. After all, the day's events had resulted in me scoring the afternoon off. Good ole reliable Tina, who hardly ever called out sick. I pulled into the parking lot of an upscale department store and decidedly focused on finding a cute new pair of shoes.

The store was pretty empty; middle of the day on a Thursday left only a few housewives and retirees milling about the place. I made my way to the shoe department at a leisurely pace, meandering through the dresses and accessories. An adorable ribbon trimmed A-line caught my eye and after finding a size 6, I carried it along with me to search for the perfect set of patent leather peep toe mules to go with it. I was humming to myself by the time I reached the shoe department. Retail therapy was working like a charm.

I've always loved this store for the service, and true to their reputation, a helpful sales associate was at my side in minutes. Positively Gay, and dressed impeccably, he seemed perfectly capable to help me find what I was looking for. Actually, he was ecstatic to assist me and together we had a ball trying out different options. I ended up with three pairs and upon his suggestion, headed over try on the dress with them before I paid for it. My charge card took care of the shoes, then I thanked him and walked across the floor to the dressing room.

It was so vacant in the store that day that the dressing room was left unattended. With just the one item to try on, I walked right in. A-lines always look amazing on me and that dress was no exception. Anything that highlights my best assets is a keeper in my book.

"I wonder what Jimmy will think?" I pondered, and twirled a bit to check it out from different angles. A surge passed through me at the thought of him; a wild feeling, incredibly addictive and becoming a little too familiar.

My white blouse and pencil skirt hung on the hook behind me. Fresh excitement stirred, ushered by a reckless idea. Adrenaline is a powerful substance, as mind controlling as any narcotic. I was becoming a junkie.

After removing my clothing from the hook and carefully folding them, I placed them in the bottom of the shopping bag containing my newly purchased shoes. The tags from the dress were stashed as well, and with a deep breath and tight smirk, I proceeded out of the dressing room and towards the exit. Not that I couldn't afford the thing. It was the danger of my stunt that had me moving stealthily towards the door.

I spotted him before he approached me. A rather buff guy, with short neat hair was marching in my direction. Reflexively, I avoided his eye contact and kept walking, but his strides were long and he reached me at the glass doors.

"M'am, I must ask you to stop." He displayed some ID for me and pressed the door, preventing me from opening it. "Come with me please."

My skin crawled in chills and my stomach dropped. The trip down to the security office in the basement had turned my adrenaline rush into a full on anxiety attack. Shoplifting? How fucking juvenile. What was I thinking? My mind was racing with the consequences of my crazy exploit. While he prepared the necessary forms to record his investigation, I sat on the bench opposite his desk and tapped my heel nervously on the floor.

"I'm going to search your bag now," he said, standing up. The office was small and stuffy. No windows and the air was stale. I was finding it hard to breathe. He unpacked the shoes and laid my clothes on the desk along with the price tags I had removed.

"M'am, are these the clothes you walked in with?" I nodded sheepishly. "Did you pay for the dress you are wearing?" He knew the answer and my silence seemed to be enough to confirm it.

Next to me now, he held out the hand cuffs. "I am supposed to place you in these until the police get here." Curiously, I sensed an air of apology in his voice. Was he attracted to me and hated to have to put me in such an embarrassing situation?

Softly, barely detectible, words of direction came from within the depths of my psyche. "You know what you need to do." It was Jimmy's raspy whisper.

I looked more closely at the security officer. He was about my age, clean shaven and quite tasty looking really. A sweet face, with a fit and caramel colored body under his green blazer and company polo shirt.

"Rodriguez, is it?" My voice was low and sultry, referring to his name tag. "If you put me in those cuffs, I won't be able to pay you for my mistake." I was slowly bringing my hand to his waist and stopped short just in front of it. Looking up with my head cocked slightly askew, I waited for his response. He was clearly shocked by my offer and absolutely uncomfortable with it. Uncomfortable but, not exactly dissuaded. His legs frozen in place, he leaned back as if to signal he did not hear what I had said.

I ran my tongue over my teeth with my mouth open just slightly. "You would like payment. Isn't that what this is all about?" I was gaining courage and dragged my index finger over his fly. Under it, I detected movement. "No one will ever know. Close the door, Rodriguez, let me see how big the bill is."

His mouth was slack and he still stood immobile. I could see his mind racing, his eyes darting around my body. Inside, I felt a surge of power begin to burn my veins. With my eyes trained on him, I played at his zipper.

"Close the door," I said again. It was more than a suggestion this time. Abruptly, he twisted at the hip and slammed the door shut with one swipe.

I fished his semi-hard dick from his fly. It was sweet and manageable; not very large, but smooth with a faint smell of talc. Slowly, I closed my hand around it and stroked the full length of him. It grew with ease in my grasp and I reveled in the surges felt under his skin, predicting the release to come. My warm breath tickled his tip as my hand increased speed on his shaft. Playfully, I teased him further, holding my open mouth over the head, causing him to imagine the length of him buried in its soft wetness. In a matter of minutes his cock hung from his pants, spent and sated after I effortlessly made quick work of making him cum. Having very much enjoyed listening to his muffled groans, I was remarkably wet as well. I adjusted my panties upon returning upright and considered how handy Jimmy's hankie would be right now. After a moment, he hastily tucked himself back into his trousers.

"Are we even?" I asked, offering my hand for a shake. He used it to help me off of the bench.

"Uh...yeah, just get out of here, OK?" He was flustered and fumbled a bit at the door before he was able to open it.

I grabbed my clothes from the desk and the bag of shoes. Just to top it all off, I leaned in to steal a kiss as I passed him in the doorway. This time he wasn't caught by surprise and invited my lips by extending forward. My tongue danced with his before I delivered a playful bite on his lip.

"Pleasure doing business with you Rodriguez." He couldn't help but smile. Truth of the matter was; it had been my pleasure.

As I walked to my car, I was completely aware of how uncharacteristically scandalous my behavior was that day. So far, I had risked my professional reputation and my freedom. Under Jimmy's influence, I was turning into someone I didn't know. Though the high it gave me was undeniably electric, I felt I needed to gain my bearings again. I committed to set some boundaries with Jimmy the next day; try having a regular conversation with him and turn my life back from inside out.

I didn't call Sonya to tell her what had happened to me that day. She would have plainly told me to stop having anything to do with Jimmy. Looking out for me, she would have insisted it was the only sensible way to get out of the spiral I was in. She would have been right and I didn't want to face the fact that deep down, I wasn't ready for the rollercoaster ride to end.

***

I purposely emailed Jimmy as soon as I got in the next morning. It was my attempt to be in the driver's seat.

"Yesterday was a bit over the top for me," I wrote. "I'm feeling like things have gotten out of hand. Let's try to keep it in our pants, OK?"

Around 10:00 his reply came. "Nothing has come out of my pants, but I know what you mean. Don't worry Tina, I'll behave myself. What happened to you yesterday? You didn't come back to the meeting."

"Let's see, after you left me in the men's bathroom completely unhinged, I went shopping and stole a pretty new dress." He was the only person I could share my adventure with.

"You did what? You are really crazy, I love it!" I could read the smile on his face.

"Yeah, well I almost got arrested."

"Arrested??!!"

"Forget I mentioned it. Do you have those testimonials I'm supposed to work on?"

"They are attached to this email, but you are going to tell me what happened. You can't leave me hanging with a statement like that."

"Oh yes I can. I'm not going down that road again with you at work." I was certainly going to try.

"Then, how about tonight? Let's get together and you can tell me all about it."

I was still cautious. "I can only imagine the mischief you have in store for me, no thanks."

"If it will make you feel better, bring a friend. I was planning to watch the game with a buddy of mine, but I'd love to see you. We'll go to this little pub I know, Finnegan's, by the beach. Perfectly safe, I promise."

I told him that I'd have to get back to him about it. I wanted to see if Sonya, my chaperone, was available.

Getting to work on those testimonials was my focus that day, as well as catching up on the items that had been waiting for me since the previous afternoon. One message I dreaded returning was Marilyn's. Begrudgingly, I picked up the phone.

"Thanks for understanding, I really felt terrible." I gave her the obligatory explanation.

"Glad your stomach is feeling better. Sometimes a trip to the bathroom just isn't enough." Marilyn is so fucking weird. "Jimmy told me that he sent you the documents you need to get started. I'll send you the campaign outline in a minute. Let me know if you have any questions."

We hung up and next I dialed Sonya. Innocently, I pitched the idea of meeting up with Jimmy and his friend for drinks after work. "Do you think I would miss the chance to meet the guy you were telling me about? Hell yeah, I'll be there. What's his friend like?" She was down for the plan, as usual. My best friend could always be counted on for a good time.

"I don't know. I guess we'll find out." I texted the address to her and got back to work.

The day passed pretty quickly and I finished up several versions of copy for Marilyn to review. When Jimmy got the message that we were on for the night, he suggested that he drive us both over there. "It will give us a chance to get to know each other a little better," he reasoned, and I agreed since he promised to be a perfect gentleman.

Five thirty, as arranged, Jimmy was at my cubicle. "My personal escort, timely and chivalrous," I joked.

"Not exactly how I had pictured meeting you here, but it will do." Despite the suggestive remark, he kissed me politely on the cheek with an innocuous peck. "Are you ready?"

"Sure, let's go." I gathered my purse and we headed to the parking lot.

"Do you like baseball?" he asked, making small talk in the elevator.

"Yeah, actually I do. My dad used to take me to games at least twice a season. Growing up I was a diehard Met fan."

"Mets? Are you from New York?" he opened the door to his mini cooper convertible. Leave it to him to have a car a little left of center.

"The burbs. I went to the University of Miami and just never made it back north again." The air was heavy from the thunderstorm that threatened above.

"What was it like to live so close to the city? I grew up in the sticks of Michigan, not much to do there except drink beer and skip rocks." He seemed genuinely interested. Cruising down the highway, I was already enjoying myself. He laughed at my jail bait tales of sneaking into clubs with my sister's ID and the time we had to spend the night with the homeless in Grand Central Station because we missed the last train. "A bad girl, huh?" he poked.

"No, just innocent fun, really," I returned, the irony of my recent actions not lost.

At the beach, waves were crashing the shore and a strong wind was snapping the flags above the Pub. Jimmy's olive skin glowed in the Amber light that filled the autumn sky as the sun faded. I reached for his hand, in a reflexive way, very much looking forward to enjoying the evening with him.

Finnegan's was not exactly my usual kind of bar. It was crowded with forty year old sports fans, most with loosened neck ties and rolled up sleeves. I was reminded that the race for the pennant hang in the balance between the Marlins and the Braves. Drinks were streaming and it was quite noisy.

"Over here!" A voice called out from the sea of faces. Jimmy waived back and pulled me through the crowd. Following an introduction, I had the opportunity to check out his friend, who was blond with water blue eyes and a great tan.

"Lance runs the tennis program at West Palm Country Club," Jimmy offered, signaling a bar maid for a round.

That explained his healthy physique and I imagined that Sonya would like what she saw as much as I did. "Must be great to work outdoors," I mentioned loosely, noticing that he had a tan line on his finger. When he recognized my stare, he held it up and lent an explanation.

"Ah yes, the old ring line. I'm separated, eight months now, but I only stopped wearing the ring last Wednesday." He sighed a little and circled his empty glass on the table, absently. There was a sadness still lingering in his voice.

"I keep telling him it's time to get back out there." Jimmy clapped him on the back for support.

"You're one to talk," he chided in return, piquing my ears for a glimpse into Jimmy's past.

"Isn't your friend going to join us Tina?" Jimmy asked me instead. "Nothing like a little female laughter to mend a broken heart."

"She's coming from across town, probably get here in a few minutes." I glanced at my watch.

"Tell me what's been going on with you man," Lance said, eager to catch up with the latest man gossip. Guys can be equally as chatty as girls, they just ramble on about different things. When the conversation turned to the price of gas, I looked at my watch again and excused myself to try Sonya on her cell.

"Hey, girl. I was just about to call you," she said sounding exasperated. "Some chick called out sick at the last minute and I have to wait until they find a replacement. I don't know how long I will be." I knew she hated letting me down.

"Don't worry, come when you can" I said, feeling comfortable enough in my surroundings and present company to feel like staying without her.

Whiskey shots were on the table when I returned and with a hearty "Salut!" We all slammed one back, and then another. The guys were impressed with how I was able to keep up with them. University of Miami practically has a course called How to Hold Your Liquor.

When the ball game started we all exuberantly cheered for the home team. Lance seemed like a good guy. Together, he and Jimmy had me cracking up with crude jokes and a few slap stick antics. But, it wasn't long before raucous curse words started to fly at the television screens from guys sitting around us. By the fifth inning the revelry in the bar had died down significantly. Marlins were down by eight and with two more games in the series, both the team and their fans seemed to chalk it up. Another inning with two more runs in for the Braves and Jimmy signaled for the check. We were all deep in the sauce by then, but the night was still young.

Outside the storm had not come yet and the air was as thick as ever. Beyond the pub, twinkling lights from the broad walk reminded us that the carnival was on. Very, bored with the game and feeling buzzed from the beer and shots, the three of us thought it would be fun to check it out. I called Sonya again, only this time she didn't answer. On her voice mail I asked her to call me before she headed over. But, it was getting late and I doubted that she would make it at all.

The carnival was kind of desolate; threat of thunderstorms seemed to keep people away that night. Though, that didn't stop us from playfully challenging each other to the games of skill and luck, dotted across the broad walk. Pushing forty or not, the two of them were like a couple of kids, thanks to the four rounds of drinks. When a water gun fight ensued after I beat both of them three times at fill-the-balloon, even I screamed with girly thrill. In the spirit of the moment, I strategically focused my stream at Jimmy's crotch, making it look as if he had pissed his pants. In response, he sprayed my top and instantly I was displaying my bra through my wet shirt. We all laughed heartily and I caught Lance looking at the black lace impressed against the sheerness of my soaked blouse. I also spied Jimmy looking at Lance, looking at me.

"Who's up for the fun house?" Jimmy said, pointing to the converted double-decker trailer opposite us.

"Those things used to freak me out when I was a kid," I admitted, dabbing some of the water from my neck with a napkin I found in my purse. "Count me out."

"Come on Tina, don't be a chicken," Lance teased, waiving for me to join them. I shrugged and tucked my hair behind my ears, holding my ground.

"How about it Tina, you up for some fun?" Jimmy said, smiling widely. No way could I resist that smile.

"OK, you're on," I relented. Jogging up to the building I had the very real impression that mysteries awaited me inside and my apprehension had turned into anticipation. Lance paid the attendee and we all entered. Strobe lights flashed and a strange sound track was blaring, cheesy and spooky at the same time. As a young girl I didn't understand the illusions created inside; they had been scary to me. Now, I was scared of something else.

Immediately I lost them both among the shadows. "Guys?" I called, with no response. "So that's how they want to play it," I thought and went into stealth mode myself. Flashing back to the days of hide and seek I found it fun to duck behind mirrors and creep around corners, hoping to surprise one of them before they found me. A literal game of cat and mouse was playing out between us.

I spotted Jimmy on the spinning floor and jumped on, intending to startle him. It was silly, but I still called "Boo!" and found myself hanging on to him for balance.

"There you are." He said, making it a point to hold me at arm's length. He was squinting; trying to focus on my face in the strobe lights. Then, his eyes trailed to my chest, still wet from our water fight. What he couldn't see clearly, he proceeded to feel, rubbing his fingers into my open collar.