The Break

At 8:45 he received a phone call from Mr. Jenkins who wanted a complete run down. David answered, “Yes sir,” to each question. They went over the closing procedures as if it was the first time for him to close the store.

“David, I hate to impose on you but this rain makes me want to stay close to the fire tonight,” he paused as if he might reconsider. ‘Yes!’ thought David, holding his breath, ‘Yes!”

“Would you mind taking some paper work to Helen, I think you know where she lives?” Mr. Jenkins said, cautiously.

“Of course not,” David answered with more gusto than he intended, “I mean, I’ll be glad to.”

“Hang up that phone and call me back from my office, I don’t want any of those clerks overhearing what I have to say.” Mr. Jenkins gave him the number to call then hung up.

“Get busy with the sweeping and bring in the stuff from outside,” David said to a small cluster of clerks as he passed them, “we’re out of here in 10,” he added as he ran toward the stairs.

Mr. Jenkins instructed David to pack the vendor invoices and packing receipts from Helen’s in baskets into a canvas bag. Next, he was told where to find the key to a locked cabinet in Mr. Jenkin’s office where he would find cash register receipts from the past few days and some correspondence that he wanted Helen to have.

“One more thing,” Mr. Jenkins said. David consciously did not breathe, thinking, ‘what now?’.

“Give Helen my regards, I don’t know why she needs these items on a Saturday night. That girl works too hard, she should be out someplace relaxing. For that matter, so should you David.”

At 9:05 David was in his car, headed toward the bookkeeper’s house, full of self doubt. ‘What if she sends Caroline to the door?’ he thought. The windshield wipers were straining to keep the glass clear; it was almost impossible to see the road. The trip seemed to take forever.

He pulled into the driveway and made a quick stop, behind Helen’s car. His mind raced. ‘Thank you God, she’s here. Get ahold of yourself,’ he said out loud, gripping the stirring wheel with both hands. He sat there for several minutes watching the rain bounce off the hood of his car, his mind had gone blank. Suddenly the porch light came on and the front door opened wide. There she was, beckoning to him. He grabbed the canvas bag and raced toward the door through the rain.

“Come in out of the storm David,” Helen said, welcoming him into her home. Instead of the short tight skirt and the silk blouse he was accustomed to seeing her in she wore white slacks and a black top, both fitting loosely and comfortably against her body.

Taking his coat, Helen leaned close enough for him to get a strong whiff of her fragrance. He immediately recognized her perfume.

“Let’s see what you brought me,” she said, as she walked into the kitchen, then motioning for him to take a seat at the table. “My office is such a mess,” she explained, removing the contents of the bag and sorting small bundles of documents on the table.

“Mr. Jenkins sends his regards,” David said, thinking, ‘why did I say that?’

She looked up from her work and smiled. “That’s nice,” she said, making larger bundles of paperwork.

David couldn’t resist breaking the silence, “he also said that you work too hard.”

“He’s always saying that, isn’t he a dear?” She was busy putting the documents back into the bag but she looked up to catch his smirk.

“You don’t agree?” she ask.

“He’s okay, I guess. There’s allot of talk, that’s all,” he stopped, thinking he had said too much.

“He speaks highly of you, David. He’s always telling me how much responsibility you have.” she said, reaching out to pat his hand. “Don’t listen to the idle talk.” Her hand had come to rest on his. He could feel her pulse beat. Was she squeezing or was it just his pulse beating? Their eyes met.

They heard the child cry. She smiled and patted his hand again. “Duty calls, I’m baby sitting tonight, want to see my niece?”

He followed her to one of the bedrooms. ‘Where’s Caroline?’ he wondered. She had said that she didn’t go out.

Helen held and pampered the child for several minutes, singing, humming and bouncing her. He silently gestured his admiration for the baby. Secretly, he was admiring Helen’s adept manner with the child as she went to sleep on Helen’s shoulder. She laid the baby down and turned to him. His breathing stopped when she placed one hand on his chest to quietly back him out of the room. She kept her hand there, backing him all the way back to the kitchen.

“Let me drop this work in my office, I’ll be right back,” she said. Then pausing and looking back at him, “unless you have someplace else to be?”

“No,” he assured her, “I don’t have plans or anything.” He breathed deeply, consuming her aroma, mixed with the lingering baby smell. He could almost feel her hand on his chest.

He watched her move around the corner and heard her footsteps as she ran down the hall, coming back flushed as she peeked around the corner, looking happy to see him still there.

“Would you like something to drink, coffee, coke, water?” she laughed, hesitating for a moment before ending her question..

He shook his head, “no thanks.”

“Then let’s go into the living room and relax. Caroline’s not here and I could use some company.”

She took a seat at one end of the sofa and he sat at the other end facing her. A lamp behind her dimly framed her face. He took notice of the neat appearance of the room, ‘had she been expecting him of was it always this way?’

The conversation began with happenings at the hardware store and how their roles intertwined but soon drifted to their personal lives.

“No girlfriend?” she wanted to know. He answered with a shake of his head. She smiled, “I’m surprised, with your looks and personality I’ll bet the girls fight over you.”

Embarrassed, he turned eight shades of red but couldn’t help laughing. “You’re joking,” he accused her. She was enjoying his embarrassment. He couldn’t help watching her laugh. Normally serious and business like, Helen was showing a fun side that was new to him. She poked fun at him and probed him about his life. He opened up and told her about leaving school and what a mistake it had been. He told her about moving out of his parent’s house and how he felt he had wasted a year of his life. Helen listened sympathetically.

“But you like your work, don’t you?” Her lips were pursed, expectantly.

“Sure,” he answered, “some parts of it are better than others.”

“Which are those? The parts that you like best?”

He was reluctant to answer, too embarrassed to say that he lived to hear, ‘David, Helen needs to see you upstairs.’ That was the best part of the job, the one that he liked best. He couldn’t tell her that, ‘how lame,’ he thought.

“What about you? Do you have a steady boy friend? Guys must be falling over one another to be with you?” Where these questions came from he did not know, they were delivered partly in defense, to deflect her question about the job, partly because he wanted to know the answers.

This did the trick. She was taken by surprise and didn’t press him for an answer about why he liked his job. She thought for a few seconds before answering.

She started from the beginning. Their parents had died while she was in college and Caroline was still in high school. She used most of the money that had been left for education, hers and Caroline’s. Since college she had worked very hard to make a life for them. Caroline had left school to get married. When the marriage did not work she had moved in with Helen. Since college, there had not been time for a serious relationship. “End of story,” she said, looking closely at David for a reaction.

He swallowed hard, not knowing what to say. He felt so inadequate. Here was a young woman who had persevered while he had made up excuses to take a break to have some fun. He had even failed at that, the past year had not been fun. And, to complicate

matters, she was smiling at him.

“Why are you smiling? You can’t know what I’m thinking,” he said.

“I think I do,” she answered. “You’ve just heard what you perceive to be a sad story and your feeling sorry for me. That makes you sorry for yourself and you’re beating yourself up for it.”

He looked at her, mouth open. “How did you know?”

“How old are you?” she ask, evading his question.

“Twenty-one,” he said, wondering what she was getting at.

“That’s too young to feel sorry for yourself.” She moved to the middle cushion and took his hand in hers. “Perhaps you haven’t conquered anything yet but you haven’t failed either.”

A warm feeling came over him, he drew her into his arms. They held each other for a full minute, rocking, breathing in unison. “You smell good,” he whispered. She laughed and held him closer.

“I’m twenty-six,” she whispered, “and you smell good too.” He laughed and moved his face to kiss her. Her response was eager but the kiss was brief. Breaking off she looked at David then completed her statement, “it isn’t just the work, there hasn’t been a serious relationship because there hasn’t been anyone I wanted.”

He opened her small hand and held it in front of them, palm to palm. They smiled at one another, feeling each other’s pulse. Her fingers were shorter than his but her pulse was strong, all the way to the tips of her fingers.

Pulling her in to him again, David kissed her softly at first, then with passion.

“When will you be twenty-seven?” he asked as he gently took her bottom lip between his lips and pulled ever so slightly.

“Next February, my birthday was last week,” she said responding back to his advancement.

David considered what she had said for a few seconds. “Mine’s December, that means I’ll be twenty-two before you’re twenty-seven, you’re only four years older.”

Lost in the passion of a deep kiss, neither of them heard anything when the front door opened. Caroline smiled and watched them briefly before tiptoeing to her room.

~*~

“Why don’t you have Mr. Jenkins announce that you need to see me any more?” David ask her one evening. They were in the baby’s room. She turned from the changing table.

“Because,” she said, ruffling his hair, “if you came up to the office I wouldn’t be able to keep my hands off of you. Someone would see me ravaging you and tell everyone else that I was robbing the cradle, it’s better this way.”

“Why don’t you want anyone to know that you’re robbing the cradle? Does it embarrass you?”

They had been dating for two months and with the exception of Caroline knowing, had kept their relationship a secret. They had gone to restaurants, the movies and even a public park. So far, no one they knew had spotted them together.

“The way I hang all over you in public? What do you think? Besides, you’re the one that says there’s only four years difference in our ages.

They hid nothing from one another. They would talk for hours, discussing their childhoods, their friendships and consoling one another when something was not going well. She told him about each of her accounts, describing the principles, explaining their idiosyncrasies and special needs, wanting him to understand why she was busier at certain times and couldn’t devote as much time to him as he would like.

He complained to her about the animals he shared the house with. She suggested that perhaps he would be happier to be living someplace else. He had to agree.

The one subject that had not been discussed was sex. It was frustrating to David that he had been unable to talk to her about it. There was always a distraction, Caroline being there or Helen being busy with work or the baby needing attention. He was angry at himself for not taking advantage of the few opportunities when they had been alone together.

It was Helen who broached the subject. They had spoken of his returning to school. She had been very supportive and encouraged him to find a way. He considered moving back home to save money. The move would also solve another problem, the curiosity of his room mates who had started to ask probing questions as to where he was spending so much time.

“Want to meet my parents?” he ask one night. He was sitting at the kitchen table, watching her prepare a meal. His question was met with total rebuff.

“You WIMP!” She threw a piece of bread that she had just sliced at him.

“Do you think it will be easier if I’m there? No sir, buddy, you have to do this by yourself. Go and confess that you made a mistake. Tell them about me if you must but don’t expect me to sweet-talk them into taking you back.”

She was standing at the kitchen counter, facing him, still holding the bread knife.

She was wearing a loose T-shirt, shorts and sandals.

“Besides,” she said, meekly looking at her feet, “don’t you think you should take me to bed before you take me to meet your parents?”

She looked up as he approached, excitement flickered in her eyes as they sparkled and danced. She pointed the knife at his chest, stopping him momentarily. “Not unless you mean it,” she whispered, allowing him to direct her arm to the counter where the knife could be dropped as he took her into his arms. “Not unless you mean it,” she repeated, yielding to his lips.

“I mean it,” he said, whisking her off her feet. Surprised at his sudden move, she wrapped her arms around his neck and clung to him. A sense of contentment emerged,

spreading between them a warm, safe and empathetic understanding. Nothing else mattered. “I mean it,” he whispered.

They landed in the center of the bed and he took over. Passively, she let him slip the T-shirt over her head and kiss each of her shoulders. “You smell good,” he whispered as he unclasped the hooks that held the bra strap together. She closed her eyes and held his head when he took one nipple between his lips and tugged, gently, pulling it up, releasing it. She giggled. He gave the other nipple the same treatment and she giggle again.

He rose to remove his shirt. She helped, then flung it to the side of the room and pushed him onto his back to give his nipples the same treatment. “You smell good too,” she whispered. She mashed her tits to his chest, making him shudder, not believing his good fortune to be in the bed of this beautiful woman.

She was still on top when he lowered her shorts and fondled the cheeks of her ass. She moaned into his ear and held on as he rolled her over and took the top position. He kissed her on the lips and down her jaw line to her neck. Her hands explored his back and played with the bones in his spine as he took her tits in his mouth. Her breasts were smaller than he had imagined. He caressed them lovingly before moving to her midsection and down to her thighs. She had to close her legs and raise her butt to release the panties.

She watched him swallow as he got the first site of her pussy, amused at the expression on his face as he admired the neatly trimmed bush.

“You smell good,” he whispered as he took an exaggerated whiff before placing a kiss at the center of her love region, making her shiver and giggle at the same time.

He surprised her with tongue action, setting her on fire, making her cum almost from the first lap. She held his head still for a full minute, trying to recover. She mumbled

unintelligible nothings which he took as praise. Finding her clit and rewarded with more babble he unleashed his tongue until her legs went limp; she could no longer hold them open for him.

When he moved up to kiss her she searched for the buttons on his pants. She rolled him over and lowered them down and off. Then she carefully lowered his boxers, exposing his swollen cock. “You smell good,” she said as she kissed the tip and ran her tongue down and underside of its length, making him shiver as if a chill had suddenly entered the room. She crushed her breasts against his chest again. “Let me lay here for a minute to get my strength back,” she said. Feeling her tits pressed to his chest was heaven, David was content to comply.

He felt her lithe body move upon him, she pushed herself up and gazed down at him, her tits dangling, lightly grazing his chest. “Hummmm, what’s that? Mr. Patton, is that you knocking at my door? Hummmm,” she moaned.

Rising, she found his cock and tapped it against her opening, saying “knock, knock.” She sunk down, taking the head, “easy does it,” she said, looking him in the eye

and balancing herself with one hand on his chest, “easy does it,” taking another inch. She smiled down at him, “I can do this,” grunting, easing down another inch, “easy does it,” she said, raising up and lowering herself, again and again.

Bottomed out, she smiled down at him, resting, “was that you knocking at my door?” He lay motionless, enjoying the feeling, overwhelmed at what had just taken place.

Still tightly joined, they couldn’t help but smile at one another..

When Helen started to move again David stopped her. rolling her over he positioned himself over her. “That was me knocking but now I’m going to ring your bell.” Slowly, he took long strokes and watched as she became accustomed to his rhythm. It was passionate love making, showing the regard they had for one another. He watched her facial expressions, taking notice of what she liked. She gripped his length with muscle contractions and was gratified to watch his reaction. They both knew he couldn’t hold out for long. “Let it go,” she said. He plunged forward two more times and did just that.

Drained, he fell upon her. “Ding ding, you rang my bell,” she sang out, laughing.

“Really?” he said, surprised, yet ashamed that he had been so self absorbed that he hadn’t noticed.

“I felt you cum inside me and that set me off,” she said, holding him tightly to her.

Caroline, who had come home to discover a pot of boiling water on the stove and

a slice of French bread precariously balanced at the edge of the kitchen table, had to race to her room when the door at the end of the hall opened. The loving couple didn’t notice her close her door as they went arm in arm to the bathroom, both naked.

Mr. Jenkins didn’t like it, not one bit, why was he the last to know that his bookkeeper and his best worker were sleeping together. Technically, there was nothing written that said a company employee couldn’t have an affair with a member of a contracted service, so therefore it wasn’t against company policy. If it had been one of the other employees he would have found a way to get rid of them but David, no not David.

After giving much thought to the situation, he decided that he was happy for them.

Helen was such a practical, hard working girl. Good for both of them. Good for both of them. He decided to do nothing. Spring was a good time of year to be in love.

Nevertheless, David, ‘how did you do it?,’ he asked himself.

But spring was turning into summer and David had a decision to make, return to school or stay on break. He telephoned his parents and invited himself to Sunday dinner.

“Aren’t you going to take me to meet your parents?” Helen wanted to know.

“I thought you said you weren’t going to sweet-talk them for me?”

“That was before you took me to bed,” she laughed, crawling into his lap and gently biting his ear. “But I still won’t do your sweet talking,” she added seriously.

He dialed the number, “Mom, set another place at the table.”

David’s parents, after a short discussion in another room, agreed to let him move

back into his room. His father grumbled about having to clear out his belongings. He had taken up painting and was using the room for his hobby. But he, like his wife, was enthralled with Helen and didn’t want to cause a fuss in front of her.

The meeting had gone well. Helen liked the fact that, although curious, David’s parents had not interrogated her. Nothing had been mentioned about how serious the young couple was although neither had tried to hide their feelings for one another.