Anti-Hero

Author Note: I've spent a bit of time reading 'popular' stories on this site from the last approx. 15 years. Wow, how tastes have changed. Having said that, this story was conceived in the vein of so many of those stories and I hope that isn't lost when you read it. I was going to submit it in two parts since it's so long, but then figured it better this way.

As always thank you for taking the time to read my work and I appreciate all the positive feedback you send my way.

Prologue

Here I am, sitting in the swanky hotel bar of the Ritz Carlton, staring at my drink with Rhonda McKinnon, my neighbour and running partner sitting next to me. Why am I sitting here you ask? Good question and to keep the long story short I'll say my soon to be ex-wife. Yep, that's right, my wife of about five years, Sandra had up and left me for another man, who is a university professor named Simon Tangibar. He's pushing fifty and somewhat of a silver fox, but then again, I don't really have a taste for men so, I could be wrong there. Sandra is twenty-seven, cute as a button, slender and has long dark red hair. Perhaps that should have been the 'red-flag' when I first met her, but she was lovely and attentive until that fateful day. Now for some context, I'm only twenty-eight years old and I guess you could say I've got my life ahead of me, but two months after that fateful day Sandra told me, Ronald James Mason, she was leaving, it still stings.

What makes it worse is that she never really told me why. Just that this guy's wife was dead and she had fallen for him. Well, as you might have guessed, that's not quite true.

I don't think I'm an ugly guy, but I know I'm not some Hollywood hunk either. Sure, I'm tall, six feet three inches, fairly fit and when I say that, I mean I run, but I don't have the six pack and ripped physique of so many of these god-like men you always hear about. I'm just your average guy, with a good paying job and a full head of dark brown hair. I've been told I look cute, well, Rhonda tells me that, but then again, she's one of my best friends and would tell me anything.

Anyway, getting back to why I'm here. You see, by chance I discovered that Simon's wife is alive and well and right now she has just entered the hotel bar. She's quite the looker. Short, maybe a little over five feet tall, shoulder length brown hair, a pixie like face and a body that is well looked after. The dress she is wearing accentuating her amazing physique and shows off some fine legs. Simon must have been a real dead-shit to let her get away.

"Good luck," Rhonda said standing up next to me and kissing my cheek. "I'll see you in the morning?"

"Yep, thanks Ronnie," I said clutching her hand and seeing her give me a smile before exiting the bar.

The awkward smile Simon's wife gave me when she approached was quite charming. The petite brunette was actually quite stunning up close and I had to wonder why Simon felt the need to cheat on her with my wife. I guess I was about to find out.

"Hi," Lucy said with a sweet tone.

Straight away I felt like this woman could be a heart-breaker.

"Hi, Lucy, thanks for coming," I said offering for her to sit at the table I was at. She smiled and sat eloquently as we looked at each other in the quiet corner of the bar.

"That's okay... I figured when you said there was more to do with Simon, I had better come," Lucy said trying to be stoic while her face told me she was struggling.

"I'm sorry. I just... well, I'm at a loss as to why I was told so many lies. You see, my wife left me for your husband," I said putting it straight out there. She flinched slightly but remained composed. "She simply told me Simon lost his wife and she was going to comfort him. Colour me surprised when I discover you're alive and well..."

It took a few moments before she took a deep breath and spoke. I could tell she was on the verge of either crying or flaming up with anger.

"That bastard, shit," Lucy said which I found interesting. I know it sounds stupid, but seeing this petite woman swear was the definition of hypocrisy. She looked like she couldn't hurt a fly and her whole body language said 'good, nice girl' but the words were devilish. She took another breath. "I saw the photos and I will say that I'm upset."

That's an understatement.

"So am I, but that isn't why I called you to meet," I said now taking my own deep breath. "I just wanted to try and figure out why she did it. Sandra made some comment that she owed him or owned or something."

The look when her eyes went wide stopped me speaking immediately. Then she deflated. I was about to ask something when she spoke, her eyes torn with emotion.

"He owns her," Lucy said softly. When she said the words, it sounded like it made more sense. "Son of a bitch."

"What?"

I think my look of surprise shocked her.

"My husband likes to play the dominant role in the bedroom. I've only dabbled with him, you know... it's not really my thing. Sure, there are things I like but, to be his submissive, no. We are equals. It sounds like he found himself someone else," Lucy replied letting out a sigh. "Can I ask, does your wife take the lead in the bedroom?"

It was an odd question but one I felt compelled to answer, if I got more answers myself.

"No, not usually," I said with a shrug. "I mean there were never any complaints from her. Sure, we'd talk, discuss things, but she always seemed satisfied at the end. Why?"

"I'm going to kill that bastard," Lucy said getting angrier before she looked at me and composed herself somewhat. "I'm under the impression your wife is his submissive slave. Simon always had fantasies about having a submissive. Like I said, not me. Not my thing. How long has she known him?"

Sandra and I met when she was still in college. She was twenty, and at a party I was at. We hit it off but nothing serious until she finished college. Then we got married and well, now here we are.

"She went to the same college your husband works at, she studied business admin," I said which made Lucy closer her eyes for a moment and shake her head. That's when I knew. "He teaches some of the subjects, right?"

She nodded.

"Yes."

She was as quiet as a mouse in that moment.

"Now it makes sense as to why she wouldn't get serious with me until the end of college," I said feeling the rage boil inside of me. This was just getting better and better. The strange thing though, half of my revenge plan just went out the window. This had been going on too long and it didn't matter what I did now, it wouldn't work.

"Yeah, so... what do you want to do?" Lucy asked staring into my eyes. There was something there that I couldn't quite make out yet.

"Oh, we've gone the divorce route. Have to wait so many days before we can start that... you know, legal separation first and all that shit," I replied sipping my drink. "What about you?"

"Want to get a room?" Lucy asked firmly. Her eyes never left mine.

I wasn't expecting that.

"Really?"

"I'm thirty-eight years old. I've been replaced by a younger slut, what do you think?" Lucy asked firmly. She never raised her voice but just kept it even and conversation-like.

We stared at each other for ages and I finally broke the silence. I can't tell you why but it was neither uncomfortable or anxious, it was just calm and pleasant. Which was odd given how I was feeling earlier. I definitely wasn't expecting this.

"You want sensual love making or plain old fucking or blow-your-back-out good times?" I replied seeing the corner of her lips curl upwards.

"Yes."

With our eyes still trained on one another, I stood, she stood and I followed her out of the bar and to the front desk of the hotel. We booked a room and headed on up. I discovered she liked to say dirty things and that she was quite lady-like throughout it all, even with that filthy mouth of hers. Lucy was a magnificent lover and she complimented me on my skills throughout. We finally got to sleep at three in the morning after a lot of talking between sessions and we left on good terms the next morning.

Did I get all the answers I was looking for? No. Did we keep in touch after that? Only for a few weeks and then Lucy disappeared. She said she needed time to sort out her life. I was fine with that, because so did I. But the whole mess over the couple of months since Sandra separated from me, left me feeling empty. And with that, I went looking for answers.

Chapter 1

Three years. Yep, that's how long it's been since I saw Lucy Tangibar. My divorce went through, I kept the house and paid little money to my ex-wife given we had only been married a comparatively short time. I'm still running with Rhonda since she lives next door to me and we head out most mornings. I used to spend time with my other best friend, Eamon Sullivan but he is now engaged to a wonderful lady so his time is precious. I got a feeling she didn't like me very much but they never said anything. Probably why I didn't see them too much nowadays.

Now I must make it clear. I'm not some hero, and in fact I'm anything but, given I went through a rather self-destructive period, for about a year, after Lucy. You see, I got into some singles websites, lined up a bunch of dates and then got involved in some things I'd rather forget. I somehow got involved in a gang bang and two orgies. That second orgy had over twenty-five people and after sampling every female at the 'party,' amongst other things, it made me wake up and realise just how stupid I had been. But that is another story completely, so I will spare you the details, and just so you know I feel lucky to have been given a clean bill of health.

I ended up meeting a lovely woman named Gabriella Torres who was a personal assistant for some big-wig. That only lasted a couple of months though. She was lovely and had a very open mind and free spirit when it came to relationships. In the end she confessed she was in love with her boss, Mark Jacobs and I've since heard she is pregnant with his child. That was alright, I mean, I wasn't looking for anything serious anyway, but still, having slept with women of all different shapes, colours and sizes, I still ended up alone.

Let me make this clear to all those people out there that think it's only the hot women who play the field. I can tell you now that is completely untrue, having had several average women that thought their shit didn't stink. The last one was a cute little chubby woman, who informed me after our fifth time together that she was getting married soon and wanted to walk down the aisle with me leaking out of her. She never made it aware she was engaged or seeing someone, she told me from the start she was single. From the simple shock of her admission, I think I shot her off my cock and straight out the door when she admitted that mid coitus. Nope, not doing it, not breaking up someone else's marriage. No way! Not happening! So, what was I to do?

It was Rhonda who suggested I get some friends with benefits and introduced me to a lovely lady, Harriet, who was a lawyer. I should mention that Rhonda told me she had three guys on the go at the time, so I figured why not and had a go. Harriet and I only tried it twice before she said I was too young for her. I mean, she was gorgeous and pushing fifty so I said I understood and it did give me a confidence boost. So, I again, hit the internet, joined up to some singles sites that specialised in that sort of thing and ended up with, after a few tryouts, a lovely woman, around the same age as me, named Angela Peterson. She was a lovely looking lawyer and worked for the same firm that Harriet did. I also found out Harriet put in a good word for me.

Angela was clear up front she was no good at relationships, having been divorced three times and she was only thirty-one! She said that she liked me and having a good-looking guy, who was discreet, was exactly what she wanted and needed. She was also okay with me seeing other people, and I was the same with her, but she said that wasn't necessary as she had done a lot of experimenting already. As long as she could fuck three times a week, she was golden. While that wasn't the strict rule when we first started seeing each other, it morphed into that when we got better acquainted. Perhaps it was the fact I was fucking her harder at times, doing things with her that she always wanted to try that changed her mind. She seemed more eager after coming back from conferences and having hooked up with other lawyers. Like I said though, that doesn't happen really anymore, but I digress.

We started our relationship nearly two years ago and, in that time, I've had couple of other special friends but none of them lasting longer than a few months. Mostly because they then found their knights in shining armour and left. See a pattern here, somewhere along the way I had become a short-term thing, unless you count Angela that is or Rhonda if you consider a non-sexual relationship with a woman in the same vein.

Being anything but marriage material led me to an unusual hook-up and she was a lovely woman from faraway lands. Now you may ask why is it that I'm staring at the back of a lovely Chinese woman as she gets dressed and I'm telling you this? Oh, I forgot to mention, Mei Ling was someone I chatted to online for a long while after my last friend with benefits, Molly, ditched me for 'Mr Right'. Mei Ling was a millionaire business woman from China, desperate for a child and didn't like any of the men in her home country. When we finally agreed to it all, sorted out all the details, she made it happen.

I know what you are thinking, but hell, with my outlook I wasn't having kids anytime soon and I wasn't even sure I wanted them. Mei Ling was clear that she didn't want the father in the child's life and well, I guess I sort of went along with it. How many times can you actually say you could knock someone up without consequences. See, I told you, I'm no hero. It took months, but Mei Ling finally flew over for a week and we made the most of it. Little did I know, this little rich business woman would change my life.

Mei Ling was getting dressed and I moved up next to her, to give her a hug. I know, we weren't supposed to get attached since it was only about making a baby, but we had gotten close over the week.

"I know we agreed to one week only, but," I said but she turned and put her finger to my lips.

"No, don't say it, please," Mei Ling said with a pleading tone. Her English was very good given her international business had a lot to do with English speaking countries.

"Not what you expected?" I asked looking at her as she shook her head.

"We agreed to only make baby, that's all," Mei Ling replied putting her shoes on. "Now I must go. Thank you again Ronny. I will never forget this."

"Me either," I said pulling on some shorts and helping her collect her things before heading to the front door. She didn't even want me to see her off, given this was only a transaction in her eyes. But I knew we had connected on a different level. Hell, I was finding it hard to see her go after the week together. I mean, all we did was sleep together as often as possible and didn't even do anything else but eat when we could. She went around the city while I was at work for a couple of those days. It wasn't like we were besotted with each other or anything, it was just what she wanted. Now it was hard to go, but she had to get back home.

"Good bye, Ronny. I will be eternally grateful," Mei Ling said reaching up to kiss my cheek.

"If it doesn't work out, let me know. The pregnancy thing," I said which made her smile. I think she understood what I meant.

"Maybe you fly to me next time?" Mei Ling said before opening the door. She was still smiling as she walked out and out of my life.

Fuck, what had my life come to? The most meaningful relationship I had was with Rhonda who I was about to go for a run with, in half an hour, and Eamon was still my best mate but I saw him once a month if I was lucky. Angela was lovely and in all the time we had been sleeping together had only stayed overnight twice. That was usually because she was so horny, we would sleep, wake up, go again, fall asleep and then finish off one last time in the morning before she left.

I showered and got changed into my running gear ready to go when Rhonda came in the front door. Yeah, I gave her a key and she gave me one of hers, just in case.

"Ready to go?" Rhonda asked as lovely as she always did.

I should mention, Rhonda was my age and the physical education teacher at a private school locally. She was nearly six feet tall, a slender figure with a large bust she kept strapped down by those ingenious sports bras, has lovely long legs that go up to a lovely butt, and long blonde hair that she always kept in a ponytail. Again, most people are thinking she's a goddess by my description, but no, she's just plain old Rhonda. Not to sound mean, but it's hard to describe someone you care about accurately and give the full picture. I mean we got on well, I think she's gorgeous but she has always told me it wouldn't happen and that she was fine with her existing friends-with-benefits. Not that I ever hit on her, it was just something she said when she told me to find my own fuck buddies.

Also, Rhonda had been in a bad breakup years before and was called a lot of ugly names. Her confidence took a hit, especially when other men didn't want to date her, other than a one-night stand type arrangement. She's better than that, and hopefully she knows it.

"Yep, Mei Ling just left so I need to run off some... stuff," I replied which made Rhonda nod. She understood what I meant.

"That good huh?" Rhonda asked as we walked out of my house and set off on our daily run. We had two different routes, which were either short or long. One would take us half an hour while the other just over an hour. I can't tell you the distance, just know it was a long way. Yep, I know, details man.

I just shook my head and shrugged before answering.

"I don't know. I mean, what am I doing? I'm thirty-one years old, single. Have nothing to show for it. I'm not super happy, and I'm not super sad, but I feel like I'm missing something. You know?" I replied looking at her when she nodded.

I have to point out, sometimes when you're running it's hard to talk and breath at the same time, but thankfully she slowed to a jog so we could converse easier.

"Sounds like you're over your ex... maybe it's time to start dating again? For real, find someone to share your life with," Rhonda said looking at me with those gorgeous blue eyes.

I don't know why but hearing her say it, that I was over my ex, shifted something inside of me.

"I don't know, maybe. Too bad you're not available," I said giving her a smirk which made her shake her head at me.

"Who said I'm not available?"

"Ah, you did," I replied causing us both to laugh.

"You don't want me. Trust me, I'm no good. No, I think you need someone else," Rhonda said with a smile. The last time she smiled like that, I headed into the world of fuck buddies. She set me right that time, perhaps it was the same this time.

"Oh well, that's too bad. I always thought you had a nice ass," I said which made her push me off the track. I looked back at her and could see she was trying to lighten my mood. She was always good at that and I'd like to think I did the same for her. Shit, we spent enough time together to know we got along great.

I moved back beside her and shook my head.

"Hey, my eyes are up here buddy," Rhonda said making me look down at her chest and the up at her smiling face. Shit, busted.

"I know, so?" I said with a chuckle. "Would you look away from the eighth wonder of the world?"

She went to speak but stopped when she had nothing to say. Yep, got her.