Bakersfield and Country Music

"Oh," we moaned almost in unison as I entered her. Maria wasted no time and began riding me.

"Mmmm," she moaned. "It's been too long."

"Yes, me too," I agreed. She placed her hands on my chest and I looked into her dark brown eyes before she kissed me furiously. I hardly knew her, but I was sharing this most intimate moment with her. I reached for her hips and held them as she rode me. As her tempo increased, a big smile appeared across her face.

"What," I asked.

"Nothing," she replied. "I'm just enjoying this." She raised herself back upright and she reached for my wrists, directing my hands to her breasts. My hands barely covered them, but I rubbed and kneaded her soft flesh. Her nipples were stiff and grazed the palms of my hands. I stopped rubbing her breasts to take her nipples between my thumbs and index fingers. As I rubbed them, she leaned her head back and let out a low, long moan.

"That's it, John," she said. "Maybe a little harder."

I increased pressure and she moaned even louder. "Oh, yes," she panted. "Don't stop that!"

I didn't dare and rubbed them a little harder. To my surprise she squealed loudly, and I felt her sex gush against me. Her mouth hung open in shock.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said. I felt her trying to get away.

"No, Maria," I said. "It's okay baby. Keep going."

"I'm so embarrassed," she said.

"Don't be," I said. It was a totally new experience to me, but I wanted to reassure her that I wasn't bothered by it.

"Are you sure," she asked.

"Yes," I said. For emphasis, I thrust my cock upwards into her wetness. She nodded and slowly moved her hips against me. I ran my hands all over her torso and gradually I felt her begin to relax. As she continued to ride me, my hands once again returned to her breasts. I sought her nipples and rubbed gently at first, gradually adding pressure. Her hips slammed against mine and again without warning she squealed, and I felt her wetness run down my cock and down across my balls.

"I don't know what you're doing to me," she panted as she tried to regain her composure.

"Hopefully making you feel good," I said.

"I think you're doing that," she managed to smile.

"Good," I smiled.

"Oh, it just feels so good, John," she moaned.

"Yeah, it does, baby," I said.

"Baby, huh," she smiled.

"Yes," I said.

"I like it," she smiled.

"Me too," I agreed.

"I think it's your turn," she smiled. She began moving her hips faster.

"Let's race," I suggested as my fingers closed on her nipples.

"Go for it," she purred.

My fingers kneaded her hard nipples and I watched her eyes roll back in her head.

"Nnngghhh," she groaned. "You're making it hard!"

"You just keep going, baby," I said. "I'm going to be fine, I promise."

"Madre de dios," she gasped as she came once more. I could only smile as I'd never experienced a woman capable of such orgasmic ability. When she recovered, she looked at me evilly and placed her hands on my chest. Her hips went into turbo mode and I suddenly became a passenger on the ride.

"Oh, Maria," I moaned.

"Mmmm, that's it. Say my name, baby," she moaned. "I want you to give it to me, John."

"I'm going to, Maria. Oh, am I going to give it to you," I assured her.

"Yeeessss," she purred. Her hips pounded against me. I was losing control fast. She leaned down to give me a quick, passionate kiss before she raised up again. Her hips seemed to move even faster, hastening my release.

"Maria, oh, Maria," I panted. "I'm going to cum, baby!"

"Yes, give it to me. I want all of it," she said.

My last conscious act before I came was to twist her hard nipples one last time. I felt a tiny trickle come from her and she collapsed on top of me. I wrapped my arms around her as I emptied my lust in her. I held tightly her as we both caught our breath. Finally, she raised up on her hands and looked at me. A big smile adorned her beautiful face.

"Was that okay," I asked.

"Was that okay," she shook her head at me before she leaned down and kissed me fiercely. "That was more than okay, and you know it."

"Just checking," I smiled. She rolled over and laid next to me. She adjusted herself so that her arm and leg drapped across me. I held her close with one arm while my other rubbed her calf and knee.

"Wow," she said. "That was something."

"Yes, it was," I agreed. "That was a new experience for me."

"Me too," she said. "I've never done that with someone else. It's never felt like that before. I tried to fight it."

"Why," I asked. "That's a special gift."

"It's just a little bit embarrassing," she laughed. "But, when I couldn't stop it the first time and you seemed willing to keep making it happen, I went with it. It's not like we'll cross paths again."

"No," I asked.

"Not likely," she smiled.

"You never know," I said.

"Yeah, I think I know," she said softly. She laid her head against my chest and I reached for it, stroking her thick, dark hair.

"I don't leave until Sunday," I offered.

"I know," she said softly. I nodded, knowing what she said was true. There hadn't been anyone of consequence in my life since my divorce. From what she'd said, I was sure it was the same for Maria. We'd at best have a wild weekend that would soon be lost as we parted and went our separate ways. We were just passing by each other in life. It had been amazing, but it was destined to be short-lived. I lightly stroked her back and I heard her breathing grow deeper as she fell asleep. I held her close to me before I finally faded out myself.

---

I woke up early the next morning to find her gone. I immediately got out of bed to see if she'd left me her phone number anywhere, but after several minutes of desperate searching, I realized she hadn't. I moped around the hotel room for a while thinking about her before I brewed some coffee. I knew I needed to reach out to Bob with Higgins Construction to see if I could repair the disaster there, but all I could think about was Maria. She hadn't even left me her number, so I wondered if I was even going to be able to spend any more of the weekend with her. She was doing what she thought needed to do to protect herself, I reminded myself. It made sense but the previous night had been special to me. I finally picked up my phone and called Bob.

After an additional 20 minutes of apologies and assuring him that Dylan the Dumbass would no longer be managing his account, he agreed to meet me for breakfast. I walked out to my rental and glanced across the road at the Palomino Club. Maybe Maria would be singing again that night I thought hopefully. I drove to the diner I'd met Bob and his dad at dozens of times over the years. I was 15 minutes early, but he was already there.

I kept my pitch simple and admitted that we'd really dropped the ball and let him down. We were going to do better in the future, even if I needed to move to Bakersfield and take care of him personally. He laughed and smiled but explained that he hoped that wouldn't be necessary but that we needed someone that took his account seriously. I explained that we certainly did, and we wouldn't have any further issues. He finally softened and said they were looking to re-open a gravel quarry and would be needing two large mining shovels and several large loaders. I nodded and pulled out my laptop from my briefcase...

---

Thankfully, I spent most of the day with Bob and I didn't have too many moments to dwell on Maria. After I showed him the specs on the new loader and mining shovel, we were going to unveil at the Conexpo show in 2020, he was enthusiastic. He'd drove me to the quarry to show me around. He reminded me he already had quotes from Komatsu, but I confidently told him we'd be delivering the equipment, not Komatsu. We made it back to Bakersfield and I bought him a steak dinner, before I told him I'd have a quote in his inbox Monday morning. We shook hands after he dropped me off at the diner to get my rental. I felt like I'd at least done what I could to repair that account. When I pulled back into the hotel, I saw that people were already beginning to file into the Palomino Club. It was barely 7 PM, but it was Saturday night, I reminded myself.

I parked and walked up to my room to shower. After I was finished, I started on Bob's quote, but I began thinking about Maria. Was she going to be singing there again? Maybe she'd had to work that day and knew she'd be busy and intentionally didn't leave her number. It got to be about 8:30 and I could no longer focus on work. I found myself dressing and walking out of the hotel room, headed to the Palomino Club.

When I entered, the bluegrass band was playing their hearts out again. I figured they might be finishing their set. I saw the table I sat at the previous night was occupied, but there was another one close to the stage that was open. I moved towards it and sat down just before a couple guys arrived to claim it for themselves. They looked upset, but when I stood up, they casually moved on to a table one row back. I wanted to make sure Maria saw me in the dim light, not them.

The bluegrass band finished, and they made their way from the stage. I looked around and I noticed that the guitar player from Maria's band came out carrying his equipment. Great, I thought to myself. She was going to be there that night. I waited as patiently as I could and when the waitress walked by, I ordered a beer. Finally, the remaining band came started filing out on stage. They started strumming an old Don Gibson song and I immediately recognized it was "Sea of Heartbreak." I waited and finally Maria slipped out from the curtain and strode confidently to the microphone. She wore a red dress and heels that night and she seemed even more radiant than she had the night before. She took the mic from the stand. She was facing slightly away from me, it seemed she was looking at where I'd been sitting the previous night. She began to sing.

"The lights, in the harbor, don't, shine for me."

"I'm, like a lost ship, adrift on the sea, the sea of heartbreak," she sang.

She turned slightly and our eyes met. She stumbled ever so slightly, but quickly recovered. "Lost love and loneliness, memories of your caress."

"So divine, how I wish, you were mine again, my dear. I'm on this sea of tears, the sea of heartbreak."

She smiled slightly and I knew that the smile was for me and me alone. She continued through the rest of the song and as she had the previous night, her eyes rarely left me. Her volume increased and the crowd cheered for her as she put her heart in the song. When it ended, I stood and clapped for her. She took a small bow, before the band began playing an old gunfighter ballad. When she started singing, I recognized it was the Marty Robbins song, "Big Iron." She attacked it with equal enthusiasm and the crowd loved it. Three songs later, I heard some wolf whistles and I turned slightly to see that were coming from the two guys that I'd beat to the table I was sitting at. They were yelling something that I couldn't make out. When the last song ended, I heard it clearly.

"Show us your tits, bitch," one of them said.

"You can't fucking sing anyway," the other added. I bristled slightly. I turned back to look at Maria. She didn't seem to pay any attention at first, that was until the nearest one to me called her a "Mexican whore." She glared at them and I swiftly stood from my chair. I walked briskly to their table and grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him from his chair. He grinned drunkenly until I gave him a couple quick jabs to the face. He went limp and I dropped him before I moved around the table to the other one.

"Hey man, it was him, not me," the second one insisted. He looked around and saw that the bouncers were coming towards us. I grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him abruptly to his feet.

"I heard both of you and they're not going to get here fast enough," I replied.

"No man, seriously. I'm sorry. He just gets drunk and gets stupid," the guy stammered.

Maria arrived by my side just as the bouncers did.

"Mike. This is my boyfriend, John. He's okay. These two were yelling things at me. John just intervened," she said quickly, diffusing what was suddenly a very tense situation. I sized up Mike and his two gorilla-like companions and was very thankful Maria arrived when she did.

"Too bad for them," Mike said. He grabbed the second one by the ear and began dragging him to the door. The other two grabbed the guy on the floor by the arms and dragged him as well. He was stunned, but I realized he was probably more drunk than anything. I turned back to Maria and she smiled briefly before she turned back to the stage. She walked back to the mic as I returned to my table. I found my empty beer had been replaced by three. I glanced around and saw the waitress from the night before give a thumbs up before she moved off into the crowd.

"Sorry, about that. We had a couple of people that weren't interested in having a proper Palomino Club good time. Thankfully, there are still a few gentlemen in the world," she smiled at me. She said something to the guitar player. "We plan on getting everyone back to some good country and western classics."

The band started playing what I knew could only be "Help Me Make It Through the Night." I smiled to myself and listened as Maria put her soul into the song. Each verse could not have had anymore passion in it. All too soon, the song ended.

"We're gonna take a little break. The Palomino Troubadours are up next. We'll see you all soon," she announced. The waitress filtered back by and deposited a glass of ice water on the table. I stopped her and handed her a couple folded twenty's.

"Thank you," I smiled.

"No problem," she said as she turned to the next table. I turned to see Maria walking towards me. She seemed to move slowly and sensuously. I watched each step she took closely. She smiled when she reached the table and pulled back her chair. Once she sat, she finally spoke.

"You weren't supposed to be here tonight," she said.

"And why not," I asked.

"You just weren't. I thought we could just have last night, and it would be done. Two nights would be too much," she replied.

"Why though," I asked her.

"Because last night was amazing and if we shared another night like that it would just make it that much harder when you got on your plane and went home tomorrow," she said. "And then you had to pull your bullshit earlier of saving me."

"I don't see it as bullshit. I wasn't going to listen to them. You were up there singing your ass off," I replied.

"Yeah, and I'm the one whose panties are sticky now that you reacted that way for me," she said as she reached for her water glass.

"Why did you leave this morning without waking me," I asked. "You didn't leave me anyway to reach you."

"I had to work," she said.

"And as for the rest of my question," I asked.

"John, people, good people, just don't come in my life like you did. That was the best way to leave it," she said.

"So, we're done because we connected last night," I asked.

She turned away from me and I saw her clench her jaw and purse her lips.

"Maria, I can't promise you a fairy tale ending, but last night was special to me. I've thought about you all day," I said.

"John, what do see you in me? I'm a nurse that likes to spend her spare time singing in dive bars," she offered.

"Baby, I see a wonderful woman that I want to get to know better," I replied.

"Beyond tonight," she asked.

"Of course, beyond tonight," I said.

"Right. It would have been easier for me if you hadn't come here tonight," she repeated.

"Maybe so," I said in frustration.

"Yeah," she said softly. "I've gotta go." She stood from her chair and turned to walk away.

"Maria," I called. "I'm serious though. I want you to know that. Last night meant a lot to me. I'm sorry if it didn't to you."

She turned swiftly back around. She marched right back up to the table. I saw the intensity in her dark eyes. I stood to meet her.

"Don't ever doubt what last night meant to me," she said. "I'm just not prepared to be shit on again."

"I'm not going to," I said.

"Sure, you won't," she said. She turned on her heels and walked back to the door to backstage. She slipped through the curtain and she was gone. I clenched my hands and slowly sat back down in my chair. I took a long pull from my beer and I wondered if I shouldn't just walk back to my hotel for the night. I knew how she probably felt. She thought I'd came back with hopes of a repeat of the night before and little else. That certainly wasn't my intention, but I understood it being on her mind.

I sat there sipping beer as the Troubadours played their set. It was a mish-mash of old country and western standards and what I assumed was their own work. It wasn't bad, but their matching outfits seemed a little too nostalgic. I debated leaving but they announced that Maria would be back shortly. I was determined to at least hear her sing one last time before I left. The waitress filtered by and dropped another beer on the table. I reached for my wallet, but she stopped me.

"Your money is no good tonight. That comes from the boss," she said.

"Tell the boss I said thanks," I replied.

"I'll tell her," she smiled.

A few minutes later, Maria's band filtered back out on the stage. They started strumming an old Hank Williams song I knew well. I looked down at the table and waited. The audience applauded when she walked on stage to the microphone. She didn't look in my direction, she just stared slightly upwards. She began...

"Hear that lonesome whippoorwill,

He sounds too blue to fly,

The midnight train is whining low,

I'm so lonesome I could cry..."

Each line dug further into me. I watched her intently, wishing I could run up on stage and take her in my arms and tell her that I was serious about everything I said. I couldn't do that though. It could wait until she was finished for the night, I told myself. She finished "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" and the band launched into another old song of lost love. I drank my beer slowly as I'd already drank more than I typically did. They played about 5 more songs before Maria thanked the crowd and announced the next band. I sat there waiting for her to come out. Time passed and I tried not to continually check my phone. 5 minutes, ten minutes, then 20, but she didn't come out.

The waitress stopped by and handed me a folded napkin before moving on to another table. I held it in my hand, afraid to open it, knowing what it was. Finally, I could wait any longer.

'John,

I'm sorry. I wish things were different. You seem very sincere, but I can't get hurt again. I'll remember last night forever. I wish you all the best.

-Maria"

I read it several times thinking that I'd missed something, but I hadn't. There it was. Something that hadn't really started was over. I drank the last swallow of my beer and waited for the waitress to come back by. I slipped her a few more twenties and made my way to the door.

Dejected, I walked back across the highway to my hotel. I thought about going to the bar and drinking myself senseless, but I realized I still had a third of a bottle of Glenmorangie in my room. Might as well drink what I already had I reminded myself. I walked upstairs and entered my room. I poured a generous portion of scotch and slid the door to the patio open. I sat in one of the chairs and stared across the highway at the Palomino Club.

I sipped my scotch and regretted the whole damn situation. There was that little part of me that wished I hadn't walked across the street the night before, but I knew that was just emotion. I'd met an amazing woman there, but circumstances wouldn't allow for me to keep her in my life.