Blue Ridge Romance Ch. 02: Darlene

From behind the bathroom door I heard her say, "No." My interest (and my cock) shot straight up. "I'll be out in a second as soon as I hang up my dress."

The bathroom door latch clicked, and Darlene stepped out. She was naked, and stood with her arms at her sides. Her small breasts looked like b-cups, but with enormous aureoles and nipples. Her brown pubic hair was fine, not bushy. There were small round scars on her arms. Her thighs had a few round scars as well and there were calluses on her knees. She turned around and I saw three long scars that ran down her back; there were also a couple of ugly jagged scars a few inches long on her ass cheeks.

She turned back towards me and began to explain. "The round ones are cigarette burn marks from when Daddy got mad and wanted to punish me quick. The scars on my back are from when he wanted to punish me slow and used his belt to beat me. Sometimes he used to beat my butt with the buckle end, and it the buckles would dig in. The callouses on my knees are from when I wasn't allowed to walk for three or four days, only crawl on my knees on the hard floor as a punishment." She looked at the floor and covered her eyes with her hands, as if dreading my reaction. "Well, you got your wish, you saw me in the light. What do you think?"

My dick was suddenly soft; I was stunned and speechless for a moment, trying to find the right thing to say and the right way to say it. My rational mind had shut down, so my emotions took over. I leapt to my feet and picked her up in my arms. She was so light it was barely any effort. I began kissing her forehead, her face, her hair, her arms, her hands, her shoulders, any part of her that my mouth could reach while I held her. I carried her over to the bed and gently put her down, then lay next to her. Her hands were still covering her eyes.

Finally, I found my words: "I'll tell you what I think -- I think you're my wonderful, beautiful princess. I think I love and adore you more than I have ever loved anyone in my life. And I think that any man that ever hurts you again is a fucking dead man. I'll kill him myself." She lowered her hands and looked at me, tears in her eyes.

"Do you really think I'm beautiful?" she whispered?

"I'm an accountant. It's illegal for me to lie," I said, and we both laughed. Our lips met, butterfly kisses at first and then deeper, more passionate kisses. I ran my hands up and down her torso and thighs, caressing her simply for the joy of celebrating her wonderful flesh as our lips joined.

As we kissed, I reached up to turn off the light but she took my hand and whispered, "No. I'm not ashamed now." After some extended tender kisses I moved on top of her and entered her slowly; we made gentle love until she climaxed. I didn't but really didn't care, this was all about making Darlene feel loved.

We fell asleep with the light on. When I woke up a couple of hours later and reached to turn it off, I felt her hands on me. "Please, Ray, again," she whispered, which made me instantly hard. Once more I gently entered her, but this time the movement of her hips and the squeezing of her pelvic muscles urged me on, turning our slow lovemaking into a passionate and intense coupling. It didn't take long for her to peak; she shuddered in pleasure just as I was reaching my climax. After the fucking we did Friday night I didn't expect much but when I came, I came like the Johnstown flood. Ever the gentleman, afterwards I got some towels from the bathroom so my love and I didn't have to sleep in the large wet spot. And yes, the housekeepers would be getting another large tip!

We fell asleep spooning, with my now soft and fully-depleted cock pressed against the soft curve of Darlene's ass.

Sunday morning Darlene was up before me. She went into the bathroom to shower and do her morning ablutions. When she returned she sat on the edge of the bed and kissed me awake. "Hey stud," she said in a seductive voice, "exactly how many of you were there in bed with me last night? From the amount of stuff that came out of me just now, it looks like there were three of you."

I laughed and kissed her back. "Just me, my love. It's all your fault, you're so hot you drained me dry." Freshly showered, she smelled wonderful. I realized I probably still smelled like a marathiong fuck session, so I got up to go shower as well. She slapped my ass as I headed towards the bathroom.

"Don't be too long, I get lonely fast." I showered and shaved in record time. While in the shower I remembered the condoms but shrugged and thought 'What's done is done', and decided not to worry about it. I ended up leaving them in the nightstand for the next guy.

We had a nice brunch at the hotel, where Darlene discovered she really loved mimosas, so much so it was a little tricky getting her loaded into the car. We drove back with the top down. The combination of alcohol in her belly and the warmth of the sun was enough to put her to sleep for most of the trip as we drove back to Hanson. The sun was getting low when I kissed her goodnight. I couldn't stay, as I had to get up early to make the trip back to AM&M headquarters. It was the end of the Company's fiscal year, so I had to attend a week of end-of-year financial results and next year's financial planning meetings.

After kissing Darlene good night Sunday night, I was on top of the world while travelling that Monday. That good mood was only slightly affected by the weirdness of being back at headquarters since my banishment. That soon vanished; my boss Jerry called me into his office to let me know what a great job I was doing. He said everybody he spoke to at the Hanson mine upper management had great things to say about me, saying I was a major improvement over my predecessor. They all said they hoped I stayed a long time. Hearing this, my spirits were really flying Monday night I called Darlene at home (she didn't have a cell phone), but she seemed distant, giving me evasive one-word responses like she was distracted, only half-listening. I asked her if she was feeling sick, she said, "Yeah, a little," so I told her I was sorry I wasn't there to take care of her and I would check in with her Tuesday night.

When I called on Tuesday, there was no answer. Same on Wednesday and Thursday, so I thought she might have the flu. Friday I called her boss Mary Anne at Top Hair and Nails, who told me they figured Darlene had quit since she hadn't shown up or called in all week. Finally, Friday at noon I was done with my meetings. I started the 6-hour trip back to Hanson, worried about Darlene and anxious to see her again.

There were flight delays due to fog so I finally got back to my place after 1am. I was exhausted so I got some sleep and woke up at 10am Saturday morning. I called her house again, but no answer. I was so anxious to see her I thought I'd take a chance and just drop in. On the way I stopped by the florist and picked up a dozen roses. I'd already taken the leap in Pittsburgh of stopping by a jeweler to buy her an engagement ring. The ring box was burning a hole in my pocket; I couldn't wait, not one day more. I thought we could go for a hike on our favorite trail, find some scenic spot and I'd ask her to marry me.

I knocked on the door, and after a minute Darlene answered. She was wearing one of the big fluffy robes we'd bought back with us from when we stayed at the Marriott Town Center. She looked like she'd just woken up, her face was blotchy, and her beautiful hair was a mess. Her eyes got wide. "Ray, what are you doing here?"

"I just got back from Pittsburgh, and I missed you so much I thought we'd take a hike this morning," I exclaimed. I stepped in and gave her a hug. I suddenly noticed she smelled like alcohol and weed. That was the moment when my happy life imploded.

"DARLENE, WHO THE FUCK IS IT?" a male voice demanded from the bedroom. Darlene quickly stepped away from my embrace.

"Just...just a friend, Billy," she said, a bit fearfully I thought.

Billy stepped out of the bedroom, wearing the other robe from the Marriott, a joint dangling from his lips. He hadn't bothered to tie the robe shut, so I got a full-frontal view of his pale skinny body and red pubic hair atop his drooping cock. "Friend, huh?" he sneered. "Why the fuck did he bring you roses? Funny kind of friend, you ask me."

He walked right up to me and poked his finger in my chest. I was a little taller than him, but I'd learned that you can never assume short guys are any less dangerous than tall ones. "Listen, asshole, Darlene's my girl, so you'd best get the fuck outta here before I kick your ass. Ain't you seen the tattoo she's got on her wrist? It's says she's MINE!" He poked me in the chest again for emphasis. I took a step back, just to prepare myself in case he took a swing at me. He seemed to take this as a sign I was surrendering.

"Pretty smart, college boy," he sneered. "This bitch is MINE, see?" Saying that, he reached into her robe and squeezed her left breast.

Darlene cried out "Billy, OWWW! Stop it!" I felt the blood pounding in my veins, but I was still in a state of surrealistic shock and wasn't reacting normally. Before I could think to do anything, he snapped at her.

"Darlene, tell this college pussy you don't mind." She stood for a moment, as if unsure what to do. "Go ahead, tell him. And tell him you like my dick better'n his, too." She looked at the floor, hesitating. "Girl, do as I say or I won't give you no sweet dreams tonight." She looked up, desperation now taking the place of shame in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, Ray, Billy can do whatever he wants to me, and...I like his cock more than yours."

I felt like my heart imploded. I dropped the flowers on the floor and turned to go out the door. My hand brushed against my leg, and I felt the hardness of the ring box. Not turning back to look at the two of them, I blindly tossed it over my shoulder. "May as well take this too, it's just a piece of junk to me now," I said as I walked like a zombie back to my Jeep and headed for Jumbo's. I needed a drink or four to get my head around what had just happened.

The following couple of weeks, I was pretty much a zombie. I went to work, then after work I went to Jumbo's to drown my sorrows. Other than saying "hello", Mike and the other regulars left me alone. Occasionally a local woman would walk up and try to be sociable. Sometimes they were young, sometimes they were older. Most were even halfway pretty. It didn't matter, I had no interest. At first I just gave them the stink-eye, but if they persisted I'd tell them to fuck off because I was done with money-grubbing local whores.

It got to the point where Otter, the owner and bartender, asked me to either shut up or stay the hell home because it was rude and bummed everybody out. So, the next time a woman tried to be social with me I went to the old Rock-Ola jukebox and punched up record B-27, Dell Shannon's "Little Town Flirt". ("You're gonna get hur-hur-hur-hur-hurt, fooling around with that little town flirt")

That lasted about three days until Otter got sick of hearing it and replaced it with Katrina and The Waves' "Walking On Sunshine". I took the hint, and just kept to myself after that. The following Saturday night, just when I didn't think things could get any worse, the shit really hit the fan.

I was at Jumbo's, seated at my corner table finishing off my third beer of the evening when the place got unusually quiet. I looked up and there was Bobby Jenkins, Darlene standing behind him. It took me a second to recognize her. She stood behind him, clearly under the influence of something. Her legs seemed wobbly and her eyes were barely able to stay open. The beautiful hairstyle from Waterstone was gone, replaced by a shitty-looking mohawk with her head shaved on either side. Her scalp looked red and raw on the sides where it was shaved.

She was wearing a black t-shirt with a picture of a flaming skull, and jean cut-offs. She was barefoot and her feet were filthy, her knees red and legs covered with sores and scratches. Her fingernail polish and lipstick were both black. She had a small gold ring in a new nasal septum piercing, a small chain running from it to one of the half-dozen small hoop earrings on her left ear. A small sequined clutch purse -- the one I bought her - was hanging by a chain strap off her shoulders. What was most disturbing was her bare arms, now showing fresh track marks.

Bobby shouted at me. "Hey, college fuck," he shouted. He threw a couple of bags; they landed on the floor in front of me. They were the bags from the Ooh La Lucy boutique. "Here's the shit you bought for my girl. You can shove them fancy clothes up your ass. She don't want 'em no more, 'cause she ain't your bitch. I'm fucking her now."

Every eye at Jumbo's was on me and Billy. I glanced to my left and saw Mike Crews sitting at the bar. His eyes were on Bobby, his face was dead serious.

I stood up, took a deep breath, and said in a voice loud enough to hear in the parking lot, "Darlene may have been a little undereducated, but I never ever thought she was stupid. Now I see I was wrong."

Bobby took a step closer, his tone even more belligerent. "What the fuck does that mean, asshole?"

I took a step closer as well. This was going to end badly for one of us, and, angry as I was, I really didn't give a shit who. "She's picking a useless junkie prison bitch with no future over a man who loved her and treated her like a queen."

Bobby spit on the floor and glared at me. "She ain't no fucking queen, dipshit, she's just a stupid mining-town whore. But she's my whore, so you can fuck the hell off." Darlene said nothing, her face blank as if in a stupor. Billy wasn't done, though, he had another surprise for me. "Hey, whore, show fuckface your new tattoo!"

Obediently, Darlene lifted up her t-shirt. On her belly was a red grinning female devil with her tongue hanging out, and between the spread legs were giant labia and the words, 'Horny Devil Bitch'. The labia was positioned so that Darlene's navel was the devil's asshole. "See? Don't that look nicer than those stupid fucking dresses?"

I shook my head. It took all I could not to punch his ugly smirking face. I pointed at him. "Jenkins, you're a useless fuck. I don't know what you did to get Darlene to agree to all this shit, but you've basically rendered her unemployable for the rest of her life. She already got fired at the hair salon, they won't ever want her back because looking like that she'll scare the shit out of the customers."

He laughed. "Hey, man, she don't give a fuck about no goddamned job. Besides, she don't even need one when I can give her all the China White she wants."

I'd had enough. "You shot her up with heroin? You miserable fucking piece of shit, it's time for you to leave. There's the door." I gestured towards the exit, but he just stood there and glared at me, refusing to budge. I walked right up to him and poked my finger in his scrawny chest.

Since he wasn't budging, I threw him another surprise. "By the way, fuckface, you should know that I'm your landlord now. That little house you're shacking up in? It's mine. I bought it as an engagement gift for Darlene. (I heard a gasp from someone in the bar at that remark.) Since that deal's off now, I'm evicting your asses. You have 2 hours to pack up your shit and get out. I'll be bringing the County Sheriff around first thing tomorrow to make sure you leave. You and your whore can go find some bridge to live under, you fucking scumbag."

Several people in the bar whooped and applauded, and this only made him angrier. He stepped in close and poked his finger in my chest. His voice was low and threatening. "You can't make me do NOTHING, college pussy."

My blood was up now. "Fuck I can't, slimeball." I grabbed him by the shoulder, spun him around and pushed him towards the door. He spun back, swinging a wild punch that I easily ducked. I stomped down on his sneaker-clad left foot with the heel of my right work boot and heard a satisfying crunch of bones, then I punched his face. He moved slightly at the last second so my punch glanced off his cheek. Still upright, he pulled a switchblade out of his pocket; with a 'snick' the blade popped out.

"YOU FUCKIN' BITCH!" he shouted, lunging forward. Since his foot was injured and he was stoned, I dodged it easily. Then I heard Mike's voice call out, "Scrapper!" He tossed me the bartender's baseball bat he'd reached over and grabbed when Bobby walked in. I caught it, turned and swung.

Fun fact: I was on my college varsity baseball team, subsequently spending a year in the minor leagues before getting hired by AM&M. I was no Barry Bonds, but I could swing with some power. In this case I crushed a double, right into Bobby Jenkin's chest. I heard his ribs crack as he flew across a table and landed on the floor.

The knife was on the ground beside him; I took the opportunity to stomp the hand closest to it with my boot before I kicked the knife out of his reach. He laid there groaning, cluching himself and coughing up blood but I wasn't done. I lined up to take a final swing at his head when multiple pairs of hands grabbed me from behind, gently taking the bat away from me. I heard Mike Crews say, "You got that fucker good, Scrapper, he's done."

Somebody must have called 911, a siren was screaming in the distance. As the crowd dispersed into the night I sat down at my table alone, dazed and exhausted. Someone put another cold beer in my hand, I didn't look up to see who. After all that effort, it tasted pretty goddam good, truth be told. Darlene sat on a chair a one corner of the barroom staring at nothing, in a state of drug-fueled lethargy.

Suddenly, my rage returned. I jumped up and shouted at her, spittle flying from my lips. "Is this really what you wanted, Darlene? To be with this piece of shit? I WAS PLANNING A FUCKING FUTURE WITH YOU, and THIS is what I get?" She said nothing, looking almost comatose and staring into space, but tears began flowing down her cheeks.

My raging wasn't over, not yet. "Like I told your junkie boyfriend, I bought that house for YOU. Well, you sure as hell aren't getting it now, bitch!" And then I was done. I sat down again, completely drained. At that moment the Sheriff and his deputy came in, followed by two EMTs who began to tend to Bobby. "You're wasting your time, that asshole's not worth it," I shouted at them. They both looked at me, then went back to giving first aid to Bobby.

A few hours later, sober now, I arrived home courtesy of the deputy. No charges were filed, there was a bar full of people who saw Bobby pull the knife on me, it was clearly self-defense. I heard Bobby was in the hospital with a broken foot, multiple broken ribs, a punctured lung, and a broken hand. Once he was released he'd be going back to prison for parole violation, assault with a deadly weapon, and possession of heroin.

Darlene was taken to the county jail, also arrested for possession of heroin. Stupidly, she had been carrying a little baggie of heroin in her purse. The deputy who drove me home told me since Darlene had no prior drug convictions if she pled guilty, she'd most likely get probation and put into a treatment program when her case was heard.

The next day I went into the house on Quarry Ridge Road. I didn't need to go further than the living room to see what I needed to see. It was a fucking junkie pigsty. Filthy clothes were draped over the furniture. Discarded needles were laying here and there on the floor, and there were containers of half-eaten fast food scattered all over. Someone had defecated and urinated in multiple spots, the smell was awful. It appeared some new tenants had taken up residence, in the form of a couple of rats feasting on the discarded food scraps. "Welcome to the neighborhood, boys," I told them. "Enjoy your meal. You're a goddamned improvement over the previous tenants."