Buddy, My Buddy

"Why?"

"You'll see."

When I handed her back the beer bottle she poured some whiskey into it and filled up the bottle neck.

"Oh, I see."

She smiled at me, she looked down and her long natural eyelashes fluttered like a butterfly.

We drank as the music played.

"Do you know Stacy"s Department store?" she said.

"Oh yeah, when I was a little kid my Mom used to take me to the little coffee shop up on the Mezzanine."

"Yeah, well it's still there."

"Hot chocolate Ice-cream Sundays, they used to have them."

"They still do, in metal plates with paper inserts."

"Well, if you get the job, I'll come by and we can have one on your break."

"Sounds good."

She had slipped out of her shoes and put the empty beer bottle on the low table between the two beds. We were both smelling of beer and whisky.

"Would you like some music?"

"Sure."

"Any preference?"

"No, all's good."

She slipped on an LP . It was a Hank Snow country album, it wasn't exactly my taste, but ok.

"Wow, that's an oldie, where'd you find that?"

"Oh somewhere, I think someone may have left it here."

We listened and drank, drank and listened and then placed the empty beer bottles on the table, mine clinking as it touched her bottle. Following her lead I slipped out of my shoes. She'd already leaned back on the bedspread onto what must have been a pillow underneath. She motioned with both hands for me to join her.

I slipped up next to her and her arms went round my head, pulling my hair as she drew me close for the kiss she was expecting. I had no intention of disappointing her.

Our lips met and we kissed, she held me tightly pressed to her, grasping my lower lip between her lip and teeth as I unbuttoned her blouse and reached my arm around her back, trying to unhook her bra.

I could hear the twang of a guitar and old Hank singing, "Hello love..."

"The front," she whispered and it took me a minute to catch on.

The bra hooked in the front between the two cups. Her breasts now freed separated the twin cups and caressed them. The right breast was slightly larger than the left. I moved my head closer to suck her stubby nipples. I had no expectation that this love making would go beyond petting and I took my time enjoying the chance to touch her and explore, unbuttoning her skirt. I had no intention of stopping unless she told me to.

As she moaned her approval to my lips and tongue glued to her chest, her legs spread wide beneath me as if a reflex and she raised her hips to lower her lace bikinis partway, I reached down and helped pulled them free of one leg and left them stranded, wrapped around her other knee. I'd already freed myself from my jeans and shed my shirt.

Things were moving fast, maybe too fast. It reminded me of a scene I'd witnessed in a movie theater a few years before. Some guy, sitting three seats away put on a minor sexual spectacle. He began by kissing his girl friend, then reaching into her blouse to fondle her breasts. Then inserting his hand up the pant's leg of her shorts, finding her pussy and working it. She was very cooperative, she just sat there and let him do her as I watched. Up to that time I had never seen such behavior. I took it all in as a learning experience.

I too had reached a similar point. Her breasts were mine as were her nipples, I wet them with my tongue and twirled them between my fingers. Her dress flared open and I reached down putting my hand over her vagina, carefully delicately unfolding the 'petals' of her small labia and played with her clitorus, rubbing it in a circular motion and then reversing as she whimpered her approval. And without forethought, following the dictates of an unseen but pre-programed act from the beginning of time, my penis, naturally now fully erect, somehow found itself in her soft hand that guided me to the entrance. So this what it was all about, I thought.

I assumed her nails clawing at my back indicated she was reaching her climax. With my improvised rapid movements of my cock inside her wet warm tight vagina, I was ready to explode. Realizing I had no rubber on, I pulled out at the last second unsure if a bit of my vital juice hadn't stayed behind and pressed my cock against her warm belly. I came all over her in a copious amount, the sperm pooling in the depression of her belly button.

Her arms held me tightly as I came against her and she held me there for a long time. My knee pressed between her thighs. When she released me I rolled over catching the overflow of my cloudy white sperm in my palm so as not to dampen her bed. She arose and excused herself to use the bathroom. I could hear the loud echo of pee as she urinated and then the flush of the toilet followed by running water.

She exited nude with a fluffy yellow towel around her waist that she pressed between her legs and belly.

"You made so much stuff," she smiled

"I know, I'm sorry I got you all wet."

"Oh that's ok, I'm glad you came so strong."

I nodded my head and subconsciously licked my lips.

"Why don't you go and wash up?"

She'd left the bathroom door ajar and the light was on. I held my cock in hand to keep from dripping cum on the floor. In the bathroom, leaned over the white enameled sink, my red cock, was still chubed up but now began to soften. I turned on the warm water spigot that inundated my penis with cold water, slowly it warmed as I swirled a bar of soap to cleanse myself of the cum that was already drying and flaking off my belly. My privates were a tangle of curly pubic hair and soap suds.

There was a hand towel on the rack near the shower. I used it to dry myself and when I finished, although still damp, I laid it on the top of the toilet. I turned off the light and left the bathroom door ajar, I had never closed it. I walked fully nude back into the room with no embarrassment. We knew each other now, having shared those moments of our erotic encounter.

She was dressing, buttoning her blouse and smoothing her hair.

"My roommate will be getting back from work soon so it's best you go. I don't like her to know my business."

"Sure, I understand. Can I come get you this weekend?"

"You have my number, call me. My boyfriend is supposed to come over Saturday night so that's out but check back on Sunday."

That was the first mention of a boyfriend, but what did I expect. She was too attractive not to have a suitor. I dressed quickly putting on my flannel shirt. I stepped into my wrinkled jeans that I'd dropped onto the cold floor in the heat of passion. I pulled the belt to the last hole and eased the buckle to close. A few days ago the jeans had been tight out of the washer but with every passing day they'd stretch and start to slip. If I didn't cinch the belt they'd fall off and I'd look like a clown. I put on my dark socks and slipped my feet into my shoes without unlacing them.

She walked me to the door.

"Oops, you better zip up of they will know what we were doing."

I reached down and zipped up.

Before she opened the door, I kissed her on the cheek.

"Thank you, it was wonderful."

"Yes," she paused, "it was."

She smiled, then kissed me quickly on my cheek,

"You'll sleep well tonight, won't you?"

"I guess."

It turned out she was right.

Sunday morning arrived quickly, my parents were sleeping late and the car was low on gas so I drove over to Oil City for a fill up. Afterwards I parked round back next to Buddy's house and knocked on the door. Buddy opened it just a crack to see who it was.

Then he came out, he was shirtless and wearing a chache pair of pants. His chest was covered with fine wisps of hair and when he turned round to close the door I could see the hairs on his back came together and ran right down his spine back and onto his butt which was partially visible with the low grip of these slacks he'd probably pulled on a moment before.

"Hey you and me are done," he said.

"What are you talking about?"

"You tried to pick up my girl."

"What?"

"Lucinda, that's what."

He'd pronounce her name with a long 'uuuu' and I it took me awhile to understand what he was talking about.

"She asked if I knew a Lou from back in high school. She described you and I said I did."

"I got it out of her, she said you tried to pick her up on the bus."

"I was just talking to her. How was I to know she was your girlfriend?"

"That don't matter none, she is and you ain't. That is, we ain't friends no more."

"Buddy, what else did she say?"

"Just that you wanted to take her out and she said she had a boyfriend and that was about it."

"So if nothing happened, what are you pissed about?

"You mess with what's mine and I'll kill ya."

"Buddy, we are friends."

"No more, we ain't."

"Come on, this ain't right."

"You go on now, get out of here."

I stood there, red faced and in shock, immobile. He leaned forward, putting both hands on my chest and pushed me away.

"Now you get going and don't come on back here boy, unless you are want real trouble. And you stay away from what's mine."

I walked back to my car, I got in and looked at my reflection in the mirror. My face was red and my nose was running a bit, there was the sign of a few years beginning in my eyes. I picked up a kleenex from a box my mom kept in the car and blew my nose and whipped my face off.

I looked out at the low house with it's corrugated tin roof and could see Buddy was nowhere in sight.

I started the car and instead of driving to visit Lucinda's place as I had planned, I Just drove back home.

In the months that followed I found other places to get gas. I never went back to Oil City.

Years passed, I graduated, moved away from home. I'd come back for Christmas some years later to spend time with the folks. The Stacy's Department Store was now demolished and they were building a large open mall in the center of town. I went into a CvS store to buy something, I don't remember what, and when I walked back up front to the cashier, who do you think was standing in front of me? No, it wasn't Buddy, but it was his father, John Connolly.

"Hello Sir. Good Morning."

He turned slowly, you could see he was arthritic from a lifetime of hard work. His hair was now completely grey.

"You, you, ain't you that friend of Buddy's?"

"Yeah, I was his friend, Sir."

"I haven't seen ya in, well it must be years."

"Yeah, it's been a long time. How's Buddy doing?"

"I guess you don't know? He went over to Iraq in that stupid war. Got blown to bits by an IUD. There wasn't much left of him but we buried what we got, out at Pinefield Cemetery. They sent some vets to fire off rifles for whatever good that did."

"That's terrible I'm so sorry. I didn't know. We've been out of touch for some time."

Sure, he shrugged his shoulders, his shirt was tattered a bit and discolored.

As he turned to leave, I went to shake his worn and callused hand.

"Mr. Connolly sir, what ever happen to that girlfriend of his. Was it Lucinda?"

"Well, they got married right quick, she got pregnant so he up and married her. We don't see much of her and Buddy's kid. After he was killed she got married again and moved out to Orlando. Works at that Disney place. Has a few more kids. We get a Christmas card from her with a picture of the brood but that's about all. You ever meet her?"

"I don't think so, but Buddy could talk your ears off about her back then."

"Like I was say'in, they sent a box with pieces of Buddy. I didn't want look but his wife went down to the mortuary and looked, said the only part she recognized was one of his big hands, still had his wed'n ring on but it was too swollen to get it off."

"That's terrible," I said.

We shook again, he left, his left leg had developed a limp I'd never noticed in the old days.

I got back into my rental car, put the plastic bag of stuff on the passenger seat and turned on the radio.

Wouldn't ya know, it was Hank Snow singing, "Hello Love."

"Well look who's comin' through the door

I think we've met somewhere before

Hello love, Hello love

Where in the world have you been so long

I've missed you so since you've been gone

Hello love, Hello love..."

And I wondered how life had gone so wrong, through no fault of our own. We were young men doing what we thought we should be doing and then it all came crashing down. And there was nothing I could do to change any of it.