Catching Up Ch. 03

Joel looked like someone who'd just found his genie and lamp, but wasn't sure what wish to ask for first. "Are you serious?" he breathed, staring back at her as if afraid he was on the end of a practical joke.

"Yeah, I am," Kristen said calmly, her arms balanced at her sides. "There's no harm us having a couple of drinks, is there? Then we can see where the mood takes us." I know exactly where it's taking me, she thought to herself, but she wasn't sure about him. He took a few deep breaths, gazed down at his desk as if wrestling with his own doubts, and finally looked up at her again.

"Uh... OK," he agreed hesitantly. "You mean, tonight?"

"Uh-hmm."

"Where were you thinking of?"

Her one-track mind hit on the answer straight away. "Well, there is that new club in town," she suggested, giving no hint that she had seen it from its less glamorous angles the other night.

"What, the one everyone round here's been trying to get into?" he queried. "You sure that's a good idea?" She had guessed right -- he was a loudmouth in the office, but away from it he was very security-conscious.

"On Friday and Saturday nights, maybe not," Kristen conceded. "I don't think it's gonna be packed out on a Tuesday. If anyone sees us, I'll think of something. We're comparing notes on our appraisals, that kind of thing." Joel shared her smile, but still looked slightly dumbstruck, as though he'd been run over.

"Fine, sure. Looking forward to it."

"I'll see you there at seven. Not going to bite you, Joel," she reminded him as she stood up, giving him a little poke on the shoulder as she walked away. She could feel him staring at her back as she left, and almost gave a little shimmy of her hips in response.

When five o'clock finally, agonisingly dragged round, Kristen set off right on the dot, walking past Joel's desk and giving him a little wink. She got home as fast as she possibly could and began to get ready, wondering what the night had in store for her. Her suggestion had clearly thrown him, and there was the possibility running through her head that he just wouldn't turn up; but she still had a hunch he would come. It was surely too good an opportunity for him, after all those months he'd spent hitting on her, subtly and not-so-subtly. Now she would give him a taste of his own medicine, and a lot more besides.

She caught a taxi to the club and made her way straight inside, dressed more conservatively this time in a black top and stripy skirt. However, she was still wearing plenty of make-up and her highest pair of heels, and she was sure she caught a few glances of recognition from the doormen as she slipped past them. Enjoy the view, she thought to herself, 'cos that's all you're getting tonight.

The club on a Tuesday night was indeed very different from the meat market at the weekend. The tables were decorated like an upmarket restaurant, the lighting was low but not dim, and there were couples making quiet, bland conversation. Kristen found a corner table and sat down, scanning the room for any sign of Joel. It was nearly ten minutes before she saw him approach cautiously, hurrying over the moment he spotted her wave of welcome.

"I was beginning to think you weren't coming," she said as he sat down.

"Well, I had to be careful," he reasoned, with a little shrug.

"You don't think people at work are staking this place out, do you?" she laughed.

"It's not just them. You're married. I think I should be taking a few precautions."

Kristen had the perfect one-liner prepared about taking precautions of her own, when she realised what he had said: he thought he was being dragged into an affair, ensnared by her adulterous charms. He probably had visions of racy texts at work, a sudden knock on the door when they were in bed, a quick escape through the window. No wonder he had been so panicky, and the thought had never even occurred to her. She gave a sigh, and a little shake of the head. "OK, Joel. Time I gave you a few updates."

He listened as she gave him a quick run-down on the break-up of her marriage, as much as she could be bothered to recount at this moment. He grew visibly relieved when he found out he wasn't going to have an angry husband on his tail, but at the same time, as he took in what she wanted from him, he didn't look deliriously happy either. If anything, he was just as surprised as he had been before. "So... you just wanted to hook up?" he asked at length, when she had finished.

"Is that so surprising? I know you're interested in me. You spent long enough telling me. I was interested too, now and then," she added, which was something of a white lie, "but it was out of the question." She took a little sip of her drink and placed it on the table. "Doesn't have to be now."

"No, you're right," he nodded, looking down at his hands. "It doesn't." He took a deep breath, running a hand through his dark fuzzy hair. The easy chatter he produced at work was gone, and suddenly he looked overwhelmed, his eyes reluctant to meet hers.

"I'll be gentle with you," she promised him, reaching across and giving his fingers a squeeze. "Unless..." She lifted both his hands in hers, staring him straight in the eye. "Unless you want something else." She gave him a soft kiss on the lips, and he was so surprised he sat there passively for a moment before he returned it, a low gasp of excitement coming from his muffled mouth. She reached under his shirt collar and stroked his neck as their lips danced, feeling confident she was going to have a night every bit as memorable as the last one.

They spent a few more minutes making small talk, but Kristen had no patience left for it. "C'mon, let's go," she announced eventually, pushing her glass away from her. "I'm easy enough with only one of these inside me."

"Where, uh, should we go then?" Joel asked nervously as they got up. "My place or yours?"

Kristen thought about it for a moment. "Yours," she declared at last in a challenging tone, her eyebrows raised. She felt perfectly safe with him, and liked the prospect of someone else playing host for a change. She followed Joel out to his car, pleased that she wouldn't have to keep half her mind on the road this time. She thought briefly of getting him warmed up on the journey, just as Ed had done to her, but she decided he needed all his concentration. She would get him relaxed enough once they were inside.

When they arrived at his apartment they took the elevator up in silence, Kristen staring coyly across at Joel in the confined space. He gave her an awkward look back, managing to raise a smile. At the front door he hesitated with the key in the lock for a second, then he opened it and stepped through. Kristen followed him, letting him flip on the light switch. She closed the door carefully behind her, stepped forward and wrapped her arms firmly around his waist, kissing him as hard and passionately as she could. He ran his fingers through the tresses of her hair, angling her face up to his, as though she were a delicate ornament he was trying not to break.

Kristen reached for the top button of his shirt and undid it, rapidly working her way down to the bottom. She ran her hands across his chest, feeling it quaking under her touch, and did her best to soothe him. His arms edged down her sides, touching but not quite touching her, and she sank further into his embrace, pressing tighter against him. She unbuckled his pants and pushed her hand inside, feeling a rush of excitement at the sudden warmth of his stiffening dick in her fingers. She rubbed him into greater hardness, so that he was struggling to break free from his clothes.

They broke off and looked at each other, Kristen running her finger along Joel's chin. "Why don't you show me the way?" she whispered to him, and eventually he realised that she was asking for directions. He took her hand and stepped down the hall to the bedroom, moving on autopilot as if he wasn't really aware of his surroundings. Once they were inside Kristen took hold of him again, pulling his shirt down and throwing it to the floor. She moved them both over to the side of the bed, her feet guiding him and her lips holding him.

"Lie down," she instructed him. "I'll be right with you." He sat carefully on the edge of the bed, then pushed himself up to the pillow, kicking off his shoes.

He watched Kristen as she too removed her shoes, quickly followed by her outer layers. She undid her shirt and let it fall gracefully off her shoulders, pushing her breasts out towards him provocatively. As she walked down the side of the bed she reached for the zip on her skirt and began to slip it down. When she was level with his chest she stopped, allowing him to reach out and brush the edge of her thigh. She took hold of the skirt with both hands and leaned over him, her breasts virtually in his face as she slid the garment down her legs. She stepped out of it and stood there clad only in her underwear, running her fingers up his torso.

"Just relax," she smiled. She climbed onto the bed and swung herself gracefully over his hips, tugging at his jeans. She pulled them down just enough to release his cock, and stroked the hard purple shaft in her hands, feeling the veins and bumps in her fingers. She watched him close his eyes and lean back against the headboard, his face screwed up with tension. With a grin she bent down and gave the head of his dick a single kiss, then sank onto all fours and climbed up his chest. "I knew you had something good to show me," she murmured as she kissed him hard on the lips, her body grinding on top of him.

It took a few seconds for her to observe that he was lying there stiffly, his fingers half-heartedly trying to reach up and touch her but never succeeding. She broke off and smoothed a strand of hair back from his forehead. "You OK?" she asked softly, staring at him. His face was contorted in a sad sort of grimace.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he muttered almost inaudibly. "It's just... I'm not sure I'm ready for this."

"Sure you are," she reassured him, kissing him round his neck and chest. "I'm not doing anything wrong, am I?"

"No, no of course not... God, you're gorgeous. I just don't think I can do it this quickly, that's all."

Kristen backed away, pushing herself up onto her knees. "What, seriously?" Her voice was suddenly back to normal as her air of seduction faded.

"Yeah," he nodded reluctantly, covering his face with his hand. "This feels too weird to me."

"But I thought..." She waved her arms around limply. "All those times you were hitting on me, you seemed pretty serious. I thought you meant it."

"I did, I did," he said imploringly, his voice cracking. "But it feels different now, now we're actually doing it. I mean, I talk to you every day... it doesn't feel right."

She gave a sigh of exasperation, and the instant it left her mouth she regretted it. Joel turned away onto his side, gazing at the wall. "Look, that's it, OK? Sorry." He obviously felt utterly humiliated.

Kristen looked at him, realising with a feeling of sinking dread that she had got it totally wrong. She had thought he'd be up for a good time just like the last guy and the next, but this wasn't some total stranger she had gone after. This was someone she'd spent forty hours a week with for the past three years. His feelings for her had got in the way, and they were more complex than she had credited him with.

She knelt there for a moment, then she murmured, "No, I'm sorry." She reached out and stroked his arm comfortingly, then got off him and moved to the edge of the bed, reaching for her strewn clothes. There was a painful silence in the room as she got dressed again, trying to resume a businesslike demeanour. "Don't worry about it, OK?" she said as she pulled her skirt on and stood up. "It's my fault, I think I got carried away."

"Do you, um... do you want me to drop you back home?" he asked, sitting up on the edge of the bed, but still hunched over protectively, head in hands.

"No, no, I'll get a cab. It's fine." Kristen moved halfway towards the door, then stopped and turned back towards him. "Look, I'll see you tomorrow, and we can just start again. Forget about it."

"Yeah, yeah. See you tomorrow." He sounded about as convinced as she felt. She left him sitting there in a daze, staring grimly at the floor. She walked straight out of the apartment as fast as she could and into the elevator. Inside, she sank her head against the wall in anger and despair, wondering how she could have been so blind, how she could have carried on merrily trying to seduce Joel when he hadn't looked willing for a single moment, not at work, or at the club, or in the car. Two random acts of craziness on her part, and she had begun to think she was irresistible to every man she met. Tonight she'd learned the hard way that she was not.

As she returned home she kept thinking of him lying there under her, every part of him rejecting her advances. At that moment she wished so badly that she could feel like less of a rapist, but still the feeling remained.