Choices Pt. 04: The Chance

"Get back up here! Rob, this has been wonderful, but it's been a long time since I've done this and I need a break or I'm going to be so sore we won't be able to do anything later."

He laughed but she shook her head. "I'm serious. I know you know we skipped lunch; your stomach's been growling off and on for a good while."

"Sorry," he said as he cupped her perfect breast and gently sucked her nipple into his mouth.

"Rob! You're not sorry! You're horrible! Mmmm."

"Mmmm," he agreed as he pulled back slightly and then released it, watching her natural rebound. "Wow! Erin, you're perfect. And, no, I hope I'm not horrible. Incorrigible, perhaps." He took her nipple in his mouth again and slid a wetted finger down to the top of her cleft where he started making gentle circles when she opened a little to give him access.

"Mmmm-mmmm. Yes. Incorrigible. Definitely incorrigible. But persuasive. Ohh, yes. Very persuasive." She moaned as she reached down and took him in her hand as she added, "Okay. One more time before dinner."

* * *

After showering together, they dressed for dinner. Rob put on a polo with his suit pants and coat, while Erin put on another sundress. She was about to raid her jewelry case when Rob asked for her to stop. He reached into an inside pocket of his bag and pulled out a rectangular box.

"Erin, I got this for you. I didn't know what you might have or if your tastes have changed over the years so I hope you like it."

"Rob, you shouldn't have," she replied as she started to open it. When she looked inside, her breath caught as her eyes grew large.

The box held a triple strand of color-matched pearls, gradated in size from small at the clasp to large in the middle, surrounding a white-gold rose set with diamonds. A pair of large pearls, matching those in the center of the necklace, were set as earrings, with a jacket of small diamonds, to complete the ensemble.

"Oh, my God, Rob! Thank you! They're absolutely fabulous! What did you do? Rob a bank?" A broad smile covered her face before she kissed him.

Rob was almost panting when she released him again. "I'm glad you like them, dear. And no banks were involved in obtaining them. Well, not involved illegally, anyway. Here, can I help you put on the necklace?"

"No. Go, out! I've got to change clothes. I can't wear these with this. Shoo!"

"I guess I going to need a tie?"

* * *

Earlier in the week, Rob had made reservations for later in the evening, but the restaurant was glad to switch them to an early table when they weren't yet full. Erin was wearing a little black dress and matching three-inch heels with her new pearls and diamonds, and he'd switched to a dress shirt with tie. They were able to get a table in a corner and Rob quickly became thankful for the long tablecloth when Erin ditched one of her shoes and started rubbing his leg with her foot. His eyes widened suddenly as her foot moved all the way up for a moment before sliding back down. He responded by rubbing his leg against hers and giving a suggestive look.

She shook her head with a smile. "Don't even think about it. If you do, I'll scream. Just a little."

"Tease."

She grinned. "Don't worry. I won't be later."

The wine was quite good and the meal was excellent, matching the high ratings the restaurant had received with online ratings sites. When the meal was over and the waitress asked about dessert, Rob looked to Erin.

She glanced at the dessert menu for a moment before saying, "How about two pieces of your cheesecake to go. One of each kind would be good. With extra whipped cream on the side."

The waitress could barely keep from laughing at the way Rob's eyebrow shot up questioningly. When she was gone, Erin whispered, "I've only eaten here once before but I love homemade whipped cream. You know what they say about whipped cream, don't you?"

Rob shook his head.

She smiled as she whispered, "It's very versatile and it tastes pretty good, too. Maybe I'll show you later tonight."

* * *

Rob was in heaven. Erin had modeled her outfit for him in the bedroom before she started to try to squirm out of the dress, but, after learning she'd not been wearing panties in the restaurant, he'd told her to keep it on, pushing her down on the bed and pulling the hem up and moving down to be sure. Minutes later, she cried out his name and told him she needed him inside her.

He smiled as her head arched back with her eyes screwed shut and her necklace moved around with her breasts that swelled out the top of the dress as he went, slowly at first and ultimately as he went faster and harder. He smiled when both breasts spilled out the top as he pounded as hard as he could into her. After they reached their climaxes, he collapsed on top of her, kissing the nipple that seemed to be toying with and tempting him yet again.

"Oh, my God, Rob! That was perfect but I'm completely spent. No more tonight, okay?"

He moved up, kissing and nuzzling her neck. "Sweetheart, I couldn't do anything more if I tried. For me, anyway. I can do lots more for you, if you're up for it. Mmmm."

"No!" she laughed, pushing him back before she got a hickey on her neck. "Let's get ready for bed and recuperate so we can be able to play again tomorrow."

After their trips to the bathroom, they got into the bed together and Erin soon settled into a peaceful sleep. Rob tried but sleep eluded him. Eventually, he eased out of the bed and went into the living room where he turned on a single lamp, sat, and thought. He'd been there for a while when Erin padded in wearing a practically see-through nightgown.

"You are absolutely gorgeous," he told her as she nestled into the chair beside him.

"Thanks, lover. Why weren't you in bed with me? I guess it did give me an excuse to put this on, but I was still surprised." She looked at his expression and asked, "Is something wrong? Are you having doubts?"

"Oh, no," he said. "I had a really rough week, but this trip and our time together has been everything I dreamed it might be and so much more. I guess now I'm more worried about the future than I was when I was focused on worrying about what might or might not happen."

"Rob, not tonight, please? Let's remember tonight as being as perfect as it was, and leave the worries until tomorrow. Okay?"

Wrapping his arms around her, he nodded. "Let's go back to bed and just hold each other."

* * *

They had a late breakfast on Sunday morning. Rob wore a contented smile, but Erin soon picked on the fact that something was still wrong.

"Okay, spill it. You said you were worried last night. What's going on?"

His smile faded to a thin, straight line. "Erin, I told you I was worried, but it's really been that I've been worried all week. I hoped we'd hit it off and be able to rekindle something of what we once had. This has been far beyond my wildest expectations, but now we've got to figure out how to make it work. Those miles between us weren't a big deal when we our relationship was by phone, but I don't think that's going to be good enough any more. Right?"

She was nodding. "Yep, I've developed a deep, personal hatred for each and every one of those 800 miles between us."

"Yeah. Me, too. Then, I've got at least two clients upset with me because I had the audacity to take time off when they needed me, and I even succeeded in ticking off Deana, who I thought was one of my best friends."

Erin drew back. "Deana? Bubbly Deana? From way back when? Oh, Rob, no!"

"What's wrong? Deana's my friend."

Deana was shaking her head. "Oh, I should have known. We have a chance to be together and she's got to get in the way again."

"Erin, what are you talking about? Deana's never gotten in the way between us."

She laughed once, but it wasn't a fun or funny laugh. "She's trouble and always was, Rob. When we broke up long ago, she tried to come to me to urge me to get back together with you to cover up her part in it, but I saw right through her."

"Whoa. Erin, there was never anything romantic between Deana and me, nothing at all. And she didn't have anything to do with us breaking up."

"You're serious? And—wait! You didn't even know? My God, Rob, she always was in love with you, always trying to squeeze between us. I think she knew she didn't really have a chance at the time so she invented a fake boyfriend at some other college so you'd never have to see him. It was so obvious that she might as well have called him George Glass."

Rob was stunned, both at Erin's apparent jealousy and her accusations. He was now shaking his head nonstop.

"Erin, I was with her after she broke up with the guy. She was heartbroken."

There were tears in her eyes as she asked, "Did you take her to bed to help her get over the pain?"

"No! I'm telling you, there was never anything like that between us. I think she kissed me once to thank me and I kissed her on the forehead or cheek or something."

She looked at him. "Really? You know, I think I believe you, but I bet her kiss wasn't as innocent as you remember. She was always trying to get your attention, to come in between us. I stayed in touch with Donnie because of the way you went on with her, and ended up sleeping with him that weekend at least partly because I thought there was something more going on than the brother-sister bumpkin routine you claimed. And now, when we finally have a real chance, she's back to start her shenanigans all over again. Well, it can't happen. You've got to break it off with her; tell her you can't be friends with her any more."

"It's not like that, Erin. We're friends and that's it. It's not like it was with Donnie—"

"Because I fucked him? Yeah, I did, but if she's anything like she was back then, she'd fuck you in a heartbeat, Rob, if I turned my back and you let your guard down, even a little."

"No!"

"Yes! You gave me a choice once, Rob. I was really stupid and threw away what could have been the best thing to ever happen to me." Tears were flowing down her face. "As much as I hate to say this, now it's your turn to choose and I hope you do better than I did. You've got to choose between me and her. You told me that I couldn't have both back then, but you can't either now."

She rose from the table and fled to her bedroom. Rob sat at the table, his stomach churning as fast as his mind was racing. He loved Erin, but her demand went too far. He stood up and went after her, finding her curled in a ball on her bed, still crying.

"Erin, we need to work this out."

She sat up on the bed, drawing her knees up in front of her and wrapping one arm around them defensively while dabbing tears with the a tissue in her other hand.

"There's nothing to work out, Rob. You have a choice: me or her. If you can't choose, then that tells me what I need to know and you need to get out." She turned in the bed so that her back was facing him.

He swallowed hard, several times, but his mouth was dry and the words wouldn't come. He watched her body shake as she continued to cry before he finally forced out, "Erin, I love you. I'm sorry that's not enough. I'll see myself out."

A couple of minutes later, he zipped his hastily packed bag, walked out the front door, and pressed a rideshare app on his phone.

End of Part 4