Computer Geek Ch. 13

She was a coward, Kate admitted. Her husband had suddenly turned her world upside down and decided that he loved her. And the moon was made of cheese, she though ironically. He couldn't be sure, could he? It was probably just another of his bright ideas and a way to ensure that he had a constant fuck partner. The man had the stamina of a bull. She wondered if he was taking drugs or something.

She had never met a man that could have sex as often as Scott. And still he seemed to sport a hard-on whenever she saw him. It was like in a movie and she was completely exhausted after living in an emotional and physical rollercoaster for the past three months. She loved him, but the strain in hiding that fact for him, and try not to touch him the way she wanted was taking its toll.

She needed a break or maybe some distance to the man that occupied her every waken thought. He even invaded her dreams with visions of a strong and inventive lover pleasuring all parts of her body.

Maybe she should put more distance between them, in order to clear her mind and decide what she wanted to do. She could barely think when Scott was around. Suddenly a thought occurred to her. Her apartment. It was still there. That was the solution.

She could retreat to her own small apartment for a couple of days and see if her thoughts became any clearer. Right now it was all a fog. How could she ask a man for a divorce and make wild love to him five minutes later? She must be deranged, Kate decided. Talk about sending out mixed signals to the man. Why couldn't she just stick to her own decisions when he was around? But she knew the answer to that: She wanted him so badly that she would do almost anything to stay with him. Too bad he didn't feel the same.

That same evening, Scott practically fell into the hallway after a long day at work. He'd had to work overtime in order to finish up a project. Kate had left the office hours earlier and now he hoped she had left him some dinner. He longed to spend the rest of the evening with his head in her lap or hers in his, before fucking her bent over the sofa. Yes, the sofa would be perfect. And if he fell asleep right after her climax, they could spend the night there as well. He looked forward to make the fantasy a reality.

"Kate, where are you?" He called out. No response was heard. The house seemed strangely quiet, Scott thought.

"That was strange," he murmured. "Kate?" He called a little louder. Still no response. That was the problem with large houses. It was practically impossible to locate the residents.

He walked into the kitchen and found it empty. No food was left on the stove so he checked the refrigerator. Nothing there either. He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and took a large bite as he walked further into the living room and study. Still no sign of Kate.

"Kate?" He called again. Still no answer.

A feeling of dread came over him and his back felt cold. He ran up the stairs to their bedroom. It was dark and empty. He turned on the lights and opened the closet. All of her clothes were gone, as well as her suitcases.

No, he thought. No, this couldn't be happening. He sank down onto the bed and tried to think. She couldn't have left him, could she? She had started packing her bags the same morning, but he really thought they had settled that argument when they made love on the desk.

At work she had seemed her usual self, although he hadn't seen much of her, but since they worked on different teams that were not unusual.

He picked up his mobile and tried to call her. No answer. She had switched off the damn thing. Where the hell was she? And had she actually left him? Just like that, after all they had shared in the last few months?

It was not possible. They had really connected that same morning. They had made love on the desk. How could she leave him after that?

Then a chilling thought occurred to him. He had made love, while she hadn't. She had fucked. She had never returned his declarations of love, and he'd thought she was too shy and needed time before she would say it out loud. But, what if that wasn't the case? Perhaps he had managed to turn on her body, but nothing else.

He felt his shoulders sink at the depressing thought. How had he managed to fall in love with a woman while she didn't return his feelings? A desperate laughter erupted from his throat as he took in the irony of it all. He had always been the one to stay aloof, to not be touched by a woman's heart. And now finally it was his turn. Talk about revenge.

Some female goddess up there must really have a grudge against him for landing him in this predicament. Being in love with his own wife and not be able to keep her. Someone must be laughing their head off right now, he concluded.

She had tricked him and he hadn't even seen it coming. Judging by the empty closet, she must have returned home early and packed everything.

He let himself fall back onto the bed. At the same time he heard the sound of a paper getting wrinkled.

He sat up and stared down on a letter someone had left on the bed. He hadn't noticed it before. It was written by Kate.

Scott.

Sorry for not telling you in person, but I need to spend some time alone to think. Please don't look for me. I'll be in touch soon.

Kate

"Soon".

How soon would that be? Where could she have gone? And why had she taken all her clothing with her? It didn't make any sense. The letter was too short to reveal anything useful as to her whereabouts.

Besides, it sounded too nice. What she really meant to say was: 'Scott. You're a major asshole and I'm leaving you'. Not leaving him with a hope that she would return after a couple of days. Considering the fact that she had taken all her clothes with her, certainly made his version seem the most plausible.

Damn her. She couldn't just leave him like that. Not when they were so good together. He wanted to grab a drink or two. No, a bottle. He wanted to drown himself in the alcohol and forget all about his miserable life. At least for a week or two. To just sit on his coach and feel sorry for himself.

No, that wasn't quite his style. Perhaps he should simply change into his training suit and go running for a mile or two. That would certainly take care of the constant craving that he'd had for her lately.

He walked to his closet and searched for his training suit, before venturing outside. It had started raining.

"Of course," Scott said aloud. "What more could go wrong this evening?"

After running for a couple of kilometres his mind seemed to work better. It suddenly occurred to him that he still didn't know where Kate had gone off to. Her apartment, most likely. But he seemed to recollect that she had lent it out to someone. He would try her mobile again, just to make sure that she was all right.

As soon as he got home, he tried her number again. Still no answer. The phone was still shut off. He didn't like this at all. Usually she put it in silent mode. She never switched it off completely.

He grabbed his cell phone and called another number. As soon as Laura answered, Scott asked.

"Do you know where Kate is?"

He repeated the same question to all the people he could think of. But no one knew. Her brother James even had the audacity to laugh.

"Have you lost her already? I thought so."

Before he ventured on to threaten to break every bone in Scott's body if he ever hurt his sister.

Little did James know that Scott already felt broken into pieces. Where could she have gone to? And why did she have to leave so suddenly.

He called one more number and this time Warren answered.

"No, I haven't spoken to her lately," her father admitted.

"But where can she be?"

"Have you tried her apartment? She hasn't sold it, has she?"

"No, she hasn't," Scott answered. "I'll give it a try. Thanks for the tip." But before he managed to put an end to the conversation, Warren intervened.

"There is another possibility."

"Where?"

"We have a small family cottage in the mountains. Kate has never been alone there before, but you can ask her cousin Cade if he's lent her the keys."

Scott quickly wrote down the number to this cousin.

Still, it was of no use. Cade hadn't talked to Kate in weeks and she had never voiced any intentions of lending the cottage.

That left only one option: her apartment. Scott grabbed a quick shower before throwing on some clothes and headed for his car. It was dark outside, but he wouldn't be able to sleep unless he knew where she was. He had to verify that she was safe. It was the least he could do.

Half an hour later he stood outside her apartment door and pressed the bell. Soon he could hear shuffling at the other side of the door and a familiar face came before him.

"Scott? What are you doing here?"

His throat seemed to have thickened and he swallowed in order to speak.

"I might ask you the same question. You haven't told anyone where to find you and I've tried everyone I could think off. I just had to make sure that you were all right."

He knew he sounded angry but he was so relieved to finally having found her safe and sound.

"Didn't you find my note?" She folded her arms in front of her as of shielding herself from him.

"Yes, I found it. But it didn't make much sense. Why did you leave?"

"I don't want to talk about that right now, and especially not in the hallway."

"Okay." He paused while struggling to find the right words. "Can I come inside?" Scott inquired.

"I don't think that's a good idea," Kate said reluctantly.

"Please." Scott couldn't hold it back. "Please, I just want to be with you. I promise not to make any noise. You can put me on the couch or on the floor if you like."

She smiled at him then.

"You wouldn't fit the couch. You're too big."

"I'll try the floor then, or I'll let my feet hang over the arm rest. I don't mind a little suffering," he smiled.

"You're impossible," she declared as she stepped aside.

Scott wasn't one to waste an opportunity so he walked inside and took off his shoes and jacket. He noticed her eyes following his every move and he decided to remove his sweater as well. Oh yes, she was definitely interested in his body, but that wasn't his main objective right now.

He looked her over. She was wearing an old flannel pyjama. It didn't resemble any of the sexy outfits that she normally wore around him. Still, he found it endearing.

"You're heading for bed?" he asked.

"Yes, but I'm not sharing."

"Pity," he smiled as he roamed his eyes over her breasts and further down her nightgown. His stomach growled in protest. That part of his body seemed to have other ideas. "Could I get something to eat? I skipped dinner earlier."

She looked as if she was examining him to figure out a dilemma.

"Don't worry. I'll keep my hands to myself," he smiled while he saw the tell-tale blush his words had caused on her.

"Help yourself. I'm going to get some sleep. Good night," she said while turning her back to him and practically running from him and into her bedroom. The soft click from the door only emphasised the barrier between them.

Scott gave a shrug. Oh well, at least he had found her and he was inside of her apartment. He could work with that, Scott thought, as he walked into her kitchen to make himself a sandwich.

The next morning, Kate awoke after a deep sleep. She seemed to recall admitting Scott into her apartment late last night, but she couldn't be sure if it had all been a dream.

Still, right now there was a more pressing need that occupied her mind as she scrambled out of bed and headed for the bathroom.

But just outside her bedroom door she was greeted by an unexpected sight. Spread out on her sofa laid Scott. His feet were hanging over the armrest and his head was turned to the side in a position that had to be painful. But the worst thing was that he was completely naked except for a thin blanket that partly covered his lower body. That didn't help much, Kate thought glumly, since the blanket was so thin that it seemed to hug his morning erection instead of concealing it.

She would really miss this sight when she divorced him, Kate thought suddenly. It was sweet of him to come and look for her yesterday and he would surely pay the price for it when he woke up. That neck of his would likely require the help of a specialist to release the tension.

Speaking of tension, she couldn't prevent her eyes from wandering to other parts of his body that she would dearly miss. Those parts seemed to be aching for her touch. But that wouldn't happen. Another woman would have that privilege from now on, Kate thought. The thought of that made her somewhat sad.

She hadn't realised that leaving Scott would mean that he would find another woman to shower all his attention on. To laugh with her as they walked hand in hand, or screaming together as they had sex in the shower. The pictures were so vivid that it was almost painful. She would have to get herself another job before Scott found another ladylove. She couldn't bear to think of him with anyone other than herself.

Roaming her eyes over the subject in her mind, she tried to plaster all his features on her retina, in order to store every detail of his body. She liked looking at him and he looked to innocent and peaceful in his sleep. She was spellbound and found herself wetting her lips.

Down girl, she mentally arrested herself as she took in the expanse of his chest and the outline of his manhood. Goddammit, all of that brawn belonged to her for the time being. He was her husband. She should be at his side or on top of him right now, impaling herself on all that warm hardness. Let him make use of all that muscles to worship her body instead of letting her wallop herself in self-pity, she thought.

At the same time, she noticed him stirring slightly as if he was going to wake up. His hand moved toward his tented erection, and she could see him slowly fondling himself.

She took a deep breath and practically fled into the bathroom vowing to take a cold shower.

She failed to see the answering smile on Scott's face.

Later that same day Scott walked into the office of his grandfather's lawyer. He'd received a phone call from Max that same morning but the lawyer didn't want to give any details over the phone.

"Hey Max. What did you want to talk to me about?" Scott asked.

"Scott, my friend. I have something for you. Please sit down," Max said and pointed to the leather chair in front of his desk.

"That bad, eh? What is it this time? Am I bankrupt or something?" Scott teased.

"Nothing like that. I have a letter from your grandfather. It was to be delivered three months after your 35th birthday."

The older man handed him a concealed envelope.

Scott looked at it with suspicion. The handwriting on the front resembled his grandfathers. What more could that devil want from him? Most likely it was an order to start working on his firstborn.

"What's this?" Scott wondered as he turned to see the back of the envelope. It held no more clues.

"The rest of your grandfathers will."

"What now? Does he have more stipulations as to how I should run my life?" Scott wondered.

"Just read it," Max encouraged.

Scott took a deep breath and opened it. It contained a handwritten letter which stated:

"You may now be aware that the threat of losing your inheritance was just that: a threat. I had never any intention of leaving the house to anyone other than my favourite grandson. As for the demands that you find a wife, I sincerely hope that you've realised the necessity of a good woman to stand beside you. If you've found her, I congratulate you both. If not, I hope that you'll do something about it before it's too late."

Scott sat paralyzed until he blurted out.

"He tricked me?"

"He just wanted you to be happy."

"Happy? By forcing me to scan the city for a woman that I could stomach to spend some time with, seducing her to marry me as fast as possible and then trying to keep the façade? Have you any idea how many toes I've trampled in order to fulfil his requirements? Some of my friends will probably never speak to me again."

"Maybe he thought that you needed a little push," Max suggested.

"Push? It feels more like I've been run over by a bulldozer. That old fart should have trusted me to take care of things in my own manner." Scott got up and started to move around the room.

"Well, he managed to put you safely in the hands of a beautiful woman. Even if his methods are questionably, he tends to get good results."

Scott sank down into the chair and bowed his head with a sigh. He looked up at Max again.

"I wouldn't necessarily call it a good result when my wife has left me, thinking I'm a gold-digger that can never be trusted."

"That bad, eh?"

"Thanks to my grandfather I'll have to grovel for her for the next ten years or so."

"You could divorce her and find another one," Max suggested with a smile.

"I don't want anyone else."

"So you really love her?"

"Yes, but what difference does it make when she won't believe me? If not for my grandfather our relationship would have continued in the usual manner, without me having to force her into an early marriage. What a mess!"

"Well, at least your grandfather made you start looking instead of spending all your time in front of the computer screen. You know he worried about you missing out on the best things in life."

"Is that why he came up with this stupid scheme?"

"Yes." There was a long pause before Max continued. "You shouldn't judge him too severely. He only wanted what's best for you, even if you didn't understand it yourself at the time."

"Yes, I know. He was a clever devil, the old man. He had me fooled the whole time," Scott admitted.

"So, what will you do now?" Max wondered.

"I have some serious grovelling to do in order to save my marriage."

"Good luck," he heard the old lawyer say as he left his office.

He would surely need it, Scott thought.

For the next couple of weeks, Scott drowned himself in his work. He worked from early morning until late in the evenings, before knocking on Kate's door just before she went to bed. He ate a sandwich before crashing on her sofa or on a mattress on the floor that she had provided for him.

Kate wondered why he couldn't crash in his own house instead, but he just stated that he preferred her company instead. She didn't know why since they barely spoke or touched for that matter. Still, they seemed to have found a rhythm that made her start to miss him if he didn't turn up. But he always did.

"What are you doing here?" Kate asked him as he came to her door that evening.

"Can I stay with you?" was his only response.

She took a step back and opened the door all the way.

"Suit yourself."

He stumbled past her and for a second she was wondering if he was drunk. One look in his face revealed the truth. He was utterly exhausted and looked like hell. His usual tanned skin had changed into a more grey tone and his eyes looked sunk and tired.

She grabbed his arm to support him.

"Come here. I've prepared pizza in the kitchen."

She placed him in a chair and put the food in front of him. After a couple of bites he fell over the table, fast asleep.

That does it, Kate thought. He couldn't take care of himself, the stupid man. He was working himself into an early grave if he kept this up. She shook him awake. It took a few minutes, but in the end she managed to steer him into her bed where he collapsed into a sleep that resembled coma.