Degrees of Separation

Jeff stared at the pile of architectural plans on his desk blankly while twirling his pen across his fingers. A quick glance at the clock showed that it had only been ninety minutes since the work day had begun, much to his dismay. This scene was somewhat typical of a Monday morning, but on this particular late-winter day he was even more restless and jaded than usual.

He had been employed at the same architectural design firm for fifteen years and had worked his way up to one of the senior designers during his tenure. By all accounts he was successful in his work and had grown to be one of the pillars of the design team and was relied on heavily. He could also boast a modest house out in the country in which he took no small measure of pride. Professionally, he had many things going for him. This morning what was on his mind was not his work or his house, but his deteriorating marital relationship.

Jeff's family moved around the country quite often when he was young until it was nearly time for him to go to university. Many of those early formative years of his life were marked by a certain amount of instability as a result. He was conventionally attractive being tall, dark haired, and with soft brown eyes, but was never in one place long enough to develop any meaningful relationships. Truth be told he only had one real girlfriend by the age of eighteen before his father took a posting at a different company and remained local to the central part of the country.

After finally having some stability of location, Jeff enrolled in a local university and started his studies. It was there that he met his wife, Janice. True to form, as a young man with depth of heart but no real experience in relationships, he fell for Janice and fell hard. By the time he earned his degree, he had already proposed, to which she accepted, and they began their married life directly after graduation. The pair shared some good years early on, but the luster began to fade as the years dragged on. In all the time that his family had spent flitting about the country, Jeff found himself a young adult who was still learning things about himself years after he tied the knot with Janice.

As he looked back on everything now, at nearly forty years of age, his own life seemed terribly cliche. It was a classic case of "got married too early before either partner knew themselves or each other properly". Many times he considered pursuing divorce, but his pride and not wanting to admit defeat always stood in the way. In any case, he surmised that his forties may be a bit old to be starting over in the way of love.

Speaking of love, that was one of the areas that chiefly frustrated Jeff to no end. In all the years of roaming the country, he spent a lot of time by himself reading and developed a strong sense of imagination. In retrospect, he thought that perhaps his expectations of a marriage relationship were idealised and that connecting with someone in the way he craved was just not feasible. That same imagination fueled his sexuality and gave him a curious mind that was always conjuring up new ideas and pushing the boundaries of his own inner depravity. That imagination, whether it be in a practical or sexual sense, was something that he and his wife did not share. Early in the marriage he attempted to talk to Janice about some of the kinks that interested him, but was promptly shut down. She, in contrast, seemed content with very predictable and bland experiences with extended periods of chasteness between them. This frustrated Jeff to no end, which he conveyed to her many times but ultimately to no avail.

Janice seemed content to play the role of country housewife, which would have shocked Jeff had he known when they were dating. But the longer they were married, the more she focussed on her own hobbies. Jeff certainly didn't hold her hobbies against her, or even the fact that she was unwilling to indulge in his imaginations with him. He firmly believed that one shouldn't be pushed into something they weren't comfortable exploring, especially when it came to things if a sexual nature. It was in this way that his desires for depth and vulnerability were at odds with his marriage. The two had grown into roommates with their own interests and only seemed to cross paths when Janice fancied it.

Over the years, the lack of spark and interest had taken its toll on his psyche. He yearned for something stimulating and deep. It was a fire in his soul that he never could quite put out even when he tried to do just that for the sake of his marriage. It was in the throes of such reflection that he found himself this particular morning. He mustered as much emotional energy as he could to combat the crushing discontentment that plagued him and set his mind to the task at hand. After an hour he reassembled the drawings, now containing his markups, and rolled them into a single, four-foot roll, and picked them up to deliver them to the working team.

His mind was still wrestling with his unmet desires as he navigated into the corridor that connected the design office with the rest of the building. It was when he made the turn into the corridor that he first saw her. In a building full of engineers, she stood out like an oasis in the midst of a barren desert. He didn't recognise her, but she strode toward him in the corridor while looking at a stack of papers in her hand.

Jeff was not one to be so drawn to anyone at first sight, but he could not help but drink her in with his eyes. She couldn't have been older than twenty, and stood over a foot shorter than his six and-a-half foot frame. Her dark brunette hair cascaded down her neck just past the shoulders. She wore a dark coloured top that was adorned with a light pink floral pattern that was cinched about her waist by a belt and gave way to a dark and flowing skirt beneath it. He was instantly entranced by her curves as she walked toward him. His eyes scanned down past her knees and noted the dark stockings that wrapped around her calves.

Even if Jeff hadn't been previously focussed on his high levels of sexual frustration, he could not have denied that this girl seemed purpose-built to arrest his attention. He was keenly aware that he had a "type" and his subconscious mind was at work furiously checking off the boxes.

As they drew closer to each other, Jeff was suddenly aware of how much space that he and the long tube of rolled up paper occupied in the narrow corridor. The girl's attention was still fixed on the papers she carried and he knew it was up to him to step aside and make room. Whether by his level of distraction, or some subconscious ploy, as he turned his shoulders the rolled up drawings jutted into her path and knocked the papers out of her hand. She let out a yelp of surprise as the stack scattered on the floor. Jeff, now red in the face, knelt down to help her gather the mess.

"Terribly sorry about that!" he offered while reaching to pick up the stray sheets. As she knelt down to do the same, he couldn't help but see the smooth and perfect slopes of her cleavage and once again was hopelessly distracted.

"Oh, no! It was my fault for not looking where I was going," she replied before looking up.

They both had scattered sheets of paper in hand when she finally looked up and their eyes met. If Jeff had been distracted before, he was veritably hypnotised when he saw her eyes for the first time. They gleamed a mixture of brown, green, and grey. All at once, the tingling feeling of electricity radiated up his fingers and arms and warmed him from the inside. Her pupils widened when she saw him... or had he imagined that? There was no way to be sure, but one thing that was certain was the palpable pause between the two as they took each other in.

Jeff reached over to hand her the papers he collected but couldn't take his eyes off hers. When she reached out for them her hand brushed his, which set off more intense jolts of electricity through his body.

"Thank you!" she said with a smile.

That smile...and that voice... there was something so comforting yet so arousing about it.

When she spoke to him, Jeff all of a sudden felt like he was a teenager again, just moved into town, and unable to speak in the presence of a new crush. He had not felt the need to feign confidence in so long and he was caught completely off guard by meeting her in such a manner.

"That's alright," he began, struggling over his words as they both rose to standing. He towered over her and she looked up at him in a way that stoked the imagination that had been repressed for so long.

"I don't think I've seen you around before?" he continued. "I'm Jeff, over in the designers' office."

Her sweet, yet seductive eyes continued to look up at him while she responded.

"Hello, Jeff! I'm Katy! And yeah this is actually my first day here! I'm starting in the admin office."

"In that case, welcome to the firm!"

Katy smiled at him again, still with her eyes fixed on his and nearly lost her papers a second time.

"Nice to meet you, Jeff! Maybe I'll see you around the office?" She said with the slightest tinge of hopefulness.

"Oh, I'm sure! I'll be around!" he replied, trying to reign in his eagerness.

The two parted and continued each along their own way. At the end of the corridor, Jeff glanced back to find Katy doing the same. She blushed and smiled before disappearing out of view.

When she was out of sight, he began to silently scold himself. Now don't go chasing after the young new girl like some pervert, he said in his own thoughts. Nonetheless he was quite taken with her even at the brevity of their encounter.

For the remainder of the day, Jeff's attention was not on his own struggles, but instead on his new, beautiful, young colleague. Even though in his heart of hearts he knew how ridiculous it was that he should be immediately infatuated with someone who was likely half his age, there was something about her that he couldn't resist. Almost akin to a familiarity of spirit. Something he couldn't explain or brush off.

As the days continued on, he kept finding excuses to walk by the admin wing of the building where he would often find Katy at her desk. When she noticed him, she would always grin and give a slight wave. By the end of that week he summoned the courage, or as the case may be poor judgment, to message her and ask if she fancied having lunch. She agreed, which brought a smile to Jeff's face as if he had asked a girl to a school dance and received a "yes".

They met in the center of the complex where the different wings of the building joined together. There was a decent cafeteria that served the entire building with food and coffee. The cafeteria also sported generously sized windows and an open air patio where lunch could be enjoyed outdoors if the weather permitted.

The two met at a table along the windows and sat down to eat. Katy unwrapped a packed sandwich and Jeff brought leftovers from dinner the previous night.

"So, first week... how are you managing so far?" Jeff asked between bites.

"Nothing I can't handle," Katy replied with that same smile that made Jeff's heart melt earlier in the week.

"I'm sure you're probably tired of answering this type of question, but how did you end up here?"

Katy swallowed her bite of sandwich before responding. "Well, I finished with my classes and simply searched for postings online! They hired me and that was that!"

"Ah! Where did you attend classes?" he asked between sips of coffee.

"Oh, I'm not from here. I'm originally from down south, but wanted to break away and make my own, you know? So I packed my things and am renting a flat nearby!"

"Nothing wrong with that at all!"

She smiled at him before continuing. "Every time I've seen you since we literally ran into each other, you've had a coffee in hand! How do you get any sleep?"

Jeff beamed inwardly at that comment. She had been paying attention! He tried to play it cool and conceal his level of excitement, but felt as if she could see right through him at the same time.

"I manage the best I can, I suppose!"

She pointed toward the ring finger on his left hand. "And how does the Mrs. feel about you staying up all night because of all the caffeine?"

The look in her eyes as she asked such a question was somewhere between mischievous and sultry.

He nearly choked on his coffee before answering. "Oh I don't think she has any strong feelings either way." He mentally added, or strong feelings about anything for that matter!

Katy smirked at him before replying, "Fair enough!" and took the last bite of her sandwich.

Before lunch came to its conclusion, Jeff spoke up again.

"How are you getting on finding your way around in a new town?"

She packed up her lunch bag and grinned at him slyly.

"Oh my, it sounds as if you're going to offer to show me the sights?"

"I very well might be inclined to!" He couldn't tell who between the two of them was being more forward in that moment. After a brief pause as he packed up his own lunch bag, he continued.

"I hope you won't think me a scoundrel for asking, but could I get your number? You know, in case I have an opening in my schedule to give you a tour?"

Katy chuckled out loud and began to blush before pulling out a little note from her lunch bag.

"Well, since you asked so nicely," she beamed at him and handed the slip of paper over, "I may have already written it down!"

Jeff laughed and took the paper from her outstretched hand. Their fingers touched, and he felt that same jolt of electricity traveling up his arm and into his chest. His eyes looked up at her and, for an instant, it appeared that she might feel the same spark that rippled its way through him.

They stood and walked back to their respective corridors as Jeff tried to hide the elation that threatened to lift him off his feet. He hardly made it back to his desk before he tapped out a message announcing himself and giving her his number in return. Five minutes later, he received a reply which did nothing but guarantee that a smile was plastered across his face the rest of the day. He sat down and rubbed the short, trimmed beard on his chin and tried to disguise his giddiness.

Deep underneath the excitement of getting on so well with Katy was his conscience whispering what a terrible idea this was and he was quickly becoming a pervert cliché. But for that moment his conscience could be damned for all he cared.

The days wore into weeks and the weeks wore into months. The more time passed, the more enamored Jeff became over his curvy colleague. The two spent most lunch breaks together and had developed a habit of frequent texting in the evenings and on weekends. Both Jeff and Katy seemed to carefully navigate the line between provocative and scandalous, as plenty of suggestive dialog was had but nothing untoward ever happened between the two. Beyond his nearly uncontrollable attraction to her, he had grown quite fond of her and wanted to get to know her. He found himself entranced by her voice and eyes whenever she would speak to him.

The electric feeling he got whenever they touched, no matter how inadvertently, was something of a permanent sensation and did not dissipate no matter how much time passed since the day they bumped into each other. It was a sensation that livened his body, mind, and soul. Jeff could not for long deny that he was quite smitten with Katy. Since that first day, he also had developed a habit of featuring her in his imaginative masturbatory escapades. His mind frequently went to work picturing her curvy body taking him in all manner of situations that had been flatly denied by his wife for years. He was keenly curious to know her kinks and what drove her wild, but as of yet had not the courage to broach the subject directly. He often fretted over what she would think of his own kinks. Some of which included incest roleplay, spanking, and bondage. Part of him was afraid that even if something were to happen with Katy, would she be accepting of his darker desires? Or in the end would he keep that part of himself locked away in his imagination

All sexual tension aside, the two got on fabulously. Their innocuous interests seemed to align well despite their age gap. The more he found out about Katy, the more he thirsted to know. He had gathered that she hailed from one of the many towns his family had been located briefly when he was younger. In fact, he had been a teenager there but moved to his current location not long before she had been born. The concept that he was nearly old enough to be her father gave him some pause, but excited his depraved imagination at the same time.

He also gathered that she was raised by a single mother who had gotten pregnant near the end of school. In the end, it seemed that the less than ideal situation she was born into and lived with also forged her independence and shaped her into a perfectly capable young woman. Katy never knew her father and her mother always claimed to not know precisely who he was. All in all, the more he learned about Katy the more he admired her. The more he admired her, the more he desired her. Jeff was in a full-on emotional and sexual revolving door of emotions when it came to Katy. Had Janice been the slightest bit attentive, it would have been hard to miss her husband's change in demeanor.

Summer was quickly approaching, and Jeff had spent the weekend working outside on his country lot cleaning up the property and getting things in order for the warmer season. Late in the warm, humid evening, he sat on the front porch with a glass of scotch on ice to relax when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled the device from his pocket and smiled from ear to ear seeing a message from Katy.

What are you up to mister?

Katy had taken to calling Jeff "Mister" or "Sir" as a running joke to make light of their age gap. Jeff was honestly fond of it. It only added fuel to his sexual imagination where Katy was concerned. He also had a handful of playfully suggestive names he would call her in return.

Just sitting on the porch having a scotch. Isn't it about your bedtime, Little Missy?

Is that an offer to tuck me in? You shouldn't tease a girl like that, Sir"

Haha, I'd have to shower first anyway. Been working outside all day and am a bit filthy

Well I'll consider that a bullet dodged. Wouldn't want any dirty handprints on this now, would I?

A few moments later a picture message popped up on Jeff's messaging app. Katy was there in all her sultry, curvy glory wearing a pink cotton pyjama top. The straps over her shoulders were thin, and the slightest note of her nipples dimpled the soft fabric as it hung about her b-cup bustline. The front of it dove in a "v" shape toward her cleavage and featured white lace along her bust. The look in her eyes sent that familiar ripple of electricity through Jeff's body as he took her in. The shivers through his body went up his arms to his chest, then traveled down between his legs and stirred his cock.

We definitely wouldn't want to get you all dirty before bed. Dirty girls don't sleep well

I might have to put that concept to the test!

Another moment passed and Jeff saw another picture pop up. This time she was on her knees in her bed tugging down on the pyjama top with just the slightest hint of what appeared to be a black lace thong following the curves of her ass. She had never been this provocative before now. Jeff could literally feel all his affection and infatuation for Katy growing into a desperate need.

Well now I won't be getting any sleep... and not because of the caffeine!

As if on cue, Janice appeared on the front porch and interrupted her husband's rampant dirty thoughts. Upon catching sight of the glass of scotch in his hand, she gave her patented disapproving look.