Emerald Binds

"Why? It's not like you're going to do anything about it," the woman said with confidence. "I'd bet you're down here confronting me because you don't want to have this conversation with your husband." She nodded after a moment, snorting derisively. "That's what I thought. You probably thought you could just bowl me over with...did you even have a plan when you walked through that door? You haven't even asked me my name yet. Donna, by the way."

Claudia's throat was bone dry. Donna's verbal assault was the left hook to the right jab of initially ignoring her. All Claudia could do was quietly ask, "Could I have a drink of water please?"

Donna plucked a clean glass from the bar and filled it with water from her fountain gun. The cold water soothed Claudia's parched throat and gave her a moment to collect her thoughts. "I came down here to find out why my husband is cheating on me," she admitted softly. "I'm his wife. I'm owed that much."

"That's fair. It started over a year ago..."

X X X X X

Donna had barely finished pouring the Jagermeister when the drunken EMT hoisted the shot glass into the air. "To the Ski Festival," he yelled out over the din of the crowded bar. "Thank God it's over!"

The rousing cheer that followed from the throng of off-duty emergency personnel was the signal for the EMT and several of his fellows to down their shots. He slammed the empty glass down on the bar and gave Donna a booming whoop. "I swear," he told anyone listening, "I spent more time on the slopes with the Ski Patrol this week than I did actually skiing all winter."

"Least you got to ski," his colleague sitting next to him said. "I had to deal with a bunch of trustafarians who wrapped their car around a tree. Said they were going to sue me because I had to report the accident. I'd take ten broken ankles over one snotty rich kid any day of the week."

The older guy at the end of the bar, Kyle, finished his beer before responding, "those tourists fund us for most of the year. All we can do is grin and bear it." He lifted his empty mug. "Can I get another one here, Donna?"

As Donna refilled his mug, she asked, "What exciting things did you do during the Ski Festival?"

"Directed traffic," he laughed. "I got to sit behind my desk and help the dispatcher tell my crew where to go. No fires this year, thankfully. The most thrilling adventure I had was writing up a bar after warning them twice about being over fire code capacity."

"I'm sure our owner appreciates you fining the competition. Here you go, one fresh Ruby Red draft for the deputy fire chief."

Kyle took his beer and proceeded to immediately down half of the pale red lager. The smile of appreciation he gave Donna sent a minor shiver through her. Even as she helped other customers, she made sure to send a glance Kyle's way on occasion, throwing him a smile every time they happened to lock eyes. In the three months Donna had been working at Speakman's, it was Kyle who stood out among the sheriff's deputies and emergency personnel who frequented the bar. With his salt-and-pepper hair, large frame, and rugged good looks, he reminded Donna of a doctor from one of those medical dramas her Mom watched like clockwork when she was younger. He was easy going, never a problem customer, and tipped decently enough.

More importantly, he was one of those guys who didn't realize just how much he drank because of how well they held their liquor. That refill had been Kyle's third beer in an hour, and by the way he was chugging, he'd be due for a fourth by the time she worked her way back down to him. It was a pattern she had picked up on the first time she had served him which looked to be holding true this evening, meaning it might finally be the time for Donna to make her move.

By last call, Kyle was beginning to show signs of inebriation. He leaned against the bar, his words slurring just slightly as he discussed the year's budget with fellow firefighter Joshua Smith. Slowly Donna and the other bartender began settling tabs and directing the drunks out the door. Eventually, the only patrons left were Joshua, who was waiting on a Lyft to take him home, and Kyle. "You can take off," Donna told the other bartender. "I'll close up." Once they had left Donna walked over to the two men. "How you guys doing," she inquired.

"Swimmingly." Kyle included his head towards Joshua. "Just making sure he gets in his Lyft."

"I fucking LOVE this town!" Joshua's head hung on a swivel as he drunkenly smiled at Donna. "I don't care what those assholes in Aspen say, I'd put Emerald Pines against the other up-valley towns any day of the week!"

Joshua's drunk sincerity drew a smile on Donna's face. The trio chatted lightly for several minutes until Joshua's phone buzzed. "Ride's here," he muttered as he got to his feet. "See you on Monday, boss. Should be sober by then."

Donna watched as Kyle escorted Joshua to the door. The reality of finally being alone with Kyle caused her to shiver once again. She could feel her body beginning to react at the possibility of the next few minutes. Leaning over the bar caused her white tank top to hang down, exposing a hint of the bounty underneath. "So how are you getting home," she asked casually.

"I'm walking to the station," he said while grabbing his winter coat. "It's only half a mile and it won't be the first time I've crashed there. I'll get a ride back tomorrow for my car when I'm sober. Can't have the deputy fire chief getting a DUI."

"Actually, would you mind staying so I don't have to close up alone? The other bartender had to run. I can give you a ride to the station when I'm finished."

"Sure." Kyle dropped the winter coat on a barstool before sitting down. "Beats walking in the cold."

"I'm gonna have a beer before cleaning up." Donna was already reaching for a pair of mugs as she casually added, "Want one for the road?"

"I'm not driving."

"What does your wife think about you getting drunk and crashing at the firehouse?" she asked while pouring two drafts of Ruby Red.

"She'd rather me do that than try to trek up the mountain." Kyle nodded his thanks as Donna set a mug of cold beer in front of him. "Besides, she doesn't mind. She's...easygoing like that."

Donna picked up on the slight hesitation. As his one beer turned into two, she and Kyle chatted lightly about the Ski Festival before she began slowly turning the conversation towards his marriage. "It's just...it's been a rut lately, you know," Kyle eventually proclaimed over his half-drunk beer. "You've been married as long as I have, you fall into a rhythm. I'd love to change things up, but Claudia's never been one to rock the boat."

"Why not?" Donna inquired. "A little change is good now and then."

"It's not change, it's...I'm sorry Donna, you don't want to hear me ramble..."

She reached over the bar to rest her hand on Kyle's forearm. "I wouldn't have asked if I didn't want to know. Bartenders are unlicensed shrinks after all." Giving his forearm a gentle squeeze, noting just how firm it was, Donna leaned against the bar. She made sure to lock eyes with Kyle, silently encouraging him to speak.

"Claudia's just...she's laid back and passive," he told her. "She grew up with her mom and her aunt. Both of them had major anger issues and according to Claudia, so did their father. She lived in a place where everyone was always screaming and breaking things and it taught her to stay quiet, keep her head down, and not make waves. She never raises her voice or gets mad at people. The one time I saw her yell at our youngest for stealing a cookie I don't know who cried more — him or Claudia. A couple of weeks ago, I stubbed my toe against the kitchen table and when I screamed she acted like I had punched the wall right next to her head."

He took a long drink from his beer. "And at the station the chief deals with so much administrative bullshit that it falls on me to handle the day-to-day stuff. If there's a fire, I have to make the calls so the fire's put out and all my guys get home safe." Kyle's shoulders drooped as he sighed wearily. "Just once someone else should be in charge. It would be... I think I'd like it if someone told me what to do for once..."

"Let's find out then." Kyle looked up as Donna leaned over the bar. Her face was inches from his. "Kiss me."

He blinked in surprise. "What..." he began, already leaning away from her.

"You said you'd like it if someone told you what to do." She was on her tiptoes, arms holding her upper body over the bar, putting her cleavage on full display. "No one would ever know, and it would answer your question. Kiss me, Kyle," she told him firmly. "Now."

After a brief deliberation between the inebriated angel and devil on his shoulders, Kyle nodded. Donna dragged herself over the bar to kiss him, ignoring the discomfort of the bar's edge pressing into her abdomen. Donna could feel the hesitation in Kyle's kiss, along with the faint taste of beer, but the mere sensation of his lips pressing against hers sent a wicked thrill through her. Only the awkward positioning prevented her from going further.

Eventually, gravity and balance took her back behind the bar. Kyle was panting slightly, pressing a hand against his chest. "Well," she purred, "how did it feel to be told what to do?"

"Not too bad," he admitted before quickly adding, "We should probably start cleaning up..."

"Are you trying to tell me what to do?"

"No," he chuckled, "I just..."

"This is funny to you?" The razor sharpness in Donna's voice immediately shut Kyle up. It was all Donna could do not to tremble at the sight of him looking at her with confusion, but also with the barest hint of curiosity hidden behind his hazel eyes. "The last thing a woman wants to hear is 'not too bad.' If you fancy yourself a man, kiss me like you fucking mean it."

He put up both his hands. "Donna, I'm a married man..."

"Claudia isn't here. It's just you and me. I thought firefighters were supposed to have balls. Here's your chance to answer your own question. So come over here and fucking kiss me, Kyle." She put extra emphasis on his name, causing it to snap from her mouth.

There was enough of a pause that Donna was pondering her next move before Kyle reached out with his powerful arms and dragged her over the bar. There was no hesitation in this second kiss. Instead, she could sense decades of repressed emotion and need in the way he wrapped her up in his arms and shoved his tongue into her mouth. The thought of Kyle, nearly forty years her senior, cutting loose and taking all that repression out on her sent an anticipatory vibration through her body. She could feel her nipples tightening beneath her bra, to say nothing of the strong feelings beginning to stir inside of her.

She was barely able to push back against him. Her hands pressed against his surprisingly firm chest, trying to give herself some room, only for Kyle to pin her against the bar. Encouraged by the growing wetness between her legs, Donna gripped Kyle's shirt with one hand to pull him closer while the other reached down to boldly grab his crotch. An involuntary moan escaped her as she realized what lay underneath Kyle's boxer briefs was longer and thicker than she had hoped. Just the merest brush of her fingers against his cock sent vibrations ringing throughout her entire body.

The touch of her hand against his penis, however, seemed to be a tipping point for Kyle. He managed to break their kiss by quickly shaking his head. "No," he muttered, "this isn't right..."

"This," she said, firmly squeezing his manhood, "says otherwise." As best she could in the cramped conditions, Donna undid his zipper so her fingers could slip underneath his boxer briefs. "What would you do if I told you to fuck me? To bend me over this bar and take me like there's nobody watching?"

Silence was his answer. Any indecision in Kyle's eyes was overwritten by inebriated lust. With an evil smile, Donna took Kyle's hands and slipped them underneath the collar of her tank top. "Rip it," she ordered him. This time the hesitation passed in an instant. With a grunt of effort, Kyle managed to tear her tank top, shredding it down the middle like a professional wrestler. He lowered his mouth to her firm breasts. One hand pinched the stiff nipple underneath the fabric while his mouth and tongue licked the exposed skin. Donna pulled her cups down, wincing as the underwire dug into her skin. The wince turned into a sigh of pleasure as Kyle, like most guys, immediately sucked her erect nub into his mouth, licking it with his rough tongue.

Now that she had him, Donna couldn't wait anymore. She undid her jeans and shoved them down her legs, revealing a thick patch of trimmed black hair. Turning to the bar she pushed her hips back, spreading her legs slightly to reveal her soaked lips to him. "I don't need to tell you what to do now," she teased while swaying her hips back and forth enticingly, "do I?"

At the point of no return, Kyle boldly stepped forward. She looked over her shoulder as it was his turn to unbutton his jeans. He got them and his blue boxer briefs down around his knees. The sight of Kyle's naked cock, rising like an oak tree from a tangle of gray hair, caused her to lick her lips in anticipation. He stepped up and placed his stiff erection against her awaiting pussy. Her fingers dug into the wooden bar as Kyle slipped inside of her, taking only a few strokes to fully impale her.

The feeling of his rock-hard cock splitting her tight walls made her cry out. Kyle's hands took hold of her hips as he began taking her against the bar. She had to brace herself as Kyle fucked her with the experience of sixty-plus years and the eagerness of a new lover. Donna braced herself with her forearms, pushing back against him. "That's right," she yelled to the empty bar, "fuck me!"

Every movement Kyle made only caused her arousal to spiral higher and higher. His balls smacked against her clit on several occasions, sending an expected but welcome shock throughout her body. From the mirror behind the bar, Donna could see the determination on Kyle's face as he drove his cock in and out of her wet, hot, tight pussy. "Oh yes," she cried as the older man reached around and grabbed her breasts, squeezing them and rolling her nipples between his fingers. "Oh shit, yes!"

Her orgasm announced itself as an intense vibration that rippled along her velvet walls. Euphoria raced throughout her lower body as Donna collapsed against the bar. She could feel the evening's grime sticking to her cheek, but she didn't care as Kyle continued thrusting behind her, prolonging the raw, dirty pleasure she was experiencing.

Eventually she heard Kyle rasp, "I'm gonna..."

"I'm on the pill," she quickly proclaimed.

Upon hearing those magic words, Kyle began fucking her harder and faster. With a strangled cry, he shoved himself inside of her, his body quaking as he came. By the time he was finished, both of them were panting. Kyle wiped the sweat from his brow before carefully pulling out of her. "Wow," he gasped, "that was..."

"Told you." Kyle chuckled at her comment. "I'm going to clean up," she told him while pulling her pants to her waist. "Don't go anywhere. Help yourself to another beer if you want." She smiled slyly as Kyle stepped behind the bar with his empty pint glass while she walked towards the back of Speakman's.

Once she made it to the bathroom, Donna made sure to turn on the exhaust fan before fishing her smartphone from her jeans. First she bent over slightly and made sure to take a picture of Kyle's cum running from her vagina, their essences mixing along her inner thigh. After carefully wiping off, Donna looked in the mirror. Her hair was a tattered mess and there was a hint of sticky grime along her cheek where she had pressed herself against the bar. She teased out her hair a little more before taking a deep breath and smacking herself across the face. The sound of the impact was masked by the exhaust fan, as were the sounds of the two follow-up slaps.

A vibrant red mark was now visible on her face. She carefully rubbed it so it faded slightly before holding her phone up to the mirror and quickly snapping a series of photographs. Quickly flipping through them to confirm she had ample evidence of the evening's events, Donna finished cleaning up and, after washing her hands, headed out to begin properly closing down the bar for the night.

X X X X X

"You got my husband drunk," Claudia asked in disbelief, "and took advantage of him?"

"He wasn't that drunk," Donna countered. "More like tipsy. Your husband drinks like a fish, but he can hold his liquor. I've never had a case of whiskey dick with him."

"Kyle doesn't drink that much."

"Yeah, he does. He has at least three beers every time he comes in here. I keep a six-pack at my apartment and it never lasts more than two visits."

It was the honesty in Donna's words that stung the most. Kyle had always been a beer guy. One beer with dinner had become two. Then there was a beer when he got home, and usually there was another one while he watched the Majesties play baseball. When they had come to parties and cookouts Claudia had become the designated driver more often in the past few years, as one or two glasses of wine were her limit. How had she missed it?

"That doesn't mean anything," she quietly protested. "What matters is that you took advantage of my husband."

"Maybe I did that first time. But that second time? Definitely not..."

X X X X X

"So yeah." Kyle lightly hit his hands against the edge of the bar as a note of finality. "What happened happened, but I would appreciate it if you kept it between you and me. It was just a one-time thing."

"Hmm. No."

"I'm sorry?"

Donna shook her head. "No. That wasn't a one-time thing, that was a first-time thing. Trust me, there's going to be plenty of repeat performances."

Once again, Donna and Kyle were the only people in Speakman's, Donna having just rung out her final customer before closing. Kyle had been absent in the four days since their illicit encounter but had quietly snuck in an hour earlier. Three beers and an empty bar later, here he was, softly but firmly telling Donna that nothing further was going to happen between them.

And here she was, about to bring his world crashing down.

"Donna," he urged, "I'm married. I shouldn't have done what I did. I feel like I went too far and took advantage of you."

"You were tipsy but still wanted to fuck me and were sober enough to consent to it. I primed the pump, and you did all the pumping." This time when Donna leaned over the bar Kyle recoiled. "Are you telling me you didn't like what we did?"

"That's not the point. The point is that it was a mistake, and I didn't want there to be any confusion between us," he firmly told her. "What happened a few days ago isn't going to happen again."

"Oh, it will happen again. Tonight, actually."

Kyle scoffed in disbelief. "No, it won't." He finished the rest of his beer and threw a twenty-dollar bill on the bar. "Keep the change," he said as he threw on his jacket.

Donna waited until he was almost at the door before calling out, "You walk out that door and I'll tell everyone you assaulted me."

That brought him to a screeching halt. He slowly turned around, staring at the young woman with hooded eyes. "Excuse me?"

"I'll go to the police and tell them you assaulted me." While Kyle slowly made his way back towards the bar she adopted a damsel-in-distress tone. "It was horrible," she said, clasping her hands. "He offered to stay and help me clean up, but then he started coming on to me. I told him no, but he was bigger than me and told me that no one would believe me over the deputy fire chief..."

"You...you wouldn't fucking say that," he spat.