Emily's Weekend Ch. 04

It had been a few weeks since I had come back from that adult store. Although I had been pretty busy with work, I was feeling as if something was amiss. Didn't matter how much I tried, I couldn't put my finger on it. At first I thought it was the scars left behind by the chains, in particular on my waist. But that was not it. I couldn't find out what. Some days I'd lay there in my bed at night tossing and turning, not knowing why. There was always that omnipresent feeling of something amiss. I wondered if it was the missing chains when I was lying in the bed. It was very puzzling and I couldn't be at peace without knowing why. I tried the handcuffs I had brought back. They were a bit of relief. After putting them on for one entire weekend, that feeling of missing subsided a bit. Thus I knew I was missing the chains on my body.

The scar in particular on my waist was blue welt like. It made wearing pants or skirts particularly difficult, especially when sitting down for a long period at the bank. The scar around my neck also stood out on my light skin as a reddish pink choker so I had to wear a scarf for a week. Thankfully it toned down in a week. Of course there was the black metal bracelet on my wrist. And like before, I couldn't take this one off with one hand. I wasn't truly interested in taking it off either, as it did set off rather nicely on my fair skin. Besides every time I played with it, I could feel my nipples hardening, pussy beginning to get wet. On occasions when I was lying in the bed at night, I felt my clitoris getting erect. I was definitely keeping this one.

I was out shopping for dresses on Saturday afternoon after the breakfast and lunchtime shifts at Old Joe's Café. I had convinced Mary, my friend at the bank to come along. As I was trying out various dresses, Mary sat on one of the benches critiquing them. Some she liked but I was on the fence. Others I liked but she was emphatic they didn't look good for me. So on and on we kept going. Mary was one of the closest friends of mine and shared a lot of her secrets and fears with me, as did I. I respected her opinion, besides I liked to have a second opinion when it came to clothes. Finally I picked up a dark blue dress. It was more of an evening dress than an office wear, but I liked the design. When I showed it to Mary, she agreed with me for a change! Finally, I felt elated.

I tried it on and in the changing room mirror, I thought it looked good. With some trepidation, I walked out to where she was sitting. I was rewarded with a thumbs-up from her. Finally, I felt relieved. I felt a surge of energy as if the streak of disagreements was finally behind us. For the next few office wear I selected, we seemed to agree. Then it was the role reversal. I was the one on the bench and she tried out several dresses. When we were finally done, we headed to pay for it. That's when I saw the time. "Oh my, time sure flew away, right Mary?" I asked. Mary agreed. I hadn't spent so much money on clothes before and I was reproaching myself inwardly for the extravagant buying. But in my mind I was also telling myself, how happy I was with my purchases. They were all really nice and I hadn't bought new clothes since graduation. I had been saving ever since and this was first time I had shopped for office wear.

Mary had to drag me to the jewellery counter to buy a set of dangle earrings and necklace. As she was choosing and trying out for herself, I waited. It was all such a big collection of glitter, but many were extremely expensive and I felt a tinge of sadness looking at the price tags. The lady behind the counter noticed my black bracelet with its butterfly.

She asked, "I have a necklace that I think will match your bracelet. Would you like to try it?"

I replied, "Oh no thank you. I was just looking around."

She brought it out anyway. It was black metal lattice woven around a thin chain. There were a lot of glittering crystals embedded all over. At its centre there was a circular pendant that really caught your eye. The lady left it on the counter and went to help Mary. I was having two minds. I really liked the necklace. It was so tempting! I finally decided to try it on. As I was picked it up, I noticed there was a matching pair of dangle earrings in the box, under the paper. I tried the necklace and the earrings on and they seemed to compliment my dark hair.

Having finally decided on her set, Mary came over. "Oh Emily, that looks so nice on you! You must buy it. You just have to!" she almost begged.

I checked the price tag. It really was pretty pricey for my income, but I was in that state of excitement and happiness having bought the clothes, I decided to splurge.

"OK fine, I will if you really think it's that good."

By the time we were done paying, Mary seemed famished. She said, "Come on Emily, let's go have an early dinner!"

I was only too happy to comply as I was also getting hungry. I asked, "Can we go for go to the bakery in the food court?"

Having decided, off we went. That place wasn't very crowded and only a few tables were in use. As we sat down with our food and shopping bags, Mary saw me looking around and was quick to comment. "Looking over those guys in the far row, are we?"

My heart skipped a beat. I felt embarrassed. I wasn't really looking, but when she mentioned it, I had caught one of them looking over at us.

"No honest, I was just looking around. But now that you mention it, seems to me like they are looking at you." I joked trying hard not to be conscious of the stares we were receiving.

Dinner over, we left for home. I had promised to go over to Mary's place to watch the movie!!br0ken!! We had a fun time watching the horror movie!!br0ken!! I had again breakfast and lunch shifts on Sunday at the Café. Although Old Joe's didn't pay very well, the retired people who came in every Sunday were not very demanding and I knew their orders individually. I always had such a fun time then.

Several guys visiting the café, had used the butterfly on the bracelet as a conversation starter. Since I wasn't interested in casual sex or one night stands, I kept my distance. But since I was friendly, there was no shortage of persisting ones.

One day, a young guy came into the café as I was beginning the evening shift. He must have been in his early twenties. He had on a white pinstripe shirt, dark pants and a bright blue tie. The tie was loosened and the sleeves of the shirt were half rolled up. His brown hair were tousled as if he had a stressful day at work. But his deep brown eyes had a twinkle as if he was quick to smile or quick with a witty remark. I turned to serve another customer with their order and did not think more of it.

As I was coming back from the kitchen with the next order, I saw him sitting at one of the tables for two at the window. He was pensively looking out the window but not really seeing anything. I really felt bad for him. I grabbed a large scone and cup of tea and headed in his direction.

"Hi, welcome to Old Joe's! You look like you do with some strong tea!" I said and placed the plate in front of him. He looked at me almost distractedly but returned my smile.

"Yes I really needed that," he said picking up the scone. "I am starving, what can you recommend?"

I suggested our finger sandwiches, which were pretty popular. He asked for a plate and I brought it over. Soon the café was filling up with the evening crowd and I was very busy behind the bar. One of the other girls took over the section where he was sitting.

During a lull in the rush, I happened to look in his direction and saw that he had ordered the day's special and was talking to one of the other staff. Just then Old Joe had sauntered out of the kitchen to look over and talk to the customers. I took that as a cue and went back to my work.

After the dinner rush was tapering down, I was helping with clean-up. I noticed that he was still sitting there. This time he was nursing a pint of beer. As I reached the table next to his during cleaning, he smiled at me. It was one of those dazzling smiles that felt like it was meant for you alone. It was also genuine and honest.

"Hi, I am Mark. Thanks for getting me the tea and scones earlier. I was really too tired and exhausted to even ask or order. I appreciated that."

I smiled back and said, "Oh no worries. I thought you had a lot on your mind and thought it would help to have some tea."

"Yes I definitely did. I had a lot of work related things on my mind. I don't usually work in the local office. I had come to visit the branch office just for today," he clarified.

"Oh, I thought that might be the case. I know most of the usual familiar faces who come to the café," I commented.

He smiled again at that. "I always like to appreciate the good turns others do for me. Sometimes others tend to take my good deeds for granted," he volunteered.

"Is that why you stayed back until now?" I quipped jokingly. That drew a laugh.

We kept on talking as I continued to clean-up and rearrange the tables in that section. He explained that he had no specific plans for the weekend except to drive back home after dinner. Since he had time on his hands, he had decided to stay back as a means to relax and watch the small town customers and to thank me as well.

"So what do you usually do after work?" he asked with some interest. But I didn't like where this was going. It felt to me as if, he was looking for a one night stand in some town he was visiting for work. Most probably he won't be visiting here again and so wanted some redeeming pleasure. It made me a little bit mad but I knew better than to show it. How was he to know that I had a respectable job outside this café? Besides he was a customer and it just would not do to be upset at the customers.

So I simply said, "Well I had promised my friend that I will be over after my shift." Although I was thinking of Mary at the time, he took that as me indicating a boyfriend as I could see from his crestfallen face. I shrugged inwardly, his problem not mine. Much later I was to discover that he felt bad not because he didn't get a one night stand. On the contrary, he was in for the long haul and felt bad that I was in a relationship.

At the time, I was not in a relationship. I had a breakup with my boyfriend of six years. He had been cheating for some time and I had been blissfully unaware of this. It was only when one of the two girls he was cheating with had boasted to me that I found out. This had happened a month before I had graduated from the college. Mary and I had been sharing a place in the student hall. She had been present when the other girl was boasting and had been my true friend at the time.

Mark hid his feelings quickly and clarified. "No I didn't mean that way. I just wanted to know, what do you do during your free time?"

"With my jobs, I barely get any free time. But when I do, I tend to dabble a wee bit in paint." I gave him the benefit of the doubt. He asked more questions about the shifts at the café and about good and bad customers. I had quite the collection of cranky customers and we got talking. I asked him about his job. He seemed a bit evasive about his exact title at the company and I didn't pursue it further.

With closing clean-up completed, I was waiting for the last of the other customers to leave. Joe and the other cook were cleaning up in the kitchen in the meantime. Mark came to sit at the bar with his beer mug. We talked about childhood and old sweethearts. Mark had been an only child just like me. He had been to one of the more prestigious universities for a masters in accounting. He was curious about why I chose economics with arts. We were having a fun time and shared a few laughs about first crushes. By then the other customers had left and Mark bid his goodbye.

The following week on Friday, he again showed up at the café as we were nearing closing time. Having done a shift in the bank earlier in the day, I was really tired. I was looking to forward to going home to relax. As I looked up from my work, Mark was standing there, looking at me and waiting patiently. When I looked up, he gave me a bright smile. "You look like you are bone tired!" he observed. I gave a wane smile. "Can I please have two espressos?" he asked almost apologetically.

Typically for espresso we usually got morning customers. But we offered it as an after dinner option on the menu. I went about making two, wondering if he was expecting someone. As I was placing the two cups on the bar he said, "The second cup is for you. I would be honoured if you will sit down for a bit."

Although there were only a few customers left, I was still in my shift so I declined politely. But he persisted, "Would you like for me to ask your manager for permission?" I knew old Joe wouldn't mind. He was always interested to know if I went out, like a doting father. Still I stepped into the kitchen to ask.

"Joe, there's a guy who wants me to have a coffee with him while on the shift."

Joe perked up. "Really? Finally! I was getting worried for you. We're past closing anyway. Go on, have that coffee. I want to see if he's all right for you." With a mischievous grin he added, "I assume he's paying for it right?"

He stepped out to take a look at Mark. After looking him over, Joe nodded and went back to kitchen. By now the remaining customers were looking at us with mild curiosity. This embarrassed me a little. But with Joe's blessing, I sat down at the table where Mark had carried the cups. As I sat down, I realized how much my feet were aching from all the walking in the bank and standing at the restaurant.

"You look like you have been working since early morning and could use the break." Mark said sympathetically. I gave a tired smile. He asked about my day and how long I had been working. Although not intentionally, I didn't outright mention that I was also working in the bank. He asked a little more about the guests and my favourite customers. I asked about his office and where his actual office was. He mentioned a three hour commute once a week to the branch office from the home office. We parted eventually as Joe started to close after the last customer left. Mark had said he would come by in two weeks.

Belatedly after he left, I realized that on that day I was actually going to be working late at the branch and not at the café. I had to continue doing two jobs at the bank as the financial advisor had gone on a maternity leave. The work was getting into long hours but was financially rewarding. I talked this over with Joe at the café.

"Look Joe, although I love working here for you, the hours at the bank are truly getting longer. I have to adjust shifts constantly. Can I please stop the work here?"

He understood said, "Look Emily, I know it's hard for you to do the two jobs with longer demands of the bank. I know I can't pay you as much as that job pays, but you're polite, kind and always serve with a bright smile to my customers. I will lose half of them if they knew you quit. Please don't do this. You're my star attraction."

I knew this was true. Apart from the rush hour crowd, breakfast customers were always regulars who came because I was serving before the bank opened. Also many of the dinner time customers frequented on the days I was there. So I agreed to stay on but said that I had to have Fridays and some weekends off. Although he thought the weekends to be ruse for me going on dates, which was true, the weekends were also the time I spent in the cellar of the adult store.

Come Friday to my surprise, Mark walked into the branch that afternoon. He must have found out from Joe about the bank. With some pretence or another he waited around until closing time. Meanwhile as I continued to complete the application paperwork, the other girls in the bank including Mary had started to notice. They were giggling when he came in, but as one, all the heads turned in his direction. I was in the interior office but could see through the glass wall. As Mark sat down to wait, Mary approached him as if she could help. I couldn't hear their conversation, but the body language seemed to indicate that he wanted to wait for the closing time. As he kept looking in my direction, Mary noticed and told him what I was doing and how long that was going to take. It seemed as if two of the other girls were trying their best to catch his eye.

As I was finishing up recording transactions in the inner office, I could see through the glass that other girls were attempting to start a conversation with him. I could tell that although he was being polite to them, his heart wasn't in it. He'd look towards me from time to time, not impatiently but more like hoping to catch my eye. He was making me feel special and that just simply made my day. I'd do my best to hurry through the remaining tasks but given the dual responsibilities I carried some days, it was difficult. Lisa, the branch manager could see what was going on and gave me an encouraging smile of tactical approval. But she was worried that I might make mistakes in rush. I felt much better when Mary would walk in to help if she could.

Finally, it was all over, and it was time for me to leave. As I grabbed my purse and stepped out, Mark got off the chair he was sitting.

"Good Afternoon Emily!"

"Hi Mark!"

"You look so different outside that uniform!" he commented, referring to the uniform at the café. I always took effort to dress nicely for the bank customers, since I alternated as financial consultant from time to time. He asked me if I wanted to go to an Art show at the museum. I agreed but asked him to follow while I drove back to the apartment. After leaving my car there, I got in his car and went for the show. After the show, he drove me back to the apartment and walked me to the front door. At the door, he leaned in for a kiss. I stood up a little on my heels and my lips met his warm lips. We kissed tentatively at first and it seemed as if the world fell away. The kiss was rather slow as if unsure but it felt as comforting that words would never be. His hands rested just below my ear, with the thumbs caressing my cheeks. I wrapped my hands around his neck and pulled him closer until there was no space left between us. After some time, the embrace was broken and we parted our ways.

The following Friday, the routine was similar. He'd come to the bank and wait for me to finish my work. At first the other girls tried to catch his eye. They would dress extra nicely, touch their makeup just before he'd be due to come. Mark would appear to talk politely with them but they could see his heart wasn't in it. It would be a different choice each time. We did go out a few Fridays and he'd always drop me off at my apartment afterwards. He always seemed to be happy with a goodbye kiss or holding my hand. He had asked me about the bracelet a couple of times, especially after noticing that I'd change other jewellery but I never changed the bracelet. He probably thought it might be a family heirloom or something and stopped asking. We had not gone beyond casual dates. Mark had always been a gentleman and never showed any expectations beyond the parting kiss. I didn't have problems going out with Mark, but I was wondering how I'd react in bed, since the last sex I had was without my consent in the bedroom of the house behind the adult store.

Finally I decided, there was only one way to find out. I agreed to go for a dinner and a film with him. He promised to come by to pick me up that evening. Since I had some time on my hands, I took out the dark blue evening dress. I had been wanting for a chance to wear it. It barely reached my knees. Since I have chest long auburn hair, I decided to take some time and do my hair after the shower. I also set out the pair of dangle earrings and necklace set. Then I started to get ready.