Finding Charlie

After sixteen hours on the bus, I arrived in Tulsa, Oklahoma just before noon on a hot July day. I had come all the way from Maine. I flew into Chicago and then took the long bus ride to Tulsa, wanting to experience Route 66. After almost a year of meeting Charlie, my on-line lover in cyber space, I wanted to surprise her—a daring act in itself as fear of what a disaster this might be swept over me. What would she think when she realized who I was? Would she be disappointed? Disillusioned? Alarmed? Would I? Would she be what I fantasized after months of visualizing her?

I found out that there were no buses from Tulsa to Jarvis, where she lived, so I decided to hitch a ride rather than rent a car. I stood out on the highway for about ten minutes, my small back pack on my shoulder and within ten minutes got a ride with an old geezer in a rusted old Dodge truck, wearing a cowboy hat. He had white stubble on his chin and looked to be about my age.

When I told him I just came from Maine and was heading for Jarvis, he looked at me, "Why that dinky town?"

"Don't laugh," I said. "But I'm looking for a woman I met on the internet."

"No shit," he said, looking at me. "She must pretty damn hot for you to come all this way," he said. "And I bet she's a lot younger than you-- ain't she?" he laughed.

"Yes, but so what? Age is just a number," I added.

"Guess so," he said, glancing at me, "but I hope your pecker holds up," he laughed.

We drove for quite awhile talking about this and that and then I must have dozed off. When I woke up and looked around I saw the road sign that said Jarvis five miles.

"Won't be long," the old guy said, smiling at me. "Hope you find her."

"Me, too," I answered.

I saw the sign, "Entering Jarvis." We drove past a gas station convenience store and into the middle of town.

"You can drop me off here in front of the hardware store," I said, pointing to it.

He pulled over to the curb and I grabbed my back pack and hopped out.

"Thanks for the lift," I said.

"No problem," he responded, saluting me with his hand at the edge of his cowboy hat. "Good luck with your lady," he said and smiled, then shook his head. "You're going to need it," and then he laughed.

When I got out of the truck, he took off and I looked around. I stood on the sidewalk in the glaring sun, not sure which way to go to find the community center where I knew she worked. I didn't even know if she would be there and whether I would recognize her. What would I do if she wasn't there since I didn't have her phone number and had no idea where she lived? I took a chance, but then, what is life if you don't take chances.

While standing there, uncertain which way to go, I saw two men sitting on a bench outside the hardware store, unshaven, smoking and looking out at the pick-up trucks and dusty cars driving by. One wore a cowboy hat, the other a green baseball cap pulled low over his eyes.

"Excuse me, can you tell me where the Community Center is?" I asked walking closer to the bench. The man with the cowboy hat looked up, the cigarette dangling from his lip and pointed down the street with his thumb, "Two blocks down—other side. Can't miss it." The other man glanced up at me then took a drag on his cigarette, looked away and sent a wad of spit to the curb.

"Thanks," I said, nodding and headed in that direction. I passed a drug store, a small coffee shop, the post office and then saw the sign of the community center on the other side. I crossed the street and stood in front of the building, looking at the door and suddenly felt my throat tighten. I saw a black pick up truck with oversized tires parked nearby and wondered if that was Charlie's. I remembered her telling me that's what she drove.

I gripped my back pack tighter as I stared at the door, feeling self-conscious. "Would she think I look like an old man?" I muttered to myself. I was thirty-some years older than Charlie, though inside I felt youthful. On-line, age didn't seem to matter, but now she would see my shaggy gray hair and beard, my wrinkles, my little belly. This was a different reality as opposed to the imagined.

I took a deep breath and walked up to the door. I put my hand on the knob, hesitating before entering. I glanced at myself in the glass of the door and saw my reflection. I took another deep breath and shook my head.

"What am I doing here?" I thought then opened the door. "Well, here goes--what ever will be, will be."

I had a mental picture of Charlie-- brownish blond hair, a pony tail, blue eyes, dimples when she smiled. I knew she always wore jeans and a tee shirt, remnants of her tom-boy days. In my imagination, she was beautiful with smooth fair skin, long legs, tight jeans, her tits—"a good hand full," she said. In bed she wore a white satin nightie that came halfway down her thighs.

When I entered, closing the door behind me, I stood in a large entrance way and looked around, hoping I would see someone that I thought resembled Charlie. I noticed a gym with a stage at one end, several small offices on the other side and a conference room with a large table and chairs around it.

And then I saw her coming out of an office with several folders in her hand. I knew it was Charlie when I saw the blond pony tail, the jeans and tee shirt. She looked exactly as I pictured her. My heart leaped and then I wondered again if I was insane to come all this way, unannounced to surprise her. Here was the "moment of decision and revision which a moment could reverse" as a line from T.S. Eliot went through my mind.

In our months of almost daily meetings, I felt I knew Charlie and she valued, I know, the time I took to know her, asking probing questions, letting her know that though we agreed initially to be on line "fuck buddies" I cared about her and our relationship gradually grew and evolved to a deeper level. We became on-line lovers who actually loved each other, at least to the degree that you can in a cyber relationship. Both of us accepted the limitations, the sense of it being real and unreal at the same time and we came to treasure it.

But now, we were about to enter the face to face reality. I swallowed and shook my head in disbelief that this meeting was actually happening. I watched her walk towards another office with several folders in her hand. She glanced over at me then turned away and disappeared into the other office. I was not surprised that she didn't continue looking at me, a stranger, because I knew how painfully shy she was. For whatever reason, she kept herself protected and private which prevented people from getting to know her. However, in the safety of the internet, she allowed her passionate sexuality to be unleashed in quick fucking sessions that were basically anonymous one night stands. She liked it rough and wild and that's what happened when we first met, except I wouldn't let her go and we began meeting frequently. Our relationship grew into what made me eventually want to come find her in real life.

I was uncertain how to approach her and have her realize who I was. It was going to be a challenge but I was eager to enter into this game of slowly revealing myself and hopefully seducing her at the same time.

As soon as she came out of the office to return to her own, I walked over to her. She looked at me and stiffened.

"Excuse me, miss," I said. "I just arrived in town and wondered if there was a motel around here."

"A motel?" she repeated and I could feel how tense she was as she looked at me."Well, there's a motel just outside of town about five miles from here."

That was the first time I heard her voice. Her Oklahoma twang made me chuckle to my self as the difference in this reality and the reality of reading her words on-line sunk in. She didn't write with an Oklahoma twang.

"Five miles," I repeated, "that far." I paused a moment. "Well, I just came here on the bus from Maine."

"Maine!" she repeated, "Wow! I know someone in Maine."

I had hoped mentioning Maine would trigger this response.

"You do!" I responded. "Do you know where in Maine?" I asked.

"I'm not sure but I know it's on the coast. He lives in a cabin in the woods and off the grid."

She seemed excited to talk about someone she knew in Maine. As soon as she said that, she took a deep breath and looked away and became tense again. She looked down at her feet and clutched the folders to her chest like armor.

"Wow, you know someone who lives in Maine and in the woods off the grid. That's really a coincidence cause that's how I live---in the woods and off the grid."

"Really! Wow! That is a coincidence," she said, looking up. "That's so amazing."

After a momentary pause, I said, "You have beautiful eyes." I looked at her blush,her cheeks turned crimson.

"Oh really, thank you," she said and looked away then down at the floor, the folders still held tightly to her chest.

"But why are you so shy? You're blushing."

She didn't answer but looked at me and shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know," she finally said and shrugged her shoulders again.

"I'm sorry if I embarrassed you," I quickly said. "I couldn't help it. I just noticed how blue your eyes are and wanted to tell you."

"Thank you," she said and smiled

"And you have dimples when you smile," I added. "I like that."

She blushed again. Her face turned pink and she touched her face. "Oh yes, my dimples," she said, holding her fingers just below her flushed cheek.

After a brief silence, I shifted my back pack from one hand to the other and cleared my throat. "Can I use a phone to call the motel?" I asked.

"Sure," she answered. "You can use the phone in my office—well it's not my office, but I'm using it," she said, seeming to relax a little. "Follow me."

"Thanks," I said and walked behind her, loving how her ass looked in the tight faded jeans. "She's even sexier than I thought she would be," I thought as we entered the office.

In the office, she took the phone book out of a drawer, opened it and looked up the number of the motel. She wrote it down and handed me the slip of paper. "Here's the number."

""You're very helpful," I said, smiling at her. Our eyes met. "That's really something that you know someone in Maine who lives in the woods and off the grid like I do."

She nodded and smiled. Again our eyes met. "An amazing coincidence," I added.

"It is," she said, with a slightly perplexed expression, scrunching her eyebrows and squinting as she looked at me. I could tell she was thinking about the coincidence.

I dialed the number and got a busy signal. "Busy," I said and put the receiver down. "Don't let me interrupt your work." I paused. "I'll call again in a few minutes." Again, I looked into her eyes, thinking she's even more beautiful than I imagined --—the light blond hair, the pony tail, her blue eyes and fair complexion, her long legs and slender body, her luscious round ass in the tight jeans and the way her tits stretched the red tee shirt she wore. Even with her shyness, I could feel her sweetness and already knew that lurking just below the surface was a passionate, wild woman who inspired me to make this long trip to find her.

As I waited to dial the number of the motel again, our eyes met and I smiled. "What's your name?" I asked.

"Charlie," she answered, looking away and picking up one of the files on the desk.

"Hmmm, Charlie," I repeated. "I like that name—cool name," I said, then added, "and you're really pretty."

Again, she blushed and looked away. I knew I was being bold but I also knew she was someone who avoided being noticed and I wanted to break through that barrier she created.

"You're blushing again," I said, smiling.

"I'm not used to people talking to me like you are," she said. "It's hard for me."

"I understand," I said. "I just like the way you look. I hope you don't think I'm just saying that to get into your pants."

When I said that she looked a little shocked though surprisingly didn't look away. I think I excited her.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have said that about getting into your pants," I added, letting my eyes drift down her body. "But I think you're pretty sexy," I said. Our eyes met and I saw she liked that I thought she was sexy.

"You do, do you?" she responded, looking around to see if anyone was listening She looked down at her desk again then back at me. "Thank you," she said.

I smiled, our eyes meeting. "I bet you have lots of guys wanting you."

"Nah, not really."

"I think it's amazing that you know someone in Maine who lives in the woods in a solar cabin and here I am a guy who lives in a solar cabin in Maine."

"Why did you come to Oklahoma?" she asked, looking at me, "and why here of all places?"

I paused and looked back at her, our eyes meeting, "Well, I'm not sure exactly but I was looking for a woman who lives in this town."

"Really!" A puzzled look crossed her face as she looked at me. "You know a woman who lives in this town?"

"Yes, someone I met on the internet," I answered.

"Oh, you met a woman on the internet who lives around here."

"Yes, I took a chance to come to Jarvis and surprise her."

"Interesting," she said, smiling and looking intently at me. Again, our eyes met. "Well, I hope you find her," she added after an awkward silence. She looked around again to see if anyone was listening then back at me. "That's pretty exciting that you would come all this way to surprise a woman you met on the internet."

The way she looked at me I knew she was catching on and ready to play. "Yeah, I met this guy on the internet," she said. "He's older than me—about your age, I'd say, but I don't think we will ever meet."

"Interesting," I said. "Well, it's a small world. Maybe one day you'll meet," I added.

"You kind of remind me of him, but that's impossible, he would never come all this way to Oklahoma."

I nodded. "Yeah, it's quite a long ways to come. He'd have to be pretty crazy to come all this way to meet his fuck angel," I said, smiling, knowing I would hit a chord.

She didn't say anything but I could tell she was stunned. She often called herself my fuck angel. Our eyes met again and we looked at each other silently.

Finally she said, "Yeah, it would be crazy to come all that distance. He would never leave his cabin in the woods. He's a writer and a real hermit."

"Hmmmmmm. That's interesting. I'm a writer and I hardly ever leave my cabin," I said, shaking my head. "That's some coincidence--how about that?" I smiled, shaking my head as if in disbelief.

Charlie was silent after I said that and looked at me. "There's no way he'd come to Jarvis," she said, but the puzzled look on her face told me she was realizing what was happening. "Any way he said we would never meet," she added.

I nodded and picked up the phone and dialed the motel again, our eyes on each other as I dialed. Suddenly, she picked up the files from the desk and walked over to the filing cabinet.

As I listened to the phone ringing, I looked at Charlie at the filing cabinet. She turned and looked at me, noticing I was looking up and down her body as I held the phone. Then our eyes met. We smiled slightly, acknowledging the game we were playing. I was impressed with how cool she was as she realized what was happening and didn't act surprised to see me. She closed the filing cabinet and came back to the desk as I spoke into the phone and then hung up.

"I don't need a reservation," the lady said.

"I didn't think you would," she said, nodding. "I'm not surprised. It's a pretty seedy place but it's the only one around."

"I kind of like seedy places," I said. "They have atmosphere and character instead of those sterile places I've stayed at." I paused. "And fifty bucks for the night sounds good to me—just as long as it has a bed and a shower, it will do."

"Hmmmm, I like seedy motels too," she said, smiling. "They can be fun."

When she said that, she looked at me and bit her lower lip and smiled. I nodded and smiled back at her, our eyes locked on each other.

"What kind of fun?" I asked, looking at her eyes. "Tell me."

"You know the kind of fun I mean," she responded, looking into my eyes, that coy smile on her lips. "Hot fun."

I nodded. Yeah hot motel fun," I repeated, smiling at her. I paused. "Now how can I get there?" I asked. "Any ideas? I don't have a car."

She paused a moment. "Well, I'm off this afternoon. I could give you a ride if you don't mind waiting fifteen minutes."

"I would like that, Charlie. That's very friendly of you," I said. After a short pause, I added, "Do you think you can trust me, I mean, taking a stranger to a seedy motel?"

"I don't know if I can trust you but I will take my chances. Anyway, I can take care of myself if you try anything." She paused, smiling, looking playfully into my eyes. "And why shouldn't I trust you. What would you want to do to me?"

I walked around the desk and stood close to her, our bodies almost touching. I looked into her eyes, "That's a good question," I said. I moved a little closer, both of us feeling our lust rising lust. "I would like to do a lot of things," I said, softly, our eyes locked on each others eyes.

"Oh really," she said. "What makes you think I would let you?" She smiled then pushed me away, gently. "Let me finish up here," she said. "Then I will drive you to your motel."

I nodded and backed away from her. "Okay, I'll just look around while I'm waiting. I walked towards the door then turned back and looked at her clearing her desk, my cock was already hard from the intensity of being so close to her. I could not believe this was actually happening and I was excited at how cool Charlie was when she realized who I was and what was happening. She was getting into the game we were playing. I was always amazed at how intuitive she was when we fucked online.

I walked around the center looking at some pictures and reading different notices on the bulletin board. Finally, I saw Charlie walking towards me with a small back pack hanging loosely from her shoulder. "She's just as sexy as I thought she'd be," I thought to myself again, loving how her tight faded jeans fit and how her tits looked in her tee shirt, her nipples now showing. I wondered if she had taken off her bra.

"Ready, stranger," she said, smiling, her dimples showing. "My truck is outside."

I followed her to the black truck, again noticing the big tires on it. "Some truck," I said.

"Yeah, gets me where I want to go."

We both climbed in the truck and she made a u-turn and started down the street towards the motel. As we passed the hardware store, the two guys were still sitting on the bench and I nodded at them as we drove past.

In the truck we were quiet at first, but kept glancing at each other, wondering what to say as our minds tried to comprehend what was happening and where this might lead. I noticed how her tits jiggled in her tight red tee shirt when we went over a few bumps. She noticed me looking at her tits and said, "What are you looking at?"

"Did you take your bra off?" I asked boldly.

"Yeah, I hate bras," she answered, smiling and looking in my eyes. When she said that I knew she was no longer the shy Charlie, but the Charlie who liked turning me on, who liked letting the secret sexy Charlie loose instead of hiding behind her shy, protected manner-- the Charlie no one knew but me. "That's interesting because the girl I know around here hates bras too," I said.

"Oh really," she responded. "Sounds like your friend and me are alike."

"You are," I said. "In fact, you remind her of me," I added.

"Hmm, I do, now that's interesting," she said, looking into my eyes. "She must be some hot girl for you to come all this way."

"She's very hot," I said, "but she hides it from people."