For Old Times Sake

I arrived at the Valentine's Day party late. I hadn't even planned to go out to tell the truth, but memories of the year before drove me out of the house finally. My wife had been killed two days after Valentine's Day the year before and I was missing her terribly. She had been the center of my universe for more than twenty years and I was lost without her.

As I walked into the Country Club, I wondered why I had kept a membership here. Karen had loved the tennis courts, the spa, and the gym but I didn't play golf or tennis for that matter. I had broken a knee and an ankle in a motorcycle accident many years before. I did use the spa and the gym with Karen but had not been since she died.

"Mr. Kemp, long time no see," the man behind the desk inside the door said.

I had to think a moment and then it came to me, he was the assistant manager. I replied, "It has been a while hasn't it. Is there a cover charge tonight?"

He glanced at his watch and said, "There is supposed to be but seeing as it's late and you're alone, don't worry about it."

"Well, thank you. I hadn't meant to go out tonight. It was a last minute thing. Without my wife...." I let the sentence trail off.

"I understand, sir. Tell Woody, the bartender, I said your first drink is on me."

With a sigh, I nodded as memories of the year before flooded in. "Thank you," I told him as I turned toward the banquet hall. I felt like turning around but I needed company. At least some sort of distraction from.... I clamped down on the thought sharply.

*****

The place was not packed but there were a good hundred people in the large room. The lights were dim and the band was playing a slow song. I smiled as I remembered how Karen always took her time in wanting to dance and always picked the slow songs. I knew how to dance but my bum leg and ankle refused to relearn the steps of anything faster than a slow waltz.

I found a stool by the wall at the end of the bar. I ordered a drink and leaned back, turning so I could watch the dance floor and the crowd. I loved to people watch. Karen always said that was why I was so good at my job, I observed people and understood them.

The bartender sat my drink in front of me. "Uh, the assistant manager said this one was on him."

Woody grinned and replied, "We don't have an assistant manager."

"He used to be the assistant manager. I just haven't been here in a while. He might be manager by now, for all I know. He was at the front desk when I came in."

With a nod, Woody said, "He's the manager now. Old Man White finally died."

"I didn't know that. Mr. White was a fine old man from what dealings I had with him."

"Yeah, he was a fair boss as bosses go. Hadley, the guy you know as the assistant manager could take some lessons from the Old Man. He has a lot to learn, he takes being boss way to seriously."

"I know the type," I said with a grin.

Woody hurried off to fill a drink order and I turned back to the crowd. After a while, I hadn't seen anyone I knew, so I figured the evening was a bust as far as someone to talk with. Since my wife died, I worked, came home, I had a few drinks, and I went to bed in the spare bedroom. I couldn't sleep in the master bedroom. There were just too many memories.

I continued to people watch until I finished my drink. I considered ordering another but I had already had two earlier at home. I shrugged, it wasn't even eleven yet and I didn't have to be at work until noon tomorrow. It was one of the rewards for being the top salesmen in the company. Monday mornings were always slow and boring.

A flash of a camera caught my eye. A young woman was taking pictures of two older women. The two older ones were mugging and making faces at the camera. All three were laughing and having a wonderful time. One of the older women looked familiar but I couldn't remember from where, which is unusual for me. People are my business so remembering names and places is something I have schooled myself to do.

It was bugging me that I could not remember the woman's name. Finally, I turned and waved at Woody to order another drink. I considered asking him who she was but figured he wouldn't know.

He sat my drink down and looked over my shoulder. "Yes ma'am, can I get you something to drink?"

"No, not right now," a female voice, said from behind me.

I turned and the woman whose name I could not remember stood there looking at me. She smiled and said, "You don't remember me do you, Carl?"

"You look familiar but I can't for the life of me remember who or even from where," I admitted.

She laughed and then said, "It's only been twenty years and I know I've changed a lot. You on the other hand look very much as you did back then. A little gray in the hair but it looks good on you."

Even with those hints, I could not remember. I shook my head. "I'm sorry but...."

She laughed again. "We only met once. It was at Karen's mothers house a few months before you two got married. It was July the fourth and there was a swim party although I didn't swim back then." She paused to chuckle. "I didn't even own a swim suit back then. They didn't make one in my size."

Then it snapped. "Lisa? No wonder I couldn't remember. There's only a third of you to remember," I said with a big grin as my mind supplied the very overweight teenage cousin I had been introduced to that afternoon.

"Yeah, I had to lose the other two people in this body or die." She paused a second and then whispered, "I'm sorry about Karen, I loved her like a sister."

I nodded and took a sip of my drink. There was an awkward silence and then I asked, "So how did you make this amazing transformation?"

"A good doctor and several surgeries, to keep it short. That and a strict diet and exercise. The doctor knew a personal trainer that donated his time to a worthy cause. I guess I was worthy enough because he ended up marrying me."

"So, where is the lucky fellow?"

She sighed and shook her head. "He stayed around for a while. I was the naive, shy, virgin that all men dream about but he ended up leaving with a lady bodybuilder. I'm not complaining, he taught me a lot about getting in shape and staying that way. Not to mention he paid for quite a bit of plastic surgery to trim things up shall we say."

"Well, you do look fantastic," I said with a smile. She did look good. The little black dress she wore, showed nice cleavage and even nicer legs.

"Thank you kind sir," she said with a grin. "You're the main reason I lost all the weight you know."

"I am? In that case, I'm glad I could be of service."

Lisa laughed and then whispered, "You've been a lot of things to and for me. Some I could say and some are best left unsaid."

I looked at her questioningly but she laughed and shook her head. "I'd just embarrass myself, so don't ask."

"Okay, in that case, can I buy you a drink?"

"I'd love one. How about a vodka and soda with a twist of lemon."

I waved at woody and order her drink when he came down to this end of the bar. Turning back to her, I asked, "Who are your friends?"

"My sister Julie and her daughter Marie. We're all single so we decided to celebrate that way. Everyone seems to be attached at this party, so we're going with the flow as they used to say."

She paused and looked at me. "Why don't you join us? You're single after all."

"Uh... I'm not sure that I should. I'm not exactly a party animal anymore. Not that I was ever much of one." I told her but then I remembered the reason I had come to the club. "On second thought, maybe that is just what I need. Some good company, that is."

Lisa grinned. "We're every man's wet dream. Two sisters with a side order of daughter."

I looked at her sharply with my eyes wide. I could not believe she had said that. She definitely was not the shy young girl I remembered but then again, that had been a long time ago.

Lisa laughed and shook her head. "Maybe I shouldn't have said that. I sometimes speak whatever is in my head without thinking about how it might sound to the rest of the world."

I chuckled and said, "Then you fit right in with the shock culture of the young these days."

"I'm a teacher so I know what you mean but I have to watch myself at school even more carefully than normal. Being out tonight with a few drinks in me, has kind of loosened that mental censorship."

"So you went to college," I asked.

"Yes, I went and so did my sister, she's a librarian now. Her daughter is going to the same college as a matter of fact."

"Karen and I started college. She finished. I didn't." I told her.

Lisa nodded. "I remember. I heard about it years afterward. You had a football scholarship and then had a motorcycle wreck and lost the scholarship."

"Yeah, it was probably a good thing in a lot of ways. I found my true calling while I was reciprocating. I met a guy in the hospital that was starting a small medical equipment company and the rest is history. I've been selling his equipment all my life."

Lisa grinned. "Karen never had to work a day in her life, I take it."

I chuckled and shook my head. "She worked as much as I did. She was a geophysicist and worked for many of the largest oil companies in the world. She also traveled a great part of the world and I tagged along when I could."

"That sounds wonderful. I should have stayed in closer touch," Lisa said with a sigh. "But I always felt funny around the two of you."

"Why was that?" I asked.

"You mean besides me being in lust and love with you?" She asked with a chuckle.

"Uh.... Yeah, that might have been a problem. Karen did not share well with others at all," I said with a chuckle of my own.

Lisa sighed and downed the last of her drink. She looked over to where her sister and niece sat. "I don't think I would be able to share well, either," she whispered.

I looked at her sharply and then looked in the same direction she was looking. Her sister and niece were seated at the table looking our way and whispering back and forth. They would laugh or grin from time to time. When they waved at us, I chuckled, waved back, and turned back to the bar. "Why do I suddenly feel like a t-bone steak at a Weight Watchers meeting?"

"Are you talking about them or me?" Lisa asked with a grin.

"Yeah," I replied with a chuckle as I tried to flag Woody down to order us another round.

Lisa pulled my hand down and shook her head. "I don't think I need another drink and you don't either. How about if we dance instead."

"My dancing is limited," I said as I looked toward the dance floor and the people there. The band was into a series of fast numbers.

"Then I guess there is only one thing left to do," Lisa said with a big grin.

"And that is?" I asked softly.

"Your place or mine," she whispered softly and then added, "Uh... make that your place as I live with my sister and niece."

My mouth hung open for a moment and then I whispered, "I haven't.... Uh, I don't know if.... Uh... I...." Then I ran down.

Lisa smiled shyly and whispered, "I haven't in a long time either but...."

"Uh, why not?" I asked suddenly.

"After the ex ran off, I kind of went wild for a few months. After that, I dated very carefully and did not find anything I wanted to keep. I still date off and on but I'm still very picky."

"I can understand the wild thing, I think. If I had not loved Karen so much, I might have done the same thing under different circumstances. As for picky...." I paused as I thought through what I wanted to say. "My job takes me into contact with many women at the places where I make sales calls and most have known me as a married man for years."

Lisa smiled and said, "Now that your wife has died, you are being hit on from all sides, right." I nodded and she went on, "You were a loving husband for twenty years, so you are a valuable commodity. You are a proven partner. Hell yes, they are going to be after you."

"Uh... yeah...." I whispered and then shook my head. "But I'm still...." I ran down again as I shied away from saying my wife was dead and I still loved her.

"You still love her and miss her," Lisa said softly. "That is natural and normal."

I nodded and sighed deeply. "Am I crazy?"

"For loving someone? No, not in the least. It says just how much you did love her."

I chuckled and whispered, "No, am I crazy for not grabbing you up and carrying you off to my cave."

Lisa laughed and shook her head. "Is that from your point of view or mine? I think so but you don't so...."

I sighed again. "It's been a year and I know I will get over her being gone someday but...."

"Maybe you need some help," Lisa whispered as she took my hand in both of hers. "I don't ever want to try and replace Karen because that will never happen. But I would like to find out what made her so happy. I would love to know that feeling even it was for just a little while."

I didn't know what to say, one part of my mind was warring with another part and I was just looking on to see who would win. Lisa pulling on my hand made me turn and look at her. She was grinning as she pulled me off my stool. I felt a shy smile cross my face.

Lisa laughed softly and whispered, "I was going to take you out on the dance floor but that smile changed my mind. You wait here while I go get my jacket and purse. If you see me running toward the door, you had better be following close behind me, if you don't want three women fighting over you here in the club."

My mouth dropped open for a second and then I grinned. "Talk about your from famine to feast moments."

"You would not live through it, believe me," Lisa said as she let go of my hand.

"Hell, I might not live through just you," I whispered.

Lisa grinned and replied, "Oh, you'll live through me, I'll make damned sure of that."

With that said, Lisa headed across the room to the table where her sister and niece sat. I found my car keys in case we had to make a quick getaway and walked slowly toward the door. I still wasn't sure how much Lisa had been joking earlier. I also could not believe how good she looked. With all the weight gone, she even looked a little like Karen.

There was a heated whispered discussion at the table and then Lisa laughed and stood up. "You ladies have fun," she said and then spun on her heels and headed my way. Her sister and niece sat there with their mouths open as Lisa took my arm.

"We had better hurry. They are stunned at the moment so we can get a head start," she said as we headed out the door.

*****

I was driving Karen's car instead of my old pickup. Lisa was curled up in the passenger bucket seat as I drove slowly toward my home. She had slipped her heels off and had her feet up on the seat next to her ass. Her knees were pointed in my direction as she leaned back against the door. The hem of her little black dress was up around mid thigh.

My eyes kept glancing at the bare skin showing below the dress ever so often. The light from the dashboard was bright enough to highlight the lacy elastic bands around the top of her thigh high stockings. Lisa was smiling and the smile would turn to a grin as my eyes went to her legs.

"You have no idea what those looks are doing to me, do you?" She asked suddenly.

I grinned and shook my head. "Probably not but I do know what they are doing to me. Karen rode that way with me but I always knew what she had on under her dress besides the thigh highs."

"Probably the same thing I have on under my dress, nothing," Lisa said softly.

"Karen sometimes wore panties but only so she could flash them at me and then she would take them off without letting me know. Then she would flash her bare sex at me. Either way, she always got a rise out of me, in more ways than one," I said as my mind wandered down memory lane a little ways.

Lisa uncurled her right leg and put her foot on the floor. Her knee was now raised and I could see well past the top of her thigh high on her left leg. Her sex was hidden in the shadows but my semi hard manhood got a little stiffer.

"I like to tease also," she whispered as she rocked her knee from side to side slightly.

A moment later, the tight skirt had worked its way up to the top of her thigh. The dash lights now highlighted her sex. It was small and round much like Karen's had been but the inner lips looked larger where they made a ruffle down the center of her slit. She was smoothly shaven and there was a damp look to her sex. I licked my lips and Lisa laughed softly, nervously.

"Are you wet from flashing me or is it from anticipation?" I asked.

With a big shiver, Lisa replied, "Both but just being around you with all my old fantasies floating around in my head is the main cause."

I made the turn into the lane where my house was. "You do know that Karen was the only woman I've ever slept with, don't you?"

Lisa made a soft whimpering sound. "No. No, I didn't know that."

I grinned and said, "We were both virgins and talk about your comedy of errors. Our honeymoon was like a horror story and a porn movie all rolled into one but we worked it out and learned as we went."

Lisa shivered again and whispered, "My honeymoon was all porn movie. My ex was very experienced, I found out the hard way, no pun intended."

I chuckled and shook my head. "Then tonight should prove very interesting for both of us. Just one thing though, if I call you Karen, don't be offended."

Lisa came very close to giggling as she replied, "Why would I be offended? After twenty years, it's the only name you have ever used. Me on the other hand, I have no names that standout in my head except yours."

"I'll... uh... take that as a compliment," I said softly as I turned into my driveway.

"You better," Lisa said softly as she turned in her seat and faced forward.

I stopped in front of the garage and hit the door opener. We were silent as the door slowly opened and then we both sighed as I pulled the car inside. I hit the button and the door slowly closed behind us.

"Maybe this isn't a good idea. The house, not the other idea," Lisa whispered and then grinned sheepishly. "You will have so many memories here."

"I have memories from everywhere," I whispered back. "Karen and I used to grab nothing but our toothbrushes and head out in search of the seediest motel we could find for nothing more than the wild thrill of having sex in a seedy motel. Twenty four hours later, we would walk out of the place dressed the same way we had arrived, hand in hand, grinning like a couple of fools. A couple of well satisfied fools, I might add."

Lisa squirmed in her seat and looked at me out of the corner of her eye. "I've never been to a seedy motel. I've been to a couple of hotels but not for sex," she whispered.

I chuckled and said, "Karen would get so hot and bothered when we checked in. I would make her go in with me when I registered. It was a mental thing. She knew we were there just to have sex and somehow in her mind everybody knew we were there to have wild raunchy sex. It just kept feeding back until we hit the room and the door closed. At that point it became mutual rape."

Lisa shivered hard and moaned softly. "You keep talking like that and it might be mutual rape right here and right now."

I looked over at her; she was still facing forward and looking straight ahead. "We would be more comfortable inside," I said as the overhead lights in the garage went out. The car headlights were still on, so there was light to see by.

She nodded and then looked at me. A grin slowly spread across her face and then she was in my arms kissing me. She was sprawled over the console and had her arms around my neck. The kiss started out at passionate and skyrocketed from there. Lisa moved her hand to the side of the seat to pull herself over more on top of me.

Somehow she hit the seat release and we fell backwards to the limit of the seat recline position. We were kissing, she was giggling and still trying to crawl on top of me. The steering wheel was not helping a bit as her foot got tangled up in it and blew the horn. The kiss broke as she started to laugh. I just shook my head and grinned.