Former Lover

Author's Note: As with many of my stories, this is a bit of a slow burn, but it will get there. Thanks for reading, please rate, and comments are highly prized.

Tate heard the chime of his email program and grabbed his phone. Opening it, he saw an email from the dating app telling him 'You have a new message from Rhonda!' Clicking the message and then the link inside took him to the app and the message.

'Tate, is that you? Do you remember me from Jacksonville? We dated for a while maybe 12-15 years ago. In the small world category it seems we have both ended up in the same small town 400 mile from Jax. I'd love to reconnect - let me know! Thanks! Rhoni.'

Clicking on her profile Tate immediately recognized that it was, indeed, from the Rhoni he'd dated on and off years ago. Her year old picture proved she was still as beautiful as she was back then, despite both of them being much older. He was now 70 and she was 61. Damn, he was crazy for her then, but she broke things off to get back together with her on- and off- again boyfriend at the time.

Excited, but uncertain as to how to proceed, Tate decided to sleep on it. It wasn't long before he went to bed, hoping his dreams might give him the direction he needed.

Although his alarm was set for 6 a.m. he found himself awake at 5:03 with a raging hard on. Thoughts of Rhoni swept through his brain like tsunamis and he couldn't refrain from stroking his cock. Thinking back of the fantastic sex they'd had years ago, it didn't take long for him to cum.

When the alarm went off he got out of bed, made it up as he did every morning, then went into the en suite bathroom, peed, and showered. After he dried and dressed he went into the living room of his small cabin, put down his dog's food and let her out of the crate (den) she slept in. Predictably Tess made a mad dash across the room and immediately began wolfing down her breakfast.

Tate fixed himself a cup of coffee and took the meds his doctor had prescribed before opening his laptop to catch up on the news. When he did he discovered he'd never closed the dating app and Rhoni's message was still on the screen.

'Hi Rhoni', he typed, 'yes, it's me. How have you been and how in the world did you end up here in the mountains? I moved here 7 years ago, after my Jax relationship ended and I convinced my boss to let me work remotely. Did that for 3 years then retired in early 2020. I love it here, although dating is DIFFICULT with a capital D!" He signed it Tate and hit the reply button.

After reading the news and eating breakfast, Tate headed out to the gym as was his routine on Friday mornings. Throughout his workout he thought of nothing other than Rhoni. He had been crazy about her, and the sex was great. What's her story, he thought? Is she single or still with that guy...Brian? Bruce? How did she end up here? She was definitely more the "city girl" than "country gal" type.

Entering his car after finishing his workout he found another message on his phone. 'Short story but better told in person. Do you have lunch plans?' he read.

'No plans. I'm in Cornelia, just leaving the gym. Where are you?'

'LOL! Also Cornelia...I work at Ethomatic now. I can take my lunch break any time. Can we meet in 30 minutes?'

'Sure. Do you know 57 Chevy diner downtown?'

'Nope but I'm sure I can find it. See you soon!'

Half an hour later Tate parked and walked into the retro-themed diner. Stopping just inside the door he scanned the room and saw her sitting alone at a booth toward the back. His heart skipped a beat or two - she had barely aged in the years since they'd last seen one another.

After telling the hostess he was joining someone he approached her table, hopeful she wouldn't be off-put by his appearance. To his delight, as she saw him nearing her she looked up and a huge smile graced her face. She jumped up and moved out of the booth to grab him and give him a tight hug.

Rhoni was still about 5'2", blond hair, blue eyes, and maybe 110 pounds. Her 32B breasts looked, and felt against his chest. as if they'd not aged a day since last he saw them.

Tate looked down at her and she bent her neck back to look up at him. She give him a quick, almost chaste kiss, but on his lips. Surprised, he barely responded before she broke off the embrace and, taking his hand, slid into the booth while guiding him to the opposing bench.

"Oh my god, Tate! You cannot believe how thrilled I am to see you and to find out you live around here! I've been going crazy since I moved here and found out it's pretty much redneck heaven! Finally, someone who can have an intelligent conversation!"

"Great to see you too, Rhoni, but slow down and bring me up to speed. What are you doing here?"

"Oh, sorry. Well, you know I was a Lead Trainer back in Jax. My boss, the Manager of Training, is about my age and had no ambitions to move up. So I had no opportunity to advance. Being a multi-national company, we have subsidiaries all over the world. So I started looking at openings in other affiliates. The Training Manager slot came up here at Ethomatic. Nice pay increase and my daughters are both nearby - Carrie is expecting in a few months and lives in Atlanta and Grace is still single, living in Asheville. This is about 2 hours from each of them. So I applied and got the position! I moved here about a month ago and I have to admit I feel like a fish out of water."

"That's fantastic, Rhoni! I've very glad for you. This is a great place to live, as long as you can put up with the natives," Tate smirked.

"Tell me about it! I have never had so many cretins hit on me, both in person and online! When I saw your profile on the app I literally shouted and started clapping!"

Tate laughed. "Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves."

"I'm sorry," Rhoni replied, suddenly subdued. "I don't mean to assume anything, just happy to reconnect. Are you with someone? From your dating profile I thought you were single"

"It's okay, Rhoni. Yes, I'm single and have been for almost 2 years. I would love to reconnect with you, if that's what you want, and we can see where it might go."

Rhoni exhaled loudly. "Phew! I would love that, Tate!"

"Okay, let's eat so you can get back to work and then we can talk this evening. If you're free tomorrow I can show you around the area a bit and we can talk more.

But I have one question I'd like to know now, if that's okay."

"Sure, anything."

"What happened to the on and off again guy in Jax? Brian? Bruce?"

"Brad. You remember that he had some emotional issues, which had a lot to do with our being on and off. Since you worked at the same company you even tried to find out where he was once for me when he disappeared. After you and I stopped seeing each other Brad and I continued to be on and off. He'd live with me then disappear, then come back, etc. About five years ago he left again and two months later he took his own life."

"Oh geeze, Rhoni. I am so, so sorry. That must have been terrible for you!"

"Thank you, Tate. I know you mean that. Those of us who were close to him always expected it would end that way but it is still hard to deal with when it does. I used to feel guilty until therapy helped me understand it was his decision, not my fault. Now I just feel sadness when I think of him."

"I won't pretend to know what you might feel or how I can help, but I'm here for anything you need, hon."

Rhoni smiled. "Yes, you always were one of the most supportive men I've ever known. Give me your number and I'll call tonight. We can decide what we want to do tomorrow."

"It's a plan. And a date", Tate replied.

Chapter 2

Saturday morning Tate woke up at seven which was his habit. He peed then weighed himself, dressed and went out and opened the pantry to get his dog's food. Putting the bowl down where she ate, he walked through the small living room area and let her out of the crate she slept in. She made a mad dash for her food and Tate moved into the kitchen area. He took his meds then popped a pod into the coffee maker and filled it with water.

Tate rarely took his phone into the bedroom when he went to sleep so he walked over and took it off the charger cord. He was surprised to see a message, and even more surprised when he saw it was from Rhoni, having come in at 6:45.

"Hey, hope I'm not too anxious but I wanted to catch you early. I'd love to take you out to breakfast if you know anywhere better than Waffle House. Let me know!"

Tate typed back, "Morning, Rhoni. The best breakfast around here is in Helen. Do you know it?"

His phone pinged and he saw "I've heard about it but haven't been there. Can we meet somewhere?"

Rhoni had told him she was in an apartment in Cornelia, so he gave her directions to a halfway meeting point and they agreed to connect in an hour. After shaving, Tate jumped into the shower and cleaned up. He then dressed in nice jeans and a good polo shirt.

Getting into his car, Tate drove the opposite direction from the restaurant to the meeting point they had agreed upon. He arrived just as he saw a car pull into the lot and noticed the Florida license plate. That had to be her, he thought correctly.

Tate got out of his car as she pulled to a stop in a parking slot. She saw him and he saw the huge smile on her face as she recognized him. She shut off her engine, grabbed her purse, and opening the door got out of her car.

"Tate!!! It is SOOOO good to see you again!" Rhoni gushed as she ran over and threw her arms around him. They hugged and then Rhoni pressed her lips against his and kissed deeply.

Tate responded, but at the same time was confused. It had been at least 15 years since they'd been together. "Wow!" he said, "much as I'm thrilled to see you again, I wasn't expecting quite such an enthusiastic greeting!"

Rhoni laughed, and said, "Tate, you were always special to me. I was crazily hung up on a guy that even I knew would never be someone who could commit and truly be with me. Brad had demons that haunted him and despite many attempts at therapy he couldn't deal with them. Looking back, I now don't even know if I truly loved him or if I just felt compelled to help a tortured soul."

"I'm sorry, Rhoni. That must have been a very difficult time for you," Tate replied.

"It was, but after he passed, and I got beyond my mourning, I started thinking about everything. The one bright light in that era of my life was you. You were always there for me, when Brad and I were off, and I couldn't see how much better off I'd be if I had walked away from Brad and gotten together with you. When I finally realized that, I checked your dating site profiles and found you had left. Then I looked at Facebook and your status said you were In a Relationship. So my chance had passed."

"Yeah, I thought she was the person I would be with the rest of my life. Until she cheated on me, that is. She and I actually bought my cabin up here together and put a ton of money into upgrading it so it would be comfortable in our retirement. But then she started making a lot of "business trips" to Orlando and spending a lot of time on Facebook or Message evenings when she was home. I finally confronted her and she said she wanted out. It wasn't long after she left that I learned she had been having an affair. The only upside was that she had cheater's guilt and sold me her share of the cabin at bargain basement pricing. A few years later I told my boss I wanted to try working remotely from her and, if it worked out, move permanently. She supported that and here I am, now retired."

"Tate, I'm sorry you had to deal with all that. Including me being so undecided. I remember ending things with you, and then a few months later asking if you would take me on the Harley down to Biketoberfest. We had a great time but then it was freezing cold on the ride back. You gave me your rain jacket which helped a bit, but we were both freezing. You asked me if I wanted to get into your hot tub to warm up and I said YES!. You stripped naked since we'd had sex before while I kept my bra and panties on.

You fixed us each a drink and we got into your hot tub, sitting on opposite sides from one another. We chatted although I have no idea now what we spoke of. I was desperately hoping you would move toward me and start something but you didn't."

"You'd ended things with me when you got back with Brad. I assumed we were on a "friend date" since he didn't ride and you wanted to go to a biker event. Since you kept your bra and panties on, which are basically a bikini, I didn't expect anything more...much as I wanted it."

"Gawd I wanted you! Brad and I were on another 'break' as he'd disappeared and I'd not heard from him in weeks. And you may not have realized it," she said with a grin, "but I kinda like sex."

"Yeah, I figured that out. I think my first hint was when you waded across the hot tub, took your panties off and threw them onto the deck, and mounted me. As I recall, you said, "Is this okay?" as you rubbed your pussy over my erect cock.

"Tate, I love your cock and the way you make love and have sex. When I found out you were living up here, where I had just relocated, I swear my pussy got wet. I went onto your Facebook page and saw where your status said Single. I was afraid you'd be upset with me for the way I treated you back in Florida. Then I dealt with a few of the misogynistic rednecks around here. The most ignorant, crass flirting I've ever experienced. I've actually spread the rumor that I'm gay around the plant, in hopes it will keep them away!

Tate laughed and said, "Okay, get in my car and we'll head to Helen for breakfast. It's out of season so we shouldn't have too long a wait for a table."

Chapter 3

The fairly small parking lot at Haffer's wasn't full which boded well and after they walked in and went to the hostess stand they were pleased to be seated immediately. Tate told Rhoni that he'd never had a bad meal here and they each chose their breakfast.

"So," Tate said, "what do you expect, Rhoni? I mean, we dated three or four times back in Florida and each time you ended it. Is that what I have to look forward here, too?"

"Tate, that's completely fair for you to think. I can only tell you this - I've never stopped thinking about you, even when I went back to Brad. We had great sex together, although I think you know I hoped you would get a bit more, shall we say, wild? But more important you were the most caring, supportive man I've ever known. No-one can truly make 'forever' promises, as we never know what life may have in store for us. But I can say I truly hope we can start over and make it work this time."

Tate thought this through, his eyes focusing on an arbitrary spot on the back wall of the restaurant. "Okay, Rhoni. I was crazy about you and you've hardly changed a bit. I have, as you can see. I shave my head now after enough hair fell out that anything else wouldn't make sense."

"I actually love it, Tate. And the beard. I see you've kept your weight down, but you do look a bit more buff than you were back then," Rhoni declared.

"Well, I actually got up to 192 by the time I moved here permanently. Seven years ago I found a personal trainer and I see him every Monday and Friday morning for thirty minutes. I stay between 150 and 155 now.

And you should know that almost two years ago I had a cardiac event. I don't call it a heart attack because all I had was a little bit of what I considered heartburn. But it had happened every day for almost a week. I took my blood pressure and it was sky high. This was the Sunday of Memorial Day weekend and I knew I couldn't see my doctor until Tuesday at the earliest. My workout was canceled for Monday as my trainer took the day off to celebrate, so if I died no-one would know for days. I drove myself to the ER and they did some tests then sent me down to Gainesville for a cath procedure. That was done on Tuesday - I had a 99% blockage of the left coronary artery, what they call the widowmaker because hardly anyone survives it. It took two stents to resolve it.

A month later the local hospital called and strongly encouraged me to take part in their cardiac rehab program. Three times a week for twelve weeks, overseen by nurses and a certified Exercise Physiologist. When that ended I joined Planet Fitness because they take Silver Sneakers making my basic membership free."

"Wow! Quite a tale! But you're okay now, right? I mean, we could still have sex?" Rhoni asked with a hopeful tone of voice.

Tate laughed. "Yes. As my doc says, I had a serious issue but they fixed it. I do have to take several meds every day but the only side effect I have is that the aspirin causes me to bruise easily."

They finished breakfast and Rhoni insisted on paying. Leaving the car in the lot, they walked down one side of Main Street, stopping to allow Rhoni to explore some of the shops. Helen is really a tourist town and the heart of it is only about four blocks long. But all the facades are in a Bavarian theme and there are a few interesting shops mixed in with the typical t-shirt and souvenir places. Reaching the end of this section meant arriving at the bridge that spans the Chattahoochee River. Too early in the spring for the tubing and kayak places to open, the river was clear of human presence.

They cross the road to check out the shops on the other side and Rhoni took Tate's hand in hers. He looked down at her and she gazed up and smiled. Arriving back at the end they crossed back over the road and retrieved the car. "Would you like to check out Anna Ruby Falls and Unicoi State Park? The hike to the falls is only a half mile on a paved trail but it is pretty steep in places. Are your shoes going to work for that?" Tate asked.

"Sure, these are some flats that I often wear to work and as you know running training classes means lots of standing and walking. Let's go for it!"

As they drove through Unicoi to reach the entrance to Anna Ruby, Rhoni's eyes darted all over the place, taking in as much of the flora and fauna as she could. "This is beautiful!"

Tate made a short detour and drove down to the area containing the beach and a couple of sheltered picnic table areas groups could reserve for birthday parties, reunions and the like. Rhoni asked, "Can you swim here?"

"Sure," Tate replied, "see the floating rope? That's as far out as you're supposed to go."

Returning to the car, Tate continued driving up the hill and Rhoni went back to gawking at the scenery. Stopping at the fee booth, Tate showed the guard his lifetime National Park pass which entitled them to free entrance. The guard tipped his head and Tate drove the final distance to the Welcome Center and parking lot.

Getting out of the car, Tate led Rhoni to the large map of the park and falls. Rhoni excitedly said "Oh, you have to get a picture of me in front of that map! Make sure you get the top of the map with the park name on it!" With that Rhoni unlocked her phone and handed it to Tate, who happily took several pictures. Rhoni scrolled through them when he handed her phone back and, apparently satisfied, put the phone back into her pocket.

Tate took Rhoni's hand and they started up the path. Rhoni was a bit surprised at how steep it was, so Tate told her, "Don't worry. Once we get about half way up it eases up. Becomes sort of like a giant staircase, up, then level, then up again. And the view at the top is worth the effort."

"What do you know about it?" Rhoni asked Tate.

"Two creeks, the Curtis and the York, each have a waterfall beside the other. One drops 150 feet while the other only 50. At the base, the two creeks merge and become Smith Creek, which is this one we're walking beside. Smith empties into Unicoi Lake, which we'll drive over when we leave.

The falls are named for Anna Ruby Nichols, the daughter of an early settler who, some believe, discovered them. An interesting oddity is that while Anna Ruby is a national park, the road we drove up to get here passes through Unicoi which is a state park of Georgia. The fee booth for Unicoi wasn't manned today but had it been all we'd have had to do is tell them we're going to Anna Ruby and they won't charge us."