Found Money

"No, no," Melanie clutched his arm. Kind of like she did to me at the art gallery when we first met.

"I really should go," Harrison said. "I'm with some people." And he nodded to a group across the room. All well dressed, handsome and successful looking.

With a hug to Melanie and a hand clapped on my bony shoulder he left our area.

"Harrison works at McClatchy-Reed with me." Melanie elaborated. "He's our client manager. I've been trying to get on the client side of the business for the last year. It's a tough job, but that's where the money is." She told me.

All the time she was talking to me she was staring off, over my shoulder in the direction of Harrison Locke. The intimacy we had shared just ten minutes ago was gone. I now felt insecure and out of place.

It wasn't long before Melanie and here gang declared it was time to go.

"Call me," Melanie said to me. "Let's do something together soon."

And with the briefest of hugs and a light kiss on my cheek, she was gone.

Isaac and I left almost immediately after. On the way home I analyzed my feelings. Throughout all of high school and parts of college I had longed for girls like Melanie. It was almost like reading an Archie comic and seeing Betty and Veronica, shapely, beautiful and full breasted.

That was the kind of woman I wanted. My girlfriends had been far more plain. If a particular girlfriend I had was attractive facially, normally her body would not be great.

Or the nice breasted slim girlfriends would have an unremarkable face. The selection of girls I was to choose from was most certainly a notch or so below the Melanie's of the world.

I know that all sounds terribly superficial, but it was how I felt. I couldn't help it.

This was why the evening ended so disappointingly for me. I felt I was closer than I had ever been to the kind of girl I had always wanted, but Harrison's presence firmly reminded me of the kind of guy that someone like Melanie would end up with.

With resignation I realized I would never call Melanie. I didn't need to put myself through all the likely rejection.

It was nearly a week later and I had emerged from my post-Melanie funk and life was back to normal. Any mood change I had experience was left unsaid between Isaac and I.

Out of the blue my iPhone vibrates.

"Hey stranger," it's Melanie. "I thought I might hear from you by now." She says.

I was so stunned by the phone call I said nothing at first. In my mind my brief encounters with Melanie were solidly in the rear view mirror. Hadn't she moved on?

"Uh," I finally choked out. "I've been busy at work." I uttered, the feeblest of excuses.

"Well you can't work all the time," she told me. "Let's go do something tomorrow night. I'll text you my address." She added.

And just like that the emotional buoyancy of the art gallery night had re-inflated. I was confused but excited. Maybe I could end up with a good looking woman like Melanie?

That Friday night was a good night. We went to Kai a nice sushi restaurant in the Pioneer district. After that we went to Bilateral a very hip, semi gay, club and danced until late.

One thing I have to mention. When I was growing up every Summer I would camp for a week with Mike, my cousins, family. Mike's sister would bring her friend, Gabriella.

Gabriella taught us to dance. And though socially I could be awkward and athletically I was a bit uncoordinated, I could dance. And I was pretty good.

I think my dancing skills surprised Melanie. She seemed pleased with the way I danced. I felt I had passed some type of acceptance test.

Much later we ended back at her place. No roommates visible. We ended up on her couch. We started kissing and I could tell she was in to it.

After a while I started kissing the side of her neck and she began to massage my back sensuously. I slipped one hand down to her beautiful breast.

"No," she softly breathed into my ear.

I could feel her swollen nipple through her clothes. I was turned on, she was turned on, but no means no, and I removed my hand.

"You're not stealing second base tonight." She told me.

"No?" I asked.

"Not tonight big boy," she said. "But this time you better call me. And soon." She told me.

She walked me to the door and this lead to another briefer but intense make out session. I was holding her full frontal to full frontal. I could feel her breasts and there was no way she didn't feel my erection.

"Good night, big boy," she said with. A half smile and when she said 'big boy' she glanced down to my groin. And with that she gently pushed me out and softly shut the door.

And there I stood in the hallway of her apartment complex with a stupid grin on my face and a giant erection. What a night.

I did call her and we started seeing each other at least a couple of times a week. I would have liked to be with her more than this, but I didn't want to act desperate.

It must have been about our fourth official date and I had invited her to my house where I had planned to cook her dinner. She hadn't been to my house before.

The house was old, but in a nice neighborhood of older, mostly well preserved homes. Values were skyrocketing.

My house was solid, but needed some updates. For example, there was a rotten old cedar patio off the dining room accessed by a clunky looking aluminum sliding glass door. This was on the list to replace.

Melanie seemed interested in the house and slowly strolled about examining small details like the built in bookshelves and the old tiled fireplace. It was almost like an appraisal.

I had seared ahi and added rice and vegetables. Delicious and healthy.

After dinner Melanie sat in the living room with a glass of wine I cleared the table and dashed up stairs for a minute, did a few things, and returned to the living room.

"Do you want to see the upstairs too?" I asked, my face a mask of innocence.

"Here we go," she joked. "I remember that line from my first fraternity party at college." She said, but with a friendly smile.

After that first night at her apartment we'd had a couple more make out and fondling sessions. We still hadn't made love - but we were getting close.

We walked up the stairs hand and hand. I showed her the guest bedroom and then my room. Once again she looked at small details, opened closet doors and examined the books on my nightstand, nodding as if in approval as she saw my house.

Lastly I showed her the upstairs bathroom. While she had been sitting in the living room I had drawn a bubble bath and placed small votive candles throughout the tiled bathroom. The candle and bath oils combined to make a pleasant sensuous scent in the small room.

"What?" She replied in surprise. "This is wonderful, but what, who is this for?" Slightly confused she asked.

"Well, it's for you. Us." I said, and with that I started removing my clothes.

"Are you just trying to get me naked?" She asked half joking.

"Not necessarily," I said, "But normally you disrobe before taking a bath." I told her.

By that time I was down to my underwear and when I removed that, now I was nude.

Nude with the same giant erection I had that night at her apartment.

She stared at my cock. I watched her, she stared for a solid ten seconds. She then stared right in to my eyes and stripped. Her gaze never leaving mine. Finally her bra and panties came off.

I remember many teenage fantasies about beautiful women with beautiful bodies, naked. And though I'd had my share of sexual adventures so far, nothing compared to Melanie, naked.

The beautiful dark hair, the striking face, the slim waist, beautiful breasts and the hint of pubic hair trailing down to the treasure of her pussy.

I moved to hug her, to touch her, and she held up both palms in a stop gesture.

"I thought we were taking a bath?" She smiled and told me.

It was a claw foot and there was room for both of us. Sort of. I sat behind her, my legs spread and she was nestled between them. I poured warm water over her hair and gently washed it, massaging her scalp. She was slumped back against me enjoying the sensuous experience.

I was reasonably comfortable except for my full erection. There didn't appear to be anyplace comfortable to put it.

I hoped there would be later.

After I did her hair my hands moved down to her neck and shoulders. We both knew what was next and her nipples were already swollen by the time my hands got to her breasts.

I squeezed, massaged, rubbed and fondled her beautiful breasts. I had an involuntary urge to suck her nipples and I even moved my neck that direction, but in this position no one is that flexible.

Eventually my hands trailed down below her waist. I didn't plunge directly in. My fingers examined her genital region, touching, sliding, lightly fondling through the soapy water. The back of my hand brushed her pronounced clitoris and I could feel her involuntarily press back against my erection.

After a few more brushes, I started circling her clitoral region, lightly touching, moving closer and closer to the center. Her legs were rigid pushing hard on the far end of the tub protruding from the water, her head was tipped back against my neck.

Finally I began to rub her most sensitive area. Her legs convulsed, water splashed on the floor dousing several candles. She moaned her orgasm and then finally she slumped, her hand removing my own hand from her pussy.

For a few minutes we just lay in the tub. The tiny candles reflecting on to the ceiling, the warm water finally still, the only sound, Melanie's breathing and soft moaning.

She tilted her head, turned and kissed my jawline.

"We better do something with that thing before it explodes," Melanie half whispered to me.

I laughed at the mental image as I dried her off.

We make it to my bed, and she immediately starts guiding me into fucking position. I gently and slowly move to more foreplay. I'm afraid fucking may not last too long and I want to prolong this first experience.

I finally get to suck on those beautiful tits. She's stroking me and I actually have to disengage her hand, afraid I may actually explode as she had predicted previously.

Eventually I trail down to her pussy, this time with my mouth. After a few minutes she orgasms again.

As she recover she grabs my erect penis and sticks it inside her. Then she fucks me. I was actually fairly proud, I lasted longer than I thought before my orgasm finally did explode.

We lay blissfully for a while content physically. To me this was something special, I hoped it was for Melanie too. I wanted to talk to her about my feelings and my commitment to her but I waited. I didn't want to get to serious and ruin the moment.

Eventually I started playing with her breasts, lightly fondling her nipple. Her fingernails start a slow stroking of my scrotum, and then up and down my shaft. I was soon hard.

And now Melanie was in control. She is on top this time, she was firmly in the drivers seat. She impaled my cock on her pussy. She rode me, palms pressing down on my chest, hair falling in her eyes.

My hands were on her breasts massaging, but the pleasure she was seeking was between her legs. She pressed, flexed, and pushed. Her eyes tight shut. I watched almost as if I was barely a part of the act, she just wanted my cock.

As I built to a climax, eyes closed she whispered "not yet."

And I held out, barely. When she erupted I came quickly after. She slumped on top of me.

After a few minutes she slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom. I lay there content, wondering and hoping that this feeling would last for a long time.

This began a new more intimate chapter for our relationship. The fact that she accepted and wanted me sexually made me feel good. My own self confidence grew and that was positive and healthy for our relationship.

Even though we had not had a discussion about any declaration of exclusivity, we were exclusive. I know I was exclusive and I mostly trusted Melanie.

One night we were meeting some work friends of hers for a drink. She introduced me to them as 'her boyfriend'. It was a small thing but it was a statement of our advanced dating status that I was happy to hear.

Later that night, in my house in bed we talked.

"So I'm your boyfriend now?" More a statement than a question.

She hesitated before answering.

"Of course you are." She said. "We're fucking."

And with that statement I re-confirmed my status to Melanie's great pleasure.

These were good days for me. Isaac and I were doing fairly well. No huge deals yet but we did have an income stream to some degree. In the tech world you cannot relax. New technology is changing so fast you cannot afford to take your eye of the ball.

And then of course my relationship with Melanie made me so happy. It wasn't perfect, there was not great balance. We mostly did what Melanie wanted. She was in charge. For the most part I was the dependent variable.

Still I was not complaining. I had the beautiful girl I always had wanted and now apparently she wanted me too.

I recalled when Isaac and I had first moved into our office space and I used to watch the people out on the street. Mostly young, successful looking people, going places in groups looking like they were having a good time.

I was now one of them. I imagined someone watching me walking arm and arm with beautiful Melanie and being envious of me and my life. It made me feel good. I now felt like I was part of the in crowd.

But there were insecure moments when I wondered if this was all just a temporary situation. Would it all end and I revert to the nerd-dom of my previous life?

I tried to shove those thoughts to some back corner of my brain.

One night Melanie and I met up with my cousin Mike Fairchild the assistant district attorney. Mike and I had been close our whole lives and Mike had protected me more than once when some asshole tried to bully me.

We met at a less trendy place called The Dandelion Pub. Nothing wrong with it, but it was far from the upscale places Melanie was used to near my office.

Though there was no specific problem between Melanie and Mike it was a slightly uncomfortable evening. As I have said Melanie likes to be in control and truly this doesn't bother me. Every relationship has its own dynamics and that was the way ours was.

But Mike, ever my protector, kept trying to inject me into whatever particular conversation, trying to balance my interests with Melanie's. The entire evening ended a little sooner than planned to everyone's relief.

A few days later Mike and I met for lunch.

"What did you think of Melanie?" I asked him.

He paused and answered.

"She is definitely different than some of your other girlfriends." He told me.

"Yes, isn't she." I replied. "She is so cool and fun to be with, I'd do almost anything for her." I told Mike.

He sat for a minute, not speaking, staring at me, thinking.

"Does she let you have your way some of the time?" He asked me.

I answer immediately, nearly defensively.

"Of course she does!" I say. "We do lots of things that I suggest." I tell him, he can tell my feathers are a bit ruffled.

Palms up, he says "Okay, okay. I'm just checking. She is attractive and she seems to like you." He goes on. "Look, I'm happy for you. If you're happy with her, great."

Not the ringing endorsement I thought he would say, but positive.

As we leave the restaurant we give each other a man hug and he claps me on the back.

"Hey JD," Mike says to me, "I'm glad you're happy. I want to get to know Melanie a little better. One thing," he says, "that's a hell of a schnoz she has!" He laughs and tells me.

"Asshole!" I shout back to him half laughing.

From Mike I know it wan't a malicious insult, more of a joke between good friends.

But as I said early on, Melanie has a striking look. I find her pronounced nose exotic and attractive. Kind of Kardashian-like. She hates it and has said more than once that she wants a nose job. I tell her I like her just the way she is. These comments from me seem to have no assuring affect for Melanie.

Several weeks later Melanie invited me to a company event.

Her advertising firm, McClatchy-Reed, has an annual dinner with awards and speeches every year in early December. I was excited she had asked me. I chalked this up to another positive sign of our growing relationship.

The event was held at the Sheraton Hotel ballroom in downtown Seattle. I wore a brand new dark suit I had bought for the occasion. It was the first suit I had ever owned.

Melanie looked fabulous in a beautiful dress showing a fair amount of cleavage.

I estimated there were a little over a hundred people there. In the advertising business there are several categories of jobs. Production, creative and client management are some of the key roles.

At McClatchy the client managers can make the most money, almost a commission on revenue generated by the particular client. There were two parts to this position at McClatchy. Managing existing clients and getting new clients. Client acquisition.

Melanie had told me numerous times she wanted to get out of production and get on the client side. Harrison Locke, who I first met months ago at Infusion, was the executive Vice President of client management.

Melanie had told me several times that she had made it known to Locke that she was interested in getting on the client side of the business. He had always been gracious and noted her interest but the subject was never discussed formally.

"I don't think he thinks I'm attractive enough to be on the client side," she told me as we arrived at the ballroom.

"Mel," I said, "that's ridiculous. You will be the best looking woman at the entire event." I told her.

My words had little to no effect.

"All the people in client management look like they could be actors or actresses." She went on.

"Melanie, honey," I said. "You look great, now, let's not worry about it and have a good time." I told her.

She ignored my words.

"I think, he thinks my nose is too big." She stated.

By this time in our relationship I had learned that when Melanie gets in this type of mood my best strategy is to say nothing, nod my head at appropriate times and try to keep the proper expression on my face.

Despite all that the evening was fun. Or most of it was. There were cocktails, a surprisingly good dinner, some speeches, awards, and dancing.

There were moments when I had to fight down flares of jealousy. Melanie was quite friendly with a number of good looking guys at McClatchy and she was showing a fair amount of tit in that dress. But she did nothing to quite cross the line.

As I said, I'm a pretty good dancer and I was asked to dance by several of Melanie's female co-workers and I believe I handled myself quite well. I also think this helped boost me in Melanie's eyes.

Towards the end of the evening Melanie and I ended up talking to Harrison Locke. I know that Melanie wanted to ask him about a client management position again.

After a bit of small talk and comments on what a nice evening this had been so far, Melanie brought the subject of her career transitioning to client management with Harrison.

"Harrison, I just wanted to make sure you knew of my interest in client management. I would love to be on your team and work with our clients." She told him with great enthusiasm.

I was watching Harrison as she spoke. For a moment, just a fraction of a second, I saw his gaze shift from Melanie's eyes, just ever so briefly to her nose.

"I, uh, will certainly note your interest Melanie. Thank you for letting me know." And with that Harrison excused himself and moved off in to the crowded the ballroom.

We just stood there for a moment frozen. I'm sure Melanie saw the nose glance, but the last thing I was going to do was bring it up.