I Love You Too Much

"Thank you for a great night, King. I'd love to do that again sometime!" she enthused.

Bingo!

I walked into my house a little after 1 AM and was surprised to see Jude lying on the family room sofa, watching TV.

"You don't look any worse for wear and tear on the outside, but you are a lot later than I figured you'd be. Does my dad have game?" she asked.

I blushed deeply. Jude was now 17 and lived in the real world.

"Now you know how it feels, Dad, when you grill me when I get home from dates sometimes," she said with a smirk on her pretty face.

"Can I assume Mrs. Donovan is a good date?"

I blushed again. I was pretty sure she didn't need nor want an actual answer.

Jude kept in touch with her mother and the baby on a regular basis, and she even did some babysitting for Traci as well. All good with me, we just didn't have to do any recapping of her nights at the Westler home.

One thing of note was the fact that Traci didn't marry Johann. After about a year I assumed she would after she sucked up all five years of alimony. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised.

******

The phone call from Rae Ann Lincoln came completely out of the blue. Rae Ann was one of Traci's co-workers at First Financial. We had talked a few times at various events that included spouses, but I can't say we were especially friendly or had some kind of connection. My first thought was that this was some kind of set-up.

Rae Ann had been divorced about five years after she caught her husband cheating on her. She was tall for a woman with sizeable tits and a muscle-butt ass. She had big brown eyes, a mop of long, brown curls and flawless-looking mocha-colored skin.

"Kingston, I'm not sure you remember me..." she began.

My caller ID had shown me who it was when I answered, so I jumped right in -- aggressively. The best defense is a good offense, kind of strategy.

"Of course I remember you. Tough to forget a volleyball goddess," I responded.

Rae Ann had played varsity volleyball at Penn State about 15 years previously. She still looked like she could step on the court. I think I surprised her by remembering that fact.

"Umm. Wow. You do remember me," she hesitated. "Umm, could we go out on a... date maybe?" she asked. "I mean, you're single now..."

I have to admit I didn't see that coming. I just got asked out on a date by a beautiful woman... who was a co-worker of my ex-wife. If this was some sort of set-up, I was game to give it a go.

"Traci always said you were a great guy, and I could use some of that in my life right now," she said.

"I could use some goddess companionship in my life right now. I'm in."

We did an art museum and then went to a barbecue restaurant. It was a casual day, so she wore a pair of tight jeans and a sweatshirt. For most women, the outfit probably would have been forgettable, but with that ass wriggling in those jeans, I was never going to forget that.

She caught me checking out that ass several times during the day. She had the good graces to smile each time she did so.

"I'm sorry. I've apparently left my cool at home today," I mumbled after she caught me once, my face a deep red.

I know I had a great time out with her. I got a chaste kiss on the cheek when I dropped her off at her apartment. Hmm.

******

Jude was in marching band, so I encountered Traci and Johann at several competitions over the next two years. I was polite to her but rude to him. She chided me about that several times, until I snapped back.

"Fucker stole my wife and knocked her up. He deserves that and much more. If you guys have a problem with that, just stay the fuck away from me," I griped.

"He didn't steal me. We were already getting divorced," she whined.

"You just keep telling yourself that," I replied before walking away.

For his part, Johann looked like he wanted to try me. He was a little bigger than me and was nine years younger, but Traci knew me well, and knew that my rage would carry me a long way. She repeatedly encouraged him to just ignore me. That was probably a good thing, too, because since the divorce I had been spending even more time in the gym. I had always taken care of myself, but I had been using the gym even more to burn off some anger and fill in some extra time.

It was early in year 2 A.D. (after divorce) when Rae Ann invited me to the First Financial Christmas party. We had gone out several times in the previous few months, and I had been invited to share her bed on our fourth date. She knew I had a problem with my ex and Johann, but she figured I could be cool enough not to embarrass her, if not myself. I assured her I would do nothing to embarrass her in front of her workmates. She promised me a special treat if I could do that.

Rae Ann was the epitome of the "long cool woman in a black dress" when I picked her up at her apartment the night of the party. I'm pretty sure I drooled when I walked in. She gave me a soft kiss on the lips, promising me more later, but she didn't want me to spoil her make-up.

The first part of the evening was drinking and circulating with a live band in the background. I noticed several heads turn toward Rae Ann and me when we walked in together. I noticed several familiar faces, so I'm sure a bunch of people remembered me from when I was married to Traci. I'm sure tongues were wagging, especially since I was with the hottest woman at the party.

I didn't see Traci and Johann show up, but I almost ran my ex-wife over when I turned from the bar with drinks for Rae Ann and me.

"The last person I expected to see tonight. What a pleasant surprise, Kingston," Traci purred. "New suit? You look very handsome."

"Uh, thank you, Traci. Yes, a new suit. Didn't want to look like a schlub when I'm with Rae Ann.

"You look very nice as well, but then again you always look good."

"You always were a gentleman... and a good ass-kisser," Traci said.

"Maybe, but you know I'm not a liar. I wouldn't say it if it wasn't true," I rejoined.

She did look good, maybe 10 pounds heavier than when we were married, but the extra weight gave her a curvier, more exciting look--a definite MILF.

I excused myself and stepped around her, again noticing all the heads watching our exchange. I found Rae Ann and handed her the drink. She accepted it and planted another soft kiss on my lips. I put my arm around her waist, then softly ran my hand down to her bodacious ass and back up to her waist.

"Behave, you," she said in a stern, yet quiet voice.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, properly chastised.

Dinner followed drinks and then the room was rearranged for dancing. Thirty seconds on the dance floor showed me that Rae Ann could really shake it. Me? Passable, at best. Still, I enjoyed watching all of her parts shaking from up close.

We stayed out for about 30 minutes before heading over to a table to catch our breath and have a drink. I watched several other men approach Rae Ann while I was at the bar, and to her credit she turned all of them down. The parade of guys slowed but continued when I returned, and to their credit most of the guys played by the rules and asked me first before asking Rae Ann if she wanted to dance. Several times she went out to dance, explaining to me that she was obligated with several of the firm's higher-ups. I got it, and told her to do what she had to do.

I wasn't pleased when Johann came over to the table, smirked at me and asked if I minded if Rae Ann danced with him. Being fully aware that he was a vice president, I gave him a small nod, and he extended his hand to Rae Ann. Obviously she knew that Westler had stolen my wife, but in this setting she knew she couldn't be disrespectful to him in any way, and she rose and followed him out to the dance floor.

I watched intently as the pair danced to a fast song before my concentration was broken by someone placing her hand on my shoulder. I looked up to see my ex-wife studying my face.

"How about giving an old friend a turn around the floor while our partners are busy?" she asked sweetly.

"No thanks, Trace. You're my ex-wife for a reason, remember?" I hissed.

"Can't we at least be friends?" she asked.

I looked at her like she had two, maybe three heads.

"I love you too much to ever start liking you. No, we can't be friends," I said.

She looked shocked. Her mouth opened and closed twice, but no words came out before she walked away like she was in a daze. I walked out to the dance floor, tapped Westler on the shoulder and replaced him as Rae Ann's partner. He was smart enough not to hesitate or put up a fuss.

Back at our table, Rae Ann and two other women, Christy and Joanie, seemed to be enjoying themselves at my expense. Christy, a divorcee, was a tall, Mediterranean- looking woman with a solid body, and Joanie, a widow, was a Nordic-looking pixie with tits and ass both about one size too big for her height--if that was possible.

"So, when do we get our chance to date Mr. Perfect?" Christy asked. "By now you've surely sampled Rae Ann and should be looking for other conquests... being a red-blooded single guy."

She batted her eyelashes coquettishly, then cackled in laughter along with the other two.

"Traci always said you were the perfect husband," Joanie continued. "We couldn't believe she just cut you loose... especially for Johann. What went wrong, if you don't mind us asking?"

"Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition, to quote Monty Python," I said.

Rae Ann and Christy got the reference and grinned. Joanie, who was about five years younger than the other two, was clueless, and her face reflected that.

"Still not sure completely, although I have my suspicions. She tells me one day she's not in love with me, then has me served a couple of days later. Two weeks later she's already dating Westler.

"Putting one and one together... somehow, I keep getting three. She tells me she's divorcing me so she's not cheating on me, then starts fucking him and is pregnant before we're even divorced."

"We all warned her about him," Christy said. "They started doing lunches. Then the lunches got... longer. We don't know if they were cheating. But every time she was around him that we could see, there were little touches. She giggled like a schoolgirl when she was with him. It was pathetic. Not so much anymore."

"Familiarity breeds contempt?" I said, quoting the old idiom.

None of the trio responded.

I took Joanie out on the dance floor first, then Christy. We danced a couple of songs apiece, then went back to the table.

"All right, you two. That's all you get with my man. My man. Got that?" Rae Ann remarked pointedly.

I heard the tone in her voice, and I knew the other women caught it, too. Still, I had to do some ball-busting of my own.

"Wait. So does that mean I don't get to sample these two?" I asked in my most innocent tone.

"Not unless you don't have a use for these anymore," Rae Ann said as she covered my genitals with her hand for a quick second.

I am a sucker for a possessive woman. I leaned in on Rae Ann and crushed my lips against hers. She responded by opening her mouth and accepting my tongue as the kiss went from hot to scorching. It went on for some time, until someone cleared her throat.

"Oh, please, you two. Don't make me tell you to get a room. That would be so cliché," Joanie said.

"Don't need to get a room. We both have our own homes," Rae Ann giggled.

I found out later that night from Rae Ann that she had never told Traci about us. I had to ask about that.

"None of that stupid bitch's business," Rae Ann answered. "We are friends, but that doesn't mean I endorse all of my friends' decisions. And her stupidity is my good fortune, unless you're still hung up on her."

"She was my first love, and I guess there will always be a small part of me that will always love her, but she's my past. Are you my future?" I questioned.

She put her hands on both sides of my face. Her eyes were practically glowing. She put her lips to mine.

I proposed two months later. We were married six months after that. Although Rae Ann and Traci were pretty good friends, we didn't invite her to the wedding. She said she understood, when she and Rae Ann talked.

Johann went back to Holland a couple of years later, leaving Traci to raise their daughter alone. At least the prick continued to send money. My daughters kept in touch with Traci and their half-sister, but didn't keep me up-to-date on Traci's life, as I had requested.

The girls told me that their mother asked them several times to try to get me to talk to her, but neither one of them wanted to go there. Rae Ann kept her at arm's length as well, never even inviting her to our house.

Failing all of those machinations, Traci eventually tried me directly.

"We had 23 good years, King," she said. "The least you can do is give me some time to talk to you. I still love you..."

"Yeah, I know. You're just not in love with me anymore. I love you too much to ever start liking you, Traci, so don't expect me to be your friend."

A thank you to Lobo, from 1972.