Life After Love Ch. 01

Lauren lay back against the pillows, luxuriating in the afterglow. Her eyes burned with blue fire as I lay on my side, recovering my breath. Her fingers absently rolled over a naked breast.

"That was fun. Can I have one more?" she asked cutely.

Smiling and groaning at the same time, I caught a breath and then said, "Sure. Just give me a few minutes."

She reached her hand to tickle at my deflated pecker. "Aww... do I have to wait? Maybe we should have brought home that hot waitress. I'll bet she could have filled in this time very nicely." Lauren's eyes flared even brighter as she said that while her other hand rubbed at the mound between her legs.

I felt the blood surging back to life inside of me as the lesbian vision popped into my mind. Grand designs on recovering my life were put aside. Planning for my future now, I promised myself I would see that vision in reality someday. I dragged myself over to suckle at Lauren's wobbly tits. She just giggled and we returned to a fresh round of fucking.

***

"Listen, ah, about last night." Lauren started.

I put my coffee down. Her tone had that serious undercurrent to it.

"Last night was great," she said before pausing.

We both knew what the next word was going to be. "But..." I interjected, smiling at her.

Her easy smile was back. "But, I just got out of a long-term relationship. I'm not looking for anything serious."

The answer came quickly to me, my mouth speaking the exact opposite of my heart. "And neither am I. I just got out of a messy marriage." Deep down, I wanted to cling to her, to build a new relationship, to make myself feel whole again. But a rebound probably was not in my best interests.

"Good to know." Lauren leaned over and kissed me. "Right now, I probably have big trust and abandonment issues. First my parents took off. Now the only real love in my life, too." She looked wistful, but then her eyes glittered and the playful smile was back.

Lauren's voice then took on a humorous can-you-believe-this tone. "My therapist told me that the first thing I'd do was live in denial. I'd rebound and treat my new boyfriend as if he was my old boyfriend. Then after that didn't work out, I'd withdraw emotionally and throw myself into a meaningless relationship without thinking about it. Only after I'd cleansed my soul would I be able to love again."

I briefly wondered if that was what my own future held for me. "Well, thanks for saving me my own visit to a therapist." I decided then and there that I would be smarter about my decision making. I could get through this on my own and without those misguided relationship hassles Lauren had just described. Right?

"Well, that whole scenario isn't really me," Lauren continued. "I mean, here I am, and I'm not thinking about you like my old boyfriend at all. And I hope you're not thinking of me like your ex, either."

"Nope."

"Good. Last night was fun, though. So, now that that's out of the way, I can call you without you reading anything into it."

"Sure thing." We chatted the rest of the morning, and I felt unbelievably comfortable and relaxed around this beautiful stranger. We said the usual "keep in touch" bullshit. But I left believing it was just a fun one-night stand, and that would be the end of Lauren. Still, I was very grateful to her for getting me back in the saddle. Maybe now I could learn to ride again.

***

The next night, I woke up in a cold sweat. I reached over to the pillow next to me, finding nothing but cold sheets. I searched frantically, looking for my wife to reassure me. But she wasn't there. Fitfully, I tried to go back to sleep.

Lauren did call me. We did coffee on Monday morning to start off the work week. And then she called me again Friday night to finish the work week. We went out dancing, and ended up in my bed. Just sex, just casual.

Okay, so maybe she was turning out to be a two-night stand. Our connection was electric, the sexual chemistry unbelievable. But we were both on the rebound. And we both knew not to make this anything more permanent. We chatted about nothing important, no pressure. And when the weekend was over we went our separate ways. When I walked out the front door she gave me a look of longing I'll never forget, as if deep down she wanted more. I knew I'd be seeing her again.

***

Six months went by, a very long six months. Every now and again Lauren and I would have a play date, but those were booty calls to unwind and then return back to our lives. We did finally seduce the waitress from Maretto's, and I will never forget that threesome for as long as I live. The sex relaxed me, and Lauren was great fun to hang out with. I burned the image of Lauren suckling the waitress's tits into my brain for all eternity. But we both knew we were just friends with benefits. To help get over our respective exes. That was the unspoken rule between us.

When I was with Lauren, I felt content. The rest of the time, I was just morose and depressed. But day by day, I was taking my life back. I thought about Kristin less and less. My psyche was rebuilding.

One day, I was walking back to my office with my morning coffee when an angelic vision walked into view. Long, silky, raven black hair. Porcelain perfect face with big almond eyes. Her body was slender and petite, but with curves. I was looking at the rare jewel of an Asian with great tits. I did a double take so hard I nearly crashed into the wall.

Unfortunately for me, the girl noticed, and coyly covered a laughing smile with her hand. Then she turned back to listen attentively to the HR staffer who was escorting her through the building.

I stopped to wipe up the bit of scalding coffee I'd managed to spill in my hand, and then retreated into my office.

An hour later, there was a knock at my door. The same HR staffer was there, my angel right behind.

"Hello, I'd like to introduce Saya, the President's new assistant."

Saya stepped forward, and I forced myself to keep a straight face as she extended a hand and said "Pleased to meet you." She had a very noticeable Japanese accent, but her words were very clear in that slightly high-pitched, cute voice that many Japanese girls adopted.

Looking right into her face, I took her hand, shaking it formally, but gently. "Dozo yorishiku. And welcome to the company. You speak English very well."

She blushed, "Thank you. I was an English major in school."

The HR staffer piped up, "Saya just graduated from the University of Tokyo. She'll be helping Mr. Yamamoto with all his communications, helping to translate everything into English along with her usual admin duties."

Impressed, I turned back to Saya. "Wow! How long have you been in the US?"

"I only arrived yesterday. But I have been to America many times on short trips." Saya was staring right into my eyes, and I could actually see the electric sparkles in the back of her irises.

I wanted to stay right there and gaze at this girl all day. She would only be a few years younger than me, and she was gorgeous. I was smitten already. Love at first sight? But I tamped down my inner feelings. "Well, I'm sure you have to go around and meet a lot more people. But if you have any questions, want to know the good restaurants around here, or anything, just let me know, ok?" I extended my hand again to shake goodbye.

She shook my hand. "I will. Thank you."

Then they were gone. The door had just closed when I sat heavily into my chair and whistled... They say lightning hits you when you have that kind of connection. Wow, thunderbolt city.

For the rest of the day, I did my best to think of Saya as just another new employee. I did my work. I was bored during the executive meetings, and I ran the usual meeting for my own department. I did the usual low-key flirting with Tiffany. But by the end of the day, I just wanted to go home, sit in my recliner, and stare at the ceiling. Maybe even dream about Saya.

So that's what I did. The ceiling started boring me after a minute or so, so I popped on ESPN. Terrell Owens was being an ass, and ESPN decided to show him being an ass for a full twenty minutes. Then that got boring, so I started surfing around aimlessly.

After a few hours I got hungry. I'm not much of a cook, so I'd usually just go out to eat. But lately frozen food had captured my attention, mostly so I wouldn't have to even go out my front door. Lo and behold, my freezer was turning up without anything remotely appetizing. Time to restock. Then I could come home and be miserable again. I'd dimly recalled that the Alyssa Milano vampire flick was going to be on Cinemax later that night.

I was still hunting down the freezer aisle, the ice cream tempting me from a few doors away when something caught my attention in the corner of my eye. A pretty girl, slightly desperate in trying to figure out the all the funny labels.

"Saya?"

She turned and saw me, relief crossing her face. "Oh, Konbanwa! Uh, good evening!" She had a long list in her hand, written entirely in Japanese.

I rolled my cart over to her. "Need some help?"

She blinked several times, glancing back and forth between her list and the shelves. "Oh, oh, no I am OK. This can't be that hard, right?"

"Sure, food is food, no matter what country you're in." But she still looked a little confused. "Well, I'm sure you can get through a shopping trip by yourself. But it can't hurt to have someone around for your first time."

Saya's smile would have lit up the whole city block. "OK! Thank you."

We chatted for the next twenty minutes while stocking up. I introduced her to "club cards" and how to avoid the knock-off store brands. Apparently, Saya's apartment was only a few blocks from my condo. Her roommate was the President's niece, and said roommate was supposed to help her with the shopping. But at the last minute, the boyfriend called and the roommate backed out. Saya had insisted she would be alright by herself. For example, she was very proud she was able to drive to the market on her own.

Eventually, we got everything squared away. Rice and other cooking staples for Saya. Frozen microwaveable stuff and 2-liter sodas for me. Then, casually, we said our goodbyes ("see you tomorrow") and went our separate ways.

***

For the rest of the week, Saya and I exchanged casual 'hello's, but other than that it was back to business as usual. She was very careful not to pay any more attention to me than anyone else in the office, but I caught the occasional sly look from her. Once, I stopped by to help her figure out how to do something in MS Excel. We had the usual chitchat around the coffee machine. But beyond that, we had only the standard interoffice co-worker-type of relationship.

Outside the office was a different story. On Wednesday I ran into her at the mall, and we ended up shopping together for hours. I hate the mall, but I needed a new jacket. I was telling stories nonstop, pointing out all the little quirks of Americana. Saya joked that I was her Ambassador to the United States.

I walked her back to her car. She hit the remote to unlock it, and then turned to face me. I felt my weight shifting to the balls of my feet as I leaned in towards her, and realized she was leaning towards me as well. Our faces were just a few inches apart, and I looked deeply into her eyes as if I could drown myself in the well of emotion I saw there.

Just when the urge to kiss her was becoming unbearable, she blinked and leaned back, turning away from me and opened up the car door. I saw the blush of red fill her white cheeks. "Ah, thank you for helping me. I'll see you at work tomorrow."

I nodded, responding with a gentle "goodbye." Then I turned to find my car. That WAS the opportune moment, but I was too hesitant to take it. Although Kristin had been the furthest thing from my mind, perhaps I wasn't ready for a new relationship.

***

I daydreamed the whole Thursday at work about Saya. I locked myself in my office and tried to work furiously, but my train of thought kept drifting. She was a co-worker, right? There's one good reason not to get involved. But then, we had completely separate jobs so there was no conflict of interest. She just got to America, and hasn't even had a chance to make other friends yet. Common sense says it's in her best interest to find her own identity in this world before latching on to a commitment that could potentially blow up in her face. And I wanted what was best for Saya. Then again, the only reason a beautiful, smart woman like her was single was that she was so brand new to America. And if I didn't snatch her up, someone else would.

As always, there was the recent divorce looming over my head. Was I sure this wasn't a rebound? Not entirely. But if I was looking for a rebound, Lauren would have been the perfect candidate. Were my own neuroses keeping me from possibly the best thing that could ever happen to me? I had to take the chance.

Making up my mind, I finally left my office. My stomach was growling at me as soon as I got up, it was three in the afternoon, and I hadn't eaten anything yet. Glancing at Mr. Yamamoto's office, I saw that the desk in front where Saya usually sat was empty. So I headed to the kitchen.

Down the hallway, Tiffany jiggled her way across my path. She stopped, profiling herself just right for me and said a sweet "Hey, you..."

Not even slowing down, I just strode past her. "Not right now, Tiffany."

I turned the corner and then sure enough, Saya was brewing a fresh pot of coffee. And luckily for me, she was alone.

I did my best to seem casual. Years of executive meetings and marketing pushes had trained me to project confidence automatically in any situation. "Ooh, fresh coffee."

Saya turned and smiled her megawatt smile at me. "Almost. It should be done in another minute."

We paused to watch the coffee machine kick in. "So do you have any plans for the weekend?" I asked.

"No, not really. I am still getting settled in. I'm not really sure where to go. I have already been to the tourist places like Disneyland."

Perfect. "Well, I'd be happy to show you around. Show you all the hidden treasures that only local people know about."

Her smile was radiant, and my confidence was growing. "That would be great!"

I decided to press my luck. "And how about tomorrow? I'd like to take you out to dinner on Friday."

The glow in Saya's eyes instantly dimmed, her smile vanished, and for a moment my heart stopped. Had I just blown the whole thing? "Um, well. I don't have plans. But, don't you have a girlfriend?"

"Me? No!" It wasn't the smoothest way of handling her question, but I was still in panic-mode. Practiced executive confidence or not, my brain was freaking out.

"But then, Tiffany, right? She acts so... close to you. And you are very friendly with her. I thought you were together. That's why I try to be very professional with you at work. I do not want to upset her."

"Oh, that. No, we're just friends." Relief washed over me and the color started coming back into my face. "It's a game she plays."

I stepped forward, getting very close to violating Saya's personal space. "Saya, you have been the only woman on my mind. That's why I want to get to know you better."

Her smile was back. "Then, yes."

"Yes?" I was momentarily confused.

She giggled, covering her mouth in polite embarrassment. "Yes, I will go to dinner with you tomorrow night."

***

Friday's dinner went perfectly. We talked for hours. I was used to speaking formalized English for dealing with foreign clients, and Saya was quickly picking up on the American slang I did use. I told her about my divorce, and Saya had just broken up with her college boyfriend when she moved to the US. We were both filling an emotional void for each other, and seemed quite happy with the arrangement.

Saya wanted to see my condo, so we lounged on the couch with a few cocktails while she complimented me on my decorating style. Then we stayed up until the wee hours of the morning learning everything there was to know about each other. When exhaustion finally started setting in, I offered to take her home.

When I dropped her off at her apartment door, the sun was already coming up. Just before she went inside, Saya wrapped her arms behind my head and gave me a kiss I will never forget for the rest of my life.

I floated on Cloud 9 the rest of the way home. I was thinking, maybe she's the one. Maybe my life is about to turn around.

***

*RING!!!*

What-the?

*RING!!!*

Aw, crap. I grabbed for the receiver, checking the clock at the same time. Only 11am. I told Saya I'd pick her up around 2pm.

"Hello?"

"Good lord, are you still asleep?"

I recognized the voice. "Lauren?"

"Of course! I thought you workaholic types were up at 7am on weekends? You have a late night?"

"Yeah."

"Really? Who was the babe?"

"Actually, her name is Saya."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. "Really?" Lauren dragged out that word, real surprise in her voice. "Homeboy finally got back in the game! Is she still there now?"

Thankfully, I did not detect any jealousy in Lauren's voice. Why should there be? We were just friends. "No, I took her home. Nothing happened."

"Aww, you strike out?"

"No, I just wanted to be a gentleman."

"She's that special, huh? Hmm, I wonder how she tastes. You're going to have to introduce me someday." Lauren put a little seductive spice into that last sentence.

"I will, I promise. Now let me go back to sleep."

"Ah, shit. I had my whole afternoon planned out for you. Now who's going to come over here and fuck my lights out?"

"Sorry, I'm seeing her this afternoon. And watch your language young lady."

Lauren laughed. "Young lady, my ass. You can't say that to me. How old are you?"

"Twenty-four."

"I'm two years older than you!"

"Really?" I was shocked. I'd thought she was 23, tops. "You don't look it."

"Thank you. But anyways, go see your sweetheart. I'll catch up with you later. I'll just have to find myself some other younger man to be my stud!"

I smiled at that. Refreshingly, I didn't feel jealous in the slightest either. Not when I had Saya. "Knock yourself out."

***

That afternoon, I treated Saya to some of the most beautiful and romantic places around the area. We had to do a little hiking, but the views, and especially the privacy, more than made up for it. Spectacular cliffs, hidden waterfalls, and a gorgeous sunset over the beach.

We stole quick kisses here and there along the way, basking in the glow and warmth of puppy love. I had enough sense to realize it could all vanish, but my heart didn't care and I reveled in my infatuation with my angel.

After the sunset, we retired back to my place. Ostensibly it was because we weren't hungry for dinner just yet. But really I just wanted to be alone with her in the comfort of my home. We paid only lip service to the glasses of wine I offered before wrapping our arms around each other and launching into our first full-blown make out session. I could not get enough of her sweet taste and aromatic scent, rubbing my nose and lips into the most sensitive crooks around her neck and face.

Lost in the delirium we simply attacked each other with lustful fervor, our hands rubbing and caressing with abandon. When I cupped her tight ass in my palms there was no resistance, only an erotic moan from her directly into my mouth.

She grabbed at my arms and pressed her body against me as we shifted position, only briefly releasing our lip lock to balance ourselves before returning once again to the heaven of kissing in new love. I knew my lips would have to be bruised from the abuse. Eventually, I was flat on my back across the couch with my head on a pillow, Saya stretched out on top of me, her thigh rubbing against the erection trying to jump out of my pants.