Loveland Pt. 01

"You go," she suggested. "My sister has been bugging me to stay with her for a couple of days. Since you won't be home, and you're not particularly fond of my sister, it will give me a chance to have some sister time with her."

"Okay," I shrugged. I did not have a problem with that.

I emailed Kate to let her know what we had decided. I could go, but my wife had other plans. Kate expressed her disappointment that Lucy would not come but urged me to go on the road trip with them as an opportunity to see parts of the country that none of us had ever seen before. I protested that I should stay home because I did not want to inconvenience them. Besides, I argued, it was not economically worthwhile to pay for a room all by myself.

She wrote back suggesting that the three of us share the overnight hotel or motel room and divide the cost by three. They would pay two-thirds of the cost of both the room and the gas, and I would pay the other third. It would work for them, she argued, because, although they would be paying more for the gas, they would end up paying less for the hotel room. It would certainly work out for them and for me.

I had to give her credit. She was one smart lady. They were willing to give up some their privacy as long as I was willing to give up some of mine. It was an offer I could not refuse. The thought of Hal sharing Kate never occurred to me. Something told me that she would never go for something like that. The idea of a threesome did not appeal to me either.

In the back of my mind, I recalled that Kate and Hal not only did not sleep in the same bed, they slept in separate rooms. It was a fair indication that they did not have sex. Not only was their relationship on the rocks, but they also probably considered themselves too old to bother with the costs and inconveniences of a divorce. We had no idea who initiated this arrangement but we suspected it was Hal's way of sending a message to his overbearing wife.

On the following day, I booked myself a discount flight and sent the details to Kate. I would arrive in Seattle in three days. She replied that she would pick me up at the airport. I also informed my wife. Based on our previous experience, I anticipated that the road trip would take about ten to twelve days, depending on how much time we spent on tourist-type sight-seeing. Kaye agreed with my assessment.

I also bought bus tickets for Lucy too. She would stay with her sister in Cleveland for two weeks while I was away.

Day 1 In Kate's Home

I arrived in Tacoma Seattle International Airport. After picking up my one piece of medium-sized luggage, I exited to the public area. As promised, Kate was waiting for me. I could tell right away that something was wrong. She looked tired and unhappy.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

But instead of answering me, she hugged me tightly and held onto as if she were trying to derive some comfort from me. Of course, I hugged her back. We're good friends after all. No boner, at least not right away. She was the right person but the situation was wrong, a very public place and, apparently, a very unhappy woman. My instinct at this point was to console an obviously distressed woman and friend.

I held her in my arms for what seemed to be several minutes but was probably only a minute or so. In any case, I broke off the hug when I felt that embarrassing tale-telling itch between my legs. Being a gentleman, I did not want to embarrass her, or myself for that matter.

"I'll tell you when we're in the car," she replied.

"Actually, tell me later," I told her. "Let's go somewhere to eat, my treat," I told her and then asked, "You know a good restaurant?"

We went to a restaurant that was about halfway between the airport and her home. During the meal we reconnected. We discussed everything but her marital woes. We had a lot of interest in common after all. I could see that her wounds were still fresh and raw. I decided to let her choose the time when she would talk about. The last thing I wanted to do was to upset her when what I really and sincerely wanted to do was comfort her.

As she drove us to her home she finally began to open up. She and Hal had left her just a week ago.

"So where is he now?" I asked.

"I think he's staying with relatives in San Francisco."

"When did this happen?" I asked.

Three days ago," she replied, "just after you emailed that you had booked your flight?"

"He left alone with me?" I questioned.

"I was about to tell him about you coming with us without Lucy, but he didn't give me the chance. He had his bags packed, told me he was through with me, and walked out to a waiting taxi.

"How serious is the split?"

"Very serious," she answered.

"Any chance of a reconciliation?"

She thought about it. "Maybe, but the way things look now, unlikely."

"It must be really rough for you right now," I stated, "why didn't you just call me to cancel the road trip?"

"I didn't want to put you out," she said. "I know you were really looking forward to this road trip. I enjoy your company. And I didn't want to be left alone to brood over that bastard of a husband of mine."

Just as I was about to ask my next question, we arrived at her home. It was clear to me that she needed to vent. And so, that evening, I let her do most of the talking for a while. I had very little to say other than to express my sympathy and understanding.

I sat next to her on the sofa and put my arm around her should to comfort her. While she talked, I even gave her an occasional light kiss on her head as a gesture of reassurance. My arm stayed around her shoulder for most of the evening. I enjoyed taking in her female aroma.

Gradually, she calmed down and even rested her head on my shoulder.

"He told me he couldn't take it anymore," she sniffled. "He said I'm an overbearing know-it-all bitch."

"Well, that's a bit overdone," I commiserated, although I thought that, from Hal's point of view, the characterization was probably close to the mark, except for the use of the word 'bitch.' That was too much.

"You're not a bitch, but you do have a strong personality," I said diplomatically. "To be honest, you don't always choose your words carefully. Words do hurt," I pointed out.

I continued. "Lucy is strong-willed too but I can brush it off, sometimes with humour and sometimes by ignoring her. I do listen to her because, sometimes, she makes a valid point. I let Lucy be Lucy. But she also clearly knows the boundaries of what I will tolerate. She dares not cross them."

I hoped that the message registered in Kate's mind. I was not out to wreck her relationship with Hal. I was actually giving her a hint about how she might help herself and improve their relationship, should they reconcile at some point.

"I did notice on our road trip last year," Kate admitted, "that you stopped her in her tracks one time after she said something you obviously didn't like. Then almost immediately, everything seemed to be back to normal," Kate said.

"I have my way of telling her when she has crossed the line," I said. "Once she stops, I don't dwell on it."

I continued. "To be honest, I thought you were a bit hard on him. Sometimes, having a strong personality makes you," I searched for a word, "less self-aware. At the same time, he should stand up for himself more. But you are what you are. He hasn't learned how to deal it."

She sobbed. "It almost sounds as if you agree with him."

"Not at all," I told her, not quite so honestly. "His weakness is his fault, not yours. If he had had a stronger personality than what we saw last year, neither of you would be in this situation. In the final analysis, it's more his loss rather than yours. He left a really good woman. If he has any brains at all, he might realize that he is making a big mistake. I think you would have taken his concerns into account if he had expressed them more forcefully."

"Thanks for being nice to me," she said. "You're making me feel better already."

For a split second, my nefarious libido shot a thought through my head. 'I definitely would like to feel you better.'

"Don't beat yourself up about it," I said out loud pushing aside my unbidden and inappropriate thought. "There's no doubt in my mind that many men would find you very attractive," and then I tossed in, "especially those in my age range"

Kate took the hint. "You think I'm attractive?"

"Yes, I do."

I felt my libido surge.

"It's nice of you to say that," she said, "but you're only saying that to make me feel better."

"I am saying it to make you feel better but I also mean it," I told her. I paused and then asked, "Can I be very frank with you?"

She looked at me quizzically. "You've been very frank so far already," she observed.

I took a deep breath. "You have to promise me you won't get angry with me. If what I say offends, you, I want you to promise that you'll pretend I never said it."

Her look was still quizzical. I needed to say more. My libido was getting stronger.

"I don't want to ruin our forthcoming road trip, assuming that it's still on," I added. "And I certainly don't want to lose your friendship."

"I can't imagine you saying something that would break up our friendship," she said.

"Promise me," I repeated.

She sighed. "Okay, I promise."

"When I said other men would find you attractive, I meant it. When I said I also found you attractive, I meant it too, every word of it. Sure, you're an older woman, but your age in no way detracts from your attractiveness. I really like your personality too. There is something about you that attracts me very strongly. Only two or three women in my life have attracted me as strongly you have."

'Maybe I'm super-attuned to your pheromones,' I thought. I did not vocalize that thought.

My working theory was that women exuded pheromones that were unique to each woman, but only very few women had precisely the right kind of pheromones to break down my resistance and induce me to take an active sexual interest in her. Kate was one of those. She is what the French would call as a 'femme fatale'.

I spoke bluntly but said nothing out loud about pheromones out loud, but she had heard enough to understand what I was insinuating. Then the full impact of what I was saying hit her. There could no doubt in her mind what was going in my mind.

A little worried about her reaction, I hesitated.

She said nothing. I think she was in shock.

I carried on nevertheless. "In fact, under the right circumstances, I would seduce you, keep you in my bed and make endless love to you, or at least try to."

At this point, I began to feel that I was actually embarrassing myself as much as I was embarrassing her.

I forged on. "So, don't you dare say or think you're unattractive. You are."

Did I mention that I'm straight-forward? Well, now you know, and so did Kate!

I saw mixed emotions cross her face, embarrassment of being the object of my desire, and pleasure in knowing that a man who she really liked considered her to be exceptionally attractive, and obviously meaning it.

Uncertain as to what emotion would gain ascendancy, I hastened to re-assure her. "Don't worry. You are safe with me. In no way will I make you do anything you don't want to do. No means no. My friendship with you is far more important than my attraction to you. I'm quite capable of going on this road trip with you while keeping my hands off of you. I won't like it but I'll do it."

So now it was out there. I meant what I said, every word of it. Now she knew I lusted after her big time. I wondered what her reaction would be. Did I scare her off? I entertained the possibility that I would spend the night in a hotel and be on a flight home on the very next day.

I was relieved to see that she had regained her composure and seemed to accept the sincerity of my words. I was still pretty sure she was attracted to me. Did I see the twinkle of promise in her eyes? Of course, it was possible that I was deluding myself, that I was indulging myself in wishful thinking, that what I saw was what I wanted to see rather than what was actually there.

Kate seemed to be evaluating me. At that point, I wished I could read her mind. I needed, to know what the next few hours would hold because it was getting late. If I was going to end up in a hotel and take a flight back home, I had better find out now. We were supposed to hit the road after breakfast.

"I'm tired," I said waiting to see what she would say. It was my way of urging to make some kind of decision.

"You can take the spare bedroom," she said, much to my relief. It's been a long and exhausting day."

I had overcome at least one hurdle. I not only saved myself the cost of a hotel room, I was also possibly, hopefully, still in the game.

She showed me the spare bedroom and gave me a towel. I took a shower and then went to bed. Leaving the door slightly ajar. I had this really vain fantasy that she was so hot for me that she would hop into bed with me and show me a good time. I turned off the lamp. I heard her take a shower a few minutes later. Then she went to the master bedroom.

I lay on the bed in the dark, wishing she was lying beside me. I fantasized about taking her in my arms and making sweet love to her. I developed a painful boner at the thought of her. As it turned out, I was right. My hope was vain. Kate did not crawl into bed with me.

Finally, I fell asleep.