Not Tonight

Lisa was a skinny blond. Her hair was almost white and very thin. Her skin was just as pale. I saw her come in out of the rain one morning; she looked like a drowned Pomeranian.

She had no hips that you could speak of. As a child we used to joke about women who were a perfect 36; 12-12-12. That was our Lisa.

I worked for her father. He didn't own the company, he was my foreman. Lisa worked there too. Someone told me she gave the best head in town. I have been married far too long to even attempt to try it out.

She never seemed to lack for dates; always talking about being out to this place or that place. She was not the type to go out with everyone and his brother; she stayed with the same guy forever.

She had been dating one of the machine operators on the production line for about 2 years. He was a jealous type; if he saw her talking to another guy she would never hear the end of it. He was a big white guy; his feet were size 15, he stood about 6 foot 4, weighed in at 315. He was built solid from top to bottom; all muscle.

This guy was offered a better job in the next town, he took it. I could tell he was not taking care of her when she started to try putting the moves on me. I did my usual number and pretended that I did not notice. The harder she tried the dumber I got. Finally I told her we could be friends but that was as far as it could go. You see; my momma raised big kids, not dumb ones. I liked my wife just fine and didn't want to trade her in for a newer model.

Lisa decided she liked the looks of the new operator on 3rd shift. He was 5 foot 6, about 105 wringing wet and a roll of quarters in his pocket. He was also as black as you get. Have you ever seen a person who was so dark they had a purple sheen to their skin? That was Joe. He never knew what hit him when she decided that he was next in line.

As far as anyone could tell it was working out to the satisfaction of both of them. He was attentive and she was not as horny as before. There were a few times I saw them getting a little more intimate than should happen in a workplace, but it wasn't my job at risk so I kept quiet.

Later that fall the company held their annual Christmas party. Dinner was rubber chicken and fancy food veggies. Afterward the boss handed out the annual bonuses; then there was dancing.

I dance like one leg is 6 inches shorter then the other, so rather than embarrass myself I sat and watched. My wife and I have an agreement that she can go out and dance as long as she reserves all the slow dances for me and returns to the table after 3 dances. She stays for 1 dance and can then go back for another 3. This way she does not get too tired and I don't look like a lonely wallflower all night.

I noticed the wife had not returned after 5 dances and they started a slow dance. She was not coming back still. So I got up and headed out to see what was going on. As I was looking for her I spotted Lisa heading out to the dance floor in a screaming hurry. I found my wife about the same time Lisa showed up looking for Joe. Joe and my wife were slow dancing. His hands were all over her ass.

I tapped him on the shoulder to break in and he turned around saying "What the fuck do you want?"

I told him he was dancing with my wife and now it was my turn.

His response was "Fuck you I found her and will dance with her until I am done." My wife just smiled. No sooner than he finished speaking Lisa cold cocked him in the jaw. He dropped like a sack of potatoes.

My wife was pissed at me. I told her "It was time to leave. We don't air our dirty laundry in front of my co-workers."

She opened her mouth to say something and I told her it was cold outside and 35 miles to home. Did she want a ride or was she going to walk?

As I drove toward home I quietly and gently explained she had broken our agreement. She said nothing and just glared at me.

When we got home she headed into the bedroom and locked the door. I reached above the doorway and got the key to unlock the door and let myself in.

"You're not sleeping with me tonight" she screamed at me.

"If that is what you want go sleep on the sofa then" I calmly replied.

She stalked out of the room and went to the living room. I could see her looking for something. "Where is my purse?" she screamed.

I just shrugged my shoulders. I knew she left it in the car; which was now locked and all the keys for it were locked away in my desk.

I told her "You had too much to drink and should not be out driving."

The banshee came alive again and informed me she was not sleeping in this house tonight. She then went out the door and started down the driveway, without putting her coat on.

About 5 minutes later she was back at the locked door pounding and demanding that I let her in. I took my time coming down the stairs and walking to the door as she continued to pound on it. When I opened the door she was shivering and soaked to the bone. The temperature was 35 degrees and it had started to rain. She had slipped and fallen in the front yard and had skinned her knees.

If looks could kill I was dead 3 times over. I guided her upstairs to the bathroom poured her a hot bath, stripped her down and put her in the tub. Half an hour later I helped her out of the tub, took care of fixing her knees and went to bed.

Sometime in the middle of the night she crawled into bed with me and finally fell asleep.

The next morning I woke, at 9, to find 3 inches of sloppy snow in the yard. I went out to the shed and got the snow blower out to clean off the walk and driveway. Then checked on her, she was still out.

A little after 1 in the afternoon she came downstairs; she did not look good. She wanted to know why there was no coffee made.

I told her "You know I don't drink coffee."

The banshee woke again. I just sat there and smiled.

Later I told her "It was made fresh at 9, but I was sure it was no good at 12:30 so I poured it out. You know what old coffee does to your stomach."

The next week was both of our birthdays. Mine was the 13th hers was the 16th. She gave me a nice pair of socks for my present. So I put away the bracelet and necklace I had gotten her and gave her a six pack of plain white cotton panties; like granny would wear.

She was now even more pissed at me.

The children returned from college to find the house very frosty. She still had not told me why she was angry. I just smiled.

2 days before Christmas I over heard her telling our daughter that I did not trust her. She went on to tell her how I had punched a man out for dancing with her. The child was astounded that I would do something like that.

On Christmas Eve I was too sick to go anywhere. She and the children went to her parents' house for dinner and gift exchange. I sent a lovely pair of jade earrings for her mother and a nice GPS for her dad.

I learned in Jr High that if I ate cheese curls they would make me sick for about 18 hours. I used that trick when I needed extra time to study for tests.

For Christmas she gave me a nice assortment of gourmet coffee. She got a Hickory Farms summer sausage. All the other presents she wanted were stored in my desk.

We had reservations for New Years Eve, so we went out. The drive to the party was frosty; I did not have much to say either. I just smiled.

When we got out of the car she told me "You won't be dancing with me at all, not tonight."

I did not respond. I just smiled.

We had been there for 2 hours when I saw Lisa and Joe walk in the door. I smiled and waved. There were 2 open chairs at our table. Joe sat between Lisa and my wife.

When Lisa got up to get drinks Joe leaned over and whispered in my wife's ear that he would like to continue where they left off at the Christmas party.

Well when sober my wife did not recognize him; she gasped and asked what he meant.

Joe described how they had been dancing and were interrupted when Lisa hit him and knocked him out.

She laughed and said "That girl couldn't knock out a fly."

Joe shook his head and told her "Lisa used to box in college"

About that time Lisa came back and told us she had won every match she was in; including a few with guys.

When the first slow dance came up I asked Lisa to dance with me; we had a great time. Joe and my wife never left the table. My wife moved to my seat and insisted that Joe move to Lisa's.

Lisa and I danced a number of slow dances that evening. My wife only drank soft drinks all evening and only left the table to use the ladies room. One time she went with Lisa; when she returned she whispered to me "I'm sorry." I smiled at her.

When mid-night rolled around she asked me to dance.

I said "Not tonight."

I just sat there and sipped my drink.

We left at12:30. As I drove toward home my wife tried to talk to me.

I said "Not tonight."

Then I turned up the radio.

When we went to bed she tried to cuddle me. I rolled over and said "Not tonight."

I awoke the next morning to an empty bed. She was sitting in a chair beside the bed.

When I rolled over and saw her she said "Why didn't you tell me Lisa punched him out?"

I asked her "Why didn't you ask me who did it?" Then I got out of bed and went down to the kitchen for a cup of tea.

She came down about half an hour later; her eyes were red from crying and her nose was running. Lord, she was a sight.

After all she had put me through in the last 3 weeks I was not going to let her off lightly. Finally she put a plate of food in front of me and asked if we could talk.

I asked her why she didn't want to talk for the last 3 weeks and got up leaving the food there.

That evening I arraigned for the kids to be out with their friends. I ordered pizza, the way I like it, and sodas that I like. When it arrived I took it into the kitchen and got out 2 plates and glasses. I sat at the table until she came into the kitchen to see what I was doing. I pushed the pizza toward her side of the table and waited in silence until she sat down and opened the box. She put 2 slices on each plate and waited for me to start eating. We ate in silence.

When we were done I went into the living room and sat down in my chair. She was soon there too. She started with "I am sorry for ruining the holidays. I had no idea Lisa had punched him out"

I told her everyone in the room knew it. Then I went on to detail how she had broken our agreement. By the time I was done she was in tears again.

We talked about all the things that had happened over the last 3 weeks. She cried through most of it.

After we had talked ourselves out, I got up and went to bed. Some time after I fell asleep she came to bed. I woke the next morning with her clinging to me for dear life. She was talking in her sleep. All I could make out was "Forgive me." She repeated it over and over as tears streamed down her cheeks.

I managed to get out of bed without waking her. I was in the kitchen with a cup of tea when I heard her scream "No." A minute later, she flew down the stairs looking for me.

We went out to breakfast that morning, then to a movie and a walk in the park. She fixed a light dinner and we went to bed.

We made love with a passion we had not seen in years. When we were done and cuddling she asked me if I was mad at her.

I said "Not tonight." And I smiled.

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As always, comments are welcome, be they good or bad. If you attack me the comment will be deleted.

This story is a follow up to "Not Now". "Not Tonight" can stand alone if needed. But you might enjoy the other story too.

I have learned that:

You can talk all you want, but if no one is listening you are not communicating.

A well timed smile can either make others happy or infuriate them.

Anger and alcohol can cause people to do stupid things or not see things clearly.

This is a story, there is no connection to anyone living or known to me. Don't get your panties all wadded up over it. And, yes, some people like to go for walks in January.