One Too Many

It was light enough that he could see her face fairly clearly, and there was no way this beautiful woman smoked. At least not regularly. Women who smoked had a 'caky' look to their skin that was caused by too much oxygen deprivation to the tiny capillaries in the face over years of abuse. Not to mention 'dragon breath'.

"You don't smoke," Justin told her quietly.

The woman laughed and nodded her head.

"No. But I used to. It's been years, but after the night I've had, I'd probably start again if you had one."

She finally smiled then said, "But I can tell you don't smoke, either, so I guess maybe my luck is changing."

"Wow. You have had a rough evening. I don't suppose you'd care to talk?"

"Oh, no. That's okay. I don't want to take you away from your job, and I wouldn't think of boring you to death with my 'woe-is-me' tale. But thank you for offering," she said, smiling again.

It wasn't a bright, happy smile, but it was beautiful nonetheless.

"I'm actually done, so I am available, and people yell me I'm a pretty good listener," Justin told her as he smiled back at her.

The woman laughed then said, "I pretty much stopped drinking when I quit smoking, but suddenly I'd love one. A drink, that is."

Justin gave her a funny look, and the woman laughed.

"Oh. I'm not a recovering alcoholic or anything. I never drank a lot, and I rarely drink at all anymore. But I do, on occasion, have one. But tonight, I might have two."

"I rarely drink, either. But if you'd like to maybe go somewhere, I'd be happy to have one with you."

"I'm the groom's ex-wife," she said out of the blue. "You know, the nice-looking older man with the very young bride?"

"Ahh. Okay," Justin said, his sister's comment finally making sense.

"I had no intention of coming, but yesterday my best friend convinced me to show up. 'Don't let him make you feel like that', she told me. So I came, and seeing him with her still made me feel like that."

"I'm not sure how all of this made you feel, but I did notice you earlier, and I thought you were a...very beautiful woman. And for what it's worth, the bride has nothing on you."

The woman pulled her head back quickly, her eyes open wide, smiled, then laughed again.

"Oh, my. I wasn't aware they paid the catering staff to make women my age feel good, but that was good. Really good," she told him.

Justin smiled then said, "I'm not really part of the staff. I used to be but haven't done this in several years. My sister owns the catering service, and I was just helping her out for the night. But I wasn't kidding about you being an attractive woman, and it certainly wasn't flattery."

She looked at Justin for several seconds, and she somehow just knew he was being serious.

"That's...that's very nice of you to say. Thank you," she told him.

"You're welcome, and I was also serious about that drink. And the part about being a decent listener."

"It's getting late, and I'm sure you have better things to do," she said, her voice now somehow different. "Or maybe a girlfriend to get back to?"

"I work a lot of nights so it's never really late to me, and to be honest? I can't think of anything I'd rather do. Oh, and no—there's no girlfriend."

"You're...serious, aren't you?" she asked.

"Most of the time I'm cutting up, but yes, I am being serious," he told her...seriously.

"If...if you're sure," she said, not sure if she was sure. But after the night she'd just had, she couldn't see the harm in having one drink with someone so nice and...so handsome. And if he really was a good listener, she could get a lot of things off her chest and never have to worry about seeing him again.

"I'm sure. Give me a couple of minutes, and I'll be ready, okay?"

"Well, all right," she said quietly as Justin smiled and promised he'd be right back.

"Oh, and you might want to go back inside where it's not quite as chilly as you thought."

Suddenly very cold, the woman laughed and said she thought that was a very good idea. Justin opened the door for her, and this time when she smiled, he realized she was even more beautiful than his first or second looks revealed.

She had dark, shiny hair that fell to just above her shoulders, and her face was heart-shaped with high cheekbones. He knew eyes didn't 'sparkle', but this woman had the most gorgeous green eyes he'd ever seen. She was clearly older than him, but she didn't look 'old' or 'middle-aged', so he really had no idea how old she might be.

She smiled as she thanked him, and the indoor lighting revealed a beautiful, white smile surrounded by two full, very-kissable lips. As he watched her step inside, it was also clear she watched her figure very closely; something Justin was also doing at that very moment.

He closed the door, and as he walked alongside her, she said, "My name is Kellie. Seals."

"Oh, sorry. I should have introduced myself earlier. I'm Justin. Justin Law, and it's a pleasure meeting you, Kellie."

"Thank you. Same here, Justin," she told him.

"Um...so, give me two minutes and I'll be right back, okay?" he told her as nodded toward the kitchen area.

"Okay. And take your time," she told him, smiling politely as she spoke.

As he looked for his sister, he was trying to think of who this dark-haired, beautiful woman reminded him of, and it came to him just as he saw Kristi. She looked like an actress named Connie Selleca from some TV show he'd seen that was at least 30 years old.

"Greatest American Hero!" he said to himself when it came to him.

It was an absurdly silly show he'd watched on a channel that ran old TV reruns. The odds were good he'd eaten a large bag of Cool Ranch Doritos and a quart of ice cream during a single episode and washed it down with a can or two of regular Coke, but Kellie Seals really did look a lot like this once-beautiful actress.

"Hey, bro! You outta here?" Kristi asked as soon as she saw him.

"Yeah. I cleaned up about half of the tables, and I'm gonna get going."

She hugged her brother and thanked him again then said, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do! If I could."

Justin laughed and before he left said, "Love you."

Kristi got still for a moment then said, "I love you, too."

And he knew she did. She'd always loved him, and when they lost their parents, she was all he had. And in spite of her having had a husband, Justin often felt like he was all she had, at least until her daughter, Carrie, was born. And ever since, they both had her to love, as well.

Justin waved goodbye then went back to find Kellie, but she was nowhere in sight.

"Great. Ditched again," he said as he looked around for her. "Just like old times."

"Justin?" he heard a female voice call out from behind just as he was about to leave.

He turned and saw Kellie coming his way.

"I'm sorry. I had to stop in the ladies room before we left."

He smiled and told her he thought he'd been stood up.

Kellie laughed then told him she couldn't stand him up because it wasn't a date.

Justin covered his heart with one hand and said, "Ouch!"

Kellie laughed and told him, "No. I was just reminding you this was a random act of kindness on your part so you'd be aware I wasn't a crazy old woman assuming it was a date. That's all."

"And why wouldn't I want it to be a date?" Justin asked, his eyebrows raised high.

Kellie laughed again, and thanked him for making her laugh.

Justin didn't explain he was being serious, but that's exactly what how he meant it. He'd never gone out with anyone more than a couple of years older than himself, but for the first time in his life, he found himself inexplicably taken with this beautiful, older woman. Even if it was nothing more than a single drink one time, he realized he'd never again turn a blind eye to an attractive woman because of her age.

Kellie ignored his question and asked where to meet.

"Is 'Underground' okay?" he suggested.

"Sure. I haven't been there in forever, but that sounds nice."

It was a short drive from the country club to the night club, and Justin pulled in a few seconds ahead of Kellie. That gave him enough time to run over to open her door causing her to both laugh and thank him.

"You...surprised me," she told him rather than admit he'd scared her. She didn't see him run her way, and when he suddenly appeared next to her, it startled her.

"My apologies. I should have thought about it being late and dark," he told her.

"No. It's fine. I uh, I just don't go out much at all anymore. Late or otherwise," Kellie told him as they walked toward the front entrance.

"It's not too loud tonight," she said, clearly relieved it wasn't.

"Right. You can actually hear the other person talk," Justin agreed, now wishing he'd asked her to go someplace nicer.

Kellie may or may not be a wealthy woman, but he didn't really care. But he realized he did care about making a good impression, and this wasn't exactly the place for it. Then again, he was still in the goofy black and white outfit so...so much for that.

"I look like a...penguin," he said once they found a place to sit.

"You look...distinguished," she countered.

He saw her trying not to laugh, and said, "I feel a little ridiculous. You look glamorous, and I look like a bus boy."

Kellie laughed then told him to look around.

"I'm as overdressed as you are underdressed, so don't feel bad, okay?"

He realized she was right and laughed, too.

"Yeah, we're a real Mutt and Jeff combination, huh? Or maybe Mutt and...Jane?"

"Either way we're fish out of water, but you know what? I don't care about that one whit."

"You're um...you're pretty amazing," Justin told her.

"More like...jaded," she said as she tried to laugh. "I don't want to be, it's just that when your husband leaves you for a younger woman, well, it can happen to the best of us."

Kellie tilted her head then said, "Not that I'm the best of anything, mind you."

A pretty young girl came over to take their drink orders and Justin asked for a beer while Kellie asked for a vodka tonic.

"You know what? Make it a double," she said.

Justin raised an eyebrow and she laughed again.

"I've had roughly two drinks or so a year for the last three years, so it's fine. Really."

"Okay. I'm not worried as long as you're not."

When the drinks came, they toasted to 'better days', and Kellie shocked him when she knocked back nearly all of it in one gulp.

She shivered, her eyes opened wide, then said, "That was...smooth!" barely able to speak.

"You really did have a helluva night, huh?" he said as he took a first sip.

Kellie sighed then said, "Oh. You have no idea."

"I believe that's why I'm here," he told her with a smile. "So...please. Go ahead. Talk to me."

Not being a drinker, the alcohol 'crawled' up her back in seconds and started hitting her brain. And kept hitting it.

The booze allowed her to open up to this total stranger, and within minutes, Justin had the short version of how this very attractive woman ended up alone at her ex-husband's wedding reception.

"I did everything I could possibly do to make him happy," she told Justin. "And I do mean...everything."

"Oh," was all Justin said back until he realized what 'everything' could mean.

When he did, he changed his response, to, "Oooh!" said with eyes that were wide open.

Kellie laughed, too, then shook her head.

"Yes, all of that, but...not just that."

She hesitated, killed the rest of her drink, shivered again, then continued.

"Believe or not I...I even started smoking for him."

"Whoa! You did...what?" Justin asked. "Did he smoke?"

"Oh, no. Never," she told him causing Justin to become even more confused.

"Have you ever heard of a 'smoking fetish'?" she asked.

"Um...no. But something tells me I'm about to find out what it is."

"I'd never heard of it, either. I had no idea there was such a thing. But trust me. There most definitely is."

Kellie flagged down their server and asked for a refill, forgetting she'd had a double.

"So...what is this...fetish?" Justin asked while she waited for her drink.

"Well, there are men who absolutely LOVE watching an attractive woman smoke."

She saw the look on Justin's face and quickly said, "And no, I'm not kidding."

"Um...that's...bizarre," he said, shaking his head. "Did he also ask you to drink bleach or anything?"

Kellie laughed a laugh of relief and said, "No. Just smoking. And after years of him asking me and then begging me, I finally agreed to try it. Well, suffice it to say my husband was all over me, and I thought, 'If this is what it takes..."

"Let me guess. It still wasn't enough," Justin offered.

"How old did you say you are?" she asked, surprised at his insight.

"I didn't," he replied with a smile. "But I am listening. And in case you were wondering, I'm enjoying talking to you."

Her drink came, and Kellie said, "Yeah. Me, too. This has been just what I needed."

"So how long did this fetish of his satisfy him?" he asked her.

Kellie took another fairly big gulp then continued.

"Oh, maybe until I was hopelessly hooked on smoking? Things were really good for a year or so, but I think after he felt like he'd 'won', things changed, and that wasn't enough, either. I mean, I know it was foolish, but I kept thinking you have to give in order to get, right? So I gave. And gave. And kept giving. But other than that first year or so, the getting part never came."

She shook her head, smiled, then said, "But enough about that. I quit three years ago, and only smoked about three years total, but quitting was hell on earth."

"I know a little about giving up an addiction," Justin told her.

"You? Please! You look like the guy who plays Thor in the movies. Only with shorter hair," she said with a loud laugh. The booze was now fully working as advertised.

"Here. Let me show you something," Justin said as he pulled out his phone, scrolled through some photos then handed it to Kellie.

Her eyes opened wide for a moment as she said, "He looks very familiar. Do I know him by any chance?"

Justin laughed then asked for the phone back and held it next to his face.

"I believe you do," he said.

"Oh...my..."

She took the phone back and just stared.

"That's...you," she said before looking at him then asking, "Isn't it?"

"Yes it is. Or, rather, it was. Three and a half years ago."

She looked at Justin then at the pic then back at him. After she did, she kept shaking her head in disbelief.

"I...I can't believe that. My goodness. You...you were...huge."

"And miserable."

"How'd you do it, Justin? What made you want to change?" she asked as she gave the phone back and killed her 'second' drink.

He shared his life story in maybe two minutes hitting just the highlights.

"I'm so sorry you and your sister lost your parents. That's unbelievably tragic."

The same server came back and asked if she'd like another, and without thinking, Kellie said, "Um...sure."

Justin nearly mentioned she'd downed four already, but if she really rarely ever drank, and if she'd been through everything she said she had—and he believed she had—she deserved one night of escape.

"Would you like another beer?" she asked Justin.

"No. I'm still nursing this one," he told her with a smile.

By the time Kellie was half way through her third, which was really her fifth, she was starting to have trouble saying her 'esses'. After draining the glass, she was a mess.

"Jushtin," she slurred, "you are shuch a nish guy. Why can't you be old? Like me? Don't you wanna be old, too?"

"Come on. Let's get you home. Someone's had one too many," he told her politely.

"I didn't drink that mush," she told him, even as she lost her balance when he helped her stand up. "Jush three itty, bitty lil' drinksh."

"You've had a rough night," he said. He laid cash on the table and signaled their server before taking Kellie's arm and draping it over her shoulder while supporting her from the waist.

"Shee? Thish is so nish. You and me. Together."

"Yes, it is," Justin told her.

"I really like you, Jushtin. We should be friends, huh?"

"We are friends, Kellie," he said as he got her outside. "And friends don't let friends drive drunk."

Kellie was in bad shape so he unlocked his car remotely then picked her up and carried her over to it. As he set her inside she said, "I think I love you, Jushtin."

"You won't love me in the morning," he told her. "In fact, you may not even remember me. But I'm still going to stop by and check on you."

"Thash cuz you're such a nish guy," she told him as he buckled her in.

"Can you tell me where you live?" he asked when he got in.

"I live in...Bellingham," she said, her information of no use whatsoever.

He reached into her purse and grabbed her phone and asked her to unlock it, but she'd already passed out. Fortunately it was fingerprint protected so he put her right index finger over the 'home' button and opened it. From there he opened maps, and as he'd hoped, it gave him the location of her house complete with street address.

When they pulled into her driveway, Justin took her keys and opened the front door then came back for her and grabbed her purse and carried her inside. He took her to the far end of the house, a very nice house to be sure, and laid her on the bed. He pulled her shoes off then covered her with the other half of the bedspread and started to leave.

He stopped, grabbed her phone again, and sent her a text from himself explaining how she got there. He offered to take her to get her car the next day with the caveat he had to be at work that afternoon.

"Even though you had one too many, I really enjoyed talking to you, Kellie, and I wouldn't mind talking to you again—just without the booze. :-) And I'm sorry you had such a shitty day. It's ironic in that meeting you made mine a whole lot better. Justin. The guy who used to be...huge."

He thought it would be wise to leave his number, so he added that then hit 'send'. Once it came back, he laid the phone right beside her on the nightstand and hoped she didn't have anywhere to be the next morning, because she was going to feel...shitty...when she woke up, and most likely for most of the day.

He stood there and looked at her for a few moments before realizing how creepy that was, then walked out thinking she was not only beautiful but pretty amazing, her 'night of debauchery' aside.

Justin was up at 7am, had a cup of coffee and some toast then went to his favorite gym and was working out by eight. He went home showered, got dressed, then ate a full breakfast and had another cup of coffee.

Around 10 o'clock he headed to Kellie's, and smiled when he thought about the night before. He arrived at a quarter past then quietly knocked on the door. Hearing nothing after five seconds, he hesitated but rang the doorbell. Another ten seconds passed, and he started getting worried and rang it one more time.

He was trying to see in through the side of the door when he noticed movement. An obscured shape continued coming toward him and stopped next to the door.

"Kellie?" he called out.

"Justin. Hi," he heard her say. "I'm okay. Mostly. If you don't count my head."

"May I come in?"

"I...I feel like death warmed over," she told him.

"All the more reason for me to see how you're doing."

"I...I look even worse," she told him. "And...I'm a little embarrassed to face you."

"Don't be. I showed you my fat pics, remember?" he said with a tease in his voice.

"If my head wasn't killing me, I'd laugh," she told him.

"Are you sure I can't help?"

"You helped me last night. I really needed someone to talk to, and I'm grateful you were there for me. And I'm...I'm sorry I let you see me like that. I haven't done that since...since I was in college. I'm more than a little ashamed of myself on top of everything else."