One Wish

"Seeing anyone else?" Diane pressed.

"No, not really," he tried smiling, but felt his cheeks reddening with the admission.

"Haven't dated much myself," she said her eyes locked fully onto his. "Haven't been with anyone since you either," she added matter of factly.

Now Keith felt his cheeks really redden with embarrassment at the implied memories of the two of them.

"Me either," he stammered out, surprised that he had.

Diane seemed a bit surprised by that, her eye brows lifting curiously as she sat slightly straighter within her seat. "You mean you and Sharon never..."

"No," Keith interrupted before she could finish the thought. "Never did," he added catching a bemused smile on her face as she considered that.

One thing about Diane that he'd learned early on. She wasn't coy about her feelings or desires. Never had been. Had it not been for that in fact, odds were that he'd have never made love to her either. But Diane wasn't one to not go for something she wanted. Keith was beginning to sense the same thing here all over again.

"Remember that weekend just before Christmas when we went after a tree for my apartment?"

"How could he forget?" he considered silently. That's basically when everything started between them. Diane had been adventurous in ways that Keith had only imagined. Part of the allure he supposed, someone who was wildly uninhibited when it came to sex. He laughed in spite of himself.

"Every time I see one of those tree farms," he told her still grinning.

They had wandered up and down the isles of Christmas trees looking for one that would best fit inside her apartment, and one that she'd be the most pleased with. She'd taken her time looking with Keith following. It was a big lot, and soon they'd managed to meander a great distance away from the small trailer that was being used as an office. With Christmas only a short week away, the weather had been unusually mild for this time of year. Neither had been wearing a coat or jacket, sweaters providing ample warmth as a covering, even as the early evening began to close. Diane had wandered down one lane between rows of trees, suddenly taking a sharp turn, disappearing down another before Keith was able to catch up with her. As he rounded the turn, expecting to find her examining yet another tree, he did find her. But not quite as he'd expected to. Diane stood before him, her sweater lifted well up over her braless breasts, the mischievous grin on her face expectant as Keith rounded the turn, stopping full dead in his tracks as his eyes locked on her exposed chest.

"Like what you see?" she'd asked. "Something about the smell of pine trees," she stated as an afterthought, as though that explained everything.

Keith had continued to stand there in a surprised state of shock. Still looking, after all, how could he not? But unsure of what to do exactly, especially as up until this very moment, he'd never even touched her intimately let alone seen anything.

"Come here, closer," she'd told him, glancing quickly behind herself to ensure that no one was even remotely close to either of them.

He had done that. Quickly closing the distance between them, pressing his lips to hers, his hands reaching around her back to hug her to him until she'd actually taken one of his hands within hers, pressing it fully against her exposed breast.

There they had stood kissing, one hand gently caressing, fondling her pliant flesh until arousal had begun to more fully consume them both. Diane had reached down, fumbled momentarily with the zipper on his pants until she'd managed to free him, a slight shock as his aroused member was introduced to the cooler nights air.

"Diane?"

"Shh, be quiet, but keep an eye out," she told him suddenly kneeling down before him on the ground, hidden away between the rows of thick bushy Christmas trees. There, she had pleasured him with her mouth for the first time. Something he'd not experienced ever since...

"Joanne!" Keith thought, the memory fading, waking up to see Diane still sitting across from him on the seat, hands slowly unbuttoning the blouse she was wearing. "What are you doing?" he asked worriedly.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" she asked lustily. "Doesn't the idea of making out with a woman in the front seat of her car, in a parking lot where the possibility of someone coming by excite you?"

Ok it did. But the fact that Diane was acting like nothing had ever ended between them, simply picking up almost where they'd left off was a bit disconcerting to him. That, and the light blue satiny bra she was wearing. Smooth across the front of her breasts, highlighting the taut extended nipples framed so eloquently beneath the material. It certainly wasn't necessary for her to finger them as they pressed invitingly enough as it was. But she did anyway.

"Like what you see?" she asked, repeating those same first words to him she'd spoken between the rows of Christmas trees. This time however, he didn't wait to be asked, closing the distance between them before she'd had a moment more to even wonder if he would.

And this time, he didn't wait for her to give him further approval in touching her either. His hands gently cupping the fullness of her breasts, his lips already beginning to nibble at the softness of her sensitive neck, just as he remembered she liked having him do.

Arousal, need, had taken over from sensibility. Keith already knew her next move, and when she took it, he allowed it. Pent up long neglected desires chased away all reason. As Diane's hands released the catch on his belt, deftly locating the zipper on his slacks, drawing it down, he shifted so as to accommodate her more easily. He found himself nipping at the taut hard marble beneath the material of her brassiere as she reached inside his pants. Moments later he felt the coolness of her hand surround the heat of his flesh, drawing him out. Almost reluctantly, she pushed him back towards his side of the car, forcing him to relinquish her breasts.

"Just like old times!" she said just before leaning over him. "Keep an eye out," she cautioned, in that same giddy excitement she'd once shown him before.

Nervously, Keith panned about the parking area seeking any sound, any sign of movement though it was damn near impossible not to close his eyes as Diane's mouth and lips began to work magic upon his aching need. Once again his hands closed over the fullness of her exquisite breasts, kneading them gingerly like a contented cat, hearing the softness of her own pleasured sigh as she mouthed him softly, yet tenderly purring in her own way.

Sure, he had masturbated on more than one occasion, but that had been a matter of stress relief more than anything else. This was pleasure. Pure unadulterated pleasure that he was experiencing now, and knew full well that because of it, he wouldn't last at all long either. Nor, as he knew, was he expected to. One thing Diane had always gotten a charge out of, was exciting him well beyond his ability to control it, just as she was doing now.

The sound of the elevator doors opening at the far end of the row they were on alerted him to the fact that someone had finally entered the parking area.

"Diane! Diane! I think someone's coming," he whispered, fighting the urge of ecstasy that was already threatening to rob him of whatever sanity remained.

"Just keep watching," she warned him, mouthing his stiffness without even missing a beat as she spoke.

Keith could already feel the pull of pleasure as it began to course through his soul, the sound of heels clicking on the bare cement of the parking enclosures surface no more than a dozen or so yards away now, and worse...sounding ever closer as whoever it was, though obviously female, continued her approach.

"Diane? Oh God! Diane?" Keith moaned, already too late as his liquid pleasure erupted even as the sound of clicking heels grew nearer and nearer to their location. About all he could do was attempt to slither even further down in his seat than he was, and hope that by doing so, whoever it was would walk past them, unaware they were even there. Or if made aware, would scurry past in some effort to further distance herself from what would then be so obviously taking place.

Keith gambled, turning his head to one side slightly peering back and over the headrest as the sound of footsteps crossed the isle of the parking terrace directly behind them. The last of his mind-numbing pulsations only then calming, though Diane's mouth continued to strum the instrument of his passion well beyond the songs ending.

"Oh my God!" Keith stammered out a bit more loudly than he'd intended. He heard Diane giggle, only then releasing him to sit up slightly, searching out the same sound of passing heels that he'd been listening to.

"That good huh?" she said smiling with a wicked gleam in her eye. But Keith had hardly noticed that, slipping down even further into his seat if that were possible for him to do. It was the same woman he'd collided into when he'd first attempted to duck his eventual discovery by Diane. They both watched as she slipped her key into the lock of her car door almost directly behind them. The sound of the car door opening, closing, followed closely by the start of the engine before putting it into gear, backing out, and soon driving away.

"That was close," Diane said no longer worried of being overheard. "Exciting too wasn't it?" she asked him.

"Ah yeah, it was," Keith replied, then continued somewhat sheepishly. "Listen, Diane, I really do need to head back to work. I'm way late already!" he lied. Truth was, Keith wasn't expected back to work at all the rest of the day. But at this point, he'd rather show back up at the office rather than continue sitting here with Diane at the moment anyway.

"Ok, but now you really do owe me one," she stated suggestively. "So, I expect a phone call soon too then. You still have my number yes?"

Keith nodded that he did. They quickly straightened themselves up, then Diane drove Keith back to his office dropping him off in front. "Soon?" she asked once again. And again Keith nodded his head, promising to call her, though inwardly, not sure that he really would.

Keith made some pretense of entering the building, ensuring that Diane had indeed driven off before re-exiting, heading towards the adjacent parking lot where his car was parked.

He was headed back to the convention center.

#

Quickly locating the booth where he had inadvertently run into her, he spotted another woman currently manning that exhibit.

"Excuse me, but do you work here?" Keith asked.

The shorthaired brunette smiled in greeting. "Yes I do. Are you interested in our line of products?" she asked enthusiastically.

Keith returned the brief smile. "As a matter of fact, I was here a while ago, but was working with another woman." Keith gave 'Cindy' as the name badge over her pocket identified her, a brief general description of the woman he'd nearly run over. Her warm friendly smile didn't exactly disappear, but with the expression on her face changing, Keith assumed that whatever sales were made, were based on commission. Obviously Cindy wasn't going to be the one to make any money off any purchases or commitments Keith made. She did however offer a name up. After all, a sale was a sale even if it went into someone else's pocket.

"You must mean Jo," she said simply. She's the only other woman besides myself working the convention. Jo and Steve are working the day time hours, I'm here covering the late afternoon early evening shift," she explained.

"Oh I see, so she'll be back tomorrow then?" he asked. At the mention of her name, Keith had felt a tightness seize his chest. Though he'd never really had a pet name for Joanne, he had frequently used a shorter version of her name whenever he'd affectionately addressed her. Coincidence perhaps? After all, the only thing about her that had honestly reminded him of Joanne had been her eyes. True, she was roughly the same height, but even that could change with time. Added to that, the rest of her face certainly didn't look exactly like the way he remembered Joanne's either. Though as he thought about it, there were subtle similarities, perhaps more than merely just the color and shape of her eyes.

"Should be here shortly around the time the doors open, about nine. Would you like me to tell her you came by?" Cindy inquired.

"Actually, I'm not sure I've really made my mind up yet," Keith tossed at her. "Just had one or two more questions for Jo regarding any price breaks based on quantity," he adlibbed. "If I get a chance, I'll see about swinging by sometime tomorrow then."

Keith thanked her, turned and began to walk away. He stopped suddenly facing Cindy, "By the way, what is Jo's last name? If I might ask," he stated almost apologetically. "She told me, but I've already forgotten it," he added.

"Jo Carlson," Cindy said smiling once again. Keith thought she was perhaps about to ask him his, but he turned quickly, briskly walking away before she could think to do so.

"Carlson," Keith wondered. That certainly hadn't been her last name, though he supposed she could be married by now, which would explain that of course. "Idiot!" Keith chastised himself aloud as he exited the building. "Just because she looked like her a little, even had a similar first name, doesn't mean it's the same woman I once knew. And besides," he said arguing with himself, "Unless Joanne's been reincarnated, its not very damn likely that was actually her!"

#

Lucy was slightly upset when Keith informed her that he needed to go back to the office show himself. He promised that he wouldn't be gone long however, and upon his return so someone would be in the office, she could go. That mollified her for the most part, to which Keith was glad, hurriedly setting off to see if he could spot Jo, observing her for a time without her aware of his doing so.

Much to his chagrin, Keith arrived shortly after the shows second day opening, waiting patiently for Jo's arrival. Instead, he saw the same woman he'd seen the previous evening. Once he'd waited sufficiently long enough, he meandered towards the booth.

"Hi Cindy? Remember me?" he asked upon his approach, extending his hand in familiar greeting.

It took her a moment, and then she did. "Yes, you were here yesterday asking for Jo."

"Is she here?"

"No, sorry. Actually, she called in sick today. Which is why I'm here instead of her. By the way, I told her someone had come in to see her, but she didn't remember speaking to anyone fitting your description. You sure it was Jo that you spoke to?" Cindy questioned curiously.

"Pretty sure," Keith hesitated. "Do you know if she'll be in tomorrow?"

"Probably not if she's as sick as she says she is. Jo is hardly ever off work, so for her to actually call in and miss this, she has to be on deaths doorstep!"

"Ok, well...thanks," Keith said dejectedly, swiping one of the business cards off the desk before turning to leave. The address of the business was clear across town. Being there was no point in driving over there, especially if Jo was staying home sick, about all Keith could do was sit it out over the weekend, especially once the show was over, then drop by their offices on some pretense of actually finalizing a business deal. With luck, he might bump into her there and settle this once and for all.

#

The first thing Keith noticed upon arriving home was that he had a message waiting for him on his answering machine.

"Hi Keith. Wasn't sure you'd actually call me back, so I thought I'd call you instead. If you're not doing anything tonight, why don't you call me? I'm fixing a simple little dinner, thought you might like to join me at my place."

Diane left her phone number ensuring that Keith had no excuse not to call, even if it was to say he wasn't coming. Tossing his jacket across the back of the couch, Keith stared at the phone wondering if he should call her, or more importantly, if he should simply give in to his urges. He liked Diane, but he wasn't in love with her. The sex had always been good between them, he couldn't deny that. And after this afternoon's wild little episode in the front seat of her car, Keith admittedly had enjoyed it, even though he wasn't really interested in getting into another long term relationship with her that wasn't going anywhere.

With nothing but a long boring evening sitting in front of the TV set with a less than satisfactory TV dinner, Keith picked up the phone and called her. Once given directions to her new apartment, Keith showered, then headed to the store to pick up a bottle of wine to bring with him. He arrived on time stepping onto the elevator, which would take him up to her floor in a fairly expensive complex that reminded him more of a swanky hotel as opposed to a condominium or apartment building. The doors had just begun closing when he heard someone calling out.

"Hold the doors please if you would?"

Keith automatically reached over pushing the 'door-hold' button, watching them begin to reopen. As they did, Jo stepped into the elevator. It took a long moment for Keith's face to register on her, the doors already closing.

The look on her face was one of surprise, immediately followed by one that appeared almost angry.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"Joanne?"

For a split second, Keith saw a profound sadness cross her face, her eyes becoming watery, then just as quickly, the anger returned, even more than it had been.

"Like I said, why are you here?" she asked him again in a much sterner tone of voice.

"It IS you isn't it?" Keith had felt an eerie, sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, up until this very moment, he hadn't been sure. Too much to hope for, the reality just too bizarre to actually discover Joanne wasn't dead, but alive. Keith felt his legs weaken, becoming dizzy as he reached out towards the wall of the elevator to steady himself. Even his vision blurred as he tried to focus on Joanne's face, her expression turning to one of confusion.

"Keith?" she finally addressed him, confirming his reality check. "Keith? You ok? What's wrong?" she asked actually alarmed.

He felt the bottle of wine slip from his fingers, all but exploding on the floor of the elevator as he swam through sea of nausea fighting very hard not to sick up. The doors to the elevator opened, and to his surprise, Joanne reached over throwing one of his arms about her shoulders as she leaned into him, half dragging him out.

By the time she reached the door of her apartment she was crying, Keith on the other hand was regaining his own sense of self, no longer needing or requiring her support. By the time Joanne had inserted her key, pushing the door open, their roles were almost reversed with Keith now taking her arm, escorting her inside.

"I think we need to talk," he told her leading her over towards the couch where she unceremoniously collapsed. When she did, Keith noticed for the first time her artificial leg. "All these years, I thought you were dead," he said in a tone of voice that emphasized his shock and bewilderment. "Why Joanne? Why?" he questioned her, the pain of her loss suddenly flooding him emotionally all over again. Yet, here she was, sitting before him alive and well, though obviously the accident had been severe enough that she'd undergone some fairly extensive plastic surgery, not to mention the obvious loss of her leg.

"Why? Why did you desert me?" she asked. "Especially when I needed you the most!"

"I didn't," he said simply. "Your mother wrote me, informing me of your death. She even called my parents, telling them the very same thing. I couldn't get leave to come home for your funeral, and long afterwards, when I tried to locate your parents, they had moved."