Operation Recover Mr. D

Tara met me for lunch at my office twice, and I learned that she had a thing for public sex. I always enjoyed sex outdoors -- Beth and I had sex every time we went for a long hike when we were younger -- but the thrill of getting caught was never my kink. Tara seemed to relish it, however, and I couldn't deny her. Plus sex, public or not, is never a bad thing.

The first time we went public was a beautiful Indian summer day, so we sat in the park with salads. The park was a typical urban greenspace -- lawns and trees and benches and a small gazebo -- but it had zero privacy. Lunch was pleasant, but our conversation lagged because Tara seemed quite distracted. With lunch eaten and containers trashed, Tara took me by the hand and led me out of the park and across the street into an alley.

The alley wasn't smelly or gross, but it did have the usual collection of dumpsters and trash cans and old pallets and flattened cardboard boxes. Tara walked us about halfway down the alley until she found an opening between a dumpster and four towers of empty beer kegs, each stacked three high. She pulled me in after her, putting her back against a brick wall and wrapping her arms around my neck. The kiss sizzled.

"Fuck me, Mr D," she whispered hoarsely in my ear. "Fuck me right here."

Her hands went to my pants, while mine pushed hard against her breasts before sliding down to her skirt. I pulled up her skirt and bunched it in one hand while my other went to her pussy. It was bare, and she was dripping wet. She opened my pants and pushed my boxer briefs down to free my cock, which was fully erect. I slid my free hand down her leg and lifted her knee up and out. Because she was so tall I hardly had to bend my knees at all to get my cock lined up, and as I pushed into her she groaned and let her head roll back. With my hands fully occupied, she moved one of hers to her clit and began strumming it as I rocked into her, gaining speed.

"Oh, God, Mr D! Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck me!"

I plowed away, leaning into her, my chin on her shoulder, her harsh breaths coming faster and faster against my ear.

"Fuck me! Fuck me! Fuck me!"

She was so wet we were making squishing sounds as we ground against each other. She kept up her mantra for a couple minutes, and then it changed.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I'm cumming, Mr D! I'm cumming! Oh! Oh!"

She began to vibrate and then convulsed in a huge orgasm. I couldn't help but blow my seed deeply into her. We leaned against each other, getting out breaths back, then tidied up our clothes and stepped back out into the alley. There was no one around to notice us.

"That was insane, Mr D!" Tara said as we walked around the park. "I can't wait to do it again."

So two days later we met again for lunch. It was colder though and raw with wind, so she asked to see my office. I didn't think anything of it until she pulled me into a stairwell. I let her kiss me, but then I insisted that we needed somewhere far less reckless, so we went up a couple floors and found an unoccupied women's restroom with a door that locked. I took her from behind while she bent over the sink, staring into the mirror so we could hold each other's eyes while I pounded her and stroked her clit. Her climax this time wasn't quite as big, but when we came out of the restroom together and saw a woman walking down the hall towards us, Tara giggled and shivered a little.

* * * * *

It wasn't all sex. I worked my usual three days, and Tara and I had many long conversations. They usually started out on a general topic, but eventually found their way around to my specific situation. Tara was very good at guiding me to the heart of whatever matter we were discussing. A professional therapist would probably get me there a lot sooner, but that wouldn't be nearly so much fun.

"Mr D, why did you and Beth break up really?"

"I think we just decided it was too much work."

"Did you fall out of love."

"I suppose we did. I guess if you're truly in love you make whatever effort necessary to sustain your relationship. Since we didn't, I guess we fell out of love."

"How did that happen?"

I thought for a minute or two, and Tara let me have the time. She was good like that, never pushing.

"Beth always took time to open up. It wasn't like we'd be together and the next time we could pick up where we left off. I still had to take time to navigate Beth, to get her to open up to me. There were no short cuts, so every time I wanted us to share emotionally, I had to prepare her, make her feel safe, help her let go of the things in her mind that distracted her. I never found any cheat codes to get there faster.

"It's like when you have a house, and its only door is on the other side from where you spend all your time. When it's new and you have the energy and the interest, going around the house every time you want to go inside is not a big deal. But later, when it's less novel, less compelling because you know exactly what you'll find, you'll put off the trip until there's enough reason to make it. You save up trips and try to get a lot more done with each one. Marriage requires going around the house and go through that door every single day. But it takes energy and commitment, and I just wore down. I wasn't getting enough back to make it worth my while. I didn't do it consciously, and I don't think she did either, but ultimately we decided that we wouldn't make the effort."

"Do you think you could be with Beth again?"

"No. If we could have made it work we would have. We just didn't."

"So you don't think you guys could fix it?"

"I don't think there's anything to fix. She's wonderful in many, many ways. But there was no seminal event. No violent reaction. No secret that came to light. No betrayal. I wish I could see something that would bring us back to where we were, because when we were good we were really good. But it's been a very long time since we were good together."

Tara didn't say anything. Perhaps there wasn't anything more to be said.

* * * * *

"Do you think you'll fall in love with someone again?"

I blew out a breath. "I sure hope so. Everything feels so much richer, more vibrant when you have a true partner to share it with. Someone who gets excited even if it's just because you're excited. Someone to get excited with when she finds something that thrills her."

"How would you stay in love?"

I looked at her and smiled. She was lying in bed, nude, on her side, looking at me steadily, one of her hands on my chest, just resting there.

"That's the million-dollar question. I hope that I've learned that I need to do something every day to keep the connection going. Something conscious, knowing that I was doing something for the relationship."

"What about your partner? Would it work if she didn't do that too?"

I kissed Tara's forehead. "No, it wouldn't, would it? I guess I'll also have to ask my partner to make the same effort."

Tara smiled and then began fondling me with the ultimate goal of riding me to another orgasm. Which she did.

* * * * *

"Are you upset that your marriage failed?"

"Of course."

"Why?"

"No one likes to fail. And I want to be a good person too. Someone who cares about others. Someone who meets his commitments. Someone who works hard. I don't think I was that person in my marriage. At least not at the end of it."

"That seems harsh. Doesn't a marriage take two?"

"Of course. And I don't think Beth covered herself in glory either. But I didn't hold up my end."

"But when you decided to end it you did it with kindness. No recriminations. No blame. No anger. Or do you blame Beth? Do you feel angry?"

"No, none of that. I guess we did make the exit as good as it could be."

"Based on what I've seen from other people who got divorced that's no small thing. My Aunt Jill still swears every time she sees anyone with the name Tom, and they split up twelve years ago."

"I just wish.... No, I can't go there. Wishing doesn't make anything so. We had the chance, and we couldn't get it done."

"Can you forgive yourself? I mean, half of marriages end in divorce, right? Half the world can't be assholes, can they?"

I laughed. Tara had a way of sneaking in salty language when I least expected it. She grinned at me. She liked to surprise me.

"Perhaps not. I still expect more from myself. But I need to accept it. And maybe it's time to stop berating myself for my failings. Learn and move on."

Tara put her arms around my bare chest and squeezed tightly. Then she kissed my nipples and started down to my cock. If I'd known this was my reward for forgiving myself I would have done it long ago.

* * * * *

"Do you like who you are, Mr D?"

We were lying in bed on Friday after a vigorous after-work, pre-dinner session. She'd met me in the great room wearing only thong panties, and she stripped me to my boxer briefs in less than a minute (I may have helped her along). When we were in the condo we never made love anywhere but the bedroom. Well, except for an obligatory session in the shower, but since that was en suite it sort of counted as the bedroom.

"That's a hard question, Tee. I may be too close to answer that correctly."

"There's no correctly here, Mr D. Just what you think and what you feel."

"I don't know why I don't want to answer that question. If I say 'yes' I seem conceited, and if I say 'no' then I seem pathetic."

"It's just li'l ol' me here, Mr D, and I know for sure that you're neither conceited or pathetic."

"You're very good to me, Tee. Thank you. Do you like me?"

"I suppose you'll do." I goosed her tight ass, and Tara smiled widely. "I'm 100 percent sure you know the answer to that."

"And I suppose I do like myself enough. I've got two wonderful daughters, several good friends, a few young women who inexplicably care about me -- they all can't be wrong."

"Exactly! I think if we like the people who like us, then there's no reason at all not to like ourselves."

Convoluted, but in the end it made sense to me.

* * * * *

We made love our last morning together, just as we had all week, and then it was off to the Franklin Diner for breakfast. We got a quiet booth, away from the hostess station inside the front door. We had coffee and our waitress took our orders, and then Tara and I looked across the table and smiled at each other. We'd reached the end of the project and the start of my renaissance sans training wheels. We both began speaking at the same instant.

"Tee, I just want -- " "Mr D, thanks for -- "

We laughed at ourselves, of course, but I grabbed the initiative. And reached to hold her hands.

"You have been a godsend, Tee. All of you. I don't know why you decided to give so much of yourselves to a fractured old man, but he is incredibly grateful that you did. And he'll never, ever forget a single moment of these extraordinary four weeks."

Tara's smile danced across her face and she squeezed my hands.

"And that's exactly why it was so important to us. We really do love you, Mr D. You have no idea how important you are to us. You treated us like equals from the very first time we met you. You encouraged us, prodded us to be our best, challenged us when we were lazy, but mostly you supported us 100 percent. We could tell you anything, and you'd take our side. We saw that were in pain as you went through your divorce, and we did give you space to find your way through it. But you couldn't seem to shake it, which made us worry, and then we thought about how we could help you.

"You are so special, and I hope we've been able to get you to see that. We couldn't cover every aspect of your life -- none of us could hope to help you with your work -- but we did get you to think about almost everything else. And soon you're going to have a home and a wardrobe that makes you feel good. And you'll be exploring new things with new people, which we know you enjoy. And you'll keep tethered to the people who really love you. And now you're in a much better headspace than you have been for years, because you know what's important to you and what you want to do to achieve those priorities.

"I know I can speak for Jackie and Emmy and Katie when I say how happy we are to be able to help out. I don't think we've given you even half of what you've given us over the years, so we might need to come back and make sure you're all tuned up."

I chuckled at that. "Tee, you are an absolutely amazing young woman. And I'm going to need at least a month to recover from all of your 'help' this week, so I can't even think of a tune-up right now."

"And that's another thing. I can't speak for Katie on this one, but I will say that if Em and Jackie had anything like the week I've had, we owe you even more than we did before we started. Mr D, you are one very, very sexy man."

"You flatter an old guy for no reason at all. Sharing yourself with me this week has been the best experience I've had in, well a couple weeks to be completely honest," I laughed. "But it's been the highlight of the last few years to be sure."

The arrival of our breakfasts interrupted our repartee, and as we ate we discussed the more mundane logistics of her return to campus and what awaited her in her classes during the week ahead. We were unhurried, but soon enough we found ourselves back at my condo. Her bag was packed, and without any regret I hugged her goodbye as she stood next to her car.

"Drive safe, Tee. And thank you again."

She kissed my cheek. "Bye, Mr D. See you in a few weeks."

Thanksgiving break was not far away, and I had said I hoped to see her then. I was pleased to hear that she seemed amenable too.

* * * * *

The Saturday after Thanksgiving I ascended to the pantheon of the gods if the valets at La Traviata had a vote. I had rented a classic black limo for the night, and when the two young men opened its doors four stunning young women dressed to the nines emerged. The young men's eyes went wide and their mouths went slack. And then I got out too.

The maitre'd nearly kept his cool, but his eyes couldn't help but obliquely assess the legs, booties, and bosoms that went with the beautifully prepared faces and hair of my dates. And the waiter and bus boys made sure our table was served most attentively, even if it did include an overfilled water glass and a stuttering delivery of the night's specials.

Shortly after Tara had driven away that Saturday, I created a group text for my four guardian angels and insisted that they make time for a dinner over the coming holiday break. I wanted to express my gratitude to all of them at once for their time and attention, and they settled on that Saturday night without any fuss. I refused to tell them where we were going, and while all of them were surprised by the limo picking them up not a single one was the least bit surprised when it pulled in front of La Traviata.

And it was the perfect night.

The women delighted in teasing me, of course, and they appreciated everything else about the evening too. The experience was familiar for each of them, but having it together was novel, so they felt both comfortable and excited. The wine flowed almost as easily as the conversation, and my dinner companions charmed everyone, staff and other customers alike, with their energy and wit. Jackie, Emmy, and I even enjoyed port to finish our meal, though it did bring faux derision from Katie and Tara.

We settled back into the limo for the ride home. I'd asked the driver to have a bottle of Prosecco open and on ice, and after pouring everyone a flute I got their attention.

"Ladies, please give me a moment of your time, and then you can go back to ridiculing me for my early bedtime on a Saturday night." That brought forth the good-natured teasing I intended.

"I want to tell you again how moved I am by what each of you did for me a few weeks ago. I know I make a living creating marketing campaigns, but I am not articulate enough to describe just how much you've changed my life for the better. You all have shown me so much kindness -- "

That was as far as I got, because, despite several rehearsals, I choked up. Which told them all the more eloquently how much their efforts meant to me. I raised my Prosecco, hesitated a beat, then took a sip. It didn't fool them one bit, and one by one they leaned over to me and kissed my cheek.

As I said, a perfect night.

I had the limo drop me off first, then told the young women that it was paid for until 8am the next morning. I never did ask what else they did that night, but the next day I did get two texts, one card, and an e-mail thanking me for our date.

* * * * *

By the time Christmas arrived so had all my furniture and artwork, and my condo looked great. More importantly, it fit me perfectly. My wardrobe was varied enough to accommodate all of my social activities, from regular dates to weekly cooking classes to monthly volunteer hours at the food bank. I felt more connected to my good friends and completely plugged in to Katie's and Suzie's lives. And, except for the two days I suffered through a nasty cold, I always went to bed with a smile.

For their parts, Jackie, Emmy, and Tara didn't broach any further sexploration with me. I'd see one or another of them with Katie sometimes, and we always exchanged sly glances, our weeks together wonderful memories but nothing more.

Which was just as well. I'd had a handful of dates, mostly for lunch, with a lively insurance adjuster who worked upstairs from my office. Priya and I hadn't made it to the bedroom, and while we weren't yet exclusive I would have felt dutybound to disclose any other partners. I wanted to consummate our budding relationship soon though, and I really didn't want any complications. Like banging one, two, or three of my daughter's friends.

Still, I was surprised when a gift with no card showed up under my small Christmas tree. The mystery was solved Christmas Eve when my daughters and I exchanged our gifts and Katie insisted I open it.

It was a framed 8x10 photo of the four women and me taken at the entry of La Traviata the night of our Thanksgiving date. Jackie had asked one of the valets to take it for her. All five us looked our best, which defied the first and only truth of group photos. It really had been a perfect night.

I hung the photo just inside the door to the garage, so I'd see it every time I came into the condo. And I always smiled when I read the words inscribed across the bottom:

"Operation Recover Mr D: Mission Accomplished!"

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