Serendipity of Zemblanity

Over the next three days that we spent at Bella's parents' house there was much to do. I bought a used car, Bella and I brought some of our belongings to the apartment we had rented in Arlington, Virginia close to both sets of parents' houses, and we arranged for furniture delivery. Since I had saved significantly more money than Bella (both because I had a higher paying job -- except for the last bonus -- and handled money much better) I paid all of the up-front costs for the move. That was no problem for me because we planned to get married -- in a simple ceremony -- in about three months, using the Hampton's house as the venue for the reception.

The day that we left the Hampton's house for our apartment, before we departed Elizabeth surreptitiously passed me a note, which I put in my pocket without reading. After we unpacked some things at the apartment and Bella was checking out the retail establishments nearby I read the note. "Please meet me at the Starbucks in the Tysons I Mall at 1 p. m. today. Important! Call me at 240-xxx-xxxx if there's a problem. Don't text."

I knew that we had to meet to go over our stories -- and figure out how I (and maybe her too) could damp down my old feelings that were percolating.

I met Elizabeth at the Tysons I Starbucks at 1:00 p. m. We gave each other a perfunctory hug. Elizabeth was obviously nervous, and so was I. She got right to the point.

"Lance -- or should I get used to saying Bryce now -- I'm shocked that we're in this situation. The chances have to be 50 million to 1."

"I agree -- but with even higher odds someone wins a big time lottery almost every month. We just have to figure out how to deal with it."

Just then her cellphone rang. "It's Bella," she moaned. "I really should take it -- just be sure that you're quiet."

I nodded my assent.

Elizabeth -- I guess that I should call her Liz now -- was nervous picking up her phone. She almost dropped it, and did have to swipe a couple of times before she actually answered it "Hi Hon, what's up?"

From the one end of the conversation that I was listening to it seemed to be a rather innocuous one, although Liz obviously lied about where she was and what she was doing. After only about two or three minutes, with her hand still shaking she tapped her phone and then put it back down on the table. "I hate lying to Bella," Liz choked out. "I'm so distressed by this situation."

"I know, I am too," I said in a voice that I hoped was stronger and more confident than I felt as I put my hands on hers to stop her shaking.

"You know that it was really hard to leave you five years ago," she said, slightly choking up. "It was the best sex of my life and even though our fling only lasted about two weeks, I was starting to fall in love with you."

"I did fall in love with you," I replied, again hoping that it was in a strong and confident voice, "and thought about you almost daily until I started dating Bella. But we have to be strong. Now, five years after the fact, is not the time to hurt Roger, Bella, or who knows how many other people."

Liz sighed and then said "Of course I know that Lance...I mean Bryce. That's why I wanted to meet today so that we can get our story straight about how we never met at Amherst, and how to act shocked -- without overdoing it -- if anyone ever inquires. Amherst would never release your transcript to anyone else so no one would ever find out that I was an instructor in one of your courses, and I hope that you don't have a transcript in your records."

"Good point," I replied. "I might have a transcript in a strong box at the apartment. I'll look immediately when I get home and if I have one I'll destroy it. I certainly don't need it to get other jobs."

"Will it get easier for you not to show any affection toward me as time goes on?" she asked.

"It will be hard at first, but I'm sure that both of us will be able to manage it. One thing, though, we can never be left alone and we can never, ever, talk nostalgically about our past relationship even if there is no one to hear us. Agreed?" I said/asked.

With a sigh Liz said "Yes, absolutely. After today we will never be alone together again, and while we will probably have to make up some excuses on the fly, I have already written some down."

With that she pulled a document out of her purse -- got a perplexed look on her face when she looked at her phone -- and then hit her phone again a couple of times.

"What's the matter?" I asked.

"Oh, my screen has been a little unresponsive lately, but I don't think there's a problem," she replied as she started to cover things she had written up about how to avoid any possible problems in the future.

That turned out to be the worst prediction in my lifetime.

**************

I knew that there was going to be a zemblanitous shit storm as soon as I walked into our new apartment. Bella had red eyes, with some tears still in them, and a three page document in her hands. "What's wrong, darling?" I choked out as I walked toward her with my arms out hoping to hug her.

"Don't touch me you perverted asshole," she screamed as she gave me a stiff arm that would have made any running back proud. "How could you have fucked my mother -- a woman you knew was married and had a family -- you asshole. How could I ever trust you in the future if you have so little respect for the institution of marriage?"

Apparently the zemblanitous shit storm was caused because when Liz nervously put her cellphone down when we were at Starbucks she inadvertently didn't disconnect, and while Bella almost did she heard Liz's first words to me. Curious and wondering whether her mother was still talking to her Bella didn't terminate the call. Once she heard my voice she plastered her phone to her ear. She heard what we said until Liz tapped her phone after pulling the documents from her purse, which left nothing to the imagination. The document in Bella's hand was my Amherst transcript which she obviously got out of the strongbox after she heard that it might be in there. The transcript clearly showed that I had gotten an A- in ENST 310 -- Ecosystem Ecology, taught by Instructor E. Hampton.

I could spend thousands of words telling you about the next two weeks when Liz and I both tried to convince my fiancé and her husband that they should not pull the plug on our relationships. I won't relive that time, however, because it was the most painful of my life. It not only resulted in the termination of my relationship with Bella, and Liz's with Roger, but my parents were also hurt (and clearly in Bella's corner and they let her and me know that in no uncertain terms), as was Bella's brother Alex. Fortunately my sister took it in stride and fortunate but also disturbing was my younger brother's reaction which was "Wow, how to score a hot MILF dude."

Both Liz and I tried to fall on our swords for the other person. Neither act was any more effective than all of the arguments we had used to get forgiveness. The acrimony and hurt was too deep, even more than five years after the fact.

Three weeks after the zemblanitous revelation on a Saturday morning I dragged myself out of bed in the apartment that I was now the only occupant of. I was depressed and felt like shit. I was hoping that I had enough energy to exercise, but realized that I had spent all the energy that I had to get through my first week of work at my new job.

As I was listlessly eating a bowl of cold cereal my cellphone rang. Caller ID said that it was probably the only person in the world that I was willing to talk to at 10:11 a. m. that Saturday. "Hi Liz," I answered.

"Hi Bryce," was her reply. "I was in your neighborhood looking for apartments and had a sudden need for human contact. Since you're probably the only person in the world at the present time that will lend a sympathetic ear I hope that you'll let me stop by to chat."

"I could use some human contact too," I sighed. "When can you get here?"

"According to GPS I'm about ten minutes away. Is that OK?"

"See you in ten," I replied, and then terminated the call.

I poured out the rest of my cereal, took a quick shower, shaved, and dressed casually. Almost exactly eleven minutes after I terminated the call my doorbell rang.

Liz stood there looking as bad as I felt. I invited her in and we hugged for a solid minute.

When I said that she looked as bad as I felt, I meant sad, not unattractive. In fact she was very attractive.

We engaged in small talk for a while as we sat on my one and only couch. Then she started to tear up. "I'm sorry that I ruined your life Lance," she sobbed. "I have to call you Lance, not this Bryce shit," came out through her tears.

I pulled her to me and she cried on my shoulder for a couple of minutes. However, then something happened to make us both separate. My cock turned into a piece of iron.

Elizabeth -- I wasn't calling her Liz anymore -- stopped crying and pointed to my crotch. "Why is that thing doing that, Lance?"

"Because you're as attractive to me now as you were when I ravished you two days after Thanksgiving more than five years ago, that's why," I replied staring into her penetrating aqua eyes.

Motionless we stared without blinking for what seemed like ten minutes before I stroked the side of her face. "You know that we can still have each other," I softly said.

She flew into my arms and we exchanged a kiss so hot that it could have set off a smoke alarm. Then, as I had so long ago, I lifted her up and carried her to my bedroom where we unhurriedly and deliberately undressed each other.

We didn't fuck -- we made love. This time we both recognized it and neither of us tried to deny it. When in post-coital bliss and our eyes again met I said "Please don't look for an apartment Elizabeth. Stay here with me; I need you, and I think that you need me. Also, I do love you, you know."

Elizabeth stared into my soul for another full minute before she spoke. "I do need you, and I do love you. You should be finding a replacement for Bella, not an old hag from your past, but I'm selfish enough to agree to stay with you for now."

Then we both smiled; I went down on her; after another orgasm I was hard again; and this time we fucked wildly, like a pair of jungle cats not sure if they were mating or clawing each other, until we came with the force of a cyclone.

**********

The day that Elizabeth and I reconnected was eighteen months ago. My parents finally came around, although they are miffed that Elizabeth and I share an apartment and bed. Elizabeth has now reestablished a good relationship with Alex, and a tentative one with Bella, although the latter is possible only if I'm not around.

Of course considering our twenty one year age difference the odds aren't good that Elizabeth and I will stay together forever. She encourages me to seek out a relationship with a woman my age, but as of now I have no desire to do so. I am in love with her, and our sexual relationship is peerless; that is all that matters to me at this time.