The Devil's Bargain Ch. 11

Okay. To be completely honest: I wasn't sure what I wanted from Sue. If I just wanted sex, or a relationship, I would have used the magic. I still had seven uses remaining, after all.

I liked her, and enjoyed her company. We had quite a lot in common. She dressed rather practically, or even severely, and usually had her hair pulled back in a ponytail, or tucked under a tuque or a baseball cap. She didn't wear make-up. I wasn't trying to seduce her; I just wanted to get to know her better. I think.

She turned down the coffee. It was a bit awkward, the next few times were out with the dogs. Fortunately, Ron could talk for hours; there was no space for an uncomfortable silence to grow in.

A few weeks later, I was taking Freya on her evening stroll. We almost always took a different route, so that she wouldn't get bored. It just so happened that on that night, we were passing Sue's Mom's house.

- "Dan!" Sue called out. "Can you wait a minute? We'll walk back with you!"

- "Okay." I waved back. I heard her mother's voice behind her: "Susan - close the door. You're letting all the cold air in!"

A few moments later, Sue came out, still buttoning her jacket. Gucci saw us and came running out to say hello. Freya and I both greeted him enthusiastically; it was hard not to like the Gooch.

- "Thanks." said Sue, as she joined us.

- "No problem."

- "I was... it's funny, I was just standing there, looking out the window, listening to my Mom complain, and I was wondering if your Mother-in-Law complains all the time, too."

- "Not always. She does have her moments, though."

- "Yeah." said Sue. "Anyway, there I am, thinking about you - and you walk by!"

- "That's weird."

- "No kidding. Especially since there was something I was... meaning to ask you. It's just that I never saw you on your own, and I didn't want to ask in front of Ron, or Willy..."

- "Ask what?"

- "Darn. See, I didn't want to make a big deal of it, but now that's exactly what I've done. Look, I have this... thing I have to go to, and I was sorta wondering if you could come along... as my +1."

- "What kind of thing are we talking about?"

- "It's a fundraising dinner for the Heart and Stroke Foundation. I got involved as a volunteer when... when my Dad passed away."

- "I didn't know you were volunteering for Heart and Stroke."

- "Well, I don't go around telling everybody."

- "I understand. But I'm surprised you have time to volunteer."

- "Oh. Yeah."

- "Count me in. How much is it?"

- "Oh, no - I'll pay for it. I mean - I'm asking you for a favour."

- "Hardly a fundraiser if I go for free." I suspected that she didn't want to frighten me off with the price of a ticket. "How about if we split the cost?"

- "You don't have to -"

- "I'd be happy to, Sue. How formal is it?"

She finally gave in. "Suit and tie. Thank you." Then she suddenly looked nervous again. "Ah... could you also -"

- "Not a word to Ron. Or Willy."

- "Thank you." she said, with a smile.

***

I wasn't prepared for what I saw, that night. Sue favoured old, faded jeans, her ratty old jean jacket, and sensible footwear. Her hair was usually in a ponytail, or pulled back, away from her face - and she wore baseball caps.

She'd had her hair done. It was a rich, lustrous dark brown - almost black - and she'd parted it so that it hung over her shoulder in loose, curly waves, all the way down to the top of her breast.

But it also covered part of her forehead and cheek on that side - and the effect was considerable. Sue had strong features: a sharp, prominent nose, and a wide mouth were foremost among them. But wearing her hair this way softened those features.

Her makeup was understated, but perfect. The overall effect was to highlight her eyes and her lips, and to make her look... beautiful. Had you asked me, earlier that day, I would probably have described Sue as a 'handsome' woman - a not-unkind reference to her strong features. How wrong I was.

She was wearing a high-necked, long-sleeved black dress that went all the way down to her ankles. It was classy, and only added to her appeal.

- "You alright, Dan?" she had to ask. That was when I knew that I'd been standing there gawking at her for far too long.

- "You look... fantastic. I mean... I've never seen you like this."

- "I don't dress up all that often, I guess. But I look okay?"

How to answer that? "Much better than okay."

They'd rented a huge banquet hall - several rooms, if I wasn't mistaken. There had to be a thousand people there. There were local and provincial politicians, business people wanting to see and be seen, many of them with trophy wives or arm candy. That set me to wondering.

- "Who did you go with last year?" I asked.

- "Nobody. I've been solo the last three years." Then she sighed. "I'm sorry - I should have told you: one of the reasons I asked you to come is because... I'm tired of being hit on at these things. But I also enjoy your company, and I was hoping to find out -"

- "Susan!" We were interrupted by a couple of her fellow volunteers and their spouses. Introductions were made, and yours truly was given a very thorough checking out by two of Sue's friends.

So I was a bodyguard, of sorts. Or insulation. But she said 'one of the reasons' - and she'd been beginning to say that she enjoyed my company. Well, that was why I was here, too. I liked Sue, and I liked being around her. I had no idea, though, that she could look like this.

I smiled, and pretended to listen, but I was frequently glancing at my companion, as if looking for my dog-walking friend. Yeah, she was there. Same person.

No sooner had this gaggle of people moved on, than Sue's name was called again. This time, though, it was little different. A big man, with a dark, very pretty woman on his arm.

- "Dan?" she said.

- "Aarti?"

Her hair was drawn up in, revealing her earlobes and fancy earrings. Her dress was an engineering marvel, popping her breasts up and presenting her cleavage for inspection.

- "You two know each other?" said the guy.

Introductions were made, and quite a few looks were exchanged. The man was Bill, and I could tell from Sue's reaction that she wasn't particularly pleased to see him. He wasn't all that happy to see me there, either. Meanwhile, Sue was checking Aarti out, and vice-versa, but Aarti was also really interested in me.

- "It's been so long." she said, in a wistful tone of voice. Oops - that wasn't supposed to happen. Apparently the 'no broken heart' clause in my contract with Tansa didn't entirely eliminate old feelings.

- "How do you know each other?" asked Sue.

I didn't know what Aarti might say, so I jumped in first. "We dated for a while. Uh - about three years ago."

- "Really? How long were you two together?"

Aarti beat me to it. "A little less than a year."

- "You're so beautiful, Aarti." said Sue. "I can't believe that Dan let you go."

- "It was my fault." said my former lover. "I made a bad mistake. More than once."

Bill cleared his throat. "Welp, we should be movin' along -"

- "Oh - not just yet." said Sue. "Aarti, I need to visit the ladies' room. Will you come with me?"

- "Of course."

The two women disappeared, leaving me with big Bill. He wasn't happy at all.

- "Been to many of these?" he asked.

- "First time, actually."

- "You fucking her yet?"

I gave him a good look in the eye. Then I put my drink down, and walked away.

The hall was huge. It took me a while to find the nearest washrooms. I didn't want to stand too close, and look creepy, so I tried to find a vantage point from where I could wait for Sue and Aarti to come back.

They didn't.

It's more difficult than I thought it would be, to stand in a massive crowd of complete strangers, pretending that your date hasn't abandoned you. A passing waiter was good enough to serve me a flute of sparkling wine.

Time passes very slowly, in a situation like that. Half an hour is much longer than it sounds. Finally, I heard a familiar voice.

- "There you are!" It was Sue - and Aarti was still with her. "Why did you move?"

- "I didn't like the company you left me with." I said. Then I turned to my former lover. "Aarti, I'm sorry. I don't mean to meddle in your personal life - but that guy Bill is an asshole."

- "I told her." said Sue.

Aarti pointed to her ears. The expensive earrings were gone.

- "He gave them to me tonight. I gave them back just a few minutes ago."

- "We'll have to give Aarti a drive home." said Sue. "You remember where she lives, right?"

We skipped the dinner, and left early. We dropped Aarti at home.

- "Thank you for the ride. It was nice to see you again, Dan. And wonderful to meet you, Sue. Thank you."

- "I feel the same way, Aarti." said Sue. "I'm really glad that we ran into each other."

I waited until Aarti unlocked her door and went inside before driving away. Neither of us said anything for a minute or so.

"I'm sorry that we left you alone for so long." she said. "I shouldn't have done that. But I wanted to warn her about Bill."

- "Was he the reason you needed a +1 tonight?"

- "One of the reasons. There are always a few other idiots who think that a woman alone must be dying for their company."

- "Bill seemed particularly unpleasant."

- "Yeah. Too bad you missed the look on his face when Aarti dropped those earrings on the table. That was priceless. She's quite something."

That was a hint. Start talking? Or plead the Fifth?

- "She's a lovely person, and quite beautiful."

- "I'll say." said Sue.

- "Aarti was a bit... kooky, though. She's into tarot cards, astrology, and so on. That took a little getting used to. But what broke us up is the fact that she was irrationally jealous. She phoned and texted me repeatedly while I was having dinner with an old friend - to be fair, and old girlfriend. But then I took out the neighbours' daughter, as a thank you for walking Freya while Aarti and I were on vacation. She... she followed us there, and then followed us home."

- "Interesting..." said Sue.

- "Interesting?"

- "That's just about exactly what Aarti told me. Minus the part about her being kooky, of course. She also mentioned that you gave up yet another girlfriend for her, because she asked you to."

We were already back in our neighbourhood. I pulled up in front of Sue's house.

"Will you come in, Dan?" she asked. "I feel that I owe you something to eat, after inviting you to a dinner and then making you leave before it was even served."

- "You don't have to -"

- "Frozen pizza okay?"

I had to laugh. "That sounds great."

The Gooch woke up, and was excited to see me. I knelt to pet him, and he started doing frantic little pirouettes as he tried to reach my face so that he could lick it.

Sue didn't change out of her dress. She put a pizza in the oven, and cracked open a couple of Carling lagers.

- "My Dad's favourite. Reminds me of him."

- "Good reason. Plus they taste pretty good."

- "That too." she said. She took a sip, and then looked me in the eye. "Sounds like you've had a lot of girlfriends. How many are we talking...?"

Cathy. Jill. Did Jill count? Connie. Holly and Monica. Aarti. Lisa. Then Brenda, Kim, and Alanna. It seemed like a lot.

- "Ten." I said.

- "And how many of those were before your wife?"

- "Two."

- "What? You've been with seven women since..." She looked surprised. "Making up for lost time, are we?"

- "Yes."

She saw the look in my eye. "Oh. I'm sorry, Dan. Sometimes I feel like I know you quite well - because of our similar situations, and the dogs, and the hours we've spent together..."

- "Hundreds of hours."

- "Right. And then I realize that there are so many things I don't know about you. And it's all driven home when I meet your ex-girlfriend, and she has only good things to say about you. I got the feeling that if you called her up, she'd go out with you again - in a heartbeat."

- "That's not -"

- "I've never heard a girl who got dumped talk about her ex like that. Seriously - she said it was all her fault, and that you were the best guy she'd ever been with... I mean, here we are, on a first date, and I get to hear that?"

- "First date?"

- "Oh, get over yourself." she said. "You want another beer?"

We moved to her kitchen table, in our formal clothes, drinking beer and waiting for the frozen pizza.

"You can have another beer." she said. "You can walk home, and pick up your car tomorrow."

- "What if Ron walks by, with Izzy, and sees my car here?"

- "Oh, fuck Ron. Hey - tell me the truth: why did you ask me over for coffee?"

- "I wanted to get you know better."

- "Oh, come on."

- "Sue - you said it yourself. We've walked the dogs together for hundreds of hours. But how many conversations have we had like this? I've learned more about you in one night than I have in months."

- "Have you, now? I would say that I was the one who learned the most tonight."

- "Nah - you already knew that Bill was an asshole."

- "Hah - too easy. Come on - what did you find out? Because I learned that your ex thinks you walk on water. What did you discover?"

- "You saw my face when I came by to pick you up. If someone had asked me, before today, about your looks, I would have said... that you have strong features. That you were striking. Memorable. Forgive me: I might even have used the word 'handsome'."

- "Gee, thanks."

- "I meant attractive, without suggesting... sexy. I don't mean that I don't think of you in a... okay - I'm making a mess of this. What I wanted to say that I love when you let your hair down that way. You look... beautiful. That dress is amazing on you, too."

She didn't answer, but her expression was telling me to go on.

"It's probably not your sexiest dress. In fact, you probably think of it as your classy, somehow non-sexy, 'I'm not looking for that kind of attention' dress, so that you can fend off dickheads like Bill. But you stand out anyway, Sue. There couldn't have been a guy there who didn't notice you."

"Then there were the people who like and respect you. You've obviously done a lot of work for the foundation. That's while working, maintaining two houses, looking after your Mom, and Gucci. I know what that involves."

She licked her lips, and took a nervous swig of her beer. "I know you do."

- "Then you meet Aarti, in the company of an asshole you detest. I only spent a minute with the guy, and I couldn't stand him. You went out of your way to warn her about him. Yes, I still have a soft spot for Aarti - I wish her only the best. And you helped her. That says a lot about you, Sue. You could've gotten snappy, or annoyed - but you didn't. You're an exceptional woman. I'm hoping that our first date went well enough for us to have a second - because I'd like to learn even more about you."

Sue was looking at me oddly. The oven timer pinged, behind her. Either she didn't hear it, or she simply ignored it.

- "Would you stay over tonight?" she asked. "I... I think you should."

It was my turn to be surprised - again. "Are you sure?"

- "You can drink all the beer you want, Dan." she said. "But I don't think that you should walk home. It's dark. And... I'd really like it if you stayed."

- "I want you - One." I said. I'd been thinking of Sue for a while, but it was still something of a snap decision to use the magic. She'd made her intention clear; I didn't need the phrases in order to get into bed - but I wanted her to enjoy it. That, and maybe want me more than once.

She smiled.

"I want you - Two."

- "It's... the feeling is mutual." she said.

- "I want you - Three."

Sue took a deep breath. She appeared to be very turned on.

"You may want to turn your oven off." I suggested.

- "Oh." She jumped up, and did just that. Then she got an oven mitt, and took the pizza out, setting it on top of the stove.

I stood up, and approached her. Sue was looking at the pizza.

"I don't know about you, but I'm not all that hungry at the moment. For pizza."

- "I agree."

We had our first kiss in front of her stove. Despite her brave words earlier, she was still a little nervous, and a bit hesitant. I started slowly, giving her time to warm. Then her arms went around me, and she surrendered herself to the kiss.

Her kisses grew more urgent. I stroked her back, and then lowered one hand to her backside. Sue had a great ass - not just for a 42 year old, either. I had discreetly admired her jeans-clad butt on many of our walks.

She drew back, then, and put a hand on my chest.

- "You'll have to be patient, Dan." she said. "It's been a long time for me."

- "Understood. Stop me if you feel the least bit uncomfortable."

- "Thank you. Maybe... we should move to the bedroom?"

Sue took my hand, and led the way. She turned on a single lamp, and we stood beside her bed. I took her in my arms, and kissed her again. For at least a full minute, the only points of contact between us were our lips and our tongues.

When I put my arms around her, Sue didn't wait for me to draw in; she stepped closer, and pressed her body against mine. I could feel her breasts against my chest, and she had to be able to feel my hardness against her lower stomach.

The intensity of our kisses rose and fell, and our caresses grew more intimate. Finally, Sue drew back, and turned her back to me.

- "Could you unzip me?" she whispered.

- "All the way?"

- "Mmm..."

Sue had a strong back, and very well-toned arms. She was wearing a purely functional bra - obviously she hadn't planned for anyone to see it. I found that little fact quite exciting, just as I did my first sight of her bare breasts in her bedroom mirror.

They sagged somewhat on her chest, hanging low. But her crinkly areolae and pencil-eraser nipples were eye-catching. I couldn't resist reaching around to gently fondle them.

I was even more surprised when she pulled the dress down, over her flat stomach. For a woman in her early forties, she was in tremendous shape. No, she hadn't borne a child, but her body testified to a solid regimen of exercise.

I knelt behind her, and used one hand to hold her steady while I helped her step out of her dress. I held on to her hip, so that she couldn't immediately turn around. Then I took advantage of her position to kiss her lower back.

Sue moaned as I stroked her bare legs, and then squeezed her ass through her panties. I kissed my way up her back, while running my fingers up and down her spine. She shivered. Finally, I turned her around and kissed her again.

- "Why am I almost naked, and you have all of your clothes on?" she asked.

I stepped back, and undid my shirt buttons. It wasn't a striptease, but she seemed to enjoy watching as I slowly removed everything except my underwear. Sue lay down on her bed, and then scooted over to make room for me.

I lay down beside her. We were both resting on one elbow, face to face. I kissed her again, and then leaned back so that I could openly admire her.

- "You have a beautiful body." I told her.

I reached out, slowly, to caress her cheek. Then I stroked the proud column of her neck. She shivered slightly as I ran my fingers across her collarbone, out onto her shoulder. I felt her bicep, and she smiled.

Her breast filled my hand. It was very soft, but heavy. I ran my thumb in a circle around her large nipple. Then I slid my hand down, onto her hip.

Sue didn't say anything as I let my hand fall onto her stomach. She was watching my eyes. I leaned forward to kiss her again. She met my lips, but also shifted her body, lifting her top leg, and bracing herself with her foot. That also spread her legs, and offered her shaved pussy to my gaze - and to my fingers.