The Story of "Cue"

As it happens, the hours spent working together, the good times and the bad times shared and then the ultimate success she was now enjoying brought us together in an intimate fashion as well.

I'd like to report that the sex was mind-blowing and transformational, but it wasn't. It was just good sex. But there wasn't a passion about it. It was two people offering themselves up as a tool or receptacle to one another to get their needs met. Not greatly different from our professional relationship. I was only her "fractional lover" as well, which is the same as what she was for me.

But without passion, it can only be so good, and at the point she really no longer needed me on the business side we parted as friends with a small bit of emotion, a strong embrace and whispered, "Thank You's" in each others ear.

More like how you'd part from someone who'd thrown you a life preserver when you were drowning than it was separating from an actual lover.

Following Deanna, it was pretty easy to slip back into my same routine, going like an automaton through the next bunch of years.

"Ring out the bells again

Like we did when spring began

Wake me up when September ends."

From the song Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day

It was all of this history that now found me at 46 years old, sitting outside at a sidewalk bistro for lunch, watching a very attractive woman making her way up the sidewalk. She glanced toward me and not wanting to gawk, I looked away as she approached but I sensed a commotion as she got behind me.

I know I flinched a bit but it wasn't until a pretty solid finger flick hit me in the back of the ear that I was spurned into action. I jumped up with a cry of, "What the HELL?!?!" Then I turned to face the perpetrator.

The attractive woman was standing there with a big smile, pointing her finger at me, and she yelled out, "REPENT, SINNER!"

Oh. My. God. Angela Whiting. In southern California. And looking REAL good.

"Angela! How are you? What are you doing here? How did you find me?" I blurted these questions out in rapid succession to where I'm certain it all sounded pretty incomprehensible.

"What?" She came back with bit of a leer on her face, "No "B.A."?" Don't you love me anymore, Cue?"

That floored me. I hadn't thought of the "Cue" nickname in well over 20 years and she sure as shit no longer warranted the "B.A." title. Still tall? Yes. The curves were still there but she'd really, REALLY, settled into her stature. And whatever age showed in her pretty face was gracefully done.

My assessment as she had approached, identity unknown a the time, was only reinforced as we now stood face to face. She was a beautiful woman.

"Angela," I answered, "I'd sooner call you "Angel" now than "B.A.". You look amazing. It's so good to see you. Do you have time to sit with me?"

She actually blushed a bit at that and simply nodded as she took the chair opposite from where I had been sitting.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Mick," she started with, "you've certainly kept yourself in shape and the short hair with that dusting of gray at your temples suits you."

We quickly got to what brought her to this area and it turns out that her youngest of two daughters is starting college in a few weeks at my alma mater. Her daughter was currently on campus getting moved in and reporting for work-outs so Angela was taking time seeing the sights in and around the university area.

Angela remembered that I'd come to SoCal but was surprised to learn that I'd graduated from the same university. Small world. Her daughter wanted to get out of Indiana where Angela (now Johnson) and her family lived. They'd done a recruiting visit almost a year ago and her daughter liked the university, the area and the coach. So here they were.

Like most reunions, once the small talk and immediate questions were covered, it invariably gets to that age old query of, "So what have you been doing the last 25 years?"

At that point, we both fell quiet. I looked at my drink not sure what I was ready to divulge when she reached across and laid her hand on mine.

"There's a sadness in your eye's, Mick," she said softly, "we can keep this from spiraling backwards if that's what you want."

That act of kindness and recognition made me look up into her eyes and I could see nothing but compassion and safety so without preamble I launched into my "story", offering up details that surprised me with how easily they fell out of my mouth while exposing some of the pain I'd had bottled-up for years.

When I finally ended with my conclusion of how I was now proficient at "going through the motions of life", I caught her gaze again and saw the tears welling in her.

Angela was able to keep control of her emotions and we just sat quietly for the next 5 minutes. It was a comfortable silence.

She then shared her story of an ongoing, 24 year marriage to a "decent" man who had given her two wonderful daughters. She had met him while attending Purdue. He was a big guy who was second string on the football team. They both found camaraderie due to their shared statures and sizes and with that, had then gotten married for all the wrong reasons.

This was the first that Angela had let on that she wasn't happy in her marriage so I reciprocated her earlier offer of comfort by reaching out for her hand. She flinched for a brief second, then relaxed and invited my touch.

With that, she unloaded. Grant, her husband, was great for the first four to five years but after two kids, both girls, he started to become detached. As Angela and the girls blossomed, Grant became the guy who came home from work, sat down in front of whatever sporting event was on television, drinking beer alone until one of his "three girls" waited on him, brought him his food, cleared his dishes, etc.

As the girls started excelling in sports, Grant briefly reengaged in their lives but it was short-lived and he ultimately detached altogether. Still in their lives but not a part of their lives.

It was clear Angela was lonely as well and we sat quiet for a bit letting melancholy wash over us.

"Enough of this!" I finally exclaimed, trying to inject some excitement into my voice, "You're here, I'd love to meet your daughter so can we all get together for dinner tonight?"

"No can do," she replied, "Ally's pretty much full-time with the volleyball summer program right now but if the offer stands, I'd love to get dinner. There's really no reason for me to be here in support of Ally, since I don't really even get to see her, but that's just my excuse to turn this into a vacation from real life for me."

"I understand," I said, knowing exactly what she was talking about, "When and where can I pick you up?"

She gave me her hotel info and we planned on 7:30pm for our meet time. We ended our get together with a hug that felt both comforting and natural, and I headed home to start making calls to hopefully secure a decent reservation.

Not the perfect scenario but I did get lucky. There's a small chop house nearer to the ocean but they couldn't get us in until about 8:45pm. So when I picked Angela up, I told her of the delay and suggested we could trip down the coastal highway and into Malibu, then return in time for our reservation.

The sight seeing along the coast made her light up. No more deep conversation. Everything was light, breezy and it was good to find out she still retained that silly, off the wall sense of humor that had both of us laughing out loud.

Dinner was a joy and by the time I got Angela back to her hotel and had opened her car door, I couldn't help but share with her that this was probably the best and happiest 4 hours of my life since losing Mandy. I thanked her for it with an honest affection and told her I wished she wasn't leaving tomorrow afternoon.

Angela hugged me. Hard. There was a slight tremor prior to separation and when she stepped back I could see tears welling. All she got out was a soft, "Me too." Then turned and headed for the hotel entrance.

Sleep didn't come easy thinking about her and our evening together but when it did, it was surprisingly restful.

So much so that I about didn't hear my phone ringing at 6:00am. When I did finally acknowledge and recognize the noise that woke me from my sleep, I still about didn't get it answered as I fumbled it off the nightstand and it dropped to the floor. When I finally retrieved it, I got out a quick, "Hello" but could tell whomver it was had been about ready to hang-up.

"I'm so sorry, Mick," she gushed out without identifying herself, "I shouldn't have called you..."

"Angela, it's fine," I replied calmly to settle her down, "I was just getting back from a 5 mile run so it's no problem." I added the tone to my voice with this response to let her know I was joking.

"You liar!" She shot back, laughing briefly before getting serious again, "But still, I shouldn't have called."

"How about you let me know what's on your mind and I'll tell you if you should or shouldn't have called," I offered with as much calm and comfort as I could convey over the phone.

There was a couple of second pause and she said, "Not over the phone. Can we meet for coffee...or they've got a continental breakfast here...?"

"How about you come here?" I offered, "I've got some decent coffee and we'll have the privacy here we probably couldn't find elsewhere, unless you want to take a walk."

"I don't feel like walking," she said, "when can I come over?"

"As soon as you're ready," I said, "I'll text you the address, or I can come pick you up if you'd like?"

"No. You get started on that coffee and I'll catch a cab," she replied, "And Mick...Thanks."

I said, "No problem" to a dead line and got up to urinate and go get coffee started.

A quick shower with gym shorts and a t-shirt was the extent of me getting ready but at this hour, that's as good as it gets.

About 30 minutes later I heard the cab door close and met Angela at the door about the time she was going to ring the bell.

"Hey," I said, opening the door to allow her in. She looked fantastic. Form fitting jeans, and an opaque blouse that she wore over a lacy bodice that could be seen through the outer garment. Her hair was tousled to look casual and carefree but you could tell she'd spent some time fashioning it that way.

Apparently, the hour of the day didn't affect her beauty or readiness like it did mine.

She pretty much bum rushed me and had me in a tight embrace once she entered the door. When she let go, I ushered her into the kitchen for a cup of coffee then out to the back lanai. She had murmured, "Nice house" as we passed through it but once out in the back yard she asked, "Is that the campus?"

"Yep," I replied, "complete coincidence at the time but I liked the house and got a decent deal so it comes adjacent to, and with a view of, the university."

"You know," she said somewhat quietly, "It's kind of comforting knowing that you're here watching over her in a way. That'll help me." A slight pause then, "I can't believe how all this happened."

I could tell she was talking about us reuniting and now being together.

"I can't either," I said with as much sincerity as I could put into the words.

I sat down in a patio chair and looked at her standing out deeper in the yard, still overlooking the campus. She really added something to the view. She returned and joined me, taking a seat opposite me at the table.

"Mick," she started in almost immediately, "I'm going to put you in the mother of all spots right now. Please hear me out and I'm good with whatever comes of it."

"Okay..," I said, with equal parts curiosity and confusion.

She continued, "I'm heading back today and we're not set-up financially to where I can make regular trips back out here. In fact, this trip was a splurge, so I'm not sure if I'll make it back out here at all. At best, we'll scrape together the money to get Ally home periodically for summer visits or maybe spring break."

She paused at this point and seemed to gather herself and her thoughts.

"Anyway," she forged on, "I'm going back to a loveless marriage that for some reason I'm not yet ready to end. And I now no longer have daughters at home to keep me distracted from the complete fucking void that is my life."

Her eyes twinkled a bit when she saw me react to her profanity and she paused to see if I had the guts to interrupt her with a, "REPENT, SINNER!" command.

I didn't feel it was the time to devolve into silliness so I just gave her a wink and a nod to continue. She smiled at that and it seemed to galvanize her thoughts because out came the bombshell.

"Before I go, will you make love to me?" She asked with a blush creeping into her cheeks. "I need intimacy right now. I need that type of closeness. I'm not going to get it at home and I have no desire to cheat but you, and our history, offer me a safe opportunity to feel special and cared for before returning to my actual life."

I knew before she'd finished her plea that I was going to say yes. And it wasn't simply for the horn dog reason of her being a beautiful, sexy lady. I wanted to give her what she was missing. More importantly, I felt like I knew exactly what she needed because our needs weren't all that dissimilar.

"I used her, she used me

but neither one cared

we were gettin' our share

Workin' on our night moves."

From the song Night Moves by Bob Seger

It was surprisingly easy to come together at that point. To embrace and share that first intimate kiss in almost 30 years. It was tender and unhurried. I led her back to my bedroom and as we stopped by the bedside I kissed her again as I reached down to unbutton her jeans. Once unbuttoned, she took over pushing them down and shimmying out of them so I kept my hands occupied by removing my t-shirt. We paused our kissing just long enough for my shirt to clear my face and them we resumed.

I got a little handsy at that point with her jeans down at the floor as she stepped out of them. I cupped her surprisingly firm ass with both hands and pulled her tight to me.

I couldn't NOT make comment, so I said, "I'm jealous of your workout routine. Damn. What's your secret."

She gave me the brief rundown as she combed her fingers through my chest hair and I continued to massage her ass.

"When the girls were younger and getting into sports, their dad wasn't regular in helping, practicing or playing with them so I stepped in. I quickly learned that I wouldn't be much, if any, help at all unless my overall conditioning improved fairly dramatically. So when Andi, my oldest, started youth basketball camps and playing in the kids leagues, I was the one she demonstrated her skills against and practiced against.

Not long after, I found a decent, reconditioned elliptical machine that I got moved to the mudroom off our garage. Been a regular on that ever since. I got to where I could play a mean game of pick-up basketball and hold my own in most volleyball situations. It was always fun challenging and competing with the girls to determine just how passionate they were with their sports.

They've both done great...but the truth is, I probably got more out of it than they did. It was worth every minute, every sore joint, every pulled muscle and every jammed finger."

"Well, back here," I jumped in and said, really clamping onto her ass, "it sure as hell feels like it was worth every minute of it."

With that, Angela removed her hands from my chest and pulled her outer blouse over her head leaving her in just the lacy camisole top and her panties.

Even through the camisole I could tell her breasts were bigger than what I remembered from high school. I kissed my way up her jawline to nibble briefly on her ear then worked my way down the side of her neck to her outer collarbone. Once there, I started working my way across her collarbone back in over the top of her breast.

As I approached this destination, I brought my hand up from her butt and caught the bottom of her breast pushing it up to where my mouth was so I began kissing across the top of the mound of flesh this created.

Absolutely incredible.

By now, our needs were ramping up so the speed and intensity of our efforts began to increase to keep up.

She reached down and started working me through my gym shorts and as she re-aquainted herself with my manhood a moan escaped her lips.

"Oh God, Mick," she more breathed the words than spoke them, "I'd convinced myself over the years that I'd imagined this thing from that night like it was make believe. Apparently my memory is better than I thought."

She took more initiative at that point and lifted the waist of my shorts out over my almost completely erect cock setting it free.

She looked down and gasped then leaned back into another kiss while her hands explored my member. She then whispered with her forehead pressed to mine, "I don't know how I handled all this back in high school."

I brought my hand up and with my fingers I lifted her chin, holding her face so that she was looking at me.

"I knew you could do it," I said to her with the hint of a playful smile and a wink. With that I patted her ass with my free hand and moved to kiss her.

But just part of the way to her lips, I felt her stiffen for a brief moment and then you could tell right when her memory kicked-in back to that night.

"You remember that?"

"Absolutely," I said, "believe it or not, you were the highlight of high school for me in that regard. I'm just sorry you didn't get much from it."

"I didn't get much of anything from high school," she chuckled, "but I really did have a great evening that night working on the float and just being silly."

"So did I, Angela," I said as I kissed my way down the front of her bodice between her breasts. Her nipples were showing bumps through her bra and bodice so I massaged her breasts with my hands and teased her nipples as my kissing moved down over her navel.

As I got to her belly button, I leaned in so that she fell back on the bed and crab walked herself into a reclined position. I stayed with her as she got comfortable and kept exploring the waistline of her panties with my mouth.

She started squirming a bit and reached down to pull the bodice up and over her head so I used that distraction to position myself fully between her incredibly long and sexy legs.

I spent time kissing and nibbling my way up and down her inner thighs from her knees down to her panty line, all the while lightly stroking my fingertips across her panty covered mound.

This attention had her out of sorts enough to where she was struggling to remove her own bra. I didn't want to let her off the hook just yet so when she finally committed both hands to getting her clasp undone on her bra, I placed my opened mouth fully over the front of her panties and let out a deep, warm breath and began humming.

This derailed her bra removal attempts and I could tell she was getting frustrated with her lack of progress. Keeping up the pressure, I pulled her panties to the side and did a full, purposeful lick from the bottom of her slit up over her clit. She moaned a deep, sexy release from her throat and as her head went back, her hands that had been having no luck with the bra came down to run their fingers through the hair on my head as she pushed her hips up into my mouth.

I slipped my stiffened tongue deep within her and allowed my hands to replace hers up on her breasts. As I slid my hands up her torso, I just snagged the bottom of the bra and pushed it up over her magnificent breasts and allowed my hands to replace the cups, massaging her globes and pinching her nipples between the clefts of my fingers.

This elicited another, longer moan from her and each part of her body started to find a rhythm of movement that allowed her to thrust each sensitive spot more firmly into whatever happened to be giving it attention and pleasure at the time.