The Sweet Taste

I stayed with my brother and his wife till I started drooling over pictures in one of my sisters-in-law's fashion magazines. That was the camel breaking his back. I found an apartment and moved in with just a bed and a few towels. For the first week I was eating at Mac's house or the bar on the corner. The bar was starting to get more and more of my business. Then one night, out of the blue, I felt someone tap me on the shoulder. When I turned to face this brazen intruder, I had the surprise of a lifetime.

"It's you!" I exclaimed with excited surprise. "The girl from the ambulance!" Somehow, through the haze of alcohol, I remembered that face looking at me covered with that silly plastic mask. I remembered all the appropriate questions she was asking under the circumstances. The most vivid memory of that encounter was the softness of her voice and the beauty of her face staring back at me. Fortunately, it was a face I remembered with fondness.

"I see by your empty ring-finger, you got rid of the problem you were having."

"Yeah, I guess you could say I got rid of my problem." I reached out to shake her hand. "My name is Archie," I said.

"Yeah, I remember. I'm Jane... Jane Willow."

I smiled. Now I could finally put a name with that face that popped up in my memory more than just occasionally. "What brings you to a dive like this on a Friday night?"

"Well," she looked around the room. "I was supposed to meet my date here. I don't think he's gonna show."

"Lucky for me, I guess. Could I step in to be tonight's entertainment?" I raised my hand to signal the bartender to bring another drink, and she put her hand on my arm.

"I don't drink." She said. "I don't date drunks, that's the reason I'm just waiting for my date."

"I wish I could say the same. Ever since my divorce that seems to be the only thing that keeps my mind from thinking about what my life, or maybe our lives could have been."

Dripping with empathy, she said. "You really loved her, didn't you?"

Looking her in the face, I realized for the first time the truth of the matter. "You know I don't think I did....... love her. I mean, she and I were two kids that wanted to get away from our families. We saw each other as a way to break free. It was the idea of being free from all the rules that applied only to us. Our parents had a different set of rules to follow. We were just there to make their lives easier."

Suddenly surprised at my openness. "Remind me never to let you get drunk. I was just making an observation."

Somewhat embarrassed, "I'm sorry, but when you said that about my loving Edith, it finally clicked. I mean the reality of the whole situation." I paused just long enough to push my drink away from me.

"Thank you for being here and thank you for making me realize my marriage was just a ruse. A ruse to make me feel like a grownup when we both, Edith and I, were not ready for any kind of commitment.

"I think you're being too hard on yourself. Your marriage was no ruse, or whatever you call it. You were just too young to be making that kind of a commitment."

A large group of loud men were making the noise in the bar almost unbearable. I was having to yell at my new friend, and she was just shaking her head at the confusion. "Do you think your date is going to show up?" I ask, just as another loud cheer went up from the group of men.

"At this point, I don't really care. Do you want to find some place a little quieter?" The look on her face was almost pleading for someone.... anyone to take her away from this noise.

I suggested my favorite eating place in the neighborhood.... McDonalds. With a shake of her head, we were on the street walking and enjoying the sudden quiet.

The evening air was brushing past my face as we walked the short distance to Mac's house, but as we stepped free of the protection of the buildings, I would get the refreshing aroma of her perfume. It was a delightful escape from the normal odors of the street.

In an attempt to keep the conversation going, I asked. "You said you were married?"

"Yes... once, a million years ago...I must confess it wasn't the happiest time in my life."

"And you're divorced now?"

"Yep, and according to you, you're divorced too." She responded.

I stopped in the middle of the block and gently put my hand on her arm to let her know I wanted to stop. I looked into her eyes and said, "Let me get this straight. You're a drop-dead gorgeous woman. You have curves where most women have none, and you're being stood up at a bar you never go to because you don't drink?"

She grinned broadly. "And I'm being taken to a fast-food joint just so we and talk about things that have nothing to do with anything." She paused. "And to top everything off, I'm being taken there by a man I have met only once. Now how does that fit into your twisted mind?"

"Well, I'll have you know that I am going to register for school, and I have every intention of being a millionaire someday."

She almost burst out laughing, but then she stopped. "I hope you do... I hope you get that degree and turn it into a million bucks." There was a pause by both of us. "You'll be a nice millionaire and I can say I once knew you."

That was kind of a conversation stopper. But I was determined to fight my way through to this woman, no matter what it took.

We found a booth and enjoyed the company of the other for a couple of hours when she decided it was time for her to go. She contacted an Uber and when she went outside to leave, I slipped inside the car with her.

"What do you think you doing?" she demanded.

"I hope you don't think I'm just going to let you ride off in the sunset or moonset... or whatever is going on tonight. I need to know where to pick you up for our next date." I said.

The driver had to put in his two cents worth into the conversation. But the fuss was soon over when she said it was okay. She handed him a card and a second or two later we were moving.

"What was on the card?" I asked.

"My address... he does need to know where he's taking me." There was a large smile on her face. "If you had asked for my address, you could have had a card too." We both started laughing.

"Is your phone number on that card?" She retrieved another from her clutch purse and scribbled a number on the back.

"There.... Now you have everything you need." As she climbed out of the car in front of her address, she turned around and said, "If you don't call, I won't lose any sleep."

When the Uber dropped me off at my place, the first thing I did was call the number on the back of the card. She didn't answer. She gave me the number for Dial-a-Prayer. I went to bed and slept about thirty minutes the rest of the night.

Not to be deterred by her dirty trick, I was standing outside her door at six o'clock the next morning. I leaned on her doorbell and waited till she answered. It seemed like it was taking her forever, but when she finally did answer, I asked her if she had given me the wrong number by mistake, or was she trying to convert me?

There was laughter coming through the speaker when she said that she wasn't dressed. That was when my mind went into overdrive. "I'm not here to see you dressed."

"Then what do you want at this hour of the morning?"

I paused only a second. "Coffee would be fine."

"It will have to be tea." There seemed to be a little chuckle in her voice. "I live in number three at the end of the hall on the second floor" The door buzzed, and I pushed my way inside. I walked up one flight of stairs, and I began to wonder if this was the best way to make an impression.

I knocked on the door three times. There was not the expected pause. The door opened. She didn't peek around the corner of the door; she opened it wide. Standing there was a beautiful blond woman with disheveled hair, in a night-shirt that barely covered her thighs. I think my shock was greater than hers. Based on how I was greeted, she wasn't shocked at all.

"You didn't call...." She smiled, then broke into full-throated laughter, as she stepped away from the door to allow me into her apartment.

"Oh my God," I thought. "Where has this vision been all my life?" There, standing straight and tall was the sexiest thing I had ever seen. Her blond hair was pushed back from where she tried to comb her hair with her fingers. She was wearing a tattered old white tee shirt that covered her body about three inches above her knees. The fabric was old and worn very, very thin. Her light brown nipples showed through the fabric as if it wasn't even there. To my eyes, she might as well be naked.

She was the first to speak. "I thought you was going to call."

"You know that wasn't the right number."

"Yes, and I'm happy to report you are the first man to break the code." She took my hand and led me away from the front door.

"The code to get in my panties."

I stuttered... "But you're not wearing panties...."

"No need to waste time. Besides, you forgot to give me a good night kiss last night."

"It wasn't because I didn't want to...." That was the moment she was wrapped in my arms. The first kiss was gentle and inviting. The second kiss was filled with passion and desire.

By the time the hour was over, she had not once told me I needed to lose a few pounds. She didn't complain when I licked away the sweat of our love making. Her lips knew ways of loving a man like I had never experienced. When I had reached for a condom, she pulled my hand away. "I haven't felt a man cum inside me for a long time. And you're the one that's going to do it."

And I did. I felt the walls of her passion pumping me like her body was milking a cow or a goat. The thrill was so exciting I was ready for round two before we had finished the first. The afterglow seemed to last forever. It lasted through the holding of one body to another... It lasted through the shower where we kissed and caressed every inch of the other's body. She guided me through our loving like a lamb being led to slaughter. These are moments I will never forget.

Fortunately, or unfortunately, it depends how you look at things, life is not a bed of roses. Jane and I spent a very happy weekend together. I hung around for the incredible sex, plus the fact she had furniture in her apartment, and all I had was a bed, some towels and one big ass TV.

I knew Jane was older than I was by about six years, but I was still happy to be the one that was making her feel good at night. At least I thought I was making her happy. She came home the Tuesday evening a week after I had sort of pushed my way into her life. That's when I got a big surprise. She went to the bedroom, took a shower and came out "dressed to the nines." Her makeup was perfect. She looked like she was planning on having a good time.

"Did you tell me we were going out, and I just missed it?" I asked, taking in the beauty in front of me.

"You are not going out.... I am."

This caught me completely off guard. "I don't understand. I thought we were so good for each other."

"We are." She looked at her watch. "I guess now is as good a time as any to explain this to you." She set her clutch on the table and lowered herself into the seat opposite of me. "I tried to tell you at the start that I was not going to be corralled like some head of cattle or some slave to the stove.

A few years ago, my husband decided to cheat on me. He not only cheated. He bragged about it to his friends. I did everything I could to save our marriage. We went to counseling and all the stuff you're supposed to do at times like that. It didn't work because he kept seeing this woman of his, and I had had enough. I divorced him." She got up from her seat and took a bottle of cold water from the fridge. "He was having the time of his life. And here I was sitting at home, twiddling my thumbs."

I interrupted to ask, "What did you do?"

"There was a girl in my EMT class that was in the same predicament. She told me to forget about the sorry S O B and find myself a new man. So, I started on one of those dating sites. I graduated from the phone to my computer, where I found all sorts of men looking to get their dicks wet. So, I started dating. The more I dated, the more I wanted to date. That's when I figured out, I was a slut at heart. I got involved with a group of swingers or lifestyle junkies that get together and have fun. I don't mean fun, like when you were a kid. I mean good old fashioned sexy fun. And it is fun. I date a lot, but I never go out with anyone I work with or anyone that I don't have a little chemistry with. You're still here because I like you, and if I ever decide to build another picket fence, you might just be the man. But you're going to have to accept me for who I am.... Not some wet dream you might have."

"So, you're telling me I have to stay here while you go out and get laid?"

"Oh, it's worse than that. Tonight, I'm going to bring him home and you're going to have to listen to all the fun I am having with someone you don't even know."

"And you think I'll still be here?"

"I hope you are. Because I, for some reason, don't want you to leave." She leaned closer to me and lightly kissed me on the lips.

"I'm going to have to think about this." It was my turn to kiss her, but I wasn't certain if it would be the last time. I kissed her lightly and stepped back out of her way.

Watching her walk out the door to a waiting car, found my stomach churning with disbelief and a heavy dose of disappointment. But when all was said and done, I didn't think I could leave.

I waited for two or three hours till I changed my mind for the second time, and decided I couldn't stay. I was writing a note for Jane at her desk, when I heard the front door close. Hoping against hope she was alone, but there was the distinct voice of another man. I glanced into the hallway to see Jane and her date for the night embracing each other in an impassioned kiss. His hands massaged the cheeks of her ass and she ground her body into his. The next thing I knew I was in the guest bedroom, listening to the sounds of the lovemaking going on in the same bed we shared. But it was obvious she had no place in my life or I in hers.

I laid on the bed and listened to the sound of Jane urging her lover on and then his grunting and gowning as he was finishing. I knew, just by the sound coming through the wall, Jane would not be happy about tonight's failure. When I heard the door close as he left, I knew it would be time for me to leave too. Just as I reached for the door, I heard my name being called out.

"Don't you dare leave" Jane scolded. "If you can stand my lifestyle, and you can learn to enjoy it as much as I do, then we can have a relationship. If not, I'm sorry, then just go ahead and leave."

It took about one second for me to decide. I would give this new lifestyle thing she was talking about, a chance. It couldn't be all that bad.

After that first night, we talked about sex and sex partners a lot. It wasn't long before you would think we were talking about buying a new coffee maker. It was never a taboo subject. As a matter of fact, it turned into an expected conversational topic. She would relate how many guys hit on her during the day, and I would let her know if I saw a great pair of legs or an ass I wanted to pursue.

Jane had her dates, and I went out on dates as well. We both seemed to be very happy with the situation. Oh, I would get jealous occasionally. But for the most part it was all part of the game. Jane even admitted she had felt a little twinge of jealousy more than just once.

She would say that she was thinking about playing, and we would go out and see what would happen. Sometimes, nothing happened. But when it did it was usually very good. We developed a large group of friends we would "play" with occasionally. She would go out on a date night, and I would do the same. The thing that became most important in our lives was each other. Each time we would "play" outside of our personal relationship, we would reclaim each other as the only person who meant anything in our lives.

One morning, Jane told me she heard of a new club that was about to open just North of our fair city. At first, she seemed excited, but as the opening night approached, she began to have second thoughts, at least that was the impression she was giving.

"If you have doubts about this new club, then we just won't go." I said, as I watched her pull a new dress over her head.

"No, silly... I feel fine. I think we're going to have a lot of fun tonight and I wouldn't miss this for the world.

I just shook my head and agreed. This did seem like an opportunity to have a lot of fun and meet a lot of new people that practiced, what Jane and I called "The Lifestyle."

We were a bit late in arriving, and the security was a pain in the ass for a first night. We got through the introductions, the paying of membership fees and a tour of what this new club had to offer. It was bright and shiny, and it was packed with people with pretty much the same outlook as Jane and I.

There were several surprises that first night. When we finally got ourselves situated to see what was going on, we were stopped dead in our tracks. Looking out on the dance floor were two people we knew very well: our next-door neighbors, Bill and Alice Johnson. Bill was standing at the edge of the dancefloor, while his wife was twerking the crotch of a man much younger than she was. But as Bill watched his wife, he kept rubbing the front of his pants like he was masturbating without taking out his cock. Something against the rules in this area of the club.

"What do you think about that?" I asked Jane, pointing out Bill and Alice.

"What do you think about that?" Jane was pointing at a different part of the bar area.

There, crossing the dance floor toward us was my ex-wife and her new boyfriend/husband/lover... whatever he was.

"Hey, Archie, how are doing?"

I stood from my seat and smiled. "I never thought I would see you here."

"See.... You thought you knew me, and you didn't know a thing." She offered her hand to Jane, and the conversation was on. I couldn't believe what these two women just had to discuss. All around us, people are pairing off to go do their thing, and I'm stuck listening to my ex tell Jane all the details of her life since she and I got a divorce. Edith's new squeeze was casting an eye at Jane, and I was trying to get him to leave and go find someone else.

Suddenly I felt the back of Jane's new shoes smash into my shin. Then, like the quick-thinking minx she is, she pretended she had an emergency phone call. She made up some tale about an accident and we excused ourselves from the never-ending onslaught from Edith. Before I could say goodnight, I was being pulled out of the club.

When we got into the car to head back to the city, I asked Jane if she was okay. I thought you couldn't have a phone in the club.

"I'm an EMT Archie. They must be able to get in touch with me no matter what or where I am." She spoke in a strict staccato voice that made me think I was in trouble.

I just turned my head and headed the car back toward the city. When we arrived at her Apartment, she didn't say a word. Something had happened, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know about it... whatever it was.

Once inside I was sort of waiting for the shit to hit the fan, when Jane looked at me with a very serious stare.

"Archie, I need to know. Do you love me?"

I was taken aback by her question. "Of course, I love you. Why would you ask me that? I tell you every day I love you."

"I know you couldn't hear everything Edith and I talked about tonight. But tomorrow, you and I are going to get married." She was now crying. "I never thought I would say that to any man. But you are the one that Loves me, understands me, and will forever keep me safe. So, if you don't mind.... will you marry me?"