Chapter 1: Tony

It may not of been spring, but it was a welcome change. After what had been a series of cold nights with no relief in sight? Freedom was finally upon Tony Joel. He was dressing for a night out. He paused and mentally acknowledged his accomplishment. This was from the fact that he could finally enjoy the silk dress shirt he had purchased for himself as an incentive. After all the hard work at the health club, he was finally able to fit into it. The television was playing in the background. A bad habit Tony had developed as a result of spending many a night in his apartment with his Sony as his only company. Well tonight that was all going to change. As he slipped on his new jeans. He mentally patted himself on the back. The plain truth was Tony had to buy new jeans because his old ones were just plainly too big. He paused by the mirror and gave himself a last look. As he looked in the mirror, he began to laugh. "Ok, I'm not the Lady Killer, like Chandler Bing, makes himself out to be." But Tony Joel made his own way. After a minor adjustment to his collar, he grabbed his jacket and out the door he went.

The evening turned out to be a lot less than what Tony had hoped for. He ventured out to this "cool" club. That he had been told about from his co-workers. But the Club 57 was anything but that to Tony. It started out all right; he spent a majority of the evening watching a drop dead gorgeous red head. She reminded him of this girl he had a thing for in High School. The blonde bartender, whose nametag read "Stacy", told him that she was a regular and her name was Terri. He then noticed the red head was staring at him while he was standing at the bar. Tony finished his third beer and asked Stacy to give him one of those silk roses for sale in the vase behind her. He then took that rose and crossed the smoke filled room. He paused for a moment and thought to him self, "Ok, I can do this." "Don't be scared " he reassured himself as he began to venture towards the woman.

As he approached her table, he asked her" May I join you?" as he handed her the rose. Terri then replied with a giggle in her voice, "Why an I coming apart?" He proceeded to sit with this incredible red head and got to know her over the course of the next hour. As a lull came to the conversation, Tony offered to get another round of drinks. Terri replied. " Sure". As Tony picked up the glasses and started to walk away, Terri grabbed his arm and whispered in his ear. "While you're up, will you get me the blonde's phone number, I could stand a little action with her." Tony was shocked beyond belief, not only by Terri's request but also to the fact that he relayed the message to Stacy the bartender as he was leaving.

As Tony exited the club he paused for a moment to reflect on the evening's events. It was about 11:00 pm as he climbed into his red Grand Am. Tony hit the roof of the car out of anger and screamed, "What is this world coming to?" He started his car and began to back out. He suddenly stopped and shook his head as he watched Stacy and Terri leaving the bar together. They saw him leaving and waved while yelling" Thanks for getting the two of us together". Tony threw his car into park and sat there for a moment. Thinking to him self, "Why do I sit myself up for these falls?" " I've worked long and hard at the health club to lose 50 pounds." Grumbling to him self "Why do I bother?", He put his car into gear and pulled out on to Grant Boulevard. He was thinking of going to the White Castle on the highway when the weather took a turn for the worse. A sudden downpour made it hard to see, so he pulled his car over to the side of the street. Turning on the radio and waiting for the worst to blow over. The radio began to play, "Scenes from an Italian Restaurant". Tony's mind then began to drift back to a simpler time. A knocking at his window interrupted his meditation. Tony opened his eyes startled to see a small brown haired woman, who was caught, by the rain. She yelled over the sound of the rainfall," Can I sit with you till, this stops, I'm soaked to the skin." Tony felt sorry for the young woman. He knew if the roles were reversed he would be glad for a little shelter. Tony replied "Sure" as he unlocked the passenger door for the woman.

As she climbed into the car, Tony couldn't help but notice her physical appearance. He was hypnotized by the looks. Her hair was the color of wheat shimmering in the sunlight, as it shimmered in the dome light of the car. Her body was small but firm. This was emphasized by the wetness of her clothing. He couldn't help but notice that she was wearing no bra. Tony began to feel strange at that moment. His heart began to beat faster and faster. His breathing became shallow. The woman giggled and said" You better close your mouth of a bird might just fly in and set up shop." Tony then snapped out of his dream state and just looked at this woman in his car. She was by far the most beautiful woman that he had ever seen. As she was attempting to dry off she quietly said." By the way, I'm Sarah." She extended her hand and Tony took it and gently shook it.

Sarah then continued to dry off in vain. Tony said "Hold on a sec". He reached in the back seat of the car and opened his gym bag. He took out a towel and handed it to the woman. She accepted it and began to dry off. Tony then noted, Gee you're soaked to the bone." He then rummaged through the bag and pulled out one of his t-shirts and a sweatshirt. He offered them to Sarah saying" Here put these on." Sarah accepted and began to pull up her top. Tony freaked and turned around so he would not see. Sarah giggled" Oh a shy one, how sweet." Tony watched the rain hit the street and could hear the young woman next to him undressing in the darkness of the car. He wanted to see, but could not bring himself to sneak a peek.

After Sarah had removed her wet clothing and slipped on the dry ones Tony had provided. They began to chat. It started with the weather, then moved on to pretty much a good portion of their lives. Then the first rays of the sun began to come through the windshield. Tony looked up and realized they had talked the night away. The rain had stopped and it was going to be a beautiful day. Sarah then began to gather up her wet things. Tony then offered to drive her home., She then quietly replied "No" to his offer. She then proceeded to get out of the Grand Am. As she began to walk away, Tony jumped out of the car and yelled," Can I call you?" Sarah paused in her tracks and began to shake her head. " You don't want to get mixed up with me", turned and headed down the sidewalk. She stopped and blew a kiss to Tony. Then with a slight remorse in her voice, yelled, " I don't think you could afford it." Sarah turned on heel at that moment and dashed down a side street, dropping her wet things as she went. Tony dashed after her to see her turning onto a side street. All he saw then was a flash of naked skin of her behind from under the sweatshirt. By the time he reached the street, she was gone.

Tony returned to his car and sank in the driver's seat. He felt as if he had missed the opportunity of a lifetime. He looked over at the floorboard of his car and saw her wet T-shirt lying in the floor. He picked it up and was feeling of it. He swore he could still smell her scent on it. These sensations were something for him. Tony recalled the last time he had felt this way. It was High School. It was right after his first date with Linda, the red head he remember so vividly. He still recalls after the date was done and he walked her home. She kissed him. He wished that sensation would never end. And now he found himself wishing it again. Tony felt that he would see his chance encounter again.

Over the next few days, Tony found it hard to concentrate. His mind just kept replaying that night over and over. He kept thinking again and again, "I have to find her" He felt a sense of loss for letting her go. At night, he would end up prowling the area of Grant, where they had met. He was hoping to find her. About a week later, he could not sleep so he returned to Grant. It was about 12 midnight. His Grand Am was cruising down the boulevard. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her. She was standing neat the entrance of "Grant Auto Parts." She was standing with two other girls, having a cigarette and laughing at a joke. He passed the store but was unable to stop. He went a couple of blocks and turned around. As he came back by the Auto store, he saw her leaning in a car window talking to someone. Sarah was dressed in skintight white shorts and a black tube top. She climbed in the car with the other man and they drove away. Tony then followed, He thought that maybe he would find out where she lived. The car with Sarah in it stopped at Grant Park and parked by a tree. Tony stopped his car and killed the lights. He watched as Sarah and the man chatted. Then she pulled down her top and began to kiss the man. Tony watched in awe for the next few minutes. He could see some of the couple's movements; the she disappeared from sight as her head sank down below the top of the seat. After about 10 or 15 minutes, Sarah climbed out of the car and began walking away while adjusting her top. The car then started up and the man drove away quickly. Sarah paused, pulled out a stack of bills and began to count it. She then began to walk back towards the boulevard. The realization then sank in; the girl that he had fallen for was a streetwalker. She was nothing but a call girl. Tony was shocked. He was confused. This girl could not be the same girl he had met the night of that rainstorm. There was no way that the same girl, who he chatted the night away, just had sex with a stranger for money. Tony just sat there in a state of confusion until a cop came along and rapped on Tony's car window and told him to move it along.

Following his discovery, Tony felt lost. He had no direction to follow. He would just come home from work and sat with his feet up and stared at the wall. Emotionally he was just numb. What was it about this girl that affected him so badly. He kept up this routine for about a week. In the morning, he would get up, dress for work then go. In the evenings, He would return home and sit staring at the wall.

One evening after work, Tony parked his car and was walking back to his apartment. As he walked up to the door, he heard someone yell his name. The person calling was his neighbor; Pam. Pam was about 3 years younger than tony. She had lived next door to Tony for about a year now. Pam liked to stop by every once and a while to shoot the breeze or talk over a problem. She was one of Tony's closet friends.

With a song in her voice she called, "Tony". Tony looked to she her peeping over the wooden privacy fence behind her garden apartment. She waved for Tony to come on back.

As Tony entered the gate, he closed the gate and laid his briefcase off to the side. Pam was lying back on her lounger, sun bathing. At that moment Tony felt himself drawn to her tanned body. His senses were picking up on all sorts of small details. The contrast of black bikini next to her tanned skin was hypnotizing the firmness of her leg muscles. All the early morning jogs of hers had really paid off. The way her long blonde hair laid on her shoulders. Tony's mind was taking in all of the details, when he snapped back to reality. Pam was snapping her fingers and asking, "You awake, Hun?"

Tony realized his lapse and began chatting with Pam. Pam told Tony she had noticed him dragging around wand wanted to know what was the problem. He really didn't want to tell her about Sarah. If he did, Pam might get the ideal that Tony was a customer of hers. As he glanced over at Pam while they talked, His mind began playing tricks on him. In his mind's eye Sarah was sitting in the lounger and beckoning him to come and see her. She began to entice him with her body. She slipped off her bikini top and fondled her breasts. And just as she began to run her and down into her bikini bottoms, He snapped out it. He had it bad for this girl and did not know what to do about it.