Chapter 30: Not A First Date

Barbara Blockings looked in the mirror for about the tenth time in the last ten minutes. Something just didn’t seem right. She was on her third outfit since she had come home and showered, and it just didn’t seem right. First there had been the halter top and denim skirt, then a knee-length shirt dress, and now she was wearing a conservative sundress, and it just wasn’t right. She reached behind her neck and undid the catch and zipper.

It had been three weeks since the night she had run into Jerry at the restaurant and gone off with his three coworkers. It had seemed like a wild and crazy idea at the time, fun and a bit over the top, but the more she thought of it, the more she began to think it hadn’t been such a good idea after all.

Jerry had been good about it. He had called her at home the next day to check on her. She had asked if the insurance guys had said anything, and he had simply said that one of the Kens thought she was ‘Awesome!’ and had thanked him for the good time. When she had asked what he had said to that comment, he had just mumbled an agreement. Then he had asked her, before hanging up if she had been serious about his calling her when he lost the next ten pounds. Barbara had been surprised but had shrugged to herself and said they could have a drink to celebrate.

The following weekend she had dressed to go out with her friends from the support group and met with them, but despite a couple of offers from men at the singles bar they had gone to, had decided to go home alone. Last weekend she hadn’t even gone out, and something just felt very odd to her. When Jerry had called her midweek and told her he had lost the weight, she had felt a quickness in her breath she hadn’t felt in years and had said she would meet him at an Applebee’s near her house.

The halter top and sundress made her look ... easy ... and the shirt dress seemed too business like. She went to her closet and pulled out a blouse and skirt combo that looked good, but not too formal. She had already pulled on lacy white panties and bra. The blouse was a crisp white sleeveless wrap that hooked on either side; the skirt was a black and red print, calf length, wrapped and tied at the side. She slid into a pair of black pumps, not quite ‘fuck me’ heels, but not dowdy either.

“What the fuck is the big deal?” she asked under her breath. “It’s not like this is a date. I’m meeting my fucking ex-husband for a drink!”

Jerry was already seated at the bar when she got there, still wearing his suit from the office, nervously watching for her as she came through the door. He waved her over and stood as she came closer. They eyed each other curiously as they stood there. A kissed greeting was inappropriate with your ex, a handshake too ridiculous for somebody you spent over twenty years with. Barbara simply climbed onto the bar stool and Jerry climbed back onto his.

“You look good, Barb. Is that new?” he asked, eyeing her curiously. He wasn’t sure if she had worn it before. It looked familiar, but not really.

His ex-wife gave him a wry shrug. “Not really, but it’s been a while. I needed to lose a few pounds to make it fit right, so it’s been in the closet.”

“Well, it looks good on you.”

She nodded. “The blouse is actually fitted for me, so if I gain or lose weight, it kind of sags or bulges, you know.” She blushed in embarrassment. “It’s like I said, I needed to get back in shape.”

“You did, you did!” he enthusiastically agreed.

“So, what about you? Did you actually lose the ten pounds? What are you down to?”

It was Jerry’s turn to blush redly. “Uh, well, sort of.” He took a large swallow from his drink. “Uh, you can yell at me if you want, but I didn’t quite lose all the ten pounds, I sort of rounded it up.” Barbara raised an eyebrow at that, and he rushed on, “Well, I lost about another six, I mean six above what I had lost before, and I’ve leveled off. I don’t know if I’ll ever lose anything else!”

Barbara eyed him critically. His gut was gone, along with the extra chin he had been working on, and his chest seemed a bit larger. “Have you been working out, Jerry?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“That’s why. Muscle weighs more than fat.”

“Huh?”

Barbara explained, “It’s the exercise. You’ve been burning up the calories, but you’ve been converting some of the flab to muscle. You get thinner, but since muscle tissue has a higher density that fatty tissue, you don’t lose all the weight. You’re slimmer, but not lighter.”

“Uh, okay...” Jerry looked at her in confusion.

It took several minutes more of explanation for Barbara to get the idea through to him. He decided to check with the trainer at the gym the next time he was there. Did this mean he wouldn’t lose more weight? Or what?

“Angry with me about calling you before I lost the weight?” he asked sheepishly.

Barbara finished off her drink and signaled the bartender to bring another. “Hell, Jerry, that doesn’t make it into the minor leagues for lies. That’s not even Little League. Let’s face it, we’ve had a few World Series class whoppers, so that was nothing!”

Jerry sighed and nodded. That hadn’t been quite the response he was hoping for, but she hadn’t left, either.

Barbara stirred the ice remaining in her glass, then placed a hand on his at the bar. “I’m sorry, Jerry, that was out of line.”

“I earned it.”

“You did, but we can’t keep dredging up the past. It was rude if nothing else. I don’t want us to be one of those couples who go out of their way to cause problems. I said it before, it takes two to screw up something as good as we had. I don’t know why I said that, but it was out of line.”

“So why say it then?” he asked.

Barbara shrugged. “To hurt you? Hell, I don’t know, Jerry. I guess some things hurt so much that if you can’t laugh about them, you can only cry.” She saw him look away slightly and nod to himself. When he looked back, she went on, “I’m not trying to start a fight, but Jerry, what you did hurt me terribly. It’s almost as if I can make you hurt then we even things out, but it doesn’t work that way, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. Was that why you went out with those guys that night?” he asked quietly.

It was Barbara’s turn to look away in an embarrassed silence. They both drank some more, and she said, “Yes. Maybe. I don’t know, Jerry. Maybe it was, but maybe it was a mistake, too, you know? I think that was over the line, too.”

Jerry rolled his eyes. “More than the joke about the lies earlier, that’s for sure! I couldn’t fucking believe you did that!”

“Did it hurt?”

“Yes,” he replied.

“Good. Now you know what it felt like.” Barbara sighed. “I don’t want to fight, Jerry.” She sat for a second. “Have you ever heard from them?”

“No. Why, did you want to?” he asked her with a quizzical look in his eyes.

Barbara groaned. “Good lord, no! Just wondering if that sort of thing is going to follow me around for the rest of my life! I do not plan on being the company go-to girl.”

Jerry snorted. “No, that is not in the plans. If it ever happens again, and I’m not saying it will, I can get a pro. I haven’t even heard from them since they landed in Cincinnati. I saw them for about a minute back in the office the next morning before they drove to the airport, and the only thing that was said was you were awesome.”

“Well, let’s just leave it at that. I’m not sorry I did it, but I don’t want to do it again. Or maybe I am sorry. I don’t know.” She saw her ex-husband eyeing her, and she continued, “It’s not like it was bad, I mean from a technical perspective, but I don’t think that’s how I want to hurt you. I’ll have to find some other way to tear your guts out.” She smiled at that.

Jerry laughed It was his turn to place a hand on hers. “If we can’t joke about ripping each other’s hearts out and stomping them on the floor, what can we joke about? Let’s get a table and have dinner.” Barbara nodded and Jerry flagged over the bartender. “How are the kids?”

For the next two hours the two of them talked about just about everything, from how Rusty and Jeremy were doing in school and how Marcia was planning for college, to the latest gossip from Chrystal Court to the equally odd gossip from his apartment block. It seemed like every time they had exhausted one subject, they found another to talk about. After two hours they were dawdling over coffee, already having finished desserts and a first cup of coffee.

Finally, Barbara set her cup down on the saucer. “So, it seems like you have a nice place.”

He smiled wanly. “It’s all right. Would you like to come and see it?”

Barbara looked in his eyes for a moment. “Jerry, are you asking me up to see your etchings?”

Her ex-husband’s eyes opened wide, and he blushed deeply. “What? No!” he protested, a protest that Barbara thought was a might too strong. Somebody doth protest too much, she thought to herself.

“Well, Jerry, there is no way I am heading out to Polk City at this time of the night, so you can try and put some moves on me.” Jerry looked sad but tried to keep a stone face and didn’t complain. “Let’s just go across the street. There’s a motel next door, and I don’t see any reason to drive across Florida, do you?”

He stared at her in disbelief, but then nodded, trying to keep the glee off his face. Jumping up and down on the table, shouting, ’Yes, yes, yes!’ was not the image he wanted to present. “Sounds good to me.”

She stood. “Take care of the bill. I need to use the ladies’ room.” She smiled and headed towards the other end of the restaurant. When Barbara came back, her ex-husband was signing the credit card slip. He stood and excused himself before heading towards the rest rooms. When he got out, Jerry found Barbara standing at the entrance. “Why don’t I just follow you over. It will be simpler than you bringing me back over here later,” she said.

Jerry simply nodded. His mouth was too dry to form words. Was she really going to follow him to a cheap motel room, or was she just screwing with his brain, planning to tear off once they got out of the parking lot? He kept his eye on her as she pulled out of the parking. His worries were unnecessary; she sedately followed him through the parking lot, across the road, and into the parking lot of the motel. He parked and went inside while she waited in her car. Five minutes later he was back outside. He got back in his car and drove down to the far corner. She followed him and parked next to him.

“This is the closest entrance,” he said. “Room 207.” He held out his hand to her.

Barbara stared at the outstretched hand briefly. What in the world was she doing? She took his hand wordlessly and followed him to the door. He used his keycard on the entrance and opened it for her, and then led her up the stairwell to the second floor. Room 207 was three doors down on the left, and a swipe with the keycard opened that door as well.

Barbara followed Jerry into the room. It was as spartan as she had imagined, but otherwise clean and adequate. A king size bed dominated the small room, with a dresser with a television at one end bolted to it. A bathroom was tucked behind the door. No extra furniture, no chairs, no tables, no desks. Just enough for somebody to get some sleep or ... whatever. Jerry’s hand tugged her inside as he flipped the light switch on. She found herself standing in front of the mirror over the dresser. She turned to face him as he closed the door and slipped the chain on the latch.

She was suddenly speechless. Her mind whirled. She had been married to Jerry for over nineteen years; they had been together as a couple for over twenty. How many times had they been together? Thousands? Many thousands? And the other men, since she was a teen, how many hundreds or thousands of times had she been with a man, or a woman for that matter. She had never once been nervous about being with someone. Excited, happy, enthusiastic, giddy, crazy, even angry, but never scared, yet tonight she was suddenly nervous. She watched as he came over to her, and then jerked her hands to her waist, going for the catch on the side of her skirt.

“Hey, let me,” he asked gently. “Please?”

She nodded. “Okay,” she whispered.

Jerry had taken his coat and tie off during dinner and had left them in the car. Now, as he came up to her, Barbara noted just how much more in shape he really was. While her ex wasn’t a muscleman, he had much more strength and appeal than before. He leaned forward and softly kissed her on the lips, and Barbara could feel her nipples crinkling and her pussy flooding in anticipation.

Jerry leaned back again and moved his fingers to the side of her skirt where she had been trying to undo the catch. He nimbly undid the catch and allowed the skirt to slip to the floor. Barbara’s eyes were closed as she breathed out softly, “At the sides,” when he asked where the catches were for her blouse. First one side was undone, and then he opened it enough to reach inside for the opposite button. This was unfastened and he peeled it off her lifeless arms and allowed it to drop to the floor. Barbara was standing in front of him in nothing more than her underwear and shoes.