Chapter 3

After twelve years on the road an opening came up for a vice president in the Ohio office. My uncle was retiring and his son, my cousin Ross, was moving up from vice president to president. The Board met and I was a shoo-in for the job if I wanted it. I said "Yes"; I was tired of being on the road so much and was tired of living out of a suitcase.

My main job would be to oversee sales and purchases. I would also sit in on some of the corporate meetings. My travel would be a lot less than it ever was. There would be times when I might make a few surprise visits to the suppliers. I wanted to make sure that my departments were working like a well-oiled machine.

I still drove up and saw my parents pretty regular. My sister, Hope asked me how come I never got married. I explained to her about always being on the road and it would not be good on a marriage. She agreed with me but told me I wouldn't be on the road as much now.

She always made me laugh the way she worried about me. I did tell her I had to meet the right woman first and being single for so long, she might not be out there. It made me laugh but I really wasn't looking to get married. I thought back over the last twelve years and how many married women I had slept with. Had the moral climate changed that much? I guess I was just as guilty as the next guy but I knew I didn't want a wife that strayed on me.

I knew myself well enough to know if I met the right woman that I would have no problem being monogamous and I would expect the same from her.

Life was good to me and I was able to get most anything I wanted. In the winter I could fly down to Florida and play a round of golf. I had good friends, but they were constantly trying to fix me up. I still played racquetball at least twice a week to keep in shape.

I really did want to have a nice relationship. I was more than a little tired of playing the field. I dated a number of women and over the next ten years I had two of them move in with me. Even though not married, I was monogamous during my relationship with each of them. Marie was the first one and stayed for five years. She worked for a law office and we seemed to hit it off fine.

The sex was good, well, better than good. She wasn't much of a cook so we ate out all the time. I took her to meet my parents and my sisters. My parents liked her but my sister Hope told me in private that she didn't trust her.

"What don't you like about her?" I asked.

"I think she wants you for your money and what you can buy her. I just feel she's a user. I don't see the love in her face when she talks or looks at you."

It turns out that Hope was right. It took me a few years to realize it. Marie didn't want kids, she said it would hurt her body image. I really didn't care if I had kids or not but most women always seemed to want to be a mother. I thought it somewhat strange.

The reason we never got married was because I didn't feel that deep-seated love I thought I should have. We both said, "I love you", while having sex. During the actual fucking we probably meant it. It was after having sex that that we didn't care to hug and cuddle. When Marie asked about getting married I told there would definitely be a pre-nuptial agreement and she became agitated, saying I didn't trust her.

Marie was great for arm candy at events and parties. I guess I just didn't love her and one day she said she was going to leave if we didn't get married and without a pre-nupt. I said goodbye to her and for some reason I never really missed her.

A year or so after Marie left Linda came into my life. She was fifteen years younger than me, which bothered me some. I met her at a friend's wedding. Looking back I guess her looks reminded me of Tina. I should have noticed that right off the bat. Other than her looks she didn't seem to have a whole lot in common with Tina as I remembered her.

Linda could cook and it was nice having a home cooked meal once in awhile. She said her mom taught her how to cook. The sex was great; I guess with her being so much younger it brought back a few college memories. I asked her to move in on kind of a whim. Maybe I thought I was getting old or something. Deep down I knew it was a mistake but I was going to try and make it work.

The problem was we didn't even like the same music or TV shows. I know that sounds petty but it does make a difference when spending time together. She had a great personality but she seemed to flirt more than I was comfortable with. She told me she never meant anything by it, that it was only me she loved.

My sister Hope asked me what was wrong with me, that I needed Linda. I told her she had all the answers, she could tell me. All she said to me was, "Don't get married to her, enjoy your fun and games till you come to your senses."

Linda came home one evening and asked me if I would mind if she went on a cruise with her best friend Samantha and her live-in boyfriend Steve. He was a car salesman and Sam worked in the dealership as a secretary. They were nice enough but young like Linda. Sam was Linda's best friend.

I even bought a car for Linda off Steve. I tried to help her friends out but I wasn't fine with her going on a cruise with them. I told her I would think about it. I decided to take a few days off and take the same cruise with Linda. She seemed happy about it and told Sam.

I had my secretary Ruth call and make the reservations for Sam and I. It cost a bit extra because of the late reservations but I was trying to be the nice guy and do something for Linda. She was ecstatic that we were going. It would be for five days and four nights to the Bahamas. We would be going separately from Sam and Steve but we were going to meet up on the ship.

We had fun while at sea. We danced, gambled a lot and even saw a movie. We spent the late evenings in the lounge drinking and dancing. Food on the cruise couldn't be beat; the only problem was we always overate. I spent my early mornings in the gym exercising off the extra calories.

On the third day we docked and went to the island. We headed to the swim area. Steve suggested we go to the nude beach but in a nice way I told him I wasn't interested in the world staring at Linda. So we headed over to the regular beach. Linda didn't reply.

With the bathing suits Linda and Sam were wearing they were showing just about everything anyway. Maybe I was just getting too old. I just wasn't one to share anymore. I never shared anyone I really cared for and wasn't about to start now.

The following day while working out in the morning a couple of men asked me if I golfed. I told them I did and even brought along my clubs, just in case there was a course. They asked me to join them in a round on the island.

I mentioned it to Linda and she said she didn't mind. She planned on going back to the beach and take in some more rays. I told her I would be back before the dinner buffet and then we could go to the lounge.

I had a nice time playing golf. After dinner we went to the lounge with Sam and Steve. Something didn't seem quite right but I couldn't put my finger on it. I asked them if they enjoyed the beach and they said they did. In the lounge a number of men asked Linda to dance. She didn't hesitate getting up.

It bothered me that so many men were asking her to dance. We have been on this dance floor for four nights and only a few had gotten the courage to ask her to dance. When she got up to dance with Steve I asked Sam about their going to the beach.

She was very hesitant about it but I guess I scared her. I told her I knew something happened and she finally told me that they went to the nude beach. "Umm Jeff, we didn't do anything wrong; we just laid in the sun."

"Sam, my girlfriend goes on a nude beach even though I told her not to and showed her ass as well as the rest of her body to every Tom, Dick and Harry as well as Steve. Yes, Sam that is wrong. God knows what else all of you did." Sam didn't say a word but looked very sheepishly at me.

"When she comes back to the table, tell her I wasn't feeling good and went back to our cabin." I got up and left.

Linda didn't come back to our cabin for over three hours. When she did come back she told me she was sorry. I told her that her being sorry wasn't good enough and that I was too mad and too tired to argue with her. We would discuss it when we got home. We would be leaving the ship the next morning.

I knew that the reason everyone wanted to dance with her was that they all saw her naked ass, especially Steve. I had no idea if she had sex with anyone or not. She said she didn't but wasn't very convincing. She told me we should be out trying and doing new things. She wanted to live it up.

I was past that stage of my life and knew that it just wouldn't work out. I tried, I really did. After the cruise Linda left and I was back on my own but I was a lot more comfortable. I decided to hell with it. I wasn't going to look for a woman any more. If it happens, it happens.

My sister Hope always acted like she was some kind of psychic. I have to admit that what she told me about Marie and Linda was true. She did tell me I would find the right woman someday and I would know it. She was a cool sister and she always made me laugh. I loved her to death.