Chapter 2: Crash and Burn, Part I

November 25, 1988, Chicago, Illinois

"Where were you going for lunch?" I asked.

"Paul's Deli," she said. "I was getting take-out. I was going to eat at home. Come with me. I'm a good listener."

"I don't think that's a good idea," I protested.

"Nonsense," she countered. "You need to be with someone who has a friendly ear."

"I really shouldn't," I replied.

"You obviously need someone to talk to. You obviously need a friend. You've been down in the dumps for weeks and I can't stand it any longer! Let me try to help, please?"

I looked over at Kimmy and the fantasies I'd had about her came rushing out of that storage area in my mind reserved for things I should never do. She gave me one of her winning smiles, her eyes sparkled, and then she took my hand. Her soft, warm touch was electric and crushed any remaining resistance.

"OK," I agreed, fully aware of what would happen by doing so.

We walked hand-in-hand to the deli, where we each ordered a sandwich and chips. Kimmy said she had drinks at her place, so we didn't order any. I paid for both our lunches, and then I let her lead me into a section of Hyde Park where I knew quite a few UofC students had apartments. The building she led me to wasn't quite as nice as the one Elyse and I had lived in, but it was well-kept and had large windows, and each apartment seemed to have a small balcony. We walked up to the second floor, and she used her key to open the door to Apartment 203.

I walked into a small, clean, nicely decorated one-bedroom apartment. Kimmy pointed to a small dinette table with two chairs and I set our lunches on the table and sat down.

"Root Beer, Orange Crush, or Lemonade?" she asked.

"Orange Crush, please," I said.

She went to the fridge and came back with two bottles. She took off her jacket and hung it on a hook by the door and held out her hand. I took my jacket off and handed it to her, along with my fedora. Kimmy motioned for me to sit, and I did, then watched her as she moved to sit, her skin-tight jeans clinging to her butt and legs, and her tucked-in T-shirt clinging equally tightly to small breasts, so clearly defined that there was no way she was wearing a bra. Her blue eyes sparkled as she flipped her blonde hair over her shoulders.

"Let's eat!" she said.

I took the sandwiches and chips from the bag and then used the proffered bottle opener to open both bottles of Orange Crush. Kimmy smiled and held up her bottle, and I laughed and clinked mine to hers, and then we each took a drink. I marveled at her soft lips surrounding the top of the bottle and my mind ran away with me again. I thought about fighting the fantasy, but I wasn't in the mood to fight.

"What's bothering you, Steve?" she asked after we'd each taken a few bites of our sandwiches.

"Life in general," I said. "The details don't really matter."

"Sure they do. What happened that has you so down in the dumps?"

I looked at her, considered what I should say, and decided to just let it all out. It might help, and at this point, what could it hurt?

"It all started that day that I nearly fainted in the reception area. I'm being sued, and the reason isn't important, but it really upset Jessica and she left me. She hasn't talked to me in five weeks, except last night to tell me something that really hurt me. Something that hurt me so badly that I don't think it can be fixed. In some ways worse, she was suspended at the hospital."

"You're joking," Kimmy said, more serious than I'd ever seen her.

"I wish I was," I said.

"So I guess it's over? What happens with your kids and stuff?"

"I didn't have any children with Jessica yet, so nothing changes in that regard. I guess the only thing that changes is I won't be married any more."

"Wow. Can I ask what you did that upset her?"

"That's just it. I didn't do anything to her. This is about something that originally happened in March 1984. I didn't even know anything about it until five weeks ago, and I didn't know Jessica when it happened."

"I don't get it," she said, taking a bite of her sandwich and washing it down with a swig of Orange Crush.

"In a convoluted, round-about way, I guess I could see it bothering her, but not to this extreme."

"You didn't, like, kill someone or something? Or break some law that means you have to go to prison."

"No, nothing like that. It's a civil lawsuit, not anything criminal. If I lose, it'll cost me some money, personally, that's all."

"Whew! I was worried it might cause problems for the company, and I really like working for NIKA. You take such good care of all of us. Thanks for letting me try to help you and return the favor."

We finished our lunch, and Kimmy cleared away the wrappers and the empty bottles. She went to a small bookshelf and turned on a stereo and tuned it to WXRT. I was still sitting at the table and she came back and put her soft hands on my shoulders.

"Wow, you're really tense," she said.

She was right, of course. Before I could protest, she gave a small squeeze and started massaging my shoulders.

"Kimmy," I protested weakly.

"Shh! Just relax!"

Her hands felt good and I simply let her continue. She massaged my shoulders for a few minutes, then moved her fingers to my neck, and then to my temples. I sighed deeply as I felt some of the tension flowing out of my body. Her hands returned to my shoulders, and I felt them slip forward, and she nimbly unbuttoned the buttons of my polo. I was past the point where I was able to protest.

Kimmy slipped one hand inside my polo and rubbed my chest. She leaned close, and I felt her small breasts on my back, and then soft lips on my neck. I tensed slightly at the touch.

"Just relax," she whispered. "It's OK."

Her lips moved to my earlobe, and I felt a tingle as she gently sucked it into her mouth. If I'd had any ability to resist, it vanished at that point. Kimmy kissed my cheek, and I turned my head. Our lips met, and I felt her warm, wet tongue begin to probe. I slid my tongue forward to touch hers, and both of us moaned softly. Kimmy broke the kiss and slipped her hand from inside my shirt. She moved around and sat on my lap, and put her arms around my neck. I put my hands on her waist and our lips and tongues met in a soft French kiss.

I felt Kimmy's hand slide down my arm until it reached my wrist, and she tugged until I let her move it up to her small breast. I cupped it, feeling the hard nipple press into the palm of my hand. Kimmy covered my hand with hers and pressed hard. Our kiss became deeper and stronger, and I no longer needed an invitation. Using my free hand, I tugged at her T-shirt. She released the hand that she'd trapped against her cloth covered breast, and I tugged at the other side of her T-shirt. It came free from her jeans and I pulled it up. We broke our kiss, and Kimmy raised her arms so that I could pull the T-shirt over her head.

I dropped it to the floor and looked down to see small, perfectly round globes with hard, pink nipples. I lowered my head and took one in my mouth, gently sucking and licking on it. Kimmy moaned deeply and her hands flew to the back of my head. She held me in place as I feasted, tasting a mix of salt and body spray. After a minute, I felt her hands move, and she began tugging on my polo shirt. I released her breast, causing her to whimper, but she tugged hard, and I raised my arms so that she could pull my shirt over my head just as I'd done with hers.

"I'm on the Pill," she whispered invitingly.

There was absolutely no question in my mind what she wanted, and I wanted the same thing, but first I wanted to see the rest of her lithe body, and taste her most private spot. I put one arm behind her back, and the other under her legs. Kimmy put her arms around my neck and I stood up and carried her down the hall to her bedroom, where I laid her on the bed. I wasted no time in unbuttoning her jeans and pulling down the zipper. I grasped them and tugged and she wiggled and wriggled to help me pull them off, revealing plain, white cotton panties with a large and growing wet spot.

I lowered my head and breathed deeply, inhaling her scent. The aroma drove me onwards, and I hooked my fingers in her cotton panties. She lifted her butt from the bed and I swiftly removed her final garment, revealing sparse blond pubic hair above her swollen labia. I gently spread her legs and moved my face between them, and then slowly inserted my tongue into her dripping pussy.

The flavor was overwhelming, a mix of musk and copper, and I lapped up the juices hungrily. I probed as deeply as I could into her tunnel, and she bucked hard against me. Taking the cue, I latched onto her clit with my lips and sucked hard. Kimmy groaned deeply and shivered, and a gush of fluid ran from her already sopping pussy. I lapped it up and continued pleasuring her until she had a second orgasm.

I felt her hands pushing my face away, and she quickly jumped from the bed as soon as I'd moved. She came to where I was standing and her fingers searched for the clasp of my belt. She undid it, unbuttoned my slacks, pulled down the zipper, and then roughly pulled both my pants and underwear off. She gently pushed me back onto the bed, motioning for me to move so my head was on the pillows. I did so, and she lay next to me, her head at my waist.

Kimmy took a deep breath, then let it out, and took the head of my dick in her mouth and ever so slowly took me deep. I'd already been rock hard, and the sensation of her soft lips and warm tongue almost put me over the edge, but I managed to control my reaction. I felt her fingers on my thigh, and then she danced them lightly over my balls, while sucking gently. I groaned from the pleasure, fearful that I was going to cum before either of us was ready. Kimmy bobbed several times, running her tongue along my shaft and around my glans, each time taking me nearly completely into her mouth. I felt her slowly raise up and then felt cool air on my dick as she released me.

I opened my eyes and Kimmy smiled, then sat up. She threw one leg over me and straddled me. She leaned down to kiss me, and I felt her lift up. Soon, I felt a hand on my shaft holding me straight up, and then pure pleasure as she slowly lowered herself onto me, her soft, moist, super-heated folds engulfing me until I was fully embedded in her.

"I've wanted this since the first day I saw you," she whispered.

Before I could say anything, she bent down to kiss me. Her tongue probed my mouth as she began sliding up and down my shaft, grinding against me each time our pubic hair meshed. I put one hand on her butt, and the other one went to her breast to strum a nipple. Ever so slowly, Kimmy increased the speed of her movements, and when she ground against me, she squeezed her muscles tightly around me. She'd had me close to the point of no return since we started, and I managed, just, to keep control.

Kimmy suddenly broke our kiss, threw her head back and ground hard against me. She groaned loudly, and I felt spasms undulate up and down along my dick, trying to milk my seed from me. I resisted and when her orgasm passed, I pulled her down so that I could suckle her breast. She gasped and redoubled her movements. Two minutes later, I was rewarded with even stronger spasms and that was enough. Cum blasted forth from my dick and her pussy milked each successive spurt until I had nothing more to give. She sat up and smiled.

"I've wanted to do that since I first met you," I gasped.

Kimmy leaned forward and gave me a soft kiss, then stretched out on top of me.

"That," she gasped, "was the best I've ever had!"

I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly. There was potential hell to pay at NIKA, but right at that moment, I didn't care. We cuddled for a bit until I slipped from her, and she moved next to me. I pulled her close and held her.

"Did that help?" she asked softly.

It had, in a way. An unplanned, unsolicited fuck seemed to be just what I'd needed. It didn't make the problems with Jessica go away, but it made me feel wanted, needed, and actually quite special.

"It did," I said. "Thank you."

She rose up and crossed her arms on my chest, and rested her chin on her arms.

"Did you really mean what you said?" she asked.

"Yes. You don't know how many times I looked at your cute butt and thought about being with you!"

She smiled again, "I'm here anytime you need me," she said. "Day or night. I know I can't be your girlfriend, or anything like that, but if I can help, I want to. Just ask. What we just did was perfect."

I started to speak, but she put her finger on my lips.

"Don't promise me anything you can't keep," she said. "Just be happy we could make each other feel really, really good. All I want to do is make you happy, and if you let me, make you feel really good. No demands. No favors."

She removed her finger from my lips and nodded.

"OK," I said.

She smiled, and we lay like that, just looking into each other's eyes. I lost track of time, thinking about what we'd just done and staring into her deep blue eyes.

"If you can go again, we could," she said softly.

I chuckled.

"What's so funny?"

"If? I could go four or five more times if you wanted. But I really should get back to the office."

She smiled, "Someday, I'd like to test that! But I understand. Do you want to clean up?"

"Shower with me," I offered.

She nodded and gave me a broad smile. We got out of bed and went to the bathroom and climbed into the combination tub-shower. Kimmy adjusted the spray, and I pulled her to me and we stood under it for several minutes, her head resting on my chest. Kimmy giggled when I washed her breasts and between her legs, and I sighed as she gently washed my groin. We dried off with thick towels and then found the clothes we'd strewn through the apartment. We dressed, and then I pulled Kimmy into a tight embrace.

"Thanks," I said. "I'm glad you stopped in the office today."

"I'm glad I stopped in, too!" she smiled.

We exchanged a soft kiss, then I left her apartment and headed back to the office. When I arrived, I saw the message lamp flashing on my phone and listened to the voicemail. It was Kara calling to check on me. She'd only called a few minutes before, so I called back.

"Is everything OK?" she asked.

"Yes. I just got back from lunch. Penny stopped by earlier."

Kara laughed, "You know full well that once she found out where you were, wild horses couldn't keep her away. You didn't do anything foolish with her, did you?"

"No. She offered, and I turned her down flat. But to be honest, it was mainly because of Terry, not because I'm in the best state right now. But Penny didn't push the issue. She knows better."

"Good. You know I'd be OK with it, but Jess wouldn't."

"I'm not sure that Jessica's opinion warrants consideration right now," I said. "Did you hear from Al Barton?"

"No. He was going to drive out to try to see her, wasn't he?"

"Yes. But I'm not sure that he'll have any better luck than anyone else."

"When are you coming home?"

"I'm not sure. I might stay here into the evening. I have work to do and I need to keep myself busy."

"Don't stay out too late. Is there karate this evening?"

"No. Remember, Sensei Jim closes the dojo for four days at Thanksgiving plus four days for Christmas and New Year's."

"That's right. What are we doing tomorrow?"

"I figured we'd play with the kids. Don't forget I have to take Jacquelyn to dinner and a movie. She wants to see Mystic Pizza."

Kara laughed, "And you'll hate it, won't you?"

"Yeah, probably. Anyway, don't plan dinner for me tonight. I'll just order a pizza or Chinese or something if I get hungry."

"Oh, before I forget, Jolene called. She wants you to call her."

"Did she leave a number?" I asked. "I never had her home number."

"No, she didn't."

"I'm going to get one of those new Caller ID boxes that show you the phone number. Maybe I'll walk over to her place in a bit."

"Are you staying at the office?"

"Yes, I'm not sure for how long, though."

"Don't get lost in your zone, Snuggle Bear. You'll forget to eat!"

There was little chance of that, but I wasn't going to say anything that would worry Kara. I'd tell her about Kimmy, but not over the phone.

"I'll set my alarm," I promised.

"I love you! If I hear from Doctor Barton, I'll call you!"

"Thanks. I love you, too!"

I hung up the phone and tried to do some work. I had no better luck than I'd had before lunch. I grabbed a Coke and walked around the office, stared out the windows, and otherwise tried to clear my head so I could concentrate on my work. But no matter what I did, all I could think about was Jessica and what she'd said. I finally gave up and decided to take a walk. I didn't have a destination in mind when I left the office, so I walked west until I came to the park, then turned south for a few blocks and then turned east, and found myself walking past the dojo.

The dojo was dark, as I expected. I stopped and looked in the window, and saw the trophies that Sensei Jim had won in competitions. That reminded me that I was supposed to meet the other instructors in the area, but it also made me wonder why we didn't participate in the city or regional competitions. I was sure that Sensei Jim had a reason, but I couldn't fathom what it might be. Then it dawned on me and I shook my head. Both Jolene and I were such egomaniacs that the last thing either of us needed was a trophy to make it worse.

Thinking of Jolene made me remember that she'd called the house. Her apartment was close, and, honestly, I owed her an explanation for the mood that I'd been in lately. She'd asked several times, and I hadn't told her. I looked at my watch and it was only about 3:00pm, and I decided that I'd stop by and see her. If she wasn't home, then I'd go home and do my best to avoid the onslaught of questions that were sure to come.

Chapter 3 »