Chapter 1

Sitting in his usual booth at the Townhouse restaurant, David Kingsly was waiting for his guest. He had met Diane Murdock eight weeks ago. She was quite beautiful but seemed to be unaware of her own attractiveness. She had lustrous auburn hair, pale skin, and a well-developed body. They had met at a party where David had found her alone, sitting in a corner.

Not ever thought of as shy, he had introduced himself to Diane before he pulled up a chair to sit beside her. He could easily see that she was uncomfortable but determined to draw her into a conversation.

“How do you know our hosts?” he asked.

“I went to school with Karen,” Diane mumbled. “She insisted I come to this party, but I really should be going.”

“Why should you go?” David asked. “Do you have a jealous husband waiting at home for you?”

“No,” she answered softly. “I’m divorced.”

“How could someone as beautiful as you be divorced?” he pressed. “I would think men would be falling over you.”

“I was married to Ted for nine years, but I displeased him, and he left me. We’ve been divorced for almost a year now.”

David could see that this lovely creature was not particularly well dressed. Her clothes were poorly fitted and not of a style to show off her body. He quickly came to the conclusion that the woman was shy and lacking confidence. Guessing her age at near thirty, David wondered if she had always been reclusive.

Deciding to change topics, David looked for something to talk about that might set her at ease. “Tell me how you came to know Karen.”

“We were roommates in college,” Diane responded, obviously comfortable with the topic. “When we went to Baylor, freshmen were required to live on campus. I didn’t know anyone in my class, and neither did Karen. We just ended up as roommates and stayed together for four years.”

“Baylor?” David asked. “Isn’t that a Baptist school?”

“Yes, it is,” Diane assured him. “I was on a scholarship, and Karen’s father was a Baptist minister. Neither of us had any choice. Her parents insisted she go to Baylor, and my only scholarship offer was from the school, so I didn’t have much choice either.”

“I’ve heard stories that Baylor can be very strict and had all kinds of rules about student conduct.”

“It’s true,” Diane replied. “Things loosened up a bit after a while, but we girls didn’t want to get caught on campus wearing a skirt that was considered too short.”

“I didn’t think college girls wore skirts anymore.”

“That was over ten years ago,” Diane insisted. “Things have changed since then.”

Noting that Diane was no longer afraid of him, David continued his questioning. “I heard that Karen met her husband while in school. Is that where you met your husband?”

“Karen and Phil started dating during our junior year. Once they got together, it was all over for her. She was in love at once. I met Ted in my senior year. He was a graduate student. We met at a Baylor football game.”

“You got married after graduation?” he asked.

“Yes, we did. We got married about a month after graduation and moved to Dallas. Ted took a job with a large accounting firm there. I found a job about a month later with an advertising firm located near DFW airport.”

“What are the chances that your husband was as dull as unbuttered toast?” David wanted to say but didn’t. “Your husband had a Master’s degree in Accounting?”

“He was a star in the accounting world,” she said with a frown. “I quickly found out that he didn’t have much of a sense of humor. But then, I’ve always been quite shy, so I wasn’t unhappy with him.”

“If you don’t mind me asking, what caused the two of you to split?”

“I’m afraid the reason is embarrassing,” Diane said in a whisper.

“You caught him fooling around with another woman,” David suggested.

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. It was something I did,” Diane said and blushed.

“He caught you fooling around?”

Diane quickly looked around to see if anyone might be listening. “Not that. He caught me masturbating.”

To say that David was shocked would have been an understatement. “You’re saying that your husband divorced you because you were ... pleasuring yourself?”

“He said it was deeply sinful and not something that could be ignored. He demanded that I promise to never do it again. When I wouldn’t, he packed a bag and left me. The next time I talked to him was when he called to say that he had engaged an attorney and was filing for divorce.”

David was stunned. He certainly didn’t know this lovely redhead but found it hard to believe that someone in this day and age could discover a problem with masturbation.

“You’re kidding me, right?” he asked?

“Why would you think I was kidding?”

“I don’t think I know a woman over sixteen that doesn’t rub one out from time to time. I just can’t imagine a man leaving his wife over such a thing,” David told her. “This is none of my business, but I’ll ask anyway. Did you two have a reasonable sex life as man and wife?”

“Having never been with anyone other than Ted, I don’t know that I could answer that question. I don’t know what would be considered reasonable.” Diane lowered her voice to a whisper again. “We had sex once a week just about every week we were married. The only exception was when I was having my period.”

“And I suppose it was always missionary?” he asked.

“Ted insisted it was the only way to have sex. Any other way was sinful.”

“Remind me not to send my daughter to Baylor,” David said as he finished his drink in one long swallow.

“Do you have a daughter?” Diane quickly asked.

As he was standing, David said, “I’m mot exactly married. When I was, we never had children. I was making a joke, I guess. I’m going to get another drink. What would you like?”

Diane held up a half-full glass of white wine.

“Don’t go away,” he grinned. “I’ll be right back.”

While getting drinks at the bar, Karen walked past David, and he stopped her.

“What’s the story on your red-headed friend?” he asked.

“She’s lovely, isn’t she? Maybe a little young for you, David.”

“Is she on the level?” he asked, avoiding her suggestion. “She told me her husband left her because he caught her masturbating.”

“Oh my,” Karen said with a big smile. “She must have really taken to you, David. She had been divorced for over six months before she would admit it to me, and almost a year before she told me why. You must be some sweet talker.”

“I doubt that,” he laughed. “So, it’s a true story?”

“I believe it is,” Karen said as she nodded her head. “Please keep it up. If she’s said that much to you, I’d like you to encourage her some more. She’s kept herself locked up since the divorce. She needs to meet the real world.”

David wondered what Karen meant by ‘the real world,’ but determined to dig a little deeper with this lovely, shy woman. When he handed her a fresh glass of wine, David noticed that she had finished the drink in her hand.

As he sat down, Diane spoke. “You’ve asked me questions, so it must be my turn now. Are you married? I don’t see a ring.”

“I suppose that, technically, I am married. My wife and I separated over ten years ago, but never bothered to get a divorce.”

“Why not get a divorce if you don’t live together?”

“I don’t have an answer for you,” he admitted. “It was just never a priority. We lived and worked in Miami. I was offered a great job in Dallas and accepted it. Kelly, my wife, had an excellent job and didn’t want to move. Truth be told, we were living separate lives anyway. We hadn’t had sex in several years. I just packed up and left. I don’t think I’ve even spoken to Kelly in at least five years.”

“How long were you married?”

“Must be twenty or twenty-one years,” David said as he tried to remember when they married. “We were both professionally motivated. I think we both thought that having a spouse could help our careers. I doubt that we were ever truly in love. Kelly is a lovely woman and exceptionally bright.”

“Do you think you’ll ever get divorced?” Diane asked.

“I suppose we would if it became necessary.”

“Do you date?”

David laughed. “I’m a little old to be dating. I have an occasional evening or an outing with a lady of choice, but not many.”

Diane was observing her new friend and trying to decide why such a handsome man wasn’t on every single woman’s shopping list. He was at least six feet tall and appeared to be very fit. David had blue eyes that seemed to twinkle when he smiled. It had been a long time since she had seen a man that attracted her attention like this man did. She’d even blurted out the secret of her divorce within five minutes of meeting him. How could a man this sexy not have women hanging on to him?

What David didn’t bother to tell Diane was that he had a friend with benefits. Soon after arriving in the Dallas area, he had met a slightly younger woman who had a situation close to David’s. After meeting at a few parties, she ended an evening in his bed. Since then, they had spent many mutually satisfying nights together. Shelly could be described as slightly kinky, never failing to keep David’s interest.

Over the next hour, Diane and David became better acquainted, with him making several trips to refresh their drinks at the bar. After her fourth glass of wine, David decided that she had loosened up. Diane appeared totally relaxed and talking freely. He decided that his new friend was actually beautiful when she smiled. David was mesmerized by her large brown eyes.

When Diane excused herself to go to the ladies’ room, David finally had an opportunity to get a look at her body. While her dress was less than flattering, he could see that in the right clothes, she would be an absolute knock-out. Looking at his watch, David saw that he had stayed longer at the party than planned. Shelly would be at his apartment shortly, and he needed to get there.

Walking in the direction Diane had gone, he met her in the hallway. She looked up at him and smiled. Without giving his actions a thought, David put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him, pressing his lips to hers. The kiss didn’t last long, but it ran volts of electricity through both of them.

When the kiss ended, David smiled, saying, “I have to leave, but I want to see you again, Diane. Would you give me your telephone number?”

“If you’ll give me another kiss, I’ll give you my email address too.”

David put his hands on her face and gave Diane another kiss, this one longer with a hint of tongue.

Opening her purse, she pulled out a business card. Handing it to David, she said, “I hope you’ll call. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you.”

“Oh, I’ll call,” he assured her. “Don’t doubt it.” Turning, David said, “I just have to thank our hosts. I’ll talk to you soon.”

Diane watched him walk away and muttered, “I hope so.”

An hour later, he pulled into his private parking space at his high rise apartment building. Locking his Cadillac, David spotted Shelly’s car in a spot reserved for visitors. As he walked toward it, David saw her get out of her car and wait for him.

As he neared, Shelly said, “You kept me waiting.”

“How did you pass the time?” he asked with a wry smile.