Part 12: Face Time with Tabby

When the plane landed in Cleveland, my Blackberry had five new voice messages and two e-mails. I assumed they were from Alix then much to my surprise discovered they were all from Tabitha. The situation was simple enough, but disappointing. There'd been an emergency with Tabby's daughter Sierra. Instead of picking me up at the airport, Tabby asked me to either stay the night in Cleveland or to drive to Warren on my own. I drove to William Mckinley's home town.

I tried to call Tabby back, but she wasn't picking up and I felt it best to respect her family situation. This wasn't at all what I'd imagined, but I was still exhausted from my encounter with Stefani so maybe it was for the best. I checked into a motel, fell asleep for a few hours, then caught up with my No Strings e-mails. The first thread to catch my attention on the discussion board read, "Is Charley some sort of Tiger in bed?"

For three months, people had commented that my "performance" reports seemed absurd. An eighteen year old might come five times in a day, but not some middle-aged man especially one who insists that he doesn't use pharmaceutical enhancement. I didn't blame them, I hadn't thought it possible either, but how many middle-aged men get the opportunity to live out fantasies with the level of women from my challenge. In fact, I still wondered if Nikki was some sort of robot designed specifically for my pleasure. I'm also not sure how many people have ever come across a "perfect fit" for their favorite sex act. I tried to post that all the credit went to the extraordinary partners I'd found through the challenge.

From the beginning there had been any number of knock-off sites for the No Strings Challenge, many of them tried to charge for membership and had a horde of pop ups on them. None of the others seemed to take off except for one run by BBW Dom, my online sparring partner. The only thing Dom and I seemed to agree about was that a guy can come five times in a night if you happen to press all his buttons.

I suspect the copycat sites didn't work because the Bella Luna society refused to cooperate with any of them. I didn't know if there were similar secret societies for aficionados of other forms of sexual activity, but Bella Luna was unusual in so many ways that I suspect it was unique. According to Alix who researched the thing to death, Bella Luna went back at least seven hundred years to Venetian courtesans (hence the Italian name) who set up a guild of their own to pass on and protect the most intimate secrets of their trade. Over time the society had opened to "civilian" women, but the group took a strong stance in favor of the ethical exchange of sexual favors for money.

I had sent Dani an e-mail along the lines of "Why me?", but her only response was "You clearly love and respect women and there's something about your cock."

I smiled all over, but Dani absolutely refused to discuss it beyond that. She did, however, share the fact that some of the things that had happened were rare, but possible in the presence of a "perfect fit".

I opened the second Tiger thread and was shocked to find dozens of references to Tiger Woods, the golfer/philanderer who was now accused of taking more strokes than reported on his official scorecard. A bunch of the comments were about how attractive Elin, Tiger's wife, was and asking me if I could get her to participate in the challenge. "Revenge fuck would be so hot!" they said.

I explained that I already had one sports trophy wife in my challenge in Vicky, but if Elin were to e-mail me on her own I'd certainly consider it if the couple legally separated. The other more fascinating thread was a claim that Tiger had been running his own No Strings Challenge.

I knew that Frank had hung out with Tiger in the past, but we didn't talk about more confidential stuff. He had mentioned once, "You'd be shocked at what some of these guys do. There are just so many opportunities and you're away from home so much." It struck me that Tiger wouldn't necessarily be any different and it matched Stefani's comment that Asian men were hornier as a rule.

I finally posted, "Look everyone, I think I need to shut down this thread. I don't know Tiger Woods, his wife, or any of his alleged girlfriends. I know we chat here from time to time about stuff in general, but there's plenty about whatever he's been doing in the regular media. I don't know anything you don't. Can you talk about it on some other website?"

What I didn't say was that the ladies of the No Strings Challenge were clearly a cut above the women the Tiger or a Cheetah had been fooling with, at least the ones the press had found. In particular, Audrey and Stef were several levels beyond Tiger's pornstar girlfriends.

I checked my hit numbers, healthy despite the fact that so much time passed between write ups. I looked at the polls in the forum and Tabby was still in the lead. Actually, Alix wasn't even second. When she dropped to fourth after Audrey, Alix threatened to hack the site, but her popularity started to recover after the whole stepsister bit. (People are just so kinky). I started to post my report about Stefani.

I'd gotten past the point where I reached for my zipper every time I thought about Tabby. Ever since I'd left porn valley, Stefani and Nikki had cut in to my Tabby daydreams. Oddly, I rarely if ever fantasized about Alix. In addition, Tabby's style outside the challenge was minimal contact so I think the mystery of her availability had something to do with that. In her words, She didn't want to mix up the Challenge with our getting to know each other in more conventional ways. This trip was supposed to be our first step towards exploring actual emotional intimacy. As if it really were a first date, we even agreed not to have sex during my stay in Ohio."

At the time, I didn't know that Tabby at least occasionally had sex on a professional basis. I tried to call Alix who likely on purpose wasn't answering her phone. I instant-messaged Dom.

"Charley, what happened? Did that little dick of yours finally grow enough to seek out a real woman?"

"No, just an unexpected development."

"Charley, you can't let those cheerleader types keep giving you the runaround. I've warned you that even when they put out they're still cockteasers at heart."

"I don't think it's like that this time Dom."

"Guys are suckers. The sad thing about it is they like being suckers. Let me guess which one cancelled? I bet it's Tabby."

"You're right, but not about the sucker part."

"Are you sure? If I get a guy like you, I don't even let him touch his own dick let alone me touching it until he's earned the privilege. Any man who loves being teased the way you do is secretly a submissive."

"Dom, do you have to be so cynical?"

"Pretty much every man I meet is keeping a secret."

"But not all men are subs."

"But you are, Charley. I know this sort of thing. You remember when Alix tied you up?"

"It was horrifying."

"But you had a boner the whole time."

"Have you ever seen Alix naked? Of course, I had an erection."

"And I bet whatever you did for the next twenty four hours was really special."

"That had more to do with Dani than any mind game."

"What makes you so sure? Between Alix and Tabby it's all been mind games. I mean stepsister my fat ass."

"So Dom, do you like any of the ladies I've met?"

"Yeah, I do."

"So?"

"Well, it's way more fun to make you squirm wondering who it is than telling you."

"Okay, if I happen to guess. You're going to answer my next question straight."

"Sure!"

"It's Audrey."

"So what's your question, Charley? It's not like that was real tricky for you to guess. Audrey's the one who's in total control. Alix is way too into the girlfriend thing and I don't even know what to say about Tabby. That and I think Audrey's really hot."

"That just happens to be my question."

"Your question being what?"

"Is Tabby in this for the right reasons?"

"What is this the Bachelor? Do I look like Chris Harrison?"

"Dom, can I tell you something in confidence?"

"You mean that Tabby's a hooker?"

"Fuck me! Am I the only person who doesn't know that?"

"Not too many women have references from lovers do they? And why would she have met you in Arlington, Virginia if she lives in Ohio? You, obviously, weren't the only guy she met there."

"So she's just playing with me?"

"Maybe not. I mean you're not rich other than what you've made from site traffic. Whatever boost she was going to get for her rate, she would have gotten just from that first meeting. Look Charley, it comes down to this. Either you can deal with Tabby being or having been a prostitute or you can't. She's definitely never claimed to be the Virgin Mary."

"So this is like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman?"

"I don't know about her, but there used to be plenty of rumors about Demi Moore and Michelle Pfeiffer."

"Dom, it obviously doesn't matter for the challenge. Three of the women in it are porn stars and it sounds like Gina's modeling crosses in and out."

"Charley, you've got to understand that beautiful women and really wealthy men occupy a different sort of world. Beautiful girls learn they can get pretty much whatever they want by seeming available even when they're not actually available. Rich guys in America can buy what they want. It may not be a particular woman, but eventually they find one."

"And you know this because?"

"Charley, you total asshole! Are you suggesting that I'm not a beautiful woman?"

Blood rushed to my face as I tried to type an apology."

"Charley, I'm just busting your chops. No, I'm not conventionally hot. You don't think I know that?"

"You scared me there Dom."

"And I bet you started to get a bone."

"Well, I wouldn't go that far."

"I don't care. If I caught yours, I'd have to throw it back for being under the limit."

"I guess we're even."

"Hey, I'm just getting started. Look, this may shock you but the richer and more powerful the guy, the more he's into being sexually dominated. A lot of my gentlemen callers fish in both pools. It's just their secret that mine is the one that gets them off. They only see the stick ladies because they're expected to."

"Wow! So, you seem to be saying that the further I get with the challenge, the more I'm going to head your way."

"I doubt that."

"Why's that?"

"Well for one, I hate giving blow jobs. My neck hurts and like most women I'd just as soon have battery acid in my mouth. I hardly ever have sex with my friends by the way. Different folk are just wired differently. Btw, I have clients coming over in a few minutes."

"Clients?"

"Yeah, one of them used to be vice president."

"Of what company?"

"I keep photos in my safe deposit box. I haven't had to work a regular job since 1991. Between him and the king of the Masters, I'm pretty much set."

"No way!"

"Whatever you want to know, you better ask it now. Everyone's going to be tied up here pretty soon. You can't imagine how much fun it is to dress Dick up as a girl and make him sit on a big black dildo while I alternate between calling him Osama and Obama."

"Okay, if you were me, would you keep seeing Tabby?"

"Yeah, but I'd also be prepared to have my heart broken. With ladies like Tabby, guys in your situation either win big or they lose huge. Selling it really fucks with your head. You know what I'd do if I were you?"

"No."

"Date some regular ladies, you know the sort you might have a chance with in normal life. Basically, you've been on this diet of high cholesterol sex partners. If you were a regular guy when this started, you won't be anymore if you keep this up."

"And do I want that?"

"Maybe you do, maybe you don't, but reality checks never hurt."

I didn't sleep well and when there were still no messages from Tabby I was sure that I'd overdrawn my account at the reality bank. A big part of me just wanted to see her, but I suspected even if things worked out this weekend that Tabby was going to be distracted and that this was hardly the time to bring up the hooker thing. Just as I finished the free motel breakfast, my cell rang.

"Charley, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. You're a mom first and that's a good thing."

"Sierra got in trouble at school. She was caught in the boy's room with some guys smoking pot."

"How old is she again?"

"Thirteen. I know it's young for stuff like that and it's not the pot that worries me."

"It's the boy's bathroom thing."

"At least they were clothed when they got caught."

"Kids experiment."

"Charley, you know I haven't led a conventional personal life. I don't lie to Sierra, but I also don't tell her everything. Now that she's this age, I don't know how much she's figuring out and I haven't been able to talk to her about it. I've been too scared."

"Tabby, I'm sure you're a great mom. She's lucky to have you. We all have secrets. Look at Vicky and Frank. She's a great mom and wife whether or not she has sex with random men." I didn't mention that I knew about Tabby's hooking.

"I didn't expect our weekend to turn into this."

"Tabby, I'm here to help in any way you need it. If that means my turning around and heading home, that's fine. If you want a friend, I'm here for you."

"Would you mind waiting one more day Charley? I have to find Sierra another school by mid week. I don't want to waste your weekend, but I do want to see you."

"I'll just find something to do in Warren."

"Charley, believe me I'm going to make it up to you."

There was a flirtatious lilt in Tabby's voice.

I fell asleep again until noon. There was a coffee shop across the street and I didn't feel like exploring. How was I to know that it was the busiest coffee shop in Northeast Ohio? I was just about to look for another restaurant when the hostess tapped me on the shoulder,"If you're willing to share a table for two we can serve you now."

She led me to a booth near the kitchen and by the time I got my water, a dark-haired woman in her late-thirties was being seated across from me. She was in grey slacks and a red blouse and was carrying a portfolio, clearly a business traveler. A year ago, I would have been excited being near a woman like this. A day after Stefani, my little head was still in a coma.

She held out her hand. "My name's Chelsea. I wanted to thank you for sharing. I hate waiting when I'm on the road."

"Charley and I'm happy to share. In fact, I feel like I lucked out."

"Really?" she winked.

"You know how sometimes you get a middle seat on a plane next to a three hundred pound man with a cough."

"A little too well, I fly all the time ... So have you been here before?"

"To Warren or Oh Charley's?"

"I thought you were Charley." Chelsea tapped my hand.

I blushed. "No, actually this is my first time in Ohio."

"Me too."

"Business?"

She touched her portfolio. "I guess it was a little obvious. Meeting cancelled."

"Mine did too more or less. Where are you from?"

"Northern California."

We lived about an hour from one another. Chelsea was in Ohio to do an appraisal of a company that built dashboards for cars that had stopped selling this year. On Friday, the managers had claimed not to be ready for her visit because they knew that Chelsea's visit was the first step towards putting them out of jobs.

The checks came and I grabbed both."

"Charley, thank you, but the company pays for mine."

"I insist. My mother told me that when you're out with an attractive woman to never let her pay. You don't want to cross my mother do you?"

"That depends."

"On what?"

"If you're expecting me to meet your mother," she blushed, "Oh God, that came out wrong. I must sound desperate."

"Not at all," I left a twenty and offered her my hand.

She covered it with both of hers.

"Look, Charley. I don't want you to think I do this all the time, but we're staying in the same motel and you said you were a 49er fan too. I was wondering if you might want to watch the game with me? It would be nice to have someone to hang out with."

"I'd love to."

I stopped in my own room before joining Chelsea to brush my teeth. I had little doubt where this was headed, but I'd also never picked up a woman before. I know that sounds strange given the Challenge, but I really was an inept middle-aged guy just a few months ago. The fascinating thing was there'd been this whole Tao of Steve thing happening all through lunch. Where I would have been nervous in the situation, my date with Stefani on Thursday night had so drained me that I wasn't thinking about sex at all around Chelsea which made this the easiest pick up of my life. My only worry was that I was so sexually relaxed that I wasn't sure I'd perform when called on. I suppose it was still perfectly possible that we'd just wind up watching football on tv, but I had reached a level of sexual consciousness that allowed me to see and live possibilities that I'd never imagined before.

Chelsea had on jeans, a football jersey, and she'd redone her makeup and let her hair down so that it hung below her shoulders more or less sexy casual.

"Charley, the game's not on for three more hours. We're in the other time zone. If you just want to hang out though, you're welcome. I have a bottle of wine."

I took Chelsea by the hand and grinned.

"I bet we can find something else to do."

Next thing I knew, I was kissing her. It really was as easy as that.

Chelsea was definitely a good kisser and she kept running her hands through my hair. I slipped a hand underneath her red jersey to check out her footballs and she didn't push me away. I kicked off my shoes.

After some light petting, I began to pull off Chelsea's top. She clearly took care of her body. She had medium to large breasts and soft skin. She wasn't Stefani or Nikki, but Chelsea was plenty cute by regular world standards. I bent forward to kiss and lick her breasts.

"Charley, I figured if you were going to pay for lunch the least I could do was treat you to dessert."

We had stripped the covers off the bed and I had taken off my shirt. Chelsea appeared to be enjoying my attention to her breasts. She turned off the light next to the bed and started to reach for a condom.

"Uh, are we ready for that yet?" I whispered. I was aware that part of me wasn't ready.

"Oh, sure we can wait." Chelsea kissed me on the lips.

She smelled nice.

"I just wanted to explore a bit more."

I reached for her jeans as she unsnapped them. Her thighs were a little thick, but I was certainly happy with the fact that her landing strip was neatly trimmed. I began to kiss my way down Chelsea's stomach only to find her body stiffening.

"Charley, I don't usually do that."

"You don't?"

"I get really self-conscious."

"About what?"

"You know, the odor and I hate my thighs."

I sat straight up.

"Chelsea, you have a beautiful body and I absolutely know that you don't smell."

I kissed her softly on the lips. For several minutes, I just held her close after the two of us finished undressing.

"I'd love to go down on you, but I'm not going to pressure you to do anything. Do you understand?"

Chelsea smiled weakly, "I think my last couple boyfriends were jerks."

"Do me a favor young lady. Lay back for a second?"

She did. I switched on the light, slipped into the bathroom and returned with a hand mirror.

"Charley what are you doing? You're not some sort of perv are you?"

"Just in a good way."

I knelt down beside her and held the magnifying side of the mirror near her forearm.

"Chelsea, I want you to look."

"Okay?" the dubious was still in her voice.

"You have lovely arms."

I stroked and kissed Chelsea's forearm. Repeated the process with her upper arms and shoulders, spent extra time on her ample breasts as we watched closely as her nipples hardened. We looked at every detail of Chelsea's face in the mirror.

"You're a beautiful young woman, that's what I see."

She began to relax. Eventually I made my way from her toes, to her ankles, to her thighs.

"You've got wonderfully smooth skin and honestly, you smell really sweet."

I massaged her thighs slowly and Chelsea's breathing loosened as my fingers worked their way towards her genitals.

"Can I have the privilege of touching you here?" I pointed on the reflection.

Chelsea nodded. I stroked lightly at first with the tips of my fingers then slipped my hand gently between her legs. She was damp.

"Does that feel okay?"

"It feels better than okay, Charley."

I caressed ever so slowly with my right hand while I intermittently kissed her thighs and stomach.

"We don't have to do anything else. I'll do this with you all night if you like."

I licked just above her mound.

"Charley, that really feels good."

I planted a soft kiss in the middle of her strip of pubic hair.

She stroked my forearm as I dropped my mouth to its destination and kissed her lower lips.

"Charley, I just want to warn you. It's been a couple years since a guy did this with me."

"A guy?"

"Well, I got drunk one night with a girlfriend."

"How was that?"

"Good. She just didn't like it when I wasn't ready to return the favor."

I ran my tongue up towards the area around Chelsea's clitoris.

"I'm not finding any rust down here. In fact, you taste really good."

"It feels really good Charley."

I'm not sure that I'd ever worked this deliberately going down on a woman. I was enjoying being the guide instead of the guided and maybe even more important being the one who was making my partner feel beautiful and sexy.

I began to lick Chelsea as if her genitals were a flower opening to the warmth of the sun for the first time. Over the next twenty five minutes, I used every trick I knew from licking the alphabet to coordinating my fingers inside her vaginal opening with my tongue. Chelsea was clearly enjoying it, but she didn't come. Now and then, she would appear to be ramping up then lose the rhythm.

I'd gotten used to women who were very confident in their own sexual attractiveness. It wasn't so much that I knew how to make love to Alix, Vicky, Nikki, et al., they were simply comfortable enough with themselves to orgasm easily. Chelsea was on guard about rejection. She didn't want to be that "vulnerable" in ways neither of us could articulate. I didn't give up.

I squeezed her hand, had her close her eyes, massaged her feet and ankles, kept telling her what a good time I was having regardless of what happened. After a while, she tired of fighting off feeling good. Her stomach began to heave, her nipples turned pink, and I my finger began to squish inside of her. I wasn't going to be the Sissyphus of cunnilingus after all.

Chelsea's orgasm didn't last long, but it had the intensity of a seizure. After a couple minutes of disorientation, she pulled me up to her and began kissing me passionately. It felt great.

"I've never been with a man who could do that like you."

"It sounded like you've been with a few men who wouldn't do that."

"I can't believe that you just live an hour from me."

If I had anything resembling an erection at that point, whatever blood was running through there went cold.

"Well, I do travel a lot."

Chelsea kissed me on the cheek.

"Don't worry Charley, I get it. I'm pushing."

"No, no ... I'm glad you're from California too."

I realized that it was these kind of geeky moments with Chelsea that were the best thing about our afternoon. She was awkward with guys. It was real. I could relate.

"Charley, it's time for you to put it in me."

Did she really not notice? Chelsea reached again for the condom package.

"Uh?"

She looked down at my soft penis.

"Oops! Sorry Charley, I got a little ahead of myself."

She reached down with her fingers and pulled on it for a few seconds, but little Charley didn't respond.

"Don't you find me attractive Charley?"

Great! No pressure there.

"Of course, baby. I think I just got caught up in doing you."

Chelsea smiled wickedly, "And maybe you want a little payback?"

She licked her lips.

"Well, I don't normally do this my first time with a guy, but you are pretty special."

I suppressed my urge to ask her if she ever got second times with guys if she didn't give head. Chelsea began kissing her way down my chest.

"Just warn me if you're going to cum, okay."

It didn't start badly and I did get my erection back more or less as Chelsea took me in her mouth. As they say, there's no such thing as a bad blow job. Still, this might have qualified. Chelsea never got more of a third of me in her mouth and she had no idea how to use her tongue. Instead, she moved up and down on my cock mechanically and never made eye contact.

"That feels nice."

No more than four minutes in, Chelsea said, "Charley, my jaw's getting sore and I really want you in me."

I knew there was no way I was going to come. In fact, I was more worried that I was going to lose my erection mid-blow job. Chelsea put the condom on me. I went in easily, maybe too easily, I began to thrust and though she was making groaning sounds Chelsea didn't push back at all. In one realm, people prize the "girlfriend experience". In reality, this is what girlfriend sex was like for a lot of couples, something I knew too well pre-challenge.

Seven minutes later we were done. Chelsea kept kissing me and stroking my face after my orgasm (she didn't come close) and that honestly felt better than the actual sex.

"Charley, was it as good for you as it was for me?"

I nodded. "Way better than football."

She pinched me then asleep in my arms. I rather liked her and prior to the challenge would unquestionably have asked her out again likely hoping that our lack of sexual chemistry would fix itself. Still, I'd never worked that hard to please a woman and

have her reciprocate so half-heartedly physically. Eventually, Chelsea turned in her sleep. I kissed her on the cheek and slipped away after leaving a note with my e-mail address.

It struck me that Chelsea wasn't selfish at all. She simply didn't know any better. I even think she was convinced that she was talented orally. It didn't sound like many of her partners were especially skilled or generous as lovers either. Dom had suggested that I get a reality check and I'd just happened to get one that afternoon. If this was life outside the challenge, I'd do whatever it took to keep Tabby around.

When I got to my room, I found a basket of pineapple at my door and a note. Most exhausting day of my life, but Sierra's going to be okay. Looking forward to picking you up for breakfast. Need to get some rest. Hugs, Tabby.

I was dressed by seven in the morning. Chelsea left me a text saying that she'd had to get to her appointment, but that she was looking forward to seeing me again. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility. I still had this fear that one morning I'd wake up from the No Strings Challenge and be left an even lonelier middle-aged guy who'd only tasted paradise. I was about to text Chelsea back when Tabby showed up at my door.

She was wearing black leather pants and a white blouse with the top two buttons undone to reveal a black lace bra. In other words, she was dressed for a date and looked fucking hot.

"Welcome to Ohio, Charley!"

She wrapped her arms around me, pressed into me, and kissed me on the lips.

"Thanks for being patient. It means a lot to me and I know we have a lot to talk about. Stef texted me."

I nodded. I wasn't quite ready to talk about it.

"How's Sierra?"

I didn't want to pull away from Tabby. I'd forgotten how intoxicating her mere presence was. Mostly, I wanted to pull her back through the door into my room and rip her clothes off.

"She's okay. We found a program in Utah where she's going to stay for a bit and she just landed this morning."

"Wow!"

"I know that sounds sudden and extreme, but the psychologist recommended that we have a little time away from one another. Being a single mom hasn't always been easy, but I think it's been harder on her in a lot of ways. She's a great kid, but she's so impulsive and she found out what you found out."

"Shit, how?"

"I have a cellphone for it and left it out by accident. It rang when I was away from my desk in my home office and she picked it up. She sort of figured it out from there."

"I'm sorry."

'Don't be. It was going to happen one of these days. The shrink suggested that Sierra and I take a little time away from one another. We've always been really close and at first it was the only way I had to support her and for me to finish school."