The cougar stalks the watering hole, desperate with hunger. Her wound is old — but deep — from a hunt gone horribly awry in her youth. She seeks out the weak and the injured — the easy prey that will not put up a dangerous fight.

"Yes, I'm at the bar, Jackie. I told you that I was going to go have a drink." Dave paused and held the phone away from his ear, his wife's voice overcoming the noise of the bar to still reach him despite the inch or so of open air.

"Well, you could have come with me." Another loud, angry retort blasted through the phone. "We didn't have to come here. We could have gone anywhere that I could get a drink. I had a hard day, and I needed..."

Dave looked at the phone when it clicked, and then pushed a button with a scowl when he saw that she had indeed hung up on him. He slipped the phone back into his jacket pocket, drained the last of his beer, and called, "Give me another one."

Her prey chosen, the cougar creeps in. She must watch carefully, waiting for the perfect moment. One mistake, and her hunt will fail. She will return to her den hungry if she reveals herself too soon. Her prey will bolt, and she lacks the energy for a prolonged chase. Her wound is too painful for that.

Dave took another long draw of his beer, and glanced over as someone sat down at the bar a couple of stools away. He couldn't help but take notice of her, dressed as she was. A short, black skirt revealed long expanses of very attractive leg, ending in heels. Her tight, low-cut top accentuated her ample breasts, revealing the valley between them.

"Can I have a Cosmo? Thanks."

Her voice had a quality that he could only call sensual. Dave quietly, almost silently snorted, and took another pull of his beer. He remembered when his wife had talked like that, as opposed to shrieking. He remembered when she'd dressed that way for him. His eyes flickered back to the woman, her breasts like a magnet to them. His wife had never had tits that big.

She took a sip of her drink, and Dave noticed her full lips, which left a crimson imprint upon the glass when she put it back down and smoothed her long, dark hair back off her left shoulder. He had no idea that he was paying so much attention to her until their eyes locked for a second, and she smiled.

The cougar's heart races as adrenaline surges through her. The danger and anticipation awaken her senses. Her hunger surges, urging her to action, but she is not new to the hunt. She resists, knowing that a swift, but unplanned strike is rarely successful.

"Hi," she said, still smiling.

Dave acknowledged her with a nod and responded, "Hello."

"This is my first time here. Is this the normal crowd?"

"More or less," Dave answered. "I've been coming here for years. It gets a bit crowded if there's a band."

"I've been looking for a new place." A sudden surge in the noise from a large group breaking out in laughter forced her to raise her voice to be heard. "A little loud, but not too bad," she said with a laugh as she picked up her drink and moved to the adjacent stool. "Marie," she offered, touching the upper swell of her right breast.

"Dave," he responded, unconsciously keeping his left hand — and the wedding ring there — hidden from view.

Marie sipped her drink and said, "You need somewhere to get away after a long day at work."

"Don't I know it," Dave said, and shook his head a little as he chuckled.

"To drinking away the idiots you work with," Marie offered, raising her glass, still wearing her infectious smile.

"Cheers," Dave agreed, raising his glass as well and drinking when she did. He knew she was flirting, and that he should know better than to go along with it, but it was making him feel good. That was the whole reason he'd come out tonight, and he figured that it was harmless.

Marie asked, "Do you play pool?"

"A little. I used to be pretty good."

"Feel like a game? I'm itching to play, but guys get the wrong idea when a girl walks back there alone — you know?"

He knew he shouldn't, but Dave was already inconspicuously removing his wedding ring and slipping it into his pocket under the guise of checking for change only a second after she finished. "Sure, why not."

"Great," Marie said, her smile growing wider. She spun on the stool and stood, cocking her hip slightly to the side.

Dave stood as well, and the pair walked back to the billiards room.

Her prey is weak, its thoughts upon its infirmities rather than the ever-present dangers of the world. The cougar senses her prey's weakened will, and vigilance. She moves still closer, her muscles tensing, coiling to strike.

Dave fought to keep his eyes in his head as his leave forced her to bend low over the table for her shot. He could see straight down her top, revealing hints of a pale yellow, lacy bra beneath, holding her over-ripe breasts contained.

Marie sank her ball, but to avoid a scratch, she once again had to let the cue ball drift into an unwelcome spot on the table. Dave stepped aside as she walked around the table to line up her next, very difficult shot. This time, he stood only a foot away as she bent, giving him an incredible view of her ass in her short skirt. Only the balls clanking together snapped him out of his trance this time.

"Shoot," Marie said as the six stopped just short of the pocket. "I should have played it safe. A blind man can make that shot."

"You were close, though," Dave said, trying to take his mind off of his swelling erection and the vivid images of her bent over the pool table in his head. "If you'd made that one, you could have run the table on me."

"I didn't though," Marie said with a laugh, just before Dave easily sunk the six.

"Leave it so she had to bend over the table again," a man at the next table said, prompting laughter and agreement from his friends around him.

Dave's expression hardened, and he scowled at the group as he walked around the table for his next shot. He smiled again moments later when Marie rolled her eyes and made a quick, dismissive gesture.

"That skirt was any shorter, and she'd need another hairdo," another of the men remarked, prompting more laughter.

"Bet she doesn't need airbags in her car, either."

Dave growled as he sank the seven, hitting it a little harder than he'd intended, but not messing up his line on the eight by much. He started to turn toward them, but Marie's hand on his arm stopped him.

"Don't worry about them. Let's just finish the game."

Her touch set off an electric current surging through his body that centered in his half-swollen manhood. The continuing laughter and crude remarks prompted him to sink the last two balls in short order, winning the game.

Marie had already hung up her cue when Dave did the same. Dave felt a little light-headed when she entwined her arm with his as they left the billiard's room. The scent of her perfume was intoxicating, a mixture of sweetness and musk.

Once out of sight of the doorway, on their way back to the bar, Marie let her arm slip from his. "I hope you didn't mind me doing that. Those guys were starting to creep me out a little, and I thought it might discourage them."

"No, that's fine. They were starting to piss me off. God, I hope I never acted like that."

"I doubt you did. I get the feeling that you're twice the man that they could ever be." Her voice took on a whimsical, damsel-in-distress quality as she added, "Thank you for defending my honor."

Dave couldn't help but laugh at that, a deep, belly laugh the likes of which he hadn't had in a long time. "No problem."

Marie glanced up at the clock and sighed. "One more drink, and I guess I should head for home."

Dave felt a sinking feeling in his chest, though it carried a twinge of conscience with it as well. "Me too," he responded, though he really had no desire to return home to the inevitable fight.

The pair lingered over their drinks, recounting short stories of pool games past, and then Marie stood with another sigh. "Well, I guess I should be going. This was fun."

"I had a good time, too," Dave said, a little more of the regret that he felt creeping into his voice than he'd intended.

Marie glanced toward the billiards room, and Dave followed her gaze to see the group of men who'd harassed her talking to each other, looking her way, and rising as if they planned to leave as well.

Other hunters seek a meal as well, but they are young and inexperienced. The cougar's hunt is not ruined, however. Her prey is further distracted by the clumsy efforts of the other hunters. She knows that now is the time to separate her choice from the herd.

"Could you walk me out?" Marie whispered as her eyes again darted toward the men walking out another exit.

"Sure. Those guys look like they're up to no good. I'm half tempted to call the police."

"I don't want to make a scene, but I'm a little frightened to go out alone, knowing that they're out there." She held out her hand to him and asked, "Do you mind?"

Dave took her hand, her touch and her scent once again making his head swim. The pair walked to the exit, and Dave saw the men sitting on their motorcycles, watching the door. One of them pointed when he and Marie stepped outside.

"Where's your car?"

"Over there to the left, in the second row. It's a white Focus."

"I see it." Dave then laughed. "You're parked right next to me. That's my Saturn."

"Isn't that weird?"

"Really," Dave agreed as he walked her to her car.

The motorcycles started up just as Marie unlocked her car. She started a little upon hearing the sound and said, "I hate to ask, but could you follow me home? I'm really starting to get scared."

"Don't worry, I was going to offer if you didn't ask. Those guys look like they're drunk out of their minds. Who knows what they might do?"

"Thank you so much," Marie said as she opened her door and sat down.

Dave got in his car as well, and followed her out of the lot. His brow furrowed as he saw the motorcycles pull out behind him.

The drunks on their bikes remained close, often speeding up to drive right next to Marie's car. When one of them noticed Dave pretending to talk on his cell while scowling at them, they backed off and remained behind him, though they continued to follow.

Marie turned into a motel parking lot, and Dave raised his eyebrows. A moment later, he noticed the police car leaving that same lot, and understood. He turned in behind her and pulled up next to her car. The bikers had slowed down as if to turn, but changed their minds upon seeing the police car.

Marie gestured for Dave to come to her car once he put his in park. He got out of his car and waited for her to roll down the window, but she leaned across the seat and opened the car door instead.

"With the way those guys were acting, I was afraid to go anywhere near my house. I saw the police car, and hoped that would scare them off."

Dave sat down, the scent of her perfume even stronger and more difficult to ignore within the confined space. "Good idea. It looks like it worked."