by Ian Tremblay
"Come on over and sit down, Diane." He pointed to the spot beside him on the couch. Without hesitation, she walked toward him and sat close to him, letting her hand fall on his thigh again and looking him straight into the eyes.
"I like your place, Richard," she said while looking around. He took her hand in his and pulled her gently to him, and she did not resist. Their lips met very lightly for a moment and then, they plunged into each other with all the pent-up sexual tension that the evening had produced. They devoured each other's lips, and Diane put her hand on his crotch and began to massage him slowly. He lifted her tank top off of her in a flash and began to fondle her breasts. From then on, there was no return possible. They made love three times that night. Diane was on fire; she wanted to be sure that she would leave a lasting impression.
The next morning when Richard woke up, he turned and saw Diane naked and curled up beside him. His head was thumping and he felt bad. "Oh God," he thought. "What have I done?" He looked at the clock, which indicated 10:45. "Shit, I've missed class." Diane moved a bit and opened her eyes,
"Hi, Richard, sleep well?"
"Yeah, okay, but my head feels like someone banged it with a bat." He sat on the side of the bed holding his head between his hands. Diane stroked his back. He got up slowly and put his boxers on.
"I had a course at nine. I missed a class."
"Me too, Richard, but it was worth it. You're quite a lover, you know." Diane knew how to work the male ego. Richard turned toward her and smiled, happy that she should confirm his sexual prowess.
"Well, to be honest with you, you're quite something yourself, Diane. That was exceptionally good last night." A frown came on his face. "I mean, I wish we hadn't done it, you know, because of Linda and all that, but as much as I hate to admit it, I loved every second of it." Richard turned and walked toward the kitchen, and Diane slowly got out of bed.
"Hey look, Richard," she shouted from the living room as she picked up her clothes. "You don't have to worry about me, okay? We won't tell anyone about this, and it will be our little secret, okay?" Richard sat down gloomily at the kitchen table with an orange juice in his hand.
"Thanks, Diane, I really appreciate that. That's really nice of you," he shouted back. She got dressed quickly and went to join him in the kitchen.
"Everything's cool, okay?" She leaned down and hugged him and kissed him on the lips.
"Yeah, okay."
"Don't worry, lover boy. Everything will be fine; you'll see."
"Thanks, Diane." He looked at her with sullen eyes. "So I'll see you around then, eh?"
"Yeah, you certainly will." She kissed him again and turned and began walking toward the door.
"Bye now." He watched her walk out, and she waved her hand above her head to him before closing the door behind her.
Richard put his elbows on the table and his head in his hands. He felt absolutely terrible. "I'm such a fucking prick," he said out loud. "I didn't' even call Linda last night. What am I going to say to her? Shit, shit, shit ..."
While Richard was hurting and generally feeling like hell and pondering what he would tell Linda, Diane was walking away smiling and skipping happily as if to music. Everything had worked out perfectly. She could not wait to put the rest of her plans in motion. "Soon, my lovable Richard, soon our little secret will have a life of its own. I'll see to that." Diane was elated, of course. The fact that she had stolen the password to his voicemail was an added bonus. For some reason Richard had carelessly jotted it down on a piece of paper and left it on the kitchen counter. Diane had spotted the paper when she had looked for his phone while he was in the bathroom. She had wanted to be sure that his phone was shut off while they were busy with each other's bodies. She called his voicemail and punched in the code. There were two messages that Linda had left from the night before. She deleted them. "Now, the fun begins." She laughed out loud, very happy with how things were going.
Meanwhile Richard sent Linda a cheerful text and worried about when he would call her, convinced that his treason would be apparent in his voice. He decided that he would call her later that afternoon when he knew she was in class.
"Hi, baby, it's me. Sorry I didn't call you last night. I went to the pub with some of the boys, and we got a bit drunk. Well actually, quite a bit drunk. My head feels like a truck hit it. Anyway, I've got to go now. I'll call you later, okay? Love you." He hung up, aware that his message had probably sounded a bit odd.
When Linda heard his message later that day, a strange feeling came over her. Something in his voice tipped her off. He didn't sound like his usual self. She was perplexed about that and about the fact that he had obviously not listened to her messages from the night before. Later that night, after they had talked for over an hour, she was still not totally reassured. She believed Richard when he told her that he never got the messages, but it irked her not to understand why. That night, it took her a long time to fall asleep.
The next day Linda decided she would go to Richard's football game that Saturday. She would have to take time off her part-time job, but she didn't care. She felt that she had to go, that it was important. She had decided that she would surprise Richard and show up unannounced. She had to see him, to touch him, to look into his eyes; maybe then the bizarre feeling in her gut would go away. She asked Peggy to come with her, and Peggy had enthusiastically accepted. She was more than happy to be of the trip, and she had jumped up and down in the hallway when Linda had asked her about it, excited at the perspective of a party weekend.
"Yeah, great, Linda, I'd love to go with you; oh, this is going to be so much fun!"
The girls had decided that they would drive in Peggy's car and figure out sleeping arrangements when they got there. Linda was very excited but also concerned and anxious. "What the hell am I concerned about?" she kept asking herself over and over again.
Meanwhile, Richard was tortured because of his escapade with Diane. He felt bloody awful, and it was the worst he had ever felt in his life. He felt dirty and that he had cheapened his relationship with Linda, and worst, he had lied to her, and it hurt him physically every time he thought about that. He couldn't get any of these thoughts out of his head, and he walked around campus with a frown on his face.
The next day Diane came and sat beside him in class; she was very cheerful, radiant, and dressed to kill.
"Oh hi, Richard, how are you, ready for the big game Saturday?"
"Yeah, I'm ready, Diane," he said, smiling sheepishly. He turned his head and stared blankly to the floor. He felt bad just looking at her, although he was convinced Diane was a genuinely decent person who meant nobody any harm. "Hell, she had proposed to keep the whole thing a secret; I mean, how many girls would do that now?" he surmised.
"I just feel a bit awkward, about, you know, the other night. I mean to be honest, I feel like shit, with Linda and all." He brought his head up and looked toward her, a discouraged look on his face. "Don't get me wrong, Diane, it's not you, really. I had a wonderful time and you're a great person and I like you a lot, but I still feel bad."
Just then the professor began his lecture. Diane looked at him with compassion, as if she were really concerned about his turmoil, and she put her hand on his and leaned over to his ear and whispered, "its okay, Richard. I'm your friend. I really like you. I don't want you to worry, okay?"
"Okay," he whispered back. "Thanks." He squeezed her hand.
Diane leaned over again, and still whispering, she said, "Richard, let's meet later after your practice and talk things over. I'll get some food and meet you at your place and we'll talk." She stared at him with her most innocent look; there was no way he could say no to her request. He felt she really wanted to be his friend and help him through these difficult moments. His naivety was absolute.
"Sure, Diane, okay, but you don't have to you know, I'll ..."
She put a finger to his mouth, "Hush now, say no more." She leaned in closer to him and her perfume invaded his nostrils. "I
want to, Richard. It's important that we talk about this and have a few laughs. Then you can concentrate on the game Saturday, nothing else matters, okay?"
"Sounds good," he whispered back, letting go of her hand and pretending to look for a page in his book.
Of course Diane prepared well for the evening. She wore a casual but very sexy outfit, and she was, as usual, impeccably done up. She checked Richard's voicemail every thirty minutes and erased a message from Linda asking him to call her back after practice. She got some takeout food and a good bottle of wine and sat in her car in front of his apartment waiting for him to come home.
Two minutes after he got home, she was at his door.
He opened the door and she strolled in with her arms full of bags and turned to face him.
"Hi, football star, I've got some food, some wine, and everything else we need." She pointed to the bags she was holding with her face. "Also, I'm in a very good mood, and I intend to cheer you up. What do you say?"
"Yeah, sounds great." Richard was a bit stunned that she was already there, but he went along. After all, he told himself, she had gone to a lot of trouble to get food and all the other stuff. He watched her walk across the room toward the kitchen and couldn't help but notice how sexy she was. Diane cleared the table and set it. She lit two candles that she had brought along for the ambiance and shut off his phone when he was in the bathroom. They ate, drank the wine, talked a lot, and had some good laughs about the silliest of things, and the atmosphere was relaxed. Richard had put on some great music, and the mood soon shifted to warm and sensual. The moment was begging for sex. Diane made the move; she literally jumped on him. He did not resist, maybe because of the wine, or the music, or the timing, or maybe just because he wanted to. They made love with the intensity of long-lost lovers. It was an impulse that they could not fight. It was stronger than them and had a life of its own, like spontaneous combustion. They fell asleep when they were finally spent, content and glued together as one.
By the time Richard got up the next morning, Diane was gone. She had an early class and had to pass by her room to get changed and pick up her school things. Richard felt bad but strangely not as bad as that first time. He took a shower and checked his voicemail; there was an irritated message from Linda asking him to call her.
"Shit," he muttered to himself as he hurriedly headed to his first class.
That Saturday morning Peggy and Linda drove toward Richard's college for the football game that afternoon. Linda still felt the strange vibe that she had been feeling for days. Richard did not call her as often, he never got her messages, he called at strange hours, and plus, his voice was different. She couldn't figure out what it was, but she was sure something was wrong. "I just hope I'm not being paranoid," she pondered.
"Hey, are you with me?" Peggy asked.
"Yes, of course I am, I was just thinking about Richard and how surprised he'll be. I can't wait to see him."
"Well, I hope he introduces me to some hunky football players. I could use some company, seeing as you'll be busy." She laughed heartily, her typical Peggy laugh, loud and loaded with life. It was contagious, and Linda broke out laughing too. The two of them got along fantastically well, so well that they could have been sisters. The laughter subsided, and Linda was staring out the car window when Peggy asked, "Hey Linda, I have a serious question to ask you, one that I've always been meaning to ask." Linda turned toward her.
"Oh yeah?"
"Yes, well, okay here it is. You are, as I am sure you are well aware of, a strikingly beautiful woman. I mean, I'm not a lesbian or anything, but you are beyond gorgeous, like real beauty, you know ..."
"Thanks, Peggy, you know ..." Peggy could sense that Linda was annoyed by the direction of the conversation, and she cut her off.
"Just let me finish, Linda, please?" Linda acquiesced by nodding her head, but she had a sour expression on her face.
"I mean, I see how all the guys at school, the professors, the maintenance men, and basically anything that wears pants, well anyway, I see how they devour you with their eyes. They are struck and stunned by you. Maybe you don't really notice it or you've become used to it, but I do. I have never seen anything like it, and what's fascinating is that you seem to be above it all, as if you didn't care and that it didn't matter. That is all to your merit, by the way. Anyway, here is my question. With your looks, which I repeat are exceptional, I mean, why did you not aspire to be an actress, a model, or I don't know, any career that would have put your beauty up front? It just seems to me that you were given this incredible gift at birth and that you refuse to bank on it or to use it for some reason." After a few seconds of silence, Linda answered.
"Well, first of all, Peggy, I never wanted to be an actress or model. I think that to do those jobs you have to be extremely vain and self-centered, two attributes that I do not particularly like in a person. Plus, to be an actress, well, that does require talent. It's not all about the looks, you know? Anyway, I don't have that talent, and it's just too much about the ego for my tastes. Anyway, I've always wanted to work with animals. It's been my dream and my ambition forever, so basically, I'm fulfilling my dreams. As for my looks, well, I've gotten used to how people react to my looks. I deal with it, and I try to be nice and polite to everyone. I don't abuse of my looks to get things or to make people do things I want them to do. I find that dishonest and devious. What can I say? I didn't ask to look this way. It's just the way things are. All I really want is to get an education, to have a job I love, and hopefully have a family of my own some day. I want to have a real life, one that has meaning and purpose and is filled with all the people I love. I don't think that that is too much to ask of life. What do you think, not very glamorous, eh?"
"No, not very glamorous, but who cares about glamour, eh? No, I think those are wonderful objectives, and they certainly are not too much to ask for. I'd be happy with all of that myself. Well anyway, if you ever change your mind Linda, you know, about using your looks and all that, can I be your manager?" She exploded with laughter as she said that, because she knew it was a silly thing to say, considering what Linda had just told her. Linda broke out laughing too, and they laughed to tears. Peggy turned the radio up, and they sang along to the music at the top of their lungs; it felt good to laugh and to be outrageously happy.
Two hours later they arrived outside the football stadium at Richard's college. They bought some last-minute back row seats, grabbed a few hot dogs and sodas, and settled in to watch the game. It was chilly, and the crowd was noisy and colorful. Linda felt proud when Richard was introduced to the crowd during the pre-game ceremony. She and Peggy rose to their feet and yelled at the top of their lungs. The game went well. Richard's team won, and he was the star of the game, even scoring a touchdown. Peggy and Linda were among the last people out of the stadium. After asking around, they headed toward the college pub, where they were told the team went to celebrate after a game. The pub was packed to overcapacity and was very noisy. The rock music and the clashing of glasses were mixing in with the roars of the football team and their friends who occupied the whole top section of the pub. Linda and Peggy made their way through the dense crowd. Everyone was happy and talking excitedly about the game. Room to move about was a rare commodity. Finally the girls made it up the stairs; the players were grouped in one corner and were toasting their victory loudly. Linda saw Richard in the thick of things; he was beaming with happiness, as were all of his teammates. She stopped Peggy from advancing toward them,
"Wait, let's watch them for a minute and see if he spots me." Linda smiled mischievously to Peggy. They hung there for a few minutes. People were coming up to Richard all the time to congratulate him or pat him on the back. He took all of the attention with grace, spoke to all, and shook a lot of hands. Linda felt so proud and full of love for him at that very instant that it must have sent powerful love beams across the room. Richard turned and looked in her direction. He stared at her in disbelief and smiled. He
broke away from the people around him and maneuvered through the crowd to where the girls were standing.
"Baby," he shouted, "baby, baby, wow you're here."
"Surprise," she screamed, they threw themselves into each other's arms. He lifted her off the ground, spinning her and kissing her at the same time.
"Did you see the game?" Richard asked while kissing Linda over and over again.
"Yes, we got here just as it started." She held his face in her hands, kissing him back.
"Wow that is so great. God, I'm happy to see you. I love you, baby."
"Me too," she managed to say before he smothered her with another kiss.
"Hey, you two, I'm here you know. Cut it out, will you? You're embarrassing me." They turned toward Peggy.
"Sorry, Peggy, Richard, you remember Peggy?"
"Yeah, sure, hi Peggy, nice to see you."
"Hi, Richard, nice to see you too."
"Why didn't you tell me you were coming? I could have got you tickets and arranged a few things."
"Linda wanted to surprise you. I mean, all she ever talks about is Richard this, Richard that, blah, blah, blah, you know?" Peggy mimicked Linda and made a funny face.
"Oh stop it, Peggy, that's not true. Well, it is a little bit." Linda hung unto Richard's arm tightly; she was happy to have surprised him, and she felt good to be by his side again. Nothing else mattered now, and all her earlier misgivings had dissipated.
"Hey, come on you two. Let's go over to my table and I'll introduce you to some of the guys." Richard took each one of them by the arm and guided them in the direction of where he had been celebrating with his teammates. When they arrived in the midst of the celebrating team, he cupped his hands and shouted, "Silence please. A moment, guys. Hush up just for a second please." The din died down to an acceptable level, allowing Richard to speak.