She pouted. "Okay. Just wanted to say I'd be over there. You want me to put the leftovers in the oven for you?"
"Nah, I can do it."
~ ~ ~
Cindy stepped in as Chuck held the door. "Sorry, was talking to my husband."
He shook his head, eyes wide. "I wasn't upset about it. You two get along well?"
She smiled happily. "Oh yeah. He's the love of my life."
"Good. I thought so. Whenever I see you two you seem happy." He handed her a drink. "Sometimes people get into that whole dating thing because they're bored."
"Oh, there's no boredom over there. And things are still great even if I'm not dating."
They sat on opposite ends of his couch. "Not dating?"
"No, I stopped it."
He sipped his drink. "Oh? Why? Too much for you?"
She laughed. "You know, the idea was at first. I didn't want to look like some slut or something. I went out with my friend's husband once, just to see if I could do it."
"And that worked out alright?"
She shrugged. "Hard to say. I mean, he's my friend's husband. It was just a nice date at the movies."
"Pretty tame."
She drank some Scotch. "Oh, yeah. This is a bit smoother. Was expecting a bite."
"That's a blend. The last one you tried was a single malt. Sometimes those kick hard. Blends are smoother."
"Ah. It's good."
"Your husband doesn't drink, huh?"
"Not since our honeymoon. It wasn't pretty."
He nodded slow with exaggeration. "Yeah, one binge can knock drinking right off the table for years."
"I asked if he wanted to come over, but he's just not ready to try the drinking thing again."
"Understandable. He could've come anyway. I'll need to get over there and introduce myself." He paused. "So you broke it off with that other guy?"
"The real date? Yes. After two nights. He was nice and all, but he wanted too much."
"That sounds ominous."
"I wasn't willing to give up my husband."
"Well, no, why should you?"
"I guess he wanted me that bad. Said he was going to make me pregnant and take me away."
He scowled. "That's kinda rude."
"Yeah, I thought so, too. It's not like he could've gotten me pregnant. I'm fairly certain I can't have kids."
"Aw, that's a shame. You tried one of those fertility clinics?"
Cindy's voice went dry and low. "To the tune of eleven thousand dollars."
"Wow. Robert must've been crushed."
She shook her head. "No, this was before him. Some ass-nugget whose head was all ego and no room for a brain. I'm rather glad none of it worked."
He leaned back and laughed deep.
CHAPTER 17
Cindy looked out the kitchen window. It was Saturday and she had heard Rob's truck pull up. He hadn't come in yet.
He was standing out there, talking to Chuck.
She went outside to see what they were talking about.
Chuck was saying, "No, she's not a bother at all." He glanced at her and beamed a smile. "There she is."
Cindy waved and took Rob's arm.
Rob said, "I was just telling him to boot your ass home if you were bothering him."
She pouted. "I haven't been bothering him."
Chuck shook his head. "Nah, she's fun. Spunky little girl. I'd date her myself if I could."
Rob tilted his head. "You?"
"Sure. She's an absolute gem. Beautiful, funny, and she's got a head on her shoulders that makes me wonder if her blonde is a dye-job."
She giggled. "It's real, but thank you."
He winked at her. He said to Rob, "You sure you don't want to come over for some drinks? I can pour you some real light stuff. It gets lonely sitting around by myself."
Rob blew out a breath. "Well, if you put it that way… maybe I'll give it a shot."
The bearded face lit up. His hand came out in a calming gesture. "You won't be sorry. I have just the thing."
Rob said, "Alright then. I'll shower and we'll come over."
A flash of white teeth. "Just knock."
Cindy followed Rob inside. "You were talking about me?"
"He introduced himself. He thought it wouldn't be right to be drinking with some guy's wife and didn't know the guy's name."
"Oh."
"Weird people running around, you know? Never know when someone will flip out on their psycho meds and start murdering."
"Aren't the psychotropic drugs supposed to stop those urges?"
Rob's eye twinkled at her. "Exactly. Now ask yourself why every single school shooting in the past twenty-five years has been done by some kid on psychotropic drugs."
"What… are you saying?"
He waved her off. "Let's just say there's a lot of weirdoes out there, and some of them are in power. I'm going to take a shower."
~ ~ ~
Chuck handed her husband a small glass with a very light amber liquid in it. His smile reminded her of a salesman showing a customer their best model of car. Or motorcycle, in this case.
She said, "What is it?"
Chuck said, "Expensive."
Rob laughed. "Oh, well, maybe I shouldn't be drinking it."
Chuck's booming laugh and voice filled the kitchen. "Nonsense. Give it a go. It's mixed with a touch of water to bring out the flavors."
She accepted a screwdriver. "Thanks."
Chuck winked at her.
Rob took a sip and his eyebrows immediately shot up. "Wow… smoky, chocolate…"
Chuck laughed again. "It's a very good Scotch. Better than the lower-priced blended stuff. Though I like blends."
Rob gave him an approving smile. "Thank you."
The man clapped her husband on the shoulder. "No, no, no. Thank you. I hate TV so there's almost nothing to do while I sit here on the weekends. It's finally nice to be having visitors and your wife is charming. Come, let's sit."
They sat in his living room. There was only one lamp and stand by the couch. She selected the leather easy chair.
Rob looked around the very bare living room. "You're a minimalist?"
Chuck snorted. "Fuck no. Minimalists have nothing to say. Let's just say my ex-wife is a maximalist and took everything I had to say."
"Oh, sorry."
He shook his head. "Don't be. I'm done with her. Divorce is final two months from now. One final payoff and the papers are clean."
Rob grimaced. "Sounds ugly."
Chuck growled. "It was. I don't know if it was my spineless attorney or the fact that the female butch-judge didn't like beards. Who knows."
Cindy said, "I like beards."
Rob said, "I find being shaven gets me more work. I dunno, old ladies see a bearded man and they think old-movie villain."
Chuck roared. "I can believe it. They think of bikers that way, too. We're all Hells Angels to them."
"So you would really date my wife?"
Chuck waved his glass. "Oh, I was just kidding."
"Oh."
But Chuck gave him a searching look. "Or were you offering?"
Rob shot a glance at her. "Sort of. You seem like a nice guy."
"Oh… well I'll say then that I wasn't being entirely honest."
"What?"
"You never know what kind of customer… or, I mean person you meet. You have to be… how should I say it? Vanilla? You have to be vanilla to many people so you don't offend them."
Rob nodded. "I know what you mean. Many of the people I move are odd. You keep your mouth shut and do the work."
"Exactly. So I was being vanilla. You seem like a great couple. I wouldn't want to say something and have you think ill of me."
"Ill?"
"If I was entirely honest without fear of offending you I would say I'd love to date your wife. She's a fun gal. She wouldn't be after my money and I wouldn't be after her. Perfect."
Rob nodded. "Oh, I see. So you really weren't kidding."
She shivered.
Rob smiled. "It's up to her, of course. As long as you treat her well, I'll let her decide."
Eyes turned to her.
What the fuck? Her eyes were large like a deer caught in the headlights. Why is everyone looking at me? She swallowed the drink she had taken. "Um, wait, what?"
Rob gave her a sly smile. "He says he'd date you."
Chuck said, "He says it's up to you."
"Date me?" Hadn't I just left this all behind? But Chuck was different than Ron.
Chuck said with a dry tone, "The only friend I have seems to be my attorney. At a hundred and seventy-five dollars an hour."
Rob chuckled. "Maybe I should take up law."
Chuck shook his head. "Every lawyer I've ever seen has had an eaten soul."
Cindy tilted her head. "Eaten?"
"Yes, like worms or termites had eaten their core and left nothing but rot."
She looked at the man's indignant face and decided she liked him. Honest and dignified, he seemed like a decent man. "I wouldn't mind… hanging around you."
Rob smiled.
Chuck smiled.
CHAPTER 18
Cindy said, "I thought I was done with the dating thing." Memories of Ron were still too fresh in her mind: the pleasure; and the emotional upset. She pouted in bed.
Rob was getting into bed. He paused. "You said you wouldn't mind—"
"I don't want another Ron."
He got in and pulled the covers up. "Then don't accept one."
"Easy for you to say—"
"Because it is. Maybe Ron was fun but not exactly right? Who's exactly right for a woman or a man? Probably very few – but they're out there."
She scowled. "I'm not going to get involved with someone who wants to separate us."
His answer was simple. Stupid simple. Obvious simple. "Then don't."
It made sense to her. "What if Chuck decides he wants more?"
"You heard him. He's done with marriage. Can't say I blame the guy."
She frowned at him. "Well, I'm glad your ex didn't totally ruin you."
His smile was very real. "Even if she had, you would've won me over."
~ ~ ~
Cindy wondered about the dating thing over the next few days because Chuck didn't ask her out. Neither did he say anything to Rob.
She drank with him on Wednesday, and he apologized for being busy. He told her he had a convention to go to that weekend.
That was all fine by her. Though she liked the big biker, she was still dealing with the emotional fallout from Ron.
Weeks passed. Cindy began to wonder if they even really had the conversation about dating at all. She sat and talked with Chuck, sipping screwdrivers a couple of times a week. Rob joined them on weekends.
Having space to herself, she had built up quite a collection of stroking videos. Rob had surprised her one day with a bullet vibrator.
She looked at it in horror. "What's this?"
He rolled his eyes. "You know what it is."
"But why—"
"For when you're getting all hot looking at your videos."
"Not to replace you?"
He laughed. "No. To put you in the mood for when I get home."
"Naughty man."
~ ~ ~
Chuck waved at her in the parking lot late Friday. He came over as she got out of her car.
Cindy had to look up to him; she stood a foot and a half shorter.
Tall and broad, he was a mountain of a man and none of it fat.
"Hi, Cin."
"Well, hello. Looking for some company?"
He grinned down at her with interest. "Yes, actually, I was. I was thinking about dinner tomorrow."
"Dinner?" Not drinks in your condo? Oh… The dating. "Oh. Uh, I guess so. I'll have to talk to Rob."
He nodded with a sparkle in his eye.
~ ~ ~
Cindy was in the kitchen. Rob had just come out after showering. "Chuck asked me to dinner tomorrow."
"Oh?"
"What do you think?" She wanted to go, but wanted to make sure Rob was okay with it.
His eyebrows lifted in consideration. "I was wondering if he had meant what he said about dating you."
"Yeah, me too. I wonder why now?"
Rob rubbed his lips together in thought. "I bet his divorce is final."
"It should be. You think he wants to take me out as a celebration?"
Rob shrugged.
~ ~ ~
Cindy climbed into Chuck's truck. She rarely saw him drive it, except when it rained. It was dusty on the outside but immaculate on the inside. "Wow, this is plush."
"Eh, I use it to haul around my ride sometimes."
They pulled away from their condos.
"So why all this time before you asked me out?"
He shrugged, lifting half a hand from the steering wheel and then letting it fall. "I wanted to get to know you a little better before I did. And I also wanted to make sure my divorce was final."
"So this is like a celebration?" She didn't know what to think about that.
"I suppose it could be, but I didn't want to be dating someone in case my ex's attorney got wind of it."
"Why would that matter?"
He gave her a wry eyebrow. "It might not have, but what if they told the media or her attorney thought they could wrangle something more out of me? Some excuse for delay so I'd have to pay yet another month of dealership income."
"Ohh… I see. Yeah, I guess you don't want to give them any ammo—"
"Exactly. You like steak?"
"Sure."
"Good. David's serves grass-fed beef. Good stuff."
"Is there really much difference in other types?"
He grinned. "Buy some regular ground beef and some grass-fed. Open both and take a good whiff."
"There's a smell difference?"
His nod was sly. "You'll never eat regular again."
Dinner was excellent. Her ribeye cooked just the way she asked.
He was swirling his water around in his glass, looking at her. "Have to be home any certain time?"
"No, but sometime."
"Sometime?"
"Yeah, like sometime tonight. Rob likes to talk to me about what happened."
He nodded. "I wasn't sure about the dating thing."
"Why?"
"Well… Some dates include kissing and other stuff. I wasn't sure by what your husband and you meant by it all."
"Oh, I thought you weren't sure you wanted to date me."
His smile reached his eyes. "Oh, I do. You're beautiful."
She blushed. "Am not."
"Yes you are. You're on the short side, but that tiny figure of yours holds quite the personality."
"Uh, thanks?"
"No, I mean it." His eyes dipped down to her breasts. "Very nice."
She blushed more. She recalled Kurt doing and saying the same thing. Men and their fascination with boobs.
He winked. "So, I can get a kiss later?"
She felt her face pull into a wider smile. "That would be okay."
"With Rob, too?"
"Oh, yeah." She nodded. "He'll love hearing about that."
He tilted his head back in a nod as if understanding. "Ah, okay. I think I understand now."
~ ~ ~
Cindy followed Chuck into his condo.
"Screwdriver?" he said.
"Yes, please." She sat in the easy chair. It was her spot.
He handed her the drink a minute later. "Don't want to sit with me on the couch?"
"Oh. Sorry." She grinned sheepishly. She sat beside him and felt her heartbeat begin banging in her chest.
He set his drink down and leaned over to her. His large hand took her chin and turned it. There was a heat in his eyes. "I'd have to say, I've wanted to kiss that pretty mouth of yours for a few
weeks now."
"Really?" Her voice shook.
His lips met hers and their tongues introduced themselves.
She relaxed, the nervousness evaporating.
He pulled back and pulled on her. "Come here. It's hard to lean over." He pulled her over his lap.
She turned and straddled him. "Better?" They were almost eye to eye.
"Much." He pulled her head in and the next kiss was easier.
In fact, Cindy thought it was a scorcher. Heat flooded her and rose from her neckline. She had her arms around his neck and could feel the muscle through his flannel shirt. She pulled back and panted for air. "Do you work out or something?"
"Lightly. I have a weight set in the bedroom. Most of this comes from moving those big Harleys around."
"Feels nice. Like my husband's."
His grin was happy.
They kissed again and she felt herself heating even more. She squirmed as a worm of heat coiled in her pussy.
He chuckled. "Maybe I better get you home before things get too hot."
"Why?"
"I'm getting a bit excited."
She giggled. "Can I see?"
He looked shocked. "That's okay with…"
She nodded.
His smile went into full-happy mode. "Well, then. How about you take off your top while I get more comfortable?"
She moved off his lap and began pulling off her sweater.
He undid and pulled off his pants. There was a large bulge in his white underwear.
"Oh my goodness."
He chuckled. He motioned with his chin. "Those sure are nice. Can you take off your bra?"
"Oh, sure." The blush was back. She searched his eyes as she took it off.
His smile never changed. "They look so big on you."
"Pff, they're only C cups."
"They look big on such a small body. Very nice. I can touch them?"
She nodded, trying to suppress a nervous laugh. She climbed back on his lap and straddled him.
His hand came up and covered her left breast.
She smiled at the thrill that tingled in her nipple and the relaxing sensation of his gentle rubbing. Her nipples hardened dramatically.
He pulled her up a little and placed his mouth over her right boob. His tongue sent shivers up her spine and she moaned happily.
My Husband Wants Me to Date?: Cin's Discovery Page 8
