Stalker

Stalker

Chapter 1: Heatwave

Wearing only my bathrobe, I wandered into the kitchen and over to the counter. I got together the fixings for coffee, assembled them, and got the coffee maker going. I'd just flipped the switch to turn it on when I heard footsteps coming down the hall. I turned and watched Didi, a young woman who occasionally spends the night at my house, wander into the kitchen. She was wearing one of my dress shirts. Her short red hair was tousled, and her well-shaped bare legs showed below the shirt which, because she was so short, came to a spot about halfway down her thighs.

The shirt would have come lower, but Didi's breasts, which would have been big on any woman, but looked gigantic on her tiny form, shortened it a little. As I watched, she put her hands behind her head, stretched, and yawned. It was Monday morning. She and I had, as we occasionally do, spent the weekend together.

"Good morning," I said.

"Good morning," she replied. "I like it better when you come over to my house for the weekend. That way I don't have to get up so early to get to work."

I smiled and shook my head. "Next time, I'll come to your house, I promise," I told her.

Didi smiled at me and, in that tiny voice of hers, said, "You better."

"Coffee will be ready in a little bit," I said.

Didi gave me a funny smile, then she hopped up so she was sitting on the kitchen table. "Come here," she said softly, holding her arms out to me.

I walked across the room and, when I reached her, I bent and gave her a "good morning" kiss. When our lips joined, I felt her hands moving to the belt that held my bathrobe shut and opening it. Her tongue slid into my mouth and her fingers wrapped around my cock, which had begun to stiffen the minute my lips met hers.

"Oh, wow!" she exclaimed, grinning, when our kiss ended. She continued to stroke my cock, which now had swollen to full erection. "You going to give this to me?"

"You want it, you got it!" I said. I stepped between her legs and pulled up the shirt she was wearing. There was nothing under it, which left her opening exposed to me. She grabbed my erection in my hand and guided it into her. I'd made love with Didi in so many wild places, it was almost mundane to be making love with her on the kitchen table.

"Is...this what...you...wanted?" I grunted as I drove urgently into her, feeling the warmth of her tight cavern engulfing me, glorying in the tightness I'd come to relish so much in the eighteen months I'd been seeing her.

"It's exactly what I wanted," Didi replied, wrapping her legs around me and thrusting against me.

I kept slamming into her, making her bottom slide back and forth on the slick table top. I grabbed her hips and pulled her against me. I could hear her gasp every time I drove into her, then I felt her stiffen and her legs tightened.

"Ahh! Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh, God! Oh! Ahh! Ahh!" Didi moaned, "I'm coming! Oh, damn, I'm coming! Aahh! Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! Ahh!" Paroxysms of ecstasy shook her. Desperately, she clutched me and squirmed as she experienced what felt like a powerful orgasm.

I felt Didi's hot cave begin to pulse, then my insides - which were coiled tightly with need - uncoiled. My hot fluids flowed up from inside me and spewed into Didi's hot sleeve. "Oh! Didi! Didi!" I cried. I squeezed her ass, pulling her against me. "Yes! Yes!"

When we finished, we stayed as we were for a few minutes, clinging to each other, barely able to breathe, overwhelmed by the intensity the experience we had just shared.

Didi was the first to move. She leaned back, looked at me, and smiled. "That was awesome!" she gasped, still breathless.

"It was, wasn't it?" I agreed. "Damn, woman, you sure do have a powerful effect on me."

"I kinda like that," Didi giggled. "That coffee ready yet?"

"Ah, yeah...it...it ought to be," I replied. I stepped back and belted my robe back around me. Didi slipped off the table and my shirt dropped, covering again.

I started for the counter to get us some coffee when a knock sounded at my back door. I turned and smiled at my adorable companion. "Whoever that is has a good sense of timing," I said.

"Yeah, they sure do," Didi replied, giggling. "It's a good thing they didn't show up five minutes earlier, isn't it?"

"I guess," I said. I took a detour to the door and opened it.

Standing on my back porch was a short, stocky, balding man. He had on a threadbare gray suit and white shirt. His maroon and blue striped tie hung loose and the top button of his shirt was undone. His name is Roscoe Garth. He's a retired cop and good friend. By the way, my name is Mike Torrance. I was a cop for ten years, but I quit to pursue a writing career. Roscoe retired five years ago and opened a private detective agency. I occasionally do work for him, and he stops at my house a lot to discuss cases. I wondered why he was stopping by today.

"Good morning, Roscoe," I said. "What brings you over here so early?"

"Got to go see someone near here about a bodyguard job a little later this morning," he said, walking into my kitchen. His eyes widened and a smile formed on his face when he saw Didi. "Morning, Didi," he said.

"Hi, Roscoe," Didi replied. She sat down in a chair at the kitchen table.

They knew each other because it wasn't the first time they'd bumped into each other in my house. In fact, Roscoe was familiar with most of the women I've been keeping company with since my divorce. I sometimes think he drops by to see them, not me.

I got three mugs out of the cabinet, poured coffee into all of them, and carried the cups to the table, where Roscoe had made himself comfortable. I set them down, then sat down.

"Bodyguard work, huh?" I said. "You figure you're going to need me?"

Roscoe took a sip of his coffee, then he shrugged. "Won't know until I talk to the guy who's hiring me," he said. "Got the call from a lawyer name of Bergman. He wouldn't tell me who the client is, just that she's being stalked and wants full-time protection."

"What about the cops?" Didi asked. "If this lady's being stalked, why don't they do something about it?"

"Don't know the answer to that, honey," Roscoe said. He drank some more of his coffee. "Probably they don't have the manpower to provide this lady with round the clock protection."

"People don't understand," I added. "When you're being stalked, it's the only case you know about. In a city the size of Jamestown, I bet the police department has a hundred or more stalking cases they need to work on. And they maybe have one or two detectives to work them."

"Oh," Didi said. She sipped some of her coffee.

"If it looks like I'm going to need you, are you available?" Roscoe asked me.

"As of right now I am," I said. "Just so I have enough time off to finish some articles I'm working on."

"No problem," he said. "If this lady wants twenty-four hour protection, I'm gonna have to use three, maybe four guys minimum. I promise not to make you work more than eight hours at a stretch."

"You're such a kind, thoughtful boss," I said.

"Yeah, sure," Roscoe said. He shoved his chair back from the table and stood up. "Gotta go," he said. "You be around later if I need to talk with you about this job?"

"As far as I know I'll be," I said. "If I'm not here, you know my cell phone and pager numbers."

Roscoe laughed. "Yeah, I sure do, don't I? he replied. "Thanks for the coffee. Nice seeing you again, Didi." He shambled across the kitchen to the back door and left.

"You think he's going to need to use you?" Didi asked after Roscoe left.

I shrugged. "Could be," I said. "Providing protection for someone around the clock takes a lot of manpower, and isn't cheap. I hope whoever's hiring him has a fat bank account."

"Must be nice to have that kind of money," Didi said. She finished her coffee, then stood up. "I think I'm going to take a shower, then you can take me out to breakfast and drive me to work."

"Sounds good to me," I said. She worked for one of the airlines and was based at the local airport. I'd picked her up there after work the day before. I watched her walk out of the kitchen, drained my cup of coffee, then went to join her in the shower.

I opened the shower door. Didi turned and a smile formed on her face. "I was wondering if you were going to take a shower with me," she said. Droplets of water glistened like jewels on her pale skin.

"You know I wouldn't miss a chance to do that," I replied.

"Come on in, the water's fine" Didi said. She reached for the soap and when she did her magnificent breasts, which I so enjoyed fondling and sucking, moved delightfully. It caused an immediate reaction in the area of my groin. My penis again began to grow stiff.

When she straightened, I took the washcloth from her. "Let me do that," I said.

Didi grinned. "I'd love it if you did." She glanced down, saw my erect cock, her eyes widened, and she giggled. "Oh, good. Something's come up. I hope I'm not gonna be late for work."

"We have plenty of time," I said. I lathered the cloth and began washing her, paying very careful attention to her breasts. Her nipples - large and succulent when she's aroused - rapidly grew firm and poked through the white suds that covered her chest like little fingers.

"I..." Didi stammered. She leaned against me and clutched my arm, "I...Ahh!...don't stop. Ah! Uh! God! You know just how to do that, don't you?"

I bent and covered her lips with mine. Her mouth opened, her arms slid around me, and our tongues dueled. Her wet body pressed against mine, trapping my rigid cock against her soft belly. I slid the washcloth down her back and cupped her bottom.

When the kiss ended, Didi took the washcloth from me. "My turn," she said softly, took the soap, and got the cloth even more full of lather than I had it. Then she wrapped the suds-covered cloth around my rigid cock and washed it more thoroughly than it had ever been washed before. By the time she finished, my legs were shaking and I felt as if I was going to come any second.

"Damn, Didi, if you keep that up," I gasped, "I'm going to come in your hand! You can't imagine how good that feels!"

"I sure don't want to waste any of that hot stuff of yours," Didi murmured. She continued sliding the slippery cloth up and down on my erect member. "Why don't you do something with this that will make us both happy?" She gave my cock a squeeze, then she released me, turned her back to me, and bent over. I didn't need to be told what she wanted. I centered my cock on her opening and drove into her.

"Yes! Oh, damn, yes!" Didi hissed as my shaft plunged into her.

Fighting for control, I slid my cock in and out of her tight pussy. It felt wonderful! "I...Oh, God! I'm not sure how long I can keep doing this!" I said. "Jesus, do you ever feel good!" I leaned forward, and grasped her dancing breasts in my hands.

She groaned and pressed back, trying to take me deeper into her. "I...I'm not going to be able to wait, either!" she murmured. Then her body stiffened and began to tremble. "Now! Now! Now! Ahhh!" Her body began bucking against mine when a powerful orgasm roared through her.

The rhythmic spasming of her cunt was more than I could take. Clutching her spongy breasts, I exploded into her, moaning with joy as I did. "Unnhh!" I bawled. Torrents of hot come jetted into her.

It was a while before either of us could stand alone. When we at last were under control, Didi turned, moved against me, put her arms around me, and laid her head on my chest. "You are incredible!" she murmured. "I...I don't know what it is, but I can't get enough of you. You touch me and I want you!"

"I feel the same way," I told her. "You are a very remarkable young lady."

She looked at me and smiled. "You know, we ought to get out of the shower before we wrinkle," she giggled. "And I do have to get to work.

We did, playfully toweling each other dry. While she finished doing all the things women have to do, I got dressed. When she was ready, we left the house, got in my car, and headed for the airport.

"I almost forgot," Didi said as I drove down the street. "Jill, down at the health club, wants you to give her a call."

I'd seen Jill Thompson once before and wound up meeting Didi the same night. "Do you know what she wants to talk to me about?" I asked.

"I'm not sure," Didi replied. "The last time I was in, I was saying something to one of the other girls about how a guy I'm going out with is a private investigator and Jill overheard me. She asked me to tell you to call her about doing some work for her."

"She know that she's responsible for our meeting?" I asked, grinning.

Didi giggled. "No way!"

"I'll give her a call after I drop you off," I said.

"You gonna try to get in her pants?" Didi asked.

"Would you mind if I did?" I asked. Didi and I didn't have an exclusive relationship. She'd broken up with the guy she was living with when she and I met, but we weren't a couple. Mostly we were two people who enjoyed each other's company and who really enjoyed the sex we share.

"I don't care what you do," my companion replied. She giggled. "If she goes at you like she did those two guys I saw her with in the guys' locker room that time, you'll be walking funny for a week."

"What makes you think I'll be the one walking funny?" I replied.

"I hadn't thought about it that way," Didi chuckled. "Maybe you're right."

I pulled up to the front gate of the airport building, stopped, put the car in "Park," and turned to look at Didi.

She leaned over and kissed me. "When will I see you again?" she asked.

"I guess that's up to you," I said. "And it might depend on what your friend at the health club has in mind for me, too."

"Why don't we try to get together next weekend?" Didi said. She grinned. "At my place this time."

"Sounds OK to me," I said. "I'll give you a call later in the week."

Didi gave me a soft kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for a wonderful weekend," she said. She slid out of the car and walked into the building. I put the car in "Drive" and headed for my house.

Chapter 2: First Impressions

After I dropped Didi off at work, I drove back to my house, found the health club number in my files and dialed it. While the phone at the health club rang, I remembered what Jill Thompson looked like. I knew because I’d seen all of her. She looked, as I remembered, as if she was in her mid to late thirties, she had blonde hair, and a well-toned body. I remembered her as being quite attractive, too.

“Jamestown Wellness Family Spa,” a female voice said when the phone was answered.

“I’d like to speak with Jill Thompson, please,” I said.

“Just a second,” the receptionist said. She put me on hold, and I was treated to a short commercial that extolled the virtues of good health, particularly the kind that could be obtained by purchasing an inexpensive – inexpensive to them, anyhow – membership to the Wellness Family Spa.

“This is Jill Thompson,” a rich female voice said.

I identified myself and added, “Didi Wallace said you wanted to talk with me.”

“You’re the…the private investigator,” Ms. Thompson said.

“I occasionally do perform that kind of work,” I said.

“Are you available?” she asked.

“Depends what you want me to do,” I replied. “Rather than do this over the phone, why don’t I come down there. It might be better if we talked in person before you decide whether you want to hire me or not.”

“Yes, I guess that might be best,” she said. “When can you get here?”

“It takes me about fifteen minutes to drive from my home to the club,” I replied. “Is that soon enough?”

“That will be fine,” she replied.

Fifteen minutes later, I walked into the health club. A pretty black woman, dressed in a lavender Spandex outfit, was sitting behind the reception desk. She smiled at me and said, “Can I help you?”

I told her my name. “I have an appointment with Ms. Thompson,” I said.

The receptionist nodded and picked up the phone. After speaking a few words and listening, she put it down and smiled at me some more. “She’s expecting you,” she said. “You can go right in.” She gestured toward a door that had a sign that said, “Manager” on it.

“Thank you,” I said, and walked toward the door.

Jill Thompson stood up when I entered her office. She had on a shocking pink tank top made of shiny Spandex, shiny black leggings and a pink bikini that matched the top over them. Her midriff was bare and looked firm, as did the rest of her body, which appeared to have everything in exactly the spot it was supposed to be. Her hair, a sandy blonde and full, was pulled back and fastened with a shocking pink elastic band into a kind of fluffy pony tail.

She looked as if she might be my age, maybe a few years older, but the passage of time hadn’t done any damage to her looks. She had wide blue eyes and a full mouth. Only a few wrinkles showed on her face, and I thought they added character and made her look more interesting.

She walked out from behind her desk, smiled at me, and extended her hand. “I’m Jill Thompson,” she said.

We exchanged greetings and, at Ms. Thompson’s request, I sat down. She went back behind her desk and sat down, too.

“What can I do to help you?” I asked.

“I’m…I’m being stalked and threatened,” she replied. “I need protection.”

There seemed to be a lot of that going around lately. First Roscoe mentions a stalking case, now I’m bumping into another one.

“Have you talked with the police about this?” I asked.

“Yes, of course I have,” she replied. “They…they say they’re doing what they can, but…” She shrugged. “They never seem to be around when I need them to be.”

“So you’re looking to hire me as a bodyguard?” I asked.

She nodded.

“That will take more than one person,” I said. “And it’s liable to be very expensive.”

“Oh,” she said. “You…you mean you can’t do it alone?”

“Not if you want it done right,” I said. “I can’t stay awake twenty-four hours a day, and there are other things I sometimes have to do that would take my eyes off you.”

She looked puzzled. “What do you mean?” she asked. Then she realized what I meant and her face turned bright red.

“Why don’t you tell me what’s going on?” I asked. “Maybe I can help you come up with a way to deal with it that won’t be outrageously expensive, but will do the job.”

“All…all right,” she said. “I know who’s doing it, if that helps.”

“It does,” I said.

“His…his name is...it’s Billy…Billy Devlin,” she said. “He…he used to work for me.”

“Did you fire him?” I asked.

She nodded. “I had to,” she said. “He…he was becoming disruptive here at the club.”

“I take it he wasn’t happy about being fired,” I said. Actually, not many people are.

Jill shook her head. “No…he…he took it very badly,” she said. “At…at the time, he...he made lots of threats, but, well, with all of the other men who work here around, he couldn’t do much, you know?”

I’d seen some of the buff guys working out when I came in, so I knew what she meant.

“So I take it he doesn’t bother you here at the club, then?” I asked.

She shook her head again. “No…never. He…he wouldn’t dare,” she said.

“Well, then you’re safe as long as you’re here, aren’t you?” I asked.

“I guess I am,” she said.

“OK,” I went on. “We’ve eliminated the need for you to have me hanging around here during the day. Do you have any idea why he’s stalking you? Is the fact that you fired him the only reason?”

Ms. Thompson reddened a little and gazed at me. “Why…why do you have to know that?” she asked. “What…what has that got to do with your protecting me?”

“Knowing the guy’s motivation can be helpful,” I said. “If he’s a total nut case, that could make being your bodyguard a lot tougher. Mentally ill stalkers are so irrational nothing short of locking them up keeps the victim safe. If he’s doing it to get revenge on you for firing him, maybe we can dissuade him. On the other hand, if there’s another reason…”

“Like what?” she asked.

“Like is he a spurned lover?” I asked.

Jill turned as red as I’d seen her since I arrived. She nodded slowly. “I…I guess that’s the real reason,” she said softly.

“So you and he were lovers, you dumped him, and he doesn’t like that,” I said. “Now he’s on your case to let him back in your life?”

“We…I…I never intended for it to get that serious,” Jill said. “I…Billy…he’s years younger than I am. I…I thought we were just having fun, enjoying each other’s company. I…I never realized he thought it was more than that.”

“Looks like there was a serious misunderstanding on his part,” I said. “What kind of stuff has he been doing?”

“He calls me at home all the time, leaves awful messages on my answering machine,” Jill said. She hugged herself and shuddered a little. “And…sometimes…when I get home, he’s there, waiting.”

“Has he ever harmed you?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No,” she said softly. “But…but lately, he seems to be getting more and more angry. It’s like he’s starting to lose control. I…the more I tell him I’m not going to see him any more, the more furious he gets.”

“Do you think it might help if I went and talked with him?” I asked. “Maybe if I explain that he’s looking at some serious jail time if he keeps this up he’ll stop.”

“I’m not sure what he’d do if you did that,” Jill said. “He…he might think you and I…well…” She shrugged. “He…he’s very jealous. He…he did threaten one of the other men I…I’ve been seeing and…”

“Did he assault the guy?” I asked.

Jill shook her head. “I…the man…his name is Brent…he said he thought Billy wanted to jump him,” she told me. “But Brent’s much bigger than Billy and, well, I think Billy knew he’d get hurt if he tried anything.”

“OK,” I said. “Do you happen to have a picture of this guy by any chance?” It would help if I knew what the guy I was protecting her from looked like. It isn’t good when a person’s bodyguard protects her from the wrong person.

“I do,” Jill replied. “We...we had a picture of the staff taken for a brochure when Billy worked here. He’s in it.” She opened a desk drawer, pulled out a folder, took an 8 X 12 glossy picture out of it, and handed it to me. “Billy is the one kneeling in the middle of the front row,” she said.

I studied the picture. The guy she said was stalking her was short, very muscular, and had a dark crew cut. For some reason, he looked familiar. Then it hit me. He was one of the three guys I’d seen Ms. Thompson fucking in the men’s locker room the night I met Didi.

“You have a funny look on your face,” Jill observed. “Do you know Billy?”

“I think I may have heard about him,” I lied. I wasn’t sure it would help anything if I told Ms. Thompson I knew more about her sex life than she thought I did.

“Can…can you help me?” Jill asked. “I’m really frightened that Billy is going to do something really awful…and soon. You…you have to see how angry he’s been lately.”

“OK,” I said. “I think I can manage, at least for a while. It sounds to me like I’ll need to keep an eye on you after work, and make sure you get home safely, anyhow.”

Jill looked frightened. “But…but what happens after you leave?” she asked. “I’m afraid that if Billy sees you bring me home, that will just make him more furious.”

“If you want me to stay, it’s going to cost you,” I warned.

“How…how much?” she asked.

“I get $300 a day, plus expenses,” I said.

“But…but you won’t be working for me all day,” Jill said. “And…and I suppose you can sleep at night. I have a spare bedroom in my apartment you can use.”

“Why don’t we try a different tack here?” I said. “How much can you afford to pay me? You tell me that and I’ll tell you how much of my time it will buy you.”

She sat at her desk, looking thoughtful, for a while. “I can afford $3,000,” she said.

I thought about it for a minute. That was ten days work, but she had a point about me not being on duty all the time. And I would be sleeping, too. I hoped. “I’ll give you a deal,” I said. “Three grand will buy you three weeks of protection. I pick you up here after work, take you home, stay with you overnight, and bring you to work in the morning.”

“What…what happens after the three weeks is up?” Jill asked.

“Well, I guess we’ll have to see what happens,” I said. “Maybe I can think of some way to discourage our friend Billy before then.”

“All…all right,” Jill said. She sighed. “I guess that will have to do. For now. Do…do you want a…a retainer?”

“Give me a thousand now, the rest at the end of the three weeks,” I said. “We’ll see how things go.”

She wrote me a check on her personal account and handed it to me. I folded it up and put it in my pocket.

“What now?” she asked.

“I’ve got to go home and get some things,” I said. “You close at nine, right?”

She nodded. “I’ll be here about eight, just to be sure your admirer doesn’t show up here when there aren’t too many guys around to discourage him,” I said.

“All right,” my new employer said. “I…thank you.”

“I hope you can say that to me after this is all over,” I told her. I got up, left the health club, and headed for my house to equip myself for my new bodyguard job.

Chapter 3: The Glimpse

When I got home, I sat down at my desk and made a list of the things I thought I’d need for my bodyguard job. Then I got all the things on the list together and put them in a small knapsack I used for that purpose. Next, I went upstairs and packed some clothes in a small overnight bag. I figured I didn’t need to take much with me, just a change of clothes, since I’d be able to come home during the day when I wasn’t guarding Jill Thompson’s well-maintained body.

After I had my things together, I sat down at my computer and began working on a feature article I’d promised one of the magazines I write for. I had a hard time concentrating on the article. I kept thinking about Jill Thompson and what I’d seen the night I went to the health club some eighteen months earlier.

I was supposed to be following one of the female clients of the club whose husband was sure she was cheating on him with one of the instructors. I pulled into the club parking lot at eight-thirty in the evening. The man who hired me didn’t have a lot of money, so he told me to follow his wife after she left the club when it closed and it closed at nine.

**********

There were only three cars in the parking lot and none of them matched the description of the car that belonged to the woman I was supposed to be following. It was possible she might have brought another car, so I thought it would make sense to check inside the club. I parked, got out of my car and headed for the door. There were lights still on inside the club, so it looked like there were still a few people there. I checked the door. It was open, so I went in.

The club was modern and clean and had a tremendous amount of what looked like high-tech exercise equipment. I had a feeling all of that equipment was responsible for the high membership prices the club charged. I didn’t see any people, though. “Where is everybody?” I wondered.

I looked around, then walked over to a door marked “Women’s Lockers”, but wasn’t sure whether or not I should go in. I knocked softly, then carefully, pushed the door open. “Hello. Is anyone here?” I called softly.

An attractive, short, red-haired young woman peeked from behind a row of pastel-colored lockers. “Can I help you?” she asked.

“Ah…I…I’m looking for the manager,” I said. I could feel myself blushing.

The girl I was talking with was quite attractive. Her hair was short and straight, her face cute more than pretty, but her body was something else. She had on a pair of loose olive-drab pants – tight at the ankle – which were tucked into white sweat socks. Her high-top leather sneakers were untied just the right way. A white sweatshirt, cut to the waist in back and just above her waist in front, hung over her slacks. Her surprisingly large bust pushed the sweatshirt out and up, exposing a strip of tan, smooth belly. “Tidy, tiny, and busty!” I thought as I gazed at her. “Not bad. Not bad at all!”

“She was out at the desk when I came in to change,” the girl replied. “I don’t know about the guys, but I’m the only one in here.” Apparently my target hadn’t come to the club today. The girl I was talking to had a tiny voice and sounded little-girlish. I thought it made her more desirable, a little girl with a lush, miniature woman’s body .

“There was nobody at the desk when I came in,” I said.

The girl shrugged and smiled at me. “If she wasn’t there,” she said, “I don’t know where she is.”

“Is there any place else I could look?” I asked.

The girl shrugged again. “I guess you could check the men’s locker room,” she suggested, “Maybe the manager is there checking before she closes the place. Or maybe the pool. I think they have to clean it every night.”

“Thanks,” I said. I let the door close and turned around. The men’s locker room was on the opposite side of the building so I headed in that direction. I had just reached out to push the door open when I heard what sounded like a moan. I froze. “Oh, God, Baby, that feels fucking fantastic!” a male voice said.

“Yeah. Jesus, she’s something, isn’t she?” another male voice responded.

“I don’t fuckin’ believe this! Jesus H. Christ!” That was a third voice.

“What the hell is going on?” I wondered. I cautiously pushed the door open a crack, looked into the locker room, and couldn’t believe what I saw. There were four people on a mat in the middle of the floor. One of them was a woman who looked like she was in her mid to late thirties, had blonde hair, and a well-toned body, was lying buck-naked, face down on top of a solidly built black man who appeared to be fucking her. Another muscular young man who was probably in his late teens or early twenties was kneeling behind her and appeared to have his cock in her ass. Another young man, short, stocky, but no less well-muscled than the other two, was standing in front of her, sporting a hard-on, which the grunting woman was stroking. I watched, shocked, as the blonde took cocks in both of her lower openings and a third into her mouth. While she sucked one man, the other two men kept slamming their cocks into her. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing! I knew people did this. I’d seen videos of people doing it, but I’d never actually seen it happen in person. Gulping, I continued to stand there, peering through the narrowly opened door, staring at the activities occurring before my eyes. I couldn’t move. And watching the incredible scenario was turning me on! Really turning me on!

“Gawd!” One of the men, the one who was getting sucked off, groaned as the manager deep-throated him. “You sure know how to make a guy feel fuckin’ fantastic!”

As if to thank him for his compliment, the woman let his cock slide out of her mouth, cupped his balls in her hand and licked them. My cock lurched. I knew what she was doing had to feel incredibly good.

The other two men grunted louder and louder and continued to slam their erections into the woman. I kept watching, my heart thudding against the wall of my chest. There was nothing else I could do!

My legs were shaking violently so I leaned against the door jamb to keep from falling. I bit my lip to keep from groaning. I couldn’t believe I was watching a woman get fucked by two men while she gave another guy a blow-job!

The blonde kept sucking the one guy while the other two drove their peckers into her vagina and butt. It was wild and, judging from how all three men looked, it had to feel wild, too. The faces of all three men were red, their well-developed muscles were taut. They sure as hell looked as if they were enjoying what they were doing.

“What are you doing?” The sound of the soft voice startled me and I turned. The girl I’d talked to in the women’s locker room was standing behind me. I wasn’t sure what to do. She must have thought I was watching guys get undressed or something. I couldn’t talk, I couldn’t think.

“Oh, Jesus!” one of the men groaned. “Shit! I…I’m gonna come! Oh, baby!”

“What’s going on in there?” the girl asked. She squeezed by me and peeked through the slightly open door. I heard her sudden intake of breath. “Oh!” she said, but she didn’t move away from the door.

I was tall enough so I could resume watching what was happening in the locker room over the girl’s head. The guy the blonde was sucking must have been the one who’d come, because the woman’s face was all shiny with pearlescent, sticky white goo. The guy was still standing in front of her and she clung to his hips while his friends continued slamming their cocks into her.

“Give it to me! Harder! Come on! Both of you! Fuck me harder!” the woman groaned, digging her fingers into the ass of the man lying on top of her hard they made white marks on his tan skin.

“I-I don’t believe I’m seeing this!” the girl standing next to me whispered.

The door wasn’t open very far, so for us both to be able to watch what was going on in the locker room, we had to stand very close together. I was very aware that the foxy young woman’s body was pressing against mine. That didn’t do a thing to calm the wild feelings sweeping through my over-heated body. My cock stiffened even more. I moved a little and felt it brush against the girl. I had no idea where it hit her, even though it was in my pants, but she had to have felt it.

“Mmpphh! Mmpphh! Mmpphh!” the manager moaned. Her back arched and her body began to quiver. I knew what was happening. She was coming!

“Gahh!” the man fucking vagina her groaned, his hips a blur, his thrusts pounding her as he erupted into her. “Take it, baby! Take it! Take it all!”

“Gnahh! Gnahh! Oh, damn!” the man under her grunted. He shoved his hips up and held them there as he, too, came.

The girl standing next to me continued to press her tidy body against mine. I was having serious control problems.

I was so turned on I could hardly stand. I rolled so my back was to the wall next to the door and leaned against the wall, gasping for breath. As I did, I let the door close. The girl remained near me, face flushed, wide-eyed, her magnificent chest rising and falling. Her nipples jutted against her sweatshirt. It looked to me as if she was as turned on as I was!

She was tiny. The top of her head only came to the level of my nipples. She looked up at me and I looked down at her. “That’s…that’s Jill…the manager…in…there,” she gasped. “I-I can’t believe what I just saw,” she stammered, still looking at me. “She…she was…fucking three of them!” Her eyes moved downward and from the way they widened, I knew she’d seen my hard-on. “Oh!” she said. “Oh…my God!”

“Are…are you as turned on as…as I…as I am?” I croaked.

She nodded actively and whispered, “Yes!”

I took her hand and dragged her across the exercise room, through the door, and into the women’s locker room. She offered no resistance. This was crazy and I knew it. If she came to her senses, she’d yell “Rape!” and I’d be in deep shit, but I didn’t care. I had a hard-on and was going to do something about it with this lovely little thing!

The minute we were in the women’s locker room, I put my hands under the girl’s arms and lifted her onto one of the benches fastened to the floor between the rows of lockers. That put her breasts at eye level. Then I slid my hands under her sweatshirt and cupped her startlingly large breasts in my hands.

The girl put her hands on my head and pulled me against her, moaning. She was wearing a bra and, as excited as I was, undressing her slowly was the farthest thing from my mind. I pushed the bra up, baring her large, swollen orbs to my touch. I slid my hands over her hot, skin, looking for her nipples, then the swollen buds of flesh bored into my palms.

“Please!” she moaned, “I need it so bad! Don’t make me wait!”

I slid my hands down, undid the belt around her waist, then I pushed her slacks down. The slacks hung up on her sneakers and it took a little fumbling until I got them off, but I managed. I was a little surprised to discover she wasn’t wearing panties.

After she kicked out of her slacks, the girl sat down on the bench, then she laid back and reached for me. I was fumbling with my clothes like I’d never taken clothing off before. Finally, I got my pants off. With a groan, fell on top of the petite girl. I felt her tiny hands clasp my rigid cock, then warmth engulfed it as I sank into her.

“Oh, yes!” she wailed in that baby-doll voice. Her legs, which were surprisingly strong, locked behind me, pulling me against her. “Fuck me! Fuck me!” Her pelvis worked against mine feverishly and she clutched at me, her fingers digging into my biceps.

Fuck her I did, as powerfully as I’d ever fucked anyone. My cock slid in and out of her tight opening easily in the moist lubricant of her excitement.

“Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Oh, yeah!” the girl grunted as I drove into her. “That’s it! Oh, God! That’s it! I…I…I’m gonna come! Oh, God! Am I ever! Gahh! Gahh! Gahh!” Her body stiffened, then went into a series of wild movement.

“Uhh! Here…it…comes!” I moaned as my body pumped blast after blast of hot seed into her snug, clasping pussy. “Here it comes! Now!”

“I can’t stop! Oh, God! I…I…I can’t stop cumming! I can’t stop! Ohh! Ohhh!” my wild little partner cried. Her body continued to spasm and press against mine.

The girl did stop coming eventually. Her arms and legs fell away from me and she lay still under me on the bench. Carefully, I pushed myself off her and pulled my softening cock from her still-rippling pussy.

The girl looked up at me, wide-eyed. Her pretty face was flushed and her red hair tousled. “That was really intense!” she whispered.

“It was, wasn’t it?” I agreed. I was feeling a little shaky.

“I…I don’t even know your name,” she said, blushing.

I introduced myself. “I don’t know your name, either,” I pointed out.

“It’s Didi,” my chance lover said.

“It has been a pleasure meeting you, Didi,” I said

Didi sat up, not bothering to cover her nakedness. “Well, I guess I can say its been a pleasure meeting you, too,” she said, giggling. Her small hand caressed my belly. “A real pleasure!”

“Same here,” I agreed.

Didi looked at her watch. “My God!” she gasped, “I gotta get going. My boyfriend’s gonna kill me if I get home late!” She got to her feet, gathered her clothing, and slipped into it. When she finished dressing, she stopped and looked at me, smiling. “You got a pen and paper?” she asked.

“Ah…” I searched through my shirt, which I still had on, found both, and handed them to her.

Didi wrote something on the paper, then handed it to me. I looked, she’d written a phone number.

“Call me,” she said, then she kissed me on the cheek and started for the locker room door. “I get home from work at three and my boyfriend doesn’t get home until seven,” she said. She disappeared and the door closed behind her.

Still a little weak, I got my pants back on, straightened my clothes, and left the women’s locker room. Once more, I walked across the exercise room and listened at the door of the men’s locker room. Moans were still coming from behind the closed door, so I opened it slightly again.

I got another shock. The guy who I’d seen getting the blowjob earlier was lying on his back on one of the benches and the manager was atop him, riding his cock. That wasn’t the most shocking thing I saw. The other two guys were standing on either side of her head and she was sucking the cock of first one, then the other. I gulped. Her body shook and quivered as she rode the man she was impaled on.

“Now! Now! I’m cumming! Oh, yes! I’m cumming!” the manager screamed. “I’m cumming!”

The two men she was jerking off and sucking groaned and their hips began thrusting. “Gahh!” they screamed in unison and exploded their sticky cum all over the manager’s face, breasts, and hair.

“Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Take it! Take my come, baby!” the man lying under her groaned, slamming his cock up into the manager as he joined in coming with his partners.

**********

Even though I never did see the woman I was supposed to be following that night, my visit to the health club that night wasn’t a total loss. I did meet Didi.

Chapter 4: Kass in Heat

The sound of someone knocking on my back door snapped me out of my daydreaming about what I'd seen my new client doing a year and a half ago. I got up, went to the door, opened it, and was delighted to find that my visitor was a lovely young lady named Kass. She lived just down the street from me and I'd known her for ages. During her senior year in high school she wasn't doing well and I wound up tutoring her at her mother's request. I didn't intend for it to happen, but we wound up becoming lovers and had been seeing each other occasionally ever since. She often dropped by in the afternoon.

"Hi," she said.

"Hi," I replied.

Kass was a very attractive young woman. She was only about five feet tall and had soft, fine brown hair, cut shoulder-length. She was eighteen, but looked younger, and still had a slim, almost boyish body. She had on a dark blue blouse with loose sleeves, and white shorts, held up by a dark blue belt. Her legs were very good, as was her bottom. She and I had enjoyed some incredible times together.

I stepped closer to her, slipped my arms around her, pulled her against me, and covered her lips with mine. I pressed my middle against her, wanting her to feel the swelling that had begun there.

Kass pulled out of my arms when the kiss ended. She stepped back, breathing hard and gazed at me with desire in her eyes. I stepped toward her again and this time when I pulled her into my arms, her body molded itself to mine. Her mouth opened and her tongue lashed into my mouth.

While we kissed, I managed to maneuver us out of the kitchen, into the living room, and to the sofa. I would have much preferred to go to the bedroom, but I didn't want to take the time right then. I sat down on the sofa and pulled her onto my lap. I kissed her again and opened her blouse while I did, baring her small, but remarkably beautiful breasts. Though tiny, they were wonderfully shaped and jutted proudly from Kass's chest. She had dark, eminently suckable nipples, which had begun to emerge. I pulled one into my mouth while the lovely young woman groaned and her hands tangled in my hair.

"Yeah!" she moaned. "Kiss them! Oh, God, yeah! Kiss my breasts!"

Soon both her nipples were hard as rocks and her breathing was ragged. Kass pulled my face to hers and kissed me again. "Make love to me!" she gasped when the kiss ended. "Please! I want you to make love to me!"

Her snug bottom was squirming against my rigid cock, which felt as if it was going to explode. I slid my hands up her firm, smooth legs and opened her belt and the waist of her shorts.

Kass's hands went to the waist of my pants and fumbled them open. Then I stood up and my pants dropped around my feet. Her hand moved inside my underpants and wrapped around my cock.

With shaking hands I pushed Kass's shorts and underpants down and she stepped out of them. Then I slid my hand up between her legs, onto her pussy, and found it soaking wet. I rubbed my fingers over her clit.

Kass groaned and pressed against me. "God! Oh, God! Oh, God!" she groaned. She squeezed my cock.

I sat down on the sofa. Kass moved so her slim legs were astraddle mine and her sparse forest of light brown hair was in front of my face. I bent forward and began kissing her tasty pussy.

"Ahh! Gahh!" Kass groaned. She shoved her hips forward and ground her middle against my mouth while my tongue lashed her. "Yeah! Eat me! Yeah! Do it!"

As much as I enjoyed eating her, I didn't do it long. I finally grasped her hips, urging her down onto me.

As she lowered herself, Kass guided my swollen cock to her soaking-wet opening, then she sank onto it, murmuring with delight as it began entering her.

I received incredibly sweet sensations when my cock slid into the teenager. Kass's pussy was as tight as a virgin's. I clutched her ass and hauled her down onto me while wild feelings raced through me.

After I was all the way in her, Kass leaned forward and pressed her bare breasts against my face. I sucked her nipples and lashed them with my tongue.

"Nnaahh!" she groaned. Her hips started to rock, whipping my erection around inside her. "Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Uh! Wuhh!" she grunted, counting cadence for her her thrusting hips. Her arms locked around my neck, mashing my face against her bare chest. "Wah! Wahh! Wahhh!" she cried, shuddering and shaking, as a wild orgasm exploded through her.

I felt the walls of Kass's channel milking my cock. "Yeah! Take it! Take it!" I groaned when my spewing come bathed her insides.

We remained on the sofa, locked together, clutching each other, after we finished, letting our bodies calm. Finally, Kass leaned back, smiled at me, then she kissed me. "God, that was fantastic!" she gushed.

"It was wonderful, wasn't it?" I replied while my softening cock slipped from her still-quivering hole. Kass gave a little shudder when the shrinking organ left her body. I kissed her and she snuggled against me.

After a while, having her on my lap began to have an effect on me once more. Kass felt it and squirmed on my lap. "My God!" she exclaimed. "Are...are you getting hard again?"

I was, so I nodded. "It looks that way," I said.

The lovely young woman sitting in my lap stretched, then she kissed me. "I need to go to the bathroom before we do anything else," she said after the kiss ended. She stood up.

"I'll be waiting for you in the bedroom when you're done," I said.

"Neat!" Kass replied. She disappeared down the hallway, headed for the bathroom.

After she left the room, I walked down the hallway into my bedroom and laid down on the bed. In a few minutes, Kass appeared in the bedroom and plunked down next to me on my bed. Her hand slid down my belly and found my cock, which was still half-hard. "Oohh!" she purred, "I like this! You're ready for me!"

I shuddered as her hand gently slid up and down on my cock, making it harder and harder with every gentle stroke. What she was doing to my cock felt very good!

Kass bent forward and, before I realized what she intended to do, I felt my cock sliding into her mouth. Overwhelming feelings of passion rolled over me as the lovely young woman's mouth slid up and down my twitching pole.

Kass finally stopped sucking me, but kept hold of my cock. "God, I love this!" she groaned, squeezing my swollen shaft. She moved atop me and lowered herself on my erection.

I could barely comprehend how wonderful it felt to be deep inside Kass's hot snug opening again. My hips surged up off the bed and I grabbed her lean hips and held her against me as my cock lunged into her.

"God! You make me feel so good!" Kass groaned as I shoved my erection up into her. My fervent movements made her petite breasts bob and had her body quaking. "God! Oh, God! Oh, Wow! Is this ever good!"

I continued to ram up into her. All my pent up energy was about to release and I knew it. I pulled the gorgeous young woman down and locked my lips to hers.

"Mmpphh! Mmpphh!" Kass groaned. She began shuddering and her hips began writhing wildly as a ferocious orgasm exploded through her. "Mmm! Mmmm! Mmmmm!"

I came, too, and when I did, my quivering body released another surging flood of my warm effluent into Kass's quavering hole, filling her to overflowing.

When we finished, Kass, still lying atop me, kissed me softly. "I can't believe how good making love with you is!" she whispered breathlessly, "You're the best! The absolute best!" She kissed me again.

"It really is nice of you to say that," I told her. "I feel the same way about you." I rolled her off me, then I slid atop her and captured one of her nipples between my lips.

When I began teasing her nipples with my lips and tongue, Kass squirmed and moaned as luxuriant feelings spread through her body once more. "Again?" she squealed. "Oh, God, I can't believe it! Jesus, you're the horniest man in the world!"

I let her nipple slip from my lips and looked at her. "You want me to stop?" I asked. "I can if all this is too much for you."

Kass shook her head and pressed my head back to her breast. "No! Never! Never!" she exclaimed. Her body twisted sinuously as passion flooded it. "Don't ever stop! You make me feel so good! I love it!"

My hands roved over Kass's smooth skin, teasing her, inflaming her need. She murmured constantly and groaned softly when I touched a particularly sensitive spots on her anatomy.

"I need you! Please! Don't...Oh!...don't tease me! Please!" Kass begged, her body arching and straining. "Take me! Please! Take me!"

I re-positioned myself and, as if guided by unseen forces, my rigid penis slipped into her soaking wet cunt.

"Yeah! That's it!" Kass groaned when she felt me enter her again. She locked her legs behind mine and pressed herself against me. "God!"

I began thrusting into her, experiencing wondrous sensations as my cock probed deep into her slim body. The milking action of the walls of her pussy on my impaling shaft sent shudder after shudder of joy through me.

"Kass! Oh! Oh! Yeah!" I groaned when, once again, I began erupting into her.

"Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! Oh, yeah! Give it to me! Yeah! Oh, yeah! So hot! Oh! Ohh! Ohh!" the quaking teenager cried, her body straining, as orgasm swept once more through her lithe, lovely form. "Uh! Uh! Uh!"

"I wish I could stay longer, but I have to get home," Kass said once we finished. She giggled. "Mom's been seeing a new guy and she's having him over for dinner tonight so I can meet him." She smiled at me and caressed my face gently with her fingers. "I think, maybe, she's getting serious about him."

I found the news moderately distressing. Kass wasn't the only member of that particular family I'd been sleeping with. Her lovely, full-bodied mother, Louanne, was another of my lovers. If she had found someone else, it looked like I might be out of the picture.

"Don't look so sad," Kass said. "You still have me." She knew I was sleeping with her mother but, fortunately for Kass and me, Louanne had no idea her daughter and I were having an affair.

I kissed her softly. "I know," I said. "And I guess I am a little sad, but your mother's a really wonderful person. It would be nice if she could find someone she could really love."

Kass studied me, looking a little surprised. "You really mean that, don't you?" she asked.

I nodded. "Of course I do," I said. "I'm pretty sure your mother knows there's no chance she and I would ever get together. I've certainly never expressed that intention. Why shouldn't she have someone who really cares for her in her life?"

Kass kissed me again. "You're really a neat guy," she said softly. She slid out of bed and headed for the bathroom. When she finished cleaning up, she returned carrying her clothes, which we'd left lying in the living room, and began getting dressed while I watched. I enjoy watching a pretty woman dress almost as much as I enjoy watching one getting undressed.

Once Kass had her clothes on, she leaned over and kissed me, then was gone. I had several hours before I had to pick up Jill Thompson, so I decided to put them to good use and get a rest. I set my alarm clock, laid back, and went to sleep.

Chapter 5: Under His Watch

My alarm woke me at seven o’clock and I got up, took a shower. After I got dressed, I made myself a sandwich and ate it. I wasn’t sure whether Jill planned to feed me or not. Even if she did feed me, given her obvious focus on health, she might want to give me some kind of tofu concoction. That stuff gags me.

Finally, I locked up my house, got in my car, and headed for the health club. I arrived just before eight o’clock and went inside. The receptionist wasn’t behind the desk, but the door to Jill’s office was slightly ajar. Out in the area where the exercise machines were, some people, most of them women in excellent shape, as far as I could see, were still working out on the machines. Other club members, both male and female, were heading for the locker rooms.

I walked over and knocked on Jill’s door.

“Come in,” she said. She smiled when I pushed the door open and entered her office. “You’re right on time,” she commented.

“I always give my clients what they pay for,” I said. I took a seat in one of the chairs facing her desk.

“You might as well make yourself comfortable,” she said. “The members hang in there as late as they can most nights. Usually at nine I have to go out and chase them out of here.”

“I’m on the clock,” I said. “Doesn’t matter to me where I do my job.”

“If you have sweats, you’re welcome to use the equipment,” Jill said. “I have some bookwork to finish, then I have to close the place up.”

“No staff on to help tonight?” I asked.

She shook her head. “For some reason, Monday isn’t as busy as most other nights are,” she said. “I usually handle closing up myself those nights. The rest of the week my staff stays late, too.”

“Are all the people who work for you in that picture you showed me earlier?” I asked.

Jill nodded. “Why did you ask?” she said.

“Well, maybe I better look at the picture again,” I said. “Just so I know who’s staff and who isn’t. I’ve always figured the more I know about what I’m doing, the less likely I am to mess it up.”

Jill dug the picture out of her desk and handed it to me, then she picked up a pen and began writing something in a book lying on the desk in front of her.

I studied the picture. All of the members of her staff appeared to be younger than she was, and all of them appeared to be in excellent shape, too, both the males and the females. I spotted the blonde guy I’d seen her with. He was standing next to her in the back row. I wondered if he was in any danger from Billy. He could be, especially if Jill was still sharing her favors with him.

After I was pretty sure I’d recognize any of the people in the picture if I encountered them, I laid it on the desk, stood up, and walked out into the main exercise area. Several women were still puffing away on stair climbers and a couple of men were pumping away on the exercise bikes. I’ve never been much of one for mechanical assistance in working out. In fact, until I began working for Roscoe, I hardly ever worked out at all once I left the cops. But, I got so winded chasing a guy I spotted shoplifting when I was working a store security detail told me I was endangering myself if I didn’t get in shape, so I began running, swimming, and doing pushups and sit-ups at home. The exercise has helped. My endurance has improved considerably, and I’m a lot fleeter of foot than I was a year ago.

As nine o’clock approached, the small group of exercisers began drifting toward the locker rooms, all but one determined woman who was working the stair climber with incredible determination. She looked as if King Kong was chasing her up the stairs of the Empire State building. Sweat beaded on her face and arms, and her breasts, even though they were encased firmly in Spandex, jiggled as she pumped away on the machine. She was a good-looking brunette with a very tidy body. I hadn’t been committed to work tonight, I might have tried striking up a conversation with her. The last woman I met here in the health club had turned out to be a lot of fun, maybe the brunette would be, too. She certainly had the all of the equipment for it.

“That’s Serena,” Jill said, appearing beside me. “She’s always the last one here.”

“She’s sure giving that stair climber a workout,” I commented.

“She has a very stressful job and she works the stress out here in the club,” Jill said. “I guess I better tell her it’s time to quit.” She walked over and laid her hand on the woman’s arm.

Puffing like a steam engine, the woman stopped and looked at her. Jill said something and Serena nodded, then she stepped down from the exercise machine, picked up her towel, and headed for the women’s locker room.

Jill walked back over to me. “Would you mind checking the men’s locker room to see that everybody’s gone?” she asked.

“Be happy to,” I said. I started in that direction.

“Sometimes people leave stuff in the lockers,” Jill said as I walked away from her. “If you find anything, bring it to the office.”

“All right,” I said.

The men’s locker room was empty and nothing had been left behind by any of the members. I shut the lights off when I walked out. Jill and Serena weren’t around, so I went into the manager’s office and sat down to wait.

Jill walked in a few minutes later. “Serena’s gone,” she said. “Let’s turn out the lights, lock the place up, and head home.”

“OK,” I said. I stood up and followed her out of the office. She turned off the lights while I walked to the door. Then she joined me and we went outside. I stood there, looking around, while she locked the door.

“Your car or mine?” she asked.

“Will yours be all right if you leave it here?” I asked.

“Probably,” Jill replied. “The parking lot is well-lit, the neighborhood is pretty safe, and ever since I reported what Billy has been doing, the police do make frequent swings through here.”

She’d no sooner gotten the words out of her mouth than a blue and white police car turned off the street and came across the parking lot toward us. Floodlights on the roof of the car came on, bathing us both in bright, white light.

“Jill, this is Sergeant Mills,” a female voice said. “Are you OK?”

“I’m fine,” Jill replied. “This isn’t Billy. He’s a…a friend.”

The lights on the top of the police car went out, allowing me to see a uniformed female standing next to the open door on the car’s driver’s side. A uniformed female officer was standing there.

“I’ll be leaving my car here tonight,” Jill told her.

“We’ll keep an eye on it for you,” the officer said. “Take care.” She got back in the cruiser, then it backed up and pulled out of the parking lot onto the street.

“Working patrol on the night shift is the best detail on the department,” I said, as memories of how much I’d enjoyed being a police officer came back to me.

“Were you a cop?” Jill asked.

I nodded. “Ten years,” I said.

“Why did you quit?” she asked as we walked toward my car.

“My wife didn’t like me being a cop,” I told her. “She hated the hours and the fact I was gone a lot. So I got out.”

I opened the door on the passenger side of my car so she could get in.

“But you aren’t married now, are you?” she asked as she slipped into my car.

I walked around and got in behind the steering wheel. “Nope, I’m not married,” I said. “I’ve been divorced for almost a year now.”

“What happened?” she asked. “I mean, if you quit being a police officer because your wife didn’t like it…”

“She went back to her home town and bumped into an old boyfriend,” I said as I started the car and backed out of the parking space. “Meeting him got her thinking that maybe the grass was greener in another pasture and…” I shrugged as I slipped the shift lever into “Drive.”

“That’s too bad,” Jill said. “You must have been devastated.”

I pulled out onto the street and turned in the direction of Jill’s apartment building. I knew where it was because she’d given me the address earlier. “You know,” I said, “I was upset, but not nearly as much as I thought I’d be. I guess I figured if she could be happier with someone else, then maybe she ought to try.”