The End

The morning sunlight filtered through the blinds, illuminating her face. I lay next to her with bittersweet memories of a wonderful evening. It all started about a year ago, but it would end today.

It wasn’t love at first sight. Not even lust at first sight. She was a pretty woman, fifteen years my senior. Not drop-dead gorgeous… but in her youth I’m sure she didn’t spend many weekends sitting at home alone. Self-confident and all business, she was in middle management with a large corporation. When my company landed their business, I was awarded the account.

Although our first meeting was uneventful, I noticed that there was something different about her. She didn’t have the arrogance that many of my clients had. “She’s a breath of fresh air," I thought.

As our companies’ business developed, I found myself having more and more contact with her. I traveled throughout the Midwest and used to hate my stops in Louisville. Now I found myself making up reasons to be there. Our handshakes were now hugs. Our emails started to be flirtatious. Business lunches became dinners. Although we were both happily married, the attraction was undeniable.

It was after one of our dinners that I made my first move. We had an enjoyable dinner and wonderful conversation. She was wearing a slightly low-cut black dress. I could hardly keep my eyes off of her. I hated for the evening to end. I walked her to her car and gave her the usual goodbye hug. Except this time I kissed her. I couldn’t tell if the look in her eyes said she was surprised or if she wondered why I’d taken so long. “I have to go,” she said. And she got into her car.

I didn’t have a reason to see her for the next few weeks. I missed her. We spoke on the phone, but that only made me yearn for her more. We planned on lunch my next time in town. Lunch, instead of dinner, was her idea. I hoped I hadn’t scared her away.

I could hardly wait to get to the office. A little paperwork and then I’d head for Louisville! Then my boss called. He had decided to go with me. “Damn it!” I called and canceled with her and made plans for the following week. She agreed to make it dinner.

It was a long week, but the day finally arrived. We were going to meet at 6:00…I arrived at 5:00. I couldn’t wait to see her. By 6:15 I was afraid she wasn’t going to show. She was never late for anything. At 6:20 I saw her walk through the door. My heart raced, but I tried to play it cool. She apologized for being late. “I got out of work late and my cell battery was dead.” I didn’t care. I just wanted to grab her and pull her tightly against me. I didn’t.

“Something to drink?” the waiter asked. “Scotch on the rocks,” she said, explaining that “It’s been a long day!” We had several before our meal arrived. The food was good, but the conversation was better. Before we knew it we were being asked to leave. We had been there for four hours…it was closing time!

I walked her to her car. “Want to sit and talk for a minute?” she asked. Like we hadn’t talked enough already? I wanted to say “Hell yeah!” but I coolly said “Sure.” We sat in her car and continued our conversation. I pulled her toward me and kissed her lips. This time she kissed me back. I kissed her neck and slowly worked my way down. I slowly slid my hand up her skirt. Her skin was so soft...she felt amazing. Then she said, “Stop. I love what we have. If we do this, things will be too complicated. We’d have to end our relationship... I’ll leave it up to you.” She wasn’t kidding. I could have her now and never see her again. Or I could stop and continue to see her. I couldn’t imagine not having her in my life, so I said my goodbyes and got out of the car.

We talked numerous times after that night, but the activity in her car was never mentioned. My next trip to Louisville would be a month away. We decided to get together and celebrate my birthday when I was in town. I didn’t usually like birthdays, but with her it would be special.

I called her immediately after my last appointment. “I’m available whenever you are!” She said she would wrap up a few things at work and meet me by 5:00. I couldn’t wait to see her.

She was early. I was in the bar when she came up from behind, put her arms around me and said “Happy birthday!” She looked amazing. “Let’s skip dinner and go to my room,” I said, almost pleading. “You are all that I want for my birthday.” “You know my rule…it’s up to you,” was her reply. “I gotta have you,” I said.

The drive back to my room seemed like an eternity. I fumbled to get the key card in the slot, knowing what lay ahead. When I finally got the door open, we couldn’t wait to get inside. She pushed me into a chair and told me to stay there. Standing in front of me, she slowly removed her clothes. She wore the scars of her life, a few extra pounds and an obvious c-section, as medals. They did nothing to detract from her beauty. “Is this what you want?” she teased. She knew it was…had been for a long time.

She slowly began to undress me. I was no longer the aggressor and it felt good. She kissed my neck as she ran her fingers through my chest hair. Her hand slowly unbuckled my belt and pulled down my pants. We somehow made our way to the bed. She had over thirty years experience at lovemaking and she put it all to use. It was the most phenomenal night of my life.

When we finally finished we just lay there looking at each other. Thinking about what we had…thinking about what we had done. Damn I’m going to miss her.