10 Year High School Reunion (closed for Beachgirl86)

Michael had been trying to decide whether or not to attend the 10 year reunion. No matter what you say when you graduate about keeping in touch, life has a way of taking over and dictating otherwise. Now people that were his best friends rarely enter his mind. His career as an electrical contractor has been on the upswing with everyone so hungry for entertainment rooms and electronic devices that need power run to them.

He was 28, and his job kept him in good shape. He had always had a clean cut look, which he still maintained to this day. His light brown hair kept short off of the collar, clean shaven. It was a look that made people feel comfortable with him being in their homes. He looked safe, non-threatening, and that seemed to help his business which was growing by the hour. Still, seeing some of the old gang would be sort of fun. So he finds himself in his blue sport coat and uncomfortable dress shoes, sipping on punch in the ball room of the city hotel as the class of 1998 begins rolling in.

"This was probably a waste of a weekend" he thought to himself. In talking with the few people there, which were more of acquiantences than his real friends, he found out that a few of the buddies he was looking forward to seeing were not planning to attend. As he looked around the room, he really didn't see any of this circle of friends from yesteryear. "I'll hang around for another 30 minutes and then I'll catch the rest of the game at the local sports bar"

Melinda stood in front of her bedroom mirror and thought about what lay ahead. In about ten minutes, she would get into her car, drive two hours to where she used to go to High School and meet with her old classmates.

Melinda was now, ten years after graduating, a businesswoman, who made enough money to own a little house and a nice car. There was actually only one thing she missed and that was a man in her life. She had been single for over a year now and really wanted to find somebody. Looking at her, one would wonder why she didn't have a boyfriend. She was about 5'7'' with long blonde hair and beautiful blue eyes, which she was really proud of. Also, she went to the gym regularly to keep her body in shape.

- 2 hours later -

When Melinda stepped out of her car, in a blue top and a matching skirt, she hoped to see her girlfriends from High School, Britney and Lisa. But the first guy she saw from her old class - Harold - told her that they weren't coming. Melinda was disappointed, but decided to give the reunion a shot nevertheless.

“No Dwight, I guess you never can have too much insurance.”

Michael has spent what felt like an eternity listening to explanations of hospitalization, out of pocket expense, and pre-existing coverage provided by his old classmate. Michael simply smiled as he looked into his drink and swirled it around wishing it was hemlock. It was his own fault for saying hello, now he was stuck. He didn’t mind when people talked shop, he didn’t even care if people asked him for electrical advice when they were undertaking a small do-it-yourself project around the house. But he never could stomach someone viewing a social contact as a way to profit their business. He raised his eyes as he took a drink and his eyes rested on a solution. Perhaps he could use the characteristic he despised to his advantage.

Cutting his old acquaintance off mid-sentence he said, "Dwight, isn’t that Gordon Miller? I’m surprised he is still alive. You remember how accident prone he was?”“ He kept his eyes on Dwight and watched as his gaze fixed on a new target, like a lion that had caught sight of a wounded prey. Without a word, Dwight began striding away. "Nice talking with you Dwight.” Michael said raising his glass, feeling pleased that his hastily formed idea worked to perfection.

Michael looked at his watch. "21 minutes to go.” He was a man of his word, even it if was a word spoken only to himself. He just needed to be more cautious of who he approached. He spent time mingling with the crowd and ended up setting up camp at a table with his old drama buddy Craig Benson. Craig was a diehard Pittsburgh Steelers fan, just as Michael was. They recounted in detail exactly where they were when the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. As Craig was talking Michael’s eyes came to rest on what was without a doubt the cutest redhead he had ever seen. She approached the table the two friends were sitting at and began to tug on Craig’s sleeve.

“Daddy, I have to go to the bathroom.”

Michael’s focus shifted from the little girl to Craig. With a smile and a hint of disbelief in his voice he asked, “Is this your little girl?” “Yeah, this is my little princess Heather.” Craig replied. Leaning forward in his chair and resting his elbows on his knees as if to get a closer look, Michael asked, How old is she?” “She just turned four; she wants to be either a ballerina or a fireman.” Craig said halfway laughing. Michael's heart melted as he looked at her, "Well the world needs both” Michael shook Craig’s hand and then watched him walk off with this little girl with her hand in his.

It hadn’t escaped his notice that several of his class was now married, some for the second time. His married friends seemed happy. No fairytale marriages, but they were content. He would like to have a serious relationship. It had been almost three years since he had broken up with Donna. He missed having someone that was always on his mind, looking forward to the next time he would see her. Add to that the idea of having little girl like Heather to watch grow up and be called Daddy. He was smiling like an idiot at the idea. Eventually his mind returned to the present.

He looked at his watch. "Wow, mission accomplished!” he exclaimed to himself. Michael stood up and began walking toward the door of the ballroom. "I’m glad I came. It was nice to get to see Craig” he thought as he neared the door. He saw that someone was getting ready to come in through the entryway so he stepped to the side to allow room for them to enter and then he would be off to the one of his old hangouts for some wings and a beer. But then he saw who he was standing to the side for………. and he honestly couldn’t remember where he was heading, why he was heading there, or even his name for that matter. The only thing that he was sure of was that he no longer wanted to leave.

Melinda stayed outside for a while to talk to Harold, who had been smoking a cigarette when she arrived. Harold had once been a fat kid in high school. People had made fun of him - until sophomore year when he lost 40 pounds. From there on, he suddenly had found friends. But Melinda had always liked Harold. She had been nice to him and tried to make him feel better when he had been made fun of.

"And so we got married and now we even have a son, Jack. He's three." Harold had told Melinda about the past years. "And you? Do you have a boyfriend or even a husband?", Harold asked and hit Melinda's sore spot. "No...No, I don't. I decided to concentrate on my career first." "That's a load of crap. You were just too stupid and too afraid to find somebody and stay with him.", she told herself. But the career thing sounded much better.

After a few minutes of more talking, Harold told her he would leave now and he wished her a nice evening. So did she and then she went inside the hotel. She got a glass of punch in the lobby and stood around to talk to some of the people she knew or recognized. There was Carla, the skanky one, that used to make out with every boy that got near her. Then there was Mark, who once had thrown up on Melinda during a party in senior year. She had not forgiven him yet. But there was nobody in the lobby she wanted to stay with for the whole evening, so she emptied her glass of punch with one big sip and then decided to see if someone worth spending her time with was in the ballroom.

She went towards the door, but someone wanted to get out while she wanted to slip inside. He stepped aside to let her go in first, and Melinda already wanted to thank him, but then they looked in each other's faces and everything around them stopped for a second. It was a really weird moment, but Melinda found her voice first. "Michael! Is it really you?" Finally someone she was really happy about. Michael had been one of her best friends in high school. They always could talk to each other about their problems and they did a lot together. But they never got intimate and Melinda had been very happy about that because she knew that sex could alawys destroy a good friendship when you were so young and naive.

Michael didn't remember exactly how it happened, but before he realized it, he had Melinda in a huge bear hug that lifted her slightly off the ground. "Oh my God it is good to see you Melinda!" She felt so small and delicate in his arms. He was suddenly concerned that in his excitement he was holding her too tightly, but she seemed to be pulling herself into him and he heard her let out a small laugh. He opened his eyes while they were still embraced and took in the sight of her blonde mane as it laid down her back. The perfume she was wearing was light and clean, it suited her.

Michael slowly lowered her to her feet and pulled back. He stared at her, drinking her in with his eyes like a man dying of thirst. It had been ten years since he had laid eyes on her, and he needed some time to enjoy it. All of the guys from high school thought that Melinda's hair was striking, and while Michael didn't disagree, he always thought that the best feature of a woman was her eyes. In that regard, Melinda's were among the most beautiful he had ever seen. The blue top that she was wearing did even more to bring out their sapphire color.

It seemed that, at the exact same moment, they both realized that they were completely blocking everyone from being able to enter or exit the ballroom. "I think we are becoming a fire hazard." Michael said as he drew away from her to walk back into the ballroom. He kept his hand on the small of her back, hoping she would understand that he wanted her to stay with him as they relocated. Very shortly they found themselves sitting on a sofa that was set below a huge window that overlooked the street outside.

There are times in life when minutes seem like hours, such as the time he had spent with Dwight earlier. This however was the exact opposite, no matter how long he would have been with her it would have seemed too short to him. Michael had so much to tell her regarding the past ten years. The start up of his company, the marriage of his younger sister that was three grades behind them, even briefly recounting his first trip to Heinz Field to see his beloved Steelers play live for the first time. He didn't worry if she was bored or if she was feigning interest. This, after all, wasn't a first date, it was Melinda.

As he spoke his mind began replaying images of moments that they had together. The first class they shared was Freshman geometry, one of Michael's better subjects, so he helped her through some of the problems that she has having difficulty with. Their Junior year Michael's parents were getting divorced and he was having a hard time with it. Melinda had a single pink rose sent to him in Biology class, her card simply read - "Keep your chin up. Melinda" When Michael first met her he thought she was cute. But as they became friends and he got to know her personality she stopped being cute and became beautiful. By the time they reached graduation, she was breathtaking.

It was appearant that during their time apart, her external image was continuing to catch up with her inner beauty. If he had ever tried to carry on a conversation with a woman this attractive that he had just met, he would have already spilled his drink on either himself, her, or more than likely both. He had no problem interacting with women, even very attractive women. But for some reason whenever there was the possiblity of it becoming more than causal he just couldn't seem to get out of his own way. Not to say that Melinda didn't have some affect on him in that regard. He was already double checking his words in his mind before he said them. He was trying to come up with something witty to say to get her to laugh, that always seemed to make him more relaxed.

Michael had timed when to take quick glances at her left hand at moments she wouldn't notice. He saw that she was not wearing a ring; wedding, engagement, or one that girls wear to say, "I'm not married and I don't want to be." "That doesn't really mean she isn't married or involved," he thought to himself, "Maybe she just doesn't wear one" He could just ask, but there was always a risk of inadvertantly opening old wounds, and since he was anxious to find out what she had been up to for the past decade, he figured he would bounce the conversation ball into her court and see what she offered up.

"Ok, I know I've been talking your ear off. Your turn, catch me up on 'Melinda - The Lost Years'" He turned sideways in the sofa to face her more directly, laid his arm over the back and leaned in slightly, ready to take mental notes on everything she was about to say.

Michael really had told her a lot, but Melinda had listened very closely and really was interested in what he had to say. She remembered getting to know Michael in geometry, then sharing other classes with him. And every class she shared with him was the most fun. They always sat next to each other and very often Melinda was caught talking to him than listening to what the teacher would say.

After graduation, they had of course told each other they'd keep in touch and so on. That had worked for about four or five months, but then their phone contact sort of broke off. Since they went to different colleges, it was hard to keep in touch because the internet was not as widely spread as today and college was comsuming most of Melinda's time.

Melinda had finished college and then started to work for a big insurance company. She worked - not slept! - her way up the ladder in short time and soon, after about three, four years, she made enough money to get her small house. She continued working with concentration and now she was a successful businesswoman who could live without financial worries.

But as successful her career was, as desolate was her love life. She got to know a guy in junior year in college, who she immediately fell in love with, but after only 1 1/2 months she caught him with another girl. She wasn't really trying to find a new boyfriend, just lived her life so she wouldn't get hurt again. With 26, she had found somebody else, but that wasn't really meant to happen, either, so that it ended after only a year. And since then there was nothing. She was not interested in one night stands. If something happened, she wanted it to be permanent.

And now she was sitting here, in front of the guy that was her best male friend in high school. She had always thought that he liked her more than he would admit in those times. She didn't know if it was true, but there were some signs that made her think he would love to be more than just a best friend. But graduation had ended these thoughts, anyway.

So now you know everything you need to know about the past 10 years. I hope I didn't bore you too much. His face didn't look like she had. So, do you want to stay here or would you like to switch to a place where we can talk about the old times without being disturbed?

Michael had enjoyed listening to his old friend. Catching up with things she had done and experienced. He couldn’t help but smile to himself when she offered up fact that she wasn’t currently seeing anyone. Mostly, though, he just savored the moment of being with her. All of the little things that made her Melinda hadn’t changed over the years. Her adorable laugh, the way she would brush her hair back behind her ear as she spoke, even the way she would dangle her shoe off of her toe when she was listening to him. “So, do you want to stay here or would you like to switch to a place where we can talk about the old times without being disturbed?” He hadn’t really noticed that the room began filling up and she had to raise her voice slightly to carry over the crowd. "Yeah, let’s go and get a drink” Michael replied.

As they made their way through the ballroom and into the parking lot, Michael was trying to decide where they should head. He had planned to head to the sports bar over an hour ago, but he wasn’t sure that beer and wings were the order of the day. Melinda looked stunning in her blue suit and he had a hard time picturing her licking buffalo wing sauce off of her fingers. Still, she wasn’t an uptight type of girl, she never had been. “I need some time to figure out where we should go” he thought to himself. Telling her to follow him, he steps into his black Dodge Ram pickup and pulls out into traffic, making sure that she was able to stay on his tail. He got to the traffic light at Water and High street. Heading straight would take them to Rose Cafe, a quiet little bistro perfect for conversation. If he turned right he would end up at Beers and Cheers, by all standards the exact opposite. For a reason that he didn’t understand he turned on his blinker.

Looking into the rear view mirror to verify she is still following him he began replaying moments of their conversation, as well as the mental image of her. In high school he had a number of masturbatory fantasies that involved Melinda. He always pictured her to be playful in bed, but also the type of girl that knew what she wanted and wasn’t afraid to ask her lover for it. Once the guy she was dating started bragging to him about his experience with her in his car. Michael told him to shut up and walked off. Even though he was dying to hear what kind of lover she was he felt that he would be betraying her by listening to him.

He sees the sports bar sign in the distance. "I hope she doesn’t think I’m a complete idiot for bringing her here” he thinks to himself. "She did ask if I wanted to go some place where we wouldn’t be disturbed.” But what’s done is done, there was no turning back at this point.

The parking lot appeared half full so they had no trouble parking right next to each other. "Mike, just take a good look at her reaction, if she seems disappointed just quickly offer to head to Rose Café.” Michael watched as Melinda’s head came into view over the top of her car.

After telling Mike what had happened in the past 10 years, she didn't feel like staying at the reunion any longer. There was nobody here - besides Mike - that she had really been close with and it was getting pretty full. When he agreed on her plans to go out and have a drink, they got up and walked towards their cars. Melinda had parked only about three spaces away from Mike's car, so she could easily get behind him, when he left the parking lot.

Following him, she thought about their conversation. She had told him a lot. He probably knew more about her life now than anybody else except her parents. She had a funny feeling in her stomach, but she didn't know what it came from. Was it just the excitement because she hadn't seen Mike in the last ten years? Or was it something else? She wasn't sure, but what she was sure about was that she probably would find out soon enough.

When a sign of "Beers and Cheers" showed up in the distance, she had to smile. Some women would not have thought of that as a smart move by Mike because a sports bar might not be the perfect place to take a woman. But Melinda thought different. She actually liked that better than quiet cafés, where everybody was at least 60 years old.

They parked their cars and then met up in front of the entrance. Melinda saw an insecure expression in Mike's face and she knew that he wasn't sure if this was the right location. She had to reassure him that it was not a bad decision. "Hey, I love the idea of going to a sports bar. Great choice, Mike. I see you haven't changed at all." She had a little smirk in the corner of her lips, making it clear that she was not being sarcastic.

The next few hours seemed like minutes to Michael. He knew this wasn't a date, but if it had been it was the best he had been on in years. Everything about her was perfect. She knew he would be rooting for the Giants because if they beat the Ravens the Steelers would have a 3 game lead in their division. She ordered a Guiness draft and not a watery light beer. She even wanted the "torid zone" hot sauce on her buffalo wings. Michael didn't know if she was meaning to, but watching her lick the sauce from her fingers was making him so hot. How on earth she was still single was beyond him.

Michael noticed a pool table open up just as halftime started. "Do you still shoot pool?" he asked. Melinda seemed eager to play a round with him so he soon had the balls racked. ""Let's see if you still have that killer break you used in school" Michael said as if you challenge her. As the game progressed he couldn't help but watch her as she studied the table for her next shot. He enjoyed seeing her eyes dance around the felt, looking for the best angle. He could feel himself wanting her, wanted to spend more time with her, wanting the night to go on forever. "You have to say something. You can't let tonight end without something being said. You let too many opportunities slip past before, don't let this one get past you too."

Michael didn't know if she was feeling anything other than the friendship of the past. He was perhaps the world's worst at reading signs from women. If she was sending him any he wasn't picking up on them. In the end, he knew he could always rely on his humor. It was like a soft warm blanket that he could wrap around himself when he needed it. He just needed to figure out how to use it to help him. The thought of saying something suggestive to Melinda made him feel excited and terrified at the same time, but he had to know if this was something that he needed to put out of his mind, or if he was not alone in his feelings.

Melinda made her way around the table and positioned herself in front of him for her next shot. She leaned forward to determine the angle she wanted, but Michael was fixated on her body. It was if she was offering herself to him. Before he knew what he was doing he found himself leaning over her. "You aren't interested in smacking one of my balls around are you?" Her reaction would tell him what he wanted to know. If she laughed he knew she was looking at him through the same eyes she did 10 years ago. If she didn't.........well that could mean a lot of things. Michael stepped back to allow her room to turn to face him. She was not laughing. He couldn't tell from the expression on her face what she was thinking, but it was clear that he needed to say something. "This is it Mike. You can whimp out and laugh it off as a joke, or you can tell her. Tell her what she deserves to hear."

Taking a moment to swallow he finally found his voice. "Melinda, I don't know what might be going through your mind right now, but I've really enjoyed your company tonight. In fact, this has been one of the most enjoyable evenings that I've had in a long time. It sounds like you are in a really good place in your life right now and I don't know if you want to upset that or if you would be interested in pursuing something together that we never had before. But right now, the thought of having to wait another 10 years to see you is not something that I want to let happen." Michael studied her expressions, but she wasn't giving him much to go on. She was either absorbing what he was saying and trying to make sense of it, or she was looking for the best way out of an awkward situation. Somehow, Michael's mind decided not to wait to find out and he found himself sharing more than he perhaps should.

"We have such a good history together Melinda. I know I've never told you this, but I've always thought that you were beautiful. I've always wanted to know what it would be like to have your arm through mine and enter a room together. At the risk of offending you, there is nothing I would like more than to spend the night with you, but I don't want to cheapen what we have already and ruin what we could have together." Michael's words seemed to stun them both. "Good God Mike! You just told her you wanted to sleep with her! What is wrong with you?! You will be lucky she doesn't run out screaming and run her key down the side of the truck on her way out." But it was too late, the damage was done. His thoughts and feelings were laying out on the table like the solid and stripped balls they had been hitting. Even thought he had really exposed how he felt, in his heart he knew he could trust her. She might not feel the same way, but she would let him keep his dignity.

The silence hung in the air between them like a cloud. Michael's heart and breathing seemed to get quicker by the second. He knew the next thing she said very well could change his life.

Time flies. These two words seem like nothing, but what Melinda experienced was exactly that. Time flies. She and Mike stepped into the sports bar and from then on it was just like hours had become minutes.

The Giants were playing the Ravens on the various TV screens in the bar and because of a little coincidence Melinda knew that she had to cheer for the Giants. Of course she knew that Mike was a huge Steelers fan, but on the way to the reunion, some guy on the radio was talking about the situation in NFL and that the Steelers would really benefit from a Giants victory.

When she ordered a Guinness, for a short second she recognized a surprised look in Michael's face. Well, in the past years she had gotten to love beer, and not the Budweiser piss her dad drank. She liked real beer like Guinness or the German import beer the store in her town sold. Yeah, it was expensive, but it was more than worth it. (Sorry, had to do that. )

While sitting at the table, talking about everything that came to their mind, Melinda couldn't help but wonder what that feeling in her stomach was. It had grown bigger since stepping into the sports bar and there was no sign of it going down. Of course Melinda wasn't an idiot and she knew that it probably had to do something with Michael, but she hadn't seen him in ten years and now she suddenly had feelings for him? She wasn't sure about that, but she would have liked if it really was true.

Michael then invited her to a game of pool. As a teenager Melinda had loved playing pool and she remembered that most of the time she had beat Michael when they had played. But now she hadn't played in a while and she hoped not to get crushed. "Oh, so you wanna get your ass kicked?", she said smiling, but knowing that she would probably be the one who would get the ass-kicking.

Their game was slowly coming to an end and it wasn't really sure who would be the winner. Both of them had still two balls on the table and Melinda knew she would have to concentrate now. She went around the table looking for good spots and found one right in front of Michael. She went to the edge of the table and bent forward, when she felt Michael leaning forward and whispering in her ear, "You aren't interested in smacking one of my balls around are you?" Did he really just say that? No, he didn't. That wouldn't be Mike.

She slowly turned around and looked at him, but before she could even think of something to say, he started his speech. When he was done, she was absolutely stunned. He basically just told her that he was interested in her, would love to spend the rest of the day with her and - and that was the thing which stunned her most - that he wanted to have sex with her. This didn't sound at all like the Michael she knew.

But the thing was - she was not upset or angry. No, not at all. In fact, that fluttery feeling had now become stronger than ever. And in that moment she realized that Michael might be the one. That one guy every woman knows is out there. She couldn't believe that all those years they had spent together she hadn't felt anything like that. And now - boom, there it was.

She knew that Michael was really nervous now and he probably thought that she would yell at him and tell him to go fuck himself. But that she wouldn't do. Of course not. Michael...I have to tell you that I am...well, yes, I am shocked, but in a good way. I would have never thought I would hear something like that out of your mouth. And I can tell you, you didn't exactly pick the smartest words to tell me all that. That little joke wasn't the best idea to relieve that feeling in her stomach, no, it actually grew even more. But now she knew what to say.

"Michael, today was a great day and just like you, it was one of the greatest in the few months. You haven't changed much since high school, you're still that handsome, caring guy I always liked. I have realized that there has to be more than 'We're just good friends' because then this day wouldn't have worked as well as it did. I would love to spend the rest of today with you." She could see how the tension in Michael vanished, but now it was her heart that was beating faster and faster.

Michael felt the weight of several worlds lifted off of his shoulders. He had taken such a high risk / high reward move by telling her what he was feeling, and it had paid off more wonderfully than he could have imagined. "you are still that handsome, caring guy that I always liked." Her words made him feel so calm and relaxed. He was almost at a lost for words seeing how he was much more prepared for a "thanks but no thanks" reply. Now fantasy was turning into reality right before him.

"I can't tell you how happy I am to hear that you feel that way Melinda." he answered, still struggling to control his breathing. He stepped closer to her and watched her expression change. They were sailing through uncharted waters together. She seemed to be searching for words to say, but nothing came from her lips. Her blue eyes darted back and forth between his, as if trying to predict what he was going to do. Softly Michael brushed his hand through her blonde hair and then leaned in for their first kiss. Even though they had both kissed others, this one was just like a very first kiss. Perhaps it was because they knew each other as kids, or because they had so much history with each other. What ever the reason, it was magic pure and simple. Michael had imagined this moment several times in high school, but he now realized that he didn't do it justice. She was amazing, her lips were so soft and she provided just enough movement with her neck to let him know she was very comfortable with his actions. She even let out a soft moan as he began to pull away, perhaps telling him that it was over too quickly.

Michael pulled back and looked into her eyes. She was smiling which made him smile as well, almost a reflex that happened before he was aware of it. "Well, I can honestly say I never thought I would have gotten to do that when I woke up this morning" he said with a slight laugh. He let his hand drop down her arm and took hers into it. "If this is a dream I'm going to be so pissed when I wake up" he thought to himself. But it was all too real, too perfect to vanish at the sound of an alarm clock. Michael suddenly realized that the events of the past few seconds opened up an entire world that they should discuss before the night was over. "Unless you want to finish the game, maybe we should head back to the table. I think we have a lot to discuss." Turning toward the table but still looking at each other, they took their first steps together hand in hand.

A part of Melinda actually screamed "No!" or rather "God damn it, no! Slap the bastard in the face and kick him where he wanted you to smack him!", but fortunately she only heared and listened to the reasonable part of her mind. She was glad that Michael had, well, taken the first step because Melinda would probably have gone home before feeling that she had fallen in love with him. And it seemed like she had.

Michael told her how happy he was, but that was soon way back in the past, when he stepped forward and kissed her. Melinda closed her eyes and in her mind she saw scenes from her pesonal fairytale. A big white wedding, a honeymoon on the Maldives and a happy life with kids. "Whoa, Melinda, you are going way too fast. You're just kissing the guy for the first time." When Mike broke the kiss, she was disappointed because she would have liked it to go on forever. But then she reminded herself that she would probably get some more chances to kiss him, so she left it at that for now.

"Well, I can honestly say I never thought I would have gotten to do that when I woke up this morning", Mike said and Melinda could only agree. They didn't continue playing the game of pool, but instead returned to their table, walking hand in hand. They sat down and the first thing Melinda did was ordering two new beers.

They sat for hours and talked and talked and talked, until the sports bar was closed. They went outside to their cars and even talked a little more, but then Melinda was getting cold, so they decided to go home, but not before sharing another passionate kiss. "I hope to see you again very, very soon, Michael.", Melinda said. They wouldn't spend the night together because they both agreed that they wouldn't want to go too fast and ruin everything on the first day.

Melinda’s kiss had set Michael on fire. He had so much respect for her and didn’t want to push for more, but he just couldn’t seem to help himself. Forcefully he grabbed her up into his arms and to enjoy the taste of her kiss. Melinda didn’t seem to mind, running her thigh up to his waist. In what seemed like an instant of time, they were in the back seat of her car. Melinda had straddled him and Michael was kissing her like a sailor back from a 3 year tour. Reaching down to his slacks Melinda released his now swollen cock that was straining to free itself. He enjoyed the feel of her rubbing it against her pussy and she started to grind her hips into him. “Oh God Melinda, I’m going to cum!” he panted as she worked on him. He never thought it could be this hot, this intense. He felt himself reaching the point of no return, nothing was going to be able to hold it back……

BEEP……………..BEEP………………...BEEP……

Michael’s eyes began to focus on the alarm clock that ended his dream cold. His mind raced to piece together reality from his dream. He remembered driving home from the bar last night. Melinda called him around 1 AM to let him know that she had gotten home safely. Looking up at the ceiling as he laid in bed a smile crossed his lips. Although the dream was so enjoyable, he is glad that it didn't go that far that fast, not with Melinda. Last night had been such an experience, he spent most of the night trying to fall asleep. As he rolled out of bed and started to the shower he realized the dream had left him with an erection hard enough to drive a 6 inch spike through a two by four.

As he stepped into the shower he soaped up his chest and thighs then started stroking his dick. The mental image of Melinda was still so fresh in his mind, he had no trouble using his dream as fuel to excite him further. He felt his balls draw up tight to his body as his orgasm began to take hold. Usually quiet when he cums, this time Michael couldn’t help but let out a moan of pleasure as the sexual tension from the past 12 hours was released out of him. Taking a moment to collect himself, Michael then proceeded with much less exciting but necessary activities of shaving and showering.

After grabbing a biscuit for breakfast Michael headed to his office. After checking through his email, he then pulled the napkin from his wallet that had Melinda’s contact information on it. Entering her email and cell information into his electronic directory, he then pulled up a blank email addressed to her and began typing.

Melinda,

I’m glad that you got home safe and sound last night. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed our time together. Catching up with you was just fantastic. I don’t know what your schedule is like over the next few weeks, but hopefully we will have a chance to get back together. Drop me a line and let me know what is good for you. Can’t wait to see you again.

Michael


He pauses shortly before pressing the send button, wondering if it is too soon to make contact with her, then…….click, it is on its way. Trying to refocus is mind on his jobs for the day, Michael looks at his calendar and picks up his estimating notebook. Before he leaves he checks his email, just in case she happened to answer within 2 minutes. “Ok Michael, get it together. Life must go on man, beside now you will have something to look forward to for later.” With a quick sling of his tool pouch over his shoulder and heads out to face the day, albeit with a little new found spring in his step.

OOC: It appears that Beachgirl86 has gone missing. Fortunately a dear friend has offered to take up the part of Melinda so the story can continue. So please welcome to the stage Angelic12b

{Massive Applause followed by anticipating silence to see how Angelic advances the story.}

Michael's morning was fairly routine. Several of his service calls were scattered through the open country, which gave him time on the road to replay the events of the previous night. He couldn't help but be in a good mood. Even when he arrived at the house way out in Elk Hurst and discovered that the reason the light in the hall wasn't coming on was because the switch by the far bedroom door, which the older lady "didn't even know was there" was turned off. Normally he would charge the customer for the service call, but today was different.

"It's ok Mrs. Hamilton. Things like that happen all the time, have a good day." he said as he climbed back into truck. Seeing all of his calls and estimates for the morning were finished up, he headed back to the office.

30 minutes later he sinks down into his deskchair and begins documenting the mornings activities. He had gotten lost in thought on his drive back, thinking about the material he would need to pickup to install the outside light at the Miller residence. Suddenly, the lightning hit him as he realized he hadn't checked his email. Clicking the "Send/Receive All" button he was rewarded with 5 new emails, but he was only interested in one. Michael carefully read Melinda's reply and then leaned back in his chair.

"Dancing.........boy it has been awhile" he thought to himself as he began to pour a cup of coffee from his thermos. He knew Melinda enjoyed it, of course pretty much all women do. He started to picture the scene in his mind, imagining the club, the music, seeing her moving to the beat, and finally holding her in his arms as a slow dance starts. A smile crept acrossed his lips. Although he wasn't a huge fan of going dancing, that thought alone made it worthwhile. "Who are you trying to fool Michael?" he mused "She could suggest going to watch cars rust in a junkyard and you would jump at the idea."

Clicking the reply option, he quickly typed:

Melinda,

Sounds great! I'll give you a call and we can pin down the details.

After sending his reply, Michael unwrapped his sandwich and started lunch. Then, as with all men in this situation, his mind began to play with him. "Don't move too fast man, you will scare her off. If you call tonight she will think you are clingy. Give it some time." His mind was making a good point. He didn't want to risk making her uncomfortable, especially after the speech he gave her at the pool table last night. He re-read the reply that he sent and saw that he wrote "I'll give you a call". So she had every reason to expect him to do so. He also knew that if he was home tonight with nothing planned he would end up staring at the phone and end up calling. I need to protect me from myself" he thought.

Picking up his desk phone he dialed a number and waited for the other end to pick up. "Preston, it's Mike. You up for playing a little tennis after work? Awesome, I'll meet you at the court around 6 and then we can grab something to eat. Alright man, see ya there."

Preston was a great friend and meeting him would not only get him out of the house for the evening, but he could bounce the events of the weekend off of him and get his thoughts. Feeling as if he has just sidestepped a potential landmine, Michael finished his apple and then focused his attention on his tasks for the afternoon.

After having written back to Michael, Melinda finished her coffee and thought about the day lying ahead. It was a day off because she had known that she would get home pretty late and didn't want to have so little sleep. Of course she hadn't known that the cause for her getting home so late, would be Michael.

She smiled to herself, but then went upstairs to take a shower. She picked a towel, put it next to the shower so she could grab it from inside. Then she took her PJ's off and stepped inside. While the warm water was pattering on her head, she drifted off and thought about what could have happened the night before. They would have kissed more, Melinda would have gone with Michael. Then they would have drunk a little more, kissed a little more. Then they would have gone further, would have taken each other's clothes off, would have made passionate love. She would have sat on Michael, would have ridden him...

Suddenly she opened her eyes and noticed that her hand was between her legs. "Melinda, what are you doing? You haven't seen the guy in ages and now, after one night, you're fantasizing about him like you have been in love with him forever?" She took her hand away, but couldn't really stop thinking about Mike. She got out of the shower, toweled herself off and took her bathrobe on. She went downstairs again and lay down on her couch, but the only thing she could think about still was Michael. She closed her eyes and almost automatically her hand wandered downwards again.

Now she didn't care anymore. She just wanted that good feeling to last - forever. Since she knew that wasn't possible she wanted to savor every second of it. After a few seconds she started to moan loudly as she always did when she was masturbating. But what was different was the time it took her to reach a climax. Usually it took quite a long time, about 10 to 15 minutes, but with the image of Michael freshly printed in her mind, it didn't even take 5 minutes. The orgasm was incredible and if Melinda had lived in an appartment house, her neighbors would probably have been very annoyed. She didn't have these problems, though, and she made good use of that. She came like she had rarely cum before and afterwards she just lay there and panted for a few minutes.

When she had calmed down, she switched on the tv and looked for something to watch. She had decided that she was gonna be lazy the whole day and didn't want to do anything. Which she didn't. She watched tv, ate, slept a little, played the piano for half an hour - a hobby which she loved, but was unable to spend much time on - and then watched tv a little more. When it was 4 p.m. she went online to see if there were emails for her. Of course she was hoping for an email from Mike, but then she remembered that she had never answered him. He had written that he would call her, so she would wait for him. Melinda knew that Michael wouldn't call that night because he probably was one of the many guys that thought that this would make him seem to move too fast. Melinda didn't care about that. If two people were crazy about each other, why should they have to wait? Just because society told them it was wrong?

"Oh well", she thought and then switched on the tv again. After all, it was her lazy day.

Nice shot man! Michael said as his friends return managed to hug the baseline and sail to the fence with no chance of being returned. The tennis match was serving as a good distraction for him, but even the frantic running couldn't totally keep Melinda's smile from his mind.

"You alright man? You seem like you are somewhere else" Preston asked.

Michael's initial reaction was to dismiss the idea, but Preston was one of his closest friends. It would more than likely just delay the inevitable. "Actually, there is something. Remember how I went to my 10 year reunion? Well, I ran into an old friend.

"Really? At a reunion? What are the chances?" Preston asked mockingly. "What was it, old girlfriend, someone that owes you money?" The slight smile that crossed Michael's face provided the wordless answer. "The girlfrind then." Preston concluded.

"No, not a girlfriend, at least she wasn't in school, but she was always a close friend and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to go out with her. It just never seemed like the right time..........back then."

It was the "back then" that Preston picked up on. "So have the Fates finally smiled on the two of you?" "Well, we went out after and.....I don't really remember how this happened, but I ended up telling her that I had always liked her and that seeing her after all of these years, all those great memories came rushing back.

"So what ended up happening? Where did you guys leave it?"

"Well, she didn't run out of the bar, so that was a good sign" Michael said laughing. "In fact, she seemed like she was a little taken with me. We ended up making plans to see each other again." "When?" Preston asked. "I told her I would call her" Preston suddenly got a disgused look on his face.

"Wait a minute, are we playing tennis because you think 'Oh I can't call her this soon. She will think I'm clingy and scare her off'"

"No" Michael replied. The single word hung in the air for what seemed like an hour. Preston just stared at him. "Yes" Michael finally admitted, shaking his head in disappointment at himself. Preston just laughed. "Listen Mike, this isn't a girl that you just met. You have a history with her so she knows the type of person that you are. Besides, if she said she liked you too then there is no reason to worry about that." Preston's reasoning made sense, but what he said next hit him like a ton of bricks. "It's been 10 years Mike, hasn't she waited long enough?"

"Dude, I've gotta go" Michael said as he quickly gathered his equipment. Preston smiled, "Ok buddy, let me know how it turns out."

Driving home Michael felt so foolish. What am I, 14? he thought as he pulled into his driveway. Throwing his sports bag on the recliner he didn't even bother to shower before picking up the phone. While he had seen her only the night before, for some reason it felt like it had been almost 6 months (I couldn't resist putting that in for you Beachgirl ) Dialing the number that he had already committed to memory he felt his heart beating fast and hard listening to the ringing tone in the earpiece. Before he had the chance to change his mind and hang up he heard the other side pick up and he was greeted with the most melodious voice.

Hello

It WAS Melinda's lazy day. She didn't really do anything productive and really enjoyed it. The "problem" was that she couldn't even concentrate on what was on the TV. All she could think of was the night before.

Suddenly something interrupted her thoughts. The telephone rang. Melinda jumped off the couch VERY fast and ran literally ran towards the phone. When she wanted to grab the phone, she waited a second. "I don't want him to know I've been that desperate.", she thought, but at the same moment she knew it was stupid. So she took off the phone.

As softly as possible she said, "Hello."

The sound of Melinda's voice was a welcomed one. Even though he had spoken to her less than 24 hours ago, for some reason it seemed like it had been months.

I hope I didn't catch you at a bad time. Michael said, not sure if she would wonder why he had called, but you had been on my mind all day and figured that we weren't in high school anymore so if I wanted to call you it would be ok. He could practically hear her smiling on the other end of the phone and, in that brief instant, they somehow knew that each of them had been worried about the same silly thing.

The next hour or so saw them talking about the events of their day, nothing spectacular. Nothing that could compare to the earth shattering statement that he had made to her the night before when he shared his feeling about her. But that was ok, those type of conversations can't happen too often. Right now Michael was just enjoying the ease and comfort that he felt with her. As they talked, his mind drifted back to the previous night, the feel of her body pressed next to his as they embraced. He swore he could still feel her kiss burning on his lips. At some point in the conversation he heard her sigh over the phone and he remembered hearing that last night, coupled with the feel of her nestling against his chest.

The mental and emotional memories were beginning to elicit a physical reaction. He felt his heart beating slightly harder, he found it difficult to control his breathing, and he couldn't help but notice that his cock was also stirring to attention at the sounds of her voice. He felt somewhat embarrassed, like a teenager getting aroused in a co-ed gym class. But at the same time, he had come to realize that women experience the same desires. Not in a million years would he have thought that a girl that he went to school with would masturbate in her time alone, but as he got older he realized that it was far more common than he would have thought. His mind began racing with questions like a truck going down a steep grade having lost its brakes.

I wonder if Melinda has ever done that? I wonder when she had her first orgasm? Does she have several? Has she ever thought about me when she has? His mind was wildly running out of control with mental images of Melinda enjoying sex, the sounds of her moaning in pleasure, of her crying out his name, Michael, yes MICHAEL!!

Michael?

The voice on the other end of the phone pulled him back to reality. Quickly trying to collect himself he said, Oh sorry, I guess I was just getting lost in the memories of last night. After a brief pause he added.

I never said this before because, well I never knew, but I have to say Melinda...you are a great kisser