While the cat's away...taking a meeting...from online to RL. (closed for now)

[FurryFury]

Tangi was mad. She hated being alone and Jeff had left her alone again. Some part of her ached with a deep loneliness that she managed to keep at bay most of the time. Jeff just didn't seem to treat her the way she wanted him to. Granted she loved him, and he said he loved her but she didn't seem to be on his list of priorities at all these days.

He was a good guy in so many ways. He had a great job. He had ambition. Lord knows he had tons of friends, who all seemed to have priority over her in Jeff's mental chart. Sometimes she wondered if she was simply a fool. Should she have stayed home in Richmond instead of going with Jeff to Memphis when he got promoted? It wasn't like they were married or even planning on being married. Tangi thought marriage was outdated or at least she tried to tell herself that.

Sure she wanted to have kids someday. Maybe it was wise to be married when they did but they loved each other, a piece of paper wouldn't change that would it? Now Jeff was talking about buying a house together, getting a puppy and a kitten. He really was great but, that was a lot for a guy who kept having to travel for work and never seemed to want to be home with her.

She turned on her computer. Logging into her favorite site and chatroom as BookBug78, she chatted with some friends she had made in all those lonely moments Jeff was away.

The people online made her feel less alone. Online she could be funny and upbeat, she could even flirt without really risking anything. It was good clean fun that was almost like real life but safer.

She got up to make a mug of hot chocolate, checked the thermostat in their apartment, nudge it up some and pulled a velux blanket around her.

During the four hours Jeff was gone that night she met someone. A guy. The sort of guy that made her question her choices even more. He was smart, funny and very sexy. They seemed to fit so well and have so much in common she couldn't help but think what if?

Truth to be told, sex with Jeff had become less and less frequent. That was Jeff's choice. She was always ready to go but he was too tired or had to go to work too early. His job required him to entertain after normal working hours.

She thought back to the first time they had met. She was working at Barnes and Noble, while going to college. He was so cute. When they had finally had sex, they couldn't get enough of each other. Could a guy really go from wanting it at least three times a day to maybe three times a month and not be cheating or something even worse? She shook that thought away.

She looked at the screen name of her new friend. With him she had felt warm and cared about for the first time in a while. Tangi felt a buzz all through her body and particularly between her legs. That really surprised her. She had never felt that way before while talking with someone online. Now, she hated to log off and go back to her real life, but she heard Jeff's car pull in.

"It's been fun talking with you tonight. I hope we get to talk again soon. I have to run now." She typed.

Jeff came in, she quickly switched back to her solitaire game screen. He kissed her cheek then headed to the shower. Tangi looked back to see if her new friend had said anything else.

She had some time while Jeff took his shower. Her job at the local art museum gave her a regular schedule except for glitzy fund raisers, she mostly worked week days 10-6 and one weekend a month. So she didn't have to go to bed yet but she probably would just to be "nice" and be with Jeff like a good girl should. Boy sometimes she just wished she weren't so good.

A final message popped up on her screen, it had been worth the wait and brought a smile to her face. She wondered if she were blushing.

She blew a kiss at the screen then said goodnight again before shutting down her computer. Tangi folded up the blanket and put it back in it's place. Rinsed out her cup, put it away, then went upstairs. She gave Jeff a look that said, she was interested. Boy was she. That guy online had gotten her heated up.

Jeff however was either missing her signals or not interested, again.

He told her goodnight and picked up a trade journal.

Abruptly anger bubbled up inside her. It quickly turned to sadness. She wondered again if it was her fault Jeff wasn't interested anymore. Turning on her side she tried to go to sleep, tried not to cry, when a few tears came anyway, she made sure Jeff didn't see.

Quiet, she was so quiet, like a mouse. The longing for more filled her up until she thought it might burst through her skin. She loved Jeff but she wanted more. She wanted to be important to someone. She wanted someone to want her and find her sexy. She wanted to do things that she had never done before.

Somehow she fell asleep with these needs and hunger boiling up inside her.

 

[thegibe]

Scott

Click, clack. Click, clack. Click, clack.

Over, and over again the pen clicked and clacked against the desk. Anyone who has ever had a boring desk job knows that sound well - and the click, clack sound was soon becoming one of Scott's best friends.

Nine to five, every weekday. An administrative desk job in a medium-sized business was a cushy job that netted a neat little salary, but during the hours that seemed to stretch on forever, Scott tended to regret his decision. The boredom seemed to become a living entity, burrowing into his mind and devouring his life.

The boredom was second to only one thing, and that was his loneliness. His last girlfriend - no, date - was over a year ago. To say that he missed female company would be an extreme understatement.

At approximately 5:30 everyday he arrived back at his small house in the suburbs around Collierville, Tennessee, and proceeded to continue in his boredom. Shuffle through the mail, check his stocks, pay a couple bills, maybe watch a movie or putz around on the computer, and then get some sleep.

College was less than half a decade behind him... How different life had been. Frat parties where students unwound from the academic week in bacchanalias of all kinds of pleasures. Hell, the only bacchanalia Scott was familiar with these days were the ones involving girls with names like "Jessica Suxxx."

He desperately needed excitement in his life, and at the moment, the only thing vaguely close to that was in chatrooms.

Before bed, he sat down at his computer desk in his pajama pants, and logged onto his familiar chatroom, under the alias "DoorsFan10." It was funny how different chatrooms were... there was always the proven theory that applied to some people - "Normal Person + Anonymity = Total Fucking Psycho" - though Scott quickly weeded these people out.

Most of the time he just chatted about his life, about the old times. Once he even ran into an old friend from high school. There were, of course, occasionally a woman that appeared to catch his eye, though one could never be sure if that person in cyberspace was really who they said they were.

He met a new girl that night - BookBug78 - and couldn't help but feel she was a real catch, as it were. She was smart, funny, and had an extremely sexy, coy kind of way of flirting with him. She said her name was Tangi, from Tennessee. The brief description she'd provided sounded alluring, but beyond that, who could know. The fact that they were from the same state incited ridiculous possibilities in his mind, but he dismissed them.

They talked for a long time, longer than usual. Scott was smiling; she was special, something different.

"It's been fun talking with you tonight. I hope we get to talk again soon. I have to run now."

His final message before she signed off read, "I couldn't agree more. Same time tomorrow? I've got some more... intimate... things I'd like to tell you about."

 

[FurryFury]

Tangi thought about the last message she had typed to her new friend, DoorsFan10.

"I'm not sure what my schedule will be but if I can be on, I'll be here." She didn't say she wasn't sure because her boyfriend might leave her again or, and she didn't think this would happen, actually want to spend time with her.

Already she had mentioned that she had a boy friend who was gone a lot on the main chat board. People there had told her in no uncertain terms that she deserved better. Though some had also told her it was her own fault and been little bitches toward her. Such was life in online chat rooms anyone could have diarrhea of the mouth and channel it through their finger tips with little worry about any real life reprisals that would mean much to them.

Still she felt like she was being bad. DoorsFan10 had made her feel hot and wet. She had hidden the screen from Jeff when he came in. That felt like cheating a little. Tangi felt miserable. Some part of her wondered if Jeff would give her more attention if he knew. Part of her just didn't want this new thing that felt so good tainted. Still she didn't like that worm twisting in her gut.

"Honey?" She said.

"Yeah."

"I was online tonight and..."

"Oh please don't tell me another story about your chat group."

"Okay. I, just, well, I met this really nice guy and it was good to have someone to talk to, I thought I should tell you."

Jeff put down his journal and looked at her. She felt she should move her body and meet his gaze.

"What did to talk with him about?"

"Not that! Just normal stuff."

"So you didn't arrange to meet or anything?"

"No! What would you ask that?"

"Because otherwise, it doesn't matter what you said or anything because it's not like he can reach through a computer and touch you." Jeff answered dismissing the subject.

"So you don't mind that I'm talking to another guy?" Tangi thought to herself that in a way she had been touched. In a way she was touched deeper than merely physically but she didn't say so. Jeff probably would have laughed at her anyway.

"Look babe, do what you want, I don't own you." Jeff said. He put the journal in his night stand, rolled on his side away from her. Turned off the light and went to sleep.

Tangi blinked back tears. It seemed like he really didn't care at all. Or maybe he was just such a nice guy he didn't want to limit her. Shouldn't he care though? She tried to figure this all out but only succeeded in tying her guts up in knots. Now she was angry and confused. Now she was full of need and hungry but she did sleep.

The next morning she grabbed her commuter coffee mug and a box of fruit loops then ran out the car. Driving into work was better since the museum opened at ten but it was still a lot of traffic.

Her day seemed to drag One bright spot was that Jeff called her. He rarely did that anymore. She smiled picking up the phone and pushing the button that kept him on hold.

"Hey!" She said.

"Hey, listen I have to go to another meeting tonight. They are talking about sending me with the team going to Japan next week for two months! Can you believe it?"

"No." Tangi replied her heart felt leaden in her chest.

"What? Aren't you happy for me?"

"Sure but the holidays are coming up and you wanted to look for a house and..."

"Never mind all that. I'll be back before you know it if I get to go. I'll be back by Christmas for sure. Anyway, I don't know what time I'll be in tonight. I have to go. See you later."

"Bye." She tried to say but he had already hung up.

Well, now she knew. She could be online tonight. She could be online a lot of nights. She started to cry again. Closing the door to her office she let it out for a while then went to the bathroom to freshen up.

On the way home she stopped and treated herself to some cheese sticks and a Greek salad take out. After her shower Tangi put on her emerald green satin robe, brought her blanket and a bottle of water and logged on to see if someone was there, someone who might seem like they cared about her.

She scanned the list of names for her new friend.