A Tale of Two Paramours Ch. 05

"It was fucking fantastic! ;)" she replied, "But today is not. Next time, we do it when I have nothing to do the next day."

"Okay," I agreed.

About forty minutes later, as I was starting to revise an old short story I still particularly liked, another text from the lovely brunette arrived: "Got hemorrhoid cream. I know, ewwww, but much better now."

I texted Jessika that I was glad she felt better, then I lost myself in the process of revision. Other than a trip to the bathroom in the later afternoon, I did not take another break until I realized several more hours had passed and it was now dark outside. I was pondering whether to fix dinner or go out to eat when my phone buzzed with an incoming call. Assuming it would be Jessika, I answered without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello, sexy!"

"H... H... Hi..." a voice that was not Jessika's stammered.

"How are you, Jessi?" I asked, hoping to pass off my greeting as intended for the young blonde.

"I'm okay," she responded, and if she found my greeting odd given that we had barely communicated for a couple of days, she did not say anything about it."

"It is nice to hear your voice," I told her.

After a slightly awkward pause, Jessi answered, "It's nice to hear your voice too."

It was becoming clear to me that I would have to take charge of this conversation. I first wondered whether she might really not want to talk to me and had just called out of obligation, but then I remembered that most of my younger students texted much more frequently than they spoke on the phone. It was quite possible, I concluded, that Jessi was not accustomed to talking to people on the phone, which would exacerbate her normal shyness/anxiety in uncomfortable situations.

"So, do you have holiday plans with your family?" I asked her.

"No."

I waited for her to continue, but she did not elaborate.

"Maybe the conclusion that she just does not want to talk to you was the right conclusion," a voice in my head pointed out. But, I pushed down my doubt and tried again.

"Do you have other plans, then?" I inquired.

Again, her only response was, "No."

"Well, since you are not doing anything, maybe we could spend some time together," I suggested.

This time, the silence went on long enough that I checked to see if she was still on the line.

"Jessi, are you there?" I asked.

"Yes," she breathed. "I just... just... well... just didn't... wasn't expecting..."

"We do not have to make a big deal about it being the holidays or anything." I advised her, thinking that maybe that would feel like too much for her.

"That... that's not it, Mark," she said, and then in a rush she continued, "I didn't think you'd want to do anything with me again."

"What? Why would you think that?" I asked.

"Because you know how much of a slut I really am," she sniffed.

"Is this about what happened in the shower?" I asked. "I am sorry if it was too much. I just thought that is what you..."

"No - it's not about the shower, not really," Jessi interrupted. "It's about what I said, about other girls, and then how you... I mean, how we... when I was, you know, trying to... when I was talking about other girls..."

And as Jessi struggled to express her thoughts, it all became quite clear to me. The trouble on Saturday morning had not started with the rough oral sex in the shower - it had started with Jessi using fantasy scenarios about a threesome with another woman to arouse me. That made sense, as it was after she had coaxed me to an erection by telling me what we might do with another woman that she had started acting strangely. I now understood that her desire for me to take control while she fellated me in the shower had been a symptom, not a cause, of her detachment.

Suddenly aware that the young woman had stopped talking and that all I could hear were quiet sniffles, I sought to reassure her.

"Jessi, what I think, what I feel, has not changed," I told her. "Maybe we should get together and talk this through."

"Okay," Jessi managed to whisper between sniffles.

"How about dinner tonight?" I suggested, then quickly added, "But no pressure. Pick a place with which you are comfortable."

The silence stretched out again, and I was at the point of calling her name when the blonde said, "I will... try. And... ummm... I know a... a place we can... ummm... eat."

TO BE CONTINUED...