Bagging Lauren - Again

"Hi, Mrs. Bagwell. You probably don't remember me, but I did your fence posts a few years back."

Her bright, beautiful smile turned to stone as soon as she saw him. "Yes, of course. It's nice to see you again," she said coldly. She handed the bags to her husband and said, "Would you be a dear and take these inside for me?" The soft, pasty-looking, balding man smiled and told her he'd love to as he waved goodbye to Petersen and told him he was looking forward to seeing him the next day.

As he went inside Lauren said, "What in God's name are you doing here? I thought I made it very clear I didn't want to see you again. Ever!"

Petersen sat back down in his car and said, "No, you told me I broke your heart. You told me I hurt you." She started to speak but he just talked over her. "And...you told me that a man always find a way to make his feelings known."

He sat back down in the car and started the engine. He very politely asked her if she could step aside so he could close the door. She moved over just enough to let him shut it then said, "I don't know what you think you're doing, but I hope you don't think you can just show up here and make everything all right. I am still angry as hell at you and I'm not going to forgive you just because you want to feel better about what you did to me."

He put the car in reverse then looked at her through the open window and said, "I can't control how you react or how you feel, Lauren. I can only control my end of things. But I'm finding a way to make my feelings known, and regardless of how you take what I'm about to tell you, they are my feelings. When you asked Garrett for my number, I knew you still had feelings for me, too. Even though it took me a couple of weeks to figure out why you didn't call, I finally understood you were showing me you still care but waiting for me to make the first move. So here I am making it."

She crossed her arms and gave him an icy stare as he began backing out. This time, it was his turn to put the car in gear and drive off. But before he did he said, "What we did right here in this house was very real and very important to me. I've never forgotten it...or you. And as soon as I saw you, those feelings came rushing back to me and they are just as real today as what we had back then. I haven't been able to think about anyone or anything else since I saw you at the gym. You said you once loved me." The car began rolling as he said, "Well, I loved you, too, Lauren. And that hasn't changed."

He watched in the rearview mirror as her arms fell. He could see her jaw was slightly agape and the hardened expression on her face had softened. As he drove away he thought her look was more puzzled than angry.

When he arrived early Saturday morning, Reed met him at the front door. He was in uniform and getting to leave. "I'm glad you got here a few minutes early. I got a call to take a four-day trip to Tokyo yesterday after you left. The materials are in the barn along with the tools. If you need anything else, just ask Lauren. She'll write you a check when you're finished. I hate to run out on you like this, but I'm gonna be late if I don't leave right now."

"No problem, sir," Petersen told him. "I'll take care of everything. Have a safe trip."

He didn't see Lauren and didn't look. He headed out to the barn and got started. Four hours later, he walked back up to the house and saw an envelope tacked to the door. He looked around and noticed the BMW wasn't there. He opened the flap and saw a check and what looked like a handwritten note.

The check was made out for twice the amount he'd agreed to and Petersen didn't take charity so it was a given he'd return it. Then he wondered if that was perhaps her way of trying to buying him off; pay him a few extra bucks so he wouldn't come back again.

He opened the note and sat down on the steps to read it.

"Dear Cal,

I wanted to share some personal thoughts with you, but I can't allow myself to sit down with you again—alone. I've worked very hard to try and forgive myself for what I did. Yes, what I did. When we spoke, I made it sound like you did something to me I had no control over. The truth is, I wanted that as much as you did, and I take responsibility for my part.

I'm also sorry for being so rude at the gym. You can imagine what a shock it was to see you out of the blue like that for the first time in four years. I was overwhelmed with emotion. Anger, frustration, hurt, and many other things. I'd convinced myself I really was over you and as long as I never had to see you again, I could let myself believe that. And then...there you were. Among the feelings which washed over me was the way you looked when I saw you and the way you'd felt when we...you know. You're even more handsome now than you were then. Just seeing your body in the gym was both wonderful and awful. You see, the Church has been everything for me and I can't lose that, too, along with my marriage which isn't over—at least not on paper. But I'm well, very comfortable with Reed, the Church, and my life, in spite of his affair...and mine.

You know, it's crazy, but I still can't wear a sweater without thinking about how much you love them. I can't look at a handsome young guy at the gym without thinking about you. But I also know I can't have you because...because...well, there are just many reasons why, not the least of which is my age and the way I look and the way I feel about myself now. For what it's worth, you made me feel so young and so...alive and now here you are—still so young and so...handsome...and I am, well...not. So the Church and my marriage aside, there's just nothing here for you now, okay? Please try to understand.

So if you really do care about me; if you really do...love me...then please, I'm begging you, don't ask to see me again. Please live your life and be happy and allow me to live mine. Please? I wish you nothing but happiness and success, but I cannot ever see you again. If my happiness is important to you, then please honor my request.

Fondly,

Lauren"

He folded the note and put it in his pocket. He placed the check back under the envelope then went to his car and grabbed a pen. He tore a piece of paper from a spiral notebook and scribbled a quick note of his own:

"Dear Lauren,

This is very generous, but I can't accept it. Reed and I agreed on a price, and I can't take one dollar more. I'm not a religious person, but I do have moral values, and even though they're different than yours, they are very important to me.

As to values, you may think what we did way back then is immoral. I can't change how you feel, but I don't feel that way—at all. I saw it as something beautiful. Two people with similar needs sharing their love. That's not immoral in my book.

Because I do care about you, I'll honor your request. I won't ask to see you again. But I can't leave without telling you that I still have feelings for you. Lauren, I very much want to be with you regardless of you being married. And no matter what you may say, I see you as the most beautiful woman on earth. Hell, even Garrett agrees with me on that and he's not exactly the sharpest knife in the drawer. (smiley face)

In case you change your mind, I have an apartment on South 7th street. The number is 407 and I'm in apartment A. I'm not asking to see you, I'm just giving you the option of seeing me.

So...I've made the first step, Lauren. I've told you how I feel. I don't know whether you'll decide to see me again, and I won't ask you to. That's up to you. Just know I'll be very happy to hear your knock on my door in the near future. Honey, you are truly beautiful. Thank you for the honest, kind words in your note. Please take good care.

With the deepest of feelings,

Cal"

Petersen didn't spend a lot of time at his studio apartment in Auburn, Washington, but for the next two weeks, whenever he was there, he found himself looking out the window every few minutes hoping to see a sleek, black sedan pull up. By the end of the third week, he stopped looking.

This had been a pretty brutal week with finals in calculus, physics, and engineering. To break up the stress, he made sure to get in a very hard workout each day. By Friday evening, he was too beat to join Garrett for a beer at their favorite watering hole. Instead, he turned on some jazz and cracked a cold beer from his refrigerator and plopped down on the oversized chair in his living room. Living room. That was a laugh. There was one large room which served as bedroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen. The bathroom was separate, thank God.

On the way home, he'd been listening to Metallica and he still had Whiskey in the Jar stuck in his head as the pleasant sounds of Coltrane filled the room. Having lived in the barracks most of his four years, he utterly despised neighbors who cranked up their music as though they lived in a detached home. He played it loudly enough to enjoy but not so loud that the neighbors had to hear it.

The Indian summer was long gone and the dark, gray days of Fall were here to stay until next May or even June. It was dark and outside and rain started falling shortly after he got inside.

Having a beer wasn't unusual. Having a second one was. But tonight he decided to have one more then listen to the blues until he got tired enough to go to sleep.

At some point, he nodded off and it took him a minute to make sense of the noise. The rain was beating down on the roof but there was something else he was missing. Then it happened again.

He sat his half-empty beer down and jumped up to answer the door. He opened it just a crack and there she was hugging the door trying to stay out of the rain. The wind was blowing like hell, too, and he didn't think twice before reaching out and grabbing her arm and pulling her inside.

"Come in and get out of the rain," he told her as she stepped inside. Her hair had been blown around, but he was otherwise unable to avoid staring. Under her expensive winter white coat, Lauren was wearing a beautiful knit dress with the kind of ribbing he'd told her made him crazy. It fell to about four inches above the knee which no one familiar with Mormonism could miss. They believe the body is sacred from the neck to the knee and wear special garments covering that area. Petersen jokingly referred to them as 'magic jammies.' Those garments fell to the top of the knee and no Mormon woman would therefore wear anything shorter. Taking them off was forbidden except for bathing, medical appointments, and certain other narrowly-defined exceptions. She was also wearing a pair of very expensive-looking heels and her makeup and nails were stunning. She was carrying a purse which matched her shoes and there was an envelope sticking out of it. A little unusual for a cold, rainy Friday evening to say the least.

"I wasn't sure if this was the right place. It's so dark outside," she said as she tried to smooth her windblown hair.

"Come in and sit down," he told her.

"Oh, no, that's okay, thank you. I just stopped by to bring you this." She removed the envelope and handed to him. "That should be the amount you and Reed agreed on."

He peeked inside and saw that it was indeed the correct amount and said, "Well, thank you for bringing this by but isn't this a little bit out of your way on a night like this?" It was actually about 15 miles out her way but he wasn't going to press the point.

"Oh, no. I just happened to out this way and wanted to drop it off while I was here. So...I did and now I guess I should probably get going."

She hadn't looked at him until just then and when he did he said to her, "You look wonderful, Lauren. I'm glad you stopped by."

She looked at him while he spoke then lowered her eyes and told him, "Oh, sure. It was no problem. I was in the area anyway and..."

"Dressed like that?" he said interrupting but not in a mean way.

"Like what?" she said pretending to be unaware of what she was wearing or why.

"I may be a man," Petersen said, "but I'm not completely clueless. The dress is you're wearing is incredibly beautiful and very flattering, but's it much too short for church standards. So you couldn't have been at a church function and you also wouldn't visit friends in something that...revealing. But then, you do know someone who finds that kind of thing extremely attractive, and you also know he finds you even more so."

"I'm not really sure why you're bringing any of this up. It's just a dress and I just happened to be out so..."

Petersen moved closer and said, "Lauren. We both know why you're here. It may be that you lost your nerve once you got inside, but I can assure you I'm not going to do anything you don't want me to do so you don't need to be worried or feel afraid."

"I'm not afraid, Cal. It's just that I really need to get home because..."

"Because you forgot to feed Daisy? I'm sure Reed's not home or you wouldn't be wearing this gorgeous, much-too-short dress so unless Daisy is on the verge of starving, I'm not sure I believe you."

He reached out for her hand and when he took it she didn't respond but she also didn't pull away. "Lauren? We need to talk. You know it and I know it. And as much as it pains me to say it, you're not being truthful with me and we both know that, too. You came here specifically to see me and while you did owe me this money, no one would drive this far out of there way in weather like this just to drop it off. In fact, you could have mailed it to me three weeks ago. So please, let me take your coat so you can sit down. Please?"

She looked up at him again then sat her purse on the cheap coffee table near the sofa. Her coat was unbuttoned and as she went to remove him, Petersen said, "Here, let me get that for you." He grabbed the coat at the top and watched her slide out of it. Her figure was unbelievable. She was almost 45 now but her waist was still tight and her ass was perfect. As she turned back around he remembered her sensational size-C boobs which filled out the knit material in a way that made him stir.

He put the coat on the back of one of the two chairs near his tiny table and said, "You look absolutely amazing."

Lauren smiled and blinked twice before saying, "Oh, thank you, but I'm very aware of how I look now. You know how old I am now and I know I don't look anything like you say I do, but it means a lot to hear you say it."

"Please come sit down. We clearly have a lot of negative programming to get out of your pretty little head," he told her as he offered the seat where he'd been sitting.

Lauren laughed for the first time at his comment. Not a loud laugh but it was genuine. "I'd apologize for the living conditions but then, you know I'm not an airline captain so..."

"No, it's just fine. It reminds me of my first place."

"Ah, so you were poor once upon a time," he said teasing her.

"No! I didn't mean it like that. It has nothing to do with money. I just meant it reminds of when things were much simpler and a time when I was...happy. That's all."

"Before I sit down, can I offer you something to drink?" he asked her.

"Um, sure. That might be nice. Thank you."

He took the seven steps needed to get to the refrigerator and said, "Uh, Houston? We have a problem. All I have are sweetened ice tea and...beer. Both no-no's for you, I'm afraid."

"Well, I guess I could have a glass of iced tea—if you promise not to tell anyone."

Petersen laughed at the thought of telling someone an adult woman had had a glass of tea at his apartment. It was as hilarious to him as it was serious to her. He poured her a glass in one of his red plastic cups and told her, "I can assure you your secret is safe with me."

She saw the half-empty beer bottle and said, "If you were drinking that before I came, please don't not drink it because I'm here, okay?"

"It's kinda warm now anyway and warm beer is pretty disgusting. I think I'll pour this one out and open another." He saw her take a sip of the cold drink as he walked 'all the way' back to the fridge.

"Is the tea okay?" he asked.

"Yes, it's actually very good. I've always wanted to try it but well, you know, coffee and tea are, as you said, big no-no's."

He opened his beer and dropped the bottle cap in the trash. As he turned around Lauren said, "Cal? Would it be okay if...well, you know...if I had a beer, too?"

He stopped, looked at her, and raised an eyebrow in a very exaggerated fashion. "I'm sorry. Did I just hear you ask me for a...beer?"

"Stop! Don't be mean, okay? This is really hard for me, you know. Being here, seeing you again, having these...feelings again."

He opened a beer for her and seconds later handed it to her. "Feelings? For me? I believe we do need to talk."

She took the beer and said, "Do I just drink it out of the bottle?"

Petersen smiled but didn't laugh. After all, she'd never drank a beer in her entire life. "That's up to you. Most people do but you're definitely not most people," he told her as he looked her over in a way that wasn't crude or insulting. "I can get you a glass if you'd like."

"No, that's okay. I think as long as I'm living on the edge here, I may as well live large, right?"

Petersen couldn't help but laugh at the thought of having a beer as 'living on the edge.'

"What? What's so funny about that?" she said with mostly feigned indignation. "This is a big deal for me."

"I'm sorry," he told her. "It's just that you're not only beautiful, you're downright cute." She smiled when he said that. "Did you know that? That you're cute as a button?"

He wasn't sure, but it seemed to him she blushed just slightly. He held out his beer and said, "To feelings?"

She hesitated then said, "Maybe to 'talking about feelings'?"

Petersen nodded and they touched the longnecks of the two Budweiser bottles as she took her first-ever swig of beer. Almost as soon as she swallowed the first gulp, she let out a tiny belch. "Oh, my goodness! That's so embarrassing! Does that always happen?" she asked out genuine ignorance.

"Only to rookies," he said as he smiled at her.

She took another smaller sip and made a face. "That tastes positively awful!" she told him. "How do you drink this stuff?"

"It's an acquired taste. You know, kind of like me."

Lauren sat her bottle down and sighed. "Like you. You are worse for me than beer, yet here I am alone with you in your apartment. I obviously lied about being in the neighborhood," she said. "How many sins is that already tonight?" she said only partially joking.

"Well, there's the short dress," he began. Petersen looked down in a way that let her know he was admiring her legs and said, "But because you look so hot in it I won't count that as a sin." Lauren put her hand over her mouth as she laughed—really laughed—for the first time. "Then we have the misdemeanor offense of the iced tea which was followed by the felony offense of...wait for it...drinking a beer!" He made the noise of a TV detective show that went: Dum-dum-dum-dum...DUM!

Lauren laughed again and said, "I haven't laughed like that since...in...four years." He smile faded and was replaced by a look of melancholy.

"Hey, we'll have none of that sadness around here. Drink up, young lady and then we talk!" he said as though he were captain of pirate ship or something. When Lauren laughed again he said, "Aye, matey, now that's the kind of smile we hope to see more of on me ship!"

"I've missed you, Cal," she told him as she took another drink. "Oooh! I feel something around my lips." She reached up to touch the lower lip and said, "Oooh, it feels kind of tingly or something. Is that normal?"

"Only for virgins," he said.

"Cal!" she said in mock protest. "That is so mean!"

"Well, you are a virgin. A beer virgin. Or at least you were before I corrupted you."