Heavenly Grounds

Michelle threw her keys on the counter, frustrated near the end of another day. "Dammit!" she said out loud as she talked to herself. "This house is never going to sell!"

Michelle felt herself near tears and took a deep breath to calm herself. She was just so tired. For three months now, she had been working, fixing up the house, and scheduling showings. The latest showing had been just earlier that morning. Nine times she'd cleaned the house spotless for a showing, and how many offers had she gotten? Two...both of them ridiculously low with no sign of being raised any time soon.

Michelle opened the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of water and slammed the door, wincing as she heard a bottle fall over inside.

"Dammit again! Who's bright idea was this anyway?" she asked, opening the bottle and taking a drink.

Three months ago, her husband Carl had taken a job six states away. It really was too good of an opportunity to pass up, and she had been totally supportive of him. Michelle of course, had stayed behind in order to sell the house and wrap up their affairs. There was also only one more month of school, and Michelle really wanted Anne, her thirteen-year-old daughter, to finish out the school year at her regular school.

It was so hard, though. Michelle and Carl had been married for fourteen years, and they had never been apart more than a week or so in all that time. Michelle missed the adult conversation and company she got from Carl. She missed having him around and felt very empty after so long without him. Michelle shook her head as she also admitted to herself that she was getting so easily frustrated for another reason. The phone sex she had with Carl every so often was nice, always hot and she never failed to cum, but it just wasn't the same thing.

It seemed that about the only thing going right with their plan, was Anne finishing a wonderful end to the school year. Michelle on the other hand, was having a miserable time. There was so much work in selling a house, getting packed, closing accounts, filling out what seemed like hundred of change of address forms. All with no help. All that added to the loneliness and frustration of being separated from her husband. Yep, she was just sick of it, no way around it.

Michelle set the bottle of water down on the kitchen counter. She took a look around, satisfied that the house was clean enough. "Why the hell am I staying here then? I need to get out. Definitely. Hear that? I'm going out!" Michelle yelled to the empty house, notifying no one in particular. Anne was spending the night with a friend and going to her house straight after school. Perfect time for Michelle to go and relieve a little stress. Michelle smiled as she decided to go to her favorite coffee shop, Heavenly Grounds. She loved the cozy interior with both open tables and private nooks set up to curl up with a book and a warm cup of coffee. Or, as Michelle was looking forward to, a warm cup of double chocolate cappuccino with a swirl of cream on top.

Michelle grabbed the book she was currently reading, twirled her keys around her finger and walked out the door, eager to relax. She really hoped one of the private nooks was empty. She just loved the over-sized cushions of all different colors that were spread on the floor and looked forward to lounging for a while, with no worries.

Michelle's friends always teased her about coming to this coffeehouse. "Don't you feel uncomfortable there? It's always full of college aged people, singles, or people there to listen to the poetry or musicians that they have sometimes." Michelle liked it, though. Even at thirty-seven years old, a mother of a thirteen-year-old, and being a devoted married woman for fourteen years, she never felt uncomfortable there. She always felt welcomed and relaxed, almost at home. And she didn't really look that out of place with the regular crowd. There may be a few more lines on her face, a bit more maturity to her features, but the people at the coffeehouse always seemed to enjoy her company and appreciate her presence. Michelle was proud to be accepted by them.

Michelle was very proud of the fact, as well, that she still wore the same size clothes that she did in college. She might not feel as comfortable around the kids if she was a wide-hipped, roly-poly, matronly looking woman. As it was, she filled out her jeans as nicely as any undergraduate, and tighter than most. Her sweater hugged her upper body and provided a very sexy concealment of the swell of her breasts. She might be old enough to be the mom of some of these kids, but she still looked more like a slightly older sister for most of them. With her blonde hair cut short, highlights framing her almost elfin looking face, Michelle always hoped that she would be the mother at school functions that her daughter's friends would think was cool and pretty.

Michelle cursed silently to herself after she placed her order and then opened her purse. "Hellfire!" she thought. She had forgotten that she'd spent most of her cash at the grocery earlier. Biting back her embarrassment, Michelle cancelled the order for her pastry and had to settle for a small instead of a medium or large cappuccino. "Be happy with what you get" she muttered under her breath. Then silently..."Huh, I seem to be repeating that more and more lately, ought to make it my motto." She set her book down on the counter, her drink on top of it as she grabbed several napkins from the dispenser.

As she pulled first one, then another napkin out, from the corner of her eye she saw an arm descending towards the counter. She saw it coming, but was unable to move in time or say anything, as she watched the arm land on the edge of her book, levering it off the counter and catapulting her cappuccino onto the floor. The cup landed the top burst off and the cappuccino splashed onto Michelle's shoes. Michelle closed her eyes as she felt her temper rise. "Bloody hell," she muttered under her breath. She took a deep breath. "Calm down" she thought. She glanced down at her shoe and turned to see what clumsy...

"Oh wow, I am so sorry about that. Gawd, I can't believe I just did that."

Michelle looked down at her shoes and the cappuccino, which had splashed onto them, dotting them with liquid as the rest poured out onto the floor and over her book. She barely heard the man apologize other than to recognize that his voice was masculine and had a nice sound to it. She started to bend down to rescue her book from the cappuccino threatening to stain the pages.

Thunk!

Michelle felt her head hit hard against...yeeoow! This guy was absolutely determined to ruin her day. She stood up quickly to rub her temple, the man straightened also, hand pressed against his forehead.

"Shit, I am so sorry. Again. This isn't exactly my finest hour. Here, let me get that for you."

Michelle winced as she rubbed her temple. She finally focused on the man who seemed determined to ruin the last good thing about her day. The man, if she could call him that, appeared to be in his early twenties. Michelle saw that his tucked in shirt, slacks and casual shoes matched and presented a respectable looking individual. As he straightened up, she elevated her gaze from his shoes. "Youth," she thought to herself, "they have it so good and don't even know it, he probably doesn't even work out." Her gaze took in his legs and the way his muscles pressed against his pants, his narrow waist, which blended in to a flat stomach, his chest and arms almost perfectly proportioned for his frame. His whole form made the statement that he was young and healthy, vibrant and alive. Michelle felt a blush spread across her cheeks as she finally raised her gaze to his eyes, to find them crinkled in amusement.

He held out an open hand to her, smiling. "I'm really sorry ma'am. I'm Kevin. Here, let me make it up to you, what'd you have?"

Michelle told him, then tried unsuccessfully to keep from watching him as he made his way to the counter. Michelle went ahead and grabbed some clean napkins, then stood outside one of the unoccupied private nooks. She waited until Kevin turned and made eye contact with her, to let him know where she was sitting. Michelle entered the nook. The five-foot wall was enough to let in some light, but still afford her some sense of privacy. The nook was lined with huge, soft pillows and one papa-san type chair in the corner. Michelle sat down, reclining amongst the pillows as she flipped her book open, blotting the cappuccino from the pages.

Michelle was just growing disgusted again, after having calmed down, when Kevin popped his head around the corner. His smile was disarming as it spread across his face.

"I hope this'll make up a little for my clumsiness, ma'am." His eyes fairly twinkled as he stepped into the alcove, carrying a large cappuccino with a frothy dollop of cream on top, and a flaky pastry along with it.

Michelle found herself smiling back infectiously. "Stop calling me ma'am, you make me feel like some old lady. My name's Michelle. Thanks for the coffee."

Kevin squatted down beside her, handing her the coffee and pastry, then taking a look at her book. "Damn, hope I didn't ruin it."

"No, I think it'll be fine, got it all dried off. " Michelle glanced up at him and then suddenly found herself patting the cushion next to her. "You're welcome to join me if you want." She noticed as Kevin looked at her hand, taking in her diamond engagement ring and wedding band.

"Well, I don't want your husband to get the wrong impression or anything." His smile never left his face, in fact, it only appeared to grow more mischievous.

Michelle laughed softly. "Well, I don't think he's going to storm in here and start a fight with you. He's living out of state at the moment, new career and all."

"And he left you behind? That must have been a tough choice to make."

Michelle ducked her head as she wondered what it was about this man – boy almost – that she felt like talking, flirting, and confiding in him. "Well, I've been here for the past three months with my thirteen-year-old daughter trying to sell our house. Not having much luck there." She laughed lightly. "As a matter of fact, the most luck I've had lately is getting my small cappuccino spilled and replaced with a large." Michelle shifted on her cushion, moving her legs so that her knees were bent, legs tucked under her as she turned to face Kevin. She felt a thrill run through her stomach as she looked at him and realized that she was very attracted to him. There was almost something... magnetic about his presence.

Kevin laughed along with her. He reached out and put a hand on her shoulder as they shared the laughter, the gesture seemed natural for him. Michelle wondered if he was one of the "touchy people," as she called them, that had to reach out and touch the one they were talking with. She decided that she didn't mind his hand on her shoulder and took a sip of her drink as she let him withdraw it on his own schedule.

"Well," he said, "I got my degree in interior design. It's hard to break into the field, but I do have skills." He laughed again as he placed a hand on her knee. "If you want, I could give you some suggestions, maybe help you make your house more appealing. Wouldn't charge you anything, either, as long as I could take some pictures of the finished project for my portfolio."

Michelle leaned forward as he drew his hand away. Her knee suddenly felt cold as the warmth of his hand faded. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear a little voice – Tell him no...not a good idea...this is better avoided. "Oh! Could you?! That would be wonderful! I've tried everything I can think of and just haven't had any luck at all." Michelle placed her hand on his knee in return.

Kevin smiled back at her excitement. "Well, maybe we can do something to change that luck for you."

Michelle smiled back as she felt her heart skip a beat with a flutter. "Well, I suppose I could get your number, maybe give you a call when you're not in class."

Kevin patted her hand on his knee. "I just finished my degree. I'm actually free right now if it's not bad timing."

Michelle drew her hand away and bit her pastry. Her stomach churned at the thought of being alone with him in her house, a thousand butterflies searching desperately for escape. "Well, I guess this would be a good time since my daughter will be at a friend's house all evening. Man, I bet she'll be surprised when she gets home." Michelle untucked her legs and extended them, surreptitiously moving the side of her thigh against Kevin's. He leaned over and brushed some of the flaky crumbs from the corner of her mouth. Michelle's tongue extended a moment after his fingers left her mouth, unconsciously licking the corners of her mouth.

She glanced down and noticed a few crumbs on her sweater. She shook her head. "Thank you for the pastry, Kevin. It's delicious, if somewhat messy."

Kevin laughed. "Well at least I didn't spill the coffee on your sweater. That would've been a lot harder to clean than your shoes." Kevin reached out, slowly and smoothly in such a natural motion that Michelle hardly noticed it. His hand lightly brushed across the neck of her sweater, his wrist just against the upper curve of her breast, as he flicked the crumbs to the floor.

Michelle felt a blush spread over her face. Her voice felt a little shaky as she said, "Oh, thank you, guess I missed some." That little voice in the back of her mind began screaming at her – bad idea...what the hell are you doing?

"What am I doing?" thought Michelle to herself. "I've never had an affair before, never even been tempted to. What's happened to me? How far will I let this go?"

She soon found out, as she felt Kevin's hand pressed flat against her chest at the hollow of her neck. She inhaled sharply as she felt that warm, strong hand moving down. She glanced at Kevin, saw in his face a mixture of confidence and disbelief, as if part of him was waiting for her to slap him. That part didn't stop him, though, as he slid his hand lower, his palm along the curve of the top of her breasts. Michelle closed her eyes. Her breath shallow as she felt the big hand move over her breasts. He didn't cup her breasts, he didn't squeeze. He just passed his hand over her breasts and down to her side. Michelle felt her nipples harden instantly. She could feel them as they pressed against her sweater and was sure that he must have felt them as well.

She opened her eyes and looked at him. Her breath caught in her throat as she asked huskily, "Missed a few more crumbs did you?"

Kevin slid his hand across her side and between her back and the cushions. "Yeah, those nasty little things are tricky, they find all kinds of hiding spots." He worked his hand up her back. She knew he was feeling for her bra strap. Michelle gave him a little lopsided smile as she leaned forward to grab her cup of cappuccino.

His fingers found the strap and in an obviously practiced move, he pinched it and unhooked it. Michelle could feel the sudden lack of tension, the straps loose on her back and her breasts shifting a bit lower.

She turned her head towards him, an eyebrow raised questioningly at him along with the hint of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth as she leaned back against the cushions, cappuccino in hand. "I suppose it's out of the question that you're going to hook that back up for me?" Michelle tried to appear cool and calm, raising the cup to her mouth for a sip. Her trembling hand blew the charade horribly as it caused her to spill a bit of the hot liquid.

Michelle righted the cup quickly and wiped a drop from her chin. She noticed Kevin smiling at her still. "Had he moved?" she thought, "he seems so much closer." Michelle reached to pick up a napkin with her left hand, the cup in her right. As she brought her hand up, she felt Kevin's hand cover hers. He stopped her arm halfway to her face and pressed her hand down to her thigh. She turned to look at him as she wondered what he was doing. His face was suddenly close to hers as he leaned forward. Michelle automatically opened her lips a little, then snapped them shut as she once again heard that voice in her mind – "What are you doing? You are NOT kissing him!" Besides which, it appeared that his aim was off somehow. Michelle felt his lips near the corner of her mouth, and then the tip of his tongue. She had to fight the urge to open her lips to allow his tongue into her mouth as she felt it move lightly over the corner of her mouth, licking her.

"Mmm, that cappuccino is wonderful. Is there more on the other side?" he asked.

Michelle felt his hand cup her chin and turn her head towards him more. His forearm was between her breasts as he held her face, holding her still as he licked the smear of cappuccino from the other corner of her mouth. Michelle inhaled deeply as she felt the pressure of his forearm and the touch of his tongue. Almost as a reflex, her tongue darted out, the tip of her tongue meeting his as he licked the corner of her mouth. She could taste the chocolate drink as her tongue met his, tentatively.

She suddenly realized what she had done. Michelle pulled her tongue back and inhaled sharply, her chest rising underneath his forearm. She could feel Kevin move his arm slightly as he caused it to move over her nipples. She opened her mouth to say something, surely to tell him to stop. The power of speech, hell, the power to breathe properly was robbed of her as Kevin moved his mouth gently over hers. His lips brushed over hers, his breath moist and warm in her mouth. His tongue lightly licked her soft lips before he covered her mouth with his. He pressed against her, his tongue entered her mouth, met with hers causing an involuntary reaction. Her tongue flicked back against his. He joined his breath with hers as he began to kiss her more deeply, more passionately.

Michelle moaned softly into his mouth as she felt his hand move down from her chin. He began to manipulate her unhooked bra through the sweater and moved the cups from her breasts. His hand cupped her breast through her sweater as his tongue explored her mouth. She could feel his hand as he gently squeezed and played with the hard nipple that was poking out against her sweater. She tried so hard not to, but couldn't help but arch her back as she attempted to press herself further into his hand. Oblivious to her surroundings, she gave in and returned the passionate kiss as she slipped one hand behind his head, her fingers bunched in his hair.

Michelle was in the act of shoving her tongue into his mouth, when he pulled back, his lips wet from the kiss. A small mewl of disappointment escaped Michelle as she opened her eyes, her mouth still wide, tongue still poised for the kiss.

She felt Kevin's large hand on her breastbone as he pushed her to lean back and recline against the cushions. She could just see the head of a tall man over the wall as he walked by their nook, his face buried in a newspaper.

Michelle reflexively sucked in her stomach as she felt the electric thrill of Kevin's hand underneath the bottom of her sweater. His hand slid easily over the smooth skin of her stomach. She held her breath as she kept her stomach tense, waiting for that touch. Kevin instead, grasped the cups of her bra that were now hanging below her breasts. He pulled first to one side, yanked the strap from her shoulder and down over her arm, and then to the other side as he repeated the process. He pulled the bra out from the bottom of her sweater, the straps pulled down her arms until she had to hold her arms together at her waist, and the straps caught at her wrists. Kevin smiled down at her. He slipped the sweater over her hand, which allowed her to wriggle it so that the strap slipped over her hand. He repeated with her other hand and then began to pull. The straps of the bra slowly pulled free, slipped back up her arms and then down out the bottom of her sweater.