Lying About My Age Ch. 05

This ongoing story is a fantasy based very loosely on actual events and real people. As always, any similarities to any persons, places, or things, or anything you have heard before is a complete accident.

*****

I noticed I was staring at the ceiling, and figured I must be awake.

What did I do? I started out last night thinking that it was going to be 'the night' with Jamie. Jamie, my next door neighbor who was 15 years younger than me. For weeks we had been masturbating together on opposite sides of the wall. The other night I went to her apartment and we did it face to face, watching each other. Then last night we went to a neighbor's party. Jamie got pulled away by her needy friend. I was left standing there for a long time, and then Ashley came over.

Ashley, I thought, picturing her pretty face, her curly blonde hair, and imagining her body pressed against me. I started to grow hard. I had never slept with a woman I barely knew before, but it seemed right. It seemed like fate; at least it did last night.

Lying there in the early morning, I started to have doubts. We hardly knew each other. What if we spent some time together and realized we had no business being together? Take it easy, I said to myself. If there was a future with Ashley, it would happen soon enough. If not, I tried to tell myself, at least I got laid.

I knew I had to talk to Jamie. That poor girl, I kept thinking. What was I going to say? Sorry you ditched me, and I hooked up with someone else? Someone my age, someone I probably had much more in common with. It's better this way, I thought. She'll get over me and meet someone her own age. Someone who'll treat her right. They'll have a bunch of kids. She'll be happy eventually.

I got out of bed and did my Saturday morning errands early, just to have something to do. I came home and settled into my recliner, dreading the conversation I knew I had to have. Finally I figured it was time. I walked outside and over to Jamie's door. I knocked, and for several seconds there was silence. Maybe she wasn't home, I thought. Maybe she was just going to avoid me. I started to feel relieved. Maybe I didn't have to deal with this after all.

The door opened, and Jamie was standing there. "What?" She said.

I found myself suddenly speechless. "I umm..." I stammered out.

"Did you fuck her?" Jamie blurted out. I nodded solemnly. Jamie's shoulders slumped. "I thought maybe you were different," she said. "I thought maybe, an older man... but you're just like all the rest."

She wasn't wrong, I supposed, but I still felt the urge to defend myself. "You ditched me," I was saying before I really thought it through, "And what were we anyway? It's not like we were dating..."

Jamie reached out and grabbed me by the arm, and pulled me into her apartment. She slammed the door shut behind me. "You're going to tell me... what we did... meant nothing to you?" She asked, pointing emphatically at me.

"No," I said. "But..." I started to say.

"But what?" Jamie said, "Don't say I ditched you again."

I was going to say that, but I stopped. "You're too young for me," I said.

"Oh, now I'm too young for you?" Jamie shouted.

"Yeah, you need to go find someone your own age," I said.

"And cheating on me was your oh-so-subtle way of saying that, huh?" Jamie said. She looked like she was going to try to hit me.

"I didn't cheat on you!" I found myself shouting. "We weren't together! We kissed once!"

Jamie took a deep breath. When she spoke again, she sounded completely calm, "You don't really believe that, do you?" She asked.

I took a deep breath. "No I don't," I mumbled. "I'm sorry. I really am. Nothing like last night ever happened to me before. We just... connected. I felt so guilty. But I still believe our age difference would've been a problem eventually. You're going to want to get married and start a family, and I've been down that road already. You have your whole life ahead of you. I'm 40. I'm going to start playing golf and wearing funny pants. I'm going to start needing reading glasses and my body is going to start breaking down."

Jamie was staring at me. "Well, if that's what you really think," she said. "You're probably right about the age thing. I do want to have a family and I figured that would be a problem with you." She paused. "I wanted to just focus on the now, and have a little fun. The 'right guy' might not come along for years." She paused again. "Look, I know Ashley a little." I was looking at the floor, and I looked up at her, startled. "Yeah, I know who you fucked last night, and she's a good person. She probably is more right for you than I am. So go be with her. I'll be fine. I've been through worse."

I was speechless. "I... I don't know what to say..." I stammered out.

"Just go," Jamie said. "Call her. Be good to her." I felt myself frozen in place. "Go!" She shouted. "Before I beat the shit out of you."

I turned and almost walked right into the door. Jamie opened it for me and I scurried out of her apartment and back into mine. What was I, relieved? That went way better than I thought it would. There was no crying. There was very little screaming. Jamie just told me to go ahead and be with Ashley. Everything was going to be okay.

I settled back into my recliner. I placed my iPhone on the arm of the chair. Do I call her now? Do I wait a while? That debate went on for an hour. I would stare at my phone, and then I would ignore it for a while. How would the conversation go? Would she be happy to hear from me? Was she having second thoughts? Was she sitting there thinking she made some huge mistake and that it would be better off if I never called?

Finally, I worked up enough courage to pick up the phone. I scrolled through the contacts until I found Ashley's name. I took a deep breath, and called her. One ring... two rings... three rings... I started to think she wasn't going to answer and I would have to leave a message, and then she answered. "Hey you," she said.

"Hey," I said, "How are you?"

"I'm okay," Ashley said, "I'm out shopping. I almost didn't hear my phone."

"Oh," I said. "You're busy," I added. I could hear background noise. It sounded like she was at the mall.

"It's ok, I'm just browsing," Ashley said. "What's up?"

"Nothing," I said, "I just wanted to give you a call..." I trailed off. I wasn't sure what else to say.

"Okay," Ashley said, and we both fell silent.

"Are you free later?" I blurted out.

Ashley giggled. "Yes, I'm free. Do you want to meet for dinner?"

"Sure," I said, and we worked out a time and place.

I was more nervous before our date than I had ever been before. I mean, she wasn't my first post-divorce date, I had gotten that out of the way already, but she was my second. She was definitely the first woman I'd be having a first date with after I'd already slept with her. I felt like there was so much riding on this date, the hope that the connection we felt wasn't a fluke, and it wasn't going to vanish once we actually got to know each other.

I dressed in my best work clothes and headed out to the restaurant. I was there ten minutes early. I was always early to dates. To my surprise Ashley pulled up right after I did. I was driving a Hyundai Elantra. Ashley drove a big Toyota Rav 4. She got out of her car. She was dressed in a simple white blouse and black slacks. She was wearing flats. "Hey you," she said, and kissed me on the cheek.

"Hey," I said as she took my hand and led me into the restaurant. I proceeded to have probably the best date of my life. Ashley wasn't kidding about being a geek and a tomboy. Luckily we liked the same baseball team, and she was knowledgeable. She knew her superhero movies too, and we spent a lot of time debating about which incarnation of the Superman movies was the best, which of the Spiderman movies was the best, which of the Batman movies was the best, and which of the Fantastic Four movies was worse. She seemed to know her stuff about science, history, and politics too. I was smitten.

I mentioned to her that I'd never had a conversation like this on a date before, and I could sense her becoming insecure. "Is it good or bad?" She asked.

"Good!" I said quickly. "It's good that you know things... about stuff. It's good to have an actual conversation."

"Well, what do you usually talk about on dates?" Ashley asked. "Or do you just sit there?"

"I guess usually we would end up talking about ourselves," I said, "Or I'd get uncomfortable and just start cracking jokes."

"You never dated a smart woman before?" She asked.

"It's not that my dates weren't smart," I said, and I paused. "Take my ex-wife for example. She was a very intelligent person, but she was too insecure to give her opinions on anything, so if I said anything she liked she'd agree, and if she didn't like what I was saying she just wouldn't say anything at all. It's no way to have a relationship, really."

"I can imagine," Ashley said, "I hope you're not expecting me not to speak up when I disagree with you."

"No," I said quickly, "Please speak up. I need to be told I'm wrong every once in a while," and we laughed.

We finished dinner and I paid for it. There goes my spending money for the next week, I thought, but it was worth it. We walked out into the humid summer evening. "So," Ashley said as we walked into the parking lot, "What do you want to do now?"

"I don't know," I said. I really was hoping to go back to her place, but I couldn't come right out and say it. "There isn't really much to do around here."

"You're right," she said, and she stopped walking. I turned to face her. I could see she was looking around. "We can always go back to your place," she said softly.

I was about to wholeheartedly agree, but then I thought of Jamie, and I realized that I hated the idea of bringing Ashley home to where Jamie could see, and maybe even hear us. I needed to find a reason to steer us towards her place. "My place is a mess," I said. "What about yours?"

"Well," Ashley said, and I could see her glancing around us again, "Do you have any protection?" She asked quietly.

"Not on me," I replied.

"I don't have anything," she said, "So unless we pick something up on the way it'll have to be your place."

"Hmm..." I said with a frown, "My place it is. Do you know the way there?"

Ashley kissed me, and as she lingered I got distracted by the scent of the shampoo in her hair. "Of course I do silly," she whispered near my ear, and I could feel myself responding to her closeness. She pulled away suddenly and hurried to her car, shouting "Race you there" as she went. I took off belatedly towards my car. She got a head start but I was right behind her. It was only a few blocks, and we were both too responsible to do anything crazy to get there faster.

I was right behind her as we pulled into my development. I went for my designated spot and she found an unmarked spot a short distance away. "I win," she said triumphantly as I met up with her in front of my building. "Yes you did," I said, smiling at her as we entered the building and climbed the stairs. We reached my apartment and I opened the door, holding it open for her to walk inside. I followed her in and closed the door behind us.

Ashley was on me in an instant, kissing me and pressing her body against me. "I've been thinking about this all day," she said breathlessly. I was instantly hard, my erection pressing against her hip. I grabbed her and held her to me, one hand in her hair, the other on her lower back. Her hands were on the sides of my head. We kissed passionately for a while, exploring our mouths with our lips and tongues. Our tongues met and we jousted with each other. I thrust my tongue into her mouth and swirled it around hers. Ashley moaned. Then I heard another moan.

Wait, who else was moaning, I remember thinking. There were two distinct moans. Then I heard it again, a moan coming from somewhere. Did I leave the television on? I wondered. Then it hit me all at once. It was coming from the wall. It was Jamie. I froze; my tongue still in Ashley's mouth.

For a moment I think Ashley only stopped kissing me because she realized I stopped kissing her. She pulled away to look at me. "What is it?" She asked. Then there was another moan. Ashley definitely heard it that time, and she started looking around my apartment. I saw her glance at my TV, but it was off. She kept looking around, like maybe there was a radio on somewhere. "Ohh yeah," Jamie's disembodied voice was even louder this time, and I saw Ashley's head turn towards the wall.

I could feel a knot forming in my stomach. How Ashley reacted to this would probably determine the future of our relationship, if it survived the next few minutes. I watched her intently as she stared at the wall. There was another moan and the sound of the bedsprings creaking. I had a side view of Ashley's face, and I watched her features scrunch up thoughtfully.

With a start I thought about the chair that I had placed against the wall, but then I remembered that I had moved it to sit beside Ashley when she first came over last night. That was a relief, I thought. Ashley turned to look at me, and I tried to keep my expression neutral as I locked eyes with her. I have nothing to hide, I was telling myself. There was another noise and Ashley turned back toward the wall, and I let out an exasperated sigh.

Then she turned to look at the chair that was still by the recliner. Wait; did she remember where it was when she walked in last night? I thought, a chill creeping down my spine. She looked toward the wall again and then back to me. She had the look of somebody in the process of solving a difficult math problem. Jamie... I thought angrily... whatever you're trying to do... damn you.

Then suddenly Ashley smiled at me. I wasn't sure what to think anymore, but I took her smile as a good sign. "These walls sure are thin, huh?" Ashley said loudly. Almost in response, Jamie moaned through the wall again.

"I... I..." I started stammering. I had no idea what to say.

"Maybe we're better off at my place," Ashley said, and she moved past me toward the door. I watched her move, my mouth hanging open. "Isn't there something you need to get?" Ashley said serenely.

I continued to stare at her dumbly for a few more seconds. Oh yeah, protection. I need to get protection. Jamie moaned again, even louder, and the bedsprings creaked as I scurried into my bedroom and pulled out a handful of condoms. I stuffed them hastily into my pocket and rushed back to the living room. Jamie was making quite a racket now, all but shouting an obviously fake orgasm as the bedsprings creaked and the headboard banged against the wall. Ashley was staring toward the wall, bemused.

"It's never boring around here, huh?" She asked.

"No," I said. I would've said or done anything right then to get out of there.

Ashley held out her hand and I rushed to her side, condoms bulging out of my pants pocket. We started for the door, and for a moment I thought that I was home free, but Jamie had one more trick up her sleeve.

"Oh, Rich!" Jamie shouted at the top of her lungs, and Ashley froze in place. I felt my shoulders slump. There's no point in lying, I said to myself. It's better to be honest with someone you're starting a relationship with. I didn't do anything wrong, I said to myself again. I took a deep breath. "There's something you should know..." I started to say.

Ashley was speaking over me, "We can stay and listen, if that's what you're into," she said, and I turned to face her, startled. She was smiling at me.

I started speaking quickly, "Look, it all started very innocently. I happened to hear her... once. We had gotten together and I told her about it... then... then... then we started doing it together. I went over there once... it was the night before last... we kissed once. Last night... last night I thought... I thought something was going to happen between us... but I met you instead."

I paused to breathe. Ashley was watching me intently. "I went over there this morning... to talk about it... I thought everything was okay... I thought she was okay with it. I'm sorry," I said.

"So there was something between you two," Ashley said, "Caitlyn said something about it, she'd heard a rumor." Ashley shrugged. "It is what it is. You've moved on and she will too." Ashley reached out and took my hand. "Thank you for being honest about it," she said, and she started pulling me toward the door. "We can talk about it some more on the way to my place. We can take my car, if you'd like."

"Okay," I said as I let Ashley lead me out of my apartment. I felt so euphoric I could have flown to Ashley's condo with her on my back. As it was the drive only took about five minutes. We hurried up the stairs and into her condo. She closed the door behind us and kissed me. I found myself peeking at her condo as we kissed. It was lush, stylish, well-furnished and colorful.

Ashley broke the kiss. She had a mischievous smile on her face. "So, you're a voyeur?" She asked quietly.

"Umm... yeah, I guess," I said sheepishly. "I don't want you to think I'm some kind of pervert..."

"It's ok," Ashley said to cut me off. "Everybody has their own thing. Do you like to watch too or just listen?" She asked.

I found myself staring at her. What was happening here? "Umm... both... I guess," I mumbled.

"Okay," Ashley said, and I watched her hands move to the top button of her blouse. She started to undo the buttons, one by one. When her hands reached the bottom she pulled her blouse open, revealing a plain white bra. I reflexively reached out with my hand, intent on touching her modest cleavage showing above her bra.

Ashley took a step backward out of my reach. "Nuh uh," she said teasingly. "Just watch." I let my hand fall to my side. Ashley reached behind herself underneath her blouse and undid her bra. She then deftly pulled her arms through the straps and pulled it out through her sleeve. I stared at her bra as she dangled it in front of me, and then she let it fall to the floor. My eyes went right to her bare breasts.

Ashley playfully closed her blouse, covering herself up. "Naughty naughty," she said softly, "No peeking." She slowly pulled her blouse open again, and I watched her milky white flesh come into view. After a few seconds her blouse was completely open and her breasts were there. Then she closed her blouse again. Then she pulled open only the left side of her blouse and quickly closed it again. Then she did the same with the right. She started laughing.

"Tease," I said to her.

Ashley moved until she was right in front of me, close enough to kiss me. "You like it," she whispered, and then she spun away from me, laughing. "I think we need some music," she said, and she moved over to her stereo. She turned on the radio and fiddled with it until she found a smooth jazz station. Ashley half-walked and half-danced her way across the room until she stopped right in front of me. She held out her hands and I took them. We started to dance around the room.

Those ballroom dance lessons I took before my wedding are finally paying off, I thought to myself as Ashley and I waltzed around the room. Ashley was definitely a dancer, and I struggled to keep up with her moves as we danced around her living room. She let go of one of my hands and pulled away from me, and I pulled back on her, letting her spin herself back to me, her open blouse flowing around her. As she reached me she suddenly grabbed me and kissed me, freezing us both in place. I closed my eyes as she kissed me passionately, her hands at my face and her body swaying against me.

Then suddenly Ashley was gone. I opened my eyes to see her running towards her bedroom, laughing and shedding her blouse as she went. I followed her to the bedroom and stopped in the doorway. She had pulled off her shoes and was undoing her slacks. I watched her pull her slacks down her slim but shapely body, now clad in only a pair of white cotton panties. She leapt onto her bed and scooted backwards until she was lying against her pillows.