The 7-Day Challenge Pt. 05

She could see my attention drifting, so she slapped me lightly. "Pay attention, boy. I mean it."

I gave her a drunken shit-eating grin. "OK, Renee, I'm sorry."

"Come on James, focus now." I straightened up my posture to demonstrate I was paying attention.

"Here's a few facts, are you ready?" She held up her left forefinger. I thought to myself what nice long fingers they were, perfect for playing piano or for wrapping around my cock. "First, and most importantly, you are a good man, James. You're hard-working, reliable, loyal, and kind-hearted."

"Second," she said, holding up her forefinger and middle finger, "You are what every woman in the world appreciates, except of course for that dipshit ex-girlfriend of yours. You don't judge superficially. You accept the whole woman, inside and out. You are also a romantic. When you fall in love you fall hard, loving and accepting every imperfection in your woman. You don't love halfway - you play for keeps, all in."

Tears welled up in my eyes remembering how much I loved Katie. "I do, don't I?" I said, almost sobbing.

She held up three fingers now, "Third, because you are a man, you don't understand a damn thing about how women think. I could tell exactly what kind of gold-digger Katie was when she performed her little teasing drama here the other night. It's a good thing you showed up when you did, James. She was going all out and loving the attention; all those men thought they had a real shot at her pussy. If you hadn't shown up, they very well may have. The more money they flashed, the more she liked it."

Hearing this, I was stunned. My innocent, devoted angel? Renee went on. "This is why your momma and sister and even your sister's mother-in-law were trying to dissuade you - they could see Katie in a way you couldn't - or wouldn't. That girl Katie is a damned fool, and you should be thankful she didn't get her hooks in you. I swear to you, James, if you got hitched your marriage would have been 50% happy - her half, not yours."

Just then the bar became deathly quiet. I turned and all eyes were on Katie standing in the doorway. She wore a look of relief on her face. "Oh, James! Thank heavens I found you! I've been driving all over town looking for you."

Her look of relief suddenly turned into smugness. "I should have guessed right away that you'd come here with your broken heart," she said. "You miss me SO much you wanted to revisit the scene of one of our most wonderfully romantic memories." She took another step forward, her voice dropping to a seductive tone. "James, if you give me another chance I'll make sure we share a lot many more..."

I waved my hands in the air and drunkenly protested, "No, Katie, you got it all wrong. I came here to get AWAY from you and Toni. I don't want to see you OR her tonight. You and she have been lying to me, and YOU fucking threw me out! So FUCK OFF!" To emphasize my statement I twirled my hand in the air in what I intended to be a dramatic flourish, but instead lost my balance and fell off the barstool.

I staggered to my feet and re-seated myself, trying to salvage what little dignity I had left. My drunken brain unable to think of anything biting or witty to say, I resorted to simply turning my back on her.

Katie's voice turned pleading and desperate now. "Please James, forgive me, I was all wrong. I got angry and said some horrible, awful things but I didn't mean them! When I calmed down I realized what a fool I'd been, and how much I still loved you! I'm sooooo sorry! Take me back, please, I'll do everything you say, I promise. I'll be a good wife for you, I'll stop spending money, and I'll even quit school until I pay off my debts."

She was doing a great job of acting remorseful. I almost believed her. Worse yet, in my drunken state I really wanted to believe her. She kept on. "I'll do anything, James, just please take me back. You're drunk now, and not able to make good decisions. Let me drive you home and take good care of you tonight, and we can talk in the morning!"

Her pleading was having an effect on me. Maybe she was still my angel, after all. I turned back facing her. Seeing this, she moved towards me, but Renee suddenly reached across the bar with her long arms and pushed Katie back, my ex-girlfriend losing her footing and falling to the floor. I was too stunned, and too drunk to even try to help her up.

"Back off, you little bitch," Renee roared. "You're nothing but a cheap little tramp, and you threw this man away like he was a soiled tampon. He's not coming home with you tonight or any other night, and if you don't like it, well that's just tough fucking shit!"

My vision and balance weren't doing so hot at this point, but I could hear the collective gasp from the other bar patrons just fine. What the hell was happening? I wasn't sure, but my dick was getting hard about it!

Apparently, Katie wasn't the only one who had a temper. It was plain to see Renee had a full head of steam now; still shouting, she pointed at the door. "Get your money-grubbing ass out of my bar, little missy. I reserve the right to deny service to drunks and whores, and you ain't bought a single drink yet, so guess what that makes you? Now GIT!"

As she said that, Renee slammed an axe handle on the bar with a crack that made everyone in the place jump, including me. Apparently this was a security system she kept hidden under the cash register for just such situations. Drunk as I was, I had to admire the effectiveness of it.

Stumbling to her feet, Katie began sobbing, then turned and ran out of the lounge. I could hear her tearful cries until she made it out the front door of the hotel. "Charlie," she called to the busboy, "You close up. I'm driving this poor slob home." I felt Renee's strong arms help me off the barstool and onto my feet, and begin to walk me to the parking lot. 'Damn, what a woman', I thought.

"Are you taking me to my apartment?" I asked, my speech very slow now as I tried to enunciate my words clearly.

Renee laughed a little. "No, sugar britches," she said, "That is the first place they'd look for you. You need time away from all them women, especially that little tramp. If I left you at your apartment, sure as shootin' you'd wake up tomorrow with an aching head, Katie in your bed, and a ring on your finger. No way I'm lettin' that happen. Like I told you, you're a good man. If me and Roger wasn't planning on moving to Florida together when he retires, why I'd have a run at you myself."

I smiled drunkenly at her. "You're pretty hot, yanno," I slurred as she buckled me into the passenger seat.

"Aw, that's just the vodka talkin' James, but thanks for the sentiment." Suddenly, she pressed her lips to mine. It was not a peck, it was a soft, warm, and tender kiss. My cock began to stand at attention, but before I could react and reach for her, she walked to the other side and got in the driver's seat.

I must have dozed off, but I awakened as Renee was lifting me out of the car and helping me walk through her front door. She brought me into her bedroom and sat me on the edge of the bed. She left and came back with a bowl of soapy water and a washcloth, and washed my face off. "Get undressed," she ordered. I tried to unbutton my shirt, but wasn't having much success using my fingers so I just ripped it open, popping the buttons off.

She helped me get my arms out of the sleeves, and ran her hand over my chest. "Nice," she commented. "Do you have to pee?" she asked, and I realized I did. I tried to stand up, but had to sit back down again. She unbuckled my belt and unzipped my pants.

"Hey," I protested, "Should you be doing that?" She pushed me on my back like a turtle and pulled my pants off by grasping the cuffs and giving one good tug like a magic trick.

"Relax, James," she drawled, "You ain't growed nothing I ain't seen before." She pulled my underwear down and off my feet, and eyed my half-erect little buddy. "Although truth be told, you got a little bit more than most I've seen," she finished.

She walked me over to the toilet and sat me down to relieve my bladder, then used the bowl of soapy water and the washcloth to clean up my hands and my cock. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow as she washed off my semi-hard dick, but drunk as I was all I could do was weakly smile back at her.

That being done, she took a toothbrush and ran it around my teeth, then had me take a sip of mouthwash. "Spit, don't swallow," she instructed, and I leaned over the sink and obeyed. My memories get pretty spotty at this point. I remember her moving me over to the bed and tucking me in, then turning the lights off.

As I slept, the alcohol gave me erotic dreams. I dreamed I was on my back and my cock was erect, and Renee was riding me. Her hair was undone and flowing, and she looked even more beautiful in the moonlight. She was smiling down at me but didn't make any noise as she rode my hardness; it was so realistic near the end I could feel her pussy clamp hard onto my cock like she was having an orgasm.

It must have been a wet dream, because I felt like I had an orgasm too. Then I dreamed she lowered herself on top of me, her lips were on mine, and I could feel her nipples against my chest as we lay together.

Saturday June 4th, 7:30am

Despite my realistic dream I woke up alone, the tantalizing smell of coffee, eggs, and homemade pancakes drifting in from the kitchen. I felt like someone was practicing a drum solo in my head, but otherwise I didn't have any other hangover symptoms. I was hungry but not nauseated, and nothing else ached but my head.

I got up, relieved my bladder, and found my pants neatly folded over the back of a chair. I put them on and walked down the hall to the kitchen. Renee was making breakfast. She was wearing a flowered summer dress, which was very pretty on her. Her silver-streaked hair was down, tied back in a ponytail.

She called out over her shoulder, "You tore your shirt off last night, muscle-man, so you'll have to eat your breakfast and wait a bit until I finish sewing the buttons back on. There's some pain reliever on the table between your coffee cup and your orange juice - I figured you could use it this morning."

I took the tablets and chased them with coffee. There was so much to say but when I tried to speak, my voice came out a little hoarse. Taking a sip of the orange juice, I tried again. "Thanks for taking care of me last night," I said, "and for caring enough to listen." It was all I could manage to get out.

Renee brought the skillet over and put some pancakes on my plate with a well-worn spatula. "Like I told you last night, James, you're a good man. Better than most, in fact. You'll make some woman very happy some day." Funny, Toni had said the same thing about me. On the first night of the challenge she'd said I was a good man, and sometimes wished I were more of a bastard. Maybe that was it - maybe I needed to start being selfish.

A combination of love and desire stirred in me. Impulsively, I took Renee's hand holding the spatula and kissed the back of it. "What about you, Renee? Do you think I could make you happy?"

Pulling her hand away, Renee shook her head and laughed gently. "You're just proving what I told you last night, James," she said softly. "You accept the whole woman, inside and out, and when you fall in love you fall hard, accepting every imperfection in her. Think about what you just asked. Could you make me happy? Hell yes you could make me happy. You're quite a handsome stallion, and I'd be the envy of all my friends; and you'd best believe I'd ride you hard in bed every damn night. But it's a two-way street. The question you forgot to ask is, could I make YOU happy?"

"Renee, you're such an amazing woman, I'm..." She held her hand up to stop me.

"James, sweetheart, stop deceiving yourself. I'm over sixty years old. I can still do a lot of things, but I can't give you children, or a long-term future. You deserve more. When you turn forty and are hitting your peak in life, I'd be in my eighties. What kind of a life is that for you? You'd be ready to climb mountains, and I'd be almost ready for assisted living." She set the skillet and spatula on the table, took my face in her hands and kissed me deeply. As I reached to pull her into my lap, she stepped away.

"You know, I had the most wonderful dream about you last night", I said softly, almost pleadingly, "I didn't want it to end."

"Funny, I had the same dream about you," she said, dabbing her sleeve to wipe a tear from her left eye. "But that's how it is with dreams. No matter how wonderful they are, they always end when you wake up."

She looked down into my eyes, both of hers tearing up now, and we gazed at each other in silence for a minute, leaving many things unsaid.

Finally she broke the silence, her confident personality returning. "Finish your breakfast, James, you're going to need to be well-fed to straighten things out today."

At that moment I wanted to make her mine, but in the long run I knew she was right about everything. Renee had saved me from Katie's clutches last night, and helped me realize what I had to do today. My sister was the common thread, and I had to get Jennifer to reveal her secrets so I could regain control of my life.