Cloud Nine: Ch. One

Cloud Nine: Ch. OneLibby knew men ogled her, and she reveled in the attention.Men hadn’t always looked at her with admiration. Until she was a junior in college, she was knobby-kneed and nearly flat chested. Consequently, blue moons happened more often than she had a date. She didn’t like being a virgin, but there wasn’t much she could do about it short of k**napping some guy and ravishing him, so she consoled herself with fingers and vibrators.Coincidentally, she met Gene just after she started to blossom into what she considered a normal girl. They dated off and on during college, lost contact for a while after they graduated, then rediscovered each other shortly after her twenty-seventh birthday, and married a year later.She felt like a million dollars as she strutted along the pedestrian mall on Sixteenth Street, basking in the admiring gazes from the men, and even some of the women. She deserved the stares. She was dressed to attract attention. Her short leather skirt highlighted her shapely legs, and her large tits, unfettered by a bra, jiggled enticingly under her clingy silk blouse. Un-like some women who dress provocatively, then lose their cool when they draw stares, she welcomed, and enjoyed, the open admiration.Gene not only taught her to enjoy sex, he liberated her and taught her how to dress and walk and loved to watch her strut her stuff. In many ways, her husband was a very unusual man, and she counted the day they rediscovered each other as the best day of her life.She returned the stares of some of the men, aware they were fantasizing about fucking her. She felt no danger from some deviate who might have ideas of stepping out of line. Shortly after they got back together, Gene insisted that she take a class in self-defense for women, and she went on to qualify for her black belt, so she felt capable of handling most any situation. So far, she hadn’t had to use her skills, but wouldn’t hesitate if the need arose.She turned into a boutique that carried her favorite fragrance and went directly to the perfume counter. The sales clerk was busy, so she waited patiently, savoring the aroma of the myriad scents wafting through the air and eyeing the various bottles, wondering if she should try something different for a change. She noticed the tall, ruggedly handsome man, wearing a sport jacket, slacks, loafers and open-necked shirt staring at her from a short distance away, but the sales clerk arrived and she turned her attention to making her purchase.She turned away from the counter and nearly bumped into the man. She muttered, “Excuse me,” and started to walk away.“Libby,” he said, “Libby Baker? It really is you, isn’t it? I thought I recognized the face, but the body had me fooled for a minute.”She looked puzzled. “I’m sorry, I don’t.“Aaron Taylor,” he said.She pointed her finger at him and laughed, “The Nerd!”He pointed his finger at her and laughed, “The Ugly Duckling! Imagine running into you like this. I had no idea you were still in Denver.”“I never left, Aaron. My last name kaçak iddaa is Reed now.”He look gloomy, clearly disappointed by the news, and said dejectedly, “You’re married?”“For the past two years,” she replied. “In fact, today is our anniversary, and we’re going out to celebrate. If I hadn’t run out of my favorite perfume, we wouldn’t have met. I’m glad we did, and I’m sorry I didn’t recognize you. You’ve changed, for the better.”Aaron grinned. “Yeah, I filled out a little, didn’t I? Guess I’m still a nerd, though. But you, my God, how you’ve changed! You always had a beautiful face, but I never thought you would develop such a gorgeous body. My God, Libby, you’re a real fox! Talk about an ugly duckling turning into a beautiful swan!”“Why, thank you, Aaron. I don’t want to intrude, but can we go somewhere for coffee and talk about old times?” She glanced around the boutique, which carried only items for women. “If you have someone waiting for you, I’ll understand.”He shook his head. “I just came in to look for a birthday present for my mother. I’d love to have coffee. Do you mind if we stop by my place first? I have to make a couple of phone calls. It’s close by, so we can walk. If you have time, I’ll even buy you lunch, but I warn you, only the best will do for such a gorgeous girl.”“My, my, you have changed,” she laughed. “I don’t remember you being so suave. I don’t have time for lunch today, though. Maybe some other time.” She slipped her arm though his and they left the boutique. “I didn’t know anyone lived downtown.”“When the mall was built, several of the older buildings were remodeled into condos. It’s the latest thing for Yuppies.” He escorted her up a flight of stairs, into a glass-covered skywalk, then into one of the buildings. “I’ve already had my exercise for the day, so we’ll take the elevator,” he said. He punched a code into a keypad by the door and the elevator door opened.Her stomach nearly sagged into her shoes as the car whizzed upward, then settled back into place as it coasted to a smooth stop and the door opened into a thickly carpeted foyer. Aaron ushered her into a huge living room.She paused and looked around. Everything in the room spoke of money-the latest in high-tech stereo gear, the huge TV, the large leather couch and matching chairs-lots of money. She wandered over to the window and looked out over the city at the breathtaking view of the mountains while Aaron took off his coat and made a couple of drinks at the bar.“Impressive,” she said as she turned and accepted the Tequila Sunrise. She took a sip of her drink. “Hmmm, perfect.”“Remember the time we lied about our age and sneaked into that little bar downtown?”“Just so I could try a Tequila Sunrise,” she said.“You read in the paper that the bartender there made the best ones in town and just had to try one.”“I thought the name sounded so exotic,” she said. She looked up at him and smiled sweetly. “We had some good times, didn’t we?”“The two high school misfits,” he said pensively. “No one else liked kaçak bahis us, so we liked each other.”“I still like you, Aaron,” she said sincerely. She glanced around the room again. “Looks like you’re doing all right for yourself. I assume there’s more to this place.”“Yes, I have the whole floor. Used to be a loft.”“I know I’m prying, but I have to know. Is it very expensive?”“It set me back a little over a million.”“You own it? Now I am impressed!” She sat on the plush leather couch and crossed her legs, showing him an expanse of lovely thigh. “Is robbing banks a fun way to make a living?”He laughed and sat beside her. “Yes.”“Seriously, what do you do for a living?”“It will sound like bragging if I tell you,” he said modestly.“Tell me anyway,” she insisted. “Anyone who can pay a million bucks for a place to live and furnish it with such expensive gadgets and furniture has earned the right to brag.”“Guess I’m still a nerd, at heart, anyway. I’m a business consultant. Help people start small businesses, find financing, get their accounts set up right, that sort of thing, but the real money is in doing computer security work for the big boys. They gladly pay through the nose for programs to keep their records and trade secrets safe from prying eyes.”“If I remember right, you didn’t think you’d be able to afford college. You didn’t learn all of that in high school or some trade school.”“No, I won a merit scholarship to the University of Chicago School of Business. Studied economics, business, computers, all that stuff. What about you, what are you doing these days?”“Being the best wife and housekeeper I possibly can,” she laughed. “Especially the wife part. When a girl has a husband like mine, the fringe benefits are fantastic. You must know a lot about stocks and so forth.”“Quite a bit. I’ve developed a couple of computer programs for my own use to track the market. That’s what paid for this place and all the imagine gadgets.”“Would you take a look at our portfolio? See if we can do better. We’re doing okay, but we can always do better. We’ll pay your standard fee, of course.”“I wouldn’t dream of charging you. Call it a return for favors done in the past, if you like.”“What kind of favors?” She laughed. “Again, if I remember correctly, the one time you tried to get in my pants turned out to a disaster for both of us. Or don’t you remember the night we graduated?”“I remember all too well! I’m not so clumsy now.”She gave him a critical look and said, “No, I don’t imagine you are. You’ve become quite a hunk.” She set her glass on the coffee table. “Well, where do you want to go for coffee?”“We can decide later.”“Oh, you have to make your phone calls,” she said.“The phone calls can wait. Would you like to see the rest of the place?”“Sure, if I’m not keeping you from something more important.”“Nothing is more important than what I’m doing right now.” He grinned. “I checked with the boss, and he said I could take the afternoon off.”“You keep talking that way and you’ll turn a girl’s head.”“I hope illegal bahis so.”They started in the kitchen, and Libby noted the heavy pots and pans and utensils hanging on the large circular rack above a butcher block table in the middle of the floor.“Well laid out, well-equipped,” she said. “No pots with copper bottoms like you see in the pictures in magazines.”“They spread heat okay, but they don’t hold it. Heavy steel is better. The best cookware comes from Europe, unfortunately. I like to buyAmerican whenever I can. At least my cast iron ware is American.“Don’t tell me you cook?”“Yep, I like to cook. Learned as a little boy. My older sister hated the kitchen, so Mom made me help her. She didn’t realize she was doing me a big favor. If a man is going to be a bachelor, he should know how to cook.”“Well, well, a man of many talents. I meant to ask if you’ve ever been married.”“No.” He took her hand and led her down the hall. “Never met a girl who could hold my interest that long.” He showed her a bathroom and the guest room with its own bath. “And here’s the master bedroom.”The room was huge, and skylights let in abundant light, giving the room an airy feeling. She looked at the king-size bed and chuckled. “Typical bachelor.”“Red satin bed clothes and mirrors on the walls and ceiling are necessary to keep up my image,” he said. “I have black linens, too. I also have a set covered with huge sunflowers and a set covered with daisies.”She cocked her head to one side and lifted an eyebrow. “Are you trying to tell me something?”“Not hardly. Girls are my forte, my weakness, too.” He laughed. “I like color. In case you’re wondering, you aren’t the first one to ask.”“Male or female?”“Female, I never show this room to men. They might get the wrong idea. Since I have your permission to brag, the furniture is solid cherry. Would you believe I had to have it built? Most everything today is wafer board or particle board covered with veneer.”“My compliments,” she said, “you have very good taste.”“It’s easy when you have the money,” he replied unpretentiously.“Well,” she said, “now I guess it’s time to go get a cup of coffee, huh?”“I’d rather stay here and fuck you out of your mind,” he said quietly.She turned to him and looked at him critically, as if evaluating him for the first time. “Are you always so direct?”He grinned. “As the old saying goes, I get my face slapped at lot, but I also get fucked a lot.” His look sobered. “You know I’ve always wanted to fuck you. You’ll never know how miserable I felt the night of our high school graduation. I never thought I would have the chance to atone for that blunder. Now that I have the chance, I don’t want to blow it again.”“No, Aaron, as much as I want to stay, I won’t do that to my husband. Tell you what I will do. I’ll talk to him about you, and if he agrees, I’ll come back and we can fuck our fool heads off.”“Don’t string me along, Libby. You know damned well he isn’t going to agree, so why don’t we just end it right now?”“Oh, don’t be too sure that he won’t agree. I’ll bet you a piece of ass against a nice dinner that he will. If you lose, the most you’re out is dinner with me, and just think what you’ll get if you win.”“Well, I guess I can handle that,” he laughed.¦¦¦