Welcome to Miami 2/2] (MF anal) ********** The rays of the sun, pouring through the east-facing window, disrupted my blissful slumber. It took me a minute to get my bearings and realize where I was. I rolled over, looking for Kelly and noticed that she was no longer in bed. The clock read 8:37. Damn, I thought, this is way too early to get up after only 5 hours sleep. Well, I sighed, no time like the present for the awkward morning-after encounter. I concluded that Kelly would have one of two reactions this morning. The first, and certainly not the one I was hoping for, was that she would regret what she had done and would try to get rid of me as soon as possible. The second option, which I deemed much more favorable, was that Kelly actually enjoyed my company and would like to get to know me better. The latter was the possibility that I was assuming -- ok, hoping -- that she would have, if for no other reason than the fact that it was easier to interact with someone who wasn't trying to shuttle you out the door. I also knew she would probably wonder what *my* morning-after reaction would be. I'd had enough one night stands before I was married to know that being a jerk with the girl the next morning can be painful emotionally for her to deal with. In addition to proving to myself that I had evolved beyond my college boor days, I really liked Kelly. And if she was nervous about my reaction to her in the morning, I was going to try to put her fears at ease by trying to be as a nice as I possibly could. My morning-after moment would have to wait for a couple of minutes, though; the instant I stepped out of bed, my bladder told me that my next few minutes were accounted for. I grabbed my jeans -- now stiff from the drink that Kelly spilled on them -- and hastily threw them on. My underwear was nowhere to be found, and I really didn't have the time to look for them, either. I scrambled to the bathroom, seeing no sign of Kelly, but hearing some slight sounds of life down the hall. Looking at myself in the mirror, I saw I was a little out of shape, needed a shave and my hair was all mussed. Well, it gave me a boyish sort of charm, I fooled myself into thinking. Of course, if I'd stayed in front of that mirror any longer, my ego would have convinced me I was a fucking god -- it's amazing what sleeping with a 25 year old will do for the self-esteem. I chuckled at my vanity, made a mental note to get to the gym a little more often, and realized that no amount of ego was going to convince me that my breath smelled like anything but shit. I put some toothpaste on my finger and gave myself a quick brushing before going to look for Kelly. I wasn't sure what I was going to say to her, but I had made the decision that I really liked her. I wanted to get to know her better and was determined to try to treat this morning as an extension of last night, instead of as an awkward reminder that two strangers hooked up for a meaningless -- yet gratifying -- evening. I heard her making a little noise down the hall in the kitchen. I treaded quietly toward the noise, cautioning myself that Kelly might have terrible feelings about last night, and I prepared myself up for an uncomfortable moment. She was standing over the stove with her back to me when I got to the kitchen. Her hair was up in a pony tail, cascading smoothly to the back of her neck like a waterfall, and she was wearing a long night shirt with Tigger, Piglet and Pooh on it. I couldn't help but stop to gaze at her. She was just so adorable and innocent looking. I took a deep breath before I padded up behind her and hugged her around her waist, kissing her on the cheek. "Morning, cutie." "Hey. Good morning yourself," she turned her head and smiled. Apparently the first-reaction test was passed with flying colors. "I was making some pancakes, hungry?" "Very. Thanks. I think I worked up an appetite last night," I grinned. "Can I do anything?" "Nope, I'm all set. Breakfast will be ready in about fifteen minutes. If you want to shower, there are plenty of towels in the closet in the bathroom." "I guess I really smell, huh?" "No...I, uh," Kelly turned red. "I just thought you might want..." I interrupted her to take her out of her misery. "I'm just teasing. A shower sounds great. Thanks." I found the towels and showered. I went back in the bedroom and found my underwear tangled up in the sheets. I threw on my clothes from yesterday, not feeling entirely clean, but better than I did before, and headed back to the kitchen. I was feeling pretty good that things went well with Kelly this morning and I was looking forward to spending a little more time with her. After finishing breakfast and helping Kelly clear the table, I called my friends at our hotel and we agreed to meet there at 11am, two hours before kickoff. They gave me some good-natured ribbing about my night with Kelly, which I tried to brush off without letting on what they were talking about, but she seemed to figure out the gist of the conversation and began to giggle. "So what do your friends have to say about me?" Kelly asked playfully. "What do you mean?" I tried to feign ignorance. "Oh, please. Don't pretend they weren't talking about me," she chuckled. "Come on...what did they say?" "Well," I replied sheepishly, "They did mention something about being old enough to be your father or something like that, and something about robbing the cradle. Oh, and the phrase 'lucky bastard' also came up." She blushed but couldn't suppress a smile when I mentioned the lucky bastard comment that Dan had made. Kelly was still laughing as she went into the kitchen to get some coffee before joining me in the living room to read the Sunday paper. We sat there reading the paper in silence, and I reflected on how comfortable things were between the two of us. We fit together much like a hand in glove, and I was amazed at how relaxed we were together. It was a bit scary, in a way. Here, I'd only known Kelly for less than a day, and was settling into some sort of a relationship feeling with her. Things were moving too damn fast for my liking, but I couldn't help myself. I found Kelly truly enchanting, and knew that I wanted to spend more time with her, despite my apprehension. After sitting for a while in silence, I hesitatingly spoke up. "Uh, Kelly, I was wondering, if you don't have any plans tonight...uh, would you like to go to dinner?" "I'd love to," she cooed. "I was kind of hoping you'd want to do something tonight. I really wanted to spend more time with you." "Good," I pulled her closer and she snuggled up to me. "Of course, you'll have to drive. Some sport I am." I added self-consciously. "Oh that's ok. That way I can pick the restaurant," she smirked as she lifted her head up and kissed me lightly on the cheek. Kelly dropped me off at my hotel at quarter of eleven. I headed to my room and quickly changed my clothes before we got in our rental car and headed for Pro Player Stadium. The guys teased me a little on the ride to the stadium, but soon the conversation turned to the afternoon's game against the Dolphins, and by the time we got to the park our minds were totally concentrating on football. At halftime Dan and Steve volunteered to get up and get some beers. Well, volunteer was probably not the right term; they had to go to the can and Dave and I didn't. Dave turned to face away from the field where a nondescript local high school marching band was performing their version of some Chicago song. I was almost twenty years out of high school, and some things never changed. "So what's up with the girl? She was nice looking." "Yeah, she is....Nothing, really. We just had a good time last night. She was a lot of fun to be with." "Oh, okay," he seemed unconvinced but changed the subject. "This morning we were talking about where we should go for dinner tonight," it never ceased to amaze me that food could occupy as large a percentage of my friends' conscious thoughts as it did. "Danny suggested Shula's, but that place is so fucking expensive. I ate there last year and it was all a la carte. They get something like six bucks for a fucking potato. The food is ok, but for half what it costs there we can get a better meal somewhere else. Besides, I don't want to be surrounded by a bunch of fucking Dolphin shit." Dave was nothing if not to the point. "Well, I... uh... I'm going out with Kelly tonight. You guys are on your own." I said hesitatingly. "Oh, really?" he cast a sideways glance at me. "You're pathetic. You know what's happening, don't you?" "Nothing's happening." I shot back. "It's the post-divorce syndrome." Oh, great. Eight more minutes until the third quarter started. More than enough time for one of Dave's patented theories. Dave had a theory on everything, and if there ever was an opportunity for him to burst forth with one of his diatribes, he would seize on it. I was the lucky one today. "It's the classic reaction to the first person you sleep with after a divorce. You become infatuated with her. It's a boost to the self-esteem. It's as simple as that. When your ego is sufficiently healed so that it convinces you that you'll be loved again, you'll move on to the next step." Dave pontificated. "That's a crock." "Don't believe it if you don't want to, but I'll bet that she's all you're able to think about today." "It's not like that at all. We have a lot in common." I defended myself, still not exactly sure what my feelings for Kelly were. "Bullshit. You haven't thought of anything else. What's the score?" Dave quizzed. "Ten to three, Bills." I answered promptly. "That was easy, you could have looked at the scoreboard." he retorted. "Who scored the Bills TD?" I hesitated and tried to think. "Uh, Antowain Smith ran one in," I guessed. Maybe he was right, maybe I had been preoccupied with thoughts of Kelly all afternoon. "Close," he snickered sarcastically. "Flutie threw a 30 yard pass to Moulds." "What does that prove? So, I've been a little preoccupied. We had a lot of fun last night, and this morning was really nice too." "Uh oh. This is worse than I thought," Dave analyzed again. "What the fuck are you talking about?" "You. You've got the look." "What look?" I defended myself. "Your look. Your lost-to-the-world daydreaming look. It was the same look you had when you first started dating Susie, and the same look you had when you started seeing that chick sophomore year. What the fuck was her name, you know who I mean....The one with great tits and no ass." "Carol? Carol had a nice ass." I defended her, trying to change the subject. "Yeah, if she was twelve...Anyway, this is the look you get," he sighed and continued. "So after one whole day, you're in love with this girl? "I'm not in love with her," I protested. He ignored me and continued. "What happens when you go back to New York tomorrow? Fifteen hundred miles away. And you've been talking about moving to San Diego -- three thousand miles away. That's a nice long distance relationship. This is exactly what I'm talking about with the post-divorce syndrome. You think you love her after one day. The best thing you can do is go out with her tonight, have a good time, and then leave tomorrow and forget all about her." Dan and Steve returned from their trip to the concession stand at the right time. I turned to face the field and took the beer that Dan was handing me. I really didn't know what my feelings for Kelly were, but some of the things that Dave said to me made a lot of sense. What did I really know about her? I had only known her for less than a day, and I *did* have an abundance of mixed feelings about Kelly and the whole situation. I drank my beer and tried to fix my attention on the game, but my thoughts kept returning to Dave's statements and Kelly. Could it be possible that I could fall in love with someone after only one day? I didn't know the answer to that, and really couldn't identify whether what I felt for her was true love, lust, or something more akin to what Dave had postulated. Maybe he was right, maybe she was just a transition girl. Kelly had convinced me of one thing, though: women weren't the terrible creatures I had been thinking they were since my divorce, and maybe one day -- someday -- I *could* find love again. There was one thing Dave was unquestionably right about, though. In another day I was going to be boarding a plane heading back to Buffalo and no matter what my feelings for her -- or hers for me, for that matter -- were, there was precious little that we could do about them. We returned to the hotel a little after five-thirty. I went up to the room I was sharing with Dan and showered, shaved and got dressed for my date with Kelly. I phoned her and we decided that she would pick me up at my hotel, instead of me making the futile attempt to navigate my friends to Kelly's house. Plus, being dropped off by the guys would have given me eerie flashbacks of having my father taking me to pick up my dates in the days before I had gotten my license. I was waiting in the lobby when Kelly arrived about a half-hour later. She walked through the automatic doors and the light flowery dress she wore -- sitting just above the knee, exposing her nicely tanned legs -- accented her lithe figure perfectly. On her feet, she wore some white ankle socks and sneakers. It didn't seem as if she was wearing any makeup and the smile on her face went from ear to ear. She was simply adorable. "Hi. Enjoy yourself at the game today?" she said as she approached me, standing on her toes to give me a quick kiss on the lips. "Yeah, not too bad at all. The Bills won 20-9. There were a lot of pissed Dolphin fans, but *we* were happy." I failed to mention that I could think of nothing during the entire game but what we would be doing in bed tonight as I took her hand in mine while we walked out to get her car. "So, have you thought of where we could go for dinner tonight?" I asked, putting words to the rumbles in my stomach. "Do you like seafood?" Kelly asked as we got into her white Nissan Altima. "I love it." "Terrific, we can go to one of two places. Mike Gordon's, which is right on the intracoastal waterway, and has great food a great view. Or Joe's Stone Crab, which is practically a Miami historical attraction, but might be tough getting a seat tonight." "Either place sounds great. I'm kind of hungry, so maybe we should pick the place with less of a wait." "Ok. Mike Gordon's it is." Kelly smiled as we sped north on A1A enjoying the ocean view as we drove. The wait of 15 minutes for a table was well worth it, as the food was fantastic. Again, I was bothered by the nagging feeling that everything was too comfortable. Kelly and I just had so much in common it was a bit unnerving. I knew this was just a two night thing, but it bothered me that after tomorrow I wouldn't see her again -- maybe ever. Although, conflicting that, another feeling was consuming me also, and that was that I was just falling too easily for her. I thought that Dave was right and I resolved to air these feelings with Kelly later in the evening -- I at least owed that to her. "So what did you do today, Kelly?" I asked just as we were served our appetizers of shrimp cocktail and crab fritters. "Not too much. I got some laundry done that I desperately needed to do...cleaned up the house a little. That's about it, except..." her voice trailed off. "Except what?" "Well," she blushed. "I logged on to your website and read some of your stories." I grinned. "What did you think of them?" "I thought they were great. There were a couple I liked more than others, but you're obviously a talented writer." "Thanks." I always loved positive feedback -- either for one of my stories, or one of my articles in the magazine. "I also looked up an archive of your stories for the magazine. Those were great too. Some of those places you've been sounded just fascinating. The article about the merging of western values into a former Soviet mindset in the Czech republic was terrific. I've never been to Europe, but you made Slovakia and the Czech Republic come alive for me." I beamed. I took great pride in my work, and it always pleased me when someone took the time out to comment specifically on one of my articles. "But it wasn't as um, arousing as your fiction," she grinned luridly and I laughed. As we ate, we talked about what types of things we were interested in; different types of books, movies -- mainstream, not X-rated, music, art, television, sports -- one subject easily meshing into another. Before too long we were finished with dinner. I ordered another drink and Kelly had coffee. "So, what do you feel like doing after we leave here?" I tried to ask diplomatically, although the question really running through my head was, "can we leave so we can go back to your place to fuck?" "Hmmm. I don't know. We could go see a movie, or maybe take a walk on the beach," she suggested. The last thing I wanted to do was to be stuck in a room for two hours filled with strangers. I opted for the private, more intimate walk on the beach. We were finishing up our drinks when Kelly asked what scotch tasted like. "You've never tasted scotch?" I asked. "You don't know what you're missing. Want to try some?" "Yeah, I'd like to," Kelly said and then smiled coquettishly at me. As I offered her the glass, she took her right index finger and dunked it into my drink, swirling it around until it was saturated with the scotch and water. Then, in an overtly provocative movement, she placed it fully inside her mouth, withdrawing it slowly, teasingly, past her full red lips. As she removed the finger, she dragged it slowly over the distended tip of her tongue. By the time the show was over, Kelly giggled and blushed deeply and I was ready to explode. "Check please!" I called to the waiter, perhaps in a voice an octave higher than I usually speak. We walked on the beach for about an hour, holding hands, kicking sand at each other, and simply enjoying each other's company. South Florida beaches always amazed me. Here it was, the middle of November at nine o'clock at night and the ocean looked more inviting than Lake Erie ever did in the middle of August. There's just something so relaxing, so tranquil, about a warm night by the water. I wanted to talk about my leaving, but I pushed that to the back of my mind. No point in spoiling a wonderful evening. Besides, Dave was probably right about me forgetting about Kelly after I'd return to New York. I couldn't see complicating things unnecessarily. We returned to Kelly's apartment shortly after 10:30, locking ourselves into an embrace once inside the door. As I started to get more aggressive in my advances, Kelly gently pushed my chest with her hand as she broke away from me. "Wait here for a couple of minutes," she smiled coyly. Kelly walked into her bedroom and I poured myself a glass of wine. I turned on the TV in time to see the highlights from the Bills-Dolphins game and laughed at myself as they replayed the Bills' first touchdown of the game -- the thirty yard pass to Eric Moulds. I was amazed that I had no recollection of it. I guess Dave was right, I really was preoccupied with Kelly. I watched the highlights to a few more games before I heard her bedroom door open. I scrambled to turn off the TV. The last thing a woman wants to see is a man more preoccupied with football when she has other, more intimate things on the agenda. What I saw next could only be described as a vision of loveliness. Kelly walked into the living room wearing a red satin nighty, cut low on top allowing for a tantalizing view of her cleavage, and descending smoothly along her body, stopping alluringly mid-thigh. Her hair framed her beautiful face and her eyes sparkled seductively at me. I was overwhelmed. "Wow," I heard myself say. Kelly giggled softly and held out her hand to me. I got up from the chair and walked with her into the bedroom. There were some candles burning around the room in the way many women like to create a mood. Kelly pushed me back on the bed and began slowly undressing me, taking time with each article of clothing in order to extend the seduction. When I was totally naked, Kelly dropped to her knees and placed my stiffening member into her mouth. I hardened quickly while she was bobbing her head up and down my shaft, her soft hair tickling my pelvis on the downstroke. After a few minutes of her more than adequate blowjob, I pulled Kelly off of me in fear that I was going to lose it too quickly. She grinned lasciviously and crawled up on the bed. Hiking her negligee up around her waist and straddling my torso, she grabbed firm hold of my cock and teased it with her pussy, slowly rubbing it back and forth along her labia, moaning softly as she did. My cockhead was bathed in her heavily flowing juices, and I was starting to ache for penetration. As I tried to thrust myself into her, Kelly abandoned her cock tease and slowly lowered herself down on my shaft. When I bottomed out, Kelly lay on my chest and began a slow back and forth rocking motion, squeezing my prick with her internal muscles. I felt as if I was going to explode if it continued for too much longer. We kissed deeply, hungrily, as she continued her tantalizing fuck. After about ten minutes she started to breathe heavily and moan in passion. I took the opportunity to roll her over and seek my own release as well. I quickly reentered. She wrapped her legs around my waist as I thrust powerfully into her. I pumped repeatedly into her sopping cunt, feeling the pleasure build within my balls, until I exploded in orgasm. My breathing steadied after a couple of minutes and I pulled my softening member from Kelly's dripping sex. I rolled over to my back and she snuggled up close to me. Kelly was running her fingers through my chest hair when she tilted her head up to look at me. It seemed as if she was trying to garner the courage to say something to me but just couldn't put her voice to the words. "Something wrong, Kel?" "What? No. Nothing...It's just..." her voice trailed off. "What's wrong. Did I do something before that bothered you?" "Before? Oh God, no. You were fantastic. It's just..." "Just what?" She sighed. "I'm just wondering what's going to happen with us now. I mean, I really like you. We have fun together and the sex, well..." she grinned slyly. "But really where can we go from here. We live so far apart. And you might even be moving to California. I think if we lived closer together, we might see what we have here, but I was thinking earlier that all we have is just a 'two ships passing' kind of thing. It makes it a little more meaningless than I think it is." I was taken aback. I knew we'd have to have this conversation before the weekend was over, but I guess I thought it would be me to broach the subject. My mind raced over what I felt about Kelly and I really wasn't sure what my feelings were. Sure I liked her -- a lot. But how much of that was the rebound theory and how much of it was true feeling for Kelly. She was right in thinking that if we lived closer together we would have at least had an opportunity to see if what we had developed over the past couple of days was real or not. "Kelly, I really don't know what we have here. But I really like you, and would like to get to know you better. Unfortunately, like you said, we live so far away. I don't know the solution." "Maybe it's for the better, anyway," she lowered her eyes. "I mean, I know I'm not really your type anyway." "What do you mean by that?" I was thoroughly confused by her last statement, and a little upset too. "I don't know. It's just that...a lot of the girls in your stories have big boobs. I know mine aren't that large. I guess..." "Woah. Wait a second, Kelly. Just because I write about women with big tits doesn't mean I'm obsessed with breasts. You have beautiful breasts. They're perfect for you." I smiled at her. "I just tend to give some of my characters big breasts because...I really don't know why. And actually not all of them have big ones.... Don't be ridiculous. You are very much my type. Why wouldn't you be? You're pretty, smart, funny, you give great head. What's there not to like?" She blushed and stuck out her tongue at me, but seemed to relax. "Seriously Kelly..." "Oh you mean you weren't being serious about me being pretty, smart, and funny...and giving, um..." she laughed. "No. I was definitely serious about that." She smiled and gave me a kiss on the cheek. "Can I ask you something about one of your stories?" Kelly asked quietly, breathing heavily. "Sure, anything." "Have you ever done...you know, um, the thing... in the butt?" she was very hesitant and I could barely hear her softly spoken question. "Anal sex?" She simply nodded. "Yeah, a fair amount. Why?" "Oh no reason. I was just, um, wondering. That's all." "Would you like to do it that way, Kelly?" I could tell she was embarrassed and wasn't comfortable with asking me herself. "Um-hmm." she looked down and took a deep breath. "I've wondered what it was like, but I've always been too afraid to try it. Is that weird?" "No. Not at all." I tried to ease her mind. "Lots of women like anal sex." She kissed me tenderly on the lips. "You know, Mike. You're not like most guys. You're real easy to talk to. You really make me feel relaxed around you. You're a nice guy." Well, those asshole anonymous sessions were obviously going well, I chuckled to myself. Although the phrase "nice guy" and me weren't two things that Susie would have associated together. But the question that flashed through my mind was what exactly *do* you say when someone says something like that to you? "Thanks, Kelly. I try to be. You're nice too. I really like you." was all that I was lamely able to come up with. She smiled and kissed me again, sucking my lower lip between hers. "Is it going to hurt?" "It might, but I'm going to try to be careful and go very slowly. Do you have any KY?" "I have some Vaseline, will that be ok?" "Yeah that'll be fine." She gave me a peck on the nose and pounced out of bed, trotting toward the bathroom. The subdued light from the moon silhouetted her form and I realized how lucky I was to be with a girl who looked like Kelly. She returned with the jar and handed it to me. "What should I do?" "Roll over on your belly" She did as I asked but appeared stiff and nervous. I lay to the side of her and started kissing her neck and rubbing her lower back and ass to relax her. After a few minutes, her breathing became deeper and more rhythmic and I began a trail of kisses that started at her neck and ended at her ass. I kissed her cheeks softly and she spread her legs, beginning to give in to the sensations she was feeling. Placing my right hand under her pubic mound, I rubbed her pussy roughly while I brought my lips between her ass cheeks. Lifting her slightly to her knees to spread her cheeks, I lowered my tongue and began licking her tight pink rosebud. "Oooh," Kelly cooed contentedly. "That feels so good." I tried to produce as much saliva as I possibly could to lubricate her hole. My tongue rimmed her relaxing anus as she started to writhe underneath me. I moved myself between her legs and began using my free hand to stimulate her ass, coupling it with my tongue. With my right hand I pumped first one then two fingers into her pussy while my mouth and other hand paid attention to her asshole. Kelly raised her butt off the bed, trying to get closer to the stimulation as I alternated between licking her virgin bunghole and inserting my finger. I repeated this action for minutes, finally getting to the point where I could easily insert two fingers all the way into her backside. She moaned as I finger fucked her ass with one hand, and her pussy with the other. After a couple of minutes of sawing my hands in each of her holes, her breathing became more ragged and she started bucking in orgasm. As her climax began to subside and I slowed down the movements of my hands she propped herself up on all fours, turned her head to look at me and in a throaty, seductive growl said, "Do it now Mike. I want to feel you inside me." Removing my fingers from her ass and pussy, I reached over for the Vaseline. I took a healthy dollop and smeared it all over my cock and massaged some into her winking nether hole. I inched closer to her butt and placed my greasy prick at the distended opening of Kelly's virgin hole. I pressed myself into her, inserting the slippery invader just past the anal ring. I was guarded about Kelly's reaction to the penetration. I tried to make sure that I went as slowly as possible, knowing that the sensations she was experiencing were foreign to her. She winced and tightened and I paused, letting her get accustomed to the feeling of the intruder. After about a minute or so her body eased, and I slowly started to push myself in deeper. Before too long she started grunting and I took this as a sign to bottom out. Sure that she was used to the fullness, I settled into a slow fucking rhythm. After we established a familiarity with each other's movements, I reached my right hand around her and started diddling her clit. When I did this, Kelly began bucking back at me. I took the encouragement and began pounding my cock into her ass, pulling myself almost all the way out before bottoming out again. I pistoned into Kelly's tight ass like this repeatedly, trying my best to retain my self-control. Kelly moaned as another orgasm was nearing, and I took the opportunity to take the brakes off myself as well. I pumped my cock into her once virgin ass and as her climax was nearing its peak, I lost it and erupted stream after stream of semen deep within her depths. "Oh God. That was wild," Kelly exalted. "Did you like it?" "I don't think I'd want it that way all the time, but it was such a different feeling. The next morning was quiet as both Kelly and I were unsure of what to say to each other. We each showered -- separately -- and had breakfast in relative silence too. Finally, Kelly spoke. "So, what's going to happen now...after today?" "I don't know what to say Kel. I mean, I do come down to south Florida a few times a year for work. I'd love to see you again...even if it's just to meet for you to spill a drink on my lap...." I chuckled and she slapped my arm playfully. "You know Mike, if you lived around here, I'd really like to give us a chance. We have a lot in common. We're both journalists, we love photography, we're both athletic, and we get along great. And there's no denying that we have chemistry..." "Well," I interrupted jokingly. I always found myself using humor as a defense mechanism, especially when things got too uncomfortable. "We've mixed enough of our body chemistry the past couple of days anyway. You're right, though. But we live too far away and I've never known anyone who's managed to make a long distance relationship work." "Me neither," Kelly sighed, shaking her head in despair. "The way I see it is that we had a great time together, had a lot of fun, and had some great sex. I'd like to spend time getting to know you better, but I really can't see either one of us putting our lives on hold. We can keep in touch through phone calls and emails -- plus, I want you to send me your stories -- but I just can't see this developing as a relationship." Kelly dropped me off at the hotel before heading to work. The ride over was friendly, but hardly warm. I know I was unsure of what to say. My feelings for Kelly were still in the formulative stage and I really didn't have the words to put to them. She smiled nervously a few times but other than making polite conversation, said nothing. We kissed sadly, as if we knew we'd never see each other again, and said our goodbyes. As I walked into the lobby, I looked back and she was leaning against her door smiling at me. I waved weakly and turned away, heading for the elevator, trying to shake thoughts of Kelly from my mind. After packing, we checked out of the hotel and dropped the rental car off before taking the shuttle to the airport. All through the ride over, I couldn't help but dwell on my situation with Kelly and I wondered if there wasn't something else I could have done to see what the two of us had together. Trying to convince myself that what we had was nice, but essentially over, I ordered a Bacardi and Coke, before the plane left the gate, from a cute Asian flight attendant with dark eyes and long, flowing black hair. When she returned with my drink, I struck up a conversation about something meaningless, but my heart wasn't in flirting and let the discourse drop as the plane began taxiing to our runway. ************* I was trying to fight my way through a nasty case of writer's block when the telephone rang and thankfully put me out of my misery. Dave called me from his office with some nonsense about a new scientific theory which supported one of his crackpot ideas. I was only half listening and normally would have been upset with the interruption, but considering I couldn't put two words together coherently, I was moderately thankful for the break. He continued on for another couple of minutes while I read through my mail and I didn't start paying attention to him until it seemed as if he was finished with his diatribe. "Oh, I know what I wanted to ask: I managed to get a couple of tickets to the Bills next Sunday. Big game against the Pats. Wanna go?" "I'd love to Dave, but I can't. I'm going to be leaving for the Yucatan Friday. Doing an article on the Mayan pyramids. I'm probably going to be gone for a week -- maybe more." "Oh well, maybe Steve wants to go, if he can get away from the ball and chain. Hey, I'm heading over to The Windmill after work today. Danny'll be there too. Why don't you come by for a few drinks and catch Monday Night Football? Chiefs, Broncos. Should be a good game." "Yeah, I think I will... Sounds good. I have to get a few things done today. I'll probably be by about seven." After hanging up the phone, I looked at my keyboard and knew I was no closer to getting any writing done than I was before. Instead of getting back to work, I grabbed my coat and headed out the door. The grey December skies had taken firm hold of the heavens over Buffalo in the four weeks since my return from Miami. I pulled up the collar of my coat to shield myself from the cold wind as I took a late afternoon walk to try to clear my head and sort some things out. As I found myself aimlessly wandering the streets of my neighborhood, I was amazed at how closely my mood mirrored the weather. For all of the stress and aggravation that I experienced during my divorce, the most difficult part, I was finding, was the absence of a companion. I had been married to Susie for eight years -- and we lived together for two years prior to that -- and whatever problems she and I had during our marriage, she was still there. There was something comforting -- familiar, perhaps -- in that, and I was only now beginning to realize how much I missed the companionship. Recently, I'd been thinking about Kelly often. Dave had predicted that I'd be over her by now, but I wasn't. If anything, she was occupying more of my thoughts now than in the days following my return from Florida. Whatever it was that I was feeling, the truth was that I missed her greatly. I know I was probably being silly, but I had this trip to Mexico coming up and the more I thought about it the more I really wanted to ask Kelly to come with me. I had no idea if that would lead to anything, or even if I wanted it to lead to anything, all I knew was that I really missed being with someone. Well, that's not entirely true. I did miss female companionship in general, but I missed Kelly specifically -- everything between us had meshed nicely. As much as my logical side tried to convince me otherwise, something significant had happened between us over the two days we spent together in Florida. I owed it to myself -- us, perhaps -- that I explore more deeply whether there was anything of substance between the two of us. We'd talked a couple of times on the phone since my return, and exchanged a handful of e-mails. The subject of getting together at some point did crop up, I just wasn't sure how to go about asking her to come with me on vacation. After all, we'd technically only been on one date. This was a fairly big step for a relationship -- if that even accurately described what Kelly and I had together -- in the beginning stages. I phoned Kelly at her television station a couple of hours after I returned from my walk. After stalling for as long as I could, I finally took a deep breath and worked up the courage to pick up the phone. The switchboard transferred me to Kelly's desk and while I listened to the ringing I ruminated that I could have asked her earlier, but I think I procrastinated as long as I did to give my emotions a buffer in case she turned down my offer. If I didn't give her enough time, I rationalized, then I wouldn't be opening myself up for rejection. I could just attribute her turn-down to lack of sufficient time to get off work. It's amazing how the human mind can rationalize just about anything. "Hello. Kelly Robbins." I took another deep breath. "Hi Kelly, it's Mike. Hope you're not too busy." "Hey Mike," she gushed. "Not busy at all. We're having kind of a slow news day. If something doesn't pick up, we'll have to fill time by showing rednecks wrestling alligators...So, what's up?" "Well, I was just assigned to do an article in Mexico on the Mayan pyramids...uh, and I was wondering if you'd like to go with me." I rushed the words out, trying to say them all before I lost my nerve. "I have to leave Friday. I know it's short notice, but..." Kelly cut off my feeble apology attempt. "Really? I'd *love* to go. I have a ton of vacation time saved up, getting time off won't be a problem at all." We discussed some of the logistics of the trip and I began to relax. I was going to have to change planes in Miami, anyway, which was convenient since Kelly would just meet me at the airport and we could board our flight to Merida together. I told her the itinerary and she already was planning what she was going to pack, and what camera equipment and film she was going to bring. Her excitement was infectious and I couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm. She seemed truly bubbly by the time I hung up the phone. And truth be told, I was getting excited about the trip myself, looking forward not only to the assignment, but also to spending time with Kelly. I finished writing a chapter in the latest erotic short story I was working on -- this one about a man and woman who have a chance meeting at a bar in Miami -- before getting my coat on to go meet Dave at the bar to watch the game. As I left my apartment and walked to the car I noticed that for the first time in weeks -- maybe even months -- that it seemed as if the grey skies were beginning to clear. End...or just the beginning