Lady in Red

Tina thanked Bob again as she closed the door behind him. He waved it off as usual because he knew she would return the favor ten-fold. He walked down the walkway to the sidewalk and strolled back to his own house two lots down.

Tina was a single mom with a teenage daughter and a pre-teen son that moved into the neighborhood about 2 years ago. Her divorce had been messy, which involved a prolonged battle for custody of the kids. Bob knew there had to be another side to the story, but the one Tina related to him indicated that her ex was an asshole of epic proportions. This guy made an easy six figure income and he put everyone through this drawn out legal process over a few hundred bucks a month of child support. Every time Tina spoke of it, she broke down into tears. Bob wondered what other crap this guy put her through that she was too proud to reveal.

Tina's pride was one of her weaknesses. She would only call Bob to help when she absolutely could not do the task herself. Bob would see her struggling with something and when he offered to help, she would tell him, "Thanks, but no thanks. I have to learn to do it myself." Bob would always reply, "Why? You have a neighborhood of guys here that are willing to help you out with stuff like this." It took her almost eighteen months to start to take Bob up on his offer and another 3 before she would actually ask his help.

Bob was also a single parent with 2 daughters, a teenager and a pre-teen. He lost his wife, Debbie, in a car accident a year earlier due to a drunk driver crossing the median and hitting her van head on.

He joked that he lived in 'pussyville', that even the pets were females. Tina helped him out by cluing him in on the female thought process, and being there for his girls when they needed to talk to an adult female. A few of the other ladies in the neighborhood helped in that respect too, but since Tina was so down to earth, they gravitated to her more and more.

Having this connection of helping each other out, they became fast friends. They would talk about the quagmire of the world of dating, and how they were not really ready to get back into that scene yet. Neither of them would be considered social butterflies, but by no means were they wallflowers either. Meeting any new people was hard enough when they had to juggle work, home and the seemingly endless transportation of kids from one activity to another, much less meeting someone eligible.

Tina's company had purchased a number of tickets to a black-tie fundraiser being held at a 5-star hotel downtown, and due to Tina's position, she would be expected to attend…with an escort. Tina fretted about this for weeks, not having anyone in her life that she felt comfortable asking to such an important function where she would be socializing with corporate VIP's.

"Bob, maybe I should just call in sick the Friday before, so that I could have a plausible excuse for not attending."

"Do you really want to do that? I mean, this sounds like a great time. That hotel is top-notch and I am sure the food will be out of this world. Surely, there is someone you can ask that would be relatively fun and be able to understand the importance of this to your career?"

Almost in tears over her now apparent 'singleness', Tina sobbed, "No, I don't. You're the only one that I know well enough."

"Well, then, what about me?"

"You? That's sweet of you but I didn't mean to guilt you into offering."

"Hey, what are friends for, anyway? And besides, I'm being a little selfish here too. I'd love to get a free meal."

"Are you sure? It's black-tie. I don't want you to have to rent a tux."

"No problem, I have one. I bought it a couple of years ago when I had to go to these corporate functions myself. Self-employment took care of that requirement real fast."

With tears in her eyes, she hugged him and gave him a quick peck on the cheek, "Thank you. You know you don't have to do this and I'll understand if you want to cancel. I can always pull the sick act if I have to."

Her hug and kiss awoke a feeling in him he thought had died with his wife. Her perfume was sweet and her hair smelled of flowers. He wondered whether he could be attracted to his best female friend.

Tina was a great friend but also a great woman too. She stood about 5'5" with shoulder length brunette hair that she usually wore tucked behind her ears. Her eyes were peculiar in that they seemed to change colors depending on her outfit. Bob joked with her about them, telling her she was a close relative to a chameleon. Not only did they change colors, but also they could keep you captive. Whenever she spoke of something she was passionate about, they would come alive and glitter like a Fourth of July sparkler. Her skin always had a faint tan because her brother owned a tanning salon that she could use for free. Her best feature was she had the sexiest legs and ass. When she wore shorts or a mini skirt, Bob couldn't help but stop what he was doing and admire them. He was sure she had seen him ogling her but she never mentioned it to him. The one quality she didn't have was breasts. She wasn't "flat chested", but they would not turn heads either. She was also not one for heavy make-up. Her philosophy is that make-up should be used to accent not cover up. On the whole though, on a scale of one to ten, she was a solid eight.

As for her personality, if she weren't a highly respected businesswoman, one would have expected her to be a kindergarten teacher or a librarian. She was sweet and gentle with everyone, very wholesome; someone a guy could take home to meet the parents without any worry what mom would think. That's why Bob trusted her with his kids so much.

Bob was just less than 6', and weighed in at 200 pounds. His exercise regime went by the wayside and most of his toning had faded. He always had the intention to get back to the weight machine in his basement, but something else always took precedent. His hair was thinning, and rather than deal with the unsightly comb-over, he cut it down a short as possible, and still maintain a professional look. He was told his best feature was his eyes, a steel blue that seemed to be able to look through people. He never felt he was a chick magnet, but women gravitated to him at parties. It wasn't necessarily his looks that women liked, but rather his relaxed demeanor and sense of humor. He loved to play practical jokes on his friends and family whenever he could. For his brother-in-laws birthday, he filled up his car with Styrofoam peanuts and replaced his license plate frame with one that said, "My other ride is a porn star." Needless to say, Bob's sister had a few choice words for him.

Bob went home that day and pulled his tux out of the closet to try it on. To his surprise, it fit, although a bit snug in the waist. He had two weeks left before the party, so he re-started his workouts, albeit a bit slower than before. He took his dogs on longer walks than normal and spent 30 minutes a day doing light weights and sit-ups.

Tina was feeling the same anxiety, but to a greater degree. She hadn't been out with a man since her divorce so her wardrobe had drifted to the more mundane styles of either work suits or the casual look. She did not have anything that she could wear, or more accurately, did not have anything she could wear that would not remind her of her disastrous marriage. Time to hit the mall!

She went to all the malls in the vicinity, and even those outside the metropolitan area every night after work, but to no avail. She liked Bob and wanted to look her best for him, since he as being so nice in bailing her out and going with her. With only a few days left before the big event, she was in a panic. She was about to give up when she headed back to the local department store to see if they had received anything new. Lo and behold, she found just what she wanted. It fit her perfectly, almost too perfectly, so no alterations would be needed. As luck would have it, they had shoes that matched like a dream.

The gala was to start at 7:00 PM but Tina's boss announced that he wouldn't be able to make it due to a family obligation and that Tina would have to represent the company. This meant that the other people at their table would be scrutinizing her and her escort to a greater degree. Even though they didn't report to her directly, her position was higher and, being a woman in a man's industry, made what could have been a nice evening more stressful.

Bob dress as carefully as possible, wanting everything to be perfect for Tina. He understood how important this was to her and wanted to make a good impression. He went back over their story that they would tell everyone in his mind. They decided to keep it as close to the truth as possible, with as few embellishments as possible so that there wouldn't be any slip-ups. He looked at himself in the mirror and was rather impressed at how good he still looked in a tux. Even his daughters gave him two thumbs up when he emerged from his bedroom.

He grabbed the wildflower bouquet he bought for her and drove the two doors down to pick her up. Apparently, his daughters had let the rest of the neighborhood know that he was going out with Tina and was in a tuxedo, because they were all out on their front lawns giving him catcalls and whistles. He waved to them and then did a model turn to show off a bit.

Tina's daughter, Megan, let him in and she too gave him a whistle. "You look great. I never would have recognized you."

"Thanks, I think."

Just then, Tina appeared at the top of the stairs and Bob was spell bound as she descended the staircase. Her dress was bright red, sleeveless, with the hem cut to mid thigh and a high neckline. She had her hair up, which accentuated her slender neck and wore matching pearl earrings and necklace. Bob couldn't take his eyes off of her, especially her legs. Megan watched with mild amusement, as Bob stood there with his mouth open, staring at her mother.

When she made it down to the foyer, Bob was spellbound and came back to reality when Megan said, "You two look good, have fun."

"Uh, thanks. Tina, you look absolutely beautiful. I am speechless."

"You look pretty handsome yourself." Her red lips formed a pretty smile that Bob, in that brief moment, wondered what it would be like to kiss.

They walked out and he put her into his car. As she sat down, her skirt rose enough for Bob to see her thigh-high stockings. She demurely fixed it, but that vision would be burned into his brain for a long time. The entire drive into the city, Bob couldn't help himself from glancing over at those legs she had crossed so sexily.

They entered the hotel and she immediately pulled him to the bar after they found their table. Thankfully, none of the other people at the table had arrived yet. She ordered herself a gin and tonic, and hinted to the bartender to make it a stiff one, while Bob chose Scotch on the rocks, since this hotel would definitely have the good stuff. They returned to the table to wait for the rest of the crowd.

They finished their third drink when they realized that the others weren't coming. Since their boss wasn't coming, they saw no reason to attend either. Tina relaxed and started to enjoy herself. The meal was excellent and the booze even better. When the evenings entertaining started, a big-band style ensemble, Bob asked her to dance.

They started out doing a swing-style; Bob spun her around, enjoying seeing her smile and having a good time. A slow song came on and he expected her to return to the table to rest, but she surprised him by stepping into him and putting her arms around his neck. She put her head on his shoulder and they swayed to the gentle music of Glenn Miller's Moonlight Serenade. Tina was really enjoying the feeling of having a man hold her in his arms after such a long time.

Bob also was enjoying holding her in his arms. He was taken aback by the effect it was having on him. He could smell the scented shampoo she used on her hair and the perfume she wore. He presumed she would have danced with him leaving a little space between them; on the contrary, she pressed herself into him completely. With each step, he could feel her body move against his. His mind kept going back to her getting into his car, and inadvertently exposing a lot of leg. He felt that recognizable tingle in his groin so he had to keep telling himself, "Please don't get hard, please don't get hard, please don't get hard…" over and over again.

So looked up at him and asked, "Did you say something?"

He didn't think he said anything. "What do you mean?"

"You kept saying 'Please, something or other.' I couldn't hear the rest. Please what?"

Bob had to think fast now. He didn't realize he had said that out loud. "Oh, sorry. I didn't realize I was saying it aloud. I was just telling myself to…um…oh…not to step on your toes. I was saying 'Please don't step on her toes.'" He hoped she bought it, so he added, "I can do the other kinds of dancing but when it comes to close dancing, my feet seem to be attracted to my partners toes." He added a sheepish smile for effect.

Having changed the subject rather effectively, she replied, "You dance wonderfully. Don't worry about the tops of my feet. I only walk on the bottoms." They both had a little chuckle, Bob more out of relief than humor.

They danced and drank the rest of the evening, although their drinks weren't as potent since there wasn't anyone from the company there. The ball ended at 10:00, so on the way home, she asked him if he could put the top down on his convertible. She let her hair down and gave it one of those sexy head shakes. Bob threw his coat and tie into the rear seat for comfort.

He pulled up in front of her house, jumped out and ran around the car to open her door; both out of courtesy and that he hoped he could get another glimpse at some exposed leg. His efforts were rewarded, because as she swung one of her legs out, her skirt rode up enough that he saw her red panties. He held out his hand and helped her out of the car. As he walked her to her door, she continued holding his hand until they reached the door.

"I had a wonderful time tonight. Thank you so, so much for coming with me. I really do appreciate it."

"Are you kidding? I had a blast tonight! I want to thank you for letting me go with you. I haven't danced like that since…well, a long time. And what made it even better is that I got to see you all dolled up and looking so pretty."

"Well, thanks. I enjoyed dancing with you too, and being able to get all dressed up for someone. Say, I'm not tired yet. Would you like to come in for a drink or some coffee? I have decaf."

"I'd love a drink. But only if you join me."

She opened the door and they walked in. She immediately kicked her pumps off, and padded her way into the kitchen to fix the drinks. "All that dancing made my feet swell. It feels good to get out of those shoes." While she got out the liquor, Bob put some ice into the glasses. He poured them both a gin and tonic and she led him into the den to the couch. She turned on the stereo to the light jazz station for some background music and sat closer to him than he anticipated. Not that he was complaining though. She tucked her legs up under her in such a way that Bob found himself looking down at them whenever he took a sip. They talked for a while, mostly about the people that didn't show up, filling Bob in on how fortunate he really was not having to socialize with them.

Tina covered her mouth as she yawned, making Bob do the same. "I had better get going. You had a big night and a stressful day, so I'll let you get some sleep. We can talk more tomorrow."

He stood up to go when she blurted out, "Wait." He turned to look at her as she stood up. She appeared to be at a loss for words as she struggled to find the right ones.

"I was hoping…. can you…do you think…oh, fuck it!" She threw her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers, kissing him with all she had.

When they finally broke, she asked, "Can you stay a little longer?"

He was speechless, but also intrigued. Where would this end up? He hadn't been with a woman since his wife died so he wondered if he could handle the emotional side of it all. There was no way of knowing unless he tried.

His silence did not sit well with her. She assumed that by not answering her, he was rejecting her, so she began to lower her arms and step away.

He finally spoke, "Oh, no, wait." He pulled her arms around his neck again. "That kiss blew a few circuits in my head. A team of wild horses couldn't pull me away."

She smiled, her deflated ego restored. "Imagine. I'm stronger than a team of horses." At that, she guided him back to the sofa. She kissed him softly, holding his face in her hands. He put one arm around her shoulders and the other on her hip.

She opened her mouth and he slid his tongue into her mouth. She sucked on his tongue and nibbled his lower lip while his hand moved slowly up from her hip to right below her underarm. He massaged her, letting his thumb work its way to her little tit. To allow him access to her, she raised that arm and wrapped it around his neck, moaning her approval into his mouth. When his eager digit found its target, she broke the kiss.

"There not as big as all the other women around here." He moved his hand directly over it, taking her erect nipple in his fingers. "Ooooooh," she cooed. He whispered to her, "It's not what you have, it's what you do with what you have." He pinched them again and she thrust her chest into his hands, looking into his eyes in a way that told him she was going to 'do' quite a bit.

She pushed him back and kissed him, darting her tongue into his mouth. He pulled her to him so that she was now lying on top of him. Bob wrapped his arms around her, embracing her, enjoying her body against his own. He moved his fingers back to her nipple, eliciting another moan, but what thrilled him more, was that she also started a slow grind of her hips into him.

"I like what you're doing to me. I should warn you though, they are very sensitive and I can lose control when they are played with like that."

He caressed it again and moved his other hand down to her lower back, just above her sexy ass. "I have been duly warned." He grinned and she kissed him sensually as her hips ground into him with gusto, making his cock grow within his boxers and ache for a release. He slid his hand down further, grasping hold of a cheek.

Tina's nipples were one of her erogenous zones, as was her butt. If could grow a third hand and tickle the back of her knees, she would be totally under his reign. It was at this point she knew without a doubt, that she wanted to sleep with him. She could feel his erection growing and she needed to feel it against her clit. She pushed herself into his cock and, bingo, she hit it. She rubbed there, totally lost in her pleasure that she didn't realize Bob had lifted her skirt up over her ass. It wasn't until he slid his hand into her panties and down across her smooth ass, did she begin to react.

"God, you're finding all my spots." She planted a kiss on his lips and straddled him, placing a leg on either side of him. When she did that, the pressure of his dick against her increased almost ten-fold and she instinctively mashed her clit into it.

"Mmmm." Tina slowly raised herself up to the sitting position, directly over his hard- on. She looked down and noticed not only that her skirt was up around her waist still, revealing her hot panty-covered pussy, but also the outline of a very sizable prick in his pants. She moved her hips back and forth along the length of it, stopping at the head and sitting down hard, squashing her clit into it.

She threw her head back in ecstasy, "Aaaaah". Bob watched her gyrate and his eyes became fixated on the little wet spot that was evident on her lacy panties, making his dick more and more engorged. He put both hands on her upper thighs, right above the lace stocking tops. Her skin felt so silky under his fingers and the more she moved, the greater the impulse to push back. Finally, no longer to endure, he pushed up against her. They dry humped each other until she threw herself down against his chest, shuddering threw an orgasm.