Chapter 2
I sold two of my three Saturday appointments, which amounted to a hundred and eighty dollars for me if both of them stayed with their courses and paid them out in full. That was an extra good day though, because the average is one sale out of three calls made, and not all the courses we offer cost enough to get me a ninety-buck commission.
But those two did, and I felt on top of the world when I got home. Both courses had been well-placed, and that always makes me feel good. I hate to sell anyone a course they don't really need or won't enjoy. That day I sold one for need and one for pleasure -- an accounting course to a male bookkeeper who knew he was going to take it but made me push him all the way, and an art course to a pleasant retired gentleman who was taking it purely for personal enjoyment.
To celebrate, I took Willa out to dinner and a movie. We saw Easy Rider, which was quite entertaining until it got to the end. God, what an impact! And totally believable. As insane as life itself. My guts were in a knot when we left the theater, and Willa looked like her nerves were tight enough to snap.
"How about a drink before we go home?"
She nodded as she slid into the car and scooted past the steering wheel to make room for me. "Wasn't that just awful?" she asked as I got in and shut the door. "Stupid! So damned stupid! Let's have two drinks."
We drank very little back then, and rarely in a bar. Since we had no favorite place, I stopped at the first bar that looked decent. It was a mistake. The inside wasn't what the outside had promised, but once we were in we decided to stay.
The jukebox blared constantly with Country and Western, and smoke hung thick as a San Francisco fog. The bar was crowded, but I saw only two women besides Willa, and neither of them appeared very ladylike. Mostly the customers were men, and as I looked them over I decided few of them would qualify as gentlemen. They looked and sounded like hardworking and hard-drinking working class men.
I was a bit uneasy about us being there, what with Willa so damned sexy-looking and all. But she spotted a table and I followed her to it, trying my best to ignore the hungry stares and mumbled exclamations her undulating hips evoked. She can't help walking the way she does, especially when she has on high heels, and that night she had on the highest ones she owns -- the ones which make her shapely calves do their stuff.
The movie had left us depressed, and neither of us had much to say. We sipped our drinks, smoked, fiddled with matches, glanced at each other and smiled occasionally, stared off into space without really seeing anything.
Then I noticed him: a burly guy in work clothes with a tan the Coppertone ad executives would envy, grinning confidently right at Willa. I followed his gaze and saw her blank eyes looking at him without seeing him at all. But he was well on his way, and the gleam in his eyes told me he thought she was giving him the come-on. And the way she was sitting, sort of sideways in the chair with her legs crossed and that short skirt hiked up, I knew he'd already had a glimpse of what he wanted. I watched him get up and wink at his drinking buddy as he slapped his shoulder.
"Let's go, honey," I said.
She turned toward me. "But we haven't finished our drinks."
I felt silly for having suggested leaving. We were only halfway through our second drinks, and I couldn't tell her why I thought it best to leave. By then it was too late anyway, because the guy was approaching our table.
"Okay, but let's not have another. Not here."
"It isn't much, is it?" she asked.
The guy towered over us, weaving slightly as he looked from Willa to me to Willa.
"What do you want?" I asked.
"Uh," he started, obviously not much with words. "I thought the little lady might like to dance."
Damn you, Hoss, I thought, because he reminded me of that Cartwright goon on TV. It was the one thing he could've said that Willa might go for. She dearly loves to dance and I have three left feet, but I didn't think she'd want to dance with this character. I was about to tell him to shove off when Willa glanced at me.
"I think maybe I would like a dance," she said. "It might snap me out of my mood. Would you mind, Burt?"
I did mind, but I tried to hide it. "Just one ... then we have to go."
The ox grinned stupidly, half bowing as he held out his hand. Willa took it and was pulled from her chair and led to the small area where one other couple was already dancing.
My guts churned as I watched him pull Willa close and begin dancing even worse than I do. But within seconds the slow song was over. Willa pushed away and stood apart from him till the next record started playing. She smiled. It was a fast number, the kind she likes best. She started doing some of her fancy steps, the new stuff. The stiff stood there watching her with a grin on his coarse-featured face, then grabbed her and crushed her tits firmly against his barrel chest, trying to dance the only way he knew how, and also rubbing vulgarly against her.
It was more than I could take. I was on my feet when Willa jerked free. She shook her head at him, smiling as she started dancing apart from him and trying to get him to do the same. I sat back down, but only for a moment. He hopped around awkwardly for a bit, then shook his head and grabbed her close again. When I saw both his hands cupping her soft buttocks and holding her very close, I jumped back up and started for them. Before I got there Willa had freed herself and was stamping back to our table. The jerk took a couple of steps after her, then saw the look in my eyes and stopped. He snorted, then laughed and spun around to go back to his own table.
"You all right?" I asked as Willa took my hand and led me back to our table.
"Fine," she said tersely. "Let's drink up and go home."
Too many guys were looking at me. I couldn't leave just yet. They'd think I was running. I motioned the waitress over and ordered another drink for Willa and one for myself.
"Why'd you do that? I thought you wanted to go."
"You wouldn't understand," I told her. "I do want to go, but we can't now ... not for a few minutes anyway."
She stared blankly at me, then her eyes brightened and, by God, I think she did understand.
Our third drinks were barely on the table when the big ox and his smaller buddy got up and left. Willa watched them walk out the door, then turned to me and smiled sweetly.
I nodded.
"We might as well have our drinks first," she chuckled, reaching for my hand and giving it a squeeze.
We did, leisurely. It was probably fifteen minutes later when we started across the parking lot to our car, holding hands and unaware of anything but each other. About a quarter of the way across the dimly lit parking lot, things changed.
Plugugly loomed before us, blocking our path, his friend, about my size, standing beside him. Ugly looked mean and his pal looked amused.
"I don't like to be insulted in fronta my friends," ugly growled.
"Burt?" Willa whispered, squeezing my hand.
"Get out of our way," I said, shaking Willa's hand off.
"Now that's what I was hopin' you'd do," ugly smirked, bringing up his fists. "You better walk wide around me ... or else put 'em up!"
"Don't fight him, Burt," Willa pleaded.
"I've got to, honey. Stand back."
"No. We'll walk around them, Burt. Come on."
"It doesn't work that way, baby. Now move away!"
She did, mumbling, "But this is so dumb! Hell hurt you!"
The smaller guy was moving behind me, going toward Willa, I think. But whether he was going for her or trying to come at me from behind, I had to stop him. I swung my leg and jerked his feet out from under him, feeling the blood race in my veins as he hit the pavement on his face and let out a howl.
"You sonofabitch!" the big guy raged, coming at me with a hay-maker.
I ducked and grabbed his arm, swung it up and tossed him. A loud swoosh sounded as he landed flat on his back. Neither of them wanted to fight any more. I went to Willa, who was so startled she was speechless, took her hand, and led her to our car.
As we got in, I could hear the smaller guy, the one my size, 5'10", moaning about his teeth and asking the ugly guy, big one, who was sucking like a steam engine, what had happened.
I started the car, backed it around, then raced the engine and shot around them and out of the lot.
"Good Lord," Willa sighed, her hands trembling as she lit cigarettes for us both and passed one to me. "What'd you do to them?"
"Just used a little hand to hand combat."
"Judo?"
"Hell, honey, I don't know what you call it. Just some stuff I learned in the Marines."
"And I was worried about them hurting you!" Willa exclaimed. "Hey, maybe you ought to teach me how to do that."
Sunday night at our place was even more enjoyable than Friday night at Woody and Anne's had been. They got there at six-thirty, Woody carrying a bottle of Collins mix and Anne the pint of gin to go with it. Before the evening was over, we'd polished off the mix and the gin, as well as the thick steaks, baked potatoes and corn on the cob.
The El Paso weather didn't let us down. It was pleasant on the patio -- so pleasant, in fact, that we were all reluctant to go in the house when we'd finished eating. I think Willa had a glow on from the stiff Collins drinks Woody kept making as soon as any of us emptied our glasses, and I know damned well I did. I was high enough to be coaxed into bringing out the portable record player we kept talking about trading in on a stereo but hadn't as yet. I even danced a little. With Anne, because Woody was dancing steadily with Willa. He knew all the new dances she liked so well, and they just kept at it.
Anne tried to teach me. I tried to learn. She said I was doing great, but I knew better. Willa had told me the same thing before she finally gave up on me. But I enjoyed dancing with Anne, especially to the slower records I'd slipped into the stack. It upset me a little as I glanced past Anne's red hair and noticed Willa snuggled so intimately to Woody. But they were only dancing, and he was keeping his hands where they should be, gliding her smoothly around the patio in time to the music. I envied him his ability, mostly because it pleased Willa so much. Even on the slow tunes they did fancy stuff, dipping and spinning and all that ballroom type dancing.
We were all very good friends by the time the gin and mix ran out, and Willa was thoroughly enjoying herself. I could tell she was a bit potted by the look of her eyes, but then so was I. It didn't worry me any, because I knew Woody wouldn't take advantage of her with me and his wife right there. I doubted he would even if they'd gone for more gin and mix at their house, as he'd suggested. But Anne said we didn't need any more to drink, so Willa and Woody decided to dance some more while Anne had me take her into the kitchen and show her where the stuff for coffee was. I got the pot and coffee out for her, and she began making coffee.
"They dance very well together, don't they?" she asked.
"Yeah. Looks as if they're both having a helluva time."
The coffee pot began to bubble as Anne dried her hands and came to where I was sitting in a kitchen chair. She held out her hands, smiling down at me. I took them.
"I'm having a helluva time myself, aren't you, Burt?"
"Yeah."
"I liked dancing with you."
"Yeah. I enjoyed it, too, Anne. I hope I didn't step on your toes too much."
She sat down in my lap, her soft butt feeling very warm, her lips moist and parted, her eyes looking directly into mine, dancing, all green and excited.
I gulped. It was totally unexpected. I didn't know what to do. The tip of her tongue traced lightly over her lips and she wiggled against my rising penis.
She knew the effect she was having on me. I could tell she wanted me to kiss her, even before she closed her eyes and moved her mouth near mine.
"We shouldn't be doing this," she whispered.
Unable to resist, I put my arms around her and kissed her. She was about two inches shorter than Willa, around 5'2", and not quite as soft, because she was thinner, too. But she felt great and smelled terrific, and the way she kissed me back was wild!
Moaning, she raked at my back with her fingernails and opened her mouth wide. Her tits, smaller than Willa's but still nice and soft and perfect for her size, mashed against me as her pink tongue darted into my mouth and licked wetly.
I licked back, feeling my cock turn to steel as she kept squirming passionately in my lap. Then I was sucking her tongue and thrusting my hand under her dress, losing all sense of time as I rubbed her feverish pussy through her panties. I don't know how long we sat there, but neither of us came to our senses till I had two fingers in her and she was gasping in orgasm.
"Oh, God!" she panted, pushing my hand away and jumping to her feet. "We shouldn't have done that! What if they'd come in?"
I grinned sheepishly.
"But I wanted to," she said. "I've wanted you to kiss me from the first minute I saw you, Burt."
"The coffee's done," I said lamely. "We'd better take it out before they suspect anything."
She grinned nervously when I got up. "You'd better go run cold water on it. You can't go out there like that. I'll take the coffee out."
I got the cups and tray for her.
"Don't tell Willa about this," she admonished.
I shook my head, then went to the bathroom, not knowing at the time that Woody had my wife in almost as hot an embrace as I'd had his.