Interlude

  INTERLUDE

  Published by Josie Daleiden at Smashwords

  Copyright 2013 Josie Daleiden

  ***

  AUTHOR'S FORWARD

  I am entirely new to writing. I hope you enjoy this, as it is my first time writing in this genre. Thank you for downloading it, and stay tuned for future works that will be released in the coming months.

  -Josie Daleiden.

  Cal was furious when he found out his best friend joined a dating website in his name. His friend, as well as everyone in a fifty-mile radius, knew how miserable he was with his wife, as well as life in general. The joke of joining the dating website was supposed to be a quick, over and done laugh to get him out of the dumps. He was annoyed when he found out, then angry that this could get him in even more trouble with his shrill harpy of a wife. Intent on canceling his membership, he found himself curiously perusing the pages of the site wewontell.com instead. “That's great; they had to join me to a site that's tailor-made for cheaters.” He thought to himself, as he scrolled through the pages. He noticed his in box had ten messages in it: Eight were from Russian spam bots, one was a girl that looked very much like she used to be a boy, and the last one was a girl by the profile name of “blinkyghost25”.

  Hey calidude27! I saw your profile today and I thought I would drop you a message. I live sort of close to you. My friends told me (made me!) join this site because they got tired of me moping through every romantic comedy! It looks like we have a lot in common. It would be great to get a message back so we could meet up, or at least chat. My husband comes and goes a lot, so discretion isn't too big of a deal. Hope to talk to you soon!

  Cal looked at her profile pic. She was cute! If her picture wasn't something she lifted from Google Images, she was downright hot! She had high cheekbones, a delicate chin and full, red lips that held his attention. Her dark brown hair spilled down her shoulders, framing her face and those piercing, light green eyes. Cal decided to mess with this last spammer by sending off a sarcastic message:

  Hi blinkyghost25! My friend actually joined me to this site, and I will be canceling immediately. I have a hard time believing you live anywhere near me, because all of the women I see are usually vapid bimbos who are magnetically oriented to douche bags. Barring that, they tend to look like something that should be fighting walruses. I wish you the best of luck in your search for a gullible soul to wire money to you. Peace!

  Cal clicked send, and then got a response back:

  See attached pic calidude27. I am real, and sort of local. In spite of your message you still seem like a nice guy. Let’s try this again!

  -blinkyghost25.

  He opened the attachment. He was greeted with the same green-eyed beauty, this time holding up a copy of the LA Times and pointing at the day's current date. The next pic was of her posing with her hands on her hips. She was wearing black yoga pants and a gray tank top. To match her pose she was sporting a playful look of displeasure to confirm his last message. Her top revealed just a hint of cleavage, and her light olive skin.

  He fired off a response:

  Well blinky, it looks like you are real! I really, really hate to disappoint you, but my friend signed me up on here without my knowledge. The last thing I need is for my snarling banshee of a wife to find out about this; )

  -calidude.

  Another instant response:

  No offense Calidude, but if you casually refer to you wife as a “snarling banshee”, then maybe you should be here after all : )

  -blinky

  Ugh, she had a point. So did Jeremy and every other one of his friends who gave him crap for being in the ultimate personification of a bad marriage. It had taken a total stranger to make him fully realize that he was truly and completely miserable. On a whim, he shot back a message:

  calidude27: Okay blinky, you have bested my efforts to keep you away. My aforementioned banshee-wife keeps me on a pretty tight leash, so I have to limit this to IM for now. Would you be cool with that? I also need to get a better feel for who you are because I have never, ever done this before.

  Blinkyghost25: Sounds like a plan : ) I have to get back inside, the class instructor is giving me the UGLIEST look right now!

  Calidude27: WOW! You ditched yoga class to prove you're real?! That's dedication! I GTG. The Mrs. is home, and she sounds unhappy (again). Talk to you soon!

  Blinkyghost25: You too sweetie! Ta ta for now!

  Cal pondered the last message. A total stranger just called him sweetie. “I could get used to this!” Cal thought, grinning stupidly as he stumbled down the stairs to greet his wife.

  Cal was trapped in a particularly bad scenario. Not only had he married his wife, Alice, way too young, she has also talked him into working for the family company, “Weatherly-Park Associates, Inc.”. The wonderful boutique financial planning firm. Even though he graduated with a degree in Computer Science, His father in law, Ian Park, had him doing basic I.T. work. Instead of programming for JPL, which he was going to be doing for his post grad work, he got to unjam printers and install drivers at his father in law's office. The pay wasn't good, and it never managed to get better. He had always respected family businesses, but marrying into one was the worst kind of hell. If he wasn't pinned down in some unneeded discussion with his condescending father in law, then he was trapped into lunch times infinity with his wife. When they were in school, things had been so much better. Alice had been such a wonderful person. Her blonde bob cut seemed to serve as a flag that flew to alert others to her perky, upbeat attitude. Her free spirited college ways were like a beacon to Cal. He had always struggled with depression, even then. This effervescent girl with a sunny disposition was just what his dark persona needed.

  Upon graduating, Cal jumped at the chance to grab this girl as his, and popped the question. He proposed at the cafe of their first “real date”, and even got down on one knee. She was ecstatic, and bounced up and down screeching “YES!” while Cal tried to put the ring on. He got to about the second knuckle, then the ring stuck and wouldn't go further. He thought he knew her size. Hell, he even double-checked with her best friend Kelly...

  “What, you don't know my ring size?!?” Alice's bubbly surface layer was slowly changing. Her smile became a tense line across her face as Cal tried to explain away this easy mistake.

  “I’m sorry babe.” He raised her hand up to admire the ring that has cost him most of his savings.

  Alice jerked her hand out of his. He had never seen her like this! The once-happy girl he had known seemingly shape-shifted right before his eyes. She was radiating some kind of palpable tension that he tried his best to diffuse.

  “Guys get this kind of stuff wrong all the time”. He said soothingly. “Besides, I'm sure we can have it sized or something.” Cal wrung his hands under the table, as the customers sitting closest watched him squirm in awkward silence.

  “No no, its fine. Maybe I'll just lose weight. It's obvious you just think I'm fat!!” Alice shrieked the last words as she stormed out of the cafe. Cal could only sit there, staring at his biscotti. He somehow knew that things between them would be like this from here on. Like she had been switched to a different mode or function. He somehow could see the rest of his life before his eyes in one blur. The miserable engagement, the stuffy, controlling family, and all the trappings of a horrid suburban life. These were things that you endure with a loved one. A girl or boy who is your partner through it all. Alice became exactly none of these. She sought to verbally abuse and demean him whenever she felt she needed a boost. Cal silently joked with himself that guys pay big bucks to get girls to treat them like this. It never worked though.

  As the years wore on, Cal regretted his life more and more. Alice had changed permanently. The days and months seemed to blend together. He imagined it like a boxer taking punch after punch after punch. Soon, the pain just all blends together too. The day he started working at her family's firm, he resigned himself to fate. He was just broken. He had Alice and her family making every decision for him, never needing such things as his input or advice. His will and ambitions had been reduced from mountains to arid flatland, incapable of supporting life..., or hope. His automatic-refill Xanax prescription finished off the last of his free will.

  Alice's family loved taking turns using Cal as a tool. Not the useful, helpful kind of tool, mind you, but the other kind of tool; the cautionary tale, the don't-let-this-happen-to-you, the I-told-you-so. They all held themselves in such high regard as successful business people, and Cal was the outsider. Even working at their firm made them resent him more! Instead of supporting the family business, he was the just the loser husband who really liked computers. Never mind the fact that he gave up a job at JPL for them. Relegated to his downstairs office, he whiled away the time dodging digs from his entire family, and their coworkers, on a day-to-day basis. He used to regret every single minute he spent in that room with server racks and back filing. Now, this place had come to represent the time he could flirt and talk dirty with his new, web-based girlfriend. While Alice and her family were all upstairs plotting their schemes and taking advantage of everyone who uttered the word “retirement”, Cal would pass the time IM'ing and texting with blinky. So many texts! “We must exchange two hundred messages a day! “Cal thought to himself.

  Over the preceding months, she and Cal had developed an online relationship that rallied most flesh-based ones. He began to identify and relate to her in ways he never thought possible. They had become so close, their lives so intertwined that it became harder and h
arder to not share their deepest thoughts and feelings. Cal had discovered that Blinky lived in Montecito, which is where folks from Santa Barbara go when they still have too much money. He found himself conflicted over the fact that the girl he had been chatting with now seemed to be merely slumming it while her rich husband was out on business trips. She had mentioned working in the insurance business, but she would never elaborate more than that. From the rare occasions when they exchanged pics, he could see that her home office was beautiful, possessing a sort of rustic Italian feel. He was always careful when he was chatting with her online. If his wife or family to find out, he was finished for sure! Deep in his cluttered office, he banged away at his side work, writing code for a mobile app developer. It was boring, but he could do it while at his miserable IT job at Weatherly-Park. He was saving the money up for a long-planned tryst with his blinkyghost25. As he was banging away at the keyboard, he saw a chat icon pop up:

  blinkyghost25: Hey Cinderfella! How's life in financial services? : )

  calidude27: Great! If you count soul crushing boredom as a good thing! : ) I get to update ALL the operating systems tonight, so it'll be an all nighter while the Mrs. is at home sleeping. Are you gonna be online tonight? ;)

  blinkyghost25: Oh yeah! I finally get you all to myself for a while; ) I wouldn't miss it for the world!

  blinkyghost25: I want to video chat tonight. We've never done it before. It would be nice to put a moving image of you in my head. My fantasies would be so much more VIVID. ; )

  calidude27: …...

  calidude27: Sorry! I passed out there for a minute from the blood leaving my brain! ; ) I'd love it!

  blinkyghost25: You boys, always thinking with your OTHER head! I'll see you then.

  Calidude27: Sounds like a date! *Kisses*

  blinkyghost25: *Kisses*

  As everyone left for the night, Cal prepped the server for the big update. All he had to do was wait awhile and press “enter” a few times. Plenty of time to ogle his girl! His normal shirt and khakis would have to do. Going home to change would be hard to explain! He was sure to be by his computer when 8:00PM rolled around. His heart was thumping in his chest as he waited for the web cam to come on. This was the first time he would be seeing his girl in motion! What would she think of him? He had just started working out at the gym. Maybe she would notice? As he was thinking of what to say, she blinked into view on his screen. All Cal could do was sit and stare at the girl before him. She was a picture-perfect example of her profile pic. Stunning green eyes, flowing brown hair that spilled playfully over her shoulders, and those gorgeous, red lips. She reached up to brush her hair away from her face while she spoke.

  “Uh...hello?” She said. Her voice was melodic and sweet.

  “Uh..hey..um...hi..I mean, what's up?” Cal fell over himself trying to find words. She smiled and chuckled to herself as Cal struggled to regain his composure.

  “It’s okay, I'm nervous too!” She said. She placed her hands over her heart, miming her own apprehension.

  “You look stunning! I thought your profile pic was something you stole from the Internet!” Cal said, adding, “That doesn't make me sound shallow does it?”

  “It's okay! You know, you're pretty hot yourself!” She said, cocking an eyebrow in mock assessment of his looks. Cal noticed she was wearing a tan coat, her posture seeming as if she was cold.

  “Is it cold in your office?” Cal asked.

  “Sort of, I'm actually wearing a coat for another reason though.” She said.

  With that, Cal watched her stand up and slowly un-button the long, brown coat. He watched intently as her fingers undid the last button and started untying the belt wrapped around her waist. As it fell open, Cal caught a glance of what she had been hiding. Under her coat she was wearing nothing but a red, lace bra and matching underwear. He watched as she did a slight shimmy to get her shoulders out of the coat, her beautiful ass aglow in the monitor's light. She sat down again, pushing the coat underneath her on the chair.

  “You like?” She asked, lying against the chair back so he could see her in full frame.

  “Wow.” Cal uttered in a whispered breath. “Yes, yes I like it a lot!” He said.

  “I’m glad! I was so nervous.” She visibly relaxed her shoulders, the tension of acceptance releasing from her body. Cal noticed he was still staring at her full breasts, at the way the bra held them in. The glowing light from her desk lamp revealed her curves and dips to him in high relief.

  “You were nervous? I can't believe a girl as hot as you would worry about that!” Cal said.

  “It's a girl thing. We all do this. Besides, you’re no hunch back yourself! I can see your biceps through your shirt.” She said. Cal jokingly kissed his upper arms in mock gratitude.

  “Thanks, I hadn't noticed.” He said, smiling with joking indifference. She laughed and held her hand over her mouth.

  “I, um, I have a confession to make.” She said, her tone turning somewhat serious.

  “Uh oh, good news or bad?” Cal asked. He didn't' want this to end so soon!

  “Kind of both,” She said. “You see, I actually don't have a husband.” Her voice trailed off into a meek, apologetic whisper.

  Cal didn't know what to make of this. Up until then, he had been equal in his infidelity with this girl. Now, it seemed that she had much less to lose than him. He felt betrayed, but he couldn't really define why. If she wasn't married, than why had she joined some cheater's dating site? She could have most men just by asking. Why mess around with having an affair?

  “I don't know what to think. I feel like you should be out finding unattached guys given how beautiful you are.” Cal said.

  She struggled to explain her thoughts,” It's just that, it's easier to date guys who have so much to lose if things go wrong. Do you know what I mean?” She fidgeted anxiously while waiting for Cal's response.

  “I guess. So, did these other guys know your little secret?” Cal asked, still struggling with his confused feelings. He added, “Wait, how many guys have you dated on here?” He was worried that he had feelings for some girl who was hooking up with random guys.

  “Just a few. And you're the first one I've told my little secret to.” She said quickly. “I really like you! You seem funny, and nice, and you're also pretty easy on the eyes!” She said, flashing him a wry grin.

  Cal's worry fell away as he watched her confess so candidly. She was still the same person he had exchanged all those IMs with. She was funny, smart, and her beauty was something that transcended time and space. Trying to change gears, he made a quick joke about her deceptive ways.

  “I see, so you're just some girl who gets her kicks out of stealing guys from their boring housewives.” Cal said with a smile.

  “I find that they have the most tender meat. I forgot to mention that I'm also part of an online cannibalism cult!” she said, jokingly chewing on her finger with her teeth and making growling sounds.

  “Sorry, you lost me when you said the word meat.” Cal joked. He couldn't help but notice his growing manhood. This woman had a way of exciting him that he could not ignore. Every animated gesture and giggle seemed to put Cal under a spell. The rest of the world could end right now and he wouldn't know. He was lost in a state of entrancement. Gazing upon this woman as they chatted and talked back and forth like long-time lovers.

  “We should meet.” Cal finally blurted out.

  “I agree. When and where?” She said quickly. Her eyes betrayed a lust, a need that neither of them could have hidden any longer.

  “Alice is going out of town next week. I have a place picked out that shouldn't be too busy. It's in Avila Beach, so it's about the middle for both of us.” Cal said. He was still not sure how he was going to pay for the trip, but he would find a way. He had to find a way!

  “Ooh, Avila Beach sounds nice!” She said, adding, “I hope it's the place with the hot springs.” She held her arms around herself, shivering to portray the frigid condition of her office. Cal could hear the chair squeak quietly underneath her as she squirmed on the cold seat.

  “I wish I was there to warm you up.” Cal said in a low, quiet voice.

  “Oh babe, I wish you could do that too.” She said. With that, she reached behind her back and began unfastening the lacy bra, her breasts shifting and jiggling as Cal watched in silent awe. She seemed to be on the last hook, as the cups holding her beautiful bosom slipped down to reveal-