Home is Where The Heart Is

"Sorry, I... well that card was just what I needed today." She shrugged. "Valentine's day has always been tough for me."

"Since the divorce?"

"No, much longer than that." She shook her head. "I was lucky if we went to dinner and most of the time I'd get candy of flowers, and only because his secretary would send them." She paused then added quietly. "The one he'd been seeing for years."

"I'm sorry Paula." I said.

"Don't be," she smiled. "You turned a bad day good Jamie, what you wrote was perfect." She looked away for a minute then turning back put her hand over mine and asked, "Did you mean it?"

"Of course I did!" I exclaimed. "Paula you are the best person I know, I meant everything I wrote."

"Even the part about me being beautiful?" She smiled. "On the outside?"

I immediately blushed and unable to look her in the eyes said, "You're very pretty Paula."

Paula laughed and I felt like a fool. Pretty. What was I a kid? Well of course I was, at least to her anyway, and apparently I was trying to enforce that view by acting like one. "No one has called me pretty in years." She said. "Or beautiful for that matter."

"Well you are." I told her. "You have gorgeous eyes."

"Thank you," She smiled. "Your baby blues aren't so bad either you know."

I didn't reply as I was too busy wondering if she really meant that.

"Jamie," Paula began. "Would you do something for me?"

"Anything." I said quickly, a little too quickly I thought.

"I want you to go out to dinner with me tonight."

"I..." had I just heard that right? "Dinner?"

"Yes dinner." She nodded. "I'll pick you up and we can go to my favorite restaurant."

"I...I don't know Paula." I put my hands out. "That, ummm... well it wouldn't look right."

"To who?"

I found I didn't have an answer to that, and just sat there, staring like an idiot.

"Look Jamie," Paula said squeezing my hand. "I haven't gone out on Valentine's Day in years and I would love a chance to dress up and go out."

"But with me?" I shook my head. "I mean come on Paula I'm sure there's some guys who would..."

"I don't care about other guys, I want to go out with the guy who gave me such a beautiful card and who made me happy today."

Oh boy, this was starting to get awkward. I kept telling myself this meant nothing, but it seemed like it did. I should keep saying no, it was the right thing, I had no business going out with someone like her, hell she had kids my age. Then again, the thought of finally seeing her dressed up, would be...

"So what do you say Jamie, you want to go out with me tonight?"

"You mean like a date?" I blurted out.

Oh, you fucking moron, I thought as soon as the words left my mouth. What a first class boob.

"I mean like two people going out and having a good time together." She shrugged and said. "But you can say it's a date if you want. Tonight can be anything you want it to be."

Anything? Slow down Romeo, she's just playing along with me.

"Well jeez I can't be as special as you say I am if you need this much time to decide." Paula said shaking her head. "So much for my confidence."

"It's not that," I said quickly. "I just, I can't pay and I..."

"Don't worry about money, I have plenty, what I don't have is someone to spend Valentine's with." She sighed. "Not even my Valentine."

"Well I..."

"You don't have to worry about dressing up," she pointed out. "We can..."

"I have something nice I can wear." I told her.

"Really?" she smiled. "I'd love to see you dressed nice."

That makes two of us, I thought. I was running out of ways to say no.

"Come on Jamie," she said, "It would make me sad to be alone tonight."

Paula put her head down and looking up at me though her eyelashes with those huge brown eyes pushed her lips into a pout and whispered. "You wouldn't want me to be sad tonight would you?"

I shook my head; there was no way in hell I could say no to that look.

"Okay." I told her. "I've always been a sucker for big brown eyes."

"Really?" She gave me a sly smile. "That's good to know."

Was she flirting with me? No, don't be...

"I'll pick you up at seven and at your house; I don't want you walking around all dressed up tonight okay?"

"Okay," I told her as I opened the door to get out. "I'll see you then."

"Thank you Jamie," she said. "You've really made me happy today."

"Good," I nodded. "I'm glad you're going to have a good day."

"Who says it will have to stop at just the day?" She gave me a wink, "I'm looking forward to tonight Jamie, I really am."

*****

I was in front of Gino's house pacing nervously. It was five past seven and I was wondering if Paula had come to her senses and decided not to pick me up. For the third time in the last ten minutes I started to walk back up the stairs to Gino's door to use his phone and see if she were coming. As I had the other two times, I stopped myself. If she were on her way, I would look like an idiot and I'd done enough of that this morning. If she had changed her mind I didn't want her to feel bad.

Walking past Gino's house I stopped in front of the bakery next door. It was closed and in the street light I could see my reflection in the window. I had to say, that for the first time in a long time I looked pretty good. After Paula had given me a card with her cell number and left, I hoofed it downtown where I had not only gotten my hair cut, but splurged the extra five dollars for a shave. From there I went to the restaurant to see if someone had called for me about a job. As had been the case for quite some time Gino said that no one had called.

Although disappointed I still found myself in a damn good mood. I was going out tonight and whether it was a real date, which I doubted, or not, it would be a great night with a beautiful woman. Gino noticed I didn't look as upset as usual and asked what had me in such a good mood. Part of me didn't want to tell him, but he was really the only friend I had and I caved. He stood there grinning while I told him about how I had bought her the card and how happy she had been. When I told him she was taking me to dinner he laughed and exclaimed.

"Jamie that cheap assed rose is going to get you laid by a cougar!" he shook his head. "Shit man, who said you don't have any luck?"

I rolled my eyes and told him that it wasn't that kind of date. He laughed and told me that he was willing to bet, the next time I saw him I would be telling him he was right. Gino then went on to rant and rave about how hot older women were and how Paula was going to blow my mind. I let him ramble, Gino was a great guy but obsessed with porn, everything was about sex to him. When he was done and I promised him that if I got lucky I would tell him the details, he turned serious. He asked if I had decent clothes and I said I did. What I did not have was a jacket.

Gino told me to go home and come back to his place around five and bring my clothes. It was a bit of a trek each way, but I eagerly took him up on it, figuring he would let me use his shower. I went home and seeing my asshat neighbors were sleeping, which is what they didn't seem to do at night, I lied down. I was tired, but wired. I hadn't gotten much sleep, but all I could think of was Paula, how great she smelled, how soft she was. I couldn't wait to see her later. I closed my eyes, trying not to let my imagination take things too far. I focused on the company and what a nice time it would be, carefully keeping my mind from Gino's absurd claims of cougar seduction.

I eventually fell asleep and did in fact dream of Paula, letting her sexy black dress hit the floor, and inviting me into her bedroom. I woke up horny as hell, and unable to help it, got off to the image of Paula's big brown eyes looking up at me from between my legs, while those lips were doing something other than smiling. When I finished, I felt a little guilty, thinking that way of someone who was being nice to me, but damn I really was crushing on her as Gino had said.

I arrived at Gino's around five thirty where, as I'd hoped, he told me to go ahead and use his shower. He lived with his parents and sister, and had on several occasions asked if I could stay with them. But they had no extra rooms and his mother always seemed suspicious of me for some reason. After I'd showered, dressed and stole a couple of splashes of his Wings cologne, Gino made my night by presenting me with a black leather jacket. His birthday was next week, and he had asked for a new one and told me I could keep it. The jacket fit perfectly, and went well with my outfit. Grinning, he told me to reach into the right pocket. I did and shook my head as I pulled out three condoms.

I told him I didn't need them, and with a laugh he told me that from what he'd heard about older women, I might need more than three. I called Paula to tell her to pick me up there and when she answered and I told her it was me, her first words were, "Jamie, don't you dare cancel on me!"

I assured her I would never, and gave her Gino's address. That had been six and although she hadn't wanted me to cancel, I found myself wondering if now she would be. Leaning closer to the window, I ran my fingers through my now short hair. I'd even added a little gel, and was wondering if I'd over done it. I quickly forgot about my hair, as I heard the sound of someone pulling up behind me. I turned and felt a wave of relief go through me when I saw Paula's truck pulling up.

Although I tried not to, I could feel a big smile on my face as I walked over and opened the door.

"Oh, don't you look nice!" Paula exclaimed as I got in.

"Thanks," I began, "I figured that..."

I stopped as once I'd gotten in, I turned to face her. Paula looked amazing. Her brown hair was down and like in the picture was long and curly, she was wearing makeup, and her lips full lips were coated in a deep red that perfectly matched the dress she was wearing. What a dress it was! For once she was not wearing a scarf and her long jacket was open, leaving me a clear view of what was an almost disturbingly low cut neckline. I tried to tell myself to get my eyes up, but I they were ignoring me, instead focusing on a patch of freckles just above the dress and then dipping lower, to what was some damn impressive cleavage.

Paula was leaning toward me, causing the top of the dress to fall forward just enough to give me a glimpse of not only the swelling of her breasts, but a just a hint of red lace. With an effort I got my head up, just in time for her to lean in and kiss my cheek. I felt my heart skip a beat as this wasn't a quick peck, rather her lips lingered for a moment, leaving me to revel in their soft touch. After the kiss, she breathed deeply, "Oh and you smell nice too!"

She'd whispered it close to my ear, and in a soft tone of voice, the "oh" sounding like a purr. I felt my heart skip another beat, and a stirring between my legs. Stop that! Jeez, this could be a long night, if I didn't stop acting like a teenager. Paula leaned back, and cocking her head stared at me for a moment. I didn't mind, as it gave me a chance to take her in as well. This time I kept my eyes above the neck, but the view was just as nice. I'd known she was fairly pretty, but seeing her like this, hair down and all made up, it hit me that she was beautiful.

"You look good Jamie," she told me. "I love that shirt; it brings out your eyes."

And that dress brings out your...cutting myself off, I smiled at her.

"This old thing?"

As she laughed, I risked another quick look at her chest, before saying, "Paula you look amazing."

"Amazing?" She laughed. "This morning it was beautiful, now amazing, well you know what they say about flattery my dear!"

"That it will get me somewhere?" I asked. "That's just a line."

Turning back to face the street, Paula pulled away and with a quick glance my way said.

"Is it? Keep going and maybe you'll find out."

The restaurant was located not far from where Paula lived and during the twenty minute ride I was fairly quiet. The first reason for my silence was that I simply did not have too much to talk about. Paula was talking about her job and how busy it was, and then switched off to what some of her friends were doing tonight, and how glad she was not to be home alone. I had the impression, that Paula loved the simple fact that I listened to her, and enjoyed talking to me.

The second reason I was not adding much to the conversation was far less noble, I was too busy checking her out. Her dress was about knee length but because she was sitting had ridden up a little. She was wearing sheer black stockings, and I was surprised to see that despite the cold was wearing red heels. The heels were pretty high, and I couldn't wait to see what they did for her legs when she stood in them. But for now her legs were doing just fine on their own. Her calves had a nice shape to them and I figured she must exercise. As I continued to stare, I watched her leg flex as she worked the pedals of the truck. Once she lifted her left leg up to rub her knee and the dress lifted, giving me a quick look at the inside of her leg part way up her thigh.

I was aware of my cock becoming semi hard as I watched her legs, and imagined what they would feel like under my hand, or better yet around me. I turned and looked out the window, taking a deep breath and telling myself to try to stop thinking that way. Despite the couple of remarks she had made, I knew nothing was going on. Paula was being playful and enjoying herself. Little did she know, I would enjoy her later, even if it was just in my mind. This dress would have me stroking myself for the next week.

We arrived at Marchetti's and I saw why she had worn the shoes as she pulled directly up to the door for the valet. I got out and came around to meet her. The valet had beaten me to opening the door for her, but I made it in time to get a great view of her leg as she stepped down from the truck. I noticed the valet looking as well as he helped her down, and smiled to myself, good for her getting some attention. When I reached her, she smiled and put her arm out. I went to take her hand, but laughing she said, "Like this" and hooked her arm into mine.

"Sorry." I said, feeling stupid.

She laughed and I noticed that in the heels she was close to my height, damn those things were high. Nodding over my shoulder, I told her, "Hey that guy was checking you out."

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes.

"He was," I insisted. "I saw him looking at your legs."

"Really?" She asked, glancing over her shoulder.

"Absolutely." I told her. "You want to go back and walk past him? I'll bet he looks." I nudged her arm. "Nice looking young guy."

"Jamie, you're the only good looking young guy I want to impress tonight." She giggled softly. "But I will watch on the way out."

I was too stuck on her last remark to reply, and simply looked ahead, hoping I wasn't blushing as we made our way into the restaurant. When we reached the front, a girl came around to take our coats. Paula started to remove hers, but I grabbed the top of it in time to help her out of it. As I handed it to the girl, Paula gave her head a toss and I watched her long brown hair flow down her back. Just before she did, I saw that the dress was open in the back, more than the weather would dictate as well. If she were trying to impress, it was working.

Apparently I was paying a little too much attention to Paula. When I handed the girl the coats I let go too soon and mine fell on the floor. I bent over to pick it up, and felt a stab of panic go through me when one of the condoms fell out of the pocket. I quickly covered it with my hand, and looking up saw that the girl had turned away from me and was hanging Paula's coat. Paula herself was looking the other way. Slipping the rubber back into the pocket, I handed the coat over and walked over to stand next to Paula while we waited to be seated. Leaning over, she whispered in my ear, "Don't worry, you won't need those tonight."

"Oh shit Paula." I said softly, already feeling my face burning. "I...I'm sorry that's my friend's jacket, I wouldn't..."

"Nope," she continued as if I weren't talking. "I closed down the shop after William was born" she turned and winked at me. "So no need for those things, bareback is just fine."

"Bare..." My mouth fell open and I stared at her unable to get anything else out.

."You are absolutely adorable!" She smiled. "You're blushing again

Taking me by the arm, she led me over to the side of the waiting area.

"Look Paula..." I began. "I'm not thinking that this is well..."

"Jamie relax." She said, putting her hand on my shoulder. "I'm just teasing you okay? I'm having a good time and I can't resist watching you blush. As far as tonight goes, it's about two people who deserve far better than to stay home alone on Valentine's Day, having good time together, that's all."

"Okay." I nodded

"Now if you need to call it something," She continued, "To me it's a date, I'm having dinner with a very attractive man, but just because I say it's a date doesn't mean that dinner becomes breakfast, got it?"

"Got it."

"Of course, I'm not saying it couldn't lead to breakfast," she grinned. "You are looking good tonight."

"I..." catching myself, I laughed. "I get it, you're teasing again?"

"Am I?" Paula asked.

Before I could respond the waiter arrived and walked us to our seat. The restaurant was packed due to the holiday and we had to walk single file through the tables. I gestured for Paula to walk in front of me, and spent the walk across the room checking out the view from behind. Although certainly not heavy, Paula had curves and the tight dress was doing a damn good job of showing them off. Paula's waist was fairly small, but her hips flared out nicely, giving her a great figure. My eyes however, spent most of the walk following the swaying of her well rounded ass. As good as that looked, I figured we must be getting close to the table and let my gaze wander down to get a look at her legs before we sat. As I'd suspected the heels did great things for her calves and her legs looks incredible. I'd told Paula she was beautiful and looked amazing, but right now the words would be fucking hot, but I would keep that to myself.

We reached the table and when the waiter asked about drinks Paula ordered two glasses of red wine. After eyeing me for a moment, he asked for an ID and with a embarrassed grin I told him I was only twenty and to just bring me a coke. I couldn't help but notice him look over at Paula and I could pretty much imagine what he was thinking. When he walked away I said as much.

"Sorry Paula, I know what he's probably thinking."

"He's thinking what I'm thinking," she answered with that sexy little smile I'd already seen several times tonight. "Good for her!"

Refusing to blush and be caught off guard, I replied, "Actually, I figured I he was thinking good for him!"

Reaching across the table, Paula put her hand over mine and looking me in the eye said softly, "How about we agree on good for us?"

Dinner was fantastic, it was the best meal I'd had in longer then I could remember and we had everything from appetizers down to dessert and coffee afterwards. The food however was nowhere near the best part of the night. That of course was Paula. We took our time over the meal and talked about everything. Little things at first, the food, the weather, and then we got into more about our lives. Paula asked why I didn't have a girlfriend and I laughed and said that was pretty obvious. She asked when I last had one and I told her about Tammy, including how it ended.

She gave me that pitying look that I hated, and said it was for the best, I deserved a better than that. She also caused my heartbeat to pick up when she added that the problem was Tammy was a girl. I was mature beyond my years and needed a woman who would appreciate me, not a little kid. She had been looking me in the eye when she said it and I found myself hearing Gino in the back of my mind. I also kept replaying all the little teasing remarks she had made. In fact I'd a hard time getting her using the word bareback out of my head since she said it. I was at least doing a good job of not blushing at these remarks, but my mind was racing as I kept trying to figure out if it were a game or not.