Once In A Lifetime (closed)

[TheAntiRebel]

Jeff Cooper (picture)
Age 27
6'4"
220 pounds
Tall, broad shouldered, very muscular build

“For Christssake, Tiffany. He’s my BEST FRIEND,” he shouted at her from across the room.

“He was there for me when you weren’t,” she said. Her back was turned to him. She was looking out the window. She couldn’t even face him.

“What the hell are you talking about? I went to every fucking chick flick you wanted. I sat here and watched every episode of Bridezilla. I was the model boyfriend for two years and you sleep with my best friend?” Jeff said, practically screaming. He was furious. He wanted to hit somebody. Not necessarily her, but somebody. Mark would definitely be punched if he showed his face to him again.

“That’s the other thing, your temper,” Tiffany said to him. She spun around and grabbed the last moving box. Her red hair spun in a flurry as she turned. Once she had the box in her hands, she headed for the door. “Good bye, Jeff. Lose my number,” she said, before storming out of the front door of the apartment the two of them had shared for the past year.

Jeff stood in shock. He had spent the last two years of his life with her. They had been to each other’s families for Christmas and Thanksgiving. They had taken a road trip vacation to Niagara Falls. Corny, but it was fun and cheap and they made love almost all weekend. Jeff couldn’t imagine life without her, but she apparently could. She had been spending time with his best friend, it turned out. She said he was more emotionally responsive that he was. Sounded like an excuse.

Jeff carefully walked through the apartment. Half of every room was missing. All her stuff was missing. He sat on the edge of the bed and wondered what would be next. He wondered if he would ever find somebody to love again.

------------

A month had passed since Tiffany had left his life, but Jeff was coping well, he thought. He had buried himself in his work. As a copy writer for a major advertising firm in the city, he was always busy with work. One special morning, he had skipped breakfast and by 10am, his stomach was growling. He decided to have a working lunch down at the local Starbucks, so he headed down there with his iPad in hand.

The weather matched his mood. It was raining, but it wasn’t particularly dreary. It was one of those days where there was just a light cloud cover, so it was still pretty bright out. Light rain drops fell from the sky. It was raining, but you could tell that sunshine was just around the corner. For some reason, Jeff felt that his love life would turn around too.

His ad firm had a strict “business casual” policy, so the tall ad man was wearing a blue button-up shirt that was untucked from the pair of blue jeans he was wearing. He stopped just outside the downtown Starbucks and held the door open for an older woman before heading inside. He stood in line, briefly talked to the barista, placed his order for a non-fat latte, before paying, collecting his coffee, and taking a seat at a small table. He took a sip of the coffee and then flipped on his iPad and began typing some words into the tablet when suddenly a woman entered the coffee shop that caught his eye.

 

[EklectikChik]

Shelby Wilson
Age: 35
5'2"
Slender, petite, dark brown hair and startling blue eyes.


It had been another one of those days all around for Shelby. First her husband had criticized her choice of dress for their evening 'event' with high to doers, then ordered her to get an appointment at the nearest and most fashionable salons to do 'something' with herself. Derek had been obsessed lately with making all the right connections. In the meantime, he'd all but pushed Shelby aside, had become a snob, picky and snooty. He'd picked and pointed out all her flaws until she'd been in tears and now although the words stung, she felt mostly numb, trying to block it all out. Because for him, she'd given up school. She'd given up a career to be his dutiful little wife and lately she felt as though she was failing at that. She wasn't tall enough, smart enough or near polished enough to be his beautiful trophy wife.

The rainy weather was only amplifying her mood as she stepped into the nearest Starbucks. She felt spent and needed a double shot of caffeine and something, anything that would maybe lift her spirits just a smidge so she could make it through the day. Time was ticking away, but she'd gone to the salon and had her fingers and toes done, had gotten a facial and let them do her makeup. The only thing left to do was her hair...which she refused to cut for him. Tonight, she would simple put it up in the most elegant fashion she could think of and be done with it.

Lost in though, she stood in the small line, blinking as she swallowed the lump which had formed in her throat, the pressure in her chest almost suffocating. When had things gone so wrong? She wondered to herself. They had been happy once and now...She felt trapped and useless. It all seemed like one big disaster, but Derek was happily plugging along.

Ordering her coffee, Shelby stepped away, her head beginning to ache at the prospect of their dinner arrangements. She didn't want to play the part of the happy perfect little wife anymore. Because when it was all said and done, she returned to their large cold home and was pushed aside or used for his pleasure and then pushed aside.

With a quick glance around, Shelby caught the gaze of a man who was openly looking at her. Caught off guard, she quickly broke contact, momentarily flustered and moved to the other side of the room, finding an empty seat by a large window.

One long sigh later, she sipped on her coffee, glancing over at the handsome man, somehow unable to stop herself and flushing when his gaze met hers again. Forcing herself to look out the window, she tried to relax. She was a married woman after all and men didn't generally pay much attention to her. Get a grip. She told herself, fingering the ring on her finger.

 

[TheAntiRebel]

Jeff looked up again and looked at the woman across the coffee shop from him. She was gorgeous. He glanced back down to his iPad before looking up at her again and this time flashing her a playful grin, then going back down to his tablet. He punched in a few more words before closing the tablet and standing up.

As bold as he pleased, he walked over to her table, coffee in one hand and iPad in the other. He sat down as he pointed at her cup of coffee. “I dunno how you can drink that.” He pointed to the side of the cup where the barista had scribbled her order down. “Double shot of caffeine? I’d be up all night.” He said with a friendly smile as he looked into her eyes. She was a beautiful woman who looked like she was razzled and having a rough day.

He put down the tablet and reached his hand out for her. “Hi. My name is Jeff. Jeff Cooper. We’ve never met before,” he said to her. His eyes skimmed over her body. “I just saw you come in out of the rain and noticed your drink order. Damn rain always clouding everything up, eh?” he asked, giving her another smile. He looked down at her elegant neck and watched as they gave away to her shoulders. She was a little older than him, but there was something so appealing and attractive about her.

 

[EklectikChik]

Shelby had just shrugged off her bright blue parka and was pulling back her hair when suddenly the man from across the room appeared before her, making himself at home in the opposite seat.

A slow flush burned her cheeks as she smiled shyly at him and shook his hand. Her smaller one almost vanished in his, so warm and strong. While Derek wasn't exactly small, he was nowhere near as big as this man or as solid. Late hours and a bad diet had turned him soft and slightly pudgy in the middle. Not that she'd ever cared about appearances. Had never been overly shallow about that kind of stuff.

"I um...have a late evening ahead of me and it has already been a long day." She told him, hoping her voice didn't waver as she spoke and proud that it sounded reasonably pleasant. "I'm Shelby Wilson."

Glancing outside, she nodded slightly, "Yes, this weather has been a pain." She told him, unsure of what prompted him to truly come in. "So...erm..." She laughed softly, feeling a little awkward as she glanced down at her almost empty coffee cup and then back up at him. "what brings you to my table, Jeff?"

 

[TheAntiRebel]

Jeff leaned back in the table and sipped his coffee. “Oh nothing. Just saw you sitting over here with your double-shot espresso and thought I’d make conversation,” he said, never breaking his gaze from her. There was something sexy about her, and he definitely wanted to get to know her better, but he didn’t want to scare her off and appear to be some sort of lounge lizard or predator.

“I’m a copy writer over Schmidt, Lempke and Ryder,” he said, naming one of the mid-sized ad agencies here in town. “We’re working on a big account, talk about long hours,” he said, taking another sip of coffee to finish off his cup. “What do you do for a living?” he asked pleasantly.

He listened to her talk for a minute before standing up and yanking out his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans. “I’m going to get another cup. Care for anything?” he asked politely.

 

[EklectikChik]

She watched him speak and rattled off a little something about being a stay at home wife. It sounded rather lame...she wasn't a mother. Just a wife who did her husband's bidding. She was almost embarrassed to utter the words, but did so anyway, making sure her ring finger was in plain sight.

“No thanks.” She told him sweetly, “I think one of these will do me for the evening.”

He gave her a short nod and she watched him leave, admiring the back of his body as he walked to the counter. Something about him made her want to stay and talk some more. She wasn't sure what it was...perhaps his eyes or his easy and charming smile. She wasn't so easily swayed by looks, but her certainly was easy on the eyes.

Glancing down, she fidgeted with her wedding band and sighed. She was dreading the evening so much, her nerves were rattled and her stomach rolled. But come that evening, she would be poised as always.

 

[TheAntiRebel]

Jeff headed back to the table coffee in hand and sat back down. He felt himself enthralled with Shelby and wanted to spend more time with her, but she seemed uneasy about talking to him. As he took a first sip of his coffee, he looked down and saw she was fiddling with a wedding band on her hand. Well, that could explain it, but she hadn’t shooed him off yet.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with just talking to somebody in public, he told himself. Deep down, he already was fantasizing about making love to her, having his big hands all over her naked body. But, for now, he wanted to just be friends with her. “So, you’re married,” he said nodding towards her hands. “Can’t say I’ve ever had the pleasure.” Jeff held up a bare left hand. “What kind of work does your husband do?” he asked.

Once she was done explaining, he nodded. “Well, he’s a very lucky man.” A bold statement, but Jeff wondered how it would go over in her mind. After letting that statement settle for a long moment, he glanced at the clock on his iPad and stood up. “Hey, I better get back to the office. It was great meeting you, I’d love to stay in touch. Strictly as friends, of course.” He yanked out his wallet and flipped a business card to Shelby. “It has both my work phone and cell number on there,” he added.

 

[EklectikChik]

“It was nice meeting you.” She said softly and smiled, tucking the card into her back pocket. “Hope the rest of your day goes well. Take care.” I told him and clasped his hand one more time. His swift smile made my heart do a little funny flip and my skin tingled as he drew his hand away and turned away.

I watched him leave, slightly disappointed, but feeling a little lighter and a little better. It had been nice to talk to someone that wasn't looking down upon her. With a resigned sigh, she knew it was time to go as well. Tossing her cup away, she grabbed her purse and let the coffee shop and returned home.

There, he was already waiting on her, expectantly waiting for her. On auto pilot, she moved through her routine and dressed, styled her hair and made herself into the perfect little arm piece...or tried. When she finally walked out, her husband gaze her a once over with cool eyes and walked around. She stood still and tried not to shiver as he regarded her. She felt disconnected as he gave her a curt nod. “Looks better. They did a good job. Perhaps tonight people will take me seriously. Just keep your mouth shut and look pretty honey, that's all I need from you.”

The words stung, but she bit her tongue gave him a little nod as she waited for him to get ready. In the back of her mind she thought of Jeff and wondered how the rest of his evening was going...and whether it was right or not, made a mental note to call him. If only to share another cup of coffee.