Don't Start What You Can't Finish

It had been a great night out, which was saying something because country dancing wouldn't have been my first choice. The club had a pretty good rep, but being from the east coast country had been something we'd all made fun of. I think it was mainly the seemingly overdone costumes - big hats and boots, jeans that people IRONED (for god's sake!), the big belt buckles, and so on. The people had always been great, and seemingly unaffected. Since moving out west I chalked it up to regional differences. But enough of that!

I'd gone country dancing with my apartment neighbor, Jeannette, and a couple of her friends from work. She had the apartment below mine, with the same floor plan. It was a nice complex - good amenities, nicely maintained, and very new. And our apartments were the two bedroom/two bath floor plan - we were both divorced with one kid each.

We first ran into each other picking up mail - her mailbox was next to mine, and I asked if she was new to the complex.

"Yep, we just moved in a few days ago. Moved out from California to get away from the ex and closer to my folks. How about you?"

"Yep, moved in about a month ago. How do you like it?" I said.

"It's good - love being in Colorado."

"Yep, me too. I'm Mark, incidentally." I extended my hand and she took it, shaking firmly.

"I'm Jeannette. Nice to meet you - which building are you in?"

"I'm in 31 - second floor. You?"

She chuckled. "So am I, although I'm on the first floor. Are you on top of me?" She asked quizzically, then with a slight blush as she realized that could be taken a couple different ways.

"Well, I'm in 3120, so if you're 3110, then yes." I tilted my head a bit and laughed. "You are, aren't you? That's you in the Toyota SUV in the garage next to mine, right?"

She laughed this time - "Yep, that's me. You've got the blue 325i?"

My turn to laugh - "Close - it's a 328xi. But blue it is!"

By now, we had retrieved our mail and were walking back to our building, exchanging some small talk.

"Well, pleasure meeting you! We should get the boys together sometime - I suspect they'd get along." I had no ulterior motive - my son would enjoy having a friend right downstairs.

She tilted her head a bit, and sai,d "I bet they'd like that. Feel free to stop down - as long as it's not TOO far." She smiled as she said it, and then we turned and I went up to my apartment and I saw her go down the hall to hers.

We had indeed gotten our kids together a few times, and visited with each other at the same time. I learned that her ex could be violent, though never to her or her son, which was why she had moved so far away, and that her folks lived a few miles from our apartment complex. She managed the local branch of a large headhunting company, which kept her busy. It seemed like the right kind of job for her - she had a confidence about her that was appealing, and a willingness to hear "no" from prospects. Somehow we never got around to talking about relationship status, though I figured she, like me, rarely had trouble getting dates.

And I have to say it was nice to have a woman friend, where there weren't any expectations. We wound up doing different trips with the kids, as well as the typical kid movies and outings, like the zoo, the museum and so on, and it was always comfortable. It was all the funnier because we'd each seen the other in workout gear - she used the apartment's gym, and I cycled a lot. And I would have been confident in saying we both appreciated the other physically. Despite that, there didn't seem to be a whole lot of sexual tension between us.

It had been a few months since we first met retrieving mail when I heard a knock on my door. I wasn't expecting anyone - it was unusual for anyone to just knock without having texted or called. I answered the door and it was Jeannette.

She blew in to my apartment. "Hi! How are you?"

"I'm good - thanks. To what do I owe the pleasure?" I asked.

"Do you have any plans for Saturday? I'm going out with a couple of my girlfriends from work and thought you might like to join us since I don't think you have your son. We're going to that big country dance place on the highway."

"I don't, as a matter of fact. Country, eh? Succumbing to the lure of the Rose? I'm not sure I have anything appropriate to wear, but I'd be happy to join you. I can even be your designated driver."

She laughed. "Oh, that's OK - one of my friends is picking me up, and can fit you in also if you want. And for clothes - just wear some jeans and a black t-shirt - it IS summer, after all. Well, good - it'll be fun. Do you know how to country dance?"

I shook my head ruefully. "No, but I'll try not to step on your - or anyone else's feet too much."

"Oh, after a couple of drinks I'm sure no one'll know. Or care. Say about 8 on Saturday?"

"Sure, that works - it'll be fun."

And with that, she headed out to feed her son, and I dove back in to work.

I gotta admit the rest of the week dragged a bit - I was intrigued. The offer was out of the blue, and very different from our usual kid-driven events. I figured she thought I'd be a good "out" - the country bar in question was pretty well known as a good place to pick people up, and she was definitely the type to draw attention. And her friends were likely to be also - just going off of what Jeannette looked like.

She wasn't overly tall - about 5'6" or so. Her build was that "just right" type for me - not overly skinny, but not thick. Shoulder length dirty blonde hair, blue eyes, and a figure that I always appreciated. She had a nice size firm bust, and a nice, well-muscled butt, with well-proportioned legs. Like I said before, I was a bit surprised that there wasn't more sexual tension between us, because I'd seen her eyeing me while I was in cycling or other workout gear, and she knew what she had.

Anyway, Saturday arrived and I pulled on the clothes she'd suggested. I had actually bought a pair of jeans at a western wear store and I had an appropriate shirt. Rather than get cowboy boots that I'd probably never wear again I wore the Ariat boots my ex had gotten me for English horseback riding lessons. We'd arranged for me to head downstairs a little before 8 so we'd be ready for her friend.

I headed downstairs and knocked on her door, which opened almost immediately. She twirled around, struck a dance pose and said "Ta da! What do you think?"

I almost couldn't say a thing - she was a vision. She was wearing a plaid cowgirl looking blouse, open to just above her breasts, and a medium length denim skirt that absolutely hugged her hips and butt. She must have been wearing a bra that emphasized cleavage, because you could see a fair bit of it without it looking sleazy. Well, OK, without looking TOO sleazy. I liked it. She was also wearing a pair of high black boots, with a sizable heel, that showed off just enough skin between where the boot ended and the skirt began that I found myself wondering if she was wearing tights or anything else. To top it off, she had a white cowgirl hat, and her blonde hair pulled up. She had on just enough makeup to accent her facial features, and her lips were a bright "kiss me" red. It was all I could do to not kiss her on the spot.

"Wow. Just . . . wow." I managed to stammer. "You look amazing!"

She blushed just a little. "Ha! That's exactly the effect I was looking for. Like the lipstick?"

I nodded, knowing my jaw was recovering from its fall to the floor. "It looks fabulous - that 'kiss me now red."

She smirked just a little. "It's even flavored!"

I laughed. "With what? Cherry? Dr. Pepper?"

She leaned in to me quickly and pecked me on the lips, letting me feel some of the lipstick stay behind.

"Try it and tell me!" she said laughingly.

I tasted it with my tongue. Definitely the cherry variety, and I said so.

She grinned, and said "Yep! I knew you'd get it. Tracy just texted - she's only a minute away. And a good thing - you look fab! Those jeans are perfect for your ass!"

My turn to blush a little. "Well, someone did make some good suggestions . . . I just had to be smart enough to follow them."

We were both a little flushed at how much sexual tension had just been injected into our friendship - I know I was hugely turned on, and the flush on her face said the same was true for her.

Ting! Her phone announced a message, and she reached down for it. "Yep, Tracy is here. Ready?" She said.

We walked out to Tracy's SUV and got in. I'd met Tracy once before when she had dropped off some papers for Jeannette to work on over a weekend. Then, she'd been weekend casual. Nice looking, but not someone I'd really go after. Although she was much more dressed up, I felt the same about her - nice brown hair, good figure, etc., but she didn't create the tinge of interest I felt with women I was more interested in. Tracy took one look at us and laughed. "Wow, J, you might at least give him a chance! Don't tell me that's not your lipstick on his lip."

Jeannette turned to me and laughed, then reaching for a kleenex and wiping away the vestige of her cherry red lipstick. I then was introduced to Rachel, who was sitting in the front passenger seat. If I had let myself, I'd have been smitten. Rachel had long dark hair and a build similar to Jeannette - perfectly sized and shaped breasts that weren't too big but a bit bigger looking than Jeannette's (or was it just a different bra?), a lascivious mouth, dark eyes, and a face I just liked. I felt like I had hit the jackpot.

We drove to the club exchanging small talk and establishing how we'd seek help from each other - with me expecting to receive the bulk of the SOS calls. I was confident in my ability to do it - I'd done just about all of the Army's special warfare schools, and I was big enough at 6'1" and about 190 to make most people at least think twice about starting something.

The club was a well-known country dance place, and had a good size following. It was a big place, with room for what looked like hundreds on the main dance floor, with a lot of western style wood tables and chairs and stools arranged around it. It looked like the inside of a big barn, minus the hay. And I don't mean that as a criticism - as the British would say, it looked the business.

Once at the club, we were carded and they stamped the back of our hand with the official "over 21" stamp that allowed us to order alcoholic drinks. Pretty funny considering we were all well into our 30s or 40s! It was crowded, as you'd expect on a Saturday night. It was a pretty nice crowd, too - a lot less of the attitude that existed at the trendier downtown clubs. The music ranged from a live band that was actually quite good to a pair of DJs who would occasionally lapse into pure corniness. The whole place had a nice vibe to it, and I got the sense it would be a great night out.

We found a table with 3 bar stools fairly close to the dance floor, and ordered drinks from the waitress who happened by, and who looked like she was barely old enough to drink herself. The band announced a break, and we could actually talk without yelling at each other. We started off with the typical small talk, but it didn't take long for it to turn flirty, and I was a bit surprised that Tracy led the way. She made a show of looking me up and down, and then nodded thoughtfully before saying something in Rachel's ear.

Jeannette, of course, had to know. "What?" she asked of Tracy, who just smiled, glanced at me, and smiled again. "What? Come on, spill!"

Tracy leaned over to Jeannette's ear and whispered something I couldn't make out - I have good hearing and can usually overhear things like that, but the ambient noise level was just a bit too high. Jeannette, in turn, smiled, looked at me, back at Tracy and Rachel, and nodded.

My turn - I put my arm around Jeannette's waist and leaned in, "What was that all about?"

"Oh, nothing. Tracy just said you looked nice."

"That's it? Sure looked like there was a bit more to it than that."

Jeannette smirked just a little bit. "Well, actually, she said you looked good enough to eat."

I took it in stride. "Well, very flattering indeed." I decided to up the ante: "Tell her she's welcome to any time."

Jeannette didn't even blush, but turned to Tracy and whispered in her ear. Tracy, for her part, didn't blush either, just glancing at me and nodding a little bit, with a hint of a smile crossing her mouth.

The night was a blur - we danced a lot, drank a little bit, danced some more. Rachel and Jeannette were my primary dance partners, though I did a few with Tracy and a couple with other women who were there who asked or who just happened to be next up. All three women were asked to dance a lot - and I got a lot of different looks, most of them admiring for being with 3 great looking women.

Dancing with Rachel was a riot - she'd push her breasts into my chest or back, and grind her hips into me suggestively, smiling as she felt my body reflexively react. She was really gorgeous, as I mentioned earlier, and she had a good personality on top of it. I was really attracted to, and turned on by, her. And her flirting style left little to the imagination. If Jeannette hadn't been the one to ask me to join them, I'd have hooked up with Rachel faster than you could say "hell yes!"

Jeannette saw Rachel flirting shamelessly once and laughed, promptly coming out of the floor, cutting in on her, and then parodying what Rachel had been doing. I didn't complain a bit - the feel of Jeannette's body pressing into mine was fabulous. She felt it too - at one point, she leaned in and yelled in my ear "Don't let Rachel get her hooks in you! She's determined to hook up" and let her lips graze my ear as she said it. At least, I think she meant to do it - in the crush of bodies it could have been accidental. Either way, it was fun and suggestive. I just nodded and raised an eyebrow.

"You'll have to clue me in later - I know nothing about her!" I had to almost shout into Jeannette's ear as we danced. She laughed and nodded, motioning for me to get Tracy out on the floor.

Even more fun was slow dancing. I took turns with Tracy, Rachel, and Jeannette, and all three of them flirted - letting their breasts brush my chest, their hands wander down to my ass, breathing on my neck, and at one point Rachel nuzzled me on the neck. I, of course, had to return the favor, which didn't exactly help lower the temperature. Again, it was Jeannette to the "rescue" as one song ended and another started. "See what I mean about Rachel?" she said in my ear. I nodded, enjoying feeling her body so close to me. For that matter, Rachel felt pretty damn good pressed against me as well - she had bigger boobs than Jeannette.

"Don't worry - I always remember to dance with who brung me . . . " I said into Jeannette's ear, this time letting my lips just graze her ear and having the satisfaction of feeling her thrust her hips into mine, grinding as she felt me responding. She smiled.

"That's right - and don't you forget it, mister!" She said. I sensed a different vibe from her than before - a touch more aggressive, go get what she wants type of vibe. And it seemed like it was at least partly pointed at me, which was totally cool.

After our planning on how to help each other should anyone be receiving unwanted attention, it would have been almost disappointing to not have to put them into action at all. It turns out that Rachel drew the attention of a guy she had gone out with a couple of times a few months ago - they just didn't hit it off too well. Perhaps seeing her dressed as she was convinced him that he should try again - he kept asking her to dance, and she kept turning him down.

Eventually, though, they got matched up during one of the many switches common in country dancing. I don't know exactly what happened, but Jeannette nudged me and yelled in my ear that I needed to go cut in and "rescue" Rachel. Jeannette pointed to where Rachel was, and as Rachel saw me she beckoned me over. The guy was being just a bit too familiar - not obnoxiously grabby or anything, just . . . familiar.

As I walked over to them, I gave Rachel an inquisitive look - like, "May I cut in?" She smiled, nodded, and said something to the guy, who turned and looked at me. For a second it looked like he thought about trying to stay, but he just leaned in to Rachel's ear and said something, to which she said something back to him while pointing at me.

I took my cue and stepped in, tapping him on the shoulder and thanking him for dancing with my girl. He looked a bit confused, perhaps having seen me with Jeannette earlier, but left gracefully.

"Oh, thank god - I thought he was never going to leave!" Rachel said. We had moved away from the stage and the PA stack, so we didn't have to yell into each other's ear. "We dated a few times, but it never clicked. And he's a little too persistent."

"Seemed like he was at least smart enough to excuse himself - what did you say to him?"

"Well, I fibbed a bit - told him you were my other half and might not approve." She grinned, and moved in a bit closer. "You don't mind, do you?"

"Not a bit - that's part of the point, right?"

"Yep! Oh, hell, he's watching."

I glanced out of the corner of my eye - sure enough, he was locked in on Rachel, maybe to see if we really were going out or if she was just trying to be polite. "You're not kidding - I wonder if he's figured it out yet."

It was pretty funny - it seemed like he kinda knew the game, but wasn't sure. He must have been watching the four of us for a while, and couldn't quite figure out if any of us formed a couple. And to be fair, it would have been hard to tell.

"How hard do you want to shut him down?" I asked.

"Totally," she replied. "Any ideas?"

"Well, one . . . " I leaned in to her, my lips parting just a bit - the obvious 'move in for kiss' look. It took her a split second to figure it out and to process before she pulled me in a bit closer to her and put her lips on mine. I felt her tongue flick out and touch my lips, seeking my tongue, finding it, start to dance on mine. I thought I was going to explode right there - I could feel her breasts pushing into my chest, her arousal obvious, and she had one hand on my ass and the other on my back, pulling me toward her. And she ground her hips into my groin, moaning softly as she felt my erect cock straining through my jeans, rubbing against her.

It was right at that moment that the song ended, giving me a chance to untangle at least somewhat gracefully. I saw the guy looking at us and gave him a grin and a wave. He mouthed something that looked like "good luck" and then turned back into the crowd. I steered Rachel back to where Jeannette and Tracy were, and we proceeded to give them the play-by-play. There was a hint of something in Jeannette's eyes - I couldn't tell if it was jealousy, relief, or something else, while Tracy's eyes were shining as Rachel described kissing.

As we wound down the night, we decided to beat the crowd and left before closing. Jeannette and Rachel had had more to drink than I had, so I helped both of them to Tracy's SUV with an arm around each. Neither was too drunk to move - don't get me wrong. They were both just tired and slightly buzzed. And Rachel was being flirty, keeping one hand on my ass as we walked. Jeannette, for her part, made sure we were in constant contact, trying to keep our hips aligned. I'd by lying if I didn't say it felt amazing - and it was even more ego-boosting that Tracy seemed a bit disappointed not to be in the mix.

Tracy drove Jeannette and me home first, with Jeannette leaning against my shoulder. I reflexively put my arm around her so she wouldn't slide around too much, and helped her out when Tracy reached our building. After saying our goodbyes to Tracy and Rachel, we walked in to our building and Jeannette dropped her keys as she reached her door. I bent down to pick them up, and unlocked her door.