Unstoppable Erica

Wendy's Turn.

I believe there comes a time, when everything just falls in line.
We live and learn from our mistakes, the deepest cuts are healed by faith.
All Fired Up!
Pat Benatar.

In striking contrast, most men experienced friendly, but not flirty Erica, and she seemed more than capable of handling their constant attention. She effortlessly met unwanted advances with polite, but unmistakable rebuffs.

Erica's well justified confidence in her beauty allowed her to view male interest simply as wanted or unwanted, with no judgment. Being the hottest woman in almost any room meant she had no need for external validation.

I shared Erica's flirty side with two other men at the restaurant. The first was Jack, another assistant manager. At thirty five, he should not have even been humoring Erica, but I understood. After all, I had been on the receiving end of her enticements, and I doubted I could have completely ignored her had I been a decade or two older. I never saw any evidence of them getting together, but she clearly had attraction to the perpetually tanned, fit, and mustached surfer.

Samuel, the second man who Erica directed her charms to, was taken.

By Wendy.

To be fair, Wendy had confided to me, that she was not going to be with him much longer. Still, Erica's actions annoyed Wendy, and made her uncharacteristically catty. One night, Wendy confronted me. "Ray, I know Erica has you under her spell, but do you see what kind of a person she is?"

I admitted, "I sort of know what you're talking about, but Erica's really nice to me."

I had seen no evidence that Erica had done anything but befriend all the unattractive women at work. Though they clearly coordinated their actions, it looked to me like Erica's allies made work life unpleasant for the desirable girls all on their own.

Wendy glared at me, "Of course Erica's nice to you, Ray. She's manipulating you. Tell me, what has she asked you to do for her?"

Like write her own schedule?

I stared at Wendy, then lightly hugged her. Erica had not requested anything from me, other than my lusty attention, but I didn't like to see Wendy this way.

My fingers gently rubbed her soft back and arms. "Wendy, you're a much better woman than she will ever be. Erica's just a fun distraction to me, and I'm not even really that interested."

That's a lie. I fantasized about her before work yesterday...

Wendy pressed her whole body against me. I rarely had this much physical contact with my friend, and felt a growing desire for her. She seductively murmured, "Thank you., Ray. That was very kind. It's something I really appreciate about you. Hold me just a little longer. This is nice."

Yes, it is...

Just because it seemed like the right thing to say, I asked, "Beers tonight, Wendy?"

"No, not tonite."

I released her, and she sighed, "Wait wait, wait. I was going to see Samuel, but you know what? I'm done. Erica's welcome to him. Yes, I'm coming over."

Holy shit, we might finally hook up! I hope nothing goes wrong...

***************

February 1985.

"Ray, I haven't seen Wendy for awhile. Does she still work with you?"

I had not told Nick that Wendy and I had gone to Disneyland on Christmas Eve, then became intimate at her apartment.

"Yeah, Nick, she's still there. I'll see if she wants to come over tomorrow."

"Cool. I like her. You know, you should..."

I sighed. "Yeah, I know, I know, we should hook up. We'll see."

I had also not mentioned to Nick that I had not felt anything romantic for Wendy that night. She didn't seem too into it either, despite her best efforts to make me comfortable. The temptation to treat her as a fuck-buddy had been strong, and I got the impression she wanted to try. Perhaps we could slowly fall in love, but I had just been through a similar thing with Alice. My desire for Erica still burned strong, and overwhelmed what I felt for Wendy, so I didn't see a happy future with her as a lover.

Despite the awkwardness for me, and the pain for her, we had agreed to go back to being friends, and perhaps try again sometime later. So far, resuming our light hearted joking around at the restaurant had come easily, but having her over for drinks after work, might get uncomfortable.

I guess there's no harm in asking...

**************

Wendy walked with me to our cars, as the full moon illuminated the parking lot puddles from the recent shower. "Damn, Ray. That was a tough close! Hey, how has Nick been? Did you guys ever finish recording that song you played last time I was there?"

Even I could take that hint. "He's good, Wendy. Do you want to come over and hang out, like you used to?"

"I'd love to. See you there!"

Wendy makes everything easy. I wish it had worked out for us. Ahh well, I would have just hurt her...

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