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Copyright 2000 by Rod Harden All rights reserved |
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Appleby sat in his usual seat on his usual bus. He stared out at the usual city scenes, thinking his usual thoughts. For the millionth time he wondered what it was about riding the bus that always gave him a hard-on. As usual, he kept his hands neatly folded in his lap, hiding the bulge in the neatly pressed trousers of his navy blue pin-striped suit.
Appleby was not like the other lawyers in his company. He considered it a badge of honor to use public transportation. "One less polluting car on the road," he would say. But he also liked the free time it gave him. Frequently he read, but he also would just sit and think, like today. His bus-ride-induced erection was just beginning to subside, when she got on. He noticed her standing by the curb as the bus pulled up to the stop. And if Appleby did not look the part of a city bus rider in his expensively tailored suit, the woman looked even less so. She climbed aboard and began fumbling for change, trying to keep her balance as the driver pulled into traffic. Watching her, Appleby realized she was just as out of place as she looked. He couldn't help staring at her. He'd never seen hair that color before. It reminded him of brightly polished copper. It can't possibly be her natural color, he told himself. But already he was hoping for the chance to find out. Either way, her hair contrasted nicely with the light tan skirt and teal blouse she wore. As she continued to drop coins in the box, Appleby noticed that the seat next to him was one of only two or three remaining. He realized his chances were good that she'd soon be sitting right next to him. He squinted his eyes, staring at the back of her neck, trying to will her into sitting there. At last, she'd dropped enough change in the slot, and turned to find a seat. When he got his first glimpse of her face, the word "perky" sprang to mind immediately, even though she wore an expression that said "don't bother me." But he didn't want her to notice him staring, so he quickly turned his attention to the view out the window. Too much eye contact in this setting was not good. He held his breath as she neared his seat. She hesitated, then finally sat down next to him. Yes! he said to himself, as he felt his hard-on become reinvigorated at the slight touch of her hips against his. Appleby felt that fate was truly smiling on him at that moment; little did he know it was more of a mischievous grin. Now he had to find some way to strike up a conversation. Should he start with the weather, introduce himself, what? Should he be obvious or subtle? As he considered his options, he snuck a glance her way. She'd already pulled a crossword puzzle and pencil from her purse and began to fill in squares. He was still trying to decide how to strike up a conversation, when a sudden bump caused the woman to drop her pencil. Immediately, Appleby realized this was a perfect opening. He would offer her his mechanical pencil. She'd be thankful. They'd start conversing. One thing would lead to another. But, as he lifted his hands off his lap to reach into his breast pocket, the woman bent down to try to pick up her pencil. And just at that precise moment, a car sped out of a side street, careening in front of the bus, causing the bus driver to swerve wildly to the left. The swerving bus caused the woman, already bent over in his direction, to fall face first into Appleby's lap, the very lap containing his erect cock, now left unprotected as he reached for his pencil. Then, as if that was not bad enough, the bus stopped short, throwing Appleby forward. He appeared to all the world as if he were pressing the woman's face even deeper into his lap. The entire episode lasted mere seconds. Appleby pulled himself upright, feeling the blood rush to his face. He knew the woman had gotten a mouthful, or at least a cheekful, of his stiff cock. She sat up as quickly as she could and stared fiercely away from him. The bus turned back into traffic and continued into town as though nothing had happened. Appleby sat thinking desperately. He knew he had to say something, but what? "I-" he started to say. "You-" he continued. "It's okay," she hissed without looking at him. "But-" he persisted. "Just forget it!" she hissed louder.
Of Buses and Erections
Shit! he thought. Talk about first impressions. Well, I sure made an impression, all right. He stared out the window, but from the corner of his eye, he noticed the woman again going through her purse. She found a pen, and resumed working on her crossword puzzle. Maybe he could still salvage the situation by saying something humorous, something to dissipate the awkwardness hanging in the air between them. Yes, that was it. He wasn't going to let this opportunity get away from him.
"You better keep a good tight grip on it this time," he said with a chuckle.
But instead of laughing, she shot him a look of horror mixed with disgust. Why would she react to his little joke like that? He stared at her for a moment, puzzled. Then he suddenly understood. "Your pen!" he blurted. "I meant you better hold onto your pen! Not my, uh, not, I mean, you know. Your pen. Oh jeez..." His voice trailed off into an uncomfortable silence.
Two stops later, she got off the bus.
Appleby felt hopeless. A beautiful woman gets on his bus and sits next to him. A perfect chance to meet someone really new, and all he ends up with is a dirty look. His stop was next, so he rang the bell, resigned to getting on with the day.
He sauntered into his office, dejected. He couldn't stop replaying those few seconds. If only he hadn't been reaching for his pencil, he could have caught her when she lost her balance. Then she would have been grateful, and thanked him, and agreed to meet him for lunch. Oh well, he thought, at least I still have the vision of her copper hair splayed out in my lap...
He had an early meeting that day, which he set about preparing for at once. When the big shots said "I'll have my people get with your people," Appleby was one of the people. The meeting was to finalize terms with a new client, and his role was fairly perfunctory. He wouldn't really be needed unless some disagreement arose, and all the major points had already been agreed upon.
His group waited in the conference room for the other "people," already ten minutes late. He fidgeted with the mechanical pencil he would have lent the woman on the bus. Never even got a good look at her face, he realized.
At last he saw a group of suits coming down the hall. Amongst the suits, he thought he saw - no he did see - a teal blouse and copper hair. My God! he thought. She's one of their "people."
The suits and the bus-woman entered the conference room. The leader of their group explained that they were late because Jane couldn't start her car that morning and had to take the bus in.
Appleby's boss, Howard, led the introductions, while he and Jane exchanged furtive glances. Fate was giving him one more chance with this woman. How should he use it? he wondered. He felt so nervous now. Did she still think he was the pervert on the bus? Or would she be able to see him differently now, in this setting?
Howard seemed to deliberately leave Appleby and Jane for last. But finally he said, "Well, we mustn't forget the attorneys. Appleby, I'd like you to meet the newest member of Quigley's legal team, Jane Curtis. Jane, this is Richard Appleby."
"How do you do, Mr. Appleby," said Jane, wearing a polite smile, and shaking Appleby's hand.
"Please, Ms. Curtis," said Appleby slowly and intentionally, "call me Dick."
Jane's hand stopped in mid shake. She studied Appleby's face. He allowed the corners of his mouth to lift slightly in a sheepish grin. He maintained his grip on her hand, not letting go. A moment's silence passed during which she let her gaze fall to his crotch. She quickly caught herself, meeting his eyes again. Then her chin began to quiver slightly. Her lips lifted in a smile and she could no longer hold in her laughter.
"Of course... Dick," she said, resuming their hand shake. "And you may call me Jane." Now they were both laughing heartily.
"You two seem to know each other already," interjected Howard.
Appleby stared suddenly at Howard as if he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "I- we- the bus-" he articulated.
"What Dick is trying to say," offered Jane, "is that we bumped into each other on the bus this morning."
"Oh, right. Of course," said Howard, as if he understood it all. "Appleby rides the bus every day, you know."
The rest of the meeting went quite smoothly. Appleby managed to fill a whole page with doodles and geometric patterns. Some of the doodles contained his impression of the curve of Jane's lips. He had plenty of time to study those lips now, and everything else about the face he'd initially thought of as perky. And she was, in fact, "perky," but there was a keenness, an intelligence, to her as well. He liked the depth he saw in her gray-green eyes whenever she looked his way. And was that a sparkle of interest he saw or his own wishful thinking?
In the hall after the meeting, he managed to find a moment with her away from the others. "Jane," he said, "about this morning..."
"Wait," she interrupted, "before you go on, I should tell you I've been thinking that, well, maybe I overreacted a bit this morning. It was just so unexpected, such a... shock. I mean, I know that men, uh, that these things, um..." She sighed. "You know, I guess I could look at it as a compliment."
"Yes!" he practically shouted, seizing upon her thought. "Please do look at it that way. And... if you're free tonight, I'd like to treat you to dinner. It's the least I could do to make up for this morning."
She considered his invitation a moment, then nodded. "Sure," she smiled. "I'd like that."
They agreed on a time and place, and turned to go their separate ways, when Appleby heard her calling to him. He turned. "Dick," she said with a deliberate glance to his pants. "Maybe we should take the bus."
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