Dear Readers: This story is a work of fiction. All names, places, and events depicted in this story are wholly fictitious and any resemblance to, connection with, or relation to any real people, places, or events is purely coincidental, unintentional, and unintended.
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As I sit here at my computer and work on my latest project, I wonder just how I ever got to be so lucky. I have a nice house in a quiet neighborhood, a thriving business, a wonderful son who is quickly becoming a soccer prodigy, and a better, more beautiful woman than any average, slightly balding, 44 year old single dad deserves.
Please allow me to explain...
Four years ago my wife died of a brain aneurysm. It wasn't anyone's fault. She was simply planting flowers in our garden one minute and then a couple minutes later she was gone. Our next door neighbor at the time saw her fall over and rushed to help, but there was nothing that could be done.
In an instant I became a single dad raising a 6 year old son. My parents were too old to help, and I had no other relatives near by. Day care didn't work out, and a live-in house keeper/nanny was too expensive. My son Tommy wasn't taking the loss of his mom very well and was starting to have trouble in school, and I was starting to miss a lot of work. After 2 years of frustration, depression, and mourning I finally decided that it was time for a change.
So I quit my job, moved to the Midwest, bought a new house, and I started working as a free lance programmer. My old company was kind enough to hire me to work on a couple solo projects and then recommended me to other companies for several more. I soon had thriving one man business.
Having my own free lance business was perfect because it allowed me to work from home. I was there when Tommy left for school in the morning and when he came home in the afternoon. We grew much closer and experienced things together that usually only moms get to do. The extra attention Tommy got from me was just what he needed. He came out of his shell and started doing well in school again. After a few months he even told me he wanted to start playing soccer. It was the first time he had expressed an interest in any kind of outside activity since his mom died, so I signed him up the next day. And that is when my life really began to change.
A week later I stood on the side lines by myself and watched as Tommy went through his first practice. Since he had never played the game before, he wasn't nearly as skilled as the other boys, but he made up it with sheer speed and stubborn determination. I was surprised because I had never realized he was so fast. The coach clearly recognized it as well.
There were a couple of moms clustered together nearby, chatting about this and that. Eventually one of them -- an attractive redhead with sparkling green eyes -- walked over to me and asked, "Which one is yours?"
"Oh. My son is the kid in the green shirt," I replied.
"I thought so. He looks like you. Hi my name is Roxanne Walsh," she held out her hand.
"It's nice to meet you, Roxanne. My name is Bob Castle."
"Call me Roxie. Everyone does." The she asked, "Do you work nearby? I only ask because we don't usually see the dads at weekday practice."
"Uh, my wife died a few years back, so I work at home and take care of Tommy."
Roxie cringed, "Oh, I am so sorry. That's me, always talking without thinking. I hope you don't think I'm rude."
"It's OK. You had no way of knowing." After an awkward pause I asked, "Which one is your son?"
"Oh. Jason is the big one paired up with your boy."
"I see. He looks pretty good."
"Yeah, he is. He has been playing since he was 5."
In a flash, I thought I saw a way to help Tommy make a friend and get better at soccer. I asked Roxie, "Do you think he would mind showing Tommy the ropes? I mean, since it is Tommy's first year."
She replied, "I don't see why not. I am sure Jason would love to help him. And if he doesn't, I'll kick his ass!'
I laughed, "Sounds like you run a tight ship."
She smiled, "I do. A single mom can't give an inch."
I thought, "Hmmm, she's a single mom," but I then I quickly abandoned the idea. I hadn't had a date since Laura died, and I wasn't looking for a relationship. Also, a woman like Roxie was clearly out of my league. Mostly I think I was scared of what it might do to Tommy.
The practice ended and the boys came running over.
Jason yelled, "Hey mom, can we stop at McDonalds? I'm starved."
Roxie said, "Sorry champ. Dinner is already in the oven. By the way Jason, would you like to help Tommy learn soccer? Mr. Castle was wondering if you would help him out."
Jason looked at Tommy and said, "Sure. Tommy is the fastest kid I've ever seen. He is gonna make a great forward."
Tommy said excitedly, "Can I dad?"
I laughed, "Sure thing son. Roxie, why don't you give me your email address? Then we can compare schedules and set up a date for the boys to work together."
Jason chimed in, "She can't. She busted the computer."
Roxie glared at him, "Pipe down, mister." Then she laughed, "He's right. I guess I messed something up."
Tommy said proudly, "My dad can fix it. He's a genius with computers."
Roxie eyed me joking, "Is that true Bob? Are you some kind of computer genius?"
I said, "Well, I don't know about that, but I would be happy to take a look. I suppose I could come by right after I drop Tommy at school tomorrow morning."
Jason jumped a foot in the air, "All Right! I'll be able to play my games again."
Roxie said, "That's enough of that Jason." Then she said, "Bob, it's awfully nice of you to offer..."
I said, "No worries. I am sure it probably isn't too bad. I'd be happy to do it."
Roxie smiled and then dug a pad of paper out of her purse and wrote down her address and phone number. "Well OK. Here you go. I guess I'll see you in the morning."
I took the paper and said, "First thing. See you then."
The next morning I knocked on Roxie's door. I had brought a handful of floppies and CDs with various utilities so I could diagnose her sick machine. She opened up and said, "Oh Bob. I didn't expect you so soon. I was just about to jump in the shower."
I said, "I can come back another time if you like." Roxie looked a little bit groggy, standing there in a thick, pink bathrobe and fuzzy pink slippers. With her hair mussed-up, and wearing no makeup, she definitely didn't look like the well dressed, attractive woman I had met the previous day
"No. No. It's alright. Come on in. I'll show you where the computer is."
She led me to the family room saying, "I'm sorry, I must look frightening. I had kind of a late night last night." Then she pointed, "It's in here."
Her PC was surrounded by chaos on a small desk in an alcove in the family room. It wasn't more than a year old, so I didn't think it would have a hardware problem. I stacked her papers neatly, rearranged the clutter to give myself room to work, and then turned the machine on. It booted up smoothly and then froze.
"Hmmm, that's weird." I muttered. "Maybe a virus..."
I inserted a bootable CD-ROM with a virus scanner on it and restarted the sick machine. The software loaded quickly and then started to run, scanning every file on the disk. After about 30 seconds I said to Roxie, "There is no need for you to just sit here. This will be like watching the grass grow. I will yell if I need anything."
Roxie said, "Perfect. I'll just grab a quick shower. I'll only be a few minutes."
"Take your time," I said.
Roxie disappeared upstairs and I turned back and watched the scanner run. It had already found several system files that were infected. I figured they weren't the source of the infection so I let it continue. It got through about 15,000 files and then kicked out about 20 files in a row that were flagged as infected. Those files looked interesting, "probably downloaded carrying the virus," I thought. I wrote down the file names and waited.
The scan finished shortly after that. I clicked on the button to clean all the infected files and the software reported that it had successfully removed the virus. Then I rebooted the computer and watched as this time it started up smoothly. I ran a few additional diagnostics to make sure the hardware was all working, and then checked her Internet connection. Everything was in working order.
I looked back at the list of infected files. Except for the system files, every other one was an image file in a single directory. I browsed over to the files and clicked on the first one.
I stopped breathing when I saw that it was a digital photo of Roxie, fully nude and in a very provocative pose. I clicked on another one, and it was more of the same. I could still hear the shower running, so I clicked on a few more. They were all part of a series of shots of Roxie, in various poses, some in lingerie, some nude. They were obviously professionally done, tasteful, and very artistic. Roxie looked fabulous; green eyes, flaming red hair, flawless, milky white skin, and large, firm breasts, highlighting a very curvy and voluptuous body.
I clicked on one more. This one was a shot of Roxie on her side, with her legs spread and one hand stroking her pussy lips while she sucked on a man's cock. I stared at that photo for at least 30 seconds, until I realized my own cock was starting to grow.
Just then I noticed the shower had stopped. I quickly closed the file, and put away my stuff, then moved over to sit on the sofa. While I waited I flipped through a magazine, not really reading it; trying not to become excited by the thought of Roxie's magnificent body.