As always a huge thank you to my editor Cheer_Smartie526. This story is longer than usual, I hope you enjoy it.
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The line of brake lights on the road ahead of him seemed to stretch into infinity. Paul conceded to fate that he would not make his planned destination tonight and began maneuvering toward the next exit. He wasn't sure if it was construction, an accident or just a huge party he wasn't invited to, but something had brought traffic to a near standstill. He finally inched his way to the off ramp and on to the frontage road, then pulled into the first parking lot he could find. He pulled out his tablet, the screen flickered to life. One of the social media apps asked him if he would like to check in to the restaurant he had parked at. He tapped yes, then posted a question about where a decent hotel was, just in case any of his friends were familiar with the area. As the clock ticked over to midnight a reminder popped, it was Valentine's Day.
A few miles away in a quiet apartment, Sharon was splitting her attention between a late night movie, her laptop and the tempting vibrator on her nightstand. Because it was technically Valentine's day she had picked the red one. She scanned the news feed, browsing through what her friends were doing; the updates were few and far between. None of them caught her interest until she saw a post from a long lost college friend.
"Tired of fighting traffic, looking for a hotel. What is going on here, are there no available rooms?"
The post was from Paul; he had been a good friend in college, but they had lost touch over the years. She clicked over to his page. Reading through his posts it appeared he was on a road trip, and way behind schedule. Obviously he was not aware the highway he had chosen was undergoing emergency repairs after a bridge was declared unsafe after being hit by a large truck. She continued to explore his page. Even though they were friends the page seemed like it was restricted. Only the basic information was listed, and even that was vague. It showed the state he lived in, but not the city. It showed what field he worked in, but not his employer. Under relationship status it just said 'complicated'. She scanned through his photo albums. She recalled he was a prolific photographer, and some of the pictures of her in college were posted. There were newer pictures of him as well. She mentally noted that he had aged well, and still appeared to be in good shape. His all American features were simply a weathered version of what she remembered from college. Another post from him popped up, another complaint about how there were no decent hotels with rooms available. She began to reply to his post, and then paused.
In her opinion she has not aged as well as Paul had; for starters she had gained a bit of weight since college, despite following what she considered a reasonable diet and workout plan. She blamed genetics, the same genes that blessed her with large breasts also cursed her with large everything else. Her doctor had said she needed to lose about twenty pounds to be at her ideal weight, but she had not made much progress. She wondered what Paul would say if he saw her now. She decided to find out, and typed out a private message to Paul.
"My place isn't too far away; you are welcome to stay here," she wrote.
The options had come down to staying in a crappy hotel or parking at a nice hotel and sleeping in his car. Neither choice sounded very good. The tablet chirped and he saw that a new message had arrived; it was from Sharon, someone he had not seen in almost twenty years. She was offering him a place to stay. Her status showed she was online so he started a chat session
P: Hey stranger, it's been a while. S: Too long P: You really don't mind? S: Not at all, hope you like cats, I have about 30 P: Really?
He frowned. It wasn't that he hated cats, but the idea of sleeping in what sounded like an animal shelter was not appealing. He pulled up her profile, curious what she looked like as a crazy cat lady. The tablet chimed again as she replied.
S: JK, I have one, and I don't mind. P: How have you been? S: Good, and you? P: Great until I hit this traffic, I'm up way past my bedtime and getting hungry and cranky. Enough whining, looking forward to chatting with you IRL. S: Where are you now? P: Parking lot of some 24 hour waffle place just off the highway. S: I know where you are, it's only about ten minutes from my place. I think the food there is good. P: I am kind of hungry, you think it is good? S: I am not sure I have ever eaten there sober. I can meet you there in about fifteen minutes if you want to grab something to eat. P: Sounds good, I will get us a table. S: On my way.
When the chat ended Paul clicked on Sharon's profile. Not surprisingly there was a picture of her cat in the middle of the page. She had changed some since college, but still had the same lively blue eyes. As he scanned through her photo albums he noticed that most of the pictures of her were close cropped head shots, the rest were group photos that had been take from so far away that he could not pick her out. There was one picture of her that included her shoulders and just a hint of her big tits. Satisfied that he would be able to recognize her when she arrived, he put the tablet away and walked into the restaurant.
As she hurriedly dressed, Sharon thought about the relationship she had with Paul during college. They had been friends, but the benefits had all been platonic. He had always been there for her when she needed anything, and she was attracted to him, but it seemed like they were never both single at the same time. When she was looking he would have a steady girlfriend and vice versa. He had slept over at her apartment a few times, but always on the couch. The status on his profile of 'complicated' intrigued her and she wondered if that also meant 'looking'. She decided on a pair of jeans and a shirt that showed a bit of cleavage. It wasn't the most flattering outfit, but anything dressier would have seemed out of place for her destination.
Despite the posted policy of not seating incomplete parties, the hostess took Paul to a booth. The restaurant was not very crowded. The patrons appeared to mostly be late night shift workers. There was one group that looked like they had just come from a dance club, but they were clearly the exception, not the norm. Each time the door opened he looked up, hoping to see Sharon walk in. The first few were false alarms and he resumed looking over the menu after confirming it was not his long lost friend that had arrived.
As she drove through the parking lot she tried to guess which car belonged to Paul. There were several choices; sedans, sports cars, trucks and a one jeep. She parked her car and began to walk towards the parking lot. She felt unexpectedly nervous and excited about seeing him again. As she approached the door she noticed the establishment's half hearted observance of Valentine's Day, a hand written sign offering heart shaped strawberry pancakes. She wasn't in a relationship and didn't have any plans to celebrate the event, but suddenly she wondered if Paul's arrival on this day was fate trying to tell her something. She stepped through the door and approached the hostess's stand.
"Hi, I'm supposed to meet someone here," Sharon said.
"Probably that guy in the booth, he said to expect you," the hostess replied.
Sharon looked in the direction the hostess was pointing. Paul was standing up and waving to her. He appearance was almost unchanged from when knew him in college; he was even wearing jeans and a short sleeved button down shirt, his standard outfit.
"Thanks," she called over her shoulder as she walked briskly across the room.
It was certainly Sharon, but not exactly the Sharon he knew in college. She had never been petite, but now she was even less so. She still had pleasingly large breasts, but the rest of her body appeared to be catching up. She wasn't obese, but he guessed she probably had received a lecture about BMI from her doctor once or twice. The change in her appearance did not stop him from smiling as she approached. She greeted him with an enthusiastic hug and they took their seats.
"It's great to see you," Sharon gushed.
"You as well, and thanks again for rescuing me. What's going on? The traffic is crazy and there are no decent hotel rooms," he asked.
"Uh-huh," she replied. One thing that had slipped her mind was the sound of his voice. It was deep and had just a hint of a southern accent, and hearing it made her knees weak and her nipples hard.
