It all started with a hug.
I was out for a walk in the neighborhood when I heard a car pull out and screech its tires as it pulled away.
It was Juan. Of course.
Who else but the guy with the muscle car in a quiet suburban area would make that much noise.
Then I saw his wife, Carmen, standing by the door, crying.
Like every Latina I ever met, Carmen has curves in all the right places. A full ass and enormous breasts that she always encased in tight clothing - dresses, skirts, shorts, and bathing suits (we have a neighbor who has pool parties all summer; she usually covers up with a t shirt but once she took it off when it got soaked; I was the only one who saw it but it left an impression....). She had thick, jet black hair and went past her shoulders.
She was younger than me (I was around 45 at the time and she was in her early 30s). But again, we found much in common since we lived in the same neighborhood.
I am an empathetic guy. I see a woman crying, I want to help.
I walked up to her and asked if everything was ok. She wiped her eyes and said, "I'm fine. You know Juan."
Yeah, I did. He was an asshole.
The guy owned a chain of three car repair shops. He was big, brawny and gruff. Exactly what you would expect of a guy who owned three car repair shops.
He was tolerable to me as long as he did not drink; talk about women; or anything other than car and lawn maintenance. When we spoke about mundane things, we were fine.
But he loved talking about women to me; not his wife. Women who came to the shop. Women he saw on TV. Women who worked in his office.
Women, women, women.
I knew better than to ask what started her crying. I would imagine it was his philandering. What else?
Like many women, she pretended to not notice her husband's inappropriate talk. It was more embarrassing to me since she was never far away.
Since we knew each other for some time, I took the liberty of opening my arms to hug Carmen. She looked at me oddly at first and I felt terribly because I thought she was going to reject me; maybe think of me as a pervert.
But she hugged me. Hard. Pulled me to her. Embraced me. Her gorgeous breasts crushing up against my chest, crying wordlessly.
I wish I could say that led to hot sex, but it did not. It was just a long, caring hug. Neither of us wanted it to end. There was some caressing and a chaste kiss on the forehead from me to her.
But there was no hiding my erection against her body.
We extracted, somewhat embarrassed but not as much as I feared. She apologized. I said it was nothing. I told her to call me if she needed anything. She smiled and went back inside.
Fast forward a month.
The power on Carmen's side of the neighborhood went out one night, in the heat of the summer. Several families on that block found refuge with neighbors. I sent Juan a text offering my home for his family.
Juan's message was: "yeah, we are fine. We are Caribbean. This is nothing compared to the islands. thanks anyhow!"
Okay, whatever.
A few minutes later, he texts me back: "On second thought, we will take you up on the offer. We will be over soon."
I made up the guest room and put a small mattress on the floor for their young son, Juanito.
When they came to my house, around 10PM, Juan and Juanito were at the door first. I welcomed them in. I told Juan I work from home around the clock, as we walked to their room, so I would see them when I see them.