Of course the culture was something I was used to – I used to live here, after all. It’s not like I was stepping into the twilight zone where everything was flipped on its head, I was stepping back into my old stomping grounds. I wasn’t sure what would be here waiting for me, but I knew it wouldn’t be the same as I left it. After all, the only constant thing in this world is change itself.
“Hey, man, we’re playing poker tonight if you wanna join us,” Aaron said from the cab of his truck as I walked by towards my car.
“Right on, when?” I asked, stopping at the open window of his truck.
“I don’t know, probably around seven or eight. You in?”
“Yeah, don’t see why not,” I shrugged, before continuing the short trip to my car.
“Cool, see ya then.”
***
I had been warned that Debbie was pretty good looking for an older woman; I just didn’t realize she looked as good as they were saying. I figured they were just messing with me since I had been so gullible to believe just about anything they would say in the past. I had learned a lot in my time away, so they weren’t going to pull one on me so easily this time.
“Dude, you’re so full of shit!”
“I promise, Mike. She’s pretty hot, but I know she’s not easy. Simon tried to get with her, but failed miserably,” he added with a laugh.
Simon was, by most standards, a pretty good looking guy that really didn’t have a problem picking up a girl when we’d go out. Being good at getting girls our age was his specialty; getting older women, not so much. He didn’t know how to talk to the cougar like he did with the younger girl. He didn’t how to be blunt and unabashed. That’s where my skill set came in.
“Damn, that’s pretty crazy,” I lied, acting surprised before taking another drink of my beer.
“Yup, so good luck if you decide to go after her.”
Challenge accepted.
They knew my preferences for older women so it really wasn’t a surprise that they made the effort to get me to notice her. When she walked into Nate’s garage, I looked up expecting to see an older woman that may not have exactly been appealing to the eyes. Instead, I looked up to see a bomb shell of a red head. They weren’t fucking with me and, for once, I looked like the ass.
“Told you so,” Aaron said after seeing the shocked look on my face.
Fuck me running…
“Yeah, not bad,” I replied, still looking at her.
We continued playing poker with Debbie there. She’s friends with both Nate and Aaron’s wives so she came over to hang out with them. Naturally that meant she had to come into the garage to say hi to the rest of the guys there since she was freshly single and no restrictions were on her. Sometimes she could be a distraction since some of the single guys couldn’t keep their eyes off her, me included. I couldn’t blame them, I was right there with the gawking, but it was also a little irritating having to yell at someone to either make a move or fold their hand because of Debbie’s hot ass lingering in the garage.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” Debbie said as she followed me to the fridge that was located in the other room so I could grab another beer.
“I actually just moved back here from Wyoming. I was there for three years,” I replied, hanging out in the lobby of the garage just to have some alone time with her.
“Oh, nice. So how do you know all these guys?”
“I went to high school with Aaron and Austin. I was down last year for Aaron’s bachelor party and that’s how I met Will, Nate and Charles,” I replied, taking a swig of my drink.
“Well, that’s cool,” she began with a smile, “what’s your name?”
“Mike. And you’re Debbie, correct?”
“Yes. How’d you know?” She asked.
“I heard about the Simon debacle,” I said with a wink and a smile. I wasn’t too sure how that would boil over with her, but I felt it was necessary to show her that I wasn’t afraid to poke fun at anyone, including her. Sometimes it got me into trouble, but I wasn’t worried about it that night. I knew the pool of women here was much deeper than it was in Wyoming.
“Oh? And what did you hear?” she asked, clearly puzzled that I knew something about her.
“That he tried to get you to hook up with him, but it ended badly.”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. It’s kind of awkward with him here. I know I should go inside the house, but it is kinda fun seeing him squirm every time I look at him,” she said with a grin before adding a wink.
I could see the confidence she had about her, like she didn’t give a fuck if anyone liked her or not. She was a woman who knew what she wanted and knew how to get it. She just went through a divorce with her husband of eighteen years who was as controlling and possessive as someone can get. He always questioned her whenever she came home from work, the gym or even from a night out with her friends. The clamps on her took their toll, but she finally had enough and ended what had been eighteen long years that produced two daughters and a lot of heartache.
“Yeah,” I said with a laugh, “he told me you were hot, but definitely not easy to crack.”
“Well, he was talking all this shit saying how easy it would be for him to get into my pants. I just wanted to make him feel like a little boy and that his game wasn’t as great as he thought it was. Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good looking guy, but not a guy I’d ever do anything with.”
“That’s good, but I do have to agree with him to an extent – you are hot,” I added with a wink.
“To an extent? You think I’m hot, but what don’t you agree with him about?” She looked confused which indicated to me that what I said went right over her head.
“Yeah, I think you’re hot, but I don’t think you’re impossible to crack.”
The expression on her face almost turned to anger as she thought about what I said. “Do you think I’m easy? You don’t even know me and you already think I’ll let just anyone in my pants?”
“No! I don’t think you’re easy, I just don’t think you’re as difficult as he makes you out to be.”
“I look at it this way, if a guy is interested in me and plays his cards right, he has a pretty good shot at getting with me,” she said, her expression changing.
“Ah, I’ll keep that in mind. But, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to the table before they fold my hand for me. I have some cards I need to play,” I shot at her with a wink before walking back to the table.
The poker game continued for the next couple of hours even though I wasn’t really focused on it because of Debbie’s lingering presence. Even though she was there, I did my best to try and ignore her to see how she was going to react to my lack of attention to her even after the conversation we had in the other room. She didn’t seem too effected by it at first, but the more I ignored her, the more she tried to get my attention. She even went as far as sitting next to Simon and starting a conversation, hoping that would make me pay more attention to her. I smiled to myself knowing that he didn’t have a snowball chance in hell, but I wasn’t going to break my resolve.
I made eye contact with her throughout the night, but didn’t say much to her unless she asked me a question or made a comment about the hand I played. I think the other guys caught on to what was taking place between us but no one said anything to me even though there were plenty of chances to when she would get up and get me a new beer without me asking for one.
The poker game finally wrapped up and everyone left except for Simon, Debbie and I. The three of us sat in the garage and talked while Nate went inside and everyone else went home. I was staying with Aaron at the time, which was convenient because he lived next door to Nate. I was literally steps away from the back door that he always kept unlocked.
Simon’s new interest in Debbie became overwhelmingly obvious as well as irritating. I didn’t want to step on his toes and build a wall between us since we just met, but I didn’t want him to ruin whatever chances I may have had with Debbie if he was to step in and take her that night. I wasn’t cool with double dipping into something that a friend, or potential friend, had already dipped into. That’s not how I rolled.
Oh geez, Simon. Go home already. You’re drunk and making yourself look like a total ass!
“Simon! Go home, you’re drunk!” Debbie said to him with a little sternness behind her words as if she heard what I was thinking.
“I’m not that drunk, woman!” he shot back, clearly not wanting to go home without getting a piece of her pussy first. “What’s wrong with you, anyways? Why don’t you want me?”
“I don’t want you because you’re an arrogant ass who thinks you can get with any girl you want. I’m a grown ass woman who doesn’t fall for the shit like little girls do. That’s what’s wrong with me,” she said, causing me to feel kind of bad for the guy even though he brought it upon himself.
“Wow, you’re a bitch,” he said before getting up and walking out of the garage.
“Well, that was interesting,” I said after Simon had drove off.
“You’re telling me,” she replied before going to the refrigerator to get us another round of beers.
I’m not sure how things proceeded after Simon left, but I do remember that we kept drinking in the garage and our conversation gradually became sexual. It all began innocently enough, like most conversations do, but the more we drank, the more I didn’t care. I knew from past experience that older women usually only want one thing – sex.
Most of the time cougars are looking for something with no strings attached. They’ve already been through the rigmaroles of marriage and have dealt with the bullshit that comes along with it. Usually they’re not interested in getting into any type of relationship unless it’s beneficial.