Chapter 1
Another late night at the office. These proposals never seem to end and it doesn’t help that I have a boss that constantly breathes down my neck. I rushed to the ATM just outside the office. Need to take some cash for the missus. It’s 7:30 and Lily is coming to pick me up. She drove the car to work today.
There is a short queue at the machine. A petite woman in a nice wrap dress and high heels is stashing wads of cash into her purse. I thought, “What is taking this lady so long? Is she taking all the money from the ATM?” Finally, my turn! She stepped to the side shot me a brief glance and an apologetic smile. “Sorry, I took so long,” she said. Then she walked to the driveway.
I thought she looked familiar. I shoved the cash and receipt in my wallet. Looked at my phone. Message from the missus, “Chet, just left the office. Will be a little late.” What else is new? I knew this was coming. Lily and I have been together for thirty years. We’ve fallen into a routine and our relationship has become more of brother and sister rather than husband and wife.
The woman is still standing at the driveway, typing on her phone. She must be waiting for her husband. I give her another look. It couldn’t be! Then she picked up the phone and I heard that oh so familiar voice. She hung up and looked my way. Our eyes met and there was a long pregnant silence. “Olivia? Olivia! Oh, it’s really you. I almost did not recognize you,” I said. Awkward! Should I hug her or just shake her hand?
She was the epitome of class; always cool, calm and collected. “Oh hi Thomas, what a pleasant surprise,” then extended her hand for a firm handshake.
I could hear my heart pounding. “When did you get back? Are you back for good?” I asked.
“No, just here for a series of meetings. How have you been?”
“I’ve been okay, I guess. Still working for the same company?” I asked.
“Yes. Been doing a lot of traveling though.” Olivia has always been driven and clear with her priorities. She did very well at university, pursued her Masters in Business and was already Director of Marketing at thirty when I first met her. I wanted to ask her for her number but saw Lily coming through the driveway. “Wifey is here. Until when are you here? Maybe we can have coffee one of these days?”
“I leave in a couple of days. It was nice seeing you again.” With that she shook my hand again, smiled and waved to acknowledge my wife.
“Sorry, Chet. Boss caught up with me on my way out.” She waved back at Olivia as she exited the driveway and said, “Nice lady. Who is she?”
“Former client who has moved to Hong Kong. Bumped into her while waiting for you. She’s here for a conference,” I said.
“So classy. I think that’s a Berkin she’s carrying. The shoes look like they’re Louboutin’s. That dress she’s wearing is easily $600. That’s DVF,” she ranted.
“A what?” I asked. She noticed all that with just a brief glance? Women!
“DVF – Diane Von Furstenberg. Top designer. Is married? Is she a tai-tai? She sure looks like one.”
“I don’t know. I did not ask her,” I replied. I took my wallet and handed the cash to Lily. “For this month’s expenses.” She took the cash and said a quick “thank you, Chet.”
We rode in silence on our way home with Lily occasionally interrupting my thoughts with stories about the kids and her sisters. My thoughts were with Olivia. It’s been three years since we last saw each other. Amazing what three years did to her. She’s lost a lot of weight. She must be 48 kg or maybe less. The same size when I first met her fifteen years ago. She cut her hair short, a pixie cut like Anne Hathaway’s that frames her small face. Her skin was glistening and her arms looked so toned. Her waist was so small but her chest was just how I remembered them - round, supple and perky. Her dress hugged her body at all the right places. You wouldn’t think she is forty-five. I wonder if she’s married now.
I must have dozed off thinking of her. I felt Lily give me a nudge. “Chet, we’re home.”
We had dinner. Only Jacob was around. Jeremy has band practice. Lily reminded me about the dinner party at Janice’s in-law’s on Saturday. Janice, my oldest child and only daughter is married and has moved to their new flat. My grandson, Zequi was born just a couple of months ago. Yes, I am 55 year-old grandfather in love, in lust and fantasizing about another women.
I moved to the living room after dinner and pretended to watch the Golf Channel. This is also part of the routine on the days when I am home early. I sit in front of the TV, clean my clubs while I watch the Golf Channel. Lily does her evening routine, goes into our bedroom and watches her soaps until she falls asleep.
I stared blankly at screen. My thoughts wander back to Olivia.
Chapter 2
I met Liv fifteen years ago in an online chat. From the very beginning, I found her to be very engaging. A no non-sense woman, convent-bred, intelligent, well- traveled and independent. I got more intrigued with her the more often we chatted online. I told her I was 35 and single - two big lies that will take me a long time to undo.
I asked her out a few times but she refused until one day, she must have been feeling vulnerable, she agreed to meet me for lunch. She was leaving for Hong Kong the following day and had taken the day off to do some last minute errands. We agreed to meet at 12:15 the following day at City Hall MRT.
As I got out of the station, I saw a petite woman in a pair of black jeans and a light yellow knitted top. She was leaning on one of the pillars reading Time. I cleared my throat as I approached her. Nervously, I asked, “Liv?” She looked up, smiled and extended her hand. “Thomas?” I took her hand but pulled her to give her a peck on the cheek. I think I shocked the living daylights out of her.
She has short straight hair that reached just under her earlobes. Her nails were cut short, no manicure. She wore very light make up. She wasn’t exactly drop dead gorgeous but there’s something about her that drew me closer. She has perfect teeth, chinky, almond eyes, nice pouty lips and a little cute button nose. She is so tiny, I think barely 5 ft. without her heels and from afar looked like a child. She looked young for her age, more like twenty than thirty. She’s enigmatic. It’s probably the way she walked. Her denims hugged the small of her back tightly and her hips swayed to the rhythm of her graceful gait. Or maybe it was the way she talked. She spoke in this sweet voice and her diction was impeccable.
We had a quick lunch at the 4th level of Raffles City. For a Marketing Director, she was not fussy at all. We had a very engaging conversation. I told her about my job, cricket, my mum who was at that time suffering from early stages of dementia. She told me that she was going to be stationed in HK indefinitely and will just be shuttling between SG and HK in the next couple of years or so. It was her first time to go on a blind date (if you can call it that). She just turned 30 a few months ago and wanted to do something totally unexpected. Her parents have both passed on and her younger siblings already have families of their own. She would be renting out the common rooms at her flat to two ladies from the Philippines who worked at her office. I’ve never met anyone who had her life so seriously planned out at such a young age. This was partly what attracted me to her.
We exchanged numbers and I asked her if she would come out with me again in the evening for drinks and dinner. She politely declined and said that she needed to be up early for her flight. (It was good though that she turned me down. Lily had called me mid afternoon to remind me about the parent-teachers consultation at 6pm at Jacob’s primary school). She thanked me for lunch and we walked together to the train station. I took her to her platform and before she boarded the train, I gave her a peck on both cheeks and a hug. I don’t remember if she hugged me back but she did not push me away either. Maybe she already felt comfortable with me. I bade her goodbye, told her I would write to her and would like to see her again when she’s back.
I was smiling when I boarded the train back to Raffles Place. It was a good lunch. A very good lunch.
Chapter 3
There were emails exchanged almost everyday from the day she left. I could feel that she was slowly opening up to me. We would also chat at night until the wee hours of the morning. Lily was getting annoyed that I was spending so much time in front of the PC. She thought I was playing computer games.
A few months after we first met I still had not told her the truth. I wanted to be truthful but I also knew that if I did, I would lose her and by that time, I was already falling in love with her and I had a slight feeling that she might be falling in love with me too. One night after our chat, she had asked me to give her a short call. She said she just wanted to hear my voice before she went to sleep. Lily was sleeping soundly but I could not risk it so I told her that it was not convenient. I told her I was in mum’s room as I had moved the PC so I could keep an eye on her while she slept. Being the youngest and the only remaining “single” child, I was taking care of her. Years later Liv would say that it was one of the reasons she fell in love with me. A guy who treats his mother right will treat his wife right. Ouch!
I called her the following day to apologize for not ringing her the previous night. She said she understood. She actually wanted to tell me that she was flying in on Valentine’s day weekend but would be leaving the following Monday. I got excited. I thought, “I have to plan this carefully.” She was arriving on a late evening flight on the 13th. I wanted to pick her up from the airport but it was tricky to leave the house after dinner unless I told Lily that I would be out with the boys. Probably not. We just fought about that a few days ago.
“Oh that’s great! What time does your flight get in? I’ll pick you up from the airport.” I volunteered all the while keeping my fingers crossed and hoping she would decline.
“Don’t worry about it. I am travelling with two of my colleagues. They’ve arranged a pick up service with the hotel.”
“You’re not staying at your flat?” I asked.
“No, this is official business. I am technically a visitor of the office this time. Might as well grab the opportunity to stay in a hotel and not worry about making my bed in the morning.”
“So, when do we see each other?” Please, don’t say Valentine’s Day. Lily had already made plans. To my relief she said, “Not sure what time I’ll finish on the 14th. What about Friday night?
“Sounds wonderful. Can’t wait to see you. Liv?, I love you.”
She did not say anything. Stupid me. Why did I have to say that? And over the phone? “Liv, are you there?”
“Yes, Thomas. I’m here. Ah … I’ll see you on Friday then? I gotta go. I have a meeting in a few minutes. Thanks for the call. See you.” Then she hung up.
Was it really possible that I have fallen in love with her? Or it’s my little head doing the thinking? What in the world made me say that? What if I misread her? What if she didn’t feel the same way for me?
13 February, 9:30pm. Her flight must have landed. I waited 15 minutes before I slipped my handphone in my pocket and stepped out to the patio to smoke. I dialed her number. Subscriber was not available. She must be just stepping out of the plane or on her way to clear immigration. I sent her an sms. “Hi Sweetie. Hope you had a good flight. Just tried to call but could not reach you. I’ll call you tomorrow. Gotta go. Need to check on mum now. Luv, T”
Check on mum? Sweetie? Luv T? Was I carrying this on too far? Well, mum was staying with us. I could go check on her. That would make my statement true. Sweetie and Luv, T? Those were also true. Liv is my sweetie and I love her. I took a few puffs before I stepped into the house again. Got a reply about an hour and a half later. “Hi there. Thanks. Flight was ok. Just got to the hotel. See ya. Good night. ☺” Hmm… just a smiley. A smiley will do just fine, for now.
Lily and I rode the bus to work in silence. I pretended to be sleeping but was actually thinking of Liv and our date on Friday night. Should I get her something for Valentine’s Day? What will she wear? Has she changed since the last time I saw her? The bus came to a stop. Lily tapped me on the shoulder. “Chet, we’re here.” We got off the bus, gave each other a quick kiss. “See you at dinner tonight.” She gave me a hug and walked to her office.
Got to the office just a little before 9am. I greeted my assistant as I walked to my desk. “Good morning, Mia.”
“Morning T. Looks like you’re going on a hot date tonight eh?” Mia quipped. She and I have been working together for a couple of years now. She’s a pretty young thing, in her mid twenties and this is her first job. I have mentored her and we have this quirky boss – assistant relationship. Nothing romantic, just an easy, comfortable working relationship.
“Not tonight. Tomorrow.” I said.
“Eh? I thought Valentine’s Day is for the missus and post V-Day is for the mistress? You got a mistress now, T? Hehe.”
“ No lah. Just quiet dinner with Lily tonight. The action happens tomorrow night.” Yeah right. I would be lucky to get some. Liv is so hard to penetrate. I made attempts at naughtiness during our chats but she had time and time again politely ignored my innuendos. This is another quality that really drew me to her. Perhaps I was also thrilled at the challenge of getting someone seemingly so unattainable.
I went about my day feeling excited. Exchanged a few messages with Liv and gave her a call in the afternoon just as I was stepping out of the office. She asked what I was doing for dinner and I said I’d be having a couple of drinks with the boys before I head home. She on the other hand was not done with work but had dinner reservations. I wonder who she’s having dinner with. I wanted to ask but thought it best to keep the thought to myself. I didn’t want to come across as the jealous type especially when I wasn’t yet clear where we stand. I said goodbye but before I hung up, I said I love you, Liv for the second time. Don’t know if she heard it. She might not like it but I didn’t care. I realized that I really do love her. I walked to the bus stop. Lily was already there waiting for me. We went to the dinner dance at the country club near our estate. My brother and his wife were there too. I couldn’t wait for tomorrow.
Friday morning during the bus ride to work I told Lily that I was going out with the boys. We had an agreement that I could go out and stay out late only on Fridays. We had a big fight the week before when I got home at four in the morning. I went out with the boys and ended up getting raunchy with some girls at the KTV. Yes, I am a serial philanderer. While I was doing a balancing act between being a husband/father and working on building a relationship with Liv, I was also seeing other women from KTV bars and had on several occasions paid for sex. But this time will be different. If I get Liv to start a relationship with me, I will be a good boy. I will stop going to KTVs and really love her, just her.
I called Liv around lunchtime. “Hi Sweetie. It’s me,”
“Hi there. How’s your day been?”
“Work wise, same shit different day. But, I’m looking forward to seeing you tonight.” Silence. “Liv, what time shall we see each other? What would you like to do?” Where would you like to go?” I had planned to take her for a quiet dinner and drinks.
She finally spoke. “How about we meet at 7 pm? I’ve been stuffing myself the last few days I don’t think I want to sit for another dinner. I think I’ve put on weight since I got here. Would it be all right if we just have drinks? Just a quick one?”
Quick one? Does that mean doesn’t want to spend that much time with me? Maybe she just did not want to flake out on me at the last minute. “That sounds perfect. 7pm it is. Would you like me to meet you at your office?” She was quick to say no. “I’d rather we go somewhere not so mainstream. You know, where it’s not too crowded especially on a Friday night?”
“Okay, I know the perfect place. Let’s meet at City Hall again? “
“Actually, I’ll be coming from a meeting at Shenton Way. Where is this place?”
“It’s a cozy, little bar on Duxton Hill, near Tanjong Pagar.”
“Okay, then let’s just meet at Tanjong Pagar MRT at 7pm. I gotta go. See you.” I wanted to say I love you again but she was gone before I could open my mouth.
I got to Tanjong Pagar ten minutes before seven. I had left the office earlier than usual to get her a box of chocolates. That was my best option. I could easily slip it into my backpack. I didn’t want to be walking around with a bouquet of flowers and I also didn’t know how she would feel about getting flowers from me. Chocolates were my safest bet. I patiently and nervously waited for her. Then at exactly 7pm I saw her emerge from the escalator. She was wearing a black pencil skirt, a beige silk top with little black polka dots and black high heels. She was carrying her purse and had her jacket slung over her other arm. She waved at me as our eyes made contact. I walked to her as she was tapping her card. I could catch a hint of her scent – sexy and sweet, could be Pleasures by Estee Lauder. I gave her a peck on the cheek as soon as she got out. To my surprise I felt her lips slightly graze my cheek. She kissed me back!
“Hey you,” she said. “Where are you taking me?” Hmm … she was in a jolly mood. Playful tonight. “It’s about ten minutes from here. Do you mind walking? You’re in your high heels.”
“That’s alright. Just don’t walk too fast. I have to balance myself on these monsters.” With that, we made our way to the bar. I wanted to reach for her hand but I couldn’t risk bumping into someone from work or worse a family friend or relative.
The place was busier than usual. We sat at the bar. I asked her what she wanted and again, another surprise. A bottle of Corona. I was expecting her to order a glass of wine or maybe a cocktail but she ordered beer. The woman was indeed full of surprises.
We were sitting on high stools, facing each other with our knees occasionally rubbing against each other. I attempted to hold her hand and put my hand on her lap a few times during the night. She did not pull away immediately, just allowed me a few seconds before she made subtle movements to withdraw.
We fell into a very easy conversation. She told me about her life in Hong Kong. She was staying in an apartment at the Hong Kong side overlooking Victoria Harbour. In the last few months, she has traveled to Manila, Thailand and Malaysia. She had in fact made a brief stopover in Singapore during one of her trips but it was just for a day. I felt bad. Why didn’t she tell me she was in town? I could have slipped out and saw her even for a few minutes. She noticed the change in my mood.
I had my head bent when I felt her left hand on my right thigh and her right hand on my face, lifting it up. “Are you okay?” she asked. “Did I say anything wrong?”
“Nothing, I just feel bad that you didn’t tell me that you were here for a layover.”
“Oh you! Come here.” She pulled me closer and gave me a hug while whispering in my ear. “It was just for a day and I had family matters to attend to. I’m here now.”
I hugged her really tight and said “I’ve missed you so much, Liv. I love you.” Then I heard her say, “I love you too, T.” I paused. Did I hear it right? I put a small space between us. Looked her in the eye and said. “Did I hear it right? Did you just say you love me too?”
She had her eyes down and was trying to control a smile. “Liv, look at me. Can you say that again, please? “
“Hey, I’ve already said it,”
“Oh no, you’re not going to get away with this. I want to hear you say it again.”
I held her chin to raise her head and said, “Say it Liv, one more time.”
“I love you T.” With that I inched my head closer until our lips touched and right there, in full view of other people in the bar, we shared our first kiss. It was tender and her lips just felt so soft against mine. I tried to be more aggressive with the kiss but she just gave me a little opening, not letting my tongue probe her mouth. She was intoxicating and my little brother was getting restless.
It was half past ten and she was on her fourth bottle of Corona. After that kiss, she had allowed me to touch her face, put my arms around her waist, kiss her hand, run my hand up and down on her thigh just on top of her skirt and steal a few kisses. I excused myself to go to the loo. I had to keep my little brother quiet. He was really trying to break free.
On my way back to the bar, I looked at Liv’s curvaceous body. She had her back to me and was sitting with her legs crossed giving more definition to her round behind as she raised her arm to sip her beer. Damn, she’s so sexy! I quietly made my way to the bar and slipped my arm around her waist. She put down the bottle of beer and held my arm with both her hands, leaned against my chest and bent her neck sideways giving me a chance to graze and plant kisses on her exposed neck. I said, “It’s getting late. Let’s get out of here.” She nodded. I paid the tab and we walked hand in hand out of the bar. I thought to myself, this was another side to her I didn’t know about. She was becoming a little bit bolder. It could be just the beer. She must be feeling tipsy. But I didn’t care. I thought. “ I’m gonna get lucky tonight.”
We walked to the taxi stand on the main street. She’s really short that even with her high heels, she stood just right at my shoulder. She had her left arm on my waist while she carried her purse and jacket on the right. I had my right arm on her shoulder and on one occasion let it drop closer to her right breast. She did not flinch. A cab pulled into the stand. I turned to her, “Where to, Dear?”
“You can drop me off at my hotel, ” she said. She gave directions to the driver and I pulled her closer allowing her head to rest on my chest. I had my arm around her waist inching my way up to slightly touch the area just under her boob. Again, she did not flinch. I was encouraged. I moved up and really cupped her breast this time, massaging it until I felt her nipple harden under the fabric.
She wasn’t moving at all. “Sweetie, are you okay? Sweetie?” I heard an inaudible slur. “I’m tipsy honey.” What am I going to do? I hope she can pull herself up otherwise I might have to carry her to her room. I don’t even know her room number. A few minutes before we reached the hotel. I nudged her and she woke up.
“Oh sorry, I think I dozed off. Did I spoil your shirt?”
“Don’t worry about it.” I said hoping that there were no lipstick marks on it.
The cab pulled into the hotel’s driveway. “Can you manage to get to the room by yourself or should I take you?” I asked not wanting to be so presumptuous. “I think I would need you to walk me to my room. I can barely manage to walk in these shoes.” I paid the fare and assisted her in getting out of the cab.
She appeared flustered but otherwise composed. I walked just a step or two beside her. I could tell she was struggling to walk straight but as soon as we stepped into the lobby, she was back to her no non-sense demeanor. We got to the lift. Her room was on the 45th floor. She slipped in the card key and as soon as we entered the room, I did not waste time, grabbed her and pinned her against the wall. She did not resist. She kissed me back with all her passion, opening her mouth to receive my kiss and dueling with my tongue. I let my hands roam her body. I pulled her top, unzipped her skirt and let it fall to the floor. I unbuttoned her top and for the first time saw her round perky bosoms. She was wearing a printed black bra that matched her lycra bikini. For someone with such a small frame, her breasts were more than just ample. Liv didn’t have an ounce of fat on her body. It was toned and very tight. I reached for the clasp of her bra to free her twin peaks. Oh, the sight of those beauties as I played with them with both hands! I dove and went for it. I put one breast in my mouth, flicked the nipple and sucked while I played with the other one.
Liv was panting. She pulled my shirt from my pants, unbuckled my belt, unzipped my pants and helped herself inside my briefs. It was total ecstasy to feel her small, soft, cold hands on my manhood.
With trembling hands, she unbuttoned my shirt while my hands made their way to into her bikini to feel her moistness. She was so wet. As she undid the last button, she shoved the shirt off my shoulders and went straight for my nipple, imitating the motions that I did with hers … flicking, sucking and not forgetting to pay attention to the other one.