Finally Getting the Girl

I sang loudly with the song on my playlist, which was "The Middle" by Jimmy Eat World. I drove through town with the top down on my convertible, unashamedly singing the classic piece of 2000s pop-punk, not caring if anyone looked at me. I was going somewhere anyway and feeling nostalgic, so I'd put on a playlist of classic tunes from the old days.

My name is Donnie Calvin. I'm in my late 30s and have come home here to north Texas because an old friend had reached out to me that the place all my friends and I used to hang out at back when we were in junior high and high school was soon to be torn down to build condos or some shit. So I'd arranged for myself to have a week off from work, and I came here to see the old place one more time.

As I thought this, I pulled up to the place. "The Break Room" sign was still above the door even if the place had been closed for a few years now. I parked in front of it and got out of my convertible and looked at the old place as memories flooded my mind. I ran a hand through my still-full head of brown hair and smiled wistfully at the Break Room.

This had been THE place to go back in the day. When school got out, everyone that didn't have anywhere to go or any reason to go elsewhere would come here. There had been pool tables, air hockey tables, ski ball, pinball and arcade machines. Junk food at cheap prices, armchairs and couches, a big ass TV that would run whatever movie was currently a big deal, and great music blaring across the PA system. You could hear everything from Wheatus, Jimmy Eat World, and Green Day, to Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, and Lady Gaga, to Nickelback, Seether, and Shinedown. The sounds of the 2000s echoed in my mind as I stared at this place.

We didn't all have cell phones back then. Or computers. This was the place to hang out after school. There had been a skate park out back for those inclined to skateboard and bike. There had been picnic tables and umbrellas for outside lounging. The Break Room had been the place to be to meet up with anyone.

I sat on the hood of my car as the memories of good times washed over me. I'm over six foot tall, white, blue eyed, and brown haired (no grey in my late 30s which I'm very proud of!) I'm fit but not any kind of athlete. I used to wear glasses back then but I'd since gotten the laser surgery to not need glasses anymore. I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, casual attire. I sighed as I finally noticed the signs that read 'sold!' and that condos were going to be built here.

It sucked that this place was going down but I'm honestly not surprised. Times had changed after my generation of teenagers. Cell phones and social media had become so dominant that you were always in contact with each other. Video game systems were more popular at home over arcade games. The skateboarding fad of the late 90s early 2000s faded away so the skate park became unused. Then after I'd moved out west after college to begin my businesses, I'd heard from friends who had come back through here and seen that this place just didn't have the same energy anymore. Maybe we were just too old to understand the new energy? Probably.

But times got tough, things got more expensive. Then Covid happened and social gatherings were not something that was acceptable. The old owner died in 2017 and the new one wasn't as into keeping this place going. After he'd turned it more into an internet cafe and a coffee shop, business had tanked. Covid had killed what was left. The place had been for sale since 2022. Now it had been sold. The skate park was a sad ruin out back. Most of the ramps had been torn down due to rot.

This was the sad aspect of life. Things changed. I missed those days. Carefree. Fun. Life was easy. All you had to worry about was home work and chores. I wish things were that simple now. Especially now since I worked as hard as I did out. An old friend named KC, who's mother still lived here, had told me this place was for sale. So I'd come to say goodbye to a important piece of the best years of my life.

"I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby," I sang to myself, the big Wheatus hit. I had been that guy, the teenage dirtbag. Minus the stupid hat that Jason Biggs had worn in that video. I had been the typical nerd. I loved comic books, was a massive Marvel fan before the movies made it cool to like Marvel, I couldn't get girls, wasn't into sports. The one thing I had going for me that kept everyone from outright shitting all over me the fact that I'm a savant with cars and could fix the cars of stupid teenagers who drove like they thought they were playing GTA games. So I had a use and they, meaning the popular kids, kept me on somewhat decent terms in case they ever needed me.

I sat there and stared at the Break Room and let the memories wash over me. I have no idea how long I had been there but I heard someone calling my name. I turned to see who was calling me.

Walking up to me was none other that Catalina Valez.

Okay, I mentioned how I basically had been the guy from 'Teenage Dirtbag' right? Where here's the girl from that video. Except her name is Catalina. And she's Latina, as the name implies. "Donnie Calvin that really is you!" she said coming up to hug me. I hugged her back. After she pulled away I looked at her. She looked better than ever. She'd always been a hot, sexy, spicy Latina girl with curves for days, even as teenagers. Now she had that hot momma matriarch look to her. She was thicker than back then obviously but it suited her. Her tight T shirt and jeans helped accent this further. Her hair was shorter than back then too. She blinked at me. "I didn't know you were in town!" she said.

"I just got into town today," I said. I hadn't told anyone I was coming. There was a reason for that. She was part of it.

Who she had married was the other part of it.

I'd always been into her, even as a kid. As a teenager it had been even worse. She had always been nice to me. Being a nice girl was in her nature. But she was way out of my loser-ass league, as those who didn't like me would constantly remind me.

Like the asshole she had married.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

"KC told me the place was going to be torn down," I said gesturing to the Break Room. "So I had to come see it one more time. Say goodbye to the good old days when we were young."

"Yeah, it is sad," said Catalina looking at the place. She had to turn sideways to do that and I was able to check our her big tits even better. Fabulous as ever. "There were some real good times here," she went on.

"Yeah there were," I said.

"I was telling Alex to come down and see it but he refused," she said. I forced myself not to make a face as she mentioned her husband. Her husband was Alex Finnegan.

And he was the biggest asshole from those times I came here to remember.

Alex was the 'her boyfriend's a dick' guy from the 'Teenage Dirtbag' video. Tall, jock strap personified. Was going to play football and be bigger than Tom Brady and Peyton Manning combined! Predicted he'd have a half dozen Superbowl rings by the time we were this age. He walked through junior high and high school like his shit didn't stink. Like his skill as a football player gave him a free pass to be the biggest douche bag walking the face of planet Earth.

Alex wanted to be Steve Stifler from the American Pie movies. Only without what few redeeming qualities Steve Stifler had that kept the other characters from dumping his ass. Alex was a complete asshole. If you weren't a fellow jock or a pair of panties he wanted to get into, you were dog shit to him.

Like I had been.

Oh the number of times he'd shoved it up my ass that he was fucking Catalina. She liked me so he would tolerate me but if she wasn't around, he always reminded me what a fucking loser I was.

Fate had gotten him though. He had gone to college to play football and wrecked his car while driving drunk in his junior college year. He had destroyed both his legs in the wreck, which destroyed him physically. But the real damage had been the fact that he killed his passenger and killed a pedestrian in the wreck! Which was the end of his football career.

He got what he deserved. The people who died didn't, mind you. I'm not so evil as to say their lives lost were needed. But Alex went through life like he was untouchable. And karma kicked his ass so hard it ruined his life. "Donnie?" she asked me.

I realized I had let my thoughts wander and had been ignoring her. "Sorry Cat," I said using her old nickname. "My mind wandered to the past."

"I know," said Catalina looking at the Break Room again. "Mine too. Hey, I have an idea! I have a babysitter tonight, so why don't you come to the Tumble Bar? We can have a drink and catch up!"

"That sounds fun!" I said. "I'll come!"

"I'll bring Alex too!" she said cheerfully.

That made it significantly less fun. So I thought fast. "I don't know Cat. While I'd like that," I blatantly lied. "But I do have places to be. So-"

"Please!" she pleaded. "I haven't seen anyone from the old days in forever! Just one night! So we can hang out like old times!"

I sighed. I knew why she didn't see anyone from those days. "I'll come," I said. She smiled and hugged me again. Damn it, now I had to see Alex! The one thing I had promised myself I would not do when I came here!

But I'd already committed and I couldn't bring myself to blow Cat off. So I watched her go, checking her out the whole way as I had done a million times before.

I spent the rest of the day trying to decide if I was actually going or not. I did not want to see Alex. But I wasn't even going to be in town for very long so I decided to endure it. Most everyone else who had lived here had moved away. And when they came back to the area, they tended to avoid Cat and Alex.

Because a lot of the others, like KC who had told me about the Break Room being sold in the first place, hated Alex and only put up with him because of her. Nobody else wanted to deal with him. And now that they had moved away, they avoided him like the plague. Which meant they avoided her by proxy.

Gee, I wonder why?

I walked to the bar she had mentioned. I wasn't far from the motel I had been staying at. I entered the bar and heard Cat calling my name. So I took a breath and went to see her.

I had to force myself not to smile at the sight of Alex. Alex, who was glaring at me as he almost always did, looked like absolute shit. He was the same age as me, thirty-seven, and he looked fifteen years older. He was bald on top completely. His hair on the side and back was more than half grey. His athlete's body had been replaced by the look of a fat ass drunk that got tossed out of the bar every night and never missed happy hour for cheap drinks. He had to weigh over three hundred-fifty pounds now, most of it in his beer gut.

"Hello," I said as I sat down.

"What're you doing here?" said Alex. He had already had several drinks, clearly. He glared at me like I remember, as if he was saying 'how dare you get this close to me?' with his eyes.

"Your wife invited me," I said.

"I did," said Cat. "He was in town to say goodbye to the Break Room. Like KC was recently." Alex grunted in reply. "KC said he was too busy to come have a drink with us," said Cat to me sounding sad.

KC hated Alex almost as much as I did, I thought to myself as I took my drink. So I'm not surprised he had invented a reason to not come. I wish I had the balls to do the same but Catalina had always been my biggest weakness. "That's too bad," was all I said.

"How long are you in town?" asked Catalina.

"Just today. Came to see the Break Room. Most everyone else doesn't live here anymore. I am going up to Kansas to see Angie." Angie was Catalina's former best friend who now lived in Kansas with four kids. What I didn't say was that KC was also headed up there and Angie had invited several others out to have a reunion of sorts. Which was the reason KC didn't come to see Catalina.

And Catalina wasn't invited to Angie's because nobody wanted Alex there. Besides the fact that Catalina and Alex had a daughter named Maria who was about six now, so it wasn't like they could just pack up and head to Kansas. Even so, nobody from the old days wanted to see Alex. The days of us tolerating him for Cat's sake were over.

Catalina smiled. "I haven't seen Angie in years. But she's got four kids now so she's always busy. I don't know how she does it. One is all I can handle."

"Well she's got your genes so that's why," I joked. She laughed. Alex's eyes narrowed as he realize the slight in there applied more to him than her.

"You got nothing but free time to go visit these places?" Alex said to me.

"I do," I said back.

"No job?"

Now there was the opening I've been waiting for. This asswipe had always told me I'd never amount to shit. So now it was time to make him bleed. "Well after I got out of college, I took a job at a mechanic's shop in Phoenix," I said. Like I mentioned, I was a savant with cars.

"Some dumb wrench huh?" he asked me with a smirk.

"Well I started that way," I admitted. "But then within a few years the old man retired and I secured a loan to buy the business from him and transformed it. Mirage Mechanic's," I said. "Our prices are no mirage!"

"That your slogan?" said Cat.

"Yes," I said. "And I think it's a good one."

"So you run a dingy garage?" said Alex.

I smiled. "Well again, it started that way. Everybody starts somewhere. But I upgraded. Turned into a gas station, repair and mod shop, car wash, and tire store! All in one!"

"That's nice!" said Cat.

"Then I bought another place in a different part of Phoenix," I said before Alex could find some rude way to put it down. "Then a third, so I have all of Phoenix covered!"

"That is really good!" said Cat.

Alex nodded, not able to bring himself to say it out loud. But I wasn't done. Far from it! I know I'm being petty by punching down to his level. Alex made my life hell though, so I don't care. "So I opened a place up in Flagstaff," I said. "Then I expanded to Tucson, two locations. So the big cities in Arizona are all covered. From there I crossed the state lines and opened locations Santa Fe and Albuquerque. Opened them in El Passo and Laredo! Went up into Las Vegas and Reno! Got one in Salt Lake City and soon to have one in Sacramento, which will lead to California expansion!"

Alex's face was shocked at how successful he heard I was. Catalina was smiling earnestly, happy for me. But I still wasn't done. "I also run a tow truck business that specifies in going across the desert and pulling idiot tourists with clunker cars and broke down RV's. And yes, that happens a lot. Dust Bowl Recovery!" I leaned back and smiled.

"You did all that?" said Alex in shock.

"Yes," I said. "Doing a double major in college for automotives and business was the best decision I ever made even if it made my college years hell at times. And finally, a friend I made in college wanted to open laundromats, which in the desert is a big deal since water bills suck out there, let me tell you. She needed a hand so I put money into it in exchange for a fifty-fifty split. She's now thriving and using my business manager to open locations in some of the places I mentioned! So I can fix your car, wash it, inspect it, mod it, fill it with gas, recover it if it breaks down in the desert, and wash your clothes while you wait for all of the above!"

Catalina's eyes were wide. Alex's were narrowed in anger. I leaned forward with a smile. "Not bad for some nerdly little nobody who only gets tail from tail pipes eh?"

That made Alex mad. That line was something he used to say to me back in the day. He told me the only tail I'd get was if I fucked an exhaust pipe. Catalina finally realized I was rubbing his nose in it and her smiled faded a bit. "Well that's really good Donnie," she said in a tone that told me to stop.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I'm being immensely rude, talking endlessly about myself. How are you two?" I asked. "What are you two up to? Besides raising Maria I mean. Unless that does take all your time."

"I work as a waitress," said Catalina. I nodded. I bet she got tipped well, hottie that she still was. "I work morning shifts so I can see Maria when she gets home from school."

I nodded to her, then I looked at Alex expectantly. He drank his beer without speaking. "Alex is between jobs," said Catalina. I couldn't keep the smirk from my face at that. I had my guess he didn't have job at all and the fact that Cat looked down at my words told me I was right on.

Alex saw it too. He wasn't stupid, whatever else he may have been. "Fuck you!" he said to me.

"Alex!" said Catalina.

"What did I do?" I asked.

"Fuck you!" he said to me again. "Little dick wipe is here to shove it in my face!"

"Alex!" she protested again.

"Oh I see," I said with a savage smile. "What's the matter Alex? Didn't all the big time football pay off? You leave your Superbowl rings at home? Oh right, you didn't win one because you didn't do any of that! You're mad now because the loser little Marvel nerd and car enthusiast you used to torment behind her back is now sitting in front of you better off than you in every way except you having her!" I pointed to Catalina.

He stood up. I stood up too. The days where he intimidated me are long over. "You are a fucking loser, Alex," I said. "You acted like you were Steve Stifler from American Pie, that you were God's gift to women and football. That your life was just going to be a cakewalk to easy street. That it was all gonna fall into your lap and/or onto your dick. You were gonna have it all because you deserved it all and you were entitled to it all! That's how you used to be. There's a reason KC didn't want to stop here and see you, Cat. There's a reason most everybody from the old days doesn't talk to you or reach out to you. The reason is this fat fuck in front of me, who none of us could understand what you saw in! Then or now! Now he's a fat, bald, bitter old douche bag who ruined all his own potential because he believed he was untouchable and all that other egomaniac bullshit!"

"Donnie-" she said standing up.

"And now," I said overrunning her. "Now he sees me, more successful than him in every way and he can't stand it! You're a fucking terrible human being Alex. You were back then and according to what everyone from then says, you still are now! Except now all that you used to have that made some sense to some of us is gone! I may not have the hundreds of millions you said you were going to win playing football but by God in heaven I'm better off than you, who can't even keep a job!"

"You little prick!" he snarled at me. "You'll never have it!"

"Have what? A promising football career that could have been something but was ruined by the fact you're drunken asshole? Or how about the two deaths you caused by being the same!"

He lunged at me but I was faster than him and nowhere near as drunk. I sidestepped him and tripped him, sending him face down onto the floor.

Catalina shoved me. "I didn't invite you here for this!" she snapped going to his side.

"Yes you did," I said to her. "You knew he hated me. Yet you still made up excuses for him, just like you always did back then! Nothing's changed Cat. Like I said, there's a reason KC didn't want to talk to you when he was here. A reason you haven't been asked to go to Angie's or anywhere else! The reason is right there at your feet, trying not to cry at how pathetic his life has become! I love you Cat, I really do. But not even for you am I going to sit here and take his shit any more! I'm a grown man with a chain of successful businesses and he's a fat ass, balding, drunken, ex jock strap that ruined his own life, killing two other people in the process, and he still acts like he did then! So have a good night!" I turned my back on them both and left.

I walked back to my hotel and stayed the night. Pissed though I was, I still felt bad because Cat had to bear the brunt of it. I loved that woman even now! But she had made the choices that led her to living this way. I watched TV until I fell asleep.

In the morning I paid my night's fee and made for my convertible, intending to leave this place behind. I said a final mental farewell to the Break Room, which had been the whole reason I came, vowing to keep the memories of that place alive in my head, then got in my car.

I had just put the top down when I heard my name being called.

Catalina was storming up the parking lot.

Oh boy. Here we go. I was hoping she'd have to work and I wouldn't have to do this. But such was not my luck. I sighed, turned off the engine, and got out. "No work today?" I said.

"My day off," she snapped.

"How did you find me?"

"You came to the bar on foot. There aren't many hotels within walking distance. I drove until I saw your convertible."

"Smart," I nodded. "Smarter than me it seems."

"Why did you have to be that way last night?" she exploded.

I had intended to be calm about this but her automatically taking asshole Alex's side brought back a boatload of resentments I had from back then. So I got mad real quick. "The point is nothing has changed!" I snarled at her. She recoiled, not expecting to have her anger trumped. "Cat, I've loved you for decades. As a friend and as a woman. By for the love of God Almighty, I have no idea what the deal was with you and Alex fucking Finnegan! I know you are a smart woman so you had to know what a douche he was back then. Too many people the were your friends told you time and time again that he was a wannabee! Yet you still wouldn't hear a word against him! Either he was so hot you couldn't stand it or he had a completely different personality around you! Because he was a dick to all of us!"

Catalina stared at me. Her eyes were filled with shame and regret. "I can't believe you'd ever be so stupid," I went on, calmly now. "To disregard everyone else because of some guy who thrills you and/or got you off like a pornstar, as he always loved to rub in my face especially! So I have to believe there is a different side of him that we, meaning everyone else that called themselves your friends, never saw!"

"It's not-"

"Cat, I don't want to fight with you," I cut her off. "But by Christ, the fact that literally nobody from the old days wants you around because it means him too should tell you how we all feel! Even now, decades later, you're still defending him! Why? Please help me understand what it is, or was, that made you fall so deeply in love with such an unrepentant son of a bitch!"

I expected Cat to blaze with all the Latina temper that they all have deep down. But instead of fire, she seemed to deflate and chill. Her eyes became watery. Hell, this was what I'd wanted so badly to avoid! "I know you guys didn't like him," she said. "I tried to help manage his worst aspects because when he wants to be, he's really a nice guy! I hoped he'd grow out of trying to be Steve Stifler. So I deflected from all those that railed on him."

"Angie told me you dumped him in college because he cheated on you," I said. She nodded. "Damn it Cat, you went back to him even then? Why?"

"Because of how broken he was," she said emotionally. "Yes, he cheated on me. Right after he got to college! I didn't find out until I went to surprise him, half a year later. You can imagine how that went! But we got back together after the car wreck, after his injuries, after he was facing serious jail time for what happened with the accident! He begged me for help since all his jock friends abandoned him!"

I forced myself not to react. She was crying lightly. I had never intended to castigate her over any of this besides her seeming inability to see what we all saw about Alex.

She kept speaking. "His pain, his sorrow, his fear, his guilt. It moved me, Donnie. I believed he was going to change. So yes, I went back to him. I nursed him back to health. He pleaded guilty to basically every other charge to avoid facing actual murder charges. He got downgraded to manslaughter one, or something. He did two years behind bars. He lost his driver's license for life. His athletic career was in the toilet because of all of that. All the offers, the talent scouts, the coaches, they told him to get lost. The sports world is all image-related and someone who was found guilty of such things meant he was never going to get back into sports."

I only nodded.

She went on from there. "So we got back together. I helped him heal. After he got out of prison, I got pregnant. Maria came. He genuinely does love her but the more he drinks, the worse he gets. He's bitter and angry. He can't keep a job. He's been fired five times in three years. We have no friends. His parents are gone. So is my dad. My mother, well, that's kind of what broke me."

"What happened?" I asked.

"She wanted to live with us and take care of Maria while we worked. But he refused. The house we live in was his parents, and therefore is in his name. I didn't take his name when we married. He told me my mother wasn't allowed to live with us. Despite, you know, needing help with my job, his inability to have a job, his drinking, and Maria's growing up needs. We had a free babysitter right there. But he wouldn't have another woman in the house telling him what to do. When I told my mother, she slapped me in the face, told me I was a stupid bitch for letting that loser into my life, and moved to Indianapolis to live with my cousin. She barely talks to me." Now Cat was crying harder.

I sighed. That was brutal. But it fit with Alex's 'I'm always right' bullshit so it didn't surprise me.

Cat wiped her eyes. "We have no friends, as you rightly called out. Besides the other miserable drunks he drinks with, that is. All the old gang wants nothing to do with me for all the reasons you already listed. My work friends are just that, work. They don't want to be more because they know about him. The friends Maria has don't allow their kids to come to our house because he's drunk as often as not. So much so that he can't be trusted to be alone with her because he doesn't pay attention. He flops his ass in his father's armchair, watches TV all day, and drinks. Only varying from that to eat or use the bathroom."

"Jesus," I said sadly.

"Maria wants to know why he drinks if it makes him so sad. He yelled at her for asking. She loves him unconditionally, he's her daddy. But he's hurting her feelings now. To say nothing of how he's destroyed my social life. Which has not helped by the fact that I won't fuck him. I haven't in months and am refusing to do so until he gets a job." Now she was angry.

Personally I could think of no worse fate that having to lay behind sexy Catalina every night and not be allowed to touch her whatsoever. But Alex continues to defy logic and reason, as he always had. "Cat," I said holding up my hands. "I have no words to convey how sorry I am for you. You don't deserve any of that. But I have say it. Why do you not just leave him?"

"Where would I go?" she asked in reply. "I have little money. I have a six year old. I have no friends, no family, nothing to my name. How do I tell Maria I'm leaving her daddy and either rip her away from him or leave her in his unsafe hands? How do I do that to her, Donnie?"

I shook my head. "I can't pretend to know what you're going through Cat."

"Who would help me?" she asked. "Again, I have no one else. I could haul myself and Maria to Indiana but my cousin has four kids already, plus his wife, my mother, and his mother! How do I dump myself on them? Especially when this is all my fault in the first place!" she burst into tears again.

I finally had to go to her and hug her. After a time she calmed down. When that happened, I gently stepped back and looked into her eyes. "Cat," I began. "Do you love him anymore?"

"I still do," she said. "But I question why daily."

That was good. After all these years, there may be hope to finally get her to see what we'd all thought back then. That she needed to leave Alex. "Catalina," I said looking into her beautiful eyes. "I can't decide anything for you. You have to decide. You have to decide if your fear of the unknown is worse than your fear of him continuing down this path and unintentionally hurting you or Maria. It's that easy. Well, nothing about it is easy. But that's the choice."

"Who would help me?" she said.

I was so tempted to say me. To be the knight in shining armor. The guy that wanted her forever and watched her give her life to the worst asshole I'd ever met. The idea that I could step in, save her, and possibly make her mine in the process, was so tempting. To save one of the best friends I'd ever have, have the love I'd always wanted, and give one final fuck you to Alex and take the last thing he had. But that would make me no better than him. Because he wouldn't have even hesitated if our positions were reversed. He'd jump in, be the savior, and reap all the rewards. I wanted Cat to be free on her own.

Be free to come to me of her own choosing if she chose that.

"It all begins," I said. "With you deciding what to do. Until you make a decision in here," I pointed to her heart above one of her big boobs. "I can only advise you. And my advice is not exactly taint-free because you know I hate Alex! So all I'll say is consider Maria's future. Hell, leaving him might finally wake him up! Who knows? But you have the power, no matter whatever he's said to you since then. You decide!" I reached into my pocket and handed her a card. "That's the phone to my main office, since I don't answer my cell phone when I'm working." I gave her my cell phone number too. "Whatever you decide, you can call me. I won't shut you out."

She took the numbers. "I'd forgotten how nice and decent you were."

I finally smiled. "Well, Alex was right about one thing. I loved you in every way. So I can't bring myself to turn away from you." When I admitted it, her eyes went wide. Had she never truly guessed? Or had her love for Alex just caused her not to notice. I shrugged. "I do have to go now, Cat."

She hugged me again. I held her longer this time. I was resisting the urge to take advantage of her hard. Because in her emotional state, I had a feeling I could do it. But that wasn't how I wanted to finally win her if I ever did. So I let go of her, said goodbye to her, and left in my convertible. I waved goodbye to the Break Room on my way out of town, and then hit the highway.

I blasted 'Teenage Dirtbag' as loud as my speakers could go as I roared up the highway headed for the reunion at Angie's in Kansas. When I got there I had a joyous reunion with Angie, KC, and lots of others from the old days. When we were done talking old times and toasting the Break Room, I did mention everything that had happened with Cat. The responses were predictable. 'I love Cat but I can't stand Alex. And we're not in high school anymore so I don't have to pretend to like him!' was the common response. I agreed with that but, upon hearing Cat was finally considering leaving Alex's worthless ass, I got some of them, including Angie, to agree to reach out to Catalina again.

Maybe more voices from back then saying the same things would help her decide? I don't know. But I pray.

I stayed at a hotel in Kansas and spent a few days with Angie's family, while also checking around for possible business opportunities. I am an expanding chain after all! But eventually I hit the road and went back to Arizona.

Several months passed. The Break Room was torn down. I did shed a few tears when I looked up the demolition on the internet. I got back to business and secured the deal with Sacramento to open a new location. Which would be my springboard in Californian baby! Business was booming!

One day I was working at my desk when my office line rang. I let my secretary pick it up (yes I have one) then she called me on the intercom. "Sir? There's a woman named Catalina on line one. Do you know her?"

"I have it Jenny, thank you!" I said. Catalina was calling me? Was this good news? I answered. "Cat?"

"Donnie!" It was her all right.

"What's going on?" I asked.

"I left Alex," she said.

I wanted to jump for joy at that statement but I kept my composure. "Well Cat, I know how hard that must have been for you. I'm sorry for the pain it's likely caused you and Maria. But I'm happy you left him. Where are you?"

"Staying at a hotel. The same one I found you at actually. I don't know where to go. I only just reconnected with Angie so I hesitate to call her."

"Come to Arizona," I said instantly. This was exactly what I'd hoped for! "I can put you up," I said.

"Thank you Donnie!" she said with obvious relief in her voice.

A few days later she arrived at my house. I lived in one of Phoenix's nicer areas. I don't live in a mansion or anything but it's a nice house. I came outside as she pulled up. She ran up and hugged me, then introduced me to a somber Maria. I brought them inside out of the heat, gave Maria some ice cream, and let her watch my big ass flat screen TV, then led Cat back to the kitchen. "What happened Cat?" I asked her.

"Alex hit me," she said. I stared at her. She turned her head and showed me a bruise on her face. It had healed somewhat and was clearly covered by some makeup but it was there. "He was out-of-his-mind drunk. He went through my phone and saw you, Angie, KC, and some of the others who have reached out to me since I last saw you. Did you have anything to do with that?"

"All I told them was what you were going through, since they hadn't bothered to ask," I said. This was a lie but Catalina didn't need to know that.

"Well Alex flipped out. Said 'we don't need these ingrate assholes you used to have around!' Alex ranted and raved and slobbered and snarled. I finally lost it on him and, well, basically said the same things you said to him in the bar. Then he hit me. Maria saw it and screamed. He threw a beer bottle at her."

I glanced at Maria, who was watching some mindless cartoon on my TV. "Poor girl."

"I left that night," she said. "And here I am."

"And here you are," I said. "I'm sorry it had to come to that Cat. But you two can stay here as long as you want."

"I need a favor," she asked.

"What is it?"

"I need a divorce lawyer. I'm done with this. Done with him. Do you know a good one?"

I nodded. "I'll get you one, and pay for it. Don't bother," I said as she was going to protest. "I know some of the best ones in Arizona! Consider it my apology for shutting you out."

She accepted that and hugged me again. With that I spent the day getting them settled. Cat asked me why such a big house when there was no one else here? I shrugged and said I had liked the vibe of the place when I was house shopping. I gave them their own rooms and put a smaller TV in Maria's room so she could watch TV until she fell asleep. I made some calls relating to divorce lawyers and then spent my time helping Cat in whatever way I could. She'd finally left Alex, so she was going to be unsteady and emotional. When she asked to take a shower before bed, I let her be despite wanting nothing more than to crack that door and see the body I'd jacked off to so many times. But this was not the time to be looking to fuck her.

After Maria went to sleep, we talked some more, then we both went to bed. I was just about to get into my bed when there was a knock on my door. It was her. In the bathrobe I'd loaned her for the night. "Yes?" I said. "Do you need something?"

In reply she stepped in, closed the door, and kissed me. I froze, then remembered myself and kissed her back. Hotly. Hard. Like I'd wanted her my whole life.

Because I had.

She moaned into it and returned it with equal passion. But something gnawed at my mind and I had to break it. "Cat," I said breathlessly. "Please don't think I'm not thrilled. But I have to ask. Are you coming onto me because of him?"

She sighed. "I haven't felt like anyone loved me in years, Donnie. Years. Despite being married and watching Maria grow. Everything has been a fight for survival. And Alex either doesn't love me anymore, or he never did and I was too stupid to see what you all saw."

"You're not-"

She covered my mouth. "Don't. You guys were right about him. I wanted the thrill of the bad boy and believed I could change him for the better. Then I wanted to heal my broken bad boy, which would surely change him for the better! Then I had a kid with my broken bad boy, and that had to change him right? Well it never did. Ever. Now I finally understand. And ever since you said you loved me and always had, I spent some time realizing the childhood and teenage dirtbag friend I should have turned to wasn't bad boy Alex, but nerdy little you." She smiled at me.

"I was never confident in myself back then," I said. "So it was hard to tell how I felt about you."

"Then yes. Now, with hindsight? I see how dumb I was. And to be honest, there is a part of me that knows doing this, doing you, will kill him. Because you were what sent him over the edge," she said honestly.

"Me?"

"Yes Donnie. You. You showing up with high successful business chain while all he had was memories of when he was good at something besides drinking. He would drunkenly curse your name every night."

"I'm sorry Cat," I said.

"Don't be. In a way, that helped me realize you were right. And like I said, part of me knows that doing this with you will crush him. And right now, he deserves that. But more importantly, I deserve to be loved. And you deserve to have something that's a long time coming!" Cat undid the bathrobe and let it fall.

Her body was better than I ever imagined. Her big tits were full, round, no sag at all despite having a kid and being nearly forty. Dark brown nipples, which were already erect. The rest of her body was thicker than then obviously but I didn't care. As I said, it suited her. She had no pubic hair at all. I grew rock hard very quickly looking at her. She saw it and spoke. "I'm all yours!"

Fuck you Alex! I thought triumphantly. Then I banished all thought of that loser from my mind and pulled Catalina to me. I sucked one of her nipples into my mouth and licked it hungrily, my hands reaching around to seize and grope her ass firmly. "God yes!" she said. I gave both her nipples the attention she so desperately needed, spanking her ass a few times. She reached down and stroked my hard dick, which made me suck harder. Finally I pulled her down and laid her on her back.

I made out with her, then kissed down her neck, throat, across her collar bone, and down her torso. I spent some more time sucking on her big boobs, then went lower. She was moaning and encouraging me and I went down on her pussy. I've always loved eating women out but nobody else I'd ever been with got it like this.

I'd wanted this pussy for literal decades.

I licked every inch of her sex. So perfect despite having pushed a kid out. She was groping her own big boobs and moaning my name. I went up and down, tonging every inch of her pussy. I pushed my tongue inside her and tongue fucked her. She nearly came off my bed when I did that. "Donnie, of my fucking God!" she said loudly.

"Careful, don't wake Maria!" I said. Then I went back to work, focusing on her clit now. I licked her like she was ice cream. She muffled her voice with my pillow. I reached up to squeeze her big tits hard, my tongue lashing her nub. This sent her over the edge and she screamed into my pillow, having a massive orgasm.

Damn she tasted good.

I climbed up on top of her and kissed her hard as I finally slide my dick inside of her. We both moaned into each other's faces as I went in as deep as I could, my bed creaking while I fucked the girl of my dreams after so many years of wanting it. She shoved my face into her tits. "Fuck me!" she said. I complied and went faster, making my bed shake more as I have it to her. Her pussy so so fucking good, better than I'd ever imagined. I went to town on her, fucking Catalina with every ounce of passion I had. After a while of that, I paused. "Cat?"

"Yes?"

"I want to see those tits bounce while you ride me."

She smiled. "Lay back Donnie!" We switched positions and she got on top. She cupped her own tits as she slid onto me and begin bouncing. I moaned as loud as her, watching her tits bounce hard as she rode, then watching her hot pussy envelope my dick. I had to grope her rack then and I did, harder than ever. "Fuck yes, fuck yes," she said. I thrusted my hips upwards as she came down, giving her maximum penetration. Her moans were constant. I prayed Maria was still asleep.

Finally I knew it was almost over. I considered lasting this long with the woman I'd wanted since I was old enough to want women a massive success. But I was nearly done. "I'm close."

"Where do you want it?" she asked me.

"Your mouth?" I asked in a moan.

She smiled. She got off me then went down and took my aching cock into her mouth. She sucked me as hard as she had been riding me, giving me 'cum baby' eyes with her beautiful eyes. It didn't take long for me to bury my face in the pillow this time as I bellowed loudly when shooting a massive load into her mouth.

She swallowed every bit of it too. Then she crawled up and laid on me. I don't know how long we just laid there but eventually she spoke. "Did that match your fantasies?"

"Far exceeded them," I replied.

"Donnie, I needed this more than I can say."

"So did I."

"Thank you."

"Anytime Cat." That made her laugh.

We talked the next morning about the fact that she didn't want a relationship right now, given what had happened. I told her I understood. We did fuck a few more times, mind you. Each time amazing.

After about a week of that we got into the serious stuff. I got her a lawyer and she called Alex and told him she was filing for divorce. He flew off the handle as you might expect but she would not back down. She told him if he got sober and clean, she'd not contest visitation with Maria. She went back to Texas without me, insisting she do this alone. I let her.

They got divorced. Alex, to my complete and utter amazement, agreed to enter rehab and get sober for the first time since, well, since he learned what alcohol was. Cat was right. Whatever faults Alex did have, he cared about his daughter. That was good.

Once they were officially divorced, Cat asked me about a real relationship. I told her we would take it however we needed to take it. Slow, fast, hot, cold, didn't matter to me. I just wanted her. As I always had. She did not want to live in Arizona though. So I bought her a house back home in our old home town in northern Texas. I told her I traveled enough and would come see her anytime she wanted.

About four months later she asked me during a visit for some money. She'd never asked this before and when I asked why, she said she wanted to be her own boss and have her own business. Lord knows I understand that. So in exchange for a fifty-fifty split on ownership, I bought her the very bar that Alex and I had our final argument in on that fateful night.

"So what are you gonna do here?" I asked her as we walked around.

"Spruce the place up. Make it better lit. New pool tables. Maybe a ski ball machine. Some air hockey tables. It may still be a bar, but I want to bring it out of dingy dive bar vibes."

I nodded. "Sounds easy to me. How's Alex?"

"Four months sober. Maria is with him today."

"Good for him!" Those are words I never ever thought I'd ever speak aloud. Yet there they were. But his turning over a new leaf did have one potential complication. "Has he tried-?"

"To get me back?" she asked anticipating the question. "No. I told him I forgave him when he asked me to forgive him. But I don't want him back. There's too much baggage there. So long as he stays clean, he can see Maria to his heart's content."

"Good," I nodded.

"Don't worry, we can still fuck," she winked.

"It's more than that, you know."

"I know Donnie. Anyway, I am going to rename this place."

"Oh yeah? What is it going to be called?"

She smiled widely. "The Break Room!"

I laughed. "Provided that's not trademarked!"

"It's not," she said. "I checked. The trademark was abandoned when the place was sold. So now it's mine!"

The Break Room had risen again. I smiled at her. "Well. I know just the gang to call for our grand reopening!"

She smiled in agreement.

Looks like this teenage dirtbag got the girl in the end!

The End