Success Has It's Price Ch. 02

Things were going well in my life. Work was good, and things at home were even better. Frank had given me his blessing to ask Marie to marry me.

I suppose that sounds a little old-fashioned today, but I wanted to do things the right way. Before I asked the woman I loved to spend the rest of her life with me, I wanted to know that I had Frank's blessing.

For weeks, I had been thinking about how to do it.

I wanted the moment to be special... not just for me, but for Marie. I wanted us to remember it for the rest of our lives.

Finally, the night came.

It was a beautiful, moonlit evening when I drove Marie to a nearby lake. The lake had always been one of my favorite places to swim when I was younger, but that night it seemed almost magical.

The moonlight shimmered across the water, and the quiet of the evening made it feel as though the rest of the world had disappeared.

I had the music playing loudly as we drove, but underneath it all, I could hear my own heartbeat.

My nerves were getting the best of me.

What if I had misread how she really felt about me? What if she said no?

I tried not to think about it, but the questions kept coming.

Marie had become my entire world. The thought of her saying no was almost too painful to contemplate.

As we got closer to the lake, I took a deep breath and tried to settle myself down.

When we arrived, there was no one else around.

Perfect.

I pulled the car to a stop, took one more deep breath, and hurried around to the passenger side to open the door for her. I took Marie's hand and led her towards the water.

We walked in silence until we reached the edge of the lake.

Then I turned to face her.

"What's wrong, Michael?" she asked, looking at me with concern.

"Nothing."

But there was definitely something.

Before I could lose my nerve, I dropped to one knee and reached into my pocket. I pulled out the ring and looked up into her eyes.

"Marie, I love you more than life itself. Will you do me the honor of sharing your life with me?"

For a moment she didn't say anything.

Then came the words I had been hoping and praying to hear.

"Yes, yes!"

I don't remember much about what happened immediately afterward. I suppose we hugged, kissed, laughed, and probably said the same things to each other more than once.

But I do remember how I felt.

Standing there beside the quiet lake, with the moon shining down on us, I felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Nothing could ever come between us now, or so I thought.

For the next few months, I was on top of the world, not suspecting my impending downfall. We hadn't set a wedding date yet, and there was no reason to rush. We were enjoying being engaged and looking forward to whatever came next.

Stan was busy planning a huge celebration for us at his mansion that Saturday night.

We each gave him a list of family and friends to invite. Between family, friends, and co-workers, it promised to be quite a party.

As Saturday approached, I think we were both getting a little nervous. This was more than just a party. It was our first big celebration as an engaged couple, with the people closest to us there to share the occasion.

Because I had to show a property that afternoon, we decided to meet at Stan's at 7:30.

Marie spent the afternoon getting ready, having her hair done and treating herself to a manicure and pedicure so she could put her best foot forward.... no pun intended.

My afternoon didn't go quite as smoothly.

Showing the property took longer than expected and left me behind schedule. By the time I finished and dropped off the paperwork at the office, I was racing home to shower, shave and get dressed.

When I arrived, Marie met me at the door and was absolutely glowing. Gorgeous was the only word that came to mind.

We embraced for a quick kiss before going inside.

The party turned out to be everything we hoped for.... and then some.

It was a fun, busy and exhausting evening. We greeted our guests, introduced each other to friends who we hadn't met yet, made the rounds with our parents, and, of course, enjoyed a few drinks along the way. By the end of the evening, we were running on fumes.

Marie had developed a terrible headache, so she headed back to her place.

I stayed behind with all four parents to help clean up the aftermath of the party.

Thankfully, our parents seemed to get along remarkably well.

What a relief.

Since Marie wasn't feeling well, I decided to head back to my own place and give her a chance to sleep in.

By the time I finally made it home, it was about 2:30 in the morning. I was exhausted. I stripped down to my boxers, washed up, and was bout ready to climb into bed. After a few bourbons and a long day, I was more than ready to call it a night.

Then I heard it.

A faint knock on the door.

I stopped.

Who the hell could be here at this hour? I wondered.

I made my way to the door and opened it.

Standing there was Marie's sister Melanie.... and she was clearly inebriated.

Before I could say anything, she started to fall forward. I caught her and half-carried her into the apartment.

"Good god, Melanie. What are you doing here," I asked slightly annoyed.

She looked at me, and through her drunken haze, I could see something was wrong.

"I didn't know where else to go."

For several seconds, neither of us said a word.

Melanie's arms around my neck as she leaned against me, standing there in my boxers, for support.

Finally, through quiet sobs, she told me what happened.

"My boyfriend and I broke up tonight. He locked me out of our apartment and told me he was tired of dealing with me."

I stood there. Not knowing what to say. She was vulnerable, upset, and clearly intoxicated. I should have been thinking about how to help her.

Instead, I became painfully aware of how close she was.

I could feel my own arousal and so could she.

For a moment we simply looked at each other. I knew this was wrong. I knew I should stop, help her sober up, and find somewhere safe for her to go stay.

But the bourbon had dulled my judgement and the combination of attraction and the circumstances of that night overwhelmed whatever common sense I had left.

She leaned towards me.

Our lips met.

What began as a single kiss quickly became something neither of us seemed willing.... or able... to stop.

I pressed my bulge against her body, and she pressed her lips to mine. Even then, a part of me was screaming that I was making a horrible mistake.

But I ignored it.

What followed happened with a speed that seemed almost impossible.

Melanie dropped to her knees and pulled my boxers down around my ankles.

My cock was at full attention and staring her right in the face.

Without a word she reached up and wrapped her fingers around my shaft and rubbed the head across her lips.

I knew I should stop this, but I couldn't move. Precum was already leaking from the tip and covering her lips.

The boundaries I should have maintained, disappeared, replaced by an overwhelming rush of desire. For those few minutes, I stopped thinking about Marie, about the consequences, and about the kind of man I wanted to be.

I simply gave in.

What was I doing, I thought helplessly as she opened her lips and wrapped them around my cockhead.

A moan escaped my lips and my hands reached out and held her head.

There was no turning back now as I pulled her onto my shaft. The desire I felt for her was undeniable.

I was shocked as she easily took my eight inches into her mouth and down her through.

"Oh god," I moaned loudly.

"We ca... can't," I muttered as I started to move my hips back and forth, slowly fucking her mouth.

I picked up speed as I thrust into her mouth, holding her her head firmly in my grasp.

I was no longer in my right mind as she accepted my first load of cum directly into her throat, swallowing every drop.

Without hesitation, I withdrew from her warm mouth and lifted her up. She pushed me back onto the couch, suddenly appearing far less inebriated.

She straddled my lap and lifted her skirt. I immediately noticed she wasn't wearing any underwear as she took my cock, and like Marie had done months earlier, inserted the head between her lips and lowered herself down my shaft.

She leaned forward and pressed her cum covered lips against mine, forcing her tongue into my mouth.

I tasted our mixed juices on her lips and tongue.

"Oh my god," I uttered as I found her wet pussy enveloping my shaft.

But unlike my first time with Marie, I immediately rolled her onto her back and began thrusting violently into her. Faster, harder, with more lust than I ever felt for a woman.

It didn't take long for both of us to climax, me filling her with my seed.

We lay still, me on top of her and my cock deep inside her.

When it was over, the silence that followed felt completely different from the silence that had preceded it.

Reality began to set in.

I looked at Melanie, then around the room, as though somehow the familiar surroundings might explain what just happened.

"Oh my god, Melanie," I whispered. "This can't be."

She just looked up at me with a small, almost a mischievous smile.

"What have I done," I said aloud loud, more to myself than her.

The shame was already beginning to settle in.

"We can never do this again," I told her quietly. "And we can never tell anyone,"

Melanie didn't argue. She simply smiled, straightened her clothes, and walked toward the door. Before leaving, she turned back and gave me a light kiss on the lips.

Then she was gone.

I stood there alone, staring at the closed door.

Only a few hours earlier, I was celebrating my engagement to Marie with our families and friends. I had felt like the luckiest man alive.

Now I was standing naked in the darkness, trying to understand how I had managed to destroy that feeling in a matter of minutes.

I went to bed, but sleep didn't come easily.

No one can ever know about this, I thought as I finally turned out the lights.

I believed the secret would stay between me and Melanie as I drifted off to sleep.

Little did I know, the cat was already out of the bag!