Fated Reunion

Mark stared at the computer screen. He just finished re-reading the chapter he was stuck on. Re-reading actually was an understatement. He had been going over this same part for two days now. On Wednesday he had turned it in thinking that it was fine. It was a love scene. Simple, right? Wrong. The editor handed it back to him and said it was missing passion, romance, and blah, blah, blah.

"What would I know of such things?" Mark said out loud as he brushed his medium length brown hair back.

Mark had just broken up with his girlfriend of 6 months. They had been talking about getting married, and having kids and so on. Then on Monday he decided to come home early from work, and walked in on her getting the shit fucked out of her by a coworker. She couldn't even come up with a good excuse as to why. He had bigger muscles, and that was about it. Mark though was no pansy. He kept himself in shape, through running, sports, and martial arts. He just liked to keep himself more toned then buff. He didn't care anyways. As far as he was concerned they were over.

Mark glanced at the clock. 10 PM. He was done working today. It was time to go get drunk. He saved the file to his thumb drive and turned off the computer. He grabbed his coat from the hanger and headed out the door. As he stepped out of the building he recounted the crap ass week he's been having. Along with his other problems Mark's car had been towed yesterday for parking an inch into a no parking zone.

"What a fucking week," he said heading for a bus stop.

***

Mark arrived at his apartment about 11 and was back out the door in a half an hour. There was a new bar that had just opened up a few weeks ago a couple of blocks from where he lived that he wanted to check out and started heading that way. He arrived at the bar named 'Nicole's Bar & Grill' about 11:45. Time enough for a couple of drinks. He looked at the name, it sounded familiar.

He walked in and found it a decent size and that it only a little packed. Most of the people were thankfully in tables and not at the bar. He showed his ID to the bouncer. He was 25 as of a couple months ago. He suddenly got this felling that he had seen the bouncer before. He was a couple inches taller than Mark who was 5'9". But he looked like he worked out a little, and Mark guessed that he knew how to handle himself as well. The dude had short cut black hair, and wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt. He shrugged thinking he was just tired and walked over to the bar. He took his seat and called for the bartender and the other end of the bar, a hot young woman who had her back to him.

"Be right there!" She yelled so he could hear her. She still had yet to turn around, busy with getting some other customer their drinks. Mark gave her a quick once over. From what he could see he liked. She was slim and even from the back he could tell she was toned. She looked to around his age. She was only two or three inches shorter than him. Her long dark hair fell to her mid back and had three separate braids in it. The feature that kept drawing his eyes though was her ass (Hell, he was a guy. so what).

When she turned so Mark could see the other half he smiled. He liked this half as well. She had a beautiful young face and he knew he had guessed accurately on her age. She had a pair of tight blue jeans and a tight black blouse that was tucked in as well. It must be the uniform. His eyes kept traveling to her breasts (Guy, so what?). They were easily full C-cups. He guessed they were real too. She looked like a dark haired goddess. It was no wonder this bar had gotten so popular.

Something tugged at the back of Mark's mind. She suddenly looked really familiar. It was more then familiar. He knew this girl, but from where? The name of the bar ran through his head. Ding. It was like a lightning bolt struck his head.

"Nicole?!" Mark yelled trying to confirm it.

"That's my name!" She yelled back turning and giving Mark a smile.

"Nicole Himes?!" Mark yelled being more specific.

Nicole froze in the middle of taking an order holding up a finger to the customer for a jester that she needed a moment. The entire bar looked over at Mark, but he never cared. He was only wondering if this girl remembered who he was as well. She stared at him for a moment tying to figure out who he was. Then her eyes shot open in recognition.

"Mark?!" She screamed. "Mark Hollest?! Oh my fucking god!"

Nicole quickly ran over to where he was and threw her arms around him. Mark could not believe who he had just run into. Someone he thought he would never see again and wanted to, oh, so badly. Nicole Himes. It brought back so many memories.

"I can't believe it! It's so good to see you," she said after breaking the hug. "Give me a second and I'll be right back."

Nicole walked back over to the customer she was helping and apologized saying the drink was on the house. Mark watched her, he was actually shaking. He knew Nicole from a long time ago. He was 12 when they first met. Her family moved to Seattle from Boston. She made friends easily and he met her through a friend of a friend. They had hit it off well. Mark quickly developed a crush. She was one of those girls that you liked so much but never had the guts to ask out. They remained friends through school but drifted apart when he left for college. That was 6 years ago. He had been accurate in her age; she was only a few months younger then him. He shook his head as she made her way too him and reached over to give him another hug. "Damn it's so good to see you," he said after they broke the hug.

"It's good to see you too," she replied. "Holy shit! I have goose bumps right now. How you been?"

"Well my week's been kinda shity, but seeing you really brightens it up for me," Steve said, making her smile and blush a little when he did.

"Well what can I get you? Drinks are defiantly on the house tonight!"

"Really? Well how bout a bud-light?"

"Coming up!" She walked over to the cooler to grab his drink. As she bent over he reconfirmed his thought that she was a dark haired goddess (For fucks sake, he's a guy, so what?).

The two talked the whole night in between her helping customers. Turns out that after he left for school she started to work some odd jobs here and there. At one point, after she turned 21, she decided to get a job bartending. She quickly learned the trade and after a while of saving up started taking some business classes. After she got her degree she continued to work until she had enough money to open this store up.

"Thankfully Shawn needed some work and offered to help me," Nicole said as she finished her story.

"Holy shit!" Mark exclaimed. "Are you telling me that's little Shawn at the door?!"

"Not so little now is he?" Nicole asked a rhetorical question. "Hey Shawn! Come say hi to Mark! You remember him don't you?"

"You bet I do," the bouncer said as he walked over and shook Mark's hand. "Didn't you rag on me a lot when I was a kid?"

"Um... yeah kinda," Mark said wincing a little.

Shawn laughed when he saw that. Nicole laughed with him before going to help a customer. The sound of a scuffle at one of the tables drew Shawn's attention and he left to deal with the rowdy customers. Nicole came back after she was done with the customer with a fresh drink for Mark.

"You mentioned your week being kinda shity," she said when she got there. "What's going on?"

Mark didn't want to bore Nicole with his personal drama but she kept insisting. He caved after a while and gave her a short over view of his week. She listened, winced, and gave sympathetic apologies as he did.

"That girl is just a whore," Nicole said after he was done. "You're better off. Hey, did that big muscled guy have a...?"

"If you're asking if he had a Mike Tyson voice, yes he fucking did," Mark finished her question.

"I bet he had a small dick as well," Nicole added.

"I thankfully didn't get to find out," Mark quickly said.

"Well, at least that means you're single."

Mark looked to see Nicole as shocked as he was that she had said that. She was blushing and quickly turned to go help a customer. At this point Shawn came back to say hi again. The rowdy people were quieted, and one was asked to leave, but there was no fight. They chatted and waited until Nicole was able to come back as well.

"I'm sorry if I was a little to forward with that statement earlier," Nicole said when they were alone again. "I've missed you."

Mark saw the embarrassment in her eyes and smiled. He then tried to be a little forward with her. She was leaning on the counter with her elbows. Her hand was a few inches away from Mark's. He reached out, took her hand into his and squeezed lightly. He was happy when she squeezed his back.

"I've missed you too," was all he said. She blushed again and smiled.

***

They continued to talk through the rest of the night until the bar began to close at 1:50. Nicole asked if Mark wanted to stay for a couple more drinks with her before he left which he hurriedly agreed. He helped Shawn get the stragglers as Nicole closed her till and by 2:10 the only people still there were the three and a group of Shawn's friends. He and his friends left a little after.

"Remind me to kick his ass later," Shawn said jokingly and then laughed as he walked out the door with his arm around a very beautiful blonde. Nicole walked over and sat down on a stool next to Mark, after she had most everything closed down. She brought two bud-lights with her. She handed one to Mark and they both clinked bottles before taking a drink. They talked more about the past. Old memories made new again. After about 30 minutes and a few more beers the conversation eventually turned to past relationships.

"I always regretted not asking you out," Mark said and immediately wished that he hadn't. "Sorry, it must be the alcohol talking."

"I hope not," Nicole said. He looked back at her as she finished. "Cause I was always hoping that you would've too."

Mark reached out and took Nicole's hand again. He looked into her eyes and then at her lips. He went back to her eyes and impulsively leaned forward stopping himself and wondering if he should be doing this. His question was answered for him by her leaning forward a little as well. He started again as well and they got closer inch by inch until their lips touched. Just the lips. Nicole's lips were soft and full. Mark enjoyed their touch and could not force himself to break from them. The kiss lasted for a little less than a minute, and it was Nicole who broke it.

"Oh shit, I've had too much to drink," she started. "Don't worry. I mean I have to piss real quick."

They both laughed lightly as she got up and headed to the ladies room. Mark started to glance around the room. As he did, he noticed the jukebox on the dance floor was still plugged in. He smiled and walked over to it. Putting in a few coins, he found a song that he knew Nicole would like and hit play. Just as she was walking out of the bathroom the sounds of sweet low jazz came on through the speakers.

Nicole froze with a confused look on her face and turned to the jukebox. She smiled when she saw Mark standing by it holding out his hand to her, smiling himself. She walked over to him and took his hand and moved in close to him sliding her other arm around his back. For the first few moments they just danced and stared into each other's eyes.

"You remembered what I like," Nicole was the first to speak.

"How could I forget that you always liked soft jazz," he said surprising her by doing a quick dip. She giggled as he bought her back up and then smiled.

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to seduce me," she gave him a sarcastic, accusing look.

"Who, me?" Mark tried to look all innocent. "I would never dream about it."

"Good," she said as she rested her head against his shoulder. "But, did you mean what you said about never asking me out?"

"Every word. You were the girl that got away for me."

"Good," she said looking back up at him. "Because I meant everything I said as well."

Then they were kissing again. It was a full kiss this time. Mark had pushed his tongue deep into Nicole's mouth. She let him, pushing her own into his. They swirled around each other as if it were a practice dance. Mark thought that she tasted so wonderful, and Nicole thought the same of him.

Nicole's hands traveled up and down Mark's back. One of Mark's hands did the same but the other started to run through Nicole's soft dark hair. Neither knew how long they kissed. Neither cared either. Time just seemed to slow down as they did. All they know was that the music had been stopped for a while before they were finished. It was the lady who finally broke the kiss again.

"Mark... I mmm... have to...stop," she was gasping between breaths and small pecks. "Please understand."

"I understand...," Mark finally stopped to give her time to break away.

"It's not that I don't want you. I really, 'really' do. It's just, not here, not now."

"I told you, I understand," he said putting a finger to her lips which she in turn kissed. After they broke away Nicole finished locking the rest of the bar up. Since she lived quite a ways away, and since she had been drinking, they decided to head over to Mark's. Once there they would call a cab for her. They walked side by side, arms around each other. They didn't talk that much, just wanting to be close to each other. It took them about a half an hour to finally get to his place.

"Do you mind if I came up to wait," Nicole asked pulling her coat tighter, trying to ward off the cold.

"Of course not," Mark asked leading her up the steps to the front of his apartment complex. "I'm not going to leave you out here to freeze."

The first thing Nicole had noticed when they entered the apartment was how clean it was. She was surprised. When he told her that he was a writer she pictured a house full of loose notes of paper lying around the house. The only place in the house cluttered with stuff was the kitchen table. She guessed that he wanted to keep it to a contained area.

"Sorry about the mess on the table," Mark said to her as he took her coat. He kicked off his shoes and was surprised when she did too. "It's my work area so it gets cluttered."

"It's quite alright," she told him while taking off her shoes after seeing him do so. "Actually I expected it to be messier than this."

"Thanks, uh, I think," he said scratching his head and turning to the table. "Unfortunatly, I think the phone book is in that mess somewhere."

Mark started to walk over but stopped when he felt Nicole's arms wrap around his body. She squeezed and rubbed his chest sliding her hands up and down. She just held him for a few minutes before finally talking.

"Find the book later," she said.

"I thought you didn't want to do this tonight," Mark said turning around in her arms.

"I said not here, not now," she repeated her words from earlier. "Not here, meaning not in my bar. If it were to happen I wanted it to be in place a little nicer than my bar counter. Not now, meaning I wanted a little time to sober up a little and clear my head. To evaluate what I was feeling at that point. But there's no question now. I want you. I've wanted you for such a long time."

Mark pulled her to him in another kiss. It was a hard deep kiss that showed no signs of ending anytime soon. At one point (neither knew who it was though they would jokingly argue who) someone stumbled and they ended up on the floor. They situated themselves so Mark was on the bottom and Nicole was on top of him. Mark's hands traveled to Nicole's breasts and started to squeeze and rub the soft mounds. He relished how soft and full they were. She moaned and whimpered a little through their kiss as he kneaded them. She reached between his legs, found the growing bulge there, and began to stroke it. Mark broke the kiss only so he could start kissing and sucking on her neck. Her breathing became long and deep. Her crotch began to get hot and wet.

"Let's move to the bedroom," Mark said stopping what he was doing so he could whisper in her ear.

"Yeah, good idea," she said smiling at him.

Nicole was able to tear herself away so they could stand back up. Mark took her hand and led her down the hall to the bedroom. Once inside he allowed himself to be pushed back onto the bed, which he then scooted back so he could rest his head on a pillow. She climbed onto the bed, pulled his socks off and then her own and then climbed back onto him, in the same position they had just been in. They began to make out again, rubbing each other's bodies with their hands. Mark's lips quickly found Nicole's neck again. She squealed and then moaned as he bit down lightly on the flesh.

"If you keep this up you're going to leave a mark!" She told him.

Mark didn't listen, and kept nibbling, licking, and sucking on her neck. As he felt her hands start to free his shirt from his waist band. He stopped so that he could raise his arms as she pulled it off him. Before he could go back to the neck she quickly bent down and bit one his nipples, extracting a gasp from him. She swirled and flicked her tongue around it before switching to the other and playing with that one.

Mark brought her back up to him so he could get another kiss. He also did it so that his hands could go to her blouse. He found the top button and undid it. He worked his way down slowly. Nicole helped him by freeing the bottom of the shirt from her jeans as he undid the buttons. She sat up when the last button was undone and let it slide off her body. Her breasts looked beautiful even through the black silk covering of her bra.

Mark gazed at her eyes, smiled, and sat up with her. He crossed his legs so that he was sitting Indian Style and moved Nicole's legs so that they were wrapped around his waist. He drew Nicole into a kiss again, pressing his naked chest against her half-naked one. His hands glided across her back trying to find the clasp to her bra. She broke the kiss and smiled at him trying in vain to find what he was looking for.

"It's in the front," she said leaning back for him.

Mark grasped the clasp with one hand, as he held her with the other, and undid it. Nicole helped him as he slid the soft material off leaving her natural 30c's to view in the moonlight (they had yet to turn on the bedroom light). He lifted her and turned so he could lie her down on to the bed and climb half on top of her. He gazed down at the half naked woman lying in front of him. He had never thought about anyone the way he had her. And now she was here, with him. He smiled and ran his hand across her cheek. She smiled back and just gazed into his eyes.

"You are so beautiful," Mark said to her.

"Sure, you wait until you get my top off to say something like that," she replied with a smile and blushing.

"I'm not talking about anything below your neck. All of that is a bonus. Your real beauty is right here," he said stroking her face again.

"You're already getting laid, so you can stop making me blush," which she actually was.

"I'm not saying it to get laid. I'm saying it because it's true."

Nicole pulled him to her after he said that in an attempt to keep him from making her blush anymore. He fell on her, their naked chests pressing together for the first time. His right hand found her left breast, grasping the flesh not cloth, and began to massage it. She immediately began to moan and gasp again as he rubbed the tit. He broke from her mouth and started to kiss his way from her left cheek to the left side of her neck to the breast that he was groping. Nicole gasped when he flicked his tongue across her sensitive nipple. She moaned as he licked, sucked on, and playfully bit the small little bud. He switched to the other nipple and started to play with that one, which made her moan even more. He continued to switch back and forth between her breast, assaulting her mounds and nipples.