Chapter One

Cassandra

 

In this cold and ugly metropolis every day is exactly the same. I wake up, shower, go to work, come home, eat, sleep, wake up and do the whole thing over again. Day after day after day. I break up the monotony by eating out occasionally. I work Mon.-Sat., off on Sundays.

I often look at people in my office or in the break room, hoping to make some kind of personal connection with someone. Everyone seems wrapped up in their own separate worlds, living lives without beauty or meaning, staring at their I-Phones. Other than exchanging trivial conversation, no one bothers to talk to or make eye contact with each other. Life has gone on this way for many years, around and around in the same endless circle, like the spokes of a wheel. But on the evening of my 29th birthday something extraordinary happened to me. A bright light suddenly shined into the darkness of my existence.

My birthday started out like any other tedious day in my life. I woke up, went to work, made sales and came home. Other than receiving the annual card from my Mother, nothing out of the ordinary happened. I didn't have anyone in particular to celebrate with so I figured I'd spend the evening either food shopping or grabbing dinner alone. It didn't matter which one. Since my refrigerator was empty, I decided to go out food shopping. I know it's pathetic, but I didn't have anything better to do. Even my birthday was pretty boring, life sucked, etc...

Walking aimlessly around Safeway, I stopped to look at the cantaloupes. I was feeling particularly vulnerable on my "special day". It had been months since I last went out on a date and I missed the physical contact of a woman, the touch of a hand, the sensation of long hair slipping through my fingers, a light kiss on the lips. As there was no one in the produce aisle to stop me, I took one of the melons into my hands, shut my eyes and pretended it was a woman's breast, squeezing the rind, fondling it. I put down the cantaloupe and picked up a honeydew melon, brushing my thumb lightly across the smooth skin.

Suddenly, I felt the presence of someone watching me. I opened my eyes, looked over my shoulder and there she was, appearing as if in a vision, an aura of bright fluorescent light surrounding her. I gazed for a moment into her lovely face. Just as I was about to look away from her, she spoke to me.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself..."

I looked around to see if there was someone else she was talking to, but we were alone amongst the fruits and vegetables.

"What?" I asked. "I'm sorry. Are you talking to me?"

She nodded and smiled. The way she stared so deeply into my eyes made me feel I no longer was invisible, no longer alone.

"I've been watching you. You seem to really enjoy squeezing those melons. They look like they'd be juicy and ripe. Are they in season?" she asked, blinking her eyes at me.

I parted my lips to respond but no words came out. In the awkward silence, she arched her back and her breasts stood out quite prominently before me, her puffy nipples clearly protruding under the light silky material of her dress. A silver chain with a small gold cross dangled from her neck, drawing my eye to her crescent-shaped flesh. Envious of the necklace, I wished I could be that little cross just for a moment, nestled quite comfortably in the midst of her lovely cleavage. The sight of her beautiful breasts literally took my breath away.

Embarrassed, I quickly looked away when she caught me glancing down at her body. I couldn't believe this attractive woman was actually talking to me. Nothing extraordinary like this ever happens, especially in Illinois. If I hadn't heard her voice and seen her standing close, I would've thought I'd imagined her. My heart pounded hard in my chest as she continued to flirt with me.

"So what do you think, Sir? Are you going to take one of them home with you this evening? Or perhaps... two of them? One for each hand?"

Was she talking about what I thought she was talking about? I mumbled my reply.

"Uh, I'm sorry... I'm not... quite sure what you mean."

"I mean... are you going to buy them? Are the melons ripe?"

"The melons?"

"Yes."

"I... I don't really know."

"Perhaps you need more experience touching them. I can call over a grocer to show you exactly how to squeeze them properly, to see if they'd be juicy inside."

I wondered if the guy in the produce aisle would be as confused as I was about which melons the pretty young lady was referring to. She actually began to look across the store to find an employee.

"No. I... I don't think I need any... help. Thank you," I said.

She picked up a melon briefly, squeezed it and put it down.

"So which ones do you like better?" she asked.

"What do you mean?"

"Do you prefer big ones or small ones?"

"You mean... the melons?" I asked, rather awkwardly.

Cassandra smiled.

"Why yes. Of course, I mean the melons. Isn't that what we're talking about? Did you think I was referring to something else?" she asked, raising her eyebrows in a teasing manner.

"No, the melons, of course..."

"So. Everyone has their own individual taste. Which do you prefer, Sir? Big or small."

"Oh, well, I guess I like... all melons... large and small."

Cassandra stared deeply into my eyes.

"I see. Large or small, it doesn't really matter, does it? As long as they're soft to touch, sweet and juicy to taste. Right?"

"Right..." I said, getting lost in her hypnotic green eyes.

She smiled and suddenly began unbuttoning the front of her dress. I couldn't believe it. Right in the middle of Safeway! I looked over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching.

"Miss... What are you doing?"

I glanced down as more and more of her creamy white skin was revealed.

"So, you still can't tell if the one you're holding is ripe?"

Cassandra suddenly bent over to adjust her stockings. When she stood up one of the loose straps of her dress fell off her shoulder and slid halfway down her arm, revealing her body. I had never seen a woman's breast revealed in a public setting. I couldn't help but stare. Her bra was completely sheer and displayed her perfectly formed bosom. She seemed oblivious to the fact her flesh was fully exposed before my eyes. It was glorious to behold, pendulous and full. I longed to cup it in my two hands, take the pretty plump nipple between my lips, shut my eyes and suck on it for the rest of my life. My lips parted and a pool of saliva formed at the back of my mouth. I knew she could see me staring, but I was unable to stop. One look at her voluptuous breast and I was obsessed. I swallowed before the drool literally escaped from the corner of my mouth.

"Would you like to practice, to see if they're ripe and juicy enough for you?"

"What?"

"Would you like to practice on these?"

I couldn't believe it. Was she offering her...?

"I'm sorry... I'm still not quite sure I..."

What happened next was the sexiest moment in my life. For a brief moment, this beautiful light brown haired woman transported me out of this drab suburb into some kind of exciting alternative sensual universe I never knew existed. In this grocery store in the middle of nowhere, situated between an Office Depot and a Wal-Mart, in a suburban town too boring to mention, Cassandra reached over, took the honeydew from my hands and set it back down on the top of the pile. Looking into my eyes, she took my hands and slipped them directly under her dress and over the cup of her bra. Once I had her flesh in my grasp, she let go of my hands and held her arms at her sides. Her soft breasts felt heavy in my hands. Over the silky material of her bra I fondled her, rubbing her swollen tender nipples with my thumbs. Cassandra's lips parted at the contact and she tilted her head back.

Suddenly, I increased the pressure on Cassandra's breasts, taking complete possession of them, claiming them as mine. Like a starving man, my fingers closed tightly around her flesh. She breathed in deeply and exhaled as I constricted her skin, fluttering her eyelids and shutting them. It aroused me to see how much she responded to being held so firmly in my grasp. The more I squeezed her flesh, the more the flesh of Cassandra's pretty breasts seemed to melt into my palms. I looked in the mirror above the vegetables and watched myself in the reflection as I fondled her. She rested the side of her head against my shoulder.

"What's your name?" she whispered.

"Charles Anderson," I said.

"That's a nice name. Are you finished squeezing the melons, Mr. Anderson?"

"Oh... Yes."

I released my grip slightly, but didn't let go of her breasts.

"I think you'd better let go now, Charles, you're squeezing them so hard. We wouldn't want to bruise the fruit in the store, would we?"

Coming back to my senses, I immediately slipped my hands out from under her dress. Cassandra opened her eyes. I looked around the grocery store to see if anyone had seen us. Luckily, we were still alone in the aisle. I exhaled; embarrassed I had lost control and touched her intimately in the middle of a public place.

"Excuse me. I wasn't... I didn't mean to... squeeze you... so hard... I don't know what came over me. I hope I haven't hurt you. I'm terribly sorry..."

Cassandra leaned forward and whispered in my ear as she adjusted the strap of her dress back over her shoulder. She left the top few buttons open on the front of the dress, keeping her bra exposed to my eyes.

"There's no need to apologize, Charles. I think I... like it like that."

"You do?" I whispered back.

She nodded.

"So how did they feel? Were they soft enough for you, Charles? Ripe?"

"Yes. They're very soft and... ripe."

She smiled at me in a sweet and feminine way.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"I'm sorry. I can't tell you that."

"Why?"

"It's... complicated. But you can call me Cassandra. It's the name I always wanted to be called. I remember playing games with my sister as a child and I always liked being called that name."

"OK..."

A long moment passed while we stared at each other. After touching her so intimately, I wanted to get to know her and talk to her.

"So... you have a sister, Cassandra? Tell me about her," I said.

Suddenly, she broke eye contact with me and looked down. I had somehow broken the magic of our moment together with my question.

"Well, I guess I'll be going now, Charles," she said.

She started walking away from me.

"What? You're leaving? Wait, Cassandra."

She stopped and looked flirtatiously over her shoulder at me once more, while nibbling on her lower lip.

"Yes?"

"If you're not busy, I was wondering..."

"Yes, Charles? What were you wondering?"

"If you're finished shopping, maybe we could have a coffee and talk. There's a Starbucks around the corner."

"Are you the one, Charles Anderson?"

"The one?"

"The one I've been waiting for? The lucky one?"

"What do you mean?"

"I think you are. Congratulations, Mr. Anderson. You won the prize."

"The prize? What prize?"

"Me, Charles. You won me."

"You?"

"Come on," she said, holding out her hand to me.

As if in a dream, I took her hand.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"To get coffee, silly. And talk. You won, but there are some basic rules you must agree to, in order to claim your prize. We'll discuss it over something frothy. My treat. OK?"

"OK, Cassandra, but I insist on paying for the-"

"It's my treat, OK?"

"OK..."