The Midnight Hour

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*****

December 31st 1977

The Midnight Hour

“Hey Keith, could you give me a hand?” asked a familiar voice from behind the dark-haired teen.

Looking up from the large stainless steel bin that he had been emptying shredded lettuce into, Keith Stone glanced over his shoulder. There he saw Pete Malone, one of his fellow crew mates at the Park Slope Burger Barn, struggling with two large plastic garbage bags.

“Sure thing, Pete,” the eighteen year old replied as he turned the bag of lettuce upside down and shook out the last bits. “Just give me a minute to finish up here and get my coat.”

After tossing the now empty bag into the refuse pail under the table, Keith took the tray and carried it over to the food preparation area where, lifting out an empty bin, he replaced it with the one he’d just filled. Then he took the old container over to one of the oversized sinks and rinsed it out, laying it on a drying rack when he was done.

Returning to Pete and the trash bags, Keith donned a pair of work gloves he carried in his back pocket before trying to lift one of the bags. Even with only a month’s experience under his belt, the teenager knew that the bags were usually heavier than they looked, and the one in front of him proved no exception. Keith had been lifting weights since he was nine, and while no one would describe him as a bodybuilder, it had left him with a well-toned form. Even so, it took the two of them to lift each bag and toss it behind those already piled up in the parking lot dumpster. Much too often, if a bag didn’t clear the top of the pile, it would fall right back at you.

“Thanks, Keith,” Pete said as the nineteen year old took off his own gloves. “I was already on my way out the door when Conrad snagged me and said to take out the trash before I went. I’ll tell you, from the way he was looking at me, I was worried that he was going to ask me to stay a few hours after my shift, and that would’ve really sucked – especially tonight.”

Conrad Wilson was the store manager and notorious for understaffing the schedule, then asking employees to work extra hours at the last minute if things got busy. As he saw it, why schedule people to just stand around with nothing to do if he didn’t have to? Twice during his probation he had done that to Keith, knowing that the new employee wasn’t in a position to say no. Most of the staff thought Conrad was a grade A asshole.

“Oh, did you have something special going on tonight?” Keith asked, trying to act as if Pete hadn’t spent the better part of the last week telling anyone who would listen about having been invited to his uncle’s New Year’s Eve party down in Brooklyn Heights.

Keith had actually read about Pete’s uncle in the Post’s entertainment section a few times. Theodore Malone ran a highly successful talent agency in Manhattan and it was a given that any party of his would be filled with beautiful young women, all eager to make an impression on him. It was Pete’s fevered hope that at least one of them might be willing to settle for making an impression on Ted’s favorite nephew instead. It had been Keith’s belief that, nephew or not, few of those women were going to be impressed by someone who worked at Burger Barn, which had been his primary reason for originally saying no.

“You know very well what tonight is, smart ass,” Pete said with a grin, “and despite the fact that I don’t know why I’m asking, it’s not too late for you to change your mind and come with me. My uncle did say I could bring a guest.”

That his uncle had assumed that that guest would be female was something that had escaped the tall redhead. He had asked several co-workers to go with him, but all had declined, until he’d eventually worked his way down to Keith.

“Sorry, but even if I wanted to change my mind, I wouldn’t be able to go,” Keith replied as he stowed away his own gloves. “I’ll still be here when the ball drops.”

“Wait a second, you’re on closing?” Pete asked, a look of confusion on his face. “I thought you were on the noon to eight shift, just like me.”

“I was, but I switched shifts,” Keith explained.

“On New Year’s Eve?” Pete asked in disbelief. “Who the hell volunteers for the late shift on New Year’s Eve?”

“I guess I do,” Keith smiled. “It’s no big thing, really. Someone asked me to do them a favor and I said yes, it’s as simple as that.”

“That’s some favor,” Pete said, pausing just before the kitchen door to look back and ask who had Keith switched with?

Before Keith could answer, the heavy door suddenly swung open with such force that Pete had to jump back to avoid being hit by it. His abrupt backward motion caught Keith off guard and, in trying to get out of the way, the younger teen tripped and fell to the ground a few feet away.

Stepping out of the doorway, indifferent to the disturbance she’d caused, strode a short haired, buxom blonde wearing the same brown and tan uniform as the two teenagers – although it had to be said, she wore it much better, or at least garnered more interest when she did. Few people cared or even noticed if any of the guys left a blouse button open. Only two months older than Pete, Brooke Porter displayed a haughty expression, one fueled by the belief that, having recently celebrated her twentieth birthday, she was so above her co-workers still in their teens.

“Jesus, Brooke,” Pete yelled once he saw her, “you can’t just slam the door open like that. It almost hit me!”

“Almost doesn’t count,” Brooke replied just as quickly, disdain in her tone.

Trying to ignore Pete, she took hold of the zipper of her winter jacket and pulled it just a bit higher, trying to ward off more of the chilly night air.

Not willing to be ignored, Pete was about to say something else when Brooke looked beyond him and saw the figure picking himself off the ground. It took her a moment to recognize the younger teen, but once she did, her demeanor abruptly changed – and in a manner that totally bewildered Pete.

“Oh my God, Keith, are you okay?” she asked as she rushed past Pete, her voice filled with concern. “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, I’m fine,” Keith said, brushing off some of the dirt that had gotten on his coat when he’d hit the ground.

“Oh, thank goodness,” Brooke said, expressing what actually sounded like genuine relief. “I’d never have forgiven myself if you’d gotten hurt because of something I did. I should’ve been more careful with that door.”

“I’m fine, really,” Keith insisted, even though his shin was a little sore where he had scraped it against the concrete.

“You’re sure?” she repeated.

“I’m sure,” Keith smiled.

They stood there for a few seconds looking at each other, until Brooke said that she had to run an errand for Conrad and that she’d see him later. Then she turned and headed toward the open gate that led out into the street.

Pete had been too dumbfounded to say anything about Brooke’s bizarre behavior, at least until she was out of earshot. Once she was, however, he quickly turned to Keith in search of an explanation.

“What the hell was that about?” he thundered.

“What do you mean?” Keith asked in a much quieter tone.

“Since when does Brooke Porter give you so much as the time of day, much less act concerned about your health?” Pete bellowed. “That bitch wouldn’t care if you were laying on the ground bleeding, other than the fact that she might have to walk around you to get where she was going. That is, if she didn’t decide that would be too much of an inconvenience and just stepped over you instead.”

“Don’t you think that’s a bit harsh?” Keith asked in reply, ignoring the question.

“No,” Pete said firmly. “She’s a first class bitch and doesn’t care who knows it.”

“Well, I’ve only worked a few shifts with her, but so far she’s been nice enough to me,” Keith countered.

“Trust me, that’ll change soon enough,” Pete insisted.

“Maybe she’s trying to turn over a new leaf for New Year’s,” Keith suggested.

“Yeah, right,” Pete grunted as a disturbing thought flashed through his head. “Keith, please tell me that Brooke wasn’t the person you switched shifts with.”

“No, it wasn’t Brooke,” Keith replied, but not without a slight hesitation that, thankfully, Pete didn’t notice.

“Good, because I didn’t think even you could do something that dumb,” Pete said only half-jokingly.

“Shouldn’t you be getting to your party?” Keith pointed out, wanting to end the discussion.

“Oh yeah, right,” Pete replied, glancing at the watch on his wrist. “It’s really a pity you can’t come, it’s going to be a hell of a party.”

“I’ll manage,” Keith smiled, telling his friend to have a good time.

As Pete went off in the same direction Brooke had gone, Keith felt grateful that the older teen was in too much of a hurry to ask any more questions. If he had, Pete might’ve learned that, while he hadn’t switched shifts with Brooke, he had made the swap at her request. And if Pete knew that, he would’ve hounded Keith until he explained why, and that would’ve certainly ruined everything.

As he stepped up to the kitchen door and reached for the handle, Keith mentally revisited the conversation he’d had with Brooke the day before. She had caught him just before the end of his shift as he was getting ready to call it a night.

-=-=-=-=-

“You have a minute, Keith?” Brooke had asked as he was about to go and clean up.

“Sure, do you need something?” he asked.

“Yes, actually I do,” she said. “I need a little favor – well, actually, it’s probably a big favor.”

“Oh?” Keith replied.

During his first few weeks at Burger Barn, Keith had heard a number of disparaging comments about Brooke Porter, ranging from her being a spoiled princess who got the job because the owner was some distant relation, to one using the ‘C’ word to describe her. As he’d said to Pete, Brooke and his schedules rarely overlapped, so he hadn’t yet formed an opinion about her. So, until he did, he preferred to give her the benefit of the doubt.

“Can we talk in the break room?” Brooke asked as she glanced to their right, where another co-worker was unpacking a box of hamburger buns a few feet away.

Break room was a bit of a misnomer, in that the room in which they now stood was primarily used for storage, the walls lined with the raw materials that they daily turned into the finest fast food available, or so the sign out front said. It was the addition of a small table and stools that had led to the often used designation.

“You’re working tomorrow night, aren’t you?” she asked once they were alone.

“Yeah, noon to eight,” Keith replied.

“Me too,” Brooke said. “Only I’m here until closing.”

“That’s too bad,” Keith said, thinking he knew where this was going.

“Oh, I don’t mind,” Brooke said. “I didn’t really have any New Year’s plans.”

Keith found that surprising, but didn’t have a chance to really think about it before Brooke asked if he had any plans of his own.

“Well, my family usually goes over to my aunt’s house to watch the ball drop,” Keith answered.

“No girlfriend?” she unexpectedly asked.

“No, no girlfriend,” he replied a bit embarrassedly.

“Really, a cute guy like you?” Brooke said. “I find that surprising.”

“Well, I was dating someone, but it didn’t work out,” Keith offered, not wanting to sound pathetic.

“Good, I mean not good that it didn’t work out, but good that now I’m sure you’ll understand what I wanted to talk to you about,” Brooke quickly said.

Not knowing yet what she meant by that, Keith didn’t reply, preferring to wait until he had more to go on.

“You might’ve heard that I was going out with Doug Evans,” Brooke said.

Keith nodded, having heard two of the other girls at Burger Barn talking about it. Five ten and a hundred and seventy-five pounds, the blonde haired former high school baseball star had been hired a few months before Keith and quickly drew the interest of just about the entire female staff, at least those under thirty. From what Keith had also heard, Brooke had added to the resentment some felt for her by swooping in and latching on to Doug as her own.

“Well, the key word there is ‘was’,” Brooke emphasized. “Things didn’t quite work out.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that,” Keith offered, wondering if she’d use his own wording to encourage a feeling of empathy towards her.

“Which brings me to the favor,” Brooke quickly added, taking a very deep breath that drew Keith’s attention to her impressive chest, a good part of which was visible through the unbuttoned top of her blouse.

Brooke went on to explain that Doug hadn’t taken their breakup well. In fact, it was getting that even working the same shift as him was proving to be a bit awkward. She’s talked to Conrad about it and, while he said he’d try to work it out that they weren’t scheduled together in the future, there wasn’t anything he could do about New Year’s Eve when the both of them were scheduled to close.

“If it were any other night, I could deal with it,” Brooke continued, “but it’s New Year’s Eve and I really don’t want to be with him at midnight. It might give him the wrong idea.”

“I guess it could,” Keith agreed, “but if you’re looking for me to change shifts with you, I’m …”

“Oh no, not with me,” she cut him off, “with Doug.”

“Excuse me?” Keith said.

“If you switched shifts with Doug, then I would be with you at midnight instead of him,” she stated.

That would solve her problem, Keith thought, but not why he should give up his New Year’s plans, unexciting as they were. To his surprise, Brooke had an answer to that, one both unexpected and, he had to admit, compelling.

“You said you don’t have a girlfriend, right?” she said.

“No, I don’t,” he repeated, slightly annoyed to be asked again since he’d told her that just a few minutes before. “What’s that got to do with anything?”

“Well, sharing a kiss when the ball drops is sort of traditional, isn’t it?” Brooke pointed out. “And since you’re not seeing anyone, my giving you one wouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’m supposed to give up my New Year’s Eve for a kiss?” Keith asked, thinking that would’ve been a weak offer even in junior high. “You really think a kiss from you is worth that much?” .

“It might be,” Brooke grinned as she moved closer to him, again displaying her breasts. “if you take into account what might go with it.”

“What do you mean?” Keith inquired.

“I’m sure you’ve heard some of the unkind things people have said about me,” Brooke replied as she came even closer, until only a few inches separated them, “some of the names they’ve called me. Well, I’m going to be honest with you and admit that not all of them are undeserved. There are times when … well, times that I’m not always a good girl.”

Emphasizing her admission, Brooke reached up and undid the fourth button of her blouse, now exposing the red lace bra beneath it as well as more of the bodacious bounty it contained. Keith took a deep breath, one he almost choked on when, in nearly the same moment, Brooke laid her other hand against his cock, which was already semi-erect, rubbing it a few times.

“You do this for me,” she said as she gripped his hardness even tighter, “and I’ll make sure that you greet the New Year with a bang.”

“Are you saying that you’ll …” Keith asked, almost unable to find his voice.

“Well, I’m not saying that I’d fuck you,” Brooke interjected. “We’d have to see how the night went. But I do give a killer blow job, or so I’ve been told.”

She stroked his cock a few more times, causing Keith to fear he was about to stain his shorts. Then, just as unexpectedly as she had put it there, Brooke pulled her hand away.

“So what’s it going to be, Keith, will you do it?” she asked.

Keith shook his head for a second, trying to clear the sudden fog that had engulfed it. He had to be dreaming, he thought; things like this don’t really happen, at least not to him.

“But what if Doug won’t switch?” Keith asked, his head clearing just enough to see that possible flaw in her plan.

“But what if he will?” Brooke replied. “You have nothing to lose by asking him, and everything to gain.”

“I guess so,” Keith said as he looked down and again lost himself in the fullness of her breasts.

“But you can’t tell anyone about this,” Brooke finally added as a caution. “If you do, the deal is off.”

“Not a word,” he promised, thinking as he did that no one would believe him anyway.

After hanging up his jacket, Keith stepped into the bathroom to wash his hands, smiling as he recalled Doug’s reaction when he’d asked to switch shifts for tonight. He’d been all prepared to tell a story about how he needed the afternoon off to take care of something important, only to find that Doug was happy to make the swap. From what he’d said, Keith got the sense that Brooke had totally misread her ex’s reaction to their breakup, especially after Doug mentioned that he had been invited to a party in the city and would much rather be there at midnight than here with Brooke. It looked like a win-win situation for everyone.

-=-=-=-=-

As a junior member of the staff, Keith got most of the shit jobs, among which was cleaning the bathrooms every few hours. Given the dearth of customers as the night progressed, he was able to give each of them such a thorough scrubbing between nine and ten that he’d only have to do a quick wipe down at the end of the night. He was just finishing up the ladies room when Lilly Briggs stepped into it.

“Are you just about done here, Keith?” the older redhead asked as she gestured toward the stalls with a motion of her head.

Lilly Briggs was a forty year old divorcee whose son, Tommy, had gone to grade school with Keith. Five four and a hundred and fifty pounds, Lilly had short curly hair, the color of which was rumored to come from a bottle. Slightly overweight, but no more so than most women her age, she and her husband had separated four years before due to irreconcilable differences. Afterwards, her husband had moved out of state, but Lilly had elected to stay in the neighborhood she had grown up in. Doing so, however, had made her a bit of a pariah among the wives, especially given her post-marriage propensity to associate with what some considered an inappropriate number of men – an association that some even took to mean she couldn’t be trusted around their husbands. A concern that might have said more about a lack of trust in their spouses than any perceived lack of morals on Lilly’s part, but they didn’t see it that way.

Prior to coming to work at Burger Barn, Keith had only met Lilly a few times, as he and Tommy Briggs hadn’t been close friends. In fact, he rarely saw the lanky six-footer once they’d gone off to different high schools. When he’d been introduced to the staff, Keith hadn’t even recognized her, or she him, and only after hearing her mention her son’s name did he realize who she was. It was when he reintroduced himself that he learned that his onetime friend had enlisted in the Army after high school and was now stationed in Germany.

“Just about finished, Mrs. Briggs,” Keith said as he wiped down the last of the sinks.

“Again with the Mrs. Briggs,” Lilly said, a slight annoyance in her tone. “You’re eighteen, Keith, you can call me Lilly.”

Keith just smiled and said he would try and remember. He had no problem calling any of the other older employees by their first names, but seemed to find himself constantly falling back on Mrs. Briggs when he addressed Lilly. A consequence, he assumed, of having once known her in a context outside of Burger Barn.

“Good, I need to take care of business before everyone else goes home,” Lilly said as she headed for one of the stalls. “Although I don’t expect the rest of the night to be busy enough that one of us wouldn’t be able to take a break if need be.”

“Wait … what?” Keith said, thinking he hadn’t heard her correctly. “You’re here until closing too?”

“Just you and me, kid,” Lilly replied. “Now if you’ll excuse me,” she added as she disappeared into the stall, closing the door behind her.

‘That can’t be right,’ Keith thought as, leaving the cleaning cart behind him, he rushed out of the bathroom and headed for the front counter and the wall schedule that hung on the wall adjacent to it.

-=-=-=-=-

“Fuck!” Keith cried out as he looked at the large whiteboard and saw that, sure enough, Lilly Briggs’ name was written next to his for the five to one shift. Furthermore, the lack of an erasure mark behind her name, as there was behind his, showed that it had been that way since the schedule had first been put up a week before.

“Hey Keith, something wrong?” Gilbert Caldwell, who had just finished his own two to ten shift and was only waiting for Lilly to come back from the bathroom before leaving, asked.

“Wasn’t Brooke supposed to be closing tonight?” Keith asked.

“I don’t think so,” Gil said as he stepped closer to the board so he too could read it. “No, it looks like she was noon to eight. In fact, now that I think of it, I did see her leave a couple of hours ago.”

“She left?” Keith said.

“Yeah, about eight o’clock or so,” Gil continued, “I remember now, because it was right after that Pete said he was taking off once he handled the garbage, and he finished up at eight.”

“Are you sure?” Keith asked, still hoping that he was wrong.

“Absolutely,” Gil replied, now more confident in his recollection. “I’m guessing that by now she and Doug are already at that New Year’s Eve party in the city that he bought tickets to.”

“No, you must be mistaken, she broke up with Doug,” Keith said, his own certainly now fading. “Didn’t she?”

“I don’t think so, man,” Gil offered. “When I was leaving last night, I saw the two of them sitting in his car in the parking lot. They were going at it pretty hot and heavy from what I could see.”

“Fuck!” Keith said again as he realized that he had indeed been screwed tonight, and not in the good way.

-=-=-=-=-

Over the next hour, not a single customer came into Burger Barn, depriving Keith of even that momentary distraction. All he could think of was how he’d let Brooke make a fool of him. Worse, part of the blame was on him. He’d been warned about her but chose not to listen.

“Is it really that bad?” Lilly asked as she came out from around the counter, two cups of coffee in hand and sat down at the table Keith was sulking at.

“I really don’t want to talk about it,” he said, then remembered his manners and thanked her for the coffee.

“It might be better than just sitting there and feeling miserable,” the older woman suggested.

Keith looked up from his coffee and considered the idea.

“Gil mentioned before he left that you seemed upset about something,” Lilly said, taking a sip before continuing, “something to do with Brooke and the schedule.”

“I let her make an ass of me,” Keith finally confessed.

“You and probably just about every newbie that’s come in here the last few years,” Lilly smiled, “so you have plenty of company. Take it as a learning experience and in the future, you’ll learn to look beyond a nice set of tits and see people for what they really are.”

When he first started, Keith had been startled by Lilly’s willingness to use what his mother liked to term ‘street language,’ but now, after hearing her do so for a couple of weeks, it barely registered.

“Did she do it to you when you first started?” Keith asked, remembering that Lilly had started here after Brooke.

“Me … never,” Lilly laughed, “but then again, I’m not impressed by a big set of boobs – I don’t swing that way.”

It took Keith a few seconds to understand what Lilly meant by that, but once he did, he blushed, recalling the images in a dirty magazine he’d found in his father’s workbench. Before that, Keith had never imagined that women might do things like that with each other.

“Also, you have to remember, I’m a bit older than you, and supposedly wiser and more experienced.” She laughed, pausing a beat before adding, “Of course, back when I was your age, I made my share of bad decisions – my ex-husband topping the list.”

Keith had a distant memory of George Briggs from the days he and Tommy played in the local Knights of Columbus Little League. He seemed like a nice enough guy, but then again, that assessment had as much to do with him usually buying them burgers and cokes after a game than anything else.

“Seeing that I remember seeing Doug’s name next to mine on the closing schedule for tonight, I’m guessing that Brooke somehow convinced you to work for him,” Lilly offered. “Am I right?”

Keith replied with a nod.

“Well, I’m not going to ask what cock and bull story she told you to get you to do it,” Lilly said, “but I’m curious as to what she promised you in return.”

“She promised me a New Year’s kiss,” Keith said in embarrassment.

“A kiss, that’s it?” Lilly asked, her tone reflecting a sense of disbelief.

“Well, maybe more than just a kiss,” he admitted.

“Really, and what might that have been?” the older woman asked, her curiosity piqued.

“I’d rather not say,” Keith replied, again feeling embarrassed for having fallen for her lies.

“Oh come on, it’s just you and me here,” Lilly insisted, “and I’m not going to tell anyone.”

Nevertheless, Keith was still reluctant to answer.

“Someone once told me that Brooke had flashed her boobs for him in order to get a favor,” Lilly revealed, “but I think that, given that this is New Year’s Eve, she had to have promised more than that.”

She paused to watch his reaction and having done so, was sure she was on the right track.

“So, I’m going to take a guess and say, hand job, or maybe even a blow job, especially since she had no intention of actually delivering on it,” Lilly suggested. “Am I close?”

Keith still remained silent, but his expression confirmed she was a lot more than close.

“I thought so,” Lilly grinned. “That’s what happens when a man starts doing his thinking with the wrong head: reason goes out the window.”

“Yeah, and I was stupid enough to believe her,” he finally said.

Lilly paused for a few seconds, then said, “I’m also going to guess that you’ve haven’t really been with a girl yet, have you?”

“Not in the way she was offering,” Keith replied, not realizing until he’d actually said the words that he’d confessed that to a woman only a few years younger than his mother.

“Well, virginity is hardly a crime,” Lilly noted. “It’s like original sin, we all start out with it, or so the Sisters at Blessed Mother used to say.”

Her reference to the Catholic girl’s high school reminded Keith that Lilly and his mother had once been classmates, or at least had gone to the same school. His mother, he now recalled, had been three years ahead of the woman next to him.

“So, like I said, learn from this and don’t make the same mistake twice,” Lilly said.

“I guess so,” Keith agreed.

“And what was the lesson that you learned?” she inquired.

“Never think that a girl’s just going to give it away,” Keith said after a moment’s thought.

“Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Lilly laughed. “A lot of women are willing to, as you say, give it away, especially to a cute guy like you. In this case, however, I think a better lesson is, with a girl like Brooke, it’s better to get payment in advance.”

That made Keith laugh hard enough that he no longer felt as sorry for himself.

Lilly got up from the table and had taken a few steps back toward the counter when she had a thought, and turned back to look at Keith who was still sitting at the table.

“You know, it’s well already after eleven and we’ve cleaned everything that needs to be cleaned,” Lilly said. “So, if you want to, I don’t think it would be a problem if you took off early. You still live over on 13th street, don’t you? You could still make it home by midnight and watch the ball drop with your family.”

“But what if we get some customers?” Keith asked.

“I think that’s doubtful, but if it happens, I’ll take care of it,” Lilly assured him.

“I appreciate the offer, but I really think I should stay,” Keith said after considering it for a few moments.

“Okay, suit yourself,” Lilly replied, adding before she walked away. “But another thing you need to learn in life is, you’re never going to get the things you want without taking a few risks now and then.”

She let Keith think about that as she stood behind the counter, wiping down an area that was already quite clean. She did so for another minute, then said she needed to use the restroom, promising as she headed for it that she’d be right back.

Another five minutes passed and as he looked at the clock on the wall, the teenager regretted not having taken Lilly up on her offer. It was too late now, he thought, noting that it was nearly twelve.

The sound of the overhead speakers coming to life startled Keith for a second as Lilly tuned in the broadcast from Times Square. He turned his head in the direction of the radio and saw Lilly stepping away from the adjacent soda dispenser, a plastic cup in each hand.

“It’s not champagne, but we need something to toast the New Year,” Lilly said as, returning to the table, she handed one of the cups to Keith.

After taking the soda, Keith also got to his feet and raised his cup just as the announcer began the ten second countdown. As soon as he reached one, Lilly echoed the disembodied voice and wished her co-worker a happy new year. A salutation the younger man returned, tapping the edge of his cup against hers.

He started to take a drink, but paused when he saw Lilly doing just the opposite, lowering her cup and placing it on the table instead. Thinking something was wrong, he was about to inquire what, only to have his question cut off as Lilly unexpectedly leaned forward and kissed him.

-=-=-=-=-

Keith would’ve thought that kissing a woman Lilly’s age would be gross. Yet, as he felt her tongue slide into his mouth, which was even more surprising than the kiss itself, he found it quite thrilling. They shared a second kiss before he’d even had time to fully react to the first, followed by a third that was even more enticing than the two that had preceded it. When Lilly finally drew back and gave him a chance to breathe, all that Keith could manage was a soft “Wow.”

“You were promised a New Year’s kiss, weren’t you?” Lilly asked with a broad smile as she picked up the plastic cup and took a small sip from it.

“I guess I was,” Keith agreed, still a bit stunned.

“And as I recall, you were promised a few other things as well,” Lilly added as she again put down the drink.

‘She can’t mean what I think she means,’ Keith thought, saying instead that he didn’t understand.

“Oh I think you do,” Lilly smiled as she again took a step closer. “I know that I’m not Brooke, but I think you’d find that could very well be a good thing.”

“Are you saying…” he started to ask, thinking he had to be misreading this.

“What I’m saying is that, if you want, you can still have all the things that Brooke promised you,” Lilly stated, her tone making it clear that she was serious.

“But you’re Tommy’s mother,” he heard himself say.

“And you think mothers don’t like to fuck?” she laughed. “Even your own mother must’ve gotten down and dirty a few times in her life, or do you think that the stork brought you and your sister?”

“No, of course not,” Keith stumbled, the idea of his parents having sex being something he tried very hard not to think about.

“Or perhaps you think I’m too old for you?” she added.

If Keith had been asked that question this morning, his answer might very well have been yes, but that was before he’d had Lilly’s tongue in his mouth. An all too brief contact that nevertheless had changed his perception of her. In fact, the more he thought about it, the idea of knowing a woman her age in the biblical sense excited him just as much as the prospect of doing it with Brooke had – perhaps even more. He couldn’t say for sure why, but thought it might have to do with the more forbidden nature of it.

“No, I don’t think that you’re too old,” Keith replied, his words carrying a sincerity that surprised him.

“Damn right I’m not,” Lilly said fervently as she kissed him once more. A much softer kiss, but one filled with the promise of what might follow.

Keith knew he should do something in response, but wasn’t exactly sure that that should be. Thankfully Lilly filled the awkward silence by suggesting that it might be a good time for Keith to lock the doors; after all, the store had closed at midnight. He didn’t have to be told twice as, with a grin on his face, the teenager rushed off to do so. Lilly watched him run for a moment, then walked over to the lighting panel on the wall. She began tripping switches, one after the other, causing shrouds of shadow to blanket the store. Her finger paused at the last switch, leaving a small number of overhead accent lights still on.

As her eyes adjusted to the semi-darkness, Lilly thought about what she was doing. It was true that she sometimes shared her bed, but the number of men with whom she had done so fell far short of her detractors’ claims. Nor, contrary to rumor, had any of them been married. Lilly saw herself as sexually active, but not promiscuous, although there had been times she might have skirted the edge of it. This looked to be one of them.

The fantasy of being with someone much younger was hardly a new one, nor was it unique, although people seemed to associate it more with men than women. Looking back, Lilly remembered looking at some of her son’s friends and admiring their trim, fit forms. In the years since her divorce, she’d found them arousing her libido even more. And while she’d never taken one to bed, at least outside of her imagination, the passage of time had only eroded the strength of the reasons why it might be a bad idea to do so.

Only an hour before, when the thought of seducing Keith had first occurred to her, Lilly had tried to dispel it by offering to let him leave early, thus removing any such temptation. When he had declined, the thought had advanced to, given what he had hoped to happen tonight, it really wasn’t a seduction, was it? At least not much of one. Finally, by the time the clock struck the midnight hour and heralded in the New Year, it had simply become, why the hell not?

-=-=-=-=-

“Everything’s locked up tight,” Keith said as he stepped under one of the remaining overhead lights, its glow highlighting the look of excited anticipation on his face.

‘Do I or don’t I?’ Lilly asked herself one last time as she took a long look at the young man standing just a few feet away. “Fuck yes!” she finally answered under her breath, in a voice too low to be heard.

Actions speak louder than words as they say, and Lilly’s action as she tossed her last cautions aside spoke volumes. She reached out and grabbed Keith by his shirt, pulling him towards her, their mouths coming together once more.

The kiss was even more fiery than those that had preceded it, her tongue again invading his mouth as Lilly took hold of his hand and pressed it against her left breast. That shocked Keith more than the kiss, but not so much that he didn’t quickly respond, pressing his fingers hard against her soft flesh, feeling the warmth of her body even through the layers of cloth.

Shifting his hand a little to the right, Keith found Lilly’s nipple, its hardness contrasting with the softness of the surrounding flesh. Not needing any further prompting, he brought his other hand to her right breast, finding it equally delightful.

He continued to massage her breasts through her blouse, even as they shared a few more kisses. Eager to see them as well, Keith reached for the buttons of her blouse and managed to undo the first two before Lilly unexpectedly stopped him. The teen wondered if he’d done something wrong, then felt relieved when she insisted that she just wanted to do it herself.

Stepping under the cone of light that had previously illuminated Keith, Lilly picked up where he left off, slowly undoing each button as she worked her way down the line. She’d reached the fourth button when it occurred to her that, bathed in light as she was, she was visible from the street should a passerby glance into the large plate glass windows. Admittedly, given the time of night, the chance of that happening was slim, yet it still gave her an unexpected thrill.

Keith, on the other hand, was so absorbed by each new exposure of forbidden flesh that the possibility of discovery never occurred to him. Which in the end was probably a good thing for, if it had, the thought would’ve dampened his ardor quicker than a bucket of ice water.

“Damn,” Keith said softly as, having undone the last button, Lilly casually pulled off her blouse and exposed the partially concealed breasts beneath it.

Without missing a beat, Lilly slid off the straps of her simple white bra, then reached into each cup, lifting out the mound within. It only took a few seconds more to twist the undergarment around so that she could undo the clasp holding it together, dropping it to the floor afterwards. Keith had watched with keen interest, filing away ‘so that’s how it’s done,’ for future reference.

The eighteen year old had only seen two pairs of breasts before, well, three actually, but he tended to discount the time he’d walked in on his older sister in the bathroom. Despite Lilly being more than being twice the age of any of those girls, Keith thought her mounds magnificent.

An assessment partly due to the fact that, spotlighted as they were, he was getting a far better look than he had in the dimness found in the back seat of the family Honda. Another factor was the casual indifference Lilly displayed to being topless, a high contrast to the reluctance the girls he had shared that back seat with had exhibited. Rubbing her hands along the underside of her breasts before tweaking her thick nipples, Lilly displayed her assets with pride.

“Would you like to touch them?” Lilly asked, knowing full well the question hardly needed to be asked.

Keith placed an outstretched palm against each breast, replacing Lilly’s hands with his own. Her bare flesh felt warm to the touch and as he ran his fingers across her dark areolae, he felt his heart race and a surge of electric excitement spread across his body.

“I know they’re not as large as Brooke’s,” Lilly noted, “but I’ve never thought bigger was necessarily better.”

It wouldn’t have occurred to Keith to compare Lilly to Brooke, but now that she herself had brought it up, he couldn’t help doing so. Yes, Brooke’s breasts were larger than Lilly’s, by both a couple of inches as well as two cup sizes. And while he’d never seen the blonde’s mounds unrestrained, it was clear that the redhead’s reflected some of the effects of time’s passage. In the end, however, none of that mattered, Keith told himself, because Lilly was the one that was here whereas Brooke was who the fuck cared where.

“Why don’t you try sucking on them?” Lilly suggested, noticing that Keith’s attention seemed to have wandered for a moment.

Reacting like a six year old asked if he wanted ice cream, Keith lowered his head to her left breast and closed his mouth around her nipple, his tongue swirling back and forth across it. As he did, Lilly placed her hand on the back of his head and pressed her breast deeper into his mouth.

“Oh yes, baby, suck it harder,” she cried out as tiny ripples of delight danced across her chest, “use your teeth, just like that.”

Lilly was greatly pleased by Keith’s willingness to follow instructions. She had only to make a suggestion and he was quick to act on it. As he continued to feast on her bounty, working his way across to her other mound, his free hand reaching for the nipple that his mouth had just relinquished, she wondered how far she might take that willingness.

Lifting his head from between her breasts, Lilly kissed him softly, then began to undo his shirt. In her haste, she caused one button to pop off and, without thinking how absurd it sounded given the circumstances, Keith told her not to worry, he’d just have his mother sew it back on. A smile crossed Lilly’s mouth as she imagined that conversation for a moment before turning her attention back to Keith.

Once Keith’s t-shirt had followed his uniform blouse to the floor, Lilly ran her fingers across his lightly haired chest. After which she demonstrated that not just girls have sensitive nipples, bringing her mouth and tongue to bear on the smaller, but equally receptive stubs.

“That feels really nice,” Keith said as Lilly moved from one nipple to the other, delighting the teenager.

“I’m sure it does,” Lilly replied as she lifted her head back upward, “and I’m betting this feels even better,” she added as, pressing her hand down both his slacks and boxers, she took hold of his now rigid cock.

“Oh God!” Keith called out as he felt her fingers wrap around his hardness.

“Lilly, not God,” she said with a mischievous grin, “but I can see how you could get the two confused. After all, we both hold the keys to heaven.”

A small voice in the back of his mind reminded Keith that it was Saint Peter who held the keys to heaven. A much stronger one, however, held that thought in check, reminding him that now was not the time to show he had actually been paying attention in catechism class.

Her hand still wrapped around his cock, Lilly kissed him again, the tip of her tongue brushing the underside of his. She also pressed her breasts against his chest, rubbing her extended nipples against his own.

She could hear his labored breaths and for a moment feared that he might climax right there and then, which would surely be a waste. So, after giving him one more playful tug, she slowly withdrew her hand.

“So, what do you think?” she asked as he regained a bit of his composure. “Do you want to just bend me over the counter and have at it, or would you like to move someplace a bit more comfortable?”

Lilly’s suggestion had been inspired by a cartoon she’d seen in a men’s magazine, lampooning a different burger chain’s slogan of ‘have it your way’ and showing a customer screwing one of the counter girls on the counter. The imagery held a certain nasty thrill, and the redhead thought it might be fun to recreate it. But this was Keith’s moment more than hers, so she would leave it up to him.

“Where could we go?” Keith asked, the idea of screwing on the hard counter not really holding the same appeal to him as it seemed to hold for Lilly.

“Well, it just so happens that not only do I have the keys to heaven,” Lilly smiled, “but also the keys to the manager’s office.”

Keith had only been in the manager’s office twice since starting at Burger Barn. The first was the day he was hired, and once when he’d been told to empty the trash basket. He really hadn’t paid much attention to the décor, but he did remember there was an old couch in it. One that had seen better days, but was still plush enough to look quite comfortable.

“The office, I think,” he said as he glanced again at the hard metal surface of the counter.

“The office it is then,” she said as she reached into her pants’ pocket and came up with a small key ring.

-=-=-=-=-

Leaving their discarded clothing on the floor, Lilly led Keith to the office door where, after opening it, she reached in and flipped the wall switch adjacent to the door. Two rows of fluorescent lights came to life above them as she stepped aside to allow the younger man to enter ahead of her.

The small windowless office only measured ten by ten, just enough room for a workspace, a few file cabinets and of course the couch. Standing off to the side of the small desk, Keith’s attention drifted for a moment as he looked around the room, just long enough for Lilly to come up behind him. Wrapping her arms around him, she pressed her breasts against his back and kissed the nape of his neck. Her hands brushed over his nipples, working their way down his chest to his belt, which she deftly undid, along with the zipper beneath it.

“Why don’t we just get these out of the way?” she whispered into his ear as, without waiting for a reply, she pressed down on the sides of his slacks and, allowing gravity to take hold, smiled as they fell down to his ankles.

Even with the loose nature of boxer shorts as opposed to briefs, the bulge on Keith’s underpants was indeed noticeable, drawing Lilly’s attention as she reached down and laid her hand against it. The dark haired teen moaned softly as her fingers pressed against his hardness, a cry that grew in volume once she began sliding them up and down. Then, after a minute or so of that, she again shifted her hands to also pull down his boxers.

Lilly let out a soft whistle as, after turning Keith around, she got a good look at his cock. Six inches in length, it stood nearly perpendicular and was framed by a small thicket of black hair. She ran her hand along its length, starting at the underside of his balls and moving up to its crown.

“You have a really nice cock, has anyone ever told you that?” Lilly asked as she continued to play with it.

“No,” Keith said, surprised by the comment.

“Well, you do,” Lilly smiled, “so don’t let anyone else tell you different.”

“It’s not that big,” he pointed out, having compared himself to guys in gym class and such.

“I didn’t say it was a big cock, I said it was a nice one,” Lilly clarified, “don’t confuse the two.”

She went on to explain that, as she had said before, big wasn’t always better, and it was what you did with what you had that really mattered. Too many people got hung up on size, and that alone didn’t guarantee that someone was good in bed.

“Take my ex-husband, for example,” Lilly said as casually as if she was discussing if it would rain tomorrow. “He had a really big cock and the first time I saw it, I was impressed as all hell. The thing was, even after nearly fifteen years together, he was never more than a merely adequate fuck.”

“Was that why you divorced him?” Keith asked, thinking as soon as he had that it wasn’t any of his business.

“No, we had … other problems,” Lilly replied, “Besides, I actually didn’t realize how deficient a lover he was until after the divorce.”

‘Or in other words.’ Keith thought, ‘until after you started sleeping with other men.’

It wasn’t a thought he had time to think long about as Lilly again took the initiative, putting talk behind them as she covered his mouth with her own, again inviting him to explore its innermost reaches as she expanded on the lessons of earlier. Slowly at first, and then with growing intensity, the redhead displayed the passion of a woman half her age, delivering an education that would serve Keith well in the years to come – at least that would be the opinion of girlfriends yet to be.

Without relinquishing her hold on his cock, Lilly guided Keith down onto the large office chair behind the desk. Kneeling in front of him, she stroked his cock in long, slow motions with one hand while the other caressed his balls. She moved in closer and, extending her tongue, rolled the tip of it across its head, sliding it down along the underside and then back up.

She did that a second time, then opened her mouth wide enough to engulf the crown of his cock, massaging it with her lips. Then, in a sudden motion, Lilly took in his full length, causing Keith to cry out in delight.

If having her hands around his cock had been amazing, Keith could only describe having her mouth wrapped around it as phenomenal. At least that was the word he would come up with later, because as articulate as he normally was, the best he could manage at the moment was a couple of short grunts. Rather than try and correct that, he decided to just lay back and enjoy what was happening. A plan Lilly was happy to go along with as, even as she used one hand to pump Keith’s cock in and out of her mouth, she used the other to play with her breasts, caressing her nipples as they bounced back and forth with the motion of her body.

When some of the older guys talked about blow jobs, Keith had heard them referred to as the holy grail – greatly sought after but rarely found, adding that it was easier to get a girl to spread her legs than to open her mouth. Considering the exuberance with which Lilly was going at it, Keith could only conclude that was yet another thing his friends had been wrong about. By the time the sun again came up on the horizon, that list would be lengthy indeed.

It didn’t take Lilly long to reach her stride, alternating the use of her mouth and hands, each producing pleasures beyond anything the teenager had ever experienced. Twice, she brought him to the edge of the precipice, only to scale back her efforts just as he was about to reach the summit.

Lost in the pleasing warmth that had engulfed him, Keith didn’t react, at least not at first, when Lilly inexplicably let his hardness slip from her mouth, releasing her hand as well. By the time he opened his eyes and focused on what she was doing, a new set of sensations washed over him as, placing a hand against the side of each breast, she began to vigorously rub them against his cock. They were too small to fully wrap around his pole, but Keith had no cause for complaint. Especially once she brought her tongue back into play, lapping across the top of his cock each time it peaked out from under her breasts.

This time, Keith kept his eyes wide open, recalling a scene he had seen in an 8mm film shown at his cousin’s stag party. The actress in the grainy black and white film had been much younger than Lilly and even more endowed than Brooke, but so good was the older woman making him feel, he wouldn’t have traded her for either of them.

“Let me know when you’re about to come,” Lilly told him, pausing in her efforts only as long as it took to say those words.

A warning that came only a few minutes later, prompting Lilly to drop her hold on her breasts and grab his cock directly. Her head moved forward at the same time, again taking him into her mouth. Before another breath passed, Keith’s body exploded with orgasmic fury, sending a torrent of warm whiteness splashing against the back of her throat, there to be swallowed as quickly as she could manage it. A flush of delight filled her as the youthful freshness of his eruption proved all that she could’ve hoped for.

She didn’t release her hold on Keith’s cock until she was certain he was spent, slowly rising to her feet as it fell from her mouth. Once she was back on her feet, however, she moved with frightening speed, pulling the younger man to her and pressing her lips to his. The kiss had a distinctively salty flavor, but Keith didn’t seem to notice, or if he did it didn’t keep him from responding with appreciative passion.

The kiss was long and deep, lasting an indeterminate time until Lilly eventually relaxed her hold on him and allowed him to finally catch his breath. Stepping away, she reached for the pile of paper towels she had previously seen stacked on top of the filing cabinet and, after wetting them with water from the small pitcher next to them, wiped a few scattered droplets from her face.

She then used a second towel to also clean off Keith’s cock also, dropping both towels into the wastebasket once she was done and making a mental note to remember to empty it before she left. She certainly wouldn’t want whoever cleaned the office next to think they had been left by Conrad, doing God knows what when he was alone in his office. But that was a concern for later, she reminded herself, as she turned her attention back to Keith.

“Are you okay?” she asked, noting a still flushed look on his face.

“I’m fine,” Keith replied, still trying to process what had happened.

Lilly smiled as her gaze dropped from his face to below his waist.

“I think I killed it,” she grinned as she took in his depleted manhood.

“It comes back pretty quick,” Keith quickly offered, a touch of concern in his tone.

“Oh, I have no doubt that it does,” Lilly smiled, counting on the recuperative abilities of youth. “I just mentioned it because now we have to find something to occupy our time until it does.”

Keith wondered if Lilly was looking to him for a suggestion, but it quickly became obvious that she already had something in mind. He watched with keen interest as she slipped off her slacks, tossing them aside, then stepped over to the couch a few feet away.

Sitting down, her hands went up to her naked breasts and embraced them, her fingers playing with her nipples, spurring them to a renewed hardness. She continued to rub them for a bit, then ran one hand down across her stomach until it reached the top of her simple white panties. There she paused for a breath before moving on to the cloth covered mound below, her extended fingers rubbing against it a few times.

“Have you ever seen a woman’s pussy before?” Lilly asked.

Keith almost fell back on the lie he would normally have given, but then thought better of it. The truth was that, outside of that stag film and a few pornographic magazines, he’d never seen a woman’s sex. And in those few images he had seen, they’d only displayed patches of hair, leaving to your imagination what might lay beneath it.

“No, I haven’t,” he sheepishly admitted.

“Well then, why don’t you come a little closer and get a good look?” the older woman suggested, indicating a spot on the floor just a few feet in front of her.

Keith quickly moved to that spot, dropping to his knees as he did. Pleased with his quick response, Lilly brought a hand to each side of her panties and, standing up for a moment, began to slip them downward. She paused once she’d gotten them past the cheeks of her ass, then sat herself back down. Then, with her legs pressed against each other, she resumed her panties downward journey, continuing until they slipped off completely.

Anticipation filled Keith’s face as he watched her slowly open her legs, spreading them as wide as she could. Sure enough, there was the expected mound of hair, although it was thicker than he expected, making him realize that the women in those magazines must’ve trimmed their body hair before being photographed. Another surprise was the color of the rich bush – a mix of brown, gray and even a small touch of white. Suddenly the phrase, ‘the carpet doesn’t match the drapes’, made sense to him.

Leaning against the back pillows, Lilly ran her fingers along her thighs, reaching down to her knees before drawing them back, moving all the way up to her breasts, which she again gripped tightly. Shifting her body, she lifted a bent left leg up onto the seat cushions and moved her back over to the side arm. Once that had been accomplished, Lilly dropped her left hand back between her legs, gently rubbing the tips of her fingers over her mound in a circular motion.

“Would you like me to show you how a woman pleasures herself?” Lilly asked, continuing the motion of her hand.

Keith’s eyes opened his eyes wide, as if to say what a stupid question to ask. As if any guy was ever going to say no. He merely nodded his head gratefully and let out a meek yes.

“I thought you might,” Lilly laughed softly as she again ran both hands up and down her body, this time moving all the way up to the back of her neck before sliding back down to her knees.

The teenager watched with intense interest as Lilly repeated her action, but this time with only her right hand; which, after using it to softly squeeze her breast, she slipped two fingers into her mouth, wetting them liberally.

Again she shifted her body, moving back to the rear pillows and sliding closer to the edge of the couch. Her wetted hand again between her legs, she glided it back and forth along her mound, sighing softly as she did so.

After almost a minute, Lilly lifted herself slightly upward and brought her other hand into play, using it and its twin, now positioned on the other side of her pussy, to gently pull it open, revealing a rich pinkness within. She paused to give Keith time to take a really good look, which he did, unconsciously leaning forward as if those few extra inches might further unlock the secrets unfolding before him.

After giving him what she thought was enough time, Lilly furthered his education as she used her fingers to lift the small hood over her clitoris, exposing the excited nub. When she saw a look of confusion on his face, Lilly took a moment to explain what he was looking at.

“This is my clitoris,” she said as she ran the tip of her finger under it. “It’s what a woman has in place of a cock. Touching it brings us pleasure.”

That was a very simplified explanation, Lilly knew, but it was enough for now. She continued to rub her clit, then expanded her focus to include the length of her mound once more, pausing just long enough to again wet her fingers before slipping them inside herself, softly moaning as she did so.

Lilly exaggerated her moans, but not by much, to keep Keith’s attention on what she was doing. She needn’t have worried because, at that moment, not even the fire alarms going off would’ve distracted the younger man, as he sat captivated by the scene before him. A display that increased in intensity as Lilly leaned further back and the quickness of her hand increased until it became almost a blur. Even from a few feet away, Keith could see small drops of sweat starting to appear on her chest, slowly running downward as her body heaved up and down. Then, unexpectedly, Lilly suddenly stopped.

“Why don’t you come over here and give it a try?” Lilly said as she readjusted herself on the couch, removing her hand in the process.

Keith moved forward on instinct, not thought, quickly placing his hand on her mound and rubbing it softly. It didn’t take long for the slippery cream Lilly’s ministrations had produced to cover his fingers, allowing him to slide them into her with little effort. Trying to duplicate what he had watched her do, the teenager positioned his thumb alongside her clitoris, massaging it even as he pumped his fingers in and out.

“Oh yeah, you’re getting it,” Lilly purred. “Just keep doing it, just like that.”

Closing her eyes, Lilly let her head rest against the soft cushion behind it, pleasing waves washing across her body as Keith demonstrated that he had indeed been paying careful attention. She let him continue for a few minutes, then decided to up the ante.

“I think you’re ready to try that with your mouth,” she said as, opening her eyes, she looked directly into his.

The suggestion gave Keith a long moment’s pause, but only a moment. He’d heard some of the crude names for what Lilly was asking him to do – muff-diving, eating pussy, or simply going down on a girl. Whatever you wanted to call it, most guys seemed to agree that it was gross. A description that didn’t seem to carry over when asked if they thought a girl should suck their cocks. Given how wrong they had been proven in their advice so far, Keith saw no reason to believe they were right in this case either.

Believing that the best way to dispel a fear of doing something was to just do it without thinking about it, Keith did precisely that as he pressed his face up against Lilly’s pussy and kissed her saturated mound. The taste, he found, was actually enticing, a sweet nectar quite unlike anything he’d heard it compared to. And no, he said to himself, it didn’t smell like fish.

The longer he went at it, the better he got, at least that was what Keith had to believe, based on Lilly’s rising response. He quickly learned to alternate his attentions between the rich valley between her folds and the thick nub above it, using both his hands and mouth. Along the way, Lilly offered a few words of encouragement, but none had more effect than her assertion that if he learned to be really good at this, there wasn’t anything a woman wouldn’t do for him in return.