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Her loving is so powerful.
It's simply unavoidable.
The trend is irreversible.
The woman is invincible.
She used to look good to me, but now I find her... Simply Irresistible.
Robert Palmer.

Two days later, I awoke to knocking on our front door. Nick was busy getting ready to leave for work at seven am, so he popped his head into my bedroom. "Ray, wake up! There's three girls at the door. See what they want, you cretin."

Three girls? What the hell?

Stepping into a tight pair of ripped jeans, I ambled to the door. I recognized a distinctive voice, seasoned with just a hint of Valley Girl. "Raayyyy? Hellooo?"

Erica! Wendy must have told her where I live...

I opened the door, and mock scolded, "Erica, you're late again. Do I need to write you up?"

She rested gentle fingers on my bare chest. "Hahaha, very funny. Aren't you going to invite us in?"

Leaving her palm on my stimulated nipples, she gestured towards her companions with the other hand.

"Yeah, of course, come in. Let me put something on."

Erica firmly held my arm. "No, you look fine. Ray, these are my friends from school. Roxanne, and Ziggy."

The hierarchy of the trio could not have been clearer. Queen Erica and her devoted subjects. Five-foot-nine Erica stood six inches taller than Roxanne, and rose at least eight inches above Ziggy. The contrast in attractiveness was even more stark. Slightly pudgy Roxanne's plain face at least featured clear skin, hazel eyes, and dishwater blonde hair, styled in a pageboy cut. Her crooked front teeth didn't really detract much, but gave her a bit of character. A soft lisp punctuated her greeting. "Pleased to meet you, good Sir."

Hello, nutty girl...

I bowed to her, "Merry meet and merry met, me fine lass!"

Roxanne skipped in a circle. "Oh, Erica, I like him!"

I turned to Ziggy. Her somewhat Gothic attire made a small nod seem sufficient, which she blandly returned.
Sensing it was all the interaction she desired, I waved grandly, "Welcome, ladies, to our humble abode. Nick, come here. We have guests."

Nick entered the living room in his work attire, which was remarkably similar to mine. A short sleeved button up shirt with a tie, and black wool slacks. He froze upon seeing Erica, then looked her up and down, exactly the way most men did. Ignoring her followers, he waved. "Hi. You must be Erica."

Erica smirked at me, then demurely spoke. "Hello Nick. Your house is interesting."

Roxanne and Ziggy had already wandered into the showpiece, our dining room stuffed with musical equipment. Roxanne leaned over the piano bench, and tentatively plinked a few notes. Nick had obtained the ancient mini-upright for free from his mother's church, but at least a decade had passed since a tuner laid his hands on it. Still, it wasn't too bad, and had the bluesy bar kind of sound we both liked.

Roxanne also approved, and played a bit of Scott Joplin's classic "The Entertainer." Though a horribly clichéd choice of a song, her rendition showed a strong musical talent. We all applauded as she hopped on the bench to take a jangly bow, spreading the skirt of her Jack-o-Lantern print sundress. At least five mismatched bracelets hung on her arms, but I could see some telltale cutting scars on her wrists. Obviously, Roxanne had some troubles, but seemed ecstatic for the moment.

What an odd girl...

I looked back at Erica, who quickly hid her flash of annoyance at being upstaged. She announced, "Nick, this is Ziggy and Roxanne. They go to school with me. Roxanne is an actress, and she just got her first part in a movie. The filming starts in summer. "

Nick gave a non-committal nod to Ziggy and Roxanne, then took another long look at Erica. "Well, I'm heading to work now. Good to meet all of you. Bye"

With Nick gone, I gestured for Erica to join me on the living room couch. As expected, she sat with her skintight pink capri-clad knees touching mine. The sudden diversion of blood flow left me light headed. "Erica, I'm always happy to see you, but why are you here?"

I should fuck her right now...

"We're having a girl's ditch day, and I wanted my friends to meet you."

She made sultry Erica-eyes at me. "Ray, you could come with us. What did you do when you ditched high school?"

I would have boned my sexy blonde girlfriend back then, if I had one. Sometimes life gives you a second chance.

"I went hiking with my friends. There's this waterfall up in the hills that you can slide down. It's too cold now, but next month we could..."

I think I just asked her on a date...

Erica looked at her friends for guidance. Roxanne and Ziggy both nodded. She cast her eyes downward and clasped her hands together, just for a split second, before looking up. "I would like that. Yes."

Did I just see Shy Erica?

An uncomfortable silence filled the whole house. Even the cricket who had set up shop behind our refrigerator merely contributed a solitary chirp.

Ziggy spoke for the first time since I had met her. I suspected it had been even longer. Like a week. "We're going shopping."

Happy for the ice-breaker, I joked. "You're kidding, Ziggy. I wouldn't have guessed that."

Erica playfully punched my shoulder. Every time she touched my skin, a jolt of desire ripped through my veins.

Curious, I asked, "Ziggy, what are you going to buy?"

Might I recommend a burka?

Ziggy was possibly the least attractive young lady I had ever met. While not truly obese, her oval-shaped, androgynous figure showed no concave curves, and over the next two months, I sometimes wondered if she was a hermaphrodite. Topped by a healthy unibrow, her rheumy brown eyes sat much too close to each other, astride perhaps the biggest nose to ever grace a girl's face. Jaggedly crooked teeth caged by braces sporadically appeared when her slightly misshapen lips failed to conceal them.

Ziggy's olive skin could have been her sole bit of beauty, had it not been marred by angry pimples threatening to burst from every pore on her forehead, cheeks, and nose.

Her lower jaw and neck fared better, with isolated patches of pustules rather than an acne plantation. A truly awful perm didn't do her light-brown hair any favors, and the black eye shadow with matching lipstick gave her an Addams Family sort of vibe.

Amazingly, Ziggy's appearance was not the strangest thing about her. Her presence seemed to suck energy from a room, but that energy did nothing for her. It just disappeared. And yet, I somehow sensed that being around Erica kept her from being even less of a non-entity.

Ziggy did not answer. She looked around, as if seeking guidance from Erica and Roxanne, then shook her head at me.

She doesn't like to talk very much. That's not a bad thing, I guess...

I addressed Erica, who seemed amused by my uncomfortable conversation with Ziggy. "Well, ladies, I'm going to iron my work clothes. Feel free to look around. I've got an interesting car you might like in the backyard."

Erica stated, "Let me iron them for you."

I couldn't think of anything else to say except, "Thank you."

The iron and board were already set up in the living room, so Erica went to work on the shirt laying across it. I silently watched her, completely touched by the simple display of caring. Various possibilities ran through my head, but I couldn't see anything but her desire to do something nice for me. My eyes watered a bit from the purity of her kindness.

Seemingly shallow Erica had shown me a bit of depth and complexity, and I studied her with a new curiosity. Her two friends continued to explore the music room, particularly Nick's drum set. I pointed to the pair of brush sticks laying on top of a guitar amplifier, and they gleefully teamed up to make a rhythmic cacophony. A quiet one.

What is Erica doing with these misfits? Why isn't she hanging out with a crew of other hot girls?

From me, a girl like Ziggy would not have merited more than barely acknowledging her existence, yet Erica obviously valued her companionship. All relationships are transactions at heart, and I guessed that Ziggy provided Erica with devotion and a feeling of superiority.
I imagined some people would consider that selfish, but it didn't bother me, because I felt Ziggy got the better part of their deal.

Many of my relationships with friends had a similar lopsided ratio. I enjoyed providing skills, talents, and ideas that were not their strengths. In return, demonstrating my value gave me an ego boost. Perhaps Erica and I had a hidden common ground that we could build on.

Hmm. That's pretty deep. Whatever. I'm going to fuck her first...

With the shirt perfectly pressed, Erica started on the pants. I had started to feel a little self-conscious about only wearing jeans around her friends, so I quickly threw the shirt over my shoulders, and buttoned it up wrong. Roxanne wandered over to the stereo in the living room, then put the turntable needle on the record, without even looking at the label.

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Her mouth formed an oooo sound, and she swayed along to the chugging blues shuffle of Sonny Boy Williamson's Bring It On Home. When the vocal call and harmonica response started, I swaggered over behind Erica, put a hand on her hip, then softly crooned into her ear, "Baaaaayyyyyybeeee, you're gonna bring it on home to me...."

Sometimes the songs pick us...

Erica played it cool, just smiling at me, but her hands shook a bit. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then bit her lip and completed the ironing task. She had rolled up the sleeves of her tight sweater, so I could see goosebumps on her forearms.

She's turned on!

Her proudly pointing breasts also showed familiar signs of arousal, which had a sympathetic effect on me. Erica covered her mouth with a hand for a second, then approached me. Husky voiced, she spoke, "Ray. Your shirt is on wrong."

Her warm, slightly trembling fingers unfastened the buttons, then slowly buttoned the shirt correctly. Erica managed to stroke my chest a thousand times during her task, each one making my desire for her a little hotter. As she finished the last button, I slowly ran the back of my index fingernail from her wrist to her palm. Her little finger reflexively curled around my exploring digit. She closed her eyes, so I did the same. We stood there that way for an eternity, until Ziggy cleared her throat, and Roxanne joked, "The mall is closing in fifteen minutes!"

Erica held up a halting finger to the girls, then picked up my tie, so I bent my knees to make it easier for her. She circled around my back, then expertly flipped my collar up, and tied a Windsor knot. As expected, she used the opportunity to rub her breasts against my shoulders and ran her fingers over my chest. I felt the temptation to unbutton the top of my jeans to release some lusty pressure.

It amused Alice when I did that on our first date. I wonder what Erica would do...

Because her friends were enthralled with our courtship, I endured the discomfort, as I suspected there would be plenty of opportunities in the near future. The prospect made me giddy, and a loud, happy groan escaped from me. Roxanne put her palms together against one cheek. "Oh, that's so sweet."

Erica turned me around, adjusted the knot, and in a loud whisper proclaimed "You're perfect."

Do I kiss her now? I don't really want our first kiss to be in front of her friends, but...

She solved the quandary by taking a step back, allowing me to frankly respond, "So are you Erica. Perfect. Thank you for coming by."

Erica cocked her head. "I take it back. You're not perfect..."

Huh?

She ran a finger through my curls. "Let me cut your hair. I can come by Saturday morning, if that's ok."

"A haircut?"

Ziggy interrupted. "Ray, she's really good. Look at Roxanne. Erica did that."

With Erica in the room, Roxanne's hair had escaped my notice, much like a sparrow perched next to a peacock.

What seemed like a simple shoulder length cut, actually framed her long face well. I gestured for Roxanne to turn, and I could see how the subtle layering added a bit of sass to it.

I nodded to Erica. "I would love that. Ten am?"

"Yes, I'll see you then. By the way, make sure you talk to Vivian today. Don't forget."

"Vivian? What does she have to do with anything?"

Erica's lips settled into their resting smirk. "Just talk to her. Promise me."

I held up my hand in a pinky swear gesture, but Erica leaned over and lightly kissed it. "Uh yeah, Erica. I promise."

I gave a slight wave to Ziggy, and bowed deeply to Roxanne. "Nice to meet you ladies. I hope to see you again!"

Roxanne beamed, as she returned my bow with a flawless curtsy. "Oh, you will, because I'm going to be a big star!"

Ziggy gave me an appropriate slight nod, then I followed them out onto the porch. Erica patted the couch. "This is where you drink with Wendy?"

Her body stiffened then relaxed in a millisecond. If I hadn't been staring at her small waist, I would have missed it.

Be careful here...

"Yes. Uh, it's been awhile..."

I had seen no evidence that Wendy revealed our fling to anyone at work, but Erica probably had guessed. With just a hint of venom that could have been my imagination, Erica assured me, "Wendy's a good friend to you. You're lucky."

Sometimes women did things that came out of nowhere and made no sense. Erica ran her index finger all the way around her left breast, smiled at me, then skipped over to her friends waiting at the car on the street. Not knowing what to do with the gesture, I waved as they drove away.

Checking my watch, I discovered I had ten minutes before I had to leave for work.

I should grab something to eat. On the other hand...

It was an easy decision to make. Finally unbuttoning my jeans on the way to the bedroom, Fantasy Erica awaited me...

A/N: Roxanne did become a big star, acting in dozens of movies, and had the leading role in a multi-season network television show. She won an Academy Award, as well as several Golden Globe honors. Subtle plastic surgery, dieting, and Hollywood lighting magic greatly improved her looks, and she was very attractive in her first movie. I'll always think of her as "Nutty Girl."

I only saw her one more time, on another girl's ditch day in May. I took them for a short ride in my black-with-flames topless 1970 Thunderbird, before we all got completely drunk at my house. Roxanne played most of our collection of blues records, and continually horny Erica made it my best ditch day ever. Several times...

I took Erica to the waterfall in June.

The top picture is the house Nick and I rented in 1985. It was in much better shape back then.

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