Soccer Mom - Chapter Eleven
By Pac (pac)
Terri and Eric work through their problems


I woke up, and the house was dark.  I didn't know what time it was but it was late, and 
the next thing I remember was someone hitting me in the head with a brick... or at least 
that's what it felt like.

I got up and staggered to the bathroom and slashed some water on my face.  I found a 
few aspirin in the medicine cabinet and dry-swallowed them, then filled the sink and 
dunked my head, reaching blindly for the towel on the towel ring next to me.  I felt it 
pressed into my hand, and threw the towel over my head and stood up.

'She must be standing right next to me,' I thought and got extremely nervous.  I almost 
didn't want to lift the towel off my head in my shame.

"How are you feeling?" came Terri's soft voice.

"Awful," I said.  "But it's not the alcohol."

She didn't say anything, but I heard her breathing, so I knew she was still there.

"Listen, Terri," I said, unable to take the towel off my head for fear of having to look her 
in the eye.  "I remember saying things to you last night, but I was really feeling sorry for 
myself and got drunk, so I want to apologize like I should have at the golf course."

She put her hand on my shoulder, then I felt the towel taken out of my hands.  She was 
drying my hair.

I was caught off-guard, but I had to continue.

"I think I told you that you're the most important part of my life beside Haylee, and 
Jordan... if it's okay with you to be a part of either of your lives now.  I just want to say 
I was bottling up some real insecurity and should have talked to you about it instead of 
letting it build and throwing a temper tantrum like a baby.  I'm not perfect (I heard her 
snort at that), but I think you are... perfect for me.  I want to make it up to you, if you'll 
let me." 
 
"Eric," she said, as she kept drying my hair.  "I was doing some thinking after you left."

Uh-oh.

"I was panicking the whole time I watched you flip out, and realized that I didn't have to 
worry." She said.
 
I was puzzled by that.  

"I feel like I know you better now that we've been going out, and I was pretty sure I saw 
the warning signs that you were going to have trouble dealing with... it... but I wanted to 
have fun.  I was having so much fun with you and ignored them.  I think I was being 
selfish, and I'm sorry." She said, still quiet.

I couldn't believe she was trying to shoulder this!

"What?"  I said.  "Terri, you don't have to apologize for being you.  I have to apologize 
for not having enough maturity to deal with how spectacular you are.  My big baby side-"

"Who, 'Mr. Smooth'?" she laughed.  "I hear his male parts don't feel so good."

She pulled the towel off my head, and the bright light made me squint.  I was several 
shades of red.  I was also hung over, and that light stabbed at me like I was a vampire.  I 
was half-expecting my skin to start smoking.

"Oh, yeah... I guess you heard all of that, huh?"

She threw back her head and laughed.

"I was knocking at the front door, and I called and heard my voice on the answering 
machine in your living room, so I thought you were maybe upstairs.  I was just getting 
ready to turn around when I heard a crash in the back.  I got worried.  I promise I'll pay 
for your front door..."

Her face got a little red at that.

"...um, oh.  Okay," I said, off-guard again.

"I got to the kitchen, and you were yelling into the handset of the kitchen phone, and 
some guy was yelling at you on the speakerphone to hang up.  I heard a lot of 'sorry' and 
'wonderful', words like that, coming from you.  I assumed you must have thought you 
were talking to me.  It was rather funny... and it was kind of sweet, in a haphazard, 
drunken sort of way."

"Yeah, well, I think that was Mr. Beam managing the sticky human interactions," I said, 
feeling low.

"I think you should fire him as your social secretary," she said. 

I was having trouble looking her in the eye, and the bright light in the room was only part 
of the reason.

"I think he got the memo," I said.

She smiled a crooked smile.

"You're not at your most charming right now, Eric." She said

She brought her strong hand under my chin and lifted my head, meeting my eyes in the 
mirror.  

"I'd be perfectly happy to never meet Mr. Smooth." She said to my reflection.

I had to admit my level of charm was at an all-time low.

"I think I did a good job of showing you Eric at his worst today," I said, holding her gaze, 
though it was painful.  "I'm sorry, Terri."

"I know."

She looked away from the mirror.

"It just makes me wonder how this will work out, though," she said, and I could hear the 
defeat in her voice.  "Bill dealt with it a little longer than you did.  He lasted a whole year 
and a half, not three months."

She sat down on the side of the tub, putting her hands demurely in her lap.  She still had 
on her golf clothes, even the spikes, and I wonder how they got so dirty.  She looked like 
she had been digging... maybe she has a garden.

"I want to forgive you anything, Eric, I really do." She said, her face downcast.  

From my vantage, her face was framed by her amazing bosom, which appeared to have 
ripped a nice long tear at the start of the buttons on the polo shirt, about to mid-stomach.  
Maybe it happened when she squeezed the hell out of herself at the golf course.

"I just don't know if I can handle another round of 'win at all costs', she said, looking up 
at me. 

Her eyes were bright, and I was praying she didn't start crying.  I couldn't bear it.  I 
really felt like it would be the last nail in the coffin.

"You know, I thought I was going to die when you told me I could hit you," I said finally, 
my voice hoarse.  "I thought I had never sunk so low, not even when my marriage fell 
apart."

I sat down next to her, fully expecting her to shy away from me, but, amazingly, she 
wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, then took my hand in hers.  I loved that about 
her: even at a time like this, that human contact was something she seemed to need, like it 
made the connection between people happen as much as their words and actions did.

"I used to tell Amanda that if she could sit back and look at her life, just see what she 
had, that she would be happy.  Hell, I was happy.  I had my toys, I had a good job, and 
the prospects for it getting better were well in hand.  I had a great kid, a nice house, all of 
this great stuff around me, and she just never seemed to get it.  I used to call her G.H.E, 
for Glass Half Empty.  I told her she sucked the life out of the room like some kind of 
specter."

Terri squeezed my hand.

"I'm not judging you, but it sounds like your 'Smoothness' was more like hiding," she 
said.

"Yeah, she said that, too," I said.  "I ran away from my responsibilities and couldn't face 
up to things.  And she was right.  And I vowed to change, but not to her.  I don't think 
she would have bought it anyway.  We were so opposite, just waiting for it all to die."

My head announced that the people with bricks were not done throwing them, and I put 
my hand to my head.  Terri sat up and pulled me to my feet, then carried me over to the 
bed, sat down and set me next to her.  She covered her big thighs with a pillow, then 
pulled my head down onto her lap, 

"I thought I would be a great guy for you, Terri.  You are everything I ever wanted in a 
woman:  strong, positive, exciting, capable.  And so beautiful, God..."

My voice trailed off.
 
"I think my 'Mr. Smooth' thinks it's fun to wreck my life.  He's a real asshole." I said, so 
comfortable with my head on her lap.

"I'm not writing you off yet," she said, stroking my hair.  "You did kick him in the groin, 
right?"

I chuckled.

"Yeah, I think Jim Beam and I both had a hand in that.  Only Jim's wrath swung my way 
as well."

"That was a self-inflicted wound, Eric," she said, still running her hand through my hair.  
"In a weird way, I was... pleased to see you feeling bad when I came here tonight.  I 
know that's terrible to say, but I guess it was me wanting to see you own up to your bad 
behavior.  If you hadn't been like that, I think I would have walked away."

She kept running her strong hand through my hair, and it almost felt like the throbbing in 
my head lessened while she did it.

"I know I fed you plenty of reasons to lose it this summer, but you caught me off guard 
when it happened.  I have heard about golf tantrums before, but wow....  My uncle the 
sailor would have been proud."

"Well, I'm not.  I'm truly sorry you had to go through that, Terri," I said.  "I promise you 
I won't so much as raise my voice again to you."

She lifted me right up off her lap when she heard that, and held my body a few inches off 
the bed.  My feet dangled over the side, and I didn't even consider I could stand, as fast 
as it happened.  My head protested by thumping like a kettle drum.

"Don't make a promise you can't keep, Eric, heat of the moment or not," she said, and I 
felt the overwhelming power of her arms holding me easily.  

She could have crushed me by bringing her hands together.  I already witnessed her raw 
power, and knew it would probably be easy for her.  I could feel the tension in her arms 
as they pressed into my side at about elbow height.

"That is the type of thing that gets you in trouble.  Think before you speak.  How could 
you possibly never raise your voice at me?  Ever?  What are you going to do, cut out 
your tongue?  Conflict is inevitable, Eric.  It's part and parcel of being human.  If people 
didn't dispute, then I would be out of a job." She held me steady as she looked into my 
eyes.

"I thought you did tax law," I said, unable to help myself, and tried to suppress a chuckle.

She chuckled a little herself, but then gave me a gentle shake.

"You get the point.  We can't ever be perfect.  As much as you think I am, I'm not.  I 
have my bitchy days, and I'm sure you've seen this summer that I have issues with not 
getting things just right.  I'm not perfect, but I strive for it, I try to be the best I can, in 
everything.  Life's just too short not to.  I just can't help myself.  I'm sorry."

I hung in her arms, which hadn't wavered the entire length of our talk.  I began to get 
excited in spite of myself.

"You know, you will make some lucky guy really happy some day," I said.

"Yeah, I'll believe it when I see it," she said, looking away.  

Terri didn't seem to notice she was holding 165 pounds in front of her as she talked.  

"I win competitions, but I can't win in relationships, it seems.  I have a really lousy track 
record."

"As fast as you are, I am surprised at that," I said, and she looked up at me.  "I'm sorry.  
When I'm nervous I crack jokes.  It's sort of my coping mechanism."

Terri set me back on the bed.  She didn't even seem to notice my weight as she moved 
me back onto the mattress.  I was worried a talk like this would be uncomfortable 
between us, there would be some sort of distance... but it never happened.  Terri 
seemed to be warming back up to me, and I felt guilty for it.  Was her loneliness 
preventing her from cutting me loose?

"I know, Eric, and I do like it.  I like everything about you... well, almost everything. 
Honestly, I was surprised you didn't get upset sooner.  I told you Bill took a year and a 
half, but we didn't go at it a tenth as hard as you and I did over the summer.  Here, look 
at this."

She pulled back her sleeve a little, and her big bicep came fully into view.  She flexed her 
arm and it leapt up to its full, incredible size.

"I gained an inch on my arms this summer, just from keeping up with you," she said.  "I 
exercise, but I usually go light so I don't bulk up, but this summer I was having so much 
fun I just didn't care.  I know you like it, just like you like seeing me in this shirt.  It goes 
so contrary to all the years of keeping myself under wraps, but I did it for you.  I can't 
hide the boobs, they're just too damn big, but I can sort of hide my body by being 
strategic about what I show and what I don't.  My shoulders can pass for shoulder pads 
in suits, and I can wear flaring skirts to hide my thighs... but you are making me not want 
to.  You're helping me grow and feel appreciated.  Maybe I can help you grow, too.  
What do you think?"

I looked at that amazing arm as she held it out in front of me, so big and beautiful.  Her 
bicep peaked up so high it was astounding, and she saw the look of pure worship I had 
on my face, and I think it made something click in her.

I heard Terri lightly laugh next to me.  I had licked my lips and I didn't realize it at all.

"See that, I'm helping you grow already," she said, looking down as my hardening cock, 
and she unflexed her arm, then brought it back up.  I swear it bulked up visibly bigger, 
just from that one pump.  

My formerly dry mouth was no longer dry as I could feel my excitement building.  I 
wanted to reach out and touch her arm so badly, but I didn't feel worthy at that point to 
even clean that poor beat up shirt. 

"Terri, I know I screwed things up, but I promise I will make it up to you if you give me 
another chance," I said.

"Show me," she said softly, and looked from me to her arm, still cocked in front of me.