I was rooting for Terry [FM]

There was a time when I was a bit of a neighborhood legend. One benefit of this is that I never paid for shit. I don’t really know how it happened, I just really fell in love with my neighborhood and got to know everyone to the point that I had my freebie routine down to an art.

Every morning I’d wake up and grab a free coffee from the dude who managed the McDonald’s next door. The woman who owned an illegal daycare next to me liked I didn’t complain about the noise so she always brought me lunch during snack time. My friend owned a bar across the street from me and never, ever charged me for alcohol.

*I never asked for these things btw and I’m 100% sure none of these people wanted to sleep with me. I was just studying for the bar exam and everyone was weirdly supportive and kind.*

My favorite local vendor though? A man I’m going to call Terry.

Terry owned the liquor store on my corner. If he saw me walking from the subway station alone at night, he’d run out and walk me to my apartment. He kept me supplied with wine and always gave me a cigarette if I asked.

*This was back when I was convinced if I never bought a pack I couldn’t be addicted. This is a lie. When that summer ended I did indeed get cranky when I had to quit.*

We got so friendly that I often hung out in his store at the end of the day. I’d just chill on the counter and talk to him and his coworker while they worked around me.

Terry especially got a kick out of my dating life. He’d screen my Tinder matches and laugh at my stories. He never reciprocated, even though he was young and good-looking. I didn’t want to pry so I didn’t ask about what was up with him, but I was curious.

Once when his store closed, he poured me a shot and I finally got brave and told him he should get a Tinder.

“Trust me, it’s not for me,” he laughed.

“But you would SLAY on Tinder. You’re a hot business owner and you have that mysterious brooding element girls love.”

“It’s a bad idea for me, V… I don’t really date.”

I laughed it off, but he looked a little distant. Finally he sighed and told me the saddest story I had ever heard. The reason Terry owned a business so young was because he inherited it from his father. His father and wife had died in a crazy freak accident four years before. He hadn’t dated since he lost them. What’s worse is that this poor dude had been madly in love with his late wife since the 8th grade, so he got married young. He had never been with anyone else.

I cried when he told me, but he said he didn’t like talking about it so I never brought it up again. We fell back into our routine.

Once I was bringing a Tinder date home and immediately regretted it when we got on the subway. He wasn’t even being creepy, but he got a little weird and I wasn’t feeling it. I was also a little nervous how to end the night after he just rode six stops with me.

When we got off at my station I was about to make up some excuse when I saw Terry in his store and quickly announced we needed wine as I ducked in. Terry looked amused when he saw me, but his face fell when I explained I needed to get out of this date.

My date finally came in and I announced we’d have to cut the evening short because my friend needed me for legal help.

“Yeah, my pipes burst in the back,” Terry announced.

*Terry was not a great liar.*

“That’s a legal issue?” My date asked.

“His landlord is really mean and always claims he’s not liable for emergencies so I have to stay here,” I said quickly.

*Smooth, V.*

My date was confused but eventually we got him out the door, and then Terry and I burst out laughing.

“What was wrong with him?” He asked while he pulled out whiskey and poured us both a drink.

“He was just a little weird. Idk, I got a vibe he was going to stay for too long.”

“Good for you. I’m glad to be your scapegoat.”

“And drinking buddy and friend.”’

He got slightly drunk as he told me about his day. We got just a TAD flirty for the first time in our friendship. I sat on the counter as he stood across from me and smiled.

His t-shirt was tight. Terry had a nice body. He lifted boxes all day and it served him well.

“Thanks for always letting me hang out here,” I finally said.

“I think the customers get a kick out of you, honestly. You bring in business because you’re cute… A little weird, but cute.”

“I’ve always dreamt of a dude saying I was a little weird but cute.”

“I always dreamt of a girl moving into my neighborhood and making me feel… like I’m flirting.”

“Flirting?” I laughed.

“I know you’re not flirting with me, but sometimes it’s nice to be the guy with the cute girl sitting on his counter with a smile on her face. This is kind of shitty of me, but folks in the neighborhood think we’re together and I haven’t corrected them.”

“I’m not offended.”

“I kind of figured you wouldn’t be I just…”

I kissed him. I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into me. He pulled away shocked for a few seconds and then his eyes flickered with understanding.

He got hungry then.

He put his mouth on mine and moaned into it as his body tightened around me. I let my hands slide over his shoulders and opened my legs so he could push himself in between. He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me up slightly off the counter to meet him. He was hard against me and I was shaking as I felt the friction.

I think we lasted about three seconds when he pulled himself away.

“It feels like I’m cheating,” he said. “I’m so sorry, Viola. It’s not you.”

I grabbed his face and watched his eyes change. “It’s ok.”

“I’m nervous.”

We kept drinking for a while but eventually parted ways. I honestly thought that’d be the end of the saga. For the next few days we were friendly and talked as usual, but I accepted the tension was gone.

Until this amazing thing happened.

I was walking home a few days later and he called me in to “apologize” for the other night.

“Why?” I asked, sincerely confused.

“Because I kissed you.”

“I kissed You, Terry. You were way too nervous.”

“I was not. You were the one shaking.”

“Oh… That was because I was turned on.”

Then Terry came alive. He finished the drink in front of him and threw the cup aside. I didn’t even say anything as he walked toward me. I was in shock. He put his hands under my ass and lifted me to the counter.

*Daaaaamn Terry.*

I moved one of his hands to my breasts and we both gasped as our bodies collided. He pushed into me hard then and I scratched his back gently. My mouth was fully open and his tongue explored me for a while. He squeezed my breast harder and I moved away slightly to pull his shirt off.

He pulled my tank top down so I was exposed and paused for a moment. “Is this really happening?” He whispered.

“Do you want it?” I asked as I moved my hand right above his crotch. We were both panting when I tried to kiss him again.

He stopped me.

“It’s not cheating,” I whispered.

“I’m sorry I just never thought this would happen again.”

“Like your whole life? You thought you’d never have sex?”

“Have feelings.”

*Fuuuuuuck*

My face dropped. “Terry, I can’t have feelings for anyone right now.”

*I was getting out of a bad relationship and still in my slay period.*

He put a hand to my face and smiled. “I know that, but I have feelings. It’s nice to have feelings. You’re the best part of my day.”

“We can’t fuck.”

He tried to fight me for a while, but he saw where I was coming from. I could not do that to this man. It felt like taking someone’s virginity, someone who was incredibly vulnerable and would inevitably get hurt.

He deserved more.

We stayed friends but I didn’t hang out quite as much. I moved out of the neighborhood about a year later and we didn’t keep in touch. A few years later I returned with my husband. Terry had remarried and had a kid.

I loved that man.

Source: reddit.com/r/gonewildstories/comments/z34yik/i_was_rooting_for_terry_fm