I live in a building with seven condos. It’s pretty typical. We each have our own patio section with separating fence-like walls, but no rear fences. What’s a little different about our building is we are on the edge of the group of similar condos and open onto a small park rather than the backside of another set of condos. As a result, a few times in spring or summer, we seven tend to have impromptu gatherings. No special occasion, just a little gathering. Some food, drink, and lots of conversation. We all shift some furniture outside, all provide various food, a couple of grills, and lots of beverages.

It’s kid-friendly as well because most of the group have small families. Two of the condos have single owners, one of which is me. The last one is a rental and the occupant seemed to change every couple of years, or sooner if the actual owners didn’t like how they were taking care of the property. Our gatherings also tended to bring in folks from some of the neighboring condos as well. So it’s not surprising to see new faces, especially at the first one for the season. That’s when I saw one such new face, and what a face it was.

She was talking to one of the neighbors intently. My first glance told me a little about her. She wasn’t much over five feet, dark-brownish hair, slim, but with a pair of amazing legs. Her short red dress showed them off to perfection. I had no idea who she was, but I knew she hadn’t lived here last summer, there was no way I could miss her. Her partly Asian heritage clearly showed in her attractive face and skin tone.

As the gathering went on, I tried to keep tabs on her, someone always seemed to have her engaged in conversation. She was very sociable and obviously very popular. I’m not that surprised I hadn’t met her before simply because I don’t get out much. I work from home and tend to keep odd hours and lots of time on my computers. It was actually kind of fun watching her get hit on by some of the single guys and a few of the married ones. I mean, she was lively and handled each guy easily, apparently letting them down gently and with some degree of humor. It was almost like watching a situation comedy.

She seemed unattached, but I was having trouble gathering up the nerve to actually talk to her when I took a seat for a few and chatted with a friend. That’s when she sat right across from us on a dark sofa someone had pulled outside for the party. My friend and I were sitting in a couple of chairs when she sat down.

Her short dress rode up showing off those amazing legs, neither my friend nor I could help but look. I think she caught us, mainly because of the look on her face when I tore my eyes away from that lovely expanse of thigh. She was even prettier than I had first thought, and the small smile told me she wasn’t annoyed that we had looked at her legs. I mean you would have had to be dead not to look at those legs!

We chatted for a bit and I learned her name was Monica and she lived in one of the rentals in the next set of condos. From one of the comments my friend made, I guess if I spent more time outside, I would have seen her jogging by with a couple of the other neighborhood ladies. We got into a discussion about bicycling; apparently she wasn’t aware of the network of bike trails we had in the area. I got some of my nerve back and asked her if she wanted to ride together and I could show her some of the trails. A thrill went through me when she agreed.

Biking is really my main physical fitness. I bike more often than drive, even on shopping trips. Living alone meant it was easy to haul groceries for just me. Also, the biking kept me from ballooning up like some of the people I interact with who also work from home. But that’s when things took a strange turn.

Because we were talking, I think my friend felt a little excluded and got up to get another drink. That’s when Monica crossed her legs and I realized she wasn’t wearing panties. While it wasn’t the gratuitous beaver shot from that Sharon Stone movie, I got a glimpse of a nearly bare of hair and slightly glistening pussy. Then she shifted and all I saw was a nice expanse of thigh again, a very nice expanse of thigh.

My friend got dragged away to another conversation and I was kinda lost in thought when Monica said, “Thanks!”

I looked into her dark eyes and muttered something like, “For what?”

“For not making a scene, I forgot I wasn’t wearing anything under this dress. You saw and you didn’t get weirded out. That plus it’s been flattering how you have been watching me since I got here.” Then she changed the subject quickly enough to make my head spin. “How about biking tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be perfect. I’ll understand if you changed your mind.”

I did pause, maybe longer than I should have. I saw her face start to change when I decided ‘WTF! It’s only a bike ride!’ “Tomorrow sounds great. Are you an early rider or late?”

She paused this time, but whatever she saw in my face made her decide. “I’m pretty flexible. Gennie said you work weird hours, so whatever worked best for you.”

Genny, Gennifer to most of us, is this gorgeous mid-thirties blond that probably figured in the fantasy life of every guy and half the women who lived around here. She wasn’t a player and was happily married to her husband, but when she wore a bikini to the pool, everyone noticed! I remember some problems with a couple of teenage boys... but that’s not part of this story.

“Talking about me? I think you need to get a life. I’m pretty dull.”

“Oh, just some girl talk. She gave me a brief rundown on most of the single people and the horn-dog married ones who seem to forget they’re married.”

I laughed at that. While our group wasn’t a hotbed of marital infidelity, like any group, shit happens. We traded a couple of the more wild stories we had each witnessed, no names even though neither story was about any of the folks we both knew. We were getting along pretty well when it started getting dark and the party broke up. We arranged to meet the next morning for a ride.

I slept poorly for some reason and about ten I headed for her condo. She was in the next row of buildings, so instead of going to her front door, I rode over the grass to her patio. I saw her bike parked there, so I went up to the sliding glass door, but before I could knock, I glanced in and saw her.

She was leaning back with her butt pressed against the counter, but that wasn’t important, she was also nearly completely naked. She had on a light robe that was open in the front. Her eyes were closed and she had one hand on a beautiful small breast and the other between her legs doing pretty much exactly what I was doing in the shower not long ago.

Now, if someone saw me doing that, I would be incredibly embarrassed, so I decided to beat — although that might not be the best possible word to use — a hasty retreat. But before I could move, her eyes opened and she looked right at me. I froze, I don’t know why I froze, I should have kept going and at least pretended I didn’t see her. But then she motioned with her hand for me to come in. I think my eyes must have opened like an animal at night staring into my headlights. She motioned more abruptly and I heard her firm voice telling me to come in. So I did.

“I wasn’t planning this. I just got a little carried away. I lost track of time.” She said without a hint of embarrassment or shame.

I still couldn’t say much of anything. She was still nearly naked, her hand obviously wet, and her other still held that perfect little breast. My head wasn’t anywhere near normal, not that much about my life was all that normal, but this was new.

She continued, “One thing you have to know, I love sex and I also like being in control.”

I shook my head, not completely sure what I was hearing.

Then she smiled at me. “If you are as turned on as I am right this second,” she looked up and down my body, “get naked and join me upstairs. If you come up dressed, I’ll change and we can go bike riding, although I might be dripping wet after a few miles on that seat.”

She turned and her robe floated to the ground as she went to the stairs. All I could do is look at her body. It was obvious she either sunbathed in the nude or her skin-color was a perfect bronze. Her butt was tight and moved sensually as she walked away without looking back. I was rendered speechless.

Now my head was really reeling, I was surprisingly tempted to take off my clothing, which suddenly felt incredibly constricting. Granted the bike shorts with its chamois insert were a little uncomfortable just walking around, but even my top felt too tight, which is an unusual feeling for me. Another part of me wanted to run away. I know, I know, it’s the risk-averse part of me that all too often wins any arguments, and it was arguing for sure. A final part of me thought just stay dressed and just going bike riding might make a happy median position, but there is this stubborn honest streak that told me it wasn’t the middle ground at all, but another victory for one side. I did something uncharacteristic of me and made up my mind quickly.

Monica looked up as I came around the corner, she was sitting on the edge of her bed, leaning on it like she had been the kitchen counter. There was no change of expression, no disappointment or excitement either way. I stepped close to her and she extended her hand, the one she had been — using. I tentatively went to take it, she pulled it back. She extended it again, higher this time and I understood what she wanted.

As I opened my mouth to take her wet fingers, I felt almost a jolt of pleasure from my own body, which surprised me. She drew me closer and pulled me to her. I don’t understand why I felt the way I did — I felt — I had no words for how I felt. Her smaller body conformed against mine, her arms went around my waist and held me. I put my head down on her shoulder as she simply held me tight. I found a word, I felt . . . Complete.