Neighborhood Encounters Ch. 01

Hey all just a disclaimer here. If you're looking for something to stroke to, this first chapter might not be it. It's more setting the stage for sex-filled pages to come. That being said, check out some of my shorter other stories like Detestable Liasions which I designed to be quick strokes.

Still, I think you're gonna like Clara and everything that old Burt has in store for her.....

****

Scanning the others in the crowd, Adam couldn't help but smile. All eyes in the large exhibition room were trained on the stage, where his wife was giving one of her patented, well-rehearsed presentations on her company's potential impact on reversing climate change. Adam still remembered the first time she had workshopped the whole thing in the living room of their cramped San Francisco apartment.

Today, she was on stage at a climate conference in San Jose, California, alongside other startup CEOs touting the global impact of their varied projects. In truth, many of these companies were still working in the lab, and it wasn't immediately apparent that any of their technologies could scale. These presentations were more of an extended pitch to raise their company's profiles and lure investors. Once they got money, they could try to build their companies and see whether their solutions were viable.

"America has millions of acres of farmland that can be utilized to help capture atmospheric carbon and sequester it permanently." His wife Clara's voice came from the large speakers around the room as she moved and spoke smoothly on stage. Adam had to admit how stunning she looked up there today. She always looked good, but today, standing up on that stage and looking down at the roomful of primarily men, somehow she looked even better than in any previous talk she'd given. One important thing to his wife, perhaps the most important, was that she be taken seriously. Her constant drive was to be considered competent, intelligent, and professional, so she dressed as she did today. She didn't want her audience to focus on her physical appearance or beauty if she could help it.

Unfortunately, there was no denying her Swedish genes. Even without makeup, she was still the most beautiful woman at the conference. Her high cheekbones, paired with her piercing blue eyes, were a striking combination. The platinum blonde hair that ran down to her shoulder blades turned a lot of heads wherever she went. Opting for loose-fitting black pants, a white blouse with a black blazer, and heels, Clara thought she wasn't accentuating any of her natural assets below the neck.

"Not only can basalt improve root systems and increase farm yields, but when it rains, it reacts with the rainwater, converting atmospheric CO2 into dissolved bicarbonate and releasing micronutrients into the soil." Clara gestured to the screen behind her, showing a diagram of the process. Despite her best efforts, there was no denying how amazing her ass was. Even in reasonably loose pants like the ones she wore now, the material still clung to her ass. Adam watched several men's eyes drop from the screen to focus on his wife's backside. Their eyes no longer in the pursuit of knowledge but of an animal's desire to mate. Despite her desire to be taken seriously, Adam knew that deep down, Clara liked the attention and the elemental effect she had on men.

Adam shifted in his seat, trying to hide his growing erection. Clara thought he was twisted for his fascination with how other men looked at her. More so for his deeper fantasies which she had occasionally indulged in for his enjoyment.

"Eventually, the bicarbonate will dissolve," Sarah said, turning around. Adam could feel the eyes around him snapping back up to her, afraid of being caught looking at her perfect ass. Even without a pushup bra, Clara's breasts were still naturally amazing, pushing out against the confines of her blouse. She had worn the blazer to purposefully try to draw any unwanted attention away from her chest area. Adam knew better, though. A crowd full of horny men would always fixate on what they wanted to see, no matter how much she tried to dress herself down or cover herself up. "The bicarbonate will flow into rivers, streams to the coastal oceans where it will be stabilized for thousands of years, locking away CO2. It dissolves and reacts with calcium carbonate minerals, permanently depositing them on the ocean floor."

"A share of the profits are funneled back to our farmer partners to incentivize them to continue to utilize basalt in their operations, creating a new revenue stream for them while improving their crop yields. In this way, we can help transform agriculture operations into carbon solutions." Clara finished her presentation, and the room erupted into a round of boisterous applause. Adam shook his head at several men who were too enthusiastic, clearly more enamored with his wife's appearance than her message.

This same group of men made their way to the stage's edge as Clara descended the stairs, vying for their opportunity to talk with her. Adam had seen it before, and it was a problem Clara had learned to deal with. Men promising to help her out, synergies between their companies, and promises to work together. Over the years, she'd received several invitations to dinner to discuss things. On all of these occasions, the middle-aged guy across from her would drop some crass innuendo or try to make a sloppily considered move on her. Through these ordeals, Clara had developed a sixth sense of who was bullshitting her and who genuinely presented a real opportunity. The guys that rushed the stage were always the bullshitters. Still, the idea of his wife alone in some dark restaurant with most of these guys did play into some of his fantasies.

As the rest of the crowd milled out of the room, Adam stayed put, checking his work emails. He needed time for his dick to soften and his pants to stop tenting before he could stand up. A smile spread across his face as he looked at the panicked emails filling up his inbox. It was funny how many emails you received when your colleagues found out you just quit and are shitting their pants about the hole you're about to leave.

Well, you should have given me that promotion instead of that asshole Trent.

Adam stood up and put his phone into his pocket. Clara caught his eye as she talked to one of the few remaining men at the base of the stage. Her signal that she needed to be rescued.

"Excuse me, gentlemen," Adam said, interrupting Clara's polite conversation with a Japanese businessman with animated hand gestures. "I need to borrow my wife," Adam emphasized the word wife as he took his arm in hers, "If you need to reach out, her email is up there." He pointed to the screen where Clara's public email address shone in large font.

As they moved out of earshot of the disappointed gaggle of men Adam asked, "So anything worth pursuing there or more of the same."

Clara sighed, "More of the same. It's hard keeping up my game face when I just see them eyeing me up. I really want to move forward and get this company off the ground. To make an actual impact. I hate wading through all these pointless conversations with horny little men who look at me like a piece of meat."

"That's what we're doing," Adam said, holding the door to the hallway open for his wife, "With the big move across the country, it'll change everything. I promise."

"I know," Clara's face brightened, "Let's get out of here."

"Are you sure?" Adam said as they began to walk through the crowds of people, hurrying to other talks. "We haven't hit the expo floor yet. Aren't there other talks you want to attend?"

"Yes but I can catch the recording afterwards," Clara said, pulling on Adam's arm. She directed them toward the hotel attached to the conference center. "I just want to get out of here so I can stop smiling and work. Let's take the early train back home and finish packing up."

"Alright baby," Adam said as they moved towards the hotel elevators. He pulled out his phone to check the time. It was after lunch, and his stomach was starting to growl. More notifications came in from his workplace. Environmental consulting was becoming a big industry, and several of Adam's clients weren't happy that he was leaving. Maybe the firm would put Trent in charge of those clients and everyone would finally see how inept he truly was.

"What's so funny," Clara pushed the button for their floor, and the elevator doors slid closed. Adam hadn't realized he had been smiling.

"Just watching the flurry of panicked emails from work," Adam smiled and pulled Clara in close. Now that he had her alone, he wanted to kiss her beautiful lips. Clara returned the kiss eagerly, her lips lingering on his. He felt his dick stirring again being so close to her body, having her attention solely focused on him. The elevator door opening interrupted their moment, and the couple recovered, stepping out onto their floor and making their way to their room.

"Are you sure you're okay with quitting?" Clara asked him as they walked down the hallway. "You practically helped build that place. It must be hard just to walk away."

Adam sighed. It was painful to leave, but his workplace was heading philosophically in a different direction. With new senior leaders and Trent getting elevated over him, it just wasn't the same as when he'd started. Besides, he couldn't actually have Trent as his boss. No way. Besides, Clara's company was taking her across the country, and he wasn't about to do the long-distance thing. There was no telling what that could lead to.

"It sucks, but things have changed there. It's time for me to move on. Besides, I'm looking forward to this adventure of ours in Michigan." Adam swiped the keycard on their room door and opened it.

"It's too bad," Clara looked at him with a mischievous glint in her eye. Does that mean we are going to have to leave Trent behind, too?" Adam gulped as Clara walked into the room. As much as he hated Trent in the workplace, the idea of a workplace rival created some intense role-playing sessions with his wife. She didn't understand his fantasies, but she enjoyed playing to them nonetheless.

"I'm going to miss California," Clara took off her heels and layed on the bed, closing her eyes. "What's Michigan even like? I know there's a respected law school there but I've never been."

"Your parents stuck mainly to California ever since you guys moved in-state, huh?" Adam sat on the edge of the bed and started to massage Clara's feet. She moaned lovingly in appreciation.

"It was mostly just California. We did live in New York as well and obviously have been up and down the West Coast. There never seemed to be much for us in the rest of the states. The flyover states always seemed so..."

"Backwards?" Adam ground his thumbs into the balls of her feet.

"That is, ah," Clara moaned at the new pressure of his touch, "A nice way of putting it. Yes, backward."

"Well, at least we won't have to venture too far outside of Grand Rapids," Adam finished her foot massage and started to pack his bag. "The University of Michigan is lucky to have you."

"They just want a star to point to for their new program," Clara sighed, sitting up. She didn't want to fall behind Adam while packing to leave. "Still, their grant will help me get this company off the ground. It's the best path forward."

"Let's focus on the positives. We get home and finish packing up, and then we are out of that cramped apartment and get to move into that big colonial Susie showed us," Adam thought back to the virtual tours their real estate agent had given them over Facetime. The house they'd closed on in Michigan was bigger than anything they could afford here in California. Adam was particularly excited to get Clara into a bikini for the hot tub and pool that came with their new place. The bedroom alone was bigger by half than their current living room.

"I just wish we could have seen it in person," Clara said, zipping her bag up. I hope it's just as wonderful in person as it looked on video. There are probably a lot of things wrong with it that we couldn't even see."

"We'll deal with them as we discover them. It still beats the loud music from the Chans below us, doesn't it? We'll be able to figure things out." Adam said.

He checked around the hotel room one last time. Confident they hadn't forgotten anything he opened the door to the room. "Come on my hot Swedish wife, let's get out of here." He playfully grabbed a handful of her ass as she passed by him.

"Take me home, my American husband. We need to properly say goodbye to our apartment." She leaned in and whispered, "And I can't think of any better way to do that than letting the Chans hear how well you make love to me."

***

After passing the third dilapidated barn in five minutes, Clara averted her gaze out the car window to the tablet mounted on the dashboard. The GPS said they should arrive at their new house within ten minutes. She just hoped the movers had gotten there already. They'd used the virtual layout of the home to mark which boxes went where. Some might want to start out with an empty space, but Clara didn't mess around when there was time to be saved.

She glanced back up, seeing they were passing yet another dilapidated old barn. She hoped that they weren't an omen of things to come. Her startup depended on partnerships with local farmers. She would have gladly stayed put if Stanford or another California University had offered her a grant. Unfortunately, only the University of Michigan had made the grant generous enough for her to get started. Still, Michigan had a strong agricultural industry, and it was close to other states that would have plenty of farmers. She couldn't deny that the house's proximity to farms would be advantageous, at least early on. Once things were up and running maybe they could relocate back to California but for the next few years, she needed to roll up her sleeves and get things started here.

"We'll be there soon," Clara said, looking over at her husband. She loved watching him drive, staring at the window, determined to get them to their destination. She loved the way his arms flexed as he masterfully gripped the steering wheel. She couldn't wait to drag him inside their new house and break in their new mattress.

"I can't wait. This drive is killing me," Adam smiled and glanced her way before focusing back on the road. They'd spent the past few days driving to their new home across the country. While it allowed her to see farm operations up close in several states, the lack of superchargers for their Tesla had proven unnerving several times. Adam had assured her he had done the math and figured out the best locations to stop and charge. And she had to admit, he had gotten them this far without issue. They'd only had to deviate off their path a couple of times to charge up, and even then, Clara had appreciated the different rural areas they'd seen that had accommodated their electric car.

Clara's phone beeped. She opened it to read a message from Suzie, their local realtor, "Suzie says the movers arrived a couple of hours ago and are just finishing up. She is going to wait inside with our key."

"That's exciting. I can't wait to fire up that hot tub. My back needs it after this drive," Adam said, flexing his neck and moving his back around in his seat.

"I just want to get unpacked and settle in. I hate moving." Clara texted a response back to the real estate agent before putting her phone away. She closed her eyes and let her mind drift to the endless list of tasks ahead. Not only did she need to unpack and set up their new house, but they also needed to change their addresses, get Michigan IDs, and do everything else that went along with moving. That didn't even begin to touch the mountain of things she needed to do on Monday when she would meet with the staff at the University of Michigan's satellite campus in Grand Rapids. Her startup was to be the cornerstone of their new carbon emissions reduction program.

"We're here," Adam said. Clara blinked her eyes, realizing she'd begun to doze off. Adam turned the car down a long street with tall trees on either side. A paved walking path adorned one of the sides. The path broke into the forest, and Clara thought back to the satellite map of the area and how the paths zig-zagged the local forest until they came out in a subdivision nearby. She couldn't wait to get a run in and explore the new neighborhood. Clara beamed as she saw their house at the end of the street. It was a large two-story building with big, beautiful windows, a brick exterior, and an attached two-car garage.

Suzie had assured them that this was a private cul-de-sac set back far from the main road. The promise of privacy was one of the things that had won Clara over after she had felt surrounded by neighbors on all sides in San Francisco. As their Tesla rounded the end of the cul-de-sac, Clara scrunched up her nose. There were houses on either side of her new home.

"What the fuck is that?" Adam said aloud what was going through her mind just then. There were a total of four lots at the end of the street. The one in the center was theirs, as evidenced by the moving truck parked in the driveway. To their left, it looked like construction had started on two other homes. One was just a foundation, while the other one was partially built, and the wood framing was charred black from fire damage.

But Adam was talking about the house to their right. It was an old two or three-story house. It had a weird elevated spot in the roof at the back that made it look taller. It was far older than their new house, which had been built sometime in the last few years. This other house's roof looked like it was long overdue for replacement. The trees and bushes in front of the house were overgrown and gangly. Several old cars were in the driveway and on the lawn, some with flat tires and broken windows. A trailer was backed onto the property, full of random metal items, including a fridge, a lawn mower, and other metal items Clara couldn't identify. As they drove past, Clara could see that the garage was open and mostly filled with a collection of junk.

An old black truck sat in the driveway. It looked raised higher than normal. She didn't think you could buy them that way. Rust was eating away at the metal around the wheel wells. The passenger door was painted white, and the bed of the pickup had a tarp over it, hiding who knows what beneath. A decal on the rear window had the Ford logo with the text 'Eating Dodges, Shitting Chevys.' Clara felt her nose turn up when she saw the large pair of metal testicles dangling from the truck's hitch.

"That house was blocked out on Google Maps, dammit," Adam said as he pulled their Tesla into the driveway. "Jesus, we're going to have to look out at that junkyard every day."

Clara sighed, "I guess that's the first issue we've discovered with this house. Great."

"Alright," Adam said, taking a breath and trying to act happy. "Let's not let it bug us too much. Let's go inside and get the keys from Suzie."

Clara followed her husband's lead and put on her game face and tried in vain to make herself feel inwardly content. She shouldn't judge a book by its cover but she couldn't imagine inviting guests over, only for them to see that heap. Adam got out of the car and Clara quickly followed.

As Clara closed her door, she could hear voices coming from their backyard. She exchanged a quick look with her husband, and they made their way around the side of the house. The path was paved with mortar stones and led into their new backyard.

Clara's eyes were immediately drawn to the large trees at the perimeter of the back of her property. This was the privacy she wanted. The rest of the backyard looked exactly like what Suzie had shown them on Facetime. A small garden, a large pool surrounded by a concrete patio, a large wooden deck jutting off the second story, and a hot tub set off to the side next to a covered porch-type area. The only thing out of place was the large, dirty man in denim overalls standing in her yard talking to Suzie.