Pounding the Pavement
by Heidi Champa

I always swore I wasn’t the kind of person to camp out for concert tickets. I loved music, but I wasn’t that kind of fan. I would never forego my comfort just for a chance to see some band. In fact, I couldn’t think of any good reason to sleep on a sidewalk in Philadelphia. Or so I thought.

Then I got the email, alerting me to the event that changed my mind completely. It was the very last show of the very last tour of my very, very favourite band. That just wasn’t something I could pass up. I wanted more than anything to be there, front and centre for that gig. The fangirl in me just couldn’t say no. Using up a few vacation days seemed like a small price to pay for the concert chance of a lifetime.

I packed up everything I thought I’d need for my one- night stay, taking way too much stuff with me for such a short trip. I would have gladly slept out longer if I had to, but the local police were only allowing us crazy types to reside on the sidewalk for a single night. I always packed too much stuff, but I was used to having a hotel room to scatter it around. Adjusting to a tiny tent would be a challenge, but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make.

When I arrived on the scene, I was delighted to find that there were only a few other die-hards currently squatting on the slab of cement. I took my place in the queue behind a few other people, setting up my tent the best I could under the circumstances. Surprisingly, my fellow fanatics proved generous, helping me find the best way to keep my tent from falling down, and telling me stories about all the times they’d seen the band before. I felt like a relative newbie compared to their vast experience, but they treated me like one of their own.

By the time I settled in, the sun was starting to set and a long line was forming behind me. There were people everywhere; the excitement in the air was palpable. The line just so happened to include an amazingly cute young guy about three people away from me, wearing a faded band T-shirt from the last tour that went through town. By the look of him, I figured he couldn’t be more than 22 or 23. Doing the math in my head, he must have been in high school when the last tour happened.

He looked up from his sleeping bag and smiled at me. He was one of the few in line who didn’t have a tent with him, content to rough it with his worn-out sleeping bag and a backpack. I watched him create his space, taking in his skinny but muscled frame as he moved. He reminded me so much of a boy I had been mad for in high school, right down to the glasses and faded, ripped jeans. The cute ass didn’t hurt his cause either. He caught me staring, peeking at me over his shoulder. Blushing at being busted, I made a note of how blue his eyes were before I went back into my tent. I felt a little guilty looking at a young guy that way, but I couldn’t help it. Being almost 40 didn’t turn off my libido, after all.

The night on the sidewalk turned quickly into a big party, with the band’s music playing and everyone sharing food and snacks. My buddy with the baby blues came and sat by my tent, offering us all a sample of his homemade brownies. Resisting a man with chocolate was futile, especially when his treats came with a killer smile that threatened to reduce me to a giggling schoolgirl. At the ripe old age of 39. He surprised me by moving just a few inches closer to me, his knee touching mine as we sat Indian-style on a small blanket I had brought.

‘So, you a big fan of the band?’

His voice was deeper than I thought it would be, his accent a muddle-mix of classic southern and classic Philly. It made me smile, which bought me time to push my nerves away before I spoke.

‘Oh, yeah. For years. When they announced that this was the last tour, I knew I just had to see them one more time. What about you? Been a fan long?’

It was my subtle way of finding out just how young he might be and his answer stabbed the small part of me that was starting to feel old.

‘You kidding? I’ve been listening to them since the first record came out when I was in grammar school. My Dad loves them, too. But, I couldn’t convince him to come and camp out with me. My name is Ari, by the way.’

He held out his hand, his long, tapered fingers capped with black-polished fingernails. I ignored the comment about his dad and shook his hand lightly. But his grip tightened as I tried to pull away. Finally, he dropped my hand, but he edged a fraction closer to me, making me feel a bit warm despite the cool night air. I met his eyes and took in his crooked grin. God, he really was cute.

‘I’m Tasha. Nice to meet you.’

‘You too. Good idea, bringing a tent, by the way. I knew I forgot something for this trip. I always do. At least I remembered the brownies, though. Right?’

‘You have to have priorities, Ari.’

We laughed, and suddenly it felt that we were the only two people on that sidewalk. We spent the next few hours talking, outlasting quite a few people in line. The noise was starting to diminish greatly, so we lowered our voices to whispers, trying not to disturb anyone around us. After a while, my foot was starting to fall asleep, and although
I tried to hide them behind my hand, my yawns were picking up in frequency. I was hoping he wouldn’t notice, but Ari seemed to be nothing if not perceptive.

‘I know I’m boring, but I didn’t think I was that bad!’

‘It’s not that. I’m just … well, I’m embarrassed to say I’m usually in bed by now.’

‘Not much of a party girl, then, are you?’

‘I haven’t been a party girl in a long time. In fact, I haven’t been any kind of girl in a while.’

I smiled weakly as another yawn bubbled up. Ari moved to stand up, but before he did, he decided to shock me once again.

‘Hell, party girls are overrated anyway. I much prefer women. Especially ones with awesome taste in music.’

I didn’t know how to respond, so I didn’t. Except to stare at him in wonder. No one had talked to me like that in a long time. And, I liked it. A lot.

‘Well, goodnight, Tasha. See you in the morning.’

I watched, stunned silent, as he curled up in his sleeping bag. I lay in my tent, tired but my eyes were still open. It was hard to get comfortable on the hard ground, but that wasn’t the only thing keeping me awake. As I finally drifted off to sleep, the last thing I remember seeing was Ari’s smile right before he bit into his third brownie.

I woke up a few hours later, to the sound of raindrops hitting the nylon of my tent. There was noise going on outside as people without cover tried to protect themselves from the steadily falling rain. My mind immediately went to Ari, and I crawled out of my sleeping bag in a hurry.
I carefully unzipped my tent, peeking outside through the raindrops. He was curled up next to the building, trying to stay dry but failing miserably. I met his eyes and called out to him.

‘Ari, get in here. You’ll be soaked.’

‘Are you sure? I’m OK to stay out here.’

‘Don’t be silly. I have room. Hurry up.’

After another few seconds of thought, he abandoned his sleeping bag and scampered over to my tent in a hurry. As he crawled inside, he dripped droplets of water on to my sleeping bag and discarded clothes. He smiled as he zipped the tent back up, the glow from the streetlamp letting me see his face in a mix of shadows and light.

‘Thank you so much for this, Tasha. I didn’t know it was supposed to rain tonight. That’s what I get for baking and not watching the weather.’

‘No problem. I’m sorry there won’t be much room.’

‘I can hardly complain, can I? You really didn’t have to do this. I appreciate it and I promise some day I’ll make it up to you.’

‘So doesn’t that mean free brownies for life, Ari?’

‘For a start. I’m sure I’ll have to do more than baking to make this up to you.’

He shook the excess water from his head and took off his glasses to try and clean them. It was only then that I wondered what I had gotten myself into but it was too late and too mean to throw him back into the street. Instead, we manoeuvred as best we could, so Ari could stretch out next to me. Every time we bumped into each other or his hand would touch me, I felt a jolt go through me, an instant buzz I hadn’t felt with anyone in a long time.

Once we finally settled, we lay next to each other in the dark, neither of us making a sound. I’d lent him the extra blanket I had brought, but he still shivered a bit from the cold rain. I felt every move he made in the confined space, our close proximity leaving me no choice.

‘God, there is nothing worse than wet clothes. I hope you don’t mind, Tasha, but I have to get out of this stuff.’

I was speechless as he sat up and shucked off his shirt. Under the blanket, he went about removing his pants, sliding them down and tossing them out from beneath it. Part of me was mortified – the normal, everyday part that couldn’t believe I was sharing a tent with a younger man. The rest of me was wishing for more light so I could get a better look at his exposed body. I had to settle for a quick peek in the dark when he wasn’t looking.

The last thing he took off were his glasses, folding them carefully and setting them aside. I expected him to lie back down right away, but he didn’t. He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at me. It felt like he was studying me, and I finally broke the tension by looking into his eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to the punch.

‘God, you’re really beautiful, Tasha.’

‘Thanks.’

‘No, I mean it. You really are. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you from the first moment I saw you. I’ve been using every excuse I could think of to stay close to you.’

‘Ah, so you’re the one who made it rain?’ I started to laugh, but his face remained serious.

‘Believe me, if I could have planned things this way,
I would have.’

His earnest words shocked me, but his lips on mine shocked me even more. My first instinct was to push him away, but I couldn’t. I let my hands wrap around his back, feeling his bare skin, still cool from his damp clothes. His tongue moved into my mouth, rubbing against mine before pulling away again. God, he was a damn good kisser. When he pulled back, we were both panting, Ari more than me. His voice was a bit shaky when he spoke.

‘Is this OK? I’m sorry – I should have asked before
I did that.’

His question made him even more endearing, his sweetness overwhelming me a bit. It was something most guys would never say and certainly, something I had never heard before.

‘Believe me, Ari. It’s more than OK.’

‘I figured, since you didn’t slap me. But, it’s nice to hear it.’

He smiled down at me, and in that moment, I fully understood the appeal of a younger man. I unzipped my sleeping bag, removing the first barrier that stood between Ari and me. His eyes followed the thick zipper down, waiting until I finished to pounce. And pounce he did. His body covered mine, the urgency of his kisses taking my breath away.

Now that the sleeping bag was no longer an impediment, Ari moved on to my clothes, his hands fumbling a bit as he reached to remove my shirt. Everything was quiet around us, except for that steady rain. When his hands reached the button-fly of my jeans and got them all open, he stopped and looked up into my eyes. He looked unsure and so sweet. Instead of reassuring him with words, I took his hand and moved it into my panties. I watched his face as his fingers slid over my wet pussy lips, his mouth falling open slightly.

‘Oh, God, Tasha.’

I held on to his wrist for a bit, guiding his thumb over my clit in small circles. He watched my face closely as
I reacted to the pleasure of it. I nudged him a bit further until one long finger slid inside my pussy while his thumb kept working on my clit. Once he had the rhythm down,
I let go of his hand, drawing his lips back to mine.
I reached out for him, rubbing my hand over the bulge in his boxer briefs, his cock straining to get out. When |
I finally touched him, my hot hand on his cock, he groaned into my mouth. Ari moved another finger inside my cunt, his thumb pressing just a bit harder against my clit. His mouth moved to my neck, his teeth biting at the thin skin near my jugular. The rain poured down harder, the wind picking up slightly, making the tent rattle.

‘Ari, if you keep this up, I’m going to come.’

His voice was muffled, the sound vibrating against my skin.

‘I bet I could think of a better way to do that, Tasha.’

He moved his mouth lower, nipping at my nipples through the filmy fabric of my bra that neither of us bothered to remove. He didn’t stick around long, his anxiousness showing as he yanked my pants down my legs in a hurry. Flinging my jeans and panties over his shoulder, we both laughed as they bounced right back on top of me, the tent wall acting as a trampoline. I tossed them aside, sliding my body to make more room for Ari. Spreading my legs, he ran his hands slowly over my thighs, up and down slowly and softly. He settled in, lying down so his face was close to my warm and wet pussy.

I expected him to dive right in, but instead he looked at me, running his fingers gently over my cunt lips, admiring me once again. Dipping a finger inside me, I felt my pussy clench around him, the push and pull making my hips roll involuntarily. Finally, I felt his tongue sweep over my clit, up and around, swirling gently all around my sensitive flesh. I gasped, moaning louder than I should have, not caring who might hear us. Ari closed his lips around my clit and sucked, two fingers back in my cunt, twisting and thrusting to the rhythm of the rain.

I wrapped my hands in his damp black hair, but he needed no instructions. I opened my legs even wider, allowing him better access to my body. When I looked down at Ari, I noticed his fist wrapped around his cock, moving up and down. It was my turn to watch him, his hard cock disappearing and reappearing in his hand.
I looked until I couldn’t any more, my head falling back, my eyes shut tight. The edge was in sight, and there was nothing I could do to keep myself from falling over it.

‘Oh, Ari. I’m coming. Oh, fuck.’

I covered my own mouth with my hand to keep myself from screaming. The last thing I wanted to do was wake up the whole line. But, I couldn’t keep myself completely quiet. Moans and groans escaped my muzzle, my hips rocking against his mouth with abandon. My body contorted and shook, ecstasy racking through me again and again. When I finally settled down, I focused my eyes on Ari, who was lying back, jerking his cock fast and hard. I watched him come, hot jets coating his belly as he bit his bottom lip to keep the noise down.

He looked over at me, his sleepy face looking so adorable. I leaned down and kissed him, unable to resist. We cleaned up, again moving awkwardly, until we were both settled back in my sleeping bag. We were quiet for a long while, the rain slowing and then stopping as we held each other. I put my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat. The slow thud was lulling me to sleep.

The concert was absolutely amazing – everything I had expected and more. Ari was right there next to me, rocking out just as hard as I was. He even made good on his promise of more brownies. And then some.