The next few minutes played out in a blur for Fred as he watched Bethany walk in, hot on the heels of George.  The younger woman was stunningly beautiful but there was something about her that screamed to him that her eyes were watching George's every moment, those dark pools reflecting back some sort of hidden attraction.  He had seen it before in the faces of women he had seduced or been seduced by, only to wake up to a cold bed the next morning.  This woman was a sensual creature, a haunting reminder of what Vicki had once been like.<br/><br/>Or still was.  He had been out of touch for so long he no longer knew her.<br/><br/>As he regarded Beth, he offered her a soft smile and nodded his head politely.  "You are very lovely."<br/><br/>He swallowed hard as the conversation suddenly took an odd turn, a disastrous one that could lead only to more discomfort.  But, for some reason, he felt as if his brain was beginning to fog over and his usually guarded reserve had been forced off.  It was a surreal experience, to have none of those well-trained mental alarms in your brain to be completely silent when they should have been screaming inside your head.  Fred chuckled softly, his nervousness displaced and replaced by a settled calm, as if the admittance that followed would set him free and stop him from running away like he normally did.<br/><br/>"You are right, George.  Had I the courage, I would have asked Vicki out a long time ago, way before she got to meet you.  I have always loved her, always lusted after her.  Even after all these years, it's never stopped."<br/><br/>Something in the primal regions of his mind told him to shut up but there was no stopping it now.  The silence hung in the air and Fred felt oddly complacent.  This was right, but why?