by Ford, Mia
“I’m a lawyer,” Sandy said.
I knew it. Over the years I’d become pretty good at predicting what women did. It was almost becoming a bit boring, and lacking challenge. And if there was no challenge, sometimes that would really derail my interest in the process.
“Wow, that sounds like fun,” I said.
Sandy laughed. “It has its moments,” she said.
“So, you decided to get a pizza to shake off the trials and tribulations of the day?” I joked.
“Yeah, something like that,” Sandy said. “I’m actually going back to the office after this.”
“Wow,” I said. “That’s too bad.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, I had other hopes for you this evening,” I said.
Sandy looked shocked for a moment, but then smiled and gave me a sweet look.
“Ah, I hate to burst your bubble,” Sandy said. “But I’m actually waiting for someone. And I don’t think he would be too happy about your plans.”
She giggled as she took a sip of her soda.
“Really? Well, then I guess that means we can’t be friends,” I said.
I finished off the last bite of my pizza and started to leave.
As I walked past her, Sandy stopped me and gave me a business card with her phone number.
“Under different circumstances,” Sandy said. “I would have loved to hear your plans for you and I this evening.”
The look in her eyes told me that she definitely wanted me to call her. I tucked the business card into my pocket and smiled at her as I continued to exit the pizzeria.
I hopped on my bike and fired it up. Just then I saw a man enter the pizzeria and bend over to give Sandy a big kiss. She welcomed him with a hug.
Ah, so that was the boyfriend. Interesting… I wondered if he would have given her that hug and kiss if he had any idea she’d just given her number to a perfect stranger.
As I drove home, I thought about whether or not I would ever call Sandy. I probably wouldn’t. I’d slept with women who had boyfriends, and even married women before, but I was trying to put those days behind me. The past few years I’d become a bit more selective in the type of women I wanted to spend my time with. It was no longer about having sex with any woman who would have me. No, nowadays I had other objectives.
As I got older I began to develop some ethics and morals that I didn’t used to have before, at least as far as messing with other guys’ women was concerned. The idea began to turn me off for some reason.
I was almost to my loft when I decided to throw Sandy’s card on the street. It landed in a ditch and I drove on, making the turn onto my street. I felt good. I felt a bit vindicated, almost, as if I’d just made some major discovery or overcome something monumental. I’d turned down what was most likely a sure thing and I felt surprisingly good about it. And I felt glad that I didn’t help that guy’s girlfriend cheat on him.
When I walked in the door of my loft, I locked the door behind me, turned on the television and poured myself a whiskey. It had been a long and fairly productive day with a great band rehearsal, I’d finally finished that new song demo, and we were ready for our gig Friday night.
My arm hurt like hell from the tattoo, but that was normal and it would pass soon enough.
As I sat there on my leather couch binge watching Breaking Bad (my favorite show) I couldn’t stop thinking about Kay. She was such a good, moral, passionate woman. Even though we hadn’t seen each other in years, I’d been following her on social media for a long time. I had watched all of her achievements as she posted about them and I’d watched her develop from this cute teenage girl who was a few years younger than me, to the mature, sexy, adult woman that she now was.
God, I could not wait until Saturday when she arrived. And I could finally put my plan into action.
Chapter Five
Kay
“Wow, long time, no see!”
I stepped out of the car and was instantly greeted by Sam who was walking towards me shirtless wearing a pair of ripped jeans, a cigarette dangling off his lips, and the effortless swagger that I always remembered him having, except now it was possibly even cockier.
“Sam!” I said wrapping my arms around him.
He was so much stronger than I remembered. His body had filled out from a lanky teenager, to a mature man, and he definitely worked out. His muscles were chiseled with ripped abs, defined pecs, and the type of shoulders that most girls would drool over.
His embrace felt good and it caught me off guard to realize how good it felt. I hadn’t expected this. I started to pull away but he held onto me a moment longer, making me feel just the tiniest shred uncomfortable, but I chalked it up to Sam being Sam. He always was a crazy, outgoing guy. If someone could have bottled the confidence that Sam had they could have become a millionaire several times over.
“So, is this everything?” Sam asked opening up the back of my small U-Haul hitch I’d rented.
“Yeah, I don’t really have that much stuff,” I joked. “This is my whole world.”
“Great,” Sam replied. “It is great to see you. God, it has been far too long, but we will make up for some lost time.”
“Right,” I agreed.
“Come on guys,” Sam said.
It was then that I noticed several other guys coming out to help as well. They all appeared to be about Sam’s age, but none of them looked like they were used to being awake at eleven in the morning. I’d made excellent time driving from Nebraska to Phoenix and it had taken just over three days. I originally wasn’t supposed to arrive until tomorrow, but I decided that I needed an extra day of rest once I arrived before starting work. That was going to make the transition far easier.
“Let me introduce you to the band,” Sam said. “This is our singer Chase, our drummer Bradley, and our bass player Marty. Guys, this is my cousin Kay.”
“Hi,” I said as each guy nodded at me and grabbed a box. “Thanks, guys. I thought this was going to be a big job to unload all this stuff.”
“Nah,” Sam said. “I could have hired a crew, but I decided to save the cash and put my boys to work. Besides with all I do for them they owe me.”
“Don’t push it,” Chase joked as he picked up another box and started towards the building.
“So, how long have you lived here?” I asked.
“About three years now I think,” Sam replied. “Maybe less. I don’t know; I really can’t remember.”
When we got inside to his loft I had to admit I was impressed. It was huge, more like the size of a house packed into a loft form. It was almost like having your own private warehouse. If I was worried about having enough space before, those fears were quickly gone the second I walked inside.
“This is it,” Sam said. “Just make yourself at home. While the guys get the other boxes, I’ll show you around the place. It’s nothing too fancy.”
“Wow, I don’t know what your idea of fancy is, Sam, but this place is pretty awesome.”
“Thanks,” he said. “Here we have the living room with the satellite and the internet router. The Wi-Fi password is on that box over there underneath the stand. Just look at where it says WEP key. That’s the one.”
“Ok,” I said.
And of course we got the kitchen, the mini bar—it’s usually fully stocked, just help yourself to anything you want anytime.”
“Thanks,” I said.
I was overwhelmed by the generosity Sam was throwing my way and I knew I was going to feel guilty for helping myself to his alcohol and food, but for right now, I really didn’t have much in the way of money. I wasn’t going to get paid at my new job for at least two weeks and all of the money I did have saved up was spent on the U-Haul and for the gasoline I spent driving from Nebraska. But then again, Sam’s dad was paying for everything and they would probably not even notice.
“Let me show you where you will stay,” Sam said.
He led me down a long hallway pointing out th
e bathroom, linen closet, and washroom along the way. Finally, we came to a bedroom at the end of the hallway. There were two doors. One to the left and one to the right.
“This one is my room,” Sam said pointing to the one on the left. “And here is yours.”
He led me into a large empty room. It was huge. You could have fit three of my old bedrooms into it.
“Wow, this is amazing,” I said.
“I’m glad you like it,” Sam said.
I walked over to the far wall and opened the blind just enough to see outside. The window revealed a huge, beautiful view of the city beneath, the desert behind it, and the mountains in the distance. Wow, what a view.
“This is beautiful,” I said. I couldn’t believe I was going to get to stay here. I might never want to leave, I thought.
I glanced back at Sam who was looking at me with a wide grin on his face. He was enjoying this wasn’t he?
And was he looking at my ass?
His eyes quickly lifted and he said, “Let’s start bringing some boxes into your room.”
He walked down the hallway towards the living room and I followed. As I did so I could not stop the thought that I had just caught my cousin Sam looking at my ass.
I had to be mistaken, right?
* * *
“This is the best pizza I’ve ever had!” I exclaimed before jamming another slice into my mouth and taking a bite. I’ve always been a big pizza fan—I would eat it for every meal and being a college kid for the last four years I often did—but this was by far the best I’d ever tasted. It was like combining all of my favorite pizza restaurant unique restaurants into one unique flower.
“I know, right?” Sam said. “I order from there all the time.”
“Did I see you tip the delivery guy a twenty?”
Sam smiled and nodded.
“Wow, isn’t that excessive?” I asked.
“Yeah, but they don’t make much and their job sucks. I can afford it, so I don’t mind.”
I nodded and took a swig of my beer. I didn’t want to press the issue, but Sam seemed to be under the impression that money was easy to get, and since he was being taken care of almost completely by his father it was. I felt almost embarrassed for him about being so dependent on his father at his age, but since he’d just offered to let me live there rent free I didn’t want to rock the boat. It was really helping me out to stay there.
“So, what do you want to do tomorrow?” Sam asked.
I thought a moment. “I’m not sure,” I said. “I do have an extra day before I have to start work. What do you suggest?”
“We should go up to Sedona,” Sam said. “It’s amazing up there. We can go on the hike and see the sights.”
“Sweet,” I said. “Is it far?”
“Nah, it’s about an hour north of Phoenix.”
“Great, that sounds like a plan,” I said.
“Ok, we’ll leave early tomorrow,” Sam said. “Normally I sleep until about eleven or twelve, but I’ll make an effort to get up early. We want to get there in the morning before it gets hot. It doesn’t get as hot there as it does down here, but it’s still pretty toasty this time of year.”
“Why does it not get as hot when it’s only an hour away?” I asked genuinely curious.
“Well, it’s all about the elevation. Here in the valley, it’s very low elevation, like less than a thousand feet. When you get up there it’s closer to two or three thousand feet elevation, which doesn’t sound like much, but it does make a big difference in the temperature. It’s even more extreme the farther north in the state you go.”
“Really? I hadn’t heard that,” I said. This was pretty fascinating.
“Seriously? I guess a lot of people think the whole state is hot desert, but the northern half of the state is up in the mountains. They have bad winters, snow—the whole deal. Yeah, in some areas it’s like five to seven thousand feet elevation or more. It’s kind of fun driving from the south to the north because in a span of just a few hours you can go from warm desert to cold winter. It’s bizarre, but beautiful.”
I was actually excited about this. “That’s awesome. I definitely want to see that.”
“Well, in a few months you will be able to,” Sam said.
I finished my slice of pizza and wished I had room in my belly for more, but I was as full as a tick. Sam had gotten me very excited about my new state and I was looking forward to exploring it.
As we finished dinner, my thoughts kept returning to earlier in my new bedroom when I’d caught Sam staring at me. It kept bothering me no matter how hard I tried to move past it. I had to be mistaken, but I kept seeing his face with a smirk of a smile staring at my ass. I was his cousin; that would have been… weird.
After dinner we sat down on the couch and watched some funny stand-up comedy on Netflix. Sam and I tended to have the same sense of humor and it turned out to be a pretty relaxing evening and I could tell that we were going to get along just fine.
And for the first time in a few weeks I wasn’t nervous about starting my new job. It was helpful to have family, to have support with me as I moved on this new part of my life. Starting a new job, especially one I had dreamt about and worked so hard to get for so long, was very stressful. I hadn’t realized exactly how stressed out it was making me until right at that moment when I was finally starting to relax.
I said goodnight to Sam and went to the bathroom to take a shower. I felt dirty after such a long trip and starting to unpack—it was a long day and I was ready for bed.
I stepped into the shower and let the hot water roll over my body. It felt heavenly. My muscles were aching, tense, and ready for the release of that tension, the release of the long trip I’d just taken. Driving eight hours a day for three days had taken a vicious toll on me and it was the type of stress that crummy hotel showers just couldn’t relieve.
The shower in this bathroom was hot, it was powerful, and it was spacious. It was beautiful. The walls were designed to look like you were showering under a waterfall in some sort of a cave. Running my hands across the walls, I loved the way the rock felt against my skin. It really did bring you out into the realm of nature. It was peaceful, it was serene, and it transported me to another realm as I closed my eyes and rubbed the loofa over my body, soaping up my shoulders, my breasts, under my breasts, and over the top of my neck as I lowered my head and let the hot water wash past my ears and over my entire head, just feeling the release of every ounce of stress, emotion, and fear move through me.
I stayed in the shower for several minutes just letting the hot water do its job of loosening me up and preparing me for a long, deep, sleep. I was exhausted and when I stepped out of the shower I felt drowsy and fully relaxed.
Reaching for the towel on the rack across from the shower my heart almost stopped when I heard the doorknob move. I couldn’t move; I was completely frozen.
The door swung wide open.
Standing there with a shocked look on his face was Sam. His eyes locked with mine, but quickly his gaze dropped taking my body in from toe to chest, pausing on my large chest. My mind was scrambled. I didn’t know what to do, but I wished to hell I was not naked in front of my cousin right now.
Suddenly, I remembered the towel in front of me and grabbed it quickly covering myself.
Sam suddenly moved backwards looking downward, embarrassed.
“I’m so sorry,” he said. “I thought you were in bed.”
He quickly shut the door and I locked it after him. How could I have been so stupid as to not lock that to begin with? Jesus! What was I thinking?
Sam had seen me naked, totally nude. He’d seen my breasts, my crotch—everything! Shit!
A wave of fear crushed through my being and I felt my heart rate escalating. Dammit! I wanted to run away somewhere where I’d never have to face this fear again. What in the world was I thinking? Lock the door. Shit!
As I finished drying off and trying to forget the embarrassment of what had
just happened, something stuck with me. I couldn’t get the look in Sam’s eyes out of my head. He had purposely looked down and checked me out. I knew it. The first time in the bedroom I’d given him the benefit of the doubt, but this time I was sure he’d made a conscious effort to see me naked.
I wasn’t sure if he’d planned to open the bathroom door right then or that he knew I was getting out of the shower, but once he did realize it I’d plainly witnessed him looking me from top to bottom and zeroing in on my breasts.
What the hell?
Then again he was a guy. Maybe it was just an involuntary action. He was probably as embarrassed by it as I was, right? It had to be a mistake. There was no way that he was that much of a pervert, was he?
Jesus, I didn’t know.
I finished drying off and put on my pajamas before taking a deep breath and exiting the bathroom. Luckily Sam was nowhere around. As I walked the hallway to my room I heard him in his room with some music playing. I almost knocked on his door so we could talk about what happened, but then I realized that he might have been just as embarrassed as I was and we didn’t need to make things any weirder, right?
I shut my bedroom door behind me and lay down on the bed. I was so tired, but now I was also full of fear and embarrassment. How would we look each other in the eye tomorrow? God, it was going to be so awkward. After several minutes of deliberation--which I knew was going to keep me up all night-- I just decided that I would address it and get it out in the open. That way we could just move past it. That was all we had to do. It was that simple.
As I lay there drifting off to sleep, there was something else that was on my mind. It was a thought too bizarre to consciously entertain, but as I drifted between awake and sleep, the thought appeared to me as clear as could be. And I found it didn’t terrify me nearly as much as I thought it should, but that fact did terrify me.
A part of me liked that Sam had seen me.