"I can guess which part. Typical male response, I suppose," Marlene said, sounding uncomfortable. "I never expected to hear something like that from you, Jake." "I kissed her today, before I saw you." Marlene's eyes widened. Clearly she didn't expect to hear that, either. "She wanted to pleasure me any way I wanted. Me," Jake said. "She said she wanted to suck my cock, if it would make me feel good." He leaned close enough to kiss Marlene. She looked as though she wanted to squirm away. "What about you, Marlene? Would you want to please me? Would you suck my cock?"
"No!" she cried. "That's disgusting. I'd never...in my mouth." Jake could see through her eyes the vision formed in her mind.
"How about if I returned the favor?" His gaze panned down to her lap. "Performed oral sex on you? Would you do it then?" "Jake! Where is this coming from? Why would you say such a thing?" "To give you pleasure, Marlene. Did you ever do it for Chet? Suck his cock?" Maybe that's why he left, he wanted to suggest. Marlene wouldn't do it, so Chat found a willing young woman for the task. Maybe there was so much more Chet had wanted that Marlene wouldn't give. Jake couldn't condone Chet's behavior, but if this were true he wasn't too surprised. "That's none of your business." But Marlene's sour expression told him plenty. "No, it isn't," Jake agreed. "Just as it's none of your business what I do and whom I hire." He stood. "I don't think Lauren is classless, I think she's passionate. Maybe she goes a bit overboard at times, but she's been nothing but sincere. And if and when I decide to pursue another relationship, I hope the woman I'm with is as passionate and desirable as Lauren McKenna is...and Cindy was." "I can be passionate," Marlene said defensively. "I don't doubt that, Marlene. I don't doubt, either, that you'll find a man to love again." Jake started for the door, and turned back to her. She remained on the couch, looking forlorn. "I just don't think I'm that man.
Marlene's face flushed deep red. "Don't fall for that woman's charms, Jake. She's not good enough for you."
Jake shrugged, thinking sadly back to the morning's kiss, and his abrupt departure. "Funny, I wonder if I'm good enough for her." * * * J.J.'s Mercedes was parked in the driveway. Rooms that had been dark when Jake left were now illuminated. Jake slid out of the truck cab and sighed. His sons still had keys to the house, and came and went as they pleased. Usually it was to pick up something in storage or borrow something without asking; seldom did they wait for him. When they did wait, the conversation rarely went well. Jake hoped J.J. wasn't prepared for another confrontation about selling the store.
He found the younger man seated at the small, Formica kitchen table, hunched over a mug of hot tea and a plate of Jo's biscotti. J.J. acknowledged his father with a wan smile and let his gaze drop back to the plate of cookies. "Something wrong, son?" J.J. shook his head. "Just didn't feel like going home," he said. "Too small and empty
there. Thought you'd be home, was going to suggest we watch the Yankees game." "We still can, I'm sure it's still going on." Jake rummaged through the refrigerator
for a soft drink. "Sorry I wasn't here, I was at Marlene's for dinner." J.J. looked up. "It wasn't a date," Jake clarified quickly. "In fact, I'm not sure what it was. An intervention, a bungled attempt at seduction, I don't know." He took the chair opposite J.J.'s and mimicked his son's posture. "I'm going to guess your reason for not wanting to go home involves a woman as well."
Several seconds passed before J.J. spoke. "I don't know what I'm doing wrong, Dad. I took her to Mick's Grill for dinner. Bottle of wine, great conversation, I enjoyed myself and she was definitely interested. I got more signals than NASA." J.J.'s laugh was low and hollow. "But the same damn thing happened that always does when the date ends. She invited me inside, and I begged off. Don't know why, either. I just kissed her like she was my sister and drove away. Damn it."
He tapped the bottom edge of the mug against the table. Droplets of tea splashed on the surface. "And here it is, Friday night, and I'm sitting in my father's kitchen. I could be with a beautiful woman, right now, hav—" J.J. stopped upon seeing Jake.
"You could be making love with a beautiful woman right now," Jake finished for him. "Dad." J.J. was clearly embarassed now. "What? It's the truth, isn't it? I'd be more concerned if the opposite were true, that you'd rather be here. Hell, I'd rather be making love with a beautiful woman than sitting here, watching you mope. What's the girl's name again?" "Dad!" Jake picked at his soda can tab. "What? Uncomfortable talking about sex with your old man? I've had sex, you know. You and Red didn't come sailing down the Elizabeth River in palm-woven baskets, you know." He winked.
"I know that much, Dad, it's just..." J.J. looked for a distraction in the kitchen window. Presumably finding nothing, he turned back to his father. "I don't think we've ever had a frank discussion before. Even for the big sex talk," J.J. emphasized the phrase with bent fingers, "you bought me a book, and I had to rely on other resources."
"I know, I guess I dropped the ball there," Jake said on a sigh, then slapped the table. "Hell, we're not doing anything now, why not make up for lost time?" "What?" J.J. looked at him warily. "Let's have the big sex talk. Right now." He snatched a biscotti from the plate. An
appropriately-shaped snack for the discussion, he mused to himself. J.J. rolled his eyes. "Dad, it's okay. I think I know how everything works." "Fair enough, next topic. When did you lose your virginity?" "Dad!" "Was it in high school? I'm not going to get mad if it was, son," Jake said. "What can I possibly do to you?" J.J. hid his face behind his mug. "I know, it's just not something you discuss with a
parent ." "Would you like to hear about how I lost mine?" "It was prom night," J.J. said quickly. "You know how the school reserved chaperoned same-sex rooms at the host hotel for anyone who didn't want to drive back from the beach? Well, you remember I told you I was gonna crash there, but a group of us got our own rooms instead at another hotel. Bada-bing, bada-boom, and I wore a condom. There you have it."
Jake nodded. "Was that so painful?" He smiled as his son slowly shook his head. "Well, I admire you for at least having the restraint to wait until you were eighteen. And the girl, who was she again?"
"Claire Walker." J.J.'s eyes glazed over. "She wore a strapless baby blue dress with a white sash. We slow danced to some Gloria Estefan tune and got bombed on MD 20/20 because it was the only thing we could find at the quickie mart, and getting that was a chore since Arnie Logan's fake ID...and, I think I'll stop there," he said, looking away.
It sounded to Jake that his son probably still danced with Claire Walker while having dinner with these other women. The look on his son's face as he mentioned Claire told Jake there was plenty yet to be resolved; the prom wasn't over. That was the problem.
"Claire Walker, I remember her. Nice girl," Jake said. Ellie Garriston's cousin, if he remembered correctly. The two used to sell Girl Scout cookies in front of the drugstore. "Tell me, son, when you were with her, did you...perform..." Great, the embarassment was wearing off on him. "Perform...the macarena?" J.J. cracked. "That dance wasn't in vogue at the time." "Oral sex," Jake said. "Did you—" "Okay, we are definitely not having this conversation." J.J. rose abruptly and took
the mug to the sink. "J.J., I just want to know—" J.J. jerked on the faucet. Water rushed full blast and Jake noisily rinsed out the mug.
"Can't hear you," he sang. "I've never had oral sex, giving or receiving," Jake said over the rush. "In fact, there's a lot I haven't done sexually. Your mother was my only lover, our first time was our wedding night, and as much I loved being with her we weren't very experimental." The faucet silenced. J.J. didn't turn around. "I guess the reason I never pushed a sex talk on you and Red was because there was still so much I didn't know. Don't know," Jake said. "I guess I was afraid I would have made an inadequate teacher."
"Dad, you were anything but," J.J. said, his back still facing Jake. "If anything, you showed us what it was like to nuture a loving relationship. Everybody could have learned from you and Mom. From what I remember of you and Mom being together, she never looked unhappy."
"Thank you, son." Jake studied the biscotti in his hand put it to his lips. One bite might crack a molar, it felt so tough. Jake hoped Daisy and Jo were prepared for a possible onslaught of dental insurance claims. "Where your mother was concerned, I never wanted for much else sexually. Pardon the pun, but she and I were a perfect fit." Though Jake couldn't see it, he was certain J.J. smiled at the remark. "All this business about you telling me to find a girlfriend, or companion, I guess it scared me a bit," he continued. "Everything's scared me since your mother died. She was my one constant, and it seemed everybody wanted me to change before I felt ready to do so. Sell the store, sell the house, get a girlfriend, change my life completely...it changed when your mother died, certainly not for the better. Any suggestions seemed destined to make things worse."
"Dad, I'm sorry if you felt Red and I were pushing you. Hell, we were pushing you," J.J. said. He finally turned around and took a seat. "We just want you to be happy. You've been miserable for so long, we were worried you wouldn't last much longer."
"There were times I wished for death," Jake admitted, "but as I told you once before, my work helped me through the worst of my grief, even when I wished for death. When I work at the store, sometimes I get so busy I don't have time to grieve."
"Then it's wrong for me to suggest you give it up, Dad. I won't bring up selling anymore," J.J. said. "Though I don't like the idea of expansion, I'll support you in whatever you do."
"Thanks, but I'll let Danielle worry about the Suffolk store. As far as the Dareville store goes, I've given some thought to cutting back my hours and alotting more responsbility to others." J.J. visibly perked up at this. Jake swallowed, prepared for the eventual fallout. "Lauren's done such a good job in her position, I was thinking of training her and a few other employees as assistant managers, and divvy up the work Danielle and I are going to leave behind." J.J. was quiet. "Actually," Jake continued, twining his fingers into a contemplative fist, "I've been
thinking a lot about Lauren lately." "That I can't support," J.J. said solemnly. "We kissed earlier, in my office." Jake saw his son tense, but kept talking. No sense putting off the inevitable argument, best to get all of his feelings in play. "We kissed, and I enjoyed it. Lauren wanted to do much more, of course, and...so did I." "Did you?" Jake shooked his head, and J.J. visibly relaxed. "But I wanted to, and I regret not
staying to let it happen." "That I definitely don't support." J.J.'s voice reflected growing anger. "She wanted to give me oral sex, right there in the office. She touched me. I kissed her neck, and her bare breast..." The memory of his lips pursed around Lauren's hardened peak came alive, and he felt his cock stiffen slightly in response. "I wanted her to do it, J.J., I wanted to feel what it was like to have a woman...Lauren..."
"I'm not talking about this, I don't want to hear about you and Lauren McKenna," J.J. said firmly, and rose. The chair scraped loudly against the floor, and banged the stove with J.J.'s abrupt stance.
"I do, son. You're the one who suggested I find companionship, can't we at least talk about it?"
"A companion, Dad," J.J. snapped. "I meant somebody closer to your own age. Somebody who isn't a sex freak."
"Lauren isn't a sex freak," Jake said, annoyed. "She has desires, and isn't afraid to show it. Your mother was like that, too, would you call her a sex freak?" "Mother didn't pose for slutty pictures to get your attention, did she?" Jake said nothing, but looked at his hands. "She didn't have to," was all he said of that. "Your mother did have a ferocious, attractive quality about her that mirrors Lauren in many ways."
"Well, maybe that's what you're seeing in Lauren right now, some part of Mom that you miss," J.J. said. "I'm sure once you cut back your hours and distance yourself from the store, and Lauren, you'll see that she's not right for you, Dad. You need somebody on your own level." "Somebody like Marlene." "Yes, somebody like Marlene," J.J. cried. "What's wrong with Marlene?" "Nothing," Jake said. "Except I don't want her. I want Lauren McKenna." There, he said it out loud. He wanted Lauren, he thought of Lauren. He wanted to kiss her again, and take her nipple into his mouth and suck longer and deeper. He wanted her to make good on her offer, and have her take his cock into her mouth. He wanted to know that feeling, one he and Cindy never explored, despite her high sex drive. Maybe it had been something never taught or encouraged, but for some reason neither one of them had suggested exploring oral sex. Not that they had wanted for pleasure without it, though.
He wanted Lauren, but he was scared of Lauren. No, rather, he was scared of disappointing her, and disappointing himself. He didn't know how many lovers Lauren had enjoyed over the years, but didn't think her promiscuous. Still, how could he possibly compete against what she had enjoyed? Was it too late for him to start?
He wanted to talk about wanting Lauren, but J.J.'s rapid pacing about the kitchen made Jake too nervous to continue the subject.
"Lauren McKenna, damn it all..." Similar, cruder oaths spilled from J.J. like he had Tourette's. The conversation would not end well, and Jake saw no reason to prolong it. He stood and emptied the remaining contents of his soda can down the sink.
"Lock up the front door, son. I'll assume you're staying over," he told J.J., and drew the younger man into a squirming half-embrace. "We can talk more at the store tomorrow if you want."
"Yeah." J.J. was distracted, and rightly so. Jake gave him too much, too soon. "Night, Dad."
They would talk tomorrow. Maybe he could help J.J. with his current woman troubles, help him find closure with Claire Walker. If he saw Ellie at the store tomorrow, he would get Claire's address.
Upstairs, Jake dressed silently for bed and lingered at his dresser before turning out the light. Opening the top drawer, he pulled out a tattered, bulging envelope and set it next to his wallet and keys.
He would need it for Monday, for something he would do after he and Lauren talked. This time, he promised himself, there would be no running away.
Ten
"Okay, friend, you wore me down." Lauren knelt on the unmade bed and discarded her robe with a flourish. She arched her back to emphasize her buoyant breasts, tipped with thick, hardened nipples. They ached to be sucked as much as her pussy needed a cock filling its void, and she didn't wait for her companion to respond. Cupping her breasts as if to test their heft, she pinched both nipples and rolled them between her fingers.
"You nagged me for weeks that you wanted to take care of me, that if I wanted to come all I had to do was come to you. Well, I came, and we're here, so make me come."
Bob said nothing. He lay flat on the mattress, staring vacantly at the ceiling, his silicone cock a thick compass needle pointing north. He looked like he should have been on display at some medical college, waiting to be dissected. Though Lauren had managed to rid her home of the bulk of her toys, she wasn't able to part with Bob just yet. For one, she didn't know what to do with him, and she feared any method of discarding the lifesize love doll might be witnessed by somebody who might get the wrong idea.
Lauren sighed, hoping this one quickie would erase Bob's voice from her consciousness for good, and provide release of a great amount of tension. It appeared any chance she had with Jake no longer existed, and she hadn't the energy or heart to contemplate a relationship with anybody else. She couldn't swing with the Garristons or Briscoes, either. Enjoyable as the sex might be, it wasn't a permanent solution.
She squeezed a dime-sized drop of lubricant into her palm and greased up Bob's cock for entry, grimacing as she wrinkled the plastic bottle to get that much. Time for a refill, she noted. She had a feeling, too, she would need to buy a case of the stuff, as Bob would likely be around every night. She might as well save him a chair at Thanksgiving.
Lauren had just impaled herself on the vibrating cock when her doorbell sounded. "Fuck," she muttered, and bent low over Bob's face, touching her breast to his vibrating tongue. Who would come to call at nine on a Monday morning? Sue would be working, and Ellie had errands to run at the beach. Th
e store knew not to expect her since she had called in "sick." Sick of being humiliated and rejected, she was. Surely nobody from work would think to check on her.
Whoever it was, persisted. One long chime sounded, followed by two short ones. Were they using Morse code? Lauren arched upright and twisted toward the hall, still pumping up and down Bob's cock. "Go away!" she shouted. "I don't want magazines and I already know about Jesus!"
The fifth series series of staccato chimes gave way to a thunderstorm of knocking. It was enough to spur Lauren out of bed and back into her robe. She didn't care what denomination the interloper represented, the idiot was dead meat for interrupting her orgasm.
"Can't a girl jack off in peace without the world wanting to watch?" she muttered, and threw open the door without checking the peephole.
Jake leaned heavily to one side, a small paper bag held chest-high. His smile was sad, but his graying eyes sparkled as they held her gaze. Lauren felt her breath catch in her throat. Blood pounded in her ears.
Jake's gaze panned the length of her body, his smile growing in width and mirth. "I tell you what," he said, "if every woman answered the door like you, I'd definitely start that delivery service."
Lauren looked down at herself and realized her robe flapped freely, exposing her taut breasts and bare pussy. She gasped and reached to close the fabric around her, but one word from Jake stilled all movement. "Don't." Jake handed her the bag and eased inside the foyer, stepping quietly as Lauren moved backward to give him berth. "Danielle told me you were sick with a summer cold, so I thought these horehound drops might help with a sore throat," he said. "Of course, I have to wonder if this gesture is really a hollow one." He looked at her pointedly, and Lauren felt the heat rise to her face.
"I won't ask you why you faked a sick call, Lauren," he said, "though I'd like to know. It doesn't seem right that a woman who would offer me oral sex in a grocery store would suddenly turn chicken and fake an illness to avoid me." "Chicken? Chicken, as in the way you acted, running away?" Laura challenged. "I guess I deserve that, and I expected more, though. I expected more fire and
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