by Jw Grodt
“Yes, I like that. Do you know what time you’ll be coming for me?”
“No, but I’ll let you know when I see you Friday, if that’s okay with you?”
“Yes, of course. That will be fine. I’ll see you then.”
“Goodnight.” He hung up the phone.
You might stay here this time Miss Sweet Cheeks, but it will be your last. If he could just get something going with April, then Nicole wouldn’t be the Queen Bee around his place anymore. Another woman competing for domestic control should drive her away for good. He wondered for a moment if April was as good a cook as Nicole. He sure as hell hoped so, for his own salvation. This was becoming like a chess game. Jared moved Brad into check and now Brad had to make a move to escape.
After a restless night, Brad got another idea. After leaving a key under the flowerpot on the porch for Nicole, he headed to work. On the way to the office, he phoned a client of his, Jack Richards. He had done some bartering with Jack not long ago: a new commercial grade furnace in exchange for a full security system in Brad’s office.
“Jack, are you still in the home security business?”
“You bet. What can I do for you today, Brad?”
“Jack, can you do a job for me real soon?”
“Sure, what’s the job?
It’s my son’s house. He travels a lot and his bride is afraid to stay there when he’s out of town, so she stays with me and it’s really inconvenient. I thought an alarm system would give her peace of mind—and me some peace as well,” he added with a guffaw.
He described the dimensions of the house and roughly estimated the number of doors and windows. Jack quoted him a fair price and said he could do it the next day. Nicole would only have to stay with him this one time. After that, the alarm system would be operational.
“I’ll send over a check for the entire job. I have a spare key and I’ll send it along as well, but be sure that key gets back me. My son’s out of town and, as I mentioned, she’s staying with me.”
“You bet, Brad. Consider it done. I call you directly if I encounter any problems.”
When Brad reached the office he put the check and key in a courier pouch and had Maggie arrange the delivery.
Later that afternoon, he went out to a job site. When he returned to the office, Maggie had a message for him.
“Your daughter-in-law called. She wants you to call her.”
“Oh, swell,” Brad mumbled under his breath as he headed for the desk.
“Yes, Nicole. What is it?” he said when she answered.
“Hi, Dad. I was hoping that you wouldn’t be stopping at Kelsey’s on your way home. I fixed pork tenderloin with mashed potatoes, gravy and pumpkin pie—a special thank-you for letting me stay here while Jared’s away.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be straight home.”
At that moment he hated life. Even her incredible cooking wasn’t luring him like it usually did. He toyed with the idea of going to Kelsey’s anyway, then coming home late with a good buzz-on so he would simply pass out. Then he thought about those perky tits and that little ass swinging around his kitchen. He thought of her leaning over to serve him. It was temptation and torment, and he couldn’t resist.
He finished his paperwork a little before six and headed home. When he walked in he was astonished. There was Nicole, wearing a pair of white short shorts that were so tight they look like they were painted on and a pale blue blouse with a little fringe on the front. Her hair was pinned up as if she were ready for a fancy night out. He wondered if she were braless. Was she deliberately trying to tease him? When she heard the door close, she spun around and beamed at him. Then ran and threw her arms around his neck and kissed his mouth.. This time he pulled away quickly.
“Nicole! Please don’t kiss me on the mouth anymore.”
She looked at him with her naïve, pouty look. “You’re my only dad now and I love you. You don’t think I’m trying to come on to you, do you?” She rolled her eyes and batted those eyelashes.
“No, of course not—but others might, well, you know—get the wrong idea.”
“Well, there’s nothing to worry about. I just want you to love me as if I were your very own daughter. Then she got the most devilish look in her eyes: “Dad, you aren’t some old man who would put the moves on an underage girl, are you?”
He wasn’t quite sure what to make of her tone or her expression. Was she just trying to be funny? He walked off toward his bedroom, calling back to her. “No, I wouldn’t. I also don’t think this conversation is at all appropriate. Let’s eat. I’m starved anyway, aren’t you? I’m going to wash up.”
Brad washed his face and hands and changed clothes. Then he returned to the dining room and sat down. She heeded his suggestion and the remaining conversation was of a more appropriate nature, even if his thoughts weren’t.
After dinner he offered to help clean up. They cleared the table and she swished around in her short shorts. Her gorgeous legs were nicely tanned from the summer sun and contrasted nicely against her white shorts. His eyes were drawn to them like magnets. Finally, he could stand it no longer.
“I just remembered—I have to make a phone call. Excuse me, please.” He walked outside on the back patio with his cell phone. Will I ever be rid of this woman?
Brad called April and made up some question about the townhouse and then talked with her for about ten minutes. When he came back inside, Nicole had everything finished and was sitting on the couch watching TV.
“Come watch a movie with me,” she said and patted the sofa, motioning for him to sit next to her.
“Gee, I’d love to but I have an early day tomorrow and really should get a good night’s rest. Goodnight, and thanks for a great dinner.”
He headed down the hall to his room. This time, he locked the door, but to no avail. Sure enough, about an hour later, just as he was falling asleep, he heard the little tap on the door and then someone jiggled the doorknob. He didn’t respond. She tapped lightly again and after a moment or two went away.
The next day was Wednesday: four more days until Jared returned. He came quietly down the stairs so as not to wake her and went straight out the door. After hitting the local coffee shop he drove to the office.
As his day was winding down, he received another message that dinner would be ready at six-thirty. She acts like she’s MY fuckin wife! Once again, when he arrived home she was similarly dressed. She hugged him once more but didn’t attempt to kiss him. After dinner, he began to clear the table.
“Dad, I got this; why don’t you just relax with the TV or newspaper?”
He nodded and went to the living room and turned on the TV, where she joined him shortly thereafter. She sat in the chair opposite the couch and picked up a book. Her tight beige shorts allowed him a perfect view of her shapely tanned legs. His eyes lingered, and when he looked up at her face she was looking right at him. She had caught him. She looked down at her legs and ran her hand from her ankle to her knee.
“Dad, something wrong with my legs?” She grinned as if she already knew the answer to her supercilious query.
His faced turned red and his mind raced for something clever to say. “Oh I … I was just admiring your tan and wishing I had time to lie around in the sun every day.”
“You’re welcome to join me Saturday if you wish. We can lie around all afternoon, soak up some rays and listen to music. Then I’ll fix us an early dinner”
“With a little luck I will be tied up on Saturday.” He smiled like he had something to be proud of.
“What, you’ve got a hot date or something?”
“As a matter of fact I do. With any luck it will continue through the remainder of the weekend.”
She stared at him for a couple of seconds and then shot up from her chair. “I think I’ll go to bed. Goodnight.” She marched to the steps and
went down to the basement. Was she sulking? No matter. He felt he had won some kind of small victory.
Thursday morning he awoke early and once again tried to leave the house without waking her. No such luck: she was up and had breakfast ready.
“Dad, breakfast!” she called when she heard him coming down the hall.
He winced. He felt like a kid being caught by the teacher while trying to skip class. “Oh, I didn’t know you were up so early.” Damn it!
“Well, when I got up yesterday you had already gone and I felt badly you had gone to work on an empty stomach.” She then smiled her angelic smile, the one she usually saved for Jared only. He went to the kitchen table and wolfed down the oatmeal, toast and coffee. He thanked her and headed for the door, saying he had to rush.
“See you tonight. We’re having roasted chicken, mashed sweet potatoes, green bean casserole and a surprise dessert. Ready at six, if that is good for you?”
“Alright then.”
He drove to work deep in thought. He didn’t have to be there early, nor did he really want to be. But the farther away he was from that body, the better. Sometimes, he did simply see her as a devoted daughter-in-law. That was when Jared was around, mostly. Other times, he couldn’t figure out if, because of that night, he wasn’t just reading things that weren’t there or if she was actually flirting with him, teasing him. When he thought the latter, his ego went on overload. He craved her, ached for her. He had never wanted a woman so intensely in his life. She was like a drug. He was also tormented by his desire and the knowledge that if he did it again, God surely would not be merciful and he would burn in hell for his actions. Not to mention what Jared might do. He struggled through the day with anticipation of his date with April.
All I have to do is get through tonight.
He had a really busy day and there wasn’t time to think about Nicole—until it was time to leave. He dreaded going home. She was drawing him to her. She was a big magnet with incredible legs and tantalizing tits. Please God; make me want April like I want Nicole.
The usual to-die-for meal was on the table when he walked in.
“Hi, Dad! Go wash up. It’s all ready.”
He went up and changed, then returned to the dining room to find she was lighting candles. What the? He sat down and tried to focus on his food. She looked even better in the soft light, the candles bringing out the auburn highlights in her hair.
After dinner, he made an excuse about being really tired and went up to bed. He read for a while, then watched a little television until he drifted off.
It wasn’t long before the familiar tap at the door awakened him. Shit! I forgot to lock the door! In the glow of the television, he could see the doorknob slowly rotate. The door eased open and he shut his eyes.
“Dad, are you awake? Can I talk to you?”
No! Get the fuck out! He formed his eyes into slits and watched her move toward him. She’s really going to wake me up! The little bitch has no consideration! She stood there beside the bed and looked at him, then reached over and shook him by the shoulder. He continued playing ‘possum. To his consternation and shock she pulled back the covers. He reacted instantly.
“Nicole?” He pulled the covers back up to hide his naked body.
“Yes,” she whispered. She was standing there in her opaque nightgown, tears glistening in her eyes. He looked at the clock on the nightstand: it was already a little past one. In an agitated voice he asked, “What’s wrong, Nicole?”
She sat on the bed, her head down, wringing her hands. “Dad, can I talk to you again in the strictest of confidence?”
“Of course. What’s wrong?”
She wrung her hands and sniffed. “You know you’re the only one I can talk to and I don’t know what to do. Jared has been talking about us having a baby.”
“You don’t want to, I take it?”
“No…I mean, I do…but I can’t.”
“What do you mean?”
She pressed her lips together a moment. Her upper body was trembling. “Well, remember I told you I had been raped?”
“Yes, I remember.” Jesus!
“Well, I didn’t tell you everything. After my parents died, I found out I was pregnant. I had no one to turn to for guidance and in my panic I had an abortion. I got some sort of infection afterward and had to have a hysterectomy. I can’t ever have children.” She buried her face in his chest and sobbed. He patted her shoulder and tried to comfort her. How much more could God punish him? It was bad enough that he coveted his son’s wife, but for there to be no hope for the family tree? Was this the end of the Wallace line? And he himself was the cause? He began to weep. They hugged each other and cried. When they finally calmed down she told him of the conversations between her and Jared about wanting a child. Brad was horrified. Jared was a good man who had always loved children. Being an only child, the idea of a large family had always appealed to him. He took every opportunity to hang out with friends who had siblings when he was younger. Now, because of his father’s selfish, drunken act, he would never see his dream come to fruition.
Brad had to keep his composure. He cleared his throat. “I really don’t know how to advise you on this, but I guess Jared will find out eventually, then what? Perhaps the best thing is to tell him the whole story now and suggest that you adopt. Or would you like me to talk to him?”
“Oh, no! He will leave me, I know. Jared isn’t a mature man like you. I was hoping there was some other way. He would know I lied to him about my virginity, about being violated and…ruined.
“Well, if you don’t wish to tell him, then I guess you’ll just keep trying and you’ll have to act like you don’t know what the problem is.”
“Dad, I can’t help but feel a constant sense of shame about what happened to me. I’m lying to the man I love. You and I are keeping the truth from him. I hate myself and feel cheap and dirty. I mean, I know I didn’t ask for it; but, rather than fight, I passed out. Why didn’t I fight that bastard?”
“You can’t think like that! Even if you had fought, he might have hurt you worse or even taken your life.”
“Do you really think so?”
“Of course! How often does one hear of…well, situations like yours ending up much worse? Passing out might very well have saved you from being killed.”
That seemed to cheer her and she hugged him and kissed his cheek. He became erect in an instant. She glanced down and he feared she had noticed. She embraced him again, but this time she deliberately pressed up against him. He moved away and suggested it was late and that they both needed their rest. She agreed and left, closing the door softly behind her. Brad tried to sleep, wondering just what was going through her mind. He wasn’t so sure she hadn’t noticed his arousal. What kind of game was she playing? Or was she playing at all? Maybe she was really serious about this father-figure crap? He couldn’t fall asleep, though, thinking about that last hug and the feel of her pressing against him.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Brad stayed in bed longer than usual on Friday morning due to lack of sleep. He got up and called Maggie to tell her he would be running late. No sense trying to avoid Nicole by rushing out—she would just be waiting anyway. Besides, he felt slightly different toward her this morning—safer—in a way he couldn’t quite articulate. He suspected it had something to do with the fact that she shared more secrets with him than she did with her own husband. Jared was still young, inexperienced. It bolstered Brad’s confidence that he was the man she came to when she was feeling scared or vulnerable. And the whole virginity thing, well…Jared needed to be more understanding. The boy needed to consider other priorities.
When he came down to the kitchen she acted a little put out. “Your breakfast has been ready for a while.” He walked up and gave her a quick kiss on the mouth.
“I’m sorry,” he said. “I slept in.”
; “That’s ok,” she said reluctantly. She brought him his breakfast.
He sat at the table and picked up his coffee cup. After taking a swallow, he said “I won’t be home for dinner this evening. I have a date with April.”
She turned from the sink where she was standing and glared at him. “So, what time will you be home?”
“Well, that depends on how the evening goes, wouldn’t you agree?”
She just stood there looking at him with a cold stare.
“Oh gee, look at the time,” he said, looking at his watch. He slugged down the last of his coffee, thanked her and left.
Brad spent the day working up anticipation for his evening with April. When he returned home that evening, he told himself he was relieved that his tormentor was MIA. As he showered, he remained on edge that she might suddenly enter the bathroom. He nicked himself shaving as he focused his attention on any sound of her moving about. His breathing became regular once more once he backed out of the drive.
“Wow!” he said aloud as he pulled up in front of April’s two-story brick home. She told me she moved after her divorce, but what a place! He stopped in front of the double entry doors and took a deep breath, straightened his clothes and ran his fingers through his hair. Another deep breath and he rang the bell. It had been many years since he had felt that awkward, “first date” feeling.
The door opened and a perfumed breeze swept over him as he took her in. She looked beautiful in her Bermuda shorts and her Washington Nationals t-shirt. Her dark hair fell softly about her shoulders, and she wore little make-up save for a hint of lip-gloss.
“You look absolutely magnificent this afternoon.”
“Thank you! You’re looking fine yourself!” Her whitened teeth flashed from behind her glossy smile. “Shall we see if the Nat’s can beat those pesky Braves?”
“If your looks are any indication of how the night will go, it is going to be superlative.”
She blinked with surprise. “What an odd thing to say! I’m not sure how to take that.”