by Rye Hart
“Well, it wasn’t really a date. He had his niece with him.”
“Niece? He a babysitter or something?” she asked.
“I don’t really know the story, but she’s adorable. She couldn’t be more than three, though she talks really well so she might be older. I’m not really sure.”
“Have you learned much about him?” she asked.
“Not much. I mean, I kind of deduced that he’s a recluse. Not used to being around people. His niece, Lanie, is the one that always wants to come around. It’s almost like she drags him along.”
“A three-year-old dragging around some burly man with a beard? That’s adorable..”
“It s just about the cutest thing ever,” I said.
“Are you attracted to him?”
“I just told you he was hot,” I said.
“You can find someone good looking and not find them attractive. Remember Michael from our sophomore year?”
“Oh, fuck yes. He was beautiful.”
“But a raging cockhead. So, he’s hot but not attractive. Got it? Are you attracted to him?” she asked, again.
I paused for a second before I hopped up onto the counter. I heard something creak and groaned, hoping the entire damn thing wouldn’t give way underneath my body weight. I could still see some dust floating around in the streams of light coming through the window, and I tried to swat them away.
Was I attracted to him?
“Manda?”
“Yeah? Sorry. Dust and shit. I mean, I am—I think. I’m not sure.”
“What do you mean?” Sarah asked.
“Well, he can be standoffish. I’d call him a dick if I couldn’t throw the same treatment back at him.”
“Ah, so he’s tugging at your sassy side. Okay, but he’s not, like, bullying you or anything.”
“Hell, no. Nothing like that. It’s almost like he’s being mean so I’ll leave him alone. Except Lanie keeps destroying his plans.”
“Yep. That’s a recluse if I’ve ever heard of one.”
“I like his looks more than his attitude. Let’s just put it that way,” I said.
Sarah laughed in my ear, and it pulled a smile across my cheeks.
“You ready to move on from Daryl?”
I sighed into the phone as the counter creaked underneath me again.
“I don’t know if I’m ready to date, but I know I’m over him,” I said.
“That’s better than what I expected. Daryl was a dick, and I had no idea what you saw in him from the beginning.”
“He was sweet to me at the beginning, and that's all that mattered at the time,” I said.
“But he was never supportive of your art.”
“I figured he would come around eventually. I mean, that’s what people always said about my art. Everyone would have to ‘come around’ to it. I figured he was the same.”
“Manda, you’re smarter than that,” she said.
“I know. At least, I am now.”
“Are you okay living in that house alone with all the issues it has?” she asked.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you my list of stuff. Okay, the furniture needs to be cleaned, the staircase needs to be repaired, the entire kitchen needs an update, but I would settle for just repairing the things that are broken.”
The counter creaked underneath me again, and I slid off before I caused any more damage.
“Do you have that kind of money?” Sarah asked.
“I’m trying to figure it out. I need to go into town and price some things out, but if I can find the right contractor, I should be able to get the bigger things fixed.”
“Do you at least have electricity and running water?” she asked.
“Oh yeah. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t. Actually, my grandmother’s bathroom has one of those walk-in shower-tub combination things. The bath has a fucking seat in it. I’m going to go take one now.”
“Sounds like you need it with all that dust. I can hear your voice already getting scratchy.”
“Yep, allergy meds are on my list too! Call you later this week?” I asked.
“Manda, are you sure you’re okay staying there by yourself?”
I sighed as I looked around the room, allowing the silent memories to crash to the forefront of my mind.
“It’s weird, being here without her. And it’s definitely bringing back memories. But I’m okay. They’re all good memories once I get past the custody battle years. There are some pictures still hanging on the wall that haven’t been damaged, and those make me smile.”
“Your grandmother always knew how to take a good picture,” Sarah said.
“Hell yeah, she did.”
“Well, let me know how your trip into town goes. Some things happening at work, so I’m not sure if I can get to you this weekend or next. But, if I can’t get out this weekend then I’ll ship you your art stuff.”
“Don’t worry about it. With the cabin still in disarray, I don’t want to taint my art supplies with the dust and shit just yet. Thank you, though. When I’m ready for them, we’ll figure it out then.”
“Sounds good. I’ll talk with you soon.”
“See ya, Sarah.”
I could hear the hot water calling my name as I made my way to the back of the house. My grandmother, in her last years before the nursing home, couldn’t get up the steps. So she had a back portion added to the cabin which had become her new master bedroom and her bathroom. I stripped myself of my clothes and stepped into the tub, then turned on the hot water and let it flow. I didn’t have any bubbles to make it nice or anything, but what I did have was a seat to lean back in as the water crept up my body.
I closed my eyes and the steam wafted around me. I loved hot baths. The kind that turned my skin red and made me sweat. I tossed my leg over the edge of the tub and stretched, allowing the water to wash away the sweat and grime from my day of cleaning. I closed my eyes and relaxed, letting memories bombard me as I thought about my grandmother.
But soon the memories gave way to Brian, and I felt my body humming.
His bright blue eyes looked right at me as his shirtless form stood in front of me. I reached out and ran my fingertips over his abs, tracing their chiseled outline as he grinned. I felt his arms wrapping around me and drawing me into him, my cheek pressed into his chest. I could feel his lips descending onto my neck as I opened my body for him. I could feel his hands undressing my layers as I fiddled with the buckle of his belt.
My hand traveled down my body, squeezing my tits as I imagined him sucking on them. I could feel his strong arms pulling me close to him as his teeth raked down my stomach. My fingertips parted my pussy folds and found my swollen clit, but what I felt was his tongue flicking me expertly as I slid down into the hot water.
“Oh, shit,” I said in a whisper. “Oh, yeah.”
I gazed down at Brian’s blue eyes, watching them darken with lust. He moaned with the satisfaction of lapping me up. His tongue jumped my body as my fingers worked their magic, my hips bucking in the water as my head lolled back.
“Brian. Oh, fuck yes.”
Sliding my fingers deep within me, I imagined them to be his. I imagined him fucking me with his thick, callused fingers while his tongue devoured me whole. I thought about what it would feel like to dig my heels into the muscles of his back. Making him moan into me as I coated his beard with my juices. My nipples puckered and my skin began to heat. My mind swirled with thoughts of his shirtless form as I imagined him devouring my body.
“I’m so close. I’m so close. Brian, don’t stop.”
I came so hard I made myself light-headed. I screwed my eyes shut and allowed myself to shake, imagining Brian holding me close to his face. I could feel his beard tickling my thighs as his hands slid up my body, cupping my breasts and massaging them until I came down from my high.
But when I opened my eyes, I was alone. The water was about to overflow the tub, and I could smell the scent of my sex in the air. I reached my shaking leg up
and turned off the water before I sank underneath and wet my hair.
It had been a long time since I’d come that hard. And all because that asshole couldn’t put on a shirt.
CHAPTER 6
Brian
“Uncle Bwian, do you like Amana?”
I whipped my head up at Lanie’s question as I ran the soapy washcloth over her stomach.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Don’t friends come over?”
“She came over for dinner,” I said.
“One time,” Lanie said.
“You want her to come over more often?” I asked.
“Yeah.”
It was like this little girl could read my mind. I had been thinking about Amanda all day and how her leg was doing. The dinner we had shared together had been pleasant. She got along well with Lanie despite the fact that I didn’t enjoy having company over, and she seemed to have embedded herself in my thoughts. Even though she was a stranger and I told myself I needed to be wary of her, my mind wouldn’t let her go.
“Amana come over soon?” Lanie asked.
“How about I think about it?” I asked.
“Please?”
“I said I’ll think about it, Lanie.”
The little girl sat down in her bath and began to pout. I was concerned that Lanie was already getting too attached. The last thing this little girl needed was to get attached to another woman before she left. She had already lost her mother. I was coaching her through those nights where she woke up crying and wanting her. She wasn’t at an age where she understood death, but she saw enough children going into town to notice they were with women. Women they called “mother” while she only called me “uncle.”
“All right,” I said as I unplugged the tub. “Bedtime.”
“Movie?” Lanie asked.
“No, bedtime.”
“Snack?”
“No, sweetheart. Bedtime,” I said.
“Snuggle?”
I chuckled as I wrapped a towel around her and picked her up from the tub.
“Maybe a little snuggling.”
I dried her off and dressed her in pajamas before I tucked her into bed. I climbed beside her and pulled out her favorite book while she cuddled into me. Lanie loved it when I read to her, especially this new book her nanny had brought over the other day. It was a book of Dr. Seuss stories, and Lanie giggled at the silliness of the rhymes.
I read through two entire stories before the little girl drifted off to sleep and I kissed her forehead. I turned on her nightlight that cast stars onto the ceiling, then I turned everything else off and closed her door. It had been a long day of business calls, and figuring out what the hell was wrong with my truck.
Needless to say, I was ready to fucking crash.
But then, a knock came at the door. It was faint, like the person on the other side knew someone was sleeping. The only person I figured it could be was Tanya, but she had a key so why would she knock?
I opened the door and despite myself, my heart hammered in my chest as I saw Amanda standing on my porch, holding a big pot in her hands.
“Hello,” she said, smiling. “I brought soup.”
She set the pot in my hands as my brow furrowed deeply.
“To return the favor of you cooking chili?” she said.
“Amana!”
I spun around and saw Lanie sprinting down the hallway. She launched herself into the air and right at Amanda, who was poised to catch her in her arms. Why the hell was Lanie up? I just left her damn room, and she was snoring, for crying out loud.
“Hello there, pretty girl,” Amanda said. “I thought you were sleeping.”
“Nope. I was pretening,” Lanie said.
“Pretending, huh?” Amanda asked as she winked at me. “Well, looks like you got your uncle good.”
“I did,” Lanie said, smiling. “What’s that?”
Lanie pointed to the pot in my hands as it began to burn my palms.
“Soup,” Amanda said. “To repay your uncle for dinner.”
“You stay? I have some?” Lanie asked.
“One question at a time,” I said as I set the pot on the stove.
“Amana you stay?” Lanie asked again.
Her eyes were pleading with Amanda to stay as her hesitant stare turned toward me.
“I don’t know. Can I?” Amanda asked.
“I was going to make a grilled cheese for dinner, but this is better. Lanie, you can have some, but afterward, you need to go to bed. You didn’t have your nap today, so you have to go to bed early.”
“But I’m not tired,” Lanie said.
“Says the girl who was snoring a moment ago. Come in, Amanda.”
She stepped over the threshold of my house with Lanie in her arms. I started spooning the warm soup into bowls for everyone while Amanda settled with Lanie at the table. I heard them giggling and whispering to each other, and the smile on Lanie’s face was larger than I’d ever seen it. Her eyes were sparkling as she played with Amanda’s hair, and she was giggling when Amanda tickled her.
Yes. Lanie was getting way too attached to this woman.
“Oh! I brought you something,” Amanda said.
“What?” Lanie asked. “What is it?”
“It’s something I drew the other day. I figured you might like it.”
I set the bowls of soup on the table as I watched Amanda pull a folded piece of paper from her back pocket. She handed it to Lanie, unfolding it carefully so my niece could see. I grabbed all of us drinks as Lanie gasped at the picture, then suddenly the small girl was at my feet.
“Look, Uncle Bwian! Look! It’s a bird!”
I set the drinks on the table and took the picture from Lanie’s hands.
It wasn’t only a bird, however, it was an entire scene. The bird was perched on a windowsill outside, and it was backdropped with the forest. The detail was incredible, and the shading of the pencil was expertly done.
“Did you draw this?” I asked.
Amanda’s eyes connected with mine, and I felt my voice catch in my throat.
“It was a bird that landed on the windowsill yesterday. Nothing spectacular. I needed a distraction after cleaning all day,” she said.
“This is nothing spectacular?” I asked.
“Just a little drawing. I figured Lanie might like it.”
“Thank you, Amana!” Lanie said.
It was a beautiful picture, and one that I’d hear about for days from Lanie. She ripped it from my hands and ran it over to the fridge where she picked up a magnet and put it right in the middle. Lanie stood back to survey her work before she scrambled back to the table. Then she climbed onto Amanda’s lap and hugged her neck tightly.
“Thank you,” Lanie said.
“You’re very welcome,” Amanda said.
“How long have you been drawing?” I asked.
I sat down at the table across from them before I slid spoons in their direction.
“A long time,” Amanda said. “I actually went to school for it.”
“So you have an art degree?”
“I do, yes,” she said.
“Is that what you do for a living?” I asked.
“It’s what I’m trying to do for a living. The ‘trying’ part is key in that statement.”
“Why?” I asked.
“Well, I earned my degree in New York City, and right now the hot thing is modernism and cubism and all sorts of ‘isms’ that are boring to me. Scenes and emotions and animals and memories aren’t really that hot in the art world right now, and they’re kind of my specialty,” she said.
“Maybe you just need to find the right audience,” I said.
“I’m hoping to. I was showcased in a few art galleries during my senior year, and that led to some sales. The bulk of my market, though, is online.”
“Online?” I asked.
“Yeah. I paint, I upload a high-resolution digital picture of it, then people pay a price to print it out, have
it framed, and shipped to them.”
“Sounds very impersonal.”
“It is, but it keeps my pockets lined until I can do what I really want,” she said.
“Which is?”
“Open my own gallery, hold my own showcases, and sell my own art.”
Her face lit up as she talked about it. She walked me through her dream gallery and how she would lay it out. The color scheme and the business model and even how much it would take to renovate a building and make it happen. I was impressed with her passion and how well thought-out her plan was.
I was interested in listening to her as she talked about it, and it had been a long time since I’d felt that way about anything.
Or anyone.
“Okay, Lanie. Time for bed,” I said after a while.
“But I’m not tired.”
“Yes, you are. You’re falling asleep next to Amanda,” I said.
“Can she tuck me in?” Lanie asked.
“I think you should let your uncle tuck you in,” Amanda said. “And maybe I could do it some other time.”
I wasn’t keen on her promising that to Lanie, but it got Lanie moving toward her bedroom, so I let it slide.
When I came back out to the kitchen, Amanda was already cleaning up. She was storing the pot of soup in the fridge, and I could see all the dishes had been put in the sink. I went over and started washing them as she went over to wipe down the table, and I felt us settling into a natural rhythm. Dancing around each other in the kitchen as we both tried to clean up.
And every time she passed by me, I got a whiff of her perfume.
“Brian?”
“Yep?”
“How the hell is a man like you single?”
The question caught me off guard, and I panned my gaze over to her.
“What?”
“Oh, come on. Don’t give me that. You’re good looking, you can cook, and you’re obviously well off by the state of this cabin. Why are you single?”
I lowered my gaze to the floor before I continued cleaning the dishes at the sink.
“Wasn’t always the case,” I said.
“I knew it. Someone has your heart,” she said.
I grunted but didn’t answer.
I glanced over at Amanda as she made her way to the corner of the counter. She hopped up onto it as I began stacking dishes in the dishwasher. Her legs swung off the edge and dangled in mid-air, swinging as if to tease me. I wanted to reach out and grab them. I wanted to pull her body firmly into mine. I wanted to growl in her ear that it was none of her damn business before I pushed her to her knees and whipped my cock out for her to suck.