The Chance

Author's Note: The disclaimer is as in earlier chapters. I encourage you to read them first since this chapter picks up immediately after Part 3. There is some sex relevant to the story in this chapter, but it's not very graphic or hardcore. If hardcore actions with lengthy, graphic description is what you're seeking, please look elsewhere. To those still reading, thanks for reading. One part remains after this one.

* * *

Choices—Part 4: The Chance

Unsteady fingers typed,

"Hi, lil' sis! How are you? Call me."

He added his phone number and hit send. The phone rang a few seconds later.

"Hi, Rob! Is it really you after all the years?"

"Deana! Yeah, it's me. It's so good to hear your voice! I think I'm still in shock at getting your note. I must admit the Dee thing really threw me, though. I almost deleted the request but then saw your picture. How are you?"

"Sorry. I switched to Dee when I started my first job shortly after college. There was already a Deanna with two 'ns' in my office so I became Dee to avoid confusion. It was easier to just go by that. All my friends do now, but you can still call me Deana."

"Perfect! So how've you been? I see you're a Winslett now, so married? Kids?"

Deana replied, "Rob, my husband passed away of colon cancer almost three years ago. It was too late they found it. He was six years older than me and we were married for ten years, so we didn't have any children together, but he was a great husband and a very good stepfather to Jack, my son from my first marriage. We won't talk about that, okay? Jack's started his MBA part-time at Whorter now while working for one of the big accounting firms. What about you?"

Rob gave a brief rundown on his life. When he finished talking about Lisa, he added. "That was almost twenty months ago. I'm interested in someone again now, but we're taking it slow."

"Details, big brother?"

He laughed. "No, it's way too early for details now. I'll give you the G-rated version if it works out."

He heard her huff before she said, "Well, I'm happy for you and hope it works out for the best. I may be interested in someone, too, but so far, he hasn't given me the time of day."

"Deana, you always were the sweetest girl I knew. If the guy can't see that, then he's probably an idiot and doesn't deserve you."

She was silent for a few seconds before replying. "Yeah, that's happened before.

Time will tell on this one. Say, speaking of time, look at that. It's getting late and I have to get to bed. I'm flying out to New York in the morning with my boss for meetings this week. You take care, big brother."

"You, too, little sister. Have a safe trip. Let's talk more when you get home, okay?"

"Talk to you then. 'Goodnight."

Rob hung up the phone, thinking about what she'd said. The way she'd thrown it in, he suspected that her crush was on her boss. As he got ready for bed, he whispered, "Good luck with him, Deana. And please don't get burned."

* * *

As his discussions with Erin had continued, he'd thought more and more about taking the chance and moving on to a new phase is their relationship. Because of the distance between them and their past history, it was a risk, but a chance he was increasingly considering.

On Thursday night, Erin asked, "Rob, would you like to get together sometime soon?" It wasn't the first time she'd asked, and this time he could almost hear the longing in her voice.

He hesitated, not immediately putting her off as he'd done when she asked in the past.

Maybe it's time,

he thought,

time to take the chance.

Switching views on his computer screen, he looked at his calendar for the next few weeks. "Erin, is that an invitation for me to come for a visit?"

"Yes," she said, almost too excitedly. More calmly, she added, "Yes. You can stay here with me so we can spend more time together."

He was ready to put a toe in the water with a visit, but she was asking him to jump right in. "Erin, I'm not sure—"

"Rob, my guest bed's pretty comfortable, if you'd prefer it. You might like mine, too, though. The choice'll be yours, okay?"

"Thanks, dear." He paused for a few seconds before he decided. "I have some time in early May that looks clear. I might be able to fly in on Friday evening and stay early until Tuesday afternoon if that would work for you." He gave her the proposed dates.

"That sounds great, Rob. Let me check with my boss in the morning to see if I can get the time off and I'll let you know for sure, okay?

By noon on Friday, Rob had confirmation from Erin and, by mid afternoon, a round trip ticket from the airline. With that knowledge, he felt his excitement level growing and was soon struggling to put the thoughts out of his mind.

It wasn't enough. That night after their call, Rob tried to take a cold shower to calm his desire, but it didn't have the desired effect. In the end, he turned the water temperature up and gave in to his urge. With his eyes closed and desire in his heart, he went slow and leisurely at first, increasing his speed and intensity when he got close. It wasn't long before he sent jet after jet flying as he thought only of Erin.

He cursed his weakness as he came down from his high. He had now committed to seeing her and giving their relationship a chance, but he could only hope that, when the time came, he would be able to make the right choices about what to do rather than being blinded by whatever it was that he was increasingly feeling for her. Then, if the time was ever right for it, he could only hope that he wouldn't feel guilty for being with her for real.

* * *

A message popped in on Rob's phone on Saturday morning. It was a photo of a smiling Deana in Times Square. The message with it said,

"Sorry, got in late last nite. Do u have time 2 talk?"

He saved the photo to his phone and assigned it as her contact photo before dialing her number. After their greetings, Rob asked, "So how did your trip go with your boss?"

"Really well. We met with six clients and have two sales out of it so far. I think we'll get at least one more."

He saw that she was toying with him so he cut to the chase. "Deana, did you and your boss get along okay?"

"Sure. What do you mean, Rob? I've been working for her for five years."

He swallowed, realizing he'd way off base. "I'm sorry, Deana. I must have misunderstood. I thought when you mentioned it the other night that there was, well, something wrong between you."

She laughed. "Oh, no! Mrs. Schultz is in her mid-60s, has three adult children, and five grandkids. She's about the most lovely person you can imagine and as sweet as the day is long. She has something of a a silver tongue when it comes to our clients; they see Grandma and she can convince them of just about anything." She laughed again.

The conversation soon turned from the trip to more details about their lives. It wasn't long before Deana asked, "Rob, you said you were taking things slow with someone. I'm all ears if you want to tell me about it."

He set his teeth and sighed. "Deana, it's still too early. I don't know where, if anywhere, it may be going, so I'd really rather let it be for now. I'm sorry, Sis."

"Rob, don't be sorry with me. You need to do what you need to do, and if that means keeping it under wraps for a while, I understand. Just let me know when that changes, okay?"

"Sure thing. Sorry to have to do this but I've got to run. Abby and I are volunteering at the shelter at lunch today so we need to go. Have a good afternoon."

"You, too, Rob. Talk to you again soon."

* * *

Spring passed quickly, with Rob speaking with Erin practically every night and with Deana at least once a week.

On the Monday before the trip to Dallas, Rob was speaking with Deana. "I've told you I'm interested in someone; well, I'm going to see her this weekend. Do you remember Erin Parker from cheer tryouts?"

The question was greeted by silence on the other end of the phone, so much so that he thought they'd lost the connection. "Deana? Hello? Are you still there?"

"I'm here. Do I remember Erin? Erin Parker, dancer girl, who put you through hell. Do I remember?"

"Deana, it wasn't that bad—"

"Shit! Not that bad? After all she put you through, it strikes me as asinine that I remember it all and you apparently don't. Of course, I was the one who tried to help you through it back then, so maybe I really do remember it better. Good God, Rob! What the hell are you thinking? I'm sorry, I can't deal with this right now. I've gotta go."

The line went dead, leaving Rob to think, wonder, and try to remember. He couldn't recall any animosity between Erin and Deana, but he did remember speaking to Deana a number of times after the breakup. She'd always been a great friend.

Their discussion put a damper on his week, even as his excitement was building for his visit to Erin in Dallas. They'd had a long discussion earlier on Thursday evening, so he was surprised when his phone rang again as he was he was zipping up his bag for the trip. The caller ID and photo from Times Square showed it was Deana.

"Hi, Deana."

"Hi, Rob. I'm calling to apologize."

"Oh, thanks, dear, but there's no need. You were probably right about what you said. I had to put the difficult parts out of my mind to get past them, so you probably remember those better than I do."

"Rob, that's the other reason for the call. It was great having a big brother back then when I needed it, and I hope you felt that way about me as supportive little sister. But that was a long time ago. We didn't get to talk for many years after college, and I think we both got by without our Big Brother/Little Sister act. We're adults now so, personally, I don't think I need a big brother any more. It's not up to me, but I don't think you need a little sister, either. I'll be your friend, Rob, if that's what you want, but I can't play little sister anymore and I won't be your sounding board, just standing by waiting for your call so you can give me all the juicy details when it works or cry on my shoulder when it doesn't."

He was stunned. His mouth moved several times before he could finally speak. He forced out, "I'm sorry, Deana, ah, Dee. I really didn't know you felt this way."

He thought he heard tears in her voice as she responded. "Well, you do now. Rob, you're a great guy, but you've always been a little bit blind when it comes to personal issues. Enjoy your trip with Erin. I...I hope you find true happiness. See ya' around on the website." The quiet click told him she'd ended the call. She didn't pick up when he tried to call her back to apologize again.

* * *

Rob didn't sleep well and then stressed all day on Friday, not able to get the thought of hurting Deana by dumping his personal problems in her lap out of his mind. If was even overshadowing his trip to see Erin.

"Are you okay, Dad?" asked Abby while they were at lunch. "You look tired."

"Nerves, sweetie. I'm doing something I haven't done in thirty years."

She leaned in and whispered, "Dad, I can assure you, the mechanics haven't changed that much since Robbie and I were conceived." Rob's open-mouthed stare caused her to burst out laughing. "Just teasing, Dad, but, seriously, if things work out like you wish, you need to go with the flow. Don't second guess yourself to the point that you ruin the moment, whether it's over dinner or after hours, okay?"

He nodded. "Thanks, Abby. I appreciate the advice but I don't want to get in the habit of talking to you about my love life. You seem to be drawing interest from your own young man now, so you don't need to be concerned about me."

She grinned. "Paul and I are going out again tomorrow night, so we'll see how it goes. For today, I'll bring the car around at 3:30 to take you to the airport, okay?"

"Thanks, dear. See you then."

* * *

The plane was a little late so Erin parked and met him inside the terminal. With the Dallas heat, she was wearing a flower-patterned sundress that complimented her still outstanding figure. Both of them were smiling as Rob took her in his arms, lifted, and spun her around. There were several wolf-whistles as their kiss went on, her feet suspended inches off the ground.

"Rob, it's so good to see you, but you better put me down. My dress is riding up—"

"Sorry! You're beautiful girl, but I wasn't trying to prove it to everyone else."

"You look great, too, Rob. Are you ready? Do you need to get a suitcase or anything?"

"Nope, packed light. Just what I have here. Let's get going."

She drove and, in the light from other cars and street lamps, he looked at and admired her most of the way. Time had been good to her; though there were fine lines where her features had once been smooth, she appeared to be in practically the same shape as she'd been in college. The only difference he could see was that her breasts might possibly be a bit larger than he recalled—

"Rob, would you stop it! You're getting to see me a lot more than I'm getting to see you. And quit looking at my boobs, too."

He laughed. "No, Erin, I'm quite enjoying the view. Seriously, you are so beautiful. I realize now that I should have been taking pictures this whole time."

"Silly! Here's our exit. It's only about two more miles and then we'll go inside where we'll both get a turn."

After she parked, they kissed while her garage door closed and they only stopped when they started laughing after the opener's light went out.

"I think it wants us to go inside," she said as she used the opener control to turn the light back on. "We can pick up in there."

Erin started to give him a tour of her home but they only made it to the family room before she caught Rob yawn. "Giving out on me already, eh?"

"Sorry. It's absolutely no fault of my lovely hostess. Just a very long day."

"Here, have a seat and get comfortable. I"ll get us something to drink and be back in a moment. Want anything special?"

"Water would be good. You would be even better."

"Then I'll be back in a minute with both."

She sat down on the edge of the couch next to him as they drank. When Rob set his glass on the coaster on the end table next to him, Erin swung around toward him, straddling his legs and faced toward him.

Rob was grinning as he looked straight ahead. "Now this is another lovely view."

"They got up to Ds when I was breastfeeding Jack, but they're still good Cs today. Wanna?" She gave a little back and forth sway that caused him to catch his breath as he looked and felt her crotch rub against him as he swelled in response.

"A lovely sundress for a beautiful woman with wonderful attributes. And as much as I want to..." He glanced away. "Erin, we said we would take it slow to get to know each other in person. As much as I look forward to getting to know all of you, I'd like to get to know the real you first."

"Sorry, Rob. Can't blame a girl for trying, can you? Particularly when it feels like you want it as much as I do." She grinned as she rocked her heat against him one more time.

He said, "Temptress!" with a chuckle as he looked directly at her breasts in front of him. Turning his gaze upward into her eyes, he continued, "No, I can't blame you at all, and I think you're right that I probably want it as much as you. Maybe more? Still—"

He fought off another yawn before continuing. "Erin, what do you say we call it for tonight and spend the day getting to know each other tomorrow?"

She gave him another kiss before sliding off of him. Minutes later, they were snuggled together in Erin's bed. Within seconds of a good night kiss, Rob was fast asleep.

* * *

Rob gave a contented moan when he awoke to find Erin still asleep next to him, her cheek nestled against his arm and a bare leg against his own. Spooned together, her butt was pressed tight against his morning wood.

He slowly, quietly shifted away to get out of bed and had coffee going in the kitchen when she came in a few minutes later. She wrapped herself around him before saying, "Good morning, Rob. Did you sleep well?"

"Wonderfully," he said. "And waking up next to you was even better."

They spent the morning together, talking while doing everything from walking Erin's dog to washing the breakfast dishes. Later in the morning, they sat together in the swing on the veranda. Rob looked across the yard with its flowers, Erin's little rock garden, and her dog chasing after the ball yet again.

"It's beautiful here. You've done a great job with everything." He leaned down, took the ball, and gave it another toss. The dog took off once more.

She twisted around to look at him. "You're spoiling him. He's going to expect that of me, now." She laughed. "And thanks for the compliment. It's home. Speaking of which, if things were to work out between us, what would we do? The 800 miles between us wouldn't just vanish if we were to do something crazy like getting into some kind of committed relationship."

"I don't know, Erin. I'm more interested in the possibility of reaching that point rather than working out the details that might follow."

"But you told me that you were very detail oriented in your work," she said accusingly.

"True, but right now, the only detail of importance is where whether what we have is the makings of a real relationship or if we're just two people sharing a few moments."

Erin gave him an angry look before getting up and going into the house. Rob tossed the ball one more time for the dog before following her inside. He found in the kitchen and was surprised to see her pouring a glass of white zinfandel. It was a few minutes to noon.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

"Rob, I've spent more time getting to know you than anyone I've ever dated or married—at least up to the point where I married the bastard. True, a lot of it has been by phone and video chat, but I know you well enough to know you're telling the truth and I hope you'd say the same of me."

He nodded. "I agree. So?"

"You're worried sick about not repeating something that happened thirty-something years ago rather than worrying about how we can move forward. Rob, I'll tell you, I've thought of little else for the past few months. I can't tell you how much I've wanted to get together with you, but now that we finally are, none of the fireworks I was expecting have gone off. It's like you've erected some kind wall to keep us from getting too close together, to keep us from having the chance I hoped for. Well I've had enough! You may not want to hear it with your take-it-slow attitude, but I can't keep it bottled up inside me any more. I love you, Rob Malone. I know you might not love me, but if you don't like me at least a little by now, we're probably wasting our time anyway."

She huffed as she turned away from him and drained her wine glass, only to find a moment later that his arms were encircling her and pulling her close to him. He held her tight for a moment before gently turning her around toward him and looking into her eyes.

"Erin, we're not wasting our time. There's a lot I haven't figured out about our situation, but the one thing I'm sure of is that I love you, too."

Her eyes lids were blinking quickly, fighting back tears as a smile covered her face. "Oh, Rob!" She slid her arms around him and held him close as she turned her lips up to meet his. Rob's eyes closed as he was lost in the moment with her. When the kiss ended, they were looking into each other's eyes.

"Rob, my bedroom is that way."

He scooped her up and carried her in that direction as he said, "I know."

* * *

They spent most of the rest of the afternoon in bed, pleasuring each other as they re-familiarized themselves with each other's body. They made love twice and took a rest after each time, just holding each other, before starting up again. When Rob moved down, kissing as he went, trying to interest her in a third time, Erin crossed her legs and put her hand on his head to keep him away.