My phone beeped loudly and vibrated on the veranda table. When I checked, it was the doorbell app. The screen showed Alison, my daughter's friend, smiling at the camera.
The two girls had been inseparable as children, but they drifted apart when Alison was sent away to a posh boarding school after her parents divorced. I hadn't seen the girl for years, and now she was a remarkably pretty young woman.
"Is Helen there," she said when I answered. "I want to wish her a happy birthday."
Today was Helen's eighteenth birthday, and I had just driven my daughter to her first riding lesson. She had been nagging me for months, so besides her main present, I had booked her lessons at the local stables.
"She's at a riding lesson and won't be back for hours," I said.
When I dropped her off, Helen had shooed me away, afraid of embarrassment. I was to return at five, not a moment earlier; I couldn't wait for her to pass her test so she could drive herself.
The girl looked disappointed. "Okay," she said. "But really, I don't mind waiting, if that's okay?"
I laughed. Alison only lived next door, but the blue-eyed girl was very pretty, and I'd never been averse to female company. "Sure, I'll come and let you in."
I walked through the house to the front door. When I opened it, a tall, buxom redhead stood there, her hair in two braids that hung over her shoulders. She was obviously the same girl I'd known when younger, but what a transformation!
"Hi Alison, it's been a very long time, but come on in," I said.
The girl smiled prettily. "Call me Ali; everyone else does now."
"Nice to see you, Ali," I replied, carefully emphasising her name. "It's a shame you and Helen lost touch."
She wore a skimpy, strappy top that showed off her enormous boobs and a tiny pleated skirt that barely covered her arse.
We shook hands awkwardly. "I'm working out on the veranda," I said. "You can come and sit out with me if you like."
I had arranged to work from home for the week because my daughter was at home all week, supposedly for pre-exam revision. Helen was revising for her A-levels, but with the excitement of her eighteenth, I'd seen scant signs of study.
"That would be lovely," Alison said, "though I'll have to be careful of the sun, as I burn ever so easily."
I nodded. Alison had the pale skin typical of redheads.
The buxom teenager followed me through the house. "Tea or coffee?" I asked as we passed the kitchen.
"Fizzy water?" Alison requested.
A few moments later, I was carrying a tray with glasses and two bottles of San Pellegrino.
I set the tray on the large veranda table. My laptop was set up under the sun canopy, so the screen was well-shaded. I gestured at the chairs scattered around. "Wherever you like, I guess."
Alison sat down at a chair at the side of the table. She turned the chair to face me and checked that it was still in the shade.
"I daren't sit out," she said. I've no sun stuff with me."
"I can find some if you like?"
She shook her head, smiling. "I'm quite comfortable here." She paused. "Unless I'm distracting you from work?"
She was, but I didn't care. I just tried not to glance at her luscious body too often.
I smiled and shook my head. "No. It's a quiet week."
I'd made sure I had plenty of straightforward stuff I could do from home - for anything creative, I needed people around me, so I pulled up a design review, which is exactly as tedious as it sounds.
I'd hardly started when I noticed Alison was checking me out. I looked up from the screen.
Alison smiled. "You've not changed at all."
I took advantage of the excuse and looked her up and down. "You have. You're all grown up now!"
The last time I'd seen her, she'd been a bratty thirteen-year-old and inseparable from my daughter. They were in the same class at school. Helen was one of the youngest in the class. She'd been heartbroken when Alison moved away after her parents' ugly divorce.
Alison leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table. I couldn't help glancing down her top at her cleavage.
She noticed my gaze. "Yes, I'm a big girl now," she grinned.
Ignoring the double meaning, I ploughed on, "What brings you back after all this time? It must be five years."
"Oh, I've been back a few times to visit Dad, but you've always been away." She beamed. "It's great to see you again."
Her father had remarried, but I didn't know his new wife and hardly saw them, as I disliked her father, John.
"Likewise," I said more enthusiastically than intended. To cover myself, I continued, "What are you doing now, Ali?"
It was a stupid question. Like Helen, Alison would be in the run-up to exams.
She had the grace not to laugh. "Exams are coming up, obviously. I've no idea what I'm doing over the summer, but hopefully, University in the autumn." She grinned. "Physics, before you ask. Not very girly, I know, but I love it."
We chatted for a few minutes more. Alison's list of universities was similar to my daughter's.
"You never know; you might end up in the same place as Helen."
The next hour or so passed pleasantly. I tried to work but achieved little, distracted by the sexy teenager sitting nearby, browsing her phone. She was aware of my interest, occasionally glancing at me or pushing out her chest.
Unlike my daughter's other friends, Alison seemed mature, a fully developed young woman. The others were still puppy-ish or gawky and colt-like. Stop it, I told myself. She thinks you're a nice old man, that's all. And she's the same age as your daughter. Six months older.
I glanced at the time. It was nearly five. "It's almost time, Ali," I said.
The nickname grated on me. I shook my head.
"Do you mind if I call you Alison?" I asked. "It's a nice name, and I prefer it to Ali."
"Oh yes, please!" she said enthusiastically. "I love my name, but everyone at school calls me Ali." She smiled at me. "It would be nice if you used my proper name. No one else does."
When she smiled, the girl looked radiant. I beat back improper thoughts. The girl is far too young!
"I'm off to pick Helen up, Alison," I said. "You might as well come with me and surprise her."
Alison smiled. "What a good idea."
She stood and stretched, throwing her head back and her arms wide. I stared open-mouthed at her chest.
I tore my eyes away before she could notice. Stop it, you idiot. She's young enough to be your daughter.