Zoe's brother, Kevin, wants Dana. The feeling is mutual, and the sex is amazing. Almost as amazing to her is how openly he reveals his interest and how casually his family accept it. Life in Zoe's family is nothing like her own. Once back at school, she renews her relationship with Randy, but changes are coming in her relationships, and she's not sure she'll like them.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Morning came a lot earlier than Dana would have liked. Bobby woke Dana and Zoe at some ungodly hour of the morning to kiss and fondle them goodbye. Zoe walked him out, then stumbled back into bed, giving Dana a kiss and a mumbled, "Good night, lover," before drifting off to sleep. Dana lay awake thinking about that for a minute or two before following Zoe into dreamland for a couple more hours.
Living together for months had taught Dana to sleep through Zoe rising and moving around their shared living space. But as a guest in her home, she couldn't do it. Her mother's voice prodded her to get up; it was a poor guest who lazed around all morning, forcing her hostess to tiptoe around her own home.
Showered, dressed, and eating leftover Chinese food for breakfast, Dana and Zoe planned their day. "You still want to see the Air & Space Museum?" Zoe asked. Dana did. Also the Natural History Museum, though Zoe said trying to see both in one day was too ambitious. Dana decided on Air & Space.
They took an Uber into DC rather than drive or take the Metro.
Zoe was right. They spent the day touring the Air & Space Museum, and at that didn't see the whole thing in detail. Still, it was fascinating to Dana to see so many famous aircraft and spacecraft, as well as countless smaller exhibits and displays. She had the most fun in some of the flight simulators, both combat aircraft and space missions.
They were back in time to have dinner with Zoe's family, where Dana met Zoe's sister, Melanie, and her husband, Jerry. Melanie was gorgeous, a plump redhead with blue eyes and an hourglass figure. She was sharp-tongued, funny, and outgoing. Dana's first impression of her husband was that he was completely forgettable, with average looks that would fade into any crowd. He'd make a good private eye or spy, she thought, and wondered how he'd landed a beauty like Melanie.
That impression didn't survive dinner. Jerry was a match for Melanie's quick wit, though his sense of humor was kinder, and he could hold everyone spellbound with his anecdotes and jokes. He even coaxed fifteen year-old Julie into smiling and laughing a few times. Despite the theatricality of the pair, the genuine love and attraction between Melanie and Jerry was impossible to miss. The two of them were scintillating, fascinating to watch and listen to.
After dinner, the "young folk" as Zoe's father referred to them, retreated to the rec room in the basement. Dana gravitated to the pool table again, and played a couple of games while the others watched a movie. The first game, against Julie, was over before it began; Dana's break was just sad, and Julie ran the table ruthlessly. Dana never got another turn.
After that, Julie retired undefeated and with the unspoken understanding that she wasn't interested in playing someone who couldn't challenge her. Kevin was happy to take her place, and gave Dana a lot of instruction, complete with plenty of hands-on guidance. He was tall, well-built, and made a point of standing close behind Dana, with his arms around her to correct her form, instructing her on how to line up a shot. He spoke quietly, mouth close to her ear, smiling and complimenting her frequently. She liked it.
Dana was no longer as oblivious to flirting as she'd once been, but even if she had been, she couldn't have missed it this time. Nor did any of his siblings, or his brother-in-law, as their comments made clear. It was an eye-opening experience for Dana.
She had always lived in fear of her family or friends learning that she had a crush on anyone, or strong feelings about, well—anything, really—lest they make fun of her, or laugh, or dismiss her feelings as silly or childish. She'd learned to treat such things like state secrets, never to be divulged.
Zoe had never shown any such inhibition, and now Dana saw that it was a family trait. Kevin found her attractive, and didn't hesitate to demonstrate that, either to Dana herself, or—most shockingly to Dana—to his family. He took their commentary in stride, as the good-humored ribbing it seemed to be. It was
Dana
who blushed repeatedly to hear Kevin's siblings' remarks on his obvious pursuit of Zoe's guest.
After the game, Dana and Kevin joined Zoe, Melanie and Jerry in watching the end of a movie, then in a long, rambling conversation. Dana sat on one of the sofas snuggled up to Kevin, his arm around her. Zoe gave her a few knowing grins, but otherwise the group had moved on from teasing Kevin, and took their closeness for granted.
"I'm for the hot tub," Melanie said without preamble. "And some wine. Who's with me?"
Jerry raised his hand. Melanie scoffed. "Of course you are. Who else?"
"Sounds good to me," Zoe said.
Dana hesitated, glancing at Kevin. After a long night of sex and then a long day walking around the museum, the hot tub sounded heavenly. She wasn't sure she was prepared to bathe naked with Zoe's siblings, though.
"I'm out," Zoe said, with a grin. "I don't need to see all y'all fucking in the pool."
"There'll be no fucking in the hot tub," Melanie announced, raising her voice, and giving Dana and Kevin a pointed look. "Kevin has a perfectly good bedroom for that sort of thing." Then she smiled, taking Jerry's hand. "And so do we."
Zoe looked unconvinced. "Yeah," she said with a smirk. "You say that now. I think I'll just hang out in my room for a while. Ciao." She walked out.
Dana's face grew hot. Once again, she saw where Zoe had learned some of her attitudes. The casual references to sex, and equally casual acceptance of the seeming certainty that Kevin and Dana would be sleeping together tonight were just...nothing like her own experience of family. It was embarrassing—and liberating.
Kevin tiled his head, speaking softly. "Dana?"
"You do have a perfectly good bedroom," Dana said.
"The lady has spoken," Kevin announced. He stood and held out his hand for Dana. "Shall we?"
* * *
Kevin's room was a mirror of Zoe's except that he had an en-suite bathroom. The color scheme was darker than Zoe's. His bed, also a king, was beneath the large window overlooking the patio at the rear of the house. A desk flanked by bookcases lined one wall. The desk had a work lamp on a swing arm clamped to it, and was covered with small paint bottles, a jar full of brushes, and various tools, all neatly arranged. One bookcase was filled with books, the other had glass doors and was more of a display case.
Dana walked over to examine the contents. One shelf contained a number of model warships and fighter planes. All of them looked well-made, well-painted, and were covered with marking decals. The other shelves were lined with gaming miniatures, lead or plastic, and all of them were painted in fine detail.
Kevin had turned on a couple of lamps and shut off the overhead light. Soft music filled the room. Now he stood behind Dana, his arms sliding around her waist.
"These are amazing," Dana said. "You did all these yourself?"
"I did," Kevin said, his breath warm against her ear.
"Do you play? That's a lot of miniatures." Dana knew Kevin was eager to get her into bed. And she was looking forward to it herself, but they had all night.
"Yeah, I do." Kevin seemed to sense her mood. He released her and reached past her to open one of the glass doors. "Want to look at them?"
"Please."
Dana picked up a number of miniatures one by one and studied them closely. They looked professionally done, with base colors, highlights and shadowing carefully applied. Even the faces were detailed. Most of the figures were intended for fantasy games, but he also had some modern and even science fiction-themed figures as well.
Dana put the last figure back on the shelf and moved over to study the bookcase. Kevin had a set of D&D books, as well as rule books for several other games. "What do you play?"
