Peter Jameson sipped his beer and awkwardly looked around at the party. People of all ages milled about happily. Older relatives reconnected with younger ones, clumps of friends from one aspect of life were introduced to clumps of friends from another. The sounds of merry-making were even louder at the pool outside. Almost anyone who was anyone from Kenway Academy High School was splashing around and enjoying the early summer sun. The entire cheer team seemed to be in the pool clad only in skimpy bikinis. Peter couldn't help himself from looking through the kitchen window once or twice. Eventually he steeled himself against it. No one on the cheer team had ever talked to him when he was in high school, so Peter figured that they wouldn't want to now. At the very least, he could prevent his little brother's friends from thinking he was some creep. But one thing had changed since high school, at least now he was 21 and could drink his way through the awkwardness of parties.
"PETEY!"
Before Peter could even look up from his thoughts he was engulfed in a big, wet hug.
"Jack! Hey man, Jesus, you're wet!" Peter said, trying to push out of the hug before he was soaked.
It was to little avail. Despite the fact that Peter was older than Jack by 3 years, he was much smaller than his younger brother. At 6'3, 185 lbs, Jack Jameson was bigger than just about everyone. He had a classic swimmer's body: a huge wingspan with a broad chest and shoulders. There was almost no body fat on him and so each ripple of his muscles was clearly visible, from his shredded abs, to veiny biceps, to his huge lats. And, in classic swimmer fashion, he had as little body hair as he did body fat. His torso was shaved to smooth, tan perfection.
At 5'9, 155, Peter had exactly none of those features. To be fair, during his last 3 years in college he had started going to the gym. For the first time in his life he had something that looked like muscles. Peter was no longer the skinny wimp he had been when he left for college, but was nothing compared to his kid brother.
"Bro, when did you get in? I didn't realize you were coming back!" Jack said excitedly, releasing Peter from the hug.
"Last night, man. I texted you and told you I was coming down! But you were out with some people so we missed each other."
"Oh yeah sorry about that. You know how it gets this time of year. Graduation parties and all that. Everyone going for their last hurrah. It's crazy. You remember Danny Fishman? Was on the swim team for a while but quit when he got too good at football? He and I ended up down at Lake Taghkanic with a bunch of girls from Sacred Heart Academy. And you know what those chicks from these Catholic, all-girls schools are like."
Peter had no idea what Catholic school girls were like, nor did he remember graduation party season the same way at all. His graduation party had been attended by a few close friends and family, and then he'd gone off to college early to get ahead in classes.
"How'd junior year finish up at Cornell? Sam Pendergast said she went up and visited her sister Christophery a few weeks ago and that the frat parties were off the hook. Apparently everyone goes totally nuts when it's springtime and the snow's gone! Do you see Christophery around at all? You guys were in the same grade right? I think she's an Alpha Phi."
"Yeah spring is a good time around campus" Peter said uneasily. "I don't see too much of Christophery. But I bump into her every once in a while."
"Oh I knew it, you dog!" Jack said, punching Peter in the arm playfully. "Sam's going to Boston College so we've been hanging out more, since we'll both be up there for school, and every once in a while Christophery will be around. She's a fox, dude! I'm going to have to try to convince Sam to bring her up to Cambridge to visit once I'm settled in."
"Jack! Peter!"
The two boys were jolted from their conversation as their mother Patty approached with a stern look on her face.
" Jack, I'm glad you've finally said hi to your brother. But I need you to come say hi to your Uncle Mark and Aunt Trista. They've been here for an hour and haven't seen you yet! I know you deserve to spend time in the pool with your friends, but you have to see all the relatives who came out to congratulate you."
Before their mom led Jack away, he embraced Peter in a bro-hug that was less all encompassing than his first, but just as wet.
"Great to see you man. I'm so glad you made it down! Come hang out at the pool! We'll catch up, you can meet some of my friends. Love you brother, thanks for coming." Jack said as his mom whisked him away.
Peter smiled and sighed. Despite the fact that he was jealous of Jack--jealous of his looks, jealous of all the girls he got, and jealous of his happy go lucky attitude--Peter couldn't bring himself to actually dislike Jack. Seemingly no one could. That being said, Peter had no intention of getting in the pool with all of Jack's high school friends. He remained stuck against the kitchen counter, nursing his beer, and skulking in the background of the party.
This time, he did not remain in a lonely reverie for long. A few minutes after Jack had been ferried away by their mother, a new guest walked in the door: Alice Matthews. She was as perfect as ever. Her blonde hair fell just past her shoulders in soft curls. Her skin was milk white, aside from the freckles that had begun to develop on her arms and face from the summer sun. Her friendly, square face and bright blue eyes, imparted a "girl next door," vibe, or better yet, a "friendly mother next door" vibe.
With Alice, it wasn't just a vibe. She was genuinely friendly. Ever since the Matthews' had moved in down the street, Peter remembered Alice constantly bringing baked goods over for the Jamesons' whenever she had extra. If you ever needed a favor, Alice was there. One time the brothers had accidentally locked themselves out from their house. Alice not only sheltered them until their parents got home, but made them cookies to boot. She never forgot a birthday or a holiday, and was always generous to the Jameson brothers.
Alice Matthews was a stereotypical homemaker. But she was also undeniably sexy. Today, in good summer fashion, she was in a white dress that was crossed with thick, horizontal, navy blue stripes. Its length was modest, cutting off right before her knees, but its cut was tight. It hugged every curve of her body, most importantly, her breasts. Alice Matthews' tits had been an object of fantasy for Peter since as long as he could remember. Whether it was plain tee shirts or this tight fitting dress, her plump, round breasts seemed to perfectly fill up every article of clothing she wore.This dress also showed just a hint of cleavage. A gold necklace dropped down from her neck and ended exactly where the cleavage began, subtly and ingeniously highlighting what little of it was exposed, making it that much more tantalizing.
For Peter, though, the thing that had always got him was her smile. When Alice first saw you, her smile would flash wide and toothy. But normally, in pictures or general conversation, the top row of her teeth would perch on her lower lip. To a casual observer it might look like she was biting her lip while deep in thought. It was without a doubt the sexiest, most sultry smile Peter had ever seen in his life.
As soon as the door was all the way open, two small blonde kids immediately ran into the Jamesons' house before Alice could even get herself over the threshold.
"Be careful!" she managed to yell, as they darted through the graduation party crowd towards the pool. As they disappeared, Alice bent down and took the hand of one more small child who had been hiding behind his mothers skirts. She led him into the party, glancing around for familiar members of the Jameson family to greet.
"Shit," Peter thought to himself, "that's a lot of kids to handle by yourself. I wonder where Christopher is."
And then it hit him. She wasn't Alice Matthews anymore, her name was Alice O'Connell. At dinner last night his parents had updated him on the various neighborhood gossip, including Alice's recent divorce. Her ex-husband Christopher Matthews was a partner at Goldman Sachs. Peter's dad and Christopher had been in the Harvard MBA program at the same time, after which they had both entered Goldman together. When Peter and Jack were born, their dad decided to quit the Goldman rat race and manage a boutique asset management fund closer to their suburban home in Westchester. But the two men had remained friends and years later when Christopher was married and about to have his own kids, he and his family moved just down the street from the Jamesons.
The marriage had never made a ton of sense to Peter. Christopher was the same age as his dad. Both men were in their mid-50s. Alice was at least 15 years younger than him, if not more. She had just turned 40. And of course, as a senior partner at Goldman, Christopher was constantly working and never home. Alice was, more often than not, alone with her three young kids.
For the first time in a long time, Peter saw an opportunity. Glancing out the window, he saw Jack back in the pool. At the far end of the yard, he could make out his dad puffing on some cigars with the other dads. And his mom was darting around the crowd inside the house, clearing plates, serving drinks, saying hi to everyone she could. She was so busy that she didn't notice a new guest had just arrived. Peter took a big swig of his beer, a deep breath, and walked over to greet her.
"Mrs...uh, Alice. So good to see you!"
"Peter!" Alice said, her crystal blue eyes lighting up and her grin exploding into a wide smile at the sight of him. "So great to see you too!" but as she went in for a hug, she stopped. "What happened to you?" she said with an amused laugh.
"Oh this," Peter said, looking down at his wet shirt and shorts in frustration. "Jack gave me a big hug right after he got out of the pool and didn't really think about it."
"That sounds like Jack," Alice said laughing. "How are you? This was what, your junior year at Cornell, right? Big internship summer. Where did you end up? Your mom told me you had some interviews on the street."
"Oh she did? I'm surprised you knew about all that."
"Oh yeah. Your mom has been so great through all...this," she said, waving at the air. "I'm sure they told you. It's been kind of a nightmare but I think we're through the worst of it. Your dad really talked Christopher down from being too hostile about it. And your mom has helped me with the kids whenever I needed it. And...well, anyways,"
She trailed off, and Peter watched as her gaze drifted from him and scanned the party. But within a few seconds she had snapped back to attention.
"You know I was also on the street for a while too? When I was at Wellesley I did the whole thing. Worked at Merrill Lynch for a summer and then was an associate there for a few years before I met Christopher and gave it up for these little monsters," she said, patting her last child on the head.
"Wow I didn't know any of that! I mean, my parents mentioned the divorce but I didn't know how involved they were. Or that you used to work at Merrill!"
"I'm a woman of many talents, Peter!" she said, winking at him. "Those were some days. I was on the risk arb desk. The first woman that desk ever hired. I was pretty good, too. Not the best, I don't think I could've done it forever. But I pulled off one or two trades in my day. We really used to get up to some shit. This was the early aughts, right before the 2008 crash and things were going gangbusters. Anyways, enough about my glory days, where did you end up this summer?"
Peter sighed. He hadn't actually landed a Wall Street internship. It was a source of deep embarrassment. He'd barely told any of his friends at Cornell, and hadn't told his parents. That was, in part, why he'd come back home for a few weeks.
"I decided to just stay at Cornell. Thought I'd try and enjoy the last big summer before work and all that. I got a job at the library which is pretty nice and pays ok. I'm not even so sure I want to do the whole investment banking thing anymore."
"Oh," Alice said, a note of disappointment apparent in her voice, "well good for you. Sounds like it was the right decision. I've heard that that area is really nice this time of year. A lot of wineries. Plenty of opportunities to swim in the gorges with all the girls!"
Peter fidgeted.
"Yeah it is really nice. I definitely plan to do a lot of hiking and stuff."
"For sure, well that's great." she said, her blue eyes still dead set on Peter, clearly asking if he had anything else to say.
