Author's Note: This is an edited version of the original story. Big thank you to Secretsxywriter for editing and helping me to make it better.
***
I paused the video game as the doorbell rang and darted up so fast, I hit my shoulder on the bookshelf. My reflection in the mirror by the front door seemed decent enough. Maybe I should have shaved?
Glancing into the peephole, I saw Haley arranging her hair. I'd seen it in every color of the rainbow during the years. Today, it was blue.
How long had it been we'd seen each other last? At least six months? Maybe closer to a year?
I took a deep breath and told myself there was no reason to be nervous. She would just be spending one night on the sofa. Yet, there was an uneasiness lingering in my stomach. Maybe it was the adrenaline from playing too many video games.
I opened the door and stepped aside to let her in. "Hi. Hope you didn't get lost on the way."
"Easy peasy." Haley hung her jacket on the coat rack and looked around. "Nice place, Tom."
I took her backpack. "Would be nicer if I managed to unbox rest of the stuff."
She vanished into the bathroom. I heard the water running, then she yelled, "There's no towel!"
"Sorry, I just threw them into the laundry." I cursed and grabbed one from the closet, rushing it to her. Fat lies. I usually just dried my hands on my pants.
"Thanks for letting me crash here." Haley took a spot in the corner of the sofa and hugged her knees. "How've you been?"
I sat in the opposite corner and started the game up again, hoping to distract myself from the awkwardness of being in the same room with my ex's little sister. "Better every day. Work's good. Decent pay. What about you?"
"Trying to graduate, but it feels stupid. No job in sight, and I'm running out of money."
"You wanna play?" I fished the other controller from under the sofa. "It's just button smashing."
"I'm fine."
I kept grinding my way through Lego Star Wars. Haley sat silently like a falcon waiting for a mouse.
Carol, her older sister, and I had separated in mutual understanding after seven years. Mutual did not meant it hadn't been painful. Year later, some parts of me were just starting to heal. Haley, unfortunately, reminded me of days of yore. Still, a couple of unpleasant memories weren't enough for me to deny her request for place to sleep.
"You still living with Brie?" I asked to break the silence.
"That's why I needed a place to stay tonight. Brie doesn't want me messing with her sleep before some exam." Haley fidgeted and picked at her striped socks. "I'm not here to spy for Carol."
"Didn't think you were. We talk from time to time. Like adults and stuff," I said.
"You know, you could say something to me, too." Haley's voice sounded surprisingly hurt.
"Sorry. Didn't think you'd be interested in my problems. You kids with your studies and parties."
Haley hit me in the shoulder. "You're not that old."
"You were a mere shrimp when we first met."
"I was sixteen!"
"Back in my day..." I glanced at Haley from the corner of my eye. She still looked more like a teen than a twenty-something-year-old woman. She was far from having a boyish figure, but she hadn't inherited the same curves Carol had. The length of my dry spell became painfully obvious when I caught myself having those thoughts.
We talked some more. None of it was important, but it helped alleviate the increasing tension, maybe for both of us. Haley and I had only talked in passing since Carol had moved out of town. Even before that, I had only seen Haley because of Carol. Our age difference had always felt like a generation gap despite it being less than ten years. Spending time together had never been something we'd done naturally.
"At least you didn't get fat," Haley said. "My friend Ann just kept eating after she broke up with her boyfriend, Dan. She spent last spring on the treadmill."
"Punching sandbags is a good way to get rid of all the excess baggage."
"Makes it easier to get back into the game."
I shook the controller. "This is the only game I'm interested right now."
Haley stared at the screen where plastic bricks rained all over the place. "Sorry I didn't call or anything. I didn't want to take sides. Besides, I didn't know what to say. I always thought you two were set for life."
"Life is what happens when you're busy making other plans. We drifted apart. Nothing bad in that."
"I didn't mean there was." Haley fell silent.
Knowing she cared made me warm inside. Carol and I had made it abundantly clear to everyone that there was no bad blood between us. Still, some of Carol's friends has turned passive-aggressive.
"I should really start getting ready." Haley grabbed her backpack. "You don't mind if I use the shower?"
"There are more towels in the bedroom closet."
Haley's showering summoned my boner, and with it arrived shame. We were both adults. Yet, I felt wanting her was wrong on some level—if not all. I had spent my time with work and weekends playing video games or hitting the gym. My friends had urged me to get back on the saddle. I hadn't bothered explaining how some things were still too jumbled to even think about dating again. Nobody deserved to be a rebound for Carol.
Haley emerged from the shower expedition in a frilly, black-and-white dress with only the barest amount of eyeliner. The wet towel got discarded over the door. "Where am I sleeping?"
"Here, on the sofa. There's a spare key hanging on the fridge."
Haley retrieved it and spun the key chain on her finger. "I'll try to be quiet when I return. Don't wait up. There are lot of bands in the competition."
"I'll get everything ready so you can just fall down. Don't leave your drink alone, and don't drink too much."
"I won't, Dad. See ya."
After the door shut behind Haley, I felt the tension fade away. I played some more, watched half of a movie, and got up to prepare the sofa. Haley was short enough to sleep on it unobstructed. I chose matching sheets and pillowcase. I remembered stuff like that had been really important to her on her teens.
I went to bed hoping talking to Haley would be more natural in the morning. In high school, you thought things would get easier when you grew up. Unfortunately, being an adult was just as tough. People were just better at hiding how they were winging it.
Maybe I could escape to the gym? Haley probably had better things to do than hang at my place, so she would leave early. Well, as early as one wakes up after clubbing. If she even came here for the night. Surely, there were many eager boys willing to take her home.
There was a sting in my gut when I had that thought. I felt silly. Was I really so lonely that I was pining for every girl that came close to me? Even my ex's sister?
The sad answer? Yes. It wasn't only that, though. Haley was fun and quick-witted. She was cute. It made sense to be interested in her. But that road only led to trouble.
Eventually, sleep saved me from my circling thoughts.
* * *
I woke to a morning wood. There had been sex in my dreams, but with whom and where, I had no clue. The details drifted into oblivion while my senses came back to me. I was hot even without my blanket. Instead, I was hugging something warm and soft. A cloud of blue hair filled my view when I opened my eyes.
I rolled away as soon as I understood what was going on, conscious to the fact my hard-on had pressed against Haley's ass.
"I'm so sorry!" Haley blurted and stumbled out of the bed. She was wearing an oversized Metallica T-shirt as a nightie. "Your neighbors kept making noise, and I couldn't sleep, so I snuck in here."
"You could've said something." I laid on my stomach and prayed my cock would start to behave.
Haley stood with her face turned away from me. "I tried, but I you didn't wake up."
"No harm done. Sorry I hugged you. I mean that I..."
"It's nothing. It's my fault."
"Could you make us coffee or something, or do you want to sleep some more? I can go to the gym."
Haley rushed out of the room.
I could smell her on the pillow next to me. Hints of lemon and raspberry filled my nose. Whatever shampoo she was using wasn't the crap I smeared in my hair on occasion. There were a couple of blue hairs left as proof that she had really been there and this wasn't just another dream state.
I had slept only in my boxers. Luckily, I had woken up, or God knows how I might've embarrassed myself further. After another minute when my boner still refused to behave, I snatched a towel from the closet and rushed into the bathroom. If I was quick, I could rub one out during the shower and Haley would never know.
I turned the water on and threw my boxers into the laundry basket. My cock twitched when I grabbed it. It yearned to be touched by someone other than me. Maybe going for a one night stand wouldn't be that bad. At least I wouldn't make a fool of myself in front of someone I knew.
While the water flowed over me, I slid my fingers up and down my shaft. I could smell Haley again. I pictured myself kissing her back. She would press her ass against me, teasing my cock. My hands tingled, and I stroked faster. Her pussy would be wet and demanding. I'd wrap my hands around her, entering her with one hard push. She'd moan and tremble in my arms.
I used shower gel for lube and quickened the pace. Foam dripped on the floor, the water sweeping it away. There was a sudden loud knock on the door.
"What are you doing?" Haley asked.
I froze, only moments from orgasm. "Just taking a quick shower. I'll be right out."
"Are you masturbating?"
The water hitting the floor was the only sound for a moment. All of the foam washed away, revealing my aching cock yearning for release. I just stood there my fingers around my shaft and stared at the door.
