Nick paced in the bedroom. He was aware that Bailey could probably hear the creaking of his steps as she whizzed through her social media, but he couldn't stay still. He also didn't really want to see Bailey until it was time to...fuck her. She was acting too cool about the whole thing, and it made him feel like an awkward teenager--he felt like the nervous eighteen-year-old in this situation, and he didn't like it.
There were so many questions that Nick had to answer before it went down. He was desperately trying not to overthink, but who was going to initiate? Would they just meet up in the bedroom? Was he expected to divide the attention equally? Would Alicia get jealous? Would he be able to get it up at the moment of truth? He didn't know if Bailey was on birth control, so would he have to wear a condom? If not, could he come inside her? Alicia had only given him one rule, but what if she expected a little home field advantage? Surely she had to know better. Surely she knew letting him have the voluptuous, fresh body of her daughter would leave her, an aging woman who, while beautiful, he had fucked over and over and would presumably continue to fuck after this occasion, on the short end of the stick.
At some point, Nick's nervous pacing took him out into the hallway, where he noticed Bailey's door was open. On her neatly made bed he saw a pair of black yoga shorts that she had tossed there on the way to her shower--a consideration shower that had left her body clean and ready for him. Soon he would be close enough to smell her skin, to feel it and taste it. But more than that...more than just surface pleasures, he would become one with her, would know her as intimately as anyone ever would for her entire life. She would spread her legs for him and let him fulfill his most primal urges, this man she had literally grown up with, this man over twice her age who had once spent hours trying to help her remove a loose tooth, soothing and encouraging her to be brave that whole night, both of them feeling the bond of trust and comfort that they were forming as the hours turned the page to the next day.
From nurturing to sex...two different kinds of trust, but trust all the same.
Nick imagined Bailey peeling off the black shorts, maybe leaving them on the bed just for him to see, then walking down the hall in her panties (if she were wearing any), buttocks jiggling, pulling off her shirt, then reaching behind her back to unfasten her bra. In all his years living in this house, he had never caught view of Bailey in a state of disrobement. He had seen her in various bikinis on trips to hotels, mostly when she was much younger. At home, she was never careless, never offered a glimpse much above the thighs (unless she was wearing those fucking volleyball shorts) or above the waist, though she wasn't intentionally reserved like her mom. Baggy and comfortable had given way to unyielding clothing in high school. No way the girl wasn't aware of her assets, but she hardly needed to try. She had inherited a body from her mother that was impossible to suppress.
This isn't the first time you've thought about it. You don't have to admit when the first time was, but now it's how you will always see her: as an object of your desire that will replace your affection. You won't talk the same, no more harmless looks, any incidental contact could carry intent in the mind of either.
Nick heard the garage door lift ten minutes to seven. He was standing at the foot of the bed that he and Alicia had made love on countless times. And now they were about to invite Bailey into it. He thought the last time Bailey had touched their bed might very well have been when she was jumping on it. The faint purr of an engine followed, and Nick's heart resumed its hammer rhythm in his chest. Coming face-to-face with Alicia now would be very telling of how the night would play out.
Nick wiped his palms on his jeans and went downstairs to meet his family. Halfway down, he paused and looked back. Even the house won't be the same, he thought.
"Hi, hon!" Alicia was smiling, but there was no exaggeration on her face. She looked, more or less the same way she always did after work. She walked to the kitchen table where Bailey was sitting and set her purse and keys down. All eyes were on Nick, and no words were spoken for what felt like an eternity. Then Alicia put her hands on her hips and looked at her daughter, who was still holding her phone in her hand. "I'm going to go take a shower. Give me half an hour?"
Nick's mind screamed. Half an hour! He felt like he had been waiting for three days, and now he had to find something to do with his mind and his sporadic happy/scared hard-on for another thirty minutes!
