This is the fourth chapter in the series HouseKeeping. It would be best if you could read first Chapters 1, 2, and 3 so you can gain the benefit of knowing the backstory of Chapter 4. This chapter, as are the first three chapters, is long on tease and titillation and short on raw sex. If you want a quick jerk-off story, this might not serve your purposes. On the other hand, the story is erotic as hell for those who enjoy erotic tension and voyeuristic pleasures. As always, please feel free to offer any feedback you want. And an author always values feedback from his readers.
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After we all cleaned up the collective mess we made on the floor and all over Kelsey, Jim sheepishly said goodbye and left for his house just a few blocks over. Kelsey put away cleaning supplies and material so passively it was almost as if she was asleep. I finally broke the silent wall between us that had been there since last Friday night.
"Kelsey, that was awesome!" I spoke with enthusiasm as I counted out her money for the house cleaning. "I didn't mean to put you on display for a friend."
"Yes you did, Todd. Don't lie to me. You may not have expected him to stop by, but you loved Jim's reaction when I walked into the room." She was almost laughing as she replied, suggesting that the cold and silent wall might be crumbling.
"I guess maybe I did." I paused for a mere second and then went on. "I was not sure that I wanted him to see our arrangement, but I sure liked it when you walked into the room. His eyes bugged out so far I thought he might need a doctor to get them back in. I would have laughed if I wasn't so concerned for him." Another pause occurred in the conversation, this one lasting several seconds as we both chuckled.
"Listen, Kelsey, there is something we need to talk about."
"Yes, Mr. Weston?" Her reply was very businesslike.
"THAT'S what we need to talk about, Kelsey."
"I don't understand, Mr. Weston."
"When we met for the first time last Friday, you called me Mr. Weston for the first few minutes. Then the rest of the afternoon, it was Todd. And Friday evening at the restaurant, you even called me 'honey' once. We had an incredible and very erotic time
at the restaurant. We even held hands on the drive home. But something happened on that ride home. By the time we arrived, you were distant and businesslike; almost cold. I don't know about you, but I felt like we made love all afternoon and evening. We may not have had sexual intercourse, but we made love. That makes it something special to me, Kelsey. I simply cannot make love to a woman without at least holding her for a few seconds. To me, hugging and kissing and saying sweet things is part of making love. Something happened and you separated. I felt like we didn't finish. All weekend long, I felt like we didn't finish something important. And then you showed up this afternoon with that same wall between us. I had hoped we could tear down that wall, that we could feel close again like we did on Friday." I stopped only because I was getting emotional, and I didn't want to lose control and mess things up.
"What are you saying, Mr. Weston?" That piercing look from our greeting earlier this afternoon was back, and I still could not read it.
"I am saying I don't want you to call me Mr. Weston!" My retort was almost angry and she seemed to almost recoil from it. Yet I didn't want to be angry. "I'm sorry, Kelsey, that almost sounded mean." This time my voice was much softer and Kelsey could hear the softer, warmer tones. I paused for a few seconds, trying to gather my thoughts.
Kelsey stepped in with a question. "When I arrived earlier this afternoon, I wanted to clarify what you wanted from this relationship, and you indicated you only wanted my professional services."
"No, Kelsey, that isn't what I said. Well, if I said that, it wasn't what I meant. Well, I guess I did mean that but..." I stopped because I realized I was not really sure what I wanted from this relationship. I knew what I originally wanted from this relationship, but I sensed somehow that things had changed, at least changed a little. But I wasn't sure exactly HOW things had changed, and that was the problem.
What DID I want from this relationship? I wondered silently.
I looked at Kelsey, saw her inscrutable expression, and then I looked at the floor. I had spent an entire career in control of my professional and personal life. I was used to being in control. But right now I felt like a teenager again. I felt as out of control as I ever remembered. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I feel like a teenager! The thought startled me, even scared me a little.
"Look, Kelsey, can we sit down for a minute?" I motioned to the couch in my family room. For the last several minutes we had been standing in the kitchen near the door, and my knees had suddenly felt a little week as I began to realize some things. We walked into the large open room and sat down. I stared out the sliding glass doors into my screened patio and pool for at least a full minute.
I was still gathering my thoughts when Kelsey asked softly, "What exactly do you want from me, Todd?" I noticed she used Todd this time, and her voice was no longer distant and professional.
"Kelsey, that is the problem, isn't it?" She looked puzzled. "Kelsey, I knew exactly what I wanted from you when I took out that ad for the job. And when you came over here and we first spoke, I told you exactly what I wanted from you." I paused, and Kelsey seemed to be uncertain what to do, so she just nodded.
"I guess what I am trying to say, Kelsey, is that things have changed. I am not sure WHAT has changed, and so I am having a hard time getting the words out of my mouth. But something has changed." I paused again to gather my thoughts, but when I did that I was still unsure what I wanted to say.
"Kelsey, I don't know exactly what I want from you." I spoke softly, now. "But I think I want more than I originally told you.