"Hey Jessie, keep checking on the little one will you," Dan said. "She had a fever this morning."
"Sure," Jessie said.
"I should be back by twelve," Dan said, "Eddie will be going over to his friend's house in an hour or so."
"Ok," Jessie said, as she saw Eddie come down over the stairs in a bathrobe.
"Hey son, going to Jeff's still?" Dan sighed.
"Yeah around eight," Eddie said as he grabbed a drink from the kitchen and went back upstairs.
"You look bothered by something," Jessie said to Dan as she sat down on the couch.
"Well...it's nothing," he sighed.
"Hey if I can help with something, let me know," Jessie smiled.
"I wish," Dan said, "I really don't want to say anything bad about my son."
"Hey you have had a tough time since Linda left," Jessie said. "You're doing a great job here."
"I try," Dan said as he sat on the chair across from the couch, "I know this is bad to talk about Eddie's personal life, but damn I'm worried about him."
"He doesn't seem like he's into anything bad," Jessie said.
"Well that's just it," Dan whispered as he went over to sit beside her. "Nothing happens with him."
"That's bad?" Jessie asked.
"I am not prying but I know you're 19, you've probably dated and had social good times," Dan said.
"Well yes," Jessie said.
"Well Eddie hasn't," Dan said.
"Oh. But that's not the worst thing is it?" Jessie asked. "he's 18 and has the rest of his life."
"I mean...at eight or so, he's going to his Friday night ritual of playing some role playing game with a bunch of his friends til the wee hours. He comes back Saturday morning with some book, where he spends the rest of the morning writing logs of the battle. Then he plays some online game that's about the same thing," Dan said.
"Oh well at least he stays out of trouble," Jessie said.
He's out of trouble, and I should be happy with that, but what about normal relationships, or a girl...or whatever," Dan said.
"Or whatever?" Jessie laughed. "I see your point now."
"I shouldn't have talked about it," Dan said.
"Stop worrying," Jessie smiled. "That's all I can say. Someday he'll meet someone."
"Hopefully a real person, not someone out of his gaming," Dan said as he headed for the door.
"Ok, have fun," Jessie said as she watched him close the front door behind him.
Jessie walked around the family room thinking about what he just said. She strolled into the family room as she pulled the elastic out of her long brown hair. Stopping, she frowned as she wondered if there was some way she could help. Sitting now on the couch, she picked at a small string on her shorts thinking casually. She knew that she always had no trouble attracting attention with her small frame and blue eyes. But then she thought of Eddie and suddenly realized he shouldn't have a problem turning heads either. Perhaps there is something to be said for being outgoing and social. The two are complete opposites, socially. But they have one thing in common. Neither of them have had a real meaningful relationship. The thought of that made her sigh as she stood and walked toward the stairs. Somehow she was compelled to find out about him. It seemed simple enough.
Jessie really had no idea what she was going to do when she started slowly walking upstairs. She might even walk right back downstairs and forget the whole thing. But what if she could just talk to him? First off she went in and checked on the little one. Sound asleep and safe she noticed, then walked out of the room, and slowly down the long hallway. Eddie's room is at the very end, past a spare bedroom, that she had used a few times on overnight sitting. As she approached, she didn't hear a sound. If he was getting ready, he was doing it very quietly. The door was open just a tiny bit. Squinting with one eye was necessary. She looked into the dim lit room. She saw a bit of movement, but it took her eyes time to adjust to the tiny opening and light level. She saw him inside and the view started to take form.
"Oh holy shit," she whispered as she backed off.
He was in there. She only saw him for a moment. It was all she needed for the total freak out where she almost lost control. Quietly she crept down the hall and away from his room now with a certain image in her mind. But she reached the other end of the hall, and stopped while sitting on the stairs. She had thought maybe he was getting ready, and might even catch him in his underwear, but she was completely caught off guard. Jessie never would have expected to see him standing in the middle of the room, nude, sticking straight out in front of him.
"I guess I should have made a little noise before," she whispered to herself.
Jessie was no stranger to that kind of sight. That wasn't the problem. For a second she thought that maybe the reaction was because she had not seen it in a long time. But once the fuzz cleared she could think more clearly. Jessie had a preconception that with the type of personality and demeanor that he would be inept in that area too.
As she rolled the image around in her mind, some feelings arose. They were not the most pure, but she couldn't help it. Even with the full bush that he had it seemed very large to her. For a few moments she had forgotten why she came up here in the first place. She was going to show him, in a platonic way that he can talk to girls. It was her mission to get him to relax and be himself. Now there was something else on her mind. She wondered if she could possibly go in there and just be his friend now. Or just get in there before he was done. So she stood up and went back down the hall. This time she knocked on the door.
"Hey Eddie," she said.
"Sec," he said after a pause.
Jessie waited patiently for several seconds, until he finally came to the door. He was dressed in shorts, although he had his back turned when she came in, and quickly sat down as if to hide something. She knew what it was, and she also scolded herself for wishing he would be nude when he opened the door.
"What's up," Eddie, said nervously as he sat down at his computer.
"Not much really," Jessie said as she walked around his room a bit. "Nothing on TV, just seeing what you're up to."
"Ah nothing, just getting ready to leave," he said nervously.
"Oh your game, right," she said looking for an ice breaker, "What are these posters of, all these landscapes, with people with swords and stuff?"
"Just from the game and stuff," he said.
"Kinda cool," she said, "This one is kinda hot actually."
"Oh that," he said nervously as he looked at the poster of a man with a scantly clad female slaying a dragon. "Yeah only one I have like that."
"Heroic," she smiled at him, "Didn't know a girl had to dress like that to hunt dragons though."
"Well it's just fantasy," he said. "I'm sure if it was real she wouldn't."
"I guess it heats things up a bit for afterward," Jessie smiled weakly.
"Well actually those two represent a king and queen who killed a dragon in order to save a village. Well they became king and queen after," he said.
"Wonder if she dressed like that on the throne too," Jessie smiled.
"Sorry if it's inappropriate," he said.
Jessie was still trying to figure out which way she wanted this to go. She could be just a friend, or at least try. She kept trying to tell herself she was just testing the waters a bit. She saw and felt the attraction in two different ways. But was it enough to choose?
"Well not really. But I think that guy should have a bit less on too," she said as she sat on a chair beside him, "But do all those stores have pictures, or things like that?"
"Actually to tell you the truth, a lot do," he said.
"Interesting," she said as she glanced at his computer screen.
She grinned briefly as she noticed the bar at the bottom of the screen. There was a minimized browser present with a partial word on it. She recognized it as seeming like one of the websites she had visited at home when she had certain urges. She wondered if it were true. It seemed so obvious. But for nearly 30 minutes they just talked about his role playing and gaming. Jessie started to get bored.
"So I assume that when you play the game with your guy friends and act it all out, one of you doesn't play a girl or something right?" she asked.
"Very funny," he said with a weak grin, "Of course not. We concentrate on the large scale battles and the combat."
"Oh," she said, "I suppose each of you can make up your own minds what happens after."
"Well my friend Jim does that," he said, "He is really good at drawing, and he makes some nasty stuff. I just go for the battles."
"I think I would at least have some sort of eroticism after. Maybe I'm just different," she said.
"Erotic thoughts about gaming?" he asked.
"Well maybe about that or maybe just in general. Have to unwind some way," she said.
"Well to each their own," he said.
"Hey I have to unwind and let my hair down sometimes," Jessie said.
"What TV, nice snack, and a blanket?" he asked nervously as he stood up.
"No, I mean we all have urges sometimes," Jessie said.
"It just occurred to me that I have no idea what girls do to unwind," he said seeming oblivious to her words.
"Well we are all different," Jessie said, "Some like to just read, watch TV, or do some craft. Me too sometimes, but I am a bit different."
"How so?" he asked.
"I have my own stories too," she smiled.
"Really?" he asked, "Anything good?"
"Well honestly they don't have much of a story," she said. "Just fun."
"Well that's good too," he said, "So that's what you do?"
"Yes. I get all comfortable in my chair, get the so called story going, and go to town," Jessie grinned.
"Go to town?" he asked.
