The following story is a work of fiction, and all its characters are over eighteen years of age. It takes place in Columbus, Ohio, and all the places noted actually exist. The characters, however, are all the product of my imagination. Thanks for taking the time to read and take a few more moments to rate and comment -- it's greatly appreciated.
*****
"Hey, Jenny. You in there?" Tanya knocked on the screen door after tugging on it and finding it locked. She heard slapping sounds coming from the stairway.
A barefooted Jenny appeared and waved for Tanya to come in.
"It's locked."
"Oh, yeah," Jen said, pitter-patting to the door and unlocking it. "Cum'on in."
"Your mom and dad home?"
"Naw. They went shopping, then out to dinner."
"Good. I don't have to watch my language." She laughed and plopped down on the couch.
"Make yourself at home, Tany."
"Thanks," Tanya said, kicking off her sandals and wiggling her toes. "When does school start?"
"Next Monday for most. My first class is Wednesday. You?
"Mine is Wednesday, too, the benefit of being a senior, I guess."
Tanya stretched out on the couch.
"I hated being gone for the last month," she said, a big smile on her face.
"It must have been hell," Jenny smirked, "having to lay out on the beach all day. You're pretty freaking tan."
Tanya sat up and lifted her tank top, displaying two shapely and very tanned breasts.
"And there were some
very nice
parties lots of nights." Tanya chuckled.
"And I suppose you got to display those things at the parties and afterward, and you can go ahead and cover them up if you'd be so kind.
Tanya laughed and lowered her top.
"I'm sure I could find fingerprints if I checked closely," Jenny smirked.
Tanya frowned, then laughed. "I washed them all off, so you're out of luck."
"And probably anything else that was left on your body, too."
"That's disgusting, Jen."
"Yeah, but you didn't deny it."
Tanya curled her nose, then laughed again.
"I did have some good times," she said, sticking out her tongue at Jen.
"Did any of the good times have a name?"
"A couple of them, but not sure I remember them now."
"What happens in the Bahamas stays in the Bahamas, right?"
"Too bad you weren't there. We would have had a great time together." As she said that, she glanced out the front window and stood. She went to the screen door, opened it, bent, and picked up a small package.
"They usually ring the bell," Jenny said, watching as Tanya looked at the label. "I didn't order anything. Must be Mom's."
"Don't think so," Tanya said glumly.
"What's wrong?"
She handed the package to Jen.
"Fucking Dirk," Jenny snarled. "The Whore of Babylon. I'm surprised they'd address something that way."
"It's all about the money," Tanya quipped. "You pay; you get what you want."
"I'm not opening it."
"Go ahead. It's probably a going away gift for you."
"Probably. You can open it if you'd like," Jen said, disgust in her voice.
Tany shrugged and began tearing the wrapper. When it was open, she held up a small card.
"Want me to read it?" she asked.
"Why not."
"Now that I'm gone, you'll probably need this."
"Oh, lord," Jen groaned.
"Look. It's long and fat and has a little nub to vibrate your clit." Tany was laughing hard now.
"You can have it."
"Dirk's just looking out for you."
"Asshole! Dirk looks out for Dirk."
Tany plopped onto the couch, looking at the vibrator and smiling.
"So, what really happened?"
Jen sighed. "It's simple, really. Dirk got a job in Phoenix and wanted me to move there with him. I laughed and told him, no, and I thought he was going to hit me. And that's the other part of the story. I was scared of him and had a few looks at his ugly side. I was going to end it -- he just beat me to it."
"Thank God he didn't hit you, and good riddance to him. At least in Phoenix, he won't be able to bother you."
"I hope, but it still bothers me that I made such a mistake."
"I dunno; he always seemed nice when I was around."
"I had hints that I ignored because ... well, I guess I couldn't admit then that I had made that mistake until it almost cost me." Jen's expression suddenly changed as she looked at Tany. "Will you quit fooling with that vibrator?"
A quiet buzzing sound filled the room.
"Whoa, that's just on low," Tany said, wiggling her eyebrows.
"Just take it," Jen repeated. "You're probably turned on just listening to the buzz."
Suddenly the humming sound was louder.
"Wow, I'll take it."
Silence followed, with Jen shaking her head, a skeptical look on her face.
"Seriously, though, what are you gonna do now? You got another guy on the string?"
"String?" Jen said, laughing.
"Figured. What about my brother?" Big raised eyebrows from Tany.
"Was it second or third grade you started that theme?"
"Not quite, but it's still a good idea."
"Max is, well, a great guy."
"And?"
"And what?"
"I'm going to tell him you and Dirk broke up, and you're ready for him to ask you for a date. Simple, huh."
"Guh. I feel like I'm in junior high again."
"Jen, look at me. Max has wanted to, well, for starters, date you for about as long as I can remember, but he was sensitive enough to know that's not what you wanted. Why not give it a chance?"
Jenny stood and paced to one end of the room, then returned. She looked at Tany.
"It's a familiar question; I've seen it in novels and movies. What happens to you and me when Max and I date, we fight, and then we hate each other? You might end up in the middle."
"What if you and Max date, fall in love, marry, and you're my sis-in-law?"
"Tany, that's kind of a --"
"-- much more likely ending than yours," Tanya interrupted.
"You're kind of pinning me down, aren't you?"
"Yeah," Tany laughed, "but no. It's up to you."
Jen paced across the floor and back. Max was a great guy; she already thought the world of him, and that was a good start. He was three years older, but that just meant he was more established, not a bad thing. She used to see him all the time when she went to Tany's, but since he'd graduated, she hardly ever saw him. It might be fun -- getting to know a slightly different Max. When she looked, Tany was smiling at her.
"Okay."
Before she could say another word, Tany had her wrapped up with a giant hug.
"But you have to stay out of it. Just let me know when he'll be at your house, and I'll ... well, I don't quite know what I'll do yet."
Tany looked at her watch.
"About an hour," she said, looking like she was ready to explode.
"Is he so macho he'll get upset if I hint that I'd like to be asked for a date?"
"No," she answered decisively. "I've told you before he'd like to ask you for a date." She glanced at her watch. "Gotta go." She wiggled her eyebrows at Jen once again. "See you in an hour."
Jenn stood at the door as Tany crossed the street toward her house, cell phone to her ear. Max was being alerted, she was sure.
*****
Jen sighed and headed for the couch, thinking some planning might be in order. She stopped suddenly.
"Damn, I told her to take that thing with her," she said, glaring at the box with the red vibrator poking profanely out the top.
She'd never had a vibrator and had wondered about them a few times. She knew Tany had at least one and probably more, but she wasn't about to ask to see one of them. She picked it up. It was long and fat, she thought, giggling to herself. She twisted the end and heard that hum once again, only this time she could feel the gentle vibrations. She smiled and twisted it further. A louder hum and much more intense vibrations. A third twist and her mouth opened. Her imagination was at work, and she could almost feel the vibrations coursing throughout her body.
She shut it off and picked up the box, heading for the back door and the trash container. Two minutes later, the box was in the trash, and she was stashing the long, thick, red thing with the special nib in her bottom dresser drawer. Dirk had paid for it, knowing she'd throw it in the trash.
"If only he knew," she said, laughing.
But enough of fantasizing. She needed to think about what was going to happen, and it would be happening fairly soon. She pictured Max as he was the last time she'd seen him and wondered if he'd look the same now. He'd still be the same six-foot-three, she was sure. He'd played basketball in high school but wasn't quite good enough to have it cover his college education. His GPA had taken care of that, though, not quite enough to pay for everything, but enough that his parent's share was very manageable with no student debt at all.
So, Max was an engineer, and Jen had no idea what that entailed. She'd avoided math and science with a fervor derived from trying ... and not quite failing, but close enough that it intimidated her almost beyond measure. How would Max and she hit it off with that disparity in their background?
There was another thing, too. Max was just enough older than the two girls that he tended to
look after them
much of the time. He'd rescue them from difficulties, baied them out of trouble, stop them from getting into mischief, and seemed always to be there to take care of them. Jen wasn't looking for someone to look after her. Well, that wasn't entirely true, either. She wanted a man who'd look after her and take care of her without being her caretaker. She wasn't sure that made sense, but it did to her.
She was still on the couch thinking when her phone buzzed. She rolled her eyes. It had been less than thirty minutes.
"You work fast," she said, answering the phone.
"Didn't work at all. He was on his way to see us. Come on over, and you can be around when he gets here."
