THE DINNER INVITATION
Like any other neighborhood, ours has gone through its cyclical changes. When we moved here thirty years ago, it had an abundance of young families. Over the years it then became predominantly filled with empty nesters; and now it's beginning to cycle back to young families again. I remained in our home, after my wife's passing and our boys having moved away to begin their careers. There are so many memories that were made under this roof which I will always cherish. This was primarily why I stayed. That is, until recently.
I have developed a friendship with a female neighbor who lives directly across the street from me. The family is a young couple with two elementary-aged children. The mom, Amber, works sparingly as a real estate agent. She switched to part-time once they started to have a family, primarily to keep busy and get a chance to get out of the house occasionally. They can easily afford to live on her husband's salary alone.
Her husband, Matt, in sales, is away from home a lot due to work. He's the typical college frat boy born with a silver spoon in his mouth. You know the type. Arrogant. Knows everything. Our paths crossed only a few times in the two years since they've moved in, and I've concluded that he's not the type of person I would like to spend my free time with. I'm not sure what Amber sees in him, but love is a strange thing.
With Matt gone so much, Amber is basically raising the 2 kids alone. If she's not working in the yard, she's either playing with the boys, or chauffeuring them to soccer and baseball games. I would consider her a single parent since she isn't getting any help from her husband raising their kids, other than financially. She has a hectic life and rarely has time for herself and has no social life whatsoever.
As I mentioned, over the last couple of years my friendship with Amber has grown. What started out as short, neighborly conversations that consisted of nothing more than an exchange of pleasantries, talking about the weather, etc., has now grown into a relationship where we can depend on each other when necessary.
I have helped her out with "guy things", like changing flat tires, or minor repairs around her house, and she has brought over many dinners since she knows that I'm all alone and how difficult it is to cook for one. Amber is a terrific cook too. I had to increase my gym frequency to work off the extra calories she was providing. The extra work has paid off, as I'm noticing the results from the extra time that I am putting in. Apparently, I wasn't the only one.
A few weeks ago, on a Friday afternoon, as I was working in the yard and sweating profusely in the late summertime heat, I felt something cold on my bare back. I jumped and spun around to find Amber there, smiling, with a tall, cold, glass of lemonade.
"You look like you could use this right about now.", she said motherly.
"You're a life saver.", I replied as I gulped the huge glass down. Some of it was dripping onto my bare chest, but I didn't care. The cold contrast against my heated torso was refreshing.
Amber noticed it too and began to wipe off my chest with her bare hand. "Honestly. You're as bad as my boys.", she said scoldingly. "Except my boys don't have such a nice build as you do." Her eyes were giving me the once over as she was biting her lower lip.
I noticed that her hand stayed on my chest even after the lemonade was cleaned off. I thanked her for the compliment and the cold drink.
Amber then broke out of her trance and asked, "What are you doing for dinner tonight?"
I replied that I had nothing special planned, as her hand was still on my chest. I don't think she even realized it. Then again, maybe she did.
She said excitedly, "Great! Then I'm inviting you over. Matt is out of town with his friends for a golf weekend. And the boys are leaving for their grandparents' tonight and all of them will be gone until Sunday dinnertime. So, I won't take 'no' for an answer. How does 7:00 sound?"
I said that 7:00 would be perfect, as Amber gave a light squeal like a schoolgirl who was just asked to the prom.
As Amber turned to leave, she removed her hand slowly from my chest and slid it down over my 6-pack as she pulled away and commented her approval with a hushed, under her breath, "Mmm. Mmm. Mmm."
As she turned and headed back to her house, I couldn't help but stare at the little jiggle her bubble butt was making in her tight, black, satin shorts with every step she took. "Geez. You dirty old man. You're old enough to be her father." I mumbled to myself and went back to my yardwork.
By the time I finished I had just enough time for a shower. Afterward, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror, looking at my middle-aged body and thinking how far I had come. Seven years ago, I was overweight and had high blood pressure. I wasn't leading a very healthy lifestyle. Then my world was shattered when my beloved wife of 25 years died of a massive heart attack. That was my wake-up call. If a person in as good of health as she could die from a heart attack, I would have to be a ticking time bomb. I didn't want her to have died in vain, and I didn't want to orphan our two sons who were still minors at the time.
So, I made the decision to throw out all the junk food and stopped eating fast food. Instead, I began to eat healthy and go to the gym five days a week. The work has paid off in more ways than one. I am not only healthier and looking better, but I feel better. I have much more confidence, energy, and stamina than I did when I was seven years younger. And I've noticed that I've been getting some attention from the fairer sex lately, as Amber displayed earlier in the day with the lemonade.
I looked at the clock and realized I was running late. I began to get dressed. Since it was so damn hot out, I decided to go with something that would breathe, and decided on a light-blue, cotton crew neck shirt and khaki shorts, with sandals. The lighter colors were a good contrast against my tanned skin. The shirt fit snuggly over my chiseled torso. The veins in my bronze arms were popping from my workout earlier in the day. I figured I looked presentable enough for a friendly dinner with my neighbor.
I grabbed a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and made my way across the street. It was still hot and humid outside. I could feel the sweat build up on my back in just a few seconds.
Amber answered the door in a white, cotton dress with a plunging neckline, that hugged her body like a glove and emphasized her curves. Her sparkling brown eyes danced when she smiled. She had her chestnut brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She wore her makeup conservatively, but was wearing pinkish lipstick that made her sensual, full lips look moist and inviting. Someone with her natural beauty didn't need much make-up. I couldn't help but notice that her nipples were poking through the thin material. A result from the a/c blasting inside that I experienced as the cold air hit me when she opened the door. It was hard to believe that she was the mother of two.
"Welcome neighbor!", Amber said as she broke my trance with her warm greeting. "Boy, don't you clean up well.", she added.
"Well, seeing how lovely my hostess looks, I had to step up my game.", I replied.
"Aren't you sweet.", she said as she leaned in and gave me a peck on the cheek. The perfume she was wearing smelled heavenly. She gave me a wink, as she took the bottle of wine from me and invited me inside. As I followed her inside to the living room, my eyes bore a hole in her luscious ass. She told me to make myself at home as she went to put the bottle of wine in the refrigerator. I couldn't take my eyes off her body and how that dress showed off her shapely, tanned thighs. I took a seat on the sofa to hide my developing erection.
Amber asked if I would care for a drink, and I told her that a scotch on the rocks would be wonderful. A few minutes later she returned with my drink, and one for herself. She sat down on the couch next to me while we waited for dinner. We talked about pretty much every topic under the sun.
The scotch really hit the spot. I sucked it down quickly due to the warm day. I was surprised how Amber was keeping up with me. She refreshed both of our drinks. "I'm sorry, but dinner will be about another 20 minutes. It was chaos over here about an hour ago, trying to get two boys ready for a weekend visit to my parents.", she said as she handed me my second scotch.
