I was in the living room reading the paper when I heard the door to the garage open, then slam.
"Hi Tom!!" It was my friend Kelly's cheery voice. I got up to greet her, giving her a kiss and a long hug, taking the opportunity to run my fingers through her hair.
Kelly and my wife had been best friends, though she and her husband Walter were really friends to us both, and we had often gone to dinner or other events together during the previous ten years. Kelly had taken it upon herself to look after me since my wife had passed away about four months earlier, dropping food off and helping me with some of the other aspects of moving on after losing someone.
I'm pretty independent, and normally would be brushing off the assistance, but the truth was, I liked Kelly. No, I adored Kelly. She had just turned 73-I'm 59-but has a good outlook on life, and she's a lot of fun to be with. She has a pretty smile, and I love the way her blue eyes light up. Unlike a lot of women her age, she has not cut her hair, and her chestnut locks cascade down over her shoulders to about midway down her back. While some might consider her not all that attractive, I didn't mind the bit of a belly, and I really do like her chunky hips and thick thighs, and the way she often would wear tops that showed off her grapefruit size tits. She's really cute in a grandmotherly kind of way. We'd always been flirty, and we have an easy comfort with each other. We'd never laid a hand on each other, except for a hug when meeting or parting, though I suspect our spouses thought we had a crush on each other.
Today, Kelly had on a pair of denim shorts and a wrap top that crossed over itself just below her bust. The top was a little loose, but not enough that she was falling out of it. From the way she was bouncing as she walked through the kitchen, it appeared she was not wearing a bra, and it sure didn't feel like it when I hugged her.
"I brought you some chicken enchiladas," she said, opening the fridge. I enjoyed her cooking, and her enchiladas were always a tasty treat.
"Thanks," I said, clearing some space for the pan. "I love these things. It won't take me long to finish the whole pan."
"Last time I brought these over, you said you'd make me some brownies," said Kelly, teasing about a prior promise. She loved my brownies-not that they were anything special, just Duncan Hines out of the box. Like me, she loves them fudgy, and any time I made them, I'd make sure she had a few extra to take home.
"You doing anything the next hour and a half or so?? I'll make some up now. Just think, hot, gooey, fudgy brownies to take home."
"I'm not in a hurry, and you know how I love chocolate," said Kelly, smiling. "What can I do to help??"
"Reach down into that cabinet and pull out the large glass pan," I said, pointing to one of the lower cabinets. Kelly leaned to open the door and reach in. I was not thinking about her top, but when she leaned forward, my suspicion about her lack of a bra was confirmed, as I could see her left breast swinging free. This was a new thing, as she had always worn one in the past, and I often got a glimpse of a pretty bra when we'd all be out together. She handed me the pan, and I pulled the mix out of the pantry. We got the rest of the ingredients together, and got started.
Kelly was helpful, and we worked well together, moving around each other easily, gently guiding each other with a hand on a shoulder or waist. Unlike in the past, now our touches lingered, Kelly leaving her hand on me, and I doing the same. I pulled her close to me a couple of times. She'd briefly lay her head on my shoulder when I did that, and I'd kiss her hair. I'd occasionally done that when we were out if our spouses were not looking; Kelly had a way of putting her arm around me, knowing I'd react by pulling her close and kissing the top of her head. Now that we were alone, we took advantage of the fact that we didn't have to sneak it. Sometimes when I'd lean to kiss her, she'd look up and meet my lips with hers in a short kiss. This was new. We'd always been flirty with each other, but today, Kelly seemed quite playful. As we finished and put the brownies in the oven, I again hugged her, leaning down to kiss her hair, as I had done many times. She looked up as l leaned over, her lips meeting mine. We shared a short kiss, then another, slightly longer.
"Now you see how the magic happens, not that there's much to it," I said as we stood facing each other.
"I love how fudgy and smooth they are," said Kelly, looking up at me. "And I think we have plenty of magic."
I smiled at her a moment. Was she really coming on to me?? "You see how I do it," I said, trying to keep things from getting out of control. "Just make sure all the mix is blended, and stir til they're really smooth."
Kelly laughed. "Well, they always seem like magic to me." She looked up at me again, this time with a look in her eyes I had not seen before. "Being with you today has been like magic," she said, standing up on tip toes and giving me a slightly lingering kiss. As she kissed me, she was toying with the button that was the highest one I had buttoned on my shirt.
"Yes it has, and keeps getting more magical," I said, figuring, what the hell, go with it, let's see where this leads.
"I know it's been several months since Dee passed, and I thought, as a friendly gesture, I could give you some, well, relief."
I looked at Kelly a moment. "Kelly, you know I've had a crush on you for years. If this is a serious offer, I'm not going to turn you down."
Kelly smiled, undoing my button, and playing her fingers in the thick hair on my chest. "I knew you were fond of me, and truth be told, I didn't mind the attention. I've had something of a crush on you too. I used to live for the days we'd all be out, and you'd hug me and kiss the top of my head. So yes, I'm quite serious."
"How are you going to explain this to Walter??" I asked.
