Terry Smith had been friends with Sandy Garner since they were six years old. They were similar in every way, enjoyed the same sports and hobbies and told each other nearly everything. The one thing Terry held back was the biggest secret of all, one that Sarah could never know. When she turned 18, she started a relationship with a man. An older man. Sandy's father.
It started shortly after Terry's 18th birthday. It was the summer time, and like many summer days, Terry was spending the afternoon at Sandy's house. They preferred to spend the night at Sandy's house because since their parents got divorced a year ago, they could usually count on the house being empty. Sandy's mom had moved to another city and her dad often worked late.
The Garner's had a great house, with a pool in the backyard and a hot tub. Terry and Sandy had spent the entire afternoon by the pool, sunning and swimming. The two were still in the pool late in the afternoon, when Sandy's dad came home around 7 pm. He walked out to the pool with a beer in his hand, looking tired. Terry had always liked him, she felt comfortable enough around him to call him Mr. G.
"Hey girls," he said with a smile. "Nice day for a swim?"
Terry spoke up first. "Hey, Mr. G, how's it goin? You mind if I slum over here tonight?"
Tom Garner laughed. "Anytime Terry, you know you're welcome."
Terry had noticed that in the past year, Mr. G. had not been as happy and fun to be around as he once was. He seemed to be distracted and depressed. She figured it was the divorce. Being the cheerful sort, she was always looking to pick people up.
"Thanks Mr. G., YOU ARE the man," she said with a flirty smile.
Tom was used to his daughter's friends flirting with him, he found it amusing. He was obviously old enough to be their father, but he looked younger than his age and was still fit and attractive.
"I'll order some pizza," he said as he turned to walk back inside. "I'm sure you're hungry."
The girls cheered and went back to swimming and splashing around. After a little while, Terry decided she'd had enough and went in to take a shower.
Meanwhile, Tom had ordered the pizza and was going to take a quick run around the block before it got there. He had pulled on his running shorts, plugged his ipod into his ears and was looking for his favorite running shirt when it happened. It was purely innocent, accidental. He thought Terry was still in the pool, and had no idea that she was in the shower. The music in his ears blocked out the sound of the water running. He had nearly walked through the partially opened bathroom door before he looked up with a start.
In the mirror, through the glass door, he saw her, standing in the shower. He knew she had a cute figure from seeing her in a swimsuit, but nothing could prepare him for the vision he saw in the mirror. Her back was arched, her hands were up in her hair. She was massaging shampoo into her hair, which meant her eyes, thankfully, were closed. Initially Tom was too stunned to look away, then too stunned to move. Her body was incredible, the pose she held was magnificent. But the thing that had Tom totally stunned was her breasts. They were, in a word, perfect. Round and firm, with just the right lift, perfectly shaped within stark tan lines. Her nipples were adorable. Tom was transfixed, looking into the mirror for what seemed like hours. He could not take his eyes off of those incredible breasts, gently swaying underneath the soapy water.
At some point, Tom's eyes moved up from her breasts and he realized with a shudder that Terry had rinsed the shampoo out and her eyes were open, looking at the mirror, right toward him. Because of the angle, he couldn't tell if she could see him, and he feared that if he moved she would see the movement. So he stood there, and looked at her, watching her eyes, trying to see if she knew he was there. At some point it occurred to him that if she did know he was there, she wasn't freaking out about it, so he was guessing she wasn't looking at him.
After a while, she looked down, seemed to smile just a bit, and then turned slowly away from him. He took the opportunity to back up and then walk quickly out of the room. He went straight to his room, closed the door and sat down on his bed in a cold sweat. A million thoughts ran through his head, about half of them related to guilt, the other half wondering if she had seen him. He was horrified and embarrassed at what had happened, and scared of what might happen next.
Surprisingly, nothing happened. The pizza came, the three of them ate together. If Terry had seen Tom, she wasn't letting on in any way. It was as if it had never happened and Tom tried to convince himself that it didn't happen. After dinner, Tom locked himself in his room and thought about what might happen if Terry told Sandy, or her parents, or anyone, about him seeing her naked in the shower. It was a sleepless night.
It was still on his mind the next morning, as he drank his morning coffee and tried to read the paper. He didn't expect the girls to be up for several hours, so he was taken by surprise when Terry walked into the kitchen.
"Morning Mr. G," she said with a smile. "I have to take off early, I have to help my mom with some shopping."
Tom stood and nodded, thought briefly about explaining the previous day's accident, and then thought better. "Well, it was good to see you," he said. He immediately wished he could take the words back.
"Thanks for having me," smiled Terry. She moved quickly over to where Tom was standing, leaned in and gave him a quick, warm hug, and then was gone out the door.
Over the next days and weeks, Tom tortured himself over the episode. On the one hand he was wracked with guilt, but on the other hand he couldn't stop thinking about how beautiful Terry was in the shower. Occasionally he would find his mind wandering, thinking of watching her eyes, watching him, while he watched her. One night he even dreamed about it, except that in the dream she beckoned him to join her with an index finger, and he moved in slow motion, sliding his shorts off and joining her under the hot water. He was just about to kiss her when he woke up, sporting a huge boner and a cold sweat. He staggered into the bathroom and splashed cold water on his face, but it was still a long time before his arousal faded.
Whenever Terry came over, he made an effort to avoid too much contact with her. She was naturally warm and outgoing, so it was not awkward that she would give him a hug when she saw him, she did that with everyone. Much as he tried, he couldn't keep himself from lingering close to her, sometimes giving her a quick peck on the cheek, sometimes letting his hand stay on her waist for just a bit longer than usual.
Then he would go to his room, pour cold water on his face, remind himself she was too young, he was too old. Unfortunately, his second floor bedroom overlooked the backyard and the pool, so he found himself looking down at Terry, laying out or swimming in the pool in her bikini. He would watch her for hours, seeing the gentle sway of those breasts that he remembered all too well.
It was especially torturous when Terry spent the night. Tom would lay awake for hours, listening for noises, imagining that he heard someone walking around the house. Sometimes he would get up and go downstairs to the kitchen, walk by the bedroom where the girls were sleeping, imagine Terry coming out dressed in some silky pajamas, coming toward him in the darkness....
Then it was off to the bathroom, for more cold water. That girl was killing his water bill.
Thankfully, the summer came to an end and the girls were back in school, so Terry rarely came by and Tom could get her off his mind, at least part of the time. When she did come over, Tom could always look forward to a nice hug, and enough distance had passed since the shower episode so that he didn't feel weird about it. He had to admit to himself that he lusted after her, but it was an abstract, not a reality based, lust. He couldn't help but notice though, that whenever his daughter Sandy was in another room or outside, the hugs that he got from Terry lasted a little longer, and seemed a lot friendlier. Sometimes he wondered what the hug would be like if Sandy wasn't there. It was late in the spring before he found out.
Tom was home by himself on a warm afternoon when the doorbell rang and Terry was standing outside. He hadn't seen her in a while, and she had aged very well. She had on shorts and a tank top, and of course the usual big smile.
"Hey Mr. G, how's it goin'?" she said, stepping inside and giving him a hug.
While Terry had grown up to be a beauty, she was still on the short side. Her head came up to Tom's chest, and the smell of her hair intoxicated him. Tom relished the moment, letting his hands grip the small of her back and then letting them glide over her waist as he reluctantly let go.
