I looked at my phone and typed in the code Barry had given to me.
# 5 3 0 9
The double iron gate began to swing open and I wheeled my rental Kia up the winding blacktop driveway. Barry and Jen's lovely Tudor home stood up a hill and behind a large stand of pines and was invisible from the road. I'd visited many times before, but this time stood to be a little different.
I usually stayed with Barry and Jen when I had business in the city. I'd fly into LaGuardia, rent a car and drive up their place in Mount Kisco, usually trying to get there by cocktail hour. From there I had easy access to the commuter train into Manhattan for my meetings.
While it was a bit of trek to make my way up to Westchester County and their lovely home, it gave me a chance to hang out with two of my best friends from college. Barry and Jen had been college sweethearts three decades ago and were still going strong. He was a high-powered patent attorney and she was in demand as an interior designer. They'd been incredibly supportive during my divorce two years prior, and had always had my back. Yes, it would have been easier to stay in a hotel in Manhattan. But I would never find accommodations as nice as their palatial home and the comradery and warm welcome could not be beat.
That had all changed, however, on Monday. The first shoe dropped when Barry called to tell me he was, unfortunately, going to be out of town for my visit. He had been called to Philadelphia for a few days for a series of depositions on an important case he was working on. He'd be home Saturday, but that was the day I was to depart. Jen was going to be in town, however, and was looking forward to seeing me. That was okay with me - she was a gem.
The second shoe had dropped yesterday when I got a text from Barry.
Jake - Sorry to tell you this, but Jen also has to go out of town for a few days. She'll be there when you arrive on Wednesday, but got called down to North Carolina unexpectedly for some last minute furniture shopping for a good client and has to leave early Thursday morning, Sorry, man. You know the house is yours. And the good news is Stella is home for a week and we've made her promise to make sure you're comfortable. Really sorry - Barry
So it was not going to be one of my typical visits with late nights of wine and good cheer, but sometimes real life did get in the way. I'd still be able to enjoy the accommodations and a routine I had become accustomed to. Their lower level had been devoted to a very luxurious guest suite that exited out at the pool level one floor down from the main house. It was cushy and comfortable and it felt like it had a private pool with a sauna and a lovely view of the surrounding hills.
And Stella was in town. I hadn't quite gotten my head around that piece of news yet. Thinking back I realized I hadn't seen Stella in five or six years. She was following in her old man's footsteps and attending law school in Michigan. I was pretty sure she was in her last year. I'd seen her briefly one Christmas season when she was still an undergraduate. She'd gotten her mother's good looks and her father's sharp wit.
Our families had vacationed together in the early days when both of our kids were younger and fairly close in age. But as the years wore on it became too unwieldy to make vacation weeks work and we'd fallen out of that wonderful tradition. My divorce had further complicated things and it was unlikely we'd ever be sharing a lakeside cottage or an ocean condo again.
In any case, it would be fun to visit a bit with Stella and see what she was up to. As I pulled my car up into the parking court, I saw Jen walking down the stone steps to greet me. I squinted in the late afternoon sun as I got out of my car and walked toward Jen with my arms open.
"Jakey boy," she greeted me warmly. Damn if she wasn't still fine in her fifties. Some women defy gravity and age well and Jenny was one of them. She was dressed in shorts and a colorful top and had her blond hair up loosely. She looked casual and delicious, as usual.
"Hey, Jenny." I gave her a tight squeeze and a brief lip kiss as she held me by my arms and looked up at me.
"It's so good to see you. We are both so bummed about the travel thing. Damn. I was looking forward to hanging with you for a few days even with Barry gone. But, the best laid plans..."
"Yeah, I know. But, no biggie. That's the way it goes. I know the drill here at Villa Benson. I'll make the most of it."
"I know you will. Well, grab your bag and come inside. Cocktails await. You can take a swim if you want to. I've got dinner all set. At least we should take advantage of tonight."
I grabbed my bag and followed her inside. She steered me downstairs and told me to get comfortable and join her outside for a drink once I was unpacked. I changed into shorts and a summery shirt and joined her on the deck overlooking the pool and the gorgeous view.
A dry martini in a frosted glass was sitting on the coffee table awaiting my arrival. We toasted, sipped and sat back to catch up. It was great to see Jen, as always. She had one of those infectious personalities that made time fly when one was with her. I'd had a serious crush on her in college, but she only had eyes for Barry at that time and I let my own desires simmer over the years. Their marriage was solid as a rock from what I knew and I had never harbored any thoughts of doing anything about my attraction. I was going to enjoy this evening and the view - both the view of the hills beyond their pool, as well as the lovely lady seated across from me.
She invited me into the kitchen where she served up a simple Mexican dinner that we ate at their large granite island. The time flew by as we brought each other up to date on our current lives and reminisced about college days and beyond. It was such a lovely evening that we decided to return to the deck and finish our bottle of wine.
"So how is Stella doing? I hear she's in town. I can't wait to see her."
Jen looked at the clock on her phone quickly before responding. "Actually, she should be along soon. She went out to an early dinner with friends." Just as she said that her phone pinged and she smiled. "Actually, that's her coming through the gate now."
We continued to talk as I heard a car come up the driveway and pull into the garage. A short time later there was movement in the kitchen and the door to the deck opened. To say I was blown away by the lovely young woman who crossed the threshold would be an understatement.
As I mentioned I had seen Stella briefly about five earlier. It was a brief interaction at a holiday party and she was a lovely young coed even then. But she was now 25 and a fully blossomed woman. She reminded me of Jen in her youth, but she also had a bit of her father's Mediterranean blood in her DNA. She had most definitely inherited the best of each and the combination was a young woman that would turn heads anywhere.
She was wearing a soft summery dress that flowed as she walked out to greet me. Her long wavy hair was a delicious tangle of light brown with blond streaks of sin. Her open-toed sandals made her taller than her 5'-6" in stocking feet and her slender body was curvy in all the right places. She had sunglasses on her head and looked like she'd just been driving a convertible, which she probably had. I did my best not to ogle her in front of her mother, but this was going to be a test of my fortitude and self-control.
"Hi, Jake. It's so good to see you!" she said, with a gorgeous open smile. I know I was grinning from ear to ear myself.
She strode toward me with her arms open and I stood for a platonic embrace appropriate for an older gentleman and the daughter of his best friends. But even just placing my hands lightly on her back as we briefly embraced was enough to tell me that this young lady was blessed with an incredible body to go with her gorgeous face.
She had high cheekbones and her mother's pretty blue eyes. Her lips had that sinful curve that made it impossible for a man's thoughts not to contemplate what they would look like in an oral moment. Her body was model slender, but her small breasts still found a way to stretch the slinky bodice of her dress. Her long legs were on display below the short hem and highlighted by open toed heels that accentuated her regal stature.
"It's great to see you too, Stella. Geez, it has to have been five years or more. You were just a pup in college; now you're almost done law school. Incredible."
"Yeah, well, it's been a grind. It's nice to be home for a few days," she added, happily. "And nice to see you too, Jake."
