Tess watched as her neighbor's nephew waved them goodbye, he was very good-looking, the single 39 year old woman thought. Still, no reason to get excited, at age 22 he certainly wasn't going to be interested in an old bag like her. Not that she really felt that old, or even thought that she looked like an old bag, but for a cute 22 year old male that's probably what he'd see. Oh well, too bad, she sighed... first new guy in the neighborhood in years and way too young for her. Tossing her short brown hair over her shoulder, she decided to make a casserole for him... chances were on his first day in he wouldn't know the kitchen there very well. And she should introduce herself anyway since her neighbors Pat and Kathy had asked her to keep an eye out on him during the summer while he house-sat for them. Not that they didn't trust him implicitly, but it never hurt to have an extra pair of eyes.
Damn he was really cute, she thought as she watched the tall young man with black hair turn to go back into the house. No, that wasn't the way to go, lusting after a guy that was almost young enough to be her sun was definitely not the way to go. Humming to herself she began to fix up a ham and cheese noodle casserole, figuring that she could keep half for herself and give half to him.
*************************
Introducing herself was fun, although when she got an up-close look at his very handsome face with their startlingly light brown eyes, she wished that she'd taken a little more care with her appearance. Tess had no idea that Kent (as he introduced himself) thought that she looked pretty good for an older lady, with her hair up in a neutral ponytail and a modest rounded tank top with shorts, just a hint of cleavage showing, she looked a lot more relaxed and softly feminine than most of those girls who spread on tons of make up and squeezed their bodies into clothes a size too small. Instead she looked comfortable and fit, and his eyes definitely noticed the round curves of her breasts as he handed her a glass of wine.
She stayed over there for a pleasant evening with him, finding his conversation to be a lot more interesting than she would have expected. Very mature for his age... and awfully nice to look at while they talked. Surprisingly she had quite a lot of fun getting to know him, and was pleased when he invited her over for dinner in two nights - saying that he wanted to make sure he was being a good neighbor after she'd been so nice to cook for him on his first night there.
******************************
The next day Tess hummed as she worked in her garden, pulling weeds from around her beloved flowers and wiping sweat from her face with the back of her hand. For a moment she frowned, feeling as though she was being watched, goose bumps tingling along the back of her neck at the sensation. Looking around she didn't see anyone so she just shrugged and bent down to work.
Half an hour later Kent came outside with two full glasses of lemonade, ice clinking temptingly as he walked towards her with a smile. Smiling back Tess rose to her feet, pulling off her gloves as he approached.
"You looked like you were working up a bit of a sweat," he told her, "And I just made these so I thought you might appreciate."
"Oh definitely," Tess said with much appreciation as she accepted one of the cold glasses, wiping a few strands of sweaty hair from her face, "Thank you so much for thinking of it!"
"No problem," he said.
For a few moments silence stretched between them as Tess tried not to gulp the lemonade, not wanting to look unladylike. She was intensely aware of the fact that she was sweaty, her legs from her knees down were covered in dirt, and her shirt was clinging to the sweaty curves of her cleavage... and also that he was trying not to look too closely at that area of her body. She blushed. Finally he looked down at her garden, obviously trying to find something to say to her.
"So, they're beautiful flowers." he said.
"Thanks," smiling her appreciation, "The garden was pretty awful when I first moved in, I've been trying to fix it up ever since." She began walking him around the garden, showing him the different flowers and telling him their names, praying that she wasn't boring him to death. He didn't seem bored though as he followed her around, asking questions and commenting on some of his particular favorites.
When her glass was empty she smiled a little wistfully and told him, "Well I should probably get back to work."
"Right," he smiled back... and did she imagine that there was a little disappointment on his face as well? Yeah, she probably just imagined it. Handing her glass back she thanked him again and waved as he went back into the house.
But for the rest of the afternoon she just couldn't quite shake the feeling that someone was watching her... and she wondered if it was him.
*********************************************
Preparing to go over to his house for dinner the next day was rather nerve-wracking... she had no idea what to wear. Obviously she didn't want to dress up too much because she didn't want him to think that an old lady like her was putting the moves on a young stud like him, but at the same time she didn't want to look as frumpy as she had the last time. Finally she settled on a pair of shorts that were a little bit shorter than she usually wore to work in the garden, and a white tank top that made her skin look creamy and smooth and her hair lustrous brunette, it clung to her curves a little without being tight. Letting her hair settle in wavy locks down to her shoulders, she went over and knocked on his door.
The pre-dinner stress had definitely been worth it as his eyes involuntarily traveled over the planes and curves of her body and he smiled his appreciation of her efforts. Dinner that night was even more pleasant that the glass of wine had been a few nights before, although there were a few moments of awkward silence. Breaded chicken with spaghetti was definitely one of her favorite foods so when in doubt she just ate until they managed to pick up the threads of their conversation again.
At the end of the meal she helped him bring dishes into the kitchen and accidently stumbled on her way, the plate pressed against her white shirt and a splotch of spaghetti sauce was on her stomach.
"Oh damn," she said, putting the plates down as Kent looked over and saw the problem.
"Here," he grabbed a damp dishtowel and moved towards her, "Let me help."
Tess blushed a little as her hands hung uselessly and he dabbed at her stomach with the dishtowel... wiping the offending red from her shirt. Looking up she smiled to thank him, and her breath caught in her throat as she realized that they were suddenly very very close and she was looking straight up into those light brown eyes. Black hair and light eyes were a very attractive combination, she thought a little dizzily as the moment caught them.
Finally he kind of smiled and pulled away, "There... I hope that got it out."