Special thanks to ldycassiopea for some talented editing. I wrote this in the vein of some of my favorite stories on this site. I encourage feedback. This is my first story post though, so be gentle!
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I was finally on my own! The summer after I graduated from high school, my cousin, Dave, had invited me up to Northern Virginia to hang out at his house before I headed out to college. I was thrilled to be on my own at 18. The opportunity to hang out with my hotshot lawyer-cousin outside of Washington, DC, was too good to pass up. My parents were cool with it--as long as I helped Dave around the house. It was beyond me as to why he’d even bought a house to begin with. He was never home except on weekends, but he said the investment alone was worth it. I didn’t care about anything except the fact that his place was within walking distance from the cool shops and bars of the neighborhood, as well as half a mile from the Metro, which would take me into Washington.
Dave took a week off from his law firm when I got there in June. We spent the week touring the highlights of D.C. during the day and exploring the nightlife (or at least to the extent that my fake ID would let me) after dark. I had never been to such a thriving city before, and was thrilled with all the history and power that exuded from the place. I admit it; I was a little bit of a nerd. I had only dated one girl in high school, and that was more of an intense friendship than a real boyfriend/girlfriend relationship. The most that we had ever "done" was kissed, but I was too shy to push for anything more. I was perpetually the "good friend" that all my female companions could confide in but no one really thought of in a sexual light. This didn’t really help my self-esteem when it came to women, and made me very self-conscious if I ever acted in a way that bordered on flirting. It always felt like I wasn't being earnest when I flirted. That, however, did nothing to quench the hormones that burned inside of me. I had discovered the wonders of pornography, though, at the end of middle school. Since I resigned myself to not being able to get "the real thing" anytime soon, my mind and the few glimpses of the beauty and eroticism of the nude female body in friends' magazines were the food for my fantasies.
After a week soaking up the culture of D.C. and suffering through the sweltering heat of the beginning summer, Dave got a call from work. As soon as he hung up, he told me he was going to have to head up to New York for about a week for some negotiations, but that if I had no problem hanging out on my own I was welcome to stay there until he got back. I was thrilled to be able to stay, and thanked him for not insisting I head back to my parents. My only concern was that I really didn't know anyone in the area, so I'd have to learn the place on my own.
"Dude, you will have a blast I'm sure, but no parties in my pad, okay?" Dave laughed. "And beware of Susan, too!"
"What do you mean?" I asked. I had never heard him mention any women in the area except for his few friends, and among them I didn’t remember meeting a Susan. Dave was one of those "married to the job" kind of guys, without much of a personal life. I'd bet that it would not be a huge gamble to say that Dave's social life was pretty meager as it was, so hearing him mention a woman's name perked my ears up.
"She's that woman you've seen in the mornings coming back from running usually when we're heading out. How could you miss her? . She's cool as hell, I must say, but she always seems, well, just a little “forward” for my taste."
Dave told me that Susan had moved in next door to him shortly after he’d moved in a couple of years ago. She was a 35 year-old doctor who worked in the District, had never been married, and threw crazy parties. Dave told me that she was hot, but he'd never even tried to hit on her. Plus, since she was about seven years older than he was and his thing was younger ladies, she just didn't seem his type. I remembered seeing her a couple of mornings ago. She may have been twice my age, but you could definitely tell that she was a runner. She had brown hair and dark eyes, and her legs were tight like a model’s. I remembered she’d run in only a black jog bra and black short-tights. Her hair had been bundled back into a ponytail that bounced as she ran. Yeah, she was hot by my standards too, but in the untouchable, movie star way.
"Since I'll be gone, and she has a crazy on-call schedule, I'm sure she'd love to see more of the monuments with you. Don't be scared, man, she's cool." I laughed. I wasn't scared, just a bit unsure. It was not that I had a problem meeting new people, but older women always held a fascination to me. I wouldn't go so far as to say I'd pass up a babe of my own age for one, but since I was more the thinker-type, I really appreciated a more mature and intellectual woman. Maybe that's why I never really seemed right with all the girls my own age. I had been looking forward to just doing my own thing, but hanging out with a friend of Dave's might be cool too.
"Yeah, no problem," I said. "Invite her over to dinner if you want. I don't want to just knock on her door like an idiot and say 'Uh, hi, my cousin told me you were cool.'"
Dave laughed at me. "Okay Mr. Bravery. If she's free I'm sure she'll come by. She is easy to talk to."
Dave got hold of Susan and invited her over to dinner that night. I set the table while Dave cooked. I heard the doorbell ring. "Dude, you wanna get that or would you rather her stand in the sauna outside?" Dave shouted from the kitchen.
I strutted to the door and opened it to find Susan, just as gorgeous as she’d looked on the couple of mornings I had seen her run by. She was wearing sandals, white shorts, and a light green tanktop with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She was tan all over, with bright red-painted toenails and a firm body I had only seen on the soccer-girls and cheerleaders from my high school. The only way I would have been able to tell that she was over 30 was from the slight laugh wrinkles around her eyes. She was smiling, and looking at me expectantly with her big green eyes.
"Uh, can I come in?" She laughed. Shit, I had been looking her up and down with my jaw hanging open like a fool! I opened the screen and stammered out, "I'm so sorry, I… well… I'm Andy, the idiot!" Save the situation with some humor, I thought.
She stepped in and laughed, shaking my hand. "And I'm Susan, glad to meet you. Dave told me that he had to skip out of town to kill his karma as a legal marauder for the week. So you are stuck here, bored, and with the nation's capital before you. I guess I've been recruited as your new guide."
I smiled, glad she was not fazed with my immaturity at the door. "Well, if you are free, I have nothing better to do. I guess I'm in your hands." I shrugged and smiled.
"Now wouldn't that be nice?" she purred, then laughed as my face reddened. "Did I embarrass you? Chill out Andy, and go tell your cousin that he better have cooked for an army because I am famished."
Suffice it to say dinner was amazing and the conversation was great, just as Dave had said. Though Susan was in her 30s, she seemed as smart, hip, and fun as the coolest college gal. I found myself even flirting with her, which coming from me was rare as hell. The night ended with Dave thanking Susan for coming by. We both walked her to the door.