"Guess what?" my daughter said with a wide grin. "Chris is coming over for a trial." Chris is my cousin's son and the trial is an audition with the local theater group. Both 19, Chris and my daughter Carla get along very well since they were kids.
"Good, that's very good. I hope he gets the part." I was excited to see a relative. It's been quite a while since we last visited our native place down south. "Now there's a good reason to have the heater fixed," I diverted the topic. The heater was not functioning since the start of spring and winter is fast coming in.
"Oh, yes," Carla said as she went to her room. Our 2-room apartment is small but with a spacious living room. "Do you think we have to buy some beddings for Chris?" I shouted. Carla's face appeared in the gap of the door. "Yeah, what do you think? And he can probably stay in your room so we have to move your bed in mine." Carla earns the money so she decides.
Chris arrived and the audition was not to take place until 2 days. We gave him a tour of the city and the taste of a little nightlife, not to mention the tons of steak and lamb chops that crowded our freezer. Our only problem is having only one car that Carla uses in going to work. But Carla has her way. She had moved to the swing shift.
The audition results was taking some time and Chris was having a hard time with the cold weather. When at home he normally sits beside the heater's vent. As for Carla's room where I was temporarily staying, there's a portable heater to warm me up after a bath so I decided to lend it to Chris to augment the centralized in his room.
It was one late afternoon and I was preparing pot roast in the oven when Chris entered the kitchen shivering. "Don't you think the heater is not working, eh?" he asked me. I gave out a sigh. Indeed it was getting cold but I didn't notice. I asked Chris to get the portable heater and placed it on the table. We stayed in the kitchen until after dinner, watching the TV from afar.
Things were running smoothly until bedtime. There's only one heater and there's the 2 of us. And what if Carla comes in at 1 am? Since I decided on matters when Carla is not around, I offered Carla's bed to Chris so we can share the portable heater in Carla's room.
And there we were, I on my bed and Chris was on Carla's. The heat emitted by the portable was enough for me but not for Chris who's not used to the cold weather. I was afraid he might get sick especially so if he got the part in the theater play. And what would my cousin say? That I didn't take care of his son?
"Chris, come over here and join me so you won't feel cold." He was kind of shy but he feels at home with us. I focused the heater on my bed and he lay on my bed with his back on me. I did the same. He was still shivering and it worried me a bit. I touched his cheek but he felt okay. "Maybe you shouldn't have taken a bath," I admonished. "But I couldn't sleep without a bath," he replied with a quivering voice.
"Come, I'll make you warm," I said as I embraced him under the comforter. "Thanks," he said in return. I could feel his body warmth and I knew that he was feeling the same thing. My night dress is of a thick woolen material and he had his pajamas on. We remained in that position for sometime until I fell asleep.
I was awakened when Chris moved to face me. It seemed that I myself had moved because my back was on him. His hand reached for my side and embraced me lightly. In a short while his hand went limp, presumably into a slumber again. The warmth coming from both our bodies gave me comfort and contentment. But I happened to look at the luminous clock. It was already 11 pm. and Carla was due to come home at 1 am. What would she think if she finds us in this uncompromising position? That's regardless if the heater was down.
With much care, I moved to sit on the bed, thinking deeply of what to do. It is a fact that we cannot sleep in a room temperature of less than 15 degrees. Just then Chris moved again, his hand groping so I went back to the same position but this time facing the ceiling. His hand moved on my abdomen and his leg on mine. I was locked and the feeling was nice.
I had been separated for a long time and raising Carla occupied most of my spare time. When Carla got a job she made me quit my job at the factory. With my good physique, there were guys looking at me but not serious enough so I just ignored them. Close friends normally rib me for blind dates, saying that I'm still young. Yeah, I agree that 40 is still young.
I was wondering why I couldn't sleep. Perhaps because there's a man's hand on top of my abdomen, just below my breast. And a man's leg is on top of my thigh just below my mound. It tickled me with that idea. Slowly, I placed my hand under Chris' hand and slightly pushed it upwards, hitting my nipple. Ah, it was nice so I nudged his hand in a rhythm as if he was caressing my breast.