Jesse's Reunion

Special thanks to IJS0904 for editing this story and serving as a sounding board for all my crazy ideas.

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I punched the code at the gate at the front of my driveway. Fixing that thing had been one of the most expensive and best investments I had made to the property so far.

I live on twenty acres of land at the end of a dead end road five miles outside of the town I grew up in. The old man who farmed the original one thousand plus acres died in the mid-eighties and, with no direct heirs, the family fought over the vacant property for nearly thirty years.

The first thing they put up for sale was a 1967 Ford Fairlane that didn't run, but the old man just wouldn't part with it. I went there with the hopes of buying the car to restore it and left with a handshake agreement to buy everything.

I sold my house in town and, with the money I had in savings and a recent inheritance of my own, paid for the place outright. It was mine, but thirty years of vacancy had taken a toll.

Over the last four years, I had finished the first floor and semi-detached garage, was half done with the second floor, demolished six structures, and converted the old hay barn into a large garage, workshop, and play area. That's where I kept the Fairlane and Mark's 1971 Plymouth Barracuda.

The property was gated (my most recent repair), quiet, and a big source of pride.

At least once a week, Mark and I would get together and "tinker with the cars." Sometimes that meant we would work on them, sometimes that meant we would look at them and drink.

When I pulled in the driveway, Mark was in the barn. He had just received a few more parts that had been missing from his car, so he was anxiously toying with the Plymouth.

"It's 5 o'clock on Sunday and you're just getting home? You left at 4 on Saturday? Either someone died or you got laid."

I grabbed a beer from the fridge for him and poured myself some of the bourbon I picked up on the way home. I had also picked up a pizza and we tore into it.

"You won't be reading an obituary any time soon."

"Was she as good this time around?"

"Better."

"Do tell."

And I did.

"She didn't even let you all the way in the door?"

"Barely."

"Well, I don't think you have to worry about whether this was a one night fling or if she's really into you. She answered that pretty clearly."

"You could say that."

"Did the two of you actually talk about what's going on?"

"After our first go around, yeah."

"First?"

"I was there over twenty hours. If you think we were done after the first hour, you don't know me as well as you think you do."

"That's right. I forgot. I'm married. I quit having sex ten years ago."

"Then explain Jacob."

He almost spit out a mouthful of beer.

"Touché. So... you admit to getting laid. You're an asshole again, so you're in a good mood. How did we get from point A to point B?"

"We spent most of Saturday talking, trying to figure out what's going on between us. I'm not sure we came to any conclusions, other than, well..."

"Well, what?"

"Her orgasms."

"I thought she already had those."

"Multitasking. It's an art form."

"So, most of your conversation was during sex?"

"Before, during, and after. She's like a beagle on a leash. Once you let her loose, she's hard to settle down."

"And that little hang-up that you still won't tell me about, is it still there?"

"It's permanent."

"Crap. What did she have to say, other than, 'OH MY GOD'?"

"The veil of secrecy remains. We both know that can't go away. We enjoy being with each other, both in bed and out. For the time being, we're just going to roll with things as is. Neither of us is looking to date anyone else right now, so it works out."

"So, you're fuck buddies?"

"We've basically known each other our whole lives. We count each other among our closest friends. I think it's a little more than that."

"I'd better be the first person you call when that veil finally tears."

------

Fast forward four months to the end of July.

My trips to see Jesse and her kids became more frequent, as did the prodding from Mark. He saw something had changed with me, and it was killing him that I couldn't, or wouldn't, tell him what the issue was with Jesse and I. He saw no possible reason why we were hiding our relationship.

I was installing the baseboards in one of the upstairs bathrooms after work when my phone buzzed.

Jesse: Is now a bad time? I tried calling and you didn't answer.

Me: I didn't hear it ring. Working on the house and making a bunch of noise.

Jesse: Do you have anything going on the third week of this month?

Me: I'll have to check, but I'm sure I can go down there at least one day.

Jesse: Not day. Week.

Me: Am I missing something?.

Jesse: Riley and Dale are going on vacation with their dad. Tanya got a new job up there and is working full time until school starts in September. I'm owed a week of vacation and wanted to get out of the city. I was hoping you wouldn't mind having some company.

Me: What will you tell your parents?

Jesse: Brooke's boyfriend owns a cabin in the Smokies that he rents when they aren't using it. She already gave me a copy of the Airbnb info and will cover for me if necessary. She just thinks mom and dad don't like you.

Me: We don't have any major projects going on at work. I was planning on taking two weeks off to fix a few things around here before winter hits. I'll tell my boss if he desperately needs me, he can call. Otherwise, I'll go AWOL that week. He won't say anything. I'm his boss's pet project.

Jesse: Perfect! I'll bring some work clothes in case I need to get dirty with you.

Me: I'd prefer you think dirty about me. There are certain places sheet rock dust won't clean up. Or so I've heard.

Jesse: ASSHOLE!

Me: No, I'm not.

Jesse: I know. And there is another matter we need to address.

Me: What's that?

Jesse: Mark.

Me: Agreed. I'll start making the plans.

Jesse: I'm already looking forward to it. I love you, Cole.

Me: I love you too.

------

Jesse knew I viewed Mark as more of a brother than friend. I was the best man at his wedding. I was at the hospital for the birth of both of his sons. I was the person who told him his father died.

She felt guilty that I couldn't tell him about us, and she wanted to fix that.

------

Jesse came straight to my house from work that Friday. I was waiting for her outside when she pulled up. I opened her car door, and as soon as she was out of her seat belt, she was in my arms. We kissed for five minutes before saying a word to each other.

I grinned at her. "If this is what happens every time you haven't seen me for two weeks, I may have to stay away more often."

"Don't even think about it, mister."

"I would ask how you are doing, but I can see by the smile on your face, you're doing fine. Not that you aren't fine regardless."

"This place is fabulous. I can see why you love it out here."

"The property is great. The house is still an eyesore. Painting the outside is the last item on the agenda."

We unloaded her bags and she parked her car in the garage.

As soon as we got to the master bedroom, she dropped what she was carrying on the floor and sat on the bed with a thud.

"I see you didn't spare any expense with this thing."

"Want to give it a test drive?"

"Easy there, tiger. There's a time and place for everything."

"I've got the time. We're in the right place."

"Let me at least get comfortable and eat something. You wouldn't want me getting cramps, now would you?"

I gave a fake, exaggerated shudder. She shook her head at me.

"You walked right into that one."

"Where's the ladies room?"

I pointed to the back of the room.

"To the left."

I went back to the kitchen to finish dinner. A few minutes later, Jesse walked up behind me silently and put her arms around my waist.

"I like what you've done with the place."

"The lighting sucks in most of the rooms. I have an electrician coming out this week to see what the issue is. It's probably just old wiring. I'll have to give you the guided tour tomorrow when you can see better."

"How big is the house?"

"3800 square feet of living space, plus the two garages. More than I'll ever need. But, if I decide to sell when I'm finished, I can more than double what I put into it and still have the car."

She stepped around me and sat on the counter right by the stove where I was cooking.

"Be careful. You might burn that perfect little ass of yours."

"I'll take my chances."

She sat there watching me work in silence.

We soon ate and she cleaned up the mess while I fixed us both drinks.

She took hers from my hand and looked up at me. "Why don't you show me your favorite place on the property."

"Second favorite. Daylight's running out. We'll save the other spot for when you can actually see."

"I'll take what I can get."

I led her onto the porch. It wrapped around the whole house, and at some point, the previous owner screened in a part of it on the back side. This side faced away from any nearby civilization, and the woods around the property shielded it from the lights in town. There was no moon or clouds, so it was almost pitch black except for the stars. I had two lounge chairs set up there.

"Like everything else here, it needs to be redone. But the view won't change."

I sat down and leaned the chair halfway back. I looked at Jesse, wondering why she was still standing. When I was settled, she sat on my lap, laid back against me, grabbed a nearby blanket, and covered both of us. She pulled my arms around her waist and gently rubbed my forearm, not saying a word.

That was where we slept.

------

We spent most of Saturday touring the house and property. It was wooded up front, so the house wasn't visible from the street, but trees were sparse around where the buildings were. The northeast corner looked, from a distance, like it had been left to nature. That was where we headed last.

There was a line of trees about twenty feet deep that led to a six foot drop-off. Below was a thirty foot wide, fast moving creek that ran about 1000 feet on my property. The tree canopy kept it almost completely shaded, so the water stayed fairly cold.

The old man had found some rocks and created a set of steps to the bottom. I often go back there with a bottle of whiskey and sit on the bank, listening to the water.

"You were right. This place is better. I can't believe you found this property for what you paid for it."

"I got lucky. I wasn't the first person to make an offer on the car, but I asked a lot of questions. When I offered to buy everything as is, meaning they didn't have to put any effort into cleaning the place up, they were willing to take below market value. Time is money. It also helps that Mark's wife could do all the title work, so closing costs were next to nothing. She made up for it selling my old house."

She grabbed my arm and locked our hands together.

"Would you mind if I started coming up here with the kids? We've rented cabins before, and they love it. And Dale would die as soon as he saw the cars. It would also give me a chance to decompress."

"You're welcome here any time."

She kissed me on the cheek and we went back to the house.

We cooked dinner, and she excused herself to get changed. I brought the food to the barn and set up the poker table.

That's when Mark called.

"I'm getting booze now. Do you need anything?"

"No. I'm good."

"See you in 15."

"I'll be in the barn."

------

As usual, Mark let himself in. I had already poured my first drink and was under the hood of the Fairlane.

As soon as Mark was in the door, I texted Jesse that he was here.

"So, what's on the agenda for tonight?"

"Come sit down."

I motioned Mark towards the table.

"Originally, I had planned to finish hooking up the fuel injection, but things changed."

"What things?"

The spread on the table had him more than a little confused.

Jesse opened the door and walked in. To say Mark was surprised was an understatement.

I never got tired of looking at Jesse, and she never did anything to make me want to stop. She was wearing a black, backless jumpsuit and four inch heels. Her neckline plunged almost all the way to her navel.

"I hope I'm not overdressed," she said as mischievously as she could.

She wanted to show herself off for my benefit, and, if Mark hadn't spoken, the room would have been dead silent. God knows I was speechless.

"You must be Jesse. Cole wasn't lying about you. I didn't think we would ever meet, but the pleasure is all mine. Mark Jenkins."

They shook hands and sat down.

"To what do I owe the honor?"

"Cole's and my schedules worked out so I was able to come up here for the week. As much as he talks about you, I wanted to meet you."

"We expected this might be an extended visit, so Jesse and I fixed dinner."

I got up and made everyone drinks.

Two hours later, our stomachs were full, and our blood alcohol levels were steadily rising.

Jesse excused herself to the restroom, and Mark looked me straight in the eyes.

"Now I get it. You punched WAY above your weight with this one. All the way around."

"Tell me about it. And you've only known her for a few hours."

We went back and forth for a few minutes when he looked down.

"You know, this only makes it worse. Now, I really want to know..."

"About the elephant in the room?" Jesse sat back down immediately across from Mark.

"Yes."

She locked eyes with him. They stared at each other silently for several minutes.

Jesse reached into her pocket and pulled out her driver's license. She slid it across the table to Mark.

"I'm going to assume I can trust you."

"Implicitly." Mark picked up the license and stared at it. "Jesse Lynn Barber. Why does that sound familiar?"

"Barber is my maiden name."

I said, "It's also my mother's."

After a few moments of silence, Mark finally spoke.

"Hello, Dumbo."

"I'll leave you gentlemen to talk. It was nice meeting you, Mark."

"Likewise."

Jesse stood up, grabbed her license, and went back to the house.

"I told you it was permanent."

"You're fucking your cousin?!?"

I nodded.

"If I had made a list of all the possibilities, I was probably on page five. That wouldn't have made the first twenty."

"It is what it is."

"You're pretty nonchalant about it."

"What other choice do I have? Would you tell her no?"

"I'd tell her yes for you and strap you to the bed if I had to."

"My point exactly."

We gradually moved the conversation over to work on the Fairlane. Mark left just before midnight with an invitation to come back any day before Jesse left. He had just as many questions as answers.

When I walked back to the house, I saw a light on the back porch. I opened the door to the screened area. Jesse had grabbed one of my coats and a book and had fallen asleep reading it.

I stood in the doorway staring at her silently for several minutes. Of all the decisions I have made in my life, what she and I were doing may have been the best and worst at the same time.

I quietly walked over to her and knelt down. I took the book and set it aside, taking her hand in mine. I gently stroked the back of her hand. She began to stir.

"Hi."

"Hi yourself."

"How did things go with Mark?"

"He'll be fine. He's still a little confused how all this happened, but I think we all have been at one time or another."

"I'm glad we got that out of the way. I didn't want you keeping me a secret from him anymore."

"Why are you still dressed up? I figured the first thing you would have done when you came up here was get comfortable."

Jesse put her hand on my cheek, leaned up, and softly kissed me.

"I saw the look on your face when you saw my outfit. I didn't want to deprive you of taking it off."

She stood up, left the coat on the lounge, grabbed my hand, and led me inside.

------

I woke up and turned my head to look at my alarm clock. It was 6am. That was when I normally woke up. On this day, however, I had set the alarm for 8:00. Jesse had kept me up until well past 2:00, and I was hoping to get at least a halfway decent night's sleep. My internal clock didn't allow it.

Apparently, at some point in the morning, I acquired a undersized but heavy (relatively speaking) human-shaped blanket. Jesse was oblivious to the world around her, and I wasn't about to disturb her.

When 7:00 rolled around, I had run out of pock marks on the ceiling to count. This was the first time in as long as I could remember that I woke up in bed with a woman (I didn't count the night of Jesse's reunion, as I never actually fell asleep).

I was starting to get restless, feeling like I needed to do something. I slithered out from under Jesse and took a shower. When I walked back into the bedroom, Jesse was nowhere to be seen.

I got dressed and walked into the kitchen. She was standing in front of the stove cooking breakfast. I grabbed a towel, twirled it, and swatted her ass. She was wearing one of my t-shirts, which completely swallowed her, and nothing else.

"That shirt has never looked that good."

Jesse yelped, turned, stuck her tongue out at me, and threw a wet sponge at me, hitting me square in the forehead.

"You won't hear me complain about you wearing it, either."

When we were done eating, Jesse got up first and passed me on the way to the sink. I grabbed the tail of the shirt and pulled her towards me. She swung her leg over mine, straddling me.

I pulled her face to mine and kissed her. I ran my hands up her thighs, grabbed her backside, and pulled her towards my groin.

Jesse ran her hands down my chest and stomach. She opened the clasp and zipper on my shorts and pulled me free from my boxers. She raised herself up, inched forward, and slid down my length. Our mouths had still not broken contact.

Slowly, Jesse started to ride me. I still had my hands on her ass, pulling her into me. She started to build up a steady pace when my phone rang.

I put it on speakerphone.

"This is Cole." Jesse didn't slow down.

"This is Matt from Brown's Electric. I'm at your front gate."

"I'll let you in."

I used my phone to open the gate. Jesse stopped. She looked at me like a mother who caught her child with their hand in the cookie jar.

"You knew he was coming, didn't you?"

I was grinning from ear to ear and hadn't released my grip on her, holding her in place.

I was nodding like the aforementioned child. She gave me a dirty look.

"Matt's never late."

Jesse pushed me in the chest and tried to stand up. I half-heartedly tried to keep her on my lap.

"I thought you might enjoy putting on a show."

She wriggled free from my grip and stood up. She grabbed my manhood and squeezed.

"You're lucky I don't cut you off for the rest of the week."

She turned and trotted into my bedroom just as the doorbell rang.

------

While I explained to Matt what issues I was having and where, Jesse grabbed the keys to my beater Ford truck and headed out the door.

Matt immediately set to work, politely telling me to get out of his way. Since I wasn't needed, I headed upstairs to work on the punch list of nitpicking items that had to be done up there.

When Matt finally left mid-afternoon, he took with him the last of the electrical problems in the house. I had the punch list knocked out and was working on prepping the rooms for paint. Once that was done, I could install all the fixtures, and the inside of the house would be complete.