Joe was twenty six, a new bachelor. His ex-wife left him after four years. She took everything but his old rambled shack & the bed they'd shared. He wasn't in the mood for fun or partying, although he'd still go to the old tavern in town and drink til he couldn't keep his eyes open. Then he'd stumble home and pass out in the middle of the floor.
Callie was worried about Joe. He was her cousin, the son of her mother's sister. They lived three states away, but she talked to Joe every week on the phone and they texted here and there. She feared he was drinking heavily and she wanted to go see him.
She took two weeks off to fly to their home state of Kansas. They had grown up there and Callie's family had moved when she was thirteen. She hadn't seen Joe since she was seventeen and the family had been there at her grandparents funeral.
When she'd told Joe she would be at the airport Monday evening at six, he'd tried to stop her from coming. Knowing that he'd been arrested two weeks before, she knew his drinking was a problem. She was intent on checking on him. They'd been best friends and confidents when they were kids.
Stepping off the plain, she scanned the crowd for Joe. She didn't see the young scrawny kid with old cut offs. Scanning the crowd, she texted Joe to see what he was wearing.
Spinning around, she was shocked to see the man before her. Joe's old Iron Maiden t-shirt was tight over his broad chest. The muscles in his arms were rippled and he was nearly a foot taller than her.
When she approached Joe, he was stunned. She didn't look like the Callie he remembered. She was a short, pudgy blonde girl with pigtails, acne and very flat chested. This woman before him, she was tall and slim, her black hair was short and spiked up and her breasts were small, but perky.
"Hey Joe, Thanks for picking me up."
"No problem Callie, I didn't recognize you. You used to be a squirt!"
Laughing, Callie's face lit up, "You're one to talk, I was looking for the kid I used to beat at sports!"
They laughed the rest of the way to the car, enjoying the company of a cousin. Someone who understood.
Back at Joe's place, he gave Callie the bedroom. Sleeping in the single chair he had wouldn't be too bad. It was only two weeks.
After letting her get settled, he took her into town for dinner. No one recognized her, so everyone was whispering. They ate at the little diner before he talked her into heading over to the tavern for drinks and pool.
After the first game, Callie was whopping it up, having beaten him already. They played a couple in the bar next and beat them too. To celebrate, they did a shot of vodka and had their pitcher refilled. After clinking glasses together, theirs eyes met and both could see longing with the other.
Playing couple after couple and winning, they were pretty drunk on the way home. Callie had to hold onto Joe's arm to stand straight. When she'd gotten cold, he'd wrapped his arm around her shoulders. Stumbling, they'd laughed and giggled the entire way home.
Making it up the hill and into the front door had been hard enough. What happened next complicated everything. Joe pulled Callie inside, pushing the door shut behind them. Her back was to the door and Joe was close enough to smell her sweet scent.
