With the dinner finished, Edward thanks his wife and he rises up to gather the plates and dishes. They just finished eating dinner with his son, Joshua, and his wife, Holly. The young woman, her blonde hair tied in a taut ponytail, rose after Edward, carrying more plates into the kitchen with him.
"You don't have to help me," says Edward, taking the plates from Holly with a pat on her shoulder. "Go to the living room, have some more wine. I got this."
Holly glances towards the dining room, now empty, with Joshua and Michelle convening into the living room couch to continue their argument—whatever it was about. "Thanks, but I don't really feel like listening to Joshua complain about work—again. I do enough of that at home." She leans her hip against the counter while Edward opens the dishwasher door and proceeds to rinse and clean their dishes. "And I've been meaning to ask you something, actually."
Edward hums over the sound of running water. "Alright then, but let me finish washing these first. Then you can have my full attention."
In the meantime, while Edward scrubs pots and pans, Holly tells him about the goings-on in her workplace. She works at a publishing company, a senior editor for a big name publisher. She excitedly explains her recent acquisition, its plot and details, while Edward listens. Holly talks until Edward peeled off the dishwashing gloves and hangs them over the sink.
"Alright, what do you have to ask?" He undoes his dishwashing apron and returns it to its hook. Holly inhales a shaky breath which he watches in amusement. "You seem terrified out of your wits."
"I am, a little," she chuckles. "It's a bit of a private matter..."
Edward blinks and runs a hand through his thick head of hair. He rubs his scruffy jaw. "Are you sure you want to talk to me about this?"
Holly nods. "It has to be you."
"Alright then, let's head into my office."
Edward leads Holly upstairs into the spare bedroom that he converted into his office. The walls are covered in shelves of books. A desk sits in the centre of the room, the office chair's back facing against the windows, with a comfortable-looking sectional couch beside it. "Have a seat," Edward says, approaching his mini-bar. "Want something to drink?"
"Whisky would be great," Holly says.
Edward prepares the drinks for himself and his daughter-in-law, and sits beside her with the two lowball glasses filled with amber liquid. He watches her clutch the glass in her hands, knuckles tense.
"So you know how I and Josh are trying to get pregnant," she says in a hurried, trembling voice.
Edward sputters and coughs into his drink. "I never would have expected this to be a topic of conversation between the two of us."
"I'm sorry, but you're the only one I know who can help!" Holly sets her drink on the coffee table and faces Edward. "Josh... He's decent at sex, but that's not the problem. We've been trying to get pregnant for so long that I don't think his sperm actually... you know, works."
"Did you both get tested?" He asks, shifting in discomfort.
"No, but..."
Edward waves a hand. "You mentioned that you need my help. With what, exactly?"
Holly takes in another deep breath. "I want you to get me pregnant."
The silence that lapses is deafening. Edward, with a steady hand, finishes the liquid in his glass. He allows it to sear his throat. "What?"
"You're Josh's father, meaning he has half your DNA. And with Josh existing, we know that you can actually get me pregnant. Please, Edward. I really want children." Holly begs. She grasps Edward's knee while she looks at him with her dark, imploring eyes.
"And how do you propose we do this? Sperm donation?"
"No, I—I thought we could have sex."
Edward's right eye twitches. "You're asking me to cheat on my wife and to let you cheat on my son—with me. You're out of your mind." He rises from the couch and paces the patch of hardwood floor in front of his desk.
"Would you rather I go to someone else?" Holly retorts. "Cheat on your son with a complete stranger? Don't you want grandchildren?" Edward can see that Holly is grasping at straws, reaching for any reason to make him agree to what she asked of him. He strokes his beard to appear in thought, he eyes his daughter-in-law and immediately felt like a lecher. To sleep with a girl less than twice his age is one thing, but to sleep with a girl less than twice his age, who's married to his son, and in order to impregnate her is another layer of hell entirely.
He ceases his pacing and shoots Holly a glare. "I rather you talk to my son about this."
"You and I both know he has a false sense of bravado. If I bring up his sperm count, he'll surely think it's emasculating." Holly sighs. "I love him but he can be hopeless."
Edward palms his face and rubs his thumb against his eyelids. "I do want grandchildren, and I know Michelle is dying to have a few," at this, Holly lights up. "I'm doing this for my family," Edward stresses, his daughter-in-law sprouting off the couch to wrap her arms around his neck in a hug. Unlike previous shows of affection, this is a loaded gun. Edward feels hyper-aware of Holly's body, the faint smell of roses against the nape of her neck, her thigh against his thigh.
"I'm doing it for the family," he repeats. He puts distance between himself and Holly. "And not for my own gain."
Holly bites her lip and nods. Her hazel eyes sparkle with newfound hope and unbridled excitement. "You won't regret this, I promise."
"You can't tell anyone," Edward says firmly. "They won't understand."
"I won't," Holly stands closer now. Edward can see the delicate curves of her eyelashes, the faint freckles across her cheeks. The skin of his throat flexes. His office feels stifling and warm and the supple body of this young woman seems to him a low-hanging forbidden fruit. In his navy slacks, his cock stirs. He grasps the pleat of his pants that masks his growing erection and allows himself to look at Holly's mouth—a mouth that she primed—plumped and glistening—for his hungry eyes.
Without his realizing it until it's too late, Holly's hand grazes his jaw. She rises to the tips of her toes and presses a furtive if not delicate kiss on Edward's mouth—which now feels chapped and inadequate against the silken texture of her lips. Edward stiffens, his arms acting out of their own volition. He pulls her closer, her chest and thighs against his. The kiss flares and stokes his arousal so that it grows into something fierce. Edward grasps Holly's waist, parts her mouth with a gentle coaxing of his tongue. She opens his mouth like an eager blossom, her wet tongue touching his. Her nails rake across the sharp angle of Edward's jaw, a small whimper escaping her.
Blood rushes in every part of Edward's body—from his ears to the pit of his belly to his erection. His shoulders tenses when Holly's warm, confident hand curls around the shaft of his penis, pressing it firmly against his thigh. It's been weeks since he last shot his load and as old as he is, it still takes a toll on him. So when Holly sinks on her knees, her face so dangerously close to Edward's crotch, a spurt of precum drenches the cotton of his boxers.
"Jesus Christ," he gasps, his cock echoing the pulse of his heart. Unable to resist, he grips his meat to give it some pressure, the aching of his balls never ceasing.