We talked a couple of times during the week by phone, but I stayed off the subject of sex. I played it cool, and that Saturday night I found myself on her stoop again. Since I didn't know what she was serving, I was carrying a bottle of red and a bottle of white.
This time, Katie answered the door, and there was a young man standing behind her in the living room. Her greeting was friendly, if not a little stiff. I wasn't sure whether she didn't like me, or she just lacked the social graces that came so natural to her sister and mother.
"Uncle Dan this is Ryan," she introduced us as I entered the house.
"Hi Ryan," I smiled. He was a big guy, even taller than my six-foot frame, and he struck me as being very reserved.
"Hi," was all he said.
"Mom is in the kitchen," Katie continued.
"Well let me go in and say hello." I excused myself and walked past them on my way to the kitchen.
Trish was leaning against the kitchen counter a glass of wine in her hand and talking to Aileen and a young boy.
"Oh Hi," Trish's face lit up as soon as she saw me. Aileen smiled too, and the boy just stood there looking awkward.
"Hi," I said as I held up the two bottles of wine. "I'm glad I brought two, since you have already started."
"First of all," Trish said feigning indignation. "This is my first glass, and second of all, you are late. You were supposed to be here at seven."
She walked around the kitchen table to greet me. She had on a floral print blouse over a white camisole type tee shirt and a denim skirt. Her blouse was conservative and the tee shirt showed just a hint of cleavage.
"I know. I'm sorry," I said exasperated. "I got held up at work."
"Look at you," she said as she approached me and brushed my hair with her hand. "You're all windblown."
"I had all of the windows open in the car. I hate air conditioning."
Trish gave me a kiss on the cheek, and before she moved away from me she whispered, "You look cute."
I tried not to let the surprise and satisfaction show on my face. "All you ladies look very pretty tonight," I said looking around the room. Katie had come in the room behind me.
"Uncle Dan," Aileen spoke up. "This is my friend Chaz."
"Oh so this is the infamous Chaz," I said with an accusatory tone.
"What?" The boy said surprised.
"Uncle Dan!" Aileen was mortified.
Trish had a big smile on her face seeing her youngest daughter in such a predicament.
"It's nice to finally meet you Chaz," I said as I held out my hand.
"It's nice to meet you too, sir." The boy shook my hand.
"So what did you make for dinner?" I tried to break an awkward silence in the room. The two girls laughed, and Aileen almost spat out her drink.
"Mom doesn't cook," Katie said sarcastically.
"She doesn't even know where the stove is," Aileen added with glee.
"That's not true, smart ass," Trish said with a tight smile. "I put the take-out in the oven to keep it warm." And with that we all laughed.
"Okay, all of you comediennes help me get dinner out to the table," Trish instructed her girls. "You boys go sit in the dinning room. Dan," she addressed me with a warm smile." Do you want a glass of wine?"
The six of us sat at the big dinning room table, with candles and a tablecloth, eating take-out on paper plates. So much for my classy sister.
The conversation after dinner was entertaining with Trish and the girls monopolizing most of it. Ryan spoke, but only when Katie let him, and Chaz just looked intimidated by the whole situation.
"So Chaz," I spoke up when the girls finally came up for air. "What are your intentions with my niece?"
"Uncle Dan!" Aileen looked like she was going to crawl under the table. Trish, on the other hand, smiled contentedly, and Katie just looked stunned, but Ryan, of all people cracked a wry smile.
"I don't know." Chaz said to me politely, and then he turned to Aileen. "What are my intentions?"
Wow, I thought, I like this kid. He took an unenviable, awkward situation and turned it back on the girl, who undoubtedly had been pulling his chain.
Aileen looked back at him contritely, "I don't know."
I had been just looking to embarrass my niece and this boy, and now it turned out to be a touching moment.
"Why don't you two excuse yourselves, and go out and talk," Trish said in her best motherly voice. "Katie, you and I can clear the table."
"What do I do?" I asked sarcastically.
"You just sit there, and try not to embarrass anyone else."
After dinner Katie and Ryan said goodnight, for they were going out on a date. Aileen and Chaz were still out in the back talking. Trish and I sat in at the dinning room table and had some more wine.
"Where are you staying now," Trish asked.
"I'm renting a room not too far from here."
"Only a room. Is money that tight?"
"No nothing like that. It's walking distance to town, and close enough to the boys and mom."
"You know, I have a separate apartment in the house."
"I remember."
"It's not much, but it's better than just a room. Do you want it?"
"Don't you have someone in there now?"
"I did, but I had to get rid of him."
"I can't afford much until I know what the settlement will be."
"Whatever you can afford. Whatever you give me is better than what I'm getting now."
Now, several comments came to mind with the opening she had just given me, but they all sounded crude and juvenile in my mind, so I just gave a wink and a nod.
"Thanks, that sounds great" The thought of being closer to her was tantalizing. With that, Aileen and Chaz came in from outside.
"Hi," Aileen sounded happy. "Whatcha guys talkin' about."
"I just offered Uncle Dan the apartment."
"Wow! That's great!" Aileen actually sounded excited. "Remember the last guy we had. He was creepy. I couldn't sunbathe in the backyard, without wondering if he was spying on me."
"I'm not creepy?" I asked tongue in cheek.
"No, you just like to make people uncomfortable," Aileen remarked.
"I'm sorry."
"It's okay," Aileen said intently. "It was something that we needed to talk about."
"So?" Trish asked.
Aileen looked at Chaz, and he smiled back. "I guess that I have to talk to Justin."
"Who is Justin?" I turned to Trish.
"Justin is Aileen's boyfriend," Trish explained tolerantly.
"Well if Justin is Aileen's boyfriend, then who the hell is Chaz?" I mocked.
"Uncle Dan?" Aileen said exasperated.
"Shut the hell up," Trish admonished me.
With them gone for the night, it was only Trish and me. Once again, I felt nervous and gangling little like a kid alone with a girl for the first time.
"Are you tired? Do you want me to go?" I asked her.
"No!" She berated me. "Stay. I just need to clean up the kitchen." She got out of her chair and started for the kitchen, as I sipped at my glass of wine.
"I could use a favor from you," she said turning around to me. "Up in my bedroom..."
"I'm listening," I interrupted, canting my head for emphasis.
She gave me a stern look. "My bedroom TV is on the fritz. I can't get anything but static."
"Okay," I said, even though I was clueless about electronics.
I went up to her bedroom, and found the TV remote. Her bed was the usual flowery thing with too many pillows, but I got a thrill just sitting on it.
Within five minutes I had the TV up and running, and when she came into the room, I was lying on her bed watching an old movie.
"What are you doing?" She asked astonished.
"Watching a movie." She looked so pretty with her hand on her hip, and I felt so much anticipation lying on her bed, that my hand was trembling.
"How did you get it to work?" She was still astonished.
"Someone pushed the input button by mistake. It used to happen all of the time to our remote." I showed her the remote. "Come watch a movie with me." I patted the bed next to me. She tilted her head questioning me, but then she climbed on the bed and lay next to me.
It was actually kind of sweet. The two of us lying there watching an old Bogart movie and holding hands. It felt so nice just to have her touch me, which she did repeatedly.
I don't know if it was the wine, or maybe I was tired and had seen the movie so many times before, but the next thing I knew, I was fast asleep. I dreamed of her. I could smell her hair as I made love to her.
I woke up to her nudging me. We were still in the bed, and the only light in the room was from the TV. She was lying on my arm with her head on my shoulder and her hair tickling my face.
"What time is it?" I asked.
"After two," she responded sleepily. As she looked up at me, her eyes searched for a sign. She looked so beautiful and vulnerable. I bent down and kissed her lightly.
She didn't kiss me back, but she closed her eyes waiting for more. I kissed her again, but this time harder and longer. Her lips were as soft as butter, and they tasted as sweet. She kissed me back, and so I rolled over onto her as our lips became one.
I could hear her breathing deeply as I held her in my arms; our lips joined together. I wasted no time, and stuck my tongue deep in her mouth. She didn't respond at first, but then I felt her tongue lightly comply.
My cock was still hard from my dream of her, and I forced it against her, my leg sliding between hers. In her embrace, I felt short of breath and a yearning deep in my soul. I couldn't get enough of her.
I broke our kiss, and slowly started kissing her ears, down her neck and then down her chest. She arched her back as my kisses got deep into her cleavage. My hand, wanting to feel her skin, slid under her blouse and tee shirt, and up against the flatness of her stomach.
"Danny! I can't!" She stopped me cold.
"What?" I was stunned. I didn't know what to do or what to say.
"I just can't," she said as she broke away from me, got up and sat on the edge of the bed. "Besides, the girls will be home soon." She didn't look at me, she just looked at the wall.
I got up myself, and sat on my edge of the bed. "I'm sorry," I said feeling that I had done something wrong.
"I'm sorry too," she answered back hollowly. "Come on. I'll walk you to the door."
"I'm sorry Trish." I apologized as I felt my heart in my mouth.
"Just come on," she said in that same hollow voice and got up off of the bed. We walked down the stairs solemnly, and I had to feel that I had fucked up badly.
We got to the front door, and she opened it up for me. She wouldn't look at me, and I felt like she was tearing the soul from my body.
"Are you mad at me?"
"No. No." She replied, and at last she looked up at me. I could see the sadness and torture in her eyes. "Wait. I want to give you some leftovers from dinner."
"I don't want them," I said, my eyes pleading with her not to be mad.
"No, I want you to have something." And she walked into the kitchen leaving me at the front door. It seemed like forever for her to come back, but she finally did with a plastic bag in her hand. I didn't want it, but I took it anyhow. Arguing about something so irrelevant was useless since she seemed so depressed.
