When my brother found that I was going to the IEEE convention in Boston to present a paper on my work with high-temperature superconductors, he invited me over for a beer and to ask for a favor.
"You know Caitlin's a sophomore at BU," he said. "Anna and I were wondering if, since you're going to Boston anyway, you could do something for us."
"Sure," I said. Secretly, I was glad for the excuse to see my niece. I was stressed over the paper I was going to present, and I knew I'd be even more stressed as the time for my presentation approached. Now I suppose I shouldn't say this about a niece, but I knew that Caitlin would take any man's mind off his problems, just seeing her. She was a knockout! She had somehow morphed from a knobby-kneed flat-chested pain in the butt to this gorgeous full-breasted curvy nineteen-year-old woman with long dark hair and eyes in which a man could drown. Yeah, I know: look but don't touch. But a guy could look, anyway, couldn't he?
"Great! Anna's got a 'care package' of stuff she's convinced Caitlin will need. Besides, when I talked to her a couple of days ago, she told me she was having some problems in P-Chem. That's right up your alley. Maybe you could help her. Jeez, Mark, I never could understand why she had to go across the country to go to school when we've got perfectly good ones here in California."
"Ed," I said, "You know why. Why does any kid put as much distance between them and their parents as soon as they can? She's growing up and wants her independence. I did it and so did you."
"Yeah, but we're
guys
."
I didn't bother to answer that one. I just looked at him until he smiled.
I texted Caitlin from the airport when I got into Boston, but she replied that she had a test the next day and needed to study. That was okay by me; I was jet-lagged anyway and still on California time. I needed a day off, and what could be more restful than wandering through a convention center looking at posters, half of which were incomprehensible to me, and sitting in dark rooms listening to droning voices and looking at poorly made PowerPoints cluttered with irrelevant data? Of course, there was always the vendors' section where one could ogle the young lovelies who were dressed to attract, pitching their companies' wares and who would be more than willing to sit and talk to you, but unfortunately not about what you
really
wanted to talk to them about.
Caitlin agreed to meet me that night at a rather fancy restaurant by the harbor. I got there a little early, and was sitting at our reserved table working through my Macallan and pleasurably imagining the looks I would be getting when my 'date' showed up, when a lovely contralto voice from behind me said "Mark?"
I turned and found myself looking at a beautiful young woman in a form-fitting black cocktail dress. Mind you, when I say 'form-fitting,' the emphasis should be on 'form', although the 'fitting' part was certainly important.
"Excuse me, miss," I said. "I was expecting my niece. She's a college sophomore at BU."
"Cute, Uncle Mark. You haven't lost your touch."
"Um, Caitlin, I, ah, what can I say. Wow!"
"You can say hi and take out a chair for me," she said, with a dimpled smile that appeared to be the only link between this vision and my gangly adolescent niece.
"Oh. Sorry." I was trying to re-engage my brain. The trouble was, my live-in and I had broken up a month or so ago, and I'd been celibate since. So, when confronted by this
very
female woman, my hormones pre-empted pretty much any other mental activity.
I pulled out a chair for her and helped her sit. As she sat, I got a full view from the rear while her short skirt rode up on her spectacular thighs, and I looked down on the sweet, sweet mounds of her breasts swelling over the scooped neckline of her dress. In her deep cleavage I discerned a tantalizing hint of translucent red bra. I could smell the fresh-washed scent of her long dark hair.
I stole a glance at the nearby tables and was amused to see the rapidly stifled stares from a number of women and the frankly jealous stares from their male counterparts. Even better than what I had been anticipating!
Finally I sat facing her. I looked directly at her for a moment. "Excuse me, but what did you do with Caitlin?" I asked.
She smiled. "Oh, her? I had to make a few alterations in her. I hope you like what I've done. After all, I don't often get to date older men in fancy restaurants. I have to say that I like it."
"Oh my," I said, "I like it too. Very much." I hope I didn't leer too obviously as I said that.
We had a very pleasant dinner. I suppose the food was good, too, but I don't really remember. I kept looking at Caitlin. I was right: you could drown in her eyes. Her red lips seemed to cry out to be kissed, and when she parted them and wet them briefly with her tongue, I couldn't help but think of the uses to which I'd love to put that lovely mouth. Every so often she'd turn her head to emphasize a point and her hair would cascade down over her swelling bosom. She'd flick it back, raising her arm to do it and simultaneously emphasizing the softly inviting curves of her firm young breasts over her dress's low neckline and the enticing mystery of her cleavage.
We started out talking about her parents, her courses and her friends, but imperceptibly the conversation turned more to adult issues. Soon she was asking me about my love life, and when I told her of the breakup with my live-in, she impulsively reached across the table and took my hand in hers. Her touch was warm, and her young flesh soft and silky. I didn't draw back, and neither did she. We sat, sipping our wine, holding hands like two lovers looking at each other over the candlelight.
One of the wonderful things about expensive restaurants is that they never bother you unless you ask. And we weren't asking.
Caitlin's lovely contralto voice was hypnotic. I was so concentrating on just the sound of it that I belatedly noticed how the conversation had drifted into her sex life. She told me about her boyfriends and how too wrapped up they were in their own courses and lives so that they never seemed to last with her.
"Too many one-night stands, Mark," she said. She had long-ago dropped the 'uncle'. "Don't get me wrong; a good one-nighter can be very satisfying, at least physically, don't you think?"
"Um, yes, I suppose. It would depend on the woman, for me."
Her hand stroked mine.
"Oh? What kind of woman, Mark? Young? My age, for example?"
Now she held both my hands in hers and looked directly into my eyes. Again she wet her lips with her pink tongue.
I backed off. "Caitlin, I don't think that's an appropriate question."
She just smiled a knowing smile and changed gears.