Chapter 2

For the next week, through finals I was miserable. Again I was on autopilot. I took my exams and otherwise avoided human contact if at all possible. I toyed with the idea of calling Ashley or even going to see her but I couldn't work up the courage to do it. I knew she was upset with me and that no amount of apologizing was going to fix what I had done to her. For the first few days I half expected to see the campus police at my door for basically assaulting Ashley.

Exams were soon over and it was time to move out of the dorms. I was going to be spending time at my Aunt Grace's house in Bellaire Shore. It was a huge yellow stucco home facing the Intracoastal Waterway. The entire yard was fenced in, and the entrance was gated. The house was on a large but thin barrier island that was at most a few blocks wide. A single beachfront road ran the length of the island and connected on each end to other barrier islands. Grace's house was on a side street off this main road so it was fairly quiet. It was still a pain to get anywhere from there though, as one had to travel up or down the beachside road until one would hit a major road to get anywhere. Traffic was always backed up on the beachside road with people looking for places to park or waiting for pedestrians to cross the road. The nice thing about Bellaire Shore was that there were no public beaches there. It had cost my Uncle Frank a ton of cash and when he died, the home went to Aunt Grace as part of his estate. She had never moved out of the place.

Aunt Grace was going to be spending the summer in Michigan trying to mend fences with my mother. That meant that I was housesitting for the summer. It was really a dream job for any man my age. Access to a killer house, a Mercedes SL500, a 36 foot Sea Ray Sundancer, and near instant access to beaches full of out-of-town females with nothing better to do than lose their inhibitions in Florida. A dream job, and yet I was still in a deep depression.

I drove to the house in my silver Toyota Camry. Aunt Grace bought me the car as a present when I got to Florida. She said it was practical and wouldn't attract too much attention; a good car for a college student. I pulled into the open gate at her house and saw her running towards me. As I stepped out of the car she nearly knocked me over. She took me into her arms and gave me a huge hug.

"I have been so worried about you," she exclaimed, still hugging me.

"Sorry, things were busy with finals," I lied.

"Probably more depressed about Heather going home for the summer," she said, now holding me at arms length.

That comment stung. I still hadn't told her that Heather and I had broken up. I just nodded my head at her.

"You should have a little fun with some of the girls at the beach this summer," said Grace smiling at me. "What Heather doesn't know won't hurt her."

Grace was always like that. She never was embarrassed to talk about sex and definitely never lectured me about what I should or shouldn't do regarding sex with other women.

"Should we go get your bags?" I said, changing the subject.

"Nope, we are going to take my car," she said holding up the key to the Mercedes. "The bags are already packed in there."

She handed me the key and made her way over to the passenger side of the white Mercedes.

I watched her as she moved. She always moved in such a sexy way with catlike grace. At five foot five and without an inch of body fat, she was absolutely gorgeous. Her long dark hair was up in a bushy bun, revealing her graceful neck and shoulders. She wore a light blue sundress with spaghetti straps. The hem of the dress came up just above her knees. If she ever started dating again, she would make a lot of men really happy.

I loved driving her Mercedes. I was glad she was leaving me the car for the summer. I would probably end up driving it all over Florida putting lots of miles on it before she got back. The traffic on the beach road wasn't too bad until we got near Clearwater Beach.

"So when did you break up with Heather?" asked Grace off the cuff as we were stuck in traffic near Clearwater Beach.

"About two weeks..." I stopped myself. "How did you know?"

"I can tell. You are absolutely miserable Greg." She put her hand on my leg as a gesture of comfort.

"Well that isn't all of it," I admitted.

"Oh?"

"Ashley and I aren't friends anymore either."

The words hung there for a moment. I was laying it all out for her. She was one of two people in the world I told just about everything too, the other one wasn't talking to me.

"Sounds like a messy situation," said Grace.

I explained to her my breakup and then what happened between Ash and I.

"She probably isn't mad at you," said Grace evenly. "She knew what she was risking when she tried to make love to you and when you rebuffed her, she probably felt embarrassed about it and ran out. You need to try and call her Greg."

"I will try," I said, not really intending to call her. I knew deep in my heart that it was my fault.

We finally made it to a main road, only to be stopped once again because of construction going on with one of the bridges in its route over the Intracoastal. For a fairly direct route to the airport, this was going to take forever.

"What are you going to say to my mom when you get to Michigan?" I asked, wanting to talk about something else.

"That I don't know. The problem is she sits on that damned Christian high horse of hers. I may confront her in church so that others can see the non-Christian attitude she has adopted when she is dealing with her siblings."

"She doesn't know you are coming, does she?" I asked already knowing the answer.

"No," she said, bowing her head.

I hated my parents. My mother was a raving Christian zealot bent on making sure I followed the path of Christ in my life. The only path I followed was out the door as soon as I could. My father was no better. He was an alcoholic. The only reason my mother stayed with him was because he was a project to her. She was going to save his soul if it was the last thing she ever did. It was a marriage from hell, and as the only child I was caught up in the middle of it.

"I am not leaving Michigan until we are on civil terms and until she will take you back," she continued.

"I don't want to go back," I yelled.

"I am not saying you have to go back to Michigan, but you do need to be on speaking terms with her again."

"Fuck that," I said under my breath. I threw the car down a gear and swerved over a lane, the sped up in front of some slow traffic.

"I would appreciate if you didn't take your anger out on my car," said Grace angrily.

"Sorry," I said sheepishly as I slowed down a bit.

The traffic eased up and soon we were heading over the Courtney Campbell Causeway and off to the airport.

We got to the airport and I hailed a skycap to take Graces bags for her. Grace hugged me tightly and then kissed me on the lips. It was a chaste kiss, but still more than she ever did in the past. I was taken by surprise.

"Thank you Greg," she said softly.

"No problem. I enjoy any chance I get to drive your car."

"That isn't what I was thanking you for," she said, almost whispering.

"Ok..."

"I was thanking you for coming to school by me and being my friend. You have given me the gift of life Greg. You are the reason I am still alive today."

She didn't give me a chance to respond. She turned and flew into the airport.

The entire ride back to her house I thought about what she said. I never thought she was that depressed that she would take her own life. Her situation was so parallel to my own. I often did wonder why she had never started dating again. It had been four years since Uncle Frank's death.

When I got back to the house, I noticed a woman standing next to the call box at the gate. I immediately recognized her as the neighbor, Sarah Parker.

Sarah was another gorgeous widow. She was a dark-skinned Italian goddess. She was almost Grace's twin, except for the fact that Sarah was much more toned and firm than Grace was. Sarah also had a fourteen-year-old daughter named Brianna. I had met Sarah a few times over the year, but never got a real chance to talk to her. Even if I did, her beauty intimidated me so much that all I could do was stutter.

"Hello Ms. Parker," I said as I pulled up next to her.

"Oh hi Greg," said Sarah smiling at me. "Is your Aunt already gone?"

"Yeah, I am just coming back from the airport," I said. "Was it something important?"

"Actually... I am here to see you," she said hesitantly.

"Get in and I will drive you up to the house," I said with a confidence that I never knew I had.

I watched her get in and had to control myself from getting hard. She was dressed like her daughter might dress in white short shorts that were rolled down to expose as much tummy as possible and a grey t-shirt that was tied at the bottom exposing her midriff even more.

I drove Grace's Mercedes up to the garage and pulled it inside. Once inside I got out and noticed that Sarah wasn't getting out. She was testing my chivalry for some reason, which I couldn't ascertain. I walked over to the other side of the car and opened the door for her. She demurely stepped out of the car and smiled at me.

I led Sarah inside and motioned for her to have a seat in the living room.

"Can I get you something to drink Mrs. Parker?" I asked politely.

"Yes, I would like some of your aunt's famous iced tea if there is any in the refrigerator and please call me Sarah."

I rummaged through the refrigerator and found a pitcher of my aunt's iced tea. She special ordered the tea from a place in Seattle. It was a spice tea that was so easy to get addicted to. I poured two glasses and then carried them out to the living room.

"So, how might I be of service Mrs. Parker?" I asked as I handed her a glass and then sat down.

"Sarah," she said firmly.

I shook my head in confusion.

"Please call me Sarah," she said giggling.

"Ok, how might I be of service, SARAH?" I said correcting myself.

Sarah looked around the room nervously for a few seconds. "I guess I really should just get to the point and not beat around the bush."

"Ok?" I said questioningly.

"I came over here to ask you out for dinner," she said.

"I see no problem with that," I said clueless to what her intentions were. "Is there some kind of business you wish to discuss over dinner?"

"No," she said flustered.

I was really confused now.

"I want to go out for a romantic dinner with you," she said blushing.

I nearly choked on my tea. "What?" I exclaimed.

"I am not normally so forward but I knew you would never ask a 31-year-old woman out on a date yourself," she explained, still flustered.

I couldn't believe this 31-year-old goddess was asking me on a date. I had seen her several times with my aunt but never really formally met her. I had lusted after her from a distance many times, however. Now this woman that was the subject of many masturbation fantasies was asking me out for dinner. I was so flabbergasted that I couldn't even give her an answer on dinner.

Sarah noticed my lack of a response and she panicked. "I am sorry Greg. I should have known I am probably too old for you."

"No, no..." I sputtered. "I am just in shock that a woman as beautiful as you is asking me out for a romantic date."

Sarah blushed at my compliment. "So you are saying that I intimidate you?"

"Yes," I said. "You are a beautiful and exciting young woman asking me, an average college guy out on a date."

"But you are more than average," said Sarah. "Grace has told me what an extraordinary young man you are. She can never stop talking about you. You are also a very good-looking man. Believe me; I have noticed you more than once while you were out doing yard work in Grace's garden."

"She told you of course that I have been dating someone?" I asked knowing that I had only just told Grace.

"She told me that you broke up with her," she said.

"She couldn't have, I just told her today," I shot back.

"She knew Greg," she said softly.

"So she sent you here to cheer me up then?" I asked her in a hostile tone.

"No, in fact she told me to leave you alone," she said quietly.

"Then why are you here if she told you to leave me alone?"

"Because I had to take a chance, Greg," she said. "I needed to take a chance because I have such a huge crush on you."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing.

"God, I sound like my daughter," she said putting her head in her hands.

"You have a crush on me?" I said questioningly. "What would you see in a nineteen year old boy?"

"A warm, caring, good looking young man who treats the women in his life like queens," said Sarah. "Grace is a good judge of character and that was her assessment of you."

"Yeah, well she is biased being my aunt," I argued.

"She told me how you saved her life, Greg. You really did. She was such a wreck before you came out here. You were the only family member to keep in contact with her all of these years. You came out here to be with her and you treated her with such warmth and compassion. It speaks volumes about your soul, Greg."

"I have to be honest with you Sarah, I am really flattered," I began. "I just don't think I am ready to date yet. I lost my girlfriend and my best friend all in one week."