Chapter 15: Family Bonding

Jake and Sarita were in the kitchen snacking on cheese and crackers and doing homework at the kitchen table when Lesa got home with Samantha and Frankie. "I hope you don't mind that I let Jake in, Mom." Sarita said as she gave her mother a hug. "He's not a stranger. He may be a strange pervert, but not a perverted stranger."

"Hey," Jake said in mock indignation, "I think I resemble that remark."

"Just remember what I said," Lesa admonished. "I'll hold you responsible if anything happens; not him."

"But, Mom," Sarita whined, "he's older than me."

"Yes, he is," Lesa reposted, "But he's male. Just because Robin Williams was being funny when he joked about God's sense of humor, doesn't mean what he said isn't true. Jake's IQ goes into the toilet when his blood supply gets diverted to his groin by a young minx like you."

"Hey," Jake interjected indignantly, "I'm right here!"

"Yes you are, sweetheart." Lesa said as she gave him a brief kiss. "And I, for one, am very pleased that you're here. Even when you're thinking with your dick, you're still a smart guy."

Jake smacked her on the butt before she could jump out of his reach. "Ah! You know that I'm into much older women," Jake teased, "I'm not a child molester."

"I'm NOT a CHILD," Sarita said with her fists on her hips.

"No, you're not." Lesa agreed. "You're almost grown and very mature for your age. That's why I worry that you'll let things get out of control."

"I wouldn't let anything like that happen." Jake assured Lesa, but he wasn't as confident as he'd like to be.

"I know you'd protect her with your life." Lesa put her arms around Jake's neck, kissed him soundly, then backed off enough to look him eye-to-eye. "But, if she gets hot to trot and starts climbing all over you, you'll tap her. A male with a hard dick can't defend himself against a desirable and determined female who's expelling pheromones under his nose. Your genetic programming simply doesn't allow such aberrant behavior. You might hate yourself later, but you'd do a wonderful job of making her a very happy young woman first." When Jake started to protest she added. "You care for her too much to hurt her with rejection."

Jake started to protest, "But I've..."

Lesa held out her hand and interrupted him, "Yes, I've seen you push away women who already had your dick in their mouths, but you didn't know them or have any feelings for them. If Sarita were to beg you with those big blue eyes of hers, you'd do whatever she wanted." Lesa maintained her caressing grip on Jake's neck as she turned to look at her daughter. Catching the sparkle in those blue eyes, Lesa mumbled, "Oh shit, Jake. You're in trouble my man."

Lesa let go of Jake and went to the refrigerator to retrieve some cut fruit and juice for her younger two children. As she passed Sarita she pled, "Please, try to control yourself around Jake, sweetheart. My plans will be wrecked if he's in jail." She caressed her daughter's cheek with her hand.

Sarita pressed her head into her mother's hand and hugged it between her cheek and left shoulder. "I'll try, Mom. It's just that some of the things we've talked about in the past, things that I thought were yucky at the time don't sound so yucky if I picture Jake as the guy."

"I knew you'd change your mind about those things someday. I just didn't think it would be so soon." Lesa sighed and mumbled as she turned away, "Oh, yeah, Jake's in big trouble."

Before going back to his homework, Jake asked Lesa, "What did Robin Williams say about God?"

Lesa laughed, "As I recall, he said that God had an evil sense of humor. He had given him a penis and a brain, but only enough blood to use one at a time."

Jake had finished his homework and was helping Sarita with hers when Lesa asked what they wanted for diner.

"Something simple," Jake suggested, "I saw some hot dogs on the 'fridge. We could have beans and franks with potato chips."

Lesa checked the pantry. "I'm out of chips."

"I drove by a convenience store a few blocks from here." Jake offered, "I could go get some and be back before the beans get hot."

"No, you're doing a great job helping Sarita with her math, much better than I could manage. The Kroger's isn't much further than the convenience store you mentioned, and I need a few other items as well." Lesa replied. "I'll be back in a few minutes. If you would though, take your gym bag up to our bedroom, just in case anyone stops by."

Jake nodded and went to retrieve his bag from where he had dropped it in the foyer. The significance of 'our bedroom' wasn't lost on him.

Sarita had finished the problem she was working on while Jake was upstairs, and had started the next one. Jake coached her through the setup of the new one and gave her a big hug when she got the following one right without help.

"You know, your mother IS right about one thing. I do care about you. I care about your brother and sister as well, but not with the special feelings I have for you." He gave her another hug from behind and kissed her cheek.

Jake was standing behind Sarita massaging her shoulders when Lesa entered through the garage connection to the utility room. He was encouraging her that she didn't need his help with last problem of her assignment. The only hint he gave her was that it was just like an earlier problem. She jumped up from the table and gave Jake a big hug when she solved it.

"Need any help with the groceries?" Jake asked as Lesa stood in the door watching the pair interact.

"No, I have it covered. I got us some ice cream for dessert." Lesa responded. Jake seemed to be very comfortable with Sarita. She was sure they would bond, but not as father-daughter. She resolved to be okay with their relationship, no matter what it turned out to be, or when.

After dessert, Jake pitched in to help with the cleanup, and without being asked, he even helped get Franklin ready for bed. Samantha shared a bathroom with Franklin. She and Sarita crowded in for the ritual of brushing their teeth before bed. Sarita had changed into a short nightgown that looked really good on her girlish figure and showcased her long, tan legs. Jake did his best not to notice.

Lesa joined everyone in the family room. She, too, had changed into pajamas with a long, flowing robe that she left unbelted. The thin silk material of the pajamas showed every curve, jiggle, and protrusion. The tap pants were almost opaque enough to mask her dark patch of pubic hair ... almost.

The bare skin of Lesa's long, smooth legs definitely put a flare in Jake's nostrils. He excused himself and went to the master bedroom to brush his teeth, wash his face, and change into a pair of sweat shorts and a loose T-shirt.

Jake spotted Lesa leaning on the doorframe watching him when his head popped through the neck opening of the shirt. They smiled at each other. Lesa took his hand and quietly led him out of the room. Standing in the hall, they shared a kiss and felt up each other's ass before returning to the family room.

Jake was concentrating on the screen of his notebook when Lesa gathered up Frankie and Sammy to put them to bed. Sarita sat on her knees in a chair next to Jake and leaned in close to look over his shoulder.

"What are you working on?" Sarita asked as she relaxed against him.

"I'm looking for a beam powerful enough to penetrate armor, one that's either continuous, or has a cycle time of a few milliseconds so it can sweep across an advancing group of Sa'arm. It needs to be light enough for one person to deploy quickly. Preferably it should be capable of being fired from the shoulder or hip." As Jake responded to Sarita's question, enough of his situation awareness returned for him to notice the hard pebbles on either side of his left shoulder blade.

The contact was broken when he turned to kiss her nose, but her breathing stopped when his upper arm brushed against one of the little nubs. He pulled her onto his lap to prevent further contact with her chest, but discovered that the soft butt settling onto his thighs came with its own set of problems.

Sarita surprised Jake with her knowledge when she asked, "Does it need to be an infrared beam or a stream of particles?" She stopped squirming when she felt a tube of flesh against her left buttocks.

"It probably needs to be a laser, or something similar." Jake responded, and then considered why it needed to be a laser. "Particle beams are absorbed or distorted by an atmosphere, but a lot of energy from even a weapons-grade laser beam can be deflected by a shiny surface." Even if Sarita didn't understand a word he was saying, verbalizing the problem was helping Jake recognize his assumptions. Not all of which were applicable.

"Maybe you can just strike them with lighting," Sarita suggested. "It worked for Thor, didn't it?"

"I believe it did." Jake laughed and reached around the slender girl to engage his keyboard with both hands. The heat of her bare thighs on his bare thighs was becoming a serious distraction. When he realized that not all of the bare skin he felt was thigh, his penis twitched involuntarily. She wasn't wearing anything under the short nightgown!

Her bare buttocks were sliding down between his thighs. The tickling sensation he felt on his left thigh had to be her pubic hair! His penis lurched again. 'Oh, God' he thought 'how do I get out of this mess. Do I want out of this mess? Oh, God. Oh, GOD!'

Sarita squirmed in his lap and giggled. "You little minx," Jake bit the base of her neck making her squeal. "You're doing that on purpose, aren't you? Off you go," he said as he unceremoniously dumped her off his lap and onto her feet. However, both of them groaned when her damp labia slid across his thigh as she resisted being forced to her feet. She almost lost her balance, and Jake almost let her fall when her left nipple brushed his fingertips.

Both were still a bit flushed when Lesa returned a couple of minutes later.

Jake was again focused on his notebook. "What's got you all fired up, Jake?" Lesa asked. When Sarita giggled and Jake blushed, she knew something had happened.

"Artificial ball lighting may be the ticket. Sarita got me thinking outside the box, and..." Jake was interrupted by mother and daughter snickering. He gave each of them an annoyed glare. "And, rather than using a beam that can deteriorate over distance, we could send a sphere of lightning that pretty much explodes on contact, shorting out anything electrical, including nervous systems. Thor's Hammer is how Sarita described it."

Jake mused, "There were proposals for shipboard defense guns that would create a vacuum tunnel between the gun and target; then fire a neutron beam through the vacuum. It was very wild stuff for its time. Instead of being in two steps, this would carry the vacuum along with it."

After a couple of minutes past, Lesa asked Sarita, "Are we going to sit here watching Jake ignore us, watch a movie, or try to get him to pay attention to us?"

"Huh?" Jake responded. Clearly he was not totally absorbed in what he was working on, but not fully cognizant of the conversation around him, either.

"Getting his attention is easy," Sarita claimed. "I'll bet I can just lean back, straighten my legs, and stretch my arms..." As she did what she was describing, her gown was riding higher and higher.

Just before she exposed herself, Jake said, "Stop that, I'm not watching," and turned to face away from her, shifting his computer to the right.