Chapter 2

I headed downstairs to the dining room, and everyone was indeed waiting for me to start dinner. I took my seat across the table at an angle from Angie. She gave me a little smile, but otherwise seemed like she was avoiding me.

"At least she wasn't a wreck anymore", I thought.

All other thoughts would have to wait because my stomach informed me that it was going to mutiny unless I bribed it substantially. That was easy enough to do with the mountain of food that my mom had made. She always cooked enough for an army and my dad and I did our best to make sure that everybody ate more than enough. It's not that we wanted everyone to be full, our purposes weren't quite that noble, it was the knowledge that we would have about two straight weeks of leftovers if we didn't get rid of it all right away.

Dinner was going quite well, and I thought I was going to get through it without a scratch. That was when my aunt spoke up.

"So Eddie, where's your girlfriend?" Retribution for the 'merciless' remark earlier I guess.

"Well, I don't have one right now. I've just had too much work to do with school and everything."

"So, you couldn't get a date, huh?" my aunt teased.

"No it wasn't that..." I had to think fast to save my dignity, "I guess I just wasn't attracted to the girls that were there. They were all carbon copies of each other."

I had to admit to myself that the reason I didn't date was that none of the carbon copies would go out with me. I was a geek in high school and that seemed to translate over to college life pretty well. It wasn't that I was bad looking or anything like that. I guess I was just too far on the fringe. I didn't go to parties, get stoned or get drunk. My tastes tended more towards live theater and video games. It just wasn't in my nature to be the average Joe.

"Meaning you couldn't get a date," my aunt continued to tease.

"Yeah, fine, whatever."

My appetite was destroyed, but my stomach wasn't looking forward to leftovers. I stayed at the table long enough to be polite, and then excused myself once the 'adults' small talk started to lean towards politics.

I went to the living room and flipped through the cable channels that my dad got as soon as I was living in the dorms. Evidently I had to be protected from the evil influences of cable TV when I was living at home. Too bad that cable at Christmas isn't much different than the usual junk. I flipped through five showings of It's a Wonderful Life, seven episodes of Star Trek's from different series, and two Alien Autopsies when Angie walked in.

"Who's winning, my mom or your dad?"

"I think your mom is up by a few points right now," she said smiling. It was a common joke between us that it wasn't really Christmas until our parents started arguing politics. "I came to cheer you up," she said and sat next to me on the couch.

"Thanks. Remind me never to get on your mom's bad side."

"She can be such a bitch sometimes, I let it slide around the holidays since my uncle died a couple years ago."

"Oh yeah, I forgot about that. I can't find anything good on TV, why don't you try?" I said as I handed her the remote.

"Cool, you've got cable now?"

"Yeah, as soon as I moved out my dad moved the 'evil' in."

"Well, the good stuff doesn't come on for another hour or so, so how about this?" Angie flipped to one of the cartoon channels that would be showing Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown in a couple of minutes.

"Looks good to me."

I pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and put it around me.

"Got another one of those, I'm a little chilly," Angie said.

"This is the only one, but your welcome to share."

I lifted the side of the blanket and Angie slid over to me, putting her head on my shoulder.

"You know, you're a lot like Charlie Brown," she said, "you always try to help people out even though the good stuff doesn't happen to you," Angie said as she gave me a hug.

"Thanks, I think."

"I don't know why you don't have a girl friend. I mean, your smart, cute, and probably the nicest person I know," Angie said as she sat back up and rested her hand on my leg, "Why can't I meet a good guy like you who won't care about my bra size?"

"You will Angie. You just wait until the boys get more mature, and they'll be crawling over hot coals to get to you."

"You really think so?"

"Definitely. You know..." I said, giving her an appraising look, "you are already prettier than most of the girls at college."

"Even with these," Angie said dubiously while indicating her breasts.

"Even with those," I chuckled softly. "But then I wouldn't have given them a second thought once I saw your face."

"Really?"

"Really," I said. She curled up next to me and laid her head on my chest.

"Thanks," She took my arm and pulled across her midsection, "for everything."

"Anytime runt," I said. Angie giggled and hugged my arm tighter against her causing my hand to rest on her left breast. She didn't say anything about it so I just let it stay there. We just sat in silence for a while.

I reveled in Angie's warmth as her body was pressed against mine. God it was a wonderful feeling. It had been almost a year since I had a girlfriend, and I had forgotten how good it felt to just hold someone. Every so often, she would take a deep breath and press her breast into my hand. It might have been small but seemed so perfect in my hand. I looked down at her face and saw that her eyes were closed, again.

"What is with her?" I wondered, "she's like a cat"

I tried to get out from under her so I could lay her down, but as soon as I moved my arm she grabbed it and pulled it tight to her chest. She held my hand there like it was a stuffed animal as she returned to sleep.

I marveled at the how her pert breast could be so firm, yet so soft. I stoked her gently through her shirt, and slowly felt the hard nubbin of her nipple press against my palm. My cock was hard again only a few hours after I had jerked off to thoughts of doing exactly what I was doing now.

"What the hell does this girl do to me," I thought. "I'm practically raping her."

It was only with a great deal of strength, both mental and physical, that I managed to pull my arm away, waking Angie in the process.

"Huh, what, did I fall asleep again?"

"Yep, how do you do that so quickly?" I asked.

"I don't know. It must be because you're so comfortable, or maybe because you make me feel safe."

"I do?"

It must have been my turn to blush, because I could feel my cheeks turn beet red.

"You're like the big brother I never had, or maybe... I don't know," she flashed me a smile. "Whatever you are, you make me feel safe."

There was an uncomfortable silence for a moment and we both shifted around into a less intimate position.

"Hey it's almost time for the specials," I said, flipping on the TV to break the silence.

There were only two shows on that night. I guess they were saving the rest for Christmas day. We watched in silence for the most part. I was on one cushion, Angie on the other. Somehow by the middle of Charlie Brown we were cuddled up again.

I had my arm around Angie's shoulders and was lazily stroking her hand. She shifted around a bit, and our fingers just slid together. Angie looked up at me with a look I have yet to ever see again. It was a mixture of confusion, desire, and sadness.