Chapter 3

Dan had been right about his family's reaction to Sue. They all seemed to love her. As for Sue, she thought they were pretty nice, too. But her nervousness was still with her. She could not forget the idea that she had been brought to these people's house so they could inspect her. It was not in Sue's nature to be self-conscious, but being taken home to meet the family made her feel shy as a sparrow-for a while, at least.

Luke, Dan's father, gave Sue a warm hug when he met her, and proceeded to try to ply her with alcohol-before, during and after dinner. He was not at all what Sue had expected in the father of a twenty-eight-year-old man. She had expected someone balding, pot-bellied arid nice.

Luke was nice all right, but he was tall and brawny, like his oldest son, and very handsome. He had just enough gray in his hair to give him an air of authority, but otherwise, there was little about him that gave away his age. Dan had told her he was forty-nine, but to the blonde he did not look a day over forty. She did not like the little throbs of excitement she felt in her belly when Luke bent over her to pour her wine. They were not appropriate sensations for a young woman to feel for her future father-in-law.

Dan's mother, Lucy, was a couple of years younger than her husband, but she did not look as young. Still, she was a handsome woman. Her grey-blonde hair was pulled into an attractive chignon that made Lucy look, at the same time, both motherly and elegant. Her figure was still trim, and Sue admired the way the older woman moved about her house, managing the comfort of her family and guest. Lucy was the one Sue instinctively felt closest to. She thought she could understand at a glance exactly what motivated Lucy. It was the father and the younger son who presented the dilemma.

Dick was the smallest of the Walker men. True, he was only sixteen, but already it was clear he would never achieve the full-bodied girth of either his father or his big brother. He was slender and a couple of inches less than six feet. The most amazing part of Dick was his handsome face-pretty would have been a better word-but Sue did not want to insult the boy, even in her thoughts.

Though Dick said little, his penetrating blue eyes watched the blonde constantly. His attention unnerved Sue. But it flattered her, too. She felt instinctively that the boy's scrutiny was heavily laced with admiration.

It was Luke who dominated the dinnertime conversation. As an outsider, Sue quickly sensed who the pivotal figure in the family was. She joined the others in making casual remarks to supplement the subject matter that Luke chose to deal with in his monologues. The general rule seemed to be 'speak when spoken to, or during intermissions.' Even Dan followed the rule-Sue had never seen her handsome fiance so quiet.

"Yeah, Dan, I'm going to have to take this family of mine out to California one of these days to visit you two. I've heard it's a dandy place to live, out there. I'm never going to doubt that business about beautiful California girls again, I tell you. Sue's proof enough for me. I'm proud of you, boy. You got your self a fine-looking woman there. Make sure you hold onto her."

"Don't worry, Dad. I don't have any intention of letting Sue go. You can take my word on that." Sue nudged Dan in the ribs, a reminder of his promise to keep their engagement secret for the time being. She kept her eyes studiously directed to her plate, pretending she was paying more attention to her food than to the conversation between father and son. Luke's heavy-handed compliment had set her heart beating like a bass drum. She knew she was blushing, and she hated herself for it. She did not usually blush. That Luke did something to her that she did not like made her feel small and vulnerable. Both his size and the force of his personality threatened to overwhelm her.

The defensive feeling made her bristle. She was not going to let any big galoot make her feel like a sweet little thing with a bow in her hair. She looked in Luke's direction, fully intending to give him a stare as cool and controlled as any she had ever produced.

He took her by surprise. He was already staring at her when she looked his way. She could not hold his gaze, but she struggled valiantly to regroup the shattered remains of her self-possession while she drew and erased parallel lines with her fork in her mashed potatoes.

The hand that patted hers startled Sue. She looked up to find Dan's mother smiling at her from the end of the table.

"Poor Sue. I think you're too tired for this dinnertime rattle, aren't you? Would you like me to show you to your room? You get my sewing room. I think you'll like it, it's very cozy."

Sue smiled gratefully at the older woman. She knew she had been right about Lucy. In her own quiet way, Lucy knew how to recognize a situation getting out of control, and how to take care of it.

"That sounds wonderful, Lucy. I guess that week on the road is finally catching up with me." As she rose to leave the table, Dan gave her a quick pinch on the ass that told her he knew exactly what it was that was catching up with her-getting the hell screwed out of her several times a day.

Hoping no one had noticed his gesture, she reached for Dan's hand and squeezed it. "Goodnight, Dan. See you tomorrow." She smiled politely at Luke, who grinned back at her. She began to believe the mental struggle between them had been all in her own mind. He seemed like a nice man, even if he did talk a lot.

"See you tomorrow, Dick. If I'm not up early enough to see you off, have a good day at school, okay?"

It was Dick's turn to blush. Now that Sue was looking back at him, the boy could not meet her gaze. "Thanks," he muttered.

Sue felt her pussy flutter and was embarrassed, just as if someone might have been able to tell what was happening to her. She realized she was going to have to be careful around the Walker men. All three of them had a powerful effect on her. But only one was hers to explore at will.

Dick was normally a sound sleeper, and it confused him to find himself wide awake in the middle of the night. What had awakened him?

He listened attentively for night noises, trying to detect anything out of the usual. His eyes strained in the weak moonlight that filtered through his curtains. Everything seemed normal, quiet. "Gad!" the boy muttered in disgust. "Now I'll never get back to sleep"

Dick began to get anxious about the idea of lying awake until dawn and then feeling groggy in school all day. He decided to go downstairs and make himself some hot chocolate. He was looking forward to the idea of a mid-night treat and some time to think.

What he wanted to think about was Sue. Dick had never met a woman who had made such an impression on him as had Sue. Even his good-looking French teacher seemed homely in comparison to the pretty, quiet blonde.

He thought she might even be better than Cheryl Ladd, who at this point in Dick's virginal life was his ideal of female desirability.

It irked the boy that everything his brother had ever had or done seemed so far superior to the highlights of his own boring existence. Dick loved his big brother. In fact, he idolized Dan. But he could not help occasionally resenting the fact that Dan had always had everything-and still had everything. Now he had this fantastic woman. She was just the kind of girl Dick would have liked to have, but Dick had never even had a girl.

Girls liked him; they thought lie was 'cute'. But that was not the problem. The problem was that Dick felt like a nerd around girls. He couldn't talk. He couldn't even stand around and look cool. He just went to pieces, the way he had tonight when Sue had talked to him.