Chapter 3

My neighbors, the Robertsons, were retired and planning to roam the countryside in an RV when their granddaughter landed in their laps, for all practical purposes abandoned by her mother. The Robertsons responded to this situation by going from retired gypsy mode to full blown doting grandparents mode, and helped their granddaughter in all the activities she got involved in.

The one group that their granddaughter and Kate were both in were the BUG girls (which stood for Building, Understanding and Growing). The BUG girls did a lot of activities, but they were really big into entymology (which I guess you can figure out by their name) and building things. As the school year progressed, Kate kept her dolls, but building sets and science kits were also making their way onto her desk and shelves.

It was the first weekend in January, when school was still out, that the BUG girls were planning on a trip to LEGOland down in California. I had helped chaperone a lot of the BUG girl outings and opened my house up to their meetings. One of the reasons was that I enjoyed being involved in my daughter's activities, but another reason was that more than one of the dads and granddads of members in the BUG girls had been ex-military like me, and it was nice for a change to have something in common with the parents I was associating with.

When I first found out about this trip, I called up Melissa Robertson, asking how much the trip was going to be and also volunteering to "match" for another girl (not all the girls had parents who could afford such a trip, so it was customary for parents who were in a comfortable financial position like me to sponsor another girl).

"That's very nice of you, Jim," Melissa replied. "I only wish you could go along as a chaperone, but Kate has already told us that you and Jessica had plans for that weekend." This was news to me, but I didn't say otherwise.

When I saw Kate and asked her about this, she shrugged and replied, "I know you and Momma Jess haven't had a date since we first got here, so I thought I'd give you a chance to have another one!" And that was that.

I don't thnk Jessica was party to Kate's machinations, but she certainly decided to take advantage of it.

"I'll have Caitlin and Kim over, they can be my sous chefs and when you get home, I'll have a gourmet dinner waiting for you!"

In between the time I learned of the trip to LEGOLAND and that weekend that me and Jessica would be left alone, Jessica and I had a couple of more dinners after her study sessions with her regular study partners, and these always seem to devolve to the three woman giggling and heading into the kitchen after dinner, leaving me and Mac in the den with our coffee.

"Do you have any idea what all that is about, Mac?"

Mac just shook his head. "That's depressing as hell, Jim. I was hoping by the time I was your age, I'd have women figured out. And now you're telling me you don't have a clue either."

"Smart ass," I responded gruffly, and we both had a good laugh.

And so on the first Friday in January, we got Kate all packed up and headed to the airport with the rest of the BUG girls for their flight to California. Then Jessica gave me a bright smile, straightened my tie, and pulled me down for another quick heated kiss before sending me on my way.

Fortunately, all I had to do at work that day was put my signature on a few standard forms and push some papers around, because I couldn't get my mind to focus if my life depended on it.

When I got home that night, I was greeted at the door by Kim and Caitlin.

"Sorry, Jim, we thought we'd be out of here before you got home," Caitlin said. "But the first course is on the table, Jessica's getting changed, and we're out of here." Caitlin reached up and hugged me around the neck, whispering, "You be good to her" before she ducked out the door. Kim stood there blushing, before she gave me a quick hug and left as well.

I stood there in the front hall, trying to figure out what was going on, when Jessica descended down the staircase.

And took my breath away.

If every woman had a signature color, Jessica's would be sapphire blue. The color set off her skin perfectly, as well as her thick, dark hair which cascaded down her shoulders. I watched mesmerized as she descended down the stairs. She was wearing a halter top dress that had a modest bodice and was floor length, but the slit in her dress gave me more than an ample view of her legs. When she got to the bottom, she spun around, showing me her back was bare almost to her waist, save for a crisscrossing pair of straps.

"What do you think?" Jessica asked, a sparkle in her eyes.

"I have no words that could do you justice," I replied, still stunned.

Jessica beamed at me, then pulled me down for a kiss. But this kiss was like the one we had shared months ago, one that had seared itself into my soul, and one that I was in danger of losing myself in.

When we broke the kiss, Jessica looked up at me with a content smile on her face. "We better eat our dinner before it gets cold."

Dinner was a variety of light, exotic fusion dishes served with a white wine from our small cellar. We talked about a number of things, including the fact that Kate had called from the airport and had promised that next time she would let Jessica and me come along with her, which made both of us laugh. I was expecting conversation over dinner to be a bit awkward for some reason, but I was as comfortable with Jessica as I always was, even though I had no idea where things were going between us.

After dinner, Jessica shooed me off to the den, then soon followed carrying two cocktail glasses with white creamy liquid drinks in them. She almost stumbled as she set them down, then plopped herself beside me, giggling.

"Sorry, I guess I'm a lightweight," she said. "Of course, the only two times I've ever had a drink is when I've been on a date with you. Well, I had a sip of this when Caitlin showed me how to make them today."

Not really sure how I should respond to her confession, I picked up my drink and took a sip, with Jessica following suit.

"Definitely minty," I said, as I set my drink down. Jessica took one more sip before setting hers down as well. "I thought it would be nice after dinner for when we do this." And Jessica pulled me down for another kiss.

We were both breathing heavily when we broke apart. Jessica tried to say something, but it took her a couple of tries before she could catch her breath.

"Jim, I'd like ... can we go for a swim?"

"A swim?" I answered, not having my own bearings yet.

"I'd ... I'd really like to go for a swim. Could we meet down at the pool in fifteen minutes?"

Well, if there was one thing an indoor heated pool was good for, it was a night swim in the middle of winter. "Fifteen minutes," I said, nodding dumbly.

Jessica gave me a bright smile then quickly stood and dashed up to her room.

Thirty minutes later, I was standing midway down my pool when Jessica walked in.

And my jaw literally dropped.

I knew Jessica was a beautiful woman with a beautiful body, but the white bathing suit she wore showed just how beautiful she was. Her top conisted of just a thin strap that barely covered her nipples, and gave no support to a pair of full, firm breasts that clearly needed no support. I don't know if it was excitement or the coolish air, but I could see Jessica's hard nipples poking through her top.

I let my gaze travel down Jessica's flat stomach and down her shapely legs before returning to her bikini bottoms. Like her top, the bottom was very sparse, with a good deal of her wonderful bottom hanging out. It was clear by the lack of material in her bikini bottom that Jessica must have recently shaved her nether lips, and I can only imagine her embarrassment during the process, because the dusky skin of her face was turning a warm red under my gaze. But she stood still, not covering herself, as she waited for my reaction.

"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, Jessica."