Chapter 7

In the pre-sunrise hours in that hotel room in Las Vegas, my gorgeous, nude cousin paused before answering. What was surely only a few seconds felt like a few hours, until finally she looked up and met my gaze.

"I don't know, Eddie. The virtuous part of me wants to be faithful to my husband, to write this trip off as a one-time lack of judgment, to move forward and see if Mike and I can make it work."

I nodded.

"But the honest part of me realizes that Mike and I may not be able to make it work. And now that you and I have opened this Pandora's box, and I'll know you're only a phone call away? It won't be easy to quit you, Ed. Not now."

I nodded, again. "Jen, I feel the same way. I know I shouldn't be sleeping with a married woman — indeed, I've never done this before. But I also know that you and I have something special here. Married or not, my cousin or not, I want to be with you, in each and every way possible."

I didn't mention to Jen my suspicions that I was falling in love with her. That was certainly the last thing she needed to hear.

We talked a bit more about the situation, not reaching any conclusions or solutions, before nestling back into each other and falling asleep.

We were both quiet the next morning, lost in our own thoughts. We showered separately, and although I still stole glances at Jen's naked body, there were no carnal activities that morning. We repacked our small bags and checked out of the room. After grabbing a quick breakfast at the deli downstairs, we were on the road by 9:30, me behind the wheel, as we headed out of town on I-15. We sang along with the radio and generally talked of inconsequential things as the miles slipped away.

We were about an hour outside of Vegas when I felt Jen's soft hand resting on my knee, the way this whole adventure had started. She rubbed my knee gently, her movements sensual but not overly sexual. I turned to her and grinned, enjoying the contact.

"Ed? I've been thinking about what we said last night. I think — I think I have to be fair to Mike. I think I have to try and be faithful to him."

My heart dropped into my feet, and I swallowed hard. I pulled my knee away from Jen's hand, and from the corner of my eye, I could see the startled look on her face as I did so.

"Of course, Jen," I said tonelessly. "He's your husband, and I'm your cousin. Obviously that's the right thing to do."

The next couple of hours were pretty awkward, and pretty silent. Between Barstow and Bakersfield, we stopped at a Burger King to pick up some lunch, and for Jen to take a turn at the wheel. When we were back on the road, I finished my lunch and wiped my hands. Taking a deep breath, I set one hand on Jen's leg, halfway between the hem of her shorts and her knee.

She glanced at me, eyes widening.

"Jen. I'm sorry for acting like a dick earlier. You are a married woman, and you have to live with your decisions. I have loved every second of this trip, the naked moments and the clothed ones," I said, chuckling. "You are an amazing person, and I just want you in my life any way I can get you. I'm thrilled that we'll be living in the same city, and I respect your decision. Again, I'm so sorry," I said, giving her smooth thigh one last gentle squeeze before pulling my hand away.

Jen's hands were clenching the steering wheel tightly, and her eyes were wet with emotion. She turned to me and gave me one silent nod, before returning her eyes to the road.

We were approaching the I-5 / I-580 junction, an hour or so outside of The City, when Jen took out her phone to call Mike. I was driving again. We'd had a pretty quiet car ride the rest of the way, though it was more of a comfortable silence this afternoon.

As I navigated onto the I-580, heading west towards Oakland and San Francisco, I listened to one side of Jen's conversation with her husband.

"Yeah, we're just getting on I-580. Ed says about an hour or so, so maybe like 6:30? I have to drop him off first."

"Oh. You are?"

"Oh. No, we didn't eat yet."

"OK. That's fine, I'll just get the key you gave Ed. Sure. I'll see you when you get home then."

"Love you too."

She thumbed the End button on her phone, and then looked at me. "Hmmm. You'd think he'd want to see his wife for the first time in four weeks as soon as possible. But he 'has plans' tonight, going out for dinner and drinks with some of the guys from work."