Chapter 11

Mindy woke, suddenly and with a feeling that something was terribly wrong. Because of the level of the light, she rolled to look at the alarm clock. It was almost nine-thirty.

She sat up so quickly that the sheet she had pulled over herself filled with air and slid off the bed, puddling on the floor.

She was naked. Like her daughter, she had masturbated after tasting Bobby and then going to bed ... unsatisfied. She had a dildo, something else her daughter didn’t know about her, and she had used it for almost forty-five minutes, imagining it was the penis she had masturbated, and then sucked. She imagined he was lying on top of her, thrusting into her, until she let herself have the orgasm she so desperately needed. Like her daughter, she hadn’t wanted restrictions while she played, but she had stripped completely. And, like Jennifer, she had simply pulled the sheet over her when she was finished, and gone to sleep.

She smelled something cooking, and decided it was pancakes. Hurriedly she got dressed and left the bedroom to visit the bathroom, before she, too, looked in on their house guest.

The couch was empty, the sheet folded neatly and lying on one arm.

She found them in the kitchen. Even before she entered the room, she knew somebody had made coffee. She assumed that was Bobby, because Jennifer never touched the stuff. Mindy had gotten used to going without it herself. But Jennifer knew where the machine was, and the coffee grounds.

Jennifer was standing at the stove, tending the pan. Bobby sat, both hands cupped around a cup of steaming coffee.

“Can I have some of that?” asked Mindy as she sat down and pointed at his cup.

“Of course,” he said. “Jennifer made it.”

“Really?” Her surprise was obvious.

Jennifer turned. “I’ve seen you make coffee, Mom. It’s not rocket science.”

“You’ve just never made it before,” said Mindy, rising to go to the pot, which was three quarters full. She got a cup and poured.

“I made it for Bobby,” said Jennifer, turning to flip the pancake in the skillet.

“Aren’t you sweet,” said Mindy. Her voice was casual.

“Nobody ever does anything for him,” said Jennifer, without turning around. “He has to do everything for himself. I thought it would be nice to pamper him for once. Don’t be jealous, Mom. Besides, I made enough for both of you.”

“You made enough for half the county,” muttered Mindy. She took a sip. It was good. She didn’t want to say so, though, and that surprised her enough to examine what was going on in her mind. She was jealous! She was jealous that Jennifer got to pamper the man before she could ... that she had been left to sleep, while these two did ... whatever they had been doing.

“Somebody got up on the wrong side of the bed,” said Jennifer, still not turning around.

“No,” corrected Mindy. “You’re right. I am a little jealous.”

Now the girl turned. “Well that’s crazy.” She put the pancake on a plate and handed it to her mother. “Especially after last night.”

“Last night,” said Mindy, her mind going back to how she had writhed on the bed, wishing she had the courage to just go get him and have him fuck her brains out. She looked at Bobby. He was looking at her. She realized, suddenly that his full beard made it much harder to read his face than she would have thought.

“What are you looking at?” she said, automatically and before she could stop herself. She was unsettled. She didn’t like being jealous. She didn’t like being left out while they indulged in the perfectly normal and innocent intimacy of sharing breakfast. She didn’t like having to use a dildo. She didn’t like having all these feelings again, after years of trying to convince herself she was better off without a man in her life.

“A beautiful woman?” His voice sounded so hopeful, so tentative, almost scared, that it broke her mood.

“Thank you,” she said. She reached for the butter, but the pancake had already cooled, and when she tried to spread it she tore the surface. She stood to put the plate in the microwave for thirty seconds. She addressed Jennifer. “And I’m sorry for being jealous.”

“Grown ups are so silly sometimes,” said Jennifer. She flipped the cake in the pan. “You heard him. You’re beautiful. Guys don’t think I’m pretty.”

“Are you fishing for a compliment or something?” asked Bobby. “Because I’m full of them. You two have no idea how you’ve made me feel.”

“Thanks,” said Jennifer over her shoulder. “But you don’t have to make up compliments for me. I know my crush on you is stupid. I told Mom you’d pick her instead of me if you had the choice.”

“Is that what you think happened last night?” he asked. “Do you think I picked your mother?”

“I saw what she was doing ... before I got mad and interrupted.”

“Sweetheart,” said Mindy. “He didn’t ask me to do that. I practically attacked him.”

The girl turned around and looked at Bobby. “Is that true?” She sounded skeptical.

“Well,” he said, putting down his fork. “I’ll admit I didn’t try very hard to fight her off.” He blinked. “Actually, I didn’t try at all.”

“I thought so,” snorted the teen. “I’ll never have a boyfriend.” She turned back to the stove.

He stood, and went to her, standing close behind her and putting his hands on either side of her arms, on the edge of the stove. His face was right beside her left ear.

“This has me all mixed up,” he said softly. “Everything that’s happened has happened so fast, and I wasn’t planning any of it. I wasn’t ready for it. I had no intention of inviting anybody into my life, much less a girl and her mother. But you saved my life ... twice. You have no idea how I feel about you.”

Her head fell backwards several inches, until her soft, young cheek touched his bearded one. Her hands reached for his, and lifted them from the edge of the stove. She brought them to her young breasts, which were naked under the T shirt she’d put on that morning. Her palms pressed his against the soft flesh.

“Have you ever felt like doing this?” she asked, her voice breathy.

His hands lay limply under hers for a few seconds, but then squeezed gently.

“Of course,” he whispered. “But it wasn’t allowed.”

“Who says it wasn’t allowed?” she asked, making his hands move her breast flesh all around.

“Your mother ... the general public ... lots of people,” he said.

“May I have another pancake please?” came the strong voice of her mother.

“In a minute,” said Jennifer. “I’m busy right now.”

“I can see that,” said Mindy.

“This is important, Mom,” said the girl.

“I know, sweetheart. I just don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Will you hurt me?” asked Jennifer, turning her lips to his ear.

“Never,” he whispered.

“Will you hurt my mother?”

“Never,” he said again.

“Even if we both want you?” she asked, stopping his hands.

“I can’t believe either of you wants me,” he said.

She turned in his arms, her face inches from his. “Then you’re a very foolish man,” she said. She kissed his lips, not quite a peck, but lingering no longer than a second or two. Then she pushed him away. “Go spend some time with my mother. She’s jealous, but I know you can make her feel better. See if she’ll let you feel her boobs. Hers are lots bigger than mine.”

He moved back, and turned around to find Mindy staring up at him. He couldn’t read her face.

“No man in history has ever been in this situation,” he sighed. “I have no idea what to do.”

“Stop feeling sorry for yourself and finish your breakfast,” growled Mindy. But she didn’t sound really unhappy.

Jennifer got her own plate and sat down. They ate in silence for five minutes. Finally, he couldn’t take it any longer.

“Why?” he asked, looking at Mindy.

“Why what?” she responded.

“Why did you decide to do that last night?”

“Which part?”

“All of it!” he gasped.

“Do you want the long answer, or the short one?”

“I don’t know. What’s the short one?”

“Because I wanted to.”

“Okay, then. It turns out I want the long answer,” he sighed.

Mindy glanced at Jennifer, who was eating, but looked very alert.

“Like I said last night, it’s complicated,” she said.

“You’re telling me?” he said.

“Are you going to let me talk, or not?” she asked, crossly.

He leaned back, his mouth closed.

She sat, looking at him, and then away, and at her plate, and then away. Finally she spoke.

“I met you and you were different than what I expected. I liked you. It was obvious Jennifer liked you too, which was just mind blowing, because all she’d had to do with you was cut a tree off of you and let you take her to the hospital. But it was clear that she liked you. But I didn’t find that out until after I realized I liked you too.

“Then more happened, and I got to know you a little better. I know that, last night, I said it takes time, but with you I learned most of what I needed to know very quickly. You’re a nice man, underneath that stern exterior you like to present to the world. You have a code of conduct that’s admirable. You gave of yourself and got hurt for it, but you still give of yourself, even to strangers. It’s rare, at least in my experience, to find a man who gives more than he takes. Then there’s the fact that I just like being around you. And you’re handsome. I remembered what it was like ... back when there was a man in my life. And suddenly ... there you were ... lying on my couch ... and I let my emotions get the better of me.”

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