Page 22 of Let Me Love You
“Spill it. I want details. I haven’t had sex with a young stud like that since I was twenty-three, so it’s been a few years. I guess I have to live vicariously through you.”
Stacey rolled her eyes. Jen was twenty-eight-years-old and had had plenty of hotties in her bed. Jen winked.
This whole thing with Renwasoutside Stacey’s character. Jen had been the wild and unruly sister. Taking life by the horns and enjoying the ride. Stacey had always been the more responsible one. Not that she didn’t like adventure or good sex, for that matter. She was just less spontaneous. She was more a planner, someone who thought things out. Her behavior with Ren was outside of her usual decision making and it unsettled her.
Sighing, Stacey filled her in on how everything went down.
“You fucked him on the kitchen countertop?” The pitch of Jen’s voice pierced the roof, then she whistled. “Holy shit! That’s hot! I’m never going to be able to look at your kitchen in the same light again.”
“Randy and I had sex plenty of times in the kitchen.” She tried to sound nonchalant. Like the tryst with Ren was no big deal. She took a bite of her pancakes and smiled. Thinking back, not even one of those times with Randy could compare to yesterday with Ren, but she wasn’t prepared to admit that out loud yet.
“Yes, but Randyain’tno Ren.” Jen reached out and touched Stacey’s hand again. Leave it to her to say exactly what Stacey had been thinking. “How will you ever be in that kitchen again and not think of getting fucked out of your mind by that young, hot buck?”
“Jesus, you sound like an advertisement for a porno with that mouth.” Stacey laughed.
The lightness of the conversation felt good. She needed this. Needed to tell someone what happen to work through everything in her head. No one filled that position better than her sister. Keeping a secret bottled up ate at her. She’d been berating herself for most of her waking hours, feeling as if what she’d done had been wrong. But there was nothing wrong with two consenting adults having sex. And that’s what it was and will ever be.
“Sorry. I’m so excited for you.” Jen shoved the last bite of her chocolate chip pancake into her mouth and moaned. “Mmmm, I love these.” She wiped her mouth with the napkin. “So, what’s the plan? Is he home for good? You going to keep seeing him for a bit?”
“Keep seeing him?” Stacey gasped. She couldn’t get over her sister’s reaction. “He just graduated from college, for crying out loud.”
“So?”
“This was a fling. That’s it. There’s no seeing each other. There will be no more sex with him.”
“That’s a damn shame. He might be good for you.”
“Well, he’ll be around. He’s taken a job in Tampa at an engineering firm. Living at his parents right now, which is incredibly awkward since we…you know.” Her eyelids fluttered closed at the image of her sitting on the counter, Ren between her legs.
“Fucked?” Jen filled in.
“Jesus!” She gave her a stern look. “Clearly, it can’t happen again.” She shifted in her chair, uncomfortable with both the idea of it happening and not happening again. She was one hot mess.
“Why the hell not? Did he tell you it was a one-time event?” Jen snickered.
She got a kick out of this. Stacey threw her napkin, but Jen was too quick. Grabbing the cloth mid-air, she whipped it back at Stacey. It fluttered past her face before falling to the hardwood floor.
“No. He didn’t say that. I’m saying it despite the fact he claims to want more.” The thought of pursuing anything more had butterflies fluttering in her stomach. He was insanely handsome, kind, sweet. He’d always shown interest in her, in her career, her life. He’d definitely make someone a good husband one day, once he sowed his oats.
“More? As in?”
“More, as in he claims he moved back to the area to be closer to me. His mom confirmed he came back to the area for a girl, but I find it hard to believe he’s here for me even if he said he has feelings for me.” Saying it out loud almost made the last twenty-four hours seem real. Like the connection hadn’t been only in her head.
Jen’s hazelnut colored hair was tied carelessly at the top of her head and long strands fell loosely around her face as she stared at Stacey in astonishment. Her blue eyes sparkled with contagious excitement.
Excitement. A strange feeling since her divorce. Even before that if she thought about it, as she knew her marriage had been in trouble for some time. Randy had worked his way up to partner in the firm. That came with long hours. He’d been known to put in sixty- to eighty-hours a week, especially if he had a trial. At first, the lack of time together didn’t bother her. It allowed her to write. One of her best-selling books came out of that time period. And Randy still came home with flowers, gave kisses goodbye and hello, and the sex had been decent and frequent. Then the sex dwindled and even when they made love, it wasn’t passionate. He’d say he was too tired after his long day. The kisses became scarce. She had counted three days go by without him even giving her a peck on the lips.Three whole days. Who doesn’t kiss their wife? Stacey knew something was up, but she honestly never considered an affair. Looking back, her naivete gutted her now. The signs were all there. She just didn’t want to see them.
“So, we finally get to why you came down here.” Jen shook her head. “Now I understand. A guy is interested in you, albeit, it is a bit awkward with him living next door with his parents whom you’ve been friendly with since you’ve moved there. But he’s interested in you nonetheless and you don’t know what to do with it. You’re scared.” She rubbed her thumb over the back of Stacey’s hand in a soothing manner. “Would you want a relationship with him?”
“Jennifer! We are so far apart in age. In different stages, different parts of life. A relationship would never work between us and trying one could ruin everything. His parents are my neighbors. Plus, eventually, he’ll get bored with me, too, and find someone younger.”
Her sister had an amazing way of getting her to spill her guts and figure out what the underlying issues were. Sometimes she didn’t know what the root of her problem was until she started talking to Jen.
She wasn’t opposed to a relationship with a younger man or Ren, for that matter. Rather, what concerned her was the unescapable feeling of being left for someone again—someone younger. She struggled with the idea she wasn’t enough to hold a man’s attention.
“I’m only giving you this advice because I’m your sister and I love you. If it were anyone else, I’d butt out of the situation and mind my own business.” Jen’s lips pulled together in a serious expression. Stacey burst out laughing. Nothing was more humorous than her sister thinking she had the capability of minding her own business. “What?”
“The part about you minding your own business is hysterical.” She giggled.
