Comfort Me

"Oh I don't think you could call that rude, Lisa, just honest. I asked because my sister's name is Sydney, didn't want any confusion," he said chuckling and shaking his head. "So where'd you learn to cook like this?" he asked, turning back to Cidni and digging into his cake with gusto. She smiled a sad smile.

"I've been cooking and baking since I was four. My mom taught me the basics and then some. The last thing she taught me to cook was lasagna -- I was nine." A memory flashed through Cidni's mind of her mother in the kitchen on one of her "good" days, determined to make a delicious meal for her family after weeks of takeout and frozen food, and even more set on teaching her little girl how to do it. She continued, shaking the image from her thoughts, "I have yet to make it myself, but the recipe is ingrained in my mind. Maybe you could talk me into making it one day," she suggested, trying to transition into a lighter note, shocked that she'd opened up to him in that manner. Lisa cut in.

"Yeah, it's great having her around, like having my own personal chef three nights a week," she said, barely hiding the nastiness in her tone. Cidni sensed that Lisa was becoming irritated at the attention her niece and fiancé were paying to each other, so she reluctantly shut up and ate her cake, letting them maintain their own conversation. A couple of times Joshua attempted to pull her back into the fold, but she politely kept her responses to as much of a minimum as was possible without seeming rude.

When everyone was done, Cidni gathered the dishes as usual, hoping Lisa wouldn't make a comment about her being an excellent maid as well. Joshua looked up at her.

"Would you like some help?" he asked. "No, you don't --"

"You're our guest --" Lisa and Cidni both protested at the same time. At least that was one thing that they agreed on.

"No, no, it's the least I could do. You cooked, and it would be my pleasure to help with the dishes," Josh insisted.

"Well, honey I was thinking we could have some alone time after dinner," Lisa murmured suggestively, indicating a bottle of wine and two glasses with a wave of her manicured hand.

"Well, you're welcome to accompany us in the kitchen and drink your wine there. I'd enjoy the conversation," Joshua replied, something in his tone impressing finality. Cidni didn't miss the fact that he'd said 'your' wine as she took the dishes into the kitchen, Joshua and a dubious Lisa following behind her.

Attempting to ignore the tension, Cidni swiftly ran the dish water as hot as she could stand it and reached for the yellow gloves under the sink. Slipping them on, she poured some dish washing liquid into the steaming water and swished it around. She was pleased with the lather -- she wasn't sure how the new stuff would work, it having no harsh chemicals and all but she'd ventured to try it out any way. Before she could get immersed in her thoughts about eco-friendly alternatives, Joshua was beside her, dish towel in hand. He didn't play around, she absently noted with a slight smirk.

"So you go to Chambridge High?" He asked trying to fire up the small talk again as he threw the towel over his shoulder, took the first dish from her hand, rinsed it and placed it neatly in the dish drain.

"No, I go to St. Xavier, the private school down town," she replied, thoroughly scrubbing a glass clean before swishing it in the bottom of the sink, rinsing most of the suds off, and handing it to him.

"Oh. I was just reading an article about that school, something about tuition raises and budget cuts," he murmured. Cidni inwardly bristled and fought to control her temper -- and lost.

"Don't worry, I won't be draining your funds if that's what you're implying," she retorted, a sharp edge in her voice. Ignoring Lisa's intake of breath, she continued. "I'm on scholarship,"

A few moments of shocked silence passed before he responded.

"That's not what I meant. You'll come to realize that I'm not in such dire straits that I would begrudge a child her education," he replied sweetly but firmly. Touche`. The way he emphasized the word 'child' grated, yet she could admit that she'd hastily jumped to an insulting conclusion. "That's right Cidni. Joshua is a man. He's more than capable of taking care of us, though I certainly wouldn't encourage taking advantage," Lisa simpered. At that Cidni nearly scoffed. Taking advantage was probably foremost in Lisa's mind. She threw a glance behind her. Lisa was sitting on the island, her legs crossed and a wine glass in her hand. She yawned prettily -- too prettily. Cidni turned back around and rolled her eyes. "Joshua I'm going to bed, would you like to join me?" Lisa asked, nearly purring. Excellent Lisa, way to not make it obvious that you're inviting him to sleep with you...that just wouldn't be ladylike, Cidni thought.

"Sure, when I finish helping Cidni here with the dishes," was his reply. Cidni's head swiveled around and she got an eye-full of Joshua's profile. Burn! She could almost hear Lisa pouting, but unable to renege now that she'd said she was leaving, Lisa exited the kitchen and Cidni could have sworn that she heard her stomping up the stairs. She focused her attention back to the dishes, diverting her mind from the thought that he really was quite handsome.

"Thank you," Cidni said, suddenly feeling ashamed of her actions, "look, I'm sorry, what I said was rude. I'm just a little...frustrated that's all," she muttered lamely as she continued scrubbing the dishes.

"Cidni, I understand that this has all come as a shock to you, but I want you to know that I'm going to try to make this transition as easy as possible. Lisa said you like it here. I understand this was your parents' house and where you grew up, so we decided not to uproot you during your senior year. I'm selling my home instead. I know you're practically grown and you can handle yourself, so I won't interfere with your life on two conditions, you ready?" Her heart sinking, Cidni merely nodded.

"One, you aren't disrespecting yourself or anyone in this household, especially Lisa, and two, you're not doing harm to yourself or others. Make that three - Cidni, I want you to be happy -- at least ninety-nine point ninety-eight percent of the time. Is that workable?"

"Yeah, it's workable, and, um, you can call me Cat,"

Lying in bed once again, Cidni ignored the urge to slip her fingers down her pajama pants and assuage the ache in her still wet pussy. That urge had interrupted her reminiscing and she was somewhat annoyed. It was all his fault. She needed a cold shower. Reluctantly getting up and gathering her toiletries, Cidni couldn't block the fleeting thought that she wished Josh would join her.

In the shower, the cold water splashing her face and body and causing her nipples to shiver and goose bumps to rise on her skin, reality hit. What they had done, and what they had been about to do was wrong, and completely immoral. She should be grateful that Josh had the sense to stop when he did. A small part of her, though, was bothered that he'd even been able to think, because she certainly hadn't. He obviously hadn't felt the way she had. Frustrated, but cooled off, she turned off the cold water and stepped out of the shower, grabbing her towel off of the toilet and wrapping it around her chilled body. She grabbed another towel off the shelf and wrapped her hair and then brushed and flossed her teeth. Feeling marginally better, she tidied up the bathroom, grabbed her toiletries, opened up the door to leave and squealed. There stood Josh. Though it was the second time he'd startled her today, this was still a night of firsts. She'd never been around Josh in nothing more than a towel until this very moment. Her face flooded with heat.

Before she could say anything he grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close, kissing her until she couldn't think straight anymore. She'd been sure that something had been wrong earlier, but all she felt at the moment was right. She moaned and felt her towel slipping away, she reached to adjust it and scooted closer to him. His mouth felt amazing. To her pleasure he slid his mouth to her throat, kissing and licking. When he moved to the side of her neck and bit down almost painfully, she was surprised at the sharp flash of pleasure that went through her and settled at her core, making her squirm wildly in his arms. The towel began to slip even more and she stepped back and broke their embrace to adjust it again.

"Cidni, I asked you to go into your room and lock your door," Joshua said calmly after their kiss was broken. Her mind cleared and she welcomed the spark of anger that he'd ignited. It was the only thing that she could hold onto that would help her keep her senses.

"No Josh, you ordered me to go to my room and lock my door, and for the record you were right, I should definitely go protect myself from your drunken advances. I'll unlock my door when you can no longer use Jack Daniels as an excuse," she huffed.

"Cidni --" was all he got out before her bedroom door slammed and the lock clicked.

"And turn the heat down in this bitch, you emotional drunk!" she yelled at the top of her lungs through the shut door. Minutes later she heard footsteps and the unmistakable click and void of the heat shutting off.