Near Miss

Reaching his bedroom, Jesse burst through and slammed the door loudly behind him. He was certain she saw his panty covered ass and red bra before he could get the door closed.

Entering the hall, Christiana saw a glimpse of Jesse's back and a flash of red before he disappeared into the bedroom. With the crash of the door, she stopped in her tracks trying to process why he was running and non-responsive. More disconcerting, she attempted to make sense of what she was increasingly certain she had seen.

Jesse locked the door and leaned heavily against it. He felt large beads of sweat on his forehead. In a mix of fear and self-loathing, he pulled the panties off and threw them on the floor. He struggled with the clasp of the bra, but his distress made him clumsy. His inability to release the hooks increased his agitation.

Christiana walked down the hall and knocked on the door. "Jesse, are you alright?" Her voice was stressed.

Wishing he could disappear, Jesse grimaced. With his heart racing and his ears pounding, he could barely hear. Conflicted, he waited a moment too long, then responded, "Yah, I'm ... I'm fine." He wanted to sound casual, but even to him, his voice sound short of breath and tinged with nervousness. "I'm just getting changed. I'll be out in a second." He rapped himself on the forehead. Why hadn't he given himself more time?

Christiana sensed Jesse's tension. Her concern combined with her curiosity about the outfit she thought she saw Jesse wearing, provoked a strong urge to enter the bedroom and confront her nephew. But not truly believing her eyes and trying to respect his privacy, she decided against pushing the issue. "OK, Jesse. But don't be long. I'll get some dessert."

She hesitated, straining to hear anything behind the door. Hearing nothing, Christiana moved back down the hall and into her bedroom.

Jesse was almost sick with the certainty of discovery. He was only mildly relieved that she hadn't explicitly asked him why he was wearing her underwear. As euphoric as he had been moments before, now he felt equally abysmal. When his Aunt walked away, he tried to calm his shattered nerves, but to little avail. His mind was a mess.

He understood his only chance was if his Aunt had not seen him. He clung to that hope and prayed for divine assistance. Even if she hadn't seen him, he knew his bizarre behavior had aroused her concern. His best hope was to quickly join her and try to act normal.

Jesse started to move with alacrity. He finally succeeded with the bra hook and dropped the lingerie on top of the panties. Grabbing some tissues, he scrubbed at the lipstick. Seeing how difficult it was to remove all traces brought him close to tears again. He scrubbed more harshly, almost in angry punishment at what he considered the carelessness that got him into this predicament.

His body moved mechanically to pull on his clothes, while his mind searched for plausible explanations his Aunt might accept if she confronted him. He came up with nothing and the lack of even a straw to grasp at as a back-up plan increased his anxiety.

Intensely aware of the passing minutes, he got a shirt from the bureau and slipped his feet into his sandals. Looking in the mirror, he smoothed his hair and hoped his lips reddened from the scrubbing weren't as obvious as they seemed to him.

Jesse steeled himself to meet his fate. He jammed the two pieces of lingerie into his pocket to return them to the hamper, and entered the hall. Walking slowly down the hall, he could hear talking in the living room. Pausing at his Aunt's bedroom door, he confirmed she wasn't there. Stepping quickly inside, he moved quietly to the hamper and jammed the red intimates deep beneath the other dirty clothes.

Next, he turned to the make-up table to retrieve the lipstick he had dropped in his rush to escape. Searching across the floor, he couldn't find it. In horror, he saw it had been returned to its' place on the make-up shelf. His spirits sunk to a new low.

At a minimum, his Aunt had to know he was in her room using her lipstick. With her penchant for neatness, she would never leave her lipstick out of place, much less open on the floor. His knees went weak and his shoulders sagged. Jesse gathered himself and went out to face the music.

Christiana was seated on the sofa chatting with a friend. When Jesse entered, they both turned and stared silently for a period that was only a few moments, but seemed like an eternity to Jesse. He felt, or imagined, they were assessing him. Not just how he looked, but who he was.

When she finally spoke, his Aunt said, "Jesse, this is Moira. I'm not sure if you met, but she was at last week's party." Moira stood and offered her hand.

In his unfocused state, Jesse couldn't recall meeting her before. He limply shook her hand and with averted eyes, mumbled, "Nice to meet you."

Christiana stood as well. "You look a little pale. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yah, I'm just a little tired."

"Why don't you sit down and I'll get you something to drink." As she stepped by Jesse, Christiana inhaled a strong whiff of her perfume coming from her nephew. It confirmed her suspicions. Jesse couldn't see it, but she shot Moira an expression and a nod that indicated they had been right about what they had been discussing before he joined them. With her mind swirling with questions, Christiana went to the kitchen for drinks and dessert; and to try and straighten her thoughts.

Jesse was in no mood for conversation, but Moira made a deliberate effort to engage him. She asked what he thought of the city. With the panty incident dominating his thinking, he found it difficult to be coherent. However, he politely described some of the things he'd done this week and how much he'd enjoyed the visit. Moira asked additional questions and offered suggestions of other places he should plan to see when he returned.

Since he'd anticipated being grilled about cross-dressing and chastised as a pervert, Jesse was relieved to be talking about anything else. He started giving more elaborate answers to avoid any silent pauses which might allow the conversation to turn in another direction.

When Christiana returned with the food, he made a point to avoid looking at her and focused on asking Moira questions about her work and hobbies. Christiana joined in and soon Jesse was relaxing and actually enjoying himself. Neither woman gave any overt signs that anything out of the ordinary had happened when they had arrived. Jesse felt a wave of relief sweep through him as he concluded he had dodged a huge bullet.

Regaining his appetite, Jesse enjoyed the dessert Christiana had prepared. They all spent the next several hours chatting about art and fashion and the great diversity of people and activities in the city. They even had playful teasing banter back and forth. Jesse had a sense of connection and comfort he hadn't experienced in many other settings.

After Moira left, Jesse helped Christiana clean up. When they were done, Christiana paused in the kitchen and gave Jesse a penetrating look. He momentarily panicked thinking that now that they were alone, she would reveal that she had seen him in her panties and demand to know what was going on.

After an endless moment, Christiana took a deep breath and said, "You know, Jesse, this has been a wonderful week. It's been great to get to know you better. I've enjoyed your company and hope you decide to spend the summer here. I think it would give you an opportunity to experience a whole new world. Whatever you decide, remember, if you ever need to talk.....about anything,.....I'm available."

Nervous, all Jesse could say in response was, "Thanks. I appreciate that Aunt Tia."

Touched that Jesse had used his childhood name for her, Christiana smiled sympathetically and gave a gentle pat to his cheek. "Good night. Sweet dreams, dear. I'll see you in the morning" Then, she turned and went to her bedroom.

Staring after her in confusion, Jesse wasn't certain what she was thinking. Exhausted from the long day and the emotional roller coaster, he was too tired to think. He turned out the lights and went to bed.

Saturday passed quickly as they crammed in some last activities. When Christiana said she had to make a quick trip to the gallery, Jesse used the time to roam the city. He decided he really liked it here. However, after the near miss, he would feel awkward spending the summer with his Aunt uncertain about what she did or didn't know or what she really thought of him.

On Sunday, Christiana drove him to the airport, gave him a long hug and Jesse flew back to his campus.

When he got to his dorm room, he unpacked his suitcase. At the bottom, there was a small package that was wrapped in flowery paper. Jesse's heart stopped. Opening it with trembling hands, a beautiful set of pink, high cut, lacy panties and matching camisole tumbled out onto his bed along with a container of hot, red lipstick. There was no note. As he fingered the sensuous material, Jesse was swept by contradictory waves of emotion...shock, fear, arousal, confusion, and finally, elation.

Later that evening, Jesse sat in his bedroom wearing the darling panties and cami as he wrote a note to his Aunt. He thanked Christiana for her kind hospitality and said he particularly loved her special present.

Stroking the soft material, Jesse finished the letter by saying he'd decided to return for the summer and was looking forward with excitement to three months of exploration and growth.