A Festive Affair Ch. 01-04

He gave a low grunt of frustration but smiled coolly at Kelly as Brian introduced her to him.

"Hello," she smiled politely, as his hand briefly gripped hers. "It's very nice to meet you, and I hope that my cousin will take good care of you."

The message was loud and clear even if it was not quite said.

He could tell that she was preoccupied and her tone was clearly telling Brian to look after his guest himself because she was far too busy to do it for him.

Dean smiled back at her. "I can see that you are snowed under, and so I just wanted to say, hello and can we help with anything?"

She blinked in surprise, and her mouth dropped ever so slightly, but he could see that she was taking his question seriously, as her eyes suddenly scanned the room.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, there is something," she glanced at Brian as he groaned and started to turn away.

"What?" Dean asked as he grabbed his employee's arm to stop him from walking off.

"Those chairs stacked in the corner over there," she pointed over his shoulder and he turned to look. "They need to be put in place at the tables in that section." her arm moved to direct him, and Dean nodded.

"Right you are, this should only take us a few minutes."

He gripped Brian's arm tighter and led him across the room.

**

"Is everything okay?" Kelly asked softly when Shelly returned a short time later.

"Yes," she sighed. "Mum just wanted a quick word, but it wasn't anything to worry about."

"No?" Kelly raised her brow and looked at her questioningly.

"Mum wondered if I could sleep out tonight, she and Uncle Pete need some time alone, to talk about some things, and she thought that maybe tonight would be her last chance -- since Uncle Pete is planning to travel again soon."

"Ah," Kelly said, and then she grinned wide. "Why don't you come and stay at mine," she asked. "We could open a bottle of wine -- and work on getting drunk!"

"It might take a couple of bottles of wine," Shelly said but she was smiling too. "I accept your gracious offer of hospitality, with relief -- since I haven't got to go begging all and sundry for a bed, and with great hopes of lots of fun!"

"Sounds good, have you room for two more?" Brian said from behind them.

Shelly turned with a little exclamation and then reached up to hug the tall man standing there. "Brian how are you!"

Her eyes slid quickly to the hunk standing behind him, before looking back at her cousin.

He grinned down at her after returning her hug with enthusiasm.

"I'm good, thanks Shelly... but, how are you? Are you coping okay?" his voice dropped with heavy sympathy and Shelly pulled a little face.

"Of course I am okay -- why wouldn't I be?" she glanced at him quickly from heavy eyes, and gave him a warning scowl. She so did not want her dirty laundry airing in front of this newcomer -- it was bad enough that her entire family and friends circle knew, and that everyone she met seemed to want to know, 'how she was coping'.

He shrugged awkwardly. "Just being sociable I guess," he mumbled defensively. "Maybe my choice of wording could have been better."

She smiled with relief and patted his arm gratefully. "I'm okay thanks, and you, how are you -- and how is that new job of yours?" she asked warmly.

He grinned sheepishly. "I am good too -- couldn't be better in fact, and the job is great -- everything I hoped for and more... and speaking of my new job, let me introduce you to..."

He was turning as he spoke, but the hunk spoke before he could identify him.

"Dean," the hunk said sticking out his hand, and swallowing up Shelly's in a gentle grip.

She looked up at him in bemusement as the warm static charges shot up her arm, and her neck tingled so much that she felt sure her hair must be standing on end.

"Shelly," she blurted out faintly.

"Dean and Brian have been putting the chairs out, bless them!" Kelly said from somewhere behind her, and Shelly turned to her and thankfully reclaimed her hand, which she curled into a fist in an effort to stop the tingling.

"Have they?" she asked faintly, as she rubbed her fist absently down her thigh.

Dean watched her with silent satisfaction. Good it was not just him who had been so affected by that simple little contact!

Chapter Three

The afternoon and evening turned into a rather fun time, for Shelly -- much to her surprise.

Once her family had gotten past her recent breakup, they were some of her most favourite people to be around.

And she and Kelly stayed together and with a little bit of quick shuffling, Kelly arranged it so that they and Brian and Dean were able to sit together at one of the smaller tables.

Dean sat next to Shelly and the four of them were able to talk and laugh their way through the meal, and even though afterwards, Shelly could not remember exactly what they had talked about, she found herself smiling a lot.

When they moved through to the room where there was music playing, Brian and Dean followed them closely and even joined in with the energetic dancing which took them well into the evening.

At about ten o'clock though, Shelly's mum came over, and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"Have you managed to make other arrangements for tonight," she whispered to Shelly.

Shelly hugged her quickly and smiled in reassurance. "Yes, me and Kelly are having a girly night... she is letting me shelter at her house."

Her mum sighed with relief. "Oh good, I am glad that it's Kelly, I would have worried I think, if it had been anyone else, but her."

"Yes, me too." Shelly agreed, as she stepped back a little.

Her mum looked past her to where Kelly was chatting with Brian and Dean. "Brian's friend seems nice," she said giving her daughter a pointed look.

Shelly grinned as she remembered her mum's comment earlier that day about Shelly loosening up and indulging in an affair or two.

"Don't go poking your nose in, mother dear, it might get bitten off... and besides I think you have your plate full with your own affairs."

Her mum actually blushed!

Shelly could not remember a time when she had seen her mother looking so flustered, and almost girly.

"I should go," she said awkwardly, and Shelly suddenly saw how nervous her mum was.

"Uncle Pete is a good man, who has loved you for a very long time -- I think," she whispered as she hugged her parent again. "Just be honest with him, and let him decided what he wants from his relationship with you now, let him take control."

"Yes, I will try." Her mum stepped back and smiled nervously. "Wish me luck though, because I think I might need it."

"You won't need it," Shelly shook her head, and she smiled as well. "But I will wish you good luck any way -- if only to let you know that I'm on your side with this."

Dean stood watching as mother and daughter talked earnestly, and he could see the concern in Shelly's face, but as the two of them hugged, he could see the mutual love and affection that the two of them shared.

He had seen a lot of that over the last few hours, as cousins and aunts and uncles mixed and mingled and intruded on their little foursome to chat for a while, and to laugh and to joke, before wandering off again to talk with someone else.

It was a large family that was full of love for one another, and Dean who had been raised by a single father, and then totally orphaned as a teenager, had never known or felt anything quite like it.

He had been fifteen at the time, and considered too old for fostering, too close to being an adult for it to be worth the expense and effort that it would have taken to arrange any fostering.

Dean has been left a sizable inheritance from his father, in the form of a life insurance policy. He could not fully inherit until his eighteenth birthday, but on his sixteenth he could start to cash in some of it, as long as he justified it to the guardian who was taking care of his interests for him. His guardian was a firm of solicitors and although it was a business arrangement for the firm, the solicitor in charge of his account was a middle-aged man and a father of three teenage sons.

Dean smiled as he thought of his surrogate family, and of Chris the elder son who had become a very good friend to Dean. The two of them were of a similar age and had a lot of interests in common.

When Dean started up his haulage company, Chris had been on hand to help, until his own ambitions began to call, and the two men had gone their separate ways in business, but were still close in their personal lives.

Chris was away at the moment which was one of the reasons why Dean had been at a loose end, and had agreed to accompany Brian to this family affair.

He had not really thought much about today, other than a chance to see Brian in a different environment before he offered him the promotion, he was thinking of offering him...

She gave her mum a final hug, and then watched her as she walked across the room to Uncle Pete. She smiled at the look in Pete's eyes, as she reached him, and his hand rested lightly in the middle of her mother's back. It had a casual air of intimacy to it that left Shelly feeling reassured even if a little jealous. She gave a shrug of her shoulders and then turned to re-join the others.

She was aware of Dean's eyes on her, but refused to meet his look. She liked him, even though she had only known him for just a few hours, she liked him a lot, and she was attracted to him as well, but then who wouldn't be, he was quite the hunk!

"Are you ready to call it a night?" Kelly asked brightly.

Shelly nodded with a smile. "Yes, now that mum's gone, and Aunt Mary and Uncle Bill look like they can manage?" she looked at Kelly questioningly and Kelly nodded.

"Yes, I spoke to mum not long ago, and she said that we could go when we were ready."

Shelly felt regret that she was leaving Dean, and he had shown no interest in contacting her again, not offering nor asking for a phone number -- not nothing really, not even a goodbye it seemed.

Kelly stepped a little closer suddenly. "I hope you don't mind," she said in a low voice. "But Brian and Dean are coming back with us for a nightcap... or two."

"Oh," she said a little lamely. She would not have thought twice about Brian, since the three of them often met up for a few drinks -- especially around one of their birthdays or something similar.

But Dean was someone different, and she felt a rush of excitement followed quickly by doubt. They had planned to go back and chill out with a bottle or two of wine, but she was not sure that she would be comfortable letting herself go that much -- not around Dean, she did not want him to think badly of her, and she did not know how he might feel about a few bottles of wine, and two young women -- she had noticed quite quickly that he was not drinking anything alcoholic.

"Dean has not been drinking, because he's driving," Kelly said as though she had read Shelly's mind, "but he and Brian can have the spare room and you and me can double up, and then he can have a drink as well... and we won't have to hang around waiting for a taxi either," she added almost as an inducement.

"Well, it sounds like you've got it all worked out!" Shelly laughed lightly and Kelly grinned sheepishly.

"Are we ready to go then?" Brian asked as the two men came and joined them.

"Yes, let's go and get a drink!" Kelly exclaimed brightly.

"That sounds like a plan to me," Dean said to Shelly, and he smiled warmly at her.

Shelly felt a warmth rush through her, straight down to her belly and then further down than that; it had been a very pleasant day, and it promised to be an even better evening.

She wiped her hand lightly down her dress, to smooth the fabric, and she whispered a silent thank you to her mum, that she had encouraged her to dress up and loosen up, she was pleased that she was looking her best, and that Dean seemed to appreciate what he saw -- judging by the way he kept on looking at her.

*

They walked out to the hotel's car park, and Dean led them to his car, where he opened the back door, for Shelly and Kelly to scramble in.

Brian sat in the front passenger seat, and Dean climbed behind the wheel.

"Someone will have to give me directions," he said as he switched on the engine.

"I can do that," Brian told him easily and the girls relaxed into the back seats and began a quiet conversation.

About fifteen minutes into their journey, Kelly suddenly put a light hand on Shelly's arm.

"I think that you have an admirer," she leaned forward and whispered in a low voice so that there was no chance of the front two overhearing her. "He should have his attention fixed firmly on the road, but he can't seem to stop searching for you in his mirror."

"Maybe he's just keeping an eye on what's behind us?" Shelly offered lightly although she knew that she was blushing, and her eyes were probably sparkling with excitement.

She was silently thankful of the dimness of the car and kept her face down so that he could not see her expression in his mirror.

She silently recited the alphabet backwards, and by the time that she got to 'a' she felt herself back in control of herself, just as they pulled in at Kelly's house.

Once again Dean was there to open the door for them and help Kelly out of the car, and as Brian and Kelly walked to her front door, he helped Shelly out as well.

He leaned in closer than was necessary, and she felt his warm breath on her cheek, an almost phantom kiss, which caused her to shiver in response.

"Cold?" he asked huskily.

Shelly shook her head and looked up at him with glittering eyes. "No not at all," she told him with that same husky tone.

As he watched her, she slowly slid her tongue across her lips, and his hand on her arm, tightened briefly.

She smiled a slow provocative smile and reached up as though she was about to kiss him, and his eyes narrowed, and his mouth tightened as he prepared to kiss her back.

"We should really get inside though."

She pulled away and moved around him quickly, and she heard his short sharp laugh, as she walked up the path to Kelly's open front door.

She shivered again in response to his laugh, and her mouth widened into an excited grin. Tonight, promised to be -- if nothing else, then very interesting!

Chapter Four

Shelly kicked off her sandals and curled up into the corner of Kelly's sofa, whilst Kelly sorted out the spare bedroom, and Brian sorted out drinks for everyone.

There were two armchairs, where Dean could have sat, but instead he chose to sit next to Shelly on the small two-seater settee.

He was a tall muscular man, and he took up a lot of space on the small sofa, and so Shelly curled up tighter so that he could have more room.

He sighed and relaxed his shoulders, and his thigh brushed again her knee as he allowed his legs to relax as well.

He was so close, that she could smell his aftershave, she could smell the soap that he had used at some point, she could smell him; and it was doing some very weird and wonderful things to her insides.

He rested his hand on his leg, just over his knee, and then allowed it to fall down beside him, but instead of the sofa, he managed to find her leg.

The heat from his hand almost scolded her it was so surprising, and she gave a start.

"Oops sorry," he said, removing his hand as quickly as it had landed.

Brian came in with the drinks then, and Dean leaned forward to take the glass off him.

When he sat back, he looked calm and untroubled, but as he shot her a quick sidelong glance even as he sipped his drink, she could see the glitter in his dark eyes.

He was like a cat toying with some poor mouse, and she was very worried that she might be the mouse in this particular game!

Kelly came in a few moments later with two large bowls of potato crisps, and other snacks.

She placed them in the centre of the table and then moved towards the chair close to Shelly.

As she moved past her, she shot her a quick smug grin.

"Its hours since we last ate anything and so I thought a few snacks might help keep us going," she smiled as she sat down and reached for the glass that Brian had put there for her.

She held her glass up. "Cheers," she said brightly, and the other three all held their glasses up, to respond cheerfully.

They had been chatting quite freely at the hotel, but things had become a little stilted once they got to Kelly's home, with no one quite knowing what they were supposed to do next.

However by the time that they got to their third drink, everyone had relaxed once more, and even when Dean placed his hand on her thigh again, and left it there, Shelly did not mind in the least... not even when he began to rub up and down a little, and his fingertips inched beneath the hem of her dress.

**

Shelly woke up the next morning with a thumping head, and a throat that felt like something had curled up and died in there at some point.

She had the most awful taste in her mouth, and her eyes did not want to open for very long it seemed.

"Dear god!" she grumbled huskily as she peered around the vaguely familiar room, through blurry eyes.

"Morning," Kelly mumbled as she came out of her bathroom, and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Did you sleep all right?"

Shelly inched herself up into a sitting position. "I have no idea," she said vaguely. "I can't remember much after you opened that bottle of vodka."

"No? So you don't remember when Dean challenged you to do your famous strip routine?"

"What?" Shelly's pale face went an alarming white, and her eyes widened in horror. "What strip routine? Please tell me that I didn't!"

Kelly patted her shoulder and chuckled, but cut off with a wince. "Sorry babes I couldn't resist."

She stood up and looked down on her. "Although I was hoping that you could tell me what you and that very nice man got up to for the half an hour or so that the two of you went missing for."

Shelly blinked at her owlishly for a moment, and then as memories began to resurface, the colour slowly came to her cheeks.

"Really!" Kelly said with interest and a mischievous delight, as she read the emotions flitting across her cousin's face. "After only knowing him for a few hours... even for you that's going some, Shelly!"

"Oh, shut up you!" she snapped as she pulled the covers back and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Nothing happened -- certainly nothing like that happened!"

"Oh? So why such a look of guilt on your face?"

"Because it was not because I wasn't willing!"

She groaned and put her head in her hands, as a wave of nausea hit her.

"Please, can we just drop it, Kel," she pleaded weakly.

Kelly looked at her sympathetically, her cousin was so vulnerable at the moment, she really hoped that Brian's friend was not just toying with her.

"Why don't you go and grab a shower, and I will bring you a cup of coffee up."

"I'll have to wear what I came in last night," Shelly said pulling a little face.

"Well, certainly nothing that I've got would fit..." she trailed off and walked across to her chest of drawers.

"This tunic is quite short on me, but it would fit you like a dress," she said pulling out a soft cotton tunic.

It was a pretty purple colour, and it was clean and neatly ironed.

"Much better than my evening dress," Shelly said with a grateful little smile.

"But you'll have to make do with your own undies," Kelly grinned.

"It's just to get me home again," Shelly shrugged. "So, I think I will survive."

"Great, I'll go and make that coffee, and will leave it on the side for you," she said indicating the chest of drawers again.

"Thanks."

Shelly stood under Kelly's shower and simply let the water cascade over her for a while, before reaching for the soap and starting a rather weak wash.