Bailey

As far as Bailey was concerned, her mother had gone a little man-crazy ever since breaking up with her boyfriend of six years. So, when Lynn talked about how good looking the new guy at work was, she didn't pay her much attention. Especially since the guy was around 40, making him about twice Bailey's age.

But then she accompanied her mother to the company Christmas party.

Mingling in the restaurant's bar before the meal, the ladies attracted a lot of attention from the men. Short and petite, with similar angelic faces, their little dresses showed off their slim builds, full C-cup breasts and tiny heart-shaped asses. Bailey's raven hair hung straight down her back and she wore a touch of make-up to highlight her warm brown eyes while Lynn wore her dyed-blond hair shorter and her bright green eyes sparkled.

"That's Tom," Lynn whispered, guiding Bailey toward two couples talking together.

The male part of the couple with their backs to them stood just over six foot and had a long dirty-blond ponytail hanging well past his broad shoulders. Since her mother had talked about Tom's hair, she figured this must be him.

"Hey guys," Lynn interrupted the couples' conversation, stepping up beside them.

"Hello Lynn," Tom greeted her.

The moment he turned at an angle to welcome the new arrivals into the conversation, Bailey understood her mother's infatuation. He had a warm smile with a perpetual 5 o'clock shadow on his firm features and hazel eyes with long eyelashes.

"Hi Lynn." The other man also made room for the ladies.

"Jake, I believe you've met Bailey," Lynn began the introductions. "Tom, this is my daughter."

"Hello, Bailey," Smiling, Tom looked Bailey in the eye as he took her hand. "The picture on your mom's desk doesn't do you justice."

"Thank you," Bailey's nerves tingled as he gently held her hand for a moment.

"Ladies, this is my girlfriend, Liz," Tom introduced the tall, pretty brunette at his side.

"And this is Helen, my first wife," Jake grinned, getting a sideways glance from Helen for his usual joke.

"Helen, how have you been?" Lynn asked, having met her before.

For the next few minutes everyone got to know a little about one another. Answering questions about college, Bailey found it difficult not to look at how Tom's fitted shirt contoured to his well-toned physique.

"He is hot," Bailey whispered when her and Lynn walked away to mingle with others.

"I told you. It's too bad he's attached." Lynn chuckled with a sigh.

The size of the party kept the ladies from interacting with Tom any more that night. And over the next few months Bailey basically forgot about him.

Until the evening she came home from working at the mall to find him sitting at their kitchen table.

"Oh. Um... Hi," Bailey said, now knowing whose truck it was in their driveway.

"Hello, Bailey," Tom smiled as he stood up and stepped toward her, offering a hand.

"Honey, you remember Tom, don't you?" Lynn asked, her smirk showing she knew the answer. "He stopped by to see how I'm doing."

The reason for his presence surprised Bailey, but also filled her with a sense of gratitude. About a month after Christmas Lynn had been diagnosed with breast cancer and had been taking time off to get treatment. Although they caught the disease early and Lynn's prognosis was good, the news had sent a shockwave through both women's lives.

"That's very nice of you." Like the first time, Bailey's nerves tingled as Tom shook her hand.

"It's really nothing," he shrugged. "I lost my mom to it and, well, I just wanted to make sure Lynn is doing ok."

"I'm sorry." Bailey didn't know what else to say as she joined them at the table.

"Thanks," he grinned in understanding. "And that means I have an idea of what you're dealing with too. So, if you ever want to talk..." he let the sentence trail off.

"Thank you." Again, she didn't know what else to say.

"So, how are your classes going?" He asked, obviously wanting to lighten the conversation.

"Good."

As the three of them sat talking for a while about various things, Bailey couldn't stop her gaze from lingering on the older man. He was wearing a beat-up straw cowboy hat, using it to keep his bangs back and his made of hair hung loose down his back. The hat added to the rugged part of his good looks and his t-shirt fit his torso almost as well as the fitted dress shirt had, his strong biceps protruding form its sleeves. Caught staring at one point, Bailey tried to cover by commenting on the band emblazoned on the shirt's front while feeling her cheeks growing warm.

"I saw them about three years ago," he smiled. "You like them?"

"They're ok," she shrugged, looking at her mom for help.

"I make her listen to them in the car," Lynn offered.

"Yea. They're probably a little old for you," Tom grinned.

After about another twenty minutes he announced that he had to get going and wished them both a good night.

"You're getting a crush on him," Lynn chuckled when he had left.

"And you already have one," Bailey shot back with her own chuckle.

Over the next months Tom would stop by once or twice a week to chat with Lynn, sometimes helping with small chores and even cooking dinner a few times. Usually arriving home partway through these visits, Bailey would feel her heart start to race when she saw his truck in the driveway. Joining their conversations, she enjoyed their talks almost as much as she knew Lynn did. And when she completely missed his visit a second time, she made her mother promise to text her next time he would be stopping by so she could leave work early. His habit of wearing tight jeans allowed the women to share comments about the shape of his ass, as well as the bulge at the front once he had left.

While Bailey thought about taking him up on his offer to talk about what she was dealing with, she never had the nerve to. Knowing this was partially due to her crush, she tried telling herself that she was being foolish. But still never managed to do it.

One early spring day she found a bee's nest in the garage and, not knowing who else to call, called Tom.

"Hey, Bailey. How you doing?" He answered, his tone filled with an honest desire to help.

"Hi... Um...," she stammered, his tone surprising her. Except for her mother's ex-boyfriend, he was the first man she knew and had called that hadn't answered in a suggestive manner. "There's a bee's nest in the garage..." she paused, unsure of how to ask for his help.

"I'll come over and take care of it," he said, keeping her from having to.

A couple hours later the nest was gone and he was giving their lawnmower a tune-up in preparation for the summer. Somehow this led to him coming over every Saturday to mow their lawn. Which was what he was doing a couple months later when Bailey happened to walk by the front window and glance out.

"Oh," she half-gasped, coming to a stop.

"What?" Lynn asked, pulling herself up from the couch and joining her daughter. "Oh. Oh, yes."

With summer's arrival, the temperature outside had climbed into the higher digits and Tom had taken his shirt off, giving the women their first look at his bare torso. While they had known he was in shape, they now saw exactly how trim and tone he was.

Watching his muscles flex under a sheen of sweat, Bailey started to fantasize about certain things... things that stirred a warmth within her. A warmth that hadn't been properly satiated in quite a while.

Being single when her mother was diagnosed, at first she had been too focused on Lynn to go out with anyone new. Then, when the prognosis improved and she could consider dating again, it seemed that most of the guys asking her out were either annoying or too immature. Or annoyingly immature. So, it had now been seven months since she had been with anyone. She had only been with a few boyfriends and, while she certainly had urges, she had never dated someone just to get laid. Even if she did end up having a one-night stand, she wanted it to be with someone she wanted to be with. Not that she needed to be in love with them, she just wanted it to be someone she liked, so that she wouldn't end up looking back on the encounter with regret someday.

So, yea, someone like him. She thought, gazing out the window at Tom.

Yet, she doubted that would ever happen. Everything he said, and did, made it obvious that he was faithful to his girlfriend and only wanted to be friends with the mother and daughter. Even his comments about how nice they looked on any particular day didn't come across as come-ons, an attitude that was refreshingly nice, yet confusing.

A puzzle that was amplified a few weeks later.

when she was sunbathing and got to talk to him with no one else around.

Sunbathing in the backyard, she experienced the now common tingle of excitement when her mother told her that Tom was on his way over to mow. Since he always did the front yard first, she didn't bother moving and remained half-sitting in the lounge chair, reading her romance novel.

"Hey Bailey," he said, walking through the gate.

"Hi." Looking up, she thought she caught his eyes lingering on her in the fluorescent-green bikini for a moment. "I'll get out of the way when you're ready to mow back here."

"Alright."

Bailey tried not to get caught looking as he shrugged out of his t-shirt and tossed it over the back deck's railing. Settling his cowboy hat back in place, he disappeared into the garage and soon the sound of the mower filled the air. Listening to it, Bailey found it difficult to read as her mind kept wandering, recalling the image of his muscles flexing with the exertion of pushing the machine back and forth, stirring a familiar warmth inside her.

Going inside to use the bathroom, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Her dark hair was pulled back in a tight ponytail and her face was aglow from the sun. A teasing hint of her full breasts' sides peeked out from under the triangle tops of the bikini. The straps of the bottoms rode high on her hips, the material diving down in a sharp vee over her crotch and running along the middle of her asscheeks.

The image made her remember how Tom's eyes had momentarily lingered on her and she realized that this was the first time he had seen her in a bikini. Suddenly wondering about his seemingly friends-only attitude, she decided to give it a little test.

Grabbing a bottle of water from the refrigerator, she headed out and around to the front yard where he was just finishing at the far side. Seeing her coming, he killed the mower and kind of rested against it. While he didn't stare, she could tell that he was admiring the image of her walking toward him in the bikini. Believing that this showed a crack in his "friends-only" attitude made it hard for her not to smile too obviously as she handed him the water.

"I thought you might be thirsty," she said.

"Thanks," he smiled.

As he downed half the bottle, she couldn't stop her eyes from crawling over his sweaty torso down to the bulge at the front of his jeans.

"I don't get much chance to talk to you without Mom, and I wanted to thank you for everything. Especially visiting with her. I know it means a lot to her." She said, using it as an excuse to not simply walking away.

"I enjoy it. Really," he shrugged. "She's great to hang out with. And you are, too."

The comment, typical for him, didn't surprise her, but she did catch his eyes wandering after saying it and a little tingle ran along her nerves.

"And, like I said, I'm available if you need to talk," he offered again.

"Thanks. I don't know." She couldn't be sure, but she thought there was tinge of something in his tone this time and she surprised herself by not knowing what else to say and quickly diverting her gaze down to the ground.

"Thanks again. I really should get the backyard mowed before it gets much hotter." He said, downing the last of the water and handing her the empty bottle.

Following him to the backyard, Bailey found herself wondering what had happened while staring at his backside. While she had never been exceedingly bold, she also hadn't exactly been shy. Always before when a guy she liked had given her an opening like that, she would have said something to move things forward. Yet, she had frozen up this time. After putting up her lounge chair, she went inside where her mother was sitting on the couch.

"I saw you," Lynn chuckled, indicating the front window. "Does he like your bikini."

"I think I caught him checking me out," Bailey smiled, plopping down next to her. "But he is so..." not finding the right word, she let the sentence trail off.

"Gentlemanly," Lynn offered.

"Yea." Agreeing, she wondered if she should share her moment of shyness. "Do you think it's because of his girlfriend?" she asked, deciding not to at the moment.

"I'm sure that's part of it. I do know a couple of the girls at work have tried being very forward, but he's never done anything." Although Lynn had raised Bailey with a certain amount of candidness, since her diagnosis she had become more candid with the hope of sparing her daughter from making certain mistakes should the worst happen. And while she occasionally wondered if she was crossing some line, she didn't often hold back. "Of course, none of them are as young or beautiful as you."

"Thanks," Bailey smiled.

That Wednesday, Lynn texted her at work 30 minutes before she was due to get off to tell her that Tom had shown up at the house with stuff to make dinner. Since it was only 30 minutes, Bailey didn't bother leaving early, but she did make a bee-line for home after clocking out. Walking in, she discovered him setting dinner on the table. Although he had done this a few times, it always seemed to be when he was upset about something. So, when they were all seated, Bailey asked him directly what it was this time.

"Me and Liz broke up," he shrugged.

"Wow. I'm sorry. What happened?" Her heart leaping into her throat, Bailey had to force her tone to remain sympathetic.

"I hate to admit it. It's just so cliché," he sighed and paused. "She got tired of waiting for me to make a commitment. Her birthday was last week and she thought I was gonna propose. But I guess I'm just not ready."

"Oh. That is cliché." Fighting to keep an excited smile from her curling her lips, Bailey exchanged a look with her mother and saw Lynn struggling as well.

"So, how was work?" Tom asked, clearly wanting to change the subject.

This moved the conversation away from his break up and, as they all ate, they talked about other things. After dinner, Bailey helped with the cleanup while Lynn went and laid down on the couch. Then he wished both women a good night and left.

"So, now he's available and I'm too weak to jump him," Lynn sighed when Bailey joined her in the living room.

"Mom," Bailey laughingly chastised her.

"Maybe he'd like it if I just laid there and let him ravage me," Lynn smiled.

"Some guys are into that sort of thing." Bailey chuckled.

"I haven't been laid since New Year's." Groaning unhappily, Lynn scooted up into a seating position.

"November," Bailey challenged.

"I might be sick, but I remember New Year's," Lynn retorted, misunderstanding.

"I meant me."

"What? You haven't been with anyone since November?" Lynn stared at her daughter in surprise. "That's like eight months."

"Don't remind me." Sighing, Bailey told her about how she had come to find the guys asking her out uninteresting and her desire to wait for someone she liked.

Smiling with pride at her daughter's level of maturity, Lynn then gave her a piece of advice she hadn't thought of until then.

"Sometimes you have to just be brazen and go for what you want. Why don't you call Tom and ask him out."

"You mean like a booty call?" This time it was Bailey who misunderstood and she couldn't believe what she thought her mother was suggesting.

"No. Not that brazen," Lynn smirked. "I mean, actually ask him out on a date. Then... let things go where they do."

"I don't know." Sighing again, she decided to share Saturday's moment of shyness.

"Huh. That doesn't sound like you," her mother said.

"I know. But, don't you like him?" Bailey asked, struggling to find a reason.

"You know I do. But I'm in no condition to do anything about it. If he's still single once I get healthy again, I will." Then smilingly pointedly at her daughter, she added. "So, you should go for it before that happens."

According to the doctor, Lynn was indeed going to get healthy. But, despite her cavalier attitude over the idea of both women being with the same man, Bailey couldn't find the same attitude in herself or bring herself to call Tom.

Yet, sometimes fate has a way of making things happen.

Two weeks later Lynn's sister surprised her by taking her on a long weekend to the beach. It being a last-minute trip, Bailey couldn't get off work or start of the new college semester. Since this left her home alone, Lynn suggested that her daughter take the opportunity to ask Tom out. Although she saw the logic in her mother's reasoning, Bailey doubted if she would be able to make that call.

The next night Bailey was sitting on the couch, watching TV, when the weather app on her phone alerted her to an approaching thunder storm. It wasn't long before the sky outside the front window grew dark, thunder rumbled rumbling in the distant, and torrential rain began pounding on the roof.

Not usually frightened by storms, the shear amount of lightning splitting the darkness and its accompanying thunder making the house shake soon had her growing anxious. As the storm continued, the emotion grew. So, when a bolt of lightning hit so near that it filled the house with light and its thunder made the couch vibrate, she jumped off it with a startled yelp. Accompanying nature's explosion was an unnatural one and she landed on her feet in an entirely dark house. With her heart racing in her throat, she called the only person she could think of in that moment.

"Hey, Bailey. What's up?" Tom answered with his usual helpful tone.

"Th-The power's out. I-I think lightning hit som-something," she breathed nervously.

"Ok. I understand. Calm down and I'll be right over to make sure everything's ok," he told her, his tone reassuring.

Sitting in the dark, waited for him, Bailey tried to do as he said. But it seemed to take forever for his headlights to flash through the window as he pulled into the drive. Moving to the window, she watched him walk past using a powerful flashlight to check on the house. That flashlight made her mentally chastise herself as she turned on the one in her phone. When he walked back across the front and headed toward the back, she went into the kitchen and opened the door and watched him checked the back of the house before coming in.

"Hey. You got a towel?" He grinned. Although he had arrived during a lull in the rain, he was drenched and was dripping water on the entrance floor.

"Oh! Yea! Sorry I didn't think--." Now mentally chastising herself for not thinking of this, she rushed to her bathroom to get him a towel. "Here you go. Sorry, again," she said upon returning and handing it to him.

"No worries," he grinned in understanding, using the towel to dry off his face and arms. "The house wasn't hit, but the power's out all through the neighborhood. So, I'd guess a transformer got hit."

"How long do you think the power will be out?"

"Judging by the storm... Probably 'til sometime tomorrow."

"Well, fudge," she groaned. "I can't charge my phone or make coffee in the morning."

"Your hot water's on demand, so no hot shower either."

Frustrated, Bailey plopped down into one of the kitchen chairs.

"Good time for Lynn to be out of town," Tom offered with a grin that said to look on the bright side.