Elizabeth Martin's Predicament

Elizabeth Martin's Predicament

Thanks very much for your comments and votes. I have revised the story to improve and add some dialogues, and have made some other minor edits as well. Please continue to comment and vote on the story. I appreciate very much and am greatly encouraged by your comments and votes. Thanks to LaRascasse and CaffeineFetish for some very helpful comments and edits on the manuscript.

Early Thanksgiving

Elizabeth Martin looked at everybody sitting around the dining table loaded with delicacies she had worked so hard to prepare. It was the Friday before Thanksgiving. She had to organize her own little Thanksgiving party six days too soon because her husband Sam was leaving early Saturday morning for a conference and would only be coming back on the Saturday following Thanksgiving day.

There were only five people this year at her "Thanksgiving" dinner table. There was Sam on her left. To Sam's left was Jim Thompson, his colleague. Jim's wife Linda was sitting on her right. Mike Cooper was sitting between Jim and Linda completing the small circle of invitees.

Mike was her best friend's only child. His mother Susan had been her BFF since elementary school in a small town in the Northeast. Susan was thirteen when she babysat Liz who was four years younger than her. They became close friends that first day. They had even gone to the same college in Boston, though at different times. After she married Sam, Elizabeth had moved to the West Coast but they always kept in touch. The two families met often and went on many vacations together. She loved Susan, her husband John and Mike as much as she loved her own family. Emotionally, they were her surrogate extended family.

She always knew Mike was a brilliant kid. He had graduated from high school when he was only sixteen. He had his choice of colleges to attend anywhere in the world. He chose to come here to the West Coast. He finished his undergrad degree when he was only nineteen and for the last two years he was enrolled in the graduate school at the same local University working towards his PhD. She had invited him because he had no classes or labs for the entire week and with Susan traveling in Asia with her husband John, he didn't have any place else to be this holiday. He had come Friday evening and was going to be spending the entire week there.

Everybody seemed to be having a jolly good time enjoying the food, wine and the free-flowing conversation except Mike. Mike was not as boisterous as others at the table. He ate his food, answered questions and sometimes looked at her very briefly. Elizabeth knew Mike to be a quiet, unassuming young man so she didn't think anything was amiss. She thought maybe he also felt out of place with all the older people here. Everybody else was in their forties or close to forty. She and her husband were thirty-nine and forty-two. She guessed Jim to be in his late forties with his wife a little younger. She missed her six-year-old twin blessings, but they were both enjoying Disney World and other Florida attractions with her parents for the week.

Elizabeth was a pretty brunette with an oval face, high cheekbones, luscious lips and shoulder length hair. She had a beautiful floral evening dress on. It hugged her attractive hourglass figure nicely but didn't show anything. She always dressed modestly and could never be mistaken to be seeking attention to her sexy body. She had grown up in a conservative family and although she was not a prude, she couldn't understand people taking love and sex casually. She was a good wife and a doting mother who came to motherhood much later than Susan her BFF, thanks to the miracle of IVF after years of frustrating attempts at conceiving. She loved her daughters and her husband -- her little family.

Elizabeth was devastated years ago when she found out Sam was having an affair with a colleague at work. She was apoplectic and told Sam it was the end of the road for them. Sam kept saying sorry begging her for forgiveness. He promised to never hurt her again. Deeply concerned about the ugly impact of divorce on her darling daughters' lives, she decided to give Sam another chance and keep her family together.

Everybody had consumed all the food and drinks they could and soon it was time to call it a night. After all, Sam had to catch an early flight in the morning. Elizabeth told Sam to go check on his packing while Linda and Mike helped her in the kitchen with the dishes. Sam said his goodbyes to Jim and Linda and excused himself. After the leftovers had found a home in the refrigerator and the dishes were done, Jim and Linda said their goodbyes to Elizabeth and Mike, and then left for their home. Mike wished her good night as well and then left for the guest bedroom. She walked onto her bedroom where Sam had just finished packing. Soon, they were in bed and asleep.

+ + + + + + + + + + +

Saturday

When Elizabeth got up early next morning, Sam was already done with his shower and was ready for the drop off. She quickly got ready and drove him to the airport. There was minimal hassle as his bags were checked in and soon the flight was ready to board. She kissed him goodbye and reminded him to let her know that everything was okay once he was settled in his hotel. She headed back home from the airport and thought of her week ahead. She didn't have anything to do for the coming week. She ran her own home-based accounting consultancy, providing services for small businesses in the city. The project she had planned to be working on was postponed because her client was not going to be able to get her the data for another week.

It was almost eight o'clock by the time she hit the garage door opener on the visor in her car. She unlocked the laundry door and moved to the kitchen to make some breakfast. The kitchen was adjacent to the family room on one side and a breakfast nook on the other side. A formal living room, a formal dining area, and a guest bedroom next to a bathroom completed the first-floor layout. The master bedroom with attached master bath, two other bedrooms for the girls, and a second bathroom were all on the upper floor.

Mike must be getting up by now she thought. She didn't see him so called out to ask him if he was awake.

"I'm up Aunt Liz. Be there in a minute," Mike shouted back to her from the guest room. He was next to her the very next minute. He asked her politely if he could help.

"Just tell me what you would like. There is cereal, or I could fix you some eggs and toast," she said.

"Whatcha having?" He asked.

"I'm having some cereal and toast with butter," she told him. He told her he would have the same. She smiled to herself. This thoughtful kid didn't want to bother her too much. She threw some slices of bread in the toaster oven and got the cereal box from the cabinet and milk out from the fridge.

As they sat and ate breakfast at the small table, she asked him about his school. If there were any interesting projects he was involved in now or in the future. He talked easily about his school and classes but was most animated telling her about his special project. She could tell he was really sharp, but humble at the same time. He seemed like a true gentleman. She felt very proud of him and thought he would have been a good match for one of her girls had she had them early like Susan had him. She asked him if he had found a girlfriend. His smile vanished, and he suddenly got serious.

"Why do you ask?"

"All boys and girls find someone they like in college, and I wondered if you had found someone special yet," Elizabeth replied.

"Not yet. I don't know if I'm lucky enough for her to like me," he said briefly.

Her nurturing instinct kicked in, "She would surely be lucky to find you."

They had finished their breakfast and she asked him if he would like to have a cup of coffee. He replied that he would, but that would make it for her as well. She picked up the dishes and took them to sink while he got busy with the coffee grinder.

As she finished the dishes and moved to the dining room table, Mike brought two steaming mugs of coffee. Both of them took their coffee with sugar and cream. They began talking about the day ahead and what the rest of the two families must be doing at the moment. She noticed his handsome face with a broad forehead, high cheekbones, smiling mouth and bright, deep eyes. He was slim but athletic. He must have been taking his health seriously and working out in the gym regularly, she thought. They got up after finishing their coffee and went their own ways, Liz to her bedroom and Mike to his guest bedroom.

Liz picked her clothes to wear after her shower and then realized she had to use the shower in the second bathroom. She kept forgetting that the showers in the master bath and the guest bedroom were under repair as the bathtubs were being replaced. The contractor had started working on it last Wednesday and was supposed to finish on Friday. However, he had called Friday morning to say his helpers had quit suddenly and he would only be able to get back to it after a week. She walked to the second bathroom for her shower.

Elizabeth had a long, luxurious shower, humming along with mellifluous music playing on their Wave SoundTouch system. She picked up a towel as she got out of the shower and dried herself with it. She picked her light, sheer pink bra and put it on. Next, she put on cute matching panties with little pink lace around the edges. The mirror showed a gorgeous woman with a very nice pair of breasts with prominent nipples, and a tiny waist flaring out into feminine hips. She looked ten years younger than her age. She smiled at herself in the mirror as she dried her hair some more with a hand towel.

As she turned to put back the hand towel, the door creaked and Mike appeared. He was wearing boxer shorts and had a bath towel wrapped around his shoulders. She froze as she looked at him. He stood frozen too. He was looking at her with his eyes wide and mouth open. He had a tent forming in his boxers as he said mesmerized, "God, you are SO sexy!"

She came to her senses hearing his words, and yelled at him as she tried to hide her breasts with the towel and crossing her legs. "Mike, what are you doing here?! And, you shouldn't be saying things like that to me."

"I am sorry. I didn't realize you were in here. I just came here to shower because the other one is all torn up." He said coming back to reality and looking down.

She remembered that the guest bathroom shower was also not working. It wasn't his fault that she forgot to lock the door. "That's right. It's not your fault to want to have a shower in the morning. I will be out of here in a minute. You can come back for a shower then."

He left pretty quickly looking a little hurt. She felt bad for having yelled at him. After all he was a good kid and she liked him. She smiled to herself remembering how he acted so taken up by her and blurted out "so sexy" as if under a spell. She decided she had to talk with him gently about boundaries. She finished her dressing up and got out of the bathroom.

"Mike, the bathroom is all yours!"

+ + + + + + + + + + +

"We need to talk, Mike" She said when they met later in the family room for lunch. "I have known you since you were a baby. You are a very nice young man and I really mean it. I was a little disappointed with what you said in the bathroom today."

"I am really sorry, Aunt Liz. To be honest, I was completely mesmerized with your beauty and blurted out what was going through my head. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings," Mike said.

"Mike, you are a young man, naturally curious and appreciative of the female body. But I am Aunt Liz, your mother's best friend. You can't look at me that way."

"When you asked me earlier, I couldn't gather the courage to say anything. But the truth is I have always thought of you ever since I became aware of my attraction to women. But I could never gather the courage to say anything to you."

In hindsight now Liz could see signs of his attraction for her in their past interactions. She blushed quietly to herself, "Don't tell me you have said anything about me to any of your friends or anybody else. It is so embarrassing. If it ever reaches Susan or John, what would they think of me?"

"I have never said anything to anybody, Aunt Liz. I knew it might hurt you if it surprised you in the wrong way. I would never do anything to hurt you even unknowingly," Mike explained.

"Besides, I am a married woman. You should not think like that about a married woman," Liz continued, "You must have a lot of young girls in your college. I am sure you will find someone who will make you happy and even be your life partner to grow old with."

"I am not interested in them. I don't find any of them as attractive as you."

"Stop saying that. With your handsome looks, sweet nature and promising future, lots of very pretty young girls would want you. You must have had many girlfriends by now. You should focus on long-term relationship and commitment with the right girl. You can always talk to me if you run into problems with your girlfriend. I will help fix it."

"I never went out with anybody, Aunt Liz. I didn't want to. I was always attracted to you, but I really fell for you on that vacation trip we all went on the summer before my high school senior year. I don't know if you remember. You were so kind to that homeless man when no one else wanted to waste their time even though he obviously needed help. You were always so generous with the hotel and restaurant staff. You have a heart of gold. You are kind, sweet and on top of that you are so pretty, and so sexy."

Her heart fluttered listening to him as Liz remembered that trip and the homeless man.

"Mike, you have been very sweet. But I am a married woman with young daughters. Nothing can happen between us. I am sorry. And, for God's sake don't tell anybody else about this."

"It's okay, Aunt Liz. I had to tell you honestly someday about how much I have liked and wanted you. My feelings will stay as my secret. And, again, I would never hurt you."

+ + + + + + + + + + +

Liz got in bed that night thinking of Mike. He had fallen madly for her. She was pretty sure it was more like an infatuation though he thought of it as true love. She felt the tiny bit of excitement bubbling deep inside her. It was only a little murmur yet but she couldn't deny its presence. She thought of her and Sam. Their relationship had become pretty staid of late. They had sex once a month, sometimes even two on Sam's insistence. She couldn't remember a romantic evening when Sam showered all his attention on her. She didn't feel a sexual spark for Sam specially after his affair. She felt like an over the hill middle-aged woman, past the peak of romantic love and deep, desire quenching sex.

She was deeply hurt when his affair had come to light. He had begged her for forgiveness for his breach of faith, a transgression of their loving promise of cherishing only each other. He so wanted to patch things up with her he told her she could even take a temporary lover and he wouldn't say a word. They would then be even and could go on as before. She got very angry when she heard that. She told him two wrongs don't make it right. She couldn't also act licentiously because he did.

Now, the possibility of getting even with Sam had become real, but what she said then was still true. She couldn't bring herself to do something fundamentally wrong. Not to mention what would happen with a nice kid like Mike afterwards. The poor boy could just be left hurt. Feeling used, abused or left unfulfilled and desiring more. She couldn't betray her own ideals, her family, her BFF and cause grief all around by giving in, however invigorating Mike's attention felt to her moribund sexual id. She knew what the right thing to do was.

+ + + + + + + + + + +

Sunday

Liz got up Sunday morning feeling light and in her normal happy mood. There was a text message from Sam saying everything went well with the flight. He had checked into his hotel and was going to bed after dinner. She wished him good night and good luck for the conference starting the next day.

She saw Mike in the kitchen and made some breakfast for them. They were quiet and polite to each other but kept to themselves. She was confident that things would be perfectly back to normal between them soon. She was still drinking her coffee when Mike asked to be excused and took his coffee to his room. She finished everything in the kitchen and left to be done with bathroom and shower.

After finishing her shower Liz stepped out and began to dry her body. She hung up the towel on the shower rod and turned to pick up the pair of panties she had brought to the shower to wear. Just then, the door creaked open and Mike came in. Somehow, she had forgotten to lock the door again. Only God could tell if it was a genuine error of forgetting or a Freudian play of her subconscious mind. It seemed as though the moment was timed perfectly for him, planned by the Gods themselves. Today, she didn't have even a stitch on her, her gorgeous naked body fully on display for her young admirer. He stood there unmoving with his mouth hanging open, devouring her beauty through his eyes.

For a minute, she stood frozen as well. She looked into his eyes, following his gaze as it traced her body, moving down to her breasts, to her stomach, pausing between her legs and continuing to her feet. From there his eyes were moving up, once more enjoying the beauty of her slender, smooth legs, her trimmed vulva, her flat abdominal area, her full breasts with prominent nipples and finally her open mouth and her wide eyes. Liz's eyes moved down his body from his eyes to his firm chest and further down. He was surely liking even more what he saw of her today because his proud, firm erection was rampantly peeking out through the flap in his boxer shorts this time.

Her mouth began to feel dry and she started to breathe a little faster. Just then, the towel flashed in her mind and she hopped to pull the towel from the shower rod. When she moved she lost her balance in the hurry and emotional confusion. Mike came alive and ran to her, grabbing her just before she was going to hit the floor. He had his arms around her waist as he stood up straight bringing her up with him. They were face-to-face now. The towel on his shoulder had already fallen down. He held her close. She could feel his hot naked hardness touching her own naked abdominal skin, igniting something deep within her.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, thanks," she said catching her breath.

Mike stared into her eyes, as his eyes screamed his intense desire. Her own arousal from close skin to skin contact with his hot body was beginning to be undeniable to herself. She remembered last night's thoughts of desire and caution. She couldn't bring herself to say yes even as her stirred up body wanted her to throw caution to the wind.

She felt uncertain and tired, slumping to lean back for a moment on the counter behind her and put her head down on his shoulder. To Mike it felt like her silent approval. He hugged her tighter and caressed her back. He bent down and gently moved her hair behind her ear and neck with his right hand and kissed her where the neck met the shoulder. He brought his right hand to the front and started fondling her breasts and nipples. She started to breathe faster again and the dryness in her mouth returned. He nuzzled into her neck a little more. She could breathe in his intoxicating masculine scent. Her body began to burn with passion. She wanted to tell him to stop but the words would not come out of her mouth.