Estranged Relations

***All characters are over 18 and are fictional. Any resemblance to any real-life persons or situations is purely coincidental.

...

Alicia thought she must be crazy for inviting Henry to her apartment after only three dates. She wasn't that kind of person who went that fast with a guy. But she found a great connection with Henry ever since they first met.

She and Henry moved to Houston at the same time, nearly one month ago, to work at the new branch of the tech company they work for. Alicia was a software engineer who was doing well with Google before she came along, and Henry was a prominent network engineer with Amazon. They were both brought in for their expertise in the company's new microchip division that was going to help revolutionize computers around the world.

They first met each other in the company's cafeteria. The place was unusually crowded that day, and the only table available for either one of them was a two-seater table. They both wanted the table, but when they realized there was nowhere else for either of them to sit, they decided to share. During that time, they got to know each other a little. It wasn't long before Henry found himself flirting with her, and Alicia was responding in kind.

They were too busy the first few weeks to get to know each other because everyone was working around the clock to get the branch up and running. But whenever they found themselves alone with each other, they couldn't help having that chemistry that was all too obvious between them.

Finally, when things started to calm down, they began to see each other in a more personal setting outside of work. The first time was after work one Friday night, when they went out with a group of coworkers to get drinks. Without having to focus on work, they were able to focus on each other. That night, Henry asked her out on a real date, and of course she said yes.

They met each other for dinner the following night. Things were going so well by the end of the night, they found themselves making out heavily in his car, in the parking lot of her apartment building. Nothing happened with them that night, but it was the first time she let a guy feel her up on a first date.

The next date, happened a few nights later. They went to a night club to show off their dance moves, and they laughed at how bad they both were. Despite that, they still continued dancing because they were having so much fun. That night, Alicia gave him a hand job in his car. He told her that she didn't have to; he was just glad to be with her. But that kind of modesty only made her want him more. But she didn't want to go that far with him yet, so instead she just gave him a hand job. When she was done, he returned the favor and fingered her pussy.

Then came the third date; the one ending with Alicia taking Henry back to her place. Henry didn't expect to get with her that quickly into their relationship. It was something that all men strive to achieve quickly when dating, but he was expecting it to happen a little further down the line. At the same time, he wasn't complaining about it either; he was more than willing to take her to bed tonight.

They entered her apartment, kissing heavily with their hands all over each other's bodies. Alicia had to make Henry slow down because she felt he was rushing it. She was more than willing to fuck him tonight, but she wanted them to take their time.

"Slow down, will you?" she pleaded with him.

Henry pulled away from their embrace.

"I'm sorry," he said, smiling. "I'm just glad to be here with you."

"So am I," she replied. "But let's not rush too much. You might finish before we get to the bedroom."

They both had a chuckle at that comment.

"Why don't you go to the kitchen and get us a couple of beers while I get ready?"

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"You'll find out," she replied, walking away with a wicked smile.

She disappeared into her bedroom while Henry went to the kitchen. He got two bottles of beer from the fridge, feeling happy that she had his favorite brand. He opened the bottles and went back to the living room to wait for Alicia to return.

He looked around the room, impressed with the furniture and the TV she had in the room. By the TV was a shelving unit that carried frames of her friends and family. He enjoyed looking at them, especially the ones of the places she traveled to and the activities she took part in.

"I see you went to Paris. How was it?" Henry asked loud enough for Alicia to hear him from her bedroom.

"It's as amazing as everyone says it is," she yelled back.

"And I see you like skiing too."

"Yeah, I love it. I used to do it every year when I visited some family in Vermont," she replied. "Do you ski?"

"No, but speaking of Vermont, I used to visit there with my family too when I was very young."

"Wow, small world."

As Henry continued looking at more of the pictures, he found one that completely took him by surprise. It was a picture of an older woman that he seemed to recognize. He wasn't sure if what he was looking at was real, or if it was just someone that remarkably looked like the person he was thinking of. But the longer he looked at the picture, the more he realized it was not the person he thought it was.

"I'm ready," said Alicia.

Henry looked at the beautiful blonde woman who entered the living room wearing a very sexy lingerie set. She wore a sheer, black demi-cup bra that held up her big C-cup breasts. She also had a matching pair of panties with fishnet stockings and a garter belt. To complete the ensemble, she wore stiletto heels. She never got why men liked seeing women in those heels with lingerie; it's not that comfortable, but she knew it turned them on, so she went with it.

She just stood there, posing for Henry, who was just gawking at her.

"Well, say something, why don't you?" she said with a seductive smile.

"You're one of the loveliest creatures I have ever seen in my life," said Henry, who was still in awe of what he was seeing.

"That's one of the sweetest things anyone has ever said to me," she replied.

"And as much as I like to go to bed with you right this very moment, I need to ask you something."

"Go right ahead."

"Why do you have a picture of my grandmother?" he said as he pointed to the picture in question.

"No, you're mistaken; that's my great aunt," she assured him.

"I'm sure that's my grandmother, Sarah."

"No, that's my great aunt Sarah... Buckley... which is also your last name," she said as she realized what was happening.

"Oh, shit," said Henry.

Henry turned away from the woman, who he realized was his cousin wearing lingerie. Alicia covered her body parts with her hands as if it would do anything; she realized she was only doing it because she had seen women on TV do it so often in that situation. She ran back into her room and took a moment to consider what was happening right now. She didn't feel like changing, so she just kicked off her stilettos, grabbed a robe, and put it on before she went back outside to face Henry.

She entered the room as he was chugging down the beer he had in his hand earlier. She couldn't blame him as she wanted to drink something at the moment too. She took the second beer he had set for her on the coffee table and started to drink it as well.

"How did this happen?" Henry asked.

"I know I said they say it's a small world, but what the fuck!"

They both started thinking about the things they had done since they met. All the crazy flirting, the making out, and pleasuring each other with their hands on their second date.

"So, how are we related anyway?" she asked.

They both questioned each other about their family history. From what they can understand, Henry's grandmother, who is Alicia's great aunt, was the sister of Alicia's grandmother. They were the mothers of their own mothers, making them first cousins, which made Henry and Alicia second cousins. Both families lived in upper New York together, near Vermont, where they used to vacation. But when Henry was very young, his family moved to San Francisco for a job opportunity, and somehow, he and Alicia never really knew about each other.

They sat on the couch, both of them on their second beer. They discussed their family some more and realized how many family members they both knew, but for some reason, the two of them never met. Alicia did hear from her mother about how they had family in California, but she never followed up on that. She and Henry were never much for social media, so they never kept that kind of contact with their families. If they did, they would've seen each other in pictures in a photo that someone had shared or pop up in the "people you may know" notifications.

"What are the odds of this happening?" Alicia asked. "Especially like this?"

"Our families are on opposite sides of the country, but you and I meet somewhere in the middle, in Houston," Henry replied. "The odds of this can't be high, but here we are."

"So, where do we go from here?"

"I have been thinking about it," said Henry. "And I still like you and I want to be with you."

"What?!" she cried out.

Henry made a convincing argument about why they should stay together. They both enjoyed each other's company; they had a lot in common, they were both bad dancers, that last part made Alicia chuckle, which Henry saw as a good sign. He continued until it got into Alicia's head that she still liked him too.

"It will be weird to date my second cousin," she said. "It's not as common as it used to be, but it still happens."

"And it will be weird trying to explain to people when the time is right. Especially to our own family members."

Alicia smiled at him. "But if you're willing to give it a try, I think I can do this too."

They leaned into each other and kissed each other passionately before letting go.

"I have no idea how to explain this to my mother," said Alicia.

"My mother too. When she finds out that I'm dating the daughter of her aunt..." Henry trailed off in thought. "Wait, what did you say your mother's name was?"

"Susan," said Alicia. "And you said your mother is... Miriam."

Suddenly, they remembered another piece of their family's history involving their mothers.

"So, we're thinking the same thing?" he asked.

"You mean the affair, right?"

"Yes," he replied. "But that was a long time ago. It has nothing to do with us."

"You're right," Alicia said, happily. "Who cares about some dumb stuff that our parents went through?"

"Exactly!" he replied, enthusiastically. "I'm sure my mother has forgiven your mother for everything by now."

"Exactly.... Wait, what do you mean by that?" Alicia asked. "It was your mother who had the affair. It's my mother who needs an apology."

"No, what the hell are you talking about?" he said in a defensive tone.

The affair they're thinking about happened years before either one of them was born when both of their mothers went to NYU together. During that time, they met two guys, John and Dave, who were also best friends with each other. At first, Susan dated John and Miriam dated Dave, but along the way, one of them cheated on their boyfriend with their cousin's boyfriend, which led to the jilted parties falling for each other. This led to Dave being Alicia's father and John being Henry's father.

According to the story that Henry heard from other relatives, it was Alicia's mother who cheated on John with Dave behind everyone's back. Alicia heard the same exact story, but it was Miriam who cheated on Dave with John.

Eventually, this betrayal, whoever initiated it first, caused a rift between the two cousins, and between John and Dave, because of the amount of betrayal involved. This was apparently the reason why they barely ever spoke to each other, especially when Henry's parents moved to California. This conflict may also be the reason why Alicia and Henry never got to know each other well.

"You're saying my mother was a cheating skank?" Alicia asked angrily.

"I never said skank. I would never say that," he told her. "But yes, she did steal my mother's boyfriend."

"No fucking way! It was your mother who stole my mother's boyfriend!"

Henry calmed himself down, thinking he needed to resolve the situation rationally.

"Look, what does it matter anyway?" he asked. "They still ended up with men who became our fathers. We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for that."

"Yes, it's true, it worked out for the best," Alicia had to admit. "But that doesn't change the fact that your mother is a man-stealer who betrayed my mother, and she's probably the reason there was a rift in the family."

"Hey, my mother is a saint!" Henry had gone into full defensive mode now. "She would never do something like this. She's a marriage counselor; she abhors that kind of stuff."

"Or she became a marriage counselor because of her guilt about breaking up relationships!"

They continued to argue like this for some time, going back and forth defending their mothers. Eventually, the argument evolved into what they hated about each other and insulting each other's work at the tech company. They found themselves saying very horrible things to each other and about each other's mothers. They both, deep down, felt a little shame for what they were saying to each other, but they couldn't stop themselves as they kept going.

It wasn't long before Alicia demanded that Henry leave her apartment, which he was more than willing to do, slamming the door as hard as he could on his way out.

The next week was tense between them at work. They tried to avoid each other, but sometimes they needed to work together when their departments crossed paths. They maintained a professional relationship during that time, but they were always looking at each other with contempt.

The next couple of weeks after that, they learned to calm down around each other and just focus on their work. There was no longer anger between them, but they still showed no emotion towards each other.

Things changed one day after work when Henry left the branch and saw Alicia standing on the curb in front of the main entrance with her phone in her hand. She was wearing jeans and a shirt featuring one of her favorite rock bands. He figured she was waiting for her Uber driver to show up. Alicia didn't have a car, and back when they were on good terms with each other, he used to give her rides to her apartment. He decided to offer her a ride, hoping that gesture would mend things between them.

"Your Uber is not showing up?" He asked.

"Two canceled on me already, and the other one is twenty minutes away."

"Save your money, let me give you a ride," he offered.

She looked at him with a quizzical look, not sure what to make of this offer.

"Come on, I really want to put things behind us and at least be friends again," he told her. "Let me give you a ride and maybe we can talk things out."

"OK," she said, and canceled her Uber request. "But we're just talking, nothing more."

"Of course."

On the car ride to her apartment, they discussed what had happened to them. They both apologized for some of the things they said to each other, especially about each other's mothers. Henry found a way to make a mild joke about the experience that made Alicia laugh, which helped to decrease the tension between them.

When they arrived at her apartment building, there was awkward silence between them.

"You want to order a pizza with me?" she asked.

"Sure."

They spent the next hour eating pizza, drinking beer and just having fun talking with each other. They even put on a standup special on Netflix they could enjoy and just laughed.

"Alicia, this may not be the best time to bring it up, but I miss this. I wish we didn't have that argument."

"Me too," she replied.

"We're getting along very well right now. Does this mean we can let things go and just be friends? "

Alicia sighed and took a moment to think about what she needed to say.

"I'd like that, I really do," she told him. "But I just can't get over this thing about our parents."

"But that has nothing to do with us."

"But you'll always think my mother hurt your mother, and I'll think the same thing about yours. Are you telling me you don't blame my mother for the rift in our family."

Henry took a deep breath, realizing she was right.

"Yes, I still do," he confessed. "I know it's all crazy, but it's my mother. I can't help defending her in this situation where people may think she's the type of woman who cheats on people and steals other people's boyfriends."

"And I feel the same way about my mother."

"So, what do we do about it?"

"We get to the truth once and for all."

To find out the truth, they decided to contact a neutral third-party family member whom they both assumed would be truthful. After discussing what other family members they both knew, they came up with their uncle Mike, who was both their mother's cousin from another branch of the family. He was a good, honest guy, a deacon at his church, and he knew both sides of the family very well. Alicia and Henry both discussed how crazy it was that they both knew Uncle Mike very well but still had never heard of each other for so long.

Alicia called him on her phone and put him on speaker so they could all talk to each other.

"Hey Alicia, it's been a long time," said Uncle Mike. "What do I owe the pleasure?"

"Hey uncle Mike, you won't believe who I'm here with."

Henry introduced himself, and Mike was excited to hear from him. They told him how they found themselves working at the same company but decided to refrain from telling him about how they briefly dated and instead say they were just friends before they found out they were cousins. Uncle Mike was so happy to hear how they found each other and was glad they were becoming good friends.

They didn't want to take too long to get to the point of their call, so they just told him about the rumors they heard about both of their mothers and how it affected the family's dynamic. They both wanted to get to the bottom of it once and for all.

"Yeah, I heard those same rumors," he said, laughing. "I can't believe it's still going on like that."

Alicia and Henry looked at each other, surprised by their uncle's response.

"What do you mean by that, uncle Mike?" Henry asked.

"I mean, it's not exactly all true," said Mike.

Mike explained the whole situation to them. It was true that both of their mothers dated each other's fathers at first, but it didn't end with either one of them stealing the other's boyfriend. They all got too busy with their classes, part-time jobs, college activities they were involved in, and so on. They barely saw each other, so they all mutually decided to just stop seeing each other. First it was Miriam and Dave who broke up, then later on it was Susan and John.

The following semester, Miriam and John found themselves in the same class. During that time, they worked together in a study group with a few other people, and that's when they started to get to know each other more and eventually started dating.

The major problem was, of course, that they didn't tell Suan and John. When they found out, they were initially upset with them because nobody likes to see the people closest to them dating their ex. They thought Miriam and John should've at least talked to them about it before going out with each other behind their backs. But after a couple of days, they talked it all out and resolved everything between them. Susan and Dave eventually saw how good Miriam and John were together and gave them their blessings.

The semester after that, Susan and Dave ran into each other at a party where they hung out and got to know each other. Eventually, Dave asked Susan out; she said yes, but only after they told Miriam and John, because they didn't want it to be an issue. Miriam and John were surprised but gave them their blessings.