I Will Be There

Eric sat at the kitchen table in his family's home. He was on summer break from college and was looking forward to a summer of shenanigans with his high school friends. The most of their gatherings would be in his own backyard, in the designed for entertaining area his parents created for their own social extravaganzas.

Kelly, his mom, set a plate of eggs and bacon in front of him which sent his 'spidey senses' tingling. His mom never made a breakfast like that. It was usually cereal or toasted bagels. She never wanted to be bothered with spending too much time in the kitchen in which she had to have all of the newest model appliances and conveniences.

"Okay, spill it, Mom," Eric said as he lifted the fork to his mouth.

Kelly sighed, "Do you remember my friend from the old neighborhood, Julia?"

Eric nodded and thought, 'How could I forget my mother's hottest MILF friend?" She was the fuel for most of his fantasies when he masturbated.

Kelly continued, "Well, she just divorced her bastard husband for cheating on her one too many times. They have to sell the farm they bought when they moved all those years ago."

Eric had a bad feeling about where the conversation was going. "Okay?" he prodded.

"Her ex is being a jerk and refuses to help her get the farm ready for sale. She needs someone to help clean out the barns, clear the fields, and help fix little odds and ends to make the house and outbuildings more appealing to potential buyers."

Eric dropped his head and groaned, "You didn't?"

"It's just for a couple of weeks, Eric. She can't afford to pay anybody to help."

"I'm not even getting paid?" he growled.

"Your father and I will pay you," she said. "We will give you $500 a week for however long it takes."

That made Eric perk up. He thought, 'What's the longest it could take a couple of weeks? And I'll get to be alone with Julia Hewitt?'

"I see that got you excited," Kelly laughed.

"Alright, Mom. I'll do it." Then he had another memory of those days. "Mom, what about her daughter?"

Kelly smiled, "I thought you might remember her. Emily is in Spain on some kind of school exchange program or something. She won't be home for the summer."

He shrugged it off. He wasn't that concerned about her after she broke off their contact, just curious.

"Okay," he sighed. "When do I leave?"

"She's expecting you tomorrow."

"Tomorrow!" Eric shouted. "Mom, I haven't had a chance to spend any time with my friends yet."

"You'll have plenty of time to fool around with your friends when you get back. It's all the more reason to get the job done faster. And you'll have more spending money."

Eric nodded and set about finishing his breakfast. He wondered what other surprises his summer held for him.

*****

Julia Hewitt opened her front door and walked out to the wrap around porch. She thought, 'It's gonna be a scorcher today,' as she felt the humid air hit her skin. She hated the humidity of the Midwest summers. She longed to move back home to Arizona where she grew up. She never thought she would move to the Midwest until she met and fell in love with her ex-husband David.

She watched the trail of dust as the car approached her house. Happy that her friend Kelly came through for her, she couldn't wait to get to work and hoped Eric was as dependable as Kelly promised.

When she saw Eric exit his car, she almost fell as her knees weakened. The first things she noticed were his muscular chest and arms in his tight white tank top. "Jesus," she muttered as he grabbed a bag from the back seat and walked towards her. His eyes were what melted her the most. She was always a sucker for blue eyes and Eric's were stunning, making her feel as she hadn't felt since she first met David.

"Hello, Mrs. Hewitt," he called out with a wave.

"Eric, it's so good to see you again. What's it been, five years?"

"Something like that," he smiled as he took in the body of his former fantasy woman. He had to hide his lust as he looked her up and down in the summer dress she wore. She was still thin and with the exception of some aging, her face was exactly as he remembered. He silently thanked God her large breasts showed no signs of sagging.

She pulled him in for a hug and he relished the smell of berries from her shampoo. Her face tucked into his chest and her breasts pressed against his stomach. He hoped she didn't feel the erection that was forming.

She did.

She smiled as she broke the hug and said, "Come in and get settled. I've set you up in Emily's room since she won't be home. It's the only other room with a bed."

"I can sleep on the couch. It's no big deal. I don't want to upset her."

"Nonsense. She took all the stuff she cared about with her anyway."

He nodded and watched her ass sway as he followed her into the house and up the stairs.

"I know you're afraid this is some kind of ancient farmhouse with none of the modern conveniences, but I promise you'll be comfortable here. As you can feel, we have central air-conditioning. The well pumps plenty of water for the showers, for which have a water softener and individual water heaters, as well. The best part of all is the hot tub. There's nothing like relaxing tired muscles in that baby."

She smiled as she pointed into a room. I walked in and saw a large space with nothing more than a bed, a desk, and a couple of dressers.

"I told you she took everything. She has an apartment at school, so she basically recreated her bedroom there. Her father surprised her with new furniture, so at least we have a place for you to sleep and some empty drawers to keep your things."

"Thank you, it'll be great," Eric said as he set his bag onto the bed. He was surprised when the large cat who was asleep on the bed didn't move.

"That's Jarvis. He misses Emily and sleeps on her bed. I hope you aren't allergic," she was briefly embarrassed that she hadn't asked her friend about that.

"Nope, I like cats just fine," he said and scratched the comfy kitty's neck.

"Perfect. I've got lunch for you whenever you're ready, then I'll give you a tour and a list of things we need to get done." She walked over to him and touched his shoulder, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help. You're a lifesaver."

He loved the feel of her fingers as they slid down his shoulder along his bicep, while she was shocked that she did something so forward, so unlike her. She chided herself as she left the room. 'Control yourself, woman!'

Eric looked around and started opening drawers. Finding they were all empty, he picked the top two and tossed his clothes into their home for the next few weeks. Jarvis stretched and yawned as he took a look at his new roommate.

"Looks like it's you and me buddy," Eric said to the curious cat. "I hope you don't take up too much of the bed." He chuckled as the cat jumped down and scooted away.

*****

"I hope you like ham and cheese," Julia said as Eric walked into the kitchen.

"Yep," he said and plopped into a chair.

"I asked your mom and she said you ate anything, but I did pick you up some of your favorite snacks and drinks."

He thanked her as she set the cold Pepsi in front of him with a sandwich and Cool Ranch Doritos.

"Thank you, but you don't have to go to any trouble. I'll eat whatever you have."

She smiled and sat to eat her own sandwich and chips.

He noticed the papers in front of them and asked, "Is that the list?"

"Yep. There's not a lot of back-breaking labor, in case you were afraid of that. A lot of painting, cleaning, moving junk, and the fields need to be cut. David had this wild dream of becoming a farmer, and well, we never farmed the land. He ignored it for years and the land became like a prairie. We have a riding lawnmower, so that makes it easier to cut, but it takes a couple of days to do the whole property."

"Why buy a farm if you aren't going to plant crops," he asked confused.

She frowned, "He was too lazy to do any amount of hard work. When I agreed to pack up and move, I was a fool. I should've put my foot down and said no. He was so set on it though."

She looked at the table, "I was so stupid. Just like I was to miss his affairs."

Eric said, "I'm sorry, Mrs. Hewitt. I didn't mean to upset you."

She wiped a tear and said, "Please call me Julia." She forced a smile, "Now finish up so I can show you the property."

*****

He found Julia sitting on an ATV in front of one of the outbuildings. He saw that she changed into a tank top and shorts, the latter of which bared plenty of thigh for him to drool over.

She watched him leer over her legs and smiled. She was glad that she still had her looks. It was that thought that kept her from understanding what made her ex-husband cheat.

"Grab that one over there. Have you ever ridden on one?" she asked.

"No, but I'm sure I'll be able to figure it out."

She smirked and said, "No doubt. This building houses all of the larger vehicles. We have these two ATV's, the riding lawnmower, and a couple of farming vehicles that we've never used. I'm not even sure where the keys for them are. There's a bunch of old wood and scrap metal in there that we have to move out. I have a dumpster coming on Friday. I figure we can spend the weekend cleaning out the junk. Most of it is from the old owners. We got a big break on the sales price by accepting it without them cleaning it all out. Unfortunately, my Realtor tells me that won't happen in this market."

Eric nodded his understanding, and he couldn't help but hate her ex for being so lazy. They drove the fence line of the property and she showed him all of the sections of the fence that needed to be fixed. Most of it was repairing broken barbed wire, but some of the fence posts were either gone or rotted.

He tried to find some beauty in the land, but there was nothing but open farmland as far as he could see. There were no hills, no forestland, no bodies of water that he could see. He couldn't even call what he was seeing 'amber waves of grain.'

The sun was beating down on them and his shirt was soaked through with sweat. At one point, he took it off and tucked it into his back pocket. He didn't think of his lack of sunscreen.

"Oh, Eric! You look like a lobster," she shrieked when they got back to the main house. She hadn't noticed he took off his shirt as they drove the last hour of their tour around the fence line. He was behind her the whole way.

He looked down at his chest the same time she was leering at him. "I'll be okay," he shrugged. "I didn't have my shirt off the whole time."

"You can burn in just a few minutes out there with your fair skin. You won't see the worst of the effects for a while yet either. Come on inside and get cooled off."

She motioned for him to go ahead of her and felt guilty for watching the muscles of his back ripple as he walked. She smiled to herself and hoped he let her rub the aloe on. 'Stop it, you old fool!' she thought trying to shake her lust filled thoughts away.

"Here you go, Eric," she smiled and handed the bottle of aloe to him.

"Julia, really, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

She shook her head. "Stubborn kids. It's going to take some time to feel the full effects. Why don't you settle in and watch some television? I want you to stay out of the sun for the rest of the day."

He shrugged his shoulders and handed her the bottle as he walked into the living room.

"He'll learn," she said barely audible and gave a quiet chuckle.

*****

A few hours later, Eric regretted not putting sunscreen on. He fidgeted on the couch, unable to get comfortable, and Julia walked into the room.

"What's up, Sebastian?" she asked with a smirk. She was enjoying his predicament and Eric noticed.

"Sebastian?" he asked.

"The red crab from The Little Mermaid," she laughed. She held up the bottle of aloe, waving it back and forth.

"Alright, you win." He held out his hand and took the bottle. He was still shirtless, and she couldn't take her eyes off his young, fit body. He noticed and smirked. After that, he decided to go shirtless more often and see what happened.

He wondered if she was just checking him out, he was used to that. However, there was a slight hope that she was interested in him. 'Could she want me?' he thought. He wondered how long it had been since she last had sex. She was still a young man's wet dream, so she had to be attractive to men her age as well.

As he put the soothing gel on his skin, he had an idea and smiled.

"Hey, Julia? Could you come in here, please? I need your help."

Julia walked into the bedroom and said, "What's up?"

"Could you put some on my back, please? I can't reach very well."

"Uh, sure," she stuttered. He turned and smirked as her hands rubbed the gel on his skin.

She tried to control herself, but she felt the pangs of her hunger. She was as turned on as she'd been in years. The young man's muscular back under her fingers was almost too much to bear. She felt the dampness between her legs as she smelled his masculine sweat along with the sweetness of the aloe's aroma.

She rubbed her hands down his spine then along his waist until her hands were on his sides. Every inch of him was firm. When her fingers swiped around his front and touched his abs, he flexed and heard her sigh as she returned her hands to his back.

Abruptly, he spun, and her hands ended up on his chest. As she looked into his deep blue eyes, he breathed, "Thank you, Julia."

She gazed for only a moment longer, but it felt like minutes. "Anytime."

Eric smiled and she melted. She had to back away and get away from him, but her hands lingered on his chest as she slowly stepped back. She had turned to hurry away, embarrassed at her stupidity, when Eric called out to her.

"Hey, wait!"

She stopped but didn't turn, afraid to look him in the eyes. Eric knew then he had her. That lingering touch on his chest was the final confirmation.

"What's for dinner?" He asked.

She let out the breathe she didn't know she held. "I was going to put some steaks on the grill, if that's okay?"

"Sounds perfect."

She scampered out of the room and tried to hide in the kitchen as she ran the frozen strip steaks under the water to defrost them.

Her mind raced with thoughts of what happened in the bedroom. She wondered how she could have been so stupid as to acting like an eighteen-year-old girl with a crush instead of the forty-plus-year-old woman she was. She had to get her head on straight, but she had no idea her biggest problem was Eric's desire for her being stronger than hers for him.

*****

She was standing at the grill when Eric saw her, seemingly lost in her own world. He smiled and walked outside quietly approaching her from behind.

Luck favored him, for as he approached, she hadn't noticed a flare up on the grill.

"Need some help?" he said in her ear, causing her to jump with a start. The tongs she held went flying up and Eric caught them. "I got it," he said as he moved the steak off the flame.

"Jesus, Eric. You scared the shit out of me."

"Sorry, I thought you heard me shut the door."

"No, I guess I was daydreaming. I'm kind of going to miss this place."

Eric nodded and touched the steaks, testing their firmness. "Where are you going once you sell?"

She gave him a wan smile, back up by you guys. I wanted to go back home to Arizona, but I don't really have anything there anymore. It'll be nice to reconnect with my old friends."

"I know my mom misses you."

She smiled, "I miss her too."

"What about Emily? Will she move with you, or...?"

"Her plan was to keep her apartment until school is over, and if she finds a job that can sustain it, she'll stay on her own."

"That's very mature of her," Eric said with more than a hint of sarcasm as he put the steaks on a plate.

She smirked and asked, "I'm sure she'd love to catch up with you. You stopped being pen pals when you started high school."

Eric thought back to the last email she sent him. She told him that she didn't have time to keep emailing a geek like him and he'd have to settle for once a month or so. She had to spend her time with her new friends. He was hurt and sent her a one-word answer, "ok." He never heard from her again.

From his mom, he heard she became a cheerleader and got in with the 'cool kids' of the school. Once he heard that, he knew what happened. He wasn't one of those kids. He was the opposite and was surprised Emily changed as she had the same interests as he.

Before she cut him out of her life, they wrote long exchanges about their mutual love for Doctor Who, Star Trek, and other sci-fi shows. He guessed she blossomed when she hit puberty. She was always cute, but she must have stepped up if she joined that kind of clique.

It took him longer to grow into his body. He was always tall and lanky, but when his friend started lifting weights, he dragged Eric along. Eric got addicted to it and before senior year, he bulked up and had transformed his body into a lean, muscular machine that college girls loved. He never lost his love for Sci-Fi, and he never changed his group of friends; he was proud of that.

*****

After dinner, he tried to help with the dishes, but he was shooed away. He took the time to walk through the family room and look at the family pictures that dotted the walls. He was surprised to see one of him and Emily playing in the sand on a joint family vacation. He smiled at the memory. Then, he saw what must have been Emily's senior picture and was taken aback. She was beautiful.

She still had the cuteness, but she had blossomed. She was a younger version of Julia, and he was curious if she inherited her body as well as her pretty face.

"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Julia asked as she walked into the room and handed him a can of beer.

"Yes," he answered. "She looks very much like you. I bet your senior picture is very similar."

She laughed and said, "Here, this is the closest of me to that age."

He took the wedding picture from her hand and smiled, "Told ya. You were a gorgeous bride and you're still pretty hot."

She was surprised at the comment and didn't know how to answer.

He said, "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that." He looked at the can in his hand and raised his eyebrow.

"You're not going anywhere, right? Besides, I let Emily drink a little bit when she comes home. I don't mind as long as it's in my house. And I'm sure it's not your first beer, college man."

He smiled and opened it. "No comment."

They laughed together and she took a sip of her wine. She went on to tell him about the stories behind some of the pictures on the wall, which he loved hearing. She had refilled her glass twice and he matched her drink for drink. She began to feel good. Too good.

She knew when she poured the end of the bottle, she had to stop and remove herself from his presence. She was finding it hard to fight being flirty, and his occasional touches and compliments weren't helping.

"Whew! I'm beat," she said after she finished her last sip. "I'm gonna turn in so I can get an early start tomorrow. Feel free to use the shower or..."

"Do I smell? Am I offensive?" he smirked.

"You know what I mean, smart ass. The house is yours, feel free to use anything you want."

His eyes glared into her soul as she realized the implication of that double entendre. He stepped closer to her. So close she felt the heat emanate off his body.

His voice changed into a low guttural, almost growl, "Don't think I won't take advantage of such an offer. I get pretty hungry."

He leaned forward and kissed her cheek. "Good night, Joyce. Thanks for rubbing my back today."

He spun and walked out of the room leaving her shocked, horny, and confused. "What the hell was that?" she whispered to herself.