Kate and Edith Too Pt. 02

"Yeah, besides rehydrating, you probably need to replenish your electrolytes. Liz, get her a big glass of Gatorade, instead."

Liz answered, "Okay, and why don't you bring the massage table from the gym and set it up out here. It's too nice out to go inside just yet."

I goth the folding massage table and set it up on the patio. Jen was drying off, and Liz had poured a bottle of Gatorade in a pitcher and brought glasses with ice for all of us. I'd brought a beach towel, and spread it on the table.

Jen downed a glass of Gatorade then stretched out on the table, "Thank you, Jack."

It was then that it dawned on me that she was wearing her thong bikini, so while I was massaging her legs, I would be forced to stare at her firm, naked, sexy butt.

The sacrifices a guy makes for family, huh?

IV. BEYOND AWKWARD

Tuesday, following that weekend, I was up at five to make a cup of coffee, relax on the patio, and watch the sun come up - my usual. I padded to the kitchen, made a cup then headed out back. When I opened the back door, Jen was already sitting at the table looking out at the mountains, silhouetted against the predawn twilight.

"You're up early," I said, pulling out a chair and setting my cup down.

"Oh, good morning. I was having trouble sleep..."

She stopped in midsentence, mouth slightly ajar and was staring at my waist. I glanced down.

"Oh shit," I blurted, spun around and darted back into the house. "Sorry," I added, over my shoulder.

My usual is to crawl out of bed in the morning and go to the kitchen without putting anything on. But since Jen arrived, I've been mindful to put on shorts. I had a lapse this morning and came out bare-ass naked.

When I returned, Jen at first didn't make eye contact, instead focusing on her cup as she sipped her drink. I sat down and retrieved my cup. As I busied myself blowing on my coffee and taking a sip, Jen started giggling, softly at first, then louder. I finally joined her, and we both had a good laugh.

"Sorry. I was on autopilot, and didn't think about you being here," I said, making eye contact.

"No, it's okay. I was just caught by surprise," she said, then with a small grin and a bit coyly, "not a bad surprise...but a surprise, nonetheless."

"So, you couldn't sleep?" I said to change the subject.

"Woke up around four and couldn't get back to sleep. Just laid there and...Jack, um...no, I shouldn't ask...but, I'm curious, so I'm going to anyway..."

"Yeah?" I questioned when she didn't continue.

She was fidgeting with her cup and chewing on her lip. She looked up, "It's just...embarrassing...inappropriate, maybe..."

"It's okay, I guess," then I shrugged, "Go ahead."

She set her cup down, fidgeted with it a second, then looked up, "Your penis. Were you, you know, aroused...when you came out here? What I think guys call 'morning wood'."

I was taking a drink of coffee and almost spit it out.

She quickly apologized, "I'm sorry. I knew I shouldn't ask..."

"No, I uh...I guess it's my turn to be surprised. But the answer is no, pretty much just normal, I think...Why, did you think I was...aroused?"

"No...I didn't know...It's just that...well, Charles, even when he was fully erect wasn't as, um, big as you looked when..." blushing, she stopped, dropping her eyes again, then continued, "and I've never been with anyone who was quite that..."

Liz opened the slider, yawning and stretching one arm over her head and holding a cup of coffee in her other hand.

"G'morning. Everybody's up early. I thought I heard laughing," she remarked as she walked around and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"Sorry, hon, didn't mean to wake you."

"Oh, you didn't. I had to pee. Since you weren't in bed, I figured you were having your morning coffee and decided to join you. I was heading to the kitchen when I heard the laughter. So, what was so funny?"

Jen and I looked at each other, "Umm..." I started, but couldn't bring myself to say, "I showed your sister my dick."

"Um? You don't remember what you were laughing about?" Liz asked, playfully.

I looked at Jen; she looked at me, then after a second, she cleared her throat.

"Jack accidentally surprised me. I was out here having coffee, and he came out and...well, he forgot about me being here and...he didn't have anything on."

"You flashed my sister?" Liz chided me and chuckled. "I hope it didn't traumatize you too much," she kidded Jen.

Jen laughed nervously, "I was just surprised to see, um...his..."

"Big dick flappin' in the wind," Liz smirked, playfully slapping me on the back of my head.

Jen blushed, softly mumbled, "Um, mm hmm," and took a sip of coffee.

Liz sat, took a sip of coffee and asked, "So, what were you talking about just now, when I opened the door?"

Jen glanced at me, then said, "Well, I was...surprised by how...um...the size of Jack's...you know...and I asked if he was having 'morning wood'...because he was bigger than...Oh, this is so embarrassing..."

Liz started laughing, "That explains the goofy looks and weird vibe going on. Don't be embarrassed, silly." She took another sip of coffee and chuckled, "And yeah, he's a big boy...Did you have wood, honey?"

"No!"

"Just asking...Well, Jen, sorry, but this was bound to happen. Don't be surprised if you catch one of us again...Maybe we should wear cowbells around our necks," she joked, then started giggling.

We made it through the rest of the week and the weekend without incident, but...

V. BEYOND AWKWARD

Monday, I was working on an addition, nearby in Gold Canyon, and around three p.m., I ran home to get some tarps and tie-downs from the garage, as it was closer than my shop. A thunderstorm was coming through, and part of the addition we were working on wasn't buttoned up, yet. I pulled into the drive and hit the garage remote. The Forester was in the garage, so I knew Jen was home. After I loaded up, I went in the house to say hi.

"Hey, Jen?" I called out as I went to the kitchen to grab a soda. No answer. She was probably out back. I headed to the patio, opening my soda and taking a swig as I opened the door.

"OH GOD! JACK?!"

"Oh, geez! Sorry!"

"What are you doing ho..."

I slammed the door shut, spun on my heel, headed to the garage, out to my truck, hit the garage remote, and left.

As I had opened the door to the patio, I'd just finished my swallow of soda and looked out. Jen was reclined on a lounger, head forward, chin to her chest, knees up with her feet planted on the lounger and her legs akimbo. She was jilling to beat the band.

I would never get that image out of my head. And of all the things that struck me when I saw her, the one that stuck in my head - I'd never noticed before that she was left-handed.

By the time we finished up at the jobsite, the western sky was turning dark and foreboding as the wall of a summer thunderstorm approached.

Omen?

When I pulled in the drive, Liz's car was already there. Good. I really didn't want to face Jen alone. Don't get the wrong idea. The incident didn't upset me, or freak me out. People masturbate; no big deal. Accidentally catching someone in the act - awkward. Catching your sister-in-law in the act - more awkward. But having 'her' freak out and yell at me - beyond awkward.

I mean, if she had gone, "Oh shit, oops" or something like that, we could have laughed it off. Not the case, here. I went in to face the aftermath, wondering what Liz's reaction was when she found out about it. I opened the garage and took some tools and equipment from the truck and stowed them out of the rain. Just as I finished and hit the garage door closer, the first big drops of rain were splattering on the concrete driveway.

I braced myself and entered the house. Liz greeted me from the kitchen nook where she was working with her checkbook and some bills.

"Hi hon. You beat the rain. I was wondering if you were going to get caught in the storm."

"I'm not the one who got caught," I thought.

"Hi babe. No, we were expecting it and got everything wrapped up before the storm arrived."

Apparently, she hadn't talked to her sister yet.

"Seen Jen yet?" I asked casually.

"No. She must be in her room. I'm thinking eat out tonight, I don't want to cook. Why don't you go check on her."

"Uh, sure, okay."

As I turned to head down the hall, Liz added, "I know it's going to be pouring, but is going out, okay?"

"Yeah, fine with me. I don't feel like cooking either."

When I got to Jen's door, I stood there for several seconds and listened, working up my nerve.

I tapped lightly, "Jen?"

I barely heard her, "Yes?"

"Liz is home and she wants to go out to eat and..."

"I'm not hungry."

"Jen, I haven't said anything, and I won't. And I'm very sorry, but...come to the door, please."

No response. I waited, then I heard rustling. The door handle moved and the door cracked open slightly.

"Jen, look, I know you're embarrassed, but I want you to know, it was no big deal to me. Really. Let's just pretend it never happened. Come to dinner. I promise I won't say a thing. Okay?"

Head down, she pulled the door open a little further, then looked at me, "I'm just...so embarrassed...I didn't think I could face you...and Liz..."

"Our secret, okay sweetie?" I said softly, conspiratorially.

She nodded, looking away, "Let me put myself together...Thank you, Jack."

I reached and squeezed her hand, "You're welcome. Take your time. We have to change and get ready."

"Oh, where are we going?"

"I don't know, but someplace casual."

"Okay," she nodded.

I released her hand and went looking for Liz. She was in the bedroom, stripping off her work clothes.

"Jen's getting ready. She wanted to know where we're going. I told her someplace casual."

"Yeah, I'm thinking pizza," Liz answered, coming up and hugging her nude body to me and kissing me.

"Sounds great. I'll get changed."

"Everything okay, honey? You seem preoccupied," my ever sharp, ever observant wife asked as I went to the bathroom to strip off my work clothes.

"Yeah, all good. Just a hectic day...some unexpected developments," I answered, tongue in cheek, grinning to myself.

"Yeah, that storm came out of nowhere."

"Mm hmm."

When we headed down the hall, Jen was waiting in the foyer.

"Hey sis, how was your day? You okay? You look tired," Liz chirped.

"I'm fine. I think I got too much sun."

Liz continued brightly, "Well, you're getting a killer tan. I'm jealous. You've only been here a few weeks and you're already darker than I am," then seriously, "but you have to be careful with this sun here. It's pretty intense. You can easily sunburn. You don't want to overexpose yourself out there."

Jen and I exchanged looks.

Liz continued, "Hey, is pizza okay?"

"Sounds good," Jen answered, finally giving a small smile.

"Honey, grab the umbrellas. Let's go. I'm starving. I didn't get any lunch...Oh, wow!" Liz exclaimed as she opened the door.

The rain was coming down in sheets.

"I'll pull my truck behind your car, then we'll go through the garage and take the Forester," I offered and popped my umbrella open.

"Good idea, hon."

I dashed to the truck and scrambled in. My pants legs got soaked in the short distance. I pulled my cell out and called Liz, "Why don't you call in an order and I'll go pick it up."

"Better idea! Thanks, hon. I'll call it in. Drive careful."

The pizzas were ready when I got there. With the thunderstorm, they weren't busy. By the time I got home, the rain was starting to slacken, but still heavy. I popped my umbrella open, grabbed the pizza boxes and beat it to the front door, which opened as I hit the front porch. Jen was holding it open for me.

"Here, I'll take those," she smiled.

"Thanks."

She leaned in as she took the boxes, quietly adding, "No. Thank you, for earlier. I'm better...but we need to talk, later."

"Sure," I replied and smiled.

We started eating at the nook, and chatting about our day, when I got an idea. I got up, went to the back door and looked out. The storm was moving into the foothills and the winds and rain out back had slackened.

I went back to the nook, "Why don't we move this to the patio, watch the storm as it heads over the mountains."

"Yeah, and the desert smells awesome after it rains. Great idea, babe," Liz replied, enthusiastically.

We settled at the patio table and watched the storm recede, with flashes of lightning and the muffled sounds of thunder rumbling in the distance.

Liz was talking about work, "With us losing our receptionist, and with Nanna..." she turned to Jen, "Nancy, she's our office manager...with Nanna being out sick, I didn't get a chance to breathe, much less eat."

Again, to Jen, "Um, I don't know what you're looking for, or considering for work, but our receptionist position is open. It's not the highest-paying, but temporarily it could give you something to do, and some spending money."

"Really? Well, I don't know if I'm qualified to work in a doctor's office..."

"Oh, no special requirements. I can bring you up to speed on everything. We hired a temp, but she's only a two-week contract at the moment. After that, if you're interested..." Liz shrugged and waited for her sister's reaction.

"Well, yes, I would be interested. I'm starting to go a little stir-crazy," she answered, and her eyes briefly darted to me, "So, yes, if you don't think it's a problem for your boss, hiring your sister..."

"Oh no, not at all. And as long as we're talking about it, something else for you to think about, maybe put on the back burner - in December, Nanna is having hip surgery. She's 63, and has said she may go ahead and retire at that time. She hasn't decided yet, but will in the next few weeks. I don't know if it's the kind of thing you would be interested in, but it pays pretty well and has excellent benefits. And Rob is great to work for."

"I do have a management degree I haven't used for years, well except recently for managing a household," she quipped in a self-effacing jab. "I know nothing about the medical profession or..."

"Oh, that wouldn't be an issue," Liz quickly put in, and kind of excitedly. The fact that her sister didn't reject the idea out of hand, I think surprised her and obviously pleased her. "If you come to work as our receptionist, we could train you into the position before Nanna left. Of course, that's dependent on what she decides. We'll know soon enough." She finished spritely.

I think this conversation had taken Jen's mind off the 'incident' and her mood improved.

When we finished eating, Liz got up to go to the bathroom, and Jen took the opportunity to talk to me.

"Are you going to have your coffee in the morning?"

"Yeah, sure."

"I'll meet you out here. We can talk. We need to talk."

"Okay..." I answered with a little apprehension in my voice.

"Not bad, just need to discuss something, but just between you and me."

"Of course, no problem," I answered.

VI. A REVELATION

I was a little concerned about whatever it was that Jen wanted talk about, and I certainly wasn't prepared for what she hit me with.

The next morning, I was sitting drinking my coffee when she came out with hers. She was obviously freshly showered, her hair was still damp, and she had already dressed for the day, as I had.

"Good morning, Jen."

Good morning, Jack."

She sat, blew on her coffee and looked out at the dark vista, "It's lovely here."

"Yeah, I can't imagine not having this view. Until we bought this house from my dad, we lived in an apartment in Mesa. We were getting ready to buy a house in a typical development when the opportunity to buy this came up. Lucky timing for us."

Jen nodded but was silent for a time.

"Jack, I have a problem, and if I take that job, I'll be moving out as soon as I can."

"What? Why? Not because of..."

"No, no...not that...I'm over that...well, mostly. But since you bring it up, um, the incident, it does have something to do with why I wanted to talk to you...Jack, it's been a long time since I felt loved, and almost as long since I made love; well, anything other than just sex...Jack, when you caught me, surprised me, and I was, well, you know what I was doing...what you don't know, is why."

"Same reason we all do," I said, kind of offhandedly.

She smiled, "Mm hmm, but what I meant was - what inspired me, what led me to do that. I didn't go out there with that in mind. I hadn't planned on...masturbating by your pool, in broad daylight."

She sat silent for a minute, then looked at me, "You know, when I arrived, I can honestly say the opinion I had of you was not a flattering one..."

"Pot, this is kettle, over," I joked.

She smiled and chuckled lightly, "Yes, I guess I didn't show you much to recommend me, did I? But, from the time I got here, you have done nothing but surprise me - with your kindness, your acceptance, your willingness to help...but more than that, your compliments and showing an obvious attraction to me. That not only helped me feel better about myself, it got me...stirred up, aroused. That coupled with finding you attractive, handsome, and...desirable...well, I found myself...very attracted to you."

She sat and looked at me, not breaking eye contact, watching me for a reaction. I think I squirmed a little, and I broke eye contact.

I felt her hand on mine, "I have to get this out. You have to know, to understand."

I nodded and she continued, "Jack, being here, not wearing much in the way of clothes, seeing you and being around you day in and day out, hugging, dancing...I became more than attracted; I started to desire you, to wish you were mine, or at least, that I could...have you."

I was dumbstruck - emphasis on dumb. I didn't know what to say, but felt I needed to say something, and started to. She squeezed my hand and shook her head.

"Let me finish. And I know you are attracted to me, that I've had an effect on you..."

"Jen, you are beautiful, and very desirable. Of course, you've had an effect on me, but I have Liz, so..."

"Right. Anyway, as I was going to say, it all came to a head when we came home from that hike, and my legs were knotting up; you gave me that massage, which was fantastic, by the way. But, feeling your hands on me...Jack, I wanted to turn over and have you take me, right then. That was what was going through my mind on the pool deck, when I was...masturbating. I was fantasizing about you, about us. That's why I have to leave. That's why I can't stay here. I have too strong of feelings for you. I don't want Liz to know about this. So, you understand why I need to leave as soon as possible?"

"Jen, I think it's going to take quite a while for you to get in a position where you can afford to do that."

"I know. And that's one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. It's going to take a while, so, in the interim, I need your help. I'm not sure how...but I need you to...not be...I don't know, so nice to me, and nothing, um, intimate - no hugging, no dancing...no flashing," she finished with a playful smile.

I laughed, but caught myself distractedly looking at her luscious, perfectly shaped lips, her dark, enchanting eyes...

Yup, she needed to leave.

She continued, "But I don't want to make Liz suspicious, so it can't be obvious; I don't know...well, whatever you can do to help me. I'm going to do everything I can to take my focus off of you. I just, I just don't want Liz to know...how I feel about you. I would die if she found out that I was lusting for her husband."

"Um, I'm sorry, Jen. I have to finish getting ready. I need to leave in about 15. I will try to...well, do what you suggested. But I don't know. Liz is very sharp, very good at reading people. We'll have to see."

"Thank you, Jack."