Retail Therapy

She was new at the hardware store and she screwed up my order. I was in a hurry, as usual, and seething inside at the delay, but she was obviously as distressed as I was. What could I do? I took a deep breath and told myself to relax. I also kicked myself mentally for not going to the store yesterday. Wait until the last minute and you're almost guaranteed to have an extra problem.

The assistant manager came to fix things and soon I was on my way. The young woman who'd rung me up apologized a couple times and that was the end of it. I headed for the jobsite and forgot the whole incident as I considered a problem with the deck I was working on.

A few days later I was back at the store and the same salesgirl made a mistake on my order. Again! She blushed deeply and called for a manager. This time she was wearing a "Suzy" nametag and I made small talk with her while we waited. Once again she apologized, and I could tell she was sincere. I wasn't in such a hurry this time, and I used the extra minute to absorb a few details about Suzy. Early 20's, attractive, good skin, average figure (not too big on top). What struck me most, though, was that she had a warmth and a sincerity about her. Maybe a touch of vulnerability. All good.

Part of me wanted to be forgiving and kind, but part of me was a bit irritated. Mistakes happen, and I screw up too, so I just smiled and went on my way.

A couple days later I was headed home and noticed a woman walking in the same direction. I thought nothing of it, but glanced in the mirror after I passed. It was Suzy! My first thought was to continue on, but then I braked and pulled over. A minute later Suzy caught up and I rolled down the window.

"Can I give you a ride?"

"That's okay, I just have another mile to go. It's good exercise."

"I guess...but if you've been on your feet all day..."

I could see Suzy hesitate and reconsider.

"Hop in", I said. "Exercise tomorrow. I'm going the same way and I'm not really a stranger since you helped me at the hardware store."

Suzy rolled her eyes and gave a sheepish look.

"Alllllll-right", she said. "I accept".

Suzy got in and buckled up.

"I'm not sure if "helped you" is right", she said. "I screwed up your purchase. Twice!"

"I'm over it", I responded. "You were new. I've made plenty of mistakes, too. Some when I wasn't so new and didn't have a good excuse."

We made small talk for the next minute or two at red lights. When I asked where she was living she made a face.

It's a room. Not very nice, but it's all I can afford. The woman who owns the place is a...well...I best hold my tongue.

I nodded, said "too bad" and pulled over where she told me.

"Thanks for the ride. No more mistakes! I promise."

She shut the door and I drove home, preoccupied with a work problem. I made "dinner", nothing more than some microwaved bacon and baked beans. Cheap, easy, tasty. A Single guy staple, I guess. I live alone in the house my late wife and I bought twenty-some years ago. She passed in 2015 from cancer after a long struggle. Not much has changed inside the house since then. I have wanted to throw out some decorative things she bought that I never much liked , but something always stopped me. Her memory I guess. Probably stopped me from dating much, too. I don't know if I'll ever marry again, but I'll always be thankful for the marriage I had.

As I was eating, I looked down the hall towards the bedrooms. A light came on in my head. I have extra rooms. Maybe I could offer one to Suzy. Be nice to have a little extra income and the company. It's a four bedroom house and I only use one. One's a guest room, but the only person to use it is my brother every couple years. It's got a Jack and Jill bathroom connecting it to another bedroom that is-was- a sewing/crafts room for my wife that just gathers dust now. I use one for an office, but that sounds better than it looks.

The more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea. We'd be helping each other. I'm 62, so I have no designs on her, but the company would be nice. Why didn't I think about renting a room out before?

I went to bed with lots of thoughts swirling around my head. I really needed to get a cleaning crew in, air the guest room out. Make the place more homey.

I saw Suzy a couple days later at the hardware store. I "psssst-ed" her, taking her aside, letting her know I had a room available and if she wanted to take a look sometime, my address and phone was on my business card.

I promptly forgot about the room offer amidst a perennial business problem I won't bore you with. I was in the middle of a phone conversation about it that night when the doorbell rang. It was Suzy. She rushed to apologize, saying she tried to call first but had a phone problem. Her timing sucked, but I asked her in and told her to make herself at home in the kitchen for a bit while I finished my call.

When I emerged a few minutes later, Suzy was all apologies again, but I waved them off.

"Don't worry. It's fine. Actually, I apologize, because I was going to pay a cleaning service to clean the place up before you saw it. So I'm a little embarrassed. I didn't expect to see you so soon-if at all."

"Well, I hate where I'm living. I don't like the wife, and the husband gives me the creeps. I've been looking for another place, but my hardware store paycheck is kind of slim, and I had to pay in advance for the room. Can I see your room?

She blushed, and corrected herself quickly.

"I mean the vacant bedroom."

"Sure. Down the hall here."

Suzy hesitated a moment at the photos of my wife."

"My late wife. She passed in 2015, but she's kinda still here."

Not to bore you with more details about the room and stuff, but one thing was interesting. It's a small detail, but I think little things aren't little at all.

"How about if you pay me to clean up?, Suzy said. "You can pay me whatever you'd pay a cleaning person or cleaning crew. I promise I'll do just as good a job. It will be like I'm making the place mine a little bit."

I loved the idea and her industriousness and agreed at once.

"Great idea. I won't even charge you for the first week. How long are you paid up for at your house?"

"Let's see...8 days."

"Well, you can move in whatever date that is."

Suzy said "Oh" and seemed unhappy.

"Umm...could I move in sooner?"

"Absolutely. Sure. Anytime you want. I just didn't want you to throw money away if you've already paid."

"How about tomorrow?"

I laughed.

"Tomorrow's great. You can have my extra front door key. Here, let me take it off my other set of keys."

"What time do you want to come by tomorrow?"

"I work early shift 6am to 2:30, so I just need to gather things and come over. "

"Okay...umm...umm...uh...you know this is all new to me. I'm not sure how to do dinner. Or meals. Kind of embarrassed about that. I guess I haven't really thought this through. I just wanted to help you out."

"I sensed that. You're sweet. I don't believe in problems, though, just solutions. We can work it out. I've been microwaving frozen food, mostly. I'll be happy to cook again."

I took her back to where she was staying a few minutes later. Suzy asked about mail, laundry, where the cleaning supplies were and what day of the week I wanted to get paid for the room. I didn't know. Hadn't thought about it. Wasn't even sure how much to charge.

We shook hands and said good night. I sat there as she walked inside, then laughed to myself when she flicked the light off and back on again to signal she was inside. My mother did that. So did her friends. 50 years ago.

Having a stranger move into your house can be a little unsettling, but for some reason, I wasn't worried. Suzy moving in just seemed right. And it was. She was a whirlwind of activity the next day, cleaning for hours even after I got home, making spaghetti and a salad.

We shyly said "goodnight" to each other, and I fell asleep with a little smile on my face soon after.

Days passed and we didn't see each other much because Suzy worked late shift, which was 2 to 10pm. We communicated by notes when Suzy had a question about something. I left extra $ for cleaning supplies, new vacuum cleaner bags and grocery money.

Sunday, we were both off. The first week anyway. Suzy brought out the waffle machine and we had a nice breakfast together. We talked and learned about each other, and I was truly happy she was there. I have to say, though, that it takes a little time to be totally comfortable with someone else in the house. I couldn't fart, clear my throat, nap, watch football or really do almost anything without thinking about another person. That was okay, but it would take some getting used to.

I didn't take any money from Suzy the first week on account of our deal about the cleaning. I didn't take any money the second week because I wanted her to build up a little cash. Plus, she'd been doing a lot of cooking and cleaning. I didn't want to take any money the third week either. Truth was I really liked having someone else around, especially someone with a smiling face and lots of positive energy.

I took $100 rent for the room from Suzy the fourth week, but bought some yogurt and other food she liked with the money. I also bought a bouquet of flowers for her. They weren't fancy, just some flowers from a display at Home Depot. They were a big hit. Suzy put them in an old vase I had, and tried to put them on the kitchen table, but I said they were for her and her room and that I would buy another bunch of flowers for the house.

"I...uh...I'm really happy you're here and I want you to be happy, too." I confessed.

Suzy's eyes got bright, and she gave me a quick hug of thanks.

"I AM happy. I'm glad you're happy too. Living here is heaven compared to where I was. Really. No warmth, no love in that house, just rules and...a cold bedroom. I'm so glad to be out. And you know what? No one ever gave me flowers before. I'm touched."

Life settled into the usual routines and patterns over the next couple months: work, eat, computer time for emails and facebook, phone time for texts and work stuff. We also found time to watch things on TV or Netflix. Sports, nature shows (Suzy loved the National Geographic Channel). I had two TV's in the house, a small one in the kitchen (washing dishes is a lot nicer with a tv on) and a larger one in the bedroom at the foot of my bed. We ended up watching things on that TV often, Suzy in her pajamas and robe. me in sweats or something casual, either under the covers or on top of the bed. We didn't watch porn or anything even sexy, just the usual stuff. I fell asleep half the time, and sometimes Suzy did too. I'd cover her with a blanket and she'd sleep for hours, then go to her room for the rest of the night. Or sleep til morning. On those occasions I'd get up quietly and use the bathroom down the hall so as not to wake her.

Despite the fact that we spent the night in the same bed, there was nothing the least bit sexual about it. Suzy was like a daughter. I had noticed a nipple beneath a tee shirt in the morning, and some delightful jiggle of her rear when she walked around the house in her pajama bottom, but I didn't go there mentally. It didn't seem right.

One night Suzy was on the bed watching tv and switched position to watch something closeup on the screen. One bare foot was near my face, so I grabbed it playfully and massaged it for a second, saying my late wife loved foot massage.

"Who doesn't?" Suzy exclaimed enthusiastically, and moved her feet closer. I massaged her foot for another minute, then put it down. That was that. Nothing more happened. The massage didn't lead to more and wild sex.

Sometime a few days or a week later, that scenario repeated itself, and I massaged Suzy's foot. Or feet, I can't remember. I do remember she turned over on her back and we put the program on pause for a minute while I massaged her feet. In the silence that followed, things changed. I massaged Suzy's smooth foot more seriously, running my fingers between her toes and using pressure on the bottom.

"Oh, that's lovely", Suzy murmured. "I have never had a real foot massage. Okay, maybe the woman who did my toenails massaged them for a few seconds, but that doesn't count."

I continued the massage for a few minutes. The quiet of the room only interrupted by our breathing. I broke the silence.

"I used to see photos of someone sucking a woman's toes when I was young. It was supposed to be decadent. Or extra sexy. Always seemed odd to me. I never understood why someone would do that. Tried it once with my wife, but she said it tickled"

"Do you want to suck my toes?"

"No", I responded quickly. "No,no. Not suggesting anything. I was just saying...just talking."

"Go ahead! You can suck my toes if you want. I've never had it done."

"Nooooooo. No, I wasn't asking to. I'm sorry I even brought up the subject. I don't want you to think I'm weird."

"That's not weird. You're not weird. If you were weird, I wouldn't be here."

Thanks. I'm pretty normal, I think. Maybe a little square...a little old-fshioned."

"No you're not. You're so sweet."

Suzy switched position on the bed and lay down besides me. Wrapping her arms around my chest.

Holy Christ. I took a deep breath, then stroked her head and hair.

"Ummm...wow. Thank you." My voice caught for a second. I took a deep breath.

"No, I thank you. You've been so great to me and I am...really fond of you."

Suzy pulled herself up, looked me deep in the eyes, then hesitated a second and kissed my forehead.

I took a deep breath and pulled Suzy closer.

"I am so fond of you. I can't tell you how great it's been to have you here. All your help...plus I really look forward to seeing you every night or in the morning. I just love having you. I mean having you HERE".

I probably blushed a little. Suzy smiled, then looked at me deeply again, and spoke quietly.

"What if I said you could have me? What if I asked to spend the night?"

I sucked in my breath, then let it out slowly. I gathered my thoughts for a second, then spoke.

"That's...uh...that's a lot to think about. That you would even consider such a thing is flattering. I do miss women...sex...being close to someone. But I've felt very close to you. You have stolen my heart, really. If we have sex--and that is so, so amazing and flattering that you would even consider it with someone as old as me--everything changes. What if we lose this wonderful friendship...the relationship we have? I would feel awful."

"Why would we lose anything? I want to be with you as much as you want to be with me. I can't tell you how many nights I've had to fight the urge to just walk in your room and crawl in bed with you."

My eyes opened wide in disbelief. Suzy continued.

"I really do kind of love you. I masturbate thinking about you. When you hug me I don't want you to let go."

My jaw dropped at this news.

"Are you kidding me? That's the sexiest thing I've ever heard. I've been aware of your body, those...um...feminine parts that wiggle or sway a bit, but I never fantasized about you. It didn't seem right. You're not my daughter, but I've kind of thought of you as one. And...well, fantasizing about your daughter is not okay."

"I understand", Suzy said. "That's who you are. Honorable...decent...a real gentleman. But now, now things are out in the open. We shared our feelings. I don't want you to think about me like a daughter any more. I want you to want me."

I took a deep breath. It was hard to digest what I was hearing. I drew Suzy close.

"I didn't think I could be any happier than I was an hour ago, yet I am. My heart is so full. I want what you want."

Suzy smiled, hugged me, then ran to her bedroom, emerging a few seconds later with a candle and a pack of matches. She lit the candle, turned out the light, undid her robe, slipped out of her panties and crawled under the covers. I took my clothes off and slipped under the covers. Not many lovers ever reached for each other with greater passion, nor grabbed each other tighter.

I don't know if it was dumb, funny, juvenile or something else, but as soon as we were in each other's arms Suzy whispered "I love you" in my ear. I repeated the words in her ear and then we said it again and again and again to each other, holding on tightly and rolling around, trying to mash our two bodies into one.

We kissed and kissed and sucked each other's tongues wildly. My hands caressed Suzy's back and sides, then cautiously the sides of her butt, then the fullness of her rear. Suzy slid on too of me and moments later a sweet little breast was in my face. Instinctively, I kissed the firm bud that was her nipple, then sucked it gently and brushed it with my tongue. Suzy squealed her delight, and seemed even more excited when I slipped a good portion of her breast into my mouth and inhaled as much of it as I could. My hands naturally fell on Suzy's butt and I pulled her full cheeks with my hands, crushing her body against mine, rubbing them every which way to get and give maximum pleasure from the moment. I loved this body and this young woman and couldn't have been happier when I felt something warm and wet against my hardened shaft. Suzy rubbed her wet slit against me, then I'm pretty sure moved her body to rub her clit against the head of my shaft for a good minute before taking it and inserting my dick into her hot vagina. She wiggled forward and back, up and down and side to side, all the while moaning in pleasure. One minute she was straight up and down, the next she was flat against me, nuzzling, kissing.

I was afraid I wouldn't last that long, mentioned that, and suggested she come.

"That would be so easy...I can come any time. I'm enjoying this so much"

"Come. Come for me, then let's see if we can give you another orgasm", I whispered.

"Ooooooo...unnnh...I will, then you too."

Suzy began a quick wiggle against my pelvic bone, her breathing got loud, then she came came in a series of sexy little sounds that I can't describe, let alone spell. There was one final gasp, then she fell down against me. I held her warm body against me tightly and listened to her loud breathing quietly slow over the course of a couple minutes. I rubbed and caressed her back with my hands, kissing her ear, her hair, her neck again and again.

"Your turn", she said softly. "What can I do for you to have an orgasm?"

"Just do what you were doing", I said. I was trying hard not to come. I didn't want to go soft before you came. And I'd love to give you another orgasm, if I can."

Suzy made approving noises and ground herself against me.

"Come for me...you have given me so much, I want to give you pleasure in return."

Suzy leaned down and whispered in my ear.

"I'll suck you if you want. I'll suck your cock, dick..penis-whatever you call it. I'd like to."

"That would be great. Maybe in the morning, though. I want to taste you, too. I want to spread your legs and see all of your...your femininity. I want to lick and suck and tease every square inch of your fabulous body."

"Mmm...sounds good. I'm getting hot again. I want you to kiss me, too. Kiss me a hundred times. Kiss me in bed, kiss me in the kitchen.

"I'd love to. I will kiss your lips, your neck, your breasts, your nipples...then I'll spread your legs wide and pull apart your gorgeous labia with my thumbs and lick and suck every little bit of pink I can find--but not your clit. I'll tease you, I'll tease around your clit until you beg me to suck your clit, then I will. I grab your little bud between my lips and suck it again and again, teasing it with my tongue, then sucking it. I can't wait to taste you."

Suzy rubbed her clit furiously against me and came again with a loud cry. I was surprised how quickly she came. I picked up the pace of my own thrusts and soon felt that rush towards orgasm as the head of my dick slipped back and forth in her tight, warm tunnel. Moments later I cried out too, and spurted once, twice, three times. The hot liquid leaked down and spread, my sperm mixing with her wetness, anoinnting our bodies as lovers.