Retirement and College Ch. 01

We were chatting amongst ourselves when Bob walked back in. He looked even more flustered than when he'd left. He took his seat.

"I'm authorized to offer you the property for $4 million." He offered.

"We'll see your ass in court, then." I stood and reached for Amanda's arm.

"Mr. Brown, please let's discuss this," Bob offered.

"There's nothing to discuss. You said we owed $2.5. Now you're offering $4. You're not going to fuck us around. I'll spend money on attorneys until hell freezes over, or until I own your client's ass, first." I said.

Amanda was looking at me. I think she wanted to smile, but the seriousness of the situation prevented her from doing it.

"Mr. Brown. My client authorized me to accept a reasonable offer." He pleaded.

"Our offer is $2 million. Take it or leave it." I knew the building was worth at least three times that. Local businesses had started to believe in the neighborhood again. Things were looking up. I wasn't going to let that die.

"Okay, Mr. Brown. We'll accept that." Bob replied angrily.

"Fine. I'll be here until Friday mid-day. I expect a contract to be written by then."

"You'll have it, Mr. Brown." He said curtly.

"I would hope so." I said firmly.

"Jim, thank you for your help." I extended my hand.

"My pleasure, John." He said.

I reached out to shake Bob's hand. He begrudgingly accepted.

I opened the door and Manda walked out in the hallway.

"You like doing that stuff too much." She sighed.

"I know I do, but ever since that jackass fucked us over when Mom and Dad died, I haven't let anyone push me around. They're not going to push you around either." I said, keeping my emotions in check.

"I know, John." She took my arm and we walked to the elevator in silence.

That Thursday afternoon, we signed the contract on the building. I was happy things had worked out. Ryan and Manda's dream would live on. We hailed a cab and I asked Manda where there was a good place to get dinner and a celebratory glass of wine. She suggested a place and the cab sped off. We enjoyed a delicious steak dinner and a glass soon turned into a bottle. We sat there long after dinner talking. Finally, I suggested maybe we move to the bar so that someone else might enjoy dinner. She laughed and agreed.

"I want to thank you for everything, John." She said.

"Baby, you don't ever have to thank me. I'm happy to do it. I told you I'd always be there for you." I replied.

"You haven't called me baby in a long time." She smiled.

"It didn't feel right for a long time. I had tried to just put that in the past."

"I know you did, so did I. But still, you spend most of your time and a tremendous amount of money on making me happy." She said.

"You and Kassie are all I have babe." I said taking a sip of my wine.

"John, it doesn't have to be that way, though. It always made Ryan uncomfortable."

"I was afraid of that, but with what he wanted to do, he was going to need money somewhere. Why not from me?"

"I agree. I fought long and hard to get him to accept what you gave us. He didn't want to take any of it."

"I'm glad you prevailed, and I hope he would be happy with what we accomplished this week."

"I think he would be, however begrudgingly." She smiled.

"You look a little sleepy." I offered, as I poured the last of the wine.

"I am a little bit. Wine always makes me so mellow." She said.

"Some things never change, do they?" I smiled, as we sipped our wine.

"No, they don't. You want to get out of here? I have a couple bottles at home that are left from what you brought at Christmas." She said.

"Sure. That sounds good." I helped her put her coat on and we walked out. I felt her take my hand in hers. I looked over at her. She was smiling.

"You don't mind, do you?" She asked.

"No, of course not. It's just me and you tonight." I smiled.

"I know. That's what I like." She grinned. We got in a cab and the driver took off. I turned to look at her and she pounced on me. We exchanged the most torrid, passionate kisses either of us had ever felt. Her hands roved over my arms and shoulders, as my hands gripped her waist pulling her yet closer to me. We were both lost in the moment as our latent desire for one another boiled over in the backseat of that cab.

We were both so turned on, we ignored the cab driver, and made out like horny teenagers. I unbuttoned her blouse and pulled her heaving breasts from her lacy black bra. I sucked her nipples lustily, while vigorously fingering her wet pussy through the gaping hole I'd torn in her pantyhose. For her part, she had my slacks open and heartily stroked my throbbing cock. She pushed me back towards the cab door and she lowered her beautiful face to my lap. I leaned back against the window as she enthusiastically deep throated my cock. Even over the sound of the cab in motion, I could hear the lusty, slurping sounds she made as she sucked me. I managed to look in the front seat, and noticed the cab driver was spending more time with his eyes on the rearview mirror than on the road. When we finally pulled up in front of her house, I grabbed Manda by the arm and just threw a $100 bill in the front seat.

The frenzy of lovemaking that took place that night was like nothing I had ever experienced. I took her the first time that night up against the wall in her entryway. That was as far as we'd made it. There had never been a woman I'd known that could reach me on such an animalistic level as my own sister. Our lovemaking was spontaneous, wanton and passionate. The compatibility was uncanny. Despite my hesitation our very first time, there had never been a moment of awkwardness between us in bed. We would unquestioningly do anything the other desired in the heat of the moment. We finally collapsed on her bed in exhaustion about 3 in the morning. I remember waking up to find her draped over me, still asleep. I just laid there holding her until she finally woke.

We had a long talk that morning over coffee. Neither of us had bothered to dress.

"So, where does last night leave us, baby?" I asked.

"Where do you want to leave us?" She replied.

"I'll be completely honest and say that was the greatest night of lovemaking I've ever experienced." I said.

"I'd be very comfortable in agreeing with that." She laughed.

"What I told you 12 years ago still stands, though." I reminded her.

"I know it does. And it still stands for me as well. We live half a country apart, I'm not expecting you to give up your life for me." She said.

"You think we can still share what we had, though?" I asked.

"Yes. I hope so." She said as she took my hand in hers.

"Me too, babe." I agreed.

"John, it was just so good to have you back last night. Even if it was one night. You don't know how I've missed sharing that with you."

"Manda, I feel the same way. No one I've ever met has compared to you." I said. That brought another smile to her face.

"I feel the same. It always bothered me that Ryan never could reach me like you could. It hurt me, because I know how hard he tried. I've spent way too many hours talking to my shrink about it." She admitted.

"Yeah, I know. What we shared has stopped me on multiple occasions." I agreed.

"I hate that though." She said sadly.

"Don't. I'd never go back and change a thing." I said.

"Neither would I." She agreed. "What time is your flight?"

"1." I said.

"Lovely." She said, as she stood up and walked around the table. Despite being a mother, her body was still as wonderful as I remembered our first night. She stopped in front of me before she leaned down and kissed me, slow and deep. "Looks like we have a couple hours to kill, doesn't it?"

"Yes, it does....." I took her hand and led her to her bedroom.

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One day in late March after I retired, I was sitting on my back patio overlooking the ocean. I was watching the waves beat against the rocks and sipping a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon. It was from a college friend's family winery. It was nice and complex, but just a little too peppery for my palette. Perhaps next year would be more like their previous releases. I felt my phone vibrate in the pocket of my warm-ups. It was still cold along the coast. I reached for my iPhone, and saw it was Manda. Odd, she usually never called until later in the evening.

I answered, jokingly, "How's my favorite girl, today?"

"I'm your only girl, and I'm not good." Panic was evident in her voice.

"Babe, what's wrong?" I asked, suddenly serious.

"It's Kassie. She filed her paperwork for her housing at school electronically. Apparently, something went wrong and it didn't transmit. So, she didn't get into the dorms. Every apartment we can find has an eight-month waiting list. I don't know what we're going to do." She sounded exasperated.

"Manda, don't worry about it. I'll get her a place to stay. I saw some houses for sale by campus this week." I offered.

"John, no! You've done too much already. I mean, she'd never even be able to attend there without you." She replied.

"Sweetie, I don't mind. It's no big deal. It'll be ok."

"John, seriously. I can't let you do that. You're her uncle, you can't carry her through life forever."

"Manda, I'm her uncle, but she's also like my own daughter. I'll always do what I can to help her. Look, what about this, why doesn't she just live with me? I'm 5 minutes from campus. I mean there's a bus stop like a block away and she can always use one of my cars."

"Would you mind?" She asked. Her voice seemed calmer.

"Hell no, I wouldn't mind. It's Kassie." I replied.

"She can get a job and pay you rent."

"Manda, Jesus, don't be crazy, that's nonsense. She doesn't need to do that, she just needs to focus on school. I don't want things to be for her like it was for us. She's welcome here as long as she wants." I said firmly.

"You're serious, aren't you?" She asked.

"Of course, I am." I answered.

"You're sure it's not going to be an inconvenience to you?" She asked.

"No, it's going to be fine."

"Okay. She wants to talk to you." She passed the phone to Kassie. I heard them talking.

"Uncle John, you really don't mind?" Kassie asked.

"No, sweet pea, not at all. Your room will be ready and waiting." I assured her.

"I love you, Uncle John. Thank you, so much!"

"I love you too, sweetie. Don't mention it. I look forward to you being here."

"Yes, so do I!"

We said our goodbyes and I hung up. I found myself thinking about Kassie. She had always been such a joy to be around. When she got up into grade school, Amanda let her come stay with me during the summers. I would always take time away from work to spend as much time as I could with her. I taught her to play soccer and to ride a bicycle. We went to the beach and we would take trips up into the mountains. We were buddies. I enjoyed spending the time I had with her and watching her grow up. She was always so full of wonder and excitement.

As the years passed, she and I grew ever closer. After she got her first cellphone, we'd text every day. I realized she often used me as a sounding board, before she approached her mom about something. I was a confidant that she could talk about boys, school or whatever with. The world had changed, but the basis issues that teenagers faced remained the same. When she was out during the summer, I would take her shopping for school clothes and the things she wanted for her athletics. I spoiled the hell out of her, but she never expected it and was always thankful. I did get a few phone calls from Manda about it, when Kassie came home with her loot.

The previous summer she had turned 18. I was finally coming to grips that my little niece was practically grown up. We talked a lot that summer about what she wanted to do in life. She said that she wanted to go into medicine like her dad. I told her that was a great plan. We often sat on the back patio after dinner with a glass of wine. She joked that it made her feel sophisticated. I noticed that summer that she flirted with me a lot. She'd make comments about how handsome I was. It made me smile, because I knew even as a little girl she always a crush on me. When she would make comments like that, I would joke with her and remind her that I was a broken down old man, while finding a way to compliment her in return.

Given her genetics, she was very brilliant. I'd helped Manda pay for private schools whose curriculum matched her abilities. She was also very athletic, excelling at soccer and field hockey. She'd earned academic and athletic scholarships to many schools across the country, but she had finally chosen the small west coast university her mother and I had attended. I knew that she was going to make her mother and I even prouder than we already were.

---------------------------------------------------

Amanda came out for a week in June, for a conference. We had a great time just being together again and not having to sneak around. The night before she left we were sitting in my hot tub, relaxing after making love for the third time that day. I had been thinking about something that I hadn't mentioned to her before. I wasn't sure how she'd react, but I wanted to talk to her about it. I was stretched out on one of the built-in seats in the tub, with her between my legs. I had my arms around her, holding her against me.

"I've been thinking about something and I want you to let me know what you think." I said.

"What," she asked.

"Why don't you come out here next month with Kassie?" I said.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I mean just retire, and move out here with me." I replied.

"I can't retire yet. I'm not ready." She said.

"Why not? You don't have to worry about money, baby."

"John, no it's not money. It's just there's so many things going at work, I just can't leave right now." She said.

"Babe, it was the same way with me. There wasn't going to be a good time, I just had to do it. I want us to have time before we're too old." I replied.

"John, my aching pussy tells me that you've still got a lot of good in you." She turned her head back to me and smiled. "Can you give me time to think about it?"

"Yes, but I want you to come out here." I repeated my wishes.

"I know you do, but what would we do about Kassie? She's going to be living here next year."

"I'll get her place to stay. I'll buy her a place, if I have to." I said.

"Whoa, hold on crazy man. I know you've been thinking about this, and believe me, this scheme of your sounds amazing, but we need to just slow down." She cautioned.

"Leave it to you to try and be reasonable." I laughed.

"I'm just saying, let's think about this a little bit more. Your new roomie is not going to be very happy if you move her out though."

"No?"

"John, you don't know how excited she is to be staying with you."

"Oh. She is?" I replied.

"Yeah, she is. She talks about it constantly."

"Well, that puts a damper on things." I sighed.

"Hey, let's just see how things go. Maybe she'll meet some good friends and then she can decide to move out on her own."

"Okay. But if you're not out here next fall. I'm coming to get you." I squeezed her tightly for emphasis.

"I understand." She replied. "You're not going to believe how much she's changed since Christmas."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She's not our little girl that preferred books to boys anymore." She laughed.

"Oh?"

"She hasn't gone crazy, but you'd scarcely recognize her. She's not your little, rough and tumble midfielder anymore. She's become a little lady."

"Wow. What brought this on?" I asked.

"I don't know. It's been cute to watch. She's coming into her own though."

"Haha, I bet." I smiled.

"You know, I'm not going to see you for a few months." She stood up and turned to face me.

"That's true." I said, looking up at her. Her breasts glistened with water in the pale light from the hot tub.

"Just how old and worn out are you?" She asked.

"I'm sure I could be persuaded."

"In that case, why don't you sit on the edge of the hot tub then."

"It'd be my pleasure." I moved and sat on the edge.

"I'm sure it will be." She smiled and lowered her face to my lap...

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The first week of July, Kassie arrived. I picked her up at the airport in my newest toy, a bright red, Ferrari 458 Spider. I had insisted that she come out early so that we could hang out some before she got busy with school work.

When I saw her at the baggage claim, I could see Manda was right. Gone were her little black rimmed glasses, and her naturally wavy hair, usually wadded up in a bun. She had finally gotten contacts and her long black hair was straightened. I couldn't ever remember her wearing makeup. She was wearing a tank top, tight little shorts and her customary flip flops. She was always the cutest little thing, but seemingly in the blink of an eye, she was now a beautiful young woman. We hugged for a long time while we waited for her baggage.

She had shipped most of her stuff, which had arrived the day before, so she just had a couple of small bags and her backpack with her. We walked out of the terminal to the short-term parking lot. I led her to where the Ferrari was parked all by itself.

"You did not buy this!!!" She squealed and looked at me in excitement.

"I did." I smiled.

"Oh my god! Can I drive it? Please?" She asked.

"Haha, yes you can, but not in the city. Wait until we get home."

"Okay, I can live with that." She exclaimed. "Does this mean the Viper will be my car?"

"We'll need to talk about that. I was thinking maybe the Jeep or Land Rover would be your car." I laughed.

"You're no fun!" She smiled.

I pulled back the flip top roof. We left the airport and headed out of the city. She put on her sunglasses and enjoyed the ride as I drove the car as fast as I could, without attracting law enforcement attention. I wondered why this sudden change in her had occurred? Manda had mentioned it, but wow! I hadn't seen her since Christmas, and I missed her high school graduation to accompany Eric for a really important client meeting.

We talked about her summer so far and how her mom was doing. Her mother had recently begun to try dating, again. Kassie was giving me her opinions. Most of them were negative. I was curious because Manda rarely talked about who she was dating, for the obvious reasons. I was the same way, I just didn't feel it was appropriate after all she and I had shared.

"I mean, some of them are all right, but there are some that just look like losers." She said.

"I can imagine so. It's hard, honey, when you get older." I said.

"I know. It's just, Mom is pretty successful, but one of them didn't even have a job, Uncle John." She rolled her eyes.

"I hope she skipped him." I laughed.

"No, she went out with him one time, because he really was handsome. I mean he looked like Daniel Craig from the Bond movies."

"Must be nice to be a sexy bastard like that," I turned and smiled at her.

"You need to stop, you're sexy and you're a gazillionaire as well." She grinned.

"Well, thanks, but I'm not that rich." I joked. She hadn't forgot how to flirt with me.

"You're rich enough to afford this beast." She ran her hands over the dash.

"I was going to get a McLaren MP4, but the dealer and I couldn't agree on the price."

"What the hell is that?" She asked.

"Google it." I smiled.

"You GenX'rs always make fun of us poor Millennials because we don't have to look things up in an encyclopedia at the library." She laughed.

"Hell, no. I'm just jealous. I wonder about what I could have accomplished with a smart phone when I was your age."