Steve's Surprise Ch. 04

There was a collective gasp followed by total silence. "Who is that?" Leslie whispered. All eyes were on Cindy but she was as shocked as everyone else. Her building passion had disappeared. Steve's erection was, well... "long gone."

"It's a friend of mine." Kathy said with hesitation, "I texted her 'cos her husband was also at that party last night." Kathy knew she had committed a social faux pa and continued apologetically. "She wanted to come over, but I didn't think she really would."

"Oh my god! She brought a couple of friends," Brenda said as she looked through the same blinds she looked through when Steve first saw her.

Everyone turned to Cindy who was too shaken to think.

"What the heck, let 'em in," Cynthia said. "The more the merrier," she added with a wicked smile.

"I should've thought she'd bring somebody," Kathy said, regretfully.

Cindy had gone to the door, looked through the security glass, sighed heavily and opened the door. "Hey."

"We're friends of Kathy. Is the nekkid guy still here?"

"...Yeah..."

"Is he still nekkid?"

By this time, Kathy was at the door to take over and Cindy stepped aside, feeling once again, she had totally lost control of the situation.

"Wow Becky, I didn't think you'd bring friends, too."

"I told them what was happening and they thought it was so crazy, they wanted to come, too. What could I say?"

"How 'bout, 'Let me ask my friend and see if that's ok with HER friend.' But, no...

"Sorry. We can't stay long. I have to be somewhere in 30 minutes. So, hurry up. Where is he?"

Cindy directed them into the living room where everyone stood waiting. Leslie had her arm around Steve's waist, looking like a kid at show and tell. With three more people, the vibe intensified.

Kathy introduced Becky and her two neighbors, Hilda and Stephanie, to everybody. The eyes of the newcomers were glued on Steve.

"Wow, Steve!" Becky said, "Are they paying you or are you doing this for fun?"

"No," he began, but Brenda interrupted.

"He came over to do some chores for Cindy but we stripped him," which filled the room with laughter. "We've been playing with him ever since!"

"Now, wait a second!" Steve began, but then Leslie jumped in.

"Not only is he naked, he has no idea where his clothes are!"

Brenda didn't give Steve a chance to break in, "He was our nude waiter, but now we've been taking turns examining his uh..."

"Hey, c'mon!" Steve finally interrupted, "I came over to help Cindy, but got talked into this crazy adventure, which has been... Crazy..." Steve couldn't think of a better way to explain and save face. He had been covering himself since the newcomers arrived, and they were staring at his hands...

"Hey, um... Why don't you move your hands," Becky's friend, Hilda said, raising her eye brows. "By now, you must not be too shy."

Cindy didn't know Becky, Hilda or Stephanie, so she hesitated in answering, which was fine, with Cynthia leading the proceedings. "Steve!" she said, like a warehouse foreman. "Move your hands so these ladies can see you!"

A hush fell over the room. Steve was now facing eight women. Other than some muted giggling, everyone was silent, smiling and staring at Steve. No point in hiding any more, it was just a reflex to cover himself. He relaxed his arms and they hung limply at his sides.

Becky, Hilda and Stephanie stared at what they knew they weren't supposed to see. No big deal, really. Just a naked man. But the naughtiness of it was intoxicating, like passing a car wreck and being unable to focus on the road ahead.

Steve watched their faces, their eyes. By now, he was tired of being continually jacked up without ever being jacked-off. This exhibition needed to end soon and he needed to either get on to Cindy's chores or go home.

"Would y'all like to take turns checking Steve out?" Leslie asked.

"Wow, this is amazing," Becky said, as if she were thinking to herself. "But we really need to get going in a few minutes."

"No problem," Cynthia said, "Y'all just crowd around him and help yourself. I'll set a timer for 5 minutes, how's that?"

"That's perfect!" Stephanie said, as she stepped up beside Steve. Becky stood in front of him and Hilda stood behind him. All three moved in close enough to kiss him. Hilda did, on the back of his neck as she caressed his ass cheeks. Immediately, six hands were moving all over Steve's body. He closed his eyes.

Cindy watched all this carefully and began an emotional, psychological wrestling match with jealously. Why? A moment ago, Steve was in her arms, she was in his and they both wanted to be there. Something had shifted for Cindy which she wasn't really aware of until now.

When the timer on Cynthia's phone went off, the three newcomers seemed surprised, having lost all sense of time in an erotic wonderland.

"Crap..." Becky sighed. Steve sighed too, which Cindy took notice of. "We really do have to go."

"Probably best," said Hilda, getting her feet back on planet earth. "I never dreamed in a million years I'd even have the opportunity to do something like this." Becky and Stephanie agreed. The other five ladies admitted the same thing. What a crazy morning this had been.

Steve had been wound up and let down too many times and needed relief. As everyone focused on Becky, Hilda and Stephanie's exit, he almost deliriously took matters into his own hands... hand... and Leslie noticed. "Hey y'all! Look at Steve!"

The three newcomers were out the door and the original five quickly took their seats to watch. This was yet another new experience. Self-pleasure, with an audience. Although no longer in shock, he had been suspended in an alternate universe all morning and his perspective had been reduced to, "ok, whatever." But now it felt like a matter of survival.

Brenda handed him a box of tissues and he grabbed some clumsily, just in time. Ah... All muscles relaxed. Heavy sigh. Deep breaths... It was all over.

Or so it seemed...

Steve was in a fake, afterglow of exhaustion. He was done.

Everyone applauded, cheered and sat back to relax. "Well, I guess this party is over," Kathy said. "I'll never forget this."

"Me either, that's for sure," said Cindy, which drew laughter from everyone. Everyone except Steve, who was totally limp and didn't care.

"You think Steve can still clean out your gutters before it rains?" Kathy asked, suddenly feeling responsible for high jacking Cindy - and Steve's - plans for the day.

This was discussed as Steve lay back in his chair in relief "Should we give him his clothes back?" Leslie said as if he wasn't in the room.

"Yes," Kathy said. "Where are they anyway?" Steve perked up for the answer.

"I put them in the back of his truck," Leslie said with a snicker. "I hope they're still there."

"Oh, come on, Leslie!" Cindy said over everyone's laughter. "Go get his clothes!"

Steve knew better than to take anything they said at face value and tuned out.

Leslie left the room while the rest of them chatted, ignoring Steve for the first tine that day. There was no reason to feel self-conscious. The ladies talked about their plans for the rest of the day until Leslie returned with Steve's clothes. "Thought you might want these," She smiled, dropping them in his lap. Everyone turned their attention back to Steve as he put his clothes on. No one said anything.

Finally, Cynthia said, "We need to go, too." They all agreed. "Steve, it has been an absolute pleasure to get to know you, if you get my drift."

"Ha!" Brenda jumped in, "Yeah! It was so fun to take your clothes off!"

Kathy said, "I got to pull your pants down!"

"Heck," Leslie said, "I had every single piece of his clothes in my hand!"

"So, what," said Cynthia, "A few minutes ago, I had his penis in my hand!

"That's nothing," said Kathy, "A few minutes ago, I had his penis in my mouth!" The room exploded with laughter. Cynthia laughed so hard she had to gasp, for air. Steve took it all in stride.

The ladies gathered their things, thanked Cindy for being the ultimately flexible host and said their goodbyes. Cindy closed the front door and the house was silent. The silence was loud. Steve waited in the living room but there was a long pause. Without the strength of numbers, especially Cynthia, she immediately reverted to her timid nature.

In the silence, Steve realized what was happening, so when she hesitantly entered the room, he said, "Hey... It's ok. I'm ok. And you're ok. Every thing's ok, okay?"

"Okay, thanks..." Cindy gave a heavy sigh and collapsed on the sofa. She was relieved that everything was "ok" but, now what? Awkwardness hung heavy. Steve came to the rescue again.

"Now the forecast says it won't rain until tonight, so why don't I clean out those gutters like we'd planned."

"Really? You would still do that?"

"Sure, if dinner is still in the works."

"Absolutely! It's been in the crock pot all day! I just have a few things to do and dinner can be ready in no time!"

"Well, it won't take longer than an hour to do the gutters. May be able to get started in the basement, too. It's up to you."

"Oh gosh, thanks Steve! The ladder is in the garage. What else do you need?"

"Nothing really, got my clothes on, I'm good to go."

Cindy crumbled inwardly with embarrassment but smiled weakly and nodded her head.

She watched through her kitchen window as Steve got the ladder and moved down to the corner of the house. He looked so confident and strong. Dependable, responsible, hardworking, kind hearted, generous... She had seen more than his body. He was a good man.

She watched him thoughtfully and smiled. Instead of working on the salad she had planned, she sat at her kitchen table and let her mind wander. It had been an intense morning and she needed to catch her breath and collect her thoughts. She had grown accustomed to being alone, but realized she was actually lonely. Maybe Steve was, too.

She got up to look out the window again and he was already half way across the back of the house. Such a diligent, hardworking guy. It made her smile. She knew she needed to get busy with the salad, but decided to spruce up and change clothes before Steve came in...

Meanwhile...

... Steve climbed the ladder and stepped up onto the roof. He could tell the gutters probably hadn't been cleaned out since Cindy's husband left. Why did he leave? Steve had seen her conscientious work as a volunteer at the community center and now, her sensitive, social, romantic discomfort, hesitancy and erotic power today. He was intrigued. There was a lot more to her than he'd considered.

Oh well, whatever, he shrugged his shoulders. He had work to do and the thought of a home cooked meal to look forward to.

It didn't take long to finish. He also raked up the debris from the gutters and bagged it up for the garbage. After putting up the ladder, he walked back in the back door. And headed to the kitchen where he could hear Cindy at work.

Cindy was at the sink with her back to him when he entered, wrapped up in a bulky apron with yellow flowers all over it. She looked over her shoulder. "Oh hey! All done?"

"Yeah."

"So, how are you?" In any other setting, this would be a totally innocuous question, but not now, not today.

Steve pauses, knowing what she really means, but chooses to respond to the face value.

"Good. A little more tired than usual after cleaning out gutters." He realizes he responded to the intended question after all and kicks himself for being manipulated again.

Cindy, still facing the sink, looks over her shoulder again, smiles, winks and turns back to the sink. "I'm just cleaning up here but dinner is ready. Pot roast, potatoes, green beans, salad and blueberry pie." He had mentioned liking blueberry pie once at the community center, so she enjoyed being able to have that for him.

"That sounds fantastic. I'm really hungry."

"I bet you are..." Cindy let that hang in the air and so did Steve.

"Uh, I need to wash up. Where's the best place to do that?"

"Why don't you use the bathroom in the basement. I cleaned it this morning."

"Cool. How do I get to the basement?"

"Same door Leslie went through when she left with all your clothes." Cindy giggled. She continued cleaning up cookware. Steve was still trying to adjust to seeing this friskier side of her personality.

"Oh yeah. Thanks," he said, ignoring the tease. He went through the living room to that door. He imagined Leslie walking down those stairs carrying all of his clothes and suddenly felt exposed again. He found the rest room, cleaned up and returned to find Cindy once again facing the kitchen counter with her back to him.

"Have a seat and I'll bring your plate," she said without looking up. She was now putting things away after she dried them off. "There's plenty more, so... don't be shy," she said sweetly. Again, in any other context, it was a completely innocent comment, but not today.

Again, daring to address the elephant in the room, Steve said, "Speaking of food, I'm having a few guys over to watch the game next Saturday. Everybody's bringing something, but uh... If you'd like to join us, you don't have to bring anything but yourself..."

There was silence. Once again, it would have been totally innocent at any other time. "Hmmm... I don't know about that."

"It'll be fun. Hey! You could be our server! You'd be the hit of the night!"

"Oh, I bet..."

"Yeah! You could even have a waitress outfit!" Steve said without thinking.

"Huh? And what, pray tell, might that be?" Cindy was rattled again, given the events of the day, but the idea of an outfit ...

"Well, sensible shoes for sure, if nothing else."

"If nothing else?"

"Ah... Uh, I mean..." Not as quick on his feet as everyone else had been that day, Spontaneous Steve was dangling by a thread, again. "Well, never really thought about what a waitress wears but if you don't want to wear anything else, that is fine by me!"

"Steve! Shame on you!" It was a reflex comeback, but Cindy was actually way ahead of him. It was an opportunity to tease. "I'm surprised you'd think that way!"

"Well, I AM a guy, y'know."

"Oh yes, we made that determination conclusively a few hours ago." Snarky. Very snarky.

He is simultaneously embarrassed, pleased and irritated. "Alright, smarty pants," he says, not quick enough to have a worthy reply and knowing immediately that this wasn't a good one at all.

She turns, to face him, while removing the apron, and replies with a smirk, "Hey, better smarty pants than NO pants."

He is crimson that he has been upstaged again and revenge begins to percolate. But upon seeing her, he is taken aback by her appearance. She usually wore sweats at the community center or loose-fitting outfits, but she was now wearing jeans and a light purple, clingy, button down shirt. He watched as she approached him. Something else was different, besides her nervous smile. He quickly noticed she had undone the top three buttons of her blouse... Then he realized she was not wearing a bra.