That Girl Next Door Ch. 06b

"Well, that scene certain took my breath away!" Jason chuckled at his own joke.⁽⁴⁾

He had so easily became totally immersed into the story that he lost all track of time until he felt his tummy rumble. He wondered how much longer it would be before an orderly delivered what passed for supper around here, so he looked at his cell phone to check the time. The clock showed 5:24 PM on its face meaning that it would probably be about another half hour of waiting before his meal arrived.

There was a soft tap on the door to his room before it was inched open a small amount and a soft feminine voice asked, "May I come in?"

"Tracey?"

Jason really wasn't expecting her to drop in and he wondered to himself why she was here. They were barely acquaintances more than friends, only having met because she was one of the two managers for his apartment complex. She slowly stepped into his room and briefly looked around. A frown appeared on her face when she found no one else present but the patient.

"I didn't expect to find you alone," Tracey began. "Surely someone cares enough about you to be at your side."

"Oh, don't worry. Everyone was here earlier. But now that they are certain that I am not going to die on them, they do have responsibilities to handle so they all left to take care of stuff. I am pretty certain that my mom and dad will be back later this evening."

"Oh! They're here?"

"Of course they're here. Everyone is telling me that I nearly bought the farm, Tracey. That's reason enough for them to travel up here, don't you think?"

"Certainly...uh...nobody told me that your situation was that serious. All I was told was that you were in the hospital. I mean, it was on all of the radio and TV news. But they hadn't mentioned anything specific about your condition."

"I guess that now I am a bloodthirsty killer, you came up here to let me know that I have to move out of my apartment now?"

"Oh no!" This startled Tracey because she wasn't expecting their conversation to go like this. She rushed to the side of the bed and took Jason's hand up in her own. "This is purely a social visit from someone that you know who cares about you. That's all."

Tracey became shy and embarrassed by her sudden brashness. She had vacillated a great deal and almost didn't come to visit Jason at all. But she had been crushing on him from the day that they first met and her emotions eventually overruled her reluctance. When the news broke that he had been injured severely enough to be hospitalized, it had scared her to death.

What if he didn't recover? The only way that she had made it here at all was finding the courage to let him know how she felt in case the worst happened. She knew for herself that if she were knocking on death's door that she would feel better knowing that someone sincerely cared for her, crushed on her, loved her.

Tracey had wanted to approach Jason and ask him out on a date ever since the meltdown with his live-in girlfriend back about 6 months ago. Only she could never find the pluck to actually do something about it. Now fate had stepped in and was forcing her into action.

"Jason," she made sure to make eye contact with her paramour, "I'm scared to death right now. I've been attracted to you since the first day we met. When the news broke that you had been hospitalized, I went to pieces. I was in the office at the time and the Project Manager and our maintenance man were shocked that I had suddenly gone into hysterics.

"I still haven't been able to get them to believe that I have never even kissed you. They're firmly convinced that I am having this torrid affair with one of our residents because it took them nearly 15 minutes to get me calmed back down. Janet sent me home for the rest of the day to recover. I feel like such an idiot."

Jason raised his arms and reached out towards Tracey. She quickly closed the distance and rested her head lightly upon his chest as he held her and brushed her hair with his hands. He pondered his situation as he held her in his arms. Tracey was every bit as attractive as Melanie and his sister. But there was a bigger issue that plagued the whole situation. Jason, based on his instincts, did not think that Tracey could be open minded enough to share her beau with another woman, much less tolerate an incestuous relationship added into the mix.

"Tracey, honey. I'm honestly flattered by your confession. But you have to ask yourself just how badly do you want to be with me. You already know that I have a girlfriend. Melanie told me all about meeting you when you showed her and my sister the two bedroom apartment that we moved in to."

When Jason remembered what Melanie had said he giggled, so Tracey ended their embrace and stood back up beside the bed looking at him with curiosity written all over her face.

"In all honesty, honey, if I were single I would be all over you like a bass on a June bug. You're drop dead gorgeous and smart as a whip. I laughed just now because of the comments Melanie made right after she met you. The first thing that she asked me was, "Why aren't you hitting that?" Melanie seriously thinks that you are prettier than her own self. She called me crazy for not trying to get you into my bed after I broke up with Becky.

"I'm sure that you have your faults because no one is perfect and in another place and time, I could easily see myself falling head over heels in love with you. But you strike me as a woman who expects her man to always be faithful. You wouldn't be happy having to share my heart with someone else, now would you?"

Tracey didn't hesitate to shake her head 'No' in response before Jason continued.

"I'm very deeply in love with Melanie. I would never break up with her just so that I could be with someone else. But not only that, there is this crazy thing that has just happened recently. I have no idea where this is heading because even I haven't had time to process it myself yet. Melanie is so deeply and passionately in love with me that she has been dropping hints that she would be okay with letting Becky back into my life.

"I know that you're familiar with Becky because she used to be on my lease with me when we lived together. She contacted me just before the incident at the bank because she wanted to reconcile and talk things over. I thought that she just wanted to get back onto speaking terms with me again and bury the hatchet so that we could be friends. Maybe that was all that it was going to be before the bank robbery happened.

"But when I woke up after my surgery, she was here at my bedside holding my hand. She and Melanie both were here and they were getting along like they were already best friends. Once I was awake, Melanie gave me a kiss that was rather chaste. She only kissed my lips briefly, but it was a strong enough kiss to show love and affection.

"Then Becky teased her by chastising her for not giving me a lover's kiss. Becky, pretending to demonstrate, gave me a long lingering lover's kiss just like we used to share when we were together. She did this right there in front of Mel and she didn't even flinch!" Jason paused for effect then made eye contact with Tracey. "Can I trust you to keep a secret and not tell another living soul?"

Tracey nodded an affirmative motion in reply.

"Those two are crazy! They're actually acting like they're new best friends and they have been talking about me getting back together with Becky and sharing me between the two of them! The 'old Becky' would have never tolerated that before, but now she seems perfectly okay with having a three-way relationship with Melanie and me.

"Tracey, honey, you're really a prize catch. You're killing me here because I would absolutely fall for you, if you let me. But you need to ask yourself if you would be okay with me bedding two other women all the while that you're sleeping with me too. You have known me long enough to know that I didn't orchestrate any of this drama. But these are the cards that I have been recently dealt and it is the life that I am living. At this moment, you need to carefully consider just how much you're willing to sacrifice in order to be intimate with me."

Tracey nodded her head again as her eyes began to moisten. She gathered up Jason's hand in her own and brought it to her lips, kissing his knuckles gently and longingly while she thought about her answer.

"You just now, again, showed me one of the reasons why I fell for you." A single tear fell from her left eye and left a trail on her left cheek as it slowly made its way to her jaw. "You're right of course. I was acting purely on my emotions without thinking of how I could possibly make it all work out. I think that this may be more than just a schoolgirl crush, Jason. I'm fairly certain that I'm truly in love with you.

"The whole reason for that is right here in front of me. You're being straight up honest with me about your life and your feelings. You're not trying to tell me lies and manipulate me just to bed me." She paused to shudder.

"Ugh! I just now remembered an ex who played me like a Stradivarius. I was saving myself for marriage before that asshole talked me out of my virginity. In a way, he did me a favor though, I guess. I can spot players a mile away because of him. Trust me, you're as different from him as night is to day.

"But you're correct. As strong as my feelings are for you, I would be extremely jealous and possessive. The more that we bonded, the more that I would be willing to fight off any other woman who tried to be with you."

She smiled then brought her face close to Jason's. Their lips met and Tracey's parted in hopes that Jason would kiss her like one of his lovers. Jason wrapped his arms around Tracey and slipped his tongue into her mouth for a passionate kiss. Her breathing became heavy and she whimpered a little as they expressed love for one another.

The two of them continued to kiss for several minutes before Tracey finally released the object of her affection. She continued to stay close for several heartbeats after their lips separated before she finally leaned back in to give Jason a short but lingering peck on the lips.

"Thanks, Sweety. I really needed that," she said. "It's dangerous as hell because I'm beginning to think that I could get desperate enough to actually break down and be one of your little playthings. I'm even more certain now, after that kiss, that I am truly in love with you. But like you said, I don't like the idea of sharing. Those other two are lucky that they have known you for far longer than I have, because I would be willing to stand and fight for you if they had just recently come into your life."

She paused again and studied a place on the bed by Jason's pillow for a moment as she gathered her thoughts. "Could I ask you for something a little out of the ordinary though?"

"You can ask me anything, babe. I don't know if I can give you the answer that you want, but I will do whatever I can to help you."

"It's kind of intimate and personal, but at the same time it's not anything really onerous. Since Melanie and Becky are talking about sharing you, I don't think that they will object, at least I hope that they won't."

"Okay, so what's on your mind?"

"Would you be willing to informally adopt me as a sister? Not legally or anything like that. Just an arrangement between the two of us. I mean, we both are fond of each other. I really do care about you more than just a casual friend or acquaintance. I want to be able to continue telling you that I love you and I want us to stay close. Does that make any sense at all?"

"It does actually. It is basically the same relationship that I had with Melanie before I broke up with Becky. After the breakup, she revealed to me that cared deeply for me and that she had loved me from afar hoping that we could someday be together. I would be honored to be your big brother. But it is going to cost you a pretty penny!"

"Oh, really? And just how does that work?"

"You had better be prepared for me to openly voice my opinion on everything in your life. If you buy an ugly dress? I will not pull any punches. If you're dating a loser and I think that you can do a lot better? I will certainly let you know that you need to dump the bastard. Are you sure that you can handle me getting overly protective of you like that?"

Tracey answered him by leaning over the bed and giving him another passion filled tongue kiss.

"It sounds absolutely wonderful. But are Melanie and Rebecca going to be okay with us?"

"I'll talk to them the next time I see them. I don't expect any push-back or flack about it. It would be sort of hypocritical for them to have any issues with it, don't you think?"

"I love you, Jase."

"I love you, too."

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Melanie and Jessica went straight home to the apartment after they left Jason at the hospital. Once Roel had made his phone call to them following the robbery, they had immediately dropped everything in mid-stride. So the first order of business was to tie up all of the loose ends that had been left without any attention for the past two days.

Calling their employers was not an issue because it was something that both had already attended to from the lobby of the Hospital. That combined with the breaking news stories had caused both employers to call back the following day and leave voice messages that a return to work was entirely at the discretion of both girls. They were both instructed to take as much time off as necessary to see to their personal crises. Jessica and Melanie would both agree later that they had stumbled onto two of the best employers in east Texas.

Out of all of the Houston area television stations, KPRC (Channel 2), KHOU (Channel 11), KTRK (Channel 13) and KRIV (Channel 26) gave the greatest attention to the events some 160 miles to their north. Oddly enough, the Hispanic television stations didn't mention it at all. But generally speaking all of Jason's classmates had seen the news about the robbery and had tried to reach out to the family. The same applied to the people who knew Jessica and those who were aware of the new romantic relationship between Jason and Melanie. Both of the girls' cell phones were flooded with incoming calls.

Once the girls had received the alert from their respective parents that they were on the road and en route, they powered down their phones forcing everyone into their voice mailboxes. Both of those mailboxes quickly filled up to maximum capacity. But Melanie and Jessica waded through all of the messages together making notes on paper about the calls. Knowing that the possibility of being drawn into a long conversation was pretty much a certainty, they elected to respond to each call with an email instead of returning the call.

By the time that six o'clock in the evening rolled around, both girls were physically and mentally exhausted all over again. Melanie was in better shape than Jessica because she had slept peacefully without any interruptions at her parents' motel. So Melanie told Jessica to go draw a nice hot bath and relax while she took care of making them some supper.

The meal that she prepared would be something 'down & dirty' even so. More like a late lunch than a full blown supper with a main course, two veggies, and a dessert. A check of the refrigerator and pantry revealed that all of the items needed for a 'Sloppy Joe' meal were readily available. There were HEB brand potato chips (Sweet Onion Flavor) to go with the Sloppy Joes served on Hamburger Buns. Little Debbie's Strawberry Shortcake Rolls^® would do for a dessert. A jar of dill pickles (hamburger sliced) was set on the table since the sandwiches would be a 'fix your own at the table' sort of affair. The jar of French's Mustard remained in the pantry because Melanie and Jessica preferred their sandwiches plain. Jason was the weirdo that put mustard on his.

Once everything was ready, Melanie went to check on Jessica and found her sound asleep in the tub. Her skin was starting to prune up and her soapy bathwater was turning cold. Melanie pulled the plug on the drain and while the tub began to empty, she stripped all of her own clothing off. The chill of the air on her skin caused Jessica to slowly stir and wake back up.

With both of them naked, Melanie whispered soft words of encouragement to her, having her stand up for a shower rinse. Melanie adjusted the water temperature before using the shower wand to rinse all of the remaining soap off of Jessica, then she shooed her out of the tub with instructions to get dry and go eat. Melanie herself took a quick shower to clean up once Jessica was well on her way.

The two girls passed each other in the bedroom, Jessica now in what passed for sleeping attire for herself while Melanie was headed to their dresser to acquire the same. They sat together for their last meal of the day and even though Jessica had a head start, they ended up finishing together st the same time. Jessica's fatigue had slowed down her mastication.

One of the advantages for a Sloppy Joe supper is that it can be served on paper plates, reducing the need for washing dishes afterwards. Melanie had perfected the art of using as few dishes as possible. Instead of following the directions on the can to use a skillet, she used a medium sized pot instead and even browned her ground beef in it.

Powdered Onion and Powdered Garlic had been added to the ground beef as it cooked. Then Basil and frozen chopped Onions had been added to the mixture when the canned tomato sauce was added to the meat. The whole thing simmering for twenty or thirty minutes in the pot to blend all of the flavors together very well. Halona and Cheryl had taught their daughters that 'kit food' can still be improved upon and following the manufacturer's directions was strictly a base guideline for fixing almost any dish.

The leftover Sloppy Joe meat was left in the pot and put directly into the fridge. Serving spoons and other utensils were rinsed off then left in the sink for later. The paper plates went directly into the trash leaving the Kitchen and Dining Room clean for the most part. The rest could wait until tomorrow arrived.

It was still a few minutes before eight o'clock, but both girls were ready for bed so they checked the locks on the door, turned out all of the lights, and headed for bed. Both girls had taken to sleeping in only their panties or nothing at all after moving in with the boyfriend that they shared. So both of them took off their nightshirts and tossed them across the foot of the bed. Once all of the lights in the bedroom were off, they snuggled up close together and were soon fast asleep.

As a general rule, neither one of them considered eight o'clock at night to be a normal time to retire from the day. Their sleep schedule tended to be Eleven to Seven or Midnight to Eight in the morning, so those were more often the norm. Consequently, it was about four-thirty or five in the morning when a sleeping Melanie first noticed that the pressure in her bladder was waking her up. At some point in the middle of the night, she had rolled onto her back and Jessica had placed her hand on Melanie's tit with the nipple nestled between her index and middle fingers.

Melanie not only needed to take a piss, but she was aroused from being felt up and fondled in her sleep by her girlfriend/lover/bestie through the middle of the night. Even though she was slow and gentle in moving Jessica's arm and hand out of the way, Jessica moaned and began to awaken herself as Melanie rolled out of the bed and made her way to the water closet.

Melanie relieved herself and wiped clean with the toilet paper, then stood up to flush. That was when she was interrupted by Jessica stopping her.