Waiting to Come Home

Jake's face was not between her legs, but as she lifted the blanket she could see that his stocking foot was, and she became aware that from her dream, from the foot, or a combination of the two, she was very aroused. Jake was asleep at the other end of the couch. She lifted the blanket more and as her eyes followed the path up his legs, she saw a very noticeable bulge in the crotch of the stretchy lounge pants he was wearing. Renee knew what that bulge meant, and as she sat there she couldn't help but think about her wet, tingling pussy, and the answer that lay there less than three feet away.

She remembered they'd been drinking, and she'd been feeling closer than ever to Jake. She also remembered that at one point he'd spilled a little egg nog on those pants, right in the crotch, and for a moment the thought occurred to her that it looked like cum. Right there in that same spot where his cock was currently pitching a tent, he'd had a spot that looked like cum. She giggled, and he looked at the spot, and then at her, and realized why she was giggling. Then he turned the brightest shade of red. She loved that she was getting to him.

Truth be told, Renee was thinking she wouldn't mind seeing his cum shoot out. She wouldn't mind tasting his cum either. She wondered what it would taste like. Every guy she'd ever blown (not that there were that many) had tasted a little different, some a little better than others. She had to admit her feelings for the guy kind of played a role in that too. The more she was into the guy, the better he tasted. It's not that the taste was so great by itself, it's that it tasted like him.

Renee was pretty sure at that moment and in her still somewhat inebriated state, that Jake would taste pretty good. He really was a great guy. He was nice looking. He was fun to be around. He loved his daughter. Tara and Cooper really liked him too. Beth was trying to push her towards him. Her dad even loved him, for God's sake! And she hadn't had sex in two years! My God could it be that long? Yes it had to be. And she was certainly horny. My God she was horny. The realization was overpowering.

And here was a great guy with what looked like a nice, rock-hard cock not even three feet away. C'mon girl, what are you going to do about it? It was Christmas Eve. They were all alone. Everyone else must be in bed. Here was Jake in her house and she hadn't even got him a Christmas present! But, she thought, maybe she could give him a Christmas present. What would he like? What guy doesn't love a blowjob? Renee thought she could give him a blowjob for Christmas. Why the fuck not! What are you waiting for? Don't be scared. Just do it already! Again, what guy doesn't love a blowjob?

So she did it. She slipped off the couch and slid over toward Jake. She gently rubbed the spot in his pants where his hard cock/tentpole was pushing up. She heard Jake breath deeper. Those pants had an elastic waistband. She stretched it out, along with the underwear underneath, and pulled them down, over his hips, freeing his cock. Jake's eyes opened just in time to see Renee's lips plant a perfect kiss right on the head of his hard hot cock.

Renee looked up and saw his eyes wide with surprise. She gave him the sweetest smile she knew how to give. "Merry Christmas" she said softly, and she kissed his cock again as she lightly pulled it toward her with her fingertips, then stretched her lips out over the head and took him into her warm, wet, willing mouth. She swirled her tongue around the head of Jake's cock. It grew harder in her mouth as she began to suck. Her fingers wrapped around his shaft and began to stroke.

It took Jake a minute to process what was happening. The evening had been going well and now Oh My God, it had suddenly jumped to a whole new level! Jake was more than surprised, he was positively shocked! But it felt amazing, so amazing it was hard to think clearly right now about anything other than how beautiful she looked and how amazing it felt.

She pulled off him to say something. "I had to give you something. Do you like your Christmas gift?"

"Renee, it's wonderful. You're wonderful." Was it the rum talking? Was it the delicious sensation? Was it the realization of a fantasy? Yes to all three, and Jake resolved to enjoy the moment. Any other considerations could take a back seat. He didn't know about 5 minutes from now or 5 days from now or 5 months from now, but for right now a man who hadn't had his dick wet in more than two years was going to lie back and enjoy this.

It was all so overwhelming that it didn't take long. He wanted to touch her body, but from the position they were in, all he could meaningfully reach was her face. Jake lovingly brushed the side of her face with the back of his fingers. He sighed in ecstasy as the feelings took control.

He looked into her eyes in amazement at the fiery lust he found there, and her pure commitment to bringing him this pleasure. She was very good at this, and she wanted him to cum. He warned her he was close, but she stayed latched on. Then he came so hard he shuddered, and gave her so much she couldn't swallow it all. Cum dripped off her chin to fall on his lounge pants. Now they had cum stains on them for real.

With just a little cum dribbling down her chin, with her lips kissing his cock and her eyes smiling up at him, Jake thought Renee was possibly the cutest and sexiest thing he'd ever seen. He wanted to pull her up and kiss her, then spend the rest of the night making love to her in every possible way he could think of until they both collapsed together in a heap of sweaty, satisfied exhaustion. The feelings were so intense, but...

Second thoughts hit Renee sudden and hard when she saw the drop of cum on his pants. She vaguely remembered loving the taste of him and the feeling of him surging into her mouth, but that was quickly fading with the shock of seeing that spot. What had she just done? This man had never asked her out! She'd never even kissed him, and now she'd just blown him! What the hell was she thinking?

Jake was still coming down off his high. "Thank you. That was a wonderful surprise," he said. But Renee's mind was spinning. He could see in her face that something wasn't right.

"Will you let me return the favor?" Jake wasn't just being a gentleman. His relationship with Renee had just taken quite the sudden and unexpected jump, it was true, but he enjoyed eating pussy. And truthfully, he would love the opportunity to make her feel as good as she'd just done for him. He wanted to at least offer even though he could see in her face that things might be taking a turn away from that.

"I'm sorry, Jake. I don't know what just happened. I mean I know, but I don't know exactly what came over me. We both had a lot to drink and I...I just don't know." She was clearly embarrassed now at the reality of what a sudden jump in their relationship this was.

"It's okay. You don't have to worry about me, okay? I'm here for you whenever you need me, however you need me...or if you don't. Okay?" Jake tried to find her eyes, but Renee wouldn't meet his.

"Okay," she said as got up from the floor to sit back up on the other end of the sofa. Jake pulled up his pants and covered himself.

Jake wanted to say something more, but he didn't know what to say. He didn't want to say the wrong thing.

Renee just sat in silence for a moment, then quickly excused herself and went to the bathroom. When she returned she said, "Please let's just pretend like that didn't happen."

"Okay." Jake replied. He knew he had already thanked her. If she didn't want to continue or to acknowledge it, he was prepared to comply, but he was confused. He liked her. He didn't want to screw things up between them, but he was afraid that maybe things were already screwed up and he didn't want to make it worse.

"The girls are asleep. I don't want to wake them up now, so I hope you don't mind sleeping here on the couch, but when they wake up in the morning I think you should go home."

"I'll do whatever you want. I don't want anything between us to mess things up for the girls."

"No. Of course not. I just need to take a step back, okay?"

"Of course. Good night, Renee. Merry Christmas."

"Good night. See you in the morning." Renee left for her room.

Jake lay there thinking about all that had transpired, how it was like his fantasies were coming true and then suddenly reality busted in and crashed the absolute hell out of everything in sight. At first it felt horrible, like everything was ruined between them, but after he'd thought about it a little, he realized that if she'd done that, then she must have some kind of feelings for him, sexual attraction at the very least. That was good news!

Soon after waking on Christmas morning, Jake and Maddie made their thank yous and apologies and retreated quickly to see what Santa brought to their house.

At home, after they'd opened gifts and had breakfast, Jake firmed up the plan of action he'd been considering earlier while still on Renee's couch. After thinking it over, he decided the only thing to do was ask her out on a real date, a chaste one with no expectations of a repeat performance from her.

Renee was a bundle of conflicting emotions. Yes, she'd been drunk, but she wasn't that drunk. She knew what she was doing. It had been fun to feel sexy again. She liked doing that for Jake. Then all of a sudden it hit her how this was the father of her daughter's best friend. This was a man who had never even asked her out. She didn't know for sure, although she had her suspicions, that he was even interested in her romantically, and she'd just blown him out of the blue like a complete, desperate, sex-starved whore. She wasn't just embarrassed, she was mortified. How could she ever face him again?

Renee tried to fake smiles and happiness through opening stockings and gifts with the kids, but as soon as that was over she excused herself to go to her room.

"What happened last night?" Beth asked.

"Nothing," Renee replied, not very convincingly. "I woke up and went to my bed. He woke up this morning on the couch and said they had to get home."

"Have it your way," said Beth, "but whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here."

Jake called Renee early on December 26.

"Hello." She'd hesitated to pick up, but did.

"I'm not sure what happened on Christmas, but I want to start fresh with you, wipe the slate clean. Would that be okay?"

"Yes. I'd like that." She thought a thousand things, but those were the words that came out.

"Can I take you to dinner tonight? I know a nice little Italian place...but...I was thinking maybe Chinese."

Renee laughed a little. A good sign, Jake thought.

"Thank you, I'd love to."

"Great. I'll get a sitter. Can I pick you up around 6:45? Reservations for 7:00?"

"Sounds perfect, but no need for a sitter. I'm sure Beth will watch the kids, Maddie too."

"See you tonight, then."

"See you tonight." After hanging up, Renee went to talk to Beth. "Jake asked me to dinner tonight, can you please watch the kids, Maddie too?"

"I'm working tonight, did you forget? And I thought you were too." Beth laughed.

"Oh my God! I forgot!"

"Nevermind. I'll get someone to cover for you. And I'm sure Jill would be happy to watch the kids. About time you two started seeing what the rest of us have seen for weeks now." Beth gave her best, big sisterly smile.

"Thanks! I owe you!" Renee was relieved.

"Hey kids!" Beth shouted to the rest of the house. "Guess who's got a date tonight?"

Maddie was already over at Tara's house. The girls were sharing their new Christmas treasures, so they both found out at the same time. They could barely contain their delight at the news.

Beth had to caution them. "Hey you two, you better put a lid on that. Keep it under control or else you'll scare 'em apart. We all want this to happen, but it has to be up to them. You gotta play it cool." Beth tried to make sure the girls understood. "Nobody likes to feel pushed, so just try your hardest to act normal, like it's no big deal. Then, when they're not around you can gossip and giggle all you want, okay?"

The girls seemed to understand. Cooper seemed to understand less, but he also seemed less invested, since he was pretty engrossed in his new set of super-realistic-looking toy dinosaurs.

Jake was on time, and a perfect gentleman. The date went well. They didn't have to act like strangers. They got a chance to talk about a lot of the things they didn't know about each other, or only half knew. Both agreed they were in no hurry and didn't want to rush into anything. Even dating at all was a big step. Maybe the best part was they could talk about the important stuff, and work on building a friendship while trying to figure out if they might also have a romantic future together.

Renee opened up about her ex, just a little, and told Jake that although his drinking was hard, the final straw had been when he hit her. That was a part Beth had left out of the story she told Jake, so it came as a bit of a surprise, but it struck a nerve that somehow made her even more admirable in his eyes. Jake didn't try to draw contrasts between himself and her ex, he hoped he didn't have to, since he knew he was nothing like that guy.

"I'm so sorry for you, Renee. I can't imagine what that was like." He sincerely sympathized. "That must have been hard. But you did the right thing. You were so strong to do that, all alone, miles from your support system, but you did it. You made it out. Too many people don't."

"And I can't imagine what it's like to lose someone the way you did, either. You must miss her."

"I do. But life goes on. And slowly, you realize that life can be good again." Jake was thinking it was Renee that had helped him see that light. He smiled at her, but it wasn't quite time to be that forthcoming.

He didn't need to. She could see it in him. She remembered how sad he'd seemed back in September. He was like a different man back then than the man that sat across from her now. And she was pretty sure only one major thing had changed in his life over those few short months. But she didn't want to say that yet, either. There was still a long way to go, and if everything went well, they might get there soon enough.

They were both clear-eyed that night. No tears. It was a time for optimism, for new beginnings, for putting the past behind and moving into the future. They both felt it.

Renee confided that she felt reluctant to trust her emotions, after she'd been so wrong before. He reassured her he wasn't trying to compare her to his memories. Sarah would have been the last person to want him to do that. Jake revealed he and Sarah had both promised each other once that they would try and love again one day if anything ever happened to one of them.

Renee worked on the night of the 27th, but on the 28th she and Jake went out again. They walked by the river, sat on some rocks, and talked again until they got cold enough to find shelter and food. They talked easily, very easily. Jake thought about planning out a move, about waiting for the perfect time, then after dinner when they reached their car and he went to open the door for her he felt a sudden impulse and decided to just go with it. He kissed her.

"I was wondering when you'd do that," she said with a smile.

"Too soon?"

"Just right." They kissed again. Her lips were warm and soft. She felt his rising passion, and it started to ignite hers. As they broke, both couldn't contain their smiles. "We might have to do more of that," Renee said as she sat down in the passenger seat.

They kissed again in the car, parked in Renee's driveway before they got out to face the kids, and the sister, and her spouse. The next night they took the kids out together to look at holiday lights. They all got ice cream. It was nice. Even Cooper more or less behaved. He was happy to have Jake take him so he wouldn't have to go to the Ladies' room with mom. The ice cream shop had a low-set urinal just his size. He had never seen one before and was so thrilled he couldn't stop talking about it until the girls had to yell at him to stop. Jake got a kick out of it too. Cooper was high-spirited, but he was a good kid. Jake sincerely liked him.

Jake and Renee's next night out together was New Year's Eve. Over dinner they talked about love, in the abstract, roundabout way people sometimes do.

"Once, when I was younger," said Renee, "I thought I knew exactly what love is. But now, the definition seems... I don't know... messier, I guess."

"I know what you mean. Love comes in all kinds of shapes and varieties. If you look for it, you can find it all around you. I'm not even sure it's the same for anyone. Like in some ways it can even be different for each person."

"Yeah. I used to feel like I had to analyze it, like put reasons to it. Now it seems more like just a feeling that hopefully people share."

"And commitment just makes it deeper."

Renee liked that she could talk like this with Jake, and she told him so. Jake also liked that he could talk this way with Renee. It felt important to try and express with words these things that words seemed inadequate to express.

They were home in time to usher in the New Year together on Renee's couch. Both agreed it was better than any crowded bar. Although both remembered what happened on that couch only a week before, neither spoke of it. They still hadn't. But they did share the new year's first kiss. They had champagne and toasted to a new year, a new Jake, a new Renee, and to love.

Jake felt like things were going well with Renee. He was still happy to take it slow, if that's how she wanted it. If she was ready to get physical again, well he was ready for that too. He wanted her badly enough that he really didn't want there to be any chance things could go sideways, like they had before. He thought it was looking like they might really have a future together.

Outside of just their time together, Jake also realized that if he wanted to seem desirable to Renee, if he wanted her to want him as much as he was beginning to want her, not just physically but also as a constant presence in his life, then he was going to have to make sure he had his shit together. No woman wants a project for her 2nd marriage. She knows her ability to change him will be limited. The good thing was, just having her in his life seemed to be making all that easier.

Jake knew that professionally, he was on solid ground, but simply believing in the possibility of future happiness seemed to be helping out there too. He got recognized for his work on a big project that really helped improve the company's bottom line. A senior manager position opened up and his boss encouraged him to apply for it. He didn't get it, but they told him he was runner up out of more than fifty internal applicants. If he just kept plugging away, he was almost certain to get there before long.

What about love?

Jake and Renee were both spending a lot of time thinking about love. When it came to love, Jake didn't question it quite so much as Renee did. He supposed that was only natural. He hadn't been wrong about love in his relationship with Sarah. Renee felt like she made a mistake when she married her Ex. She wondered if there were things she could have done differently that might have changed him, or saved their marriage. When is love real? Renee wondered. How do you know?

Jake believed love is about feeling, and also about commitment, but the commitment has to come from both sides. He knew this was something that was bothering Renee about how her marriage ended.

He told her, "In my opinion, you didn't break your commitment by leaving him. He did by putting you in that position. Yes, gambling and alcoholism are diseases, but people have to be accountable. When he hit you it just underlined the fundamental disregard he had for your well-being, or the inability he had to truly care for you anymore, probably both."