You Are My Home Ch. 01

As with my other stories, all characters are over 18. Some are composites of real people I know or have met, while others are purely fictitious. Of course, the names have been changed and any other identifying aspects.

This story is a little different from the others I have written. It attempts to be more character driven, than sex driven, although there are steamy, outside nude and sex scenes scattered throughout. You the reader will determine whether I have been successful.

I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

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Eliane was gone. The funeral was over, and all that remained was a few close friends cleaning up the after-funeral meal gathering. Michael, the newly made widower, sat in his recliner in the corner of the living room, staring out the window facing the backyard, envisioning Elaine in her garden. But she wasn't there. She was underground now. The thought sent waves of grieve through his body. Tears were blurring his vision, and staining his face.

He knew that if there was a heaven, and he believed there was, that she was there. She was the most honest, straight-laced and moral person he had ever known. She was avid in her faith in God and in the general goodness of her fellow humans. She always tried to think the best of people, even when they gave her no reason to do so. She had kept him out of trouble more than once.

Diane, a close friend of Elaine and Michael for over ten years, sat down in a chair across from him. She began to speak, "Michael, I think we are going to go now. There is plenty of extra food in the fridge if you get hungry later."

Michael turned to look at Diane, but seemed to look right pass her. Then focusing on her, he said, "Yeah, okay, thanks. You all have been wonderful. I'll be all right. Just need some time to get myself together."

Diane understood exactly what he was going through. She had lost her husband of 15 years just two years earlier. She then added, "You have my phone number, so if you need anything, or just need to talk, please don't hesitate to call me, or any of us, okay?"

Michael smiled, saying, "All of you have been great, I don't know how I could have done this without all of you."

Diane replied, "I'm serious Michael, if you need anything, please let someone know."

Michael smiled, saying, "Okay, thanks, like I said, I'll be okay." He then stood up, and Diane stood to say good-bye.

He reached for her, they hugged for about a minute. It seemed like Michael didn't want to let go of her. She then reached up, kissed him on the cheek, and said, "I mean it, anything."

"Okay, and like I said, I just need some time. I'll be all right."

In another minute, the house was empty and quiet. He was alone for the first time in thirty-two years. He sat down in his recliner, and went back to staring out the window.

Thirty-two years with the same person, day in and day out, how do you transition from that to absolute aloneness, he thought.

TWO YEARS LATER.

He could still hear her voice in the hallway, the kitchen, calling from every room of the house. There were just too many reminders of her to continue to live there.

Elaine lost her fight with breast cancer. It had been two years since her passing, and the house seemed to hang onto her. Michael knew that it was really him that was hanging on, but everywhere he looked, some memory would come flooding back, a conversation, an argument, a laugh, an intimate moment between them, a haunting memory of her suffering.

He would have periods of relief from them, but then they always came back, without warning.

He looked over at the clock, 2:37 am. He got up out of bed, put some coffee on, grabbed the newspaper and mindlessly began rifling through its pages.

He came to the real estate section. He thought to himself, "Maybe that's what I should do, is sell this damn house, find a different house somewhere totally different. I need to create some new memories."

The more he thought about it, the more it seemed like just the thing that he needed. However, he couldn't move to far away because of his two girls and the grandkids.

He knew if he was serious about this, his first step was to see what was available out there. The coffee had finished brewing, so he poured a cup, went to his computer in his office, and began searching.

He decided that he wanted some place that had a beautiful view, a lake view perhaps. The house needed to have at least three bedrooms and an office. A deck overlooking the lake would be perfect.

A lake view home, three or four bedrooms would be a good start.

With the insurance money, and the cashed out retirement money from Elaine's job, along with the sale of the existing house, and his business he should have no problem with financing.

Once he put the required parameters of his search in, there were many homes to look at. Most of the homes were at least 200 - 250 thousand, which is about what he expected for the area. However, he thought with the soft housing market, and a really good realtor, he might be able to find a real steal.

As he was looking at some of the listings on his screen, he saw a page with listings from a realtor that he knew. Of course, he thought, Diane! Actually, she and Elaine had worked together at the city offices several years back. Michael and Diane had always got along very well. They had known each other for over ten years. Elaine always spoke highly of her as a woman of high caliber.

Diane had been Elaine's supervisor when she worked for the city, but Diane grew tired of the politics and stress of her job and decided on a course change. She had moved into real estate, and apparently has done quite well for herself.

Michael decided to give Diane a call later on to see if she would be interested in helping him find a house. It would be really nice to see Diane again, he thought. She was a very lovely woman, just a few years younger than he. He had always found her very attractive. He thought, if I'm going to have to spend some time with a realtor, it might as well be someone who is easy on the eyes.

Looking at the clock, he saw it was 4 am. He took a last sip from the coffee cup, and decided to lay back down for a while. At least he had what he could call a plan of action.

By 9 am, he was up again and calling Diane's office to start the ball the rolling.

He was able to get Diane on the phone, and she seemed truly pleased that he had called her. Michael explained his situation to her, and why he needed a change of scenery and venue. She told him that she totally understood.

Diane had been a widow for about four years now, and knew exactly what Michael was going through. Her husband had also died of cancer, prostate cancer. She told him to let her look through her listings and she would get back with him as soon as she thought she had something of interest.

Later that afternoon, Michael's phone rang. "Hello."

"Michael, its Diane, how are you?"

"I'm doing good. Did you find me something?"

"Well, I might have found just what you're looking for, but then, you will need to be the judge of that. What is your schedule like tomorrow?"

"As far as I know right now, I'm free. What did you have in mind?"

"Well, if you could meet me at my office, then I could show you a few houses and maybe find one you really like."

"What time tomorrow?"

"Is about ten okay with you?"

"Ten sounds fine to me. I'll see you then!"

"Great, I'm really looking forward to seeing you again, Michael."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to seeing you also. See you tomorrow."

"All right, bye for now."

"Bye, Diane."

As Michael hung up the phone, a strange and distant feeling swept over him. It was something he hadn't felt in many, many years. It was that giddy, knot in your stomach, teenager-like feeling when you are anticipating meeting a girl that turns you on.

Suddenly for Michael, the house was almost secondary to his thoughts. He didn't know if Diane was seeing anyone or was involved, but the way she said, "I'm really looking forward to seeing you again, Michael" sounded like more than just a passing, friendly comment. It was the tone in her voice. It sounded truly excited.

As Diane hung up the phone from her conversation with Michael, she felt a jolt of energy pass through her. She also felt a stirring down in her gut. She was actually feeling turned on. She felt overwhelmed for a few brief moments.

She didn't know if Michael was involved with anyone, but chances are he wasn't, since he was looking for such a drastic change. She moved these thoughts to the back of her mind and got back to work.

She could hardly wait until tomorrow.

The next day, Michael left his home around 9 am, to make the hour trip to Diane's office. The entire drive he couldn't help but play out different scenarios in his mind of what could happen. Then he would tell himself to get a grip. He thought, She will show you a few houses, you will talk about this and that, and then you will drive home, wondering about which house you like, if any.

He pulled into the parking lot at the realty office about 9:50 am. When he walked into the office, Diane got up from her desk smiling to greet him.

"Hello, Michael, glad you made it."

Seeing Michael walk through her door, her heart began to race. Michael is early fifties, 6' 5" and about 235 lbs, with dark brown hair showing some grey streaking on the sides. He was a hunk of man that instantly had her heart pounding and feeling like a timid school girl in the presence of an older, more experienced man.

"Hello, Diane, so am I!"

Upon seeing her rise from her desk, he thought, damn she looks good.

Diane is a woman in her late forties. She's taller than your average woman, standing about 5' 10". She seemed a little thinner than he remembered. She was dressed casually, in dark slacks and a rather sheer white blouse. Not see-through by any means, but sheer enough that you could barely make out the lines of her bra. He noticed her breasts. They were not large but were quite ample for her frame. Her hair was cut shoulder length, and was a light auburn with slight blonde or maybe gray highlights. She never wore heavy makeup, but just enough to highlight the natural beauty of her rounded face.

"So, you have found some candidates for me, have you?"

"Yes, give me a minute or two to get my things together and we'll go see them."

"No problem" Michael responded.

After just a few minutes, they were in Diane's car, making their way over the mountains and the curves of the Ozarks. They talked about how things had been for them both, since their mates had passed.

They really seemed to connect on a level that they hadn't found with anyone else.

As they made their way to the first house, Michael reached over and touched Diane on the shoulder saying, "Diane, I just want to say thanks for taking the time for me. I really appreciate it and it is really nice to see you again."

When he touched her, Diane felt her body tingle, and responded, "Michael, it's my pleasure. Besides, it's what I do. But this is more enjoyable for me than most showings, because its you. I'm glad I can help."

The first two houses they looked at just didn't do it for Michael. They were either too small, or didn't have the view he was looking for.

Diane then smiled at him, saying, "Well, as any good realtor will tell you, you always save the best for last."

Michael thought about her statement. Whether it was intended or not, it seemed almost cryptic. "Saving the best for last" he thought. Maybe that is what is happening.

He then cleared the thoughts from his head, and said, "Great, that's what I want, the best."

Diane turned the vehicle down a single lane dirt road, which wound its way through the trees. After a few twists and turns, they came into view of the house.

It was a two-story log home, with an attached two car garage. The road leading to the house ran directly in front of the house, turning into a circular drive, leading back into itself.

"I love it so far" Michael excitedly stated.

"Wait until you see the inside!" Diane smiled and winked at him.

She parked the car in front of the house, grabbed her notebook, and said, "Shall we take a look?"

"Yes, by all means" Michael replied.

As they stood at the front door, she bent down to punch in the combination to the realtor's box, containing the door key. Once in the house, she began to explain the present situation with the house.

"The house at present is a corporate rental. What that means is that companies will rent the house for a weekend or longer for meetings or retreats. That's why it's furnished."

"I see. What is the asking price?"

"Well, it is listed for 400,000, which is not a bad price itself. However, because of several factors, I think the owner would be willing to take less than that, actually, much less."

"How much less is much less?"

"Well, because of my working relationship with the owner, I think if you made an offer around 300, she would entertain it. The owner is an older woman and she is having some health issues. So she has decided to begin to sell off most of her real estate holdings. So we could say that she is a fairly motivated seller."

"Okay, but before we get to that point, I would like to see the rest of the house."

"But of course. By the way, it sits on 9.47 acres, and the water comes from a well that is actually fed from an underground spring, so you have some of the most pristine water around. The house is situated pretty much right in the middle of the property, so you have a pretty good privacy boundary around you."

"So there wouldn't be any danger of neighbors seeing me walking around on the property in my briefs or naked?" Michael added the last as a kind of test to see how she would react.

"No, I don't believe so. This is very private and secluded. So you could walk around naked all you wanted. Is that something that you do a lot?"

"Well, not in my present home. I mean, inside the house I do, but not outside."

"Have you become a nudist?" Diane asked with a mischievous grin.

"No, not at all. I have just always enjoyed the feeling of being naked outside. There is just such a sense of freedom to it all. Does that shock you or make you think I'm some kind of weirdo?"

"No, I completely agree. Sometimes I will sit around on my back deck without any clothes. I love that freedom also. Does that shock you?"

Michael smiled, took a step back and looked at Diane.

"Quite the opposite. I am just trying to get a mental picture of seeing you sitting on your deck in the nude. However, this conversation is taking me way off track, so if we can, at least for now, tell me more about the house."

Diane smiled at Michael, grabbed his hand and said, "Okay, let me show you the upstairs where the guest bedrooms are located."

With his hand in hers, she led him up the stairs. From the conversation they had just finished, and being led by the hand upstairs to see the bedrooms, he was becoming quite aroused. He felt his dick growing inside his trousers and it was in a bit of a bind. He reached down with his free hand and quickly made an adjustment so as not to be too obviously aroused.

As Diane was leading Michael up the stairs, she felt herself being very aroused at the thought of Michael walking around the property in the nude. Imagining his mature physic, his dangling cock swinging as he walked. Her panties were starting to feel moist, and her nipples were hardening to the point of being noticeable.

Once they reached the top of the stairs, she released his hand and motioned to him to enter the first bedroom. She guided him through the two upstairs bedrooms, and the one huge bathroom. The upstairs even had its own laundry room and lounge area.

They walked back down the stairs and stood in the large living area, looking out the large picture window, with a view of the lake.

Diane added that the house has a large basement or ground floor, which is mostly used for meetings or parties.

Michael kept staring out the window, and said, "That's cool."

She noticed Michael just staring out the window in deep thought.

In the swirl of his thoughts, Michael knew he wanted the house. It was perfect. However, for him, the more pressing issue was how could he stretch this day out, and have more time with Diane. He came up with a plan.

After a couple of minutes of silence, Diane asked, "So Michael, what do you think? Do you like it?"

Michael responded, "No, Diane, I don't. I love it, its perfect. However, there is one thing I would like to see before I make my final decision."

"What is that, Michael?" Diane asked.

"I would like to see the view of the lake from the house at night."

Diane smiled, "Well, I think we can arranged that. You want to see it this evening?"

"Yes. Here's what I was wondering. First of all, are you showing this to anyone else this afternoon or evening?"

Diane responded, "No, you were the only show I had scheduled for today. What's on your mind?"

"What I would really like to do, is spend the afternoon here, just hanging out, getting a real feel for the place. You know, walk the property, with clothes on of course, and just see how I really feel about it. Would that be possible?"

"Sure, I don't see any problem with that. What about your car?"

"Well, my other thought was if you could come back and pick me up around 6, then we could have dinner. Afterwards we could come back and check out the night view. How does that sound?"

"It sounds lovely. It's almost like a date!" Diane said happily.

"I guess we could call it a working date."

Diane then instructed him, saying, "Okay, you have Dish on the TV, there is water and ice in the fridge. I think there is even some coffee in the cabinet."

"That will be fine. I will spend most of time walking, thinking and taking it all in. I'll be just fine, however, don't forget about me, okay?"

Diane laughed, "Oh I don't think I will be doing that. All right then, I'll see you later around 6. Now, behave yourself."

"I promise to be a good boy."

With that Diane leaned up, and kissed Michael on the cheek. As she turned to walk away, he grabbed her by the arm, and said, "Diane, thank you again for taking this time for me. It has made a world of difference to me, just having you with me. Thanks."

Diane felt a slight mist of tears forming in her eyes, and said, "Michael, it has meant a lot to me also." She then took a step forward, tip-toed up and kissed Michael on the lips, not a kiss of passion, but just a peck. However, that peck meant so much to Michael and apparently had meaning to Diane.

"I'll see you at 6."

"Okay Diane, I'll be here, waiting for you."

With that, Diane disappeared out the front door.

Looking out the kitchen window, he watched her pull out of the drive and disappear into the woods.

Michael spent most of the afternoon, walking through each room of the house, imagining himself living there. He would then walk outside to get a feel for the lay of the property. He also couldn't get Diane or the peck on the lips out of his mind.

After only about two hours, he knew that he wanted it. Actually, he knew it long before Diane left. The whole 'I want to see it at night', was just a ploy so he could arrange some more private time with Diane.

Since Elaine's passing, Michael hadn't dated. He didn't even try, mostly because he found no one who sparked his interest. However, now, his interest was not just sparked, but was fully engulfing him.

Sitting at her desk, Diane was having a very difficult time organizing her thoughts about what she had to do. Fortunately for her, the list of things to do for the day was pretty short. She would find herself looking out the window, thinking about Michael alone at the house.