Jugs Ch. 05

I killed a few minutes before leaving for Calida's house. I rang the doorbell at about five minutes till seven. Calida promptly opened the door, like she had been waiting behind it. Traci was right, Calida was dressed up. I was struck speechless by the sight of her. Her hair was done up, but with curls hanging down to her shoulders. She had on a short, dark red, wrap around dress that was cut deeply between her breasts. She had dark hose on and black high heels. She stood smiling at me as I stared. I hadn't moved a muscle or closed my mouth since she opened the door.

She asked simply, "You like?"

I couldn't find my voice and nodded dumbly, which drew a throaty laugh from her. "Cat got your tongue?"

Another nod and then I croaked, "Wow, you look great!"

"Good, then I got what I wanted. Your undivided attention!" Calida laughed warmly as she pirouetted. "Are you coming in?" She held her hand out to me and I took it.

"Yyyes." I stammered, walking through the door.

It seemed really cool in the house and I mentioned that to Calida.

"I turned the air conditioning down, because I wanted a fire in the fireplace." She explained. "It would be too warm in here otherwise."

"Oh, OK," was all I said. I wasn't sure what to expect. Traci had made me nervous about this date and I didn't want to screw it up.

My nervousness was evidently pretty apparent because Calida looked at me and said, "Geez, Peter relax, everything will be just fine."

"Traci told me to be a gentleman and I'm nervous about not doing everything right, Calida," I said, my voice shaking, "I don't want to make a mess of this, it means too much to me."

Calida stopped and looked at me then pulled me to her. Kissing me on the cheek she said, "That's the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me, Peter. Don't worry; you CANNOT do anything to mess this up."

I laughed. "Even though we've known each other nearly all of our lives, you don't know me very well. I could screw up a glass of water."

Calida took me by the hand and led me into the dining room. There were two place settings of what I assumed was her mother's best china and silverware on opposite sides of the table. The room was lit by candlelight and was very romantic. She led me to one of the chairs and asked me to sit. She then disappeared into the kitchen. She returned with wine glasses filled with ice and water and immediately disappeared into the kitchen again, reappearing with a tossed salad with Italian dressing. She served us and then sat opposite of me. She smiled and looked radiant, like she was really very happy. We sat and ate our salads, making small talk. I was afraid to broach any controversial subjects, like my family relationships, because I didn't want to break the spell. When we finished the salads Calida cleared the table and was gone for a few minutes.

She called out to me and asked me to put on some music. I turned on her Dad's outstanding sound system and the radio was tuned to a smooth jazz station and that seemed to fit the mood that Calida had created, so I left it there and returned to my seat. Calida heard the music and remarked that she didn't think I was a jazz kinda guy. I told her that my musical tastes were probably considered weird given my age, but I liked all kinds of music. My playlist was just as likely to include Miles Davis or Chuck Mangione as it was Metallica, Pearl Jam or Stevie Ray Vaughn. She just laughed.

Calida brought out plates with fettuccine and a white sauce that I assumed was alfredo, but I was wrong. It was a clam sauce that her mother had taught her to make. It was really very good. The music conversation had made me relax and our conversation began to be more natural. It helped to have a topic as neutral as music. We branched into other things that interested us and we talked easily all through dinner. For dessert Calida brought out a white cake with white frosting and coconut sprinkled on it. It was my favorite and I asked her how she could have possibly known that.

She smiled and said, "I had some help."

I answered with my own smile. "From....?"

"Traci." Calida answered.

I was surprised. "When did you talk to Traci?"

"This afternoon after you and I talked." She said with another little smile.

"Traci never said anything to be before I left." I said with amazement.

"We had a nice talk and she suggested that I tell you instead of her. She really wants us to work this out and make a go of whatever this is between us. She apologized, like you said she would and I believe she wants US to be happy, not just you. She thought if she told you that we had talked that you might be too nervous to enjoy yourself. Now that you know, what do you think of the cake?" Calida finished her explanation with a change of direction.

"It's very good, but I'm confused." I said.

Calida smiled. "About the cake?"

"Hunh?" Ahhh, the swave and deboner Pete makes an appearance. (I know it's suave and debonair, but this seems to be more appropriate.)

Calida laughed at that. "Peter, you knucklehead, I'm teasing you. Your sister loves you very much and wants you to be happy. She's pretty sure that means that if I'M happy, YOU'RE happy."

Calida came around the table and gave me a light hug and a brief kiss. "Let's go out by the fireplace and sit down."

"OK, but don't you want help cleaning up?" I asked.

"Peter, you're sweet, but, there are more important things than some dirty dishes." Calida said as she swept from the room, her hips swaying nicely. As I sat and watched her, she looked back over her shoulder as she turned the corner. I had not seen the look in her eyes before, but, I wanted to see more as I practically ran into the den after her.

By the time I caught up with her, she was seated on the sofa in front of the fire. It was cozy in the room without being too warm. Remembering what Traci told me, I sat at the other end, not wanting to assume too much. Calida smiled and patted the sofa next to her, so I slid down until our hips were touching. She took my hand in hers and set it in her lap.

"Peter, I know you've been waiting for me to say something about what you told me last night. I wanted to wait until we could focus on this and not be distracted by the food." Calida said in a rush. "To say I was shocked would be a serious understatement. I never considered that anyone I knew would be involved in an incestuous relationship, let alone one as complex as yours." Calida smiled and continued. "I know this is a cliché, but we don't live in the Appalachians and people in the Midwest don't behave like this, do they?"

I opened my mouth to respond and she put a finger on my lips. "You asked for my patience last night and now I'm going to ask for yours. Please let me say what I have to say, OK?"

"OK." I said.

"This has been on my mind all day." Calida started. "I thought you and I had started on something very nice yesterday. Your revelation that you have had feelings for me for so long was surprising, yet, it wasn't. I've thought about my life and it seems like every time I was in trouble, or had difficulty, you were there to help me. You just stepped in, fixed whatever it was and then disappeared. I guess I took it for granted that you would be there and never gave it a second thought. You were always there and I realize now that Blaine never was there. I don't know if he couldn't be bothered or what, but, he just wasn't there. I never knew where you came from or where you went and never thought about it. I owe you a huge apology for never showing any gratitude for your help.....no that's not right, it wasn't just help, you saved my ass time after time. I got drunk at Tricia's that night when we were juniors and those guys were taking me away and you stopped them. I don't know what would have happened, but, you saved me and took me to Tricia. Then, as always, you disappeared. I have thought of many, many more times, but I'll bet you remember each of them as clearly as I do now, don't you?"

I was staring at my hands and blushing furiously. "I had hoped that those times would have faded into your memory, because I thought it looked like I was stalking you. I was afraid your friends would wonder why I was always there when you had problems and if I was really the source of the problems. After you started up with Blaine I tried not to watch so closely, but, I realized that he wasn't as concerned about you as he should have been. I just wanted to protect you."

"You need to know that even though you were stalking me..." she paused as I looked sharply at her and then she laughed and kissed my cheek before continuing. "That seeing you everywhere made me feel safe. I wasn't consciously aware that you were actually protecting me, but I knew, somehow, that I was safe when you were around. I realize now that I have always gotten a little warm and tingly when you were around and now I recognize those feelings were the beginnings of my love for you."

My head snapped up and looked into her eyes, seeing for the first time that the depths of my feelings for Calida were being returned. Calida leaned in and kissed me deeply, thrilling me to my core. I slid my arms around her as the kiss deepened. I felt her tongue gently probing my lips and I opened up to touch my tongue to hers, increasing the thrill. We stayed like that for endless minutes, finally both releasing to come up for air. Calida snuggled her head to my chest, carelessly resting her hand in my lap, right on top of my raging erection.

She giggled. "Did I do that?"

Blushing furiously again, I merely nodded.

"Cool." Calida whispered.

"Peter, I want you to know that whatever has happened in the past is just that, in the past. Whatever you have or had with your family is what it is and I can accept that." Calida explained her feelings as I sensed a 'but' coming. "But, now that we are together, I am asking you to avoid having sex with your family. I know that will be difficult, but I think it's necessary for my peace of mind. I don't want to compete with them for your love."

I put my finger under her chin, lifting her head so that she could see my eyes. "I told you last night that if giving that up meant that we were together, I would do it. I meant every word of that. I love my mom and my sisters and the depth of that love is probably different than most guys, because of the circumstances." Here was my own 'but'. "But, I love you and always have and having you start to return that love means more to me than a physical relationship with them."

Calida's eyes were shining with tears as she lunged at me with another kiss, knocking me over onto my back on the couch. We lay there kissing and timidly exploring each other's body a little. I didn't want to be too aggressive, heeding Traci's warning. I don't know how long we lay there, but it was quite a while. Calida stood and looked at me with the look I had seen earlier, though I now understood it better. She pulled on my hand and I stood and she started walking towards the hall towards the bedrooms.

I stopped and she looked back at me curiously. "I know this sounds weird, but, do I need to call Traci and let her know I won't be home tonight?"

Calida smiled and as she walked away, she let her hair down and then as she got to the hall, unbuttoned her dress, letting it drop behind her so that I saw the dress but no skin and I moaned. As she went down the hall I heard her say softly, "Don't be too long, I wouldn't want you to miss anything."