“Yeah, I guess I like it. Anyway, that's how I was brought up, so I didn’t have much of a choice. I suppose I like the adventure and I appreciate all the things I've learned. But, you know, it would be nice to settle down. Something like that.”
“Something like that?” Stan repeats. He narrows his eyes and looks her over, as though trying to figure out exactly what she means by that.
“Well maybe some kind of compromise,” she shrugs. “Settle down, but not settle down. Stable, but with a lot of adventure. Is that possible?”
“Totally possible,” I hear myself say. She glances over at me, her mouth open slightly in a surprised smile. I realize I haven't been talking. When our eyes meet, it’s just like I was thinking it would be. The connection is electric. Startling. Sizzling.
“That is good to know,” she says.
“Did you mean what you
said before?” I ask her. I hear Charlie's fork hit his plate next to me. “About… uh... flirting with all of us?”
She takes a deep breath, still smiling, then lowers her chin seriously. She is squaring off with me, accepting the challenge that I'm laying down.
“Well, I meant it,” she answers slowly. “The question is, did you mean it?”
Stan shifts in his chair. He likes to act like he's in charge or something, just because he's the oldest. It comes naturally to him, that paternal attitude. Not always my favorite thing.
“It’s not a joke, Vanessa,” he says with a distinct warning tone in his voice. “This is something we decided long ago was right for us. Family is everything. We work together… we plan together… we play together… and we want — how can I put this — everything else together.”
She sucks her cheeks in, pursing her lips. Her eyes rove among us, going from brother to brother, looking us each up and down.
“Did I sound like I was joking?” she challenges. “Do I seem like an innocent little waif? I feel like Little Red Riding Hood with five big bad wolves at the table.”
“Not Tom,” Tim sneers. “Tom's a beagle puppy.”
“Shut up, man,” Tom growls.
“Both of you, knock it off,” Stan rolls his eyes. “The lady was talking.”
She pushes herself back from her chair, standing up. With their fingers on the edge of the table, she leans forward, smiling at all of us.
“Actually, I'm done talking,” she shrugs with a saucy tone. “I'd like to see with this is like. Do you have any more of that apple wine?”
“Actually, we have something even better,” Charlie says excitedly. “Want to come on back to the den?”
She blushes and smiles, biting her lower lip charmingly. My brothers take her by the elbows and talk with her in low voices as they guide her to the large room at the back of the house. Charlie disappears and comes back a short time later with one of the really old bottles from the cellar. Stan raises his eyebrows and then shrugs. Why not?
She stands in the middle, turning in place slightly, smiling and laughing as the guys maneuver her toward the big leather sofa. This is where we spent a lot of our time when we have free time, watching football, shooting pool, maybe even getting a little work done. Now with a woman in the middle of the room, it seems different. Way better.
Charlie uncorks the bottle and pours out just a little bit into a collection of small, fancy blown glasses. He passes the tray around and everybody takes one reverently, glancing at each other like something important is happening.
“The crabapple is the only apple that's native to the United States,” Charlie begins his lecture. “When our great-great-grandfather got to this land, that was all that was here. He planted every one of these apple trees himself. But first he tried harvesting the crab apples. He set aside a couple of barrels of wine, and this is one the last three.”
“Wow,” she breathes, inhaling the elixir. We all watch, practically holding our breath as she takes that tiny, magical sip. She holds the potion in her mouth and then she looks up, surprised.
“You like it?” Stan asks her.
“I've never had anything like it,” she smiles. “I love it.”
She settles down into the leather sectional, in the middle angle. After thinking about it for a second she reaches up toward Stan on her left and lets her fingertips trace his chin. Tim and Tom glance at each other for approval and then settle in on the other side of her. Charlie takes his place at her knee and looks at me, jerking his chin to direct me to the vacancy at her other knee.
Stan holds her eyes as Charlie reaches up to undo the bow at her waist. Tim and Tom gently drag the fabric apart, revealing her front side. She shivers slightly as the cooler air hits her and I notice tiny goosebumps race across her belly.
She's wearing pale blue, lacy panties and a matching bra. Her thighs are creamy and plush, rounded just right. She makes me hungry to look at. She looks delicious.
“What… what do I do?” she whispers in a small, nervous voice.