Chapter Sixteen
Janene
I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to bring to a birthday party for a woman that I was not dating but sleeping with and who was also my best friend’s daughter. I was standing at Renee’s front door, trying to garner the courage to ring the doorbell. In one hand I had a bouquet of wild flowers. If Harlyn had been any other woman, if we had been truly dating, I would have been confident about my decision to bring her flowers. Every woman I’d ever known loved receiving flowers. In my other hand was a gift bag from a local jeweler. My favorite jeweler who had procured a drawing compass charm for me and placed it on a delicate chain.
I knew the second gift was more appropriate for a friend though it was still a fairly intimate gift because it was jewelry. Before I could reach for the doorbell, the door opened. Standing there with a huge grin on her face was Harlyn. She was wearing jersey knit shorts that didn’t even reach mid-thigh and a crop top that showed off the yummy hourglass curve between her ribcage and her waist. When my eyes left that soft piece of skin they landed on the deep plunging V-neck of her top.
“It’s Janene,” she yelled back toward the living room.
She leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on my cheek. “If you keep looking at me like that,” she whispered into my ear. “I’ll have to fake a work emergency to get us both out of this party.”
I was trying to think of something slick to say in reply when Renee walked up to us.
“You made it!” she said. “Thank god, I’m dying for some real adult conversation.”
Harlyn didn’t say anything, but I caught the roll of her eyes as she stepped back to let me in.
“These are for you.” I thrust the flowers in Renee’s direction. Harlyn raised an eyebrow. “I figured you’d need some cheering up if you were going to be spending all this time around the younger generation.”
“Thank you, and kiss my ass,” Renee said. She turned and started toward the kitchen.
“This is for you,” I said handing Harlyn the gift bag.
“You didn’t have to get me a gift,” she said.
I shrugged, trying to be as casual as I walked past her. When the sound of young voices hit me, I realized that this was going to be harder to do than I had thought it would be.
“You look like you’ve entered enemy territory,” a young brunette said from beside me. “I’m Caitlin, you must be the boss lady.”
“And you must be the best friend.”
My mind raced. I wasn’t sure how much Harlyn had shared with her best friend. I knew the things I normally shared with Renee but the fact that Harlyn and I were sleeping together was not a detail I had shared or planned to share. That didn’t mean that Harlyn hadn’t told Caitlin.
“Guilty,” she said.
“It’s nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you. I hope you’re enjoying our beautiful city.”
“I am.”
“Are you all talking about me?” Harlyn said as she joined us.
She had obviously opened her gift because she was wearing it around her neck. It fit perfectly but it also drew my attention to very enticing cleavage. I tried to keep my eyes off her boobs but they looked so good in the top she was wearing.
In the moments it took me to look away, Caitlin narrowed her stare at me.
“I take it you like it?” I asked Harlyn. I made sure to point out the necklace with the hope that Caitlin would not hate me for ogling her best friend’s breasts.
Harlyn looked down at the charm. “I love it. Thank you.”
She leaned in and hugged me. There was an extra tight squeeze on her part because I had no idea where to put my hands without making contact with exposed skin. I definitely did not want to come across as the creepy old lady that was feeling up some pretty young woman just because she could. I kept my arms at my side and waited for Harlyn to pull away.
“I should find your mom,” I said to Harlyn.
She nodded though I could see the disappointment in her eyes. I wanted to tell her it was fine and that I’d seek her out later but all I could do was smile at her and walk away.
Renee and I manned the grill and made burgers for all the young people that came and went over the course of a few hours. The party was subdued, it was more of an opportunity for Harlyn to reconnect with friends she’d left behind when she went away for school. Still, as the evening progressed, alcohol consumption increased and young wild shenanigans ensued. If ever I had convinced myself that the age difference between me and Harlyn was inconsequential, this party showed just how wrong I was.
By the time the sun set there were very few people left. Many of which had asked Harlyn to join them at a club or a bar, one friend who offered to be her DD for a bar crawl taking place downtown. Caitlin was only in town for two days so Harlyn used her best friend as an excuse to say no. When Caitlin refused to be Harlyn’s scapegoat during one invite, Harlyn exchanged a look with her that I was sure conveyed some sort of telepathic message because Caitlin never stepped in again.
When the last of Harlyn’s friends had gone and Renee and I decided that clean up could wait for the morning, we joined Caitlin and Harlyn down in the basement where they were finishing up a game of pool.
The music was still going on the wireless Bluetooth speaker that Caitlin had connected to earlier but the volume was low. The quiet clack of pool balls as they moved across the table was more my style.
“So, I want to get my facts straight,” I said to Renee as we stood against the far wall of the room and watched the girls finish their game. “You kept your dad’s table for all these years so that both you and your daughter can continue to suck at pool.”
“I’m not that bad,” she replied. “I’m pretty sure I’ve beat you at least once or twice.”
“Only when I felt sorry for you and let you win.”
“Ouch,” Caitlin said. “So, you have skills is what you’re saying?”
I looked over at Caitlin and there was something about the way she was looking at me. She was challenging me but her challenge seemed to have very little to do with pool. I had not had a moment to ask Harlyn how much Caitlin knew but something told me that she was picking up a vibe and was probably not very happy about it. I could admit that there may have been a time or two during the party where I was caught up in the sight of Harlyn in her element. Maybe Caitlin had noticed, but I wasn’t the only one off my game. I had looked up from the grill several times to find Harlyn watching me. At one point she’d come over to collect a pan of burgers and had run her hand over my ass as she walked away.
“I do,” I replied.
“Rack ‘em up,” she said with a touch of South Texas drawl.
“How about we play in teams?” Harlyn said.
She stood between us as if she was attempting to keep the peace, or maybe something else? I wasn’t sure what was going on anymore.
“You and me against Mom and Janene,” Harlyn said to Caitlin.
There was a time in my life when the way they were looking at each other may have excited me. This brewing tension between two very beautiful women with me dead center. Harlyn’s eyes were glassy, she’d had plenty to drink over the course of the evening but I knew she wasn’t drunk. I’d seen her sneak large gulps of water between every offered drink. She was smart, full of energy and ready to protect me. How I’d ended up enjoying her company was beyond my comprehension. But this was not the kind of tension that led to a win for me. If Caitlin was on to what Harlyn and I had been doing and she was not okay with it, as she probably shouldn’t be, that meant trouble. If I knew anything about best friends, it was that their opinions always superseded anyone else’s and if Caitlin said Harlyn needed to walk away, Harlyn was going to walk away.
“Sounds like fun,” I said. “Renee, you in?”
Renee nodded. “Let’s kick some ass.”
She’d also had a few drinks too many but just like her daughter, she was only riding a buzz. I was happy for that because Renee rarely relaxed anymore.
I took the rack out from under the table and started to collect the balls from the pockets.
“Eightball? Nineball? Bank Pool, Straight Pool?” I asked Caitlin.
“Definitely not straight,” she said, her grin wide. She was past the buzzed stage of intoxication.
“How about we just stick to eightball,” Renee said. “You two show offs can compete with your fancy pool skills some other time.”
I nodded and started to rack the balls. Harlyn came up beside me and pushed her boobs against my arm and she reached around me to place the eightball into the rack.
“I believe this is an important ball,” she said.
I bit at the inside of my cheek to keep myself steady. She was torturing me and I wasn’t hating it even though the reality was I wouldn’t get any time alone with Harlyn for a least a few more days.
I finished setting up the table and then took out my frustration on the cue ball as I took my break shot. The balls scattered over the table. I knocked in the two, five and seven leaving only four solid balls on the table. I winked at Caitlin and began to set up my next shot. I knew if I was careful, I could finish the game before they even had a chance to take a shot.
“Wait,” Caitlin said. “If we’re playing in pairs, I think we should rotate players with every shot.”
“You mean every turn,” I said.
“No, I mean every shot, to make it more interesting.” The grin she had on her face earlier had turned into a shit eating grin. She knew my plan was to close out the game before Renee could get her hands on a cue stick.
“Cheaters never win,” I said. “But we can do it your way, this time.”
I took a step back from the table and handed Renee my cue stick. I leaned against the wall and watched as Renee lined up her shot. She eyed a ball and pocket I knew she would never make. She took the shot and missed the cue ball completely. Caitlin laughed so hard she nearly toppled over.
“My turn,” Harlyn said.
“Let me go first,” Caitlin said still laughing.
“Birthday girl goes first,” Harlyn said.
Caitlin’s smile turned serious. “Take your time Harlyn,” she said. “Don’t try anything fancy, just get one striped ball in the pocket. That’s it.”
Harlyn walked around the table, her forehead furrowed in concentration. Her eyes shifted from ball to ball as if she was strategizing. She walked over to the ten on the opposite end of the table from where I was standing and pretended to examine how she’d need the cue ball to collide with it to make it roll into the side pocket. There was no way to make that shot without making a bank shot. She bent over and I watched a smirk form on her lips because she knew my eyes would be drawn to her chest which was nearly falling out of her shirt. She straightened up and then walked over to my end of the pool table where the thirteen sat. There were way too many other balls in front of the 13 for her to make the shot she was studying but still she bent at the waist, her shorts hiking up to just below her ass as she leaned on the edge of the table.
Caitlin’s competitive nature was beginning to rear its nasty head. She looked like her head wanted to explode. Just as Harlyn lined up her shot and pulled her stick backward the lights went out. The basement went completely black because there were no windows or doors to let in outside light.
“Nobody move,” Renee said. “I know my way around here in the dark. You all stay where you are and I will reset the breaker.”
The lights going out in that house was a common occurrence. I had recommended several different electricians over the years to have the wiring inspected and fixed but Renee refused to get the work done.
“I can get it,” I said.
As the words left my mouth, a small body pressed itself up against the front of my body, pushing me into the wall behind me. A pair of hands grabbed a hold of my thighs and squeezed.
“No,” Renee said. “I’ve got it. Stay put.”
Footsteps moved toward the stairs on the other side of the basement and then began a slow ascension up the stairs. The breaker box was in the garage. That meant Renee would have to make it up a level and across the house just to get to the garage.
“I can’t remember where I left my phone,” Caitlin said.
“I think we left them upstairs,” Harlyn said. “Just stay calm. My mom will have everything fixed before you know it.”
Harlyn pressed her ass harder into my center and I bit down on my lip to keep from crying out in pleasure.
She reached back with her right hand and found my right wrist. She pulled my hand around her side and glided my fingers along her stomach until they made contact with the hem of her shirt. She used her other hand to raise her shirt and place my palm against her bare breast. I leaned my head forward and skidded my teeth over Harlyn’s shoulder.
“You’re evil,” I whispered into her ear.
She took my other hand and wrapped it around her other side but instead of running my fingers up toward her left breast, she pushed my hand into the waistband of her shorts and then into her panties. As the sensation of the cropped curls between her legs touched my fingertips my legs went weak. She leaned her head back against my shoulder and whispered into my ear.
“Make me come.”
I was never more thankful for the low hum of music still playing off the battery-operated speaker because a small groan rose from my throat. Harlyn was quick to grasp just how much it turned me on when she gave me instructions. She was also quick to take advantage of that knowledge.
My middle finger slid between her slit and found Harlyn soaked. When my finger made contact with her hard clit, her nipple hardened against the palm of my other hand. I made slow circles around the hard nub, but Harlyn wasn’t having it. She rocked her body against my hand faster and faster until she couldn’t take it anymore and she came.
“Fuck,” she said. It was only one word, but it was loud and clear above the sound of the music.
“Harlyn?” Caitlin said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she said, a little out of breath. “I stubbed my toe.”
I slowly removed my hand from her shorts and her shirt but she did not move away from me.
“Let me see if I can find my phone,” Cailtin said. I think it’s down here. I think I left it by the speaker.
“I got her,” I said before Caitlin could move. “Don’t go anywhere, you might hurt yourself.”
Harlyn’s body shifted as she turned around and faced me. I couldn’t see her face but I instinctively knew that she was smiling. She pressed herself into me again only this time she slid her thigh between my legs putting pressure against my clit. She leaned into me and placed a kiss against my collar bone and then slowly made her way up my neck, and across my jaw.
“Just a little party favor,” she whispered into my ear. “My turn.”
Her hands dropped to the button on my jeans and I grabbed a hold of her wrists. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t have to. She stiffened and pulled back just a bit.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
There was a buzzing sound which I knew meant the lights were about to come back on and I pushed Harlyn back. The lights came back to life and Renee whooped and hollered from upstairs.
“I don’t need no stinking man in my life!” she yelled.
I looked down at Harlyn who was still staring at me. My hands were still on her wrists and she was looking bashful like she’d been reprimanded.
Footsteps came from the top of the stairs and drew my attention back to our situation. I knew it was only a matter of time before Renee appeared.
“I need to pee,” I said.
I let go of Harlyn’s wrists just as Renee appeared. The amount of space between Harlyn and my body was much too close, even for the most intimate of friends. I quickly slid out from our awkward position and rushed toward the basement bathroom. As I closed the door behind me, I caught Caitlin watching me with the same curious look she’d given me when we first met. There was definitely no way she didn’t know what was going on between us now.