My House, My Rules (2 page)

“Yeah really, Mister, she said it was a waste,” Aaron said, tugging on his shirt and bringing him back to the present. “It's wrong to waste stuff.”

Thom had found his tongue apparently. He punched his brother in the arm. “Not helping, dummy,” he said.

“Go to your room and get changed out of those wet clothes,” Alex said with a sigh.

“I wanna listen,” Aaron said.

“I'm gonna get something to eat first. I'm hungry,” Thom said.

Jay tried to stop his eyebrows from raising, but apparently he didn't succeed.

“They're just showing off!” Alex said. “Because you're here.”

“Apparently,” Jay said.

“They do mind me, normally!” she said.

“If you say so,” Jay said, trying to hide a grin.

Thom opened a bag of chips and perched on the edge of the couch to watch the show. Alex dropped onto the last step.

“Look, I can take things from here,” Alex said, her face flaming with embarrassment. “You can go now.”

“Not so fast,” Jay said. “I'm not going until we settle this.” He stood his ground with his arms folded. He filled the hallway, and he had no intention of leaving until he was ready. This was a man who didn't take orders or even strong suggestions if he didn't feel like it.

Alex forced a smile of sorts, although it looked a bit more like a grimace, Jay thought. It was understandable though—she was embarrassed. Her kids were acting like a pair of brats in front of a stranger, which was a shame. They seemed like nice enough kids.

“I think we've gotten off on the wrong foot. I'm sorry. It wasn't totally the boys fault,” Alex said in an effort to appease the new neighbor.

Jay returned her smile, his arms still folded.

“No, it wasn't,” he answered.

“I shouldn't have cleaned the pool and told them it was okay to swim there. It was just that no one was there and it was summer, and it
is
such a waste to have the pool just sitting there doing nothing.”

“I agree with you about the pool not being wasted,” he said, grinning at her amazed look. Her smile was pretty, he thought, even if it wasn't real. “Look, I'm not an ogre,” he sighed. He did want to reach some kind of resolution. Damn, he wanted to get to know her better. There was a certain vulnerability in her eyes that he was drawn to. “I don't even know your name.”

“She's called Alex,” Aaron said from the step where he'd been perched, watching the exchange.

“I have no objection to Aaron and Thom swimming in my pool, Alex. I just want to find out why they were alone. I wouldn't have even worried about the ladder if I knew you were with them. Watching them.”

“I… um,” Alex started while her brain searched for a decent answer.

“Were you working? Is that why you couldn't watch them?”

“Mom always works on the farm,” Aaron said with a proud smile. Suddenly he was front and center again, now that it looked like they were going to keep their pool privileges.

Alex's eyes bored into Aaron, willing him to shut up. “Mr…”

“Jay,” Jay filled in with a confused frown.

“Mr. Jay doesn't need to know our business.”

“Jay. Jay is my first name. The farm?”

Color crept up Alex's neck and into her face. “I… I was doing something on the computer,” she said sheepishly.

“Working?” Jay asked curiously.

“Not exactly. I don't work. Well, I work here, but not work work. I have kids,” she rambled.

“Relax,” he said. “I was only curious.”

“You should see my Mom's farm!” Aaron said. “It's huge! It has so many vegetables and animals.”

“Maybe she'll show it to me some time,” Jay said with a smile.

“She has
lots
of games on Facebook.”

“Aaron,” she chided.

“She has another place where you have to find stuff. It's cool.”

“Okay enough now, Aaron,” Alex said with a frown.

“And slots!”

“Upstairs,
now
!” Alex yelled immediately regretting her overreaction in front of Jay. “Please.” Her eyes bored into Thom, pleading for help.

“Okay, okay,” Thom said grabbing his brother by the arm.

“You don't gotta yell, Mom.” Aaron said following his brother up the stairs.

“I know what this looks like,” Alex said.

Jay held his hands up. “Not my business.”

“I know they're a little unruly, especially Aaron,” she said quietly. “They've lost their father. I need to make allowances for that,” she said, her eyes misting.

“How long ago did he pass?” Jay asked carefully.

“Three years ago,” she said.

“Sorry?” Jay asked. “Three years?” His eyes were wide and confused.

“Yes. Three years. You can't put a time limit on grief,” she said, feeling on the defensive again.

“No,” he said. “I guess not.”

Alex could see he was disapproving, although he didn't exactly say as much. Well, she didn't care anyway. “Losing someone makes you focus on what's important. I choose to focus on doing what I want, when I want, and letting my boys do the same.”

Cute, Jay thought. “Okay. I get it. Your house, your rules. I will say this though. You keep the boys out of the pool unless you're watching them.”

“Your house, your rules,” she said.

“Exactly,” he said.

“Thank you, Jay. I'll keep an eye on them.”

“And no more jumping over the fence,” he said. “Someone could have broken their leg.”

“That's why I put the mattress there.”

Jay's eyebrows just about shot to his forehead. “
You
put that there?”

“Of course,” Alex said. “I wasn't going to let my kids jump over the fence straight onto the ground.”

“Well,
no more
!” he barked with exasperation. “Use the gate.”

* * *

Alex wanted to be angry at him for being so high-handed, but she found she couldn't. There WAS the fact that he was very good looking. There was something very attractive about his bossy persona. “Okay,” she said with a silly grin that landed on her face without warning.
And will you be there too?
she wanted to ask.

* * *

Jay had been about to leave when a thought occurred to him—a solution to the question of how he was going to get to spend more time with his cute blonde neighbor and her unruly entourage. “Why don't you bring the boys over for dinner tonight? We'll get some pizza, and we'll talk.”

“Please can we, Mom?” the boys chorused from the top of the stairs.

Alex took a deep breath. She was so confused. She was feeling an attraction she hadn't felt since her husband died.

“Please? Come have dinner with me? We can all have a swim after dinner if they mind their manners,” Jay asked pleadingly. He knew playing to the audience at the top of the stairs was his best bet at getting her to agree.

Alex narrowed her eyes at him. “Okay. I guess.”

“Well, good,” he said with a smile.

“Bring your manners boys and your best behavior,” he called up the stairs.

Alex glared at him, and he held his hands up in mock defense.

“Your house, your rules.”

“Thank you. Glad you get it,” she said cheekily.

“Oh, I do,” he said. “And at my house it's
my
rules,” he said with a grin. “I'll see you three tonight, about six o’clock?”

“Six is fine,” she answered, attempting to bite back the giant smile that was trying to escape.

“Good. See you then,” he opened the door and finally left.

Panic flooded through Alex. She had to move and fast. Did he say they would
all
go for a swim? That would mean her too. Geez. She ran up the stairs to bribe the boys into staying inside for a while.

* * *

Jay couldn't wipe the grin off his face as he crossed his yard and headed to his front door. This was the most excited he'd felt about meeting someone in a long time. She was a smart ass and disorganized and she came with two challenging kids, but she was adorable, and he couldn't wait to see her again.

* * *

Alex checked that the boys were engrossed in a video game, and then she headed to the bathroom. If it was possible that she was going to actually put on a suit, she was going to have to do some general maintenance. It had been a while.

She turned the taps on and squirted some bubble bath into the water. She was lucky that this main bathroom had a bath. It'd be nice to soak in a relaxing tub when she was finished. There was a full length mirror in there as well, one that she hadn't used for a long time. Oh well, she may as well take an honest look at herself, so she could see what she actually looked like in a bikini. After stripping naked, she turned to look in the mirror. Good God! Just as well she hadn't felt too hot and bothered down there in a while. She could start a forest fire. General maintenance nothing, she needed an overhaul. She'd never shaved before, but she used to get waxed when Steve was alive. After, well, she just hadn't bothered. Luckily, her sister had insisted she buy some supplies just in case. She gathered the things she needed from the cabinet, put them on the shower ledge, and then went to stand in front of the mirror again. Damn. Why couldn't she be taller. When you're taller the weight kind of spreads out a bit. Doesn't get so concentrated on your ass and thighs. She really needed to go on a diet. Still, she wasn't going to be able to lose her love handles in a couple of hours. Back to the forest—at least she could fix that.

What exactly should she do about it? The whole hog or a landing strip? Hmm. She really only needed to neaten up what would escape from her bikini bottom, but while she was there she may as well get a little creative. She'd seen pictures online the other day. A heart would be pretty, she thought with a smile.

The lid on the ladies’ new can of shaving cream was a very pretty pink, she'd thought when she bought it. Shame they'd worked more on the color than making the lid actually easy to come off, though. She pulled, she tugged, she did everything but throw it at the wall. No dice. The lid was stuck on so tight, it was never going to move. She could use soap, she thought. This though, was specially for the job, and she didn't want to take any chances, not down there. She dumped it down on the counter with irritation, and it was then that an arrow caught her eye.

“Oh, you turn it,” she said with a scoff. “Why didn't they just say so.” She squeezed a liberal amount of delicate foam into her hand and spread it all around the area she was going for. She propped one leg up on the ledge in the shower stall so she could get the scary part out of the way first before she worked on the artsy portion. Satisfied that she was clean down there, she turned on the shower and rinsed.

Now for the difficult part. It would be hard enough to draw a heart upside down on a piece of paper with a pencil. Trying to shave a heart in overgrown pubic hair that was gummed up with shaving cream was like trying to mow a heart with a lawn mower on a snowy mountain. Impossible. How were you supposed to see what you were doing anyway? Alex wiped off the cream to have a look at her efforts and sighed. That was the saddest looking heart she'd ever seen. It would detract from her wide ass maybe, but not in a good way. Another handful of shaving cream and a new razor and she was finally squeaky clean. She'd forgotten how good it felt to be so free.

Her freshly shaved pussy tingled as she sank down into the warm bubbles. She lay her head back against the back of the tub. Wow. Why didn't she bathe more often. It was always a quick shower in the morning or one before bed. This was divine. She picked up the sponge and ran it over her body. Her nipples tightened, and excitement flooded through her as she ran the sponge across her chest, across her navel, and down between her legs. She dropped the sponge and allowed her fingers to explore her freshly shaved lips. Her clit swelled and hardened under her exploring fingers. Tiny frissons of pleasure rippled across her rapidly heating skin.

She closed her eyes and pictured her husband's face. He was there, but he wasn't right there like he'd always been. She squeezed them shut tighter and tried again to conjure up the vision of her husband. The naked one that always came to mind when she lay in her big bed alone at night. The one that she thought of as she brought herself to a lonely climax, when the house was silent. That one. She couldn't see it. Steve's face was there, and he was smiling, fading, changing. She blinked her eyes as her fingers flicked at her now swollen nub. Her senses were on hyper alert, waiting for the vision that always stirred things up. Nothing. She closed her eyes and sighed, and there was another image. Her breath caught in her throat and blood rushed to her lady parts, and they began to thump wildly as her fingers worked furiously of their own accord.

She was standing between Jay's firm thighs. His leg hair was tickling her flushed skin, and he was frowning at her. He was displeased. He was lecturing her, but she didn't know why. She looked down and watched as her fingers traced a path along the edges of his cut-off jeans.

Jay's hand slapped her bottom hard, and she pulled her hand back. “Pay attention,” he said sternly.

Her tummy flipped, and she felt his fingers on her upper arm before he bent her over across his knee. His hand left a sharp tingling impression even through the denim of her shorts, and she sucked in a breath as she waited for his hand to fall again.

Alex was shocked. Where had this come from? But she didn't care at this point. She ran her fingers over each of her nipples as the other hand circled her swollen nub with long, slow circles…

She yelped as Jay's hard hand smacked her left bottom cheek. “Oh!” she gasped as he followed it up on the right. Then it started. It was all she could do to catch her breath as the hard spanks bounced off her wriggling backside. She kicked and she squirmed and did everything to get off the hard knee, but she was held tight. His heavy leg had swung over to hold her two legs in place.

She didn't understand it, but her body was racing. With every imagined smack her body felt a jolt of pleasure, and her breathing quickened. She was going to cum, and she couldn't stop it. She didn't want to stop it, but she didn't want the fantasy to end. She wanted more.