This is my first short story, constructive criticism is welcome.
***
It was a gorgeous day. The sun was out, and a steady breeze blew inland off the ocean, cooling the red backs of sun bathing tourists. I had taken the doors off my Jeep, hoping a drive along the beach road would clear my head.
My girlfriend Erin and I had broken up the previous night after another one of our fights. This one felt different though, as if the wind that was blowing in was bringing change. I felt completely drained and tense. Not only had Erin and I been fighting, but we had not had sex for weeks, and the sexual buildup was almost making me sore. No amount of jerking off to moaning pornstars came close to the great sex that I had with Erin. Either way, my life had been once again been torn apart and I needed a rebound. As I pulled into a beach parking lot, my prayers were answered.
My phone rang from under a pile of junk on my passenger seat. Swearing at it, I searched for the phone, only to find an unlisted number calling me. Ready to yell at some sales guy, I swiped the screen and held the phone up to my ear.
"Hello?" I said, waiting for a sales pitch.
"Hey Scott, it's Kaitlin." Her voice wavered, as if she had been crying.
Kaitlin was an old friend of mine. She had lived a few houses down from me when we were children and we were almost inseparable as kids. As teenagers, her father had received a business offer that took them out of state. We still talked occasionally, but had lost contact as life grew more hurried. Just hearing the sound of her voice cheered me up.
"Hey Kaitlin! God, it's been forever. How have you been?"
"Yeah I know, I lost my phone and all my contacts. I've been trying to get in touch with you but you didn't answer and I gave up until now."
"Well shit, if I had known it was you calling I would have picked up."
"Don't worry about it. I need your help." She was getting short with me, and her voice wavered even more. Something was wrong.
"What's the matter? Where ar¬¬-"
"That's what I'm calling you about. I'm back in town. I can't afford to pay my bills; my power has been shut off and I may be evicted."
Kaitlin had made it clear to me in the past that she no longer talked with any of her family. Moving back here must have meant she left all her contacts back home, and she was clearly lost.
"What can I do?" I asked.
"Can you pick me up? I only have a couple of bags, I just need a place to stay until I get back on my feet." Her voice broke and she stopped talking.
"Text me your address, I'll be over there as fast as I can."
"Thank you" Came a weak reply.
"Katie?" I asked.
"Yes?"
"Thank you for thinking of me when it mattered."
I heard her sigh into the phone, "Thank you for being there for me Scott."
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I pulled up to Kaitlin's house just as the sun was beginning to set. The house was an off yellow, paled by the sun, with weather beaten decking wrapping around two levels, joining to form a staircase that lead to the street. It was a nice place, exactly the kind of house I would expect Kaitlin to have. Kaitlin was already out on the stairs, sitting with her bags, and came running down to meet me as I steered the Jeep into her driveway.
"Thank you so much!" She said, barely giving me time to get out of the Jeep before barreling into me to give me a hug.
"It's nothing." I replied, wrapping my arms around her, recognizing the smell of the citrus perfume she always wore. "Let's get going before it gets dark. We can talk on the way to my place."
"I don't have much." Kaitlin said, breaking the hug and looking up to me. "But, can we stop at the store on the way to your house? I'll buy you some whiskey."
I looked up and grinned at the mention of our favorite past time as I threw her last bag into the Jeep. "Yeah, that sounds great."
______________________________________________________________________________
Kaitlin sat on a bar stool, spinning herself side to side as I cleaned dinner dishes in the kitchen. We hadn't been together in so long that I was worried that there would be awkward conversation, but it was like she had never left. I wanted to know everything that had happened to her, and she told me.
She and her parents had a falling out after she had decided to drop out of medical school to become a teacher, and had moved back to the area in search of cheaper living and work. After talking about getting her a job, Kaitlin moved the focus of the conversation to me.
I vented, telling Kaitlin about my off-and-on relationship with Erin, and sexual frustrations that came with it.
Kaitlin was a fantastic listener, staying quiet and only speaking to lighten the mood or add insight to the conversation. She agreed Erin was in the wrong, which lightened my mood considerably. During the conversation, Kaitlin kept shooting me looks, especially when I mentioned my sex life. Something had changed between us and I wasn't sure what. She was a different person, not exactly the old Kaitlin.
"I'm going to pour us some drinks," Kaitlin called, reaching into the cupboard where I kept my whiskey, "You okay with that, Mr. Chef?" She teased, pointing at my apron.
"Fuck you." I called back, drying my hands and taking off my apron, before sliding onto the sofa in the living room.
Kaitlin came into the room, placing the tumblers on the glass coffee table and filling them to the brim. "Cheers," She said, flopping down onto the couch opposite me, "Here's to Scott, for being a fantastic human being."
I raised my tumbler, and drank to myself, smiling inwardly.
As Kaitlin leaned forward to pour herself some more to drink, I thought about what was making her seem so different. Maybe it was the way she was dressed. Kaitlin was model-type pretty. She was about 5'9", with long, straight brown hair, freckles everywhere and a body that models would kill for. She only had on a T-shirt with a bikini bottom. No bra, no surfer shorts, nothing else on at all. Not that we had ever cared to watch what we wore as kids, we never had thought about each other as more than brother/sister type friends.
But now, watching Kaitlin lean over to fix herself a drink, I found myself thinking of her sexually. Maybe it was Mr. Daniels kicking in, or my breakup with Erin. I couldn't help noticing the way her nipples stuck out against her shirt. The way her thighs clenched as she downed a drink, a gracefulness that hadn't been there when we were teenagers.
"So we're both on a dry spell, huh?"
"Dry as the desert." I fished out the T.V. remote from between the pillows, flicking it on.
