It was 6:15 pm when my doorbell rang. I wondered who could possibly be at my door as I was not expecting anyone. I was just reading the delivery menu for the Chinese restaurant I liked but had not ordered yet. I pushed aside the window drape to peek out and groaned. It was Rachael, my eighteen year old next door neighbor who was about the last person on Earth I wanted to see right now.
I decided to ignore her and turned to walk away. I got no more than a few steps when the doorbell rang again. This time three times in rapid succession followed by her knocking and a loud voice that demanded, "Open the door, Naomi. I know you are home."
I surrendered to the inevitable and opened the door a few inches. "This is not a good time, Rachael. I'm busy."
"Sure it is." Rachael countered. "Mom called and said she'd be only a little late and would be bringing takeout home for dinner. Since I don't have to cook supper, I have an hour and a half of free time." She shoved the door open and pushed past me. "I hope you aren't too busy for me."
"It doesn't look like you are getting ready to go out or anything," she continued. "In fact it looks like you are getting ready for bed even though the sun is not even down yet. Cute outfit! Are those your jammies?" she asked with a grin as she looked me up and down, making a point to stop and look at my hard nipples.
I shook my head in denial which was a lie as I'm sure she realized. I was not ready to go to bed but I was dressed for comfort in the privacy of my own home so I wore sleeping attire. Most nights I slept in the same thin t-shirt I was now wearing that did nothing to conceal my nipples which seemed to be perpetually erect lately. The shirt only came down to my hips so I generally wore it with a pair of panties.
As it turned out, this evening I had selected the wrong bottoms, a pair of pink satin-like shorts that were super comfortable. They barely covered my butt cheeks which meant that while I was fully covered standing up, sitting down could be a problem. The legs were loose enough that my pussy could easily be exposed if I had no panties. No way could I wear them out in public. They were designed to be worn in a private or intimate setting. Thinking this was a non-issue tonight, I had decided to go commando.
"I slipped this on when I got out of the shower a few minutes ago. I was about to change and go pick up something to eat." I said, adding to my fabrication. "I'll go put on some jeans. I'll be right back."
"Naomi, you should know by now not to be untruthful." Rachael said softly. "You did not get out of the shower JUST a few minutes ago. Your hair is not the least bit damp, not even on the fringes around your face and I know you would have got it wet when you washed your face. I'm guessing you removed your makeup and showered shortly after you got home over an hour ago." Was the girl making note of my comings and goings?
"Plus you have these flyers from the Iron Wok open on the coffee table with your credit card out of your wallet, so you intend to order delivery. Right?"
I'd been caught so I did the right thing and said, "Well, yes. I guess it has been a little while since I finished getting cleaned up. I was planning a quiet time alone here at home. I certainly was not expecting to have anybody over."
"Well, I am not just anybody, am I?" she asked sweetly. "And like I said, I love the outfit. It is pretty hot, especially with those high beams you have going." I know I blushed, which made her grin widen.
Rachael was twelve years younger than my thirty, but her brazen, aggressive attitude put me on edge. Her calling me out for my pair of lies made the situation worse.
She was definitely her mother's daughter and displayed the same bold attitude. I got along well with her mother Kathy now after a rocky start when I moved in nine months ago.
I got on Kathy's bad side the very first weekend I moved in. My housewarming party was far too loud for her taste. There was far too much alcohol induced rowdiness. She came over twice within the first four hours of our partying. The first was because of the music that she claimed was rattling her windows The second time was when two of the male guests decided to 'fertilize' the rose bushes in her front yard with urine. I was still sober enough to concede my guests were out of line and shut down the party soon after. My contrition saved my relationship with the woman.
Ours were the only two houses on our side of the cul de sac. A wooded area bordered our back yards so there were no neighbors behind us. I apologized again the next morning which barely mollified her anger. She warned me the next time it happened she would call the police.
I never threw another party at my house. Over time we became friends. I'd help her and Rachael mowing and edging both our lawns on the weekends. On occasion we would invite each other over for dinner especially on the weekends and sharing intimate details of our lives, slowly became close. She was only eight years older than me but seemed to be more of a mother figure than peer.
At least a dozen times over the past several months I had to go over and ask either Kathy or Rachael to drive me to a bar, night club, or friend's house to get my car after a long night of drinking way too much to drive and having to take a taxi or Uber home.
They knew that even with a good job and decent income, I lived paycheck to paycheck. I never could follow Kathy's simple advice to stay ahead. She once showed me her income as a lesson in how to budget. She made about the same as me and had a teenage daughter to feed and clothe yet was putting money away into savings while I struggled to make ends meet.