For the longest time she had a hunch about her first cousin appearing to possibly have some interest in her. The thought disgusted her, but it was legal where they lived. Her aunt and uncle hosted every major holiday gathering - especially in the colder months. It was this particular season that notice was made, almost in oblivion prior to this year. Sometimes changing for work in the past working at several upscale bars downtown and sometimes being dressed for the occasion seems to be the leading factor. But the part of intent was still a mystery. As it happened the next family gathering, commercial Christmas, was relatively close to the other and she likewise dressed for the occasion.
These family gatherings weren't glamorous in any way, but it suited her style to be mid-range fancy just short of semi-formal. Thinking that she now knew what was transpiring with her cousin, she was contemplating how to deal with the situation. This was going to be a delicate situation and there were a lot of moving parts. What if she's wrong and it was all innocent? What if he gets offended? On the other hand, what if he's a psychopath? Maybe he's lonely? Or needs the attention in that way? How she was going to work around the logistics seemed too complicated.
"There's a great idea," was a thought that was not uttered very often since moving into her new home. Julie Lebedeva was a material girl, pretty good for a first generation European not coming from wealth. But at 30, she was going places. She was surprisingly single, and it was inexplicable really considering her long brunette hair to match her brown eyes, for a 36C-25-34 medium-tall young lady. To match her materialistic style, at least some makeup was commonplace even for a family gathering like Christmas eve. Not that she ever needed it. But here came December 27th and not having plans for New Year's eve and still planning to dress up even if celebrating at home while possibly waiting to go out with friends.
Like most ladies her age, she was glued to her phone often. But this new idea of hers prompted her to pick it up and send a text. ``Hey, you busy Friday night?`` A couple minutes came to pass. ``Celebrate at my house?`` A modest proposal for not giving away details. Then came the response ``Oh... sure, why not?`` Part two of this idea was now taking shape. ``Great, be here for 8:45.`` He had not been to Julie's new house yet, so it probably added a reason for him to show.
Garrett Borriello was pushing six foot two, dark blond hair, brown eyes and a goatee. To be honest, Julie probably wouldn't have objected to him if he was actually trying to make advances if they weren't related. He wasn't exactly a heartthrob, neither a nerd nor a jock, but still fairly attractive in his own right and still was being checked out by the random onlooking girl and periodical flirts during his scholastic days. Likewise first generation European but not Italian strangely. He'd been in all of one relationship that didn't last too long but was longer than anyone had thought because he wasn't really about that at that time. Unlike Julie, he decidedly so was single. But he was an old fashioned kind of guy who wanted to have something to offer, though on the extreme side. This decision from high school graduation had only recently seemed to start to weigh on him, but if it was, you couldn't tell.
Unfortunately for him, he wasn't catching the breaks professionally and hadn't in the seven years since finishing his undergraduate degree. Now at age 32, he had some things going for him, but not the most important ones. His advancement in the companies he had worked for either weren't possible because it wasn't in his field, or the ones that were kept managing to lead to dead ends. By now, he was working for the local town recreation department. The frustration was likely setting in. He seemed to come to a point where he needed someone to divert his attention for a few hours of the day. Especially since earlier in the year, he discovered about his only ex's wedding on the day of the ceremony. He didn't have feelings beyond a year after they split, but he was curious how they both got to where they were at that point in their lives.
As 8:40 pm approached on Friday night, Garrett pulled into a parking spot on the quiet street. You might never have known this neighborhood existed in the middle of an otherwise busy part of the city. He even brought a housewarming gift for his cousin, having yet seen the place. Towels were customary in Eastern European tradition as a sign of good hospitality. Not expecting anything in particular, Garrett only arrived with a shirt and tie to accompany a pair of slacks with a belt. Standard. He had been known to look snazzy without needing an occasion. This was not one of those in his mind, anticipating both of his cousins and some of their friends.
Julie opened the door as he was beginning to ring the doorbell. Garrett was amazed to discover it was just him. No other cousin, no friends, no dates. They were alone. They greeted each other and Julie took the towels and placed them on the landing. She immediately led them into a partially furnished parlor in the rear of the home turning off the lights in the front room but leaving the lights on in the kitchen and dining room. They chatted for a few minutes before the meat of the conversation came about.
"Hey, I have something to ask you," Julie began.
"Okay?"
"Why are you such a pervert?" The perplexion visible on Garrett's face was notable.
"Come again?"
"I know that you take unsolicited pictures of me at family gatherings on your phone, I don't care that I'm fully clothed."
"What makes you think that?"
"You know it took a while, but I've got you figured out."
"Alright, if you think your so smart then spill." It was almost as if Garrett pulled Julie into the station for questioning. He tried to spin this back on her seeming paranoid rather than him being awkward.
"I don't know how many years, but at least five I'd guess. I've only really noticed since the two most recent gatherings including the other day."
"Oh?" he was going to try and psychoanalyze her even if she was right.
"You always wind up in the same room as me within a few minutes, especially when we're alone."
"Please, even if I were, how would you know? You have your phone in your face so much you hardly interact with any of us most of the time, and even if we were, how could I possibly get away with it at that high frequency with almost 40 other people around. It's not like our house is that big." He had valid points.
"Come on now. It isn't like you need that long to do what you need to do. I'm sure you have fantasized about it all to some degree. In fact I'll go even further so as to say you have a tights fetish considering the two family functions I hadn't worn them, you were almost nowhere to be found."
This wasn't a shouting match, but the tension was starting to feel like it was. Garrett let out a sigh. "Alright, alright. I'm guilty on the last part. But nothing more." It was Julie's turn to be in shock. She wasn't bluffing, but it was a big risk to blow that up.