by BrettJ © 2012
Hunter walked past the room where Barbara was sleeping. The light was pouring in and it was promising to be a beautiful day, yet Barbara was still sound asleep. During the night, she must have kicked off the covers and Hunter now saw that his lovely niece slept without a stitch covering her gorgeous body.
She had arrived late last night, at first full of smiles and hugs. The tears had followed shortly after. Barbie knew that she could talk freely to her uncle about anything because he had always been her best friend and confidante. She was completely honest about the real reason her mother had sent her to live with her uncle.
Hunter Wells knew that he shouldn't be looking at the naked body of his niece and he still couldn't stop. The simple fact of the matter was that he was in love with Barbie and he had been for the past several years. 35-year old uncles are not supposed to be in love with their 22-year old nieces.
Love
them, yes – but nothing more than that.
He and Barbara had always been close and she had been, and was, an affectionate child. Barbie always had smiles with lots of hugs and kisses for everyone. It hadn't been a problem when she was little, but as Barbie entered her teens, she started becoming cute. By her late teens, cute was still there but now there was a large helping of sexy in the mix. When she would cuddle close, Hunter would have to restrain himself.
Libby Miller never quite understood the relationship between her younger brother and her oldest daughter. Still, she supported it. Hunter was the only one Barbara would listen to. If he gave her advice, Barbara always took it.
"He gets me, mom," Barbie would say. "He doesn't treat me like a kid because I'm petite and he doesn't put down my ideas." In a like fashion, Barbie supported her musician uncle in several ways. She loved his music, so she helped to get him booked in several places she knew around town. She had helped him find work as a session musician and his reputation was building. The pretty strawberry-blonde had even helped him find DJ work to offset the slow times. Hunter was now earning a very nice living and much of it had come from her abilities. So when Libby asked if Barbie could live with him, he had not objected.
Looking at her now, he wondered if he should have. Good God, she was incredibly lovely. Peaches and cream skin, those blue eyes, that beautiful face and round, perfect breasts that also melded with a lovely body and wonderful derriere. There wasn't any part of her that wasn't perfect and when she talked, he listened and hung on every word. He loved the kittenish-yet-husky sound of her voice. When she had arrived last night in a pretty pink blouse and white mini skirt, Hunter was certain his voice had broken like it had when he hit puberty.
When he got Barbara to confess the reason for her move, it all came spilling out. "She doesn't like any of my friends or my lifestyle," she said as she wiped away her tears. "Mom's been a real bitch since she and Daddy started seeing that marriage counselor. I know she isn't happy in her marriage, but does she have to make my life hell, too?"
Libby had often told her younger brother that Barbie was too much of a "wild child". Hunter knew that in Libby's mind, that could only mean one thing – Barbara was sexually active and she disapproved. He tried to reason with his sister. "For God's sakes, she's over 18 and lovely," he told Libby. "Of course she's going to have sex." He didn't think it prudent that he tell his sister he envied each and every one of Barbie's paramours. He wondered what Barbie was like in bed. Was she a talker? Was she vocal? What was her favorite position? Did she like to dress up or role-play? Barbie consumed him and having her here wasn't going to make it any better. He headed downstairs and poured some coffee. He didn't have any commitments until tomorrow, so he would spend the day with Barbie when she woke up and help her acclimate. Moving so far from home, she'd had to give up both of her jobs. That was another thing that bothered Hunter about his sister's attitude towards her daughter. Barbie was not lazy; she worked two jobs and contributed to her parent's household. She informed her uncle that she intended to do so living with him as well. Barbie was industrious, working at both a florist's and a well-established lingerie boutique plus going to night school twice a week.
Hunter heard a commotion and then footsteps on the stairs. He turned around and saw her descending. Barbara was wearing a gauzy blouse and snug black shorts with heels. She didn't like her height, although Hunter told her she was the perfect height for her body. He had told her she was perfect ever since she could remember. "Oh, that coffee smells like heaven," she told him as she poured a cup. "I think I could still go back upstairs and sleep for another 10 hours," Barbie said.
"You were pretty drained when you crashed," Hunter nodded. "Don't worry about doing much of anything here for the next few days, just settle in."
"I've got to find a job, Uncle H," Barbie said. "I have to pay my share of the bills. But you're right, between the fight I had with mom before I left and spilling my guts to you last night, I'm drained."
"Fight? You didn't mention a fight with Libby, what happened?"
"Oh, she got on my case just before I got in the car about pulling my weight here, doing my share of the work, helping out, not intruding in your life, just more of her shit on the pile," Barbara said as she sipped her coffee. "I don't intend to be any burden, Uncle H. If I'm being a problem, you'll tell me. I'll even clear out when you bring Karla home," she smiled.
"You're way behind the times kiddo, we broke up six months ago," Hunter spoke of his last girlfriend. "You couldn't ever be a burden, you're my best friend – remember? This is your home now too, you treat it as such. If there's anyone you're seeing, feel free to ..."
Barbie shook her head. "No one serious, there were a few people I hung out with when I lived with the folks," she told him. "I can't believe your rotten luck with women. You're tall and dark and you sing like a dream and you're funny, plus you cook and make a mean cup of coffee. What girl wouldn't want that?"
"Well, if your mom's opinion is to be believed, we must have that in common," Hunter laughed. "If you don't have a steady boyfriend, all the men where you lived must be blind." He didn't want to voice the thought in his head – the woman he wanted most in the world was now sharing his home. Seeing her earlier on had only cinched that opinion in his mind. It would be wonderful having her here every day. It would also be slow, agonizing torture every time she brought home a potential suitor.
He spent the next few days with his lovely niece, enjoying the sunshiny pleasantness of her company. Hunter had been without female company for far too long and quite enjoyed having a girl around the house. It didn't hurt that Barbie very much enjoyed being a girl and dressed the part. She was always feminine and lovely, not once in the first week did she wear anything that made her look scruffy. Even when she was running to the store to get groceries, she dolled herself up. Hunter thought about telling her how much he appreciated her looking so nice all the time and then he thought better of it. She might not understand his intentions. To be honest, neither did Hunter himself.
Hunter knew only
one
thing – he was gaga about his lovely niece. She was so pretty and feminine and so attentive. Barbie's smile could brighten his day. He found himself thinking about her during the day and even composing little ditties about her. It didn't help matters much that he knew what she looked like naked. It was not just that one time either, Barbara slept with her door open and usually managed to have most of the covers off by the time morning came. He tried to resist the urge to peek at her, but it was futile. He was just glad that Barbie wasn't an early riser. He would look at her for a minute and then smile his wistful smile before going downstairs to make the coffee. Usually he would be on his second cup before the bleary-eyed beauty would make her way down to join him. Most often, she wore only a robe and it wasn't tied too tight. He almost wanted to curse because the object of his desire was ever-so close and he couldn't do a thing about it.
After about two weeks, Barbie had managed to find a part-time job at another lingerie boutique, much like the one she had worked at when living with her family. She liked the staff and the store and Hunter was happy for her. He joked that she'd get lots of free samples and she gave him a curious look at that. Barbie told him she intended to find a full-time job and her uncle told her that it wasn't necessary; she was doing more than enough to help by organizing his files and booking him some gigs. She smiled and hugged him as she went off to work. When she came home one night, she was all smiles and sunshine. "I have a date tomorrow," she told Hunter.
