Chapter 2: A Day At The Beach
Introduction: For all who wanted a sequel; enjoy and comment.
rutger5 An Original Story (Copyright 2011)
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I'd just merged onto the highway after leaving the airport when I felt my cell start to vibrate. Hitting the gas I accelerated before signaling and switching to the center lane. Freeing my cell I managed to glance at the screen and saw that I'd received a text message from my niece Jessica. I felt a smile come to my lips as well as a lower, baser reaction.
Dropping my phone in the empty seat next to me I continued driving towards home. It was the tail end of rush hour but thankfully there were no major delays so I was able to make good time. Within the hour I'd left the highway and fifteen minutes later the Explorer was parked in my driveway.
Closing the front door I was struck by the stillness of the house. After walking to the kitchen I poured the final cup of coffee from the pot. While sipping the hot liquid I opened the message from my niece. Unlike many of the messages I'd received from her in the past two months this one was brief and to the point.
[Uncle Mark, am going to the beach today. U wanna come.]
I sat and stared at the words until the screen went blank and my coffee was cold. The hell with it I said to myself while standing. Quickly I went upstairs to my bedroom. I shook my head on seeing the bed neatly made and covered with the bedspread. That fact cemented the decision in my mind. Opening the closet I removed a small duffel bag and tossed it on the bed before opening a drawer and starting to remove some items.
Fifteen minutes later I was back on the highway and approaching the bridge. Once on the other side I kept my eyes open for the parkway sign and soon was speeding south. I raised the volume on the radio as London Calling blasted from the speakers and felt the air from the open windows rushing past my face. Being a Monday morning, traffic was light and with no distractions my mind drifted back to the previous week.
"It will only be for three days dear. Most people with my title aren't even invited to attend so it's important that I show up to prove that I deserve to be there," Diane had told me.
On the surface that statement had made sense. However, then certain assumptions had to be accepted. First, that it was necessary for my wife to keep clawing her way higher up the corporate ladder. Diane was already quite successful within her company and between our combined salaries we were far from hurting. Two, that there were no other motivations involved. I knew for a fact that my wife's supervisor was attracted to her. I'd been at too many company parties not to notice the looks he would give her when he didn't know he was being observed.
I believed Diane when she said he had never said or attempted anything inappropriate with her. Still his eyes didn't lie. Then there was the fact that he was a workaholic and that it had ended his marriage and now he was trying to push her to always work later and take on more responsibility. It was like he was trying to encourage her to be a female copy of himself.
She had listened when I had made my points to her. Her face even softened when I suggested we go for a weekend getaway or at the least stay Saturday night in a nearby hotel with her still going to the conference Monday. Diane told me I was sweet but we would have to take a rain check because she would have to spend too much time preparing for the conference, not even taking into account how long it would take her to plan her outfits. On that score I knew she was correct. It could take Diane hours to pick out an outfit with matching accessories. So I resigned myself to the fact she'd be going.
Then on Sunday night I attempted to get romantic with her but she had gently rebuffed me due to some work on her presentation needing to be finished. The fact that she wouldn't be home until late Wednesday night didn't come into her considerations. I had done something two months earlier that I shouldn't have but I'd avoided any further temptation since despite constant offers and truth be told a desire on my part that I suspected might consume me. The fact that Diane had found time to make the bed in the morning but not mess it with me the night before had triggered the floodgates to my repressed desires.
Pushing thoughts of my marriage from my mind I considered the fact of who I was heading to meet. What we'd already done was forbidden by society in general and if any family had discovered what we were up to it would provoke World War III. So instead I remembered our morning of passion and her declaration of love for me, as well as the memories I had of Jessica from when she was a cute, little girl up to her morphing into a beautiful, sexy, young woman. In my mind I knew we were wrong, myself more so than Jessica. She was blinded by love, forbidden love, but love nonetheless.
What was my excuse for flying down the parkway? Lust for her hot, eighteen year old body? That much was obvious. Perhaps as turning forty approached I was vainly trying to recapture my lost youth. But I also loved her. For the first eighteen years of her life I'd loved her as a beloved, favorite niece. And now? Was I letting my little head think for me or had the hours of contemplation and a few long phone conversations with Jessica opened up a new possibility. That I loved her as I always had but with an added dimension of loving her as a woman with all that entailed. I wasn't sure but I hoped to discover the answers.
It had turned out to be a beautiful day, weather wise. There were only a few clouds in the sky and they were fluffy, white, and looked like cotton candy. The temperature was in the eighties and it was early afternoon when I drove across the bridge over Barnegat Bay and pulled into a public parking lot just off the ramp. Next I got into the back seat and fished into my bag. Since this was a Diane free day I decided to go full bore. I lit up the joint and took a big hit. This was one of my old bad habits she didn't approve of and consequently I rarely partook since we'd met. Every now and then when I got together with old friends I would fall off the wagon. A little over a week ago I'd met up with an old crony and he'd left me with a parting gift of some fine buds. After smoking half the joint I put it out in the ashtray, put on my sunglasses and climbed from the vehicle.
I started walking the three blocks to the boardwalk enjoying the summer day. The block before the boardwalk I passed a water park where I enjoyed the sight of many women of all types in their swimwear but none I felt could hold a candle to her. Feeling like some liquid refreshment I sauntered into the first boardwalk bar I encountered. I ordered a beer from the barkeep and drank it down at the bar before ordering another. With this one I sat at a table and took out my phone and texted Jessica.
[Hey Jess are you at the beach now?]
I continued to drink my beer but I received her reply before I could finish.
[Of course I am. Wait a sec.]
As I finished my beer I got another message with an attachment which I opened. There was a picture of Jessica on the beach in a blue bikini with the amusement pier in the background. I had to laugh as I could see the pier from my seat in the bar.
[You look great. Do you want to meet up?]
[Of course. Where r u?]
[I'm sitting in Jimbo's Bar and Grille on the boardwalk.]
[No way]