Marlene craned her neck around the doorway as she finished putting in her earrings. "Don't forget, Tiff will be here soon, and she's bringing her new boyfriend."
Steve grimaced, "Sure thing. I'm almost ready." as he thought to himself that Tiffany was a great kid, but she sure managed to date a collection of losers. He wondered how long this one would last.
Marlene smiled, "I saw that. Be nice. She feels bad enough tagging along on our anniversary dinner."
He turned to her, grabbing her by the waist for a quick kiss, "I'm almost as fond of your cousin as you are. She's a great kid, and she's always welcome here. You know that. But, she's too smart, funny and pretty for the losers she dates. Almost as smart, funny and pretty as you." He gave her another quick kiss as the doorbell rang.
Marlene pranced off in the little black dress that she wore whenever she wanted to smash whatever self-control he had to tiny, insignificant pieces.
She opened the door to see her cousin standing there, in a matching little black dress, visibly upset. "I'm sorry, the prick just dumped me."
Marlene ushered her younger cousin inside and hugged her. As Steve came into the foyer, Marlene hit him with her 'fix this' stare.
As always, Steve marveled at how two cousins could look almost like identical twins. Marlene was shorter, just under 5 feet, with a body that a surgeon would have killed to have had a hand in, with shoulder-length brown hair and the softest brown eyes. Her cousin was a fair bit taller, but the differences ended there.
Steve reached out and touched Tiffany lightly on the shoulder, "Hey, kiddo. It's going to be all right."
Tiffany said, "I hate that I'm ruining your anniversary dinner. Why don't you two go ahead without me?"
Marlene shook her head nearly imperceptibly, and Steve replied, "Don't be silly. I'll cancel the reservations, and we'll grill some steaks, and have some wine here. It's the people you're with, not the place that matters."
Marlene's eyes smiled at me, as she mouthed, "Thank you. I will make this up to you later."
The girls set to making a salad and sharing some wine, as Steve grilled them two steaks, and himself a burger. He preferred his meat closer to well-done but was astute enough to realize that was a nearly unforgivable culinary crime. As he cooked, the girls drank some wine and whispered and giggled conspiratorially among themselves.
The three of them sat down to a delightful meal and the girls quickly settled into a light-hearted conversation, and the mood lightened. After dinner, the girls both lit cigarettes and playfully blew smoke at Steve when he rolled his eyes at them.
Marlene suggested changing into swimsuits, just as a flash of lightning followed by a thunderclap struck. She laughed, and said, "Ok, bad idea. Netflix and chill?"
They settled down on the couch in front of a forgettable romantic comedy, with the girls on either side of him, drinking more wine. They both lazily rested their heads on his shoulders, and after a while, he said, "Hey, you're cutting off my circulation. No one freak out. I'm going to raise my arms and put them around your shoulders."
Marlene laughed, "Don't worry, Einstein. I'm not worried you're going to put the moves on my little cousin right in front of me." Tiffany squealed with laughter, and Steve blushed.
The movie soon came to as forgettable a conclusion as it had begun, and Marlene stretched and yawned, "Wow. The wine is hitting me hard. I think I'm going to have to go to bed."
Tiffany, rose, wobbling a bit, and said, "Time for me to get out of your hair. Thanks."
Steve said, "No you don't, kiddo. You're not driving if you can't stand straight." He held his hand out for the keys.
Marlene chimed in that she was welcome to use the guest room, she took Tiffany by the hand, and whispered in Steve's ear, "Thank you for this. You are going to get so lucky in a few minutes." She then guided Tiffany upstairs.
Steve lingered behind to clean up, and then went upstairs to prepare for bed as well. He undressed in the master bathroom, brushed his teeth, and walked into the bedroom, totally naked.
He jumped back when he saw both girls sitting on the bed, grinning at him. He tried to cover his erection with his hands, and both girls rose from the bed, sliding the spaghetti straps of their dresses off their shoulders, so they drifted unnoticed to the floor.
