A shorter chapter, just to keep everyone going whilst the next few chapters are tidied up!
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I can't recall much about going home that night. I was on cloud nine and must have cycled across town on autopilot. On waking the next morning, I spent a long time lying on my bed, staring at the ceiling and trying to reassure myself that everything had been real. It had all been over in less than two minutes, but that drunken blow job was already the absolute highlight of my life. Period. Of course, now it was the morning after and there would be consequences, even if it wasn't me who initiated things. You can't shoot cum down the throat of your favourite aunt without consequences.
I wouldn't typically go anywhere near the bookshop on a Sunday, and I certainly wasn't keen on contacting Sue until I had to, but by mid-morning I had received two texts from Aunt Sue suggesting it would be good to speak. At least the second text finished with 'Strong Coffee Provided Xxx' which seemed to suggest she wasn't going to go completely off the wall with me, which was some comfort.
When I got into the flat, Sue seemed to be more anxious and sheepish than anything. Any vain hope I had that she may have forgotten the details of what happened in a fog of whiskey evaporated as soon as she opened her mouth.
'Hey Jack... about last night ... ... I am SO sorry. I can't begin to forgive myself for what I did.' She blushed like a beetroot. 'I can try to blame the alcohol, but that's not really a full answer.' She paused for a little while, with just the hint of a tear forming in her eye. 'I guess I've been a lot lonelier since Mike died than I've admitted, in every way, and, ... well, you've been such a great help, and ... I feel like I've spoilt everything.'
I didn't have anything immediate to say to this, so I just sat quietly for a minute, drank a bit of my coffee, and then finally said 'I don't know what you have to be sorry about. I understand that you are lonely, but you must realize that last night in the bathroom was the most exciting moment of my life. 100%... I know it was just a one-off thing, and maybe it was because you had all that whiskey, but it was ... just amazing ... and I will always be happy whenever I think about it.'
'Don't...'
'Don't what? ...Don't talk about it ... or don't remember what happened? I'm not sure that will ever forget a single millisecond. I know that I can't talk about it, ever, to anyone. Does that make you feel more comfortable? But I can't forget something so mindblowing.'
She stared at me, continuing to blush, and it was her turn not to know what to do...
'Shall we hug and move on?' I said, which seemed a bit of a daft suggestion but was the only thing which sprang to mind, so that is what we did. It was a very proper hug, one that anyone in the family could have watched (the sort you might safely give your Aunt, I thought, with a private smirk). It was a little awkward, but I suppose that's the best you could expect.
'Right then' she said decisively 'I better get my ass in gear and move over to Fairpark sooner rather than later, don't you think? Especially if I ever want to risk having a glass of wine or two safely!'
I helped her put bags into the car (she was taking about half her wardrobe) and talked about one or two more practical arrangements concerning the bookshop. Sue gave me the company credit card to buy what was needed, and confirmed that a salary had been set up direct into my account. 'I'll only be about 20 minutes away by car' she said, 'but I do trust you to run things as best you can and make a real go of things in the coming weeks.'
Just as she was about to go she came over and gave me another hug, this one less formal and a lot tighter. I found myself breathing in the smell of her hair once more. I gently kissed the top of her head. However awkward things felt, I guess we had moved on to a further stage of intimacy, although now we would be sensibly far apart for several days at a time, I guessed for the foreseeable future.
I spent the next few hours wandering around the flat, trying to get my head around all that had happened and what my next few weeks might look like. In just a few weeks I went from a confused school leaver to living alone and running a bookshop. So what next? Top of my list had to be getting CCTV put in, and not just because Sue had asked me to sort it...