"Jenny, Alex will be here in about 30 minutes, are you ready to go?" My mom was nagging me again. I told her I was packed and just waiting in my room scrolling through my phone. My mother had been unusually uptight lately.
She startled me coming into my room saying, "You know, I don't approve of your uncle. He's just so...so..."pervy," I guess, is the best way to put it. Be careful around him...you know he likes to pinch butts and look down tops!"
It's the same warning she gives me every time my uncle Alex comes around. She could probably hear my eyes rolling. My mom is such a prude! I'm turning 21 in three weeks and heading back to my 3rd year of college shortly after that. If I can handle drunk, flirty, handsy, and horny college guys, I can certainly handle my 54 year old uncle. Truth be told, I wish more men would try to handle me...in the two years I've been away at college I don't have as many notches on my bed post as I would like.
"Uncle" Alex married my mom's youngest sister (my favorite aunt), Katherine, a little over 10 years ago. He is almost 13 years older than she is and they are both a little wild and crazy. I know that he looks down my tops and up my dresses, and checks out my butt whenever he can. It really isn't any different than what happens to me and women everywhere every day. It's a fact of life. I first noticed him doing it when I was home from school freshman year for Thanksgiving. I was barely 18 then and it made me pretty self conscious. It's happened at every family gathering since--escalating to copping a feel or leaning into me as he squeezes behind me, etc. I know he's devoted to my aunt Katie and she to him. They appear to have a very solid marriage. I believe the flirting is harmless and opportunistic. Honestly, if I didn't like it I would just tell him to stop.
Maybe that's the problem, if I'm being honest, I do like it. A lot. Alex is quite handsome. He's fit and exudes a confidence that is very sexy. I like the attention. It gives me a small thrill, even if he is my uncle. It makes me feel desirable, sexy even. The sensory memory of his touch is still fresh in my mind days after seeing him. Just this past Christmas we locked eyes when I looked up to catch him looking down the top of my dress. He held my gaze for the briefest interval as a knowing smile curled up the corners of his mouth. He broke the eye contact with a quick wink and went to fetch a drink. I felt like he had peered into my soul. That conspiratorial wink and smile often flash in my memory when I resort to my fingers and a vibrator to satisfy myself on dateless Saturday evenings.
I am unlucky in the love department. Or perhaps I'm unwilling to play the "game." Or maybe I just intimidate guys my age. It's not that I don't attract guys. It always seems that one or two hit on me when I'm out with my friends. A liquored up college dude isn't often a safe bet for GOOD sex, and then there's that awkward morning after part that never goes smoothly. I know that I'm attractive, I just wouldn't say that I'm beautiful. I played travel volleyball in high school, but at 5'6" I don't really have the height to play in college. Like many others, I suffered the the "freshman fifteen," so my weight is up to about 155, but I think that gives my 34c boobs a nice full shape. I prioritize my studies and am a little introverted, but several stops before shy on any introvert/extrovert spectrum. I find it challenging to randomly chat up college guys. I've had a string of "encounters," none that moved into anything emotional or lasting. The sex with most of these guys was ok. One or two stick out as being way better than the rest.
That brings us to this week. The family was planning a late summer trip to Alex's family cabin for some lake fun, hiking, and general relaxing. It was to be me and my parents, Aunt Katie and Alex. My mom's other sister would be there too if she wasn't out of town with her husband and their children. My mom asked if I wanted to ride up to Alex's cabin with him a day early to help him get it ready and make sure it was clean after a summer of renters. I said no at first but then I flashed on that wink and the smile. I texted Alex and told him I'd love to help him ready the cabin. That was Tuesday, today is Friday and I'm almost buzzing in anticipation. Alex asked me to be ready by 8am as he wanted to get on the road before it got too hot and before the Friday getaway traffic started. I was passing time with TikTok and didn't notice that it was nearly 8:40 am when my mom let me know that Alex was here and ready to go.
I tossed my bag in the back seat and settled into the front ready for our 3 hour drive. I asked Alex what had made him late. He explained that he arrived at 8, but that he got caught up talking to my mom. They had a cup of coffee and he said he needed to give my mom directions to the cabin (for like the hundredth time--she has absolutely no sense of direction and doesn't trust my dad's abilities to navigate either) in case they get lost. She never seems to remember that there is cell service where we're going and a small town with a grocery store and gas station just about 20 minutes away. Alex said they had some other coordinating to do about food, etc. before we could hit the road.
Anyway, now we were mountain-bound and my anticipation began to grow again. I had chosen a blue flower print sundress and some cute sandals for the car ride. The loose sundress allowed me to get comfy. A strapless bra under the halter top provided some nice cleavage for Alex to ogle whenever he felt like it. If my mother knew what was going on in my head, she would think I was a slut.
Working our way out of the city and onto less crowded highways heading toward the mountains, we chatted and caught up. I filled Alex in on life at school, told him that I was beginning to focus on upper division courses for my major and beginning to contemplate graduate school. He told what he and Aunt Katie had been up to. Normal convo for people who haven't seen each other in a while.
Something felt off. I couldn't figure out what it was. Alex seemed stiff and awkward with me in the car. He was all business: eyes on the road ahead, not once stealing a glance at my cleavage or the hem of my skirt which I was gradually inching up my thighs. I asked Alex if everything was alright, and he said it was, that he was just trying to focus on the road. I wasn't buying it. I turned slightly in my seat and slipped my air pods in and started a podcast on my phone. My head was in overdrive trying to analyze his actions, my reactions, everything! Had I misread the flirting? Did I imagine that wink and smile? Where was the man who made my cheeks flush with a glance or brush of his hand? I felt very out of balance.
The rest of the drive was more of me listening to a podcast or music on my phone between trying to figure out where and why things had turned south with my formerly flirty uncle. I was so very confused. We stopped for lunch at a diner in the small town near the cabin and arrived at about 1:45pm.
Alex's family rents the cabin on AirBnB when they aren't using it. Being the end of the summer, the cabin had been rented out fairly continually over the past two months. Despite having a cleaning service after each renter, the house needed some work to get it ready for family. We put away all the rental linens and broke out the soft sheets. We checked the hot tub and made sure the chemicals were right. We found several phone chargers and charging cables that had been stranded by families trying to get out by the noon check out time. We did a deep clean of the bathrooms.
It was hot, hard work I had not particularly dressed for. My sundress was beginning to cling to my legs. I was covered in sweat and a bit of grime from the dusty mountain breeze. We finally finished and it was time for dinner. Alex said he would head into town to get some items for the grill and suggested I take a soak in the hot tub before my shower. I had packed my swimsuit and a few other essential items in my small bag, but most of what I needed for the week would be coming with my parents tomorrow. I submitted my shopping list--mainly ice cream and cold beverages--I assumed it would be burgers for dinner and went to change for the hot tub. Alex left for the store.