Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2013 19:15:36 -0700 (PDT) From: J M Subject: The Return Home - Chapter Three I'm not really sure where this story is headed, or if it will continue at all. Your feedback, as always, is much appreciated and encouraging in the ongoing writing of my stories. This is a work of fiction, created by me for your enjoyment. It's about sex, and, hopefully, more. Jm08nyc@yahoo.com CHAPTER THREE I could feel myself being watched. I was in the attic of Nan's house, aka "the Third Floor," leaning against a window and watching the English countryside unfold before me. I heard a little tap behind me and turned to see the smiling face of my niece, Holly. Conrad's older daughter, we celebrated her eighth birthday last week in classic Anderson style—an unnecessarily large, but incredibly fantastic party. Some might have thought it uncouth after Nan's recent death, but the party planning had begun weeks ago and Nan would've wanted it this way. She loved a good party. I scooped Holly up into my arms and flipped her over my shoulders, "what I have said about sneaking up on people, Little One?" Laughing, and kicking, I let her down on the floor. "It's dinner time, Bandie, Uncle Cooper asked me to come upstairs and find you." And with that she took my hand and led me downstairs. I'm not sure who started the nickname Bandie, but it somehow occurred around the time Holly's older brother, Jon, was born. Ben Anderson, Bandie. Who knows, but somehow it stuck. *** The beauty of summer – days that stretched on for ever, fading ever so gently into the night. I was laying on a lounger in the backyard of Nan's house. We had decamped from London about a week and a half ago, the day after Nan's funeral, and had been hanging out in her country house ever since. It was at this house that we often spent the Christmas holidays. And most of my memories of it involve evergreen trees and twinkling lights. It was different in the summer. Different, but good. "Hey doll," Cooper said slowly from behind me, walking out from the great room into the garden. It must've been after nine pm, and Conrad and Ally were upstairs somewhere putting the kids to bed. It was weird living with them, and Jenny, and Mom & Dad. All of us under one roof. Aunt Joanie had been here through the weekend, and had gone back to London for a few days to catch-up on work. The rest of us avoiding, however possible, a return to reality. Cooper slid down next to me on the lounger, and I made room for him, his head falling on my chest and my arm slipping around his shoulder. "Sweetheart, I know you don't want to, but we have to talk about what's next... I have to get back to work. Before they forget that I work there and stop sending me a paycheck." I ran my fingers through his hair. He had fantastic hair. Great curls. I leaned down and kissed the top of his head. "I know... I know... I'm sorry we've been away so long." "Listen..." he started and stopped. For Cooper, the talker, to be sparse with words meant something was up. "I've been thinking. What if you stayed here for a couple more weeks? You can setup shop here at the house. The kids are off of school, so you'll be able to spend your days with them—they love you and never get to see you. And, I think it would be good for you to spend time with Conrad and Jenny." "But, without you here..." "I know, but I can come out on the weekends. I'll do four days in the office in New York and then fly out here for the weekends. It's not ideal, but it's not like we haven't done long distance before. And, we can make it work." I pulled him tighter into me. Not wanting to let him go for a minute, much less a week. Sighing deeply, I closed my eyes, and lived in the moment. *** "BANDIEEEEEEE!!!" I heard Tim shouting at the top of his lungs from somewhere upstairs. "Bandie, it's Coop! On the phone, Bandie!" Tim was Conrad and Ally's youngest—all of four years old. And he was a talker. "Thanks, kiddo!" I shouted back, and slipped into the nook under the stairs to pick-up the downstairs receiver. "Hi honey," I said quietly, "I'm happy you called." "Babe! I got your text – I'm sorry you've had a rough day – what's happening?" "It's just been a long day, I guess. Although I didn't really do much, except answer emails from bed. I spent a lot of time in bed." "Go on..." "Will you just talk to me? I just want to hear your voice... talk to me about your day, read the newspaper, just talk to me, Coop?" "Of course, bear..." and with that he was off and running. Talk, talk, talking away. I slipped down into the chair, put my feet up on the table, and just let him talk away. *** "HARDER, COOPERRR! Harddeerrr!" It was the middle of the week, the middle of the day, I had the house to myself, and I took the opportunity to get into some hardcore phone sex with my husband, thousands of miles away. I was panting, sweating, as I laid spread eagle on the bed, two fingers deep in my ass, pounding my own hole as Cooper's breath got more and more ragged on the other end of the line. "I love you, I love you." I moaned into the phone, nearing my own orgasm. I pulled my fingers from my hole and started pumping furiously on my shaft, feeling it grow harder and thicker as I neared my climax. "Fuck me and fill me!" I shouted into the phone. "I want to cum when you do!" And before I knew it he was screaming through the phone that he was cumming, and I let my own orgasm fly, the cum shooting far and hitting my abs, chest and face. I could feel it dripping down my chin. I licked it up. Fuck. That was good. It had only been three days since I had seen Cooper. But I found myself unusually horny this week. "I love you, darling," I moaned into the phone as I finished licking the cum from my fingers. *** "Benny, can we talk?" Conrad had knocked on the door and let himself in without waiting for a response. It was Friday, just after breakfast, and I had come back upstairs after eating with him and Ally and the kids. "Listen, kid, how are you?" He said, sitting down on the bed across the room from me. "I know it's been a tough six weeks, but it you can only spend so much time holed up here." "I know, I know. I need to get back to the office soon, anyway, there's only so much I can do from here. But, I'm not sure I'm ready yet." "Ben, I talked to Cooper yesterday, we booked a return ticket for you to go home with him after this weekend when he's here. We'll drive up this afternoon and meet him at Heathrow and spend the weekend in the city with Jenny and Ally—the kids will stay here with Mom & Dad. We'll have a little showdown like we used to—get up to no good. Jenny wants to introduce us to her new man, anyway." "Conrad... I can't believe you bought a ticket without talking to me." "Consider it a little brotherly kick-in-the-pants. We all know how hard it's been for you—we all knew that you were Nan's favorite. Not in a bad way, just in the way that people have natural favorites—you were always sympatico. We don't begrudge you that. But, we are a little worried about you." I sort of just sat there, staring at the floor, not really sure of what to say back to Conrad. Of course, he was right. Conrad usually was right. And he was in a way that was gentle and kind. I just shook my head. Yes. Of course. "Conrad... I guess, just... thank you. It's been so good being here with you and Ally and the kids. And all this time with Mom & Dad. It's been a good transition after Nan's death I guess. And, I know that if nothing else, we need to do this more often." "You got it, bud." Conrad said, lighter now, and punched me lightly on the shoulder. "Get packed, we'll leave about 9am." *** I hadn't really slept in weeks. I had come home, as everyone had suggested, and gone back to work—as I knew I needed to do—but, there was still something nagging at me. I lay there in bed, my arms wrapped around Cooper, feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he slept deeply. I, on the other hand, was wide awake, staring out into the darkness of our bedroom, catching the hands of the clock on the bedside table tick away. Cooper's body, radiating heat like a furnace, meant that I didn't need the heavy blanket, and it laid doubled-over on Cooper, just a light sheet covering my legs. I closed my eyes tight. Trying to will myself to sleep. Hoping that tonight, unlike the ones that preceded it, would hold something different for me. *** The beat of the music kept me company as I looped the reservoir for the second time. Cooper had to fly to Seattle for work, so I had dropped him off at the airport around 5am and came back to the city feeling like I might be turning a corner. There is nothing like a sunrise or a sunset over the Manhattan skyline—a truly wonderful way to greet the day. I picked up the pace as I headed into my third lap, attempting to get four in before I had to call it quits and get ready for work. Nan's death was now almost nine weeks ago, and I had started sleeping better, started eating better... hell, started eating again. The thing about Nan was that she was always the one I'd talk to when I didn't know what to do. Conrad was always there for the perfect bit of advice, Ally was always the pragmatic one, Jenny led with her emotions, everyone in my life played a part and would offer an opinion when I needed it, but at the end of the day—when I was faced with the really tough decisions—it was more often than not Nan who I would turn to for guidance. As my feet fell against the gravel of the trail I thought about the story Cooper shared with me in the car that morning at Heathrow about his first memory of her. She was so important to our relationship. When Cooper and I been together about six months he got a job offer on the West Coast, one that was hard to pass up, and we had to decide to pursue a long distance relationship or split up. It was agony, but it was Nan who encouraged, guided and prodded us to stay together – she saw through the short term that it was the right thing for us to be together. And, eight years later, she was right. That's what I'd miss most about Nan, the wisdom. *** I checked my texts when I got home from my run – there was just one new one, from Jenny: "Reading of will has been scheduled for next Tues; they say you don't have to be here in person. LMK what you decide." Fuck. With that the feelings of the last few months came flooding back. So much for turning a corner. TO BE CONTINUED.