A. Jacks - Two-way Lust

She felt hot tears mist her eyes, but wiped them away, refusing to cry. She was a big girl. She knew that the past two nights had been nothing but an opportunity for sex for the both of them. She had enjoyed it. Wasn’t that enough? It was, she told herself, but why did she want more than just a weekend of balling?

She glanced around the apartment, remembering. It seemed so empty, even more lonely than before Phil Howard had first stepped foot within her door. She hugged herself, suddenly feeling chilly.

Get off it kid! You’re acting like some schoolgirl who’s just lost her virginity and feels abandoned when the man leaves her, she chided herself. It did help.

A knock came at the door. Melinda jumped, startled. Again the knock sounded.

Trotting into the bedroom, she grabbed a robe from the closet and wrapped it around her. The knock came persistently again. She trotted back to the living room and opened the door.

“Phil!” she almost cried aloud, warmth and joy flooding through her.

“Sorry I left so early,” he winked. “But I had this great idea and it couldn’t wait. Did anyone ever tell you that you’re beautiful when you’re sleeping?”

He pushed into the apartment, carrying two suitcases. She stared at him, unsure what was going on.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

“Moving in,” he said. “That is if you’ll have me. All my things are down in the car. Susan and Jace thought I was crazy as hell.”

“Moving in? Just like that, you’re moving in?” She couldn’t believe this was happening. “Mr. Howard, I haven’t even asked you. You don’t just up and decide to move in with a woman without asking her.”

“Why not? Is there a law that says this and that formality must be observed between a man and a woman who love each other?” he asked. “Besides you can always kick me out if it doesn’t work.”

“Has anyone ever told you that you’ve got a weird outlook?” She suddenly realized what he had said. “Love?”

“Yes, didn’t I tell you?” He looked at her with big, green innocent eyes. “I love you.”

She stared at him with her mouth open, then began to laugh. By all rights, she should be fuming and raging with anger. But she didn’t find an ounce of anger anywhere within her. “I don’t know if I’ll ever adjust to your style.”

“Don’t try to. I don’t have one,” he chuckled. “I guess this means you’re not throwing me out on my ear then.”

“No, I don’t know why, but I’m letting you move in,” she said, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss. “I’ll probably regret this, but I’ll never know unless I give it a try.”

“Good,” he said. “And by the way, I want to marry you.”

She laughed again. “Phil, I’m not sure whether to take you seriously. One thing I am sure of is that if this lasts only a week, it will be one week filled with surprises.”

He just grinned and kissed her again. “Now, I’ve got to finish unloading my car, then I’ll get that carburetor kit and see if I can get yours running again. And I do love you, and I am going to marry you.”

She laughed as he walked back down to the parking lot, that funny-looking grin on his face.

Two months later, Melinda Tuning stood before a justice of the peace and vowed to take Phil Howard as her husband, until death did them part.

“Hey, stranger, over here.”

Susan looked around the student union cafeteria. She found Phil alone at a table. She smiled and went over and joined her brother.

“We’ve got to stop meeting like this,” she said coyly, “or your wife will begin to suspect.”

He chuckled. “What about Jace? He’s a big man… not someone I’d like to have call me outside to protect his wife’s virtue.”

Susan grinned. “Well, how’s it feel to be an old married man?”

“Better than I ever expected,” he answered. “I must admit your sister-in-law is one hell of a woman.”

“I wouldn’t know,” Susan said with a shake of her head. “I never get to see her anymore.”

“Yeah, I know,” Phil replied. “That’s why I asked you to meet me here today. What’s it with Melinda and Jace?”

“Phil, I don’t know.” Susan looked at her brother, concern in her eyes. “I wish I did. They used to be so close. Now they act like they’re embarrassed to be around each other. It’s like there’s a ten-foot thick wall between them.”

“Yeah, I know. I don’t like it,” Phil said. “I like both you and Jace and I like being around you, but whenever you invite us over for dinner, Melinda finds some excuse to get out of it.”

“The same with Jace,” Susan said. “The way he acts, he couldn’t care less whether he ever saw Melinda again.”

“Are you sure it’s not me?” Phil said.

“Yes, Jace has said several times that he couldn’t ask for a better brother-in-law. I think he’d really like to be friends with you,” Susan continued. “But Melinda is in the way.”

“I don’t understand it. They are both terrific people,” he said. “I think we should do something to get them back together.”

“Got any bright ideas?”

“I don’t know how bright it is, but I do have an idea that might work,” he said.

“Let’s hear it.”

“Okay. I’ve got this friend whose parents own a cabin up in the mountains. It’s near a ski run and there’s a heavy coat of new snow on the slopes,” Phil explained. “I’ve got the use of that cabin this weekend.”

Susan smiled. The setting sounded perfect. Jace loved to ski and he needed a weekend’s vacation. “Brother, you sound like a genius.”

“I know,” Phil answered with a grin. “If we are going to pull this off, we are going to have to be very careful. Now this is the way I think we should…”

Susan listened, nodding her agreement with every sneaky step of his plan.

CHAPTER NINE

Cabin did not describe the luxurious split-level home that Phil’s friends had provided for their weekend holiday. Four bedrooms, an, immense kitchen, three baths and a large den complete with fireplace provided enough space to get lost in. It was more than either Susan or Phil expected.

However, the chill filling the cabin was something they hadn’t expected. It was the type of chill that a roaring fire couldn’t dispel.

“I think we blew it, brother,” Susan whispered to Phil while they checked out the kitchen facilities together.

Phil glanced at Jace and Melinda in the den. The brother and sister sat on opposite sides of the room, not even bothering to make small talk. “I thought it was a good idea. I guess I thought wrong. Those two act as though they’re complete strangers.”

“Jace is steaming,” Susan said. “I shudder to think about the way he’s going to explode when we get alone. He realizes that you and I brewed this up.”

“Perhaps we should have told them before coming up here?” Phil mused.

Susan shook her head. “If Jace had known you two were going to be here, I’d never have gotten him out of the house.”

“Any suggestions?” Phil asked. “If those two don’t melt the wall of ice between them, this weekend will be a total disaster. And dammit, the slopes are too good to waste them.”

“Agreed,” Susan replied, walking to the refrigerator and opening it. “Mmmmmm, looks like someone is going to have to make a trip down to the village store. We haven’t got any breakfast food.”

“I’ll go,” Phil said. “Better get to it before the roads freeze over tonight.”

“Nope,” Susan answered, a smile on her lips. “You and I will go. Maybe if we leave Jace and Melinda alone for a while they might be able to get things worked out between them.”