In spite of feeling lousy about the girl, Jeff slept well. The sun was already chipping away at the smog when he woke in the morning and rolled out of bed. He showered and shaved, then dressed and threw his clothes into the suitcase, snapping it shut and carrying it with him when her went down to breakfast.
What the hell had the girl figured? What had made her so mad? Women…
He ate in the hotel coffee shop, then tossed his bag into the back of the Chevy the garage attendant brought around. It would take him half an hour to drive to his sister's house. He should have called her last night, except he knew she'd insist he come right out; and he hadn't felt up to the questions and answers that would entail. Edythe was a good kid, but she could never forget that she was 'big sister,' a role that she'd been playing since they were kids. She was forty-eight now to his forty-five, and even though he hadn't seen her for seven years, he knew she'd still have all kinds of remedies for whatever ailed him. She'd want to throw him into an active social life, fill his hours to take his mind off his troubles.
Maybe that wasn't so bad. Maybe it was even the reason, or part of it, that he'd called her and told her he wanted to come down for a few weeks. He needed a change of pace, he needed to get his mind off his troubles and get back in the swing of things. Like he'd needed that girl last night.
Edythe had married a man almost twenty years older than herself. Larry Sommerfield was a broker, and he was rich. Plenty of bucks, enough for a big house in the hills above the city, one of those canyon places with plenty of privacy and room for a tennis court and pool. Edythe and Larry had three kids, all girls. The twins were fifteen and the younger girl twelve. They'd been-babies the last time he'd seen them. All cute kids, but kids nevertheless. He hoped Edythe had gotten around to the motherly task of teaching-them how to behave. On Jeff's last visit, all three of them had been brats he could have cheerfully dropped into the pool.
The street hadn't changed at all except that the trees were bigger, the hedges thicker. All the houses were set far back from the road that wound and curved under an arch of greenery. Many of them were bordered by fences or high brick walls under lush ivy covers. It was a quiet residential street that smelled like money.
He turned his Chevy into the long, sloping drive that led to Edythe's house. The house was set on a knoll overlooking the street and valley below, unseen from any angle. It was a prime piece of property that Larry Sommerfield had bought during the Depression when he was first starting out in business. He'd held onto it and watched it double its worth a hundred times over, and when he'd married Edythe, they'd built a French chateau type house on it in which to raise their family.
Jeff always felt as if he was visiting royalty when he arrived at the front door. He parked the car under the huge carport and climbed out, leaving the suitcase until later. It made him feel like a peddler to arrive with it in hand. Edythe always chided him that he should leave such things to her servants.
He rang the doorbell, and was surprised at the lengthy wait before the door opened. Then it was not the solemn-faced maid he expected but an incredibly lovely girl with rich blonde hair and startling blue eyes. She stared at him frankly, her red lips slightly parted.and moist. She was wearing a very brief halter and skintight shorts. Her bare shoulders and arms seemed to emphasize the hard swell of her young breasts against the thin cloth, and he could see the tips of her nipples outlined at the peaks.
His gut churned with sudden heat. Christ, she was gorgeous, and he'd be horny in a goddam hurry if she kept looking at him that way.
'Hi,' he said. It was hard to get the word out past his dry tongue.
'Hi.' She ran a pink tongue over her lips and waited for him to speak again.
'I-I'm Jeff Clausen, Edythe Sommerfield's brother.' Was this a servant taking advantage of Edythe's absence to dress so casually, or maybe even to entertain a friend inside?
For a long moment the girl stared at him, then she smiled. Her teeth were perfect and white, the smile downright inviting. 'Uncle Jeff,' she said.
That stunned him. 'You're-'
She giggled, and suddenly seemed much younger than he'd thought her at first. 'I'm Sally.'
'Sally!' One of the twins? But they were kids. He shook his head. 'I don't believe it.'
'Well, I am.' She pulled the door open and stepped back, half leaning on it and thrusting the ripe young tits out hard. 'It's been a long tune since you've seen me. I guess I've grown up some.'
He stepped inside. The house was cool and the hall dim. He was glad that the filtered light hid the flush of his cheeks. 'I'll say you did. My God! How old are you now?' Maybe he was wrong about the ages. Time went fast.
She shrugged slightly and the young breasts jiggled under the halter. He forced his eyes away and back to her face, but she had noticed his quick glance. The smile on her lips curved sensuously.
'Fifteen. Most people think I'm older.'
'Yeah, I'll bet.'
That made her laugh again, and she grabbed his hand. 'You're going to stay awhile, aren't you?'
'If your mother will let me.'
She snorted. 'Mom doesn't care. What the hell, she's hardly ever around. I think she's screwing some guy and it keeps her plenty busy.'
It shocked Jeff to hear this child talk that way about her mother, his sister. Edythe had always been so straight-laced. Maybe the kid was putting him on. He glanced at her sidelong but her face was serious. She was pulling him through the house.
'Come on, let's go out back by the pool. I was just having a Coke. You want one?'
'No, no thanks.' He let her pull him along, and' he watched her tight jiggling ass under the shorts. If the pants were any shorter, her whole crotch would be exposed, and if they were any tighter, she wouldn't be able to move. As it was, they looked like they'd been poured on. He found his mouth had gone dry and it was hard to swallow.
The bright glare of the sun against a wall of windows hit him. They'd gone through the hall, past a huge living room and on the other side a dining room with a table big enough for a banquet and a crystal chandelier that probably would cost him a year's salary. He'd seen it all before, but it still impressed him.
They were in a rumpus room then, and beyond the glass the blue pool glittered in the sun, There was an open Coke bottle and a bag of chips on a small table and a large beach towel was folded at the foot of a chaise lounge. Sally had obviously been sunning.
She let go of his hand when they got outside and flopped onto the chaise. She grabbed the Coke and swigged some of it down, then munched on a chip as she adjusted the back of the chair so she could lie flat. Grinning at him, she lay back, the firm girl-woman tits poking upward like twin peaks of a mountain. The shorts rode up between her legs and Jeff stared at the dark smudge of hair he thought he saw there.
Sally flipped her long brown hair so it sprayed out behind her head and closed her eyes. 'Mmm, I love the sun,' she murmured. 'Now, tell me about yourself, Uncle Jeff. Mom says you got a divorce. What happened?'
He didn't quite know what to say. A kid questioning him about his recent marriage breakup seemed awkward, but he couldn't quite put himself in the role of stern uncle and reprimand her. Not with the things he was thinking right this instant. He was thinking very un-avuncular ideas, to say the least. She raised one knee, and he was sure he was seeing a 'bit of pubic hair. He felt a twinge in his private parts and tried to force his mind to less dangerous channels.
'Just one of those things,' he said. 'It happens.'
The girl squinted at him. 'Was she good in bed?'
'I don't think that's any of your business,' he said, trying to sound angry but not succeeding.
She shrugged and reached behind her neck to untie the halter strap. She lay back again and tucked the string under the cloth, leaving her neckline bare so she wouldn't have sun streaks.
'I read that sex is the cause of most divorces. I was just wondering.'
'Where is your mother?' It was safer to talk about other topics.
'Out.' She laughed softly. 'She won't be back for a long time, after supper I expect.'
'Oh.' The news stirred him and he was pleased.
She squinted at him again, her face solemn. 'Do you swim?'
'Sure.'
'Wanna go In?'
'My suit's in the car.'
