Family Friends

The glasses clinked, the sun shone bright, and the crisp rosé flowed on Kate Prescott’s luxurious back terrace. Down the steps of the Spanish style mansion, the gigantic pool glimmered brightly in the mid-May afternoon. Summer was almost here. The weather would have been perfect for swimming but Kate and her old friend Jennifer Burnett were busy. They hadn’t seen each other in a couple of months and desperately needed to catch up.

“How’re you holding up?” Kate asked, filling Jennifer’s glass nearly to the brim.

“You know, the worst is over. Slowly getting back to normal, whatever that means.”

“Yeah? Is Brent finally out of the house? What’d he end up doing?”

“Ah, don’t even start with him, Kate!” Jennifer said laughing, with a hint of frustration. “Yeah he moved out about 3 months ago to Florida with his little bimbo secretary. I don’t really know or care too much anymore. All I know is that I got the house, our son, and most of his money.”

“Well cheers to that girlfriend!” The two women clinked glasses and downed the wine like it was water.

“What about everything else,” Kate continued, “How’s your job? Been on any dates? You gotta get back out there you know. And looking as good as you do, I bet all the men are salivating at a chance to take you out.”

Jennifer smiled tentatively, uncomfortable with her friend’s frank praise of her looks. She had felt so unattractive the last year as the divorce had been underway, even though she knew deep down it wasn’t true. The gym had been one of her saviors during the worst parts of the divorce, and unlike her ex-husband, she had not put on a single pound of stress-weight. Even though she was 48, almost 49, she had never looked better. 5’7, 125 pounds, her body was fit and taut. Indeed, a disproportionate amount of her weight came from her massive natural breasts that were 32dd’s on a good day. She was undoubtedly hot for any woman, let alone a woman of her age, and she knew it. But she just hadn’t felt like it recently.

“The job is fine. I’ve been putting in more hours than usual just because there hasn’t been too much else to do. It’s been good to get my mind off the divorce and everything, you know? Of course, the Foundation always needs more stuff done, so they’ve been happy to have me around a little more.”

“Jen I really don’t give a shit about the Family Foundation,” Kate said laughing. “Tell me about the good stuff. I want to hear all about your dating life!”

Jennifer smiled uncomfortably again. She was glad Kate was her friend and she didn’t know what she’d do without her. But, Kate could be awfully direct sometimes.

“It’s weird. I just joined a dating site and it’s pretty awkward. Lots of ugly older guys hitting on me, sending me lewd messages and stuff like that. I just want an actual connection with a good looking guy. Is that too much to ask for?”

“Oh sweetie, yeah it probably is!” Kate laughed.

“Anyways, I went on one date a couple weeks ago. A corporate lawyer. He was very sweet and he was in pretty good shape, but he was bald. It wasn’t really going anywhere you know?”

“I’m sorry sweetie,” Kate said, grabbing Jennifer’s hand and simultaneously refilling her wine glass. “It takes a lot of dates to meet someone! You just have to keep trying.”

“I know, but I’m just not really ever in the mood. I don’t remember the last time I felt really sexy and confident, or even just really desired.”

“Jen, did you look at yourself in the mirror today? I mean, come one. If anyone is not allowed to say that, it’s you.”

Once again, Jennifer knew her friend was right. She was in a strapless white tube top and her long, dark brown hair fell across her bare shoulders seductively. The tube top was tight and left no mystery as to the size of her breasts. Neither did her dark washed jeans, which put the entire shape of her perfectly formed ass on complete display. This was a compliment Jennifer could finally take some pleasure in.

“Since there are no men in my life, I at least wanted to impress you, Kate.” The women roared with laughter and refilled their glasses again.

This time it was Jennifer’s turn to change the subject.

“So how’s Robby? Did he graduate?”

“Oh, so nice of you to ask. Well, first off, he goes by just ‘Rob’ now. And yes he did. Highest honors too, would you believe?”

“Of course I believe! He was always one of the smartest kids in school. That’s why he got into Dartmouth in the first place. And Rob, huh? What prompted that?”

“I think he thought it sounded a little more grown up. I tend to agree with him.”

“It’s been years since I’ve seen him,” Jennifer interjected. “I just remember him as Little Robby, who was always so sweet and nice. Will he be back home at all, or is he just jumping right into work? I suspect he’ll be back in New York City for a job after all those Wall Street internships, right?”

“It has been a long time since I’ve seen you, if I haven’t told you about this!” Kate exclaimed. “Actually, Rob didn’t really want to go to New York. Said he wanted to come home and be closer to his family and friends and actually save up money. So he got a pretty good job locally as an investment analyst down at Western Trust Bank. He started last week but has just been living with us for the time being. He’s actually out looking for apartments and condos right now, so I think it’ll only be for the next couple of weeks until he can move in someplace.”

“Wow, no way! That must be so nice for you and Bill to have him back in the house for a bit and close by. I just wish Andy had his act together as much as Robby, I mean, Rob,” Jennifer said with a mock apologetic tone.

“Speaking of kids, has the divorce been hard for Andy?” Kate asked.

“Yes, that’s what both he and my therapist claim. They both say that he needs more time and space and eventually he’ll figure things out, but honestly, I think he’s just lazy. He has been working the counter at Soft Scoop Ice Cream for almost 2 years now. Hasn’t even finished his community college degree. Soft Scoop even had an opening for a manager position a few months ago. I bitched and bitched at Andy to apply and after he finally did, they went with an outside hire! He’s so unimpressive he couldn’t even get a job as the manager of an ice cream shop. More often than not he’s just sitting in the basement playing video games. I really don’t know what to do, Kate.”

Kate felt bad. Their sons had been friends in high school. Both smart, relatively nerdy kids. But Rob had always had lots of ambition and applied to every Ivy League school and worked hard at putting together a good application full of extra-curriculars. Andy, meanwhile, had not, and languished in his mom’s basement while Rob went off to Dartmouth and Wall Street. Kate hadn’t realized how sore the subject was with her friend and poured her some more wine.

“Maybe it’s time for some tough love, then. Give him a moratorium on getting out of the house and finding his own place. Perhaps he needs more of a push than a hug at this point?” Kate suggested as kindly as she could.

“I think you’re right, but also, now that Brent has finally moved out, I’d be all alone in that house. It is still nice to have my baby boy around.”

“Maybe that’s part of the problem too,” Kate added, “why don’t you sell that house and move into a nice condo downtown. There’s more excitement and nightlife and single guys downtown than out here in the suburbs. Maybe it’ll force you to do more than come sit on my terrace once every few months!”

Jennifer smiled at the thought. It was actually a pretty compelling idea. She’d hate to live so far away from her friend, but really it was only a twenty minute drive from downtown to the suburbs. 30 minutes with traffic. Quickly the two women began making plans for what they would do if Jennifer invested in a bachelorette pad downtown.

“Think of all the live shows and bands they get down there that never come out here!” Jennifer said.

“And all the gourmet dining options and craft cocktail bars! So much better than the chain restaurants and strip shopping mall bars here in the suburbs.”

The two women went on and on, quickly breaking into their second bottle of rose for the afternoon. Jennifer felt the sun beat down onto her bare shoulders, the beginning of her summer tan. Between the sun, the wine, and her friend, all of a sudden her problems didn’t feel as pressing.

Both of the women had their substantial buzzes interrupted when a deep, booming voice called out from inside the palatial Spanish style house.

“Mom, I’m home! I brought some friends over to swim!”

Jennifer barely recognized the man who emerged onto the terrace.

Rob Prescott was in colorful, light blue and pink swim trunks that went not quite halfway to the middle of his thigh. His massive quads expanded, completely filling out the tight swimsuit. Rob’s quads were not the only muscles Jennifer noticed. He was wearing a pastel purple tee shirt that was tightly wrapped around his broad shoulders, thick biceps, and chiseled pecs. His light brown hair was closely cropped like a crown atop his 6’2 frame and his blue eyes glimmered as clearly as the pool in the hot afternoon sun. Rob was carrying a bottle of champagne and his friends filed behind him with sundry other alcoholic drinks. There was a petite blonde in a yellow bikini and a busty Indian girl in a red bikini each who carried a package of white claws, while a shirtless male friend had a twelve pack of beer.

“I closed on a condo downtown!” Rob excitedly told his mom, who had hopped up to greet him with a hug.

“Oh sweetie, that’s so great. Congratulations!”

“Yeah, me, Chris, Rosie, and Asha thought we would come over and celebrate. I hope you don’t mind. I didn’t realize you had company or else I would’ve texted.”

“Oh I think it’s fine, you remember Jen of course,” Kate broke off her hug and motioned to Jennifer who was still sitting.

“Robby Prescott, is that you!?” Jennifer asked with real shock. The Robby Prescott she had known was a skinny and shy bookworm who had played video games for hours with her son in her basement. Not this muscular, handsome man.

“Mrs. Pritchard? Wow you don’t look a day older than the last time I saw you!” Rob said, going in for a hug.

Jennifer nearly had her breath taken away when the two embraced. Rob’s strong arms engulfed her and his hands settled low on her back. The raw strength of Rob’s lat muscles arrested Jennifer as she moved her hands along his sides and towards his back. His chest felt as hard and immovable as a rock and she pressed her tits as firmly as she could into it.

“Well, I’m not Mrs. Pritchard anymore. Kate, don’t you tell him anything?” She asked sarcastically.

“Yeah mom, come on, you know I’d want to know if Mrs. Pritchard was single. I mean look at her!”

Jennifer felt her face flush red. This was not the boy she remembered.

“I might look the same, but you certainly don’t Robby,” Jennifer said, untangling herself from her hug with this 22 year old hunk. “College looks like it was good for you.”

“Ah well, you know, classes were pretty easy so I was able to spend a lot of time in the gym,” Rob said with a laugh. Jennifer and Rob’s eyes met and it was obvious they had both been checking each other out. Jennifer once again flushed red, while Rob shot her a playful smile, and walked over to the table to uncork the champagne without missing a beat. Rob popped the champagne to cheers from everyone, and introductions were made all around.

In order to stop herself from just staring at Rob, Jennifer kept her focus on Rosie and Asha. She was trying to figure out which one was with Rob and which one was with Rob’s friend Chris. Jennifer assumed these nubile, twenty-something girls would be immature bimbos but they were actually quite sweet.

“I love your top, Jennifer, where did you get it?” Asha asked.

“Jennifer, I care less about your top than your workout and diet. How do you stay in such great shape? You have to share your secrets.” Rosie chimed in.

The three women giggled while Rob and Chris talked to Kate near the table. As the laughs from the group of women got even louder, Chris chimed in.

“What’s going on over here?” He said loudly, “Am I missing all the fun?”

He grabbed Asha and Rosie by their waists.

“I know you both want all the secrets of how to look as good as Jennifer, but I’m tired of being left out and think it’s time we hop in the pool!”

Asha and Rosie squealed their agreement and all three of them jogged down the terrace steps towards the pool. Chris cannonballed in.

“Jennifer, you should join, come on!” Rosie shouted, before Asha pushed her into the pool. Any semblance of coherent conversation quickly died out as the sounds from the pool devolved into a cacophony of splashing, laughing, and shouting.

“Yeah, she’s right. Did you bring your swimsuit Mrs. Pritchard?” Rob said, walking up behind Jennifer at the terrace rail.

She turned around to see Rob smiling softly with two glasses of champagne in his hands. He handed one to her.

“You looked like you needed a refill,” he said with a wry smile.

Jennifer smiled back.

“I did, but I’m still not sure who Mrs. Pritchard is…”

Rob laughed.

“Oh I’m sorry, . Old habits die hard.”

It was her turn to laugh. As she did, she looked around the terrace and didn’t see Kate. She was all alone with Rob and her heart started to race.

“Where’d your mom go?”

“Oh she just went inside to make some snacks. She said you two had been drinking for a while on empty stomachs, and now that there were four 22 year olds here, she figured we could all use something to eat.”

“Well, in any case, cheers to you Rob. Congrats on the new condo and the new job.”

“Thanks Mrs. Pritch, I mean, Jennifer,” Rob said, catching himself, “but really I think you’re the one who deserves a toast. My mom just told me about how bad the divorce was but that you’d gotten through the worst of it. That’s way harder than anything I’ve done.”

“Aw, sweetie, that’s very thoughtful. Cheers to both of us.”

“Cheers to both of us,” Rob agreed. The two clinked glass and sipped their champagne at the terrace rail, watching the rest of the group frolic in the pool below. After a brief moment of silence, Rob broke in again.

“Maybe it’s for the best that you didn’t bring your swimsuit. I mean, Asha and Rosie were already jealous of how good you look. I don’t think they could’ve handled you in a bikini.”

Jennifer laughed, blushing yet again, amazed at the smooth forwardness of this buff 22 year old standing next to her.

“When did you get this forward with girls? I still remember when you were so small and shy that your nickname was “Little Robby.” I even recall one summer in middle school when you were over playing with Andy in our backyard and Nicole Anderson and, oh what was her name, Maddie Jones came over to play with you guys. Maddie tried to kiss you and you ran away and hid in the kitchen with me while I cooked you dinner!”

It was Robbie’s turn to blush with embarrassment. Jennifer flashed him a knowing smile, pleased that she had been able to turn the tables on him. But her victory was short lived.

“Even back then I realized I liked you more than girls my own age, Jennifer,” he said with a coy smile, his face still red.

“Wow,” Jennifer said with mock-seriousness, “even more than Asha and Rosie? I find that hard to believe, Rob.”

“Definitely more than Asha and Rosie,” Rob said laughing. “They’re fun but it’s nothing too serious.”

“Oh, and you and I are serious already, are we?”

Rob’s face flushed once again and Jennifer smiled playfully, glad she had once again regained the upper hand in their flirtation.

“No not like that, I didn’t mean…”

“What did you mean? You hardly know me, Rob. The last time I saw you was when? Your high school graduation party 4 years ago? A lot has changed.” Jennifer’s tone was deadly serious this time.

“In fairness to me, Jennifer,” Rob said, somewhat seriously, “you’d have to excuse me for thinking not that much has changed because you look exactly the same. If anything, I’m the one who has changed more. I filled out, met girls, lived in New York for a few summers, I have money and my own place.”

“Aw sweetie I know, I was just playing with you,” Jennifer said as she put a hand lightly on his bicep. “In fact, I was actually just complaining to your mom before you got here about how much things changed despite the divorce. I still live in the same big house. Andy is still working at the same ice cream shop and playing video games in the basement. I’m still working part time at the same job. I really admire you for how much you’ve grown up. It’s actually pretty hard and not everyone actually does it.”

“I didn’t mean to get defensive about it,” Rob said sheepishly. “I know how tough it has been for you. Andy’s one of my oldest friends and I’m really sad he just never had the drive, you know? It’s not your fault, it’s his. But I can imagine that is a tough thing to understand when you just want to help your own son.”

“It’s ok. I’ve known that you and Andy were on different paths for a while. Do you remember one afternoon, I think your sophomore year, you were over at our house playing video games with Andy. I invited you to stay for dinner, but you very politely declined because you had a physics test later that week and you didn’t want to disrupt your studying schedule! I asked Andy about it after you left and he told me it was no big deal. I think he dropped physics about a month later after he bombed a few tests in a row.”

“I do remember that! I also remember you brought over cookies the next day. You told my mom ‘if I can’t have him over for dinner this week, I at least want to give him some fuel for studying.'”

“What can I say, Rob, you’re right. I’ve always had a sweet spot for you, I guess.”

Rob smiled. Jennifer’s hand was still lightly on his arm and so he reciprocated, placing his free hand on her lower back, while proposing another toast with his glass.

“To growing up and moving on.”

“To growing up and moving on.”Jennifer echoed with a smile. The two stayed close, smiling at each other for a brief second, until they were interrupted.

Behind them, Rob heard his mother struggling to open the door from the kitchen to the terrace. Below them, Chris, Asha, and Rosie were getting agitated.

“Rob get down here, this is your party!” Chris yelled.

“Ok, ok,” Rob yelled back.

“I better go,” he said apologetically to Jennifer.

“It’s fine sweetie. Go have fun. I’ll help your mom open the door and get these snacks out. It was great to see you again.”

“It was great to see you too Mrs…Jennifer.”

Rob placed his champagne glass on the terrace rail and confidently took his shirt off right in front of his old family friend. As he jogged down to the pool he shot her one last playfull glance over his shoulder. She shook her head, still smiling at his brazenness and thinking about how much he had changed in just 4 short years.

***************************** The afternoon passed happily. Kate and Jennifer continued their chat on the terrace, eating more than they drank this time, while the 22 year olds drank and frolicked below in the pool. The only thing louder than the calls of “Marco Polo” ringing through the backyard were the delighted squeals from Asha and Rosie whenever Rob or Chris caught them.

As the sun began to dip low in the afternoon sky, Jennifer decided to drive home while she still could. She went to the terrace rail and waved goodbye to youthful party-goers and relished one last glimpse at Rob with his shirt off. He was standing in the shallow water and so his six-back and pectorals were on clear display, even from a distance.

Afterwards, Kate walked her friend to the door.