waist. "If you still think it's a smart idea to get mixed up with a city slicker, kiss me." He did, his tongue transferring its movements delectably. Many seconds later, when their mouths parted, his ragged breath touched her closed eyes. "We're good together, Viv, no matter whether we're here or in the middle of Atlanta. She opened her eyes slowly. "I want to know more about you," she whispered. "All of you." He nodded, and they rested their foreheads together. Just then the mellow, sweet sound of a dinner bell reached them from its source on Aunt Vanessa's front porch. Their arms around each other, they walked out of the barn and headed toward the cozy house nestled in the hills.
* * * *
The fixtures in the small upstairs bathroom were old, but scrubbed clean. They included a claw-foot tub and a green, metal medicine cabinet. Faded green tiles covered the bath floor, and ancient, flowered wallpaper covered the walls. Jake and Vivian stood on either side of Aunt Vanessa and listed while she told them which faucet was hot water and which faucet was cold water. She went through a litany of instructions for opening the latch on the medicine cabinet in case they needed an aspirin.
Jake nodded and said "Yes, ma'am," repeatedly, and Vivian got caught up in the hypnotic sequence of it and 104
Just a little Bit Guilty
by Deborah Smith
started nodding and saying "Yes, ma'am," too. Aunt Vanessa divided a stack of towels and washcloths and put them on separate sides of the Formica-topped sink.
"Left is yours, Jake-honey, land right is Vivian's," she explained.
"Yes, ma'am," Jake said.
"Yes, ma'am," Vivian echoed.
The bathroom was centered between the two upstairs bedrooms and it had two doors, one to each room. Aunt Vanessa clasped her hands to her bosom and turned to Vivian with concerned eyes.
"You just lock Jake's door whenever you come in here," she told her. "And you won't have to worry about a thing."
"Yes, ma'am."
She turned to Jake. "And you lock Vivian's door when you come in here."
"Yes, ma'am," he said solemnly.
"Well." Aunt Vanessa hugged each of them. "Happy dreams, my little chickies."
She clasped her hand sin front of her chest again, and twisted to gaze at Jake.
"Good night, honey."
Jake's carefully obedient eyes flickered to Vivian's amused ones and back to Aunt Vanessa. It was clear that he was being ordered away. Aunt Vanessa wasn't leaving until he was properly in his room, with the door locked.
"Yes, ma'am," he said gruffly. "Good night, Vivian."
"Good night, Jake," she replied primly. 105
Just a little Bit Guilty
by Deborah Smith
After he clicked his door shut, Aunt Vanessa guided Vivian into the other bedroom and locked the bathroom door for her.
"I hope you'll be warm and comfortable in here honey. I'll bring another space heater up if you want it." The old rooms were medium chilly, but the four-poster bed was piled with enough quilts to keep an army warm. A ceramic lamp with cherubs on it provided soft, yellow light from a long-legged night table.
"I'll be just fine," Vivian assured her. Lonely and horny , she added to herself, but just fine.
After one more hug, Aunt Vanessa glided out the door that led to the hall and left Vivian alone with the whoooo of mountain wind sweeping under the eaves outside. She looked toward the bathroom door mournfully. Jake was only about two dozen feet away, in a bed similar to hers—alone. Vivian sighed and retrieved a Georgia State sweatshirt from her overnight bag. She shivered out of everything but her white panties then put on the sweat shirt along with thick athletic socks on her cold feet. Her floor-length terry robe had never been so welcome. Vivian had just finished turning the soft collar all the way up around her throat when she head Jake's bathroom door open.
Her breath caught in her throat. She listened intently and heard what sounded like a tall man trying to tiptoe across an old floor. He knocked on her door. She tiptoed to open it, but
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