“I did,” Darlene said, “why? Is there a pool?”
“Swimming hole,” said Tamera, then, noting Darlene’s wrinkled nose, added, “it’s clean, I swear. They get their water from there.”
Darlene muttered under her breath. The girls dragged their suitcases downstairs, pulling them by the handles out to the curb and throwing them in the trunk of the car. Darlene put on the GPS while Tamera pulled out onto the street.
On the way, the girls talked over the music.
“Tell me what your stepdad is like.”
“He’s kind of quiet,” said Tamera. “Doesn’t talk much. He’s real serious but he’s a nice guy. I just always thought of him as my dad.”
“And what about John?”
Tamera shot Darlene a look out of the corner of her eye, smirking. “John’s hot. He really likes to tease. He’d probably pick you up and throw you in the hole in a heartbeat just to see you get your t-shirt wet.”
Darlene blushed, squirming. Tamera noticed and laughed.
“You’re so innocent. It’s adorable.”
“I’ve been with boys before,” Darlene said defensively. And she had, though she was a virgin. There were a few times in high school she’d let a boy fondle her breasts, or she’d go down on him, or he’d dry hump her, his cock hard, and she’d arch her hips to meet his. But it never went anywhere. Darlene just didn’t really have real chemistry with any of them, so she wasn’t interested in fucking them at all.
“Yeah,” said Tamera, rolling her eyes. “You’re a regular old slut.”
Darlene swatted the other girl’s arm. “Not everyone can be on your level. How many dicks have you sucked, again?” she teased.
Tamera laughed. “Enough.”
They both giggled, passing the time with light conversation, cranking up the radio when a good song came on. The three hours out to the ranch seemed to pass quickly. Most of the view was flat farmland, acres upon acres of wheat and corn and the occasional sunflower. Darlene grew more excited—and nervous—the closer they got. She thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad, being out here. It would be peaceful and nice to be away from the city.
They pulled up a gravel drive to a large white house and got out of the car. Darlene coughed until the dust settled, looking around. Not far away from the house was a barn, surrounded by farm equipment. Across a wide field she could make out the outlines of horses. Excitement ran through her. She had forgotten that they might have horses. She’d spent most of her time at summer camp riding the huge beasts, relaxing atop the gentle rocking of the horse moving slowly along the path.
“Papa!” said Tamera, and Darlene turned to see the other girl run toward her father. He wrapped her in his arms, picking her up and smiling, then set her down and ruffled her hair.
“Hey, kiddo,” he said. She stood on tiptoes to kiss his stubbled cheek.
“Papa,” Tamera said, gesturing toward Darlene. “This is my friend, Darlene.”
Darlene blushed. The man was huge, over six feet tall, broad-shouldered and narrow of the hip. His skin was tanned brown and emphasized the glowing blue of his eyes, his hair dark and thick and standing out in little unruly tufts. Darlene could see the cords of muscle underneath his t-shirt and couldn’t help but to stare at his thick arms. She guessed that he was maybe in his mid-forties. It was hard to tell, though, as he was in excellent shape and held himself with the straight-backed pride of someone half his age.
“Hi,” said Darlene. He was studying her with a small smile on his face. He reached forward and she slipped her small hand into his massive one. It was rough and calloused and a thought came to her, unbidden, of how those hands would feel all over her soft skin.
Tamera didn’t notice that her best friend and her father were connected for a little too long. She had already bounced into the house, looking, no doubt, for John.
“It’s nice to meet you, Darlene,” drawled the man. “I’m Robert.”
“Robert,” she breathed. “You too.”
Darlene looked at the ground then, breaking eye contact. Robert went to the open trunk, pulled out both suitcases and carried them into the house as if they were light as a feather. Darlene followed him, relishing the cool air as she stepped inside the doorway. The house was beautiful and inviting, full of natural light and soft, summer décor. Darlene saw Tamera in the kitchen and joined her, pouring herself a glass of lemonade while Robert carried their things upstairs. He came back down as she was tipping the cup against her lips and she froze when he gazed at her.
He didn’t move his eyes away when he told them sorry, they’d have to share a room. It didn’t bother either of the girls—they had slept even in the same bed many a night, whispering and giggling to each other during sleepovers since middle school. Tamera shrugged and straddled a stool, putting her elbows on the counter.
“How have you been, dad?” she asked. Robert broke his eyes from Darlene and gave Tamera a gentle, warm smile.
“Things are going good here,” he said. “Everything in order. John’s looking forward to seeing you girls.”
“I bet,” said Tamera, elbowing Darlene. Robert shook his head.
“Be good, you two. I have work to do. Help yourself to whatever you want. John should be in the back if you want to say hello.”
He shot one last gaze at Darlene before he left the house. She was strangely sad to see him go.
The girls went upstairs to unpack, throwing their things into the dresser drawers. Tamera wanted to go swimming immediately, but Darlene wanted to explore.
“Show me around the place, then we can go,” Darlene said. Tamera smiled and nodded and they both changed into lighter, cooler clothes before going back outside to the early summer heat.
John, the farmhand, was in the backyard on hands and knees, digging weeds from the ground. Tamera ran up to him and jumped on his back, nearly knocking him over.
“John,” she said, “hey.”
John stood up and hugged Tamera, kissing her full on the mouth. Darlene was surprised, shocked. Tamera had never said anything about being more than friends with John. She’d never said they had ever kissed or touched or fucked, just that he was hot.
“Hey, Tammy,” he said excitedly. “What’s up, kid?”
Tamera pouted dramatically. “Don’t call me that.”
“Sorry, kid,” he teased, reaching forward to tickle her. She giggled and danced away from his touch.
“This is my friend Darlene. She’s staying with us.”
John’s eyes raked over Darlene’s body without a second thought. She felt exposed, suddenly aroused. He was handsome, too, not much smaller than Robert, with blonde hair and brown eyes. He was probably just a couple of years older than the girls.
“Hot,” he said. “You didn’t tell me she was pretty.”
Tamera swatted his arm, then twirled him to face her, jumping into his arms.
“Tell me I’m pretty, too,” she pouted.
“Of course you are. Prettiest girl I ever laid eyes on.”
Tamera smiled and jumped down. “We’re going to go walk around. Wanna come?”
He shook his head. “Your dad’ll kill me if I don’t finish this today. I was supposed to do it yesterday but I went to town and got, uh, distracted.”
Tamera hit him again and walked away without another word, bidding Darlene to follow her. Darlene had to jog to keep up.
“What was that all about?” she asked the other girl. Tamera turned her face and grinned at Darlene.
“Oh, we’re always like that.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
Tamera laughed. “I wouldn’t sleep with that creep in a million years.”
“Then why--.”
“We just like to kid around with each other. We kiss and flirt. It’s no big deal.”
Sometimes it surprised Darlene how cavalier Tamera was with her affections, how open she was to casual intimacy. The thought made Darlene uneasy. This is why Tamera always called her a prude. She just coul
dn’t imagine such a touching someone like that without it meaning anything.
Then again, she had never felt strong attraction to anybody before. Darlene licked her lips, thinking about Robert for a moment before pushing the thought from her head.
The girls walked the perimeter of the ranch. It took them a couple of hours to get around the whole thing. Darlene had paused to watch the horses and Tamera promised that she’d bring Darlene back to ride sometime this week. Darlene was so looking forward to it that it lifted her mood instantly. Suddenly, she was so excited to be there, so happy that she’d agreed to come. By the time they made their way back to the house, the sun was setting rapidly. They went inside and Darlene could smell food cooking.
Robert was in the kitchen, frying something up in the skillet.
“Good, you’re here,” he said. “Sit. This’ll be done in a minute.”
They sat across the counter from him. Tamera poured them both lemonade and Darlene drank it down in one long gulp. She refilled her glass and noticed Robert watching her.
“Did you girls have fun today?” he asked, pulling his eyes away.
“We walked around the ranch. Darlene wanted to see everything,” said Tamera. “I showed her the horses and she nearly busted a nut.”
“Tamera,” Darlene hissed, blushing. Robert only laughed.
“Busted a nut, huh?”
“Yep,” said Tamera. “I told her we’d go riding tomorrow, if that’s okay.”
“That’s fine,” he said. “But I’d rather be there when you do. At least the first time. We’ll get up in the morning and go.”
The girls both nodded. Robert slid the food onto plates and set them in front of the girls, whistling to call John in for dinner. The younger man slipped into the back door, wiping his hands on the front of his jeans. He took a seat on a stool and dug ravenously into the food on his plate, not stopping to talk or breathe until he had finished the whole thing in just a few minutes. Robert ate slowly. Darlene glimpsed at him occasionally, watching the movement of his strong jaw and hands.
When he was done, John leaned back on the stool.
“So, girls,” he said. “Wanna go swimming?”
“Not tonight,” interrupted Robert. “Not in the dark.”
Tamera sighed. “Dad, we’re nineteen.”
“You know it’s dangerous out there,” Robert said, pointing his fork at her. “You could slip on the rocks in the dark. You can go when we’ve finished with the horses, okay?”
Tamera shot Darlene a wicked look and then nodded sweetly at her stepdad. “Okay, papa.”
Robert shook his head. He had noticed the look the girls had passed. Of course he’d noticed.
He stood up and rinsed his plate, taking the girls’ and John’s and loading them into the dishwasher.
“John, I want you sleeping in the guest house.”
John didn’t give a word of protest, just raised his eyebrows. “Sure. No problem.”
“You’re so overprotective,” Tamera teased.
“That’s my job,” said the older man, his back still turned to them.
After another glass of lemonade, the girls retired to their room. It had been a long day and they were exhausted from the trip and the walk in the summer sun.
Tamera flopped on her stomach in bed and pulled out her phone, flipping the screen toward Darlene.
“Wanna see John’s cock?”
Darlene blushed deeply, mortified. “How’d you get that?”
“He sent it to me,” Tamera said, handing the phone over.
Darlene studied it, her blush growing even deeper. She had seen cocks before; boys were always sending her pictures, pulling it out so that she’d suck on it. Tamera showed her a new dick pic every week. This was different, somehow, this was John, who was just a few feet away across the lawn. She grew aroused just looking at the picture, the size of his cock compared to his hand. She swallowed and handed it back to Tamera.
“You two are weird.”
Tamera laughed. “I guess so.”
She turned off the light. Darlene lay in the dark for a long time, her thoughts wandering from John to Robert and back again.
It was going to be a long summer, she thought, before falling into a deep sleep.
***
In the morning, Darlene was up before Tamera. The other girl was tangled in her sheets and drooling on her pillow, completely knocked out.
Darlene got up to brush her teeth and then made her way downstairs to get a glass of water. It was early—the sun hadn’t even come up yet—and she thought probably nobody in the house was awake, that she’d have time to curl up in a chair in the front room and read before anybody got up and bothered her.
Robert was in the kitchen when she came around the corner. Her whole body flushed when she saw him. She knew that she was under-dressed, wearing only skimpy sleep shorts and a thin cotton tank top. She hadn’t thought she’d needed to change.
“Good morning, Darlene,” Robert said, smiling. His eyes visibly traced along her body. He looked uncomfortable for a moment, but wiped his face clean into a mask of cordial greeting. He was sitting at the counter, drinking coffee and reading the paper. Darlene decided that the issue had passed already and to go upstairs to change would be awkward. She made her way around the counter and grabbed a mug from the open cabinet, then poured herself coffee.
He was watching her when she turned around, his eyes hot and intense. He didn’t try to hide it this time, instead putting his paper down and gesturing for her to sit.
“Did you sleep well?” he asked. His eyes were fixed on her face as if he was trying not to look elsewhere. She knew that her nipples had stiffened, that they were straining against the fabric of her top, obviously visible. She knew, too, that she was cherry red under his gaze.
She swallowed her coffee too quickly. It burned her throat and her eyes watered.
“I did,” she told him. “Tamera’s still knocked out.”
He smiled. “That girl sleeps like a rock.”
Darlene nodded, her hands wrapped around the mug.
“Listen,” he said, standing up. “We’ll go to the stables without her. I’ll leave her a note to meet us there when she gets up.”
“Okay,” said Darlene. “Sure. Thanks.”
He nodded. “You’d better, uh, get dressed.”
Darlene made her way upstairs and quickly slipped into jeans and a t-shirt, quickly lacing up her boots before going back down. He was waiting for her and he gestured for her to follow him.
They crossed the field in silence. Darlene was perfectly okay with that. She found herself tongue-tied when she talked to him, didn’t know what to say or how to react to the way he spoke to and looked at her. She thought it was probably better things stayed quiet and indirect.
Not that she necessarily wanted them to.
She walked among the stalls at the stables while Robert went to fetch the saddle. She had always loved horses—one in particular here caught her fancy, a giant beast with brown and white spots. Something about the power of them made her hungry to ride, something about the way the muscles moved underneath the skin made her excited to straddle one and get going as fast as she could.
Robert reappeared, led the horse out of the stall and dressed it outside.
“Try that,” he said. She had trouble getting her leg up high into the strap. She gasped when he lifted her by the hips as if she weighed nothing, set her high in the saddle. He didn’t let go immediately, but allowed his hands to trace down the outsides of her thighs before dropping them to his sides. His eyes were fixed on hers.
“Do you know how to ride?” he asked in a low voice. She blushed and bit her lip at that, picturing herself on top of something that wasn’t a horse. His hands had left hot trails over her skin, left her trembling in the saddle.
“Yes,” she managed to say.
“Go for it.”
She took off slowly, allowing her body to relax in the saddle. Everything was calmer on
top of a horse, everything slowed down when it was just walking underneath her. She wanted to get as far away from Robert as possible at that moment, wanted to stop thinking about him and enjoy the peace and quiet.
She couldn’t.
She turned backward to him and told him she was going to go along the path into the woods. The ranch was surrounded by a gentle forest. The ground was even and the trees widespread enough that she didn’t have to worry about navigating the horse through a rough spot. He told her to be careful. She felt his eyes on her back as she trotted away, guiding the horse onto the path.
Those Kinds of Adult Stories Your Mother Warned You About Page 79
