Taking Her Place

by Jean-Luc Cheri

  “Um, I forgot to tell you. I’m supposed to go somewhere with my friends tomorrow. I won’t be home for dinner.”

  “Go where?”

  “Um, shopping. At the mall.”

  She shook her head. “No way. This is Julian’s first dinner here since Cheryl died. You can’t miss it. Certainly not for a trip to the mall. Tell your friends you can’t make it.”

  “Mom!” I whined, but it was no use. She was adamant that I be home for dinner.

  Chapter 10

  I was in my room the next day when Julian arrived, and I could hear my mom downstairs making a fuss over him. My heart beat fast, knowing he was going to tell everyone what I’d done last week. My family was going to hate me. And the truth was, they had every right to.

  So I stayed in my room with the door closed. Five minutes later, the door was pushed open, and my sixteen-year-old brother Sam was standing there.

  “Mom wants you downstairs.”

  “Have you ever heard of knocking?”

  “Mom sent me up to get you.”

  “I could’ve been naked.”

  “So? Mom said–”

  “I heard you.”

  “Well?”

  “I’ll be down in a minute.”

  “She said now.”

  “I said I’ll be down in a minute. Close the door when you leave.”

  “I’m telling.” He frowned and then walked away, leaving my door wide open.

  “Brat,” I muttered.

  I got out of bed and closed my door, then quickly searched my closet for something nicer to wear. I settled on a pair of shorts and a tanktop, and quickly put them on before heading out. I was approaching the stairs when Mom came up. She didn’t look happy.

  “What’s wrong with you?” she said in an urgent whisper. “Julian’s here. Get downstairs and say hello. You’re being rude.”

  “I was getting dressed. And Sam came into my room without knocking.”

  She pointed down the steps. “I don’t want to hear it. Get down there and say hello.”

  I went down the stairs feeling like a condemned prisoner walking the last mile. It was so obvious what was going on. Julian was making this personal visit so he could tell my parents and the rest of my family what a pervert I was. He wanted to humiliate me in front of everyone. Mom followed me down.

  As I reached the living room, I saw Julian sitting on the couch talking to my father, who was in his favorite recliner. Julian’s hair was even shorter, looking very business-like. So much different from how he looked when I showed up on his doorstep over a week ago.

  He and Dad were talking about sports, and he didn’t notice me coming down. But as I approached, he turned his head towards me.

  Here it comes. He was about to jump up and point his finger at me, then tell my Mom and Dad I offered to have sex with him. Well, not really sex, but close enough. I steeled myself.

  But instead, he smiled up at me.

  “Hey, Beth. How have you been?”

  I blinked at this unexpected turn of events. “Um, good.”

  He stood, and in the next moment he had his arms around me, pulling me against him for a hug. It was quick, but I got a whiff of his cologne, which smelled nice.

  He stepped back, keeping his hands on my shoulders. “Mom,” he said, “I want you and Dad to know that Beth really helped me last week. I was at pretty much rock-bottom when she showed up, and her being there made me realize that it was time to turn my life around.”

  He smiled and pulled me in for another hug, this one a little longer. I looked down at my Dad, who was smiling proudly up at us. When he let me go and I turned to my Mom, it was obvious she was close to crying.

  I smiled at Julian, but didn’t really feel it. The last time we’d talked, he’d thrown me out of his apartment. Why was he being so nice now? Was he setting me up just to drop the bombshell later?

  “Thanks,” I replied, but looked at him curiously, trying to figure out what he was up to.

  It was time for dinner, so I helped my mother serve the food, then we all sat around our dining room table, with my parents at each end, and Julian sitting across from me in my sister’s old spot. I managed to avoid eye-contact with him as we began the meal.

  But five minutes in, he said, “I have a small announcement to make.”

  Uh oh. Here it comes. Now is when he reveals to my family how screwed up I was.

  “What’s going on, Julian?” Mom said, looking at him curiously.

  “Well,” he began, “when Beth cleaned my apartment, it kind of woke me up a little, letting me know how bad I’d let things get. Not only with my apartment, but also my life. It made me realize that I wasn’t living the life that Cheryl would’ve wanted for me. So I contacted an old college friend of mine named Tyler Hatfield who recently started an accounting firm with another associate. He knew how good I was, and he’s offered me a job.”

  Mom smiled wide. “That’s great, Julian!”

  “It’s just a low-level position, but with plenty of upward opportunity. It’s exactly the foothold I need.”

  “What about your other problem?” Dad asked, looking at him seriously.

  Julian nodded. “I’ve stopped drinking. I’ve even thrown away all the beer in my fridge, right Beth?”

  I was still stunned that this speech wasn’t about me. “Um, yeah. Last I saw, it was gone.”

  Julian nodded with a smile. “I’m done with that. I feel so much better now.”

  “Are you going to get remarried?” my youngest brother Travis asked, who was sitting beside Julian. There was an awkward silence, then Julian spoke.

  “I’m not sure what the future holds for me, Travis. Right now, my answer to that question would be no, but to be honest, that may change in the future. I can’t imagine anyone taking your sister’s place in my life, but then again, I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life alone.”

  Travis looked guiltily at our mother, who was glaring at him. “Sorry.”

  Julian smiled and rested his hand on the thirteen-year-old’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You were curious and you asked. Nothing wrong with that.”

  “I’m proud of you, Julian,” Mom said with a smile. “I knew you’d turn things around.”

  Chapter 11

  After dinner, I helped Mom clean up, then hurried up to my room, not wanting a one-on-one with my brother-in-law. But I was lying on my bed reading a magazine when a soft knock came on my door.

  “Beth?”

  It was Julian.

  “What?”

  “I’m heading out. Do you have a minute to talk?”

  “No, I’m kinda busy.”

  “Just for a minute. Please?”

  “I’d rather not.”

  “I just wanted to apologize.”

  I got off my bed and went to the door, opening it.

  “Apologize for what?” I asked.

  He looked down the hall. “Can we talk in private?”

  I pulled the door open wider, and he stepped in. I closed the door behind him.

  He turned to me. “I’m sorry for reacting like I did last week. You took me by surprise, and I wasn’t ready for that.”

  “It was my fault. I never should’ve assumed that.”

  “After thinking back on our conversation, I realized I might’ve inadvertently led you to believe that’s what I wanted.”

  I shook my head. “No, it was just me being an idiot.”

  He smiled. “So we’re okay then?”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “Good.” He stepped into me and hugged me again. His body was soft from his extra weight, but underneath I could feel the muscles of his athletic frame. He felt good against me, and I curled my hands up around his shoulders, hugging him back.

  He ended the hug much too quickly, and stepped back.

  “Would you like to do something this week?” he asked.

  “Like what?”

  “I owe you a dinner. Why don’t we go to a restaurant?”
/>
  “Yeah, that sounds like fun.”

  “How does Tuesday night work for you?”

  I nodded. “Tuesday is good.”

  “Great. I’ll pick you up at seven.”

  “Okay.”

  He gave me another quick hug and then left.

  I stood there slightly dumbfounded. Had my brother-in-law just asked me out on a date?

  Chapter 12

  The restaurant Julian and I went to was a chain, but it was still nice, and the bill was almost forty dollars. I felt guilty about him spending so much, and offered to pay half, but he refused, telling me that while he wouldn’t be making his old salary right away, his new job paid much better than the grocery store.

  “I’m even moving into a new apartment at the end of the month,” he said.

  “That’s only a week away. How’d you find one so quickly?”

  “Another friend. His father owns a few nice apartment buildings around town, and they have vacancies opening all the time.”

  “So it’s nicer than your current one?”

  He smiled. “Oh yeah. You won’t be so nervous when you visit me.”

  “So I’m allowed to visit?”

  He chuckled. “Of course. Why wouldn’t you be?”

  I shrugged. “I thought I might’ve ruined my visitation rights the last time I was there.”

  “No, not at all. As a matter of fact, I was just about to ask you if you wanted to come home with me and watch a movie or something.”

  “Back to your apartment?”

  “Yes. I’ve kept it clean, in case you’re wondering. Come on, it’ll be fun.”

  “Okay, let’s do it then.”

  So, a half-hour later we were sitting on his couch, watching a movie on a television that looked like it was twenty years old, long before flat-screens were invented.

  Since he just had basic cable, the movie was kind of lame, and filled with commercials. I was at one end of the couch, and he was at the other, and when I looked over at one point, it looked like he was nodding off.

  “Are you falling asleep?” I asked him.

  He sat up straighter and said, “No, I’m fine. Just a long day at work, you know, catching up on things.”

  “It’s okay if you want to take me home.”

  “No, we’ll finish this.”

  So we went back to watching the movie, and when it was over, I looked at Julian. He was completely zonked out, leaning back against the corner of the couch and snoring softly.

  I didn’t have the heart to wake him, after working all day and then spending his evening with me. If he drove me home, it would be almost forty-five minutes before he got back to his apartment. So I came up with an idea.

  Getting out my phone, I took a picture of him sleeping and then sent it to my mom’s phone, along with a ‘Call me’ text. My phone buzzed less than a minute later.

  “What’s up?” she asked.

  “As you can see, Julian fell asleep and I hate to wake him.”

  “I can come and get you.”

  “No, you’re probably already in your pajamas, right?”

  “Yes, but–”

  “I’ll just sleep here, and Julian can bring me home in the morning on his way to work.”

  “You sure? It’s no trouble.”

  “That’ll be easiest for everyone. I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Ok, honey, Good night.”

  “Night, Mom.”

  I hung up and then went to the closet, where I knew he had a folded blanket. Retrieving it, I went back to the couch and eased him over onto his side, pushing gently on his shoulder. He half-woke and stretched out along the length of the sofa, and then I covered him with the blanket.

  After turning off the TV and the lights, I went down the hallway to his bedroom. I figured that if he was sleeping on the couch, I could use his bed. I was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, so after using the bathroom, I stripped down to my panties and then put my T-shirt back on. It was long enough to reach down over my hips, so it served as an adequate nightshirt.

  I was about to get into bed, when I thought of something. Lifting the mattress slightly, I reached under and felt around, searching for the magazines I’d found the other day. I thought for a moment that he’d gotten rid of them, but then my hand bumped against the small stack. I pulled them out.

  They were the same ones, with nothing new, and I went straight to the last one with the hardcore photos. Flipping to the back, I was relieved to see that my swimming photos were no longer included in his porn collection. He must’ve thrown them out, just like he promised he would.

  I stashed the magazines back under the mattress, then began to get into bed. But then another thought occurred to me.

  What if he’d gotten the photos of me out of the porn magazine, but hadn’t thrown them away? If so, where would he put them?

  My eyes were immediately drawn to his bedside table, which had three drawers in it. I leaned over and pulled the top drawer open. My eyes gaped in surprise.

  Not only was the small stack of photos in there, sitting right on top of them was a small plastic bottle. I picked it up and read the label. KY Liquid. In smaller print, it said, ‘Personal Lubricant’.

  Holy shit. There was no doubt what he was using this for, so why was it sitting right on top of my photos?

  The implications were obvious. He was jerking off to photos of me. Why would he do that? I told him they were pictures of me, not his wife. Was it possible that I looked so much like her that he was pretending I was her? It was either that, or he was fantasizing about fucking me while he had his cock in his lubricated grip. It was too mind-boggling to comprehend. Especially after the way he acted the other day, throwing me out of his apartment when I made my suggestion.

  I picked up the photos and looked through them. My favorite of the group was on top, with me posed on the starting block like I was ready to dive into the water. The camera was to the side and slightly behind me, showing off the curve of my ass and how my swimsuit clung tightly to my skin. Looking closer, I could even see how the close-fitting nylon pulled in tightly between my asscheeks, molding itself to the swell of my pussy. I could even see the faint dimple of my vertical slit indented in the material.

  Is that what Julian was looking at while he stroked his cock? Was that why this photo was on top? Because it was his favorite also?

  I placed the photos back in the drawer and set the bottle on top of them. Then I closed the drawer and got into bed, pulling the covers up around me. I could smell Julian’s cologne on the sheets, and snuggled into them, enjoying the scent.

  My pussy was a little tingly from seeing the photos and the lube, along with the thought of my brother-in-law touching himself while looking at me. I was probably wrong, and there was an innocent reason the pictures were in his bedside drawer. Maybe the last time he jerked off, he took the pictures out, put them in the drawer so they’d be out of the way, then put the bottle on top of them afterwards. Made sense.

  But for some reason, I thought his looking at the photos while he jerked off made even more sense. Or maybe that was because I wanted to think that’s what happened.

  As I lay on my side under the blankets, I slid my hand down my stomach and under my panties, cupping my shaved-smooth pussy in my palm. When I pressed one finger between my hairless outer lips, I discovered I was already slick inside.

  A soft sigh of pleasure escaped my lips as I found the hard little nub of my clit with my fingertip. I closed my eyes and rolled my finger over the swollen point, letting my fantasies run wild. I felt a little guilty that most of them included my sister’s husband, but they were my fantasies, and no one else had to know about them. And after all, I was lying in his bed engulfed in the pleasant scent of his cologne, so who else would I be imagining I was with?

  I took my time, practically drifting off to sleep as my pleasure rose. When my climax hit, my body stiffened and shuddered under the warm blankets as I groaned into the Julian-scented pillow
and imagined what it would be like to have him inside of me.

  A faint twinge of guilt rippled through me, but it was fleeting as sleep overtook my thoughts.

  Sometime in the night, I had a nice dream, where a warm body pressed against my back as I lay on my side. His arm slid around my waist, holding me tight to him, and I felt the hardness of his erection press against the groove of my ass. Whoever he was, he smelled really nice, and I snuggled back into his warmth, pressing my butt against the solid ridge of his hardness. I smiled contentedly as the dream faded into the darkness of sleep.

  Chapter 13

  Someone was kissing me. His lips were soft and urgent as his tongue probed into my mouth. His hand was also on my breast, reaching up under my shirt to cup and caress the soft mound. Through the fog of sleep, I could feel my body responding, the hot, slick heat flooding my loins. I lifted my hips, pressing my pussy against the solid muscle of his thigh.

  His body shifted, and suddenly he was between my legs, his hips forcing my thighs apart as the warm, solid ridge of his erection pressed against my panty-covered pussy. I instinctively curled my legs up around him, meeting his iron-hard shaft with the swollen crease of my aroused cunt. He growled into my mouth and pressed his hips downward, pinning my ass to the mattress as his solid cock ground against my slick furrow, pushing my outer lips apart as the warm nylon met my inner folds.

  I curled my arms around his broad shoulders, holding on tightly as our bodies pressed urgently together. I wanted our clothes to be gone, so I could feel his thick cock burrowing into my slick tightness. He pinched my nipple and I groaned into his mouth, meeting his tongue with mine as they danced together.

  “I missed you so much,” he whispered, his breath hot against my lips.

  I whimpered a reply and reached down between us, gripping the solid bar of his cock through his boxers. No, it couldn’t be that big, my mind rationalized. This must be a dream.

  “You’re so beautiful, Cheryl,” he said, his voice low and urgent. “I need you.”