Chapter 7

I prepared the fresh fish for the broiler while Beverly made a salad and rice. We set the table, and I poured two glasses of chilled white wine. As we worked together, Beverly commented about the appliances and other things in the spacious kitchen.

“I can’t get over how beautiful your house is, Jeff. Everything looks new.”

“Just about everything is new. After my grandfather passed, I remodeled the house and bought new appliances. Before I started, this place looked like a page from the fifties. I felt I needed a fresh beginning.”

Once it was ready, we ate our meal at the table. The fish, rice, and salad were excellent, and we enjoyed them. Beverly and I cleared the table, put the dishes in the dishwasher, and took our wine to the deck. I straightened the back of one of the double-wide reclining lounges, sat down, and invited Beverly to join me. She sat next to me, pulled her legs onto the chair, and leaned back.

Sipping our wine, we gazed at the lake. Beverly turned toward me, smiled, and said, “Tell me about the other woman. I need to know who my competition is.”

I chuckled, put my wine on a small table next to the lounge, and rolled toward Beverly. Running my fingers through her hair, I shook my head. “Bev, you don’t have competition. The other woman was my high school girlfriend. We dated until Anne moved to California for school.”

“Do you still talk to her?”

“Anne and I talk occasionally, but we’re just friends. She lives with her girlfriend, and they plan to live together after graduating.”

“Oh. She’s a lesbian?”

“Anne is bisexual but is in a relationship with her girlfriend, Jodie.” I took a deep breath, picked up my wine, and sipped from the glass.

After thinking for a moment, I decided transparency was the best path if I wanted to continue seeing Beverly. “Anne came home this summer, and we got together. Mom, Walt, and I went to dinner at the restaurant where she worked. We talked, then decided to go out while she was here.”

“It must have been fun seeing your old girlfriend again.”

“It was. Anne and I had fun while she was home for the summer. It was good to see her again.”

“So. Did it stir up any old feelings?”

“Not really. Anne told me she loves Jodie and wasn’t interested in reviving our relationship.”

“Did it disappoint you?”

“No, not at all. Both of us have moved on, Bev. As I said, there’s nothing for you to worry about.”

Grinning, Beverly sat up and finished her wine. “Well, I should get going. I have a few things to do tomorrow.”

I got up, grabbed our empty glasses, and placed them on the patio table. Beverly gathered her things, packed them in her bag, and moved close to me. Putting her arms around my neck, she kissed me.

“Thanks for the great day, Jeff. It’s been a long time since I’ve had so much fun.”

“It was an excellent day, Bev. I hope we can do it again.”

“So, do you want to go out with me again?”

“Yes. I’d like to see you as often as possible.” I kissed Beverly. “What are you doing tomorrow?”

“I have to help my mom. We’re still unpacking and putting things away. How about Tuesday?”

“I’ll be here. Come over anytime you’re ready.” I kissed Beverly as I moved my hands to her butt and pulled her close. “I guess I can wait until then.”

“You’re making it hard for me to leave, Jeff. Since seeing you at the wedding, I haven’t been able to think of anything except you. I felt something I’d never felt before when we made love today. I know things are happening fast, and I’ll understand if you want to take it slow, but I want you to know how I feel.”

Hugging Beverly against me, I thought about what she had said and what she had told me earlier. It became clear she had deep feelings for me and wanted a relationship. I had to decide what I wanted. Did I want to be alone? No. Could I be happy in a relationship? Yes. Could I be happy in a relationship with Beverly, even though she’s my cousin? Yes.

The longer I hugged Beverly, the less I wanted her to go. I pulled my head back, looked into her eyes, and smiled. “Don’t leave, Bev. Stay with me tonight. I get up early, and I’ll make sure you get home to help Aunt Sue.”

Beverly pressed her mouth against mine, pushed her tongue into my mouth, and kissed me hard. We held our kiss for several moments before she moved her head to my shoulder. “I’d really like to stay, but I don’t have pajamas.”

“Good. Neither do I.”

“So, you want me to sleep naked with you?”

“You better believe it, Bev. I’m not moving too fast, am I?”

Beverly giggled. “Hey! That’s my line. I think I’m the one who’s moving too fast.”

I moved my hands to her butt, pulled her dress up, and rubbed her bare ass. She wiggled against my hands and moaned as I caressed her.

“Since you’re not driving tonight, would you like another drink?”

“We can do whatever you want to do.”

“No. We’ll do whatever we want to do, Bev. If we move forward, I want it to be equal. We’ll discuss things and make decisions based on what we want. Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll have another drink, but something stronger than wine.”

Beverly and I separated, took her hand, and led her toward the boathouse. As she went up the steps, I watched her ass. We walked to the bar, and I asked what she wanted.

“I’ll have whatever you’re having.”

I took two rocks glasses from the bar, put ice cubes in them, and poured two fingers of whiskey over the ice. After handing one to Beverly, we sat on the glider near the front of the deck.

Before sipping my drink, I tapped my glass against Beverly’s. “To us and whatever the future holds.”

She smiled. “To us.”

“So, what are your plans for the future?”

“I want to find a job soon. I have some savings, but I need to work, or I’ll run out of money.”

“What do you want to do?”

“I’ll probably try to find something in retail. I used to work in a women’s store in Texas. I like the work and getting discounts on clothing.” Beverly chuckled. “I have too many clothes, but I couldn’t pass up a good deal. The store gave employees a nice discount, so I took advantage of it during a sale.”

“Did the store have a lingerie department? I liked what I saw when the wind blew your dress up at the wedding.”

Laughing, Beverly shook her head. “You’re never going to let me live it down, are you?”

“I think it was great because it opened a door for us that I wasn’t aware existed. To answer your question, I won’t let you live it down. I’m going to remind you whenever I can. Hopefully, it will happen again.”

Beverly got up, faced me, and pulled her dress up, exposing herself. “I can’t make the wind blow, but I can flash you if you want me to.”

We laughed as Beverly lowered her dress, sat down, and sipped her drink. She twisted toward me and shook her head.

“I don’t know what’s come over me. I’ve never acted like this before.”

“Really? You mean you don’t usually let the wind blow your dress up or jump into a pool wearing clothes you know will turn see-through or pull up your dress and flash your cute ass?”

Beverly laughed as she shook her head. “No! The wind at the wedding was an accident, but I did the rest on purpose. I did it to show you how I feel. As I said, you’re the first man to see me naked.”

“I feel privileged, Bev, but you know you don’t have to do anything you’re uncomfortable doing.”

“That’s the thing, Jeff. I don’t know what I’m comfortable with. As I told you, you’re the only man who has seen me naked.” Beverly chuckled. “My ex-boyfriend wanted me to get naked, but I wouldn't because we were always somewhere we could get caught.”

“Why did you and your boyfriend use the car? Couldn’t you find another place to have sex?”

“Yeah, we could have, but we never did. Like many of my classmates, the night of our senior prom was our first time. We parked after the dance, got into the backseat, and started making out. After a while, he pushed my dress up, took my panties off, put on a condom, and we screwed.”

Beverly laughed and went on. “As I remember, it only lasted about five minutes. Fortunately, my hymen was gone, so it didn’t hurt. We continued dating for another month and had sex a few times before he decided to join the service, and we broke up.” She put her hand on my arm and smiled. “You screwed me longer than all my other times combined. It was the first time I did it without a condom.”

“When did you start using birth control?”

“I began taking the pill about a year ago. Playing with myself wasn’t doing it for me, so I decided to see if I could find someone to have sex with. Unfortunately, I didn’t find a guy I felt comfortable enough to have sex with.” Beverly moved her hand to my leg. “That is, until now. I hope you want to have sex with me again.”

I pulled Beverly onto my lap side-saddle. Hugging her closer, I pressed my lips to hers and slipped my tongue into her mouth as I put one hand on her breast. Beverly moaned and wiggled against me while I continued kissing her and massaging her boob. I placed my other hand on her leg, slipped it under her dress, and rubbed her pussy. When she parted her legs, I inserted a finger into her.

Beverly rocked her hips as I fingered her pussy. After a few minutes, I pulled my head back, looked into her eyes, and smiled. “Does this answer your question?” I said as I moved my hands on her breasts and crotch.

“Oh yeah.”

I removed my hand from Beverly’s dress and moved her beside me. “Good. You said you didn’t know what you were comfortable doing. You won’t know unless you try something so that you can decide. I also learned sex can be fun if you forget about any preconceived ideas you may have and let go.”

Beverly gazed out across the lake and took a deep breath. “So, how did you learn these things? You said you’ve only been with one other girl.”

I thought momentarily, got up, grabbed our glasses, and went to the bar. After topping off our cocktails, I returned to the glider and handed Beverly her drink. She thanked me, took a sip, and smiled. “So, will you answer my question?”

While pondering my response, I thought about my time with Anne and what she told me. One of the many things I learned was to be open and make sure both parties understood what the other wanted. Several times, Anne reminded me that no one was a mind reader, so if I wanted to know something, I needed to ask. The other side of the coin was letting my partner, or whoever I was with, know what I wanted.

I wasn’t sure how much I wanted to divulge, but I felt I owed Beverly an answer. Even though everything had happened fast since my mom’s wedding, I felt that a relationship with my cousin wasn’t out of the question. If anything, I would welcome having her in my life, but I wondered to what degree. Beverly told me her wish was for us to be together. Anne’s words came into my head. She told me to stop doing it if I tried something and didn’t like it. While the statement was made when discussing sex, I realized it also applied to life in general.

“When Anne was here this summer, she taught me many things about sex and life, Bev. She said she learned from her partner Jodie.”

Beverly nodded. “I guess we learn from other people.”

“Yes, but we also learn by trying something to decide whether or not we like it. Not everyone likes the same food. If I try a particular food and don’t care for it, I don’t eat it again, but if I do, I will. The same is true of other activities. I didn’t know I’d like fishing until I tried it.”

“It sounds like you and Anne are very close.”

“We’re good friends, Bev.” I stopped, then said, “Do you know what friends with benefits are?” Beverly furrowed her brow, then shook her head. “Friends with benefits are friends who have sex with each other without a relationship. The sex is for fun with no strings attached. It’s two friends giving and receiving pleasure without any commitment. They’re also called fuck buddies.”

“Are you and Anne fuck buddies?”

“We were for a few weeks this summer, but that’s it. Anne told me this was her last time, and she and Jodie wouldn’t do it again. They’re committed to one another and plan to build a life together.”

“What if Anne’s girlfriend finds out she cheated?”

“Jodie knew we had sex. She was doing the same thing in Texas during the summer break. They share an open relationship, so when one of them wanted to get with a man, they did.”

Beverly sipped her drink while staring at the lake. I was about to defend my friendship with Anne, but decided not to because I wasn’t ashamed of what we had done. After a few moments, Beverly smiled and chuckled.

“I’ve read about the type of relationship you described, but didn’t really believe they existed.”

“Let me assure you, it’s real. Like you, I never thought something like friends with benefits was real. When Anne and I went out, she made it clear she wasn’t interested in anything other than casual sex. Bev, I think we can be more than friends with benefits, so I want to be honest with you. I don’t want us to have secrets because they would just come back to bite us.”

“When Dad said we were moving back to Georgia, I decided to see if you’d like to go out with me. I didn’t know if you had a girlfriend, so I called Aunt Marge and asked her. She said you didn’t, so I thought I might have a chance. When we met at the wedding, I was determined to see if you were interested in me.

“After what happened when we were outside, and you kissed me, I decided to throw caution to the wind and see what happened. There was a chance you wouldn’t want to be with me because we’re cousins, but I was willing to take the chance. When you asked me to go out, I almost wet my pants. I didn’t think anything could make me happier.

“When I got home after the wedding, I went to bed and began thinking of how to tell you how I felt.” Beverly laughed. “I figured we’d go out a few times, then I’d try to seduce you and maybe make love. I was ready to do whatever it took, but never expected things would happen as fast as they have.”

“It isn’t too fast, is it?”

“Not as far as I’m concerned. I remembered you as being shy and was surprised by your boldness.” Beverly chuckled. “Pleasantly surprised, I might add. As I said, it was like I’d never had sex before after we made love. I haven’t had much experience. I want to learn if you’re willing to teach me. Jeff, I want to make you happy when we have sex.”

“I can teach you what I enjoy, but you have to let me know what you like. No one can read someone else's mind, so it’s important to talk. The important thing to remember is that there is no wrong way to have sex as long as both agree and no one is forced. And, as I said before, don’t knock it until you try it.”

“I’ve liked what we’ve done so far.”

I felt Beverly was referring to our sex, but I decided to ask what she meant. “What did you like?”

Turning toward me, Beverly pulled her leg onto the seat with her other leg crossed. Her dress rode high, exposing her thighs. After sipping her drink, she put the glass on the small table and placed her hand on my shoulder. Looking into my eyes, she smiled.

“Jeff, I’ve enjoyed every moment since seeing you again at the wedding. I found it hard to catch my breath when I first saw you. The last time I saw you, I thought you were cute, but when we met again, I saw the most handsome man I’d ever seen. When we started talking, I discovered you weren’t the shy guy I remembered.

“I liked how you held me while we danced and paid attention to me. I liked the look on your face when the wind blew my dress up. I liked it when you made jokes about it because I learned you have a sense of humor. I liked it when we kissed on the balcony. I liked it when you asked if I wanted to go out with you.” Beverly picked up her drink and took a sip.

I was about to ask Beverly if she liked anything else, but she spoke before I could.

“I liked fishing with you this morning. I liked how you reacted when I jumped into the pool and got out wearing my see-through clothes. I liked it when you took charge and made love to me. I liked it when we swam naked and showered together. I liked making supper and eating with you. I like sitting here with you and enjoying the evening. As I said, I’ve liked everything so far.

“The thing I like the most is the chance we might have a relationship. A relationship together, Jeff. I want...