JINGLE JANGLE

Zach was on the interstate, making his six-hour drive home from college for the summer. He had just finished his junior year and although he was glad that his classes and finals were behind him, he wasn’t looking forward to living under his parents’ roof again for the summer. At college he could do as he pleased–party, stay out all night, raise hell, get drunk, whatever he wanted at any time. At home he had to toe the line or he’d get a load of grief from Mom and Dad.

Zach was a good-looking kid, tall, blond, athletic and popular at school. He was majoring in journalism, had a good grade point average, contributed to the campus newspaper and radio station and was the starting third baseman for the baseball team. Coming home only cramped his style.

He was now looking forward to three months of the same things he’d done the previous two summers: working nights in a busy warehouse and helping to coach his little brother’s baseball team. His brother Jeff was fourteen years old and played in the county Senior League.

The team was managed by Dan, father of Danny Jr., who was Jeff’s best friend and lived three doors down. Dan was an easy-going guy in his mid-thirties who worked for the State Roads Commission and had coached both boys since they were in the Midget League. His wife was Barb, the perpetual team mother and a hairdresser by trade. Zach could remember times when all the neighborhood kids lined up at her kitchen door for free haircuts when she would hold occasional ‘Haircut Saturdays’.

Zach had always liked Dan and Barb. They were kind, down-to-Earth working people, although a bit of an odd couple; they were total opposites. Dan was a laid-back, soft-spoken pipe smoker, kind of rough edged with a plain face and a pot belly. He never said much unless he drank too much. Barb, on the other hand, was an attractive frizzy-haired blonde with a perky, likeable personality and a quick wit, plus a killer body she’d kept in great physical shape. Zach had always thought she was pretty hot. Hell, everybody did.

Zach pulled his car into the driveway. No one was home. It was early afternoon so Jeff would still be in school and his parents at work. His mother Meg worked as a nurse practitioner and his father Joe was a civil engineer. He let himself into the house and unpacked his filled-to-the-max car and moved all of his stuff into his old bedroom. He threw a load of dirty laundry into the washing machine and then went out back and dove into the pool. He swam a few laps before climbing out and lying on a lounge chair.

He was proud of the backyard. His parents had done a great job designing it, he thought, from the large lanai to the outdoor kitchen and bar, screened pool and Jacuzzi, even a gazebo. They loved to entertain and often held parties and get-togethers for their friends and family.

Jeff got home from school and came in the front door yelling for Zach because he’d seen his car out front. Zach was in the laundry room downstairs. He was moving his clean clothes into the dryer and throwing another dirty load into the washer.

They greeted each other and then went out in the yard and played a game of catch. They talked about the baseball team and how they were doing so far. The season had started a couple weeks before. Jeff said they looked pretty good, had won three and lost one so far, and the one they’d lost was in extra innings.

“We should have won,” Jeff said. “But our right fielder missed a routine pop fly and by the time he caught up to the ball the hitter was rounding third and headed home. Lost 3-2.”

“Ooh, that’s a tough one,” Zach said. “It’s easier to forget the blowouts than tough losses like that.”

“We need you coachin’,” Jeff said. “Mr. Dan just sits there most of the time, and doesn’t say much. We need you coachin’ third and pumping us up.”

“I’ll call Mr. Dan tonight and let him know that I’m back. If he wants me, I’ll be there.”

“Oh, he wants you, alright. Danny told me he’s mentioned it a bunch of times.”

Their mother came out of the back of the house.

“There’s my baby!” she hollered as she hustled over to give Zach a hug.

Meg squeezed her older son tightly and kissed his cheeks.

“Oh, it’s so nice to see you, Honey. Welcome home,” she said. “How was the drive?”

“Smooth sailing,” Zach said.

“Good. I’m cooking lasagna tonight, so I hope you’re hungry.”

“I’ll eat it, don’t you worry.”

Meg stepped back and looked at him.

“My, do you ever need a haircut!” she said looking at him. “You need to go see Mrs. Barb.”

Zach knew she was right. He hadn’t had it cut since before Christmas.

“Ma!” Jeff whined from sixty feet away. “We’re trying to play catch!”

“Yeah, I know,” Zach said. “I’ll call and make an appointment.”

“Glad you’re home, Zach,” she said.

Meg went into the kitchen to start dinner. The boys finished playing catch.

—-

Zach called Dan after supper.

“I was hoping you’d get home before the weekend,” Dan said. “I need ya. We look okay so far but we need a practice on some of the fundamentals. It’s set for Saturday morning. That’s where you come in.”

“Oh, what fundamentals are those?” Zach asked. “Right fielders shagging flies?”

“Oh, Jeff told you how we lost, huh? Maybe that too. But mostly bunting, base running, rundowns, cutoffs. All the fun stuff. And the kids seem to focus better when they know a real college player is talking and not the same ole dad they’ve been listening to for six-seven years.”

“Okay, sounds like a plan. I’m anxious to get started again. Oh, and is Miss Barb around? Tell her I need a haircut bad, and I’ll be making an appointment.”

“I’ll tell her. See you Saturday,” Dan said.

Zach hung up and called the salon. The gal who answered the phone said Barb worked the next day. He scheduled an appointment for mid-afternoon.

—-

First thing the next morning Zach called his employer. He’d worked there for three straight summers and they were always glad to have him back. They told him to come in and sign everything and he would start the following Monday.

Zach took a shower and shampooed his golden locks. He dressed casual but neat and went to fill out the paperwork for his job. He grabbed some lunch and went to a bookstore and bought a couple paperbacks. He did some reading and browsed until it was time for his hair appointment.

He got to the salon a little early and checked in. He took a seat with a good view of Barb. She had worked at this place for years so she had a choice workspace near the back and had an old guy in her chair. She looked good as usual, her slim body dressed in a black zippered smock with sleeves to her elbows, black tights on her legs and black flats on her feet. Her blond curls danced on her shoulders as she moved to and fro, snipping away.

He always liked going to Barb for haircuts. She looked good, smelled good and took her time, fussing over every little edge, evening it here and there, making sure it looked just so.

Another thing about Barb that Zach liked was that she wore very little makeup, only a subtle touch around the eyes and polished nails. But jewelry was a different story. She always wore a lot of jewelry: head-to-toe necklaces, rings, bracelets, earrings, you name it. Even as he looked at her from his chair in the waiting area at the front he could see gold chains dangling from her earlobes, bracelets and bangles on both her wrists, rings on most of her fingers and ankle bracelets. He wondered how much more he couldn’t see.

Finally Barb pulled the sheet off of the old man and he rose out of his chair. He preened in front of the mirror for a moment before they walked up front to the cash register. He paid, said thanks and walked past Zach and out the door.

“Okay, who’s next?” Barb called out loudly, pretending to look at the appointment schedule on the counter. “Do we have a Zach?” She looked at him and grinned.

Zach stood up and walked toward her and Barb came around the counter and gave him a hug.

“Hi, Zach, welcome home,” she said. “You look great! How are you doing?”

“I’m good, how are you?”

“Good, come on back,” she said.

Zach took his seat and Barb covered him and wrapped the paper strip around his collar. Barb smelled good, just like he remembered, like fresh flowers. As she readied her tools they made small talk: How’s school, how’s the family, all that jazz. Then Barb turned to him and was ready to get started.

She cocked her head and looked at him for a moment, and lifted his hair and let it flop back down.

“Zach, I have to say, you’ve certainly grown into a handsome young man,” she said. “But damn boy, do you ever need a haircut!”

“I know, I know,” he said sheepishly. “That’s why I’m here. Do your magic.”

“Magic? I might need a weed whacker for this mess!” She ran her fingers through his hair on both sides of his head. “How do you want it cut?”

“The usual. If you can remember.”

“How could I forget a head like yours?” she said.

Barb started with electric clippers on the sides, muttering ‘God, you need a haircut!’ several times.

“So how’s your mom? I haven’t talked to her lately.”

“She’s fine, said to say Hi,” he said. “Are you coming to her ladies party again this summer? It’s three weeks away.”

“Oh sure, that’s always fun. All the girls look forward to it.”

Every year on the Saturday after Memorial Day Meg threw her Ladies First Pool Party. She invited all of her women friends, coworkers and neighbors. It started mid-afternoon and none of their men were allowed to show up until dusk, by which time most of the ladies were half in the bag. Then an almost-anything-goes party ensued.

“Oh good,” Zach said. “I’ll be sure to show up and check out the scenery. I hope you’re going to wear that skimpy bikini you had on last year.”

“Oh no, I don’t think so. But I have another one you might like.”

“That’s good. You gotta let that hot body out! Not hide it behind that black cloak you have on. Makes it hard to visualize what’s underneath.”

“I’m working, Zach. Besides you’re not supposed to be visualizing what I have underneath. You should be looking at the mirror, not the hairstylist’s butt!”

He looked up at the mirror in front of him. Barb had stopped work for a second and was looking right into his eyes via the mirror with a playful smile on her face. She went back to work.

They didn’t say much for a while. Zach closed his eyes as Barb’s scissors pranced around his forehead. In his mind he held the image of her tanned, toned nearly-naked body in her scanty swimsuit, and how it plastered itself like shrink wrap to her tits and crotch and ass when she’d get out of the water. He opened his eyes and in the mirror watched her skilled hands, with rings on seven fingers, flitting this way and that as she scissored away, accompanied by the tinny rattling of the multiple bracelets and bangles on both her wrists.

In the mirror Zach watched the hair on his head slowly take shape. He wanted it to last; he loved the sensation of Barb so close, doting on him, the feel of her fingers against his scalp, the gentle pressure of her palms on his neck when she applied a hot towel. But eventually she pulled the cover off of him.

“There,” she said, “All done, another masterpiece.”

“That looks good, Barb. You are an expert weed whacker!”

“See you again in a year or two,” she laughed.

“No, I’ll be back before that,” he said as he got up. “I’ll come to see you whether I need it or not.”

They walked to the register to check out. Zach handed her some bills which included a large tip and said he didn’t want any change.

“Oh Zach, wait, this is way too much,” Barb said.

“No it isn’t,” he said. “Weed whacking pays good.” He leaned closer and added softly, “Put the extra money toward buying the skimpiest bikini you can find.”

Barb’s lips twisted into a flirty smile.

“Well, thank you, Zach. Maybe I will,” she said, and winked at him.

—-

The next morning was Saturday so Zach went to baseball practice and tried to whip the boys into shape. He was glad to see that they weren’t bad at all, just rusty on some of the mundane finer points. The practice was boring for the kids but by the end they were all hustling and working together and whipping the ball around pretty good.

Monday night he started his job. He knew the drill pretty well, having done it in past summers. He liked the night shift because of the pay differential and it was much more laid-back and less hectic than day or evening shifts. There were no trucks coming and going, loading and unloading. He just had to fill, pack and stack orders for the day workers to ship out in the morning.

Tuesday evening they had a ballgame. He was hoping Barb would be in the stands like she often was, but she wasn’t. He knew she worked a couple evenings each week so he guessed she was at work. That helped Zach concentrate on the game, which they won 6-5 when Jeff drove in the winning run with a line drive single to center in the bottom of the seventh.

The next game was Thursday, and Barb was there. She sat on the top row of the temporary bleachers behind the third base dugout. He spotted her and waved to her from the coach’s box and she waved back at him. He took off his cap and ran his hand through his hair a few times, pointed at his head and gave her a thumbs-up. She grinned and gave him the A-OK with her thumb and forefinger.

She looked sexy as hell in blue denim cutoffs and a flowery halter top. Her hair was pulled back and she looked much younger than mid-thirties. They were both wearing dark sunglasses so it was hard to know if she could tell he was checking her out constantly throughout the game. She smiled at him a few times when he looked at her, so Zach figured she had him pegged. Then again, maybe she’s checking me out too, he thought. Then at the end of the sixth inning he looked up and she was gone.

Over the next four games Barb made it it to a couple but she usually came after the game had started and left before it was over, so they never got a chance to talk and Zach had to settle for espying her from afar.

Then they had a game against the team they were battling for first place, which happened to be the same team they had lost to before when their right fielder had blown the fly ball. Barb showed up in the second inning and she didn’t leave early this time. The game was a real nail-biter, a pitcher’s duel and a scoreless tie going into the bottom of the seventh, the last inning of regulation. Danny Jr. led off the inning with a bloop single and took second base on a wild throw. Then Zach gave the bunt sign to the next batter and Danny got to third base on the sacrifice. Now with one out, a fly out could win the game. Jeff came to the plate.

“On the second pitch, take off for home as soon as the pitcher releases the ball,” Zach whispered to Danny. Danny smiled and nodded enthusiastically.

This was a drill Zach and Jeff had practiced before. Zach gave his little brother the sign to not swing at the first pitch. A curve for strike one. Then he gave him the bunt sign: The Suicide Squeeze. The pitcher rocked on the rubber and went into his windup.

“GO!” Zach said sharply, as the pitcher threw the ball, and Danny took off.

Jeff held back a split second before squaring to bunt and caught the fielders off guard. Danny was running home. It was an outside fastball and Jeff laid down a perfect bunt to the right side between first base and the mound. The pitcher and first baseman both scrambled to the ball and got there at the same time, each getting in the way of the other. The first baseman had the better angle and picked it up, bobbled it, and threw late to home. Danny slid in and scored without a tag being attempted. Game over, a 1-0 win.

The bench and bleachers exploded in cheers. The team ran onto the field and surrounded Jeff and Danny, and the spectators flowed out of the stands. Dan came over and shook Zach’s hand. The various parents and family members congratulated their boys. Barb hugged Danny Jr.

A few minutes later after things had settled down a bit and the players were gathering up all the gear into duffel bags, Zach was standing off to the side by himself when Barb walked up to him. Yellow shorts, tan body, red tube top with her nipples perked. God, she looks hot, he thought to himself. She smiled at him and he almost got a hard-on.

“Good call, Coach,” she said. “Pretty ballsy, but it worked.”

“Yeah, I knew they wouldn’t be looking for a second bunt with a good hitter at the plate. And Danny got it started. Teamwork pays off.”

“And good coaching.”

“Must be the haircut,” he said. “Less hair to interfere with my brain waves.”

“Well, you’re modest, anyway. That’s an admirable trait. You like to take risks, don’t you?”

“Depends on the reward, I guess.”

They looked at each other for a moment, silent. Zach looked directly into her sparkling eyes.

“So, Barb,” he said, surprising himself by using her first name. “Are you ready for the Ladies First Pool Party? It’s only three days away.”

“Oh, yes, I’m ready. It’s always fun.”

“Tell me. Have you been bikini-shopping lately?”

“As a matter of fact I have,” she said coyly.

“That’s good. I’m looking forward to it. I hope the weather is good.”

“So do I,” she said. “It would be such a waste if it wasn’t.”

She gave him that wink again. He watched her behind as she walked away. With her hot yellow shorts hugging her cute little ass and her tight red tube top covering her tasty tits she looked like a fresh piece of strawberry cheesecake all ready for him to take a bite. The jewelry on her wrists and ankles glistened in the setting sunlight as she walked to her car. Zach felt a tingle in his loins and knew the time had come to take a risk that could bring him a reward like he’d never had before.

—-

Saturday came and the weather was good, sunny and warm with a few scattered clouds. Zach helped his mother set up for the party: moving furniture, setting up tables, stocking the bar, getting everything ready. He ran out to get a few bags of ice. Meg handled the food. Dad was off playing golf and Jeff was staying with a friend.

The usual plan was that Zach would help get the party started as the women arrived, fetching drinks and towels, tending bar, setting up the music and whatever else he could do to assist. Then once the party was rolling he could make himself scarce and just make sure the music didn’t stop. In keeping with the pool party vibe, Zach wore a pair of long, baggy swim trunks and nothing else.

The first guests arrived at about two-thirty. The ladies seemed to show up in packs of three or four at a time. Zach had seen most of them before, although he didn’t remember many names except for the moms from the neighborhood. He popped the top on a can of beer and took a healthy swig.

He kept watching for Barb and he spotted her as soon as she entered the lanai. He was with a couple other gals from down the street and they all said hello to Meg and a few of the others nearby. Most of the ladies were already staked out in chairs around the pool. After a couple minutes the newcomers moseyed over to the bar.

Zach poured Mimosas and Planter’s Punch into tall plastic cups. He served the first several pretty quick. He served Barb last and took his time as the others moved off toward the pool.

She looked fabulous. She wore a baseball cap and sunglasses and a shy smile. She had a lacy cover up draped around her and he could see the outline of her bikini underneath. There was a beach towel in her hand, chains around her neck and bracelets on her wrists. Zach handed her a Mimosa and as she took the cup he saw that her fingernails were painted black, and thought it was a sexy contrast to all of the glitzy rings on her fingers.

“Thank you, Zach,” Barb said. “So, your mom got you to tend the bar again.”

“Yes, and I’ll be here until I get you drunk.”

“Then I guess I better pace myself, right?” she laughed.

“Naw, drink up,” he said. “When do I get to see what you have on underneath that wrap?”

“Oh, it won’t be long. And it won’t disappoint.”

He watched her walk away. She had flip flops on her feet and her toenails were also painted black.

—-

Zach continued serving drinks as the stragglers arrived. He watched Barb as she mingled a bit around the pool before finding a chair by a couple of neighbors. She uncovered and put the wrap on the back of her chair. She was right. He wasn’t disappointed.

He already knew how good her body was but the swimsuit gave added accent to her strengths. It was colored and tapered to complement her thin, tanned shape. It was a creamy tawny yellow with black spots and other markings. Up top the bra was stuffed with her firm, round tits and the bottom was a V-shape pointing into her crotch. It looked like leopard skin. The sun was reflecting off her jewelry until she dove into the pool. Zach went inside to get more punch.

—-

“What does a girl gotta do to get a drink around here?”

Zach was bent over behind the bar when he heard Barb’s voice. He stood up and looked at her. She was alone. Her bikini was soaked and clung to her tits and stiff nipples like a wet coat of paint.

“Take her clothes off,” Zach said.

Barb laughed. “The bartenders are very forward around here,” she said. “Where do I complain?”

“No sense complaining, it doesn’t do any good.”

He poured the drink and walked around the bar and stood next to her.

“Here you go, jungle woman,” he said, handing her the drink. “I love your suit, it’s a knockout. What is that, a leopard?”

“No, actually it’s an ocelot.”

“Oh, Well. Either way it’s a wild pussy,” he said.

Barb cracked up and almost spit her drink. Her body quivered with spasms of laughter. Zach sipped his beer with a shit-eating grin on his face.

“I can’t believe I laughed at that,” she said, still laughing. “It was crude and corny. But funny.”

“Bad jokes are my specialty. I’ll be here all week.”

They stood there for a moment sipping drinks and looking at each other. Neither looked away.

“Damn, you look good,” Zach said. “Why don’t we run away together?”

“Sorry, I can’t. I have to work Monday. And I couldn’t live with myself if I stole the boys’ coach away.”

Zach suddenly felt very close to Barb, he knew he wanted her. She was playful and flirty, he liked that. But was she just teasing him?

“I never get tired of looking at you. You have an incredible body,” he said.

“Thank You. Your body is pretty nice too, Zach.” She started to reach for his bare chest but stopped herself.

“Maybe we should get these bodies together,” he said, leaning his body against hers. He felt the wetness of her breast against his arm.

“Oh, I don’t know about that,” she said. “I may be a little old for you. And I don’t think my husband would care for that idea. And your mother wouldn’t appreciate me corrupting her little boy and ruining her party.”

“Well, you’re not too old for me, I just told you I can’t take my eyes off of you. And Dan’s not here, and I’m not going to tell him, that’s for sure. And as for my mother, she’s a little preoccupied today. We could have sex three different times, in three different ways, in three different rooms in her house this afternoon and she wouldn’t have a clue.”

“I doubt that,” she said.

Barb shook her head and sipped her drink. Zach took her half-filled cup and topped it off and handed it back to her.

“Listen,” Zach said softly, leaning closer to her. “Go back out to the pool, socialize, finish your drink. In thirty minutes meet me upstairs, last door on the right.”

“You’re crazy, Zach, you know that?”

Zach scurried into the house for more ice. Barb walked back to the pool with a dazed look on her face.

—-

It was Zach’s old bedroom but all the rock and roll posters had been replaced with tasteful framed prints. It was now a seldom-used guest room. It was about twelve feet square with a double bed, a nightstand, dresser and small desk and chair. Zach stood waiting. Thirty-one minutes, thirty-two minutes, thirty-three… Was she coming or not?

Then he heard soft footsteps, bare feet in the wooden hallway. The door was ajar and he watched it open the rest of the way and then there she was, this bikini-clad hot wife from down the street. He shut the door behind her and locked it and turned to face her. He gently touched her shoulders and traced the fingers of both hands slowly down her arms. He felt her shiver slightly.

“This is insane,” Barb whispered. “I must be crazy.”

Zach interlaced his fingers into hers.

“I want to kiss you,” he said softly.

He squeezed her hands and put his lips to hers. Barb didn’t hesitate for long. Within a few seconds his tongue was in her mouth and he felt her hands clenching his tightly in return. She sucked on his tongue and moaned soft pleasures as they kissed. Zach’s cock was already a heated steel rod.

He broke the kiss for a second, unlatched his hands and put his arms around her. With one hand on her upper back and the other on her ass their mouths collided again and opened hungrily. He pulled her body close to his. He could feel her damp tits pressed against his body and he made sure she could feel his hard meat against hers.

Zach kissed her face, her ears, her neck and shoulders. He licked his way down to her breasts and pulled the damp fabric aside and sucked on her rubbery nipples. Barb moaned softly and ran her fingers through his hair, pulled his head to her bosom and shoved her tits into his mouth. He sucked her nipple deep into his mouth and nibbled her flesh with his teeth.

Barb loved having her tits sucked and cooed as Zach slurped away, alternating tit for tit. She dug her black nails into his scalp and kissed the top of his head. She felt detached from the activity, as if she were watching from above, disbelieving that she could be doing what she was doing, in this bedroom with the handsome boy up the street, willingly giving herself to him.

Zach eased Barb backward a few feet and sat her on the edge of the bed. He spread her legs and knelt before her. There was a silver stud in her navel so he sucked it into his mouth. He slid his hands under her bottom and positioned her for optimum access. He could see the outline of her pussy lips behind the clammy ocelot fabric. She gasped when he kissed her there and he sucked on the fabric, tasting chlorine. He sprinkled multiple kisses over her crotch.

He grabbed her legs one at a time and looped them over his shoulders. He looked into her eyes as he slipped his fingers inside her bikini bottom and pushed it aside. Then he dove in head-first.

Barb let out a loud, wheezy moan when his mouth joined her open lips and his strong tongue entered her. She held his head in her hands and mashed her cunt into his face. She didn’t know what she was expecting, but it wasn’t this. She’d surprised herself even walking up the stairs to this room because it was such a crazy, risky idea, even though she had more or less accepted the fact that she would probably cross the line with Zach at some point. But she figured it would be some awkward, clumsy fuck with a good-looking college kid, but here she was, after only a few minutes with her legs wrapped around his head and his tongue in her twat.

Zach was no ladies’ man by any stretch but he knew that he couldn’t go wrong if he could make the lady come. That was his singular goal on this first encounter, and he decided he would keep his face buried in her pussy until he made that happen.

He pressed his face against her sex as she ground it into him, and craned his tongue inside her succulent cunt like he was trying to lick her asshole from the inside out. Her pubic hair was short and trimmed into a neat triangular patch. He slithered his hands under her butt cheeks and squeezed them hard with each tongue-dive. Soon Barb was emitting a groaning hiss with each stroke, and her mashing and his gashing were in perfect unison.

His jaws became achy and Barb’s cunt was dripping wet so he backed off for a moment and sucked up the swill and swallowed it. Then he put his lips around her clit and sucked it into his mouth.

“Oh God!” Barb barked. “Oh Zach!”

He closed his eyes and sucked with firm, even pressure in the same rhythm as before and Barb fell right in, moaning with each push. Her clit was a pulsing, swelled organ in his mouth and Barb was fucking him with it, and Zach could hear the jewelry on her wrists rattling close to his ears as she yanked his head to and fro. On and on, over and over they went, and her groans became louder as she came closer to spilling her beans.

“Oh Jesus Fucking Shit,” Barb blurted. Her torso crumpled and her legs cut like scissors around Zach’s neck.

She came in a torrent. Zach was amazed, he’d never seen a gush like this. Her cum flew out of her like a water main ruptured. Her body shook for a time as she released and even after Zach removed his face from her crotch and sat on the bed beside her, her body continued having little aftershocks.

Zach kissed her gently but Barb grabbed him behind the head and savagely jammed her tongue between his lips. Her tongue was feral inside his mouth so his quickly joined the fray.

“God, Zach,” she said. “Wow.”

“You taste good,” he said.

He stood up and pulled Barb up with him. He bent his head down and kissed her nipples and tucked her tits back inside her bikini bra. He straightened her up down below. Then he took her hand and pressed it against the front of his shorts so she could feel his cock, long and hard.

“This is what you do to me,” he said. “Thirty minutes, in Jeff’s room across the hall.”

He didn’t wait for an answer. He kissed her and was out the door.

Zach went to the bar and drank a beer. Barb went for a swim. They hadn’t even been missed, at least nobody said anything.

—-

Jeff’s room was the same size as the guest room but it looked like a teenager’s room: music and sports posters on the walls, computer on the desk, shoes scattered around on the floor. The single bed was unmade so Zach straightened it up as best he could.

Barb tiptoed up the stairs and down the hall and entered Jeff’s bedroom. She locked the door behind her. She walked up to Zach with a scared look on her face.

Zach took her into his arms and kissed her. Her lips parted immediately and sucked him in. Her hair was wet and smelled clean, like the pool. He felt her hand on his hardening member.

“I want to suck your cock,” she whispered, as if she could barely believe she was saying it.

“You’re reading my mind,” Zach said.

She didn’t hold back. She sat on the bed and he stood in front of her. She put her hands on the waistband of his trunks and pulled them down to the floor.

It’s a nice cock, she thought. Long and straight and good and hard. Bigger than Dan’s, longer and fatter. She inched Zach a little closer and kissed the tip and then licked the shaft up and down. She sucked his balls into her mouth one at a time and Zach sighed with pleasure.

He sighed again much louder when she took his cock into her mouth. She licked and sucked on his purple helmet for a minute before she began taking more cock into her mouth, two inches, three inches, four. With half his cock in her mouth she started sucking him with a fervent, sloppy force. She was fondling his balls in one hand and his ass in the other as she sucked, and widened her mouth and throat to inch her way further down. She wanted to kiss her fingers that were wrapped around his scrotum.

Zach held her wet head in his hands and slowly began swinging his cock into her mouth, hoping to go deeper. Barb cooperated, taking it in a smidgen at a time, trying to get lips to nuts.

Zach was hypnotized watching his cock slowly dissipate into Barb’s mouth. He swung his groin harder into her face and she grunted and he felt her teeth on the side of his cock. She backed off, took a breath and then covered it again with one quick jolt and took it in, then again. She settled back with a mouthful of three or four inches and sucked with a quick pace like her life depended on it.

Zach started swinging his dick like it was batting practice. In, back, in, back, in, back, over and over. He could feel the cool imprint of the metal rings on her fingers surrounding his boiling balls. Barb kept sucking, and it wasn’t long until it was his turn to come.

He roared like a hungry hippo when he ejaculated. Spasm after spasm, his cords of cum left the head of his cock, and Barb’s sexy mouth held on, taking it. Finally all his spunk was spent. It was all over in twelve minutes.

“Damn, that’s a lot of cum!” Barb said as she stood up. “Not bad, though.”

“That was so fucking hot!” Zach said, and tongue-kissed her, tasting himself. He pulled up his trunks.

“Thirty minutes,” Barb said. “Where?”

“Downstairs,” Zach said. “The office.”

—-`

His father’s office was right off the dining room but the door was always closed so Zach knew it would be safe. And there was a small sofa in there as well and he planned to make good use of it.

He entered the room and left the door slightly open for Barb. The office was on the east side of the house and away from the late afternoon sun so it was fairly dim. He went to the window and while he was closing the blinds he felt two arms go around him and hug him from behind. She was already there and he hadn’t seen her. Barb buried her face into his neck and kissed him. He turned to face her and she held her index finger up to his lips.

“Ssssh,” she said very softly.

She turned and tiptoed to the door and closed it and locked it. She came back to him and looked up into his face and raised her arm to run her hand through his hair. He took her hand and guided it to his mouth and he kissed each of her fingers and sucked one into his mouth.

“The black nail polish,” Zach said. “I never saw you wear that before.”

“Yeah, well, I thought I’d try something new. It’s a statement, I guess.”

“A statement? What does it say?”

“It says I want you to fuck me,” Barb said.

“You’re reading my mind again,” Zach said.

He pulled her tight and their mouths smashed together. His hands roamed her back and one slipped under her cover up to her butt and fingered its way into the crack of her ass. She groped for his dick as her tongue eeled around his.

Zach loosened the tie on the front of her wrap and tossed it back off of her shoulders. Barb wiggled her arms and it fell to the floor. One hook unhooked and the bra was on the floor, too.

Barb was already pushing his trunks down when Zach’s fingers slipped inside her. With one hand in her pussy, he pushed her ocelot cunt cover down her legs. They were then standing face to face, his fingers in her cunt, her hand clutching his hard, swollen penis, and their clothing in a heap by their feet.

“I want to feel your big fucking cock inside me,” she whispered into his ear.

She didn’t have to say it twice.

Zach eased her back until she was sitting on the overstuffed arm of the sofa. He wanted to eat a little more pussy before he fucked her. He knelt and licked her inside and out before surrounding her clit with his lips. Barb’s body buzzed when he sucked it in and tongued it and he felt it plump in his mouth.

Zach stood up in front of her. Barb took his cock in her hand and lay back against the back of the sofa. It was comfortable and the angles worked.

“Fuck me,” she whispered.

He zeroed in close. She drew his cock to her cunt and put it into her. He pushed it all the way in and mounted her. She wrapped her arms around his back and her legs around his. She moaned so he kissed her to muzzle her.

Zach started slowly in an effort to be quiet but figured out pretty quick that would not work. He wanted to fuck the shit out of this woman. Barb’s fingernails were digging into his back, her tongue was fucking his mouth and her cunt was squeezing his cock. They soon had a hard, rocking rhythm going and they grunted into each others’ mouths.

The legs of the sofa were squeaking with each of their thrusts. The back of the sofa was tapping the wall a split second after each squeak. Their low moans played bass. And Barb’s bracelets and bangles rattled, adding percussion like a tambourine.

Zach fucked her hard, slammed his dick deep inside her and clenched her ass in his hands like a vise. Barb sucked his tongue and bit his shoulder and stabbed his back with her nails and slung her crotch into him, and sucked his cock with the walls of her pussy.

“I’m gonna fuck you till you come, Barb,” Zach said with half-breath. “Until you come big.”

He felt her arms, legs and cunt clasp even tighter around him. They kept fucking with an increased manic euphoria.

“Oh fuck, I’m gonna come,” Zach said finally when he felt his rising surge.

“Give it to me,” Barb said. “Give it to me.”

Zach pounded her faster and rammed his fingers into the crack of her ass and made sure one made it into her asshole.

“Ugh,” she muttered.

With each quick plunge of his cock into her pussy his finger lodged deeper up her ass. Barb wasn’t used to this but it soon brought her close to her edge.

Zach emitted a low grumble when he came. His semen seared its way up through his cock, out of him and into Barb, twitch after twitch. As if on cue Barb started to shudder and shake.

“Oh God, here I come!” Barb yelped, a little too loud.

“Sssh,” Zach said softly.

Barb’s head darted side-to-side and her groin squirmed like a caged cat.

“Yes, oh fuck,” she sibilated, breathless. “I love your fucking cock!”

She came in a cascade much like her first one upstairs. Zach kept prodding his emptied dick into her and felt her released liquid flood her vagina and seep out around him.

When her quavers at last abated Zach unsaddled her and Barb jumped right up and started dressing. Zach pulled on his trunks. He took her in her arms and kissed her.

“That was fucking incredible,” he said. “You fuck like a goddess. I want us to do some more of this.”

“You better,” Barb said, as she tied her wrap in front. “Is the coast clear?”

Zach cracked the door and took a look.

“Yes,” he said. “All clear.”

“Good.”

She power-kissed him with her tongue tickling his throat and her fingers tickling his crotch. Then she put her mouth up to his ear.

“You’re a hell of a fuck yourself,” she said softly.

She sucked and nibbled his earlobe briefly and stepped through the door. Zach watched her walk across the family room and down the hall, headed for the bathroom.

They hadn’t been caught. Everybody was outside and the music was still playing. The sun getting low and all of the husbands and boyfriends would be showing up soon. Zach went upstairs to take a shower.

Zach didn’t hang around. He left the party because he didn’t want to say or do anything stupid around Barb to give them away. And he didn’t think he could bear to see her with Dan right then. He went to an old hangout to drink a few beers and shoot some pool. He ran into a girl he knew and they hung out for a while. He knew he could have gone home with her but he didn’t even try. He didn’t want her. He wanted Barb.

—-

So now what?

Zach soon found out that having a clandestine affair with a hot mom from down the street was not the easiest thing to pull off. He couldn’t call her at home, she had a husband, a son and a full-time job. He couldn’t harass her at work. They couldn’t be seen. He even had to be careful talking to her at the ballgames and check their body language or someone might notice something and get suspicious.

It was weird for Barb, too. She didn’t enjoy the rest of the pool party that night. Dan showed up half-lit and kept drinking. She just hung out with the girls and tried to avoid talking to Meg if possible, as if Meg would read her face and know that she had sucked and fucked her son in the house that afternoon.

Zach went to the next game and tried to act normal. He didn’t see Barb. He coached the same as he always did but was self-conscious and paranoid that others knew something they didn’t. And it was strange being around Dan knowing he would kill him if he found out he’d fucked his wife.

After the game Zach got back to his car and found a small envelope on the driver’s seat. His window was cracked open and somebody had slipped it through the opening. The envelope had ZACH neatly printed in block letters on the outside. He got behind the wheel and opened it. It was short and sweet but made his heart skip:

Z- Come over tomorrow morning when you get off work. Be discreet. – B.

He drove home with a smile on his face. He read a book for a while, took a shower, and got ready to go to work.

—-

The next morning Zach drove home and parked his car out front as he usually did. Everybody had already left for the day. He went to his room and took off his dirty clothes. He sat on the bed to take his socks off and the image of him on his knees in this same spot with his head between Barb’s legs popped into his mind. He could still smell a slight scent of her, almost taste her.

He showered and dressed casually–shorts and a T–and headed out the back. There was a right-of-way behind the backyards on their side of the street and he used it to walk down to Barb’s. He went to the backdoor and knocked.

“Come in,” he heard Barb call from within.

Zach opened the door and entered. The door opened into a dining area which was adjacent to the living room. He saw Barb standing in the living room next to the couch, barefoot with a knee-length pink robe tied around her.

“I don’t have to be to work until noon,” she said.

Zach briskly stepped toward her. Barb opened her robe and let it drop. She was naked except for her jewelry. Hoops in her ears, necklaces, rings, bracelets and bangles on her wrists and ankles, two gold chains looped around her slim waist. Their bodies instantly meshed and they kissed. Barb’s hands made a beeline into Zach’s shorts.

“I can’t believe it’s only been four days,” Barb rasped.

“I know,” Zach said.

Zach’s shorts were off and Barb was pulling his t-shirt over his head. His cock was already reaching for the ceiling. They wobbled toward the couch and Barb pulled him down on top of her.

“Let’s fuck first,” she said.

She led his cock to her eager slot. She wanted to feel it inside her and she groaned when Zach forced the length of it into her. After a single thrust they were in sync and grunting and groaning and hissing and picking up the pace.

This fuck was going to be fast and furious. Their bodies were already superheated and their groins were bouncing up and down like a bucking pony. The sofa groaned along beneath them. Barb had her hands splayed on Zach’s back and her wrist ornaments clattered in time.

“Put your finger in my ass,” she said.

Zach obliged and Barb was now getting vigorously impaled coming and going. Zach came first and bellowed as he delivered his seed deep into her. Barb was not far behind and she screeched as her body shook and her cum flowed. They kissed for a time as Zach’s boner slackened inside her.

They made out. She licked the salty sweat off of his neck. He sucked her tits. She sucked his cock until he came. He ate her pussy until she came.

After all the mad sex Barb went to the kitchen and got them each a glass of water. They sat and talked about how they would schedule their trysts. They started kissing again and soon Zach’s cock was ready for thirds. Barb climbed onto his lap facing him and lowered her juicy cunt onto his cock and they started fucking again.

Up and down, up and down she went, falling each time onto him bullishly and savoring the jolt of his cock up deep inside her. Her hands were on his shoulders pushing and her harmonious jewelry accompanied her shrieks of pleasure. They both came again and their mixed secretions oozed out of Barb and onto the cushion. She didn’t move as they again kissed a long, slow tongue fuck.

“You know you rattle when we fuck,” Zach said.

“Excuse me?” Barb asked, puzzled.

“Your jewelry. It rattles when we fuck.”

“You don’t like it?” she said.

“I like it fine, just making an observation. It’s kind of musical.”

Barb shook her wrists.

“Actually, it’s not really a rattle,” she said. “It’s more like a jingle.”

She shook her left wrist, then her right.

“In fact it’s really two different sounds,” she went on. She shook her right wrist, bracelets. “Now that’s a jingle. But listen to this.” She shook her left wrist of bangles. “This is more of a jangle.”

She shook them both together.

“Jingle Jangle!” they said simultaneously.

“I’ll Jingle Jangle with you anytime,” Zach said. “Just say when.”

—-

Their affair was now in no-turning-back full-swing. Her husband worked days and left the house early. Danny Jr. was in school for another week but then would be taking sailing lessons three mornings a week, two of which were the days when Barb didn’t go to work until noon. Their schedule fell into place and they would be Jingle Jangling two mornings a week. Barb said that if for some reason she had to call it off at the last minute…a sick husband or son, for example…she would lower the blinds in the kitchen window and that would be Zach’s cue to abort.

Their sex could be soft or hard but was fearless, anything was worth a try, and Barb loved the adventure. They fucked in every room, on tables, on the carpet and against the wall. There were backward blowjobs and sixty-nines. Barb had especially liked when Zach would give her a rim job and when he would stick his finger up her ass, so before long she wanted his dick up there too and assfucking became a regular feature.

One time Barb was sucking Zach’s cock in her bed and his pubic hair was tickling her nose so she decided he needed a trim. She went to the bathroom and came back with a large bath towel, wet cloth, electric clippers, shaving cream and razor.

“You need a shave!” she said. “Lift up your butt.”

She spread the towel under him. She turned on the electric clippers and mowed the lawn. Then she soaped him up and shaved him close. His cock was about to explode because she had been handling it, fondling it, moving it back and forth the whole time.

“Damn, this is sexy,” he said.

She sucked his cock for a minute and then jerked him off the rest of the way. She wanted to watch him shoot his milky load. He grunted and his cum catapulted out of the head of his stiff penis, rope after rope.

“Jesus, that’s a lot of cum,” Barb said. “The fountain of youth!”

Another time in bed Barb was sucking him and Zach was laying back, watching his cock slide in and out of her mouth, disappearing and reappearing.

“You know, Barb,” he said. “I never get tired of watching you suck me, watching my cock slide in and out of your mouth.”

“Really?”

“Oh yes, it’s such a fucking turn-on.”

“Then let’s spice it up a little.”

She got up and went to the bathroom. She came back with lipstick. She stood naked by the mirror on the wall beside the bed as she painted her full lips with a tiny brush. She took her time and daubed with gentle finesse and Zach stroked himself as he watched.

Barb came back to bed with her lips a deep, rich red. She smiled at Zach and took his cock into her hand. She licked the head of his cock and sucked an inch or two into her mouth. There were already tiny flecks of red on the tip of his cock.

“Oh my god, Barb, this is so hot,” he said. “You mind if I video this?” He picked up his phone from the nightstand.

“Uh, I don’t know Zach. This isn’t going to end up on the internet, is it?”

“No, just for me. It’s so fucking hot.”

“Okay, but just show my mouth, okay? Not my face.”

Zach agreed and turned on the video cam in his phone. He set it on his chest and framed a closeup shot of his cock and Barb’s mouth. She held it and took it in and out of her mouth numerous times. Zach was about to bust his nut, it was one of the sexiest things he’d ever seen. She kept it up. Barb gradually took more and more cock into her mouth as he got closer to erupting. With a few fat inches inside her mouth, Barb held on while he came and his mid-body bucked, and his cum oozed out between her crimson lips and down the staff of his cock. His whole hard member reappeared and she smiled at him with cum-speckled lips.

Zach dropped the phone on the bed beside him and pulled Barb up toward him.

“Sit on my face!” he ordered.

Barb straddled his head and placed her pussy on his mouth, pressing. Zach licked her in and out and fucked her with his tongue as she pushed her cunt into his face. He sucked and teethed her turgid clit until she came all over him.

Then Zach flipped her over and climbed on top and fucked her. Hard.

He fucked like a caveman that day. His deepest carnal cravings came through the head of his dick. They both roared about as loud as they ever had when they came simultaneously. He went home with lipstick all over his body.

He watched the video of his lipstick blowjob when he got back to his house. He also discovered that when he dropped the phone on the bed he’d failed to turn off the camera. After the six minute video there was a blank screen for a half hour with the clear audio of their sighs and moans and grunts and groans and the jingle jangling of Barb’s jewelry as Zach ate her pussy and the slap slap slap of sweaty flesh as he fucked her.

—-

It was a hell of a summer for both of them. Two mornings a week Zach would come home from work, go over to Barb’s and fuck her for two or three hours and then go home and go to bed. Two mornings a week Barb would wake up, get her son and husband out the door, then fuck Zach for two or three hours before she went to work. There were four times when they had to call it off which made them both hungrier for each other the next time. They never got caught and no one seemed to be suspicious.

Their last morning together was bittersweet. It was in late August the day before Zach headed back to college for his senior year. The sex was gentler, slower as if they wanted to savor it and say a long, sweet goodbye. Zach gave Barb a gift before he left. It was a silver bangle that he’d had engraved with the words JINGLE JANGLE. Tears dripped down her cheeks, the first time she’d cried in front of him. Then she went to her jewelry box and sifted through it. She picked out a thin silver chain and latched it around Zach’s neck and kissed him goodbye. He said he’d see her when he came home for Thanksgiving weekend.

Zach went back to school and back to chasing college tail, but looked forward to going home for Thanksgiving. Not for the turkey, but for the Jingle Jangle. Thanksgiving came but they didn’t connect. Barb had to work a lot, had family over and Dan and Danny Jr. were home.

Zach took a chance and sent Barb a Christmas card. He sent it to her salon. Aside from the Merry Christmas message he let her know he was thinking about her and would like to see her when he was home for the holidays. She didn’t respond but he still couldn’t get her out of his head. He looked for her when he went home but they didn’t hook up.

He got a short letter from her in January after he was back at school. She thanked him for the card but said she thought it was too risky to try and see him over the holidays with everyone being home and work and family responsibilities. Last summer was great, but that was last summer.

The last day of school was in mid-May. Since his family lived so far away Zach skipped graduation and the college would be mailing his diploma. He drove home for a few days before he would be heading back to his apartment near the college. He had accepted a position at the media company where he had interned during his senior year.

His parents threw a graduation party for him in the backyard and of course Barb and Dan were invited. He and Barb eyed each other for a time before there was an opportunity to talk to each other alone. They said their awkward how-do-you-dos before they started flirting.

“You’re wearing the chain I gave you,” Barb said, touching it on the side of his neck.

“I’ve never taken it off.”

“Really?”

“Really. So, Barb, want to meet me in thirty minutes upstairs in the bedroom at the end of the hall?”

She laughed. “I don’t think so. We got away with that once but might not be so lucky this time.”

“Oh come on,” Zach teased. “I bet we could do it three times in three different rooms…”

“Uh, don’t think so Lover Boy. Everybody’s here this time. Your dad, your little brother, my husband, my son. Plus you’re the man of honor and likely to be missed. But thanks for the offer.”

A little later Dan and Danny Jr. went home to watch a ballgame on TV. Barb stayed at the party for a while and then Zach walked her home. They made out for a little while in her backyard. Zach loved the feel of her tits as they kissed and the way she leaned into his cock.

“You look fucking incredible,” he whispered. “You sure you don’t want to run away with me?”

“Oh, Zach…”

“I think about you a lot.”

“I think about you too,” she said.

“I watch the lipstick video a lot, too. It’s so sexy. It gets me off every time.”

“My claim to fame,” she said softly.

“I miss you,” he said with a frog in his throat.

They kissed a long goodbye again. In the dark Zach felt the moisture on her cheeks.

—-

A couple days later Zach drove back to his apartment. The following Monday he started his new job.

Two weeks later was Meg’s Ladies First Pool Party. Barb didn’t enjoy it like the year before, in fact she’d wished she was somewhere else. The weather was cooler and overcast and there was no young, handsome bartender to seduce her. She drank her drinks and stared at the back of the house and reminisced about that day last year when she Jingle Jangled Zach three different times in three different rooms.

—-

Zach became very busy and adapted to his new position quickly. Since he had interned there for two semesters it was a smooth transition. He’d work hard for five days and then relax for two. He already knew many of the people he worked with and would socialize with some of them outside of work. He went home with one girl and almost had sex with her but called it off. He knew they really didn’t click and it would only make things awkward at work. She was cool about it, even respected him for it.

At first Zach made a point to call home once a week or so, but that effort soon eroded as he became busier. So his mother would call him to make sure he was still alive. Sunday evenings seemed to be the best times to connect on the phone.

Four months later he was talking to his mother and she had a news flash for him.

“Barb and Dan are separated,” Meg said. “They’re getting a divorce.”

“What?” Zach said. “Are you kidding me? Why? What happened?”

“I don’t really know the whole story,” she said. “Just what Jeff learned from Danny. But Dan and Danny moved out and the house is up for sale. I called Barb but she was kind of down and didn’t say much. I’ve called a couple other times but she doesn’t pick up. It seems she was having an affair and got caught.”

“Oh my god. With whom?”

“I don’t know, some guy she met at the salon, I guess. It got pretty ugly when Dan found out. Lots of yelling and cursing. Dan took Danny and moved out.”

Zach was flabbergasted. He ended the call and called Barb. It went to voicemail and he left a message. It was Sunday evening after eight o’clock so he didn’t think he’d hear back from her that night, but she called him back an hour later.

“Oh Zach, thanks for calling, it’s good to hear your voice.”

“I talked to my mother, she said you were separated, and selling your house. What happened?”

“Jesus, Zach, it’s been a nightmare. What did your mother tell you?”

“Just what I said, that you are separated and probably getting divorced and were selling your house.”

“That’s all she said?”

“She didn’t know much, just what Jeff had gotten from Danny. She said you had an affair and Dan found out.”

“Oh,” she said. “Well, not exactly.”

“Really? What really happened?” he asked.

“You’re the only one I ever had an affair with, Zach,” she said. “And Dan doesn’t know about you. But he found the lipstick video. He saw my lips and my nose and the rings on my fingers. And then he listened to the rest of it, and heard us moaning and fucking.”

“Holy shit. How did he find it?”

“That’s the thing. He was snooping on my phone. I thought I’d hidden it. I almost deleted it so many times but I didn’t.”

“And he has no idea who it was?”

“None. And it drives him crazy. But it would serve no purpose for him to know. It wouldn’t change anything, because I did it and we’re through, but it could upset a few other people.”

They talked and talked and they drifted into that comfort zone they’d shared before. They talked about their flirting, their first encounters in his mom’s house, her black nails, the kitchen window blinds, the lipstick, the jingle jangles, the bangle he gave her and the chain she gave him.

“It’s still around my neck,” he told her.

In what seemed no time at all Zach realized they’d been talking for two hours.

“Well, Barb, I should tell you the purpose of my call,” he said. I need a haircut.”

Barb laughed. “Oh, yeah? Up top or down below?”

“Up top needs a trim. Downstairs needs a shave.”

“Okay,” she said. “Are you coming to town anytime soon?”

“Uh, not really. But I was thinking maybe we could meet somewhere in the middle. For a weekend.”

Zach’s voice cracked slightly when he said it. He felt goose flesh on his forearms and a tingle in his loins. Was he going too far too soon? There was a pause as he waited.

“A weekend, huh?” she said. “That might not be a bad idea. Get away from here. I could use a break.”

They picked the weekend two weeks hence. It would give Barb time to change her schedule around and get Saturday off. Before they signed off they told each other how nice it would be get together again.

They talked on the phone two days later to confirm. Zach had chosen the place where they could rendezvous and would book the hotel.

—-

Zach was looking forward to the weekend like nothing he could remember. He knew he would want to jump Barb’s bones the minute he saw her. But what did she expect? She’d been through a lot recently and he didn’t want to go over the line and stress her out even more. But he thought it was a very good sign that she was willing to drive close to three hours to spend a couple days with him. And it would be a fine relief to be able to relax with her and be seen together in public, and not have to play hide and sneak. He went out and bought a bunch of metallic and glass bangles.

Barb was looking forward to it too. She’d been in a guilty depression since her breakup and Zach always made her feel good. It would be good to get out of the house because real estate agents would be parading through all weekend anyway. She had figured she was done with men for a while but maybe not. The morning after the Sunday night she and Zach had talked on the phone she’d called her doctor to get back on the pill.

—-

The day came. It was a Friday and both managed to get off early from work. Zach had booked a room at a hotel in a small town on the river and their room had a balcony and view. He stocked the room with drinks and ice. Before he left the room he opened his bag and took out the bangles he’d bought and put them on his wrists. He opened his collar an extra button so Barb would see the chain she’d given him.

Next to the hotel was an old log cabin restaurant. And it had the most creative name: The Log Cabin. It had a big wooden deck overlooking the river with tables, a long bar and live music. This is where they would meet.

It was a warm evening. As the sun lowered in the west the deck was in a comfortable shade. Zach was early so he had a seat at the bar. He wanted to relax and have a cold beer or two before Barb arrived. But she was early too.

He was three swallows into his beer when she arrived. He saw her before she saw him, coming through the french doors to the deck. She grinned when she spotted him. She strode over to him.

She looked fabulous. Her hair was longer, flowing and carefree. She had on a creamy summer dress, a couple inches above her knees, showing off her svelte, tanned physique, and skimpy flat sandals. And of course the jewelry: loaded ears and neck and wrists and ankles and toes. As she came close he saw that all of her fingernails and toenails were painted black and her lips were a deep, lush red.

They hugged. Zach squeezed her tight. He breathed in her luscious scent. The cushioned push of her breasts against him. Her breath on his neck. Her hands on his back. They kissed and her tongue snaked into his mouth. It all came back.

“You look stunning!” Zach said.

“So do you, Honey. And I love your jewelry!” Barb said with a giggle.

“Paying homage,” he said, and shook his wrists. “Jingle Jangle.”

She sat beside him and ordered a gin and tonic. They sat on stools facing each other, talking, with their knees touching and before long were holding hands. Their shared natural exuberance could have been noticed from across the river.

When their drinks were empty Zach started to order another round but Barb stopped him.

“How late are you open?” she asked the bartender.

“Bar closes at two, kitchen closes at midnight.”

She turned to Zach and said, “Let’s come back later.” She didn’t need to say more.

They walked hand-in-hand to her car and retrieved her suitcase. They went into the room and they kissed like long-lost lovers. Which they were.

She opened her bag and found her lipstick. She took the brush and looked in the mirror while she touched up her lips.

“You have your phone?” she asked.

“Sure, right here,” Zach said, and fished it out of his pocket.

“Good. Get that video camera working. We’re going to make another movie. And this time you can show my whole damn face if you want to.”

She moved the straps off of her shoulders and her dress fell to the floor. All she had on were two gold chains around her waist and a slinky thong that matched her lips. She came to Zach and started unbuttoning his shirt.

Zach’s body got covered with lipstick again that night. It was one of the fiercest Jingle Jangles they’d ever had.

****************

---