Just One Look

Jake Peterson hung up the phone with a grin on his face. Laura Higgins! He never thought things would have gotten this far. Now he had a date with her this Saturday, just two days away!

He went to the refrigerator to grab a "celebratory" beer and flicked on the television.

"Laura Higgens," he thought to himself. True she wasn't what he always thought to be "his type," but he had to admit, he could bend his rules just this once! She was about 5'8," dark piercing eyes, jet black straight hair and couldn't weigh more that 110 pounds, with a good share of that in her chest. Her thin frame always visible through the tight clothes she wore each time he saw her.

It was last year when Jake decided he couldn't last one more day working his actuary job and decided to go back to school for an architectural degree. All through High School he excelled at his science classes, but what came most easily to him was math. So when it was time to meet with his guidance councilor to choose his college, it was agreed that a math degree would be best. Never one to look to complicate his life, Jake cruised through the easiest path, graduating from Lafayette college in Pennsylvania with a 3.4 GPA and a BS in Mathematics. He wouldn't say he exactly enjoyed his major, but as it came so easily to him, he figured it was meant to do.

Upon graduation, he continued upon the path of least resistance, getting a good paying job at a large insurance company as an actuary. Unfortunately, when he actually started working, he quickly realized just how boring his job could be. So used to taking the easy route, he longed for some more creativity and challenge in his life.

So now at 27 years old, he found himself back in school, pursuing his first love, born in high school art class: Architecture.

Back at Lafayette full time, taking classes both at night and during the day, he finally felt his life was going in the right direction. He had a nice apartment, his student loans paid off, with a good nest egg in bank from his six years in the work force, and his future ahead of him.

It was in a drafting class that Jake first met Laura. All eyes followed her as she entered the classroom, exuding sexuality. Jake also admired her, joining the rest of the guys in the room looking at her prominently displayed cleavage almost bursting over her tight white low cut shirt. Her tight fitting jeans also showing off her very fit body.

He wasn't a big fan of such obvious sexuality (and much more partial to smaller breasts), but had to admit, she was quite pleasing to the eye, and a bit of a rarity in his male dominant classes.

So he was that much more surprised when weeks later after pairing up with her, he found he actually liked her. She was smart, funny, and although a bit of a flirt (in the way she acted and dressed), seemed to be a really nice person. Months later after all the signs (touching his arm when she talked to him, always asking about his personal life) Jake decided to ask her out.

At 5'9," Jake generally preferred shorter girls, and his previous girlfriends, although attractive, were never ones interested in drawing attention to themselves. Although he never had trouble with the opposite sex, he considered himself pretty average with his brown hair slightly larger than average nose. But his girlfriends all told him how adorable he was, and with his athletic build and blue eyes assured him he was quite the catch.

He went to bed that night thinking about his date that Saturday, with visions of Laura's body dancing through his mind.

Saturday morning he got up, changed quickly and was off to to gym. He found himself with extra energy, bench pressing a few more reps than usual, visualizing Laura, her body adding inspiration. He figured he'd finish his workout, shower, run over for his tutoring session, have time to finish up his schoolwork, and then get ready for his date.

Three hours later he found himself waiting at the door of the Harper's house.

"Hello Mrs. Harper. . . " He said weakly to the attractive woman who answered the door.

"Hi Jake," she said quickly, ducking behind the door, reemerging with her keys in her hand. "Rebecca will be right there, help yourself to something to drink. I'll see you next week." Off she went, sliding into her black Audi parked in the driveway.

Jake again noticed how distracted Mrs. Harper looked and again wondered just how well she was functioning. He opened the refrigerator, grabbed a bottle of water and sat down at the table in the kitchen.

His former coworker referred him to the Harpers, explaining their situation to Jake and asking him if he was interested in picking up a little extra money.

Three years ago, Mr. Don Harper was killed in a traffic accident on the way home from work, leaving his wife Jill and 13 year old daughter Rebecca alone in their large suburban Chicago home. The two were devastated, Rebecca pulling herself into a shell, started struggling badly in school and Jill pouring herself into her job working at an adult employment catering towards minority women. As things slowly got worse for Rebecca, Jill couldn't seem to find the solution for her, and recognizing her own unhappiness, decided for a change.

With the considerable insurance from Don's death, Jill decided to move back to Pennsylvania to the town she grew up in, hoping the change would be good for the struggling Rebecca. Now three years later, Rebecca was doing much better, enrolled in an all-girls private school, and Jill employed by the local school district, directing the adult education division.

A few months after leaving his job with the insurance company, his former coworker Janet called him, telling him of a friend she knew from the local gym and how her daughter Rebecca was in need of a math tutor. He agreed and started the weekend sessions, always arriving as Jill Harper was leaving for her day of classes.

Although Jake hardly had any contact with Jill Harper, as she always seemed so distracted when he saw her, He soon learned that she was quite a nice woman, and a bit more in tune than he thought. She quickly picked up on his discomfort the first time they met as Jake struggled with what to call her (Is it still Mrs.? Is it Ms.? How does one address a widow?), smiled and told him she still preferred Mrs. Harper, or Jill. Jake stuck with Mrs. Harper.

She introduced him to her seventeen year old daughter Rebecca, and they agreed to meet for an hour each week.

Rebecca was a cute girl with dirty blond hair, about 5'2," very quiet and like her mother, often seemed distracted. Jake quickly found out she was quite a sweet girl, and very intelligent. In fact, early on Jake had a conversation with Jill expressing his view that she probably didn't need math tutoring, but she let him know that although she was doing much better in school, math was always her "difficult" subject, and even if not entirely necessary, she wanted to continue the sessions.

"Hey Becky!," Jake said as she walked into the room. Their first session as he was leaving she shyly asked him to call her Becky. She said that's what her dad always called her, and now her mom's the only one who calls her Rebecca. He apologized sheepishly saying "of course," feeling a bit awkward at the mention of her father, and she gave him a little smile.

He remembered that day when he first saw her, coming down the stairs with her baggy Chicago Bears sweatshirt and sweatpants, her wavy hair up in a ponytail and wire rim glasses. He honestly thought she was no more than fourteen. Then the next week, she almost looked like a diferent girl, with her hair down, contact lenses in and wearing jeans. He noticed what a nice (and definitely not fourrteen year old) body she had, and how pretty her eyes were. Jake couldn't help looking at her rear end as she got up for a drink, and wondered what she was hiding under yet another one of her baggy sweatshirts.

In subsequent weeks he couldn't help but notice her top half was as nice as her bottom with a body that reminded me of a gymnast or ice-skater.

"Another sweatshirt!" Jake joked as she sat down. "And another one I haven't seen yet!"

"I like to be warm," she retorted, "And as cold as mom keeps the house, it's almost all I wear 'till April." In fact the only time Jake saw her wearing anything else was a couple of weeks back when the temperature outside, uncharacteristically for March, hit 73.

As she was working some problems out of her trigonometry book a few minutes later he looked her over unconsciously comparing her to Laura. He always thought Becky would become a very attractive woman (He saw what a difference a change in clothes and hair could make), but she'd never have the pure sexuality of Laura. Sitting there Jake could feel his heart race a bit, thinking about Laura's chest, putting his hand on her breast, in her shirt . . . .

"How's that?" Becky said, startling him back to the moment. Jake quickly leaned over hiding the slight erection he knew he had produced with his daydreams. Again her work was flawless.

"Trying to put me out of a job?" he asked. She flashed him an embarrassed smile.

"Just trying not to disappoint you Jake. You know how much that would hurt me." Now she was joking. As Jake left that day he thought what a sweet girl she was, and how he probably would have gone ga-ga for her when he was in high school. It was a shame about her father, and he really hoped things would work out for her and her mother.

But Jake had larger fish to fry! Enough of the Harpers, it was his night tonight! He had Laura Higgins to prepare for!

. . . . . . . .

When Jake returned to his apartment at 12:30 that night he had an almost painful erection. He was quite pleased with how his date went! He had picked up Laura and his eyes were immediately drawn to her prominently displayed cleavage, her exposed midriff and what looked like "painted-on" black leather pants. She gave him a peck on the cheek and off they went. After a nice dinner, they went to see a movie, and all night he couldn't help but move his eyes from her chest to her ass, to her face and back to her chest. All the while she flirted with him, again giving little touches here and there, continuing her flirtations. He wondered what the end of the night would hold.

When they got back to her apartment, he expected to be asked in, and was a bit disappointed when she mentioned getting up early the next morning and needing her sleep. His disappointment quickly vanished however as she leaned in an kissed him passionately, her mouth slightly open, her tongue probing his lips.

As quickly as she started her kiss, she pulled away, giving Jake a mischievous look as she retreated into her apartment and closed the door.

Jake found himself standing at the door for several seconds with a huge hard-on, wondering if the night could have gone better.

Once home he quickly washed up, jumped into bed and couldn't help himself from masturbating to the image of running his hands all over Laura's body, hoping he would be playing this out for real in the not too distant future.

. . . . . . . . .

Four weeks and five dates later each with the passionate kissing at the end of the date (followed by his customary masturbation session at home), Jake was wondering if he wasn't dating your stereotypical "tease." Each date seemed to go well, but for some reason Laura seemed reluctant to take it any further. Each night ended with him standing outside her door, wondering what would happen next time. He had even invited her to his apartment a few times, but she refused, saying she "didn't think she was ready for that," whatever that meant. Jake wondered if there was anything he could do to perhaps "nudge" the relationship along. On an impulse he went to the florist and picked out a dozen roses, thinking he'd surprise her with a quick visit. He knocked on the door and waited with the roses behind his back.

"Jake!" said a surprised Laura when she answered the door, wearing a little pair of denim shorts and a white t-shirt, "what are you doing here?"

Jake pulled out the flowers dramatically from behind his back and presented them to her.

"Oh, that's so sweet" said looking at the flowers, but making no move to take them. It was then that Jake noticed she was holding a phone in her hand, one hand covering the mouthpiece. There was an awkward few seconds before she continued "can you wait a sec?" and closed the door.

So far it wasn't going exactly as Jake envisioned. He looked around, wondering if anyone else got to witness the poor schmuck having the door shut in his face with flowers in hand. He felt his face turn red, and was just considering walking away when the door re-opened.

"Sorry Jake" she said giving him a kiss on the cheek. "That was Tom. Look, I'm a little busy now, can I call you later?"

Tom, Jake thought to himself, was Laura's ex boyfriend. She only mentioned him a couple of times as they were reviewing their past relationships. Tom who she broke up with because he "never treated her well." The Tom who "always put his friends first" and "only was interested in her when he was horny." Jake got a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Oh, . . so are you talking to him again?," he asked feeling more and more awkward having this conversation still standing outside flowers in his hand.

"Oh Jake, you're not jealous are you?" she said, flashing a big smile. "We've really never stopped talking, you know. I told you how upset he was when we broke up, and I couldn't just drop out of his life all of the sudden! And my mom always said: 'don't burn any bridges, you never know what may happen.'"

Jake stood there stunned. He couldn't believe she just said that to him as if she was telling him the weather.

"So in case you decide to get back together." He said with a hint of sarcasm.

"Yea, I guess" she said with a far away look. Jake just studied her face, wondering what kind of person would actually say the things she just said, in such a nonchalant manor.

"Tell you what," Laura said reaching down to take the flowers and turning her smile to Jake. "Let me take these, and how 'bout if you come over Sunday night. We'll order pizza and watch a movie!"

"Uh .. .ok" Jake mumbled. "It's a date!" Laura said lightly, then put one arm around Jake and kissed him fully on the mouth, pressing her body against his. "Call me Sunday afternoon!" She winked at him then left him staring once more at her closed apartment door.

"What the hell was that," Jake muttered aloud, driving home. It sure seemed that Laura was still into her ex on some level, and all this time they were still talking? And although the prospect of finally getting into her apartment was enticing, was she just using him as a back-up plan in case things don't work out with Tom?

The rest of the week Jake couldn't stop thinking about what Laura said, and how it didn't seem to cross her mind that it wasn't the most appropriate thing to say to someone she was supposedly "dating."

That Saturday while waiting for Becky to finish working on a few problems, his distraction must have been apparent as she kept looking up at him.

"Jake?" He looked up at her suddenly. "You OK?"

He smiled at her, touched with the concern in her eyes. "Yeah I'm fine." She looked at him for a few seconds more before shrugging and looking down again.

"Are you sure?" She asked again, and Jake noticed that he'd been staring at his hands.

"Yeah, . . . well, nothing big, just . . girl trouble, nothing major."

"What kinda trouble?" She quickly asked.

"This girl I'm sorta seeing," he began, wondering why he was discussing his love life with a seventeen year old, "I'm suspecting that maybe . . .maybe she's not such a nice person."

Becky looked confused. "Then why are you seeing her?"

He looked at her a few moments before giving a weak shrug. She suddenly looked down as her cheeks seemed to get a little red and continued working her math problems.

Jake was touched by her concern, and again looked over at her. As the weather was turning warmer, it seemed her sweatshirts had gone into hibernation. Today she was wearing a blue t-shirt over a long sleeve white shirt and a pair of faded jeans. With her glasses perched on her slightly freckled nose and hair pulled back in a pony-tail, Becky could have passed as a middle-schooler. She was really a sweet girl and he wondered what kind of woman she'd turn out to be.

. . . . . . . . .

When Jake got home that Sunday night, he was pretty pissed. He was pissed at Laura (although that was passing) but mostly he was pissed at himself.

He arrived at Laura's deciding to give it a chance and see what would happen. He didn't bring up Tom, and she was much more affectionate than usual, kissing him when he arrived, getting him a beer and leading him to the couch where they made out for a few minutes. She was wearing a very tight pair of black denim shorts and a tight black sleeveless top that left her stomach exposed, and Jake couldn't resist running his hands over her bottom, up under the back of her shirt, and pulling her body against his.

Just then the phone rang, and Laura popped up off the couch to answer it. "So what kinda pizza you want?" She asked, as if it were the pizza parlor on the phone. She looked down at the caller id. "Oh, it's Tom. Hold on." She smiled at Jake and went into the other room.

Again Jake was left wondering what the hell she was doing. It wasn't normal was it? After a couple of minutes he picked up the tv remote and started channel surfing, wondering what she could possibly be talking about.

After what had to be at least 15 minutes later, she returned smiling saying, "Now, where were we?"

Jake looked up at her incredulously. "We were about to order pizza," he said, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice.

"Oh, grow up Jake! It's not like we're screwing or anything" she said with a dismissive wave of her hand as she got out the phone book. "Let's just have a good time tonight." Laura put the phone book on the table and leaned over it with her legs straight giving Jake a good look at her rear.

He suddenly felt a little sick looking at her. What was she doing? Was he that easily manipulated? The rest of the night he alternated between feelings of lust and disgust at Laura, one moment deciding he should just get up and leave, but the next being thrilled as she pulled his hands to her bare legs and held them there as they watched the film. He couldn't deny the erection he had almost the entire length of the movie.

And when the movie ended and Laura leaned back lengthwise on the couch , her head on the armrest, her knees best, legs apart, Jake couldn't help but stare at the middle of her tight shorts and the middle of her groin displayed so openly in front of him.

"Kiss me," she said softly reaching for him with her hands in between her knees.

Jake wanted to reach for her, slip between her legs, grind his erection into that inviting spot between her offered thighs . . . . "So, when's the last time you actually saw Tom," he heard himself say.

"God!," she barked out, swinging her legs together and jumping off the couch. "Why are you so obsessed with him?" She angrily got up and switched off the TV. "I don't know," he mumbled "I just don't feel comfortable .. "

"You certainly feel comfortable grabbing my ass!" She cut in. "All you've been doing is trying to get into my pants and now you're complaining about my EX boyfriend? If you must know I saw him last night! And no, I didn't fuck him if that's what you're wondering!"

Jake was taken aback by her outburst and just stared as she continued shouting. "God, I thought we were having fun, and now you want to ruin it by getting all jealous! I guess not sleeping with you was right, Tom said you sounded creepy!" Jake again found himself at a loss for words and started wishing he could just disappear wondering how he ever got himself in a situation with someone like this.