Chapter 11
Brennon let himself into his apartment around 2 o’clock in the afternoon. Because of some maintenance work being done on campus, the classes in his building had to be canceled for the day. Brennon stopped home to get a few things then go and visit his father. “Yeah, Dad, I’m looking for the binder now then I’ll be over there, I’ll be over there.”
Brennon hung up then zipped around his apartment looking for a copy of a study he received from a colleague. This was the one thing he and his father had in common, so many of their conversations centered around it. Brennon found it on the side of the bookcase. He snatched it then grabbed his keys and headed for the door. Coming home had changed for him over the last two weeks. Katy had been staying with him and he loved every day of it. Watching her get dressed in the morning was always a treat; suddenly chuckling with a deep, sinister voice in the dark always spooked her. Her items lay scattered around the apartment, the true testament of a busy woman. Brennon smiled, never having thought a few months ago he would have a woman living with him. She certainly brought her own touch to the place, even if Brennon didn’t like every little thing.
Brennon pulled up at his father’s house about thirty minutes later. His father, James, lived in a well-established, historic area of town. Many large, Victorian houses with large front yards lined the tree-lined streets. At many of the corners of busy streets where redeveloped brick storefront cornerstone buildings that now served as cafes and arts venue. Brennon parallel parked then headed up the brick walkway. He let himself in then stepped out into the middle of the foyer. “Dad, you here? Are you here?”
Brennon chuckled under his breath and shook his head. “This guy calls me trying to make sure I’m on my way and he’s gone with the wind.”
“Yeah, Brennon, I’m back in the den!” James yelled out.
Brennon headed toward the kitchen then down the laundry room hall. When he came to the den, he found his father standing at his desk. The retired man still served on certain community boards, so he kept busy. He’d been going through a stack of papers on his desk.
“Hey, son, how are you?” the 65-year-old man asked.
Brennon nodded. Something about his life certainly felt different over the last couple of weeks. “Dad, I’ve actually been doing pretty good.”
“Hmm, is that so?” James asked, nodding his head. While raising his sons, people often joked he reminded them of someone who would work in the West Wing. “We need to talk about something.”
Brennon noticed the tense undertone in his father’s voice. “Yeah, Dad. Sure. What’s going on?”
James sat down then pulled his glasses off of his wrinkled face. “Son, please tell me I’m misunderstanding some of the things I’m hearing. You haven’t been seeing Richard’s daughter Katy have you?”
Brennon stared at his father blankly for a moment. He then nodded confidently. “Yes, I have Dad. What’s the problem?”
James leaned back then glanced out of the window. “Not a good idea. I talked to Richard today.”
“Yeah?” Brennon asked. “And what did he say? Katy knows he doesn’t approve, but, Dad, you know we’re not really related.”
“I know you’re not really related, Brennon,” James said. “But that doesn’t mean you don’t have too close of a relationship. Have you talked to Melanie?”
Brennon was a bit lost for words. As they’d gotten older, he didn’t keep in touch with Melanie like he used to. In fact, outside of family functions and funerals, he really didn’t talk to her much beyond casual text messages. He felt like if his sister felt that strongly about it, she would’ve contacted him by now.
Brennon shook his head. “No...No, I haven’t. Actually, haven’t heard from her in a while.”
James nodded. “Son, well she’s having a hard time I guess understanding this. I told you Richard is really not going for this. Brennon, he had such high thoughts of you...such a good impression. That man opened all kinds of doors for you with your career and whatnot...and for you to be over having a romance or whatever you want to call it with his daughter Katy.” The man became visibly angrier. “What in the world, Brennon?”
Brennon paced for a second. “Dad, I don’t get what you want me to say.”
James stood up. “Brennon, you’ve been around enough to know what I’m talking about. You used to give them rides growing up and stuff. Do you realize how this looks? Seriously? Do you realize how this looks? And the age difference...like fifteen, sixteen years?”
“Yes, and?” Brennon asked. He too was now getting a little frustrated. He hated feeling attacked, especially on something he felt strongly about. “Dad, I’m not going to stop seeing her. We’re two adults. In fact, sometimes I feel like she’s older than me.”
“Brennon, Brennon, Brennon,” James said, shaking his head. When he looked up, his eyes were a bit more protruding, letting his son know he was getting truly angry. “Our families are well known in this city for being a certain kind of people. Respected. Accomplished. Dignified. Are you having some sort of mid-life crisis or something, son? I mean, really? It’s Katy, son! Katy! Richard’s daughter! Melanie’s cousin. Remember when you took them to school? Huh? When you drove them to the fair? When Katy would spend the night over here and your mother would have little tea parties with them? Brennon?”
“Dad, look,” Brennon said, thinking he saw his father’s point. “It’s not like there was something going on between us back then. Really, I didn’t even look at Katy like a woman until a couple of years ago, maybe, if that.”
“How did it happen, Brennon?” Richard asked. “How long? Huh?”
Brennon thought about it for a moment then explained how he and Katy got on so well when everyone was last over to their house. He admitted to having been romantically involved with her for months.
“Well, where is she staying, Brennon?” James asked, feeling like he couldn’t get through to his son. “Will you tell me that? Apparently, she hasn’t been talking to her parents for the last couple of weeks.” The man cleared his throat, clearly about to bring up something sensitive. “Brennon, answer me honestly. Is Katy staying with you at your place?”
Brennon paused, hesitant to answer. Based on what he heard and now had seen of his and Katy’s families reacting to their love affair going public, her living with him probably wouldn’t make things any better. “Yes.”
James slammed his fist into the desk. “Brennon, this is foolish! Damn foolish, son!”
Brennon raised his voice, arguing with his father as he headed down the hallway. He made his way toward the front of the house. It’d been a long time since a woman captured this man’s heart the way Katy did. Politics, as they called it when Brennon comforted her that night she came to stay with him, weren’t enough to get in the way of that.
Brennon decided to take the longer, street route home when he left his father’s house. The man had been standing on the porch when he pulled off. Brennon looked up, into his eyes, then ahead. Since then, he’d been riding down tree-lined streets with the radio down at a low volume. He took in his surroundings; the neighborhood’s busyness. He vividly remembered he and Katy talking about keeping their romance a secret. While the secrecy surely, and obviously, helped things move along smoothly; however, naysayers wouldn’t be enough to ruin it. One thing was for sure: there was a certain new kind of sunshine in Brennon’s life. Even after a few tense minutes with his father, he looked forward to Katy hopefully being home when he pulled up at his apartment building.
Downtown faded in the background as Brennon crossed over the interstate. His phone vibrated in his pocket, prompting him to dig it out. It was Melanie calling. Anytime was as good as now to talk to her. “Hello?”
“Hey, Brennon, it’s me, Melanie. How are you?”
“I’m okay, Melanie,” Brennon said, anxious about what his little sister was about to say. “And yourself?”
“Doing well, Brennon,” Melanie said. “Doing well. Okay, so you probably know why I’m calling. I wanted to call you last week, but I had to get my thoughts together. As you probably know, I’ve been hearing things and I guess I need to hear them from you, maybe, or maybe you need to clear stuff up.”
Brennon swallowed. “Okay, so what is it that you want me to clear up for you?” Even for a man, he felt vulnerable.
“Brennon, is there really something going on between you and my cousin Katy?” Melanie asked.
“Yeah, we’re seeing one another, Melanie,” Brennon answered. “We’ve been seeing each other for a little while now. She’s actually staying with me, just so you know and you heard it from me.”
“Oh,” Melanie said, clearly a bit surprised. “I see.”
“Yeah,” Brennon said. “She’s not really feeling like staying at her parents’ right now so I offered her to come and stay with me. You haven’t talked to her?”
“No,” Melanie said then sighed. “I sent her a text message like last week, but I never got a response.”
Brennon nodded as he turned a corner. He now rolled a winding road crossing through a park. “Oh, okay. I’m surprised. So, Melanie, I just came from Dad. I’m sure you talked to him and already knew that. You’re calling me right after I left. So, guess I might as well hear it from you too, right? Katy’s parents hate it, as you probably could figure. Richard probably wants to kick my ass now, but oh well. And Dad is, as you already know, pretty pissed off about it.”
“Yeah, I can imagine,” Melanie said. “Well, what I actually wanted to say Brennon was that I support you all’s love.”
“Really?” Brennon asked. “You and Melanie grew up pretty close, Melanie. You don’t have to pretend to be okay with it if you’re not.”
“It’s not about if I’m okay with it or not, Brennon,” Melanie said. “It’s just not about that. I’m not going to shun you two. And, honestly, knowing Katy, you two could actually be good for each other honestly.”
Brennon chuckled. “Yeah, it seems that way. I will say that.”
Brennon talked to Melanie until he pulled up in the parking lot and into his spot. He smiled when saw Katy’s car. “Okay, well, I’ll tell her to text you back. She’s probably scared that you are upset or mad or something about it. I don’t know...she didn’t bring up that she got a text from you. But, thank you sister for supporting us.”
Melanie said her last few things, one of them being how she would have a talk with her, then hung up. Brennon grabbed his bag then headed upstairs. He listened intently when he stepped into the apartment. He noticed the silence, figuring that Katy was probably lying down. “Hey, it’s me!” Brennon announced. “You sleeping?”
“Hey!” Katy shouted, her voice a bit somber. “I just got here. In the bedroom.”
Brennon chuckled, dropped his bag, then headed to the bedroom. There he found Katy lying in the bed, with her diary and a pen lying next to her. She put her pen down into the book then closed it. She smiled, but clearly wasn’t her usual chipper self. “Hey, how are you?”
Brennon approached the foot of the bed. “I’m good. What’s up? And don’t tell me it’s nothing, because I can tell. You look like you had a worse day than even me. I went over to my Dad’s today.”
“Huh? Yeah?” Katy leaned up, ready to listen. “What happened at your dad’s?”
“Katy, I told him we’re staying together,” Brennon said. “He got pretty ticked off when he asked me if we were seeing each other. And, as you can expect, he too thinks it’s a horrible idea. He even started shouting at me and asking me if I was having a mid-life crisis and all that.” He shook his head. “From the sounds of it, he’s been talking with your father.”
Katy looked away with shameful eyes. “Oh, has he? Well, I can imagine the conversation those two had. Politics.”
“Yup, politics,” Brennon said. “Melanie called me when I was on my way over here.”
“She did?” Katy asked. “I never texted her back.” She sighed. “I didn’t know what to say, honestly. I didn’t know how she would react. I just wanted to get my stuff when my parents weren't at home then come over here and move on for a while. I have an aunt and one of my uncles, who never calls me, has called. I can only imagine what they’re saying. They’re really acting like we’re related.”
Brennon undid his tie then threw it to the side. “Yeah...and that it’s all about how it looks.” He shrugged. “Oh, well, they’re just going to have to get used to it. I don’t know what to tell them.”
Katy rested on her knees on the bed while she watched Brennon finishing undressing. Her lips curled into a smile as she admired Brennon’s defiant attitude. She could tell by how he moved on with the subject that he didn’t care about his reputation or about his social standing with regards to some of the groups he took part in with her father. He was content enough to go against his own father – a man he respected so much – in the name of loving her.
Katy knocked her journal, in which she’d been channeling her feelings, to the floor then grabbed Brennon’s wrist. “Come here,” she told him.
Brennon smirked as he followed his lady’s lead. He crawled into the bed and positioned himself gently on top of her. He looked into her eyes for a long few minutes. Then, shortly after Katy placed her hands on his cheeks, they started kissing passionately. Brennon ran his hands up and down Katy’s legs. She had changed into sweatpants when she got home.
“I love you, Brennon,” Katy said.
Brennon smiled, moving a stray clump of hair out of Katy’s face. “I love you too, Katy.”
Brennon’s urge to make love to Katy became so strong. Her scent drove him crazy; how she looked beautiful even in sweatpants and a t-shirt just couldn’t be explained. He kissed down her neck then lifted her shirt up. He chuckled under his breath at how Katy squirmed and kicked her legs about when Brennon gently kissed her stomach.
“Stop that!” Katy said, struggling to breathe and laugh. “Brennon! Okay, okay. Stop, seriously! You know I hate that.” She laughed.
Brennon pulled his head up from her exposed torso, laughing. “Hmm, hmm. I knew that would get you going.” He looked down at Katy’s legs. “Okay, let’s get these off.”
Katy cooperated to the fullest when Brennon started pulling her pants off. She smiled and giggled when he growled, tossing her pants to the side then kissing up and down her legs. She was pleasantly surprised when Brennon gently pressed her chest, signaling for her to lay back. He then lay flat on the bed, raising her legs up. Katy felt Brennon’s ears pressing against the insides of her thighs then his warm breath on her sex. Only seconds after this feeling registered did she feel his wet tongue slash about between her legs. She rustled his hair with her hands while her head cocked back and her eyes rolled back into her head.
“Brennon,” Katy said, running her hands through his hair.
Brennon chuckled but didn’t pull his head up. There was something about having his head between Katy’s legs that drop him wild. His manhood raged, anxious to make love to Katy. The stresses of their secret relationship were finally catching up with the both of them. There, in Brennon’s dimly lit bedroom, he orally made love to a woman he loved more than any of his passed relationships. Age had become just a number; their history – his relationship to her family – had become irrelevant. Brennon relished in the feeling of Katy’s thighs pressing against the sides of his face for the next several minutes.
Katy squealed. “Okay, okay!” she said, finally finding the strength to push Brennon’s head away from her sex. “Okay, Brennon!” She then looked up at Brennon pull his head up, licking his lips and looking into her eyes with so much lust and anticipation.
Brennon chuckled. “Hmm, hmm.”
Before Katy could say anything, she was overcome with Brennon passionately kissing her. She then felt her legs opening up, his body between them. Instinctively, she wrapped them around his back. Brennon moved a stray clump of Katy’s hair out of her face and smiled. “I love you, Katy. I really do. I mean that.” He nodded. “I love you and I don’t give a damn what our families say. It just doesn’t matter to me.”
Katy smiled, laying her head on the side of Brennon’s face. “I love you too, Brennon.” They kissed for a moment. “I love you too.”
The two lovers got lost in the throw of passion, rolling around on the bed. They kissed and wrestled at the same time. Katy had never felt this way – so frolicky, in the bed with this handsome, older man. Several minutes later, both catching their breath, Brennon moved up between Katy’s legs one again. Katy smiled then felt Brennon pushing himself into her. She opened her legs nice and wide.
Brennon slowly slid deeply into Katy until he reached the end of his reach. Katy felt the stretch then smiled, wrapping her arms around Brennon’s upper back. The room filled with their lovemaking noises as Brennon built up to a steady stroke.
“God, this feels good!” Katy exclaimed. The ridicule, and perhaps shame depending on who was asked, didn’t mean anything.
Brennon made love to Katy in the missionary position for the next several moments. When he finally took a break from pummeling Katy, Katy gently pushed his chest, signaling for him to lean up. When Brennon did just that, his cock coming out of Katy, Katy gently pushed his chest still until he lay flat with his head toward the foot of the bed. Katy then wrapped her hand around the base of Brennon’s cock and straddled him for a moment until lowering down onto it.
“Damn!” Brennon said, putting his hands-on Katy’s hips. “You know I like this position.”
Katy giggled, but said nothing. She took a moment to get her barring’s then started to ride Brennon like there was no tomorrow. She was feeling extra wild – perhaps even rebellious. Soon enough, Brennon pressed his pelvis up, causing Katy to bounce up and down wildly. Her hair flung around, from shoulder to shoulder. The clapping sound of their bodies slamming together was oh so rhythmic – like music to their ears.
“Oh, Katy!” Brennon said. He then grinded his teeth. “Katy, I’m about to cum! You’re going to make me cum like this!”
A giggle slipped from Katy’s lips then she planted her hands firmly into Brennon’s chest and smiled. She then started riding him so hard that even Brennon couldn’t keep up with his own thrusts. Katy watched the way his eyes rolled back in his head. Then, his body tensed up, but she did not slow down the least bit. Less than two minutes later, Brennon held Katy by the hips and used every bit of his strength to bounce her up and down on his body until he erupted. He put his hand around the back of her neck and gently pulled her down to kiss him. They told one another they loved each other once again then lay down on the bed, Katy’s head on Brennon’s chest. They stared blankly at the bedroom window, both in post-ecstasy thought.
Brennon looked over at Katy and chuckled. Katy then looked at him with questioning eyes. “What?”
“Nothing,” Brennon said. “Just thinking about something.”
“About what?” Katy asked.
“You’ve never really been the adventurous type, have you Katy?” Brennon asked.
“Um, well.” Katy thought for a moment. “Depends, I guess. Why?”
Brennon smiled, looking into Katy’s eyes then turned back toward the window. A humorous chuckled slipped out of his mouth. “Oh, no reason.”
Feeling the need to escape their daily lives was overcoming Brennon.