Eliot Prince
We kiss one last time, in the safety of the dock house after we put up the canoe. The late afternoon air is thick and hazy, and I don’t know whether I want to have a marathon sex session or pass out cold for three hours.
“God,” he breathes.
“Yes?”
“I already want to see you again,” he says, wide-eyed, as he stares down at my chest.
“Same,” I sigh into his hair. If I could make this moment last forever, I would. “Same…”
And then we part ways again. Because the weirdest thing of all is that during all the Robert craziness, I have to pretend I’m also interested in this boring family retreat. And David, too. Up until now, though, he’s been fine. Whenever I disappear, I try to make sure he’s occupied first – playing Scrabble with the kids, drinking wine with an aunt, etcetera. He already knew my family, anyway. But this is starting to be too much. He’s going to notice. I know he is.
But at the same time, I can’t stop. The train has left the station. Robert is too addicting not to pursue whatever this may become.
I hold my breath and walk into our room. “Hey,” I say as David slides into a shirt.
“Hi.” He glances at me, giving me this weird look. Then I wonder if the thing I see in his eyes is suspicion. “Hey, where were you all day, anyway?”
“Uh – canoeing,” I say after a weirdly long pause.
“Oh. With?”
I swallow. “Robert.”
“Uh, what?”
“I, um…yeah. I kinda want to get to know him again.”
“Your weird, hot stepdad?”
“David. He’s not my stepdad. He was barely married to my mom, and that was years and years ago.”
“Okay…it’s just…”
“What?” I interrupt. “How is that weird?”
“I didn’t say it was weird. You did.”
For a long time, there is only silence. Then his eyes change even more. “Be careful,” he says in a quieter voice.
“W-what?”
Finally he looks away, looking smug or pissed or – well, I can’t quite tell. But it doesn’t sit well.
“Be careful on those canoes,” he says. “I heard they tip over easily. That’s all I meant.”
I want to be relieved, but I can’t. I just don’t trust this anymore.
That night we have a catered dinner in the rarely-used main dining room, which Grandma Sara always called “her saloon.” The chandelier is made of deer horns, and the vaulted ceiling is three stories high. I’m just sitting down next to David, and mercifully away from Robert, when my phone buzzes.
It’s Robert. I can’t stop thinking about you. And today. And the waterfall. I like you very much, Eliot.
My chest heaves, and my palms get all sweaty. I’m starting to feel like his swoony little bitch, so my response is a bit terse.
Cool! Me, too. But this is inappropriate. We’re at dinner.
Is it, though? he asks. We’re at dinner. It’s our prerogative.
I groan. You know what I mean. What would my mom say?
I look across the table, diagonal a few seats. He frowns at my message and just stares until my phone vibrates again.
I have to think she’d me mature enough to understand. Maybe one day in a million years. But you’re irresistible, anyway.
My dick gets a little hard. The truth is, every glimpse of his sex makes me want more of it.
…And what’s so irresistible? I ask soon.
Your body in that bathing suit, for one. And your skin against my tongue…
I take a deep breath to calm myself. He was married to my mom once. That means something. I can’t do this so publicly. So I send him another rude text.
I’m getting hard next to my ex-boyfriend, and three seats from my mom, who is your ex-wife. Let’s stop.
He doesn’t respond. I look over, and he is glaring down at his phone. I feel a twinge of sympathy. Why am I being so rude, when I was so open today? Ugh, even I think I’m a douchebag sometimes. So I bury my worries in my wine glass.
As the wine flows, my attitude slowly starts to change. Sara’s favorite saying – EAT, DRINK, AND BE MARY, referring to my mother, Mary Kate – hangs above us all on a plaque, and Sara of all people would probably cackle with delight over this whole thing. I know I’d have her blessing – and if not her blessing, she’d still find glee in the trouble this would cause for everyone. (She never found a bit of drama she didn’t relish.)
So while we’re here, while we’re both boozed-up and horny, why not explore? It’s not like it has to last forever. We’re only here for a few days. Why not have some fun while we can?
I take out my phone.
Meet me in the bathroom, I say. I’ll go first. You wait three minutes, then come.
Whoa, Nelly. Why the change?
Because I can’t resist you anymore, and I want to do things we haven’t done yet. See you soon.
Just one kiss, he says. Okay?
Okay. It’s better than nothing.
I disappear into the bathroom, making sure I left at a time when nobody was paying attention. My mom is drunk again, anyway, so I’m sure she doesn’t care.
Robert opens the door, and suddenly I realize again I cannot flee from this. I run to him, and we have one of those Technicolor kisses, just like before. I start picking at his shirt buttons, and soon we’re half undressed. If I could, I would take his dick right here in this bathroom…
I hold him against me, then look at us in the mirror. Honestly, we look good. I’ve watched porn with many couples who weren’t this attractive. I laugh and sigh at the same time.
“What?” he asks.
“This is just so…wrong.”
“Tell me, Eliot, why is it wrong?”
“Because…”
“Because I was married to your mom for two seconds, a long time ago? You don’t know me from Adam anymore.”
“Well…”
“Give me another reason. I’ve been thinking about this, actually. We aren’t legally tied, either.”
“It’s just weird sometimes, okay! It just is! I want it, but it’s weird. Why can’t you admit that?”
“Because I want to make you feel like you never did before. And I know I can. That’s what is right about this.”
“What do you know about feeling right? You sure are cocky.”
“Hmm,” he breathes against my jaw. “If you let me, I’d introduce you to things you’ve never felt before.”
Honestly I don’t really buy what he’s selling. He sounds like he’s saying what he thinks I want to hear, rather than what he actually wants to say.
Or maybe he really is just that good at sex, and he’s honest?
“But my mom…” I say one last time, and he laughs and interrupts.
“Has done this before.”
“What?”
“Don’t you remember Mike?”
“Who?”
“Mike, your cousin?”
Suddenly it’s like my world comes crashing down. He’s right – my mom has done something like this. After she split with Robert, there was a phase where she came very close to dating her quasi step-cousin. The guy’s mom had once been married to my mom’s uncle, and after they collided via mutual friends and started hanging out, it became a minor family scandal. But in the end, she just didn’t like him, and moved on.
But Robert has an amazing point. I wouldn’t be the only one dipping into the extended Prince family pool for a date – even if this scenario is slightly different. Okay, a universe of difference…
I lean in to kiss him, to redo that magical moment at the falls. Our lips touch. And then we both freeze. Someone’s jiggling at the door. We locked it, but I remember from my childhood that the lock never sticks.
“I’ll get in the closet,” I say, terrified.
“Closet?”
“Yeah, this is the bathroom the caterers use, there’s a broom closet. It’s only big enough for one. You deal with whatever this is.”
“Me? Why me?”
“Because you’re the older one. Duh.”
“I thought that didn’t matter!”
“It does now.”
He rolls his eyes and gets more presentable as I close the door and hide in the darkness. The door bangs open, and someone walks in. I can’t make out any words, just the tone of the voices, and that’s when I nearly shit myself.
I was so petrified it would be David, he was the only option I was preparing myself for. But it’s not David.
It’s my mother.