Flirting in Traffic

Well…there was that. She wouldn’t be a terrible person for wanting good sex. She certainly wouldn’t be any more single-minded than Finn himself.

But something strange had occurred when she’d seen Finn walking toward her in traffic with that determined expression on his handsome face. Something that made the blood run so fast in her veins that she’d felt lightheaded. A heretofore unknown feeling had overcome her at the sight of him stalking through those cars like a tawny lion on the hunt. The sensation amplified until she was rendered nearly speechless by the time he’d leaned down and she’d caught his scent.

How was it possible that a man could have such a profound effect on her body? Esa wondered as she and Carla followed the football player and the mummy up the stairs to the crowded front porch. Lit jack-o-lanterns of various sizes with facial expressions that ranged from the eerie to the comical glowed festively along the porch parapet. The rowdy notes of Ballroom Blitz sounded through the opened front door.

“Hi Chase…that’s not Marisa under all those bandages, is it?” an attractive woman in her fifties with stylishly cut short blonde hair teased.

“Nah, she’s coming with her sister Angie in a bit,” Chase said as he took off his helmet and gave the woman a hug. “You know Seamus Hatfield right, Mrs. M.?”

The woman’s eyes narrowed as she studied Seamus the Mummy. “Used to play football with Finn in high school? Running back, if I recall correctly.”

“You’ve got a good memory, Mrs. Madigan.”

She laughed. “You’re right. A good memory is a necessity of life with all these kids, grandkids and cousins. Go on out to the deck, you two. The kegs are out there and Danny’s got burgers and brats on the grill. There’s more food than you’ll know what to do with in the kitchen.”

“And what about the…” Chase asked as he mimed dealing cards. “I’m planning to win back some of the money that your two oldest sons took from me a couple weeks ago.”

“They’re playing cards in the family room, not that I’m condoning gambling, mind you.”

Chase moved forward and Finn’s mother caught sight of Carla and Esa.

“Oh, hello! I’m sorry, I didn’t see you behind these two big guys. I’m Molly Madigan.”

Chase and Seamus turned to examine them as Esa and Carla introduced themselves and shook hands with Molly.

“Two women that look like them? They gotta be Finn’s, Jess’, Caleb’s…or maybe even Danny’s dates. Danny’s getting up there…starting to play with the big boys,” Chase speculated.

He laughed when Esa glanced at him in surprise, giving away the near accuracy of his guess. He leaned forward and spoke close to Molly Madigan’s ear but loud enough for Esa and Carla to hear. “What kind of boys did you raise, Mrs. M., that they don’t even go and pick up their dates?”

“Finn offered,” Esa said quickly, more to Molly than Chase. She’d already learned from Finn that the neat, attractive woman who stood in front of her wouldn’t take kindly to the idea of one of her sons behaving rudely. “I just wanted to drive.”

“Oh, so you are Finn’s friend? He told me to look out for you. And as for Jess, he’s been busy helping Glory and me set up for the party,” Molly assured Carla, as though she were worried she might have been offended by Chase’s teasing. She took Esa by the arm. “Now, come on, you two, and we’ll look for them. I hope they’re not at cards already…or playing Wolf Man, now that it’s dark…”

Carla shot Esa a dubious glance of amusement behind Molly’s back but there wasn’t much of a chance to either tell their kind hostess that she needn’t worry about attending to them personally or ask her what she meant by “playing Wolf Man”. The foyer and homey living room that they walked into was so loud with boisterous conversations and rambunctious music that all Esa could do was concentrate on following Molly through the crowd.

“Oh, there’s Jess. Jess!” Molly called out.

Esa spotted Jess out on the back terrace, leaning back on the railing with a beer bottle in his hand and chatting with another tall young man with sun-burnished light brown hair holding a spatula and dressed like a seventies rock star. Given his obvious chef status, Esa guessed he was Finn’s younger brother Danny. He smiled at something Jess said, the quick flash of brilliance reminding her poignantly of Finn.

Molly Madigan had certainly given birth to some awesome-looking males, Esa had to admit.

Jess glanced through the opened patio doors and waved happily when he saw Carla. Esa studied his handsome face as Carla went to join him. She was at least partially mollified that he seemed to be genuinely glad to see her good friend. Carla may pretend like Jess Madigan hadn’t gotten beneath her skin but Esa saw the familiar signs that indicated otherwise.

Carla had gone through several bad breakups in the last five years. The scars that she’d received from those love-affairs-gone-awry were part of the reason that she’d acquired this new, callous, single-minded attitude regarding men and sex. But Esa could sense Carla’s bravado wearing thin when it came to Jess.

And it worried her.

“One down and one to go,” Molly shouted over the notes of Thriller. “Maybe Finn is in the kitchen getting something to eat.”

Esa just nodded and followed her hostess into a crowded kitchen. The music was muffled somewhat when the heavy oak door swung shut. Almost every occupant of the room was a woman. Molly introduced her to so many people that Esa’s head spun, but she took extra interest when she was introduced to “Finn’s cousin Dina”.

There was nothing suspicious about Finn’s teacher in the arts of kissing—in addition to God knew what other erotic activities. The attractive brunette who looked about five years older than Esa was as friendly as everyone else Molly introduced her to, so Esa supposed she could only be thankful to Dina for being such an amazing instructor.

Although she hazarded a guess that Finn possessed an innate talent when it came to the kissing department.

She also took extra interest in meeting Finn’s three sisters. Anna Jean and Ellen were the youngest—Esa guessed their ages to be around sixteen or seventeen. The purity of Anna Jean’s youthful features made her a perfect Joan of Arc while Ellen’s pert pug nose and saucy grin made her ideally suited for her surfer girl costume. The oldest of the three, Mary Kate, a pretty woman with a gorgeous mane of blonde hair, studied Esa with frank interest when Molly introduced them.

“Finn was here just a minute ago. Not sure where he went off to,” Mary Kate offered politely.