“All rock stations like the first one?”
I shake my head. “Mostly top 40 stuff. Although, this time of year, it’s all Christmas songs.”
“Are you sick of them?”
I laugh. “You have no idea.”
“I could never get sick of Christmas songs,” she says as I take a sip of my beer, never taking my eyes off her. “I used to love listening to your radio station when I lived here. Every time a love song came on, I would picture you playing it for me.”
My eyes widen a little.
“I mean… not that you were playing it for me. I mean, that you were picking it for… everyone.” She closes her eyes and shakes her head like she can’t believe what she just said.
My heart starts pounding a little harder. She used to think about me? When she heard love songs?
“Mrs. Hearst,” she quickly says, turning to get away from the awkwardness that she’s feeling. “Do you need any help?”
“Sure,” Judy says. “The veggie dip is empty. Would you mind chopping some carrots and celery for it?”
“Absolutely.” She darts away before I can say another word, but this little beauty is not getting away from me that easily. I follow her to the island as she hurries around it and grabs some carrots.
I always get asked around the holidays why I never settled down. I’m fifty-one years old and I’ve never been married. Never even been engaged.
I’ve never had a good answer, but I do now. I was waiting for the one. I was waiting for a feeling like this. When everything would click into place and I knew the girl I was looking at would be the one I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
Everyone thinks I want the bachelor lifestyle. They think I beat women away with a stick because I want to be single. But that’s not true.
The truth is I want a family. I want a wife I can hold at night and kids who will climb on me in the morning to wake me up way too early. I’ve always wanted that, but I was never willing to settle for just any woman. I wanted my soulmate by my side.
“Get it together,” I whisper to myself under my breath.
How can this be the girl? Really.
I’ve barely talked to her. She’s my little niece’s best friend for fuck’s sake. It’s probably just the lonely feelings that come around during the Holidays. That’s what it is.
“Ethan,” Judy says as she places some celery next to Mandy’s cutting board. “Did Mandy tell you that she’s in college now? We’re so proud of her!”
I smile but a panicky edgy feeling is vibrating through my body. All I can think about is all those young horny guys surrounding my girl, talking to her, bumping into her in the halls. I take a deep breath to calm myself.
“Really?” I say as I lean against the island in front of her. She turns on the water and starts washing the carrots. “What are you studying?”
“Economics,” she says as she starts running her hand over the carrots as the water pours down on them. I don’t hear anything else as I watch her handle the long thick carrots, stroking them under the running water.
My cock hardens and starts throbbing as I watch. I step a little closer to the island to hide the long hard erection in my jeans.
“Do you have a boyfriend?” It just comes blurting out of me. I can’t control any part of myself around her.
“No,” she quickly says.
“There must be some nice boys on campus,” Judy says as she fills the bowl with the white dip.
Mandy swallows nervously as her eyes dart over to mine. “Maybe I’ll meet someone next semester.”
There’s a vicious thrashing in my ears as I picture a man’s arm around hers. There better not be any boys next semester. I want her all to myself.
She stops the water and places the carrots on the chopping block. I’m trying to keep my eyes off her cleavage, but it’s hard when she starts chopping. Her big juicy tits are jiggling with every movement. It’s mesmerizing.
I focus instead on the knife slicing through the carrot and her slender hand wrapped around the handle.
“Do you live on campus?” I ask. What I really want to know if she’s in an all-girls’ dorm and if the boys are forbidden to enter.
“Yeah, I have a roommate that’s studying—ow!”
She screams as the knife slices into her finger. I’m on her at once, darting around the island and grabbing her wrist.
Her face winces as I turn the water on and put her finger under it.
Judy hands me a bunch of paper towels and I cover her finger with them. She starts looking faint and pale as the paper towels soak up the blood and turn red.