House warming at Pat's

"Still hard to believe this is Pat's house," Jen threw out there. Jen and I had been over here a dozen times already, helping them move in, paint, etc. It was strange to both of us seeing pat, making the same salary as my wife, affording such a dream house.

"Yeah, well, it's amazing what a rich relative's inheritance can do. I think they made a brilliant choice investing it like this," I pointed out trying to be pragmatic. Truth was, I was jealous as all hell. Jen and I were doing alright financially but never could we dream of owning the kind of prime real estate that stood before us. The front porch had marble pillars for god sake. You would have been forgiven for thinking this was a federal building.

"So who's rich and old in your family, cuz I got nothing on my side," Jen said exaggerating her sweet southern accent.

"Well gee whiz Jen, if'n you be gold diggin' then I might as well join yah," I replied pulling at her shirt and getting a good eyeful of my wife's lovely mounds. "I swears thar be gold in them there hills!" I was only half joking. My wife had an amazing rack and I'm not ashamed to admit it was one of the first things that drew me to her when we started dating all those years ago. I fell in love with the woman, not just her body; but it sure was a pleasant bonus.

Jen giggled at our favourite little inside joke about when she mused over what it would be like if she had nipple piercing. She pulled my hand away, not realising that two buttons had come undone in the process. "I'll let you dig later if you want, now stop or you'll get all hard and then next thing you know Heidi'll be swooning all over you," she joked back.

I wasn't sure if Jen saw the dumbfounded look on my face after that last comment. She grabbed her bag and we walked in, a smile on her face and bit of a spring in her step. It was a little odd given how our conversation ended and gave me something to think about. Heidi was indeed a knockout, with looks on par with my beautiful wife. It was then I realised her playful flirting during past visits had not gone unnoticed by Jen. This made her good mood seem even stranger.

Putting the thought out of my mind, subsequently forgetting about Jen's wardrobe malfunction as a result, we walked up to the house and were greeted by a frazzled Heidi and overly compensating relaxed Pat. Jen tossed her bag into their front closet and went to the kitchen to help Heidi, while Pat and I went out on the deck to set up the speaker system.

The next 45 minutes flew by while Heidi used Jen for an extra pair of hands just as three other couples arrived.

There was Kyle, whom I knew Jen and Pat worked with, and his wife as well as a couple of Heidi's friends with their spouses. This was obviously organized by Heidi who always seemed obsessed with how comfortable people would be at her parties, rather than how much fun they might have. Not knowing any of the other guests mixing which Jen excelled at, but I was never too keen on. To be brutally honest I was never a social person, to begin with. Small groups I could handle but anything larger than ten people and I start to withdraw a little. For Jen, however, I always made the effort.

After everyone else had gotten the grand tour we settled on the deck and started in on the drinks and snacks.