A car ride home

After I help Esmere clean and close out her studio, we hop back into her sedan and head back towards her home. My Aunt drives slowly, talking and laughing as we make the trek back across town.

"So, I noticed you avoiding all of the ladies there. I didn't invite you because I really needed your help, you know. I thought you might like to meet some new people," Esmere says, cutting her dark eyes over to me as she drives. Her dark ringlets still shimmer with sweat in the afternoon sun.

She brushes the back of her hand across her forehead as I answer, wiping away the sweat and drying herself against her thigh.

"Oh, I noticed. You seemed to have it well in hand," I answer. "But I have enough beautiful women in my life. I don't need any more."

Esmere looks at me and grins, her eyes narrowing. "Oh? A girlfriend I don't know about?"

"No, nothing like that. I have my family. You, Colette. I've been absent for far too long. I would rather be present with you all than worry about some stranger."

Esmere purses her lips and looks out the driver's side window. Low-rise businesses and urban housing drift past. "And Felicity? You seemed rather interested in her, at least. "

"She is a beautiful woman, undoubtedly," I answer. "But that wasn't why. She was... strange. Like she knew me from somewhere."

Esmere shrugs. "She's pretty new. I don't think she would've met you through me, before."

"No, me either."

"Anyways," Esmere says, sighing. "My point stands. Family or not, whatever. You're a handsome young man. You should be out there, having fun! Enjoy your life. You only have one, you know."

"If you want me to come see you more, Esmere, all you have to do is ask," I joke, thumping her on the shoulder.

The middle-aged woman giggles and playfully slaps me back on the arm. Her touch lingers a moment longer than I expect, and her smile falters. "I mean it, Dom. Don't waste your youth."

"Yeah, yeah," I murmur, nodding.

Esmere turns into our neighborhood and remains silent as she navigates the last few streets and turns into her driveway. Killing the ignition, my Aunt turns to me and grins again. "Seriously, thanks for helping, even if I don't need it. Want to do it again?"

"As soon as you'll have me," I say. I run a hand across my forehead and it comes away damp with sweat, a remnant of our earlier workout routine. "Although I may want to take a shower before leaving the studio, next time."

Esmere purses her eyes again and nods. "Yeah, good point. I usually shower there but I thought you would prefer to come home. You're welcome to shower at my house if you want, too. Anyways, how about a week from now? Same class, same workout. You're already a pro."

"It's a date," I say, grinning. Esmere rolls her eyes and pushes open the door of her sedan. I admire the firm shape of her backside in her black spandex leggings as she climbs out of the car. I follow her out of the car and lean against the hood, watching her for a moment as she grabs a bag from the backseat and another from the trunk. "Need a hand?" I ask.

"Nope, got it," she says. Esmere starts to walk towards her house but pauses for a moment, then returns to me. "Thanks again, dear," she murmurs. She leans in to give me a swift kiss on the cheek, and I present it to her, chuckling.

"For one of these? You hardly got a fair deal," I say, savoring the wetness her thin lips left on my skin.

Esmere rolls her eyes at me again, then blows me another kiss. "Easy tiger, I'm starting to think you're flirting with me." She turns away and waves over her shoulder. "Catch you later!"

I chuckle to myself again, before heading home and hopping into the shower for the second time today.