It stung for quite sometime, but I had to hand it to her for being so honest, and I must admit she was right. A few years after that I thought maybe I had met the right lady, but that also ended, rather abruptly after I discovered there was a third party in our relationship! She had been seeing an older married man on the side for several years and seemed to enjoy the lifestyle of being a Sugar Baby.
Sometimes in relationships you just over think things and become blind to the obvious. That is where I am today. It all began when I decided to completely uproot my simple life in the Midwest and take a flier with an upstart Import/Export Company in sunny Southern California.
The temptation of never having to worry about shoving snow or wearing multiple layers of clothing seemed very appealing! Little did I know getting tangled up in a relationship with a young lady 20 years my junior would ever be a concern.
So here I am six years after moving to the dreamland lying in bed on a warm summer Sunday morning; feeling the soft smooth skin of a beautiful 18-year-old lady as she cuddles comfortably next to me. To Karen and I, making love together for our first time had nothing to do with our ages. We simply grew together over time never really knowing for sure what life was going to bring us.
Chapter One — Getting Settled in
Before I accepted my new job opportunity, I flew out to California and went house shopping. I quickly discovered why I was being offered so much money; the prices were nowhere near reality. But adjusting the compensation with the environment settled my nerves.
Once I arrived, the other thing I had to adjust to is that neighborhood living in sunny California is not like that in the Midwest. Most of my new neighbors live their lives totally removed from the others right next-door or even a few houses away. Fortunately the kids are still just like kids from anywhere; they enjoy being able to roam around pretty much at will. My neighborhood had a posse of about 9 or 10 kids ranging in ages from about 11 or 12 up to 14, Karen was one of those kids.
The first time I actually saw Karen she was 12 years old. The posse was playing hide and seek after the dinner hour and enjoying the playtime without a concern in the world. I had forgotten to collect the mail when I got home so I started to walk down my driveway to cross the street to get my mail.
Karen had taken up a hiding spot behind a large tree next to my driveway. I quickly put my finger up to my mouth indicating I would stay very quiet and not give away the secret about her hiding spot. She looked nervously at me but then quickly put her hand to her mouth hiding her very sweet giggle.
After I returned to the house, I could hear the shrieks and shrills of children having fun for another hour or so. That was all I saw of Karen for many months. My work took me overseas often and I had a caretaker do most of the outside yard work and maintenance.
Back when this all started about the only time I saw neighbors was on a Sunday afternoon when it became habit for us to wash our cars. One afternoon I was washing my car when Karen happened to walk by on her way to her friend’s house. She glanced over and waved my way, we exchanged very kind smiles and all seemed well.
That chance encounter became more normal over the next months until one Sunday she stopped in my driveway and started some chitchat about how beautiful the weather had been that summer. Soon our Sunday conversations became more involved. She wanted to know more about this neighbor who would disappear for weeks at a time and be so comfortable living all alone.
Chapter Two — Getting to Know Each Other
After Karen’s 14th Birthday, she started to blossom into a beautiful young lady. Long wavy blond hair down to the small of her back, beautiful green eyes and an air of maturity that was very impressive. Now our conversations started to evolve around boys! I tried to tell her some of what she wanted to talk about was something she should be discussing with her Mother! She would just laugh politely and carry on without hesitation not heeding a word I said.
After I got over my inhibitions regarding her choice of conversations I began to feel more like a parent to Karen. Our relationship seemed to grow deeper as well. For her 16th Birthday I was invited over to her parents house where they had gathered I bet around 50 friends and family to a pool party in Karen’s honor.
That day was the most fun I had ever had in my new life. I don’t’ recall any alcohol being there, it was just family fun with the kids now all around 16. Needless to say it was great entertainment for the adults to watch the kids in the pool as they were flirting and teasing each other. As the day came to a close, I looked over to the pool one last time and my eyes suddenly came to a halt. Staring directly at me was Karen. The world seemed to stop spinning on its axis for that moment.
As I turned to leave I developed this feeling, this unexplainable feeling. I walked to the gate and felt compelled to look back one more time. Sure enough Karen had not moved an inch. Her eyes were still staring directly at me. My eyes were again drawn to hers and face opened up to expose a smile that felt warmer than any I had seen or felt in my life. I never even thought what to do; I just put my hand to my mouth, gave it a kiss and blew it her way!
Being a Saturday night I decided to go my backyard and turn on my fire pit. I have a very private back yard. Like many developments in Southern California ours is built on sloping terrain over looking valleys crisscrossed by Freeways. I do not look into the back neighbor’s yard, that house is sunk down and all I could see is the tip of the roof. The house to my left is also sunk down, while the house to the right is elevated about 15 feet above mine. The previous owner had planted a beautiful growth of scrubs, so my back yard is my sanctuary.
As the enjoyment from the party started to settle down; a windless clear nightfall spread throughout the valley. I quietly sipped on my glass of wine somewhat memorized by the flickering of the flames in the fire pit. I was content, my mind went blank, and I was at peace with my surroundings and myself.
I must have been in quite a trance. I never hard a soul open the gate to my backyard, nor any soft footsteps approaching my solitude. I looked up from the flames and there was Karen once again staring into my eyes from behind the fire pit.
She had replaced her tiny bikini with a pretty short white skirt and tank top featuring spaghetti string straps riding over her shoulders. The cute sandals with slight heals made her appear convincingly innocent.