WARD RICKER

When I rented a room from the Johannsens I didn't realize that they had two gorgeous young daughters who still lived at home. That was a delight I discovered after moving in. Both were dark-haired beauties. Alisa, the younger of the two, I found out had just turned eighteen. I heard her talking about being officially an adult now and how she would use her new freedom. I had some ideas about that, but kept them to myself. She was probably about 5'-5" or 5'-6", had slightly wavy black hair that came down to the middle of her back, had a trim little waste and small, but noticeable, breasts.

Her sister, Eliza, though, was the heart stopper of the two. She appeared to be just a year or two older, was a little bit taller, perhaps 5'-7" or 5'-8", and her straight, jet-black hair hung all the way to her belt line. Although not huge, her breasts were bigger than her sister's and filled out her slim frame nicely to produce the most perfect, curvaceous figure. The best part, though, were her eyes. I'm not sure what it was about them, but they always seemed to have a certain gleam or sparkle. To say they were sexy would be to understate it. Every time she looked at me I would have sworn she was flirting, but after a while I came to realize that that was just her look. Her eyes were just made to be, well, inviting, I would say. Her eyes always looked flirtatious. I don't know how anyone would know if she were, indeed, actually flirting. And then there was her smile. When she smiled that sexy little smile the way she did (and she did so often), and looked at you with those gleaming eyes, it was enough to drop you to your knees. I managed to avoid drooling--barely!

My first chance to really spend some time with these two beauties was about a couple of weeks after I moved in. They wanted to borrow their dad's car to take a trip to the mall, but he had to use it. I'm sure I had other things that I should have been doing that day, but I found myself helpless to resist the urge to offer to take the girls to their destination. They were most thankful for the offer, and I soon found myself en route with two of the most gorgeous female lovelies in town.

Along the way the girls talked about their lives growing up, what they were studying or wanting to study in school, their plans for their lives, and, sure enough, boys. Eliza was a sophomore at the local college studying journalism. Alisa was almost through her senior year in high school and still hadn't made up her mind what she wanted to do after graduating. The way she laughed and joked and acted silly, it was not hard to believe that she was having trouble making serious decisions. Eliza was more serious, but she still had that killer smile. They said their parents were nice and they had had a good childhood. Perhaps that helped explain the sparkle in Eliza's eyes. Alisa had just broken up with her boyfriend, a fellow, to hear her tell it, who had more interest in football than in her. Eliza was a little more vague about her situation. She talked about some fellow named Chad, who I took to be her boyfriend, who was going to a different school at the other end of the state and she rarely saw. Along with Alisa, though, she talked freely about the guys she liked or disliked at school or in the community and how she was interested in certain ones, so apparently whatever relationship she had with Chad wasn't too serious. I told the girls about my childhood, trying to keep it on a positive note, about my work and about the book that I was writing about reptiles.

Although they had seemed intent on wanting to go to the mall when they had asked to borrow their dad's car, Alisa just bought an umbrella, and Eliza only bought a notebook she needed for one of her classes. I hung around, and we talked and joked while they did their shopping, and then we headed back. On the way back I suggested taking the more scenic and longer route along the parkway at the east edge of the city. They had no objection. They were such easy-going young women and had such positive attitudes and happy energy. I stopped at the turnout point along the parkway that overlooked the river. We spent five or ten minutes just looking up and down the river and telling more about our histories, and joking about such things as some of the antics we'd done with the boyfriends and girlfriends in our lives. Eliza only mentioned Chad once very briefly, so, again, it didn't seem like he was really a big deal to her.

Arriving home, the girls thanked me for the ride, and I thanked them for keeping me entertained so well during it. When I went back to my room I realized that I had left it in quite a mess. I put on my Walkman, something I rarely ever use but just seemed to be in the mood for, and started picking up all my dirty clothes and other items strewn around the room. As I was picking up my dirty socks I became aware of another presence in the room and looked up to see Eliza's beautiful face. "Oh, sorry. I didn't hear or see you there. It's hard to hear when I've got this thing stuck in my ear," I said.

She smiled and said, "Well, I was just thinking about that book you are writing and remembered that I kept a journal about my pet turtle I used to have. If it is helpful you can use it in your book." She handed me a notebook with a dancing Teddy bear on the cover. "It was when I was younger," she said sort of apologetically.

Taking the notebook from her hand, I smiled and thanked her and said that I would take a look at it. After finishing my cleaning I checked my email and then opened the notebook and took a look at what she had written. Although some of it was rather cute and entertaining, there wasn't really anything that was helpful in terms of the thesis of my book. I then spent a couple of hours working on the book, after which I found Eliza in the living room with her dad. Her dad was reading the paper, while Eliza had some homework spread out on the coffee table and was studying it. I walked up and gave her back the notebook, thanking her for letting me use it. Fortunately, she didn't ask me if it was helpful or not. She just smiled that killer smile, looked at me with those melting eyes and thanked me for returning it.

The next morning the two girls were in the kitchen when I came out to fix breakfast. Alisa had a scowl on her face, so I asked, "What's the matter, girl? With a scowl like that you're liable to scare away all the good spirits."

"Chemistry test today," she responded.

"Oh, you'll ace it, I'm sure," I responded.

She didn't respond. She just finished wolfing down her cereal (and I thought only guys did that), and left to face her nemesis.

I started mixing up some pancakes, and, after Alisa left, I asked Eliza, "Would you like a pancake?"

"My mom's special recipe," I added.

"Nope," she responded. "Have to watch my figure."

I was going to say to let me do that for her, but wasn't sure if I should. I gave her an emphatic smile, though, as if to say the same thing, and I thought she understood the message as she gave me back one more of her killer smiles.

That evening I found both girls in the living room chatting. Their folks weren't around, so I asked, "I haven't seen your mom or dad. Are they around?"

"Nah, this is their anniversary today," Alisa responded. "Dad took her out somewhere special to let her know he still loves her."

"Somewhere really, really special," Eliza added, "since he almost forgot their anniversary last year." She laughed.

Alisa laughed.

I laughed.

"If you ever get married don't forget your anniversary," Eliza continued. "It can be a real piss-her-off-er."

"I'll remember that," I smiled.

"Are you girls working on homework?" I asked.

"Nah, I've had enough of that," Eliza responded. "Too much homework makes Eliza a dull girl."

"I can't imagine you being dull," I said.

She smiled.

"Well, maybe I should leave you girls to your chatting," I said. "Surely, there is something that needs doing in my room."

"Oh, come now," Alisa responded. "What would you like more to do than to hang out with two of the prettiest girls in town?"

I smiled. Before I thought of what to say Alisa continued, "You do think we're two of the prettiest girls in town, don't you?"

Again I tried to think of a clever response, but it didn't come quickly. I just gave them a big smile, and Alisa patted the couch in between the two of them and said, "Why don't you come over and spend a while with us?"

Well, she certainly didn't have to ask twice. I walked over and sat between the two girls with a big smile on my face. "Alright, here I am. What do the two prettiest girls in town have to say?"

"The two prettiest ones," Alisa responded. "Not just two of the prettiest ones?"

"Hmm, well, I guess that is what I said, isn't it? I suppose there's no taking it back now, is there?"

Alisa shook her head.

I looked over at Eliza.

Eliza shook her head.

Alisa slid over against me and asked, "So what would you like to do with the two prettiest girls in town?"

"Well, I'm not sure. I think I might have to take the Fifth on that one," I responded.

Alisa laughed. Alisa always laughed. I had forgotten to even ask about how her chemistry test went, but apparently that was all forgotten, and Alisa was just being happy-go-lucky, laughing Alisa again.

I looked over a Eliza. Eliza smiled. Eliza didn't laugh a whole lot; Eliza smiled. But it was killer smile.

I reached back and spread an arm on the back of the sofa behind each girl, without touching them, as I thought about how to more respond. "Especially given that you're barely eighteen years old," I finally added as I looked back at Alisa.

"She's twenty-one," she responded, pointing at her sister. She then nudged me with her side, and I allowed her to push me over until I was up against Eliza.

"Twenty-one," I said looking in her eyes. "You probably still think I'm rather old." Being thirty-two at the time, there was eleven years between us. However, some people had claimed that I looked a bit younger, and I hoped that would help me in this moment.

She shook her head.

I stared at her, still trying to think of the right thing to say.

"Well, I think I left something going in the kitchen," Alisa said to break the silence. "I'm sure it is something that will take me a while to take care of." Then she lowered to a whisper. "That will give you some time to figure out what to say."

She gave me a playful rub on the side and got up to head into the kitchen.

I looked back at Eliza. Instead of a smile, she just gave me a questioning look, but that sparkle was still in her eyes. I was a killer sparkle.

I lowered my arm down onto her shoulders and acted like I was in deep concentration. "You know," I finally said, "you girls sure do a great job of leaving a guy speechless."

Her smile came back. It was a killer smile. She hesitated for a few moments and responded, "Then why speak?"

I bent forward and felt her warm response as I pressed my lips to hers.

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