Erotica

Chapter 1: Coming Home

Chapter 1: Coming Home

“You've skipped out on me for the past three years, Julia. There's no way you're making excuses this time!” Alice, standing with her arms crossed, chastised her lifelong friend.

“I didn't “skip” out on you, Alice. I was hundreds of miles away...at school,” Julia tried to reason with her friend, though she knew her efforts were pointless. Once Alice knew what she wanted, there was nothing that could stand in her way. And as much as that put Julia on the losing end of countless arguments, she couldn't help but admire her friend's strong personality.

Alice didn't respond; she continued to stand there, arms crossed, staring determinedly at Julia, knowing full well it would only be minutes—maybe even seconds—before her friend caved and, like always, gave into Alice's persistence.

“Alright, fine. I'll go with you. But you're going to owe me big time,” Julia gave in. But, she figured she might as well try to bank some payback—it might help her wiggle out from under Alice's obstinate stare next time.

“Yes! You and me, tomorrow. The most exciting event of the year...the final day of the rodeo!” Alice cheered while Julia fought with everything she had not to cringe.

It wasn't that Julia had anything against the rodeo, she just never really understood all the hype. She'd been dragged to every rodeo around since she was old enough to walk. And as far back as she could remember, all that came to mind were a bunch of cocky cowboys and cowgirls, all certain they were the best in the world—even after falling flat on their rear ends in the middle of an overcrowded stadium.

But Alice loved it. The crowds, the excitement...the seemingly endless stream of hot, hard-bodied cowboys she couldn't help but chase after. And Julia had to hand it to her friend; while Alice might not be conventionally beautiful, her vivacious personality landed her an ample share of cowboys to ride. Julia had envied her friend on that front, too, on more than one occasion. Julia's tall, slim frame, ample breasts, delicate, feminine features and her fiery auburn tresses landed her plenty of appreciative looks. But, something in her shy, more reserved character must have warned them off. Of course, the fact that her daddy was the wealthiest rancher in the state—maybe even the entire southern states—seemed to make her even more unapproachable.

Whatever the reason, she'd gone away to college three years ago still a virgin—something her new friends on campus had been quick to inform her was unheard of these days. They'd teasingly sought to rectify the situation, dragging her along to every social hangout and party in the area. It had been awkward at first; suddenly thrust among a multitude of strange faces. And all the men who used to stare appreciatively from a distance now crowded around her in hordes, thanks to her well-meaning new friends. Before long, she felt her shyness give way a little at a time. So many of the people that she met were genuinely interesting people and every one of them had a different story to tell—about their backgrounds, their aspirations, what lead them to their current place in life.

It was all those interesting people who had inevitably altered Julia's career path, shifting to an undergraduate degree in psychology mid-way through her first year in college. It was also a select few of those interesting people who had introduced her to the carnal pleasures she'd been missing out on. Though, looking back now, she questioned her decision to offer up her virginity to a stranger in some bedroom at a frat party. But it wasn't like the few relationships she'd engaged in after that were much more than casual s*x at a college party. She was just a hot body for a short-term fling to take the edge off in between study sessions.

But as much as they were using her for convenient s*x, she couldn't be too angry. In truth, she'd been using them as well; inferior imitations of a man who starred in every one of her fantasies. Ethan, the horse wrangler who'd come to work on her father's ranch when Julia was just a teenager. He was the man she imagined every time one of those college boys touched her. In her mind, it was his lips kissing her; his hands caressing her body; his fingers making her moan and tremble; and when her college boy would thrust deep inside her, she couldn't help but wonder what it would feel like to be laying beneath Ethan in that moment.

“Earth to Julia,” Alice's words broke into her thoughts and she blushed lightly, realizing she had no idea how long she'd been tuned out of whatever conversation Alice was carrying on.

“Sorry, Alice. I think my brain's still a bit in burn-out mode after two many years of studying,” Julia tried to cover quickly. She had only been home a few hours, and with the hustle and bustle around the ranch over the rodeo, life was certainly chaotic at the moment. It seemed as plausible an excuse as any.

“That's OK. Just make sure your head's in the game tomorrow,” Alice replied, a conspiratorial glint in her eyes.

“Um, what game?” Julia had to ask, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

“Roping, of course. You've told me all about the little college boys you hooked up with at school. You're no longer little, innocent Julia. So it's time to apply what you've learned to the big leagues and help me rope us some cowboys. Just some breakaway roping, don't worry. I want them tied down just long enough to ride them,” Alice teased.

Julia laughed, picturing Alice in the middle of the stadium, lasso in hand and all the eligible cowboys circling restlessly. “If anybody could get away with it, you could Alice. I'll certainly be there to cheer you on.”

“Oh, I bet you've become quite the roper. So, we'll see about that,” Alice conceded, not willing to put the subject to rest but putting it on the back burner instead.

“OK, I've gotta run,” Julia glanced down at her watch. She'd barely had more than a few minutes with her dad. He'd stopped her on her way out of the house, eliciting a promise that she'd be there for dinner this evening.

“Dad and I are having dinner at home tonight,” she rolled her eyes as she spoke. But in truth, she'd missed her father terribly during the time she'd been away at college and she was looking forward to some one-on-one time with him. She hugged Alice quickly, darted out the door and twenty minutes later she was pulling up the winding front drive to the home she'd known her entire life.

She raised an eyebrow as she pulled into her parking spot, curious over the suspicious number of vehicles parked in front of the house. Somehow the quiet “dinner with dad” she had been expecting had transformed into a less than private affair. “That, or Dad has suddenly taken an interest in picking up a rather eclectic mix of cars,” Julia thought aloud.

“It's not so bad,” she thought, surveying the vehicles around her; eleven or twelve cars meant that the gathering couldn't be so large, after all. She'd been to frat parties with twice as many people crammed into a single dorm room.

Julia steeled her shoulders and slid out of her car. She'd been hoping for a quiet opportunity to catch up with her father, but she could handle an evening of old friends, too. She smoothed her short sundress down over her thighs and fidgeted with the low neckline. She'd thrown on the simple, modern dress to head over to Alice's earlier, but she figured her conservative father would rather his daughter not put her breasts on display for the neighborhood. But given that she didn't keep a stash of sweaters or a nun's habit in the trunk of her car, hiking up her neckline was the best she could manage at the moment. She checked her look as best she could in her side mirror, tugged on her dress's hemline one last time and headed up the front steps to the door.

Wrapping her fingers around the door's handle, she took a deep breath and waltzed gracefully into the front foyer. She recognized most of the faces almost instantly; ranch workers, neighbors, old family friends. She greeted each of them kindly, playing the gracious hostess until the crowd broke off into smaller groups, all chattering amongst themselves. Her father approached a moment later, sporting an expression that bordered somewhere in between happiness and chagrin.

“I hope you're not too mad, sweetheart. So many people were excited to have you back that I couldn't deny them an opportunity to welcome you home,” he explained.

“It's fine Dad. Really it is,” she assured him, wrapping her arms around him to confirm her statement. He sauntered off a moment later, drawn into some argument over tomorrow's events and Julia wandered over to the living room window, taking in the quiet scene outside.