At The Edge of Lust

Chapter 19: The Family Gathering

Shelby had a nice spacious, 3 bedroom house near the heart of Chelmsford, it was near Admirals Park and in a very nice neighbourhood with plenty of other expensive houses. Most the other houses in her neighbourhood were three- to four-bedroom affairs with spacious front and back gardens, two or three cars parked in front and modern touches that showed that the Joneses were keeping up with one another. They were family homes although Shelby didn't have a family herself, she had more space than she knew what to do with, but it was worth it to have a detached house with a lot of space for her to have an office, a library and so that she didn't have to hear her neighbours arguing or fucking. She had lived in shitty-enough apartments where she had learned to loath the thin walls that some places were built with. She had made it part of her reason for working so hard when her friends had been out partying and getting notches on their belts. She had delayed gratification knowing she needed to put in the work and pay back the seed fund that her father had invested into her company back when it was just in the beginning stages and without must strength. Some entrepreneurs spoke about missing the early days when things had been simpler but Shelby was the opposite, she was happy to have left those dark days of struggle firmly in the rear view mirror.

The outside and inside walls were creamy white, the roof black, with large solar panels rather than just tiles. The windows were big and wide to let in as much sun as possible and thick black-out curtains for when the light wasn't welcome. She had a drive way with space enough for two cars and a front lawn with a low brick-wall for a fence and a metal gate. Inside it was a bright airy living space with some sky windows to bring in extra light. Shelby loathed being in the dark and so she had lamps all over the home, particularly in the living room and the bedroom. Mostly solid oak floors, just like with her office, she would get the floor polish and the buffer out on the weekends after chasing dust bunnies with the hoover.

Today Shelby was nervous and moving around the house in an effort to make sure everything was up to scratch, she had guests coming around to see her and her lovely home. Some of these people were family that she hadn't seen in a long while, years for some of them and she didn't know how else to break the ice rather than to make them feel welcome and comfortable.

She didn't know what Tommy was doing when she found him looking at himself in the mirror, he was dressed in a close fitting blue blazer, over a white shirt, red gucci belt and dark red trousers with loafers that she couldn't immediately identify but brown in colour. "You look good!" she said as she came and stood there at Tommy's side she kissed him on the cheek.

"You are looking pretty sexy yourself." He said looking her up and down, she was wearing a dress that she had bought only the week before, she had spent a small eternity in the store trying to find the right dress and this one had fit her in a way which flattered her curves without being uncomfortable. It was a beautiful deep red, Chinese-style garment with a mandarin collar, no sleeves and no cleavage on display, the area most titillating was in the way it hugged her hips and showed a nice outline of her arse, stopping just above her knees. It had a satin finish to it so that it shone faintly under light as she moved, the colour matching her lipstick, eye shadow, finger and toe nails. She wore a necklace of gold and tiger-eye beads and a gold watch and bracelet combo to complete the look. She was both stylish and dignified. "Looking sexy am I?" she said with a naughty smile.

He was already looking her up and down. He smiled and agreed. "Not bad at all," Tommy said with a cheeky smile.

"Not bad at all?"

"Baby, you look fantastic!" he said as he grasped her by the wrist. She was turning to leave and he pulled her to him. She smiled at this but only briefly, she felt his arms wrap around her as she closed her eyes. "You look very good baby. Stunning."