LIKE FATHER LIKE SON

Carlton is a tall, handsome man, just like his father had been. He also has the same soul-searching look in his steel-blue eyes that had drawn me to his father in the first place. He looks so much like his dad it's almost scary. Carton lost his mother in a boating accident when he was fourteen. I met his father two years later. A little over a year later I became his stepmother.

Carl is twenty-two years old now and shares an apartment with Rhonda, his girlfriend, on the other side of town. He and I have gotten close since the passing of his father two years ago. Whenever he and Rhonda discover a tiny ripple in their little lake of domestic tranquility, he comes running for me to smooth out the nasty old wave and comfort his sorely bruised male ego.

Well, I have to tell you something, his male ego is getting comforted a lot more often lately, and in the process he's creating problems formy ego. No, not my ego, it's my libido that's taking the beating. Every time those mesmerizing blue eyes of his gaze down upon me from their lofty perch I can feel the same fires glowing inside me his father use to ignite.

I realize I'm twice his age, and his stepmother, supposedly a guiding force in his young life. But he is steadily melting away my willpower with each glance of those penetrating eyes. And I'm not so certain it's unintentional, lately he seems to be finding more and more excuses for paying me a visit.

Tonight is a good example. He's on his way over here right now. Fifteen minutes ago I had just finished showering and drying my hair. I was donning my vampire costume and preparing to greet the Halloween trick-or-treaters when the phone rang. It was Carl wanting to know if he could come over. Apparently, he and Rhonda had been quibbling over something of monumental importance. Most likely, nothing more than which TV program they were going to watch while they took turns answering the door for the horde of little witches, vampires, ghosts and goblins who were about to descend upon their front door.

I sat there a few moments after his call, thinking about Carl and what he does to my insides every time I see him and the way he looks at me. Is he trying to send me a signal, or am I simply allowing my imagination to run rampant, reading far too much into the little things he's been saying and doing lately? I decided it was time to find out. I would put him to the test. I had to decide quickly what the test was going to be; it was nearly dark already and the trick-or-treaters would be pounding on the door shortly.

#

Thirty minutes later I heard the front door open. I had told Carl on the phone to come on in because I would probably still be getting ready for the Halloween festivities when he arrived. Even though he had lived in this house for nineteen years, he had acquired the habit of knocking before entering, immediately after he had moved out. It was his father's rule.

"Anybody home?" His deep voice rang throughout the house.

"I'm upstairs," I yelled down to him.

A minute later I heard a light tapping at my bedroom door. "Can I come in?" he asked through the partially closed door.

"Yeah, come on in. I'm decent," I lied a little. I was sitting sideways with my legs crossed at my vanity table working on my vampire makeup. Not scary vampire makeup, I was going to be a sexy vampire, you know, the Elvira type with bright blood-red lipstick, lots of eye makeup, and that sort of thing. I had on the essential mandatory black-satin cape all vampires must wear, but what I was wearing underneath the cape, at the moment, was a different story.

When he entered the room I pulled the cape around me, leaving my legs innocently exposed over the tops of my stockings. "I was going to wear this vampire costume for the trick-or-treaters tonight, but I don't think I like it."

He walked up beside me at the vanity, leaned over to give me a little kiss in top of my head. It was the kind of kiss any older boy would give his momma. "Umm, you smell good," he said.

"That's my favorite shampoo, strawberry," I replied.

"You still smell great and I don't even like strawberries. But I think I'll learn to like 'em because they will remind me of you now," he said. I could sense his eyes intensely surveying my exposed thighs.

"Well, thank you," I replied.

"What's wrong with the vampire costume?" he asked.

"Nothing really, it just doesn't look right." I stood up and turned toward him, holding the cape closed at my chest.

"Let me see," he said, reaching for the cape.

"I don't…" I started.

He grabbed the cape and yanked it open. To his shock, I didn't have the rest of the costume on yet. What he got was an eye full of black-lace bikini panties, matching bra and garter, black-silk stockings, and four-inch black patent-leather heels. He stood there staring down at me, dumbfounded. I could feel his eyes blazing a trail up and down my body. Iloved it. But the pleasure of the moment was brief; he quickly closed the cape back around me.

"I'm so sorry. I thought you had your costume on under the cape," he apologized, his face a brilliant-crimson glow.

"I tried to tell you I didn't have it on yet, before you pulled my cape open. But that's okay, Honey, don't be embarrassed, I wasn't," I replied, unfurling the cape again, holding it open like a Vegas showgirl for his viewing pleasure. "Well, whatdo you think of my costume?" Again, I could feel the desire burning in the eyes savoring my scantly clad body.

His mouth agape, he stared for several moments before managing to speak. "Wow, now that's what I call anice vampire outfit!" he stammered. "But you're right, I don't think it would be very appropriate for the little kids."

For forty-four years old, I'm still in fairly good shape. Maybe if I dropped a few pounds I would look a bit better, but I don't think I look all that bad. Obviously, Carl agreed with me on that point because he seemed to be enjoying the view. When you're only 5'3" every extra ounce seems to show up like a Las Vegas casino sign. But I still have curves in all the important places and my legs aren't all that bad either.

"But what do you think about it for the big kids?" I asked, smiling up into his big, wide, bulging eyes.

"Whew." He made a gesture of wiping the sweat from his brow. "It looks hot to thisbig kid." The sexy grin he acquired from his father slowly spread across his handsome face.

I wish I had known his father when he was Carl's age. He must have looked then, exactly as Carl looks now. How handsome he must have been.

Immediately I felt those old familiar flames starting to rekindle deep inside of me as I held the cape open, his gaze glued to my body. I felt the same fires stirring his father had created in me. It was now test time. "Well then, bend over here, this vampirevants to bite your neck," I said with a poor imitation of a Transylvanian accent.

To my surprise and delight, he leaned down toward me. I needed to play things carefully at this point. I grabbed him around the neck, pulling the cape around his shoulders in the process, and made like I was going to bite him. His strong arms slipped around my bare waist, pulling me closer. Instead of a bite, he received a gentle kiss on the neck. Now the moment of truth was upon me, what was his reaction going to be?

His reaction was to pull me even closer. "Is that yourbest bite?" It sounded like he was teasing me, or was he testing me. I could feel his warm, moist breath against my neck. It was like a hot breeze fanning the flames inside me.

"Not hardly," I replied, pressing my lips to his muscular neck again. But with more passion this time and I ended the kiss by sliding the tip of my tongue all the way up to his ear.

"Wow! That's great," he mumbled against my neck. He was still holding me tightly around the waist. I knew I was getting to him, I could feel his young manhood growing firm against my stomach. But I was still quite concerned about how he was going to deal with the situation.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong!The insistent ringing of the doorbell broke the spell. "Damn, the kids are here already," I snapped. "Would you get that? I don't think I'm dressed quite right for the occasion."

"I'll make a deal with ya; you wear that outfit for me tonight and I'll answer the door for you all night," he grinned.

"You sure that's what you want?" I asked softly.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure." His grin grew bigger.

"I'll think about it. Now go answer the door before those little hellions soap up my windows." I smiled up at him. He seemed reluctant to release his arms from around my waist. "Go!" I barked. "If they get started with the soap and toilet paper before you get down there and bribe them, you're gonna clean it all up."

Slowly his arms dropped away. I struck a sexy model-like pose, placing my hands on my hips and holding the cape open for him as he walked away. I almost laughed at him when he nearly walked into the wall because he was looking back at me instead of at the doorway he was trying to go out through.

#

I peeked around the corner from the top of the stairway, waiting for Carl to finish passing out the goodies to the herd of horrible monsters, demons, and beasties at the front door. He really played it up by oohing and aahing over just how frightful their little costumes were. I thought to myself that he's gonna be a good father someday, just like his dad had been.

Closing the door, he turned toward the stairway when he heard the click of my high heels against the hardwood steps. He stood at the foot of the stairs, staring up at me, seemingly transfixed in time, while I seductively slinked down the stairs.

I stopped two steps above Carl at the bottom of the stairs and pulled my cape open. I had removed my bra before leaving the bedroom. His cool eyes locked on the taunt, bare nipples staring back at him. Hesitantly, his shaky hands rose to greet them. Bolts of fire danced through me as he gingerly circled each growing nipple with a single huge finger.

"I take it that means you like the costume better this way?" I spoke softly.

"You seem to have a passion for understatement tonight," he replied. Tenderly cupping my naked breasts in his powerful hands, his gaze finally found my eyes. I don't know who surprised whom the most, him or me. God, it felt wonderful to have a man's strong hands on me again, it's been so long and these where the same sexy, wonderful hands of his father all over again. "I didn't think you'd actually wear something like this for me tonight."

"I wasn't sure you really wanted me too," I replied.

"Oh yeah, I've waited a long time to see you dressed like this," he whispered, sliding his arms around my waist again.

"I had no idea," I whispered, leaning against him.

As our lips met, his arms tightened around my waist. My arms snaked around his large neck. My feet left the stairs, my body pressed firmly against his. His massive chest felt like hot iron against my naked breasts.

My lips parted in an open invitation for his tongue to enter if he wished. Apparently he did, because his delicious tongue immediately began exploring the depths of my mouth.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The doorbell rudely snatched us from the moment. "Damn!" Carl grudgingly, but gently, lowered me back to the steps. I pulled the cape closed around myself. I couldn't help but to giggle at Carl while he took care of the young trick-or-treaters at the door. He had to hold the large candy bowl in front of him in such a manner as to hide the very evident bulge in the front of his tight jeans while they picked through the bowl in search of their favorite treat. I thought to myself; Yep, you're in for a long,hard evening young man.

"Nice cover-up job," I teased, glaring at the bulge after he'd sat the bowl on the small corner table by the door.

A faint blush colored his cheeks while the cutestI'm-busted grin pulled two deep dimples at the corners of his mouth.God, how those identical dimples on his father's face use to turn me on! I couldn't resist the urge to step up to him and stick a finger into each of those gorgeous little dents in his face, just like I use to do to his dad. His father would always slap my hands away when I did that to him.

"Don't do that," Carl said, swatting my hands away.

"But I like doing that," I replied. "I hate it," he said. "It drives me nuts."

"It really turns me on," I whispered.

He quickly grabbed my hands and placed them flat against his cheeks. "In that case, use your whole hand." His grin grew larger; the dimples grew deeper.

"This shade of red doesn't go with the color in your cheeks," I teased, running a finger over his lips to remove the brilliant red lip print our kiss had left behind.

"Any shade you put there is the right shade for me," he said, kissing my finger and lightly sucking it between his lips.

"I bet those kids thought it was funny looking," I said.

"They were too interested in the candy to notice it," he said, brushing his lips over all the fingers of my right hand.

I dropped my left hand to the bulge in the front of his jeans, giving it a gentle squeeze. "You seemed concerned they might not be too busy to notice this."

The red in his cheeks deepened, but a soft moan slipped across the fingers of my right hand still at his lips.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! The doorbell sent my heart jumping and caused me to jerk my hand away from the wonderful protrusion in his jeans like an embarrassed schoolgirl caught in the act.

All I could think about while I watched Carl pass out the treats to the children at the door was how delightful it had felt to have my hand wrapped around his young, hard member. Even through the heavy material of his jeans, it had felt great to touch a man that way again. Of course, he had to hold the candy bowl in that strategic manner again, just as I had to hold my cape closed around my yearning body.

"There's a vampire behind you," a small voice said.

Carl glanced over his shoulder at me. "Yeah, she's making sure I pass out a lot of candy. She likes plump little kids."

A chubby little fellow quickly dropped a handful of candy into his goody bag and scurried off the porch to his grinning mother waiting by the front-porch steps. Grabbing her hand, he rushed her down the sidewalk and out the gate. He dropped his goody bag halfway down the sidewalk, but there was no way he was coming back after it and he wasn't about to let go of his mother's hand long enough for her to come back for it. One of the other, bigger kids ran back to reclaim it for him. "What did you tell that cute little guy something like that for?" I asked after Carl closed the door.

"I don't know, but did you see the look in his eyes?" Carl laughed. "I thought he was gonna pee his pants."

"You're mean," I teased, giving him a light slap on the shoulder.

"I ain't half as mean as you," he grinned. "I just scare little kids. You create a major problem for a big kid; than make him go answer the door while you stand behind him wrapped up in your cape and not letting him see the goodies he wants."

"Oh, is there something in here you want?" I asked, holding the cape open like I was a bat about to take flight.

"You damn right there is," he replied, grabbing my hips and pulling me close again. His hands slid around behind me. His gentle hands felt fantastic tenderly kneading the soft globes of my behind. But not nearly as fantastic as his hard manhood felt pressing against my stomach or his tongue felt surveying my mouth again. I was finding it difficult to wait until all the little children had finished trick-or-treating and gone home. My plan had been to keep Carl at the very edge of excitement all evening until the moment was right, but I was discovering I was the one with the real problem. I wanted him badly.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! "Sonofabitch!" Carl snapped. "Don't these kids ever go home?"

"In due time," I teased. "Now stop your fussing and take care of the little tykes."

"I would rather take care of you." His sexy grin was melting away my willpower, just like his father's had always done. Carl knew it and was using it to its fullest advantage.

I pulled my cape closed again. "The kids are waiting."

"It won't hurt them to wait a little while," he said.

"How much is it going to hurt you to have to wait until you've cleaned all the windows and picked all the toilet paper from the trees before you get what you want?" I teased.

"Oh, you're not being very nice," he said, picking up the candy bowl and holding it in its usual cover-up position before answering the door.

"And no chubby-kid jokes this time," I said.

After the children had left, Carl stepped out the door and sat the whole bowl of candy on a chair beside the door.

"Oh no you don't! The first kid who comes along will dump the whole bowl in his bag!" I said.

He picked the bowl back up and placed it on the corner table where it belonged. "You're gonna make me wait until all the kids in the whole world have been here, aren't you?"

"No, just the ones living around here." I smiled.

"There could be millions of them. This could take all night," he said.

"No it won't," I replied. "They'll all be home stuffing their cute little faces until they're sick in a little while."

Carl pulled my cape open. "Yeah, and I'll be stuffing…."

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! "Damn," Carl exclaimed, reaching for the candy bowl.

"Saved by the bell," I teased.

"I'm gonna fix that damn thing so it only rings once," he said, "and I'm gonna tone it down some too. It scares the hell outta me every time it rings."

"It wouldn't scare you if you weren't doing something you weren't supposed to be doing," I said.

"You want me to stop doing it?" he asked, his eyebrows climbing high on his forehead.

"What, answering the door?" I asked.

"You know what I mean," he relied.

"I don't think you can," I teased.

"Oh, you don't think so, do you?" he said, reaching for the door. "Well, we'll just see about that after I get finished with this group of kids."

After sitting the bowl back on its table, Carl walked passed me, clicked on the TV and sat down on the sofa.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm doing it," he replied.

"Doing what?" I asked.

"Not doing what I'm not supposed to be doing," he grinned. "Oh, I see. And do you think I'm going to let it be that easy for you?" I asked, tossing the cape back over my shoulders.

"I can resist your beauty if I want to." His grin grew wider, and sexier.

I untied the cape from around my neck, letting it drop to the floor as I walked toward the TV and pulled the plug from the wall socket. "I don't think you're gonna have time for watching television. Maybe a little soft music would be nicer," I said, turning on the CD player. "Nor do I think you'll find it nearly as interesting as what I have in mind," I purred, climbing onto his lap and sitting astraddle of his legs, facing him.

Ding-dong! Ding-dong! "Excuse me, I have guests to attend to," he said, unceremoniously dumping me on the floor.

"Would you mind tossing me my cape?" I asked.

"If you want that cape back on before I open the door, I would suggest you grab it quick," he said, walking passed where my cape lay on the floor, giving it a little kick to the opposite side of the room, and reaching for the door.

I didn't have time to go for the cape; I had to duck behind the end of the sofa opposite the door to hide my nudity. "Oh, you're gonna pay for that, buster!" I yelled across the room.

Naturally, Carl picked that particular moment to get playful with the kids, keeping the six of them at the door for nearly five minutes, and forcing me to remain in hiding all the while. The whole time I was kneeling behind the end of the sofa, all I could think about was that hard, swollen manhood staining for release from Carl's tight ass-hugging bluejeans. Oh yeah, did I mention he really has a nice butt?He placed the candy bowl back on its table after closing the door. My knees ached by the time I got to my feet. He walked to my computer desk, typed something on the computer, printed out whatever it was, placed it in the candy bowl, opened the door, placed the bowl on the porch, closed the door, and turned off the lights in the front room.

"What was that you put in the bowl?" I asked.

"It says, 'Please help yourself to two pieces of candy'," he replied. "I have something much more important at the moment to attend to other than fattening up all the kids in the neighborhood."

Pulling his T-shirt from his jeans and pulling it over his head, I watched in awe as his muscles moved like huge snakes under his darkly tanned skin. His chest was wide and thick, covered with rippling muscles and a thin blanket of golden-blonde hair, just like his father's had been. His flat stomach and narrow hips made his chest look all that much larger.

I quickly cuddled into his arms, pressing my naked breasts against his bare skin. It created a wonderful sensation I had not experienced in quite some time. I could feel the powerful muscles rolling across his chest as he slipped his arms around me and held me close.

His lips lowered to mine. It was hard to remember the last time I had received such a passionate, loving kiss. My lungs were burning for oxygen. My head was spinning with desire. My womanhood was drooling for him. His strong hands roamed freely up and down my back and over my behind. They slipped inside my garter and panties in one swift move. Suddenly they, along with my stockings, hung loosely around my knees.

I sat on the edge of the sofa to finish removing the clothing and my shoes. Apparently, at this point, they were in Carl's way and I wasn't going to stand for anything being in his way right now.

Looking up from my position on the sofa, Carl was standing in front of me waiting for me to finish. I reached for the zipper on his jeans and carefully lowered it, unhooked his belt, and unsnapped the button on the jeans. I removed all of his clothing all in one fluid motion, just as he had done to mine. But before he had a chance to bend over to get them the rest of the way off, I wrapped my right hand tightly around his swollen manhood and cradled its two large companions in the other hand. He stood straight up, letting his jeans and underwear drop to his ankles.

A few slow strokes of my right hand had him moaning softly. I watched his eyes close and his head tilt back. Moments later, his knees began to wobble and the muscles in his massive thighs began to quiver. Without letting go of him, I stood up. "Come on, Baby, lay back on the sofa, and let me take care of you," I whispered, still slowly stroking his throbbing member.

Kneeling on the floor between his knees, I lightly flicked the tip of my tongue around the enraged head of his manhood. His soft moans became louder groans when I slipped my lips around the swollen organ and slid my mouth as far down the shaft as I could before slowly pulling my head back until he dropped from my lips. I thought he was going to scream when I flicked my tongue over the sensitive nerve where the enlarged vein on the underside of his hard shaft joins the swollen purple head.

I repeated this slow, torturous motion over and over. Each time he touched the deepest-most parts of my mouth a low, gravelly groan would come from him. "Oh my God," was all he said each time, but each time it seemed more intense, and less controllable. I continued my slow, deliberate motions until Carl was gasping for breath at the end of each trip in and out of my mouth.

His manhood couldn't possibly get any harder, it was like hot throbbing steel already. I decided it was time to relieve him of all that built-up tension. My tongue slipped up and down over that special little nerve just under the swollen head of his shaft.

Suddenly his entire body got as stiff as his manhood, his hips raised from the sofa, a long, deep-guttural growl roared from his throat and I felt the first jet of his hot juices blast against my lips. It was now time for me to receive my trick-or-treat goodies. I opened my mouth and slipped it down over his pulsating member as deep as I could take it, swallowing as I went. God, what a feeling it was to have his hot cum surging straight into my open throat! I sucked him deeper, trying to swallow as much of him as I could. By the time his surges began to wane, my lips had reached the base of his large shaft and its head was lodged deep in my throat. Each constricting swallow encouraged another pulsation from him, which caused another swallow.

Gradually, he began to shrink from my throat. Once the head was back in my mouth, I slowly sucked it until there wasn't a drop of the precious fluid left in him. Carl lay back on the sofa completely spent, but it wasn't over for him yet, not by a long shot. This had only been the beginning.

I continued gently sucking him, licking him, and stroking him until he had risen back to his full glory again. I finally released his manhood and climbed on top of him. Straddling his hips and raising myself over him. I guided him between my thighs and slowly engulfed his hard manhood deep into my yearning, wet center. The feel of his fullness so deep inside of me was all I needed. My body instantly reacted to the fantastic pleasure it had been missing for so long. Without even moving, my juices flowed. Wave after wave of womanly pleasure raced through my body, squeezing him tight with each contraction. Realizing what was happening to me, Carl grabbed my hips, pulled me tight against his hips, and pushed even deeper. He began gently stroking my insides at depths I had never experienced.

The second wave of ecstasy hit me like a sudden unannounced tidal wave. I'm not sure, but I think I screamed, and he pulled me tighter against his hips. The shores of my sexuality were being rampaged by the crashing breakers slamming against them.

Gradually they became soft rolling waves washing through me as Carl released the tension he had been holding on my hips. His slow, short strokes continued deep inside me as I slumped forward against his chest. His arms slipped around my shoulders, holding me in place, not allowing me to fall off of him. I couldn't hold on to him any longer; I had nothing left to hold on with. But I couldn't stop the involuntary movement of my hips. They kept working up and down in opposition to the motion of his hips.

"Can I take you upstairs to bed?" he whispered.

I tried to say yes, but I couldn't form the words, I just nodded my head. He gently lifted me from himself, getting up from the sofa at the same time, and carried me up the stairs like a virgin bride about to consummate her marriage. Holding me with one arm, he pulled the covers down on the bed with the other and laid me down.

To feel him snuggling up against me in my bed brought back such wonderful memories of the fantastic nights I had spent with his father in this very bed. I rolled over on my stomach and lay flat on the bed. Carl eased himself over me, straddled his knees around my legs, guided his still-hard member between my thighs, found its target and slipped deep inside my womanhood as he cuddled around me and held his weight off of me with his knees and elbows. He did this as if he had done it a thousand times before with me and knew it was my favorite position and just how I liked him to move in that position. I could have sworn it was his father who had just entered me.

The sweet stamina of youth is almost indescribable. Carl set a slow steady rhythm and unfalteringly maintained that pace for over half an hour and I was nearing my third bout of rapture since he had carried me upstairs.

Sensing that I was nearing another orgasm he increased the speed and intensity of his strokes until he was slamming deep inside me as fast as he could move. Even though I had already experiences five or six orgasms in the last hour and a half; God, I lost count, it might have been more, who cares; I was building up to a major eruption and Carl was supplying all of energy necessary for that eruption.

Moments later his body went rigid as he slammed himself as hard and as deep into me as possible. Suddenly he was no longer supplying the energy, now he was pumping the fuel.

The instant his first surge pumped inside of me I went off. The eruption of Mount St. Helen had been nothing more than a three-dollar Fourth-of-July fountain compared to the explosion that took place inside of me. I thought my body was going to come apart. His massive body trembling over me. His strong arms holding me tight. His powerful legs squeezing me like a vice. His manhood buried to the hilt in me. His hot juices slamming into the very depths of my being. All this combined together to send me on the absolutely most wonderful journey of my life. The boy had just outdone his father.

Finally totally spent, Carl collapsed beside me. Wrapping one arm around my waist and one leg over my hip, he snuggled tightly up behind me, kissed my shoulder softly and whispered, "Good night, Baby, I love you."

I pulled his hand between my breasts and held it there. "I love you too."

Sleep was immediate. It was also the most blissful night's sleep I'd had in years.

#

I awoke the next morning with a start. I bolted upright in the bed. Carl was gone. Or had it all just been the most beautiful dream I had ever experienced? No, he had been there; I could still smell his cologne on the bed. It was the same one his father had worn for years. There was also a rather large, wonderful smelling wet spot in the middle of the bed. Yep, it had been real all right.

I slipped my housecoat on and went downstairs to make a pot of coffee. There was a piece of paper lying on the counter next to the coffeepot. I picked it up. It was a note from Carl.

I read the note aloud, "My Dearest, I'm sorry I had to leave without saying goodbye again. You looked so lovely lying there beside me asleep, I didn't have the heart to awaken you. We'll spend another wonderful night together next Halloween. See you then, same time, same place. I love you, Karl."

I laid the note down and turned on the coffeemaker. I wondered if I had upset him, and I certainly didn't want to wait a whole year to spend another night with him.

Picking up the phone, I dialed his number. Carl answered on the third ring. "Hello."

"Hi Carl. Are you okay," I asked.

"Oh, I'm fine. I'm sorry I forgot to call you back last night. Rhonda and I got things straightened out, so I stayed home with her. I hope you're not mad at me."

"What do you mean, 'you stayed home with her'?" I asked.

"Yeah, I stayed home. That's why I never showed up last night. And like I said, I'm sorry I forgot to call you back, but when we got things straightened out; well, one thing led to another and… well, you understand what I mean."

"You're just teasing me, right?" I said.

"Teasing you about what?" Carl asked.

"You know about what! About you not being here last night!" I replied.

"Mom, what are you talking about?" Carl asked. I knew he was getting upset because the only time he ever called me Mom was when he was upset.

"Damn, I'm not sure. I'm confused," I replied.

"Is anybody else there with you?" Carl asked.

"Not now," I answered.

"What do ya mean by 'not now'?" he asked.

"Well, I thought you were here last night and left early this morning before I woke up. Now I don't have a clue about what happened. I'm scared, can you come over and talk to me?"

"Yeah, I'll be over as soon as I can get there," he said. "Can you come alone?" I asked.

"Yeah, Rhonda went to her mother's for the day."

"Please hurry," I said.

"I'll be right there. Are you gonna be okay until I get there?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, I'm just kinda confused," I assured him. "I'll see you when you get here."

"Okay, I'm on my way right now," he replied. "Bye."

#

Twenty minutes later, Carl knocked on the front door. The second he stepped inside the house and closed the door, I jumped into his arms. And I assure you; it wasn't a motherly type of hug. "Why are you doing this to me?" I asked.

Taking me by the shoulders, he held me at arm's length and stared down at me with those steel-blue eyes of his father's. "Calm down and tell me what's going on."

"Why do you keep telling me you weren't here last night?"

"Because I wasn't here last night. I was at home with Rhonda, just like I told you on the phone. Now if you're upset because I didn't call you and let you know I wasn't coming, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," he explained.

I handed him the note I had found by the coffeemaker. "Are you saying you didn't write this?" I asked.

"I didn't write anything," he said as he began to read the note. "What the hell?"

"I found it by the coffeemaker when I got up this morning. You were here all night with me. We had a wonderful time and now all of a sudden you're denying the whole thing," I said. "If you didn't enjoy our lovemaking last night, all you have to do is say so. That, I would understand. You don't have to lie about even being here? That hurts a lot more."

"Our lovemaking!" his eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. "You think we made love last night? What the hell's going on here? What'd I miss?"

I laughed at little at him. "Well, if you really weren't here last night you missed out on some of the best lovemaking I've ever been involved in."

"You want to make love to me?" he nearly gasped. "We'll talk about that later. Right now, I need to know who really was here last night," I replied.

Carl read the note again. "Oh… damn…" he groaned, handing the note back to me. "You better read this again."

I read it again. "What about it? Did you write it or not?"

"Look at the signature," Carl replied.

"Yeah, so what?" I asked, looking at the signature again.

"That's not how I spell my name. That's Dad's signature. His name was spelled with a "K." Mine is spelled with a "C."

"Oh my God! I didn't notice that before," I replied. "But that's impossible, your father's been dead for two years now."

"What's that laying over there?" Carl asked, pointing at something lying on the floor under the table.

"I don't know," I replied, reaching under the table to retrieve another piece of paper like the one the note had been written on. I read it aloud to Carl. "Ps. I'm sorry they only allow us to mingle openly with the mortals once a year. But that's how it is. I'll be here as soon as the sun sets next year on All Hallows Eve. We'll have from sunset to sunrise together again. By the way, I loved the vampire outfit, but how about an I-dream-of-Jeannie outfit next year? I think you would really look dynamite it in. I love you so much, but remember; you must get on with your own life. Karl."

Carl and I both read both notes over and over for the greater portion of the morning. Finally I told him I needed to leave.

"Where do you need to go?" he asked.

"I have to get started shopping," I replied. "I only have one year to find the sexiest genie outfit in the world."

"Wait! What's all this about us making love?" he asked.

"We'll talk about it later," I replied.

"No, we'll talk about it now. If I'm supposed to be over here taking care of my late father's business, I need to know about it." He smiled that sexy smile he inherited from his dad.