Chapter 11
Paula and I lay side by side, staring lazily into each other's eyes and smiling.
"I don't think we were supposed to do that." She giggled. "I think I was a 'baaad little girl.' I think I was supposed to just tease you, not bring you up here and almost rape you."
"Oh well, I enjoyed it, didn't you?" I chuckled.
"Sure did." She giggled again. "Shower?"
"Mmmm, sounds good." I grinned. "Otherwise I'm going to go to sleep and I need to get the steaks into marinade and the coals started for the barbeque."
We rolled to our feet and slipped into the bathroom in the nude, sliding aside the glass doors to the tub/ shower enclosure. We had a perfect view of the front deck and saw Aileen and Sydney leaned against the rail looking out at the lake.
"Can they see us?" Paula whispered.
"Nope." I grinned. "These are triple pane windows. The center section is triple thickness 'Lexan' with the center section a mirror surface to visible light. Between the center pane and the outer one there are LEDs set into the frame that are connected to sensors both inside and outside the building. Right now, we can see out, but they can't see in, to them this surface is mirrored. When the light level from outside falls to or below the light level on the inside, the LED's light up and the window appears to be a mirror from both sides. I could put a control in the circuit so I could adjust it to be able to see out even when it's dark, but I've never bothered to do it."
"Jeez, that must have cost you a fortune." She laughed.
"Nah, a friend of mine developed it and I'm testing it for him." I laughed, snapping on the shower, there was a brief instant of cool water, then it settled into the temperature I liked. "The temperature of the shower is programable too, but this is the temperature I like."
"Run that by me again, either I missed something or you forgot to mention it."
"Oh. I probably forgot." I smiled. "I do that at times. The hot water in the pipes is in a circulating system, so it's always the same temperature, and the cold water is pretty well the same temperature year around as well. On the shower, there's an automatic sensor for the mixture. Once you've adjusted the mixture temperature by hand to what you want, you hit the program button and set your initials or some ID number into the control on the panel you see beside the shower control. From then on all you need to do is select that ID and the program will always adjust the shower to the same water temperature as you preselected every time."
"Testing a new development for another friend?" She grinned.
"Nah, this is off the shelf technology, the mixing valve was developed for physically or mentally challenged people so they could have a simple on - off control for the same temperature water all the time. I just added the programable part and a couple of temperature sensors."
"So, if I want it a bit warmer, I just adjust the hot water handle?"
"Yep, do it slowly and when you have the temperature you want, go to the 'Squirrel screen' and touch the ID square on the screen twice, then select your ID code from the little keyboard display. Now touch the ID square again and presto, it added your ID below mine and displays both in the upper left corner of the screen. The system will remember this temperature and adjust the water temperature to match it the next time your press your ID code."
"But if you press your initials, you get the other temperature?"
"Unh huh."
"Darn, I like this." She grinned, flicking it back and forth several times. "This is wonderful! But what about these other two symbols by your name, there's a CJ- and a CJ+, are they second choices?"
"Unh huh. C is cooler and CJ+ is warmer, in case my mood changes a bit. The code for any ID will always be the same. It can't be changed. That's so someone can't play practical jokes with the system by changing the water temperature on someone else. There's an anti-scald limit on the system too, so you aren't allowed to select water that would cause you to suffer physical damage to your skin."
"Umm, I don't want to be a spoil sport, but I thought we were in a hurry to shower and get ready for a barbeque?" She grinned again, slipping under the shower and spinning slowly.
I grinned and moved toward her, then pulled back.
"Darn, you like the water too hot for me." I admitted easily.
"Sorry." She grinned. "Just let me rinse my hair first."
As she let the water run through her hair and arched her back in pure delight, I stood in the far end of the tub and simply admired her beauty. It wasn't that she was truly outstandingly beautiful in any one way, it was just that she seemed to be completely comfortable and gloriously happy wearing the skin that she had been born with. That gave her a special form of beauty that seemed to flow from every pore of her flesh. At that moment I wanted to hold her then and forever, yet not to confine her, just to be near her and appreciate her for being so special.
Then she reached over and her finger tapped the spot on the screen marked CJ+, then she leaped from the spray of water and into my arms.
"I thought if I was fast enough I could beat the change in temperature of the water and then cool down a bit in your arms before we get back into the spray." She giggled as she stared up into me eyes. "Whatcha been thinking about while you've been standing here, looking so serious?"
"Oh, how much I like you." I managed to say quietly.
"Oh, is that all. I thought surely you must have been working on a new quantum theory or at least a way to make a million dollars or something. You looked so serious."
"Well, it's a fairly serious case of like." I grinned.
"That's just 'cause I'm loveable." She teased as she rubbed that delightful body against me.
"That too, but I find I like you as well." I laughed and patted her bottom, just hard enough to make a slapping sound. "Now, I promised everyone a barbeque, so we'd better get moving."
"Kiss me first." She demanded.
So I kissed her briefly, then grabbed the soap. After a quick scrub, then an equally quick rubdown with a big beach towel for each of us, we moved back to the bedroom to dress in shorts and T-shirts. Downstairs, I grabbed the packet of rib-eye steaks, made a quick marinade and set them in it, then slid them back into the fridge.
Paula had pulled a chair over to watch me, waiting for me so that we walked out on the deck together. Both Aileen and Sydney were simply relaxing with drinks in two chaise lounges. As we came out, they began to quietly tease us, but to my surprise, most of the teasing was for Paula's benefit. However, to my even greater surprise, she gave as good as she got.
When Sydney teased her about the results that her gift to Paula had on me and on Paula, Paula just laughed.
"So where are these harem outfits you two were going to counter with?" She demanded.
"Oh, we didn't see any need for those, after all they are evening wear. Besides, I'm getting too old for that kind of reaction." Sydney chuckled.
"And, I'm just playing a support role here." Aileen grinned. "He's your man, and you seemed to be doing just fine all by yourself."
"In other words, you set me up, didn't you?" Paula laughed. "Not that I minded, besides, it got me a chance to have a hands on demo of the fanciest shower I've even seen."
Aileen frowned. "I looked in the bathroom, and it didn't look fancy to me."
"Not to me either." Sydney agreed. "Although, I think it's the first shower I've ever seen where the shower comes from the ceiling and the tub filler is on the side."
"I'll bet they didn't turn on the light and ceiling fan." I winked at Paula. "The 'Squirrel screen' is inactive and unlit then."
"Oh, so then the controls are all neutral?" Paula frowned.
"Well, yeah, in a way. You can adjust the control valves anywhere then, but the balance feature is cut out and the only safety feature left operational is the non-scalding control, it's mechanical."
"What are you two talking about?" Aileen demanded.
"Come on. I'll show you, then you can show Sydney later." Paula invited. "CJ has these wild controls on his shower."
After Aileen and Paula had gone inside, Sydney sighed softly to get my attention and stretched like a cat. I managed to keep a straight face, but I knew she was doing it intentionally to tease me. I was grinning to myself as I glanced at her, then carried on cleaning the grill on the barbeque as if I'd ignored her altogether. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see her moving, but was uncertain what she was up to.
"So, CJ, I was looking around the cabin a bit. It's quite nice, but how do you heat it in the winter, not just with that fireplace, certainly?"
"Well, the fireplace helps, after all it's a forced air heat-a-lator fireplace, but the actual heating in the winter and cooling in the summer is done by heat pump. The lake is my heat sump."
"Pardon me?" She stared out at the lake about a hundred feet away from the cabin. "How do you do that?"
"Well, I have a heat pump in the basement of the cabin and there are pipes that run from the house to the lake. I have a sand filter out in the lake that I clean by back flushing it once or twice a year, but other than that I just pump the water from the lake and the heat pump does the rest."
"But, I didn't see any radiators in the cabin, where are they?" She sounded perturbed.
"Oh, you can't see them, they're under the floor. I just used the semirigid radiant plastic piping that's used in the heating business for under concrete floors and fastened it in place between the joists. It's not as efficient under wood flooring, but I've managed to make it work. As well there are air circulation and mixing units that draw the air from the ceiling peak, down the central support as well as from the outside. The vents for that are at the base of the first stair and under the kitchen sink in the baseboard of the cupboard."
"I see." She said quietly. "But, you mentioned that you get a fair amount of snow up here. What happens if you lose power?"
"Well, first I have a set of solar power cells on the roof and the angle of them is set so the snow slides right off of them most of the time. Even on a fairly cloudy day, they provide enough power to keep a set of batteries in the basement charged with enough power to run the heat pump for long enough to prevent the place from freezing up. On top of that I have a generator setup that will automatically start if the batteries ever drop below a certain voltage. So far it's worked well enough that the pipes in the place have never frozen up and the food in the freezer has never thawed out."
I had the grill cleaned by then and turned to pick up the piece of stainless steel stove pipe that I'd modified and now used to start the barbeque briquettes, but I glanced at Sydney as I turned. The glance turned into a long look and a grin. She was nude and the way she was lying, her body was on full display to me. Since I knew that it was intentional on her part, I didn't mind looking at all.
"Looking good." My grin widened. "I've often wondered, and I suppose this is a good time as any to ask, do people who are as dark skinned as you are tan? I mean you're quite dark skinned now, how can you possibly get any darker?"
For a woman in her mid-thirties, she had a wonderful body with a gorgeous hourglass shape. Laying on her back like she was, her breasts were flattened, but her nipples and areola were swollen slightly. As my gaze travelled downward, I had to admire her trim tummy and tight abs, this woman manifestly kept herself in shape. Now that I could see it clearly, her pudenda was delightfully prominent and actually swelled outward invitingly. She must have recently had wax job which left only a tiny triangle of curly hair which pointed the way and invited the eye to check out the swollen labial lips of her sex. As her eyes lazily watched my grinning face, those lips welled outward a tiny bit further and the soft pink inner flesh came into view.
"I just get a bit darker." She purred, obviously trying even harder to tease me as she shifted slightly.
I simply smiled as I turned back to loading my stove pipe so it was ready to be lit, first a crumbled piece of paper, then few pieces of kindling and finally the briquettes.
"Dressed like you were before, I don't suppose you have a lighter or a match hidden away in a pocket do you?" I asked at last, as I searched my pockets in vain for the match I thought I'd put there earlier.
"No, I don't have a match." She broke into laughter. "But, I've quite obviously met mine."
"Pardon." I turned to her with a smile. "I think I missed something."
"Oh, I don't think you've missed a damn thing." She laughed and winked at me.
Her laugh brought that delightful jiggle to her flesh and I wondered again how a woman who was so wonderfully muscled could still jiggle so freely. I did realise that most of the jiggle I was seeing from this angle was coming from her breasts, but that was more of a turn on for me than all her posing and teasing had been.
Before I could get too turned on by her jiggles, I grinned at her and gave her a thumbs up in appreciation of the way she looked, then excused myself to go get a match and went inside. When I got back, she had stood and was now inspecting my improvised barbeque briquette starter. Thinking that a return tease was in order I step up behind her and to one side and gave a quiet wolf whistle that brought a grin to her face as she turned a bit to look at me.
"I suppose this is another one of your little ideas?" She gestured at the stove pipe - briquette starter.
"Nope, I saw one advertised in a magazine and modified the design a bit to fit the material that I happened to have around." I grinned. "The one I saw in the magazine was selling for $49.99 and this one cost me about two bucks. As well as being cheaper, it got rid of a bunch of junk that would have only been in my way if I hadn't used it for something like this."
She just laughed as she shook her head while she slowly walked over to the lounge and sat down again, then bent to one side in order to pick up her drink. The total effect of her action and movements was quite erotic and I'm sure she knew just what she was doing. I just grinned and winked in appreciation. I lit the fire, then excused myself, explaining that I had to go inside and prep the appetizers. I got the impression for some strange reason that it astounded her that I'd leave her alone on the deck when she was nude.
I'd started prepping the shrimp, bacon and veggies I was planning to barbeque when she came inside, but she was wearing her clothes again. I'd been zapping things in the microwave to partially cook part of the food I was going to do as kebabs for appetizers when I glanced up at her and frowned.
"Hey, no fair." I said in a low tone that I hoped wouldn't carry upstairs to Aileen and Paula.
"What's not fair?" She frowned at me. "Right now I haven't a clue what I'm doing to upset you. I thought maybe because I'd taken my clothes off . . ."
"No, I have to prep food and cook and everything else. Paula told me that you were going to tease me until you drove me nuts and I had high hopes when you finally started to show off that beautiful body of yours. I do appreciate it you know; there's something beautiful about almost any nude woman." I smiled at her. "I like to see nude women; you look great, even in clothes, but without them you're dynamite. I thought you could see that I appreciated how you look from how I was acting, but I guess I was wrong. Maybe I should have been more open with you about just how much I was enjoying the show though, because now you're hiding that great body again. At least you could provide me with a peek once in a while as a tease, couldn't you?"
"But, out there, you were just carrying on as if I was in clothes. I thought maybe I was being too open and teasing too much so I was making you feel uncomfortable." She protested, then shook her head slowly. "You are a very complex young man."
"I'm not very good at leering and I do have a girlfriend. I can't just reach out and pat that lovely ass, you know." I laughed. " I think Paula might take offense to that."
"What would I be offended by?" Paula asked suddenly from across the room as she and Aileen came back downstairs.
"Well, she'd stripped before and she looks great, but I guess I wasn't reacting the way she expected, so now she's gotten dressed again. She said it was because I didn't seem to react much and I as explaining that I thought it might upset you if I reached out and patted her on the butt."
"Well, since you two were alone, I probably would be somewhat upset if I'd looked out the window and seen that, especially if it was a caressing sort of pat. But if she'd been in your way and you wanted her to move so you patted her ass to let her know she should move her pretty hams, then I could live with it. I might even chuckle. It depends on the situation."
"Damn." I snapped my fingers. "I missed an opportunity to pat her butt then, because she was standing in right my way when I really noticed her cheeky attributes."
That brought a laugh from both Aileen and Paula and an embarrassed grin from Sydney.
"Well, I was teasing and he wasn't reacting like most guys." She tried to explain.
"I'm rapidly learning that he isn't like most men." Aileen laughed. "By the way, CJ, I want one of those shower controls for my house."
"Hell, I want him to design a whole house for me, from the ground up." Sydney laughed. "I think he should become an architect when he grows up."
"But, I don't want to grow up." I grinned. "However, the coals should be almost ready for the appetizers. Paula, would you mind bringing me a beer out of the fridge and grabbing yourself something to drink as well. If someone else would bring some napkins and paper plates. These are finger food, sort of, they're actually kebabs, done on bamboo skewers."
I led the way out to the barbeque and in a moment had spread out the briquettes, After the dust, ashes and the flickering flames from spreading the briquettes had settled, I laid out the kebabs on the grill and closed the lid. The kebabs had shrimp, partly cooked bacon wrapped around cheese, partially cooked marrow and carrot slices, as well as apple and pear slices all interspersed, nothing that would take long to cook. I was after taste combinations, not fillers. After only a couple of minutes, I lifted the lid and flipped them over, then closed the lid again. Another two minutes and I 'painted' each kebab with a lemon and honey sauce then flipped the first four kebabs for a final minute.
As I distributed the first kebabs, I put the second set on to cook. Silence descended for a moment except for appreciative sounding 'mmm's from my guest's mouths, but I reduced the cooking time slightly for the second batch because to me, the shrimp was slightly overdone. After everyone had eaten two kebabs, I closed the lid on the barbeque and reduced the draft so I could burn off any honey and lemon sauce before I moved on to the steak and potato main course.
"Darn, I could eat those all night." Aileen was licking her fingers. "I've never had barbequed apple and pear slices before and what were those bacon and cheese things?"
"I liked the shrimp." Paula laughed softly. "But the rest of it was good too."
"Is there any more?" Sydney asked quietly.
I just grinned as each of them expressed a preference, but I didn't comment except to say that appetizers were to make sure you were hungry, not to satisfy you.
After everyone had spoken up, I excused myself and went inside to put the potatoes in the microwave, then went back to join them on the deck, knowing I had several minutes to relax. All I would need to do with the potatoes would be to 'crisp' the outside in the upper part of the barbeque while the steaks were cooking.
I excused myself again, and went inside to peel and core two apples and two pears, cut them in quarters, then brushed them down with the left over honey and lemon 'sauce' and wrapped each one tightly in aluminum foil. Outside again, The potatoes went on the upper rack at the back and the steaks right over the coals.
Since everyone else seemed to like their steaks medium rare, mine was the last one on the barbeque. Rib-eye steaks don't take that long to cook, so I hardly had any time to go inside to get the wine, the cutlery and the plates before it was time to flip the steaks over. Another trip inside brought out the butter and sour cream as well as chopped chives for the potatoes and the seasonings for the steak, then the steaks went onto the heated plates, after a short resting period for the steaks as I cut open each roast spud, it was time to serve everyone.
After my steak was on my plate and my potato beside it, I brushed all the coals away from one area in the middle of the grill and placed the foil wrapped apples and pears there, then closed the lid of the barby. It was a relaxed meal and everyone made favourable comments, but I was waiting for one comment in particular.
"Oh, that was great." Aileen sighed, gently rubbing her stomach.
"Just enough, I'm satisfied, but not overstuffed." Sydney commented.
"Oh, but there's still the dessert course." I grinned, getting up to rescue the wrapped apples and pears. "Paula while I go get it ready, perhaps I can get you to collect the used plates and cutlery, then give me a hand in the kitchen to ready and serve dessert."
"Oh, you want me to move?" She teased, but she was on her feet and helping in a minute.
Inside, she was all grins. "I can see that I'm never going to starve around you, am I?"
She gave me a little hug as I showed her where the dishwasher was while turning on the coffee maker that I'd prepped beforehand.
As Paula got out the dessert plates that I'd had cooling in the fridge, I opened the freezer and pulled out the ice cream, then a cabinet on one side and dug out a bottle of Gran Marnier liqueur. A scoop of ice cream went on the middle of the dessert plate, then I arranged two quarters of apple and two quarters of pear leaning against the ice cream on each dish and drizzled a bit of Gran Marnier over the lot. A tiny sprinkling of maple sugar and a light dash of cinnamon to finish it off, then it was outside to serve Aileen and Sydney.
They started out telling me that the dessert was too much too soon, but I noticed only a few minutes later that all the plates were empty.
"Paula, you're going to have to learn to cook in self defence." Aileen sighed softly as she leaned back on one of the lounges with the last glass of wine from the bottle. "If you keep him and he cooks up meals of that size and that good all the time, you'll look like a barrel in six months."
"Six months? Make that six weeks." Sydney lay back on the other lounge. "If you don't keep him, Paula, would you mind if I try?"
"Keep your paws off." Paula giggled as she crawled into my lap and snuggled. "He's mine, all mine."
"Well, I'm not so sure." Aileen teased. "He's only rich, good looking and it sounds like he's damn good in bed."
"Weren't you the woman who was saying only yesterday that I was rushing things?" Paula laughed.
"Well, I don't know how you'll ever make a go of it." Sydney sighed. "So far I've only seen him outwit several salesmen, heard him explain how he literally got given this land for nothing because he was willing to gamble successfully on a hunch. Then he's designed and built a cabin or two, invented some sort of fancy shower control and an almost automatic power unit to keep his house warm or cool from the lake he lives beside. All just to make sure his costs are all minimal and his impact on nature is minimal. He hardly seems impressive at all."
"Not to mention the fact that his designs for them are paying for the cabins." Paula laughed softly. "Or the fact that I think he probably rates as a gourmet chef."
"I thought you guys were going to tease me to death." I snorted. "Instead you're embarrassing me to death and making my head swell with all your praise."
"Honey, I'm too damn full to tease." Aileen sighed softly. "Besides, Paula hasn't learned to cooperate with our teasing yet."
"I can't help the fact that I know what happens if I satisfy him, not tease him." Paula giggled. "I'm still learning just how much I like sex and I really don't want to just tease him when satisfying him is so much more fun."
"Mmm, I'm just wondering how many other talents this supposed klutz has. I think he's been sailing under false colours though. I watched him as he was preparing food and he makes a butcher knife dance, so if he's clumsy, he certainly hides it well." Sydney grinned and winked at me. "Then look around this cabin, could a klutz build this?"
"Oh, I believe him. I know what it's like, just when you want to impress someone, that's when you screw up." Paula giggled. "Actually, if you could have seen him when he slid across the floor in that classroom . . . I mean, he must have slid ten or fifteen feet and there was nothing either one of us could do. It was priceless."
"You could have just stepped aside." Aileen suggested.
"There wasn't time, besides, he might have hurt himself then."
"I think she did load the dice though." I sighed. "I still can't figure any other way my head could have found its way under her skirt so my nose ended up jammed in the crotch of her panties."
"Oh, you whelp." Paula squawked as she sat up and swatted my shoulder. "That was accidental and you know it."
"Oh, oh, both of you quiet. You can argue about that later. Look out there." Sydney said in a stage whisper, as her hand lifted to point out a deer and it's fawn stepping out of the trees and into the clearing in front of the cabin.
"Oh, one of my neighbours, come to visit." I grinned. "If you want, I got a batch of the culls from the farmer's market when we stopped there. I'll bet you could get her to almost eat out of you hand if you took a head of lettuce out of the box on the front porch and went out to offer it to her. Just remember to move really slowly and don't jerk away when you offer her a leaf or two."
"You're kidding, right?"
"Unh uh. That doe is really friendly. I've fed her lots of times. Just make sure every motion is smooth, don't move fast and don't jerk at all or she'll be out of here like a scared rabbit."
"Could two of us go out there at once?" Aileen asked quietly as Sydney got up to get a head of lettuce from the box.
"Maybe? If you stick really close together, you might have a chance. Don't let her think you're trying to trap her between you though and remember, her biggest worry is that you might hurt her fawn. Don't even try to get close to it." I said quietly. "Keep your voices low and regular, don't squeal or cough, anything like that will send her away at high speed, headed for the high country. If you can't get her to approach close to you, slowly squat down and set a leaf of lettuce on the ground. Then back up a few feet so she can come up and taste it. Each time you can get her to taste a leaf of lettuce, she'll approach you a bit closer for the next one until you can get her to come right up to you and eat out of your hand."
"Maybe I'll just let Sydney do it alone this time and we can watch from here." Aileen decided. "Did you hear all the things he said, Syd?"
"Unh huh. Move slow and steady, voice low, don't cough, squat down, leave a leaf and back off if necessary." Sydney said quietly, her eyes focussed on the doe and her fawn.
"Oh, one last thing, don't look her directly in the eyes. Predators stare into the eyes of their prey, safe animals check all over, but don't stare into her eyes for more than a quick glance." I added as Sydney went down the steps toward the grass.
"Check that. Don't stare." Sydney almost whispered.
"Can I get up, please?" I whispered to Paula. "I'll get my video camera."
"Oh, good idea." She moved, letting me slip inside the cabin.
I had to dash inside, then upstairs to get the camera and tripod. Back downstairs, I set up the tripod inside the covered porch and was able to start shooting almost instantly.
I don't know if she even realised it, but Sydney was moving like a cat, very, very smoothly and slinkily, her voice murmuring softly as she held a lettuce leaf fluttering from her hand.
It was like watching a dance. Sydney would try to approach the doe who would hesitate, then finally back up a step. Sydney would slowly squat down, then lay the leaf of lettuce on the ground and move away. After a moment of eyeing the situation, the doe would move forward and nibble on the leaf of lettuce, finally picking it up and chewing it until she was done, then she'd look at Sydney again as if asking for more.
Each repeat of their actions brought them a step or two closer together. Finally after several long minutes the doe and Sydney were standing close enough that if they both stretched as far as they could, the doe was eating from her hand. I heard a soft sigh from both Aileen and Paula and had to grin. Then to my surprise, I saw the fawn approaching too. This was a first.
I turned slightly to warn the others to be very quiet, then saw Aileen lean forward, her hand outstretched. I couldn't say or do anything in time. Her arm hardly brushed against the cup and saucer that Sydney had abandoned on the edge of her seat. She only touched it slightly, but that's all it took. It fell to the floor with a clatter, not even breaking. However the noise was all that was needed to frighten the deer. Both of them were gone, almost as if a shot had been fired from a cannon.
I sighed and folded the tripod, taking it and the camera inside and out of the way. When I came out, Aileen was apologising profusely, but Sydney was playing it down.
"I knew what had happened the moment it did." She laughed. "It was partially my fault anyway. I realise that. I was the one who was in such a hurry that I left my coffee cup too close to an edge. Still, that was an experience of a lifetime."
"She'll be back another time." I shrugged.
"Yeah, I guess." Sydney sighed. "If only one of you had a camera."
"But . . ." Paula started to say when I coughed.
"Maybe I'll keep the video camera and tripod near the door." I suggested. "Then I could just film from the front deck couldn't I?"
"I think that would be great." Sydney nodded. "Now, I need a drink. My heart must still be pounding at a hundred miles an hour."
"Well, the bugs and mosquitoes will be coming to get us in half an hour anyway. Why don't we clean up the mess here on the outer deck and move the party to the front deck itself? We can pull the screens and keep the bugs out of there." I suggested, winking at Paula and Aileen. "Later on tonight I'll see if I can find any videos of the deer and other visitors we might see coming around for a visit."
"Oh, I'd love to see those." Sydney nodded. "This place is great. If you ever want to sell it, keep me in mind."
"Okay, I'll add your name to the list." I laughed, already thinking ahead and setting up a little surprise for her in my mind.