"Aunt Peg's Visit" by BillyG (hayden@mindless.com). Guest review by Michael K. Smith.

I don't believe I've seen a story by this author before, but I hope he keeps writing and posting. This is definitely one hot story! And, though the author doesn't say, it seems to be the first part of a longer work (I hope).

The protagonist -- whose name, oddly enough, is Billy -- goes to the San Francisco airport with his divorced mother to pick up her sister, come to stay for the summer. (My first thought was, "Obvious setup.") Peg is ten years younger but similar in appearance, . . . which is nice, since Billy has had the secret hots for Mom for several years. And Mom has to go back to work right away, so Billy promises to look after Peg ("Don't call me 'Aunt,' please. I don't want to be all grown up"), whose first wish is to try out the genuine California hot tub. But first, Peg wants to have a little talk. About frank conversation and the effects on her nephew of her taste for nude sunbathing. He's willing but warns her that he just might acquire an erection. (Yeah -- as if!)

Let's just say I was already feeling the effects myself before aunt and nephew ever reached the hot tub deck. The author has a talent for word pictures and literate description, and about the only "bad" words you'll run into are a few "pussies" and one "cunt." I take this as the mark of a budding erotician, not just another porn-scribbler. It is indeed a setup, but it's also a lot closer to believable than most -- which, for me, makes the story a good deal sexier.

Gotta pick a nit or two somewhere, though (the Reviewers Guild rules demand it). Oh, yeah: "Billy" changes inexplicably to "Bob" at one point, and the author has a tendency to forget the closing quotes in dialogue passages. And I found one misspelling. Nothing that a bit more line-editing wouldn't have caught. When I taught history, I was not known as an easy grader, but I give this one straight 10s. And I'll certainly be watching for the next installment!