“I thought you said you were hot?” the young woman grinned. The predatory look in her lover’s eyes quickly apprised her that she had made a mistake. “Uh oh. Um…Ronnie Honey? You know I love you, right? You wouldn’t think of seeking revenge, right?”


“Me?” The tall woman feigned innocence, her fingers digging cubes out of her glass. Rose found herself pinned to the lounge chair before she could move and several cubes were shoved between the yellow bikini top and her skin.


“Oooh, get them out of there. Oh that’s cold.” She pulled the top up, freeing the ice, which bounced harmlessly to the concrete ground.


“Well, that was worth the effort,” Ronnie quirked, her mouth only inches away from the bared nipples made erect by the cubes. “Would you like me to help warm you up, birthday girl?”


“But we’re outside.” Rose looked around even though she knew no one was nearby.


“Well then I’d better make sure you’re covered,” Ronnie said.


Rose gasped as a hand covered her left breast and soft lips claimed the other. “Oh Ronnie…Um, wh-what do you think you’re doing?”


“Mmm, loving you,” came the muffled reply. Rose found herself pressed back against the cushion of the lounge chair and the feelings began to build up within her.


the young woman thought to herself. Reaching between their bodies, her fingers found what they were looking for. Soon Ronnie was breathing just as hard as she was and Rose was certain they were going to make love right there on the lounge chair when the sound of a car pulling up in the driveway caught her ear.


“Damn,” Ronnie muttered as she moved off. “Someone’s here.” She grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped it around her waist while Rose fumbled with her top.


Susan’s sons Timmy and John came running around the side of the house. “Aunt Ronnie, Aunt Rose!” the younger boy shouted. “Mommy said we could come over here and go swimming today, isn’t that great?” Ricky had his arms full with the PlayStation and obviously was planning on taking over the television for a few hours if the number of games he’d brought with him were any indication. John jumped onto Rose’s lap and wrapped his arms around her neck. “Aunt Rose, would you go swimming with me?”


“Sure Hon, but only in the shallow end.”


“Okay.” His little face beamed. “Can Tabitha go swimming with us too?”


Rose laughed at the thought. “No John. Tabitha is a cat. Cats don’t like water.”


“Speak of the devil,” Ronnie said, nodding her head in the direction of the house. The sliding glass door had been left open and the curious feline wandered out in search of new worlds to conquer. She looked at the boys. “Why don’t you two go get changed. There are towels in the pool house.” She turned to Rose. “You think you can handle things out here?”


“Sure.” She scooted the boy off her lap. “John, I think there’s a ball in the pool house that we can play with. See if you can find it, okay?”


“Okay, Aunt Rose.” He followed his brother away from the pool. Ronnie watched them leave.

“Looks like we’re going to have company for a while.”


“Seems that way,” the young woman agreed as she stood up. “Why aren’t they using their own pool?”


“Susan said something about her pump breaking. Sorry Hon, ” she said apologetically. “I know it’s your birthday and all, but…”


“No, it’s fine that they’re here,” Rose said. “I just wish I was wearing something else. I feel really naked in this.” She tugged at the thin strap of her bikini top.


“I’ll get you a tee shirt.”


“Make it one of yours or else bring a pair of shorts with you too.” Covering herself with the towel, Rose greeted Susan and Jack as they approached.


Ronnie returned a few minutes later carrying one of her tee shirts. She had changed from her two piece bikini to a more appropriate black one piece that covered most of her rear and provided very little cleavage.


“Is that your family get-together suit?” Rose asked when her lover reached her side.


“You think I want to be the subject of my nephew’s fantasies?” she asked while handing over the tee shirt. “Hi Susan.” She turned and nodded at her brother-in-law. “How are you, Jack?”


“Fine, Ronnie, and yourself?”


“Perfect,” she said, flashing a smile at Rose. “Well, since you’re here, why don’t we have a barbecue? It won’t take long to heat up the grill and I’m sure we have something that isn’t frozen.”


“Sounds good,” Susan said, sharing a wink with her sister when Rose was not looking. “It’s just a lazy day and you two weren’t planning on doing anything, were you?”


“No,” Ronnie replied. “I’ll go look and see what we have that we can grill up.”


An hour later Jack was busy tending the grill while the women and boys played around in the water. Timmy and Ronnie raced each other across the length of the pool while Rose and John splashed around in the shallow end, occasionally playing with the brightly colored beach ball. When the young woman asked Ronnie where Susan was, she received a vague answer about the redhead not being a swimmer. John’s fair skin showed signs quickly of turning pink and when Rose offered to take him inside, Ronnie stepped up and said she had to go get something anyway. A few minutes later Jack came over to the pool and whispered something in Timmy’s ear, causing the boy to exit and head inside, leaving Rose as the only person in the water.


Feeling awkward, she climbed out of the water and wrapped herself in a towel, thinking to herself that Ronnie had been gone too long. She was headed for the house when Jack stopped her. “Rose, come take a look at these steaks and tell me what you think.”


“Sure.” She moved over to the grill and looked at the various pieces of meat sizzling over the gas fire. “I hope everyone’s hungry. You made quite a bunch here. They look fine, though. Maybe a few more minutes.”


“Could you keep an eye on them for me? I have to visit the little men’s room.” He handed her the turning fork and walked away.


Ten minutes later the steaks were done and there was no sign of Ronnie or anyone else. Rose carefully piled the food on a plate and shut the grill off. “Where is everybody? I thought we were having a cookout,” she said to the empty air.


Inside the living room, Susan was supervising the hanging of the final decorations.


“Up a little,” the redhead said. “No, that’s too high. Bring it down a bit.” Ronnie stood on one of the upper rungs of the ladder, thinking that her sister was a pain in the ass when it came to decorating. The banner was perfect where it was before but Susan insisted it would better if it were up just a foot. John, Ricky, and Timmy were busy running multi-colored rolls of streamers around the living room.


“We have to hurry up or she’ll see it,” the executive grumped. She spared a glance at her watch.

“Where’s Maria, anyway? She was supposed to be here with the cake a half-hour ago.”


“She’ll be here, and if you’d just make it level, we’ll be done,” Susan said. They turned at the sound of the door sliding open. Ronnie shoved the thumbtack through the banner and stuck it to the wall, hopping off the ladder just as Rose stepped through the archway.


“Happy Birthday Rose!” They shouted, echoing the words printed on the banner. The young woman stood there speechless, her eyes wide with surprise. While she had thought it odd no one except Ronnie had wished her a happy birthday, she chalked it up to them not knowing. She had never guessed Ronnie would give her a party. John tugged on her wet shirt. “Aunt Rose, does this mean I can give you your present now?”


“In a little while, John,” Susan said, shooing her son away. “We have to eat first.”


“Um…uh…oh my.” Rose turned her shocked expression to her lover. “You planned this?”


“Maria’s on her way with your cake and I think Frank and Agnes are stopping by later,” Ronnie replied, crossing the room to stand in front of the overwhelmed woman. “Happy birthday, Honey.”


“It’s been so long since anyone gave me a party for my birthday,” Rose whispered. “I can’t believe this.”


“Believe it. You can count on this being an annual occurrence from now on.” She looked at the boys. “You guys go help your father make up the plates.” Once they left the room, she turned her attention back to Rose. “I love you. You didn’t think I’d let your birthday go by without throwing you a party, did you?”


“You didn’t say anything except about the bikini so I thought…” She shook her head and smiled.

“I should have known. Cartwrights love parties.”


“Well, that may be true, but this particular Cartwright had more of a reason to throw you a party than just your birthday.” At the quizzical look, Ronnie merely gave a sly smile. “You’ll see later. Come on, go get changed into something dry so we can dig into dinner before it gets cold.”


Maria arrived a short time later, the back seat of her car taken up with a large sheet cake. Ricky and Timmy got their fingers full of frosting before Ronnie could get it placed up out of reach. John insisted on sitting on Rose’s lap during dinner and the sight made Ronnie smile. The people who meant a great deal to her were there to help celebrate the birthday of the person who meant the most to her. Not a word was said when Maria joined them for dinner and the atmosphere was relaxed and comfortable. Little side conversations took place all around her but the executive paid them no attention. Her focus was on the green-eyed beauty and the thought of the present hidden in the office.