Uncle Ash: Part 2

The relationship between the uncle and niece became much closer as well as much more distant. They practically never brought up the incident again but Ashton began coming home early to play video games with Lori more often. They were after all the most constant person in each other’s lives. Getting along was a given.

Their new found closeness was only interrupted again when Ashton got a new coworker. Nancy was a blonde woman with thick rimmed glasses who was assigned to the cubicle next to Ashton’s. On her first day she commented how lucky she was to be seated next to someone her age and attractive. She admitted she normally does not flirt at work but just one look at him made her change her mind.

Shelly caught wind of this quickly and of course confronted Nancy, giving her the same line about Ashton being a pedophile. Rather than believing her though, Nancy decided Ashton was even more interesting. He had to be quite the catch if his ex was still obsessed enough to spread rumors about him. The only thing that slightly bothered Nancy was Ashton’s refusal to comment on the validity of Shelly’s claim. In truth he felt too guilty to deny being a pedophile outright.

However, the desire to distance himself from that stigmata caused him to throw himself whole heartedly into his new relationship with Nancy. The two of them agreed to go out with each other a mere month after they first met. Shelly’s attempts at sabotage had backfired.

Unfortunately for Lori, she had to learn of her uncle’s new relationship the hard way. She came home from school one day to find that Ashton had taken a day off work. Upon entering the apartment she found his keys still hanging on their hook and an unfamiliar purse on the coat hook next to the keys. Lori swallowed a lump in her throat as she feared the worst; that Shelly and Ashton had somehow reconciled.

Ashton was sitting on the couch with the Xbox controller in his hand when Lori entered the room. He was wearing only sweatpants. His slight chest hair was visible as was the sweat on his skin. She crossed her arms and frowned at him. At that moment, the door to the bathroom opened and a woman wearing nothing but one of Ashton’s dress shirts came dancing out, giggling like a kid.

“Oh,” she stopped when she spotted Lori. She eyed her up and down for a moment. “Aren’t you just adorable?” Nancy was taken with Lori’s appearance. Her school uniform gave her an innocent look, as did her pudgy cheeks and naturally curly hair.

Lori checked her watch with an exaggerated expression. “Weren’t you supposed to be gone before I got back?” she asked rudely.

“You told her about us?” Nancy asked Ashton.

He shook his head. “I was planning on telling her today,” he explained.

Nancy turned back to Lori and spoke with a slightly mischievous smile. “I wasn’t supposed to be gone, but we were definitely supposed to be better dressed.” She tugged on the hem of Ashton’s shirt as if trying to cover her bare legs.

“Are you trying to be shy? I’ve actually caught him and Shelly in the act before, you know,” Lori responded in a bored tone.

“That woman is quite obsessed with your lovely uncle, isn’t she?” Nancy pondered aloud. “I can understand though. He’s quite the catch, isn’t he?”

“He pampers his sluts, if that’s what you mean,” Lori responded curtly.

“Lori!” Ashton paused his game and stood up.

“Oh my, this one’s a little pissed off about something,” Nancy was not perturbed at all. “Perhaps she’s in love with her uncle. I mean, you do take care of her out of the kindness of your heart. It’s really sad that neither of your parents wanted you, isn’t it?”

“Hey now!” Ashton’s annoyance switched from Lori to Nancy in an instant.

“Oh, perhaps I said too much. I don’t expect you to value your girlfriend over your family. We’ve barely been dating a month as it is. It would be strange if I asked you to choose between the two of us. There was something I wanted to settle though. As you know, that Shelly woman is quite vindictive. She shoved in my face quite a lot of information about how close you two were even before you moved in with him. It does raise some questions. I’m not saying all uncles are like this but you know how often it happens in the news right; a brother taking advantage of his sibling’s children. Well, it’s not like our Ash is in such dire lack of companionship that he would set his sights so low.”

“What do you mean by low?” Lori asked.

“I meant underage. I was not insinuating that you were unattractive.”

“Nancy, even I can tell that was intentional. Can you not tease my niece like that?” Ashton was still slightly annoyed with his girlfriend.

“Why? Is there a reason she would take offense? Does she need you to be attracted to her?”

“No,” Ashton spoke first but was interrupted by Lori.

“So what if he finds me attractive.”

“Oh, you think your uncle likes you back, do you?” Nancy snickered. “I’m telling you this for your own good. Put away those pointless notions. Pursuing a relationship with your elder is one thing but with a blood relative it is purely impossible. You should stop before you get yourself hurt and you get him into trouble.”

“Can you redirect your lecture?” Lori glared at Ashton.

Nancy glanced over as well. Ashton adopted his guilt ridden expression. He did not dare deny having feelings for Lori, lest she get angry and reveal what happened between them. “Oh.” Nancy’s nose wrinkled. “It was funny when I thought she was just being cute. This is… this is not something I want to deal with. It seems there was some truth to what that slut was spouting in the office. I’m really sorry, Ash. We had something that could have worked but I have a feeling this is going to get messy in the future. Now is the best time for me to make a clean break.”

She disappeared into the bedroom for ten whole minutes. When she returned she was fully dressed in the outfit she had arrived in. When she walked past Lori she whispered into her ear. “Please don’t let him do anything to you. If you think it might happen, call the police or something.” In a matter of minutes her opinion of Ashton and Lori had completely reversed. To her it looked like Ashton was a predator grooming his niece.

Lori actually smiled at Nancy as she left. She had not liked her at first due to her intent to tease Lori but she was an upstanding adult, unlike her horny uncle. Lori turned to look at Ashton as soon as the door was closed, expecting to see his guilt ridden expression. Instead he looked livid with anger.

“I really liked her,” he grumbled at Lori.

“She was right though. Breaking it off sooner was better,” Lori argued.

“Why?