Standalone Stories featuring Belle

What makes an aunt a favorite? Is it the quality of her birthday gifts? Her warmth and hospitality? The way she doesn't judge like a mother might? To Colin, it was all those things when it came to his Aunt Belle. He loved her hugs the most; they were always tighter than expected, like the pressure was proof of her love.

Last Halloween, Colin had helped transform her front lawn into a cornucopia of classic monsters, cobwebs, and jack-o-lanterns. He was told the extravagant scene had trick-or-treaters flocking to her front door all night, with parents who weren't shy with their compliments. This year beckoned for an encore.

It was late morning when Colin accompanied his Aunt Belle to a retail warehouse, the kind that zombily rises from the dead in early October to sell all sorts of Halloween goodies. They were perusing a shelf of pumpkin props when he suddenly felt her touch, an arm wrapping around his back, with fingers snugly on his hip. Her side hug was a sweet gesture, seemingly a random one.

"What's the hug for?" Colin asked.

His aunt squeezed him tighter. "Hmm, I can't be affectionate with you?"

"You may. I'll allow it," he said, teasing her. "I should start charging you for hugs. My sad bank account would be flowing."

"Millionaire in no time!" She smiled his way as she ran her hand across his company-issued polo, smoothing out its wrinkles. "Hey Col, thanks for coming to shop with me. I know it's a work day for you."

"No rush at all, Aunt Belle. My shift starts tonight."

"So you're enjoying your job, yeah? At that escape room place?"

Colin took a second to dissect her question, his mind always assuming the worst whenever it came to his employment. Insecurity took hold of him, the implication that his low-wage gig wasn't fitting for a mid-twenties adult with a college degree.

"My job? I guess I'm enjoying it," he said cautiously.

"Tell me what you like about it."

"Well, I recently got to create my own escape room:The Devil's Lair.I'm really proud of it, actually."

"That's awesome!" she said, beaming her support. "Sounds like you're happy. And a happy nephew makes a happier aunt."

Colin returned a closed smile, and whatever insecurity he felt melted away. He realized his aunt would be the last person to judge his life's trajectory. She'd never prodded him about still living at home with his dad, paying zero rent. She never compared him to his ambitious older sister in Manhattan, or to his bright cousin spinning innovations in the tech world. Colin appreciated that his aunt loved and accepted him for who he was.

"Y'know," she said, "I've still never done an escape room. It sounds pretty stressful, trying to solve all those puzzles with a timer ticking in your face."

"It's more fun than you think. You gotta try it once at least."

"Yeah, maybe someday." She halted their shopping cart and turned away to peruse something on the shelf.

"Maybe you can recruit Uncle Artie, and my dad too. It'd be hilarious to see if y'all can escape...The Devil's Lair!"Colin's demonic tone accompanied a sudden jump scare. From behind her, he enveloped her in his arms, holding her still while his fingers tickled her armpits.

His aunt crumpled in laughter, fidgeting in place, her blonde hair swishing in a frenzy. She tried to break free, but his bear-trap clamp was strong. Soon enough, their commotion drew curious looks from bystanders. If no one knew they were aunt and nephew, they could've easily been mistaken for a flirtatious couple.

When she finally detached, she was left catching her breath, which gifted Colin a treat sweeter than candy corn. His eyes gravitated to her cleavage, her chest rising and falling in her tight top. To Colin, gazing at his aunt's body was his guilty pleasure; it riled his libido in ways his dad would certainly not approve of. Colin especially loved the curves she'd added after having a baby, which, in his eyes, only enhanced her beauty.

She poked his stomach. "Jeez, you have me almost sweating from that tickle fest."

Colin grinned. "Couldn't help myself. Sorry."

"You're lucky I enjoy our horseplay." She double-tapped his jaw. "Okay, let's get some actual shopping done. We'll split up. Can you find me some of those life-size skeletons? Think of a cool way to arrange them on my lawn." She slapped his butt to scurry him along.

As he branched off, Colin was reminded of another reason why his Aunt Belle was his favorite. She never took offense at his playful nature. They frequently shared physical exchanges—sometimes at his behest, sometimes at hers.

(1) Ghost of a Good Thing

Colin branched off from his aunt and found the skeletons a few aisles over. As he stared at the display model hanging off the shelf, his mind went to work. He started thinking of some poses he could apply to a set, wondering if he should shoot for something more funny than spooky. His aunt, after all, had given him creative license.

If you asked Colin, the word "creative" wasn't one he'd use to describe himself. He was the cookie-cutter jock in high school: the football player who got bad grades, but had an athletic build and a boyish charm, which neatly equated to attraction from the opposite sex.

After high school, Colin's social currency suffered a market crash. He ended up at his local community college, where he blended in with the rest of the students, no longer the popular varsity athlete. He never lost his luck with the ladies though. Sometimes, he'd play the recurring role of some girl's fuck buddy, or keep handy his own slew of friends-with-benefits. He did manage a short relationship with a woman named Lily, but it sadly didn't last.

Post-college life was more of the aimless variety for Colin. He lived free at his dad's house; played video games into the early morning; hooked up with random chicks without the commitment. He never really had any long-term career goals. He didn't understand how people just knew they wanted to be a lawyer, or an engineer, or an accountant. Those were boring adult jobs that felt foreign to him.

If Colin had a choice, he'd work in the video game industry, be a part of a team that created immersive games with interesting narratives. And yet, computer science and coding were disciplines so far from his sensibilities. In truth, he didn't know what to do with his life, or what he was even capable of. And without needing to worry about rent, it was easy enough to let the time pass without consequence.

Then came the day when his dad told him a golf buddy had started an escape room venture nearby as a retirement hobby. His dad said the business—Keys to Escape—was hiring and that the requirements were low. Colin ended up taking the gig. Though it didn't pay him enough to be financially independent, it at least got him out of the house, doing something more productive than shooting down digital soldiers past midnight.

At his new job, Colin started small by cleaning the restroom, the windows, and sanitizing the rooms with wipes. Over time, as he observed the rooms in action, the magic of the place started to rub off on him. Colin found himself constantly getting inspired, devising ideas of his own, from things he'd encounter in his daily life.

Things reached an inflection point when, one night, Colin watched a demonic horror movie on Netflix. It ignited his imagination, and he came up with an escape room concept centered around Satan kidnapping innocent civilians, then playing with his captives, teasing them, seeing if they could escape.

He dubbed it:The Devil's Lair.Colin brought the idea to his boss, and it was received enthusiastically. His boss encouraged him to flesh out the components, including all the puzzles, props, and room design. And although he couldn't be paid more for it, Colin was at least guaranteed his vision would become a reality—a rare first for any ofKeys'employees.

Over the course of months, Colin devoted hours of free time to honing the details of his escape room. He drafted iteration after iteration, until his boss was satisfied with the end product. Finally, when October rolled around,The Devil's Lairwas unveiled to the public, right in time for the Halloween season.

"Colin?" a female said. "Is that you?"

The voice sounded chillingly familiar to him. In the aisle, he turned around, and his brain was trying to recalibrate in real time, realizing he wasn't standing across from any ordinary woman... It was his ex-girlfriend, Lily.

"Oh hey!" Colin said, trying to orient his cool. "What's... um... How are you?"

"Good, good," Lily said cheerily. "Shopping for Halloween decorations too?"

"Yeah, no, yeah."

Colin was a ball of nerves. To him, Lily was a unicorn, and the most meaningful relationship he'd ever held. She was both beauty and brains, her sultry facial features framed by black hair that always smelled like fresh strawberries. When they were together, he constantly felt out of her league, but loved that she was never controlling or judgmental, and always supportive of his video game habits and other hobbies. In many ways, she'd treated him a lot like his Aunt Belle did. Probably why he liked her so much.

Colin composed himself. "I'm here with my Aunt Belle. Gonna help her decorate her house. You remember her, right?"

Lily chuckled. "I was only your plus-one to her wedding."

"Oh right, of course." Colin's memory banks served him imagery of his aunt's wedding, where he'd brought Lily as his date. Then his mind served him a memory of months later, when Lily had broken up with him right before she'd started business school.

At the time, the breakup blindsided Colin. He hadn't expected it. Figured he and Lily would figure out some long-distance plan. But she'd told it to him straight, kindly without malice, that they were simply different people with diverging paths in life. Lily had designs to start her own company. Colin had a different calling at the time... Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

After their breakup, Colin wallowed in a self-esteem shithole. He wondered if hewas,in fact, just a fling to Lily, something to last her through the summer before she moved on to some business-school type in a sweater vest. He often asked himself whether they would've lasted if he were smarter, more career-driven, and successful.

"How's your sister doing? Your dad?" Lily asked.

"Roux's still in New York, doing her advertising thing, probably in a corner office by now. Dad's good too, still doing general contracting."

"Nice. And what've you been up to, Col? Working?"

Colin instantly turned tight-lipped, wanting to dodge the question. Disclosing his escape room gig felt humiliating to someone who boasted an MBA. His focus latched onto her shimmery black hair, falling in soft waves past her shoulders. Somehow, Lily looked more stunning than he'd remembered.

"So, have you been seeing anyone?" Colin asked, unable to help himself.

"Oh," she said, seemingly surprised by the question.

"For me, I haven't really been with anyone serious since..." Colin stopped his sentence short of sayingyou. He instantly regretted his frankness, annoyed his tongue had steered him down a dead-end road.

"Um, what'sKeys to Escape?" Lily asked. She'd leaned forward to read the embroidered patch on his polo shirt.

"It's nothing, really. Just the place I'm currently at," Colin replied. The anxiety about his job returned, and he acted fast to shoo it once more. "Hey, so did you ever start that company you talked about? The one about doing financing in third-world countries?"

"Developing countries, yeah," Lily said, her face perking up. "I started it this year. We promote microloans for small businesses. It's going pretty well. Oh wait, Col, I just remembered something! IsKeys to Escapean escape room place? I think Ihaveheard about it."

"Really? How so?" he asked, more curious than anything.

Over Lily's shoulder, Colin spotted a random guy strolling in from another aisle. The man met Lily at her side and innocently slinked an arm around her waist.

"Hey babe," he said, before turning his attention to Colin.

"Geoff, hey," Lily said, calm as a cucumber. "This is Colin. An old friend of mine."

"Hey man, I'm Geoff," he said in a deep baritone, extending a friendly handshake.

Colin met his hand, and he naturally sized up this Geoff fellow. The guy was just as tall as him, but sported a meticulously groomed beard, plus a sweater vest that looked like it cost many multiples of whatKeyspaid him hourly.

"Whoa, no way!" Geoff said excitedly. "Is that a uniform forKeys to Escape?"Geoff then turned to Lily. "Babe, that's the joint I told you about. Where me and my biz school bros went! Shit was so fun. We escaped that jungle room in record time!"

Colin looked to Lily, and she returned politeness in her eyes.

"Oh wait, hold on," Geoff said to Colin, as if he'd just solved an escape room puzzle on the spot. "You must know Lily from her business school. Dude, lemme guess: you foundedKeys to Escapewhile you were still a student. I bet you're probably starting to turn sweet profits by now. That's awesome! Congrats! Big fan of your business, bro."

Colin winced as he scratched the back of his head, trying to keep his embarrassment from dripping down as sweat.

Lily took Geoff's hand and looked up at him. "We should probably get going. Your parents are expecting us over soon." Then she glanced at Colin, grace in her demeanor. "It was nice seeing you, Col. Take care."

Colin gave her a single nod. "Yeah, Lily... You too."

In excruciating slow motion, Colin watched his ex and her boyfriend disappear down the aisle. There was a fresh tightness in his chest, a painful reminder of the same way he felt years ago, when a shattered heart came with questions about his path in life, his confidence, and his worth to society.

(2) An Aunt's Hunch

Belle tucked her lips in sympathy as she tapped the handlebar of her shopping cart. From a short distance away, she'd watched and overheard Colin's interaction with his ex-girlfriend. Even with his back facing her, she sensed her nephew's feelings of inferiority; it was written all over his slumped posture, his brittle tone.

Belle rolled her shopping cart to meet Colin in the aisle.

"Hey there," she said softly.

"Hey," he said with a head shiver.

"Um, she looks like she's doing well," Belle said delicately.

"You remember Lily?"

"She was sweet. I liked her."

He let out a tiny sigh. "Yeah, me too."

"...You okay, Col?" Belle asked.

"Sure, yeah," he said, eyes dropping to his orange Adidas sneakers. "It's whatever."

Belle turned toward the shelf and grabbed a couple of skeleton props. Added them to the pile in her cart.

"Come on," she said. "I'm gonna pay for these, and then we can get outta here."

Belle had Colin push her shopping cart toward the checkout counters, while she trailed his rear. Once they landed in line, she surprised him by slowly wrapping her arms around his stomach from behind.

She felt him tense up, as if expecting her to tickle him like he'd tickled her. But Belle didn't attack his sides. She had her cheek and body pressed lightly against his back. It was a normal hug, delivered warmly without words.

***

They left the warehouse parking lot in her white Audi, with Belle driving them back to her house. The original plan was for Colin to start decorating her front yard. However, Belle noted his mood throughout the car ride, a sullen silence that spoke volumes. It prompted her to change course.

She had another idea in mind, the perfect pick-me-up to put her nephew in a more positive headspace. She wouldn't give him instant gratification though. Belle wanted him to dwell on her idea and get his juices flowing—creative and otherwise—over the course of a week...

After they brought the Halloween supplies into her foyer, she got his attention. "Col, you're off the hook, buddy. You don't have to put up the decorations today. I don't wanna tire you out before your shift."

"What? Are you sure?"

"Stay here in the foyer," she said. "I'm gonna give you something." Belle scampered up the stairs to her second story. She glanced back down at her nephew, and he looked clueless.

Five minutes later, she returned downstairs to him, holding a zip-up pouch, one she normally used for holding makeup and travel toiletries.

"What's that?" Colin asked.

"Listen, I wanna play your escape room."

He reacted with surprise. "Wait, really? When?"

"Next week," she said. "By myself though. After hours, preferably."

"Uh, what?" Colin said. "I don't understand."

"You will. I want you to add these props to the room, make them fit the theme." She handed him the travel pouch, a mischievous grin on her face.

Colin motioned to unzip the pouch, but she grabbed his wrist to stop him.

"Don't open it here," she said.

He jiggled the closed bag like shaking a birthday present. "What's inside it?"

She smiled. "Like I said, find a way to make it part of the theme. No asking me questions. You've got full creative freedom. I want you to impress me, Colin. Make it fun for both of us..."

(3) No Questions Asked

When Colin went to work that night, he couldn't focus. He'd opened the travel pouch the moment his Aunt Belle was out of sight. Since then, he'd been a distracted mess, fixated on the crazy items she'd left him:

A bottle of lube.A dildo.A butt plug.A tiny remote control.

His aunt's escape room request was a not-so-subtle invitation to have some filthy fun. What else was he to think with sex toys in the mix? Colin asked himselfwhy?What prompted her to propose something so outrageous? Was this just a silly prank? Was she testing him in some way? Or was she just plain horny, wanting to spice up her life with taboo peppers, with him as the master chef!

Colin retraced his steps and wondered if this had anything to do with Lily. He couldn't be sure. He wanted to ask his aunt what the deal was, but she'd expressly said:No asking me questions, as if she knew he'd have many. Of course he would. Who wouldn't?! Her sex toys weren't something he'd ever expected to find in his possession.

All Colin felt he could do was focus on the things hecouldcontrol. He'd been assigned a kinky mission objective: to incorporate her toys into the escape room she'd agree to play. More than anything, he didn't want to let her down.

The task wouldn't be a simple one though. Colin had spent months methodically designingThe Devil's Lair.To suddenly tweak the particulars (for a party of one, no less) would come with some challenges. At the moment, he was at a loss, the problem-solving part of his brain garbled and scrambling for solutions. He'd need time to figure it out. Good thing she'd given him a week.

For what it's worth, Colin knew it wasn't "proper" what was on the table here. An aunt and nephew shouldn't be entertaining anything close to sexual. If his dad discovered the sex toys, Colin would be grilled with some uncomfortable questions. Worse, if his dad somehow found out they belonged to his aunt, Colin knew he'd get blamed for pervertedly stealing them from her. Worst case, maybe he'd need to move out of his dad's house and into his mom's cramped townhome, the one she shared with her boyfriend—not an appealing scenario!

Dire as the consequences could turn, Colin saw the whole situation in a different light. He trusted his Aunt Belle wholeheartedly, whatever her motives were. She had the purest soul of anyone he knew, with the proof in her actions. Like when she cooked him food on occasion, lavishing him with tupperwares of meals, so that he saved money by not having to eat out at work. Or when she indulged his penchant for certain clothing, gifting him garments to build his collection. That was just the kind of person his aunt was: thoughtful, charitable, and supportive.