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   The Red Haired Waif Chapter 2 By Happy

   Anthony laid awake for quite a while with the soft body of the young
female snuggled tightly against his back.  It was an emotionally exhausting
day for Rain.  She fell asleep in about five minutes.  The man took it as a
compliment and another sign of trust that she would drift off while
spooning him in the nude.

   Because of that trust, he decided to finish helping her regain her
independence.  The tougher choice was what to do about the young woman's
flirting.  Part of him found her very tempting.  The other part felt
apprehension in crossing a line that he'd regret.  They had only met
sixteen hours ago.  He didn't really know her yet.

   Anthony woke at 3:00am.  Sleep was evading him.  There was no soft body
against his back.  He peeked over his shoulder.  She had rolled away from
him onto her opposite side.  Her bare back was beautiful.  He slowly and
carefully sneaked out of bed.  Rain didn't stir.

   The man worked at his computer.  At 6:00am he stood and quietly opened
the curtains in front of him.  As he sat, the morning sun entered. 
Movement was heard on the bed behind him.  He looked at her blurred
reflection in the window glass.  She was sitting up with her with hands
held high and her back arched in a feline stretch.

   In a moment, she asked, "What are you up to?", as she arrived at the
side of his chair.

   "Car shopping", was the short answer as his glance noticed that she was
wearing her night shirt.  "I want you to sit and read something", as he
brought up an e-mail from the auto body shop.  "We'll talk about it in a
minute", Anthony added as he rose and offered her the chair.

   Rain sat and the man walked away to the bathroom.  The e-mail described
that everything ahead of the windshield would have to be replaced on the
Sunfire except for the engine and the front wheels.  It would need to go on
the frame straightening machine.  After paint, the summary showed that the
cost of the repairs would exceed three times the value of the car.

   Anthony returned next to her.

   "What am I going to do?", she pleaded his as she looked up at him.

   "Raise your feet off of the floor a little bit", he requested.

   That confused her, but did as she was asked.

   He grabbed the arm of the chair on wheels that she sat in, turned it
around 180 degrees and dragged it a few feet closer to the bed so that he
could sit and talk to her at equal eye level.

   Anthony began, "The Sunfire is not worth fixing.  I urge you to let it
go to a good cause.  I know of a charity organization that benefits
children in need.  They will tow it away for free and salvage all the parts
that are still good a sell them for proceeds.  Then they will carry away
the empty shell to the metal salvage yard and get a little something for
that too".

   He continued, "I can print out a waiver for you to donate it from right
here.  Later, we can go to the body shop and pick up any personal
belongings from the car and your license plates.  We'll leave the signed
waiver there and be done with it.  What do you say?".

   "I guess so", she struggled to answer.

   "Great", Anthony countered, "Then we'll go car shopping".

   Rain's facial expression changed drastically.  She loudly said, "I hope
that doesn't mean that you're going to give a car to me.  Yesterday was
overwhelming enough".

   "Relax", he said as he gently took hold of her hands, "Hear me out. 
We're going to pick a vehicle out together.  It's going to be in my name
for now.  You can't afford insurance, maintenance, or gas right now.  But I
want you to use it to drive to places that you NEED to go.  When you have a
steady income and can afford to care for it, I'll sign it over to you for a
price that you can easily afford.  I only ask two things in return".

   Rain looked at him with a stunned blank stare and blinked a couple of
times.

   Anthony continued, "I want you to promise to drive it carefully and
soberly.  My insurance premiums are low.  I am asking you to help keep them
that way.  Secondly, no bumper stickers that degrade yourself no matter how
cute they are".

   After a long quiet pause, Rain answered, "I promise.  But please explain
to me why you are doing this?", she asked as her eyes moved back and forth
looking for a clue in his eyes.

   "Because you needed some help on your bad day yesterday, before it got
worse", He replied.

   "What do you mean by 'worse'?", she countered.

   "Depressed people do negative things like hurt themselves or just give
up on living life.  I've been watching you from this window for months as
you came and went.  You seemed like a happy person until recently.  I have
a big problem 'unhappy' when I know it can be made better", the man
answered.

   "I've got a suspicion that you've helped others before", she said
seriously, "You seem to know what you're doing".

   "A few times", he said quietly.

   "And yet, you live here alone", the young woman concluded.

   "They each went they're own way.  The important part is that they are
content and self-sufficient.  You'll probably find happiness somewhere with
somebody, someday", Anthony stated.

   Rain suddenly shot out of the desk chair and roughly pushed on the front
of his shoulders so that he fell backwards onto the bed.  She clambered on
top of him and put her soft lips to his and gave him a long passionate
kiss. Then she lifted her face a few inches above his.

   "What was that for?", Anthony asked while gasping for air.

   "That meant 'thank you' in my own way", Rain replied.

   "Um..  You're welcome", He barely uttered before he was getting kissed
again for just as long.

   She quickly sat upright with her bottom centered squarely on his lap,
"That was to warn you to not make assumptions about me", Rain said sternly
as she ground herself into him few times.

   The man was still wearing his soft cotton shorts.  Her night shirt hem
had risen up almost to her navel.  Anthony decided to fight fire with fire.
He flexed his man muscle a couple of times against her unprotected spot
where female nerve endings were the most sensitive.

   "Wow", Rain said as her eyes widened, "That was interesting".

   "That will teach you that you're not the only one who can flirt",
Anthony claimed, "Now, lets talk about breakfast.  I've been up since 3am.
I'm starving and I don't feel like cooking or cleaning.  I think that
showers and a trip back to that restaurant is in order.  How does that
sound?".

   "Like a really good idea", she answered as she climbed off of him and
stood between his knees.  Her feet were touching his at the floor.  "I'll
go first", Rain announced without pulling the hem of her night shirt down.

   "You've probably noticed that there are clean bath towels on the shelves
in there.  Help yourself", Anthony offered.

   Rain nodded and stepped away.  He remained reclined on his back, but
pivoted his head to watch her every move.  When she was four feet from the
bathroom doorway, she peeled the red night shirt up and off.  The man could
only see her from the back.

   When she was in the doorway, she held the shirt against her bosom with
one forearm and turned just enough to meet his eyes.

   "I'm very aware that you haven't seen these yet", she declared as she
pointed to her chest with her free hand, "I'm not going to let you see them
until you tell me that you want me to".

   As Rain stepped inside and the door was about to be latched closed, he
whispered, "I want you to", in a voice too weak to be heard.

   Anthony stood and looked down past his chest and abdomen.  His thumbs
hooked into the waistband of his shorts and pulled it away from his body
enough to see what was inside.  The sound of the shower could be heard.

   "This is all YOUR fault!", he said sharply to the contents of his
shorts. His thumbs let go and the guilty party was covered again.

   He pushed the chair back to the desk and sat in it.  The man navigated
to the charity website and printed out two documents.  One was the waiver
for her to sign.  The other was a receipt for Rain to keep for the tax
deduction.

   Anthony then went to his dresser to gather clothes for the day.  As he
draped the last garment over his forearm, the sound of the shower stopped.
He was only a few feet away from the bathroom and remembered that she
hadn't taken any clothes in there with her.  He stood in place and waited
hopefully for a show.

   The door opened.  She gasped when she realized how nearby he was.  She
was holding her towel all crumpled up in front of her chest with one arm
and her night shirt was in her other hand.  The rest of her was exposed .
The man smiled broadly at the wet haired woman.

   He tried to take the tension of the moment away by suggesting, "I can
shower and shave in 4 or 5 minutes.  Why don't I do that right now while
you dress out here?  Then you can have the bathroom back to finish getting
ready.  If you have time, the waiver is on the desk with a pen.  Read it
before you sign it please.  I want you to be comfortable with it".

   She moved out of the way and he entered the porcelain library and closed
the door behind him.

   After showering and dressing, he opened door to let the steam out.  As
he shaved, he looked out at the main room and saw Rain sitting at the desk.
The day had gotten bright through windows in front of her.

   At the same time that he exited the bathroom, she stood from the chair.
They met half way across the room.  She offered the signed waiver to him.

   He took it from her and asked, "Are you sure?".

   Rain replied, "As soon as I read what those kids were going through, I
signed"

   "I'm very proud of you", the man said with a serious tone,"You've just
'paid it forward' in a big way.  This donation is going to create an
unknown number of smiles".  They hugged gently for a few moments.  Then she
tip toed away to the bathroom to get ready.

   Breakfast was very satisfying.  This restaurant was going to get visited
often.

   The next stop was the auto body shop.  Anthony took the duty of removing
the license plates from the Sunfire.  Rain focused on the trunk and started
shuttling items to Anthony's car.

   When the plates were secure, he sat in the driver's seat and searched
everywhere for documents with personal information on them.  He found the
registration and the card for the canceled insurance policy, but that was
it.

   Anthony arrived at the trunk just as Rain was removing the last item, a
fat looking back pack.  As she slung it over one shoulder and brought it to
his car, he closed the trunk of the Sunfire and grinned one last time at
the black bumper sticker.

   As they walked together to the auto body shop office, he called the
charity and explained that the car was ready for pick up.  Anthony noted
the address and location of the waiver at the front desk.  Anthony turned
in the signed waiver.  Rain turned in the car's key.

   They drove a short distance to a Toyota dealership.  It was a small lot
and did not offer much inventory.  So, they moved on down the road to the
Ford dealership.

   He wanted something that she could afford to take care of.  She wanted
something cute in a 'show-off' color.  They found the answer
simultaneously. A brand new 'fire engine red' Fiesta hatchback equipped
with the upgraded sound system.

   "Can this be the one?", Rain asked excitedly as she hopped up and down.

   The man looked a the window sticker before saying, "It's do-able"

   In the showroom, Anthony fanned out ten $100 bills on the manager's
desk. He described the car they were interested in and wrote an offer and
his cell phone # on the back of one of the manager's business cards. 
Rain's eyes bugged out at the sight of the cash.

   "If you accept the offer, pick up the cash within 30 seconds and we will
be back with a bank check for the balance when the car is ready for
delivery.  If you say anything else besides 'thank you', I'll pick up the
cash and we'll go elsewhere", Anthony demanded.

   It was the 29th day of the month.  The man knew that managers were
measured by how many units were sold per month.  The manager reached out
and took the money with a 'thank you'.

   On the ride to the bank, Rain observed.  "You're a man of many secrets.
Ordinary men who live like you do don't walk around with so much money.  I
think that you're a lot richer than your lifestyle shows".

   "I'm comfortable.  Let us leave it at that", He stated and tried to
change the subject, "Is there a family member or loved one that may be
worried about you right now?" the man asked as he offered his cell phone.
The young woman took it.

   "Maybe just my friend Melody", Rain began, "She visits me often.  She
had her 18th birthday last month.  I took her to a small party on her big
day".

   "How did that go?", Anthony queried while feeling pleased that the
change of subject had happened.

   "Melody got drunk, shed all of her clothes and had some fun with the
other female guests.  I think that made the photos hotter", Rain admitted.

   "Photos?, Anthony asked.

   "I took between 2 and 3 hundred that night", she answered, "Her father
is a politician and would like be elected to a higher office at the next
election.  A scandal involving his daughter could end that hope.  Melody
knows this and is cooperating with me".

   Rain pressed seven numbers on the phone, "Hi Melody, want to earn
another photo?  Good, when you get to my building, press the button for
unit 47B.  It's my new friend's place.  I'll explain more when you get
here", as the call was ended.

   "I can't wait for you to meet Melody", Rain said as she handed back the
phone.