Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Storiesonline.net ------

   Kimberly 2.0

   by oyster50

   CopyrightÂ(C) 2011 by oyster50

   ------ Description: Tim has a new job and a new home.  And with the home
comes a new friend, young, bright, headstrong.  Tim has a handful.  If you
read the my previous "Kimberly" this one is purely monogamous.
Codes: Ma/ft, Consensual, Romantic, Heterosexual, First, Oral Sex, Anal
Sex, Masturbation, Slow

   ------



   ------

   Chapter 1



   It was time I settled down.  I was a "road warrior", a professional
engineer who'd made some darned good money over the last few years running
around the country from one project to another where my expertise as a
"hired gun" for electrical power systems was a commodity in much demand and
well, frankly, it paid GOOD!  Finally, though, I figured I'd seen enough
hotel rooms and RV parks and even an offshore platform's living quarters or
two, and I'd had enough.  I sent out a few resumes and then took my choice.
Now it was time for Timothy Duncan to put down roots.

   I gave the new job a month and a half before I regarded it as a fit
worthy of my efforts.  During that time I lived in my old road haunts, a
custom travel trailer parked at an RV park.  During those weeks I surveyed
the housing situation and located what I was looking for, a nice
two-bedroom apartment in a little fourplex, owned by a local entrepreneur
who wasn't chasing the big bucks and the government dollars, so his
occupants were a pretty decent and stable bunch.

   Yeah, I "reconned" the area, noting after dark what sorts of cars showed
up, how many kids were running the parking lot (none) and who used the pool
( a couple), and after seeing what I wanted, I signed the lease.

   It was moving day.  No, I wasn't doing the moving.  I made money to make
MY life easier, so I paid a moving company to go to a storage unit I'd been
renting for the last few years, gather up my stuff from my previous life,
and bring it to the new digs.  I also bought a lot of new stuff, furniture,
new stove, appliances, furniture, and then scheduled all that stuff to be
there on THE day.

   Naturally when the trucks showed up, there were curious eyes peeking
through curtains, and an older couple, late sixties, maybe, came out to see
the festivities.

   Neighbors.  MY new neighbors.  Time to start off on the right foot.  I
walked up to them.  I was dressed in my "engineer at work" uniform: safety
toe shoes that didn't LOOK like safety toe shoes, khaki-shaded heavy
tactical (you knew that from the thigh pockets) pants, a cellphone
holstered at my belt, and a Dickies work shirt, starched, with a pocket
protector full of pencils, pens and a six-inch steel scale.  I looked like
an engineer.

   "Hi," I said, greeting them.  "I'm Timothy Duncan.  I guess I'm your new
neighbor."

   They both smiled.  The old guy said, "Welcome, Timothy.  I'm Robert
Stevens and this is my wife Gloria.  Call me Bob."

   I shook both offered hands.

   "Retired?" I asked.

   "Does it show THAT bad?" Bob laughed.

   "And loving it," Gloria filled in.  "You're an engineer?"

   "Does it show THAT bad?" And we all laughed.  "Yes ma'am.  I work at
XYZCorp on the west side of town.  Just started a few weeks ago.  Looks
like we agreed that I can stay."

   "Welcome to the neighborhood, Timothy," Bob said.

   "You can call me Tim," I said.  "This looks good.  I checked.  Quiet,
clean..."

   "And we like it that way.  My cousin owns the place.  It's well run.  If
you need anything, let us know."

   "Well, thank you.  Same goes." I looked off to my left and saw a
furniture guy approaching.  "Looks like I need to go give direction," I
said.  "I'll see you folks around."

   I followed the furniture guy inside and pointed out the master bedroom
as the location for my newly purchased queen-sized bed.  Also how to
arrange the living room furniture.  And the new big-screen TV.  And a stack
of boxes for a home theater system.

   And off to the other side of the festivities there was another observer,
maybe five feet eight inches (tall girl) tall, maybe a hundred forty
pounds, carried very well in the tall frame, dressed in cut-off jeans and a
t-shirt with the logo of the local high school on it.  Light brown hair,
casually arranged, if arranged at all, length to the nape of her neck, a
little curl under her jaw, bangs cut straight above her eyes.

   I made a point of ending up on that side of the parade of workers
hauling things into the apartment.

   Eyes.  Blue eyes.  I waved.

   "Hi," she said.  "Are you moving in?"

   "If I'm not, these guys are haulin' stuff in the wrong direction ... 
I'm Tim, Timothy Duncan.  Engineer."

   "Oh, I'm Kim.  Kimberly Elkins.  I live in "D".  High school student."

   "Pleased to meet you." It was Friday.  School day, so I had to ask. 
"You're not in school today?"

   "On Fridays I send my clone..."

   "I deserved that," I laughed.

   "Yeah," she smiled.  "For that "haulin' stuff in the wrong direction"
comment.  I'm skippin' today.  Just Friday tests."

   "Oh, and you don't think you need to take them?"

   "My teachers think I don't need to take them," she said.

   "There's a story here, no doubt," I said.

   "Yes, there is.  Uh ...  do you swim?"

   "Yes.  Why?"

   "I swim every day.  Meet me at the pool after four and I'll tell you my
sad story."

   I did a quick visual survey.  "How sad can it be?  You don't seem to be
missing limbs or anything..."

   She looked over my shoulder.  "That guy's waving for you.  I expect you
to be there at four?"

   "Sure." I trudged back to give further directions.  I spent the rest of
the afternoon unpacking and stowing clothing and gear for my life with
roots.  Hooked up my entertainment electronics.  Checked out the DSL,
configured a wireless router, connected and checked out the TV/stereo/ DVR.
Made a list for a grocery run.  Checked my new recliner for the proper
operating angle.  Realized that it would take a while for me to figure out
how to fit myself into this new home.

   "Crazy," I thought at ten minutes to four as I retrieved my decidedly
uncool swimtrunks.  I changed into them, then looked into the mirror.  I
decided, based on what was there, staring back at me, that I didn't exactly
need a stick to beat the women off as they flocked to attack my studly
demeanor.  I was an honest six feet and an inch tall.  Forty, but without
too much of the spread that was a definite trend for middle-aged engineers.
Hair was still there on my head, a sprinkle of grey starting to show.  And
somewhere in the last couple of decades I added a pretty good amount to my
chest and back.  I wasn't exactly a bear, but I definitely had a crop of
body hair.  "Well, dumbass," I thought to myself, "MEN are supposed to have
hairy chests."

   I grabbed a towel and headed out of the front door towards the pool. 
The towel and my house keys went on a poolside lounge chair and I dove in.
By myself.  Kimberly hadn't shown up.  I ducked under the cool water and
when I came back up I saw a pair of long, well-formed legs walk through the
gate.  And with a splash, she was in the pool, coursing from one end
towards the other in an easy crawl.

   I started doing the same.  I could swim.  I liked swimming, and while I
was nowhere near a competitive swimmer, I could do pretty good for forty,
and besides, it was about keeping the poundage off my butt, anyway, wasn't
it?  Her head came out of the water, she saw me, and then started swimming
beside me.

   Okay.  I'm a man.  And us men, we don't lose to girls, especially when
there's nothing in it for us.  So I stretched out a bit, picking my stroke
up from "lazing around in the pool" to "little burst of speed", expecting
to leave Miss Kimberly in my wake.  Except Miss Kimberly wasn't in my wake.
As a matter of fact, Miss Kimberly was pulling ahead.  Okay, increase speed
from "Little Burst of Speed" to "Let's Show Her What We've Got".  I put
effort in it.  A lot of effort.  And was rewarded by watching her feet in
front of me.  Ten laps later, she pulled up at the end of the pool, hanging
on the end wall.

   I pulled up alongside her.  Not too close.  Just close enough so we
could converse.  "Well, THAT didn't work out like it's supposed to..." My
chest heaved, re-oxygenating after the effort.

   "What," she giggled.  "You got beat by a girl?"

   "You have destroyed my male superiority."

   "YMCA swim team.  And high school.  I have trophies." She smirked.  "And
you made me work at it.  You're not doing bad."

   "Yeah.  Thanks." I ducked my head under water to shed a bit more heat.
"I like swimming.  Good exercise."

   "Me too.  But it's October.  The pool will close soon for the winter,
then what?"

   "YMCA?" I said.

   "Aunt Jenny can't afford it.  So I'm out until next spring."

   "What about school?" I asked.

   "I don't swim there.  Not any more." She said as she hauled up out of
the water.

   I pulled myself out and toweled off most of the water.  She'd already
passed that point and was wrapping the towel around her head.  She sat on
the edge of a lounge and turned to lay back.  I took the lounge next to
her.

   "So you said something about a sad story?" I asked.  "But you don't have
to tell me anything if I'm prying."

   ""Uh, no.  I brought the subject up."

   She spoke, not looking at me at all.  "I'm sixteen.  And this year I
graduate from high school."

   "Sixteen?  That's ...  uh ...  odd.  Little young, isn't it?" I
commented.

   "Yeah." Now she turned to face me.

   'Okay, I can do this, ' I thought.  I rolled onto my side to face her.

   "Do you know the significance of the term, 'pink monkey'?" she asked.

   "Sure.  Not only do I know it, I've BEEN it.  You take a cage full of
monkeys who've been living together, change one in an obvious way, paint
him pink, and return him to the cage, and the rest ostracize him."

   "You've been one?" she asked.

   "Yeah.  High school.  I was a nerd before nerds were invented.  Why do
you think I'm an engineer now?  So what's YOUR story?"

   "I've skipped two grades in school.  I have a 4.0 average.  I can TEACH
most of what the teachers are trying to teach.  And I'm not, shall we say,
socially active." She sighed audibly.

   "I can sympathize," I said.  "But you know what they say about
sympathy..."

   "Yeah.  Where you can find it.  It's in the dictionary between 'shit'
and 'syphilis'." Another smirk.

   I laughed.  "Kimberly..."

   "Please.  Kim, okay?"

   "Okay, Kim.  If this relationship is gonna work, you have to stop
beating me.  You outswim me, and you're stealing my jokes."

   This got me a tinkling laugh, eyes included.  "Oh, I didn't know we had
a 'relationship', sir..."

   "Oh, not a 'relationship' relationship..." I smiled.  "So how's Kim
doing as the pink monkey?"

   "Not real good sometimes.  I don't have a lot in common with my own age
group."

   "That's because you lack peers, lady.  You have age in common.  But
that's all.  And you see things differently.  You either dumb down, or you
do without."

   "I'm doing without.  Friends.  Oh, there are some girls and guys that I
talk to, but that's easy to do when all you have to do is get through the
pause between classes and before and after school.  Past that, I don't fit
in.  It's like I'm the wrong species or something."

   "Maybe you are." I sighed.  "I can tell you stories.  It's not easy
being the pink monkey.  Even people who think that the absolute most
wonderful thing in the world is a cute pink monkey get tired of them after
a while..."

   "Sounds like you have a story..." she gazed at me.

   "A few.  But this is YOUR turn." And sixteen, and what in the WORLD was
I doing?  "You said something about your aunt?"

   "I live here with her," Kim said.  "Mom's out of the picture.  And don't
even ask about a 'dad'.  Mom saw to that pretty good." Serious look
darkened that pretty teen face.  Okay, maybe not 'pretty' as in 'look who's
Miss October' but pretty as in 'you know, she's pleasant to look at'
pretty. Okay.  Cute!

   She continued.  "D'you want to hear this?  I met you what, three hours
ago?"

   "Four," I said, "But who's counting?"

   Giggle.  "Touche'!"

   "You talk, I listen.  It's called 'conversation'.  Some people really
like it."

   "Okay.  I live with my aunt.  That's Virginia Elkins.  Called 'Jenny'.
She took me in.  Only living relative and all that."

   "What about your mom?"

   "I was getting to that.  Mom's, uh ...  in the care of the state.  For
six to ten years if she gets time off for good behavior."

   "Prison?"

   "Yep.  I am the only daughter of a convicted felon.  Let's see ... 
Drugs.  Prostitution.  Auto theft." Sigh.  "Gee!  I'm sooo proud.  And the
whole school knows..."

   "Put another coat of paint on the pink monkey..."

   "Talk about." Another sigh.  "So that gives a whole new set of handles
for them to toss at me.  'Yer mamma's in jail' isn't exactly what gets you
invited to the good parties.  Anyway, so when they sentenced Mom, I moved
in with Aunt Jenny.  And that's a whole different set of laughs."

   "Ooooo-kayyy," I said.  I determined that this was my time to just keep
my mouth shut and listen.

   "Let me paint a picture of Aunt Jenny.  Lots of flannel men's shirts. 
Jeans.  Sensible shoes."

   "Bingo!"

   "You got it, Timmy," she said.  "My aunt is Lebanese."

   I shook my head.  "Owwwww..."

   She smiled.  "Sometimes I think ...  Oh, I don't know ...  what is going
to happen next.  But really, Aunt Jenny's pretty good to me, compared with
living with Mom.  And none of Aunt Jenny's 'friends' have hit on me.  I
can't say that about Mom's.  One of THEM went to jail."

   "Jail?" I asked.

   "Yeah.  After he got out of the hospital.  And I'm thinking that he's
got quite the conversation starter in the showers."

   "Oh, I HAVE to hear this," I said.

   "A year and a half ago.  I was just fourteen.  Sleeping in my room. 
Mom's "friend" walked in, thinking that since Mom was still out "working",
he'd try his luck with a little young stuff."

   "You have my undivided intention."

   "And he came in my room naked, thinking that just the sight of his
scabby naked ass would turn me uncontrollable with lust.  He crawled in bed
with me and started trying to kiss me." She had a far away look in her
eyes. "Poor guy.  I guess he thought that when I grabbed his dong with my
left hand, he was on his way to heaven.  My right hand had a Ginsu knife.
He was layin' on the floor bleeding and screaming when I called 9-1-1."

   I cringed inside, as any man might, at the thought.

   She continued, "I understand that they reattached things for cosmetic
purposes." Little giggle.  "And a week later, Mom got picked up for good.
Aunt Jenny likes the story about the Ginsu."

   "Ouch.  Remind me not to piss you off."

   She laughed.  "I'm not a violent person, Tim," she said.  "And just for
the record, Aunt Jenny's not one of those man-hatin' lesbians.  She
actually dated men.  Just doesn't ...  you know..."

   "Okay," I said.  I sat up.  Stomach was thinking about dinner.  I said
so.

   "What do you usually do for dinner?" she asked.

   "I usually have something in the house.  I can cook up quickie meals, or
I do a big batch of something and freeze some, but it's looking like a
restaurant this evening.  Tomorrow is the big 'get everything you need'
grocery shopping day.  What about you?"

   "Probably soup and sandwich tonight.  Friday night is a date night for
Aunt Jenny."

   A light bulb went off in my head.  Here was an alternative to the 'go
sit in a restaurant by yourself' thing.  "Say, would your Aunt Jenny object
to me taking you out for dinner?"

   "You're assuming that I want to go out to eat with you..."

   My heart fell.  Of course I was assuming.  But I didn't mean anything
but a shared meal.  But I'd forgotten a whole range of dichotomies:
Male-female.  Young-old.

   She broke into a grin.  "Gotcha!  I don't think she'll object at all. 
Let's go ask her."

   And that's how I met Aunt Jenny: me clad in baggy swimtrunks and
sandals, with a towel over my shoulder, my right hand clasped tightly in
Kim's.  Exactly where SHE had captured it.

   And Kim was on her game.  She led me into the living room.  "Aunt
Jenny," she squealed.  "Look what I found!  He followed me home.  Can I
keep 'im?!?"

   Her Aunt Jennifer eyed me quickly.  "No, you may NOT!  They're noisy,
they pee on the carpet and you can't house break them!" So that's where
THAT attitude came from.

   "Hi," I said.  "I'm Tim Duncan.  I just moved into "B".  I thought I was
asking if Kim could come have dinner with me." I looked at Jenny. 
Five-four.  Maybe a hundred and fifty, plump, but not grossly so.  Face
soft and round, expressive brown eyes under a head of thick brown hair, cut
short, not manly short, but shorter than Kim's, and another set of bangs.
Jen was cute.  Thirtyish.

   Jenny laughed.  "Sorry.  Kim and I don't cut much slack.  Are you going
out dressed like that?"

   "Aunt Jennyyyyyyy," Kim giggled.  "Be nice.  Of course we're changing."

   "Then go.  And while you're looking at Little Miss Sweet Sixteen, ask
her about Ginsu knives."

   I winced.  Visibly.

   "Oh!  She's told you already..." Jenny's turn to smirk.

   "So," said Kim, "where are we going?  So I'll know how to dress."

   I named an Italian restaurant.  "That is, if you like Italian."

   "Kind of expensive, don'tcha think?" Kim asked.  Jenny looked at me.

   "Uh, I invited you.  That means I worry about the cost.  And I'm not
worried."

   Jenny said, "Then go.  And remember, I'm out runnin' the roads tonight,
and you'll NEVER know when or where I'll show up.  Now let me have a minute
with Tim, babe."

   Kim left the room.  Jenny turned to me.  "Okay, buster, lemme tell you
something.  That kid is SIXTEEN.  She might be legal in this state, but she
ain't available, if you know what I mean."

   "Uh ...  Jenny ...  This isn't about THAT!" I tried defending myself.

   "Maybe not, but despite the fact that her momma's a whore and a druggie,
Kim's a good kid, and she's gifted, and I don't know, maybe vulnerable. 
Don't make me have to get a Ginsu myself.  I know where you live now." She
paused, then a wry smile appeared.  "She can use friends.  Be one, okay?"

   "Okay," I said.

   "Kim," Jenny hollered.  "I'm cutting you two loose.  Bring your phone.
You've got my number..."

   Kim bounced back into the living room, still in her bathing suit. 
"Thanks, Aunt Jenny." She turned to me.  "Gimme an hour, okay?  Shower, and
all that stuff."

   "Sure," I said.  "See you in an hour." I looked at Jenny and smiled. 
"And nice meeting you, too."

   Jenny smiled back.  "Did Kim mention..."

   "Yeah.  So?" I said.

   "Oh, I dunno.  Some guys get all weird..."

   "Nope.  You're you.  I'm me.  Kim's Kim.  Wonderful world.  Kumbayah and
all that."

   "Hah!  You're fun!  See you around, then, Mister Tim Duncan." And she
let me leave.

   An hour later I knocked on Kim's door.  It opened, and there was Kim. 
Yep.  Let's see.  Five foot eight.  Hundred and forty.  Light brown hair,
two shades darker than blonde, cleaned, brushed to perfection, shiny.  If
there was any make-up involved, she recognized that she needed make-up like
noontime needed a night-light.  And a dress.  Simple.  Straight skirt,
stopping at a few inches above a knee, pumps matching.  Purse clasped in
front of her with both hands.  A tiny diamond stud in each ear.  And all of
it with a beautiful smile.

   A word came to mind: 'WOW'.

   "Are you ready?" I asked.

   "Do I look ready?" she answered.

   "Yes, my dear, you do.  Now where's the Queen of England?"

   Giggle.  "I don't know about the Queen of England, but Aunt Jenny knows
this guy..."

   "You're a horrible person," I laughed.  "Talking about our diverse
society like that..."

   "Pfffttt!" she said.  "He's the one who calls himself 'queen'.  I just
repeated it."

   "Let's go, my dear.  I think there's a linguine with clam sauce waiting
for me."

   "Then let's go!" she smiled, and led me towards the parking lot,
reaching to hold my hand.

   I noted the hand-holding thing for the second time today.

   I retrieved my keys and beeped the doors open on my big pickup truck. 
She walked around and climbed into the passenger seat.

   "Wow!  Big truck!"

   "Yeah.  I use it to tow a travel trailer.  You need a big truck to do
that.  Next week I'm buying something smaller."

   "Oh," she said.  "I'm not being negative."

   "And I didn't take it that way.  The truck's a tool.  If you want to
pull a thirty-five foot travel trailer long distances, this is what you
need.  Now I need to run around town in a more economic manner, so we go
car-shopping.  This thing goes into storage."

   "Oh," Kim said, "so what are 'WE' going shopping for?"

   "I'm thinking a small SUV.  Oh, do YOU have your license?" And yes, I
noted the term 'we'.

   "Sure do.  Aunt Jenny's a good teacher.  Why?"

   "Just nice to know.  In case I need help moving vehicles around."

   "I've never driven anything like this," she said.

   "It's a truck.  Turn the wheel.  Push on the pedal.  It goes.  Push the
OTHER pedal, it stops.  Don't try to drive it in close spaces until you get
used to the size."

   We maneuvered that damned truck into the parking lot of the restaurant
and went inside.  Salads, soup, main course.  She had lasagna and I had the
linguine with clam sauce.

   "Am I being impolite if I ask you for a bite?  I've never tried that."
Those blue eyes.  And well-mannered, too, maybe not ready for the big table
at Buckingham, but then, neither was I.  But definitely good enough for
anything in THIS town.  And most others.

   "No, please!" I pushed my plate toward her.  "You'll never know unless
you try."

   She picked up a forkful and tried it.

   "Well?" I asked.

   "That's good!"

   "And you were expecting?" I said.

   "I don't know what I was expecting.  This is good." She smiled.

   "Then you can order it next time."

   She sipped her iced tea.  "Uh, this place isn't on the list.  Aunt
Jenny's budget, you know."

   "So this is the last time I get to bring you out for dinner?"

   "I hope not," she smiled.  "We're having a good time."

   We were.  I found in a sixteen year old girl a wry sense of humor,
horrible puns and plays on words, a knowledge of current events and a love
of technology, as in "Tee-hee, I saw when you fired up your wireless
router. And you protected it.  Spoilsport!"

   "OH, really?  How was the signal?" I asked.

   "A couple bars, sometimes three.  Good enough.  We don't have wireless.
But I have an old laptop I bought with baby-sitting money..."

   "And you're hard-wiring it?"

   "Yeah," she said.  "Kinda ties me down.  Aunt Jenny can't afford a
wireless router."

   "Forty bucks?  And I've got an old one ...  Or I could get your MAC
address and enable you on mine."

   "Kinda trusting, aren't you, Tim?"

   "How so?"

   "I could use your network to do nasty things."

   I looked at her.  "I guess that is kind of trusting.  But you seem to be
somebody I can trust.  And it's not like you can't go on my computer and
see what's on the hard drive, including everywhere I've been on the
internet, if you're like half a hacker."

   "What?  No kiddie porn?"

   "Hardly," I said.  "That's not to say that some of my oddball google
searches didn't send me to some places that made my skin crawl before I
clicked out."

   Grinning, she said, "I know about THAT.  I'm talking about a directory
on your computer that says "Fat young boys 2008" or something."

   "I am horribly conventional, little lady."

   "Horribly?" Her eyebrow raised.

   "And celibate.  By choice." I said, treading onto thinner ice.

   "No girlfriends?  Wives?  Friends with privileges?"

   "No girlfriends.  One ex-wife in California.  You may meet our joint
offspring at Christmas IF her mom deigns to let me get her.  And as far as
the last, nuh-uh.  I am horribly old-fashioned.  I cannot separate the
physical aspects of a relationship from the mental and spiritual."

   "That's unusual these days.  I figured that you, good-looking, good job,
et cetera, you'd have all kinds of women." She looked at me with renewed
interest.

   "I guess it is.  I've had offers.  And after the divorce, I admit I, uh
...  Am I supposed to be having this conversation with YOU?"

   "Sure you are," she said coolly.  "You, sir, are a Responsible Adult
Role Model.  So 'mentor' away."

   The waiter cleared our plates and asked about dessert.

   "Kim, have you ever had tiramisu?"

   "No, what's that?"

   "A delightfully rich and tasty dessert.  But you have to like coffee."

   "I love coffee."

   To the waiter I said, "Give us a tiramisu.  And two forks."

   He left.  Kim propped her chin in her hand, attentive.  "So, Responsible
Adult Role Model, where were we?  Oh, yeah, you were explaining away your
profligate lifestyle of sex and debauchery..." Said with a more wicked grin
than I expected.

   "Okay.  After the divorce, I sort of died for a while.  Friends dragged
me out of my cave and onto a dating scene that I wasn't ready for.  And
women who were just as predatory as a lot of men.  And some of 'em thought
that a couple of bounces in the hay would snag 'em an engineer for life."

   "Sounds like you could've gotten a good deal.  That's what I think," she
said.

   "Nope.  Been there.  Got the scars to prove it.  If, and that's a big
'if', I get married again, it's going to be somebody whose idea of
literature means more than having a subscription to 'People' magazine,
whose musical tastes have a big wedge of classical, and who has a
vocabulary including words with more than two syllables."

   "Wow!  That's quite a speech."

   The tiramisu came.  I watched her face as she tasted the first tentative
bite, as trepidation morphed into a smile.  "Hey, this is GOOD!" I signaled
the waiter for a second portion.

   The meal ended and I flipped a piece of plastic to cover the bill,
including a good tip.  I was coming back here.  From the pristine condition
of Kim's dessert plate, I surmised that I would not have to twist her arm
to get her back here with me.

   We walked out to the truck.  She got in on the passenger side, and I got
behind the wheel.  We buckled in.

   "D'you mind if I listen to your radio?" she asked.

   "No, go right ahead."

   She turned it on and the sounds coming out of the speaker were from a
CD. Boccherini.  I stole a glance.  I was expecting a teeny-bopper "Yuck!"
I was wrong.

   Her eyes lit up.  "Boccherini.  Italian baroque.  String quintet in E
Major..." she sighed.  "Even Aunt Jenny thinks I'm strange for listening to
this."

   A gong was going off in my head.

   She turned the music off and said, "Antidisestablishmentarianism."

   "What?" I blurted.

   "Twelve syllables, thankyouverymuch.  Just showing you that you
shouldn't give up.  I'm sure there's somebody out there that meets your
requirements."

   "I'm not complaining, Kim.  I have a pretty good life, you know..."

   "Yeah, I imagine so.  But isn't it just possible that somewhere there's
some lady who's having a pretty good life, too, and the two of you'd fit
together, and change 'pretty good' to fairy tale?"

   "I suppose it's possible.  But I'm not going to tear myself apart in the
search.  And I get to make my own rules."

   "Yes, you do." We pulled into the apartment parking lot.  "Look!" she
said.  "Aunt Jenny's car is here.  I wonder if she's ...  uh, yeah, the
living room light is on ...  Let's go see what's up."

   "Uh, babe," I said, "If she's got a friend..."

   "Oh, you old thing.  It's not like that.  If she's got her friend,
they're sitting in the living room talking, or the light wouldn't be on. 
She's VERY discreet.  It's not like leather and harnesses and whips and
stuff."

   "What do YOU know about leather and harnesses?"

   "A girl gets quite an education when her mom is a notorious slut."



   ------

   Chapter 2



   Kim took my hand.  I didn't offer it.  Didn't make an effort.  Didn't
say anything.  It's just that when we got out of the truck and I clicked
the keyfob to lock it, she appeared at my side and grabbed my hand like it
was supposed to be that way.  Walking up the sidewalk as a couple, from all
appearances, she knocked on her own door.

   "Who is it?" came Jenny's voice from inside.

   "It's me, Aunt Jenny," said Kim.  We heard the deadbolt unlock and the
door opened.

   "I brought Tim back with me, Aunt Jenny," she said.

   "Yeah, I couldn't find the right dumpster to dump her dismembered body
into," I said.

   "Oh, I LIKE him!" said another voice, owned by a blonde sitting on the
sofa.

   "Uh, Tim, meet Laci, with an 'I'," said Jenny.

   "Hi, Laci," I said, trying to figure out where "lace" had anything to do
with the female sitting on the sofa.  She was carrying the "butch"
affectation a little further than I would have, but hey, I'm not
"Lebanese", as Kim giggled it.  She was almost identical in height and
weight to Jenny.  Okay, Jenny plus ten pounds, but well-distributed.  What
my German friends called "zaftig", juicy.  Her hair was short, pageboy, no
bangs, though, swept behind the ear on each side, and blonde.  A little
darkness at the part told me there was some amount of augmentation
involved.

   "Sit for a while, Tim," Jenny said.  "Tell us about your evening."

   I sat in a big overstuffed chair and was inwardly delighted that Kim sat
on the arm of the chair beside me.  "I had a perfectly delightful evening
of good food and conversation," I said.

   Kim grinned.  "I tried linguine with clam sauce.  And, uh ...  tra ...
tiramisu.  Oh, gosh.  Heaven.  My universe expanded."

   Laci said, "Uh, yeah.  I've had that.  Eat like that too often, and more
than your universe is gonna expand." She slapped her own plump, rounded ass
with an open hand.  It was a rather attractive ass, at that.

   "Oh, I know, Mizz Laci, but I still swim four or five times a week, so I
can pig out on tiramisu..." Kim turned to me, looking down at me.  "So what
time are you going to look at cars tomorrow?"

   I was caught just a little aback.  I hadn't exactly PLANNED on looking
tomorrow, but what the heck?  "I think the dealer opens at nine.  I'm going
to breakfast at eight-thirty, since I don't have groceries in the house
yet. That's the other task I have to perform tomorrow.  Why?  You lookin'
for an adventure?"

   Squeal.  "You don't mind?"

   "Of course not.  If your Aunt Jenny says it's okay..."

   "Fine with me," Jenny said.  "Most rapist-murderers don't make it past
the first date, so I guess she's safe..."

   "Be ready at eight thirty, then," I said.  "I'm gonna go home and get my
first night's sleep in my new home." I arose.  "And I enjoyed meeting all
you good ladies.  Good evening." I emphasized the formal angle, and left
them giggling as I closed the door behind me and walked up the sidewalk to
my own door.  And thought 'date'?

   "Oh, crap," I thought.  "Forgot.  New bed." I put fresh linens on a new
bed, took a shower, shaved, and then dozed off, the last pleasant thought
being a soft, female hand taking mine.

   The alarm woke me at eight, giving me plenty of time for me to wash my
sleepy face, brush my teeth, and dress in jeans and a rugby shirt.  At
precisely eight thirty I heard a knock on the door.  I felt like a
schoolboy as I got up to answer it.  I opened it to see Kim, who was almost
a female version of me.  A much YOUNGER female version, but jeans, rugby
shirt, tennis shoes ...  Her shirt was blue and yellow stripes.  Mine was
red and blue.  And seeing my attire, she giggled.

   "Can you come in for a second?" I asked.  "I need to print something."

   "Sure," she said innocently.  She stepped inside, looking around.  "This
is gonna be nice when you finish with it," she said.

   "I AM finished with it," I quipped.

   "Oh, no you aren't.  Don't make me come in here and straighten this
place out."

   "What makes you think that I perceive that at as a threat?"

   "Men get all nervous when women want to invade their caves.  That's why
men used to go out and capture women and bring them home for mates. 
Established the hierarchy right off the bat." She giggled again.  "Bat! 
Hah!  A pun!  No!  Wait!  Not a pun.  A simple play on words!"

   "You're a horrible person," I said.  "Come see!" I indicated the display
on my laptop.  "Here's what I'm thinking about buying." It was a Japanese
SUV.  Silver.  Not gas mileage to scream about, but a heck of a lot better
than a three-quarter ton pickup truck.  And a lot easier to get around town
in.

   "Grey?" she questioned.

   "Yeah.  Silver, actually.  But grey's good enough.  Remember, nobody
ever got a speeding ticket driving a grey Honda."

   "Uh, that's not true," she said.

   "Name one, then."

   "You know I can't.  But that's not TRUE."

   "I'm going for 'unobtrusive'."

   "That'll get you waaaay off into unobtrusive, babe," she said.  And she
rested her hand on my shoulder.  Lightly.  Then pulled it back.

   "Is it acceptable to Miss Kim?" I asked.

   "I think it's perfect.  I'd die for something like that."

   "You're not holding out for something else?  A red convertible Mustang,
maybe?" I questioned.

   "I never did get the idea behind convertibles.  1950, maybe, when there
wasn't any air conditioning.  Especially in cars.  But NOW?"

   "I dunno," I said.  "You'd look good..."

   "For what, like SIX days a year when it's not too hot or too cold or
raining?  No, thanks!"

   "Okay.  Extra points for 'practical'," I said to myself.  I printed the
inventory page from the dealer's site, then another page from another site
that showed actual selling prices.  I looked at Kim.  "Now, let's go buy a
car!"

   We stopped off at a little restaurant for breakfast first.  Pancakes,
eggs, sausage, toast.  And TWO cups of coffee.  Because I remembered that
Kim said, "I LOVE coffee."

   Then we headed to the local dealer.  Properly armed, I, make that 'we',
walked onto the dealer's lot and got grabbed by the archetypical car
salesman.  Who didn't know who he was dealing with.

   "Can I ask what sort of car you're interested in, sir?" he said, smile
plastered across his face.

   "This SUV.  Here's your inventory number." I showed him the page I'd
printed.  "I want this one."

   "Let me show you THIS one..." he said, gesturing grandly toward the one
two steps up in size and dollars.

   "Nope." I said.  "I got this off your website an hour ago.  THIS is what
I want.  Like THAT one!" I pointed to a similar model.  "Except silver."

   "Uh, yessir.  Let me check with my manager."

   "Check with who you need to.  I want THIS car."

   Kim was giggling when he walked off.  "You've got him off balance," she
said.

   He came back.  "Yessir.  This car's on the back lot.  We're bringing it
around." In a few minutes and a donut apiece later, the proper car
appeared. Smarmy salesman tried to get back on track.  "Sir, you'll want a
test drive?"

   "Nope.  It's just an SUV.  Steering wheel.  Pedals.  Automatic
transmission.  It's not the space shuttle.  I don't need to drive it."

   So he missed his test drive, replete with 'New car smell'.  Now he was
eying my pickup truck and thinking he'd hit the lottery.  "And you're
wanting to use that truck as a trade-in?"

   I'm thinking, "Bud, if I trade THAT truck on this little SUV, you'll be
writing ME a check." So I told him, "Nope.  Cash down.  Fifty percent.  So
tell me what your number is."

   And so help me, the schmuck gave me sticker price less a hundred bucks.
I took Kim's hand.  "Come on, sweetie.  I guess we DO need to drive to
Houston..."

   "W-w-wait.  Lemme go talk to my manager.  I might be able to get you a
deal," he stammered.

   "Do what you gotta do.  But be advised.  I know what these things are
going for.  In Houston.  And if you want to sell one today, you'll come up
with THAT number, plus a tank of gas."

   "Yessir." Zip.  He was gone.  Five minutes, he was back.  And the number
was within fifty bucks of what I'd wanted.

   "How do you want to finance it?" I could sense the wariness in his
voice. The kid learns fast.

   "Fifty percent cash down.  Three years on the balance at zero percent."
I whipped out a driver's license.  "Go run your numbers."

   "Yessir.  Be right back."

   Kim wrapped both her hands around my right bicep and leaned into me. 
She didn't start giggling until he was around the corner.  "This is like a
comedy sketch," she laughed.

   And here he came again.  "I can't do zero percent, sir." He gave me a
GOOD number, but I'd told him I wanted zero.

   This time Kim beat me to it, turning and heading to the door.  All I did
was look at him.

   "Okay ...  Okay ...  Lemme..."

   "Go see your manager, son." I was probably fifteen years older than him,
but one does have to establish one's hierarchies in negotiation.  "You DO
want to sell this car today, right?"

   "Uh, yessir.  Be right back."

   Kim was fighting for control of herself.

   Here he came again.  "Okay, sir.  50% cash down.  Balance at zero
percent for three years." He pointed to the lending document.

   "Great!" I said.  "See how easy this all is..."

   "You're writing us a check?"

   "Nope." I handed the truck keys to Kim.  "Babe, in the glove box there's
a blue vinyl zipper bag.  Can you bring it to us?"

   Kim skipped away and returned.  I unzipped the bag and counted out a
stack of hundred dollar bills.  "I'll want a receipt, you know..."

   And half an hour later, the salesman was shaking hands.  Deal was done.
He showed us the features of the car, as required, and then I gave the keys
to Kim and said, "Babe, can you drive this back to the house while I follow
you in the truck?"

   The smile on her face was irreproducible.  So was the squeal.

   Fifteen minutes later, after following a VERY careful Kim as she drove
home, I pulled beside her in the apartment parking.  She bounced out of the
car.

   "How'd it drive?" I asked.

   "Uh ...  Let's see ...  It's an SUV.  Steering wheel.  Pedals. 
Automatic transmission.  It's not the space shuttle." Giggles.  "I thought
I was gonna DIE when you said that.  But it drives nice..."

   "Then get back in and drive us to the grocery store."

   "Really?  I mean, it's YOUR new car."

   I laughed.  "But it's not the space shuttle." And I got in on the
passenger side.  And new car smell is new car smell.  Even if it is a
little Japanese SUV.

   The grocery shopping was epic, not surprising when one considered that I
was setting up a new household.  It took even longer as Kim and I put all
my purchases away.  Mid-afternoon.  And one of the purchases was a freshly
ground half-pound of coffee.  I brewed us up two mugs.

   Sitting at the coffee table in my new living room, we toasted my new
home, and sat, sipping, the TV providing background sound.

   "So what's your music library look like?" she asked.

   "Guess," I said.  "If I've got Boccherini in the truck..." I pointed. 
"The CD's are in that box, there.  And I've got those, and lots more, on
this hard drive."

   She opened the cardboard box and squealed.  "Look at this stuff!  Bach.
Beethoven.  Mozart, Schumann.  Wow.  Handel.  We have to listen..."

   "Do you have an iPod?" I asked.

   "Noooo ...  Had one.  Got stolen.  One of Mom's "friends".  I haven't
had the guts to ask Aunt Jenny."

   "I have two.  One's yours.  If you don't mind it being a little older
model."

   Squeal!  And hug.  And she backed off, almost like she'd realized that
she was going too far.  "Tim ...  you really don't have to do that."

   "I know I don't HAVE to, Kim.  But I want to.  I don't need two.  And
you'll like the music that's already on it." I rummaged through a box of
electronic stuff and came up with the one I intended to give her.  It still
had a charge.  I found her a charger.  And a pair of ear buds.

   She smiled so sweetly.  "Oh, Tim, NOW I've got music to listen to." She
was thumbing through the menus to review the playlists.

   I watched, smiling.  I couldn't remember when I ever saw a bigger smile
over a gift.  Yeah, I had a sister, and a niece and nephew from her and her
husband, and I was the proverbial doting uncle since the divorce,
distributing presents at birthdays and Christmas, and those kids were
appreciative, but none glowed like Kim as she menued through that iPod.

   And her cellphone rang.  She looked.  "It's Aunt Jenny," she said.  She
answered the phone.  "Hi, Aunt Jenny." Pause.  "Oh, yeah.  We went grocery
shopping.  He needed EVERYTHING." Pause.  "Yeah.  New apartment and all
that.  And he bought a new car." She described it.  "He let ME drive it."
Pause.  "Yeah.  ALL day!" Pause.  "And you should've seen that salesman!  I
almost wet myself.  It was FUNNY!"

   Blue eyes flashed at me, and I KNOW that smile was intended ...  Wait!
I'd known Kim for twenty-four hours ...  She was twenty four years my
junior ...  But that smile...

   "Sure," she said into the phone.  "He's right here." She pushed her
cellphone toward me.  "Talk to Aunt Jenny."

   I took the phone.  "Hi, Jenny," I said.

   "Well, hello, Tim Duncan.  You seem to have impressed our Kimberly."

   "All we did was roam the roads running errands." I felt defensive.

   "You let her drive your new car?"

   "Yeah, but how else was I gonna get it and my truck back from the
dealership?  I could've let her drive the truck?"

   "Nuh-uh.  I've seen your monster ...  uh ...  truck..." Snicker.

   "Uh ...  Jenny..."

   "I know" she said.  "Sorry.  I get that way sometimes." Brief pause. 
"Now, why I called.  Uh ...  I wanna kind of have an evening with Laci.  I
hate to leave Kim by herself.  I know she's sixteen and all, but ...  well,
can you check on her?"

   "Sure.  You have a problem with us hanging out?"

   "No.  I know where you live, remember?  I don't think you'd do anything
to hurt her."

   "I wouldn't.  She said she'd help me put this place in order.  It's
still a mess from moving in."

   "Then you to do what you have to do.  Just make sure she's okay ...  And
she has my number if she needs anything.  Lemme talk to her."

   I handed Kim back her phone.  "Hi, Aunt Jenny." Pause.  "Yeah.  I'll be
good.  You an' Laci have a good time.  'kay?  Bye!" She flicked her phone
closed and smiled at me.

   "We kinda took advantage of you, huh?" she said.  "Just assumed that you
wanted to hang out with me while Aunt Jenny did her thing." Giggle.  And
lascivious grin.  "And Laci's..."

   "Uh, if your aunt knew what you said..."

   "Oh, come on, Tim.  You know I'm just joking.  And they ARE two
consenting adults.  And they've been friends for a long time.  Sometimes I
think they'd be living together if I wasn't in the way."

   "Uh, well..."

   "Tim, people HAVE sex, you know..."

   "I know ...  but..."

   "Of course I only know this second hand." Her smile was communicative.
Unusually shy for the Kim I was becoming used to.

   "Well you know how I feel about sex."

   "Yeah, you told me.  And Aunt Jenny and Laci have been as constant, no
MORE constant than a lot of straight couples.  And sex is not the center of
their relationship."

   I closed my eyes.  Sex.  I had repressed sex in my life.  Single guy.  I
didn't do porn or titty bars.  I do admit to masturbation, but only because
with me, masturbation relieved pressures that if left unattended, would
result in very messy wet dreams.

   And now I was twenty four hours into a relationship with a sixteen year
old girl and SHE was lecturing ME about sex.

   "I understand, sweetie," I said.  "Sex looks easy.  Love is hard.  And
sometimes people are together and one of them thinks it's just sex and the
other thinks it's love, too.  And that's where people get hurt."

   "I know," Kim said.  "I watched Mom.  I saw everything that you just
said.  And when Mom went to jail and I moved in with Aunt Jenny I thought
here it goes again, except it's all women.  But it hasn't been." She took a
deep breath.  Soliloquy mode.  "And kids are the most screwed up of all,
because 99% of the boys are "it's just sex" and only half the girls are
like that.  And I believe that some of THEM are thinking "love" inside and
saying "sex" outside.  And they're all screwed up." She looked at me.  "But
I'm not like that."

   "That's good, Kim.  You have to protect your own heart because there are
darned few people who will protect it for you."

   "How do you find that person, Tim?" she asked, her voice small.

   "I don't know, Kim," I admitted.  "If I knew, I'd be living with her."

   Kim smiled.  The way the conversation had been going, I didn't know why
she smiled, but she smiled.  "Lighten up, Tim," she said.  "We're not going
to solve this one any time soon."

   I sighed.  "Okay, cutie.  So let's talk about Kim in school." I was
sitting in my recliner.  Kim was lounging on the sofa.

   "I skipped the fourth and sixth grades.  I just took the ACT's and got
30.  I could be a 4.0 average if I did all my homework and stopped arguing
with teachers.  Me an' the English teacher ...  uh, make that the English
teacher and I, have differences in opinion about symbolism in literature. I
tutor kids in math instead of doing study hall.  And if it wasn't for the
attendance laws, I could sit at home right now for the rest of the year,
take the finals, and graduate.  And I have a full academic scholarship at
the state university here in town."

   "And just a tiny bit of attitude?"

   "I don't suffer fools gladly." She smirked.

   "And the world is full of fools." I said.  A thought crossed my mind.  I
had a computer system waiting to be set up in the spare bedroom to make it
into an office.  "Come give me a hand, Kim," I said.

   "What're you gonna do?" she questioned.

   "I want to set up a computer and printer and monitor and scanner in the
spare bedroom."

   "As long as this isn't some cheesy ploy to get me into your bedroom..."
she smirked.

   "YOU may look at it as a bedroom, but I look at it as an office.  And
EVERYBODY'S not trying to get into a teenager's pants, babe." I snorted.

   "Yeah, but you still called me 'babe', though."

   "It's a pet name.  I'd call a kitty-cat 'babe.' So don't let your head
swell.  I need extra hands to run these cables."

   "You don't have to bust my bubble, Tim."

   "Oh, I'm sorry, Kim.  Seriously, if I was twenty years younger, I'd be
harboring a whole different set of motives.  But I'm not, and I need
somebody who'll pull one end of a cable."

   "Pffffht!" she stuck her tongue out at me.  "At least you noticed..."

   "What?  That you're a cutie?" I was pulling my desktop computer out of
its box, setting it on my desk.

   "You never said anything..." She handed me the keyboard.

   "I shouldn't have to say anything.  You know who you are." I handed her
the penpad.  "This goes beside the keyboard.  And this trackball."

   "Yeah, just another brown-haired girl.  A little too tall for a lot of
guys.  Too smart for the rest."

   "Takes somebody special to appreciate 'too smart'," I said.  "I guess
you tried playing dumb enough?"

   "Oh, gosh, no..." she snorted.  "I just can't.  I guess I tried, but it
just wasn't ME!"

   "Sometimes you have to make little concessions." I shoved a cable
towards her.  "Ethernet port." I sort of expected "what's that?" Instead I
heard "Snick!" as it clicked into place.  I tossed her another cable. 
"That big thing..."

   "This?" she questioned.  "I don't know what this is."

   "Large-format scanner.  Port's in the back." And I heard "snick!" again.

   "What else?" she asked.

   "That should be it.  Now let's run power cords." Power cords snaked
around behind everything, coming back to a hefty surge suppressor.  Another
five minutes.  "Now let's power it all up."

   A few clicks and little lights were on all over the room.  She pulled
the extra chair up as the computer and peripherals booted.  I showed off my
toys to an interested young lady.  "This is what I do for a living," I
said. Since she seemed interested, I showed her pictures of past projects,
friends, workers, big bits of equipment, control panels, other esoterica
that is behind modern life.

   I looked at the time.  "Uh ...  Kim, we've worked right through dinner."

   She looked at the screen's time display.  "We sure did," she said.  "but
it's Saturday night.  Things are still open..."

   "Then pick something.  And I get to drive this time.  New car and all."

   "Okay..." she smiled.  "But just remember, no matter whoever else gets
in it, ...  I ...  was the first" She paused.  "And being first counts for
something..." and another strange grin.

   We were just buckling in when her phone rang.  She looked at the
display. "It's Aunt Jenny," she said.  Putting the phone to her ear, she
said, "Hi, Aunt Jenny!" Pause.  "No, we're just getting out for dinner."
Pause.  "What'd we do all afternoon?  Just spent an hour in HIS bedroom
hookin' up..." evil pause.  "his computer..."

   "You're a bad girl," I said, shaking my head.

   She stuck her tongue at me.  "No, seriously, he's got a real BIIIIG"
another evil pause.  "desktop system." Giggle.  "I'm not sure I know WHAT
you're talking about." Pause.  "No.  You're going WHERE?  Just a second."
Kim looked at me.  "Seafood?  They're going to Roscoe's.  Good seafood.  If
you wanna meet 'em."

   "That'll work," I said.

   ""He said that's good.  We'll see you there in fifteen minutes.  Bye!"
The she looked at me grinning.  "What?"

   "You ...  you're gonna get me mutilated with a Ginsu knife.  Jenny
promised..."

   "I didn't say anything.  Unless YOU have a dirty mind.  Apparently Aunt
Jenny's got one ...  So I let her imagination..."

   "You're BAD!"

   "Well, she said you were cute, and SHE'S a lesbian.  So I just teased
her a little." Giggle.  Little girl voice.  "Do you forgive me?  Hmmmm?"

   "Yeah, I forgive you.  I just hope I can outrun Jenny if she figures I'm
molesting her niece."

   "Oh, she knows you're not molesting me.  We're going to enjoy a meal
with my aunt and her friend.  Nice people.  You'll see." She reached over
the console of the SUV and grabbed my hand in hers, interlacing our
fingers. "It'll be FUN!"



   ------

   Chapter 3



   The parking lot was almost full, including her aunt's car.  We walked
right in and sat down at the table with them.

   "Appetizers are on the way," Jenny said.  "Hi!"

   Laci added her chirpy "Hi!" I noted that she didn't look "butch" this
evening.  Neither of them was particularly feminine-looking, but then
again, my jeans-clad Kim fit right in.

   Laci noted, "You two look like a couple of bookends."

   "Yeah.  Isn't it NEAT?  And I didn't tell 'im what to wear, either.  It
just happened!"

   And so we had a good meal, conversing about Kim's day, my new car, Kim
driving my new car, the music thing, the computer.

   "Yeah," Jenny pointed out...  "That was the "We're in the bedroom
hookin' up" comment."

   Kim giggled.  "He's making his second bedroom into an office.  He's got
a really BIG..." and she pulled the same evil grin on her aunt, this time
in person.  "printer."

   Laci laughed.  "That's disgusting..."

   "It's FUNNY!" chirped Kim.

   Laci didn't let up.  "So Tim, you're walking into this place with a
teenaged girl wrapped around your arm and somebody you know from work
happens to see you..."

   "Then," I said, "they think either of two things.  The ones with the
clean minds will think "There's Tim with his niece." The ones with the
dirty minds will say "Way to go, Tim!" And me?  I don't care." And I
recalled that yes, when we walked in; Kim was indeed wrapped around my arm.
Since she'd spent the majority of the time we were walking together in the
exact same configuration, I hadn't given it a lot of thought.

   Kim just smiled.  "I'm just being friendly, that's all."

   Jenny dropped the bomb, though.  "I thought ya'll made a nice couple."

   I chose to push that statement to the back of my mind.

   Jenny kept on.  "Tim, what do you have planned for the rest of the
evening?"

   "Plans?  I don't have plans.  I was going to go to my new home and go to
sleep in front of the TV.  Why?"

   "Well," Jenny said, "If you want to join us, we can go to our house and
play Trivial Pursuit.  We can always stand some fresh meat."

   I was thinking, "Ah, Trivial Pursuit.  The game my sister refuses to
play with me any more." But I said, "I haven't played that in YEARS."

   The check came and I tossed a gold card at it over protests from Jenny
and Laci.  "No, I was going to pay for Kim anyway.  It's no big deal."

   "You're setting women's lib back a decade..." Laci said.

   "'Women' has nothing to do with it.  You ever see a bunch of guys eat
together?  Fistfights erupt over who GETS to pay.  But if I've offended,
you can slip me a twenty..."

   "I'm not THAT offended," Laci laughed.

   "Let's go," Jenny said.  We got up to leave and I paid attention this
time as Kim wrapped her arm around mine.  We had to unhitch to get past the
crowd at the exit, and when we got outside, I decided to just experiment. I
put my arm around her waist.  She COULD have pulled away.  Really.  She
could have.  But that's not what she did.  What she did was step closer to
me and swing her hips to bump mine, and then smile at me.

   We got in the car.  Kim spoke first.  "Why'd you do that?" she asked.

   "Do what?" I played dumb.

   "Put your arm around me ...  walking out."

   "Because YOU'VE been putting your arm in mine.  And I thought it just
might be pleasant to have my arm around a pretty girl."

   "Oh."

   I looked sideways at her as we navigated out to the street.  There was a
smug expression on her face.  So I assumed that I had not offended.

   "Just so you know, this 'pretty girl' is used to winning at Trivial
Pursuit.  Aunt Jenny has 'Kimberly Rules', you know..."

   "I don't know.  What's 'Kimberly Rules'?"

   "Don't act like I told you, but the only way I can get them to let me
play is spot 'em each a couple of pieces for a head start." She was
grinning.

   "That's nice to know.  My sister didn't think of 'Timothy Rules'.  They
just stopped playing with me."

   Giggle.  "Then THIS is gonna be fun.  Just play along like you don't
know anything.  I don't know if they'll try Kimberly Rules with you being
new and all."

   It was a good thing that all the hot chocolate mugs were empty by the
time it was readily apparent that Kim wasn't pulling punches, and neither
was I.  Each of us had completed all the categories while Jenny still
needed two and Laci three.  And I won the game ONLY because I answered the
end of game question before Kim got maneuvered to the final spot.

   Jenny and Laci expressed friendly outrage.  Kim was giggling.  "You beat
me.  I haven't been beat in a fair game since Aunt Jenny bought the stupid
thing."

   Laci said, "Hmmpphh!  Engineer.  I should've known better."

   "I'm sorry, guys," I said.  "Next time I'll spot you some pieces." I
smirked.

   "Like we do to Kim?  Kimberly Rules?"

   Kim giggled.  "I told 'im already.  But I thought I'd beat HIM, too!"

   Jenny tittered, "Little Miss Kimberly has met her match."

   "Nuh-uh," I said.  "I'm forty.  She's sixteen.  Imagine how she'll be
with twenty more years..."

   Laci said, "She won't live that long.  Somebody'll kill 'er in the first
Trivial Pursuit slaying on record."

   I sat on the sofa, falling back into the cushions.  "Mmmmm.  This feels
good.  The floor was killing me." And Kim slid in beside me.  And
surprising me, Jenny slid in on the other side.  Now this was a normal
sized sofa, made for three.  Laci taking her place between Jenny and the
other end of the sofa had us all cozy.  My arms were trapped between me and
the two women, so I did the natural thing and pulled them free and put them
on the back of the sofa.  Kim took this as her cue to snuggle in against
me. That was less of a surprise than her next move, which was to take the
hand of that arm and pull it down over her shoulder, wrapping it around
her. And the surprise ratcheted up a notch when Jenny's hand went inside my
leg, ostensibly to pull herself closer to me to better fit Laci into the
group.

   I glanced at Jenny.  Jenny's eyes met mine.  "Oops," she said.  "I
didn't mean to grope Kim's guy."

   "You groped MY guy?" Kim squealed.  "Aunt Jenny!"

   Jenny was reaching for the TV remote.  "It was an accident." She
snickered.  "That's an outie.  I prefer innies.  But I fear that we are
overloading Tim's senses."

   "Yeah, something like that." I said.  "I haven't sat with this many
pretty ladies in a long time.  Like never."

   "Silver words'll get you nowhere, buddy boy," Laci laughed.

   And Kim put the cap on it.  "Besides, Aunt Jenny, he's mine.  I've got
dibs." And when I turned to look at her, she smiled sweetly.  She patted my
hand, whispering theatrically.  "I'm just saving you from ravenous
females."

   I looked at my watch.  After eleven.  "Well, ladies, I think it's time I
go save myself.  It has been a delightful evening with you all." I turned
to sweet, pretty Kim.  "And especially you, Miss Kim."

   I got up, expecting to let myself out.  Kim bounced up immediately,
taking my hand, and then Jenny and Laci got up too.  I led the gang to the
door.  "I can find the door, ladies," I said.

   Laci laughed, "Yah hear that, Jen?  He still calls us ladies."

   Jenny smiled.  "You can call us ladies, Tim.  We're glad you joined us.
But next time you get to play by Kimberly Rules.  Just so you know."

   And I was surprised to have Kim throw arms around my neck and kiss me
lightly on the lips.  "Thank you for sharing your day with me, Tim." And
another kiss.  "Tomorrow?"

   "Sure, sweetie," I caught myself saying.  "But after nine, okay?"

   "Okay.  G'nite, babe!"

   I don't remember walking home.

   I lay in bed after the shower and the shave and while I was drifting
asleep, it was appearing that I'd acquired a teenaged girlfriend.  An
unusual teenaged girlfriend.

   Sleep came.  Good sleep.  Really good sleep, because I awoke to a
ringing, buzzing commotion as my cellphone tried jitterbugging at the end
of its charger cable.  I blinked my eyes, trying to clear then as I reached
around to grab the phone.  The clock said 09:00.  The phone brought me a
smile, because it had a number I didn't recognize and when I answered, the
voice coming out was sweet and teenaged and sounded very much like Kim.

   "Hi, babe," she said.  "Did I wake you up?"

   "Uh-huh," I said.  "But I usually don't sleep this late anyway."

   "I set my alarm for nine," she said.  "And when it went off, I called
you.  If you come over, we're doin' breakfast here.  Bacon and eggs and
hash browns."

   "Who's cooking that?" I asked.

   "We all are," Kim answered.  "Aunt Jenny's a pretty good cook.  Me and
Laci, we're helpin'."

   "They said that I was invited?"

   "Yeah.  I won't tell you what else they said." Giggle.

   "What else did they say?"

   "Ummm, oh well, they said that I shouldn't HAVE to call.  I should just
roll over and slap you on the butt."

   "Uh..."

   "Yeah, that's kinda what I said.  Are you comin' over?"

   "Yeah.  I'll be there.  In a few minutes.  I need to get dressed."

   Brightly, she answered.  "'Kay, babe.  See ya in a minute."

   I hoped that weekend morning informal dress would work.  I pulled on a
pair of khaki shorts (belted, of course.  Engineer, you know.) a colored,
pocketed (that makes it formal) t-shirt, and shoes with athletic socks. 
Five minutes later I was let in the door by Kim in a nightshirt and ushered
into the dining room.  "Sit!" she said.

   Jenny's head and shoulder appeared in the kitchen door.  "How do you
like your eggs?" She was wearing a football jersey.  I couldn't see what
was on the bottom half.

   "Over easy works fine."

   "Coffee?" came Laci's voice.

   "God, yes," I said.  "Two sugars.  One cream."

   Laci came in with a tray.  "Do I look like a waitress?" The tray held
mugs of steaming coffee and a sugar bowl and little pitcher of cream.

   I looked.  She was wearing a nightshirt, long t-shirt looking thing that
ended at the thigh.  It did little to hide some rounded curves and a nice
pair of titties that despite the absence of a bra, were NOT sagging.  In
the back of my mind I was entertaining the thought that she was actually
attractive.  I took the offered tray and doctored my coffee to my taste.  I
was savoring caffeinated vapor and sipping when Kim sat a plate of food in
front of me and sat down beside me with her own plate.

   Jenny appeared with plates for herself and Laci.  Jenny's football
jersey was all she had on too, and hers ended slightly below the cheeks of
her ass.  I breathed deeply.  At least she had panties on.

   Kim looked at me.  Yes, there were two other women in the room, women
who, had it not been for them being lesbian, I would have, well, they WERE
still attractive.  But I had eyes for Kim.  Only.

   Kim smiled.  "I forgot your orange juice."

   "I'm okay, Kim," I said.

   "Nope.  I'll be right back." She came back with four glasses and a
carton of juice.  She sat back down, poured her and me each a cup and
scooted her chair closer as we ate breakfast together.  We finished
together and as I sat back, I felt her hand pat my bare knee under the
table.  I couldn't let this go unacknowledged.  I reached under the table
and squeezed her fingers.  She smiled at me.

   We found out that four was entirely too many for the small kitchen of
these apartments.  Jenny and Kim shooed me out.  I thanked them for
breakfast and went back to my own apartment.  Twenty minutes later there
was the doorbell.  I opened it, expecting Kim.  It wasn't Kim.  It was
Jenny.

   "Oh, hi," I said.  "Come in."

   "Tim, I don't have long, Laci's waiting on me, and Kim's taking her
shower.  We need to talk."

   "We?  About what?"

   "Not what," she said, "who.  Kim."

   "Okay.  You've got my attention." I was all ears.

   She drew a breath.  "Things are strange in my life right now.  Laci an'
me, well, we'd be living together, but she's worried about what it shows
Kim.  But that's not the half of it."

   "No?"

   "No.  Kim's never been one to go on about guys.  She's been on two,
maybe three dates since she moved in with me.  And then YOU come along. 
It's like somebody hit her in the head with a hammer.  Tim, don't take this
wrong, but she's thunderstruck.  I've heard of it.  I might even believe
it, you know, 'love at first sight' but maybe it's fairy tale stuff, too,
but you need to know..."

   "How do you know this?" I asked.

   "Every time she's been with me the last two days it's been "Tim this"
and "Tim that" and "He's so nice.  Don't you think he's nice?"

   "Look, Jenny.  I just met her and you two days ago.  I didn't do
anything to encourage her.  She's the neatest girl her age I've ever met.
Make that ANY age.  She's a dream for a geek like me.  But I'm over twenty
years older than her.  I just thought I was somebody interesting to her,
somebody to break the routine."

   "So you're saying 'no way'?  I mean, if she..."

   "Oh, I'd love to think it was possible.  She's smarter than smart, and
funny and mature and ...  Do you see how ...  I ...  sound?" I don't know
what I was trying to say.

   "So you would...  ?"

   "Hurt her?  Never!"

   "But what if she looks at you and says, 'Tim, I love you...  ' Then
what, Tim?"

   "Then I have a very delicate balance to walk, because I've already had
my heart ripped out by one woman."

   "Don't you hurt my Kim, boy.  She needs love.  Not to be used.  To be
LOVED.  I sound like I'm trying to convince you..." Jenny's face told me
volumes.

   "No, Jen," I said.  "I was teetering on the edge.  I fear I may have
just been pushed over."

   "Good.  Be good to her.  I know where you live."

   "Yeah, okay.  Can Laci be the best man at our wedding?"

   "Oh, shit, Tim!  Wait'll I tell her you said that." Jenny left.  I
walked back to my recliner.  Sat.  I hadn't felt anything like that since I
walked off the plane after Iraq.

   The doorbell rang again.  I opened it, knowing that this one was Kim. 
It was.  "Okay, babe, what do YOU have in mind today?"

   "D'ya have a problem with a ride around the countryside.  A park maybe.
Pretty day.  Nature and all that?" She looked at me, those blue eyes
expectant above the freckles punctuating her cheeks.

   I couldn't help but smile.  "A brilliant idea.  Let me grab some stuff."

   "Uh, what kind of stuff?" She eyed me.

   "Babe!" I said.  "New car.  Nothing in it.  We need to have a FEW
things. Tools and such.  AND, with the prospect of sitting in a park
somewhere, perhaps a blanket to protect tender heinies from the immediate
contact with nature..."

   Giggle.  "You ARE an engineer."

   "Yeah.  Let's see ...  I walked up the hall and retrieved an old
blanket. "Here's a blanket that'll work.  We can get the trouble bag out of
the truck.  I'll buy the stuff to equip another one this week.  Let's go,
punkin..."

   "Punkin?" she squealed.  "is that a good thing?"

   "Everybody loves punkins, babe.  Even forty year old engineers."

   Hands wrapped around my biceps as we walked out.  When I got back from
the truck with the trouble bag, Kim was sitting in the driver seat,
smiling. "You don't mind if I drive, do you?"

   "To the gas station," I said.  "I have a voucher from the dealer for a
tank of gas.  And then I drive."

   "Oooo-kay..." she feigned a pout.  "I never have any fun..."

   "Little girl, your life is ALL fun right now.  Wait'll you get into
college..."

   And off we went.  At the gas station, I filled us up, then we drove off
with me in the driver seat.  She reached over the console and took my hand.
At the stoplight I looked at her face.  That perfect, loving face. 
'Loving?'

   "Uh, Tim..." Little voice.  "you don't mind talking to me, do you?"

   "Nope, Kim, you're the easiest person in the world to talk to.  These
last two days have been an absolute blast."

   "With me?"

   "With you.  I wish I was eighteen again.  You'd be on my list for sure."

   Her expression got a bit grim.  "But since I'm sixteen, and you're
forty, I'm a non-person..." her eyes lost the gleam.

   I sucked in a sharp breath as the light changed.  "Not exactly, Kim. 
Twenty-four years is a lot of age difference.  But there are things that I
found out about you in the last two days that make you so much ...  but
twenty-four years..."

   Kim took control.  "Tim Duncan.  I am an honors student in high school.
I have a 4.0 average in math, and that includes trig and calculus.  I think
I can tell you the difference between sixteen and forty-one.  It's
twenty-five.  And I could've been a NUN for all I cared about boys in high
school.  The smart ones.  The cool ones.  The nerds.  The geeks.  The
jocks. I didn't care.  I even dated.  A few times.  D'you know what it's
like being a female and going out with a guy and you want to talk about
things like the space station or current events and you find out that what
your chosen partner for the evening has in mind is a little exploration of
your body?  Or "babe, I know where there's a party, and they got beer an'
weed..."?  And that's what passes for MY social life?  I even went on a
weekend with a church group.  Separate buses for the boys and the girls. 
And you should've heard the stories the girls were tellin' each other.  A
church group!  And ...  I ...  was the ONLY virgin in the bunch."

   I listened, driving.

   "And so here I am, living with my lesbian aunt, the one person in my
life who treats me like family, and I've got most of the teachers in school
looking upon me favorably, and life is just a little bit better, and then
YOU walk into my life.  It's like somebody whanged me in the head with a
cast iron skillet."

   She crossed her arms.  Her bottom lip was stuck out.  Not pouting. 
Determined.  She continued.  "It's like "Blam!" and a little voice said,
"Kimberly, now that we have your undivided attention, that guy over there,
HE'S the ONE.", and I am wondering what exactly that takes..."

   "What what takes?" I asked.

   "Getting it through your terribly intelligent but apparently clueless
skull."

   "I think you're doing a pretty good job of it right now."

   The smile came back.  A little, anyway.

   "Okay," I said.  "My turn."

   The smile waned.  "I'm listening."

   And a voice in my head, Jenny's saying "Don't you hurt my Kim." With
that in mind, I asked, "You're in advanced placement classes, right?"

   "Yes," she said, cautiously.

   "Then you know about terms like forever and infinity and stuff like
that."

   A cautious nod.

   "Well, let me tell you, Miss Kimberly Elkins, I once loved a woman and
stood in front of friends and family and declared that love, forever, just
like she did.  'Forever' didn't mean the same to her that it did to me. 
That like to have killed me.  For real.  Had it not been for some of the
friends and family, I would not have made it.  As it was, I did.  And when
I tried to replace what was missing, I was treated very shabbily, used, by
women who wanted something when they offered little in return." I heaved in
a breath.  "So, Miss Kimberly, what does LOVE mean to you?  And I KNOW you
know what forever is."

   Serious-faced Kim looked at me.  "Don't you think that didn't cross my
mind?  When I graduate from college, I will be twenty and you will be
forty-five.  Under present day actuarial figures (WHAT???  I was playing
with a sixteen year old girl who knew "actuarial"?), you're pretty much
assured, being in good health, of living until you're eighty, and a bit
more.  Using that math that you accuse me of knowing, I think we will have
forty good years together.  Now, Mister Engineer, wouldn't you rather have
forty good years with the person you love than forty years without them?  I
thought real love wasn't about physical things like looks ...  and age."

   I couldn't help the smile.  "Is this the way that it's always going to
be?"

   "Is WHAT the way?"

   "You being right all the time."

   "Always?" she beamed.

   "You're not the only one who can get struck by lightning.  Or a cast
iron skillet."

   Her eyes brightened.  "So do you..."

   "Love you?  Yes, Kimberly Elkins.  I love you."

   "I love you too, Tim," the words rushed out.  She pulled my hand to her
lips and kissed it.

   "Now what, little love?" I asked.

   "We had a day planned, didn't we?  She smiled.  "Let's do it."

   "So it shall be," I said.  Oh, there was still turmoil in my head.  But
there was a big spot of thought that was settled.  And very happy.  Looking
at a smile I would come to know and savor, apparently so was Kim.  My Kim.

   We did drive through the countryside, autumn in the Deep South being
different than up north, and a riverside park provided us a place to spread
that blanket out.

   I did the spreading.  Kim knelt in the middle of it, and for the first
time, I could really LOOK at her without feelings of guilt or worry that
she'd see me looking longer than was acceptable.  Her face turned toward
me. A zephyr blew a wisp of hair across her face and she shook it back in
place with a toss of her head, leaving her bangs in delicious disarray. 
Her blue eyes.  The slight smile on her lips.  Trusting.  She extended her
hand.

   "Here.  Beside me." She said it with serious tone.  I complied.

   She got close to me, wrapping her arms around my neck.  The little kiss
last night?  Today's was better.  Softer, tentative, yet.  She sighed.  And
kissed, we kissed again.  I barely parted my lips and brushed my tongue
across her lips.  Her lips parted and the tip of her tongue met mine.  For
the first time.  Her lips pressed harder and her tongue explored.  Finally
we broke, with us sighing in duet.

   "Tim," she said, "I hope I don't disappoint you, but that was my first
real kiss.  With a grown-up guy.  For real.  Not little kids."

   "It was the absolute most wonderful kiss I have ever had, Kim."

   "No, you don't have to say that, Tim.  I know you've been with other
women.  More experienced and all that."

   "No, baby, YOU need to understand.  You kissed because YOU wanted to
kiss ME, not because you were just with somebody and you were expected to
kiss.  And I didn't think that there was a snowball's chance in hell that
I'd ever get a kiss like that again in my life.  No, Kimberly, your kiss is
my rebirth."

   She pushed me gently back onto the blanket and smothered me with little
kisses.  And I smothered back.  She had her hand on my chest, my neck, her
leg insinuated between mine, and I felt stirrings ...  Stirrings, hell, I
was as hard as a rock.

   Our blanket, though ...  beautiful fall afternoon in a public park ...
we were already on the edge as far as public display of affection.  I
caressed her face, feeling the velvet skin.  She pressed her cheek against
my hand, her smile alluring yet demure.

   "Tim," she said, "it's not just kissing.  I've never ...  nothing. 
Never touched a guy ...  never been touched.  I've read.  And TV and movies
and stuff.  And listened to other people talkin'."

   "Don't worry, baby," I said.  "You're in control.  We do what you want,
when you want.  If something makes you nervous, or whatever, you say stop
and we'll stop.  I'm not in heat.  I am just loving my amazing partner."

   Another kiss.  A hot kiss.  "Okay.  Let's pick up our blanket and go
back.  We can eat an early dinner."

   "Okay, love," I said.  We stood and I folded the blanket and with it
under one arm, and with her on the other, we returned to the SUV.

   The drive back to town was enriched as we talked about things like her
plans for further education, ("I'm sixteen.  I'm not SURE what I want to
do. Major?  I am just not sure.") classes, (I help the teachers in calculus
class and I help out in algebra instead of doing study hall) and reading
(speculative science fiction.) and I got the feeling with each mile behind
us that this was not just an unusual young girl, but a UNIQUE young girl.

   "So you were in the army?" she asked.

   "Yeah.  ROTC paid for some of my college.  I had to serve four years
when I finished."

   "What'd you do in the army?" she asked.

   "I was a lieutenant in the combat engineers.  Helped people cross
ditches and blew up things."

   "Uh ...  Ohhhhh!"

   "Thousands of people in the army, Kim.  I was just one of 'em."

   "And you used to run around the country building things?"

   "Yes, baby.  It's one way an engineer can earn a living.  If you're good
at it, people will come looking for you with good money in their hands. 
But living on the road gets old after a while.  So I got a job at the plant
across the river.  And then I rented an apartment..."

   Giggle.  "That's almost as good as 'Once upon a time', Tim" she said. 
Apparently I wasn't going to be given use of my right hand, because she was
holding it for all she was worth.

   Easing back into town, she said, "Uh.  Tim, can we just do a hamburger
for supper?"

   "Sure," I said.  "Whatever you want."

   "A burger.  And then home." And that sounded pretty definitive.

   Home.  A two bedroom apartment.  The abode of a single guy, forty, well,
forty-one, actually, who when he signed the lease had a pretty solid plan
for a life a semi-solitude.  And that guy, me, was walking in the front
door with a sixteen-year old girl holding his hand.

   If I was your typical lecher, I guess I'd have been thinking I'd hit the
jackpot, but that wasn't me.  I was really more scared and nervous than I'd
ever been in my life.  My long-departed wife and I, neither one of us had
been virgins, innocent, when we met and merged and eventually married.  My
own virginity had disappeared at seventeen in one of those blurs of a
little purloined alcohol and a few friends including the proverbial
"experienced" girl to whom I was just another interesting face and
different dick for the evening.

   And here I was with this complex set of characteristics that was Kim. 
And she'd told me she was a virgin, and her aunt had told me that she was
inexperienced with dating, much less being in love, and I had no idea as to
how this was all supposed to work.

   I'm an engineer.  Materials and forces all follow established laws.  I
can take a piece of copper and from a few measurements I can determine how
much electricity will pass through it before it gets too hot, and how much
more before it will fail.  But this wasn't a material, this was Kim, and on
the third day since we'd met, the last thing I wanted was to hurt her in
any way.

   She'd said "love" and I wanted to be her source of love and happiness
and good feelings and laughter.  That quirky smile of hers?  I wanted that
to be MY smile.  Her laughter?  I wanted it to be MINE.  Those clear blue
eyes?  I wanted to wake and see them as the first image in my day.  When
she grinned and the corners of her eyes crinkled, I wanted that to be mine.
So I was scared as I pushed the key into the lock.  I let her into the door
ahead of me and shut it behind me.

   She reached around and turned the deadbolt.  Then she pushed ME back
against the door and I was glad for her height because I just tilted my
face down for my lips to meet hers and her arms wrapped me and all I could
do was reciprocate, my right hand on her shoulder and my left on her waist,
and she insinuated her body against me.

   "Tim," she sighed, her lips inches from mine, "I don't know if this is
gonna work."

   Horror coursed through my veins.

   And she grinned, "I mean, we're "Tim 'n' Kim." That's just too contrived
for me to imagine.  I don't know if I can stand it..." It was an evil grin.

   "I'm going to the courthouse tomorrow and change my name to Beauregard,
you little beast.  Or we change yours to Heloise."

   Smirk.  Giggle.  "Nah.  Tim 'n' Kim sounds okay." Another kiss.  Twinkly
eyes.  And a grin.  "Babe, your face gives you away.  Remind me never to
let you play poker with me an' Aunt Jenny and Laci.  They'll clean you
out."

   "You took advantage, babe!  Here I was, all caught up in the moment,
tenderly kissing the love of my live and she pulls horrid tricks on me."

   Another kiss.  "Does that make it better, babe?" she asked.

   "It may take several." I said, over-acting, to her delight.

   "Let's see if I know how to fix it, then." She smiled.  "There's
something you do that I want to see you do today."

   "What?" My mind was running fast through a stack of possibilities and
none of them were coming up as likely.

   "Yesterday you sat in your recliner while we were talking.  Go sit!"

   That one hadn't even been on the list.  I sat and tilted back.

   "I hope that thing can hold both of us," she giggled, sitting on the arm
and then sliding back into my lap.

   What do you think I'd do?  I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her.

   She cooed in my ear, "I wanted to just jump in your lap yesterday."

   "You'd've given me a heart attack, princess."

   Giggle.  "I know.  But I thought about it.  Wanted to."

   I said, "But, babe, you'd just met me the day before."

   "Yeah," she said.  "I know.  My head was still ringing from that
skillet. And helping you Saturday, putting your stuff tougher,
straightening up stuff, every time I ...  It was like turning over a rock,
and there's a gold coin.  And another rock, and another coin.  And another
rock..."

   Conversation was punctuated with kisses.  My hands caressed her back and
shoulders and I ran my fingers through that sassy brown hair and let my
fingertips tickle the back of her neck.  She purred.  "Mmmmm, gosh, Tim, I
feel like I'm SUPPOSED to be here."

   "You are, sweetness." Her shirt had ridden up a little, exposing her
waist above her shorts.  And my hand touched velvet, warm skin.  "You feel
good to me, too." And she was caressing my face with one hand as we kissed,
the other cradling my head.

   Another purr.  "mmmmm ...  I knew when you touched me it would feel like
this..." Our lips met and she purred as we kissed, her tongue touching,
exploring my own.

   And I had a problem.  Not a particularly BIG problem, just a "middle of
the Gaussian distribution" six inches, but those six inches wanted to be
straight, and they weren't.  I kept trying to push the discomfort out of my
mind, but five feet eight inches and a hundred and forty pounds of
sixteen-year old curled in my lap kissing me was making sure that the
problem wouldn't go away.  I couldn't stand it any longer.  Finally, I
said, "Babe, I hate to ask, but could you get up for a second..."

   She started to maneuver off my lap.  "I knew it.  I'm too big..."

   "Oh, god, no, sweetie ...  I need to move."

   Her eyes saw the part that needed moving and they widened perceptibly.
"Oh, gosh, I'm sorry, baby," she said.  "I told you, I don't know ANYTHING.
I wasn't thinking..."

   "Neither was it," I said.  "It just reacts."

   "That's not an 'it', that's a 'he'," she said.  "And I ...  Tim, I've
never kissed a guy, much less sat on his lap like we're doing ...  I'm
sorry."

   "Don't be sorry," I said, standing.  I turned away and adjusted it so it
was pointed in a direction that made it happier, and the activity and the
change in conversation and the absence of the soft roundness of Kim's
bottom in my lap, well, it lost a lot of urgency.  Still, I left it pointed
up, semi-hard, and I sat back down.

   Kim's eyes.  A little smile.  "I did that..."

   "Yes, undeniably, you did that.  'That' doesn't do that by itself." I
said.

   "Is it okay?  Can I?"

   I held my arms out for her to resume her place on my lap.

   "I'll be careful," she said, returning to my arms.

   "That has nothing to do with you being careful, cutie.  It is almost a
reflex, a reaction to a beautiful, happy female in my arms, and you are the
most beautiful, and I hope, very happy."

   Kiss.  Long kiss.  And a sigh.  "Very happy."

   "Good," I said.  "I am too."

   She looked into my eyes.  "I think you're blind, though."

   "Blind?  Not me ...  why?"

   "You keep saying I'm beautiful."

   "Little one," I said, leaning forward to kiss her on the end of her
slightly upturned nose, "you are beautiful.  You're tall,
well-proportioned, you have beautiful eyes, a smile that would melt stones,
that beautiful head of hair, a constellation of freckles that demand to be
respected, lips to die for ...  beauty that requires no artificial
enhancement.  Yes, I think you're beautiful.  And I love you.  But I
thought you were beautiful when I saw you standing on the sidewalk Friday
with your arms crossed."

   "Arms crossed ...  I don't ...  I'm not ...  my titties aren't big. 
Guys like big ones."

   "Some guys do.  I ...  wait, remember who said that real love wasn't
about physical things like looks?"

   "Yeah, but..." she stuttered.

   "No buts.  But since you brought the subject up, I think you're
absolutely perfect.  In every way.  Nothing I'd change, even if I could."

   "Are you sure?"

   I kissed her as an answer.  I felt her hand on my chest, touching,
exploring, then moving up to caress my neck.

   "Babe, your shirt..." her forehead was touching mine, our eyes locked.

   "My shirt?" I whispered.

   "Take it off.  It's not such a big deal for guys..."

   How innocent my Kim was.  Yes, it was no big deal, if we were talking
about swimming or lounging around the pool.  We'd done that.  She knew what
my chest looked like, and she knew that I wasn't smooth-chested.  But she
asked.  And sat back to clear me to pull my shirt up over my head.  The
hand that was simply soothing and arousing in a dreamy way a minute before
was like lightning when she touched my bare chest.  It was my turn to purr.
"mmmmm," I moaned softly.

   "You like this, baby?" she asked.

   "Your touch ...  it's like cool fire ...  it's been so long since I was
touched ...  and you touch me, and it's like I was NEVER touched before..."

   She leaned forward to put her lips against mine, her hand exploring my
chest.  She covered my breast with her hand and gripped, squeezed, then
released, her fingers dragging to land her fingertips on my nipple.  I
shuddered.

   "You like that, hmmmm?"

   'Yesssss," I hissed.

   "If I keep doing stuff like this ...  I'm not being fair, am I?"

   "Fair has nothing to do with anything.  Your touch is electric, Kim."

   "Babe, I love you.  You have to KNOW I do..."

   "And?" I asked.

   "And, well, I'm ...  Tim, you're going to be my first, my only.  But
it's not going to be tonight."

   "Babe, I don't care.  I'm not trying to get in your pants.  I want in
your heart."

   "You're in there, babe.  Timothy Duncan, you ARE there." Kiss.

   I said, "I want to be in YOUR head."

   "There, too." Another kiss.  And a sigh, a little exasperated.  "But
you've fallen in love with a girl who's having a stupid period."

   "All things in due time, dearest," I said, kissing her with little
kisses across her cheeks and nose.  "You are my precious angel, and you get
to say if, or when..."

   "You haven't tried..." she said.

   "I want you, baby.  What red-blooded man wouldn't?  But I want you
because you want me, not because I sweet-talked you or put a guilt trip on
you or got you drunk or high or whatever.  And kissing you, caressing you,
having you in my arms, you've brought things back to life that have been
dead for years."

   She took my hand and pressed its palm against her breast.  I felt firm
sweet flesh.

   "These are yours, too, babe.  I ...  touch me." She pulled her shirt
off, then started to unfasten her bra.

   "No, let me," I said.  She eased forward into my arms and I unhooked two
hooks.  She shrugged it off and dropped it beside the chair, sitting back.

   I saw perfect "B" cups.  Pink areolas, less than an inch in diameter. 
Nipples were perked up like pink pencil erasers.  I touched, letting my
fingers savor the feeling of this young girl's beauty.  My fingers touched
her nipples and she shuddered.  Then smiled.  "I did that to you?  No
wonder you jumped."

   "You're beautiful.  These are perfection." I bent forward as she looked,
almost in disbelief.  My lips closed over her left nipple.  Her hands went
to my head.  The thought crossed my mind that perhaps this was further than
she was willing to go, but that thought went away as her hands pulled me
into her chest.  And when I used my tongue...

   "Mmmmnnnnnnnhhhhhhh, oh, Tim!  Ohhhhhh ...  I ...  Ohhhhhhh" and she did
pull my head back, replacing her nipple with her mouth.

   "Babe..." she said, breaking the kiss.  "I want you.  But not
tonight..."

   "I want you too.  And we better slow down..."

   "Oh, god, I don't want to..." she sighed heavily.  "Damn period.  Baby,
I ...  I didn't mean, to, you know ...  tease you..."

   I sighed.  I was more erect than I can ever remember.  And she kissed me
and it was okay.

   "Can we just go this far?" she asked.  Her eyes were honest.

   "As far as you want to go," I said.  As I said it, I ran my hands across
her bare back, my fingers savoring the feel of her smooth skin, healthy,
soft, and her reactions were purrs as she lay her head on my shoulder,
melting into me.

   Her hand curved up to let her run her fingers through my short hair,
toying with it as we breathed in unison.  Then her fingers stiffened and
she turned my head and her face rose to kiss me.

   "You touch me and make me feel loved," she said.

   "That's because I love you," I said, pushing my lips through the soft
sleekness of her hair.

   "You know, even though I'm having a stupid period, we could, uh, take
our pants off," she said.  "Get us a little closer together."

   I mulled this thought over for about a second and a half.  "I could feel
those pretty legs against mine," I said.

   She reacted by standing up and unfastening her jeans, all the while
staring at me.  The zipper came down and she spread them and eased them
down past her hips, revealing pink hip-hugger panties.  God, I wanted
her...

   A sexy wiggle and those jeans collected at her ankles and she stepped
out.  "Your turn," she smiled.

   I stood and she took my place sitting in my recliner, watching.  I
unbuckled my belt and popped the button on my own jeans, then unzipped.  I
hooked my thumbs in the waistband.  "Last chance before they go down,
babe," I said.

   "Oh, Tim, I'm sitting here in my panties in your living room." She stuck
her tongue out at me.

   I slid my jeans down and stepped out of them, my own briefs tented out
from a tremendous erection.  Yes, they were briefs, but at least they
weren't white.  Royal blue.

   "Come closer," she said.

   My mind ran through several possible results of obeying, and all of them
were good.  I stepped up to stand in front of her.  She looked up at me. 
Her hands reached out and touched my chest, her fingers curling in the hair
there.  Her fingers straightened and she drew in a breath.  I did, too ...
Oxygenation.  I might just need it.  Her hands slid down my chest onto my
stomach.

   "You're my guy now, aren't you, Tim?" she asked, her cool blue eyes
connecting with mine.  "Mine.  Like in happily ever after?"

   "Like in forever.  And you and I will work out the "happy" together."

   Her hands slid down until the heels of her palms were resting on the
elastic band of my briefs.

   Oxygen!  My brain needed it!  I breathed again.  Her hands traveled away
from my belly around my waist and gently pulled me closer.  I eased
forward. The tent in my briefs was mere inches from her mouth and I could
feel her breath, even through the cloth.  Her hands slid further back and
she slid them down, cupping my ass.  My knees were quivering as her fingers
touched me through the fabric.  She let them explore my butt.  I've never
had a woman actually explore my ass, but it was being done now as our eyes
stayed connected.

   Her tongue licked her slightly open lips as her thumbs hooked into the
elastic waistband on either side of my spine and pulled down.  I felt the
air hit bare skin on my butt.  This was the last chance I'd have.  I put my
hands on the sides of that pretty face and I squatted in front of her and
kissed her.

   "Baby, are you sure?  I don't do this for fun."

   "I love you, Tim," she said.  "Let me ...  Stand up."

   I resumed standing.  She dragged my briefs down under the cheeks of my
ass, then her fingers followed the elastic around to the front.  My hard
prod was preventing the briefs from sliding down easily.  Her fingers
tugged the waistband away from my belly and then down, freeing my dick, its
circumcised head purplish and exuding a tiny wetness of lubricant.

   Her eyes left mine.  They were fixed on my throbbing hardness.  She
paused for a second and then finished pulling my briefs down past my
thighs. They fell around my ankles.  I didn't dare move for fear of
breaking a fragile moment.  Her eyes turned back up to my face.  "I ... 
Tim, I've never ...  never seen a guy's ...  when I wanted to LOOK.  And
touch..."

   "Oh, my baby, Kim..." I got ready for my knees to give up completely
because I saw her fingers start towards my erection.  The first touch had
less physical impact than a butterfly landing on a rose, but lightning
coursed through me.

   She curled her fingers around it, being drawn by her natural curiosity.
A tentative squeeze gave me yet another chance to overcome collapse.  Her
hand loosened and she moved it and discovered the outer skin sliding over
the hard shaft beneath it.  And then her other hand joined the first, the
fingertips of that hand tracing, testing the purple helmet throbbing before
her.  She noticed my shudder this time.

   "Are you okay, babe?" she asked, her eyes reading my face.

   "Uh-huh," I managed to utter.

   "Would it be easier if you ...  we got in bed?" Her eyes twinkled. 
"Then I won't worry about you shaking every time I touch you."

   I nodded and she popped up out of the chair, herself nude except for
those pink panties, her proud young breasts defying gravity in their sassy
swell.  She took me by the hand and led me towards the bed.  She turned
down the covers and knelt in the middle, patting the clean sheets in front
of her.  "Lay down," she commanded.

   I complied.  She crawled over me, her breasts pressing into my chest,
her pink hard nipples punctuating the feelings surrounding a passionate
kiss.  Those long legs spread to the outside of my own and I felt her
panty-clad mons rub a path over my dick.  I moaned.  She moaned, too,
grinding that soft mound into me.

   "It's gonna be good for us, babe," she said.  "It is."

   I couldn't do much more than groan.  She rolled sideways off me.

   "I can't believe it's so hard, babe.  When I do this..." her hand
stroked gently over the head and down the length of the shaft, "Does it
feel good?  I'm ...  I don't KNOW.  I've heard, but I never..."

   "It feels wonderful, baby," I said.  "You've got me so excited..."

   "Like in orgasm, like they told us about in sex ed?"

   "Like that, babe.  If you do that much longer, it's gonna squirt all
over..."

   The curiosity on her face mixed with mischief.  Kim was making me VERY
happy and this was exciting to her.  "This?" she asked, her hand playing
over my dick.

   She was obviously not experienced, but my joy of sharing in her
discovery had me aroused far past anything I'd ever experienced before. 
"Oh, yeah.  Just a light grip and slide the skin up and down."

   And her fingers of her other hand found my balls, and tickled and I lost
it.  "Unnghhh!" I grunted as the first spurt leapt from my dick, launched
to parts unknown.

   "Eek!  Now what?" she squealed.

   I took her hand with mine and pressed her fingers around me and milked
in time to augment the second surge which landed over my shoulder on the
sheets.  The third and fourth ended up on my chest and belly and then
subsequent, at least seven, surged out and over our hands together.  I
collapsed back onto the pillow.

   "Wow!  Is it always like that?" she giggled.

   "No, little one, it's NEVER been like that.  You move me to new
heights."



   ------

   Chapter 4



   "You're sweet," she said, still holding my dick, but moving up to kiss
me.  She looked at her hand, fingers covered with semen.  "It's slick," she
said, fondling my softening dick.  I could barely stand the intensity of
the feelings caused by her slippery fingers.  She kissed me again, a quick
peck, one I would come to know as a precursor to a question.

   "Blowjobs..." she said.

   "Blowjobs?" I asked.

   "Yeah, I've heard about 'em.  Lots of girls do 'em.  Seems like
something guys like."

   "Yeah, I can't think of a guy who DOESN'T like being tended to by a
willing mouth," I said.

   She giggled.  "I don't know how many of those girls were THAT willing. I
mean, they DID it, but some of 'em didn't sound like they LIKED doing it."

   "Some girls do, some don't," I said matter of factly.  "And the term
"blowjob" sounds sort of coarse to my ear."

   "I know," she said.  Her fingertip was playing idly in a glob of cum on
my belly.  "But some girls ...  uh, the guy does THIS in their mouth?"

   "Yeah, some do.  Some don't."

   "And some of 'em swallow this?" She looked at me with questioning eyes.

   "Yes, some do.  I've heard of women who'd let the guy come in their
mouth, then they'd spit it out, too.  And some women would suck on a guy
but pull away when he got ready to come."

   Her fingertip pulled out of the puddle she was playing in and went
directly to her mouth.  Her eyes took a twinkle and she smiled around the
finger, pulling it out of her lips in a flourish to scoop up another
sample. "You're gonna do this in my mouth, babe."

   I gasped as she twirled around and sucked my cummy soft dick into her
mouth.

   "I can't believe you just did that, Kim."

   "Did you not want me to?"

   "Oh, god, no ...  I wanted you to do EVERYTHING to me.  But I ...  today
was the first time we kissed."

   "Was the first time we said we loved each other, too."

   "And I meant it, baby."

   "Uh, the YOU love me, and I love YOU, and this is part of the way people
who love each other share part of their love, huh?"

   "Yes, it is.  I never could separate this from the rest.  That's why I
was the way I've been.  Until I met Kim."

   She smiled.  "Then what I just did to you, it was okay?"

   My dick was hardening in her hand.  "Yes, it IS okay.  I belong to you.
ALL of me.  Even that part."

   Giggle.  "It's getting hard in my HAND.  But sucking on it?  I did that
right?"

   "You couldn't do it wrong, little girl."

   Her head bobbed down, her hair swinging at her chin, and I watched the
first two inches of my dick disappear in her mouth for a long, vacuuming
suck.  As she released me, her tongue accompanied the head out of her
mouth.

   "Come here, babe," I said, tugging her up to bring her face to mine.  I
kissed her.  "You're the single most incredibly desirable woman in the
world."

   "Even on my period?" she asked?

   "You start off being sexy in here," I said, kissing her forehead.  "And
then you have a perfect body ...  and you're, uh ...  YOU!"

   She let go of my dick to give me a two-armed hug.  "If you get me this
excited today, give me a couple of days when I finish this period..." and a
smother of kisses, then she remembered a new toy.  A toy that was hard and
happily waiting to be played with.

   Giggle.  "It likes ME!" And I felt wonderful, moist warmth and suction.
"Mmmmmm" from her throat reverberated through my body.  Her head popped up
and she smiled at me, the head of my dick resting against her bottom lip.
"Can I bite?"

   "It's yours.  Bite.  Just not too hard.  And don't do much more than
drag your teeth across the head.  It's VERY sensitive," I instructed.

   "How hard?" she questioned.

   "Come up here.  Let me show you." I pulled her up and bent down to kiss
a nipple.  Her hand clasped me to her breast.  I sucked and tongued it.

   "Mmmm, that's good..."

   I bit lightly.  "How about that?"

   "That's good, too..."

   "Harder?"

   "Mmmm-hmm."

   I did a little harder until I felt a flutter of her fingers on the back
of my head.  "Like that," I said.  And gave her other nipple a lingering
sucking.

   "Uhhhhh ...  got it." And she went down on me and practiced her new
knowledge.  And her tongue played with my balls.

   "Gentle with those," I cautioned.  "The balls are very sensitive to
excessive pressure or suction."

   So she had to experiment.  I only suffered a couple of twinges as she
learned her limits and giggled, her lips open, a bit of my scrotum skin
lightly held between her pearly white teeth.  "This is FUN!" she giggled.
Then she moved up slightly and tilted my dick to her waiting mouth.  "But
this thing is MADE for me to suck on." And she sucked.  And her quick mind
tied the sucking with what she'd just discovered about sliding her hand up
and down my shaft and in a matter of a few happy minutes I was headed to my
second orgasm.

   "Babe," I said, "you've got me VERY close."

   "I can tell," she said, barely pulling her mouth away from me.  "It
keeps givin' me this salty stuff." Her head dipped back down.  Long suck.
Teeth.  Tongue.

   I stroked her pretty head.

   "I want you, bad, babe," she said.

   "Close!  I'm so close!" I gasped.  I stroked her head.  I didn't push
her or hold her in place, just touched her in gratitude for the eruption
she was raising in me.

   "Mmmmm," was the response.  Somewhere she managed to get her free hand
under my balls and her fingers tickled under my sack, then gently tugged
and squeezed.

   "Nnnghhhhhh!  Yessss!" I surged my hips up into her hungry mouth.

   "Mmmpphhh..." The first spurt hit her mouth.  I felt her tongue press as
she swallowed.  A second, then a third, and then she swallowed again, and
then sucked me gently and slowly, draining every drop from me.  I was
collapsed, almost unable to move, when she finally let my softened dick
fall gently from her mouth.

   She planted a final kiss on it.  Then she crawled up atop me and kissed
me on the mouth, I put my hand behind her head and trapped her lips against
mine, our tongues wrestling each other, tasting a new taste in her mouth,
traces of myself.

   She rolled sideways off me and I rolled to keep her in my arms.  Her
eyes were bright, laughing, joyous.  "I made you feel good?" she asked.

   "Very good.  Especially that part where I returned from a parallel
universe," I said.  "I love you, Kim."

   "I love you too, Tim." She sighed.  "But as much as I'd love to stay
here in your arms all night, Aunt Jenny's going to be expecting me."

   "I guess I have to let you go then," I said.

   "It won't always be like that.  I need to get her to understand some
things."

   "She probably understands more things than you think, baby," I said.  I
was going to tell her more but thought the better of it.  "If she's in love
with Laci, then she knows what you're feeling..."

   "I think so, but still, she's been very protective of me.  And I can't
just all of a sudden spend the night over here.  How'd you say it?  'In due
time?' Then in due time."

   We spend another half-hour in each other's arms before reluctantly
getting up.  I kissed her with each article of clothing she put on.  I got
dressed.  I walked her home, two doors down.  The lights were out.

   "I'll let myself in, babe," she said.  And she kissed me good night, a
demure, innocent looking kiss, belying the fact that a mere hour before she
had devoured me.

   I went home and showered and when I hit the bed, I suffered a feeling of
loneliness that I hadn't felt in years.  And I slept.  And got up on Monday
morning and went to work.  And for the first time in years I kept pausing
during the day.  No, I wasn't reliving a sex act.  I was envisioning that
almost blonde hair, those bright blue eyes, that smile, the little hitch,
almost a skip, when she started walking, the feel of her hand in mine.  I
had no doubt.  I was in love.

   Eleven o'clock.  I was in my office with a stack of invoices to sign and
my phone rang.  Outside number.  "XYZCorp.  Tim Duncan.  Can I help you?"

   Female voice on the other end.  "MISTER Tim Duncan, you can tell me what
you did to my sixteen year old niece." Jenny.

   "Uh..."

   Laugh.  "Don't head for the state line.  I don't want to know.  I just
wanted to tell you that her feet were six inches off the floor when she
came to breakfast this morning, and she had a big smile on her face."

   "Uh..."

   "You told her?" Jenny asked.

   "Told her what?" I stammered.

   "That you LOVE her ...  Damn!  Don't be dense, Tim."

   "Yes, that particular phrase was repeated in both directions," I said.

   "But she came home last night."

   "You have a special girl for a niece, Jenny.  First, she said that she
wasn't going to just pop something like spending the night at my house on
you without talking to you.  She thinks the world of you.  And second, she
had no school clothes.  But that second one, that's just my guess.  All she
told me was the first one."

   "She's quite a kid."

   "She's an amazing person, and I fell for her head over heels.  I
hope..."

   "Tim, Tim ...  she won't hurt you.  She needs you.  I'm glad ...  you
two found each other."

   "Jen," I said.  "Don't tell her we had this talk.  Let her break the
news.  And just so you know, she is still a virgin."

   "Tim, she's on her period."

   "I know.  I don't think I could've stopped her ...  us ...  if she
wasn't." I knew that had she NOT been menstruating, and had wanted to give
herself to me, I don't think I could've turned her down.

   "Yeah..." said Jenny.  "I believe you."

   "Jen," I said, "I'm not a lech or a horn-dog or whatever.  I really
think that if she'd have wanted a friendship I could've done that.  But she
LOVES me ...  and I LOVE her..."

   "I understand love, Tim," Jenny admitted.  "Even us Lebanese."

   "Jen!"

   "Just jerking your chain, Tim."

   "Then the game is on, Jen..."

   "Oh, yeah.  You.  Her.  It's gonna be a great game.  Look, I suppose
I'll see you some time this evening.  Take care.  And take care of my
Kimberly."

   "She's my soul, Jenny," I said.

   "I believe you, Tim.  Bye, now."

   "Bye, Jen.  And thanks for calling."

   I was out the gate right after four, headed home.  As I walked from the
parking lot to my apartment, Kim's door opened and she walked beside me,
taking my hand.

   "That's the answer to the first question," I said.

   "Question?" she asked.

   "Yeah, all day I kept wondering if you went home and thought about
yesterday and decided "Huge mistake!"

   "Mistake?  That I found the love of my life?  Not hardly."

   I looked at her hand.  It was carrying her swimsuit.  "So you're up for
a swim?"

   "You bet, babe."

   I unlocked my front door.  We barely got inside when her foot kicked it
closed behind us and she threw her arms around my neck.  My own arms
wrapped her chest, pulling us together and our mouths merged.  "This is the
longest day on the job that I can remember.  I wanted to get home to my
Kim."

   "I was the same way.  It's a good thing that they're not teaching
something I don't know, because I spent the day reliving yesterday." Her
eyes laughed before the giggle left her lips.  "And last night."

   She was unbuttoning her blouse.  I took this as a sign that it was time
to get changed.  We got changed.  But there was this liiiiiittle interlude
between completely naked and swimsuited up.

   We did thirty minutes at the pool.  We got out and walked back to the
apartments, holding hands.  "Babe," she said, "I need to talk with Aunt
Jenny by myself for a little while.  Then I can come over, or you can come
over to our house." She paused and grinned.  "I'm thinking, YOUR house."

   "Kim, little love, let's be careful that we don't put off your Aunt
Jenny.  Why don't you call me when you finish talking with her and let's
spend a little time there.  We need to.  Looks respectable.  We'll have OUR
time."

   "You're right, you know..." I let her go in, and walked to my apartment,
showered, shaved, and dressed.  And waited.  The phone rang.  Jenny's
house. "This is Tim," I said.

   "Come on over, babe," Kim said.

   "I'll be right there." I grabbed my keys and headed over.  Kim was
standing in the door waiting.  She closed the door behind me and then threw
her arms around my neck and kissed me.  I clasped her to me gently.

   Jenny snorted.  "And here I was, being all restrained and everything,
with Laci..." She laughed, then looked at me.  "Kim tells me that you and
her are, in her words, "totally, unbelievably, incontrovertibly in love
with each other" and the duration has something to do with universes and
tiny black cinders."

   "Pretty much sums it up, as far as I'm concerned." Kim's smile was
priceless.

   "AND, it seems that she thinks that she should be allowed to spend the
night at your house."

   "I would like nothing more, but I would rather not offend her aunt, who
is the OTHER greatest person in her life."

   Jenny smiled, saying, "Look, I know what she came out of, and I'm just
happy she's not sellin' her pussy for meth.  She's a rare, unique, and
wonderful creature and I'm inclined to believe that she knows best what she
wants and needs in her life.  So I told her that if YOU accepted it, she
was free to be her own woman." She paused, looking at Kim.  "And I told her
that she wasn't dealing with just HER feelings, that yours were also on the
line here, and that she better understand that fact."

   "Aunt Jen," Kim said, "This is US.  He cares.  I care.  He loves.  I
love.  And we belong together." She took a breath and said, just barely
audible, "forever."

   Jenny smiled.  "Then you spend the night there.  Tonight.  Any night. 
All of them."

   Kim hugged her aunt.  "Aunt Jenny, I ...  Uh ...  I appreciate
everything you've done for me.  I love you, you know.  You've been a mom to
me..."

   Jenny had teary eyes.  "Babe, I know.  I won't ever give birth, but
you're my daughter, too..."

   Kim came and stood by me.  "I'm his wife now, Aunt Jenny..."

   Jenny looked at me.  "She's serious, Tim.  I know her "serious" look."

   "I'm just as serious as she is, Jen," I said.  I raised my arm and Kim
stepped against me.  I put my arm around her waist.  She reached across and
held my hand.

   "Then good luck.  You know, you're both ...  oh, you fit together..."
Jenny smiled.  "Kim, don't forget me.  I like having you around.  Really."

   "I won't forget, Aunt Jenny.  Don't be ridiculous.  We live in the same
building.  We'll visit.  Play games.  Watch movies.  You know..."

   "Thank you, baby," Jenny said.

   It was at that tender moment that the front door opened and Laci walked
in, jean-clad, man's work-shirt in lieu of a more feminine blouse.  "Hi,"
she said, then surveyed the scene.  "Something up?"

   Jenny said, "You bet.  These two are in love and say they're getting
married."

   "Can they do that?  I mean, like, Kim's only sixteen."

   Jenny said, "I know that stuff.  I see enough kids in my high school
classes to have to know the laws.  In this state, sixteen, with parent or
guardian's signature.  And that's me, all legal..."

   "You'd do that, Aunt Jen?" squeaked Kim.

   "Yes, I suppose I would.  You go to a public school.  You know how many
girls your age get pregnant and have babies or go off and have abortions."
Jenny turned to Laci.  "Babe, Little Miss Soon to Be Bride Kim's betrothed
husband to be has requested that YOU be the Best Man."

   My heart skipped beats.  I'd not made a big deal out of Jen and Laci's
sexual orientation, and here I was, exposed for one off the cuff
smart-assed remark.  I never wanted to hurt either Jen or Laci.  I sucked
in a breath, waiting for the reaction.

   It came on the wings of Laci's tittering giggle.  She came up to me and
threw arms around my neck.

   "'Scuse me, Mister Tim." Laci kissed me.  "I'll be your best man.  And
if you want, me an' Jenny will do your bachelor party." Then she let go of
my neck.

   Kim giggled.  "I wouldn't take her up on that bachelor party thing,
baby."

   Laci sidled up next to Jenny, who replicated my arm around Kim.  Laci
said, "I told Jen the other night that you two shared a common soul.  I
know these things..."

   "She did," Jen said.  "And I pretty much agree.  So when's this gonna
happen?"

   Kim rescued me from answering that one.  "We'll get back to you on that
one.  But get ready.  It's gonna happen." She started pushing me towards
the door.  "We need to get some food, babe!" The over her shoulder, "You
guys can come with us..."

   "Yeah," I said, "since we're, like, FAMILY!"

   Laci turned her face to Jen.  "What'd'ya think, love?"

   "We'll take my car.  Let the lovebirds take his."

   Laci feigned sadness.  "B-but I thought WE were the lovebirds.  Didn't
we USED to be the lovebirds?"

   "Honeymoon can't last forever, Laci," I said.

   Kim hauled my face down to hers, kissed me, and whispered, "Yes it
can..." and then she pushed me out the door.

   Laci and Jenny followed and a few choices of restaurant passed back and
forth between the two couples before we got to the parking lot.  Kim and I
followed Laci and Jenny out of the parking lot and onto the road.  Kim was
playing her fingers on my neck until I freed up my right hand from driving,
then her hand took mine.

   "Babe, tell me one more time ...  forever?"

   "Yes, forever." I knew deep down inside.

   "We're getting married, then..." she said.

   "Yes.  Inevitable, babe.  So, when?"

   Silly me.  I thought she'd have to give it some thought.  I was wrong.

   "The Saturday before Thanksgiving.  Gives me a week out of school,
and..."

   "And I have vacation scheduled already."

   "I know" she said.  "I looked at the calendar on your kitchen wall."

   "I should've known." I laughed, shaking my head.

   "What?" Kim questioned, her blue eyes on me.

   "That you'd have a plan in place."

   "I ...  uh, is that too soon?"

   "Nope.  I already made my mind up.  As far as I'm concerned, it's a mere
formality.  I will love you forever, and I will never touch another
woman..."

   "Except if Laci wants another kiss?"

   "You've got a horrible mean streak, you know..."

   She giggled.  "Did she surprise you, babe?"

   "Uh ...  Yeah.  I was worried about me making fun of her, about that
"best man" thing.  She caught me off guard."

   "Uh, I've known Laci for two years.  As long as I've lived with Aunt
Jenny.  I KNEW how she'd react!  And she's kissed ME like that before, too!
Yours are better."

   "So are yours, sweet one!"

   Our little gang made a credible run on a Tex-Mex restaurant.  It was a
pleasant conversation and good food and then there was the trip home.

   "You look nervous, babe," I said.

   "I am, a little."

   "Why?" I asked.

   "Suppose we don't work together, you know, sleeping?  I haven't slept
with anybody in, like my WHOLE life.  Except for the odd friend sleeping
over."

   "That, sweetness, is the silliest thing I have ever heard.  First, two
people WILL likely have a little unfamiliarity at first.  Second, I don't
think we're going to have a problem at all.  Third, we have a big bed, so
there's plenty of room.  So stop worrying.  But babe, it doesn't have to
happen if you don't want it to happen.  I love you.  No pressure.  No
hurry. I'm not going anywhere..."

   She smiled.  "But what do YOU want?"

   I had one word: "You." And then, "I love having you in my arms.  Seeing
you.  Touching you.  Being in the same room with you."

   "Oh, that helps me make a decision," she smirked.

   "What?  You asked.  I answered honestly.  I love you.  If we stayed
awake all night talking, I know you're fun and interesting to talk with. 
Or anything else.  So sleeping?  I mean, really just sleeping?  That means
I get to spend time being very close to my best friend who is also the girl
I love." I glanced at her and then stared at the road.

   I felt a hand touch my arm.  "Just so you know, Mister Engineer, it is
not uncommon for a person to have some trepidation in the face of a
milestone in one's life.  It is also helpful in these situations to
verbalize one's concerns with a trusted friend." She smirked and gave a
little chuckle.  "And I have gone through those stages and arrived at the
stage wherein I shall proceed into the future with confidence.  So Mister
Tim Duncan, you need to get used to the presence of another person in your
bed."

   Then a little laugh.  "I love you, babe.  There's no force on this earth
that would keep me out of your bed tonight."

   "OUR bed," I corrected.  "Tim 'n' Kim, right?"

   Giggle.  "Nope.  Beauregard 'n' Heloise" Smirk.  Kiss.

   We parked the SUV and walked to the apartments.  She went into Jenny's
and came out with a duffle bag.  "Clothes for the morning.  I'll move some
of my stuff over tomorrow after school."

   "I'll help, babe!"

   "I know you will.  So will Aunt Jenny."

   I unlocked the front door and my Kim walked into her new home.  OUR
home. I reached out and gathered her into my arms.  Her lips met mine.  We
kissed for long moments.  When our lips broke away, she whispered, "MY
home, babe.  US!"

   "Yes, it is, sweetness." I reached over to the key rack.  "You'll need
keys to your house, won't you?"

   "Yep.  I get home from school before you get home from work."

   "Speaking of work ...  Homework?" I asked.

   "You're kidding, right?" she sounded incredulous.

   "Hey, it could happen.  We need to be responsible."

   She put a hand on her hip.  "Babe, right now, I could probably test out
of classes for the rest of the year.  My teachers know this.  And you do
too, right?"

   "I hear you say it." I shook my head.

   She laughed.  "Babe, I appreciate you worrying.  But I don't have
homework.  And I need a shower.  So that means I have a question."

   "Question?"

   "Yeah," she said.  "I want to shower with you.  I think it would be
wonderfully sexy.  But not tonight.  I'm still on my period.  It oughtta be
tapering off tomorrow.  But tonight I need to shower by myself.  I'm sorry.
Okay?"

   "Of course, sweetie."

   "I'll take my shower and get out and you can take yours while I dry my
hair.  Then we can watch TV or whatever.  Okay?"

   "Okay." I realized I was being "managed" quite handily.  And I loved it.
So while she was showering, I puttered around the house, straightening up
the kitchen.  I heard the shower stop, a pause, and then the sound of a
hair dryer.  I went to the bathroom.  There she was, naked, except for
pastel grren hip-hugger panties, drying her hair.

   She caught the motion as I entered the bathroom and turned off the
dryer. "Well," she said.

   "Well, what?"

   "Well, are you gonna shower with your clothes on?" And she grinned.

   "Nope." I started undressing.  Finishing, I stood up, naked, in front of
her.

   "C'mere, babe," she said, beckoning me with her open arms.  I approached
her and she stood and our bodies molded together.  I stroked the back of
her head, her hair still slightly damp, fragrant from the shampoo.  Her
skin was clean, silky to the touch, as my hands slid down her back from her
shoulders to cup the cheeks of her ass.  And that was extra nice.  Firm. 
Rounded.  She purred in my ear, then said, "Shower, babe.  Play later,
'kay?"

   "Ooooo-kaaayy, I guess," I said, imitating a whiny little boy.  By the
time I finished showering, she was out of the bathroom and I completed my
evening ritual, teeth brushed, face shaved.  I walked to the bedroom and
pulled on a set of colored briefs and went into the living room.

   "Awwww, you put pants on.  That's okay, though.  Sit in your chair."

   I sat.  Kim slid into my lap, naked from the hips up, her bare skin
against mine.  I reached over and picked up the TV remote and handed it to
her.  "Nuh-uh," she said.  "How about some music?"

   "You pick, babe," I said.  This got us Mozart symphonies.  And Kim in my
arms.  And the soft light of the room and serenity crept over us.

   She wiggled deeper into my arms and my lap.  "Babe, you know this is
hard." She paused a second, then giggled.  "No, THIS is HARD." Her hand
reached under her to give my definitely hard dick a squeeze.  "Being in
your arms and wanting ALL of you, that's difficult."

   "My baby made a SEX joke," I chuckled.  "I know, baby.  You feel soooo
nice.  Every sense I have is working, and YOU are overloading them all."

   "I know," she said.  "But, tomorrow.  Or maybe the next day.  I've been
doing this for years, and the pill makes me very predictable."

   "Babe, that brings up a point..." Her mention of The Pill reminded me of
one important fact in the sequence of becoming a husband.  I was
sterilized. A chill ran down my spine.  In our times together, even the
times we'd talked about a future together, we'd never broached the subject
of children.  She knew that I had a daughter from a previous marriage.  She
didn't know that I had a vasectomy from that same marriage.

   "What point?"

   "You mentioned the Pill."

   "Babe," she said, "I was on the Pill because I was crampy and irregular
with periods.  It's not because I was pre-planning sex.  Although," she
smiled, "that might be a beneficial side effect now."

   "I can't make you pregnant, Kim." I shuddered, waiting for the hammer to
fall.

   "Why?"

   "When I was married, when she had the baby, there were problems.  The
doctors said it would be very dangerous for her to risk another pregnancy.
I got fixed.  Like in "vasectomy" fixed."

   "And why do you look so scared telling me that, Tim?" she asked.

   "Because, baby, young girls want to think about having babies in their
futures." I closed my eyes.

   She didn't miss the closed eyes.  "Open your eyes and look at me, Tim.
I'm not Little Miss Trailer Trash who wants a houseful of kids.  I've had a
rough enough life as a kid.  I don't want kids.  Not right now.  And if I
...  If WE wanted a kid later, there's always adoption.  I've looked
around. There are plenty of kids out there already."

   She stared though my eyes into a quivering corner of my soul.  "Tim, you
were afraid I wouldn't marry you because of THAT?"

   "Baby, 'THAT' is a major part of a lot of people's goals in life."

   A nubile female form wiggled around to press delightfully, full-length
against me.  "Let's talk goals, babe."

   "Okay, this is what I've always wanted to do: have a serious talk about
life's goals with the love of my life lying in my arms almost naked."

   Giggle.  "I could go get dressed.  What does one wear for serious
talks?"

   "Talk," I said, kissing her.

   She kissed back.  "How can I have a serious talk when one end is kissing
me and the other end is poking me and I have someone's hands sending
shivers through my body?"

   "Okay, I'll stop.  At least the parts I CAN stop.  I dunno about the
pokey part."

   "Mmmmm, don't STOP, just slow down a little." She smiled.  "Maybe
this'll help." She slid a knee on either side of me and sat up astraddle me
in the recliner.

   "Oh, yeah, THIS is a GOOD move," I laughed.  "Now I have full view of
your titties and something warm and soft is pressing against ...  well,
that poky thing ain't about to go away any time soon."

   "But dammit, we NEED to talk."

   "Talk," I said.  "I'll be good."

   "Okay.  So here's the deal." She looked as serious as an almost naked
sixteen year old can look, straddling your lap.  "I graduate from high
school at the end of this school year.  That's May.  I have ACTs in the
thirties.  I have the handle on scholarships.  And since I'm in love with
an engineer, I'm thinking that just maybe, that's what I want to try."

   "Engineer?" I asked.

   "Yeah, butt head.  I happen to think that ONE engineer I know is, like,
EVERYTHING.  But anyway, four years for a degree.  Then WE both work.  At
what WE want to do.  And when we're NOT working, we're LIVING!"

   "Baby, if I'm with YOU, I am living ...  every second.  But before you
go setting hard goals, are you sure about engineering?  It's tougher than
most college stuff."

   "Tim," she said, her tone exasperated.  "I'm sixteen and graduating from
high school.  I think I can handle the courses."

   "Yeah, there IS that ...  but you're gonna be the pink monkey again." I
said.

   ""I know, babe," she smiled.  "But you know, that whole pink monkey
thing was a lot easier with Aunt Jen backing me up, and now YOU..." She
grinned and wiggled her butt.  Mr.  Poky was very happy.  "But what I
wanted to ask you is exactly WHERE in that plan was there a 'Kim and Tim
reproduce' stage?"

   "Okay..." I said.

   She looked over her shoulder at the time display on the stereo.  "And
it's nine and YOU have to work tomorrow and I have to go to school.  That
means..." she smiled, "bedtime." And she climbed off me.

   I kicked the recliner upright and stood and she took my hand, tugging me
to the bedroom, her head looking over her shoulder, her face a big smile.

   "How beautiful you are, babe," I said.  She was.  Her hair was shiny
perfection.  What might have been completely spontaneous, the curl under
her chin on one side, the little flip outward on the other, the wave at the
end, her bangs sweeping in two directions in the center of her forehead, I
knew women who paid a hundred bucks and spent hours every day to get their
hair to look like Kim's did by delightful accident.  Her body, all curves,
smooth skin, not angular and hard, but not fat, either, just female.  Very,
very female.

   I followed her into the bedroom and she tossed the covers back.  We
crawled in from opposite sides and met in the middle in a tangle of arms
and legs, our lips finding each other, tongues playing.  Her fingers
searched for purchase in my short haircut as she pressed me into her face.

   "You make lightning shoot though my whole body when we kiss like that,
Tim," she sighed.

   "I get the same, baby.  You're like no other." I was serious.  I'd never
felt like this.  I rolled her half onto her back and looked at her face,
those blue eyes, the little spattering of light freckles across her nose
and cheeks, the corners of her mouth turned up, eyelashes luxuriously
thick. Her eyes darted back and forth, looking at me.  I kissed her.

   She freed up a hand that slid down my chest, past my belly and
finger-first into the waistband of my briefs.  Her fingers wrapped me. 
"Can we get these off?  Hmmm?"

   "Gosh, yes," I said.  I bounced up and skinned the briefs off me and
tossed them beside the bed.  That left me off balance and Kim took
advantage of that to push me onto my back, then she crawled half onto me
and kissed me.

   "Got anything I can have?" she asked, her eyes teasing.

   "No," I said, "unless there's something you find..."

   Her fingers wrapped around my hardness.  "What about this?"

   "I don't have any use for it, it lacks an essential element..." I said,
playing a game with her.

   "What's it missing?  Is there something that makes it useful?"

   "Yes, but I can't find one anywhere.  It needs a Kimmy."

   Squeal!  "I know where there's a Kimmy.  And I can fix you right up."
Her fingers were teasing the head as she explored.  "Oh, look!" she giggled
playfully.  "Kimmy's already found you!"

   She grinned at me, our faces close.  "I don't want you to think this is
all there is between us, babe, but it's FUN!  It's so new to me.  You don't
mind, do you?"

   I'm thinking, "Oh, yeah ...  horrible fate.  I'm being used by this sexy
angel." I was saying, "No, baby ...  I just wish I could..."

   Smile.  "A couple of days, honey.  Then I'm ...  You're gonna do
EVERYTHING with me." Smile.  Giggle.  "So you don't mind?"

   "Gosh, no ...  I just feel a little like I'm taking advantage of you."

   "Don't be silly," Kim said.  "I could've stayed at Aunt Jenny's.  I
could've gotten dressed and made you get dressed.  But I didn't.  Because I
WANT to play with you."

   I let her play.  As she played with me, I let my hands run rampant over
her body, savoring the smooth skin and the curves of her back and legs and
ass.

   She looked at me, her eyes twinkling.  "I know that when I do this,
things get serious with you, babe." And her mouth closed over my dickhead.
Her "Mmmmmmmm" coursed through my entire being as she curled fingers under
my balls.

   I put a hand on the inside of her thigh and tugged her ass nearer my
face as her mouth worked me over hungrily.  I turned my face to her smooth
butt, clad in those soft, pink panties.  I used my lips to push aside the
elastic legband and then fastened my mouth to the flesh of her ass, and
sucked and bit.

   She released my dick from her mouth.  "Oh, god, Timmmmm!  You're killing
me..."

   "You want me to stop?"

   "NOOOO!" Her head bobbed back down and she attacked my dick, her tongue
swirling in the suction and biting that she was lavishing on me like she
was trying to stave off starvation using what she'd discovered.

   And I'd discovered that my sweet Kim enjoyed a little biting, at least
on her ass.

   But she was working me over with boundless enthusiasm, and I lost the
ability to form thoughts as her mouth sucked me in and out.  I kept my lips
and teeth on her ass as I neared the edge.  I was getting close.  I said
so. "OgodKim!  I'm close!"

   I felt her answer, a nodding of her head while she kept me confined in
the oven of her mouth.

   "Baaaaaby!  Ohhhhh..." I thrust into her mouth.  Her hand wrapped around
the shaft of my dick kept me from inadvertently going deeper than she
wished, but my motion signaled to her to more aggressive action.  She
latched her teeth lightly on the shaft right behind the head and her tongue
swirled and sucked.  And I came.  Hard.  Strong.  My first huge spurt (it
had to be huge.  I think part of my brain went with it) fired into her
mouth.

   "Mmmmmm" came though my being, from deep inside her throat.  She
swallowed and her hand milked for the next stroke.  A suck and a swallow,
then the third and fourth and I knew I was no longer squirting, but she
sucked me hungrily, draining me, cleaning me out.

   I wanted to touch her head, but my hand fluttered almost ineffectually
to stroke her hair.  I felt her still sucking and swallowing.  Finally she
let my soft, empty dick fall out of her mouth.

   "I think I got more out of you than last night, baby," she said, her
eyes bright, smiling.  She thought for a second.  "But last night you did
it twice." She moved up to lay beside me.  Her hand touched the cheek of
her butt.  "You bit me, you know..."

   "I hope I didn't hurt you."

   "Nuh-uh ...  it was just what I wanted when you did it.  But I can still
feel it now..."

   "I can't feel my toes now, babe.  I think you burnt out a nerve..." I
was drifting down from the heights of that orgasm like an autumn leaf on
the wind.

   She snuggled against me, her hand on my cheek.  I took that as a hint
and turned my face to kiss her.  "I love you," she whispered.

   "I love you, dearest.  My life began anew when I met you." I was honest.

   "I feel the same way.  Like all of me wasn't there until we got
together." She heaved a soft sigh.  "And now, I won't be whole unless I
have you."

   "And that's why we're married, baby.  Because we complete each other."

   We lay in each other's arms, our breathing as synchronized as our
thoughts.  Finally, her soft voice broke the silence.  "Tim, can I borrow a
t-shirt?  My shoulders are cold."

   "I can do that, babe." I got up and pulled a couple of cotton t-shirts
out of the drawer, donned one myself, watching as she pulled the other over
her light brown hair.  She was sexy, almost completely nude, and now, white
cotton knit covering her curves, she was still sexy, and some of that was
in my heart, some in my head, but some of it was in my eyes, too.  A man
should believe that the woman he loves is beautiful.  Mine was.



   ------

   Chapter 5



   I will readily admit that our first night in the same bed was not a
perfect night in the terms of continuous sleep.  But that is not to mean
that it was in any way unpleasant.  I woke several times to the feel of a
knee or an elbow or an arm or a leg, and as I achieved consciousness, I
realized that those parts belonged to my little bit of perfection, and I
rearranged myself and her and went back to sleep.

   We hit another one of those milestones and hurdles in a couple's
evolution when the alarm clock went off to the strains of Mozart from the
classical music radio station.  I was immediately awake.  I mean, 0600 was
my routine.  But what about Kim?  How was she going to react?

   A bounce and a soft female form draping herself across me for a good
morning kiss told me that Kim was awake and sentient.

   "Let's see how this works," she said.  "First, you need to know that I
love you, babe!"

   "And apparently you're immune to morning breath," I said.

   "And so are you," she countered.  "Bathroom.  Me.  Before we have a
puddle.  Uh ...  You use the other one, okay?  Girl stuff."

   I went to the other bathroom and relieved a night's load of liquid,
washed my face and returned to the bedroom to dress.  That didn't take
long. Like I said.  Routine.

   Kim did her thing pretty fast, too, opening the door to let me know that
the place wasn't off limits.  I peered around the corner to see her clad in
her standard jeans and blouse, not fashionable, but quite attractive on her
in a carefree way.  Of course, my judgment could have been a bit biased
because I knew what was under it.  She was running a brush through her
hair, straightening out the night's disarray, and the result was quite
stunning.

   "Cereal okay for breakfast?" I asked.

   She turned to face me, smiling.  "That'll work."

   "Coffee?"

   "Sure!"

   And breakfast occurred.  I headed out of the house before she did.  The
last, lingering kiss before we parted, her standing in the door watching me
leave, these things told me that loneliness was over.  I didn't realize how
much the past days had affected my demeanor until one of my co-workers, the
department admin, bouncy, thirtyish, cute in her own plump way, and VERY
married, said something.

   "What's up with you?" Debbie asked.

   "Nothing.  Why?" I countered.

   "You just seem a whole lot more relaxed, is all," she said.

   "Life is just better, sometimes," I smiled.

   "Yeah.  Uh-huh.  You act like you got a Prozac suppository."

   "And a pleasant good day to you, too, Deb," I said.  I was in my office
all afternoon and when the clock hit four, I was out of the gate headed
home.  In the car, I flipped open my cellphone and called my home phone.

   Fourth ring, somebody picked up.  "Tim Duncan residence.  This is Kim."

   "Hi, baby.  I am on the way home."

   Before I could say it, she said it.  "I love you babe.  I miss you. 
Hurry."

   I hurried.

   I walked in my front door and was assaulted by Kim.  What a sweet thing
it is to have somebody truly happy to see you at the end of the day.  Today
I had that happiness.

   "We can't go swim today, babe," she said.

   "Do we have a problem?" I questioned.

   "Yes we do," she said with a big grin.  "If I take my clothes off to
change into my swimsuit, I may rape you."

   "So you're meaning..."

   She finished my sentence.  "I'm meaning that we need to take a shower 
-" one shower  -" both of us, and..." She put her arms around my neck,
kissing me.

   "Then let me lock the door." I reached behind me and turned the
deadbolt, watching Kim grinning as she unbuttoned her blouse.  We raced to
nudity.  It was a tie.  I swept her into my arms with no resistance, but
when my hands wandered down her sides and started toward her cleft, she
stopped me.

   "Nope!  Not until I shower." She said, "I changed tampons at lunch and
it was finished, but I want to wash myself." Her eyes laughed.  She knew
she had total control over me.  Two previous nights had proven that what
Kim said, went.  "Come on!  Shower!"

   At least she led me by the hand.  Not the nose.  Or...

   Showering with the one you love is a wonderful thing.  I mean, it can
be. I've showered with some of the women whom I've been intimate with,
including my former wife, who, one might suppose, would be as used to us
being naked together as could be.  But NONE had the poise and presence of
Kim.  It's like she KNEW that she was IT, the Queen, the One and Only.  And
THIS was the creature in the shower with me, all soapy and giggly.  I
lathered her from head to toe with one exception.  I held the soapy
washcloth.

   "You?  Or me?" I asked.

   "Me today, babe," she said.  She washed her pussy carefully and then she
soaped me up, spending an inordinate amount of time lathering up my dick
and balls.  We rinsed off and got out of the shower.  She used two fluffy
towels, one that I helped her dry off that neat, svelte body with, the
other she used on her hair, before sitting down on a stool and working her
hair over with a brush and dryer as I shaved.  I was drying my face off
when the hair dryer went silent.  When I turned, she was smiling.

   "Come on, babe, love of my life, my one and only," she said.

   "Yes, love of my life, heart of my heart." I followed her to the
bedroom. She threw the covers off the bed and knelt in the middle.  I knelt
before her and we wrapped up in each other's arms.  A long kiss was presage
to the conversation.

   "Tim," she said, "I am not drunk or high and you haven't filled my head
with lies.  You haven't gotten me so worked up I can't see straight.  I am
in this bed with you because I love you and I truly believe that you love
me as much.  What WE are about to do..."

   I interrupted.  "You only get to do once.  Quite a speech, my love.  But
I have never been as serious about a step in my life as I am with you right
now." My hands clutched the sides of her face as I kissed her, then they
moved down to cup her breasts, our lips still together.  She renewed the
pressure, her eyes closed tighter.  I tweaked her nipples gently and my
hands moved down to slide over her waist, feeling the softness, then the
firmness of her hips.  My right hand moved around and my fingertips traced
softly, for the first time, across her mons, touching her light brown pubic
hair, and then to the formerly forbidden, the gates of her femininity.  My
first touch brought words.

   "Oh, god, Tim!  Please touch me."

   I touched.  Soft.  Hot.  Wet.  As I expected, her pussy lips were firm,
and now, engorged, turgid, gaping slightly.  My fingertips brought quivers.
Her right hand wrapped my dick and her left held the wrist of my right
hand.

   Our lips met again and as we kissed, I insinuated my index finger
between the lips of her pussy.  I found her wet, slick with anticipation.
Dipping my finger into her, it was coated with her juices.  I kept kissing
her, letting my finger explore her cleft.  Her moans mixed with our kiss,
and her hand gripping my wrist were signs of her pleasure and excitement. I
moved my finger towards her hole, the tip finding its way inside easily,
then I moved it forward, lightly brushing her clitty as it protruded in
full arousal.  I brushed it lightly again.  Her lips broke away from mine.

   "God, Tim..."

   Freed from kissing, I moved my lips down to her neck and then to her
chest, sucking and tonguing and biting a nipple.  This was when I gently
laid her back onto the bed.  I kissed my way lightly down her firm belly
and my lips reached her pubic hair.  I kissed my way further and felt her
hand on my head.

   "Do you want me to stop, babe?" I asked.

   "OhgodTim.  If you stop, I'll KILL you..."

   I could smell heaven in the musk of her juices.  My tongue brushed
lightly at territory only recently visited for the first time by my finger.
I remembered the shudder in her body when my finger first landed.  It was
surpassed by her reaction to my tongue, especially as I lapped from one end
to another, then pushed its tip between those puffy lips.  And when my
tongue touched her clit...

   "Please, Tim!  There!  My love!  Please!"

   How could I refuse that?  I didn't.  I paid attention with my tongue and
lips, and even teeth, nipping lightly at those irresistible lips, and then
settled to a licking, flicking of her clit.  Keeping the attention going as
best I could, I moved around to lie between those long legs.  And those
legs wrapped behind me, her heels digging into me as if spurring me on. 
Both her hands were on the back of my head, holding my face into her pussy.
And she came.  Her hips bucked.

   "Ohgodogodohgod ...  Nnnnnnnnnnnghhh!" She sucked in an audible breath.
"Timmmmmm..."

   I lifted my face from the wetness.  "Are you okay, my love?'

   Not hearing a response, my tongue flicked out and brushed the pink round
tip of her clit again.  That got a response.

   "OhgodTim!  Not another one!" And in a minute of delight for me, she did
"another one".  And another.  And she pulled me up to face her and kissed
me.  "You're a mess," she said, showering me with kisses.  "It's a good
thing that I taste good." She sighed happily.  "That was the best ever."

   She caught my look.  "Oh, don't be silly." She waved a fingertip at me.
"This!  That's all, before now.  And it was like comparing a ...  a candle
to the SUN!" Her hand idly moved down to touch me, and I was as hard as a
diamond.

   "I love you, Kim.  I'm glad I made you happy."

   "Was I, you know, NORMAL?"

   "Yes, babe," I said.  "You were delicious.  And perfect."

   "And you've got something I think I want, baby..." she gave my dick a
squeeze to make her point.

   "Are you sure, Kim?  You only have one 'first time', you know..."

   "I know.  And I love you and you love me, and what other reason should I
have?"

   "Not one that I can think of.  Come here!" I held my arms wide to accept
her.  And she slid on top of me clasping my face in her hands.

   Her legs opened slightly and I found myself between those thighs again,
this time my erection pressed against her mons.  She smiled at me.  "That's
getting close..." her hips moved, pressing herself against my erection. 
Her legs spread a little wider, changing some geometry in wonderful ways.
Her eyes belied concentration as did her biting her bottom lip while she
smiled.  "Hey!" she said, lithely twisting to sit astraddle me.  This put
my dick, formerly trapped between her mons and my belly, to a very pleasant
location wherein it was pressed between a pair of moist teen pussy lips. 
And she KNEW it.

   "Kim," I said, "you are beautiful and I love you."

   "Oh, Tim," she answered, "I love you too, you know." She found herself
sliding forward and back, dragging my dick between the lips of her pussy,
her clitty making light contact.  "Do you like it like this?"

   "Yes I do, baby.  I get to view perfection.  You." Her blue eyes,
twinkling, her smile...

   She kept her small back and forth motions for a moment more.  And then
she raised herself off me, releasing my dick from its moist trap.  It
sprung up, its head touching her open and wet cleft.  She reached down,
using her fingertips to guide the head toward its goal, her virginal hole.
I felt the head squeeze a bit as it encountered the tight opening.  I
rested my hands lightly on her hips.

   She eased herself lower.  I didn't move.  I let her control this, her
first penetration.  I could feel the head push and then enter.  She was
still biting her bottom lip, swept up in concentration.  I felt her rise a
little, then ease back down, then up, and back down again, this time
letting me feel her pussy gripping me further down as she pushed me deeper.
And another up and down, and another, and I could sense the tension leaving
her thighs as she relaxed onto me.

   She gazed down at me.  "Tim, I'm ...  you're inside me."

   "I know, dearest one.  Are you okay?"

   "Uh-huh.  I feel full.  Like it's supposed to be there." She wiggled her
hips.  "Mmmmm," she purred.  She experimented with a few different motions
and settled on one that rocked her back and forth, drawing me in and out of
her, and I imagined her little clitty was dragging the base of my dick with
each iteration.

   I couldn't stay still any longer.  I started thrusting upward in time
with her own thrusts.  I'd just showered with her, eaten her for the first
time, and I was teetering on the edge of orgasm myself.  I gamely plunged
on, though.  I didn't know if the pain of her first time would keep her
from coming, but I wasn't going to deny her by just letting loose with my
own.

   I felt her lean over, her hands on my chest, her back arched, and she
was changing to an insistent intensity in her thrusts.  Her eyes flashed
open, the smile turned the corners of her mouth up, she released her bottom
lip to pant her breathing in and out.

   "Baby, you feel wonderful," I said.

   "Uh ...  I ...  Tim ...  can't talk.  Close..."

   I guess she felt wonderful, too, then.  She looked good.  Even in the
midst of her biggest thrusts, those firm, small titties just quivered, the
nipples erect.

   "Uhhh ...  Ohgodohgodohgod ...  Unnnhhhh!  Babe ...  I'mmmm, uhhhhh..."
her teeth clenched.  "COmmmmingggggg!"

   I gave up trying to hold back when I felt her pussy's involuntary clench
and let myself squirt, augmenting the surges with small thrusts.

   Her eyes fluttered open and she gasped for a breath.  "Ahhhhhhh ...  I
...  we did it.  Her eyes brightened and she grinned.  "Do you know I FELT
you squirting?  I did.  So I KNOW you enjoyed it."

   I smiled at my angel.  "And you turned red from your nose to your
nipples, so I know you enjoyed it." It was true.  I learned today that when
my Kim comes, she flushes red on her cheeks and chest.  It's hard to fake
that.

   She lowered herself into my arms and that geometry thing resulted in my
soft dick plopping out of her pussy.  Didn't matter at this stage of the
game.  We kissed.

   "You're mine," I said.

   "I know," she said.  "This used to be how a couple sealed their
marriage."

   "As far as I'm concerned, for you and me, we have." I put a hand to the
back of that soft, fragrant hair, turned her face slightly, and I kissed
her, my tongue meeting hers between her soft lips.

   "Babe," she said softly, "It was supposed to hurt.  I read stuff and
heard people talk, and it was supposed to hurt.  The first time, I mean. 
They were wrong."

   "I'm glad, cutie," I said.  "Last thing I wanted to do was cause you
pain."

   "Oh, I was gonna do it tonight, pain or not.  Because I want YOU and I
knew that it would be better the next time." She sighed, smiling, an inch
in front of my face.  "But if it's much better, it'll kill me."

   "You're perfect, cutie.  I don't think I stay in this universe when
you..."

   "I know," she said.  She moved her hips.  "There's a lot of stuff down
there.  Us.  A mess.  I'll be back." I felt her roll off the bed, then I
heard water running.  A minute later she came back in with a damp washcloth
and sopped up the juice and semen.  "A little blood.  I thought I'd pushed
things around so it wouldn't bleed.  I guess not." She returned to the
bathroom then came back to bed.  Into my arms.  Or to put me in hers.  Who
cares?  Us.  Together.

   She rested a hand on my chest and then put her chin on the back of her
hand, her face inches from mine.  Softly, "I knew it would be good with us,
Tim.  I knew it."

   "Not disappointed?"

   "Nope.  Better than I expected.  Really." Her free hand reached down and
touched me.  "It's not about sex, Tim, but I think we're good together."

   "And it'll get better, baby.  As we learn one another."

   "If it gets much better, I'll just DIE!"

   I kissed her.

   "Babe," she said.  "Food?  Like, dinner?"

   "Yeah, you're right, little angel.  Somebody sure messed up our routine
this afternoon.  Where do you want to eat?"

   "I don't care.  But someplace where they bring the food to us.  No
buffet.  No fast food."

   "Excellent idea, cutie.  But we have to get dressed, don't you think?"

   "Yeah, I guess so." We untangled and climbed out of bed.

   "I moved some clothes and stuff here after school," she said, pulling
jeans off a hanger.

   "I was gonna help with that."

   "Maybe tomorrow.  Or after dinner."

   "Aren't you going to want to avoid Jenny for a while, babe?"

   "Avoid?  Why?"

   "Because she's gonna see you grinning like that and KNOW what we've been
doing."

   Kim laughed.  "So?!?!?  And if she doesn't figure it out, I'm gonna tell
'er."

   I looked at her.  "That'll make for a good headline: Teen Girl's Lover
Beaten to Death by Lesbian Aunt."

   "Oh, don't be silly, Tim.  She's pretty much known that when I told her
that I loved you that we'd end up like this."

   "Yeah, babe," I said, "But a lot of people can think about things in the
future, because it's, you know, way off, and not real, but when they're
presented with it as reality, well, it ...  that's another story."

   "Aunt Jenny's not like that!" And I got the 'I'm certain and you're not
going to change my mind' look.  She fixed me in her exasperated look. 
"I'll go tell 'er right now."

   I thought she was bluffing.  After all, we'd known each other what, a
handful of days.  So I called her bluff.  "Sure!  I'll go along with you."

   "Then we'd better get dressed," she said, jumping out of bed.

   "You're serious?"

   Her smile was answer, but she spoke.  "Babe, Aunt Jenny pretty much
expected this when she said it was okay for me to stay here, don't you
think?"

   "I guess." I said, rubbing my hair with my right hand.

   "We'll just go over for a visit, and then go to dinner.  Maybe we'll
have company, maybe not." She was buttoning her blouse.

   I sat on the edge of the bed and pulled socks and shoes on.  She
finished dressing and came to stand in front of me.

   "Too much temptation, babe," she giggled, pushing me backward onto the
bed and raining kisses on my face.  I caressed and squeezed her butt, soft,
rounded, but decidedly muscular under the feminine padding.  Our lips met.
She giggled.  "I love this."

   "This?"

   "Yes, this, being able to hold YOU!" Her face was mere inches from mine,
and I couldn't help but agree.  It was nice.  Oh, "nice" was not nearly the
word.  Dictionaries in four major languages didn't have the word to
describe how I felt with this cutie laying in my arms.

   She propped her chin on her hands and smiled.  "Let's go see Aunt Jen,"
she said.  "Then, after dinner, dessert." The smile did it.  "heeeyyyyy ...
Love, I feel that."

   "That what?" I knew what 'that' was.  "Let's play," I thought to myself.

   Her smile turned wicked.  "I'm not sure.  I need to find out." She slid
off of me to kneel between my legs.  Her fingers worked my zipper down and
then dipped her fingers inside.  After several attempts she managed to
maneuver my erection free through my fly.

   "Oooo, look what I found!" She licked her lips.  What happened next sent
me to another dimension.  I think I would have become a permanent resident,
but for the fact that she popped my dick out of her mouth with an audible
sound, then started tucking it back into my fly.  Then she announced,
"Making love with you is wonderful." And she grabbed my hands and pulled me
back to sitting.

   "Oh, you're a TEASE!" I announced.

   "Nope!  Ain't teasing if you plan on finishing what you started." I
stood and Kim wrapped me up and kissed me.  "Come on, babe!"

   I followed like a puppy.  A love-sick puppy.  The only thing I could've
done to further the feeling was to hang my tongue out.

   When we walked into view of Jenny's apartment we noted that the windows
were showing light in the living room.  Kim reached for the door.  I caught
her hand.

   "Nuh-uh, babe!  Knock!  You don't live there any more."

   "Awwww!  Don't be silly!" she said petulantly, but she knocked, too.

   Jen opened the door.  She said to Kim, "So I guess you think you've
moved out now and you need to knock, huh?"

   "No, but HE does..." Kim said, nodding in my direction.

   "See," laughed Jenny.  "That's what I told you, Day One.  You can't
house-break 'em.  You guys come in!"

   We walked in.  "Where's Laci?" Kim asked.

   "Working late," said Jenny.  "She'll be here after work."

   "Wanna come to dinner with us?" Kim asked.

   "You guys don't need me..." Jen started.

   "Not a matter of needing you.  Just wanted to drag you along," I said.

   "Yeah," Kim added.

   "Okay," Jenny answered.  "Let me go change clothes.  I got stuff on this
blouse.  Sit.  I won't be long."

   I sat down on the sofa.  It's a standard-sized sofa with plenty of room
for three.  We don't need that much room, apparently, because Kim's chosen
seating arrangement is my lap.  With her arms around me to make sure she's
secure.  And that's where we were when Jen finished dressing and walked
back in the room, tossing her hair back into place with one hand.

   Kim looked up, raising her head from its place on my shoulder.  "I still
wanna keep 'im, Aunt Jen..."

   Jen smiled.  "Looks like he wants to be kept, too." She sighed.  "Well,
Miss Kimberly, you've adopted yourself a human, a feral male.  Most are not
worth the effort to train.  Occasionally one good one can be found, but
you're going to have to spend a lot of time getting him accustomed to
civilized behavior.  You may have to train him to sleep with you."

   Apparently this was a game Kim was used to.  "I can make him sleep with
me, Aunt Jenny.  And I will be good to him and pet him.  It makes him very
happy, an' he licks me..." Caught up in the happy role-play, it took a
second for Kim to catch exactly what she'd just said.  She turned bright
red.

   "Hmmpphhh!" snorted Jenny.  "Makes ya wonder who's trainin' who."

   "I'm SORRY Aunt Jenny," Kim blurted.  "That came out wrong..."

   Jen looked at me.  "Well, then, MISTER Duncan, it appears that you have
become the chosen pet of my niece."

   "Aunt Jennnnn," Kim whined, "I LOVE him.  And..."

   I didn't let Kim finish.  "I love her.  And we need to know something."

   Jenny looked at me.  Now, lest you think wrongly, she was almost
smiling. After all, this whole thing wasn't a surprise.  "And exactly what
is it you need to know?"

   I looked at Kim.  She kissed me on the cheek.  "We'll be okay, babe,"
she said.

   "I know, sweetness," I said.  I turned to Jenny.  "In regards to you and
my Kimmy, are you her legal guardian?  I mean, is her living with you
covered by a legal document?"

   Jen's face got serious.  "Yes.  She was a minor.  Her mom's ...  well,
you know, and the courts awarded me guardianship as her closest relative."
She paused.  "Wait!  Why?"

   "Kim?  You want to tell 'er?"

   Kim went into giggle mode.  "Oh, yeah ...  According to state law, I can
get married with my parent or guardian's signature.  Keeps me an' my mate
from living in sin, ya know, an' sullyin' the family name."

   "Baby, what's left of the family name after your mom got through with
it? Besides, we ALREADY had this talk, didn't we?"

   Kim's mouth took a determined form.  "Aunt Jenny, THIS guy is going to
be my husband."

   Jenny looked at me.

   "I'm gonna be HER husband," I said.  "Now, do you wanna go get something
to eat?"

   Jenny broke into a grin.  "Yeah.  Let's do seafood!"

   Kim said, "Yeah!  Seafood!"

   "You two are really something!" I said.

   "Yeah," Jenny laughed.  "And you fit right in."

   "That's REALLY scary," Kim laughed.

   We took my SUV to the restaurant, Kim and I in the front seats, Jenny
hovering her face between us.

   The three of us had dinner and enjoyed a particularly happy meal. 
Returning home, I helped Kim gather up more clothes and a few odds and ends
to bring to OUR house.

   We spent half an hour rearranging my things to make room for my new
mate, and then it was time for a shower.  Together.  Fun.  Erotic.

   Out of the shower, Kim sat on a stool with a blow dryer and a hairbrush,
working her hair to honey-shaded perfection, shiny, sweet-smelling, every
strand in place.  I spent the same block of time shaving.

   We were both still nude.  Kim looked at me as she put away the dryer and
she smiled, saying, "Is it too early to go to bed, babe?"

   "That's a perfectly great idea," I said.  I watched five feet eight
inches of young feminine perfection head to the bedroom.

   We hit the bed together in a tangle of arms and legs and only the
tiniest of wiggles put her lips to mine.  Her hands cradled my head and she
looked into my eyes, into my soul and said, "Tim, I love you so much it
hurts, you know."

   My own hands touched her back.  Her skin was soft and warm and she
purred as I stroked her.  "Kimmy, I love you, babe, like I have never loved
another human being."

   Love, though, between two people, operates on many levels, and another
level was broached as her nude body impressed itself along mine.  My dick
stirred, hardening.  This got a cute little squeal.  "Babe," said the face
inches from mine, smiling, "How often can we make this thing work?"

   I kissed her forehead, brushing aside the honey-colored fringe of her
bangs to reach her skin.  "With YOU, babe, several times.  At least one
more today, for sure."

   She insinuated an arm between us, her fingers closing over the head of
my dick.  Giggle.  "I'd like, ummmm ...  you know"

   I kissed her nose, chuckling.  "I hope I know..."

   She started to raise up.  I stopped her when her titties were at optimum
distance.  I bent forward to suckle first one, then the other, getting a
throaty purr from her.  "I think we're thinking the same thing, babe..."

   "Gosh, I hope so, babe!  You're the most spectacular human being I've
ever met." I kissed her neck, a move that got me an armful of
uncontrollable, giggly Kim.

   She wiggled free and her mouth fastened on the head of my dick.  She
pulled her mouth off it.  "Babe, I hope this as much fun for you as it is
for me.  I love it."

   "Mmmm" escaped from around my dick.  And a muffled, "Mmmm-hmmmm!"

   "Babe," I said, "we can do this to each other, you know."

   "Uh ...  isn't that "sixty-nine?" I've heard about it."

   "Let's try it.  You stay on top of me, and turn around."

   A bounce of the bed presented me with a pretty pussy, plump, tight lips
gaping slightly, starting to glisten from the moisture inside.  I couldn't
resist.  I kissed, then licked, moaning "Mmmmmm, you taste so good, babe."

   Lips closed over the head of my dick.  It felt wonderful, and we happily
ate each other.  It wasn't long before my juice-laden tongue was pushing
her into an orgasm.

   "Oh, baby," she said, "I have to take you out of my mouth.  I'm afraid
I'll lose control and bite it off!" She clasped my hard, throbbing dick
against her cheek as my tongue's tip teased her clitty to push my sweetie
into ecstasy.  Knowing she'd gone over, I waited a minute.  Her lips
closing on the head of my dick with a little suck told me that she was back
on this planet.  I lapped my tongue the length of her slit, from her
butthole to her clit, gathering the most savory of juices.  And then I
started on her again.  I was learning my Kim, and I observed that on the
heels of her first come, her second was fast.

   It was also enough for her.  When she regained her senses, she turned
around.

   Giggle.  "You've got ME all over your face." She collected her excess
with a smother of kisses.  I wrapped my arms around her and rolled over,
putting her underneath me.  Her face was glowing as she spread her legs
welcoming me.  "This is GOOD," she said.  It was our first try in the
missionary position.  "It's like you're POSSESSING me!"

   "I am, Miss Kim.  I intend to never let you go." I moved my hips,
letting the tip of my dick search for its goal.  Kim's eyes were alight,
her lips pulled in an alluring tight smile as she moved her hips, trying to
help the situation.  It helped.

   I felt the head of my dick find a waiting, tight, hot, wet hole.  I
didn't have to push my way down into her because SHE pushed her hips
upward, trapping my dick deep inside her.

   Giggle.  "THAT works," she smiled.  "Love me, baby.  US!" And we bucked
in concert with one another, my dick finding heaven inside the tight, wet,
quivering walls of her pussy, her clit finding soft stimulation as my dick
slid past it with each thrust.  Our lips met.  Our bodies melded together,
our tongues connecting us at one end, our sex at the other, her hand
cradling the back of my head, keeping our mouths together, little mews of
joy escaping to sing to my ears as we worked each other to nirvana.  I
stiffened as my dick began spewing inside her, and her moaning into my
mouth told me that she'd arrived with me.  I held her against me as I
rolled us over so she could recover while lying atop me.

   I kissed her forehead again.  Her eyelashes fluttered and those bright
blue eyes opened.  She sighed.  "Tim, this is the most perfect moment in my
whole life.  And I expect US to get better."

   It was with the utmost reluctance that I rolled over to set the alarm
for the next morning.



   ------

   Chapter 6



   We woke up to the sounds of the classical music station and started our
second morning together.  I don't know how Kim's day went, but mine was
normal as regards to workload, but every quiet moment when I closed my eyes
to clear my head, I had a vision of a smiling face with blue eyes, freckles
and light brown bangs in front of me.  Yeah.  It was like that.

   Leaving the job, I headed home, flipping open my phone as soon as I got
into steady traffic, and dialed OUR number.  The phone rang.

   "Tim 'n' Kim's.  This is Kim." Giggle.

   ''Brave little thing, aren't you?" I laughed.

   "Either that or smart enough to recognize the number on caller ID," she
giggled.  "Uh, plan on swimmin' today, babe," she said.  "We've been eating
awfully good, you know..."

   "I know.  But you gotta know what I want to do for exercise..."

   "Me too.  But that's for later.  Come on.  I'm waiting." Pause.  "I love
you, Tim."

   "I love you, too, Kim." Like it was supposed to be.

   Twenty minutes later we were in the pool.  I don't know if I'd have
pushed quite as hard as Kim pushed us, but hey, it couldn't hurt.  When SHE
decided, we hung on the end wall of the pool, cooling off.  "That was
good," she said.

   "Yeah.  So did you hold back, or am I getting better?"

   She bent close and bumped her forehead against mine.  "A little of both,
babe."

   "I'd really like to get you in a big pool, babe, just to see you go, and
for me to embarrass myself."

   "We could go to the Y," she said.  "Might have to do that anyway if you
want to keep swimming.  This one's gonna close soon for the winter."

   "Yeah.  In December we can get a family membership."

   She smiled.  "I like hearing you say that, babe," she said.  "You keep
telling me my dreams are possible."

   "As long as it's your dream, sweetie.  You're certainly mine.  Let's go
eat."

   Hauling herself out of the pool, she turned, "Let's go shower and order
pizza, okay?"

   "Pizza'll work." We walked back to the apartment hand in hand.  Passed
the elderly couple from the other end of the complex.  Kimmy said "Hi!"
They were looking as we went into our door.

   We argued about ordering pizza and then showering before it arrived.  I
said I wasn't sure that we'd be out of the shower before the pizza arrived.
She said she could guarantee it.  I let her win, then had to answer the
doorbell wearing a bathrobe, listening to her giggle in the background.

   I looked at the two pizzas that were delivered.  She grinned and made a
phonecall and in two minutes the doorbell rang.  She let Jen and Laci in.

   Laci walked in, looking around.  "So this is the love nest, huh?  I
expected spots on the wall an' stuff." She grinned at her own joke.

   Kim smirked.  "We don't let it go to waste like that!"

   "Yuck!" Laci said.  "I don't wanna know..." then to Jenny.  "He hasn't
slowed her down any."

   Jen said, "Now, Lace, they invited us over for pizza.  Be nice!"

   "Oooo-kayyyy," Laci chuckled.  "Since they bribed me with pizza."

   The banter continued through the meal and then the four of us played
cards for a while.  Eight PM saw Jen and Laci leaving, Kim and I making a
dash through the kitchen, and then to bed.  And two hours later, to sleep.

   And Thursday was much the same, except dinner as a little family-run
restaurant for just me and my Kim, and we got home to have the evening to
ourselves.

   We were in bed early, for purely recreational purposes, and after an
energetic and very satisfying hour and a half, we were laying naked,
satiated, Kim was glowing, and we were talking about things.

   Friday came.  The swim.  Showers.  Kim said, "You wanna see if Aunt Jen
wants to come eat with us?"

   "What about Laci?" I asked.

   "Laci has to work late.  That's what Aunt Jen said.  So I thought that
we'd bring her with us.  Laci should be getting off about the time we get
back."

   "Okay, then," I said.  "I can't fault your logic."

   The three of us headed to an Italian restaurant.

   Dinner was pleasant.  When we ordered, though, Jenny said, "Tim, how
about some wine?  One glass won't hurt, and if you have two, we'll let Kim
drive."

   Kim stuck her bottom lip out, faking a pout.  "Being underage SUCKS!"
Then when Jenny looked at her outburst, Kim turned to me with a horribly
exaggerated, theatrical wink.  It's a good thing I wasn't drinking, because
I would have sprayed liquid through my nose.

   "Oh, you little THING!" Jenny retorted.

   We had wine.  A couple of glasses, talking about work and school and the
coming winter and hot chocolate and warm blankets and I wasn't a drinker
and the THIRD glass of wine and I was happily buzzed and so was Jenny and
Kim was laughing at the two of us.  I paid the bill and gave Kim the keys.
Jenny took the remains of the bottle of wine with us.

   We were a block into the trip home when Jenny's phone rang.

   "Hi, baby," she said.  She turned to us, a little buzzed herself, and
said, "It's Laci!" She went back to her phone.  "Yeah, babe, I'm with Kim
'n' Tim.  Guess WHAT!" She paused.  "They want to get MARRIED!" Another
pause.  "Yeah, I know they told us before, but they're SERIOUS!" Pause. 
"No, I'm NOOT drunk.  We had some wine, me an' Tim.  Kim's drivin'." Pause.
"No, I understand, people gotta work late, sometimes!  I'll see you
tomorrow." Pause.  "Love you too, babe!  Bye!"

   Kim asked, "Laci's gotta work late?"

   "Yeah," Jenny sighed.  "An' I get to go home to an empty house. 
Ssssssucks, ya know..."

   I watched Kim as she drove.  Her face went into thinking mode for a
couple of seconds.  "Come visit with US!  Tim won't mind..."

   Well, at this point in life, slightly buzzed Tim DID mind.  I had half a
load of alcohol and full load of "I wanna get in bed with Kim" and her aunt
visiting, well, that didn't fit the plan.  But it was Kim, and I was along
for the ride.

   "No, I don't mind..." And that was alcohol.  They were BIG glasses of
wine.

   Jen called Laci back and told her of her plans for the evening.  Hanging
up, she turned to us.  "She's gonna stay at her sister's.  Laci lived with
her sister and her family.

   We got back to the apartments in fine fettle.  Kim locked the car and
took my left arm and we headed to our house.  And then I got a surprise. 
Jenny grabbed my right arm.  "Just to help me navigate," she said, giggling
maybe a little bit too much.

   Kim looked at me, grinned, and an eyebrow raised.  She unlocked the
front door and we all went inside.  Kim locked the door behind us.

   "Ya got glasses, Timmy?" Jen waved her trophy wine bottle.

   "Ssssure,"I said.  I got up and went to the kitchen and came back with
oops, THREE glasses and another bottle of wine.

   "Kim, you want a glass of wine, since we're home now?  It's okay, huh,
Jen?"

   Jen said, "Pour her a glass.  She's needs to learn to drink socially."

   I looked at Kim.  She had a strange smile.  I think I recall smiles like
that.  On cats sitting in the middle of a pile of canary feathers.  And I
poured three glasses of wine AND managed to get the cork out of the new
bottle.

   Two glasses of wine for Kim.  Her first.  Loosened her up to a very
giggly, touchy-feely mode.  In front of Jenny.

   "How's that wine, babe?" Jen asked.

   "Must be something you grow into.  But not bad.  An' I feel a little..."
Giggle.  And a hand on the inside of my thigh.  And then arms around my
neck as we sat on the sofa.

   Kim slid over and onto my lap, and another surprise.  Jenny slid up
beside me.  And Kim.  Close.  We finished our wine.

   "It'sh bedtime," Kim said.

   "I know.  I could use some bedtime," I said.

   "Me too," Jen said, giggly.  "I guesh I need ta go home now."

   "Oh, no, Aunt Jen," Kim said.  "You're gonna stay with US."

   "Nope.  I gotta go home.  If I stay here ...  uh, never mind." She
pulled her phone out.  "I'm callin' Laci.  I need her.  No matter how late
she is..." She held the phone to her ear.

   "Lace," she said, "don't go to your sisters." Pause.  "I know.  I don't
care how late you are.  Just come here." Pause.  "No, it's just not fair.
Kim's got Tim.  An' I don't wanna sleep by myself." Pause.  "Okay, love.  I
might be asleep, but just come on in."

   She stood, a little wobbly, and headed towards the door.  "G'nite, Tim
'n' Kim." And she giggled.  "D'ya know just how absolutely CUTE that
sounds?" She was still giggling as the door closed behind her.

   Kim was obviously tipsy as she climbed on top of me.  "'Sperfect," she
giggled.  "Aunt Jen's got Laci an' got my Timmy.  Tee-hee!" Her lips
fastened on mine, pushing me backward onto the sofa, her fingers wrestling
with my belt buckle.  "Love ya, Timmy.  Want THIS.  Hee-hee!"

   "Come on, little Kimmy," I said.  I pulled her to me and we tangled
disastrously on the sofa trying to undress each other.  The ultimate mating
was satisfying in a foggy sort of way, and somewhere during the night we
did manage to get to bed.  Together.

   Saturday morning I felt the aftereffects of the wine.  I remembered a
lesson I'd learned a long time ago: Don't get drunk on wine.  My mouth felt
like cotton dipped in dogshit.  My head was throbbing.  I got out of bed as
quietly as possible so as to not disturb Kim.

   I was in the bathroom standing before the toilet when I heard footsteps.

   "So this is what a hangover feels like?" She was pushing her right hand
against the side of her head.

   "What?  Doesn't feel good?"

   "I had two glasses of wine, sweetie," she said.

   "You're not used to drinking, baby.  And neither am I." My drinking days
were long over, aside from the occasional beer with the crowd.

   "It wasn't bad last night, but this morning..." she pushed me aside for
a spot on the toilet.

   I washed my face and brushed my teeth.

   "No," she said.  "Let's shower."

   "Okay," I answered.

   I know that the steamy shower helped me immeasurably.  Kim was leaning
back against me, wrapped in my arms, the water running over us both.  We
took a long shower.

   We got out.  My phone rang.  Kim answered it.  I heard her say, "Tim
Duncan's phone.  This is Kim." Pause.  "Yes, he's here.  Just a second."
She came into the bathroom.  "Babe, it's the job."

   This was one of the hazards of my line of work.  When you're the
engineer in charge of a plant's electrical power system and lights go out,
YOU get a call.  "Hi, this is Tim," I said.  I listened to the sad story
over the phone, asking questions, and with every exchange it became clearer
that this wasn't something that would be solved with a conversation. 
"Okay, I'll be out there in, oh, forty-five minutes."

   Kim was watching me, still delightfully nude, as was I.

   "There goes our day, babe," I said.  "They need me out there."

   She smirked.  "That's what you get for knowing things," she said.

   "Yeah, I guess." I opened my closet and pulled out jeans and a work
shirt and started dressing.

   "How long will you be gone?" she asked.

   "I dunno.  Could be a couple of hours, maybe more, but I will be home
this evening.  You gonna be okay?"

   "Will you love me all day while you're gone?" she smiled.

   "I will love you until the last star blinks out."

   "Then I'll be okay.  I have plenty to do around here." Yes, it was HER
house, too.  My toys were her toys.

   "I'll call you as soon as I find out what's going on, baby." I kissed
her, running my hands over her naked butt, and I left.

   Sometimes things just go very bad when dealing with electrical power,
and metal gets vaporized and doors blown off and general mayhem occurs.  I
walked into a little bit of the aftermath of one of these situations.  No,
it wasn't going to get fixed today.  It was going to get safely secured
today and I and a crew of electricians did some slightly heroic things
involving high voltage cables and unusual equipment applications and at
five PM we had the lights back on in a production unit and I was on the way
home.  Clearing the gate, I flipped my phone open and punched up Kim on
speed dial.

   "Hi, babe," came the bright voice that I loved.

   "Hi, sweetie, I'm on the way home."

   "Good!  I'm waiting for you.  Everything okay?"

   "Kinda sorta.  We did some temporary stuff to get through the weekend.
I'm a mess.  I crawled in some nasty places.  I'm gonna need a shower when
I get home."

   "Oooooo," she squealed.  "I can help!"

   "You might not want to, babe.  I'm nasty." I was smudged with carbon and
other blast byproducts.  I went on, "Uh, have you had dinner?"

   "No," she said.  "You said you'd be home in time."

   "Order pizza if you don't mind.  I'm tired."

   "I don't mind.  Are you up for a game of Trivial Pursuit with Laci an'
Aunt Jen?"

   "Sure.  After I clean up."

   Kim was somewhat shocked at my smudgy form when I walked in the door. 
She peeled my clothes off and started them in the laundry and then joined
me in the shower.  I appreciated her gentle but thorough hands soaping and
scrubbing my arms and face.  I got out and was shaving when I heard the
pizza and Laci and Jen arrive simultaneously.  The four of us sat around
the dining room table laughing and enjoying hot pizza.

   The Trivial Pursuit game went well.  Jen and Laci invoked Kimberly Rules
on Kim and me and Kim managed to pull off a win amongst laughter and
"Nobody in his right mind would KNOW that shit!" and "Remind me to never
play with HER again!", but I knew they'd play again.  The clock was pushing
eleven thirty when the game was over and Jen and Laci stood at the door to
leave.

   When the door closed, I pulled Kimberly to me.

   "Mmmmm, babe," she purred.  "Bed!"

   Two minutes later we were naked in bed together, our bodies pressed
tightly against one another, and my hand was stroking that short, sassy
hair of hers.  And she was alternating between purring and giggling and
gosh I loved this little girl.  Little?  Five-eight?  Okay, let's do "young
girl".  She was such a doll.  My fingertips read the skin of her body,
taut, supple, youthful, smooth.  Several kisses later we were in a happy
sixty-nine, and this time we both came.  After her lips had secured the
last droplets of semen from me, she let my dick drop from her lips almost
reluctantly and turned around.

   "So what'd you do while I was gone today, babe?" I asked.

   "I went to hang out with Aunt Jen and Laci.  Laci had to go do something
and I talked to Aunt Jen while you were gone."

   "Yeah?  What'd she have to say?" I asked.

   "That she was very happy that you and I found each other and that seeing
us together made her realize how much she cared about Laci.  And she was
sorry about us drinking so much wine."

   "You told her about your very first ever hangover?"

   "Yeah," she said.  "I felt like crap for half the morning.  I'm not
doing that again."

   "One glass won't do that.  Two glasses over the course of the evening,
with a meal, won't do that.  But I had four or five.  And you had two in
twenty minutes, and you've never drank before."

   "I didn't think the taste was worth the trouble." Her face was that cute
little determined look.

   "Your call, dearest," I said.  I scooted toward the head of the bed and
she snuggled up alongside me.  I kissed her head, savoring the sweet smell
of clean young girl.

   "I'd rather have coffee." She wiggled tighter against me.

   I tilted her face toward me and kissed her.  "Better day tomorrow,
little one," I said.  "No hangovers."

   "Mmm-hmmm ...  Punch us up some music." My baby.  Liked to have
something uplifting to ease off into slumber.

   I set the sleep timer on the radio, listening to the late night
classics. And we eased off into sleep.

   0830.  The phone rang, and it was on my side of the bed.  "Please,
please, please don't be work," I prayed silently as I reached for it.

   "Tim's house," I croaked.

   "Hi, Tim.  Are you two up yet?" An unusually chipper-sounding Jen.

   "No, not yet..."

   "Breakfast, if you're interested."

   I felt Kim stir.  "Whoozat, babe?" she asked.

   "Your aunt.  They have breakfast."

   "Ten minutes, Aunt Jen," Kim said.

   "Did you hear?" I asked into the phone.

   "Uh-huh.  See you in ten minutes."

   I rolled over and kissed Kim.  "Good morning, little love," I said.

   She returned the kiss and pressed me back against the mattress.  "Mmmmm.
Good morning, my guy," she said.  "Let's go eat."



   ------

   Chapter 7

   Kim knocked on her aunt's door.  We heard "Come in!" shouted from
inside, so we walked in, finding Jen and Laci in the kitchen in their
trademark nightshirts.

   The odor was the welcome smell of bacon cooking.  I saw hash browns.  I
saw my waistline expanding and said so.

   "Nuh-uh, Timmy," Kim said.  "We're gonna go for a walk in this beautiful
weather, so enjoy your breakfast."

   We were seated around the table, breakfast plates empty, coffee before
us, talking.

   "I need to talk serious with you two," Jen said.

   "Serious?  How serious, Aunt Jen?" Kim asked.

   "Really, really serious.  Kim, baby, I know you've kind of gone gaga
over Timmy here.  I know that you and him, y'all have talked about where
this is going.  Are you SURE you're ready for that commitment?"

   Kim looked a little shocked.  "Aunt Jen!  I TOLD you!  Yes, I'm ready. I
love Tim.  He loves me." She looked at me, as if for affirmation.

   "She loves me, Jen," I said.

   "Yeah, okay, Mister 'I had a teenager drop out of the sky into my lap'
Duncan.  Are YOU ready for..."

   "Jen," I said, "we already have the date circled on the calendar."

   "Yeah," Kim asserted.  She got up and stood behind me, wrapping me in
her arms.  "What brought this on, Aunt Jen?"

   I looked at Laci.  She had an enigmatic look on her face.  "Laci?  You
been giving Jen drugs?"

   "No," Laci said.  "Jen, stop upsetting people.  I told you things would
work out.  Just tell 'em."

   "Tell 'em what, Aunt Jen?" Kim asked.

   "Hangover aside," Jen said, "Laci an' I have sort of figured out
something."

   "What?" I asked.

   Jen took a breath.  "Well, last night Laci and I were talkin'..." Kim
let a giggle loose.

   "Uh, get your mind out of the gutter, little Miss 'Spending the night
with my guy', Jen said.  "But that does have some bearing on the
conversation.  Laci and I," and she gave Kim a stare, "Have sort of decided
that if YOU two are at YOUR place, then Laci is gonna move in over here. 
But, Little Kimmy, if this is some kind of teenage phase you're going
through, then..."

   Kim huffed.  "Aunt Jen, YOU know I'm not the standard airheaded teenaged
girl."

   "Yeah, okay," Kim said, "but look at Tim.  He doesn't need to be hurt.
You two don't need to hurt one another.  So!  Are you serious?"

   Kim swung around and kissed me.  Got a devilish glint in her eyes. 
"Okay, Tim Duncan, now that we've slept together, have you decided that
it's all a big mistake?"

   "No, I think you're perfect..."

   "Deluded," Laci said.  "The boy's deluded."

   I continued, "although your family may be a stretch..."

   "Be nice to Aunt Jen, baby," Kim said.

   "I think I'll keep 'er," I said.  "Are you gonna sign so we can get
married?"

   Kim has trouble stifling sounds.  This time it was a happy squeal.

   "I suppose so.  Sort of like you have a title to 'er then," Jen said.

   "Title?" Laci blurted.  "You're setting women's rights back a century,
Jen!"

   Jen laughed.  "Look at them, Laci.  Who owns who?"

   Owned.  Possessed.  And I liked it.

   Kim didn't let the comment by, though.  "Uh, we OWN each other."

   "See!" Laci said.  "He's deluded.  All he needs is a leash."

   "Oooooo, kinky," Kim laughed.

   Laci looked shocked.  "Jen!  Where'd this CHILD learn about 'kinky'?"

   "Uh, probably listening to my aunt and her mate, when they thought I
wasn't paying' attention," Kim retorted.  "And what's a little bit of
leather between friends, right?"

   Jen snorted.  I think Laci was gonna have a meltdown.  Me, I barely
avoided blowing coffee out of my nose.

   "We have to kill 'er," Laci said.  "The world does NOT need another
smartass."

   "Oh, don't kill 'er," I said.  "Let me take her home with me and teach
her to be respectful and obedient."

   "Yes, Master," Kim played.  "I shall be most obedient.  I await your
instructions.  Shall I retrieve my leash, Master?" And she flashed laughing
eyes at Laci.

   "I don't know what you did to deserve this imp," Jen said.

   "Rescued puppies.  Lots and lots of puppies.  With big, soulful eyes," I
said.

   "Forget it, Jen," Lacie said.  "they deserve each other."

   We finished breakfast and walked to our apartment.  Yes, 'our'
apartment. Inside, Kim turned to me.  "You ARE serious, aren't you?"

   "I do believe words like 'forever' have been exchanged, little doll. 
And you?  Serious?"

   Kiss.  "Very much.  You're too easy to fall in love with.  Nobody else
made a click in my head, and since you, the clicker's turned off." Kiss. 
"Other things turn on, but they're all yours."

   "Still a bit scary, Kim," I said.

   "Yeah.  So what?  You should know about guarantees, Tim love.  Age has
nought to do with it.  People do."

   "And YOU circled Thanksgiving week.  Wrote 'honeymoon'." She did, in a
neat, workmanlike block lettering.  "So where do we go for honeymoon?"

   She smiled.  "Isn't that something we can discuss at the park?  It's a
pretty day.  We can stop at the store on the way there and get some chips
and dip and just go sit under the trees."

   "And walk that breakfast off," I added.

   "Oh, we go sit at the park for a while, enjoy the day.  Come back, swim.
There's your exercise."

   "I dunno about swimming.  You know what you catch at a pool."

   "Some things are more permanent than athlete's foot, huh?" Giggle.

   "Yeah.  And a lot smarter.  Let's go."

   "Wait," she said.  "We have the morning to ourselves, and there's no
hurry, and you know, I'm new at this and I'd kinda like to play."
Fingertips on the fly of my jeans indicated the range of her playfulness.
"Do you..."

   "Oh, God, yes, baby," I said.  "But I didn't want to make you think this
is just about sex."

   "Sex," she smiled.  " And love.  Always love.  But it's fun, Tim.  And
it's new to me and I like it and d'ya really mind?"

   I laughed.  "Angel face, you make me terribly happy.  I..."

   She was unbuttoning her blouse, looking over her shoulder as she walked
into the bedroom.  Naked, I joined her in the bed.  "It's all new, Tim."

   "You're all new, angel," I replied.  "I get a naked Kimmy, don't I?"

   Indeed I did, bowled over onto my back by an agile and very
enthusiastically nude female teen.  What started out as giggly explorations
changed quickly to breathless sighs as we explored each other.  Playing
with Kim was like I only dreamed sex could be.

   Started out exploring, satisfying her natural intelligence and
curiosity, then the intelligence stayed as she learned, and we got really
happy knowing what sort of kisses and pinches and nips and touches just
really lifted each other off the bed to new heights.

   That's a little bit of what went on this bright blue morning.  Naked,
happy, and in love, we played with each other.

   Kim's turn:

   Okay, so if Tim can talk about us, I can talk about us, too.

   And make no mistake about it, Tim and I, we ARE an US.  I talked with
Aunt Jen about it.  Love at first sight.  The fodder of fairy tales and
romance novels and she said, "Looks like Kimmy's got it!"

   I tried to think this through.  Analyze it.  Reason it out.  I do that
with a lot of the subject matter at school.  It works then and it works
very well.  I skipped two grades and I run almost a 4.0 average in high
school.

   So I lay there the second night that I knew Tim and I asked myself why.
"Why not?" is not the answer one expects from one's analytical mind, but I
kept getting that.

   My Tim.  I saw him bare-chested in swim trunks the first day I met him.
Blew my skirt up.  Floated my boat.  Rang my bell.  Not one of those guys
you see on the front cover of a romance novel.  His muscles don't bulge,
but he's not fat, he's just fit-looking.  And the short hair and blue eyes.
And when he smiles, he gets these little crinkles in the corners of his
eyes.  And he smiles a lot.  And brings me right along with him.  So that's
the physical attraction.  Not one of those wormy faux-poet/musician types.
Not one of those 'full of himself' jock types.  Just MY Tim.  Knows who he
is.  And comfortable with it.

   The guy's an engineer.  KNOWS things.  First time we talked, it was like
sitting next to a powerful engine while it idled.  I could tell from the
way he turned a phrase that he was no dummy.  And when I jabbed, he jabbed
back.  Sense of humor.  And not 'fart joke' humor.  Nope!  Puns.  Plays on
words.  I used to ('used to'?  I STILL) get looks about the way I play with
the language, and here's this guy that matches me move for move.

   Okay, there's a 'geek' part in my brain and a smart guy who's NOT trying
to show how cool smart guys are by looking like every loser in high school,
that's a rare thing.  Finding Tim ...  He wasn't sleazy-looking.  He was
intelligent.  He didn't leer or stare.  And the first time I brought him
home to see Aunt Jen, I grabbed his hand.  At first I thought 'big mistake,
Kim!' but he just sort of looked at me and didn't pull back, and it was
like electricity making a connection.  At least to me.

   Another thing: Guy's fit.  That was obvious to me the first day we swam
together.  He didn't know that I was a pretty competitive swimmer and I let
him do his best to try to beat me.  He did make me use most of what I have,
and then laughed about it.

   He talked to me.  Not AT me.  Okay, let's be fair to Aunt Jenny.  She's
been good to me, too, but part of that was HER sister (MY mom) was a
problem we had in common.  When Mom ended up in jail, if Aunt Jen hadn't
stepped up, I'd've ended up in a foster home.  I know some kids who had
that going, and I'm glad I don't.

   Aunt Jen is six years younger than Mom, so she's like a combination of
surrogate mom and big sister, and we worked out how we fit together.  I
stopped getting scared at night.  School turned around (again).  Life was a
lot easier with Aunt Jen.  She had friends, many of them gay, and her
companion or significant other or whatever, Laci.  I stopped getting hit on
by the guys in Mom's life.  I saw people being happy and interacting in
legal ways, and when I was in the room I got treated like a human being,
not a piece of meat or some sort of obstacle.

   They talked TO me.  But my Tim started out like that from the first time
that we spoke to each other, like 'here's a human being.  I shall converse
with her.' I dunno.  I just kept seeing 'solid' and 'decent'.

   When Aunt Jen led him to the door after okaying him and me going out to
dinner together, she asked him if I'd told him about her being lesbian. 
"DID Kim tell you..." she started.

   He did that sort of lopsided grin thing.  "Yeah, so?"

   "Some guys get freaked out," she said.

   "Nuh-uh," he said.  "I'm me.  You're you.  Kim's Kim.  Kumbayah an' all
that.  It's a wonderful world."

   And that's when lightning went off in my head.  Little voice said,
"Kimmy?  See that one?  He's IT.  If you don't snag 'im, you'll regret it
the rest of your life."

   Okay, Aunt Jen let Tim take me to dinner with him.  In retrospect, she
must've seen something in him (and maybe me, too) that made that seem like
a safe idea.  I know some people who wouldn't think that it's a good idea
for a teen girl to go out the door with a forty year old guy she just met,
but there's something about Tim...

   We went to a NICE Italian restaurant.  I'd heard about the place but had
never been there.  Tim made the choice for me and kind of put his foot down
when I talked about the expense.  "My treat," he said.  "I can afford it
and the food's a LOT better than Olive Garden."

   We talked all the way through dinner.  He ordered linguine with white
clam sauce.  I HAD to try it.  And then tiramisu.  I love good coffee.  One
of Aunt Jen's friends keeps us supplied with good stuff at the apartment,
and finding this wonderful dessert with coffee undertones, wow.  So the guy
knows how to take a girl to dinner.

   We get back in his truck.  Yeah, big pickup truck.  Normally when you
see one like this, you start your tape of 'redneck' jokes, but Tim's was
clean as a whistle, and after dinner, when I got in, I asked to play some
music.

   "Go ahead," he said.  And I noted that he watched as I punched the 'on'
button.  Classical music came out.  The darker side of my mind had expected
country and western or some variety of rock.  I got Boccherini, a favorite
piece, at that.

   "Boccherini!  Sting Quintet in E-major.  Aunt Jen questions my sanity
about loving this stuff," I said.  And that sparkle in his eyes got
brighter.

   During the dinner conversation, Tim had told me what his experiences
with dating were.  Said he was looking for somebody who didn't think
'People' magazine was literature and had a vocabulary that held words with
more than two syllables.  I listened.  Because when I saw his eyes light up
with my comment about the music, I said, "Antidisestablishmentarianism."

   "Huh?" he said.

   "Twelve syllables, thankyouverymuch," I giggled.  "Tim, you shouldn't
just give up.  I'm sure there's somebody out here that's perfect for you."
And I smiled, because deep down inside, where I wasn't supposed to be
harboring any such thought at the tender age of sixteen, I knew that the
'someone' was me.

   "I'm not complainin', Miss Kim," he said.  "I have a pretty good life,
actually"

   "I know," I said, "but don't you think that somewhere out there is a
lady who's looking for the same things and between the two of you, you
change 'pretty good' into a fairy tale?"

   "I guess so," he said, "but I'm not going to kill myself in the search.
And I get to make my own rules."

   Sometimes I can be devious.  Like now.  Tim was talking about making the
rules and didn't even know that he was already in the game.

   That first night, after dinner I brought him in to meet Aunt Jen and
Mizz Laci.  Laci and Jen have been together for longer than I have lived
with Aunt Jen.  "Coupla bull dykes," Mom explained to one of her guys.  I
knew what that term meant when Mom said it.  It was just ugly, like somehow
heterosexual sex, especially the way SHE practiced it, was somehow pure and
morally superior.  At about a new man every two or three weeks.

   Then when I moved in with Aunt Jen, I saw two people who exhibited NONE
of the nastiness that seemed to characterize Mom's relationships.  Yes,
they did reinforce some stereotypes because Laci was active in the local
arts scene and they had some friends, both male and female, who were also
of non-traditional sexual orientation, as I learned Tim would say.

   I learned that these were human beings and I learned that Aunt Jen's
circle of friends was a lot more decent and genteel than Mom's.  And I
could go to my own bedroom at night without worrying that the door would
open and some 'gamma minus' (don't you LOVE Aldous Huxley?) would come in
my room thinking that I would just turn into a quivering lusty animal at
the sight of him.

   So anyway, we walk in the door of Aunt Jen's apartment.  Laci's sitting
on the sofa.  "I brought Tim back with me," I said.

   "Yeah, I couldn't find a good dumpster to dump her body in," Tim
laughed. "So I brought 'er home."

   "Oh, I LIKE him!" Laci said with a laugh.

   "So sit and tell us about your evening," Aunt Jen said.

   So we sat.  He sat in the big chair and I sat on the arm beside him. 
Just seemed like where I was supposed to be.  I told them about the
tiramisu and the clam sauce.  During the evening's conversation, Tim had
said something about shopping for a new car, an SUV, so he didn't have to
deal with that big truck of his.

   "So what time are you going to look at cars tomorrow?" I asked him.

   He looked kind of startled for a brief second, but that passed and he
got a little smile.  "Why?" He asked me.  "Are you looking for a little
adventure?"

   I stifled a squeal.  I don't want to appear TOO eager.  "You don't
mind?"

   "If it's okay with your Aunt Jenny," he said.

   Aunt Jen's eyes twinkle when she's happy, and here she is, Laci's there,
that's a chunk of 'happy' for her, and I'm there and I'm happy, and that's
another chunk, and I have a new friend and that's another bit, so she's
twinkly.  "Oh, I don't mind.  Most axe-murderers seldom make it past the
first date.  I guess she's safe," she said.

   When Tim left, he made a show of sounding formal, thanking us for the
delightful evening.  I watched him go out the door.  And I determined that
I really don't want him walking out doors without me kissing him first.

   No sooner than the door closed Aunt Jen was questioning.  "Was it really
like that?  Did he TRY anything?"

   "Are you kidding?" I huffed.  "THAT guy is the most decent person I've
ever met.  Aunt Jen, he's smart an' funny and decent.  I grabbed HIS hand,
not the other way around.  And he did NOT try anything.  We talked.  We
laughed.  And I punched the button on his truck stereo and guess what kind
of music..."

   Aunt Jen knew where that was heading.  "You're kidding."

   I DID giggle.  "Boccherini."

   "Well, I would've lost THAT bet.  I saw the truck and I figured he had
'country & western' written all over him."

   "He used the truck for work.  Pulled a travel trailer with him on jobs."
Now I was defending him.  "And let's see." I knew the questions that were
coming.  "Divorced.  Wife and daughter living in California with new
husband.  She left HIM.  He's an electrical engineer.  Reads real books. 
Has a real vocabulary.  YOU'D approve."

   "Why would I need to approve, Kim?" she asked.

   "Because either I had an aneurism pop in my head or I just fell in
love."

   "Whaaaat?!?!?" Aunt Jen squealed.

   "I don't know what happened but there's this little voice that says he's
the one!"

   "Baby," Aunt Jen said, switching over to nurturing mode, "He's twice
your age, at least." She sucked in a breath.  "And as far as I know, he's
the first male social interaction you've ever had that didn't involve a
movie and the Food Court at the mall."

   "He's it.  He just doesn't know it yet."

   Laci was looking amused.  Don't mistake things.  I love Laci like a big
sister or foster mom or whatever.  It's kind of complicated, what with her
being my aunt's ...  well, you know ...  But Laci had participated in
taking care of me when I was putting things back together after Mom went
off to prison, and I appreciate her.

   "Slow down, Kimmy," Laci said.  "It's not supposed to happen that fast.
Life isn't a fairy tale." She smirked, letting a thought make its way from
her brain to her tongue.  "And I know some real fairies who'll explain it
to you."

   "Aunt Laci," I said, "I know that it won't be official right away, but
I'm just issuing a warning.  So when it happens, you won't be surprised."

   "Okay," Aunt Jen said.  "Analyze this for me." Aunt Jen's a high school
teacher, and probably a good one.  Now I'm being tested.

   "Just do the inventory, Aunt Jen.  He's good-looking.  Smart.  Has a
REAL job.  A future.  Single.  Likes the right music.  And I am psychic." I
smirked with the last phrase.

   "You are my strange young niece and I love you dearly," Aunt Jen said.
"Last thing I want in this world is to see you hurt any more.  Why don't
you just step back and see how this all goes.  Tim gets a say in these
proceedings, too, you know."

   "Aunt Jennn," I said, playing the 'whiny teen' angle for her benefit and
amusement.  I am NOT a whiny teen type.  "The guy's an ENGINEER.  He's used
to deducing things.  He'll figure it out and it will only make sense."

   "You're pretty confident, Kimmy," Laci said.  "You always did have a
different approach to things."

   I guess I do.  Like school.  I stay waaaaay ahead of the rest of the
class.  Gives me time to let my mind just wander over the universe, or to
observe things.  Like people.  Maybe I've observed and analyzed too many
people.  I watched Mom and her own take on relationships and I watch the
kids at school and I make deductions based on my observations.  I'm
different, okay?  I GET to be different.  As long as I'm not violent and I
respect others' needs, I can be who I want to be.  And over the past couple
of years I've actually enjoyed being who I am.

   And tonight after my shower, I went to my bedroom, put the radio on the
late-night public radio station.  They have a good classical music program.
And I went to sleep thinking about this guy with blue eyes who had a need
for a multisyllabic female in his life.

   At precisely 0830 (Why do they call it 'military time'?  EVERYBODY uses
it almost) I knocked on Tim's door.  When he opened the door, I had to
giggle.  He was dressed like ME!  Rugby shirt?  Check!  Mine was striped
blue and yellow.  His was blue and red.  Jeans?  Check!  Athletic shoes? 
Check!

   He invited me in while he printed a page from a car dealer's website.  I
looked around.  "This place is gonna be nice when you finish with it," I
said.

   "I AM finished with it," he replied.

   "Don't make me come over here and FIX this," I said.

   "What makes you think I'll perceive that as a threat?" he retorted.

   "Because guys get nervous when women want to invade their spaces. 
That's why men used to go out and capture women and bring them home for
mates.  Established the hierarchy right off the bat." And I got this
picture of the cartoon where the caveman has a big club and is dragging a
woman by the hair and I giggled and told him about the play on words.  Not
a pun.

   He showed me the website with the car he was wanting.  It was practical
and not the least bit flashy.  That made for more conversation.

   We had a hoot at the dealership.  Tim showed up and this salesman came
skipping out with dollar signs in his eyes.  That's the only thing the poor
guy had right the whole time he was working with us.  Tim knew exactly what
car he wanted, right down to the dealer's own inventory number, and he knew
what the actual selling price was at dealers a hundred and fifty miles away
in Houston.  The salesman tried every one of the lines on his script and
none of them worked the way they were supposed to.  Before lunch we drove
out of the dealership.  Tim was in his big ol' truck and I was driving his
brand new (fourteen miles on the odometer) silver SUV.

   Another thing from the trip to the dealership.  I sort of got a little
braver about touching Tim.  Held onto his arm.  And he liked it.  Didn't
actually SAY he liked it.  But he did.  Trust me.  He leaned towards me.

   We dropped his truck off at the apartments and he let me drive the new
car to the grocery and WE did grocery shopping together, except he still
didn't know that we were 'together'.

   We spent the rest of the day putting up groceries and setting up the
equipment in his spare bedroom.  He set it up as an office with computer
and HUGE monitor and a scanner that would do big drawings that he uses at
work.  "Size 'E'," he said.  "Twenty-four by thirty-six inches."

   When I talked to Aunt Jen, I told her some of what we'd done and got
permission to hang out with Tim for the day.  She and Laci kind of wanted
to have a little time to themselves.  After I got off the phone with her, I
made a comment about her 'doing her own thing.  And Laci's.'

   Tim sort of got flustered.

   "People have sex, Tim," I said.

   "I know, but..."

   "Of course I only know this second-hand," I said.  Virgin.  Me.  I was
one.  Up until my aneurism yesterday, I could've joined a convent.

   "I explained how I felt about sex," he said.

   "Yeah, I know," I answered.  "But seriously, Aunt Jen and Laci are
completely monogamous.  Committed.  Sometimes I think that if I wasn't
living here, they'd be living together.  Sex is not the center of their
relationship.  It's just part."

   "Sweetie, I understand.  Sex is easy.  Love is hard." And he and I
talked about relationships where one participant was there for sex and the
other was there for love.  And we talked about me at school, and time flew
by and it was dinnertime.

   When we got in his car to go to dinner, I reminded him that I was the
first one to drive it and that first counts for something.  And yes, I do
admit to having a little bit of a different meaning reserved in my mind for
my own use.

   Surprise!  When we walked across the parking lot while leaving the
restaurant, he put his arm around my waist.  I guess that was a test.  I
could've pulled away, but I didn't.  I swung my hip to bump into his and
just sort of purred.

   We ended up at the same restaurant as Aunt Jen and Laci and followed
them home for a game of Trivial Pursuit.  And he beat ME!  I NEVER lose
unless we play by 'Kimberly Rules' where everybody else gets a two-category
head start.  I told you he was smart.

   And when he left that night, he left with MY kiss on his lips.  And vice
versa.  Two of 'em, actually.  And I LIKED it!

   Got grilled again.  Put my foot down.  "Aunt Jen, can't you SEE it? 
He's the ONE!"

   "You've known the guy thirty hours, Kimberly." I knew she was serious
because she used my full name.

   "I know that, Aunt Jen, but it's like electricity.  Resonance."

   "Kim," Laci said, "You need to think of something else.  It's not just
about YOU.  He's a human being, too.  He has feelings."

   "I know about his feelings, Laci," I said.  "He told me about how the
end of his marriage hurt, and how it hurt to find out how some people are
about relationships.  And I know about other people's feelings.  Mom..."

   Laci smiled softly.  "Then you know that going into something like this,
if you're serious and mature about it, it's not just you.  It's him, too.
Has he said anything?"

   Aunt Jen looked at me.  I could tell she wanted to know the answer to
that question, too.

   "No," I said simply.  "Not a single word.  Not a hint.  But I just KNOW
it's there.  Don't ask me how, but I KNOW."

   "Don't fall in love too easy, baby," Aunt Jen said.  She touched my
hair, brushing it from my cheek.

   "I'm not, Aunt Jen.  That's one lesson Momma taught me.  I'm planning on
doing this ONCE."

   Got him over the next morning for breakfast.  After breakfast he went
home.  I was going to spend the day with him.

   I chose a park that we knew.  On the road, I asked him if he enjoyed
talking with me.  He was driving, but he glanced at me.

   "Yes, I do.  The last two days have been a blast, Kim."

   "With me?"

   "Yes, with you.  If I was eighteen I'd ...  You'd be on my list, for
sure."

   My heart collapsed.  "But since I'm sixteen and you're forty, I'm a
non-person?"

   "Kim," he said, "that's not exactly what I meant.  Twenty-four years is
a lot of age difference.  But there are things that I've seen in you the
last two days that make you so much ...  but twenty-four years.  Kim..."

   I had to get control here.  I took a breath because I was going to say
my piece.  "Tim Duncan," I said, using his full name.  Wanted him to know I
was serious.  "I am an honors student in high school.  That includes a 4.0
average in math, including trig and calculus, so I think that I understand
the difference between sixteen and forty-one.  It's twenty-five.  I
could've been a NUN in high school and NOT because boys didn't TRY.  Jocks.
Nerds.  The smart ones.  The cool ones.  I even dated a few times.  D'you
know what it's like going out with someone and you wanna talk about science
or current events and all your partner has in mind is an exercise in basic
anatomy?  Or 'Babe, I know this party an' there's beer an ' weed...  '
That's what passes for my social life.  I even went on a trip with a church
group an' they put the boys in one van and the girls in another.  And YOU
should've heard some of the stories those girls told.  I think I was the
only virgin in the bunch.  CHURCH girls!"

   I looked at him.  He was listening.  I kept on.  "So here I am, living
with my lesbian aunt, the only person in my life who treats me like family,
and I have the teachers looking upon me with favor, and life is getting
better and YOU come along and it's like somebody whanged me in the head
with a cast iron skillet."

   I crossed my arms.  I could tell I had his attention.  "It's like
'BLAM!!' and a little voice said, 'Kimberly, now that we have your
attention, that guy over there is the ONE' and I am now wondering exactly
what it takes."

   "What WHAT takes, Kim?"

   "Getting that fact through your intelligent but apparently quite thick
skull."

   "I think you're doing a good job of it right now," he said.  "Now it's
my turn." And he gave me his side of the same speech, ending with "So Miss
Kimberly, what does LOVE mean to you?  And I know you know the meaning of
forever."

   "Yes I do," I said.  "All that crossed my mind.  I know that if I go to
college, I'll likely be twenty and you'll be forty-five and that unless
something unusual happens, actuarial tables say I'll have you for a good
forty-plus years.  FORTY years.  I know people the same age who get married
and it doesn't last six months.  Now, Mister Engineer, wouldn't you rather
have forty good years with the person you love than the same amount of time
without them?  I thought love wasn't about physical things like looks ...
and age."

   He smiled.  I knew then that I had him.  "Is this the way it's always
going to be?" he asked.

   "Is WHAT the way?" I asked.

   "You being right all the time."

   "Always?" I asked.  My heart rate was astronomical.

   "You're not the only one who can get hit in the head with a skillet.  Or
get struck by lightning."

   "So you..."

   He smiled.  "Love you?  Yes, Kimberly Elkins, I love you."

   See?  That's how it started.

   Kim's back!



   ------

   Chapter 8

   Okay, I'm back.  Actually, I'm awake in my own bed in the wee hours of
the morning.  Well, it WAS my own bed until two days ago when I agreed that
I was indeed in love with this nutcase lying next to me.

   Nutcase?  In the best possible way.  She loves me.  Says she loves me.
She's right here next to me and any sane man would be thinking about how
wonderful it was for the opportunity to have sex with a virginal but eager
and athletic teen.  And said random man would be thinking that he'd be
going along for the ride to see how long it was.

   But the clean smiling face in bed next to me, lit by dim light from the
moonlight streaming in through the window, yeah, THAT face, belongs to a
girl who swears she believes in love at first sight.  And I'm more than a
little inclined to believe her because I believe the same thing.  I love
her.  In a life where 'love' meant a lot of different things to a lot of
different people, I look at her and think 'forever'.

   Of course, the clock says '0200' and the reason I'm awake for this
reverie is that I'm arguing with my own bladder about the need to do some
draining.

   Bladder wins.  I ease out of bed carefully, trying not to wake my
companion.  Thought I succeeded.  Even sat on the toilet to pee so I
wouldn't wake her up.  I eased back into bed carefully and for all my care
and effort I got wrapped up in a pair of arms with a purr in the middle.

   "Shhhhh," she whispered.  "Just kiss me."

   I kissed her lightly.  She pulled her soft lips away and nestled in
against my chest, took a deep breath, sighing its release and we went back
to sleep.

   The next time we woke, it was the alarm, and no, it wasn't one of those
noisy, irritating alarms.  I'm past that.  Music.  Mozart clarinet
concerto.

   A little kitten-like whine, then arms and a purr and kiss.  After the
kiss, activity.  She was getting dressed after making bathroom noises and I
was doing the same.  Kitchen.  Coffee.  Breakfast cereal.  I threw her the
keys to the SUV.  She looked at me.

   "What's this for?" she asked.

   "My wife needs her own car."

   "B-but..."

   "I have my truck.  We'll figure this out later."

   "You trust me with your new car?"

   "Correction.  OUR new car.  And trust you?  I'm marrying you, for pete's
sake."

   She started to smile.  "But I didn't think..."

   "All those things go with the territory, princess.  What's mine is
yours..."

   "And what's mine is yours.  But Tim, I have NOTHING."

   "Then wait'll this evening when we ask Jen about a dowry for you."

   Over a bowl of cereal, that soft face broke into a grin.  "Yeah.  That's
the custom in a lot of places.  How much will she give us to get me off her
hands." Giggle.

   Unfortunately my work starts before Kim's school, and I have to fight
traffic, so I kissed her on the way out the door.  It's been a long time
since I was so reluctant to leave home.

   I walked into my office, dropped my computer case on the chair, removed
the computer and docked it, then headed to the kitchenette.  A coffeemaker
there made it the social focus of the offices in the morning.

   Harold "Buzz" Aldrin (no discernible relation to the astronaut) was
stirring a bit of sugar into his mug of coffee.  "SO tell me, Tim.  You're
usually an 'up' sort of guy, but it's like this week somebody turned up the
burner.  You hit the lottery?  Rich uncle die?"

   "Big changes," I said, "on the domestic front."

   He grinned.  "Domestic front?  Like a new blender?"

   "Worse than that," I said.  "Fiancee'."

   "Hell, boy!  Two weeks ago you didn't even have a girlfriend.  And I
know that you went out with one of Gail's friends."

   Gail was our department administrator and she had single friends.  Her
friend was one of those 'Get me in bed ONCE and I'm yours' types and it was
HER face that I had in mind when I told Kim the '"People" magazine and
two-syllable vocabulary' thing.  But I didn't say that to Gail and I wasn't
gonna repeat it to Buzz either.  You never know whose cousin or
sister-in-law or whatever might be the subject of conversations.

   "Yeah, that one didn't click."

   "I heard from reputable sources that she could suck a golfball through a
garden hose."

   Okay, maybe I COULD talk about her in slightly coarser terms.  Still. 
"I wouldn't know first-hand, and while that's an admirable talent, at the
end of the day you still need to have somebody to talk with."

   He laughed.  "You can TALK to the guys at work."

   "Nah," I said.  "And I wanted one that would look the same in the
morning as she does when she crawls in bed at night.  I'd've hated to
chisel through the top layer of makeup to find skin."

   "That ain't the skin I'd be interested in," he kept on.

   "We need to have this conversation with YOUR wife around," I countered.

   "Are you CRAZY?  I'm just tryin' to set you up with some domestic bliss
like I got." He grinned.  "I know what side MY bread's buttered on.  But if
you want, bring the new lady over sometime.  We'll do some steaks on the
grill and tell lies to each other."

   And now I'm getting this picture of me showing up at Buzz's house with a
sixteen year old cutie on my arm.  THAT issue was going to be sticky.  But
choices ...  Hmmm, let me see ...  Kimmy.  Buzz.  Wasn't much of a choice.
Of course, the best of the two worlds would have Buzz and his wife (and
several others) thinking 'That Tim sure looks odd with that young wife of
his, but they're happy and she doesn't LOOK like a bimbo.'

   Was that too much to hope?  Something to discuss delicately with
Kimberly.

   So I did.  When I pulled up in the apartment parking lot, my SUV, uh,
let's make that Kim's SUV was already there, as expected.  Also expected
was the idea that she was at Jen's.  That one was wrong.  The phone call to
her on the way home from work was "I'm at OUR apartment, baby."

   "By yourself?"

   "Uh-huh.  I just paused some Schumann on the stereo.  I'm going over the
week's school stuff.  And I'm looking at some ground meat and a recipe."

   "You're gonna COOK?!?!"

   "You get a wife out of all this.  I'm also a domestic goddess.  In
training."

   "So what's a pound of ground meat telling you?"

   "Ummm, I'm looking at a pasta sauce."

   "That'll work."

   So that's what I expected when I walked in.  Unexpected.  Jen sitting on
the sofa.

   "Hi, soon to be husband of Kim."

   "Hi, Kim's beloved aunt."

   "I'm pasta sauce tech support," Jen said.  "It's like a dinner show. 
You keep sharp knives, Tim.  We almost lost a finger on your new wife."

   The light brown head was peering out of the door to the kitchen. 
"Close, but no blood.  Hi, sweetie.  Didja miss me?"

   "Only like crazy," I said.

   "Your knives.  They're SHARP!"

   "That's a surpise?"

   "Aunt Jen's aren't."

   I looked at Jen.

   "When they get too dull I buy new ones."

   "I started out with good ones and I sharpen them."

   "Novel!" Jen said.  "Uh, since I gave you Kim, do I get free knife
sharpening?"

   Kim giggled.  "Uh, Aunt Jen, about THAT, Tim and I were talking last
night..."

   Jen snorted.  "You stopped long enough to TALK?"

   Kim's faked outrage.  "Uh, AUNT Jen!  I'm SURE!  We're NOT just about
SEX!"

   "'Just'?!?!" Jen laughed.

   I was loving this because BOTH of the participants in this exchange were
smiling.

   "ANYWAY," Kim continued, "traditionally speaking, you, as my parent, owe
my future husband a dowry suitable for a bride of my obvious quality."

   Should've known that Jen wasn't gonna go down easy.

   "Oooo-kayyyy," she said.  "What is the suitable dowry for a mid-range
teen with water boiling skills and a predilection for vocabulary and
Trivial Pursuit?"

   "Still angling for Laci as 'Best Man'," I said.

   Squeal!  Giggle.  "That's BRILLIANT!" Kim giggled.  I'd forgotten that I
never had told HER of that idea.  Something between Jen and me.

   By this time I made it to the kitchen and was looking at the red mass
seething in a pot.  I sampled.

   "Needs something, doesn't it?" Kim said.  "Looks right.  Lacks
authority. Doesn't TASTE Italian.  You know?  Like that restaurant?"

   "What recipe did you use?"

   She pushed a printed page on the counter.  "Got it off the internet."

   "Guidelines.  Recipes are guidelines.  Get the proportions of the main
ingredients, then TASTE.  Know what herbs and spices add which tastes and
how they blend."

   She tiptoed, spoon in hand, to kiss me.  "Mmmmm," she said.  "A dish
that needs no augmentation."

   "I'm IN here," Jen called.  "Being ignored."

   "Not ignoring you," I said.  "Come stick your finger in this sauce."

   A knock on the door.

   "Come in!" Kim said loudly.  To me she said, "That'll be the best man
for our wedding." Giggle.

   Laci entered, striding through the great room and into the kitchen with
the rest of us.  "Smells like spaghetti sauce."

   Kim waved her spoon.  "Will be as soon as me an' Tim spice it up right.
Aunt Jen, there's a big pot in that corner cabinet.  Put the pasta water on
to boil, please."

   I was handing spice bottles to Kim, admonishing her about amounts.  "Add
a little, stir, wait a bit, and taste.  You can always add more.  Taking
some out is harder."

   "Oooooo, will ya listen to THAT!  Guy's got kitchen skills!" Laci
flashed a smile.

   "Kim's the cook tonight," I said.

   "Wow, boy!  You tamed 'er pretty fast, Timmy boy!"

   Kimmy remembered.  "He DID!  Wanna see my new leash?  You can borrow it
sometimes!" And a lopsided fake grin for emphasis.

   Kim and I got the spices the way SHE wanted in the sauce and when the
pasta was al dente, I passed out plates.  "And a bottle of chianti," I
said.

   "Oh, no ...  I don't know if I want wine," Kimmy said.  "Aunt Jen liked
to've killed me last time."

   "Just ONE glass with your meal, Kim," I said.  "Won't get you hung over.
But if you don't like the taste..."

   "But it goes well with that sauce you built.  Try it," Jen said.  "Just
ONE glass."

   "Yeah, drink the nice Kool-aid, little girl," I said in my best 'Chester
the Molester' imitation.  Then in an aside worthy of vaudeville, "I just
need to get 'er close enough to leash 'er..."

   "If she shows up tomorrow with a collar, buddy..." Jen laughed.

   I got a surreptitious wink from Kim.  Looks like I need to measure her
for a collar.  And a leash.  And no, neither of us had said a thing to each
other about any sort of fetish.  This was for Jen's benefit.  A few bucks
for a few laughs.

   We finished dinner together as a strange family, but a family
nonetheless.  Laci helped Kim tidy up the kitchen while Jen and I talked.

   "Tim," she said, "Have you talked with YOUR family about Kim?  I mean,
I've got HER family pretty well covered."

   I'd wanted wait a little while, at least, before telling Mom and Dad and
my sister.  "Hadn't broke the news yet," I said.  "I wanted to see if it
was all a dream that went away when I woke up."

   "Ooooo-kay, then," Jen said.  "I can understand that."

   "Kim does.  We talked."

   "But let's assume that the inevitable happens and you find that a week
from now you two are exactly as Kim promises me, 'Tim 'n' Kim until the end
of time'.  What's the prognosis with your family?"

   "'Surprise' comes to mind."

   "What about 'acceptance'?"

   "Kim, for sure.  Me, conditionally."

   "How, conditionally?"

   "Because I bring home this cute, bright, young thing and anything that
goes wrong HAS to be my fault.  But yes, they'll accept her."

   Jen started to change from 'worried parent' to 'happy parent' mode, her
mouth starting to form a smile.  "So, do you think you could, like,
videotape when you present her?  I'm thinking YouTube."

   "What's gonna be on YouTube?" Kim asked as she entered the room.  She
sat back comfortably in my lap, throwing her arms around my neck, her head
leaning against me, hair close enough to sniff.

   "Me and you and Mom and Dad."

   "We talked, baby," she said.  "You don't think there's a problem now, do
you?"

   "Nope," I said.  "They'll love you.  Might think you're a little warped.
But then they already think that of me.  Besides, you're quite ornamental."

   "All my life I wanted to be a cute little mindless ball of fluff, Aunt
Jen.  And Tim tells me I have arrived." She giggled and twisted around to
kiss me.

   "Hold that pose right there," Laci said, whipping out her smartphone. 
"You need pictures."

   "Uh-huh.  Send 'em to me.  And I can send 'em to my sister and she'll
see to it that Mom and Dad see them and they'll be over the initial shock."
I kissed the cheek of my princess.  "And we'll go visit Saturday.  Mom'll
cook.  She feels put upon if we don't go over there and eat ourselves
senseless.  And Sis'll be there.  And if YOU break my heart, she'll hunt
you down.  She's gotten pretty protective of her baby brother since I'm an
adult."

   "Well, she might meet her match.  You're MY Timmy now.  You can have a
sister.  She can have a brother.  But you're MY Timmy."

   "She's got her a Timmy," Laci said to Jen.  "Why don't you and I go
home..."

   "Home?" I asked.

   Jen snorted.  "If Kim can move in with Tim, then Laci can move in with
me.  We're moving her stuff over on Saturday."

   Squeal!  Kim launched off my lap and hugged her aunt first, then Laci.
"I'm so glad for you two."

   "Kumbayah, Tim," Jen said, winking, as she followed Laci out the door.

   The door closed.  Kim looked at me, smiling.  "Kumbayah indeed.  Lets go
swim a bit then shower and..." Smirk.

   Changing into swimsuits requires getting naked and getting naked around
Kim exposes (Hah!) me to her curiosity and lust.  We teased each other,
promising that after showers, we'd make good on the teases.  I believed
her. And despite the recent meal, I was developing a hunger.  Needed
something juicy.

   Towels in hand, we walked up the sidewalk to the pool and slipped in. 
October in the South, the water is still plenty warm, as is the evening
air, and I reacted to shrugging off the day's cares (work, that's all.  Kim
didn't count as a 'care' I wanted to shrug off) by flopping backward into
the deep end of the pool, exhaling, and sinking to the bottom.  I can hold
my breath for more than a minute if I'm not moving around.  Lying on the
bottom, I felt the warm water gently sucking the cares out of my body.  I
could hear the rhythmic sounds of Kim starting her laps in the pool.

   Finally I kicked off the bottom and surfaced, took a few cleansing
breaths, and started chasing her.  Sadly for my male ego, about the only
way I was going to catch her in the water was if she WANTED to be caught.

   I caught her.  Catch and release, at that, because despite our pledge,
it was between us and the knowledge was shared by us and her aunt and her
aunt's friend, and nobody else knew and until we were married, public
display was not going to happen.  Still, the giggles.

   Twenty minutes of laps, a welcome cool-down on the poolside lounge
chairs, and then we walked back inside.  The light on my answering machine
was blinking and my cellphone on the end table showed a missed call. 
Sister.

   I punched the 'review' button on the answering machine.  "Hey, little
brother, this is your sister." Like I wouldn't recognize THAT voice.  "Just
wondering what's going on.  Call me if you feel like it."

   "Should we call 'er?" Kim asked.  "Is it time?  I don't want to rush
you, guy!"

   "Lemme see if Laci's pictures are in my email yet," I said.

   Giggle.  "You're gonna..."

   "Send 'em, THEN wait and see.  I know she's running her laptop.  She
does FaceBook and stuff almost every evening."

   "So send it, then."

   "Do you love me forever and ever?" I asked.

   I got Kimmy's nose touching touching mine, our eyes connecting. 
"Forever and ever.  First.  Last.  Only."

   "SisAttached is a couple of pictures of me and the person who will be
your new sister-in-law on the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

   As you can see, she is a quite pleasant-looking young lady, and the
operative word is "young".  She is sixteen.  She's beautiful.  She is
bright, smart, intelligent, witty.  And she loves me.

   Perhaps we can all get together at Mom and Dad's and everybody can meet
her.

   Love always, Bub"

   And a few attachments.

   "Now, let's see how long..."

   The phone rang.

   "Hi, sis," I said.

   "You're kidding me, right?"

   "And I love you, too," I said.

   "She's cute.  But sixteen?" Your two nieces are BOTH older than her."
Connie's daughters, my nieces were eighteen and twenty-one.

   Connie launched into me.  "What was wrong with the women I introduced to
you?  THEY were YOUR age."

   "Look, Connie," I said, "Those TWO came out with their hooks extended.
They both had the same motive: get a guy with a decent job, then spend the
rest of their lives letting him buy them things.  And you KNOW how Harley's
kids are.  Besides, who wants to be married to a woman named after a
motorcycle?"

   "Is she pregnant?"

   "How could she be pregnant.  I'm fixed."

   "I know you're fixed, but ...  why?"

   I kissed Kim's cheek.  "I refer to my previous statement.  She's cute
and smart and funny and refreshingly, she LOVES me as much as I love her."

   "So I'm supposed to..." Connie said.  The tone was changing.  I was
winning.

   "You're supposed to be my wonderfully charming sister who loves her
brother AND his new wife."

   "You've done some goofy shit in your life, Timothy," she said. 
'Timothy' instead of 'Tim' meant some serious sistering about to take
place. "Just be sure this is what you want.  And what SHE wants.  Two
hearts in this thing, you know.  You don't need the hurt, and if she's
sixteen, neither does she."

   "We talked, Conn," I said.  "What do you think Mom and Dad will say?"

   "Mom will love her baby boy and think that he does not wrong, you
spoiled bastard," Connie said.  "And Dad'll shake his head and think it's
some more goofiness from you, just like the time you set fire to the
workshop with one of those 'energetic chemistry' experiments."

   "Okay.  Do you want to talk to her?"

   "She's there?  And I'm ranting like a lunatic?"

   "She's right here.  And you're ranting like my big sister.  And if you
promise to be VERY good, I will let Kim talk to you." I smiled at Kim.

   "I'll be good."

   "Okay." I handed the phone to Kim.  "Say hi to Connie, baby," I said.

   "Hi, Connie," Kim chirped.

   "Hi, Kim baby," Connie said.  I knew what she said because the cellphone
was wedged between me and Kim so I could listen.  "So you're gonna be my
new sister-in-law."

   "Yes ma'am," Kim said.

   "Don't call me ma'am, baby.  You're my sister-in-law, we're equals."

   "Okay, then, Connie.  Thank you."

   "You are going to be my brother's wife." Connie paused.  "I love my
brother.  He's my brother and I love 'im and I've seen him hurt by a wife
before, and I've seen 'im upset about women before, even a few times that
were my fault, and I don't like it when he gets hurt.  So don't hurt 'im.
You must be something special.  Or I totally missed something about him
having a thing for young girls."

   "I don't think he had a 'thing', Connie," Kim said.  "He didn't exactly
chase me down at the mall with a credit card and he didn't have a big van
an' a bag of candy.  He just WAS.  He's something."

   "Yeah, so I see."

   "Connie, he's a MAN.  A REAL man.  Not playin' some 'man' role.  Not
posturing and styling.  Not trying to show off.  Just bein' Tim.  And I
think he's wonderful."

   "He IS who he is, Kim," Connie said.  "So are you up to this?  Wife? 
Meeting his parents?"

   "Wife?  Yes, I'm up to it.  I'm finishing high school this year..."

   "But you're SIXTEEN, I thought the email said..."

   "I skipped a couple of grades, Connie."

   "Seriously ...  No wonder..."

   "No wonder?"

   "No wonder Tim's fallen.  He likes smart girls.  I think his first wife
wasn't ...  she was intimidated by him."

   "Well, aside from that," Kim said, "I intend to love him until the sun
blinks out.  And I'm sure that if I meet YOUR approval, then my new in-laws
will not be a problem.  I look forward to having Tim's ...  y'all's Mom and
Dad to love too."

   That last comment had a tear forming in the corner of my eye.  If there
was any doubt in my deepest heart, it just disappeared.  Further, I think
that Connie just fell over.

   "You what?"

   "I look forward to having YOUR Mom and Dad to love, too.  Connie, I
haven't had a real good life up until a few months ago, and meeting YOUR
brother had ratcheted things up a couple of levels.  I'll explain some of
it to you one day.  But I know that I'm not just getting Tim out of this
deal.  I get his family.  And I really don't mind that idea.  I'm really
not trying to drag a sugar-daddy away, I'm joining my HUSBAND in his life."

   "Uh ...  okay, Kim.  Is he still around?"

   "He's sitting close by."

   "Let me talk to 'im.  And I'm looking forward to Saturday.  Bye, Baby.
And welcome to our family."

   Kim handed me the phone.  "Whatcha got, Sis?" I asked.

   "Dammit, Timothy, MARRY THIS GIRL!"



   ------

   Chapter 9

   I was standing in the shower, my fingers working shampoo through Kim's
hair, laughing as she backed against my hardening dick.  Playful.  Like a
kitten and a bit of moving string.

   "How am I supposed to shampoo your hair when you keep rerouting my blood
supply, Kim?" I asked.

   "Just do your best, bub," she giggled.  "I think I like showering with
you."

   "Well, I'm certainly glad of that.  I rather enjoy showering with you,
too." I did.  No, Kim was never going to be chosen to be the subject of a
centerfold.  Instead, she was made to fill the void in my heart.  And in my
head.  Because my head needed to hear the sound of a happy, giggly female.
As I rinsed her head with the shower, I pondered that.  Yes, this all moved
fast.

   But look: she IS perfect, for me, at least.  I wanted brains in a female
package.  Check!  Looks.  Check!  Sense of humor.  Double-check!  And she
loved me.  And I loved her back.

   And now she was turning me around, soaping my back, going after me with
a bath brush.  She set the brush aside in favor of a cloth to do my ass,
and then the cloth was too much as she giggled.  Soapy hands and an
inquisitive mind and heard a giggle behind me and a soapy finger insinuated
itself between my buttcheeks.

   "I'm being violated," I said.

   Giggle.  "Turnabout is fair play, sir."

   "Ohgod, little girl, whatever gave you THAT idea?" Each movement of her
finger resulted in a corresponding pulse from my dick.

   "Oh, you LIKE this?"

   "I didn't know I would..."

   She reached around me, keeping that one finger in place, wiggling it. 
Her other hand found my dick.  "My gosh, we do seem to like this!" Giggle.
She knelt so she could continue the actions.

   Like?  A soapy finger up my butt.  A soapy hand sliding up and down my
shaft.  And both of them belonged to Kim?  Liked?  I squirted semen against
the shower wall.

   She recognized the pulsations of my tool and kept her strokes up, both
hands, prolonging ...  Finally I stopped spasming.  She stood.

   "I do believe that's how you tell if your butt's been properly cleaned,
hmmm?"

   I barely had enough lucidity to move out of the shower.

   "Gosh, Timmy, what did I DO to you?"

   "I'm asking myself the same thing, baby," I said.  "You just took a
handjob to a whole new level." My faculties were slowly coming back on
line. I took my towel and started drying HER head.  "Where did you LEARN
that?"

   She shook loose of the towel, looked at me, grinning.  "In a shower with
this guy that I absolutely ADORE," she said.  And he trusts me and I trust
him to tell me if I'm doing something wrong." Her eyes were bright, loving.
"Was that okay?"

   I nodded.  "Uh-huh.  Surprising.  But waaay past okay."

   "You ...  never ...  before?"

   "Only a doctor, baby.  Never for fun." I started shaving as she sat on a
stool drying her hair.  The hair dryer noise precluded further
conversation. I finished shaving and helped her dry the back of her head,
brushing and blow-drying.  I knew I was finished when she gave her head a
sassy shake and spun around on the stool, wrapping arms around my naked
torso.

   "So where'd you come up with that idea?"

   She got a funny look in her eye.  "I sort of thought of it myself.  I
mean, I kind of know about female-female stuff.  And I was thinking of how
males might do it, and I already know about suckin' on that thing..." she
looked into my eyes, grinning, "but I heard the term 'ass-pirate' from Mom
talkin' about one of Aunt Kim's friends, a guy, you know, and it occurred
to me that guys might do that to each other.  And that it might be
pleasurable for both guys."

   She grinned.  "And there's the internet."

   "You didn't."

   Her head bobbed.  "Curiosity.  And the internet.  And I saw some stuff
that squicked me out.  But I saw where that kind of thing isn't THAT
unusual, even between a girl an' her guy." That heart-melting smirk, and "I
was gonna ask you, but there we were, all wet, my fingers were soapy, and I
knew that lubrication was important, and soap is..." She paused.  "I could
tell it felt good to you." Giggle.  "You don't think it's sick, do you?"

   "Nothing we do, if we both consent, is sick.  And that's not sick. 
Surprising.  But not sick.  I had no idea that it would..."

   Giggle.  "We need to check the shower wall for dents.  When you
squirted, it was like rifle shots."

   "That's a new one, baby,"

   Giggle.  "I got your cherry."

   "What do you know about cherries?"

   We were in the bedroom, pulling on scrubs for lounging around in the
evening.  I'd bought her a couple of suits.  I'd long had them. 
Comfortable cotton, and a bit more suitable for the public, in my mind,
than pajamas and a robe.

   "I had a cherry until a week ago," she giggled.  "You got it.  And now I
got YOURS!" she finished tying the waistband and stepped towards me, within
grabbing range.  I wrapped her in my arms.

   "Actually," she said, I don't like the term 'cherry'.  It sounds
pornish. But you were my first, you know.  And I was YOUR first.  At least
for that part."

   I kissed her forehead.  She turned her face up, and I planted a second
kiss on that upturned nose.  "Little Kimmy," I said, "when we got together,
everything started anew.  You're the first EVERYTHING."

   "I will accept that statement as it is intended, love," she said.  "And
why should it be any different?"

   "It shouldn't, only that I wish that the universe had rearranged so that
you and I met before I ever saw another woman, no first wife, no..."

   She stepped back.  "We're gonna need to tell your daughter, Tim."

   I had a twinge of fear.  Daughter.  Happy result of a failed marriage.
Eight years old.  I'd had two weeks with her this summer.  Talked to her at
least once a week, usually on a Friday or Saturday night before her eight
o'clock bedtime.

   I said, "I usually call her Friday or Saturday nights."

   "For heaven's sake, Tim, don't tell her she's getting a new mommy.  I
mean, she's legally gonna be my step-daughter, but she's more 'little
sister' range."

   "I don't know exactly what I'll say, sweetness," I said.  I found myself
being gently shoved backward onto the bed, Kim atop me, her nose almost
touching mine.

   "You know what?"

   "What?"

   "I love you.  We'll make this work.  Like, think about it, what IF Vicki
came to LIVE with us?  Would you still want ME?"

   "Little Kimmy, you're about to be my wife.  How long did we say that
condition was to exist?"

   "Forever."

   "Let's not change that, okay?  Vicki, we'll still get her for Christmas,
for sure.  And we'll tell her tomorrow night that her daddy's got a new
wife who wants to learn about her and know her and love her too."

   "I ...  we can make that work, baby," she said.

   Of course, serious talk or no, having lithe, cute Kim atop me was
causing some stirrings, even in view of an orgasm a mere hour ago that
should've registered on the Richter Scale, and said Kim was a perceptive
young lady.

   "Something else is working, baby," she said.  "I need to find out
something."

   "What?"

   "I need to make a phone call."

   "A phone call?"

   "Mmm-hmm.  Aunt Jen."

   "Why?"

   "Need something." She was already holding the phone to her ear.  "Hi,
Aunt Jen.  Am I disturbing you an' Laci?" Pause.  "Good.  I, uh...  , need
to ask you for something." Pause.  "Now don't get all silly, but do you
have some lubricant?"

   So much for not getting silly.  I heard Jen's squeal and laughter
halfway across the bed.

   "Now Aunt Jennnn," Kim said.  "It's a legitimate request." Pause.  "No,
I can come over there and get it." Pause.  "No, I can ...  Okay.  See you
in a bit."

   "Jen's coming over?"

   Kim looked at me, cheeks red.  "Tim, she's makin' a big deal out of
this..."

   "Lubricant?", I questioned.

   "Won't be in the shower every time," she said, eyes sparkling with
youthful exuberance.  "Let's go in the front room."

   A knock on the door.  I opened it and saw pure evil in the form of Jen
with a leering grin, and Laci right over her shoulder trying to stifle a
smirk.  Jen was holding a blue silk pillow.  She held it up and Laci
carefully placed a full bottle labeled 'Personal Lubricant'.

   "Get in here," I hissed, "Before we outrage the neighborhood." They
streamed in, laughing.

   "Whatsamatta, princess?  Wore your little thingie out?" Laci said.

   "Aunt Jennnn, Laci's bein' coarse with meeee," Kim whined.  "And for
your information, not that it's anybody's business, but NO, my thingie's
just fine."

   "I'll second that," I laughed.

   "Ewwwww!" Jen squealed.  "I don't wanna know all this!"

   "Then you shoulda let me come get that bottle, not paraded over here,"
Kim laughed.  She took the bottle off the little pillow.  "Cute!  Really
cute!  There will be payback, you know." She looked at me.  "So, hot
cocoa?"

   "Why not," Laci said.  "While I mull over why my sixteen year old sort
of niece needs sexual lubricants." Laci glanced at me.

   "Don't look at me.  I ain't here to feed your lurid fantasies."

   Laci laughed and looked at Jen.  "Might be lurid.  Might not be
fantasies."

   Jen joined Kim in the kitchen.  I heard pans rattling.

   "So, Mister Timothy, how's it goin'?  Still?"

   "Madly in love.  She's a gem, Laci.  Really.  Just a pure, brilliant
gem."

   "Jen says she's happy.  I'm glad.  What do you do about somebody like
her?  Jen was worried sick that she'd come home one day with some
knuckle-draggin' bozo with a seventy IQ and a hard-on."

   "That would've been tragic.  A waste.  Like taking a paint roller to the
Sistine Chapel."

   "So don't let your head swell, Timmy boy, but Jen's happy about YOU. 
Said you were more than acceptable.  And Kim?  Well, she's Kim.  And Jen
and I and Kim talked.  Kim's YOURS.  And that better be 'forever' for you,
buddy."

   Jen came back into the room.  Kim was stirring the pot of cocoa.  I
could hear the spoon.

   "Laci just called me a knuckle-draggin' bozo with a hard-on, Jen," I
said, trying to look serious.

   "Laci Kaye Decker!  You sure know how to keep a discrete conversation a
secret!"

   "You two need to stop harrassin' my husband.  Come get your cocoa." Kim
walked in and handed me a streaming mug of chocolaty goodness.

   Laci and Jen returned with their own mugs.  Laci took a sip.  "Mmmm. 
Good!"

   "Now what manner of conversation were you having while I was in the
kitchen bein' all domestic an' stuff?" Kim asked Laci.  Kim was sitting on
my thigh, and I knew that all that separated me from her delightful ass was
the thin cotton of the hospital scrubs we were wearing.

   The inevitable started happening again.  I tried to hide the obvious. 
Laci squealed, "Omigod, Jen!  He's ...  she's sittin' on 'is lap and..."

   I turned beet red.  Kim saw that.  She pulled my face into her chest. 
"There, there, baby.  You have to excuse 'em.  They are so awfully forward
sometimes."

   Laci giggled.  "I'm sorry.  It's just that ...  I never really noticed
before.  But you sat on 'is lap and 'BOING'."

   "That's how it's supposed to work, Laci," Kim said.  "And you can't see
mine."

   Laci gasped.  Jen looked at her, then us, smirking.  "Well, Lace, that's
what you get.  You started it."

   "Hmmph!" Laci grunted.  "They deserve each other."

   Kim kissed me.  "Yes we do.  Tell 'em, baby!"

   "Yes, mistress.  We deserve each other.  And thank you for letting me
put away my collar when company is here."

   Laci started coughing.  "Swallowed..." gasp.  "Went down the wrong way."
Cough.  "You two are EVIL!"

   "Says the girl with the silk pillow."

   "That was your evil wife's AUNT'S idea.  I'm sweet and innocent."

   "Uh, Lace," Jen giggled, "You shoulda stopped at 'sweet'."

   My turn.  "Ewwww!"

   Laci laughed at Jen.  "You started it!"

   "Okay, now.  Everybody's even, now." Kim giggled.  "Y'all behave. 
You're in the presence of a tender young teen."

   "Who called her aunt to ask for sexual lubricant at eight o'clock at
night," Jen said.

   And I'm thinking of what kind of group I was marrying into.

   Finally the evil lesbians went home.  That's what Kim was giggling to me
after the door closed behind them, anyway.

   "You gotta know, baby, how much I LOVE that you fit in."

   "Those two are a riot, baby.  I have to stay on my toes.  And YOU.  You
dive right in and splash around."

   She put the mugs and pot into the dishwasher and pushed the start
button, and then dried her hands.

   "I love you," she said.  Walking back from the kitchen to the bedroom,
she retrieved her bottle of lube.

   "What are you going to do with that?" I asked.

   Smile.  "Something I read about.  A variation on our shower event, but I
really want to try it with you.  But first you need to eat me until I
scream." Giggle.  "And if you think that me sitting on you made you hard,
then you need to know that I am in need of a good licking."

   My nostrils flared as I breathed deeply.  Yep.  There's the scent. 
She's right.  And she's a perfect followup to a mug of hot cocoa.  Wasn't
too awfully long before I was cradling her in my arms, lightly kissing her
face as she descended from a third orgasm.

   "Three," she sighed.  "So wonderful.  Nothing ...  words fail me, Tim,
my love." She tugged lightly at my head, bringing my lips to hers. 
"Mmmmmm. Perfect." Her eyelids fluttered and her sighing, drifting, dreamy
look was replaced by Kim at full curiousity.

   "Now, she said, "let me get a towel."

   "Towel?  You better tell me your plan."

   "Nothing complicated, love.  What I did with my finger in the shower? 
I'm gonna do THAT.  Except instead of using my other hand, I'll still use
it, but I am gonna have that thing in my mouth when you explode."

   "Omigod."

   "Are you up for it?" Her eyes looked at my erection.  "Yep!  You're
definitely up for it." She went into the master bath and returned with a
big towel.  Turning the covers down, she spread the towel, folded double
and ordered me to position my butt on it.

   She smiled.  "I love you.  This is play, baby.  Stop me if I hurt you.
Or if you don't like it."

   Yeah, I'm gonna try and make this eager little thing LESS adventurous.
"I'm game," I said, trying to think of what else SHE might find
entertaining.

   She lubed up my anus and her right index finger and slowly inserted it,
stroked it in and out, added a little more lube.  Satisfied with how that
was working, she giggled.  "Gosh!  You get soooo hard!  It's almost
straining.  Her right hand continued little short strokes, the fingertip
moving inside me.

   My dick did indeed feel close to exploding when her left hand lightly
wrapped around it, sliding the skin up and down over the shaft.  Her
laughing eyes connected with mine briefly, then she eyed her target and her
head dipped, sucking the head of my dick into her mouth, eliciting a deep
"Mmmmmmm" as she sucked.  Her tongue went to work, immediately finding that
magic spot.

   I bucked.  Couldn't help it.  Completely involuntary.

   "Mmmmm," then she took a breath and giggled.  "You're SOMETHING.  It's
juicin' like a fountain, baby!" And her head dipped back down.  Her right
fingertip was searching for something, too.  Found it.  First, an
exploratory, curious probe, then an insistent massage, deep inside my butt.

   "Ohgodddddd," I almost screamed.  I didn't have a dick any more.  It had
to be a plasma cutter.  I was shooting fire.  And Kim was sucking and
swallowing and on top of the fire I felt as much as heard a happy little
giggle.

   I felt her finger slide out of me, but her mouth didn't stop, nor did
her left hand.  She gently but firmly kept sucking and milking me until I
absolutely wilted in her mouth.  Only then did that sweet face, those light
brown bangs, blue eyes, turn to me, filled with happiness and mirth.  She
crawled up my torso and kissed me lightly, the more firm, her tongue
touching my lips, willing them open then meeting my own tongue.

   "Now, was that a good one?"

   I have lost the power of speech.  My last words, apparently, will be
recorded as "Ohgodddd." All I could manage was an idiotic sigh.

   Giggle.  (God, I love a giggly girl!) "I'll take that as a 'yes', then."
She rolled off me onto her right side and cradled my head against her
chest. "Poor baby..."

   I recovered the ability to speak, finally.  "My god, Kimberly ... 
where..."

   She kissed me on the nose like I was a little kid.  "Just read some
things.  Sex things.  And anatomy.  And it seemed like it MIGHT work."

   "Worked," I croaked.

   "D'ya think we can go to sleep like this?"

   "Mnrrrrow."

   "Let me get this towel." She tugged the towel and I raised my hips so
she could remove it after wiping the excess lube from the scene of my
violation.  She came back to bed, reached over and turned out the lights,
and pulled the covers up on me and her, snuggling in against me.  Whispered
"Kimmy loves her Tim." And I went to sleep.

   Friday morning.  Up at the sound of the alarm.  Well, let the music play
for a bit while I engage in a bit of cuddling with Kimmy.

   "Back from the dead, baby?" she said softly, followed by the first kiss
of the day.  "I thought I'd damaged you permanently."

   "I can die now, baby," I said.  "I can go to heaven all happy because I
know I've been DONE!"

   "You do that to me all the time, guy," she said.  "One more cuddle." We
snuggled together.  Got out of bed reluctantly, but life does indeed go on.

   Kim doesn't go to school on many Fridays.  At lunchtime, I was
contemplating a salesman from one of our service contractors.  He was
angling for lunch.  Buzz stuck his head in the door.

   "You too, Buzz," the salesman said.

   "Then let's do it," I said.  I reached over to put my computer into
'sleep' mode and my cellphone rang.  I looked.  Kim.

   "Hi, baby," I said.  "What's up?"

   "I'm on your side of the river.  It's lunchtime.  Got plans?"

   Okay, time to dive in.  "Hang on, baby." I turned to the salesman. 
"Where we goin'?"

   He named a local eatery.  I relayed it to Kim.

   Buzz looked at me quizzically.

   "Kim's meeting us for lunch." I said.

   "Kim?" the salesman said.

   "Kim?" Buzz asked.

   "Fiancee'," I said.  "You don't have to pay for her."

   "Like hell I won't," the salesman said.

   "If he don't, I will," Buzz said.  "I wanna meet 'er."

   I picked up my hardhat and we walked out of the office and left the
plant in the salesman's SUV.  When we pulled up in the restaurant parking
lot, I saw Kim's shiny new SUV.  She saw me getting out of the car and came
over, jeans-clad, bounce in her step, a baseball cap giving her an athletic
look that I knew was no show at all.

   "Hi, babe," she said, meeting my lips for a kiss.  Then she looked at my
two companions.

   "Guys, this is Kimberly Elkins, my fiancee'.  Introduce yourselves."

   Buzz got his eyes back into his head first.  "Hello, Miss Kim.  I'm
Harold Aldrin.  My friends call me Buzz.  Like the astronaut."

   "Hi, Mister Buzz," Kim said.

   "I'm Arland Green, Miss Kim," the salesman said.  "Glad to meet you."

   "Glad to meet you, too, Mister Arland."

   I could feel Buzz's eyes boring into me, but we went inside and had a
good lunch and happily, Kim fit in with some of the conversation.  I was
proud.  She's NOT a mindless ball of fluff.

   I left her in the parking lot with a kiss and we rode back to work.  The
cars wheels hadn't cleared the lot when "Damn, dude!  How old is that
little angel?"

   Here goes.  "Sixteen."

   "Well, that's awfully legal of you, buddy.  Her parents gonna sign?"

   "Living with her aunt.  And yes, her aunt is a good friend and knows all
about us."

   "When's the wedding?"

   "The Saturday before Thanksgiving.  And you're invited.  Bring presents.
And YOUR wife.  She'll keep you civilized."

   Harland said, "Surprised the hell out of me.  I figured something
entirely different."

   "Older, for one thing," Buzz injected.

   "Number.  Age is just a number.  She's something else."

   "Is she..."

   "Pregnant?  No.  Graduating high school two years early?  Yes.  Bright.
Funny.  And you SAW how she looks."

   The conversation for the rest of the ride back to work was kind of
awkward.  I know Buzz pretty well and he was dying for details he dare not
ask.  The salesman, well, he's a salesman.  Goes along.

   One thing for sure, though.  Buzz knew.  And that meant I could've
posted it to every bulletin board in the facility.  I picked up my iPhone
and started punching.  They were gonna need pictures.



   ------

   Chapter 10

   I had been in my office for maybe a half an hour after lunch with one of
my buddies and a salesman and Kim when there was a light knock on the door.
I looked up and saw the round face of our administrative analyst.  Yeah, a
less gentle generation would've called her 'unit clerk' or 'secretary' or
just kept her femaleness out of the place entirely.  I found her competent
and likeable.

   "Heard you're getting married," she said.

   "News travels fast.  Buzz met 'er at lunch."

   "Sixteen?  Really?"

   I guess I sort of hung my head.

   "Oh, gosh, Tim.  I don't mean it like that.  But still..."

   "All I can say is that the heart wants what the heart wants.  And in
Kim's case, it's really easy for my head to go along.  She's smart. 
Skipped two years of school.  Conversation with 'er's like nothing I've
ever enjoyed before.  Funny, witty, full of these excursions into every
subject imaginable."

   Carole looked at me, a smile forming.  "You sound like you're in love."

   "I am."

   "Guess that means that I crafted a list of my girlfriends for nothing."

   I raised an eyebrow.

   "Oh, you know," she laughed.  "Here you are, single, engineer, and I
have all these single friends.  I thought that maybe one of them might fit.
Be good for both of you."

   "I appreciate the thought, Carole," I said.

   "D'ya have pictures of 'er?  Your new fiancĂ(C)e?"

   "Just this one." I brought up the picture and swiveled my monitor.

   "She's a cutie, Tim," Carole said.

   "The cute bit's disarming.  You're looking at a very bright young lady."

   "Her eyes laugh.  Mischief."

   "Worst puns imaginable," I said.

   "So what is it that attracted?  The cute?  The young.  Or the smart?"

   "A and C," I said.  "Heavy on the C."

   "Then it's a good thing that I didn't start you working down my list,"
she laughed.  "I got some DUMB friends."

   My turn to laugh.  "Kim's refreshingly uncluttered, too."

   "Oh, I know where you're headed with that.  Divorces.  Exes.  Kids.  One
of the reasons that I stay with my Gary.  I'd hate to have to kill 'im. 
He's mean enough when we're married."

   I knew the stories about Carole and Gary.  This was her sense of humor
talking.  One of their kids had just received a scholarship for college and
they were doting and faithful parents.  Yeah, I'd asked about her when I
first came to work.  She had that look about her, steady, pretty enough,
self-assured.  She is married.  VERY married.

   She returned to her desk leaving me with a stack of invoices and reports
to occupy the rest of my day.  Friday!  The weekend had arrived.

   I was out of the gate and headed home.  Punched the earpiece of my
Bluetooth and said one word, "Kim".

   "Hey, baby!" was the bright answer.  "You on your way home?"

   "Yep."

   "Did they talk about me after lunch?"

   "Uh-huh ...  The news is out." I recounted some of the conversation I'd
had with Carole.

   "You told me that married women would try to set you up."

   "Apparently she was getting ready to start working down the list.  I'm
glad I have you, peaches."

   Giggle.  "I dunno.  You might've found the one."

   "Did already.  Standing on the sidewalk when I moved in.  What's on tap
for the evening?"

   "I dunno.  Evening in?  Go out to eat?  See if Aunt Jen and Laci are up
to something?  Talk to me."

   "Dinner and a movie?"

   "That might work.  You know something you want to see?"

   I didn't say 'You.  Naked.' I did say.  "Why don't you see what's
playing?"

   "Okay.  I'll have an answer by the time you get home.  Love ya, Timmy!"
I had a picture of the expression that went with the comment.  Cute. 
Satisfying to know that it was waiting for me at home.

   I got home and was walking up the sidewalk past Jen's apartment.  The
door opened and I was joined by this cutie, still wearing shorts and a
short-sleeved rugby shirt in the mild Louisiana autumn.

   "Y'know, about that movie thing," she said, "there's this wonderful
thing called the Internet."

   I looked sideways at her.  "So you're saying that you don't want to go
out to a movie?"

   Giggle.  "You catch on fast.  Or dinner either."

   "We'll starve."

   "Got bread.  Got peanut butter.  Won't starve.  High energy foods, too!"
Giggle.  "I kinda worked myself up thinkin' about you all day, you know..."

   "Oh," I said.  "Here I was trying to be all cool and mature and caring
to show you that we're not just about the sex..."

   She didn't let me finish.  "But sometimes it can be about the sex,
okay?"

   "Not just okay.  A very happy coincidence.  Because I thought about you
all afternoon, too."

   "And you can tell me that at no time did sex cross your mind?" We turned
onto the walk to our front door.

   "I can't say that at all, little one," I said.  "Tried not to." I
reached for the front door, key in hand.

   She pushed me against it, kissing me.  "Why'd you try not to?"

   "Because it's difficult to walk around with an erection, that's why." I
kissed her back then unlocked the door to let us in.

   "Ooooooo, an erection," she giggled.  "I fix those for you." Twinkly
eyes underscored the statement.  Fingers tugging me by the belt towards the
bedroom further reinforced the idea that just maybe this little doll wanted
to play.

   And play we did.  For a happy hour.  The two of us were laying in a
sticky, happy knot, making happy sounds to one another when Kim's new
cellphone rang.

   "That's gonna be Aunt Jen," she said, picking it up off the nightstand.

   "Hi, Aunt Jen," she said." Pause.  "I dunno.  Lemme ask 'im.  He's right
here." Pause.  Giggle.  Outrage.  "I can't believe you asked me that!"
Giggle.  Pause.  "Okay.  You missed catching us by ten minutes." Kim turned
to me.  "Are you okay with goin' to dinner with my nosey aunt and her
friend?"

   "Sure.  Why not?"

   "We'll be there in a half an hour.  Shower first." Giggle.  "Okay. 
Bye!"

   She bowled me over onto my back and kissed me.  "Let's go shower.  You
smell like you've been having sex!"

   "I thought that was YOU," I retorted as I stood up.

   She hooked a hand behind my leg, tugging me up to the edge of the bed
where my dick was near the same level as her mouth.  The "Mmmmmmm" that
accompanied her next move reverberated through my body.  She released me,
pulling her head back with a pop and bounced out of the bed.

   "You're so easy," she said.  "I can make you shake like a leaf."

   I pulled her nakedness against me and slid a finger between a pair of
slick lips to find a little pink pea.  She quivered in my arms.  "Yeah,
so?"

   Her eyes connected with mine, dreamy.  Then she pushed.  "Shower. 
Otherwise they're gonna think we're at it again." Giggle.

   "Your aunt knows entirely too much about our intimate relations, little
girl," I said.

   "Just wants me safe and happy, that's all." She reached in the shower
and turned the water on.  Twenty-five minutes later we were showered and
getting dressed and I was marveling at how comfortable we felt around each
other, really comfortable when we walked out the front door and down the
sidewalk to Jen's apartment, hand in hand.

   I knocked at the door and it was almost instantaneously opened, Laci
smiling at us.

   "Come in, you two," she said.  "Jen's replacing a shoelace." Jen was
behind her on the sofa, shoe in hand, doing exactly that.

   "Just a second, y'all," Jen said.  "Talkin' to little Kimmy upset me and
I blew a shoelace."

   Kim dove right in.  "You're the one that started it, Aunt Jen.  'Did I
catch y'all again?' Hah!  You haven't caught us the FIRST time!"

   Jen was laughing.  "An' I really don't wanna know, either.  So YOU tell
me that I missed by ten minutes.  He's been home an hour and a half.  You
don't..."

   "Waste time?  Nuh-uh!  Got me a new toy.  I wanna play with it."

   I could feel my face turning red.

   "Awwwww," Laci giggled, "We embarrassed Timmy.  That's sooooo cuuuute!"

   Kim put her arm around my waist.  "They're so awfully rude sometimes."

   "Sit a second," Laci said.  I sat on the sofa and Kim perched on my
knee.

   "Uh, there's plenty more room on the sofa," Laci said.

   Kim stuck her tongue at Laci.  "This is better!" and she kissed my
cheek. I breathed deep, nostrils flaring, savoring the smell of freshly
bathed, clean Kim.  My hand rested familiarly on her hip.  Comfortable.

   Jen was pulling her shoe on, tying it.  "Okay, let's go before Kim and
Laci get in a fight." When she stood, Laci kissed her, a light brush of
lips.  That was the first time I'd seen them actually kiss.

   I know Kim noted that, too.  I let her drive us to the restaurant in her
new SUV.  Laci and Jen took Laci's car.

   "That's the first time you ever saw 'em kiss, huh?"

   "Yeah," I said.

   "Did it squick you out?"

   "No," I said.  "I figured they kissed."

   Giggle.  "More'n kiss, apparently," Kim said.

   "They're adults.  And like you said, pretty committed to one another. 
Shouldn't be frightening that two people who're happy with one another
would kiss."

   "They're very subdued in public.  They ...  well, I was here for a while
before I saw 'em kiss in front of me.  Even when Laci used to sleep over. I
mean, I knew about 'em.  Mom acted like she was so superior because she
was, in her words, 'normal' and her sister was 'one a'them bull dykes'. 
And I saw the parade of men in and out of Mom's life and how they treated
her an' she treated them and, you know, I thought about bein' a lesbian
myself.  But it's not something you just decide to be.  I talked to Aunt
Jen about it."

   "You talked to her about becoming a lesbian?"

   "Not exactly.  Just how I hated men, the way Mom did it, and the turds
in school."

   "What'd Jen say?"

   "Aunt Jen's been a rock, Tim.  She said that I needed to not be confused
about who I was and not get swayed by what other people do.  That I was
supposed to be myself and that she'd be there to help me in any way she
could." She glanced away from the road to spear me with her eyes.  "And
then YOU came along.  And I just knew, deep down, in my heart.  In my head.
I wasn't supposed to be a lesbian and I wasn't supposed to be a slut.  I
was supposed to belong to one man and that one man was supposed to belong
to me."

   I smiled.  "I'm glad it turned out that way.  I absolutely adore you,
you know."

   Smirk.  "I am quite adorable, you know."

   "Yes you are.  I would happily fondle you right now, but you're
driving."

   "And when you touch me, I lose track of everything else.  So keep your
hands to yourself." She was smiling.  "You can use 'em later."

   We pulled into the almost filled parking lot and walked to the door of
the eatery, meeting Laci and Jen approaching from the other side of the
lot. Jen had made reservations.

   "I didn't know this place took reservations," I said.

   "You have to know the manager," she smiled.  "Or who the manager
knows..."

   "I'm not sure I want any more information," I said.

   Kim tugged my head down and whispered, "He's dating that 'queen' we
talked about."

   "Oh, okay," I said.  "I figured as much just from the way Jen was
smirking."

   Jen bumped her hip against me.  "And I was trying to be subtle."

   "You're just not very good at 'subtle', Jen," Laci said as we were
herded to an empty table in the crowded restaurant.

   The resultant meal was great both in terms of the food and the company.
I would certainly have been happy had it just been me and my Kim, but the
addition of Jen and Laci meant that happy jabs flew freely all evening. 
I'd learned in the past couple of weeks that an evening with this bunch was
fun, but at the end of the day I always felt like I'd been sparring with a
couple of heavyweights with my brain.

   Fortunately I had this young delight of a female person who helped me
get my mind back to a state of tranquility.  That's a good thing, too,
because when we woke up Saturday morning, we were at the beginning of the
day where my family gets to meet my future wife.

   Kim reacted to waking beside me by insinuating her leg under mine,
rolling into my arms, making little purring noises that demanded a kiss.  A
good kiss.  One of those kisses that meant we're not officially 'out of
'bed' for a while, and then there's a reason for a morning shower.  And two
people with serene smiles walk out the door to go find a breakfast that
somebody else cooked.

   "And after breakfast, we can knock out the grocery shopping and go home
and put everything up, then we can go to Mom and Dad's," I said.  I glanced
at Kim.  "You're not nervous, are you?"

   "Little bit.  First time I've ever been introduced to somebody's family
like this, honey," she said.  "Yeah, I'm a little nervous, I guess."

   "Relax.  They're gonna find you as adorable as I do."

   Eating breakfast, we talked.  I shared some family history, the benign
stuff.

   "What about your nieces?  Connie says that they're older than me."

   "Connie and Jeff raised 'em to be polite.  They won't be rude.  But they
ARE a couple of high school girls."

   "So you think I'll get questions?" she asked.

   "Yeah.  And so will I.  But you and me, we'll get through it."

   "You and I," she giggled.

   "Yeah, smartass.  Them too."

   "Homage to my English teacher," she laughed.

   "I'm glad she made enough of an impression that you want to use it to
deal misery to your loved ones." I sounded serious.  She paid no attention
to the sound.  She was watching my face.

   Giggle.  "You need to meet 'er.  She's something."

   "Must be, if she makes an impression on you," I said.

   "She lets me argue about themes and symbolism in literature.  Gives me
good grades as long as I support my ideas with logic."

   "Sounds like fun."

   "Not nearly as fun as this waffle is," she said, forking a mouthful.

   "Yeah, uh-huh.  I know enough about you to know you get off on that
stuff."

   "What stuff?"

   "The idea of being different and right at the same time."

   "And we'll get back to that 'get off' idea, but I like being capable. 
Having a grasp of ideas is fun.  I don't like just filling in the blocks. I
wanna know what the blocks are there for in the first place." Her blue eyes
had a glint of determination.  "I guess sometimes I'm selfish about that."

   "Selfish?  How's that come up as 'selfish'?"

   "Tim," she said in a tone that was a bit condescending, "Most of the
kids in class could care less if they learn anything.  All they want to do
is get the block filled that says 'high school diploma' and if they can do
that without actually learning anything, that's okay.  There are a few real
students who know that there's more to it than that block.  I'm one."

   "Just wanted you to put that thought in your own words, princess," I
said.  "I know exactly what you mean."

   We finished breakfast and headed to the grocery store.  She pulled out
her new iPhone, giggling.  "Aunt Jen can't believe you bought me this," she
said.  "I told 'er that it's in lieu of an engagement ring.  An engagement
phone."

   "You need to be nice to Jen," I said.

   "I am.  She knows I love her and appreciate everything she's done for
me, and if she could've afforded it, she'd've gotten me one.  But she
really couldn't.  And you DID!" She quickly fingered the display.  "I got
the grocery list here."

   Grocery shopping went quickly and before long we were unloading bags
back at the apartment.  We got them put away, went in two different
directions taking care of household chores.  That was another thing: Kim
was not a shirker.  She could've been, I guess, but from the first day she
woke up in my apartment she made her claim.

   "My place.  OUR place, Tim," she'd said when I mentioned it.  "I will
pull my weight.  I listened to one of those TV shows about marriage.  It's
not a matter of fifty-fifty, you know."

   Okay.  Let me go ahead and get lectured by a sixteen year old girl on
the matter of marriage.  "Oh, really?"

   "Nope.  The guy said that if you only give half, you're shorting your
partner."

   "I've heard that," I said.

   "Makes sense, don't you think?" Then "Eeeeeek!  Lemme put this can up!"
as I scooped her into my arms.

   "Kimberly Ann Elkins, is that the way you want us to be?" Kiss.

   "Absolutely!" Kiss.  "I shall be your unusual wife and you shall be my
charming husband and we will impress all those around us with our love,
then we will come home and screw each other silly." And those blue eyes
laughed.  "So let me put this can in the cupboard and then we can go charm
the crap out of people!"

   Five minutes later I stuffed that last empty bag into the trash basket
and turned to find myself wrapped in a pair of teen arms.  My own hands
were free, so I caressed that head of light brown hair, uncovering an ear
that was just begging for a nibble.

   Ear nibbles reduce her to a giggly mess.  She twisted to line her lips
up with mine.  Kiss.  "Tim, if you do that again, we're gonna be late for
lunch."

   "One more?"

   "One more," she smiled.  One more.  And then we left.

   It was a forty minute drive to Mom and Dad's, a bit out in the country,
the home I'd grown up in, and I felt the tugging at my heart when it came
into sight around the last curve.  "That's it, Kim.  Mom and Dad have lived
here for forty years and I suspect they'll be here forever." We pulled into
the driveway and got out of the car.

   Mom met us at the door.  "Mom," I said, "this is Kimberly.  She's gonna
be your new daughter-in-law.  Kim, this is my mom."

   "C'mere, Kim," Mom said, opening her arms.  "Let me hug you."

   Kim succumbed to the hug.  "I'm so happy to meet you," she said.  "You
have a wonderful son."

   "Who does some surprising things..." The voice was Dad's.  "Kim, you
certainly ARE a cutie."

   "Kim, this is my dad."

   Kim stood uncharacteristically immobile, still smiling.  "Hi, Mister
Duncan." She glanced back at me, then at Dad again.  "I can see the
resemblance.  Baby, you have your Mom's eyes, but you have a whole lot of
your dad's looks.  I hope you age as well."

   Dad broke out in a smile.  "You said she was quick, son."

   "I don't mess with stupid ones, Dad.  'S why you haven't seen me
draggin' any women over here."

   "Kim," Mom said, "I gotta go back in the kitchen."

   "I'm gonna be there with you.  Show me stuff.  I wanna see what Mom's
Home Cooking' looks like for Tim." She bounced into Mom's kingdom.  I know
Mom and the simple idea that my sweet fiancĂ(C)e wanted to see how she
cooked, that was a big plus.

   I went into the living room with Dad.  "Whaddaya think, Pop?" I asked.
"Isn't she something?"

   "Never expected your next wife to look like that, son," he said.  "Is
she really only sixteen?"

   "Yessir," I said.  "And really serious in all the right ways.  And
really going to graduate from high school two years early." I sucked in a
breath.  "Dad, that's not a teeny-bopper airhead there.  She was listening
to my music before she knew what I listened to.  She's refreshingly
unspoiled with the baggage I had to deal with from other women I dated."

   I heard the door open and then the commotion as Connie and crew showed
up, then squeals as she connected with Mom and Kim in the kitchen.  Mixed
in with Connie and Mom and Kim were eruptions from my two nieces, Zoe,
seventeen and Denise, eighteen.

   Denise was named after Jeff's maternal grandmother.  I remember, though,
listening to Connie's announcement of her birth.  "I'm her uncle.  That
makes 'er my niece.  'De niece.' If you have a son, is he gonna be 'De
nephew'?

   "Ass," she said.  And now that little pink creature from all those years
ago is quite the beauty, as is her sister.  And both of them were meeting
their uncle's new mate, who was younger than both of them.

   I shook hands with Jeff when he entered the room.

   "I'd offer you a beer, son," Dad said.  "But you know how Mom is about
drinking this early."

   "Beer ain't drinkin'," Jeff laughed, "But I'll go along."

   Jeff was rather blunt, a characteristic he'd acquired from twenty years
of being married to my sister.  "So how'd you meet 'er?"

   "She was watching the movers unload my furniture when I moved into the
new apartment.  I said 'Hi' and the rest is history."

   "Not much history, son.  You moved in, what, two weeks ago?"

   "Yessir."

   "And that's enough?" Jeff asked.

   "Yessir, Mister Jeff, that's enough." That was Kim's voice.  She was
peeking into the living room.  Connie's head was right there with Kim's.

   "See," Connie said, "I told you they'd ask."

   Kim walked into the room with a confident bounce and perched on my knee.
I put my arm around her.  She looked at Jeff.  "Don't ask me how I know. 
But I most definitely do know.  And so does Tim.  I didn't have to be
drugged or led astray or seduced or paid off.  I saw this guy.  Talked with
him.  Went to dinner.  Went home.  And I KNEW."

   "Just like a fairy tale," Connie said.

   "And if you knew my Aunt Jen, you'd know that there may be real
fairies." And that smirk.

   I wasn't sure that Dad was gonna be happy with that part of the story.
Dad's old school.  From when 'those people' were 'queers'.  I'd mentioned
that to Kim before we got here.  I didn't tell Kim specifically NOT to
broach the subject.

   So Kimberly dove in.  "Uh, my Aunt Jen, the lady that I live with, she's
lesbian.  And she has friends of several genders."

   I was thinking that Dad was going to pop a gasket and do the
old-fashioned 'there ain't but TWO sexes' thing, but he shocked me.

   "I heard of that.  I know it exists.  More out in the open than it used
to be.  You live with your aunt?" Dad asked.

   "Yessir.  Uh, Mom's in..." she took a breath, plunged on, "in jail.  I
didn't have a very good childhood.  Aunt Jen changed that.  And now I have
Tim."

   Mom was listening from the door.  "You precious child!"

   "It's good now, Mizz Janet.  I'm a rescue, you know.  Just like..."

   "A kitten," I finished.

   Denise was following the conversation too, seated by, in her words, "My
favorite uncle".  "But how're you s'posed to graduate this year?  You're
only sixteen?  Right?  That's what Mom said."

   "I skipped a couple of grades," Kim said.  "They moved me from the third
grade to the fifth and pushed me from the seventh grade to high school
freshman year." That Kimberly smirk showed up again.  "And now I'm skipping
the high school heartbreak and latching onto your Uncle Tim."

   "That's quite a skip," Zoe said.  "And you're sure?"

   Kim kissed me on the cheek.  "Absolutely."



   ------

   Chapter 11

   "Wow!" ZoĂ<< exclaimed.  "Graduating at sixteen.  What about college?"

   Kim smiled.  We'd had some talks.  "I'm still working on it.  I think I
have a few months to think about it.  Might be able to squeeze out a
scholarship or two." She looked at me.

   "And I can cover college for her easy enough," I said.

   "I'm thinking of mass communications," ZoĂ<< said.  "Do you have even a
hint?"

   Kim's eyes twinkled.  I pretty much knew what would come out of that
sassy mouth.  "Engineering?  I know this engineer REAL well."

   "Oh, come on!" Denise blurted.  "Engineering?  Really?"

   Kim sat up a little straighter.  "There are female engineers.  Bunches
of 'em.  I checked.  And they're usually being recruited while they're
still in college."

   I knew that not only were Denise's gears turning, but so were her dad's.
Four years of college ought to end up with something with dollar signs,
preferably related to the last four years.  Jeff was sitting there shaking
his head.

   "Okay, Dad," ZoĂ<< said.  "What're ya thinkin'?"

   "What Kim just said about being recruited in college." Jeff smiled.  "I
hope you find something for mass communications, Denise."

   "Oh, Dad, something will come up."

   Jeff left the conversation at that point.  I get the feeling that this
wasn't the first time the subject had been broached.  And I wasn't entirely
sure that Kimberly was angling towards engineering, but far be it from her
to leave a conversation to founder on its own.  However, she elected to not
push this one any further, instead skipping off to the kitchen to watch Mom
a little bit more.

   "How'd you end up with HER?" Denise asked.

   "She chose me.  I chose her."

   "And you're getting married?  For real?"

   "Only kind I know of."

   Giggle from my eighteen year old niece.  "I've heard of temporary ones."

   "Had one of those," I said.  "Didn't know it at the time.  That kind
hurts somebody."

   "I know people..." she started.

   "Who don't realize that they're hurting themselves or somebody else."
Okay, it's an opinion.  But it's MY opinion, and I'm entitled to it.  "It
cheapens what should be one of the foundations of a relationship."

   "Some people don't think like that, Uncle Tim," Denise said.

   I really didn't want to argue this point, but there was a brunette
peering in from the kitchen who didn't see my trepidations.

   "Uh, Denise, my mom pretty much ended up with that attitude.  I don't
know if she started that way, but too many hurtings and being hurt and she
was pretty much shot as far as having a conscience about anything.  That's
why she's in prison."

   "Uh, your mom's in prison?"

   "Oh, yeah," Kim said.  "You can imagine my pride.  Drugs, prostitution.
I wonder what life would've been like with a real mom."

   "I had no idea, Kim," Denise said.

   "It's not exactly something one advertises," Kim said.  "But it's part
of what makes me who I am.  And I take this boy-girl stuff seriously."

   "I can understand that," ZoĂ<< injected.  "I think I can, anyway."

   I motioned for Kim to come to me and I put my arm around her waist.  She
backed a little closer, pulling herself into my grasp.  "We make each other
safe and happy," I said.

   "And loved," Kim said softly.  "It's about love.  Sex is easy.  Lots of
people have sex like it's easy.  But love is better." She looked around. 
"I'm so sorry.  I didn't mean to be a downer."

   "And I didn't mean to be an ignorant ass, Kim.  I'm not like that at
all. I was just jerkin' Uncle Tim's chain." Denise smiled wanly.  "Guess I
shoulda picked another subject.  He's easy to get to, you know..."

   Kim smiled.  "Yeah, but he gives back pretty good, too.  You should hear
us when we're with my Aunt Jen and Laci."

   "Y'all hang out together?" Dad asked.

   I nodded.  "Heck of a gang, Dad.  "Conversation.  Laughter.  And they
cook breakfast."

   "Not to mention Trivial Pursuit," Kim said.  Her levity was back,
twinkling in those eyes.

   Dad didn't play that game, but I'd played with the nieces and Connie and
Jeff.  With disastrous results.

   "Mom won't play with 'im," ZoĂ<< said.  "The last time, he stomped all
of us."

   Kim smirked.  "And he gloated?"

   "Only enough to make my mom swear that hell would freeze over before we
played with 'im again."

   "He's formidable.  But I've beaten 'im.  And when we play with Aunt Jen
an' Laci, they invoke 'Kimberly Rules' on us."

   "What's 'Kimberly Rules'?" Denise asked.

   "When we start a game, they get to draw a couple of random pieces for a
head start." Kim was smirking now.  So was I as I was remembering the
outrage the first time we played.

   "Mommmmmm!" ZoĂ<< yelled.  "C'mere, please!

   Connie showed up.  "What's so important that I have to interrupt your
grandmother's story?"

   ZoĂ<< pointed to Kim.  "Tell Mom about 'Kimberly Rules'."

   Kim was grinning as she explained.

   Connie looked at me after Kim finished.  "And one more.  If he gloats
after he wins, I get to dump a bucket of cold water on 'im."

   "Was he that bad?" Kim asked.  "He's always so sweet and funny."

   "You didn't have to grow up with 'im," Connie said.  "Little brothers
feel it's their life's work to make their sweet older sisters miserable."

   Denise jumped in.  "But we can have Kim an' Uncle Tim over for a game?"

   "I'll be good," I said.  "Maybe only the tiniest amount of gloating."

   "What makes you think you'll win?" Connie said.

   "Because you got the looks and I got the brains, Sis," I said.

   "Game's on, then.  Next Friday night good for y'all?"

   Jeff came in from outside.  "What's Friday night?"

   "Kim 'n' Tim coming over to play Trivial Pursuit."

   "Oh, shit!" Jeff looked at me.  "Don't beat 'er too bad.  She takes it
all out on us."

   "Did NOT!  I was having hormonal issues!"

   "I understand that getting your butt kicked by your little brother does
that," I said.

   Kim slapped my arm.  "Tim!  Be nice to your sister!"

   Dad came back in the door.  "Kim, they've been like that since she got
over the novelty when we brought him home from the hospital."

   Connie and Mom and Kim and her new nieces set the table, an unusual
thing in the house where I grew up.  "I want Kim to know we're not
uncivilized," Mom said.

   "Oh, I'd never think that," Kim said.  "This is all so wonderful!  I'm
going to love being part of this family."

   Mom looked at me.  "Now you see, son, if you'd have gotten Kim instead
of that THING you married..."

   "Mom," I reminded her, "When I got married, Kim was eight."

   "Shoulda waited," Mom said.

   Kim's smile.  Priceless.

   After the meal, Dad and I and Jeff retired to the den to partake of
Dad's pastime for autumn Saturdays, college football, while the female half
of the contingent made short work of the kitchen clean-up.

   When the ladies came back into the den, Kim was carrying a tray of
coffee mugs.  She sat it on the table and made a big show of fixing mine.
"Two sugars.  One cream.  That's how he takes it," she announced.

   "Good thing to know," Mom said.  "How your husband takes his coffee. 
And it doesn't hurt to bring it to him from time to time."

   Dad didn't miss that comment.  "And turnabout is fair play."

   "See," Kim said, "Share.  Not fifty-fifty.  Both give a hundred
percent."

   "Marry her, Timothy," Mom said.  She used my formal name.  That's
shorthand for 'I'm serious.'

   "Saturday before Thanksgiving, he's gonna," Kim said.  "It's not gonna
be a big deal, not as far as all that taffeta and lace and stuff.  But if
you and Dad are there, it's the biggest deal imaginable."

   "Is it gonna be in a church?" Denise asked.

   "I dunno about that," Kim said.  "Aunt Jen's not exactly a churchgoer,
you know.  May just stuff them and us and you guys into the meeting hall at
the apartment and get somebody who can do the ceremony."

   Connie sounded a little surprised.  "You got this all figured out?"

   "It's a formality, Connie," she said.  "I have already exchanged vows
with your brother.  We need a piece of paper from the state, that's all.  I
know about 'married in the eyes of God.' We're there."

   I knew that several people were parsing the full meaning of that
statement.  Kim and I had run over the meaning while drifting down from
some tender moments.  I knew exactly how permanent that piece of paper, a
marriage certificate, could be if one party didn't care.  I cared.  Kim
says she cares.  A quick glance around the room and I saw that some people
couldn't do as good a job of hiding the information.  A couple of nieces
had little smirks.

   Dad called us back to the football game at hand.  At halftime, the
female contingent got up and went to the living room, leaving me and Dad
and Jeff in the den.

   "Son," Dad said, "She's something.  Seems to have a presence.  Seems
like she knows who she is and what she's about.  But so young..."

   "I know, Dad," I said.  "But..."

   "But you need to understand that you need to take care of HER.  She's
young.  Got some growing to do.  I just hope you and she grow together. 
You know what happens when it goes the other way."

   "I do."

   "I wish my two had their heads on that straight," Jeff said.  "I'm like
your dad.  She's ...  Oh, hell, if you ever tell 'er I said it, I'll have
to kill you, but your sister wasn't that mature when we got married." He
paused.  "Of course, neither was I.  We had some rough times before we
figured each other out and settled in together for keeps."

   "Dad.  Jeff.  I may be crazy.  I may be making a mistake, even.  But I
don't think so.  Kim's different in so many ways.  If she was thirty, it
would be a whole different thing, but she's not.  Instead, she's the most
level-headed, astoundingly intelligent thing I've ever met, and we both
start smiling when we see each other."

   "Son, just so you know the difference between 'new' and 'real'." Dad was
serious.  He put up with me grieving when my first marriage came apart.

   "Dad, I appreciate you worrying.  This ain't that.  Listen to her talk.
Watch her.  She's genuine.  That's a person who's had plenty of 'fake' in
her life.  I dunno.  It's like something between us just clicks."

   "She is a charmer," Jeff said.  "She has to be different.  You know how
many boyfriends my two have been through?  And none of 'em's been forty."

   "And I've dated some in their thirties and forties who don't have their
head as together as Kim does.  And she doesn't have the same kind of
baggage.  No exes, no kids, no ex-in-laws."

   "Just her aunt," Dad said.  "I guess I'm old-fashioned.  That's hard to
swallow."

   "Careful, Pop," I said.  "That was dangerously close to a joke."

   Dad put on his smirk.  "An' I wasn't even tryin'," he said.

   "Jen and Laci are good people.  They like food and movies and parks,
just like regular people.  It's not like they sit on the sofa, swapping
spit when other people are in the room.  Just good people.  Who happen to
love each other.  And if one of 'em was a guy, nobody'd think anything of
it."

   "Have you ever seen 'em kiss?" Jeff asked.

   "And it wasn't a big deal.  People.  Just people.  And that's about the
biggest chunk of baggage that Kim has.  At least while her mom's in
prison."

   "Yeah, about that," Dad said.

   "Kim lived in terror most of the time her mom was home with one of her
men.  Especially since she started blossoming out.  You can imagine..."

   "I don't want to imagine," Jeff said.

   "There's a story," I said.  "Kim reacted well.  Spectacularly, actually.
But it's up to her to tell you any more than that.  Just let me say she can
take care of herself." I sighed.  "But all that crap is a lot of what
formed that unique creature that's looking out the window at us."

   "Whose idea is that marriage thing?" Dad asked.

   "Hers.  Said she wanted to be serious and that meant we should be
married.  She says serious isn't a one-night stand or a short-term thing or
shacking up."

   "In this day and age, that's rare," Dad said.  Jeff nodded in agreement.

   "Okay, say nice things about her.  Here she comes," I said loudly enough
so she could hear as she approached.

   She bumped her hip against me.  "Whatever are y'all talking about?" she
asked smiling.  She looked at Dad.  "I suppose it's one of those 'are you
CRAZY, son?" talks.

   Dad looked at the two of us.  "Kinda," he said.  "Don't want either of
you hurt, that's all."

   "Have you ever seen where they unveiled a statue or something on the
news?  You know, big deal, all the dignitaries standing around, the
statue's there, covered up?  You have some general idea of the size and
shape, but it's still hidden?"

   Dad and Jeff were both hanging on her words.

   She continued.  "And then the big moment comes, and they pull the cover
away and you can see details and nuances and understand exactly what the
artist had done?  That's how Tim is with me.  I always knew one day that
I'd find THE guy.  Had a general idea of size and shape, but then I saw Tim
and it's like they pulled the covers off in my mind and I knew what he was
supposed to be."

   I hadn't heard Kim give that particular explanation.  I had, at this
point, just happily (okay, ecstatically) accepted her word that I was
supposed to be her guy.  This version of her determination warmed my heart.
I watched Dad's eyes, though, to see how he received that statement.

   Little crinkles appeared at the corners of his eyes.  That, for all the
years I can remember, is the validator for his smile.  If Dad smiled
without the crinkles, he was being polite but he had a different opinion in
his head.  Crinkles and a smile, the happiness was genuine.  I thought I
was an astute observer of facial expressions because I noticed that.

   "Mister Duncan," she said, addressing Dad, "D'ya know that Tim gets
those same crinkles at the corners of HIS eyes when he smiles?  He does. 
Makes it genuine."

   Dad's smile broadened.  I didn't know there was something to be won, but
I knew that Kim had just scored.  "Your mom says that about us both, son.
Kim, we look forward to you being part of this bunch."

   "Thank you sir," Kimberly said.  Her glance in my direction conveyed to
me the idea that she understood that we'd reached an important permission.
We'd talked.  I chose Kim and Kim chose me but in her words, "They just
have to accept us, Tim.  That's the only way.  Aunt Jen does.  Your family
just HAS to."

   We sort of left the conversation hanging at that point, but I should
have known that she'd simply shelved the question for further review.  I
guess today was the review.  I really never considered that Mom and Dad
would not accept my new mate.  Still, there was always the chance.

   Riding back home from that introductory visit, Kim reconciled her
findings.  "I was a little bit worried, you know," she said.  "But your mom
treated me like one of her own, well, I'd say granddaughters, but they
didn't spend nearly as much time in the kitchen asking questions as I did.
Tim, I knew I was gonna like 'er.  I like 'er.  And I think she really
accepts me.  And your dad.  Tim, honestly, I can read your face.  You'd be
horrible at poker, at least for me.  I can tell.  Your dad's okay with us.
Happy."

   "What about your two new nieces?" I asked.  I knew she'd have an
impression to give me.

   "High school's full of 'em.  Actually, Denise and ZoĂ<< are examples of
the best ones.  Pretty enough.  Smart enough.  And they seem to be better
behaved than a lot of people their age.  I could actually get along with
them.  And they have the neatest uncle, you know."

   "And you've met the bunch.  I'm still your chosen mate?"

   "Only forever," she said.  "Your mom's gonna help me cook your favorite
things."

   "You are my favorite thing," I said.

   "Your dad, Mister Jeff, they asked you questions, didn't they?"

   "Yeah.  You knew they would.  I explained how I felt about you, about
Aunt Jen..."

   "I wondered how Aunt Jen's lifestyle would go over," Kim said.

   "I was worried.  Dad's old-fashioned.  He was a lot more open-minded
than I expected.  But they asked.  I told 'em that Jen and Laci are good
people."

   "They are, you know..."

   I was picturing the laughing faces of that couple, the smiles, the quick
wit.  Adding that Jen had stepped up to take in her niece instead of
leaving her to the state after her mom's incarceration, and that Kim's
report of how that worked out for her was all positive, yeah, 'good people'
fits them.  A guy could have much worse friends.  I verbalized that
thought.

   "They did a pretty good job of keeping me safe until you came along,
Tim. And now you're part of their family, too."

   "Yep.  You're right, little brown-haired girl.  Marriage isn't just
about two people.  It's about friends and families."

   "I love it when you're philosophical," she giggled.

   I flashed a sideways glance.  She caught it and picked up the
conversation.  "And I'm serious.  I said it like I was being flippant, but
I'm serious.  You think about these things and talk with me like we're
supposed to discuss it."

   "Conversation, little one.  We can't make love all the time."

   Giggle.  "We can try.  Make love.  Eat.  Sleep.  Repeat." She nipped my
shoulder then pulled back.  "I'm not being too forward, am I?"

   "Nope.  You're being delightful."

   "I love making love with you, Tim.  It's like all of a sudden I see what
it's about.  I wasn't interested.  Now I am.  With you.  And you only."

   "And that's the way we're going to be.  All of me belongs to you,
and..."

   "All of me belongs to you.  That standing in front of a preacher and
saying vows, that's just the icing on the cake."

   "And I really want us to do that," I said.

   "Hmmmph!  I said it first."

   "I don't know who said it first.  Doesn't matter.  We both came up with
the same idea."

   She nuzzled my shoulder.  "As it should be."

   We chatted the rest of the way home, coincidentally pulling into the
parking space just as Jen was getting out of her car.

   Kim waved.

   "How'd it go?" Jen asked.  She was dragging bags of groceries out, so we
walked over to help her unload.

   "It was wonderful," Kim said.

   Jen looked at me.  "I don't see tears or bruises.  And Kim's happy.  I
take it your family has accepted that you have worms in your brain?"

   "They just wrote it off as another odd thing that I've done in life, and
they wish me success.  And they really like Kim.  Even if she IS younger
than both their granddaughters."

   Jen fumbled for keys and let us into her apartment.  We dropped
groceries on the breakfast table and she and Kim started putting things
away.

   "Where's Laci?" I asked.  "It's Saturday."

   "Yeah, about that," Jen said.  "Network administrators have some odd
things come up in their lives.  She's migrating things to a new server. 
Had to do it on Saturday so it won't disrupt as much of the business."

   "Oh," I said.  "I have those events myself."

   Kim giggled.  "Uh-huh.  That last call-out when I had to scrub all those
smudges off you."

   Jen's eyebrow arched.

   "Oh, yeah, don't give me that.  Like you an' Laci ain't ever showered
together..." and Kim stuck her tongue out at her aunt, giggling.

   Jen feigned outrage.  "Uh, we were trying to be discrete."

   Giggle.  "And doing a bad job of it."

   "Stop harassing your Aunt Jen," I chided.

   Jen laughed.  "See, he's good for you, little Miss Kim.  He's a
civilizing influence."

   Kim counterattacked.  "No, he's an animal!  A beast!"

   "I really don't wanna know," Jen squealed.

   "And my delicate little fiancĂ(C)e is not going to tell you, either," I
said.  "So do you have plans for dinner?"

   "Something light, maybe?" Kim added.  "Tim's mom did a pot roast that
was great!"

   "Jeans're getting' kinda tight," Jen said.  "I could stand something
light.  But lemme call Laci and see what she's looking at."

   "Go ahead," Kim said.  She pushed me towards the sofa.  "You.  Sit."
Giggled.  "See, Aunt Jen, you CAN train 'em!"

   I patted my thigh.  "Sit!" I said to Kim.  "Works both ways."

   Jen was laughing as she spoke with Laci.  "You need to get here ASAP. 
I'm being ganged up on by my niece and her pet." She set her phone down. 
"Can you two hold off for an hour and a half without starving?  Laci's
wrapping things up."

   "Practicing?" Kim blurted.

   "I thought we weren't being graphic, kiddo," Jen said.

   I pushed on Kim.  "Let's go to our place for a bit before you get in
trouble.  Jen, call us!"

   "'Kay, you two.  I gotta move some laundry around.  See you in a bit."

   As we went out the door, Kim said.  "Love ya, Aunt Jen!"

   We walked hand in hand together to our apartment and went inside.  The
simple act of closing the door behind us had the effect of getting me
wrapped up by an eager Kimmy.  "We have an hour, at least," she said.  Her
eyes said even more.

   Okay.  Interludes are pleasant, as are post-interlude showers, even when
somebody's calling your partner's cellphone.

   "We'll be there in a minute." Giggle.  "Yeah.  He's in the shower.  And
I'm dripping." Gasp of outrage.  "NO!  From the shower!  Don't be crude! 
Bye!"

   She rejoined me in the shower for a few moments of pure recreation, then
we dried off, dressed and went to Jen's place.

   Laci was sitting on the sofa smirking when we walked in.  "See!" Kim
said.  "My devious and evil aunt has planted ideas in the head of this
decent human being."

   "Mmm.  Somebody smells freshly ...  showered," Laci said.

   "See," Kim said to me.  "She's even got sweet little Laci doin' it!"

   "Just being observant, dearie," Laci said.  "Jen says you sounded happy
about visiting your new family."

   Kim nodded.  "Yep.  They recognized charm and intelligence when it was
presented to 'em."



   ------

   Chapter 12

   Kim's turn:

   Sunday morning.  There is no finer Sunday morning that I can recall.  I
cuddled in closer to Tim, pushing under his arm, fully intending to drift
back off to sleep, but then I noticed something.  It was rigid.  And when I
touch it he purrs.  Euphoria.  I know what it is.  It weighs a hundred and
eighty-five pounds and has a hairy chest.  And loves me.

   And he's semi-awake because his breathing is irregular.  His nose is at
the crown of my head.  I feel and hear him breathe deep so I think this is
a good time to fasten my lips on the ridge of his clavicle for a little
sucking kiss.

   "Mornin', princess," he says.

   "Mornin, my dream," I returned.  "Did I keep you from sleeping last
night?"

   "Not in the least, sweetness," he said, kissing the top of my head,
nuzzling me.  This conversation is because I found out that after a
lifetime of sleeping alone, the presence of another human being in bed was
something that needed a bit of getting used to.  Conversations the first
morning after we'd slept (actually SLEPT) together confirmed that we'd both
awakened when the other moved.

   "But then I realize that it's YOU and I go right back to sleep," I'd
said.

   "Me too, little one," he countered.  "It's much better than sleeping by
myself."

   "Mmmm-hmmm," I purred.  Really did purr, you know.  He pets me, his hand
stroking my body.  "I feel like a pampered kitten." I mention that to him.

   "You really are so much of a kitten, svelte, exotic," he smiled.

   So today, this morning, we just laze for a while.  I remember where my
hand is.  I squeeze and tug.

   "You know what that does."

   I giggle.  "Yes, I do.  But it was already hard when I woke up.  Before
I touched it."

   "Morning wood," he stated.  "Bladder pressure, et cetera."

   "Oh," I replied, sounding a bit more saddened than I really was.  "Then
it's not because of me."

   "When your hand touched it, when I woke up and realized it is YOU in my
bed, it all became because of you."

   "Silver-tongued devil," I giggled.  "You gonna kiss me with that
tongue?"

   He didn't reply verbally.  Our lips all but fused in the heat of the
kiss.  Hands roam over each other caressing, touching.  I know something
needs to happen here.  I gently push him over on his back.

   He smiles.  "You have something in mind." Statement, not question.

   No words were needed to provide the answer.  I'm in love.  I love this
guy.  He loves me.  And what happens next, well, I only hope that other
couples enjoy each other this much.  I think that the common, if somewhat
tacky, term for what happens next is 'bunny-fucking'.  I'm on top, my knees
just at his waist, and I can bounce and wiggle and drive both of us wild,
all the way to happy, sticky satiation.  Then shower.  Then cereal and
fruit for breakfast, and two mugs of coffee.

   And only then does the phone ring.  Call ID said it was Aunt Jen.  "Hi,
Aunt Jen."

   "How late are you two going to sleep?" she asked.

   I laughed.  "We've been up for quite a while, dearest aunt," I said. 
"We're finishing our coffee."

   Aunt Jen and I have had The Talk.  No, not the 'Tab A into Slot B' talk.
The Talk started out with "Are you out of your everlovin' mind, Kimberly
Ann Elkins?"

   "Aunt Jen..."

   "Kim, I know it's cute, and it's fun, and it's interesting and exciting
and all that.  But you of all people should know about playing it like a
game."

   "I'm not playing a game, Aunt Jen.  I'm not making Momma's mistakes.  I
thought you understood that.  You said..."

   "I know what I said, sweetie," Aunt Jen replied.  "But I woke up in the
middle of the night with the shakes.  I dreamed about this..."

   "You sounded like you understood..."

   "Yes, and now you and Timothy are making serious noises.  You're
sixteen. Do you have any idea how life can change?"

   "Uh, gimme a tough one, dear aunt," I popped smartly.  "I'm here, aren't
I?  From a messed up home to THIS little corner of paradise.  From the
likely victim of rape to somebody with a little stability in her life. 
From terror to safety."

   "All physical things," Jen said.  She's a high school teacher and she's
well-versed in teenaged angst and drama.  "I'm talking about emotional
things."

   "Same thing," I said.  "Do you suggest that I ignore this perfectly
dreamy, mature, intelligent guy?  I mean, let's assume for the moment that
I don't think we're madly in love with each other.  What's wrong with Tim?"

   I had her.  I know what Aunt Jen is thinking, but she won't say it, so I
will.  "Age.  He's, well, he's a bit older than you.  That's it.  Age."

   Okay, she's not stupid and she's wading in, trying to save me and save
Tim and she says, "You said he has an ex and a kid."

   "He's over the ex.  And we talked about his daughter.  There are worse
things.  I think I can handle it.  I think WE can handle it."

   "Kim, all I'm saying is that you're dealing with another person's
feelings.  If you're serious and he's not, you get hurt.  It's a bad hurt,
too.  Same goes for him.  Neither of you deserve that."

   "Aunt Jen, thank you for caring."

   She read my face.  "You're serious."

   "Yes, I'm serious, Aunt Jen.  Don't ask me to quantify this.  Don't ask
me how I know.  I just KNOW." I crossed my arms.  I was serious.  "So does
Tim."

   "You know that I will be here for you, baby," Aunt Jen said.  "I'll be
here for the two of you."

   I fixed her in my most serious of gazed.  "And it will be the TWO of
us."

   Back to the phone call.  "You two still..."

   "Uh-huh," I replied, "'Still' leads into 'forever', you know." I smiled
at Tim.

   "Hi, Jen," he said loudly enough for Aunt Jen to hear.

   "Tell 'im 'hi' back," Aunt Jen said.  "Do you two have plans for today?"

   "Putting bikes on the roof of the car and heading to the park.  Why?"

   "Just wondering," she said.  "Gives me an' Laci some options, that's
all. We can meet for dinner."

   "Someplace with a salad," I replied.  "I'm eating too good."

   "Okay," Aunt Jen answered.  "Fivish?"

   I turned to Tim.  "We go eat with Aunt Jen and Laci around five."

   He smiled.  "That's good for me."

   "We'll do it, then," I told her.  "Flemings?"

   "Yeah, that'll work fine."

   "Well, you 'n' Laci have fun.  Talk to you later."

   "Don't be coarse," she laughed.

   I giggled.  "Says the lady who thought she'd catch us this morning."

   "I forget that you're subject to rising early," she said.  Aunt Jen
liked to sleep in on occasion.  I was usually up before she was on
weekends, Laci or no Laci.

   "So does he," I giggled.

   "You ARE being coarse," my aunt squealed.  "Bye!"

   I put the phone down, took a sip of coffee, smiled at Tim.

   "You need to stop rubbing Jen's nose in it," he said.

   "She started it.  And she's subject to her own little remarks, you
know."

   "I know.  But still."

   "I heard Laci's giggle in the background, just so you know."

   "Ooooo-kaayyy," he replied.  "So, are we going to the park?"

   "Or we can stay here and do what Laci and Aunt Jen are probably doing?"

   "Sitting in the middle of the bed with their legs folded, playing
rummy?" he grinned.

   "Yeah, that too," I laughed.  "But it's not even nine.  We could do the
park this afternoon.  As long as we get a couple of hours riding around..."

   "Come on, you," he said, standing.  "I'm glad we didn't get dressed
first."

   Tim tells me that guys his age aren't normally expected to, his word,
'perform' like he does with me.  It's been an hour and a half since we did
it after we woke up, and ten hours since we did it before we went to sleep,
and when I sat on the edge of the bed he was fully erect.

   "C'mere," I commanded.  He stood in front of me.  I reached my right
hand out, cupped that neat sack and gently tugged him closer.  My left hand
encircled his shaft and I bowed my neck, licking my lips.  "Mmmmmm." I felt
his fingers push their way through my hair.  Like I needed encouragement. I
could feel his pulse throbbing as an undertone to the involuntary spasms of
pleasure.  I released him from my mouth.  "D'you know how much I love doing
that?"

   "D'you know how difficult it is to keep my knees from buckling?"

   "Then you'd better get in this bed before we have an incident," I said.
When he made a move I pivoted and trapped him between my thighs, pulling
him down on top of me.  I tossed my arms around his neck, fixing my gaze
into his blue eyes.  I melted.  Matter of fact, I can feel the definite
formation of a puddle of liquid me forming at this very moment.

   He started to slide downward.  I shook my head.  "If we do that, we do
each other," I said.  Boy, I'm an expert on sex a whole few weeks into
this. Well, sort of, I guess.  At least with Tim I suffered a failure of
imagination.  I never imagined that I would lose myself in mating, loving a
man.  Then there he was.  And I do.  Giggling, sighing, shuddering,
laughing, this is FUN!

   Okay, it is just possible to exhaust one's partner.  After our last one,
my Timmy was laid back, supine.  Flaccid.  I think I wore it out, at least
for the time being.  I mean, I kissed him, giggled, slid down his body, my
goal lying soft down there.  Gulp!  Mmmmmm!

   "You've done me in, little one," he said, stroking my hair.

   I released it with a kiss.  "I know.  But I like it soft, too." Gulp. 
He shuddered and moaned.  I moved back up into his side.

   "Constellations.  You make me see constellations."

   "Takes two of us.  Fusion.  Takes two.  Makes one.  Releases a lot of
energy.  Makes things brighter." My mind does these excursions from time to
time.  Some of them make it onto paper in my English classes.  A few
teachers catch onto them.  One reason I skipped two grades in school.

   He pulled back a bit to better see me.  "Your mind ...  I love that
crazy brain of yours."

   "Sir," I sassed, "I do not believe you were very interested in my brain
ten minutes ago."

   "But I was before, and I am now," he laughed.  "And as for those other
times, need I remind you that you have a delectable heinie?"

   "Only my heinie?"

   "Well, since you ask, I haven't found a part that I don't think is the
best ever."

   I kissed him on the nose.  "Let's continue this conversation on the way
to the park."

   "You sure?" he questioned with a grin.  "We've been quite aerobic
already today."

   "Mmmmmmmaybe," I purred, nestling into him.  "But then we'll be worn out
for tonight.  After the shower."

   "And during the shower."

   "And if we find a good spot in the woods." I giggled.  We have a couple
of mountain bikes now since he bought me one to match his.  I knew of the
trails in that park from conversations with others at school.  Maybe the
place wouldn't be too crowded and we could have an outdoor moment.

   "Come on then," he said, standing.  Naked.

   "C'mere," I giggled.  Yeah, that's how this got started.

   "You know, little one," he said when I released him again, "You make me
want to just stay home and tear this bed up.  Or at least try."

   "Let's go act like civilized people who exercise self-restraint," I
said.

   "You made me like this."

   I giggled.  "And on my very first try."

   Monday was back to school for me and work for Tim.  Neat thing is that
if I want, I can catch a ride with Aunt Jen to school.  Oh, yeah, decidedly
uncool if you care about such things as what a bunch of gamma-minuses think
is 'cool'.  I'm not one of them.

   The fact that my aunt is a teacher and that I was living with her is a
healthy convenience.  Besides, most of the kids who worried about 'cool'
were the same kids who shunned me and treated me like hammered shit for a
bunch of reasons ranging from knowing Mom's reputation (Thanks again, Mom!)
to the fact that I was a sixteen year old senior with a 4.0 average to the
fact that I didn't play any of the silly social games.

   I do have friends, of course, some of them the nerds and geeks and
brainiacs from my advanced placement classes, a couple from the lunchroom,
people who showed up at my table when I sat away from the finger-pointers
and whisperers.  That's a happy thing.  Also happy is that teachers look
upon me favorably.  In class, academically, I attend to the business at
hand.  That business is, oddly enough, not so much about that 4.0 as it is
about learning the subject matter.

   I want to be well-rounded.  I want to know things.  Aunt Jen and I have
had talks about this.  Early on I had similar talks with Tim.  He's geeky
enough being an engineer, but he knows things too, and he's well-read,
which makes him formidable at Trivial Pursuit and in conversation.  Aunt
Jen gives me an insight into a teaching career.  Laci's not an engineer,
she's got a degree in computer science from a community college, but she's
darned sure technically adept, and my Tim's a real engineer, so I get to
see those careers, too.  I'm sixteen, though, and I'm still trying to get a
clear idea of where I'm going.

   "Hi, Casey," I said, dropping my backpack on the library table.

   "Hi, Kim," Casey replied.  Casey's two years older than me.  She's a 4.0
too.  Some days our English teacher lets us hit the library instead of
sitting through class.  She turns us around at the door.  Casey beat me to
class, so she beat me to the library.

   I sat back in my chair, closed my eyes briefly, and smiled.

   "You show an extra level of serenity lately," Casey said.

   Okay, it shows.  I know I FEEL an extra level of serenity.  "I have a
reason," I said.  I was bursting.  I wanted to tell somebody the news.

   She brushed a strand of her brown hair behind an ear.  "So spill it,"
she said.

   "I'm engaged.  Getting married."

   "You're sixteen."

   "I know.  Still getting married."

   "We talked about that guy-girl thing, Kim.  What happened?  You're not
pregnant, are you?" She looked a bit aghast.

   "Certainly not!  I'm in love."

   "Who?  Not one of THESE guys?" She tossed her head in the direction of a
couple of guys walking through the library.

   "No, nothing like these guys, Casey.  Somebody totally off the radar
until the first time I saw him."

   "College guy?"

   "No." I noted that her frown had softened, so I decided to let her play
the questioning on out.

   "Gosh, Kimberly ...  Graduated?  Working?  What?  Don't make me keep
asking questions."

   Okay, Casey's been hanging out with me long enough to know something
about me and how I am about people.  "Yes, he's graduated.  College. 
Working.  As an engineer."

   Her jaw dropped again.  "That's gonna make him a LOT older than you..."

   I giggled.  No sense in playing her too hard.  After all, she's one of
only a few real friends I have at school.  "Okay, here's the deal.  He's
forty..."

   She stifled an outright squeal.  "Kim!" she hissed.  "He's an old
pervert cradle-robber."

   "Casey Sullivan!  Don't you think that I, of all people, know a pervert
when I see one?!?"

   Her jaw still wouldn't retract.

   "He's the most decidedly NOT perverted, normal guy on the planet. 
Normal the way he's supposed to be."

   "Then you're serious.  You're not jerking my chain."

   "I'm serious."

   "You ...  We talked, Kim.  I know what you went through, but you said
you were..."

   I smiled.  "I'm gonna marry him.  He's the only one.  Ever."

   She raised an eyebrow.  "Then you've..."

   My smile provided the answer.

   "OMIGOD, Kim!  You've..."

   I bobbed my head in the affirmative.

   Friends worry about friends.  Casey charged on.  "This isn't one of
those 'in two years' proposals, is it?" We both knew people whose
'engagement' lasted longer than the marriage.

   "Nope.  Saturday before Thanksgiving." And Casey was the first person in
my circle outside my family to find out.  "You're invited.  Don't know
where it is.  How it's gonna be done.  But you're invited."

   Another decent human being sat down with us, not one of the advanced
placement group, but still smart and decent.  That's Regina Tabbert.

   "Hi, Gina," I said.  "You're running late."

   "Ughhhhh," she spat.  "Period.  Hate 'em."

   "At least you have 'em.  Whatsername?  The one that wanted to be a
cheerleader?"

   "Oh, yeah..." Gina said.  "Heard about it.  One of the football players.
Not sure which one."

   "She's not sure?  Or YOU'RE not sure?  There's a difference, you know,"
I said.  I was fairly certain in my own mind as to the answer to that
question.

   "She's not.  Apparently she's been a little TOO popular..." Gina sighed.
"Honestly!  How can you NOT know about birth control?  They practically
shove it down your throat..."

   Casey stifled most of a giggle.

   "I'm not tryin' to be funny," Gina said.  "You know what I mean.  And
safe sex?  Everybody knows that the football team are paragons of chastity
and monogamy.  Some of those guys have stuff you can't kill with a
flame-thrower."

   "Still getting 'A's' in creative writing, I see," I said.

   Gina looked at me.  "You know what I mean."

   "Gosh, I've heard..."

   Gina gulped.  "Uh, I didn't mean it like..."

   "Oh, poo, Gina.  I know what you mean.  I'm not a delicate little flower
you have to tiptoe around."

   "Well, it's sad," she sighed

   "So is she keeping the baby, or adopting it out, or..." Casey asked.

   "I dunno.  I heard she's pretty far along.  I dunno if abortion's an
option."

   "Wanna change the subject?" I asked her.

   "Oh, please do," Gina said.  "I'm just a bit disturbed over this one."

   "I'm getting married."

   Gina's blurted "What!" turned heads in the semi-quiet library.  She
covered her mouth with a muted "Sorry!", then whispered "What did you just
say?"

   "I just told Casey.  I'm getting married."

   Gina's face fell.  "I thought that's what you said.  Please, please,
PLEASE tell me you're not pregnant."

   "No, I am NOT pregnant.  I am in love with a guy who's in love with me."
We went over the questions that I'd just answered with Casey.  "Maybe I
should print out a FAQ sheet."

   "Well, spill it!  I know you have pictures on your iPhone."

   I whipped out my iPad.  "These are better." I showed them a few.  Tim by
himself.  Us together.

   "Girl!  He's OLD."

   "Gina, my dear, he's forty.  If I marry him now and he lasts until
eighty, I get forty good years.  I know marriages between people the same
age that don't get forty weeks.  And so do you."

   "He's an engineer," Casey added helpfully.  "Apparently he's, like,
Mister Stability, except for a disturbing predilection for falling in love
with our brown-haired classmate."

   "You're completely serious," Gina said.  "This isn't some sort of warped
joke."

   "Nope.  Serious."

   "Baby sister," Gina said.  She's a whole year older than me.  "You're
sure?  You're not over-compensating for something?"

   "Don't you think I've asked myself that, Gina?  I know better than to
use people.  Including me."

   "It's kinda strange, is all.  Forty.  Could be, like, a father figure,"
Gina said.  Casey's expression told me that she signed onto that idea.

   "Not even close.  Wrong buttons get pushed.  First time I saw him, I
wasn't thinking, 'Oh, gee, Kimberly, he'd make a good father.' Bells went
off in my head.  Heart rate went up.  Husband.  Definitely husband."

   "First time?" Casey questioned.

   "Yeah.  Just like the fairy tales."

   "Or Romeo and Juliet." Gina said.

   "Hopefully, without the swordplay," Casey giggled.

   "So, okay.  You two.  D'ya come close to understanding?"

   Casey spoke for the two of them.  "As president of the group, I think
we're trying to understand."

   "Thanks.  Out of twelve hundred kids in this school, you two have
opinions I care about."

   "But if we said 'Kim, you're out of your ever-lovin' mind..."

   "I'd ignore you.  This is real," I said.

   Two days later Mizz Sandersen, my physics teacher, caught me headed out
at the end of the day.  "Kim, do you have a minute?"

   "Sure, Mizz Sandersen," I said.  I was thinking we were going to talk
about a question I had posed about some physical properties working on a
beam.

   "Kim, I heard something today.  I'm rather surprised."

   Okay ...  Not the physics question then.  "Yes, ma'am?"

   "Rumor has it that you're getting married."

   "Oh," I said.  Well, I didn't specifically tell Casey or Gina NOT to say
anything.  For that matter, it could be Aunt Jen.  Teachers' lounge and all
that.  But I don't think Aunt Jen's the type to talk about private matters.
"It's true.  Not common knowledge, but it's true." Here it comes.

   "Dear, you're one of my best and brightest.  I care about you.  You're
not in trouble, are you?"

   "No, Mizz Sandersen.  Not even a little bit.  I'm the most 'out of
trouble' girl I know of."

   "Sixteen year old girls don't have to get married," she said.

   "I don't have to get married, Mizz Sandersen.  I want to get married. 
It's okay.  Really!"

   "Dear, it's not my business, but then it IS my business.  Abuse."

   "I'm not abused.  We can go through the list of abused girls walking
around these halls every day, and right here in the same halls are some of
the guys who are abusing them.  I'm not one of them.  I'm not pregnant. 
I'm not on drugs.  I am quite sane and quite happy."

   "Are you certain, Miss Kim?"

   "Yes ma'am, and thanks for caring.  You can talk to Aunt Jen about it.
She knows."

   "When.  The wedding?"

   "Two weeks.  The Saturday before Thanksgiving.  Not formal.  But you're
invited." Note to self.  Start keeping a list of who you're inviting.  And
ask Tim about it.

   When I met Aunt Jen at the end of the school day, I sagged back in the
seat of her car.  "Did I make a mistake?"

   "Oh, I don't guess," she said.  "It was going to get out sooner or
later, darlin'.  And you and I already knew the questions that would come
up."

   "And I'm already a lost cause with a lot of people."

   "You're an enigma.  A big series of contradictions.  If some of the
staff can't figure you out, what chance do you think a bunch of
hormone-addled teens would stand?"

   "Hmmmm."

   "Yeah," Aunt Jen continued.  "Exactly.  You know.  We've talked.  All
the influences that your age group face.  It's tough enough without
stirring things up.  And they're easily distracted.  Just like last year.
We'll get through this."

   I remember crying on Aunt Jen's shoulder, Laci's shoulder, even by
myself after Mom was sentenced.  It was tough.  They got me through it.

   "And this time you have Tim.  Just remember that.  You have Tim.  You
still have me an' Laci, but you have Tim and he will hold onto you and love
you and listen to you."

   Okay, so now there's a renewed interest in poor little Kimmy at school.
Gym class.  I know that a lot of the stares are the 'can you see if she's
starting to show?' variety.

   But like Aunt Jen said, I have Tim.



   ------

   Chapter 13

   Kim's turn, still:

   It's serious.  Yes it is.  How serious?  We got up for Monday morning
and did breakfast.  He grabbed the keys to his truck.

   "You're taking your truck?  You just bought the new SUV."

   "Yeah, I know.  Here!" He pulled the key off his ring.  "Yours.  Be
careful.  Like I need to tell you that."

   "B-but this is your new car, Tim!"

   "And you're my new wife.  Or if you want, you can still ride with Jen."

   I grabbed him and kissed him.  "Riding with Aunt Jen is a good thing,
guy.  Really.  But thanks for the option."

   "Are you sure?"

   "I'm sure," I said.

   He walked out the door.  I stood there for a second.  The guy just gave
me the keys to his car and called it mine.  He's serious too.  But then I
knew that already.  Don't ask me HOW I know.  I just know.  The clock says
I have a little time before Aunt Jen leaves for school.  I could go over
there and wait.  Or I could sit in Tim's recliner.

   Recliner.  Smells of Tim.  I lean back against the headrest and close my
eyes.  Reverie.  Interrupted, not at all unexpectedly, buy the tinkling of
my iPhone.

   Text message from Aunt Jen.  "GO." Aunt Jen is so subtle.  I shouldered
my book bag and headed out to meet her.

   "Morning, there," she said.  "He hasn't killed you yet?"

   I giggled.  "We tried killing each other.  Passed out.  That's ALMOST
killed, isn't it?"

   "Don't be graphic, Kimberly," Jen snapped.

   "Not graphic at all.  And tell me that you don't..."

   "I'm not telling you any such thing."

   "Well, I never knew it would be like this.  I mean, just a physical
act..."

   Jen sighed.  "But that's what you and I talked about more than once.  It
shouldn't be just a physical act.  If your shoulder itched where you
couldn't reach to scratch it, would you rather rub up against a door frame,
get a stranger to give it a quick scratch, or bare your shoulder to
somebody who knows exactly how you like to be scratched, and who turns that
scratching session into a session of comfort and care?"

   "Are you sure I'm not YOUR daughter?" I asked her.

   "Only if I slutted myself out when I was twelve, baby doll," she said.
Aunt Jen was Mom's much younger sister.

   "Well, you made some things sound so sensible."

   "And you know how much people pay attention to sensibility, don't you?"

   Aunt Jen and I have both seen a lot of the foibles of human nature. 
Sadly, some of the most negative vignettes came with my Mom's name on them.
After that, Aunt Jen and I have pretty normal lives, but we're both
eyeball-deep in high school, she being a teacher and me being a student,
and when you put a thousand or so hormone-charged teens in a building five
days a week, you see and hear a lot of things.  And if you're of such a
mind, you get to experience them personally.

   I chose to be an observer, much to Aunt Jen's relief when I moved in
with her.  I observed, right up to the time I observed somebody moving into
that vacant apartment.  The Day.  Now I'm playing the game with new rules,
off the field, on my own.  And it's NOT a game.

   "You're thinking again, aren't you?" Aunt Jen said.

   "Just where we are in our lives and how we got here."

   "Quite a ride you're having, Kimmy," she said.

   "Yeah, it is," I said.  "You're a big part of that.  The good part."

   "I didn't know what I was getting myself into when I asked for you to
come live with me, you know." Aunt Jen and I had previously had this
conversation.  I can understand.  So many messed up people on the planet
these days.  I was in a perfect position to be one of them.  Could've been.
Wasn't.

   When Mom started going off the tracks at the end, I was scared.  Angry.
Could've easily slipped into drugs and sex.  It's not like living with Mom
didn't give me plenty of opportunity.  Mom really didn't act like she cared
and there were plenty of men who would've been glad to help me along.

   I had that one memorable incident with one of Mom's guys who thought a
little push might get me going in his direction.  It was horrible.  I still
get squicked out about it.

   Mom was stoned out of her gourd on a cocktail of drugs and alcohol that
night.  I know that I told Tim she was out 'working', but 'stoned' and
'working', at least Mom's version of work, were about equally
reprehensible. Anyway, I guess ol' Rich (who was not 'rich' at all,
monetarily speaking) decided that fucking Mom's unresponsive carcass wasn't
as attractive an option as her then-fifteen year old daughter in the
bedroom up the hall.

   I woke up when my door opened.  I could see him in the dim light coming
in the window.  He was completely naked and ready for action.  Before I
could say a word he slid into my bed and started nuzzling and trying to
kiss me.  I rolled over.  One hand went under my pillow.  The other hand
went down his belly, reaching for his erection.  I actually felt kind of
bad for him because all he wanted was sex and he thought he was getting
ready to get that.

   My two hands came together.  One of them had his dick.  The other had a
Ginsu steak knife.  I sliced.  He screamed, jerked, fell out of bed
spurting blood.  I called 9-1-1.  Attempted rape.  Self-defense.  Needed
police and an ambulance.

   When you let police into your house and your Mom is not very discreet
about her habits involving undocumented pharmaceuticals, there's bound to
be some interesting interactions.  If you add a naked guy writhing on your
bedroom floor in a pool of his own blood grasping his almost-severed penis,
it gets MORE interesting.

   Mom and Rich ended up in the hospital that night.  Mom was hauled in
because she was unconscious and unresponsive.  Rich, well, his problem was
obvious.

   Me, I was hauled in because I had blood on my pajamas and my bed and I
admitted that I'd retaliated to an attempted rape.  Being fifteen at the
time, I was a minor as far as the legal system was concerned so I was
handled differently.  I had a court-appointed advocate, a nice lady who was
roused out of a good night's sleep to come assist yet another unfortunate
youth.

   "I'm Pamela Bardon, Kimberly," she said.  We were in a little private
conference room at the police station.  "I'm here to help you with the
legal things and the social services things.  Do you want to talk with me?
It would be much easier if I knew what was going on."

   Poor Mizz Pam.  Thought an avalanche had hit her.  I dumped the whole
load on her.  As I explained some of the things that I heard or saw from
Mom's unconventional lifestyle, there were a couple of times that Mizz Pam
stifled gasps.

   "Are you doing drugs?" she asked.

   "No, ma'am.  Not so much as cigarette or a beer has ever touched my
lips. I know where that can end up.  It's too ugly to imagine."

   "This next question is personal, but you're claiming attempted rape. 
Are you sexually active?"

   "No, ma'am." I didn't get into asking why my previous sexual history
might indicate that this particular scabby bastard might think he was
entitled to my wares.  I couldn't see where it would enhance my position to
argue with Mizz Pam.  "I am a virgin.  Really.  I know it's a surprise in
this day and age, 'specially living with SuperMom.  But I am."

   Mizz Pam sat at my side through the questioning, along with an attorney
who was just as happy being rousted out of bed as she was.  The detective
assigned to my case questioned me.  It didn't take a lot of sleuthing to
figure out things.  I was in a pair of bloody pajamas.  Ol' Rich was stark
naked.  I recounted his relationship with Mom.  The detective was scanning
the preliminary report from the responding officers as he questioned me.

   "Nothing in your bedroom, it says here." Lieutenant Travis was
serious-looking, fortyish, a few doughnuts over the USDA daily minimum
requirement.

   "If there WOULD have been anything there, I wouldn't've known about it.
I do NOT do drugs.  ANY of them."

   "They found a pretty good collection of stuff in the apartment, though."

   "Are you asking me if Mom and Rich might be dealing?"

   "You don't have to answer," the lawyer said.

   Lieutenant Travis glared at him.  "You don't, Kimberly."

   "Am I being charged?"

   "No.  Nothing in your room."

   "Yeah, I heard 'em talking about buying and selling."

   He scribbled notes.  "Did you hear any names mentioned?"

   I had.  But honestly, I had no idea who might be connected with names
like 'Bug' and 'Harry' and 'Gleester' and such.  Still, he scribbled notes.

   Afterward, in the mid-morning, I was about to drop in my tracks.  The
adrenaline rush was long gone, I was shy a night's sleep, I needed a
shower. The jail-issue coveralls weren't even up to my rather innovative
standards of outer-wear.

   Mizz Pam and a patrol officer took me back to Mom's apartment.  I packed
a gym bag with things and then went home with Mizz Pam.  After a shower I
crashed for a few hours, got up, she and her husband took me out to eat.

   "Do you have any relatives who you might stay with, Kimberly," she
asked. "In the morning we need to talk with the social worker about your
disposition."

   "Disposition," I said sadly.  "Disposed.  That's what I am now. 
Something to be disposed of."

   "Kimberly, I'm on your side here.  I will do the very best I can to get
you the best outcome.  Do you..."

   "Aunt Jen.  Jennifer Elkins.  She lives here in town.  She's a school
teacher." I didn't add the part what Mom liked to harp on, that Aunt Jen,
her sister, was 'A big bull-dyke'.  Aunt Jen was a college grad, naturally,
since she was a teacher, and that was about all I knew of her.  I can't
remember talking with her much since Granddad's funeral three years before.
All I could remember was that Grandpa was gone, Mom was dressed like the
proverbial 'whore in church' and Aunt Jen was wearing a simple and tasteful
dress.  And Aunt Jen told me how much I'd grown.

   I wondered what she'd say today.  I did know what she looked like,
though.  She's a teacher at my high school.  We just didn't talk.  I didn't
know if it was because she wanted to distance herself from her sister's
drama, or if I was tainted in her mind, or what.

   "Do you want to call her?" Mizz Pam asked.  "You could sort of feel her
out.  Prepare her for talking with Social Services."

   I sighed.  This isn't something I was exactly ready to do.  I wasn't
sure what to say.  I told Mizz Pam.

   "Honesty works, Kimberly.  You're in an unfortunate situation.  Even if
your Mom does get out of jail, I can't see your situation being good if you
stay with her."

   I asked for a phone book and looked up Aunt Jen's number.  Forgot that
Aunt Jen has a job.  Got her voicemail.  "Aunt Jen, this is Kimberly.  Your
niece.  Mom's in jail.  I don't have a place to stay.  I'm sort of in a
tough spot here.  Can you call me back?" I spoke Mizz Pam's number.  I
turned to Mizz Pam.  "She's still at school, I imagine."

   That gave Mizz Pam an opening to ask about my schoolwork.  Even with
SuperMom, I was doing well in school.  I'd already skipped the fourth and
sixth grades and was straight 'A's' up to this point.

   "Impressive," Mizz Pam said.

   "It's the only thing I have going for me," I said sadly.  "'Specially
right now."

   "We'll do our best for you, Kimberly," she said.  We kept talking about
my school experiences, how I managed to insulate myself from others, being
unusually young and having a mom who was notorious enough for some high
school kids to know some of the story.

   The phone rang.  Mizz Pam picked up.  "Bardon residence.  This is Pam."
She paused.  "Yes, Kimberly called from here.  Would you like to talk with
her?" Pause.  "Yes, I'm a child advocate.  She's been with me since last
night." Pause.  "She's okay.  As best she can be under the circumstances."
Pause.  "Here she is." Mizz Pam passed me the phone.  "Your Aunt Jennifer."

   "Hi, Aunt Jen," I said.  The floodgate of tears I'd been holding back?
They came out.  I was getting back under control, Mizz Pam patting my
shoulder soothingly, when I got to the bottom line.  "Aunt Jen, Mom's gonna
go to jail.  I don't have a place to stay."

   And I found out some of the character of this 'bull dyke' when she said,
"That's incorrect, baby.  You'll stay with me.  If that's what you want."

   "T-t-thank you, Aunt Jen.  Yes, that's what I want..."

   "Then, Kimmy, we'll make it happen.  Can I come get you this evening?"

   I turned to Mizz Pam.  "Can I go home with her this evening?"

   "Yes," she said.

   "Aunt Jen, she says okay.  Let me give you the address." I got it from
Mizz Pam and repeated it to Aunt Jen.

   "Let me talk to her," Mizz Pam said.

   "Here's Mizz Pam," I told Aunt Jen.

   "Mizz Elkins, she looks like you've lifted a big load off her
shoulders." Pause.  "Yes, I'm glad you're stepping up." Pause.  "She needs
to go to Social Services tomorrow at nine.  I need to be there.  I can meet
the two of you.  It would be better if you were there, but I can
understand..." Pause.  "Okay!  Great!  We'll see you in a little bit." She
passed the phone back to me.

   "Bye, Aunt Jen," I said.  After I hung up, I smiled at Mizz Pam.

   "Kimberly, that's the first smile I've seen from you.  It makes me feel
much better."

   "I feel much better.  At least I have something.  At least for the time
being." I got up and gathered up my belongings.  Mizz Pam looked over my
shoulder.  I turned to her.  "Let me help you strip this bed."

   "I can do that later, baby," she said.

   "I really want to help," I countered.  "You've ...  you know, you've
been an angel.  I don't know ...  I just can't imagine having to face the
last twenty-four hours by myself."

   "That's why I do it, Kimberly.  I've sort of been in the same
circumstances.  I'm just passing on the good works.  And your smile is more
payment than I can imagine."

   Mizz Pam answered a knock on the door and let Aunt Jen in.  I ran into
her arms.  It was easy.  She held them open for me.  We both thanked Mizz
Pam and we left in Aunt Jen's little car.

   Driving home, I repeated my gratitude.

   "Kim, it's what people do for family," she said.  "I'm kind of sorry I
didn't try to get you to come live with me as soon as I got a job."

   "You have your own life," I said.  "You don't need me in the way."

   "I doubt that you're going to be in the way, sweetie."

   "What about your social life?" I asked.  I was having a bit of trouble
trying to figure out how lesbians might handle social life.

   "My social life will be just fine.  I already messaged Laci.  She will
be over to meet you, if you don't mind."

   "Laci," I said.

   "My uh ...  Friend?  Companion?  I'm sure your mom had a term."

   "Don't wanna talk about Mom right now."

   "I can understand that, Kim.  Trust me, you'll be just fine with me and
Laci." I looked.  Aunt Jen was smiling.

   "You mean this isn't a huge life-changing disruption to your life?"

   "It's a change, Kimberly, not a disruption."

   So that's what I told Aunt Jen as we drove to school: "It's a change,
not a disruption."

   "You remember too much," she laughed.

   "One of my many talents," I giggled in return.

   There's another reason I think it's a good idea to ride to school with
Aunt Jen.  She gets to park in the teachers' parking lot.  Short walk. 
Student parking lot.  Long walk.  Of course everybody has already seen me
get out of Aunt Jen's car.  The fact that I live with Aunt Jen is old news.
I sling my book bag over my shoulder and walk with her into the building.

   She heads to the office and I head to my locker.  I'm stacking the
afternoon's books in my locker when the girl who has the locker next to
mine shows up.  "Hi, Lisa," I say.  She's not a close friend in the 'we
talk about EVERYTHING' category, but we bump into each other three times a
day, every day, so she's in one of several 'friend' categories.

   "Hey, Kim.  How's it goin'?"

   "Good, really."

   "Must be," she said.  "There's a rumor goin' around that you're getting
married."

   I sighed.  "Yeah, didn't want to make a big deal about it at school."

   "Getting' married IS a big deal, though, don'tcha think?"

   "Yeah," I said.  "To me it really is.  Just that so many people will
take a bit of data like that and draw exactly the wrong curve." Lisa's in
my AP trig class.  I know she knows about data and plotting curves.

   "How so?"

   "I already got asked if I was pregnant.  I'm not.  If it was a student
here.  It's not.  That kind of stuff."

   "So do you have pictures?"

   "You know I do." I whipped out my iPhone.  Poked at it.  Me and Tim on
the screen.  "Here!"

   "Uh ...  Okay.  He's older than I expected."

   "Me too." I smiled.  "But he's great!  He's it."

   "I don't think I could go for an older guy.  How old is he?"

   "Forty-one.  Engineer.  For real."

   She brushed an errant strand of hair behind her ear.  "Brain?"

   "Definitely," I said.

   She tugged my hand and looked again.  "I guess ...  He isn't bad-looking
at all.  So what's the deal?  June wedding?"

   "Oh, that would be just silly.  The Saturday before Thanksgiving.  He's
taking vacation and I'm out of school and we're heading off on a
honeymoon."

   "You ...  sixteen, right?  Isn't that..."

   "Aunt Jen's my legal guardian.  She knows all about this.  It's all on
the up and up.  I'm not going to sneak around and hide."

   "I guess not.  Not if you're getting married.  That's almost archaic,
you know."

   "Sadly, yes." I closed my locker door.  "Well, scholarship calls."

   She giggled.  "AH, yes ...  So, secret?  Or not."

   "Not so much, I guess.  I mean, I'm not running up and down the halls
screaming the news, but YOU know, so if you hear it come up in
conversation, you'll know who's spreading bull shit."

   "Everybody," she said.  "It's ALL bullshit."

   "Yeah."

   And off to class.  I can't say that I paid no attention at all, but
let's just take it to the point that at this stage, I could get by with
about 20% attention.  Allows me to daydream a bit.  I know that between
Aunt Jen and Tim if I misjudge and miss something significant, they'll get
me up to speed.

   There's nothing significant.  Math is just reinforcing something that I
totally understand.  Physics is the same thing.  English, well, we're on a
grammar phase rather than literature, and I can sling words with the best
of 'em.  I can slap a volleyball rather enthusiastically in gym class. 
Social studies?  Okay, I pay attention in social studies.  History.

   Lunch is getting more sociable for me.  In addition to Casey and Gina,
others circulate in and out of my lunch group.  A few of them stop by to
line me up for help in one subject or another.  Today it's about the rumor,
though.

   Gina giggles, "You really should have a FAQ sheet."

   I lined up a couple of 'Can you help me' types for a corner of the
library in my dead half-hour after lunch.  After last hour I walked out
with the thundering herd, but split off and headed to the teachers' parking
lot to wait for Aunt Jen.

   We got in the car.  After we got onto the street, she announced, "Well,
Miss Kimberly Elkins, news is out.  You made Topic of the Day in the
teachers' lounge."

   "Sorry," I said.  "I've been answering questions all day myself." I
sighed.  "None of them are even original: Are you pregnant?  Is he a
student here?"

   "Yeah.  The only reason a girl has to get married is that she's
pregnant, right?  In high school?  In this day and age?"

   "Right," I countered.  "As if it matters." We both knew teen moms.  In a
couple of cases there were actual teen dads tied to them, but in as many
cases, it was a case of "When you eat a whole can of beans, how can you
tell which one made you fart?" I remember dropping that line on my
fiancĂ(C)e and having to clap him on the back to get his breathing
restarted.

   "Anyway, I defended you, Kim.  I'm proud of you."

   "Don't know if I need defending, but I'm glad, very glad that you think
I'm doing right?"

   She laughed once.  "Now I didn't say that!  I think you're crazy.  You
and him both.  But you're both crazy in the same direction, so it's a good
thing."



   ------

   Chapter 14

   Tim's turn:

   I've become a legend for all the wrong reasons.  Well, I guess that's
incorrect.  Kimberly Elkins is the very right reason.  Medium-sized town.
Many of the people I work with are married to or related to or friends with
people at Kim's high school, so outside the few that already know who I'm
marrying because I told them, there are others who found out from that
other path.

   Some people shake my hand and congratulate me.  Some just ask if it's
true.  Some shake their heads.

   Sitting in the kitchenette with a cup of fresh coffee and a
vendor-supplied pastry, talking with our office administrator, Gail.

   "Okay, Tim ...  You've pretty much gone off the deep end, huh?"

   "About what?"

   "Not what, who.  Your sixteen year old fiancĂ(C)e."

   "Ah, my Kimmy," I said.  I can't avoid smiling when I think about her.
Gail noticed.

   "Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you're happy.  I wish you all the best. 
But that news doesn't sit well with a few people."

   "Oh, let me guess.  Forty year old guy, sixteen year old girl. 
Exploitation written in big red letters all over the place.  Am I right?"

   "Pretty good synopsis," Gail said.  "Sister-in-law teaches at the high
school.  Word's out in high school."

   "So Kim's told me."

   "It's pretty much common knowledge around here, too.  Some of the ladies
at the office, one in particular, were[PtC1] very vocal about how wrong it
was."

   "According to whom?" I asked.  "It's not the norm, but wrong?  There's a
lot of ways this might be wrong.  We're not about any of them."

   "Well, you know all the stories about exploited girls, Tim," She said.

   "Nobody's exploiting anybody here, Gail.  I'm not chaining her to the
bed.  She's not some socially stunted feebleminded moron.  She's an honor
student in high school and she'd be rich if she had a buck for every time
somebody thought she must be pregnant.  She's not.  She's bright and she's
funny and she's pretty, at least by any standard I care about."

   "Wow," Gail said softly.  "You get rolling, don't you?"

   "My favorite person on the planet.  We're talking about her."

   "You're serious, then."

   "Gail, I'm dead serious.  Do you think whoever it is that's upset is in
position to make trouble here for me?"

   "Nah," Gail said.  "You might not have a lot of time in this place, but
you're getting a reputation for having your stuff together." She smiled. 
"Of course, most of that is because I keep you between the lines."

   "I humbly acknowledge that I would be a mere worm without your
guidance," I said.

   "And your Kim KNOWS you're like this and she still wants to marry you?"

   "Her only flaw," I laughed.

   I didn't expect everybody to be onboard with the marriage of a high
school girl to a middle-aged engineer, but the idea that somebody would
think badly enough to tell others, well, that's uncomfortable.

   Buzz walked in on the conversation.  "Ah, donuts!  Days are better when
you get your Vitamin D." His eyes flitted between me and Gail.  "Am I
interrupting something?"

   "Gail was catching me up on the perceptions of my impending nuptials."

   "Mostly good.  As in 'Man!  He got a sixteen year old?!?' You're a
legend."

   "Apparently not everybody thinks favorably.  Gail says..."

   "I know who you're gonna mention," Buzz interrupted, shaking his head.
"Up at the Ivory Tower.  Woman's got her nose in everybody's business, and
that same nose stays out of joint.  If I was you, I wouldn't send 'er an
invitation."

   Gail laughed.  "Buzz, you disappoint me.  I'd recommend that not only he
send her an invitation, but he include a picture of him and a mini-skirted
bimbo wearing a pushup bra and a bare midriff with a tattoo."

   "Gail!" he squawked.  "I had no idea your head worked in that
direction!"

   "Used to not," she smirked.  "Your bad habits rub off on me."

   Of course, Buzz has actually met Kim a few times and he knows that
miniskirts and bare midriffs are not in her repertoire.

   He didn't let that stop him.  "Tim, I have a niece who we could pose for
that photo," he grinned.

   I left him and Gail giggling and went back to work.  Working through a
couple of proposals kept me occupied until lunch, then the rest of the day
slipped past.  The whistle blew and the majority of the workers made a mad
rush out the gates.  As with most days, I didn't join the race.  I sat in
the lunchroom with a couple of co-workers.  We used the time to catch up on
the latest rumors.

   Yes, I'm one, me and Kim, that is.

   "It's a good thing," I answered in response to the usual questions.  "If
she had ten more years, nobody'd question a thing, but the point is, she's
smart and sane and quite the cutie on[PtC2] top of the other stuff."

   "Yeah, I can understand sanity being attractive," one of the others
said. "I've been with some who didn't meet that standard."

   Home.  Kim's on the sofa, smiling.  "I love you, Timothy," she said.

   "I love you too, Kimberly.  And I'm glad you're sane."

   "You're glad I'm sane?  What brought that on?" she questioned, rising to
kiss me.  "Besides who says either of us is sane?  I have a lot of people
telling me that I'm crazy."

   I sat back on the sofa and tugged her into my lap, a wonderful thing
wherein her arms go around my neck and her face ends up at kissing
distance.

   "I had the same conversation, little brown-haired girl."

   She turned her eyes to mine, connecting.  "Are we really crazy, guy?  So
many people think there's something wrong with this."

   I stroked her sleek hair, planted a soft kiss on those red lips. 
"Kimberly, nobody gets to say we're crazy.  We're outside the normal range
on a lot of standards, but we're not crazy."

   She kissed me back.  "I'm not crazy, Tim.  This ISN'T crazy." Another
kiss.  "We have each other.  We have your family.  We have Aunt Jen and
Laci.  And I'm sure the 'that's crazy' business is not universal among our
friends."

   "You're right, you know."

   "I'm used to being right, you know." She did that smile that got me in
trouble in the first place.  "You're not having second thoughts, are you?"

   "Not a single one.  I'd give up the world to keep you."

   "I'm not giving up either, my Timothy." Resolve filled her eyes.  "I
know what 'forever' means.  People are going to talk.  I listened to 'em
talk about Mom, and when they got enough of that, they talked about me. 
When they run out of facts, they make things up.  But they talk."

   I nodded.  Kimberly on a roll.  Listen.

   "I don't know what reaction they're looking for.  Was I supposed to
start crying and flop down on my knees and beg and say 'You're right!  I'm
shit!  It's exactly like you say.  Momma's a whore and I'm a whore too.'
and beg for release?  I don't think they knew what they wanted, besides the
opportunity to talk down somebody else to elevate themselves." She heaved
in a breath, restarted.  "And what would that get me?  What would THIS get
me?  I mean, if you and I were to say to all those people, 'You're right!
We're wrong for each other.  We're separating and going our separate ways.'
Would that DO anything except validate their idle minds for that one topic,
leaving them to go on to something else to be wrong about?"

   "Wow!"

   "Tim, I've been through this with Mom.  You and[PtC3] I?  We're just the
topic of the week.  I love you.  Period.  No, check that.  I love you. 
Ellipsis.  It just trails off into infinity.  No end.  I love you.  Not
that 'write your name on a page in flowery script' that passes for
adolescent love.  I'm sure.  This is it.  Forever."

   "I worry about you, little one," I said.  "I'm up to anything they can
throw at me, but I worry about you."

   "Don't worry about me, sweetie," she replied.  "I've been through a lot.
In four months, when I'd be starting to show a pregnancy, there are a lot
of clucking tongues who will have to re-evaluate their suppositions.  And
by then I'll have been walking the halls sporting my wedding band for three
months.  And I'm sure there'll be some other earth-shattering event for
them to talk about.  You're not getting shed of me because a bunch of
people need conversation in their lives."

   "Good!" I exclaimed.  "A man doesn't get too many winning lottery
tickets in his life.  You're mine.  What's Jen say about all this?"

   "Oh, pretty much what we say.  She keeps me posted on what goes on in
the teachers' lounge.  I know she's taken my side before, so I'm sure she's
still doing it." She paused.  "Speaking of ...  What about dinner?"

   "We could order a couple of pizzas and have Laci and Jen come save us
from the horrors of leftovers."

   "That's good.  All this talk is waaay too serious, Tim.  Make me
giggle!"

   That's an order I can easily accommodate.  If those ruby lips are within
range, so's an ear.  And a neck.  And I can make my baby squeal and giggle
and writhe in my lap.

   That 'ear' thing?  Turnabout is fair play, you know, and while my own
breathing was ragged, she whispered, "We really need to work on our quickie
techniques.  Call the pizza place and then meet me in bed."

   I suppose that she called Jen while I called the pizza order in, but
when I get to the bedroom she was pantsless, kneeling, looking back at me
over her shoulder.  Grinning.

   Oh, yeah ...  I guess this is the part of 'he's marrying a sixteen year
old' that gets to people, but I never pushed Kim, not from the very first.
She sets the limits.  The closest I have ever come to 'pushing' her was the
occasional session that started after I kissed the back of her neck in the
early morning, and that was only because I THINK she's asleep.  Any other
time?  A kiss.  A twinkle in her eyes.  She takes my hand, and it's off to
the races.

   Today?  Quickie?  Oh, yeah ...  My brain is deprived of blood.  That's
okay.  I need so few neurons for this.

   It's over fast and she's lying on top of me smiling.  "Good?"

   "Oh, God ...  I'm sure that when the warp drive is invented it'll have
something to do with what I just experienced.  I definitely swapped
dimensions."

   Giggle.  "Me too.  You going gets ME going."

   "I ...  it happens so fast..."

   "Sir, you're obviously mistaken that I spend all day doing equations in
my head ...  Nope.  Timmy's there." Grin.  "And you KNOW what Timmy does
for me.  And then sitting in your lap.  I was primed."

   "Since you and I started, I'm always primed," I said.

   "Yeah ...  somebody said old guys can't keep up," she giggled.  "Quick
shower.  The pizza's gonna get here."

   We were out of the shower before the pizza arrived simultaneously with
Jen and Laci.  We put on our civilized veneer for the meal, right up until
Laci started in on Kim.

   "Our Timmy looks kind of pale, Kim.  What are you doing to him?"

   Kim doesn't miss a beat.  "I'm working with him on a regimen of contact
aerobics, Aunt Laci!" she popped with a smirk.  Giggle.  "Lots of contact!"

   I could feel the heat as my face changed colors.

   "Oh, look, Laci.  You two have embarrassed poor Timmy," Jen said.  "See,
Tim?  I'm taking up for you.  Don't want you running off, you know."

   Kim giggled.  "Yeah.  I need to get him a collar and a leash." And she
winked at me.  I guess that'll happen.

   Laci didn't let up.  "If you train 'im right, you won't need the leash
in public."

   Laci and Jen and Kim played the 'Kim's pet' angle on me all the time. 
Truth is, I love being her pet.  I guess that's my concession to the age
difference: I feel like I belong to her, like some fortunate stray mutt.
"Well, Tim's owner," Jen said, "Have you thought any more about this

upcoming wedding?"

   "Yep," she said.  "Got the list of people who MIGHT show up.  And I
called the minister of that Universalist church in town.  He says he'll
perform the service."

   "Universalist?" Laci questioned.

   "Yes," Kim explained.  "I ...  we haven't exactly been part of a church
community, but I know that Universalists are less likely to be judgmental
about me and Tim and twenty years, or you and Jen and your X chromosome
abundance, for that matter."

   I saw Jen's eyes light up.  I knew she and Laci were monogamous, Kim
says for years.

   "This state doesn't accept same-sex marriage," Jen said.

   "So you've talked about it, then?" I asked.  "Not being nosy, though,
but if we're talking about weddings..."

   Laci's face actually changed.  She lost that happy, snotty thing she
gets when we're jabbing at each other.  Softened.  I saw her eyes flick
over to Jen.  Connected.

   Kim saw it, too.  "Seventeen states allow it now.  You could take a
vacation..."

   "We could take a vacation," I said.

   "Oh..." from Jen.

   "Yeah, like you never thought of it," Kim said.

   "We have," Laci said softly.

   "We talk about it," Jen affirmed.

   "It's something to think about," Laci followed.  "Who knows."

   Back to Kim: "If we do that Universalist church thing, we have a meeting
hall that'll hold a hundred and fifty.  That pretty much takes care of the
list I have, with room for quite a few more."

   "What kind of dress?" Laci asked.  "Something like on those bridal
shows?"

   "Yeah," Kim said.  "Tim told me to hold it under fifteen thousand
dollars..."

   "No shit!?!?" Jen spat.  Laci's eyes widened.

   Kim laughed.  "Yeah, right!  Can't you just see me in one of those?" She
smirked.  "I am going to do a nice, simple, normal dress, and Tim's got a
suit in his closet." Her face took on that 'here I go again' smirk.  "But I
want you in seventeen yards of burnt orange taffeta, and Laci, since you're
the best man, YOU need a powder-blue tuxedo."

   "Watch yourself, smartass," Laci tossed back.  "You KNOW I'd do it, just
to miff you off.  You're lucky you have Tim.  He shields you from getting
what you deserve."

   "Thank you, goddess," I said to Laci.

   "Just as long as you recognize it, buddy boy," Laci laughed.

   "So," Kim said, "we get married at the church on Saturday, fly out on
honeymoon Saturday after the wedding, come back the following Saturday..."

   "Missing our traditional family Thanksgiving..." Jen quipped.

   "Oh, that'd be Plan B," Kim said.  "I already talked to my new in-laws.
If you want a traditional family Thanksgiving, Tim's mom and dad said that
we're ALL welcome there."

   I looked at Kimberly.  "You talked to them about what?"

   Kim kissed my cheek.  "Calm down, baby.  I sort of broached the subject
with your mom.  She got your dad in on it.  I figured that you and I would
be a no-brainer.  Your dad asked if Aunt Jen had someplace to go.  I told
him that she usually spends holidays with Laci.  HE'S the one who said that
Jen 'n' Laci need to come, too."

   I got up, peeked out the window.

   "What are you doing, baby?" Kim asked.

   "Seeing what universe I'm in," I said.  "One more time: DAD said that?
My dad?  Not some other dad?"

   "Your dad," Kim affirmed.  "Come sit here and stop acting silly.  You
assumed some things about your parents that were just wrong."

   "Holy crap on a bicycle," I said.  "Dad, you surprise me."

   "Your dad loves you, sweetie," Kim said.  "Says he welcomes your new
family.  All of us."

   I looked up.  "Jen.  Laci.  I guess you can tell I'm surprised.  But if
Dad told Kim, then it's so."

   Kim switched her gaze between Jen and Laci.  "So do we do Plan B?"

   We'd talked about a honeymoon.  Plan A, a week jaunt, a cruise,
destination to be determined, but you just know it's a getaway, no more. 
Plan B?  A nearby city.  Make the BIG trip later, balancing weather with
destination.  Now I'm thinking that a Thanksgiving dinner at Mom and Dad's,
with my new bride and her two aunts?  Or is that the way you describe a
same sex couple?

   "Laci, if you and Jen get married, does that make you Kim's uncle?"

   "Only on weeks where Monday falls on an odd-numbered day, and you're
gonna be my nephew, so watch yourself."

   "Laci!" Jen squealed, "you're soooo..."

   "Appropriate!" Laci finished.  "Timmy started it!"

   "Y'all stop that!" Kim laughed.  "Do you think your 'queen' friend can
get somebody to do some catering for the reception?"

   "Look, Kimberly," Jen said, "Being your favorite aunt..."

   "This week.  I'm your uncle this week," Laci interrupted.

   "Uh ...  Whatever!" Jen told Laci.  " ...  I will take it upon myself to
set up your wedding..."

   Squeal!  "We're going to do a WEDDING!" Laci teased.  "Brucey will be
beside himself!" She saw my face.  "Don't worry, Tim!  We won't 'camp' it
up.  Seriously.  I know better than to rub people's noses in our alternate
lifestyles.  We'll be on our best behaviors."

   "I have to trust you," I said.

   "She'll be nice, Tim," Kim said.

   Laci came over to me, kissed me on the cheek.  "You're my favorite
straight couple, you know..."

   "Makes me feel much better," I said.

   We finished our meal and retired to our apartment.  Once inside, the
conversation picked back up.

   "Mom or Dad, neither one, told me you called."

   "I told 'em that I needed the conversation to be in confidence.  They
went along with it.  You're their son, but they LIKE me!"

   "Yeah," I said.  "Mom tells me every time I call.  Dad too.  Dad says I
need to be careful and take good care of you."

   "You do that," she replied.  "But I wanted 'em at our wedding and I was
sort of feeling your mom out about Jen 'n' Laci and Thanksgiving dinner
came up and we asked your dad."

   "I never figured Dad would be that receptive."

   "He loves you.  And He LIKES me.  And I told him that Jen and Laci are
good people." She smiled.  Kissed me.  She knows she's got me.  "Jen 'n'
Laci would never ever butch it up and embarrass anybody."

   "I believe that," I said.  "So when do I get my leash and collar?"

   Giggle.  "At least one time.  For effect," she smiled.

   I knew we'd do it.  What's worse, I knew that Kim was already plotting,
and I was relishing the expected expressions on Jen and Laci.

   "Dog collars," I laughed.

   "Hey," she retorted.  "I'm not the one with that 'Uncle Laci' comment."

   "You know, you come from a herd of smartasses," I said.  "It concerns
me."

   "You should be concerned," she chuckled.  "You and Laci going head to
head.  It's hilarious."

   "Crazy bunch," I replied.  "I got the best of them.  You."

   "You love them, too, don't you," she laughed.  "I can watch all of you
bickering and jousting and I know that I brought YOU into MY funny family
just like you brought me into your normal one."

   "You're entirely too perceptive, Kimberly," I said.

   "Ooooo, you called me 'Kimberly'.  I LIKE when you call me Kimberly."
She giggled, then said "Let me knock out some of this report for school and
then we'll shower and I'll let you hold me close and call me 'Kimberly' in
bed."

   "Homework?  That's new!" I commented.

   "Not exactly.  Science teacher told me to give him a workup on
electromagnetics.  Said the word, and told me to go with it, just to see
what direction I went with it."

   I started to speak.  She stopped me.  "No no no.  I KNOW you use it in a
million different ways.  Let ME run with it."

   "Okay," I said.  "You're on your own, princess."

   Giggle.  "Ooooo!  Now I'm 'princess'.  That's a whole other set of
ideas. Let me have the recliner.  I type faster at an angle."

   "You got it, girlie!"

   Giggle.  "Girlie?  Now I'm 'Girlie'?"

   "Little girl," I laughed, "you're like the stars in the sky to me. 
Every time I look, there's something new twinkling at me."

   "You silver-tongued devil," she laughed.  "That's poetic.  I like it.  I
shall reward you.  Later."

   I busied myself taking care of some domestic issues while Kim played
schoolgirl.  It's not difficult.  I was pretty neat before I moved into
this apartment, and Kim and I share the load quite handily.  If I have to
work late, she's up to catching one of the little tasks that get left over.
We're compatible.

   I puttered around for a bit, listening to her keyboard tapping steadily
in the living room as I rearranged things in kitchen cabinets.

   "I'm done for the night," I heard.  "Let's hit the shower, then you
decide if I'm Kimberly or Princess or Girlie." She came into the kitchen to
see what I was doing.  "I was thinking about moving that stuff next time I
was in here," she said.  "You had the pots in the wrong order."

   "You like this better?"

   "Yeah," she said.  "Now get your domestic heinie into the shower." She
punctuated her command by grabbing a cheek of my butt.

   Shower?  Shower!  Lot more fun with an enthusiastic helper.  We didn't
go straight to bed, though.  It was still rather early in the evening, so
we found something interesting on TV until about nine, watching while
cuddled up together.  When the chosen show ended, she wiggled full length
against me.

   "Bed!  Now!"

   "Yes, Kimberly," I said.

   She took me by the hand, led me to the bedroom, then hopped into the
middle of the bed, clad in some male pajamas of relaxed fit, looking
eminently charming.  "Start out with clothes on," she said.  "Kimberly
requires it." She was grinning.  It's a little game.  She wants to be
wooed, seduced, slowly.  "Kimberly requires it." She has fun playing the
role, coy, shy, almost reluctant, and she's just plain desirable to start
with.

   It's a fun game.  Everybody wins.  When we finally get to the stage
where her hand gingerly grasps my hardness, the clothes come flying off and
we're knotted together and after she shudders through her orgasm and I
explode through mine, we recover to the sounds of her giggle.

   "Did Kimberly go too far this time?" she questioned.

   "Kimberly is a delightful little thing," I said.  "She's exciting and
ever so easy to love."

   "Kimberly is glad you think so," she replied, hauling me back close for
kisses.  "Serious, now."

   That's the switch.  The game is over.  Well, except for the aftershocks
that keep surging through my happy genitalia.  Oh, and that soft hand
that's cupping my sack, gently tugging, rolling my balls back and forth. 
When the girl says she wants to talk seriously and she has your balls in
her hand, you tend to go along with her wishes.

   "Yes, ma'am," I answer.

   "The wedding?  Are you sure you're okay with us doing it this way?"

   I gazed into those clear blue eyes.  "Yes, I am.  I'm glad you found us
a church..."

   "It's Unitarian.  That's almost NOT a church.  It's just a step up from
a justice of the peace."

   "Mom and Dad will understand 'church'.  They won't worry about the
denomination," I said.

   "I showed you the invitation list.  You said you're okay with it?"

   "I'm okay if you're okay.  My family.  Your family.  My friends from
work.  Your friends from school.  Not a big crowd.The way it should be," I
commented.

   "I think so." She sighed.  "You know it's just a formality, don't you?
I'm yours forever.  Piece of paper and a public record has nothing to do
with my heart."

   "Me neither," I said.  "But it does confer some legalities, like you're
on my insurance and you're my next of kin.  Official stuff."

   "Yeah.  I know that.  But hearts..."

   "Mine is yours."



   ------

   Chapter 15

   Kim's turn:

   Naturally I was going to talk to Tim's mom about the wedding.

   "Mizz Duncan," I said, "it's not going to be fancy.  It's me and Tim,
not British royalty."

   "That's going to disappoint my grand-daughters," Mizz Duncan said.  "But
they need to see something that doesn't look like a Disney movie for a
change.  I'm sure it'll be beautiful.  My son's in it.  And a very pretty
bride."

   "Awwww, thank you," I said.  I never considered myself 'pretty'.  I
thought I was pretty solid in the 'adequate' range, but Tim acts like I'm a
goddess, and I'm happy with his assessment.  We can be that to each other.
"We have arrangements at the Unitarian Church in town.  The minister will
do the service and we can use their activity building for the reception."

   "Who's doing the planning?" she asked.

   "Right now, me.  I think that Aunt Jenn is going to take over as soon as
I tell her what my plans are.  We'll cater some finger foods and such."

   "Dress?"

   "I'm not going to do that 'bridal gown' thing.  Again, it's me and Tim
and in another age we'd stand in front of an itinerant preacher in our
every day clothes." (Later, Tim told me that his mom related this comment
to him.  "She's got a level head, Tim.  And a sense of tradition and
history.  Why didn't you get one of those the first time around?")

   "I'm not going be in my jeans either, though.  I will wear a nice dress.
Tim's got a suit I like.  It's going to be sort of non-traditional, at
least as far as clothes are concerned.  The friends and family thing,
that's pure tradition."

   "Your Aunt Jenn and her friend are going to be there?" Mizz Duncan
asked.

   "Yes.  Aunt Jenn is going to be the matron of honor and Laci is Tim's
choice for best man." I said that and immediately thought I might have made
a mistake, but hey!, Tim's idea.

   Instead of outrage, I heard a giggle.  "That's cute!  Is she going to
wear a tux?"

   "Oh, I don't know," I said.  "I've seen Laci in a dress.  I think that's
as far as it will go.  They're not going to get all radical and campy. 
They have good sense about all that."

   "I suppose," she said.  "I've heard that females are less likely to be
overt about things."

   "They're just good people, Mizz Duncan.  Aunt Jenn stepped up for me
without a second thought.  And she likes Tim.  They both do."

   "And then your honeymoon?"

   "Yes, ma'am," I said.  "We're kind of up in the air there.  We could do
the whole week, but Thanksgiving week is supposed to be hell for travel, so
our other option is to go up the road someplace and spend a few days and
get back in time for Thanksgiving."

   "And naturally, if you do that, then you drag my son here for family
Thanksgiving dinner."

   I heard Tim's dad's voice.  "You're talking to Kim?" he asked Mizz
Duncan.

   "Yes I am." To me she said, "I'm putting you on speaker phone.  Back to
her husband, "Now be nice.  We're talking with Kim about wedding plans."

   "I'll leave that to you and Kim," he said.

   "We're past that.  All wrapped up.  They're talking about coming over
here for Thanksgiving dinner."

   "Short honeymoon," he said.

   "We'll make up for it in the summer," I said.  "I don't want to
interfere with my schooling."

   Mister Duncan laughs like his son.  "Yeah ...  One of the disadvantages
of marrying while you're in high school, I guess."

   "Yessir," I replied.  "At least I graduate in May.  I could have two
more years."

   "But you and Son are coming to dinner, then?" he asked.

   "Certainly."

   "What about your aunt?"

   "Aunt Jenn?  I don't know what she and Laci have for plans."

   "Bring 'em," Mister Duncan said.

   "But they're ...  you know..." I said, in case he forgot.

   "I know.  But they're YOUR family.  Bring 'em."

   "Are you sure, Mister Duncan?  I mean, they're..."

   "So I've been told.  Do you love 'em?"

   "Yessir.  They're my family."

   "Then we married into 'em, didn't we?  Bring 'em."

   I was surprised.  Startled.  Flabbergasted.  "Mizz Duncan?"

   "Bring 'em.  Warn them ahead of time about the rest of this gang, but
we'll be happy to have them."

   I squealed a little.  "Oh, thank you!  You have no idea how happy this
makes me."

   "Hon," Mizz Duncan said, "we want you to be part of this family. 
Families merge.  And we got some relations with issues that make being
lesbian look really good."

   Mister Duncan laughed.  "Tim says they're good people, and quick witted
ones at that.  I'll be happy to have them here."

   "Well, let me break the news to Tim," I said.  "He gets so nervous about
this part."

   "Tim needs to lighten up," Mister Duncan said.  "He keeps worrying that
we're all sensitive and we need protection from the real world." He
snorted. "But we'll let you tell him."

   At school the next day I talked Casey into helping me.  She's quite a
bit more artistic than I am, and I wanted a nice wedding invitation.

   "We can totally do this," she said.

   "Can you come over after school?  Tim's got a computer system you
wouldn't believe.  Graphics out the kazoo.  HUGE monitor.  Latest
Photoshop."

   "At HIS house?"

   "Don't get weird.  I have a key.  It just as well be MY house." I hadn't
told anybody at school that I was living with Tim.  This was pretty close,
though.

   "That's kind of strange," Casey said.

   "Oh, it's not.  His computer ...  I like working on it.  Beats my
laptop." Mentally I was running inventory of our apartment, trying to
remember what might give away the fact that I was living with my Tim.  I'm
thinking that we don't leave clothes hanging around, but there ARE two
toothbrushes in the bathroom.

   Then Casey says, "I'll come over after school.  I need to run home
first, though."

   Reprieve.  Not that it would be THAT big a deal.  I mean, in a week or
so Tim and I would be married anyway, but ...  Why am I worrying about
this?

   "We'll knock out a sweet invitation pretty quick," Casey said.  "I know
some tricks."

   "I know," I said.  "I've seen your stuff." Casey was who you went to for
flyers and ads and whatever in school.  She had an artistic side, a flair,
that I really envied.

   The ringing of the bell jarred us both into activity and we parted ways
to our separate destinations.  I spent the rest of the day alternating
between brief periods of attention to classes and day-dreaming about
things. This isn't unusual for me.  I don't really have to pay a lot of
attention to things in class.  I get the assignment, a quick overview of
what the expectation is for the next day or two, and then I can read the
stupid book.  No challenge, not much, anyway.

   Lately I've been looking at the online courses that some colleges offer.
I started with some of the first-year things, freshman classes.  No hurdle
at all.

   "Tim, are these the courses the news says high school kids aren't
prepared for?" I asked him one evening.

   "Those are the ones: Math 101, English 101.  Entry level.  Stops a lot
of high school grads in their tracks." He sighed.  "I knew a lot of 'em. 
They thought that college was going to be like high school where they could
show up, smile, and sidestep the work and they'd get a passing grade just
to move 'em on.  There was a lot of disappointment."

   "They dropped out?"

   "Some did.  Some woke up, too."

   So I'm sitting in the classroom sort of viewing my fellow students and I
know who's got college aspirations because 'College, yaknow!' and who's
serious about learning.  When you know what to look for, it's easy to see
the difference.

   I made it through the day, went to my locker, dropped off a few books,
shouldered my backpack, and went looking for Aunt Jenn.  She was in her
classroom, wrapping up her own day.  She looked up when I walked in, but
didn't say anything, so I kept quiet while she worked on things.  I whipped
my iPhone (Tim got me an iPhone!) and popped off a warning text to Tim. 
This is the first time I've had Casey over after school, and it was HIS,
no, make that OUR house.  I hit 'send'.  A few minutes later my phone
tingled.

   "I shall be the paragon of restraint while your friend is here," it
said.

   Like I was worried.  Tim is a great guy around strangers.

   When Aunt Jenn and I got home, I went straight to our (that's mine and
Tim's) apartment and did a quick sterilization.  Unless Casey opened
closets or peeked into drawers, there is no evidence that I live here. 
Again, I'm not ashamed of moving in with Tim, it's just that such news
would be unpleasant if it was common knowledge.

   In a week?  No biggie.

   Phone rang.  Casey.  "Hi," I said.  "Where are you?"

   "In your parking lot.  I'll be there in a minute."

   "I'm standing outside the door, waiting on you." Well, I would be in a
bit.  I opened the front door and looked up the sidewalk.  Casey strode up
purposefully.

   "This is it," I said.  "Tim's apartment."

   "And you have a key," Casey stated.

   "Of course.  He's my fiancĂ(C) and he has a much better computer and
printer.  Come see!" I led her inside.

   "Hmmph!  Doesn't look like a den of iniquity."

   "You've been reading the wrong books again, haven't you?" I laughed.

   "You KNOW how everybody talks."

   "Boy, don't I?" I laughed.  We walked into Tim's computer room.

   "You weren't lying," Casey said.  "That's a huge monitor."

   "He does  -" well  -" he used to do design work on it.  You need a big
monitor for what he did."

   "This is a printer?" She was touching that big printer.

   "Uh-huh.  It'll do a twenty-four inch wide drawing.  Engineering stuff.
Like those." I pointed to some rolled drawings.

   "Let's boot it up.  I wanna see this," Casey said.

   We were just starting to get to our task when my phone rang.  I kind of
squeaked, "That's Tim!" I punched the display.  "Hi, baby!"

   "Hey, cutie-pie," He answered.  "I'm on the way.  Is your friend there?"

   "Yep," I said.  "We just started on the invitation."

   "I'm on my way.  I'll talk to you when I get home.  Love you, baby."

   "Love you too, my guy," I said.  I ended the call, turned to see Casey
eying me.  "What?"

   "You sound so natural when you talk to him."

   "Why wouldn't I?" I asked.  "He's IT!  And he's the same way about me."

   I can read Casey's face sometimes.  She's pretty obvious in her
expressions.  I consider it to be part of the honesty that made her my
friend at school.

   "I know what you're thinking.  Don't confuse Tim with those guys we see
at school.  There's a wide gulf between them, Casey."

   "We've been friends for a year, Kim," Casey said.  "Of course I worry."

   "You're gonna meet Tim.  He's so different."

   I heard 'different' unlock the front door and walk in.

   "Angel?" he called.

   "We're in here."

   His head came in the door.  "Hi, baby!" he said to me.  "I guess you're
Casey, then?"

   Casey smiled.  "Yessir."

   Tim grinned.  "You can call me Tim.  Kim does.  How's the project
coming?"

   "We have some ideas.  This is a nice system here.  I' never used a
graphics pad.  It's ...  I can see where it would be very useful."

   "It makes what I used to do a lot easier to accomplish," he said.  He
looked at me.  "Dinner?  Can we talk Casey into going out to eat with us?"

   Casey smiled.  "I can pay for mine."

   "Hardly," Tim said.  "Guests don't pay."

   "I'm not a guest.  I'm Kim's moocher buddy."

   "Guest!" Tim asserted.  I giggled.

   "What do you two want to eat?"

   "Chinese buffet," I said.  Casey's head bobbed in assent.

   "Lemme go get a quick shower," Tim said.  "I fear that I have funked
myself."

   I snickered just a little.  I love his play with words.  "Yeah, you go
do that.  We'll be waiting right here."

   Tim spun on his heel and left.  I heard the bedroom door close.  Casey's
face had changed almost imperceptibly.  I perceived it, though.  Waited for
her to say something, but she just pointed at the monitor.

   "You like this typeface?" she asked.

   "Yes.  Perfect!  A little off the path, but not pretentious."

   "We can watermark a background picture, like 20 percent saturation, then
do this text over it."

   I liked the idea.  "Can you start with a higher gradient on the left
side and take it down as you move to the right?"

   Giggle.  Casey's fun when she's doing something she's comfortable with.
"Or we can start at the upper left-hand corner and decrease it as we got
down and to the right."

   She showed me what her modification of my idea would look like.  "I like
it."

   "What about Tim?"

   "Oh, don't worry.  He'll like it, too."

   "You're really sure about him, aren't you?"

   "I can't explain it all, Casey.  Almost the first time I met him, I
knew. Like a fairy tale."

   The other side of my fairy tale was making thumping noises up the hall.
The noises stopped and he re-appeared in the door, smelling a lot better. I
bounced up, gave him a chaste little kiss.

   "You smell much better," I said.

   "Thank you.  We're tearing down one of our generators.  They don't keep
those things in air conditioned buildings," he said.  "And after the third
'Could you come look at this thing?' call, I just stayed out there."

   "Olfactory evidence supports your story," I said.

   Casey giggled.  "Now I see, Kimberly.  If you'd've used 'olfactory' with
any of the guys at school they'd think you were speaking of aging
manufacturing facilities."

   "You have smart friends," Tim said.

   "Yeah, she's a good one!" I laughed.  "Reads real books, even if they
aren't part of an assignment."

   "Yes," Casey said.  "I've been known to count past ten without taking my
shoes off."

   "Makes you a cold-weather mathematician," Tim countered.  "Wanna go
eat?"

   "Sure!"

   "Let's go!"

   The three of us headed out the door.

   "I'm gonna take my car so I can head straight home after we eat," Casey
said.

   "Oh, ride with us," I pleaded.  "We have room."

   "We have plenty of room," Tim said.

   "Oh, okay," Casey acquiesced.

   Five minutes later she was in the back seat behind me and Tim.  I let
him drive, then felt bad, because he had to drive back and forth to work
through all that traffic.

   Dinner was fun and entertaining.  Tim does sushi with chopsticks, and
he's got me started on it, and the idea of raw fish is maybe a little too
exotic for Casey, but we talked her into some of the non-fish-based
varieties.  She tried bravely with chopsticks, too.

   Finished, we drove home, Casey retrieved her car and left.

   Tim and I know how to finish out an evening.

   The next day at school, though, I got a surprise.  Casey.

   "Kim, I've met Tim before."

   "Wha...  ?"

   "Yeah.  The name didn't click, though.  But when I saw him ...  He dated
my mom."

   "Seriously?  I mean, really?"

   "Yeah," Casey nodded.  "Three or four dates.  One time, a Saturday, he
took me and her out to a movie and dinner."

   Okay, all of a sudden my bowels felt like a blender.  My head  -" a
thousand thoughts were swirling around.  This was MY Tim.  MY love.  "What
happened?"

   "I dunno.  They stopped seeing each other.  I asked Mom, just like I do
every time a guy comes and goes ...  She said they just didn't..." Casey
must have seen the horror on my face.  "Kim, I don't think they DID
anything.  You know ...  SLEPT together.  Mom's had a few guys stay
overnight.  Tim wasn't one of 'em."

   Okay, my heart started back down from my throat.  "I know Tim dated
before me.  He was married.  Divorced.  He's forty.  I never thought he was
a monk."

   "I think that might've been a problem with Mom and him," Casey said.

   "How long ago was this?"

   "Mmmmmm, I guess when I was a freshman.  Like four years."

   "Oh.  He was on the road a lot back then."

   "Maybe that was it," Casey mused.  "Or it could've been a lot of
things."

   The two of us found a spot on the side of the entry steps of the school
and sat down.  Casey leaned close.  "Your mom and my mom, neither of them
are exactly the examples we want them to be."

   This was the first time that Casey had ever taken a conversation in this
direction.  We'd been friends for a while, but it was usually school stuff
and our warped views on teen angst and academia.  "You never told me this
before, Casey," I said.

   "Not something I want to go bragging about." She sighed.  "I guess it's
tough for Mom.  She's almost forty.  Not ready to give up on being married.
Keeps hoping that the next one will be the right one." She fixed her eye on
me.  "Don't know how she missed Tim."

   "Tim told me his side of those stories.  He's pretty picky, you know."

   She patted my knee.  "I guess he is."

   Gina walked up about the time that Casey's hand touched my knee. 
"Stoppit!" she giggled.  "People gonna think you two are an item!"

   That pretty much ended the conversation between Casey and me.  With Gina
in the group, we fell back on the standard conversation, with the addition
of the fact that now I had wedding invitations to hand out.

   "It's not a secret," I said, "But it's a little church, so only a few
people get invited." I handed Gina an invitation.

   "I won't miss it," she said.  "And I won't spread it around, either."

   It's been a long time since I was this distracted at school.  Nothing
like this has had me going since I moved in with Aunt Jenn.  Deep inside my
heart of hearts I just knew that Tim wouldn't hide anything from me, but
last night we all sat there and had dinner and he didn't act like he had
the slightest connection with Casey.

   I stumbled through the day, showing up where I needed to show up. 
Lunchtime came.  Sat there at the table with Casey and Gina.  Small talk.
Current events.  School happenings.

   Afternoon.  More classes.  End of the day.  Met Aunt Jenn at the end of
the day.  She knows when I'm disturbed.  In the car.

   "Spill it, young niece," she said.

   I told her.

   "And this disturbs you why?"

   "He didn't say anything about recognizing Casey."

   Aunt Jenn snorted.  "How long ago was it that this dating happened?"

   "Casey says three or four years ago."

   "Kimberly," Aunt Jenn said, knowing that her use of my full name meant I
was going to pay special attention to her comment, "What do you think Casey
looked like four years ago?"

   "Oh, I dunno."

   "What did YOU look like four years ago?"

   "I see your point."

   "And you say he took her and her mom to dinner and a movie.  And he
might have seen her a few more times?  Come on, Kim!  He was dating her
momma, not scoping out the daughter."

   "I suppose..."

   "Okay!" Aunt Jenn said.  "Is this cold feet because the wedding's a week
off?"

   "Aunt Jenn!  Certainly not!"

   "Then it's what exactly?  Didn't you tell me that you and Tim talked
about his previous life?"

   "Yes."

   "And he dated a few women?"

   "Yes."

   Aunt Jenn snorted.  "And so now you actually found evidence of that and
you're freaking out?"

   "I don't know what I'm doing..."

   "You better figure it out, beloved niece.  You have that guy's heart
right there in your hands.  I've seen him look at you.  I've seen you look
at him.  What do you think I get from that?"

   "We're in love."

   "Bingo."

   "I guess it's just a bit startling."

   "Like finding one of Laci's old boyfriends?"

   "You ...  Laci had boyfriends?"

   "Yes, and so did I.  Sometimes life isn't a straight path..."

   I giggled.  "Was that intentional?  'Straight path'?"

   "Oh, so now you're a comedienne again?"

   "You started it."

   "What I WAS saying before you started giggling was that we each have our
histories.  When you choose your mate, you need to accept that history. 
And Laci's boyfriend is the manager of that big supermarket."

   "No joke?!?"

   "Nope!  We see him probably once a week."

   "Does he know...  ?  You and Laci?"

   "Yes.  Still talks to her, though.  Not CLOSE friends, but friends."

   I sighed.  "So if Casey's mom meets my Timmy, I shouldn't freak?"

   "'Course not.  He didn't choose her the first time around, and now he's
got YOU."

   I folded my arms.  "Yes he does."

   "Good!  Now, when we get home, you go home and when he comes through the
door, you hug him and have a delicate but frank discussion of your
discoveries, then do whatever perversions it is that you two do, and at six
come over and eat with me and Laci.  We're ...  she's picking stuff up on
her way home."

   "Okay." I touched my aunt's arm.  "How come YOU'RE the one with good
sense in the family?"

   Tim did his normal 'I'm on the way home' call.  I told him nothing.  He
walked through the door and got himself raped.

   We were still stuck together when he finally asked, "Is there a reason
for this?"

   I kissed his nose.  He does that to me and I think it's terribly
charming.  "Yes." And I told him.

   "'Kay, that explains why she looked at me funny."

   "Who?"

   "Casey!  Are you paying attention?"

   "Yes."

   "I thought she looked familiar, but baby, that was years ago.  She was,
like fourteen, and not nearly as pretty as you.  And I was dating her mom."

   "What happened?  Why did her mom not meet your standards?"

   "She wasn't what I wanted.  Remember?  Music?  Literature?  Vocabulary?"

   "But Casey's ...  Casey is smart."

   "Good.  I'm glad.  But I got the distinct feeling that her mom was going
to grab the first guy who acted like he fit her criteria, and I wanted
more. I wanted to be..."

   " ...  it!  Like you are with me," and I wrapped my arms around MY man
and held onto him.

   "Yes, Princess.  Like you are with me."



   ------

   Chapter 16

   Tim's turn:

   So I walk in to find my love sitting at my workstation with her friend,
working on wedding invitations.

   Casey, her friend, is a nice looking young lady, and if she's friends to
my Kim, then she's not the normal gum-popping mall rat.  She was eye-ball
deep in Photoshop, too, talking about typefaces and gradients.

   I was introduced, said "Hi", then showered and took Kim and Casey to
dinner.  I kept having a tickle of an idea that Casey looked vaguely
familiar.

   Kim explained to me where that feeling came from when I got home the
next day.

   "You dated her mom."

   "I dated several women," I said.  "Some of them, uh, most of them had
kids of different ages.  Casey looks vaguely familiar.  Her last name,
though?  That doesn't ring a bell."

   "Her mom went back to her maiden name after the divorce.  Casey kept her
dad's name."

   "Oh, that explains it."

   "Explains what?" she asked.

   "A lot," I said.  "Casey sort of did a double-take when she first saw
me."

   "So you DO remember her."

   "Only in the vaguest of senses.  I dated her mom, not her.  And it was,
if I remember, maybe three or four dates.  I took her and Casey out to
dinner once."

   "Did you sleep with her mom?"

   I knew that this was one of those difficult points, and since it took
place long before I met Kim, when, in fact, Kim was probably twelve, it
didn't matter whether or not I had slept with the woman.  Happily, the
honest answer was 'no'.  "Nope!  That's not how I did things."

   "Why'd ...  What made you stop dating her?"

   "Same things I find irresistible with you, they were missing in her. 
Remember?  Music?  Literature?  Vocabulary?  Don't know how it made it to
four dates."

   "But Casey's smart."

   "I wasn't gonna marry Casey.  Her mom ...  I just couldn't see myself in
that situation." My heart was actually pounding, though.  The specter of
losing Kim, MY Kim, the piece that completed me, that was frightening. 
"Kim, are you okay?  We talked about this, you know."

   "I know.  I guess I just never looked at that as REAL.  And to find that
I know somebody who knew the old you..."

   "Come sit," I said.  I patted the sofa beside me.

   "No.  Your chair." Now that's a positive development.  Early on in our
short relationship I found that me in my recliner was prelude to me in my
recliner with Kimberly in my lap.  I supposed that to be the case now, so I
sat and kicked the footrest up.

   I was right.  She plopped into my lap, twisted, and touched her forehead
to mine, blue eyes an inch away.

   "I guess we get past this foray into my history, then?"

   "Are you planning on running away with the middle-aged mother of my
friend?"

   "Nope.  Got me a Kimmy.  That's sort of the best thing in the universe."
I pulled back a bit.  "Tell me, do I LOOK crazy?"

   That little smile of hers, the mind's working at interstellar speeds
when she smiles like that.  "No, but you're the guy who's engaged to a
teenager."

   "I'd have to be crazy to even THINK about anybody else, Kim.  I wasn't
even looking when you popped up.  And now I know what I'd've been looking
for if I HAD been looking." I kissed her nose.  "You!"

   "'Kay!" she giggled.  "I know what our problem is.  Well, mine, at
least."

   "What's that?"

   "I am so deliriously happy that I'm afraid I'll wake up and the
wonderful dream will be over."

   "You are right.  Again."

   Giggle.  "You let me inside your head, Tim."

   "Because it's a short distance from my heart, Kim." Further conversation
waited on a few kisses that started out 'happy' and progressed to
'searing'. The wiggles of that mobile heinie of hers added to the effect.
She removed one of her arms from around my neck and insinuated that hand
between us to get the measure of the growing lump in my pants.

   The expression on that sweet, open face changed from happy innocence to
a goodly portion of lust.  "Are you..."

   "Always.  Do we have time?"

   "We're on our own tonight.  No social obligations whatsoever."

   "What about dinner?"

   "We can decide that after..."

   I know that a mere few weeks ago she was a virgin.  I'd seen the blood
the first time we mated.  Now I find her a happy, hungry, adventurous
partner, a partner who was climbing off my lap, smiling, knowing full well
that she had me on a leash, awaiting her bidding.

   Or in matters of mating, for us to do each other's bidding, although I
can honestly say that at this point I cannot think of a single thing that
I'd ask her to do that we don't already do.  By this stage, we've initiated
every room in the house.  Had the "Ohgod!  Look what we did to the
tablecloth!" moment.  The 'if I'm sitting on the washing machine' moment.
Sofa.  Recliner.  Showershowershower.  The "in the closet rearranging your
shoes" event.  I learned that if you take Kimmy to the park and she's
wearing a skirt, she's got mischief in mind.

   And she was headed to the bedroom, shedding clothes.  Darned right I
followed.  She was down to bra and panties when I caught up with her.  I
picked her up to the peal of her giggles.

   "You, sir, have entirely too much clothing for the expected activities!"

   I responded by kissing her soundly and dropping her in the middle of the
bed so I could undress.  Well before I finished, she'd shucked her panties
and bra, was propped up on an elbow, staring at me.

   "Something wrong?" I asked.

   "Nope!  Absolutely not.  I don't know if I'm supposed to get bored at
seeing you naked, is all.  Do people do that?  Get bored, I mean."

   "I guess some people do.  Don't think Mom and Dad ever did.  Bored is
something you decide to be.  Mom told me that I need to love you like she
loves Dad.  Forever and ever.  Hundred percent.  Fifty-fifty is crap."

   "I know," she said.  "She told me that same thing.  Was quite motherly
to me.  She loves her son."

   "When did you talk to Mom?"

   "One day after school.  She said not to tell you everything she and I
talk about.  I hope it doesn't make you mad, me keeping secrets and all
that."

   "No, certainly not.  I'm pleasantly surprised that she talked with you
about that."

   "I asked, actually.  Told her that I really didn't have a standard
mature married couple to talk with.  She told me lots of things about you
growing up, and about marriage." She giggled.  "And the fact that we're
having this conversation naked tells me something about us as a couple."

   Okay, I can't resist that naked body THIS long.  I lay alongside her. 
She propped herself on my chest.  "What's that?" I asked.

   "That despite the way that the world may look at our marriage, we are
NOT just about sex." Her fingers encircled my erection.  "Although there
are times that it become central to my being."

   I pulled her against me and kissed her, the kiss getting cut short by
her giggle as she felt my erect dick probing her thigh.

   "Wait!" she squealed.  "I need this as much as you!" Sideways wiggles
left me positioned between those long legs.  We both sighed simultaneously
as I entered her, then we giggled.

   "We are SOOO meant for each other," she said.

   "I know, little one."

   "I feel perfect here."

   "Yes, you do."

   Giggle.  "YOU feel perfect here." And she wiggled 'here' for me to
emphasize her point.

   "If you do that too much..."

   "I'll come my brains out."

   "And what would I do with a sixteen year old with no brains?"

   "Why don't we find out?" And she clamped her mouth to mine.

   God, she gets me going.  The only thing that saves me is that when she
does one of these sessions, she is, in her terms, 'pre-loaded', so when I
lose control, she's already there waiting for me.  Or vice versa.  Never
had that with another female.  This one is definitely MINE.

   She pushed up on one side, a sign that she wanted to be on top, a
position that I loved and which gave her more room to maneuver, and we were
off to the races.

   Her eyes flashed at me for a little bit, then squeezed shut went her own
feelings started getting intense.  For me, just watching her was an added
level of joyous eroticism.

   She was bouncing, grinding, working herself on and against my dick.  Her
eyes flicked open and she smiled, breathlessly announcing "I'm doing it
again..."

   I managed a "what?"

   "Closing my eyes, but ...  ahhhhhh!  God!" and her eyes closed again.

   "Mmmmmmmmbbbbbb Tim!" and she slammed downward and into a tight little
spiral and that was all I could take.

   I spurted.  Hard.  Lonnnnnggggg!  And gathered a collapsed Kim in my
arms.  Nuzzled and gently kissed her back to lucidity.

   "Wow!" she said.  "Just wow!"

   "I love your vocabulary, dearest," I said.

   Giggle.  "Yeah, you're one to talk.  I made you mute for ten minutes
before."

   "Guilty."

   She started to twist around.  "Can I borrow this?" she said as she
grasped my sticky member.

   "OH, yes.  Got something I can entertain myself with in the meantime?"

   "Right here," she answered, spreading her thighs in front of my face. 
"But be careful.  If you ...  I'll come again..."

   She did.

   Then showers.  One, actually, with two bodies under the spray.

   "Now, that 'dinner' thing," she asked as she brushed her hair.

   "Is it too soon for pizza again?"

   "Or we could see what Aunt Jenn and Laci are doing..."

   "I can stand that if YOU can," I chuckled.

   "Just tell 'em not to be mean to me.  I really did pull a muscle in gym
class." For three days Jenn and Laci teased us about Kim's limping around,
accusing us of some unspecified sexual exploits.  She had been walking
normally for the last day or so.

   I punched the button and said 'Jenn' to my cellphone.  It rang twice
before the happy voice sounded.

   "What's up, mister?"

   "My fiancĂ(C)e wants to know what you two are doing for dinner."

   "Laci's got that questioning look in her eyes right now."

   "Is it too soon for pizza?"

   "Pizza?" Jenn said off-phone.  A pause and she said to me "Good.  You
know the order."

   "I got it.  We'll be there in a bit," I said.

   "Okay, seeya," Jenn answered and the carrier dropped.

   Miracles of modern technology.  I tapped a few times on the screen of my
phone and had the order on the way.

   "Forty minutes, guy," Kim said.  "Sit back."

   "Why?"

   "Because." Her eyes laughed.

   I lounged back on the sofa.  She started fiddling with the zipper of my
pants.

   "You're not putting up much of a fight," she giggled.  "A girl just
pushes you back on the sofa and she can have her way with you?"

   "Oh, please stop!" I said in a falsetto voice.  "I'm so sweet and
innocent."

   Giggle.  She had my belt loose, my pants unsnapped and the zipper down.
Damned right I'm erect.

   "But sir," she said, "Although your mouth protests, this part of you
seems quite eager." Her tongue snaked out and licked from halfway down the
shaft all the way up to the head, where she gave me a swirl and then sucked
the head into her mouth.

   "You just have to know that I LOVE doing this," giggle.  "For both of
us."

   I started to say something just about the time that last bit of blood
abandoned the speech areas of my brain.  She knows this is a thing I love.
She allows me the same passions for her, too.

   Kim in a skirt?  Invitation to mischief, because her normal dress is
jeans.  I'm not complaining, those long legs of hers do jeans up the way
Levi Strauss never envisioned, but they are quite the pain when one wishes
access to the most beautiful, tasty pussy in the universe.

   Her head bobbed up.  "I am going to finish you, then we can go to Aunt
Jenn's."

   "Oh, sure ...  we go over there with my knees wobbling and you with a
drop of cum on your chin."

   Giggle.  And her head bobbed back down.  She's learned things.  Her
teeth lightly grip the skin of my dick and pull upward, stopping at the
corona.  Her lips close with a throaty "mmmmmm", then the tongue works me
over.  If I hadn't come just an hour before, it would be over right there.
She had done it before.

   Instead it took a whole five minutes before I was chugging my load once
again with my angel sucking deep, milking me with her hand, mouth and
tongue.

   She released me and stood up, then straddled.  "I have heard that this
is considered quite kinky," she said as she kissed me.

   Yes, there was some of my load, vestiges at least, in her mouth as we
kissed.  I don't mind.  This is the girl who pulled me up after I'd eaten
her to a triple orgasm and licked herself from my face before "I am calling
this one just plain fucking, Tim."

   If you're going to fuck somebody, make it somebody who loves you.

   Today though, we just kissed.  "You're the most amazing creature, Kim."

   "Took my Tim to make me this way," she said.  A couple more kisses,
another chance for us to view each other at close range and she said, "It's
time to go."

   "If we must."

   "We could've stayed here, but now we're committed.  Let's go." She got
off my lap.

   I stood and fixed my pants, the glow still very real in my crotch.  Just
the thought of it and I could feel my scrotum draw up.  Damn, but she's
good.

   She stood before me.  "Well?  Do I?"

   "Do you what?"

   "Have your cum on my chin?"

   "Nope."

   "Good!  I work very hard at swallowing it all," she tittered.

   "You're an evil child."

   "I'm YOUR evil child," she said.  "It's what you signed up for."

   "I did, didn't I?" I answered as I took her hand, heading to the door.

   Laci answered at Jenn's apartment.  She let us in, yelling "They're
here!" up the hall.

   "Jenn's in the shower." She saw Kim's face.  "Now look, Little Miss
Almost Married, Just because YOU are trying to wear poor Tim out, that
doesn't mean that Jenn and I don't exist on a higher plane."

   Kim laughed.  "I am NOT trying to wear Tim out."

   "Uh-huh.  What was the twenty minutes between the time you called and
the time you got here?"

   "We could've been discussing literature."

   "What?  Lolita?"

   "I'm too old to be Lolita," Kim popped back.  "besides, in Lolita the
guy was obsessed..."

   "And Tim isn't?"

   "I am, you know," I injected.

   Kim got that exasperated expression.  "Be that as it may, and you're NOT
obsessed, you're in love.  There's a difference.  And Lolita wasn't in love
with the guy.  He had to keep lying to her..."

   Laci smirked.  Jenn was walking into the room, drying her hair with a
towel.  "Jenn, Kim's been reading nasty books."

   "Oh, really?  What nasty books?" Jenn asked.

   "Lolita," Lacie said.

   "I know.  She read it last summer." Jenn's brow knit for a moment then,
"right before she met ...  Kimberly!  You and Tim!"

   "Not even close, dear aunt," Kim said.  "this is sooo different.  And
you KNOW it.  Laci, you're just starting stuff."

   "I like to see you get flustered," Laci laughed.  "and poor Tim...  "
she waltzed over to me and patted my cheek.  "I'm sorry, Timmy.  You're
just collateral damage in an ongoing war."

   Kim wrapped her arm in mine, twisted and kissed my cheek.  "Don't worry,
sweetie.  I'll nurse your wounds later."

   I felt the blood rise in my face while three females giggled at the
double entendre.  Jenn looped my free arm in hers and kissed my opposite
cheek.  "Poor Timmy!  You two have embarrassed him again!"

   "And all I wanted was pizza with my friends," I whined.  "Laci, they're
mean to me."

   "Poor Timmy.  Kim, be nice to him," Laci admonished.

   Kim's reaction was a fake-looking leer.  "I sure will, Aunt Laci!"

   Jenn sided with me.  You two need to be nice to Timmy."

   "Yes.  You do.  Kimmy, you need to be punished."

   Kim assumed an exaggerated submission posture.  "Yes, Master!"

   "Gah, Jenn!" Laci squeaked.  "Look at them!  This was sweet innocent
little Kimberly!  He's turned 'er into a monster."

   "I'm sure he's turned her into what she wishes to be," Jenn countered.

   "And vice versa," Kim smirked.

   The doorbell rescued us.  Kim got there first, opened it.  "Hey, Jared!"

   "Uh, hi, Kim..." the kid at the door said.  "You live here?"

   "Uh-huh," Kim replied.  "You're working for Pizza Place?"

   "Sort of have to," the kid said.  "Dad owns it."

   "Hey, y'all!  This is Jared.  We go to school together.  Jared, this is
Aunt Jenn and Laci and my fiance', Tim."

   "Hi, Jared," I said.  Now I was glad I'd tagged a 20% tip on the pizza
order.

   "Glad to meet you all," Jared said.

   Jenn got the pizza and Jared left.  Pizza delivery has its own timing.

   "You go to school together?"

   "Two high schools in town.  Pretty good chance that anybody in my age
group, I go to school with 'em.  Jared's actually in social studies with
me," Kim said.  "We say 'hi'.  That's about it.  I'm an oddity to him, like
a lot of the other kids, and he's chasing prettier girls than me."

   "There are NO prettier girls than you," I said.

   "Awww, Tim's bein' all sweet 'n' stuff," Laci picked.

   "Stoppit, Laci.  We're having a serious conversation here!" Jenn said.

   Laci responded by batting the eyelashes over her grey eyes and mouthing
'sorry'.

   "And my Tim, you look with a whole different set of eyes than a
seventeen year old boy," Kim said.

   "I was seventeen once.  I remember some of that."

   "You were probably an outlier, Tim," Jenn said.

   "I was.  But sometimes it's like seeing a Maserati on the street.  You
know it's useless for anything practical, but still, you want one.  I've
outgrown Maseratis.  Recognized that REAL beauty is much rarer and requires
a sense of discernment that was only vestiges when I was in high school." I
stroked Kim's hair.  "A Maserati only wishes it could be THIS."

   Laci snorted.  "Jenn, he's doing it again."

   "I'm beginning to think the guy loves our niece," Jenn said.

   Kim just leaned back against me and purred, the spoke.  "School's full
of Jareds, right, Aunt Jenn?"

   "And the female equivalents," Jenn said.

   "How'd you NOT get into that, Kim?" Laci asked.

   "Mom helped loads, you know ...  Learned that most men are disgusting,
along with, apparently, a significant portion of women.  I didn't know I
was analyzing patterns when I started seeing that, but I was." She sighed.
I felt it.

   "And there are degrees of immersion, too.  Some are complete sleazes,
some only slightly so.  Some are really not sleazes at all, just really
confused."

   "What's the difference?" Laci said.  Jenn cut her a look.  "No," Laci
defended, "I really haven't heard this.  Kim ...  seriously..."

   "Some people KNOW they're using others but they get too much out of it
to stop.  Some people know going in that previous history says there's
going to be a good chance of a bad outcome, but oh, well, it's worth the
pain tomorrow for the pleasure today.  Some people know that it didn't work
that last time but it might work THIS time."

   "You make some people sound predatory," Laci said.

   "Some people are," Kim said.  "Mom ended up like that.  Maybe she didn't
start that way, but she ended up that way.  I couldn't be that way.  I like
people.  Most of 'em, anyway.  And I didn't have any reason to use people."
She sighed.  "But I'm an outlier.  I don't know where I'd be without Aunt
Jenn stepping in, but she held onto me until YOU came along, buddy!"

   "I'm glad I came along." I was as sincere as I could possibly be. 
Kimberly Elkins was completely off the radar.  I didn't have a 'thing' for
young girls.  I wasn't even looking for a partner or a mate or a wife when
I chose the apartment, and is seems like we were a case of nuclear fusion.
"I didn't know where I was going, but here you are," I said.

   "Yeah ...  you two," Jenn said.  "This week we all need to go down to
the courthouse and get the marriage license.  And Saturday..."

   "Yeah, Saturday," Kim repeated.

   "You better be sure, buddy," Laci said.  "Kim's as close as I'll get to
having a kid sister.  You hurt 'er and there's no cave deep or dark enough
to hide in."

   I kissed the top of Kim's head.  "I'd have to hide from my own head and
heart.  Kim?  Forever."



   ------

   Chapter 17

   Kimmy's turn:

   Of course you realize that life has some imperfect moments.  That's one
of the downsides of having a man who's got a 'history'.  My Tim's been
married before.

   Ex-wife.  Eight year old daughter.  Both in California.  It's so
clichĂ(C), I know...

   And in the middle of the week, us, marriage license in hand, looking at
the weekend: I just get home after school and I get a phone call.  I don't
immediately recognize the number on the display, so I answer, "Tim Duncan's
home.  This is Kimberly."

   "Oh.  It's YOU." Unhappy female voice that I recognized.  The ex.

   "Yes ma'am," I said.  "Hi, Mizz Karen."

   "Hello, Kimberly.  I suppose your marriage is still supposed to happen
this weekend?"

   Naturally we'd told Tim's daughter Vicki (short for her proper name,
'Victoria', from the ex's grandmother) about the marriage and that we
expected to have her staying with us for the Christmas holidays.

   Vicki and I didn't exactly hit it off like long-lost relatives at first,
but since the first telephone meeting, we'd talked a few times and we're at
least civil to one another.  It's difficult to parse, though.  On one hand,
an eight year old girl in California, on the other hand this poor sixteen
year old child in Louisiana who's marrying her dad.

   The ex, on the other hand, sees sixteen year old me as a fine chance to
dive into every flaw that she ever imagined with Tim, as in "the reason he
never rocked my boat was that I wasn't sixteen.  I see that now."

   "Mizz Karen," I had said, "I don't want to go into the problems between
you and Tim.  That was way before he and I met."

   "Well, just saying," she said.  I asked Tim in my most serious way if
what she said was correct, I mean that 'sixteen' thing.

   "Nope.  You being sixteen is a hurdle I had to get over.  Seriously, I
would have never pursued somebody as young as you.  We just sort of met and
matched."

   "Me, too.  I mean, you're so OLD!" And that went into giggles and then
the next step was evidenced by a string of clothes from the living room to
the bed...

   Back to today's conversation.  "Yes, ma'am.  Saturday.  I wish Vicki
could be here.  Really." Inside, I did, sort of ...  But her mom assured us
that it was impossible because they have a big week planned while Vicki was
out of school.

   That's why I was surprised when Karen said, "Looks like you're gonna get
your wish."

   "What?  Wait, I thought you said..."

   "Johnny's mom is sick in Colorado.  He needs to be there.  I need to go
with him.  Our vacation's off, so..."

   Okay, my mind went through a fast file check routine.  I looked at the
'short honeymoon' tree.  I looked at the 'family Thanksgiving' hierarchy.
"Have you talked to Tim?" I knew the answer was 'no' because he'd've called
me immediately for this sort of news.

   "No, I know he's at work.  I thought I'd talk to you.  I mean, getting
married, honeymoon..."

   "We weren't planning on a big deal.  We're having Thanksgiving dinner at
his folks' and we weren't going to miss that," I said.  "We thought we'd do
a special trip when I'm out of school later.  Or something.  Definitely
something."

   "Look, Kim," she said.  "I know what this looks like, but I really am
NOT trying to toss a wrench in your plans.  I'm in a bind.  I don't have
anybody around here that I'd trust with my daughter.  I can't just send her
home.  My mom has issues.  I don't know if Tim's told you about them, but
one of the reasons I married so fast was to escape home.  I don't mind
going there to visit, but I don't want to leave Vicki with her.  Just
wouldn't work, right from the part where she has to drive to the airport to
pick her granddaughter up.  Mom's license is suspended."

   "You don't have to explain, Mizz Karen.  I know all the 'crappy mom'
stories, maybe slightly different versions, but trust me, you don't have to
explain."

   She sounded almost tearful and none of my 'you're being played' alarms
were going off.  "So you'd be okay with it?"

   "Sure I would.  I love Tim.  I will love his daughter."

   "Do you want to break the news to him?  He might be more
understanding..."

   "I'll call 'im.  It will be no more curious than anything that's
happened in our lives lately."

   "Look, Kim," Karen told me, "I asked around.  About you, you know.  A
lot of people knew about your mom.  Some of them know about you in school
and they say you're a good kid.  People I trust tell me that.  Be good to
my daughter, okay?"

   "I'll love her like my own."

   "You sound serious."

   "I am.  People don't deserve to be used as pawns in somebody else's
game. They don't deserve to be cast aside because Momma's got a new hottie.
I know how that feels.  I won't dish it out.  Ever."

   "I almost resemble some of that..." she sighed.

   "I'm sorry.  I wasn't aiming at you.  I was remembering my own dear
mother.  You and Tim?  That's history.  Me and Tim?  That's happening, and
we'll be perfectly happy to figure out a way to make Vicki part of it. 
Family.  We'll do it as good as we can.  And that includes Vicki's mom." I
was a gutsy little thing.  There's the outside chance that Tim would come
completely unglued over it, but I don't think that's the Tim I know.  He's
going to be more worried about me and about Vicki than he is about some
honeymoon thing.

   Besides, we've pretty much 'honeymooned' ourselves to death ever since I
moved in, so that wasn't the thinking for me.

   "Can we arrange for her to be picked up at the airport tomorrow?  I'll
put her on an early flight.  Or should I wait until you talked to Tim?"

   "There's one chance in a million that Tim will not be happy, but Vicki
WILL get picked up tomorrow and brought into a happy home."

   "You sure?"

   "Yes, Mizz Karen.  I'm sure."

   "Thank you, Kim.  As a mother, I thank you."

   "Oh,, you're welcome.  Don't sound so serious.  You have a lot on your
plate.  Do what you need to do.  We'll take care of Vicki."

   "Thank you," Mizz Karen said.  And the phone clicked.

   I sat it in my lap for a minute, letting another series of programs run.
Me and Tim.  Couple.  Real love.  Two people.  Big enough for a connected
third whose presence will certainly dampen that enthusiastic coupling we've
enjoyed.  Is there more to us than wild, unbridled sex?  I thought.  Books.
Reading.  Music.  Kayaks.  Bikes.  Yes, there is.

   I put the phone to my lips and said 'Tim.  Cell.'

   During work hours, his cellphone is for emergencies only.  On the third
ring he answered, "What's wrong, baby?"

   "Karen called.  Vicki will be at the airport tomorrow.  Her new
mother-in-law's in a bad way and her and new hubby are going to be in
Colorado."

   "And you decided..."

   "I like to think that Tim would have decided..."

   "And Tim would've worried himself sick over how it would affect his
delicate little flower of a fiancĂ(C)e, too."

   "Then I did right, huh?  If you can put up with my weird aunt and her
mate, then I can put up with your waif of a daughter.  And you love my
aunt, so I will love your daughter."

   "You sure?" he asked.

   "Of course I'm sure.  It's the perfect way for me to get the little
sister I missed when Mom burned her uterus out."

   "Tightrope," he said.  "Sister.  Friend.  Mom.  Are you sure?"

   "AM I sure about my Timmy?"

   "Okay, then.  I'll talk to you more after work.  See you in an hour or
so."

   Next phone call.  Aunt Jenn, whose initial response was "Are you crazy?"
which, with conversation, morphed into "We're here to help, you know."

   "I may need some."

   "We'll see if your daughter takes to her two new aunts." Aunt Jenn read
my voice.  "Oh, yeah, like we don't know how to act in public.  I promise I
won't fondle Laci when the munchkin is around."

   "I didn't say that."

   "Dear niece, you have a million things to worry about right now.  Laci
and I won't be one of 'em.  Help.  Really."

   "Thank you, Aunt Jenn."

   "Seeing you happy, that's a lot of thanks.  Seeing you held hostage by
an eight year old, that's even MORE thanks.  Besides, your mom wouldn't
bring you around me when you were eight."

   "I know."

   Aunt Jenn laughed.  "Me bein' a big ol' bull dyke an' all.  Didn't want
my lifestyle corrupting her little snowflake."

   "Yeah, like that parade of losers she brought home was rife with
positive role models."

   "Make sure you tell Tim that we want to help.  You gotta be thinking
that he's a wreck over this.  Probably worrying about YOU."

   I parsed that.  "You're probably right.  He probably thinks that this is
rain on our parade."

   "You need to work to make sure he gets through this, for the sake of the
two of you."

   "The three of us," I retorted.

   "Good girl!" Aunt Jenn returned.  "You'll do okay.  Bye, baby!"

   "Bye, Aunt Jenn.  Thanks for being here for me."

   I knew that Tim would soon be getting off work and I'd be getting my
phone call, so I put away the previous night's dishwasher load while I
waited.  As I expected, my phone jittered on the counter, the ring tone a
happy little tune that identified it as my honey.

   "Hey, babe," I said.

   "Good!  I'm still 'babe'," he replied.  "I was worried."

   "Don't worry.  You've got me."

   Now I originally entertained the idea that Tim would be on the phone
with his ex as soon as he got on the road, but then I started thinking. 
This is MY Tim.  Nine chances out of ten that he'd want to be sitting
beside me while he made that call.  I kept piddling round waiting for him
to get home.

   I caught him before he closed the door behind him.  I seriously love the
man and I seriously needed to kiss him.

   "You still want me?" he sighed after our lips parted.

   "Only until the sun is a black, tiny cinder in a dying universe.  Did
you call our ex?"

   He chuckled.  "So now it's 'our' ex.  Interesting."

   "I thought you understood that when I bought you, that included all
baggage."

   "Emphasis on the 'bag'," he said.

   I popped his arm playfully.  "Be nice.  You thought enough of her once
to marry her."

   "I don't know that I was thinking at all at the time."

   "Your past has come to haunt you."

   "In the form of my daughter, it seems."

   "She called me.  We talked.  I told her that it's okay, really."

   He gazed into my eyes, tugging me onto his lap as he backed into the
recliner.  "This is crazy stuff, Kimmy.  I'm sorry..."

   I kissed him silent.  "Nothing to be sorry about..."

   "Our honeymoon..."

   "Has been going on, nights and weekends, since we met.  I've been to a
hotel with you.  Saturday we'll be married, for good, and forever, and I
find it charming that our daughter will be there."

   "Our daughter?  Now she's OUR daughter?"

   "Of course, sweetheart," I said.  "I have no idea how much involvement I
may have with her, but I'm certainly angling toward those times to be happy
for all of us.  She doesn't sound like she hates me.  We've talked a few
times.  Her mom doesn't even act like she hates me."

   "She was long gone quite a while before you invaded my psyche, little
one," he said.  "It's just that I..."

   I kissed his nose.  "You don't know what you expected from that corner
of the universe, baby.  It's life.  We don't get to choose everything. 
Sometimes we have to just deal with things as they come."

   "Well, let me find out when this one is coming," he said.

   "Do you need me to go to Aunt Jenn's while you make that call?"

   He looked at me like I'd suddenly sprouted antlers.  "No, I do NOT.  You
and me.  Inseparable.  NO secrets."

   "I like it that way," I said, rewarding him with a peck on the nose and
a giggle.  "But I don't want you uncomfortable."

   "It's never comfortable, talking to Karen.  But it's unavoidable.  We
have Vicki in common."

   "Yes, 'WE' do.  We'll get over this.  Make it part of the narrative that
is Tim and Kim.  Now with added Vicki." I poked him.  "Call."

   "Okay," he said.  He punched purposefully at his iPhone, then held it to
his ear.  "Ringing," he said to me.  Then, "Hello, Karen.  What's up?"
Pause.  "Yes, Kim explained to me what you told her." Pause.  "No, I agree
with her.  Vicki's long due.  She's welcome here.  Thanksgiving week?"
Pause.  "Yeah, longer, if you need us to do that.  What about school?"
Pause.  "Okay, yeah, we won't let her get stupid.  Kim's 4.0 and two years
ahead of schedule.  I'm sure she will be a good example for Vicki." Pause.
"Okay.  When?  When's her flight?" Pause.  "I'll be there waiting on her."
Pause.  "No, you can tell her yourself.  She's right here." He passed me
his phone.

   "Hi, Mizz Karen."

   "Kim ...  You're sure?"

   "You asked.  It's what we need to do."

   "But your honeymoon?"

   "I'm sure you understand that..." My voice trailed off.

   "OH, yes, I'm sure I do." She sighed.  "Johnny and I, we..."

   "Not as uncommon as it used to be," I said.  "Less stigma and all that."

   "I assume you're living there."

   "Yes ma'am," I said.  "I could stay back at Aunt Jenn's until Saturday
if it makes you uncomfortable."

   "It makes me uncomfortable..."

   I caught the horror in Tim's look.

   "But it also makes me a hypocrite.  I explained that to Vicki when she
was old enough to figure out some things.  You probably belong with Tim
more than I did.  Stay there."

   "Are you sure?"

   "I'm sure.  And when Vicki asks, I leave it to YOU to explain.  And she
WILL ask.  Million questions.  About everything." She sighed.  "Well, tell
Tim bye for me.  I'm sure he'll like it better coming from you."

   "Bye, Mizz Karen.  And don't worry.  We got this!" And I terminated the
call.  I looked into Tim's eyes.  "Our ex says bye." And I kissed him
because he needed the proper punctuation in this whole conversation.

   "Two-thirty tomorrow afternoon.  I'll get you out of school."

   "And tonight we have to make all the noise we want to.  Tomorrow night
we have to be more circumspect."

   "How'd that go?" Tim questioned.

   "She sort of assumed that you and I were together, I mean living
together.  Said she'd explained about her and Johnny.  I guess Vicki asked.
She says Vicki asks a lot of questions."

   "She does that," he sighed.  "I spend a lot of time explaining things."

   "You said she was a smart kid.  Genetics?"

   "I dunno.  Maybe.  May be the luck of the draw." He breathed heavily. 
"I hope it works out okay.  Kimberly Elkins, I truly love you.  I want you
to be happy."

   I looped both my arms around his neck.  "Timothy, I am NOT some delicate
little flower.  I'm a high school student.  I put up with idiots, jerks,
misanthropes and all manner of posers four or five days a week.  Our eight
year old daughter is not going to be a problem.  Relax.  You being all
tense over this is ...  is just WRONG!"

   "Well..." he started.

   "Look, you're MY mate.  I can sense you're on edge.  How do you think
you're going to fool your daughter?"

   "Okay.  I'll try," he said.

   "Darned straight you'll try.  Worse than that, you'll succeed." I
smirked at him.  "And I think I can de-stress you right now." I looked at
those blue eyes that I get lost in, "if you're up to it."

   A little wiggle of my heinie in his lap and I was able to ascertain that
he was up to it.

   We moved the game to the bedroom because that mattress is a whole lot
easier on knees and elbows and heinies and I meant to get gymnastic on my
Timmy.  We LIKE the gymnastic routine.

   I told him that tonight was our night to be vocal.  I was.  Well, sort
of.  I'm sure I was loud enough to be heard throughout the house.  Tim does
things to me with his tongue and his teeth that take me clear out of
control.  His head is between my thighs and my hands just flutter because I
can't decide if I want to pull him in for MORE or push him away because
it's TOO MUCH.

   And we're in a wonderful sixty-nine.  I can't keep his dick in my mouth
like this.  I'm so lost I'm afraid I might bite too hard.  I'm holding it
against my face and my mouth fastens to the base of his dick and I'm
squealing through lips sealed against his pubic mound.  I squealed through
TWO hard ones before begging him to let me catch my breath.

   He did.  And I took advantage of the lull to refasten my lips on his
hardness.  He was terrifically turgid.  A couple of deep, wet slurps and he
was wet, too, and as much as I love sucking him to finish, I wanted to be
looking into his eyes when I made him come today.

   That's a half-second move and he's not protesting as I find myself
spotted perfectly.

   "You're an amazing creature and I love you," he said, our eyes
connecting.

   "We were created for each other.  Me.  You.  We can take on the world."

   "I'm glad you're confident, baby," he said.  We rested for a minute,
only tiny movements of our coupled parts maintaining the heat of the
moment. Then I kissed him, sat back on my haunches and RODE him hard.

   Sometimes it's like that.  There's a time for gentle, tender, caring ...
and there's a time for hard, almost raging sexuality.  That's this. 
Because I know it's going to be over for BOTH of us.  I'm riding Tim like
the sear on a precision trigger, all it takes is the tiniest input, which,
for success comes at exactly the proper moment.  I'm feeling his dick
starting to twitch.  I twist his chest hair in my fingers and ride down his
shaft, then back up.  The 'X' component.  That's for him.  And then toss in
a forward and backward slide.  The 'Y' axis.  For me.  His hands grip my
waist, pulling me down.  Part of me, that little button he loves so much,
that part is reading him and the pulsations begin in my lover.

   Trigger!  That meat inside me gives a big pulse and chugs hot, wet flame
inside me and I'm gone!  Muscles involuntarily clamp down on him,
encouraging him to empty himself in me.  Every pulse he gives is like the
clapper inside a bell, causing my being to reverberate.  And listen to me.
I'm trying to use words to describe the indescribable.

   My arms lose control and he catches me as I fall forward onto him.  I'm
not exactly unconscious.  It's just that at this moment, nothing in the
world penetrates the wall of feelings from which I am slowly drifting down.

   I can feel his breath.  His heartbeat.  I know he can feel mine. 
Physically, we are one.  I feel him sniff at my hair, inhaling me.  His
head turns a bit, his lips touch me ever so gently, a little kiss. 
Another.

   "Timothy Duncan, I need you to live.  If I ever lose you, my life is
over."

   "As would mine, little one," he said.  "As would mine."

   We held together for some more time.  How long?  Who knows.  After THAT
mating, normal standards of time ceased to exist.

   Finally we uncoupled.  I stood beside the bed and let him up, then
giggled.  "Another set of sheets ruined."

   "We need to buy another set anyway.  Let's toss these in the washer. 
I'll get the set out of the linen closet."

   "And we'll ruin those later tonight."

   Since the time we usually use to prepare a meal was occupied by me
having my brains screwed out, we dressed and went out for soup and a salad.

   The second set of sheets survived the evening.  I put out fresh
potpourri when I got up the next morning.  Tim thought it was funny.

   "It's NOT funny.  Do you see Laci's nostrils flare when she walks in
here?  She says she can smell the sex in the air."

   "Laci's jerking your chain.  She knows we're doing it.  She just wants
to see you react."

   "Maybe that's a little of it," I retorted.  "But we're bringing Vicki
home today and I want the initial impression to be just right."

   "I must've rescued puppies in my previous life.  That's the only way my
karma could justify you," he smiled, kissing me as he left for work.  I
went to school, bounced in and out of several classrooms, dropping off
worksheets to justify my continued academic status.  And after lunch, I got
called to the front office.

   Time to go get Vicki.



   ------

   Chapter 18

   Tim's turn:

   So that's an interesting kink, if I may be allowed a euphemism.  No
sense cussing or losing my cool over it.  It's just one of those twists in
life's road.  Vicki's coming in this afternoon.  I've explained my need for
leaving work a bit early.  I'll go by the school, gather one reason for
living, and go pick up another.

   And hope and pray that the two fit together.

   "I think we'll be okay, baby.  You worry too much," Kim told me.

   "So many possibilities.  Little girls and their daddies..."

   "Baby, let's be realistic.  You've had so little impact on her life for
the last two years..." Two years ago the ex and her husband moved out of
the state.  I could've spent a lot of money on a lawyer and fought it under
the terms of the child custody clause of our divorce, but my attorney
advised me that even with a GOOD case I'd be on slippery ground, and as a
single, itinerant engineer, I didn't have a real good case.  So Kim's
right. For two years, I've had phone calls and four weeks.

   "I hope you're right."

   "Just YOU hang on and don't be jealous.  I'm Vicki's friend as well as
your wife."

   "And her step-mom."

   Kim smiled a tiny bit.  "Yes.  And I have to walk a fine line between
those two.  Build a relationship based on me loving her daddy and having
talked to her ten times on the phone.  But you know what?"

   "What?"

   "She's smart.  I think we'll do just fine.  You're worrying too much. 
Between you and me and Aunt Jenn and Laci, we'll do fine."

   I walked into the school office, showed my ID to the school 'resource
officer', and gained admittance to the front office.

   "May I help you?" the lady at the desk asked.

   "I'm Tim Duncan.  I'm here to pick up Kimberly Elkins."

   "Somehow I pictured Tim Duncan as almost seven feet tall and black."

   "Wrong Tim Duncan," I said.  "I'm just an engineer."

   "And rumor has it, the future husband of Miss Kimberly.  Her aunt and I
are good friends."

   "Jenn's a case.  Of course, so's Kimberly."

   The lady scribbled a pass and handed it to a teen girl who was
apparently the student runner.

   "Jenn approves, and she's mostly normal, you know, so I didn't expect
Chester the Molester.  You look normal.  So Kim..."

   "Swept together in the tides of time," I said.

   Her eyebrow raised.  "Oh, they told me you were literate."

   "Vocabulary.  Opposable thumbs, the whole schmeer, " I tossed back.

   "You ought to come to our open house next month.  They used to call it
the Christmas pageant, but the administration's getting kind of politically
correct.  With a little pre-warning, I'm sure you'd be a minor topic of
interest."

   "We don't want to be a topic of interest," I countered.  "I guess it
goes with the territory, though."

   "I can just imagine," she said.  "Still, she's more than a sterling
scholar and unlike a couple dozen others, she's not pregnant.  Hard to say
anything bad."

   "I hope not.  I adore her."

   "Adore who?" a familiar voice spoke behind me.

   I turned and saw a high school student.  She was dressed a bit more
conservatively than a lot I'd seen, but I found her utterly adorable.  "Oh,
just some random high school girl.  One in a billion.  Hi, sweetie!"

   "Hi yourself, Tim.  Are you bothering the staff?"

   "Nope, just pacing back and forth," I said.  To the lady behind the
counter I said, "Thanks!" and Kim and I left.

   We didn't hold hands until we were out of the building, then hers
reached over and grabbed mine.

   "Now dozens of people will know what my guy looks like," she said. 
"Besides the ones who've seen the pictures on my phone." She paused.  "Are
you nervous?"

   "A little."

   "Me too.  Can't help it.  But it's our path, isn't it?"

   I sighed.  "Yes, it is.  I hope she likes you in person as much as she
seems to over the phone."

   In the car, Kim was atypically nervous.  "What if she doesn't like me?"

   "She'll like you.  You're impossible NOT to like."

   "A lot of my fellow students don't feel that way."

   "You intimidate them.  You're intellectually adept and emotionally
mature.  That's a big threat to kids who think that wearing the right
clothes and hearing the right music is key to satisfying life."

   "I'm just me..."

   "And you're a wonderful 'you'," I said.  "Let's not worry about stuff,
okay?"

   "Just trying to be prepared for all possible outcomes."

   "That's good.  But don't let it weigh on you.  The reality is that you
two already somewhat know each other.  She's my daughter and now she's your
daughter too.  I'm sure there will be some friction, but if anybody can
handle friction, that's US."

   "I love you, babe," she said.  "I don't want us to ever stop."

   "We won't ever stop.  We'll just figure out how to make things work with
Vicki for a week or two."

   "Just so you know, Tim, I want this to work."

   "I never suspected otherwise, little one," I said.

   We drove out of town to the regional airport, parked, and went inside. I
made sure my presence was known to the airline supporting Vicki's flight
and Kim and I found a place to sit.

   "You," I said.  "This is the first time I've ever seen you nervous. 
Even the day you announced you loved me, you seemed like you were in
control."

   "Because it was me and you, and I think I can read you, like from Day
One.  Vicki, well, I don't have that much experience with kids her age, and
I just don't know." o "She's a good kid.  Just remember the 'kid' part. 
That means instant gratification if she can work it.  She's smart and she
may be manipulative, but she's a kid, not an adult."

   "Not an adult," Kim repeated.  "She's not an adult.  You're an adult. 
Am I an adult?"

   "I certainly hope so.  We're getting married in a few days.  That's a
pretty adult thing."

   "Not for some people."

   "Kimberly," I said, using her full name for emphasis, "If I thought you
weren't an adult in every way except a date on your birth certificate, I
wouldn't be sitting here expecting to be your husband." I put my arm around
her shoulder and kissed that soft brown hair.  "My Kimmy.  We'll be just
fine."

   The PA system announced the arrival of the incoming flight.  We went to
wait at the arrival gate.  After the thundering herd of passengers surged
out,

   a somewhat worse for the wear flight attendant appeared with a little
honey-blonde girlchild holding her hand.

   "That's my Daddy!" she squealed, pulling her hand loose, charging.  I
caught her and picked her up for a hug.

   "You're Mister Duncan, I assume?" the attendant asked.

   "Kim, show her my license."

   Kim fished my wallet out of my pocket and pulled the license out.  "It's
him.  See?!?"

   The lady looked at the license, then me, then back at the license. 
"Close enough.  Here's her baggage claims," she said, handing me the little
folio.  She titptoed and kissed Vicki on the cheek.  "Be good, Miss Vicki.
Maybe I'll see you on the way back home."

   "Bye, Mizz Andrea.  Thank you very much." Then Vicki turned to Kim.

   Kim.  Who was standing there in her own version of 'the misplaced little
girl' stance.

   "Daddy.  I gotta hug Kim.  Put me down."

   I lowered Vicki to the floor.  Kim knelt down to her level.  "Hi, my
Vicki.  Am I more evil in person?"

   "Kimmmmmyyyyyy!" Vicki squealed, wrapping Kim up as best she could. 
"We're together.  Just like I wanted to be!"

   I noted that statement.  And the smile on Kim's face as she looked at me
over Vicki's shoulder.

   "I'm glad to see you too, sweetie," Kim said.  "Let's go get your bags
so we can go home, 'kay?"

   "Yesssss!"

   The three of us looked happy, I would imagine, heading through the
terminal towards the baggage claim area.  I noted that Vicki was holding
Kim's hand, not mine.  Interesting.  I was the absent dad.  Kim was the new
friend.  This could be a good thing, or it could be because I had a bag in
each hand.  Still, she was holding onto Kim's hand, smiling as we walked
out of the terminal.

   I was making sure Vicki was buckeld into the back seat when Kim tapped
me.  "Tim, she's gonna need a kiddie seat.  That state law, you know."

   "Oh, yes.  I guess we need to..."

   "Yes, Daddy," Vicki said.  "I need to be safe."

   At least that wasn't another battle.

   "Is this a new car, Daddy?" Vicki asked as Kim and I closed the doors.

   "Yep.  Kim and I picked it out together.  D'you like it?"

   "It's very nice.  I like the way it smells."

   "New car smell.  Some of the chemicals they use to make the plastics
come out," Kim said.

   "Clinical," Vicki said.  "That sounds clinical."

   Kim's head swung back.  ""Where's that word come from?"

   "Which one?  Clinical?  Did I use it wrong?"

   "No you didn't.  It's just not a word I expect an eight year old girl to
use."

   Vicki sat up as tall as she could.  "I'm almost nine.  And I have an
actual vocabulary.  Kids at school think I'm strange."

   "Strange?" Kim asked as I listened.

   "Yes," Vicki's head bounced as she answered.  "I can do all that stuff
they try to teach in the third grade.  Way more, really."

   "Oh," said Kim.  "Would it surprise you if I told you that I felt the
same way in school?  That's why I'm graduating when I'm sixteen."

   We were getting back into town when I turned into the parking lot of a
superstore.  "Lets go get you a seat, kiddo," I said.

   "Daddy, are smart girls freaky?" Vicki asked.

   I cut my eyes at Kim, noting the patented 'Kimberly smirk'.  "No, not at
all baby," I affirmed.  "Kimberly's a smart girl.  Makes her especially
charming to some people."

   "Like you?"

   "Like me."

   We navigated through the store, beelining to the selection of infant and
child seats, then making several detours on the way back to cashiers.

   Finally we're pulling into the parking lot at the apartment.  "This is
where we live, Vicki," Kim said.

   Okay.  Repeat of the airport: I carry bags.  Kim and Vicki hold hands
like schoolkid friends.  We walked past Jenn's apartment.

   "That's my Aunt Jenn's apartment.  I was living with her when I met your
daddy."

   "Ohhhh," Vicki said.

   Two doors down, Kim opened the front door.

   "Neat lock," Vicki said.  "I never saw one like that before."

   "I installed it.  You don't need a key if you know the code," I said.

   "Mom says you like that 'sciency stuff'."

   "Yeah, it's kinda the way I make a living, you know..."

   "Uh-huh," Kim said.  "He knows all kinds of things.  People pay him for
that."

   Inside, Vicki looked around.  "Daddy, this is very nice.  Kim, did you
help him fix it like this?"

   Kim smiled.  "Yes, I did.  My aunt and her friend helped, too.  But we
caught him right when he moved in, so he had not yet tried things on his
own."

   "I like it," Vicki said.  "Where's my room?"

   "It's only got two bedrooms, and I used one for an office.  Kim and I
moved things around to put your bed in there."

   Kim and I had done a quick shot at a neat little twin bed for Vicki.  I
had intended on purchasing one in due time.  The emergency visit sort of
accelerated things.

   "I like the covers, Daddy," Vicki said.  "Mommy thinks little girls have
to do pink.  I like this better." She looked at Kim.  "You chose this,
huh?"

   Kim nodded, smiling a bit.  "I never understood that 'pink' thing
either. Of course most young girls' rooms don't contain that printer."

   "It's big," Vicki said.  "I can live with it, though.  This is my room.
I can live with it." Sounded awfully mature.

   "Come on," Kim said.  "You've been travelling all day.  Let's wipe your
face and get you something to eat."

   "I am kind of hungry."

   "Just a little something for now?  It's a little early for dinner," Kim
said.

   "Okay.  Let's see what you've got."

   There's a lot of mileage available by a loaf of white bread and some
peanut butter and jelly.

   "Lopovers," Vicki said, watching Kim fix sandwiches while I poured
glasses of milk.

   "Lopover?" Kim questioned.

   "Daddy didn't teach you that?"

   Kim looked at me.  "Not yet.  Why don't you tell me."

   "You take a slice of bread, some peanut butter and jelly, smear it on
and lop it over.  Lopover."

   "Cute," Kim said.  "The sandwich story, too."

   The time was a bit after the normal end of the school day, so I expected
the inevitable phone call.  Actually, Kim got it.  Her iPhone went off. 
Jenn's ringtone.

   "Hi, Aunt Jenn." Pause.  "Yeah, we got 'er." Kim looked at Vicki,
smiling.  "Oh, she's a most horrible little monster." Pause.  "Eating a
peanut butter and jelly lopover." Pause.  "No, I won't explain.  You ask
her yourself." Pause.  "Let me check."

   Kim turned to me.  "Aunt Jenn wants to know if we're up for seafood at
Roscoe's.  Vicki, will that work for you?"

   Bobbing her head in the affirmative, Vicki said, "I love fried shrimp."

   I nodded assent.

   "Okay," Kim said to Jenn.  "When you and Laci get ready, just let us
know." Pause.  "Then just march on over.  We'll let you in." Pause.  "Bye!"

   Vicki was following the conversation.  "That's your aunt?"

   "Yes," Kim said softly.  "She's very special to me.  When my real mom
got into trouble, Aunt Jenn stepped up to take care of me."

   "And that's where you were living when you found Daddy?" Vicki
questioned.

   "Yep.  Just like in a fairy tale."

   "I know that fairy tales are imaginary, but they're nice to read."

   "Somebody reads them to you?" Kim asked her.

   I watched, surprised, as my eight year old daughter's head shook in the
negative.  "Mommy does sometimes, but I can read pretty good all by myself.
That's why they think I'm strange at school."

   "It's not strange to be able to read, baby," I said.

   "But it's not those 'See Spot run' books, Daddy," she said.  "I have one
of my books.  I'll get it." She bounced into the bedroom and then returned.
The book she was holding was young adult fiction, probably suitable for a
middle school library.

   "You read this?" I asked.

   She looked a bit exasperated.  "Yes, Daddy." She opened it to a bookmark
and started reading out loud.  "See?  I don't need to read out loud,
either."

   "Interesting," Kim said.  "I know what you feel like, Vicki."

   "You said that before", Vicki said.

   Kim's phone rang  -" Jenn's ring again.  "Hey, Aunt Jenn." Pause. 
"Yeah, come on over.  Just walk in." She turned to us.  "Aunt Jenn's here.
Laci's gonna be a little later."

   "I thought they came as a couple," I laughed, especially after I
realized my unintended double entendre'.

   Kim caught it immediately and cast me a wry eye.  I don't think Vicki
caught it.  Kim defused the moment by saying "You know that Laci gets out
of work at four.  Sometimes Aunt Jenn has late duty at school, sometimes
not.  Today's a 'not' day."

   And the front door opened.  Vicki turned to face Jenn.  "Hello.  You
must be my Kim's Aunt Jenn.  My name is Vicki." So measured and matter of
fact.

   "Why, yes, I am.  And I have heard a bit about you, Vicki.  You're
prettier than your pictures."

   "Thank you.  I'm just me."

   Jenn squealed.  "Did you just say 'I'm just me'?"

   "Yes, ma'am.  Why?"

   "Kim says that your dad says that."

   "Oh.  I guess that I heard it from him when I was little or something."

   "It's cute!" Jenn said, looking at me.  "She's a little 'you'.  But
cuter."

   We sat down and had a little light conversation, mostly about Vicki's
experience of flying across the country by herself, and how she was coping
in school.

   "When the teachers start something new, they watch me, and if I can do
it, then they can work with the other kids who can't.  I get to read.  One
day they let me go to a fifth grade class for math, but the fifth graders
picked on me, so we don't do that any more."

   Jenn's phone rang.  She glanced.  "That'd be Laci," she said as she held
it to her ear.  "Yeah, she's here.  We're all over at Tim 'n' Kim's place."
Pause.  "Oh, she's a little pixie.  You'll love 'er." Pause.  "Well, go to
the house, wash your face, then just walk in here." Pause.  "Oh, okay. 
I'll see you at the house.  Bye, love!" she punched her phone to end the
call.  "Laci wants me to meet her at the apartment, so I'll go.  See y'all
in a bit."

   Jenn closed the door behind her as she left.  From the look on her face,
Vicki had a question on her mind.  "Daddy, I got a question, but it's, uh,
maybe I shouldn't ask..."

   "What, baby?" I prodded.

   "It's like a boy-girl question."

   "Oh?" I saw Kim watching me, bemused.

   "You can ask, baby," I said.  "I don't have to answer."

   "I'm not tryin' to be nosey, you know.  But Aunt Jenn.  And, uh, Laci.
Laci's a girl's name, right."

   "Yes," Kim injected.  "Laci's a girl."

   "And Aunt Jenn just said 'love you' to her, right?"

   Mighty perceptive of our little munchkin.

   "Yes," Kim replied.

   "Are they a couple?"

   "Yes," I said.  "They're a couple."

   "Oh," Vicki said.  "Now I know.  So I won't be rude or stupid."

   "Good," I said.  "Laci and Jenn are good people.  I wouldn't want my
daughter..."

   "OUR daughter," Kim interrupted, validated by Vicki backing against her.

   "Okay, OUR daughter being rude to them."

   "There's a couple, two ladies, in our apartment building," Vicki
announced.  "They adopted a little girl.  She's like four, and I have
played with her.  I know about these things," she said, looking very
serious.

   "Because we're nice to people who are nice to us," I said.

   "Yes, Daddy," Vicki returned.

   There was a quick knock and the front door opened.  Jenn came in,
trailed closely by Laci.

   "See!" Jenn said to Laci.  "She's like a little HIM!"

   "I can see some of that," Laci said.  "Hi, cutie.  I'm Laci."

   Vicki smiled.  "You just called Daddy a cutie."

   "Did not.  On you it's cute.  He's just a guy."

   "I think he's cute," Kim said.  "And I can tell just by looking that
you're his daughter."

   "How long before I start looking like you?" Vicki asked.

   Kim giggled.

   Dinner was pretty much a happy event.  Heaven knows it could have been a
lot worse, but from my vantage, it seemed as if Kim and Vicki sort of
clicked together.  Since my big worry was that they would not mix well,
that was a load off my mind.

   I'd taken a vacation day off on Friday, the day before the wedding.  Kim
seldom went to school on Friday, so we spent the day making sure that our
side of the informal wedding was taken care of.  Vicki's mom had sent her
here with a neat dress for the wedding.  We made sure it was on a hanger
for the next day.

   Also on vacation were Jenn and Laci.  Early in the afternoon, I got a
phone call.  Jenn.  "Tim, do you think that Vicki would go somewhere with
me and Laci?  I mean, we're sort of like strangers, but..."

   "I can ask.  What do you have in mind?"

   "Waldo, my friend who's doing the cake for tomorrow, we were going by
his shop.  He's usually good for some interesting things to see.  Vicki
minght be interested."

   "Lemme see.  Vicki, would you want to go to the bakery with Jenn and
Laci?  It's a fancy one."

   "Like on Food Network?"

   "Yep.  But she's wondering if you would be nervous since you just met
her yesterday."

   "Da-ad..."

   Two syllables.  NOT 'Daddy'.  Sign of a growing little girl.

   "Well, I don't want you uncomfortable."

   "I wanna go."

   I turned to the phone.  "Did you hear that?"

   "Yes.  Tell 'er to walk out the door and she'll see us."

   "Walk out the door and look up the sidewalk.  They'll wait for you."

   "Kim, take care of my daddy while I'm gone," Vicki said.  And I was
reasonably sure she didn't mean anything lewd.

   I was thinking different.  Uncharacteristically, last night was a night
that Kim and I did NOT make love.  I guess we were just overtaken by the
changes in life, but after I walked outside and watched Vicki bounce up the
sidewalk to meet Laci and Jenn, I turned around to see my Kim pulling her
sweatshirt up to expose a taut midriff.

   A sign.  A definite sign.

   I had to hunch over to walk the few steps back up the path to the
apartment in order to hide the obvious erection tenting my pants.  I
slammed the door behind me and twisted the lock while gathering a giggly,
happy Kimberly with the other arm.  I put the other arm around her as soon
as I got it off the lock.

   "Wow, punkin," I said.  "What's this?"

   "This is your Kimberly being all impressed with you being a good dad and
having a daughter that loves you and I just feel like I really need..."

   She stopped talking when I kissed her.  Long.  Hungry.  Something about
her that brought to me the highest levels or eroticism.  When our kiss
broke, she whispered, "I want you.  I want you to sit in your chair and let
me kneel in front of you and eat and suck you inside out."

   "But what about you?"

   "You KNOW I love sucking you.  And when you're done, you can have me. 
Eat me.  Lick me.  Make me come.  And THEN we can mate."

   "How much thought have you given all this?"

   "I dunno.  Sort of came up on me when I watched your ass when you walked
out to watch Vicki.  I always think you're sexy, but it's something about
the way you just naturally stepped out to watch her walk up the sidewalk.
Just sort of snapped."

   I was already sitting and she was kneeling, working my pants open.

   "And I started thinking and got all tingly.  Raise your butt.  I want
these pants off.  Balls.  I gotta have your balls."

   I did as instructed.  My pants were removed and I scooted to the edge of
the chair.  Those happy blue eyes ...  damn!  Long fingers went under my
sack, scooping my balls into her hand.  Her head bobbed down, then I heard
a throaty "Mmmmm" right before I felt her lips suck one nut gently into her
mouth to be washed by her tongue.  She released it and then served the
other.

   "Baby, would it be weird if I wanted to shave you down here?"

   My mind went 'Huh?!?' but my brain caught up and my mouth said, "No.  Do
I get to shave yours?"

   Squeal.  "We can do each other!  I'm looking forward to it." That
announcement was made as her fingers enclosed the shaft of my dick, tilting
it toward her mouth.  A long, tongue-lashed suck, ending with a wet 'pop!'
"I wanna try.  We can let it grow back if we don't like it."

   I used what small percentage of my blood supply that was still servicing
my brain to imagine that perfect pink pussy devoid of that fine sprinkle of
light brown hair.  Kim.  Bare.  I twitched.

   Giggle.  Her head popped back down.  Swirling suck asone hand jacked me
into her mouth.  The other hand gently tugged and rolled my nuts.

   "God, I love this," she said, then she went back to work.  I was
stroking that light brown hair, adding one more wonderful sense to what was
happening to me.  She tilted her head back, her eyes connecting with mine.
"You love it, too." And back to sucking.

   I could feel the fire building.  A giggle came from around my dick in
her mouth.  She knows.  My sack draws up.  "Mmmmmm." I'm leaking pre-cum. A
couple more bobs of that pretty head and BOOOOOM!  I'm pulsing jet after
jet, she's sucking it in with every surge, and the little minx tilts her
head back to look into my eyes, smiling, with her mouth on my dick.

   After she sucked me to complete flaccidity, she stood up and stripped,
then crawled up in my lap and kissed me.  She lay in my arms purring while
I rode the wave of her gift, then I gained enough lucidity to push her up
toward the bedroom.

   "Get a towel, baby," she said.  "This is gonna get awfully wet."

   Prescient, she is.  Tasty, too.

   And then the finale, as she had planned.  In the afterglow, I kissed her
pert nose.

   "Timothy, if you ever leave me, I will jump off the bridge."

   "I will never leave you, dearest," I said.

   "Speaking of dearest," she returned, "I wonder how she's working out
with Jenn and Laci?



   ------

   Chapter 19

   Vicki's turn:

   Hi!  I'm Vicki and I am almost nine and I'm in Louisiana with my dad and
my new stepmom.  I flew here by myself from California.  Well, not really.
Mom and her husband dropped me at the counter at the airport and I had an
adult taking care of me all the way here.  But I was by myself until Daddy
and Kim met me at the airport here.

   When Mom first found out about Kim, she freaked.  I remember her saying
to Johnny, that's her husband, "I can't believe he's out chasin'
teenagers." I know she talked with Kim about it, but I guess Kim made her
comfortable.  Because here I am.

   I like Kim.  She's pretty.  She's smart.  When we were introduced over
the telephone, she didn't sound like she was talking to a dumb little kid.
She talked to me about what I like and don't like and about school and what
I watched on TV.  I think at first Mommy thought I was supposed to be mad
at Kim and Dad, but I can't be.  Kim's nice.  I love my Daddy and I know
that adults need somebody to be partners with them.  I was hoping that
Daddy and Kim ended up happier than Mommy and Johnny.  Mommy gets mad at
Johnny sometimes.  I think it's about work and money and stuff like that,
but I'm not sure.

   Daddy is always so correct.  Like the booster seat for his car.  He says
the law says that a booster seat is needed for kids my size, so we get one.
Last summer when I came to visit Daddy, he took two weeks off to spend with
me.  We did everything I could think of.  He was trying to make me happy
and to make up for the rest of the year when I wasn't with him.  It was
hard, though.  He didn't have his own house, so we stayed at his sister's
house in a little travel trailer, and it wasn't as much fun.  I tried to be
good, but I guess sometimes I can be a pest.  At least that's what Mommy
says.

   This time Daddy has an apartment.  It's neat.  I have a bedroom, even
though I know it's also an office because he has a computer desk and the
biggest printer I've ever seen, but he and Kim put me a bed in there and
Kim didn't let him buy pink everything.  I don't know why everybody thinks
that little girls are supposed to like pink.  I don't.  Kim doesn't.

   Kim used to live with her Aunt Jenn.  Now I've met Aunt Jenn and I guess
it's Aunt Laci.  What would you call them?  They're two ladies and they
live together, partners, you know.  I think that's called lesbians.  Johnny
has some other names, but I said one once and Mommy told me to never use
that word again, that it wasn't nice.

   Aunt Jenn and Aunt Laci are nice.  I mean, if Aunt Jenn had taken Kim in
when Kim needed somebody, that's what good people do, isn't it?  That
couple in California adopted a little girl.  Adoption is a good thing, too,
so I think those are good people.  I've played over there with the little
girl.  She's a neat little girl.  Just has two mommies, is all.

   So if Kim's got Aunt Jenn and Aunt Laci, then so do I.

   And my two aunts took me to see Kim's wedding cake at a cake shop. 
That's just interesting.  I've seen some of that stuff on Food Network but
they took me to this shop and the guy that owns it, he's really nice.  He
feeds me brownies and lets me play with that cone thing he uses to decorate
cakes.  He makes it look easy.  I tried it.  It's not as easy as it looks.

   Wedding cake.  Tomorrow my Daddy and my Kimberly are getting married.  I
was so sad that I wouldn't be there, because I love my daddy and I think I
love Kim, too, but I was in California and they're in Louisiana.  Now I'm
in Louisiana, and I will be standing there between them, holding their
wedding bands.  It's not going to be one of those big fancy weddings.  I've
seen Kim's dress and Daddy's suit.  And I have a nice dress.

   I asked Kim about them getting married.

   "We're already married," Kim told me.  "In the old days, before the
government kept records, a man and a woman would announce to their families
that they were married.  They started living together, and when there was a
judge or a preacher around, they would get him to do a ceremony and make it
a public record, but the real marriage started when they said they were
married."

   "Oh," I said.  "I guess Mommy and Johnny did that, too, huh?"

   "I suppose they did," Kim said to me.

   "But tomorrow's the day that your dad and I get to announce our marriage
and have it made part of the public record." She hugged me.  "And I am so
very happy that you're here to be with us!"

   "Really?  I'm not in the way?  Sometimes I think I get in the way with
Mommy and Johnny." I did.  I don't know what to do about it.  Sometimes I
make sure I stay in my room or in the living room and leave them alone. 
But Johnny doesn't smile at me like Kim does.  Kim smiles even when Daddy
is not around, like when he was on the telephone today talking to somebody
at his work.

   Saturday afternoon.  It's time for the wedding.  Like I said, not one of
those big fancy ones.  It's a little church that doesn't really look like a
church, and we're in the meeting hall.  Aunt Jenn and Aunt Laci are there.
Daddy's sister and her husband and my cousins are there.  Two girls from
Kim's school are there.  One of her teachers, too.  The guy from the bakery
is there with another guy and they have this table set up with the cake and
with some really fancy pastries and some other little food things.

   And there's a minister.

   We didn't rehearse this and I didn't know where I was supposed to stand,
so I sort of hung back.  Kim waved her fingers at me to come closer, then
guided me to stand between her and Daddy.  She told the minister, "This is
our daughter.  She's as important here as we are." Daddy smiled.  No wonder
he's marrying her.

   My Daddy and my Kimmy said their vows, the minister said some words, I
handed each of them a wedding ring, Daddy kissed Kimmy, and they're
married. Magical, isn't it?

   The cake and other stuff was good.  Really good.  I told Rico, the guy
with the bakery, how much I enjoyed it.  "Sweetie, you get your Aunt Jenn
or Aunt Laci or Kim to bring you by any time.  I'll teach you how to do
that icing thing."

   I turned to Aunt Laci.  "Did you hear him say that?"

   "We''ll get you over there somehow.  He's usually about to close when we
get off work, though," she said.

   "Then maybe Kim will..." And then I thought about where I was.  Daddy
and Kim's wedding.  It might be difficult to get them apart for a while.  I
know they love each other and with adults, that's special.

   I look around for Daddy and Kim.  Kim's got a little wreath of little
white flowers around her hair, and she's wearing a natural cotton dress
that's not quite white, but I think it looks like something from a wedding
in a book about the Celts (I told you I can READ) and it's just perfect for
her.  Another of Aunt Laci's friends is taking pictures and they're calling
me over again.  I'm taking some of them home again.  Seeing me with Kim and
Daddy, I don't think Mommy's going to be perfectly happy, but I am.  And
they are.

   Kim's turn:

   I thought I was going to faint.  Really.  Yes, I know that I've been
living with Tim for more than a month.  I know that we pledged marriage the
first time we mated.  I know that I thought of myself as his wife.  But we
went into that little Unitarian church or whatever, and stood there.

   Vicki was hanging back a bit.  Since we weren't doing a big complex
wedding, we didn't do a rehearsal, so I guess Vicki wasn't sure where she
was supposed to stand.  I knew.  I motioned her closer, then put her
between us.  I told the minister that she was as much a part of this as
either Tim or me.  And we did our vows, the minster read from the Common
Service, Vicki gave us each a ring to present to the other, and it's a done
deal, but I thought I was going to faint.

   Laci chose the dress.  Laci.  I always thought that Laci was the less
feminine of my two aunts.  (Vicki told me that I have two aunts since Laci
and Jenn are a couple.  I don't know why I never saw it like that, but then
that's sort of the surprise that Vicki brings us) I thought Aunt Jenn would
be the only help.

   But it was Laci.  "Here," she said.  "One of my oddball friends who has
a shop that specializes in medieval costumes has this one.  It's supposed
to be some sort of Celtic priestess thing."

   "It's white," I giggled.  "I ...  uh, waaaay past white."

   "That's an archaic idea, in the first place.  In the second place, it's
your first marriage..."

   "ONLY marriage," I corrected.

   "Okay, only marriage.  And it's not dyed.  It's unbleached linen, so
it's not pure white.  And it's long, but not too long, and flowing, and
heaven knows, with that set of legs and that waist and that chest, you can
carry off virginal Celtic princess better than anybody I know of." She
looked at me, smiling.  "And with a delicate wreath of flowers around your
head..."

   So that's what I was.  Celtic priestess.  For a day.  Tonight I'd be
skyclad.  Vicki poked Aunt Jenn about spending the night over there: "Just
Saturday night." Knowing look.  "Because Daddy and Kim need a night. 
Adults do that.  Need a night."

   I marvel at the wisdom of my step-daughter.

   Casey and Gina were there.  I'd introduced them to Tim and to Vicki.

   "You really did it.  I saw you say the words.  I saw you get the ring. I
saw you kiss him.  I watched you sign the license.  You're for real."

   "Yeah," Gina said.  "Right up to today I thought you were kidding."

   "Nope," I said.  "Got a kid already." I tugged a smiling Vicki alongside
me.  "Vicki, be very careful, darlin'.  Otherwise when you get to high
school you'll turn out like one of these two."

   Gina let out an outraged gasp.

   Vicki giggled.  "If you are the only ones from my Kimmy's class to show
up, you must be very special."

   "See!  " Kim squealed.  "You've deluded an innocent child!"

   "We ARE special," Casey said.  "So's your Kimmy.  Kim, get your husband
over here."

   Tim wasn't far.  He joined us.  I introduced Casey and Gina.

   "You're the only classmates she invited," he said.

   "They're special," Vicki popped.

   "Undoubtedly," Tim replied.  He smiled at them.

   "Gee," Gina quipped, "you said you were marrying some OLD guy."

   Mizz Sandersen, my physics teacher, was also in attendance.  "You look
positively radiant, Kimberly," she said.

   "Thank you, Mizz Sandersen.  Thank you for coming."

   "You honor us," Tim told her.  "Kim goes on about your classes."

   "I could go on about Kimberly," she replied.  "She's one of my students
of whom I have great expectations."

   Tim's niece ZoĂ<< wants my dress.  "I wondered what you'd wear.  I knew
it wasn't going to be a gigantic huge wedding, so I wondered.  This is just
so absolutely perfect!  You look beautiful!"

   "Oh, thank you so much, ZoĂ<<!  You flatter me." It did.  ZoĂ<<'s really
pretty, you know, 'beautiful'.  I settle in somewhere around 'cute'.

   "You really are," Denise reinforced.  "You ...  you and Uncle Tim, you
two just look RIGHT together.  And Vicki darlin'," she said, stroking
Vicki's hair, "You bind it all together."

   "I think so," Vicki answered.  "I kinda like 'em."

   The little reception wound down.  Vicki slid in between Aunt Jenn and
Aunt (that's gonna take some getting used to) Laci as Tim and I walked out
into the sunlight of a pretty fall day.  ZoĂ<<, Denise, Casey and Gina
provided the requisite shower of rice.  We got in our little SUV and drove
off.

   "One more time, Kimberly," Tim said.  "You.  That wreath.  That dress.
Perfection."

   "You're rather dapper yourself, sir," I said.

   "It's my 'everything' suit.  Business.  Weddings.  Funerals.  You, the
first time I ever see you in a dress is on our wedding day and you walk in
looking like some kind of Druid princess."

   I smiled.  "Do you have even the slightest idea of how much I love you,
Timothy?"

   "Somewhat close to how much I love you?" he queried.  "And that's a
whole bunch."

   "We have papers now, Tim.  I'm officially yours.  Casey says she's
keeping a tally of how many people at school think I have to be pregnant."

   "Like that's the only reason people get married," he sighed.

   "I got married for the best reason.  I love you."

   "I love you, too."

   "Where are we going?"

   "Hotel up the road owes me a room.  Like we decided."[PtC1]

   "Can you cancel it?"

   He swiveled his head quickly, questioning.  "You want to?  It's our
honeymoon."

   "It's been our honeymoon since we met, Tim.  We've got this neat little
place that's ours, and it's half an hour closer.  And it's our nest..." I
smiled.

   "Done, then," he said.  He pulled off into a parking lot, made the phone
call to cancel, then kissed me over the console of the SUV.

   "We'll have a real week to ourselves come Christmas," I said.  "Right
now, we go home, where we're NOT expected, and get in our nest, lock the
door, and everything that we've learned about each other, we use it." I
giggled.  "I hope you've been taking your vitamins."

   "I have.  I hope they work."

   And I'm thinking that if it got any more intense in some of our
sessions, I'd probably suffer brain damage, but then I've told him that
before.

   "It's not like I'm some little virginal thing that you have to haul off
into the hinterlands so my screams of anguish won't alarm the populace," I
said.

   "Although you do get vocal," he chuckled.

   "Yeah, right, Mister Screamer."

   "Never did that until I met you, dear."

   My turn to giggle.  "I never did a LOT of things until I met you, love."
He and I both know it.  I remember the little traces of blood the first
time we mated.

   Instead of an hour drive, ten minutes had us back in the parking lot,
walking toward our apartment.  I commented that Aunt Jenn's car wasn't
there.  "The evil lesbians have taken our daughter off to an adventure."

   "Probably a movie."

   "That's a benefit of having a practical little wedding.  Real clothes,"
I said.

   "Yeah.  You and Vicki wearing identical flower wreaths was a nice
touch."

   "Laci's ...  Uh, AUNT Laci's idea, again," I said.

   "Makes me rethink Laci," he countered.

   "Me too," I replied, "although she never did fit the overalls and Doc
Martens stereotype.  Neither does Aunt Jenn."

   "You're right.  Under different circumstances..."

   "Such as..." I teased.

   "Such as not having a niece that knocked me head over heels, and one or
the other NOT being a lesbian, either one of them would've made the 'more
than one date' list.  But you!  No way I could get YOU out of my head."

   "Nice to know," I laughed.  "Since you have me forever.  I'm gonna text
Aunt Jenn and tell her to ignore the car in the parking lot.  IF we survive
our first copulation as a legally married couple, we may consider being
seen in public this evening.  Otherwise, we'll wait until tomorrow." I hit
'send'.

   A minute later, as we were walking up the sidewalk my phone chimed.  I
glanced at the display.  Simple reply: "10-4"

   The older couple in the little complex were sitting out on their steps
when we walked by.  Gloria Stephens waved, so we diverted up their path.

   "My, don't you look beautiful, Kimberly," Robert said.

   "Oh, you DO!" his wife concurred.  "I heard you two were getting
married."

   I showed her my gold band.  She slapped her husband's arm.  "We
should've gone!"

   "Oh, It's okay," I said.  "I know Mister Robert's not as mobile as he
wants to be these days."

   Mister Robert nodded.  "I wish ...  We could've gone."

   "If you want to see pictures, I'll come over and show you when I get
them," I said.

   "Son," Mister Robert said to Tim, "I thought you were some kind of freak
for catching this ...  this princess.  Her aunt set me straight."

   Mizz Gloria smiled.  "He's a hard-headed old goat, but he'll listen."

   "Anyway," he said, "Looking at her today, I can see where your head
might be turned.  Kimberly, you're stunning."

   "A lady should be stunning on her wedding day," Mizz Gloria said.  "No
honeymoon trip?"

   "No, that comes later," I said.  "Tim's daughter, my stepdaughter, is
staying with my aunt tonight so we can have this one night to ourselves,
then it's back to life as normal."

   Mizz Gloria smiled.  "Well, don't let us keep you.  Go, have your
evening."

   "Yes, yes," Mister Robert said.  "And congratulations!"

   "Thank you," Tim and I answered simultaneously.

   A minute later, our door was closed and locked and Tim turned towards
me. I started to move.

   "No.  don't move.  Stand right there."

   I tilted my head, questioning.  He reads that.

   "I want to look at you more.  Most men never get a chance to be close to
a Celtic priestess in their whole lives.  I have that privilege."

   I flexed one knee under the drapes of that long, linen dress, filling
out those rustic folds, and I smiled at him.  If he wants to indulge in an
excursion into a fantasy, I'm all for it, as long as I'm the star of the
fantasy.  I spread my arms slightly.

   "Whatever gods I pleased to make this moment, I do hope they stay
happy," he said.

   Okay, I can pose only so long.  I've got a say in this as well.  Clever
dress.  Looks like a string bow on the front of the bodice.  One tug, it
opens, I shrug, and I am naked.  I'd already kicked off the shoes.  And I
don't know how others do it on THEIR wedding days, but I can pull off 'no
bra, no panties' quite well.  After all, I just did.

   "Skyclad," I said to my lover.

   I would have been raped except for that one niggling fact: You can't
rape the willing.  Furthermore, if there had been witnesses (Video!  Note
to self: I want to do a video of me and Tim.) it would have been a tossup
as to whom was getting raped.

   I think Tim's erection is the giveaway.  It's obvious.  A lot more
obvious than the little fact that I have juiced up so badly that my thighs
are slick.  My guy's smart.  He usually shaves after our shower at night so
his beard doesn't rub my skin raw, but this morning he did a touchup before
he got dressed.  No stubble when I closed my thighs against his cheeks. 
Guess where his tongue was.

   And where was I?  The Andromeda Galaxy was somewhere in my rearview
mirror.  Yes.  It's like that.

   I returned to somewhere in the vicinity of the moon before I had the
presence of mind to do something that I totally adored.  He's erect.  Sure,
he's erect.  My guy.  I get him going.  I push him gently off me and onto
his back and there's this delicious pink pole just begging for attention.
And I know how it tastes and I love it.

   Pulled him inside out.  And I'm the one that's vocal?

   We're lying together naked.  The room temperature is now a little cool.
A few minutes ago there were two rather efficient heat sources, but now
it's cool and I drag the covers up because for some reason this guy is
immobilized and almost unresponsive.

   I know something that I can use to get him lucid again.  "So!  This
wedding night versus your first one.  Better?"

   "Uh ...  I didn't have a life before Kimberly," he mumbled.

   I caressed his face.  We'd had that talk before.  I dragged some detail
out of him.  "Not nice to kiss and tell."

   "Not nice to keep things from your betrothed, either.  That was years
ago.  I'm inexperienced and I'm curious."

   "She thought oral sex was sinful." While he said that his face was still
glistening with our juices.

   I think oral sex is wonderful.  Just like the other kinds.

   "Seriously?"

   "Yeah," he said.  "She had a reputation for her hand-jobs, but no oral."
He opened his eyes to see me intently staring at his face.  Your handjobs
are better, too.  Now stop making me talk about this."

   "Then let me do something sinful," I giggled.

   Right now, though, it's just barely beginning to get dark but I'll go
ahead and call it my honeymoon night, I'm in charge of my semi-lucid Tim.
His head is resting with his cheek against what I used to think was a
horribly inadequate breast.  Not inadequate any more, because he turns his
head slightly and I twist to put a nipple into his mouth.  This tongue
tells me he's still awake.

   My fingers caress his face, then his chest, then I push gently through
that nest of curly hair (Hey!  Didn't we agree to try 'hairless'?), his
flaccid dick lying on the back of my hand.  I gently grasp it at the base
and pull the skin up its length, covering his circumcised crown.

   My nipple transmits his little moan very well.  I can actually feel him
start to harden in my grasp.  He pulled his lips away from my breast.  I
had to shift around to kiss him, but kisses were called for.

   "It's time for us to mate," I said to him softly.  "We're officially
married in the eyes of the church and in the eyes of the state."

   "We've been officially married in the eyes of the two people who count
for several weeks now, and we've definitely mated."

   "I know," I said.  "But this one's special in its own right."

   "Of course you're correct, my dear."

   "I am the high priestess.  I am expected to be correct." And I worked
some magic on his anatomy.

   He was still on his back and here's this flagpole again.  I have
explored multiples of its function.  The moment called for one function in
particular.  And one position.  I slid a leg against him and tugged.  He
knows.  He's on top.  Between my thighs.  Naturally, completely naturally,
I'm sopping, and he's hard and I pull the back of his head and our lips
meet just as I feel that other head push between another set of lips and
keep on going.

   I have a hand on each side of his head.  I push him back.  "Tim, if you
didn't hear it today, I wanna remind you.  You.  Me.  Forever."

   "Forever.  I could travel among the galaxies and never find anything to
compare with what I have with you."

   Another kiss and words weren't a viable form of communication.  He might
be on top but I'm in control and I know that with this being his second one
today, I have some liberties in working with him for my own.  I feel the
waves of fire starting to roll and I fasten my mouth to his because this
time I want to be completely merged and his breath surges and I feel a
spurt of liquid fire deep inside me and I know we've done it.  Mated.

   Stop kissing.  Sigh.  "Oh, Timmmmmmm!"

   "I love you, goddess."

   Lucidity.  "Priestess."

   "No.  Only a goddess gives life.  You've given me life."



   ------

   Chapter 20

   Tim's turn:

   It's done.  After the first marriage went off the tracks there was a
time when I told myself that never again would I put my heart in the care
and control of another woman.  That lasted, too, helped along by the
quality of the available women I was set up with or who found me on their
own.  Then one day I moved here.

   She's lying there.  The light of a full moon is streaming in the window,
illuminating what was only a few hours ago a Celtic goddess, clad in
natural linen, accepting my vows and returning with her own.

   I was so in love with this girl that if you pierced my heart I'd ooze
syrup.  I'm that sweet on her.  We've been asleep for two hours.  It's
almost two in the morning of the day after our formal wedding and we tried
our best to spend the entire evening pleasuring each other.  The fact that
I was not erect with her nude next to me and that she was soundly sleeping
bespeaks our success.

   Still, despite my suffering a case of dongus deflatus, I can't resist a
caress, a touch, brushing a few strands of that light brown hair away from
a high cheekbone.  I thought I was being gentle and subtle, but she
stirred, a smile impressed itself on her lips, and she turned towards me.
Her eyelids fluttered.

   "You," she said softly.  "I'm NOT dreaming."

   "I must be, little angel," I said.

   "I'm ...  We're married.  Nobody can ever separate us, Tim.  Never."

   "Nope.  Better or worse, richer or poorer..."

   "In sickness and in health, till death us do part," she said.  "And then
you brought me home and killed me."

   "Can't kill a goddess," I told her.

   "You really liked that look, didn't you?  I'm glad we did that 'don't
see the bride in her wedding dress until the wedding' thing.  I wasn't
sure, but Laci convinced me.  Aunt Laci."

   "Laci surprised me," I reiterated.

   "You surprised me," she said.  "I thought we'd pretty much figured out
that sex thing, but you lifted me to a new height on my wedding day."

   "As it should be.  You bring something to my life that I have no right
to enjoy."

   "Hold me close, baby," she said, sliding against me to make it easy. 
She buried her face into my chest.  "Mmmmmmm!  You fill my need." Her head
turned, lips covered my nipple, something she knew affected me.  Her hand
slid down to gauge the effect.

   Giggle.  "I know my Tim, don't I?"

   "Nobody knows but you."

   Giggle.  Another sucking nibble.  I could feel myself harden with a
twinge.  "And I know very well.  Love this thing." Her head disappeared
under the light covers.  My eyes rolled back in my head coinciding with the
"Mmmmm" reverberating through my being.

   This was going to be the fourth one for me since the wedding.  We'd
eaten each other, had three full penetrations, each resulting in me coming.
Kim?  I don't know.  Lost count.  I wasn't sure what she had in mind until
I felt her twisting in bed, inverting her position, then tossing a long
taut leg over me to settle my face between those thighs.

   A feast was being served.  I loved the menu.  I lavished loving, lusty
attention on that playground as I felt lips working me, then teeth ('I need
to bite at least a little bit' she tells me.  She does that right, too) and
I lose track of where my tongue is for a second.

   "My button, Tim!  Do my button!"

   Okay, I'm back on track, but I can't deny what's happening with her
mouth on me.  We eat each other all the time.  Usually she comes, then she
takes care of me, and maybe she comes again.  This time?  It's a race.  She
hooks her teeth just past the head, creating exquisite pleasure and pain
and it's working for me.

   My hips buck involuntarily.  I hear "Mmmmph" and feel a swallow and her
head pulls back as she keens her own orgasm.  She goes back down, trying to
salvage ...  I don't stop at either end.  One end is me spurting fire, the
other end is me lapping at her as those pink petals quiver and twitch. 
There's no faking here.  This is pure Kimmy coming.  She did manage to keep
sucking, though.

   When she turned around, she mouthed, "That was WILD.  What did we do?"

   "We made a mess of Kimmy," I said.  "You have it on your face."

   "I gotta see it," she squealed, jumping up.  The light came on in the
bathroom.  Another squeal.  "That's horrible!"

   "Horrible?" I asked.

   "Yes!  I wasted it!" She stood in the door of the bathroom so I could
see her, using her finger to gather the tracks of semen from her face, then
with a lascivious little smirk, she stuck her finger in her mouth.

   "Come back to bed, you," I said.  "Before you make me crazy."

   She stood by the bed, tossed the covers off me, giggled.  "We might've
killed it, Tim." She reached a finger out, touched it.  Thankfully it
reacted with an involuntary wiggle.  "Nope.  Little life left." She bent
over, sucked my entire soft dick into her mouth.  "Mmmmmmm!" Her head
popped up, eyes twinkling.  "I don't get it very much when it's totally
soft." She crawled back into bed.

   We drifted off to sleep again, me spooned up behind her, sniffing the
faint perfume of her hair.  And slept.

   The clock showed nine-something when I opened my eyes to see her propped
up, watching me.

   "I always wanted to know what kind of man I'd marry.  You do it so well,
love."

   "Look, punkin," I said.  "I've never told you this, because I don't want
you to take it wrong.  I'd NEVER mess with somebody as young as you. 
NEVER. You totally blindsided me.  From Day One you've been living in my
head."

   "Aunt Jenn told me about all the risks.  She was very serious.  Didn't
want me to be a throwaway toy for some guy.  I told her that I was already
inside your head and you were in mine.  Don't ask me how I knew.  Just
KNEW. And this is the logical result."

   Which statement she underscored by molding her body against mine.  She
wiggled against me.  Smiled.  "Nope!  Still dead!  Let's shower and go eat
a late breakfast."

   "'Kay, punkin," I said.

   "I'm betting that my two aunts and our child have already fed
themselves, though.  So if we wait a little later, we can do an early
lunch." She smiled like an idea was forming.  "Hmmm!  Last night it
responded well to suction." Giggle.  "And I promise I won't waste any
today."

   Six in eighteen hours.  I told her as we hit the shower.

   "I lost count.  Like trying to count the stars, Tim."

   She was putting a finishing flourish to her jeans and sweatshirt
ensemble, looking absolutely charming in that 'I'm not TRYING to be cute'
mode she does so well.  Maybe it's me.  She just gets to me.  She was just
reaching for her phone when it started ringing Jenn's ringtone.

   "Hi, Aunt Jenn, I was just reaching for the phone." Pause.  "No, really!
We just finished showering.  We were gonna call and see if you wanted to do
an early lunch." Pause.  "Yeah, send 'er back down here.  I ...  We miss
'er." Pause.  "Okay, call me when you're ready to go.  Luvya!  Bye!"

   She turned to me.  "Vicki's on her way."

   I laughed as I headed for the door.  "You know that your aunt is dying
to jerk your chain about last night..."

   "And this morning," Kim giggled.  "But she can't because Vicki's there."

   "You know it's killing her, though," I laughed.  I saw Vicki bouncing up
the sidewalk.  When she got to me, I scooped her up for kisses.  Yes, glad
I just showered.  We stepped inside the apartment and she motioned for Kim
to join us, group hug, little girl kisses for Kim.

   Okay, so our planned Thanksgiving week honeymoon was torpedoed.  I
mentioned it to Kim outside the earshot of Vicki.

   "Don't you even think about this wrong, Timothy," she hissed.  "We have
Vicki, and this time with her is something that neither you nor I would
ever trade.  We'll see about Christmas vacation, okay?" she kissed me. 
"Promise it'll be good."

   So we worked up Plan B.  The three of us went to the big city up the
road for zoo and museum, then dragged ourselves to Mom and Dad's for
Thanksgiving dinner.

   With Laci and Jenn.

   Deep inside I was a bit frightened.  I shouldn't have been.  I don't
think Dad would fake a hug to save his life, and he hugged both of them. 
Mom's just Mom.  She mothers everybody, and Jenn and Laci were just two
more strays to take care of.

   After the meal, Dad and I were watching the obligatory football game
while the females cleared the mess.  Dad looked at me.  "They're not gonna
watch the game?"

   Laci stuck her head up.  She was hauling a load from the table.  "Mister
D, don't get caught up in stereotypes."

   Dad turned bright red.  My antennae went to full alert.  Laci bounced
over and kissed Dad on the cheek.  "We'll come sit with you in a minute."
And she bounced right back out before Dad could retract his jaw.

   Finally, "She's as nuts as YOU are," he said.

   "Ain't gonna let Mom and Connie handle the chores alone."

   "Coffee?" Mom called out.

   After assenting remarks, Jenn came in with the coffee tray, sat it down,
then sat down next to Dad on the sofa.  She handed him a cup and said,
"Now, what's the score?"

   Learned something.

   Vicki's in her room at night.  That gives Kim and me[PtC1] OUR time, but
we dress in sleeping clothes afterward because in the morning...

   "Kimmmmm?"

   "Yeah, hi, Vicki!"

   "Can I get in bed with y'all?"

   "Sure!" And we end up with Vicki between us.

   Monday after Thanksgiving is the day we give up Vicki.  Yes, Kim's not
going to school.  Yes, she and Vicki cried their eyes out, right up until
departure.  Yes, I had a morose Kim beside me on the way home in a car that
felt uncharacteristically empty.

   "It was a tease, Tim.  I didn't think I'd like it.  I was worried.  I
shouldn't have worried.  I liked having her around."

   "I know.  This was the best visit I've had with her since she moved with
her mom to California.  I wish she lived closer."

   Back in the apartment, though...  "Console me."

   I do believe we consoled the daylights out of one another.  Up side? 
Running around naked in the apartment again.  Gotta admit we missed that.

   Thursday.  Open house at school.  I didn't dare go to the first one of
the year.  This one became mandatory.

   "Mostly parents," Kim said.  "A few grandparents.  Some guardians.  You,
sir, will be the ONLY husband."

   "Seriously?"

   "Oh, there's plenty of baby-mamas and baby-daddies, but I am the only
married student in the school."

   "How should I dress?"

   "Like my Tim.  If you must, put that business shirt and tie on.  You're
a professional engineer.  I didn't marry Dudley the Ditchdigger.  If
they're gonna talk about me, let me give 'em some subject matter."

   Dinner with Jenn and Laci.  They were sad, too.  "We're thinking of
flying to California and stealing her," Jenn said.  "What a sweet child."

   "Thank you," I said.

   We talked about various things, including the group pictures we had from
Thanksgiving, including one with Dad and Mom hugging Jenn and Laci.  Jenn
had told Kimberly, "I didn't know that marrying you off would get ME a set
of parents."

   I relayed that comment to Mom and Dad, naturally.  Mom teared up.  Dad
did his little smile and said, "I could've done a lot worse."

   Thursday I came home to find Kim laying out my clothes for the open
house.  She gave me a kiss and then pushed me toward the shower.

   "Pizza's on the way.  My two aunts get half of it." When I got out of
the shower I slipped on my knocking around the house sweatpants, a move
that got a "Gee, you know how to dress!" from Laci when she came to gather
her half of the pizza.  Kim and I each ate a single slice of the pizza. 
The other slices went in the fridge to her giggling "Pizza for breakfast!"

   Hands washed, teeth brushed, I thought we were getting ready to get
dressed.

   No.  Happy Kimberly.  "Laci says you know how to dress.  I know how to
undress." The sweatpants were on the floor and I was on my back with
Kimberly hunching on me, impaled.  She tugged my shoulders, indicating that
I should sit up.  Did that.  Long legs wrapped around me.  Her mouth was
welded to mine.  She finally tossed her head back, coming, her bounce
triggering the one I was desperately trying to hold.

   "I love it when we come together," she said.

   I smiled at her.  She was so sexy.  Her exuberance brought life to me.

   "Uh, we need another quick shower, though..."

   I could tell that as a gout of combined semen and girljuice was rolling
over my balls.  I staggered into the shower behind her.

   As we said, quick spritz to wash off the happy smell.  Finally we were
dressed and out the door.

   It is fortunate that I'm not the type that has to find the absolute
nearest parking spot to the destination.  The place was filling fast.  We
wheeled into something that looked good  -" easy to get out onto the street
when the event was over.  We got out, locked the car, then joined the
stream on the sidewalk, hand in hand.

   Okay, my wife(!) is pretty well known (now!) at this school, so the two
of us walking like this gets a few heads swiveling and a finger or two
pointed.  Kim notices just as I do, gives her pretty head a toss and
straightens her back.

   "If they're gonna talk, it won't be about us skulking in like we're
criminals," she said.

   The crowd thickened as we neared the school, heading to the gym.  Next
thing I know, there's a recognizable adult female walking alongside Kim's
friend Casey.  My antennae went to full alert.

   Kim gave me a nudge with her hip.  "Was gonna happen sooner or later,"
she said.  "Let's see how memorable you are."

   To her credit, the woman didn't LOOK predatory.  I guess being there
alongside her daughter might have some effect.  I wondered at the same time
if she knew of me being married to this smiling sixteen year old at my
side.

   Direct approach.  Walked up to her and Casey.

   "Well, hello, Tim," Carey said.  "Casey said she'd run into you.  And
this is Kim?"

   Kim went into possessive mode, not really obvious, but she was holding
my hand, and she dropped it to put her hand inside my arm.  "Hi, Casey. 
Hi, Mizz Weathers."

   "Hello, Kim," Carey said to her.  "Casey showed me pictures of your
wedding.  You looked like someone from a storybook."

   Kim smiled.  "I've been elevated to 'Celtic Goddess' status."

   Carey and Casey both smiled.  I did too, thinking about that dress and
how my Kim turned a couple of yards of linen into a work of art simply by
wearing it.

   "Casey talks about you all the time, Kim.  Tim, I'm surprised, but I'm
happy for you.  Really."

   "Thank you, Carey.  Casey's one of Kim's very best friends."

   Okay, it was awkward, but at least she didn't make comments about me
being a cradle-robber who married a girl a couple of years younger than her
daughter, nor were disparaging remarks or looks tossed at my Kim.  We
parted ways, working our way deeper into school, and then found seats in
the gym.

   I bent over to whisper into Kim's ear, "You're beautiful and I love
you."

   "You'd better, bub," she giggled.  "Your old girlfriend didn't age
well."

   "Shhhh!" I said.  "We'll continue this conversation later."

   "Indeed we will," she smirked.

   We sat through the presentation by the principal and musical numbers by
the school chorus and the band, and then the gym portion of the evening was
over.  I found myself being tugged by the hand to meet teachers and look at
classrooms, got stopped several times by various male and female high
schoolers.

   After one or two, Kim leaned into me.  "Everybody wants to see what kind
of guy I married."

   "I thought as much," I said.  "Where's Jenn's classroom?"

   "Oh, it's on the second floor.  We can go see it."

   I was still nervous.  One doesn't walk into a high school as the husband
of a sixteen year old student, not when one is himself forty, without
offending some sensibilities, but honestly, if there were some holding bad
thoughts, they managed to hide them.

   Found Jenn in her classroom talking with a student and what was
apparently his mom.  I waved.

   "You don't go away," she said.  "Let me talk with Jared and his mom for
a bit."

   We backed off into the hall.  "Jared's really smart," Kim told me sotto
voce.  "But he's got issues.  I'm thinking he's borderline autistic.  At
least Asperger's.  But really smart."

   I suffered through a couple more introductions before I noticed Jared
and his mom slipping off.  Jenn came out.

   "So!  You haven't been tied to the flagpole and stoned for child
molestation?" she picked.

   "Not yet," I answered.  "Maybe they think that I should be the grand
finale."

   "Actually," Kim said, "people have been quite pleasant.  I'm surprised.
And that included Tim's old girlfriend." She knew that little stab made me
cringe.  "Casey and her mom were here.  We met them."

   "Oh, really?" Jenn said.

   "Oh, yes," Kim smirked.  "Tim left 'er sobbing at the memory of her
loss."

   "She didn't!" Jenn blurted.

   "No, she greeted me with a nod."

   Kim's turn:

   Tim is uncharacteristically draggish.  Let's talk about the wedding! 
That's how I know Tim's out of it.  He completely forgot that Laci kept her
promise.  She WAS the 'Best Man'.  Standing right there beside Tim, wearing
a dress that made Laci, acerbic, funny, snarky Laci, now "Aunt' Laci, look
stunning.  Yes, she carries a few extra pounds, but she looked good.

   And of course, Aunt Jenn's my Matron of Honor.  Equally well dressed. 
But poor Tim, all he saw was me.  And Vicki.  Hard NOT to see Vicki.

   He didn't mention his mom and dad being there.  They were.  Goodness!  I
mean, he's their son, the wedding's on a Saturday, their grand-daughter is
there, and their new and particularly cute daughter-in-law is there.  I
think one of the best things about marrying Tim is that he has a neat and
loving family to bring with him.

   And I am thankful that my horrible step-daughter thinks enough of my two
aunts to take off with them for the night of my wedding.

   Wedding night ...  I know that I wasn't a virgin on the night we
officially got married, and I have accepted having my world rocked making
love with Tim is a norm, but there was something about that night that just
sort of let me turn myself loose to a higher level.

   And I'm walking around with a gold band.  It's vestigial, you know.  The
real band is around my heart.  Still, the one on my finger gets noticed a
lot more.

   The first day back at school after the Thanksgiving holiday had given my
story time to really get out.  I mean, I'm married.  It's not something
that should be kept secret, but neither did I go out of my way to advertise
it.  I had my closest school friends there, though, and they had a whole
week to talk about it.

   I need a T-shirt that says "Teen Marriages Do NOT Require Pregnancy".

   I know Aunt Jenn fielded a lot of questions too, likely due to her
status as my guardian, a widely known fact at school.

   In the car on the way home, she sighed heavily.  "If I had a dollar for
every "What's the story with Kim?" question..."

   "At least yours were asking about a third party," I said.  "I got the
'Are you pregnant?' a million times."

   "That was the most popular misconception," Aunt Jenn said.  "There were
a lot of 'who?' questions, too.  I guess it's what I get for taking care of
my Kimberly."

   "Your Kimberly wishes she wasn't causing you heartache."

   "Who said anything about heartache, baby?  Would've been heartache if I
didn't think something good happened with you and Tim.  I got to smile and
tell people that they should only dream that most teen girls would do as
well with a choice of mates."

   I giggled.

   "Yeah, it's like that.  Told 'em that you two married for the best of
reasons, that he's mature, good looking and quite successful." Aunt Jenn's
turn to laugh.  "Told 'em that YOUR husband makes enough support the both
of you without Food Stamps and Section 8.  Or with the both of you
working."

   "Sounds almost harsh," I said.

   "Wasn't with most people.  But there are a couple who thought that
attacking you might get to me.  And I uncorked.  But it wasn't all bad. 
There were some who were actually happy for you after they found that you
weren't just another stage in the continuum of teen disasters."

   They accepted your opinion on that?" I asked.

   "My friends did.  There's a certain segment of the population that won't
alter their beliefs just because facts don't support them."

   "People are messy things," I said.

   "Indeed they are.  By the way, come Christmas holidays, Laci and I are
heading to a state where we can legalize our marriage."

   Okay, I squealed just a little.

   "You're not the only one who thinks things should be for a lifetime,"
Jenn said.

   "Won't be recognized here," I said.  This is true.  We live in a state
that doesn't recognize marriages between same-sex couples.

   "Oh, that's not the deal, baby, and you know it.  It's important for me
and Laci.  It's about us.  And when this state finally gets around to it,
we'll be ahead of the game."

   "Laci's a good person," I said.  "Tim says you're a great couple."

   "Tim's dad says we're a great couple," Jenn said.  "I think it took five
minutes for Tim to get his jaw back up when his dad said that."

   I giggled.  I remember the look in Tim's eyes.  Tim's mom and dad, Tim
was so worried about them accepting me, first, but he was really concerned
that his dad would have problems with a lesbian couple.

   Tim's mom and dad adopted my two aunts.

   We got through the open house at school.  I wasn't worried about
teachers.  Tim has poise, presence, and handles himself well, and he
doesn't look like somebody trolling playgrounds in a windowless van.

   Friday morning after that open house, as is customary, I split paths
with Aunt Jenn in the teacher's parking lot, headed to a different entrance
to the school building.

   So I'm walking up the sidewalk, not WITH anybody, just part of the
general flow of students.  Casey slides up next to me.

   "You're walking too fast," she said.  "I almost had to run to catch up
with you."

   "Sorry, Casey.  Didn't know you were back there."

   "Running a little late.  So what's up?"

   "Nothing new," I said.

   "'Sides, what are you doing here on Friday?"

   "Trying to to look a little normal," I said.

   She giggled.  "Says the girl who walked into the place last night
holding her husband's hand."

   "A LITTLE normal, not completely normal," I giggled back.  "I have a few
tests to get some classwork signed off.  Today's a good day."

   "Plus you get to tell me about how people reacted."

   "You coulda called," I said.

   "Better in person," she countered.

   "Wasn't as bad as it could've been," I said.  "Nobody got in our faces.
Teachers were all nice.  The kids who talked to us weren't bad.  Did your
mom say anything?"

   "Mom's still Mom," Casey said.  "Says that Tim wasn't really gonna be
her bag of tea anyway." She sighed.  "She's probably got that right.  I
know how YOU are, and if you float Tim's boat like you say, then Mom
wouldn't have made the cut anyway."

   "He would've ended up with a pretty decent stepdaughter, though," I
said.

   "Awww, thank you, Kim!  That's nice of you to say."

   "I mean it, Casey.  You're good people."



   ------

   Chapter 21

   Tim's turn:

   Sadly, the ex says we don't get Vicki for Christmas since we had her for
Thanksgiving.  That's okay.  We're doing at least a month next summer. 
Watching Kim and Vicki together has made me very comfortable about that.

   Impromptu Christmas party.  The Unit manager at work invited all his
staff, including me, and our wives and/or significant others to his house
for a Saturday evening.

   "You know Kim's only sixteen."

   "Yeah?  So what?  You married 'er.  I've met her.  She's not a ditz.  If
you show up, she'd better be right there with you."

   Just about everybody has met Kim.  She's pretty good about showing up
for lunch on her Friday off-days.  I've gotten a lot of ribbing, and yes,
some pretty pointed probing questions over my obviously teenaged wife.  Of
course, seeing Kim is one thing.  Talking with Kim is another.

   The vocabulary is NOT 'you know' and 'I'm like' and 'she goes'.  From
early on, I've enjoyed Kim's verbal jousting, horrible puns, plays on
words, and I am fortunate that I work with a pretty intelligent bunch, so
after one particularly conversational lunch, I was riding back to the plant
with a salesman and one of the mechanical guys.

   "She's pretty quick with a turn of phrase, ain't she?"

   "Yeah, I married 'er for her vocabulary," I said.

   "Yeah, uh-huh..."

   So Kim and I walk up to the boss's front door and push the doorbell.

   The boss himself answered.  "Kim," he said, "Very happy to see you here.
I told him he couldn't come unless he brought you."

   "Oh, Rick," she tittered, "He doesn't get out of my sight except to go
to work.  Has to have my permission."

   "Well trained," a female voice said.  "I'm Pam.  Rick's wife.  He told
me to expect you, dear..."

   "Hello, Mizz Pam," Kim said, her Southern manners showing.

   "Please don't call me Mizz Pam, Kim.  You're a wife.  I'm a wife. 
Equals."

   Kim smiled.  "I'm okay with that!"

   "Come on, sweetie," she said.  "Let's parade you in front of the other
wives.  Make 'em all jealous.  You look like a doll!"

   "Thank you!  You look nice, too."

   "Baby, I wish I still had it.  You got it."

   Kim was wearing a dress, not flashy, not gaudy, not revealing, sort of
like the frame on the Mona Lisa.  She DID look good, but then I've been
known to be a bit biased.

   I went in to meet the rest of the crew.  A couple of my co-workers were
younger engineers, so the wives were a bit less matronly than Rick's wife,
Pam, but they stood with Kimberly and ...  sorry ...  I have the pick of
the basket here.

   Industrial facility in the South, so what do YOU expect the music to be?
Yep!  Both kinds: Country AND Western.  I'm not helpless.  Two other
couples are dancing.  I turn to Kim.  "Wanna?"

   "I think we can do that," she said.

   Something I didn't know about Kimberly.  She can dance.  I have to ask
where she learned.  Of course, we're doing a waltz and she whispers in my
ear, "I didn't know you could dance," followed by giggled, "I feel that!"

   "Shhhh!" I hissed, willing myself to lose the erection caused by
proximity to Kim's shapely body.

   Got another giggle.

   "You're trouble," I whispered.

   "One more glass of Pam's merlot and we won't make it home, buddy!"

   Little Miss 'I'm Only Sixteen' had a couple of social drinks and she
does NOT handle alcohol well at all.  I noted that.  So much for 'You're
the sober one.  Drive us home' plan.  Oh well, I can back off.

   Kim actually got snagged for a couple of dances by some of the other
guys and I took a turn around the floor with one of the wives.  I caught
the LOOK.  Kim's face, over her dance partner's shoulder.  I read 'go
ahead, buddy boy, just don't let her feel what I felt.'

   No way.  Nobody, supermodel to movie star, was gonna mess with me and
the adoration I have for Kimberly Elkins Duncan.

   The party broke up and we bid our hosts good-bye, said bye to several of
the others, wives promising to call Kim in the future, and we got in our
SUV and drove off.  I was driving.  Kimberly was giggling.

   "Tim, tell me you've never been sucked in a car."

   "I have never been sucked in a car, Kimmy."

   "No, really."

   "Really!  Never."

   "This console's ...  I think I can..." She was halfway over the console,
unzipping my pants.

   "Kim!"

   "Hush!  I'm on a mission here!" she giggled as she fished my hardening
dick out of the fly.  "There it is!" she giggled.  "Now..."

   She's young and she's flexible and a pair of lips encircled the head of
my dick and I almost drove off the road.  Her head popped up when I
swerved.

   "Are you okay?" she asked.

   "God, Kimberly!  You KNOW what you do to me."

   "Yes, I do.  Drive very carefully." And her head bobbed down.

   No, I didn't come.  She knows the signs.  I could feel it building,
building ...  And her head popped back up.

   "I am afraid that if I finish, we'll be a traffic accident statistic,"
she giggled.  "Get me home.  There's something I've been thirsty for all
night."

   "I've been hungry myself."

   "Yeah, and you dancing with Darla, I need to re-establish control..."
she giggled again.  "At least you didn't grab HER ass when y'all danced."

   "Not when I have possession of the most grabbable ass in the universe
right here," I said.  "I took a downgrade to dance with Darla.  Sammy got
an upgrade dancing with you."

   "And HE didn't grab my ass, either.  Nor did I get close enough to feel
this!" she said, squeezing my erection as she tried maneuvering it back
into my pants.  When we parked and locked the car, she was tugging my hand,
walking fast toward the apartment.

   Inside the door...  "So, buddy boy, Darla was..."

   "Somebody else's wife.  Not nearly as pretty as YOU are.  Dancing is a
polite social function."

   "Good answer," she giggled, kneeling.

   "We could wait a bit and get undressed and into bed."

   "Nope," she said.  "Gotta be just like this..." she was working my
zipper again.

   I was still charged up from the prequel in the car.  "But..."

   "My little fantasy," she said, releasing my dick from captivity.

   "How long have you HAD this fantasy?"

   "Since I saw you dancing with Darla.  I thought that I'd REALLY show you
who cares for you."

   "I KNOW who cares for me..."

   "So I gotta do this," she grinned.  "Nope.  Pants gotta come down.  I
can't get your balls." She held the head of my dick in her lips as she
worked the belt buckle, released me to get my trousers and drawers down,
then...

   I was primed.  MORE than primed.  Her head moved forward.  Kim doesn't
'deep throat'.  She just works as much of me into her mouth as she can, and
she works my balls while she does it, and right now I'm already halfway
there.

   "Mmmmmm," comes from her, around my dick.  Another "mmmmmm.  You're
already sooooo close," she said.

   I was past 'close'.  When she pulled back to tell me, her hand on my
shaft gave the final stroke to put me over.  She squealed as the first jet
hit her face.  The squeal was cut short when she swallowed half my shaft,
her tongue aiding the suction as she caught every surge.

   Only the most herculean effort on my part kept my knees from buckling
despite Kim's attempts to suck me inside out.

   She stood up, announcing, "That's it!" Giggle.  "Got ALL that!" wiping
that errant first spurt off her cheek, then connecting her eyes with mine
as she stuck that sticky finger into her mouth.  "ALL of it!  Darla didn't
get THAT!"

   "I could've been stranded on a desert island with her and she wouldn't
get that, princess."

   She kissed me.  "I know..." Giggle.  "I'm still a little buzzed.  And I
REALLY did think about doing you at the party."

   "Come on, little girl," I said.  "I wish to assault you..."

   "I'm all gooshy, Tim," she slurred.  "I need a really good licking."

   "Part of the plan I reserve for slightly inebriated princesses," I said.

   "Better be just the ONE princess," she giggled.  "Here!" She bent over
and pulled my pants up so I could walk.  "Hold these!  Follow me!" She took
my hand, tugging me towards the bedroom.  "Now!  Naked!"

   One should obey a princess.  Especially when one finishes peeling off
his socks and finds her splayed open on the bed before him, smirking like
the cat that ate the canary.

   Saturday morning, though...

   "I told you the last time I drank wine that I'd NEVER do it again, Tim
...  And what did you DO to me last night?  I'm still having happy little
twinges." She winced.  "Ouch!  This headache ain't one of them."

   "You ...  I told you not to have the second glass..."

   "I was having fun.  Everybody had a second glass."

   "They're used to it.  You're not."

   "I know," she said.  "I guess I didn't learn that lesson last time."

   "Or you thought that it just might be worth it..."

   "It hurts when I giggle," she said.  "But last night when I got you
home..."

   "Last night before we GOT home..."

   Okay, she risked the giggle.  "That, too." We kissed.  "Do we have
orange juice in the fridge?"

   "No, I don't think so."

   "Let's get dressed and go have breakfast someplace that has orange
juice," she told me.

   "Orange juice?  Is that what it takes?"

   "Sounds really good.  That place up the road.  Coffee's good there,
too."

   "Okay." We dressed.  Not being in a particular hurry, there was a
certain amount of happy fondling as various parts were exposed then
covered. Out the door, up the road, breakfast with the love of my life. 
Even clad in a bulky sweatshirt over a pair of faded jeans, she's a
delight. My buttons are pushed.

   On the way back we drove past the local mall.

   "It's a madhouse," she said.  "Tell me we don't need to do that."

   "We don't.  I have something special for your Christmas present already
wrapped up.  Besides that new MacBook you're using..."

   "Laci said she'd've married you for a MacBook.  But it'd have to be a
MacBook Pro."

   "She said that?"

   "Yep!  In front of Aunt Jenn.  You wanna hear what I told 'er?"

   "I'm not sure I wanna know..."

   Snicker.  "I told 'er that I would've married you for a four-function
calculator as long as I got to sleep with you as part of the deal."

   "I'm sure that Jenn loved that."

   "She almost fell over.  Laci says she's glad that YOU have to put up
with me instead of her and Aunt Jenn."

   "You need to stop upsetting your aunt, baby."

   "But they start it.  Oh, and the latest?  I know you got vacation the
first week of Christmas break."

   "I did.  They're really going to do it?"

   "Yep!  We're flying to California with them.  Wedding.  Then THEY stay.
We fly back or whatever.  I'd kinda like to spend a holiday here with you,
if that's okay."

   "We can do that," I said.  "I'm surprised, though.  Thought maybe you
might want to try skiing or something."

   "Couple of things wrong there, guy," she said.  "First, it's the
Christmas holidays.  Any ski resort is gonna look like the mall with
addition of the possibility of frostbite.  Second, I'm a poor little
Louisiana girl.  I do not have a particular desire to ski.  It's just not
in my genes.  I do however have a desire to walk a windswept beach in
December with the man I love."

   "You're a cheap date," I laughed.

   "Oh, pooh!  I desire the classic clichĂ(C) of long walks on the beach."
She gave me that half-smirk, half-smile that shatters my heart.  "Do YOU
like to ski?"

   "I tolerate it.  Been a few times.  Wouldn't go again unless I was
asked."

   "I reserve the right to ask.  By the way, your family, what do you do
for Christmas?"

   "The big deal's on Christmas Eve at Mom and Dad's.  Party.  Finger
foods, hors d'oeuvres, stuff like that, Mom & Dad give presents to the
grandkids.  Christmas Day is for the families.  Mom will do a gumbo for her
and Dad and anybody who wants to drop by."

   "Like us?"

   "I'm sure we won't be the only ones.  The gumbo's usually ready a bit
late on Christmas Day, not that it matters.  That big pot will simmer all
afternoon, ready for somebody to come dip up a bowl."

   "Last year at Aunt Jenn's, it was strange," Kim said.  "We were still
adjusting to each other.  We did a little Christmas tree, not as big as
this one."

   I liked OUR Christmas tree.  In my 'lone wolf' holidays, I didn't
bother. I popped in on family and friends for my supply of Christmas
spirit. This year?  I have Kim.  We're our own little family unit, so we
have a little tree in the living room.  Real tree, too, so the house smells
wonderfully of evergreens, the dark room sparkles with the lights.  And I
made a BIG pot of egg nog and invited Laci and Jenn over to share with us.
So, yes.  Christmas.

   I know there's a present under the tree for me.  I don't know how or
where she got it, but it's there.  There's one for her, too, a pair of
little diamond stud earrings, their box fastened to an eight by twelve inch
bit of three-quarter inch plywood, then wrapped.  She has no idea what's in
that box.  I know she wanted the earrings, although I like her little gold
spheres just as well.

   The earrings are a safety measure.  I get lost kissing her neck, she
get's giggly and wiggly, and the earrings keep me from biting off a
delicate pink earlobe.

   Kim didn't go to school on Friday, the last day before the holidays. 
That was a travel day.  We hit the airport early, submitted to some TSA
gamma-minus (Giggle!  "Tim, there are probably only THREE people in this
crowd who will get the reference to a gamma-minus!" she'd said.  "They
don't encourage you to read Huxley any more.") probing, sat beside one
another on the short hop to the hub, then explored the hub airport terminal
a bit before the flight to California.

   We were staying in the same big hotel as Laci and Jenn, and they'd
scheduled a later flight because Jenn's a teacher, and Friday off was a bit
of a stretch to her, and Laci opted to save a vacation day.

   Didn't matter, because Saturday afternoon, we all met at a wedding
chapel suggested by a friend of a friend and Kim and I watched Laci and
Jenn exchange vows.

   "Now they have a piece of paper, Tim," Kim told me.  "Just like me and
you.  And we know where the real bond is..."

   We had a great post-wedding dinner.  The same friend who lined up the
wedding chapel also gave Jenn and Laci some options for dining.  One thing
I learned on my many trips to California is that they have restaurants,
LOTS of restaurants, some really bad, some really good.  This one was
really good.

   We didn't wake them for breakfast on Sunday morning.  Kim and I slipped
quietly off, as we'd planned, went to the airport, and returned home.  No,
don't let your mind go THERE.  The flight was packed, leaving no
opportunity for any of that 'Mile-High Club' stuff, although I did get the
obligatory soft whisper and a giggle to let me know that a cute
brown-haired girl was entertaining the thought.

   That's reason enough to smile, especially when said cutie spends the
next few minutes snuggled against you.  Actually, most of the flight time
was spent reading and listening to music and talking.  I gave up the window
seat to her.  The flight out was her first time off the ground, so she was
really interested in her view until we climbed through the overcast for the
trip home.

   "Clouds as far as the eye can see," she observed.

   "It's like that sometimes," I said.

   "I wonder how they navigate," she said.  Her iPad and the plane's
wireless link provided a bit of an answer.  Several answers, actually. 
While she was skimming various articles, she started smiling.

   "We're so spoiled."

   "How so?"

   "We're flying along six miles above the planet at ten miles a minute and
in my hands I have the capability to reach just about any information I
might desire."

   "Yeah.  I grew up when a good family actually owned an encyclopedia and
libraries were where you went to do research.  Gotta love the Internet."

   "Hard to imagine that," she said.  "I've always known this." She showed
me her iPad, a page talking about air navigation.

   It feels really good to walk into one's own home after a trip.  I've had
long-term 'executive apartments' and hotel rooms and such over the years
since the first marriage disintegrated.  This is the first place one felt
like home.  The brown-haired girl ahead of me on the way to the bedroom is
the reason why.

   We each unpacked, sorted and stowed the things from our trip.  I don't
know why she was being so businesslike.  I had expected to be attacked as
soon as we got the door closed behind us, but no...

   So, I'm wondering.  Let's see.  I put my luggage in the hall closet,
stacked hers on top of it after she handed it to me, then turned around
halfway expecting her to still be there.

   No.

   She was heading to the living room when I caught her and turned her
around.  She giggled.

   "I wondered how long it would take..." Her eyes were twinkling.  "I
don't know how we'll handle this with no distractions.  No school.  No
work. No Aunt Jenn calling.  Just me and you."

   "So I was being tested?"

   "I was exercising the utmost in self-denial, sir," she said.  "I am
quite proud of myself."

   "You just wish me desperate," I replied.

   "And are you?"

   "Am I what?"

   "Desperate."

   "Horribly so."

   "As evidenced by..." she said, her hand covering my dick, hard beneath
two layers of clothing.  "Why yes, you are!"

   She tiptoed a bit to kiss me.  "No distractions?  I find that clothing
is a horrible distraction." She looked around.  "All the curtains are
closed.  Take my clothes off, Tim."

   It might have been a suggestion, but I took it as an order.  Completing
the task was its own reward.  She's beautiful.  Oh, yeah, those bozos who
choose the subject matter for centerfolds might not agree, but she's mine
and I think she's beautiful.

   She catches me looking.  Giggle.  "Like you're studying me, Tim."

   "I am.  Like I'm viewing the Mona Lisa.  You don't get complete joy
unless you can take your time..."

   Still, it's been months since we've been together and she still gets
bashful.  One hand tries to cover two perfect breasts, then she realizes.
Her hand falls, she stands a bit straighter, smiling.  "I can do this
because you love me, baby." She smiled.  "Now get your clothes off, too."

   "All by myself?  No help?"

   "You probably need help," she laughed.  "I know you.  You're probably
awfully distracted."

   "You're too beautiful, little one.  You get every sense going." I
struggled to maintain enough presence of mind to unbutton my shirt.  She
was kneeling in front of me, working on my belt buckle.  I felt cool air
hit my legs as my trousers fell, then coolness on my butt as she tugged my
drawers down.

   I know what I wanted to feel.

   "I can't resist this thing," she giggled.  Her head moved forward.  I
was anticipating it, so my knees didn't buckle.

   She stood up, moving against me, giving me a way to shower her pretty
face with kisses.  "You're so unbelievably lovely," I said.

   "I'm so unbelievably yours, you know." Those blue eyes, like the sky
merging with the ocean on the far horizon.

   I stroked the hair back from the sides of her face.  Sometimes she lets
it fall forward to frame her face between light brown tresses on each side
and those luscious thick bangs hovering above her eyebrows.  Sometimes she
pulls her hair back behind her ears, holding it there with clips.  I'm
thinking of how those little diamonds will look in that configuration.

   They'll be sad little diamonds though, because they can't compete with
the sparkles in those eyes.

   All those thoughts are the flashes of the few neurons still receiving
blood supply.

   "I love you, Tim."

   "I love you, Kimberly."

   And I find myself flat on my back in bed with an agile, nubile young
female and fantasies way past anything a hormone-addled teen boy's mind
could conjure up were played out in juicy, ecstatic detail.

   At last, breathless, she snuggled into my arms.  "And, that, dear Tim,
is how one conducts a home-coming."

   "Yep!" I quipped.  "Definitely home.  And there's been a considerable
amount of coming involved."

   "You're horrible," she giggled.  "Speaking of, though ...  Think you
have another one for me?"

   "If you can make it stand up, it's yours."

   "I love a challenge," she said.  "But there's this one spot, right back
here..." Her fingertip hit that spot right behind my scrotum while she
fastened her lips to my left nipple.

   Boingggggg!

   "Squeeeel!  It's alive!  And it's MINE!"

   Oh, the things I got in return for that gift.

   Another reverie.  I have determined after careful study that reveries
are best enjoyed nude and post-orgasmic.

   "I'll never know, will I, Tim?"

   "Know what?"

   "What bad sex is."

   "What brought that up?"

   "I was thinking about how happy we are, Tim.  How happy I am.  And I've
heard other girls talking about sex.  Painful sometimes.  Unsatisfying.  A
lot of 'em don't like it but they do it because boys want it.  How can sex
be bad, Tim?"

   "Easy.  Everybody's not you and me.  We match.  We're in love and we've
been getting in each other's way trying to please one another.  Sometimes
one or the other, the guy, usually, is in it for himself.  Sometimes it's a
lack of care or skill."

   She regarded me with cool eyes.

   "Or, if a girl isn't prepared..."

   "Juicy," she said.  "I start thinking about us and I get juicy."

   "I know.  I can tell." I was remembering the tasty, musky moisture I
find there so often.  "But if you were dry, it could be very painful. 
Damaging, even."

   "Oh.  I can see that..."

   "That's how.  And some people have lowered sex drive."

   "I don't, I think," Kim said softly.  "I didn't know how much of a sex
drive I was going to have until I found who I was going to share it with."

   "I'm glad it's me, dear one," I said.

   "Me too." Soft smile.  Little kiss.  "It's entirely too early for us to
go to sleep, baby."

   "And what do you have in mind?"

   "Go for a drive.  Christmas lights.  Maybe a late snack."

   "Then we need a shower, sweetness.  I find your aroma delightful, but
others may think we had an orgy."

   "Uh, yeah ...  Showers're fun, too."

   After the shower we did as she wanted, driving around neighborhoods
looking at Christmas displays, finally ending up at a late-night diner.

   "I want coffee," she said.

   "It's late.  It'll mess with your sleep."

   "Sir, I don't have to get up at any particular time, and if I wake up in
the middle of the night, well..." Mischievous twinkle.

   "Two coffees," I told the waitress.

   "And a couple of those sticky buns," Kim added.

   An hour later we're back in our apartment.

   Both of us slept fitfully even though we did our best to tranquilize
each other.

   And it's perfect.



   ------

   Chapter 22

   Kim's turn:

   Let me tell you about Aunt Jenn's wedding.  It was an adventure. 
Getting to California for the wedding was my first time flying off
somewhere.

   Aunt Jenn, before Tim, was my rescuer, my rock.  Mom's younger sister,
the one who went to college, got a degree, became a schoolteacher.  Decent
person, and according to Mom, "One a'them bull dykes" like Mom's
heterosexual alternative was somehow superior.

   When Mom went to jail, Aunt Jenn took me in without batting an eye and
opened up to me about her relationship with Laci.  Laci's a bit more mouthy
and extroverted where Aunt Jenn is a bit more reserved, but I saw two
people who treated one another with respect, and yes, 'love' that didn't
involve abuse.

   We live in a state that doesn't legitimize same-sex marriage.  They
wanted to get married.  We talked.  In this day and age, marriage is an
archaic option for so many people.  Aunt Jenn and Laci didn't see it that
way at all.  They wanted to get married.  Friends helped set the whole
thing up for them in California.

   The guy who did the wedding cake for OUR marriage lived in California
for years before he moved back home to take care of his aging parents.  He
had a lot of friends still in California, so it was like a pipeline of
information.  We knew where the wedding was going to be, where we were
going to stay, where we were going to eat, the whole enchilada, before we
left.

   Tim talked me into a reprise of the dress I wore for our wedding.

   "Why?"

   "Because it elevates your beauty to a mythical level."

   Damned straight I'm gonna wear that dress.

   Dresses.  I know that some lesbian couples do that 'bride and groom'
thing.  I asked Aunt Jenn and Laci beforehand what they were going to do.

   "Matching dresses," Laci said.

   "Seriously?" I asked.

   "Come on, Kimberly!" Aunt Jenn said.  "We're not buying into somebody
else's stereotypes here.  We're both women..."

   "I know!  I looked!" Laci popped.  She's a bit more open since Tim and I
have been together.

   "Laci!" Aunt Jenn blurted.  "Uh, anyway..." she continued, tossing one
of those looks at Laci, "we've been together for years.  We're both women.
We just happen to love each other.  Neither of us has to toss some
butch-dyke thing out in front of people.  This whole thing is about who WE
are.  Just like you and Tim."

   "He's male.  I looked!" I tossed at Laci.

   "You two stop fighting or I'm gonna have to send Kim home!"

   So that's what they did.  Marriage ceremony, the two of them in simple
blue dresses, very pretty, really.  We have lots of pictures and video.

   "Beautiful," Tim had said on their wedding day.  "If I wasn't married to
you, I might turn lesbian."

   "Wouldn't work, remember," I countered.  "You have an outie.  They like
innies." I smirked.  "I know.  I looked!  You're an outie!"

   "And neither of them look like a Celtic princess," he said.

   "Good recovery," I smirked.  "You shall be rewarded."

   Back to the wedding.  The airlines made out like bandits on this thing
because in addition to me and Tim, Aunt Jenn and Laci, there were seven of
their back home friends, including the cake guy, at the wedding.

   No, he didn't make this cake.  One of his friends did.  He did, however,
ask about Vicki, "a delightful, happy child".

   Turnabout is fair play, they say.  Tim stood in as Best Man upon Laci's
smart-assed request, and I was Matron of Honor, all sixteen years of me.

   The ceremony was sweet, romantic, simple, as befitting the participating
couple.  I expected no less.  I suppose some might have expected some kind
of campy caricature of some kind of exaggeration of a heterosexual
marriage. They don't know my TWO aunts.

   My two aunts and their extended circle of friends do know how to put
together a feed for the reception.  Sushi!  I never get enough sushi, and
as you might imagine, the Louisiana Gulf Coast is not well-supplied.  I
mentioned it to Aunt Jenn.  Kimberly's sushi table was the result.

   Tim saw it.  Made the remark, "This has Kimberly written all over it."

   "In kanji," I said.  I was loading up a plate.  Chopsticks.  Hashi.  I
can do 'em.

   I can also do champagne.  Two, no THREE glasses, a number that I now
draw as a red line.  Tim cautioned me, but I know the whole 'alcohol is
dangerous' thing.  I wasn't driving.  I was in the hands of somebody whom I
loved and trusted and who would take advantage of me in lovely ways.  And I
wasn't going to get nasty drunk.  I know what that looks like.  Mom was
famous for it.

   When Tim and I left the reception, I was slightly buzzed, a state that
is possibly dangerous to my mate's health and legal status because he was
trying to drive back to the hotel and I was trying to get his dick out of
his pants, two mutually exclusive activities.

   "Stoppit!  Kim, this is not our home territory.  If I get caught engaged
in sex with a sixteen year old, there's gonna be trouble."

   "I got a copy of our marriage certificate," I said.

   "They won't buy it, Kim."

   "It's Califorrrrrrnia, baby ...  Debauchery is almost a requirement," I
giggled.  I had the head out.  His brain might be saying 'no' but the rest
of him was all for this.  My favorite plum was slick with salty, slippery
juice.

   "Oooo-kay, scairdy-cat," I whined.  "I'll put my toys up." Or not.  I
wasn't nearly as motivated in reversing the process.

   When we pulled into the hotel parking, he had to stuff himself back into
his pants and zip back up.

   "I'm thinking you need to start wearing a kilt for these events," I
said.

   "No way.  You get a couple of drinks, you get crazy." He looked at me.
"Not that it's a BAD thing ...  But no kilt!"

   We were walking back into the hotel holding hands.  "Think about it. 
Your kilt.  I'll wear a skirt.  No undies on either of us ...  the
possibilities."

   "Stop that!" He hissed through a chuckle.  "I can't walk in there with
an obvious erection."

   Giggle.  "I offered to take care of that for you."

   One of those tacky conversations I overheard at lunch was a couple of
the jocks talking about a tryst with one of the school slut-puppies.  "I
tore that pussy up!" When he said it, I was disgusted almost to the point
of vomiting.

   The next morning, though, when I squeezed my thighs together and felt
raw, I realized that I had experienced such a thing myself the previous
evening, that it was much of my own making, that I was almost unconscious
from multiple orgasms more than once, and that this creature next to me,
still nude himself, was finally so spent that I couldn't suck him out of
flaccidity.

   I rose up on an elbow, looked upon the face of my husband.  Can't help
it.  Had to touch him.  Gently stroked his face.  He rolled over on his
back.  I don't know if that was conscious on his part, but it MIGHT be.

   Let me wake him up gently.  I pushed the covers back.  Acquired my
target.  Captured it in one wet suck.

   "Mmmmmmm," I purred.

   "Mmmmmm, little one.  Is it still alive?"

   I felt it stirring in my mouth.  I popped up.  "Yes.  We tried, though."

   "You put it in a coma."

   "I'm sore.  Can we shower?  And be gentle..."

   We could.  We had to.  We needed to do breakfast then clear the hotel
and hit the airport for home.  My two aunts are spending the Christmas
holidays in California for their honeymoon.  Tim and I were going back
home.

   I had thoughts of that 'Mile-High Club' but a Boeing 737 packed to the
gills doesn't allow for that without subsequent arrest, so we settled for
snuggling together for the trip.  Layover in Dallas.  Another hop to our
home.

   Walked up the sidewalk to our apartment.  It felt alien, knowing that
Aunt Jenn wasn't going to be there for happy noises for a while.  Oh, well.
I'm sure that there will be some communication forthcoming.  Both my aunts
are technologically adept.  They're also on their honeymoon.

   We unlocked our front door and went inside.  It's good to be home.  The
two of us went about the business of putting things away.

   I was heading towards the living room when I was wrapped up by a pair of
strong arms and turned around.  I squealed.  "I wondered how long it was
gonna take!  No distractions.  No school.  No work.  No interrupting phone
calls from Aunt Jenn.  Just me and you."

   "And you were testing me?"

   "Noooo," I cooed.  "I was exercising the utmost in self-restraint to
keep myself from chewing your pants off you.  I'm actually quite proud of
myself."

   "You just wanted me desperate."

   "Are you?"

   "What?" He questioned.

   "Desperate."

   "Horribly so."

   "What evidence do you..." I cupped his package.  "Oh, my!" I kissed him.
"Get these off!  Clothes are a horrible distraction."

   Naked.  He's looking at me, like he's studying.

   "No, I'm adoring.  You don't just glance at the Mona Lisa."

   "You still have clothes on."

   He started unbuttoning his shirt.  This was taking way too long.  I
kneeled and worked on his pants.  When IT popped free of his drawers, my
head just automatically moved forward.  Like I say.  It's mine.  I love it.

   Late in the day, I know ...  and I've been thinking about this halfway
across the country and in a couple of days my stupid period's gonna start,
but here we are ...  it was after eight in the evening when we recovered
enough to determine stomachs rumbling.  An all-night diner provided a late
dinner in the form of their 24-hour breakfast menu, and we drove around
looking at Christmas lights.  Back to the diner for a late-night pastry and
coffee.

   "I want coffee," I told Tim.

   "It'll mess with your sleep, baby."

   "Got nowhere to go, and if we wake up in the middle of the night, it
would be HORRIBLE, don'tcha think?" If I was of evil intent, I could wrap
this guy around my finger.  Not that I don't do it anyway, but only for the
best of reasons.

   Coffee and sticky buns.  After I gave the waitress our order and she
left, I smirked at Tim and said, "Sticky.  Buns!"

   Okay, maybe I AM just a tiny little bit evil.

   Back home, pulling into the parking lot.

   "Timmmmmmyyyyyyy," I whined using my best 'little girl' voice.  At least
that's what I thought I was.  I never used it before.

   "Yes, little love?"

   "We've never done it in the car."

   "No, we haven't."

   "It's dark and there's nobody around and we can do it quick..."

   "In the car.  In our parking lot.  Seventy-five yards from our front
door."

   "Ummm-hmmmm," I said.  "Does that make me a BAD person?"

   "No, it makes me..."

   He didn't have to finish.  I reached over and touched the answer.  His
breathing changed.

   "Come over to this side, I ordered.  "Slide your pants down.  And I get
in on top of you."

   A minute and a half later I'm sitting in his lap, facing away from him,
anchored in his lap by this ROD, bouncing.

   "I can't take much of this," he said between gasps.

   "Just let it go," I said.  "It's wonderful." I was helping myself along
with two fingers.  The angles were all wrong for it to happen just from his
penetration.

   "You're..." he gasped, "OhGODDDD!"

   I tossed my head back and fought to stifle my squeal.  Works like that.
If I'm close, the feel of him pulsing and spurting inside me is enough.  I
let myself sag back.  He wrapped his arms around me.  Things slid apart
between us.

   "You're something magical," he whispered in my ear.

   "You make me do things I never dreamed I'd do in my wildest
imaginations, Timothy," I said.  "Let me get my pants up."

   He let me loose.  I raised up, dragged jeans and panties up somewhere
near where they were supposed to be.  Got 'em buttoned.

   "I'll step out.  You yank your stuff up enough to walk to the door."

   Okay, so we weren't the best-dressed couple when we walked up to our
door, holding hands, me humming a bit of Mozart.

   "You're completely nuts, you know," He said.  "Worst part is that you're
contagious."

   "It's the late coffee," I replied.  "And the Sticky.  Buns." Giggle. 
"And my buns are particularly sticky right now, sir!"

   "Grrrrrrr." He unlocked the door, practically SHOVED me inside, locked
it, tossed me over his shoulder.  I squealed all the way to the bedroom
where I was deposited on the bed in a rather unceremonious fashion.  I lay
there wide-eyed as he stepped out of his pants, then he tugged mine down
and...

   Nearby thunderclaps are but the whispers of a spring zephyr compared to
the explosion I experienced.  My sweatshirt was shoved up underneath my
armpits.  Down past my navel I think I was glowing, incandescent.

   "You came twice in five minutes, baby," I said.

   "So did you," he smiled.

   "Yeah, but I ...  girls ...  we can do that."

   "You keep making me break rules, princess," he said.  "That 'car' thing.
I came, but I needed more Kimmy..."

   I languorously dipped my fingers into the soppy middle of my pussy. 
"Oh, you got more Kimmy," I said.  "Am I weird?"

   "Weird?  How?"

   "Wanting to do it in the car."

   "Not weird.  Adventurous."

   "And reacting like THIS when you're rough with me..."

   "I wasn't rough.  Just a bit insistent.  Thought that the car biz was
enough foreplay..."

   "Mmmmmm," I said.  "I hope I've got enough strength to stand in the
shower."

   "Let's try."

   When I got up, I surveyed the damage to the bedspread.  "We'll wash it
tomorrow," I said.  I half fell into his arms.  "Good god, Timothy ...  I
feel like an over-cooked noodle..."

   "Speaking of noodles..."

   I glanced down.  Dammit!  It's soft, and it's glistening with our
combined juices and I have a weakness.  I succumbed.  With extra 'succ'.

   We did get to the shower.  The hot water and soap felt wonderful after
all the other things that felt wonderful this evening.

   It only took a couple of good wiggles to get the proper snuggle
conformation before we fell asleep.

   He was right about the coffee.  I slept fitfully.  Somewhere around
three in the morning I was tossing around and I felt a hand gently touch my
back.  I backed into Tim, wiggled.  Got a reacting wiggle in return.  I
reached behind me, found him half hard.  I slid under the covers, turned.
Maybe it's reversion to when I was an infant and I needed a pacifier.

   Or not.  Two hands to the back of my head, guiding.  Then a slight tug
and I move up to meet his lips.

   We slept in until almost ten.  Had an early lunch, bought a Christmas
tree and a few bags full of lights and ornaments and laughed and giggled
through setting it up.  Took pictures.  Forwarded them to Tim's family and
mine.

   Got a picture of two smiling faces over a nice-looking meal from my
aunts.

   Got a phone call from mother-in-law to talk about Aunt Jenn and Aunt
Laci's wedding.  Grabbed my MacBook and pushed Tim out the door to go show
them the pictures.  Bummed a free meal from my mother-in-law's wonderful
kitchen.

   The rest of the Christmas holiday was a blur, like Tim and I were in a
blender.  We visited aunts and uncles and cousins, did Christmas Eve at his
parents', had our own quiet little Christmas at our own place.

   The day before New Year's Eve is the day that my two aunts returned from
California, travelled out.

   They called us on the way home from the airport.

   "Come over," I said.  "Drop your bags at the house and come on over."

   Aunt Jenn sighed.  "Would it be okay if we had pizza?  If I see another
piece of arugula I'm going postal."

   I could hear Laci laughing in the background.

   "It'll arrive just after you two get here," I said.

   Tim smiled.  "And by such small steps does life return to normal."

   I giggled.  "Life will NEVER be 'normal' again."

   ------ The End ------ Posted: 2011-09-06 Last Modified: 2015-01-21 /
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