Cherry Picking

I'm sitting here, in the warm living room of the house I've owned since my teens, watching the wind-tossed late-autumn leaves blowing hell-for-leather across the frosted pool cover. Ever since I buried my wife just after Labor Day, I have been sitting here with my mind constantly reeling backward through the years, touching on the events of my life. Someday soon I'm going to have to get up off my ass and go back to living, but for now, I'm stuck on repeat, reliving memories of things long past.

Today, as has become usual, the memories were triggered by random elements of my surroundings. The pool, though covered up and abandoned at this season, has reminded me of my cousin Shelley (long dead now) and the virginal young woman she first brought to my acquaintance back in 1977. As I look out over the now-autumnal yard and pool, my mind drifts back, seeing the events of that time in my life, once again.

My parents died in a car crash when I was thirteen years old. The collision was so horrific we had to have a closed-casket funeral. My Mom's parents moved in with me and helped me get through high school. My parents, upper-middle-class people that they were, had left me the family home (where my grandparents lived with me) and a little pile of money in a trust account. It all turned out to be just enough to get me through college and well-started down the road of adult life without sweating the bills, but not enough to live on forever.

Once I graduated from high-school, my grandparents retired and moved to Florida where they lived out their life-long dreams. According to my grandfather, it was all golf, shuffleboard and naughty nights in the heat. Apparently, my reserved, conservative grandparents cut loose in their old age and became quite the noteworthy couple on the Florida retirement swinger circuit. (But, that's a story for another time.)

I...well, to understand anything about the stories I'm going to tell, you need to know that all my life, even as a preteen, I've always been pursued by girls and women. At first, they wanted to spend all their time around me, touching me, kissing and talking. Later, when I matured, their attraction turned much more...physical, let's say. I know it sounds like the biggest trumped-up bunch of nonsense you've ever heard, and I'd forgive you for calling me a liar and a braggart, except it's true.

I don't know why it's true, I've never been able to figure it out. It's certainly a fact that I'm only average looking, not particularly athletic, and I don't even have a foot-long dick. Nonetheless, girls and women have always felt attracted to me, almost as if they detect some signal that says, "Fuck this guy, you'll like it," hovering over me. My cousin Shelley, my best childhood friend, knew this, of course, which brings us to this particular memory.

On that hot September day, I was sitting outside by the pool, studying for a Chemistry exam (I was a Sophomore in the local college) when my cousin, Shelley, came breezing in through the back gate, already talking a mile a minute. Her copper-colored hair, tied back in a pony-tail, bounced rapidly up-and-down as she rolled up to my table and plopped her butt in a chair.

I held up a hand, and the torrent of words came to an abrupt halt. Shelley tilted her head and looked at me with that mischievous smile that always promised (but hadn't yet delivered) naughty secrets to share (or make). She was hell on wheels and probably in bed as well. I briefly contemplated the cruelty of a god who made her my cousin while tempting me so much, then sighed.

"Why, hello, Shelley!" I said, brightening as if she had greeted me. In truth, she might have, but she was talking so fast without preamble that I could never be sure. She stuck her tongue out at me. "I've been well, how's by you?" I continued. "If you stick your tongue back out there for a few minutes, I'll show you a new and exciting way to use it!"

"Oh, you wish I was into incest!" she said, laughing. She leaned in confidentially and said, "I'd show you a few things I could do with it I bet you didn't know!" I snorted, trying not to look at her freckled cleavage revealed by the 'modest' v-cut neckline of her blue summer dress. She leaned back again and said, "But, well, it is you we're talking about, so maybe you do know." I laughed with her at that.

Shelley was my favorite same-age cousin. In those days, she was my best friend. Throughout our childhood, she and I had played together, gotten in trouble together, and covered each other's backs numerous times. I could only hope that my someday-wife and I would be as close. (Little did I know, as it turned out.)

She tormented me mercilessly, of course. Teasing, giving me glimpses of her treasures, priming my pump with salacious words. I had jacked off more than a couple of times with her in mind, but since that time we got caught playing doctor, she wisely wouldn't push too far. (Dammit.)

"Here for a swim?" I asked.

"And to drink some booze," Shelley nodded. Her expression became serious. "But first I need to ask you a favor."

Uh-oh. I braced for whatever prank she was going to pull.

"O-kayyy..." I said, "what gives?"

"Well," Shelley said, leaning forward excitedly, "you remember my friend, Tina?" She had mentioned the girl before, so I nodded. "I want you to fuck her!"

I blinked. It wasn't the first time I had been sought after by a girl (or woman, for that matter), but they were usually a lot subtler, and it was the first time it was my sexy cousin being the messenger.

"Uh...OK?" I replied. "When did I turn into the stud bull in your pasture?" Not that I ever in my life minded fresh pussy, of course, but I really didn't want my relatives making a habit of procuring for me. (Especially the cute ones like Shelley.)

"Eh? Oh, no, it's not like that," she said, smirking. "She doesn't want to be a virgin anymore, and I talked her into doing it with you." You see why I love my cousin Shelley so much? She loved me enough to sacrifice virgins on my altar.

"Well, I suppose I could find the time to break her in for you. But you should know, I'm only doing this because I like you and you asked me nicely." I said with a grin. Then I shifted, putting a concerned look on my face. I leaned in and said quietly, "How ugly is she?"

"She's not ugly at all," Shelley said. "She is attractive, brown-blonde hair, super smile."

"Why don't you have sex with her?" I asked, jabbing a finger in her direction. "I mean, sounds like you want her pretty badly." Shelley shrieked laughter and blushed.

"I don't do girls," she said. "That's why I came to you." She stood up, and I copped a peek at her best feature, her long, smooth well-toned legs.

"Now that she's eighteen and out of high school, she wants to get it on like any other woman. She was going to go all the way with her boyfriend last weekend, but she caught him with some tramp from Hal's Diner and broke up with him. So, you need to be nice. She's really new at this. I'm pretty sure she's never done anything more than maybe a handjob."

"Sure, 'Cuz. When do you want to do this?" I asked. I was more than happy to lay it to any attractive chick, always have been. Picking her cherry was just extra sugar on top. Maybe I'd take this virgin to dinner first, show her a good time.

"How about now? I have her waiting out in my car," Shelley said.

"What the heck?" I said, shocked at how fast this was going, even for Shelley. "Well, go get her and bring her back for a swim. Only a swim!" I added hastily as she started to grin. "Let us get acquainted first, at least."

"Before you ravage her, you mean," Shelley called over her shoulder as she walked toward the sliding-glass door into the living room, presumably to go get her friend and change into bathing suits. She turned her head to look at me and caught me watching her perfect little ass twitching up and down under the dress. She gave it an extra shake and giggled. God, why did you have to make her my cousin?

I waved her into the house, closed my Chemistry book, and followed her inside to change my own clothes.

***

The first time I encountered my first (and third) wife, for such she later became, I was struck by two things. First, most prominently, and almost overwhelmingly, was the sense of absolute sex-in-woman-form that exuded from her. It was like an aura; a zone of dense sexuality that emitted all around her. I immediately got an erection that pushed out my swim trunks until it looked like I had a seven-inch long stick in my pants. I stopped dead in my tracks, and it was all I could do to not drop my mouth open and goggle at her presence. Shelley giggled and nudged Tina who looked down and blushed.

The second thing I noticed was that other than her unmistakable presence, she was a pretty, but ordinary young woman in all other respects. Plain, light brown hair, slender form with shapely 'B' cup boobs, and a standard American girl lightly blemished face with green-brown eyes were her defining physical characteristics.

She stood there, in her pink one-piece swimming suit, blushing and staring at her cutely curling toes. Looking back on it now, I'm convinced that it was at that moment, peaking up at me shyly, that she captured my heart. At the moment, of course, I was more interested in my raging boner than matters of the heart. How did this plain, ordinary-looking young woman cause that kind of physical reaction?

"Tina, this is my cousin, Peter Mannhure. Peter, this is my friend, Tina," Shelly said urging Tina toward me with light pressure on her back. Tina drifted forward now looking up at me with roses blooming in her cheeks. I took her soft, warm hand in mine and kissed her knuckles like I saw the gentlemen do in the movies. The scent of cocoa-butter wafted to my nose. To this day (and I'm almost sixty) the scent of cocoa-butter gives me an erection. (A fact my recently departed wife often took advantage of when feeling frisky.)

"I am glad to meet you, Tina," I said holding her hand in mine. We were standing just far enough apart for my prick to not be touching her. Shelley, off to the side and behind Tina, was visibly suppressing laughter, her eyes darting repeated to my shorts. I had a momentary mental image of Tina shaking my cock in greeting, and I laughed spontaneously.

"Pleased to meet you, Peter," Tina said, trying to retrieve her hand. After a moment's clinging, I regretfully released it. "Has Shelley told you...I mean, has she told you why I'm here?" Her face turned bright red, and sweat bloomed on her forehead.

"Of course," I said smoothly, getting in gear and herding them toward the backyard pool. "You are here to get acquainted with me, so we can see if you want to have dinner tonight or not, right?"

"Dinner?" she asked, confusion plain on her face. She looked at Shelley, who just grinned back at her and shrugged in a see-what-happens gesture.

"Yes, of course! Dinner, some drinks, and dancing. Then we see where we want to go from there," I said. "Does that suit you?"

"That sounds cool!" Tina gushed as we got to the pool-side table. Relief was evident on her face.

Shelly nodded approvingly and patted me on the head in a good-dog gesture. I made to swat her on the ass, and she danced nimbly away from me, giggling and telling Tina that a girl must always be on the lookout for naughty men like me. Tina considered the double entendre for a moment, then laughed.

We had a great afternoon, swimming in the pool for a while (which helped to shrink my erection), then lounging in the hot sun, drinking a light boozy fruit punch Shelly whipped up from things I had in the house. While Shelly silently listened in, Tina and I talked about the topics young people discuss when they first meet. Music (Beatles for her, CCR for me), movies (Star Wars, surprisingly, for both of us), and people we knew. She was a year younger than me (her 18 to my 19) and had graduated from high school just last spring. I was a Sophomore in college, and she was going to wait one year to go, probably majoring in Liberal Arts.

Overall, the time passed quickly and pleasantly. Five o'clock came too soon, and Shelley gathered her tipsy charge up and departed so Tina could get ready for our "date." Finding myself with a strong desire to impress Tina, I went inside to bathe, shave, and dress in my bell-bottom jeans and print button-down shirt. (Don't ask, it was the Seventies!)

***

I won't bore you with all the gory details of date night in the seventies. Let it suffice to say we had a great time. Tina opened up and relaxed, obviously enjoying our time together. We went to a disco after dinner and spent two hours drinking and dancing. I was terrible at it, but Tina seemed pleased that I got out there with her and gave it all I had. When we left, she was snuggled up under my arm, my hand resting lightly on the side of her breast. On the drive to my house (!), she sat right next to me and rested her small hand gently on my thigh.

After bathroom breaks and making another drink, I plopped down into a large overstuffed reading chair and invited Tina to come sit on my lap. She sat down delicately, her legs on the arm of the chair, and spread her mid-thigh length skirt around her with a hand on my shoulder for balance. We talked quietly for a few minutes, sipping our drinks. She seemed anxious, licking her lips and looking at me with big round eyes.

I stroked the hair back from her face with gentle fingertips. She sighed and nuzzled my hand. My voice was soft, keeping the mood light and sexy.

"Whatever happens for the rest of tonight, I want you to know I had a great time with you. You are smart and sexy and deserve the best first-time ever. I want to do that for you, but if you want to stop, at any time, tell me, ok?" She blushed, then gulped all of the drink I'd made for her. She sat the glass down on the table next to the chair. She clasped my face in her hands and kissed me softly, sweetly on the lips, with just a hint of tongue against my parted lips, then buried her face in my neck.

"I trust you," she said simply, trembling in my arms. "Shelley was right: you are the perfect man for my first time. I know it will probably hurt, but I trust you, and I will do whatever you tell me."

I have never understood this thing I have that makes women trust me, makes them want to share their intimate selves with me, especially sexually. In later times, Tina would tell me it was because I exude "sexual trustworthiness" and "focused, knowledgeable attentiveness" to the women around me. It was, at times, a boon in my life. (Truth be told, it also caused me a lot of pain and sorrow, as well.)

At the time, I just felt like I had a responsibility, to all the men to come after me, to do this right. To show her that sex could be the most intensely wonderful experience of her life. To share with her the things I had been taught by Delilah Mantos (my "Mrs. Robinson") just in the previous year.

I started with kissing Tina while lightly stroking her back, neck, and shoulders. I held her in my arms, letting her feel my strength, my solidity. I knew that women liked that, that feeling of safety and security.

I moved my kisses from her lips to her ears, to her neck, to her throat. I spent time on her throat and neck, feeling her pulse beating rapidly under my lips. Her breathing sped up, and I heard gasps and cooing whenever she particularly liked something.

Tina moved within the circle of my arms, arching her back and pressing into me. My erection grew under her leg, and she placed a hand on it, rhythmically pushing down lightly, sometimes squeezing.

I lifted her up and turned her to kneel, straddling my legs, face to face. As I started French kissing her, our tongues playing hotly in our open, connected mouths. I stroked her legs, her thighs, getting closer and closer to her hot womanly center.

Just as I was about to touch her mound, I broke away and stroked up her body and reached behind her to unbutton her dress. I took my time, distracting her from what I was doing with my kisses. As I got the dress unbuttoned all the way down, I unlatched her bra and pulled it and the dress down, finally exposing her breasts to my view. I kissed her blushes away, savoring her lips and the heat of her face.

I took a few minutes to kiss my way down to her firm young breasts, nudging them with my face and sucking on the light pink areolae and nipples. My hands, always moving, milked her mounds and nipples. Her chest flushed pink, and she wrapped her arms around my head, pressing me to her, moaning between the sighs of pleasure.

I stood up with her light form in my arms and frog-walked us to the bedroom where I carefully laid her down. With her assistance, I removed her dress, kissing her mouth, breasts, and belly as I did so. Leaving her panties, for now, I took down her pantyhose, laying hot, wet kisses on her thighs, knees, and ankles as the stretchy fabric went down.

As Tina watched avidly, I stood and removed my clothes. Her eyes went to my cock, and she gasped as it sprung free from my pants then bounced back up, pointing upward at a forty-five-degree angle. Though only seven inches long with reportedly pleasing thickness, it must have looked intimidatingly big to the virgin before me.

I quickly took one of her feet in my hands and started slowly kissing my way up her leg. Foot, ankle, knee, and thigh, I worked my way up to her crotch. Using skills taught me by the well-experienced (and adventurous!) Delilah, I blew hot air through Tina's panties onto her swollen mound. She jumped and briefly squeezed my head in the vice of her thighs. I laughed and place a single kiss on the panty over her nether lips, then hooked my fingers into the sides to pull them down. (Always my second favorite moment of sex!)

As I pulled Tina's panties down, I kissed and stroked her legs briefly until the undergarment was down to her ankles. I removed the panties and dropped them on the floor at my feet. Smoothly, I started with her other leg and kissed and nibbled my way back up to that wonderful place her legs met.

As I kissed a trail up her legs, they parted, exposing her moist, womanly center to my gaze. She raised her shoulders and head from time to time, watching my mouth, my kisses, getting closer and closer to her heat.

When I reached her crotch again, I nuzzled her wetness with my nose and mouth, taking in her excited scent. I cupped her ass cheeks in my hands, and her legs fell open. Looking up at her, I probed her hot opening with my tongue, lightly teasing in and out. Her head dropped back, and she moaned with pleasure.

I spent a little time probing Tina's very wet opening and licking her engorged lips and clitoris. The sounds she made, the small twitches, told me I was performing masterfully. (I sent a quick thought of thanks to Delilah, the master instructor.) I wanted Tina on the edge of orgasm when I penetrated her. Wanted that to be the most intense moment of her life so far.

When she tried to grab my head in her hands and pull me firmly into her crotch, I broke away from her mound and kissed my way back up to her breasts. My body, laying fully between her legs, rubbed softly against her crotch as I went. Finally, I was kissing her mouth, and my cock was throbbing lightly against the soft wetness of her vulva.

"Do you want to see it go in?" I asked softly against her lips. "Or, do you want to just feel it?" I wasn't sure she heard me, as she lay there for a moment, breathing rapidly.

"Feel it," Tina breathed against my ear. She raised her legs and placed her feet on my ass, pressing lightly against me, urging me to do it.

"Put it in for me," I commanded, keeping my voice soft and sexy. Tina reached between us and pulled me into place. I pushed forward slightly, seating the head of my cock between her lips, nestled firmly into her opening. Her opening caressed the ring of flesh just beneath my purple head. (My most favorite moment of sex!)