Five Minutes and Forever

"You didn't seem to happy to see her," Nicholas offered.

"No I wasn't," she replied.

Nicholas was tempted to ask why not, since it was obvious that the two woman had a common interest in education, but then figured that if Tiffany wanted to tell him, she would.

"It's just that I won't be doing any more fund raising for the foundation," she answered after a moment's consideration. "She already knows that, and was just trying to put me on the spot."

"Why is that?" Nicholas asked, now that the subject had been brought up. "It sounds like it would be something you'd be interested in."

"Oh it was," Tiffany replied, "at least until I found out that Abigail is now in bed, so to speak, with one of those right wing religious groups who want a big say in how that money is going to be spent. I can't believe how hypocritical she is, cozying up to people like that."

Nicholas' expression seem to ask why and Tiffany went on.

"Lets just say that if you wanted another example of people being totally unlike their public persona, Abigail would certainly be one," Tiffany said, venting her momentary anger.

"Why is that?" Nicholas asked, just a little bit confused.

"Well, it's not like it's a really big secret, at least not to anyone who's been around for a while," Tiffany said, thinking that perhaps she shouldn't have brought it up in the first place, but now that she had. "Do you remember all those stories that came out about the actor who played the Dad on the Brady Bunch?"

"You mean that he was actually gay all that time?"

"Exactly."

"Well, lets just say that if people looked a little harder at Carson's Crew, you'd find the same kind of stories."

"Kevin Wells was gay?" Nicholas asked, visualizing the actor who had played Mr. Carson.

"No, but you're real close," Tiffany smiled.

Then the realization hit the young man.

"And that girl she was with?" Nicholas asked out of curiosity.

"Well let's just say that if I believed she's just one of her assistants, then I'm probably just as dumb as some of the characters I play."

On that high note, dinner came to an end and the two of them headed back to Tiffany's car. It was already after ten and they'd have to get going if she was going to drop Nicholas off back at the hotel in time for him to see himself on the show. Normally, she never watched her own appearances on talk shows.

"I had a really great time," Nicholas said as he strapped his seat belt tight. "I almost wish it wasn't over."

"I'm sure you must be exhausted after such a long day," Tiffany pointed out.

"Actually, I'm more wide awake than I was during the show," Nicholas answered, explaining how he had stayed up the night before thinking the show had actually been on at midnight.

"Well, in that case, I have another idea," Tiffany quickly offered. "My beach house is probably a whole lot closer than your hotel. If we watched the show there, we could record it on my DVD recorder so that you could take a copy home with you."

"That sounds fantastic," Nicholas instantly replied.

-=-=-=-

There were few cars on the road to the shore this late and Tiffany made the most of the emptiness. So much so that it was less than a quarter hour later that she coasted the sleek convertible into a small garage on the overlook. Locking the door behind them, she led Nicholas down a narrow, long wooden staircase to the beach below. There, only a few hundred feet from the bottom of the slope, stood the beach house.

As they walked the planked path between the stairs and the house, Nicholas looked down the beach, taking note that the next closest house was at least a quarter-mile distant. Obviously, Tiffany or her neighbor owned the property between their homes because it was too prime a spot not to have put another house there.

Tiffany's house was a small, split-level design, with a good-sized deck facing the beach. Most of the upper floor seemed to be windows, the largest of which included a door that opened onto the deck. Climbing up the stairs just below it, Nicholas followed Tiffany into the house by that route.

"Well, here we are," Tiffany smiled as they walked into the main room.

The house had, Tiffany said as she have him a quick verbal tour, the one large all purpose room, that took up the upper floor. Down below stood a small kitchenette, the utility room, a bathroom and a walk-in shower.

In the center of the main room was a long, L-shaped sectional, in front of which sat a plasma screen television, much like the one he had seen back in the studio. There were only a few other pieces of furniture, mainly a couple of bookcases, a large chest and two oversized dressers. On the back wall were a collection of photographs, a few of the subjects instantly recognizable as people Tiffany had worked with over the years.

"We still have a few minutes before the show starts," Tiffany said as she took the remote from a compartment in the couch and turned on the television, "why don't you run down to the kitchen and get us something to drink while we watch? There's beer and soda, help yourself to whichever you want. I'll take a bottle of Heineken."

Nicholas found the kitchen easily enough, deciding to also have a beer. After all, who was going to see him drink it here. Curious, he stuck his head into the other two rooms and saw that aside from a propane water heater, the utility room had a small washer/dryer combination and a bookcase sized food pantry. The last room was a walk in shower with twin showerheads on opposite walls.

Climbing back up the stairs, a cold bottle in each hand, Nicholas almost dropped both drinks when he reached the top and saw Tiffany standing with her back to him a few feet away. For a fleeting moment, just before it disappeared beneath a short, thin robe, he had a perfect view of both her ass and the side of her left breast. In that split second, he had also noted a small, elegant design tattooed across the small of her back.

"I just had to get out of that dress and into something more comfortable," Tiffany said as she ran one hand across her short hair while reaching for the beer with the other. "I'll slip into some jeans later on when we have to take you home."

"Okay," Nicholas said as Tiffany popped off the top of the bottle and, tilting her head back took a drink.

Nicholas' mouth dropped open as the flaps of her rope opened far enough to display even more of her bust than the low cut dress she had discarded. A small amount of beer spilled out of her mouth and slid down across her chin, tracing a wet trail down between her breasts. Lowering the bottle, Tiffany slid her hand between her mounds and wiped the liquid with her fingers, bringing them to her mouth afterwards and sucking them clean.

"The show's starting," she said as the familiar theme came over the television, ignoring what she had just done as if it was a common, every day occurrence.

Sitting down on the edge of the couch, Tiffany tucked her legs up beneath her and took another shorter taste. Nicholas took a seat on the other end, wondering after he did if he picked that spot to keep a respectable distance or to just afford himself a good view of her breasts.

With the image of her fingers running across them very much fresh in his mind, Nicholas stole a few surreptitious glances in her direction. Then, discretion took hold and he transferred his attention to the version of Tiffany now appearing on the screen.

Not having paid that much attention to her interview while it was being recorded, Nicholas found it interesting. Especially now that he had gotten to know her a little.

Tiffany made a few comments about her interview, as well a couple of jokes about Billy Lee. Nicholas laughed at the jokes, out of both politeness and the fact that some were actually funny.

Then Billy Lee announced his guests for after the commercial break and a thrill raced through Nicholas as he heard his and Hillary's names. Taking a drink, he wondered for a second if Hillary had remembered to watch the show or if she and Roger were too busy fucking their brains out to turn on the TV.

Nicholas felt the same wave of embarrassment that he'd experienced earlier as he listened again to Billy Lee telling his story. The view of the camera panned over to Hillary and as he watched her brief appearance, Nicholas realized how bad her clothing choice, a pair of jeans a size too small and a leather vest with nothing beneath it but her charms, had really been. Evidently, Tiffany had much the same thought.

"I hate to say this," Tiffany pointed out, "but your friend dresses more like she's open for business on Sunset Boulevard than appearing on national television."

"Yeah, that's Hillary," he had to agree.

The program continued and, now from the perspective of onlookers rather than participants, both of them could see just how inappropriate Hillary had behaved. She kept trying to get Billy Lee's attention, flashing as much of her gems as she could.

"That sort of thing might work back in Cherrywood Falls," Tiffany laughed, "but you have to do a lot more than flash a little flesh to get anywhere with Billy Lee."

"Oh she's willing to do a lot more than just show a little," Nicholas said without thinking, remembering that Hillary's trips to the storage room actually dated back to their first year of high school and that the restaurant owner had been the first one to go back there with her.

"Even so, there's a long line of girls ahead of her," Tiffany added, remembering the Intern she had watched follow Billy Lee off the set, "and some of them even have talent in areas actually related to show business."

Their interview ended and Tiffany picked up the remote and clicked off the television. The segment with the author had been boring enough the first time around.

Overall, Nicholas had enjoyed watching the program, especially comparing what he seen live and how it compared to the edited tape. He still felt a little funny about being called a hero in front of all those people, but what was done was done.

"Tired yet?" Tiffany asked as she laid down her now empty beer.

"Actually, I probably should be," Nicholas replied as he realized how own bottle was also empty, "but I feel more wide awake now than I did a few hours ago."

"Adrenaline rush," Tiffany offered, "I get that myself at times."

He nodded his head, thinking she was right.

"If you're not in a hurry rush to get back to the hotel," the dark haired woman asked, "how would you feel about a walk on the beach. It's really beautiful at this time of night."

"That sounds great," Nicholas instantly replied, thinking this night couldn't get any better.

The beach was indeed beautiful, stretching almost fifty yards from the house to the edge of the water. Having left his jacket and tie up in the house, Nicholas now took off his shoes and socks , rolling up his pants so that he could follow Tiffany across the wet sand.

Water from the incoming tide splashed across their feet as they watched the full moon hang high in the night sky. A warm Pacific breeze washed over them as Tiffany played with the sand with her toes.

"You know what would feel really good right now?" Tiffany asked rhetorically. "A midnight swim."

"I don't have a suit," Nicholas answered automatically.

"Well, I wasn't planning to go back up to the house to get mine," Tiffany smiled mischievously. "Haven't you ever gone skinny dipping? Come on, it'll be fun."

With that, she dropped her robe to the beach and, after standing totally naked in front of the young man for what seemed like an eternity, splashed into the surf. Nicholas stood there for what seemed like a second eternity, then began to pull off his own clothes.

"No one, absolutely no one is ever going to believe this," he said to himself as he dropped his underwear next to her robe and followed into the water.

It only took a few strokes for Nicholas to catch up to Tiffany. Looking over her shoulder to be sure he'd done so, the older woman began to swim in earnest, inviting her guest to keep up with her. Despite being half her age, Nicholas had to give it his best to do just that.

"I guess I should've mentioned that I was on the girl's swim team back in high school and college," Tiffany laughed as she stopped and turned around to face Nicholas.

"Now you tell me," he laughed in response, looking about and realizing that they had gone pretty far out.

"Nervous?" she asked, seeing the concern on his face.

"A little I guess," he admitted as he treaded water.

"Don't be," Tiffany assured him. "The bottom's only about six feet this far out and besides, I still have my Red Cross certification as a lifeguard. You'll be fine."

"I didn't know that," Nicholas said, thinking that he'd never have imagined half the things he'd learned about Tiffany tonight.

"There are a lot of things about me that I think would surprise you," Tiffany said as she suddenly stopped the motion of her legs and dropped beneath the waves.

Before Nicholas could react, Tiffany swam the short distance between then and resurfaced with a splash, practically on top of him. She closed her arms around him and, pulling him closer, kissed him hard enough to literally take his breath away.

The kiss complete, Tiffany released her hold and backed off a few feet. Floating again, she was just low enough for Nicholas to make out her nipples in the moonlight as her breasts bobbed in the water.

"I guess you're wondering why I did that," she grinned.

The feel of her lips against his was still too fresh for Nicholas to do anything but listen.

"Let me tell you a little story," Tiffany went on, "one that I've never told anyone, at least not since I came to Hollywood."

Nicholas moved a little closer as if to give her more privacy, metaphorically if not physically. That she was naked no longer seemed to matter, he realized.

"Back when I only a few years older than you, I was trapped in a fire at the school where I worked," she confessed. "The details of the how and why aren't that important, except that I was sure at that moment that I was going to die. And die horribly."

Nicholas was almost holding his breath, not wanting to interrupt her story with even the sound of his breathing.

"Obviously, I didn't die," she said, the momentary dark look on her face morphing into a lighter one. "And the reason I didn't is because someone risked their life to save mine. A man I didn't even know and never even got the chance to thank."

Listening to the story, Nicholas could feel himself, if only for a fleeting moment, back in the diner. With the heat of the surrounding flames replacing the coolness of the ocean water against his skin.

"That man was a hero," Tiffany said, "just like you."

This time, Nicholas was too engrossed to blush.

"And I don't want to hear again how you aren't," she said with conviction. "Someone much wiser than me once said, a hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but he is braver five minutes longer. If that's really the case, I owe the last twenty years of my life to those five minutes."

Of all the things Nicholas had heard said about heroism in the last week, he had to say that made the most sense.

"And I think, no I believe, a hero should always be rewarded," she concluded as she again moved closer so that their bodies were practically touching.

"Thank you," Nicholas said, thinking as rewards go, this hadn't been bad.

"Oh I'm not finished," she smiled as her breasts rubbed against his chest and her hand slipped down between his legs.

Now it was once again impossible for Nicholas to be unaware of her nudity. Not with her fingers wrapped around his cock.

"Do you remember back at the studio when I said some girls find heroes sexy?"

He nodded yes.

"Well, I find you a lot more than sexy," she said in the tiny, yet high pitched voice that had spawned a thousand hard-ons, even as her fingers continued to work his cock, adding one more to that list.

A long minute passed, then two, by which time Nicholas realized that if she kept playing with his cock, he was going to come. A few seconds more and that thought became reality as he exploded into the warm waters around them.

"Oh shit," he gasped.

Tiffany lifted her hand up out of the water, glancing down at the diluted whiteness clinging to the palm of her hand. She smiled and washed it off.

"That was just to show you that I was serious," she assured him. "If you want to see just how grateful a woman can be, meet me back at the house and I'll be happy to show you. Like I said, I never got the chance to thank my hero, but I like to think he must've been a lot like you."

In the short time it took for her words to sink in, Tiffany was already halfway back to shore. Nicholas was quick to follow, telling himself to be careful as he did because this would be the absolutely worst time in his life to drown.

-=-=-=-

Reaching the shore, Nicholas didn't bother to get dressed. Instead, he just grabbed his clothes in a bundle and started after Tiffany. She had waited just long enough to make sure he made it in, then raced, also naked, toward the house. Running as hard as he could, Nicholas could see Tiffany open the ground floor entrance and disappear inside.

Barely taking the time to lock that door behind him, it only took a second for him to realize where she had gone. The sound of running water in the shower was pretty much a dead giveaway. Dropping his pants and shirt next to where Tiffany had left her robe, Nicholas stepped inside the small room.

Despite an almost two-decade career playing buxom vixens, Tiffany, unlike many of her peers, had done so without ever appearing nude. Like many of the stars of early movies, she had vamped her way with innuendo and just a tease of flesh. A practice that made her just that much more alluring to her fans. So, now faced with his first good look at her naked body, Nicholas was sure she would understand his, at least momentarily, inability to do anything but stare.

Watching her stand under the dual showerhead, her hands spreading soapy water all over her body, Nicholas remembered reading in a magazine that the five foot five actress had a 36C bust. That simple fact in no way gave justice to the magnificence only a few feet in front of him. Without looking down, he knew that his cock had already shaken off the numbing effects of the late night swim and was in fact rock hard.

Tiffany's hands continued to spread body wash across her skin, playing with her breasts as her fingers caressed her large, dark pink nipples. From there they slid down across her thighs, grabbing the cheeks of her ass as she carefully washed herself there. Moving back upward, she again cupped the undersides of her breasts, pressed them together, vigorously rubbing the slippery flesh of one each against the other. Letting go after a few moments, her hands dropped down to converge on the thin patch of hair between her legs. She angled her body so that the stream of water washed it clean, then massaged it just as enthusiastically, her fingers reaching deep inside her self.

"Fuck!" was all Nicholas could manage to say, and even that was in a barely managed whisper.

Faster and faster her fingers moved, sliding in and out of her pussy. Finally, with her eyes tightly shut and her head arched back, Tiffany let out a long, soft moan that told Nicholas that, for the first time in his life, he'd just seen a woman have an orgasm.

Lost in her own world, Tiffany stood under the steaming water for a few moments more, then opened her eyes and for the first time acknowledged Nicholas' presence.

"In case you haven't noticed," Tiffany said in her most sultry tone, "this shower was built for two."

Snapped out of his contemplation, Nicholas quickly stepped under the shower with her. Tiffany put her arms around Nicholas, pulling him in close. Their lips met and they began to kiss. The kisses started out slow and gentle but soon grew more passionate, her tongue exploring the deepest recesses of his mouth.