Love Always Wins Pt. 02 Ch. 05-09

"Uhhh... It feels like somebody is trying to escape from my evil clutches!"

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to wake you, but I have GOT to drain my crankcase before we have to start swimming laps here in the bedroom!"

Terri gave me a sleepy but playful grin. "Well, at least it would be warm water that we would be swimming in, right?"

"That's true, but I'm not sure that I find the idea of having to clean up the 'pool' after the swim very attractive."

"That's a point. How about I let you go to take care of business as long as you promise to come back and keep me warm?"

"That sounds like a fair bargain, m'lady." and I proceeded to finish disentangling myself from Terri before doing a really short fifty-yard dash to the bathroom!

When I got back to the bed, Terri pulled back the covers and crawled out in all her naked glory! Little Stefan, who had lost his morning wood during the bladder draining, sprang right back to attention! "Well, it's nice to see that my little friend is happy to see me this morning! As for you, big guy, would you keep the bed warm while I go and drain a couple gallons out of MY bladder?"

"Why, yes m'am. That would be my pleasure!"

"Oh! And how is your head?" Terri said as she bent close to inspect the bandage.

"Better than I expected. It's hard to tell for sure with the bandage in the way, but the goose egg seems to be mostly, and maybe totally, gone! Best of all, I don't have a headache!"

Terri kissed me over the bandage and said, "I am SO glad! I had a horrible dream that woke me up last night! I dreamt that I woke up with a dead body this morning—and it was all my fault! I never would have imagined that I could be practically ecstatic when waking up to a nice loud snore!"

"Terri, enough of that! It was an accident! If you want to blame somebody, blame Murphy!" I gave her bare bottom a light smack and said, "Now get to the bathroom and do your business so you can get back and I can warm up my favorite ice cube!"

Terri squeaked and headed for the bathroom.

When Terri got back from the bathroom, she slipped under the covers and exclaimed, "Oh, wow! This is so cozy! You do nice work!"

I had to laugh, "Fortunately, your dash to the bathroom cooled you off a bit so all I had to do was maintain the residual heat. The drop in your own body temperature is what allows me to do very little but still be able to take inordinate credit for keeping your home base nice and toasty warm."

"Oh you guys! You'd scientize the romance out of a wet dream! What would you poor guys do without the spark of romance that my sisters and I provide every day?

"Hmm, speaking of romance, what happened to Little Stef? All of a sudden he's gotten really wimpy—and I was only gone for a few minutes."

I gave Terri a rueful smile and replied, "I think that Ms. Kitty wore him out last night. As you saw a few minutes ago, the spirit is willing, but as you just discovered, the flesh is weak."

"I hate to admit it, but Ms. Kitty is not totally into her game this morning either. I am really sore down there, and not totally heartbroken that Little Stef is not up to the Olympic form that he displayed yesterday."

Terri gave me a "little girl caught with hand in cookie jar" look and asked, "Do you mind if we just cuddle? That feels like it is more my speed right now."

I had to laugh, "Terri, that is the least of your worries! You have had the, I hope, good luck to have found an oddball, maybe even an eight-ball. For me, sex with a stranger is fun but unsatisfying. Sex with someone I care about is solid silver, and cuddling with a beautiful person that I care about is a golden gift from the gods!"

"That's neat! I hadn't thought about it that way before, but it makes sense. I think I agree with you." then Terri gave me a playful smile, "Of course, we could go platinum. All that would take would be for us to cuddle up naked in a two-person hammock under a palm tree on a tropical beach during a beautiful day with a light breeze scented with tropical flowers."

"My! I must say, my current companion has excellent taste in cuddling!"

"Flirt!" and that was followed up with a grin, a kiss and a contented sigh. "I don't know if I actually love you, but I am way, way down that road so far."

Terri paused and locked her beautiful hazel eyes with mine, "That seems so strange now. I thought that it would be smart to at least be nice to the only other person that was in the campground to start with. That almost didn't happen, but that moose caught your attention and you and your camera caught mine which brought us close enough to start a conversation—and now look at us!"

I chuckled, "Yeah, it does seem like an odd concatenation of events. I'm pretty sure that both of us touched on some sensitive spots during our conversation over the popcorn. Frankly, I'm amazed that I had the temerity to come into your camp later that night and have a chat over the campfire—especially when I almost walked by your camp while just wishing you a good night. And to think, all that reticence just to be sure that I wouldn't freak you out so you wouldn't think that I was a dirty old man!"

"Welll, you ARE a dirty-minded old man... but I think that is part of your attraction—along with the fact that I feel comfortable... no, make that safe, to be around you."

"As for love... Terri, you say that you have started down that road... Love—there are a whole lot of moving parts on that subject! Love comes on a continuum. You have crossed some thresholds of love with me too—and I would love to cross more!"

"Oh dear, that sounds like you have scientized love too; but, I will confess, you've made me curious."

"Well, according to my way of thinking, if you are human and aren't trying to hurt me, you are automatically entitled to the first level of love. Basically, I won't hurt you and will trust you for as long as you do not do anything that causes me not to trust you. In the realm of sex, I would judge that most prostitutes—or maybe I should say most prostitutional relationships fall into this level right along with almost all other business relationships.

"Friends constitute the second level of love. This is someone with whom you have enough in common that you enjoy being with them for intellectual and/or physical endeavors that you both enjoy. Relative to sex, I would hope that all one-night-stands would fall into this level, but I am convinced that such relationships span the boundary, such as it is, between both levels one and two.

"I figure that 'friends with benefits' is the third level. Of course, this name itself directly implies a sexual component to this level of love. For those who would argue that this level does not automatically have to be linked with sex, I would offer 'best friends forever' as the term that best expresses this level of platonic love without implying that sex is a necessary part of the relationship.

"I think that this is the level that we are currently exploring. It has been a long, long time since I was this happy and contented, but, while I hope that it doesn't show, I'm also as nervous as the proverbial cat on a hot tin roof!"

"Nervous? What do you mean? I don't remember ever being this happy and contented before—so that part works for me big time. But why nervous?"

I frowned pensively, gave Terri a quick kiss along with a warm hug and replied awkwardly, "I guess it is born from something of a confused mental tangle of culture, ethics, and love..."

"Which you are now going to untangle for me, right?"

"I... I sure as hell am going to try!" I took a deep breath and continued, "I guess that the biggest red flag is cultural and because it is rooted in the physiology of our species, it is even halfway rational.

"The difference in our ages is what is going to make the culture try to take a bite out of our asses!

"Whoa! Hold on! Please don't interrupt! Hear me out please!" and Terri slowly let out a long breath.

"As I said yesterday, our genetic imperative is to make babies. That means, ideally, a male and a female in their prime and with at least a generation of productive life ahead of them based on the actuarial averages of their culture or civilization.

"Given a state of nature, the three imperatives imply that humans as a species will be most successful if the female at her peak of fertility can mate with a strong male that has a proven track record with imperatives one and two, but is still in his physical prime and most likely to continue to have success at those imperatives long enough for children to come to adulthood—which in a state of nature probably means about age fourteen on average.

"This strategy has proven to be quite successful for the species, and this is effectively the general rule that is alive and well and embedded in all human cultures today. Once you get up to tribal and larger cultures, you start to see some variations that are allowed on the central theme. For example, elderly chiefs or shamans who are respected for their wisdom or who are wealthy can attract or buy wives or concubines significantly younger than themselves. And it works the other way too—I recall reading about a queen of Hawaii having a 'harem' of about thirty Polynesian studs back in the day.

"However, no matter what variations may be allowed for a small slice of the cultural 'elite,' the fact still remains that the general rule is actively enforced by all cultures on those members of the cultural hierarchy who are not members of the so-called elite.

"Like most cultures, our culture has taken those facts and run with them. Simply because of the difference in our ages, we can expect to be greeted with disapproval. That disapproval will vary from raised eyebrows from some, to overt hostility from others—and we can expect that hostility will be greatest from those to whom we are closest!

"The level of disapproval will also vary dependent on the status of our relationship. If we are just friends, we will get to see a few raised eyebrows, but mostly it will be amusement and mild surprise. If one of us is perceived as having a weakness that the other is shoring up, we may even get approbation for our symbiotic, albeit platonic, relationship!

"However, as soon as we cross the line into a relationship that includes sex in the equation, whether real or just imagined by the mob—uh, I mean, the 'guardians of the culture,' the cultural knives will start coming out.

"In my case, I am one step from being the senior in my family and I have a lifetime of mental calluses that I can use to soften the blows of an ill-informed but judgmental society. My father will think I am crazy. I will give you even odds that he will even tell me that to my face. My siblings will shake their heads and roll their eyes, but will probably hold their peace. My children will probably call me a pervert to my face and ask how I could possibly be so selfish as to entrap an innocent young girl in what must obviously be a web of lies and other deceit. As long as they are not picking on you, I figure that I can survive all the verbal, and maybe some physical, sticks and stones that my family might throw.

"In your case... "

Terri was not to be stopped this time, "Look, I understand a lot of this! Maybe not all of it, but I have a handle on most of it!

"I don't know if you will catch the literary allusion, but I am perfectly willing to be Dora to your Lazarus!"

I was thunderstruck! "Oh my fucking god! You are familiar with Robert Heinlein?!

"How does it come to be that a beautiful young lady of your generation refers to the work of 'the dean of science fiction' who passed away before you were even born?"

Terri gave me a hug, "Oh, wow! You do know what I'm talking about!"

We already had full body contact, but I swear that Terri managed to snuggle up even closer to me. "I guess I get to blame my cousins for this." she said with a grin.

"Let's see, I was in high school when I was visiting my Aunt and Uncle. The weather was not cooperating and my cousins and I were dying of boredom. Bobby pulled out one of his favorite DVDs and we all sat down to watch it. The movie was Starship Troopers and it struck me as mostly a pretty lame bug-eyed-monster movie. Now to be fair, there were a few philosophical nuggets in the movie, but for the most part, it had little excuse for existence beyond providing adrenaline rushes for teenage boys. It was better than dying of boredom, so I watched it all the way through.

"Uncle Bob came in near the end and saw what we were watching. He made a really big fuss about how we should be reading the book instead of watching the movie. Bobby obviously had heard this before and did a good job of rolling his eyeballs, but I was curious.

"I wasn't able to find Starship Troopers in the library, so I had to settle for what I could find in the stacks which was Stranger in a Strange Land." Terri laughed, "That was a real mind-blower for somebody who had grown up as sheltered as I had been—but I was hooked. I wound up reading Heinlein for fun, psychology, and philosophy—basically in that order.

"Well, and some of the science suckered me in too. Within the limits of mid-twentieth century science, Heinlein did a nice job of extrapolating it into his future universe. Some of the science was wrong and was kind of a cute reminder that science never gets anything one-hundred percent right. The science that Heinlein got right was actually kind of exciting and added to the fun and excitement associated with the extrapolations or prognostications that have yet to be validated or invalidated.

"Making a long story short, I discovered that Time Enough for Love was my favorite book, and my favorite tale in that book is the love story between Lazarus and Dora!"

I had to laugh, "That's my favorite too!" I reached over and picked up my iPhone on the stand next to the bed. I held it in front of Terri's face, "Terrence, meet Dora! Dora, this is Terrence!" I put the iPhone down, "And while we're at it, Terri, my iPad out there on the table is Minerva and the laptop on the bench is Athena!"

"Holy cow!" Terri said incredulously, "You have got to be kidding me!"

"Nope, sorry. Honest injun!" I spread my hands so Terri could see them both at once. "And as you can see, I'm not conditioning that statement with a kings-ex!"

Terri giggled, "And I can feel under the covers that you aren't crossing your legs either." Then she gave me a wicked grin, "However, I CAN tell that Little Stefan is now Stiffy Stefan. I wonder if I can get a snack before breakfast?"

Without further ado, Terri slipped under the bed covers, switched ends, straddled my chest, and began licking the tip of my penis. "Oh boy! Precum, already some yummy precum!"

I decided to take advantage of the situation and sent my tongue on a reconnaissance around and over Terri's clitoris. "Whoooo! Oh my god, Stef! Keep that up! Please!" Needless to say, both of us had a snack before we got up for breakfast—er, brunch!

Chapter VII

No sooner had I crawled out of our nice warm sexy cuddly bed than my body started sending new and urgent messages to my brain, "Ah, Terri, my tummy is talking hungry! How big a meal are you looking for this morning?"

"Uh, if you don't have a whale in the refrigerator, I could settle for a roasted elephant or two!"

In the end, we settled for putting a significant dent in my supply of eggs, bacon, and bread to make stacks of french toast smothered in butter, honey, and maple syrup with a side of bacon and washed down with lots of coffee!

"Terri, you said that you had paid for three days here at the campground. I realize that this is your third day and that you may think that you have to leave, but I am paid up for a full two weeks and you are more than welcome to stay here with me if you want."

"Well, Daddy is expecting me to show up at his place by today, but I think that I can fudge it by one more day before I have to start changing my entire itinerary."

"You mean that today is the last day of your arrival window at your Dad's place—and he knows what that window is?"

"Uh huh."

"Oh, crap! Then if you are going to stay here past today, we have got to find you a cellular hot spot so that you can call him and let him know that you are safe and exactly what your new plans are. You don't want him to be worried sick by the time you arrive!"

"Daddy is sort of the strong and silent type so that is likely not necessary. But... You are probably right; that would be the nice thing to do. Where is the nearest hot spot?"

"That seems to depend on what mood the Universe is in. One year I walked through a hot spot on the road not more than fifty yards past the campground cattle guard. Another time I was halfway back to town before I found a hot spot.

"Let's finish brunch here and then put some clothes on so we can go for a drive and hunt for a hot spot."

"Clothes? It was bad enough watching you wear an apron while doing the cooking. You do have cute buns, but I've become rather attached to being able to watch Little Stef!"

I laughed, "Personally, I would have no objection to going au naturelle, but on roads and well-traveled trails, I tend to be pretty conservative. When I'm poking around in the woods and off the trails, I have been known to get pretty bare.

"However, since I am always packing some gear in the woods, it is very unusual for me to be hiking in the buff. Back in my college days, I do recall scaring the pants off of a couple when I met them on a trail whilst I was playing mountain man in breechcloth, buckskin leggins, moccasins, and bare skin from the waist up!

"Oh yeah, and over the years I have discovered that bare skin has a tendency to get uncomfortable unless the car seats are upholstered in cloth.

"Changing the subject a bit, we could extend our birthday suit party a bit by catching up on the shower that we seemed to have skipped last night. Then we'd better get cracking and find a hot spot!"

We saved water by having our navy showers together and it was a pleasant experience—albeit not an erotic one. We were anxious to find a hot spot, and, probably more importantly, neither one of us had completely recovered from our previous orgy!

Naturally, the hot spot just past the cattle guard was nonexistent when we got in my truck and went hot spot hunting. Rather than driving all the way down the canyon to the highway, I drove us up a side road that climbed out of the canyon to higher ground where we would be more likely to hit a hot spot.

There was a fire tower along this road and I hoped that its site would offer some cellular connectivity sooner than what we could expect traveling east on the highway. Much to my chagrin, I discovered that the road no longer went right past the fire tower as it used to. Instead, the tower site was at the end of a spur road that wandered for about a quarter mile from what was now the main forest road; and it was a spur that the forest was actively trying to take back! The big disappointment was that the fire tower itself had been razed! All that remained were the tower anchors and assorted debris that the forest was working to absorb.

We did not get the untrammeled view of two states, one national park, and several wilderness areas that I had thought to awe Terri with, but at least when standing on the tower anchors, Terri could look between the trees that obscured parts of the view and could imagine what the view had been like from the observation deck of the tower! It wasn't all disappointment and unfulfilled expectations though. The tower site did provide a hot spot that Terri could use!

"What do you think I should tell Dad?"

"Gosh, I'm not sure if that's something that I have any right to contribute to."