Picture at the Park

My pencil stopped, my eyes came away from the pad to look at her, waiting for the punch line.

"I have a function to go too tomorrow evening; it's a plus one affair. I had thought about renting a boyfriend for the night, so will you come instead? Please say you will"

"For what I charge by the hour, can you afford me?"

Her eyes shone, the smile told me it was real.

"I have a confession to make, I mourned the loss of my relationship with that scumbag for all of the time it took me to shred those DVD's. My battery operated boyfriend is keeping my hornies in check for now, so short of taking Toni with me and getting us both labeled closet lesbians, I thought you may like an evening out in a penguin suit."

Still trying to remain neutral I said. "So why not ask Mac?"

We both looked at each other and burst out laughing, Mac was Toni's property, and he knew it and accepted it years ago. Toni freely admitted that she didn't have a jealous bone in her body, but the reverend did say this was her husband and she planned on keeping him right up to the 'until death do us part' bit which would happen if any other woman got in between her 'hunk of a man' and her.

"I have a question, why am I not paying rent?"

My eyes went back to the sketch pad; I changed to a lighter shaded pencil and went back to work.

"Because you're my guest, you barely eat here and I haven't had an episode of having to clear your nylons from my bathroom. Hence, the lack of rent."

Her cheeks took on a blush before she told me that I had clearly not looked in her bathroom then. The only answer I supplied was that her bathroom was hers and the cleaning ladies domain. Turning the sketch pad around Amanda looked at it and held her hands out. I passed it over and made us both a drink, she went to the bathroom and I used the time to re-visit her comments of late.

The last of the paperwork on her apartment had been exchanged, even at Amanda's insistence on a reduced price for a quick sale, her apartment ended up in a bidding war, much to the Realtors amusement; the nightmares had all but stopped as well. We still had this strange sleeping arrangement, Amanda may go to bed in her own room but she always ended up in my room by morning and her night attire most definitely stayed on.

Every time I thought about asking her to stop coming into my room, I only had to see her sleeping on the pillow next to me and I just couldn't force those words out. Toni would have told me what was on those DVD's, just as I knew why she would. A very sick and twisted man took something so beautiful that when she enters a room the whole room smiles. He defiled a person that has such inner beauty that not even my drawings could do her justice, and I had tried so very hard to put that beauty on paper for her to see.

*******

This evening was just a repeat of most evenings now; my library of films was increasing by the week. I carried her to bed as usual and for some unknown reason, I kissed her forehead. The heat that quickly burned my cheeks and the beating of my heart in my chest was nothing compared to the guilt I felt when I did it. This woman has had so much heaped on her so recently that she still had the emotional scars to prove it, and here I was adding to that tally. I'm not sure if I was right to walk out of her room or crawl out on my belly.

I woke with a start and something warm and pliable in my hand, hardness grew in my palm and a realization of what my hand would be holding when I opened my eyes this sunny morning, made me pause and try desperately to think of an alternative to waking.

Returning to front line duty looked real sweet right about now.

Using every instinct I had, I opened my fingers and moved my hand away from Amanda's very warm and oh so soft breast. If I didn't feel like a heel last night, I sure felt like a pig right now. Making it to my shower was the easy part, waiting for my erection to subside took forever. She was gone again when I got back and busy eating breakfast by the time I had changed for work.

Amanda reminded me of the dinner tonight and I had to be back here and ready by six-thirty. I'm sure I grunted something that sounded like an acknowledgment. Other than picking up a coffee and a Danish from the deli across the street from the office I didn't go far, Toni blew in and out of the office so full of rays of sunshine that it was almost sickening compared to what I got up too this morning.

'Well as a matter of fact Toni, I spent the early part of this morning molesting my houseguest.' Yep. If that doesn't put me in line for scumbag of the month, I'm not sure what would.

Despite Mac doing everything possible to keep me at the office, (ok, it just felt like it) I made it back to my apartment just after four. Amanda was already there, she told me as we had a quick sandwich that she had delegated all her work for that day, to everyone that had the nerve to stand still long enough to be punished for it, and was out of there just before four o'clock.

The trouble with me doing something like that in my office was that we were all armed and knew each others weak spots, so that was a bust in the ideas department.

I wasn't stupid I knew how all this works. For the next hour I kept out of her way as she showered and walked around the apartment with a bath towel wrapped around her. I agreed with every evening gowned she held out to me as she stood in a bra, panties, stockings and suspenders and then waited another hour in silence while she 'got ready'. For my part the suit was already cleaned, pressed and other than the jacket, I was ready, although I was under strict orders not to sit down and crease anything.

"So, what do you think?"

When I turned to look at her, I forgot to breathe for a moment and being a guy; my mouth opened and shot me down, with the words. "Fuck, you're so beautiful."

That damn smile of hers burst through, while I stood in the middle of the room doing a very un-military two footed shuffle. Her cell rang to let her know the limo was waiting downstairs, and I sucked it up, stuck my chest out and held onto the arm of this most beautiful woman. Although my thoughts did turn ugly for a second before we left the apartment, after all, where the fuck could I hide a nightstick in this suit so I had something to beat off anyone who dared come close to her tonight.

Amanda Browning was the belle of the ball and that's not even me saying it, although I had agreed with those that had. That night she must have talked to half the people who were there and cornered every advertiser that was dragging their heels with Fashionet Magazine. Her memory for placing names on faces was so impressive even I would have been ready to hire her. She danced with the movers and shakers of this fair city; Amanda was even on first name terms with the Vice-President and even cornered the leader of the Senate who promised her magazine an interview before the senate packs up for break.

I was still watching her from the sidelines with his wife when the Senator cornered me.

"It's good to see you out and about Major Slater."

"Retired Sir."

We both watched the women for a moment before the senator eased his head close to me.

"Look after her Ryan. My wife likes her and always has a copy of that magazine of hers close to hand. Otis tells me your people cleared up a problem she was having, that makes my wife happy, you know what happens when my wife's happy Ryan."

"You get laid Sir?"

That man roared with laughter so loudly that even his own wife looked over at him, when Amanda did the same she just smiled and went back to talking to the Senators wife.

He hacked a cough for a moment before saying, "Are you trying to kill me off major?"

The senator slapped me on the back and walked off to lead his wife onto the dance floor. Amanda walked behind them both until she was alongside me, an expectant look in her eye. I knew my place for this evening and held out my hand and led her onto the dance floor, I got half a dance with her before the Vice-President asked to cut in. His wife was Midwestern American and proud of it, she practically dragged her husband's campaign through the Midwest on her families name and personality alone.

She also tried leading this dance. It caught her short when I stopped, a guy and his partner bumped into us both and apologized, even though it was my fault. Both the Vice-Presidents wife and I now seemed to square up to each other.

"Is there a problem Major Slater?"

"Right up to this point, I wasn't aware of one ma'am."

"Buy me a drink Major."

That didn't sound like a social request. She placed her arm in mine and we walked off our part of the dance floor to the bar, the bargirl was one of the smart ones and had the Second-ladies drink ready before we had got there. I tipped her well when my water looked like vodka and ice.

"Time is short and people in places like this have a tendency to assume a great many things. Amanda is my sister Major, you pulled her away from a difficult situation and I'm incredibly grateful. I was the one to invite her to this function and she brought you as her plus one as I suspected she would."

She looked over my shoulder smiled and waved; since the music had stopped it was safe to assume that her husband and Amanda were on their way over.

"You two would be good for each other Major, I also know for a fact that you're a smart man Ryan so perhaps you should think back over the last couple of weeks of living with my sister."

The Second-Lady stood and out of habit and courtesy, I did as well.

"I know I'm coming across as pushy Ryan. But time restraints of being in full view of the cities gossips make it unavoidable."

She held out her hand and I held it for a moment before kissing it. This woman was a force to be reckoned with and yet at this one moment in time her eyes held a plea within them.

She walked past me and I turned to face the Vice-President and Amanda. He nodded and left, Amanda still stood watching me and try as I might I couldn't read her at all.

"Sisters?"

A smile crept into her and she took the seat the Second-Lady had just vacated and she nodded.

"I met her at University, we basically carried each other through some of our most difficult classes. She took a shine to one of the professors and I had to beat some sense into her. We have been firm friends ever since; I was even her maid of honor at her wedding."

Amanda started to fidget. "We've been invited to a late supper. I accepted on both our behalf's."

Judging by the way her anxiety increased with my silence, I thought it best to say something.

"Is this where rent a boyfriend starts claiming overtime?"

It sure took the edge off her anxiety for her. We had a good time for the last half an hour we were there. We left the ballroom and slowly walked up to the elevators, she hadn't said a word since we left and I followed suit. As the elevator pinged its arrival at the floor we wanted and the doors opened Amanda's body temperature changed. Her walk to room 417 seemed to take longer than the last presidential inauguration speech.

Amanda stopped about three feet short of the door, I knocked and waited. I went to knock again but her hand held my arm back. When I looked she had a keycard in her hand.

"You could open it with this Ryan."

We men can be so stupid. When I looked at her she looked ready to bolt.

"I decided this was going to happen on neutral territory Ryan. So this is your last chance to change your mind, because if you open that door, then you best be ready too open your heart as well."

There must have been a dozen emotions go through her. The hand holding the card still shook, and I had to gently hold her wrist to stop it. This woman I had lived with for well over a month now was just as nervous as I was. Fuck, why are human beings so afraid of showing the one you've come to love those very feeling? We are each taught the English language; it shouldn't be that difficult to say 'I care a great deal about you, even to the point of falling in love with you'. But it is.

Amanda had her heart ripped out by a boyfriend she almost worshipped, when she found out what he did to her. Her world was now being held together by total strangers that soon became friends. One of those strangers even offered her a room with a lock and in all of those long evenings, a shoulder to cry on if she needed one.

We had born this path together. But Amanda knew that there was a line I wouldn't cross. I had to give her a huge amount of credit, she had found a way around that. The keycard still rested in Amanda's hand, I looked at it for a moment and then at her. She tried oh so hard to hide her emotions, the tremble of her hand gave her away. I took the card and inserted it into the door lock, when the light changed she gasped.

This time I turned to her and held my own hand out, we may not have fitted through that door together, not with her in that gown anyway, but I was going to make sure we were connected in some way when we crossed the threshold.

*******

The bed was turned down on both sides, even the bedside lamps were set on low, casting shadows that didn't need to be there but added to the ambience and the somewhat expectant mood. I spotted two overnight bags resting on chairs that sat either side of the bed and looked towards Amanda.

She held her head as defiantly high as she could. "Toni and I have been working overtime on this."

I laughed and she seemed to relax, I stood in front of her and held her hands as gently as I could and still keep physical contact.

"We do need to talk, you know that don't you?"

Even though her head was nodding she was already talking. "Can I get laid first? This isn't an audition I can assure you of that, but I could sure do with some real sex and not battery operated either."

My right hand left her hand and moved to the top of that gown of hers, I pulled the material towards me and got a glimpse of the top of her chest, encased in a bra before the rest of her followed and came to a stop only when our bodies met, both her hands came around me and Amanda waited for me to look at her.

"You have been the longest I have ever lived with someone Ryan and not had sex with them by now. That in itself has done me a world of good. I got to see you and the man behind you. I share your bed because I need to wake with you in bed with me. But you're just like any guy and can't take a hint, so I need to tell you to your face and worry about embarrassing myself later."

This time she pulled me to her and we had our first kiss.

My God, what have I been missing? She was still panting when our heads moved back and our eyes once again focused on each other. I sensed it just before her face gave her away, she was scared.

"Now please Ryan, I love this dress but if you feel the need to rip it off to get to the goods then, please do it."

I had helped her put it on, ripping that thing off would take a chain saw and large amounts of grease, for her to slide out of it. I was slow and deliberate, teasing her at every level. Laying her face down too undo the back of the gown, while releasing her bra and at the same time, kissing my way down her spine. At first she giggled, then pushed her face into the bed and moaned. Soon she wriggled and quickly realized that she needed to raise her ass, if I wasn't fully hard already just seeing that dress and panties fall away from her ass would have made a dead man move.

Amanda had the most perfect ass, firm, muscular and with that oh so classic inverted heart shape and absolutely no hair on her down there at all. Her pussy glistened in anticipation, my finger gently moved down her tight, neat slit. Her moan followed the shudder her body made as my finger traced the moist puffy area that hid her pleasure nub. I've never been a fan of anal, tried it once but found it so uncomfortable I swore off it. But seeing that hole attached to that body I could feel the pervert in me beating the gentleman to death for not getting to this situation long ago.

The evening gown still lay around her ankles when my hands went to her ass cheeks and I just rammed my tongue right into her anus. She let out a hiss and her top half lifted off the bed while the rest of her stayed nailed to my tongue.

"Oh fuck, he's in my ass." As she slowly relaxed once again onto the bed she said. "I knew all along that this was going to be fun, I should have attacked you a week ago."

Her body once again went rigid only this time she shuddered and then screamed into one of the pillows she had managed to grab and stuff against her face. Sitting back on my legs I was genuinely worried while her body convulsed so much, Amanda finally let out a sigh and rolled onto her back. Her evening gown was around her ankles as were her panties and stockings. Her bra already draped halfway off the bed and yet all I could see was the smile that lit her face.

At one stage I genuinely thought she was having convulsions, until I realized she was actually kicking the last of her gown off her body. Her arm went under her and she used it to push herself onto her side. Amanda gave me a long up and down look before her eyes once again settled on mine.

"You're still dressed. Why are you still dressed when a naked woman is in the same room as you are?"

She saw me hesitate; well I wasn't actually hesitating, more like working out the quickest way to get naked and reluctantly admitting that meant getting off the bed. She moved again and that alone stopped all thought, as she rose up to a sitting position while crossing her legs at the same time. Now that just wasn't fair. That alone screamed cheating.

How the hell am I supposed to get my pants over my erection when I'm looking at this woman in ALL her glory? Nope, that just wasn't fair. I was watching her hands as they both moved to pull her pussy lips apart, the giggle came closely after. She had caught me watching and I still hadn't got my pants off. Nope she was cheating I tell yuh.

"If you need any further encouragement, perhaps this will help."

She had that, little miss innocent look in her eyes as she ran two of her fingers the entire length of her pussy, silently hissing as she did. She then opened her mouth, placed both fingers inside and sucked them dry. Her cheeks bowing inwards as she did, all this was so mesmerizing I remained frozen. I've lived with this woman for weeks now and nothing had prepared me for what she was doing.

I stood at the foot of the bed and stripped, Amanda's miss innocent look slowly turned to hunger, as more of my clothing dropped to my feet. The gentleman in me was still thinking that we needed to go slowly, knowing her background as well as I did.

Amanda adjusted her position on the bed to let me on. I lifted my leg, my foot caught in the leg of my underwear causing me to over balance and I then fell face first onto the bed. Amanda folded up with laughter while I stayed face down on the bed not wanting to get up and face the world after all this.

Rolling onto my back was the safest option. "Is there any chance the world can swallow me up right about now?"

A very naked and still giggling Amanda crawled over on all fours, straddled my prone body and bent down so we could kiss. In the position I was in I deemed it safe enough, so I kissed her back. I've never had a kiss from a woman while she was giggling to herself before. Her body came to rest on mine and my arms wrapped around her as we kissed, my dick felt her wetness, just before she slid down onto me.

If anything, my making a klutz of myself was the pause we both needed. I made love to Amanda Browning that night, and when we both woke after that tender time we made love again. When the morning sunshine bore into my eyeballs and woke me, we made love to each other one final time before I shooed her off to the shower while I got breakfast ordered and sent up.