What a Week!

"Professor, I believe that things here are all in good hands. Melanie is safe because she's with me. Your home is safe because the police are guarding it around the clock. I know it must be hard to hear all this and just shrug it off and go on touring Greece or whatever, but I don't know of anything you could do that's not being done."

"Are the police tearing the house up as they investigate?"

"Some, but not a whole lot. Nothing that can't be put back the way it was. There's a false wall at one end of Mel's closet that they plan to tear out. The lead detective who's in charge is named Steven Vincent, and he's competent, in my opinion. If you'd like to talk with him, I can give you the number of his cell phone. Wait a second. Here it is," and I read him the number.

He sounded a little relieved as he answered, "Thank you. Let me read it back to you." He did.

"That's right. He's trying to get to the bottom of what's been happening, but he seems to be sensitive to your interests."

"Look, Pete, the house is just a house. What's important is my little girl. You'll take good care of her?"

"Count on it."

"Oh, here's her mother. Can you put Mel back on?"

"Sure. Here she is." I covered the mouthpiece and said, "Your mother."

Mel took the handset and covered the mouthpiece again to say, "Girl talk. Go fix coffee."

I was surprised at how long Mel and her mother talked. Probably half about Mel, and the other half about me. I supposed that was a good thing, because once they were home they'd have to get to know me, and all about me, before they'd give their consent to - no, let's not go there yet. Things were going along well, and there was no need to rush anything.

I had the draperies closed so my naked body wouldn't be on public display. All except for the back of the house. That was the north side, and having those draperies open gave a pleasant, soft light to the house. My lot was a third of an acre, about ninety feet wide and a hundred and sixty deep. The house sat only about forty feet back from the street, which gave me a big back yard, about ninety feet square. Several of neighbors had used their back yard space for swimming pools, and one had a tennis court. All the back yards were fenced, mine with a seven foot high block wall. The realtor told me that the original owner had a trophy wife who liked to sunbathe nude. The wall provided privacy, and not having a pool avoided certain risks, not the least of which are randy young pool boys.

The yard itself was quite plain. There were small clumps of bushes at the corners and in a couple of places along the back wall. Otherwise it was a grassy lawn, uniform, a healthy green color thanks to the automatic watering system, restful to look at and easy to take care of.

I was sitting on a barstool at the kitchen counter, looking out the back window and thinking about everything and nothing. The coffee had almost finished dripping through when Mel came out holding the phone out to me. "My father wants to say something to you, and then you can hang up."

"Hello. Professor?"

"Yes, Pete. You and I will have a lot to talk about when I get home. I hope you weren't offended by my unfriendly tone when we first talked. I deeply appreciate what you're doing for Melanie. Any favor you do for her is a favor for me. Feel free to call me if anything comes up that I ought to know about. I'll try to get hold of the detective, but whether I do or not, I'll expect that my main contact will be you. Is that all right?"

"Just fine. While I've got you here, the detective wants to work with your lawyer to make sure your interests are protected when they do a thorough search of the house. What lawyer do you want to use?"

"Young fellow named Seth Warren. He's in Phoenix."

"Fine. I'll see that he gets consulted. If anything important comes up, I'll let you know. I hope you enjoy your tour. Take lots of pictures."

"We'll have enough to put you to sleep with. Thanks again. Goodbye."

I handed the phone back to Mel. "Whatever you said seems to have smoothed things over between your father and me."

"I just told him that you're not much but you're the best I could find on short notice."

"Well, that sounds like a fair assessment. I'm like the bird in the hand."

"Oh, Pete, I want to say something but I guess I feel foolish thinking it."

By then I had poured two cups of coffee. She picked hers up and took a tiny taste. "Ooh. Needs to be doctored. Want me to fix yours?"

"Please. But first explain what that cryptic comment was about. You can't just drop something like that on me and then leave me hanging."

"Well, there's something that I feel like telling you, but I hardly know anything about you, and we've only known each other for less than seventy-two hours."

"Well, then, what do you want to do about that? Blurt it out, or find out more about me?"

"Both. But I'm tired of holding this in. I'll blurt first and listen later." She came over and put her arms around me. "Pete, I think I love you. Now what do you think of that?"

"Relief. I feel the same way and I didn't want to say anything about it this soon, afraid I'd scare you off. I'll even add something else. Being here in the house with you, both of us stark naked, feels like the most natural thing in the world. It sort of symbolizes being totally honest and open with each other. It was one thing to be together on the bed like this, feeling your skin on my skin. But walking around in the kitchen, talking, fixing coffee and doing all the other normal things without having to hide inside clothing, seems to me like a whole 'nother level of closeness. I don't think we could manage it if we didn't love each other."

"Yes, you're right. If you were anybody else I'd be running away screaming to put something on. So here we are, both naked, both at ease with it, and able to carry on as if we do it every day. It's not as if we'd just finished having sex. We're about as totally open to each other as we can get. We must trust each other. We must not want to hide anything from each other." There was a long pause. She was thinking about something and I didn't feel like interrupting. "Pete, I've got a good thought to share with you."

"Go right ahead."

"I think this is the happiest day of my life. Oh, please, when we sit down to have our talk, don't tell me you're an ax murderer."

"This coffee tastes a lot better than my usual. Let's take our coffee cups with us and go into the living room so I can tell you the story of my life. Then you can decide what I am."

We got comfortable and I began my story. "I was born and raised in Columbus, Indiana. My father worked for Cummins Engine Company. After I was old enough to go to school, my mother got a job in the school cafeteria, and it was good because when I was on vacation, so was she. I loved my parents very much and we were a close family. I have a sister who's three years older than I am, and she sort of looked after me as I was growing up. I told her everything, and she always gave me good advice about everything. When I wanted to start going out with girls, I never once approached a girl without talking about her first with my sister. Sex was the same thing. She told me exactly what to do and how to treat the girl. No 'wham, bam, thank you ma'am' for her brother! My entire social adjustment I owe to her."

"What's her name?"

"Anita. She's married now, to a building contractor named Harry Wilson. They have three kids and live in Lafayette. Or as the natives say it, Lay-fayette."

"Do you still consult with her about your women friends?"

"No, and I sure blew it with the last two. Could've used some sisterly advice on them. Especially the one I married, Celia."

"Okay, sorry for the interruption. But just remember this - I want to meet Anita and spend enough time with her so we can really get acquainted, whenever it can be worked out."

"Simplest thing in the world. In the winter months Harry gets pretty well frozen out of work, unless he's on a job that can be worked completely inside. We could get them to visit us for Christmas, when their kids will be off from school for a couple of weeks. I've got plenty of room here. I could give them airline tickets for a Christmas present. After we get done stumbling over corpses, let's set that up.

"Back to my story. After high school I enlisted in the Army, put in five years. You said you hope I'm not an ax murderer, and I'm not. But I have killed people, when I was overseas. There was nothing frivolous about it. They were people who had to be killed, so I killed them. Afterward I didn't feel all torn up about it. War is like that. They were people who tried to kill me and my friends, because they didn't like us and because we were their enemy and it was their job. The only way for us to get out alive was to kill them first. Didn't leave much room for decision making. But I want you to understand that I know how to kill people, and I know I can do it, so when I say I'll protect you, I mean it. If some guy comes after you, you're safe but he isn't. I had to tell you that, but I hope we never have to discuss it again. It's not my favorite topic.

"Back to my story. I got out of the Army and went to Purdue University, majored in Civil Engineering. I got advance credit for ROTC courses because of my military service. That shortened up my credit hour requirements enough for me to squeeze in some graduate level courses in my last two semesters. Then I completed my master's degree in one summer plus another semester, and come Christmas time I was finished. That January I started working for a structural steel outfit that I'd worked for during two summers, and I learned a whole lot doing the design and specs on steel for some big industrial buildings. Funny, it all looks so simple and yet it's so complicated. The company I worked for was really good, top of the line. Four years later I was recruited for a senior engineer position with Finston and Webley, where I work now. They're another top of the line outfit, in their case working bigger buildings. That's one thing I learned from my dad: 'You're known to the world by your business card, so make sure the company name says you're one of the best.'

"That's enough about my school and work. I don't make enough to be rich, but I'm careful with my money and I'm comfortable. When you decide to quit work to have a family, we'll do all right on my salary alone."

"What? Where'd that come from?"

"I just threw that in at no extra charge. Go ahead, try to tell me with a straight face that you haven't thought about it."

Mel didn't say another word but snuggled up a little closer to me, so I continued. "Now about my private life. I dated a bunch of women, some of them Anita would have approved of, some not. I never was in a mood to get serious with any of them, until one came along who might have been a serious candidate, so I had her move in with me. The odd thing was that her name was June, and she moved in with me in June. That lasted a year, right to the day. On our anniversary date we had one hell of a party, just the two of us. It was great, because we both knew that we were finished, and this party had nothing to do with the L word or forever. We woke up hung over and sore and sticky and walking funny. That day she moved out what was left of her stuff, and I helped her.

"I guess maybe I was on the rebound from June when I met Celia. We both had been burned in previous affairs, so we went very carefully, one step at a time. We dated for six months or so and then she moved in with me. After a few months that seemed to be going well and I proposed. We got married quietly and stayed married for four years, but it was really over in two years and we just didn't want to admit it to our friends or each other, or especially to ourselves. We got a legal separation and that lasted a year, with a marriage counselor thrown in, to make it seem that we were trying. But we were just going through the motions. Our divorce became final, we signed the papers, said goodbye, and I took a long walk to get my mind straightened out. And it worked. I swore that I would never fall again. I could see that I was simply looking for a clone of my sister. None of my women could measure up, and I'd had enough of them to know that no woman ever would. So I knew for sure that I'd never have another serious relationship. I was destined to be a player, and for family life I could be Good Old Uncle Pete to Anita's kids. That was it, forever.

"Somebody said once that everybody's forever is different, and we never know how long our forever will be. My forever lasted an hour and a half. It ended when I found you sitting in my car."

"You mean all this was just Friday? Three days ago? Do I have that right?"

"Exactly. And by yesterday afternoon I was falling seriously in love. The whole deal - together; two and a half children; picket fence; down life's pathway; have and hold; love, honor, and cherish; all that stuff. Care to comment now?"

"Comment? I'm speechless! Dumbstruck!"

"Then what do you think I feel like? Oh, well, back to my story. After Celia and I cooled down, our marriage was a sham. We were just trying to act married. The only thing that held us together was our reluctance to admit failure. We were not two people in love, just two stubborn fools, with powerful egos and damn little common sense. That year of separation was just more of the same. So I wasn't on the rebound when you snuck into my car, and into my life. Mostly, I felt disgusted with myself. I had wasted years of my life playing a stupid charade with an unworthy partner."

"Wait. Back up a little. You dated women hoping they'd be like Anita. How does that apply to here and now, to me?"

"I'll tell you the absolute truth. You're the first woman who's ever made the cut, the first to make it into the final round."

"And I'll be just as truthful. I'm getting more anxious than ever to meet this Wonder Woman and see for myself who and what I'm up against."

"Well, here it is October. If they can come, you'll have only two months to wait till you can meet her and go off and let it all hang out. I'll call tonight, when Harry will be home from work.

"But before that, we'll have your parents here. I doubt that they're naïve enough to think we sleep in separate rooms. I'll bet they'll be delighted to see that you're finally sleeping with a man. If we're a couple, then we ought to act like it. Think it over."

"All right, I agree that we ought to do that. But Pete, I need to change the subject a little. I've been trying to work up the courage to tell you something. Please don't get upset with me, but I, ah, I want to have sex with you but I'm afraid."

"Why? I'll be gentle with you. We can take it slow, make sure you're ready for everything. I promise that I'll be just as good as the best guy you've ever been with."

"Well, you see, that's just the trouble."

"I'm not following you." She looked ready to cry. "Mel, Honey, what is it?"

"Pete," she sobbed. "I've never done it before. I'm a virgin!"

I turned and wrapped my arms around her. "Here, sit on my lap so I can hold you. Sweetie, I love you and you know I'll always protect you from everything. I didn't expect this, but it'll give me a chance to show you just how gentle I can be. I won't hurt you, and I won't let anything scare you, either. I'll make sure you enjoy it. I'll stop any time you ask me to.

"Tell me, have you ever had an orgasm?" She was still sniffling a little and I handed her a tissue.

"Well, I've played with myself and sometimes it feels really good, but I don't know anything about orgasms. From what I've read, if you never had one you don't really know what they're like."

"I think you're in for a wonderful surprise. What about contraception? Are you on the pill?"

"Oh, yes. I got a prescription as soon as I moved here, and I take them religiously, every day. I've wanted to become a woman as long as I can remember, but so far I've just been keeping the pharmacy in business."

"Let's go in on the bed. I think you've earned the right to be seduced. If you've been worrying about it for a long time, it's about time that we put your fears to rest."

On the bed, I got Mel settled with about a thousand pillows behind her back, backed up by the headboard. She could see everything that went on, and she could reach out to me any time she wanted to. She looked a little puzzled but I told her to relax and let me make her feel like a woman. Before she could object, I kissed her, and when we came up for air I kissed her some more. She seemed to enjoy the tongue tussle, and while that was going on I was starting to worship her breasts with my hands. I pulled back and asked her how she liked it so far.

"Oh, I loved the kissing, and you're making my breasts feel really good. My nipples are very sensitive." No surprise there. Every young woman's nipples are sensitive, and every one of them thinks that hers are the only ones that are like that.

I kissed her under her chin, and went around to the side, under her ear, with little baby kisses. Then I made a big show of cuddling her breasts in my hands and bringing my thumbs up to massage the nipples very slowly and gently. I moved my head, looking intently at the nipples as they grew and stiffened, as if I had never seen anything like that. Then I moved in and licked around a nipple, and slowly let my tongue wash over it. That made her stiffen up and squeal softly. I tried it on the other breast, and followed up by flicking the tip of my tongue over the very end of the nipple. She breathed rapidly, then seemed to hold her breath, then exhaled and inhaled deeply. By then I was back to the first nipple, flicking that one too.

Meanwhile I moved my left hand around onto her back, and let it gently slide down toward the cheeks of her ass. I was trying to make every movement soft and slow, and I simply caressed with that hand, without squeezing anywhere. It was down past her waistline when I slowly slid my right hand down to her tummy and then followed it there with my face, finally planting little kisses on her belly button. On down from there was a patch of pubic hair, rather sparse and trimmed short on the sides but not shaved. As I moved my face in that direction the aroma of her arousal was unmistakable. I let my fingers comb idly through her thatch patch, then brought both hands down to her knees to ease her thighs apart. I licked alongside her lovely pubic hair, favoring the slight hollow where the bare skin tents up toward the front of the pelvis. It took a little exploring but I found the sensitive spot there that many women don't even know they have, and that got her heart racing.

As her thighs spread out to allow me more room at her crotch, I brought my face down there and gazed at the beauty of her outer labia. With my fingers I parted them and bent my face down to lick them and the inner labia as well. With the point of my tongue I licked just barely inside the inner labia from bottom to top, gradually working my way up to her clit, which was just emerging from its hood. I put the tip of my right index finger beside her clit and slid it around toward the back, which pushed the little bud out from its hood. I jabbed softly at the tip of it with my tongue, and then sucked it in between my lips. Using my lips to steady it, I assaulted it with my tongue, and finally blew it out from my lips and continued to blow on it, which of course made it feel cold. By this time Mel's abdominal muscles were alternately tensing and relaxing, and her voice was uttering mewing sounds, punctuated by soft grunts.

Something big was definitely on its way.

I used my index finger to stroke her inner labia until they opened slightly, allowing me to insert my tongue. Up until this point she had been able to watch a lot of what was going on, but as I licked up and down in there she had no idea what was coming next, and she might not have even realized that it was my tongue doing that to her. I licked, and poked, and rolled my tongue over those tender tissues, then followed up right behind my tongue with my finger, which was very shortly joined by a second one. I could comment here on Mel's tightness, but any man who has tackled a virginal pussy will know what it felt like, and any man who hasn't would never understand, no matter what I told him. As I reached deeper into her cunt I came to her hymen, which was intact but only partially blocking her birth canal. I could reach my finger down low and get past the hymen, which stretched rather easily without any signs of pain. What I wanted to do was locate the G spot. In all my life I'd messed around with only one other virgin, and it was back when I was a kid and I'd never even heard of a G spot. I don't know if anybody had. That was a long time ago, and wandering around Mel's hymen with my fingers had me confused. So I was fumbling around inside of Mel, disoriented. But although my blind explorations were imprecise, I finally located that magic patch of sensitive flesh. I rubbed gently, and twisted my hand around so that I could apply my thumb to her clit at the same time. It's lucky that I happened to pull my head back before I did that, because when I got those two pleasure centers firing at once, Mel's hips bucked upward violently, and I'd have been knocked cold if my chin had been in the way.