I woke up Friday morning feeling like a whole new person.

Mother was still passed out. Good. I didn’t want to deal with her. I left her a note. It said that I had a date tonight, didn’t know when I was coming home, and I didn’t care what she thought about it.

Then I went to school. Something dawned on me on the way, which made me want to do something—but I had to run it by Ed.

He was already there. I got in his car. He beamed and gave me a huge kiss.

That’s something that had crept up on me the past couple of days. Kissing is nice. I hadn’t done much of that.

"Ed, I have something I’d like to discuss with you. And, unfortunately, I’m afraid it’s going to hit you right square in your insecurities."

"Uh-oh," he chucked. "What’s up?"

"Today’s our last day in the Program." He nodded. "And I’m going to get, you know—grabbed. And I wanted to try and see if I could relax and enjoy it," I admitted. "I want to find out if it’s just you."

"Does it matter if it’s just me?" he asked.

"Yes." He shot me a look. "But not for the reasons you’re thinking. Damn I knew this was going to hit you the wrong way!"

He smiled. "OK. Look, I’m not going to jump the gun. This time, I will relax and you can explain it to me. You know what I’m thinking. Why do you care, are you looking for something better, blah blah blah. So, I’ll just shut those stupid thoughts up and let you explain it to me."

I had to laugh. "It is not that. It’s just for my own personal knowledge. Look, Ed, we’re young. A lot can happen."

"You mean I might get hit in the head with a line drive and get amnesia and forget how to make you cum, and you’d need a substitute?" he grinned.

I just burst out laughing. "You goof!"

"Seriously, no, I understand what you mean."

"And not just that," I continued. "This is my last chance to enjoy The Program. Most people have. I have in some ways, but not in that way. I’d like to see if I’m capable of it."

"Go for it," he said. "I want to see you get so worked up you need to ask for relief."

"NEVER!" I blurted. He just laughed. "Have you?"

"A couple times. I did it in other classes, ones we don’t have in common. Two or three times."

"I’ve seen it before, but tend to look away," I admitted. "I just didn’t want to know."

"The best one I ever saw was in bio," he grinned. "But you weren’t in that class in September, were you?"

"No, I had to change my schedule around at the beginning of October, because my English class was too remedial."

"How’d you get stuck in a remedial class?" he laughed.

"Computer glitch, what else?"

"Ah," he said. "Anyhow, first week of the program, Jared and Amanda did each other. With their hands, as an experiment Ms. T had set up. One of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. Found out later that that is when they figured out they were in love with each other."

"That’s so sweet," I said. "It’s time."

"Yeah." He leaned over and kissed me again, then opened his door. I got out of mine. We walked up to the entrance where everyone was gathered for the undressing. I had dreaded it every day. And it had affected Ed—he was too busy watching out for me to be his Ed self. So, as we walked up to it, I whispered in his ear, "It’s our last time doing this. Make it fun."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I smiled.

He grinned at me and bounded up the stairs. "Now batting, the third baseman, number 18, Ed Bauer!" Everyone cheered. Ed started taking off clothes. I sat on the wall at the entrance and just watched him. "Ed is batting .338, with 4 homers and 12 runs batted in early on here in the season." More clothes shed. "Ed also sports quite a set of biceps, firm washboard abs, a luscious tushy, and an eleven-inch woody."

Everyone laughed—and I couldn’t resist. I just couldn’t. I blurted out, "Eleven inches? Yeah, in base two, maybe!"

He looked at me in shock, and then burst out laughing. "You’re challenging me for the king of quips? Don’t quit your day job, sweetie." He grinned at me. "Your turn." I grinned back, stood up, and started working on my blouse. "Now we have the lovely and talented Natalie Weinberg," he went on. "I don’t know what number’s on the back of her shirt, but I do know there’s too many buttons on the front of it." I looked up and smirked at him, and just kept working on the buttons. "Natalie is sporting—what are those, 36 D’s?"

"Good guess," I grinned.

"I’m good," he grinned back. "Anyhow, Natalie is sporting a set of 36 D boobs, a firm yet voluptuous ass, and legs that won’t quit. Stats? She’s ranked seventh in the junior class." I looked at him in surprise. He just grinned back. Then I realized there were ‘oooohs’ running through the crowd. "That’s right, folks, she’s a genuine brain. Which you should have figured out, right? I mean, she made a joke, and it was a geeky math joke!" Everyone howled at that, even me. "So, she’s got brains and that body. How can you go wrong?" God, he was embarrassing me! But I told him to have fun, right? And, you know what—it was fun, even with the extreme embarrassment. "So, here we are, our last day in the program," he said after I had finished stripping. "But, don’t fret, very soon, we’ll be starring in our very own motion picture. It’s going to be called Beauty and the Third Baseman. Toodleoo!" And he led me through the doors.

OK, I couldn’t stop grinning. What a nut.

He grabbed my hand and turned to me, grinning, and said, "Base two? You really know how to hurt a guy."

I laughed, and said, "OK. Base six?"

"What would eleven be in base six?" he asked.

"Seven."

"OK, that’s just about right," he grinned. "I don’t think Lily was out there for that. You’ll have to tell her the base two crack. She’ll love it."

"Make it grow, make it grow, make it grow," I sang softly with an impish smile.

"Oh, you just wait. I’m looking at your naked tits. It’ll grow soon enough," he said with a leer.

I have to admit, that sent a shiver down my spine!

"Ed, I’m kind of amazed that you’ll take joking about that. I just blurted it out, and felt bad afterwards until you laughed. Most guys get all defensive about that."

"Hey, I’m average. I know it. But it works fine, and I don’t get many complaints with how I wield it, so who cares?"

Damn, I wanted him to wield it on me! Jesus Christ.

"Believe me, I know I’m average," he continued with a laugh. "I’ve seen Jared Wicklow naked."

"Oh my God, so did I on Tuesday," I giggled. "How did he ever make it through the program without poking someone’s eye out with that thing?"

Ed laughed. "I don’t know, but he did. The only thing he poked out was Amanda’s virginity."

"Wait a minute. I didn’t realize that. He was her first?"

"Yup."

"She must have had a worse first time than me," I said.

"Not at all. According to both of them, it was bordering on the verge of perfect."

"Wow. I would’ve thought he was just too big."

"As they both say, sometimes it just works," he laughed.

That’s when I realized something. I wanted him. Bad. I’d never looked at a guy with thoughts of wanting in my head, ever. Sometimes it just works. Or, at the very least, you get a glimmer of a hope that it might work. Wow, what a concept.

Anyhow, we were in the hall by then, and here came the first groper. Coming right at me, and down goes the hand. So, I took a breath, and relaxed.

Woooooooo!

Of course, it might have been just that I was thinking about how much I wanted Ed!

But, no, not completely. I just wasn’t blocking it out, is all. And here came another one. Yeeeee!

Ed, who was still holding my hand, saw what was going on—and grinned at me. Then he got pulled away to talk to Mike—something baseball-related—and I was on my own. With the parade of hands.

Before I knew it, I was up against a wall—something I let happen—with some guy’s finger up inside me, working away. I heard Ed. "Natalie? Are you all right?" I opened my eyes and he was standing behind the guy fingering me. "I’m just fine," I grinned.

"Hey Ed. Something wrong?" my groper asked.

"Just checking, Craig," he grinned. "She hasn’t adjusted to this too well this week."

"She’s adjusting well now," Craig laughed.

"Uh-huh!" I agreed.

"Good," Ed laughed. "Enjoy yourself. See you in accounting." And then he left.

"You and Ed partners, I take it?" the guy—Craig—asked me.

"Yes. And he’s my boyfriend as of yesterday." His got a worried look on his face. "Don’t worry about it," I laughed. "We both know how The Program works."

"OK," he smiled, and kept fingering me.

And then the damn bell rang!

This happened again between first and second period.

I got into accounting, and sat next to Ed. Clearly uncomfortable.

"Are you OK?" he asked.

"I’m horny!" I whispered. "Me! Horny! I should’ve just stayed un-relaxed." He was laughing, the toad. "You!" I hit him. "This is all your fault!"

"I take full credit," he grinned. "You should ask for relief."

"No way!" she asserted.

"Suit yourself."

The rest of the morning was worse. By the time I got to lunch, I was dripping wet. Oh, Jesus, I was not used to this!

I think I was squirming in my seat. "Are you OK?" Amanda asked.

Ed cracked up laughing. "You just shut up," I said. "I’m fine," I told Amanda.

"Really? You’re jumping all around. You look like you’ve got an itch."

Damn Ed, he just laughed louder. "Oh, she’s got an itch all right," he laughed. I just glared at him.

"You have no idea, you," I spat at him.

"Oh, I don’t? You don’t have any idea what it’s doing to me watching you like that."

"Oh," I blushed.

"I’m just more used to it," he grinned.

"OK, what is going on?" Amanda demanded.

"Just what you said," Ed grinned impishly. "Natalie’s got an itch. Right between her legs."

"You’re kidding," Amanda gasped. She had seen how I had been reacting all week.

"She decided to relax and see if she could enjoy all the guys fondling her today," Ed said.

"I think it worked," Amanda grinned.

"Oh God. I’m so horny I’m half tempted to flip over my chair and impale myself on the leg," I admitted, to my surprise. Ed was grinning. "You stop grinning!" I turned to Amanda. "This is all his fault!"

"He found your ‘on’ button." Amanda giggled.

"And how," I agreed.

"Hey, I’ve got your chair leg right here," he joked, pointing down at his crotch. Oh, man, was I tempted!

That’s when I knew. I was going to let him fuck me. Immediately, if not sooner. Let him? I was going to beg him! Not here, not in the cafeteria, of course—but soon. That should’ve made me scared. It did, a little—but it also made me more horny.

And it was too much. It was too much. I started shaking. I think I even started weeping a little. "Honey? What’s wrong?" Ed said from across the table. Amanda looked at me with concern.

"I can’t…I can’t…." I sobbed. "It’s too much….I can’t…I’m not used to this, I can’t handle it! Oh God….."

Just then the bell rang. Amanda helped me up, and Ed met us at the end of the table, and took my other arm. They escorted me to bio, me still sobbing a bit.

"Natalie," Amanda said. "You need relief."

"She’s absolutely right," Ed agreed.

"Oh, God, no," I moaned.

"Natalie, listen to me!" Amanda let go of my arm and went to stand in front of me. "Take it from somebody who was pretty repressed when the program started. You need relief, and you need it now." She and Ed practically grabbed me and pulled me to bio—and pushed me into the seat in front of the class.

"What’s going on?" Ms. T asked.

"Natalie needs relief, and she needs it bad," Amanda said. "And if she denies it, she’s lying to you. She’s a basket case."

"Really?" Ms. T asked in surprise. She knew what this week had been like for me. "You’re getting it all at once, aren’t you?" she asked with a sympathetic tone. I nodded.

The class had filed in by now. I was embarrassed beyond belief—but Amanda was right. I was a basket case. Ms. T asked, "Natalie, have you ever had an orgasm?"

"Wednesday was the first time," I admitted.

"And that opened your floodgates."

A little calmer, I said, "Yeah, and I also decided, since this was the last day of the program, that I was going to try to enjoy all the fondling—you know, open myself up to the experience. I think I enjoyed it a bit too much. I’m not used to this."

"Well, that’s what relief is for, you know. Any willing volunteers to help Natalie out?" Half the boys in the class raised their hands, to my bemusement. But there was only one choice. "Ed. Help?" I asked.

He grinned, and walked up to me. He bent over and whispered in my ear, "Are you sure? You can still experiment if you want. I made my insecurities go home."

I giggled and said, "No, not this. Just you. Only you. Please?"

"OK. Relax."

"In front of the whole class?" I giggled.

"Trust me. Close your eyes, breathe deep. You know the drill."

I did, so I did. I closed my eyes and let the feelings wash over me as he slipped his finger in and out of my pussy. Then, all of a sudden, I felt something—something fantastic—drive over my clit. I screamed. My eyes opened, and I looked down—and saw his tongue.

Oh GOD!

He was—he was licking me down there! Oh FUCK! And it felt—indescribable. I came—bucking my hips, grinding my pussy on his hand and mouth, and screaming—in about seven seconds.

The class applauded! God, I was so embarrassed. Maggie Benson yelled out, "Jesus, that was fast!"

I looked up at Ed. He was grinning. And, boy, was he hard!

Ms. T noticed. "Ed, you need relief?"

"Nope, I’m fine," he claimed. I was disappointed, frankly. When we got back to our seats I said to him, "I would’ve done you."

"Have you ever done that to a guy?"

"Well, no," I admitted.

"And you’re going to do it to me in front of class? I wouldn’t do that to you."

"I see your point. Ed? Thanks. That was…something else."

"Thought you’d like it," he grinned.

Natalie. So horny she went off in seconds. Now that I never would have predicted!

And she wanted to do me—which was very sweet, but…. Listen. I’ve had a couple of girls who jacked me off who’d never done it before. They always squeeze too hard! Hey, guys have no idea what they’re doing the first time they go ‘down there’ either, so I say that not to be critical. But it takes some direction if a girl’s never done that. Not in front of a class, not to Natalie—she was still too fragile about sex.

Though, judging by the reaction I got when I went down on her—less fragile by the second.

Anyhow, I was completely hard by the time I got done with her, and the hardness wouldn’t go down. "Gym’s next," Natalie said to me on the way out of the class. "I understand why you didn’t want me to do it, but you really need someone to take care of that!" she said, pointing down.

"Don’t worry, Natalie," Amanda said, coming up behind us. "I’ve got the situation well in hand," she grinned, and grabbed my by my dick, leading me towards the girls’ locker room. Natalie just giggled.

Amanda’s a true friend. She got her gym clothes on, went up to the "relief chair", pointed me in, declared "Ed needs relief", and blew me.

She was getting real good at that!

After I came—and she swallowed every drop—I told her. "You’re practically in Maggie Benson’s league. Jared’s a lucky guy."

She grimaced. "I’m still working on getting Jared all the way into my mouth. I’m close, but not quite yet."

"Ah, yes," I joked. "Welcome to Ed’s Inadequacies, part one."

"Oh, you stop that," she said, giving my shoulder a swipe. "I’m sure Natalie doesn’t find it inadequate."

"Well, maybe she won’t, but I don’t think I’ll find that out for a while. I don’t think Natalie’s quite ready for that," I said.

"Oh really," she grinned. "You must’ve missed that look she gave you when you told her you had a chair leg in your lap. I thought she was going to pounce right then and there!"

"Ah, that was just the heat of the moment."

"Not hardly. Trust me," she grinned. "You’re going to get laid by your girlfriend, and soon." Her smile got wider. "And, Ed, you know what? She’s going to love every minute of it. And I think that’s starting to sink in to her now."

I thought about that throughout gym. When we got back into the locker room, and headed for the shower, Amanda and I got into a corner and washed each other. Nothing really sexual, just two friends soaping.

"Ed," she said. "Tell me about Natalie. She told me to tell you that she said it’s all right. I know there’s some problems there, but I don’t know exactly what."

So, I told her. If Amanda said that Natalie gave her OK, then Natalie gave her OK. Amanda doesn’t lie—least not to me.

"Wow," she said when I was done. "Now I feel bad. Yesterday I told her that if she raked you over the coals, I’d hunt her down and kill her. I should’ve said that to you!"

I laughed. "What did she say to that?"

"She said you were lucky you had such good friends," Amanda told me. "She really is sweet. But now I know—you must have been having Annie flashbacks."

"Yeah."

"Got through them?" she asked.

"Well, first Mike beat me up, then Natalie beat me up—and then I got the good-sense lecture from Ellie. I got worn down," I joked. "No, they were just all telling me things I needed to hear, to get past my fears, you know?"

"Yeah. I’m glad, Ed. You deserve it."

"I’m finally starting to believe that." I looked at her. "How is Annie, anyhow?"

She looked at me in shock. She and Annie wrote regularly, I knew that. "Ed, you have never asked me that question."

"I’m asking now. How’s she doing?"

"Good. How many details do you want?"

"None at all. Is she safe? Happy? That’s it."

"Yeah, she’s safe. Her aunt and uncle are great. Happy? I think she’s reasonably so. She asks about you all the time, you know. Tries to get me to talk you into opening her letters. I told her I refused to get in the middle of it. But she asks about you."

"What do you tell her?" I asked.

"Just the basics. Since you weren’t returning her letters, I didn’t want to violate your privacy. So you know—Ed’s fine, still as funny as ever, doing well in baseball. Light stuff like that."

"That’s fine," I said.

I put Annie out of my mind for now, and got through the rest of the day. Afterwards, I met Natalie at the entrance.

"Hey. We have a date tonight, yes?" I said.

"You bet your ass. You promised me Chinese and a mushy movie."

"I have practice. Do you want me to pick you up afterwards, or are you going to stick around?"

"None of the above," she giggled. "Practice takes, what, an hour and half to two hours?"

"Something like that."

"Well, I was wondering," she said tentatively, "if I could borrow your car?"

I smiled at her. "You have your license?"

"Of course, I just don’t have a car. I figured out if I make enough this summer, I can get a second-hand one, but I don’t have one at the moment. But, yeah, I drive fine." She looked at me. "I’ll take good care of your baby. I need to go shopping, and the mall’s too far to walk."

"Sure," I reached into my bookbag and gave her my keys. "If I trust you, I suppose I have to trust you with my car, huh?"

"Yep," she grinned. She tossed the keys in the air. "See you. Thanks."

"You’re welcome," and she was off.

Shopping? Hmmm. Of course, I shouldn’t question a sudden shopping jones from a girl, right?

I headed to practice.

It’s hard to explain.

I had been nude all week. I had been nude around Ed all week. I don’t know if I was becoming entirely comfortable with that, but I was becoming more comfortable.

And, we went outside, and I picked up my clothes—the usual floor-length skirt and high-necked long sleeve blouse—and I realized, all of a sudden, that I hated them. Hated them with every fiber of my being. Hated every single thing in my wardrobe. The short-sleeved polo shirt and calf-length light skirt that I had worn the other day were the only things in my whole wardrobe that weren’t completely ridiculous.

I looked at my normal outfit—and it looked, just then, like a straightjacket. I left the school parking lot wearing it, however. I would not be returning in it.

The girl needed clothes.

I had plenty of money in my account—this is what Granddad’s trust fund is for—so I whipped out my debit card, walked through the mall, and when nuts. I even bought undergarments—frilly pink and blue and purple things, not my usual Basic White. I even loaded up on makeup. I spent a pile—and had a blast.

Looking at the clock, I noticed I still had a bit of time, so I whipped home. Mom had already gone to work, thank goodness. I tore off the straightjacket and threw it into a heap. The Basic White undergarments soon followed. I tore my hair out of the ever-present bun, and brushed it out as best I could, so it hung in fairly curly blonde waves down past my shoulders.

Then I went through my new goody bags. I went for the frilly pink undergarments. The shirt was also pink—a short-sleeved thing with a red heart right between my boobs. And it was a belly shirt. For pants, I grabbed stonewashed low-rider jeans. Both the top and the jeans were not loose-fitting. Every curve I had was prominently displayed. And between the high shirt and the low jeans was a nice strip of belly showing.

Yeah, I know. I had been naked all week—but not by choice. This was by choice. And I think, sometimes, clothes are sexier than being naked—if they’re the right clothes. These were the right clothes. I put a dash of lipstick and blush on, and a little light eye shadow, and looked in the mirror.

OK, I almost didn’t recognize the person staring back at me!

I was stunned, absolutely stunned. And, for a minute, I got cold feet. I looked so different. Even being naked, I’d never taken my hair down. And I didn’t usually wear makeup. And the outfit!

The cold feet disappeared—the minute I imagined Ed’s reaction.

No, I wasn’t doing this for him—I was doing it for me. I didn’t want to be uptight anymore. I wanted to be free, and casual, and sexy. But, yeah, I wanted to knock his socks off, too.

Can you knock the socks off someone who’s seen you naked with a new outfit and hairstyle? I was about to find out.

I drove back to the school parking lot, and stood next to the car, waiting for him. After a few minutes, I saw him, coming up the path.

And he saw me. I swear he blinked three times. And looked like he was going to swallow his tongue.

Paydirt!

I swear, I almost didn’t recognize her. I didn’t. I recognized the car first, and then realized who the blonde standing next to it was.

Oh my fucking head.

I was just stunned. There she was, leaning on the car, giving me a big shit-eating grin. It’s amazing—I’d seen this girl naked. Hell, earlier today, I’d gone down on her! And she never looked as out-and-out sexy as she did right then. Maybe it was the hair being down, or the lipstick, or just the way she wore the new outfit—or, holy hell, the way she was looking at me. But it was something.

Hey, I know you can be completely naked and still be completely non-sexual. I had seen it—from her, the minute I walked into that office Monday morning. She might have been nude, but there was nothing sexual about it—not with her all curled up in a ball.

This just screamed sex—even with clothes on. My word. Somebody had woken up, and in a big way. And I’m not talking about Little Ed, either—though he was definitely stirring.

I walked up to her and said, "I can’t quite believe what I’m seeing."

That’s when her come-hither stare collapsed in a fit of giggles. "I’m not quite sure I believe that I did it!"

"You look amazing."

"Thanks," she said with a grin. "It’s the new Natalie. You like?"

"I like. I have to warn you, though—I know you’ve come a long way in a week, but are you sure you’re ready for this?"

"For what?"

"For every guy in this parking lot staring at you."

She giggled. "I’ve been nude for a week, I hope I’m used to being stared at."

"Good point," I laughed. "But, in some ways, this is sexier on you than nudity."

She gave me a brilliant smile. "Good. I was hoping you’d notice."

Incredible. Just incredible. Well, they say everyone goes through drastic changes during The Program. Some more drastic than others, but everybody changes. Yeah, of course I had. I took a chance on her, right?

Of course, the ways she had changed were nothing short of astounding.

"So, tell me, big boy," she purred, "does this outfit earn me a little Chinese food?"

"I’d say so," I grinned. "Though you’d be getting that even if you weren’t wearing anything." We both collapsed in laughter. "Come on, gorgeous. I need my car keys." She flipped them to me over the car, then got in the passenger’s seat.

We headed down to the best Chinese restaurant in town.

"Take-out or eat-in?" I asked.

"I don’t think there’s a good old flick playing on the TV inside," she pointed out.

"Good. Take-out it is," I chuckled. We went in, grabbed a menu, and good-naturedly haggled over the selection. We came up with an order, put it in, and waited in the lobby, chatting about this and that. It was done pretty quickly, and we headed for my house.

"Hey," I said to my parents as we walked in.

"Hey. I smell Chinese," Mom laughed.

"You smell correctly. You remember Natalie, right?"

"Hello, Natalie," Mom said. She greeted Mom and Dad.

"Hey, honey, my DVD collection’s over there. Go pick something out."

"OK," she said, and headed over.

"We losing the TV again?" Dad laughed.

"Nah," I laughed back. "We’ll take it upstairs. I wanted her to see Singing In The Rain on the big screen, but my TV will be fine today." Natalie was walking towards me with a DVD. "What did you find?"

"The Philadelphia Story," she smiled.

"Oh, that’s a good one," Mom said.

"She loves Hepburn," I said.

"And this one’s not only got Hepburn," she grinned, "but it’s got romance, and humor, and Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart. How can you go wrong?"

"You really do love old films as much as Ed," Mom said.

"Yeah, I do," she grinned. "Anyhow, sweetie, before we repair to the dinner theatre, can you point me to the facilities?"

I did so, and went back into the living room while she did her business.

"Tell me," Mom said, "is that the same girl who was in here on Tuesday?"

"Yeah," I laughed. "Hard to believe, huh? That is brand new. She borrowed my car keys while I was at practice and went shopping. I walked out of practice to that."

Mom laughed. "Well, I know how much going through The Program changed Amanda Frazier."

"Yeah," I said. "This is a little bit more drastic—but she had further to come than Amanda."

"What’s shocking me," Dad said with a laugh, "is that my son, the tomcat, actually brought home the same girl twice in a week."

I grinned at them. "Well, get used to seeing her a lot more than twice. She’s not going anywhere."

It took Mom a minute. "Wait a minute, you mean, you two…..?"

"Yeah," I cut in. "As of yesterday. I didn’t have a chance to tell you."

"Ed, that’s great!" Mom said. "Can I say finally?" she laughed.

"Yeah," I laughed. "Hey, you know why. I needed time. I also needed the right girl."

Just then, the right girl came out of the bathroom. She walked up to me, curled her arm around mine, looked up at me, and said, "So. Feed me!"

"You got it," I said, to my parents’ laughter. I led her upstairs. We put the movie in the DVD player, and spread the Chinese food out on the bed.

During the opening stuff on the DVD, I spooned out the food. "My parents know about us now," I told her. "I didn’t see them yesterday to tell them."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. They’re thrilled," I said, and she beamed at me. "Dad was shocked that I brought home the same girl twice in a week. I told them, ‘Get used to her.’" She laughed at that. I looked at her and said, "Does it bother you?"

"What?" she asked.

"My reputation. You know, when it’s to the point that my parents know about it…."

She laughed. "No, it doesn’t bother me. You explained that earlier in the week. And, like I said, I trust you."

"Good."

Just then, the movie started. We shut up, watched, and ate.

Let’s see. I had this wonderful guy. I had Chinese food. I had Hepburn and Cary Grant.

Does life get any better than this?

I love The Philadelphia Story, it’s such a great film. One of my top five. Ed liked it, too, and told me he hadn’t seen it in a while, so it was a good pick.

After we had exhausted the capacity of our stomachs, Ed paused the movie, grabbed the leftovers and the trash, and ran downstairs with them. He came back up, sat down next to me in the bed, and re-started the movie.

The full-bore sprawled-on-the-bed cuddle quickly followed.

And I recognized the feelings. And I let them happen, for a change. He wasn’t touching anything, you know, erogenous—it was just cuddling. But I still felt it. Low-grade, but I felt it.

I put them on the back burner to simmer—I really did want to watch the movie—but I liked having them simmering in the background. I felt like my insides were humming.

The movie ended, and Ed said, "I forgot how much I liked that one."

"One of my favorites," I agreed.

He leaned over and kissed me. I kissed him back, hard. Before I knew it, we were in one hell of a liplock.

The simmering picked up.

He kissed down my neck—wow, who knew how good that felt?—while his hands rubbed up and down my sides. I had my hand on his hips, facing him on his bed. He came back up to my mouth, and we devoured each other.

Then he dropped the kiss. "I need to warn you," he said in a low growl, "I’ve done things to you twice now, and I stopped. If this goes any further, I’m not going to be able to stop. I want you so bad it hurts. Are you ready for that?"

I answered him by sitting up, smiling at him, and quickly pulling my shirt over my head. He grinned, and then chuckled, pointing at my frilly pink bra. "When you go shopping, you don’t go halfway," he laughed.

"Nope," I agreed. "Help with the clasp?"

He grinned, and reached behind me. When he did, I whispered in his ear, "I’ve been as ready as I can get since lunch. I want you so bad I’m throbbing. And I’m not used to that at all."

"I know you’re not," he whispered. "I’ll make it OK, I promise." And his hands were on my boobs. And then, he was going lower, and his tongue was on my boobs.

Oh, man! Simmer, simmer, bubble, bubble.

While he did that, I felt his hands reaching for the button of my jeans. "You’re in for another treat. The panties match the bra," I giggled. He laughed, and quickly started peeling my jeans off. I raised my hips to help him. They were off, but my panties were still on, as he reached between my legs and started rubbing me through the panties.

"They’re new, so we have to christen them, right?" he said. Oooh, how nice and naughty that was! And it was working. In a couple of minutes, they were drenched! "Mission accomplished," Ed chuckled, and took them off me. Then he started working his fingers up and down my pussy. Oh, man.

But I stopped him. I wanted something else right now. "Stop! Wait!" I shouted. Ed jumped back. "Something wrong?" he said worriedly.

"Yes!" I said, and reached for the hem of his shirt. "You. Clothes. Off!" He laughed, and helped me get them off. Then he lay back down as naked as I was. "Now you may continue what you were doing," I giggled. He laughed, and did.

While he gently rubbed my pussy—simmer, simmer—I looked at his dick. Sure, I had seen it all week. But I’d never seen it like this. I’d never seen it, you know, knowing where it was going at some point in the evening. I’d never looked at it and said to myself, "this is going to be inside me, and soon." It was a whole new perspective.

It made my mouth water.

I reached out and put my hand on it. As I had told Ed, I’d never done this. But I was drawn to it like a magnet. Me, who had been so scared of this! I cupped my hand around it, and started moving my hand up and down on it. It was like steel, it was so hard. It was also throbbing in my hand!

"Is this all right?" I whispered to Ed.

"Just perfect," he said. "If I had known you were that good at it, I would’ve let you in bio. Most girls who’ve never done it before squeeze too hard."

"I don’t want to bruise it, I’ll need it in a minute," I giggled. He looked at me with a mixture of complete surprise and utter lust.

"You are something else," he laughed. "I’d never thought I’d have you here like this, not after what I saw Monday."

"I was forced into The Program against my will, by my mother," I pointed out. "That made all of my fears and phobias and anxieties ten times worse. You haven’t forced me into a thing. You don’t take, you give. It made all the difference."

He moaned under my hand. "Well, if you keep that up, I’m going to roll you on your back and start taking, in a hurry."

"It’s OK to take what’s freely offered," I smiled at him. And I meant it—but he must have seen something in my eyes.

"You’re scared," he said simply.

"You bet your ass," I laughed. "But that’s OK. I’ll get by it." Then I saw something. "You’re scared, too!"

"Yeah," he admitted.

"Why?"

"Because you’ve had three very bad experiences. If I’m number four, I don’t know if I’d be able to live with myself."

"You won’t be," I laughed. "Listen to me, Ed. You’ve had two fingers in my pussy for five minutes. I know you’re not trying to get me off, just get me worked up—which is the only reason I’m still coherent—but your hand is buried in my pussy. And I’m relaxed. I’m comfortable. It feels great. Don’t worry about any disasters. They’re not going to happen."

"Then why are you scared?" he asked.

"Feelings that you’re not used to, especially intense ones, are just scary." I admitted.

"OK, I’ll buy that."

"Now, can we stop talking? I’d like you to move your hand faster," I giggled.

"Oh, I’ll do better than that. Let go of my dick, though."

I was puzzled, but I did so. I felt his fingers go in, with his palm up towards the front of my body. Then he curled his fingers up, again towards the front of my body. And they rubbed.

Oh my GOD. I shrieked!

"WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?" I yelled.

"Your G-spot," he giggled. "You like?"

"Oh Jesus!" Now I know why he made me let go of his dick—I would have torn it off!

"Lay back," he said. We had been on our sides, facing one another, so I rolled onto my back. He kept his fingers in me—but started moving down my body with his head. This time, I watched him, as his tongue gently slurped up the length of my pussy—then zeroed in on my clit. As he worked away at it, his fingers started massaging my G-spot again.

Oh my fucking head. Simmering? Try boiling over. Try exploding. The world stopped—the world just fucking stopped. It was incredible.

"Wow," Ed said as I was coming down. "I’d heard about that, but that’s the first time I’ve ever seen it."

"What?" I asked dreamily.

"You came."

"I know I came, silly," I giggled.

"No, I mean you squirted."

"I what?" I asked, amazed.

"Squirted. Female ejaculation. It’s rare but it happens." I looked at him—his face was drenched!

"Oh. It kinda felt like I was peeing," I said sheepishly.

"It’s not pee," he laughed. "It was fun," he said. "I liked watching it—even if I did get it in the eye."

"You’re something else," I smiled. "Ed? Make love to me. Please."

He just smiled, and climbed up the length of my body, and positioned himself in between my legs. He grabbed his dick and started rubbing it up and down the length of my pussy, making me groan. "Ready?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," I panted. Then I felt it. His dick slowly slipping through my entrance. Oh God. He took it nice and easy, slipping into me bit by bit. Oh God.

I was right. It was like my first three disastrous experiences weren’t even the same thing. And they weren’t. It was like I said earlier—this was my choice.

And, Jesus, it felt good!

Then he was all the way in. "Good?" he asked.

"Oh yeaaaah!" I blurted. He laughed. "Oh, God, Ed, fuck me!" I demanded. He did.

Oh, man, I felt like I was floating on a cloud. Who knew? Not me. This was exquisite. I lifted my legs up and wrapped them around his ass, and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.

"Oh, God, Ed, go faster," I got out. "And KISS ME!" I demanded. He got out a chuckle, and did as I asked, picking up the pace as he lowered his mouth to mine. I found what I wanted—his tongue. I devoured it.

That was all I needed. Oh, God, what a cum. He went right after, his lips locked with mine as he groaned into my mouth and poured himself into me. It strung mine out. It was fantastic.

Afterwards, when we were sprawled in a heap, legs and arms intertwined, Ed suddenly said. "Oh, Jesus. I’m an irresponsible asshole."

"Excuse me?" I said.

"I never even asked you if you were protected."

"Oh, that. Don’t worry about it," I giggled. "I’ve been on the pill since I was 13. Mother’s insistence. For once, I’m glad of it," I laughed.

"That’s good. I still feel like an ass. I’m never irresponsible about that."

"It’s OK. I got you going," I giggled.

"From the minute I saw you in the parking lot in that outfit," he laughed. "It’s a good thing I like the Philadelphia Story. If you had picked a boring one, I don’t think I could’ve made it through it."

I laughed. "Hey, I picked one of my favorites on purpose." I looked at him. "This was the daydream I had the other day. Us watching a good old flick, then fucking like bunnies." I giggled. "Of course, in the daydream, it was Casablanca—but I wasn’t in the mood for that today."

"I would’ve picked The Sound Of Music, but that’s three hours long!" he laughed.

"That’s why you let me pick," I laughed.

"Nat? That was the best ever. And I mean it. Not even close."

I knew what that meant for him to say. I was touched. "I don’t think I have to tell you that in my case!" I giggled.

"No, you don’t," he laughed. "Natalie?" he asked. I looked at him. "I don’t want you to leave here tonight."

Awwww. "I don’t want to leave, either. Will your parents mind?"

"No, not at all. Will your mother?"

"Yeah. Do I care?" I said.

"She won’t be happy," Ed said.

"After seventeen years of hell, I refuse to concern myself with her happiness for a second more," I declared.

He kissed me. "Mom’s still downstairs. Let me go down and tell her, just so she’s not surprised to see you in the morning."

"’K," I said.

"Natalie?" he said. I looked at him. "I love you."

YES! "I love you, too," I said.

YES! YES! YES!

He headed downstairs, and I lied back onto his bed—just about as happy as it gets.

Man. That really was the best ever. I was kind of stunned at that. I was no virgin. And I had had sex—once—with someone I was in love with.

But that was the best ever.

And I said it. I can’t believe I said it.

I was still kicking myself for not asking about protection, though. Dumb, dumb, irresponsible, and dumb. I know better than that. I got lucky.

Of course, I think I got lucky in a number of ways. And that’s not a double entendre.

I came downstairs and found Mom, sitting on the couch.

"Hey," I said.

"Hey," she grinned. "What’s up?"

"Natalie’s spending the night, is that OK?"

"Of course. Do her parents mind?"

"That is a long story," I sighed. "Natalie just has a mother—and she’ll probably be furious, but Natalie doesn’t much care."

"Well, Ed, I’m a little uncomfortable with Natalie staying here if it’s against her mother’s wishes."

"Natalie having anything even remotely approaching a normal life is against her mother’s wishes. I’m serious." I went through Natalie’s history with her mother.

"My God," Mom said. "She seems remarkably well-adjusted."

"To a point," I told her. "The Program has actually helped a lot. And she’s ranked seventh in the class."

"Wow. You got a smart one," she grinned.

"Hell of a lot smarter than a dumb-ass third baseman, for sure," I grinned.

"Yeah, right. You know you’re capable."

"Not in her league, though. But she’s smart, that helps. She has her ‘out’ all planned—a college scholarship."

"With those grades, she shouldn’t have a problem," Mom commented. "But she must have other problems. The Program must have thrown her. Nudity, and all that touching?"

"It wasn’t easy. It’s gotten better."

"Ed, have you guys….." she hesitated.

"Made love?" I laughed. "Just now, for the first time."

"Was it OK for her?"

"Yeah, it was. She trusts me. She also loves me. That makes a difference, you know that."

"I agree," Mom said. "Just, hey, I’m worried about you. You know why. And now that you’ve told me, I’m worried about her."

"I’m worried about her, too—but I think she’ll be OK. As for me? I’m probably not going to shock you if I tell you I came damn close to stopping this thing before it started."

"Nope, I’m not surprised at all. What changed your mind?"

"First was a few choice words from Mike. Second was a few even choicer words from Natalie herself. She overheard me talking to Mike, and yesterday morning asked me who Annie was. When I told her the whole thing, she had a few things to tell me. Forcefully, I might add." Mom grinned at that. "So, after that—with my heart at war with my head—I went where I always go."

"Ellie Kirkland," Mom smiled. "I’ve always thought I should be jealous of that woman," she laughed.

"Oh, come on," I said. "You know better."

"Yeah—I like Ellie too much. And I do realize that this kind of thing is her profession, and that she knows her stuff, and that she loves you almost as much as I do. So, it’s OK. What did Ellie say?"

"To stop blaming myself for Annie’s mistake, and to stop expecting Natalie to make the same mistake Annie did."

"Common sense, Ed," she pointed out. "You’ve blamed yourself for Annie?"

"Of course. This is me we’re talking about."

"That’s stupid. Annie loved you very much, but the two of you were in way over your head." She looked at me. "And, I guess I’m wondering if you’re in over your head again."

"Probably," I chuckled. "But Natalie’s older, more sure of what she wants, and I’m older, too. I got help this time."

"Help?" Mom asked.

"She’s one of the gang. All her problems that she had at the beginning of the week were due to isolation. I stopped the isolation—brought the whole crowd into helping her. She and Amanda really hit it off. She thinks Lily’s a howl. I even had Ty Christopher watch out for her when she was finding the whole gym shower experience to be a bit much. She came to the game Tuesday, and was uncomfortable being there in the stands nude, so I had her sit with Jared and Amanda. You know them. She wasn’t alone in her nakedness for long."

She laughed, and said, "Ed? Don’t ever call yourself a dumb third baseman again, OK? That was good thinking."

"Thanks, Mom."

"Look, if she needs a place to stay, anytime, you know she can stay here. And if that’s too much pressure on your relationship at this point, she can always stay in Katherine’s room."

"Thanks." I grinned at her. "She won’t be in Katherine’s room tonight, by the way."

"That I figured out," she laughed.

"Night, Mom." I headed up the stairs.

When I got there, Natalie had fallen asleep, nude, spread out on my bed. I nudged her to one side—gently—and snuggled up behind her. She opened her eyes half-way, looked me, smiled, and settled into my arms, falling back asleep right away. I soon joined her.

--end of part five—