SUBJECT LINE:
{ASSM} "Never Ugly, Darling" {Empath} (mf, 1st, rom) [1/2]




Admonition: This story has explicit descriptions of people 
engaging in careless and unprotected sexual activity in it, 
and shouldn't be accessed by minors.  Kids?  Try this stuff 
and you'll probably end up either in an AIDS ward waiting 
to die or in the maternity ward looking at your child 
before you graduate.  Don't rush into 'It' - it's not THAT 
much fun, and certainly not worth the risks around nowadays 
- I'm glad I'm married! :)  

Disclaimer: In any case, should this find its way into 
minors' hands, I cannot be held responsible - I DID warn 
them.

Copyright notice: I, the author of this tawdry pile of 
maudlin feelings masquerading as smut, hold all rights of 
reproduction to this work of prose.  Private copies for 
personal perusal and archives for NON-commercial 
distribution are permitted.

Plea for attention: The only reward ASS* authors can expect 
is the joy of sharing their creation with the rest of 
humanity.  But wait - how does that author KNOW if people 
are reading and enjoying his story?  Yep; if you like a 
story posted to alt.sex.stories.*, the fair thing to do is 
email the author and tell them so.  I promise that it'll 
make YOU feel good to send them kudos, after all, Mark 
Twain said, "The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to 
cheer someone else up."  As always you may contact me (and 
my wife Dancer) through my 'legacy' Deja News email 
account:           <empath69@my-deja.com>  
(Wow, I'm not just an author, now I'm an AGENT, too!  ;)

Author's Note: DAMN, the high school stuff was just 
supposed to be a short flashback to explain the origin of 
Al & Dani's relationship, not a story in itself!:)  It's 
"Chance" all over again - this is going to grow into a 
multi-part story, I just know it! <sigh of mixed feelings>

-------


Never Ugly, Darling - part one
By Empath
Copyright, 2001
===============

"Come ON, Dani!"  I stood beyond the finish line, screaming 
my lungs out, trying to coax her further ahead.  There 
weren't any runners nearby, but the whole atmosphere was 
infectious - other people were cheering her on, even other 
triathletes who'd finished.  

She looked up, and our eyes locked.  I stared at Dani and 
tried to will her across the finish - to give her some of 
my energy.  Even if nothing psychic happened, I remember 
she broke into a smile after looking at me.

As she came across the line, only a little faster than a 
jogging pace, I was there with a towel to catch her.  I 
held her hot body in my arms, trying not to hug her to me.  
I held up the water, letting her take only a small sip.  I 
needn't have worried - she just swished it in her mouth and 
spat the water and phlegm out.

An official came over and checked her number, telling me 
the time she finished and her placement.  Dani was a little 
out of it.  The man advised me to walk her around a little 
to keep her from getting muscle cramps.  I thanked him and 
we meandered around the finish area.

It was a couple of minutes before she had the breath and 
attention to speak.  "I need more swimming practice," she 
gasped.

"I thought you did okay."  When she gestured for the water, 
I let her have the bottle.

"Weren't you watching?  I came out of the water LAST!"

"But only a few seconds behind the rest.  You made up some 
time in the changeover," I added, feeling no small amount 
of pride for having her bike and things ready, "and you 
stayed near the front of the big bunch of cyclists the 
whole time."

"'Big bunch' - Listen to him.  Al?  I keep telling you, 
it's called 'the pelethon.'"  Her breathing was almost 
normal, though her skin was still hot to the touch.

"Yeah-yeah.  Fancy name for a bunch of idiots without 
enough sense to use the wonders of technology old Nicky 
Otto gave us."  She punched me lightly, so I figured she 
was rested enough to sit.

"Even so, I was more tired than I expected - swimming's by 
far the hardest part of this thing."

"Of course, you're forcing your body through water, not 
air.  It's a denser medium."

"Al, there's times when I wonder whether I'm really talking 
to a drama critic."

"Well, I love learning almost as much as I love you, and 
it's 'Associate Editor' anyway."

"Not yet, they've still got to make their decision."

My calm facade began to crack, and I gave her a wide grin.  
"Oh, didn't I tell you?  Bill called me on the cell phone 
about ten minutes ago - it's official."

"What?  That's GREAT!"  Dani hugged me tight and tried to 
bounce up and down in my arms.  "I'm so happy for you."

"For us, love," I tweaked her cute little nose, then kissed 
her.  

"But why didn't you say something sooner?"

"You were a little busy with the endorphin-filled rush from 
finishing your first triathlon.  And getting back to the 
more important subject, did you hear what the guy said 
about your placement?"

She shook her head, and I tried not to grin.  "You came in 
thirteenth.  Didn't you notice all the runners still coming 
in?"

"THIRTEEN?!?"  Dani went nuts, jumping up and down.  I 
swept her into my arms, lifted her up and spun us around as 
she hollered her good fortune to the skies.

"Oh. My. God.  There were forty entrants!"

"Three dropped out - one got a twisted ankle when she 
started cycling, another dropped out with a bent wheel 
after a spill and the third stopped and gave up during the 
run."

"Jeez, I feel bad for them."

"You'll feel worse for the sixteen I had taken out by my 
sniper."  She gave me a playful shove. 

"God, thirteen - that's...like, the top third!"

"Not bad for your first time, eh?  Maybe you *don't* need 
more practice in the pool?"

"You just don't want to swim yourself, Mr. Lazy!"

"Hey; I don't object to exercise, it's just the stench of 
chlorine gets to me."  I put an arm around her shoulders 
and moved us in the direction of the car.  "Come on, I'll 
take you out to celebrate our twin accomplishments...after 
you bathe!"

"Soon enough - I want to cheer on the rest of the runners."

I agreed and we walked back to the finish line, with me 
reminded of how we hooked up.

           *           *           *           *

We met in high school because of a bet.  No, not what you 
think; she didn't play 'truth or dare' with her friends and 
have to ask the 'drama geek' out.  It was our sophomore 
year, and I was part of that year's drama class production 
of "A Midsummer Night's Dream."  

I had the role of Oberon due to my physique - I'm not your 
typical 'artsy' rail-thin guy; I am tall, but broad-
shouldered and fairly thick in the mid...All right, I've 
always been somewhat overweight.  No one ever comments on 
my small paunch (not even Dani and she sees me naked), but 
I got rave reviews for my senior-year portrayal of 
Falstaff, and I've always made a convincing Santa at 
Christmas time.

Anyway, the class was having trouble finding someone to 
play Puck - none of the smaller people had the right energy 
and impishness to do it, and the only guy who did have it 
(no, not me) was still unconvincing.  The drama teacher and 
I were gathering up the props after one rehearsal when I 
suggested we ask someone outside the drama class.

Mr. Wheatley looked at me with a sympathetic smile.  "If 
they had any interest in the dramatic arts, Al, they'd be 
taking the course already."

"But maybe they just didn't have space in their schedule.  
Or the time - other activities or a part-time job-"

"And those other concerns would just disappear if we asked 
the person?"  I must've looked very discouraged, because he 
relented, saying "Tell you what - if you can convince 
someone to fill Puck's pointy shoes, and he or she is even 
a little better than Rick, I'll give them the part."

"Me?"

"Yes, you.  I've still got a full teaching schedule of 
Drama and English courses, not to mention this production 
right now.  YOU have some free time on your hands; go 
recruiting."

"I suppose."

"Don't look so defeatist!  Tell you what - you find us a 
Puck, and I'll take another look at that play of yours you 
came to me with last year."

That got me.  Wheatley knew exactly what to do to motivate 
his actors and used this on me.  We shook on it, and I 
marched out to go imp hunting.

           *           *           *           *

It was two weeks later, and I'd had no success.  Only two 
people I'd watched were likely candidates, and one 
expressed interest but no time while the other just laughed 
in my face.  The enthusiasm had worn off my effort and I 
was going around with a cloud over my head.

The afternoon in question, I was leaving another rehearsal 
- we still had the Puck Problem.  As I walked past the 
school track on my way to the city bus stop, I heard 
someone calling out and cheering.  Looking over, I saw the 
girls' track team practicing.  Several girls were standing 
beside the track, cheering on the runners...no, most of 
them were just calling out to their teammates, encouraging 
them to do better.  One girl was *cheering*.

She was jumping around, her red ponytail bouncing in wild 
patterns and threatening to break loose.  Her voice cut 
across the school grounds and had a compelling quality to 
it.  I found myself leaning on the low fence watching her.  
One of the other girls noticed me and whispered to a 
friend.  I noticed their attentions, and - feeling bashful 
- made to leave. 

Then I remembered my search, and turned around.  Resuming 
my position at the fence, I watched the team make their 
practice runs.  After the team was done, everyone started 
walking back to the school - to clean up, I imagine.  I 
approached the chipper focus of my attentions.  "Excuse me, 
may I speak with you for a moment?"

"You just did - want a full minute?"  She was wiping her 
face with a towel.

"Yes.  Um, Al Burke," I started, offering her my hand.  Her 
shake was strong and enthusiastic.  "Dani - Danielle 
Green."

"I saw you supporting your teammates out there earlier - 
you should be a cheerleader."

"Tried that last year, couldn't keep in line with the 
others.  Too independent, I guess."

"Yeah."  I wondered how to actually ask her.

"Anything else beyond your compliments to my team spirit?"  

Thanks, God.  "Yes, actually.  I'm in the sophomore drama 
class and we're putting on a play soon.  Hear anything 
about it?"

"Oh, yeah - um...that Shakespeare one with everyone running 
around in the forest in love with everyone else."

I laughed.  "Yeah, 'Midsummer Night's Dream' - that's a 
pretty good synopsis.  Well, we're having trouble finding 
someone for an important role.  Puck - he's the instigator 
of all the trouble, and something of a narrator."

"Uh-huh?"

"Well, he's a...a pixie or brownie, I think - a small fairy 
creature, and one with an impish, prankish nature.  Puck's 
a character the audience has to like right off from the 
start."

"So?"

"Well, we do have ONE person who can capture some of the 
'lovable prankster' in his performance, but Rick's tall and 
a little clumsy - it takes a lot to imagine him sneaking up 
on anyone, let alone reconciling him with one's 
preconceived notion of an elfin spirit."

"I'm sorry to hear it."

"Yeah, well...when I saw you jumping around cheering...I 
wondered if you might be a good fit for Puck."

"Me?  I'm a girl."

"So?  There's a certain...*femininity* in the various fairy 
characters; can't *imagine* why," I joked.  "And actresses 
have made their careers playing Peter Pan - a role not much 
different, to be honest."

"Oh, like him?  But I have no acting experience."

"And we do?  It's a high-school production!  You don't have 
to be that good, really.  Just enthusiastic, and you're 
definitely that."

She giggled.  "I suppose."

"So what do you say?  I'll understand if you don't have the 
time," I said, gesturing back at the track.

"Well, yeah..." then Dani seemed to change her mind.  "No, 
I'm not that busy, and it sounds like fun - sure!"

I was overjoyed for plenty of reasons: the production had a 
decent Puck, I'd get some help from Wheatley with my play, 
and - I suddenly realized - I was going to be around this 
cute girl for a fair chunk of time.  Because of all this, I 
didn't even think as I hugged her impulsively.  To my 
credit it was just a short, friendly 'thank you,' but we 
both felt a little uncomfortable afterwards.

"Yeah," I said, fulfilling the teenage stereotype of 
confidence and glibness.  "Well, we should probably talk 
tomorrow - I've got a bus to catch soon."

"Yeah.  When should we?"

"Do you have any free periods tomorrow?"

"Not until lunch - early slot."

"Me too; I guess we meet then and try a few things out?"

"Okay, then.  I'll see you tomorrow at early lunch - Al, is 
it?"

"Yes..." I drew a blank for her name.  "Oh, I'm so sorry-"

"Danielle - Dani."  She smiled at my forgetfulness.

"Thanks," I replied.  "Tomorrow.  See ya!"  I realized how 
late it was, and dashed to catch my bus.

           *           *           *           *

Dani made the audition with ease - she LOVED the part when 
I gave her a copy of the play, and her enthusiasm more than 
made up for any lack of acting experience.

With the benefit of hindsight, it looks as if we were fated 
to fall for each other.  Oberon and Puck have a lot of 
scenes together - the latter is the former's henchman, 
after all - and Wheatley asked us to practice together on 
our own time, to help Dani polish her performance.

As a result, we spent a lot of time together.  Most 
afternoons we'd help one another with our homework so we 
could get some rehearsal in - my parents were glad for the 
improvement in my math and science grades.  I'd go with her 
to track meets to cheer her on and talk a little about the 
acting craft.  And once a week we'd get together with some 
drama friends to rent a video to critique the performances.

It was one such evening that someone outside my point-of-
view shed light on what was happening to us.  I was getting 
popcorn and soda ready for the gang, when the doorbell 
rang.  My mother called out that it was Rick.  I greeted 
him and showed him into the den.  Rick had no malice for 
Dani 'stealing' his role - he was settling in to an 
admirable Lysander...if he could stop tripping over the 
set.

I noticed he almost sat in one chair before moving to the 
couch.  I asked him "What's wrong with the recliner?"

"Oh, that's yours and Dani's seat."

"What?"

"You always sit there when we're at your place, and Dani 
always curls up on your lap."

I was nonplussed.  Rick just nodded at me, grinning.  I 
thought about it as I brought out the snacks and drinks, 
and didn't talk much at all that night.  Dani hugged me 
when she showed up - another thing I hadn't noticed - and 
no one took the recliner, even though I contrived to remain 
standing.  Danielle was waiting too...

Convinced, I sat back in dad's recliner.  My apparent 
girlfriend settled herself on top of me just how Rick 
described, and I noticed a couple of the kids look 
knowingly at us.

I did nothing more than think about this for something more 
than a week.  Well, "worry" would be a better word to 
describe it; "stew in my own juices" would be a nice 
descriptive phrase, even.  When Dani met me after classes 
one day to walk back to her place for our study session, 
she had an odd look on her face.  We went to her locker and 
walked out of the school.

We made it five of the six blocks to her parents' house.  
The small talk had run out, and Dani tilted her head and 
said, "I filled out my chemistry notebook today."

"Mm-hmm?"

"When I was writing on the cover of my new one, I did 
something rather strange."

Being the typical guy, I just looked at her with vague 
interest.

"For 'Name:' I accidentally wrote 'Danielle Burke.'"

You couldn't hear a shuttle launch for the pounding of my 
heart.  I swallowed, and tried to keep calm.  "You don't 
say?"

"That got me thinking...about us."

"And?"  Teenagers can be some of the most evasive speakers 
when trying to find out how someone feels about them 
without reciprocating - we should recruit our negotiators 
and diplomats from them!

"Well...we've been spending a lot of time together..."

"Yeah; this play and stuff."  I was only listening with 
half an ear - I could see that we were stuck: neither of us 
could say one way or the other how they felt for fear of 
one of us being hurt and the other feeling sorry if the 
feelings weren't mutual.  My brain raced for some way of 
giving us an 'out' - this 'wait and see' deadlock wasn't 
much fun either.

"And, well..." Dani was stumbling over her words; she was 
just as uncertain as I was - hopefully for the same reason.

And it came to me:  "And if you don't feel for me as much 
as I feel for you, it's okay - I won't be hurt."  THERE; 
managed to tell her how I felt *and* relieved her of any 
guilt if she didn't...

I finally got up the courage to look at her, and realized 
she'd stopped several paces back, with a look of awe and 
pleasant surprise on her face.  I stepped over to her as 
she said, "No, no...don't worry about THAT, Al.  I was just 
worried-" 

I hugged her to me, greatly relieved.  "Oh, Dani, it's such 
a load off my chest to know that you..." We still couldn't 
put a name on it.

"What do you mean?"  She squirmed in my embrace to look me 
in the eye.  "How long have you known that you - I - we?"

"Only a couple of days, but yeah, I knew.  Rick wouldn't 
sit in 'our chair.'"  Her expression must have been just 
like mine when I was confronted with this evidence.  "You 
know, whenever a bunch of us get together informally, you 
always curl up on my lap?"

I could see why Rick smiled like he did - it is a nice 
thing to watch someone slowly realize they had fallen in 
love.  She hugged me and looked up into my face.  I pulled 
her up and stooped slightly.  And we kissed for the first 
time.

It was soft, gentle and caring.  Our lips brushed 
tentatively, and pressed slowly together.  Our eyes were 
closed.  We didn't do anything wild - we just shared 
contact with one another.  For quite a while.

Eventually she slipped in my arms, and Mother Nature 
reminded us to breathe.  I let her down, and we walked on 
to the Green residence, holding hands.  "So now what?" I 
asked.

"What do you want to do?  Date?  Keep it like we have with 
studying and rehearsing together?  To be honest, I hope we 
don't break up - the drama crowd are technically your 
friends, but I like them a lot!"  

I smiled at that. "Don't worry, honey.  I'm looking forward 
to marrying you."  That made her jaw drop.  "Just remember: 
I'm taking your name - I've always wanted to be 'Al 
Green!'"

We laughed, and made our way on to her family's residence, 
holding hands.

           *           *           *           *

Apparently *everyone* knew for at least a couple of weeks; 
Mr. Wheatley just made the comment "Good for you two, just 
try to keep it out of your performances; Shakespeare's hard 
enough to follow without the added confusion of two 
supposedly male characters looking longingly at each 
other!"

Things were actually a little more relaxed - Dani's acting 
was as good as anyone's, and her enthusiasm rubbed off on 
everyone else; as the night of the play approached, we were 
feeling less nervous, not more.

Our feelings were justified - the play went off without a 
hitch.  Well, okay - 'Lysander' nudged a tree during one of 
his entrances, and someone paused a few seconds before an 
important speech because he was busy staring at Puck. (I 
plead guilty as charged, your honor!)  But no one seemed to 
notice, even when we all talked at the cast party, so I 
didn't worry.

We were at Mr. Wheatley's place - his wife was plying us 
with an amazing assortment of food, and most of our parents 
were present, too.  Even so, there were plenty of good 
feelings at a job well done.  After a while, Dani cornered 
me coming out of the bathroom.  She still had a little 
green makeup on her cheeks, and the effect combined with 
her jubilant mood was almost as impish as the full costume.

"I want to talk with you, Lord Oberon."  She grabbed me by 
the shirttails and led me to a quiet stairway.  We sat on 
the steps and kissed.  "Al, we've been going together for 
more than a month now, and...well..."  Uh-oh.

I tensed my shoulders and got it out.  "And now that the 
play's over, and our big reason to be together is gone, you 
want to see other people?"

"NO!  Oh, no."  She hugged me as I sagged in relief.  
"Never that, darling.  I...I *love* you."  I hugged her a 
little closer at that comment.  "And I know you love me.  
And...I was wondering...if you..." She began to founder 
some, nervous about this new topic of hers.  I wanted to 
help her, but I hadn't a clue where she was going.

"Well...I mean you haven't...though I don't think you don't 
want to...but maybe I'm not the..." She took a deep breath 
and set her shoulders.  

"MaybeI'mnotthesortofgirlyouwanttomakeloveto, THERE!  I 
said it!"

Forget a feather - an errant dust mote would have felled 
me!  My girlfriend, and my first real one - I'd had no more 
than two dates with the same girl before Dani, was 
confronting me about sex!  Damn, this was forward - or was 
it?  Was she being slutty or was I moving slowly?

I quickly pushed through this unsolvable conundrum, and 
reassured her, with my usual suave approach:  "No!  Oh, no 
Dani.  I like you - love you - and I think you're 
beautiful, cute, even...sexy."  I could have added that I 
jacked off in bed thinking about her almost every night, 
but I was at a loss how to tastefully convey this 
information.

"Then why...?"

Now it was my turn to begin a horde of sentences and finish 
none.  "I dunno...I didn't think...I mean, there's no 
timetable - is there?"

"Yes, but don't you want to?"

Hell, yes.  "Uh...well...yes, but...I didn't know how...I 
didn't think..." A thought poked its way into my mind.  
"Uh.  Do *you*...?"

She shrugged.  "Well, I...yeah, kinda."  KINDA?  She 
'kinda' wanted to have sex?  How do you 'kinda' have sex, 
and why was I nit-picking?!?

"Oh.  Okay.  I'm sorry, I didn't know you-"

"Well, I didn't really say anything."

"No, no.  That's right."

"Yes."

"Yes.  So."

"There we are then."

"Yes."  Man, we were terse!  We seemed so relieved at 
having worked out mutual consent to this act, I barely had 
the energy to *think* about actually doing it.

"So, shall we?"  She looked at me with a mix of nerves and 
expectation.

"What, NOW?  Here?"

She giggled for a moment, and that relaxed us both a 
little.  "No!  I meant we...go back to...my place..." Her 
halting invitation wasn't exactly Mae West, but she had me 
hooked.

Her house, with her parents there?  Then I remembered that 
the Greens were busy celebrating their wedding anniversary 
- they barely had time to congratulate their daughter 
before dashing off to a posh hotel for the weekend.  Dani's 
present for them was to clean the house top to bottom, and 
she'd wisely recruited some friends to help on Saturday - I 
was one of the helpers, of course.

"Yeah.  I guess."  We stood, and I remembered myself.  "Oh, 
what am I gonna say to my folks?  They're HERE, and 
expecting to drive me home after all this?"

She chewed her lip, and frowned for a moment.  "You could 
say you wanted to help me get started on cleaning up early.  
You'd sleep over?" She shrugged, and looked hopefully at 
me.

"Well, it's a little weak, but it sounds plausible.  Give 
me a few moments to run it past them."

"Good luck," Dani said and kissed me.

           *           *           *           *

My dad was easier to find - he was boomingly retelling one 
of his many golf stories.  I rescued the Wheatleys by 
asking to speak with him a moment.

"Yes, my boy?"  He had an arm around my shoulders.

"Uh, dad - you know how I'm going over to Dani's tomorrow 
to help her clean up for her folks?"

"Yeah."

"I..." C'mon, Albert - have some guts; this is for Dani as 
much as for you.  "I was wondering, maybe it'd be simpler 
if I just went with Dani to her place tonight and we got 
started early?"

"And then have us pick you up?"

"Oh, no - I'd sleep over."  I looked at him, and his eyes 
pierced right into my soul - he knew!  My face burned.

"Ah.  Get vacuuming nice and early."  I clenched my jaw as 
a rather nasty image slunk into my thoughts at that choice 
of words.  "A quick once-over to work things out.  Maybe 
get a plan together?"  He wasn't totally unmerciful, I 
guess.

"Yes!  That's it - we've got friends coming over Saturday, 
and we'll have to spend tonight working out who'll do 
what."  I saw the corner of his mouth creep up at my 
comment, and it invoked more improper thoughts.

"Okay, then.  Sounds like a good idea."

"Thanks, dad."

"Not at all, son - you're a big guy now; I can trust you."  
He winked, making me blush.

I started to walk back to the stairs and tell Dani, when he 
stopped me.  "Al - just thought of something; you're not 
going to clean in those clothes?"  I was wearing a new 
dress shirt and some nice slacks for the party.  My heart 
sank.

"Tell you what; I'll drop your mother, grab some sweats 
from your room, and then take the two of you to her place.  
Sound good?  You'll be able to get started on the cleaning 
tonight, if you want."  He even tapped the side of his 
nose, embarrassing me beyond death.

"Uh, okay...I guess."

"Right then, you go talk to Dani, and I'll bundle mom home.  
Give you time to make your good-byes and get one last round 
of applause for your performances!"  I thanked him, and 
went to the stairs. 

She was sitting where I left her, twisting her hands.  She 
looked up at me hopefully when I arrived.  "So?"

"All clear.  I think my dad suspects," I added wretchedly, 
"but he seems okay about it.  He'll give us a lift in a 
bit."

"Oh."  She seemed as uncertain about this turn of events as 
I was.  I sat next to her.  We hugged some more, leaning on 
each other for courage.

"Well, we'd better get up and mingle a bit before we leave 
- everyone will want to give you more kudos at your 
masterful performance."

"Stop!  You're making me blush - I wasn't that good."

I slipped behind her and wrapped her in my arms. "You were, 
hon.  Did you miss a line?  Were you nervous, or trying to 
force the performance?"

"Well, no."

"Did you have fun up there?  Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes.  I did - it was fun."

"That proves it; you had a great performance.  If you enjoy 
yourself in a 'fun' role like that, it gets across to the 
audience.  And I think the extra round of applause for you 
shows that, as well."

"I suppose, but I think it was the role - a fun one, like 
you said.  I've looked over your copy of *Macbeth* and I 
don't think I could play Lady Macbeth very well at all."

"Okay, no tragic roles or villainesses, then.  If there's a 
playful character that a young woman could play, though?"

"Alright, maybe in that case.  C'mon."  And we went to say 
our good-byes.

           *           *           *           *

It was stuffy as hell in the back of the car.  Maybe Dani 
had forgotten that my father knew what we were going to do 
- she squeezed my hand and smiled at me often enough - I 
certainly hadn't.  I could feel dad's knowing glance boring 
into me from through the mirror.  And he winked at me far 
too often for my own comfort.

It wasn't long before the ride was at an end, and we got 
out quickly, though not hastily.

"Thanks for the ride, Mr. Burke!"

"No problem, Danielle.  Good performance tonight, too!"  I 
wondered whether he meant the play, or...

"Al."

"Yeah, dad?"

"Don't forget your work clothes for tomorrow."  I let Dani 
go on ahead to unlock, and stepped up to the open car 
window.  After I took the bundle, my father checked to make 
sure my girlfriend wasn't looking, and pushed something 
into my hand.  A condom.

"Uh, I - dad...uh"

"Responsibilities too, son."  He reached out and put a hand 
on my shoulder.  "Albert, look at me.  There's nothing to 
be ashamed of here.  Danielle's pretty and friendly, and 
the two of you..." He shrugged.  "And you'll do fine.  I 
know you're nervous - we all are at the start.  Just 
remember that you're supposed to have fun."  He took a 
moment to frown at nothing in particular.  "You *do* know 
what to do?  I mean-"

"Oh yeah!  I - well..." I didn't know how to tell my father 
that I'd 'read up on the subject'...quite extensively, to 
be honest.

"Good.  Well, have fun - oh, and try to make sure she does, 
too.  Okay, Al?"

"'Kay, dad."

"Right.  Goodnight, Danielle!" he called as he waved and 
pulled away from the curb.  She was standing in the lit 
doorway, waiting for me.  I quickly stuffed the object in 
my hand into a pocket, and made my way up the walk to her.

She just hugged me, rested her head on my chest and sighed 
contentedly.  I stroked her hair with my free hand, then 
craned down to kiss her head.

"C'mon in, Al."

We walked to the stairs before I realized.  "Oh.  You mean 
now?"

"Don't you want to?"

It took a couple of seconds to get my voice to work.  
"Yeah.  Yeah, I do."  I nudged Dani over to the railing and 
gave her a serious kiss - open mouth and a fair bit of 
suction.  I dropped my clothes to support my body as we 
continued to kiss.  

We parted and I looked into her smiling face, her eyes 
aglow and her cheeks flushed yet still looking just a 
little green.  The moment overtook me, and I swept her up 
in my arms, one hand under her knees, the other behind her 
shoulders.  She squealed but linked her hands behind my 
neck.

I carefully got us up the stairs, and was stumped - I'd 
never seen her room; where did I go now?

Dani grinned at my indecision, and said "On the right, 
there."  I carried her to the door - thankfully left ajar - 
pushed it open with a knee, and entered my girlfriend's 
bedroom.  I immediately crossed to the bed and lay her on 
it gently, if head-to-toe.  Then I took a moment to examine 
the room.

'Fairly normal looking room,' I thought.  'No flood of pink 
frilly things, at least.'  The walls were white, and the 
furniture was 'natural wood.'  A poster of a rock star was 
on one wall - I made a note to find out if there were any 
gaps in her collection.  Some still-life prints that were 
probably here before the Greens moved in.  A chest of 
drawers with a bookshelf on top.  Desk with a computer, 
phone and some schoolbooks.  A vanity with a couple ribbons 
and medals hanging from the top of the mirror...and my 
freshman yearbook picture stuck to the side.

I turned, finding Dani lying on her belly looking at me.  I 
knelt before her, a big grin threatening to split my 
cheeks.  "It's nice."  I noticed something green peeking at 
me from behind her.  "What's that?"

"Huh?"  She rolled to look back.  "Oh.  That, er..." Even 
without seeing her face, I could tell she was blushing.  I 
quickly grabbed what turned out to be a largish alligator 
stuffed toy.  I felt something rough on its belly and 
turned it over to see.  

In large red letters, rough hand-stitches spelt out "AL".  
I looked at Dani questioningly, only to have her look 
bashful and shrug.  "I hug him to me when I feel lonely.  
I've had him since I was little, but he's only had name for 
a few weeks."

"That's sweet."  For some reason, I felt the need to fight 
back tears.  I decided to distract any witnesses, and 
kissed the only other person in the room.

"Ohhhhh, I love you."  She slid over to the wall, making 
room for me to lie alongside her.  I had to bend my legs 
back at the knees to fit on the bed.  She stroked my cheek 
and ran her hand up and down my arm.  "But now I've got 
something better to hug than a stuffed alligator."  And we 
cuddled for a while, her breath warming the hollow of my 
neck.

That embrace lasted for a while, neither of us particularly 
inclined to move.  I myself was in heaven; this sweet young 
woman in my arms, loving me and being loved.  Eventually, 
one of us remembered why we were there.

"Al?  You still awake?"  I felt the voice vibrating on my 
skin as much as heard it.  "Uh-huh."

"Are you *sure* want to do this?  I don't want to sound 
mean, but you seem a little hesitant."

"Um.  Well, sure - I'm a guy.  But if you're having second 
thoughts-"

She scooted back and propped her head on one arm.  "Oh, no.  
It's just...well, you're not raring to go or anything."

"Well, I figured to be nice for you - let you set the 
pace."

She grinned, and clapped her hands.  "Well, HELL - get 
those clothes off NOW, slave!"  We laughed and sat up.  She 
slid behind me, and began to unbutton my shirt.  

I never knew undressing could be so much fun!  Her hands 
ran over the new skin that each freed button revealed.  
Once it was unfastened, she eased my arms back, loosed my 
cuffs, and eased...no...slipped...no, MASSAGED the shirt 
off of me.  I was breathing a little heavy, but stopped 
suddenly when I felt Dani nibble at the back of my neck.

I spun around to help her with her clothes, but she stopped 
me.  "No, 'slave' - we finish you first.  Then you get to 
unwrap your present.  Now lie on the bed like a good little 
boy."

I did as requested, my feet dangling off the end.  This 
helped her get my feet unshod.  She slipped the loafers off 
with ease, and lifted each leg in turn as she pulled my 
socks down and off, kissing each foot's instep as it was 
exposed.  When she waved a hand in front of her face and 
made as if she was dizzy, I clapped a hand to my mouth and 
stifled my laughs.

Then she dropped her act and slunk up onto the bed, between 
my legs.  Her eyes were afire, her lips pulled into a 
wicked grin.  She dropped her face to my crotch - to my 
amazement - and then began chewing at my belt.  Stopping 
her futile effort, she shifted to rest her forearms on my 
hips and fiddled with the buckle, pulling the end loose.

With a length of leather in her hand, her eyes blazed 
differently for a second and then she licked at the end of 
my belt!  My jaw would have fallen off if it wasn't already 
pressed to my chest to look down at her.  She played with 
it a little more then pressed her face to my belly and 
burst into a fit of giggles.  

As she calmed down, she looked up and said "You should have 
seen yourself - you looked just like a deer caught in the 
headlights!"

My scrambled mind struggled for a witty comeback.  "What do 
you expect - my girlfriend is apparently more interested in 
my clothes than me!"  We laughed for a moment, and she 
resumed undressing me.

I obligingly lifted my hips to let her slide my pants down 
and off.  The bulge in my boxers was readily apparent.  She 
looked at it, then looked at me.  Her expression went from 
one of awe to one of concern, seeing my bashfulness.  "Al, 
don't be ashamed about it - it's perfectly natural...and a 
*little* necessary for what we're about to do!"  She 
managed to get a smirk out of me.

She placed her hand flat on my crotch, pressing lightly 
against my erection.  It bounced back when she took her 
hand away.  She worked her fingers under the sides of the 
waistband, and leaned back as if she was about to cut the 
red wire on a bomb.  I snorted, and nodded in reply to her 
inquiring glance.  When I lifted my hips, she whipped my 
underwear off.

We were both awestruck.  It sprang up, slapped against my 
stomach, then swayed slightly before coming to rest 
pointing straight up.  I could swear that it was just 
slightly longer than usual, but then this was the first 
time someone else had seen my erect cock...

"Well...I'd say he's ready," Dani announced in a slightly 
breathless tone.  She ran a hand up my length, gently 
squeezing below the head, feeling its hardness.  I moaned 
softly and bunched the blankets in my hands, restraining my 
urge to release.

At this, she blinked and looked up at me, smiling.  "Well, 
I guess it's your turn...or would you call it *my* turn?"

I smiled back, and pulled her up alongside me, planting 
another heavy kiss on her.  Sliding back to give her room 
to lie flat, I stroked her arms and back.  As she spread 
out on the bed, I propped myself above her, my knees 
between her legs, my hands beside her head.  I sat back on 
my feet, giving myself a chance to touch my sweetheart 
again.  

For a moment, I heard my father saying "have fun...and make 
sure she does, too."  Rather than frantically strip her, I 
took my time, massaging Dani wherever I exposed her body.  

I rubbed her belly, slipping my hands over and under the 
bottom of her sweater.  She bridged her back, allowing me 
to work the top up, exposing her abdomen.  This stretch of 
skin was stroked and kissed, making Dani close her eyes and 
smile contentedly.  My hands caressed higher and higher, 
pushing her sweater up a little more each time.  Soon my 
fingers felt different material - smoother but not as soft.

Oh, damn - the bra.  Lifting her sweater up more, I checked 
the strap between the cups - no, no front clasp; oh well.  
I slipped my hands under Dani's back and lifted her up to a 
sitting position, resting against my chest.  I felt her 
lips pucker against my breastbone.  

She raised her arms and I held the cuffs of her sweater, 
allowing her to pull out of the sleeves.  Then I placed her 
hands holding my back just below my shoulders and let her 
lean back, suspended above the bed.  I pulled the collar 
forward, lifted it clear of her face, and got the sweater 
over her head.  Kissing her forehead, I slipped the garment 
down her long russet tresses, taking the opportunity to 
stroke her hair as I did.

My hands came back down behind her and pulled her up to 
rest against me again.  I felt the delicate shell of one 
ear brush my nipple, and her soft breath move the air over 
my chest.  I reached to the center of her back, trying to 
visualize this problem.  'Hooks and elastic - that's the 
trick to it; release the tension from the elastic so I can 
unhook the hooks...now how do I do that to stretch two 
straps and disconnect them with only two hands?'

It turned out to be easier than I thought - my smaller 
fingers held each strap against the heels of my hands, 
while I had two thumbs and a few fingers to release the 
clasps.  As Dani began to speak, "Al, do you want me to-" 
we both felt the bra loosen around her chest.

She looked at me with pleased surprise.  "Oh.  I 
figured..."

I gave her a smug air of modesty and shrugged.  "They say 
boys are better at spatial-perception tests.  Here's some 
proof."  I kissed her as we lay down again.  She raised her 
arms and I slipped the bra up and off of her body.  And I 
beheld her breasts.

Perfect.  About the size of grapefruit halves, pert and 
firm, they stood as straight as my erection.  Each milky 
white mound was topped with a 'little pink sombrero' - her 
nipples were just smaller than my pinky fingertips and 
surrounded by circles of pink flesh about as big across as 
golf balls.  

I looked at them intently; grazing my fingers over the 
sides, breathing on them and watching the nipples stiffen a 
little, stroking the edges of the pink and feeling the 
wrinkled flesh.

"Al?  Are you okay?"

"Hmmm?"  I looked up, and Dani had a curious expression.  
"Have...Al, have you been with a woman before?"

"Uh, well...why do you ask?"

"I can see my clock from here, and you've been looking at 
my breasts for nine minutes."  

I blushed.  "Well, yeah.  I'm a virgin."  It hurt a little 
to admit this, but it also felt better to get it off my 
chest.

"Okay, then."  She acted as if it was nothing important.  
"I'll just have to be open about what I want, will I?"

Her brusque manner threw me into a tailspin.  "So...you're 
not...you've..."

She smiled and stroked my cheek.  "Just twice, Al, and it 
was the same guy.  This summer at camp - he and I met at a 
dance and we snuck out into the woods before the dance was 
over.  His camp was just across the lake from ours, and we 
met again after lights out."

"So you're a real veteran at this?"

I made her laugh, relaxing us both.  "Hardly!  You don't 
have to worry about taking my cherry, at least.  I've 
actually done IT, but apart from that we didn't do much 
more than neck - didn't have a lot of time."

I sat back on my feet again, surprised at our openness.  
"Well, I guess I'd better finish getting you undressed?"

"It *would* be nice."  I bent down and kissed her belly, 
making her giggle.  

Her skirt was quickly unfastened and worked off of her 
body.  Somewhere between the front door and the bedroom, 
Dani had slipped off her shoes, so I merely had to remove 
her underwear.  Yep.  Any second now.  I'd ease these white 
cotton panties down and...

Dani cleared her throat.

Snapped back to reality, I took a second to collect myself 
then started stroking her legs.  I lifted one knee under my 
bent arm and massaged the firm muscles in her thigh.  My 
charge sighed deeply and let her head loll back on the 
pillow.

I moved my hands in circles, creeping ever closer to the 
junction of her legs.  As my fingertips reached the hem of 
her panties, I shifted my attentions to the waistband; I 
stroked a finger under the elastic, smoothing the creased 
skin.

I used the same tactic on her panties as I'd used on her 
sweater - deceptively pleasant infiltration.  Soon I had 
them slid down about an inch and was rubbing the flesh just 
above...

A giggle warned me that the taut skin over her hips was 
ticklish, and I mumbled an apology.  I nudged her panties 
down a little more, and she lifted her butt to allow me to 
take them off completely.

As I moved her underwear down her legs, my face had to fall 
forward near...it.  I first noticed a faint musky smell, 
presumably 'the evidence of her excitement' that I'd read 
about in those magazines I secreted in my room. Then I 
looked upon her.

Her hair was short and sparse there, a little lighter than 
the deep auburn of her head.  Combined with her skin tone, 
it made her mound look pink.  I leaned down and gave her a 
kiss at the top of her patch of hair.  Dani moaned and 
shifted her legs.

I paused to get her panties clear, then returned my 
attentions to her nether regions.  I was kneeling at the 
foot of the bed, leaning forward so my head and chest was 
between her legs.  I stroked her pubic hair, feeling the 
soft yet sharp hair.  A thought occurred to me.  "Did you 
trim this recently?"

"Uh-huh."

"For me?"

"Yes."  I looked up at Dani's face.  She was smiling, her 
face flushed.  I couldn't resist; I climbed onto the bed 
and kissed her.

"Thank you."  I hugged her to me, squeezing her just enough 
to let my affection and gratitude be known.  She pushed 
slightly, and we rolled until I was propped against the 
wall, almost lying on my back with Dani almost on her belly 
and sort of half-lying on me.  It was nice.

I felt her sigh and she said "This...I like just being with 
you...maybe we don't actually have to do it."

"Okay by me - like you said, this is wonderful just like 
this.  Maybe we should *really* 'sleep together' first?"

I felt the lips on my collarbone purse into a smile.  "No, 
we should get this *chore* out of the way - you've never 
done it."  Dani raised herself to look me in the eye and 
licked her lips.  "And I've never deflowered a guy before."

I got up; both to give her room to spread out and to go 
retrieve that condom dad had given me.  As I bent over to 
rifle through my pants, I felt a foot stroke my rear end.

I returned with the foil wrapper in my hand.  "Oh.  Just 
one?" she said in a mock-innocent tone.  

I frowned for a second and wondered about the logistics.  
"Ah.  I guess dad didn't want us to have TOO much fun?"  We 
actually laughed, and I didn't feel nearly as embarrassed 
as I thought I would.

I sat down, my erection poking up from my lap.  I fumbled 
with the wrapped condom for a second, then grabbed a corner 
and tore open the packet.

The latex slipped around in my hand a little, and I looked 
at it for a moment before getting to work.  I eased it over 
my head, and began to fiddle with the rolled section of 
prophylactic.  It was sticky, though, and I fought a little 
to get it to unroll-

And I tore it.  I felt the rubber on one side of 
the...rubber, part and my heart sank.  I hoped against 
hope, but looking at it confirmed my fears - there was a 
clean rip about an inch long in one side of the condom.  My 
shoulders hunched defeatedly and I felt wretched.

Dani must have been wondering what was taking me so long; 
she sat up and asked "What is it, lover?  Oh, you 
didn't...uh, get off already?"

"No, but it's just as bad."  I slipped the condom off of my 
prick, held it up for her to see, and pushed a finger 
through the new hole in it.  "I'm sorry, Dani - I didn't 
know how fragile these things are - I didn't mean to screw 
this up - I'm sorry!"

She shifted over and hugged me around the waist, resting 
her head against my side.  "Al!  It's okay, all right?  
Don't worry about it!  Come on, honey, give me a smile."

"But I only had-"

"Albert Burke; who's been tutoring YOU for biology?"

I turned and looked at her.  "You."

She gave me a confident yet sympathetic smile.  "And do you 
think I'd let the matter of birth control rest with a guy 
who *still* can't tell the difference between cellular 
mitosis and meiosis?"  She got up, and I watched this naked 
girl walk proudly over to her desk, open a drawer, and pick 
up a box of condoms.  "Now you'd better appreciate this - 
the money was no concern but it was embarrassing as hell to 
face the checkout lady; she gave me some really harsh 
stares!  But I figured we might need several - I...well, 
Jeff - the guy from camp - always took care of that, and it 
was dark."

I was almost in tears at first shame from my own 
ineptitude, and then gratitude and relief that my 
girlfriend was as thoughtful and resourceful as she was.  I 
got up and gave her a bearhug of thanks.

"You're welcome, lover.  And don't feel bad; there's only 
five left in here - I was curious, and opened one to find 
out.  I did just the same thing - hell, I nearly split the 
thing in half!"

"Thank you, darling.  You're so...thoughtful and well-
prepared."

"Yeah, I *was* a girl scout, too.  Oh!  I still have the 
uniform, and probably fit in it!  Maybe later, 'Mr. 
Camper?'"  We laughed and sat on the bed.

This time Danielle tried encasing my erect cock in rubber.  
She didn't damage the thing (or MY thing, thank god), but 
her hands were just so stimulating...I gasped and shot off 
before she got the condom halfway down my shaft.  She 
started and took her hands away, surprised at this turn of 
events.  The tip filled with white fluid, and then my cum 
started slipping down the sides to ooze out from under the 
rubber - at least it didn't come off.

I was feeling bad again, but at least I had the afterglow 
of an orgasm to mitigate my shame.  "Sorry, I just...your 
hands are really...well, sorry."

Dani was awestruck.  I worried for a second and then 
realized this was the first time she'd ever seen a guy 
come.  She collected her thoughts, and looked at me with a 
lopsided smile.  "I guess I should be complimented - I'm 
that much of a turn-on for you?"

"Obviously.  And they always say we young studs can 'bounce 
back' quickly, so maybe it's not such a problem?"  I leaned 
over and we kissed.  I stopped when I felt something wet in 
my crotch hair.  "Uh...could you get a rag, or an old towel 
or something?"  Dani frowned for a moment then her eyes 
opened wide and she looked down at my groin.  "Be right 
back!" she called and dashed out of the room.  

She was right back, with a small torn swatch of what 
appeared to be flower-patterned linen.  "Mom's rag bag - 
old sheets, worn-out clothes, towels and all that get cut 
up into rags; clean yourself up with this and we can throw 
it away afterwards - she's got plenty."  I removed the 
condom and dried myself off, surprised at my wish to thank 
Mrs. Green for HER resourcefulness.

We got back in bed, pulling the quilt over our naked bodies 
- Dani was beginning to shiver a little.  We cuddled 
together and shifted to a spoon position, my arms coming 
forward to embrace her, my hands resting on her belly.

"Mmmm...if this feels so nice, I wonder if I could bear 
actually making love to you."  I was endlessly flattered by 
her compliment, but I agreed - Dani felt so nice in my 
arms, pressed to my body, I almost didn't want to stop to 
do anything else.

Well, I did say almost.  I stroked one hand up over her 
chest to cup a breast, while the fingertips of my other 
hand grazed the top of her nether patch of hair.  "Oh, 
what're you doing, love?"

"My duty - you got me off, so I'm repaying the favor."  I 
kissed the top of her head as I massaged that breast.  

She moaned slightly, then said "I thought you never-"

"I have...well, I've read up on this in great detail, and 
been dying for the chance to put all this theory into 
practice."

"Oh.  Ohhhh, well.  Since I've been tutoring you with other 
things, I guess...you can go right ahead and try some 
things out."  Dani sighed and made some pleasurable noises 
as I fondled her breast, and crept my other hand between 
her legs.

I put my lips to her ear, and asked her in a heavy, panting 
voice.  "Dani, darling.  You've played with yourself 
before, haven't you?"  She whimpered and nodded.  "Good.  
Well, I might need you to tell me what you prefer - in my 
studies I've come across some vastly different techniques.  
I can only imagine that different women respond to 
different things.  You *do* want me to do all I can for 
you, don't you?"  Another emotional nod.  "Good, I love you 
so much, and I want you to be happy, sweet."

I began, moving both hands up to play with her tits.  "Do 
you fondle your breasts, Dani?  Do you want me to feel 
them, stroke them, pinch the nipples, hon?"  Her reply was 
definitely affirmative, though somewhat indistinct.

I was complimented by finding her nipples were large and 
erect, almost as hard as little fingertips pushing back 
against my hands.  I squeezed each briefly but sharply, 
making her yelp.  Then I became gentle, grazing my fingers 
over her mounds, tracing their edges, shaping their curves, 
and teasing those swollen tips.  I spread my hands to 
encompass Dani's breasts, pressing my fingers into her soft 
yet firm flesh.  She moaned and ground her ass into my 
groin, provoking a response in my body.

I shifted my attention, easing one hand down to her hip.  
"So, is your pussy nice and wet now - did playing with your 
tits make you hot?"  

"Mmmm, yes.  Put your hand down there and see for 
yourself."  I felt her legs part, inviting my 
investigations.

"Oh, honey - do you want me to play with your pretty little 
pussy now?  To slide my fingers into you, and diddle your 
hot clit and bring you off?  I want to make it up to you 
for jumping the gun earlier."

"Ohhhh, Alll - you don't have to...it's-OH!"  I pinched her 
nipple there, sorry. 

"But I want to make you cum - I want to watch you while you 
writhe in ecstasy, and do so before I get distracted by my 
pleasure when we FUCK."  I emphasized that last word, 
tweaking a nipple and sliding my other hand between Dani's 
legs to feel her heat.  She reacted as I expected, groaning 
at my indulgence.  "Oh.  Ohhhh, all right - if you 
*insist*..."

My hand cupped her sex, and she ground herself against my 
palm.  I obliged her, squeezing and shifting my grasp to 
work the flesh I held.  I eased my middle finger in to 
stroke her slit.  It was hot, and wet, and slippery.  I 
moved my finger up and down over her lips, making her moan 
some more.  "S'nice...oh, Al.  I...thank you...."

I explored her pussy for a while more - she enjoyed feeling 
a finger or two push into her - but soon she seemed to 
'come down,' and asked "Al, could you play 
with...my...uh..."

"Clit?  Your love button?  Your man-in-the-boat?  Your 
third nipple?  Your center of womanhood?"

"Drama geeks - you HAVE read a lot, haven't you?"

"An actor prepared for his part by committing the script to 
memory, darling."  I kissed her ear, and plunged my middle 
finger into her, working it around to coat it in her 
juices.  Then I brought my fingertip up the apex of her 
vagina, feeling the little bump of clitoris and hood.  I 
stroked my finger up and down over this promontory - Dani 
moaned.

"That's good - keep doing that for a bit."

I stifled the urge to compare her to a director, and 
continued rubbing my lovely girl.  She began to squirm in 
my arms, but my worries of doing something wrong were 
quelled when she began chanting 'yes' under her breath.  I 
didn't see it, but I could feel her clit swell under my 
finger, pushing out of the hood.  I'd read about this 
enough, but was still impressed - both with the amazing 
situation (I was getting a girl off!) and that I could 
visualize what was happening to her so clearly.

Dani grabbed my hand, pulled it to her mouth and sucked on 
my finger, wetting it thoroughly.  She then returned her 
stimulator to her groin and moved my finger roughly over 
her pearl in a quick circular motion.  After a second or 
two I was able to make the movement on my own.  She reached 
up and played with her breasts while I diddled her.

Then she began to shake, gasping "Yes, oh Al - don't stop, 
keep-oh-oh-PLEEEEASE!"  And then the breath caught in her 
throat as she began to orgasm.  I was hard-pressed to keep 
rubbing her as she writhed about; I ended up holding her 
around the waist with my free arm, but I kept up the 
stimulation for as long as she could bear it.

As she came down from her climax, I eased my motions, 
finishing with my hand cupping her sex and holding her 
close to me.  I got worried when Dani's breath came in 
gasps, and she began to sob.

Turning in my embrace, she hugged me close and began to 
kiss me all over my face.  Her eyes glistened and her 
cheeks were wet as she looked at me and conveyed thanks 
more clearly than any words could.  I pulled her back to my 
chest and let her calm down, safe in my arms.

When she recovered, she spoke:  "Thank you, Al.  When 
I...do myself, I can't concentrate when I start to..."

"Come."

She shyly nodded.  "Yeah.  I can't keep...diddling myself.  
It was so much better...thank you."  She kissed me again.

"It's nothing - you only have to ask.  To know it makes you 
feel so good, I'm only too happy to help you."

We hugged for a while, enjoying each other's closeness.  
Then Dani giggled.  "I think he enjoyed it, too," and 
shifted her hips slightly to let my hard-on fit between her 
legs more comfortably.  She eased back to look me in the 
eye.  "Shall we?"

"Not the most elaborate of come-ons, but it's more than 
sufficient!"  I grabbed the box of condoms, opened one and 
slid it onto my erection.  I managed it with ease, and 
began to wonder how old the one was that dad gave me...

I turned to her, and found her lying back with her legs 
spread, her hands folded on her chest, thumbs twiddling as 
if she was bored waiting.  I laughed, and she smiled and 
reached out to invite me into her embrace.  I climbed atop 
her and shifted around to place my manhood at her entrance.

She grasped my encased member and moved him slightly.  I 
felt her other hand on my backside and I eased forward and 
began to enter my darling girlfriend.  

Our eyes locked.  Dani looked at me, her eyelids heavy with 
emotion.  She smiled at me and mouthed 'thank you' to me.  
Then we both got an impulse at the same time and both tried 
to look down at our groins, bumping heads.

That caused more laughter than pain, and I stammered out 
"Ladies first."  I watched her watching my cock sink into 
her pussy, her face a mixture of curiosity, pleasure, and 
wonder.  I slowly eased myself into her all the while.

When my dick was fully inside her pussy, Dani looked back 
up me, beaming with happiness, fulfillment, and probably 
joy at making me feel so good.

I looked down and watched my cock ease out of her; it was 
weird, as if it wasn't us I was watching - the feelings 
meshed with what I saw, but there was this sense 
of...unreality.  I shrugged and looked back to my girl's 
face as I filled her again.  She liked it.

I sank down to kiss her, and she devoured my mouth, sucking 
against my lips and tongue, flailing it with her tongue.  
We french-kissed as I began to build up a rhythm, sliding 
in and out more quickly and with more regularity. 

Our kiss stopped as she needed to breathe.  I shifted to 
kiss her ear and whisper my thanks to her.  She began to 
push against me as I fucked her, but the counterpoint made 
me pull out too far.  "Oops, sorry," I apologized, and 
fumbled to get my erection back into her.

She smiled at me when I resumed my motions, and stretched 
up to kiss me.  We smiled at one another while we moved 
against each other, and then I thought of something.  "Um, 
maybe this'll help - put your legs around me."  I shifted 
to get a hand free to show her what I meant.  Soon I was 
wrapped in the firm muscles of her runner's legs, keeping 
me from pulling too far back. 

We began to fuck in earnest, grinding against each other, 
panting at our exertion.  Dani brought her hands up to play 
with her nipples, and I got to thinking.  I eased my stroke 
slightly, leaned to one side, brought my now-free hand 
between our bodies and rubbed a finger over the wetness 
mingling at our crotches.  When it was ready, I began to 
tease Dani's clit, making her moan.  

"Ohhhhh, what're you....oh-ohhhh, what-"

"I want to feel you come with me inside you, honey.  Go 
ahead and come for me."  I'd all but stopped fucking, just 
easing my cock back and forth slightly.  She closed her 
eyes, concentrating on her erogenous zones.  I kept up that 
circular 'polishing' motion on her nubbin, pushing her 
further and further.

My efforts were rewarded - Danielle came with even more 
fervor than the last time.  As she began, I pushed into her 
as deeply as I could while still rubbing her clit; maybe 
that helped.  She made one long keening cry, pounded the 
bed with her arms, squeezed me in her legs' embrace.  And 
milked my cock with other muscles.  The sensation was 
amazing and overwhelming, even though I wasn't moving I 
came along with her.

When we calmed down, I sank down on top of her and rolled 
us to lie on our sides, my back pressed against the cold 
wall.  

Before long, Dani recovered her breath and frowned at me.  
"Al, when I was...did you...get...well, *thicker*?"

I shrugged.  "I don't know - when you came, it made me cum 
as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah - your...you were clenching me, and it...just...felt 
so good..." I shrugged again.

She smiled at me.  "We came together.  Thank you."  I 
kissed her, saying it was nothing - she deserved much more 
than I could ever give.

We snuggled together, and I felt my cock twitch - I was 
still inside her!  And I was getting hard!  With more 
severity, I also remembered I was wearing a used condom 
inside my girlfriend.

I eased out of her, holding the base of the condom.  She 
moaned slightly when I tried getting up, and I had to 
remind her of our present situation for her to let me go.

I sat up, grabbing the rag I'd used before.  I slipped the 
rubber off and dried my crotch.  When done, I placed the 
condom in a fold with its soiled mate, and wrapped them in 
the rag.  My 'after-sex ablutions' were cut short when I 
heard Dani groan behind me.  "What is it, honey?"

"I gotta go!"

I frowned.  "But this is your house - oh, *GO*!  Well?"

She sounded so pitiful, when she replied "But I can't get 
up!"

I snickered.  "Don't laugh, buddy - SOMEBODY fucked me so 
bad my arms and legs won't work!  I said stop it - I'm not 
joking around here!"

I turned to look at her - she was serious.  Dani was lying 
on her side, arms and legs moving, but without any apparent 
strength - every time she tried to push herself up to a 
sitting position, her arms gave out on her.  "No offense, 
Al - but ease up next time!  I loved every second, but this 
isn't much fun."

"Then I'd better help - I caused this problem."  I stood 
and nearly collapsed.  Apparently my legs were just as 
weak.  "Ohshit."  I walked around a bit to get the 
circulation going again, holding on to furniture.

I heard her giggling back at the bed.  "Oh, stop!  Please, 
don't make me laugh - I'll lose my..."

"What's so funny?"  I stood in the doorway, leaning against 
the frame, shaking first one leg, then the other.

"YOU!  Fumbling around like a newborn colt - you looked 
just like Bambi! Oh god, oh god, I haven't wet my bed since 
I was six!  Oh, HELP!"

I rushed over and bundled her into my arms, and ferried her 
to the bathroom - I had to open two doors to find it.  When 
I sat her on the toilet, she sagged and let her bladder go, 
head dropping to rest on my shoulder.  "Ohhhhhhh, god.  
Thank you."

"Don't thank me - I wasn't much help; almost didn't get you 
here in time."

She looked me in the eye.  "Thank you for everything, Al - 
it was wonderful.  All of it - even these little problems 
were more than worth it.  I love you."   

I stammered an "I love you, too" in reply, kissed her and 
hugged her close.

Dani then made a wise insight.  "Next time we have to 
remember to go before we start."  We laughed at that and 
kissed.

Fin

=============

Author's Postscript: GODSDAMMIT![1]  How does this happen?  
I'd planned a nice short anecdote that ACTUALLY HAD 
SOMETHING TO DO WITH THE TITLE, but my attention to detail 
and character depth took a brief comment "we met in high 
school" and ran with it.  As a result, this has now become 
almost a story in itself, and I've fleshed this 'flashback' 
to the stage that they've had sex!  I guess the original 
story will have to wait until part two. <sigh> At least 
Erato got her say as well as Melpomene... </foreshadowing>

Note: 1. For when *just* the Christian God's wrath isn't 
enough.:)

