Chapter 7

Ed's turn:

Dana left my apartment in a very happy mood. Me? I worry. Too many scenarios. I read the paper, you know, where the little article says "Jimmy Jones was convicted of carnal knowledge of a juvenile. He is sentenced to five years in the state prison."

Yeah. That.

What have I done? Simple. I met Dana. I learned all too quickly that Dana filled a hole in my being. I fell in love with Dana. If I'd – make that 'we'd' – stopped there, we would just be that odd couple, an older guy with a young friend.

We both sort of lost our heads. Twice, so far. In my defense, I have stopped short of actual intercourse, but I'm thinking that the judge wouldn't cut me much slack for that little fact.

Dammit! It didn't FEEL like a crime. The lanky little blonde thing was firmly implanted in my heart. I could talk with her and walk with her and read with her and live with her and that's all good. But hold her and love her and share the wonderful physical feelings...

I closed my eyes to go to sleep, kept seeing those grey eyes, that cool smile,, the freckles, the upturned nose, the way her hair framed her face when she was reading, not knowing that I was looking. I'm lying in my bed, all these thoughts in my head, swirling and <BINK!!>

Incoming text message. Dana, naturally. "Good night, my Ed. I love you."

I smiled. She loves me. Somehow the rest of the crap just recedes into the distance.

We don't see each other on normal mornings. I go to work, print out my task list for the day, and get into it. I have the normal interactions with others in my office as well as the people out in the facility who serve as my customers. I keep busy. New software pushed out by the corporation makes a lot of computers look like they're screwing up, and I run around assuaging fears and making good money by following the instructions available if only people would use the 'help' menu.

Finally I escaped and headed home. I pulled up into my parking slot and headed to the door. The norm for the last few weeks is that Dana's out of her gramma's door before I get to mine, one reason why Mizz Lee keeps telling me, "Edward, you can send her home, you know."

Today. No Dana.

I gave her adequate time to pop out. No Dana. I closed my door behind me.

<BINK!> Dana. "I'm 'sick'. Having bad period cramps. ;) Knock and ask about me."

Okay. I open the door, take the few steps across the alcove and knock. Mizz Lee answers.

"Hello, Edward."

"Hi, Mizz Lee. Dana was supposed to be working on her math with me today."

"Oh, I don't know if she's up to it. I had to get her from school today and take her to the doctor."

"Is she okay?" I am NOT an actor, so I just asked in a conversational tone.

"I think she will be. She's having young lady problems."

"Oh. Then she probably isn't up for dealing with me and her school work."

"Eddddd. Is that you?"

"Yes, Dana. We can do that stuff when you're feeling better."

Mizz Lee turned as Dana came up the hall walking slowly. "Dana, should you be in bed?"

"I can't stay in bed, Gramma," Dana said. "I just as well go to Ed's. That math will take my mind off this."

"What about your dinner?"

"Ed? Do you have soup and a sandwich?"

"I can do that, Dana."

She turned to her grandmother. "Ed will take care of me. You can go visit your friends. I'll be taken care of."

"Do not exert yourself, Dana," Mizz Lee admonished.

"Yes, ma'am."

"I will not let her do her gymnastics routine, Mizz Lee."

Mizz Lee smiled. "Edward, if she needs me, you have my number."

"Yes ma'am," I said. "I'll take good care of her."

By this time Dana was standing beside me with her backpack.

This time when I closed the door I was assaulted.

Yes, I kissed back. "Your powers of recovery are amazing."

"I told you I was going to do this."

"Yes, you did. But still..."

She stopped my speech with her lips.

"Dana, you kiss good."

She smiled. "So do you. And I did that math stuff today. It wasn't that hard."

"I figured as much. My Dana's never going to need help with grade-level stuff."

"So push me, Ed," she said.

"I'm gonna push you into the kitchen to help me make dinner. You're gonna look like a grilled cheese sandwich."

"You have opened my eyes to the wonders of good cheese, Ed."

I had a question for which I wanted an answer, but I wasn't going to push it. We talked about the incident of having to wait for Mizz Lee to show up and retrieve Dana at school.

"She took me straight to the doctor when I told her what was going on."

"I'm surprised that they'd see you on short notice," I said.

"Gramma's doctor has been her doctor for decades. He was one of her students when she was a young teacher."

"Oh. That makes a difference, I guess."

"Everybody there knows her on sight. They took me right in. I told 'em I had cramps. They took blood and urine and examined me."

"And found nothing," I said.

She shook her head. I don't know if she knows what that honey-colored hair bouncing around her face does to me, so I'm assuming I am NOT being manipulated. "Nope. Everything tests okay. But they can't test for cramps. And those irregular periods make cramps much worse." She did know what a theatrical wink means. She smiled. "We dropped the prescription off on the way home."

"You're on the Pill."

"I will be in a couple of days. But I understand that they take a month to start working."

Grilled cheese and canned soup doesn't take long. We shared our meal and secured the kitchen.

"Our chair," she said.

Okay, in view of all the things we've done together, I don't get nervous with Dana plopped on top of me this time. I like holding her. She turns around a little so we can put something on TV. We're watching together, some inane movie, I'm idly stroking my index finger through her hair.

A commercial intruded. She twisted to kiss my cheek. I purred.

"Ed, suppose I don't want to wait a month..."

"Dana..."

"I love you, Ed."

"We don't have to do things to prove that we love each other."

"Not trying to prove anything. We just ARE. Ed 'n' Dana. Us."

"I like it being us, Dana."

She smiled. "We make the very best sort of 'us'. Don't you see how we are together? In the kitchen? We sort of work together there. Everywhere else, too. I like being with you."

"And you know how I feel, sweetie. I've never had anything in my life like you."

"Then it's just a normal progression for us to, you know ... make love."

"We're making love right now, little one."

"You know what I mean."

"I do. You're right. I do know. It's just that it's kind of scary. I thought I set limits."

"You know, so did I. I was lying in bed, thinking of where I'd go with Ed, and I decided that I wanted be give myself totally to you. If you wanted me..."

She rolled to face me, ignoring the TV. Now I can get two hands to touch her face. I trace her cheeks. She twists a bit to kiss my fingertips. "It's not one-sided, is it, Ed?"

"Is that a question or an observation?"

"You know what it is."

"You're an obtuse little thing."

"And I know what 'obtuse' means, so, okay, you love me as hard as I love you..."

I nuzzled her hair. "You have me, you know..."

"I know." She smiled. "So, condoms..."

"Huh?"

"You heard me. You got any?"

"Well, no..."

"Get some."

"D..."

"You're arguing again, Ed."

"It could hurt..."

She shook that head, caught the glint in my eye, shook it again experimentally, grinned. Now she knows for sure.

"Hymen gone, remember? I told you."

"You haven't had a man in you..."

"So technically I am a virgin. Might not be any blood, but I am a virgin."

"What do you know about blood?"

"Research..."

"I do NOT want to know what your computer's search history looks like."

"All since YOU gave me to computer. And seriously, who am I gonna ask? I can just see popping those questions on Gramma."

"I can see where that would be an interesting conversation starter."

She giggled. "Seriously, get some condoms, Ed."

"How many?"

"Couple of dozen, at least," she giggled.

"You like winning, don't you?"

This time she shook her head on purpose, then negated the headshake by saying, "Depends on what the prize is."

"You're way too easy to adore," I said.

"Thank you. You get adored too, you know." She rose up and moved to kiss me. "So then it's settled?"

"What's settled?"

"Stoppit! You know what I meant."

"I do."

"Weather's supposed to be nasty this weekend," she said. "Saturday might be that day that we make a REAL soup." A little peck of a kiss. "Which is a good thing. I may still be having a period. Or not."

"Period or no period, if it's raining, we're making soup. And we can watch some movies or listen to music..."

"You make my days good, Ed."

I caressed her, stroking my hands from her shoulders down her back to cup that taut teen ass.

She smiled. "I wondered if you were ever gonna touch me..."

"I'm not going to start groping you the minute you walk in the room, princess."

"Okay. Sometimes I like to be touched. You're the only one..."

"You know what you are to me, Dana."

"So show me."

I kissed her on the nose. "Impossibly cute." I nuzzled her hair, pushing it aside to get to her ear. "Wonderfully tasty."

She fastened her lips to mine. "God ... You get to me."

"I'm not supposed to be getting to you."

Giggle. "We already had this conversation, dear Ed. And I like you getting to me. I will remember this tonight when I shower."

"You don't..."

"I do. Think of YOU when I do it." Her brow wrinkled. "I'm a mess right now. But you, sir ... We could do something about you..."

"We don't have to..."

"Ed, you have a disturbing tendency to argue about stupid stuff. I proposed this. You didn't, like, unzip and take your winkie out..."

"Winkie? Where'd that come from?"

Giggle. "Don't interrupt. I'm on a roll here. You didn't walk up to me and push your winkie in my face. I proposed..."