Chapter 3

Inside the house, she shouted, "Teresa, it's me with a guest."

I heard an answer. "Okay, Cents."

"Have a seat, Abe. I want to change clothes. Give me a minute." She went down a hall. I heard her say, "He's in the living room. I'm changing."

It was more than a minute but not by much. She came back to the living room wearing a pair of pants that were tight without being tight. I don't know how to explain women's clothing. I just know that when she moved everything tightened up including my throat. On top, she wore a simple button-up blouse. All in all, she looked very nice and very sexy at the same time. With her was another young woman about our age. I stood.

"Abe, this is my roommate, Teresa Klinger, and don't say it."

I just said, "Teresa, it's good to meet you. I'm Abe Easton. I work with your roommate."

Teresa is attractive. She is shorter and curvier than Cents. She was wearing a nice waitress look.

"It's good to meet you, Abe. I have to head out to work. See ya', Cents." She left and I heard her car crank and pull out.

I returned to the couch sitting on the middle cushion. Cents stalked toward me and straddled me. She said, "Now, I have you where I want you!" She leaned forward and kissed me hard. I tried to give as good as I got.

She said, "If Sarge is going to kid me as much as I know he is, I might as well be at least partially guilty." She kissed me again with even more emotion along with some grinding of pelvises. We were both breathing hard when she rolled off and sat beside me.

She caught her breath. "I really do want to talk to you. I've been hearing from Sarge all morning about you until you showed up. It seems you're quite a hero in his opinion. He says you retired with a medical disability. What is it?" She had nestled in at my side quite comfortably.

"My back was broken. I was told that I couldn't jump out of airplanes any more."

"Oh, Abe, I'm sorry."

"It's okay. No skydiving but I can do most anything else. I do need to sleep flat. Sleeping on an uneven surface isn't a good idea. That's about it.

"I now know I can bear the weight of a beautiful woman."

"Abraham!"

"Millicent!"

I leaned down and kissed her gently. "Dollars, what is our schedule for the remainder of the day?"

"Bible study starts at six and goes for an hour. I'll cook and feed you after that if you can survive that long. I will make enough for Teresa who gets in around nine or nine thirty. Usually, we share it over the week. I'm off Monday."

"Does that mean I can stay over?"

"Right here if you want."

"On the couch?"

"You won't sleep with me and I give you an even smaller chance with Teresa."

"I'm a very still sleeper. I won't bite."

"It's not your bite that concerns me."

"It would be fun to fight me off."

"Abraham," her eyes flashed. "Number one, I don't think I would win. I tried slapping you without success. Number two and more important, I'm not sure I would want to fight you off. At this moment, that really, really scares me."

"Millicent, I will never try anything after you say, "No." I will honor your wishes and respect you as a person."

"Those words sound good."

"They are true. You went home last night."

"Abraham Easton, I trust you. I don't trust me. That's the problem." She sighed. Then, she gave herself a shake. "You can sit on the sofa or sit at the kitchen table while I start my meal preparations."

"Let's see. If I sit in here, the sofa sits pretty well. However, in the kitchen, I will be able to watch you, talk with you, and touch you as you work." I paused. "The kitchen, of course."

"Good choice."

She took my hand and led me into the kitchen. I sat at the table. She said, "Can you peel potatoes?"

I intoned. "All Marines learn how to peel potatoes. It's a time honored tradition in the Corps." She laughed and handed me six nice ones with a knife and a bowl and a paper towel.

"We're having stew in my slow cooker. We make good sized batches of meals to last us. Teresa is a late starting student. She is finishing her third year now. I have my associate's degree and am considering going for a bachelor's at some point."

I started on the potatoes. She pulled a number of items from the refrigerator and started loading a slow cooker. We were quite domestic. To myself, I admitted that I enjoyed this time as much as the hot time we had spent making out earlier.

"Dollars, I have Monday off, too. I would like to spend it with you." She looked over and smiled. She has a beautiful smile.

I finished peeling potatoes and diced them into the bowl. I put them on the counter and washed my hands. She added them to the pot. A few moments later, she put the lid on and then washed her hands. She sat down at the table with me.

I said, "Dollars, I want to be serious for a moment. I think we like each other. Please tell me your limits. I will honor them even if you, as you said, don't want to. I want you to be able to trust me completely." Tears came to her eyes.

She reached for my hand and held it tightly. "Abraham, I was raised to be a virgin bride. I want to hold to that. You are only the second man I have kissed like that. I left the other guy and situation because he wanted more than I would give. You are a very attractive man. It would be easy to care about you. That's why I said, "I don't trust myself. However, I don't want to run.

"My limits are this. Keep your hands above my waist and below my thighs. No intercourse." She was blushing. "That doesn't mean that you should go as far as you can but, eventually, that is the brick wall." She held on to my hand like she was afraid that I would bolt.

"Dollars, no, Millicent, I will honor those limits under all conditions. I will not violate them nor allow you to violate them with me either. However, that doesn't mean I won't tease you and bring you to those limits when I think it's appropriate. I have to admit that I would like to sleep with you even innocently. But that is my pledge." I sat back but didn't pull my hand away. I gave hers a gentle squeeze.

I smiled. "I won't sleep on your couch. It would take a crane to get me up in the morning. If you stay at my place, I have two extra bedrooms available as well as a couch. My bed is also available though you'll have to share it with Ben and me." I grinned. "You could cuddle in between us."

She said, "You aren't leaving?"

"I don't think anything I said suggested that."

"But."

"No, buts. However, yours is very nice even in your uniform."

She managed to smile. She took a napkin and dabbed her eyes carefully in the way women do. She didn't wear much makeup even last night. In my mind, she didn't need it. I knew that women disagreed. Either she really didn't use much or was very good at applying it.