Chapter 2

As they drove him to the hospital all Bass could think about was Sarah; his wife Sarah ... and his dad and his mom.

He remembered the first time he saw her, Sarah. She looked delicate, fragile even, like a porcelain doll. But thinking back, that had always been part of her attraction, at least to him it was. He thought for some guys when she was running around it might have been one of things that attracted a cruder sort, the sort that liked to hurt women, He guessed, he supposed, that’s how he came to meet her. Then again, running around, what did he know about her running around? That was something they’d never discussed.

He’d just completed two years at community college. For sure he wasn’t exactly every girl’s dreamboat; 5’9”, maybe 165 lbs., kind of slim, no face it, skinny. Never got in a fight at school, never was much with sports, and never dated much, but he hadn’t hid in the house playing computer or video games either. He always had some kind of job. He could ride, and he used to hunt. Heck, he still would except for Sarah, Emily-Marie and Emma-Jean, and now Elizabeth-Jane all being hyped up about Bambi and Thumper. Yeah, hunting and him more or less parted ways. Emily-Marie, Emma-Jean, and Elizabeth-Jane were their daughters. He was a good fisherman; he like gardening and he absolutely love dogs, especially labs.

Labs are a funny kind of dog. He thought the black ones were the best. Right now they, he had a yellow one; dumbest damn dog he’d ever had, lovable, loyal, great with the girls, but stupid, wouldn’t retrieve shit. He’d take her out and throw a stick. She’d run and get it, but if he said anything, anything like ‘good girl’, she’d just drop the stick and run to him.

Not so long ago they’d had a little mutt. His name was Toby. Poor thing had been a gift; never had a tail, turned out to be a spinal deformity and they had to put him down. He was buried in the back yard. The girls like the lab, but they remembered little Toby. Toby ... mom ... dad ... Sarah? Had he really seen... ? Why?

The ambulance hit a bump and jarred its riders. Bass thought, ‘Got to get a grip... ‘

Back to Sarah; when and how had he come across her? He’d just finished his two years at community college and was all set for the fire academy. He went to the fire academy first, then after a couple years moved on for training to become a paramedic. After more time in night school he’d taken the tests, Lawton had spoken for him and he’d been promoted to supervisor. That’s where things were now. Just eight years, not bad.

Now again: back to Sarah. He was at a tavern. It wasn’t very crowded. He was alone having a burger and a glass of nonalcoholic beer when these guys drifted in. He figured they must have been drinking because they were kind of loud. Sarah, he didn’t know her name yet, was sitting in a booth all alone eating what looked like a grilled cheese. These three guys saw her and sidled over to where she was sitting. They started to talk to her; he could tell she wasn’t interested. Then one of the guys, the smallest, grabbed her arm and started to pull her from her seat. He watched her wince and try to draw back.

Normally he’d never get into anything like that. She could have been the guy’s wife or sister. He didn’t know her name or anything, but she looked really unhappy, scared he thought, and so damned vulnerable, he called over, “Hey why don’t you leave her alone?” Boy was he ever stupid.

One of the guys; again it was the smallest shouted back, “You want to make us?”

Stupid him; he got up and walked over. When he got there the biggest grabbed his shirt and threw him against the wall. Then the big guy turned to the girl and said, “What do you say Sarah? Want me to beat the crap out of him?”

So there he was; pinioned against the wall like a damn gnat about to get the crap beaten out of him. He didn’t stand a chance. That’s when the girl, Sarah, she got up. She looped her arm around the little guy’s shoulder and said, “Come on. I’m up for it.” Then the three guys and this Sarah all left the tavern. She never even finished her sandwich, never even looked back. The big guy let me go, and the four of them left.

That’s when one of the waitresses came over and said, “You’re lucky. They could’ve torn you a new ass. She’s a worthless piece of shit anyway; not worth getting beat up over.”

He remembered breathing a sigh of relief.

~~v~~

“Ah me.”

That had been my first contact with the woman who would become my wife. The second time I saw her was the very next night. I was having another burger and a coke when in she walked. She saw me and walked right over to where I was. I’d been talking to the waitress from the night before; she’d been over because she said she didn’t have anything to do. She’d just left.

Well this Sarah sat down and said, “That was pretty stupid what you did last night. Elmo likes to hurt people.”

I asked her, “Which one was Elmo?”

Sarah replied, “He’s the little one with the big mouth.”

I answered, “That figures.”

Then she asked, “You busy right now?”

I responded, “No, you got something on your mind?”

She smiled and replied, “Yeah you,” she stood up and pulled me from my seat and my burger, “Come on.”

I figured what the hell?

From there she walked me out to the sidewalk. Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I wasn’t being set up. What if those guys were outside? I asked her, “Where’re we going?”

She looped her arm around my shoulder just like she’d done with Elmo the night before. She said, “I’m taking you home.”

So she walked me to her car, opened it, and shoved me in. Then she said, “My place’s just around the corner. You’ll be able to come back and get whatever you’re driving later. So she pushed me in, then like I was a child she used her hands and arms to finagle my legs around so I was in real good, she fastened my seatbelt, closed the door and walked around, got in and sure enough drove about an eighth of a mile to this seedy little apartment complex. She parked her car, an old Chevy, helped me out, and walked me up three flights of steps to where I guessed she lived.

When we got inside I was kind of ‘not’ surprised; it looked pretty bad, it smelled too, but I could tell at least the bed was made, and it looked like clean sheets. There were mostly men’s clothes lying about. I figured either she shared the place with some guy, or some guy was keeping her.

She didn’t waste any time. She stripped down to nothing and tried to pose. Man she was built like the proverbial brick shit house. She sort of spun about in an awkward way and asked, “Like what you see?”

I grinned, “What’s to see?”

She lost her smile, grabbed me, pulled me on the bed and literally tore my clothes off, or it seemed like it. She sat down on top of me so I couldn’t easily get up. She got her hands on my penis, and started working me up.

I didn’t need much help. She was the best I’d come across in months. Of course that wasn’t saying much. I was just one girl past virgin. She kept me down on the bed, climbed on tighter, and went to work. She spread her legs outside mine and dropped down on me like a missile.

Just as fast she jumped back up. I had to admit that was one painful first plunge. I said, “Wow that really hurt!”

She sure was small, or seemed small. I mean narrow and shallow. I never figured my meatster was all that big, but gosh, I went all the way to the end of her tunnel. I thought so anyway. I mean I guess I found her cervix, and bam did it ever hurt! And narrow! If we were model railroading she was ‘N’ gauge and I was ‘O’. It was that tight of a squeeze.

She pulled off. I could tell it’d hurt her too. She looked at my penis and commented, “Cripes, what a monster!” Then she jumped back on and started in all over. She kept humping up and down; her hair was long, and brown, and hung down all around me. The whole time she kept staring at me. It was over in no time; I shot off like a cannon, she rolled over and asked, “How was it?”

I rolled over on my side, looked at her and asked back, “How was what?”

She said, “The sex.”

I asked, “was that what that was?’

I could tell she got a little miffed, “What did you think it was?”

That’s when I froze. I realized what I’d just done. I remembered some of the stories we were told while on active duty. I was in the National Guard. Some sergeant told us a story about a whore who contracted AIDs and how she’d spent weeks spreading herself around to as many guys as she could. Had this little ‘trick’ just done the same thing to me? I sat up, “We went bareback! You’re not diseased are you?”

That’s when she leaned back, “No, of course not!”

I shot back, “Well I figure you probably did at least three just last night.”

She looked hurt, “No, I only did Elmo. This is Elmo’s apartment; he’s a truck driver and won’t be back for several days. Steve, he was the big guy who collared you; he’s married, and Wendell, well he’s not into women. Believe me,” she paused, “What’s your name anyway?”

I had to laugh, “Bass, Bass Ebersole.”

She sat back and kneeled, “Well Mr. Bass Ebersole I’m no whore. I’m not diseased. I live here with Elmo. I only did you tonight as a thank you for your trouble last night.”

I didn’t know what to think. If she was a whore she hadn’t followed the usual script. I mean I’d never had a whore, but I’d been told they like to get the money right away. Then again, if she was a whore she must have concentrated on guys with the smallest penises she could find because she sure wasn’t much in the size department. I changed the subject, “Let me look at you.”

She said, “What?”

“Stand up I said I want to look at you.”

She stood up.

I looked at her. She was just really, like wow! I didn’t know tit sizes, but hers sure looked terrific. They had that neat pear shape; they were pink with dark brown aureole. I didn’t see any droop. Of course she couldn’t be that old. She had a great waist, narrow; a wasp’s waist I think they call it. And that ass, she had a terrific heart shaped ass. There were some scratches on it. And her legs took my breath away; perfect looking calves and magnificent thighs. Oh, and last, that vagina, that pussy! God almighty! Not a lot of hair, maybe she trimmed it? Semen notwithstanding, I wanted to dive right in. Of course for me anything naked would have been great.

Did I say she had a beautiful face? She had a beautiful face, heart shaped, with enormous green eyes, long lashes, tiny kind of pushed up nose, succulent, yeah succulent looking mouth and lips. She had the kind of mouth and lips that would make a man immediately think about what she’d look like with her mouth wrapped around his dick.

To me she had it all. “Come here,” I said. I pointed to the floor.

She walked over and stood in front of me.

I held her hands and lifted them out away from her body. I looked down at her crease. No, it wasn’t very hairy, and I could tell she was pretty small. I told a little truth, but I lied too, “You look pretty nice, and I believe you when you say you’re not diseased, but what about Elmo and all the other men who used you? They could be carrying all kinds of crap.”

She got real serious, “It’s only Elmo, and I make him use a rubber.”

I didn’t believe that for a second, “Then why’d you let me go in unprotected?”

Her eyes got big, and she smiled this kind of half smile, “I like you.”

This was too much. Oh the bull shit! I was either getting the hell out there or I was going to go deep. I went asshole. I looked around, “This apartment looks like a shit hole. You ever clean this place?”

She looked stunned, “Well ... I ... I...”

I was really in stupid mode. I got up, grabbed my clothes and started to put them on. I glared at her, “Get dressed.”

She looked at me with this half grin like she knew exactly what I was doing, “Why?”

At that precise moment I stopped thinking with my brain and started thinking with my dick, “Sarah,” it was the first time I’d used her name, “I’m taking you to my place.”

My apartment wasn’t anyplace special; just an efficiency I’d been using while I was in community college. My parents were footing the bill; that was something they never did for my older brother.

Why I did what followed I’ve never been able to figure out, but we got dressed. I drove her car back to my truck. I helped her in my truck, and from there we went to Walmart where I bought a lot of shampoos and stuff. I drove us over to a Belk and bought her some perfume, a $70.00 bottle no less, and some clothes that I liked.

I took her home. Together we got in the tub. We washed each other up real good. I shampooed her hair. She shampooed the little bit I had. I toweled her off and brushed her hair out and braided it in a nice long ponytail. I got her in a pair of cotton pajamas I’d bought her and then said, “Know what? I’m hungry,” I picked up the phone and called a local pizza shop and ordered a large cheese pizza. The whole time I did this she just stared at me with this sheepish expression.

She finally asked me, “Why are you doing this?”

I didn’t really have an answer so I told her the first thing that came in my head. I said, “I don’t know. You just look like someone who needs to be treated nice.” What I meant but didn’t say was she looked like someone who needed to be taken care of. How was that for stupid?

I pulled her back on my bed, and got her so her back was against my chest. Her body was pressed tightly between my legs. I took this cheap cream I’d bought and began smoothing it and rubbing all over her. I rubbed firmly, hard I suppose, but not so hard as to hurt. I rubbed all over her chest and breasts, and down on her stomach and above her Mons. I tickled all around the top of her crease. I watched her skin slowly change from a creamy flesh tone to a deep pink. Her body kept getting warmer and dryer. I started rubbing over her crease with my left hand. Her lips started to swell up and get hot. Moisture started seeping from inside her.