Chapter 3

Dawn’s light through the bedroom window roused me. Helen had rolled over and was lying facing away from me. I regarded her back and shoulder blades; then I kissed her shoulder. “I’m not asleep,” she said.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Wonderfully well.”

I began caressing her. “You have a pretty back, Helen.”

“Mmm ... That feels nice. I love backrubs. God, Eric -- I can’t believe it. I can’t believe how our relationship has grown in just a couple weeks. I keep thinking I’ll wake up from some dream ... alone in my dingy apartment.”

“It’s not dingy and it’s no dream.” I lay on my back and she cuddled against me. “Tell me something, Helen ... Do you love yourself?”

“What?”

“Do you love yourself?”

“I ... I don’t know. I don’t know what it means.”

“If you don’t love yourself, then you’re incapable of bestowing love on another.”

“Do you love yourself?” she asked.

“I do. It’s not narcissism -- it’s a mindset. It’s being comfortable with who you are.”

“Do you think I love me?”

“I do. I feel true love flowing from you. It wouldn’t be possible otherwise. Think about it.”

“I will. I’ll think about it.”

I continued stroking her back. “I was thinking ... When’s your lease up?”

“End of September.”

“That’s coming up.”

“It’s a couple months away yet.”

“What I’m thinking is ... if, by the end of September you and I still feel like we do ... you should move in.”

“You want me to move in with you?”

“If, when your lease is up it feels right, then yes. Think of it ... You’ll have a gas range. You can charge your car in the garage and not string an extension cord across the lawn. And, we could have this every morning.”

“You do make it tempting.”

“I’ll make it more tempting,” I replied. “You could live here rent-free and put more of your paycheck toward paying off those loans.”

“I couldn’t do that,” she said. “I’d want to pay my fair share of expenses.”

“I own the place free and clear, Helen. There’s no mortgage. I bought it for cash from the inheritance I told you about. My only carrying costs are taxes and the condo fee. I know I could get used to seeing a naked Helen in my bed on a daily basis. Think about it.”

“I’ll think about it.”

“Do you need to use the bathroom?” I asked.

“I got up earlier while you were still asleep. This unit has a very nice en suite, Eric. How about you -- do you need to get up?”

“I’m good for the time being.” Helen rolled again onto her side facing away.

I snuggled against her, slipped my arm around her waist and she put her hand on mine. “Any thoughts about last night?” I asked. “Any regrets?”

“No regrets. Regrets are the furthest from my mind. It was wonderful ... you were wonderful, Eric. You have such a nice touch and your pacing was perfect. It must’ve been the combination of the drink and that love hormone.”

“I think alcohol can enhance a woman’s sexual experience,” I remarked. “I think it’s the disinhibiting effect.”

“Could be ... What about a man?”

“I have to be careful,” I replied, “too much alcohol and I get whisky-dick.”

She made a little snort. “What’s that?”

“An alcohol-induced inability to perform.”

“Well, you certainly didn’t have that last night. Eric -- I’m not an experienced lover. I’ve only had a few partners. None of them have ever made me feel like I did last night. You made me feel ... desired ... cherished.”

“I do desire and cherish you,” I replied.

“I know. I felt it. I really felt it, Eric. It’s wonderful for my sense of self-worth.”

“And your sense of self-love?”

“That, too. You know, I just realized I was totally unprepared for a sleepover. I don’t have a change of clothes ... not even a toothbrush.”

“I have plenty of those. My mom is an assistant at a dentist’s office. She’s always bringing me samples.”

“I’ll want to take a shower but I don’t know what to do about my hair. You wouldn’t have a hair dryer or shower cap, would you?”

“Sorry,” I replied.

“Guys have it so easy.”

“I do have a bathtub. You can clip your hair in a bun and it won’t get wet.”

“Hmm ... I’ll take you up on that offer. I haven’t had a bath in ages. My apartment only has a standing shower.”

I began kissing her shoulders and the base of her neck. “This feels nice,” she said. She took my hand, kissed the back of it and then held it against her left breast. “Your hand is warm,” she said, “feels nice. I like feeling your warmth on my skin.” I began nonchalantly running the soft pad of my middle finger across her nipple. “That feels nice, too.” She drew in a breath and released it slowly. “Both sides?”

“Are you still horny after last night?” I asked.

“Well ... Your touch feels so nice. I could do more. Can you?”

“With you? Of course. Let’s do this...” I rolled away from her and slid up so I was sitting with my back against the headboard. Then I coaxed Helen to sit between my legs with her back against my chest. After gathering her luxurious hair and moving it out of the way I began kissing her shoulders and the base of her neck. “You have beautiful hair,” I remarked. “I love its scent and color.”

“It’s my natural shade,” she replied.

“I know. I can tell.” Holding her around her waist I cupped my hands under her breasts and began stroking her nipples with my thumbs. In no time they had become firmly erect little soldiers standing at attention. Curling my fingers into loose fists I ran my knuckles down across her firm nipples, washboard style and ending each stroke with a pinch and a tug.

“This feels really good,” Helen purred. She grasped my thighs and squeezed them, digging her nails into my skin. “I like how you’re touching me and how you’re kissing me ... you have a way of making me feel loved all over.”

“I do love you all over.”

“Your touch makes me feel so relaxed. Mmm...”

I could feel a change in her heartbeats -- faster and stronger. Helen’s legs began to twitch. I reached down and caressed the inside of her right thigh, sliding up to her mons. I ran my fingers through her pubic hair and stroked her labia. She responded by drawing up her feet to spread her thighs.

With my finger I traced the shape of her mons as defined by her pubic patch and stroking her labia. Then I slipped my finger into her slit and drew it up and over her clit.

Helen’s belly and legs jerked. “You okay?” I asked.

“I guess I’m a little tender there from last night. You were stroking me pretty hard.”

“I’m sorry if it was too hard. If something’s not right, tell me.”

“Oh, Eric -- it was right. It was just right and just what I needed last night. It left me a little sensitive this morning, that’s all.”

“We can’t have an overly sensitive clit,” I said. “I’ll kiss it and make it better.”

Helen giggled. “Kiss it and make it better?”

I slid from behind her and had her lay on her back with pillows under her head and shoulders. “Comfy?”

“Very comfy. This is a comfortable bed.”

I adjusted her legs to spread her thighs and lay between them. This was my first opportunity to look at Helen’s pussy close-up ... and, in daylight. The upper thirds of her outer lips were covered in the same curly brown hair as her mons. Further down the hair became sparser and shorter until it blended with her normal body hair. I kissed each lip and nuzzled her bush. With my thumbs I spread her.

Helen’s pussy was textbook perfection. She had a short and thick clitoral shaft, about the diameter of a pencil. I could glimpse her tiny pale glans tucked in its little hood. Her inner lips were short -- nothing protruded from between her major labia. Between them was the entrance to her tight little vagina.

I leaned in and planted a soft and lingering kiss on her clitoral shaft. “Did that make it better?” I asked.

Helen giggled. “It didn’t make it worse,” she replied. “It felt nice.”

I kissed it again. Then I drew it between my lips and began rapid but gentle stroking with my tongue. Helen’s jaw dropped. “Oh, God! Eric -- this feels SO good.” She stretched her arms out to her sides as I continued my tonguing and fondling her mons with my thumbs. I reached under her thighs, cupped my hands over her breasts and began stroking her nipples. Her breathing was deepening and I could see her belly and ribs heaving.

“Eric!” she gasped. “It’s building ... building fast...”

Her accelerating heartbeats confirmed what she said. Helen put her hands on my head and steered my tonguing up and to the side a bit. Her clit became very firm and her heart was racing. She began rocking her hips for additional stimulation and I followed her cue best as I could.

Helen let go of my head and stretched out her arms again. She drew in a deep breath, clenched her jaw. “COMING!” she gasped and flailed her arms. I grabbed her hands and we locked fingers, she squeezing mine in a white-knuckled grip.

I watched the agony and ecstasy in her face as wave after orgasmic wave washed over her. This time I knew she was climaxing as I could feel the muscles in her bottom pulsing against my face. Her breathing alternated between heavy panting and moans and cries.