Chapter 1

The Beginning – Mark Newlin

It was May, 1991, and Mark Newlin had been dating Fay Morgenstern for two weeks now without getting to first base.

Fay was a pretty girl and knew it, with a devastating ass, great legs and a beginning to blossom pair of young tits. The Senior Prom loomed ahead and Mark had procrastinated over a month over asking her or not going. Finances were one problem; the other was that she had fought him off every time he attempted to feel her up. This included the night when on a double-date with Nick and Debby, he had only managed a few almost chaste kisses while Debby giddily blew Nick in the backseat.

But he had, after managing to earn a minor windfall simonizing cars on week nights and weekends. Mark was confused when he received a written invitation to have dinner at Fay’s home the night before the Prom. Fay hadn’t mentioned it at school, nor on their last date the night he’d asked her to the Prom.

Mark was still a virgin at eighteen and not all that confident in his ability to deal with women; especially one like Fay. He considered this night special and took great pains in his personal appearance; he always had, but lingered at the mirror while shaving this time to make certain every last follicle was trimmed off and that his face was baby-ass smooth.

He decided on slacks over his usual summer shorts and wore a new sports shirt. His mother stopped him before he left to tell him that he had never looked more handsome than he did just then.

Mark rang the bell to Fay’s house at exactly the right time and was surprised to find it answered by Fay’s mother, Rita Morgenstern and not Fay herself.

“Oh, hello there Mark,” Mrs. Morgenstern said as he stood in her doorway, “Well you’re right on time. I like that in a young man. It’s a very good sign.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Morgenstern, he said, handing her the flowers he’d brought for Fay, but unsure what the proper procedure was in handing off flowers and figured Fay’s Mom would know.

Mrs. Morgenstern wore a cardigan sweater that barely contained her ample cleavage. The lacy edge of a black brassiere was visible; and hers was most certainly a well-filled bra. As she absentmindedly nibbled the long strand of pearls that she always wore, Mark licked his lips, his throat having suddenly gone dry. Mrs. Morgenstern always reminded him of a mature version of one of those buxom goddesses in the prints in his Art History textbook.

“Why thank you, Mark. I’m certain Fay will be both surprised and pleased. I’ll put them in a vase and add some water in a minute.”

Mark was relieved that he’d handled the flower hand-off properly and stepped inside. Of course he had been in their living room on two previous occasions to pick Fay up on a date.

“Um, where’s Fay?” he inquired as he nervously ran a finger around his collar although it was loose and certainly not constrictive at all.

“Oh, what’s the matter with me?” Mrs. Morgenstern said, pretending to be flustered and waving the flowers about as she ignored his question.

“Oh, do sit down while I find a vase for these lovely flowers, Mark.” And she left the room leaving Mark no choice but to sit down.

Mark glanced at the framed picture on Mrs. Morgenstern’s desk; young, eighteen-year-old Fay Morgenstern in her cheerleader uniform, with her skirt riding up as she leaped in the air, revealing her world class ass to the camera for the world to see. Maybe I’ll get to touch that ass and more Prom night, he thought and blushed at what he’d been thinking. Whoa, dude, this is Mrs. Morgenstern’s daughter you’re thinking about here, he reminded himself.

Mrs. Morgenstern returned shortly, and to Mark’s surprise, joined him on the sofa, sitting at the opposite end, but facing him. Before she spoke, she smiled at him and let several seconds pass.

She’s changed her clothes! Mark told himself. Gone was the cardigan sweater and skirt. Now Mrs. Morgenstern wore black pumps and black leotards under a sexy summery dress that from certain angles revealed generous amounts of breast. Was she wearing a bra? He wondered, before deciding she was not and she was definitely better proportioned than her daughter. Plus was it his imagination or did she seem hot to trot?

It must have been the pearls that did it. Mrs. Morgenstern always wore them wrapped about her throat three times like a kind of a choker, with the rest of the long strand nestled between her full mounds like a puddle of shiny white liquid. Mrs. Morgenstern was a woman in every sense of the word. A brunette of average height, somewhere in her middle forties, she was still a knock-out; and like her daughter, she had a great body. But hers was much better developed.

Mrs. Morgenstern leaned toward him, “I found the perfect vase for the flowers. Fay will just love them. I don’t think anyone’s ever brought her flowers before.”

Mrs. Morgenstern began her pre-planned assault on the young virgin quickly by assaying: “You think my Fay is a virgin?”

“Isn’t she?” he gasped, not thinking to answer any other way.

“Of course not,” Mrs. Morgenstern said, her skirt had ridden up a bit exposing a great deal of thigh. Mark pretended not to notice and concentrated on what Fay’s mother had just said. When he looked at her he saw she had a curious expression on her face.

“What?”

Her eyes narrowed and her lips twisted thoughtfully. Finally, she asked, “Are you gay?”

“No,” he said, completely unoffended. It was not the first time that question had been asked of him.

“Didn’t think so,” Mrs. Morgenstern said, patting the cushion next to her. “Come closer; sit beside me.” Mark moved in next to her and tried to look relaxed but every nerve in his body was jangling and his body felt stiff as a board. Mrs. Morgenstern didn’t seem to notice. Instead she rubbed at a mark on her dress before turning and looking at him. It wasn’t long before he began to wither under her stare.

“What?” he asked again, afraid she had noticed his right ear lobe was slightly larger than his left. She shook her head; there was a frown on her face. “You’re not like other guys, are you?”

“No, I suppose not.”

She nodded, absently picking at the scuff mark. “I thought you might like to see some pictures we’ve taken of our Fay. Would you, like that, Mark?”

“Um, yes, yes of course!” he replied innocently.

Mrs. Morgenstern leaned over providing him with a formidable view of her bosom as she reached for a photo album on the coffee table without rising as most people would have.

“Now here she is trying out for the gymnast team. Doesn’t she just look darling?”

What Mark saw was Fay in a leotard so tight around her crotch that her camel toe was stark in its revelation to his eyes.

“Um, when was this picture taken?” He inquired, not able to take his eyes off the camel toe.

“Oh ... let’s see. It was earlier this semester. She didn’t make the squad, but as I said she looked so darling in that leotard ... don’t you just love it?”

Turning the page, Mark saw that the following picture was of Fay bending over to pick some object up and the photographer had taken the picture just as her dress rode up high enough to reveal her thong clad ass.

Mark couldn’t help but react by getting a hardon. Why was Mrs. Morgenstern showing him these ... erotic pictures of her daughter?

He tried to cover his obvious erection with his left hand, only to be chastised by Fay’s mother who suddenly raised her voice and yelled, “Leave that thing alone!”

“Huh?”

“You heard me, Mark Newlin! Stop fiddling with your cock and sit still.”

““Um, yes ma’am!

He put his hands down then up and then slowly lowered them but made sure he did not disturb his hardon. Damn that dick of mine. It pops up at the most unexpected times. It’s downright embarrassing. But why tell me to leave it alone? Why even mention it?

“How long have you been trying to fuck my daughter?”

Mark tried to swallow, but couldn’t.

“I asked you a question, Mark Newlin!” she all but growled in his ear.

He realized that in her anger she was revealing almost all of her right breast to him. He could swear that her areola and its nipple were visible and the nipple appeared to be elongated to about ¾’s of an inch.

Mark had only seen women’s nipples in Playboy, none of them had been nearly that long---as far as he could remember.

“Have you been trying to screw Fay?”

“Look, Mrs. Morgenstern...”

“ANSWER ME!”

“I---I’ve thought about it! Lord knows I hardly think about anything else! But I swear to God, I haven’t even touched her anywhere inappropriately!”

Mrs. Morgenstern lowered her voice and asked sweetly, “And why not? You don’t find her attractive?”

“Yes---yes, of course I do!”

“Do you think me stupid, Mark Newlin?”

“No, ma’am!”

A split second later Mark realized she was gripping his erection through his slacks.

To that moment of his young adult life, no one but he had ever held his penis in their hand before.

“What---what are you doing, Mrs. Morgenstern?”

“Oh, for heaven’s sake, don’t try that on me. I’m not one of your silly, bubble headed school girls.”

Her carefully chosen words left him totally confused.

“Are you telling me that you’ve never had Fay’s tits out of her bra?”

“NO!”

“You’ve never rubbed her shaven pussy?”

“NO!”

This was information that he retained and would think about for the next 24 hours, until...

But let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Mrs. Morgenstern came to her feet and leaned over him. Those tremendous boobs were pressing right into his bare chest, causing his dick to go rock hard. They were face to face, yet not looking one another in the eye.

“You know, Mark,” Mrs. Morgenstern finally said, her voice dropping to a husky whisper, “I’ve been watching you...” Mark didn’t know what to say to this, so he didn’t say anything.

“ ... and I think you’re hot,” she finished.

What happened next was definitely not in his imagination. Without warning she kissed him hard, pinning him against the back of the sofa. Once Mark recovered from the initial shock he began to return the kiss, he tasted alcohol among other things, but was always a step or two behind as her tongue forced its way past his lips---his first actual Frenching---alive and electric. His hand went to her back; her hand went to his crotch as she drove him down onto the sofa’s thick cushions. Tentatively he moved a hand down to her ass and Mrs. Morgenstern boldly shoved her hand down the front of his slacks.

She stopped kissing him and stared at his crotch, her hand now tracing it way along his length. “No way!” She muttered then scrabbled at his slacks, tugging them down to his thighs until he was exposed and erect before her.

Mrs. Morgenstern’s voice was husky with lust. “No fucking way!”

Before Mark could protest he’d done nothing wrong---for that was his perception of what had just transpired---she seemed to be studying the purple head of his blood-engorged cock.

A drop of pearl-like liquid formed at the tiny, slitted opening. Mrs. Morgenstern’ tongue darted out and licked it up. “Mmmm...” she moaned approvingly. He felt Mrs. Morgenstern tweak his dick between finger and thumb.

“Tell me if I’m going too far,” she whispered. The blood rushing into his engorged organ answered for him as his tool stiffened rock hard beneath her tickling fingers. Mrs. Morgenstern didn’t waste time; as if on cue she dropped to her knees, parted her lips, and took the head of his cock into her mouth.

All Mark could hear, aside from the thudding of his heart, were the soft wet sounds of her mouth sliding over his cock. The shock of his cock actually being in a woman’s mouth was too much for him. His entire body stiffened, and with a bellowing groan he came; eliciting a muted whimper from Mrs. Morgenstern, who continued bobbing for another minute, the sensations intensifying with each bob, drawing out groan after groan from Mark until she finally released his appendage, letting it flop from her mouth. Mrs. Morgenstern sat back down on the sofa and dabbed at the corners of her mouth before sucking on her finger.

When Mark came to his senses he was splayed out, stunned, pleased and vulnerable all rolled into one. Gradually he became aware he was lying half naked in front of the mother of the girl he was taking to the Prom.

For some reason he began to think about Fay, only to be abruptly brought back to the present by the sound of Mrs. Morgenstern’s voice. She was jacking him off with one hand, cradling and tickling his balls with the other.

“You know, Mark,” she said in a quiet, husky voice, “You’ve got quite the package here. But I never realized how well hung you were. I envy my Fay getting such a fine cock to take her cherry.” She ended the statement with a little kiss and a flick of her tongue to the head of his still firm cock. Now let’s see how fast we can make this thing cum again!”

She moaned joyfully, moving her head faster up and down the length of Mark’s cock for a couple of good, deep sucks. Then she released his cock from her mouth, grasped his cock lightly with forefinger and thumb and expertly began jacking him off onto her outstretched tongue.

Seeing her wide-open mouth was really all it took---Mark’s cock unleashed a tidal wave of cum into her mouth. “Mmmph! Gluck—Gluck! Mmmmm!” Mrs. Morgenstern moaned as she struggled between swallowing and savoring his milky blasts. Of course some of it leaked out the side of her mouth and trickled down her chin. Her mouth returned to engulf his cock again, this time to suck him dry, while Mark struggled to keep from collapsing and falling off the sofa.

Mrs. Morgenstern finally released his spent cock from her cum filled mouth and wiped her lips and chin with the back of her hand. “God, I love sperm,” she confessed, looking up at him, and smiling. A generous drop of pearly liquid still lingered at the corner of her mouth and several gobs of the white stuff lay splattered across the rounded tops of her breasts. She collected the dollop of semen from the corner of her mouth with her fingertips and rolled her eyes up in concentration as she tasted it. “You know, Mark,” she said, “You really need to eat more oranges.”

“Uh, yes Mrs. Morgenstern.”

“Markie, when we’re alone like this I’d like you to call me Rita.”

“Yes, Mrs. Morgenstern ... I mean Rita.”

Giggling like a teenager, she came up off her knees to stand before him. Her hands went to the sides of her breasts, and she looked down at them as she cupped them. “Oh, there’s a bit of splatter,” she commented. Looking at Mark with a wicked grin, she said, “I’ll bet you’ve wanted to have a good look at my tits for a while now, haven’t you?”

“Uh, sure ... I guess.”

“You GUESS?” Mrs. Morgenstern laughed. “Dear boy, what do you mean ‘You GUESS’? Do you have any idea how many men---not boys, mind you---but men, drool after these puppies?”

After uttering those words, she scooped her breasts from the dress and suddenly Mark was confronted by the most impressive pair of tits he’d ever seen.

They were beautiful; big and round without a hint of sag, capped by a pair of pink nipples the size of silver dollars. It was obvious that she spent time in a tanning bed, or perhaps sunning herself naked by the pool when in private for there was not the slightest hint of tan lines about them. The long strand of pearls draped down between them. The urge to suck upon them was overwhelming.

“You’re a very beautiful woman, Mrs ... I mean Rita,” he croaked.

Mrs. Morgenstern cupped her ample breasts in her hands and leaned forward, offering them up to him as it were. “Go ahead,” she said. “Feel them.” Mark could restrain himself no longer. Grasping her tits in both hands, Mark’s mouth went first to one nipple, then to the other. Her pointy nipples stiffened even harder as he sucked and squeezed. Mrs. Morgenstern emitted a sort of half-laugh, half-sigh as she enjoyed his attentions to her marvelous pair. Then her hand dropped to his lap and Mark became aware of his dick twitching back to life as she tickled his shaft

“Oh my goodness. You’re ready for another round at it, aren’t you?” Mrs. Morgenstern remarked. He almost died of embarrassment when she said, “I’d forgotten how it is for a younger man!”

Mrs. Morgenstern seated herself in the center of the sofa and indicated she wanted him standing before her. And once again Mrs. Morgenstern applied her lips and tongue to his cock. She made him wet, then, stroking his dick with one hand as she released him from her mouth, she nibbled and licked his ballsack. In the space of two seconds Mark’s dick was harder than cobalt steel.

Now Mrs. Morgenstern stood up and unzipped her dress and let it fall to the floor leaving her in the black leotard through which Mark could discern the how Mrs. Morgenstern kept her bush trimmed down to a narrow strip. It was obvious that she shaved, too; her slit was clearly visible beneath her neatly trimmed patch of fur. Just like the girls in his treasured collection of smut magazines.

Wow, Mark thought, four years of almost no sex in high school, and now twice in the space of an afternoon! Then the sensation of Mrs. Morgenstern’s mouth on his manhood overcame all conscious thought and his eyes rolled up in their sockets.

When Mark came to from his temporary daze Mrs. Morgenstern was standing before him, using some tissues to wipe his sperm from her chest. “Don’t go anywhere, Markie,” she purred as she tucked her breasts back into her dress, and then walked down the hall toward the bathroom.

Mark was in no condition to go anywhere; but his eyes went to the pictures he’d seen of Fay—particularly the one showing off her camel-toe, and a renewed energy resulted in his member thickening again.

Mrs. Morgenstern returned with a dampened hand towel and in motherly fashion wiped his penis clean of her saliva and his sperm. There, all clean again. “Ohhh, look at you!” She laughed happily at spying his rapidly rising state.

“Was that your very first blowjob?” Mark nodded dumbly and she smiled. “I thought so. What did you think?”

He tried to put it into words but his vocabulary failed him. He shrugged and shook his head. “Um, awesome ... yeah, it was awesome!”

She nodded in agreement. “Now you’re going to eat me, Markie. I want you to kneel on the floor in front of me.”

As soon as he had done so, Mrs. Morgenstern scooted to the edge of the sofa, gathered her leotard in her hands and slowly brought edged it down to her knees. “Would you do the honors and take it completely off, Markie?”

He did, tossing it to one side and staring at her pussy. The first one he’d ever seen in person.

He sniffed, expecting a fishy odor as reported by the older, so-called knowledgeable guys, but didn’t notice anything other than a rather pleasant perfumish smell wafting up to his nostrils.

Mrs. Morgenstern reached out, took him by the back of the neck and brought his face within inches of her neatly trimmed sex. “Kiss me there!” she commanded.

Mark pressed his lips against the already tacky labia. “You can kiss better than that. Pretend it’s my mouth, see what happens, Markie.”

Mrs. Morgenstern shifted and her sexual musk filled his nose and Mark grew light-headed. He kissed her again; his mouth slightly open and her hips rose up to meet him. Without hesitation he began licking her turning her vagina from damp to sodden in a minute’s time. Mark assessed her taste, there was some sweat and some urine; but as he continued he found it to his liking and began using his tongue with greater frequency until she pushed his head back with one hand. A pair of green eyes, punctuated by black eyeliner, stared at him intently. Mark couldn’t tell if she was pleased or angry, but did recognize surprise in them.

Am I doing it wrong? He wondered, but kept at it.

“That’s nice,” she said, complimenting him for the first time. “No, wait!” she exclaimed. “Chew me there! OHH, OHH!”

She moaned as Mark compiled and felt her stiffen under his touch.

“Lick me! Oh, fuck ... bite me

Markie!” she said in a more normal tone as she held her left leg out of the way ensuring a clear path to her cunt.

“Markie!” she called out a little louder and brought him out of licking frenzy. “Strip for me, Markie!”

What?” Why now? I’m doing it right aren’t I?

As if reading his mind, Rita explained herself to him. “I know, I know, Markie darling. It seems stupid ... but I need to see you---all of you. It will help me cum”

Mark stood up and rapidly divested his clothes and stood before her stark naked.

Rita actually purred as she admired his youthful body. Her husband, having left for parts unknown six months earlier, had possessed a pot-belly and a four inch cock. He wasn’t missed, except for the money he had provided. Fortunately, Rita’s father was a wealthy man and saw to it that his only daughter was well taken care of by giving her a generous monthly allowance that covered all expenses and then some for her and her daughter.

“Prom’s tomorrow isn’t it, Markie?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Want me to tell you how to get that nice fat cock of yours into her pussy?”

She’d said Fay was shaved before, he recalled as he nodded his head affirmatively.

“Stick two fingers in there and sort of stir them around while I talk, Markie, baby.”

“Mmmmm, that’s just right, Markie! Now, when she gets into your car ... are you driving, or do you have one of those long limousines with a driver?”

“Um, a limmo ... yeah, a driver,” he stammered.

“Good, so as soon as she sits down next to you, kiss her. Like this...” Mrs. Morgenstern pulled his mouth to hers and thrust her tongue into his mouth. She refused to let him pull away, but kept swirling her tongue around his mouth, over his teeth and gum, and slapping against his tongue until he reciprocated and dueled tongues with her.

She broke off the kiss—and asked, “So, do you see what I mean?”

“Yeah,” Mark replied.

“So while that’s going on, you use a hand to go up her dress and grab her pussy.”

“Really?”

“Of course. She’s thinking about the assault on her mouth; registering whether she likes it or not, and while she’s distracted that way, you’ve got her coochie. The thing is to see how far you can get with it before she wises up and tries to stop you. I mean, can you manage to get a finger in there before her hand reaches yours? Even then, if she’s wet down there, you’ve excited her. Keep going. If not, back off and kiss her again. Ignore the driver. He may get his rocks off watching you two, what do you care?”

“You, um, you mentioned earlier that Fay wasn’t a virgin. Is that really true?”

“I understand she gave it up to that basketball player, what’s his name ... Thorpe, or something.”

Incredulous, Mark said, “Reggie Thorpe?” Reggie was a 6’7” black kid, skinnier than skinny athlete, considered a wallflower by almost everyone in the school.

“Yeah, the skinny black kid; he was boning her ... I caught them on this very sofa,” she said, pointing to the sofa they were sitting on before he started going down on her.

“On the other hand, I doubt that she’s given anyone a blowjob, or her ass. So there’s that to look forward to. Although I wouldn’t try anal on Prom night. I shudder to think of the many things that could---no, that would go wrong.”

Mark nodded; he envisioned one or two unseemly things himself.

“Hmmm, so let’s not use the sofa again, hmmmm? The bedroom’s perfect for what we’re gonna do. Come on, Markie, let’s fuck!”

He followed her into her bedroom, and when she assumed a pose on the bed, Mark thought he was looking at a Playboy Centerfold.

“You ... you’re beautiful ... Mrs ... I mean, Rita.”

“Say that again, Markie, I’ll never tire of hearing it,” she beamed at him.

He said it again and moved to her. Rita gave a slight shudder as he reached under her arms and cupped her magnificent tits with his hands.

“Squeeze ‘em, Markie!”

He did. Marveling as her huge, taut nipples and they swelled up under my palms.

“Bite ‘em Markie!”

He couldn’t bite them hard enough for her. Rita kept begging him to bite harder. Mark’s free hand ventured down to the fleecy nap covering her mons.

Where is it? He asked himself as he searched in vain for what for him was the elusive cunt hole.

Rita took hold of his wrist and guided his fingers to her sodden twat. “There, baby, right there!” she croaked in her own excitement at having a young stud about to mount her.

Once his fingers slithered into her hot pussy he thought about kissing her but avoided her mouth as she had sucked his cock with it, and paid homage to her neck, ear lobes and throat on abandoning her gorgeous tits.

Markie, while we’re at it I should show you how to really please a woman.”

“Will Fay like it?”

“Every woman you ever touch in that vicinity will adore you if you follow my instructions to the letter.”

“I will! I will!” He answered his voice strident with the need to know.

“Okay then. Now when you get between my legs...”

Mark didn’t move, being frozen to the spot as he stared at Mrs. Morgenstern’s gaping pussy.

“MARK! Pay attention to my voice, please!”

“Oh, yeah, sorry!”

“When you get between my legs like this,” she grabbed him by the nape of the neck and brought him within inches of her cunt. “Don’t just push them apart so you can dive face first into my pussy. Always take your time. Look me, or the woman in the eye, as you very slowly spread her legs. I mean really spread them, Markie. I want you to get your face wet not just your tongue.

“Another thing---an important thing, Markie, is don’t rush right in there. Don’t dive right in---that’s the wrong way to go---remember I said go slow, right?”

Mark nodded. He was paying close attention to every word Mrs. Morgenstern uttered.

“Build tension ... I mean sexual tension by kissing the inner parts of her thigh. First one side, then the other. Move temptingly close, but don’t touch that pussy, understand?”

“Yes ... kiss—don’t touch the pussy. You can touch the tits; in fact I highly recommend doing it. And caress her body, it really doesn’t matter where, just make it a loving touch, that’s what counts, Markie. It’s kind of a two pronged attack---no pun intended. You’re trying to stimulate all her senses here---sending little electric jolts of pleasure everywhere, you know?”

Mark nodded. He was paying close attention, very close attention. “After kissing as close to the pussy as possible without touching, start over at the lowest point of the thigh and repeat everything.”

Mark noted that Mrs. Morgenstern was breathing heavily and pausing frequently to catch her breath. “Now this time when you kiss your way close to her pussy...” She paused and took a deep breath.

“Are you all right, Mrs. Morgenstern?”

“Yes I am, but call me Rita for fuck’s sake! Anyway, then you take a moment and look up into Fay’s eyes. That’s kind of a signal between the two of you that what comes next will be special. You still haven’t done anything to that pussy, Mark. That’s vital. Now, having met her eyes, you rise up and pay homage to her nipples. It doesn’t matter if you kiss them, bite them, or suck them. Just play with them for a minute or so.

“Do you see how much time this is taking?” Mark nodded.

“It’s because the woman’s different than the man. She requires time to let her imagination merge with reality. She needs time to process the varied sensations running through her body. Then, and only then do you begin kissing your way down her torso, the undersides of a breast---the stomach, and the navel—use that tongue there before moving further south.

“Kiss and lick your way down along the very sides of her pussy. The larger lips are the outer labia. You can probably take them between your teeth and worry them some. Some women will cum then and there from it. Most won’t. Oh, I almost forgot. Some girls will try to hurry you along in getting that tongue inside her. Make her wait. You will be rewarded for it.

“Next ... WHOA! WHAT THE FUCK?”

Rita took hold of Mark’s hair and yanked him away from her cunt. “I didn’t tell you to start on me, Markie!”

“Sorry---Sorry---Sorry!” He stammered. “It was your ... smell. It got to me. I had to taste you. I’m sorry.”

Rita laughed and ruffled his hair. “I’m sorry too. I’ve put you in the most tempting place and forgot how difficult it must be for you to hold off as long as you did. I’m certainly not angry with you, Markie. Let’s get started. I’ll keep talking; you show me that you’re paying attention.”