My best friend, Art, was somewhat older than I. We became friends after a temporary assignment threw us together. We quickly realized that although our personalities were very nearly opposite, that we enjoyed many of the same things, and - more importantly - genuinely liked each other's company, and were very good partners because of our combination of differences and similarities.

I began to spend more and more time at Art's home, with him and his family, and got on extremely well with all of them except for his oldest daughter, Katharine, who I took to be a snob. And worse. Despite this, before long, I was spending most of my spare time, not only with Art, but with his wife, Mary and with his family. Being single, and between relationships, I had little to keep me at my apartment. I enjoying every minute of my visits with these good folks.

Kate says that her first impression of me was not any more positive than mine was of her, either. She felt that I was too light hearted, and that my habit of making a joke or pun of everything got on her nerves. Among other things.

After a time, events evolved that resulted in a slow change in the relationship between Kate and I that would throw both our lives into a state that neither of us was prepared for. One night Art called and asked me if I'd be so kind as to drive Katharine to a dance some miles away. He had promised to take her since he had already agreed to act as chaperone, but had to attend an emergency business meeting. Rather than let down the youth group and Kate, he wanted me to take his place. I reluctantly agreed to do so.

After a tense first half hour in the car, Kate and I finally relaxed a little and began to chat. Once we got to the dance, she found out to her horror that all the kids her age had gone somewhere else, and that all the youth attending were at least several years younger than she was, which was sixteen at the time. I was the only one there she knew, and the only one she felt comfortable talking to. We wound up spending the whole night together and truly got to know and like each other. I began to teach her how to dance in old fashioned ballroom style, and she turned out to be very good at it. Afterwards there was the trip back home.

We stopped and ate at a McDonalds, and enjoyed that simple meal as if it were gormet prepared. It was the company made it great! We stopped for gas, and she locked me out of the car. I'd run around, and she'd unlock that door and lock the one I was running for. I hammed it up, she giggled and we both laughed and teased, and realized that we were having a great time together. The cashier at the pay window had a huge smile on her face. She commented that "You and your girlfriend really have a great relationship, sir." When I told Kate about this, she laughed as hard as I did. We had no idea at the time how close this was to truth.

As we continued on towards home, our conversation continued to grow and improve. To my surprise, I discovered that Kate was far and away the most intelligent and interesting woman I had met in a very long time, despite her young age. Somehow, she seemed to be having as much fun as I was, too. I drove slower and slower as we got closer to home.

By the time we pulled back into her home's driveway a little after midnight we had found that we had a lot more in common than either of us would have ever thought possible. We'd become fast and close friends. In fact we sat in the car and talked for twenty minutes before we went in.

Unfortunately, her two little sisters saw us pull in and watched us sit in the car and talk. When we walked in the back door into the kitchen, we were greeted with a chorus of "Will was kissing Katey! Will was kissing Katey!" We were both mortified, and denied it vehemently. "We were not! We were just talking!" Fortunately her parents thought it was funny. They were just glad that we were now getting to be friendly. They didn't realize yet that something special had begun happened between us that included but far transcended friendship. What's worse, we didn't know either. We had formed the beginnings of a relationship that was going to sneak up on us.

So, over a period of weeks and months, so slowly that no one noticed, including especially Kate and me, we became closer and closer.

I began picking her up and dropping her off to and from school. I made myself available to take her and her friends wherever they wanted to go. I began to help her with her various chores any time that I could.

We began to run across each other by accident. One time I dropped in at a donut shop for a snack, and ran into her and two of her friends. She got a little put off when one of those friends made a comment after a while that I was a neat boyfriend. I was as miffed as Kate was. The friend was most likely even more surprised at the strength with which we both denied any relationship except that of friend, than we were at her expression of what was clear to her. And turned out to be true.

We became near to each other. I only wish I knew how many hours we spent talking about everything from our relationships with others - both past and present - to politics and music. I even helped her with her homework. During all this, neither one of us realized what was happening. We were falling in love so slowly that we didn't realize it. We fell in love so gently that those closest to us didn't notice until it was too late.

One fateful night, after TV and conversation, I carried each of the little girls upstairs to bed, tucked them in and wished them goodnight, as had become customary. Then I said a last goodnight to Art and Mary and started out to leave for my apartment.

Kate was in the kitchen doing dishes. She was dressed in old, faded, tattered sweats, was wet with dishwater up to the elbows, had the odor of a hard days' work about her, and in short was anything but glamorous and sexy at that moment. I was tired, and running on autopilot myself. I was totally off guard, completely unprepared for what was about to happen. Defenseless. Kate was in the same state, expecting nothing, and not ready for anything out of the ordinary. As I walked thru the kitchen, She turned to me and smiled and said teasingly, "Don't I get a goodnight hug too?"

"Sure you do." I said. I approached her and took her in my arms intending nothing more than a simple affectionate hug like those which we had exchanged many times before.

Something else happened. As I put my arms around her she sighed contentedly and settled her tired body into mine, and hugged me back. It felt very, very nice. Her form fitted against mine perfectly. I let her settle in against me, adjusting my own body a little to accommodate her. Then I began feeling very odd. Something new and different that I had never felt before was happening to me. I felt hot, my heartbeat was speeding up and I felt lightheaded and confused. I pulled away from her a little bit and took a look into her face. Her eyes gazed into mine with a light I had never seen before. I stood entranced, unable to move, looking into those deep and lovely pools of unfamiliar light. I was a buck caught in the headlights. Her face was suddenly radiantly beautiful, with a deep and never passing beauty that shown from her very soul and shot deep into mine.

I felt my knees go weak. Her lips parted, glistening moistly. I found my face moving slowly towards hers. She didn't move away, for she was as caught up in the magic as I was. We had no idea what we were about to start, for neither of us had intended to start anything. She moved to meet me, and her lips touched mine for the first time.

There are no kisses that exceed and few that can equal that one for sudden passion, for surprise and unintended results. We sank deeper into each other's embrace. As we kissed, we got better at it and that kiss rapidly became more practiced, and grew ever more passionate with each moment. Time stood still, and the very air around us became charged with erotic energy. I have no idea how long we stood there wrapped around each other, but when we finally came up for air, it was already too late to turn back.

Breathing heavily, overwhelmed, surprised, we looked into each other's hungry eyes. We spoke not one word, but drank in our mutual need for each other in silence. As soon as we recovered our breath, we moved back in and kissed again. And again.

I was holding her body to mine, confused with the intense, unfamiliar feelings that were washing over me. My hands were moving of their own volition, first over her back, down over her bottom, and then over her breasts, touching, feeling, caressing, absorbing. It was only later that I realized that as I was passionately caressing her body that she was also exploring mine. I broke our embrace for a moment.

She was as taken by surprise as I was, and was as powerless to stop what we were doing. Each action led to a higher level of arousal, and stronger desires, which each then fed on, and in turn fed back to the other. I was thirty-five, and had never experienced anything like this before and probably never will again, except with her. How could a sixteen year old girl handle this sudden and powerful kind of passion if a more or less experienced adult was confused by it?

We were both wild eyed and irrational, and consumed with a desire that neither of us understood, that demanded consummation. She took her arms from around me, and tenderly placed her right hand on my left shoulder, and her left palm on my cheek. My hands were on her waist. We didn't move or speak for several long moments, we just stood there looking deep into each other's eyes. Then she silently took my hand and led me into the living room. I followed helplessly.

I was hers totally from that moment until today. Once in the living room, she pulled me close. Our bodies fitted together once more as perfectly as a custom key fits it's lock and we held each other. We sank slowly down onto the couch, totally wrapped up in each other. She softly said, "Hold me, Will. Kiss me. Touch me some more." and I did.

We were lying on that couch entwined in love's narcotic embrace as her parents went up the stairs - just around the corner - to go to bed. We lay quietly still, unable to let go of each other, too dazed to even consider that we might be discovered, revelling in each other's tastes, feels and smells. Even today, I find the smell of dish detergent erotic on her because of what happened. Art and Mary continued on upstairs to bed, unknowing, leaving us undisturbed. We kissed and caressed with steadily rising desire and rapidly increasing passion.

We explored each other's bodies with growing enthusiasm, not really caring that we might be caught, not really thinking in the boundless and mutual passions that we had suddenly found in each other that what we were doing was certain to lead to a fully consummated love.

Our clothing somehow went away, and her as yet only medium sized breasts were pressing against my chest, her small nipples hardening against my skin, tickling and pleasing me as we moved about against each other. Her hands moved over my back and chest, and then continued their exploring until she found my manhood. She took it in hand, and began playing with it, her inexperienced touch giving me thrills that I had never felt before from any other woman. Girl of sixteen she might be, but she was somehow more than any other woman could be at that moment. And remains so today.

I reciprocated, finding her most deeply hidden, most tender and delightful places, bringing her and myself to a steadily higher lever of passion, and an inevitable ending to the night's sudden adventures.

Finally, after a great deal of teasing and play, I found to my surprise that my erection was somehow positioned just right. She gave a rolling shove, let out a gasp, and I felt my erection part the lips of her vagina. I was just barely there, but I was in her. I savored the moment. Then we commenced kissing again. I pushed a little harder, she wrapped one leg over my body and pulled. Her hymen strained, broke, and she let out her maiden's cry and was a woman. Her lips again sought mine and we kissed. We slowly rolled and moved our bodies until our joining was complete, and I was as deep into her sweet body as I could press.

Now we slowly and carefully made love to each other. With a care and gentleness that I never knew I possessed, I continued my lovemaking until her lubrication was flowing fully, and her hot body was demanding satisfaction. When she began thrusting her hips and body against mine, encouraging me, I knew she was fully ready and I began the final stages of something that I had never thought about and would never have guessed would happen.

As I moved in and out of her, she matched her motions and rhythms to mine so perfectly that an observer would have thought we had been lovers for years. We worked each other like an experienced pickpocket works a crowd, leaving nothing of value untouched, leaving nothing at all unexamined. Carefully exploring what we had so unexpectedly found with wondering awe.

Without knowing how I was doing it, and without understanding how we were communicating, I felt her reaching for her first real completion, and I urged her onward until she climaxed in my arms. Her body tensed, spasmed, and she pressed her face deep into my shoulder and cried out her joy and fulfillment. Her muffled cries seemed to fill my world. I felt a pleasure at having pleased her that was so intense it surprised me. I knew that I wanted to please her again, and again, because it was so much fun.

She calmed herself, relaxed against me, and I cuddled her with tenderness and affection. When she began to move against me again, I followed her inner needs as automatically as I breathe, and once more began to love her with all my physical being. Again and again we moved together, almost dancing. There was no need for words. We had temporarily entered a realm where such things were not necessary for lovers such as us. Higher and higher I felt her rise as she reached for another orgasm. I followed her with enthusiasm. As she peaked, I felt myself beginning to find my own release. She knew I was about to loose control as soon as I did, and this somehow sent her over the edge. Silently this time she repeated her first performance, and this time I was right with her.

When I climaxed, I tried to pull out (weakly I admit), but she wrapped her legs around my body, pressed into me and took my seed as deep into her womb as she could. It wasn't until later that we realized just what we had done. The passion of the moment had totally washed our self control and power of thought into some small unused part of our minds, leaving their operation in the hands of complete, total, unbridled lust and passion. By the time we realized what we were doing, it was too late. We had made love. We were spoiled for anyone else. No one would ever quite be able to satisfy either of us ever again except the other. Later we realized that even then we were both committed - quite frankly almost against our will - to what we had done.

We lay there in our waning passion until some sense finally came back to us, and with a few last touches and caresses, we finally pried ourselves mostly apart and almost became two beings instead of one again. We succeeded for the moment, but neither of us would ever be the same again.

We pulled our clothing back together, crept into the kitchen, and finished the dishes together. It was done in a cloud of subdued passion that only cemented us more strongly together. We should have been feeling deep guilt - and indeed later did - but at that moment of afterglow, we just plain felt too good to worry about what we had done. We didn't even talk about it. We chatted instead about the thousand and one inconsequential things that close friends find each day to discuss. After a long and tender leave-taking, I went to my apartment, slept, and awoke the next morning still dreaming of her body pressed into mine, still in awe of what we had done, and what she had so willingly given me.

Kate was even more tired than I was. She went directly to bed and fell asleep with my seed still bubbling happily inside of her, and slept as deeply and well as I did, waking with the same feeling of ease and satisfaction that I had. Like myself, the ease went away as she had time to fully realize what had happened, what we had done, and that it had not been a dream. She checked herself and found that she still had the dried residue of our love in her pubic hair. That - she said later - was the only thing that convinced her that it had all not been a dream.

I was in a daze all morning long, almost still in a dream state. Finally, about an hour in to the day's work, I came to my senses, and crashed back into my chair in shock. I had just had sex with a sixteen year old girl. Not only that, but she was my best friend's daughter. And if that isn't enough, we are very religious people, and are not supposed to think that sex before marriage is right. Never mind sex with a child! I sat there in shock, thinking, "Oh my god, what have I done. What did I do? How did this happen?" I really couldn't figure it out. The phone rang as my poor overloaded brain spun in confusion.

It was Art. He asked, "Will, did Katharine say anything to you last night as you were leaving?"

"Huh?" I said. "What?"

"Damn. Not you too. She was okay when we first woke her up. Then about half an hour into the morning, she came unglued, started crying and locked herself in her room. Nobody can get any sense out of her." He said. "We've let her stay home from school."

"Oh. Uh, well... " I mumbled.

"Never mind. Geeze, You're as bad as she is. Get some rest for pete's sake. I'll call you later. Or better yet, come by for dinner tonight. See ya then. (click)" he said, and hung up.

I muddled through part of the day, but gave up and left early. I had to settle this. I went right over to Art's house, and found no one there to answer the door. I let myself in the back, through that same kitchen, and headed up to Kate's room. I had to see her, and talk, and resolve this or something.

I went up the stairs, went to her room, and pushed the partly open door the rest of the way open. Kate was lying on the bed, face down, dressed in her old bathrobe. She was boo-hoo-ing softly into her pillow. I felt as if my own heart were about to break.

"Uh - Kate? Can I talk to you for a moment? I'm really sorry for what I did, and I really want to apologize and promise I'll make it up to you somehow." (She rolled over rapidly, and looked up at me. I looked down at the floor. If I'd had a hat and it had been in my hand, I would have been wringing it.) "I don't know what came over me. I... "

"You! It was me! I could have... I didn't mean... I... I... Oh, Will. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to seduce you." She mumbled through her tears.

I looked up at her. She was half lying, half sitting, on her bed. Her hair was damp and going all which ways. The only thing on her face was tear stains and a pained look. She was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. She was so beautiful it made my heart ache. I gulped as she sat up on the edge of the bed and pulled the robe more closely about her. She bent over forward and buried her tear-stained face in her hands. I sat hesitantly next to her and put my hand on her shoulder. "Aw, don't cry, Kate. It was me. My fault. I should never have kissed you. I should never have let myself even start in with whatever happened. I don't understand it. I've never felt like that before. This kind of thing has never happened before. I just don't even do that kind of thing."

"I know." She said quietly, sitting up. She was looking blankly at the same spot on the old wardrobe as I was. "That's why I feel like I was to blame. I know how you feel about that sort of thing." She gave a sad little laugh and added, "In fact that's how I feel about that sort of thing too."

We sat in silence. Awkwardly. Then at the same moment, we turned to each other - intending to say something - and we found ourselves looking eye to eye again. Whatever each of us had intended to say vanished. I felt something deep inside stirring, and groaned "Oh god. Not again."

"Oh. Please. No! Not again!", she said at the same instant.

We laughed in spite of ourselves. But we turned our eyes away. I put my arm around her shoulder. We sat there. Then finally, I said, "Kate, what are we gonna do? We can't pretend nothing happened, can we? We can't avoid each other. And I sure don't want to do what we did again!"

She laughed another nervous little laugh, and said, "What? Was I that bad a lover that you don't want to have anything more to do with me?" She was joking. I didn't understand that. My reply was too strong, and too fast.

"God, no! You're incredible. I've never felt that way before, I've never lost control like that. You're wonderful! Truly fantastic! If you were older, I'd... "

"Do you really meant that?" she interrupted, and when I turned to look at her again, her face and those incredible eyes were there once more. And I looked again. Again I went light headed, and felt dizzy. And was drawn to her. I was again lost in her eyes.

"Oh. Yes. I sure do."

And she kissed me.

That was all it took. I grabbed her up in my arms, and again entwined her body in my arms, and felt the passion flow out of me and into her body. Or perhaps it was the other way around. All I know is that in that instant I knew that we were going to make love again. I also knew that I never wanted anything else out of life but her. She knew too. But we still struggled a little.

"Oh, please, don't kiss me anymore." she said, and stuck her tongue deeper into my throat.

"We have to stop, Kate. We can't do this!" I said as I began to caress her sweet body. She had showered not long before I had arrived and I tasted a tiny flavor of soap on her face and then on her breasts, as I peeled back her robe and kissed her.

"Oh god, I know, We can't. We mustn't." But she was trying to get my belt off. And succeeded. Then she shrugged those lovely white shoulders and the robe fell away completely.