Chapter 5

Screamed at. Slapped. Punched. Stabbed. Shot.

I expected all these things to be done to me by the furious woman who stood before me. And not necessarily in that particular order.

But she did none of these things.

"Ummm... Hi, mom," Cathy said, standing behind me.

"G... good afternoon, Mrs. Hamilton." I stammered.

"Mr. Shepard," she said coolly, even though her eyes were seething. "Leaving so soon?"

I immediately realized the danger of the situation. Both me and Cathy were still more than a little flushed from our playful moment. "I picked your daughter up at the hospital and brought her home. I felt that it was the least I could do... "

"How DECENT of you, Mr. Shepard." She eyed me as if I was a human-size pile of dog shit. Then she caught sight of the stain on my khakis. I lowered my eyes to see what she was staring at, and blushed.

"I hope that you enjoyed your short stay at our residence." She eyed me again. I don't even want to think about what she sees me as now.

Cathy pushed herself in front of me. "Mom... " she started.

"Cathy Larissa Hamilton, I want you to march straight into your room and stay there. I will be up shortly, after I have a little talk with Mr. Shepard." She turned her full formidable attention back to me. "Now, Mr. Shepard... "

"No," Cathy said quietly.

Her mother paled, then stared at her. "What did you say?" Her voice was low, but dangerous.

Cathy trembled, but stood her ground. "I said 'no', mom."

Her hand snapped up, heading for her daughter's cheek. I reached out and caught it before it could. She glared at me and tried to pull herself from my grasp, but my hold was firm.

"You WILL release me this instance!" she but screamed at me. Her eyes spat flames.

I shook my head. "I am sorry, Mrs. Hamilton, but I will not. I think an explanation on my part is in order here. I beg you to stay calm."

She closed her eyes and breathed deeply until her breathing was once again steady. She opened her eyes, and they were once again cool. "Speak your piece."

I relinquished my hold. "Thank you, Mrs. Hamilton." She shot me a venomous glower. "As I had mentioned before, I picked up your daughter at the request of her doctor. He asked me if I could take her home, seeing that further hospital stay wasn't necessary." I felt Cathy pull at my hand. Her body blocking this, her mother didn't see. I squeezed her hand reassuringly. "I realized that further time spent in a hospital full of sick patients might not be very wise... "

Score! Her eyes immediately widened in concern.

"... and immediately picked her up and promptly dropped her off here."

She seemed to consider my words. I felt Cathy's hand trembling. I squeezed it.

Finally, she looked at me again. This time, her eyes held what I hope was reluctant respect. "I thank you for your quick thinking, Mr. Shepard, and more for your quicker action. But... " Her eyes once again shifted down to my crotch.

I blushed. "This is actually my fault. Your daughter kindly offered me some refreshments and I accepted. I am afraid that, because of my clumsiness, your beautiful white leather couch is now stained with lemonade. I really am sorry."

She nodded with understanding. "I understand, Mr. Shepard." She turned her eyes to Cathy, who remained before me. "Is you ankle all right now, honey?"

"Yes, mom."

She sighed. "I apologize for my temper, Mr. Shepard. Sometimes I am too protective of Cathy here." She ruffled her daughter's hair affectionately. She returned her attention to me. "And don't worry about the sofa," she added. "It's 100% stain-proof."

Her cell phone rang. She looked down at it with annoyance. "If you will excuse me, Mr. Shepard, urgent business calls." She turned toward Cathy. "Please walk Mr. Shepard to his car, Cathy."

She nodded. "Yes, mom."

"Good-bye, Mr. Shepard." She shook my hand. It was a firm handshake. "I thank you for your kindly-rendered assistance."

"No problem, ma'am."

She walked in. Cathy watched as her mother entered the house, picked up her cell phone, and answered. "Hello, Shelly Hamilton speaking... "

She jumped into my arms. "That was incredible, Josh! She was like putty in your hands! That was so fucking amazing!" She reddened. "Sorry about my language."

I smiled. She should hear me talk sometimes. "I'm just glad you're not in any trouble, Cathy."

"You are just so unbelievably amazing, Josh." She kissed me. "I love you."

'Do I really want to respond to that?' I asked myself. 'Would I really mean it?'

"I love you too, Cat." I said, and knew that I meant every word.

She giggled. "What did you call me?"

I blushed. "Sorry. It just popped out. I won't do it again."

She gave me a soft kiss. "No. I like it. But 'Cat' just sound so... " She struggled for the word. "... old."

"Old, huh?" I pondered. What did this beautiful teenager before me look like?

I smiled. "How about 'Kitten'?"

She made a face. "Too young sounding."

"You're right," I gasped in mock horror. "I wouldn't want to be a pedophile." She slapped at my arm playfully. I grabbed her hand, and brought it to my lips.

"How about 'Catling'?"

Her smile was immaculate. "I love it."

"Great." We walked hand-in-hand to the car. "'Catling' it is."

I got in and started the car. "When can I see you again?" she asked.

"I don't know that one." I admitted. "You still have my cell phone?"

She nodded. "Want it back?"

"No. You keep it. That way I can call you."

She laughed. "Cool! I got me a cell phone, a nickname, and a boyfriend all at once! Not bad for a sprained ankle." She kissed me. "I love you, Josh," she said softly.

I kissed her back. "I love you too, Catling." She purred.

I pulled out the driveway. She waved to me, and I waved back.

I looked at her through the rearview mirror until she disappeared into the distance.

As I got closer and closer to Lizzie's apartment, my feelings of guilt grew and grew. By the time I was about a minute away I was so full of self-disgust that I was sure even the snakes that slid around on their bellies probably wouldn't want to associate with me.

I sighed as the apartment came into view. How am I going to explain this to Lizzie? How can I tell her what I did when what I did was the focus of our quarrel? Will she be able to forgive me?

By the time I parked the car and walked up to the third floor, I had come to a decision. Though I promised Lizzie that I would keep no secrets from her, this one would have to be an exception to the rule. There was no way that I could tell the truth and not have World War III explode on me.

I drew a deep breath as I unlocked the door as if it would prepare me for what I was about to do. I don't lie much, especially to Lizzie.

The door creaked open, the squeaks deafening in the silence. I poked my head into the apartment. "Lizzie?"

The living room was empty, and looked just as I left it. I walked into the bedroom, and found her asleep on the bed.

As I watched her sleep, I found myself thinking that I was the luckiest man in the world. All thoughts of that other girl disappeared as I sat down beside her sleeping form.

She immediately began to stir as me sitting down probably woke her. She sat up, and rubbed her eyes.

"Josh?"

I curled an arm around her, bring her head to me. "Yeah. It's me."

"Sorry if I was such a baby before. Please don't be mad."

Kissing her hair, I smiled reassuringly. "I can never stay angry at you for long, you know that, Lizzie?"

"Good. Cause I can't stand it when you're mad at me." Remaining silent, I let my lips close on her earlobe. "See how perfect we are?" I whispered in her ear. She moaned.

We slowly undressed each other. She had the most beautiful body I'd ever seen, and I showed my appreciation by lavishing it with the attention it deserved. I made love to her with my hands, my lips, my mouth, my tongue. I buried my head between her thighs until she cried out, clawing at my hair. I pulled up, positioned myself, and drove myself into her. I groaned as I felt her tightening around me. She grabbed my head and pulled me down, kissing me urgently.

"Tell me you love me."

"I love you," I gasped. "Oh god, I love you so much."

She rolled us over and threw her head back as she rode me. I grasped her hips and pulled down each time she pounded herself down on my erection. She shrieked as her body began to shudder. Throwing herself forward, her hair covered my face. The way her internal muscles rippled around me was too much to bear, and I arched my back, drove myself deep into her, and erupted.

We made love for a long time, and were still at it when the reddish-orange beams of a sinking sun filtered through the curtains. It was well into the night when she finally dropped onto me in exhaustion, with me still inside of her. I wrapped my arms around her tightly, listened as her labored breathing slowed into satiated contentment, and fell asleep.

I woke up with a start, squinting my groggy eyes at the sunlight. Another morning, another beginning to a new day. As my vision cleared up, I noticed a mass of blond hair on my chest. And another morning that I woke up beside Lizzie, I thought with a smile.

Unable to resist myself, I reached up tentatively and ran my fingers through her hair. Although I was careful, she stirred at my touch and rolled her head off me. Sighing, she cuddled against me.

I propped myself up with an arm, and studied my sleeping beauty. She was smiling as if in the middle of some nice dream, her lips like perfect rose petals. The sunlight had driven the morning chill from the bedroom and, as a result, her cheeks were flushed a delicate rosy pink. Her hair, unruly from last night, twisted all about her face like a gold picture frame.

Suddenly, the smile on her lips turned into a grin. "How long are you gonna keep staring at me?"

"You sneaky bitch," I chastised teasingly. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough." Her eyes popped open, and the way the light played off them made them look like jewels. "I've been waiting here for you to wake me up with a kiss." She pouted prettily. "You better not let me down, my prince charming."

I leaned down and lightly brushed my lips across hers. "There. Happy now?"

"That wasn't a kiss."

"Sure it was."

"Not by my book."

I arched an eyebrow. "Ok. What's a kiss by your book?"

She straddled me, and leaned forward until her hair surrounded us. It was like a yellow curtain had separated us from the rest of the world. "I'll show you," she whispered as she kissed me, extending her tongue slowly. I accepted it into my mouth, tussling it with my own. The struggle between our tongues waged until we were both out of breath.

"You know," I said as soon as my wind returned, "I don't think Sleeping Beauty kissed quite like that."