Chapter 50: One Step Up

It was that Saturday, a week and a half before Christmas, the same day that Warren and Sophia would be skating their free dance.

Kate had invited Dave over, as Sophia suspected. He was supposed to arrive at three, they were going to order some Chinese for delivery and just hang out for the afternoon and evening. Dave knocked on the door precisely at three o'clock. After a moment, Kate answered it.

Her long curly hair was roughly tied in a bunch behind her head. She was wearing an old, paint-splattered set of coveralls, a paint-splattered shirt underneath the coveralls, and no socks or shoes. She had little blotches of paint on her face, and all over her hands. Dave couldn't help but grin at her. Kate, on the other hand, was mortified.

"Dave! OHMYGOD! It's not three already, is it?"

"Yes it is, my beautiful paint princess."

"Oh, jeez, I look *horrible*. I meant to shower, I'm covered in *paint*! I'm not presentable..."

"Katherine, calm down." They were still standing at the door. "First of all, can I come in?"

She giggled, and moved out of the way.

"Second of all, you look absolutely beautiful. Third of all, get back to your easel! We're not in any rush."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. I'll find something to do, I'm sure."

"OK, but you have to stay away from the painting. You can't see it until I'm done. I was trying to finish it before you got here."

"OK."

They went up to her bedroom, and he took a seat across the room. He could see her just fine, but not what she was painting. He had brought his backpack with him--he always did--and withdrew his sketchpad. She was so intent on finishing the painting, that she didn't even notice, and didn't notice the "skritch skritch skritch" of pencil on paper.

About twenty minutes later, she finally stepped back from the easel, took a deep breath, and said, "Done!"

"Good. So am I," Dave replied.

"Huh?"

He smiled, and held up his drawing. It was of her, at her easel, painting.

"Wow. You just did that?"

"Uh huh."

"Is that what I look like when I paint?"

"Yeah. You get all lost in your own little world, and your eyes sparkle, and you bite your lip. I've never seen it before. It was fantastic."

She giggled. "That's one thing I envy about you. You can whip one of these things off in twenty minutes, and it looks fantastic. I've been slaving over the painting for two days. Is this for me?" she said, pointing at the drawing. He nodded. She quickly put it up on her wall, next to the one he had done when they had first met. "OK, your turn." She led him over to the easel.

He gasped. She had painted him. He was wearing all black, with a black cape wrapped around his shoulders, and a black hat with a red feather in it. And, he was riding an all-white horse, through the forest. It was Dave as Prince Charming out of a fairy tale.

"Wow."

She beamed. "You like it?"

"Like it? I love it."

"I didn't know if you would. It's a bit fanciful."

"That's one of the things I love about you--you're not afraid to let your head drift into the clouds. Katherine, I love this. I can't tell you how much I love this."

"I'm so glad you like it. I did this for you." They smiled at each other. Then Kate looked down. "My God, I need a shower." She looked at Dave, who had gotten charcoal pencil all over his hands and face. "You do too, for that matter. You want to go first, or shall I?"

Dave blurted out what he was thinking. "We could always take one together." He paused. "Oh my God, did I really say that?" He looked up at Kate, laughing, trying to pass it off as a joke. They hadn't done anything more than kiss at this point. He thought she would be offended, so he tried to laugh it off.

She wasn't offended, nor did she laugh. She just stared at him, hard. "Katherine?" he asked, his laughter dying out. "Are you all right?"

"Yes." She grabbed his hand, and led him out of the bedroom. "Let's go." She led him into the bathroom across the hall. She closed the bathroom door behind them, even though they were the only ones in the house. She looked at him, smiled, and said, "You weren't just kidding, were you?"

"Deep down inside, no. But are you sure?"

"Yes." She started unsnapping her overalls. He quickly kicked his shoes and socks off, and lifted his shirt over his head. She pulled the overalls down, and stepped out of them. He stared at her, as he unsnapped his jeans. She stared back, as she pulled her shirt over her head. She wasn't wearing a bra. They stood, looking, as they each pulled their underwear off. Kate gasped at the sight of his hard cock. Dave couldn't believe how beautiful she was, how perfect her breasts were. They stared at each other, frozen for a moment, until Kate finally had the wherewithal to turn the shower on. She adjusted the temperature, pulled the curtain back, and they both stepped in.

The shower was decent sized, but they were still standing close together, almost touching one another, still frozen. She looked down at his erection. He looked down at her red-haired bush and her pert breasts. They looked into one another's eyes, afraid to say anything, almost afraid to move.

Finally, Dave broke the silence. "You are the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life."

Kate giggled. "And you, sir, are as handsome naked as you are wearing a cape and riding a stallion." Dave couldn't help but laugh. Kate turned, so that she was facing away from him. "Wash my back?" she asked, shyly.

"Gladly." Dave picked up a washcloth and soap, lathered up the washcloth, and started washing her back, starting at the shoulders. Kate was enjoying his touch, as he worked his way down her shoulder blades. Suddenly, he stopped.

"Something wrong?" Kate asked.

"Well, I'm just trying to figure out how you got a big blotch of green paint halfway down your back!"

Kate cracked up laughing. "I have no idea."

"You must have scratched your back with your brush or something. Hold still." She did, and he used the washcloth to get the paint off. Then he continued washing her back. He washed it thoroughly, but was obviously shy about proceeding past it. Kate picked up on his hesitation. "You can go lower," she whispered. He did, washing her trim, firm ass. She let out a little sigh. He continued down, and washed her legs. She turned around to face him as he stood up, her eyes shining, a slight smile on her lips, a blush on her cheek. "You're half done," she said, very softly. He reached up and put the washcloth to her face, scrubbing slightly to get the paint off of her cheeks and chin. Next, he went to her hands and arms, removing the paint from them. After he finished her arms, he washed her shoulders, and her neck, and then moved down. She closed her eyes, and nodded, as he brought his soapy hand down to her breast. He spread the soap over her breast, and watched her nipples get hard, as her breathing became a bit more labored. He dropped the washcloth, and just used his hands, one on each breast, working the soap on them. Kate gasped, and backed into the wall, using it to help hold her up, as his hands washed her breasts. "Oh God," Kate whispered, as he cupped water into his hands and rinsed her breasts off, still touching them.

He dropped his hands from her breasts, and retrieved the washcloth, proceeding down to her stomach. He washed that, then down her hips, and down the length of her legs. Her breathing was a little unsteady, as he finished her legs, not having yet come near the junction between them. He stood up, and got very close to her. He wasn't going to touch her there unless he was sure.

"Did I miss a spot?" he asked, very softly.

She knew why he asked. "Yes," she whispered. She looked into his eyes, as he dropped his hand in between them, a drop of soap on his finger. He drew the finger the length of her pussy, as her eyes widened and she gasped. She spread her legs slightly, and felt a finger slip into her opening. "Oh, God," she gasped, her eyes closing. She threw her arms around his shoulders to help hold her up. He worked his finger in and out, slowly, and then withdrew it, bringing it up the length of her pussy. He knew what he was looking for, but, never having done this before, wasn't quite sure where it was. He knew he found it, when he felt her legs jerk.

"Yes! Right there," she whispered at him. He moved his other hand down, and massaged her clit with a finger on that hand, while snaking a finger on the other hand back into her opening. It was a bit awkward, but he managed. It helped that they were almost the same height--Kate was actually an inch or so taller. She still held on to him around the neck, which didn't give him much room, but he didn't need much. She spread her legs as much as she could.

"Oh Dave, oh yes..." escaped her lips, as she became enveloped by the sensations between her legs. She had done this to herself before, but to have him here, doing it to her, in the shower, her nipples up against his chest, her arms around his neck--it was nothing like she had ever experienced. Dave watched her as she mumbled incoherently, her eyes squeezed shut, the blush deepening on her cheeks.

He felt her grip on his neck tighten. "Oh... my... I'm going to cum..." and so she did, grabbing him tightly to support herself, as her lower body spasmed around his hand. He withdrew his hands when she was done, and grabbed her hips, to help hold her up, as she came down from her orgasm. Her breathing returned to normal, and she rested her head on his shoulder, his erection hard against her thigh.

"Oh, wow," was all she could say. Then she opened her eyes, and giggled. "Your turn! Turn around, back first." Dave smiled at her, and complied. She washed his back, giggling when she got to his ass. She turned him around and did the same as he did to her, washing the charcoal pencil off of his face and hands, then moving to his chest, idly playing with his sparse covering of chest hair, and washing his chest. She was amazed to see his nipples get hard. "I didn't know guys got perky nips."

"Yup. Not quite as big."

Kate giggled, and, on some weird impulse, bent down and sucked on his nipple a bit. Dave groaned a little bit. Kate stood back up and smiled at him. "That's one you owe me," and bent back down to wash his stomach and legs. She did the same as he did, washing his legs, avoiding his crotch.

"So, did I miss a spot?"

"Yes, I think you did."