At 32, Madison Stevens was an experienced office manager and was being groomed for advancement with various assignments at different hotels in the chain. Her latest was a real plum, Grosvenor House, recently acquired by her company, one of London's classic hotels, on Park Lane, overlooking Hyde Park. Lots of celebrities stayed there, and, at the moment, she was pre-occupied with a "customer relations" problem, a touring R&B band which was staying for three days before moving on to Amsterdam, Berlin, Moscow, etc. In particular, Keith, and his buddy, Howie, were demanding she have dinner with them. She wasn't entire averse to that, for she had long been a fan of Keith's, but it wasn't company policy to be familiar with the guests. The hotel manager, however, said, "They're Yanks. You're a Yank. Go ahead and make them feel at home. We want them happy. Perhaps they'll recommend this hotel to their friends."

She worried that she wasn't dressed for dinner, in the English manner, for she wore a white blouse and black mini-skirt. It wasn't really intended to be a mini, but with her small frame (size 2 dresses) and long legs, it didn't come near her knees. Her host, Kevin, wasn't dressed for dinner, either. He wasn't wearing a business suit, but was all in black. With his black hair, thin mustache, and little goatee beard, he reminded her of The Crimson Pirate, or even Johnny Depp in "Pirates of the Carribean." She thought he looked sexy.

He thought she looked sexy, too, and he couldn't keep his eyes off her all through dinner. The maitre d' had put them at an out of the way table, and Keith took advantage of the privacy to "make advances" to Madison. After dinner, Keith wanted her to inspect his room, but she declined. Keith, Howie, and Madison took a cab to Soho, took in the sights, mostly "adult entertainment" establishments, and settled for a light comedy at one of the nearby theaters.

The next day, Keith and Howie pestered her all day and insisted on dinner and more tourist things. Howie said, "Madison, if you won't sleep with Keith, how about me?"

"NO! Absolutely not!" she said, loudly enough that Keith heard.

"No to what?"

"No to sleeping with Howie."

"Madison, he loves you. So do I."

"I'm not convinced. You guys probably have groupies in every city you visit."

When the band was leaving, getting into their limo, Keith was the last to get in. He took Madison's hand and drew her close. "Madison," he whispered, "I love you. I love your cute face, your big hazel eyes, that girlish figure, those long, slender legs. You're like Audrey Hepburn, reborn. Come with me to Amsterdam. You don't have to sleep with me. You can have your own room, all expenses paid, of course. I just need to have you close."

"I can't. I'd lose my job." He took her hand and guided it below his belt. She felt his huge erection and immediately pulled back. "I'm sorry, no. Go on, you'll miss your plane."

Their limo pulled away. She stood on the pavement, English for sidewalk, and fought with her emotions for several minutes. Unable to go back to work just then, she decided on a walk in the park. She looked left, saw no approaching cars, and started across Park Lane...

Madison awoke in a hospital bed, in a crowded ward of a British hospital. She could not remember the accident itself, but she had memories of a small crowd of people staring at her, and she was unable to get up. In England, she remembered too late, they drive on the left, and pedestrians look right before stepping off the kerb. The ambulance ride, the bee-onk, bee-onk of the ambulance horns, doctors and attendants and bright lights and... it was all confusion in her memory. Her foot itched, and she reached down to scratch it. Then she screamed. Her legs were gone, amputated above the knee, and there were bandages on the stumps under her hospital gown.

The next day, Keith and Howie showed up to visit, each bearing a huge bunch of flowers. "I thought you guys were performing in Amsterdam."

"We canceled the rest of the tour," said Keith.

Howie shrugged and added, "It's not like we needed the money. Keith tried to call you at the hotel this morning, and they said you were in an accident, so here we are."

"How are you feeling?" asked Keith.

"Fine, I guess. It's a bit of a downer, to lose my legs. I always liked them, you know. They got me through college on an athletic scholarship."

Keith arched an eyebrow. "A tiny girl like you?"

"You don't have to be big for platform diving, or figure skating, or gymnastics." A tear slid down her cheek. "That's all over now. They won't be able to fit artificial limbs until the stumps heal, and even then, since I have no knees, I'll probably have to use crutches and a wheelchair."

"Howie, would you take a walk, please?" Keith drew the privacy curtain around the bed and bent to kiss the tears from Madison's face. He was so close... her hand felt the hard bulge in his trousers. "I love you, Madison." She slid her hand up and down his hardened penis, feeling it's size through the cloth.

"Thanks for coming," she said. "I know you must have hated to cancel your tour. I guess maybe you are in love."

"I am. Can you love me?"

She squeezed his penis through the cloth. "Yes, I can." Then the tears started again. "I'm not the cute chick you flirted with three days ago. There's only half of me, now."

"The best half. You are still beautiful." He toyed with some strands of her brown hair, not blonde but much lighter than his. "Now that you can't run, I can do this." He bent over and kissed her. When she seemed to enjoy that, he slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she tongued it and moaned softly. His hand slid beneath the sheet and her hospital gown to caress her breast. The nipple jumped to attention. They were interrupted by a nurse drawing the curtain open.

"You'll have to go. It's time to change the dressings."

The next day Keith was there as soon as visitors were allowed. "Madison, listen up. This socialized medicine program provides free care, but it's nothing fancy. They say their hospital is crowded, and since you are out of danger, you will have to give up your bed here and go to some other facility, perhaps a rest home in the country. Howie and I have taken a suite back at G-House, and I want you to come and live with us, while you recover from the accident."

"Keith, I can't even go to the bathroom by myself!"

"I'll help you."

"And wipe my ass, too?" She was smiling.

"I'd be glad to. I'll bathe you, too. I'm looking forward to that."

Madison smiled. "I'm looking forward to that, too. OK, let's go."

Keith bought Madison a dress to wear when she left the hospital, and the National Health supplied a folding wheelchair, ugly, but functional. They said a nurse would visit daily to check up on the patient. Keith lifted Madison into a taxi and steadied her with an arm around her shoulders, since, without legs, she was a liable to slide forward if the taxi braked hard. Keith carried her through the hotel lobby, while Howie carried the chair. "Are you going to carry me everywhere?" said Madison, in the lift (elevator).

Keith laughed and answered, "Pretty much. I like holding you in my arms. You're not heavy, you know, pared down to the essentials." Howie opened the door and Keith carried her into the sitting room of the suite and propped her up on a sofa, in front of the fireplace and its gas log. There were fresh flowers, and a bottle of wine in an ice bucket. "You enjoy sauterne, if I remember." He motioned to Howie, who left discretely.

"It's not dinner time, yet."

"Cuddle time," he said. He easily lifted her an put her on her back across his lap, so he could look down at her face. "I love you, and I want you to be happy when we're together."

"Keith, this is all so sudden. How do you know you love me? A week ago you had never set eyes on me."

"No, but you were very real in my imagination. A man, when he's young, still in his teens, forms an idea of his ideal woman. Most men probably never find her; they settle for what they can get, but, the minute I laid eyes on you, I knew I had found my true love. I've loved you since I was twelve." Madison put her arms around his waist and hugged him. She could feel, against her ribs, his erection.

After a while, Keith picked her up and held her, at arm's length. Then he drew her close and kissed her, holding her up so that her stumps barely brushed his thighs. "You know what comes next?" She shook her head. "I'm going to see if the rest of you is as perfect as what I can see." He sat her on his lap and unzipped her dress. She slumped her shoulders to make it easier, as he pulled the dress off over her arms and lifted her out of it. She had no underwear, and he held her like a baby, naked, but for the bandages on her stumps. He lifted her a bit, bent his head, and licked her left nipple, which was already standing tall. "Do you like that?"