Chapter 1

Larry stopped dribbling the ball and looked up at the truck that rolled down the street. "Looks like the Wilson's house finally sold. Maybe there will be some decent folks instead of the two old busybodies."

I glanced in the direction that he had indicated. I had to agree with him. The Wilsons had been an elderly couple who had been the bane of every child's existence in the cul-de-sac for years. They would watch us like hawks and report any infraction to our parents. When we were younger and had gone trick-or-treating, the only things we had ever gotten from them were some religious comic book things. We avoided their house after that.

We called a halt to the game in favor of watching our new neighbors move in. This was what you might call a middle class neighborhood. The houses were custom but not anywhere near the mansions they had on the north side of the town.

"David, do you want some of this lemonade I made? You and Larry look like you could use it." That was my mom for you. She worked part time, but liked to be a mother when she got the chance. In her late 30's, she was still a beautiful lady. Larry had a big crush on her. Looking in the direction we were facing, "Looks like we are getting new neighbors."

We followed her in and grabbed the two cold glasses that were offered. I also fished out some peanut butter cookies from the cupboard. With the famous words of every mother, "Don't ruin your dinner", we went out under the elm tree to cool down and watch the proceedings.

It seemed to us that there was nothing really unusual about the family. The husband and wife was a typical couple from where we were sitting. He was kind of tall with slightly gray hair. His wife was what I would call barely pudgy and shorter than he was by several inches. The wife seemed to be directing the movers as they carried the furniture and boxes from the van and in through the front door. The man was looking the house over on the outside as if he was making a list of things that needed to be done...

Finishing his snack, Larry stood and announced that he had to get home and change for a date with Lisa tonight. Once we both had our driver's licenses, we had been enjoying the freedom to date. Rather Larry had. I had broken up with the airhead I had been dating at the end of the school year. The breakup was rather nasty and I found out just how nasty and vengeful she actually was. So, I had decided not to rush back into that scene again. I actually hadn't had much time to date this summer anyway. I bought an old Toyota Celica and worked all summer as a general hand/lifeguard for the water park in town to fix it up. I picked it up from the paint shop last week and with a month to go before school started back up, I could use the time to put the finishing touches on it.

I continued to sit and watch as the movers emptied the van and filled the house. It looked like the furniture was nice but nothing too expensive. Then I saw a bedroom set being carried in that could only have belonged to a girl, a white four-poster bedstead with a canopy frame, matching dresser and desk. This got me interested enough to pay closer attention. I looked around their house and sure enough, I saw a pretty face surrounded by dark blonde hair looking out the living room window. She looked to be around my age, but other than that, I could see little else. She seemed to be looking in my direction, but I couldn't be sure.

My musings were interrupted when I heard my father's truck come up the street. It was one of those big dual-wheel jobs that he normally used to haul our trailer, but since his car was in the shop, he was driving it. I got up from under the tree and headed in to wash up for dinner.

A week later, I was coming home from the water park when I first got a good look at our new neighbor. I had guessed right - she was about my age. She was sitting on the front steps enjoying the late afternoon sun. She looked up when I pulled into the driveway so I smiled and waved as I got out of the car. She gave a smile and half waved back. 'She must be shy, ' I thought as I grabbed my gear from the passenger seat. I didn't have time to wonder about her much more than that since I was starving and supper was probably on the table.

After dinner, I went out for a walk. It was a warm evening and I felt too confined to just sit and watch TV. I started up the street towards the main road thinking that I would grab a can of Pepsi at the little store there. On the way back, I saw the new girl outside again, this time standing by a tree. I gave a shout of Hello, but she didn't acknowledge it. I didn't know if she was stuck up or just didn't notice me. I passed on by their house and thought I felt someone looking at me. I glanced over my shoulder and saw her watching. I again said hello and raised my hand. She smiled and waved back, then ducked her head and went inside. I decided that she was just very shy and she would just need time. After all, just moving into a new place would be hard.

But from what I had seen, I was definitely interested in getting to know her. She was taller than her mother, probably just a few inches shorter than me. Her blonde hair reached to the middle of her back and it framed her pretty face well. She wasn't heavy, but had what looked like nice curves.

I spent the next few days watching for her. She would come outside often, sometimes reading a book, other times just looking around the neighborhood. But when the other teens and children were out, she would go back inside. This was strange and I decided see if I could figure it out.

I started watching her closely and I began to notice a few things. When she was reading, she didn't notice anything going on around her. She would watch the younger children play in the street but when someone started in her direction, she would move into the house. It finally dawned on me a couple of days later what at least part of the problem was. She was reading a book when a car backfired up the street. It was enough to make me jump; yet she didn't move. Now that I had an answer, I got up from our porch and walked up to her.

My shadow alerted her to my presence, but by then I was too close for her to run inside. Moving my hands in a pattern that would have been strange to most folk, I told her, "Hi. My name is Dave. What's yours?"

She was startled and almost afraid. She then brought her hands up and signed back, "Karen."

"That is a pretty name. Nice to finally meet you"

Her movements became more fluid. "Nice to meet you too."

"How do you like the neighborhood?"

"Okay I guess. Lots of people. I like watching the other kids play."

"We have been here for a long time, ever since I was a baby. When you get used to it, I think you will like it."

About that time, Karen's mother came out looking for her. She got an angry look on her face and walked up tapping Karen on the shoulder. Karen jumped at the touch and turned to see who it was. Then she dropped her eyes to the ground.

Not knowing what was happening, but hoping to make a good impression, I tried to introduce myself. Holding out my hand I said, "Hi, I am Dave Dawson from the house over there."

Her reply stunned me. "I don't care who you are. You are just here to try and take advantage of our little girl. I won't allow any sinner to be around this house. Now you know that she is handicapped... You probably think it will be easy to take liberties with her. Well, that isn't gonna happen. She doesn't know how sinful the world is and you aren't going to use that against her. Now just get out of here."

Karen had been watching her mother's face closely. I figured out that she could read lips since she looked horrified at what her mother had said. She then tried to sign that it wasn't like that at all; her mom grabbed her hands and pushed her toward the house. She then followed Karen into the house, turning back to give me one more withering look before slamming the door.

I went back to my own house very confused. All I had done was to try and talk to Karen. Why would her mother act like I was trying to get in her pants? I really didn't understand this at all.

Mom called me in to dinner as I was coming across the front lawn. I went in and washed up, then went in to my brother's room to let him know that dinner was on the table.

After dinner, I went back outside and sat under the elm tree. I was still pondering what Karen's mom had said to me when I looked up to see who I thought was Karen's father coming up the sidewalk.

He smiled and offered his hand. "I'm George Peterson, Karen's father. I think I need to apologize for my wife's behavior this afternoon. From what Karen said, you were just trying to be friendly."

"Well sir, I wondered what I had done. I had just told her that she would come to like the neighborhood and it was like I was trying to do something to her."

"It's Dave, isn't it? Well Dave, there are some things that you don't know about Karen. But I want her to be happy here, so if you want to talk to her, I think it would be good for her. Just be careful."

"I understand, Mr. Peterson. When we talked - signed I mean- she seemed to be very nice, but also very shy. Maybe we could sit out front and talk a bit so Mrs. Peterson could see I mean no harm."

He shook my hand again. "I think that would be a good idea. Karen could use someone her age to talk to." He went back to his house and I went inside to think about the mystery surrounding this girl.

It was a few days later when I got a chance to see Karen again. I had two shifts at the water park where I worked during the summer and on weekends. I enjoyed the job. The pay wasn't the best, but it had great benefits. I could enjoy the rides during my breaks and the girls in their almost non-existent bikinis certainly gave me something to watch. The park had hosted a Christian Youth group and I could not believe the amount of flesh that these girls had been showing. I had enough fantasy material to last for a long time.

I was outside working on my car when I decided to take a break. As I started to go in the house, I saw a movement out of the corner of my eye. Karen was waving at me. I smiled and waved back. I changed course and went over to her front yard. She took a seat on the front steps and I leaned against the tree that shaded the porch.

"I'm sorry about how Mom acted. Daddy had a talk with her and she agreed to let me talk to you."

"I'm glad. I would like to get to know you a little bit." I saw the book that was sitting on the step behind her. "What are you reading?" This opened up the gates and we were soon signing back and forth, telling each other about ourselves.

My arms were starting to get tired. "I know that you can read lips. Do you speak as well?"

"Not very good. I don't want you to laugh at me." She bowed her head so I got up and walked over to her. I put my finger under her chin, forcing her to look at me.

"I would never laugh at you. Something you don't know is that my little brother has been deaf since birth. That is why I can sign. And I know that you may have trouble with some words, so don't worry about it."

"Okay. I can use the practice anyway." The words came out haltingly but her voice was beautiful.

"See? I have no problem understanding. And you have a beautiful voice. Kinda reminds me of a sultry, spring day."

This made her blush all the way down her neck, but it also put a huge smile on her face. We continued to talk until I heard my mom yell my name calling me in for dinner. As I stood to leave, I turned so she could see my face. "I really had a good time talking to you. You think we could do it again sometime?"

She dropped her head, but I could still see her smile. "I would like that too."

After dinner, I sat looking at the TV with my little brother but I was not paying attention to what was on the screen. My thoughts were on Karen. She seemed to be a really nice person; she had a sharp wit and caught most of jokes I told her. Her laugh was contagious. She was very pretty as well, her dark blonde hair that fell past her shoulders and cascaded down her back. When not in a pony tail, it made a beautiful frame for her delicate features... Her deep blue eyes startled you with their intensity at first but seemed to draw you straight to her.

Of course being a normal, constantly horny sixteen-year-old boy, I noticed her body as well. She had been wearing a cream-colored knit top that showed the size and shape of her breasts well. Her tight jeans revealed a nicely shaped ass and a nice shape to her thighs. All told, she was twice the woman that my ex-girlfriend had been. I went to sleep with Karen on my mind.

We talked a few more times in the next week. When she asked where I went four days a week, I realized that she had been watching me. She must have realized what she had said because she got embarrassed and tried to apologize. "I didn't mean it to sound like I was keeping an eye on you. It's just that I see you leave sometimes and then come back in the afternoon. I figured you had a job somewhere, and just wondered what you did."

I covered her hand with mine, feeling the strength in her thigh where my fingers overlapped hers. "Don't worry about it. I look over here when I get ready to leave. Wave to me and I'll wave back if I can see you. As to where I go, I am a lifeguard and general hand at the Wave World water park."

"That sounds like a lot of fun. Where we used to live, we would go to the beach once in a while. I always enjoyed going there and playing in the waves. Daddy taught me to swim, but Mom didn't like me to because she was afraid I might get lustful thoughts from all the shirtless men. And she thought the bikinis were outright heresy."

She looked down where my hand was covering hers. She must have realized just where my hand was on her leg as I continued to cover hers. She gave a quiet intake of breath, but didn't move away. Instead, she moved our hands a tiny bit closer to the inside of her thigh. I could then feel the warm, smooth skin there. My cock started to twitch from the thought and I gently removed my hand from hers in order to keep from getting a full-blown erection right on her front porch steps. She almost seemed disappointed when I leaned back.

Thinking as fast as my sex-filled mind would allow, I thought of her last words and decided that this was an opening that I was not going to miss. The park was going to "winter hours" once the schools in the area started back. That meant that they would only be open on the weekends. The Friday before, the park would be closed so the employees could have free run. We all had to take a turn at our jobs for a couple of hours, but the rest of the time we could do what we want. The owners of the park provided lunch and dinner. It would make for a great date if Karen wanted to go.

"Karen, this Friday is the annual employee party at the park. Would you like to go with me?"

"You... You're asking me for a DATE?!?"

"Well, yeah. But if you don't want to go, I understand." Inside, I was praying that she wouldn't say no.

"No... I mean yes... I mean..." She stopped to collect her thoughts. "Dave, I have never been on a date in my life. I have never even been asked. If my parents will let me, I'd love to go with you!"

She was grinning like a maniac when Mr. Peterson came home. Getting out of his car, he saw her good mood. "What are you so happy about, Babygirl?"

"Dave just asked me to go with him to an employee day where he works at the water park. Can I go, please Daddy?"

"I have no problem with you going. It would be good for you to get out and enjoy yourself, and Dave seems like a good guy from the way you keep talking about him."

"DADDY!!" Karen's face got very red, but I pretended that I didn't hear the last part. Then, Karen's mood did a complete change. "I just realized that Mom won't let me go. She would figure that I might see or do something sinful."

"Don't worry about your mother. I'll talk to her. You are old enough to be going out. Just because her beliefs are strict is no reason for you to be kept locked up."

"Thanks Daddy. I love you."

We made plans then for me to pick her up at nine on Friday. And not to forget her suit and sunscreen. I went on home to eat and get a little work done on the car.

It seemed to take forever for Friday to come. Karen was on my mind most of the time, and my father noticed it. He found me working on changing the plugs on my car and asked about what was on my mind. I had always been able to talk to Dad about anything so I told him about Karen, and how her mom was.

He thought for a minute then said, "I think you are falling for this girl. You have talked about her quite a bit lately, but I didn't know that this was the first date she had ever been out on. Only advice I can give you is to take it slow and see how she reacts. Let her take the lead."

I thanked him for the advice. He clasped my shoulder and then proceeded to help me finish the tune up.

I was up early Friday morning. I showered and shaved and went down to grab some breakfast. I was toasting some frozen waffles when Mike, my little brother came in.

"Make me some too. Please?"

"Mike you know that you are supposed to speak, not sign."

"Not until I have something to eat."

I sighed and put two more waffles in to toast. Mike was a typical little brother, a real pain sometimes but usually we got along well. Being deaf from birth, he had struggled for years trying to learn to speak and his therapist wanted us to make him talk when possible. Today, I didn't press the issue though. I think he had hoped that I would take him to the employee picnic, but he took it well enough when I told him that I was taking Karen. As I was leaving, he signed to me, "Have fun with your girlfriend. Dave is in L-O-V-E"

I threatened to toss his waffles into the sink then laughed at his reaction and waved goodbye. I started the car and pulled into Karen's driveway. I had not even had a chance to knock on her door before it opened and Mrs. Peterson was standing there. She let me know that Karen would be right down. Then, she proceeded to grill me on where we were going, what we would be doing, how many people would be there, and several other things. "Don't let her out of your sight. She's never been out in a crowd without me so she doesn't know a lot of things you take for granted. And you better not touch..."

She shut up only because she heard Karen come down the stairs. She was smiling, and stood waiting at the bottom of the stairs. I went over and took her hand and we headed out the door.

I took the small bag she was carrying and put it with mine in the back of my car. I opened the door for her and checked her out as she sat down in the seat. She had on a tank top and shorts with sandals on her feet. Damn, this girl even had cute feet! I closed the door and got into the driver's door.

I got ready to start up and noticed she was having trouble with the seat belt. Unless you held the button a certain way while you pushed the buckle in, it would not catch. That was on my list to replace, but since it was the passenger side and anyone who normally rides there knows the secret to locking it, I had left it alone.