Chapter 3

The weekend that we first made love was perfect—it was as good as any dream I ever had about Elke and me. The following Monday I couldn't wait for work to be over so that I could rush to Elke's apartment.

I walked into the room and Elke was putting our dinner into the oven. She had heard me open the door and turned to me as I hurried over to her. I put my arms around her and kissed her. She returned my kiss, but there was a hesitation—a lack of passion.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Dave."

"Elke, something's wrong. What is it?"

She looked at me shyly, "I enjoyed our weekend, but maybe our situation is going too fast. You're not always going to be posted here and..."

"But Elke, I love you."

She smiled sadly at me and then touched my face as she stood on her toes to kiss me—this time with a little more enthusiasm.

After the kiss she whispered in my ear, "When there is no good ending in sight, why rush?"

So much to my dismay, our relationship went forward in slow motion. I wanted to move into her apartment; she said it was too soon.

I wanted to make passionate love with her nightly; she resisted in her quiet way.

"You must learn Russian, Dave. We will maybe have fun in bed next weekend."

I was frustrated.

The next weekend I spent Friday and Saturday night at her apartment. We made love, but I soon found out that Elke was shy in bed. She was able to come every time I entered her, but any experimentation was frightening to her.

On that Saturday night I was kissing and licking her breasts waiting for those groans of pleasure to start when I started kissing her stomach and then her pelvis as my fingers combed her thin, pubic hairs.

I spread her labia and my tongue licked her clit.

"Dave, what are you..." and she gasped as I sucked her tender, little point of pleasure.

Quickly her groans became louder and she started to spasm violently as my tongue brought her to climax.

She cuddled next me later and said, "No one has ever done that to me before."

"Did you enjoy it?"

"But should we be doing it, Dave?"

"Answer me, Elke. Did you enjoy it?"

"Yes, you drove me crazy with pleasure—I lost control of my body."

"Then we should be doing it. Anything that I can do to give you pleasure, we should be doing."

With a breakthrough in her sexual shyness, I thought it was a wonderful weekend for both of us. I wanted to sleep with her Sunday night too, but she sent me back to my base housing.

Early the following day I joined Top for our ritual cup of coffee. He was always first in the office and I, being an early riser, was always the second one in.

Top said, "Captain Myer tried to reach you Saturday night to see if you were free for a meeting Sunday morning. I called you, but the duty officer said you weren't in."

"I was at Elke's."

He looked at me and asked, "When you filled out the foreign contact sheet for Elke, did you write down her address and phone number?'

"I didn't know it then, Top."

"How about now?"

I blushed, "I'll update the sheet today."

There was a pause and then he said, "Lieutenant, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, Top, fire away."

"What are the odds that you'll be wearing four stars when you retire from the Army?"

I looked at him in surprise—what a strange question.

"Well, Lieutenant?"

I chuckled, "Maybe a million to one and that's wildly optimistic."

He looked at me with concern on his face and quietly said, "That's about the same odds that this military command will give you permission to marry a foreign national while posted here."

He stared at me.

"You know, First Sergeant, that policy really sucks."

There was nothing he could say other than a little nod to acknowledge that he understood. What Top had just told me wasn't a shock—I'd already quietly checked to see if any exceptions had ever been made; the answer was no.

I finished my coffee and went to my desk to begin work.

My job actually had become much more interesting. Captain Myer and I got along well and he had assigned me to a specific Russian armored brigade that was stationed in East Germany. My team consisted of five enlisted soldiers and myself. As opposed to studying the ideal Table of Organization and Equipment for a Russian armored brigade, I now had the responsibility of tracking an actual one with real officers and men.

It was like a jigsaw puzzle where each scrap of information added to the overall picture of the Russian unit. In some units of the brigade we had learned the names and ranks of the officers commanding them.

Later that afternoon Captain Myer walked up to my desk with a smile on his face.

"How did you do it, Dave?"

"Do what?" Captain.

He handed me twenty sheets of papers, each one identical—it was my orders promoting me from second lieutenant to first lieutenant. I was pleased, but not surprised.

The army constantly changes their rules for promotion. After the war the regulations for promoting second lieutenants were fairly simple—after two years in grade with no adverse efficiency reports, the promotion to first lieutenant was automatic. However, each year in college taking military courses and summer camp counted for one-eighth of a year, so I had picked up six months through that rule. In addition, proven proficiency in foreign languages also counted. At language school I had breezed through the French test and had remembered enough German to just make a passing mark. Korean was an automatic, and two weeks ago I had passed the Russian verbal test. The combined languages advanced my promotion another six months.

"I guess it was summer camps and foreign languages, Captain."

"Whatever it was, congratulations, First Lieutenant Wheeler. You better trade in your gold bar for a silver one."

He grinned again and walked away.

I thought, "At least something good happened today.

My relationship with Elke progressed slowly with no realistic outcome in sight. She was getting less shy in bed and our sex life was getting better as many of her inhibitions disappeared. Weeks went by and one night Elke and I were in the early stages of making love when she suddenly grabbed my cock and put it in her mouth for the first time. Her warm, wet mouth massaged my cock as I got more and more excited. I said, "Elke, I'm going to come."

She pulled back and looked at me as the first spurt caught her on the chin and then over her chest and breasts. She was stunned at first, and then giggled, "I'm not very good at this."

"I think you did fine, Elke, and with a little practice, you will be perfect."

I got up and went to the bathroom to wet a cloth; she lay quietly as I cleaned the mess we had created. By then she was ready and I made her come with my mouth and then pushed my cock into her and waited for her to catch up with me.

When she smiled, I started a slow rhythm of penetration and withdrawal and soon our bodies were in a frenzy of love making as our bodies sought release. We climaxed together and fell asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning—somewhat typical to our relationship—she was withdrawn and sad. I thought I knew females, but Elke had me perplexed.

"Elke," I pleaded in frustration, "why do I think you are the happiest woman in Germany and hours later you seem to be the saddest?"

"It's the way it is. Please understand."

I shrugged in confusion and changed the subject.

Several weeks later Elke told me that the pharmacy, by German law, had to give her a week's vacation and that the following week she would not be working.

"Isn't it your choice when you take vacation?"

"No," replied Elke. "They have to give me a week off, but they have the right to tell me which week."

I had a thought. "Elke, if I can take a couple days off, would you go with me on a little holiday?"

"Where?"

I was getting a little excited. "We can take the train into the mountain area and stay at a place on the lake. I've heard people at work talk about it and they all say it's a very nice resort."

Elke grinned at me shyly. "I would like to go there with you."

I talked to Captain Myer. I had been working a lot of extra hours and I knew he thought my work was good. When I told him I wanted the following Monday and Tuesday off, he agreed. In a very nice gesture he said he would keep me on duty so that the two days off would not be counted against my leave time.

That Friday in the late afternoon, Elke and I boarded a train to the mountain region. We arrived three hours later and easily found the resort cabin that I had reserved in advance. The two-room cabin was both primitive and wonderful. The living room and kitchen were in one room and the single bedroom in the other. Off the kitchen was a porch with a table and two chairs that faced the lake. Our sunset view was spectacular.

We sat on the porch, sharing an inexpensive bottle of German wine, and watched the sun sink into the distant water.

We were tired from the trip and we went into the bedroom. We were going to have sex, but after cuddling, we both fell asleep.

I woke up first and watched Elke sleeping. The sheet had pulled down during the night and I could see her naked chest and breasts move as she slept. Her face was so peaceful and beautiful; I was in no hurry for her to wake up—I wanted to enjoy the sight of her body.

Eventually she stirred and then her eyes opened and saw me looking at her.

"Coffee?" I asked.

"Yes, please, my Lieutenant," she answered.

We had coffee on the porch.

The resort owner had a map of the walking trails and, after buying some sandwiches for lunch, we explored the nearby hills. We stopped at a camp site that had a table and ate our lunch and sipped from a small bottle of wine that I had carried in our lunch bag.

We arrived back about four o'clock and took a shower and then made slow, gentle love with each other. When Elke came she squeezed me as hard as she could. I was happy.

Sunday was more of the same. After a late coffee we rented a row boat and I took us out into the lake with our lunch sandwiches. After two hours of going almost nowhere, I steered us into the shore and we ate on the stone beach. As I rowed back I saw the warm sun reflect off of Elke's chest. She seemed so happy.

"Take off your blouse, Elke," I asked.

"But, Dave, people will see."

"There is no one on the lake but us, Elke... for me?"

She blushed, but her fingers went to her buttons and the blouse came off. Her small bra still hid her breasts from me.

"Elke?"

"You want me to take off my bra."

"Yes."

"What will you think of me?"

"That you are beautiful."

She was blushing furiously, but her hands went behind her back and her bra dropped to the bottom of the boat.

"Is that what you want?"

"What I want, Elke, is to say that you are beautiful and I love you."

She gave me a sheepish smile and leaned back against the bow of the boat. She made no attempt to hide her breasts from me.

An hour later we came close to shore and she put on her blouse. She put her bra into the lunch bag.

It was another night of slow, loving sex. When we were done I said, "I love you."

She didn't answer; she was asleep.

Our last day at the resort we hiked the hills again and then tried to swim in the lake. The water was ice cold and it was impossible to stay in it for more than thirty seconds. We gave up and dressed and walked to the small town two miles away and shopped for trinkets.

In the early evening we were still in the town and decided to eat at a small restaurant off the main street. The fish just caught from our lake tasted great and the sweet German wine complemented the meal. Our table had a single candle burning and the light reflected off Elke's face and chest. She seemed happy.

We walked back to our cabin and took our shower together to get the day's dirt off. We opened a bottle of wine and sat on the porch watching the last light of day disappear into the water.

I pulled Elke into the bedroom. The previous two nights had been gentle sex, but I knew in my heart that Elke wanted more. I took off her clothes and then mine and started to tease her with my tongue. Each time she reached for me, I stopped her.

The more I teased her nipples the more she asked for relief. I spread her legs and licked her inner thighs repeatedly, but refused to lick her clit. She was screaming at me now—she wanted relief and I wasn't giving it to her. Finally I pushed her legs back against her chest and sank into her with one thrust. She screamed with pleasure and started coming—violently arching her pelvis into me to gain more penetration. At the apex of her arousal she wailed, "I love you!"

As our bodies subsided I thought, "That's the first time she ever said that she loved me."

I looked at her and she started crying. I didn't know if it was tears of joy or something else. All I knew was she was sobbing and clutching me. I just held her. When I tried to talk, her finger went to my lips as a signal to say nothing.

Long minutes went by as she cuddled into my chest sobbing; I went to sleep.

In the middle of the night I woke up and she wasn't in bed; I found her on the porch staring at the lake.

"Come back to bed, Elke."

She followed me as I pulled her arm and led her into the bedroom.

When I woke up the next morning I found her on the porch drinking coffee. We sat there in silence.

Finally, she said, "It was a wonderful holiday. I'll never forget it."

She stood up and went into the bedroom to pack for our trip back.

The train ride back was mostly in silence—Elke was in another one of her quiet moods. We got back to the apartment and had a dinner at a local restaurant.

It was driving me crazy; Elke wouldn't talk to me!

We went back to the apartment and I insisted that I stay for the night. I clutched her naked body next to mine and we fell asleep.

When I woke up she was already awake drinking her coffee. I poured my coffee and sat next to her. She wouldn't speak to me. Finally, I showered and put on my uniform.

"Elke, I have to leave."

She walked over to me, her face drawn and sad, and silently hugged me. When I tried to kiss her, she turned her head and I kissed her cheek.

It was a twenty minute walk to the front gate of the post. As I stood in line to have my identification checked, I thought back about the weekend. She was so happy... she said she loved me for the first time... and so sad—like death.

Just as I reached the MP guard station I thought, "Fuck this! Elke has to tell me what's going on."

I turned away from the gate and hurried back to the apartment.

I walked into the apartment expecting to confront Elke, but she wasn't there. I spotted a piece of paper on the kitchen table and picked it up.

My darling Dave,

You have to believe that I loved you with all my heart.

I lied to you and deceived you, but I never betrayed you. You must believe me; I never betrayed you.

It is true that I was married, and my husband died in a military accident. But we lived in the Russian sector. And I hid from you that I have a daughter, Sophie, who is now almost three.

When my husband died the Russians told me to go into American sector and spy. I refused. But there was no money and they took my Sophie and said they would take care of her, but I had to spy for them. They are forcing other women to do the same thing. If I refused, they would harm my Sophie.

I met you and told the Russians your name. They encouraged me to be friends with you... and more.

For months they were patient, but after a while they demanded that I get information from you.