Chapter 5

I nodded, and then did something I haven't done since I was a little girl. I crawled into Mike's lap, and snuggled into him. "Mike, please, just hold me. I'll never be able to do this if you don't."

He rested his chin on top of my head. Holding me, he again began gently rocking me like a small child. I could hear his voice rumbling in his chest, when he said, "No harm can come to you now. You're safe here, with me. I will protect you." It all felt so soothing and comforting. I sighed.

And began.

"Dad has been a police officer ever since he got out of high school. First in the Navy Shore patrol, then in NYPD, Finally, here in Elkton. He worked his way to Chief, here. He and mom met in New York. I don't know why she was there, but she was.

"I was about three years old when mom was killed by a drunk driver. I don't remember her at all. But I do remember that Dad was terribly hurt by her death. Maybe that's why I tried to draw you out tonight. You were lost in your memories and pain, just like Dad was, then. I remember that I was scared all the time because my poppa was gone, even when he was right there.

"Then, when I was about five, something happened and, all of a sudden my poppa was back. The next thing I knew, we moved back here to Elkton. Dad bought a small, two bedroom house from his parents where we lived until I went away to college. He still lives there. Hmm," I smiled, "I had such a good life in that house.

"Daniel's Dad and mom bought the house across the street when I was eight. Daniel was nine, but we were in the same grade. Something about his birthday being so late in the year. There were no other kids our age on the block, so we naturally started hanging around together. Even back then, he hated being called Dan, or Danny. "My name is DANIEL!" he'd say.

"Oh, the trouble we'd get into. If two kids could do it, we did. Never anything really bad, mind you, but I'm sure most of my dads gray hair came from Daniel and I.

"Up until we went to high school, Daniel and I had every class together. Our teachers never tried to keep us apart, either. Funny thing, we never caused any trouble in class. Even in high school, we had a few classes together, and we always shared lunch period.

"It seems, that from the day his family moved in, we were best friends. When we started the teen crush years, we started seeing other people, but we never dated each other. We were just always there for each other. We helped each other through every heartbreak we had. We both knew the other had not had sex, yet. Nothing past 'heavy petting, ' anyway. We did know about rubbers, because one of the other girls in our class had gotten pregnant that year. She'd been having sex with her boyfriend for months, but they'd always used protection, except for that one time on New Years day. She left to 'spend time with her aunt, ' at the end of February. She never did come back. Her boyfriend left after graduation, and no one knows where he is, either.

"Any way, my first date with Daniel was our senior prom. Daniel had broke up with his girlfriend, and I with my boyfriend the grabby bastard about a month before the dance, so we decided that we'd go to the prom together. We also decided that we were going to go all the way, after the dance. Hmph, best laid plans and all that...

"What a disaster.

"I mean, picture it. two teen age virgins, with no experience whatsoever, trying to figure it out as they went along ... We had climbed into the huge back seat of his moms old Impala, and started kissing. I was damn near giddy at the thought of finally losing my virginity. Best of all, it was to be Daniel! I was happy, and excited. And horny, too. When Daniel started rubbing my breast, I broke from our kiss, and stripped. There really is no other way to describe it. I got naked just as fast as I could.