   The stars twinkled down from a crystal sky. The moon was just a
sliver, illuminating nothing but making the shadows seem deeper.
Four cars sat silent in the driveway. The windows of the house were
dark. A hush had fallen over the scene.
   It was not long before the silence was broken by the whish-whish
of footsteps moving through the tall grass. Two shadows broke apart
from the others and moved to the side door of the garage. The
taller of the two fumbled in his pockets for something. There was
the jingle of keys and the door obediently swung open. The shadows
dissappeared within.

   James flicked on the lights, blinding them both for a second.
When Theresa could see again she surveyed the scene. "So, this is
it?"
   "Yep." James said. "Be it ever so humble--and they don't come
much more humble than this."
   The interior of the garage appeared to be a cross between a
(35 left) More: (Enter) or (Y)es, (N)o, (NS)non-stop? ns

bedroom and a storage shed. Tools hung on the wall. By the door was
a rather uncomfortable looking low bed with a bicycle parked next
to it. Theresa noticed one of the tires was flat and smiled. No
wonder he went into shock when it blew!
   At the other end of the garage stood a computer desk complete
with mandatory computer and plenty of other stuff stacked on the
shelves. Beside the computer stand was a large stack of white
boxes. She could see comic book covers through the oval slits on
the side. The rest of the room was hard to describe. Various pieces
of furniture were stacked along the wall, and every horizontal
surface had something stacked on it. So much was stuffed into such
a small space that there was barely room to swing a cat.
Fortunately there were no cats available anyway. Against the
opposite wall a large standup freezer hummed contentedely to
itself.
   Finally she said, "This isn't bad. It's a roof over your head."
She looked up and saw something strange. A mason jar strung from a
hook overhead with a cord running from it, nailed across the
ceiling to a light socket with a plug in it. "What is that?"
   "Oh, you'll like this..." James reached up and plugged in the
cord. Immediately the little jar lit up with colored points of
light. Theresa gasped a little, in spite of herself. It was
beautiful. Then James reached out and unscrewed the other ceiling
lights just enough to put them out. The little jar cast a pale,
subdued glow about the room, like a tiny galaxy all alone. Deep,
mellow shadows surrounded them, making the room more cozy and warm.
   "That's beautiful." She said quietly.
   "Nothing special, just some christmas lights I stuffed in there.
Works really well, I think." He moved behind her and placed his
hands on her shoulders, gently massaging them and admiring the way
the light brought out the highlights in her beautiful long brown
hair. Theresa closed her eyes and smiled as a sigh escaped her.
"That's nice."
   After a long moment James stopped, rummaging through a sack on
the table. He pulled out a small plastic bottle. "I have to go get
this heated up first. You could, um, get undressed while I do
that." He pulled a towel from the dresser. "Is this fine?"
   "Perfectly fine." Theresa said, accepting the towel. "You go
ahead and do that. I'll be waiting..."
   "Okay." James said, a little nervousness in his voice. He closed
the door quietly behind him and a moment later she heard the back
porch door open and close.
   Silly boy. What was he worried about? Theresa was surprised to
find her heart was beating a little faster than usual. She sat down
on the bed, testing it. Three inches of foam over a solid wood
platform with a comforter on top. About as uncomfortable as it
looked. Probably about right softness for a massage table, except
it was too big and too low. Oh, well, James said it would work
fine. She trusted his judgement.
   In the dim multicolored light she quietly undressed. Standing
nude in the middle of a man's bedroom she felt a little vulnerable
and shivered, gooseflesh running down her arms and legs. Not
worried, though. She felt she knew James well enough to trust him.
But one could not be 100% sure until the moment of truth. Well,
guess what time it was?
   She shrugged off her concerns and laid down on the bed on her
stomach. She positioned the towel over her back so it covered her
from mid-thigh to her shoulderblades. Then she folded her arms and
rested her head on them, waiting patiently.

   James returned several minutes later, bearing a large plastic
bowl of steaming water in which the little bottle floated. He saw
Theresa laying there on the bed, her skin given a lovely golden
sheen by the mood light. His heart rate suddenly tripled as his
mouth went dry. Jeez, get ahold of yourself, man! he scolded
himself. Be cool. He set the bowl down quietly on the table. "Hi."
   "Mmmm." Theresa replied, enjoying the peace of the moment. James
pulled off his shirt, asking her if she minded. "Mmmm-mm." she
replied distantly, vaguely wondering why he had to ask so many
questions. It was distracting.
   James worked his fingers a little to loosen them up. Not that he
really needed to, but he did need to regain some of his composure.
Having a beautiful young woman laying all but naked on his bed was
a little unsettling. No matter, he would act professionally!
   After a moment he felt more assured. He fished the bottle out of
the bowl and pulled the edge of Theresa's towel down to the middle
of her back. He squirted some of the massage oil on his hands and
rubbed them together. Then he placed both hands on Theresa's
shoulders just on either side of the neck and went to work.
   This was not Theresa's first massage by any means, and she could
tell that James hadn't had much practice. He used too much or too
little pressure, but not enough to hurt or tickle. It was just
uneven. Then she realized that while he wasn't experienced he was
indeed talented and fingers instinctively sought out the tension in
her muscles and worked them slowly out. It wasn't long before she
felt like purring as his strong fingers slowly worked over her back
muscles. Moving downward, downward...
   James was out of shape. By the time he reached the small of her
back his fingers were aching. No problem. He oiled his hands again
and gently placed the heels of his palms side by side along her
spine. He slowly ran them up her back, putting a little weight
behind them. He was rewarded with an "Oooohhh..." from her and did
it again several times.
   The he pulled the edge of the towel back up over her back. The
he swallowed hard and gingerly gripped the lower end of the towel,
raising it up over her back.
   It was a sight worth dying for. Her ass was magnificent, and he
just had to stop a second to admire the smooth lines of her form.
She had great legs, too. Then, embarassed, he quickly reached for
the bottle and oiled his hands some more, hoping she hadn't noticed
the lapse.
   Theresa had noticed the pause and knew exactly what he was
looking at. She blushed a little but she was also flattered. Her
pulse quickened and she felt a warmth begin to spread out within
her, starting out from a spot not too far from where he had been
staring...
   James began working the muscles of her lower back with gentle
strength. His fingers worked down over her hips and around until he
had one beautiful cheek in each hand which he kneaded slowly.
   James wondered how she'd feel if she knew he had a massive
erection. He doubted she'd be surprised.
   Theresa's warmth was quickly fanned into a flame by his gentle
ministrations, though he didn't know it. Where he was touching and
how he did it was incredibly erotic, and she hoped he'd spend extra
time there.
   He did. It was with regret he moved on down to her upper thighs
and worked one leg at a time with both hands. He moved slowly,
working every square inch with great care. The fire soon cooled but
by no means did it go out. For either of them.
   Finally he laid her other leg down and quietly said, "Okay,
let's turn over."
   A gentleman to the end, he closed his eyes and picked up the
towel. Theresa rolled over and took the towel from him, positioning
it modestly. For a brief second she toyed with the idea of tossing
it aside but better judgement prevailed. For the first time she saw
the dim golden light wash over his bare chest, and saw how thin he
still was, so long after his problems. A brief twinge of pity
tugged at her heart, but it quickly quieted. Thin or not, he was
still not bad looking...
   James opened his eyes to see she was looking at him. He smiled
back as he began to work the muscles over her lower legs. Soon he
was working up to her thighs. He raised the edge of the towel as
high as he could. His eyes were well adjusted to the light and he
couldn't help noticing a few pubic hairs poking from beneath the
edge of the towel. He kept his face bland in case she was watching
him (he didn't want to look) and concentrated on gently knotting
the muscles of her thighs.
   Theresa's eyes were closed as she concentrated on the powerful
sensation of his hands moving slowly up to her crotch. The fire had
returned and she felt her hips moving slightly in rhythm with his
hands. When his hands had moved all the way up one finger
accidently (was it an accident?) brushed between the lips of her
vagina and made direct contact with her clitoris. She shuddered at
the explosion of pleasure from the direct core of her being and he
stopped suddenly. She knew he knew what had happened. Eyes still
closed, she waited to see what he would do next.
   Oh, shit, James thought. It was an accident (wasn't it?) but he
felt he had messed everything up. He felt it was a violation of
trust and for a second he considered calling the whole thing off.
But no, if she didn't say anything then why mess it up? She had
promised to squawk if things got uncomfortable and he didn't doubt
she would. He pulled the hem of the towel down, with more than a
little regret.
   Then he gently worked the muscles of her hand. How tiny it
looked in the palm of his hand! For a brief moment he was flooded
with an emotion that had nothing to do with sex, then he got back
in control. All the trust she had placed in him seemed represented
by her limp hand in his, and he suddenly felt fiercely protective
of her. Oh, knock that shit off! he scolded himself again. He had
no business feeling this way. Put it away and concentrate on the
work at hand.
   He gently kneaded the muscles of her forearm and upper arm, and
then leaned over to work the other one. Finally, he placed his
thumbs on her temples and massaged the muscles there. Then he sat
back, massaging his own aching hands. He needed to build up the
muscles more if he did this often. He hoped he would be doing this
often.

   A long moment of silence stretched between them. Finally Theresa
stirred and sighed. "That was wonderful."
   "I do try." James said, reaching down to gently stroke her arm.
He ran his fingers lightly up to her throat. She tilted her head
back as he traced the line of her jaw. A smile crossed her lips,
small but very, very large in meaning.
   Almost before he knew what he was doing, James leaned down and
kissed her. Their lips met for an endless passionate moment that
ended much too soon. When they parted he saw she was looking up at
him, and he knew she was feeling the same things as he.
   Theresa reached up and caressed his chest. "That was nice. Let's
do it again."
   So he kissed her again, their tongues meeting in an intimate
embrace. This time he didn't break contact, but instead traced his
lips down her jawline to the hollow of her throat. She giggled a
little at the tingling sensation this caused.
   Nor did he stop there. Taking his time he explored the lovely
lines of her collarbone, then moved down with slow, exquisite
deliberation. He moved the hem of the towel down until both her
breasts were left exposed. The nipples stood up stiff and hard. He
took one in his mouth and the other in his hand.
   Theresa gasped and squirmed at the waves of pleasure that swept
over her. He used teeth and tongue gently to bring her to ever
higher plateaus. Her hands roamed over his back, sometimes
clenching and leaving light scratches.
   After a while James stopped. With a contemptuous flick of the
wrist he whipped the towel away. Theresa was startled by the action
but his smile reassured her. With his mouth he travelled down her
belly, pausing a moment at her navel. Then onward again, down to
the dark triangle of her pubic hair. The hair was very soft and he
rubbed his face against if for a minute, wondering what she must
think of that.
   He moved downward a little more, teasing her inner thighs with
little licks and nibbles. With a gentle hand he parted her thighs
and brought his mouth to the very center of her pleasure.
   His tongue flicked out and teased the folds of flesh, then
moving in between them, quickly finding that one very special
spot...
   More waves of pleasure, much more intense than the first,
threatened to overwhelm her senses. Theresa gasped and shuddered,
astonished at the intensity of the feelings. Within moments the
pleasure had advanced to true sexual lust that began to build and
swell. Relentlessly he drove her to the point of orgasm, and with a
jolt she came with more force than she imagine possible, the
pleasure exploding in a trillion fragments of feeling, filling her
entire body with a shudder.
   A long moment her body tensed, muscles hard as iron, then all
tension drained out like water and she collapsed on the bed,
utterly exhausted. James collapsed beside her, holding and stroking
her gently.
   In a breathless voice she said "My God. How did you...?"
   He shrugged. "I'm not really sure, actually. I just go ahead and
do it."
   "You sure did it right." she hugged him close to her, muscles
still shivering from the release. She felt his hardness press
against her stomach, still covered by his jeans. She tugged at his
belt and said, "Considering the intimacy of the moment, aren't
those kind of out of place?"
   Without a word James stripped off his pants and hugged her close
again. The feeling of skin against skin was exquisite. Her breasts
pressed hard against his chest, generating more sexual heat. She
was surprised how fast she was recovering, and how much she wanted
more. She roamed over his ass with her free hand, feeling it's
firmness. He was doing roughly the same thing, she noticed. Then
she reached around and grasped his erection, a little surprised at
its size and hardness. She pressed her hips against his and was
more surprised at the spark of sexual energy that exploded in her.
There was just one little detail that needed taking care of. "So,
where do you keep the, um..."
   "Um's the word." James chuckled, reaching somewhere over her
head and pulling open a drawer. He retrieved a small cellophane
package which he tore open with more than a little difficulty
("Damn high-security bulletproof plastic!"). From the package he
triumphantly extracted a condom. "I knew it was in there!"
   After they stopped their nervous giggling he offered it to her.
"Would you like to do the honors?"
   She gingerly took the condom and placed it over the tip of his
penis, slowly rolling it down along it's rigid length. The pale
rubber stood out against the golden sheen of his skin and it looked
damn funny, producing more giggles. Then they embraced again, until
he rolled over on top of her. Their eyes met, and he once again
thought about how dark and mysterious and beautiful her eyes were.
In a soft voice she said, "Please be gentle."
   "Have I been anything but?" He silenced her fears with a last,
lingering kiss. Then he positioned his penis and slowly, slowly
inserted it. Then he was all the way in and grinding his hips
against hers.
   For Theresa the pleasure returned, faster and more intense than
before. It felt so damn good to have him inside of her, so right!
She never wanted it to end.
   James thrust slowly in and out, propped on one elbow and running
his free hand along her bare side. He felt her moving under him in
time to his movements and her breath was warm on his cheek. It was
a passing moment of great power and beauty. He wished it could last
forever.
   But of course nothing lasts forever. Too soon, it seemed, the
pleasure built in both of them until orgasm was inevitable. They
came together in a fury of gasps and moans, holding each other so
tightly as to almost become one, poised for one brief and glorious
second on a much higher plain than this one before returning to the
real world elated and exhausted.
   Silently they lay together for a long, long time, enjoying the
warmth and closeness and each other's touch. Quietly, Theresa said
"Thank you."
   "Well, thank you too." James whispered, hugging her tightly to
him. Again, the silence. Eventually he spoke. "Theresa?"
   "Yes?" she mumbled, somewhere between waking and sleeping.
   "There's something I been wanting to tell you. I-" he froze.
   "What?" she looked up at him, awake now.
   "I-" he started again, "Um-" he continued, finally he shook his
head and finished lamely, "I guess I must be tired."
   She turned away, dissapointed. "Me too." Maybe later he would be
able to say what he was feeling. Maybe.
   But she did not have much energy left for wondering, and soon
both of them were deeply asleep...

                                   end.

------------------------*       Copyright (c) 1989 James C. Lynn
James Charles Lynn      *             All Rights Reserved
jamesl@cie.uoregon.edu  * You may redistribute this article only if
Eugene, Oregon          *       those who receive it may do so
freely.