Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
 Chapter Three



   I was still in the office when Nikki came in after her shower.  She did
the massage thing on my neck and shoulders again.  "You need to get up and
walk around every now and then," she admonished.

   I hadn't even turned around when she touched me.  I was deep in the
zone, in a world far away, filled with iron and copper and porcelain and
plastic.

   "Look!" she said.  "Turn around!"

   I turned, expecting to see t-shirt and pajamas.  I didn't.

   "I hope you don't mind.  I didn't want to bother you, but I found these
on the shelf in your closet.  They give me another suit of clothes."

   "They" were a pair of hospital scrub pants and one of my old work
shirts. The cotton shirt hung on her loosely, reaching down below her
crotch in front, below the cheeks of her butt in back, whimsically
disheveled.  And she'd rolled cuffs up on the legs of the scrubs and pulled
the drawstring waist tight.  Made her look like something orphanish that I
wanted to wrap in my arms and carry off.  But I couldn't.  Instead, "Cute,"
I said.  "You look like an orphan."

   "Not a hurricane refugee?" She giggled

   "That, too.  Nikki, thanks for dinner.  It was wonderful.  I haven't
enjoyed food like that in a long time.  Eating my own cooking gets old, you
know."

   "I enjoyed doing it.  You have a nice kitchen.  Everything is so clean.
And it works."

   "And you work.  I am so surprised.  Shocked.  I never thought of you
being like this, Nikki."

   "I don't mind, Dan.  I really don't." She looked at the screen.  "You
need to pick a stopping place and shut down for the evening.  A hot shower
will relax you." She smiled and left me in the office musing over the idea
that there was a person on the planet that DIDN'T want me to work myself to
death.

   I answered one last email and shut the computer down.  Nikki was right.
The hot shower washed away stresses.  I shaved afterward and dabbed a bit
of cologne on.  Eight-thirty.  I joined Nikki in the living room.

   "Do you want to start this movie over so you can watch it from the
beginning?" She asked.

   "No, I've seen it enough times.  I can watch it from this part." And I
looked at Nikki, dark brown hair, brushed to a sheen, her blue eyes intent
on the TV, lips in a satisfied hint of a smile.  And that darned shirt,
loose on her, was showing just a glimpse of the valley between two young
A-cup titties.  And I looked longer than I should have.

   When she turned to look at me, I was watching the movie.  "Hard day,
huh, Dan?" she said.

   "Yeah.  Nuts.  But it'll get better."

   "What about when the roads open up?"

   "I figured that out already.  I'll drive to the job in the morning, and
back at night.  Might be late, but I am NOT going to spend the night on an
air mattress in an office.  Or sleeping in my truck.  Drive or no drive,
three hours in my own bed is better'n six hours there.  Besides, I'm the
freakin' engineer.  Most of the time, I just tell `em what they need to do,
then come back to see if it's done right."

   "So you'll be home every night?"

   "Yes.  Absolutely.  And this will be over in a couple of weeks.  We'll
get the major stuff back on, and over the next few months, there'll be
stuff that takes a little longer, but it won't be one of those 'bop 'til
you drop' things."

   Neither of us was really watching the movie.

   "You just do what you have to do.  And I'll make sure the house is okay
and you have dinner when you come in."

   "Nikki, you don't have to do all that."

   "Suppose I want to?  I mean, I'm staying here.  It's the least I can
do."

   "But you don't have to, babe.'

   "Yes I do," she said quietly.  "It's what people are supposed to do."
And she got up and started fixing her nest on the sofa.

   I got up and headed to bed.  I heard a quiet voice.

   "Dan," she said.  "Lay on your stomach and let me rub your back."

   "Uh, Nikki, you don't have to do that."

   "I know," she said.  "But you're tense and you worked hard and this'll
relax you."

   I rolled over and she knelt beside me in bed and kneaded my back and
shoulders.

   "I saw this on TV," she said.  "I hope I did it right."

   "You haven't done anything wrong yet, babe."

   She got up to leave.  "Then this isn't wrong either." She kissed my
cheek.  "Good night, Dan."

   Regrettably I set the alarm for six.  I knew that despite my computer
being off, the emails would pile up.  The alarm's insistent beeping woke me
and I pulled on a set of jeans and walked into the living room, headed for
the kitchen.  In the dim morning light I saw Nikki still asleep, the covers
tossed off her, looking like an angel in repose.  She stirred when I turned
on the kitchen light.

   "Mornin, babe," she said.  "I should have got up earlier and fixed
breakfast."

   "Oh, don't worry about it."

   "No," she said.  "Let's get you some coffee and you can go check email
or whatever, and I'll get you when breakfast is ready, okay."

   "Okay," I said.  I started to walk back through the living room to my
office.  She stopped me and hugged me.  I hugged back.

   "Why'd you do that, Nikki?"

   "Because I wanted to, Dan.  Just wanted to.  Now go to work.  I'll bring
you coffee."

   The smell of fresh-brewed coffee and bacon cooking filled the house. 
She came in, handing me a steaming mug.  "Two sugars.  A little half and
half.  I watched." She smiled, the corners of her eyes wrinkling and cheeks
dimpled.  "Right?"

   "My Nikki is never wrong." Wow!  Did I just say 'my Nikki'?

   There were four late emails, three of them with attached pictures and
field reports.  I turned the phone on and started listening to messages,
most of the "Dan, check your email and call me" variety.  At ten minutes to
seven the first incoming call came.  And we were off to the races.

   Nikki called me to breakfast.  I silenced the phone while we ate
together.  Afterward, she shoved me towards the office.  "You work.  Let ME
clean the kitchen.  Okay?'

   "Okay."

   And back to work I went.  In the back of my head I recognized the noises
of a busy kitchen.  Then they stopped.  Nikki handed me another mug of
coffee.  "Dan," she said, "You have a needle and thread somewhere around
here.  You used it to fix my shirt.  Where's it at?"

   "In the top left side drawer of the desk in the living room.  Why?'

   "I'm gonna alter some clothes.  Like these scrubs.  And this old shirt.
So they fit better."

   "By hand?  You can do that?"

   "Grandma again."

   "Can you use a sewing machine?"

   "Yes.  I think so."

   I got up, went to a closet and pulled a portable sewing machine out. 
And a box containing a variety of things, thread, needles, buttons.

   Squeal!

   "You're not the only one who knows how to do things."

   "Okay," she giggled.  "I can do this.  Now go back to work."

   And the sound of a sewing machine added to the sounds of our little
island of sanity.

   Eleven o'clock brought the sounds of a helicopter again.  Landing.  We
walked out and down the drive together.  Sheriff again.

   "Hello there, Dan Granger," he said.  And he tilted his hat.  "Miss
Nikki."

   "Out surveying your kingdom again?"

   He laughed.  "I'm like king of a shitpile right now.  You folks doin'
alright?"

   "Yes we are," I said.  "I got cell coverage and 3G internet back
yesterday.  I've been working ever since.  When are they going to have the
road cleared?"

   "That's what I was gonna tell you," he said.  "There are dozers and
graders working up from the highway onto this road right now.  You might be
able to drive out late tomorrow if they don't have to fix any big washouts.
We've had a couple of doozies.  Storm surge was somethin'."

   "That'll be good.  My office offered to fly me out on a chopper.  But I
told them I had Nikki here and I would have to come back at night, so I'm
working from home."

   He laughed.  "Ya'll're like Robinson freakin' Crusoe.  Miss Nikki, did
you do that sewin', or did he?"

   Nikki raised her hand.  "Grandma taught me."

   He laughed.  "It works.  Shows that it's done by hand, but it works." He
looked at me.  "How's fuel holding up?"

   "Haven't even used a quarter of the tank."

   "You gonna need some any time soon?"

   "I hope not.  It's propane.  Not like you can haul it in here in a
bucket."

   "No," he said, grinning, "but we use propane at the emergency operations
center, and they're gonna have to get us a truck by the end of the week.  I
can make sure they stop by here."

   "Man, that'd be great.  I might even vote for you next election."

   "You might not have to.  Another hit like this and there won't be
anybody living here to run against me." He looked over his shoulder at the
Blackhawk sitting on the road, rotor blades still spinning.  "Say, you got
a couple of those cold Cokes?"

   "You got it, Sheriff," I said.

   "Call me Ernie," he said.  Nikki showed up with four cokes already
sweating in the humidity.  She handed them to him.  "And you folks be
careful.  You got your cellphone now, wait.  Hold this, Miss Nikki."

   She grabbed the cans as he reached in a pocket.  "Here's my card. 
Office, private office line, and my cell.  Call me if you need somethin'."
He retrieved his drinks and walked back to the helicopter.  I watched him
pass them to the crew.  We waved as they took off, curving out across the
marshes.

   Walking back in, I told Nikki, "I'm glad I stocked up on cokes."

   She laughed.  "But he says he can get us fuel.  And maybe you can get
out tomorrow."

   "Yeah, but I don't know if that's good news or not.  Let's eat lunch and
try to make a list of stuff we need."

   After lunch, we took a generator outage.  I checked fluids and belts and
a dozen other things in making sure that the lights stayed on.  Satisfied,
I started it back up and put the electricity back to the house.  I
restarted the computer and started wading through the email again.  And the
cell calls.  And I told Steve of the possibility that I just might be able
to get out the day after tomorrow.

   "Just come on," he said.  "Everybody's satisfied so far.  They're
reading the email strings.  And nobody's kicking about paying you to lounge
around down there.  But they'd like to see you."

   "I'll be there as soon as I can.  But understand one thing, Steve."

   "What's that?"

   "I AM.  I say again, I AM going to be back here every night.  And not
that "two in the morning" stuff, either.  I have somebody who needs to be
taken care of here.  A kid."

   "I didn't know you had a kid, Dan."

   "It's a long story.  I do.  So we'll do it my way or I'll have me one of
them cushy offices in a building in Houston.  And neither one of us wants
that.  Right?"

   Steve sounded hurt.  "Dan, Dan... I said we'd do it."

   "I know, Steve, but that's while I'm sitting here.  If I'm in there,
SOME people decide they want to throw their weight around.  They're gonna
be throwing at my bumper goin' out the gate."

   Nikki was monitoring this conversation.  "Dan, you're kinda harsh on
`im."

   "He's the one I was talkin' about, babe, throwin' his weight around.  He
needs me more than I need him.  It'll be okay." I pointed out the picture
on the screen.  "What'd'ya think?" I wanted to see if she was paying
attention.

   "Old.  Wet?"

   "Yeah, here's a test report." I pulled it up on the screen and she
looked at the numbers.

   She pointed to a column.  "Aren't these supposed to be, like, two digits
or less?"

   "Right."

   Her finger pointed to the heading.  "Uh, this is a breaker, right?"

   "That's what it says."

   "And it, like, goes with, uh, connects to a bus?"

   "Yep." She WAS paying attention.

   She smiled.  "I heard you do this one.  You said, "Dry the breakers in
an oven and remediate the bus with portable heaters."

   I laughed.  "I oughtta be cookin' supper and YOU should be doin' this!"

   "Nuh-uh," she said.  "I'm like a parrot.  I just repeat what I heard. 
And navy bean soup for supper, okay?"

   "Yes, dear." She slapped the back of my head playfully as she left.

   I was on the second page of a tablet where I was logging my time on each
job, talking into my headset and typing when I saw a hand reach around and
hand me a glass of coke over ice.  "Take a break," she said.  "Come sit in
your chair."

   I kicked back in my recliner and she knelt at my feet, took one and
rubbed it.  I groaned.  After a couple of minutes, she switched feet. 
"Where'd you learn that?  And don't tell me your grandma..."

   "Then I won't say anything." She smiled.

   I closed my eyes for fifteen minutes.  When I opened my eyes, she was
sitting on the sofa, her knees drawn up under her, watching me.  "You
okay?" I asked.

   "I'm fine, why?" she answered.

   "Because you're looking at me."

   "Sorry," she said.  "I just never saw anybody work like you've been
working.  You just DO it."

   "I suppose, babe," I said.  "It's what I do."

   "I'm impressed." She smiled.

   I went back to work.  After another hour, I got up to stretch.  I found
bean soup simmering on the stove and Nikki in the living room with
headphones.  Beethoven.  She took the phones off when I walked in.

   "This is what you chose?" I questioned.

   "Yes," she answered.  "I love this music."

   I smiled, walking back into my office.  Back into the fray.  Five
o'clock and things were dwindling when she came in and her hands grasped
and kneaded my shoulders.  When she stopped, she wrapped me in her arms
from behind and whispered in my ear, "Dinner, Dan!" And kissed me lightly
on the top of my head.

   The soup was good.  After supper, I fielded a couple more phone calls
and emails and then shut the office down.  I walked into the living room.
She smiled when I entered.  "I'm done for the night," I declared.

   "Good," she said.  She patted the sofa beside her.  "Lay here.  Put your
head on my lap."

   "What?" I looked at her.

   She looked at me.  "It's simple.  Lay here.  And put your head on my
lap. I'm trying to help you relax.  Okay?"

   "Okay," I said.  And I did.  She looked down at me and massaged my
temples and caressed my face.  "Mmmmmm, baby, that feels soooo good!"

   "I used to do this for the little girl next door when I babysat.  It
calmed her down and put her to sleep." She smiled.  "Don't go to sleep,
though." And it could have been perfectly innocent and so very caring.

   Finally I sad, "Nikki, If I don't get up and shower, I'm gonna go to
sleep right here in your lap."

   Her smile was sublime.  "That wouldn't be THAT bad.  But you'll sleep
better if you shower."

   I got up.  She usually showered first, but tonight I went ahead.  Twenty
minutes later, I was out and she went in.  "Don't worry," she said.  "I
sewed my own pajamas today." And she did.  My oversized pajama bottoms were
altered to fit her much slimmer and shorter frame.  She sat on the sofa and
I was safely in my chair.

   I looked at her.  Her eyes were softer, a subtle change in the way she
looked at me.  I wrote it off as fatigue on my part.  I was mentally
fatigued.

   "Dan," she said, "When you go out, are you going to be able to get to
someplace where stores are open?"

   "I dunno.  Why?"

   She said, "I'm gonna need some things."

   "What kind of things?"

   "I need another bra and some panties.  And anything I can get for
clothes.  I can write down my sizes."

   "I can do better than that.  I can take you."

   "Take me?"

   "Yeah.  When the roads are open, we BOTH go to the office.  You stay
there for a few hours while I visit some clients, then I come get you and
we go to Houston and get what you need."

   "Can you do that?  I mean, they want you there bad."

   "And I'll be there.  But I have to take care of you, too."

   "Dan, I don't have money."

   "I got an empty platinum card and a full bank account.  I think I can
get you fitted out."

   Squeal.  And she launched at me and kissed me on the lips.  Perhaps a
little bit too long.  But she backed up like it was the most natural and
innocent thing she'd ever done.

   "Now get off my bed," she said.

   And we both went to sleep.  The next morning my alarm went off and I
woke to the smell of coffee and bacon.  I walked into the kitchen rubbing
my eyes.  "Beat you!" she giggled.

   Mid-morning I was busy answering email and she came in all excited. 
"Dan!  There's a bulldozer comin' up the road!"

   "Come on!" I said.  "Let's go see." We drove my truck down to meet the
dozer.

   "Uh, yeah," said the operator, pointing at my big four wheel drive
pickup.  "That'll make it out just fine."

   "I'll be coming back later."

   "You got an emergency pass?"

   "As a matter of fact, I do." The company had sent out an email with
letters to grant access to me as "emergency personnel" and I had copies in
the truck.  "We need to make another pass through the house and then we'll
be back here."

   The grizzled operator snorted.  "They'll get out of your way.  There's a
big washout a mile up the road, but you can get by on the good part."

   "Great!  Thanks!  Hey, you wanna cold coke?"

   "Nah, thanks," he said.  "I got an ice chest full." He pointed to the
box beside him.  "But thanks!  Really!"

   Nikki was excited as we went back to the house.  I shut the computer
down.  And I called Steve and told him that I was going to be offline for
the rest of the day.  We checked Tommi's food and water, then shut the
generator down and locked up the house.

   "Nikki," I said, "You got the sheriff's card?"

   "Sure," she said, pulling it out of her pocket.

   I dialed the number on my phone.  It rang.

   "Sheriff Richard, can I help you?"

   "Yessir," I said.  "This is Dan Granger."

   "Oh, hi, Dan.  Trouble?"

   "Nope!  Just wanted to let you know that we're getting ready to make a
run to civilization.  We'll be back tomorrow, most likely."

   "Road crew made it that far, then," he said.

   "Yessir.  Just got here." "Somebody'll come by and check on your place,
then.  Be careful out there."

   "Okay, thanks!"

   I had an overnight bag packed, and my camera and my laptop computer. 
And Nikki was in the middle of the cab, buckled in next to me.  Like it was
the way things should be.  She could've been all the way on the passenger
side, but I didn't question it because honestly, it kind of felt good.

   The drive out on our little secondary road was slow going.  We dodged a
couple of washed out sections, easing by crews at work repairing them. 
They stopped and stared at this big silver truck coming out of an area they
thought was empty of humanity.  Nikki waved.

   Once we hit the main road, things picked up a bit, but there were still
sections that needed care.  And finally we hit the interstate highway and
headed west.  Eighty miles up the road, you wouldn't know there even WAS a
storm.  And fifty miles later, Houston was, well, Houston.  It took me
several tries before I found a hotel room, and it was a bit pricey, but we
were glad to get it.  And I took Nikki to a mall.

   She needed EVERYTHING.  And she got it.  I had to push a few times,
making her choose slightly more expensive GOOD stuff instead of the
cheapest available, "And for heaven's sake, Nikki, get enough of `em." I
was carrying armloads of bags, the second trip, having already deposited a
load in the truck.  As we started to leave the last store, she looked
wistfully at the cosmetic and perfume counter.  I caught the look.

   "Is there something you'd like, there, babe?" I asked.

   "No, Dan.  You've spent too much on me already."

   "I bought you stuff you need, Nikki," I said.  "Now, is there something
that I can just GIVE you?  Like makeup?" I didn't think she needed makeup.
It would be gilding a lily.

   "Perfume?" She named a name.  "But no.  It's like, eighty dollars!"

   I turned toward the perfume display and an attentive salesgirl came
forward.

   "Can I help you find something?" she asked.

   "Yes ma'am.  Whatever this young lady needs, give it to her."

   She smiled at Nikki.  Nikki told her the name, and a blue foil box was
presented in exchange for a swipe of a credit card.  We made our way back
to the truck.

   "Dinner!" she said.  "What about dinner?"

   "Pick a restaurant."

   She did.  We ate a very nice meal.  I noted her manners were certainly a
lot better than I'd expect for a girl out of Section 8 housing.  I asked
her about it and found that it was yet another of the lessons from grandma.


   That put us checking into the hotel room.  We brought in the bags and
entered the room, replete with a pair of queen-sized beds.  I watched a
happy teen trying on one outfit after another, then carefully packing them
all away in their bags.

   We showered.  When she came out, she was wearing one of our purchases, a
very neat pair of pajamas that chastely covered her and in my mind made her
even more desirable in her innocence.  I showered second, came out to find
she'd turned down both beds and was propped up on a pile of pillows
watching real TV for the first time in several days.  I sat on the edge of
the other bed.

   "No," she said.  "You can sleep there.  But come over here and sit by me
for a while.  While we watch TV."

   I did.  She snuggled up against me.  "Dan, thank you.  You didn't have
to do any of this, you know."

   "I know," I said.  "But you lost everything.  You needed stuff." I
sniffed.  "Even that perfume."

   "Did I put on too much?"

   "No."

   "Mom puts on too much.  I guess it has to cut through the cigarette
smoke.  Grandma said it should be a hint, not a hammer."

   "It's a hint.  Smells very good.  And you look very nice in your new
clothes, baby." Snuggled against me, I could lay my cheek on top of her
head and breathe the scent of a fresh, clean girl into my nostrils.  I felt
a familiar stirring.  I raised my knee, drawing my leg back to hide the
bulge.

   "Is something wrong, Dan?" she asked.

   "No," said, "Just a cramp in my leg."

   She raised up and looked directly at me.  "You don't have to fib to me,
Dan.  I KNOW what an erection is."

   "Uh... Nikki."

   "And I know that sometimes you can't control when you get one.  It's
okay, Dan.  Really."

   "Nikki..."

   "Dan... I just wanted to be close to you for a little while.  You take
good care of me, okay?  That's all.  You can go to your bed if you need
to."

   "Oh, dammit, Nikki, I don't want to.  I liked you there.  But..."

   "I understand, Dan.  You're a good guy.  We... I wasn't tryin' to ... I
was tryin' NOT to.  Okay?"

   "Okay." And I got up to get into the other bed.  And as I left, I kissed
her on the nose.

   "No," she said.  And she pulled my face down and kissed me on the lips,
just a tiny bit past a little girl happy kiss.

   The alarm went off at six AM and we were out the door a half-hour later,
stopping at a diner for breakfast that wasn't nearly as good as the ones
I'd been enjoying, even though I did get to gaze at those blue eyes over a
hot cup of coffee.

   Three hours later we were back at the house, unloading her purchases and
restarting the generator.  I left her under the watchful eye of a yellow
cat and I went to work.  On the way in, I phoned Steve and told him to meet
me on one of the jobsites so I wouldn't have to waste time at the office.
By the time I'd visited three sites, it was six PM.  It took me an hour to
get home, including invocation of both my "emergency access" letter AND the
name of Sheriff Richard to get past an "access control point", AKA
"roadblock".

   I walked in the door to a smiling Nikki.  She was dressed in new shorts
and a simple cotton blouse and darn it!  My heart fluttered when I saw her.

   "Hey, sweetie," I said.  "Everything okay?"

   "Great," she said with a smile.

   I sniffed.  "Smells like a roast."

   "Yeah," she said.  "I hope it works.  It was frozen.  I left it in the
fridge to thaw yesterday.  But I stuffed it with garlic and it's been on
the stove since noon.  I need to do some vegetables and a pot of rice.  You
can go take your shower and it'll be ready."

   I smiled.  "Thanks."

   She looked at me.  "If you could've called me, I would've had it ALL
ready when you got here."

   "But I didn't have a way to call you."

   "No you didn't."

   "I'll fix that." I turned to Nikki.  "Okay.  If you can get through
tomorrow, you'll have a phone"

   "I just need one until the phones come back on, Dan."

   "That might be a while, baby," I said.

   "But my own phone?"

   "You'll need one."

   "Dan, answer me something.  Truth, okay?"

   I looked.  There was a serious look in the face of this young doll. 
"Always the truth, Nikki.  Why would we lie to each other?"

   "We shouldn't.  Ever."

   "So what's the question?"

   "How long am I going to stay here?"

   "As long as you want.  As long as you need to.  As long as you can."

   "Bu... but what if my mom doesn't come get me?"

   "That would be sad for her.  But you can stay here.  Might be some
strange hoops we have to go through, because if you're here, I need to be
able to be responsible for you.  Like for doctors and school and things. 
Is that the answer you were looking for?"

   "I guess so," she said.  Her expression was strange, though. 
Questioning.

   "What else can I say?  Did I miss something?"

   She fixed me with a gaze.  "Just one thing.  How long do YOU WANT me to
stay?"

   And heaven help me, because the word that came out of my mouth was
"Forever."

   And the response was a fifteen year old girl leaping into my arms and
wrapping her own around my neck.  And a decidedly un-little girlish kiss.

   "I missed you today, Dan.  I really did."

   "I missed you too, Nikki.  I thought my day would never end.  But we got
ourselves a mess here."

   "What do you mean, Dan?"

   "Very confusing for me."

   "How?"

   "Nikki, you're fifteen.  I'm forty one.  That's twenty-six years."

   "Grandma told me that the reason my real grandpa wasn't around was that
he married her when she was sixteen and he was forty-five.  That's almost
thirty years.  And she loved him until the day she died.  Her second
husband was her age.  He was a jerk.  Left her."

   "I could go to jail for just touching you."

   "I know that.  But I won't tell.  Nobody'll know."

   "You've known me for what, a week?"

   "Yes.  How much time do I need?" She turned and plopped backward onto
the sofa, arms crossed.  Her bottom lip was pouting.  "You know," she said,
"I'm NOT ignorant about people."

   "I didn't say you were, Nikki."

   "I know about sex and stuff.  I mean, I have a Mom who's been showin' me
the wrong way to do that since I was old enough to remember."

   "B-but..."

   "No "buts".  I know you're aroused by me.  You tried to hide it but you
didn't do a very good job.  Don't you imagine you just might have the same
effect on me?"

   "I don't know."

   "I'm fifteen.  I've known boys.  I've known men.  But I never let one
TOUCH me.  Dan, I'm a virgin.  At fifteen.  I don't know if there are any
others in my class.  I suppose there are, but I know I am, for sure.  And I
wanted to kiss you and hug you and maybe other stuff.  And I know all about
the laws.  So what do you think I'm gonna do?  Kiss you and run tell
somebody?  I'm not."

   "But Nikki, five days ago you didn't even know me.  I pulled you out of
a building.  I didn't do that to take advantage of you.  I'd have done the
same thing if you were a boy."

   "Even the cologne?"

   "Well maybe not the cologne."

   "So YOU put YOUR cologne on, and then you walk by me and I smell it and
I think "hmmm, that smells really good" and I want to get close enough to
smell it some more, and you start getting all paranoid?"

   "Nikki... baby..."

   "And that's another thing.  I've been "babe" an' "baby" and now you're
gonna treat me like I got a disease.  Don't you just suppose I might want
to just cuddle and be hugged and kissed."

   Okay, baby," I said, "but kisses and hugs... it's hard to draw the line
there sometimes..."

   "Dan.  Would you ever hurt me?"

   "No..."

   "I believe you.  Implicitly." And Nikki, a fifteen year old girl who
used words like "Implicitly".  "D'ya want me to say..."

   "Say what?" I asked.

   "That I think I love you?"

   "Nikki, that's just what I'm scared of.  That's why I don't have a
girlfriend.  I don't ever want to be told "I love you" again and give that
back and have them change their minds.  Every time that happens, it hurts
worse than the time before.  And the last one..."

   "I'm sorry, Dan.  It's never happened to me.  But I've had a screwed up
life.  My mom would just as soon be rid of me.  I don't know who my dad is
at all.  And there's nobody in my life, ever been in my life, that made me
smile like you did.  Already.  And I don't want to be told "I love you"
just because you want to get in my pants.  They're MY pants, and I control
who gets in `em."

   "I didn't do anything, Nikki... Just..."

   "Don't you understand, Dan... You didn't, but you did."

   "I don't want to take advantage of you, Nikki."

   She smiled, but a tear was tracking down a perfect cheek.  "Good!  Then
don't.  Hold me and kiss me and tell me that you will love me forever and
mean it.  Would THAT be taking advantage of me?  If you mean it?"

   "No.  It wouldn't."

   "Am I too unlovable to say that, then?"

   "No, you're certainly not."

   Then in a quiet small voice she said, "Then exactly why don't you say
it. If you mean it."

   "You win.  Nikki, heaven help us, I feel like I've been hit by
lightning, but I love you."

   "And I love you too, Dan." And this time I kissed back.  And again. 
This time I felt her lips part and a tongue brush mine lightly.  I opened
my own lips and our tongues met for the first time.  "Mmmmmmm," she purred.
"I know you're scared, Dan," she said.  "But I will never leave you.  I
promise."

   "I want to believe you," I said." I do.  But baby, you're fifteen."

   She kissed me again.  "Babe," she said, "fifteen is old enough to do
'forever'.  People didn't used to get married in their twenties and
thirties like today.  I can do 'forever'.  I'll be yours forever.  Okay?"
Kiss.

   I sighed.  "Then I'm yours.  Forever."

   And she pushed me backward onto the sofa and was astraddle me, kneeling.
She relaxed and settled into my lap and her crotch landed on top of my
erection.  And she wiggled down against it.  "You tried to hide this from
me." She grabbed my shirt and pulled it upward, tugging so I'd raise my
arms and she could get it off me.  Finishing, she reached down to unbutton
her own shirt and paused.  "Dan, I don't have big titties."

   "Little darling Nikki, I know what size titties you have.  Do you think
I'm made of steel?  I looked, babe.  Besides, I washed your bra."

   "Then you're not disappointed?"

   "Certainly not."

   She stripped the shirt off, tossing it over her shoulder and lowering
her arms.  At first she crossed them over her chest, covering that precious
beauty, but I kissed her and she lowered them and sat back.  "Beautiful. 
Absolutely perfect." And I caressed them, reveling in the firm flesh, her
areoles a little smaller than a quarter, her nipples like pencil erasers,
just as pink, and now, just as hard.  I twisted downward to kiss one.  She
purred, and when I sucked it, her hands pushed the back of my head, pushing
my face into her.

   I sat back up straight and looked at her face, then kissed her bangs on
her forehead.  Her eyes were bright.  "Dan," she whispered.  "Wouldn't the
bedroom be better?"

   I cupped the cheeks of her ass in my hands, holding her against me and
stood up.  She buried her face into my neck as I walked us to the bedroom
and gently sat her down on the bed.  Her hands went to the waistband of my
pants and pulled downward.  I took the hint and stood up and shed the
remainder of my clothes.  Her eyes widened at the sight of my dick, as hard
as it could possibly get, all six inches of it.

   "So that's it," she said.  "That's it." She moved to a kneeling position
and pulled her shorts down below her butt, then rolled backward and peeled
them off her long legs.  When she lowered her legs, I was treated to the
sight of wisps of dark, fine hair on her pubic mound.  She wasn't hairy. 
The mound was rounded and gave home to the start of her slit, glistening
with moisture.

   I crawled into the bed beside her and kissed her.  Her arms pulled me on
top of her.  "Nikki, darling, I love you, but we can still stop.  You're
still a virgin.  You can keep that."

   "Dan," she said.  "I love you, and... my virginity?  I'm finished with
it.  I want you to have it."

   "It could hurt the first time, baby..."

   "I know.  But I talked to the doctor when I first started having periods
and he said my, uh, hymen was vestigial.  Like it's almost not there.  And
if it hurts the first time, it won't hurt all the rest of the times."

   "Maybe it would be better if you were on top, baby, where you can
control how fast things go."

   "Okay, honey," she said.  I rolled her over on top of me.  We kissed
more, my hands wandering, exploring her lithe body.  She sat up, astraddle
me.

   "Wow," she commented, "I can't believe how much stuff is coming out of
me." Her hand reached down and touched the head of my dick as it was
trapped between us.  She raised up and it flipped upward.  She guided it
towards her waiting hole, the head lining up, slickened with juices I'd
love to taste.  She worked her hips forward and back, pushing downward as
the head buried into its home.  "We're doin' it, Dan." She rose up, then
pushed down.  A half inch disappeared.  The next stroke got more.  And
finally I felt her pussy lips against the base of my dick and her smile
told the story.  "Dan, you're IN me."

   "Did it hurt, baby?"

   "Not even a little bit." She was smiling with her whole face, looking
down at me.  Then a cloud came over her face.  "Dan, I don't want to get
pregnant."

   "Uh, babe, that's not happening.  Remember when I told you that my ex
and I couldn't have kids?  It could have killed her or the baby.  So I got
fixed."

   "Like a vasectomy?"

   "Exactly."

   Giggle.  And wiggles involving two people with parts that were made to
fit together.  "Then shoot.  Come."

   "What do you know about coming and shooting?"

   "Mom's a slut.  And not a very quiet one." She slid back and forth on
me. And laid down on top of me, and we entwined our arms and kissed. 
Mated. "Dan," she whispered.  "It ain't sex to me.  It's love.  Just a part
of love, but it's love."

   I marveled at the flurry of thoughts and emotions that were running
through my Nikki.  "You're so beautiful in so many ways, Nikki." I kissed
her and she writhed in my arms, then pushed up, her hands on my chest.  And
her hips moved.

   There was a smile and her eyes were gleaming as she began to experiment
with the feeling she could generate by moving the moistness over the shaft
that she'd welcomed inside her.  "Mmmmmm.  Dan!  Feels soooo good!" She
rocked back and forth, finding an angle and a motion that made her very
happy.  "There!  Like that.  I can feel you IN me and I can feel ME rubbin'
on you.  In just the right place."

   And she started a rhythm.  And I couldn't help myself, but my own hips
started pushing in concert with her rhythm.  I could feel her juices
starting to cover the front of my balls and my pubic mound.  My dick was
immersed.  And Nikki was getting more insistent in her motions.  The smile
on her face morphed to concentration and her eyes alternated between bright
and open to squinched closed.  And then she bit her bottom lip.  "Oh!  Dan.
It's.  Happening!  Aaauuughhhhh!" and her hands grabbed my chest, my
breasts, and her fingers dug in.  And she came.  As I splurted
uncontrollably into her center.

   "Niiiiiiiikki, baby!  I'm coming.....  Aaahhhh!!!!" And Nikki fell
forward into my arms.

   It took a minute for us to return to lucidity.  "Dan," she said.  "Mom
told me that it wouldn't be good for me the first time." She sighed.  "She
was wrong about that, too."

   "Mmmmmm, baby!  I'm glad." I kissed her gently.

   "Was it good for you?" She looked at me from three inches away.

   "I think I entered a parallel universe, baby."

   She giggled softly.  "It was good for US, then." She kissed me lightly,
perfectly, in post-coital bliss, her face framed by dark brown hair, her
blue eyes happy.  From our nether regions came a soft plop as my softening
dick fell out of its new home.

   Nikki gave a tentative wiggle in response.  "It fell out, Dan..."

   "It's dead.  It died happy, though." And I smiled at her tinkling
giggle, caressing her back and butt with my hands.  "You feel so good,
baby."

   She purred at my touch.  "Mmmmmm, So do you, baby." She slid sideways
off of me and molded herself along my left side.  "Dan, you take such good
care of me..."

   "You're worth caring for, baby.  You were before you showed up at my
door.  And even more now."

   Her eyes were bright, a smile on her lips.  "You've given me more in
five days than I've had since Grandma died, Dan."

   "That's a two-way, street, little one.  You don't know what it meant to
me to wake up and find you in the kitchen, smiling.  And leaning over my
shoulder in the office, smiling.  And sitting on the sofa, smiling.  It's
like you brought a rainbow into my life."