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



   So Nikki was a high school student.  We drove home, stopping at the
grocery store for a few essentials and needs.  On the trip through the
hurricane footprint we noticed a beehive, actually SEVERAL beehives of
activity as people put lives and homes and businesses back together.  Many
of the houses had the generic-looking white FEMA temporary trailers sited
in various locations nearby, along with signs of rebuilding.

   "We're lucky we don't have to go through that, baby," Nikki said.  "So
many people have a mess." Sigh.  "I talked to a few girls at school."

   "The only 'luck' in it, baby, was that YOU weren't hurt.  My buddies and
I designed that house to stand two hundred mile an hour winds, and
historical evidence says that where it's built NEVER saw a storm surge.  We
planned."

   "But why?  I mean, look at THAT house..." She indicated a badly damaged
modern construct.  Part of the roof was gone, a wall blown out.

   "Oh, I know, little one," I said.  "I could've turned my LITTLE house
into a BIG house like that for about the same money.  But what would a
single guy do with four thousand square feet, really?  The cat'd get
lost..."

   "That old house..." she pointed at a wood-frame house that was at least
seventy years old.

   "My grandmother lived in a house like that.  Survived TWO of these
hurricanes.  If you built one like that today, it'd cost more than that new
one, with half the floor space.  If you could find the materials and an old
carpenter who remembered how things USED to be done."

   "I'm learnin' stuff," she said.  "I never knew anyone who KNEW this
stuff.  How do you know this?"

   "I learned it just like you're learning it.  Observation.  Questions. 
Taking couple of ideas and smashing them together to make another idea. 
You're plenty smart enough to do it, cutie."

   "You make me feel smart, guy." And her arm twined around mine and she
laid her head on my shoulder.

   "Just pointing out something that's a fact.  'Nother fact: You're a
cutie!"

   That got me a kiss on my shoulder.  She sighed.  "I guess we need to see
how this is gonna work, with you working and me in school.  I mean,
housework and meals and stuff." She batted those long, dark eyelashes at
me. "I'm glad you think I'm cute.  I'm glad you think I'm smart.  I want
you to think that I'm your PARTNER.  I wanna pull my weight."

   I smiled.  "What a delightfully different creature you are, Nikki. 
Sometimes I close my eyes during the day and your face appears and I think
of how wonderful you are."

   "I know how wonderful YOU are, Dan.  But is not you.  And not me.  It's
us."

   "Best 'us' on the planet, little one,' I said.  A month or so into
knowing her, loving her, and I was convinced.  And I'd watched at school.
Her gaze didn't change when she looked at boys her age.  It turned into a
twinkle when she looked at me.

   We pulled up into the driveway and went into the house.  She tossed
aside her backpack to bend over and pet the cat.  Yeah, Tommi, who would
meet me at the door with feline indifference, THAT cat.  He acted like
Nikki had nursed him from birth.

   I mean, if the CAT loved her, what chance did **I** have?

   She straightened up.  "Let's see what's for dinner." She turned and
tossed her arms around my neck.  "After a kiss or two..."

   When her lips touched mine, we both went "Mmmmmm".  The synchronism of
the event caused us both to giggle.

   "I'm so glad that's still an 'mmmm' event, baby," I said.

   "More than just 'mmmm'," she said, eyes atwinkle.  She smiled.  "If you
think we can live on love, we can forget the kitchen.

   "No," I laughed.  "I'm an old man.  I need to keep my strength up."

   She hooked her fingers inside the waistband of my trousers.  "I really
don't think that's a problem.  But you DO make a wonderful dessert."

   "As you do, too."

   "How about something garlicky.  With pasta?"

   "You have something in mind?"

   "I think I can make something work." She was pulling cans out.  "If you
run the vacuum in the living room, I'll take care of this." She looked over
her shoulder.  I already knew that she was good in the kitchen.  And a few
other rooms in the house.  And the back yard.

   I fired up the vacuum cleaner, causing the cat to scoot into the
kitchen, and went about the simple task of maintaining our home.  Domestic,
I was.  I mean, BEFORE Nikki, I was no slob.  I kept the house neat and
clean.  But it was so much easier with a willing partner.  After I finished
vacuuming, I made a pass through the bathrooms, tidying up a bit.  Then I
went back to the kitchen.

   Nikki had something red and odoriferous simmering in one pot, water
coming to a boil in another, half a box of spaghetti ready.  "We'll have
plenty of sauce," she said.  "I'll freeze the leftovers.  That'll give us
another meal, maybe next week."

   "Aren't you little Suzy Home-maker?" I laughed.

   She stuck her tongue at me.  "Why, yes I am.  I got a husband.  I got a
home.  And I got a grandmother who'd HAUNT me if I did any less."

   I scooped her in my arms.  "You know,' I said, "it took me about two
days to come to the full realization that you weren't just some
teeny-bopper fluff-ball airhead.  And ever day, you prove me right."

   "I think we were both looking for something and got really surprised at
when and where we found it, baby." She kissed me.  After the kiss ended,
she turned to the stove, gave the sauce a stir, turned the burner down,
then put a lid on it.  The pasta water was boiling, so she tossed the dry
noodles in, gave them a stir, and then said, "Let's go sit a minute," as
she set the kitchen timer.

   We went into the living room.

   "I'm sorry about the office, baby," she said.  "It's just that when I
heard the guy's voice, then saw him, so much crap started coming back..."

   "Grady's not the kind of person I'd associate with on a social footing,'
I said.  "He's not so hot as a technician, either.  And I think he'd carry
a grudge.  We had a little incident today at the office."

   "Well, I just don't want somebody seeing me and you and thinking that
I'm with you because I'm like my mom was."

   "He can think what he wants.  But I don't want him spreading anything
like that.  You're nothing but purity and decency to me, and I want others
to see you like that.  Do you think he recognized you?"

   "I don't know.  When he stuck 'is head in your office... maybe.  I don't
know.  That's why I wanted to get out of there, before he had a chance to
get a good look."

   "I'd love for you to be comfortable at the office, baby, but if you
think it's a problem..."

   "What do YOU think?" she asked.

   "I think you're probably right.  If he got the chance, he'd use you to
get at me." The thought saddened me.  I'd stumbled on a bit of purity in
Nikki, unlikely as it was with her mother's example.  I saw no guile in
her, just openness and honesty.  I wasn't manipulating her and I didn't get
any inkling that she was in any way manipulating me or using me, and the
very thought that Grady might start planting that story rankled me.

   My thoughts were interrupted by the ringtone of my cell phone.  It was a
little noisy thing I'd assigned to my sister.  "Dana," I said to Nikki.

   I punched the button to answer.  "Hi, sis!"

   "Hi yourself.  How's everything?"

   "Pretty good," I said.  "Work is work.  Home is magic.  Got me a Nikki."

   Dana laughed.  "Just checking.  Did she start back to school?"

   "Yeah, but they had problems with her schedule.  Seems we missed a
letter.  I had to go up there and get things straight.  You wanna talk to
her?"

   "Sure," Dana said.

   "Here she is." I handed the phone to Nikki.

   Nikki repeated the "Hi, Sis!" Pause.  "No, he brought me to his office.
I start classes tomorrow." Pause.  "Actually, I'm glad they screwed things
up.  I'm in algebra instead of business math, and chemistry instead of
study hall."

   I could hear Dana's squeal.

   "No, Sis.  I talked with Dan.  It makes more sense.  I was kinda idlin'
through school last year.  It's time to kick things up.  Start thinking
about college." Pause.  "No, livin' with Mom, college was out of the
picture.  Now Dan WANTS me to go."

   I smiled at her.  She touched her index finger to the tip of my nose,
smiling.

   "Okay.  Now, are we still talking about y'all coming over Saturday?"
Pause.  "Good!" Pause.  Nikki looked at me.  "Baby, Dana said she'll bring
a pie.  What kind?"

   "Mom's recipe.  Lemon meringue."

   "Lemon meringue, he says," Nikki repeated.  "I'm doing a pork butt.  Dan
says I do it pretty good."

   I smiled.  Nikki's cooking skills were far more than I had reason to
expect, akin to finding a cut diamond in a shovel-full of gravel.  I didn't
expect a cordon bleu chef, and she wasn't THAT, but I didn't expect a
fifteen year old girl to do more than boil water and stir a package into
it. Nikki must've paid CLOSE attention to her grandmother's lessons.

   "Well, he knows," Dana said.  "Momma was a good cook.  What's for
dinner? I mean, you in school an' him workin'."

   Nikki described her spaghetti sauce and the two chatted for a couple
more minutes before the ring of the kitchen timer signaled that the pasta
was ready.  I got up and dumped it into a colander while Nikki ended her
phone conversation.  We fixed our plates from the kitchen and sat at the
breakfast nook table to eat.

   "I like talkin' to Dana," Nikki said.  "Feels normal."

   I laughed.  "You'll never get me to admit that in public, but she's good
people.  I told you that once she got over me marrying a fifteen year old,
she'd be your friend."

   "What about your brother?  He's got kids older than me."

   "So does Dan, but she didn't worry about that.  Neither will Bill.  He's
a loudmouth.  Once you get past that, he's okay."

   She forked a load of spaghetti, chewed for a few seconds, then
swallowed. "Okay, what about those kids that are older than me?"

   "That oughta be fun.  They're good kids.  But they're still kids.  And
Uncle Dan's married to somebody their age.  I honestly don't think they'll
be intentionally mean to YOU, but they're gonna let me have it.  Just don't
get caught in the crossfire."

   "I think I can handle it, honey.  I AM a high school student myself, you
know..."

   "It oughta be interesting," I said.

   "So how's the sauce?" she asked.

   "Perfect!"

   "How come you're shakin' pepper flakes on it?  Not spicy enough?"

   "I like a little extra fire.  I want you to cook it so YOU aren't
uncomfortable.  I can add the flakes."

   She smiled.  "But it's okay, otherwise?"

   "Perfect, really."

   "I could've simmered it longer..." she said.

   "I don't know what you'd gain.  The flavors combined pretty nicely.  And
you just jumped right in on it.  You did good."

   Another smile.  "I was just trying to see how we can both be gone all
day and still have a decent meal.  And maybe make Friday night our 'go out
to eat' night, or something like that."

   "We can trade places cooking, too, you know.  And we can make a batch of
something on the weekend and freeze some meals."

   We finished a perfectly normal evening meal, conspired on cleaning up
the kitchen, took a little walk outside, curtailing it when mosquitoes
started showing up.  That put us back in the house and a little sticky from
the elevated humidity of the lingering summer heat.

   Sticky?  Showers!  Well, not TWO showers.  Just the one, happily
occupied by the two of us, giving me the opportunity to lavish her with
soapy caresses over that sleek, youthful form.  Lots of coos and giggles
were involved in the procedure.  Finished, we were both clad in our night
clothes.

   I pulled out the laptop to check personal email and websites.  Nikki
scooted up next to me, looking on.  Nothing earthshaking was on the email
queue.

   "You need a laptop, baby," I said.  "We'll take care of that tomorrow."

   She nestled close.  "I dunno.  I like getting' here and lookin' at
yours."

   I closed the laptop screen and set it down.  Nikki took that as a cue
for her to slide onto my lap.  She shook her head.  "We need to get me a
haircut, baby.  If you like it short.  Or I could let it grow.  But I never
did that, so I'm not sure what to do with it."

   "I love it short.  Lets me get to your neck," I said, attacking her
neck, causing her to giggle.  "Where do you go to get it cut?"

   "Uh, someplace that's probably not there any more.  I'll have to ask
around.  At school, maybe."

   "Or call Dana..."

   Her face lit up.  "That's a thought." She got up and grabbed the phone.
Next thing I knew she had it at her ear, talking to my sister.  She hung
up. "Bring you a book to work tomorrow.  Pick me up after school, and we'll
go get me a hair trim.  Dana's place takes walk-ins.  You can sit and
read."

   "Okay," I said.  "I can get away a little early to do that."

   "Oh, that's right... You don't get off until four or so.  I get out at
three-fifteen.  Is that gonna cause you trouble?"

   "Not once in a while," I said.  "It's gonna be a madhouse, though, the
traffic at school, I mean."

   "Oh, I know.  But we won't do this very often.  And I want my hair
looking neat for Saturday."

   "You could dye it pink and get it spiked..."

   "Sir, I wish to remain horribly conventional."

   "That's what got me into trouble..."

   "What got you into trouble?" she smiled.

   "You.  Just looking natural.  No enhancement.  Because the guy that
loves you, he loves you the way you ARE."

   She climbed on top of me, right there on the sofa.  I took her into my
arms, feeling my excitement building.  One of my hands stroked that walnut
hair.  She pressed her face against my hand.

   Our eyes connected.  "I do so much adore you, Nikki."

   "Mmm-hmmm!  Because I AM adorable, you know..."

   "Yes, little one, you are." And we kissed, communing with lips and
tongues and roving hands.  "Except now you have to go back to being a
schoolgirl."

   "Ummm, yeah... A MARRIED schoolgirl."

   I harbored that worry in the dark recesses of my mind.  I was thrown
into a stressful situation with this fifteen year old girl, and for a few
weeks our lives were intertwined and we came out of it married.  It was
nothing but me and her for weeks, and now she was getting ready to go back
into the world where there were plenty of choices, guys her age, and I was
forty-something.

   "Your face just clouded over, baby.  You're thinking something."

   She knew.  She read my expression and she KNEW that I was thinking bad
thoughts.

   "You can tell me, Dan.  I'm your wife.  You can tell me anything."

   "Baby... really?"

   "Really, Dan." She punctuated her statement with a simple, soft kiss.

   "Baby," I said.  "You're my everything.  Since we've been together, it's
like the sun came from behind the clouds in my life."

   "You're worried about me and school, aren't you?" Nikki was no dummy.

   "Yes," I said.  "A whole school full of boys your age.  And you're an
attractive, intelligent girl."

   Another kiss.  "And YOU need to stop worrying.  Boys my age?  How many
of them are going to be the least bit interested in the 'intelligent' part?
And 'attractive'?  You're the one who said that there was a Nikki-shaped
hole in your heart that I was made to fill.  I know myself, baby.  You love
me, and that makes me beautiful in YOUR eyes.  But being realistic, I'm...
well, I'm NOT blonde.  I don't have big tits.  I don't use make-up.  I
don't do trendy styles.  I'm not up on the latest music or TV or whatever."
She sighed.  "And if that's not enough, without YOU, I'm NOWHERE now that
Mom's gone to jail."

   "Baby..." I started.

   "Let me finish," she interrupted.  "So one of these 'boys my age', where
do you think THAT would go, Dan?  Guys... Last year I guess I tried.  You
and me, we TALK about everything under the sun.  Guys I meet at school, I
never got a decent conversation with one.  We'd start talking about school
stuff and then it was all downhill.  What's that silly sign in your office?
The quote that says "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and
expecting different results." Her mouth was a determined straight line. 
"That's what kids do in school."

   Her face softened and she gave me a longer kiss.  "Dan, why would I want
to do that?  It doesn't make any sense."

   "Love isn't about sense, sometimes, baby..."

   "I know," she said softly.  "It doesn't make sense at all.  That me,
fifteen, hurricane refugee, should meet you, forty-one, mature,
intelligent, settled, and fall head over heels in love with him.  Doesn't
make sense that I should sidestep all the heartbreak and tragedy that seems
to go with being a poor teen.  Or even a rich one, in high school." Another
kiss.  "No, Dan.  We don't make sense in the absolutely best way ever."
Another kiss.  "And if you really think I'm smart, how stupid do you think
I'd have to be to leave you for some pimply seventeen year old?"

   "I hope not, Nikki.  I'm wrapped up with you."

   Kiss.  "That goes both ways.  So stop worrying.  I'm yours forever. 
That's an awfully long time."

   The kisses that followed were much hotter.  "You're the only one who'll
ever make love with me, you know," she smiled softly.  "And we have
time..."

   "Our whole lives, little one," I said.

   "Now... since we've finished bein' all sad an' serious, can we do
somethin' fun?" Giggle.  And she was standing, tugging on my hand, laughter
and lust mixing in her eyes.

   I wasn't physically able to refuse that.  I followed her to OUR bedroom.
She tossed the covers back and started undressing.  I started undressing,
too, and she beat me, kneeling naked in the middle of the bed, sitting back
on her heels, smiling.

   "Perfection," I said.  "Lovely perfection."

   "Because we're in love, baby," she said.  She welcomed me into her arms,
our lips merging together, and she gently pushed me onto my back so she
could get atop me.

   "Mmmm," I purred.  "You feel so good..."

   We kissed and embraced for some minutes before she rolled off me and
started playing.  She... well, we'd been together for a couple of weeks
now, and she certainly had examined me from close range, playing, learning,
but she STILL wanted to play and explore.

   Giggle.  "I love how it jumps when I play with your balls."

   "Be careful.  I'm about ready to explode."

   Her eyes twinkled.  "You just do whatever you need to do.  I'm just
playin'." She played for a bit longer, then announced the appearance of a
big, clear drop of pre-cum on the head of my dick.

   "There it is.  And I never touched your dick." She smiled.  "Well, we
can't be making a mess.  I need to take care of that."

   I gasped as she bent over and sucked the head into her mouth, vacuuming
and tonguing me.  When she bent over to do that, I moved fingers to dip
into her slit.  Oh, yes, it was juicy.

   "I need that," I told her.

   Her head bobbed up, releasing me from her mouth.  "I'm not giving THIS
up.  You wanna..."

   "Get on top of me.  You make me hungry."

   "Then I need to give YOU something to eat, huh?" She moved to throw a
leg over my face, then she lowered her pussy within range of my mouth.

   She's a feast.  Juicy, musky, salty.  And a lot of it.  And
simultaneously with me enjoying myself, my tongue tickled and teased and
she started bucking against my mouth, the movement foretelling impending
orgasm.  She gamely kept my dick's head between her lips, immobilized, as
she came, little gasps and whimpers escaping around the happy object in her
mouth.  Of course, that started a loop: Nikki was teased, creating juice. I
licked, creating MORE juice which caused me to lick even more, fetching
more juice, requiring MORE licking, then orgasm, creating a gout of juice,
starting the loop over...

   After her second orgasm, she moved around to kiss me.  "Can I take care
of this now?" Her hand stroked the length of my shaft.

   "Oh, god, yes, little one.  I'm about to explode."

   "I'm already all wet," she smiled.  She straddled me and pushed herself
down on me in one smooth and incredibly wonderful motion.  "Ahhhhh," she
moaned.  "Every time we do this, it gets better and better."

   My hands slid up her thighs, over her hips, and up, cupping the small,
pliant mounds of her titties.  She gripped my arms, smiling at me, eyes
bright.  Giggle.  "That's the part of you that I need to complete me
physically." She bent forward and I curled to meet her for the kiss.  "And
YOU are what I need to be complete as a human being."

   Her words penetrated my brain, fulfilling the same emotions in me. 
Little rocking motions of her hips took care of the part that was purely
physical.  She was hot, wet, and tight.  And eager and loving.  And I'd
been primed through the process of making her come twice.  Her lips came
away from mine, she tilted her head, and her lips fastened to the side of
my neck.

   That's all it took.  I erupted.  She felt it, a little squeal from her
mouth as she kissed and sucked my neck.  Her hips kept moving, urging the
liquid from me as I surged upward into her pussy.

   "Got it, huh?" she whispered.  "I felt it.  When you're in me, I FEEL
it."

   I couldn't talk.  I was almost breathless.  She kissed me.  "You're so
intense when you come, baby..." Little kisses until I regained the ability
to speak.

   "You're my heart and soul," I said.

   "I believe you when you say that, Dan.  You're that to me, too, you
know." She shifted a little bit, and I felt myself still inside her.  "Are
you getting hard again?" Giggle.

   "I never got soft.  You need to believe me.  You push my buttons like
nobody I'd ever imagined."

   "If it's hard, then we oughtta use it, huh?"

   "I don't know if I can manage another one so soon, little one."

   Giggle.  "I can... and you told me that this is the ONE place that we
can be selfish.  But I know some things about you..." she batted those long
eyelashes at me, kissed me on the lips and went from there to my neck, her
pelvis moving.  "Mmmmm," escaped her mouth against my neck.

   My hands roamed up and down her, savoring every inch of her smooth,
youthful torso as her hips worked me, my own thrusts timed with them.

   We'd go at each other frantically for a minute, then slow, kiss, love,
then back to pounding lustily into each other.  I could feel the surge
building.  The first burning tingles though, coincided with her looking at
me, mouth slightly open, eyes wide.

   "Ohgod, Dan... It's... ohgod.  Nnnnnnnn..." she slammed her mouth into
mine, her tongue forcing its way to find my own.  Her "nnnnn" escaped
inside my mouth.

   "Mmmmmpphhhh," was my response as I thrust as deep inside her as I
could, an orgasm overtaking me.

   Her last quivering downward swirl caught me on my second squirt.  She
pulled her mouth from mine with a sigh.  We were still coupled.  "Dan
Granger, I am your wife.  If I ever lose you, I will kill myself.  Hold
me."

   I held her.  "That goes both ways..."

   She recognized that I'd repeated her earlier statement.  Her eyes
sparkled.  "Then we'd better start trusting one another, huh?  And YOU
don't need to worry about any teen-aged boys, guy."

   A soft plop down below and she giggled again.  "We're gonna have a mess.
That's TWO of 'em..."

   "I'll do my part," I said.

   Squeal.  She got up and I laid back.  She got back to sixty-nine and we
happily licked one another clean, and she was back in my arms.

   "Quick shower, babe?"

   "Sure," I said.  "Quickie..."

   "Uh... THAT wasn't a quickie..."

   "No it wasn't, brown-haired girl.  My love.  My mate."

   We showered, got back into the nightclothes, and went back into the
living room.

   "Sit in your recliner." she said.  That was a favored thing for both of
us.  I settled in and she settled into my arms.  And the cat settled onto
the arm of the chair.

   "Poor thing," she said, petting him.  "He gets ignored." He was purring
from her attention.  I added my own hand to the cat's satisfaction.

   "He's learned to clear the bedroom until the 'all clear', though," I
said.

   "Maybe we need another kitty to keep him company while we're out."

   "That's a thought.  But kittens are soooo expensive.  We'll have to
think about it."

   Cuddled in my arms, she flipped through the TV channels, found nothing
worth wasting time on, so then she hit the stereo and ran a few choices
then settled on some Mozart concertos and we played a few hands of cards
until nearing ten PM.

   "Bedtime," she announced, at the completion of yet another hand.

   "Sure, you wanna go to bed when YOU'RE ahead."

   Laughter.  "I'm beating you by two hundred points.  You'll NEVER catch
up before the game ends.  Come on!"

   I put the cards up and followed her into our bedroom.  She curled up,
spooned against me, clasping my hands against her breasts.

   I kissed her head gently.  "Good night, my love."

   "Good night, baby.  Tomorrow's gonna be a good day."