It's Complicated

"You're making me self-conscious watching me eat," she tells me without looking up.

"Sorry River." I look down at my food. As good as it was I have been only picking at it for the last few minutes. Distracted a bit maybe.

"Why?"

I look up from the plate to see her smiling at me.

"Why what?" I ask grinning at her.

"Why are you sorry? I didn't ask you to stop." She grins at me.

Laughing I go back to watching her.

The soft flickering light from the candles make her eyes glow like blue jewels in the slight shadows under her eyebrows. Her lips sit like a pouty red ribbon then part to reveal her wicked smile. She blushes slightly under my gaze.

"You are so very beautiful," I tell her in a near whisper.

She colors even more but smiles at the compliment.

"Thank you." I see her eyes glance up at me then drop from my face to her plate. Then they come back up to my face and she smiles. "Thank you for this night. I've never felt less like a little girl and more like a woman than tonight." She lays her fork down on the napkin and sits back from the table. "This has got to be the best birthday present I've ever gotten."

I lift my glass to her. "I'll have to figure out a way to do better for next year."

I look up as our waiter reappears. At our gesture, she silently takes away the plates. As she's refilling our drinks, I look around at the other patrons. They like us sit in private pools of candlelight. As if in islands of shadow we are all in our own little worlds of love. At the table farthest from us, I see a familiar face watching from behind a candle. When my eyes catch his, he gives me a wink, a pull of the brim of his flat cap then leaning forward blows out his candle.

I look back to River.

"This place is incredible." River reaches across the table towards my hand. I slide it across the white cloth till our fingers meet.

"I hoped you would like it," I say softly, absently playing with her fingers. Brushing them lightly. After a second the tickling gets to her, and she lightly pops my hand.

Sitting back she looks around the room then shakes her head.

"I'm not worth all of this. This is costing you a fortune. You could have taken me somewhere much cheaper. I ...."

"You are more than worth it," I interrupt her. "I would have paid twice what this meal has cost just to sit here and look into your eyes," I tell her with a near fierce tone coming into my voice.

She smiles.

"Now you're just being silly." She looks down at her glass, her fingers playing in the condensation. "What do you want from me?" She glances back up at me. "I love you, I love you dearly, but I can already see the problems this is going to cause. Most of the relatives think even this date is inappropriate. Mom's okay with it. Dad hasn't really given an opinion. I don't think Jeff approves."

"I don't really care if my Dad approves or not. I haven't had any say in his choices in women. I'll be damned if I'll let him have any say in mine." I tell her perhaps a little stronger than I meant too. I still have some very bitter feelings towards Jeff.

"Is that what I am?" she asks smiling. "Your woman?" she laughs.

"What?"

"Sounds like you want to drag me off to a cave somewhere." She looks at me with her laughing eyes.

I chuckle.

"Me love River. We go to cave. Quest for fire."

Her giggles attract the other patrons. I see several smile, caught up in her delight.

Slowly she becomes serious again.

"You didn't answer me?" She looks at me with those intense eyes. I now know that she inherited them from her grandfather. I glance back to the table in the corner, but a young couple is sitting there now. I look back to River.

Her eyes demand an answer.

"I want everything. Your love, all of it. Your time, every moment you want to give me. I want to be there for you whenever you need me." I shrug. "I'm greedy I want everything."

She leans towards me.

"How about my body? Do you wanting that too?" she asks me grinning wickedly.

I smile. Since asking her out, I've discovered River loves to be a tease.

"Oh yes." I smile softly "Whenever you're ready to take that step, I most assuredly want that."

"Your head, your heart, and your nuts?" she asks chuckling.

"All three," I answer smiling.

She looks down at her glass focusing on the patterns in the condensation down the side. She looks up a bit unsure.

"I talk a great game, but I've ... I've never done that. Not all the way." She tells me softly almost like she's ashamed. She sighs. "I'm sure you have, though."

"Once."

She looks up surprised. "Only once?"

I nod.

"And it hardly counts. My Mom walked in on us before we could ... finish shall we say." I shrug a little at her widening eyes.

"Oh my god." She giggles behind her hand. "Oh I would have died."

"Mom about did." I chuckle at the memory. "At first I thought she was going to have a come-apart then she just started laughing her head off and closed the door. It was already to late, thought."

"Oh you poor thing." River is looking at me with her wicked grin firmly in place.

I shrug.

"It's just as well. I was being an idiot." She looks at me strange, so I explain. "I wasn't wearing a condom. I really hadn't expected the kissing we were doing to go that far, so I hadn't bought any. She said it didn't matter. I probably would have had the karma to have gotten her pregnant right then on my first time."

River tilts her head. "How old would the child be now?"

I think back. "There would be a little ten-year-old running around the table going Dad, dad, dad." I take a sip from my glass.

"Ten? You were sixteen at the time?" She looks confused for a second. "So you haven't had sex since then? Ten years?"

The humor crashes out of me like a drain is pulled.

"Yeah," I say looking down at the table.

"Hey?" She leans forward and takes my hand. "Hey, now what is it?"

When I look up I see the concern in her eyes. It shines out from those pools of blue. I give her fingers a squeeze.

But stay silent.

"You can tell me." She grins at me. "I'm your woman."

I smile at that and nod.

"Well ..." I take a deep breath. "She hurt me, very badly. Told a lot of people a lot of lies about me. She was being lovey, lovey to my face then cutting me apart behind my back. "

"Why?" River asks confused.

I sit back and resting my right elbow in my left palm, I sit bumping my lips with a knuckle deciding if I should say. When I look up at River's eyes, I decide yes.

"It was a joke. The whole thing ... from the very beginning. A joke she was playing on me to amuse her friends. Flirting with me in class. Calling me after school. She would call me on speaker phone while her friends listened in trying not to giggle as she talked all romantic to me." My eyes focus on the candle flame. "Dad had been out of work; Mom was supporting us. I worked on the weekend to get the odd dollar. I would spend the money on her. Buying her nice gifts. She would 'love them' then tell her friends how cheap I was ... how poor."

"Fucking cunt."

I look up at River. I have never heard her cuss in my life. There is a cold flame burning behind her eyes now. I smile seeing her rise to my defense over something ten years dead if not forgotten.

"Yeah, she was that. I think the day we 'got together' was actually a mistake. She got carried away." I shrug a little.

"She got horny and let it go to far." River grins. "Yeah, I've see the girls in my class do that too. Some of them have ended up with babies in their bellies."

"Yeah well, we were headed down that path for sure. There was nothing in the world going to stop me from cumming in her." I grin. "Well, except for my Mom walking in on us."

River laughs. Then get serious. "Why haven't you since then. I mean ten years?"

I sit silent for a few seconds.

"I didn't want to be hurt that bad again."

She looks at me for a time then smiles slowly.

"And me? What about me? Did you figure I wouldn't hurt you?" she asks then reaches for my hand again.

I take her fingers into mine. Not meeting her eyes just looking at our joined hands I answer.

"With you ... I figured it would be worth it if I ... if I got hurt again."

Her fingers tighten on mine. "I would never hurt you. No mater what happens between us I would never do that."

We sit just looking into each other's eyes holding hands till our waitress returns.

We wave off offers of desert, and I hand the waitress my credit card. She brings back the receipt for me to sign. I stand up to pocket my credit card and River gets up as well.

"We don't have to leave yet if you just want to sit for awhile," I tell her resting my fingers atop my glass. "Or if you want I have something else for us to go do."

"What?" She eyes me grinning.

"Oh, it's a surprise." I look her up and down. "Something you've never got to do before." River's not the only tease in the world.

She looks at me for a second then smiles. "I like surprises."

Pulling back out my wallet I drop a twenty on the table.

"Lets go then." I walk around to her side of the table and offer her my arm. She giggles and shakes her head, but her fingers come to rest on my arm.

The Maitre D' by the door smiles at us and opens the door.

"Thank you for coming and enjoy your night." He tells us as we walk through.

"Thank you," answers River as she leans into my arm a little to go through the opening. She doesn't pull away after were outside.

The wait while the valet goes for my car could have been far longer. I wouldn't have minded. He pulls it up and I open the door for River. She grins at me as I help her inside. The look the guy gives me as he hands me my keys is pure envious. Hot car, hot girl. I can almost hear his thoughts. Hopping inside, I hit the button and watch the delight on Rivers face as the top folds back.

"I have always loved this car." She looks over in the back. "Any chance I could lose my virginity in the back seat?"

I look up at the valet seeing his jaw drop. Chuckling I drive us away.

The wind streams by over our heads, cool with just a touch of misty night fog. The stars are so bright above I smile as I see River reaching up into the wind to pluck at them.

"Were are we going?" she asks me giggling as I drive out onto the big metal bridge that crosses the river to the bright lights.

I look at her for a second then I point ahead of us to the club.

"We are going there," I tell her.

She follows my finger then looks back at me her face falling.

"I can't go in there. I'm not over twenty-one." She reminds me needlessly.

"Trust your man," I tell her softly.

For a second her hand comes to rest on top of mine on the shifter.

"My man," she says softly smiling at me.

I take us down the off-ramp and into the little side streets. I can hear the club as I turn the block. I roll up into the parking lot and close the top. Getting out I try to get to her side before she opens the door but she shakes her head and beats me to it. I still take her hand as she gets out.

"You are being ridiculous," she tells me, grinning all the same with pleasure.

There is a short line by the door. Mostly so that age can be checked. I see River starting to look nervous as we wait. The bouncer eyes her with close scrutiny.

"I don't think I can let this one in. She's far too young," he says, trying to sound all official.

"Barry I'm going to have to hurt you," I tell him smiling.

He chuckles.

"I'm the bouncer that's my job." He looks back a River for a second then to me. "She doesn't drink. Not even a soda. I see a glass in her hand ya'll are out the door."

I nod to my old friend, and he opens the rope to let us through.

River looks a question at me as we get inside.

"That way the security cameras couldn't be used to say they had under aged customers. If you don't have a glass, you couldn't have been drinking," I tell her leaning down to talk into her ear. The place is not deafening, but it is load.

She catches my head and pulls me into a deep kiss.

Her lips are soft against mine. I taste the lemon lime soda she drank with dinner on her breath.

"I love you," she says into my ear as we part.

We walk together into the shifting patterns of lights and the chest pounding sounds. I take her hands and some how we manage to find a spot on the dance floor for our feet. The feeling of people constantly brushing my back and arms is unnerving at first, but I'm soon focused just on her.

She looks up at me grinning, as we dance. I watch her body move in the tight sheath of dark blue she wore. The small straps across her shoulders seem to be doing little to hold it up. Her delightful curves are making it defy gravity's pull. She catches me eyeing her body and grinning gives her breasts a shake.

I laugh and pull her in closer to me.

Soon she is pressed up tight to me. I can feel the heat of her body against mine as we both start to sweat a bit. The club is cool but the energy it's generating is furnace hot.

We dance through three or maybe four songs. The music seems to run together till it's hard to tell when one ends, and another begins. Kind of dodging our way out to the side of the crowd we finally pull clear with a near birth like feeling.

Panting, she leans giggling into me.

I see a couple leave a table, and I tow her to it quickly. We plop down on feet that ache. I lean into her ear.

"I'll be right back."

She nods.

The bar is crowded with people, but I finally manage to get a glass of clear soda filled with crushed ice. When I come back to the table, she eyes it with a longing that is nearly pornographic. I smile at her.

Taking a long sip, I see her watching the liquid flow into my mouth.

I lean into her as I set the glass down and kiss her a drink into her mouth. She nearly chokes from trying to drink and giggle at the same time. Lifting the glass back to my lips, I catch a large chunk of ice between my teeth. Showing it to her I lean in again. As she goes to take it I let it drop into my mouth. The battle between our tongues for it is enough to have me panting after she finally wins.

Showing off the much small piece of ice she makes a long show of moving it around in her mouth as it melts. Then grins at me as she swallows the icy water.

She gestures to me with one finger. I lean in. When I get near her, she catches the back of my head, and I feel her whisper at my ear. Like tickling feathers, her breathy words make me shiver.

"You are such a ... cunt tease!" she tells me shaking her head. She starts to pull back then pulls me back to her mouth "I'm going to the bathroom, be right back."

I nod.

I sit listening to the music thinking about her for the most part. I watch the other people in the club. Most are my age or just a little younger.

I notice River making her way back through the crowd. She seems to fit right in, almost like she has aged five years over night. She gets stopped almost every few feet and asked to dance. Not always by guys either.

As she passes me she leans down to by my ear. "I want another drink." She stuffs something into my pocket.

Taking a sip I lift my lips to her, and the cold liquid is kissed from me. As she sits down, I move my hand to my pocket.

My fingers brush warm silk. Moving it around a little I realize what I'm holding. I tilt my head and gesture for her to come close. She shakes her head and makes the same gesture towards me. I lean into her. Again I feel her words tickling my ear.

"I don't cum too one finger silly man."

I catch her head as she goes to pull back from me. I feel her shiver as I whisper to her. "And you call me a tease."

She smiles.

I gesture back to the dance floor. She nods but catches my wrist. Turning up my watch she looks at it then taps the top. I see her mouth the words "Midnight."

Understanding I nod.

The music over the next hour is a mixture of my age to hers. Times we have to make our way to the side, but we never again get a table. She leans into me, her breath coming in pants, and then we fall back into the dance floor. A couple of times I feel her hand brush my crotch. I have been rock hard for half the night.

At one point for a slow song she reached back and taking my wrist slides my hand down onto her hip. The lack of a panty line brings back to mind what's in my pocket.

Finally after hours, with us both at the very edge of exhaustion, we make our way off the dance floor and towards the door.

The night air is shockingly cool as we step outside. I wave to Barry. He grins at me then looks River up and down shaking his head he makes a wolf whistle silently with his lips. I nod my agreement and chuckle.

"What? Oh God, I can hear again." She leans into my side my arm goes around her.

Chuckling I nod.

"What were you laughing about?" she asks me as we walk towards my car.

"Barry thinks you're hot," I tell her as I turn her lose to fish my keys out my pocket.

She blushes. Then fans at her face.

"I am. Can we have the top back down?" she asks as I open the door for her. As she slips inside, I see her dress ride up her thighs. Knowing that there is nothing under it sends a hard ache through me.

She catches my eyes and grins wickedly at me. She lifts one finger and rocks it side to side.

Walking around the back of the car I have to reach down and adjust my cock in my pants to a more comfortable position. I haven't been this hard for this long without some sort of self-gratification in years. I know I'm going to hurt like hell tomorrow, but at the moment I don't care.

Cranking the car I open the top. She waves to Barry as we drive past the door.

The cool night air is invigorating though I about nearly wreck us when she lifts my hand down off the shifter and places it on her bare thigh.

Her skin is silky soft under my fingers. I caress her from her knee to a little below the edge of her dress. I want so badly to go further up, but I know that even with all her teasing that would be a bit beyond what I should do on a first date.

I catch her eyes a couple of times as my hand nears the blue fabric. She just watches me to see if I will go higher.

I lift my hand to shift us down for a light. After it changes I don't have the time before I'm pulling into the driveway to put my hand back on her leg. The temptation is high though.

As I shut down the car she looks over at me.

"Come around back to the pool." She leans down and fishes her purse from under the seat. "I just have to be home by midnight, the date doesn't have to end."

I nod.

Getting out the car I notice she just sits there this time. I walk around to her side of the car and open the door. I take her hand as she goes to step out. My breath catches as her legs open showing me a lot of bare skin a long way up her inner thigh.

When I look up, she is looking at me with her eyes laughing.

"My God, you are being naughty tonight," she tells me in a whisper, as I close the door.

"I'm being naughty?"

Laughing, she takes my arm and we walk around the side of the house. The inside is dark.

"Mom and Dad are asleep by now," she tells me softly as if there is a need to whisper.

I nod. I know their habits from the many nights I've stayed here growing up. As we round the corner she turns loose my arm and walks over to the pool. She steps a foot out of her shoe and dips it into the water.

"Oh God that feels good. My feet are killing me." She takes off her other shoe and steps down onto the top step of the pool stairs. "Oh, that's orgasmic."

I chuckle. She looks back at me then smiles.

"You still have a suit in the pool house. I'm going to go get mine on. I want to go for a swim." She leans down and picks up her shoes. I watch her walk bare foot to the backdoor and step inside.

I walk to the pool house trying to plan out just what I'm going to say to Granny, or god forbid Jack, if they come down and find us in the pool. Together.