Love Thy Neighbour

Luka woke about an hour later and was hungry for the first time in the 24 hours that I'd been looking after her and I guessed that she had not eaten for the 4 days since she started the withdrawal. I had no idea what to give someone on a drug withdrawal programme but decided that the old stand-by of chicken soup was probably bland enough.

I wasn't sure if she could do it herself so I supported her back and fed her 2 spoonfuls to start with but told her that if she kept it down for 10 minutes she could have 4 more and then some more after another 30 minutes. I explained this was the way you test fruit and plants when operating in environments when you don't know what is good to eat. She pouted but her tone was teasing.

"You are not nice Greg ... you would not be a good nurse."

I smiled and sat down in the chair.

"I hope you remember that when I ask you to clean up your own vomit."

She screwed her face up adorably again.

"Gross! Ok, maybe I'll take your advice."

She settled back down in the bed and closed her eyes before speaking in a whisper more to herself than me.

"Who are you Greg? Why are you doing this? Why is a good man like you hiding in this awful place? You were a soldier ... an officer I think ... why are you here?"

I was silent for a long time. She wanted some answers and I did too.

"There are many questions there and I have several for you as well. Shall we ask one of each other in turn? If you answer a question for me I will answer one for you. Fair?"

She opened her eyes and smiled at me.

"That is fair. What is your question?"

"How did a lovely, sensible girl like you become a drug addict?"

A pained look passed through her eyes and she closed them again and I could see a large tear pool in the corner of each eye before trickling down her cheeks. She sniffed and wiped her eyes with the back of each hand. She was silent for a long time.

"Maybe I am not the lovely, sensible girl you think I am. I have made mistakes in my life that would not be made by someone who is sensible."

I went over to the bed and sat down next to her with my back against the headboard. She rolled over and rested her head in my lap and I stroked her hair and back.

The trust issues of 24 hours ago were now a distant memory.

"Everybody makes mistakes. Even sensible people are human after all. I think there's a quote like 'to err is human, to forgive divine' which I think means we all make mistakes but only a few people forgive themselves or others. Do you want to tell me your mistakes and I'll decide whether I'm god-like enough to forgive you?"

She gave a sobbing chuckle.

"You make me laugh. I haven't done much of that in recent months."

"I'm glad I can do that for you and I am so god-like I'll even let you have a bit more soup if you want."

She thought for a bit.

"Actually I will not have any more for the moment as my stomach is cramping a bit."

I put on a triumphant air.

"Well let that be a lesson to you. Trust me on these things. Uncle Greg knows best."

She giggled.

"Uncle Greg ... makes you sound very old! How old are you?"

"I'm 35, old enough to be your uncle if your mother or father had a very much younger brother."

"No, they were both the youngest in their families so I'll just call you Greg!"

"I'm glad we settled that as I wouldn't want to have a niece who made mistakes. We are a very god-like family and cast the ones who make mistakes into hell."

If I expected this little witticism to get another laugh I was sorely mistaken as she turned her face into me and burst into wracking sobs.

I slid down the bed and gathered her into my arms feeling her skinny body shake with the force of her desperation. I cuddled and stroked her and let her cry. After a while the force of the sobs started to ease.

"Luka, sweetheart, I'm sorry I don't know when to keep my mouth shut sometimes. This means I am definitely not god-like at all because that was a stupid mistake."

She lifted her head from my chest to look me with an unwavering gaze despite the tear stained face..

"It is not your fault I've been in hell for the last two years. I'm just grateful that you're here to help me climb out of it and I don't even know who you are."

Her eyes drifted down my face and focussed on my mouth in a slightly boss-eyed manner and I could see her biting her lower lip in yet another adorable expression. She slowly put her arm behind my head and pulled it down towards her ... our lips met ... we kissed ... tentatively at first and then with growing conviction on both our parts as our mouths and tongues explored. We rolled to face each other to continue the moment.

It was tender and sweet, the kiss of two people who were happy to cement the growing mutual affection they had found in the most unusual of circumstances.

It will remain the most memorable kiss of my life.

Our mouths separated and we were both panting slightly. She bowed her head so that her forehead rested on my chest and I could not see her eyes. Her voice was quiet and unsure.

"I know why I kissed you ... to say thank you ... but that was something else. I have never kissed a man with a beard before ... that was ... different."

She raised her head so our gazes locked and she lifted a hand and stroked her index finger across my hairy cheek and along my lips. She smiled ... probably the first full-on genuine smile I had seen from her and the elfin faced girl was back.

"Who would have thought that my Uncle Greg was such a good kisser?"

I chuckled and rolled onto my back rolling her into the crook of my arm with her head on my chest. Her free arm tightened across me and I pulled her tighter still.

"If that's the way you kiss your uncle I volunteer for the position full-time."

She raised her head to look at me and her gaze was quizzical with a hint of worry.

"Greg ... don't say that until you know ... there are things you don't know about me ... things that may make you think bad ... "

I pulled her chin towards me and this time I kissed her to stop her. It was shorter but still tender and sweet and just as amazing as the first one. As we broke apart she shook herself like a dog shedding water. Our gazes locked again.

"Luka, there are definitely things about me that will make you think badly of me when ... if ... I tell you. I'm not always the guy you think I am. I have done ... and will do ... some very unpleasant things. I like to think that it is done to people who deserve it ... people who do significantly worse things to others ... those who can't fight back ..."

I paused, wondering whether to tell her the whole truth. She could see the internal struggle in me and placed a finger across my lips.

"No Greg ... do not tell me until you are ready. It will have to be really awful to change my opinion of you and do not forget I have been in hell for two years and I met demons there. It will be difficult not to see you as an angel by comparison."

We both went quiet still holding each other. She dropped her head back on to my chest and drew lazy patterns on my shirt with her finger tips. Her voice surprised me when she spoke so I may have dozed. She spoke quietly, nervously moving her fingers.

"I went into porn because I thought it would be a good way to earn a lot of money in a short space of time. I knew someone who knew someone who was working in Prague and she was doing ok. She got me an interview with a producer ... a French guy who used a lot of Eastern European girls. Probably because we're cheaper but also because we have a ... a 'look' that was ... is ... in demand. We have become the source for what the French would call an 'ingénue' ... young ... innocent ... wholesome girls preferably looking younger than 18 with small boobs ... skinny ... maybe braces on the teeth ... anything to make us look like jail-bait. They put us into silly situations with older guys ... to make us look even younger ... teachers ... friends' fathers ... you know you must have seen them."

At this point she stopped and lifted her head and looked at me for confirmation. I moved my head to meet her gaze and gave a smile and a small nod in agreement. I put a finger under her chin and gave her another small kiss. She purred in her throat while we kissed and gave a full wattage smile when we broke apart.

"Ummm ... you know how to encourage a girl."

"Luka ... babe ... you don't have to do this ... it can wait."

She shook her head.

"No ... you have been wonderful to me and I cannot think of someone better to help explain it to myself. I have been so lost and yet now you have helped me start to find myself again."

"Ok, but as your resident physician, nurse and bottle-washer I reserve the right to stop you if I think you're tiring yourself. Would you like something to eat or drink?"

She giggled.

"Ok Dr. Greg I will do as I'm told. A little bit more soup please and some water. My stomach feels better."

I warmed some more soup and again held her up but this time she managed the use the spoon herself. If truth be told she probably didn't need me to hold her but I think we both enjoyed the physical contact. She stopped after 4 spoonfuls and looked at me like a small child for approval but with a teasing glint in her eye.

"Look Uncle Greg I have finished. Can I have some more?"

"I thought it was Dr. Greg and the correct English is 'may I have some more'. I used to tell Meg..."

I stopped as I realised I had started to divulge something I wanted kept hidden. Luka looked at me enquiringly.

"Who is Meg ... your daughter? I wondered if you had a family. Why a good man like you did not have a wife. I thought maybe you were gay but then I felt you start to get an erection in the shower ... and then you kissed me and I knew you were definitely straight."

She grinned at the last comment and looked at me expectantly as I tried to keep my emotions at bay. I did not want to have this conversation ... I had successfully avoided having it for 5 years and had never let my guard down before ... before I let this girl get under my skin. I swallowed hard to keep in control.

"Megan was my daughter. She died when she was 4."

Luka looked at me with a devastated expression on her face and when she realised I was on the verge of tears she put the soup on the side table and hugged me.

"I am sorry Greg I did not know. I will not intrude again. I am sorry for your loss."

I tried to put on a reassuring face.

"It's Ok; it's not your fault. You did not know. It was along time ago."

I reached for the bowl of soup to change the subject.

"You were going to have some more."

"No ... thank you ... I will have some later. I think I will sleep."

The mood between us had taken a nosedive and she slid down in the bed and turned her back on me. I knew she was doing it so she did not intrude into my thoughts and to give me space but I felt like she had deserted me and the loneliness of my situation was overwhelming. I knew that I could no longer hold back the tears that I had kept in check for the last 5 years.

"Luka ... will you hold me ... please."

My voice was cracked and pleading and she rolled quickly around and pulled my head to her chest and rocked me as I sobbed, pressing gentle kisses to my forehead and face as she murmured to me in Czech. I held onto her like I was drowning.

Eventually I stopped crying and she dabbed at my face with the sheets. She cocked her head on one side and looked sorrowfully at me.

"Now I know you are a really good man. You ask a woman to help you when you are sad. Not many men do that."

"Only because you are a good woman who I know will support me."

She looked surprised and pleased.

"You know this after only one day?"

I nodded.

"I think we know an awful lot about each other after just one day. Don't you agree?"

She smiled and kissed me gently.

"I know you," and tapped me on the heart, "but I don't know a lot about you," and tapped my head.

I pondered this for a moment and smiled.

"That is so true. You don't really know someone until you know their memories but you can get the measure of them very quickly."

We rolled back into what had become our default position; her small frame lying in the crook of my left arm with her head on my shoulder and chest and her left hand soothingly stroking my chest. I raised my head to look at her.

"You wanted to get some sleep shall I move back to the chair?"

She mumbled sleepily into my chest.

"No will you cuddle me properly in bed. Take your clothes off and get in because you probably need some more sleep as well after ... after getting upset."

I did as I was told and we resumed cuddling but because we no longer had blankets or clothes between us it felt even more relaxing. She was right; I did need some more sleep.

I woke with the delightful smell of a clean, sleepy Luka in my nostrils, the sound and feel of her gentle puffs of breath against my skin and the veil of her long hair spreading over my shoulders, chest and abdomen. I loved the comforting presence of her petite body pressed to mine and sometime while we slept she had hooked her left leg over my thigh bringing even more contact between us.

Ohh ... and something else had changed ... her left hand was now gripping my very stiff cock.

I was in a quandary as this was the first time that there had been any contact of a sexual nature between us and I didn't want it to spoil our developing relationship of trust and friendship. Ok, we had seen each other naked and I had touched all of her body as I washed her in the shower but there had been nothing overtly sexual about it. Her comment about me getting aroused in the shower was delivered without any innuendo behind it but it would be difficult to ignore the fact that she was now holding my erect penis.

My thoughts on how to extricate myself became moot a few seconds later as she started to stir and her left hand relaxed and then gripped again. I heard a muffled giggle and she raised her head and peered through the curtain of hair with a cheeky grin on her face.

"Oops ... sorry!"

I had to laugh myself mainly because she looked so much like the elfin faced Czech girl from the early photos. She released my erection and gave it a final pat and slid up to kiss me on the cheek and whisper in my ear.

"You have a really nice cock."