The Ex-Mermaid

Author's Note:

This was going to be an entry in the Holiday contest, but I saw in the rules that works in a series aren't eligible. So here it is as chapter 7, instead.

There may be more ahead for Maria and Mike, but I haven't started any new drafts about them, yet. I've got other ideas perking that aren't part of the Mermaid world. What do you like about my stories? What should I improve or get rid of? You can leave anonymous feedback without an email. Thanks for reading.

I woke as the sky was lightening. Mike was curled around me, holding me spoon-style. His breath warmed my neck.

His morning wood warmed somewhere else.

This was going to be interesting. Our favorite foreplay was a game where we would flirt increasingly explicitly, until one of us somehow "lost" by acknowledging how turned on we are. Often a theme developed which either carried over into our lovemaking or caused us to laugh ourself silly. Often both. If you've ever giggled while coming, you know what I mean.

And most of our games ended the same way, with sex. We called that a tie.

You'd think I had an easy advantage, but one obvious-though-not-huge boner does not offset Mike's skill at this game. He had been playing similar games with his brother and sisters -- not the sexy part, perv! -- but they tried to make each other crack up or swirled into favorite comedy bits.

Much as I love Mike, I do not need to see his Groucho Marx impersonation ever again.

So he was an expert at spotting the little signs that gave away others' thoughts. If he wasn't so fascinated with his grad program, he could be a Vegas-class poker hustler. Maybe that would be a good backup career in case the whole astrophysics thing didn't work out. Like that guitarist from Queen -- Mike told me about him -- a backup career is always good.

~~~

Did I mention my mind tends to wander when I'm getting aroused? And it does. And I am. And since the loser 'has to' perform oral sex on the winner, it wasn't terrible to lose. Especially since that almost always led to more fun.

I reached down and spread my pussy lips to cover him. It was this kind of moment I was looking forward to when we got my implant only a week after we met. I could feel Mike getting harder. And no doubt he could feel me getting wetter. But a big part of our fun was not being willing to admit that we were aroused. I don't know when Mike actually woke up, but I learned that he was awake when the hand that was curled around me began stroking my nipple. The position gave him an advantage that way. Or me. It could have been my advantage. I was getting to the point where this game would inevitably end in a tie.

If moistening the topside of his cock wasn't enough to get there, maybe a little friction would do it. Or maybe Mike would declare himself a winner, whereupon I had to try for a tie. Which always happened.

So I slid my hips forward and back, which since we were on our sides meant up and down his shaft. I felt the swell as he became somehow more erect. A slight tip of my hips -- or his -- would slip him into me.

Mike's hand slid from my boob to my clit as I scooted forward just a little and pressed him into my pussy from behind. Naturally, I took the opportunity to tickle his balls while I was down there. He pushed forward, maybe as a reflexive response to the tickle, or maybe it was a game-ending tie. From here, Mike's cock bottomed out near my G spot. His hand dipped down to get slippery, and he began to stroke up and down across my clit. A little tilt of my hips served to get us nicely positioned.

Mike began thrusting more obviously, if somewhat shallowly on account of my little butt being in the way, but with perfect aim. The ridge around his cock head was right on my G spot as he pumped his hips backwards and forwards. I squeezed him and felt his answering pulses. He was pretty close to coming. I reached back and grabbed his butt, pulling him into me as I used the Kegel muscles I'd been working out regularly for the last few weeks. I felt each spurt individually, as it pumped through his shaft and into me. Finally we slowed and, sighing, held ourselves together as Mike slowly softened.

"Good morning. I guess that's a tie."

"And good morning to you, Lord Morningwood. My name is Betsy, I'm your chambermaid at this little inn."

"Thank you, Betsy. I have a request of you."

"At your service, sir!"

"Please explain to this ignorant traveler how your shower works."

I showed him. I showed him how to use the body wash. He had to practice on me quite a bit, despite my demonstrating on him several times. Since we'd just made love a few minutes ago, we just flirted and played without being really seductive about it. My very ticklish underboob was forbidden territory when dry, but I liked how his slippery fingers felt as the soap suds trickled down from my shampoo. I liked that a lot, evidently.

Finally, we stopped and dried off.

"My second request is a cup of coffee, and if half an hour ago is impossible, then immediately would suffice."

"Immediately it is, sir. May I take the time to dress?"

"No, that would delay matters. You must go as you are," he pulled the towel off my waist, "as you are now."

I didn't think our housemates would be up yet, but this could get interesting. I went downstairs nude, and fetched two mugs of coffee. I don't know if I was more relieved or disappointed that there was no sign of Abby & Bill yet. Their families were in town, so traveling was no big deal for them. They'd visit both sets of parents. The O'Connors lived a couple hours away, in a rural small town, and we wanted to get there before lunch. The early wake-up time was good, and the delay in getting out of bed was even better.

I handed Mike his coffee and curtsied in a way that would have made Sister Frances, the girls' gym and decorum teacher (really!) at my catholic grade school, proud. If I hadn't been stark naked. From the care with which she supervised the junior high showers, I thought maybe nudity would arouse a slightly different emotion.

Geez, now I was fantasizing about showing my nude body to a nun? I got laid less than an hour ago. Maybe it was just nerves about meeting Mike's family, although from everything he told me, I'd love them. And maybe Sister Frances was just watching to see any evidence that a girl needed a talk about "certain new aspects of cleanliness".

We drank some coffee and got dressed. i spent an inordinate amount of time brushing my hair, until Mike had gone downstairs. I had a surprise in store, and wanted to make a good first impression on his folks.

~~~

Mike and I were sitting at the kitchen table. I'd had my oatmeal, Mike had toast with peanut butter. We were sexually sated, washed, caffeinated, dressed, fed, ready to go. Abby and Bill were beginning to get up: Abby came out in her bathrobe and got a couple mugs of coffee.

We'd packed last night. Mike had talked with his parents about us, of course. We would be in Mike's old bedroom. There would be ten of us: Mr. and Mrs. O'Connell, Mike and I, Mike's brother and his fiancee, and his three sisters, one of whom was bringing a friend.

We were ready to go well before nine, thanks to a very nice early wake-up. His childhood home was full of memories he'd made with his big, loving family, and I had heard plenty of stories. Finally I'd meet the people who had shaped the Mike I loved.

In the car, Mike prepped me to meet the other O'Connors.

"Be ready for some interrogation. You've already passed the 'if Mike loves you you must be OK' check. They may well be sizing you up as a potential in-law. I'm sure they'll approve, but beware that if you're going to be part of the family you'll be treated mercilessly in our teasing games. Don't take it personally, they want to make sure you fit."

"Mike, you've taught me well. I hope I can give as good as I get."

I knew his basic family structure, middle kid with an older brother and sister, and two younger sisters. And I knew about their habit of verbal fencing that made Mike so good at our flirting.

"And don't be shocked if Mom gets pretty personal, perhaps even risque, with you, if she gets in the mood. She's pretty open about sexuality.

"David is my big brother. He's a pharmacy tech working at Dad's drugstore and taking business classes in preparation for Dad's retirement. I have tried to pry secrets out of him, but he says his code of ethics wouldn't let him disclose anything. Might be true, might be teasing. He has been my best friend and protector as long as I can remember. I figured he could probably leap tall buildings in a single bound.

"His fiancee, Jen Stone, is a lot of fun. They've been together three years and are getting married in June. She's an RN, working at the Elder Care clinic in town. They went to high school together, but didn't start dating until they were both back here in town and kept running into each other outside of work more and more often. Mom swears Jen planned it, David thinks it was just small-town, similar business area coincidence.

Then there's Emma. She's 24, so a little younger than you. You'll hit it off great, she's pretty smart too and as good at planning things as Abby. I bet if anybody planned getting David and Jen together, she was in on it. She's not seeing anybody, at least not seriously enough to bring him to Thanksgiving.

"My sister Julie is a sophomore at Adamson. I've never met her friend, but it's likely they are more than friends, since Julie's gay. The friend could well be closeted, at least enough to be nervous about meeting her girlfriend's family, so watch out for scaring her. Girlfriend or not, I know she'll be warmly welcomed.

"And my youngest sister, Samantha, is 16 and in tenth grade. If I know her, she'll hero-worship you like she does Jen. But she's a great kid."

We talked some more, mostly stories of famous pranks and running jokes I should be aware of. I felt fairly well-briefed, and of course had already heard about many of their family games and gags, as well as plenty about his parents.

We drove on. I was kind of quiet. "You know I'm an only child. So I don't have all those sibling memories and games. Your house could be overwhelming for an introvert like me."

"Well, the other thing is that with such a busy and crowded home, we did learn about the need for quiet and for respecting privacy. A closed door stays closed if the person inside wants it. So if you need to go back up to my room for some quiet, you're going to be left alone until you come out. People may knock, but we all know that pressuring someone who needs recharge time doesn't work. "

Even with a stop for gas and restrooms, we were at Mike's by 11:30. His dad had seen Mike's car and was waiting at the door. He was a trim middle-aged man, with hair that I could see had been red and curly before thinning and graying. "Mike, so glad to see you." He gave him a nice hug. "And you must be Maria. Very pleased to meet you. Tim O'Connor, call me Tim." He held out a hand to shake, and we did a proper handshake that I turned into a hug. Mike had told me while we drove up, that if I did that, his dad would know I was OK. He was right.

"

Heather!

", he yelled, to get her attention, then not quite as loud, "Mike's here with Maria."

Mrs. O'Connor came bustling out from deeper in the house. Instead of greeting Mike first, as had her husband, she made a beeline for me and grabbed me in a warm hug. "Maria, honey, so glad to meet you face to face, I'm Heather. I almost expected an angelic choir announcing you, from what Mike's told me."

"Are you saying I'm not an angelic choir?" asked Tim, feigning offense.

"Dear, you can't be a choir all by yourself. You can be an angelic soloist." I could see where Mike got it.

We fetched our suitcases from the car and brought them up to Mike's room. He had a full-height bookshelf, crammed with books by authors ranging from Steven Hawking to Terry Pratchett to David Brin, Andy Weir, and Arthur C. Clarke. I was impressed and told him so.

"Books were my down time as a kid. Some of these I've read four or five times, getting more and more from them. Of course feel free to read anything."

Mike's room had a double bed, which we'd be sharing. His mom had told me, "Glad we didn't have to find another bed for you, there will be ten of us here." She winked. "And I hope you & my boy have no problem sleeping together."

"That's great, Mrs. O'Connor. We do at home."

"It's Heather, please. And good."

Fortunately, their old farmhouse had lots of room since each of the kids had their own space except the youngest two girls, who had bunk beds when they were small. Bunk beds unstack, it turned out, and the mattresses turned sideways to form a serviceable double bed for Julie and her 'friend'. Those Swedish designers are geniuses.

Samantha was home, of course, with the day off from school. She was banished to sleeping on the couch, but more than mollified by the fun of having extra women to help pick on her brothers. That and unlimited streaming for the duration.

David and Jen were going to wait for Emma's plane and bring her early this afternoon, unless there was snow in New Jersey or fog in Seattle or some other crisis. Julie and her significant other had arrived last night, but had gone out to meet up with some of Julie's high school friends.

Heather had a pot of tomato soup on, and a good assortment of build-your-own sandwich ingredients. The five of us sat and ate. I didn't feel like an outsider, exactly, but there were a few times when it seemed like there were inside jokes that I'd missed completely. Mike had warned me and I knew to expect that, and that while I was exempt from losing in the cases where family lore was part of the banter, I was fair game the rest of the time. We chatted and joked while we ate, mostly getting to know each other, and I knew they were watching to see how well I could participate in the banther between Mike, Samantha, and their parents. I think I passed okay, as I even got a chuckle from Mr. O'Connor.

After lunch, Samantha and I helped clear the table while Mike and his dad put the lunch fixings away, then disappeared. Heather had more cooking to do. "Sammie, you can help peel and boil potatoes for tomorrow. I need to prep the stuffing, so we can get an early start. That monster is going to take a while." Most of the refrigerator was occupied by a huge turkey, defrosting. I offered to help too, but she waved me off. "No, no, you and Mike go unpack and get settled in. Emma's plane was delayed, of course on the busiest travel day, so the others should be here about three-thirty or so. I bet you could use a rest after that long drive."

If Mike hadn't forewarned me, I might have been startled by the wink she threw in at "rest".

~~~~

I retreated to Mike's room. "I think your mom just told me to go make love with you."

"Well, you better listen to her. It would be terrible to get off on the wrong foot." I closed the door behind me.

Mike stepped forward and began unbuttoning my blouse. I'd worn the office-casual look, which included a bra. But this wasn't one of the white, utilitarian bras I wore to work, just because it was expected, and because it would have been embarrassing after walking the mile-plus to work on a chilly day.

This bra set cost $75 from the "Women's Intimates" section at Macy's. Cathy and I had met up at the mall last week. But that's a story for another time.

Mike spent maybe a minute just staring at it. For seventy-five bucks you get sheer silk cups. As the saleslady said, "well, you won't need much support, so let's go for sexy." Along with the silk, that kind of money and attention gets you an absolutely perfect fit and lace trim that's more hole than lace.

This was a bra built to be looked at. It worked. Men are visual creatures and Mike was no exception. I'd say I got my money's worth. It was almost the same medium blue as his eyes.

It was also a bra built to be touched. Mike hitched his pants a bit to loosen his growing boner, stepped forward, and stroked my nipples, which were pressing hard against the silk. That was an amazing sensation, different from other fabrics, different from dry and bare, and different from being slick with saliva or shower or, on more than one occasion, with Mike's semen.

Okay, I loved having Mike play with my boobs. That very expensive bra was getting to be a better deal all the time.

"That's a great bra."

"Worth every penny. That texture is amazing as you stroke it."

"From the outside, too."

"It has another nice feature. An easy front clasp." Mike hardly ever had to take a bra off me, unless we were playing, but he was a smart guy and figured it out. He slipped his hands in, bypassing the silk with his fingertips.

"Just a warning: if you ever do that with cold hands, I will hurt you."

"If these aren't warm enough, my mouth might be warmer."

I kissed him hard. "Good idea, but I like your mouth where it is. There's only one place better."

"Oh yeah? Show me." Like he wasn't an expert already, even though we'd known each other less than a month.

"Not yet. That bra wasn't the only thing I bought." I took a couple steps back, conveniently close to the bed, and undid my slacks. They had a set of metal brackets that was as intricate as a bra clasp, and I didn't want Mike to have to fumble with it.

There was a matching thong. The silk triangle was so sheer that you could see the darker triangle of my pubes through it. Which of course the designers had done on purpose. I slid my feet out of my pumps and stepped out of my slacks, which were puddled on the floor. Mike gaped. I gave a very slow twirl. I could see that the matching set was having its intended effect, so I re-fastened the bra, highlighting my nipples, and twirled again.

He stepped forward, and I undid his pants and finally released his straining hard-on. Putting my hands around his now-bare butt, I sat back on his bed and pulled him toward me. I licked him, tongue broad and wet, from root to tip, then dipped down and surrounded his head with my mouth. I looked up at him, and he smiled down.

"If that's what you want. But you still haven't showed me the 'one place better' for my mouth"

I pulled a suction, so my lips were like a squeegee as I slid off, leaving him only a little wet. I gave him a kiss on the tip, then stood up and slid off the thong and bra. Since they were so expensive, I laid them on his dresser rather than dropping them on the floor. Practical Maria still got a voice.

I lay back down on the bed and pointed. "There. The only place for your mouth that's better than my mouth."

Mike was in full agreement. He knelt between my legs, and bent forward, extending his arms up so he could reach my breasts. I tilted my head up and looked down at him, as he planted a closed-mouth kiss right at the top of my vulva. He raised his head a bit, and my pubes looked like a mustache on him.

But I lost that sight when his tongue took a long, slow journey up my inner lips, pausing for a poke or three into my vagina, and focused in on my clit. I let my head fell back, sighing. My hips tilted forward, pushing into Mike's face. He took his hand from my breast, and slid his fingers into me. He'd had enough practice in the last weeks to know what I like, and his fingers quickly found my G spot.

When he felt my Kegels twitch in response, he increased the aggressiveness of his tonguing, provoking an intense reflexive twitch to my hips as I came. Mike straightened his body up and slid into me, and I put my calves behind his butt and pulled him close.

With our tongues entwined, I embraced Mike with arms, legs, and pussy in the triple hug of love. At times like this, we were one, no definite boundary between penis and vagina.