I followed Mary and Jessica through the mall, feeling like the tag-along chauffeur, and doing everything I could to reinforce that image. I hung out just outside whatever store they entered, leaned against the handrail when there was one, and tried desperately to look bored.
In truth, my mind was very agreeably engaged. The two friends had dressed nicely. Dark tights disappeared into stylish boots, and beneath skirts not quite short enough to be saucy. Fuzzy sweaters with chunky collars did more to promote their warm breasts than to hide them, yet showed no excessive skin. Their hair was loose for warmth, and danced around their laughing faces.
By hanging out like the bored parent cajoled into driving, I could stare into the store. I had to be careful to keep my face relaxed and disinterested, but I could feast my eyes. Jessica clearly understood what I was doing, and did what she could to stay visible, prancing between racks, arching unnecessarily to reach something, bending over instead of crouching when looking for something on a low shelf. Every once in a while she'd throw me a glance with eyes on fire, but she was careful to keep them short, and to make sure nobody was looking at her when she did.
Mary seemed blissfully oblivious to what had happened the previous night. Doubtless to her it just seemed that everyone was in a good mood or catching the holiday spirit. She tended to expect that I had little interest in spending a whole week with her and her friend. In truth, they might have been right in years gone by. Sure, I enjoyed bonding with my daughter, and Jessica had been her best friend since birth. Sure, it was fun to give them the treat of a relaxed schedule with good food. But as to my own activities under those circumstances, interruptions were frequent, and riding my motorcycle was only an option once they were old enough to watch themselves for a few hours.
I hadn't exactly been looking forward to watching the girls when Susan left for her annual Women's Bible Camp - a week long tradition she'd started when my wife Catherine was still alive. But I hadn't exactly been dreading it either.
Yesterday, minutes after Susan had driven away, I had noticed she had left a woman behind. No longer could our daughters be called kids. These girls were physically mature. It had been a real shock. At first one that made me feel older - after all Mary was nineteen, so I could hardly be in my own twenties any more. But then Jessica had turned up in my bedroom in the middle of the night, desperately hungry, and ever since I'd felt more like a teenager myself.
"It didn't hurt?" I'd asked when she prepared to leave my room just before four AM. "I was really concerned."
"Oh," Jessica laughed lightly, no louder than a whisper, pulling her panties back on. "I read about that. While I've never had a true man before, I admit I've been playing with toys for more than a year. At first nothing more than what I could sneak into my room, but I saved up my pocket money for a few months and bought, well..." she trailed off. I could tell she was blushing - surprised by how easily she talked about it all.
"Jessica," I said, but she seemed to read the tone of my voice.
"Don't worry, Mr. Schmidt," she interrupted, wiggling a little to settle her nightgown into place. "I know you don't think it was right, that you did something horrible. But I'm a legal adult now, and it was important to me."
Jessica sat on the side of the bed again, just as she had when she first came into the room, and continued in a breathy whisper. "I've had a long time to think about this," she admitted. "I dreamed about it a lot when I came over last year. I've wanted to for ages. I only just worked up the nerve, and almost didn't even then."
"I still don't..."
She reached out and touched my lips with her finger, an endearing gesture she'd done all her life. Of course it felt different after glorious sex and sleeping together, but it also felt familiar, and I let her silence me again.
"I've thought about this for years," she murmured. "At least since I was sixteen. Like I said earlier - I like boys my own age, of course I do. A few of them are fun, most of them are good looking. Many of them have asked me out or made a pass at me. I've been to parties, and I've been touched a lot. But most of them are clumsy, and somehow too rough. And though lots of them are strong and even graceful in sports, I knew I needed something else. At least at first."
She took a breath, and looked away, hugging her arms around her stomach. "For my first few times, I wanted someone who knew what he was doing, someone bigger and fuller than the boys I know. Someone I knew I could trust, who would let me dictate the pace, or would know when to take over without being told. And, of course, someone who can't get me pregnant."
"How do you know that?" I asked incredulously.
"Oh, girls talk about this stuff once in a while, you know," she grinned. "I asked my mom, or my friends, how it is that parents seem to stop having children as they get older. I learned about contraception and everything, and I found a tactful way to find out from Mary - a long time ago really - that you'd had a vasectomy." Her grin was a little apologetic. "I really have been planning this for years. I can't believe the time finally came. And it really was everything I hoped for. You were like a powerful angel wrapping me up in his wings."
She let out a short, quiet laugh. "I bet that sounds all poetic. But I can't tell you how much it means to me that you didn't send me away."
I remained quiet, but she must have found what she was looking for in my face, for she beamed at me. "Listen, I know I can't have you forever. It must seem like a schoolgirl crush to you. And in a very real way I suppose it is. But I want you for the week. I'll be as discrete as I possibly can. I'll not give us away during the day, and I've been sleeping over with Mary forever. She almost never wakes up, and I even told her that sometimes I sleepwalk, or move to the couch for a few hours, like it's a quirk of mine. I'll be quiet, I'll sneak in well after she's asleep, and I'll get back before she wakes up."
She and Mary bounced out of the bath accessories shop, arm-in-arm, giggling. Mary had a small parcel that doubtless smelled wonderful. They went all of ten feet and turned into the next door - to a clothing shop. They spent an inordinate amount of time inspecting the fashions. Under normal circumstances this might have driven me to the electronics shop around the corner - or simply back to the truck to doze and wait - but Jessica made it a point to display all manner of leather, from jackets to pants to armbands, in such a way that I could see her clearly from the front of the shop and she could pretend her nervous excitement was from sharing daring fashion with her friend instead of showing it off to me. -- Hours later, after a long shopping trip - during which I had been thick and throbbing most of the time - I'd once again fed them a nice dinner and we'd settled in to change our pajama-movie tradition. No longer was it merely opening night, it was to be every night. I got a small fire going on the grate and Jessica picked a different kid's flick.
Whereas last night's movie built to a thickly sappy ending full of teary emotions, tonight she'd chosen something much more upbeat and fun. We all sat up a little straighter under the blanket, not so much snuggled in close, but I still had my arms along the back of the sofa. Mary sat up, smiling and laughing in all the right places. Jessica likewise had not nestled in under my shoulder, but like Mary was still pressed against my side.
I lost track of the film about 45 minutes in, when Jessica's hand shifted to my leg. I could feel the heat from her palm through my pajamas, the trembling vibrations of her body against mine. Her laughter was a little too loud, her reactions slightly overdone out of nerves, but not so much that Mary paid her much attention.
With deliberation, Jessica's hand worked its way up my leg, and as it approached I became stiffer. Due to the set of the fabric my dick couldn't stand up straight, but by the time her questing fingers found it, there was no mistaking what it was or how it felt about the contact.
For the remainder of the film Jessica traced her fingers around the bulge in my pajamas, occasionally wrapping her fingers around the shape as well as she could. Unfortunately, she had almost no experience with real penises, aside from last night, and didn't let up until the closing credits. Therefore when she pulled her hands out of the blanket to clap with Mary, I was still rock hard with no signs of letting up soon.
I made a big show of bundling up the blanket and carrying it away while Mary and Jessica reset the electronics and jabbered happily. I smiled as I carried the blanket to the den. I would spend some time on the computer, writing a little, playing a game or two, and head up to bed around eleven. A little early for me perhaps, but I was tired. I hadn't had a full eight hours the night before. -- In truth I made it to midnight. Sometimes the words flow effortlessly, and sometimes everything goes right in the game, and it's hard to find a good stopping point.
I yawned, locking doors and turning off lights as I worked my way through the house. I listened carefully as I passed Mary's room and could hear soft breathing. 'Soon enough, old boy,' I thought to myself. 'Be patient, and try to catch an hour or two sleep yourself.'
I entered my room with another yawn, scratched absently at the back of my head, and stopped dead. Jessica grinned back at me from my pillow, her beautiful fingers curled over the comforter, illuminated by the light from the hall.
