Slightly Once

I have no idea where this episode is headed. Let's see what happens.

The winter was mild, by Midwestern standards. Not too much snow, not too cold.

Kim led the girls basketball team to the conference championship, and to the state tournament. She was busy and absorbed. I tried my best to be there for her – she was feeling a lot of pressure as the team leader, and was afraid of letting her teammates and the school down.

The boys team fared less well. I had an OK senior year. A good rebounder, but frankly, not much else. I sure didn't scare anyone on offense, although I got my share of put-backs. Needless to say, our season was over before Kim's.

Our social life suffered as the season went on. We were both committed to being good teammates, and so sacrificed a lot of time together for the sake of our teams. That made it really hard, and we tried to make the most of the time we had, which wasn't much, or as often as we wanted. We saw each other daily in school, and usually ate lunch together. She made me feel proud taking my arm in hers as we walked to classes, but that was long before really public displays of affection were tolerated, so there wasn't much beyond squeezing my arm or holding my hand. Occasionally, we'd steal a minute and slip backstage in the auditorium for a brief, torrid kiss and hug. But that was far from enough. After daily, grueling practices and homework, there was little time left to spend with each other.

"I miss you!" Kim wailed one night over the phone. "I want to hug you until blood squirts out your ears!"

"Yuk! Gross!" I said.

"Well, just kidding. But I do want to hug you so bad it hurts!"

"Me, too." I said. "But the season will be over soon, and we can celebrate the state championship!"

"Oh, Dave, do you think we have a chance?" She was anxious about the forthcoming tournament.

"As good a chance as anyone else, especially with you on the floor." Kim had had a spectacular season, and was a shoo-in for All-State again. Some were saying All-American.

"Thank you, Dave, I love you for saying that."

"It's true. You can eat any other player in the state alive," I said confidently, hoping that she would feel that way, too. I saw part of my role to keep her confident in herself, so that self-doubt wasn't a distraction. Basketball is as much in the head as it is in athletic ability. The mental game is more complex than most people understand, especially playing at the level Kim was now approaching.

"There's only one person I want to eat," she said wistfully.

"Don't say that," I groaned. It had been a long time since we had spent any quality time alone. The thought of Kim sliding her lips up and down my erection was vivid, and painful. It wouldn't happen any time soon.

"Sorry, but it's true," she said. "I just want to gobble you up."

"Please stop that, I can't take it."

"Sorry."

"No apologies, but you'll just have to make it up to me when we can."

"I'll take that as a challenge," she said. Uh oh. Kim taking on a challenge could be scary.

"Dave?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me that you love me."

The "L" word. In my shyness, I still was unable to muster the courage to say what we both knew I felt.

"You know how I feel," I stammered.

"I do. But I want to hear you say it."

"Uh, I...uh, well..." I couldn't do it. Shyness covered me like a blanket.

She laughed, but not without a little hurt showing through. "It's okay, Dave, I'll let you off the hook, this time."

"What have you thought about college?" I asked. She was flooded with scholarship offers and was protected by her parents from hordes of well-meaning, but pesky college recruiters.

"I'm thinking Duke. Good school, full ride, better climate," she said thoughtfully. "But I haven't signed on the dotted line yet."

"Playing hard to get, huh?" I said, teasing.

"For everyone but you," she said softly. Wow. That cut straight to my heart, for some reason, and my throat tightened. I thought about how lucky I was to have this woman. I thought about how beautiful she was. I thought about how deeply I was falling for her. All in the blink of an eye. Love welled up. There was a long silence. "Are you OK?" she finally asked.

"Yeah," I choked out. "I'm fine. Really."

"What did I do wrong?" she asked, full of concern.

"You didn't do anything wrong," I replied. "It's what you did right."

"What was that?" She was genuinely curious.

"For all you have to juggle, for all the pressure you're under, for everything that's going on in your life, you can still find exactly the right thing to say to lift my heart."

"Oh," now she was quiet. "I see, I think. You, sir, are the sweetest man on the planet. I do love you, David, with every bit of my heart."

I choked up again. I had to change the subject. "Is the team ready for the tournament?"

"As ready as we can be, I think. It feels like we're peaking. It would be so cool to hold the championship trophy!" Her voice carried excitement.

My chance. "There's only one trophy I want to hold. My trophy girlfriend."

She laughed. "Well, you'll get to do that win or lose!"

"I hope it's win. I want that so much for you."

"We leave tomorrow."

"I know. I'll be there. I'm coming down with your folks."

"I know that, silly! They're excited about it."

"See you down there."

"Yeah, I'll see you. I love you." She hung up before I embarrassed myself again.

The tournament was tight. Kim made the finals, and in the most exciting basketball game I had ever seen, we lost by a single point. The bad part was that Kim had an open shot with two seconds left. It rimmed out, and time expired. We were runners-up, and Kim was devastated. She felt like she had let the team, the school, and the town down. She forgot about the 27 points she scored that kept us close. She forgot about being voted the state tournament's MVP.

After the game, the reporters, the trophy presentations, and a shower, she emerged and buried her face in my shoulder, crying inconsolably. I said nothing, knowing that no words could help, and just held her. Her parents stood by, helpless, too, to comfort their girl.

We went out for a late-night snack, but Kim wasn't hungry. We went back to the motel, me to my room and Kim and her family to theirs. We said good-night, and I hugged her one last time.

About an hour later, I was awakened by a soft knock at my door. I opened it to find Kim, tears streaming down her cheeks. I took her arm and pulled her in, closing the door.

"What are you doing here? What will your parents say?" I asked, wiping tears with my thumb.

"Mom sent me here," she sobbed. "Dad's asleep. Mom and I were talking, but getting nowhere. She sent me here for the rest of the night, and told me she'd handle Dad."

"Is she OK with it?" I asked. I didn't relish the thought of alienating her parents.

"Mom knows we've made love," Kim said.

"What? How did she find out?" Now I was really worried.

"I'm her daughter. She knows me too well. She could tell I had fallen in love with you. And she could tell that I was ...different."

"When did she figure it out?"

Kim giggled. "Christmas morning! She didn't talk to me about it until that night, but she had it all figured out. Remember how she was always dragging my dad out of the room?"

"Vaguely. We'd steal that time to kiss," I said.

"Yeah, well Mom was doing that on purpose!" Kim lightened a bit. "She saw how we were touching, holding hands. We were being physical in a way we hadn't been up until that point. So she'd drag Dad out of the room on some cooked-up chore to give us a moment of privacy. She remembered finding us cuddled up and fast asleep the night before, and put two-and-two together, figuring we had done SOMETHING to be that exhausted!" Kim giggled. "So we talked about it, and I told her how wonderful it was to be in your arms, how wonderful you made me feel, and how much I care for you."

"And she's OK with it?" I asked, unsure.

"She sees how well you treat me. How much you respect me. She knows how you feel about me. Even though you can't say it!" She punched me, not lightly, on the arm. "So she's fine with it, and happy for me. Dad may be another story, but I'm pretty sure she hasn't told him. Why look for trouble?"

"Did you tell her about the locker room?" I asked, remembering a scorching session of passion on the trainer's table.

Kim laughed. "Uh, no. I seem to have left that story out. And she hasn't pried into that or any other pornographic tales we have to tell." She was smiling now. She seemed to be relaxing.

"Well, what can I do for you right now? What do you need?"

"I need to go to bed with you, and have you just hold me. I may need to cry and have you caress my brow and say 'there, there, it will all be OK.' I need you to just be you."

"Easy," I teased with mock bravado. "I don't know how to be anyone else."

"Well, then, off with your clothes," she commanded. "I may not rape you, but I want to be comforted by the feel of your skin."

And so we climbed in to bed, naked. Kim snuggled up close, and I put a protective arm around her, her head on my chest. We had no words, and while my erection raged as I felt her cool skin against mine, I wouldn't take any initiative, knowing that, at that moment, it was wrong. There was a different magic working.

We awoke to light peeking through the cracks of the closed curtains. Morning! Kim's lovely face looked into mine with a sleepy smile.

"Well, I got sleep I wouldn't have gotten any other way," she said. "Thank you for holding me. I needed that so much."

It all welled up. From somewhere deep inside, it rose and bloomed and overwhelmed me. Here I was, holding the woman I so deeply, obviously loved. Without thinking, I blurt it out. "Kim, of course I would do that. Of course I would hold you all night long! I love you so much!"

Kim was instantly completely awake. Her eyes wide. "What did you just say?"

Caught. I tried to wriggle. "That of course I would hold you all night long," I said.

"And the other part?" she asked.

"What other part?"

She punched me in the arm. "Why you would hold me all night? Don't try to dodge it, buster!"

I stroked her hair. I looked into her eyes. No going back. "Because," I said softly, just for her. "I love you with all my heart and soul, Kim. You mean everything to me." I burst into tears, sentimental sot that I was, and am. The release of finally saying it was a catharsis, the emotion pouring out. I didn't know what else to do but cry. Guys, you know. We're so poor at handling our emotions. We can either get pissed off, or cry, which covers everything but anger. We learn nothing else.

"David, you fill me with surprises," she was shaking her head. "If ever there was a time in my life when I needed to hear that from you, it's right now." She held me close as I buried my head in her shoulder and sobbed like a baby. She stroked my brow, but had the grace not to say "there, there."

She laughed softly. "Is it so bad to love me?" she asked, not without humor.

"You oaf," I responded, using her pet term for me when I was clumsy at something, which was often. "I've never been so happy. You fill me with a deep joy every time I look at you. To hold your hand sends electricity up my arm. To hug you makes time stop. It does! I hold you and I feel like I have sidestepped time and we will hug for all eternity, with the world frozen. I'm afraid to kiss you because I don't ever want to stop, and fear they'll find us months later, dead, with our lips locked!"

With that, she burst out laughing. "Where did all that come from? I've never heard such eloquence from you!"

Blushing deeply, I mumbled. "It comes straight from the heart, Kim. I couldn't help myself. I'm sorry I haven't been able to say it all before. But believe me when I tell you that it's all true. I mean every word"

She looked at me long. "Well, by my watch it's only seven o'clock," she said. "The parents won't be awake until eight, at least." She rubbed her hand up and down my arm, and snuggled in close. "Such eloquence, which has made me happier than I have ever been in my life, deserves to be rewarded. Since our clothes are already off, how do you think it would feel to take me in your arms and ravish me?"

"Are you sure you're up to it?" I asked, hesitant.

She looked down. "I am. And I see you are, too." Her smile was radiant. Her blue eyes bright. With no preliminaries, no kissing, no foreplay, she climbed on top of me and immediately inserted me into her vagina. Our experience was so limited that she had never been on top before. We had it to look forward to, but it had been so long I was sure I wouldn't last. Her long blonde hair hung down and tickled. I didn't care. The feeling of being in her wet tight place was overwhelming. She ground her pussy on my cock, and wouldn't let me stroke. She had to have me as deep inside as she could, and I couldn't back away. I held the sides of her waist, and just went along for the ride. Hands on my chest, she lowered herself to give me a passionate kiss. She squeezed her legs against my sides. She squeezed her pussy muscles and almost crushed my cock. It was an incredible feeling. Six feet of beauty seemed to be trying to fuck me to death. What a way to go.

From inches away, she looked at me almost...ferociously. She actually gritted her teeth. Her eyes ablaze. "Tell me that you love me, huh? Well, mister, I'll show you what love is!" And she humped me with wild reckless abandon. She slid up and down my pole, grunting with each stroke. I lay there, underneath her passion, and took it like a man. It wasn't long, however, before the end was near.

"Kim, I'm going to cum!"

"Go ahead! Don't hold back! Make love to me!"

I took her by the shoulders and pulled her down in a bear hug as my penis erupted. She melted into my arms and moaned, climaxing, too, shuddering. I held her tight while the ecstasy coursed through me, leaving me spent. She covered my neck in little kisses.

I'm sorry," I said, "But it's been way too long, and that was way too short."

She looked at me gently, from inches away. "Don't worry. In case you didn't notice, I had a pretty powerful climax with you, so I'm more than happy at the moment." She sat up, and brought my hands to cover her breasts. "And besides, in my experience, with the proper incentive, you just might stay hard for another try."

Her breasts were so firm, and her nipples hard. I enjoyed feeling them. I caressed them gently, tracing their outline. I squeezed her nipples, twisting them just a little, which made her close her eyes and gasp with pleasure. I cupped them and held them. My hands roamed up and down the exquisite body that sat upon me. Her body, in full view above me, was magnificent. I pulled her down and kissed her. I massaged her back as I lay underneath her, loosening her tight muscles. Still, I was buried inside her. And I wasn't getting any softer. She noticed.

"Dave, I need you on top of me," she said, as she came off me and rolled to the side on the king size bed. She was on her back, legs spread, holding them apart with her hands on her inner thighs. Her arms pressed her breasts together, emphasizing pert nipples. "Make me your woman like you did on Christmas Eve! Love me, Dave, please love me!"

I rolled on top and began to kiss my way down to a delightful pussy-eating session. She took my head in her hands before I had even reached her breasts. "No, not this time, I need you inside me. Now!"

I moved up, and my helmet touched her outer lips. She reached between us and guided me in. She was so wet that I buried myself up to the hilt in one quick move. She grabbed the sides of my butt to pull me in deeper.

"And Dave?"

"Yes, my love?"

She smiled. "I like it when you say that! But Dave? I love it when we go slow. I love to feel every bit of you move in and out of me. I love the intensity I feel when we do that." She looked at me, those beautiful blue eyes boring in. She shook her head slightly, once. "But not this time."

Our faces were inches apart. I nodded, slightly, once.

She started slowly, moving her hips against me, holding me tightly to her. I moved in response, and our pace built. She bucked and moved her feet up and down my legs as she moaned and gasped and kissed my neck. She writhed beneath me in an all-out lovemaking assault. She moaned, and groaned, and mewled, telling me she loved me, and urging me to do it harder, faster. I humped her for all I was worth, now, fucking her relentlessly, butt rising and falling as I pistoned. I pushed up on straight arms, and she spread her legs wide, holding them open. All of a sudden, the only our genitals touched. Me with an incredibly hard, wet cock, its helmet engorged. Her with a slick pussy, working her hips counter to my thrusts, each time burying me all the way, my balls slapping against her butt. The feel of my shaft rubbing her inner walls was incredible. Having just climaxed, I was ready to last a good long while. And so, we screwed away the morning, pumping like madmen. Up on my arms, I loved to watch my cock move in and out. She craned and watched, too, for a moment, then went back to focusing on the wild motions of her pelvis, head back, eyes closed, panting to the rhythm of our sexing.

From time to time I would have to catch my breath, and I would lower down and kiss her passionately. She would run her fingers through my hair, squirm her body in what seemed to be an attempt to swallow me into her pussy, moan, and just sort of...melt into me. An image came to mind.

"Grilled cheese," I said.

"What?" Her turn to be a little bewildered. We slowed for a moment.

"We're like a grilled cheese sandwich. I'm the bread, and you're the cheese. We melt together and become one, inseparable."

She laughed. "I like that image. Here. Let me melt a little more." And she did. I don't know how, but she did, and we came even closer together. Her kiss was the deepest I'd ever felt from her. I felt her love envelop me. We were almost one body, moving in unison. We rocked and rocked and fucked and made love. All at the same time. The familiar feeling started to well up.

"Kim, I'm going to cum very soon."

"Oh, please! Please fill me up!" We rocked and rocked. I picked up the pace, now pounding her pussy as hard as I could.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!" she said with the rhythm of our fucking. "Oh, God! I love you so much!"

"Oh, Kim! Here...I...Cum!" And I rammed as deep as I could and blasted my load inside her. She screamed and pulled me even closer, and I could feel her vaginal muscles trying to crush me with spasm after spasm. We went on like that for what seemed like minutes. We were falling through space. We were one body, one being. I saw stars. I felt myself emptying into her, my skin melding with hers along the entire length of my body. She wrapped her legs around me and tried to crush me with them, all the time her pussy muscles having contractions as I jetted my sperm. I kept saying her name, telling her I loved her. She cried and held me even tighter. Bliss doesn't begin to describe it. Intense falls way short. I could never have imagined that sex could be so wonderful.

Then, slowly, we came down from the mountain. I was exhausted. She was panting, but smiling and radiant.

"I didn't realize how much I needed that," she said gently. "Thank you."

"Thank you, my love," I said, and gently rubbed her nose with mine.

"You said it again!"

"I'm trying to get used to it." I said. "It isn't easy for me."

She pulled me close. "Keep practicing. I'll never get tired of hearing you practice."

I looked deep into her eyes. "I love you, Kim, with all my heart."

"Do you, really?"

Looking deep into the blue eyes I so adored, I nodded slightly, once.

I saw tears. She hugged me close. "Let's get dressed and go have breakfast with the folks."