A Penny for Your Thought

A hand snaked out to circle her waist and Nick's body pressed into her back. This didn't improve her state of mind. She was a mess before and now she just couldn't breathe.

'What am I doing? Did I make him do that? I have to stop this'.

But then Nick's lips were nuzzling her neck and all coherent thoughts left her mind...

***

Through the alcohol induced haze, he found himself regaining some portion of his mind. 'Did I black out? How did I get here?' He was pressed against a warm back, his lips moving on the smooth skin of a woman's neck as if of their own accord. Everything was very dark around him, but he figured they were in his apartment. While his brain sluggishly appraised the situation, he let his hands explore the body he was hugging. The girl was definitely hot, at least she felt that way. Muscular but still curvy, with medium size breasts, which were free of a bra, but still very perky, and fit his hand perfectly. The girl was either cold or very aroused, her nipples pushing at the material of the top she wore. Nick suddenly had the urge to have better contact with these breasts. Fortunately the blouse she wore had a very low-cut neckline, allowing Nick to slide his hand under the stretchy material to cup one of the soft globes.

The woman in his arms gasped quietly as his fingers skimmed over her nipple.

Nick kept his eyes closed since opening them was useless in the darkness and only made his head spin. His hand continued to glide over the smooth skin under the material of the top, producing sighs and breathless moans from his partner.

For a moment a thought crossed his mind, 'does she want this?' but the sounds that she was making and her passiveness in his arms told him he wasn't forcing her into anything. Just to be sure, he withdrew his hands from her body and her disappointed whimper was answer enough for him. Returning his hands, he continued to knead her bosom through the blouse.

"...Top... off..." The words floated in his brain, like soft sighs. Something about the voice turning him on even more. Something almost familiar.

'Did she speak? Did I listen to her thoughts?' he wondered while complying and taking her top off. It was only because he was wasted that he didn't think it odd that he couldn't hear any of her other thoughts.

***

'What am I doing? Oh God, I don't want him to stop. Am I pushing him?'

With her last ounce of will, she concentrated long enough to realize she wasn't pushing him at all, and she knew better than to think that she could influence him just by thinking. No, with Nick only 'pushing' worked. To prove it to herself, she thought 'take my top off'. Nothing happened. His hands kept their wonderful caresses of her upper body.

'Take my top off!' Now it was accompanied by a push, which she had to increase to almost her full strength and only then she felt him comply. 'I guess he is almost back to himself if I have to apply this much strength to manipulate his thoughts,' she thought.

Now his hands had a free access to her breasts and he used this freedom in its fullest. Nick's fingers focused on her nipples and she shuddered, fighting not to make a sound.

'If he hears my voice, he will recognize me,' Cassie thought. 'I have to stop this... But I don't want to... oh, his hands feel sooooo good.'

Nick was still behind her and she could feel his erection pressing against her. This was almost a dream come true. She wanted this for so long that now that it was happening, she couldn't stop it; she didn't want to. Throwing all caution to the wind, she spun to face him.

Relief warred with disappointment when she saw his eyes were closed. Then he leaned in to kiss her. His lips were soft as he slowly brushed them against hers. His hands came up to cup her face almost tenderly. As his tongue licked her bottom lip, she realized she was holding her breath, her eyes still wide open to watch if he would open his. Then his lips pressed firmly to hers and she was lost in the kiss, her eyes closing and her mind whirling with all the sensations this kiss elicited.

Nick was pulling her towards the bed, his lips never leaving hers, his tongue caressing hers. His hands slid from her face to guide her hips forward, and were now trying to push her skirt down. Cassie reached behind her and unzipped her skirt. It fell to her feet, and following Nick's pull, she stepped out of it, using the opportunity to get rid of her high heels that were really starting to hurt her feet.

Nick apparently felt the change in her height; maybe it was the slight change of the angle of her head or the fact that she wasn't as stable on her tiptoes as she was in the shoes. Suddenly his hands were on her buttock and he lifted her almost effortlessly so that she could wrap her legs around him. He never stopped kissing her, but while his hands were on her behind, he probably noticed she was wearing a thong and a small groan escaped his throat.

Cassie focused all her energy and frustration of her pent up feelings into the kiss. She couldn't have stopped even if the world was ending around them. She was on fire, wanting Nick's hands to be everywhere at once, trying to get as much of her skin to rub on his. He smelled like the scotch he drank, but at this moment, she couldn't care less. In her mind there were no coherent thoughts only 'I want him... Oh God... Yes, yes, yes... More... Closer... Oh my...' It was so close to the dream she had the night before; she almost couldn't believe this wasn't another dream.

Then Nick placed her on the bed, his lips leaving hers only to move down her jaw line, to her neck, her collarbone and finally finding her breasts. As his lips reached a nipple, Cassie couldn't hold back the moan, but Nick didn't stop or look up. In fact he seemed encouraged by her moaning, sucking the nipple into his mouth and biting it lightly. Meanwhile, his hands were traveling all over her body, stoking, caressing, finding the places that made her gasp and moan. Cassie was in heaven. Her hands were touching him wherever she could reach.

The apartment was absolutely quite; the only sounds breaking the silence were his occasional groans and her gasps and moans.

Nick's hands reached her hips again, pulling her thong off and she was anticipating what will come next. His mouth moved back to hers as his body settled next to her. She would have preferred if he just settled over her so she could have his cock where she wanted it. She didn't need much foreplay today; she was ready for him before they even started, wet and wanting. But she wasn't going to stop him. His right hand snaked under her neck to comfortably cuddle her head and his left hand seemed to be drawing invisible patterns on her stomach. It was almost a lazy and quite moment compared to the explosive passion of the kisses and caresses that came before.

But then Nick's hand slid between her legs, smoothly parting her, taking advantage of her wetness to dive in. Cassie was moaning and gasping at the feeling of his finger inside her. She was close to coming, her heart beating like crazy, barely able to draw a full breath. This was all just too much; last night's dream, the sexual charge of the day and above all knowing that it was Nick touching her. As Nick's finger skimmed over her clit, it was as if a switch was flipped in her mind.

Cassie has heard other women describe earth-shattering orgasms, seeing stars and exploding. She never believed it, thinking it to be an exaggeration, a pretty way to describe an awesome sensation. Today she knew she was wrong. This was by far the best and strongest orgasm she had ever had. Her body arched off the mattress, her hands clutching at the sheets and flashes of light going off behind her closed eyelids, like fireworks in a night sky. Coming down was like floating, another sensation she didn't experience before. She was so focused on her own sensations she didn't notice that Nick stopped moving next to her, and his hand was just limply covering her mound, until her body fully relaxed and her eyes opened.

"Nick?" she called softly.

Then she turned her head to look at him. He was clearly asleep, a small smile playing on his lips. Looking down the bed, she saw a sticky puddle on her hip and on the sheet between them, then she knew what happened.

This happened to her only once before. The very first time she had an orgasm. She was with her high school boyfriend, Ben; it was very predictably after the prom. She just agreed to lose her virginity to him and he was ecstatic, thanking her. Ben was a very serious young man. Apparently this was another issue he took seriously. He came prepared. Shyly he told her that hoping against all hope that she might agree, he spent the past week reading all he could find about human sexuality and how to make a first time special for a woman. At that she giggled hysterically because nobody before had called her a woman. Then he proceeded to try and make her come, reaching what he clinically called a 'clitoral orgasm'. He succeeded in his 'task', but when she came, she projected so much mental energy and pleasure that she not only made him come but also practically knocked him out.

She was really embarrassed afterwards, thinking she did something wrong, but not as embarrassed as he was when he woke up with a wet spot under him. They never talked about it and just parted ways. Sometimes she wondered if maybe she should have somehow explained, but she was young and only just discovering her gift, and anyway she figured out the whole thing only much later.

It never happened afterwards since she didn't have sex until she found a way to control her mental outbursts of pleasure. It wasn't that simple and required a lot of mental control. Some part of her mind had to keep what she called a 'barrier' while she was coming. That was probably the reason her orgasms were so mediocre compared to today.

This night she just let go, forgetting about everything, forgetting to stay in control of her mind.

'I can't believe I did this to him. How will I explain it if he wakes up?' She quickly got up and cleaned herself and Nick as best she could. Then she soaked up the worst of the wet spot on the sheets. Nick never woke up.

Looking at him sleeping peacefully and smiling in his sleep, she felt a tear slide from the corner of her eye.

'This can never happen again,' she thought. 'I need to leave, to go home,' she told herself. But she couldn't make herself go. She didn't want this to end yet. 'Just a couple more minutes and I will go.' She carefully set on the foot of the bed, watching Nick sleep. She was mesmerized by his slow breathing. Gradually, without her noticing, the exhaustion of the day crept over her.

Somebody watching from the side would have seen her feet curl under her on the bed, then her head sinking lower until she assumed a fetal position by Nick's feet. Then her body stretched and she fell asleep.

__________________________________________________________________________________

"What the hell are you doing here?"

"Oh for fuck sake, Nick, watch your language." Cassie's eyes were laughing, but inside she was cringing. She took in his naked form and the strategically place pillow. "And stop blushing like a school girl. This pretend modesty doesn't suit you." Actually looking at him like that made her blush a little.

'Wow, he is so handsome, and I never thought he was this well muscled. I'm never going to get this image out of my mind. Sleeping will be impossible.' She averted her eyes careful to watch only his face.

Nick looked shocked. She could see in his eyes that he had no idea what to say or what to do, or even how to deal with this situation. His face was changing expressions as his mind tried to process the situation. First there was understanding when he probably remembered some of last night. 'But how much of last night exactly?' she wondered. Then there was shame and even some horror as the situation sank in. There was even some lust there, but that was understandable since she was standing almost naked in front of him, and even if she wasn't his usual model type, she still had breasts. 'What is it with guys and breasts?' She never understood the fascination. But the most prominent expression on his face was indecisiveness and confusion. He looked lost.

'OK, time to take matters into my hands. I can't wait for him to do something in this situation. So what approach should I take?' she asked herself. The answer was easy, Avoidance. 'Now is not the time to talk about what happened yesterday, if ever there will be a good time. Maybe we don't have to talk about it at all. Maybe we can just ignore it, as if it never happened.' If only she could make him think it was a good idea to ignore yesterday night. But he clearly wasn't drunk anymore so she knew there was no point even trying to 'push' her thoughts on him now. 'It's not like something really happened at all. It was almost PG-13, well maybe a little more than that. And he is probably looking lost because he is trying to figure out how to tell me that it was a mistake.' The thought of him thinking it was a mistake made her heart squeeze almost painfully. 'Back to being just friends.'

"Cassie..."

"Shit. What is the time?" She couldn't let him start talking.

"Cassie... what..."

"Come on, Nick, what is the time? I have a big meeting today. I can't be late. My boss will kill me. We have this big settlement coming, I have to be there. I worked really hard on this case." She bombarded him with sentences as she picked up her cloths from the floor. In fact she didn't have to be anywhere till noon, and her boss was so impressed with her that he didn't really pay attention to her comings and goings at the office. As long as she worked her magic on the cases she was in charge of, he worshiped the ground she walked on. But she had to get out of here, and fast, without giving Nick the chance to think or talk. So she used her profession. This was one of the 'perks' of being a lawyer. People always assumed that you had important and urgent things to do. Usually it was true.

"It's nine-thirty." Nick finally checked the time on his cell-phone. He still looked confused as his eyes followed her around his apartment, watching her put on her cloths, slip on her high heels and proceed to the kitchen sink to wash her face and rinse her mouth. His mouth was open as if he wanted to say something but her haste kept him off balance and he couldn't seem to find the right moment to say whatever it was. In addition Cassie kept talking giving him unimportant and probably uninteresting (at least for him) details about the case she was working on.

"So this company, they think they own the planet and can do whatever they want with it. They spill so much waste in the ocean that there are no fish in a ten mile radius. And you should see the poor birds around their plant. I mean doesn't it just make you mad as hell? All these poor, helpless animals. They don't have anyone but us to protect them."

A quick look in the mirror showed that her hair was a mess, so she twisted it into a heavy bun on the top of her head. She silently gave thanks that she didn't bother with heavy makeup yesterday. 'I can just imagine how I would have looked with mascara smudges under my eyes. Very sexy.' She laughed in her head. Fishing out of her purse the black eyeliner she applied it quickly never stopping her tirade.

Nick kept trying to say something, but to no avail.

***

Cassie was talking a mile a minute. He tried to talk to her about what happened but she was in such a hurry that there wasn't enough time to tell her all he felt. Maybe it was for the best. His feelings were a mess, and he couldn't concentrate and sort through them with the horrible headache from all the drinking last night, and her flying around his apartment half naked. 'Is she really planning on going to work wearing this? And since when does she dress like this anyway?'

Cassie usually dressed conservatively. Her work cloths consisted of well fitted business suits and button up shirts, with most of the buttons closed, showing very little cleavage. When they met she usually came straight from work so that was the attire he was used to seeing on her. If they met during a weekend, she usually wore comfortable jeans and a T-shirt. The clothes always fitted well to her curvy form but weren't too tight or too revealing. Nick loved the way she dressed. He always considered it classy and feminine. But today, or rather yesterday, she wore something else entirely.

Her pencil skirt was very tight as was her blouse, and her heels were very high. The skirt accentuated her butt and her well-shaped legs, while the low-cut neckline of the top in combination with lack of a bra left little room to imagination where her bosom was concerned. It was almost slutty, but not exactly. The skirt wasn't too short, and the blouse was made from a firm and expensive looking material. 'Not slutty, more like an expensive call girl,' Nick thought to himself. He couldn't seem to take his eyes off of her. She looked great. No, better than great. She looked amazing. The new color of her hair, one of the reasons he didn't immediately recognized her, was really flattering to her complexion and she seemed to have lost some weight. Not that he ever thought she needed to lose any, but now she looked even sexier than usual.

A pang of jealousy shot through him as he wondered for whom she dressed like this. He didn't want anybody seeing her like that. It was this thought that finally pushed him to action. A quick look around showed he had some sweats lying near the bed and he pulled them on. Then, while Cassie was applying her makeup, he went to his closet and fished out one of his white button up shirts.

"... and to think they have no remorse..."

"Here, put this on. It will be too big, but I think it will do better for your meeting," he said extending the shirt to her, not coming to close, feeling she won't want the proximity right now.

Cassie looked confused for a moment. Then she looked in the mirror again and blushed.

'Why is she blushing? It's not like she wasn't just standing naked in front of me two minutes ago.' Cassie's behavior didn't make sense. 'And why doesn't she want to talk about what happened?'

***

'I can't believe he's seeing me like this. How embarrassing. What he must be thinking?' She almost tore the shirt from his hand. Of course she had no plans going to work wearing her outfit from last night. But he couldn't know she planned to go home and change, otherwise her act of haste was pointless.

"Thanks, great idea," she mumbled.

Expectedly the shirt was too big. She put it over her top since it provided at least some support for her breasts and the white material of the shirt was practically see through. Instead of buttoning the buttons she crossed the two flaps in the front and tied them behind her back, effectively creating a wrap shirt.

Since she was a little flustered about her look, there was a break in her speech and the silence was starting to feel uncomfortable.

"Cassie, we need to talk." Nick sounded cautious.

"Really?" The look he gave her said that he saw no other alternative. "Ok, we will. Some other time. I have to run." With that, she picked up her purse and moved to the door.

She was almost out when his words reached her. "Thanks for coming last night. I hope I didn't ruin your date."

"Don't mention it. Bye," she threw in as she closed the door behind her and ran down the stairs.

***

As Cassie left, Nick threw himself on the bed. He was still hung-over from last night and really confused about all that happened. He was also frustrated, because, although he remembered the drinking and Cassie picking him up from Duke's, everything after that was a bit foggy. He couldn't remember how they got from Duke's to his apartment, which wasn't surprising; he never remembered anything on the occasions when Cassie had to 'rescue' him. In fact, he never knew how she managed to get him home on these occasions. The next thing he remembered he was naked and pressed against a woman's back, Cassie's back as he now knew. Then there was some fondling, although the details were missing. And then blank again up till this morning.