I woke, chilly, and rolled over and kissed her awake.
She was smiling as her eyes fluttered open.
"I love you," I said, and kissed her.
She kissed back, hard, wrapping her arms around my neck, holding me to the kiss.
"Thank you," she said.
I chuckled and asked, "for what?"
"For all of this, honey," she said, "for taking a boring church secretary and turning her into a, well, I'm not sure what I am anymore."
I laughed and kissed her, quickly, and then rolled away before she could catch me.
"For reminding you that you're a beautiful woman, full of love and energy, and deserving all the pleasure I can give you?" I asked, helping her to her feet.
"No, David," she said, very serious now, "for giving me the ability to do this and not feel guilty," and she spread her arms and did a slow turn.
"God, you're beautiful," I said, "but we need to get moving before I freeze."
She giggled and touched her nipples with her fingers, finding them hard little buttons in the chill air.
"Well, I suppose you're right," she said.
"Annddd," I said, chuckling, "we need to shower before dinner. We both smell like piss."
She laughed then, a big belly laugh, the sound echoing across the valley.
She turned and, I thought, rather deliberately posed as she bent over at the waist and started gathering the picnic gear.
"Great ass," I called, gathering up clothes.
She giggled and wiggled it.
We packed, then pulled on clothes, and then headed for the cottage.
We showered, laughing and washing each other, making a game of it.
Clean and dry, I did her hair and makeup again before selecting what she would wear to dinner.
What a difference a few days had made. When I laid out the two items that would be her outfit for the night she didn't hesitate. The top was more a bib than a blouse, a bright yellow panel that ran from a wide collar with two buttons in the back down to a strap of material at the bottom with a second strap that would tie under her arms. I did the two buttons and the straps and stepped back to look.
It was a great look for her. Seen from the front, she was very modest, covered completely from neck to waist. From the back, she was completely bare except for the collar and the two narrow straps tied with bows, one between her shoulder blades and one right where the line of hair down her spine started to spread.
I handed her the skirt, a wrap-around thing, quite modest, falling to mid-calf. When she turned it flared and it was obvious there was nothing underneath.
"You are absolutely GORGEOUS," I said, my hands on her shoulders, not wanting to mess up her hair or makeup.
I took her to a roadhouse on the edge of town, a place we had noticed that proclaimed LIVE MUSIC EVERY NIGHT on the billboard in front.
When we got out of the car I caught her hands in mine and said, "Now listen. If someone asks you to dance, and I imagine they will, you say 'yes.' You dance and flirt and enjoy yourself. If his hands start roaming you don't do anything stupid like yell at him or jerk away." I smiled at her, "enjoy yourself" I repeated, "but just remember who's taking you home, to quote the old song," I added.
"David," she said, the question clear in her eyes.
"Edna," I said, not releasing her hands, "I brought you here to show you off. I want you to enjoy yourself. Do the things you didn't when you were younger, but it's me you're going home with and me who'll have you naked."
She giggled and said, "I'll try."
I laughed and said, "the first time you're asked you'll go and you'll enjoy it you slut you."
She giggled and replied in what would become a traditional exchange between us.
"What you made me," she said.
I took her hand and led her into the place.
We had arrived fairly early, it was about 7:00, and so the place had empty tables.
Dinner was bar food. I ordered a "slopper" which turned out to be a half-pound hamburger covered in green chili and served with French fries and a pickle spear. Edna had something called "Randy's Special" which turned out to be a double cheeseburger with the fixin's.
We shared a pitcher of beer.
The place had been slowly filling and a little before 8:00 the band started tuning up. The guitar player had a Les Paul and a Marshall stack and when he ran a few riffs tuning up I thought he was pretty good.
They started up something slow that I didn't recognize, but it was slow and had a beat and I stood and offered her my hand.
I liked that we were the first on the floor and that as we danced I could see the men, especially, looking.
The band went immediately into Blake Shelton's "Cotton Pickin' Time," a very fast song indeed, and I led her into what I thought was a passable jive. When I spun her away and the skirt flared I liked very much that I heard a few whistles from the crowd.
Back at the table, we sat. She was a little breathless and a lot flushed. We sat through a song and when the band eased into a very passable version of "Unchained Melody," the frontman doing a passable Bill Medley homage, I liked very much that a younger man, older than me, younger than Edna, I guessed him in his 40s, very politely asked her to dance.
She flashed me a bit of a deer-in-the-headlights look before she turned her face up, smiled, and said, "of course."
As they stepped off I looked around and spotted a pair of women at a table. It struck me that they might be a pair of lesbians but I didn't get that vibe. More likely, it seemed to me, that they were old friends having a Girl's Night Out.
Anyway, I got up and walked to the table and offered my hand to the short fat one, assuming she didn't get asked as much.
They watched me approach and when I offered my hand she looked startled, looked at her friend, giggled, and stood.
She was a real butterball. A little over five feet tall and probably a little over 200 pounds, she was also cute as a button with a round face, cap of grey hair, and bright dark eyes. Like some short fat women, she also had immense boobs. If I had noticed them earlier my decision would have been easier. I AM a boob man after all.
I walked my little dumpling, Linda if it matters, back to her table after the dance, was introduced to Marie, her friend, and was not surprised to find the table empty when I went back to it.
I looked and found Edna, in the arms of a very young man this time. I imagined he was using a fake ID to get served in this place.
The evening went like that. She danced with a dozen different men and I danced with Linda a few more times.
"I always like to dance with the second prettiest girl in the room," I told Linda as we stepped off into a passable box step to something I didn't recognize.
"Only second?" she asked, giggling but leaning back far enough to meet my eyes.
"I brought the prettiest," I said and she smiled at that.
"How's your memory?" she asked.
"Pretty good," I said.
So she rattled off a ten-digit number.
I laughed and repeated it back to her.