“Takes one to know one, I’ve always heard. Of course, I’ve also heard that opposites attract. So you pays your money, you takes your pick.”
“Seriously, do you think they’re all right?”
Mike nodded, lit a cigarette, and handed it over. “They’re in love, remember? If one of ‘em had fallen in, the other would be raising all kinds of hell.”
“Oh, that’s a real comfort.”
After taking a puff, she studied the cigarette. “Weren’t we going to quit these things?”
“We did,” he replied, placing the pack back in his shirt pocket. “It was our end-of-semester resolution, but it only applies when we’re home.”
After lighting his own cigarette, he pointed to a spot a couple hundred yards away near the river. “Now, as for our non-smoking lovebirds, they’re probably hiding in that little thicket and doing God knows what sort of disgusting things. You wanna sneak up and take a peek?”
Debbie shook her head and laughed, “Of course not.” Gesturing toward the same clump of trees, she asked, “Is that the place, you know, where we…. I mean, is that the place?”
When Mike glanced at her, Debbie could actually feel herself blushing. After what seemed like an eternity, he grinned and gestured toward the spot. “You’re asking me if that’s the place where we made out like a couple of wild weasels?”
“Well, yes.”
“Well, no. That happened back in the spring. The water was a lot higher back then. We’d have needed scuba gear to do anything over where those two are no doubt carrying on.
“The hallowed ground in question, a sacred place forever etched in my memory, is upstream from here,” he said, twisting around and pointing north. “You’ve gotta look back from where dat ‘Old Man River’ is rolling along now. See that big pile of brush and logs at the foot of those skinny willows? It was just above the shore back then and made a perfect nighttime hideout.”
Debbie had turned around and was silently studying the spot. When she spoke, it was in a low, hesitant voice. “Mike, this is a little embarrassing, but why didn’t you, well, why did you stop?”
Without getting up, Mike swung his legs over the log and faced upriver. After glancing at Debbie, he gazed at the spot. “Something just told me it wasn’t the right time, or place, or thing to do. God knows I didn’t want to stop and it damn near gave me the bends,” he said, giving her a rueful grin.
“But you mean a lot to me, lady, a whole lot, and I didn’t want to risk losing my best friend. It might be different if we were in love, you know, romantically. But were not, and I guess I was afraid we might not be able to keep on being friends, like we’ve always been, if we, well, made love.”
“I knew that was what you’d say. And you’re right, I suppose. But I still feel guilty. After all, I’m the one who started it, so it’s kind of my fault you got the bends.”
“No complaints, lady. You were ripped, bummed out, and very vulnerable. And don’t forget, the party was my dumb idea. I’m just glad I happened to notice you wandering away. Besides, if it hadn’t happened, I might never have known my best friend’s such a great kisser.”
“Your saying that is so far out because, while we were kissing, I was thinking the same thing about you.”
Before he could reply, Debbie continued, “Damn, but life would be so much simpler if we weren’t such good friends. I mean, the thing is, our being good friends has gotten us so screwed up we can’t…. Well, we can’t even screw—and it seems like everybody’s doing that nowadays.”
Mike nodded and flipped away his cigarette. “Right as usual, superstar Debbie. The way I figure it, our problem is we’re the last of the unrepentant, unreconstructed, hopeless southern romantics. We belong in 1868, not 1968. Someone should have kept us from reading, “Ivanhoe,” when we were kids and I know we’ve read, and seen, “Gone With the Wind,” way too many times.
“But instead of a great romance, what we got was two old friends who were so smashed one night they started making out. And while it was a helluva lot of fun, at least for me, that probably doesn’t qualify as a great romance.”
“So what do we have?”
“We like each other. That’s what we have. At least, it’s what I have. Because in my own weird way, I do love you, Deborah Nicole Rankin. You’re very special to me, maybe even more now that we’ve kissed, and that’s something I don’t ever want to lose.”
They gazed at one another until Debbie noticed he was biting his lower lip. Surprised, she looked out at the river and tried to think. Mike only did that when he was nervous and unsure what to do. So if she wanted him as more than just her best friend, and she did, she’d have to make the first move and pray it worked.
Taking a deep breath, she got up from the log and moved in between Mike’s outstretched legs. Wrapping her fingers around the back of his neck, she whispered, “You’re right, Michael Henry Floyd, we do like each other, a whole lot, and it does feel very, very good. But since that night we kissed, I haven’t been able to think of you as just a friend. You mean a lot more to me now; a whole lot more. So what I want to know, what I need you to tell me, is whether I’ve become more to you than just a friend.”
A startled look flashed across Mike’s features. Then he slid his arms around her slender waist and pulled her close. “You always did have more guts than me. Deb, I fought falling in love with you all summer. And believe me, the night we went skinny-dipping I damn near lost. But now I surrender, unconditionally. Lady, I love you so much it hurts.”
“Oh Mike, I love you, too,” said Debbie, as she wrapped her arms around him.
They held each other close, kissing slowly, their lips giving testimony to their new relationship. When the kiss finally ended, it seemed by mutual consent. As Debbie stared into Mike’s eyes, she began unbuttoning her blouse. When it fell open, she took his hands in hers and gently pressed the palms against her breasts. “You know me, I never do anything half-way. So if you want me, I’m yours, now and forever. But I’m greedy, Mike. I want all of you, all the time, for all time.”
Mike nodded. The deal had been struck. He was hers, she was his, and Rene was history. Nodding toward the spot where they first kissed, she said, “Let’s go over there and pick-up where we left off. Only this time, if you really love me, if you want me, don’t you dare stop.”
A smile slowly spread across his face. “Best idea I’ve heard in this lifetime.” His fingers gently rolled her hard nipples and for a moment Debbie forgot how to breathe. Mike’s voice seemed to come from a fog. “Just one thing. I want you forever, not just now. So Debbie, will you marry me?”
“Oh my God, yes,” she cried, throwing herself back into his arms. They hugged until she leaned back and laughed. “Where’d that stupid preacher, the Boo-Hoo, where’d he go?”
“We don’t need him or anyone else, Deb. In every way that really counts, we’re already married. Now please hush so I can kiss my bride.” Cradling her head in his hands, he sealed their union with a long, gentle kiss. When their lips parted, he looked at her smiled, “Now let’s go find that spot.”
They walked over arm-in-arm and then, by unspoken agreement, took turns undressing each other. Neither wanted anything between them for what both sensed was their destiny, and knew was their desire. Behind the pile of driftwood, Mike spread their clothes on the smooth, sandy soil, creating a makeshift pallet.
When he turned to face her, Debbie stepped forward and pressed her nude body against his. The feel of his flesh against hers, knowing they were about to make love, that this man loved her and that she’d be in his arms for the rest of her life—it was all so overwhelming, Debbie began to cry. Why hadn’t she realized how much she loved Mike? And how close had she come to losing him?
To Mike’s credit, he didn’t make a joke. Instead, he held her close and softly stroked her long, red hair until the emotional storm began to pass. Before she could say something about feeling dumb for crying, he placed a fingertip on her lips and gently eased her down.
Mike already had her heart, and even her soul; now he began to touch, to kiss, to take possession of her body. When his lips encircled her nipple and he began to suck, she felt her body rising to meet his mouth. Her legs opened to him the moment his fingers brushed over her silken pubic hairs.
A finger slipped inside her body and Debbie gasped with pleasure. She felt his lips leave her breast and trace a path down her torso. When Mike’s tongue replaced his finger, a jolt of passion raced through her body. His tongue was soon doing fantastic things. She trembled and heard herself moaning Mike’s name. Moments later her hips jerked upward as a powerful orgasm exploded from deep inside her writhing figure.
It was incredible—like nothing she’d ever experienced. But it wasn’t enough. She wanted Mike inside her. And she wanted him there, now.
“Please, Mike,” was all she could say while reaching down for him. He nodded and let her guide him into position between her long, outstretched legs.
“Lady, I do love the way you lend a helping hand. And I know this is our first time. But I bet if we practice a whole lot, someday I may be able to get there all by myself.”
Debbie laughed, “You idiot. Damn, but I love you so much. Now please, let’s start practicing.”
For just a moment, they looked into each other’s eyes, sharing the moment, knowing the significance of what they were about to do. Then their hips moved toward one another and the bodies of the two old friends fused into one new being.
They worked together in a harmony of love and passion. Debbie’s joy felt overwhelming. Her body thrilled to the feel of Mike’s hardness. For her, there was no time other than this moment; no man other than this one, the man she’d known all her life, the man she loved so much, the man who was now taking her towards the brink of total ecstasy.
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