My eyelids were heavy and as I slowly opened them, the light hurt. As my head started to pound I tried to move, but the pain stopped me.

“Anna, oh Anna,” I heard my mother whispering. “She’s awake,” she said louder.

When I tried to turn my head toward her voice, she told me not to move. I felt pain all over my body as an image flashed of Jeremy above me angry and the feeling of cold air on my skin. ‘What was that? When was that?’ I asked myself. I cringed and immediately felt more pain in my body. ‘What happened to me?’

“You’re safe, Anna. Lay still,” my mother said.

‘Safe from what and from whom?’ I wanted to ask, but I could not get my mouth to work.

It took several hours and many scattered images of Jeremy and the feeling of him taking my clothes off before I had a better picture of what was happening. My mother explained some things and a conversation with a police detective filled in the blanks.

From what I could piece together, Jeremy had tried to take me from the sidewalk after I talked to Tracy. Jeff was the one yelling. He must have been watching for me before he saw Jeremy and I talking. I do not remember talking to Jeremy much less, why I was talking to him. When Jeremy hit me, he carried me to his car and left before Jeff could reach us. Jeff called the police and before they came, he had pulled Jeremy’s address out of my mother.

Jeff raced to the house and found me naked on Jeremy’s bed with him half dressed. Jeff beat Jeremy unconscious before the police stopped him. Knowing Jeremy was in the same hospital made me uneasy, but I was never alone. It surprised me that Jeff was not in jail for assault, but I was glad that he was here with me.

“Mom can I, please, talk to Jeff alone?” I asked when things calmed down.

“Sure, I’ll be right outside,” she said as she kissed my cheek.

I watched her leave and Jeff took her place at my side and held my hand. His touch made me feel better than I had in hours, but his expression made me pause. He looked scared, worried, concerned, and happy all jumbled together. As I stared at him, he smiled and I could see the trails of dried tears down his cheeks.

“Thank you,” I said finally crying. “Thank you.”

“Don’t cry sweetheart, please,” he said brushing the tears from my eyes.

“Are you in trouble for beating up Jeremy?” I asked through my tears and sniffles.

He shook his head, “No, but he is. If they let him out of here and I find him I will be in trouble.”

He leaned in and kissed me quickly before we talked a little about what he remembered. Hearing him tell me how worried he felt driving to Jeremy’s house and if I would be there made my heart ache.

“I was so worried that I would not get there in time,” he said kissing my cheek.

“I’m glad you go there in time. Thank you,” I said through tears, sniffles and a hoarse voice.

As my mother walked back into the room I was glad to have one kiss. She did not try to take her spot back, but seemed to see that we had a connection. I was glad she did not ask.

After two days in the hospital, I could finally go home. Jeff was at my house when we got home, it seemed that my mother thought that he should be there for a family dinner. I was not going to complain, I wanted him there. Hell, I wanted him with me every hour of every day.

Jeff sat next to me and we managed to touch for most of the meal. Either I had my hand on his leg or he had his on mine. It felt nice to feel his touch again and I wanted to have more of it. Jeff was not only my neighbor, not only the man I wanted, but he was now my knight in shining armor.

_____________

It would be several months before the opportunity to be alone arose, but we had managed to sneak away a few times to hold each other and kiss. Over those months, we still met most nights, but as Jeremy’s trial approached things became more complicated for Jeff, but better for me.

Celeste left Jeff and his son, Carson, one night and never returned to live in the house. She started divorce proceedings and gave up custody. When Jeff took an evening job, he asked if I would watch his son. I agreed and it gave us an opportunity for alone time when he got home. My parents felt comfortable with me spending time with Jeff so they never asked why I was always at his house even after he was home from work.

A few days before Jeremy’s trial, I asked if I could stay at Tracy’s after watching Carson that coming Friday night. I told my parents I was going to watch Carson until Jeff got off work and then walk to Tracy’s house to spend the night. My mother did not want me to walk the half block alone at night, but I told her that I had talked to Jeff and he would watch and make sure I was safely there. She relented and agreed not knowing that I was not leaving Jeff’s house.

This night was important in so many ways. Jeff’s divorce finalized earlier in the week and I had just turned another year and was now seventeen. Jeff and I had talked about making things official when I turned eighteen and maybe waiting until then to have sex. I did not want to wait and neither did he. The day his divorce was final, we talked about celebrating and came up with this Friday night idea.

After putting Carson to bed, I took a quick shower and then I checked on Carson. I stood in his doorway and wondered how Celeste could leave him. The little guy had stolen my heart just as much as his daddy did; I loved them both. After taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly I started to get the rest of the night ready.

I changed into a flowing, knee length, cloth skirt and a white button down shirt. With the help of Tracy, I bought a sexy bra and panties just for this occasion. Therefore, by the time Jeff got home, I had a small dinner ready for him and I was beyond ready to finish what Jeremy had interrupted.

Jeff greeted me as he always did with a passionate kiss and little squeeze of my butt. We ate dinner and talked about his day before I started to put the dishes in the dishwasher.

Jeff came up behind me and hugged me as he kissed my neck. I bent down to put the last dish in and he swatted my bottom making me yelp. As I stood and turned to him, he scooped me up and carried me down the hall. We stared into each other’s eyes and knew what was about to happen.

As he laid me on the bed, I bit my bottom lip. ‘This was finally gonna happen,’ I told myself as he crawled onto the bed and lay beside me.

“I love you Anna,” he said as he kissed me.

“I love you too,” I said back in between kisses.

“Are you sure you don’t want to wait?” he asked as he kissed my neck.

I shuddered under his kisses, but managed to say, “No.”

“Then you shall have what you want, sweetheart,” he whispered making my toes curl.

Jeff kissed my neck and nibbled on my ear as he unbuttoned my shirt. I ran my fingers through this hair and concentrated on my breathing and heart rate. When he had my shirt unbuttoned, I felt one side fall away as his hand feathered its way up my skin. As he started caressing my breast, I moaned.

Jeff kissed me as he rolled me over on top of him. My skirt bunched up as I straddled him and he pushed my shirt down my arms before tossing it to the floor. As he unhooked my bra and let it fall away from my breasts I ground into him feeling him hardening. When he slipped off my bra and let it join my shirt, I expected him to roll me back over.

Instead of rolling me over, he pulled me higher and sat up to kiss my breasts. He left no inch untouched, but for my nipples that had grown in size and hardened. Jeff left my nipples for last and tried to devour them. I let out stammered moans with shuddered breaths as my head fell back and I arched my breasts toward him. His grip on my hips was all that kept me from falling backwards.

I leaned in to kiss him and he pulled the back zipper of my skirt down and flipped me onto my back. His lips stayed on mine, but as he pulled them away, I slowly opened my eyes to his smile. I smiled back and watched as he kissed down my breasts making me arch my back, not from orgasm, but from pure unadulterated lust.

As he kissed over my belly, he slipped my skirt over my hips and down my legs. Nervousness penetrated my mind as I became the most naked I had ever been with him. He had seen me naked, but that was just before he almost killed Jeremy. Jeff had put his hands up my skirt or my shirt when we would make out, but we had not tried to have sex since that day with Jeremy. Now I had only one piece of clothing left and that was not covering much.

He slipped off the end of the bed taking my skirt with him and pulled his shirt over his head. I had seen him in shorts and no shirt before, but never the whole show. He slowly unbuttoned his pants and smiled as I bit my lip.

“Do you want to see more?” he asked teasingly.

I nodded my head rapidly and opened my eyes wide. I did not want to miss a moment as he slowly slipped his pants down and was not as dressed as I was.

“Do you want to see all of it?” he again asked teasingly as he rubbed his visibly hard penis.

Again, I nodded rapidly, bit my bottom lip, and opened my eyes wide. As he looped his thumbs in this waistband, my heart raced and my eyes remained glued to his underwear he inched them down then stopped.

“Are you positive, sweetheart?” he asked teasing me further.

“Yes, please,” I groaned.

“Okay,” he said as he pulled them down in a flash.

He was so fast that I did not see anything, but his back until he started to stand. At first glimpse, I had confirmation that he was bigger than Jeremy was. I was not surprised since I had slipping my hand down his pants a few weeks ago and was almost certain that he was bigger.

I stared for what seemed like ages as he started to take long strokes with his hand up and down his shaft. When I started to see beads of cum form on his tip, I knew he was enjoying me watching him. With the anticipation rising I realized I was wetter than I have ever been.

“You are beautiful, Anna, and I could stare at you for hours,” he said bring my eyes to his face.

I smiled and felt the blush rise in my cheeks as my belly felt like it was on fire too. I bit my bottom lip and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“Come here, please,” I said almost begging.

Jeff smiled as he knelt on the end of the bed and separated my legs. He ran the tips of his fingers up my calves, over my knees, and along my thighs. The memory of our first attempt flashed before my eyes and I stopped it just before things when haywire and closed my eyes. I took a deep breath to calm myself, but I must have changed my expression because Jeff stopped just short of my panties.

“Why did you stop?” I asked opening my eyes to looking at him.

“You looked scared. Are you okay?” he asked looking concerned.

“Yes, I was just remembering our first attempt and had to stop the memory before… well, you know,” I said calming my tension.

He kissed my belly just above my panties, looked up my body at me, and said, “We can stop if you want?”

I shook my head and cleared my mind of bad thoughts. I started to tell him no, but he stopped my voice as he started to pull my panties down. He stopped suddenly and I told him to keep going.

As he bared me and I was now fully naked for the first time with him, I felt extremely nervous and hesitant. We were even now and I felt the nervous anticipation I felt every time we made out, only this time it was tenfold.

Jeff leaned in between my legs and took a deep breath before he licked me from bottom to top. I shivered remembering how it felt to have Jeremy between my legs. When I shuddered at the memory, I managed to hide my fear of thinking about him with a smile. Jeff did not seem to see my fear this time and began slowly licking every inch of me. I stayed in the moment with Jeff by concentrating on watching him.

I felt the buildup of heat he produced when he would get his hands up my skirt or down my pants, only this time it was more of a gradual buildup. When I started to arch my back and push his tongue closer to my opening, he slipped it inside and I was over the edge. He expertly coaxed me along the edge and let me fall several times before he sucked my nub into his mouth and let me free fall.

As I came back to myself from the most intense orgasm of my life, Jeff was kissing up my body. When I felt him hard against my stomach, I knew that it was going to happen and I felt surprisingly calm.

“Are you ready, sweetheart?” Jeff whispered into my ear.

“Yes,” I replied with all the breath I had left.

He rubbed along my slit before slowly applying pressure to my opening. I held my breath as he pushed inside very slowly.

“Oh, God, Anna,” Jeff stammered as I felt his head enter me.

He carefully guided himself inside until I felt him hit my barrier. I gasped and he pushed up so he was above me. He leaned in and kissed me as he broke through my barrier.

I screamed into his mouth as the searing pain over took me. Tears streamed from my eyes as Jeff stilled himself inside me and kept his lips to mine. Slowly the pain subsided and I started to kiss him. With my lips moving, he began pushing in deeper and I felt the need to have all of him.

I pushed my hips up to meet him and as he found the deepest part of me, I shivered and breathed in short pants. Jeff pulled his lips from mine and stared down at me.

“I love you, Anna,” he said.

“I love you,” I mustered, finding I still had a voice.

Jeff and I made slow love until we were both spent and I felt the most intense orgasm and the rush of his release. As I curled up in his arms, he caressed my stomach. He asked if it was worth all the trouble and wait only to hear me tell him ‘Hell, yes and I want more.’

“I think we should wait a few minutes and maybe clean up a little,” he said as he kissed my shoulder.

Jeff got up from the bed and offered me his hand. I took it and as I tried to stand, I felt my legs sore and other parts sorer. I grimaced and Jeff, basically, said, ‘I told you so.’

He led me to the bathroom and drew a bath for me saying, “This will make you feel better.”

The bath sounded good, but I wanted him more. I sighed and watched him. As I stepped into the bath, I noticed the blood trailing down my leg. I asked for some toilet paper and Jeff obliged. I rubbed away the blood and tossed the paper in the trash. When I was fully in the bath, it did feel nice and my body relaxed.

“Relax and I’ll be back in a minute,” Jeff said as he turned to walk away.

I closed my eyes and sank down in the warm water. I relaxed for a few minutes before opening my eyes and reaching for a cloth. I cleaned up a little and tried not to look at the slight red tinge on the cloth. I knew I would bleed, but I did not expect this much or the pain to be so great. As I thought about it more I smiled knowing that I was no longer a virgin and that Jeff and I could explore more of his fantasies and mine.

I was still smiling when Jeff returned with a glass of water. He was still naked and I could see that he liked seeing me in the tub.

“What are you smiling about?” he asked with his own grin.

“I was thinking about what just happened and how we can explore our fantasies now,” I said grinning even more.

“Oh and where would you like to start?”

“How about you join me,” I said.

“If there were more room I would, but I think we had better stick to the bedroom for now,” he said offering me his hand.

He helped me up and out of the tub. When he would not hand me a towel and insisted on drying me himself I leered at him, but finally relented. He smiled and took full advantage of drying every inch of my body.

I tried to get him to make love to me there, but he managed to convince me that the bedroom would be more comfortable. As we made our way down the hall, I could see him ready for more and I wondered if he was second guessing or just being resistant.

As I entered the bedroom, I saw he had changed the sheets and picked up our clothes. I frowned wondering how big a mess had to clean up. Before I had the chance to ask, Jeff pulled me in tight and kissed me.

When we finally made it to the bed Jeff held me to him and molded to my back. He kissed my neck and cupped my breast as I tickled his arm hair. It felt so comforting and natural to snuggle up with him.

As I pushed my bottom toward him and felt him hardening I said, “It seems you are ready for another round.”

He nestled in my neck and said, “I am, but you will be sore and I don’t want to hurt you. You should rest.”

“I don’t want to rest,” I said quietly. “I want you.”

Jeff sighed as I rubbed up against him. To make my point I moved away and rolled onto my back. As I looked up at him, he smiled and shook his head. I grinned and nodded.

Almost as if he could not help himself, he began caressing my breast. His touch was all I wanted before and now that we had cross that line, I wanted what was on the other side. With the hand pinned between us, I moved so I could stroke him.

When my hand touched him, he groaned. I had only done this a few times so it was a matter of watching his reactions to know if I was doing it right. As I watched him, he lowered down and began to kiss my breast breaking my concentration.

He devoured my breast and lightly bit my nipple. I inhaled deeply and as he pulled his head back with my nipple still locked in his teeth I felt not only a little pain, but increased pleasure.

I was so focused on his mouth and my breast I did not feel him lowering his hand. When I felt him tickling my swelling lips my eyes fluttered closed. With my eyes closed, I focused on the sensations his finger and mouth were mixing inside me. I thought I wanted him inside me again, but this feeling was so incredible I could forgo the actual sex and lose myself to only his touch.

Jeff danced his fingers around my lips slowly before parting them. He traced the line from bottom to top before rolling my nub between his fingers. My hips began to move and my breathing became shallow. I tried to open my eyes, but my eyelids were too heavy to move. As I felt something jump in my hand, I remembered that I had him in my hand.

Dropping my concentration on his touch, I tried to stroke him as he was I, but multitasking is not my strong suit. As my hand moved up and down him, he moaned against my breast sending vibration along my skin. I convulsed slightly and squeezed him. He must have enjoyed the squeeze because he slid farther into my hand.

“Squeeze with your thumb and pointer finger, increase the pressure as you move up to the head,” he whispered. “Like this,” he said as he put his hand over mine and showed me what to do. “Now let go a little and do the same going down to my base.

Try it.”

I did as he instructed and watched his eyes, when he smiled I knew I was doing it right. As I moved my hand down his eyes fluttered confirming I was on the right track.

“Slowly, Anna or I’m gonna cum on your hand,” he said with shuddering breath.

He kissed me and returned to my breast. We played with each other for quite some time before I felt the little beads of cum increase from his tip and I was soaking wet. He had not put his finger inside me, but every time he circled my hole there was a slight twinge of pain.

“I want you Anna, but you have to tell me if it hurts,” he whispered in my ear before kissing my earlobe.

I nodded as he moved to straddle me. With all his talk of being sore, I expected when he entered me to feel as it had the first time, but it was not as painful. I did wince at first and he stopped, but when I smiled up at him, he pushed in further.

Without my mental concern over my first time, I let everything go and enjoyed the feeling of him entering me. I watched his face and saw the slight change. It amazed me to see how his eyes softened, his cheeks relax, and the lines above his eyes disappear. He looked peaceful, but only for a moment.

“I love how tight you are Anna, but I love you more,” he said smiling down at me.

“I love you, Jeff,” I managed as he started to pull back.

He leaned down and nestled by my ear and whispered, “I want to go now, but I want you to enjoy too.”

As he pushed back into me, I felt his warm breath on my ear and the heat building between my legs. I wanted him to so badly, but I did not know what to say.

“I don’t know what to say, to do, teach me,” I muttered.

Jeff pushed up and looked down at me; he pushed into me fast and deep. He stole my breath and I shuddered.

“I want to fuck you, Anna. I want to bring you screaming, but it is too soon,” he said with his eyes holding a fire I had never seen before.

“Please,” I said not knowing what I wanted.

Jeff stole my breath again as he pulled back slowly and shoved back in fast and deep. I fought not to show the twinges of pain, but as I jumped, I could see he knew. He slowed and I begged him to do as he wanted.

He kept his slower, shallower pace until I was close. As he made love to me, I ran my fingers up his arms and felt the strength in them. I felt safe, relaxed, and loved. Jeff walked me slowly to the precipice before he drove in deep and let me dive off the edge.

“Fuck me, please, fuck me,” I said finally begging for what I wanted.

Jeff relented and began to push hard and deep into me. He became a man on a mission. His face changed, but his eyes remained on me. Watching him become a man possessed scared me, but it was short lived as he kept me falling. His repetitive, hard, and deep penetrations brought me closer to where he wanted.

I was close to screaming when he locked his lips to mine and let me moan and scream into his mouth. My body convulsed and my skin felt afire. As the fires would die out, I felt thousands of bees stinging me. The little pinpricks of sensation were short lived, but everywhere his skin touched mine they multiplied. Slowly the prickles subsided and I looked up at Jeff.

His eyes held true love and emotion as I slowly began to feel like I was in my own skin. I concentrated on breathing normal and not moving. Jeff, still buried inside me, was no longer hard. I could feel his cum and mine leaking out of me and down my cheeks.

I frowned as he pulled out of me, pushing my bottom lip out to pout. He leaned, still partially inside me, and sucked my lip into his mouth as he kissed me. The kiss grew in strength and passion as he fell fully out of me. Feeling the void he created inside me, I moaned slightly.

He rolled us on our sides still kissing me and rubbing my back. I let my hands do as they wished and they mirrored his caressing of my back. We laid there kissing for what seemed like days, but as exhaustion crept into me, I slowly began to fall asleep.

For the first time in several months, I did not dream of the shadow man instead, I dreamed of life with Jeff. I dreamt of a wedding, kids, sex, and growing old together, a true fairy tale ending. It was as I awoke alone in the bed that I realized I was only dreaming.

I got up slowly and pulled my jeans on carefully, I was sore all over. I did not mind the sore feeling; in fact, it held a good memory. I listened for Jeff and heard him talking to Carson. I thought about Carson and that we were lucky he was too young to understand that I should not be there.

As I opened the door, I could smell pancakes, syrup, and bacon. I followed my nose to the kitchen to see Jeff and Carson eating breakfast.

“Anna,” Carson yelled happy to see me.

“Good morning, Carson. What are you eating or should I say wearing?” I asked seeing the syrup running down his chin and on to his pajamas.

“Daddy make pa-cake,” he said only as a two-year-old can.

“He did, are they good?” I asked as sat by him.

Carson nodded as Jeff set a plate before me. I looked up at him and smiled as he leaned in and kissed me.

I ate everything on my plate as Jeff and I talked. We discussed how we were going to handle this new situation. As we decided that going ‘public’ with family would have to wait until I was at least eighteen or Carson spilled the beans. He started to ask if I was on birth control and before he finished the sentence I told him no. He looked startled and scared, but as I told him it was not a concern for me he said it was condoms until I was. Not knowing what the difference was I just shrugged my shoulders.

Jeff put some cartoons on for Carson as I took a shower. The warm water felt very good against my sore muscles so I took a little longer than I expected. By the time I was out and dressed, it was close to noon. Knowing I needed to be home in a few hours, I tracked down Jeff.

After seeing Carson napping in his room I looked in the bedroom, then the kitchen until I heard him downstairs. I quietly crept down the stairs and into his office. I watched him playing around with his laptop for a few minutes before sneaking up behind him.

I carefully slipped my arms around him and felt him jump. I giggled that I was able to scare him and then I yelped as he pulled me around and into his lap. He smiled down at me before leaning in to kiss me.

“What time do you have to be home?” he asked as we came up for air.

“My opinion, never; but my mother says by two,” I said smiling at first and frowning by the end.

Jeff frowned too and kissed me again. We spent the next hour or so playing, kissing, and talking. He slipped his hand down my jeans and rubbed my panties against my lips and I slipped my hand down his pants and into his underwear. We did not have sex, but we each got off to the others hands, fingers, and lips. It was quite the end to our first night together.

With Carson still zonked out when I left so Jeff walked me out. I planned to take the same route I took before to leave so I was out of the eye line of my house. We kissed and held each other prolonging my leaving; I wanted so badly to stay.

“Love you,” Jeff said.

“Love you and I’ll talk to you tonight,” I said back.

“Tonight is so far away, maybe I can have a surprise shift tonight and call you later,” he suggested.

“I would not mind, but if we have too many ‘surprise’ shifts my parents might get suspicious,” I said being cautious.

“I want to try tonight. I’ll call later and talk to your mother,” Jeff said before shuddering. “That sounds so wrong that I’m gonna call your mom and get you to come over so I can take advantage of you.”

I smiled up at him, rose up on my toes, and kissed him. We fell into each other again, but I quickly pulled back and told him I had to leave. As I turned to leave, I could hear him sigh. I wanted to turn back, but resisted and made my way home.

“Mom, I’m home,” I yelled toward the kitchen.

“Hi, honey,” she yelled back. “Come here a minute.”

I set my bag down by the hall and walked into the kitchen. It was then that I realized that our house was set up the same as Jeff’s house.

“Did you and Tracy have fun?”

“We did,” I said fighting a blush as I thought about what I did last night.

“Good. Go put your things away and then we need to have a talk.”

I looked at her quizzically and said, “Okay.”

I picked up my bag and walked to my room. As I put my things away, I wondered what my mother wanted to talk about. ‘Did she know I wasn’t with Tracy,’ I thought. I shook off the thought of her knowing and not barging in on us. When I had everything put away I texted Tracy that I was home and that I would call her later. She replied that she wanted all the details. I shook my head and thought about telling her only the highlights unless she pressured me.

As I entered the kitchen I asked, “What do you want to talk about Mom?”

“Sit down,” she said grabbing a glass of water. “Do you want one?”

I shook my head and sat down. I watched her sit and felt extremely nervous.

“Well I think we need to talk about Jeremy and what’s going to happen this week,” she said after taking a deep breath.

I sighed not wanting to talk about anything having to do with Jeremy or the coming trial. My mother not deterred in her desire to talk, began to tell me what to expect and how long she thought the trial would last. As she talked, my mind wandered away to Jeff and the events of the prior night. I did not want to talk about any of it and I really did not want to listen to her.

“Anna, are you listening?” she asked getting my attentions.

“Yea, but I don’t want to hear about it,” I said annoyed.

She chastised me for not wanting to know what to expect and finally told me to come back when I wanted to talk. That was fine with me since I did not want to talk. I quickly went to my room and had Tracy dialed before I closed my door.

The first word from her was ‘Spill!’ and spill I did. I held nothing back as I told her about my night with Jeff. She stayed mostly quiet except for a few comments of ‘Wow’ and ‘Lucky.’ I felt glad that she and I had renewed our friendship just after Jeremy and I broke up. She had become one of my best confidants. When I finished telling her the story, she told me she was glad that I had Jeff.

“You are so lucky to have him and that he loves you,” she said.

“Yea, he’s great, and I love him and Carson.”

I told her that I wanted to call him and she said she would talk to me later and hung up. I thought about going and talking to my mother, but Jeff was pressing on my mind. I ended up calling Jeff.

“Hi, sweetheart, miss me already?” he said making me smile.

“Hi,” I said sighing.

“So am I working an extra shift tonight?” he asked.

I told him about my mother and her wanting to talk about Jeremy, ignoring his question. He asked if I had thought about it any and I told him no. I did not want to think about Jeremy. He said I should talk to her. We end the call saying our love.

I gave in and talked to my mother. She was worried about how distant I had been lately. When she told me that she was glad that I came home with a smile today, I almost told her why.

_______________

Jeremy played it safe and pled guilty in the thirteenth hour and I spared me testifying. The judge sentenced him to five years in prison and ordered him never to contact my family or me. As they led him from the courtroom, he looked at me as Jeff hugged me. When Jeff leaned in to kiss my cheek I turned my face and let Jeff’s lips touch mine. Jeff pulled back quickly and looked shocked, I looked at Jeremy and smiled as he glared. I felt triumphant to show him that I was moving on and he was not. I did not think about the ramifications of kissing Jeff in public.

“What was that for?” Jeff asked as he frantically looked behind me.

“Now he knows I am moving on without him,” I said gesturing toward Jeremy.

“We’re in trouble,” Jeff said looking scared as he stared over my shoulder.

I turned to see my parents in shock. I did not have to ask, I knew they had seen the kiss. As I tried to explain, my father told me that this was not the place. He was angry and glared at Jeff. I stood between them to keep my father from doing anything foolish.

When I grabbed for Jeff’s hand he brushed me off. If we were not ‘out,’ I wanted to feel his hand in mine for comfort. I was scared and did not know how to take back my foolish decision.

As we approached the car I wished we had not all come together. If Jeff had driven, as he wanted, then everyone could cool down in separate cars, but instead of confined to the same small space. Jeff opened my door and as I sat down, I forced a smile his way, but he did not smile back as he slid in beside me. I rested my hand as close to him as I could without touching him.

“Tell me that was an accident, Anna,” my father barked.

“It wasn’t,” I said confidently. “I love him and I’m glad that you finally know.”

My father turned back to me and the look of shocked anger in his eyes pierced into me. I stared back at him certain that I could out stare him. When my mother touched his shoulder, he flinched and I took it as a win.

“Carl, let’s get home and talk about this like adults,” my mother said calmly.

The drive back was silent, but Jeff did take my hand. I looked at him and tried to tell him it would be all right. He shook his head and looked more worried than he did that first night we were together. I thought about what my parents would say and the worst would be forbidding us to be together. That thought sent a chill down my spine and Jeff must have felt it and squeezed my hand.

As my dad pulled in the driveway and we walked into the house I only let go of Jeff’s hand to get out of the car. My dad told us to sit on the couch and we sat as close as we could to each other.

“How long?” my dad asked looking at me.

“We’ve been talking for months, but serious for a few weeks,” I said calmly.

“Are you sleeping together?” he asked glancing toward Jeff.

“Yes,” I said confidently.

“Oh, god,” my dad said quietly. “Are you being safe, at least?”

“Yes,” Jeff said breaking his silence.

We had been using condoms even after I started to protest. I did not like the feel and wanted to stop. Jeff was insistent that we be safe.

“Good,” my dad said. “I assume you love him?”

“We love each other very much,” I replied.

My dad calmed down and the conversation turned to what we planned. Jeff started to relax when my dad did and my mother remained silent, but I could see she was pleased. By the time the conversation ended my parents gave us their blessing, but with one stipulation that we not lie to them again. Jeff and I agreed and I asked if I could walk him home and spend some time with him.

“You don’t have school tomorrow, but I still want you home at curfew,” my dad said as he hugged me. “Be safe,” he whispered to me.

“I will,” I said looking up at him with a smile.

Jeff exhaled deeply the second we were clear of the door. I had not realized he was so nervous until that moment.

“I envisioned him killing me or putting me in the same place as Jeremy,” Jeff said as we walked across the lawn.

“I didn’t know what to expect, but I didn’t think of that,” I said surprised by his reaction.

“I did and really didn’t expect to have him allow you to come over without a chaperone,” he said as we walked into the house. “When Carl asked if we had slept together, I almost died when you said yes. My life flashed before my eyes.”

Jeff flopped down on the couch and as I sat next to him I asked, “Does it matter why?”

“No,” he said as he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and pulled me close.

He kissed me hard a passionate as we both relaxed into each other’s arms. We had no reservations with the house to ourselves as he pulled me onto his lap.

“We have all afternoon and evening, we should pace ourselves,” Jeff said.

“I want to celebrate,” I said as I kissed him. “Jeremy is gone, my parents are okay with us, and we have the house to all to ourselves.”

“You have a point,” he said as he picked me up cradling my bottom in his hands and carried me to the bedroom.

I giggled as Jeff tossed me onto the center of the bed. As he tore his shirt over his head and kicked off his shoes, I sat up and started to unbutton my shirt. We had spent one night a week together the last few months on his ‘extra shift,’ so we were used to getting going quick.

Before I had my shirt fully unbuttoned, Jeff was crawling onto the bed naked. I stopped and stared at him.

“You are too slow and I think you do it on purpose,” he said as he pulled me to him.

Jeff finished my buttons and pulled my skirt off before I could blink. I learned that he loved to see me in only a bra and panties as he teased me. I found that I like it too.

“What a sight, so gorgeous,” he said as he tickled his fingers up my legs.

I squirmed and giggled until he reached my panties. He rubbed along my slit pushing my panties between my lips and pulled them tight to me. I rolled my hips begging him to take me.

“I love how you react,” he said kissing my belly.

“I want you,” I said with a moan.

Jeff kissed up my body in a beeline to my breasts. As he reached them, he pushed my bra up exposing my nipples. He devoured one breast with his mouth and massaged the other with his hand. I fluttered my eyes closed and reveled in his touch.

When he pulled my nipple up with his teeth I pushed my hips tight to him feeling him growing long and hard. I wanted him inside me, but he was intent on teasing. Jeff kept up his play with my breasts, but swapped sides. He wanted me to get off from his actions, but I was fighting the urge. As he slowed and reached around to unclasp my bra, I knew that I had won the battle.

I opened my eyes as he sat me up a little and pulled my bra off as he said, “You are so stubborn, sweetheart.”

“I know,” I said as I kissed him.

He slipped my panties off and entered me with precision. It took a second to realize he forgot the condom too and I was not going to remind him. Therefore, at that moment, I was putty in his hands as we made love.

“I love you Anna,” he said as he pushed deep into me.

I felt the build of a spasm and as I let it go, Jeff groaned and sped his pace. He plunged deeper and faster into me, increasing my spasms. As he made love to me harder than he ever had we both gave in and were finally able to swan dive into our own world together; hand in hand, lips connected, minds melded, hearts beating as one, and bodies combined… we became a single entity of love and perseverance over the odds.

*Thank you to everyone who stuck with me in this. I never intended for this to become what it became. Jeff and Anna are finished, for now; but I think they may have more to tell later. This is the longest I have maintained a series and it was painful to pass through some of the parts, but I have found my own peace too. Thank you again for reading, commenting and scoring; but mostly for just being there. Ceolaine*