“Yes. I love you, Harper! More than I ever thought possible!”

“Oh, Casey! Do you really?” she asked plaintively.

“I do, Princess,” he said calmly, stroking her cheek gently. “I have for a while already, but I wanted to be sure before I told you. You are such a joy to be with, and you make me so happy whenever we’re together! I love doing things for you, and I love doing things to you,” he said suggestively, “and I really love … you!”

“Oh, God, Casey! I love you too!” she said, bursting into tears. “I wanted to tell you sooner, but I’ve never had a guy I even liked very much, so I wasn’t sure! But ever since you brought me back after the whole Tiffany thing, I think I’ve known. I love you so much!” she finished, and they kissed tenderly, lovingly putting everything they had into it.

In stark contrast to earlier, they kissed and caressed each other, every touch meant to reinforce their love. Their arousal built slowly, gradually until they made love in the truest, most genuine way, finding joy in the giving and the receiving, knowing it was a gift enjoyed together.

“I love you, Casey!” she said as they lay facing each other, the night having flown by.

“I love you, Harper!” he replied, stroking her cheek for probably the hundredth time tonight.

“I hate that I have to leave,” she said sadly as she sat up in bed.

“You’re not going anywhere,” he replied calmly as a statement of fact rather than a suggestion.

“But …”

“But nothing! You’re not sleeping alone tonight! Not on your birthday and not after what we’ve just shared!”

“Ohhh, you’re so good to me! Oh! My car! It’s at the diner!”

“I’ll drive you to work tomorrow. Now, lie down, and I’ll help you get to sleep. You have an alarm set?”

“Yeah, on my phone, but it’s in the kitchen with my purse.”

“I’ll get it. You lie down.”

He placed her phone on the nightstand next to her and slipped back in bed, pulling her back against his chest. She snuggled up against him, happier than she’d ever been, and fell fast asleep.

The morning was a bit frantic as she showered and dressed without the benefit of her own toiletries or fresh clothes, but she’d change back into her shorts and diner T-shirt when she got to work. In the interest of time, Casey begrudgingly gave up showering with her, and soon they were on their way with time to spare.

They entered the diner arm in arm, and kissed passionately before Harper went in the back to change. Casey sat at the counter, the only person in the dining room until Sherry breezed in from the kitchen.

“Oh! Hey, Casey! I figured you’d be driving her here when I saw her car still here this morning. How’d the shopping go?”

“Hey, Sherry! We had a great time, and Harper had a fabulous birthday!” he replied, just as Harper returned.

“Wow! I can see that!” Sherry said, Harper’s joy beaming from her whole body.

“It was so much fun!” she said as she practically ran to Casey and sat in his lap, kissing him repeatedly. “Are you gonna have breakfast?” she asked him while hugging him tightly. When she noticed Sherry staring and smiling, she offered an explanation, “He loves me, Sherry!”

“You’re just finding that out now?” she replied, laughing as she went into the kitchen, leaving the two lovebirds alone.

Sherry couldn’t be happier for the young girl she’d taken in and taught some responsibility. While she helped Jake get set up for the morning breakfast rush, she smiled, recalling Harper’s early days at the diner when the young know-it-all kid fought her training but eventually gave in and even thanked her for all her help. She usually hired younger women, about half of them with prior experience, but those who didn’t have any often washed out in a few months. She was very proud of Harper, who accepted her well-intentioned advice and showed a level of maturity and gratitude often lacking in young women.

“You look very happy about something, Honey,” Jake said to Sherry.

“They’re in love, Jake! Harper and Casey,” she replied simply.

“Well, of course they are. Anyone can see that!” he said with a chuckle, and Sherry laughed.

“Yeah, but now they’ve told each other!”

Love flourished for the couple that couldn’t get enough of each other. Aside from evenings spent at Casey’s in the hot tub, watching movies, and of course in bed, Harper slept there two nights each weekend. Harper introduced game playing into their repertoire of fun things to do, suggesting strip poker to spark his interest. Casey wasn’t very good at poker, or at least he pretended not to be, so he often lost, with the last round always leading to his bed. Playing other card games that didn’t involve removing clothing led to board games; Casey showed his business acumen with Monopoly. Both appreciated the quiet domesticity of such engagements, having lacked them to different degrees in their family lives.

Harper surprised Casey when she suggested another hike. She’d enjoyed the exercise of the long, fast-paced walk, but if pressed, would confess that their sexy escape in the shelter when it rained was also a motivating factor. Still, she became quite proficient, no longer slowing Casey’s desired pace, and carrying her share of food and picnic supplies in her own backpack. They usually began walking hand in hand until they’d warmed up, then set a pace and walked a little further each time, adding miles to the total of their first hike over time.

“What a beautiful day for a walk with my girl!” Casey said, commenting on the cooler temperatures of the approaching fall season.

“Am I always gonna be your ‘girl,’ Honey?” Harper asked with a beautiful smile.

“Do you not like it?”

“I asked first,” she challenged.

“Could be. You know how much I love your youthful outlook on everything, so as long as that lasts, calling you my girl seems appropriate! I guess you’d say what can make me feel this way? My Girl,” Casey sang the old Temptations song, attempting the three-part harmony response singly.

“I love it!” she replied, hugging him around the chest as they continued walking. “What about when I’m old and gray?” she asked, an intentionally loaded question.

They’d never talked about marriage, but he’d definitely thought about it, which was a milestone in itself whether he wanted it or not. Thinking about it gave him mixed feelings of continued happiness, but also a little fear. He didn’t consider either of them broken anymore. Still, he’d never lived with anyone before and wondered if it would take a major adjustment on his part after almost fourteen years living as a bachelor.

“You know, I have thought about that,” he confessed, but seemed to change the subject with his next question. “Do you wish you could sleep over more often?”

Every time she left his house, she wished she could sleep with him more often. If she thought about it, her ‘old and gray’ question stemmed from thoughts about marriage, but it scared her, too, given her lack of experience with happily married couples. Even her best friends, Sherry and Jake, had a very serious threat to their marriage years ago, and knowing what little she knew about it, she doubted whether she could have done what they did to save their marriage.

Walking at a brisk pace now, each was patient with the other for this more serious discussion than they’d had in quite a while. Neither really thought about the fact that this, in itself, showed maturity in them individually and as a couple. They realized it was important and wanted thoughtful answers to their questions, not off-the-cuff responses.

“Of course, I do! Every time I wake up alone after spending a weekend with you,” she replied sincerely, “but you know my work schedule. I have to be at the diner at six, so I’d be getting up at like four-thirty to make it home for a shower, dressing, and driving to work.”

Another pause ensued as Casey decided whether he really wanted to ask the next question. He decided to go for it.

“Not if you moved in,” he said simply, and they both stopped walking abruptly, turning to face each other.

“Casey! Are you asking me to live with you?” she asked, not realizing how much alarm showed in her face as well as the timbre of her voice.

“I just wondered if you’d thought about it, but I guess you wouldn’t want to,” he answered, assuming her facial expression provided her answer.

“No. No, I’m sorry. I’m just … just surprised is all. I’ve thought about it, but you’ve lived alone for so long I didn’t think you’d want someone else underfoot unless we were … you know, if we were married.”

“The meadow we were going to picnic in is just ahead. Why don’t we get there where we can sit and have this discussion?”

“I think that’s a great idea,” she said, smiling, then kissing him lovingly.

The meadow wasn’t huge, but there was enough distance from the trail to provide some privacy. They found a spot near the treeline where shade would soon overtake them, and set up camp with a blanket, a tiny folding table, and their lunch, including two beers kept cool in a backpack-sized ice pack. A little tablecloth with matching napkins showed the level of sophistication they’d reached for these outdoor lunches they had during every hike.

“Fact is, I have thought about us being married, and it scares me, but it’s not you that worries me. It’s the commitment. You know you’re the first for me in so many ways, and that’s good, but I’ve had so many failed relationships as well. And you have a different sort of history …”

“Really, Casey!? You’re gonna throw that in my …” she started indignantly, but stopped before saying something she might regret.

They both paused for a few moments; he, surprised by her reaction, and she, wanting to avoid a mistake.

“I’m sorry, Harper! I didn’t mean that you …”

“No. I’m sorry. You’re right. My past is pretty fucked up, so I can’t blame you for wondering if I’m ready for that sort of commitment, and you’ve also wondered about yourself. I don’t know anybody who’s had a long, happy marriage, so I’ve had no role models in my life. Lord knows my parents weren’t!” she chuckled.

“What about Sherry and Jake?”

“They had a very rough patch a bunch of years ago, but I don’t really know the details,” she fibbed, keeping them secret for Sherry to reveal if/when she wanted to.

“So, maybe living together is the way to see if those really are problems, or not, or we learn to work them out, or or or …” he finished, leaving the sentence open-ended as though there were too many possibilities to list.

“Why don’t we think about it for a while? There’s no rush,” she replied, though the lease on her dumpy apartment would be up for renewal in a little over a month. “I’m really proud of us! I know I’ve never had such a serious discussion like this before,” she added, moving closer to him to give him a longer kiss that had them lying down, hugging and groping each other playfully.

“Are you ready to get back to our hike?” he asked, staring down at her beautiful face lying beneath him on the blanket.

“Yeah. I guess. But I like this too!” she said as she slid her hands down to his ass and squeezed.

“So do I, but if we work up a good sweat, we can have a special shower when we get back to the house, okay?”

“Mmm, if I can wait that long?” she teased.

They packed up the picnic and were back on their way at a lively pace. The scattered clouds had come together to create an overcast sky. Harper kept scanning it, hoping for the signs of another storm that would leave them drenched and naked in a shelter, and while that didn’t look likely, the thoughts were increasingly arousing. She could feel the warmth and moisture in her shorts growing with each determined step, and finally she had to say something.

“Casey? Remember the storm the first time we did this?”

“I do. I’ll never forget what we did in the shelter while the storm raged outside!” he replied, her reminder raising his interest as well.

“It doesn’t really need it to be raining to do it again, does it?”

“No. It doesn’t,” he said as he reached for her ass to give it a good squeeze, before pulling the trail map out. “There’s a shelter about a half mile away. Think you can make it there?”

“I could go much farther with the promise of your tongue between my legs!” she said with a randy smile when she reached for the prominent bulge in his shorts to gauge how ready he was.

“Get it nice and wet for me, okay?”

“Oh, Honey! It’s already nice and wet!”  

The shelter in sight, they made a run for it, shedding their packs in time to toss them on the nearest table as soon as they were undercover. Noticing the shabby condition of the tables, Casey went back to his pack for the blanket, spread it on the table farthest from the trail, and tapped it with the palm of his hand.

“I’m ready for my dessert, Princess!” he said, loving the ensuing giggle.

She knelt first on the bench with her arms around his neck and kissed him passionately.

“You know, I really love you!” she said as their lips parted.

“I do, and I love you, too!” he replied with another short kiss. Tapping the table again, he added, “Come on! I’m hungry for a taste of My Girl!”

Instead of sitting on the table like he wanted, she sat in his lap with her back to the table and legs wrapped around his waist. Reaching for the hem of his shirt, she pulled it off in one smooth motion and bent down to kiss and lick his nipples. She was surprised the first time he’d shown his appreciation for it; her mostly quickie experiences didn’t bother with such foreplay.

Casey returned the favor after pulling her crop-top, which doubled as a sports bra, off with similar ease, and she lay back against the edge of the table as he treated himself to the appetizer of her tasty tits.

“Oh, Casey! I love what you do to me with your tongue!” she sighed, encouraging him to move on to the feast between her legs.

Her hands on the table, she pushed herself up until she got her feet on the bench and stood. She swatted his hand away from her pussy so she could pull her tight shorts down. She sat as he worked them off each leg in turn. Naked, apart from her shoes, she lay back on her elbows and shifted forward to place his dessert at the edge of the table.

“Eat me, Honey! Eat me up! Ohhh Lord!” she gasped as his mouth enveloped her needy pussy.

Casey hummed his appreciation of her delectable gift as lips and tongue plied her glistening wet folds. Her moans turned to cries, and those became high-pitched squeaks as his tongue explored every delicious nook and cranny of her petite pussy. Before long she was gasping as his tongue ran rampant over her until, with fingers pulling her lips apart, his tongue licked and sucked her clit, with her needlessly warning of her impending climax.

“Ohhh, fuuuccckkk!” she cried when she came, her hips and legs trembling spastically.

He didn’t wait to try for a second climax, slathering her wet lips with his tongue, letting nothing go to waste as he relished every drop of her abundant juice. She cried out his name in response to two fingers inside her that twisted, turned, and curled, adding to the stimulus of his tongue. With his other hand resting lightly on her tummy, he could feel the muscles alternately tense and quivering.

With her feet still on the bench beside him, she could push off, pressing her agitated pussy into his face. Every time he did this, she treated it as a precious gift that no one had ever bothered to give her, and whether he was particularly good at it or not, he would always be the best.

“Here I come, Casey! Eat me up!” she cried, and they charged toward an incredible orgasm that had her sliding off the tabletop, into his lap and his always comforting arms, sharing her body’s potent reaction. “Oh my God, Honey! I swear it gets better every time!” she whispered with her head on his shoulder.

“You have no idea how much I enjoy doing that for you!” he replied with a stuttering voice, causing her to pull back and look at his face. A single tear ran down his cheek.

Just when she thought he’d given her all he could, that one tear told her he’d always have more to give, and just maybe she did know, at least a little, how much he enjoyed it. She kissed the tear away and other parts of his face, wondering how she’d gotten so lucky to connect with this extraordinary man, not once, but twice. ‘Maybe God doesn’t hate me so much anymore?’ she thought, remembering where she’d placed blame for her chaotic life before Casey.

“I didn’t think I was capable of loving someone the way I love you, Casey!” She kissed his lips now, with as much love as she could give. Seeing the wan smile on his face, she decided he needed cheering up and kissed him with lots of tongue. “Mmm, I do taste good, don’t I?” she giggled, recognizing her taste and the scent as well.

“Delightful! Delicious! Delectable!” he replied alliteratively, and pulled her body in for one of his trademark hugs.

“You’re not going to let me get you off, are you?” she sighed, having learned quite a bit about the way he thought.

“No. You’ve already given me much more than I need,” he replied with a tender kiss.

“Okay, but you’re going first when we get in the shower!” she promised.

They left the shelter with his arm around her shoulder, and hers around his waist. It would seem such a small thing what they just did, but it wasn’t to them, as each felt like they’d moved a step closer to a decision on living together.

They resumed a hiking pace when it became difficult to walk in each other’s arms. He’d smacked her butt as encouragement to ‘get going!’ She loved when he did that.

Finishing their hike, they were proud of having added another mile to their record, and Casey wondered whether she was ready for something more strenuous. The Smoky Mountains weren’t that far away, but those trails had lots of rigorous ups and downs, both taxing the leg muscles in a way she wasn’t yet accustomed to.

As they pulled into the driveway and the garage door opened, Harper smiled at the sight of her hunk-of-junk car sitting inside, as though a little piece of her was living there. Walking into the house, she had a feeling of belonging that wasn’t there before. Helping him unpack the remnants of their picnic further enhanced that feeling.

In the laundry room, he insisted on undressing her, as though he were unwrapping a precious gift, standing back to admire her as if it were the first time. She moved seductively to further his enjoyment of her, before starting on his clothes. She smiled with a bitten lip as his shorts and underwear came down together, revealing his semi-hard cock, growing as she watched. She stood, and they fell into each other’s arms, trying for as much skin-to-skin contact as possible.

“You go get the shower started while I get these sweaty clothes in the wash,” he instructed.

“Ooo!” she squeaked when he smacked her bare butt again, sending her on her way.

She wondered what was taking him so long, and then he walked in with several lit candles. He placed two on the floor outside the glass door and two more on the top of the shower wall. He closed the door, turned off the light, and entered the shower, receiving a loving kiss for his romantic gesture.

“Mmm, there’s My Girl!”

“Sing it for me again!” she laughed, and started swaying to the music with his hands on her hips.

Singing a whole verse this time, he thought the singer’s statement of not needing money, fortune or fame was particularly appropriate for Harper, who didn’t see him as a rich guy, just a guy who she loved and who loved her. She provided all the riches he needed.

“I love you so much, Casey!” she said, wrapping her arms around him for a tongueful kiss.

Their lips separated, but their eyes did not, Casey now joining in her wonder about how they got so lucky to find each other.

She gave him one more gentle kiss before running her hands down his chest to his hips and around back to squeeze his manly cheeks, all the while a loving smile on her face. When her hands moved back around front, she fell to her knees, running both hands over his water-lubricated shaft, hearing him breathe in deeply and exhale with a loud sigh. One hand tapped the inside of his thigh, telling him to widen his stance, and when he did, she slipped her hand between to test touch the opening beyond. A shuddering intake of breath this time signaled his approval that continued when she pressed lightly.

That hand returned out front to cradle his sac, while the other stroked lightly, and her mouth licked and sucked the tip, making him sing a different song, the lyrics of which consisted of her name and various exclamatory words and phrases.

Before long, she could feel him tense, trying to hold it in, so she helped with fingers wrapped tightly around the base. The song continued with a chorus of ‘Ohhhs!’ in a higher key as she swallowed him whole while alternating between palming his sac and pressing on his anus. Still she held back the outburst, feeling the pulsing muscles trying to push past her constriction.

“Oh God, Harper!” he cried when she let go, this time watching the streams of white semen shoot over her shoulder, landing on her back and the floor.

“Was that good, Honey Buns?” she asked, trying out a new pet name.

“Oh, Princess! That was the best!” he stuttered as she wrapped her arms around him, wanting to feel his body’s reaction.

They stood beneath the water cascading over their bodies from the huge rain head above for a minute or two, both loving how good it felt to just hold each other. With the inspiration of getting so much out of something so little, Casey decided to give his Princess something different. Tilting her head back, he kissed her tenderly, then turned her back to him while reaching for the shampoo from the wall dispenser.

Another might have felt they were getting the short end of the stick when, after giving him his climax, he declined to reciprocate. Not for Harper. Seeing it as her chance to shift the balance of giving this one time, she was quite happy, and rather proud of herself for her selfless viewpoint.

Then she felt his fingers generating copious lather in her hair, massaging her scalp, and piling her hair on top for the most sensual shampoo ever. At first she smiled at the thought that he was giving again, but his hands soon captured her attention, and she gratefully accepted his gift.

As her hair ran through his soapy fingers, he remembered for the first time in a long time that her hair had been dyed pure blonde when they’d first met on that lonely two-lane. He saw her letting it return to its natural color as another result of her personality maturing from the shameless teen to the beautiful, innocent woman he loved.

“Oh, Casey! That feels wonderful! Where’d you learn to do that?” she asked as he shifted her body under the water to rinse the soap away as lustfully as he’d put it there. She regretted the question immediately, thinking the answer would involve one of the many Tiffanys he’d known, but he put her mind at rest.

“I didn’t. You inspired me, my love!” he whispered, the touch of his lips to her ear a jolt that triggered a sharp intake of breath.

She heard the pumping of the soap dispenser again as he turned her back to him again, and closed her eyes while breathing in deeply when soapy hands landed on her belly, caressing as he washed, hoping his hands would do her breasts next. She wasn’t disappointed.

Casey loved the feel of his hands gliding over her skin lubricated by the rain-scented body wash. He loved how her body seemed to flow beneath his hands, responding sensuously to every movement. He loved hearing her soft mews and sighs that told of her pleasure. And he loved her.

“I love you so much!” he said, whispering again as fingers danced over the soft, pliant flesh of her perfect tits, whose nipples rose to say, ‘Me too!’

“I love you too, Honey,” she sighed as his palms took over, squeezing and pressing them as though he could push them back in.

She pushed back against his body as his hands moved south, disguising an amazing body massage as the washing of the accumulated sweat from their hike. As his hands flowed over her hips and upper thighs, she half expected them between her legs, but wasn’t surprised when they didn’t. She smiled with the realization that he’d leave that for last.

Rotating them both so the water could rinse, he moved her body about like a doll who allowed his every manipulation. As he knelt behind her, she reached for the wall to steady herself while the water washed over her face and chest, rinsing the soap away, its rain-scent lingering in the steamy air.

Kissing his way down her back, he grabbed another dollop of body wash before pressing his mouth into and kissing the cheeks of her gorgeous bottom, a placeholder till his hands returned. Standing again, his hands ran down the length of her arms extended before her, up and down them with a little tickle to her underarm with each cycle, hearing her endearing giggle briefly each time.

Her back was next, actually massaging the muscles that would ordinarily be tight if this were a real massage, but were soft, forgiving, and pressing back into his hands. He couldn’t resist reaching around for her tits several times, her heavy breathing thanking him for the extra attention there.

With another helping of soap, he knelt again, giving her sumptuous ass its share, fingers and palms gliding over and squeezing the perfect, round orbs. Her breaths quickened when fingers ran down the cleft and between her legs, stopping just short of her pussy once again before pulling back the same way they’d come.

“Ooo!” she cooed as a fingertip teased her perfectly pink rosebud, winking at him, calling his attention to it. “Oh! Oh! Ohh!” she gasped when the tip of his finger intruded briefly. “Again!” After several teasing pokes, she cried, “Oh wow! I wasn’t expecting to like that!”

With another generous palm full of body wash, he soaped up one thigh, calf, and foot as he moved himself around front to continue up the other leg. Both thighs and her ass got some extra attention, as much because he loved the feel of them as wanting to please her. He looked up to see her eyes closed, leaned in, and licked the length of her slit, a slow, wriggling trip between her petite lips.

“Ohhh! Oh God, Casey! Oh yeah! Eat me up!” she cried, having waited patiently through all the stimulation leading up to what she loved best: her pussy in his mouth. She took a step forward, positioning herself above him and squirming on his face. “Ohhh, give it to me!” she demanded uncharacteristically and took her hands off the wall to push his face even more forcefully into her crotch, moving it up and down, and side to side, until her warning, “I’m gonna cum, Honey!”

He could feel her body quivering under the strain of holding on as long as she could, and when her body stiffened and her hands moved back to the wall for stability, his mouth and tongue spazzed out on her pussy, randomly licking, nibbling, and sucking until he heard her shriek, tasting her milky syrup on his tongue.

A second smaller climax came moments after the first, with his unrelenting tongue still savoring her taste, and a third seismic orgasm minutes later with her pussy still in his mouth, triggered with a fingertip again in her bumhole.

“Hold me, Casey!” she barely squeaked, fell into his arms, and pressed her body against his as though her life depended on it. She knew what she wanted next but remained well protected in his embrace until some strength returned. “Make love to me, Honey! In your bed,” she clarified, the weakness from all he’d given her, on top of the day’s hike, finally taking its toll.

“I’d love to!” he said, then kissed her as their bodies writhed within the grasp of the other. “Help me wash?” he asked, getting shampoo from the dispenser and quickly raking his fingers through his hair.

Harper took her first load of soap and began washing his chest. As he rinsed his hair, her hands made it to his ass, where they lingered longer than necessary. Kneeling, she looked up at him with a sexy smile before inhaling his hard cock with her hands still on his cheeks, pulling him in. He penetrated her throat only three or four times before her hands took over, soaping him up.

Standing, she turned him around and with another dose of soap, began washing his back as he bent to wash his legs. His back done, her hand returned to his ass, giving him a taste of what he’d done to her between her cheeks.

“Come here, you!” he said, turning around and pulling her in for another hug and moving into the water’s flow to rinse them both once more. He could feel the water cooling slightly, telling him their timing was perfect as the hot water would soon run out.

Stepping out of their wet playroom, each grabbed a towel to dry the other off, a process that involved many gropes and squeezes before they ran to the bed and threw themselves on it. Rolling around in each other’s arms, they laughed and gasped with still-wet hair flinging drops of water everywhere.

“I love you, Casey. Love me? Please?” she pleaded when they landed with her on her back and him already lying between her legs.

“I do, and I will!” he answered both questions her “Love me?” query posed.

The frenzy of the shower and falling into the bed subsided in favor of tender, gentle loving. Soft and slow characterized their lovemaking, and even as they approached their mutual peak, the emphasis was on every tender touch, rather than rocketing to an explosive climactic end.

Once more they loved only slightly more energetically, allowing time and loving hugs to lift their desires to the point of being ready to share their love again.

“What a wonderful day we’ve had! The hike, the picnic, the shelter, the shower, and now this!” Harper said after rolling from her side onto her back to face him.

“It was, but that sounds like you were leading up to something,” he observed.

“I am.” She paused as though deciding if she should continue. “If the offer still stands, I think I’d like to live with you,” she said with the cutest smile.

“Exactly what I was thinking, Love!”

“Really!? Oh my God! I’m so happy, Honey!”

--===<<<O>>>===--

I hope you're loving this couple as much as I am! A seemingly unlikely match has instead turned into a perfect one. Please remember to 'Like,' 'Favorite,' and/or comment if you've enjoyed Harper and Casey and ... THANKS FOR READING!!