It was her Scots accent, always the accent, that brought his heart out of its pits of sorrow. That and the passionate way Elspeth gently corrected him when he called it a Scottish accent. "I'd prefer Scots if you don't mind, Pops. I'll grant you that Scottish is proper enough, I suppose. Still...,"  and then she paused and smiled. That always lasting smile from the love of his life. The true, unquenchable, without price, love that met him as he was walking his lonely path.

It started as a joke. Her calling him Pops. Lorenzo was only a few years older than her. But he could be rather solemn and she once called him a wise old man after he made one of his rather obvious reflections on life. Teasing him, really.

Then she called him Pops.

He called her his shining bright star in a dark and dour sky. Star for short.

They met at the coffee shop where she was the head barista. Her certificate of graduation from the barista academy in Scotland held a place of honor on the wall. Elspeth was more proud of that than the fact that she owned the shop. The shop was just off the main drag of this upstate village. Since she had good staff she didn't always work there. He lucked out on that first day he entered it.

The town had been here many years before it became a watering hole of winter sports connoisseurs. This building was built in the traditional turn-of-the-century urban style of brick and mortar and was just two stories tall. The upper floors along this block were often used as apartments and flats, especially for the store owners and their families. 

The coffee shop was a good place to play like he was sociable. Lorenzo was most definitely not. But he got the feeling, often, that he was some kind of novelty. He thought he understood life but he didn't really want to be engulfed in it. He supposed it would be easy for people to get his drift.

He never got into all the latte and cappuccino and mocha java stuff. He liked coffee the way he had it when he was growing up in Brooklyn. So he always ordered a coffee regular. If they couldn't make that he would try another shop. 

But Lorenzo did find his shop. The day he walked in and ordered a coffee regular from Elspeth. She handed him the mug with a smile and said, "It's made with cream and two sugars. But, you look like a guy that might like extra sugar. Am I right?"

Maybe you have decided that he was a rather shy person. He wasn't really. Merely less forthright than many were. He simply didn't care for many people. So now he could only mumble his thanks and give an uncertain smile of my own as he nodded.

As he was turning to go she asked, "What's the book?"

"PrairyErth. It's a book by William Least-Heat Moon," he said.

Then he carried his mug and chose his spot, the one he would always use from that point on whenever he stopped in. Over in the corner farthest from the entry door. That was not just because he was a tiny bit wary of being close to people. It was also the warmest spot in the shop. Farthest away from any cold wintry mountain air coming in when someone entered, even though there was a small foyer. 

As he sat down with his back to the wall she approached. "Let's see the book." She took it and began reading the flyleaf. "Wow, this might be good. Has it got more maps?"

Lorenzo nodded, then mumbled, "Yes, some. It's really a good kind of geography book. So it has to have maps." Then she handed the book back and he noted the semi-colon tattoo on her delicate thin wrist. He dropped his head and nodded again, to himself. He had been ashamed after getting his, but it was hidden under his watch wristband.

"I like literature, mostly, but I love maps." She pointedly winked at him and then looked about the room at the walls. They were covered with topographic and other types of maps interspersed with vintage travel posters for ski areas around the world. 

He followed her gaze and spoke in agreement. "Oh, yeah, these are great. And literature is a necessity of life. The challenge is finding the good stuff and not wasting time on dreck." He looked up into her open face and smiled hesitantly. 

From then on they began a friendship. It built pretty quickly considering his reluctance to get close but she was a persistent lady. And the accent forced him to stay close simply to hear her voice with that soft Gaelic lilt to it. 

Elspeth had migrated to this village in the mountains of upstate New York after unspoken troubles she declined to elaborate about. But she'd spent time in Glencoe in Scotland. She loved the highland atmosphere along with the snows of wintertime.

This area didn't have the greatest skiing in the world but there was enough near this town in the Berkshires to give the exuberant downstate skiers and other locals their desired exercise on the slopes. Skiers and snowboarders. Along with cross-country skiing, which Elspeth took part in on occasion. It was there if one was inclined. Lorenzo was not, usually.

At one point Elspeth made Lorenzo put on a spare set of cross-country skis she had and they went carefully out across the fields nearby. He would never be good at it and certainly doubted he would ever enjoy it but with her along with him, it was bearable. Especially when she would sing folk songs in Gaelic as they slowly went over the countryside.

Every so often she would force him to join her in her cross-country skiing. Showing him the places she loved around the area. One picturesque small cabin near the upper slopes had a grand view of the valley below. It was a small vacation spot that was only used on a weekend now and then. She showed him the hidden key under a rock behind the cabin. 

There was another overlook along the trail into a crevice looked forbidding but was beautiful to see. It made him a little giddy just staring out and down into the canyon. 

After a few times, he felt comfortable in the activity. He was enjoying simply being with her when she allowed it. She had a busy life. He felt lucky to merely be in her presence. He even bought a second-hand set of skis that he kept in his rooms.  

One day in mid-winter, when the snowing had stopped, giving them a respite, he was sprawled on her bed. Elspeth lived upstairs from her shop. She was continually doing things to it. Today she was putting up wallpaper as he was enjoying the afternoon sun darting through the high old-fashioned windows into the room. The wall covering was some grotesque vintage pattern of flowers and bunnies. They chatted as he had his trousers down and he continued edging his hard thickness, warming himself in the sun's rays. 

"Still hard, Pops? You sure can keep it up, can't you?" He smiled. They played a little game. Seeing who could edge the longest before having an intense orgasm. Today it was his turn. She didn't mind the spunk on the hardwood floor. She just wanted it wiped up now and then. There was a damp washcloth at the ready there on the little table beside the bed next to the overflowing ashtray and the stack of books.

Actually, one of her main peeves sexually was how difficult it was for her to get an orgasm by touching herself. It still felt extremely good so she kept trying. He called her a real trooper. "My Star trooper," he would laughingly say. 

Elspeth smoked, even while working in her flat. Never in her shop, though. She was applying the long sheets of wallpaper with a Marlboro Light between her long, delicate fingers. Often she would take a drag from the cigarette and then lean down and puff out the smoke around his boner and then give it a tender lick. She didn't often giggle, but she always did when his cock quivered from her attention. 

It had been months that they had known each other. In all that time it had only been the playing with their genitals that was their sexual activity. That and discussing their fantasies. Long, intricate talks about what might feel good, or what was too dirty. Or not, as the case might be.

She was always barefoot in her digs. Her long, rather prehensile toes curling with glee when he made a joke. Or when she was edging close to her own release of orgasmic pleasure. Lorenzo could jack for hours just watching her feet and her long, gangly legs. Sometimes, as a treat, she would use those digits to caress his thickness while it was rigid and needy. Rubbing her grasping piggies over the seeping head of his hardon, tickling his bollocks.

But when her boyfriend was around it was different. Lorenzo learned that quickly. The boyfriend traveled for a living and was in town sporadically. When he was here Elspeth was completely different. Her visage was closed off when Lorenzo entered the coffee shop. She had mentioned the boyfriend's name was Bryan but seldom used it. Just saying, "My boyfriend is in town. Don't stop by my flat. You understand, Pops." And she would offer him a weak smile.

The two men never met. Lorenzo got that. Her boyfriend smoked as well. It was something the couple shared. Lorenzo had tried to start but it just made him sick. He stopped trying.

He did a lot of catchup reading while the boyfriend was in town. He was used to reading pretty constantly. That had changed with his singular relationship with Elspeth. They would spend time lying on her bed together reading, for certain. It would more often than not become an edging session with the two gangly bodies sharing the squeaky bed together, sometimes reaching across to caress each other. 

No fucking. It was a topic that brought out the simple fact that Lorenzo had not had that kind of sex in ages. "Poor old Pops. Someday we gotta get you fucked, mister."

She had been reticent but after some weeks of introductory friendship discussions, she admitted as to how bloody joyful it would be to be fucked hard and deep. Never relating why she would need to think about it so much with a boyfriend ready to hand, so to speak.

Lorenzo learned early on that it was not something she and he would share. He had no idea what his Star did with her boyfriend. Actually, he didn't really want to know. 

"I'm getting close, Star." He was almost ready to shoot a load of spunk. His hand was using her body lotion to lubricate his prick. He liked the smell of water mint as a pleasant accompaniment to his jerking off. She cheered him on with her smile as he jacked faster. Then she leaned down and sucked the head between her lips and tickled it with her tongue, backing away as he groaned. Elspeth knew him now. He was going to spend his seed on her ancient floorboards beside her iron bedstead.

Lorenze came hard after an hour of edging pleasure and conversation. It always seemed to be much more joyful than it used to be when he was a solitary masturbator. He loved giving all he had to his Star. 

She laughed. "Good job, Pops," and then continued her work on the wallpapering. He cleaned it up the spunky floorboards.

Later that afternoon she stopped with the working and decided to play with herself as they watched The Thin Man on video. He had introduced her to old black and white classics from the thirties and the forties, including film noir from both America and Britain. 

For a treat, she stripped off all her clothes and let him see her narrow frame. Such a charmer he always thought when he saw her body. And she never bothered shaving the sparse pubic hairs on her pussy. Elspeth had grinned so broadly when he told her he preferred smaller breasts. "Like yours, Star. They're perfect, you know. Like, just a mouthful or so." 

So today she spread her long legs out, curling her toes, and watched Myrna Loy and William Powell showing how to be true lovers with style, grace, and humor. Her fingers tickled her already wet slit. She had been aroused earlier watching Lorenzo slowly caressing and squeezing him member unto fruition. Now it was her to turn to try. She so very seldom came but the fun was in the trying. She smiled.

He watched with unspoken pleasure, feeling himself growing larger again. As always he was disappointed when she didn't have her orgasm this time by the end of the movie. But she let him lick her fingers for a tasty treat. Then he arose, getting ready to go away for the time being.

"So, I've got to leave town for the holiday this year. I've promised my mother to go back to the old neighborhood just for Christmas day. I'll be back the next day. You gonna miss me, Starlight?"

"I suppose so. The boyfriend is coming into town that week. I couldn't see you anyway." She paused in the motion of spreading some wallpaper on the wall with the application brush, took a puff from her cigarette.

"You know, Pops, just thinking about it, and to be honest, I could probably get along not seeing you again if you had to go away. I mean, not to be a cruel person, really, I guess that is true of a lot of the people I know. Oh, well, doesn't matter. It's just argle-bargle. I suppose you'll be around anyway."

It stunned him and he didn't understand why at first. He knew he was not her 'one and only' lover. They were not really lovers, at all. They were sort of sexual play buddies. And true, loving friends he had begun to think. So it shook him. He mumbled something as he got up and zipped his fly. Then he left to return back to his empty digs. 

Elspeth looked after him as he went out of her flat door. She frowned. "Thoughtless. Unthinking, silly cow," her mind told her. Ever one of her faults. She tried so hard to remember. "People are in pain," she mused. She understood that. She had been there and still was so very often that it still hurt. She jammed a cigarette butt into an overflowing ashtray. Then she felt the tears begin as her narrow shoulders shook.

On Christmas day Elspeth was sitting alone in her place above her closed coffee shop. On the holiday she and her other baristas were not working. The boyfriend had left once again without telling her where he was going. Her cell phone rang,

"Hello," she responded.

"Hi, hon. Is this Lorenzo's friend? Elspeth, he called you? He gave me this number a few months ago. Just for emergencies."

"Yes, but who's calling, please?"

"His mother, dear. He's supposed to be here for Christmas. I couldn't think of anything else to do. His phone just rings and then I leave a message and he doesn't call back. I'm so worried. I'm sorry to bother, dear. Really. Do you know how he is? I worry, of course. You understand."

Elspeth paused, trying to think. What was going on? "Okay, not to worry, love. I'll check on him."

"If it's a bother, I'm so sorry, I just worry so."

"It's not a bother. I'll call you."

She tried to call Lorenzo herself and also got no answer. She arose and got her winter gear on to walk over to his place. There was a freshly fallen snow on the ground from yesterday and the streets and walkways were all covered. The streets were being plowed but many sidewalks and pathways were not cleared. No snow fell overnight so tracks were still clearly seen. She took her cross-country skis and went out to go to his rooms across town.

His landlady told Elspeth that she saw him leaving early yesterday, on Christmas Eve, on his skis after it stopped snowing. She thought it a little odd but people were always going out and about on skis and such.

Elspeth was resolved now and decided to check the best places that he might have gone. He was really quite a novice at this. He would go where he was familiar with the terrain, surely. She headed out on the most likely trail, following several pairs of tracks into the hills and mountains along well-traveled skiing byways.

Finally, after about an hour of skiing, she arrived beside the crevice that she had worried about checking. She could see no tracks at all that appeared to go near the edge, not even close to going over. She sighed and trembled, finally allowing her pent up fear to drain out of her at last. But, where the hell was he?

Then Elspeth saw one lone set of tracks that had approached the area of the small cabin she and Lorenzo had checked out one bright, sunny winter day last year. They had just tested the key that was hidden to see what they might find. A sort of exploration into what was supposed to be off-limits.

She noted the smoke rising from the chimney. Were the owners there? She slipped off her skis, removed her gloves, and tapped on the door. It opened and Lorenzo was standing there. When he saw her his head dropped in pent up shame at his own behavior. Elspeth reached out her hand and her long fingers gently stroked his stubbly cheek. Then she grabbed him and hugged. Her aristocratic shoulders shook with unsuppressed relief.

Soon they were both getting warm once more, sitting on a rug in front of the fireplace, after she removed her snow gear. 

"What the hell, Pops. Your mother is calling all of your friends, I guess. She called me, anyway. What's the story, mister?"

"It's so silly, really. I mean, I called the number, you know, just because I needed to talk. And they did talk to me. Then I needed to just get somewhere away."

"What number, silly old Pops?" She was frowning now that it seemed alright and she could stop being afraid. 

"The eight hundred, two seven three, eight two five five number. You know the hotline. Look at your wrist."

"Ah, you silly prat. Yes, suicide help. Of course, in Scotland, it's a different number. You arse. You could talk to me. I'm your best friend here. You gotta know that by now, mister."

"I know it. I know it. I love you, sweetie. I know you really love me, too. I know it. I just needed to think. And you were busy with your boyfriend." His head shook as he looked away.

She leaned over, putting her arm around him, and pulled him close with her head on his shoulder. "I was so frightened..."

He turned his head, hugging her firmly, and kissing her. Gently at first and then more intensely, with full-on urgency and need. She eagerly returned it, with a sloppy wet passion.

Elspeth was running her fingers through his hair as he pulled them both down onto the soft rug and the fire crackled giving them all the light they needed. It seemed that their kissing could last forever as they savored the newness and freedom it gave to them both. Free to make love. It continued for some time each caressing the other's face and hair while allowing their zealous necking to give them strong, almost violent sensations. 

After what seemed a long night of passionate embraces Lorenzo began touching Elspeth's small breasts through her woolen shirt, then, needing more, they both began shedding their garments, licking and kissing all the while, tasting their bodies, until both were naked and his erection signaled what his body required. And her gripping it tightly demonstrated her own demands.

Finally, Elspeth wanted his cock. All of it and right at this moment. Without fail. Lorenzo was spreading his body over hers, pressing her legs apart as his shaft entreated entry to her succulence. It squeezed its thickness into the tightness she offered wrapping her lanky legs around his slender waist. 

"Jeez, Pops, it's so fat. I love it, hon. Yes, yes, yes."

He pumped harder now, panting out, "I love you," knowing it should never end.   

And he pulled her legs up and over his shoulders, ramming his hardness into her as deep as it would go. Just the way she always said she wanted it. And the way he was happy to give it to his darling. His little lassie. His love.