Ba-Ding!

I checked the display… three minutes away, thirty-five-minute trip, and a decent rider rating. Of course, I accepted the trip. It was 2:15 am, bars closed fifteen minutes ago, and I lived a half-hour south. With any luck, this passenger was going my way, a good end to a busy night of carting drunks home.

I pulled around the corner and checked the pickup spot again, yep, that cowboy bar, “These Boots.” The big neon sign flashed a cowgirl kicking up her booted feet and the flashing words beneath that said “Liquor and Dancing” in western script. I cringed a little, these cowboy folks tend to drink a lot and can get pretty rowdy.

My momma always told me, “Nothing good ever happens after midnight.” And she was pretty much right. Something clicks after midnight and the drinkers get drunker, the quiet ones get loud, and the loud ones get ornery.

Several clusters of folks gathered around the entrance and they eyed my car as I pulled up, but nobody made a move towards my car. I felt a little dejected. If the rider wasn’t out here then they were probably in the bathroom, puking. I’ve seen it before. But it was my duty to get as many people home safely as I could; puke or no puke. I preferred no puke, but it wasn’t always that way.

I opened the car door and stood by it. The timer on the Uber clock ticked past three minutes. I can cancel at five minutes and make my $3.75, but I’d rather get this long ride home. I hollered out the name they gave me, “Cassidy!” Nothing happened for a few moments, then the crowd parted slightly as a figure approached.

Dark brown, almost black curly hair, probably a pretty face but it was rather dark and hard to tell, a damn sexy body dressed in full sexy bra-less cowgirl attire, and a rather distinguished limp on her… left foot. Yep, she limped hard up to the car, and nearly stumbled on the last step.

“Are you Cassidy?” I asked gently.

The noisy crowd snickered as someone muttered just loud enough for us to hear, “Bring out the Gimp!”

She whirled on the crowd, some of who now openly laughed and a few who seemed embarrassed by the evil comment. But most laughed.

“Cunts!” she yelled at them. More people laughed.

Seething with anger, she turned back to me and whispered, “Yes, please take me home.”

However, in her South Carolina accent, it sounded more like, “Plays tike may ho-ume.”

She looked defeated as she slid into the backseat. I turned on the interior light so she could get her seatbelt buckled while I downloaded the ride information.

Fuck, I thought. Thirty-five minutes due north, so an hour-plus empty ride home after that. Oh well. At least she looks biologically stable.

She must’ve seen me cringe because she asked if Fairmont was okay.

“Yeah,” I reassured her. “No worries, I’m delighted to take you where you need to go.”

“Delighted, huh? Well, I’d be delighted if you crashed into that truck over there, the one with the confederate flag in the back window.”

“Well, I could do that… but I need this car for tomorrow, so...”

I smiled and looked in the mirror as I spoke to her. She looked up and smiled at me for a moment, then she cast down her eyes again and looked down at her left leg. I turned off the interior light and pulled away from the bar, heading north on Main Street.

And, although I only caught a glimpse of her face, I saw that she was damn cute. Her smoldering dark brown eyes could set your heart on fire. But, even though she smiled at me, there was a definite sadness to her face.

Momma, you forgot this one: After midnight, the sad ones get sadder.

“So, uh, normally I ask my passengers how their night has been. But I’m kind of afraid to ask you…”

I let that hang there, testing to see if she wanted to talk. Sometimes people want to chat, sometimes they don’t. Doesn’t bother me, I won’t press them if they don’t want to have a conversation.

“Chuck wouldn’t dance with me. He wouldn’t even fucking dance with me.”

“I see… and Chuck is… the guy with the truck?”

“He’s a fucking asshole. And I hate him and his truck.”

This conversation wasn’t going so well, and it began to feel as if I was prying, which I don’t like doing.

“Well, miss, we’ve got a little over half an hour to go. Just sit back and be comfortable, I’ll get you home as soon and as I safely can.”

I could see her looking out the window as the closed-down shops went by. She wasn’t looking at them, though. She had that thousand-yard stare.

“You know what, Mister Uber driver?”

“James.”

“Okay, you know what, James? I don’t wanna go home no more. I want you to take me to that Motel Six they got out there. I ain’t fucking going home. I reckon you can change that for me?”

“Yes miss, gimme a minute or so.”

I fiddled with the Uber App and put in the new destination as she kept talking.

“You know, you’re like the fuckin’ modern-day bartender, ain’t you? Do people ask you advice and shit? Tell you their problems? Oh shit… I’m sorry. Where I come from, if you ain’t swearing twice in one sentence people look at you funny. I’m trying to cut down but I’ve been fuckin’ drinkin’ and it slips out. Shit, sorry, there I go again.”

“Where’s that you’re from? And don’t worry, I’ve said some of those words myself.”

“I’m sorry, you’re just so proper and all. I was in the Marines. And you try to be one of the guys, ya know? And the guys swear. All the fuckin’ time.”

“Is that where you got the limp?”

She huffed and sat quietly for a few moments. “Yeah, I got a splinter when I was in the Marines.”

Properly rebuked, I apologized.

“Listen, miss, um… Cassidy. I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to pry—“

“No, no, it’s fuckin’ fine. It’s just not fine with Chuck.”

I didn’t know what to do or say at this point. It seemed like most things I said were pissing her off. So I stayed quiet for a little bit.

“Well?” she asked. “Ain’t you gonna ask what isn’t fine with Chuck?”

“Sure, I just don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

We slowed down for the red light, and I groaned. The lights in this town aren’t that smart. Sometimes they will stay red forever, especially when we are all sitting there waiting for it and no other cars are coming at all.

“You know what, mister Uber? It’s weird talking to the back of your head. Can I sit up front with y’all?”

I looked around, still green lights on the cross-traffic side, I clicked open the electronic door locks.

“Sure. Nobody’s coming. Come on up… oh, wait… hey… I meant go outside… watch it... that’s my head… your foot is… well, alright then… put your seatbelt on please?”

I wasn’t expecting her to climb over the seat. A normal person would’ve gotten out the back door and then sat in the front.

“Okay, all better. What was I fucking saying?”

“Um,” I stalled. “Would you like a water? They’re in that little cooler you knocked over.”

“Oh yeah, fan-fucking-tastic. You want one too?”

I nodded as we started moving again. She chugged down the small bottle. Wiping her mouth, she started talking again.

“So yeah, you wanna know what’s not fuckin’ fine with Chuck? He won’t fuck. Chuck won’t fuck me.”

Without thinking, I asked, “Is he gay?”

“Oh no. He will fuck. Just not me. One time in the last three months since I've been home. One fucking time. And he had to have a viagra.”

“Well, pardon me for saying so, but he’s an idiot or something. I mean, you’re… well, I’m s’posed to stay professional and all. But, you’re very attractive.”

“Thanks, but you haven’t seen my foot.”

“Uh, the one with a splinter?”

“What? Oh yeah, splinter. That’s funny. No, I meant, you haven’t seen my foot… because it isn’t there. It’s gone. It’s somewhere in Afghanistan.”

“Oh… I… I see.”

I glanced over at her, from somewhere in her purse she had pulled out a knife. In the dark, it looked like some kind of tactical knife, not a little pocket knife.

“Um, miss. Can you put that away, please? It makes me nervous.”

“Huh? Oh shit, sorry.” She stuffed the knife back in her purse.

“I didn’t even know I did that. It happens sometimes.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I kept quiet.

“It’s an Ontario Asek aircrew knife,” she informed me. “It’s the knife my buddy used that day. We were in an MRAP. You know what those are?”

“Yeah, sort of. It’s a Mine-Resistant… big truck.”

“Right, mine-resistant. Not mine proof. Some haji set off a 155 shell under us. When I woke up, we were on our side and taking fire. And my foot was crushed, broken and caught in some twisted metal.”

She paused as her memories flowed over her.

“The noise, the sheer fucking violence of it all. Have you been in a war zone? No? Well, I can’t ever forget it. Thompson is yelling at me to get outta the truck cuz the hajis are comin’ hard. But I couldn’t move. He looked at me, said we gotta go now.”

A tear rolled down her cheek.

“I knew what he meant. We were taking heavy machine gunfire. I could see them advancing on us. We had a way out the back, except I was stuck. And we needed to move right fucking now!”

She wiped her cheeks with her hands.

“I yanked out this knife.” She had it in her hands again. “I handed it to him and said get me the fuck out… and he did. He strapped on a tourniquet… and… got me the fuck out.”

I reached over to open the glove compartment and get out the little Kleenex packet I kept in there for such occasions. I handed it to her, and asked her for one also.

“That’s why Chuck won’t fuck me. And he wouldn’t even dance with me. And that’s why… he was talking to that girl tonight…”

She turned her head away from me, and leaned against the window. Without a word, she put the knife back in her purse. Normally, I never touch the passengers. Maybe a handshake at the end of the ride if the guy was cool or something. But I never touch the women. However, tonight, I put my hand on Cassidy’s shoulder and gave it a little squeeze. Her right hand came over and rested on top of my hand.

The dark stores and houses flashed by in the night. All the regular people in the world were home in bed.

- - -

“Will you help me get my room? I don’t feel so good.”

Oh boy. Well, it was almost three in the morning, so I thought, why not?

After waking up the desk clerk and tolerating his leers and stares, I helped Cassidy to her room. She held onto my arm and limped pretty heavily to the second story room.

“Help me make sure it’s safe?”

I wasn’t born yesterday. In fact, I was born many thousands of yesterdays ago. I knew what was going on. I couldn’t do it, but I also couldn’t stop.

“Yeah, sure. Mind if I take a leak? It’s a long trip back home.”

I dried my hands and came out of the bathroom to find Cassidy sitting on the bed, her back propped up by several pillows, and her cowgirl shirt hung on the chair. As I alluded to before, she wasn’t wearing a bra, so that meant her generous breasts were on full display.

“Cassidy, I—“

“James, get over here... please. Don’t make me beg.”

I sighed, I had never been so torn in my life.

“Cassidy, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever met.”

“James, don’t you dare say ‘but.’”

“Cassidy…” I struggled to not say ‘but.’ “I don’t just fuck. I make love. I want it to mean something.”

“It would mean a lot to me, I guaran-fucking-tee you that.”

“Cassidy, we don’t know each other. If you want to get to know each other, I would love that. But we aren’t going to start with just a fuck.”

She crossed her arms over breasts and hung her head down, pouting.

“It’s okay, just go. I’m not worth getting to know. I’m just a drunken, broken-down woman. I’m not even a whole woman.”

I looked at her, and after a few moments she looked up at me. I saw her sorrow and pain etched on her face. Tears formed in her eyes. I remembered what my wife said to me.

“James,” she said. “You’re a good man, do you know that? You always want to rescue people. You need to find someone who’s worth rescuing. I want you to find someone like that, someone who needs you.”

She told me that as I held her hand while she lay in her hospital bed, a few hours before she passed.

I picked up her shirt and helped her put it back on. Trust me, it saddened me to see such perfect breasts not being put to good use. Without a word, I unzipped her cowboy boots, easily slipping off the right one. The left one had the prosthesis in it, and I carefully removed the boot.

“Zippered cowboy boots, must be hard to find.”

“Yeah, had to special order them. I couldn’t get my new foot in or out of regular boots. Well, there it is. Whaddya think? Sexy, right?”

“Cassidy, I don’t have a foot fetish, so I don’t really give a shit what your foot looks like. Let’s get these pants off, you can’t sleep in those.”

With some wiggling, we got her jeans off and she squirmed under the sheets and blanket, just wearing her checkered shirt and a yellow thong. I pretended not to notice how tight her ass looked, and that I didn’t see a hint of pubic hair down there where I wasn’t looking. I took off my dress shirt and chinos, so I was in my boxers and t-shirt. I got under the blanket, but not the sheets. She turned away from me, but immediately scooted back up to me. I spooned her firmly, the sheets blocking actual contact but we could feel each other’s warm bodies.

She took my outside hand and clasped it between both of hers, holding it gently. My other hand slid under my own pillow, under my head. I whispered to her.

“Are you and Chuck-the-fuckless-wonder married? Kids?”

She laughed, “No, neither, thank God. But we are engaged. Were engaged. I’m not sure. I’m just happy to be away from him.”

“He doesn’t deserve you.”

“I know. You’ve shown me more kindness than he ever has.” She held my hand tighter, squeezing it to her breasts. “What about you? Why aren’t you married?”

I couldn’t help but nuzzle her neck a little. I mean, it was right there.

“She… died. Almost three years ago.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Was it… a sudden thing? Or an illness?”

“Drunk driver. She lived a couple of days. We got to talk before she went.”

She pulled my hand up to kiss it. It wasn’t sexual, just comforting.

“That’s why,” I paused. I had never told this to anybody before. “You’ll think it’s crazy. But that’s why I drive at night. So I can… save people... from drunks. And from becoming drunk drivers. I got some insurance money, the house is paid off. I don’t really need the money, I just… have to do it.”

She whispered to me, “That’s not crazy, James. I’m glad you were out there. Maybe you saved me.”

“I’m also maybe not quite as gallant as I seem. I uh… haven’t been with anyone since then, so I’m pretty gun shy. I’ve dated a couple of times but it didn’t go well. I think maybe I’m ready, now, but I wanted it to mean something, you know? Not just a quick fuck. So don’t take it wrong.”

I nuzzled her neck some more, she cooed a little and scootched back up against me harder.

I fell asleep soon, comforted by her warm smell.

- - -

Bam Bam Bam!

Cassidy bolted from the bed as someone banged hard on our motel room door. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anybody move that fast before. A loud obnoxious voice called from outside.

“Checkout in fifteen minutes or you pay another day!”

I could tell by the voice it was the same guy as last night. I slipped out of bed and grabbed my wallet. I passed my credit card through the partially opened door and told him to give me another day and a receipt. And I told him my girlfriend works in the fraud department at the bank and knows how to work with the cops in those kinds of cases. He glared at me, but he also accepted the ten-spot I gave him as a tip.

I turned to see Cassidy, shaking, hugging herself.

“I, um… I don’t like loud noises all that much.”

“Hey... hey, come here.” I crossed the room with my arms open and wrapped her up in them. She snuggled up on me, her arms close to her body at first. Then, slowly, she relaxed and hugged me back. I held her quietly for a long time, until the door knocked again, much quieter this time. The clerk slid my card and the receipt under the door. I set those on the table and resumed my hug with Cass.

“Are you happy to see me? Or is that just morning wood.”

I wiggled my pelvis a little, letting her get a good feel.

“Little bit of both, I think. You do feel pretty good.”

Okay, this was getting out of control fast. I had to think of something.

“We got us a Waffle House across the street. Has he texted you? Chuck?”

She went to get her phone.

“Yeah, about 400 times.” She scrolled through her texts. “He actually seems worried… no, wait… now he’s mad… now he’s begging… mad again… name-calling… and it looks like he‘s going to work tonight. and… let’s see… oh, we’re going to have words when he gets home.”

She tossed the phone on the bed and looked at me, deflated.

“He called me hop-a-long three times in his texts. I had never heard of that before a few months ago. Hop-a-long Cassidy? It’s some old movie actor or something. He thinks it’s funny. He said that to me the first day I came back.”

I cringed. It was pretty mean, really, to call her that. She didn’t ask to have her foot blown off. Well, it was time to take some action.

“Get dressed, little missy. We’ll get some coffee, get some grits, and we’ll figure this motherfucker out.” I threw the swear word in there for her benefit.

She laughed appropriately, and said, “Yeah, let’s sort the shit out of this motherfucker.”

We both laughed and put on last night’s clothes.

- - -

We sat there at the Waffle House, eating our waffles and “all-the-way” hash browns like an old married couple. She buttered my toast, and I fussed at her to put her napkin on her lap and to chew with her mouth closed because she wasn’t in the Corps anymore.

“How much money have you got?” I asked between bites.

“About $1,500, give or take.”

I looked at her, she just shrugged. She had to have gotten some separation money from the corps, some compensation for getting permanently disfigured. Chuck probably spent it. Oh well.

“And your job?”

“I work at Angelo’s Auto Body, just down the road apiece.”

“Receptionist?” I asked, stuffing my mouth full of hash browns.

“Chauvinistic old bastard. I’m the number two auto body man there. I do about $950 a week, cash. You’ve got some potato on your chin.” And she wiped it off with her finger and ate the little piece.

“Can you afford to move out, you think? I mean, you gotta leave this asshole.”

“Yeah, he’s just a historical footnote at this point. But… well shit. You know, they want a fucking security deposit and first and last upfront. I’ve already looked into a place not too far from here”

I poured more syrup on my waffles, I like ‘em wet and they had absorbed too much already.

“So, theoretically. You could probably get your own place in two or three weeks then.”

“Yeah, I could maybe stay at the shop, I guess.”

“I could loan you the money, but then I don’t know if I can trust you so—“

“What?” she slammed her mug down on the table. People looked over for a moment. I shushed her and continued.

“—So you could stay at my place for a few weeks, till you get on your feet.”

Wait, why did I say that? What the hell am I thinking?

“Why the hell would you do that, James?”

Yeah, why would I do that?

“I just… think you need a break. And I am in a position to give you a break. But you gotta work on the cussing. I’m not a big fan.”

We looked at each other for several long moments. I was beginning to really like looking at her, and having her look at me.

“Maybe it’s a dumb idea, I can just lend you the money.”

I swear to God her eyes twinkled.

“Well now, hold on there, Tex. Let’s back it up a little bit. What kind of place y’all got there? Cuz it will take me a long time to pay you back. Whereas a couple or three weeks rent-free, maybe, well that would be really helpful.”

I cocked my head a little, giving her my best little smile.

“Well, I got a four-bedroom ranch down in Oakdale. My kids ran off to California and are hitting it big in the fast-food industry, so I’m all alone.”

“Oakdale… shit. Err… I mean, crap. That’s what, an hour away? I don’t have a car, that’s why I was looking for a place right near here.”

“I’ve got two. You can drive the other. If you crash it, though, you gotta fix it.” I winked at her.

She leaned back in her seat, thinking things over. I started eating from her plate as she had a lot left.

“So I’ve got a master bedroom and a nice guest room all fixed up. The other two rooms are kind of just storage right now.”

“James, I hate to ask, but I have to. How old are you?”

Ouch!

“Why, do I look too old or something?”

“No, you look forty-something. But I think you’re older than that.”

“Hmm, I’m on the wrong side of fifty, the downhill side.”

“Fifty? You look pretty good, driver.”

“Not fifty, I said the wrong side of, which means past fifty-five.”

“Ah, gotcha. Well then, you look even better. So… how old are your kids.”

“Daughter is twenty-five and my son is twenty-three,” I answered as I finished off her plate.

She leaned back in her seat. “I’m younger than your daughter, by about a year, and you’re older than my dad. That’s weird.”

“It’s only weird if you make it weird.” I looked at her and smiled. “Is he still around?”

She looked down at the table, she seemed ashamed.

“They were killed in a flood about… two years ago now. They were so proud of me. I was going to go to college after my time in, maybe even become an officer.”

“The GI Bill will pay for school, right?”

“Yeah… I guess.”

I reached over and took her hand in mine. “Cass… I, I can help you. Let me try.”

“Why are you being so nice to me.” It wasn’t really a question.

“Like I said, you need a break. Plus, you’re easy on the eyes, and I kinda like you. It would be… so nice to have you around a little bit, like a friend.”

“Just a friend?” Her eyes sparkled again, I wanted to know how she did that. “I will earn my keep. You won’t be sorry.”

I fidgeted, a little uncomfortable. I don’t know why, this was all happening so fast, yet I was the one pushing it. It’s like my reptile brain was in charge, not me. But I kinda liked where it was taking me. “So, when’s Fuckless go to work?”

“He heads in a little after five. He’s a damn security guard at some warehouse, he watches the place overnight. As if he would even do anything if they got robbed. He would probably just hide somewhere, fucking pussy. I sure know how to pick ‘em.” She drained the last of her coffee and signaled the waitress for a refill.

“If you don’t mind, we can get my stuff after he leaves. It’s really just some clothes, a few other things. It would all fit in your car. Won’t take long, I promise.”

The waitress came by, I asked for the check.

“Well now we just need to figure out what to do for the next six hours,” I said to Cassidy. “Fortunately, we’ve got a place to hang out for a bit. Let’s go to that Target across the street, get some toothbrushes and paste, then we can get cleaned up. Maybe catch a movie or something.”

- - -

I got us each a new T-shirt (I got Pink Floyd, she went with The Ramones) and some underwear at the store, plus some toiletries and snacks, too. We headed back to the room as each of us wanted to get cleaned up and out of those day-old clothes.

Cassidy insisted I go first as she would take a long time. I did my three esses in under a half-hour and pronounced myself clean. I strutted out of the bathroom in my new boxers and T-shirt to thunderous applause from the crowd. Well, Cassidy said I looked nice, that was about the equivalent, right?

I leaned back on the bed, watching Bad News Bears II on the TV. The combination of the lackluster film and the sound of the shower entranced me, and I soon fell asleep on the bed.

I dreamt I was on a big fishing boat, and had caught a big halibut. But the fish got loose and landed partially on me, and the fish’s mouth was on me…

… I woke to find Cassidy half laying on me, her head on my shoulder as she nuzzled my neck. My arms instinctively wrapped around her. She was in her new Ramones shirt and new thong, she had declined my offer of getting her a bra.

“Hi, sleepyhead,” she whispered.

“Hi back at ya, whatcha doin’?”

“I couldn’t let you sleep all afternoon. Besides, I got bored after an hour of your snoring.”

I noticed her minty fresh breath as her mouth was just a couple inches from mine. I also noticed her breasts mashed against my side and my chest, and her left hand rested on my right pec. She continued talking.

“I was thinking about that guest room of yours. I sure don’t want to mess it up.”

My hand moved up to her face all by itself, and the back of my finger stroked her soft, fresh cheek.

“Really. And how would you mess it up?”

“Well, when I have really good sex, I thrash around a lot. Say, are your neighbors close? Cuz I make a lot of noise, too.”

I pondered that statement for a few moments. During those moments, my finger brushed over her lips.

“This little mouth? It gets too loud?”

“Sometimes, yeah.”

“Well, maybe I’ll just have to get a gag for you, then. They sell all that stuff on Amazon, ya know.”

“I’ve already got two,” she whispered. Her body pressed into me a little more. “But we can go shopping for other things, if you like.”

I slid my hand down her back, down to her sexy little butt. I tugged on it a little and she brought her thigh up over me.

“And these legs?” I asked. “They thrash around too much?”

“Sometimes… yes.” She kissed my freshly shaven jaw with her wet mouth.

“Have you got something for them, too?”

She kissed down my neck, then whispered, “Well, yes I do, as a matter of fact.”

“Did old Fuckless Wonder use these... things on you?”

She rose up a bit and faced me, her long black hair falling over me.

“Well. We tried, but he was never my Daddy. But you, James, are already ninety-percent there.”

I released her leg and put my hand on the side of her face, then turned her face so I could look into her eyes.

“Cassidy,” I whispered. “You are so beautiful.”

“Ninety-five, James.”

“Well then, I gotta get to a hundred, don’t I?”

She laughed a little as I pulled her in close, and our lips met in a soft, gentle kiss.

Oh, that first moment. That moment when your lips touch for the first time. It’s suddenly quiet, except for some tiny lip sounds. Then your mouths begin working together, tenderly opening a little and then closing. Your brain goes to jelly, and the next thing you know, you go to put your tongue in her mouth only to find hers is coming into yours and you think, this is how it’s supposed to be.

Our tongues danced slowly, twirling and whirling around each other. Somewhere in there, I had leaned into her and rolled her onto her back. We kissed longer, deeper, my hand gently resting on her cheek and jaw. My body about halfway on her, I crawled a little more and got more on top of her.

“James,” she whispered. “I think you just made it to a hundred.”

I had forgotten what we were talking about.

“A hundred what?”

“Silly old fart. One hundred percent of being my daddy.”

“Oh! Yeah, that. I’ll be your daddy, daddy of this.”

I put my hand right on her crotch and cupped her sex, carefully hiding behind a very thin layer of thong-fabric.

She sighed into my mouth, “Yes, Daddy, touch me... there… oh God.”

She moaned as I slipped my fingers underneath her thong. My fingers skimmed over her clit and then found her soft folds of skin, already sopping wet.

She drew in her breath quickly as my middle finger slipped inside her folds, entering her. We kissed like this for several minutes; long, deep kisses as I fingered her. Just as I slipped a second finger inside her, she stiffened, arched her back, and let out a small “cumming, daddy!” as she got noticeably wetter.

I kissed her neck, allowing her to recover as she wasn’t able to form her mouth into a proper kiss. After a minute or so, she rolled into me, holding me tight. She lifted her leg over me and rubbed against my hard cock.

She reached down and felt him through my boxers. She whispered, “Let’s get this guy out for some fun.”

“Wait,” I said, taking her hand and pulling it away from me.

She looked at me quizzically. “What? I mean, it’s obviously working. You aren’t nervous…”

“Cass… I don’t know how to say this without sounding like an ass. But… if we make love… you will fall in love with me, and I want you to be ready for that. And I want to make sure you’re the right one for me.”

She stared at me for several moments before she spoke.

“Well, I have heard some whoppers before, but this one takes the cake! Aren’t you thinking maybe a little too much of yourself there, Tex?”

“Cass, I just mean… in your state of being right now… you’re rather fragile. And yeah, I’m pretty good with… stuff…”

As I said that, I slipped my hand under her thong again. She involuntarily stiffened and arched her back.

“See? You’re very vulnerable right now. I don’t want to take advantage of you.”

“You asshole, you just think you’re all that, don’t you. Just give me two… um…”

I pushed two fingers inside her vagina, and curled them forward as my palm mashed her clit.

“Two what?” I teased. “Two fingers?”

“... Two… two minutes… so I can…prove... oh fuck… you win… oh, Jesus…”

I pinched her nipple as I added a third finger inside her pussy. She screamed as she orgasmed. I held her as she came back down, lightly kissing her shoulder and neck.

“You do make a lot of noise,”

“Fuck,” she whispered. “What are you doing to me?”

“Just seeing what you’re made of.”

She reached down and grabbed my hard cock inside my boxers. “I want this. You better give it up soon, you old fart, or I’m just gonna take it.”

I spanked her bottom. “I think you’ll be ready by tonight.”

- - -

We finally got back to my place about eight o’clock that night. I showed Cassidy the guest room, she just shrugged and went right past it with her bags of clothes. My master bedroom closet was not even half full of my clothes and she just started hanging things up in there.

“So… I guess we will keep the guest room for guests?”

“Yeah,” she replied matter-of-factly. In a few short minutes, she was mostly unpacked and even putting a few of her knick-knacks around.

“Can I put this picture of my folks somewhere?”

“Of course! You want it like, on the dresser or on the wall somewhere?”

“Really? The wall would be okay? Fuckless didn’t like it out, said it made him uncomfortable.”

We decided to hang it in the kitchen, near the pictures of my kids and wife.

“Well that’s about it, I guess.”

I opened my arms, she came in for a hug. “You’re amazing, Cassie. Only twenty minutes in and you've made this house a home again.”

“Are we going too fast, James? Is all of this… is it okay? Because, honestly, you just seem to… I dunno… fit with me somehow. You fit me perfectly.”

I looked into her eyes, her dark brown pools melted my heart. “I just… I’m just afraid you’re going to break my heart. I’m falling for you, Cassie. Maybe it’s going fast, but it’s okay with me. Just…” I turned my head and looked down.

“Hey… James, Daddy. These feelings I have. They are romantic feelings. It’s not gratitude or whatever. It’s not like I feel I owe you something. It’s like, well I can tell you are a special man, and you take care of what is yours. And I want to make you happy, be happy with me.”

We looked at each other, searching each other’s eyes. All I could see was love and compassion. And a little moisture, too. My eyes were a bit damp, also. It had been a long time since I had felt these kinds of feelings, and these were big feelings.

“Cass, honey. I’ve noticed you’ve stopped swearing.”

“Really? I guess I have. Maybe I don’t need to anymore.”

“Well, I was just thinking, I want to hear you say the “f” word a few more times.”

“Yeah?” she asked suggestively, pushing her body against mine. “Are you going to fucking take me to our bed? Are we going to fuck? Will you fuck me with that cock of yours?”

“Fuck, yes!”

I picked her up and carried her to our bedroom. This was what I needed, this was why I was dragging my feet with the sex. It wasn’t for her benefit, it was for mine. I knew that if we made love, I would fall so deep for her. Now, I trusted that she had real feelings for me, that I wasn’t just a rebound of some kind.

- - -

“Mmmm…” she purred. “It’s nice to touch him without your boxers on.”

“Your hand feels so good, Cass.” She gripped him nice and hard, slowly stroking me up and down. The first droplets of pre-cum appeared, and she rubbed them over my cock and down the shaft.

“I’ve been wanting to get this guy in my mouth all day, James.”

She lowered her head, and her tongue connected with my mushroom head. I groaned as her mouth quickly engulfed him, and she slowly worked farther down my shaft.

She pushed my shoulders so that I laid back on the bed and pillows. Her breasts crushed into my thighs, she saw how much I liked that and dragged them over my cock. She held one large breast and dragged the nipple up and down my main vein. That pushed another droplet of pre-cum out, which she quickly rubbed into her nipple. Rising up, she smirked lasciviously at me as she pushed that breast to her mouth and ran her tongue over her wet nipple.

“Mmmm,” she purred. “Salty.”

“It’s going to get a lot saltier if you keep doing that,” I warned.

“You mean… this?”

And without breaking eye contact, she took my cock in her mouth again… and went down to the root. She moaned as my cock banged into her throat, and I felt her adjust so it could enter her throat.

Fuck, my wife could never do this…

Cassie rose up and down several times, then pulled her head off completely. Long strings of drool connected to my cock from her lips, then she spat more saliva on my cock so that it ran down and collected on my balls.

She reached up and stroked my hard cock as she took one of my testicles in her mouth and sucked gently. It felt so fucking good, her hot mouth rolling my balls around. She really knew her way around down here, I had to admit.

Then, she licked my lower shaft, below my balls. Pushing my legs up and apart, she pushed her face deeper and lower, and lower still. I jumped a bit as her tongue touched my asshole, no one had ever touched me there before, let alone with a hot sensual tongue! I moaned her name as she continued to stroke my cock and rim my asshole.

“Cassidy… baby… you’re making me… I’m gonna… very soon…”

She laughed and traded places with her hand, engulfing my cock with her mouth while tickling my asshole. I only lasted a few more moments.

From deep within me, I felt it rising fast until my cock exploded in exquisite ecstasy… and poured right into Cassidy’s throat. She swallowed several times, then kept sucking as she slowly extricated my cock from her mouth. She looked at me as she licked her lips.

“I think I got all of it, Daddy.”

It was only then I noticed her finger was in my asshole, maybe a little past the first knuckle. She took it out and licked it too.

Okay, that’s the second and third thing my wife would never do. What else is going to make the list!

“Honey,” I said softly to Cass. “I’m going to need a little while before I can go again, I think. It’s… it’s been a long time since I’ve gone twice.”

She crawled up and kissed me deeply. I held her close to me, not wanting to let go. I suddenly felt beyond attracted to this woman, I felt attached. Which was pretty crazy, considering we didn’t really know each other yet. But I could tell, I could just feel, that this was something that could really be special. I wanted it to be special, I needed that from her.

So don’t fuck it up!

We kissed for a couple more minutes, her passion rising the entire time.

“Oh!” she exclaimed suddenly, startling me. “You damn men! Why do we always have to wait for you guys!”

“Oh, pipe down! You’ll get fucked soon enough. In the meantime, though, why don’t you crawl up here… yeah, put your knees to the side of my head… like that… and lower your... mmmpphbh-so-idndph.”

Her dripping wet pussy landed squarely on my mouth as I continued to speak in muffled tones. My wife used to love that vibration from my lips onto her pussy. Cassidy seemed to enjoy it too, so I kept mumbling as I licked her frantically. Her juices flowed down onto my face, I couldn’t drink her fast enough. Her wet nectar soon covered my lips, then my nose and cheeks as she dragged her naughty cunt over my entire face.

“Come on, baby,” I encouraged. “Use my fucking face. Grind on me like the slut you want to be.”

And she did, she ground her pussy into my stiffened lips and extended tongue until she was panting like a marathon runner.

“Give it to me, bitch!” I ordered during a rare moment when my mouth was free. Her pussy returned with a vengeance, though, and she came hard within moments.

“Oh my… fucking Gaaaaaawwwddddd!!”

Cassie semi-collapsed on me and leaned against the wall and pillows for a few moments, trying to catch her breath.

“Daddy… that was… I mean I never…”

“Mmoooommph, morpphkopnhh!”

She raised up a little. “I’m so sorry! Are you okay? I wasn’t—“

“Get up there and do it again… now! Come on! Fuck my face, bitch!”

I really wasn’t sure what got into me. I just wanted her to cum really hard, I guess. My cock was getting hard again but he wasn’t quite there yet.

Cassie hurriedly sat on my face again and immediately began grinding on me one more time. It only took her a couple of minutes before she started bucking on me again, her orgasm wracking her body. She began her dismount but I grabbed her thighs and held her in place. She leaned against the wall as I went to town on her pussy, alternately licking and sucking her clitoris as she came in almost continuous orgasm.

She finally collapsed after a few minutes of that, slumping off toward the middle of the bed. Completely fired up now, I grabbed her legs and spread them, entering her body in one swift stroke.

Being the first pussy I had had in years, I went into full euphoric mode immediately. I sank my shaft into her fully and lay my total weight on top of her. The glorious feeling of her liquid velvet pussy gripping my cock was so intense I just had to stay still for a few moments. I think Cassie enjoyed the brief respite.

It’s a cool thing to have a woman lick your face, and Cassie cleaned me up pretty well. She kissed me hard, and it was only then I noticed the tears on her cheeks.

“Are you okay, hon?” I whispered.

She nodded. “Just some tears of joy, emotional release, I guess. I’ve… never had anyone do that to me before.”

I couldn’t help but tease her. “Well if it bothered you so much we don’t have to —“

She kissed me hard and started fucking her hips up into me, indicating it was time for some serious get-down action.

We fucked. We made love. I pounded her out. She thrust up into me as hard as I thrust deep into her.

My sweat gathered, then dropped onto her body as I fucked her from a raised position. She leaned up and buried her head in my hairy chest, smearing her face in my sweat.

Her pussy clenched and spawned regularly as I fucked her as hard as I could. When her nails dug and scratched into my back, I felt her fingers get wet with my blood. I raised up again to look at her; she licked her wet fingers. I slapped her face, hard, and fell back on top of her, kissing her as much as I could. Her mouth tasted of copper…

My orgasm came on strong and fast. I screamed as I shot hot jets of semen into her womb, again, and again, and some more… Cassie grabbed my head and she nearly ripped out some of my hair as her final orgasm tore through her. I pinched her nipples and slapped her tits as she came all over my cock. I don’t know why I did that, but it seemed to prolong her orgasm.

We both lay there on the wet sheets, utterly spent, drenched in each other’s sweat, unable to speak properly… and deliriously happy. We kissed and slid our bodies around on each other, and when some semen leaked out onto me she quickly slurped it up and swallowed it.

As time went on, we didn’t always fuck like that. But we made it a point to have a big Saturday night session where we experimented with many different methods of driving each other crazy.

And we lived happily ever after.

.

.

.

Except, not really. We also lived in the real world.

- - -

Six months later

“Cass, honey, come on. It’s time to go.” I held her jacket, ready to go.

“I told you, my foot hurts. It hurts really bad. I‘m not fucking going.”

I shook my head, she had been fighting me all morning. “Cass, please, I don’t know if the university will let you reschedule again.”

“Look, just ‘cuz it’s phantom pain doesn’t mean it isn’t real pain. I told you, it hurts like a bitch.”

“Well,” I struggled for something to say. “Sit down and put your legs up, I’ll rub your leg like you showed me—“

“Stop it!” Cassie screamed. “Go… fucking drive your car or something. Just stop being so nice to me!”

It was shaping up to be another one of those days, those dark days. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the first one we had together. Cassidy wouldn’t go to the VA hospital, wouldn’t join any of the support groups. She didn’t want to… stir up old feelings, I guess. But she had so much unresolved conflict and anger. She needed more help, and I wasn’t equipped for that.

I had done some research on her old unit, they had a Facebook group page where they kept in touch. Cassidy, however, wouldn’t join Facebook. So after she missed today’s appointment with the Dean of Admissions, I went out to my car and logged in, sent some private messages, and made a phone call. A week later, we had a visitor.

- - -

“Thompson?” Cassidy roared incredulously as I opened the door the next Saturday morning. “Ball Sack Thompson? What in the actual fuck are you doing here?”

Mike Thompson’s mom was an English teacher, and had given her son the middle name Balzac, hence the nickname.

Cassie rose from the couch tentatively as Mike strode across the room. He picked her up in a big bear hug as she pounded on his back. Eventually, he set her back down.

“It’s great to see you, Mikey! This here is James, we are… hanging out.”

“Great meeting you, Mike.” We smiled and shook hands warmly. “I’m glad you could stop by. Let me get your bag.”

Cassie shot me a glance, realizing this wasn’t anything accidental. This was a setup.

As I put his bag in the guest room, I could hear the two talking about where Mike was living now and how he and his wife were expecting in a few months. They chatted more as I got them a couple of beers from the fridge. Then, the chatter died down as I returned.

Cassie stared at me as I handed her the bottle of beer, the look in her eye wasn’t all that friendly.

“Cassie, sweetheart. Mike here, um, well he wanted to make sure you were okay and all. You see, well obviously you know about PTSD. He has some issues that revolve around that day—“

“Oh shit!” Cassie roared as she jumped up and grabbed Mike by his lapels and then hugged him. She burst out crying for quite a while.

“Mike, oh my god I’m so sorry! I never thought of you! Of the effect this must have had on you! Oh shit… Mike, I’m fine! Look at me! Oh shit, I am SO sorry.”

“Cassie, I…” Mike faltered a bit. “I thought I ruined your life. I mean, you know, battlefield surgery isn’t something I was prepared for. I never heard from you, I thought you were mad at me for… what I did.”

“Jesus, Mike. I asked you to do it! You saved my life that day! You didn’t ruin anything! That .51 caliber was hitting us hard—“

I told them I’d be back in a couple of hours, Cassie dismissed me with a wave of her hand as they began dissecting that day Mike had to amputate her foot.

So, I only lied a little bit. Mike was having some issues coming to terms with that fateful day, but he probably would have soldiered on in private until I asked him to come by.

Later that night, Cassie snuggled up on me hard as we got into the bed.

“You,” she intoned ominously. “You are one sneaky son of a bitch. You think you’re pretty smart, don’t you.”

I smiled at her. “Well, I do have my moments.”

“You’re something else. By trying to convince him how good I was and how wonderful my life is even without a foot, I kind of convinced myself. Kind of.”

“He’s a good guy, Cass. He was really worried about you and had tried to get in contact with you but he couldn’t find you. So… yeah, I found him instead and he was tickled to death to come see you. He looked very relieved.”

“So, mister smarty pants,” she whispered as she kissed my neck. “You think you fixed me all up now?”

“No, I don’t. Honey, you were never broken. But you took some emotional damage and… maybe now you can address it.”

She kissed me on the lips as her bare breasts pressed into my chest. “I’m sorry for last week, telling you to stop being so nice to me. I didn’t mean it.”

“I know… hey, it’s okay.”

I wiped a couple of tears from her cheeks, but she made more so I kissed them. She hugged me so tightly I had to pull her arms back a little so she wouldn’t hurt my neck. She adjusted herself so she sat squarely on top of me, my cock easily sliding up into her wet sex.

“Oh… Daddy…” she purred as her pussy engulfed my cock completely.

She arched her back, sending her breasts into my face. I greedily sucked both of them hard, taking fast turns on one and then the other.

“You… you really love me, don’t you James?”

“Yeah, like I’ve been saying for the last six months.”

“I know, I just had a hard time grasping the fact that… well… that I could be loved like this… you know, considering.”

She kissed me tenderly, then whispered, “Thank you, James. For this, for Mike… whoa!”

I quickly reversed our position, rolling her onto her back while keeping her penetrated. My bodyweight settled on her, pushing my cock as deep as it could go inside her.

Her legs wrapped around mine, and she moaned softly.

“Hey,” I whispered. “Keep it down! We can’t have a Saturday Night Special with Mike in the house!”

“Well then make love to me, Daddy.”

The love we both felt for each other overpowered us, and we both cried a little when it was over.

As we spooned in our post-orgasmic bliss, Cassie asked me a question.

“Will we live happily ever after, James?”

I kissed her neck softly, then whispered in her ear.

“We have a chance at it, Cassie. I will do my absolute damnedest to make you happy.”

She pushed her ass back at me, my cock slipping around between her soft cheeks. I felt a tingle… then my cock began to slowly expand.

“Me too,” she whispered.

~~~~~

My deepest thanks and respect to those who have served in the Allied Armed Forces.

Credit to Mel for editing about half the story.