I’ve never been a big fan of horror movies. It’s not that I scare easily, but they just don’t do much for me. I will say, though, that the scariest movie I ever saw when I was a kid, was a film called “Poltergeist.” It came out when I was about thirteen or fourteen, and it frightened the shit out of me when I first saw it. It’s about a bunch of people living in a housing estate that’s been built on an old cemetery, and in the big finale, there is this huge storm, and coffins start popping up out of the ground, and the lids flying open, with skeletons in ragged, rotting clothes start falling out, and it’s a shocker!

Years later, as an adult, I was at the video store one day, and they were selling off a lot of their old ex-rental VHS movies, and I found an old copy of “Poltergeist” on the rack, for two bucks. I bought it, and took it home, but I never got around to watching it again. That was about a year before my marriage broke up.

I’ve got to say one thing here, and that is, divorce sucks. I guess I didn’t need to tell you that. It’s one of those things in life that’s self-evident, like, the Pope’s a Catholic, or, Queen Elizabeth believes in the monarchy, so everybody knows it and doesn’t really think about it, but it’s only when you go actually go through the three-dimensional trauma of ending a marriage, that you realise just how much divorce sucks.

When my marriage finally ended, everybody got something. My now ex-wife got the house, and the kids, the lawyers got a chunk of money, and I got the privilege of continuing to pay the mortgage on said house, and the honour of having said kids over every second weekend and half of each school holiday period, plus the right to pay a further chunk of money in child support until our youngest child turned eighteen. I certainly didn’t begrudge supporting my two children, but considering I wasn’t the one in the marriage that was fucking every deadshit in town, except for her lawfully wedded husband, I kind of thought there were certain fairness issues about the whole thing. Then again one of the many things I had learnt in nineteen years as a cop, was that life isn’t always fair.

Now that I was suddenly single, I had to find a place to live, and I was lucky enough to have a work colleague with a spare room for me to stay in for a while, but he made it clear the arrangement could only be temporary, or else his marriage may end up on the rocks, too. I did the rounds of the local real estate agents, trying to get something to rent, but the story was the same everywhere. Ever since a new university campus had been opened in the city, rental accommodation was as scarce as hens’ teeth, and I was beginning to wonder if I’d ever find a place. One afternoon, in my lunch break, I slipped out to visit the last real estate agent in town, just down from the police station, to try my luck there.

The tenancy manager was a middle aged lady, who told me the same story I’d heard every other place I’d been to, but after I told her my situation, she sighed sympathetically, looked at my police uniform shirt, and seemed to look hard at my shoulder patches, as though she was thinking. “Look,” she said, “I like to help the boys in blue wherever I can, so I may be able to help you out. I can’t guarantee anything, though.”

“I’m ready to try anything,” I said.

“I’ve got a friend,” the lady started, “and she has a granny flat at her place. She asked me for some advice a while back, about renting it out. She’s a single mother with a couple of kids, and the flat’s just sitting there, so she thought she might be able to rent it out for a little extra money. How about I give her a ring and get back to you?”

I told her I’d appreciate if she could do that, and I headed back to work. Later that afternoon, I got a call from a lady, giving her name as Vicky, and she said she’d had a call from the real estate agent, about renting her granny flat out. I asked her if she was interested in letting me rent it from her, and she said, “Why don’t you come over this evening and we can talk about it?” I took down the address, and I said, “See you there.”

A little after five, I drove over to the address, and my knock was answered by Vicky, who greeted me with, “Hi, I’m Vicky Campbell. You must be Sergeant Strong.”

“Craig,” I answered, “Please, call me Craig.” She offered me a handshake, and when I had a good look at her, I realised she was rather hot, but in a wholesome, approachable way. I was guessing she was maybe mid-thirties, and she had long, wavy dark hair, and a pretty face, and her figure was slim but curvy. She was dressed in a pair of snug-fitting blue jeans, and a beige coloured, knitted top.

She took me inside her house, and over a cup of coffee, we discussed the granny flat she had for rent, and a few other things. Vicky told me she had two kids, one boy and one girl, but she didn’t elaborate on how old they were, and I saw no need to ask. After we finished our coffee, she said, “I suppose I’d better show you the granny flat, and you can tell me what you think.”

Vicky took me around to the side of her house, and showed me the granny flat, built onto the house, but with it’s own front and back door, and fully self-contained. It was small, with one bedroom, a small kitchenette, a combined living/dining room, and it’s own bathroom, and the back door led out into Vicky’s back yard. I needed somewhere, and this place was too good to pass up in the circumstances, so we settled on a hundred bucks a week, and I told her I’d take it.

“When do you want to move in?” Vicky asked, and I said, “I’m off duty tomorrow. How about I move straight in?” The deal was done. I’d moved out of my marital home with very little in the way of household belongings, so next day, I bought a furniture package from a discount store, and after they delivered it, I set about turning the granny flat into a home. I’d bought a double bed, and a dresser, along with a three-seater couch that folded down to a double bed, thinking that when my two kids came over for access visits, they could sleep in the double bed, and I’d have the fold-down couch. By the time I added a coffee table, and a few other items, like a TV and cheap stereo system, I had the place pretty liveable. I was quite pleased with myself, and I spent my first night there, sleeping peacefully in my new, if slightly spartan, “bachelor pad.”

Next morning, I woke up with another day off, and seeing it was Saturday, I had a relaxing breakfast, and sat on the back step of my flat, to finish off my cup of tea.The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and I sat there, taking it all in, and I heard a voice say, “You must be Sergeant Strong.”

I looked up, and there was a young, teenaged girl, standing a few feet away, looking down at me as I sat on the step. She was petite, with a curvy figure, brown eyes, and wavy, ash-blonde hair, but apart from her light hair, she had a particular resemblance to Vicky, my new landlord. She was wearing a tank top, with horizontal stripes in rainbow colours, a pair of denim shorts, and sandals. She was a pretty little thing, I had to give her that.

“And you must be Vicky’s daughter,” I said, standing up from the step and setting my cup down on an outdoor table.

“I’m Krista,” she said, offering me a handshake, just as her mother had done.

“My name’s Craig,” I said, accepting her handshake, “I moved in here yesterday.”

“Well, Mum was right,” she said, giving me a grin, “She told me you were good looking. She was right about that.”

“Does you mother know where you are?” I asked, trying to deflect her obvious attempt at flirting.

“I’m sixteen years old, Craig,” she said, meeting me head-on, “My mother doesn’t need to know where I am at all times.”

“Fair enough,” I said, with a chuckle, “You just can’t be too careful these days.”

“Your name suits you,” Krista said, “You look pretty strong. I’ll bet you look good in your uniform, too.”

I realised this was not an appropriate conversation to be having, so I said, “Krista, you’ll have to excuse me, but I’ve got a few things to attend to. I’d better get back inside. Okay?”

“I guess I’ll be seeing you round,” Krista said, and as I returned to walk inside, she added, “I’m looking forward to getting to know you.” I went inside, but a couple of times during the day, I got a mental picture of that hot little body in those shorts and tank top. What a little heart-breaker! I thought to myself.

The back door of the granny flat was a sliding door, made of glass, and it looked out into Vicky’s back yard. The next morning was a Sunday, of course, and in the mid-morning, while I was tidying the place, I looked out the back door, to see Krista lying on a deck chair, in a black bikini. She had a big pair of sunglasses on, and although her bikini was not the briefest I’d seen, it was wrapped around a curvy sixteen-year old body, so seeing her like that made me take a long, hard look.

I went back to what I was doing, and a few minutes later, I heard a tap at the door. I looked over, and Krista was standing there outside my glass door, in that little black bikini, holding a bottle of suntan lotion in her right hand. I slid the door open, and Krista said, “Hi, Craig. Can I ask you a favour?” I looked at the suntan lotion, and I knew what she was going to ask, so making a distinct effort not to let my eyes stray to her cleavage, I said, “What would you like me to do?”

“Can you be a gentleman, and put some suntan lotion on my back. I don’t want to risk getting sunburn,” she said, tilting her head, and smiling at me.

“Krista,” I said, “I really don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why?” she said, “It’s only a little suntan lotion.”

“Why do you think?” I asked. I tried to give her the look I give suspects when I think they’re bullshitting me.

“I don’t know,” she answered right back, undeterred, “You tell me.”

“Because you’re sixteen, and I’m thirty-nine,” I said, trying to be firm, but gentle, “I don’t think I need to explain any further.”

“Sixteen, thirty-nine,” Krista repeated, “They’re just numbers.”

“They’re very important numbers, Krista,” I said, still trying to be firm, “One day, you’ll understand.”

“You’re a cop, Craig,” she persisted, “So, I couldn’t be in safer hands, could I?”

“Okay,” I said, shaking my head, then looking around, “but only in the back yard, where everyone can see us.”

“You’re no fun,” Krista replied, but she walked over to the deck chair, with her bottom wiggling impudently in that black bikini, and she lay face down, handing me the bottle. I rubbed some lotion onto her back, being as quick as I could about it, but the truth was, if I admitted it to myself, that I could have mauled that little body for hours. “That was quick,” Krista said, as I put the lid back on the lotion, and put it down beside the chair.

“In my line of work, you learn to get the job done fast,” I said, giving her a little smile, and I excused myself, and went back inside. Hours later, I could still feel that firm little body, when I thought about rubbing that lotion on her, and don’t think I didn’t replay it through my mind once or twice.

Over the next day or so, I met Vicky’s other child, a little boy called Richie. He told me he was six, and a few times later on over the following days, I saw Krista playing in the back yard with him. He looked a lot like her, and it was obvious they were close, as brother and sister, despite the age gap. Krista continued to flirt with me, but only when her mother wasn’t around, so I made a point of not being alone with her. Even so, there were times when the occasional scenario came to mind, where I was alone with her, and I did more than just put suntan lotion on her back.

Life went on, and I settled into my new life, living in Vicky’s granny flat, having my two kids over on access visits, and after a while I didn’t see much of Krista. I guessed she had found something or someone better to occupy herself, and one payday, I went to Vicky’s door to pay my rent money, and we had a little conversation on her doorstep. While we were talking, a Daewoo sedan stopped outside, and the driver tooted the horn twice, and moments later, Krista burst out the door between us, saying, “Coming through, coming through. Gotta go. See ya.”

She was half way down the driveway, and Vicky said, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Krista turned, and said, “Oh, Hi Craig.”

Vicky continued to look at her expectantly, and after a moment, Krista said, “Oh, sorry!” She zipped over, and kissed her mother on the cheek, and said, “We won’t be long. I’ll be back in a couple of hours.” She turned, and walked quickly down the driveway, and with a quick glance over her left shoulder, she said, “See ya, Craig,” and then trotted to the passenger’s door of the Daewoo, jumped in, and the car drove away.

“Krista’s got her first boyfriend,” Vicky said, watching the car drive away, “I think this is where my hair starts turning grey.” She gave me a wry look, and said, “Terry’s his name. He seems nice enough, but young girls and young guys, you know what I mean.”

“I think I do,” I said, not really knowing what to say.

“She’s pretty grown up, though,” Vicky added, “and she turns seventeen in a couple of months, anyway. I think she’ll be okay.”

You don’t know the half of it, I thought to myself. Over the next few months, I’d see Terry’s Daewoo parked outside Vicky’s house when I came home from work, from time to time, and once or twice, I saw her walking with him in the street, when I was driving around in a police car on duty. I thought it was good to see she’d found someone her own age, and I didn’t pay it much attention after that.

In early October, I was out in a police car, working with a young rookie called Sylvia, and when lunchtime rolled around, she told me she wanted to go through the drive through at McDonalds, to get some lunch. As we pulled up at the window, I noticed the kid working there was wearing a Frankenstein mask. “What’s the story with the mask?” I asked Sylvia, when she’d been served.

“Halloween, Sarge,” she said, looking at me as though I didn’t know anything, “You’ve gotta get with the times.”

“I don’t get this Halloween thing,” I said, “We never used to have it here in Australia when I was a kid, but I’d see it on American TV shows, and movies all the time. I always thought it was just some eccentric American idea.” I looked at the pictures of ghouls and ghosts, and the spooky writing on the box with Sylvia’s lunch in it, and I added, “Now, every year, all these companies are promoting it, and you get kids trick or treating and stuff. I’ve never understood what it’s all about.”

“Haven’t you ever gone trick or treating?” Sylvia asked.

“Never,” I answered, “It never went on when I was a kid. Only on TV.”

“Then, you haven’t lived,” Sylvia said, with a little chuckle.

Two weeks later, it was a Friday evening, and I was due to start another four-day break in the morning. I’d had a long day at work, and I was planning a quiet night at home. Not that I could afford a wild social life anyway, between paying a mortgage on the house my ex-wife lived in, and paying child support, but tonight I was planning to kick back and relax.

I heard a knock at my door, and when I opened it, I saw Richie, dressed as a little vampire, accompanied by Krista, who had recently turned seventeen, dressed as a wicked witch. She had a black dress on, with a pointed hat, and a stick-on, fake pointy nose, and black boots with big silver buckles, and it was obvious the witch outfit was meant for a girl a couple of sizes smaller than she was. “Trick or treat!” Richie said, as I opened the door.

“Aren’t you a little old for this?” I said, looking at Krista.

“Mummy said I couldn’t go trick or treating unless Krista comes with me,” Richie explained, and Krista looked at me with her eyebrows raised, and an expression that said, There’s your answer.

“Well, isn’t she a good sister, helping her little brother out like that?” I said, to Richie, but Krista answered, looking at me with a deadpan face, enunciating every word carefully, “Do you have any idea how stupid I feel, dressed like this?”

“I thought you looked kinda cute,” I said, trying to sound as patronising as I could.

“Oh, so I’m cute now?” Krista said, stepping forward, and smiling at me.

“Mummy rented these clothes at the costume shop,” Richie added, and I looked at his empty basket. “You haven’t done very well with your trick or treating,” I said.

“You’re the first person we’ve tried it with,” Krista said, “We’re just starting. We’re rookies at this,” she said, smiling at her own use of police jargon.

I went back inside, and I found a packet of caramels and a box of Minties. I hadn’t thought about trick or treating since the discussion in the car with Sylvia, so I had nothing else to offer, and I took a pathetic handful of sweets out to Richie, and put them in his basket. I was about to apologise for my meagre offering, but he looked like I’d dropped a hundred dollar note in there, and he said, “Thanks, Mr Strong,” showing his basket to Krista.

“Well, we better get going,” Krista said, and she added more quietly, “and get this over with.”

“Have a good night, Samantha,” I said, “or it is it Endora?”

“Watch it,” Krista said, brandishing her magic wand at me, “or I’ll turn you into an orang-utan. I can do that, you know.”

“Who knows? I might like being an orang-utan,” I retorted.

“Not if I make you an orang-utan with self esteem issues,” she said, and as Richie tugged at her sleeve, they turned to go. “See you later,” she said to me as they left. I watched them walking down the driveway, and it occurred to me that Krista’s witch’s dress, being too small for her, was like a mini skirt, showing off her shapely legs. I wondered if Vicky had realised what she’d look like in it when she hired it.

I went back inside, and cooked myself some dinner, then tidied up. I was a little conscious that I had two milestones in my life, coming up. Firstly, I was due to turn forty in November, and a month after that, I’d have twenty years in The Job. I had no plans of leaving the force just yet, but I was thinking, This is not how I saw myself at age forty.

After dinner I decided to watch a little television, but one look at the TV guide showed there was nothing much worth watching on that night. I decided to look through my DVD’s for something light-hearted, that didn’t require too much mental effort, and I found a copy of “Sleepless In Seattle,” that I didn’t even realise I had. It must have got mixed in with the stuff I took with me when I moved out of my house, but it seemed to be the sort of movie I was looking for, so I started watching it.

About halfway through the movie, there was a knock at my door. I stopped the movie, and answered the knock, to find Krista standing outside, still wearing her witch’s outfit, but without the pointy nose and the black hat. It was now dark outside, and Krista said, “Hey, Craig.” She stepped in my door without waiting for an invitation, and it was then that I noticed she had ditched the big black witch’s boots, and was now wearing black heels. They were emphasising the sexy shape of her legs, and she walked past me, looked around herself, and said, “What’re you up to?”

“Watching a movie,” I said, thinking it wasn’t a good idea for her to be in here alone like this.

“You really live an exciting life,” she said, smiling at me. She went over and sat on the middle cushion of my three-seater couch, and said, “I got a bit bored, thought I’d come and see what you’re doing.”

“How was the trick or treating?” I asked.

“Richie did okay,” she said, “He’s next door, working on his tooth decay as we speak.”

“You probably shouldn’t be here,” I said.

“Why?” Krista asked, as though we’d never talked about this before.

“Does your mother know where you are?” I asked.

“Mum’s getting lucky tonight, if you know what I mean,” she said, smiling up at me from the couch, “She’s got this on-again, off-again boyfriend, called Dallas.” She sat back, sitting with her legs open, so I could see her black lace panties, under that too-small witch’s dress, and she said, “At the moment, it’s on-again.” She sighed, and added, “I think Dallas is having a sleepover tonight. My mother is occ-upied.”

“Krista,” I said, using my firm but gentle voice, “You should sit like a lady.”

“You shouldn’t be looking,” she answered back. She had a challenging look on her face.

“Krista, I’ve been cross-examined by experts in my time, so don’t try and play word games with me,” I said, trying to sound firm again, “and if you are going to come in here and talk to me, don’t go flaunting yourself like that.”

“Oooooh!” Krista said, “I love it when you get all authoritarian like that. It sends chills down my spine.” She drew her knees together, and said, “I’ve got this fantasy. Do you want to hear about it?”

“I’ve got a feeling you’re going to tell me anyway, so I may as well say ‘yes,” I said. I sat on a kitchen chair, across the room from Krista, on the couch.

“I’ve got this fantasy that you arrest me for something,” Krista said, “and you’ve gotta frisk me. You know, up against the wall, searching me for concealed weapons and stuff. Really thorough. Every little nook and cranny.”

I couldn’t help smiling, but I kept up my firm, policeman’s voice, and I said, “Well sorry to bust your bubble, but that’ll have to remain a fantasy. You see, you’re a juvenile female, so if I arrested you, I’d have to get a female officer to search you.” I let that sink in for a moment, and added, “And I’d make sure I got the biggest, ugliest, most intimidating female cop I could find to do it. You never know, she might even enjoy it.”

“Eww!” Krista answered, distastefully, “I think you’ve just saved me from a life of crime.” She turned around on the couch, so her head was now resting on the armrest to my right, and lifted her feet onto the other end, showing off those high heels, and she said, “Just changing the subject a little,” pausing to smooth her dress down over her thighs, “Tonight, you told me I was cute.”

“Yes,” I said, speaking in a matter-of-fact voice, “But I meant ‘cute’ like a little girl wearing a wicked witch’s outfit.”

“You still said it,” Krista persisted.

“What happened to Terry?” I asked, trying to turn the discussion away from what I’d said earlier.

“Oh, Terry,” Krista said, dismissively, “He’s old news. History. Ancient history in fact.”

“Well, why can’t you get another boy your own age?” I asked.

“Been there, done that,” Krista said, “But that’s the whole point. They’re boys. They don’t know anything.” She sat up again, on the left cushion, and continued with, “But a guy like you on the other hand, would know how to treat a lady.”

I had to chuckle at Krista, all of seventeen, saying that. “How do you know anything about how I treat a lady?”

“My instincts tell me,” she replied, airily.

“Krista, I don’t think this is a good conversation for us to be having,” I said, but her reply was to look at the TV screen, and say, “What are you watching, anyway?”

She picked up the DVD cover from the coffee table, and looked at it, then, with mock sarcasm, she said, “Here we go.

Sergeant Craig Strong takes time out from his action-packed police schedule to watch, wait for it,” and she paused to turn the DVD cover around to show me, and said, “a chick movie.” She giggled at herself, and my choice of movie, and she put the DVD cover on the table, and she said, “What on earth were you doing, watching that?”

“I just felt like something light,” I said, with a little chuckle.

‘I thought you’d at least be watching “Die Hard,” or one of those Sylvester Stallone movies where he kicks the crap out of all the bad guys.” She shook her head, and said, “I’m really disappointed.”

“Sorry I shattered your illusions,” I said, still chuckling, myself.

“Actually,” Krista said, with something obviously going on in her head, “I’ve got an idea.”

“What’s that?” I asked.

“It’s Halloween,” she replied, “So, you should get in the spirit of things, and watch a horror movie with me.”

“Got none,” I said, “I’m not a big fan of horror movies.”

“That’s okay,” Krista answered, “We’ve got the ‘Nightmare On Elm Street’ boxed set next door. Every Freddy Krueger movie they ever made. Just the thing for Halloween viewing.” She stood up, and said, “How about I go and get them, and we can sit here in the dark and watch Freddy Krueger, and if you get too scared, you can hold on to me for reassurance.”

Suddenly, I had an idea. Krista was full of bravado, but I found myself wondering just how much of her was all talk. I remembered that when I unpacked my stuff, the day I moved in, I had come across my old copy of “Poltergeist,” and I’d put it with all my DVD’s. “How would you like to see something really scary?” I said.

“Like what?” Krista said, “I thought you didn’t have any scary movies.”

“I just remembered I’ve got one old one here,” I said, kneeling down, to reach into the cupboard under my TV stand, and I looked through the DVD’s and VHS movies in there, until I found “Poltergeist.” I took it out, and Krista took one look, and said, “What’s that?”

“A movie,” I answered, like it was obvious.

“Is it black and white?” Krista asked, “It looks old enough.” She was looking at it as though she thought it might jump out of my hand, and bite her.

“It’s a video tape,” I said, surprised she didn’t seem to know. “When I was your age, all movies were like this,” I added, slipping the tape from it’s cardboard cover. I had to connect up my old VHS player to the TV set, but within a minute, I had the movie started. I sat back on the left cushion of the three-seater couch, and Krista went to the light switch, and turned off the light, and as she sat on the right cushion, at the other end of the couch, slipping off her heels, she said, “You’ve gotta have the right atmosphere.”

In my police career, I’ve seen stuff in real life that’s as gruesome as any horror movie, but even so, some of the images in that old movie from the 1980’s are enough to send a chill down my spine, especially when you don’t see them coming. I’ve got to give Krista credit, it was twenty minutes or so into the move before she moved closer to me, and sat on the middle cushion of the couch, and a couple of times, she let out a scream, and covered her face. By the time the coffins started popping out of the ground, she was already holding onto my right arm, but when that first one popped up, and fell open, with a rag-clad skeleton bouncing out, she screamed, and literally jumped off the couch, to straddle my right thigh, with her back to the TV, burying her face into my right shoulder. “Omigod! Turn it off!” she wailed, throwing her right arm around my chest, “That’s terrible! Turn it off.”

I grabbed the remote, and hit “pause” instead of “stop,” unintentionally freezing the frame on a hideous close-up image of a decayed skull, and still with her face pressed into my shoulder, Krista said, “Is it stopped?”

She turned to look over her right shoulder, and let out another scream when she saw the TV screen, once again burying her face against my chest. “Turn it off!” she said, her voice muffled by her mouth being pressed into my shirt. This time I grabbed the TV remote, switching the TV right off. The room went dark, and Krista lifted her face from my chest, and said, in a quiet voice, “Is it safe to look?”

“It’s only a movie,” I said, gently. I only meant to have a little fun with Krista, seeing she was talking big earlier on, and I felt a little guilty that I’d frightened the daylights out of her. “You okay?” I asked.

“Fuck, no!” Krista replied, and then, more quietly, she said, “Oops, sorry. I mean, no, Craig, I’m not all right.” With a giggle in her voice, she added, “That was the scariest thing I’ve ever seen.” She put her arms around my chest, still straddling my thigh, and said, “You better let me hold onto you till I get back to normal.”

This probably wasn’t the result I expected when I decided to show the old movie to Krista, but I was now sitting on my couch, alone, with a beautiful seventeen-year-old girl, who had both arms wrapped around me. I felt a hot wave of excitement going through me, and that lump in the throat feeling, but I had my arms down by my sides, avoiding, or more to the point, fighting off, my natural instinct to embrace this lovely body. For a few moments, we stayed like that, neither of us speaking, until Krista broke the silence. “For God’s sake, Craig,” she said, lifting her head from my chest, “Put your arms around me, and hold me. We both know where this is leading.”

“Krista,” I said, “we better stop this now, because we can’t do anything. You know that.”

“Why not?” she asked, “I’m legal, I’m not virgin, and I’m safe.”

I looked at her, unsure of which of those three things to address first, but before I spoke, Krista started again, and said, “Terry and I were doing it for months. Mum said it was better to be safe than sorry, and she took me to the doctor, and he put me on the pill.”

“Was Terry your first?” I said, not that it was any of my business.

“Yes,” she said, “He’s the only one so far, but I’m hoping that’ll change tonight.” She looked at my mouth, and said, “Are you going to kiss me, or do I have to help myself?” Without waiting for an answer, Krista kissed me on the mouth. It was a fairly brief, but very exciting, kiss, and she broke it, and drew her head back, looking at me for my reaction. I didn’t make her wait long. Consumed by a sudden, overwhelming desire for her, I moved my arms up, around Krista’s shoulders, and pulled her to myself, kissing her hot and hard on her pretty mouth, holding the kiss as long as I felt decent.

When I broke the kiss, Krista took a breath, and said, “So, I guess that’s your answer.” She began to shuffle around a little, so instead of straddling my right thigh, she was now straddling both my thighs, and facing me. “Are you sure you want to do this?” I asked, holding her sexy little body, letting my hands move to the small of her back.

“Of course I want to do this,” Krista whispered in the dark, kissing me once more, “I’ve wanted to do this for ages.”

“Once it’s done, it can’t be undone,” I said, as I felt the excitement welling up in me.

“Let’s just do it,” Krista responded. She moved in to kiss me again, and for the first time, our tongues met, as we kissed passionately, tasting and exploring each other’s mouths. We kissed like that for a few moments, and as we broke the sexy kiss, I took hold of the hem of Krista’s black, wicked witch dress, lifting it, and she took the weight on her own thighs, lifting her bottom so I could pull her dress up over her hips. Her black lace bikini pants were now exposed, and now that my eyes were adjusted to the darkness, I could see her properly. I reached down between Krista's legs, to brush against her pussy, feeling the warmth through the crotch of her panties.

“I’m all yours,” Krista whispered, “You’re the one with all the experience. You should take the lead, and show me what it’s like to do this with a man.”

“Let me take you into my room,” I said, “We can be more comfortable in there.”

“I want you to take charge,” Krista whispered, with her lips almost touching mine, “I want you to say, ‘I’m taking you to my room,’ not ‘Let me take you to my room.” I could hear the smile in her voice.

“Okay,” I said, “I’m going to take you to my room. Happy now?”

“Not as happy as I’m gonna be,” Krista said. She slipped back off me, and stood in front of me as I sat on the couch, and she said, “Come on, take me to your room.”

I stood up, and after what Krista had said about taking charge, I took hold of her, embracing her sweet, curvy body, and kissing her hard on the mouth. I felt a little shudder go through her body as I kissed her, and after breaking the kiss at my own leisure, I reached down abruptly, lifting her and throwing her over my right shoulder. “You’re coming to my room now, “ I said, as I started heading towards my bedroom door.

“This is what I meant by taking charge,” Krista said, bent over my shoulder with her head down near my lower back, as I strode the few steps to my bedroom door, and once inside, I stepped over, and set her down on her feet, at the foot of my double bed. I was now sizzling with the desire to possess this beautiful girl, to have her carnally, and so satisfy the overwhelming lust she had ignited in me, but I was also conscious that she was just that- a girl, and as much as she had invited me to “take charge,” I could not bring myself to just help myself to her body, plundering her sexually, without allowing her the option to set some boundaries.

I kissed Krista’s soft, sweet mouth, one more time, and I said, “Krista, you told me to ‘take charge,’ but this is about you, too. Okay” She nodded, but didn’t speak, and I said, “I’m going to take off your clothes, and put you on my bed, and I’m going to go down on you, but I’ll only do that if you feel comfortable with it.” I swallowed, and I added, “If I go down on you, and lick your pussy, it will give me a lot of excitement, and I think you’ll like it too, but I’ll only do it if you’re okay with it.”

“I’ve fantasised about you going down on me for months,” Krista said, “so I’m more than just okay with it.”

“I just don’t want you to feel like you’re being used,” I said, gently, holding Krista by her slender shoulders, “I want you to enjoy this, too.”

“Well, you better get my clothes off, then,” Krista said, “I’ll let you know if I feel uncomfortable, but I don’t think that’s gonna happen.” I undid the buttons at the front of Krista’s black wicked witch outfit, and slipped it over her shoulders, tossing it on the floor. In the moonlight coming though the window, I saw she was wearing a black sports bra, along with her black lace pants, and she looked down at her bra, and back up at me. I unclipped Krista’s bra, and slipped it off her, dropping it on the floor with her dress, and then I looked at her perky, firm, rounded breasts. “They’re lovely,” I said, as I gently fondled both breasts with my hands, stroking the nipples with my thumbs.

“They’re sensitive, too,” Krista whispered, looking down at her own breasts, then back up at me again. I bent down, gently kissing her right breast, then placing my lips over her nipple, and caressing it with my tongue. Krista took a sharp breath, and she shuddered again, and said, “That’s nice.”

I took my mouth from Krista’s pretty little breast, and I said, “I might spend some time on those later, but right now, I’m going to put you on my bed, and go down on you.”

Krista gave me an oddly solemn look, but did not speak, so I said, “I’m going to lick you on your pussy, Krista. I’m going to taste your clit, and I’m going to put my tongue up inside you. I’m telling you this so you know exactly what I’m going to do.”

“Well, someone’s gotta be the first,” she said, smiling mischievously.

“You mean nobody’s ever gone down on you?” I asked.

“Only you in my daydreams,” she said, still with that cute little smile.

“So, you’ve got no problem with me kissing you, and tasting the most private part of your body?” I asked, “It’s very intimate.”

I saw Krista swallow, and she said, “I want it, just like I want you.” I scooped her up in my arms, and carried her around to the side of my double bed, and placed her down on her back. I slipped her black lace panties off, and she assisted by lifting her bottom, looking at my face intently as I looked at her pussy for the first time.

Krista’s pubic hair was natural, but grew in a neat triangle, and I gently ran the fingers of my left hand through her bush, and then pressed the tip of my long finger into the top of her pussy slit. “Would you prefer I was shaved?” Krista asked, speaking softly.

“No,” I answered, looking down at her pretty little pussy, in the moonlight from the window, “You look beautiful down there.” I very gently fondled her pussy lips with the fingers of my right hand, then stroked her labia with my thumb and first finger.

“That’s good,” she answered, still speaking softly, “because I was thinking about shaving myself. If you like it natural, I’ll leave it that way.”

“It makes you look more grown up,” I said with a little chuckle, but Krista simply said, “I thought I heard you say something about licking me.”

I had Krista lying on the right side of the double bed, so I knelt down on the floor, beside her, and parted her thighs very gently. Then, I moved down to kiss her on her inner lips, which were a little swollen, and just protruding from her outer labia. I kissed her again, and this time, I held the kiss, and gently worked my tongue between her inner lips, tasting her pussy, and the fluid that was oozing from her. The scent, and taste, of Krista’s pussy were both exquisite, and immediately, my arousal went up about four notches.

As my tongue probed at her most secret spots, Krista sighed and said, “Mmmmmm, that feels so good. It’s even better than I dreamed it would be.” I worked my tongue down towards the opening of her pussy, tasting her there, and then working it inside her. Once again, Krista flinched a little, and took a shuddering breath, and I pushed my tongue right up inside her, gently tongue-fucking her for a few strokes. I withdrew my tongue, and then swept it back up between her inner lips again, but this time there seemed to be more of her sweet, sexy nectar pooled there, so I swept some into my mouth, tasting and enjoying the fluids Krista’s arousal had drawn from her.

Then, I gently brushed the left side of my tongue against her clit, and she gave a little involuntary jerk. “Ooh!” she said, “I didn’t expect that.” I decided it was time to get a little serious with Krista’s clit, so I worked my face a little further into her pussy, and she opened her thighs just a little wider to give me better access. My lips were now coated with her slippery sex fluids, so I placed them around her clit, and moved my mouth back and forth a few times, and almost immediately, I heard a throaty gasp from Krista’s mouth, as I she lifted her pelvis from the bed. “Oh, Craig!” she cried out, “What’d you do then?”

I released her clit from my lips, and Krista relaxed. “That felt so good,” she said, speaking quietly, but with a note of excitement in her voice.

“I can make you come, doing that,” I said, looking at her face from down near her pussy, although once I said it, I hoped I hadn’t lost my touch from lack of practice.

“Really?” Krista said, “I only get orgasms from touching myself.”

“I thought you said you and Terry were having sex,” I said.

“I never used to come, though,” she said, “I wanted to, but it never happened.”

“But you’ve had orgasms, haven’t you?” I asked, thinking this had brought a new dimension to what Krista and I were about to do.

“Only when no-one else is around,” she answered, with that smile again.

“Did you ever get on top?” I asked. Krista shook her head, and said, “Never. Terry’s not very adventurous.”

I stood up, and I walked around to the other side of the bed, and I lay next to Krista on her left side. I turned to my right, and put my left arm over her chest, and I held to her to me, and I said, “Krista, in my experience, women nearly always come when they get on top. Do you want to try that?”

She smiled, such a cute little smile, it was almost out of place in an encounter like this, and she said, “You really want to make me come?”

“Of course I do,” I whispered, “I told you this was about you, too.”

“Maybe we should get started,” Krista said, and she sat up and moved down, to kneel next to me. She looked at my crotch, which was now bulging with my hard cock, and she said, “Do you want me to take your pants off?”

“One of us has to,” I said, “And I guess I took yours off, so go ahead.”

Krista undid my belt, and began to slip my jeans down, while I lifted my bottom to help out. “This was supposed to be you taking charge, but it’s more like a team effort, now,” she said, as she slipped my jeans and underwear off, and dropped them down with her dress on the floor. She looked at my erect cock, then at me, but said nothing.

“Making love is supposed to be a team effort,” I said, speaking gently, watching this beautiful, naked, young girl, as she moved up the bed to kiss me on the mouth.

“Let’s take one for the team, then” Krista chuckled, as she climbed on top of me, and then sat back, squatting over my hard cock. “So, I just climb on?” she asked, looking at me as though she really needed to know that.

“That’s it,” I said.

“One more thing,” Krista said, as though her mind was working on something. She sat back down beside my cock, and said, “Just for the fun of it, there’s one ‘take charge’ thing I want you to do.” She looked down at my cock.

“What’s that?” I asked, curious about where she was going.

“I’ve never gone down on a guy, and I want to try it, but what I want you to do, is use your best cranky old sergeant voice, and say, ‘Krista, suck my cock!’ Say it like it’s an order.”

The sound of Krista’s girlish voice, trying to sound like a cranky old sergeant was so funny, I burst out laughing, and so did Krista. “Krista!” I said, my voice sounding more croaky with laughter than stentorian, “Suck my cock!”

We both started laughing again, and Krista said, “This is not how I pictured that in my head,” but she leant down, and tried to go down on me. Even though I was only watching her, and I had not said anything further, she said, “Stop makin’ me laugh. I can’t get my lips around it.” Once she got over her giggles, Krista leaned down, and gently placed her lips on the shiny head of my hard cock. She had a look of concentration on her face, as she took about two inches into her pretty little mouth, and she bobbed her head a few times, rubbing the tip of my cock with her tongue. Her soft, warm mouth certainly felt fantastic on my cock, but she was no expert at giving head. Even so, it was enough to make me flinch a couple of times, and she took her mouth away, and looked at me. “Did you like that?” she asked.

“It was great for a beginner,” I said, encouragingly.

“It’s kind of exciting, having it in my mouth,” she said, “and it makes me want it in my pussy even more,” she said, smiling at me in surprise, “I could feel myself getting wetter.” She moved up, to rest her head on my chest, as I lay on my back, and with our faces close, Krista said, “I could get to like that. You and I are gonna have to spend some time practising this oral sex thing.” She sat back, like she was before, ready to squat over my cock, and she said, “Now, where was I?”

Krista took my hard cock in her right hand, and gently lowered herself, guiding the head to her pussy, and as I felt my cock touching the warm, wet, slippery opening, she took a quick little breath through her mouth, and lowered herself a little. Her pussy was snug, but she was also very wet, and as I watched about half of my tool going inside her, I felt the walls embracing me. She lifted a little, and the movement of her tight pussy on my cock made me flinch with pleasure, and Krista smiled at me, saying, “I must be doing something right.”

“You’re going great,” I said, and Krista eased back down, taking more of my cock inside this time. She lifted again, bringing another flinch from me, and she said, “I could have gone all the way down then, but I just wanted to tease you.” Her smile was wickedly sweet.

She eased back down, and the feeling of my cock right inside her, with her slick, slippery pussy walls hugging me, was almost breathtaking. Now that my cock was buried up inside her, Krista lay on top of me, kissing my mouth, and beginning to stroke her pelvis gently, as she got used to the feelings herself. She took a breath, and said, “Hold me,” as I placed my arms around her, and she started to move a little faster, swallowing, and saying, “I’ve never done it this way, but it feels incredible.”

“If you’re on top, you can be in control,” I said, taking a shuddering breath myself, “It’ll push on your clit and, you’ll probably be able to come,” I added, hearing the strain in my own voice. Krista and I had barely started fucking, but her pussy was so snug, so wet, that every movement she made was ecstasy for me, and I had to resist the urge to grip her buttocks, and just start thrusting into her until I satisfied myself.

Krista started to thrust a little faster, in short strokes, and she said, “Ohh! I can feel that! I can feel that!” She shuffled a little, pushing her pelvis closer into mine, and started thrusting again, now taking me further inside herself, and she began to thrust faster, deeper, now moving her pussy along almost the full length of my unyielding cock. The pleasure was mounting in me, but I fought the urge to finish myself off inside her lovely body, and I put my hands on her firm buttocks, feeling them clench with every thrust.

“It’s getting better,” Krista said, her face suddenly serious, her eyes starting to focus in the distance, her thrusting becoming faster, as I met her every movement with a tilt of my own pelvis. “You were right,” she said, “I think I’m gonna come! I think I’m gonna come!”

Her body began to shudder, as her thrusting became a little more erratic, and she lifted her head, with a look on her face as though she was about to cry, and she cried out, “Ohh, so good! Too good! Ohh, God!! That’s good!!” as I felt her pussy walls clamping around my cock. Krista closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, as a spasm wracked her whole body, and I realised I could not hold back any longer myself. My own climax burst inside me, in a wave of ecstasy that consumed my entire soul for a few precious seconds, as I felt myself coming hard inside Krista’s pulsing pussy. Spurt after spurt, wave after wave, my orgasm was truly amazing, and from whatever place I went for those few moments, I realised I hadn’t come like this for years.

As reality returned, and the final twinges of sweetness faded, I found that Krista was lying with her head on my chest, breathing hard, and I could feel the beating of her heart. My arms were around her shoulders, hugging her to me, and I could feel the film of sweat on her naked body. My softening cock was still held inside her, and she lifted her head to look at me, and she said, “That was gorgeous!” She moved to kiss me, open-mouthed and offering me some tongue, and her kiss was like a sweet little postscript to the hot sex we had just had.

“Are you okay? I asked.

“When I stop tingling, I’ll let you know,” she said, and added, “That was awesome!”

“I’ll second that,” I said, “That was just amazing.”

“Really?” Krista asked, lifting her head to look at me, as though she wasn’t sure if I was just saying that to make her feel good, “You mean that was special for you, too?”

“That was more than special, Krista,” I said, “That was fantastic.” I took a breath, and swallowed so I could continue and I added, “It isn’t always like that. It’s always good, but not always that good. You were great.” I knew I was gushing, but I couldn’t help myself.

“We were great,” Krista answered, “That was a team effort.” She climbed off me, and lay down on my left, in my double bed, and I held her to myself, as we lay there. We talked quietly for a while, and she told me her instincts were right, and I did know how to treat a lady, but as we spoke, I realised I had crossed a line that couldn’t be uncrossed. I decided to worry about that later, because after all, that was tomorrow, and this was now.

That night, Krista had come to my little house, dressed as a make-believe witch, but her magic turned out to be very real. It was as though she had cast a spell over me, and I realised that, whatever the consequences, I would never be the same again.