Commodities

Re-entering Eden

RE-ENTERING EDEN FOUR SCIENTISTS FIND THEIR MISSION LED ASTRAY, BY PARADISE. Based on a post by PhilippaMaQuente [https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=3670650&page=submissions]. Listen to the ► Podcast [https://archive.org/download/summer-2023_202306/Re-enteringEden.mp3] at Steamy Stories [https://feeds.feedburner.com/Steamy-Stories]. [https://archive.org/download/summer-2023_202306/eden.jpg] FORWARD: In the beginning, defiance led to rejection and expulsion from the Garden of Eden. Our species was transported to the parallel universe we ve now occupied for several millennia. Legends of that previous world have been handed down to us, along with various elaborations and moral lessons. If we could only access that previous world. A world designed for our inclusion. Does it exist? Is it yet flourishing in our absence? Can we gain a second chance to rejoin Eden? SALLY JOINS AN EXPEDITIONARY TEAM.  You know, the job of a scientist is not always easy, but it's usually pretty rewarding. I've helped discover new species of plants and animals, and I derived a number of medicinal properties from my discoveries, too. I'm a naturalist and explorer. But, sometimes I think existence has an absolutely weird sense of humor. How else could I possibly explain the misadventures my team's had this past week? I mean, where do I even begin to explain all this craziness? We were on the trail of an extremely elusive lemur species on Madagascar when my teammate Brad stumbled into a burrow of some kind. "Shit!" he shrieked, his leg sinking calf deep in an extremely well disguised hole. I rushed over. "Oh man! Are you hurt?" I crouched behind him, putting my arms around his chest, hooked under his pits. I used my legs to try and pry him out of the hole. Our other team members, Marty and Mindy, rushed over to help. "I don't think it's injured, I was just really fucking surprised." He began shifting his weight pushing back with his free leg. "Damn, this hole is deep! What makes burrows like this out here?" "What's the angle like?" Mindy asked. "Most everything in this area are tree-dwellers," "It's weird, it's straight down," Brad said, "and it's like there's nothing below, nothing on all sides. I'm only being squeezed right here at the calf." He pointed to the section of leg we could actually see touching earth. "That is super weird," I grunted, still pulling. He was coming loose. "But maybe, it was just a hollow that got buried by, a storm, or shifting ground. No biggie." Marty threw himself into a crouch and aided me by wrapping his arms around my middle. "On my count," he said. "One, two, three!" we both pulled, throwing our weight collectively into the effort. "It's working!" Brad said happily. "My leg's coming free." After a couple of minutes of combined work, Marty and I got him out and we all fell back in a heap. "Whew!" I grunted. "Brad, your leg ok? Let's see." Pulling away from the hole, Brad rolled up his pant leg and removed his boot. No blood, no bad scratches. It didn't look twisted, and I saw no swelling. "Looks good, Sally," he told me. "Doesn't hurt but I could just be pumping with adrenaline. I'll give it a few." "Good idea," I nodded. "Let's all take ten. Our little kerfuffle probably scared off everything within fifty yards anyway." My team settled down and busted out water and some snacks. Tromping through rainforest looking for tiny primates was hot, thirsty work. "I kinda want to take a look at this hole," Mindy said, walking cautiously toward it. "Could be a nest, could be just an odd patch of hollow ground." "Yeah, let's poke around a little," I replied, after taking a gulp of my canteen. "If it's not an animal den maybe we could fill it up, just so no one else stumbles in and gets hurt." Mindy put herself on her belly and inched over. "Wow Brad, you must've caught it just right. It's hardly big enough for a boot your size." "Hey, you know what they say about men with big feet," Brad quipped in response. He held his palms open nearly a foot and a half to illustrate his point. "You know what I mean?" I playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Sure, but you're not supposed to stick your foot in those holes," I countered. We all laughed, except Mindy. Totally focused, she was peering into the opening with her flashlight. "Guys, this is really fucking weird," she said. "There's nothing down there I can see, nothing at all! And, it's the weirdest thing, but, There's air flowing out of the hole. Cold air!" We all leaned in. I was fascinated. "Buried cave, maybe?" I hypothesized. "Buried something," she answered. "I say we open it up." "Agreed," I said. "Second," Marty put in. Like Mindy, we all flopped down on our bellies and began pulling clumps of dirt away from the hole. The tree roots beneath us had formed a pretty good network to secure the dirt, leaving only that one gap. Pretty soon we'd uncovered a genuine hole in the ground, only about five feet wide, and deep. So deep, and cylindrical in shape, it was like an abandoned well. I said as much. "Solid theory," Brad remarked. "What do we do now? Do we just leave it? We can't fill it in." "We could make a crude sign or marker and post it to warn passerby." Mindy remarked thoughtfully. I used my headlamp to beam down into the hole. It loomed below us, black and yawning, but somehow, though I felt like I ought to be frightened, it seemed more mysterious and tantalizing than scary. I stuck my head in, bracing my upper body at the rim. "Hello!" I shouted into the void, and waited. My voice dropped down, but did not come bouncing back, I waited a while. "Echo!" I dropped the second time, listening intently. Nothing. "This thing must be fucking deep," I muttered, beginning to shimmy back out. Distracted by my own effort, I had to pause when I half caught something that sounded like my name, coming not from my team but somewhere below me. Twisting to look back at them, I asked: "Did somebody call me?" "No," Marty said. "We were all waiting for you." I shook my head and continued dragging myself out of the hole by my elbows. "Let's make the sign," Brad was saying when I felt something touch my wrist. I jerked, startled, but saw what appeared to be a root that I'd brushed, and relaxed again. However, when I was unable to pull free of it, I sought the source, And found myself peering straight down, at a vine curled snugly around my wrist, risen from the depths of nowhere. "Uh, guys?" I started, tugging at my captor. It was firmly set, somewhere. Before they could even look, I felt something, odd. The vine trapping me began to writhe, and suddenly the largest, most spectacular flowers I'd ever seen began to sprout and bloom from it. Big as dinner plates, with a five-petal bloom in the most vivid electric purple. I goggled at the sight of the one closest to me. As the flower came into its full beauty, it released a scent that hit me right in the face, immediately making me swoon with heady intoxication. My body, grew hot. And my mind told me to go down, to let the vine take me. That paradise awaited me down there, Mindy was the first to notice my predicament, and the first to react when I shot forward into the hole not of my own volition. THE PORTAL "Oh shit," I declared, feeling myself dragged headfirst down into what I was already envisioning as some kind of wonderland. Mindy dove on my legs, screaming at the guys to help her, and I felt their weight momentarily halt my progress. It was just my round ass and legs sticking out of the hole at that point. The vine on my wrist grew thicker, and suddenly began growing. It enveloped my whole upper body as I watched and began pulling again. Then more vines, already blossoming like mine had, crept out around me to ensnare my team, dosing each one of them with the intoxicating perfume. I was feeling very warm and very good about the whole thing by then. "Hang on!" I giggled. "We're going for a ride!" The vines got all of us in one fell swoop, and before we knew it, we were all being rushed right along down the tunnel to somewhere, screaming bloody murder in the dark. We fell a long, long time, and at some point I blacked out into nonsensical dreams full of vivid colors and scents but no substance. I didn't know how long I was out, but I did know why I came to. Something was tickling me, between my legs. I was fuzzy, waking up, but when I felt something thick and incredibly bendy probe between my cunt lips and slide inside me, I hollered, coming awake more violently than anything else could have done. Intense pleasure shot through my cunt as something thrust itself deep inside. I looked down. I was sprawled in a plant that resembled a strawberry patch, naked, with my legs tethered open by tendrils of plant life, a shining green vine filling my cunt. It was growing out of the bottom of the thing, which cradled me like a bed. My arms were tethered above my head, and I watched helplessly as another part of the giant vine-plant wrapped my breasts. Two little buds, different from the previous purple ones, latched on to my nipples and began dripping something- I guess nectar- onto them. The long tendril actually inside me plunged deep into my womb, bypassing my cervix in a moment of strange ecstasy. I felt a tremendous rush of liquid fill me, like, a huge swelling, but then it all absorbed into my body. After that, my blood began to heat. My arousal tipped up to an insane degree. "Oh holy fuck!" I shouted. "Mindy? Marty, Brad- where are you? Are you okay?" The vine in my cunt gently plunged in and out of my hole. The buds on my nipples somehow made them extra sensitive and dying for touch. I began to pant. Nearby I heard what sounded suspiciously like Mindy, screaming an orgasm. A third bud grew toward my clitoris and latched on. I howled. The nectar gushed onto that part of me too and sent my insides roiling with need. Brad popped up into my plant-bed. He wasn't restrained, but I did notice he was naked, and had a rather interesting new accessory. A vine was in his ass, plunging back and forth. "Sally!" he gasped, steeling himself against his body's invader. "Everyone's, uh okay, but," He climbed toward me, his erection stiff as hell and huge. "Marty and Mindy are like this too, They're already fucking, God Sally I'm so sorry! I can't help it!" Spurned forward by the vine using his asshole, Brad dove on top of me like a man starving and plunged his tongue into my mouth. Already wild with arousal, I responded eagerly. The vine filling my cunt pulled away and redirected itself into my other hole, The same place it was filling Brad and driving him mad. Once inside me there, the plant spread my legs further and opened me for Brad's cock. "We can worry about this later,!" I grunted out. "Fuck me, fuck me now!" Nothing in the world was more important at that moment than being fucked. Brad did not hesitate. His huge cock speared me immediately. I howled, he groaned. He started thrusting inside my burning hot hole immediately, and as our bodies entwined we realized the heat was overwhelming, our lust scorching. "Oh fuck! Oh fuck, Sally!" he growled, slamming his hips into mine. I bucked against him, taking everything he had, wanting more. "Yes, yes, yes, oh Brad!" Each of us had our asses plundered, and I felt the penetration from each side within me and screamed my bliss. Brad was fucking like a man on fire, driving his dick so hard into my cunt it was miraculous I felt no pain. Instead I felt heat and good and pleasure so profound my whole body was singing. The buds nipping at my nipples and clitoris had made them so stiff, so swollen in arousal that I marveled they didn't shoot right off my body. The buds finally left my nipples, and Brad seized downward as he fucked me to latch on with his lips, as if driven by innate primal desire. "So, sweet," he groaned through his teeth. I could feel a climax building powerfully inside me. The bud on my clit hadn't stopped its curious brand of soaking aphrodisiac nectar into that most sensitive place, and I was veering dangerously close to stimulation overload. Brad's cock was thicker and bigger and harder than any man I'd ever had before, and the savagery of his thrusts ought to hurt, but they just felt amazing. I was so rabid I just screamed his name, over and over, and I felt another gush of fluid from the vine in my ass. At the same time, Brad surged forward like he'd gotten the same. "I'm going to cum in you, Sally!" he told me with a tinge of regret. "I'm going to cum too, Brad! It's ok, this isn't us!" He wrapped me in his arms. "We're being used, It's not your fault." I breathed raggedly, thrashing myself against him. "No!" he groaned. "I really do like you, Sally! A lot! But I wouldn't have wanted it this way!" "I know! Me too, it's ok, you can cum in me! I need you to cum in me!" I screamed. "Please, please cum in me!" My body, overloaded with aphrodisiacs and stimulation, pitched over the edge. The muscle spasms that went off in my cunt were tremendous, and would have crushed a normal cock. But Brad, inundated by the plant's strange properties, had a dick of steel and pistoned it to the back of me expertly until his body gave up his seed. And believe me, I felt it. It was like the fluid from the vine that had gushed tremendously and then absorbed. He poured shot after shot inside, but it was molten hot and he just kept cumming as I kept cumming, on and on. The orgasm we shared caused an explosion of blue-green blossoms all over our plant bed, and the vines finally released us as we lay shaking in each other's arms. Mindy and Marty finally found us; they were huddled together and spent from their bout of lovemaking. Brad and I joined our comrades, totally naked as well. All four of us left the now docile and incredibly beautiful bloomed plants that had fucked us, and spurned us to fuck each other, behind. When we did, we could not believe the world spread before us. It was a riot of color. Plant life like none of us had ever seen before. Huge blossoms, trees that dwarfed even redwoods, in hot cinnamon red and mossy green. Tall gold grasses that danced in the breeze. Looking around, we noticed all of our clothing and equipment was totally gone, like it had never existed in the first place. We also noticed that Mindy and I were both now sporting breasts the size of small melons, both of our nipples a deep ruby red, our clitorises the same rich color. I also noticed that my belly seemed to be rounding, and growing heavy. Hers too. My breasts ached, almost as if they were filling up with liquid. "I don't think we're in Kansas anymore, Toto," I hummed forebodingly. Instinctively I cupped my stomach with my palm. "What, the hell, Did we fall into?" Marty croaked out, holding Mindy to him possessively. "I don't know," Brad answered. "Am I the only one that heard the voice before we got pulled down here?" I started, trying to keep my rational scientific mind. In fact, I began studying my environment with more critical detachment. I looked up into an overcast, but still sunny, sky, with a faint mixture of pale blues, purples and greens, but saw no hole. Nothing. No cave, either, just lush foliage and Technicolor world. "Voice?" Mindy suddenly barked. "What did you hear?" Her reaction, so sharp and intent, clued me in. "Don't flip out yet, any of you," I said, holding up a hand. "We're scientists. We are making discoveries, got it?" I waited, to see them all understand my meaning and nod. "When the vine grabbed my wrist, I thought I heard my name, first," recollection hit them of the moment, "And after I got dosed by the flower I thought I heard a voice say I should come down here." "I heard the same fucking thing!" Mindy said. "I thought I was experiencing a panic-induced hallucination! It said 'paradise' was down here." I gasped. "I heard that too!" "I didn't hear anything besides our screaming," Brad said, shrugging. He looked at Marty. "Nothing here. But I did get hit by a load of that flower perfume. It made me sneeze but I didn't otherwise feel anything different." "It made me feel drunk, and, horny." I blushed. Stupidly, really. "Yeah," Mindy said. "Me too," she looked down, as if realizing she was naked for the first time. Our erogenous zones were like fat cherries on our breasts and loins. The ache in my tits and the swelling of my lower body led me to my logical conclusions. "Okay, Mindy and I were both dosed by the perfume and had physical reactions, and heard a voice prior to being pulled down here. Logically it seems that the targets are females. Though obviously this place makes use of males as well. Based on my physical sensations and everything that happened in the blue-flower plant, Mindy and I are pregnant. The pregnancies are escalated, and not entirely human. I think, this world not only enhances our reproductive capabilities but needs our fertility for its own." "If it needs both males and females to help it propagate, why didn't it try and lure us too?" asked Marty. "Maybe because it knows that the males will follow their females, especially if they seem to be in danger. Breeding females are an important resource."

Above the Garage: Part 3

ABOVE THE GARAGE: PART 3 FULLY COMPATIBLE. In 3 parts, by Member389 [https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=1139500&page=submissions]. Listen to the Podcast [https://archive.org/download/Winter2024/AboveTheGarage3.mp3] at Steamy Stories [https://feeds.feedburner.com/steamy-stories]. [https://archive.org/download/Winter2024/AboveTheGarage3.jpg] The next morning he had the hood up on Ellie's car and had tried turning it over a couple times, and the starter took, but it didn't want to fire. He looked into the possible problems and everything looked in good shape, so he figured he'd look up the symptoms online and most pointed to the fuel filter, so he made a quick rundown the parts store and picked up a new one. That seemed to do the trick, once it was installed he was able to start her car several times without any problem. Ellie came trotting down the stairs with a plate and mug. She walked up to Luke and leaned in fast and gave him a kiss. "Thank you! What was wrong?" "Fuel filter, I replaced it and now it's turning over first try." "Hungry? I got up earlier than I thought so I baked banana bread." He smiled. "Absolutely, let me go wash the gas off my hands." "Here, this will make sure you come back." She broke off a piece and fed it to him. As he hummed his appreciation. "You think that's all that will have me coming back? Remind me to fix the mirror in your bathroom." He leaned in and kissed her again. "That is awesome banana bread though." He grinned as he jogged into the house. He came back out to find her sitting on the hood of her car, half the slice she'd brought out was gone. "Do you drink coffee?" She asked, and he nodded. "Guess I should refill this then, huh?" She chuckled. "If you hadn't taken so long to wash up you might have gotten this cup. Come on up, and I'll slice some more of this awesome bread." "Isn't this how the spider lures the fly into its web?" He chuckled. "Can spiders even make banana bread? I can assure you that I'll never trap you, but as my dad used to say, 'If you want the honey, you gotta deal with the bees.' I think he meant that you have to take a chance on the bad stuff to get to the really good stuff." "Sounds like a good philosophy. I'm kind of scared though. What's the bad stuff?" He paused for a moment. "Have you always been such a deep thinker?" She asked. "I used to get called out by my mom for being introverted and quiet. She was always trying to get me out of my shell." He shrugged and smiled. "But quiet doesn't mean stupid." "I never thought it did." She refilled the mug with coffee and added sugar and milk, and sliced off a fresh slice for him and brought it to him. "What about you Luke? Are you willing to brave the bees to get the honey?" She asked. "I've only been called a coward once, by you." "I called you a chicken, not the same thing." She grinned. "So; what are we doing today?" Luke just smiled and drank his coffee. "Jeans, comfortable shoes for walking, and a sweatshirt. That's all you get for now. We should head out early, maybe 2:30 or 3. Is that okay with you?" "Are we; becoming a 'thing'?" He asked her. The genuine innocence was so sweet. "Well we've only been hanging out a few weeks, but so far so good." She smiled, and noted that she'd been smiling a lot around him. That was a good sign too. She was excited and curious. She'd gladly go where ever he wanted right now. She had a quick realization, that her little seduction of Luke was backfiring and without him even trying she was being seduced by him as well. "Do I need to bring anything? Water, snacks?" She asked pushing for a hint. "No we'll stop at the store on the way." He smirked popping the last bit of bread into his mouth, washing it down with the rest of the coffee. "Oh, I have something of yours too. I'll bring it up when I come to pick you up." She gave him a questioning look. "Don't look so innocent. I turned redder than your satin top when my dad pulled your panties out of my back pocket last night." Ellie bust out laughing. "I was wondering where they'd gone to. I thought you'd pocketed them you pervert." "Oh no! I know now that when you grabbed my ass last night you stuffed them in my pocket! You were hoping I'd get caught weren't you?" Ellie had tears in her eyes she was laughing so hard. She didn't have a clue but Luke was hooked now. He had never seen her look more beautiful. "No, oh my god no. I did sneak them in there, but not for that reason. I figured they'd be a nice little memento of our first date." "I thought tonight was going to be our first date?" He asked curiously. "Well I couldn't wait. I invited you to dinner last night, as far as I'm concerned that was our first date." She leaned on her fist smiling at him. "How was it?" He looked at her wide-eyed, slack jawed. She leaned forward and slipped her tongue between his parted lips and they kissed deeply. "It was fun wasn't it?" She asked hoping for a little reassurance. "It was fantastic." He whispered urgently and kissed her again. "I'll see you in a couple hours." He gave her another kiss then stood and left looking over his shoulder at her beaming back at him. He smiled as he headed down into the house to spend a little time knocking off schoolwork before going out for the night. He knocked on her door at 2:30 sharp. She called out for him to come in. He heard close the closet door, and she popped out of the bedroom in jeans and a black turtleneck. She held her arms out. "Is this okay?" She asked. "Perfect." He smiled. They headed down to his car and once again he opened the door for her letting her settle in before he closed it. He hopped into the driver’s seat and they were on their way. He drove out to the shopping center and pulled into a space at the grocery store. "When you were a kid, what were the things you remember most about holiday meals. What was that one thing you couldn't wait for?" He asked, he tilted his head indicating they were going inside. "This is a first, a date at the supermarket." She chuckled. "Seriously. Was there something special that you only had at that time of the year but not usually any other." "Mashed potatoes with a lot of butter and pepper. Oh and my mom only used to make that string bean casserole at holidays. I love that too. Pie is a given, pumpkin and pecan, I'd have both." She smiled. "Good, good to know. He grabbed a basket and they started wandering around the store and he picked up the makings of the casserole. A couple boxes of instant mashed potatoes, and some canned gravy. He found canned pumpkin and put some of that in the basket. "What else?" Ellie gave him a curious look trying to figure out what he was doing. "Well, she used to make glazed carrots too. If we were lucky, relatives from up north would send her a bottle of real maple syrup, otherwise she would make it from butter and brown sugar. That was awesome." He found carrots and put several cans in the basket as well. "Anything else?" "Scrabble, well that's what we called it. The rest of the world knows it as party mix with the cereal and pretzels baked with seasoned salt and our secret weapon, Worcestershire sauce." Luke found the cereal aisle and grabbed the ingredients, and made his way to the chip aisle and found pretzels to go with it stating that they always had pretzels and mixed nuts in theirs. He looked down and seemed to be counting. "Okay, first thing that comes to your mind when I say, comfort food." "Mac and cheese." She said, and he grinned. "Good choice." He stocked up on the blue boxes. "Are we stocking a fallout shelter?" She said nervously. He chuckled. "You didn't see the big hole we've dug in the back yard?" Ellie just rolled her eyes and grinned, she knew this had to be going somewhere and she was getting more curious. They made their way to the front and got in line at the check-out filling a couple of the re-usable shopping bags with their groceries. He stowed all the groceries in the trunk and held the door open for Ellie once again. They were on the road again heading out of town. "Okay, you've got me. I haven't got a clue what we're doing." She giggled. Nearly twenty minutes later Luke turned down a side road following a sign pointing out a fairground entrance. A few miles down the tree lined road the area opened up to fields filled with cars and signs for the county fall harvest festival. He made his way carefully up the dirt path and finding someone directing the parking. "But why the store?" She smiled as he handed her the lightest of the grocery bags. They walked towards the gate and she saw the truck and tables. A sign indicating donations for the holiday food pantry in lieu of admission to the park could be made there. Ellie grinned at Luke, finally realizing his plan. They brought the bags up to one of the tables and the older couple behind thanked them and asked how many items they had brought. Luke told them twenty-seven, ten per ticket had been requested. "We went a little crazy remembering what we loved about holiday dinners and lost count." The lady fawned over them while her husband took the bags back to a sorting area near the truck, and thanked them. They took their tickets and went into the fair. They wandered through the attractions. Luke showed off his prowess for carnival games and won Ellie a stuffed tiger. They wandered through the exhibits, marveling at the giant pumpkins and petting the cute animals. They found the food vendors and ate everything that was bad for them, but you only go to the fair once a year, so they indulged. There was even a concert that night and they sat in the grandstand listening to the band. Ellie was glad he told her to bring a sweatshirt because it had turned cooler as the sun went down. She hardly noticed as they sat there with their arms around one another. He rubbed her back as she held him tight. "Why didn't you just tell me about the food drive?" She asked. "I didn't want you to think I was trying to impress you." He paused. "My folks were pretty lucky. They both had good jobs and made a good living. We've never wanted for anything. Well there was this one time I wanted a dirt bike and they said no, but that wasn't because of the money. I think they just wanted me to live to be twelve at the very least. They never let me get jaded, you know, they always wanted me to know there were people who didn't have. They were much more subtle than the usual, 'Eat your broccoli, kids are starving in Africa' parents. Hell, I never realized that some of those less fortunate families were kids I went to school with until years later. Giving back is just something they taught me to do. Besides it seemed more fun that way." Luke smiled down at her. "I got to tease you for a change." "Well, it didn't work." "Huh?" "I'm impressed anyway." She smiled. "You spent almost twice the cost of those tickets filling those bags." After the last song finished a loud whistle screamed out followed by a loud boom. Fireworks had started behind the stage and they sat and watched them arm in arm. Ellie laid her head on his shoulder as they watched, both occasionally jumping at the explosions. Ellie had taken hold of Luke's hand as they made their way home down the dark winding roads. She massaged it with her thumb rubbing in slow circles. "Thanks, I had a great time." She said softly. She could make out his grin by the dash lights. "Me too." He gave her hand a squeeze. "Luke? When I asked the other night if you've ever made out before, you said you hadn't. Have you ever had a girlfriend? I mean, have you ever had sex?" Her voice was soft but with an inquisitive edge to it. His hand flexed a few times in hers. "No." He replied with a nearly silent sigh. "Any reason?" She pressed. "It can't be that you've never had a chance. You must have had to beat the girls away with a stick in high school." A soft giggle followed the comment. "I was pretty quiet, I didn't have a lot of friends." He shrugged. Neither spoke the rest of the way home. Ellie had laid his hand on her lap and continued to rub it gently, and he rubbed her leg through her jeans. They pulled into the drive and parked. With all the lights off in the car Ellie slid his hand further up her thigh, and leaned over to kiss him. She was eager and let it be known in her kiss and he responded in kind gripping her thigh tightly. "Would you walk me up?" She asked pulling away from his lips reluctantly. He got out and walked around to her door opening it. She stood, looked into his eyes and took his hand and led him up the stairs. "Would you like to come in?" She wasn't sure if she needed to coax him but he was already in the doorway closing it behind him. A faint smile came to her lips and she tried to hide it. He returned the little smirk in kind. "There's a bottle of wine in the fridge. Why don't you open it up, and I'll be right back." She bit her lip and smiled backing her way to the bedroom. She was giddy because she knew she would have him tonight. She undressed and replaced her every day underthings with the yellow lingerie she bought the day they went shopping together, and dressed again. She wanted to see his face as he peeled her out of her clothes. She entered the room and Luke stood up. "Who taught him this stuff?" Ellie wondered. She turned off the overhead light and put on a small table lamp. They sat down on the sofa, Ellie leaned into him pulling her legs up beneath her. "Did you really you have a good time tonight?" He asked. Ellie chuckled and looked him in the eyes. Her smile slipped away as she leaned in to kiss him deeply. "The night's not over yet." She whispered. Luke's nervousness was slipping away as he and Ellie began kissing in earnest. He leaned back pulling her on top of him as their hands began to roam over each other. His hand slid up her back slowly lifting the hem of her shirt, he sent shivers up her spine as he caressed her skin. She joined in and reached between them and unbuttoned his shirt pulling it free of his jeans and ran her hand up his t-shirt playing with his nipple. Ellie broke free of his warm lips and came up to a kneel between his legs, and looked down at him as she crossed her arms lifting her turtleneck up and over her head. She shook her hair out as she tossed the shirt onto a side chair and smiled down at him. She grinned showing off the little yellow lace bra, which made him smile. Luke reached up and grasped the front of her jeans pulling her off balance and back onto his chest in a flurry of giggles. His hands not only roamed her back, but now slid between them as he ran his palm up her bra eliciting a soft moan as he massage her breasts through the fabric. "The clasp is in back." She said in a clear invitation. Using his other hand he reached down between her legs and dragged her higher up his body, placing her breast within easy reach of him. Rather than unsnap the band he slipped the strap off her shoulder and pulled the cup down revealing smooth white skin and puckered pink nipple to his hungry mouth. He kissed it gently, causing Ellie to gasp as his tongue ran lazy circles around the tip causing it to get even harder. Her breathing was short and quick. She pulled away from his agonizing teasing, placing her forehead against his, and closed her eyes. "I don't know if you want this, but I do. Would you take me to bed and make love to me Luke?" He looked her in the eyes for a moment thinking it would be his pleasure. Her eyes closed for a moment, when she opened them, he felt himself fall into their depths, and he was gone. He kissed her deeply. She stood shakily, Luke reached for her steadying her. She smiled as she took his hand and pulled him up too. He wrapped his arms around her taking her mouth with his again. He fumbled a few times with the hook of her bra. She smiled. "Don't worry, practice makes perfect." "I hope I get a lot of practice then." She walked backwards pulling him with her into the bedroom. She reached down and unbuttoned her jeans turning and giving her ass a little wiggle as she pushed them off showing her yellow lace panties, which thanks to the heavy petting on the couch were now quite damp. She kicked them aside and turned back to Luke who just stood there staring, his mouth hanging open. She smiled and pushed his unbuttoned shirt off his shoulders and down his arms. He reached to take off the tee, and she stopped him. "Allow me." She lifted the hem of the shirt and ran her hands up his chest and sides lifting the shirt with it. "You don't know how much I wanted to do this yesterday morning when you answered the door." She smiled as she stroked his nipples with her thumbs. "I want you to know how good this feels." She said leaning forward and taking one into her mouth swirling her tongue and flicking it. Luke's breathing got shallow a fast. She took it between her teeth, giving just a light tug before letting it free. Luke gasped at the sensation. She pushed the shirt up and he raised his arms letting her pull it off completely. "Damn do you look good without a shirt on." She said. "You look pretty fantastic without one too." He replied smiling. They kissed again, their bare chests touching for the first time sent shocks through them both. The heat they were building was intense and made the room feel cool in comparison. He felt hands on his belt fiddling with it to get it loose, soon his jeans were unbuttoned and the zipper slid down. Her hand slid down inside massaging the length of him through his boxers. "Hmm , that feels nice." She mumbled into his kiss. "It's not very;” She halted him with a firmly planted kiss. "Enough of that, you've been watching too much porn." She giggled. "Remember, the pyramids were built with hand tools, it's not the size of your tool, it's how you use it." That made Luke chuckle. She began kissing her way down his chest and stomach and eventually knelt in front of him. She reached up and tugged the jeans down to his knees seeing his boxers strain to contain his hardness. She peered up at Luke from under a fallen lock of hair as she reached slowly for the waistband. She pulled down slowly, revealing it finally. Slowly a grin crept across her face as she looked up again. "It's perfect." She said biting her lip. She looked down at it, he wasn't huge, but he was above average. She couldn't wait to have him inside her. She peeked up again. "Mind if I take the edge off for you?" Luke just tilted his head wondering what she meant just as she lean

Above the Garage: Part 2

ABOVE THE GARAGE: PART 2 “ABOUT THAT DATE?” In 3 parts, by Member389 [https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=1139500&page=submissions]. Listen to the Podcast [https://archive.org/download/Winter2024/AboveTheGarage2.mp3] at Steamy Stories [https://feeds.feedburner.com/steamy-stories]. [https://archive.org/download/Winter2024/AboveTheGarage2.jpg] School went quickly, with nobody lingering on a Friday and Ellie got a ride to work. She thought about what the specials had been today and decided to whip up something special for Luke. It wasn't easy on a Friday night, it was pretty busy, but the regular clientele dropped off quickly after dinner, knowing that the caf closed at 8. A couple tables sported coffee sipping hipsters but for the most part the place had cleared out by then. Ellie had whipped up a little dish for them to share while she cleaned up the kitchen. "Damn." Came a voice through the little window. Jody, one of the servers had whispered loud enough to be heard. "He's hot." Ellie popped her head up and scanned where Jody was looking and saw look scanning back and forth. She grinned ear to ear. "Back off, he's already taken." She said softly, but with a little edge of threat in her voice. He may not be taken yet, but she didn't need any competition from the bubbly little server. "Can you sit him over at the chef's table. Jody chuckled. "Some chef's table, it's just the table nearest the kitchen door. What's his name?" "His name is Luke, and be nice, I have a large selection of cutlery at hand, and I know how to use it." Jody walked over and introduced herself. Saying that Ellie had told her she had a friend stopping by. "She said a dark eyed handsome stranger was coming to pick her up. I told her to snap out of it, Prince Charming isn't real. Then you have to go and prove me wrong." She smiled, and steered him over to the table against the wall near the kitchen, and fawned over him for a moment and got him a drink. Ellie made sure nothing was burning and wiped her hands on her apron and snuck out of the kitchen. A smile spread across Luke's face when he saw her, which warmed her heart. She walked over and he stood up, such a gentleman she thought. She couldn't help herself and walked right up to him and kissed him softly. At first he seemed surprised but he didn't take long to return it. "Hi." She said drawing it out. "Are you hungry?" "You mentioned dinner, so I haven't eaten since lunch." He grinned. "Good, park it, and I'll go whip it up." She winked at him and turned and wiggled back into the kitchen. Her ponytail danced back and forth as she peeked over her shoulder to make sure he was watching. She put herself into work mode and started pulling ingredients together. When in work mode Ellie was a sight to behold, like a kitchen ninja she got more done with fewer moves than anybody else in the caf . What seemed like only a few minutes later she walked out of the kitchen with two plates of seared scallops and linguine, setting one down in front of Luke and the other across from him. "One second." She said as she reached down and pulled the apron string sliding it off her waist. She unbuttoned the chef's coat she wore and dodged back into the kitchen to hang them up. She sat down and they began. Ellie peeking up to see if Luke was enjoying it. The speed with which he was eating told her what she wanted to know. "I should have asked you if there was anything you didn't like. I didn't even think of that beforehand. Seafood can be touchy for some people. Hell I didn't even think to ask if you were allergic." She said getting frustrated with herself. "No, it's delicious!" He was being completely genuine. He saw her getting upset and reached across the table to take her hand and rubbed the back of it with is thumb. "I love seafood. My family used to go out to the beach in the summer;” He trailed off, his expression softened. It was Ellie's turn to comfort, and she took his hand firmly in hers. "Tell me about it. I bet you had a blast." Luke went on to tell her about a trip to the beach they'd taken years earlier and he and his dad had gone fishing and he caught a striper that nearly hauled him overboard. He went from excited to wistful. She knew he was thinking about his mother, his dad had told her the previous week, and sympathized with him. "I baked a small batch of cookies when I got here. Want to try one? They're sort of an experiment, but I think they came out pretty good." Never one to pass up a cookie he smiled and nodded. "That's what I love about working here. I get indulge my creativity, and if things work out sometimes it makes it on the specials board." She said setting down the frosted lemon sugar cookies. They talked for a while longer and a loud scrape of a chair pulled them out of their reverie. Jody had been sweeping and Ellie noticed the time. They had closed nearly half an hour before. "Oh my god. I'm sorry Jody. I lost track of time." Ellie hopped up and started clearing the table. "No worries hon. I can see why. You just need to clean up that and we're out of here. I'd ask if you need a ride home, but I think I already know the answer to that." She chuckled. Ellie wiped down the table and Luke helped out by flipping the last few chairs up onto the tables so Jodie could finish sweeping. He waited in the front while the girls finished up in the back. He looked out the window at the darkened street, the old style street lamps lending small town charm to the night. They came out of the kitchen whispering between themselves. "You're sure you don't need a ride? This one looks a little dangerous." Jodi said laughing. "I'm fine, besides he knows where I live, he's my landlord." Ellie grinned. "I wasn't talking to you, I'm worried for him." They all got a chuckle out of that as they locked up and made their way to their cars. Luke opened up the door and held it for Ellie, these small gestures went over much bigger than he realized. On the ride neither spoke when Luke felt Ellie's hand lay on the back of his giving it a squeeze. "Thank you for saving my ass today." He just looked over and shrugged. "You would have done the same for me I'm sure." He smiled at her for a moment and turned back to the road. He was honestly elated that her car hadn't started. Ellie sighed. "I hope it's nothing major. My dad had the car gone over before I came back to school. I can't afford anything big." She looked out the window, the lights of town faded behind them as they entered the suburbs. "Tomorrow's Saturday, I can take a look at it if you want, if it's something simple I can probably fix it." "Oh, would you?" She squeezed his hand harder. They got back to the house and Ellie reached over the seat to grab her bag. Luke watched her lean frame twist, and her rear end stick up, her jeans stretched over it nicely. He remembered just how nice it felt too and longed to hold it again. Ellie was no fool, she knew full well Luke was staring at her ass while she pretended to be looking for something in her bag. It didn't hurt to pique his interest though. She sat back in the seat dragging the bag over with her. "You coming up?" She asked smiling. "I don't know, you probably have stuff to do. You know school work or something?" "I do have some reading to do, but I can do that later. I'm feeling a little restless and I can't sit still and read when I'm like this." Luke's eyebrows went up a bit. "You don't have to. I mean if you want to come up and grab the car keys in the morning that's fine too." Her smile began to fade. "Oh, I can get them now, that way you can sleep in if you want to." "Have something planned for tomorrow yet?" Ellie asked sweetly. Luke just grinned. "You're not going to give me a hint? A girl needs to know how to prepare for a date you know." "Jeans will be fine, and bring a sweater or sweatshirt in case it gets cold. Oh, and walking shoes." "So something outdoors? Okay then." He wouldn't give her any more information than that. He enjoyed keeping her guessing. "Would you like to play a game? I found a box with my bucket of Jenga blocks while I was unpacking some stuff last night." Luke nodded smiling and Ellie went and got the game. They sat on the couch and Ellie started stacking blocks and handed the bucket to Luke and directed him to keep stacking and she went to the bedroom and slipped off her jeans putting on lounge pants with some mall store logo down the leg and came back. "That feels better. Do you want something to drink? I've got a bottle of wine, or something else maybe?" He agreed to whatever she wanted. She opened the bottle of wine and poured a couple glasses and brought it over to the table putting them out of the way of game. "Have you ever had wine before?" "I'm nineteen, I haven't been under a rock." He chuckled. "My mother liked wine so I've tried several different types and I like it." He took a sip and swirled around his mouth taking in a little breath of air. "Stone fruit, oak, I'd say a California Chardonnay." He added. It was Ellie's turn to raise eyebrows. "Very good! Napa Valley to be exact." She looked at the blocks and noted he hadn't put the last one on the top yet. She took it and put both hands behind her back. Luke noted just how nicely her top stretched across her chest as she did this. "Pick a hand." He picked the one with the block winning the starting move. "What are we playing for?" He asked, sounding crafty. "I don't know. What do you have in mind?" She smirked, wondering if he had the same thing in mind that she did. He shrugged. "Loser has to perform a strip tease for the winner." She grinned ear to ear hearing this. "Okay hot shot. I'll have you know I'm a master at this game. I hope you're wearing cute briefs." "Maybe, you'll have to win to find out." They both concentrated on the game intently for a few moves, and then the smack talk began. They taunted one another as the blocks started to wobble. "I don't know, maybe you should stay in the kitchen and let us real men handle the engineering." Luke said. Ellie reached over and flicked his ear sharply causing him to yelp in pain while he giggled. The game progressed more slowly as the tower got more shaky. Eventually the tower fell to Ellie placing a block on top. "Shit." She said, but she didn't really mind it. She was actually excited about this idea. She had hoped to see him perform for her but the exhibitionist streak in her wanted to show off to him too. "Put the blocks away and find some music you like. I'll be right back." "Where are you going?" He asked picking up the blocks watching her stand. She leaned over and turned the lights down. "Well if I'm going to do this, I'm going to do it right." She winked and went into the bedroom again. He had toted up the game and set it aside and grinned to himself that he'd pulled off the coup. After the other night all he'd been able to think about is her body. Her pert breasts, and smooth skin, now he was going to see her strip for him. He was flipping through music until he found some dance music. He started tapping his foot and realized she didn't have much room, so he slid the coffee table aside toward the window. The window! He drew the curtains so nobody would see her. The song he was listening to finished and she still hadn't come back. He wondered momentarily if he'd gone too far when he heard her open the bedroom door. She must have turned off the lights before opening it because he didn't get a peek until she walked out into the room. She had put her hair up in a lazy twist on top of her head, and changed into a red satin top and gray skirt. She had even gone so far as to put on heels. She looked absolutely stunning as she walked out and noted that he'd made room for her. A small smirk touched her now red lips as she noted the look on his face. She was happy with the reaction but didn't want to let on that she was enjoying his prize as much as he was. She looked off into the distance and listened, then nodded. "Are you ready for me, Luke?" She asked, her voice husky. He knew the line she quoted was from a movie, but he just sat there, his mouth hanging open. She quirked her lips in a wry smile. She began to move with the music stepping carefully, heels on a carpet weren't conducive to graceful movement. She reached down and slipped the heels off tossing them aside and continued. Her sensual movements were already having an effect on Luke and for the first time he didn't care if he hid it or not. Ellie was beautiful, and he was totally captivated by her. She had turned sideways and began unbuttoning the cuffs of her blouse, she turned her back to him, her hips swayed to the music as she got into the music. She reached up and pulled the hair clip out and shook her head, letting her hair cascade down around her shoulders. She looked over her shoulder shooting him a sensual gaze, her hands worked the buttons of her blouse open. She spun around holding the front of her blouse closed and stepped towards him letting her hands fall as the blouse opened giving him a peek of the red and black bra she was wearing beneath it. He swallowed audibly and his jaw dropped open again. "Thirsty?" She reached over and handed him the half empty wine glass. He took the glass and practically gulped the remaining wine. "Now we hadn't spoken of limits before this all started. Am I on my own with regards to how far I let this go?" She quirked an eyebrow at him, knowing full well she was going all the way, but let him wonder just what he was going to see. She reached up and lifted the blouse from her shoulders and let it slide down her arms slowly. She flipped the blouse over the back of the couch next to him. He could smell her perfume, it was stronger than before. He swallowed audibly. "Yes, as far as you’re comfortable with." "Is it how you imagined it would be?" He just nodded at her open mouthed. She tapped his ankles wider and danced between his spread legs swaying to the music and lifting her skirt giving him a peek of her smooth thighs. She noted that his jeans were straining to contain him. She couldn't wait to get a look at him either. She turned with the music and reached behind her making a come hither motion with her finger and pointed at the zipper on the back of her skirt. He didn't move for a moment and she looked over her shoulder at him and he was staring at her shimmy back and forth. He didn't move, and she directed his attention back to the zipper. As he reached forward she swayed to the side then back again avoiding his grip. He managed to catch the zipper and slide it down slowly exposing the back of her black satin panties. He reached up and pushed the fabric together releasing the hook. She took his hands and laid them flat on her hips as she swayed with the music. She gave them a small nudge downward and he understood she wanted him to remove the skirt. The skirt gave way as it slipped past her hips, and he gasped at seeing her beautiful behind swaying in front of his face. She stepped free of the skirt and he bent to pick it up and laid it next to her blouse on the back of the couch as she turned. "How am I doing?" She asked softly. He just nodded excitedly. Ellie was pretty sure that if she asked him to, he'd rob a bank for her right now. It was an exhilarating feeling for her to have him in this state of excitement. "Good." She smiled. She danced slowly to Wonderful Tonight. How appropriate he thought. As he stared in wide eyed wonder at this beautiful girl. She ran her hands up and down her body slowly, her head swayed from side to side, her hair partly covered her face as she did. She peeked up at him as the song ended. She nudged his legs together again, and reached down and pulled his knees together. She turned and sat on the very edge of his lap, her ass just barely on his knees. She reached behind her and fanned out her hair and gathered it up over her head. The next song began and she waited for him to take the cue. "Undo me." Luke wasn't sure who's undoing it was when he reached up and unhooked her bra, his hands shaking. She let her hair fall as soon as he did and took the shoulder straps down one at a time before standing again. She held it in place as she released first one then the other shoulder straps. She turned her back to him and tossed the bra to him over her shoulder. He put it with the rest of her clothing. She was standing there swaying in only her black lace panties. He noticed they had a tiny red bow on the front when she had walked over to him a minute before. She spun around with the music, her hands cupping her breasts as she took a step towards him, her nipples stood out hard and pink. She swayed to the music losing herself in the beat. She leaned forward placing her hands on his shoulders. "We're done, right? I mean, you didn't want me to take everything off did you?" She was clearly taunting him. Luke closed his mouth, swallowing hard and opened again to speak and nothing came out. "No? Okay, I guess we're done then." She said standing again. "No! I mean please; I;” Luke stammered. "Please what, Luke?" She asked innocently. "Please take them off." He whispered desperately. "No Luke, if you'd like them off, then you take them off." She replied turning her body in a few circular sways. She banged her hips side to side with the beat of the music, and looked over her shoulder to see what he was doing. His eyes were following her ass as she swung it back and forth. She stopped moving. "Well?" She asked over her shoulder. Luke raised shaky hands from his lap wondering if this was real or if he was going to get slapped away at the last minute. His hands were like fire on her skin sending butterflies to her core as he ran his thumbs down, pulling the lacy fabric with them. He was going slowly, the fabric peeling off like the skin from a fruit. They slipped over her beautiful behind and the fabric stuck between her legs for a moment, but he kept pulling, down her smooth thighs past her knees. He let go and saw the slightest peek of her lips, they were pink and very wet. She stepped out of the panties and took a step away from him and turned covering herself with her hand. The scent that bloomed now that her panties were off made his breathing even more shallow and fast. He honestly wasn't sure why his jeans hadn't exploded yet. "Are you sure you want to see?" She said, her voice low and husky as she swayed with the music again. He only nodded slowly as he stared at the hand she was covering herself with. She drew her hand lightly against her body and slowly ran it up over to her hip uncovering herself for him. She was shaved and pink, moisture shone on her slight lips. She danced for another song, winked at Luke and disappeared into the bedroom. Luke started panting, not believing what had just happened. Ellie was so turned on she had to force herself to ke

Above the Garage: Part 1

ABOVE THE GARAGE: PART 1 A YOUNG MAN COMES OF AGE, AND MEETS HIS SOULMATE, THANKS TO HIS GARAGE RENOVATION THERAPY PROJECT. In 3 parts, by Member389 [https://www.literotica.com/stories/memberpage.php?uid=1139500&page=submissions]. Listen to the Podcast [https://archive.org/download/Winter2024/AboveTheGarage1.mp3] at Steamy Stories [https://feeds.feedburner.com/steamy-stories]. [https://archive.org/download/Winter2024/AboveTheGarage.jpg] “SHE COULD BE JUST THE THING.” Derek was glad that he'd thought of this apartment remodel. It was a project he and his son Luke could work on together. He hoped that it would get Luke to come out of his shell. Ever since his mother passed away a few years ago he'd been closed off and anti-social. Luke gets his handiness from his dad. He loved to work with his hands, and it was not boasting to say that he was pretty good at it too. Fortunately the push, from Derek's dad, to be more took him to state college to study engineering and into a lucrative career afterward. Derek met his wife of 20 years at that college, Theresa was the world to him, and he would have done anything to lay the world at her feet. Fate had a different idea though. Her loss had left a deep scar on their family. It was hard at first, friends and relatives did their best to keep them upbeat and one or two even mentioned that Derek wasn't too old to start again. Those ideas were brushed aside. He would never love anybody like he loved Terri. Luke took it hard, he was only 14 when Terri found out she had cancer. The doctors did everything they could. Throughout her treatment he would give up being a normal teenager to be home for her when his father couldn't be. She'd get upset with him and tell him to try out for sports at school or join a club, and especially ask a girl that he like out on a date. He'd just brush it off and come home as soon as he could to take care of her. She wasted away before their eyes and in less than a year she was gone. It was a crushing blow to both of them, and as hard as Derek had it, he could tell Luke felt like he was set adrift, and had no guidance. Derek worked, he worked a lot, to keep his mind busy, to keep from thinking about her. Luke just hung around, and kept to himself mostly. He had a few friends but they, for the most part, had moved on after graduation. Luke was accepted to the college where his folks went to and was looking at a similar career to his fathers, no matter how much Derek urged him to do something he wanted. He insisted that he wanted to do what his father does, and build things. He was going to start as a freshman this fall. Derek, in the interest of keeping Luke from hiding in his room until fall, figured he'd give him a project. They lived in a big house with an large 2 car garage. Above the garage was a space that was large enough to turn into an in-law apartment. He presented Luke with the project to clean it out, and design an apartment. As soon as he had a plan they would build it and rent it out. Thanks to the college there's never any shortage of students looking for off campus apartments. They weren't really close, a few miles, but these days all the kids had cars anyway. Like anything he put his mind to, Luke had a plan in place pretty quickly. We worked out details for the major demolition and installing plumbing, and electrical etc. He really did his homework, even shopping for materials for finishing like the flooring and appliances. He got it in his head to fully decorate it with the help of some ideas from magazines. What they ended up with was a very nice small 1 bedroom apartment with a nice view over the backyard. Luke had already started school and they didn't think it likely that they'd get a lot of offers right away but they listed the apartment in the paper anyway. They interviewed a couple students and even a visiting professor who was teaching here for a year, but nobody fit what they had in mind and too many wanted them to come down on the price. There was no way Derek was going to let anybody devalue the work that he and Luke had put into it, the only one who was going to budge on price was going to be Luke. It was his baby. It was a warm Saturday afternoon when Derek heard a woman's voice call out. He was in the back yard puttering around with a rake. He leaned it against the house and walked around to the front where he saw a lovely blonde haired girl walking towards the other corner of the house heading to the yard. He called out to her and she jumped slightly startled. In only a few moments Derek took in the sight of her. She was very pretty, her blond hair fell around her shoulders. She smiled and held out her hand to shake. "Hi, I'm Ellie. I was wondering if you've rented the apartment yet?" He let her know that they hadn't yet, and that his son Luke was in charge of that. He went in and got the keys and let her see it, and she marveled. "Who decorated it? They did an awesome job." Dad let her know that the whole place was done by his son, Luke, from design to decoration. He smiled at her shock, when he told her Luke was starting school at the local university this year. "This was done by a teenager?" "He should be home any minute if you want to hang around. A few of the ground rules that we've placed are that guests please park on the street so as to not block the garage downstairs. Use of the yard and pool are a given so long as you keep it down to a dull roar." He said chuckling. "There's a washer and dryer downstairs in the garage that you can use rather than go to a laundromat. As you probably saw in the ad, utilities are provided including cable and Internet. We can get you telephone if you need it but it's not wired for it up here. We figured most students use cellphones anyway." "It's perfect. Now I see why you're asking so much for it. Any chance we can haggle on the price?" She cocked her head smiling, her eyes sparkling. Derek chuckled. "That's up to Luke. This is his baby, start to finish." Derek paused as he heard the garage door opener beneath them start up. "You can ask him yourself in a minute. I'll let him know you're here." He stepped out onto the landing and looked at the door as he closed it. He thought for a moment that they may have found the right person for the apartment. He smiled as he trotted down the stairs and ducked into the garage where Luke was getting out of the car. His hair was mussed from driving with the window down, his shirt was tight over his well-formed chest and arms. The work had leaned him out and toned him up. "Hey Luke,” Derek greeted his son. “You have someone upstairs looking at the apartment." "I'll guess by the grin on your face it's a girl." Luke said in a slightly annoyed tone. "Is there anything wrong with a girl renting your place?" "No; I just want somebody normal and quiet." Luke passed dad on his way to the stairs and his father put his hand on his shoulder. "I have a good feeling about this one. Trust your instincts." He nodded and made for the stairs taking them two at a time. Luke opened the door and close it behind him, and Derek went back to the yard whistling a little tune; hopeful she could be just the thing. A short while later, Luke popped around the corner of the garage and slowly wandered through the yard. "Well?" Derek asked. "She tried to get me to come down on the price." "Really?" He smiled trying not to laugh. "How did that go?" "I asked her how much she could reasonably afford, and I halved the difference. She took it." He smirked. "How much lower did you go?" Derek was eager to learn. "A hundred bucks. Non-smoker, no boyfriend and she says she not a partier. She's a senior in culinary arts and nutrition. She offered to cook for us occasionally if we don't mind being her test subjects. Her name is Ellie Love." Luke grinned, but didn't say that he'd thought about dropping two for the pretty coed. "No shit?" Derek laughed. Luke just shrugged. "She's calling her folks to let them know she's found a place." Ellie started moving in the next day. Luke was out in the driveway washing his car, the sound of music filtered down from Ellie's open window as she unpacked. Derek watched Luke from the window for a moment and caught him looking up at the window off and on. He would bet anything she was intentionally wandering back and forth to get a look at him too. "Hey Luke?" Ellie called down. "Yea?" He replied. "Any chance you could take me shopping for some kitchen stuff? There isn't much up here in the way of plates, glasses, silverware, you know." "Sure, let me know when you're ready." "Give me 10 minutes and I'll be down." Ellie went and changed. She knew she was older than him by a couple years. His father mentioned he'd turned 19 last month. Luke was hot with his dark hair and dark brown eyes, but he seemed so quiet and shy. After the wild roommates and crazy party atmosphere of the apartment she shared last year, this was going to be a nice change. She worked in a small caf , after high school and found she loved it and thought it might be a cool idea to start her own. So she'd decided that getting it right was going to require some learning and went back to school. Now at 23 she was close to finishing her degree and moving on to realizing the dream. She threw on a striped tee and pushed her sweats off and found a pair of jeans in one of her bags and went to the bathroom to check herself in the mirror. She knew she wasn't a knockout but she was pretty cute. She knew that from the double-takes she got from guys at school. She was short, in her opinion, at five foot three, her sandy blonde hair hung past her shoulders, and her dark brown eyes were always sparkling. Her dad said they were full of mischief. If he only knew. She pulled the door shut behind her checking that it had locked and bounced down the stairs like she was on springs. She watched Luke for a moment as he wiped down the car, and got a tingling sensation as he leaned forward, his jeans tightened around his cute ass. 'Get a hold of yourself girl' she thought. She reached her hands behind her causing her shirt to tighten across her small breasts, and cleared her throat. Luke looked over his shoulder at Ellie. Damn she was cute, but she didn't act like she knew it. He gave her a small smirk. "Sorry about the kitchen. I didn't stop to think that someone moving in wouldn't have dishes of their own." "Oh, no problem." Ellie countered quickly. "It's just that my last place, everything belonged to my room mates, and as long as I kept them fed they didn't care what I used." She smiled. "I could use a couple towels too. I'm on a budget so let's hit up that little French boutique, Tar-jay." Luke laughed at her joke and reached for the passenger side door opening it for her. He bowed with a flourish. "After you milady." Luke was already winning points as she climbed into the car. He hopped in and started the car backing out of the driveway. On the way to the to the store Ellie drew him out asking what he was going to school for, and what he planned for after. He didn't do sports or really anything with friends. She could tell he was one of those quiet loner types, and he had a lot going on in there that nobody ever saw. She decided then and there that she'd make it her goal to draw him out of his shell. "Maybe you can build my swanky caf for me when you graduate." She winked at him. Luke looked over at her for a moment and smiled. "Yea I'll get right on that." "Seriously, that apartment is awesome. I bet it wouldn't be much of a stretch. Your dad said you planned it nearly free hand. You don't do something like that without real talent." Luke just shrugged and said thanks. They pulled into a parking space and Ellie grabbed a cart and hopped up on the rail, riding it a few feet towards the store like a kid. This gave Luke a great view of her backside and she knew he was looking by the expression she saw when she looked over her shoulder. He looked slightly shocked then looked down and away. She bit her lower lip and grinned. This was going to be fun, she thought. They made their way into the store and Ellie took the long way around to housewares and chose a cheap set of dinnerware, then some glasses and flatware. She went over the cooking stuff with a fine tooth comb looking at labels and chose a few items. The cart filled up fast with the large items. She decided that she'd done enough damage there and wandered around a corner and started up the aisle. Luke just pushed the cart along behind her watching her walk. He was pretty sure she hadn't wiggled her ass like that on the way in. She reached out to a blouse hanging next to the aisle and felt the fabric and held it out and let it go and she walked past a rack of lingerie. Ellie let out a little ooh when she saw a little yellow bra and panty set hanging up and took it off the rack. "What do you think?" She asked holding the cups up to her chest, grinning devilishly at Luke. His face turned red and he looked around. "It's definitely your color." He said and mumbled something after. "What?" She asked, making him repeat it. He breathed deep and replied. "Did you want to pick up some food while we're here? The basics at least?" Ellie gave him a sly smile. "Chicken." "I don't know if they have chicken, but they've got groceries. You know, canned, boxed and frozen food, stuff like that." She walked right up close to him and reached over and set the lingerie right in the top of the basket where he was sure to keep it at the forefront of his mind. "Sure, let's go stock the cupboards." She chose some basic dry goods, a couple cans here and there. "If I'm going to be a chef, I can't be relying on packaged goods too much, but sometimes a girl needs a night off." She grabbed a couple cans of soup and found some microwave popcorn piling it all on top of the cart. They made their way to the check out and the lady behind the counter was scanning away and looked up at the two of them noting what they were buying. "You kids setting up home for the first time?" The lady smiled. Ellie wrapped an arm around Luke pulling them together and laid her head on his shoulder. "Yes, we're going to be so happy." She peeked out of the corner of her eye and noticed Luke had gone red again. She pursed her lips and slid her hand across his lower back taking her time letting it drop and grazing his ass. The feeling sent a shock through Luke and he wasn't sure how to react so he did his best to forget it happened. They brought their cart out to the car and packed it away. On the trip home they didn't speak, and just listened to the radio. Luke turned off the car and reached for the door when he felt Ellie put her hand on his and give it a squeeze. "Sorry, I was just;” She said softly, biting her lower lip. Luke looked at her and nodded, and got out and began unloading the car. The little table was piled with boxes and bags were strewn around the floor. Luke was about to turn and leave when Ellie stopped him. "I was just having a little fun. I didn't mean to embarrass you." She winked. "I know, it's okay." "Are you busy this afternoon? I could use a hand unpacking all this stuff and washing the dishes." "Sure, I can help." He took the first box and opened it up and brought it into the kitchen and started loading the dishwasher with the plates and bowls. "We forgot cleaning supplies. I'll run downstairs I'm sure we've got plenty. He headed for the door and trotted down the stairs, and his own kitchen. Ellie decided to get more comfortable and wandered into the bedroom and lost the shirt and jeans. She had just pulled on her sweat pants when the door opened and Luke walked in. She hadn't bothered to close the bedroom door and he got a full on look at her standing there in her sweat pants and a lacy pink bra. His eyes locked on hers and he froze. Ellie just smiled and reached for her hoodie putting it on and zipping it up to mid chest just barely concealing the bra. She walked out of the bedroom. "Relax it's the Internet age, I'm sure you've seen a girl in lingerie before." "Uh yea, sorry I should have knocked. It's just that I've been up here so much while decorating that I forgot someone lives here now." Ellie shrugged , "Mi casa es su casa. You're welcome up any time. I don't make it a habit to walk around like a lingerie model, don't worry. I don't have the body for it." Luke mumbled something, and Ellie was sure it was a denial of that claim but she just bit her lip to keep from smiling. Luke started running water to clean the larger items in the sink and Ellie started putting things into cupboards. The tight space meant they were brushing against each other often. Luke noticed Ellie used him as a balance whenever he was in reach, a hand on his shoulder when she leaned into a cabinet. She placed a hand on the small of his back again to see what he was cleaning. "No abrasives, just soapy water on that one. That's a pro quality non-stick saut pan right there." She winked. "It said so on the label." As she leaned back Luke got a light scent of her perfume. He hadn't noticed it before but it was sweet and flowery. Had she put it on after he'd gone downstairs he wondered. It was having an intoxicating effect, along with her touch. He was glad he was facing the sink to hide the bulge that was forming in his jeans. "I'm going to go throw these towels in the wash real quick." "Okay I'll just stay here and slave away in your kitchen like a drudge." Luke's response was surprising causing Ellie to bust out laughing. "Yes! I have my own kitchen drudge!" She did a little fist pump in triumph. Luke peeked over his shoulder as she made for the door watching her cute little ass with the store name plastered across the seat of her sweats. He'd better get out of here fast or he wasn't going to make a safe exit with the tent in the front of his jeans. He wiped down the last dish and headed down the stairs and poked his head into the garage telling her that he was done, and if she needed anything else to just let him know. She thanked him and he rushed into the house. Ellie went back up to find the dishes all cleaned and laid out waiting for her to decide where they'd be put. She worked efficiently putting things in their logical places and had just enough room to fit everything she'd bought. She saw the yellow lingerie she'd bought and smiled. She hadn't intended to buy it, but wanted to tease Luke. They were cute though so she put them in with her wash. The weekly grind began, everybody leaving the house and heading off in their respective directions. Ellie got home late from her job at the little caf , and hit the books for an hour or so before taking a shower. She wandered into the bedroom and looked out the window hearing something moving around. She spied Luke hauling a trash can and recycling to the curb. Luke turned and looked up at the light in the window and saw her outlined in soft yellow light. She stood there in a long sleeve shirt, unbuttoned part way down the front. She lifted a hand and gave him a little wave and he waved back.<

Rainstorm in Fargo: Part 2

RAINSTORM IN FARGO: PART 2 PETE AND TRACEY BOTH HEAD WEST. Based on a post by ron de [https://www.literotica.com/authors/ronde/works], in 2 parts. Listen to the ► Podcast [https://archive.org/download/it-happened-one-night_202404/RainstormInFargo2.mp3] at Connected [https://feeds.feedburner.com/connected-podcast]. [https://archive.org/download/it-happened-one-night_202404/Fargo2.jpg] The campground where we were camped was next to a state park, and after that lunch, I really needed to either walk around or take a nap. I figured Tracey wouldn't like me taking a nap so I asked her if she'd like to walk one of the trails in the state park. She laughed. "My Joe would have taken a nap while I walked by myself, so this will be new to me. Let's go." It was during our walk I learned who Joe was and why Tracey was tent camping. That was after I explained why I was driving around in a big RV by myself. Tracey listened to my story and then smiled. "That's why Joe and I bought a tent and the Jeep. He'd worked for almost fifty years before he retired at sixty-eight and was going crazy with nothing to do. He liked history, and after six months of doing nothing, decided we'd tour the country looking at historic places. He thought we'd understand the older places better if we lived in a tent like they did in the early days, so he went out and bought one. I wasn't too sure about a tent. I mean, a tent doesn't really have walls or anything to protect you, and if it's cold out side it's cold inside too. At least he bought cots so we didn't have to sleep on the ground. "Our daughter and her husband moved from their apartment into our house so there'd be somebody there to take care of it when we were gone. We started from Milwaukee in April of last year and drove South. We got as far as Shiloh in Tennessee. We'd walked around the battlefield most of the day. When we were walking back to our Jeep, Joe said his chest hurt. Half an hour later, he was having trouble breathing, so I drove him to the hospital in Savannah. He passed away while they were trying to get him stablized. The doctors told me he'd had a pretty bad heart attack at Shiloh and had another one while they were working on him. "After I got Joe back to Milwaukee and had the funeral I had to decide what I was going to do. I couldn't very well move back into the house because I remembered the years when my mother lived with us and I wouldn't wish that on anybody else. What I decided is to do what Joe wanted to do. I'd travel around with my tent and visit the places he wanted to see. It sounds weird, I know, but I thought maybe he'd see those places through me. "Anyway, I did spend a couple of months with my daughter until the weather got cold, and then headed back South where it was warmer. I spent the winter camping in Georgia and Florida, and then started following the warmer weather north. I was doing fine by myself until yesterday. If I'd known it was going to rain so hard, I'd have gotten a motel room." I said I didn't think any woman would like living in a tent. Tracey just chuckled. "You mean because I don't have all the comforts of a house like a kitchen and a bathroom? Well, I like to cook, but I can cook just fine on my little stove, and all the campsites I stop at have a central bathroom with showers. I like sleeping outdoors in the fresh air and listening to the crickets instead of in my house in Milwaukee in the stale air and listening to the traffic go by. I would trade that for my tent any day, now that I'm used to it." We talked about a lot of things as we walked along that trail, and I was surprised at how easy it was to talk to Tracey. She seemed to like listening, but she wasn't backward about giving me her opinions about what I said. She thought retiring early like I did was a good thing. She was five years younger than Joe and had been after him to retire for years because he'd been diagnosed as a prime candidate for a heart attack. She wanted him to relax and enjoy life and hopefully avoid the heart attack that killed him. He thought he should keep working to build up his 401K so they wouldn't have to worry about money. She thought it was perfectly normal for a woman to be camping by herself, but she wasn't a big fan of the women's liberation movement. When I asked her why, she shrugged. "I suppose it's fine if a woman wants a career before anything else, but they're missing out on a lot by not having a husband and a family. I was never sorry I was a stay at home mom. I liked being there when the kids came home from school, and I liked fixing dinner for us every night. Now, mind you, I didn't object when Joe wanted to go out for dinner on my birthday and our anniversary, but I was happy doing all the cooking the rest of the time." The more we talked, the more I liked Tracey. She was a very intelligent woman with her own ideas about life, but she was about as down-to-earth as a woman could get. By the time we got back to my RV, I was getting really comfortable with her. I got a lot more comfortable when she started making dinner. I hadn't actually smelled food cooking in a long time because I just used my microwave for everything. The aroma of spaghetti sauce filled the RV and it smelled like it was going to be fantastic. By the time Tracey said everything was ready, I was starving. When she sat a plate of spaghetti smothered in sauce in front of me, I'd have gorged myself even if I hadn't been hungry. Tracey's spaghetti was better than any I'd had in a restaurant. We talked a little after dinner, but Tracey said she wanted to get an early start the next morning, so we turned in about nine. Well, Tracey turned in. I spent the time trying to first read a book and then trying to watch a movie. I wasn't successful at either because I kept thinking about how nice it was having Tracey there and how that would change when she left. I thought about asking her where she was going next, and then decided she'd just think I was trying to follow her to convince her to do something she didn't want to do. Truth be told, I would have been following her, though just for the company and not anything else. That's what I told my self, but I knew she'd never believe me. I was still thinking about some way to end up camped in the same campground the next night when I finally fell asleep. TRACEY’S BREAKFAST ARTS. I woke up the next morning to the smell of bacon frying and hot coffee. Tracey smiled when I walked out of my bedroom. "Just thought I'd send you off with a good breakfast again. You really should eat better breakfasts so you'll have energy until lunch." While we ate, I wanted so bad to ask where she was headed, but I didn't. After we ate, Tracey washed everything and then took her skillet and what was left of her bacon and eggs and bread to her Jeep. I helped her take down her tent, roll it up, and stick it in the back of the Jeep. When we were done, Tracey smiled. "This has been a change for me. Maybe we'll meet up again some time. Where are you headed next?" What I'd planned was to visit Theodore Roosevelt National Park in Medora. When I told Tracey that, she shook her head. "I'm going there too, but first I'm going to The Knife River Indian Village. They have a collection of Hidatsu and Mandan Indian relics that Joe wanted to see and it sounds interesting. You ought to go there too. It's not quite as far from here as Medora, and there's a campground for RV's and tent campers in Stanton, and you can walk from the campground to the village." It was a surprise that Tracey asked me the same question I'd debated with myself about asking her. As a result, it took me a while to answer, and Tracey grinned. "You're not saying if you will or won't. Does that mean you don't like my company?" I shook my head. "No, I like your company. I just didn't figure you'd want me going where you went. It does sound interesting though, so I'll detour to Stanton and stop there too. I'm in no hurry to get to Medora. What's the name of the campground?" Tracey said she was going to the Downstream Campground in Hazen instead of the one in Stanton. "It's a Corps of Engineers campground, so it's a little better than the one in Stanton and there are some other things to see there too. You should probably make a reservation though. This time of year, it might fill up pretty fast." Tracey drove off while I made a reservation with my cell phone Having her there for two days had used up a lot of my fresh water, so I stopped by the dump station, emptied my black water tanks, and then filled the fresh water tank. That done, I programmed the campground address into my GPS and started driving. I stopped to fill up at about lunch time, and while I was eating the fast food burger, I realized how much better Tracey's chicken salad had tasted. I also missed her sitting there and talking while we ate. It was strange in a way. For so many years I'd live by myself and didn't think I really missed not having people around. Now, I did, or at least I missed having Tracey around. When I got to the campground I stopped at the office, paid my site fee, and got a map to my campsite. All the sites were back-in sites, but with the rear facing cam on the Thor, that wasn't a problem. Within fifteen minutes of shutting off the engine, I had the Thor leveled, the extensions out, and the electricity plugged in. My plan was to find out where Tracey was camped and ask her if she'd like to go into town for dinner. I'd just locked up the Thor when Tracey came walking across the road. "I see you found the campground." "Yes, but how did you find me so fast? I just got here." Tracy grinned. "I cheated. I made my reservation after you did and I told them we were traveling together and asked for a space close to you. I guess I drive faster than you do because I stopped at a grocery store on the way and I've had my tent set up and have been watching for you for half an hour." I chuckled. "I can drive as fast as you drive, but it takes me a while to get up to speed. Why did you ask for a spot close to me?" Tracey looked at the ground. "Well, I kinda liked when we took that walk and I thought maybe you'd want to take another one after dinner. I got the stuff for dinner when I stopped at the grocery store, that is, if you'll let me cook for you again." There was no way I could refuse her, nor did I want to. It was, I hoped, an indication that Tracey liked me. I wouldn't let myself think any further than that though. I couldn't. Thinking there might be more and then finding out there wasn't would have crushed me. Dinner was pork chops, broccoli, and a pasta salad with a chocolate cake for desert. Tracey hummed to herself the whole time she was cooking. I sat on the couch and watched her. She seemed to be having the time of her life. I know I was. She looked like she belonged in my tiny little kitchen in her shorts, tank top, and running shoes. That was a feeling I'd never had about a woman before. Oh, I'd had the same fantasties most men have about this woman and how she'd be in bed or that one and how I wished I could see her naked, but not once before Tracey did I ever imagine how any woman would look in my kitchen. Dinner was great. Eating with Tracey was even better. She seemed to be really happy and that made me happy too. After dinner we walked along the shore of the lake and talked until the mosquitoes came out in force. Then, we went back to my RV for a movie on Netflix. That seemed really natural too, both of us sitting there on the couch and watching a movie together. After the movie ended, Tracey yawned. "I think it's time I go tuck myself into bed in my tent. Are you coming with me to see the "Knife River Indian Village" tomorrow?" If you are, I'll come over tomorrow morning and fix breakfast." I couldn't bring myself to say what I wanted to say; that she was welcome to spend the night again. She'd have thought I was asking something I wasn't asking, and I didn't want to risk losing her as a friend. "Sure. I'll be up and have the door unlocked at about seven if that's not too early. I'll have the coffee made too." As I fell asleep that night, I was wondering if there could be more with Tracey. She seemed to like me. I knew I liked her. She was just plain fun to be with, but I thought maybe she more than liked me. I hadn't been around a woman socially in so long it was hard to tell, but she seemed to walk closer to me than on our first walk, and when she talked, she kept touching me on the arm. THE BREAKFAST TRADITION CONTINUES. Breakfast was sausage patties and pancakes, and they were great. So was sitting there and eating with Tracey. I'd thought we'd just go to the Indian Village and then pack up and go our separate ways, but Tracey was full of things we could do. After she rattled off her list, I figured it was going to take us a couple of days. Tracey wanted to see Fort Mandan, the site where the Lewis and Clark Expedition spent a winter. She said there was a replica of the orginal fort there. She also wanted to see the McLean County Museum, the Sioux Ferry, and the Garisson Dam Fish Hatchery. When I said she was cramming a lot into one day, Tracey frowned. "It sounds like you want to be rid of me." I shook my head. "No, I don't want that at all. I like seeing things with you. I just didn't think you wanted to stay more than a day." Tracey smiled then. "I made my reservation for three nights. Maybe you should do the same or you might end up sharing my tent with me." On our way out of the campsite in Tracey's Jeep, I did just that. When I came out of the office, Tracey grinned. "Did you get the same spot?" "Yes I did. I reserved three more nights, just in case." "Just in case of what?" "I don't know. Just in case it takes us longer to see everything than two more days I guess." Tracey put the Jeep in drive and grinned. "So maybe you do like me a little." BECOMING TRAVELLING BUDDIES. The Indian village was interesting and so was Fort Mandan, though I thought there was more to see at Fort Mandan. As we toured the different buildings, Tracey kept pointing out things to me. Sometimes, she didn't know what those things were and asked me if I did. It was that way at the carpenter's shop and at the blacksmith's shop. It was fun telling her what this tool was used for or how the carpenter or blacksmith would have used them. She was surprised that all the logs were vertical instead of horizontal and asked me why. I didn't know, but one of the rangers explained it to us both. It was because they could build long walls that way without needing really long logs and the fort needed to be pretty big to hold all the men in the expedition. While we were close, we also went to the Lewis and Clark Interpretive center. That was interesting too. It was almost one by the time we got through all of that, so we drove back to the campground. Tracey fixed lunch for us both in my RV and then suggested we take another walk. We were down on the river bank when Tracey looked out over the water and then sighed. "You know, I had a lot of reservations about camping when Joe said he wanted to start. I mean, I'd be giving up everything I'd lived with for all those years and starting out living in a way I didn't know anything about. "Now, when I come to a place like this and just watch the river go by or see the birds singing in the trees, I don't know if I could ever go back to that old life again. I see something different every day and I keep learning about things I never knew before. It gets lonely sometimes, but it's still worth it." I said I didn't think she could possibly be lonely, and Tracey frowned. "Why would you say that? Aren't you lonely sometimes too?" "Well, yes, but that's different. You had your husband before while I haven't lived with anybody in years. Besides, I would think you have a lot of men trying to meet you." Tracey grinned. "You think men are just dying to make it with a woman as old as I am? Let me let you in on a little secret. If a woman hasn't found a man by the time she turns forty, she's probably not going to, at least not a man worth having around. Most of those are already married, and a few of the ones who aren't usually aren't all that interested in women, if you know what I mean. The rest are going through their mid-life crisis. I call it the 'I'm still the man I was at twenty thing', and they're looking for girls, not women. They may talk to women as old as I am, but the first blonde with little boobs and a tight little butt who walks by; well, you can see them looking for a way to end the conversation." I didn't think like that, and that's what I told Tracey. She just laughed. "You mean to tell me that those young girls we saw today didn't do anything for you? I saw you looking at them." "Well, yes, I looked, but no, I didn't want any of them. They were pretty, but they weren't women, not yet." Tracey frowned. "You mean you'd only want an older women; a woman like me." I nodded. "Well, yes." Tracey grinned then. "I've heard this line before. What you're really saying is you'd like to spend a night with me and then you'd be gone." That upset me. "No, that's not what I'm saying. You're putting words in my mouth, and it makes me a little mad that you think that. All I'm saying is you're a nice looking woman and I thought men would want to meet you. I guess you don't. I think we need to go back to the campground now." SILENT TRAVELS. Tracey didn't say anything on the way back and I didn't either because I felt bad about what I'd said to Tracey. She probably did have men telling her that. I'd jumped to conclusions and accused her of thinking that about me when I didn't really have any reason to. What I should have done was left out the part about her putting words in my mouth, because she really wasn't. I was acting pretty immature and I was mad at myself for being that way. I liked Tracey and didn't want to lose her as a friend. It wasn't until we got to my RV that Tracey finally said something. "Pete, I'd planned on making dinner for us. Are you mad enough that I should just go back to my tent or could you stand having me around long enough to cook some burgers? I got some potato salad and other stuff to go with the burgers and I'll never eat it all myself." The look on her face told me she really wanted to do this, so there was no way I could say no. "Tracey, I need to apologize for what I said back there. What you said just struck me wrong and I overreacted. I'd like it if you cooked for us again." I thought Tracey would probably cook our hamburgers on my stove, but when I helped her bring everything from her Jeep to my RV, she handed me a small, portable propane grill. "Joe never liked burgers fixed on a stove, so we bought this little grill to take with us. I'll set it up on the picnic table beside your RV and we'll have real, grilled burgers." The hamburgers were great and so was everything else, but I think that was mostly because Tracey was sitting there at the picnic table across from me. It just seemed right, you know? I mean, not since I was first married had I sat across the table from a woman, but it felt like it did back then. When we finished eating, Tracey and I took all her stuff back to her Jeep. She was putting the potato salad and other things that needed to be kept cold in her little cooler, but when she opened it, she said, "Oh darn it. I forgot to get ice. I'll have to go up to the office and get some." I knew that wasn't going to work because when I'd checked both times I'd payed for my space. "Tracey, they don't have ice up there. I checked." Tracey sighed. "Well, I'll have to drive somewhere and get some unless; you don't have much in your refrigerator. Could I put my stuff in there until morning?" I put the portable grill in her Jeep and then carried her cooler back to the Thor. Tracey put all her stuff in my refrigerator and then smiled. "Now it looks like a refrigerator should look; milk, eggs, bacon, lettuce, meat, and leftovers. It's what my refrigerator always looked like at home. You should keep it that way. You'd be healthier."