Snowbound Date

Snowbound Date Snowbound Series Book Nine By Veronica Tower 2

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. Snowbound Date by Veronica Tower Red Rose™ Publishing Publishing with a touch of Class! ™ The symbol of the Red Rose and Red Rose is a trademark of Red Rose™ Publishing Red Rose™ Publishing Copyright© 2011 Shirley Burnettt ISBN: 978-1-4543-0161-5 Cover Artist: Merris Hawk Editor: Pam Line Editor: Zena Gainer All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. Due to copyright laws you cannot trade, sell or give any ebooks away. This is a work of fiction. All references to real places, people, or events are coincidental, and if not coincidental, are used fictitiously. All trademarks, service marks, registered trademarks, and registered service marks are the property of their respective owners and are used herein for identification purposes only. Red Rose™ Publishing www.redrosepublishing.com Forestport, NY 13338 Thank you for purchasing a book from Red Rose™ Publishing where publishing comes with a touch of Class

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Snowbound Date By Veronica Tower

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Chapter One The Phone Call

Thea Clark leaned the snow shovel against her mother’s house and tried to open the front door. It stuck again, which meant she had to grasp the handle with both hands, twist and pull up simultaneously as she pushed in with her shoulder. The door resisted for a moment but then screeched open. She stepped inside and closed the door behind her, using her hip to force it all the way. Thea didn’t know exactly what the problem was. The door had stuck for years and in her opinion, the problem was getting worse. Maybe the wood had swollen or the hinges were sagging. She needed to get someone to look at it. Maybe she could ask her cousin, Kara’s boyfriend. Ron was some sort of engineer. If he didn’t know what to do, he probably knew someone who could take a look at it. She was sweating beneath her parka—shoveling eight inches of snow off the driveway was hard work—and was grateful for the chance to unzip it. She was also extremely tired. She’d been up well past midnight last night, ushering in the New Year with a great guy Kara and Ron had introduced her to, but it had taken

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nearly two hours to get home in the snow. Mom had expressed her disapproval of her actions last night by harassing Thea all morning until she’d dragged herself out of bed and gone out to shovel the driveway. Thirty-eight years old and Mom still treated her like she was in high school. Sometimes Thea worried that Mom didn’t realize who was taking care of whom in this relationship. She hung her parka on the knob of the front door and tackled her boots, hopping on one foot as she struggled to slip the first one off. This scattered clumps of snow across the floor of the foyer, but eventually the boot came free. Of course the floor was wet with melting snow when she put her sock-clad feet down on it, adding to Thea’s overall discomfort. She gritted her teeth and wrenched the left boot off, then set them both down on a small towel she’d placed in front of the closet before going out. Then she padded into the kitchen in her wet socks. Her cats, Hendrix and Aretha, met her as she entered the room, brushing up against her legs to welcome her. Her mother stood by the stove stirring a large pot. “Clean up the mess you made by the door before you sit down.” Thea made a significant effort not to sigh and went deeper into the house to find another towel. After the melting snow had been mopped up, she tossed the towel down the basement stairs so she could throw it in one of the laundry

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baskets later and went back into the kitchen. Mom had just finished setting a bowl of steaming soup on the table for her. “I suspect you’re cold after working all morning,” she said. Thea took a moment to inhale the scent of the chicken soup and instantly felt more relaxed. It was just what she wanted, and better than hot chocolate which merely warmed you after a cold day. She was cold despite having sweated under her coat, and the hair closest to her scalp was damp with perspiration. Her cheeks, nose and fingers all felt swollen. “Thanks, Mom,” she said and picked up her spoon. “It’s a shame you haven’t found a man who could clean that drive and sidewalk off for us,” Mom observed. Thea carefully resisted the impulse to share the news that she had met someone last night. Whatever the potential benefits for the house might be in regard to snowy driveways and stuck front doors, she knew her mother wasn’t going to be happy if she went out with a bar owner. The fact that he was significantly younger, and white to boot, probably wouldn’t make Mom any more comfortable with the news. What she did instead was perhaps unkind to her sister, but then, Becka didn’t have to live with Mom and really didn’t pitch in very much. If she could help out in other ways, so be it.

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“How many years was Becka married?” Thea asked her mother, “Because I don’t remember Wilson even once shoveling our driveway. A guy only helps us if he lives with us, or lives really close.” Mom considered her point. “Hmmm, I suppose it does depend on the man,” she conceded. “My sister has a similar problem.” “What do you mean?” Thea asked. “She has to hire a neighborhood boy to do her walk when she has three grown daughters—one of them married—and the other two dating strong younger men.” “Interesting,” Thea ventured. “Is that what Aunt Margaret said?” “Yes,” Mom confirmed. “She told me all about it this morning.” “Because Kara told me on the phone last night,” Thea explained, “that Al and Ron had agreed to shovel Aunt Margaret’s drive together this year.” Mom’s eyes narrowed for a few moments as she considered that information. “That is interesting,” she agreed. “I will have to carefully ask Margaret about it the next time I speak to her. If you happen to speak to one of your cousins today, you might find out if Ron and Al followed through on their plans, or if, like so many men, they’re more talk than action.” Thea couldn’t help but smile. Her mother and Aunt Margaret had been playing a complicated, and truth be told, not particularly nice game of one-

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upmanship all her life. While it probably wasn’t good to encourage this pastime, Thea couldn’t help but be pleased she’d been the one to give Mom some winning ammunition. It usually put Mom in a better mood when she felt she was winning this little game with her sister. “Of course,” Mom added, “you’ll have to be discreet when you ask the question. If Margaret hears of your interest, she’ll turn the tables on me and point out how much more fortunate she is than me that her daughters can have her walk cleared for her.” “You daughter clears the walk for you every time it snows,” Thea reminded her. Her mother dismissed the comment. “You know it’s not the same thing if you do it.” “No,” Thea admitted, “from your perspective, I don’t suppose it is.” Her cell phone rang from its place on the counter where she’d plugged it in to recharge this morning when she got up to shovel. “Oh, yes,” her mother said, “that rang an hour or so ago. I didn’t think you would care as you obviously don’t check your calls very often. I must have phoned you six times last night.” Thea got up to retrieve her phone. “It was noisy in the…bar,” she told her. She wished she hadn’t hesitated before adding the final word. She knew—

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everyone knew—that her mother disapproved of drinking, but there was nothing wrong with it in moderation and she shouldn’t open herself to criticism by acting uncomfortable with the word. “I’m sure it was,” her mother said, her tone as disapproving as her pronounced frown. “When people drink to excess, they lose the ability for civilized conversation.” While her mother was speaking, Thea picked up the phone and read the caller ID: Nicholas Morrow. A smile of pure happiness immediately formed on her face. Nick was already calling her. She unplugged the phone. “Excuse me, Mom,” she said. “I have to take this.” Without waiting for her mother to reply, Thea left the table and strode out of the kitchen toward the dining room in a probably futile quest for privacy. As she walked, she pressed the little green button and lifted the phone to her mouth and ear. “Hi.” Her voice sounded giddy—even silly—in her ears. “Hey,” Nick greeted her. “I hope it’s okay to call. I know everyone says it’s bad to look too eager and I should play it cool and wait a few days before contacting you again, but I really didn’t want to wait.” “That’s okay!” Thea told him, and she meant it! “I’m glad you called. I really don’t like all those rules of dating. They make everything too complicated and they

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get in the way of getting to know each other.” “Thea?” her mother called out. “Who are you on the phone with?” Thea ignored her and walked through the dining room into the television room and sat down on the couch. They didn’t have a very big house. If this wasn’t far enough away, Thea would have to go upstairs and close her bedroom door. Come to think of it, maybe she should do that anyway. “That’s good,” Nick said. “When you didn’t answer my call earlier, I was afraid I’d made a mistake.” That didn’t stop you from calling back, Thea observed to herself. You might just be as excited about me as I am about you. What she said out loud was, “Sorry about that. I was outside shoveling snow. I just got in a few minutes ago.” “Thea?” her mother called out. She had gotten up and moved to the entrance to the dining room. “Who are you talking to? Your soup is getting cold.” Thea gestured for her to go away, hoping Nick couldn’t hear her talking. If he did, he gave no sign of it. “You have to shovel at your house?” he asked. “That’s a shame. I live in an apartment, so the building is responsible for shoveling there, and I’ve got a service that clears the lot at The Church Key.” “Sounds like you had it made this morning,” Thea told him. Hendrix, her more adventuresome black cat, leapt up on the couch beside her and rubbed

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against her, seeking her attention. She absently petted him while continuing to focus on Nick. “At least until you remember that mess you’ve got to clean up before you open tonight.” Nick laughed, a sound that reverberated nicely inside of her. “I opened an hour ago,” he said. “Really?” Thea asked him. “You didn’t close until after midnight.” “I usually close at 2:00 A.M.,” Nick told her. “And for the record, I was up a lot later than that talking on the phone to you when you called to tell me you’d gotten home safely.” That had been nice, Thea remembered. She hadn’t had a cell phone the last time she had dated someone, or thought about dating them, which was really what she was doing with Nick. “So you’ve already cleaned everything up?” “Sure,” Nick told her. “It didn’t take too long: pick up the glasses, start the dishwasher, sweep and mop the floors.” “And you actually have customers now?” she asked. “Oh, sure,” Nick said. “It’s New Year’s Day after all. There’s football on the big screen. That always brings in the crowds.” “But there was eight inches of snow last night,” Thea protested. It occurred to her that she really knew nothing of Nick’s business. She didn’t even have a passing acquaintance with bars. She just didn’t drink often enough herself to

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know anything about them. “Haven’t they plowed near you?” Nick asked. “The roads out here are clear enough that even Jim, my scaredy cat bartender, is willing to come in to work, as long as I let him off early enough for him to get home before the roads start freezing up again.” This time it was Thea’s turn to laugh. “Doesn’t Jim know he’s a guy? Your patrons must raz the heck out of him for being afraid to go out in the snow.” “They certainly do,” Nick told her. “I guess it’s part of his charm.” Thea suddenly noticed that her mother had come into the television room with her so she could eavesdrop on her conversation. “Would you excuse me for a moment, Nick?” she asked before covering the mouth of the phone with her palm. “Do you mind, Mom?” she asked. “I’m trying to have a private conversation here!” Her mother ignored her question. “Who are you talking to?” “A guy I met last night,” Thea answered. “Now would you please go back to the kitchen?” Her mother did not move, other than to keep talking while the wrinkle lines on her forehead became significantly more pronounced. “You met a man in a bar when you went out with your cousin and now you’re talking to him?” Thea couldn’t suppress the sigh. “That sums it up pretty accurately,” she

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agreed. There was no need to tell Mom that Nick owned the bar they’d gone to. At least there was no need to tell her yet. “And why didn’t you mention meeting this man to me?” her mother asked. “Do you want an extensive list of reasons?” Thea asked. “Or just the most important ones?” “I don’t need you sassing me, young woman,” her mother said. Thea sighed again. “That’s probably the most important reason,” she admitted. “I’m thirty-eight years old. That’s not really young, is it? Now will you please go into the other room? I haven’t had a date in more than ten years. I’m hoping that might end soon, but it won’t if I keep talking to you instead of him.” Mom vigorously shook her head, rejecting Thea’s request. “I know nothing about this man,” she told him. “Does your sister know him? How did you meet him? Was he just some stranger in the bar who started buying you drinks hoping you’d get drunk enough for him to take advantage of you?” “No one was going to take advantage of me,” Thea said. “Kara and Ron were with me.” Her mother pointed her finger at her as if that was a significant insight. “And will Kara and Ron be with you if you see this man again?” Thea stood up and started toward the stairwell. “I’m not going to get to see him again,” she called back over her shoulder, “if you don’t leave me alone so I can

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go back to talking to him.” She quickly mounted the stairs, taking her hand off the mouth of the phone as she approached her small bedroom. “Sorry about that,” she said. She didn’t really want to, but she decided to ’fess up to the problem just in case Nick had one of those imaginations which would create bigger ones if he didn’t know what was really happening. “My mother just decided to give me the third degree concerning you.” “Oh,” Nick chuckled. “So your mother is like that too?” She entered her bedroom and closed the door firmly behind her. “I don’t want you to take this wrong, but I had hoped to keep your existence secret from her at least until we figure out if we’re going to try dating or not.” Nick’s chuckle grew into a full-fledged laugh. “Me, too,” he confessed. “On the one hand, I feel really bad about it, because you’re really cool and quite frankly you’re the only thing I want to think or talk about right now.” Thea felt a rush of excitement surge through her body from head to foot. Nick was just as excited about her as she was about him. “But quite frankly,” Nick continued, “I’d rather leave my parents out of it for the time being. They got married late and they spend a lot of time worrying about when Patty, Tim or I are going to start giving them grandchildren. They can take the fun out of anything and let’s face it, making grandchildren ought to be fun—

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not some onerous obligation.” “Yes it should!” Thea agreed as she sat back on her bed. She felt very bold making that statement. It wasn’t like she had any actual experience to justify her opinion. “Hey, Nick!” someone yelled from the other end of the call. “How about some service over here?” Thea couldn’t be certain, of course, but she thought it sounded like that annoying guy, Glen, who’d kept irritating them last night. “Hold your horses,” Nick said. “It’s not like I’m going to run out of beer.” “I’m not worried about you running out,” the voice said. “I’m just worried I’ll never get any if you keep talking on the phone all day instead of paying attention to your customers.” “Do you have to go?” Thea asked him. She felt disappointed, but she had a strong work ethic herself. She’d understand if he had to go back to earning a living. “No, of course not,” Nick said. “I’m the boss, remember?” She did remember, of course. But he’d had no one to help out last night and while he said he expected to have help today, it wasn’t clear to Thea if that help was already with him. “Did you say Jim hadn’t come in yet?” she asked. “That’s right,” Nick admitted. “But he’ll probably get here before too much longer.”

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“Probably?” Thea asked. “That’s the problem with Jim,” Nick said. “Despite the plows having cleared the road, I can’t really be sure he’ll get here until he arrives.” They were silent for a few moments while Thea and Nick considered the situation. Or maybe he was filling someone’s drink order. There was no way for Thea to be sure. When he spoke again, she could hear the frustration in his voice. “I’m sorry, this isn’t going to work. I’d hoped we could talk for a while, but ten more people just walked in and I’m going to have to run my business.” “I understand,” Thea assured him. She was disappointed, of course, but a job was a job. “While they get their coats off, let me tell you what’s on my mind,” Nick added. He was clearly trying to stretch the conversation as long as his customers would let him. “Sure,” Thea said to encourage him. “I usually have Jim fill in for me Wednesday nights,” Nick began. Thea felt her spirits sag. Wednesday was one of the nights the dentist she worked for stayed open late. “So I was thinking,” Nick continued without any idea that Thea already knew she’d have to decline, “that if you’re free at such short notice, we might grab

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a bite to eat and then go snow-tubing.” Thea’s mouth dropped open in astonishment and she forgot to decline. “Snow-tubing?” she asked. A defensive edge immediately entered Nick’s voice. “Yes, snow-tubing,” he repeated. “I think it’s a lot of fun, but if you’d rather do something else, if you’d—” “No, no,” Thea rushed to assure him. “Snow-tubing sounds great. I’ve never actually been but it looks fun. It just wasn’t what I expected you to say. I don’t know why, but I guess I thought you’d be very conservative about this and suggest we see a movie or something.” “We could see a movie if you’d rather,” Nick offered. “No!” Thea insisted. “I’d love to go snow-tubing with you!” The good humor returned full force to Nick’s voice. “Great!” he said. “Can I pick you up at six? I figure if we stop for dinner on the way, we can be on the slopes by eight or eight-thirty. That will give us a couple of hours of fun before I have to get you home so you can get up and go to work on Thursday. You work for a dentist, right?” “That’s right,” Thea confirmed, “but I can’t go out with you Wednesday night. We hold late hours Wednesdays so we can attract customers who work during the day.” “Oh,” Nick said sounding momentarily disconcerted by her refusal. Then he

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rallied and began to offer Plan B. “Well, how about Thursday night then? I can get Jim to switch the shift with me. The bar is pretty quiet on Thursdays.” Thea felt her own spirits sagging. “We work late Thursdays too,” she told him. “Oh,” Nick said again. “But maybe we could do it on Friday,” Thea suggested. “Could Jim handle the bar for the evening? If we follow your plan, you’d be back to help him by midnight at the latest.” She realized that her suggestion eliminated the possibility of the two of them doing much of anything physical on their date. She hoped that wasn’t a turn off for Nick. She was interested in sex, of course, but she was also more than a little nervous about it. If she and Nick could take sex off the table for their first night out, it might just help them to relax and get to know each other better. She wanted her first time to be with a really good guy. Heck, she wanted all her times to be with a really good guy. She thought Nick might be him but she really didn’t know yet. Thea suddenly realized that Nick wasn’t speaking. He was put off that she didn’t intend to sleep with him that first night. If she hadn’t already been sitting on her bed, she’d have sunk to her knees with the weight of her disappointment. “I, um, I,” Nick said as he fumbled about for the right words to make his

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point with. “It’s okay,” Thea said. “We don’t have to go out Friday night.” “What?” Nick said. “No, that’s not what the problem is,” he said. “Actually, I’ve already gotten Jim to agree to cover me for the first part of the night, just like you suggested, it’s just that…” His voice trailed off leading Thea to leap to a different and far more disappointing realization. “You have another date,” she accused. “What? No!” Nick insisted before backing off his absolute assurance. “Well, not really. It’s just that—” Thea’s disappointment quickly turned to anger. “Do you, or don’t you, have a date with someone else Friday night?” “My sister is starring in a community production of The Sound of Music this weekend,” Nick confessed. He kept talking in a heated rush as if it were a race to spit the words out into the phone. “I promised her I’d see it on Friday. I’m sorry but I can’t let her down. She doesn’t get a lead very often and playing the part of Maria is the biggest role she’s ever had.” Thea dropped her head back onto her pillow in relief—all trace of the anger she’d been feeling fifteen seconds earlier was gone. “Well, why didn’t you just say so?” she asked. “Of course you have to see your sister’s play. And if you want, I’d be happy to go with you. There’s no reason we can’t make the play our first date.”

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“You’d really go?” Nick said. He sounded as if she’d just announced she’d face down a pack of wild dogs or give up one of her kidneys for him. “Well, it’s not snow-tubing,” she acknowledged, “but sure. Who doesn’t love The Sound of Music?” “You do realize,” Nick told her, “that my mother, father and brother will be there, too.” “Oh,” Thea said. She finally understood Nick’s reluctance regarding getting together Friday night. The thought of meeting his parents on their first date was very intimidating. “Yes, oh,” Nick said. “Believe me. I understand. If you want to rethink the idea of going to the play with me Friday night, I’ll understand. We can get together next week.” She did find the idea of meeting Nick’s parents intimidating—after all, they hadn’t actually gone out with each other yet. But damn it, she also really did want to see him again and she didn’t want to wait a week to do it. How bad could they really be? “I want to go to the play with you,” she told him. “Really?” Nick asked again as if he couldn’t quite believe his good fortune. “Yes, really!” Thea told him. “I had a really good time last night. Let’s see how well we get along when we’re not in a bar.”

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Chapter Two Parental Review

“So you’re really going to do this?” Thea’s mother asked. Thea ignored her mother’s question and continued peering between the drapes out the window, waiting for Nick to arrive. “You’re really going to go out with a man you barely know at all and spend the evening with him.” The sky was already dark, especially so, as neither the moon nor the stars were visible beneath the thick layer of gray clouds that had spent the day trying to smother the sun. Another snowstorm was in the making, although the forecast assured them it wouldn’t start until the wee hours of the morning. “It’s called a date, Mom,” Thea explained. “It’s what people who just met each other do when they want to get to know each other better.” She hoped the sharp sarcastic edge to her voice would shut her mother up, but knew in her heart that nothing could accomplish that. “There’s no need to take that tone with me!” her mother snapped. “And there’s no need for you to give me all this grief about going out on a

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simple date!” Thea snapped back. She knew she shouldn’t be doing this. Fighting with her mother never accomplished anything except to get make the woman angrier. But honestly, when was she going to back off and give Thea a chance to enjoy her life? “I’m your mother!” Mom reminded her—as if that was something Thea could ever forget. “It’s my responsibility to look out for you!” “Look out for me?” Thea repeated. Her voice rose in volume. “Is that what you think you’re doing? I’m thirty-eight years old! I don’t need you to look out for me!” “Oh of course, you do!” Mom threw her hands up in exasperation as if she couldn’t believe Thea had actually said what she said. “Why else would you still live with me here? You don’t have either the self-confidence or the sense of independence necessary to make it on your own.” “I can’t believe you just said that!” Thea shouted. “If I didn’t pay the mortgage on this house, you’d have lost it years ago! Your Social Security sure wouldn’t cover it. I live here to take care of you!” “Nonsense!” her mother said and then quickly changed the subject. “So what did you say this man you’re dating does for a living?” The doorbell rang, startling both of them. Thea whirled around and looked through the window. Nick’s truck was

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parked in front of the house. He must have pulled up just as she started fighting with her mother. Had he heard anything they’d been shouting at each other? “We can argue later,” Thea said in a much more moderate tone of voice. “Please don’t embarrass me in front of Nick.” She hurried to the front door, black skirt swishing against her legs, and tried to pull it open. It stuck of course, requiring her to use both hands to wrench the knob and let Nick in. “Hi,” he said. “It’s good to see you.” He was holding a single long-stemmed rose in his hands and wore a black overcoat over boots and blue jeans. The knot of a dark tie peaked out from around his neck at the top of the coat, suggesting he had mixed formal and casual attire. His long blond hair fell back loose over his shoulders and his clear blue eyes gleamed over a wide smile. Thea felt suddenly shy at the sight of him. He was very handsome and a lot younger than her. She didn’t feel beautiful enough to go out with this man. Her mother moved into the foyer behind her. “Don’t be rude, Thea. Invite your gentleman inside so I can meet him.” Her mother’s presence didn’t help Thea with her bout of shyness, but she was used to doing as her mother said so she stepped to the side and pulled the

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door open wider. “Hello, Nick, how are you doing tonight? You certainly clean up well!” Nick stepped inside. “Me? Look at you, why don’t you? Wow! I didn’t think it was possible but you’re even more beautiful now then on New Year’s Eve.” He offered her the rose. “This is for you.” “Thank you,” Thea said. She paused to smell the petals, but her mother got tired of waiting and interrupted them. “I am Edith Clark,” she said, “Thea’s mother.” Despite her earlier talk of politeness, she didn’t extend her hand. Nick did. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Clark,” he said as he turned away from Thea to face the older woman. Mom shook his hand, using the opportunity to examine him carefully. Thea was certain she didn’t like what she saw. Nick’s long hair, his boots and his blue jeans would all categorize him in her mother’s mind as lacking in decorum and class. The fact that Thea was dressed in a very nice skirt and blouse would only serve to emphasize the differences between them to Mom. “I hadn’t realized that you would be so much younger than Thea,” her mother told Nick. Thea cringed but her date seemed to find the comment amusing. “Surely Thea can’t be that old,” he said, “or you would have had to have been a child when

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you had her.” Mom shocked Thea by smiling at the cheesy compliment. “I’m older than I look,” she said as she self-consciously smoothed her skirt down with her left hand. Thea rolled her eyes, but neither Nick nor her mother seemed to notice. “Thea,” her mother said. “You still haven’t properly introduced us.” “Oh, that’s right,” Thea said. “Sorry about that, Mom. This is Nick Morrow. He’s a friend of Kara’s boyfriend, Ron.” “I assumed as much,” her mother said, “when I noticed he was both young and white.” She stepped up next to Nick and hooked her arm into his, further shocking Thea. Mom was flirting a little, wasn’t she? The idea sent a shiver of revulsion up Thea’s spine. “Tell me, Nick,” her mother said, “do you and Thea have time to have a cup of tea before you leave tonight.” Nick patted her mother’s hand. “That would be really nice.” “But unfortunately, we can’t!” Thea interrupted. She was not spending her first date with Nick with her mother. Although it suddenly occurred to her that she would be spending a good chunk of it with his. “The play starts at seven-thirty and his sister’s starring in it, so we can’t be late.” “But you haven’t eaten yet,” her mother said. “You’ve been running around the house since you got home, fussing with your makeup and trying on dresses.”

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“Actually, Thea, the play starts at eight,” Nick said. He had apparently completely missed the fact that she was trying to get them out of the house and away from her mother. “But your mother is right—” Mom beamed beside him at this tacit acknowledgement of her innate superiority. “If you haven’t eaten anything since lunch,” Nick continued, “we should hit the road in time to grab a bite on the way. I’m hoping to take you out to dinner afterward, but it’s likely to be eleven or eleven-thirty before we could get to a restaurant.” This was the first time Nick had mentioned going out to eat after the play. The notion pleased Thea, but it also surprised her. “Are you sure Jim will be all right by himself that long?” she asked. Too late to cut off the question, she belatedly realized what she’d done. Her mother released Nick’s arm and took a step back from him, her expression becoming wary. “Do you have a son, Nick?” “What?” Nick said. “Oh, no, I don’t. Jim is my bartender and he’ll be running The Church Key by himself tonight while Thea and I are at the play.” He shifted his attention to Thea. “I think he’ll be okay,” he said. “It will be busy tonight but—” “Am I to understand that you own a tavern?” Mom interrupted him.

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Nick seemed surprised by the question. He could tell by Mom’s tone of voice that something was wrong but he didn’t know what it was. “Sure,” he said. “Didn’t you tell her about The Church Key, Thea?” “Mom, doesn’t approve—” Thea began but her mother cut her off. “And do you serve alcohol at this tavern?” Nick laughed. The sound was a little bit strained, but it came off well, nonetheless. “Of course,” he said. “What else do you serve in a bar?” “Mom doesn’t approve of the consumption of alcohol,” Thea told him. Nick’s eyebrows went up. “Oh?” Mom’s face had taken on a dark and disapproving scowl. “And you knew about this, Thea?” Thea sighed. “Of course I did, Mom. And I knew you would react like this. So I decided to let Nick and I have a couple of dates to see if we liked going out together before I told you and let you start a fight about it.” “I see,” Mom said. She could pour a lot of guilt into simple words like that. Mom turned back to Nick. “And I suppose you will be taking Thea back to this tavern after dinner tonight?” “Well, she’s certainly welcome to come,” Nick said, “but I’ll be working and won’t have the time to give her all the attention I’d like to. Fridays are a big night in my business.”

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“I see,” Mom repeated. She took another step back. She looked ten years older than she had when she’d smiled and entwined her arm in Nick’s. “I suppose you’ll want to get going now. Thea, I’m disappointed but as you keep telling me, you’re an adult now. And with age comes the right to make your own decisions.” “Thanks, Mom,” Thea told her. She sat the rose on the credenza and picked up her coat. Nick helped her put it on. It was black like his, and it slid easily on to her shoulders, covering up the gray-black swirling design of her blouse. “Thea,” her mother said. “I don’t suppose that I have to remind you that alcohol lowers inhibitions.” Thea rolled her eyes again. This time, both her mother and Nick saw her do it. “Have a good night, Mom,” Thea told her. Nick opened the front door. Unlike Thea, he had no apparent difficulty in doing so. He held the door for her while she stepped out onto the porch. “Good evening, Mrs. Clark,” he said. “I hope you’ll hold that invitation for tea open. Maybe next time we’ll have more time to chat.” He closed the door and offered Thea his arm. “I am so sorry about that,” Thea told him.

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“About what?” Nick asked. Together they stepped down off the porch on to the front walk. Thea had salted it when she got home from work and the granules crunched beneath their feet as they started toward Nick’s truck. “About my mother, of course,” Thea said. She tried to mimic her mother’s voice. “Am I to understand you own a tavern?” “Oh, that,” Nick said with a dismissive wave of his free hand. “So she doesn’t like alcohol. There’s nothing wrong with that. I don’t drink that much myself.” “But she—” “Look,” Nick said. “We’re right outside of Detroit. Lots of people here don’t approve of bars. There’s a large Muslim population, which doesn’t drink at all. Plus a lot of the Protestants also frown on beer and liquor. It’s America. Everyone’s welcome to their point of view.” He stopped and opened the door of his truck for her. It was an old Ford pickup, clean, but like his bar, clearly in need of a little maintenance. “That’s really sweet of you to see it that way,” Thea told him. She thought about giving him a little hug and kiss, but her mother was probably watching from the window, so she resisted the impulse. Nick laughed again. “That’s just the way it is,” he said. “Besides, it would be a much bigger problem if you were the one who didn’t like bars.”

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“I won’t pretend I have a lot of experience with them,” Thea told him, “but I did enjoy yours New Year’s Eve.” “I’m glad to hear it,” Nick said, “because having you there with me made my whole evening.” “So what do you want to eat?” Nick asked as he slipped behind the wheel and closed his door. Thea didn’t really like the idea of going out for food. Dinner, or a snack in this case, seemed a barbaric part of the dating ritual to her. Most women she knew were very self-conscious about their weight. Even the heaviest of them wanted to appear dainty when a guy took them out. So what did these guys do? They took them to eat so they could feel even fatter stuffing their faces. Thea knew she wasn’t fat, but like just about everyone in America, she could always use to lose a few pounds. “I don’t know,” she demurred. “I don’t think we really need to eat twice.” “Are you sure?” Nick asked her. “Because this play is going to last forever.” He turned the key in the ignition and the engine struggled to catch. After seven or eight seconds, he shut the engine off and then tried again. His foot played gently with the gas pedal and the motor finally caught. “Good,” he said, looking relieved. “You know I just got it back from the garage a week ago. They rebuilt the alternator. I guess I’m going to have to bring it back again.” The car breaking down was a staple of bad date movies, but Thea didn’t

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think Nick was playing games. He didn’t make any additional reference to the truck as he pulled into the street. Instead, he said, “So how about Panera Bread? They have good soup and salads and they’re quick. We don’t really have time for a sit down meal and you look far too good for a Burger King or a McDonalds.” Thea liked Panera Bread. They served a healthy sort of fast food and it definitely felt like a cut above the traditional burger and fries. And despite her reluctance to eat, she was hungry. “We could do that,” she agreed. “Great!” Nick told her. “Panera Bread it is.”

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Chapter Three The Morrow Family

Thea couldn’t believe she’d agreed to meet Nick’s parents. During their brief stop at Panera Bread, she’d been able to put her concerns about this part of the evening behind her, but now that they were actually at the small theater where they were meeting his parents, she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. What could she possibly have been thinking? They hadn’t even had a real date yet. As if her mother’s reaction hadn’t been bad enough, now they were going to turn Nick’s mother against them. Even if the fact that she was black and he was white wasn’t a problem, she and her husband couldn’t be happy that their son was dating a woman who was more than ten years older than him. Nick opened the truck door for her and offered Thea his hand. “What’s wrong?” he said. “You look— Well, you look fabulous, of course, but there’s something in your face that…” Thea tried to force a smile on to her lips as she accepted his help in slipping out of the truck. “Nothing’s wrong,” she said. “Do you think your parents are here already? Are we ready to meet them?”

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“Oh, you’re nervous,” Nick said. He didn’t back away as her feet touched the pavement. Instead he took her in his arms, which seemed a little presumptuous to Thea, even though they had kissed quite a lot on New Year’s Eve. “Don’t let them get to you,” Nick continued. “Remember, once the play starts we won’t be able to talk to them anyway.” That was a good point, Thea agreed. She wasn’t really going to spend the whole evening with Nick’s family, just a few minutes before the play began. “In fact,” Nick said, “I think that after we say hello, I’ll remind them that this is a first date and tell them we’re going to sit on the other side of the theater from them.” “I don’t want to be rude,” Thea told him, although she did really like the idea. “It’s not rude!” Nick insisted. “We’re on a date, after all. Maybe if this was a tenth date we could be expected to sit with them, but honestly, this is our first date!” “Let’s play it by ear,” Thea told him. “I don’t want to insult your parents.” “Fair enough,” Nick agreed. It looked to Thea as if he wanted to give her a quick kiss, but he didn’t. Instead he stepped away, taking her right hand in his left and closed the truck door behind her.

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She felt disappointed. She’d wanted the kiss, even if it was probably better to wait until later in the evening. It wouldn’t do to meet his parents with already smudged lipstick. “Are you ready?” he asked, squeezing her fingers a little bit tighter as he asked the question. Oh, my God, she thought. Nick’s nervous too! The twisting feeling in her gut became significantly worse, but she forced herself to smile. “Of course!” Together they started across the parking lot toward the front entrance to the building. The air had gotten colder since they had left her mother’s and the cloudy gray cast to the night sky had dropped down around them. Snow was definitely coming. Hopefully it would hold off until tomorrow morning like it was supposed to. By the time they reached the front doors to the theater, other people were moving around them—laughing and talking as they made their way into the show. Nick and Thea followed them inside to a small antechamber where some were milling around waiting while others got in line to buy tickets. Nick already had theirs, so he ushered Thea to the next set of doors where he handed the two pieces of paper to a formally dressed woman. She proceeded to tear his tickets in half and hand the stubs back to them. Then she gave them each a program and let them

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inside. The theater proper was fairly small—bigger than the new movie theaters but not as big as your typical high school auditorium. Nick immediately began looking about for his family. His fingers tightened again on Thea’s hand. “Over there,” he said, pointing to the far aisle. “That’s them over there.” Thea squeezed him back as a sweet looking older woman with long red hair and glasses caught sight of them across the seats and waved vigorously in their direction. Nick waved back and asked Thea, “Do you want to cut through the seats or walk around the front by the stage?” Thea imagined herself scooting between the seats in her black skirt and high heels and didn’t like the possibilities. “Why don’t we walk around front?” she suggested. As Nick led her down the aisle toward the stage, she tried to surreptitiously examine his family. His mother was much older than she expected—older than her own mom, Thea suspected. She wore a heavy sweater beneath her open coat with a gold necklace circling down above her breasts. Lower down she had on sensible slacks which were nice but practical if the weather went bad early as it was now threatening to do.

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The gentleman next to Nick’s mom, presumably his father, was harder to judge. He was a big man, broad in the shoulders and red in the cheek, wearing a very nice black suit and tie. He was smiling very broadly as if he were both happy and excited that Nick was coming over to introduce Thea to him. But as to his age? She simply couldn’t tell. Standing next to his wife, it was possible that he was as old as her, but Thea wouldn’t have thought so if she’d seen him by himself. Standing next to Nick’s father was a man of very similar build with short blond hair and a grin that very well could have been stolen from Nick. He was older than Thea’s date, far closer to her age than to Nick’s, and of the three he proved to be the one least able to contain his enthusiasm to meet Thea. He strode forward when they were still five feet away and stuck out his hand to her. “Hi, I’m Tim,” he greeted her. “Can’t tell you how excited we are to meet you. You’re all we’ve been talking about since Nick told us you were coming with him last night.” Nick let go of Thea’s hands so he could throw both of his up in despair. “Damn it, Tim!” he said. “I asked you to go easy tonight. Don’t embarrass Thea!” Nick’s mother stepped forward between her sons. “Oh, he’s not embarrassing her, is he, dear?” She leaned forward and offered Thea a hug. “I’m Caitie, by the way. It’s so good to finally meet you.” Thea accepted the hug and awkwardly patted Mrs. Morrow on the back.

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Up close she could see that the reason Nick’s mother looked so elderly was that she wore absolutely no makeup. It was as if the woman didn’t have a single shred of vanity. She was simply that comfortable with herself. “My turn, Caitie,” Nick’s father said. “You’re not the only one who wants to hug the beautiful lady.” Nick’s mother let go of Thea and stepped out of her husband’s way. “Behave yourself, old man!” she warned him. He laughed and offered Thea a perfectly harmless, if still overwhelming, embrace. “Welcome, welcome!” He told her. “I am so glad you could come out tonight!” “Dad,” Nick said. “We didn’t just get engaged or anything. It’s just a first date. And there isn’t likely to be a second date if you all don’t stop coming on so strong!” Nick’s father let go of Thea and stepped back to give her the once over. “Wow!” he said. “Now I understand it! You are obviously something special. I mean, we never get Nick to take off a night from the bar. If we want to see him, we usually have to visit The Church Key. I’m Garrett, by the way.” Thea felt so overwhelmed that she honestly didn’t know what to say. So she fell back on polite formalities. “I’m pleased to meet you all.” “Why don’t we take our coats off and sit down?” Nick’s mother suggested.

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“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nick disagreed. “I think Thea and I are going to sit on the far side of the theater over there. This is our first chance to get better acquainted since we met New Year’s Eve.” “Oh p-tosh!” his mother said. She took hold of Thea’s arm and began to lead her back to the seats that her family had staked out about four rows from the front. “You two can smooch in that big old pickup truck of his on your way home. This is my time with Thea and I want to learn all about her.” Thea began to feel a small tendril of dread worming its way up through her body. In the first few seconds, Nick’s family’s greeting had been overwhelmingly positive, but she was beginning to understand why he might have been concerned about tonight. “Now you probably know this already,” his mother said, “but Nick is a very good kisser.” Thea’s eyes widened further, but before her imagination could truly begin to ponder just how his mother might know such a thing, the older woman volunteered the information. “I used to question all of his girlfriends in high school, and they all agreed that Nick had very good lips. They were such sweet girls, too. Nick’s always had very good taste in women. Why just look at you!” She took off her coat and laid it over one of the chairs. Then she patted the seat next to her. “Now you sit right here and tell me all about how you met. Nick is

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a very good son in most regards, but he’s always been rather reticent to give me all the details. It didn’t matter if I asked him about his outing with the boy scouts or how his day went in school, he’d always just say, ‘It was good.’” “Mom,” Nick said. “If Thea still wants to date me after tonight, I promise you we’ll come over to the house one afternoon and let you embarrass me to your heart’s content. But tonight we just want to sit quietly and watch the play together.” “Oh, come on,” Nick’s brother, Tim, said. “Sit with your family!” “We don’t have to sit by ourselves,” Thea told him, although in truth she was hoping they would. The Morrows were sweet but there was something about their intensity that was definitely unsettling. “Don’t encourage them,” Nick told her. He wasn’t smiling when he said it. “If you give them an inch, it’s all over!” “Nick!” his father protested. “We’re just trying to be friendly!” “Nicky!” a female voice called out. Thea looked toward the stage to find a redheaded woman—hair flying behind her and dressed like a nun—running up the aisle toward them. She gave Nick a ferocious hug crying, “You came! You came! You came! You really came this time!” Nick looked embarrassed. “Thea,” he said. “This is my sister, Patty. Patty, this is—”

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“I know who it is,” Patty said. She released Nick to give Thea just as enthusiastic of a welcome. “And I have you to thank for getting him to come to my play! He always says, ‘I have to work that night.’” She spontaneously hugged Thea again. “You have to let her breathe, Patty,” Nick reminded her. Patty stepped back to give Thea a little room. She had her mother’s basic very thin shape accentuated with the long red hair. She was a lot older than Nick—and probably older than Thea, too. Looking at the three children together, it looked like Caitie and Garrett Morrow had spread out their children over nearly twenty years. None of them seemed to be wearing wedding rings. No wonder the parents were so excited about the possibility of grandchildren. “I didn’t convince Nick to come,” Thea explained to Patty. “He was already planning to see you when he invited me along.” “Oh, that’s what he says,” Patty told her, “but he still hasn’t made a performance since he opened that place of his.” “I operate a bar,” Nick reminded everyone. “Friday and Saturday nights are the busiest times of the week. I can’t turn a profit without them and it’s really too much work for one bartender by himself.” “Are you always as busy as you were New Year’s Eve?” Thea asked him. “I wish,” Nick laughed. “No, that was a pretty typical Friday or Saturday

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night crowd—lighter than I had hoped for New Year’s Eve—but still a pretty good size, at least until the snow got so bad.” “It looks like you may get some more snow tonight,” Tim said. “Is your wimpy little friend, Jim, going to go running home to Mommy and Daddy if that happens?” “Probably so,” Nick sighed. “He’s not reasonable on the issue. Heck, if he had to, Jim could spend the night at the bar instead of risking the roads. I’ve got sleeping bags and blankets in the office and even a gas-powered generator if the power goes out.” Tim just shook his head in amusement. Patty leaned close to Thea as if she were about to share a secret, but when she spoke it, was a stage whisper pitched so everyone could hear. “He acts like that stuff is there for emergencies,” she said, “but the truth it he loves that bar so much, he’s trying to figure out how to move in so he never has to leave.” Tim and her parents laughed good-naturedly. Nick affected a scowl. “You’re not actually making us want to sit and watch the play with you,” he told his family. Patty playfully shoved his shoulder. “I know you think if you sit away from Mom and Dad that you and Thea can smooch through the show, but I can see you no matter how dark the corner you think you’re hiding in.”

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Nick was about to respond, but a short thin man with glasses appeared on the stage and called to them. “Patty! There you are! What do you think you’re doing? The curtain goes up in less than two minutes. Get back stage and take your place!” Patty immediately began to back away from Thea and her family toward the stage. “You two can kiss all you like,” she told them, “as long as you wait until after my first song. I’ll be mortally offended if you don’t pay attention for at least one song.” She turned and dramatically danced her way back on the stage before disappearing past the little man through the curtain. “That’s my sister, Patty,” Nick said. “In case you somehow missed it. She’s not weird. She’s just a typical Morrow.” “That’s right, little brother,” Tim said as he reached out and tousled Nick’s hair. “You’re the weird one in this family, but we love you anyway.” “If you could all finish taking your seats,” the little man instructed the audience. “We’d like to start in sixty seconds!” Looking about her, Thea did not think there was any chance that this crowd would finish seating itself in sixty seconds. “Oh good,” Nick’s mother said. “Now there isn’t time for you to go hide Thea away on the other side of the theater.”

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She grasped her hand and encouraged her to sit in the seat next to her. Oddly enough, that would put Thea on the aisle, far away from Nick. “She’s sitting with me, Mom,” Nick told her, “but if you really want us to, I suppose we could sit at the end of this row.” He shrugged apologetically at Thea. She found herself smiling back at him. He was right. His family was more than a little strange. But at least they weren’t going to try and drive the two of them apart.

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Chapter Four A Cry for Help

Patty could sing. Thea wasn’t certain why this surprised her so much, but she hadn’t expected Nick’s sister to be able to carry a tune as well as she did. Of course she was overly dramatic and expressive in her acting—not quite as bad as William Shatner in his T.J. Hooker days—but the key ingredient of a musical was the singing and Patty’s performance was impressive enough that Thea needed no prompting to surge to her feet with the Morrow clan and applaud her at the end of her first song. Of course, they were the only people in the theater standing for the ovation, but they weren’t the only ones enthusiastically clapping their hands. Despite some early concerns when she’d first met the Morrows, it was beginning to look like a very fun evening. Their enthusiasm was just so contagious. And it wasn’t because they were a theater family either. Delightful as she was, Nick’s mother was not a stage personality. Women who disdained makeup did not have the temperament to stand up and perform before an audience. No, they just clearly truly supported

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each other and took delight in each other’s accomplishments in a way that touched Thea’s heart. Add to that, Thea really enjoyed sitting with Nick through the performance and holding his hand. It was a little thing, really. He’d positioned himself between Thea and the rest of his family with one seat left empty between him and his mother. They hadn’t talked much, of course, but Thea found those fingers of his were far more expressive then she’d realized fingers could be. He did nothing inappropriate, but there was a whole exciting language, Thea discovered, that had its roots in a man and woman holding each other’s hands. He could loosen his grip to tickle her palm, or lightly play the piano by balancing his fingertips against hers and pressing lightly in increasingly complicated patterns. And of course, he could squeeze her fingers lightly to secure her attention so that she turned and looked into his bright blue eyes to see how badly he wished he was kissing her right then. She really wanted to kiss him, too. When he stroked the back of her hands, she could feel sympathetic shocks of pleasure resonate up her arms and down in her sides. When he gently traced the outlines of her fingers, her whole body tingled in response. If Nick’s fingers could excite her this much just by touching her hands, she wondered what they would do to her when they knew each other well enough for

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him to explore the rest of her. He leaned in close as if to whisper in her ear toward the end of Act I. His breath felt hot on her lobe, tickling her in a way that sent shivers down her neck and spine. “It’s better than I thought it would be,” he told her. A buzzing noise distracted both of them and Nick began to squirm, sitting straight up in his chair again. “Damn!” he whispered. “That’s my phone. What do you bet it’s…?” He hesitated a moment while he dug in his pocket and pulled out the phone. “Damn it!” he whispered again. “I’ve got to take this!” Excusing himself, he stood up and quickly made his way past his brother and parents. Thea wanted to get up and go after him—partly because her skin was on fire after an hour of Nick teasing her, but mostly because she wanted to know if Jim was freaking out and their date was going to be interrupted. She didn’t want it interrupted. She wanted to keep sitting here with Nick holding hands. The curtain dropped on the first act as Nick came back down the aisle. “I’m sorry, Thea,” he said, then belatedly included his parents, “Mom, Dad, I’ve got to go.” Thea felt her spirits drop. “You can’t go now!” Nick’s mother said. “You’re on a date! What will Thea think?”

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“And Patty’s got another song coming up just after the intermission,” Tim added. He turned to Thea as if seeking her help in convincing Nick to stay. “It’s a reprise of My Favorite Things. You can’t leave now.” “I have to!” Nick told them. In all fairness, Thea thought he looked just sick over it. “There’s a whole half inch of snow on the ground,” he sarcastically noted, “and Jim’s having a coronary over it. He swears if I’m not there in twenty minutes he’s going to throw everyone out of the bar and close the place.” “But what about Patty?” Nick’s father asked. “She was so pleased you managed to come to this performance.” “If you’re trying to make me feel worse about this, you’re succeeding,” Nick told them. “Thea? I’m really in a bind. I can’t believe I’m asking this, but can I call you a cab? I really think Jim meant it when he said he’s going to throw my customers out.” “You can’t send your girlfriend home in a cab!” his mother said. Patty, the actress in the family, couldn’t have made herself sound more scandalized. “Well, I don’t want to—” Nick protested but his mother cut him off. “We’ll take her home!” his mother insisted. “It will give us a chance to become better acquainted and make you look like less of a dope for walking out on her.” This evening was quickly going from bad to disastrous. Thea couldn’t begin to imagine how her mother would respond to the very expressive Morrow family,

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and she didn’t want to learn firsthand either. “It’s early,” Thea announced. “I don’t want to go home yet. Why don’t I go with Nick to the bar?” “But you’d miss the end of Patty’s play!” Nick’s father exclaimed. “Maybe we can catch another showing,” Thea suggested. “Don’t they have a matinee this weekend?” “It’s the same time as the NFL playoffs,” Nick told Thea, “the Wildcard Games. I can’t close the bar during the playoffs.” “But—” his father stammered. “I’m sorry,” Nick said again. “We’ll have to talk about this tomorrow. For now, I need to go.” He held out his hand to Thea. “If you really want to go with me, that would be wonderful.” Thea stood. “Of course I want to go with you,” she said. She picked up her purse and her coat, and then Nick’s coat. “Mr. and Mrs. Morrow, Tim, it was a pleasure to meet you all. Please tell Patty how much we were enjoying her performance and that I hope they’re making a DVD so we can see it all the way through sometime when Nick’s not at the bar.” “Good luck finding that time,” Tim said. “Thea,” Nick’s mother said as she rose, “I insist that you call me Caitie.” Thea didn’t think she could do that. “That is very kind of you,” she answered while carefully not committing to follow Mrs. Morrow’s request.

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She eased her way past them, getting hugs from all three, while Nick looked like his head would pop off from impatience. But none of his bad vibe transmitted to her when she reached the end of the aisle and faced him. “I am really sorry about this,” he repeated as he took his coat from her and shrugged into it. “I really wanted tonight to be special.” “It is special,” Thea told him. “And it’s not over yet.” She let him help her slip into her coat, then let him hold her hand. He squeezed it tenderly. “Are you ready?” She nodded. As they started up the aisle, she turned back to wave over her shoulder to the Morrows. All three were already waving back. “What a very nice young girl,” Nick’s mother announced to her husband just before Nick led Thea through the doors and out of the theater.

Nick had been generous in describing the amount of snowfall. Thick wonderful snowflakes fell from the sky but the pavement was barely covered yet. “I’m really sorry about this,” Nick said again. “I swear I’m going to fire him this time!” “Don’t do anything rash,” Thea advised him. “Certainly it’s inconvenient, but you’ll be in lot worse shape if you get rid of him without a replacement lined up.

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And if you get a replacement, then his snow-related paranoia won’t be that much of a problem for you.” A big flake landed on the tip of Nick’s nose and melted. He wiped the water droplets off with his hand. “One time I ask him to come through for me!” he grumbled. “Hey!” Thea stopped walking, forcing Nick to turn and face her. She cupped his cheeks between her two hands to make certain he was paying attention to her. “I’ve had a really good time so far this evening,” she told him. On impulse, she pulled his face down to hers and kissed him. The weather hadn’t had time to cool his lips yet and they felt warm against hers. She teased him just a little by letting the tip of her tongue slip out to tickle him, then backing away the moment his own tongue responded. She was stunned by the feeling of power this gave her and by the strength of her own body’s response to her play. Heat flushed her neck and breasts and her thighs began to tingle, but she didn’t think Nick was in a position to notice anything but her smile. “Let’s not waste our time getting angry at Jim,” she suggested. “Let’s see what else we can do to make this a wonderful night.” Nick stepped forward to take her in his arms again. At that moment, there was no doubt in Thea’s mind that he had forgotten all about his bar and the

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customers Jim meant to throw out in the snow. Every iota of his being was focused upon hers. Fortunately for Nick and his customers, Thea’s head was screwed on a little more responsibly. She put the splayed fingers of one hand against his chest to hold him off and asked, “Aren’t you forgetting something?” For a moment, she didn’t think Nick was going to stop, but then he smiled and asked, “Are you teasing me?” She was definitely smiling back at him. “I might be.” “Some people,” Nick observed, “would find that very naughty. Are you being naughty with me?” From the gleam in his eyes, she had a pretty good idea what he was thinking. Normally those thoughts would have frightened her, but now, in the snowy parking lot, with Nick’s business depending on them hitting the road and racing away to save it, she felt empowered enough to continue to play this game she’d unintentionally started. “Play your cards right and you may just find out.” Nick’s grin continued to suggest he was still on the verge of abandoning his bar tonight. But Thea wasn’t actually prepared to follow through on her teasing promises yet. This was, after all, only their first date and an interrupted one at that. But she was so excited herself that she couldn’t quite cut out the teasing banter.

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“Now be a good boy,” she told him, “and drive us to your bar. I want to meet this Jim and see my man rescue his patrons.” Still grinning, Nick got out his keys and unlocked the passenger door for her. It was a big step and he didn’t content himself with offering her a hand for support. Instead he dropped a hand to her waist that quickly slipped a little lower, boosting her up as she climbed into her seat. She knew she ought to warn him off or cool him down a bit, but the heat which flared up inside her as he briefly touched her ass distracted her until the moment was past. It wasn’t like they could go too far tonight anyway. They were going to his bar to work—not driving to his apartment to spend the night. Nick settled himself in the driver’s seat and stuck the key in the ignition. Once again, the truck groaned and complained before the engine finally caught and started. Once going, it seemed to have no trouble at all, and Nick put them into gear and got going on the road. “It’s really great of you to go to The Church Key with me,” he said. “I’m sorry the play didn’t work out so well. My family means well, but they don’t realize how strong they come across.” “It’s obvious they love you very much,” Thea told him. “Yeah, but your mother loves you, too,” Nick pointed out, “and yet she doesn’t have to drown your new boyfriends with gobs of unnecessary affection.”

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“No, she just insults them in the hopes of driving them off.” Nick laughed. “She was not trying to drive me off. She’s just got strong opinions—nothing wrong with that.” It was getting hot in the car with the heater racing, so Thea unbuttoned her coat. As she did so, she noticed Nick’s eyes drifting uncomfortably far from the windshield and the road beyond. “Eyes up front, Mister,” she told him. Nick laughed again. Like the rest of his family, he had a really good chuckle. Somewhere down the road, the Morrows had learned how to enjoy life and it came through in everything they did. Thea wished her family could take a lesson from them. Mom and Aunt Margaret were so serious all the time. It would do them all a world of good if they could learn to tell a joke or just relax a little. She noticed Nick’s eyes were on her legs. Thea had never thought of her legs as one of her better assets. She had pretty good breasts but she didn’t think her ass was round enough to properly set off her otherwise firm legs. Of course, she was seated on her butt right now so it obviously wasn’t factoring into Nick’s assessment. And based on the length of his stare, if nothing else, he thought the calves beneath Thea’s pantyhose were highly worthy of his attention. “Eyes ahead,” she reminded him. He laughed again and returned his attention to the road. Thea placed her hand on his upper arm. “Really, Nick, it’s not that I don’t

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appreciate the attention, but it’s snowing out and there’s still lots of traffic. I don’t want us to get in an accident.” Nick nodded. “Okay,” he agreed. “I’ll be good.” His eyes remained forward, but his right hand came off the steering wheel to pat Thea’s knee. Sparks flashed through her body again—so much so that Thea didn’t object when his hand didn’t immediately make its way back to the steering wheel. Nick was evidently feeling the heat, too. After a few seconds, he said, “I, um, whew! I hope you won’t take this wrong, but I have to concentrate on my driving for a while.” He removed his hand from her knee and returned it to the steering wheel. Her uncovered flesh felt cold, forlorn and abandoned in its absence.

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Chapter Five Going to Work

Jim was trying unsuccessfully to throw Nick’s customers out of the bar when the pickup truck arrived at The Church Key. The lights inside the building were flickering on and off and they could hear Jim shouting as they crossed the snow-covered parking lot toward the front of Nick’s establishment. “I mean it!” Jim shouted. He had the door open, presumably so the patrons of the bar could see the snow falling outside, and he was flicking the light switches up and down with his free hand. “There’s a weather advisory out! You’ve all got to go home!” No one appeared to be paying any attention to him. Certainly there were no cars pulling out of the lot through what was now at least an inch of accumulation. “I mean it!” Jim repeated. “Jim!” Nick shouted. “It’s okay! You can go home now!” Jim spun around with such a look of relief on his face that all of Thea’s sense of frustration toward the man evaporated. He really was scared. It wasn’t a rational thing. He really found the bad weather that intimidating.

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“Nick! Thank God! These people won’t listen to reason!” “They don’t have to anymore,” Nick told him. “Go ahead and get your coat. I’ll take over now.” Jim didn’t have to be told twice. He immediately ran to the bar, grabbed his winter coat and hurried back toward them as he put it on. “Thanks, Nick!” he said again. “Sorry to mess up your date. You must be Thea, by the way. Nice to meet you. Don’t hold this against Nick. It’s the corporations’ fault! They’re causing the global warming.” Before Thea could say anything in response, Jim was out the door and running for his car. It was the first one in the lot, and he slipped and fell just before he got to it. Nick didn’t seem concerned. Jim quickly clambered to his feet, reached back down to snag his car keys, and unlocked his vehicle. Nick let the front door close, cutting off Thea’s view of his retreating bartender. “Let’s just hope he’s not so worked up he has a wreck on the way home,” Nick told her. “You’d think,” Thea said, “that if the snow bothers him that much, he’d move somewhere like Florida or California.” Nick began to guide her across the floor toward the bar, nodding to people

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when they greeted him by name. “Florida has hurricanes,” he explained, “and California has earthquakes. There’s a lot more that troubles Jim then just the occasional snow flurry.” “And you keep him on?” Thea asked. “Someone has to hire him,” Nick told her. They reached the bar and Nick helped her off with her coat. He took it and her purse and hurried back to his office with them where he shrugged out of his own overcoat and sports jacket and took off his tie. When he came back out, he locked the room behind him. “What can I get you?” he asked as he stepped back up to the bar. “If you’re going to have to stay here with me while I work, the least I can do is keep a drink in your hand.” Thea remembered something Nick had said on New Year’s Eve. “But you’re not drinking, are you?” “Beer?” Nick asked. “No, not when I’m working.” That sounded mighty sensible to Thea. “I think I’ll have that thing you made me the other night.” “The Black and Tan?” Nick asked. “I knew you’d like that.” Thea had liked it, but she didn’t drink very often and she didn’t want to be drinking when Nick wasn’t. It wasn’t so much that she didn’t trust Nick as she

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didn’t trust herself. Her mother might be annoying, but she was also right. Alcohol lowered inhibitions, and Thea didn’t want to risk getting drunk and doing something before she was ready. “No, the one with cranberry juice in it,” she reminded him. Nick’s beautiful eyes lit up. “I love that one, too,” he said. He half-filled a glass with cranberry juice and topped off the drink with seltzer. Then he handed it to Thea and started making a second for himself. Thea took a sip of her drink—tart but not too much so. Nick sipped his own, watching her over the rim of the glass. He put the drink down and sighed. “Time to go to work.”

The Church Key was very crowded—more crowded than it had been at midnight on New Year’s Eve—and Thea wasn’t certain how to comport herself under these circumstances. Nick was genuinely busy—too busy to talk much. Normally, Thea knew, he had two bartenders on Friday and Saturday nights— himself and Jim—and it was clearly everything he could do to keep up with the demand for drinks. She thought about bumming some quarters to play the video games on the wall, but she hadn’t done that well last time and they frankly didn’t call to her the way they had when she was twelve.

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She also considered working on her pool game, but the tables looked pretty crowded and she didn’t want to send a mistaken I’m available signal by asking to join someone else’s game. It had probably been a mistake to come, she admitted. But the thought of letting Nick depart so early in their date had troubled her, and the idea of his overly enthusiastic parents following her into the house to meet her mom had horrified her. She wondered if she could get Ron and Kara to come out in the snow and meet her here tonight. If the crowd didn’t thin out she could catch a ride home with them, and if it did, well they could entertain themselves while she talked some more with Nick, but she didn’t know what Kara had planned for tonight and she didn’t really want to be with her cousin anyway. It was Nick she wanted to spend her time with. She watched the patrons weaving their way up to the bar again and again. The area was so crowded with people trying to get drinks that it was actually uncomfortable sitting on her stool. A goodly number were just getting bottled beer anyway. She wondered how much money Nick was losing because he couldn’t fill their orders fast enough. The phone rang and Nick grabbed it off the cradle. “Church Key!” he shouted. A moment later, he added, “Yeah, we’re open!”

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He hung up the phone, winked at Thea, and went back to filling orders, but Thea noticed something by the phone that got her thinking. It was a pad and pen for taking messages—not even a proper waitress’ pad, but it could do the job, couldn’t it? She abandoned her drink and surrendered her stool so she could make her way to the end of the bar and slip into Nick’s space inside. He saw her coming. “What’s up?” he asked. “Can I get you something?” As she picked up the pad and pen, she noticed a waitress’s tray leaning against the wall. “Making myself useful,” she said as she snatched that up too. Nick didn’t immediately understand what she meant, but he smiled brightly when she asked, “How much do you charge for a bottle of beer?” He told her and Thea put herself to work.

“Sam Adams on tap,” she told Nick as she set the tray down and began to compile her first order: two Yuenglings and a bottle of Budweiser. She popped off their caps on a bottle opener screwed to the side of the bar over a trashcan and placed the bottles on the tray. By the time she finished, Nick was already filling a glass with Sam Adams. She handed him his money. “Do they want change?” he asked. “No!” Thea told him. “They seemed pretty happy they didn’t have to walk up

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to the bar.” Nick stuck the money in the register, took out a five-dollar bill and laid it across the register keys. Then he picked up an empty pitcher and grabbed a black sharpie. He quickly wrote Thea’s Tips on the side and stuffed the five-dollar bill inside. It suddenly occurred to Thea that she’d just made five dollars doing nothing but trying to pass the time while she waited for Nick to be able to chat with her again. “Is that a usual tip?” she asked him. She tried to assess the amount in his own tip jar. There were a lot of bills in it. If they were all fives, bartending was a better business than she’d realized. Nick put the glass of Sam Adams down on her tray. “No, five dollars is pretty high for a single buy, even when there’s a lot of drinks in the order like this one. But you’re a beautiful lady who looks mighty fine. I wouldn’t be surprised if you do well tonight.” He smiled at her, making it clear that he meant it when he said she was beautiful. “I really appreciate you helping me out like this,” he said. For tips like this, Thea thought, I’m the one who should be thanking him. She picked up the tray. She’d had visions of carrying it in one hand, balanced high above her head like waitresses do in the movies, but she quickly decided that would be a good way to spill all of this beer all over Nick’s customers. Instead she

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carried the tray in front of her, holding it with two hands while she wished she’d worn flats instead of high-heeled shoes. “When did Nick hire you?” a tall man asked as she exited the bar. “That’s Nick’s new girlfriend, Thea,” said a large man with a long unkempt Grizzly Adams style beard. “How are you, Charlie?” Thea asked the big man. He’d spent a lot of time hitting on her New Year’s Eve. She was glad to see that he wasn’t upset that she’d gone for Nick instead. Charlie touched his baseball cap to acknowledge Thea’s question while the original man called out, “Nick, I didn’t know you had this much class.” She was feeling pretty good about herself as she carried the tray across the floor until some anonymous lout pinched her on the ass. She whirled around, almost spilling the beers. “Who did that?” she shouted. Suddenly the crowd didn’t seem quite so friendly anymore and that made her angry. She’d like this place on New Year’s Eve and for Nick’s sake, she wanted to like it now. Her anger made her bold and unusually assertive. “I’m warning you,” she said, “I ever catch one of you touching my ass again and I’ll shove one of these bottles down your throat.” Someone laughed and another called out, “You tell ’em, Thea!” She wasn’t sure if they were supporting her or making fun of her until a

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third guy hollered, “And then the rest of us will beat the hell out of the bastard!” She decided that the only thing she could do was continue on like she thought that had resolved the problem. So she turned back around and found the table whose beer she was carrying. They thanked her as she set the tray down in front of them and quickly grabbed their drinks. She had another table giving her an order before she’d finish picking her tray back up. She really should have worn flats.

The snow was getting worse. By midnight they already had four inches and the weather forecast had increased their prediction from six inches to one foot. “You want me to call you a cab?” Nick asked Thea. “I can’t believe none of these jokers are ready to call it a night.” “Now you’re sounding like Jim,” Thea teased him as she set down her tray and looked at her pad. “Ooh, that hurts,” Nick joked. “What have you got there?” “A shot of Jack Daniels,” Thea read, “a gin and tonic, and something that I’m too much of a lady to repeat aloud.” Nick laughed and looked at her pad. “Oh, the things these kids come up

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with,” he said. “Did he say what was in it?” “Something to do with vermouth, I think,” Thea told him. To tell the truth, she couldn’t really remember. She’d expected Nick to know what the drink was and so she hadn’t paid a lot of attention to what she expected was a double entendre intended as a lewd invitation. “Vermouth?” Nick asked skeptically. “Or maybe it was vodka,” Thea said. “Honestly, I’m tired enough that they’ve all started to sound the same.” “Hey,” Nick said. All trace of humor disappeared from his face to be replaced with genuine concern. “Why don’t you sit down for the rest of the night? You don’t have to work if you’re tired. Heck, you don’t have to work at all! I’m sorry I can’t close up. I mean, I really want to, but look at how this place is hopping. I can’t turn down this money.” Thea eyed her tip jar. It was gratifyingly full and the sight had triggered a sense of greed in her that she wasn’t completely comfortable with. What she was doing was physically more taxing than her work for the dentist, but it looked like it was paying better too. “I know what you mean,” she told Nick. He followed her eyes to her tips. “Just keep in mind that every night is not Friday night,” he said. “But seriously, why don’t you take a break. If you don’t want me to call a cab, I’ll take you home when I close at two. But you should at least

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take a break.” He poured her another cranberry and seltzer, considered for a moment, and reached for a bottle of vodka. “No,” Thea told him shaking her head. “I don’t want the vodka.” “Okay,” Nick said. “I just thought it would help you relax.” “I don’t want to relax,” she said. “I want all of these people to go home so you can start kissing me again.” Now where had that come from, she asked herself. Nick, however, had already perked up and moved closer to her. “We don’t have to wait for everyone to go home for that,” he said. His touched her chin with the balls of his fingers and lifted her face toward his. “Come on, Nick!” An obviously drunken man shouted. “We want our drinks over here.” Nick sighed, then grinned, and gave Thea a quick peck on the mouth. “It’s just two more hours,” he promised her, “and then you can have all the kisses you want.”

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Chapter Six Lies

“Hi Kara,” Thea called into her phone. Even in the bathroom, the background noise was fairly loud. “It’s Thea, did I wake you?” “What?” Kara asked. “No, I guess not, not really.” “I did, didn’t I?” Thea said. Kara yawned on the other end of the call. “That’s okay,” she said. “What time is it anyway?” “It’s about twelve-thirty,” Thea told her. “Are you awake enough to think, because I need a favor?” “Did you just say it’s Thea?” a sleepy male voice asked Kara from her end of the phone lines. “Ask her how her date went with Nick. He was really excited about it.” “Oh, that’s right!” Kara said. “Tonight was the big date!” Then her voice suddenly grew concerned as if she’d finally finished waking up. “Are you okay? He didn’t hurt you did he?” “What? No!” Thea said. “In fact, we’re sort of still on our date. It’s why we

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need your help.” “Okay,” Kara said, before interrupting herself. “Ron, stop that! I’m on the phone. And I think we both know you did enough to me before we fell asleep.” Thea’s eyes widened as she realized what Kara was talking about. She knew, obviously, that Kara and Ron were having sex, but Kara had never been one of those girlfriends who liked to share all the details. It should have made it easier for her to ask her favor, but somehow it didn’t. Kara returned her attention to Thea. “Okay,” she said, “so what’s up? You’re still on your date?” “Well sort of,” Thea answered. “Wait a minute,” Ron said from Kara’s end of the call. “Does that mean the snow stopped? I didn’t think anything could keep Jim working tonight.” “No, he’s gone,” Thea confirmed. “And there’s a lot of snow on the ground but The Church Key is packed and we’re making a lot of money.” “We’re making money?” Kara asked. “Well, Nick’s making it behind the bar,” Thea explained, “and I’m making it in tips waitressing.” “So you’re working instead of dating,” Kara clarified. “Well, sort of, I mean our date got put on hold, and I was bored sitting around, so I decided to help out and now I need your help.”

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“How?” Kara asked. “I’m going to call my mother and tell her that you and Ron met us here at the bar and that because it’s snowing I’m going to go home with you two tonight.” Kara began to speak very slowly as if she wanted to make certain that she understood exactly what Thea was saying. “But you’re going to spend the night with Nick instead, right?” “What?” Thea asked. “No! I’m going to get him to drop me off at your place after we close. I mean, we may stay up and talk a while. We really haven’t gotten to do that much tonight. But I’m not planning to sleep with him, if that’s what you’re asking. It’s only our first date. How easy do you think I am?” Kara was silent on her side of the line while Ron laughed and said, “She didn’t mean it Kara.” Thea didn’t understand what they were talking about. “Why not just tell your mother the truth?” Kara asked. “Because I live with her,” Thea reminded her cousin. “And I don’t want to hear about this night every day for the rest of my life.” “Okay,” Kara said. “I can certainly understand that. But honestly, I don’t know if either Ron or I will be awake when you finally get here.” “If she finally gets here,” Ron mumbled. “Hush!” Kara told him. “So what I’m going to do is turn my front light on

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and put my key in my mailbox for you. Okay?” “Thanks, Kara,” Thea said. “I owe you one.” “I just hope this works out for you,” Kara said. “You deserve to have some fun.”

Mom was not as understanding. “You’re going to close out the bar with Kara and this man, Nick?” “That’s right, Mom,” Thea told her. “And then I’m going home with Kara so you don’t have to worry.” “I see,” her mother said. “Why don’t you have Kara and her boyfriend drop you off here?” “Because there’s a lot of snow on the ground already,” Thea said, “and driving is getting a bit dangerous.” “Then why are you waiting until two o’clock?” her mother asked. Good question! Thea thought. Obviously the answer is that I am too tired to have thought up a good lie for you. “Okay, you win, Mom,” she said. “I’ll ask Ron and Kara if we can leave right away. I had hoped to see Nick without a crowd of thirsty customers all around us, but I guess that will have to wait for another date.” “I’m glad you can see reason,” her mother said. “Now put your cousin on the

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line.” What now? Thea thought. “She’s not with me right now,” Thea said. “I’m in the bathroom.” “And you went by yourself?” her mother asked. “What is wrong with you, Thea? What if some drunken man comes in while you’re there and tries to rape you?” “Okay, Mom, you win on that, too,” Thea said. “I’m leaving the bathroom too. I’m also hanging up now. See you in the morning.” The moment her mother was off the phone, Thea called Kara back. “Hello,” Kara said. “I had to agree that we would all leave the bar now,” Thea told her. She hated what it said about her that at thirty-eight years old she was still letting her mother make decisions like this for her. Kara laughed. “And now she wants to talk to me,” she said. “How did you know?” Thea asked her. “I’ve tried lying to my mother, too,” Kara told her. “Don’t worry, I’ll cover for you. But Thea, if you decide you and Nick are going to get serious, you’re going to have to learn to live with Aunt Edie’s disapproval.” “I’ll deal with that problem later,” Thea told her. “Okay,” Kara told her. “The light is on and the key is in the mailbox. Good

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luck tonight.” “Thanks, Kara,” Thea said, but her cousin had already hung up the phone.

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Chapter Seven Closing Time

“Last call!” Nick hollered out. “Come on, Nick!” one of the hangers on complained. “It’s only one-thirty. Have a heart!” “Yeah and there’s eight inches or more of snow out there,” Nick said. “Come on people. I was on a date tonight! Last call! Finish your drinks and let’s go home.”

“That’s it!” Nick said as he closed the door behind his last customer. “Whew!” Thea breathed. She’d put down her tray twenty minutes ago and sat at one of the barstools. Now she dropped her head in her hands, leaning upon the bar. “I’m beat. That is really hard work!” Nick crossed the bar to stand behind her. His hands touched her shoulders and his fingers began to knead her tired muscles. “You were great at it, though,” he said. “I can’t believe how many tips you got. You know my sister never got anything like that much money when she used to work here.”

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“Your sister?” Thea asked before groaning in pleasure as Nick’s fingers found a particularly tight section of muscle. “Oh, that feels great! You mean Patty worked here for a while?” Thea tried to imagine the woman dramatically working her way through the bar holding a tray of beers. Nick’s fingers froze on her back. “What is it?” Thea asked. She looked back over her shoulder at him. Strange as it seemed, he looked embarrassed to her. Nick sort of half shrugged and started working on her shoulder again. “I probably should have kept my mouth shut,” he told her. Now Thea was really concerned. “What’s wrong?” “I kind of put my foot in my mouth just now. I, um, well it’s not exactly a family secret but since you’ve met my parents, it’s a little bit awkward.” The more Nick spoke, the more confused Thea got. “What’s going on?” “I, um, have another sister,” Nick explained. “She’s a half-sister, actually. Her name is Cass. You may have noticed that my parents are very warm toward everyone but each other.” Thea spun all the way around on her bar stool, making Nick stop massaging her shoulders. She hadn’t actually noticed at the time, but thinking back now she could see that Nick was right. Her parents were each very warm and welcoming of her but had had almost nothing to do with each other. They hadn’t even sat next to

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each other during Patty’s play. “You have a half-sister?” “Yeah,” Nick said. “My father cheated on my mother about twenty-five years ago. In truth she was probably pregnant with me at the time. Cass was the result.” The name jogged Thea’s memory. “Now that I think about it, Ron and Kara both mentioned Cass when we came to the bar New Year’s Eve. I think they said she was in rehab or something.” “Yeah,” Nick said. “Cass is really messed up. She’s got drug problems and man problems and, well, you name it and she’s got a problem involving it. I’ve tried to help her out by giving her a job, but I’m not sure anyone can really help Cass. She just can’t seem to get her act together.” “Wow,” Thea said. She thought about Nick’s sweet little mother and what it must have done to her to have her husband cheat on her when she was pregnant. She couldn’t help but ask. “What does your mother think about you hiring your half-sister?” Nick shrugged again. “I don’t know. We don’t talk about Cass at home. But I figured, it isn’t Cass’ fault that my dad cheated on my Mom to have her. She’s still family, so to speak, and she needed help. And I was raised to help my family when they need it.” Thea tried to figure out how she felt about that. On the one hand, Nick trying to help his half-sister was really honorable. On the other, it felt disrespectful

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to his mother. She couldn’t quite sort it out. “Anyway,” Nick said in an obvious effort to change the subject. “The reason I brought Cass up is that you did way better in tips than she ever did. Of course, you’re absolutely gorgeous and you’re friendly and nice to talk to. But on the other hand, Cass wasn’t above leaving the bar on a whim to go sleep with one of the guys either. So anyway you figure it, you did really well.” “She would…” “Yeah,” Nick said. He wasn’t smiling. The acknowledgement seemed to hurt him. “She liked to try and split guys up from their dates. It was a serious problem. She’s another person I should have fired. It wasn’t good for the atmosphere I’m trying to create here. But she’s my sister and I kept thinking that with a little support, with just a little patience, maybe I could help her get her life together.” “That is so sweet,” Thea told him. She slipped off the barstool and put her arms around his neck. Nick’s hands immediately caught her waist and they kissed. His lips were warm and nice and just what Thea had been wanting all night. She tasted his tongue and played with it, as they tangled together in their mouths. Heat suffused her body, filling her thighs and stomach and making her breasts swell and her nipples harden. She pressed closer to Nick, enjoying the tingle in her nipples as she brushed

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them against his chest. It was getting hard to think beyond the pleasure Nick was generating in her body as his hands roamed her sides and his lips and tongue made love to her mouth. The heat in her thighs concentrated between her legs and she began to grow wet with desire. “Whew!” Thea breathed as she broke the kiss and tried to back away. Her heart pounded in her chest and the furnace-worth of heat building up inside made her feel like she was ready to burst into flames. Nick was not ready to stop kissing her. He moved forward as she backed away so that she bumped against the barstool she’d just been sitting on. His hand slid around her waist again and his mouth recaptured hers. His right hand slipped down to touch her rear end through her skirt and the inferno inside of her exploded with renewed desire. She eagerly gave into his urging and pressed her body against his, raising her right leg so she could mold herself against his side—she wasn’t tall enough to stand groin to groin with him—but her actions let her press her twat against the hard muscles of Nick’s upper leg and the resulting contact felt simply heavenly. He kept kissing her, gently squeezing her ass, sending delicious sparks of excitement through Thea’s body that she’d never before felt in her thirty-eight years. She kissed him even harder, sending her tongue deeper into his mouth,

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trying to breathe in his soul with his air. The front edge of her hip was pressed against his groin where something—and she knew what that something had to be—was growing larger and more bold beneath Nick’s tight jeans. She wanted to slip one of her hands down off of his back and explore the bulge growing between them. She wanted to learn what it felt like to grind her tingling pussy against a man’s hardening cock. But what she did instead was pull away again, breasts heaving with the effort to breathe and say, “Nick, honey, I think we’re moving a little too fast.” Nick’s breaths were coming in equally laborious heaves of his chest. “Whew!” he breathed. “Workday’s over. I think I need that drink.” He kissed her one more time then slipped behind his bar again and made their cranberry-seltzer—this time with a generous helping of vodka in it. Thea eyed the drink with some concern. “I, um…” she began. She didn’t want to make him mad, but she also didn’t want him to get his expectations too high. She didn’t plan on sleeping with him tonight. She would one day, of course, and the way she felt now it would be sooner rather than later. But she didn’t think their first time should be now with a snowstorm raging outside when they’d both have to go home right afterwards. That wasn’t the way she wanted it to be the first time she made love—quick and hurried with no chance to cuddle afterwards and no opportunity to fall asleep in each other’s arms.

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“Nick, honey, I don’t want to make you mad, but I don’t think we should do more than kiss each other tonight.” There was the slightest hesitation in Nick’s movements, but he covered it well as he handed her one of the drinks. “That’s okay,” he said. “It feels like we’ve known each other forever, but technically this is just our first date. I’m sure about you, but we can take it as slow as you need.” The feeling of relief that flooded through Thea’s body was so strong it was almost a mini-orgasm. Had she really thought he would get mad? She put the drink down on the bar and leaned far across it to kiss him again. Nick kissed back, of course, and when they finished his eyes dropped down to enjoy the sight of her cleavage as she pulled back away from him. The simple sight of Nick looking at her made Thea’s body start to tingle all over again. This was so dangerous! She wanted him to look at her some more. She wanted him to touch her more, to feel his lips on her throat, her breasts, her bare nipples…. She wanted to run her fingers over his naked chest and learn what it felt like to touch a man’s penis and have it grow hard in her hand. To feel him kiss his way down her stomach—his strong hands gently spreading her thighs… Thea closed her eyes for a moment, luxuriating in the image in her mind. Nick’s strong white hands spreading her dark thighs while his long penis jutted

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out in front of him. He would press the swollen head down against her shiny dark lips and— Thea opened her eyes, picked up her drink, and swallowed half of it down. Her chest was heaving harder than ever. She had a very strong desire to throw away her inhibitions, rip the clothes off Nick’s body and straddle him right on his bar. But she knew that tomorrow she’d regret it. This wasn’t the way she wanted her first time to go. She wanted slow and tender lovemaking. She wanted to sleep in Nick’s arms. She wanted to wake up in the morning ready to start up again. She couldn’t have that tonight. Sometime in the next thirty minutes to an hour, Nick was going to drive her to Kara’s house and she was going to fall asleep alone. Considering how frustrated his kisses and touch were making her, maybe it would be better if that time were now. While she was thinking, Nick came out from behind the bar to stand next to her again and take her back in his arms. His hands became bolder, going straight for her rear end. It was the same butt she’d worried about earlier that evening. It didn’t have enough booty in it, yet it still seemed to absolutely fascinate Nick’s hands. “I love holding you,” he whispered.

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Thea put her arms around his neck and stretched her body out against his. Nick used his hands on her ass to pull her tighter against him. His bulge was less prominent now, but he clearly wanted her pressing against it. She wanted to, but where would they stop? Thea laid her head on his shoulder and swayed a little, side to side, as if they were slow dancing. “Hmm,” she murmured. “This is nice.” “Do you want me to put on some music?” Nick asked. “We have our own music,” Thea told him. She braced herself internally. “And I have to leave soon anyway.” “You could come with me to my place,” Nick suggested. That idea had never occurred to Thea. It answered all of her concerns about her first time, and Kara and Ron would still cover for her with Mom. She lifted her head to agree, but stopped and set it back on his shoulder as all the counter arguments welled up inside her. This was still their first date. Was this really the man she wanted to give her virginity to? Was this a man she could picture herself loving forever? “Yes,” she whispered to herself. “Yes, he is.” Thea lifted her head to look Nick straight in his beautiful blue eyes. “I’d like that very much,” she said.

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Chapter Eight Unbridled Passion

It was windy outside the bar—a grueling biting wind that not only whipped the falling flakes of snow up into Thea’s face but pulled it off the ground to swirl around beneath her skirt and penetrate her coat. It was bitter cold—even huddled up against Nick as they made their way to his truck. She had the damn high-heeled shoes on and they made walking painful with well over half a foot of accumulation on the ground. Nick immediately realized the problem. “Why don’t you wait here on the steps?” he suggested. “Hot as those shoes are, you can’t walk in them. I’ll get my truck and pick you up right here.” Thea didn’t want to stand by herself. She wanted to huddle against Nick for warmth and well, that other kind of warmth he stoked within her. But she also didn’t want to freeze her partially exposed feet off and give herself frostbite. “Hurry!” she told him. Nick kissed her quickly and trudged off toward his truck, ducking his head against the wind. Thea tried to watch him, but the snow whipping across her face made that

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hard. The big gentle flakes that had marked the snowfall earlier in the evening were gone now, replaced by icier cousins which stung when they struck her flesh. Nick reached the truck and clumsily struggled to get his key in the lock. His fingers were probably already too cold to function properly, but he persevered and got into his truck out of the wind. A few moments later and the sound of the wheezing engine struggling to turn over reached her ears. It didn’t wheeze for long. Instead the engine began to make a dull ticking noise and soon it wasn’t even showing that much sign of life. Nick got back out of his truck and hurried back over to her. “I’m really sorry,” he said. “The battery is completely dead. If we weren’t already going to my apartment, this would sound like a cheesy ploy to get you to spend the night with me. Let’s go back inside. I’ll see if I can call a cab.” “A cab?” Thea said as Nick struggled to get the front door to The Church Key open again. “Do you think they’ll come with all of this snow?” “I don’t know,” Nick said, but he didn’t sound hopeful. “You still want to come to my apartment with me if I can get one? Without my truck, it’s going to be harder to get you home in the morning.” He pushed the door open and they stepped inside out of the wind. Nick flicked the light switch back on and illumination returned to The Church Key.

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They’d done a fair job of cleaning up as the patrons had left but it was still in essence a dive bar—not a place Thea would normally have wanted to spend the night—at least not before she met Nick. They left their coats on while Nick tried and failed to locate a cab company willing to try and reach them. He finally closed the phonebook in disgust. “I guess that’s it for the cabs,” he says. “Would you like to try Ron and Kara? They might be able to get here and take you home with them.” Thea didn’t really want to go home and she certainly didn’t want to have to drag Ron and Kara out in this weather to pick her up. She took her coat off. “Didn’t you say earlier that you keep sleeping bags and stuff here in case you have to stay over?” “Well, yeah!” Nick said. “Are you sure you want to stay here? This is hardly the Marriot.” Thea draped her coat over one of the stools and stepped up against Nick, taking hold of the lapels of his coat. “Are you telling me you really want me to go home?”

Nick got out the sleeping bags and laid them over one of the pool tables. Then he brought out a couple of blankets and pillows. As a bed, it clearly left much to be desired but the tables were longer than she had realized so their feet

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wouldn’t be hanging over the ends. After setting up their makeshift bed, Nick went to the jukebox, fed in several bills and started punching in songs. Getting in Tune—an old Who song— was the first to start playing. He listened to it for a moment, then came over to Thea where she sat on her bar stool and offered her his hand. Her feet hurt and she felt totally exhausted, but she slipped her hand into his and slid off the stool. He let go of her hand almost immediately and put his hands on her waist and they swayed together to the music. The Who was followed by First Time by Styx, which was followed by Kiss’s Beth, which in turn gave way to the legendary Freebird. Nick didn’t seem old enough to love these tunes, but then he had an older brother and sister who probably grew up singing them. Thea rested her head on Nick’s shoulder and let her body sway with his. It was so comfortable, so natural, so simply nice. The exhaustion of the day caught up with her and she rested in her new man’s arms and luxuriated in his strength. When he finally picked her up and carried her to the sleeping bags on the pool table, she was so comfortable in his arms that she didn’t tense up or get nervous. She let him lay her down on top of the makeshift mattress, move around to her feet to remove her high heels, and then watched him as he leaned against the table and untied his boots.

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When he climbed up on the table beside her she was ready for his kisses. She lay stretched out mostly on her side so she could look up at him. His lips sought out hers and he began to make love to her mouth. The light above the table was too bright, so Nick reached above them and turned it off, cutting out the direct glare while allowing the other lamps in the room to prevent the bar from plunging into true darkness. Then he lay back down with her, his leg slipping between hers as he rolled her carefully on to her back and resumed exploring her mouth. He moved slowly, smoothly, casually probing her lips, tongue and the deep recesses of her mouth. The sleepy comfort that had crept through her body on the dance floor continued to permeate her muscles. It wasn’t sex, exactly, at least not as she had envisioned it, but that was okay. She felt peaceful and comfortable in Nick’s arms. Then his fingers touched her stomach through her blouse and electric excitement riveted through her body. Nick’s fingers weren’t really doing anything special. They simply rested on the flat of Thea’s stomach with the littlest finger sitting above her navel, but her whole consciousness focused on those five little spots of contact. She stopped kissing him, but Nick didn’t seem to mind. His lips and tongue moved to the line of Thea’s jaw, sucking gently when he wasn’t tasting her flesh with quick butterfly

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flickers with the tip of his tongue. His fingers began to move on her stomach, tracing gentle circles on the fabric of her blouse. The nerve endings inhabiting her flesh beneath the silk flared to life wherever his fingertips passed. Her hands clenched and unclenched as little spasms of pleasure shot through her body. Nick kissed her throat, sucking gently on her pulse, making parts of Thea’s body that were nowhere near her neck tingle with pleasure. She wanted to wrap him in her arms but couldn’t bring herself to interfere with his progress. As his lips moved around her neck toward her hair, the circular orbit of Nick’s hand began to shift higher on her body toward her ribcage and her yearning breasts. She was almost afraid to breathe—afraid that any movement on her part might distract Nick from his caresses. His lips worked the way back to her throat but instead of exploring the near side of her neck, he began to work south toward her chest. And while his tongue explored the narrow line where neck meets torso, the outside of his thumb finally brushed the lower curve of her breast and she gasped with excitement and pleasure. “Like that do you?” Nick asked. He brought his hand higher and let the tips of his fingers lightly caress the fleshy curves through Thea’s blouse and bra.

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Her fingers dug like claws into the sleeping bag and her toes curled tight as her whole body tensed beneath him. Her back arched of its own accord, pushing her breasts higher against his fingers. Nick brought his thumb into play, adding the gentlest hint of opposing pressure to his caress of her breast. He wasn’t quite cupping her. He certainly wasn’t pinching or even squeezing her soft flesh. But the added contact made her squirm down to her waist as she twisted her shoulders, trying to make him take her more firmly in hand. His lips found the spot just above her cleavage and his wet tongue slipped between them so he could flick the tip against her ultra-sensitive flesh. His thumb surfed higher on her breast to brush the edge of her aureole through blouse and bra. Eddie Porter had touched her breast once on their single date in high school, but it had been nothing like this. Where Nick was teasing her, exploring the outlines of her body, Eddie had simply grabbed hold and squeezed hard until she pushed him away. Nick’s lips found the shallow top of her cleavage and began to kiss it. The tips of his fingers gently crested the edge of her aureole and circled her thick turgid nipple. She felt almost painfully swollen beneath her bra, her flesh straining against the soft fabric. Her mind completely focused on the progress

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Nick’s hands were making toward the engorged tip of her left tit. Her blouse was in the way of his questing tongue and he played around the border of the cloth as if he couldn’t quite decide what to do about it. While he was still apparently making up his mind, his middle finger suddenly rode to the peak of her swollen nipple and scratched her through her blouse and bra with his nail. Thea gasped with unexpected pleasure and Nick responded by circling her peak with that same scratchy nail. The smooth unconscious movement of her lungs broke and then staggered to a start again so that the dry air of the bar rasped in and out of Thea’s chest. Her mind simply couldn’t spare enough bandwidth to monitor something as unimportant as her breathing—not when there was that nail tormenting her nipple through her blouse and bra. Distantly she was aware that Nick had stopped kissing her, but it was still a surprise when his warm mouth suddenly consumed her other nipple and sucked the whole swollen mountain peak—blouse and all— into his mouth. He pulled hard with his lips, abrading her oh so sensitive flesh with the soft cloth of her bra while his right hand stopped dancing around her nipple and squeezed the little peak hard. “Oh!” she breathed. Her fingers clenched in the smooth fabric of the sleeping bag and her

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neglected hips rose high in sudden excitement. Then her ass came down on the table again as Nick’s mouth and tongue went to work on her right breast while his fingers gently milked her left nipple. His free hand worked its way under her neck and took hold of her, adding to Thea’s sense that Nick was wholly and wonderfully in control of her body. After a few moments of delicious torture, his mouth abruptly left her breast and returned to her face, covering her lips so that his tongue could dart in and out of her mouth, while she kissed him back for all that she was worth. His right hand left her breast and began to fiddle with the buttons of her blouse—taking way too much time to get it open so that his hand could slide beneath the cloth and hold her with only the bra separating their skin. No one had ever been this close to her breasts before and Thea was more than ready for Nick to get closer yet. His lips left her mouth again to suck gently on the underside of Thea’s chin. His fingers finally got impatient with all of her clothing and moved to do something about it. Grabbing her bra by the underwire inside her half-unbuttoned shirt, he pulled it up and over her breast so that his hand had free access to the sensitive skin underneath. There were calluses she hadn’t noticed before on the tips of his strong fingers and the added hint of roughness set her nerve endings on fire.

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He was losing his calm patience, his fingers moving with greater urgency as they pinched and squeezed her until she gasped with pleasure. Suddenly he reared up on his elbow, hand still locked beneath her neck, and he looked down on her half naked chest. “Oh, Thea,” he murmured. “You are so beautiful. How can you be so beautiful?” His mouth ducked down so that his tongue could flick out across her bare nipple—touching it for the first time. If she’d thought it had been engorged before that was nothing compared to the way it swelled up now. His lips gently captured the thick little nipple as it quivered atop her breast and pulled it up taut before letting it spring loose again. His right hand left her breast to continue fiddling with the lower buttons of her blouse while his tongue lapped at her, long and flat, coating her nipple in wetness that the cool air of the barroom seemed to turn to ice. His fingers were on the smooth flesh of her bare stomach now—nothing between them and her skin. They brushed against the edge of her skirt and before Thea could fully process what was happening, pressed down and slipped beneath the fabric. Worming their way beneath her skirt, hose and even her panties they plowed trails through the course short hairs of her bush and went right over her clitoris on their way to her pussy. They didn’t get that far.

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The moment the rough calluses touched Thea’s swollen nub of pleasure, her entire body tensed and exploded into the first orgasm a man had ever given her. Her knees shot toward the ceiling and her spine curved as she attempted to curl in on herself in shocked response to the intensity of her unexpected climax. Nick’s mouth on her breast kept her from sitting up, and his fingers immediately halted their downward process to return to the epicenter of her body’s excitement. Her panties and hose kept his hand tight against her mons veneris as his fingers immediately started to diddle her ultra-sensitive clitoris. Thea shrieked with excitement! Since she couldn’t sit up in response to her climax, she curled over on her side toward Nick, her body pulling into itself, shaping and intensifying the waves of pleasure jolting out of her pussy to supercharge the rest of her body. Nick’s lips lost their grip on her nipple, but he didn’t seem to mind. He immediately lifted his head so that he could cover her mouth with his own. The hand on her neck slid upward to the back of her head and pressed her face even more tightly against his. His tongue began to fuck her mouth with long deep strokes while the fingers inside her panties continued to generate shockwaves of pure ecstasy. Her hands that had lain so helplessly at her sides clutching the fabric of the sleeping bag, finally remembered they could move and act. Her left hand wrapped

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around Nick’s fingers between her legs but whether she was trying to pull him tighter against her body or shove him away to alleviate the intensity of her climax she couldn’t figure out. Her right hand, arm half trapped beneath her body, clawed at his chest. Her fingernails dragged on the fabric of his shirt above his pectorals. Nick groaned into her mouth. The fingers on her clitoris surged back down to her sopping lips and he gripped her pussy hard, grinding the rough heel of his hand against her clit while his middle finger delved between the wet folds of her labia. Her climax doubled in force and she bit him on the lip so that they both yelped in surprise. Then Nick muscled Thea over onto her back, pulled his dripping finger back out of her pussy and diddled her clit until she came so hard she couldn’t find the wind to scream in her excitement and joy.

“Oh my Lord,” Thea breathed. She was lying on her back staring sightlessly at the ceiling trying to process all the pleasure she’d just experienced. She actually felt numb from it, as if a woman could actually come so many times her body had to shut down to recharge itself. Beside her, still fully clothed except for the boots he’d taken off before they

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got started, Nick lay on his side and played idly with her breasts, keeping her nipples aroused with the tips of his fingers. Occasionally, he would lean over and kiss her on the top of her nose, or her forehead, or her chin, but mostly he seemed content to let Thea remember how to breathe while she recovered from her orgasms. “That was really fun,” he whispered. “I have never felt so incredible as I did just then.” “You?” she managed to say. “You didn’t—” A shuddered worked its way up her body like a little aftershock of an earthquake. “You didn’t,” she continued, still breathing hard, “experience anything.” “Oh yes I did!” Nick assured her. “You obviously have no idea how extraordinary it feels to make you come in my arms.” Thea took a deep breath and forced herself up on to her side facing him. “Then maybe it’s time I found out,” she told him. Feeling incredibly bold and extraordinarily sexy, Thea reached between their bodies and ran her finger up Nick’s groin. He swallowed audibly, so she did it again, trying to feel his penis through his blue jeans. She felt something, of course, and intellectually she knew what it had to be, but it didn’t yet feel like the long rod her girlfriends and romance novels had prepared her for.

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Nick kissed her, his mouth aggressively bruising her lips open so that his tongue could penetrate her upper depths. A shudder worked its way from her pussy to her breasts and back down again. She had an almost overwhelming desire to lay back and let Nick pleasure her again, but that wasn’t what she truly wanted to do now so she pushed him onto his back on the pool table with a hand on his chest. “No,” she told him. “I let you play earlier. Now it’s my turn. If you want to, we can play together when I’m done.” Nick’s breaths were noticeably more ragged as he stared up at her. “Now let’s see what you’re hiding under here,” Thea told him. She moved her hands toward his groin, but teased him by stopping and beginning to unbutton his shirt from the belt up. His flesh was lean and smooth and she paused to run her fingers over his stomach and feel the fine lines of his hard abdomen. Then she opened up the rest of his shirt and pulled it back away from his hairless chest so she could stare at him for a moment. He had a runner’s lean body, and from the looks of him, had to work out at least a little. His form was very fit, not bulging like a weightlifter but lean and hard just the same. On impulse, she leaned over and licked the line of one of his pectorals, causing Nick to stretch with pleasure beneath her.

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She moved up to his nipple, playing with it with her tongue, feeling it grow hard beneath her lips. When it stopped getting any harder, she gave it a quick little nip with her teeth, eliciting a hiss from Nick. She smiled wickedly at him, then moved to the other side and did the same thing again. Then she rolled on top of him, spreading her thighs over his body so that her skirt rode up high and her labia split apart inside her panties, releasing a trickle of juices to roll down her thighs. She kissed and licked her way down Nick’s body, making his chest and stomach glisten. By the time she reached his jeans again she was straddling his legs, her shirt still hanging open, bra askew over her breasts. She decided that was uncomfortable and that her man deserved a treat, so she slipped the blouse off her shoulders and lay it on the table beside her. Then she reached up behind her and unfastened the bra, revealing herself to Nick’s approving eyes. She couldn’t help cupping her breasts and looking at them for a moment. The nipples were very black upon her dark skin, and while they had lost the hardness they acquired with direct stimulation, they were still large and beautiful. On impulse, she lifted a nipple to her mouth and licked it, making tingles of pleasure ripple through her body. “I want to do that!” Nick told her.

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She smiled wickedly again. “You’ll have to wait your turn. There’s something else I want to try licking first.” She lowered her breast and touched him again. The penis beneath his trousers was definitely discernable now and she traced its contour through the denim with one finger. Nick tensed for a moment then groaned happily. She opened up his belt, slowly pulling the leather through the loops of his jeans before tossing the belt toward another pool table. “Are you ready?” she teased. “Oh, I’m ready!” Nick assured her. She unfastened his jeans and pulled down his zipper. Beneath she found tight black briefs with a respectable bulge beneath them. Respectable was good. She knew from her girlfriends that she wanted Nick to be large, but this was her first man and she had been a little bit afraid that he would be too big for her. She pulled the briefs down with the blue jeans, getting them down to mid thigh. He had very little hair on his groin, just short tufts of the same blond strands that crowned his head above. His balls were very big, not quite as round as the term suggested, but interesting and pleasing to the eye. But it was Nick’s penis that really attracted her attention. It lay on his groin about an inch and a half in diameter and maybe five or six inches long. It wasn’t fully hard yet, but a clear

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liquid glistened at the tip of his circumcised head. She hesitated, fascinated and entranced by her first up close look at this piece of male anatomy. Then she reminded herself that this was her penis tonight—that Nick was making love to her—that tonight and hopefully forever this penis—this cock—was her toy to play with. She touched it lightly on the shaft, skimming her fingertips up its length toward that circumcised head. Nick groaned and excitingly, his cock moved beneath her fingertips— stiffening slightly and beginning to straighten out. She caressed its length again, discovering that there was a large blood vessel just beneath the surface of the flesh that seemed especially sensitive. She moved her fingers directly on top of it and pressed a little harder this time when she stroked its length. Above her, Nick’s eyes rolled up in his head as his hips came off the top of the table to press his penis harder against her hand. “Oh, Thea,” he breathed. “Oh, baby!” She did it again and delighted in the way his penis seemed to grow at her touch. Then she circled the entire shaft with her fingers and rubbed her thumb into the sensitive spot, caressing the vein and listening with delight as Nick continued to groan.

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He was pretty stiff now, stiff enough that she thought he would be able to make love to her if he wanted to. But Thea wasn’t ready for that. Lifting his cock off his groin, she traced the vein back to the circumcised head of his penis where she noticed even more of the clear liquid squeezing itself, drop by drop out of the eye at the tip of his cock. She let her thumb slip up into that liquid and smeared it around on the smooth head of his penis. Nick’s groans grew louder and his hips began to squirm. His hand came up to cup hers but she warned him off. “No! It’s my turn!” she reminded him. “You keep those hands on the table until I tell you you can do different.” “Yes, Ma’am!” Nick told her. His hands went back to the tabletop where he flattened them against the fabric of his sleeping bag. Satisfied by his obedience, Thea returned her attention to his cock, rubbing more of the clear fluid into his flesh before trying to pump his shaft with her hand. It didn’t work very well. The flesh of her hand and the shaft of his cock were too dry to slide smoothly past each other. Feeling particularly sexy and just a little bit slutty, Thea lifted the palm of her hand to her mouth and began to lick it while Nick watched.

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His hands couldn’t stay on the sleeping bag. Instead they found her thighs and held her through her hose. His eyes carefully tracked her moistening palm, especially when she lowered it to take hold of him again. “Oh, my God,” Nick whispered. She began to stroke him, fingers wrapped around his six-inch dick, rubbing him from all sides as she slid up and down his shaft. The flesh further stiffened and hardened in her hand, extending to greater length as she slowly lifted and lowered her hand. “Please kiss it,” Nick begged her. Thea hesitated. The idea both attracted and repulsed her, and Nick hadn’t actually kissed her down there, had he? Still, she knew from her girlfriends how much men liked to be sucked on so she decided to see if she could handle the taste. She bent down, eyes on his the entire way, and stuck out her tongue to taste the clear fluid coating the purpling head of his now rigid shaft. His precum was salty with what she could only describe as an under-flavor of slime, but the way his eyes rolled back in his head and his whole body snapped and quivered when her tongue touched him made Thea want to do it again. Using her lips this time, she sucked on the tip of his penis. A fresh drop of clear seminal fluid leaked out of the cock directly into her mouth. Beneath her, Nick’s body twitched and quivered. His hands on her thighs

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clenched, pulling at her hose, further exciting her own body. She let her tongue slip through her lips to flutter against the little eyehole. “Oh, God, Thea!” Nick shouted. He sat up on the table and wrenched her off of him. “What’s wrong? She asked. Was it possible she had somehow injured him? “Wrong?” Nick asked. His eyes were wild as he pulled her toward him so that her naked breasts pressed against his equally bare chest and the full prominence of his now rigid dick dug into her belly. “You almost made me come!” he told her. “God, that was incredible. I don’t know what you just did there but I almost spit my load and you were just getting started.” “That’s good right?” Thea asked. His reaction confused her. “Of course, it’s good!” Nick assured her. “It’s unbelievably, incredibly, awesomely good! But I don’t want to come the first time you touch me with your mouth. I want to enjoy what you’re doing to me. I want to feel your whole mouth on my cock. I want to watch you bob up and down on me. And before you finish, I want to roll you over on your back and bury myself deep in your beautiful body.” Thea began to relax. Nick wasn’t upset. He was as charged up as she was. But he had said something that she needed to learn more about it if they were to fully enjoy this night. “So you can only come one time?” Nick hesitated and his face turned a little red. “Most guys,” he said, “can

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only come once.” Thea touched his cheek with her hands. His flushed face contrasted beautifully with her dark fingers. “I just want to make sure we get to do everything tonight,” she told him. Nick’s eyebrows lifted slightly. “Everything?” “Everything!” Thea concerned. “I want you to make love to me but I want to make love to you, too—and I don’t just mean when you slide this,” she took hold of his penis, “inside of me. I think making love should be a lot more than the finale.” “Well, maybe I could do it twice,” Nick said as a sly smile formed on his face, “if you’re willing to help.” Thea grinned. “Maybe we could do it three times, if you’re willing to teach me what you need to get hard.” Nick grinned even more fiercely. “Baby, you don’t need me to teach you. Your instincts so far have all been perfect.” Heat flooded her face again at his compliment. “Let’s find out just how hard I can make you,” she suggested. She started to slide back down his body. “Wait a moment,” Nick told her. “Let me get these damn jeans off.” She slipped off of his legs and watched while he pushed his pants and briefs off his body and dropped them to the floor. Then he took his socks off so that he

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lay perfectly naked beside her. “Now it’s your turn,” Nick told her. Thea felt a moment of extraordinary self-consciousness. She started to reach for the latch of her skirt but hesitated. He was so damn young and handsome. Would he really want her when he saw her thirty-eight year old body? Nick seemed to understand Thea’s hesitation. “Don’t be nervous,” he whispered. “You’re so incredibly beautiful. Please let me see all of you.” Thea took a deep breath and unfastened the skirt, but she really didn’t want him to see her in her pantyhose. Pantyhose were an important accessory, but she never felt sexy standing in front of the mirror in them, so she twisted away from Nick so she could slip off the table and stand on the floor with her back to him. “No,” Nick said. “I want to see.” Ignoring him, she unhooked her skirt and dropped it to the floor. Then before she could let her doubts overwhelm her determination to finish undressing, she pushed her hose and panties down around her ankles. It wasn’t a striptease, probably wasn’t that sexy at all, but she’d done it. She stood naked with her ass facing Nick. Oh no! she thought. My ass! Thea had never felt her butt was her best feature. Her prettiest girlfriends all had a lot more booty than she did. But before she could turn to hide it from Nick’s

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gaze, he had slid across the table and begun to fondle her dark cheek. “Oh, wow, Thea!” he whispered. “You are perfect!” He slid off the table to his knees behind her and began to kiss and lick her right cheek. “Nick?” “Wow?” he said. “You know people always talk about black women’s booty,” he said, “but I never understood what all the fuss was about until right now.” He sucked harder, using his hands to prompt her to turn and face the table. He shifted his position with her, edging her thighs apart, reaching up beneath her to stroke the soft lips of her labia while his mouth continued to suck and kiss her ass. He wasn’t interested in her anus, just the cheeks and the space between her legs where his fingers were playing. “Lean over,” he told her, “and spread your legs wider.” Thea did as she was told, letting her nipples hang down to graze against the sleeping bags on the table. Nick buried his face between her legs and began to lick her pussy from behind. Thea’s arms immediately began to tremble and she fell forward more heavily on to her breasts. Nick didn’t seem to notice. He had a hand on each of her thighs,

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pulling on them to convince her to spread her legs wider. She tried to accommodate him stretching her thighs as wide as she could and still remain standing. Nick’s tongue split her nether lips apart. His nose kept brushing the sensitive crevice between the cheeks in her behind. Then he reached all the way around her leg and came at her clitoris again with his hand. The shock of contact almost triggered another orgasm—almost. Nick continued to suck and slurp, trying to burrow his mouth deeper into her lower one while keeping his fingers rubbing her swollen clit, but something about the angle clearly frustrated him. All at once, he flipped her over, taking her off her feet and rolling her over on her back. Thea’s ass hung out over the edge of the pool table, permitting him to attack her pussy from the front. His lips latched on to her lower ones and he began to French kiss her with his tongue. His left hand slipped beneath her, supporting her butt. The thumb of his right hand found her clit again, immediately rocketing Thea into a climax every bit as intense as the ones she’d had earlier. Her thighs clamped down on either side of Nick’s face and she got both of her hands in his long beautiful hair, pulling him slightly higher on her body so that his mouth left her pussy and latched on to her clit. Then her climaxing really started.

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Thea lay back on the table again—breasts heaving even harder than they had the first time she’d come. She’d lost her grip on Nick’s head and he knelt before the table with his head on one of her thighs, evidently catching his own breath. She couldn’t see him. Her eyes stared up at the dark lights above her while she listened to the sound of her own heart charging forward like a racehorse. She discovered one of her hands was lying across her stomach and briefly considered reaching a little lower and touching herself again. She would have done it—she’d heard from her friend, Lea, that her guy really liked to watch her play with herself—but the truth was she was too tired to try. Nick stirred and kissed her inner thigh. He didn’t suck on it, or lick it, or play interesting pre-sex games with it. He just gave it a simple peck before clambering to his feet in front of her. It was difficult, but she managed to lift her head high enough to see him standing there at the edge of the table, limp cock in his hand while he looked down at her body. It occurred to her, that he hadn’t come yet. At least, she didn’t think he had. While she watched, Nick stroked himself once, like he was wishing he had

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some life in his dick. Thea groaned—not the sound she wanted to make when he wasn’t making love to her—and forced herself up on her side. She was laying the wrong way on the table. It was only four and a half feet wide widthwise and her legs hung over the edge. The muscles in her arms felt like jello, but she made them go to work anyway and pushed herself up in a sitting position. Her dark brown breasts swung free in front of her, immediately attracting Nick’s attention, but she had unfinished business with the penis in his hand. “Can I help you with that?” Thea asked him. Nick let go of his dick to slide his hand up beneath Thea’s long brown hair and guide her head toward his. She took hold of him while he kissed her. Flaccid, his phallus fit easily into her hand but based upon the way it was already beginning to stir, she didn’t think his current limpness was going to prove a problem for them. Nick cupped her breasts, his thumbs sliding on to her nipples and caressing them. Heat began to stir between her legs again. His dick hardened in her hand. She broke the kiss and slid off the pool table to kneel in front of him. “I think I was interrupted in playing with this early,” she told him. His dick was much smaller now than it was the first time she tasted it, so she fortified her nerve and took the whole thing into her mouth.

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Above her, Nick smiled in appreciation. Thea really wasn’t certain what she should do so she swirled her tongue around Nick’s dick then pulled back to pay special attention to the rapidly swelling head. The taste really wasn’t making her happy, but it wasn’t terrible either. And Nick had just spent a considerable amount of time licking her juicy pussy. She pulled off his dick and rubbed the head against her cheek. Then she licked her hand a couple of times and renewed her hold on his shaft. This time she pulled on Nick’s head with her lips while she ringed the shaft with her thumb and forefinger and stroked him up and down. He was hard now and getting rigid. As he swelled it became harder to hold him in her small mouth. Of course, it made logical sense to her that tight would feel better for him, so she kept him inside of her and began to bob up and down. “Oh, that’s nice,” Nick said. His hands cupped her head, riding with her as she bobbed on his dick. “That’s real nice—just like that only tighter!” Thea sucked harder, squeezing him with her lips and using her tongue to push against his cock to make the inside of her mouth tighter for him. He grunted again, clearly grooving on the sensation. She was using her whole hand now on his shaft, pumping in time with her mouth, squeezing the rigid meat as hard as she could and still keep her hand

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moving up and down upon him. His breathing was coming just as fast as her fingers were moving. “I’m getting close!” he warned her. “If you want me…in your pussy…or just not…in your mouth…you’d better—” A spasm shook his body. His hands tightened against her head. “Oh…oooooooohhhhhhh yeah!” Salty, slimy semen suddenly filled Thea’s mouth and she tried to back off of Nick. His dick popped free, but the pool table was behind her and she couldn’t escape the second spray of ivory white cum. It shot high into the air between them, and then dropped back to splatter her neck and breasts. She hoped it hadn’t gotten into her hair. How the hell would she explain that to Mom? His cock spit again, less forcefully this time, but still enough to bounce off his chest and fall back to land on her thighs. Nick dropped hard to his knees in front of her, his cock continuing to spew semen on her stomach while his mouth covered her cum-stained lips and his tongue delved deep inside of her. His hands caught her breasts again, but rather than cupping them, he seemed determined to spread his semen all over Thea’s body, rubbing his ivory excitement into her dark skin like some kind of exotic lotion. He started to pull her down to the floor, but that was too much for Thea.

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She could handle Nick rubbing his cum all over her but she wasn’t going to make love to him on a surface where people walked and spilled their beer. It was too disgusting. “No!” she told him firmly. “Not the floor!” Nick changed course without hesitation, picking her up and laying her back on the pool table so her ass rested on the side and her legs hung down uncomfortably. He immediately spread her legs and lowered lips and chin—stained with his own cum—back down to Thea’s pussy. Just as his tongue flicked out to taste her again, Thea realized the implications of what he was doing. “No!” she shouted as forcefully as she was able. At the same time she pushed at his head and tried to close her legs. Nick staggered backward—an expression of surprise and alarm writ large across his face. “What?” he asked. “What is it?” His dick hung half hard in front of him, a long strand of semen still dangling from its end. It was hard for Thea to think much less speak but she rolled back to a sitting position and stammered out her answer. “I’m not…we can’t…I’m not on the pill!”

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Nick blinked. “Wh-what?” he stuttered as if he, too, were having trouble thinking. Then her words clearly penetrated past his racing hormones. “Oh, damn!” He sat down hard beside her his hand coming to rest on her leg, but in a casual (if intimate) manner, not as if he were trying to get her engine racing again. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I should have asked. It never even crossed my mind.” “I should have mentioned it earlier,” Thea told him. She felt very let down. The evening had been going so incredibly well. She felt like she had just somehow spoiled it. “No,” Nick said, “it’s not your fault. We just, damn, I was having so much fun with you that I just didn’t stop to think.” Thea wasn’t completely ready to give up yet. She was absolutely certain she’d found the man she wanted to take her virginity. No one in her whole life had ever made her feel sexier or more desirable—and yet he still stopped immediately the moment she expressed reservations. If she’d needed any further proof that this was a great guy, he’d just unintentionally provided it to her. “Do you…do you have any condoms?” she asked. Her question seemed to surprise Nick. “What? Oh yeah, of course. Even if I didn’t, I have a machine that sells them in the men’s room. It’s just, I mean, I’m completely certain that I want to make love to you tonight, but I stupidly spread

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my cum all over you. Maybe we should clean up a little first to make certain we don’t accidentally…you know, get my cum inside you.” Thea looked down at her naked body. It should have embarrassed her. There was drying semen everywhere—probably even in her hair although she hadn’t noticed any there yet. But Nick was just as covered in his juices and she really wanted to feel him slide that big dick up inside her. “I think that’s a good idea,” she agreed. Nick leaned over and very tenderly kissed the tip of her nose. “You wait right there,” he said. Then he got to his bare feet and strode off toward his bar. Admiring him as he left, Thea realized she wasn’t the only one with a really great ass.

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Chapter Nine Making Love

Nick came back with two plastic pitchers (one filled with seltzer), a bottle of Jack Daniels, two shot glasses and a thick pile of napkins. “Let’s see about cleaning each other up,” he suggested. He set everything down on the pool table beside Thea and dunked one of the napkins in the seltzer water. Then he started to clean her flesh, taking his time, making a game of it as he washed away all the signs of their earlier excess. Thea let him work enjoying the feel of the cold liquid on her flesh and the way it made her nipples swell again. He cleaned her very thoroughly, changing napkins often, throwing the dirty ones on the floor. When it was her turn, she tried to be just as careful, cleaning him so there was nothing left that might give them any cause for concern further down the road. When they were finished, Nick poured two shots of the Jack Daniels and offered one to Thea. “It’s eighty-proof,” he told her. “I figure that has to sterilize everything.” He dumped the shot into his mouth and swished it around for a few

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moments, then swallowed it down. Thea sniffed at hers uncertainly. It smelled like old-fashioned medicine and she didn’t want to put it in her mouth. Still… She raised the shot glass to her lips. “Don’t sip it,” Nick told her. She closed her eyes and knocked the contents back into her mouth. Her eyes flashed open. It was terrible! In her worst nightmares she had never imagined tasting something so fowl. She couldn’t possibly swallow it. Hands flailing, she began to look around for someplace to spit it out. Laughing, Nick held the empty pitcher in front of her and Thea emptied her mouth into it. “That is so foul—” she started to say, but suddenly Nick was kissing her again and even though his own tongue tasted of whiskey, it suddenly didn’t seem quite so bad. Cold liquid poured onto her breasts and sputtering she pushed Nick away from her. “What the—” Nick splashed his own chest with the bottle of whiskey and then began to rub the liquid he’d already spilled on Thea into her flesh. She literally smelled like a distillery. What the hell was her mother going to think? But Nick’s hands soothed her concerns and the liquid dried quickly on her

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breasts and stomach leaving her with that clean feel she got when rubbing alcohol dried. Nick poured a little more onto her hands. “You’re going to ruin your pool table,” she warned him even as she rubbed her hands together as if the whiskey were hand-sanitizer. “The sleeping bag will catch the excess,” Nick told her. “What if it doesn’t?” she said. “I don’t care,” he told her and started kissing her again. The brief respite had obviously given his body time to recharge, because suddenly his penis was growing hard against her again. She reached down to fondle him, even as he began to explore her lower lips with his fingertips—patiently tracing the outlines of her labia and occasionally penetrating her outer lips. When his fingertip came away damp, he raised it to her lips and asked very quietly, “Have you ever tasted yourself, Thea?” She opened her mouth and licked her own sweet juices off his finger. Nick left the finger on the edge of her mouth, gently pulling on her lower lip. “I want to make love to you now, Thea. Are you ready for me?” Her heart stopped beating for a moment as her whole body tensed with excitement. “Yes, please,” she whispered.

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Nick got up, moved the bottles, the pitchers, the shot glasses and the napkins and gently repositioned Thea so that she lay lengthwise on the table. Then he found his pants, pulled out a wallet and removed a condom. It took him a few moments to open it and when he went to put it on, he wasn’t hard enough. His failure seemed to embarrass him. “I’m sorry, Thea,” he said, “but I’ve come once and I’m a little too excited. Would you help me, please?” Thea sat up and then rolled over on her stomach facing him. His dick really wasn’t soft, it just wasn’t the rigid monolith that she’d played with before. Fortunately, she’d learned earlier exactly what to do to rectify that problem. Flicked out her tongue, Thea tasted Nick again. Then she took him in her hand and played ice cream cone with him. Her girlfriend, Geri, had once told her she liked to use food to get her boyfriend riled up, licking long thin fare-like carrots or even French fries suggestively. But the ice cream cone had always been her favorite because it showed off how good she was with her tongue. Before tonight, Thea had never had a chance to practice on a man and find out how good she might be, but she’d eaten a lot of ice cream cones in her thirtyeight years and that proved to be all the experience she needed. By the time she took him fully in her mouth, Nick was rock hard and ready. She bobbed up and down on him a couple of times to make certain then rotated herself back around the other way, flipped on to her back and spread her legs for

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him. “Are you ready now, baby?” she asked him. Nick did not need a second invitation. He had the condom rolling on to his dick with remarkable speed. Then he crawled up onto the pool table and rubbed the latex covered head on the swollen lips of Thea’s pussy. “Are you sure you’re ready?” he asked. For a moment, Thea wondered if he realized this was her first time. “I want you now,” she told him. Still holding himself poised to enter her, Nick reached out with his left hand and ever so gently caressed the flesh of her mons veneris. His finger ran trails through the course little hairs above her pussy and in no time at all her flesh was singing again. Then he eased himself beside her and Thea’s whole world seemed to change. A small sharp pain was quickly overwhelmed by the sensation of Nick’s hard dick delving into places no one had ever been. “Oh God!” she gasped, her voice an octave higher than its usual high register. Her hands found his ass and grabbed hold. “Oh, Nick!” “Oh, wow!” Nick gasped. “You’re so…wow you’re tight. It’s like…oh, Thea!” He eased out and began to pump, slowly, gently pressing his penis deep inside of her, only to draw it out and thrust it in again. “Oh, baby,” he whispered. “This is…oh, please!”

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Thea’s hips rose up to meet him this time and force him even deeper inside her body. Her vagina was stretching like she’d never dreamed possible and stimulating nerve endings she didn’t know she had. They began to find a rhythm, Nick driving in and down while she thrust out and up. Their breath began to come in ragged gasps. Sweat beaded on both their foreheads. His hands were on the pool table to either side of her body while he leaned over top of her, pumping in and out with increasing speed and urgency. Her hands were on his ass, encouraging him on, while her body matched temp and revved up toward another orgasm. “Steady!” he muttered. “Not yet! Not yet! Wait for her!” Even now, Thea realized, Nick was worried about her pleasure. The feeling of love that washed through her was a greater aphrodisiac than everything else Nick had done to her tonight. “I love you, Nick,” she whispered. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes from the overpowering strength of her emotions. “Oh, Thea!” Nick shouted. “Oh baby, I love you too! I want you so bad!” A spasm wracked his body and his face twisted with effort and pain. She could feel her own body rising to the edge of climax, but it was obvious that Nick was passing beyond the boundaries of human endurance. She needed him closer, deeper, now! Thea let go of Nick’s ass and wrapped her legs around his waist. Then she

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grabbed his head and pulled him down to kiss her. His body began to shudder as their tongues met and his left arm collapsed causing him to half fall off of her. Thea rolled with him and somehow found herself on top. Heat filled the condom inside of her and as she reached to touch the base of his dick, the heel of her hand brushed her clitoris. Her own impending climax leapt into the open and it was all she could do to ride Nick’s spurting cock as she came and came and came on top of him.

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Chapter Ten In Each Other’s Arms

Thea rested comfortably in Nick’s arms on the pool table in the partially illuminated bar. Somehow they had gotten the blankets of top of them so they weren’t cold, but she knew a far better way to heat them up again if the blankets fell off. As Nick half stirred beneath her, she lifted her upper body so she could kiss him on the chin. “Promise me something?” she asked. “Anything,” he murmured. His arm tightened around her back as if to prove he meant what he said. “Make love to me again in the morning,” she told him. Nick lifted his face so he could kiss the top of her head. “We don’t have to wait that long,” he told her. His hand cupped her breast, which her body definitely appreciated it. If his stirring penis was anything to judge by, Nick’s body liked it, too. “I like the way you think,” she told him before starting to lick his chest.

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To be continued in Snowbound Games…

The End

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Other Books by Veronica Tower and Red Rose Publishing Blind Date Christmas Wagers House Rules My Son’s Roommate Not Another Dateless Valentine’s Day One Night Stand One Night Stand 2 Tricky Business The Runaway Strip Poker Tricks Healing (forthcoming) Please Stop Filming (forthcoming) Rock Idol (forthcoming)

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The Snowbound Series Snowbound 1: Snowbound Christmas Snowbound 2: Snowbound New Year Snowbound 3: Snowbound Valentine’s Day Snowbound 4: Snowbound Vacation Snowbound 5: Snowbound Treat Snowbound 6: Snowbound Summer Snowbound 7: Another Snowbound Christmas Snowbound 8: Another Snowbound New Year Snowbound 9: Snowbound Date Snowbound 10: Snowbound Games (forthcoming) Snowbound 11: Snowbound Ink (forthcoming)

In Print from Red Rose Publishing Christmas Wagers

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House Rules One Night Stand Snowbound 1: Snowbound Christmas (forthcoming) Snowbound 2: Snowbound New Year (forthcoming) Tricks My Son’s Roommate (forthcoming) Not Another Dateless Valentine’s Day (forthcoming) One Night Stand 2: Tricky Business (forthcoming) Snowbound 3: Snowbound Valentine’s Day (forthcoming) Snowbound 4: Snowbound Vacation (forthcoming) Snowbound 5: Snowbound Treat (forthcoming)

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