James and Mare - A Story of Love

I looked over at Brian and Isabel, both of whom were off and on locking some serious lips and drinking pretty heavy with the beers. I figured I should hold off to drive home. At one point, I leaned over and asked for the keys. Brian's smart about that shit – he gave them up with a 'thanks bud' and yelled at the beer man 2 rows over to 'beer him now, damn it!'

"Bry, I think I'm going to stretch my legs, ok?"

"Ok, sis. Hey dude, can you…"

"Yeah, sure fine. I'll tag along." I gave a grin to Brian but didn't catch the look that flashed on Mary's face. I was only teasing.

We walked along the park, up the ramps and ended up on the giant walkway that spans the top of the stadium. We could see Arlington, downtown Fort Worth, and downtown Dallas. It was an unusually cool July night, which meant it was only slightly hot, and the sun was setting. Just fucking perfect.

Mary walked in front of me, her long legs carrying her quickly around. She headed over to the railing and looked out.

"Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I think so." I was looking at her and she knew I was talking about her.

"Jimmy, what do you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"Am I just someone you are going to 'tag along with?'"

"What are you talking about?"

"That's what you told my brother down there!" Her green eyes flashed, that spunk and fire rising.

"No, that's… that's not it. I don't know what I said that – I was just messing around."

"Did you mean it?"

"Yes… no… what are you asking?"

"Are you just here to watch out for me?" There was a look on her face, I'm not quite sure what it was. All I know is her eyes were such a pretty shade of green in that dying sunlight. The wind blew just a little through her hair. Perfect.

Now or never. Go for it pussy!

I lifted one hand and caressed her cheek with it. I leaned down, lips slightly parted, and kissed her full on her soft lips. Her lips opened just a bit to meet mine – soft, nice, warm. I don't know how long we stood there in that simple kiss. I do know that we did break for air. I heard some clapping behind us and saw a heavy set guy with a camera and Ranger's badge on. He goodnaturely smiled and said, "I caught that on film. I hope you don't mind."

I didn't care at that point. I just wanted him to walk away and leave us alone to continue.

"Nah, buddy, that's fine. Whatever you want."

"Thanks! I'll be off to disturb some other lovebirds."

Mary looked up at me, her face soft, tender, beautiful.

"Where were we? I think right about here!"

With that she threw her arms around me and passionately locked her lips on mine. I could feel her whole body press up against me, her soft breasts brushing against my chest and pelvic region pressing on my cock. It immediately hardened.

Her kiss was soft but fierce, gentle but desperate. Her tongue quickly met my lips and received access, our tongues gently playing with the other in our frenetic embrace. It was toxic. It was perfect. It was my second with Mary.

After I don't know how long, we finally broke it up. She came back down from her tippy toes, her arms still around me and our faces still close. She looked down and saw my penis making a tent in its effort to reach her. With a mischievous smile she quickly grabbed him and pulled once. "Down boy!" With that and a laugh, she spun off and walked away, leaving me to hurriedly tuck myself in and chase after her.

We got Lemon Chills and walked. We talked and we kissed. We held and we breathed together. I don't know how but I kept my hands in the no-underwear zones per her request. Oh how I wanted her… but somehow, I wanted her right. I didn't just want to mate with her. I wanted her in a more special way. That doesn't mean that I didn't want to fuck her brains out – I did and was desperately trying to figure out how. I just wanted to make sure that when we did, it would be in love and totally mutual. Love? Where the fuck did that come from? I shoved the thought from my mind.

We meandered back to the seats, catching the 7^th, 8^th, and 9^th. In the middle of the 8^th, I knew we were busted. They started showing pictures of people kissing, cutting back and forth between people in the stands and still shots already taken. Fuck. I knew what was coming.

At the very end, the last picture was the siloutte of two people at the railing, kissing each other. Each was a shadow, a dark space against the setting sun in the background. It was a beautiful picture. It was us. I breathed a deep sigh of relief as I realized no one could pin it on us. I turned and saw Mary staring at me, with another one of her damned unreadable looks on her face. I would give anything to know what she was thinking. Man, she was beautiful.

"That was such a nice ending picture." Isabel looked over at me and Mary as she said it.

"Yeah, really nice! Where's my beer?" Brian's slurred words made me very glad I abstained AND had the keys.

"Gee, I wonder who it could have been." Isabel looked pointedly at us, who quickly looked away to the game.

*****

Riding home that night – Rangers won and A-Rod went 0-3 – I was in the front with Mary and Isabel and Brian were in the back. Evidently he thought he was going to get lucky because they were seriously going at it. Mary very studiously ignored them from the front.

We rode in silence.

"I had a nice night."

She looked over at me and said, "Me too."

I dropped her off. I drove them home. I went home and crashed. What the fuck was I going to do.

I didn't call her for a week and a half. I have no idea why.

*****

The next week and a half absolutely sucked. I went back into my 'sick' mode, acting like a complete loser. I basically moped around in my room and claimed the same stomach bug to keep my parents away.

I really wanted my job to hurry up and start. 8-10 hour days of pouring through data to make financial decisions involving millions of dollars sounded like exactly what I needed right now. The problem was, I couldn't fucking get Mary off my mind. Something had changed. I was crazy about her. Not just her body – her. I missed the way she looked when she jeered the Yankees, the glint of sunlight in her eyes, the way her hair would brush by her face, and her quick laugh. I remembered the way she stared at me after I trashed those three thugs, the sweet scent of her body as we embraced.

Yes, it's official. I was fucking losing it!

I don't know why I didn't call her. A million reasons ran through my mind. She was too young. I was too old. She was too pretty. She was my best friend's sister. Her dad would kill me. My buddies would laugh. I almost raped her. She was about to go to college in another state. I was about to start a very intense job and wouldn't have time to wipe my ass after a shit, let alone date a girl. On and on and on and on.

Worst 10 days ever. Period.

*****

"Jimmy, dude, fan-fucking-tastic news."

"What?"

"My dad is taking the family fishing off the coast of Florida next week. Big surprise. Even better, Mary and I each get to take someone with us. Isabel can't go so you're my number 2. How about it?"

"Gosh Brian, I'm so honored to be your number 2 after 16 years of friendship…"

"Oh fuck off. You'd do the same thing in my opinion."

"With Mary, yes I would."

"What?"

Oh fuck, did I say that out loud? Shit shit shit shit.

"Oh, I said 'yeah guess I would."

"Ahh, ok. Anyway, we're leaving Monday morning, 6:15 sharp. Cool?"

"Cool!"

*****

"Sweetie, I'm so sorry your friend couldn't come. I am glad that we get to spend a lot of time together for the next 5 days though. Won't that be fun."

"I'm sure it will, Mom." Mary sounded distinctly pissed.

We were all cramped into Anne's Excursion, all 5 of us and our luggage. Mary had some friend that backed out at the last minute – sudden onset of the flu. Talk about suck.

She was sitting in the very back and was very quiet, almost sad. Her giant sunglasses made reading her face pretty much impossible. Her iPod discouraged further discussion. She hadn't looked at me yet in the 25 minute car ride.

Yep, I'm fucked.

*****

The plane ride was uneventful. It was pretty crowded so me and Brian got split up from Tom, Anne, and Mary. They were way behind us, a fact I was happy about because it meant I didn't have to see her and be reminded of what a douche I was. Anyways, Brian was perfectly content sitting there blabbing to me about a variety of things, mainly how much the Ranger's bullpen sucked and how big of a marlin he was going to catch. I love Brian but I really wanted to tell him just to shut the fuck up. My heart hurt and I didn't know what to do. I wanted to be with Mary but it just seemed so damned hard. Too much fucking stuff in the way.

*****

We got there Monday afternoon. Brian and I hit the beach that night while Tom worked on his computer and Anne and Mary went shopping. I heard Tom mutter something about 'shouldn't have let her bring the credit cards' when he heard which stores they were going to. Poor guy.

We slept in late the next day, only to have Tom yelling at us to get our asses in gear or we would be late for snorkeling.

The water was fantastic. After a relatively quick boat ride – one on which Mary managed to look absofuckinglutely stunning in a yellow bikini and ignore me completely – we got to our destination. After hopping in the water, I was absolutely amazed. The fish were beautiful, the reefs were teeming with life and the water was the perfect temperature. Might need to see if there are any offices in Florida I could do a rotation out of.

Unfortunately, when you are snorkeling, you can look down, like you are supposed to, or up and around at your fellow swimmers. I made that mistake.

Mary was swimming in front of me, her long golden legs easily pushing her along in smooth, controlled kicks. Her breasts were floating gently against her chest in the water and her hair cascaded around her covered face. Damned snorkeling goggles. Suddenly, she turned and was swimming directly away from me. Holy shit. The view was incredible as I got to see her tight ass and crotch barely covered by the thin yellow bathing suit. Everything in me wanted to swim as fast as I could to catch up and mount on her right then and there. Her essence, and her pussy, were calling to me, like a shark smelling blood in the water. My dick was instantly hard as I remembered the feeling of those soft yet firm legs and wonderful ass cheeks. I remembered pushing the head of my dick against her anus, feeling it stretch her sphincter in the moment of my rage and lust.

I shook my head and turned in another direction – a massive effort of willpower on my part. I knew that eventually we would have to get back into the boat and sporting a massive erection when the only females present were Tom's wife and daughter would not be good.

The rest of the swim was beautiful but somehow, seeing the splendor and glory of the reefs with the multitudes of different fish just did not compare to the beauty that was Mary. She was that fucking beautiful to me. I wanted her, bad. Not just to fuck but also to have, like as in she was mine alone. Shit shit shit.

Mary came out of the water before me, a fact I deliberately made sure of so I could see every drop of water falling off her beautiful and sculptured body, lean back, perfect ass, and long legs. I had to pinch my dick, hard, after that to get it to go down before climbing the ladder myself. It was still semi-erect even with the pain.

That night, Brian, Tom and I hit a local bar with some country music while Anne and Mary went shopping again. They said they might meet up with us after a while. They never did. I was both relieved and disappointed.

My last thoughts that night were of Mary. I kept remembering the way she looked as the boat bounced up and down on the water, the wind through her hair and the sun shining down on her golden skin. What the fuck am I going to do?

*****

Tom woke us again, eager to get out. The whiskey from the night before was still on my breath and in my head. Fucking Brian can outdrink a fish. His old man was even worse.

Anne spent the day in, saying she was going to lay by the pool and visit the local art museum. Tom took the rest of us parasailing.

Different guy, different boat but soon enough, we were ready. Mary still ignored me beyond just the minimum hello. She still had those giant sunglasses on so I couldn't catch her looking at me or read or face.

Tom thought it would be fun if we went in doubles and had made sure the guy had a strong enough boat and sail to carry two men. He said he did.

We went first, Tom and me. It was fantastic. The pull of the wind soon made our sail drag us up off the water and up, up, and away. We got pretty high and then just sailed along. A phenomenal feeling. The only thing that could have made it better to me was if Mary was beside me laughing instead of her dad. I realized at that point that I was truly hooked. Shit, I'm really going to have to do something about this.

All too soon, the guy let us down, gently. Soon enough, we were laughing and climbing back into the boat, getting out of the harnesses for Brian and Mary. They were up and away in a minute.

As soon as they were up, Tom hopped from his seat to sit right over next to me. Speaking loudly over the wind, he said, "Sure glad you could make it, son."

"Tom, I really appreciate you bringing me. This has been perfect. I start my job in two weeks and couldn't think of a better way to end my pre-career days. Thank you so much."

Tom nodded and said something about what a blast that was up there. I agreed.

"Looks like those two are having fun."

"Yeah, it does."

"My daughter is a great girl. A nice girl. She would be good for someone."

I froze. Deer in the fucking headlights. What do you say to that? This guy was huge, 2 inches taller than me and was a previous Marine. He had old man strength, the kind men get when they are closing in on 50 but still work out every day. I knew that in a fight, there was a damned good chance I would lose, and get hurt in the process. Especially if he was defending the honor of his daughter. What do I fucking say to that? I took the non-committal route.

"Uhh, yeah, she's nice." Whew, hopefully I won't die for that.

"Yeah, she really is. A lot like her mother but a little of her old man's temper. I'm sure you noticed."

I was walking on fucking knives here. My stomach hurt, bad, from the intense stress.

"Yeah, I guess so."

"Well, like I said, she'll be good for someone, when she meets him. Of course, he's gotta meet my approval first. That's why she hasn't dated anyone. Only a couple of guys have asked and I told them to beat it." He gave a loud laugh at that, slapped me on the back, and moved back over to his seat. I watched him from behind my sunglasses. He never stopped staring at me.

Inside my head, about 50 million thoughts were careening around. Was that an encouragement to pursue his daughter or a threat? Would he kill me if I asked him? Oh shit, I'd have to ask him first! Fuck fuck fuck.

Soon enough, Brian and Mary were in the water and climbing back in the boat. She was laughing and for the first time in what felt like ages, I saw her without those damned sunglasses. Her green eyes flashed and her white teeth shined in the sunlight. My heart beat faster as she climbed into the boat, her laugh making my spirits soar. I caught myself grinning just seeing her like that. My grin melted as soon as I saw Tom staring at me, face hard like granite but unreadable. Shit, was his face always like that or am I about to swim with the fishies?

Brian and I chilled on the beach that night. I saw Mary, her dad, and her mom go for a walk. They didn't come back for at least an hour. Probably getting some time in before Mary heads out for college. I suddenly wished that she was going to the college back home. It was a good school – very good in fact – but I didn't even know if she had applied.

*****

The next day, Thursday, we were supposed to go fishing but a huge thunderstorm blew in, keeping us shuttered in all day. I was bummed because Brian and I were practically stuck in our room. Mary had a room to herself because she was going to have a friend come along but her fiend got sick at the last moment. I was on my computer a lot, catching up on news and studying recent trends in the market.

*****

Friday was beautiful, absolutely beautiful. The sun was out, the birds were sings their little hearts out, and my cock damn near jumped off my body when I saw Mary in her light blue bikini. Damn she looked nice.

All five of us went to the harbor for the boat that would take us deep sea fishing.

Before I knew it, we were fishing. The guide brought food for lunch because we would be out there all day, 2 days worth of fishing to cram into 1 day.

Tom got lucky off the bat and hauled in a nice mackerel, at least 30 pounds. Anne caught up quickly and got one that was two pounds more. She laughed at his look of frustration when hers weighed in just above his.

"What can I say, sweetie, I guess girls are just better at fishing than guys!"

"I don't know about that. I caught you."

Nice line, Tom. It got him some nice tongue from Anne in a hurry. Seriously, Anne may have been Brian's mom but she was still HOT. I could see where Mary got it.

We kept catching some small stuff, nothing to get too excited about other than the joy of the catch. Lunch came and passed and soon enough we were getting fairly close to leaving.

Suddenly, my line snapped suddenly to the left and I felt a VERY strong jerk. This fish was strong! I fought the bastard for at least an hour before getting it to the boat. It was a beautiful marlin, absolutely huge and stunning. I decided that I would blow at least half of my savings on getting it mounted. It was that nice. Everyone patted me on the back, very enthusiastic and ready to share the victory. One person didn't. Mary just looked at me, eyes and expression hidden by those damned glasses. I'm hiding those fuckers here in Florida.

"Alright, folks, time to head out." The guide seemed very tired and pointed to the lowering sun.

"Daddy, please let me go for just a bit longer."

"Sweetie, you heard the man. It's time to go."

Mary looked at the man, pleading with him with her whole stance. Well, the dude did have a heartbeat and you just don't turn down a girl like that. He stammered and got out a weak, "Maybe just a few more minutes."

We waited and right as the guide was getting up to go to the wheel, Mary's line jerked. She squealed in delight, holding on to the rod like it was her life even though it was technically attached to the boat.

The line swung back and forth, back and forth. Tom and the guide must have seen something because they were quickly excited, coaching her and what to do and when. "Reel in now!" "Give some drag." "Reel in quick!" She was grinning and laughing, sweat pouring off of her as her toned arms strained against the rod and lever. She was in a fight and was giving just as good as she got.

The fish jumped out of the water and my heart sank just a little. It was a marlin, at least as big as mine. Don't get me wrong, I was happy for her but my competitive side wanted to catch the biggest fish. Mary let out the most intoxicating laugh when she saw it jump out of the water and immediately looked over at me. I looked away.

It took her a long time and it was almost dark but she finally got the fish to the side of the boat.