A Final Valentine

I sighed, a little disappointed since this dream didn't seem like it was going to be one of the sexy ones. Still, at least I would get to talk with my beloved a bit. "I bet she ran away."

"She said she was eighteen."

"Right. And I'm Cupid."

"Why don't you believe her?"

"Look at her! She's, what? Five feet tall, if that? And she couldn't weigh more than eighty pounds. Ninety at the outside."

"So? If she has been starved, maybe she never grew like she should have. Or maybe she comes from short stock. Maybe she's just small for her age. You don't know."

"You always were too trusting," I snorted.

"And you were always too cynical, stud." Angela turned and laid back beside me, snuggling up against me with her arm across my chest. "You are a good man, Aaron. If you could just learn to let go and trust a little, you could be great. The kind of man they tell stories about."

"I don't want anyone to tell stories about me," I said. "I just want you to be proud of me. To be worth the love you gave me. The rest can kiss my ass."

"Silly man. Nobody is worth love. It's not a coin to be bartered. It just exists. Or it doesn't. And I do love you. Still and always."

"And I love you and always will." I dissolved into tears and wasn't a bit ashamed. "I miss you so much. So very much."

"I know. And I'm sorry I ruined your master plan to die first and leave me to pick up after you."

"You know there was never any such plan. Don't you?"

"I do. I'm just teasing you. I know you just did what you thought you had to. I really am sorry you are hurting so much and wish I could help you with it."

"Being here with you does help. A little. Even though I know it's just a dream."

"And because it's a dream, you can't stay forever. It's time to wake up now. It's time to wake up and tell that hussy to quit drooling on my man's chest."

--Day Two--

To say waking to find Bitty's large shaggy head on my chest instead of the beautiful redhead I'd held in my dreams was a letdown would be a vast understatement. Not to mention she had drooled on my bare chest in her sleep. My left arm was hanging off the bed and I wondered what the hell she was doing crowding me so hard.

Tapping out didn't do any good as Bitty just grumbled and nestled deeper.

I finally managed to fight my way out from under her bulk by allowing myself to fall off the bed and continued waking myself up from down there.

Good grief! It was a queen sized bed! Did my being gone for most of the day really screw with her tiny world all that much?

Remembering the trip, I remembered the girl and had a bad feeling. I flicked my lighter and looked to find that, sure enough, she had lain down on my wife's side of the bed and was the source of the light snoring I'd blamed on Bitty.

I was angry at first. But, I really had no one to blame but myself since I hadn't remained awake to point the kid to where I wanted her to sleep.

I lit my first kretek of the day and contemplated what to do about it.

Eventually, I decided the damage was done. At least Bitty had slept between us. But, if she was still there tonight, I was going to point her to the couch. Pointedly, if need be.

A decision reached, I began my loosening exercises with the acrid smoke from the kretek between my lips curling into my eyes.

Bitty wasn't in any great hurry to head outside. I figured it was because of the snow. But, when I opened the door I found the real reason was that I was up before the sun.

Which probably made sense considering I'd lain down about the time the sun would have gone down if not before.

The occasional flake was still in the air. But, it was hard to tell if it was falling from the sky or just blowing off the roof. The snow on the ground had built until it hit me just below mid-thigh.

Well, I was awake. So, I might as well start my tiny day by dealing with Bitty's bathroom.

By the time I had slogged down and gotten the spade shovel, dug my way back, then cleared off a square for Bitty to use (as well as the porch so her nibs wouldn't get her paws wet), the dawn was just breaking.

We were back inside with a very relieved Bitty eating her breakfast can and me enjoying my fourth smoke when our guest stumbled out.

Wearing just the damn shirt I'd given her to wear!

"Pants," I signed firmly.

The little shit rolled her eyes, but turned and went back to the bedroom to return pulling the sweats I'd given her to wear up her thighs. And giving me a glimpse of her crotch hair in the process.

Jeez, Louise! What the hell was with her?!

I decided I might as well ask as she took the chair between me and Bitty. It wasn't like I cared if she was offended.

"Why do you want to show me your tits, ass, and pussy?" I signed.

"What's wrong with them?"

"Other than you are too young? We don't know each other well enough for that."

"I'm eighteen," she signed back. "Old enough now. But, even when I was younger, it didn't stop men from using me. Why did you help me if not to fuck me?"

"I am wondering that myself," I snapped my fingers back at her.

I don't know. I guess she was kind of cute now that she was clean and didn't have dried snot and tears all down her face. But, she was way too young, even if she was the eighteen she claimed rather than the age she looked to me. Someone had butchered her dark hair and it hung in ragged tufts. Her ears were unpierced. As was anything else I'd seen. And about the only thing I hadn't, only a gynecologist or lover should. My shirt and sweats all but swallowed her sparse frame. Not lovely, no. Definitely not beautiful. But, cute enough.

In my "young, dumb, full of cum and just looking for somewhere to spray it" years, I probably would have been all over her. Now she was clean and smelled better than a septic tank anyway.

But, it had been awhile since I'd been that young and stupid. I knew better. Thanks to Angela, I knew what love was. I knew how two people should feel about each other before they took that plunge. And just how empty it was without it thanks to those two times I'd strayed.

And it was just weird to me that she might have had the past she seemed to indicate and be offering herself up like that for nothing more than a place to get out of the snow and a few meals. Which reminded me...

"Hungry?"

"A little," she signed.

I pushed the sandwich that had still been sitting on the table at her. I figured it should probably be all right since it wasn't all that warm in the little rat hole where I lived.

If she was only a little hungry, I hoped to be spared ever seeing her really hungry as she ripped into that sandwich and scarfed it down fast enough I was half afraid she was going to choke herself.

My ear stung.

"I can cook something," I signed.

"Please. If it's not too much trouble."

It was. But, I knew if Angela had really been there, she would have insisted. I wandered to the pantry and ended up having to open the outside door to have enough light to see by. It was a bit chilly since I'd stripped back down to my shorts when I had come back in. But, there wasn't enough sunlight to break through the clouds and then come through the kitchen windows, the only ones without curtains of some sort covering the blinds, and be able to see enough to read labels.

There was a can of roast beef in gravy, a can of sliced carrots, and a can of sliced potatoes I knew I was never going to eat. What good are unwanted guests if you can't foist off unwanted food on them?

I cranked on the gas stove and used my hand-cranked can opener on the cans to dump the contents in three separate pans. And that just made me crankier since I normally just used one (if what I was getting into needed heating at all) and ate straight from the pan.

And, damn it. I was going to have to actually break out some plates and utensils. And then there would be the clean up after. Just why the hell had I gone along with this crap?

My left ear felt like it was going to separate from my head. I reached up to rub it and found a bump forming on the back. Ah. That would explain it better than the ghost of my wife thumping me to get my attention.

As I thought that, a sharp pain almost took me to my knees. Damn it! Was it a bite or something?

I took my hand away from my ear since it only seemed to make it hurt worse and focused on heating the food-like substances in the three pans. Like the little shit was going to appreciate it anyway.

It dawned on me as I stood there I didn't so much as know her name. Not that I cared really. And it wasn't like there was anyone else around to get confused who we were talking to. So what difference did it make?

"Son of a bitch!" That last spike in pain had really gotten my attention and then faded as quickly as it had come. I felt around to make sure something wasn't crawling on me right then and there, but couldn't feel anything.

The food ready, I rinsed the worst of the dust off a plate that had been sitting in the drainer since the day before Angela went on and slopped some of each pan's contents on the plate. I had no idea how much the girl could eat, so I just put about half of each and figured she could have the rest if she was still hungry. Or she could have it for lunch later if she wasn't.

Bitty was sitting beside the girl with her head on her lap getting scratched when I came out with her plate and a glass of water. In the girl's other hand, she was toying with something small she immediately slipped in the shirt pocket when I came around the corner.

"Where is yours?"

"Not hungry," I signed back.

She paused and looked at me for a long moment.

"Thank you."

"You're welcome."

I sat and fidgeted while she ate. I really wanted a smoke, but it didn't seem right to blow smoke in her face while she was eating. I needed to take a shower. I could smell myself after my exertions outside, not to mention the day before. But, the old rule from my childhood, learned through the application of a hand to my backside, kept me in my seat while she slowly ate, her big brown eyes on me the whole time.

I was actually a bit surprised at her table manners. While she did bend just a little more over the plate than she should have, the rest was better than I would have expected from a half-starved street rat. She only finished about half of what I had dished out for her.

"I'm sorry. I'm full. May I have the rest later for lunch?"

"No," I signed. "Give that to the dog to finish. There is more when you are ready for it."

"Ok. If you're sure."

"I'm sure."

She watched me the whole way down with her plate to the floor. I suppose watching for me to change my mind. Bitty, of course, loved the meat. Didn't touch the vegetables though. Smart dog.

I took the plate back into the kitchen and scraped the remains into the trash, put the pots in the refrigerator with snow on them, and washed the glass, plate, and fork she'd used in the sink. When I returned, she and Bitty were in almost the same spots I'd left them in. She was in the chair. Bitty had her head on her lap again. And once more the girl slipped something back into the shirt pocket.

I took my chair and lit up a smoke.

"Why were you in bed with me?" I asked.

"Where was I supposed to be?"

"Fair enough. I hadn't intended you to sleep with me. But, I fell asleep before I could show you where. I guess we should do that."

I took the girl back to show her the couch with the blanket and comforter piled on it.

"Wow," she signed looking around the room. "Have you read all these books?"

"These and more. These are just the ones we kept."

"You and your wife must be pretty smart."

"She was," I signed. "I just like to read."

"But, how do you read with no lights?"

"There is light through the window. You can pull aside the curtain if you want to let in more. Although, you'll probably have to open the blinds too, dim as it is. I'm going to take a shower. Feel free to read if you want."

I left the girl fussing with the curtain and tried not to have my feelings hurt that Bitty chose to stay on the couch and keep an eye on the girl rather than follow me. After a moment of consideration, I closed the bathroom door behind me.

That did it. Bitty immediately started scrabbling at the other side. I opened the door, but couldn't get her to come in. When I closed it again, Bitty started back up.

Well, damn.

I glanced in at the girl to see her already sitting on the couch with the comforter around her, bent over a book opened in her lap. I supposed she had just grabbed the first thing to come to hand. She was working that small thing in her hand she'd had out when I came around the corner from the kitchen. I couldn't make out what it was, but the motion of her hand reminded me of someone working a worry stone.

Well, she was busy. I guessed I could do what I needed to do with the door opened so Bitty wouldn't tear it up. That's what I'd done with Angela in the house. But, that was different. That was Angela. This was whoever this girl was. Still, it should be all right.

I took twice as long on the toilet as normal since I kept staring at the doorway, half expecting her to come around the corner, and couldn't relax at first.

That business finally handled I stepped straight into the tub.

And almost fell jerking my foot back. I'd forgotten I had told her to stopper the tub and put her clothes in there. The water was cold and the clothes... Well, they didn't feel good when they'd grazed the side of my foot.

I fished her clothes out by feel in the dark and piled them in the sink. They didn't really smell a whole lot better and I made a note to put them back in the tub, with some of the last of my detergent this time, when I was done.

Showering was almost as much of a chore for me as getting out of bed in the mornings. I had to wash one arm and then rest before I could do the other. Then rest again before I could do a leg. But, the hot water beating down and cascading over my body helped a little with the muscles. Not so much the nerves as everywhere the water struck, it felt like a needle jabbing me. But, I took showers because I just couldn't feel as clean after a bath. Not to mention, the tub wasn't long enough for me to get comfortable sitting in. Not like the one we'd had at the house which was big enough for Angela and me to make love in.

Thinking of Angela and I making love caused the usual stirring below my waist. I forgot for just a moment I had a guest roaming around my sanctuary and leaned back in the corner to prop myself as I wrapped my soapy hand around my cock.

When we had first gotten together, Angela had been almost too skinny. She had wanted to lose weight and had gotten addicted to Dexatrim. Over our years together, she had fought free of her addiction and filled out once more. And I had loved her full, ripe double-D breasts or her ample hips filling my hands, sometimes one hand full of each, as I sheathed my cock in her warm, wet, willing pussy.

And her pussy was almost always so wet it was dripping and so warm and inviting.

Almost always. Her last two years, we hadn't been able to do much beyond kissing and light caresses as it just hurt her back too much. But, before then we had been evenly matched for most of our time together.

Lost in my memories, I was only dimly aware of my hand sliding up and down my pulsating shaft as I worked myself closer and closer to the edge imagining myself pumping into my beautiful wife and causing her to cry out in ecstasy.

I was just about to cum for my Angela when I heard the shower curtain move and saw the silhouette of a naked girl climbing in with me.

"What the hell are you doing?" I asked, and then felt stupid since I knew she couldn't hear me. It was too dark for any but the broadest motions to be communicated. I reached out to get her attention. She felt like an ice sculpture and was almost vibrating she was shivering so hard.

Disconcerted and puzzled, I got out from under the water and was hit by an arctic blast even before I stepped out of the tub. What the hell was going on?!

After quickly toweling off and wrapping it around my waist for whatever modesty I could manage, I first checked the heater to make sure it hadn't gone out. But, it was blazing merrily away. That just didn't make any sense.

I headed back to the "library" and it got colder the closer I got. The only thing I could see when I stepped through the door was the curtain pulled back from the window and the blinds open to let in the dim sunlight making it through the clouds. Seriously? That was enough to make it this cold? I held my hand out to the glass and jerked it away. It was so cold it was almost painful.

I shut the blinds and tugged the curtain back closed, but the damage had been done. The room was freezing. She couldn't stay in there. I might as well pitch her back outside. Hell, I couldn't stay in there and I was probably still about double her weight or a little more.

I took the blanket and comforter back to the bed and spread them out. It should be fine. It was a queen sized bed and she was a tiny little thing. And Bitty would probably lay between us again. So, it should be fine.

The girl made a noise and I glanced at the bathroom. The dark bathroom. Without even the little light from the other room, it was almost stygian in there. And she had an issue with the dark.

I lit the candles on Angela's table and looked over to see her dim form pointing at the one still in the bathroom. Seriously?

I stepped over, careful to keep my eyes averted and lit the candle in there.

"Thank you," I heard her flat voice say since I wouldn't look at her to see her signs.

I waved an acknowledgment and plucked my shorts from the back of the toilet before stepping back out and closing the door behind me.

Bitty came from where she had been in the living room and ignored me to paw at the door.

"I'm right here," I said, scratching her ears.

Bitty pawed again insistently and whined.

Well, of all the damn...

I opened the door a crack, but that wasn't enough for my traitorous dog. Bitty nosed the door all the way opened and then laid down with her head in the way so I couldn't pull it back.

The girl wasn't even paying attention but had her head thrown back under the water, running her fingers through her scraggly hair. With the shower curtain all the way open, of course, so the candlelight could glisten off the water as it runneled down her petite body. Damn it.

I turned resolutely away and left my dog to admire her new best friend while I rounded the corner in the bedroom so I could have a modicum of privacy to exchange my towel for my shorts.

The water shut off as I took a seat on the edge of the bed and lit a smoke. A moment later, I choked on the exhale as the girl came into the room just as naked as she'd been when she climbed in the shower with me.

"Where are the clothes I gave you to wear?"

"In the tub," she signed. "Was that not what I was supposed to do with them?"

Of all the damn...

"No," I signed. "You were supposed to wear them while you stay with me."

"Sorry."

Sorry? No, I was the one who was sorry. Sorry I had ever stopped Juanita from calling the police. Or breaking her broom over this girl's head. Whichever came first.

Fine, then. Let her stay naked.

"Cold," she signed.

"Stand in front of the heater, then."

As she moved to do just that, I got up and went into the bathroom. Sure enough, she had put the sweats and flannel I'd meant for her to wear in the tub. I fished them out and wrung them out as best I could. I pulled her clothes back out of the sink and dumped them in the water standing in the tub and then rooted around under the sink for the jug of detergent.

Just across from the wall furnace, there were a set of shelves built into the wall where we kept towels and I wasn't really sure just what else since I hadn't so much as looked at them except to hang clothes to dry. I hung the flannel and sweats there, hoping they would dry out. Then I motioned the girl to follow me back into the bathroom.