A New Tradition

"I thought you said you couldn't cum again." Jake couldn't help smiling as he leaned in to collect a kiss.

"I didn't think so either, but there was this sudden burst of heat inside me, and I was over an edge I didn't think I could cross." Tabitha grinned. "That was... Wow, Jake!"

"That was the best sex... Maybe ever." He hoped that Tabi could hear the lack of deceit in his voice. "I wish we could just curl up and cuddle after that." Jake needed more of Tabitha in his life. He leaned up on his hands and started to slide out of her warm embrace.

"Wait. Wait. Wait!" Tabitha stopped him before he could uncouple from her vagina. "Don't pull out yet!" She pointed toward a package on the back of the seat that she couldn't quite grasp. Reaching around, a still spread and shapely leg wasn't letting her grab a packet from behind the chair in an aftermarket cargo net. Stuffed animals and toys took most of the positions in the netting, but that wasn't her aim. "Would you grab those first?"

"Baby wipes?" Jake grabbed the packet and handed it to Tabitha. The minx kept pulsing her vaginal walls around his captive penis. It was the most exquisite agony on his spent cock. Her waggling eyebrow hinted that she knew exactly what she was doing.

"They work for more than diaper changes, you know. Kids get messy." Tabitha shrugged and pulled a few wipes from the packaging. "So do adults." Tabitha giggled. "Could you ensure my dress is over my ass before you pull out? I really don't want to get semen on it."

Jake did as he was requested. If he gave her impressive bum a bit of a squeeze while he was at it, that was purely to accomplish the request. Mostly. "It's a very nice dress." Jake complimented.

"Here, try and catch some of your stuff when you pull out. Leather cleans up pretty easy, but I don't want to risk tracking it elsewhere."

"Yes, ma'am." Jake took his time as he eased his spent cock from the best pussy it had ever ventured into. Semen practically gushed from her quim as he pulled free. He caught what he could.

"How much sperm did you unload in me?" Tabi had an amused look as she cleaned up.

"All of it!?" Jake cleaned his cock and found a plastic bag to toss the sperm-soiled refuse into. "I'd never done that before."

"What, had sex? You were good at it." She giggled. Jake couldn't help staring as she cleaned her pussy.

"Finished inside a woman." Jake blushed. "At least without a condom. Then, of course, there was the woman I was with. Is there anything about you that isn't astounding?"

Her phone dinged. "Could you grab that for me, Jake?" Tabitha asked as she almost purposely sidestepped his question.

"Yeah." He didn't look at the message as he handed the phone to Tabi.

"Rissa is coming home early. Nat wants to know if we can meet them at the hospital to grab Clem. I guess no round two tonight."

Cupid 542 -- One Week Later

"Well, shit." 542 sounded morose as he stared into his notebook.

"What's wrong, sweetie?" Angela flew into the room.

"I think we messed up again." 542 flipped through his notes, looking for answers he wasn't going to find.

"How's that?"

"They got together too fast! Tabitha's having a bit of a freak out about their encounter." He hoped Angela knew that his frustration wasn't aimed at her. "Sorry. I might have bitten off too big of a challenge."

"There's still time, right?" Angela's soothing voice helped a feeling of calm descend over 542.

"Barely, we have a week, or it will be years until they find each other again." 542's wings were flapping nervously. "I want to avoid that. It's far better for her if they get together now." He pointed at Clementine's information in his notes. "Tabitha's a great mother, but having a father figure would be exceptional for her daughter. Especially a good father figure like Jake!" He was winding himself up again.

"Breathe, babe. You've figured out harder problems. Why don't you show me what happened to the first arrow for these two?"

"That was a little your fault." 542 grinned. He knew Angela would see the playfulness in him. That was probably her objective with the question anyway.

"Uh-huh, why's that?" She fluttered around the table to look over his shoulder at his device.

"You saddled me with this intern that was easily distracted."

An image of a coffee shop where Jake played guitar coalesced on a device atop the notebook. It was Jake's senior year, and Tabitha was walking home from class. 542, and a younger angel glided into the scene.

"I was supposed to hit Tabitha as she walked by the coffee shop. She was curious to find out who was playing the acoustic guitar."

542 let the intern take the shot aiming to hit Tabitha in the heart. If the first arrow hit anywhere else, the effects would take a while to disseminate in the target's nervous system. The intern not only struck a glancing blow on Tabi, but the misaimed arrow slammed into the heart of a woman entering the shop. The sudden and furious make-out session that ensued with the friend the woman was with made Tabitha turn away before she found out who was playing.

"Those other two got married, didn't they?" Angela asked.

"Yeah, it was a happy accident for the intern. That and her next miss were the only reason she passed." 542 grumbled a little, but once the angel had learned to calm down and breathe before she launched an arrow, she had made a good cupid. "She still has incredible luck."

"Okay, that's Tabi's first arrow. What happened with Jake?"

"That was later that night." 542 waved his hand over the device, and the scene was suddenly a bar across the campus from the coffee shop. "Karaoke night. Tabitha was supposed to be the next one up. My arrow was supposed to hit Jake when she started singing. I let my intern try and redeem herself."

He looked away as the other angel fired. She nearly missed her quarry again, but the ricochet off the ground slammed into another patron. This caused the man to trip and take out the microphone before Tabitha entered the scene. The person that helped him up was also a match for the man. An errant beer bottle toppled into Jake's lap, and he decided to call it a night. He did catch sight of Tabi as he left, but the arrow's effects wouldn't be working for a while from the minor nicks either got from the projectile. Most of the magic had been expended in the targets it struck true.

However, the first arrow's magic still worked on Jake and Tabitha. They were just blissfully unaware. The spells had been the spark of latent attraction that got Tabi and Jake to start flirting with each other at the dog park.

"Okay, what now?" Angela cuddled in close. 542 loved the mere presence of the angelic muse.

"I think we may be able to use the ladies we helped last year. Do you have time this afternoon?"

"I love when we work together." Angela grinned and gripped his hand. "To the portal, then?"

"Sounds like a plan."

The magical realm could be traversed in the blink of an eye by employing a series of portals sprinkled across commercial and residential areas. Taking a portal could get an enchanted creature to any other location in the network without expending much energy. The mystical realm overlaid the mortal planes but was a dimension or two out of step. 542 and Angela could observe Rissa and Natalie without being seen.

Chester's ears perked up when Angela and 542 flew into their apartment from the balcony door. Dogs and cats could temporarily sense the arrival of mystical creatures. It was a reason for random barks or sudden sprints around houses in the middle of the night.

"What is it, Chess?" Natalie looked up from a cutting board; Chester laid back on his perch on the big sectional sofa in the living room. The animals could briefly spy movement in the higher dimensions. Recent portal travel left an ethereal residue making it easier to be observed. That would quickly wear off and make it harder to focus on the observers. "No real dog emergency?" Natalie shook her head and went back to chopping a pepper.

The door opened, and Clarissa stepped in with a big white garment bag on her arm. "You're home already?" Chester hopped off the couch to greet his favorite person.

"Yup, class got out early, so I thought I would make some salads for dinner. I'll throw on leftover chicken from last night, and it'll make a meal." Natalie put the knife down and walked over to kiss her wife. Nat was naked other than a pair of slippers, as she was most of the time at home. "What's this?" She asked after breaking the embrace.

"Your dress, I think. The doorman was about to call you to come to get it at the front desk when he saw me."

"Ohh! Yay! They cut it closer than I'd like." Natalie did a happy little dance, narrowly avoiding Chester as she spun around. "You didn't peek, did you?" Her expression turned severe. Natalie grabbed the dress and hung it in the closet beside Rissa's garment bag.

"I wouldn't dream of it. I hear it's bad luck to see the dress before the wedding." Rissa started stripping out of her clothing. Nudity was just a part of their shared home. A pair of dresses hung on the coat rack near the front door. If there was ever an emergency or family showed up unexpectantly, they had clothing within reach. "You're cooking?" Rissa looked surprised. She was the chef in the family. Natalie almost exclusively ordered something on her night to cook.

"I can chop vegetables." Natalie shook her head with a laugh. "Did you talk to Jake?"

"Yeah, I did. I'm going to shower before dinner, and we can compare notes." Rissa skipped off toward their main suite while Natalie finished dinner.

Natalie took a few minutes to arrange their salads perfectly before flopping on the couch and going through her notes. She set a couple of cans of hard seltzer on the coffee table, so she didn't need to return to get something to drink with supper. Rissa had a towel wrapped around her hair when she emerged from the bedroom.

"Less than eight days, Nat!" It was Rissa's turn to cut a joyful rug. "I still can't quite believe you'll be my wife in about a week." She grabbed the two salads on her way to the sectional and curled beside her fiancée.

"Or we'll be on the sandy beaches of Mexico in nine days." Natalie was beaming.

"I keep thinking I'm dreaming." Rissa gave her best-worried smile. Natalie swooped in for a kiss.

"Nope, it's genuine." Natalie shrugged and snuggled in close.

"Aren't you supposed to pinch me?" Rissa questioned.

"Nah, the kiss works better."

"She's right, you know. It's part of the reason Prince Charming used it to awaken Snow White." 542 interjected. Only Angela could hear him.

"Shh... I need to get them back on track." Angela fluttered over and whispered something in Natalie's ear.

"Did Jake tell you what happened on the date?" Natalie asked between bites of salad.

"He didn't go into any details, but he said it went well. Tabitha's been ghosting him, he says. Jacob seems distraught." Rissa frowned. "I thought we played matchmaker well. Did you get anything out of Tabi?"

"They had sex," Nat said matter-of-factly. "Outstanding sex, according to Tabitha."

"What, when?"

"They skipped out on the second half of the play and found a dark parking lot on the way home." Nat shrugged.

"Okay, if it was good, why hasn't she talked to him?"

"She freaked the next day. Tabi wanted some time to think about what happened, and now she doesn't know what to do. Our girl thinks she ghosted him for too long."

"Jake would be thrilled to hear from her."

"I think she's too hurt to be the one to reach out."

"Jake doesn't want to chase anyone who doesn't want him. He got his heart shattered by his ex-fiancée."

"So, they're both stubborn?" Angela whispered to 542.

"They still like each other." 542 fluttered slow circles around the room for a moment, thinking as the two ladies continued to discuss their friends. "Neither one is going to be the one to reach out..."

"We need them to bump into each other." Angela snapped her fingers.

"They don't frequent the same areas of town." 542 steepled his hands in front of his face.

"They're still friends with these two."

"Yeah, but using Chester to get them together only worked for so long." Inspiration struck 542 like lightning once he saw the solution to the puzzle; it seemed so obvious. A broad smile crept onto his features. "Big events do bring them together."

"Oh! Oh!" Her eyes lit up as she gazed in his direction. That was all the hint she needed to know what to do. "I'll bet I can do this with a single inspiration." Angela flew over to Natalie to whisper some magical power into Natalie's ear.

"I'll bet you're right, my love." 542 murmured and watched Angela do her work.

Jake -- February 14th, before Rissa and Natalie's wedding

Being asked to be an usher for Rissa and Natalie's wedding was an honor. A cousin of Clarissa's was supposed to fulfill the role. When her father's family boycotted the wedding, they were left without an usher close to the ceremony. It required taking a day off work, but Jake was determined to keep the pair of his friends in his life. As a further favor to the women, he arrived early to help get the chairs out and prepare the annex for the reception.

The folding chairs all needed fabric that looked like a white sleeve pulled over them and tied. The decoration made the chairs look better and provided a bit of padding on the seats for the guests.

Jake tried not to spend much time dwelling on Tabitha, but the repetitive activity gave him too much time to think. He thought the date had gone well even before the magic in Tabi's car on the way home. With the impairment of little room to move, the sex was still the best Jake could recall. When he tried to text Tab the next day, her replies were terse and made it seem like she was just using him to get relief after three years without sex.

Two Saturdays passed without a return of Tabitha and Clementine to the dog park. Sandy may have been more disappointed than he was. She still got to play with Chester but gave him a sad and baleful look when they got home. The pup needed a dose of the tiny human she had gotten addicted to. Jake took the hint that Tabi didn't want anything to do with him.

There was a knock at the back door as the crew was about halfway finished turning the basketball space into something festooned in white, pink, and red for the holiday wedding. The blue mixed about almost seemed out of place but represented one bride's eyes. As he was the closest to the door, Jake opened it. Flowers for centerpieces and other decorations were being delivered in bundles of fresh blooms. The vegetation was lovely, but it wasn't what stopped Jake in his tracks.

Tabitha was wearing a gorgeous and tight magenta-colored dress that looked amazing with her dark skin tone. Her makeup had looked fantastic when they had gone out on a date, but Jake could see another layer of care put into making it perfect for the wedding. Her hair was shining as it curled over her right shoulder in an elegant ponytail. The light pink shade of lip gloss was decidedly non-traditional, but the contrast with her dark complexion was astonishing. A soft touch on her blush exaggerated the ruby undertones of her beautiful face.

The woman had already been tall, but a pair of ruby stilettos brought her very nearly to his tall height. They served to make her legs appear longer and already fantastic butt pop. Jake's heart fluttered, but he tried to keep himself calm. There was no use getting too attracted to a woman that didn't seem to like him as much as he liked her. I made that mistake once already.

"Jake? What are you doing here?" Tabitha blushed and looked away.

"Ris and Nat asked me to be an usher. A cousin canceled on them, some sort of homophobic B.S." Jake's younger sister was a lesbian, and as a result, he had a little experience with homophobic family members. Luckily for him, those family members were on her wife's side of the family. "It was late notice, but they deserved a perfect wedding. What are you doing here?"

"Natalie asked me to help with flowers." Tabitha's eyes returned to his. There was considerable pain in her soft brown gaze.

"I didn't think I would see you again." Jake stepped back to allow more deliveries to come into the building. "I didn't want to keep bothering you if you didn't want to keep going out."

"It's not... It's not exactly what you think, Jake." Tabitha stepped close to him. "Can we talk? Somewhere private if possible."

"Sure. The caterers won't be here for an hour, so the kitchen's free." Jake motioned for her to follow him across the room.

"Jake, I'm sorry, but there's so much you need to know." Tabitha pulled a stool close to him and squeezed his hand.

"Is there someone else?" Jake hated himself for asking a question that carried an accusation. His ex-fiancée's sudden change of heart and subsequent leaving had stained his soul.

"No, I haven't lied to you about anything. I have omitted some facts, though." Tabi hadn't moved her hand, so Jake squeezed back lightly.

"Okay, tell me. If you want to."

"You must have been curious about how Clem didn't share a skin tone with her mother."

"A little," Jake admitted. "I didn't want to pry, but I figured that maybe she was adopted. You being her kickass mother was all that was important, though."

"Biologically, Clem is my niece."

"That explains the cute nose you two share." Jake's comment got a brief smile from Tabitha. He evidently wasn't the first to notice the resemblance. "What happened to her biological family?"

"Her dad," Tabi shook her head like labeling the man with a term of endearment brought a physical headache. "Or sperm donor is perhaps more appropriate, wanted to force my sister to have an abortion when she got pregnant. This nice guy was turned downright mean when it happened. Sabrina told him in no uncertain terms that she was keeping Clementine and she didn't need him around anymore. That guy became a piece of shit." Tabitha blushed. She didn't seem to want to use harsh language, except when they were getting amorous. "Clem's father is out of the picture. I don't know if he's ever bothered to check and see if she was even born."

"What about your sister?" Jake asked, but the distress on Tabi's face already told him it wasn't a happy ending.

"Sabrina died in a car wreck when Clementine was eighteen months old. She had been coming home late from parent-teacher conferences. The high school where she was an assistant principal named the art wing after her. I..." Tabitha was struck by a sudden sob. Jake handed her his handkerchief. "They had a couple of jackasses that protested that at the school board meeting because Sabrina was an unwed mother. Can you believe that shit?"

"My God, no. I'm so sorry, Tabitha."

"Yeah, and they invited me to the meeting to accept on behalf of my late sister." Tabitha gave out a long, irritated sigh. "At least Clementine had a babysitter that night because she had a cold."

"I'm sorry you had to experience that, Tabi."

"I need to tell you so much, so maybe you'll understand my reticence to call you back. Sabrina's passing was just the latest in a string of tragedies." Tabitha's hand was quaking a little as another tear tumbled from her eyes.

Jake wished he could do more than listen as Tabi explained her family's dissolution when she was born. He held her hand as she took forty-five minutes to give him her harrowing life story. There were good times, mostly from her undergraduate through a couple years as an RN and her graduate degree. Jacob could almost feel the bond that Tabitha, Sabrina, and their mother shared.

Tabitha detailed how hectic the pandemic had been at work and losing her mother early in the COVID craziness. Tears flowed freely from the woman and Jake's eyes more than once. Her last few years would have been enough to break almost anyone. Somehow, Tabi was still strong.