As Big as the Moon

Jaimie did the same from the other side, whispering something that caused Mom to pull her down where she could whisper something back and then kiss Jaimie's cheek.

Releasing her, Mom said, "Go."

***

Wanting to surprise me, Jaimie went upstairs and came back a little while later wearing a skirt and sweater she'd borrowed from Addy and a pair of heels that Sandy said she wouldn't need for a while. When I told her how lovely she was, she caressed my cheek with her hand and kissed me before we put on our coats and headed out the door. We drove in silence for a bit, each of us lost in our thoughts, until Jaimie finally spoke.

"They really love each other, but your mom is more worried about your dad than she is about her own condition. A professor mentioned something about that in one of my classes last fall. Kathy needs to realize that stressing herself to help him is only going to hurt him worse in the long run if she...doesn't pull through."

"Yeah. I've told her that, but it's like talking to a brick wall. What's funny is that Dad is the exact same way with her; if he were the sick one, he'd be doing the exact same thing she is."

"You're lucky that both of your parents love you guys so much. My mom took so much shit from my dad over the years before he left that it made her withdraw into her own little fortress where she protected herself first and sometimes drank to forget, often leaving me hanging. We moved so much as a result, I have trouble remembering all of the schools I attended and how many friends I lost and eventually forgot over the years. I'm glad I found a nice guy like you, Keith. I won't forget you."

I wondered what had brought that on, but she asked me about the area so I told her about how country it was. "Yeah, we're heading to horse country, where they have the big Tennessee Walking Horse Celebration every year, for dinner. A few miles beyond that is Lynchburg, where they make Jack Daniels. I'm not sure if it's true but I've heard it's made in a dry county so they can be sure they'll actually have enough bottles to sell."

Jaimie chuckled at the irony so I continued. "And for those who don't drink whiskey, a few miles to the north, they've been having another celebration, this one for RC Cola and Moon Pies, for the past few years."

"You've got to be pulling my leg, right?"

"Nope. Mom and Dad took my sisters and Cory a couple of years ago. Elizabeth and Addy really liked the RC, and Cory almost went into a sugar-shock from all of the moon pies he ate. I swear I don't know how the kid can stay so skinny."

"He's eight and he's active. He has the metabolism of a horse."

"True. And speaking of horses, but not exactly horses, a few miles west of my parents' house, they have an annual celebration of mules, of all things, and just north of the park where we were this afternoon, they have a horsepower love fest every summer."

"Huh?"

"An annual tractor pull that's one of the biggest in the country."

"Ah. And jacked-up pickup trucks?" she suggested with a giggle.

"Yeah, that too."

With us getting close and me never having been there before, Jaimie read off the directions over the last couple of miles and we soon reached the restaurant my dad had recommended. Being Valentine's Day, the place was packed and there was a wait. With it as noisy as it was in the reception and bar area, it was difficult to talk and be heard, so we went outside for a bit and talked but with Jaimie wearing a skirt and the temperature dropping, the cold soon got to us. Back inside, we sat holding hands, chatting when it wasn't too loud but mostly looking at each other and smiling. Forty-five minutes later, I knew that she was as beautiful as I believed and that she made me smile, both inside and out.

When we got to our table, we each had a glass of wine while waiting for our meal. The waitress carded both of us, of course, and I let Jaimie glance at my driver's license but she claimed hers had a terrible photo and wouldn't let me see it.

"I don't believe it," I said.

"Oh, you would if you saw it, believe me," she laughed as she put it back in her purse. "Worst picture ever. I'm not sure how the waitress could even tell it was me."

"You know, my dad told me that driver's licenses here in Tennessee didn't even have photos on them when he was my age."

"Really?"

"Yep. I asked him how the bartenders could card kids back then. He said the drinking age was 18 back then so it didn't matter since they rarely ever checked IDs like these days."

"And my mom tells me how much easier we have things now than when she was a girl," laughed Jaimie. "You know, no walking to school in the snow--"

"Three miles, uphill both ways? Right?"

"--or fending off the hungry dinosaurs." She did a T-Rex tiny arms imitation and we both laughed.

"Seriously, I'm sure things were a whole lot tougher in whatever state she was in back then," I teased. "After all, they only had what, three or four TV channels back then?"

In our silliness, she touched my arm a time or two, and I touched hers in return. It wasn't long before another touch led to our left hands being linked in the middle of the table next to the candle, and I felt the side of Jaimie's foot rub my calf. I gave her hand a little squeeze and she replied with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a smile.

"Keith, with all the moving around my mom and I did, the longest I've ever had a boyfriend is a few months. Is it weird that I feel closer to you in--what, two days?--than I ever did with any of them?"

That warmed my heart and I shook my head. "I know what you mean, because I feel it too, but that makes me wonder, how we're going to keep this going when you go home and I go home and we're hundreds of miles and seven or eight hours apart."

Jaimie's fledgling smile of moments before faded when I said that; her eyes fell and her brow sank, but our waitress arrived with our food before we could say anything else. Our discussion was put on hold as the woman set our plates before us and asked if there was anything else she could get us.

Jaimie reached back across and took my hand again when the server walked away. She gave my hand a squeeze as she smiled and said, "Keith, tonight is Valentine's Day. Let's make the most of it tonight and enjoy the romance of the day and just being together now. We'll wait until tomorrow to worry about the future, okay?"

Considering how happy I was, I nodded, wanting more than anything to make her happy, too.

***

The meal was delicious and Jaimie's company was even better. When our plates were gone and we were waiting for the check, we kissed across the table a couple of times and I felt happier and more at peace than I ever had.

Jaimie held my hand off and on while smiling at me most of the way home. The clouds had cleared out finally, and she looked out the window to see stars above.

"Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight," she said, starting the familiar rhyme. "I wish I may, I wish I might, have my sweet Valentine the whole damn night!"

"Ah-hh!" I replied in surprise at her ending. "That's so sweet! And it rhymes, but I'm sorry, the meter absolutely sucks," I laughed.

"Well, at least something gets to tonight," she giggled, before sighing. I gave her hand a squeeze and continued concentrating on the dark road ahead of us, but I heard her whisper. "I do wish."

I considered trying to find us a hotel but there weren't any options where we were and I wasn't about to suggest trying to turn some deserted spot on a country road into our personal lovers' lane for a little while. While I probably wanted Jaimie as much as she appeared to want me, she deserved so much better than a frantic fuck in the back seat of my car while we prayed for no one to drive past us, or worse yet, to stop to see why we were parked in such a secluded spot before we both came.

She leaned across the console toward me as she slipped her hand around my arm and leaned her head against it. On we went and minutes later, we pulled into my parents' driveway. After parking, we sat in the car and kissed for a few moments until I saw Dad look out our way.

No, my parents' driveway wouldn't be a lovers' lane either.

Inside, we found that my sister Sandy had already left for MTSU in Murfreesboro, though she left us a little note with most of it actually written to Jaimie. Dad had Cory ready for bed so Jaimie and I put my little brother to bed and joined Mom, Dad, and Addy downstairs for a bit.

Mom looked tired from the start and appeared to tire even more as we talked. It wasn't long before she said she had to go so she struggled up from her seat after telling Dad and me not to help her. She gave me a big hug and then did the same with Jaimie, whispering back and forth for a few moments. Mom gave her a kiss on her cheek which Jaimie returned, and then Mom and Dad headed off to the bedroom.

Addy followed just a couple of minutes later, leaving Jaimie and me sitting in the living room all by ourselves. Jaimie looked at me with a grin before glancing back and forth between the hall to the stairs and me.

"Yes! Thank you lucky star!" she whispered before putting her hand against my chest and pushing me back on the couch. She wrapped herself over me and we were making out in seconds.

Lips locked, bodies touching, hands roaming, we stifled our moans of mutual pleasure, trying to avoid the noise from alerting anyone upstairs as to what was going on. While trying to control myself, I didn't do too well, sliding my hand up her leg, under her skirt, and rubbing her smooth butt cheek. Pushing the cloth of her panties up and over, I massaged and squeezed it as Jaimie moaned quietly into my mouth.

My fingers were a couple of inches and just a thin layer or two of cotton from heaven. Sliding down that bit, I ran my finger over them, barely grazing her valley of infinite pleasure and incredible desire, drawing in response a little gasp and her hand to my zipper.

I wanted her, wanted my finger to plunge back through her valley and into her depths, and wanted her hand to dive into my pants and take charge of that situation. However, the door was open and it was entirely possible that someone, anyone, might walk in at any time.

"Jaimie, we--"

"Ah-hem," came a sound from the door and we both jumped, as startled as could be. Jaimie bolted upright and my hand, so close to heaven just a moment before, was as far away as it could be.

Dad was standing there looking at us, obviously having seen enough to know exactly what had been going on a second or two earlier. He looked a bit embarrassed as he said quietly, "Ya'll, can we talk? In the kitchen?"

We hopped up, straightening clothes as we went, and followed him before I asked, "Dad, what's up?"

"Keith, I've got work tomorrow so it's bedtime for me and I just wanted to say goodnight. Also..."

He hesitated, as if unsure of himself. "Ah, also, I want to say...your mom and I always tried to teach you right and wrong, to set guidelines, and to protect you when you were growing up. You're there now, a full-grown adult, and so is Jaimie, so you're old enough to make your own decisions about things and what you do. Son, I'm pretty sure you've been doing that for a while now anyway, quite a while even and even without me saying it. Jaimie, it wouldn't surprise me if you have been too, even though it's none of my business or anyone else's.

"What I'm getting at is that, well, it's Valentine's Day, for at least two or three more hours, and you two are probably as caught up in the trappings of romance and love and, well, from what I accidentally saw in there, hormones, as Kathy and I were when we were your age. You two obviously care a lot about each other, so nothing will be said, by anyone, if...if the two of you choose to, ah, slip down to Kathy's sewing room in the basement for more 'privacy' for a little while. If you do and you decide to, ah, be intimate, just remember to be very careful, use protection, and keep it very quiet. Oh, and don't forget to lock the door. That's all I'm saying."

He gave me a fatherly hug and then Jaimie gave him one too before he said goodnight and headed to bed.

Jaimie watched him go and then nodded. "You have great parents. They did their best to raise you right but recognize that you're an adult and make your own decisions now. My mom? Well, never in a bazillion years."

She stopped, her mouth tight, and she looked hurt. I wanted to hug her, to tell her it was okay, but she shook her head and stepped to the fridge where she drew a glass of water. After a long, cool drink, she turned back to me looking calm once more stepped into my arms where we hugged. She added, "You know, when your mom was going to bed, she whispered something about there being an extra bedroom downstairs in the basement, but I didn't get what she must have meant until we talked to your dad. She didn't mention that it was her sewing room either."

I thought there was a hint of a suggestion in her expression, so I hugged her close and slid my hand up into her hair on the back of her head. "Jaimie, you know I brought you here under somewhat--no, not somewhat, just plain-old false pretenses, letting them believe that you were the young lady I'd met recently and been dating. They don't know that we've only known each other for about 48 hours. Don't get me wrong, it's been a wonderful 48 hours, probably the best 48 hours in my whole life, and I...I like you so much and I was enjoying the hell out of where that seemed to be going in the living room a few minutes ago, but I don't want my parents' apparent permission or even expectations to cause us to do something, anything, you don't want to do."

Her right hand was running through my hair similar to what I was doing in hers, but she stopped and her fingertips suddenly stopped, grasping the back of my head and she gave me a stern look, right in the eyes. "Keith Bristow, I was scared to death on Friday night when we met, so it's really surprising to me that this turned out to be the best Valentine's Day--and Valentine's Day weekend--ever. I don't care what your parents suspect or even expect; this isn't about them, it's all about us, and to tell you the truth, I wouldn't feel a bit different right now if your parents hadn't said a word. They've just given us a way of doing what I've been wanting to do all evening."

Sliding her hand down behind my neck, she pulled us together and kissed me, a warm and sensual kiss that made my toes curl and turned my dick to steel. Unlike earlier in the day, I didn't mind her feeling it or letting her know what she was doing to me.

When we parted, but only by inches so our foreheads were just touching and we were still looking each other in the eyes, Jaimie's hand slipped into mine and she breathed, "So, will you...come with me?"

Her eyebrows arched a bit when she asked that last part and I nodded in reply. "Jaimie, I'd absolutely love to."

She grinned as she turned and led me toward the door down to the basement.

***

Mom's sewing room is sort of like my dad's shop, a place for her to get away and do her own thing. She made a lot of very nice clothes for herself over the years and frequently made play clothes and pjs for us kids when we were younger. As we got bigger, she also started making quilts, many of which were given away as gifts or donated to the needy.

Also like Dad's shop doubling as the garage after all of the lumber and tools were stowed away, my mom's sewing room in Farmington doubled as a spare bedroom for those occasional times when our cousins visited, with the bed also serving as additional layout space when she needed it. Dad had built her nice pullout drawers under the bed where she could store material and whatever else is used for sewing, but that usually wasn't enough. There was usually a mountain of fabric, some stacks of quilting squares, a big roll of batting, or perhaps some projects in progress laid out on the bed; as we made our way downstairs, I hoped it wouldn't be too bad and that seeing the mess wouldn't ruin the moment we'd.

I flipped the light on in the room and then stepped aside to allow Jaimie to enter before following and closing and locking the door behind us. To my surprise, the room was as immaculate as I'd ever seen it, with both the bed and her sewing table being clear. In addition, all the photos of us kids that usually sat on the dresser were gone; instead, my mother's favorite crystal vase, a wedding present from her grandmother, sat on the dresser filled with a dozen roses, with the whole room smelling faintly of flowers. There was a pair of scented candles in glass jars, one on each end of the dresser, and a book of matches, so I lit the wicks on each and flipped off the overhead light, making the setting far more romantic that I would have ever imagined possible for a sewing room.

Jaimie must have thought so too, for gasped on seeing it and clutched my arm. "Keith, your parents are so sweet. And so understanding. I suspect they were a lot like us when they were our age."

"Yeah, I think you're right. When Dad gave me the birds and the bees talk and told me how important it was to wait until I was married and really loved someone to have sex, I was a little rebel, asking if he and Mom had waited."

"You didn't!"

"Yep. Dad hemmed and hawed for a few seconds before saying, 'Son, I won't lie to you.' Then he walked off without answering and it pissed me off that he wouldn't answer me. It was later that evening--or maybe it was a few days later, I'm not sure now--when I realized what it meant by him not coming out and telling me that they'd waited: they hadn't. Dad apologized later and admitted it, but urged me to not let their failure be my guide but serve as my goal to do better instead."

I laughed, and added, "It was for a long time, until my first real girlfriend during my sophomore year of college moved the damn goalposts."

She giggled when she saw my hands on my chest with my index fingers pointing straight out. "Do you like large, ahem, goalposts?"

Stepping in close, I wrapped an arm around her and said, "They can be nice, but I usually put a lot more importance on liking the person as a whole rather than just one aspect. Miri turned out to be rather one dimensional--"

I put my other hand back up to my chest and pushed out even further this time, "but, I must admit, it was a pretty good dimension for the short time it lasted."

That got a laugh and me a poke, before Jaimie pressed herself against me and took my pointed hand in hers and pulled it to her side. She slid it up, slowly and gently, until moments later I found myself cupping her breast for the second time of the day. There was no interruption this time, though, so I massaged it a bit, giving a very contented sigh as I felt her soft fullness in my hand.

"Keith, you think these will be good enough for you?"

"Mmm-mmm. Jaimie, from what I've seen so far and from what I'm feeling right now, I think these must be perfect and will be just right."

Jaimie showed her happiness with her expression and then kissed me, furthering it with a happy moan. Her tongue probed my lips, seeking entry, and I happily complied, enjoying the dance that followed. My heart was pounding and my breathing was as heavy as hers when we parted.

"Help me off with my things so we can be sure, okay?" she whispered.

She raised her arms and I started pulling Addy's sweater up and over her head. I barely breathed as I admired her chest, her soft tits contained in the pretty red bra she'd teased me with at the store. The sweater slipped past her face and went flying and she pushed me back on the bed, climbing atop me as she unbuttoned my polo shirt and struggled to push it up.

"Guess I did that a little out of order," she chuckled as I squirmed. When the bottom of the shirt covered my face, she let go and spent a few moments rubbing her hands over my chest and even kissing it a few times while I pulled my shirt the rest of the way off and sent it flying. She lay atop me and we kissed while I undid her bra, fumbling with the hooks a bit before they finally came free and gave up the treasure within. Jaimie straightened up and the bra fell away, revealing her beauty somewhat like Godiva on her charger except with a skirt on. Her pink circles highlighted her pert breasts, and beautiful, bead-like nipples in the center pointed up just enough as if to beg me to kiss them.