Carrie's Romance

Entering her house, they sat on her couch, just snuggling while Carrie settled down.

Carrie got up to use the bathroom and freshen up, then returned to the couch. She started stroking his chest and kissing him on his neck.

When she tried to kiss him on the lips, Tony leaned back.

"Are you sure, Carrie?" he asked, "I don't want to take advantage of you."

"Believe me, Tony," she said, "You're not taking advantage of me, I'm planning on taking advantage of you."

Tony was still unsure, but he didn't want to deny her while she was so vulnerable. He was resolved to protect her from herself, if need be.

They made out much as they had done in the past, but there seemed to be more desperation on Carrie's part.

After Tony brought her to a crashing orgasm with his lips and tongue, Carrie tried to drag him to her bed.

"Carrie," he said. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"Please," she said, "Please just sleep with me; I don't think I can wake up to an empty bed right now."

He reluctantly agreed, and after they separately completed their nighttime bathroom routines, they went to sleep, Carrie spooned into him, Tony with his arms wrapped protectively around her.

He woke up to an empty bed just as Carrie walked out of the en suite bathroom. As Tony got out of bed to take care of his business, Carrie grabbed his arm.

"Please don't go, Tony," she said.

"I'm not going anywhere, but if I don't get in the bathroom it's not going to be pretty!"

She laughed, apparently in much better spirits having had a good night's sleep.

He came back to the bedroom to find Carrie still naked, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"Come back to bed, Tony, please," she said.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" he asked.

"No," she said, "but I need you; I need you now."

She lay back on her bed, one arm sensuously draped behind her head, the other idly playing with her nipple.

Tony still had his concerns, but he was only human and the sight of her lying naked on her bed chased all sensible thoughts completely out of his head as his passion ruled his actions.

He lay down next to her, kissing her, mad with desire, gently caressing her other breast.

Tony gently kissed down her neck as Carrie's hand that had been toying with her nipple joined the other behind her head, both soon grasping the headboard, holding on for dear life.

When he reached her breasts his kissing, licking and nibbling sent chills throughout her body. He continued down towards her navel, pausing only long enough to frustrate her with his teasing tongue.

When he reached her sweet pussy, her musky scent nearly overpowered him, and he attacked it with gusto.

After bringing her to an explosive orgasm, Tony moved up beside her.

"Tony, please make love to me," she pleaded.

"I thought that's what I just did," he said, grinning.

"No, I want you to really make love to me," she said, "I want to feel your cock inside of me, I want you to fuck me, Tony."

Part of his rational brain was still functioning.

"Are you sure, Carrie?" he asked, "I don't want to take..."

"What do you want?" she said, "A damn engraved invitation? You DO want to fuck me, don't you? Or was that just a line of crap you were giving me last night?"

"N...No, Carrie. I meant every word I said, and I'm going to show you right now just how much I want you."

As he raised himself up over her, Carrie reached for her lube before realizing how wet she was; she wouldn't be needing any today.

Tony placed his cock at her entrance and began gently inserting it into her vagina. It had been a very long time for Carrie and she was very tight. She almost felt like a virgin again. At first, it was a little uncomfortable, and she was reconsidering her decision not to use her lube. Tony read the discomfort on her face and eased back. When he saw her relax, he renewed his efforts and picked up his pace again. As she got more and more turned on, she raised her hips to meet him and draw him further inside her.

When he was fully inside her, she gasped in pleasure. They began to move in the eternal dance while looking into each other's eyes with love.

When her orgasm hit, she thought her head would explode. As she came down from her orgasmic high, she looked up to see him gazing at her with so much love that she thought that she would melt.

She had a troublesome thought. "Did you cum, Tony?"

"No," he said, "but that's all right, I got all the satisfaction I needed seeing the pleasure on your face."

"No, that's not right," Carrie said, "You have to cum. I want...I NEED you to cum!"

Tony understood, and began gently rocking back and forth, his cock moving steadily in and out of her. She was just feeling the beginning of another orgasm as he came with a shuddering groan.

Rolling off her, he stroked her cheek, and she stroked his in return.

"That was wonderful, Tony," she said, "Far better than I could ever have imagined."

"It was pretty darn good for me, too," he said grinning.

"Do you think you could go again?" she asked with a wink.

"Jesus, Carrie, I don't know. You sorta destroyed me there! Maybe if you give me a few minutes to recover."

"Let's see if I can help with that," she said as she slid down his body taking his soft cock, still wet with their juices into her mouth.

Carrie was pleased that it didn't take long before she had him standing at attention, ready for action.

Before he could move, she sat up and straddled him on her knees, positioning herself over his cock lowering herself onto him.

She still felt a little tight, but not like before, and their combined lubrication made it easy for her to impale herself.

She grinned at him.

"Are you ready, Big Boy?" she said.

"Ride 'em, cowgirl," was all he needed to say.

Carrie proceeded to give him the ride of his life, and all too soon, they both came with explosive orgasms. 'Take that, Lila!' she thought.

After their orgasms, Carrie, lay on top of him, gently kissing his lips.

"I love you, Tony."

"I think I've been in love with you since that day at the gas station."

"Liar!" she said, punching him playfully on the shoulder. "Where do we go from here?"

"I have no idea," he said, "While I obviously had my hopes, I never expected things to move this fast. I think we should probably just take things one day at a time, until we can come to terms with what just happened."

"That's probably wise," she said, "for now I just want you to hold me."

He did just that, and they dozed off until their stomachs' growling told them that they should get up for breakfast, though by this time, it was more like brunch.

Tony and Carrie's relationship continued to bring them closer and closer. It was rare for the people in town to see one without the other. Their friends soon learned simply to invite them together, because they would inevitably show up together when either was invited for any event.

Late one afternoon they were sharing a swing on Carrie's porch, watching the sun go down, Tony with his arm around Carrie, she, with her head resting on his shoulder. As the sunset splashed its palette of reds and oranges across the western sky, Carrie noticed that he seemed nervous, quite uncharacteristic for him.

"What is it, Tony? You're acting strange; I'm getting a little nervous. Are you having a problem? Maybe I can help, or am I the problem?

Her statement startled him out of his funk.

"Oh, no, Carrie, you're not a problem at all! You're the best thing that ever happened to me."

"Then, what is it, Tony? I'm a good listener; you know you can talk to me about anything."

"I know that, Carrie. I'm just nervous. I feel like I'm back in high school, getting ready to ask the hottest girl in school to the Prom."

"Well, since I'm not aware of any proms coming up, you must have something else you want to ask me. Come on, Tony, just ask me; you know I won't bite; at least not very hard," she said with a giggle.

Tony tickled her ribs until she squirmed away, pushing his hands down.

"Don't be such a smart ass," he said. "You do have a very sweet one, though."

He took a deep breath, gathering himself together, and decided to bite the bullet and just go for it.

"I've been thinking," he said, and as she opened her mouth, he silenced her, "No wise cracks! I've been thinking that we spend so much time together that maybe we should move in together."

Carrie was lost in thought for a moment. He was about to say something, but she held up her hand and he kept quiet.

"I can't say that I haven't given that some thought, myself," she said, "I'm not exactly against the idea. I do have concerns about how we would make it work. I know you love your house and have put a lot of work into it to make it the kind of a home that you feel comfortable in, so I assume that you would want me to move in with you."

Tony nodded his agreement.

"Just as you're comfortable in your home," she said, "I'm comfortable here. I enjoy my solitude, not having neighbors watching every move I make. I'm never lonely; I have Gabe and several friends nearby for when I'm in a more sociable mood. I really enjoy caring for my sheep, and..."

"And?" Tony said, prodding her to continue.

"This house is my last link to Eric. I know it may sound silly, but I can still feel his presence here, and don't want to lose that."

"I don't want to seem cold, but that's part of why I don't want to live here. If we live here, I would constantly feel like Eric would be looking over my shoulder, that I would be competing with the ghost of Mr. Perfect."

"No, Tony," Carrie said, "You mustn't take it that way! Yes, Eric was my first love, and in many ways, will always be Number One in my heart, but only as a dear memory, never doubt that I love only you."

"I think I can understand that," he said, "but there are other issues, too. I'm not sure that I'm cut out for the solitude of living on a farm. I like the buzz of being around other people, of being closer to the action."

She didn't really have an answer for his concerns, and neither was able to sway the other, so they just fell back into the status quo.

While their relationship, outwardly, seemed to be as it had been, the cloud from their discussion hovered over them, just waiting to rain on their parade.

The 120 days Zeke and Zack were serving expired and they got out of jail. There were no immediate threats, but there were even more dirty looks than before, and the nasty comments when she worked near their property were more frequent and even nastier.

About two weeks after they were released, Tony got some bad news. His best friend from college had died; just dropped dead from a massive heart attack.

Tony and Carrie went to his funeral, and as Tony looked around the funeral home, he was struck by how few people were there. Greg had never married, he was too driven to succeed in his career, and he had slowly drifted apart from his other family. The only people there, other than Carrie and him, were some co-workers and a few friends.

Tony was determined not to end up like Greg, and made up his mind to work harder to win Carrie over.

It was a somber ride home, Tony lost in his thoughts and Carrie sensing that he needed to be left alone.

When they got back to Carrie's house, Tony declined her invitation to come in and she was starting to worry about him. She finally called him, invited him over for breakfast and was pleased when he accepted.

Checking that she had everything she needed for a special breakfast, she relaxed in a bubble bath, planning how she would get Tony out of his funk. She smiled thinking about how she might do that. Her smile might not have been as bright if she knew just what that might take.

The next morning, she got up bright and early, showered with her favorite body wash, shampooed, shaved and even gave her pussy a light trim. She splashed on a little cologne, threw on her prettiest sundress, sans panties, and slipped on some sandals.

Carrie went into her kitchen, put on a pot of her finest Brazilian coffee and made a pitcher of fresh-squeezed orange juice.

She prepped some home fries, set aside the makings for omelets and sat down to await Tony's arrival, scratching Gabe behind his ears. She was daydreaming when the sound of his car gave her a start. She went to the door to welcome him with a kiss, and when he started to speak, she put a finger to his lips.

"Shh, we'll talk later. Let's have a nice breakfast first. How would you like your omelet?"

"Mushroom and cheese," he said, pouring a cup of coffee for each of them, preparing hers the way he knew she liked it.

She cooked up the home fries, omelets, plated everything and they sat down to a scene of domestic tranquility, but with an under-current of tension.

They ate a quiet breakfast, then cleared the table.

After freshening their coffee, they sat back down at the table, neither anxious to break the silence.

Finally, Carrie spoke.

"Okay, Tony, ever since Greg's funeral you've been in a funk. That's only natural when a good friend dies, especially when it's unexpected, but yours seems to run a little deeper. Please, talk to me."

"You're right, Carrie, it was triggered by Greg's death, but the ultimate cause does run deeper. Greg's death made me reevaluate my life, and how empty it was before you came into it. I don't want to feel that emptiness again. Isn't there some way we can work this out?"

"I'm not sure, Tony. I do love you, but too much of my life, my soul, is connected to this place."

"God damn it, Carrie, it's just a house! You want to keep Eric's memory alive; you can set up a damn shrine with candles around his picture!"

"You don't seem to understand, Tony. Eric was the love of my life, my first love. I simply can't leave him behind."

"That's just it, Carrie, I do understand, and while I'm not trying to take Eric's place in your heart, I do feel the need for a fresh start."

"Well, I'm not leaving my farm, so maybe you should make a 'fresh start' with somebody else. I'm sure that Lila would be willing!"

"Lila?" Tony sputtered, "Where the fuck did that come from? I haven't given her a thought since that day in the courthouse. Maybe you should take some time and decide what's more important to you, us or this damn farm."

He stomped out to his car, got in, slammed the door and went tearing off, leaving Carrie in the kitchen in tears and Gabe looking up at her, not knowing what to do.

She led Gabe into the living room. She poured herself a drink and sat down in her favorite chair, Gabe resting his chin on her lap.

She had no more tears to shed, and just sat there looking over the wreckage of her life.

When Tony got home, he sat in his car, wondering what he was going to do. He whacked himself in the head. 'You idiot!' he thought. 'Carrie's the best thing that's ever happened to you, and you're about to throw it away over a house and a ghost!' He immediately backed out of his driveway, and headed right back to Carrie's.

Just before she fell completely into a well of self-pity, there was a knock on her front door. She really didn't want to answer it, but Gabe was insistent, going to the door and whining. She couldn't remember the last time Gabe whined if he wasn't ill, so she reluctantly pushed herself out of her chair and went to the door.

Nudging Gabe away with her knee, she opened the door and was shocked to find a bloody Mrs. Rawlins. She quickly ushered the distraught woman into the kitchen and had her sit in one of the chairs while she got some damp cloths to clean her up. Carrie didn't see anything broken, but the way Mrs. Rawlins limped into the kitchen told Carrie that a trip to the ER had to be on her agenda.

"What happened, Mrs. Rawlins? Who did this to you?" she asked, though she had a pretty good idea.

"It was that asshole husband of mine," she said. "I walked into the kitchen and heard him talking to Zeke and Zack about how to 'get even' with you.

"I've put up with a lot of crap from him and my boys over the years, but that made something snap inside me. 'Get even?' I said, 'You two fools brought it all on yourself.' He caught me with a backhand across the face and I crashed into the stove and fell to the floor.

"He gave me a kick in the side and told me go do some laundry or something while he and the boys talked about men's business. I limped out of the kitchen, snuck out the front door, and here I am."

'Whew,' Carrie thought, this certainly put her problems into perspective.

Carrie knelt beside her, taking her hand.

"Tell me, Mrs. Rawlins..." Carrie said, "It's embarrassing, all these years living right next to each other, and I don't even know your first name."

"Don't be embarrassed, Mrs. Benton..."

"It's Carrie, please."

"Thank you, Carrie," Mrs. Rawlins said, "Please don't blame yourself. It's not as if we've exactly been the best of neighbors! It's Elsie, pleased to meet you," and held out her hand.

Carrie grimaced at the dark humor, and shook Elsie's hand.

"Tell me, Elsie, why do you put up with this?"

"I'm not really sure. I was always a bit of a wallflower, and Carl was the first boy who ever really noticed me. He wasn't always like this, believe it or not; back then, he was very sweet.

"I guess it all started when he got laid off. He took it really hard, and I had my hands full trying to raise two rambunctious boys. I know it's not an excuse, but I probably wasn't as supportive as I could have been, and then the drinking started.

"Things gradually got worse, as he drifted from job to job, usually getting fired for being too hung over to work, or even showing up drunk.

"I'm not even sure now when the abuse started. It was so gradual, starting with just yelling but soon progressing to pushing me around, then slapping. I know I should have done something, gone to the authorities, but I was weak..."

"Don't say that, Elsie," Carrie said, "This wasn't your fault!"

"I know, I know," Elsie said, "But it's hard to change. He had never hurt me this bad, and to be honest, I still might not have done anything, but I knew they were planning on hurting you, and I couldn't just stand by and let that happen."

Carrie wiped a tear from her eye as she gently hugged Elsie, whispering a soft, "Thank you."

Just then, Gabe gave his warning 'woof' as there was a pounding on her front door. Carrie didn't need a security camera to know who it was.

"Open the door, bitch," came the drunken voice of old man Rawlins, "I know that slut wife of mine is in there spreading her lies. If you don't open it, I'll break it down."

Carrie was about to open the door when a terrified Mrs. Rawlins appeared at the doorway to the kitchen shaking her head no.

Carrie was confident in her ability to handle trouble, especially with Gabe there, and opened the door. She was unpleasantly surprised to find not just old man Rawlins, but Zeke and Zack as well, and the three of them just pushed their way in.

Gabe immediately clamped his jaws on Zack's butt, giving him a matching wound to his brother's.

Unfortunately, Carrie didn't keep her gun with her when she was in her house, and before she could get to its hiding place, Zeke had wrapped his arms around her and lifted her off the floor.

"I owe you, you bitch, and today you're gonna pay," he said. "Yeah, you and your little dog, too!" he said with a cackle.

That just made Carrie struggle all the more, but there just wasn't much she could do with her arms pinned to her sides and her feet in the air. She tried kicking him as best she could, but with little effect.

There was a shout, and Zeke turned towards the kitchen to see that Mrs. Rawlins had retrieved a butcher knife from the kitchen and was holding her husband at bay. He was laughing, but also a little fearful. Except for when she talked back to him and the boys, this was the first time she had ever stood up to him, and he was a little unsure of himself.