Dreaded Days

"Why?"

She snuggled against me, looking smaller and more fragile than I'd ever seen her. She leaned her head against me and spoke in a quiet voice.

"My dad was running late on getting home to Mom and me on Valentine's Day when I was five. He told me on the phone that he was coming to see me so he could be with his girls to celebrate the most special day of the year. I was so excited because this was the first Valentine's Day I really remember. In my mind, Daddy was coming home to be with me as much as he was with Mom."

"That makes sense, Alex. You were his little girl and he loved you."

"He did, so much. But it was snowing that evening, so when he didn't show up in a reasonable amount of time—it was before cell phones were common, remember—Mom called the police to see if someone could look for him, to see if he'd been snowed in or gotten stuck, but the police were covered up with accidents and told her he was probably just stuck in traffic and would be home when he got home. When they wouldn't let her file a missing person report, she called her brother, my Uncle Tye, who was a police officer.

"He'd just gotten home after going off duty so he told her the same thing as the people at the station, but she was upset so he agreed to drive Daddy's route to look for him. Uncle Tye found him an hour later. He'd run off the road and been killed."

"God, Alex, I'm so sorry. I knew your real father was dead, but I had no idea why."

"Grant, thanks. That's not the point though. I was five, by all of a month, and he'd told me he was coming to see me, so I thought the accident was my fault. If he hadn't been coming to see me...."

"Oh, Alex, I'm sorry, Sweetie, but you know that's not true."

"Yes, now, but to a five-year-old, I latched on to the idea and held it tight. I was a girl, Daddy's girl, but I didn't want to be one anymore because I'd killed my Daddy."

"Alex, no!"

"Grant, I know that now, silly, but remember, I was five-freaking-years old. Mom took me to counseling and we finally moved the next year when she found a new job so we could get away and start fresh. I started school and met you; we became friends so eventually the blame faded as I got older and realized what Mom and the counselors had told me was true. Since I couldn't stop being a girl, I stopped dressing like one, hiding myself in my jeans and sweats, particularly after I started puberty. Then our Valentine's Day adventures started—"

"Misadventures," I suggested, continuing to pat her, trying to give her what comfort I could.

"Yeah, that, and the person who already hated Valentine's Day from an early age found a new reason to keep hating it. After the last year, though, like you said, it sort of led us back together, and I don't hate it anymore."

"I'm glad. I'm glad you don't hate it and I'm glad that, in some form or fashion, it's helped bring us together. Karma's a bitch, Valentine's Day."

She laughed at that, and we sat together for a few minutes before I discreetly checked the time. When it was close to 8, I excused myself and went to the restroom. On returning, I said, "Alex, it's getting a little warm in here. Let's step out on the balcony to cool off for a moment."

"Grant, I never liked dresses when I was young, but I'm wearing one now. It's cold out there and I'll freeze my butt off."

"Come on, fresh air! I'll keep you warm."

"You just want an excuse to hold me tight and squeeze my ass."

"Mmm, that's an excellent idea," I said with a laugh before turning the balcony light on, taking her hand, and leading her outside.

We reached the rail just as the group on the ground below started to play Plaisir d'Amour (The Joy of Love). Candles graced the stands around them as the flute, the violin, and the cello sounded, with Alex looking down at them in complete shock. The vocalist started singing the words and Alex clapped a hand over her mouth before turning around to see me down on one knee.

"Alexandra Renee Morgan, my Alex, you've been my best friend forever and I love you with all my heart. Will you do me the honor of being my wife." I held the box with the ring up toward her and she said yes without a moment's hesitation. After a hug and a long kiss, we watched the rest of the mini-concert below. When they concluded, we and quite a few others who'd come outside all clapped, before I nodded and gave a thumbs up to them.

"She said 'yes!'" shouted the cellist, who waved his bow toward our balcony and then started clapping. The crowd clapped for us then as Alex grinned and waved. When the applause was over, the instrumentalists played one more song before accepting more applause and thanks and then going on their way.

Alex was cold so we went inside where she was smiling broadly when she pushed me down on the couch and sat on my lap, straddling me as we kissed.

"Grant? I love you so much, but I can't believe you did this! Not tonight! Valentine's Day!"

"Yeah, I figured if we were going to break our dislike for Valentine's Day, once and for all, this might be a good way to do it...or, if you turned me down, turn my dread and dislike to outright hate and cast it permanently in concrete."

Alex gave me a strange look before biting her lower lip. "No, no hate and no concrete, Grant, not tonight." She leaned in and kissed me before planting a series of kisses around my cheek to my ear where she whispered, "I was thinking the same thing about Valentine's Day, my love, but I came up with a totally different solution."

"What's that, Sweetheart?"

"Can you help me?" she asked as she nibbled on my neck, my cheek, and my earlobe. Her hands were suddenly inside my shirt, running over me, making me feel so good.

"With what, Alex?" I asked, finding it suddenly a bit hard to breathe as her movement on my lap was having a significant effect.

"Out of my dress, Grant. I want to feel you against me, to feel your lips on me, to have you in me, making love to me."

Her dress had built-in support and was giving her some great definition and lovely cleavage, so I took a moment to push the red beads to the side and kiss the inside of her breast, just above the dress's cup, before looking at her and smiling.

"Alex, are you sure? I can stop if you want me to."

"No," she replied as she pushed the left strap off of her shoulder and pulled it down a bit, exposing the top of part of her breast. The necklace seemed to be getting in the way again, so she pulled it off and tossed it to the side. "Keep kissing me, Grant. I want you."

I did, touching her gently, and soon the other strap fell away. I pulled it down a bit, too, giving light kisses over each new bit of flesh that was exposed. Her back felt so nice in my hands as I explored it while enjoying the beauty of the wonders in the front.

Alex seemed to hesitate for a moment, so I stopped, wondering if she was having second thoughts. "Alex, do you want to keep going?"

It wasn't hesitation, I realized, but impatience as she yanked the strap down, bringing her lovely left breast into full view before she nipped me on the collarbone. I took that as a yes and that beautiful orb was in my hand a heartbeat later, her pert little nipple getting the first of many kisses for the evening. Kisses weren't enough, though, and I quickly pulled it into my mouth and suckled, leading Alex to moan.

"You're so gorgeous, girl," I breathed.

"Shh! Less talk, more suck," she giggled as she pressed the tit back into my face. "That feels good!"

I gladly returned to worshiping it as I pulled the other side of her top down, freeing her right breast so I could cup its softness and capture that nipple, too. It was already excited, but a couple of little pinches and it felt it was every bit its twin's equal, so I looked forward to giving it equal time...when the time came.

For the moment, though, Alex had begun to squirm on my lap as she moaned while running her hands through my hair and kissing me. Needless to say, I was attempting to give her a proper salute, with my dick throbbing, but it was caught at a bad angle and Alex's movements, as pleasurable as they were, weren't helping ease the pressure. Since she wasn't very experienced and since I was hurting, I finally slid a hand down into my pants and made the proper adjustment, all the while feeling her crotch now grinding against me.

"Are you okay?" she whispered.

"Yeah, now. Sometimes the angle's off a little and it gets in a bind."

"Well, I think I like this angle better." She'd found the ridge in my pants, now aligned under my zipper, and was sliding herself up and down it, causing her to moan and me to smile for her as I switched to her other nipple. Holding her left breast, I slid my right hand down her back and over her buttocks before lifting the hem of her dress, which was draped over me, so I could reach inside.

Her butt was firm but, more importantly, it was bare as I ran my hand over it. I gripped and squeezed, leading her to plant a longer, firmer kiss on my head. Her nipple slipped from my lips as I looked up at her, seeing the happiness so obvious on her face and the love in her eyes, before our lips connected.

"Ahhh! I love you so much, Grant, and I'm so happy with you." She was breathing hard after the kiss, and I was, too.

"Help me with my dress, okay, and then make love to me. I want you so much."

I slid my hands down to her waist and started to lift her off of me, causing her to yelp in surprise and ask, "What are you doing, Grant?"

"Let's move this to the bedroom, Sweetheart. I want it to be good for you, and as comfortable as we can be. Do you mind?" While I honestly looked forward to a time where we could make love on the sofa or just plain fuck for the fun of it in any number of positions, it wasn't what she needed for her first time.

She smiled appreciatively and nodded before I moved her to the place beside me. I think she was getting up to lead me, but I was ready, up first and scooping her into my arms.

"Wheee!" she laughed as I turned her and carried her down the little hall into her bedroom. There, I pretended to toss her on the bed; her eyes went wide and she gripped my arm in surprise, trying to hang on, before I smiled and gently lowered her to the floor.

She stood in front of me, placing her hands on my shirt as she looked into my eyes. Her fingers nimbly unbuttoned it and pushed it off my shoulders before pulling the rest of the hem from my pants; it seemed that a good part had already worked its way out while we were on the couch. She went after my t-shirt next, and then my belt was in her hands. It only took seconds for my pants to fall to the floor, and I kicked them to the side. We'd lost our shoes and my socks sometime while we were on the couch, so I was standing in front of her in my boxer briefs with my salute to her clearly visible.

I removed the strand of hearts from her waist and then helped her out of her dress to see her black silk thong. We smiled at each other as she reached out to me and I did likewise, with each of us pushing down the other's underwear. Her breath caught when she saw my erection and I gulped to see that she was bare except for a little rectangle of sandy blonde hair above her slit.

Yes, she'd returned to her natural color.

Alex took my penis in her hands and slowly pumped it while I took her in, admiring her beauty and her movements, the way her breasts moved as she moved her arms. Everything about her was perfection in my eyes, as were the movements of her hands on my cock.

"I want this in me," she said after a few more strokes. "Make love to me, Grant. I'm on the pill and I'm clean."

I'd been tested shortly after the previous Valentine's Day, when I realized that Alex was the only girl for me despite her initial rejection and hadn't been with anyone since. "I'm clean, too, so no condom?"

"No, no condom."

Standing naked before each other, we kissed there by the bed before I eased her down and then joined her. We held each other as our kissing continued, though Alex seemed to delight in slowly massaging my length with one hand all the while.

Caressing her skin with my hands and my lips, I moved lower then to her breasts, her belly, and then to that lovely mound. I kissed over and around it as I gently spread her legs to reveal her hidden delights.

Her outer lips were nicely puffy and mostly concealed what was inside, but as her legs parted, they did as well, allowing me to view her hood and delicate inner lips that lined her little slit. Enjoying her beauty, I kissed her inner thigh before she stopped me.

"Grant, please don't. I haven't done that before and I'm nervous. I just want you in me, okay?"

"We'll do it when you're ready, Sweetheart, but right now, I want you to know, you're absolutely perfect." I kissed my index and middle fingers before sliding them along the sides of her hood. She shivered as I massaged her little nub between them and then ran just my middle finger along her slit. It was just enough to open her up, to see the glistening pink inside.

Alex sighed as I did it again, a bit deeper this time. "Are you ready, Sweetheart?"

"Please, Grant, make love to me."

I positioned myself between her legs and she guided me inside. I did it slowly, anticipating resistance and pain as her hymen tore, but bit by bit, I slid inside and filled her up as she held her arms around me.

"Are you okay, Alex?" I'd read that the hymen often degraded and tore on its own as a woman aged, even if she's still a virgin, but I wasn't sure she wasn't hiding the pain.

I felt her nod against me so I withdrew, just a little, before moving forward once more. It felt wonderful as we started making love together, knowing that I'd always liked her as my best friend and that now I loved her more than life itself. Over and over, we moved, slow and gentle as I went in and out of her as she got the rhythm and started reacting to my thrusts.

"Oh, Grant, keep going, my love. This...mmmmm...."

As her breathing shallowed and became faster, I picked up the pace and the intensity of my movements, harder and faster, bit by bit, and Alex's moans came more quickly, too.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm," she moaned as I hoped she was getting as close to her peak as it seemed for I felt that tightening in my balls that told me that it wouldn't be long before I tipped over into my own nirvana, too. I continued on, even faster, harder, trying to push her higher even as I fought to maintain my own control.

"Mmmmmmmm!" she moaned, louder and much longer than before, as she squeezed her eyes closed and clutched at me. Her movements stopped and her legs, already hooked around me, suddenly clamped down.

It was just enough for I felt the fireworks begin as I came in her depths. I rested my weight against her as pulse after pulse filled her and the side of my head leaned gently against hers.

So much love we shared as we lay wrapped together there in her bed, but as my erection subsided and I started to slide out, she giggled and tried to squeeze me to keep me inside. That actually pushed me out even quicker, and she laughed, "Grant, that was so good, but I think we're about to have a real mess."

I rose up to see my cum and her juices oozing out of her beautiful pussy. I was grinning as I answered, "True, but it's a really beautiful one."

She laughed as she bounced out of bed and ran, holding her legs together, for the bathroom. I followed moments later after making sure the sheet wasn't messed up and after retrieving her thong. In the bathroom, I was careful to give her some privacy, to avoid looking at or hopefully embarrassing her as she did her toilet, but I finally held her thong out on one finger for her.

"Uhmm, Grant, unless you have somewhere you need to be, I don't really think I'm going to need that tonight."

I didn't actually look in the mirror, but I suspect my grin was as big as the Cheshire Cat when she said that. It was going to be a great night...a great Valentine's Day night.

***

Epilogue--Another Valentine's Day, Tuesday, February 14, 2012

We explored further that night, learning that Alex enjoyed sex and, despite her apprehension, that she loved receiving cunnilingus as much as I enjoyed giving it. I also found out that she'd also watched enough instructional videos to know how to perform fellatio with only minimal instructions, if the intensity of my moans can actually be considered instructions.

Alex also surprised me when she explained why she hadn't bled during our first time together. She had a vibrator and a dildo in her nightstand, but I winced when she told me the real reason and I never looked at her old hairbrush handle quite the same way again.

We told our moms and her step-father of our engagement a short time later, and even sent them a link to a video that one of her neighbors had shot of the event and uploaded online. Surprisingly, neither of our moms were surprised at our announcement, with her mom even wondering aloud why it had taken so long.

***

Though both of us had always disliked St. Valentine's Day for very different reasons, the events of the last two that had brought us together made us decide to declare our final victory over it.

Therefore, while I didn't dread Valentine's Day in 2012, there were a few butterflies and a great sense of anticipation as the date slowly approached and finally arrived.

At 3 that afternoon, we gathered in a beautiful little country church a few miles outside of Franklin and Alex and I, in front of her mom and step-dad, her Uncle Tye, my mother, and a select few of our friends and coworkers, were united in holy matrimony by the church's pastor.

"You may be thinking," he said, "that a Tuesday afternoon church wedding is a relatively rare occurrence—and you'd be quite right—but this young couple, who are madly in love and ready to get on with their lives, were insistent on having a St. Valentine's Day wedding due to the day's importance in their lives. You see, a Valentine's Day that falls on a Saturday, when weddings are most often performed in our denomination, is almost as rare as Tuesday afternoon church weddings, so rather than making them wait to get married for three more years until the next one..."

He grinned and less than thirty minutes later we were married. After a little reception, we left for our honeymoon, spending the first night at the Hilton in downtown Nashville making more love and more good Valentine's Day memories as the evening progressed before catching a plane the next morning.

Indeed, it was a Valentine's Day we'd never forget, and from then on, we'd always have a reason to look forward to the next one with happiness and hope for our next wedding anniversary!

The End

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Follow-up Note:

Thanks for reading. Your votes, follows, favorites, and comments are also greatly appreciated.

Finally, while this story is a work of fiction and all characters are figments of my imagination, there was, once upon a Valentine's Day, a dozen roses that were never delivered to the intended recipient. The missing flowers and the ensuing disappointment were the inspirations for this story.