Game of Stones

"Pepperoni and sausage?" she said, looking at me for reassurance, I'm sure.

"Perfect. That's exactly what I would have ordered. Maybe a fourteen-inch," I said to the server. "Drinks?" I asked, looking at Lisa.

More assured now, she replied. "A large diet Coke."

"Make it two."

When the server was gone, I continued. "Now, about those freckles."

"Tony, I hate them. They, well, they mess up my face. I've tried to hide them in the past, but it doesn't work. I just...I just..."

"I just love them and could sit and look at them for hours."

"Tony, you're silly," she said, but she was smiling...and thinking. "You really like them? I mean, you're not just trying to make me feel good?"

Both were true. I really like them, and I was trying to make her feel good. Or maybe comfortable would be a better word. I wanted her to feel comfortable around me.

I held out my pinky, and she wrapped hers around it.

"I promise you that's the absolute truth."

"I like you, Tony." That smile again. "But I'm paying my fair share today."

"Fine. Your fair share is zero."

She pointed a finger at me. "You didn't ask me for a date, so I get to pay half."

She was right. I hadn't asked for a date as I was just overjoyed at getting a chance to see her under different conditions. The conditions were different, and so was she, at least in appearance. Her face was still nearly mesmerizing each time I looked at it. But the short shorts and tank top that exposed longer legs than I had pictured and a flat and toned midriff were certainly different.

"I'm not sure I've seen that look before. Tell me what you're thinking," she said, a teasing tone to her voice.

Maybe one day, but not right this minute. Of course, feeling the heat in my cheeks left me a little vulnerable.

Lisa chuckled. "I still think I should pay."

"The pizza isn't here yet, so, Lisa, will you go out with me to Rubino's, where we can have some good pizza?"

"Kind of late to be asking for a date, isn't it?"

"Best I can do right now."

"Okay, I'll let you pay today on one condition."

"Uh oh. Is this going to hurt?"

"It might, but you have to play a game with me."

That sounded like it might be fun, and from the look on her face, kind of exciting in an exciting way.

"I think I might enjoy that."

"You're on, then. I'll tell you about it tomorrow when you're working again." That smile once more. I was beginning to think she enjoyed tormenting me with that smile. She leaned across toward me, just inches from my face. "Thank you for the pizza, and yes, I accept your request for a first date."

The pizza arrived, and we dug in. After several slices had disappeared, Lisa said, "We're never going to finish all of this."

"When we're through, we'll split what's left and take it home." It seemed simple and normal.

'You take it all. You can use it for your late-night lunches."

"You should take some."

A distressed look came over Lisa's face. "If I do that, I'll have to explain where it came from."

The look and what she said gave me some insight, and I needed to ask a few more questions.

"Just say you had dinner with a friend, and this was left over."

"It's not that simple."

"May I ask you a personal question?"

"Sure, but I may not answer it." No smile this time.

"Have you dated lots of guys?" I had a feeling what the answer would be.

"A couple," she said slowly. "My parents had to approve, though." Then she straightened and looked at me very intensely. "But I'm twenty-five now and a US citizen. I do what I want to do."

My first impulse was to run around the table and hug her. But I didn't. I reached across the table, took her free hand, and squeezed it. The smile returned.

"Are there arranged marriages?"

"There always have been, but not so much now. It's awkward, and the Romani are beginning to adapt, not quite so intent on preserving the lines. It doesn't matter, I'd never submit to that." That last sentence had a defiant tone.

"I like hearing that," I said with enthusiasm, not wanting to be eliminated by an arranged marriage. I think my expression changed when I suddenly comprehended that thought. I was getting way ahead of myself...and probably way ahead of Lisa as well. I think she realized what I was thinking.

"I'm going to pick my boyfriends and, finally, my husband. And I've already started," she added, squeezing the hand I was still holding tightly.

"I don't want you to get into trouble at home."

That brought a laugh. "You're way too late for that. I've had to compromise a little to maintain their permission to prowl the cemetery at night. They think I'm crazy--they're afraid of the dead, and I want to be just the opposite."

"I wondered if that might be it."

"I thought you might, and my guess is that you know much more about the Romani now."

"I've done a little reading," I admitted.

"I like you, Tony," she said for what seemed the umpteenth time.

That somehow reminded me of something.

"You said you were going to tell me what you do during the day. I'm interested and curious."

"I do remember saying that." She took a deep breath. "Let me start by saying I went to university...and graduated."

That doesn't surprise me," I replied quickly and received a very nice smile.

"I studied history. But I hated the political part of history. I wanted to study the people. There are peoples all over the world, both individuals and groups, and I wanted to learn about them, not about some despot leader that murdered half his subjects or wanted to conquer the world. I wanted to learn about the people, you know, and particularly about people who'd suffered hardship."

"That sounds much more fascinating than the political stuff."

"It is. I'm a people, both as an individual and a group, and I wanted to learn about the Romani people." She closed her eyes and shook her head.

The sadness radiating from Lisa was palpable. I wanted to say something but chose to wait.

"My people have an aura that seems to travel with them, and although the authors of the very brief sections of history books that deal with the Romani tried to be subjective, I still felt we came off as a group of cheating, lying, dirty, and unlikeable people. I'm not like that, am I?"

She'd raised her voice quite a bit, and when I took her hand again, she seemed to realize, and her cheeks turned bright red.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, squeezing my hand.

"Please don't stop." I meant that sincerely. There was a passion about her face, her eyes, and her words that had grabbed hold of me, and I wasn't ready for it to let go. "Keep going," I urged further. "And you know you're not like that." Another squeeze.

"It's like a few bad people are coloring a whole group." Her eyes met mine. "You're German, and there have been many great Germans, particularly in scientific fields. But would you want all Germans characterized by..."

She didn't have to go any further. What I'd read about the Romanis, which referred to them as Gypsies much more often than Roma or Romani, didn't give a very positive picture of the group. I just knew that if they were like Lisa, they were a wonderful people.

"And people call us Gypsies all the time. That's not a complimentary name." Her voice had started to rise again, and she stopped. That's enough for now," she added, "so we won't get thrown out for disturbing people." She chuckled when she said that, and I felt a sense of relief.

Lisa had shown me a side of herself that I hadn't seen before, and it only made her more intriguing...and desirable.

"So what do we do now?" I asked, giving Lisa a chance...and hoping.

"We have two cars, so it's awkward," she said, chuckling and sounding like her usual self again. "But since you made it a date, you decide."

My turn for the big smile, but I hesitated and lost my turn.

"I just thought of something. It's my week to help my mother clean since I live there free. So, much as I hate to, I'd better head home."

A little disappointed, I walked her to her car. When her arms went around my neck and her lips met mine, it washed away all of the disappointment. It was an active kiss, her lips moving on mine. The small noise I heard from her only added to the pounding of my heart. I wanted more, a second and third date, and, as far as I could think right now, dates ad infinitum. My hands found the bare skin of her lower back, and I thought my blood might be boiling.

Lisa pulled her head back and licked her lips. "Just one more, and then I need to get home." A second kiss, this time her tongue probing my lips, which parted, and mine joined hers for a ten-second dance.

"I like you, Tony, and I'll see you tomorrow night to show you how much." She paused and giggled. "I wish you could see the look on your face."

I was sure my eyes were wide, and my mouth was hanging open. My imagination was soaring to new heights, and my mind was working to restrain it. Just a few words from Lisa had me completely upside down.

"You say those little things, my brain grabs hold of them, and I can barely breathe."

"Tony, I think you're exaggerating. I'm just Lisa and--"

"--Exactly," I interrupted. "You're just Lisa, and that's all it takes."

She stepped away and laughed. "I really need to go, but tomorrow night, I'll have my game ready for you. I've been working on it since I first met you." The smile she sent my way this time was different and a little suggestive. What kind of game was she planning? I wondered if it was some kind of a Romani thing, a ritual of some kind. I hoped that smile told me what I needed to know.

She waved goodbye as she drove away.

*****

I'd like to say I was fine after I left Lisa, but I'd never been so nervous and so anxious for a day to end as I was then. I tried to imagine what her game might be, but, of course, I had no clue and could only imagine with a near pervert's imagination what might be in store for me the next night. As long as it involved Lisa, it didn't matter. I realized that her game might not be anything like the rather lurid pictures I was painting, but I couldn't stop myself.

Classes were a distraction as I struggled to remember what the professor was saying, often even forgetting to make notes before his words flitted out of my mind. Study was fitful and not fruitful, my brain refusing to focus on engineering information. She had me wrapped up in whatever her imagination was creating, and I was hopelessly caught in her web. I'd dated girls before, several of them, and one for over six months. But none had captured me like Lisa was doing. The day was passing, and evening was approaching but at an excruciatingly slow rate.

Evening came, but without the usual coolness that accompanied it this time of year. It stayed above eighty degrees, and the low was predicted to be seventy-nine, but only in the wee hours of the morning. I wore my usual short-sleeved uniform shirt but chose matching shorts for my shift.

"Smart," Lou said, nodding at my shorts as I came through the office door. "Been hotter than hell in here all day, so I wandered around outside as much as I could."

"I may have to do some of that myself," I answered, and even that thought had my heart rate accelerating. I hoped Lisa didn't wait too long.

Lou left, and I settled into my chair, logging onto the computer...and nearly trembling.

Sunset was coming about three minutes earlier each day now, but that wasn't helping at all--it seemed the sun was stuck in the sky, the earth somehow stalled in its rotation. I laughed at myself.

At the first hint of darkness, there was a knock on the office door. I clambered out of my chair, nearly sending it sprawling, and jerked open the door. A yellow envelope lay there, accompanied by silence and an empty night.

Lisa had already begun teasing me.

I stepped outside and looked around, but there was no one in sight. Of course.

I rescued my chair and sat down, carefully opening the envelope and pulling out the l pages of notebook paper from inside. The top sheet was lettered carefully in a neat and precise handwriting. More fascination with Lisa. I began to read.

I call this my Game of Stones, something I've created for just you and me. I hope you enjoy it, and, should you get to the end, which I'm sure you will, the prize waiting for you is something I think we'll both enjoy. Good luck, and looking forward to my champion winning this game.

Lisa

I pulled out the second page.

Head out the door and toward the cross

The one that honors Daniel Ross

Write that first name in your book

Then grab the card and take a look

That sounded easy enough and gave me a clue regarding how the game was going to work. It sounded like a treasure hunt of some sort. I grabbed a notebook and a pen and headed out the door, all the anticipation now coming to fruition.

I spotted the cross on a tall monument just to my left. I tried to keep my cool and not break into a run, mostly successful. I saw that Daniel Ross was chiseled into the stone and wrote "Daniel" in the notebook and spotted a note card taped to the side of the stone.

No poetry this time, just simple words.

Turn left and walk to the road. Turn right and walk until you see a pink stone. Copy the last name into your book.

Fairly straightforward instructions that I followed, the pink stone standing out very distinctly from the others. The name on it was Wanda Simpson, so "Simpson" joined "Daniel" in the book. The note card was there as well, with more instructions which I carefully followed. They led me into the midst of the stones, several rows back from the road to a large monument. Surprised, I read "Daniel Simpson" on the stone.

But what did it mean? Puzzled, I circled the stone, spotting something lying behind it. It was a black shirt. When I picked it up, that familiar scent that was unique to Lisa filled my nostrils and caused my brain to create some vivid fantasies...which I prayed might become realities.

More poetry, more writing in my book, and more note cards. I'd added a pair of black slacks, a lacy red bra, and a pair of red bikini panties to my collection, and I guessed I might be on my final quest. With the panties was another note card, the message carefully written as had been all the others.

The darkness hangs above us now, the road leads toward your goal

And at the end, you'll find the one who loves you heart and soul

A few days seem a lifetime that just yesterday began

The cards tell of the way to me, please hurry if you can

Those words, "loves you heart and soul," were something I dreamed of but hadn't expected so soon. I felt an intense connection to Lisa, and I sensed the same from her. But she had said it, written it down, and led me to it. Be still my heart.

I followed the cards, all carefully taped to headstones, and their careful directions, which drew me to a very old part of the cemetery, hardly visited now due to the numbers displayed on the stones. They were from the earliest days of the Memorial Gardens, as they were called then. As Lisa had written, the darkness was certainly hanging above me as I moved further and further from the roads and familiar territory. Her writing directed me to a grassy glade, the grass a little long since I'm sure it wasn't mowed as regularly as the rest.

As I moved across that grass, I stumbled, and when I checked closer, it was a widespread blanket that had tripped me. I smiled, waiting.

"Hi," she said from behind me. "Don't turn around yet." Just the sound of her voice had my body vibrating.

"Lisa," I answered, not sure what else to say.

"Tony, a security guard's uniform is not appropriate for this place and this time."

I tossed my hat aside, unbuttoned my shirt, and pulled it off.

"Better?"

"Better, but not nearly good enough."

My shorts were quickly tossed on the pile.

"Almost there."

My boxers were next.

"Barefoot in this grass is nice," she added.

Shoes and socks were off. "May I turn around now?"

"Did you bring the flashlight?"

"Of course, but it's with my shorts." I bent without turning and retrieved the light.

"Set it to a soft and sexy glow," she suggested, "and then turn around."

I adjusted the beam and slowly turned around, being sure the light would fall on her when I did. Lisa was probably a touch shorter than most Playboy models, but that was her only shortcoming (pardon the pun). I'd seen her in the shorts and tank top, but this was orders of magnitude better. And the look on that captivating face made it almost impossible to stand still.

But I did.

"Now you've seen me. I need to see you."

It was my pleasure to oblige her. I held the light at arm's length.

"Tony, don't move, no matter what."

I knew that was going to be difficult to fulfill, but I decided it could be a different sort of pleasurable to try. In the pale light, surrounded by the crisp sounds of cicadas and the bright chirping of crickets, I knew I was about to experience the time of my life. When she pressed that amazing body, soft and warm, against mine, and I caught that familiar aroma, I groaned.

"Lisa," was all I could get out before her arms were around my neck, her lips crushed against mine, and her legs wrapped around my waist. Our tongues touched, then danced as the sounds each made were swallowed by the warm air of our isolated surroundings.

Lisa dropped her legs and pulled me down onto the blanket beside her. Now that we were lying there together, I needed to ask a couple of questions.

"Lisa, that one note you left said that, well...you love me, heart and soul."

"And you wonder if I meant it?"

"Not exactly, just that it nearly brought tears to my eyes."

"I meant it exactly as I wrote it, and I'm willing to wait for you to get there too. I know I'm weird and crazy, but I'm hoping, you know?"

"I think I started loving you that very first night. Once I saw you up close and talked with you, the missing piece in the puzzle of my life seemed to be filled in. I could only hope that I might make you feel the same way."

"You didn't have to work very hard to make that happen, did you? My heart told me that very first day that you were something special, and I didn't want to chance letting you get away."

A soft and sweet kiss.

"Here we are," she agreed as she grasped my erection, accompanied by my sudden groan. "I hope you enjoyed my silly little game. I just thought it would be fun to get together on our second date here where we first met."

Her hand was in motion now, and my body was moving in unison with it, unable to stay still.

"Should I turn the flashlight off?" I grunted.

"I'm a very visual person, so leave it on."

She was kissing her way down my chest and stomach, her hand never slowing. When her lips joined her hand, the sensations were like none I'd ever experienced. When both the physical and emotional work together, it can be overwhelming.

"Slow down," I groaned. "I want to save that for something else I hope is going to happen."

A little giggle from Lisa. "It will, but you need to be sure I'm ready." This was a different Lisa than the one I'd met that first night...but I wasn't about to complain.

It was my time to savor a pair of perfectly shaped breasts, to kiss them, and to give the hard and erect nipples my undivided attention. Lisa was a wonderful moaner, and I was glad we were far from everything in this little glade. A simple touch between her legs told me she was ready, but when she arched against my hand, my finger sought that now swollen nub, and from the way she was moving, all eight thousand nerve endings were responding.

As I moved to align everything, Lisa took over and quickly guided me to where I needed to be. There was no hesitation in what she was doing, and as I entered her, I heard my name repeated over and over. Much as I thought I'd love just to relish this moment, my body had other ideas, and I was moving in rhythm with the blue-eyed wonder that was here with me.