Helo Pilot

"I honestly can't answer that. All I can say is if it isn't, and if we need more time, I'll give you...us...as much time as it takes. But you should know I'm not ruling out a whirlwind romance," he told her with that wonderful smile of his.

"I'm so glad to hear you say that...sweetheart," she said with a happy smile of her own before their next kiss became so passionate she ended up with him on top of her on the couch.

The loud sound of an 'Ahem!' stopped them, and caused Marissa to nearly push Nathan off her onto the floor so she could sit up.

"Andi. Hi. I...had no idea you were..."

"It's okay," she said with a smile. "Courtney's mom is coming to get me if that's still all right."

"Yeah, sure," her brother said as he also sat up straight.

"I kind of thought it might be," Andi said with a unique smile of her own.

She saw the pained expression on Marissa's face and said, "I'm actually really happy you guys like each other so much."

Relieved, Marissa smiled and said, "Thank you, Andi! You don't know how happy it makes me to hear you say that."

"You guys are a super cute couple," Andi told them the way teenagers often did.

The adults knew it was the best she had to offer as her way of telling them she approved, and they both told her to have fun.

"But not with Jeremy!" Nathan said, trying to sound stern.

Andi just rolled her eyes just as the horn beeped in the driveway.

"What time should I be home tomorrow?" Andi asked, recognizing her brother's new role in her life.

"Is noon okay?" he offered, letting her know he appreciated her asking.

"That's fine," she said before telling Marissa goodbye and letting her know how much she enjoyed their time together.

"Me too, Andi!" she said sincerely. "You girls have fun, okay?"

"We will!" she said as she headed out almost as though nothing traumatic had recently happened.

"I love you sister," Marissa said once Andi was gone.

"Yeah, she's pretty great, isn't she?"

"She is," Marissa said as she turned to Nathan and smiled. "And her brother's kind of okay, too."

"Well, thank you! That was high praise coming from my former teacher," he teased back.

"Honey?" she said, "can you never remind me about that again?"

"Oh, gee. I don't know. I kind of think that might come up fairly often. You know, quiet student falls in love with beautiful teacher helpless to avoid his charms."

She was going to keep the game going, but her body was suddenly on fire with desire.

"You're right about one thing," she told him.

"Oh?"

"Uh-huh. I'm powerless to resist your charms."

"Oh, I see. So...were I to suggest we maybe go upstairs, you'd..."

Marissa stood up, pulled Nathan to his feet, then took his hand and led him straight to the bedroom where they nearly tore one another's clothes off before he threw her on the bed, causing her to yelp and happily laugh before he ravished her body after slowly and deliciously exploring every beautiful inch of it. As he did so, he made sure to tell her many times how beautiful she was to him before she begged him to make love to her.

It had been a very long time since she'd been with a man, and perhaps that's all there was to it, but she was nearly certain she'd never been loved quite like that before. Nathan was every bit as handsome as her late husband, and to her very pleasant surprise, quite a bit bigger and most of all thicker.

Whatever the reason, Marissa had her first vaginal orgasm ever.

He'd caused one a few minutes earlier thanks to the very skilled use of his tongue. Even so, she knew there was a lot left inside of her needing to come out or possibly 'cum' out, and after he'd been deep inside of her for what seemed like forever, her body exploded in a massive shudder that swept over her like a tidal wave.

He'd pulled out just in time and for the first time in her life, she begged a man to cum in her mouth. It was a first for her, but it wasn't some kind of juvenile experimentation. It was more a kind of primal need she had to satisfy with this amazingly-handsome younger man she now knew she loved.

As she lay in his arms, she wanted to tell him so badly it hurt, but Marissa wanted to hear her lover tell her first, so she reveled in the afterglow, and silently prayed this feeling would never end.

Nathan was equally satisfied and lay there having similar thoughts. One of them, however, was that were he to say those three little words, it might scare off the woman he was so in love with, so he didn't say them, either.

But they did make love three more times before Andi came home while managing to fit in dinner and a shower or two in between.

Marissa waited until Andi came home before leaving. She needed clean clothes and wanted to let her mother know Nathan was interested in hiring her to sell the house, but she very much wanted to see the young girl she'd grown so close to so quickly before going home.

As they said goodbye in the driveway, Nathan pulled her back the first time she started to go.

"What?" she asked, a beautiful smile on her face.

"I...I just wanted to tell you I..."

He stopped then said, "I can't wait to see you again."

Marissa was pretty sure she knew what he meant and told him, "I'll miss you too, sweetheart," before kissing him and finally getting in the car.

The following day, he met her mother, Cathy, for the first time, and she began by telling him how sorry she was for his loss.

She then asked to talk to him alone, and once they were, she said, "I want you to know that while I have some level of concern about this...age difference...between you and my daughter, I've also never seen her this happy since her husband was alive. So I guess what I'm trying to say is I won't meddle or interfere. All I need to know is that my daughter is happy, and if she is, then...I approve, my reservations aside."

Nathan thanked her for her honestly then assured her he would never, ever hurt her daughter, and with that, Cathy said, "Okay. Let's take a look around and see what we can list the house for, shall we?"

Nathan was shocked when she explained what 'comps' were going for in the neighborhood after explaining what a 'comp' was.

"Comparable homes are selling for close to $450,000. If you get this place in top shape, I can list it for $449,900 and probably get it for you."

She then explained how much he'd actually net after paying off the bank, her commission, and taxes on the money he'd make. The amount shocked him, and Cathy reminded him that could happen only if the place was spectacular.

"It's very dated, Nathan, and it needs a lot of work. I have a contractor I trust, and I know he's looking for another job. If we could get your place packed up in a day or two, he could easily have this place ready in two weeks."

Nathan gave a 'thumbs up', and he Marissa, and Andi went to town packing up or giving and throwing away everything in the house. And just as Cathy had promised, two days later, the contractor went to work updating and renovating focusing primarily on the kitchen and the bathrooms—the places that sold homes.

For the next two weeks, Nathan, Marissa, Andi, and the contractor plus a small crew spent their days tearing things out and replacing them while Nathan called and got a two-week extension on his reporting date.

Cathy then brought in stagers, and the difference was unbelievable.

"Just like the house flipping shows on TV, huh?" Cathy suggested the first time they walked though together.

"It's amazing, Mom," Marissa told her and her boyfriend; the boyfriend with whom she'd made love every day since even with Andi there with them, as her room was far enough away that no sounds could be heard late at night coming from the happy new couple.

"So let's get this thing on the market and get it sold, shall we?" Cathy suggested after confirming the sales price.

Nathan and Andi moved into a motel and Marissa stayed with her parents once the house was staged, but spent nearly every waking moment with her two favorite new people for the few days it took to sell the house.

Nathan had a little over a week left before he had to report in as of the day they sold the house. Once they had the check in hand, he asked Marissa out to dinner to celebrate. They closed early in the morning, and she and Nathan paid off the bank in full, where he deposited nearly all of the money in his checking account until he could decide how to best use it and invest it.

Marissa went home to get ready for their celebratory dinner, but Nathan and Andi headed back into town. He still hadn't told Marissa he loved her, but he was so in love with her he was willing to take a huge risk. Then again, he was almost certain she loved him as much as he loved her, so perhaps it wasn't such a big risk after all.

"So...I get to pick out the ring?" Andi asked, barely about to speak when her brother told her his plans.

"No, but you get to help me decide," her brother told her before asking, "do you think she'll say 'yes'?"

Andi laughed then said, "Guys are like...so dumb!"

"So I take that means you think she will?" he asked willing to be 'dumb'.

"Come on. Let's go to the jewelry store, Mr. Money Bags," his sister said.

Nathan was amazed how little time it took them to agree. They narrowed it down to three in less than a minute, and then to one in less than ten.

"We'll take it," he told the women who showed it to them.

Nathan also bought his sister a new dress and picked up an off-the-rack jacket for himself that Andi told him was perfect for the occasion.

He'd only told Marissa to wear something nice without offering any hint of anything more than just dinner, but when he saw her in the beautiful dress she'd chosen, he knew for sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

When they headed into the downtown Seattle area, Marissa asked where they were going.

"Canlis," Nathan told her very casually.

"Nathan. That place is a five-star restaurant. Celebrating is one thing, but...that's...insane," Marissa told him. "I know you have money, but we don't have to go anywhere that fancy."

"No. It'll be perfect," he told her as Andi giggled for the first time in years.

Marissa turned around and Andi stopped so fast, she knew something was up.

Two hours later, after one of the best meals any of them had ever eaten, Nathan said, "I just want to tell you how wonderful this last month has been. And how thankful I am you gave us a chance to find out how far our feelings could take us."

The way he said that gave Marissa a sick, sinking feeling as though it might somehow be a prelude to the end.

"I...I've loved every minute of it," she said, forcing a smile.

Nathan smiled back then said, "Me, too. And speaking of love..."

He reached for her hand and slid his chair a little closer.

"Marissa, I've put off saying something I've wanted to say to you since the moment I told you how I feel."

Her anxiety melted away as she sat there, her heart thumping in her chest as Nathan said, "Marissa? Honey? I love you and I'm...in love with you."

He kissed her softly then said, "I love you with all of my heart."

A tear fell and then another as she said, "I love you, too, sweetheart," barely able to speak.

"And I love you, Marissa," Andi told her as she took her other hand.

"Oh, Andi! I love you so much!" she let her favorite teen know as she squeezed her hand while tears continued to fall.

"It sounds like everyone here loves everyone else," Nathan said as he looked at the woman he loved and then his sister.

"Yes. I believe that's true," Marissa said as she tried to blink away her tears.

"Well, with that being the case," he said, nodding to his sister.

She let go of Marissa's hand and reached into her purse and produced a small white box which she slowly slid over to her brother as she watched Marissa watch the box the entire time.

Marissa's hands flew up to her face and covered her mouth just as both of them began trembling, even before Nathan moved.

He took the box, got on one knee in front of her and said, "Marissa? I've never been in love before. But that changed the day you walked back into my life. I am so in love with you it hurts. I don't know if a month is enough time for you to be sure, but nothing would make me happier than if you would agree to marry me, and spend the..."

"YES, YES, YES!!" she cried as she stuck her trembling hand out.

She'd taken off the ring Eric gave her just before Nathan made love to her the first time, and she was unable to stop crying as the man she now loved placed a new ring on her hand.

She'd been so completely caught up in the moment Marissa had no idea everyone else in the restaurant was watching until they began applauding.

"Oh, my...goodness!" she said as she looked around and saw every person in the room smiling and calling out best wishes for them.

As they drove home, Marissa must have looked at the beautiful ring on her finger a hundred times with at least ten of those due to Andi asking to see it again.

They had just enough time to pack up as much of Marissa's things as she thought she'd need and have UPS come pick them up and ship them off to Kansas. They loaded up the car then spent a final night with Marissa's parents before they wished their daughter and her new family all the best during a tearful farewell the following morning.

The tears of sadness were replaced with smiles of happiness as the three of them headed east not sure what the future might hold. But there was no fear of what might be as long as they could face the future together.

*****

With the money from the sale of the house, Nathan and Marissa had more than enough money to send Andi to any school in the country after buying the nicest minivan they could find shortly after getting settled in out in town near Fort Riley. They held off buying a place until after Marissa's parents flew to Kansas for the wedding on Labor Day weekend at the Fort Riley chapel on post.

Once they were eligible for housing on post, Nathan signed them up, and in less than a month they were moved into a very reasonable, comfortable place where Marissa felt safe and where the three of them became closer than any of them could have ever imagined.

It was there that the newly-married couple started a family of their own, and almost exactly nine months to the day after they said 'I do', Marissa gave birth to a beautiful baby boy they named Nathan Eric Simmons; a baby on whom his Aunt Andi doted day and night until she left for college, as well as every time she came home to visit.

Two years later, Nathan had been promoted to chief warrant officer-2 when his gorgeous wife had a second child, a beautiful little girl they named Catherine Andrea Simmons.

The war in Afghanistan had wound down to minor skirmishes by then, and, for the time being, CW2 Nathan Simmons's longest deployments were between a few days and a month here and there while being home most nights with his wife and children.

Andi went on to graduate from the University in Washington then went on to law school and began practicing in the small town of Maple Valley where she met someone she fell in love with. She told him she hoped they could be even half as happy as her brother and sister-in-law who'd raised her the last two years before she left for college.

The Simmons received orders to Germany where they would spend the next three years together while Andi built her practice back home.

At 38, Marissa Simmons was still as beautiful as she'd ever been, and happier than she'd ever allowed herself to imagine. She loved spending her days caring for her children, and her evenings with the most wonderful, handsome man who'd made her feel alive again; a man who felt he had the most amazing wife and children any man could have and the best job in the world—an Army helo pilot.