Judge Not 02

Nathan struggled through his morning classes until it was, finally, time for lunch. He hurried to the cafeteria and sat at a quiet table in the corner, away from his friends. A few minutes later, Shelby sat down next to him, and he noticed that their schoolmates were watching them, probably hoping for some publicly scandalous behavior.

Shelby turned to face him, and Nathan could see the anticipation on her pretty face. She opened her eyes, questioning him silently.

In a low voice, Nathan said, "You've been right all along. All of this," he gestured around the room, "is bull. Today, after school, it's time. Let me show you how much I love you."

Shelby was surprised and didn't answer immediately. "Are you absolutely sure?

"I've never been more sure."

"What happened?"

"I'll tell you after school. I love you," he whispered. His chest was pounding from a combination of fear, love, anger and lust.

"I love you too," Shelby whispered back. The quietly ate their lunches, not wanting to give the gossipmongers any more ammunition, occasionally glancing at each other and smiling.

If Nathan thought it was difficult to concentrate before lunch, it was worse after lunch. When Mrs. Albert called on him in English class, and he had no idea what she had asked, the teacher said, "Well, Nathan, I hear you have been a little distracted lately," in a tone that expressed her disdain. Nathan could do nothing but grunt in response and pretend to read his notes.

Finally, though, the last bell rang, and Nathan hurried to his locker, grabbed his books and backpack and went to the parking lot. Soon, Shelby arrived, and he said, "Let's go in my car."

Shelby, unaccustomed to Nathan taking charge, got into the passenger seat of the car. He started the engine and backed out. Shelby knew that it was time for her to wait for Nathan to start talking, and eventually he did.

"So, yesterday, my parents started in on me again, about how I couldn't see you anymore, and my father almost hit me."

Shelby gasped, but said nothing as Nathan continued.

"I stopped him, but it was terrible." Nathan's voice weakened as he spoke. "I lay in bed, thinking, and realized that they would try to keep us apart, and I needed to be ready, in case—you know—in case they threw me out."

Shelby felt Nathan's pain. She knew how hard it was to fight with your parents. She reached over and placed her hand on his thigh to comfort him.

Her touch was like an electric shock through Nathan's body, and he felt stronger and continued. "So, at 3 AM, I snuck downstairs to get my birth certificate, and found my parents' marriage certificate." He paused, and continued with a catch in his voice. "Shelby, they lied."

"About what?"

"About when they were married. They have lied about their anniversary because," he paused again, and sobbed. Shelby squeezed his leg and looked at him, tears flowing down her smooth cheeks.

"Why?"

"Because my mother must have been pregnant when they got married," Nathan finally blurted out. Nathan was sobbing, and pulled the car to the side of the road.

Shelby leaned toward him and took Nathan into her arms, holding him while they cried. The hug turned into a kiss, which became increasingly passionate, but before it went further, Nathan pulled away. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and sniffled, trying to pull himself together. He looked at Shelby, tears staining her face, lips slightly reddened from their kiss, and thought that she had never looked more beautiful.

Nathan started the car, pulled into traffic and started driving. Shelby turned to him and said, "Should we stop at the drug store?

"Why?" Nathan asked.

"You know, protection...condoms," Shelby responded.

"Yeah—um, sure," Nathan replied.

"You do know about condoms?" Shelby asked, softly.

"Sort of. I mean, they don't talk about them at school, but I have read some stuff on line."

Shelby shook her head. She should have realized that the church school taught abstinence only. She had tuned out when they had discussed it, but she realized that it was the only thing that Nathan knew.

They drove to the CVS, walked in to the drug store and found the condom section. Nathan was overwhelmed by the number of options, and he and Shelby stood in front of the display, staring, until Nathan randomly reached out and grabbed a package. "This one O.K.?" he asked.

"I guess so, I really don't know," Shelby replied.

They held hands as they walked to the cash register, and Nathan paid.

As they walked to the car, Shelby said, "You're not worried that someone will see us?"

"Fuck them all," Nathan spat out. Shelby's head snapped toward him at the uncharacteristic profanity, but she realized that he was emotionally in a strange place. She wanted to comfort him, and expected that she would soon be able to do so.

In nervous silence, they drove to Nathan's house and went inside. The house was empty, and as if in slow motion, they walked upstairs and into Nathan's room.

Shelby looked around and saw Nathan's trophies and certificates, pictures and books. The clothing on the floor and the furniture. She saw his bibles, including the well-worn one on the bedside table. Then, she looked at Nathan, who was devouring her with his eyes. She stepped forward and tilted her head slightly up, offering her lips. Nathan pressed his against hers, and they kissed, tongues darting. Nathan pulled Shelby close, and they stood at the foot of Nathan's bed, kissing and holding on to each other.

Nathan could feel Shelby's firm breasts pressing against his chest, and his hard cock pressing against her body. He felt, for the first time in days, that things were right. He was doing something that was good and pure, and nothing that any of the sinners and hypocrites at Harmony Church could say would convince him otherwise.

He reluctantly came up for air, and looked at Shelby, her blue eyes fiery with passion. Nathan reached up and began to unbutton her blue shirt, exposing the smooth pale skin of her neck and upper chest, the white sheerness of her bra and her flat, taut stomach covered by fine, downy hair. Shelby took off the shirt and tossed it aside. Nathan stared at her, overcome by her beauty, and reached behind Shelby, fumbling with the clasp on her bra before figuring out its mysteries. He gently pulled it off, exposing both perfect breasts, the left one that had been seared into his memory and had, to a great extent, started things on their present course, and its equally beautiful twin.

Nathan's knees buckled and he sat on the bed and Shelby stepped toward him, allowing him to bury his face in her cleavage. He could feel her trembling like he was with excitement as he began to kiss her breasts, starting at their intersection, and moving outward toward the nipples, which were hard and tasted delicious. Shelby's head dropped back, and she moaned with pleasure as Nathan's hungry mouth and tongue explored her chest.

She regained her composure and reached forward, tugging at the collar of Nathan's shirt, and he took the hint, standing up and removing his shirt, exposing his well-developed torso, his tiny nipples and sparse, curly blonde hair. He pulled Shelby toward him, and felt her warmth against his, and the warmth inside his body grew. He felt the pounding of his engorged cock as it strained against his jeans, crying for release.

Shelby stepped back and began to unbuckle her belt, and Nathan followed her lead. Soon, they were standing before each other wearing only their underwear, Shelby's white cotton panties staining dark with moisture, and Nathan's blue boxers, tented out, barely containing his twitching member, damp from his leaking pre-cum. Shelby looked at Nathan and saw only the love in his eyes.

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"I've never been surer of anything. Ever."

Shelby pulled down her panties, exposing her dark pubic triangle, and Nathan was surprised that his cock didn't tear through the thin fabric encasing it. He lowered his boxers and stood, facing Shelby. He moved toward her, and they hugged, naked, feeling each other's heat. Holding hands, they turned toward Nathan's bed, and he pulled the blankets back, exposing the sheets. They crawled into the bed and lay there, holding each other, kissing and using their hands to explore each other completely for the first time.

Nathan had never seen a naked woman before, not even a picture of one outside of the sketchy line drawing in his biology text, and that was, clearly, not an accurate depiction. He had never seen anything more beautiful than Shelby, and it reaffirmed his belief that the Lord would never have created something so amazing and made her available to him if He did not want Nathan to fully appreciate His creation.

He was fascinated by the smoothness and softness of her body, and rubbed it all over, causing Shelby to purr with pleasure, but never more vigorously than when Nathan explored her pussy, feeling its slickness, and occasionally, at first by accident, brushing against her sensitive clit.

They were panting with desire when Shelby stood up, found the CVS bag, tore open the package of condoms and ripped open a square packet. Nathan could not tear his eyes off of her naked body, and almost came as she rolled the condom onto his throbbing cock. She got back into the bed and rolled onto her back, spreading her legs. "Now, Nathan, make love to me."

Nathan rolled on top of her and tried to find her opening, but could not. Shelby sensed Nathan's frustration and reached down and guided the latex-covered tip where it was destined to go. Nathan could feel the warmth as he slowly inched his way inside of Shelby, feeling the heat of her against his rock hard cock. He pressed all the way in, as far as he could go, and Shelby wrapped her long legs around him.

It felt incredible, better than Nathan had even imagined. Again, he knew that this was right, and human instinct took over as he slowly withdrew, and began to pump in and out of Shelby, who grunted and moaned, sighing with pleasure. Nathan felt pressure building, and he sped up, until he was thrashing uncontrollably against Shelby, whose hips rose to meet his thrusts, until he could hold out no longer, unleashing his cum in spurts into the condom and collapsing his full weight onto Shelby. He lay there, panting, smiling, heart pounding, his head on Shelby's heaving chest.

"Sweetie, you need to get the condom off, so it doesn't slip off inside me," Shelby said softly, and Nathan rolled off of her. "It is something I remember from sex ed from my old school," she continued. He took off the full condom, tied it off and looked around for a place to put it before leaving it on his night table.

Nathan grinned at Shelby, who smiled back. Even sweating, and with her brown hair a twisted mess, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen.

"Was that O.K.?" Nathan asked softly. "I really have no idea what to do."

Shelby reached up and pulled him to her, and her kiss gave him her answer. The kiss led to more kissing, and more stroking, and soon Nathan felt himself getting hard again. Shelby reached down and stroked his cock until it was again hard and throbbing. This time, Nathan stood up and got his own condom, rolled it on and found Shelby's welcoming pussy.

This time, he moved slower and with less urgency, and soon Shelby's hips were writhing and she was breathing harder and harder. Nathan increased his pace, and Shelby met him. The look of pleasure on Shelby's face made Nathan happy and proud, but nothing made him happier than when Shelby's legs stiffened and she screamed out "OH FUCK," at the top of her lungs before collapsing on the bed, laughing.

Nathan was pretty sure that Shelby had just had an orgasm, and it made him want more, so he began to pump harder into her, and she moaned and yelled out as he reached his own second release. Spent, Nathan rolled off of Shelby, and she curled into his arms, and they lay there quietly, listening to each other breathe.

But Nathan's parents were coming home soon, so they had to get out of bed, straighten up, clean up, get dressed and flush the condoms. Nathan drove Shelby back to the school to get her car, and they held hands in the car.

"Any regrets?" Shelby asked.

"Only that we couldn't spend more time together."

"It was perfect," she said. "I'm so glad I waited for you."

"I'm glad you did, too, and that we didn't wait any longer."

Shelby smiled. "And we haven't been struck down," she said, laughing.

"Not yet," Nathan responded, with a straight face, but he could not hold it, and began to laugh.

Shelby squeezed Nathan's hand before she got out of her car, but they did not risk a kiss on school property. He watched her get into her car, waited for it to start before he drove home, smiling. All of the doubts and anxiety of the past few days were gone.

He went into his house and showered, looking at himself and realizing that he looked no different now that he wasn't a virgin. He also knew that he could no longer believe what his parents and church said they believed. In fact, he had no idea what he really believed anymore, except that he loved Shelby.

After the shower, Nathan was starving, so he made a snack and started working on his homework at the dining room table, occasionally losing focus as he thought about Shelby's beautiful breasts, or her legs, or the incredible warmth between her legs and the way that she felt while they made love.

Then, his parents came storming through the door, having picked Tommy up at his afterschool program. They glared at Nathan, and Marcia hustled Tommy upstairs.

His father stood above him, and Nathan stood up, looking slightly down at his father.

"You went through with it, didn't you?" James hissed.

"What are you talking about?"

"Don't play dumb with me, Nathan. I know that you and that whore went to CVS and bought condoms today."

Nathan realized that it was likely that someone saw them, but he didn't care. But calling Shelby a whore was over the line. "If Shelby is a whore, what does that make mom," Nathan barked.

James slapped Nathan across the face, hard, and he stumbled back a step. "How dare you speak about your mother that way."

Holding his cheek, Nathan shouted, "Dad, I know."

James looked at his son, standing before him with a red handprint showing on his cheek. "You know what?" he said, unsurely.

"Don't play dumb with me, Dad," Nathan mocked. "I know that you lied about when you and mom got married. And I have a pretty good idea why."

James appeared to deflate in front of Nathan. "How—"

"I saw your marriage certificate."

"You don't know what you are talking about," James retorted.

"Then explain."

At that point, Marcia had entered the room. "Explain what?" she asked. "You are the one that has explaining to do."

"He saw our marriage certificate. He knows."

Marcia began to sob. "We made a mistake."

"I was a mistake?" Nathan spat out. "Thanks."

"No, no, no," his mother said. "We were young, and we should never have had sex, but we did, and my parents threw me out of the house. Your father and I came to Pastor Stephens, and he was kind. We agreed to get married right away, and agreed on the little white lie to protect our reputation." She took a deep breath. "You are not a mistake, you, and your brother, are the greatest blessings the Lord has given me, and I want to protect you."

"From what?"

"From the world, from pain and trouble."

"The only pain I have felt recently is from you, and dad, and Pastor Cullum. All of your lies and cruelty. And the only happiness I have felt is with Shelby. So stop protecting me, already."

Marcia sat down on the couch, crying, and James went to comfort her. Nathan stood awkwardly, gently rubbing his burning cheek, waiting to see what would happen next.

The phone rang, but nobody moved to get it. The Caller ID said, in its robotic voice, "Harmony Church,"

"What could that be?" James asked, and walked to the ringing phone. He picked up the receiver. "Hello," he said. "Yes." "Of course." Yes. 8 o'clock. We'll be there." He hung up the phone.

"What was that all about?" Marcia asked.

"Pastor Stephens. He wants to see the three of us, tomorrow morning."

"I'm not going," Nathan said.

"He is the leader of our church, and you will go," James demanded.

"Please, Nathan," his mother pleaded.

"Fine," Nathan replied. "I'll go, but I'm not going to sit there and be lectured to by you hypocrites, or stand for anybody insulting the girl I love." Nathan turned and went upstairs, slamming the door to his room.

He pulled out his phone and texted Shelby, "My parents admitted their lies, and we have to meet with Stephens tomorrow morning. I don't regret anything and I love you."

He waited, staring at the phone until he got a response. "I love you too. My parents are giving me a hard time, but mostly because they are worried I'll get hurt. Nothing from Stephens."

"I will never hurt you. See you tomorrow."

"I can't wait."

Nathan put down his phone and lay on his bed thinking. He could, he believed, smell Shelby on the pillowcase, or, at least, he imagined he could. While he tried to figure out what to do about the meeting, he heard his parents yelling at each other. He heard what he believed was his mother storm up the stairs and slam their bedroom door. He had never heard his parents fight, and it unsettled him, even more than finding out that they were liars.