Laura's Cardinal Ch. 02

"Here? But she closed."

"Trust me."

Entering the diner, which no longer had the look of a casual diner, took my breath away. Silvia had outdone herself.

The lights were dimmed to the point where the room was bathed in a comfortable warmth. The usual table-crowded room was empty, except for a single table in the center. The red and white checkered tablecloth was replaced by a white linen cloth. Two china place settings, complete with wine goblets half filled with red wine, and polished silverware sat across from each other. Topping everything off, was a single red rose with a lit red candle on each side sitting in the middle of the table. Soft piano music was coming from somewhere and filled the room.

Looking over at Amanda, after the initial shock wore off her eyes were pooling with tears. She turned, wrapped her arms around my neck, and pressed her little body into mine. I just held her as her body trembled.

Pulling back with a gentle smile and pooling eyes, "Oh, Steve. You did all of this for me?"

"Well, all of this was Silvia, but I gave her an idea of what I was thinking and she just ran with it."

Then with a soft voice that trembled with uncertainty about where all of this was heading.

"Are we celebrating something? Or are you just trying to soften the blow?"

I inwardly smiled, yep that was Amanda, insightful and always straight to the point.

"Let's sit."

I was going to wait until after our meal, but given that last question, I felt it best to put her at ease so that we could relax and enjoy our first date together.

Reaching across the table, taking her hands into mine, I gazed into her 'troubled' eyes. I could tell that she didn't know where this was going but was hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.

"Amanda. You've been patient with me. I think that the first week, or so, that I was here, you weren't sure if it was going to be the last week or not. Wondering when you woke up in the morning if I'd still be there, or if it was going to be my last day. You never asked... never probed on what I was thinking or what my plans were. That first night at your place, I didn't know what I wanted to do. I was lost. So many emotions running through me. You know that I was married at one time."

"Yes," her voice soft but never breaking eye contact.

"I want to tell you now, why I'm not anymore," my voice cracking.

"Steve, you don't have to."

"Yes, I do. And the reason is something that I'll tell you in a bit.

"Her name was Laura."

I went through the whole thing. The accident. The funeral, glossing over the final settlement. My depression. My loneliness. At times my voice cracked and the tears came. How that loss had crippled me, and made me afraid to get so close to a woman ever again. To open my heart and let another woman in.

More times than I could count each of us pulled our hands back to wipe away a tear only to return to the contact that we both craved, and I so desperately needed.

"I knew that I had to leave. Get away. Everything I looked at reminded me of my Laura. It was at her grave where I had my last talk with her. You don't have Cardinals here in Montana."

Quietly she shook her head but never breaking our eye contact.

"Did you know that seeing a Cardinal is a happy sign... it's a sign that those we have lost will live forever, as long as we keep their memory alive in our hearts."

Amanda gave me a warm smile as she understood what I meant.

"Anyway, as I was saying my goodbye, a Cardinal flew past me and settled on a snow-cover limb and chirped. I recalled that each time I visited her grave a Cardinal would be there quietly perched on the tree branch. There was also one at her funeral sitting in the bright yellow leaves of a maple tree. I didn't think anything of it at the time given everything that was happening at the moment. But as I thought about it later, I named it, 'Laura's Cardinal'.

"My first night at your place found me down at the horse corral staring up to the heavens, talking to my Laura, just like I had on so many other occasions asking her what I should do. She had told me at our wedding that whenever I needed her to reach out to her and that she would be there to do whatever she could. Suddenly a shooting star appeared and the song 'Catch a falling star' ran through my head. My Laura was talking to me, telling me to follow my heart and everything would be fine."

Silvia had been watching the intensity and emotions that ran between us and thankfully stayed in the background not wanting to interrupt this extremely intimate moment.

"So, I stayed. I totally enjoyed all of our time together. Doing things together. Helping you with your horses. Going for horseback rides. Making dinners together. Sitting outside and watching the stars. And I think that you enjoyed it too. But I always knew that you didn't know what the future for us was. Probably wondering if I envisioned a future for us, or what was going through my head."

A little smile and a couple of nods of her head.

Taking a deep breath.

"The other night, I was down there again for my nightly visit. It was during that conversation that my destiny became clear. I told Laura that I loved you. That I felt a special bond to you, a different kind of a bond from what we had shared, and asked if she was OK with that."

By now tears were streaming down Amanda's face. She didn't even try to wipe them away. Not wanting to break our contact... our first real heart-to-heart contact. I was opening my heart to her, and trusting that it would not be slammed shut.

"Do you know how she answered?"

She shook her head because I think that at that moment words were impossible for her to form.

"Two sets of four shooting stars streaked across the night sky and then two lone stars slowly moved across the heavens, the second one seemed to hover directly overhead for a bit before moving off."

Her eyes went wide.

"I saw that. I couldn't sleep that night so I was sitting on the patio like I always have, when I feel restless. In all my years of living here and looking up into the night sky, I've never seen anything like it. And you're saying that it was Laura talking to you. Basically telling you that it was OK to love me?"

"Yes. And, Amanda. Just so you know... I'm not going anywhere. Because, not only do I love you, I am so deeply in love with you. It's a feeling that I thought I would never ever find or experience again. It's the feeling that I have been searching for. The connection... This connection... You," gently squeezing her warm soft hands in mine.

Coming around the table, Amanda straddled my hips, gazed into my eyes with those smoky gray tear-filled eyes, and brought her lips to mine for our very first kiss.

Pulling back and looking at me with tear-filled eyes, tear-streaked cheeks, and a warm and welcoming smile.

"Well, you want to know something? I love you too. I've been in love with you for weeks. I didn't say anything because I didn't want to scare you away. I knew that something from your past was troubling you, holding you back, but that something was keeping you here and not wanting to move on. I knew that I had to be patient and let you work through it on your own. I hoped and prayed for the best for each of us."

A soft kiss.

"If we were back at my house, I would have you take me to bed and then have you make love to me. And then I would make love to you."

We were brought out of our moment by a smiling and tear-streaked Silvia standing next to us with two menus of what she had in store for us on this very very special night.

"Silvia. He's staying," her voice cracking through the big smile.

"I know."

The dinner was wonderful. Silvia outdid herself.

As we were leaving, Silvia gave me a warm hug, and whispered in my ear, "You're a wonderful man. Take care of her. She needs you as much as you need her."

................................................

It was the first time that I had been in her bedroom. Everything was neat and in its place. It's just the way that Amanda was, a neat and orderly person.

A King-sized poster bed sat in the middle of the room. A pair of nightstands, each with a shaded lamp bathed the room in a soft warmth. The two French doors were open to the patio at the back of the house letting in the sounds of the night. At the far side of the room sat a vanity. An open door, which I assumed to lead to the master bath sat directly across from the bed. Soft music came from the other room. It was just loud enough to hear, but not overpowering.

I was nervous and I could tell that Amanda was too as we stood alongside her bed and she draped her arms over my shoulders. Our faces and lips are just inches apart. I could feel her soft breath on my cheeks. But it was the gentle and trusting smile that warmed my heart.

"Steve... It's been a while... a long while. Please be patient with me. But understand one thing... I want you. I've wanted you for a long time. I just didn't know how you were feeling."

"Amanda, it's been quite a while for me too and I've only been with one other woman. Tell me if you want me to do anything differently, or to stop. Tell me what you like. Tell me everything that you like. We may not get to everything tonight, but I have a feeling that we will have a lot of time to get through your list quite a number of times."

She gave a soft smile.

"Right now, I want to make love to you. I want to make love to my new girlfriend."

Smiling, "I'd like that. And you know something? I love it when you call me Amanda when we are close together. And I really love it when you call me your girlfriend.

Another grin, "But I'll always be Mandy."

"So, make love to me Steve. And then I'm going to make love to you... my boyfriend."

"I've got a problem. I don't have any condoms. I guess that I didn't plan this very well. Sorry."

"You don't need condoms. I'm on the Pill, only because it regulates everything. And I know that we're both safe. So... take me... make me yours and yours alone. I've waited too long to be loved. Loved by someone who really loves me and who I really love. I want to be as close as a couple can be. Make me your girlfriend."

Our third kiss we took our time to appreciate each other. It started slowly and tenderly; a hesitant dance of excitement and apprehension as my lips approached hers. A gentle brushing together, and a response in-kind. A brief drawing apart, checking on each other, gauging intention and comfort. Shy, eager smiles. Then a full commitment to the moment, to what felt right between two people that deeply cared for each other and who loved each other. Tasting each other. Enjoying the softness of each other's lips.

Amanda's warm hands reached down and guided my hands to the soft bare skin of her lower back, before returning to hold me in her warm embrace. Other than her hands, it was the first time that I had ever touched her skin, which felt like velvet and sent a surge through my body. The touch of a woman's warm and soft skin was something that I hadn't felt in a very long time. And with Amanda, it was like nothing that I had ever experienced.

She initiated the next kiss, the one that took us from friends exploring our feelings to lovers, at least in spirit. It was fumbling and sweet and eager, at least at first. But as the kiss deepened, as she moaned into my mouth and I took the opportunity to slip my tongue between her lips as she pressed her firm little breasts into my chest and gently pressed her lower mound into my growing hardness. It had been so long. Amanda purred through our connected lips.

Seconds went to minutes. Neither of us was in any rush. Time and the outside world disappeared. All that existed was contained in the cocoon of our growing passion and desire for each other.

Nibbling the soft skin of her outstretched neck was as sweet as honey. Her hands gently combing through my hair guiding me to where she wanted my lips. The soft sighs of contentment told me all that I needed to know as my lips kissed through the open valley between her breasts and then the gentle swells as my nose nuzzled under the thin fabric of her dress.

I was enjoying myself too much to notice that one of her hands had left my head and reached behind her neck and pulled at the bow that held her dress in place.

Suddenly, the dress just fell away from her tiny body and pooled at her little feet. I had to see her.

Stepping back a bit so that my eyes could feast on the petite spectacle standing in front of me, I shamelessly devoured her little body which was a monument to raw female sexuality. The body of an innocent pixie.

Round half-apple-sized breasts sat high and proud on the smooth skin of her chest that had a soft golden glow from the two nightstand lights. Sitting in the center of each proud mound, was a light pink erect nipple that was surrounded by a pale peach-colored areola. Her midsection was flat and toned, probably from all of her work in moving 100-pound bales of hay when feeding her horses. The black bikini panties give a dark contrast to the soft glow of her skin. Then there were those legs. Legs that seemed to go on forever. Toned from her hours of riding and gripping her horse. I couldn't wait to feel her wrapping those legs around me and tightening her grip as I made love to her. And separating those legs was that hand-wide thigh gap where the most intimate part of her body rested, waiting to be uncovered... to be appreciated... to be worshiped.

"You're staring."

Breaking from feasting on her beautiful body my eyes met hers and was greeted with a radiant smile.

"I didn't mean for you to stop staring," the radiant smile had been replaced with one of playfulness.

Her hands glided up and over her hips and then up and over each little handful of pure feminine flesh. The playful smile was replaced with a sultry look.

"You like what you see?"

"More than ever. I've never seen such beauty."

"I don't think that I've ever been looked at like the way you are looking at me right now. It's a look that I've always wanted to see in a man, but it just never happened. I mean when you have no boobs. There's not a lot to look at."

That last sentence saddened me. How could anyone NOT appreciate the beauty that stood before me?

"You're right. You don't have any boobs."

Her face sank, but then I quickly went on to my important message.

"What you have are two of the most beautiful and sexy breasts that I have ever seen. Firm... Breasts that will retain their youthful shape for the rest of your life and not hang down halfway to your cute belly button."

She giggled.

"Breasts that I will be worshiping in a bit. Nipples that will be on the receiving end of my tongue and warmed by my mouth."

Kissing my cheek, "Now, I know why I kept you around all this time. You're one of a kind." she grinned.

And then, in a soft and wanting voice.

"Yes... Please... Please kiss my sexy breasts... My sexy little breasts... lick and suck on my nipples. Oh god, I so want you to suck on my nipples."

A light kiss to the upper swell of her little breast brought a gentle sigh. My lips slowly moved along her soft flesh until her pale little nipple sat a breath away from my lips. Kissing the edge of the pale orb brought sighs of delight and she guided my lips to where she wanted... her awaiting erect light pink gumdrop. Flicking it with the tip of my tongue, Amanda let out a gasp followed by, "Oh god... yes... Oh god... that feels so good."

Blowing gently on the slickened orb caused her body to shake and her knees to buckle. As my mouth engulfed as much of the soft flesh as possible and swirled my tongue around the sensitive nub, soft mewing sounds of pleasure filled the room.

"The other one... Please."

Her voice was now one of need.

The second nipple tasted as good as its twin and was just as sensitive. Amanda's breathing was deepening coming in shorter gasps. Her hands were frantic against my neck, directing my eager mouth to whichever nipple desperately needed attention. I would like to say that I gently nursed on each delicate morsel of pure womanly flesh. Instead, I needed her as much as she needed me, as she pulled me into her warm and welcoming bosom.

Suddenly, her body jolted, like an electric shock had been applied as she let out a couple of little whimpers at her releases.

Guiding me back up to her awaiting and eager lips. At first, it was a kiss of passion hot and needy. Then it was a slow and tender kiss of 'thank you'.

Pulling back with a grin, "I've never experienced that. Read about it. Tried it on myself. But never had it happen. Thank you."

"And there's more to come... so to speak."

Amanda's little fingers unbuttoned my shirt and tossed it across the room. Taking a step back, I saw the smile as she reached over and ran her fingers through my sparse dark chest hair.

"I've wanted to do that ever since that first morning when you were sitting outside after your run with your shirt off. I thought to myself how sexy you looked. I never dreamed that one day I would be able to do this," as now both hands were roaming across my chest.

I was tempted to reach over and run my hands over her firm smooth breasts and erect pink nipples, but didn't want to break the mood. I was pretty certain that that time would come, soon.

Easing my soon-to-be lover back on her bed, clad in only a pair of black bikini panties she met my gaze as my eyes once again roamed over her little body. On her back, her breasts disappeared, leaving two erect pink peaks. Her rib cage was pulled up in a sunken bow leaving a vast expanse of her tanned taut tummy and dainty belly button. The gentle rise of her still-covered Venus Mound sat there waiting to be uncovered and its beauty shared.

My slacks joined her dress on the floor, and then my shorts, freeing my cock which was pulsing with each beat of my rapidly beating heart as it stood out straight. The pink glans like a ripe plum as a clear drop of pre-cum appears.

"mmmm... So sexy. So big. So hard. Is that for me?"

"Yes, my love. It's for you. It's all for you."

"Then come to me, my boyfriend. Make me your girlfriend."

Snaking my body up hers; dragging the soft hair of my chest across her sensitive nipples brought another gasp.

Again, our lips come together. I couldn't get enough of this lovely woman, who had been brought into my life by our shared destinies. Who would have thought? Can one get lucky twice in a lifetime? To have two soulmates at different times? Some say, 'You'll meet many soulmates in your current lifetime while some psychics say you can only have one'. I like to believe the first.

"mmmm... I love how you kiss me. You have such kissable lips," she purred under me.

"I'm going to enjoy kissing you everywhere. Every square inch of this beautiful and sexy body. To taste you in all of your arousal. To drink your elixir of life. A nectar that is yours and yours alone."

"mmmm... I love it when you tell me what you're going to do to me. It makes me all tingly."

"I can fix tingly."

"Please... Fix my tingly," flashing that playful grin.

Leaving a trail of light kisses along her tender flesh, stopping a bit at each pink gumdrop to pay homage to each of those delicate orbs, before leaving a parting kiss. Probing her cute belly button brought an initial giggle and then sighs of contentment. Kissing her still-covered Mound, before tugging and lowering those delicate black panties to reveal a soft and delicate tuft of pubic hair the color and texture of whispy corn silk.

Sitting up, I had to take in this complete masterpiece of the universe. There is no better picture than a woman lying back in all of her breathless glory; giving herself over to her lover. Knowing and trusting that she is about to be made love to. Knowing that her body is about to be worshiped and appreciated in the most intimate manner possible.