Life Imitates Art

A nice quick short story about new love, this one kind of snuck up on me. I hope you enjoy reading about Carter and Kat as much as I enjoyed writing it. As always, please leave me a comment, I love to her what you think.

Dirk Tanner was a sleazy private eye who drank too much scotch, had a sometimes-reformed hooker as a receptionist, and a running love hate relationship with Detective Rios of the San Francisco police department; he was also who was keeping me up at four o'clock in the morning. Of course, the raging thunderstorm outside my forty-foot motor coach might have had something to do with it as well. Normally the rain would put me out like a light, but the intense flashes of lightening and the roar of the thunder dancing about outside were too much, and so I gave Dirk my full attention.

I had met him about six years ago while doing rehab for a blown-out knee, a gift from a defensive end known for his rough tactics. He had gotten a fifteen-yard penalty and I had had my career in the NFL ended in the second game of my rookie season by a cheap shot; in a fricking preseason game no less.

I had grown up on Agatha Christie, Dashiell Hammett, and especially Lee Child's Jack Reacher series, so when I needed a distraction from the sharp left turn my life had just taken, I created Dirk. The first novel was just over two-hundred pages; a few good fight scenes, a couple of plot twists, and a steamy sex scene later, he had solved the case and I had sold five hundred thousand copies. That was ten books ago and Dirk was still going strong, I had even been on a writer's panel with Lee Child; we concluded that Jack and Dirk would not have gotten along.

There is something cathartic about that last period at the end of what you hope is a good story, as was my habit, I leaned back in my chair and made an exaggerated motion to the keyboard, striking the key with my index finger as I let out a gratifying sigh only to have the moment interrupted by a loud crash outside; shit, somebody was messing with my stuff.

I pulled on a pair of shorts, grabbed my baseball bat and opened the door; she was about 5' 5" if I was being generous, might have weighed a hundred pounds soaking wet a, which she was, and was completely naked, shivering in the cold wet air and doing her best to cover herself with her hands.

Grabbing an old college jersey from the pile of laundry I had needed to put away for the past three days, I tossed it to her," Well, if you're coming in, come on then," I smiled and stepped back making room for her to get out of the rain.

Kat pulled the jersey over her head and slipped past me into the warmth of the RV. I made her a cup of tea and just left her alone while I sent 'The Case of the Runaway Heiress' to my editor; I had told my editor to expect it and was heading to San Francisco to meet her editorial wrath, enough edits and suggestions to keep me busy for at least a month, I was sure.

"I'm Carter," I offered as she sipped her tea.

"Um, Catherine, my friends call me Kat," I had noticed the delicate tattoo of a cat's nose and whiskers just above her right breast.

"So, I'm guessing there's a story here, or do you just wander around state parks naked in the middle of thunderstorms?"

She set her tea down and pulled her knees up to her chest under the jersey, wrapping her arms around them tight, her eyes went to the floor and she started to cry.

"Shit," I thought to myself as I moved to the couch where she has nestled next to my massive pile of laundry, squeezed in next to her and wrapped her in a big hug," It's going to be ok, whatever it is, I'll help you, just take your time."

I held her for a long time, waiting for the sobs to subside, noticing they had turned into slow deep breathing, she had fallen asleep. I carried her to the bedroom, slipped her under the covers and went and tried to curl up on the couch.

The thunderstorms passed, leaving in their wake a soft rain that finally lulled me to sleep. I woke up to the sound of the soft rain on the roof of my RV and someone humming to themselves. I rolled over on the couch to find the pile of laundry I had delegated to the floor when I claimed the couch gone, Kat was in the kitchen doing the dishes I had let accumulate humming softly to herself, still wearing my old college jersey. I just lay there and watched her for a few minutes, marveling at how cute she was in my huge jersey.

"Oh, hi," she smiled at me, "I hope you don't mind, I cleaned up a bit while you were asleep. I hope I got everything in the right place."

A quick scan of my small space told me she had been up a while; I couldn't remember it looking this neat since I had moved in.

"I kind of clean when I get nervous," she smiled again.

"Well, you're either extremely nervous or you've been up a while," I let out a small laugh.

"Both, I got up to go to the bathroom and then couldn't get back to sleep, so I just started folding your clothes, and I guess I got carried away."

"I'm not complaining, it looks really nice in here," I sat up and sighed," so, you feel like telling me what you were doing outside naked, in the middle of a thunderstorm, or do you want to do the windows first," damn, she had the cutest smile?

The short version was she had met a guy at Burger King; it was the only thing open when she got off her bus at two A.M., he was nice and cute and funny, they shared a table while they ate, he even offered to refill her drink for her, a real gentleman; that was the last thing she remembered until she woke up in his truck with him on top of her trying to get inside her, she hit him as hard as she could, clambered out of the truck and ran off into the storm. Mine was the only light on, she was trying to take a small tarp off my firewood to cover herself when I caught her.

"You feel up to a drive," I was pissed," there's a chance he's still here and we could get your stuff back and I could have a little chat with him about how not to treat ladies."

I got dressed and we unhooked my Jeep, driving around the circle of campsites; I was the only one in the park. I did see evidence of a spot someone had been in recently and on a whim, checked the trashcan finding Kat's duffle, clothes, purse, and phone in the bottom of the can along with an unused condom and the torn wrapper; at least the asshole had been using protection.

We went back to my RV, she changed into some clean underwear, jeans, and a t-shirt from her pack while I threw her dirty clothes in the wash, as cute as she was in my old jersey, she was downright hot in her jeans. She checked her purse and the money she had yesterday was gone. Not wanting to mess up what she had just cleaned, we headed into town for some breakfast, or maybe lunch since I had slept until almost noon. I pulled into the pizza place thinking Burger King probably wasn't a good idea.

We decided on the Supreme with no green peppers, extra-large; not only was she totally adorable with dirty blonde hair and big brown eyes, she had great taste I pizza, I ordered a beer and asked if she'd like one.

"Can't, she replied," be twenty in a couple months, but I'll take the largest Root Beer they have," her smile was starting to get under my skin.

The booth in the back corner seemed to suit our mood the best, so we left the counter with our drinks and claimed it. Evidently, she was feeling a little more comfortable around me and I got the long version as we ate our pizza.

Her mom had had her out of wedlock and had been kicked out by her parents, did her best to raise her without help and finally married her step-father. He was a good man and idolized her mom, treating Kat like she was his own. That all changed when her mom got sick, Kat was left to her own devices while Jim looked after her mom, her grades started to slip, and she got in trouble which created more friction. Three years later, when her mom died, Jim just shut down, Kat came home one day to find the apartment empty; she had no idea where Jim had gone. Her bags were packed and there was an envelope on the refrigerator with a note saying, 'I'm sorry,' and a thousand dollars. She bought a bus ticket east and landed here, losing her big suitcase somewhere along the way.

We were both eyeing the past piece of pizza, I had eaten three and Kat four," Go ahead," I laughed as she grabbed the slice and took a hg bite, it always amazed me how some girls can eat more than some of the lineman I played with; at 6'3" and 235#, I was no slouch.

Kat stopped chewing, her face turning white when the door opened, and three guys in football jerseys walked in. She slid against the wall and tried to get as small as she could. I picked up on what had happened and slid around the table sliding into the booth next to her," which one," I whispered.

"Blonde," was all she could say.

"You stay right here, blondie and I are going to have little chat," I waited a few minutes until the three of them found a booth, sizing them up as they crossed the small restaurant, the blonde that had tried to rape Kat was the leader, probably a quarterback, the short guy with the trees for legs, he was a running back, and the big fat guy was probably the offensive line; in high school, big and fat was enough.

"So guys, how's the season going," I smiled as I grabbed a chair from a table next to their booth, I spun it around and sat at the end of their booth, effectively blocking them from getting out?

"Undefeated, again," the quarterback smiled back at me.

"Wow, that's impressive, so you guys got plans for college and stuff after you graduate, and no worries, I'm not a scout or anything, juts played some ball in college and stuff."

"Yeah, the lineman chimed in, "Deron has a scholarship to USC," he pointed at the running back, "and me and Rick are still weighing our options," the running back smiled.

"USC, huh, great school, hate to tell you though, we kicked the crap out of them when I was at Texas," I flashed a Hook'em and showed them my 'T' ring.

"So, Rick, what schools are you looking at?"

"Well, I'm thinking maybe going someplace small make a huge splash; I've heard it can actually help my chances of getting drafted, but I did get a letter from Alabama," I'm sure he dropped the name to try and impress me and was also pretty sure I got the same letter telling me they were going to pass.

"So, you think you've really got a chance at playing college ball, especially when they find out you drugged and tried to rape that girl last night," the look on Rick's face was priceless?

"What the fuck, I did no such thing, she came on to me, I had to fight her off."

Deron and the big guy just stared at Rick, "Well, Rick, here's what is going to happen, you are going to give me all the money you stole from her plus any you think might express how sorry you are for being the colossal douche you are, maybe even your friends here will pitch in," I smiled, " and then, if she decides to accept your apology, this all goes away, if not, well I turn over the condom you left behind with your finger prints all over it to the police," I was reaching into the huge bag of BS I used in my books, the fact was, the evidence was so circumstantial there was nothing the police could do, "and they do a sweep of your truck for collaborating DNA evidence and you go to jail for a very long time. Does that sound fair?"

I stood up and leaned on the table while they scrambled to see just how much cash they could pull together. Rick followed me back to the table, apologized for being an ass and offered the money to Kat who took what had been hers, threw the rest in his face and kicked him in the balls as hard as she could; I really liked this girl.

"Feeling any better," I asked without looking as we climbed into my Jeep.

"Yeah, thanks" she leaned over and kissed my cheek as she fastened her seatbelt," a full stomach and a little righteous vengeance will do that for a girl."

"My pleasure, I'd have kept the money though," I laughed as I pulled out of the parking lot.

"Almost, but it was more dramatic to throw it in his face," her hand found mine on the console between us.

The sun broke through the clouds and we stopped to take the top off my Jeep, taking the long way back to camp, Kat admiring the scenery and me catching glimpses of her as I drove. The sunset found us at an overlook, I climbed onto the hood of the Jeep, leaning against the windshield, Kat between my legs, holding my arms in place around her waist with her own.

The remnants of last night's storm gave the sun a vivid palette with which to paint the sky, and we watched in silence until it had finished its show. The encore was even more impressive as a billion stars filled the sky. The chill of the mountain air finally won, and I helped Kat down and into the Jeep.

Kay plugged her phone into the Jeeps computer and soft jazz filled the night air as we headed back to camp, "Jim, my step-dad, loved this stuff; it was on in the house all the time until my mom got sick, it makes me think of the good times," I reached for her hand this time, locking my fingers in hers.

I thought about the last few hours, those were the only words spoken since we parked and I felt like I had learned more about her than I had all day, the way I felt when she laid against me was like nothing I had ever experienced, the way she looked at me, the way she sighed and the way she smelled; it was intoxicating and I didn't want it to end.

"Bring my phone," she jumped out of the Jeep when I parked, "I gotta pee."

I grabbed her phone and walked up behind her, handing her the keys," Well, you might need these then," I laughed as she unlocked the door, jumped through the opening and disappeared into the bathroom.

When she came out, she was wearing my old jersey again and I had grapes, cheese, crackers and two glasses of wine set out on the coffee table by the couch, "you pick a movie and I'll get comfortable," I handed her the remote. The satellite had already synched and all she had to do was choose.

"You remember I'm only nineteen right," she held up a glass of wine?

"Yeah, and I also know that the only reason you brought it up at the pizza place was because you knew she was going to card your sweet ass and you didn't want to get busted," I laughed as she took a sip.

I curled up next to her on the couch and we laughed until we cried as Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton tried to figure things out in 'Something's Gotta Give.' As the credits rolled, Kat got up and took the dishes to the kitchen, rinsing them and putting them aside to wash tomorrow. She took a few steps toward the bedroom before she stopped, turned, and looked at me, and holding out her hand smiled," well, you coming?"

I didn't need to be asked twice.

The voices in my head didn't ever try to complain, yeah I was ten years older than her, but in another ten, it wouldn't matter, and tonight, all I wanted was to be as close to her as I could possibly get.

My jersey never made it to the bed, the cold wet body I had seen last night was now warm and inviting, full of color and even more beautiful than I remembered. The cat whiskers rose and fell on her breast as her breathing got faster and faster. Kat stepped into my arms and I pulled her off her feet, lowering my lips to hers. Soft and delicate, that first kiss almost brought me to my knees. I lowered her back to her feet as my head swam in a sea of images from the past day, all the little quirks, the smiles, and those deep brown eyes. Her hands slid under my t-shirt, pushing it up as far as she could until I grabbed the hem and pulled it over my head.

She kissed my chest, licking and sucking my nipples, giving each a nip with her teeth before she started a trail of kisses down my stomach, tracing my abs with her tongue as her hands pushed my shorts down to my knees. She climbed back onto the bed and I followed, admiring her lithe body and the way she moved, noticing for the first time that she was shaved clean.

I moaned as I fell next to her, pulling her lips to mine once again, expressing my passion as our tongues began their dance. What had been delicate and sweet before was now electric with desire, my hands explored her body, relishing the softness of her skin and the fullness of her breast as her hands caressed my chest, sliding over my pecs and pinching my nipples between her fingers.

I tried to turn her on her back, but she protested," You have been so good to me since we met, I mean you never even tried anything. No one I have ever been with has treated me like that and I want to show you how much I appreciate it," she looked down at me and smiled, "so, you just lay back and let me take care of you for a while."

I put my hands behind my head and smiled at her.

"Good boy," she kissed me hard, driving her tongue into my mouth, I couldn't help but wrap her in my arms, my god I wanted her so bad. Her kisses slid down my cheek to my neck, drawing a line up my neck to my ear, she nibbled on my lobe for a few minutes before thrusting her tongue into my ear.

"NNNgggh," I moaned. I never knew that could be so erotic.

Kat giggled as she continued, sliding her sensuous soft kisses down my collar bone to the center of my chest. First one and then the other, she teased my breasts, sucking on my nipples, biting them gently and pulling them deep into her mouth.

My moans grew louder and I could feel the tension growing in my loins, if she didn't hurry, I was going to explode all over the side of her face, "my god Kat, what are you doing to me," I laughed?

"You like," she looked into my eyes and smiled, 'it gets better, I promise."

And it did, what she did to my cock was almost beyond description, her tongue and her lips teased me, licking and kissing up and down my shaft, covering my balls with her saliva before pulling them, one then the other, then both into her mouth. A huge stream of precum slid from my glans and she licked it up with the tip of her tongue, smiling at me with her eyes as she took my entire cock into her throat. Slowly she began to slide back up until just the tip was in her mouth, then back down again, but ever so slowly, making every inch count.

I started to clench but she grabbed the base of my cock and refused to let me cum instead continuing to tease me with kisses and licks, sucking me slowly and then more vigorously.

Only when I couldn't stand it any longer, "god Kat please, I'm dying here," she laughed, took the head of my cock into her mouth and started twirling her tongue around the tip, she cupped my balls in her hand, squeezing gently as she slowly took me all the way in, a few quick strokes up and down my aching shaft and I erupted into her mouth; spurt after spurt, I had never cum like that before. She squeezed the last drops of my juice from my softening erection and brought her lips to mine, the taste of my seed mixed with our kiss.

She nestled in the crook of my arm, her head on my chest, her hand still holding my now flaccid cock. I ran my hand up and down her arm, "how the hell does someone your age know how to do that, that was incredible?"

"I told you I got in trouble," she blushed a little, "I got caught selling blow jobs at school. Jim didn't take it too well when his stepdaughter was arrested for prostitution. My record was expunged when I turned eighteen, but yeah, I got lots of practice."

I didn't answer for a long time, but I didn't stop caressing her arm either.

"You're not like a wanted felon or anything, no axe murders or drug cartels looking for you, right?"

"Nope, just lots of guys with very happy memories of what I just shared with you."

"Then I think what you did before I met you is none of my business," I turned toward her and kissed her hard, pulling her close and wrapping my arms around her, relishing the feeling of her naked body against mine, slowly sliding my hand down her back and sliding it across the delicate soft skin of her ass.