Little Sister

I was waiting for her next text when the phone in my hand rang.

"Paul?"

Suddenly, I could remember her face.

"Hi, Kate."

"I wanted to hear your voice."

Not for the first time, my mind was filled with the memory of her in my arms, of those soft lips, of how her back had felt under my hand.

We talked for half an hour, rediscovering each other, passing time without really saying much. She paused, spoke again, her voice almost shy now.

"I... I have a small confession, Paul. My calling wasn't entirely a coincidence. I'm in town now, some EMT upgrade training. Would you like to get together for a coffee or something?"

"Um, sure! How long will you be in town?"

"All week."

"How busy will you be? Maybe I could buy you dinner?"

"I'm working and you're a student. How about I buy you  dinner?"

"Flip a coin?"

I could almost hear her smile.

"We'll talk about it. I know this is sudden, but would tonight work for you?"

I thought for a moment. I was ahead of the power curve for my studies.

"There's a new seafood place near the waterfront that's supposed to be nice. Where is the training being run? I could pick you up."

"No need. Why don't we meet at the restaurant? I can claim a taxi or Uber anyway."

We agreed on the place and time.

"I have to go," she said. "See you tonight.

+

I found myself fussing like a 12-year-old girl getting ready for the junior prom. It was only when I found myself arguing 'this tie, that tie, no tie'  that I realized how incredibly nervous I was. In the end, I pulled on some casual slacks and a light sports jacket, yes, with a tie. Depending on how she was dressed, I could take it off in a few seconds.

I had made a reservation and showed up a bit early so as not to leave her standing around in a strange place. I ordered a beer in the bar, where I could keep an eye on the door.

A minute later, a pair of soft hands came around from behind me and covered my eyes.

"Guess who?" her voice whispered in my ear.

"Mother Theresa?" I quipped. "Taylor Swift?"

"Nope. Third guess or pay a forfeit."

"Helen of Troy?"

Her laughter filled the room and she was in my arms as I rose off the bar stool.

Her lips were as soft as I had remembered, but now there was no wary is-anybody-watching?  caution. This was, if not a seduction, then at least a proper long-lost friends kiss and I felt my blood pressure rise before she stepped away, smile like a spring sunrise.

The tie turned out to have been a good decision.

She'd let her dark hair grow and was wearing it loose, down past her shoulders. Those shoulders were essentially bare tonight and I realized why a form-fitting 'little black dress' can be such a great idea. With a mid-thigh hem, a deeply-scooped neck and teeny straps, it clung to her like paint.. Her only jewellery was a long, thin gold necklace leading my eyes down to cleavage I'd never been able to properly appreciate before.

My mind flashed back to the last time I'd seen her, rifle under her arm as she boarded her freedom bird Hercules. There, she'd been pretty; in the here-and-now, she was mesmerizing.

"Enchanting!" I stammered, truly awed.

Her smile changed from happy to delighted and she actually gave a minimal curtsy -- hard to do in a miniskirt and heels. She managed it well, graceful and self-confident.

"You beat me here," I said as we were led to our table.

"A lady's got to keep on her toes, Paul."

I held her chair for her as she sat down and got a lovely smile of acknowledgement.

"A gentleman, too," she observed.

"On occasion."

Service was as good as rumour had said and the seafood was both fresh and well-prepared. She was easy to talk to -- 'comfortable' might be the word. 'First date' conversation perhaps, but we had so much in common, far more so than most. We talked about our lives now, of people we'd known over there, of our families and hometowns. She laughed easily and was good company. She declined coffee or dessert, but took my arm as we left the restaurant.

"There's a waterfront path just over there," I said. She squeezed my arm in agreement.

"I've enjoyed this," she said as we strolled. "Thank you, Paul."

"Thank you,"   I replied. "It's been a wonderful surprise."

Other couples passed us on the path. One pointed up suddenly at a shooting star.

"Make a wish," Kate said. "You always have to wish on a falling star."

A few steps further, she stopped.

"What did you wish for?"

"Wouldn't that break the spell or something?"

"Not if we wished for the same thing."

"Well then," I smiled, "I really hope you wished for another kiss."

I loved her laugh. Again, on tiptoe, she was in my arms. I bent my knees to make it easier for her, put my hands around her firm waist; my breath catching as she pulled herself against me. Her tongue met mine, explored, danced, delighted.

I felt my arousal like a brick in the night, and I was instantly erect. Laughing elatedly, she ground her belly against my hardness. My hands reached lower, clutched her bum, my fingers sinking into her flesh. Her hands ran up and down my back, then pulled my head down onto hers, harder now. My mind and head filled with her aroma, with need.

Without warning, she pulled back, pushed me away. I could hear her panting, very softly.

She looked away, shook her head slightly before looking up at me again with wide eyes. Her hand ran over my chin, gently now. She licked her lips, gave a half smile in the light of the street lamps.

"Paul," she whispered. "I'm sorry. I... I want this. Truly."

"But...?"

"I've still got some issues. I thought this would work. I thought I could say thank you for your support in the best possible way. But now... now, I'm just a little frightened."

She stood high, kissed me, gently. My arms came around her, but softly now.

"I want to try again," she whispered. "Forgive me for now?"

It was a warm night, but I felt her body shiver a little in my arms.

"Of course, Kate."

"May I call you? Tomorrow?"

"You don't have to..."

She cut me off, a hesitant smile on her face.

"But I want to. Please?"

"Of course. May I drive you to your hotel?"

"No. Thank you, but I'm feeling a bit self-conscious right now and there's a taxi stand right over there."

"Sure?"

"I'm sure. It's been a lovely evening, Sarge. I'm sorry to ruin it."

"You haven't. I've enjoyed myself, Doc."

She kissed me again and I watched as the taxi drove her away.

+

My phone hummed late the next morning.

good time to talk?

yes

"Hi." She sounded shy.

"Hi back, Kate. Everything ok with you?"

"Well, I wanted to apologize for last night."

"Apologize? For what? I had a very nice evening."

"Yes, but..."

"But nothing," I interrupted. "How are you feeling this morning?"

"Embarrassed."

"OK, besides that, how are you?"

"Um, pretty good, actually. But I'm sorry for starting something I couldn't finish. That wasn't fair."

"Have you heard me complaining?"

"Um, no."

"Then there's nothing to worry about. I had dinner with an attractive young woman, an old friend. We went for a walk and I even got a kiss. All good."

She was silent for a moment, then spoke in a very low voice.

"May I try again, please?"

"Of course. We did seafood last night. What would be your taste for tonight?"

"How about lunch?"

I looked at my watch.

"OK, but it's almost lunchtime now. Where are you?"

"Paul, may I come to your place, please? There's a reason."

"Um. I guess so, but I haven't anything in the fridge fit to serve a visiting friend."

"What kind of submarine sandwiches do you like?"

"Um, normally ham? Extra cheese and green peppers. Why?"

"May I bring lunch?"

"Of, course, Kate, but you don't have to..."

"I'll be there in half an hour." With that, she hung up.

I looked around, rolled my eyes. My apartment was hardly dirty, but I had been focussing more on studying and there was definitely a certain amount of feral male clutter.

I shaved in the shower, wiped down the sink with my towel and replaced it with a clean one. Naked and one eye on the clock, I strode around the place, straightening, sorting, tidying, making the bed, hanging up clothes. With ten minutes to go, I turned on the kettle and pulled on a pair of slacks and a shirt, nothing too fancy.

Precisely on the hour, there was a knock at the door.

Kate was wearing a white blouse with a simple knee-length blue skirt. While the exact opposite of her dress at dinner, it was still extraordinarily pretty -- eye-catching as opposed to last night's outrightly seductive.

Her smile was bright and I noticed the sunlight reflecting from her hair.

"Hi."

My attention was caught by some sort of flowery scent as she passed me. I will admit that I took a quick glance at her bottom, too, before she stopped and held up a paper bag.

I took it and peered inside, noting two wrapped subs.

"Thank you."

She came close, kissed my cheek.

"You're welcome. I think I forgot to pay for dinner last night."

"Did you?" I grinned. "I'd forgotten."

I showed her around the apartment, which didn't take long. I felt my stomach growl slightly and apologized.

"Silly! It's lunchtime."

I pointed at the balcony doors.

"I often eat out there if the weather's this nice, Kate. It's got a great view of the harbour."

"Deal."

"What would you like to drink?"

"I think some ice water would do me very well, thank you."

I had a small circular table and two chairs outside. In a few moments, I had a tablecloth in place.

"Cutlery's in the middle drawer," I said, pointing. "Make yourself useful ."

She chuckled. I heard her rattling through the drawer as I pulled out the ice tray.

Some minutes later, she wiped her lips with a napkin, took a sip of water.

"Thank you for your patience, Paul."

"No thanks needed. I can be very patient with charming ladies who bring food."

That brought a giggle. We ate slowly, enjoying the view, the warm breeze, the surprisingly good subs and, yes, each other. From time to time, she'd ask what something or other in the distance was; otherwise, we concentrated on eating. Finished, I cleaned off the table. When I came back, it was to find the table moved to one side and the chairs pulled together.

She lifted her hand, took mine and pulled me down to sit beside her. Her hand felt warm in mine and I was content to let her decide what was to come next.

"I was pretty messed up when I came back, Paul." Her voice was expressionless and I sensed how hard it was for her to talk about it. It was the first time she'd opened this door and that in itself surprised me.

"I sort of guessed."

"They've treated me really well, though. I've been doing therapy since then and, while I still have a ways to go, I am  feeling much better."

"It's that big first step, Kate. Deciding to go for treatment is pretty tough, I hear."

"It was, but you know... I did it because of one person."

I looked over at her, felt myself falling into blue eyes.

"Not..."

"Yes, you."

"Kate, I didn't..."

"You hugged me in that dirt hut and kept me sane. You did it again in your tent — and I know that was a risk for you — but you did it anyway. You gave me precisely what I needed -- some human connection.

"I'd been feeling like a robot for a long time. It walked, it talked, it did its job, but I was just empty inside, Paul. Hayden sent me over the top and I would've gone nuts. So, I wanted to say thank you."

I could see where this might be leading and a yellow flag went up in my mind. This was an enormously desirable woman and while she was more than just tempting, I knew how wrong it would be to take advantage of her. I chose my next words carefully.

"Um, so, thanks accepted, Kate and you're welcome. You were a good troop and we were all happy to have you with us."

A look of mild uncertainty came over her face.

"That's it? Just 'you're welcome'?"

I thought how to phrase it properly, kept my eyes on the harbour.

"Um, 'thanks' is all you owe  me, Kate."

"You sound like my therapist."

"Does that make me wrong or right?"

Her hand left mine, caught my chin and turned my head towards her. Those blue eyes locked onto mine.

"I spent a long time talking to her about you, Paul."

"And?"

"She agrees that you made all the difference at the time."

"Again, Kate, you're welcome."

She sagged a little. I wondered if it was in frustration or because of bad memories?

"You know the second-hardest thing I've ever had to do?"

'Second-hardest'... I had to think about that. It wouldn't be the obvious.

"Going after Hayden?" I guessed.

Her face went solemn.

"Yes. And the hardest?"

"Going for therapy?"

A slight smile crossed her mouth.

"No, actually. That was about third or fourth. The hardest thing..."

Her eyes grew wider still and her voice dropped almost to nothing.

"The hardest thing for me to do was to text you yesterday."

"Coincidence works its own magic," I said. "Good thing you were in the city for the course, yes?"

"There's no course, Paul."

I stared at her, not knowing what to say next.

"I spent a lot of time thinking about you, Paul, both over there and since I came back."

"Kate..."

"You were kind to me then. The last thing I needed would have been somebody telling me to 'be strong' or 'tough it out' or some other shit.

"You were kind, like you were the only human being on that whole base. Everybody else was in robot mode, but Sarge cared enough to be nice. In some ways it was all wrong, but in some it was really right.

"Look, I'm not saying I fell in love with you there, but I was really, I don't know, fond  of you. Does that make any sense? You were the one person..."

I just looked at her. Unconsciously, she licked her lower lip and my heart gave a double beat.

"All I ever wanted was to be a medic, to help people," she whispered. She looked at me, wondering, perhaps, at her naïveté. "But the whole time I was there, the only time I felt safe were those two times you hugged me."

I ran my hand lightly over her hair.

"I've often thought that it takes less courage to do something outstanding than it does to be something outstanding, Kate. You earned your keep."

Her smile reappeared, slowly.

"Well, every time I thought of giving up back here, every time 911 dispatch sent us out to another horror show, I thought of you.

"And it got me through. So, when I told Dr. Finch that I'd found you, we talked about my coming to see you. We talked about the good possibilities and the bad ones."

"And?"

"And she thought I should say hello."

"Ah. Well, 'hello'."

"Dammit, Paul! Don't you dare brush me aside!"

Her anger was real, I could see.

"I'm sorry, Kate," I said quickly. "I'm not trying to trivialize what you're saying or brush you off. But..."

I took a deep breath, tried to settle my nerves. How to put it? How far could I go?

"Sometimes it was hard for me, too." I said softly.

She stared at me, uncertain now.

"You were — are — very pretty, Kate. I certainly noticed. Very much so. But..."

"You were a proper NCO, Paul. I get it -- and thank you. But you and I are out now. And neither of us is 12 years old and — dammit again!   — what bullshit ethical rules are you going by now?"

I almost laughed, then saw that she meant it.

I turned toward her, tried to smile properly. Her ire faded and smiling became easier.

"Kate... I... You are a spectacular pretty, desirable woman, but you are clearly vulnerable right now. However much I want you, I don't want this to be a mistake, something you would find upsetting later."

"That's it?"

I thought.

"Mmm-hmm."

She looked out over the harbour, turned back to me. Her finger ran along my jaw, leaving a thin tingling line behind.

"You are a thoroughly decent man, you know that?" She gave me a small smile. "But I thought about this and took the risk, bought a ticket. Then, last night, I was frightened at how fast I was getting turned on and... I chickened out. But that was then, Paul, and this is now."

Her smile turned tender and she leaned towards me, her lips upturned in invitation.

The world had gone dead silent. All I could hear was my own heart.

OK, then.

I bent towards her, met her mouth with mine, felt her tongue trace its way along my lips. I opened them; tongues danced, explored deeper. I kept one hand holding hers, ran the other over her shoulder, down her arm, over one thigh. She shivered under my touch -- a good shiver, this time.

Her free hand pulled our heads tighter together, then slid down to my throat, fumbled with a shirt button. Undone, her hand moved to the next, then slid inside, soft fingers over my chest and I was suddenly hard, scarcely able to breath.

I pulled out of the kiss, looked at her face. My eyes dropped for a second to her blouse, watched her breasts rising and falling as she breathed.

"I've dreamed of your arms around me, Paul," she whispered. "They always made me feel so good."

"And you, Kate, but I'd never imagined..."

Her fingers cut me off by lightly pinching one of my nipples.

"I'd take you right now, right here," she hissed, "but I think the neighbours might object."

Then we were back inside, a trail of clothing marking our passage to the bedroom and she was as delectable, as desirable, as beautiful as I could have imagined. Tiny, yes, but perfectly proportioned, a carefully-trimmed triangle of fur at her groin, trim waist and firm breasts topped with light brown nipples and areolae.

Her eyes swept over my body, feet to face, lingering at my now-solid erection.

"You're beautiful," she whispered. "All of you."

She stepped forward, ran her hands over my chest, fingers in chest hair, drifting again over my nipples.

She weighed no more than a smile when I picked her up and moved to the centre of my bed. She squealed happily as she fell an inch to the bedspread and her arms opened in welcome.

I lay down beside her, half-rolled to bring my lips back to hers and saw her eyes close in contentment as we kissed.

I took my time, stretched out the kisses, lingered, delayed, enjoyed. I felt a hand running up and down my side, began stroking that perfect body with my own fingers.

Her breasts fit my palm perfectly and she gave a soft groan when my thumb and forefinger caught one, rolled it gently, pulled. That too was something to be prolonged and I saw her eyes grow soft.

Her hand had wiggled its way between us, stroking my tip with a finger and if I got any more aroused, I thought, my skin would split.

"Roll over a little," she commanded and her hand seized my shaft, pulling skin over my hardness, stoking my arousal higher than I had imagined possible.

My hand left her breasts, drifted over her ribs, down further over her stomach, paused to shift her pad under my palm before discovering her own arousal, slick and welcoming.

I shifted to bring my head closer to her sex. Her sweet marine scent filled my head as my tongue tip traced its way up her inner thigh. She gave a soft cry as I found her lower lips, my tongue investigating, teasing.

Her hand, still holding me, began to pump my shaft, quickly, lightly and I felt the heat growing before — strong, strong woman — she'd pulled away from me, pushed me to my back and twirled her body to come down on top of me, her sex just over my face and a sudden warmth on my cock.

My hands seized her bottom, pulled her down onto my mouth. I licked, broad strokes, the full length of her lips, swirled lightly with the tip over her pearl, then again, heard her hiss. Again.