Lost & Found Ch. 06 Pt. 01

His dreams that night were confused: images of Karen and their life together interspersed with flashes of Luna and her brilliant emerald eyes, her wide, generous smile, the sound of her laughter, her soft voice and distinctive Midwestern drawl, flavored with a soft Southern accent, her hip-swaying walk, and the way she tossed her hair out of her eyes as they talked.

Joey woke refreshed and, for once, with the memories of his dreams intact. He'd spent most of the night dreaming of Luna, of her warmth and companionship, her beauty, her way of making him feel alive and connected again. As he pondered what that meant, it came to him that he might be falling for her.

He was thunderstruck; it was like a light had suddenly switched on in his head, his own moment of epiphany. He spent the rest of the day in a daze, unable to relax or put his mind to anything, finally admitting to himself he was waiting for the sound of the door handle and her customary "Hello the house!", and yet dreading it as well.

Uppermost in his mind was the fear that she didn't feel the same way, that she was just being friendly and kind, and that he'd misread her entirely. It was with a mixture of trepidation and anticipation that he heard the front door open and Luna's light tread in the hall.

"Joey, hello?" she called out, but her voice seemed different, almost hesitant, apprehensive, even.

"In here, Luna," he called back from the kitchen, waiting for her to poke her head inside and give him her bright smile.

Their evening was the same as many other evenings: a shared pizza, followed by TV and maybe a couple of beers or sodas as they relaxed on the couch, but this time there was an undercurrent, a definite sense of things unsaid between the two of them. Joey finally got up the courage to say what he'd been feeling all evening.

"Luna, I think we need to talk...about last night"

Luna dipped her head down, then looked back up at him, a slow flush spreading across her pale skin.

"About...y'know...?" she ventured, and Joey grinned, nodding slightly.

"I'm sorry Joey, I didn't mean to step over the line or anything, it was just..."

Joey cut her off.

"Is that what you think this is about? Luna, you didn't offend me or anything; I...liked it, it was nice, and...I didn't...I mean I wasn't...! Oh Jeez!"

"What are you trying to say, Joey?" she asked softly, and watched as Joey in turn flushed.

"I guess I was trying to say it...it was nice, it was very nice, and I wanted...I wanted to do it again! I'm sorry if you're offended, I know you didn't mean anything by it, I...!"

Luna grinned at him.

"Listen to us, like a pair of kids on a first date! Joey, I don't know why I kissed you, or why it took me so long. I only know I wanted to, and it was nice for me, too. I'll understand if it's too soon for you, but when you're ready, I'll be waiting!"

Joey was flabbergasted; he'd expected a lingering awkwardness after he apologized, and maybe a few days break from each other, not this; she'd liked it, she liked him, oh boy...

Luna stared speculatively at him for a second, her eyebrow slightly raised, an expression Joey found attractive and still hauntingly familiar. She suddenly reached over and took his hand, Joey not resisting, thinking distractedly how vividly grass-green her eyes looked as she searched his face. Luna smiled and dipped her head down, and when she looked back up into his eyes, her gaze frank and unafraid, her eyes were their original lambent emerald again.

"Joey, come here; I think I want to kiss you again, and I want to do it properly. Are you gonna let me?"

Joey grinned at the absurdity of the question, as if a normal guy ever needed to be dragged into kissing a lovely girl! The challenge in her voice also struck a chord deep inside him, and with that came his emotional response; of course he was going to kiss her back, they'd come this far, what kind of a fool would he be to shy away now?

Moving closer together, each seeing the other's need in their eyes, their lips met, slowly, tentatively. Joey wanted to hold her closer, to press his lips harder to hers, to probe her mouth with his tongue, but held back, not sure if she was ready for that. He was caught unawares when her tongue darted between his lips and brushed against his. Their kiss intensified as they tasted each other, their tongues gently fencing as they kissed deeply, finally realizing where their friendship had been leading them.

Joey broke their kiss first, pulling away to look keenly into her eyes. Luna looked back steadily, a flush slowly creeping up into her cheeks.

"Wow, that was...incredible!" breathed Joey, "I've never been kissed like that before!"

Luna grinned at the compliment, even though she was feeling exactly the same thing; kissing him had felt new, and bright, and wonderful, like a door she'd never known was there had suddenly opened in her head, letting loose a feeling of something so right, so perfect, it was almost predestined in the way it settled into her mind. She knew at that moment that he was the one for her.

Joey was having almost the same experience; his mind was racing as all the pieces began clicking into place at last, along with a certain sense of panic that he was somehow betraying Karen by feeling this way about someone else.

"Luna, I...never thought I'd be doing this with you, it's all a little...sudden!" he finally managed to stutter, grinning weakly at the smile slowly curving her lips.

"Joey, this has been building for days, weeks. I knew it, you knew it, hell, even Jonah knows it!"

Joey's smile evaporated as he came back to earth with a bump; Jonah knew? Oh Shit!

Luna patted his wrist as she grinned at his expression.

"It's okay, he's not gonna rip your face off or anything; he told me to go easy with you, he said you were still hurtin' big inside and I wasn't to do anything to make the hurt worse, and we both need to make sure we knew what we wanted. I know what I want, I think I have from the first time I met you. Maybe you need to understand what you want. When you do, I'll be waiting."

She stood up to leave, to sit back down abruptly as Joey grabbed her wrist.

"Don't go, please! I know what I want, I think I did from the first time I saw you too; I just didn't know that you wanted it too!"

He gave her an embarrassed grin.

"I even dreamed about you, how weird is that? It scared me, it seemed too soon, I didn't want to let Karen go, and it seemed wrong to even be thinking about you, but it doesn't anymore. I don't want you to go; I want you to stay, if that's what you want..."

Luna cupped his face in her hands,

"I will, but you need to understand something; this isn't some one-night-stand, or a passing infatuation, or us flirting; this feels real to me, and it's what I want more than anything. If you can't promise to give me what I want to give you, then I'm leaving, now, and you better go back to California, because I don't know if I can stay here with you here, wanting you and knowing you don't really want me!"

Joey looked into her eyes, seeing the determination there, and the slight quiver of her lip, and suddenly all his feelings for her solidified into a single, unbreakable certainty; he was ready to move on, and this was the girl he wanted.

For the first time in a very long time, other, more basic urges stirred in him as well; Karen had been gone for almost six months now, and he'd been with no-one in all that time, and now, for the first time, he wondered how Luna would look naked, how she would taste, and smell, and feel as she moved against him, and what she would look like when she woke first thing in the morning, with her blazing hair spread across a pillow, and her marvellous eyes still soft and blurred with sleep.

All those thoughts flew through his head in an eye blink; he realized she was waiting for a response from him. Joey drew a deep breath, knowing what he said next would be the start of a new life, or the death of something before it had ever had a chance to live. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes.

"Luna, you know why I came here, and you know how it's been for me sometimes, and I never really shared anything with you. Before we go anywhere, I have to make sure you're okay with what went on before, how it was for ...for Karen and me; the more you know, the better you'll know me, and when you know me better, perhaps we can take it from there. Are you good with that?"

Luna nodded, curious to know more about the girl Joey had loved so much and lost so tragically. To date he hadn't opened up about her at all, and she hadn't pried, figuring that when he was ready, he'd tell her. Now it looked like that time was finally here.

Joey began by telling her about how he'd met Karen, that first day in 8th Grade, and how he hadn't been able to take his eyes off her; how they'd become friends, then more, and before he knew it, she was his girl. He spoke about how they'd been the classic High-School pair, he the star quarterback, she the head cheerleader, how they'd gone to college together in Monte Vista, Karen studying Computer Science and he studying for an MBA, and how they'd applied for jobs at the same insurance company in Roseville. When Karen's father had died, her mother had moved back to San Diego with her younger sister, but Karen had gotten a small apartment in Springfield so she and Joey could stay together.

Joey glossed-over his history with Robbie; it didn't seem relevant, but Luna caught the omission, especially as he'd let slip in previous conversations about his 'kid brother', but she chose to say nothing as Joey talked about he and Karen, their life together, their son, their home in the Bay Area...and the accident.

As he talked, Luna noticed that he now increasingly referred to Karen in the past tense; before, he'd always spoken about her in the present tense, as if she were still around; now at last he seemed to be acknowledging, if unconsciously, that she was really gone.

He told her how he'd made the decision to come home and try and put some of his life back together, and what had prompted his return. Luna smiled as he changed tack now, talking now about his childhood, and Robbie, how he and Robbie had been inseparable from early days, and how he and Karen had moved to the West Coast at Robbie's instigation, how he had become Vice-President of the company Robbie was now a partner in.

Luna caught the omission again, the change in tone when he mentioned Robbie.

"Joey, who's Robbie? Is he from around here? What's his family, perhaps I know them?"

Joey grinned.

"Robbie is like my kid brother; his name is Robbie Dolan. I guess you must have heard THAT name!"

Luna looked astonished.

"That was the boy who disappeared! The whole town was buzzing with it. They still are! Everyone thought his family did something to him, he just disappeared and no-one knew where he was. You mean you knew all along?"

Joey nodded, his eyes far away, the soft golden brown suddenly hard and unforgiving as polished agates as memory flooded back.

"Robbie's family didn't give a damn about him. His whole life they just kind of wished he'd never been born; they treated him like he wasn't good enough to be one of them, so they left him out of their family, their lives, everything they ever did. They had no room for him in their family, and so my mom took care of him when his own family wouldn't. He became part of this family; he became my kid brother, and when he needed help, my mom and my uncle Frank did what they could, and now Robbie lives out West, with a new name, a family who loves him, all the things he never had here."

Luna nodded slowly.

"I remember there was a...scandal; something about a scholarship, and a...sister? Yeah, that's right; she had something to do with it. I only transferred-in to Ellenbrook when I was 14, so I wasn't there when all this happened, but I remember the story about her graduation, how she got booed and slow-handclapped off the stage; she was supposed to be some piece of work!"

Joey cocked his head at her.

"It's not quite as simple as that; you don't know the whole story yet..." he rebuked her gently. "Robbie's sister looked for him, she searched for him for years, she was sorry, really sorry for what she helped do to him, and she really tried to find him so she could make it right with him."

Luna backpedalled, realizing she'd just touched a sore spot.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know; all I really know about what happened is what was going around the school; when it comes to the Dolan family, there's a whole lot of no-talking going on, even now. What happened, did she ever find him?"

Joey grinned.

"Oh yes, she found him!" he said, almost to himself. "She found him and she made it right. Now she's happy, and Robbie's happy; they're both happy."

Luna suddenly realised the reason for Joey telling her so much; he was sharing his life with her, finally letting her know who he was, and the knowledge made her smile, something Joey picked up on right away.

"What, what did I miss?" he asked playfully, and Luna reached out to take his hand again, sliding closer to him on the couch so they were almost hip to hip. Her nearness was doing things to him as well.

"Thank you for sharing, Joey Anderson!" she grinned, and leaned forward, her lips brushing his. Joey almost recoiled, then leaned in, once again tasting her, revelling in her kiss. Luna moved closer, her arm reaching out to encircle his neck, while his arms went around her waist, holding her close as they kissed, gently at first, then more and more passionately as their feelings took hold. Joey found himself leaning backwards as Luna leaned more of her weight on him, until he was almost prone on the sofa, leaning against the armrest with Luna almost on top of him.

Joey was uncomfortably aware of his erection pressing against the front of his jeans, the kiss stimulating him more than he could have believed; she must have felt it too as it pressed into the soft skin of her flat stomach, but she said nothing, continuing to kiss him as she undulated gently against him. When they broke for air, she grinned down at him once again.

"So what do we do now, Joey?" she asked him, her eyes dancing. Joey grinned in reply, keeping the mood light.

"I dunno, what do you think?"

Luna tried to look demure as she smiled.

"Well, I'm sure I don't know either, but you're a grown-up, I'm a grown-up, there's something I've been wanting to do with you for a while now, what say we go somewhere and find out if it's something we both wanna do?"

Joey raised an eyebrow in mock concern.

"Miss Hollister, are...are you trying to seduce me?" he quavered in a fairly accurate impression of Dustin Hoffman in 'The Graduate', making Luna smile.

"Let me think, now; you just kissed me real convincing, like, your hands are like one inch from grabbing my butt, there's no-one else here kissing you back, what do you think?"

Joey grinned even wider.

"Good, I'm so glad, I thought I'd lost it!" he murmured, sliding his hands down to cup Luna's taut ass as he pulled her closer for a longer, even more satisfying kiss, Luna responding by wriggling and grinding against him, making him gasp.

"You really need to do something about that!" she giggled as she broke their kiss, "and I think I know what works for that; follow me!"

She pulled him by the hand as she stood up, Joey a little reluctant to stand to follow her. Luna looked at him quizzically as he blushed.

"Maybe we should wait..." he began, and once again her eyebrow lifted in that naggingly familiar way as she smiled faintly.

"Joe Anderson, we've been dancing around each other for nigh on three months now; I don't know about you, but tonight I'm done waiting for you! Now, are you coming with me or not?"

Joey nodded, but still seemed reluctant. Luna cupped his chin as she looked up into his eyes.

"What's wrong, Joey, really? If you don't tell me, I can't help you."

Joey looked away in embarrassment. "Luna, it's been a long time since...since I did anything like this, what if..."

Luna cut him off smoothly, a knowing smile curving her lips.

"You'll be fine; it's just like riding a bike, only softer... and a lot more naked!"

Joey grinned as he followed her upstairs, wondering what he was getting himself into, but eager for the chance to find out. Once in his bedroom, Sarah's old room, with the queen-size bed, Luna took him by the hands and looked into his eyes.

"Now or never, Joey, this is what it comes down to; we can do this, and I really want to, or you can ask me to leave, and we'll never know. Dealer's choice, Joey."

In answer, Joey pulled her closer and kissed her again, his hands sliding down her back to once more cup and squeeze her firm, shapely ass through her fashionably faded jeans. As he kissed and fondled her, Luna reached up and began unbuttoning his shirt, grinning in the midst of their kiss as he in turn fumbled with the waistband of her jeans. Finally, Joey left off trying to unbutton Luna's jeans to yank off his shirt, while Luna unbuttoned and unzipped her jeans to let him push them down past her hips. Luna smiled and wriggled and shimmied until her jeans dropped to the floor, allowing her to step out of the scrunched-up garment and kick it away.

Joey's kiss intensified as his hands now slid and roamed unimpeded over her panty-clad bottom, finally pushing the waistband of the skimpy panties down to clasp and squeeze her naked buttocks, smoothing the soft, silky cheeks with his hands, lost in the sensual texture of her naked skin.

"How about you, mister?" whispered Luna, smiling back at Joey's answering grin. He stepped away to unbutton his jeans and kick them off, then reached up to unbutton Luna's blouse as they resumed their kiss. Luna pulled herself closer to him, grinding her crotch against his, making him groan mid-kiss, the heat of her pussy evident even through the material of his shorts. Joey lost all remaining inhibitions at that point, pulling Luna's blouse off and reaching behind her to unclasp her bra all in one move.

Luna seemed to be in the same place, her lips glued to his as she hooked the waistband of Joey's shorts, pulling them down until his engorged cock fell into her waiting hand. She squeezed it gently, feeling the texture and tenseness of it, enjoying his soft groan as she slowly pumped him, making him even harder.

"Don't...please...I can't..." he gasped, but Luna cut him short.

"No Joey, let me do this, then it'll be better, I promise!"

Joey leaned back against the wall, his eyes screwed shut as all his need centered in what Luna was doing, her insistent pumping and squeezing of his already sensitive member bringing him on. Luna glanced up at him, at his tight-closed eyes and the pulse beating in his throat, guessing how close he was, and squeezed a little harder as she pumped once more.

"Oooh GOD! Aaahhh!" groaned Joey as orgasm rose wild and unstoppable in him, Luna angling him towards herself as long spurts of semen sprayed from him, coating her belly as she held herself close to him. Joey's head rang with the force of his climax, the first since before Karen had died.

Only the beautiful girl holding herself against him prevented him falling to his knees with the shock of his release. His heart pounded as the sweetly agonising totality of his orgasm rolled through and over him, obliterating all sound and vision, and his body shimmered and trembled like a softly struck bell.

As the noise in his head gradually subsided, he slowly became aware of her whispering encouragement to him even as her hand continued to pump him, his ejaculation now tamed to a thick trickle that crept down over her clenched fist as she pumped him dry.