Southern Tide Vol. 01

"Well you seem nice as well, and I'm enjoying your company. Don't worry too much, okay? It was only a matter of time until you found out."

"Alright and thank you." she smiled.

"No problem. So what about you? Are you married? Any kids?"

"Me? No...I never have any luck in the love department." she smiled and shrugged.

"I'm sure you'll find someone."

"Well... I don't know about that. Maybe." She said avoiding eye contact.

He wanted to say much more, but he wasn't very sure of himself. In such an awkward circumstance, what would she have thought of him? Instead, he rose from the chair and checked on the entrée in the oven.

"Ready to try my cooking?" he asked, as he pulled the Pyrex tray out.

"Yes. I'm starved!" she said, much more cheerfully.

Dale set the table, and served her a large helping of the baked chicken and rice, with a garden salad on the side. He knew she hadn't had a proper meal in days, and he wanted to take care of her. He missed cooking for more than one, and planned to enjoy whatever time he had left with her.

Judging by the injury, as well as the excessive flooding, he estimated that they would probably be together for the next two weeks. He hesitated to tell her this, because he didn't want her to feel uneasy about spending too much time in his home. If the flooding subsided, he would take her into town earlier than that, if that's what she wanted.

"This is so good!" she exclaimed, taking her first bite of the chicken.

"Thanks! I always liked cooking, but I don't do much of it anymore."

"Oh...well maybe I can help you tomorrow." she said. "I'm pretty good at cooking myself."

"Nope! You're the patient, and I'm the doctor!"

She laughed at his statement, and he realized his words may have sounded like a sexual pun.

"Well doc, I can't have you doing everything for me."

"And why not?"

"Don't you have enough on your plate?" she asked.

"Nah, I've been through worse, and can handle pretty much anything you throw at me. It's my job to take care of you now."

"So anything I want, you'll do?" she said, giving him a sly smile.

"Yup, I'm not going anywhere. So I'm yours." he chuckled, knowing her thoughts were probably more innocent than his.

"I think I'm going to have my own personal masseuse for the next few days." she giggled.

"You didn't even have to ask Cat. I was planning on doing that after I checked your leg. I'll bet you're pretty sore."

"I am. Have you ever worked in a hospital Dale?"

"Nah, out here you've always got to be prepared. I inherited the land from my dad. We used to raise horses and cattle. Injuries were a common thing, so I taught myself from experience."

"Wow horses? Do you still own any?"

"I sold most of them after the accident. There's another family ranch where I keep the rest. I would've liked to have them here, but every year the flooding gets worse. It's a lot of work to maintain the land just without the horses."

"Yeah I know what you mean. I come past here every few months to visit my cousin. I thought I'd be able to beat the storm. She didn't want me to make the trip because of all the flood warnings, but I can be stubborn sometimes."

"Did you let her know that you were safe?"

"I tried to call her when I got stranded, but I had no signal on the highway. I'll call her when I'm done eating."

"You can use my phone if you want."

"Thank you. So...umm, I guess it's going to be a long time before you can go back into town right?"

"Yeah, but don't worry. I'll take you back as soon as I can drive through the water."

"Oh I didn't mean that I wanted to leave right away. I just don't want to be too much of a burden." she replied quickly.

"So you want to stay here?" he said, with a raised eyebrow.

"Well I've taken a liking to Max." she laughed.

"Just Max?" he teased.

"Um no...I...I like you too." she said bashfully.

"Good to know. For a minute there I felt unappreciated."

"Please don't feel that way. I'm really lucky to be here. I'm very shy around people and I don't want to be a problem."

"I'm only playing with you. I'm glad you're here and you're not a burden. I don't get much company, living out here. All you see is all I have, and that's Max."

"I thought so...and I'm sorry."

"Will you stop apologizing? Everything is fine; really. I'm more than happy to take care of you."

She smiled, "Alright."

As the two ate, Dale explained more about his early life. His family bred horses and made quite a good living doing so. They bred Morab, Morgan and American Saddle-bred horses for racing. Now Dale's uncle John was the overseer at the other ranch, and also the only family that Dale had left. He and John were very close, but Dale hadn't visited him in a while.

He knew that Cat probably wasn't into horses, but he wanted to impress her. It seemed that she enjoyed listening to him. Even though he had set her up to be his eye candy, she was handling it quite well, and he was beginning to feel a little guilty. Max came into the kitchen. and quietly sat next to her. His soft tail lashed against her leg, and she began to laugh because the movements tickled her. She was so beautiful, and seemed like such a youthful spirit that Dale's heart warmed to every giggle, and every smile that came out of her. He had previously forgotten the feeling of joy. Maybe time would fly by quickly, and she wouldn't realize how boring a person he was...with Max's help of course.

After dinner, he proceeded to wash the dishes, and directed her to his home phone. It wasn't long before he could hear her conversation over the loud clanging of the dishes. From her responses, it sounded like she was being scolded by her cousin.

"Ki I'm fine. Don't worry, geez! I'll keep in touch. I just need to charge my phone and then I'll call you right back." she said.

(Pause)

"Yeah, you have this number, so if anything you can track it Ms. Detective." she responded in an annoyed tone.

(Pause)

"I need to call the rental company, and tell them about the car, and...hold on a sec. Shit! I think I lost my wallet and keys. There's a big hole in the bottom of my bag. Ugh!"

(Pause)

"Yeah I've got to look for it. It's probably outside somewhere. Okay Ki...bye."

She hung up the phone, and he heard the knapsack drop to the floor. He finished with the dishes, and walked to the living room, where she sat on the couch. She looked frustrated.

"Hey, is everything okay?" he asked.

"Well...I guess it could always be worse. I think I lost my keys and wallet out there somewhere. I had my I.D.s in there, plus the card for the rental company. I think they might charge me extra for the car." and she rubbed her right temple, as if trying to soothe a severe headache.

"I can go look for it right now." Dale said, hoping to be of even more help.

"No Dale, its freezing out there, and you've done enough already."

"Cat it's no big deal, I'm used to all of this. Your wallet must be heavy with the weight of the keys, right?"

"Yes it is...why?"

"Well, maybe if I feel around for it, I might find it. I'm pretty sure you got that rip at the fence, and the current might not have carried it too far. If we're lucky, it might still be close by."

"Dale...come on you've done enough. I can't ask you to go back out there."

"You're not asking me baby girl, I'm going anyway." he smiled.

He walked over to the opposite couch, and put his boots on as she watched in silence.

"I owe you for all this. I feel horrible that you want to do all this for me. Maybe it's stuck in the mud. When the water goes down, I'll find it."

"Cat shush! Let me take care of you alright." he said sternly.

"Oh...alright." she said, in a mousy tone of voice.

Dale realized that he probably sounded a little harsh, but he badly wanted to be her knight in shining armor. He smiled sincerely at her as a silent apology, and walked to the front door without saying another word.

Outside, the skies were still dark, and gave a silent warning that more flooding was to come. He stepped down into the water, but suddenly looked back at Cat. For the moment she was distracted by Max, and smiling again. He felt horrible for snapping at her, but he had grown tired of her apologies.

He craved her, and he wanted her to know how he felt...but he had fears of his own. He probably wasn't her type, or the type of man she was used to being around. Still, he wanted to take care of her.

With Marie and Jessie gone, he felt needed. He wondered if this was selfish of him. Was he only concerned about his needs? He wasn't totally sure. Maybe he was going crazy, but what he felt for her was enough to give him a glimpse of hope. Fate brought them together, and he took it as some kind of sign.

Even though he was deep in thought, he moved forward until he reached the fence. The water was still waist length, but the current had slowed down. He found the spot where Cat was caught, and with his bare hands, reached down into the muddy water.

His hands moved carefully around the posts, and he suddenly felt something soft and rounded. Maybe it was leathery, or rubbery. He wasn't sure, but it definitely wasn't part of the fence, or the natural terrain. He grasped it and held it up.

The thing he held up was cylindrical and covered in mud. As the tiny grains of sand slid off, he recognized it for what it was.

In his hand was a long, blue, rubber dildo. He wanted to laugh out loud, but he knew that Cat would hear him. He chuckled silently, and held it down so she wouldn't spot it. He reached down again into the slimy soil, still chuckling and thinking of a way to approach her with his find. He knew that she would probably be embarrassed, but this was the first time in a long while that he'd had a good laugh.

It was even worse, because now he couldn't stop laughing. He had never expected to find a sex toy out here, and it amused him to no end. Suddenly his hand brushed across what felt like jagged, cold metal. He felt around once more, and pulled up a heavy key chain with a bright red wallet attached to it. The flaps were secured by a tab of Velcro, and nothing seemed to be falling out.

Dale walked back to the porch, with the dildo behind his back. He couldn't wait to spring this discovery on Cat. He wondered why someone as beautiful as her needed this thing. Didn't she know that she had him wrapped around her little finger? If she asked, he would give her anything she wanted.

Cat waited patiently in the living room for Dale to return. He'd snapped at her before he left, but she understood why, and wasn't offended. At first her heart sank just to be spoken to like that, but then she remembered his loss, and his loneliness. He needed this.

The least she could do was let him be the man of the house. She looked to the front door, and saw him crouching over in the cold water. He must have been a dream husband to his wife. She felt ashamed for fantasizing about him, and regretted what she had done in the shower.

How disrespectful of her to lust after a widower who had nothing but good intentions. Cat's guilt caused her to lose interest in masturbating. If she did feel the need to touch herself later, she would use some faceless image of an imaginary lover. It was all she had, and had always worked for her before.

She could hear the sounds of Dale's movement against the water outside. He was coming back inside and as he stopped to the porch, she noticed his clothes were soiled from the muddy water. He shook himself off before entering the house and presented her with the red wallet. Cat didn't care that the stacked business cards were soaked. That wallet contained her driver's license, her work I.D. and the keys to her home. Without it, she would be put into more than a few annoying situations.

"You're a lifesaver Dale! Thank you so much." she said with gratitude.

"You're welcome...and look, I'm sorry if I sounded rude before. I don't want anything to happen to you. You've been through a lot, and I want to be there for you."

"I-I understand." she stammered, flattered by his genuine concern. "Thank you."

She felt her heart swell. Just the tone of his voice made her body melt. She held off these thoughts, looked down into the wallet, and found the card that she was looking for. The ink was running, but she could still make out the phone number.

"I found something else that might belong to you." he chuckled." It was next to your keys."

"Hmm...wha...?" and she quickly looked up from the drenched business card, to see Dale holding her blue dildo in his hand.

Her entire body went cold. It was as if she had just seen a ghost.

"SHIT! WHY ME?" her thoughts screamed.

"From the look on your face, I guess it really is yours." he smirked.

"Um yeah..." she replied, her face red with embarrassment.

"Here you go. You might want to be careful where you put it next time. I don't think you'd want to lose it again." he teased, as he handed it to her.

"Okay. I'm going to go back to the room, and hit my head against the wall now!" she said shamefully.

"Come on Cat, relax. I was only teasing you. It's not a big deal." he laughed.

"Right!"

"Some people need to have a little fun now and then, right?

She didn't answer, and only laughed.

"Don't move. I'm going to take a quick shower, and then I'll take a look at your leg."

"Alright...if it's not too much trouble."

"Do you need another lecture?" he asked.

She smiled, "Thanks Dale, I'll be here waiting for you."

He winked at her and then walked away, with Max close behind him. She waited for him to disappear from sight before going face first into the soft throw pillows. She flung the dildo to her back, and thought of how things always seemed to go horribly wrong.

"Well...at least I have my wallet back." she sighed.

The toy had been a secret. Now that Dale had seen it, she didn't think that she would ever feel the same about using it again. Even though she lived alone, and never had to worry about anyone catching her in the act, she always used it in the dark, and under the covers.

She couldn't understand why she ever did this, but in some way, this routine made her feel secure. Maybe she was ashamed of the fact that while everyone else seemed to be hooking up, getting married, or just constantly having sex, she was having date nights with a sex toy.

Cat supposed she wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, because she planned to throw it away. Her nights with the rubber mold were getting old and repetitious. There wasn't a body to hold, lips to kiss, or strong hands to caress her body. She always denied the fact that she was lonely, but it was becoming painfully apparent. She was miserable.

How long had it been since she felt wanted by someone? She couldn't answer her own question, because she didn't know what being wanted really felt like. At least not in the loving sense. Unfortunately, she had always fallen into traps where she had just been used as a booty call. In the past she always told herself that at least she was getting some, but she never really felt good about any of it. She hated thinking of her past.

Dale's heavy footsteps were quickly approaching, and she slightly lifted her face from the pillow.

"You alright Cat?" he asked with concern. "You weren't crying or anything were you? Your face is all red."

His hair was wet and slicked back, just like the first time she laid eyes on him. She hated this unrequited crush. Life always seemed to play cruel jokes on her. The spiced fragrance of his cologne filled the living room, and was doing a fine job of exciting her. She couldn't stand it.

"No, I'm okay. I was just thinking."

"Look there's nothing to be embarrassed about." he reassured. "You're not the only woman on the planet with one."

"I know...but it's still embarrassing; the way you found it."

"It did give me a good laugh. I haven't laughed liked that in ages, so finding it was a good thing for both of us, right?"

"I guess." she finally smiled.

"Alright, well scoot over. Time to see your leg." he said, gently tapping her naked thigh.

Dale's gentle touch caused another flood between her legs. It didn't do any good that at that very moment, she remembered she was wearing his clothes. His naked body had touched these clothes.

Cat took a deep breath as that thought sunk in.

He sat close to her, and rested her leg over his knee. She wanted to get up, and run to her room. She had never gotten so wet for anyone before. Every time he touched her, she felt these tiny hot spasms in her abdomen, which led her to drench the crotch of the borrowed underwear. He was carefully dabbing the wound with iodine, while she was silently coming in his boxers.

"Ugh! Why is this happening to me?" she thought.

The only thing to give her away was the curling of her toes, but Dale didn't seem to notice that little detail. Her breathing had grown shallow, but she was very good at keeping quiet. She tried to think of something to say, maybe to distract herself. While he wrapped her leg with gauze, she noticed a few strands of silver-grey against the waves of his dark hair, and began to wonder how old he was.

"How old are you Dale?" she asked.

"Probably older than you. Guess!" he smiled.

"Umm 27 or 28?"

"I look that young huh? I'm 35...and you?"

"I'm 30."

"No way! You look way younger."

"I guess we're both going to look good in our 50's." Cat said with a tiny smile.

"Well you're going to have to keep coming back here to find out how that goes!" he smirked.

"Umm...is that... an open invitation?" she asked, trying to conceal her eagerness.

"Sure why not? I think Max has taken a liking to you."

Cat giggled.

"...but not just Max." he continued.

Those words made the sensation between her legs grow worse. He was flirting with her, and she didn't quite know what to think. The situation with the loss of his family, as well as the ring on his finger complicated things. It was all too much to think about right now, and she laid her head back without responding, intending to enjoy the moment.

"I'll be right back." Dale said suddenly, and headed towards the kitchen.

He came back with a glass of water, and handed her two white pills.

"These should take the pain away for a while." he said. "They might make you a little drowsy though."

"Thank you." and she took the pills directly into her mouth.

"Ready for the massage?"

"Absolutely!" she exclaimed, probably sounding a little too excited.

Dale laughed in response and returned to his spot, next to her on the couch. He grabbed a tiny bottle of oil from the coffee table, and slowly poured a clear, scented liquid onto her thigh. Cat recognized the warm scent of vanilla and coconut. He began with the injured leg, and his hands moved upwards, and away from the bandages. She closed her eyes, and inhaled the relaxing fragrance, as his strong hands kneaded her soft thigh.

She didn't feel so uneasy anymore. Even though she had huge thighs, she took very good care of her skin, and was proud of how smooth and soft she was. A sudden feeling of confidence came over her as his hands slid over her thigh. There was no room for insecurities now. She was at peace with herself and it was a new, yet welcomed feeling.

She moaned, perhaps a bit too loudly, and covered her mouth instantly.

"It seems I'm doing a great job!" he teased.

"Sorry...it does feel really good." she grinned.

"Should I go harder?"

She paused, and hated the effect that his last question had on her. Her nipples puckered against the white tank top, and were probably giving her arousal away. She shivered as the hard buds rose and she crossed her arms over her chest, in an attempt to hide herself.

"Umm...it's fine." she smiled.

"Here, how about this?" and he applied more pressure to her thigh.