Sweet Peppers

"Stop," she said firmly. "Again. NOT your fault and NOT your problem. Fuck! I want to have sex with you so badly right now."

"I would like to see you again," I said. "Would you prefer that our next date be just the two of us?"

"Yes."

"Do you have a day in mind?" I asked.

"Tomorrow?"

"I can make that work," I replied.

Her mind whirled for a moment.

"I'm not on the pill but we should be safe. We'll stay at your place, or a hotel, or ... fuck ... I don't even know where you live."

"I live a little over an hour away. I'm staying at mom's to help get my sister off to college. We'll find a room somewhere - if you're sure."

"I'm so sure that I'm squeezing my thighs together right now to keep from pulling you on top of me right here, right now."

"Have I told you how beautiful you are?" I asked.

"Please stop," she moaned. "I'm seriously about to rape you."

I looked at her, feeling her hands tremble within my own.

"I guess the other option would be for me to take you to my house," I said. "We'd waste an hour, plus, each way, traveling."

"And I'd get to see the serial killer's lair?" she asked, snickering.

"I'll probably need to tidy up before you're allowed in - you know - bury a few dead bodies, hide the dirty underwear that's probably lying on the bathroom floor, hang the wet towels somewhere other than the shower rod - that sort of thing."

She laughed but her eyes were glistening, threatening to tear.

"I would love to be fucked in your bed, Terry," she whispered.

"My sister should be good to go, I think ...," I began to say.

"Do you need to wait a day or two?" she asked.

I thought for a minute and said, "One more day would be more than enough. Can we push our date back a day?"

The pained sigh that came from her chest had me pulling her into my arms for a hug.

"I am seriously so susceptible to everything you are doing to me. Please do not be some dream that I wake up from. I don't know how much more of this I can endure."

"Do you want to take tomorrow off - for a breather - or can we do something innocuous - either just the two of us - or we can hand the car keys to Belle and see where we end up?"

"Completely up to you," she said.

"We could take our parents out," I suggested, "to see if they get along okay."

"Are you for real right now?!"

"We don't have to ..."

"I seriously think I just orgasmed," she moaned.

"Do you think your parents would be up for it?"

"Yes. I'm pretty sure they already like you."

"Where would they want to eat?"

"The same place everybody their age eats in this town," she said, managing to groan and giggle at the same time.

"The Cafeteria?" I asked.

"Yes."

"That's fine. You're right. Mom loves that place too. My sister might still be around ..."

"I would love to meet her. Hopefully ..."

"She'll love you," I promised. "Actually, she'll love Belle - and you by extension. She's heading off to college to be a Kindergarten teacher."

"Is her name Tina? Has she helped out at the preschool?"

"Yes and yes."

"Belle will positively explode! She loves Miss Tina. I think you've just earned yourself another night in the orifice of your choice, Mr. Martin."

"Hmmm," I said. "I kind of like this orifice ...," I said, leaning forward for a kiss.

"I will suck you so hard ...," she whispered.

"... but I'm thinking I'll keep this part of you busy while I'm stealing my way into another orifice," I finished.

"Well, then, mister," she cooed. "Unless you are far more flexible than I think, then I believe I'm perfectly happy for you to occupy those two orifices at the same time - in the manner of your choosing."

"I seriously think I just orgasmed," I whispered, repeating her earlier line back to her.

She laughed and pulled me in for another kiss.

"You need to go, please and thank you, before I start tearing your clothes off. Does your mom eat as early as my parents?"

"5 o'clock?"

"Yes. Meet you at The Cafeteria?"

"I'm already looking forward to it," I said, leaning forward to collect another kiss.

A low growl rumbled from her throat and I suddenly found her straddling me, her breasts in my face, as she shoved me back into the couch.

She froze. I looked at her face, she was looking towards the sink.

"Belle wanted a drink," I heard her mom say.

"Dinner at The Cafeteria with Terry's mom and sister, tomorrow, okay?" Kim asked her.

"I'll tell your father," she replied.

I heard footsteps head down the hall.

The hot blonde in my lap put her mouth next to my ear and whispered, "Squeeze my tits while I kiss you and then I need to walk you to the door. Belle's used to having me right next to her when she sleeps."

I was slow to move. Too slow, apparently. She got impatient, took my hands, brought them to her chest, set them on her breasts, and squeezed - showing me what to do. She then proceeded to kiss and suck my soul out of my body through my lips and mouth.

My head was spinning when she climbed off of me and grabbed my hand to pull me to my feet. She led me to the front door, opened it, gave me another quick peck, and said, "See you tomorrow, Mr. Martin."

~~~

Mom was heading to bed when I slipped into the house. She didn't really remember Kim Pratt but she seemed very excited about meeting her parents for dinner. I warned her that Kim had a little girl but that didn't seem to diminish her enthusiasm.

Tina was on her phone, lying in the middle of her bed, when I tapped on the door.

"Come in," she said.

When she saw me, she asked, "What's up?"

"You have dinner plans tomorrow?"

"Not yet," she said, smiling. "I guess I do now ... you taking me to Taco Bell?"

I laughed and said, "I ran into an old classmate and we might be kind of dating."

"Shit! You just met her and you're already doing the horizontal-mambo?!"

"She has a little girl so we're still working up to that. Kim thinks Belle already knows you."

"Belle? Belle Thompson?"

"That's her dad's name."

"I think I've met her mom. Belle is a sweetheart. Her parents are separated?"

"Kim said he split on them last year. She got served with the divorce papers a couple weeks later."

"What a prick! Belle's gonna seriously be my niece?!" she asked.

"Slow down! You're as bad as Kim!"

"Terry, if Belle's mom is anything like her, you've got my go-ahead," she said.

"So, you up for The Cafeteria tomorrow at 5?"

"The Cafeteria?! Ack! Only if I get to sit next to Belle," she said, laughing.

"I guess we'll just have to see," I shot back, smugly. "She might decide she'd rather sit by me."

"Dude, you're out of your league. I have those little kids eating out of the palm of my hand ..."

"Alright, alright," I said, chuckling. "I'll text Kim and tell her that we're good on this end."

I changed into my bed-clothes, brushed my teeth, and collapsed into bed. I texted Kim and told her that everybody on my end would be at the restaurant. I contemplated whether or not to throw a heart emoji on the end of the text and decided that I would wait. I was still having a little trouble believing how quickly I was moving from bachelor to - potentially - husband and father.

~~~

Tina and I didn't have much left to do in order to get her ready to leave for college. We loaded the rest of the boxes into the car, and I rode with her to get some move-in supplies - basic household needs and, of course, snacks and ramen noodles.

We spent the last hour filling a gift-bag with goodies for Belle. Tina started with some coloring books and crayons and pretty soon we'd spent $100 and had to add a second bag to hold all of the loot.

We stopped by the house, moved the stuff that was going with my sister into her car, and hollered for mom to climb in with us.

We got to the restaurant 15 minutes early - to find Kim's family climbing out of their vehicle.

"Miss Tina?!" Belle screeched.

The little blonde cherub darted across the parking lot and six adults rushed to make sure that no vehicles were anywhere near to threaten the child.

My sister caught her, lifted her into a hug, and cautioned her to be careful in parking lots.

"What are you doing here, Miss Tina?" she asked, ignoring my sibling's cautionary advice.

"Mr. Martin is my brother," Tina told her.

"Terry is your BROTHER?!" she gasped.

Tina laughed and nodded.

"... and this is my mommy," Tina told the girl, introducing our mother.

"... and Terry's mom?" Belle asked.

"Yes, sweetie," Mom replied.

"Is your name Mrs. Martin?"

"Yes, it is!"

"Mrs. Martin, I need to tell you something," Belle 'whispered'.

"What's that, angel?" Mom asked.

"You have terrific kids," Belle told her.

"Thank you, very much," Mom told her, "I think so too."

"Mommy is going to see Terry's house," Belle confided. "I'm staying with grandma and grandpa but I'm planning to get Terry to take me to see his house very soon!"

"I think that's a super idea," Mom told her, gleefully.

"We should probably introduce our parents," I told Kim, "before your daughter picks a minister, a wedding venue, and a honeymoon destination."

As we introduced everybody to everybody, Belle spied the bags in my hand and Tina's.

"Are those gift bags?" Belle asked, her blonde curls and cherub-like face radiant in the afternoon sunlight.

"They are," Tina told her.

"Who are they for?" she asked.

"Somebody very special," Tina whispered.

"Who?" Belle whispered back.

"Do you promise to share them with grandma and grandpa while mommy is visiting Terry's house?" she asked.

"Yes!" Belle promised.

My sister and I both held out our bags.

"Two of them?!"

"Very good counting, little miss," Tina told her. "Let's go inside. If you eat all of your dinner, maybe we can start looking through the bags while the grandparents talk."

Belle took Tina's fingers, turned to her mother, and said, "I'm holding Miss Tina's hand, mommy. You hold Terry's."

Six adults laughed - and then one very pretty adult took my hand, leaned over, and kissed the shit out of me.

When we got inside, Belle took charge of the seating arrangements. She put the 'grandparents' together. Mom seemed to already be comfortable being included in that group. Next, she put Kim next to her mom, then me, then herself, and then Miss Tina.

"Mommy, you can hold Terry's hand after you're done eating all of your food," the little blonde said matter-of-factly - eliciting snickers from the rest of the group.

I volunteered to watch purses while everybody went to get their food. Kim stayed with me. I got another quick kiss and then she held my hand and we chatted as we waited for the others. My sister got some quick dietary guidance from Belle's mom and then the little angel dragged her off to get a tray and begin picking what she was going to eat. I tried to give my mom my debit card but she waved me off, saying that she would take care of it.

"Are you going to ask me to marry you?" Kim asked me, "or do I need to do it?"

"You should probably confirm whether or not I'm a serial killer before we get to that point," I told her, smirking.

"If you've hidden it this long," she replied, "I doubt I'll find out until it's too late."

"Which would you prefer?" I asked.

"I've already had a proposal, a church wedding, and a honeymoon," she said, solemnly. "At this point, as I have as much as told you, I would be perfectly happy being your nameless sex-slave as long as you continue to treat my daughter and me the way you have so far."

"If you could have whatever you wanted ..." I asked.

"Every young woman wants a millionaire with house servants and a huge cock," she said, smirking. "I would like to be Mrs. Kimberly Martin. I would like to give you as many children as you want. I would like to cum on your cock or your tongue as often as you will let me. I would like to grow old with you, sitting at your side, holding you in my arms."

Tina and Belle returned and took their seats.

"Did you kiss him, Mommy?" Belle asked.

"Yes. Is that okay?"

"I missed it, AGAIN?!" she asked.

I scooped her up, brought her between her mother and I, and we kissed her cheeks again. She giggled, once more, and hugged our necks, giving each of us kisses on the lips. I put her back in her chair as the grandparents arrived.

"Mr. Pratt, would it be okay if I asked your daughter an important question?"

He looked at me for a moment and then nodded.

I stood, pulled Belle's chair sideways to face me, and knelt down in front of her. I held out my hands and she put hers in mine.

"Belle, would it be okay with you if I asked your mommy to marry me?"

"Yes!" she squealed, throwing her arms around my neck and rocking side-to-side.

I felt like my head might pop off. My sister laughed at the expression on my face.

When Belle finally released me, I stood, pushed my chair in, turned to face Kim, scooted her chair towards me a little, and got down on one knee. I held out my hands and she put hers in mine, trembling.

"Miss Kimberly Pratt," I asked. "At our wedding, can Belle and I have strawberry ice cream?"

Through her tears, Kim asked, "What?!"

"Say 'yes', mommy! Say 'yes'! Please ..."

"Please ..." I begged, doing my best to mimic Belle's voice and intonation.

"You're horrible!" she said, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Please, will you marry me?"

"I'll have to think about it," she said, crossing her arms and trying to pretend like she was mad at me.

Belle climbed up my back, onto my shoulders, looked at her mom, and said, "You should say 'yes', Mommy and then you should kiss him so that everybody can see."

Belle climbed down from my shoulder and climbed up into her mother's lap.

"You're gonna say 'yes', aren't you mommy? Please?"

Kim stood to her feet, holding Belle on her right arm.

"On your feet, Mr. Martin," she ordered.

I stood.

She took my hand with her free one. She said, "You've asked me what I need and you've asked me what I desire with all of my heart. Nothing in this world would make me happier than to share your name and to spend the rest of my life with the two of you."

She looked at Belle and said, "I'll kiss his lips. You kiss his cheek."

Belle nodded and puckered her lips.

I wrapped the two of them in my arms and returned kisses - first to Kim - and then to her daughter.

We were shocked out of our revelry by the applause that erupted from several tables around us. Kim and I looked at each other and blushed. We delivered the cherub to my sister for the girl to start on her food before it got any colder.

My fiancé and I headed up to the food-line to figure out what we were eating. I wanted the Salisbury steak but I always paid for it for hours later. Kim laughed, and squeezed my fingers, when I told her that.

I took the road more traveled ... and got chicken strips and fries. Kim told me I was a dork but, when I got back to the table, Belle praised my superb choices. Other than our selections for the vegetable and the fruit, she and I had picked the same things to eat. Tina agreed with Kim. I ignored her.

After we had finished eating, Belle unveiled all of her fabulous prizes for everyone to ooh and aww over. At that point, I left Kim to work out all of the gory details with our parents on the when, where, who, and how for the ceremony. Meanwhile, Belle, Tina, and I had a coloring contest. I still think the judging was biased. I thought I did a pretty good job of staying in the lines.

~~~

At home, I stopped in my sister's doorway to chat.

"What do you think of her?" I asked my sister.

"She adores you, obviously," she said. "With anybody else, I would worry that she's opening herself up to abuse. I trust you not to take advantage of her. If I find out that you are, I will personally kick your ass."

"Noted."

"Belle told me that she hasn't heard from her dad since he left. Unless Kim is keeping him from her ..."

"She sold the house that he left her and moved back in with her parents. She said she hasn't heard from him and that the papers were served by a lawyer."

"I trust that you'll treat Belle like she's your own," she said.

"I'd planned on it."

"If you get the chance, I think you should adopt her to make it official. If her biological father is willing to sign the papers to give up his claim to her, then he doesn't deserve for that little angel to even remember that he exists."

I nodded.

"Don't screw this up," my sister ordered. "Kim asked me to stand up with her. It'll pretty much just be us at the ceremony but I told her I would. Obviously, Belle is super-excited. She is such a cutie."

"No concerns?" I asked.

"Only that you'll find a way to fuck this up," she said, smirking.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I shot back.

"Honestly, Terry, mom and I were starting to get a little worried about you. In the grand scheme of things, this is almost a God-thing. You're getting a wife who will adore you forever, you're giving her hope that I'm sure she felt like had abandoned her, you're offering her heart a chance to heal, and you're going to get a beautiful little angel who doesn't have any of your facial deformities."

She held her sides and laughed while I tried to look hurt.

"I love you too, whore," I growled.

"Seriously, though, big brother," she said, drying her eyes. "I watched you interacting with both of them and you're getting an instant family that most men only dream of."

"Then why hadn't somebody already scooped her up?"

"Most men don't want to raise somebody else's kid."

"She's too cute not to love," I replied.

"Her mom's kinda hot too," Tina said, smirking.

"I might have noticed," I said.

"Try not to enjoy your pre-honeymoon too much tomorrow night," she said, laughing.

"I'm not sure I'm really ready for that," I admitted.

"... and now it's getting weird. Good night, dear brother," she said.

"Night, Sis," I replied, bending to kiss her cheek before I turned to leave.

"That's a first," she said. "I think Kim might be even better for you than I thought!"

She ruined the special moment by laughing. I ignored her and went to my room.

~~~

I pulled up in front of Kim's house at 5 o'clock on the dot. I could see Belle standing in the living room window. She disappeared, the curtain fell back into place, and the front door opened. She was bouncing up and down.

As I got close, she said, "Mommy's got her bag packed for her sleep-over. I'm not supposed to tell you that she barely slept at all last night."

"Remember what we said about mommy's secrets," I reminded her.

"I know, I know," she said, ignoring or disregarding my advice completely.

I leaned into the open doorway and called out, "Is it okay to come in?"

"Assuming you haven't changed your mind after yesterday's proposal," Kim's dad said, "you are welcome here anytime."

He stepped over to meet me as I came in and held out his hand. I took it and we shook.

"I promise to do my best to take care of your girls," I told him.

"You've already added ten years to my life expectancy," he replied. "It's been a long time since the three women who live in this house have been this happy."

Kim's mom appeared and wrapped her arms around my middle, pulling me down so that she could kiss my cheek. She released me and then wrapped herself around her husband.

Kim bounded into the room and shrieked, "Is it 5 already?!"

"You stewed all night and all morning and - now that he's here - you're not ready?" her mom asked her, chuckling.

Her hair was tied up in a bandanna. She was wearing long, yellow dishwashing gloves. She had a plastic bucket and a scrub brush in her hands.

"I decided to distract myself by cleaning the bathroom. I lost track of time!" she gasped.

"Good - on both accounts," her mom replied. "That bathroom's needed a good scrubbing - and you needed to chill out."