The Angel from Psych

Her lips were pursed as she quickly nodded, but she said nothing at all and she'd still never actually looked at me.

"It's really pretty simple," I told her, "and it doesn't hurt at all after the needle stick. That's my least favorite part, but I bet you'll do great with it."

She finally looked up into my eyes. Her captivating, bright-green eyes made my heart almost stop as she asked, "You think so? Why?"

Staring into her beautiful green pools, I could only think of how lovely she was, so her question caught me totally off guard. Drawing on all the American Red Cross pamphlets I'd read, I tried to improvise. "Ah, because, despite a bit of trepidation, you're still standing here in line waiting to do your part for those who need the gift of life rather than running away like people who are really scared." When she continued to look at me like I was making at least a little sense, I continued. "I think you'll go through with it despite a little fear because you know how important it is."

She bit her lower lip and nodded quickly, as if trying to convince herself that what I was saying was true, while she looked down, studying her feet.

"I was scared my first time, too," I told her softly. "And I still hate needles, but this drive's donation will be number eight for me. That's a whole gallon."

She looked up at me quickly, her eyes wide. "A gallon? Really?"

I reached out and took her hand and patted it gently. "If you combine all eight donations. That's a pint each time so they never take too much from you at once. You have to wait a while between donations to build up your blood supply. Hey, I'll even get a little pin this time."

"That's...that's great," she said as she gripped my hand tighter instead of pushing it away as I'd expected.

I stayed with her as the line moved forward to the registration table, holding her sweet little hand the whole way.

"Here." I handed a clipboard to her. "Use the pen and fill this out so you can move on to the next station."

Nervously, she looked at me. "So you're going to be leaving me?"

"I need to go check on the people in the back of the line, but I'll be back in just a minute or two. You'll be okay for that, right?"

She nodded and we released our hand-hold. I hated to let go, but I stepped to the rear to give a very abbreviated version of the welcoming speech that Rick was supposed to be giving. I was back with the angel in less that two minutes.

"Okay, I forgot to ask you something very important."

"What?" she asked, suddenly more nervous than before. "My weight? If I'm on any medications? When my last period started? What?"

I smiled despite my blush as I replied, "What's your name?"

For the first time since we'd been talking, she grinned as she looked down at her feet. Looking back up at me, she said, "Jason, I'm Kristen Dodge. Now I think you owe me a last name, too."

I was surprised she'd caught my first name, so I smiled and said, "I'm Jason Langley. It's very nice to meet you, Kristen Dodge."

She looked at me, rather strangely, for several seconds before smiling, finally looking more at ease than since our discussion had begun. We talked for another ten minutes until I delivered her to the check-in station where they went over some preliminary questions before she was handed off to a nurse for vitals, a blood test, and the full battery of questions.

Rick and I swapped work stations so when Kristen came back, I met her and escorted her to a cot. She was still a little nervous, leading me to stand with her and hold her hand once more when the nurse came over to do the prep work for the blood draw. I gave her hand a squeeze and told her I'd be nearby."

"Please. Don't leave me," she said, almost pleading.

"We don't usually allow non-nurses to get this close while we're drawing blood," the nurse explained, "but I guess we can make an exception this once." She saw the calming effect I seemed to be having on Kristen and gave me a little wink.

"Thanks," said Kristen, as much to me as to the nurse as she gave my hand a squeeze.

Therefore, I stayed with her throughout the process, holding her hand and giving her encouragement while the blood flowed from the other arm. I made sure she was looking at me rather than that.

The nurse stayed nearby, watching her carefully, before finally stepping in, sealing the line, and finishing the pack. She looked like she was fighting a smile whenever she caught my eye.

"How do you feel?" asked the nurse, again wearing her serious expression.

"A little woozie but I'll be okay," replied Kristen.

Turning to me, the nurse said, "Jason, can you help Kristen to the snack station? She needs a bite to eat and at least cup of juice or water. Stay with her, okay?"

"Gladly," I agreed.

She looked back at Kristen. "I want you to get plenty of rest and drink plenty of fluids tonight. You should feel better in the morning. If not, I recommend a trip to student health to see if something else might be wrong."

Kristen nodded, and moments later, we were sitting together in the snack area as she tried to recover. She closed her eyes and put her forehead in her hands.

"Kristen, I'm a little worried about you walking back to your dorm by yourself. Where do you live? I'll escort you there," I said.

She shook her head. "I don't live on campus. I'm a townie, still living at home with my mom."

"Then I'm driving you home," I asserted, despite being disappointed that she might live some distance away rather than conveniently being on campus.

"No," she replied. "I've got to have my car to get to school in the morning. I guess I could ride with my mom—"

Knowing that this might be the only chance I'd ever get to spend any time with her, I was determined to make the most of it so I was shaking my head as I interrupted.

"Listen," I said, "My shift is over now, so you stay right here. I'm going to go get my truck and I'll drive you home. In the morning, I'll pick you up and bring you back to campus and you can drive your car home tomorrow. Deal?"

She smiled. "Okay. It's like you're my guardian angel. Deal."

I drove her home in my Chevy pickup, with her sitting in the center next to me, a hand wrapped loosely around my upper arm. We talked as we went, with me probably grinning like a Cheshire cat the whole way.

Kristen's home was in a nice subdivision about six miles from campus. She said she was feeling much better when we pulled into her driveway. The front porch light came on a second later.

"I'm glad you feel better. Can I ask you something without you thinking I'm taking advantage of your woozie state?"

She nodded. "What?"

"Will you go to dinner with me sometime?"

She reached over and kissed me softly on the lips. I felt like I was in heaven but she wasn't done. "Saturday night? Seven o'clock?"

Surprised at the kiss and shocked that the angel would agree to my request, I nodded enthusiastically. "Okay, see you then! And see you at 7:30 in the morning."

She gave me one more quick kiss, and then slid across the seat, jumped out of the truck, and ran to the front door leaving my head practically spinning at the speed of her recovery and at my good fortune.

*****

I pulled into her driveway at 7:25 the next morning and was just getting out to walk to the door when she came running out. We spent a twenty minute drive getting to know each other even better, and we also finalized plans for our date the next night. I got her phone number, too.

"It's a private line direct to my bedroom," she said. "We can talk without my mom hearing us."

I was pretty impressed with that. "That's neat. Out in the country, we had a party line with two of our neighbors until I hit high school. Privacy? What's that?"

I found a parking space and took her hand for a moment. I was about to try to kiss her when she said, "Jason, I need to apologize about something. I didn't really feel bad last night after donating blood. I was enjoying spending time with you and didn't want to let you go, at least without us having a date arranged."

"Hmm. I thought you made a remarkable recovery," I said with a grin.

Grinning back at me, she added, "Jason, I'm no angel. It worked, didn't it? See you on our date tomorrow night." She kissed me and was off, heading to class in a different direction. I whistled as I walked toward my 8 AM class.

*****

Our first date went well that Saturday night, as did our second on Sunday night when I asked her to come to my on-campus apartment for dinner. Rick and my other apartment-mates were out so we had a salad before enjoying a main course of lasagna made according to my mother's recipe. We shared a bottle of red wine with the meal and polished off the bottle afterward as we sat together on the couch.

"This is good," said Kristen, smiling as she looked into her red Solo cup.

"Sorry we don't have real wine glasses," I replied.

She giggled. "This is perfect." She leaned against me as if comfortable, but then looked at me again. I got the hint and put my arm around her, pulling her close.

She took another sip before saying, "I've read they're thinking of raising the drinking age back up to 21 again. I hope we're grandfathered if they do. I don't care much for beer, but the taste of wine is like...heaven."

I nodded as I looked around at her face. Her eyes stared into mine and she had a cute expression that soon started turning to exasperation. "Well?"

"Uh, I don't drink much but I guess I like wine better, too."

"God! You silly boy!" She turned on me, put a hand on my chin, and drew our lips together.

I tasted the wine on her lips, which were sweet and soft and oh-so heavenly. I started to pull her closer when she shoved her nearly empty cup into my hand, causing me to set it on the table at the end of the couch. Kristen moaned softly as the tip of her tongue pushed lightly, sliding between my lips and into my mouth. Her beautiful green eyes, I saw, were closed, as we stayed together, and mine slid closed, too, as I was lost to all but her.

When we finally pulled apart, we both breathed a sigh of contentment. Looking at her, I said, "Heavenly," and, smiling, she agreed.

*****

Our relationship continued to grow as spring arrived and the semester gradually wound toward a close.

"When can I meet your parents?" I asked as we were heading back to campus from meeting my parents. We'd spent the weekend with them on the farm, sharing my bedroom after they'd gone to sleep, but I'd still never set foot in her house.

She stared at me for a couple of miles before she finally spoke. "My parents are complicated," she said. "They've been divorced since I was six. Mom remarried for a while and she still sees her second ex quite often for the sex, but they can't be in the same room with each other for very long without fighting. I think they love each other but they're both just too hard-headed. I'd rather spare you seeing that."

"Still, I'd like to meet them, someday," I said. "You know, to see if they like me."

"Oh, mom does. And I've told her all about you. She thought your foot massages were really sweet and was impressed that you didn't try to go too far with the back massage."

"What! You told her about that?"

"Yeah. It wasn't like you did anything wrong."

"I know, but Kristen, I...I want to. I'm wanting you more and more."

"I know, Jase," she said, calling me what became her pet name for the first time. "I feel it, too. Someday..."

Indeed, it had grown increasingly difficult when giving her a massage to keep from flipping her over to rub her breasts or to slide her pants down to knead her butt...or more. In fact, I wanted her more with each passing day and my by-then nightly relief was giving less relief and yielding more frustration with practically every session.

We drew to a stop at a light and Kristen added, "My dad? I don't see him very often, but I think he'll like you, too. Eventually."

*****

Kristen and I went to my service fraternity's Spring formal a couple weeks before the semester ended. Most of us in the organization didn't belong to a social fraternity or sorority and our group was one of the largest on campus, so it was a big event, like the prom at my small country high school only several times larger.

Kristen said she felt like Cinderella dancing with her prince as that evening progressed. Her gown was a pale yellow that really matched her hair and the light tan she'd gotten in Florida over spring break and kept up with a bit of exposure whenever the sun, clouds, and temperature all cooperated. Of course, I saw her more as an angel than Cinderella, dancing with the luckiest guy at the ball.

I wore an ivory-colored tux with black shoes, cummerbund, buttons, and bow-tie, only realizing later that I looked a bit like the strange love-child of Frosty the Snowman, the Michelin Man, and the Pillsbury Doughboy.

We danced the evening away and had several glasses of wine before walking back to my apartment. It was a long walk, with frequent stops for kissing and laughter as we enjoyed each other's company and embraces.

When we arrived, I was disappointed to find Rick passed out on the sofa. He hadn't had a date for the formal, so he'd apparently found solace in the bottom of a bottle. I felt bad for him but Kristen and I tiptoed past on the way to my little room. Somehow her giggling and my noisy shushes didn't wake him up as we slipped inside.

Once there, we kissed hungrily for a few moments, our hands roaming over each other's body as they'd been increasingly doing in recent weeks. I cupped her firm buttocks and pulled her tight against my growing erection as she squeezed me tight, causing her breasts to swell upward, almost popping out of the top of her dress.

"Jase, my love," she whispered into my ear, causing a new round of tingles all over my body. "I really need to get out of this dress into something more comfortable. Can you unzip me?"

I moved behind her and lowered that zipper ever so slowly. It was low cut in the back, so with each tooth that disengaged, I saw more of her back and then the top of her butt. When her butt crack and the top of her lowcut panties started becoming visible, I couldn't take any more so I glanced away and unzipped the rest quickly. Looking away and trying to avoid the temptation to look in the mirror in front of me as she took off the dress, I dug in my drawer and found her a clean t-shirt and set of sweatpants with a good drawstring. Both were passed over my shoulder and I waited impatiently while she put them on.

Several seconds passed and I whispered, "Are you decent?"

"I hope," was her whispered reply with a bit of giggle.

The sweatpants were far too large for her 5'-2" frame so I thought I understood as I turned only to see her standing in front of me, fully nude except for that tiny white panty. She had her hands up and turned out at shoulder level as she tilted her head just a bit to the side.

"Decent?" she asked playfully.

"Oh, my! Far, far more than decent," I whispered in reply. "An angel. A goddess even."

Kristen stepped forward into my arms, pressing her perfect little breasts against me. "No, neither, believe me, but I think we have a little problem here," she whispered as I, eyes wide, held my hands up to avoid touching anything I shouldn't. "Several problems, Jase. I'm naked as a jaybird and you're not. I'm here for you and you're standing there like a lump on a log. I want you so bad and you're not moving. If you're not out of the rest of that get-up in ten seconds, I promise you won't be getting your rental deposit back."

It probably took longer than that but I was far enough along that she could see I was serious so she helped, not stopping at my boxers as I was expecting. My penis, rock hard, practically sprang out as she took it in her hands and gave a few gentle pumps. Then she was back in my arms, pressing against me, grinding her pubic mound against me, giggling that my swollen member, despite its intensity, seemed intent on shifting out of the way with each successive engagement.

I was busy cupping one of her breasts while using the other hand to grasp her buttock and keep her pulled tight against me. Moments later, I was easing her down onto my bed and kissing my way down to her hidden treasure. The pair of panties went flying and I moved in. Kristen told me what she liked with her hands, her motions, and her gentle moans and I did everything possible to give her everything she wanted. I wasn't skilled by any means but I was a most willing learner and an eager participant. Between the two of us, we did something right; I think it was after her second orgasm that she pulled my head up toward her, kissed by deeply on the lips, and then whispered, "Make love to me, now. Please?"

My penis was right at her entrance and I could feel the heat and wetness against my tip. Not thinking anything of this nature was going to happen for a while and not wanting to tempt fate by having them, I hadn't gotten any condoms so I told her.

"Jase, it's okay," Kristen whispered. "My period's going to start in the next couple of days so it's safe. I want you, my love. Come into me and make love to me."

I wanted her as much as she wanted me, so she aligned me and I was surprised to find myself sliding in. It wasn't long before I was tight against her so we started moving together as well as we could despite our inexperience. It was heaven, but all too soon, I felt the intensity building and I couldn't control it, spraying deep within her.

After a trip to the bathroom to clean up, we got in bed and held each other tight. I awoke sometime later to find her gently massaging me, bringing me back to full attention with her hands and gentle kisses. Soon, we were off for a second round.

*****

I awoke at 6:15 needing to go to the bathroom, so I untangled myself and took care of that and brushed my teeth to avoid morning breath. When I returned, Kristen had on my t-shirt and was pulling up my sweatpants. If she had morning breath, I didn't notice as we locked lips and I put my arms around her. She ended our kiss before I had a chance to do more.

"Jase, I hate to run but I need to be home before my mom wakes up. I left her a note that I'd be late and not to wait up, but if she ever made it home and finds out I was out all night, I may be living here in your room with you."

"That wouldn't be such a terrible thing," I said, "though that bed is a little small for the two of us."

"It does give a new meaning to the word 'togetherness,' doesn't it?"

We pulled into Kristen's driveway at 6:40 AM. She breathed a sigh of relief since her mother never got up before 7:30 on the weekend...when she was home. Therefore, we sat in the truck kissing for a moment.

"Jase, that was wonderful. Thank you."

I nodded. "Kristen, I need to say this and I don't want you to think it's just because of what happened. I...I lo—"

I didn't get to complete the sentence. A sharp rapping on the driver's side door caused both of us to almost jump through the roof of the Cheyenne.

Kristen screamed as my door opened and she saw the person standing there. "Mom!"

My heart sunk when I turned to see Professor Rebecca Sorenson, Ph.D., wearing a pink house coat, standing on the ground outside glaring at us.

*****

Chapter 3

Kristen and I were sitting on opposite sides of the kitchen table where a very angry Professor Sorenson had pointed.

"I'm getting coffee," she said. "The two of you better both be right there when I get back or I swear you'll live to regret it. If you live." The string of profanity that followed would have been almost humorous coming from such a little woman if she hadn't also been Kristen's mother.

"Your mom? Why didn't you tell me?"