The Gift

We ended up in one of the upscale pizza joints with outdoor tables. After going back and forth over toppings we ordered a roasted vegetable white pizza.

"I thought you were screwing with me but this is really good, like garlic bread and pizza had a baby."

"I know right? You had the audacity to argue with an Italian girl about pizza." Ali said grinning. "It's still light enough to hit the ice cream place after."

I felt my pocket vibrate and apologized as I pulled my phone out. There was a text from Tara. She had made it to the hospital. Mom looked okay, but they were doing a concussion screening anyway and she was bitching about being in a cervical collar. I started laughing when I read the next line. "I told her she was lucky she wasn't like a dog wearing a cone." I related the info to Ali who laughed at that last part.

We stopped next door for a ice cream, Ali got a single scoop of peach ice cream in a waffle cone and I got the peanut butter and cookies.

"Is there a liquor store around here?" She bit off some of the cone and I was mesmerized for a moment watching her tongue slide across her lips.

"There's one place down the street."

"Lead the way my man."

I led her up one block to the store. She handed me what was left of her cone to hold before she ducked into the shop. She came back a few minutes later with a paper bag and took her ice cream back. We then made our way over to Sammy's on the next corner.

I went inside and picked up the few things we agreed on that we needed. When I left Ali was gone. She must have seen me and let out a whistle from across the street. She had wandered over to the boutique and was window shopping. I crossed over and joined her.

"What do you think about that one?" She pointed at a mannequin torso wearing a sporty little black bikini.

"Nice, but black isn't my color."

"Really? She fingered the fabric of the band t-shirt she was wearing. She reached for one of the bags and I handed her the light one with the bread and strawberries. The light was beginning to wane and I didn't realize it but it had gotten late. Neither of us said anything for the first block.

"Truth or dare?" Ali asked.

"Truth." I answered with a laugh.

"Are you gay? I only ask because Tara wasn't a hundred percent positive."

"Straight as an arrow. I just have trouble talking to girls. Really? She thinks I'm gay?"

"No, she just wasn't sure since you're the strikeout king. The way you looked at me in my bikini I was pretty positive you weren't."

We walked another block and I figured turnabout was fair play.

"Truth or dare?"

Ali laughed. "Dare."

"Kiss me."

"That's pretty forward considering we only met this morning."

"I thought the same thing when you kissed me on the cheek earlier. Do you forfeit then?" I took a few more steps and realized she wasn't next to me any longer. I turned to see her, the gold light of the setting sun shone on her face and I had never seen anyone more beautiful in my life. She shifted the bag to her other hand that was holding the wine bottle before taking the last few steps and raising her arm, her hand took the back of my head and pulled it down to hers. Our lips met, our tongues danced and I tasted peaches. I nearly dropped my bag, as quickly as it began she ended it. She began walking again while I caught my breath. I looked up and I'd swear her hips were swaying a little more than before. She looked like a dream in those shorts. I jogged a few strides and fell into step beside her.

"You surprised me with that one."

"You surprised me by not forfeiting." I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pulled it out to find a new text from Tara.

"The kids are home and resting. I'm going to stay home tonight to keep an eye on them. I'm taking Dad to rent a car tomorrow since the insurance will cover it. You are given the care of one of my best friends, be nice to her or I'll murder you." I read it aloud and Ali laughed at the part about murdering me.

"That's me." She handed me the other shopping bag and dug in her back pocket for her phone and started tapping. "I'm going to stay with my folks tonight. Teddy is a good guy, you have nothing to worry about with him. Just in case, push the bed against the bedroom door before you go to sleep." Ali laughed.

"She said that?" I asked surprised.

"No, I added the last part." She turned the phone for me to see. The text ended with her not having to worry about me. "It's kind of funny to hear you two sniping at one another, when she talks about you like this pretty regularly."

"It's all an act, our folks have been ignoring it for years. It's just how our relationship is, she knows I'm there for her, and I thought she was there for me until just a minute ago."

Ali giggled. "That was me, don't blame her for that. I feel like I can trust you, despite that dare."

"This is our street on the left." I said as we got close.

"Truth or dare?"

I was suddenly worried what the dare might include.

"Truth."

"Are you a virgin?"

I let out a surprised sigh. "Dare."

She laughed. "Uh uh, that's not how it works."

"Yeah." I answered softly and took a deep breath letting it out slowly.

"Relax, you haven't done a crime. I was a virgin until I hit seventeen. Senior prom, I did the nasty to the strains of Jimmy Buffett in a sports equipment closet with Darren Brown. He lasted about five thrusts and shot his shot."

I glanced aside and she was shaking her head with a stupid grin on her face.

"I'm going to go out on a limb and say it wasn't good for you?"

"Not as good as kicking the shit out of him felt when he started spreading the news around that we'd bumped uglies. I'd just gotten my yellow belt a few weeks earlier."

We walked up the driveway and I fished the key out and unlocked the kitchen door flipping the light on for Ali to go in ahead of me. We put our bags down on the counter and she pulled the bread out and I pointed to where we kept it. I put the quart of milk and the eggs in the fridge along with the quart of strawberries and the couple bananas I'd chosen.

"Bananas in the fridge?" She asked.

"It turns the starches into sugars faster and they get a nice creamy texture."

"Learn something new every day I guess."

"Got a corkscrew?"

I pulled one out of the drawer and handed it to her. "Glasses are up there." I pointed to the cabinet.

"Truth or dare?" I said as I picked up the empty grocery bags and stuff them into a drawer.

"Truth since you surprised me with your creativity last time."

"Do you have a boyfriend?"

Ali grinned as she poured herself a glass of wine. She looked at me and held up the bottle in question. I nodded. She took down another glass and began filling it.

"No."

"Why do I find that answer surprising? You seem pretty terrific."

"And you think you don't have the knack of talking to girls. Liar. I'll be right back. All that garlic on the pizza." She fanned her open mouth.

"All I tasted was peaches." I said as she walked past me.

"Really? I got peanut butter and garlic." She laughed as she mounted the stairs.

"Shit." I took a sip of the wine which was really good. I took both glasses into the living room and set them on the coffee table before dropping onto the couch. A few minutes later Ali walked into the room. She'd let her hair down again and brushed it. The knot in my tee was gone and it fell over her hips. I only realized when she came and sat next to me, curling one leg beneath her that the shorts were gone. She was sitting here in my shirt and a pair of panties and my mind went to this afternoon and daisies.

"Got any music?" She leaned forward and took a deep sip of her wine.

"Sure." I said, my voice breaking high to my ears. "Got any preference?"

"Anything lo-fi, I'm feeling mellow."

"Okay." I grabbed my phone and surfed my streaming app for lo-fi playlists and set my phone on the radio dock. Music started streaming from the speakers and I turned to see Ali nodding.

"Your turn garlic breath." She pointed upstairs. I went up and brushed quickly, rinsing with some mouthwash from the cabinet. I checked as best as I could and I didn't smell anything but mint. I looked in the mirror and took a deep breath. I took another swig of mouthwash and swirled it around before spitting it out. She heard me coming down the stairs.

"FYI if you didn't rinse with water really well you'll make the wine taste like shit." I went into the kitchen and took her advice. I walked back into the living room and found her in the position I left her in sitting in the center of the couch, one leg tucked up, the other dangling off the cushion. She patted the cushion next to her. "It's my turn. Truth or dare?"

"Truth." I sat down and turned towards her and reached for my glass. I took a sip and she chuckled. "I want an honest answer. After we left for the beach earlier, did you jerk off because you saw me up close in a bikini?"

I choked on the sip of wine I was taking and swallowed it quickly.

Ali threw her head back laughing loudly. I noticed that the front of my shirt was jiggling merrily with the laughter and it dawned on me that the shorts weren't the only thing she took off. "You're as red as this wine. Tara was convinced we wouldn't be out of the house for ten minutes before you were spanking it."

"I didn't answer you."

"Yes you did. You just haven't spoken the truth yet." Come on, out with it."

I set the wine down and leaned back as if to unbutton my jeans.

Ali squealed. "Not with that!" She waved her hand and slapped the back of mine.

"The Gods honest truth? Twice." I felt my face warm and I wasn't sure if it was the wine or me turning red to my eyeballs.

"Niiice! Once just wasn't enough? That's an ego boost." She was grinning ear to ear.

"When I jumped in the shower after making a thorough mess all I could think about was you." I suddenly felt like I was oversharing, but I was bound to be honest.

"Knocked one out again that fast? Ah, the benefits of youth."

"Have you looked in a mirror? This may be the wine talking but you are an absolute wet dream come to life. You're gorgeous, you have this wholesome sexiness, the sidelong glances, and that," I pointed, "the lip bite? Deadly as fuck. I haven't even mentioned the rest of you from the neck down yet. You have a great sense of humor. You don't seem to take yourself too seriously. You're the whole package. I have no other words for it."

"For a guy who claims he can't talk to girls, you've gotten me clear out of my pants in under twelve hours." She looked at me shrewdly and fighting hard not to grin.

"Yeah well I don't think that's entirely on me. Miss Esposito, you're trying to seduce me, aren't you?"

Ali just laughed low in her throat. "Relax Ted, you're safe with me. If you don't feel it, push your bed against the door before you fall asleep tonight." She looked at me for a long moment, her eyes half-lidded and sexy. She gave her head a questioning tilt.

"Oh, truth or dare?"

She screwed up her face in thought, stared at the ceiling for a moment before answering. "Dare."

"Really?"

"I'm not a chicken like you." She raised an eyebrow in challenge.

I thought for a moment and grinned as evilly as I could. I got up and pulled my phone off the dock. When I sat down I beckoned her with a little finger curl. "Come lay against me and take a selfie of us I can post to my socials."

She barked out a laugh in surprise. "Okay, nothing super revealing, the shirt stays all the way down." She pointed an accusing finger at me. "What will Tara say when she sees it?"

"I don't know, maybe I should wait until tomorrow to post it, or maybe a few weeks." She spun around and leaned back against my chest as I nestled into the corner of the couch. She held up the phone angling it to get us both in the frame. She pulled her hair around so it fell over her shoulder and she was cuddled up to my chin. Honestly I could die right here and be a happy man, but she took it a step further and grabbed my arm off the back of the couch and draped it across her midriff. Her hair smelled like sunshine and the ocean and I nearly buried my nose in it.

"Smile, unless you're uncomfortable right now. Fake it if you are." She took a pic and waited for the result and raised the phone again and took another. "Look at the camera, this shirt's not loose enough to be looking down.

"I was looking more at how high it had risen." The panties were in full view, the little daisy poking into view.

"Enjoy the view, not just anyone gets it."

"Eyes up here mister." She waved the phone and say, "spank the monkey."

"There we go." Post it at your leisure." She handed the phone back to me but didn't move back to the middle cushion. I restarted the music over the wireless. We sat there for a short while before she sat up and reached for her wine taking a long sip. She leaned back again keeping the glass in her hand. She pulled my hand back across her stomach before letting out a deep sigh.

"Truth or dare?" She said, her voice soft.

I decided it was time to be a little bolder. "Dare."

She giggled and handed her wine over her shoulder to me. "Since you can't reach yours." I took the glass and drank deeply, before holding the glass on my knee where she could easily reach to take it back.

"Tell me every detail you imagined while you were rubbing one out." Her voice came out husky. "Don't you dare hold out." She tilted her head back a bit and I could see her eyes roll up towards my face. "You were in my room, I know."

"No." I began to deny it and she held up a finger to stop me.

"I folded my panties in a particular way when I set them on the bed. They weren't that way when I got back."

"You set a trap?"

"Caught a perv too." She laughed. "What did you do to them? They looked clean when I got back. Thank you for not soiling them."

I watched her chest rise and fall with her breathing and it seemed like it was a little quick for just reclining. Lord knows mine was but I was doing my best not to show it.

"Are you thinking of forfeiting?" She teased.

"When you left I ran to your room because the window faces the street, I wanted to make sure you were away from the house a bit. Seeing your in your bikini made me so fucking hard it nearly hurt. I saw your things on the bed." I pointed down at the little daisy. "Very cute by the way." I swallowed deeply.

"Go on." Her voice was low.

"I could smell you, perfume, body wash, I didn't know and I brought them to my face and inhaled deeply." I felt my breath starting to quicken as I told the story. "I was embarrassed because I felt that was really weird, so I put them back and went back to my room."

She took my hand off her stomach and dragged the shirt out of the way setting my hand on her bare skin. I felt my jeans tighten in response and took a long sip of the wine in my other hand. I moved slightly and toyed with the barbell piercing in her navel. "Did that hurt?"

"For a little while, I like this one, simple rose gold, no jewel or bangles. Do you like it?"

"I think it's really sexy." I gave the big end a little lift and let it drop back. "You are really sexy."

"You're stalling."

I closed my eyes for a moment and stroked my fingers over her warm skin. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"I haven't laughed yet." She tilted her head up as if to look into my eyes.

"I took my clothes off and laid on my bed. I closed my eyes and pictured the moment when you were showing me your bikini. You spun around and I was running my eyes over your body. I imagined you untying your top." I licked my lips, my throat was getting dry as I kept talking. "You turned back and shrugged the shoulder straps off and let it slide to the floor.

I wasn't imagining it, her breathing was faster and shallow as I spoke. She reached for the wine I was holding and took a deep drink nearly draining the glass. "And?" Her voice husky and low.

"You were the most beautiful sight I had ever seen. I imagined your nipples were like your lips a soft pink rose color."

"Were you stroking your cock?"

"With abandon." I said with a humorous huff. "I couldn't control myself at that point."

"You can check and see if you were right." She said.

I was making patterns on her skin with my fingertips and I stopped. I didn't move for several breaths and Ali laid her hand on mine intertwining our fingers. She began to move slowly upward until she reached the fabric of my shirt.

"Is this okay?" She asked before going any further.

"Yes." I whispered in her ear. I turned gently and kissed her just behind it and she shivered. Our hands pushed the shirt up her hand guiding mine as I felt her breast fill my palm, the sharper feel of her nipple grazing my palm got me harder than I was earlier. I was breathing fast as she pushed the shirt higher. Her skin was even warmer now as she drew my hand to the side, my thumb dragging against the nipple caused her to exhale sharply. She drew my hand down slightly and lifted her breast.

"Did you picture them looking like this?"

"Yes." I swallowed hard and looked at the empty wine glass she still held.

"You didn't finish there did you?"

"No." My voice barely a whisper. "You took the ties of your bottoms in your fingers and began pulling them until the knots came undone." She brought my fingertips up to tease her nipple again. "You didn't stop pulling, the fabric came free and you held it in front of you for a moment and dropped the bottoms too." I kissed behind her ear again and she squirmed. I nearly moved to let her up but she held my hand fast stroking her breast.

"Then?"

"I thought it again, I knew I'd never see anyone more beautiful in life, and I was so grateful you were letting me see you."

"Describe me."

"Your skin looked so soft I wanted to stroke every inch of it." I did so with my fingertips, bringing them up between her breasts and back down. She breathing was faster now. "When I let my eyes wander over you, I saw the cleft between your legs and there wasn't a single hair to be seen. You were bare to me in every sense. Your lips were swollen, and I wanted to touch them." Her hand started downward, dragging our fingers over her stomach again. The fabric wasn't thick but it wasn't sheer either and I began to wonder if I was right.

"Do you want to know?"

I sank my lips to the side of her neck, my lips parted and I dragged just the tip of my tongue slowly over her skin. She let out a soft mewling sound and her hand moved downward without my answer fingers grazing the top of her panties. She poked her finger beneath the waistband and began sliding further. Her skin felt like it was on fire and I was reaching into the hottest part of the flame. It dawned on me then that she was bare down there, my fingers encountering no more than a soft stubble. I felt the dip as we reached the cleft I'd pictured in my mind. She pushed on my hand, her fingertips pushing mine into the damp cleft. She moved her leg over giving us more room to explore. I brought my other hand up and began stroking her breast with my finger tips. She slipped her hand free of mine and arched her back slightly, encouraging me to explore. I found a soft nubbin and and hoped I was doing it right as I ran my fingers over it and back. Her back arched further and she let out a soft moan. I don't know how, but I knew she wanted me to finish. I circled gently and stroked her up and down as I teased her nipple with my other hand.

"Does that feel good?"

I felt her head rock against my shoulder as she nodded quickly, another moan escaped her lips.

"It felt really good when I did it earlier too." I continued. "I didn't make it this far but I wanted too. I wanted to feel you, and learn all about your body. What you liked." I ran my fingertips in a tight circle.