The One Less Traveled

Wynn's leg was technically healed from the break but certainly not ready for full use. No matter, he stumbled his way to the stars and up, ignoring the occasional pain in anticipation of what lay ahead with the near-angel he knew was waiting for him.

He stood at the bedroom door panting from the exertion of getting there.

She stood and walked toward him, surprising herself at the urgency of her need for him to see her naked. And the accompanying need to see him that way as well.

She took hold of his shirt and began lifting, and he raised his arms to help. When she began untying his sweatpants, he closed his eyes. His eyes were still closed when they and his boxers hit the floor. He felt her lips against his as her hand closed on his erection.

Her breasts were right in front of him, but he was afraid of what might happen if he touched them. If she kept moving her hand, it would happen no matter what. He opened his eyes when she spoke.

"Would you like to lie down?" she said, remembering his leg.

"I think that would be good. And look at those delightful goosebumps."

She helped him to the bed and crawled in beside him, pulling the covers over them both.

"Sorry it's so cold. I didn't think."

"That we'd be running around naked?"

"Oh my gosh."

"Plus, I read a lot, and some guys find goosebumps fascinating."

"So you think I have a goosebump fetish?"

"Do you?"

"I don't know if it was just you or the goosebumps."

She snuggled against him. "Our first time in bed together."

"It's happened fast, hasn't it? But not fast enough for me."

"That answered my question."

"My right arm isn't quite back to full operation, so tell me if I'm doing it okay."

Kris wondered until she felt his hand on her leg, actually on her thigh and so very, very close. His fingers crept closer and closer until they were toying with her muff, and her body was fairly vibrating with anticipation.

Her turn to bury her face against his neck.

"I don't know what's going to happen," she got out in a gasping murmur.

"Only one way to find out."

Wynn wasn't sure what to expect, but when his finger began to explore that very wet place, Kris squirmed and moaned his name. The nub that he had touched was soft but firm, and he touched it again with the same reaction.

"Are you ready, babe?"

Just hearing him call her babe was enough to make her body react, and she was more ready than she'd ever thought she could be.

When his finger began caressing her once more, her moans were more intense, and she couldn't keep her body from moving in quick and uncontrolled jerks, Wynn not letting up for one instant until, in what seemed like just seconds, her orgasm began, her body spasming over and over, her hips moving with each spasm along with the electric shocks that raced from her toes to the top of her head.

She lay still for long moments, her face still buried againt Wynn's neck.

"I can't believe I just did that," she said softly while still panting hard.

"You just made this the best day of my life," he answered, reluctant to move his hand from the place that had brought both of them so much pleasure.

"And it's not over yet."

"I hope not, but we should eat something."

"Good idea," she giggled. "I haven't read all those raunchy romance novels for nothing, I hope. There's something I need to do before we have lunch."

From six inches away, Wynn looked at her, an uncertain mien about his face. Kris used one hand to push him onto his back with no resistance from him at all, and he could hardly wait for what she might have in store for him.

"Position that bad leg so I don't hurt it."

"But I don't know what you're going to do."

"I think you do, or at least you should. You're not that naive." Her breathing had recovered, even if her body was still tingling. As she watched, she could see that Wynn was beginning to understand.

"Kris, I...you...oh, shit," he finally said as she moved between his legs and lowered her head.

"When he felt her tongue rolling around the head of his erection, he thought he knew what heaven must be like. When her hand surrounded the shaft, and her lips went to work, he knew he was going to pass out.

With both her hand and mouth surrounding him and his eyes watching her, he was able to grunt, "Coming," hoping she'd respond.

She did, just in time, as he exploded, and her face collected most of the ropes of hot and creamy liquid. He heard her giggle once more.

When his eyes opened, he saw a smiling face that looked a bit different than the last time he'd seen it.

"We still have something to look forward to," she said as she climbed off the bed and headed for the bathroom. Wynn's eyes never left her for an instant. He marveled once more at how enticingly different she looked naked than in her servers outfit.

"If you'd have dressed differently at the diner, I wouldn't have had a chance with you. You'd have been long gone. He couldn't believe she was blushing again. "How can you do what we just did and then blush at what I said?"

"Don't ask me questions that I can't answer," she said, still blushing. She was still doing a thorough job of eying Wynn as well. "I brought a long T-shirt that I sleep in. It would be too strange cooking in the nude, but if you have food, I'll cook.

"I'm not sure what Mom has. I just sit at the table, and meals magically appear."

"It's not magic, believe me," she said as she started down the stairs, Wynn close behind, having pulled on his sweatpants.

At the bottom of the stairs, she heard her cell phone and ran to her bag to retrieve it.

The screen readMom.

"Hi, Mom. How are things in Pennsylvania?"

Kris heard a laugh. "It's going well, hun. How about you?"

"It's too embarrassing to talk about," she said with a giggle.

"That good, huh?"

"Way better than I expected."

"I thought you said you didn't know what to expect."

Kris laughed. "Let's just say I got way more than I didn't know what to expect."

"When will you be home, then? At the end of the week like you planned."

"I'm not totally sure yet, but it may be US coming home."

"You're not kidding, are you?"

"Nope, and we may be getting a bigger bed for my apartment."

"Oh my gosh, that sounds wonderful. Plus, by the time you get home, I may have news for you as well."

"Mom, you're holding something back."

"Not really, because nothing is settled yet. I'm still just guessing."

"Keep in touch if there's any news, please."

"Same for you. Bye now."

"Some news from your mom?"

"I think something is happening with her and Jimmy, the guy I was helping learn about computers."

"I remember you telling me about that." Wynn leaned against the counter, taking the weight off his recovering leg. "We could go out, but there's nothing close."

"If you plan on moving in with me, you'd better get used to my cooking."

As the words left her mouth, Kris realized the enormity of what she was saying. Two days ago, she was a college student and part-time server in Ligonier, Pennsylvania. Today she was in Los Angeles, casually talking about a movie star moving in with her.

How could life have changed that quickly? She wasn't sure how it had happened. It sometimes did in the books she read, but this wasn't a book; this was real life...her life, and it had happened. And now she was in his kitchen, clad in only a T-shirt, ready to prepare a meal for them.

"I think I'll call my mother and let her know that the house and the Lexus will be totally hers. I'll be somewhere else."

"Wynn, is this really happening? I mean..."

She stopped as he came toward her, a look on his face that was new but that she thought she recognized.

"Wynn," she pleaded as the bottom of the T-shirt began moving toward her head. "We need food," she added futilely as he pulled it off completely.

Being totally naked in the kitchen in the daylight with the windows uncovered was on the edge of being more than Kris could handle. Her uneasiness was obvious to Wynn as well, but he thought he could handle it.

Hands on her waist, he lifted her onto the big island to her accompanying squeal.

"It's cold."

"Think we can warm it up?"

Wynn's California attitudes and Kristin's small-town Pennsylvania mindset were at odds at this point and needed to be somehow merged and resolved.

With both of them naked, thoughts of food and meals were pushed to the background, and other, now more important, thoughts came to the forefront.

Wynn took her hand and helped her off the cold granite of the island.

"Let's go back to where we were," he said, leading her awkwardly to the stairs and then up to his bedroom.

With two naked bodies nestled in the very rumpled bed, things were going to happen. Wynn had already decided that it was almost impossible to keep his hands off Kris, and they tended to roam to those very special places. And Kris's traditional shyness, borne of her very traditional upbringing in Pennsylvania, disappeared quickly with the touching of Wynn's hands, and she was ready for whatever he might have in store and was very willing as well.

He leaned in close to her, his hand nestled between her legs, and said, "Downstairs, with you on that cold countertop, I was thinking of doing something a little different."

A tiny giggle. "Oh, please do it, then."

He rolled onto his back and pulled her on top of him.

"I didn't want that delicious butt of yours to get cold on that nasty hard granite, so I was going to pull you on top of me like this...and let you be in charge."

"Me in charge?" she gasped.

"You read those books, and I don't. I'll bet the Pennsylvania girl can take care of the California guy, so we'll both be happier than we've ever been." He opened a drawer in his bedside table and pulled out a small packet. "I bought this...these the day before you arrived, just so you know."

"You bought them just for me?"

Her emphasis had Wynn looking away self-consciously.

She kissed his cheek. "I'm glad you felt that way, and just about me," she said, nibbling her lower lip. Again, this was a different Kristin than the one who'd flown here just two days ago. The change had begun, almost unbeknownst to her, when she and Wynn had their first longer conversation.

As heated up as she was, Kristin wasn't about to let anything slow down what she wanted, particularly knowing that Wynn wanted it too. She pulled his hand away and replaced it with her own, searching for his erection that she knew was hanging around somewhere, stiff and ready. She heard him moan once again when she took hold of it and directed it, actually pressing it forward until it parted her labia.

"Now it's your turn," she said softly but couldn't keep from lowering her hips, enthralled by the feeling of him entering and stretching her for the first time.

She was quickly getting help as his hands went to her butt cheeks, holding her in place while his hips lifted slowly, the feeling of entering that warm and very slippery channel beyond anything he could have imagined.

"Are you okay?" he murmured, slowing for one second.

"Yes, yes, oh, God, don't slow down," he heard.

There was no way he could go slowly after that, but he found that her body was matching his rhythm perfectly. The sounds that filled the room were new to both of them, bodies slapping together passionately, sporadic moans and groans, and occasional gasping words.

When he began a second orgasm in the past two hours, she smothered his mouth with hers, feeling her body jerk with each of his spasms. When he finished, he squeezed the breath out of her.

"I said I was falling, but Kristin Murray, I have fallen, and I pray we can be together forever." He squeezed her again, put his hands on her cheeks, and lifted her face toward his.

"Kris, what's wrong?"

She'd never been so happy, and the tears came of their own accord.

"I'm happier than I've ever been. That's what's wrong or right."

Hugs and kisses followed.

"It's just a little past noon. How about some pizza?"

They both showered together, of course and somehow managed to just shower. They dressed, and Wynn threatened to have Kris drive the Porsche. When he told her he was kidding, her heart rate returned to normal.

The pizza was nearly gone when he said, "When we go to Pennsylvania, you'll have to do most of the driving. So we have to get you familiar with the little dickins."

"I have a return plane ticket," she pleaded, not anxious to tempt fate in the small but powerful German import.

Wynn laughed. "You drive a car, and the Porsche is just a car."

"It has an extra pedal, though."

"We have a few days to practice."

Despite her seeming reluctance, the thought of heading home, even with her driving the Porsche, was nearly numbing. So much excitement, along with a plethora of new and enthralling feelings, had the twenty-two-year-old anxious to embark on the life that lay ahead of her.

"The other thing we might consider," Wynn began thoughtfully, finger to chin, "is that we're not required to wait a whole week to go to Pennsylvania."

"But I have that return ticket." Kris couldn't ignore the frugality that had always been part of her life.

"When we get back to the house, you give me the ticket, and I'll take care of it. Now, about leaving earlier?"

"Wynn, I can barely breathe and move my arms and legs, let alone think. So, temporarily," she said with a grin, "you're in charge."

That brought a belly laugh from Wynn.

The following morning, he took care of getting her ticket refunded. Kris was obviously relieved, and Wynn insisted on a kiss as a reward which, of course, nearly turned into much more.

Two hours in the Porsche, and the jerking transformed into Kris yelling. "This sucker really flies, doesn't it?"

Back at the house, Wynn called his mother.

"Well," his mother answered, " how have things worked out?"

"Right to the point, huh, Mom? Better than I could rightfully have hoped for. You have a house all to yourself now."

"Wait, what?"

"I'm moving to Pennsylvania with Kris."

"And what will you be doing there?"

"She'll finish her nursing, and I may become a gentleman farmer."

Laughter from the other end of the line.

"I know. We'll see."

*****

Two days later, they were on the road, Kris totally into driving the Boxter and Wynn reveling in her obvious excitement. Since they had no deadlines except for Kris's school, they took their time traveling cross country. They spent three nights in motels and stopped to see the sights along the way.

They pulled into the driveway of Kris's mother's house at about five in the evening, the first time Wynn had seen it.

"This is so neat, Kris. I mean, I was raised a California guy, but this is so neat. The big trees, the hills, the colors. This is perfect."

Kris felt like she was getting goosebumps as she listened to Wynn talk. And when she took him to the garage and her apartment, he said even more about how this just seemed ideal.

They'd been there a few minutes when Jimmy and her mother drove in. Despite the fact that Sondra told them they were welcome to use the house, as she had been staying at Jimmy's since right after Kris had left for California, Wynn was fascinated with the idea of staying in the small apartment. They did agree to use Jimmy's truck to carry the new mattress and springs that would replace Kris's twin bed.

Kris couldn't help remembering the time, not that long ago, when Jimmy had said "he'd be right proud to have her as his daughter." Neither had imagined it would be this close to being true.

Kris returned to her nursing classes, Sondra was enjoying learning about farming from Jimmy, and Wynn was catching up on his reading and researching things where he might invest his time fruitfully.

Kris insisted on still helping at the diner where she had become moderately famous since she was living with a movie star. Of course, Ligonier being the Burrough it was, she overheard a few snide remarks about that as well.

If she mentioned that she wanted or needed something, it seemed to magically appear, and she wasn't used to that. When she chided him for spoiling her, he always told her to "learn to deal with it."

Warm weather had arrived, and Wynn was anxious to sit outside in the evenings and enjoy the sounds of nature. He'd quickly learned about insect repellent. On the warmest evening so far, they were on the house's front porch when Wynn said very casually, "I think I know what I want to do."

"Wynn, you haven't even hinted about anything. What is it?"

"Let's start a dog rescue service."

"Are you serious?"

"Sure am. I'm going to start calling around to get more information."

Kris climbed out of her chair and down on Wynn's lap.

"I was thinking of something else, too," she began. "St. Vincent has a summer theater program, and I'm sure they'd love to have you joining in with them."

"I don't know, Kris. I kind of gave that up."

"I know, but it was part of you for a long time. " Kris had a hopeful look on her face.

"Hmm, maybe on one condition."

A big smile. "What's that?"

"That you marry me."

"Wynn, are you serious?"

"Did you think we were just going to hang out together forever?" He chuckled at the look that remained on Kris's face.

"No, no, I didn't."

"So, no, no is your answer, then?"

"No, that's not my answer. Yes, I'll marry you!"

"Just so I'll be in the St. Vincent summer theater?"

She smothered his mouth with a wonderful kiss. "Don't say another word until I'm through, okay?"

Another big kiss.

"This is working out well," he said. "But I'll be quiet and let you talk for a moment."

"Ever since you moved back here to be with me, I've dreamed of you asking me to marry you. I won't lie about that. And now that it's happened, I can't come anywhere near telling you how happy it's made me."

"And that makes me so very happy to hear that. Let's go inside the house for a minute."

When she stepped through the door, Kris could hardly believe her eyes. The dining room table was covered with a beautiful and very delicate lace cloth, four places carefully set around the table with white candles on the table and on everything else in the room that could hold a candle.

True to her nature, Kris exclaimed, "Wynn, you shouldn't have left all of these candles burning. That's so dangerous!"

"I didn't. I have candle-lighters close by."

Sondra and Jimmy came out of the kitchen, both with huge smiles on their faces.

"Do you remember the first time I came into the diner and what I had to eat?"

"Oh my gosh, no. I mean, I remember you, but not what you had to eat."

"It was Lloyd's meatloaf, and you picked the two sides. Mashed potatoes with gravy and green beans."

"I'll get them," Sondra said, heading for the kitchen.

"I had Lloyd fix them for our dinner."

For the first time, Kris noticed that one of the plates had a small box placed carefully right in the center. She looked at Wynn, then Sondra, then Jimmy. All were smiling.

"I think that's for you, honey," Sondra said.

Kris opened the box, then opened her mouth. A look at Wynn. "It's...it's beautiful."

Wynn took the ring from the box and dropped to one knee.

"Kristin Murray, will you marry me?"

"Wynn Trotter, I will marry you will all of my heart and all of my being."

A hug, a kiss, and it was time for the meatloaf.

Epilogue

The wedding was small but beautiful, held in a meadow behind Jimmy's house, now Sondra's house as well.

Wynn's major request for the wedding was that he "wanted to see his beautiful bride march down the aisle toward him." That was taken care of by both Sondra and Jimmy escorting her between the rows of forty or so chairs for the small gathering of guests.