Trent & Mary

"Okay." I said. I started the engine again and continued going west. I turned off into a small town about an hour later. I found a hotel and pulled into the parking lot. I turned around and looked at Mary. "Do you want to rent a double, or two singles?"

"A double would be cheaper." She said.

We went into the lobby and rang the bell. The clerk came out of a back room a moment later.

"What can I do for you?" She asked.

"We need a double for the night." I said.

"Forty dollars for the room, dinner, and breakfast." She said. I pulled out my wallet and handed her two twenties. She took them, then reached under the desk and gave me a set of keys. "Room 221 A, on the second floor. Dining room is right through there."

I took the keys and put them in my pocket. Mary and I went into the dining room, ate, and headed to our room. It was a rather small room with a single queen-sized bed. I had expected two single beds.

"Looks like we have to sleep in the same bed again tonight." Mary said.

"Sure does." I said. "We both need to shower. Do you want in there first?"

"Well…" She began.

"What?"

"I was thinking, that since… well, we're going to be spending a lot of time with each other, so, you know, we, um…" She trailed off. "Never mind. I'll go first."

"Wait." I put my hand on her shoulder. "What were you going to say?"

"Well…" She lowered her head and giggled. "I was going to suggest we shower together."

I was surprised that she would suggest something like that. She really didn't seem to be the type. Then I remembered the night before. "Well, we can if you want to."

She giggled again and raised her head. Her face was red. "Really?"

"Sure."

She giggled again. "Okay!"

We went into the bathroom and closed the door. The shower was big enough to easily accommodate both of us at once. Mary pulled off her sweats. She was wearing a pair of jeans under them. She unzipped her jeans and stepped out of them, leaving her in just her T-shirt and panties. I pulled off my jeans and shirt, leaving me in my underwear.

"You look really good like that." Mary said.

"You look good like that too." I said.

She giggled and blushed again. "Well? I'll show you mine if you show me yours."

I grinned and pulled off my underwear. Mary blushed and hooked her fingers into the waistband of her panties, then pulled them down. She stepped out of her panties, then pulled her shirt over her head. She unclasped her bra and let it drop to the floor as well.

Mary giggled again. "I've never seen anyone else naked before." She said. "Not in real life, I mean. I've seen pictures."

I bent over the tub, turned on the hot water, and stepped in. Mary stepped in a second later and picked up the soap. "Will you let me wash you?" She asked sweetly.

"Sure."

I turned around, and Mary began washing my shoulders. She moved on down to my back after a minute, 'accidentally' running one hand over my buttocks.

"Okay. Now it's your turn." She said. I turned around and took the soap from her. She turned away from me, and I washed her back as she had done for me. I 'accidentally' let my hands slip between her arms and her sides, rubbing the edges of her breasts.

I finished washing her back. She turned around and rinsed off. "Thanks."

"Any time."

We finished the shower and turned off the water, dried ourselves off, then went back into the bedroom. I got my keys and wallet out of my jeans and set them on the nightstand, then put my clothes in the basket outside the door to be cleaned. Mary did likewise.

I sat down on the left side of the bed and turned on the TV, resting my right arm on the headboard. Mary sat down on the other side of the bed. We were both wearing towels, but nothing else.

We watched TV for about an hour, neither one of us saying anything. Knowing women as I did, it occurred to me after a while that she might be upset about something.

"Something wrong?" I asked.

She looked at me. "No. Why?"

"You haven't said anything for a while. I just thought there might be something bothering you."

She shook her head. "No, I'm fine."

I turned my attention back to the TV. At ten, I handed Mary the remote. "There's nothing on I want to watch. You can find something if you want."

She took the remote and turned off the TV. I got up to put some clothes on, then remembered that we had left our extra clothes on my motorcycle. I checked outside the door, but the basket we had left our clothes in was empty. I shut and locked the door.

"Mary?"

She had been laying down with her eyes closed, but sat up when I said her name. "What?'

"Uh… we have a small problem."

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" I hesitated. "Our extra clothes are out in my motorcycle, and they've already picked up the ones we were wearing for cleaning."

"Oh… So neither one of us…" She began.

"Has any clothes." I finished for her.

She thought for a moment. "Well, we were naked in the shower together. I don't see why we can't sleep naked in the same bed."

She got up, took her towel off, and put it back in the bathroom. Not wanting to appear prudish, I hastened to do likewise.

She lay down on the bed, pulling the blanket up over her. I lay down under the blanket and stretched out, then closed my eyes and tried to sleep.

She turned off the lamp on the bedstand and lay down. She was still for a while, then rolled onto her side. I felt, rather than saw, this happen. A few minutes later, I felt her slowly begin to move toward me. I waited a while, but she stopped before she actually made contact with me.

I waited a moment before I said anything. "You don't have to be shy."

"What?" She asked, sitting up a bit.

I opened my eyes. I could barely make out her outline, but it was too dark to see much of anything else. "If you want to cuddle, just do it. I don't mind at all."

"Oh. Okay." She lay down on her side next to me and put her head on my right shoulder, her right arm resting on my chest. I slid my arm around her.

We lay like that for a little while, then Mary sat up, leaned over me, and kissed me full on the lips.

It wasn't at all unpleasant; quite the opposite. Her lips were warm and soft, and she tasted sweet. She parted her lips and slowly pushed her tongue into my mouth. I let her, and returned the gesture. Her soft breasts were pressed against my chest, and I could feel her nipples stiffen as she kissed me.

I pulled back suddenly. "Mary, stop."

"What?" She asked, sitting back. She sounded genuinely confused.

"We shouldn't do this. We barely know each other. I mean, don't get me wrong; you're sweet, and beautiful, and I really like you. But I just wouldn't feel right about sleeping with you."

"Why? I want to do it, and I know you do too." She said. She slowly moved towards me on her hands and knees. "You wouldn't have to feel bad about it." She continued. "I really think you're sweet."

"Because it would feel like I was taking advantage of you." I said. "You left your home that you've never been away just from this morning, and you're vulnerable right now. I would never be able to live with myself if I took advantage of you."

She stopped where she was, then sat back on her legs. She was silent for a long moment. "You're right." She said quietly. "I… I wanted you because I was insecure."

"I respect you too much to do that to you." I said. "It wouldn't be right."

She lay down again. "Thank you." She was silent for a moment. "I really appreciate your integrity. A lot of men wouldn't have been so noble."

I lay down next to her. "We can still cuddle, if you want."

She immediately moved over so that she was laying next to me. I put my arms around her, and she lay her head on my shoulder again. "Thank you Trent. I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome." I said, closing my eyes. Soon, we both fell asleep.

*******************

Mary woke up first the next morning. I awoke as she sat up. I thought at first that we had had sex the night before, but I remembered what had happened after a moment.

Mary stretched and rolled her head. I got up and checked outside the door to see if our clothes were back yet. They were sitting, folded and ironed, in the basket.

I picked up the basket and closed the door. I handed Mary her clothes, and we got dressed.

"Trent?" Mary said as she was putting on her shoes.

"What?"

"I…" She blushed and avoided my eyes. "I feel really embarrassed about last night. I mean, I really came off as kind of a slut." She blushed deeper.

"No you didn't." I said. "You were just uneasy about leaving home, and you thought sex would help. It's not all that unusual."

"What do you mean? How do you know that?" She asked, turning to me.

"I studied psychology in my spare time." I said. "I remember a lot of it."

"Oh. Well…" She dropped her gaze, then turned away. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make things awkward between us."

"I don't think things are awkward." I said.

"I'm sorry. I just miss home so much."

"You promised me yesterday that you would try it for a week. You still have six days of that left."

She was still for a moment, then sighed. "You're right. I promised, and I won't back out."

I put my hand on her shoulder. "Just forget about last night. Let's just get breakfast and go."

She nodded. "Right."

As we walked down the stairs together, I had a feeling that I would always remember the time I would be spending with Mary.