War And Peace on 22nd Street

"How did I make you more confused?"

Cheryl frowned.

"It's just me. I'm so messed up I can't think straight. When you touched my hand on Friday, it made little tingles run through me, but I didn't think I was supposed to feel that way. I'd been telling myself for a long time to just ignore what I felt because it never happened anyway. When I said you just wanted to have sex with me and you said you didn't, and then said there was more between a man and a woman than sex, I got really confused. You were saying you didn't want to but you did want to. That's what got me confused."

I took Cheryl's hand and held it in mine.

"Cheryl, you need to understand something about me, well, about most men in general. I'd like nothing better than to take you to bed with me tonight, but I can't for two reasons. I remember how I felt right after my divorce. It was like I wasn't enough man for her and I wanted to prove I was with another woman.

"I think you might be feeling like less of a woman because of what your ex kept telling you and now you want to prove him wrong. You don't have to prove that to me. I can see it for myself, and I'm not going to let you do something just because you want to prove it to yourself.

"You don't have to do that either. All you need to do is look in a mirror to see that you're a very desirable woman, and all you have to do to convince yourself that you're not the woman your ex thought you were is remember how you felt about yourself before him."

"I also can't because I don't know you very well yet, and I think you'd be letting me have sex with you instead of wanting me to make love with you. For me at least, there's a big difference between letting and wanting. It would be me making myself feel good and not us sharing anything.

I chuckled then.

"Besides, this is our first date, and I never take a woman to bed on the first date."

Cheryl looked up at me then.

"What do you do on a first date then, just say you had a good time and leave?"

"It depends on the woman. If I like her, I might try to kiss her."

"How would you try to do that?"

I put my arms around Cheryl's waist and then smiled.

"I'd just hold her like this and then lean down. If she turned away, I'd know not to do any more."

Cheryl put her arms around my neck and moved toward me until her breasts were touching my chest.

"I'm not going to turn away."

For the next two Saturday nights, I met Cheryl at Dicks, bought her a burger and a club soda, and then walked her home. Each night, she stopped on her door step, put her arms around my neck and kissed me. That first Saturday night, I didn't want to let her go, but I told myself she wasn't ready for anything else. The second Saturday night, after she kissed me, she looked up and smiled.

"I've been thinking some more about what you've been telling me."

I grinned.

"You always tell me that when I walk you home."

"I know, but I really have. I decided you were right that first night. I was just trying to convince myself a man could like me without doing all those things to me that I didn't like him doing. I thought if I let you have sex with me, I'd know it wasn't me that caused my divorce."

I hugged her a little.

"Like I told you, I felt the same way. It's just normal. I've known a couple other guys who thought that way and found a woman who would let them. It made them feel good for a while, but since they didn't really have any feelings for the woman, that feeling didn't last. It's sharing each other that makes it last, not just having sex."

Cheryl stroked my cheek.

"I think I understand that now, at least a little. Is a third date enough for you to help me understand it more?"

"Are you sure that's what you want?"

"Yes. It's the only way I'm ever going to know if I'm like my ex said I was, or if I'm like other women and he was wrong."

"That sounds like you're still trying to prove something to yourself."

Cheryl smiled.

"I am, I suppose, but I'm not trying to prove I'm still sexy. I'm trying to prove to myself that I'll feel good about sharing something with another person...really sharing instead of just being there until it's over. I want to share myself with you if you're ready to share yourself with me."

Cheryl seemed fine when she led me into her house, locked the door behind us, and then led me to her bedroom. As soon as we were there though, I could see her getting more nervous by the second. Her hands were shaking when she tried to reach behind her back for the zipper on her dress. I took her hands in mine and smiled.

"I'll do that for you, Cheryl."

When I pulled the zipper down, my cock started to stiffen. Her smooth back was pale white in contrast to the black bra band and knowing I was going to see more of that creamy, soft, skin was exciting me.

That zipper went almost down to Cheryl's round hips, and I couldn't help but slip my hands inside to her waist once I had it down. Cheryl shivered a little and then turned her head over her shoulder and whispered, "It won't come off over my butt. It's too big."

She turned to face me then and raised her arms, and I took my time lifting the dress up and over her head. When the hem exposed her stockings, I felt my cock stiffen a little more. She was wearing those stockings with elastic tops that don't need a garter belt. The tops squeezed her soft thighs and accented the smooth, soft skin that sort of swelled out above them.

Her panties were black and made of lace that was mostly transparent and the curly blonde hair on her mound made little bumpy places on the surface. The thin material had also pulled in between her lips. They looked a little puffy and I like that.

From the thin string of her panties to her bra was more silky skin, and the bra itself was more black, almost transparent lace. I could see the faint outline of her nipple beds and the small bumps in the centers that were Cheryl's nipples. As I lifted the dress over her head, I let my thumbs brush those small bumps and Cheryl caught her breath.

Once I had the dress off and lying in the chair behind me, I reached around Cheryl's back for her bra hooks. She frowned and put her arms around my neck.

"I hope you're not disappointed with my boobs. They sag a little without the bra."

I pulled Cheryl a little closer, leaned down and kissed her, and then smiled.

"That's not going to make a difference to me."

Actually, that little sag did make a difference to me, but it wasn't that her breasts looked saggy. I was that when I slipped the bra cups away from Chery's chest, than moved down a little but formed round globes with small nipples I wanted to stroke. I tossed the bra on the chair, then cupped her breasts and stroked my thumbs over he nipples. Cheryl caught her breath again, and then murmured, "Are they OK."

I didn't say anything. I just bent my head down and kissed each nipple softly. I felt them begin stiffening and getting a little longer, so I kissed them again, then raised back up and smiled.

"They're a lot more than just OK, Cheryl. They're beautiful."

I didn't take off her panties then. I wanted to do that when we were on her bed together. I don't know why I like to do it that way, but I do. Maybe it's the way panties hide a woman's sex and that's erotic, I don't know, but I wanted to cup Cherly's lips through the lace and feel the crinkley hair before I took them off.

Instead I pulled off my shirt, kicked off my shoes, and then let my pants fall to the floor. Cheryl just stood there watching me until I pulled down my underwear. She smiled then.

"I think you do like me."

I took her in my arms, pressed her big breasts into my chest, and then kissed her. Cheryl purred a little moan into my mouth when I cupped her ass cheeks and then squeezed. She was smiling when I pushed her gently down to sit on the bed and then lifted her legs to get her to lie down. I climbed in beside her then and stroked from her breasts down to the triangle of her panties.

Cheryl didn't spread her legs when I stroked her mound, so I moved my hand from there to her inner thighs. I felt Cheryl's body stiffen when I stroked up that soft skin and touched the top of her soft lips. I figured she was still nervous about this, so I kissed her again. When my tongue traced her lower lip, she sighed and opened her mouth. When my tongue found hers, Cheryl moaned and put her hand on the back of my head.

She didn't open her thighs until I'd kissed each nipple again. They were stiff now, stiff and covered with little ridges on the sides and I could feel little dimples in the tips with my tongue. Once I'd closed my lips around one, Cheryl murmured, "Oh my", and eased her thighs apart until I felt her lips under my fingers. I gently massaged, then slipped one finger under the lace of her panties. Cheryl moaned when that finger traced the edges of her hair-fringed lips, and her thighs opened a little more.

I sat up then, and when I pulled on the string around Cheryl's waist, she lifted her hips so I could take off her panties. I slipped them down until I saw her bush, then bent down and kissed her mound. Cheryl put her hand on my head and whispered, "No. Not that."

I stopped and nibbled my way from her bush up to her breasts, mouthed each nipple, and then whispered, "Why not?"

"Because I've never done that before. It's not...not right."

I grinned.

"We're sharing each other, remember? I want to share you there and I promise you'll like it."

I didn't wait for her to say anything. I just kissed down over the swell of her right breast, smiled when I sucked that nipple a little and Cheryl moaned, and then kissed her mound again while I pulled her panties down her legs. As soon as she raised her legs, I slipped them off and tossed them behind me, then slipped my fingertip between her pouting lips. Cheryl caught her breath when I stroked her inner lips, and then moaned when I moved that finger down to her entrance.

Cheryl didn't really open her thighs until I kissed up each one from her knees to her mound and then lightly brushed my tongue over the top of her slit. She did then, so I knelt between them. I nibbled up her right inner thigh then, and she opened herself a little more, enough I could part her lips enough to slip my tongue between them.

At the first lick, Cheryl gasped and tried to close her legs together, but since I had my head there, she couldn't. I licked again, this time pushing my tongue deep enough I was licking the folds of her inner lips. After a few more licks, Cheryl sighed and spread her legs apart far enough I could stretch out no the bed. When I separated her soft lips with my thumbs and then licked her from her entrance to her clit, Cheryl moaned and her hips lurched up a little.

I didn't intend to make her climax with my tongue, not that time anyway. I was going to do that, but when she said she'd never done it before, I decided to just use my tongue and fingers until she was ready for my cock. I hoped there would be other times I could lick her until I had to hold on to her ass to keep my tongue in place when she came. For now though, just a taste, so to speak, would introduce her to how great that can feel without making it seem like I was forcing her to do it.

It only took me sliding my hands up her sides and then fondling her breasts, stroking her nipples, and then pinching her nipples gently to make Cheryl begin rocking her hips and breathing hard. Once she was, I slipped a finger inside her entrance.

She was slippery, slippery and a little sticky feeling inside, so I knew I wouldn't hurt her when I entered her. A moment later, I raised up and moved my stiff cock to part her wet lips.

Cheryl gasped and then held her breath while I probed for her entrance with my cock head. I found the spot, pushed in a little, and then pulled back when Cheryl sighed.

It took a lot of short strokes before I slid my cock all the way inside her, little short strokes at first to tease her open, then deeper strokes that massaged my cock with the snug place just inside her entrance. When I finally pushed my cock inside Cheryl until her lips were flattened against her inner thighs, she murmured, "Oh God, it never felt like this before". She put her hands on my back then and when I started stroking my cock in and out slowly, she sighed and stroked my back.

I wanted to make it last, and at first that was pretty easy to do. Cheryl wasn't very vocal about what we were doing, and that was good. I've always thought women who talk all the time during sex do that because they think the guy wants them to. I'd rather they just relaxed and did what they feel like doing. That's how Cheryl was at first.

I was stroking just fast enough I was enjoying the way the ripples of her passage massaged my cock and the way she was breathing deeply. Once in a while, she'd moan a little and I'd feel her hands tighten against my back. A little later, she started rocking her body up into my thrusts, and that was great too.

Cheryl sneaked up on me though. One minute she was lying there with her eyes closed and her face turned to the side. Once in a while, I'd see her smile. The next minute, she gasped and arched into my stroke, then held her breath and sort of quivered. She fell back down on the mattress then, but a second later, she arched up again, dug her nails into my back and murmured, "oh -- oh -- oh", then arched even higher.

I felt her passage contract around my cock and that made me start to lose it. I stroked a little faster, and Cheryl's thighs began to shake. A second later, she gasped, "Oh God", dug her nails into my back, and then cried out. The contractions in her passage took me away and I pumped three spurts deep inside her while she writhed under me.

Cheryl eased back down on the bed, then arched up and moaned, "Oh", when I kept stroking my cock in and out. I was still feeling little contractions around my cock when she sighed.

"Is it always supposed to feel like this?"

I kissed her on the forehead and then whispered, "No. This was really good for me, but it always gets better."

"Mmm...I don't know how I feel except I've never felt like this before."

"I know what you mean, Cheryl...I know what you mean."

I woke up the next morning alone in Cheryl's bed. I thought maybe she was in the bathroom, but when I checked, she wasn't. It was then I smelled coffee and bacon. I got dressed and then followed the smell to the kitchen. Cheryl was standing there with an apron on and nothing else. I walked up and stroked her soft ass cheeks.

"Is this how you fix breakfast every morning?"

Cheryl turned around and put her arms around my neck.

"No...usually I get dressed first, but I thought...well, it felt good last night and I wanted to stay naked in case you wanted to...If you don't, that's OK."

I chuckled.

"Oh, I want to, but if we do, you'll burn the bacon."

Cheryl smiled.

"Then we'll have breakfast and then see if you can make me feel like that again."

We were in bed and relaxing after that second time when Cheryl stroked my chest.

"I think I understand now. It was him, not me, just like you said."

"Yes, it was him. If he'd known what he had...well, I suppose he didn't stop to think about that. He just wanted to make himself feel good."

Cheryl snuggled her breasts into my side.

"Did I make you feel good?"

I stroked her hip.

"So good it's going to be really hard to go home."

Cheryl smiled.

"What if I went home with you?"

"You know what will happen if you do, don't you?"

Cheryl nibbled my earlobe and then whispered, "That's what I'm counting on."

Cheryl did come home with me that night and she kept coming over every night until Friday. On Friday we went down to Dick's for a fish sandwich. When Mary saw us walk in together, she smiled. While Liz cooked our sandwiches, I went over to say "hi" to the guys at the table, and when I came back, Mary was bent over the bar and talking to Cheryl. They stopped when I got close. I'd just sat down when Trudy brought our sandwiches and fries, so I didn't get to ask her what they'd talked about.

I did get the chance while we were walking home.

"What was Mary telling you?"

Cheryl chuckled.

"She said if I knew what was good for me, I'd never let you go."

"That's all?"

"Well, no, but the rest was girl stuff. I can't tell you that part."

"Why?"

"Because I'd be giving away my secrets if I did."

"You have secrets?"

"Sure. Every woman has thoughts she doesn't tell anybody except another woman."

I squeezed Cheryl's hand.

"How about a hint?"

Cheryl stopped, put her arms around my neck, and then kissed me. When she pulled away, she grinned.

"That was a hint."

I grinned back.

"I'm sure you talked about more than wanting to kiss me."

"Well, we did, but I don't know if you want to know the rest."

"Give me another hint. You might be surprised."

Cheryl put her cheek against mine and whispered in my ear.

"I'd be happy if your house was my house. Is that enough of a hint?"

Well, things are pretty quiet on 22nd street anymore. Cheryl and I go down to Dick's Bar on Fridays for a fish sandwich and on Saturdays for a burger. Mary always smiles when she sees us walk in and so does Trudy. They still live together upstairs, and I doubt that'll ever change. I know Cheryl and I won't ever change.

Cheryl moved in with me the Saturday after that night, and she sold her house a month later. An older couple live there now, Mr. and Mrs. Jenkins. They keep pretty much to themselves, although Ted and I do share a beer once in a while after we finish mowing on Saturday. Emma and Cheryl talk over coffee while we're mowing, and they get along fine.

It was about six months after they moved in that Cheryl snuggled up to me one night and said, "Emma thinks we're married. I didn't have the heart to tell her the ring I wear on my ring finger is to remind me how much I didn't like being married before."

I'd been thinking a lot about that, but I didn't know if it had been long enough since Cheryl divorced her husband to ask her. That night, I did.

"We could make it so you don't have to lie to her...if you'd like that."

"You mean you'd like to marry me?"

"What else would I mean?"

Cheryl giggled.

"It would mean you're stuck with me."

I stroked her breast and tweaked her nipple.

"I can't think of anybody else I'd rather be stuck with."

Cheryl shivered a little when I pinched her nipple again, and then sighed.

"If you keep doing that, you know what's going to happen."

"Yeah, I do. I'm going to end up stuck in you."

Cheryl stroked down my belly until she found my cock.

"I like being stuck with this. Think you could stick me tonight and then again tomorrow morning?"

"I think I could manage that. I don't think I'll ever be able to stop."

"Even if we were married?"

I smiled and slipped my hand between Cheryl's soft thighs.

"To find that out, you have to say you'll marry me."

Cheryl kissed me and then smiled.

"I thought you'd never ask."