16 comments/ 68366 views/ 14 favorites A Penny for a Buck By: only_more_so This is my first story, so I hope you all enjoy it. I would love to hear your comments. * * * * * Sometimes I lose my perspective. I tend to think of myself as no less normal that every other person running around. Everyone gets up, showers and shaves, gets dressed and goes to work in the morning. Of course, I put on clothes from a Big and Tall store and work in a lab where even the security guards have advanced degrees. I was just about done building the stabilizer for my latest project when my boss came into my office. "Buck, we need to talk. Personnel has flagged your file because you haven't taken your annual leave for over four years. Your last psych evaluation came back within the acceptable range, but it did show a marked increase in stress levels. You need a vacation." "Jack, I was kind of sick that day, and the miniaturized servos for the orthocopter weren't working. Anyway, in another month I'll be ready for sub-assembly testing, which should only take about two months. Then assembly, and another round of testing, probably some retooling, debugging and tuning will be required. But I should be done by say June of next year. I'll take my vacation then." "No, you won't Buck. Because by the time this project is done, there will be another project with another tantalizingly close milestone. I won't let you end up like Regan." "Yeah, Regan. Didn't they find him stark naked on his lab table singing 'The Candyman'?" I asked. "I don't think you have to worry about me doing that, I don't even know the words to the song." "Look Buck, I'm serious..." I cut him off saying, "Look, I promise, as soon as this project is over, I will spend at least a week on some beach drinking from coconuts with little umbrellas. Besides, you can't make me take a vacation." "No, but I can fire you. You need to take a step back and get some perspective." I couldn't help but giggle about needing perspective. The giggling is what decided me, Jack was right, I did need a break. Besides, he really would fire me for my own good, and trying to explain to another employer why I didn't do any work for the past five years would be a little tricky. "Fine," I said, "I'll finish up this component and be ready for vacation by the beginning of next month." "I've already talked to security, your codes expire on Friday, that's tomorrow in case you forgot. I also gave them orders to turn you away if you try to show up before New Years," Jack said before strolling out of my office. Three months? I didn't even know I had that much vacation time. I sat there for nearly an hour, pretending to be working, before giving it up and heading home. As I was driving to my apartment, I knew I was only going to be there long enough to pack and head to the only real home I knew. * * * I took the scenic route, rather than the interstate or flying. The dappled sunlight on the back roads eased my nerves more than saving an hour or two by fighting traffic. Driving was also much more relaxing than waiting in lines, to sit on a cramped plane while the idiot in front of me slams his seat against my knees. After ten hours of driving, I pulled into town and was already feeling more relaxed. It was just past four, so I decided to swing past my alma mater's campus before heading to the apartment I had arranged to rent. I drove by the campus slowly, watching the edifices of education go by. For four years of undergraduate study this was a home away from home. But over the years of graduate work, my parent's house became the home away from home, and the city surrounding my school became my real home. It is actually a very quirky city, even more so than the average college town. The main reason is the number and disparity of universities that the city boasts. The city has everything from prestigious law schools, to beauty schools, a world renown school of fine arts, and more than a few trade schools. It also boasted just about everything in between. I, of course, went to the technical institute where we laughed at all the liberal arts types. They, in turn, laughed at us. Although there were rooms for let near the school where I spent nearly a decade studying, I decided to rent a nice loft downtown, with a river view. Since I hadn't taken a vacation in four years, I could afford to splurge a bit. * * * I went around to the leasing office, filled out the requisite forms and was shown to my temporary abode on the tenth floor. People always told me it is ironic that a guy my size is afraid of heights. That being said, I did take advantage of the floor to ceiling view of the river, from a conservative three feet away. I unpacked my things and decided to head out into the city. I took a stroll through the city and walked the familiar streets. I didn't have a particular destination in my, but I soon found myself standing outside of Brewster's Tap. Brewster's Tap was a below street level bar that tried to be an English Pub. Furnished in brass, leather and polished wood, it was a cozy place for the more discerning of the college crowd and the young professionals. I had spent many a night distressing in this quaint establishment while in grad school. The owner of Brewster's Tap, Chuck Flowers, was a pot-bellied man with an impossible to place accent. He had gray hair, gray eyes and the habit of wearing gray clothes. If he didn't swear so much, I would have thought him a priest torn from a black and white movie. He could be a caustic sort, but he was also a good friend. I climbed down the steps and remembered just in time to duck under the door lintel. Although the door frame is wide enough for my shoulders, the lintel was only six feet five inches over the threshold. At six foot six myself, that meant it is low enough for me to crack my head, but high enough that when I am drunk and having perspective problems I manage to brain myself. I would roundly curse all buildings built before modern codes, swear I would never return, only to make myself a liar the very next night. As it was still early in the evening, the place was pretty empty. I strolled down the length of the bar, checking out the latest additions. Brewster's has a tradition that once you drank a hundred different beers they buy you a mug and hang it on a hook on the wall. There were maybe a dozen new additions since I was last here five years ago, and maybe the same number had been replaced with tombstone like plaques which indicated a person had moved on and taken the mug with them. Each mug was specially designed for the drinker by Chuck, usually with some input from the drinker in question. Some were short and wide, others tall and narrow, and each had a beautiful painting on the front and a name on the back, reversed for the left handed drinkers of course. I was halfway down the bar when I saw a mug that surprised me. It surprised me because after five years I would have expected it to have been retired. Usually a person takes the mug with them, but sometimes they forget, and when forgotten and a certain amount of dust has accumulated, the mugs are wrapped up and retired. But there was my mug, looking exactly as it had been when I left. It was still the smallest mug in the bar, and the one with the simplest painting. A stag's head with an exaggeratedly complex set of antlers graced the front of the mug, and on the back in suitably bold gothic letters: "BUCK." I took the mug down, my mug, and headed for my favorite stool. The owner had a peculiar sense of humor and had the mug crafted to tease me. I was never much of a beer drinker, and it took me more than four years to choke down enough beers to qualify for my own mug. In between I would annoy the bartender by ordering obscure mixed drinks that would send him to his barman's guide, my favorite being a gloom lifter which actually contained an egg white! Anyway, the night I finally downed my hundredth different beer, and was drunkenly telling Chuck what sort of design I wanted, I proclaimed, "I want the biggest mug in the whole bar, since I am the biggest guy in the whole bar." I then proceeded to explain in detail the colors I wanted, and about the elaborate design featuring symbols from math and science. Anyway, when he unveiled my mug, there were hoots from everyone in the bar. Instead of the biggest mug, he had given me the smallest. Of course, Chuck was thinking better than I was since if I had a bigger mug, then it would always look mostly empty with, as Chuck put it, "You're fancy-smancy bartender's nightmares." "Barkeep, let me have a gloom lifter," I called out as I placed the mug on the bar top. Since it was still early, I knew Chuck would probably be in the kitchen getting ready for the brief dinner crowd. A young guy with a stained apron came out of the kitchen at looked at me strangely before asking, "what the heck is a gloom lifter?" He then noticed the mug in my hands and said, "Hey those mugs are for regulars only, we have other glasses you know." "This is my mug; I'm Buck." I glanced the guy over for a bit before adding, "So where's Chuck?" "Chuck? Chuck died three years ago. His daughter runs the place now, but she is finishing her degree so she doesn't usually come in until later." I felt like an ass. Chuck wasn't just my bartender in college, he was a friend. How could I not know that he had died. Heck, how could I not have known he had a daughter. "Just give me a bourbon and coke," I said handing him my mug. My earlier nostalgia quickly fading. I drank my drink, and a few more. Then I ordered the fish and chips. They were just as good as when Chuck was running the kitchen, so the recipe had outlived the man. * * * I hadn't intended to get drunk, but perspective was catching up on me a little too quickly. My static little world of the last five years hadn't prepared me for the changes to everything else. Maybe it is a good thing I had a forced vacation. I couldn't help but laugh when I realized I didn't even know who the President was anymore. Laughing when you are drinking alone is definitely a bad sign. Just then, over the noise in the now crowded bar, I heard a woman angrily shout, "Michael, I told you not to retire any mugs without my say so." Michael, I soon discovered, was the bartender. He was quickly out from behind the bar and heading in the direction of the angry voice. I glanced in that direction with slightly bleary eyes but couldn't tell who had raise the ruckus. So, I returned to contemplating perspective, and bourbon. I heard the angry woman's voice becoming slightly less angry, and finally quiet enough that it blended with the background noise. I was soon down to the last swallow, and decided I should probably call it quits before they had to drag me out of the bar. I reached into my pocket for my wallet while trying to find where the bartender had run off to. Then I remember the argument and looked behind me, but he wasn't there either. Turning back around I found myself staring at a pair of intense and oddly familiar gray eyes which said, "So you're Buck." * * * Lying on your back, looking at exposed rafters is an interesting perspective. Especially with people standing around you looking like skyscrapers. Michael was slapping me lightly on the face, "Are you okay man? You like passed out or something." I grabbed Michael by the apron with both hands and stammered something to the effect of, "You said he was dead. So it must have been his ghost that said, 'So you're back.'" "Actually, it was his daughter who said, 'So you're Buck.'" It was the same voice from earlier, and this time I could see the voice was attached to a slim pair of legs, that disappeared into a bright green skirt. Above the skirt was a golden blouse, and above the blouse a slightly flushed face framed by copper colored hair. She was standing over me and I suddenly felt like an ant staring up at a beautiful flower. Either she could read minds, or I suddenly got a stupid look on my face, because she started to giggle. "You had quite a fall, Buck. Michael, help him up." Between Michael and a couple of friendly patrons, they managed to get me on my feet and then onto my stool. The gray eyes were back behind the bar and on a level with my own. She tilted her head slightly, as if to get a different perspective. As she did, I took in the rest of her face, the thin proud nose, the small determined chin, the exceedingly rosy cheeks and red hair in a neat queue hanging over her shoulder. Comparing her face with my memory of her father's face I could definitely see the relationship. Especially when I looked in her eyes, which were much like her father's eyes only incredibly feminine. "I didn't mean to startle you. My father told me a lot about you. Even though you had said your goodbye's years ago, he said he always knew you would be back. He said, 'A man like that doesn't leave something behind by accident.' So every month he had me clean your mug and told me not to retire it no matter how long it's been." She got a faraway look to her eyes before refocusing and continuing, "I almost retired it last month, but when I was spending a weekend at a friend's cabin, I saw this magnificent stag come out of the woods and stare at me. His antlers reminded me of your mug. Yeah, it is corny, but it was a sign. And here you are." "A sign? You see a deer in the woods and think it's a sign?" The grin that had been on her face was fading when faced with my scientific cynicism. I thought as fast as I could and said, "Did you know, your dad gave me that name. Before that everyone always called me Walter, or Walt, or Wally, or hey nerd boy. He said he had an uncle named Walter, who everyone called, 'Buck.' Somehow the name stuck." I must have said something right, because she burst out laughing. "And you believed him? My dad didn't have an uncle named Walter. His only kin was his spinster aunt who raised him when his parent's died." She got that faraway look in her eyes again. I could tell she was thinking of her father, by the way her eyes got a bit misty but her lips started to smile. "My dad always had a sense of humor about things." She tugged on her braided a bit self-consciously and continued, "after all, when he saw I was born a redhead he called me Penny!" * * * Penny, whose real name of course was Penelope, and I reminisced for hours. We talked a lot about her father, but we talked about everything else as well. I was fascinated, and was more than a little self-conscious of how tipsy I had become. Eventually Michael came over and said he was going home, which was when I finally realized we were the only three people left in the bar. As Michael walked out, I glanced at my watch and realized it was nearly three in the morning, and that I'd been up for more than twenty hours. "I'm glad I don't have to work in the morning," I said, and for the first time in my life realized that I really meant it. My perspective was changing already. "Miss Penelope Flowers, it would be an honor, if I could escort you home," I said trying my best to sound as dignified as John Wayne would in a similar situation. "Why sir, it would be most wonderful to have such an escort," she said in a southern accent that put my attempt to shame. She winked at me and said, "Go hang up your mug, and I will be around the bar shortly." And shortly she meant. It seemed that she had shrunk a good eight inches walking around the bar. Then I remember that there was a step behind the bar that let Chuck hang glassware from the overhead racks. She must have been standing on it the whole time! I looked down at Penny, and realized she probably wasn't even five feet tall. She gave me a curious look, I couldn't tell if it was because I was staring, or because she hadn't realized quite how tall I was. After sufficient staring, I grinned and offered her my elbow. She placed her hand in the crook of my arm and we strolled into the night. I even remembered to duck. * * * "So which way are we headed?" I asked as we gained street level. "I live on State and 1st, but could we take Charles Street? I know it is a bit longer, but it is much prettier, plus we can go by my school." We strolled down the empty streets. The scenic route took us down the few remaining cobblestone streets, and eventually along the river. "There's my school!" she suddenly exclaimed, tugging on my arm and pointing. I looked and was surprised to see her pointing at one of the city's many art school. Maybe it wasn't world renown, but it had a very good reputation and was second best in the city. "When Michael said you were finishing your degree, I assumed he meant like an MBA or something like that. You know, to help run the bar." "Silly boy. Dad taught me all about running the bar. But although that is quite fun, what I most love is painting. Who do you think made all those mugs?" It struck me then that the little "P" in a circle stamped on the bottom of many of the mugs must stand for Penny. "Why didn't you tell me earlier that you had made my mug? I would have loved it all the more." "Flattery will get you everywhere, if you're not careful. By the way, did you ever notice that on your mug, and a very few others, the 'P' wasn't closed? So it kind of looks like a '1' and a backwards 'c'. One cent. Get it? I know, it's terrible, but I put it on the mugs for my dad's extra special customers. Kind of making them a little more personal." I knew that Chuck had liked me more than the average patron, in spite of how we could tease each other. But I really hadn't realized how special, or extra special that was. I was still contemplating this as we concluded our little stroll down 1st Street and made it to State. "This is it," she said as we stood in front of an apartment building. I suddenly realized, this was my apartment building. "You won't believe this, but I rented an apartment in this building today. I'm up on the tenth floor." "Wow, you must have an awesome view. I'm on the second floor. Can I come up and check out the view? Did you get a river view? Come on!" She was tugging on my arm and dragging me to the elevator. I was dead on my feet, but Penny's enthusiasm wouldn't let me decline or postpone. * * * When the key turned in the lock, Penny raced to the window, her face pressed against the glass. I had gotten as close to the view as I cared to earlier, so I merely sat in one of the chairs, took off my shoes and socks and then watched her watching the river. She glanced back at me, gave me a wink and turned back to the river. I closed my eyes for a moment, to store the image in my mind. I must have been more tired, or more drunk, than I thought. The next thing I knew I felt warmth pressed against my chest and around my neck and a hot breathe in my ear murmuring, "Wake up sleepy head." Penny was standing in front of the chair, between my legs with her arms wrapped around my neck. She must have felt that I was awake because she started stopped whispering and started humming softly against my ear and swaying against me. I put my arms on her sides and suddenly realized that she wasn't wearing any clothes. I pulled my hands back quickly, like they were on fire. The heat from her skin lingered on my fingers, and of their own accord my hands went back to his sides. Her skin was incredibly warm and smooth as my hand slide up and down. She stopped humming and pulled back slightly, so that her forehead rested against mine. Our noses aligned and she stared deeply into my eyes. She circled the pointy tip of her nose around mine a few times, before slowly closing her eyes, tilting her head and kissing me. Her lips were soft, but not very soft. They felt almost muscular as she pressed them against mine. Her tongue brought to mine a taste of mint and the hint of berries. That, and a deep need. I kissed her as hard as I have ever kissed anyone. My hands slid down to her small round ass, pulling her toward me, and deeper into the kiss. A Penny for a Buck Ch. 02 Originally, I hadn't thought to make A Penny for a Buck an ongoing story, but a number of people seemed to enjoy the story. So since there is much more to write about, and in thanks to those who left me great feedback, I will continue the story. * * * There is nothing like waking up in a strange room with a hangover, but fortunately it was a relatively minor hangover. But my real fortune was Penny, who is the ninety pounds of beautiful redhead lying on top of me. We has just exchanged our wake-up good mornings and I was quickly going through the previous day's events in my mind, especially the events of the previous night. The more I thought about it, the more I believed it had to be a dream. I must be locked up in some nut house, strapped to the bed and hallucinating this woman. Penny for her part, had her hands layered on top of my chest with her chin resting on top of them. Her grey eyes were regarding me and a slight smile quirked her lips. Finally she broke the silence, "You look like you are thinking about saying something really stupid like, 'Thanks for last night!'" "Actually, I was trying to figure out if I am having a very vivid hallucination or not. If you are a hallucination, I don't suppose I would need to thank you." I thought for a moment or too and finally admitted, "If I figure out you're real, well, I might have said something that stupid." "Would a hallucination do this?" she said moving one hand downward. I could feel myself hardening in anticipation of her hand's destination. I felt her hand on my side, and then my hip and then felt her give me a hard pinch. "Hey, that hurt!" I yelped. I half jumped out of the bed, but somehow Penny managed to hold on. "What were you expecting? Hallucinations give hand jobs, real women pinch you back to reality. And last night was very, very real!" "About last night..." I stated, but was having trouble asking the question. "What... er, why? I've never done something like that, picking up a girl in a bar. Then the sex. Great sex, don't get me wrong, but I just... Well, it's just not me... It was me, but... Why would you... you know want me?" Eventually she took pity on me and pulled my face toward her and gave me a very soft tender kiss. "Silly boy, I've wanted you since the first time I saw you." "You mean when I was lying on the floor looking up your skirt?" "You were looking up my skirt! You lech!" "Oh wait, that was the second time, the first would have been when you scared me so bad I ended up on the floor!" She smiled at me. I saw the smile fade a bit and she turned her head and rested her cheek against my chest and wrapped her arms and legs around me in a full body hug. I heard her start talking very softly, "The first time I saw you was seven years ago. It was my eighteenth birthday and my father finally allowed me to stay in the bar after the dinner crowd left. I was sitting in the back with a couple of my friends. I was really excited because not only was it my birthday, not only did I get to stay in the bar, but I would finally get to see a mug presentation." "My father had been talking about it for two weeks, making sure I got the mug just right since it was for an extra special customer. A customer that he'd talked about a number of times. 'He's a good kid, but always seems to be alone, even when other's are around,' my father said. 'He's also smart as a tack, but he wouldn't know if a girl was interested in him even if she spilled herself naked onto his lap!'" "Anyway, every time the door to the bar would open, I'd take a peek to see who it was. I would then glance to my father who would shake his head slightly. After a couple of hours, I had given up paying attention to people coming in and was chatting with my friends. We were laughing about something when the hair on the back of my neck stood up. I heard the faint tinkling of the bell on the door ringing and turned in time to see a man ducking in through the door." She pulled me a bit closer before continuing, "He looked so sad standing there in the doorway. I still don't know why I thought that, since his face seemed calm and his posture was proud, but not strutting like a lot of men do. I could see him scanning the bar as his friends followed him through the door. He was looking toward the bar and he watched until my father noticed him. Even over the noise of the bar I could hear by father call out something to him. Whatever my father had said must have been good news because the man's face split into a hearty smile." "When I saw him smile I was... Well, let's just say that my friends gave me a hard time for a month about the look on my face. He was just so big. Not just tall and broad-shouldered, but like he was even bigger than he looked, he seemed sure of himself, but not smug. Anyway, when the man sat with his friends at the bar, my father reached under the bar and pulled out a box. I gasped when I realized that this must be who the mug was for. I was squirming in the booth I was so excited." Her voice suddenly grew somber as she continued, "I can still remember the hoots and laughter when the mug was revealed. I was crushed. It was my favorite, and one I worked on the hardest, but everyone was laughing! Well, everyone except my dad. My dad and you, Buck." I felt bead of moisture running down my chest, and realized Penny was crying. I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tightly to me. She gave me a squeeze as well. I started caressing her hair while I waited for her to compose herself. I felt another tear drop, but Penny starting talking again, "I didn't know what to make of the expression that was on your face, but whatever my father said to you next made all the difference. From across the bar, and over the laughter, I couldn't hear what you said. I could tell your lips made the words, 'It's perfect' before you reached over the bar and lifted my father up in a bear hug." Penny gave a bit of a giggle, but the tears kept dripping. "I don't think anyone had lifted my father off the ground since he was ten, and you did it leaning across the bar! I watched for a while longer, but the laughter still hurt. I couldn't hear the jokes, but when someone holds their fingers an inch apart and starts laughing, you don't really have to. I could also tell that the laughs and jokes hurt you, even though you smiled through it. The only time the smile looked genuine was when you looked at the mug or my father." Slowly her arms released their grip on my chest and she sat up a bit to look at me. I looked down at her cherubic face. I could see the tear track on one cheek and the coating of moisture on the cheek that had been pressed against me. As she looked up at me, and I could see the sunshine coming out after the rain. He impish smile started returning and she said, "that night I slept with a pillow pressed tight between my legs. And last night, I got the real Buck between them!" She gave me another full body squeeze, but even after her arms released me her legs held tight. He gave a bit of a giggle as she rubbed her hips against me as if trying to pull me a little deeper inside her leg's grip. "I actually saw you a couple more times at the bar after that. But my father didn't really like me being in the bar as I was underage. But I did sneak in for Halloween one year and even talked to you for a half a minute before my father chased me out." "I think I would have remembered if I had talked to you before. You are too beautiful to ever forget!" I said as sincerely as I could. She smiled and winked at me before saying, "Well, in your defense, I was wearing black face paint, and had dyed my hair black. Not to mention the fact that you seemed rather distracted by the cat suit I was wearing." "That was you?!?" I was stunned. I couldn't count the number of erotic dreams I had about that girl. She was right, we had only talked for a few seconds before she turned and left rather quickly. Actually the turning and leaving was what really made me remember her, since her hips swayed in the most erotic way in the skin tight cat suit. Even the silly tail made appearances in my dreams. I could feel myself responding to those thoughts, and wondering how long it would take Penny to feel my arousal. Finally I said, "I went back every night for a month trying to find that girl. Well, I guess to find you. Now, I'm really glad I never asked Chuck if he knew who the hot piece of tail in the cat suit was!" "Only a month!" Penny exclaimed in feigned outrage. "Isn't this piece of tail" she said before rubbing herself against me and continuing, "worth more than a month." She continued her rubbing and stopped a scant inch from my growing erection. "You realize that a month of going out every night means a grad student lives on ramen noodles and raiding leftovers from group meetings?" The last comment came out a little snappish since her rubbing was driving me mad. That was about when I felt another drop of moisture land on me. But this one wasn't a tear and fell quite a bit further south. She was looking at me straight in the eyes as she continued moving her hips in little circles. Suddenly I could feel her hot sex contact my erection. Immediately I could feel a bead of moisture transfer from her and run down my shaft. She gasped at the contact and said, "Buck, I really need to feel you inside of me again. And from the look on your face and the feel between my legs, you want it too. But I'm pretty sore after last night, so be really gentle." I thought for a moment as she slid her sex up and down the top of my shaft. Her eyes were drifting shut and I could see her biting her lower lip. As gently as I could, I rolled her off of me. At first she seemed disappointed, but quickly latched onto my plan as we arranged ourselves on our sides. I quickly realized that the height mismatch would make spooning a bit impractical, but I was aching to be inside her and wouldn't let that stop me. I slid further down the bed so that the tip of my erection was just touching her sex. I reached down and guided myself into her very slowly. I could feel her lips slipping over the head of my penis as I worked myself into her. I stopped when only about three inches were inside of her. I tried a little deeper, but the geometry of the position was starting to add too much pressure. Gently I coaxed her left leg over my legs and settled in behind her and tried to be a little below her. My other arms was busy holding Penny against me, draping across her from shoulder to hip. Penny was hugging my arm tightly as I slowly pulled out of her slightly. I pushed into her again, and started a slow pace. I was only moving an inch or so of my erection into her with each lingering push. Moving so slowly I could feel every minute fold inside of her rubbing against the head of my cock. I could feel the thick veins on the side of my penis dragging against the lips of her sex. I kept the slow and steady pace going. I could feel her hands latching onto my arm more tightly. I could feel her breathing quickening as I continued to slide inside of her. Despite my determination, I could feel my pace increasing. With my other hand I started rubbing her exposed ass cheek. I loved the feeling of her smooth bottom in my hand. I closed my eyes as the pleasure was mounting, and there in the darkness I saw Penny in a cat suit. At first she was dressed all in black like the girl she had been when she plagued my dreams and graced my fantasies. But she stepped closer with a lewd swinging of her hips and she gained color. As she got closer I could see that it wasn't a black cat suit, but golden body paint. There was a patch of soft white paint on her belly. A smooth belly that I gently rubbed with my hand. In the real world my hand was stroking her belly and I was moving into her faster than I has before. But the fantasy was so compelling that I quickly lost myself to it. Her grey eyes were sparkling as she took another step closer. I could see the golden hair painted on her fading to a coppery red as her hair cascaded downward. Her nipples were an obscene unpainted pink, which stood out all the more surrounded by the paint. Suddenly the fantasy Penny turned around and swished her tail at me. I was mesmerized by her beautifully rounded ass. I was pumping into her more quickly now and felt my control leaving me. I could vaguely feel Penny's finger nails digging into my arm, and feel the teeth from her open mouth pressing into my skin as desperately as I speared her from behind. She was rigid in my arms as her orgasm held her tight. I looked down briefly and saw her pale butt cheek in my hand and lost it. I plunged into her deeply and came fiercely. I hunched over around her, holding her body tight against mine as I was racked by my orgasm. Slowly we both went limp and my penis slid out of her. I pulled her tight against me with both arms wrapped around her. She wrapped her arms over mine and kissed one of my exposed forearms. * * * Eventually we untangled ourselves and headed to the shower. I never understood how people can monkey around in the shower. It's slippery enough to break your neck, and in my case nothing seems to line up well with anything more interesting than a hand. Plus when I am in the shower, either the other person gets no water, or the water goes completely over their head. Apparently Penny agreed. She took a quick shower, washing the residues of our sex off of her body while I relieved myself of some of my hangover. I hopped in the shower and washed up, taking a minute or two to reflect back. I was smiling as I stepped dripping wet from the shower. Penny was no longer in the bathroom, and neither were either of my towels. I walked into the bedroom, still dripping wet, to find Penny wrapped in one of my towels (it looked like it made it around her three times) and drying her hair with the other one. She laughed at my dripping body for a moment before taking pity and tossing me her hair drying towel. "Gee thanks!" I said as I caught the towel. I dried myself as best I could with the damp towel. At some point I realized the mood in the room had changed. Penny was looking at me with her more serious expression. I had already started to grow accustomed to her sudden seeming shifts in mood, and so I wrapped the towel around my waist and sat on the bed next to her. "What were you thinking about? When you got so excited. You were so gentle, and then you seemed to lose control. Or maybe I should say who?" She asked. She was biting her lip again, which made me think she was being serious. I took a moment and said, "I was thinking about you." I tried to appear serious but I knew I was grinning. She sighed and gave me a half-hearted backhanded slap and said, "I'm was being serious. I want to know." She was no longer looking at me, but I could tell her other senses were locked onto me. I gently lifted her chin with my hand and looked down at her before saying, "Alright, I was thinking of a girl I met in a bar a long time ago." Before she could pull away I quickly added, "who was dressed in a cat suit and had the hottest ass I've ever seen." "So you like girls in cat suits?" she asked, quirking her eyebrow at me. "No, I like you, no matter what you're wearing. Even when I don't know who you are." I gave her a big hug which she returned with enthusiasm. She then said, "I still have the cat suit..." * * * The adventures of Penny and Buck will be continued... Feedback is appreciated. A Penny for a Buck Ch. 03 I'm sorry for the long delay in the story. I would suggest reading the other two stories first, to get caught up on the plot and characterizations. But to make a long story short, Buck is a very tall scientist/engineer who returns to his college town for vacation. Penny is a very petite redheaded artist who had a secret crush on Buck from back in his college days. The story continues the next day... As always, comments are greatly appreciated. * * * "I need to pop down to my apartment and get some clean clothes, then let's go out and get breakfast," Penny said. She climbed off the bed still wrapped in the towel and headed toward the far end of the apartment, which if there were walls defining rooms would be the living room. I watched her little bare feet pad toward the living room. I really wanted to watch her cute bottom, but the thickness of the towel hid any allure. Especially since the towel was suited more to someone my size, and on her it went from armpit to knee and wrapped around her at least twice. Either because of the strictures of the towel, or to prevent me from leering at her bottom as she bent over, Penny opted to kneel down to retrieve her clothes from the previous night. I hadn't even noticed where she left them, as I was asleep while she had gotten undressed. She came back to the bed carrying her clothes and proceeded to lay them out on the bed next to me. I hadn't gotten to see her undress the night before, and was quite curious to see what she had been wearing under her blouse and skirt. The bra and panties were actually of the plain cotton variety, if very purple. They looked more like they were for comfort than for impressing a guy. I reached over to pick up her panties and felt a sharp slap on my outreached hand. "No touching!" Penny said. There wasn't a lot of hostility in her voice, so it was hard to tell how serious she was being. She was staring at me, as if waiting for me to do something. "Well?" she finally asked. "Well what?" I asked, genuinely confused. "Aren't you going to turn around so I can get dressed?" "But, I've already seen you naked." "That's different. Now I'm getting dressed." She emphasized the last word as if it should be obvious what the difference was all about. She crossed her arms over her chest and I could almost hear her little foot tapping as she waited for me to avert my eyes. Still confused about why it should make a difference, I stood up and walked to the closet, leaving my back to her. It took every fiber of my being not to turn around and catch a quick glimpse of her getting dressed. As I pulled some clothes out of the suitcase I still hadn't unpacked, I kept thinking about Penny standing behind me getting dressed. It didn't make sense, I had already seen her naked, and seen her showering, but the thought of her half-dressed made my towel start to rise. I had just finished grabbing all of the clothes I would need for the day when I heard Penny say, "Alright, you can come out now." I dropped my clothes on the bed and regarded Penny for a moment. She was again dressed in the golden blouse and green skirt. She was barefoot, her purse and shoes dangling from her left hand. Her other hand was behind her back. "I'm going to get some clean clothes now, when you're done dressing come down to my apartment, it's number 23." She turned toward the entrance to my apartment, quickly moving her hand from behind her to in front of her. It was pretty obvious she didn't want me to see what was in her hand. I wasn't going to press her on it. As she worked the doorknob to my apartment, she shifted whatever it was to her left hand with the shoes and purse. I couldn't tell what it was but it sure looked purple. Thinking about it, whatever was in her hand was the same purple color as her underwear. That thought did nothing to quell the tenting of my towel. Shaking my head to clear it of lustful thoughts, I quickly got dressed. * * * I knocked on the door to Penny's apartment. I thought I heard a "come in" over the noise of the hair dryer. I tried the door and since it was unlocked, I proceeded in. "Have a seat while I finish getting ready," I heard her call from the vicinity of what I guessed was the door to the bathroom. Her apartment had the same basic floor plan as mine. Plenty of square footage but not much in the way of walls. Unlike my apartment, hers had definite areas of separation. The "bedroom" was divided off by three folding screens. Two towards the side walls and a third set behind the other two and in the center. The screens had gaps between the panels, so they didn't provide real privacy, but they did establish the space. There was a sitting area, with a couple of what I thought of as relatively small chairs, and a rather normal sized divan. There was also a breakfast nook area next to the small kitchenette. I looked around a bit more, but couldn't find anything that looked like an art studio. There was a tilt-top desk that had some half-finished artwork on it, but no art supplies. How curious. I was pondering the seating options when I decided I would rather not. The chairs were too small for someone of my size to feel anything other than ridiculous, and I didn't want Penny to come out seeing me lounging on the divan. Because in my experience you can't actually sit on a divan without lounging. So I continued looking around, walking over toward the screens. The first one looked oriental, as if someone had taken it right out of Chinatown. The first panel was a Chinese dragon, complete with curling moustache and steaming nostrils. The second panel was composed of a bunch of fans and stylized flowers. The last panel had a guy in those oversized pants, doing some sort of dance and holding a mask to his face. The one on the far side looked more European. I'm not an expert on art, but they really should have used perspective. The flute player at the front of the crowd looked as big as the frowning old maids at the back of the crowd. The middle panel wasn't any better with some sort of throne room scene, the king actually appeared bigger than the courtiers even though he was in the back of the room. The third panel was kind of cute though, with a maid playing with a unicorn in some sort of corral. Both the Oriental and European screens looked like they had been purchased at a store. The one in the center seemed anything but mass-produced. I stepped closer to have a better look. Unlike the other two, this screen was all one scene and it was composed of five somewhat thinner panels. I appreciated that since it allowed the screen to stand symmetrically, with the center panel square to the viewer. The scene depicted on the screen was a small pond in the center of a forest. Behind the pond, and off to one side was a little cottage with a bright flower garden in front of it. The cottage and garden had a feeling of fantasy to them, not quite a gingerbread house, but closer to that than what a real peasant cottage would have looked. The forest was likewise somewhat fantastic, but still very real. The colors were more vivid, and the textures more smooth that real trees would be. But the trees looked like trees, and the leaves on the trees actually looked like maple leaves and oak leaves and elm leaves. Among the trees there were various woodland animals that were somewhere between Disney and fully real. There were the usual squirrels and deer that you would expect in a woodland scene, and a few birds. The one that stood out the most, was an owl that perched on a branch looking over the cottage. "It isn't finished," Penny said from right beside me. I hadn't heard her approach and nearly jumped out of my skin. She gave me a hug around the waist and continued, "I'm still working on it, when I feel inspired. I have more animals to add... But it's hard. It's like each of the animals is a real person, and when I paint them I feel their whole personality. So the trees and the cottage and the flowers went quickly, but each animal took a long time. The squirrel over there is just like my friend Margot. She's moves around in short little bursts of energy, and has these amazing eyes. And promise not to tell her, but I made her a squirrel because she is always self-conscious about her big tail." Penny told me the story of a few more animals, but skipped the owl, even though it was quite prominent in the scene. I had a feeling it represented her father, so I decided to let her tell me about it when she was ready. I got the feeling there were other things she was holding back, but she was so cute telling the stories that I hardly noticed. Her whole body got into the stories causing the pale yellow skirt she had changed into, to swirl around her. She accentuated each animal story with little pantomimes and silly faces. She started running down, and seemed to be snapping out of her trance-like storytelling. She looked up at my widely grinning face and suddenly flushed, before looking at the floor. She said, "You probably think it is pretty silly, getting so wound up about little animal drawings." "Penny, I wouldn't expect anything else from you. I haven't even known your for a day, well, not really known you, and I already think you are the most remarkable girl I've ever met. Getting excited about the little things is part of your charm." Feeling a bit mischievous I added, "Besides, guys love girls who get excited." Apparently she was up for some mischief herself when she rejoined, "Especially when they get excited about the 'little things', eh Buck?" It was my turned to flush and get tongue-tied. Penny wrapped her arms around my chest and said, "Don't worry, it's plenty big." She giggled before adding, "At least for a girl my size." "Why you!" I hollered, in a way that let her know I was in on the joke, as I reached down toward her. I grabbed her under the arms and hoisted her up so we were face to face. She stuck her tongue out at me, so I stuck mine out at her. Our confrontation only lasted a moment before we were both laughing. She wrapped her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist and gave me a hug. I moved my hands down to hold her bottom as she leaned back to regard me. Slowly her face reached toward mine, and her tongue which moments ago had been stuck out insultingly, was soon questing about in my mouth. We continued kissing, and I could feel her legs tightening around me almost painfully. Eventually she pulled away from me and said, "I don't know what it is about you, but if we don't cut this out soon, we aren't going to get out of here until dinner time. And if we do that, you'll have to carry me because I won't be able to walk!" I looked down at her and considered for a moment before saying, "Well, you are pretty small, as long as we don't go more than a few blocks, I think I could manage." "You're cute, Buck, but I'm really hungry!" exclaimed Penny, punching me softly in the shoulder. She unwrapped her legs and lowered herself back to the ground. I feigned reluctance to leave, and so she pulled on my hand and I let her drag me to the door. * * * We had breakfast, well more of a brunch really, at a little café with outdoor seating. It was a bit late in the year to be eating outside, but the sun was shining and I didn't mind the cold anyway. Penelope and I chatted amiably for a long time after we were done eating. It turned out that she was an avid people watcher and was constantly pointing out interesting people. I enjoyed her comments, especially as they were invariably complimentary, with none of the cattiness I had often seen when people watching with women. "Oooh!" exclaimed Penny. "I would love to draw her. She has a lovely face and see the way she walks! It's not the normal Goth shuffle, or the Goth strut. She walks happy." I looked in the direction that Penny was staring and could immediately see the girl she was talking about. She was taller than average, with a very narrow build. Despite her tall thin frame, she had a very feminine shape. At first glance she appeared to be a Goth, but Penny was right, the girl didn't move like the typical Goth. She was naturally pale, with long dark hair held back by a set of silver combs attached to some sort of hat. Despite her striking appearance, most of the people seemed to ignore her as they tended to ignore noticing most of the Goths. "Why don't you ask her to model for you?" I asked Penny. "I could never do that. I'm not that forward!" Penny exclaimed. She then looked from the girl to me and suddenly she blushed furiously. "Alright, I'm almost never that forward." We sat for a while longer, but the lunchtime crowds were thinning, and the charm of people watching was wearing thin. * * * After paying for breakfast we strolled the streets looking in shop windows and just enjoying the day. Penny dragged me into a number of knick-knack stores trying to convince me my apartment needed sprucing up. Actually, I didn't need much convincing, but nothing really jumped out at me. Our perambulation had taken us across town and we were soon walking past my old school. Penny was already talking about places a block or two away, when I stopped and pulled her into my old school. We walked up the steps and I told her I would give her a tour of where I used to spend my time. At least the time I wasn't spending asleep or at her father's bar. Much to my chagrin they had changed the combination on my old lab's door. There also wasn't anyone around to let us in. But I was able to point through the window on the door to where my old lab table still stood. It was now cluttered with another student's project, leaving me a bit nostalgic. I then took Penny to the department museum. This was where they displayed interesting projects that might encourage freshman students to join the department, and encourage high school students to attend the school. Penny walked around pushing the various buttons on the mechanical displays. She didn't have much patience for the ones that didn't move, or required a lot of reading to understand their significance. I can't say I really blamed her, since the ones that moved were the ones I enjoyed the most. I watched her wander around and saw that she was in front of one of my projects. Inside a glass case was a device that looked like an oversized inchworm. On the front of the case there was a descriptive placard and two metal disks. Penny pushed the first disk and nothing happened. She pushed the second with the same result. I guessed she was debating whether it was worth reading the placard, and the inchworm didn't seem worth it. "Cover both disks with your hand," I told her. She looked up at me quizzically but decided to humor me. She placed her small hand over both disks and was clearly surprised to see the inchworm begin inching around the circular track. She quickly pulled her hand back, and just as quickly it stopped moving. "This was my Thesis project. Don't worry it's totally safe." Penny placed her hand on the disks again and watched the little inchworm move around again. She kept putting her hand on the disk and removing her hand, watching the worm inch around, getting it to stop in different positions. Since I had invented the device, I could see that it was moving slightly faster each time she returned her hands to the disks. Either she didn't notice, or she didn't understand the significance, since she said, "Why not just have a button to make it move?" Rather than answer her question directly, I placed my hand over hers as it covered the disks. The inchworm crept around and around and Penny clearly didn't understand yet. I glanced around the area to ensure we were alone, before bending down to whisper directly in her ear, "Don't move and just watch." I wrapped my lips around her ear lobe and started sucking on it gently. This caused Penelope to immediately begin to squirm. Her little hand tried to pull free from where mine held it against the disks. "What are you doing Buck?" "Just watch," I reminded her softly, before returning my lips to hear ear, and then her neck. My free hand worked it's way down over her body. My hand moved slowly over her breasts, giving them a gentle squeeze before proceeding down to her belly. Penny was squirming in earnest now, and it took her a moment to realize that the worm device was squirming as well. It was no longer moving in slow plodding steps, but moving in quick spurts, taking a few quick steps forward before a slight pause. My hand moved lower and Penny was still squirming, but her hand was no longer trying to break free from my grip. I let go of her hand, so I could put mine to better use. I cupped her breast from behind, while working my other hand under her skirt. She let out a gasp and said, "Buck, we're in public! Someone might see." "If you want me to stop, just take your hand off the disks," I murmured, allowing my hands to continue their explorations. The hand beneath her skirt was gliding up her thigh towards her sex. I could already feel heat accumulating under her skirt, and when my hand slid over the front of her panties I wasn't surprised to feel a moist warmth radiating off of them. I applied some pressure as my hand moved along the thin cotton covering her sex. I could feel the hard bump of her clit and the soft void that hid her sex. I pressed down harder, generating some friction, and pushing her panties against her and slightly into her. Penny was breathing more heavily now, but rather than closing her eyes, she had them riveted on the inchworm as it fairly flew around the ring. With my other hand I could feel her nipple hardening under my palm, and I pinched the bud between my fingers. It was getting uncomfortable stooping down over her, so I knelt behind her my head now on level with hers. She pressed her body back against me. She must have felt my growing cock pressing against her thigh because she pushed her leg back and began to rub her leg against me. Moving her leg opened her sex to me even move and my fingers were soon pressing the soft material almost half an inch into her. I maneuvered my fingers to the side of her panties, and slid them inside. It was an awkward angle, and I couldn't penetrate her more than a half of an inch, but I loved the slick feel of her juices on my finger. I transferred some of the juices to her clit and began stroking her in earnest. Her breathe was coming in short little pants now and she pressed her hips hard against my belly as I continued stroking her. Her hand on the disks pushed her back against me, and her free hand reached over her shoulder to pull my head toward hers. I pinched her nipple and gave it a slight twist through her blouse, and continued sliding my slicked finger along her clit. My mouth was engaged sucking and kissing her ear and neck, but I managed to catch an occasional glimpse of the worm as it wiggled on its way. Suddenly Penny froze stiff and her fingers tightened in my hair. I could hear her breathe catch, and her head dropped for a moment. She finally took a shuddering breathe, and then another, her breathing a harsh staccato. I was paying so much attention to Penny's reaction that I barely noticed that the inchworm was moving forward and backward in quick confused steps. My finger on her clit went from a quick sliding motion to a harder pressure, pulling her back against me with pressure against her sex. My fingers on her nipple tightened slightly applying a very slow twist. Her fingers twisted into my head, and I could feel her finger nails start to dig in. Her breathing finally started to slow, and I noticed that the inchworm was now moving in a steady motion around the track. She took a deep breathe and I could feel her whole body shudder slightly as it released the built up tension. Her hand pulled away from the disks and I could see it quivering slightly. A Penny for a Buck Ch. 03 True to my word, I slipped my hand from under her panties and skirt, and slowly released her nipple from my grip. She quickly turned and threw her arms around my neck, giving me a quick kiss on the lips, before pulling me tight to her. She continued giving me little kissed to the cheek with the corner of her lips. "That was so cool, Buck!" she finally said. She hugged me for a moment longer before she began peppering me with questions. I began explaining how the inchworm was controlled by a biometric device, kind of like a sophisticated mood ring. I had designed it as part of a research grant aimed at helping paralyzed people regain some independence. The problem was that few people could maintain control of the device when they became agitated or excited. "Although no one was ever quite as excited as you," I said as I gave her a wink. "Oh, and I suppose you could do better?" She retorted, with a very mischievously look in her green eyes. I put my hand on the disks and with a moments concentration was able to make the worm move forward and backwards at will. That was when Penny reach for the zipper of my pants. Luckily for me, I wouldn't have the chance to fail. Just as the first tines of the zipper were unlocking we heard footsteps coming down the hall. Penny looked disappointed, but said with finality, "We are coming back!" A Penny for a Buck I stood up suddenly, pulling tiny Penny up with me. She giggled and kept her arms tightly wrapped around my neck, letting her feet dangle with my hands on her bottom. "Where are we going?" she asked sweetly while nearly swinging from my neck. "To bed!" "Oh, goody!" she exclaimed and slipped from my grip like an eel. She ran so fast toward the waiting bed that I could barely get a glimpse of her body before she snaked under the covers. I took a slightly more dignified route to the bed, or at least tried to. As I walked, I was quickly taking off my clothes. I might not have been as dignified as I thought, because as I was trying to remove my underwear, my ankle got caught and left me falling toward the bed. When I landed, Penny made a big deal of bouncing around as if an earthquake had struck. A final bounce left her straddling my chest as I lay on my back in the middle of the bed. Her knees were next to my head and I stared up at her body. Inches above my face was her neat red tangle of hair. I could smell her musky fragrance and became almost desperate. She saw my arms coming up to grab her hips and slapped them away. She waggled her finger at me, as if to say no touching. So I looked. Above her pubic hair her flat stomach seemed to extend forever before flaring out to her shapely breasts. Her nipples stood out from the tips of her breasts, their color an intense pink, almost red. Her breasts were smallish, but stood proudly from her chest. Her breasts were slightly flushed, to match her face. Her face that looked down on me from so high above me. When she saw that my attention was on her face, she slowly lowered toward me. He angelic face descended toward mine and planted a soft kiss on my forehead. Another kiss on the tip of my nose, then a too brief kiss on the lips. As she was kissing down my face, her body started sliding down mine. I felt her hot sex slide down my chest, and then my stomach. When her pubic hair started mingling with my own she stopped her downward motion. I almost cried out in pain because my now hard cock could feel the heat from her sex mere inches away. She lifted her hips high enough that she could clear my cock, and continued kissing downward. I could feel her pubic hair barely graze the tip of my cock before passing on. She kissed further downward and I nearly cried again as I felt the ghostly touch of the sides of her breasts against my cock. If my cock were any wider, or her breasts any larger, I would have been in heaven, instead of the agony of anticipation I was currently in. Her face was soon poised directly over my cock. This time it was my body I was looking down to see her beautiful face. Our gaze locked and she wrapped her hand around me. Her tiny hand made me feel so much bigger than I really am. I also knew that I really was more swollen than at any other time in my life. Her fist pumped me a couple of times, smearing the precum on the tip of my cock. She briefly sucked the head of my cock into her warm mouth and added a bit of her saliva to the slippery tip. Her head rose, and she straightened her body, kneeling and then squatting over me. Her hand was still wrapped around my cock as she slowly lowered her body down. She closed her eyes and then started rubbing the tip of my cock against her sex. I felt the lips part and wrap around the head of my cock. She was so hot and incredibly wet. I could feel a drop of her lubrication start to slide down the side of my cock as she lowered herself down onto me. She had both of her hands on my stomach now, to aid her slow progress down my shaft. She would roll her hips slightly and another half inch would disappear into her. A side to side swaying would make an inch vanish. She was almost all the wall down when I felt some resistance. She whimpered slightly, suddenly rolled her hips and I felt her sink the last inch. I could feel her pussy spasm slightly around my throbbing cock. She just sat there, impaled on my cock, rocking slightly forward and back. The feeling was exquisite as I could feel her pussy shifting against my cock. She started rocking faster and started bouncing slightly. I reached out and started touching her breasts. Her eyes shot open and she looked down at me. She smiled as I rolled her nipples between my fingers. As she bounced and rocked faster, I started pinching her nipples harder and rocking my hips to match her movements. She pushed her hands into my stomach and pushed her hips down hard onto mine. Her body locked up and her legs squeezed my hips as hard as she could. I also felt her pussy clamp down onto me. She shook and ground against me. Her pussy suddenly seemed too small for my cock, and I felt moisture leaking from her. Her face and chest flushed furiously and her nipples grew very hard in my fingers She suddenly stopped moving, at least on the outside. I could still feel her pussy spasm on my cock still buried deep inside of her. It seemed like she was trying to rise off of me, but was having difficulty getting her legs beneath her enough to un-impale herself. "Please don't move" she said as she bit her lower lip. She rose enough to get an inch of me out of her, and I finally felt her spasming stop. She then sank back down and lay down against me. I stroked her hair gently and tried to let her sensitivity subside, but we were both betrayed by our genitals. A final spasm of her pussy caused my cock to jump deep inside her. I heard her gasp and then saw her eyes gazing up into mine. She started sitting up, which only pushed me deeper inside. My turn, I thought, as I snaked my hands under her legs and grabbed her bottom. With her legs on top of my arms I slowly lifted her off of me. She was so tiny, and I was so excited, she seemed to be weightless in my arms. I raised her a few inches and then let her fall back onto me bringing a gasp from her. I repeated the motion, slowly lifting and then letting her slide back down. She grabbed her knees in her arms and held herself in a tight little ball. A ball that I lifted and dropped onto my cock. Soon I wasn't just letting her slide down, I was pushing her onto my cock. My fingers dug into her hips as I lifted and pushed her. Her hands grabbed my arms as I continued sliding her up and down my cock, harder and faster. I could feel the tension building in me and I saw her eyes mirror my desperation. I finally couldn't take any more and as I pushed her down against me and my cock erupted deep inside of her. I pushed her hips hard against me, trying to push even deeper as my cock spasmed inside of her. I could feel her shaking in my hands as I emptied myself into her. Finally, my fierce grip on her hips relaxed, and her body sagged against me. We were both too exhausted to lift her off my cock, which refused to go fully soft while inside her hot tight sex. So slowly we slid our bodies past each other until I slipped out of her. By the point we both merely had to lift our heads to kiss each other gently. I wrapped my arms and a blanket around her and was soon asleep, with Penny's beautiful head asleep on my chest. * * * If it weren't for the warm weight lying on top of me, I would never have believed it when I woke up in the morning. I felt her waking up, and couldn't think of anything to say except, "Good morning beautiful." "Good morning, Buck," she said in a way that sounded incredibly dirty. "Maybe there is such a thing as fate after all." "Oh, really, Mr. Man of Science?" "I just remembered my apartment number: 101. A buck and a penny!" We both laughed for a moment and then she looked at me with a semi-serious look. "My father was right about you." "Oh, why is that?" "When he asked me to make the mug for you, he specifically told me to make the antlers especially big, with many points. 'A forty point stag' he said." "Forty points? He told me the antlers were because I was such a complex thinker." Penny giggled and said, "He told me it was because deep down you were really horny!" I can feel my perspective changing already.