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Checkmate

By: Nostrovelle



"Ha! That knight is mine. Oh, and I believe that's 'check'."

"Damn..."

I sighed as I looked across the table at the girl sitting opposite me. If I'd known she'd be this good at chess, I probably would have thought twice before playing against her -- especially with the added stipulation that she had decided to implement "in the name of fun"; each time one of us had a piece taken by the other, we had to remove an item of clothing. Strip chess, if you will.

Thank God I decided to wear a lot of layers... I thought to myself.

"Come on then," she teased, smirking and waving her hand at me. "Take something off."

Groaning, I took a sip of the very strong vodka and coke that I had made for myself. It seemed entirely possible that I could lose this game after all. As it stood, I was down to my t-shirt and boxers, whereas she sat in her underwear and fishnets. My jeans, socks, necklace, wristband and hoodie lay in a discarded pile along with her corset, skirt, choker and high heels. 

Truth be told, neither of us actually seemed too bothered about our current and increasing state of undress. We had, after all, been seeing each other for about a month now. Some people may have thought that such an occurrence meant that our relationship was moving a little on the fast side, but once again, neither of us cared much for such opinions. It obviously felt right to us, and at the end of the day, when it came down to a relationship the only people it concerned were those involved in it.

I pulled my t-shirt off over my head slowly and let it fall to the floor, the latest victim of our little game, and brushed my hair back out of my eyes to look at her. She smiled wickedly.

"There's a good boy..." she purred softly.

I smiled back at her despite my earlier mock protests at having to forfeit more clothes. She was beautiful -- everything I had actually sought in a partner, both physically or otherwise. Long dark hair reached down past her shoulders to about the level of her chest. Her eyes were blue, but not just any blue; a perfectly unique shade that stood out from any others, pale and full of spark, emphasised by both her dark eyeliner and a pair of frameless glasses, drawing my attention there almost effortlessly. Her figure was slim, slender whilst still retaining her identity as a woman, and her long legs seemed almost to go on forever. Her lips shimmered with a faint layer of gloss, and her fingernails glistened black with polish. She wore two silver rings on the forefinger and middle finger of her right hand, and further gothic jewellery usually adorned her neck. She was pierced, too; a scaffold in her right ear and a ring in the left side of her nose. When she was actually dressed, she wore clothes of a very attractive style, usually things like corsets or lace with denim skirts and tights. Today she had been wearing the heels, but usually she could be seen wearing New Rock boots that came to just below her knees. It wasn't just her appearance that had attracted me to her, although she did express a lot of things that I personally found to be extremely pretty. Her personality, too, had drawn me to want to be with her. She was feisty; fun. Someone I could have a genuine laugh and a good time with. The kind of girl that wouldn't take shit from anyone, who would stand up for herself. And of course, there was her taste in music. She was a "metal" girl through and through, and that suited me more than fine.

I myself also erred on that side of the spectrum. My own hair reached the bottom of my ribs, brown and wavy. Although a lot of people didn't seem to like this, she had a made a point of the fact that she did. My eyes were also blue, but of a more piercing, icy variety. I usually wore fairly baggy jeans and band shirts and hoodies of some variety -- the ones I had been wearing today before we had started to play had been Iron Maiden merchandise. The necklace my best friend had bought me for my birthday one year was typically always around my neck and I also wore two rings, although mine were on my left hand and gold instead of silver.

"I thought you told me you were crap at this?" I said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well maybe this time I had something to actually play for," she responded, looking me over.

I blushed slightly, finding myself unable to take my eyes off her. Her smooth pale skin contrasted perfectly with the black of her lingerie, which was patterned with white hearts in a way that I found to be incredibly cute. My mind couldn't stop thinking about how her skin would feel on mine. I got the feeling that she could tell this, that she knew me well enough to pick up on what I was thinking. At that moment she left her seat, walking slowly and deliberately around the edge of the table towards me. I made to stand up, but she shook her head, pushing me gently back into my own chair and moving around to stand behind me, leaning in right down close to me. Her lips brushed my neck. Her breath was hot on my ear. Her hands reached around to slowly stroke my now bare chest. 

"Your move..." she whispered, her soft words sounding sensual and erotically-charged.

It was safe to say that for my next "move", I wasn't really thinking about the chessboard anymore. I took her hand and pulled back around so that she stood in front of me where I sat, kissing her stomach softly while stroking my hands up and down the sides of her body. She smiled down at me from her higher position and moved so that her long legs were on either side of me as she straddled my lap, facing me. She traced a nail down my neck with a giggle, making me shiver slightly. She pressed herself against me, softly at first and then gradually increasing the pressure and the contact between us as she moved her hips in a circular motion, moaning softly as she felt my excitement and longing for her beginning to grow as I got more and more turned on by her actions, thrusting upwards partly out of instinct as I couldn't help but respond. She smiled her sexy smile again, moving her hand up to the waistband of my boxers as she leant down and licked my neck.

"I think it's about time these came off...don't you?" she murmured.

I nodded. How could I not? There was no way that I could say no to her, and nor would I want to. She was the most desirable human being I had ever set my eyes upon, and I was lucky enough to be able to call her mine. She fulfilled everything that I could ever ask of her.

Without hesitation, she got up from my lap and pulled my boxers down my legs and off completely, casually throwing them to one side. I gasped as she stroked one hand up my length, teasing me with her fingertips. I felt myself stiffen further at her touch and she smiled wickedly, wrapping her hand around me and starting to pump it slowly up and down, winking at me as she did so. A moan escaped from between my lips before I could stop myself. She knew exactly how to get to me and exactly what I liked. With her free hand, she gently scratched her nails down my chest, leaving red trails in their wake and eliciting further uncontrolled moans from within me. Following this, she ran her tongue along the marks in a catlike fashion, the softness of her action combining so pleasurably with the contrasting sting of her scratchmarks. I could hardly take this anymore. The way she was winding me up was making my lust for her unbearable. I wanted...no, needed to be inside her.

"Want to fuck me yet?" she purred, obviously picking up on how I felt.

My response to this was to pretty much yank her pants down, sliding one of my own hands between her legs, determined to make her need me as much as I needed her. Her pussy became wet as I rubbed and stroked it softly, working my fingers against her and then entering her in a rhythm that was rewarded with the sounds of her own moans.

"Ah! D-don't stop..." she breathed, the motion of her own hand getting faster on my cock, her excitement driving her almost wild in her actions. My hand and fingers moved faster as I pushed them deeper and harder inside of her, her moans and gasps increasing in line with this. I wanted her, so fucking badly, almost desperately. However, she apparently wasn't done with getting warmed up yet. With her eyes never leaving mine, she slowly went down to her knees in front of me, between my legs as I sat in the chair, looking up at me and running her tongue over her lips.

"I'm going to make sure you don't ever forget tonight..." she said with a wink.

My hands tangled in her hair as I felt her tongue circle the tip of my cock, closing my eyes in pleasure as I felt her flick it teasingly over me before running it up and down my whole length. One of her hands moved to play with my balls, rubbing them while her other hand gripped my cock as she started to toss me off again while also continuing her licking actions. There was definitely no way that I was going to forget this. I gasped loudly as she suddenly took my cock in her mouth, sucking the tip whilst also continuing to lap at me with her tongue like a cat. I pulled her hair reflexively, the feel of her mouth on me making me want her more and more. She sucked harder, bobbing her head up and down, and I noticed that she was touching herself too whilst sucking my cock -- this only increased my own satisfaction at the current situation. I arched my back with a moan as I felt a slight sting that I loved, realizing that she had used her teeth to softly bite me.

I expected nothing less, considering how kinky I had discovered her to be. 

She stopped sucking but continued to move her hand on my cock, reaching into her bag which lay nearby with her free hand, pulling something out and holding it up so that I could clearly see it.

"Let's make this a little more interesting, shall we?"

I looked at what she was holding and found it to be a tube of bubblegum flavoured gel. I smiled.

"Sounds like fun..."

Standing, she took my hand and helped me to my feet, instructing me to lie down on the floor. I did so, and then she was on top of me in such a way that her pussy was above my face, with her own face pointing towards my cock in the sixty-nine position. The next thing I felt was a cold sensation that quickly turned to warmth as I felt my girlfriend applying the gel to the area between my legs, completely covering it, ready for whatever she had in mind. When she was done, she passed the tube of gel back to me, and I squirted a large amount into the palm of my hand, massaging it into her pussy and hearing her squeals of delight as I did so. When we were both ready, we began to pleasure each other simultaneously, our acts of oral sex enhanced by the gel which she had provided. A pleasing feeling of heat spread through me as I felt her tongue and mouth working on me again, the sounds of her sucking and licking really turning me on. My hands moved to her arse as I licked slowly at her pussy, the taste of her wetness mingling perfectly with that of the bubblegum in my mouth, and I moved my tongue faster, licking all over her and running it across her clit before pushing the tip of it inside her, feeling her hips move up and down with a drive beyond her control as she rubbed her pussy against my mouth with a sense of urgency, her pleasure mounting in line with my own as her lips enveloped my whole length again and again as she increased her speed, pausing and removing her mouth only to tell me what it was that she wanted to do to her.

"Finger me too...I need your fingers inside me while you lick me out..."

As I continued to enjoy the flavour of her, I slid two fingers deep inside her pussy, using both my hand and my tongue to give her what it was she had asked for. My other hand continued to stroke and squeeze her arse, pulling her down lower so I was able to move my tongue deeper within her.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! Yes!" she cried, the sounds slightly muffled by my cock in her mouth, yet still audible.

We continued in this way for a while, each of us essentially teasing the other with our mouths as much as we could to build the excitement for what was yet to come and sure to follow. Finally, she rose and stood over me, leaning down to kiss me, biting my lip.

"Back in the chair, now. I want to ride that cock of yours." 

I nodded as best I could. Sitting down again, I placed my hands lightly on her hips and lifted her up and back onto my lap. She threw her arms around my neck and pressed her lips to mine in another passionate kiss that I eagerly returned, feeling the wetness of her pussy rubbing against my cock. I deepened the kiss with a smile, pulling her even closer and pushing my tongue gently into her mouth where it entwined with her own. Her kisses moved to my sensitive neck, my moans becoming louder and she also licked and bit there, and I reached around her back to unhook her bra and slide the straps down her delicate shoulders, allowing it to fall to the floor with the rest of our clothing. The fishnets, however, she could keep on.

I squeezed her now-bare breasts, lowering my mouth to kiss and suck at each nipple in turn, running my tongue around them, savouring the noises of enjoyment that she produced in response. I didn't want to wait any further, moving her position slightly so that she would be more comfortable and pressing myself up against her entrance, loving how she felt against me, pulling her downwards. She cried out in satisfaction at the deepness of my initial entry, and I moaned again myself at her warmth and wetness, at how good her pussy felt around me, at how much longing I had for this girl.

"Mmm!" she gasped as I began to thrust properly, my hands moving over the curve of her arse as I bounced her on top of me. It didn't take very long at all for her to take control; it was all too easy for her to do so with our current positioning. I didn't mind that, though. It was nice to mix things up a little and I would have my way with her in return -- that was almost guaranteed.

Her hips moved with perfect timing as she rode on my cock, sliding herself up and down effortlessly, her wetness aiding the process significantly. Her motions sent waves of ecstasy through my body. She had always been so amazing at this, always knowing exactly what to do to both give and gain the maximum amount of gratification for both of us during our encounters. To tease me further she leant back a little arching her body to give me a better view as she reached down with one hand to caress her clit as she continued to fuck me, her breathing rate increasing she played with herself with my cock slipping in and out of her -- a truly exciting vision for my eyes. I felt her get faster, driving herself down harder onto me, further sounds coming from her every time she did. I was unwilling to give her complete control though, moving my own hips in time with hers, creating a perfect pace between us, every thrust up that I made countered by her pushing herself back down. I felt my orgasm beginning to build but I was far from ready to finish just yet. I lifted her off of me again swiftly, grinning as her eyes went wide with surprise and clearing the table of the chessboard and the pieces with a sweep of my arm. She mock-pouted at me, folding her arms.

"You ruined the game!" she said in a childish voice.

"Somehow, I don't think you'll mind too much. Turn around."

She obeyed, but in doing so even managed to make that simple action increase my desire. Her movement was slow and deliberate, and she wiggled her arse slightly while looking back over her shoulder at me. "Like this?" she asked, then leaned over the table, spreading her legs, reaching back between them and slipping her fingers into her pussy. "Or is this more like what you had in mind?"

"Oh...that's perfect..." I whispered, moving behind her and grinding my crotch against hers as she continued to finger herself, her face flushed and lips parted slightly, her breath coming in short bursts. I gripped her waist with one hand and pulled her hair with the other as I re-entered her again, causing her to arch upwards and move back against me, unwilling to let me take over completely. This was always how it was; each of us would still exert some form of control even if we happened to be the one currently in a position intended to be submissive. Once again, her soft moans reached my ears as I fucked her from behind, burying my cock deep inside her pussy on each thrust, harder and faster as we continued, the rhythm becoming more aggressive and her pleasured sounds increasing largely in volume and the frequency of their occurrence. I reached around with both hands as I continued to fuck her, playing with her breasts with one hand while stroking and rubbing her clit gently with the other, being rewarded with her pants and gasps of enjoyment.

"Harder! Fuck me harder!" she cried, thrusting herself back onto my cock with greater passion.

Eager to please her and wanting to get her off as best I could, I drove my cock deeper into her pussy, as deep, hard and fast as I could go, her moans practically becoming screams -- screams for me.

"Ah, yes! Just like that! Mmm!"

I reached down and lifted one of her legs up onto the table so that I could fuck her deeper still with every inch of my cock, each thrust inside her pussy sending wave after wave of ecstasy through my entire body, and I shivered in anticipation of her making me orgasm.

"Put me on my back..." she breathed, looking over her shoulder again. "I want to be dominated."

I didn't need telling twice, swapping our positions for the second time that evening, turning her around to face me again and lying her down onto the top of the table. Before I could do anything else she had wrapped her beautifully long legs around my waist, using them to pull me close to her as she kissed and bit at my neck forcefully, no doubt intending to leave her mark on me. She lifted her hips up eagerly, reaching towards my cock with one hand and inserting it back inside her, unwilling to wait. I obviously wasn't going to even pretend to resist, thrusting inside her once again, looking down into her eyes, my own no doubt filled with lust as I grabbed her arms and pinned them down to the table above her head, smirking as she playfully struggled against me. I continued to fuck her roughly whilst she was helpless to try and back control, moving my mouth to suck and bite her neck before licking down between her breasts, kissing and sucking her nipples again, feeling them stiffen with her excitement. Her moans became almost frustrated as she struggled harder, trying to break free and no doubt regain some sort of advantage in the situation. I eventually gave into her and released her hands, although I continued to fuck her. Her eyes danced with wild fire as I let her free, and she immediately leaned up and sank her teeth into my neck, thrusting her hips upwards at such a rate that I barely needed to move my own body at all. Her nails raked down my back as I screwed her, and I would not have been at all surprised if she had drawn blood. It hurt slightly, and I loved every single second of that pain, completely caught up in the rapture of the moment. She unhooked her legs from around my waist and lifted them right back and up onto my shoulders, giving me a perfect view of me moving in and out of her, and of her supposed submissiveness.

"Yes! YES! FUCK ME!" she screamed. "Harder! Faster! I want you to cum for me!"

Her dirty words added even more exhilaration to the proceedings. She was so wet and tight, such a turn-on. Everything about her was sexy. The way she looked, the way she moaned, the way she both gave orders and took them, the way she moved her hips. Everything.

As I felt myself no longer able to hold back I withdrew myself from her, spraying my cum up all over her body and chest, covering her breasts and torso, watching as some of it ran down over her stomach as she lay beneath me, looking up through satisfied eyes that glowed with mischief. 


Checkmate



John Mitchell tried to study, but his mind was on his plans to ask Martha Van Horn out for their fifth date, tonight. He pictured her in his mind; how she walked with a cat like grace, with her long black hair, fine features, and body to kill for. She is five foot seven, and one hundred and twenty two pounds. One hell of a sexy creature. When she walked towards you, the years of dance lessons showed in the poised strut. Damn, he got hot just thinking about being with her and smelling that perfume she wore.

Four PM, time to call. "Hi, Martha, John. Calling you about setting a time for our date tonight." Martha; "John, I don't want to ever see you again, good bye." The phone went dead. John stared at the instrument in his hand.

Some guys would have lost it, but not John. He knew that he was good goods. As a straight A student and forward on the basketball team, and good looking, he had proven to himself and a lot of others that he was a "hunk," as the girls would say. His disciplined mind told him instantly that this rude put off came because of some reason that was not part of his relationship with Martha.

Two weeks later he happened to see Martha crossing the Harvard commons with a guy. As they walked by, he told his friend Royce Pollard what had happened between he and Martha. Royce said, "repeat that line to me again." John.

" I don't want to ever see you again, good bye." "Well, good buddy," Royce said, "She used that exact same line to tell Al Maynard that he was history, too. In fact, it was after their fourth date."

Royce then told John that his sister was a friend of Martha's room mate. As they parted, Royce said that he would check it out.

At a party at the "Dunster House," a residence hall in Harvard commons, Royce came up to John and said; "Hey Buddy, I've got the whole story. Your girl, Martha, is under the thumb of her Mamma. When she sees a guy more then once, she gives the folks the guys name, home address, parents name, and what she knows of his major and marks. Martha's dad is the president of a local bank in White Plains, New York. The old guy runs a complete credit check and background check on the new boyfriend. If he is not "solid gold" financially, Martha's Mom calls and tells her to cut the guy off."

John shook his head and murmured, "A whole family of ass holes."

Royce; "You bet, no consideration at all for the guy's feelings."

"Somebody should fix their ass,"John said, as he handed Royce another drink. They clicked their glasses to that

John's high school chum, Bud Allen, a wild ass kid, now a senior at MIT, sat at his desk listening to John's story. A smile played at the corner of his lips, as he inquired of John, just how bad did he want to "get" the Van Horns.

John gazed at Bud, and thought a moment before answering, knowing full well the reputation of the MIT boys for successful elaborate pranks. "I will go along with anything that you can think of," John finally said.

Martha Van Horn begin to hear about an extremely handsome French boy that was picking up his dates in a limo. She finally saw him. "Gawd, he is hot," crossed her mind as she walked towards the door to get a better look. Approaching a girl that had chatted with the boy and his date, she inquired," Who is that?" 

The girl, who was part of the prank, and in the past had a boy stolen by Martha, said, "Oh, that is Philip Contray. I'm sure you have heard of his family. They are the largest shareholders in British Petroleum." As she walked away, she tossed back over her shoulder, "He was in the phone book."

"Our" Philip received a phone call the following afternoon. After introducing herself, Martha said that she had seen him and wondered if they could meet. They met at five, and the meeting continued into a full date. Martha was dancing on a cloud when she returned to her dorm. Even though it was late, she called her mother with the information so that she could begin to check out her new date. Martha was sure that she had found the man for her to marry, who would support her in the fashion she and her mother had discussed.

Yes, there is a Philip Contray at MIT. Yes, he is an excellent student. Yes, his father is "that" Contray. And, yes, they own 1, 763, 000 shares of BP, plus 1,897, 975 shares of Exxon. Lord knows what else?

Martha's mother phoned her with the instructions to; "Get that boy to the alter."

"Our" Philip had a very interesting next date with Martha. They had just left the curb for the ride to Boston Commons when he felt her hand begin to lower his pants zipper. As she gentle begin to rub his cock, her lips kissed him on the mouth. When his erection was up and bobbing with his pulse, she lowered her mouth to the end of it and begin to lick his cock. Philip slid down in the seat a few inches so she had better access to his cock. After a few minutes if licking, she begin to take more and more of it into her mouth. The pleasure was intense, and then he could feel his balls tighten for the explosion of cum that fired into her mouth. Just as it jetted out, he pushed her head further onto his member so that it went down her throat.

Philip spoke into the intercom to instruct the driver to take them to the "Holiday Inn," just off route 128 in Lawrence. He wasted no time in disrobing Martha when they got to their room. His mouth was on her unused breasts. He wondered if she was still a virgin. Well experience in foreplay, he begin the caressing and rubbing that experience had taught him would bring a woman to that state where she begged for him to put his throbbing cock into her pulsing, vagina.

There was no doubt that Martha was new to this "play." Saving herself for her man of wealth, left no time or room in her life for sexual pleasure with "Just a guy." She was not ready for each new stimuli. Philip wondered if she was on the pill? Her legs were now open. As his mouth found her clitoris, a moan escaped her lips. "Oohhhoo, Ohooooohhooo." His tongue explored her love tunnel, as her hips begin to thrust up and she squirmed in anticipation of what was to come.

Philip's cock was bobbing between his legs as a "Hung man's" cock will. He brought it to her cunt lips and eased it into her. As he thrust it by the opening, she gasped and held him tight, telling him, "Be gentle, this is my first time!"

Philip smiled to himself, knowing the reaction of the conspirators when he told them that he deflowered her. He was ready. His cock was ready. He pushed it into Martha with passion. No reason to go slow. He would fuck her several times tonight. He was sure that she would fuck him as long as he wanted it. And want it he did. 

His shaft buried itself again and again in her love tunnel. She begin to loose her tenseness, and then she moaned again," Oohhooo, Ohoooo, Yesssssss." Martha suddenly cum with a ," Yess, Yesssssss." She was planting wet kisses on Philip's neck and mouth. "Though this is all for money, she sure is enjoying herself," Philip thought, as his load of cum was spurting, deep into her cunt.

After some wine, and crackers, Philip's cock again sprang to life. Slowly rising, throb by throb. Martha took it in her hand and examined it. Looking into Philip's eyes, she took half of it into her mouth again. He let her suck for a few minutes, but them rolled her onto her hands and knees. With her chest flat on the bed, but her ass in the air, he stuck his lubricated finger in her ass. To her complaints, he countered that all French woman know that they are to be fucked in the ass by their man.

Martha's mother had not covered this subject, that was sure. Martha was to get this man to the alter, so she stayed still as his cock slowly inched its way into her ass. When the lubrication had allowed full penetration, Philip fucked her hard and deep. Just as he pumped spurt after spurt of cum into her ass, he felt her tighten up as she cum herself. "Quite a night for this ass hole," Philip thought. "I wonder how much she will tell Mom about this?"

Their first date was in February. By May, they were regulars at the "Holiday." Philip was fucking her three or four times a week.

Hints about getting married, begin to be cast about on every date. Finally, after a long Friday night of fucking this beautiful woman, Philip ask if she would marry him. He presented her with a gaudy "Diamond" ring, which had cost $132.00 at Wall Mart. Of course, she accepted.

The date was set for the twenty eight day of July in White Plains. It was to be, of course, "The" social event of the summer in that snob infested suburbia. Philip insisted that he was to pick out all the men in the ceremony, while she could pick out the Maid of Honor, and the bridesmaids.

On July fourth, Philip took Martha to a party in Upper Montclair, New Jersey. There were four couples there and another ten single guys. By now, Martha was very sure of her capture, and allowed herself to party hard. As she had done before, she got drunk. Finally, the other three couples left. 

Martha was carried to the bed. Philip begin to kiss her and fondle her tits. She could feel her slacks and panties being removed. A mouth was on her cunt, but Philip was still kissing her. Philip moved his body at right angle to hers and as her legs were spread a cock was placed at her cunt and begin to enter her. Martha tried to shift herself, but the cock was now buried into her pussy and as Philip moved away from her this other man begin to fuck her with deep strokes.

She should have complained. Well, she would have, but well, Ohoo, it felt soo good. She could see a smiling Philip, and then she closed her eyes as her first orgasm of the evening washed over her. She just had to push her ass to meet the thrusts. She was fucking this stranger. 

As he rolled off, Martha looked at Philip, who was sitting in a chair watching as the next man climbed between her legs. "Is this all right with you?" she said as a new thick cock plunged deep into her pussy. "French women expect this," Philip said as the cock made slurping sounds in her cum filled pussy. This cock was bigger then the last, bigger then Philip's. Martha grabbed the man's ass and pulled him to her so that all his rod was extending her cunt, as never before. Her head shook from side to side and she wailed out; Oh, yes, Oh, I love to fuck!" All ten men fucked her.

It could be said that fucking her was a return on an investment, of sorts.

The twenty eight of July was a perfect day. The Van Horns were a little miffed that their only contact with Mr. and Mrs. Contray was through Mr. Contray's secretary. It had been explained that the Contrays were traveling in Europe, and would arrive a few hours before the wedding.

"Maybe it is just as well; there will be more room for our three hundred guests," was Mrs. Van Horn's reaction when Martha told her that Philip had said that all his relatives were in France, and unable to attend the wedding.

Mrs. Van Horn had spared no expense. The church was bedecked with flowers. Three hundred formally dressed pompous wealthy snobs were seated in the church.

At exactly ten AM, the organ started the wedding march. The groom, best man, and ushers all lined up on the right side of the alter. The Maid of Honor, and the bridesmaids all paraded in and lined up on the left side. 

Martha was beautiful, and not showing her three month pregnancy condition, as she walked arm and arm with Mr. Van Horn down the center aisle. When they were half way to the alter, the Groom, Best Man, and the ushers all turned and walked out of the church to a waiting limo.

On the church lawn there was a sign which read:





Checkmate



Adrian's black depression dragged at him like a cold undertow, to the point where he was beginning to loathe his own self-pity. He brooded for days in his bedchamber, silent, dressed entirely in black silks, not sleeping, lighting only a single candle at night for company in his self-induced exile. He was sitting at the table, one arm folded beneath his chin on the surface, toying idly with the petals of the wilting white roses that sat in a crystal vase, watching the moonlight creep across the wood when the shadow fell over him. He lifted a high arched eyebrow at his intruder and looked up into cruel red eyes, the familiarity of them bringing a half smile to his lips. 

"Ivan?"

Ivan Cornelius Urbane was tall, dignified, and whipcord thin. His suit was exquisitely tailored, dove gray in a Victorian style that suggested the muscular build beneath and flared to showcase his perfect, surgeon's hands and immaculately polished boots. He carried a black ebony cane with a silver cobra's head that Adrian knew to hold a long, slim steel sword, an old wooden chess set under his arm. He had a thin, almost leonine face, with large, half-lidded, cruel red eyes, a long, straight nose upon which sat a delicate pair of wire rimmed glasses, and thin lips that rarely smiled, all framed by long, straight steel gray hair streaked in silver white that fell to the middle of his lean back. His top hat was a shade darker than his suit, and dangling from the brim his only outward suggestion of the insanity that raged in his mind; silver bells on strings. Quietly, he sat opposite Adrian, removed his hat with an understated jingle of the silver bells, and set up the chessboard on the table white side toward Adrian, steepled his perfect fingers on the table and perched his goateed chin upon them, regarding his opponent with vaguely bored impatience. His voice was soft, crisply British, and deep as he spoke into the silence, "Your move."

Adrian bit back a retort that would have been perceived as unseemly, and undignified to the British Doctor, sighed slightly, and moved his pawn. "So," he said without looking up from the board, "What brings you here? Did they pay you to come here? Am I to be analyzed, then?"

Ivan stared at him implacably, unmoving. "I came for a game of chess," he said quietly.

Adrian bit his lip, snarling subtly. They played on in silence for a time, the pieces barely making any sound with their felted bases, the two old friends drawing the game out for a while, as both were brilliant at the game and could have ended it quickly. Finally, Ivan sighed deeply and said, "Allright, Adrian, what is on your mind?"

"I'm bloody lonely, Ivan," he retorted hotly, his nerves raw, "I'm 500 years old and damn near everybody I have ever loved is either dead or infatuated with somebody else so deeply they can't see past their own misery!"

"What, like you?"

Adrian recoiled, stung by the truth, "Shut up, Ivan."

Ivan grinned subtly, the smile never making it to his eyes, and returned to his game. He played on in silence for a time, then said, "You need a hobby."

"A hobby? What do you mean?"

"Something other than chasing women and masturbation I would think, Your Grace. Get your head out of the rut it's in."

"Is this your professional opinion, Doctor?" he snorted, "And what do you suggest I do?"

The doctor lifted his head, baring all of his long, straight white teeth and elongated canines in a vicious grin, his eyes gleaming with insane amusement, though he did not laugh. "You could knit."

Adrian was so struck by how funny that was coming out of his reticent companion he just stared for a long moment in disbelief before he started laughing. Ivan's grin dropped as fast as it had appeared, looking annoyed that Adrian found him so amusing, and moved another chess piece. "Well, okay, my friend. What do you do to ease your loneliness?"

Ivan looked irritated at being questioned, sighed deeply and replied, "Not that you need to know, but I talk to my collection."

"You mean the preserved, severed heads you have in your office?"

Ivan sniffed, "It's no worse than some other people's hobbies, I would think. They had it coming, the perverts. Move, will you?"

Adrian placed a chess piece, grinning, "You need to lighten up, Ivan."

Ivan's thin eyebrows raised, "Oh? You seek to analyze me, then?"

"Not for a moment. I just find you more interesting than my own problems at the moment. I would love to know what makes you tick."

Ivan played in silence for a long moment, then replied, "I have very little interest in a great many things. Check."

Adrian swore softly, and moved his Queen out of check, "I was not asking what you were not interested in, I wanted to know what you are."

Ivan narrowed his eyes and moved again, "Checkmate. You should give up while you can."

Adrian knocked over his piece in submission, noting the distinct pleasure that flickered briefly on his opponent's face. "Another game?"

Ivan set up the board again, this time turning it so Adrian was playing black, and he had the first move. Adrian plucked a flower from the vase beside him, one of the blooms that was still clinging tenaciously to its beauty, and tucked it into Ivan's hair playfully. Ivan batted his hand away in aggravation and glowered at him.

Adrian grinned, "When's the last time you got laid, anyway?"

Ivan's carefully calculated move was thrown as he knocked the pawn over instead of moving it and he turned a mildly shocked expression to his coolly grinning opponent. "Laid? What? Had sex?"

Adrian chuckled, "You know what I mean."

Ivan's cold demeanor now had a small chink in it, through which gleamed just a hint of melancholy in his claret eyes. "Not since the night I was sired."

Adrian was taken somewhat aback at how candidly he spoke, his tone shifting some, "Has it been so long?"

"Yes," he whispered, making a single bold move on the chessboard. 

Adrian moved absently, focused instead on his friend's eyes, on his beauty that caught on his soul like a silver fishhook. He whispered softly, "What would you do if I were to kiss you right now?"

Ivan made a second bold move, "Checkmate," stood swiftly, drawing his sword and had Adrian on sword point in less than the blink of a mortal's eye. The blade tip pressed against Adrian's lower lip, puncturing it slightly, a bead of blood welling up around the razor sharp point. The Italian duke sat very still, his startlement evident in his eyes, and maybe a touch of fear as he gazed up at his old friend. "Go ahead and try it, Your Grace," Ivan hissed softly, deadly as the cobra on the sword's hilt. 

Adrian averted his eyes, then watched carefully as Ivan brought the sword back to his lips, his long tongue snaking out to taste the blood on the tip. The younger vampire's head tipped back, his eyes closed in ecstasy at the taste and potency of the blood and Adrian knew he had him hooked. Ivan sheathed his sword with a superior grin, picked up his hat and bowed slightly to Adrian in his typically well-bred manner as though he were about to leave. 

"You don't have to go," Adrian said quickly, suppressing the desperation in his voice, he was not ready to be alone yet. 

"There is nothing holding me here," Ivan replied coolly, settling his hat on his head with a quiet jingle. 

"Oh, but I think you do," Adrian said, slowly rising from his chair, his eyes locked on Ivan's in a deadly dance, unconsciously sensual. "You tasted something back there that you liked, I know you did. The look is unmistakable."

"You indulge yourself too much, Adrian. You would do things now you will only regret later."

"There are many different kinds of regrets, friend, including those you feel when you haven't done something you could have…would it be so bad, really?"

Emotions chased themselves across Ivan's lean features, breaking his demeanor again just so slightly; intrigue, sorrow, aggravation, loneliness, and finally resignation as he shrugged and walked back toward the table. He removed his hat and coat, something Adrian had never seen him do in all the years he had known him, sitting expectantly on the chair again with an unreadable expression on his handsome, stoic face as if to say, "Your Move."

Adrian considered his position carefully, gauging his friend's reactions to determine his next move very cautiously. He strode over beside him and reached out a long-fingered hand to stroke his streaked gray hair, only to have Ivan flinch away from him, and he retreated again. Now Ivan's expression did not so much forbid, but warn subtly, a tentative hand rested on the duke's lean hip, and Adrian changed his tactics. With a supreme amount of self-discipline, Adrian knelt on the floor before Ivan's feet, suppressing his noble dignity to look up into his eyes. Ivan spread his knees a little, to encourage Adrian to come closer, and was rewarded as the duke crept up to kneel belly to belly with him. The Doctor watched him for a long moment before he bit his tongue, extending it beyond his thin lips to offer Adrian the blood that welled there. The duke knelt up, stretching up to take the proffered taste with reverence due the gift offered, laying a soft hand on the Doctor's thin knee to steady himself as he kissed him. The thin body trembled slightly as Adrian stroked his hair again, and he pulled back, noting the pleading look in the younger vampire's eye as he broke the kiss before it was slightly suppressed. 

"What is it?" Adrian whispered.

"It… has been a very long time since anybody has touched me this way," he replied quietly.

"Do you want me to stop?"

"No."

Adrian put his arms around Ivan's lean body, holding him as he kissed him again, and the young man fairly melted into his arms, tilting his head back to accept the passionate kiss. The buttons on Ivan's fine shirt plinked on the hardwood floor as Adrian popped them off one at a time, revealing a lean, bare chest he lavished with kisses and soft strokes. The Doctor's nimble fingers dropped down to the waistline of his trousers, unbuttoning them to further bare himself to his lover's gentle ministrations, and Adrian reveled in the expression of ecstasy on Ivan's face as he treated his straining erection with a slow lick with his warm, wet tongue. Ivan's hands in Adrian's hair and on his shoulders and neck were encouraging, as pleading as the soft cries that rang in his ears as he took Ivan's cock deep into his mouth, running his tongue along the sensitive underside. 

Adrian's breath left his body in a rough cry as Ivan launched himself into him to knock him sprawling on the rug, his eyes alight with a new lust. He crawled over his downed prey to taste of his flesh himself with a tentative nip to his thigh through the silk pants Adrian wore, which he impatiently tore away with his nails as though they were tissue. Ivan explored his lover's body with deep interest, noting the sounds that rose from Adrian's throat as he touched here, nipped there, licked there just so. Adrian strained and panted under the clinically precise application of Ivan's hands and teeth and tongue until he could barely stand it; what Ivan lacked in experience he made up for in enthusiasm and patience, and Adrian was sure the sensations would drive him as mad as the one who tortured him even now. He was all but undone as Ivan looked up into his eyes and took his cock into his mouth much the way he had done to him, his steel gray hair falling into his face. His lean arms wrapped around Adrian's hips, gripping his flesh to steady him as he drew an experimental fang across the sensitive skin of Adrian's cock and his back arched beneath him. 

"You like pain?" Adrian panted, "I'll show you a little pain, my friend."

The older vampire pulled himself up, grabbing the younger man's shoulders and throwing him roughly to the bed nearby. With a growl deep in his chest he seized the young doctor's lean body in his hands and flipped him stomach down on the comforter, holding him there with a clawed hand gripping his hip as he reopened the nick in his lip with his fang and drew blood again. He spit the blood into his hand, lubricated his erection with it, and slid into his lover's body in a single, long, torturous stroke. He could feel Ivan's body tense around him, a strangled scream tearing from his throat as the pain ripped through him, every muscle seizing in a convulsive shudder as he fought to accommodate the invasion of Adrian's thrust. Adrian curled his body and laid over Ivan's, gripping a handful of his hair and hissing in his ear, "Is this what you want?"

Ivan snapped at him, and he drew back with a chuckle, steadying his captive body beneath him and began to force himself in deeper. Every time Adrian's lean hips ground against Ivan's, the younger vampire groaned with rapture and agony, and he bucked against him. His whimpers of pleasure riled the predatory sadist in Adrian, and he pushed harder into his slim body, one hand gripping his hair, the other hand's claws dug into his hip until blood flowed in rivulets down his trembling thigh. Without losing rhythm, Adrian lifted a bloodstained finger and savored the scarlet drops, hot and coppery and fiery in their potency, and the bloodlust heightened the sensation to pure perfection. The orgasm ripped through Adrian's body like a wind-whipped wildfire, his claws gripping his victim's flesh and hair as he spent himself inside the lean, trembling frame under him. Beneath his howl of ecstasy, Ivan's protracted groan signaled his own release, a delicate shudder passing over his tortured body, and he collapsed to the bed bonelessly. Adrian curled beside him, stroking back his hair to reveal a sweet, contented smile on his beautiful face as he slept. Ivan's slender body fit comfortably curled against Adrian's fencer's build, and the old vampire stroked him tenderly until sleep claimed them both.

Morning would prove to be interesting.

Adrian awoke slowly, smiling as he found his young lover's body still curled against his, and he kissed his forehead sleepily in greeting. Ivan's drowsy eyes fluttered open to regard him for a moment, then his whole form tensed in sudden revulsion and he flew back against the headboard, grabbing the sheets to cover his naked body, blushing furiously. Adrian cocked his head, confused, reaching for his lover only to have him stutter and inch away from his hand. 

"Ivan? What on earth is the matter with you?" he said, stung.

"Oh dear," Ivan whispered, blushing again, covering his mouth shyly with his graceful hands, "Do I know you? What are we doing in bed together? Did something happen last night?"

Adrian raised an eyebrow in disbelief, "Do you mean to tell me you have no idea how you got here? You've been with me all night!"

"Yes, I suppose I have… who are you?"

The duke decided to play along with his game for now; enchanted by this new persona his friend was exhibiting. Was his madness so all-encompassing that he had no memory of his night's activities during the day? A whole separate personality for the daylight hours? It was not so far-fetched, he supposed, and humored him, holding out his hand amiably, "Duke Adrian Sforza of Milan, at your service."

"Ivan Cornelius Urbane… Dr. Urbane, actually, but you can call me Ivan," he replied, shaking Adrian's hand professionally. "Um, tell me, Your Grace, do you have any idea of where my clothes are?"

Adrian glanced over at his fine gray suit crumpled on the floor, but Ivan showed no recognition of them, regarding him with unsettling timidity. With a shrug, Adrian removed his black silk robe and covered Ivan's thin shoulders with it, leaving him shirtless in his somewhat torn silk pants. "This will have to do until we can find something that will please you… just what would please you?"

"Thank you," he said, blushing again and pulling the warm silk closer, "That suit there simply is not mine. I prefer shades of brown to that gray, you know?"

"Is there anything else I can get for you?" Adrian asked, amused.

"If you have any tea, that would be lovely…"

Adrian blinked, staring at the nebbish little man in his bed, then fetched him some tea. All day long, the duke doted on his little friend, caring for him, talking to him, trying to fill him in on just what had happened the night before without scaring him off. Just for an experiment that afternoon, he leaned over and kissed him on the lips, much to Ivan's sputtering surprise. 

"I'm sorry," Adrian chuckled, "I did not mean to scare you."

"You most certainly are not sorry!" Ivan snorted indignantly, blushing again to the roots of his gray hair, and covering his lips with his perfect hands to hide what might have been a tiny smile. "Neither should you be," he added softly, "I'm afraid things may have been misleading for you. Last night, it seems, that would have been perfectly appropriate; we were lovers, I assume. I just wish I knew what was going through my mind at the time… did I love you?"

Adrian sighed, a hint of the lonely desperation creeping back into his eyes after a day of forgetting the pain. "I don't know, Ivan. I was hoping you would tell me. The side of you that knows will never tell, and the side of you that would tell does not know. How do you feel about me right now?" 

Ivan lowered his eyes to the carpet, avoiding Adrian's gaze, "Honestly, Adrian, I am confused. I don't hate you, if that's what you are afraid of. You seem a nice enough fellow…"

Adrian sighed again, poured another cup of tea and went back to the window to look out at the flowering bushes outside and not at Ivan's beautiful body wrapped in midnight silk at his table. "Yes," he said absently, "a very nice fellow…"

The sun set in a glory of red and purple the color of old wounds, and Adrian tore himself away from the glass to return to his guest, not noticing the subtle change in his posture as he idly stroked an errant strand of his steel colored hair until it was too late. In a sudden flurry of fluid motion, Ivan leaped to his feet, drawing his sword from it's sheath, thrust the three feet of steel through Adrian's chest just below his right shoulder and pinned him brutally to the bed. The hilt slammed into place against the bones, and he screamed in agony, writhing beneath Ivan's lithe body as he snarled in Adrian's face, his eyes glowing. 

"You are damn lucky you kept your filthy hands off me all day, or this would be ten times worse, my friend," Ivan hissed.

Adrian was panting, startled and wounded, his eyes wild, words barely forming on his bloodied lips, "Wh…wha… wha…what did I do?"

Ivan left him pinned and fetched his medical kit from his coat without a word, opening it on the bed beside him to reveal all manner of torturous devices; needles of every conceivable gage, ties, tubes, scalpels, sutures and the like. He straddled Adrian's knees, settling down to pin his legs to the bed, and calmly began to draw out the needles and apply them to Adrian's skin. The duke howled in pain as the needles pierced the flesh of his genitals, struggling to escape the cruelly pinning sword sunk into his shoulder, his blood soaking the sheets, but Ivan remained calm and cool, clinically exploring new levels of pain on his friend's flesh. Something about his exposure, his helplessness, the cold cruelty of Ivan's scarlet eyes sparked the lust in Adrian again, and he whimpered in agony and submission. 

"Please, Ivan," he sobbed, "please…"

Ivan seemed to flinch inwardly, something in Adrian's frantic tone awakening a deep, hidden emotion in his psyche, and he drew the sword out slowly, savoring the sound of the steel through flesh. He bent down like a dark bird, licking at the blood seeping from the wound hungrily, kissing the tortured flesh with a tenderness he was not sure he had ever felt before. He removed the needles with painstaking slowness, watching the blood well where the steel had pierced it, kissing the beads reverently. When it seemed his appetites were satisfied, he licked his lips, cleaned himself off, gathered his supplies, dressed and prepared to leave. Adrian was too exhausted to beg him not to go, though it was evident in his eyes as Ivan bent to kiss him on the lips. Then, he was gone as suddenly as he had come.




Checkmate



In the coming weeks, Adrian flew back to his home in Milan, his werewolf seneschal greeting him kindly, and not questioning the sling his right arm was in, nor his master's silence. Ivan found himself roving, restlessly, attempting to keep his more prurient thoughts on his own sire, but his mind always wandered back to Adrian. He visited friends, who found him rougher and more cruel than usual, less quietly dangerous. He tortured other friends with bored impunity, but it did not please him, nor distract him from Adrian's claret eyes, his gentle hands, his lean, fencer's body. Finally, angered by the invasion of his thoughts by this man, he booked a flight to Milan, and found himself on the doorstep of Castle Sforza without ever having been there. The seneschal greeted him at the door; a proper-looking gentleman in his 40's with dark graying hair, soft brown eyes, and a quietly amused demeanor. 

"May I help you, signore?"

"Yes, is your Master at home?"

"Yes, signore, he is in the garden. Would you like to meet him there, or wait in the drawing room?"

"I'll wait," he said tightly.

"May I ask who is calling?"

Ivan reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a white business card, handing it over without a word. The seneschal bowed briefly and stepped off to where Adrian was standing out in the garden, inspecting a particularly lush cherry tree in the early spring twilight. "Somebody to see you, my lord," Bernard said offering him the card with a look of mild confusion on his face. "I would not have let him in without ID, but he seemed vaguely familiar, somehow. He's in the drawing room, waiting for you."

Adrian looked at the card. All it said in large, bold black letters was:

"I. C. U."

By the time Adrian got to the drawing room Ivan had finished setting up his chessboard and was waiting patiently behind it, his usual air of annoyance now tempered by something a little distracted. Adrian sat opposite him calmly, and made his first move without meeting his quiet gaze. "What brings you to my neck of the woods, Urbane? Not finished torturing me? I suppose I had that one coming…"

Wordlessly, Ivan reached across the table and stroked his cheek, stopping Adrian dead in his tirade. Adrian finally looked up and noticed something entirely different in the normally reserved, mildly psychotic demeanor of his old friend, two wickedly uneven emotions battling on his handsome face; 

Adoration, 

…and fear bordering anger.

"What is it, Ivan?"

Ivan suddenly leaned forward and kissed Adrian on the lips, passionately in an almost proper manner, one hand clutched in his thick black hair, his hat off in his other hand. When he sat back down, his expression lapsed swiftly back to anger, and he hissed angrily, "What have you done to me, damn you?"

"What have I done? What are you talking about?"

"You know damn well what I am talking about, Adrian! What the hell are you doing in my head?"

Adrian thought on this for a moment, then remembered that although Ivan was 200 years a vampire, he had been in a deep sleep since about a week after his change until only recently. He knew very little about what a vampire was capable of, even if a master of illusion in his own right. He had no idea what he had done when he had gorged on Adrian's blood. 

"You do realize that we're Blood Bonded, now?" he said quietly.

Ivan looked stunned for a long minute; a thousand thoughts in his head making it spin uneasily, "Does that mean you are in my head, now?" He slumped in his chair, looking despondent. 

"I don't control you, if that's what you're afraid of, no more than you analyzing my psyche makes you control mine. It's just a bond, and sometimes we can hear when the other person needs help, and we can come to them. Or just to know you are not the only monster in the world. Is something wrong?"

Ivan looked irritated, "My worries have nothing to do with you, Adrian, don't flatter yourself."

Adrian noted the lingering doubt on Ivan's face, but let him have his dignity for the moment. He grinned slightly, "How long will you be staying with us?"

"Until I decide to leave!" Ivan snorted, then cooled some, looking away. "How long can I stay?"

"As long as you like, my household is yours, friend. You can either have your own private chambers in the East Wing…

…or there is room in mine…"

La Fine



Checkmate



This is my first actual story, so please let me know what you think.

All characters are over 18 and fictional. If that makes any sense...

*

"Jack, what are you staring at?"

She was knew what I was doing. I was thinking. her childish attempts to distract me weren't going to work, but that had never stopped her from trying. 

"The board's down here retard, and the birds aren't going to help you win."

"Like I need help...and its night time dumbass..." I muttered turning my head to the chess board.

I always stared out the window when I was thinking. It always seemed to relax me, help me see things more clearly. I looked again at the pieces scattered about the board. She was looked like she was winning from any point of view, and had taken most of my important pieces, as well as my pawns. But I had already won. She had left a subtle-yet-obvious gap in her defence. If I knew her like I thought I did, this was a "necessary risk", and not a trap. I laid my finger on my one remaining knight. I looked up into the face of my best friend. I could see it. She was smart, an amazing "strategist", but she never could lie properly. I sighed and leaned back. We were on the floor of her bedroom, and I had my back against her bed. I looked around for a while, taking in the familiar surroundings. I knew her room almost as well as I knew my own.

We had been best friends for years, kind of hard not to be, growing up with each other like we had. We weren't exactly neighbours, but only lived a few blocks apart, and our moms were really good friends. 

I closed my eyes and looked thoughtful, resting my head between my hands and laying back on them

"Giving up?" she goaded, but I could hear the tremor in her voice. She wasn't sure if I had seen her mistake, and was trying to trick me with false confidence. I didn't even open my eyes. I just reached out, and moved my piece into position, and lay my head back again.

"Checkmate"

"Dammit! How did you see that?"

I opened my eyes and smiled. 

"You're too easy"

She glared at me. I dint know which face was more familiar, this, bright large eyes open wide and full lips in a classic pout, or the smug, thin lipped, victorious look she had half the time.

"I mean, you had me on the run there for a bit..."

"I was kicking your ass!"

"And yet..." I gestured towards the board.

She turned her head away with a disgusted look on her face. I smiled and stretched. The instant our eyes met, the game was forgotten, and she smiled at me. I had always been like that. We had always been competitive with each other, but no matter how bad the insult, or humiliating the defeat, it was always forgotten just like that.

"Ugh, I'm bored now" she complained.

"Yeah, I imagine repeatedly and consistently getting your ass handed to you gets a bit boring after 18 years." I said smirking

"Huh, you got lucky, or have you forgotten my three consecutive backgammon wins yesterday?"

"Yeah I let you have those, I felt sorry for your crushing poker defeat the day before"

"Hmm...we play a lot of crap don't we..." she remarked thoughtfully

"Yeah we need to get like, a T.V. or something."

"Or like...a puppy..." she trailed off

"A puppy?" I asked "You couldn't look after a puppy, you can't even look after yourself"

"Oh please can we?" she begged "I'll feed it and clean and look after it and everything!"

"Yes, for about 2 days, and then it will be dead, just like your fish...and your snake....and that one thing, the weasel or whatever." I mocked

"It was a ferret, and how was I supposed to know it needed food every day?" she asked laughing.

"Yeah...so what now?"

"Dunno...thirsty?" she asked standing up.

"Hungry actually, could you make me a sandwich or something?"

She rolled her eyes, smiling, and turned towards the door. 

" You're gonna have to learn to fend for yourself someday you know." She said closing the door behind her.

I sat up onto her bed and lay back against her pillows. I was on her side of the bed, which was a little strange. When we watched movies or whatever together, I was always on the side with the window, whereas now I was closer to the door. I tried to make myself more comfortable by putting my hand under the pillow to support my head better, but when I did I felt something. I pulled it out and sat up. It was a quite thick but short, leather bound book. More specifically, a diary. More specifically, Katie's diary. I was a little surprised she even had one. Without really thinking I flipped it open. On the inside cover, scrawled in childish crayon was

Katie's Diary

I started off at the earlier parts. 

First page:

"I had a great birthday today got loads of neat stuff and this book"

Weird..."neat"?...she must have only been 8 or 9 when she got this. Flicked forward some more, a few pages:

"Jack says I should put the date in my diary, so here it is" 

followed by the date.

This was about ten years ago, so she would have been about eight. Weird, I couldn't remember ever talking about a diary. I flicked to about three quarters of the way through, until I got to the blank parts, then I backtracked until I got to where they started. The date on this one was only a few nights ago.

"I had another dream about him last night. I came so hard this time. I feel like I'm going crazy"

Whoa. I had to re-read this a few times before I really got it. She was having sexy dreams about someone? That was so...confusing. we hadn't really talked much about guy or girls we liked before, but "again"? If she liked this guy so much, why wouldn't she tell me, especially if she was so worried? 

I flicked back a few pages. I noticed she had an irregular way of entries, some were a few lines, full weeks taking up a single page, and some were almost like essays. There were noticeable jumps too. I guess she only wrote things she thought were important.

I skipped back a bunch of pages, I think it was a few months, I didn't check the date.

"I wonder what Jack would say if he knew how I felt."

Wait...Jack? As in me, Jack? she was having dreams about me? Before I could even begin to process this, I heard her footsteps coming up the stairs. I didn't know what to do. I froze. I couldn't let her know that I'd read this. I didn't know what to think yet.

But if her weakness was her inability to bluff, then mine was the inability to work under sudden pressure. Still, thinking quickly, I flicked back to near the front and tried to look amused as she walked in the door. As soon as she saw me she froze. She let out a small gasp.

I read aloud:

"Today I got extra homework cuz Jack made me laugh, I hate him"

I actually remembered this day. She had been so pissed off, considering she had started it.

"Wow", I said, "you know, you were a really whiney 9 year old" I looked round and smiled at her

She looked horrified

"What are you doing? Gimme that!" she dropped the plate of sandwiches on the floor in her haste to get to me. She grabbed desperately at the book, but I held it away from her, playing with her a little.

"Stop it, just GIMME IT!" she screamed. I gave the book to her quickly and she clutched to her chest, like I was gonna try and get it back.

"Jeez, calm down!" I said smiling. I was getting nervous. She was nearly crying, and she was looking at me. She was staring at the ground with her long black hair covering her face.

"What's the big deal? it's not like I don't already know everything about you" I joked. I changed my tone so I sounded more serious. 

"What's so bad in there that I can't see?" I asked. She just shook her head and half whispered

"I'm sorry.."

"But I thought we told each other everything..." I said dejectedly. She just shook her head again.

I sighed. "fine then..."

"Maybe you should just leave..." she said quietly.

"Fine. See ya around" I stood up and left quickly.

My mind was blank as I walked down the street, but when I got home, my thoughts felt like a hurricane. She liked me? She had dreams about me? She masturbated... thinking of me? Was it even me? There were lots of guy called Jack in our school. I was only one of two in my class alone. Was it him? Why wouldn't she tell me? Why didn't she tell me? What was she afraid of? Was she ashamed? What else could it be?

Rejection...obviously. But...would I reject her? This opened up a whole new line of thoughts.

I thought hard about her, bringing her image into my head. I mustered as much detail as I could, which was quite a bit. Her smooth, white skin, always pale, no matter how hard she tried to tan. Her flowing dark hair, her full lips and bright smile. Her dark brown almost black eyes, slightly too large for her face, giving her a very cute look. Her long delicate fingers, her thin pale arms. I thought more and more, bringing together everything I could remember. Her body. About 5'5 ,large C cup breasts, which I knew from checking one of her bras when she wasn't looking. Her slim waste and round hips. I pictured her face again, only differently this time, a memory. She was looking down slightly, avoiding my eyes. She was biting her lip, smiling. She was so nervous. When was this?

I remembered. The night of the "Fall Ball" the first real dance we were allowed to go to. We had gone together, as friends obviously. It was kind of a big deal, but I never really got it before. Even when we slow danced together, I still didn't feel any different about her. I had an image of her pushing her face into my chest and sighing. It was only when I remembered this, this time, and her face, and everything about her when I realised how truly beautiful she was. I opened my eyes and fell back against my bed. Did I like her like she liked me? How, exactly, did she liked me? Was it even me?

I stood up and opened my wardrobe door, looking at myself in the full length mirror. I was pretty tall, about 6'1 and had short black hair. My eyes were bright blue, my skin clear and my teeth shiny and white. I took my shirt off and looked at my naked torso. My arms were a little thin, but I had real muscle from when I took some self defence classes with my mom. I had started some light weight training, and kept it up, because it helped me burn excess energy. It had even come in handy once. I had some light muscle definition around my stomach, and if I tensed, you could see my abs clearly. I wasn't exactly drop dead gorgeous, but I didn't think I looked that bad... 

Did she really like me that way? Could she? I didn't have much self esteem issues, but I'd always considered myself kind of...plain. 

What was I thinking about? If she really did like me, I wasn't because of my looks. If she did like me...

The main question I kept coming back to that night was whether or not I liked her. She was almost like a sister to me. She was the closest thing I had to a sibling.

I sighed deeply and walked over to my window. The light was off, and the moon was barely there. I could see the stars unusually clearly tonight. I just thought. No, I planned. That was what I needed, a plan. A strategy. What does a strategy need? A purpose. I already knew what I needed to find out. One, was it me she had been writing about. Two, how deep were her feelings. Was it just a sex thing or more...emotional. how I felt wasn't important. I knew that if I let my feelings, or lack thereof, get in the way, I would never really know the truth. It was time to win. The Game, if you'll pardon the cliché, was on.

I met her the next day in the usual place. The bus stop near her house where we got the bus to school. It was Monday morning, and the air felt unseasonably cold considering the bright summer sun. I was there earlier than usual. I felt so nervous. I knew from now on, basically everything I did with her from now on would have to be an act. My throat caught as I saw her walking nervously towards me. She really was beautiful, how had I never noticed before? She was wearing dark jeans and a plain blue t-shirt, and her dark hair was styled in the usual way, one eye partly covered by her fringe. 

As she approached, I gave her a reassuring smile, which she almost shyly returned.

"So...hi," I said when she got close to me 

"You're here...early" she replied

"Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about last night" said turning to face her.

"Oh..." her face fell slightly and she opened her mouth to talk, but I cut in before she could say anything.

" I wanted to say I'm sorry. I should have respected your privacy better, and I know you don't have to tell me everything. You're my best friend, and I shouldn't have acted the way I did" 

She smiled a little.

"That was unusually formal." she said

"Yeah, it doesn't suit me, right?" I said smiling. She gave a little laugh, but stayed silent. I stepped closer to her.

"So... we good?" I asked

"Yeah," she said, her smile getting wider, "we're always good, remember?"

I was very relieved, and I started to feel guilty about my upcoming plan, but I pushed my feelings back. I had to know what she was really feeling. 

I waited a few days before the "First Move". It was hard, I so wanted to ask her about this. But what if it wasn't me in the diary? Or what if she wanted to know how I felt? I didn't even know... 

So anyway it was Thursday, and we were talking on the bus home from school. She had just said something funny, and we were laughing. I turned to her suddenly.

"You know what? You should stay over tomorrow night."

"Wow, a sleepover, it's been ages since we've had one." She said wistfully

Our sleepovers had always been great. We'd stay up for ages and watch movies or play games, but it was true it had been months since our last.

"So you up for it?" I asked

"Sure, sounds like fun" she answered.

That was the First Move. Well, not really but it was like the beginning of the First Move, or something. Anyway, it was Friday night, and we were in her room again. It was about 8:30, so she suggested we get moving. Thankfully, we got out of the door without her realising what I'd done. Id brought a book over, and had been reading it while she finished her homework. I was going to wait until she went to the bathroom to plant it somewhere, but I didn't get a chance. I didn't question it, but she seemed reluctant to leave me alone in the room. The reason was obvious, which is what the book was for. I managed to inconspicuously drop it under her bed while she set up the chess board. I know, right? Two 18 year olds spending their Friday nights playing chess, we were a couple of party animals.

Anyway, we were on my bed watching a movie. I waited about an hour after the beginning. I put my hand up to my forehead and groaned.

"What's up?" she asked turning towards me.

"I knew I'd forgotten something. I just remembered I left my book in your room!" I said annoyed.

I moved towards the edge of the bed and stood up.

"You're not going to get it now are you?" she asked

"I need to. It's from the library and needs to be back tomorrow. I was going to finish it tonight" This was actually true " But you made me stop to play your fucking chess." I continued smiling.

"No, I'll go get it." She said moving to get up.

"Don't be stupid, just wait here." I said

She looked she was going to argue, but I already had my shoes on.

"Look I'll be a couple of minutes, you just keep watching. Now where did I leave it...?" I asked myself as I left.

As soon as I got outside, I had to stop myself from running to her house. I knew if I was too long she'd suspect something, so I did walk quicker. Her parents were watching TV when I called, and were happy to see me, if a little confused. They always were. Happy, I mean, not confused. I just told them I'd forgotten something and I rushed upstairs.

I quickly scanned her room. I had spent all night thinking of where it could be. I knew it wouldn't be in the same place, so didn't bother checking. I started to try and think like her. Where would she hide it? I knew what I would do. Pry up a floorboard under the bed and cover it with extra carpet. Practical, if a little extreme, and effective. But she wasn't like me. She would have spent ages thinking of a suitable place. Somewhere unexpected and clever, assuming she was expecting someone to look for it. I glanced at the bookshelf, and almost immediately found myself falling into a mental loop. 

"No, it's too obvious. A book on a bookshelf. But, exactly, he wouldn't look because it's too obvious. But what if he sees that coming, and looks in the place he's least likely to look because of its likelihood? But what if sees that coming, and doesn't look there because he knew I would think that..." and so on. 

But luckily, I wasn't the one hiding it, so I walked over and immediately started running my hand over her books. She had quite a lot, more than me anyway, so I couldn't see a difference just by looking. If she were to take this "necessary risk", she would at least keep it out of obvious sight. 

Assuming that the searching reads in the English format, top to bottom, left to right, then the bottom left is logically the last place they'd look. I ran through the last couple, but they were just normal novels. Ugh, who gives a kid such a random present anyway. It was hard backed and leather, so it would blend in with all her other weird books, and I couldn't remember what the spine looked like. Hmm... bottom left was also too predictable, but I still thought this area was close. On an impulse, I checked the middle of the second row from the bottom. 

I almost shouted for joy. It was in between two books similar to it, to disguise it, but I'd actually chosen the right book. I'd only been up here for a minute and a half, but that was a little too long for just to quickly grab something. I flicked to about the area I'd been before, where I saw my name but I couldn't find the right page. I was only reading the first couple of words of each line. I kept skipping through the pages. I finally got to a close enough date, but no sign of me on either of the pages. I went back a little. I knew the date had been about two months ago, but I wasn't sure exactly what it was. I wasted two minutes skipping through pages frantically, aware of the time pressure. Her mom might come at any second to see what was keeping me. 

I found something interesting eventually though:

"I think I had a wet dream last night. I didn't even know girls could. I don't remember it, but when I woke up, I felt like I'd just cum and my bed was wet"

Next night:

"Another dream like last night. It was a little clearer when I woke up. I remember a face or something." 

A few days:

"Jack was in my dream last night, and I woke up horny. Feeling strange"

A few pages went without much mention of me, just normal stuff, then:

"I keep having dreams about Jack. I don't know what to do."

Later:

"I can't stop thinking about him"

More:

"I had such a strange about Him again. Just see his face. I came when I woke up"

After this there was a gap of about two weeks, then two sentences dated about a month and a half apart, the biggest break I'd seen. But it wasn't the date I was really interested in:

"I think I love him."

Followed by:

"I know I love him"

Holy shit. Love? She loved me? I quickly flicked back to where I has finished last time. 

There was one new entry:

"I don't what I would've done if Jack had found out. What would he do? What would he say? If he didn't love me, I don't know what I'd do."

My heart was racing. I could hear my pulse in my ears I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Once again, my thoughts were interrupted by footsteps coming up the stairs. I quickly but carefully put the book back, then leaped across the room and stuck my head under the bed. Just as I did Katie's mom walked in.




Checkmate



"Are you having some problems, Jack, honey?" she asked

I came out from under the bed clutching my book.

"Ha, I knew it was under there" I said smiling. 

I got out of the house without too much hassle. Every time I went over there without Katie, they always tried to give me things, like soda or cookies and stuff. Normally it was great but I was working within a time frame here. I didn't myself think about what I'd read. All that had happened was I'd gained confirmation to begin the "Second Move".

You may be thinking "Why doesn't he just tell her what he'd read and live happily ever after?" Well, there were a number of reasons. One, I'd already started this and I never give up a good strategy, especially when I'm wining. Two, I was really betraying her trust here, and I didn't know how bad an effect that could have on our relationship. But most importantly, I didn't really know how I felt about her. Yes, she was beautiful and yes, she was as close as family to me, but did I really love her, like she loved...me? So, on to Move Two.

When I entered the room, she immediately looked edgy, nervous. I just smiled at her.

"How the fuck do you think it ended up under your bed?" I asked smiling. She didn't say anything and still looked nervous. I took off my shoes and started lying down beside her.

"And not at the edge either, like, right in the fucking middle. What's up?" I asked.

"Oh...nothing...I'm just a little cold...I guess" she stuttered

"Come here then" I said as I pulled her close to me. This is something I'd done before, held her like this, but it felt so different. She leaned into me and sighed. I couldn't help but smile.

After about ten minutes of the second movie, I yawned loudly and stretched. Over the next half hour, I did this a lot until she finally asked

"What the hell's up? It's like 10:30?"

"I know, but I'm really exhausted. I got like two hours of sleep last night.

"And your telling me this now? What was the point in me coming over if you're just going to fall asleep now?" she asked a little angrily

"Calm down" I said "I'll be fine"

After about 5 minutes, I let my head slump down and started breathing heavier. She noticed pretty quick.

"Jack" she said poking me 

"Oi, wake up idiot" I ignored her.

"HEY" she shouted, right in my ear.

"Jesus, what!?" I shouted "Oh shit...sorry I'll be fine." I said

She sighed.

"No, I suppose if you're really that tired we'd better just go to sleep."

"K. Sorry though". I said clambering off the my bed and onto the camp bed. We each had a camp bed at our house, for the other to sleep in. The loser of the day's chosen challenge had to sleep in it, and she'd beaten me in chess. I'd been too nervous to play to my usual standard. Plus she was a cheating bitch. What? She was...

"I promise we'll hang out all day tomorrow" I mumbled

She sighed and went in to the bathroom to get changed. In case you couldn't tell, I wasn't actually that tired. It was a test.

About five minutes after getting in to bed she called my name.

"What?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Um...you know what, never mind..." she whispered

After another about twenty she called again. I ignored her. She called about five times, getting louder.

After a while, I heard the bed creak as she got up. Shit, I couldn't believe this was working. She got close to the bed and called me again. She reached out and pushed me slightly. She even shook me a little before she was convinced I wouldn't wake up. Suddenly her hand was on my face. She was just stroking it up and down, then she reached up and ran her fingers through my hair, tugging lightly.

She let out a breathy sigh

"Oh...Jack..." she whispered, her hand returning to my face.

I was excited and creeped out at the same time. While what she was doing was weird and quite perverted, I felt a strange sense of achievement at having predicted it. I was also finding hard to not get an erection, which was something I hadn't expected. I finally took the risk to open my eyes a tiny bit. Her face was quite close, with her eyes closed and mouth open. It took a while for me to realise where her other hand was. She wasn't wearing any pants, and her hand was down her panties moving quickly. Shit...she was masturbating right in front of me. She bit down hard on her lip and let out a low groan. I scanned the rest of her body, and she had pulled her top up to expose her full breasts. Smooth and flawless, they were as pale as the rest of her skin, and almost glowed in the soft moonlight. Her nipples were a light pink in colour and were clearly stiff and erect. Her soft mounds jiggled back and forth with her as she shook lightly and breathed deeply. She licked her lower lip and started made a small whine. She suddenly doubled up and gasped loudly, while her hand my hair suddenly clenched and pulled quite hard. She was coming. She was so close. Her face looked amazing in the soft light, twisted in almost agony. 

She let out one last gasp, my name, then let her head drop.

After about two minutes of kneeling there, panting, she raised her head again as I quickly closed my eyes . She just kept looking at me, for like five minutes. She had returned to face stroking. I felt her move closer. I felt her soft lips lightly brush my own, then push down a little harder. I opened my eyes in shock, only to find her tear streaked face pulling away, eyes closed and mouth smiling.

"I love you." She whispered

Holy Shit! Well I'm pretty sure that removed any lingering doubt! Jeez... it was almost scary. How did I manage to keep quiet? I'd had to subtly turn my pelvis to keep my obvious erection showing. I barely slept at all that night...

The next day had been awkward, for me anyway. I tried to act normal but I couldn't really make eye contact with her. I knew I was in trouble. I was out of strategy. I'm sure there was something before...more plans, more ideas, but they had been knocked out of my head. Suddenly all I could think of was her. I thought it was bad before, every time I closed my eyes her face was in my head. Or her lips, her hands, her body, her laugh, her hair, God, everything! Seeing her like that... her tear stained face, her lust filled moans. It changed everything, it made it more real, and although it was something I'd predicted, I hadn't thought about how it would affect me... 

I had to tell her. Tell her... what? Not important, I just had to confront her, tell her what I'd read. But what if...No! No doubts! I wouldn't do what she'd been doing. Stewing for months without saying a word! But, then, I already knew the outcome...didn't I? Damn it, why was I so scared? I just had to go for it...

It was Friday again. I'd only been able to last one week of this torture. Every look, every smile had me grinding my teeth . I couldn't resist her. I just wanted to take her in arms, feel her warmth, press my lips against hers...

"Katie?" I said nervously

"Yeah, wassup?" 

We were on the bus on the way home, but unusually, the journey had passed in mostly silence.

"Can we head to your place after? I need to talk to you about something..."

"Um, yeah, sure... you ok?" she asked, full of concern

"Ah...yeah, I'm fine, just need to...tell you about something..." I stammered out

"Ok...you' tell me if something was wrong, right?" she asked. She lay her hand lightly on my arm and frowned. God, she was killing me. Just her touch had my crotch stirring.

"You know it!" I said a little too loudly. I adjusted in my seat, trying to subtly pull my arm away. It felt like her fingertips were burning me, I was so hot. I think she got the message, and turned away from me to look out the window.

How was I going to do this...

We were in room. She took off her shoes and sat on the bed.

"So...what's this big thing you have to tell me?" she asked

"Um...it's like... ah...so, your parents aren't home?". This wasn't completely unheard of, but they both rarely worked late.

"Yeah, actually they're away for the weekend. Some business thing, I don't know, but don't change the subject. Something's wrong" she said accusingly

"No...no nothing's wrong...it's just... I read your diary... and..." I trailed off

"Jeez, this again? It's ok, you already apologized, its behind us!" she said. She was trying to act calm, but I could tell she was nervous. She never could lie.

"No..." I said. I turned away from her. I couldn't look at her when I said this.

" I read it again. I read what you wrote about me...your dreams..." 

She gasped and opened her mouth to speak.

"No, don't, don't interrupt. I read what you wrote. I didn't know what to think then, and I'm not entirely sure now, but all I know is ever since Friday I haven't been able to stop thinking about you."

I turned to face her. She was bright pink and was covering her mouth with her hand. She looked like she was about to break into tears.

"I think...I know...I love you. " I said. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. I felt a weird feeling of release. It was out of my hands now. I had no control. Basically my whole life was in the hands of the person in front of me and her reaction, her words. I hadn't meant to say I loved her. I only realised seconds before...no as I was saying it...

She let her head drop and her hair covered her face. She started shaking, her whole body. She was crying! This wasn't what I wanted!

"Katie...wh...what's wrong?!" I asked. I sat down beside her...not too close, no matter much I wanted to, I wasn't going to crowd her. I didn't know what to do, but after only a few seconds she lifted her head again and removed her hand...

To reveal a huge smile! She was laughing! I was confused by this, so I didn't say anything...

She turned to me and said one word

"Checkmate!"

"What? What do you...?" I stuttered, confused.

"Checkmate! I win! And you always said I couldn't lie! Ha!" she fell back on the bed and laughed some more.

My blood ran cold. I could hear my pulse in my ears. I suddenly felt sick.

I stood up suddenly angry

"You think this is funny? Is this a joke to you?" I shouted

She sat up immediately, face completely serious. 

"This was never a joke. I just needed to know how you felt."

I remained silent, waiting for an explanation 

She sighed.

"I know a lot about you Jack. I know that when you lie down, you put your hand under the pillow to support you head better. I know that you wouldn't confront me about anything unless you had all the facts. Heh...whiney nine your old... quick thinking... " 

She stood up and continued

"I know that you would want to see it again, and that you would check the bookshelf first. Bottom left, right? I expected you expecting to not expect it." She gave a little laugh.

"But most all I knew for sure that no matter what you felt, good or bad, you wouldn't be able to keep it from me for more than a week. A week exactly in fact. Am I good or what? Or maybe your just too easy..." she trailed off, still smiling.

I couldn't believe it. How could she know so much? Even the bookshelf...

I'd never felt so betrayed, so hurt. I was struggling to not scream, or cry, or...anything!. I couldn't believe she would do this...

"So what, it was a...game?" I asked, speaking slowly

"Hey, you made in to a game the second you touched my diary. Just like I knew you would!" 

She was still smiling. I felt like I wanted to die. Then she finally noticed my expression. A flash of understanding appeared on her face.

"Oh God! It's...it's not like...that!" she exclaimed, eyes wide.

"It really is my diary! I really do...love you..." she sighed "I just knew I couldn't tell you. I was so afraid... But you wouldn't keep me waiting. Whether you felt the same way or...you didn't... I knew you wouldn't do that to yourself...to me..."

Hearing her say it, hearing her tell me face to face how she felt...

Just like a hundred times before, everything was forgotten. Suddenly, the only thing that mattered was this beautiful woman in front of me. she loved me, and I'd never felt anything so strongly before...

I took a sharp step forward and pulled her close to me. She leaned her head into my chest and sighed deeply. I lent my head down and breathed in the sweet smell of her hair. She pulled back from me and pushed her lips up to mine. I responded mashing mine against hers. They parted slightly and I slipped my tongue in to her mouth. She sucked on it and wrapped it with her own. He were both breathing so hard when I let my tongue slowly slide from hers and our lips parted. Her eyes were wide and sparkling, a small tear sliding from each.

"I love you" she whispered

"I love you" I replied.

She smiled and sniffed, wiped her eyes with her sleeve, and let out small laugh . She walked backwards and sat down on the bed. I sat down beside her and she wrapped her arms around my waist. I put my arm around her.

"So...what now?" I asked.

She laughed again.

"Well, like I said, I knew you would tell me today, so I convinced my parents to take a mini vacation this weekend." She said blushing

"Hmm...so confident were you?" I asked smiling, not fully realising what she meant by that last part.

"Well, I knew that one way or another, I'd be spending a long time in my room. It was just up to you whether or not I'd be alone..." she said turning an even deeper shade of pink.

"Wait...what do you mean?" I asked

"Well, if you didn't..." she paused "feel the same way..."

"Love you?" I interrupted.

"Yeah, that" she said smiling.

She leaned forward and kissed me lightly again. She pulled back with her eyes closed and a small smile. She seemed so nervous, so vulnerable.

"You were saying?"

"Oh, right" she smiled "well if you didn't, then I'd probably be a mess. Crying and wishing I was dead 

and such..."

She said it so light-heartedly, but even hearing her joke about it almost physically hurt. It was so strange, I wasn't used to feeling anything as powerful as this.

"Don't." I said suddenly, forcefully. She looked a little confused.

"I mean...just don't...say that..."

She smiled again.

"I'm sorry if that upsets you, and I know I'm not normally so melodramatic, but I honestly can't imagine living on if you didn't love me. It would be like there would be no point..." she trailed off looking thoughtful.

"Well," I interrupted her thought, "it's a good thing I feel exactly the same way isn't it?"

I leaned forward and brushed her lips with mine. I couldn't get enough of this. The feeling, the texture, the hint of a taste on her lips. It did upset me, the way she talked, but if she felt anything like I did, I could see what she meant.

"But." I said braking away suddenly "what about the other option, hmm?" I asked

"Ugh, do you really need me to spell it out for you? How can you expect me to keep my hands off you knowing you feel like this?" she said smiling

"Wow, I never knew you were so forward!" I said in disbelief, "first Friday night and then this!"

"What do you mean Friday night?" she asked, suddenly defensive.

"When you..." I noticed of the look on her face. I smiled. 

"I was awake you know."

"Wh...what do you mean?" she stammered

"Ah ha! So looks like your plan wasn't perfect. Didn't expect me to pretend to be unconscious did you?" I said smugly

"So...so you heard me?" she asked, voice wavering.

"Uh huh, and saw you" I said smugly "what's wrong, suddenly feeling shy?" I said leaning in bringing my face close to hers.

"Cuz honestly, I haven't been able to get that out of my head." I whispered.

I kissed her lightly on the cheek and she almost pulled away. She let out a small groan and turned to face me. We kissed again, deep, our tongues dancing. She pulled back and rested her head in the hollow of my neck. I put my arm around her back and pulled her body closer to mine.

"So...are we really going to do this?" I asked " I mean, are you ready?"

"I...I'm safe... I'm on the pill..." she trailed off, voice quivering.

I held her chin in my hand and turned her beautiful, blushing face up towards mine.

"No...I mean, are you ready?"

She locked eyes with mine and said strongly, with no trace of hesitation

"I've always been ready."

I kissed her again gently taking her tongue in my mouth and sucking it. She groaned and pushed herself towards me. I broke the kiss and pushed my lips against her neck. She let out a small whimper, and I kissed a little lower. I moved down her neck to the front of her chest, leaving a trail of kisses, each time eliciting a small groan from her lips.

"Stop..." she whispered

I immediately raised my head up to face her

"What's wrong?" I asked. What had I done wrong?

"You're too slow." She smiled. She pulled the blanket out from under me and threw in onto the floor. As I sat up and tried to recover from being rolled over, she pushed me back so I was lying down and roughly pulled the bottom of my t-shirt up and off. She leaned over my naked torso smiling, and lightly kissed my stomach. Before I could even react, she began unbuttoning my pants and undoing the zip.

"Stop!" I said forcefully

The smile fell from her lips and she looked confused.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She seemed anxious, almost afraid.

I sat up suddenly and grabbed the back of her head. I pulled her close to me and crushed our lips together. I kissed her roughly, passionately, and she returned it. I grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around , pushing her flat to the bed and moving so that I was straddling her stomach. I held her hands above her head and kissed her again, gentler this time. I released her arms and moved my hands down to the bottom of her shirt. I gently pulled it up over her head to reveal a lacy black bra. I was surprised by this, and loved the stark contrast against her pale skin. I let out a groan of lust and kissed her again. As I pulled away to continue, she followed me, not letting my lips escape. I put my hands on her shoulders and pushed firmly against them. She let out a sigh of frustration and fell back.

I climbed off her and began unbuttoning her jeans. They slid off easily, and I was presented with the amazing view of her legs. Expectedly pale, they were quite skinny, but with slightly larger smooth thighs. I leaned in close to her matching black panties, and breathed deeply. I could see her arousal, a damp patch on the front, and the hint of a scent. I thought I was rock hard before, but I felt myself stiffen even further in response. I moved back up to her face to see her biting hard on her lower lip, and breathing deeply. I moved in and tenderly took her bottom lip between mine. I rubbed lightly it and heard her groan in response.

I sat back up and she followed me again, kissing me as I rose. I reached behind her and felt for her bra strap. I found it easily enough, obviously, but that's as far as I got. This wasn't exactly something I'd practiced. She knew what was happening by my inexpert fumbling.

"God, you're so hopeless sometimes." She said smiling. She reached behind her and undid her clasp revealing her beautiful breasts to me.

They looked amazing. So large and firm, jutting proudly out from her chest. I leaned in and took one of her nipples in my mouth. I suckled on it and flicked my tongue back and forth across it. She groaned and pushed herself closer to me. I swapped over, licking and suckling while she groaned and squirmed.

Again, I left a trail of kisses, this time to the top of her panties. I breathed that wonderful musk in again and sighed deeply. I pulled the waistband smoothly down her legs, kissing her thighs as I went. Once I pulled then off I sat up and looked at her. Just her. Completely naked below me. She was still blushing, and biting her lip. I was in love with the look of lust in her eyes.




Checkmate



I lowered myself down to her crotch and took my first look at her pussy. It was almost the same colour as her lips, and was clearly wet. It wasn't bald, but had only a sparse amount of black fuzz covering it. Suddenly I heard her voice above me.

"Are you gonna lick it or are you gonna stare at it?" she asked

I raised my self up to her level.

"You could stand to be a little more patient you know." I smiled.

"Jack, honey" she kissed me forcefully, almost pushing me back "if I don't get something inside me right now, I may just explode!" she finished.

"Well, if the need is that urgent..." I said lowering myself

I'd read about this stuff, and had a fair idea about what would feel good, but I was still pretty nervous. I moved closer to her beautiful pussy and licked right from the bottom to the top. She let out a loud moan and pushed her pelvis upwards. When she slumped back down, I pushed by tongue in as far as it would go and started to lick along the top. The taste was...indescribable. Like, sweet and salty at the same time. I was savouring this new flavour when suddenly my mouth was flooded as she bucked upwards and her pussy convulsed around my tongue.

She screamed my name.

"Jaaaack..."

"Fuck yes..." she whispered as she came down. I couldn't believe I'd made her cum! I felt so good, I didn't want to stop. I pressed me lips hard against the outside of her folds while shifting my whole mouth up, causing my tongue to push up again. I continued like this for only a few seconds before I was rewarded with a second flood and more screaming, more spasms.

"JESUS CHRIST!" she screamed as she came.

I didn't stop. I just kept licking and licking her pushing wanting so much to make her feel good, but she seemed to be relaxing. I pulled my mouth away and pushed it towards the top of her opening, where I thought her clit would be. I licked around that stop, and she started screaming again.

"FUCK! ...fuck... stop!...Jesus" she seemed to be getting tired. I know she wanted me to stop, but I couldn't. I just wanted to show her that I loved her.

She suddenly grabbed me roughly by the hair and pulled me away from her sweet juices. She pulled me towards her and jammed her tongue practically down my throat. She fell back, still quivering slightly.

"Fuck...I love you..." she sighed smiling up at me with a dazed expression.

All of a sudden, she was on her knees forcing my pants down, and my boxers with them, my erection finally springing free. Holy Shit! I'd never seen her move that fast before! Without hesitation she took my balls gently in one hand and began stroking my shaft with the other.

"Wow...it's huge...I've wanted this for so long!" 

She looked up at me, as if asking permission.

In answer, I put my hand on her head and ran my fingers through her dark her. She looked back at my cock with her mouth open in lust. She seemed a little more wary of it this time. I didn't think I could be considered huge, if I had to guess I'd say it was slightly more than average, but she was looking at it as if it was the frickin' Holy Grail! She pressed her cheek gently against one side and sighed. I bucked my hips forward slightly, just her breath was almost getting me off!

She sensed my need and gently ran her tongue against the head. I bucked forward again, which she seemed to love. She licked it a few more times before slowly, lovingly, took the head in her mouth. It felt amazing and I knew I wouldn't last much longer.

"Fuck, that feels so good." I whispered

She smiled around my cock and tried to draw more in. She pressed her tongue up against the bottom of the head and stroked lightly. All too soon I was ready to finish.

"Shit...I'm coming!" I groaned.

She tried to draw even more in when she heard this, and doubled her tongue efforts. My cock swelled and my balls tightened. I pushed forward and groaned again as I released my seed into her waiting mouth. There was more than she could take, however, and as surge after surge followed, it began to leak out of the corners of mouth. 

She pulled back, smiling. I watched as she deliberately swallowed and accidently gagged slightly. She even made this look cute, and I couldn't help but smile.

"I love you." I said

She just smiled. I kissed her, softly, and could taste myself on her lips. It was strange. Similar to her taste in a certain way, but completely different at the same time. She seems to enjoy it, I thought, as she licked the hand she'd wiped her mouth with.

She was on her knees again, and face to face with me. She brought her mouth up to beside my ear and whispered softly

"I want you inside me..."

I kissed her hard and pushed her back on the bed. My face just inches from hers and our centres aligned, I brushed her lips softly with mine.

"Are you ready?" I asked

She nodded.

"It might...hurt a little." I said. I didn't want to hurt her.

"Well, I kind of took care of that myself. You know..." she trailed off, smiling.

I didn't say anything, just raised an eyebrow in question.

"Interesting, looks like there's still some stuff we need to talk about." I joked

"No more talking," she said, eyes full of love, "I want you."

I kissed her deeply, lovingly, and then pulled back. I looked down at my still-hard cock and her dripping pussy, so close, but not quite touching.

I pushed forward slightly, until the top of my head was just brushing against her lips. She groaned at this, and I suddenly got an idea.

"You like that?" I asked, teasing her.

"Fuck yes..." she whimpered

I pushed my cock upwards, not in, but stroking along her sweet outer lips. She was growing more and more impatient, and was soon continually groaning in anticipation.

"Please...do it..." she moaned

"Do what?" I asked

"Just...go...please..."

"Can't you be any more specific?" I asked smiling. She opened her eyes, wide and shining.

"Please..." she begged "Put it in..."

"Put what in?"

"Your cock..."

"What about it?" I was enjoying this. I pushed harder, going around in circles against her soft mound. She closed her eyes at the new sensations.

"No no, stay with me" I goaded "You were about to ask for something?"

She opened her eyes and glared at me as she realised my game.

"Jack, hurry up and fuck me!" she ordered almost sternly.

Well that wasn't much fun.

"Ask nicely." I said simply, while pushing further against her, seconds from entering. It was torture, not holding back, but my resolve was strong.

She lost it.

"FUCK ME! Please Jack, just fuck me, now, PLEASE!" she begged.

That was what I was looking for. Without another word, I pushed through her soft folds to the heat beneath. It was amazing. So warm, and so wet, better than her mouth even! I couldn't believe how good it felt.

I didn't stop, I pushed my entire length into her in one thrust, filling her to the base. Instantly she began to orgasm. Her whole body shuddered and shook, her mouth lolling open and eyes opening wide. She wrapped her legs around my back as she came. This added tightness and the feeling of her convulsions along the length of my cock had me spurting inside her for the first time. I emptied myself into her, body and soul. Nothing mattered now except her.

I felt exhausted and fell down against her still shaking body. After a few minutes she pushed lightly against my chest. I rolled over on to my back, pulling her with me so she lay atop me, her hair sprawled out over my chest. We were both still breathing heavily, our deep panting filling the silence. I reached down and pulled the discarded blanket off of the floor and over us. Well, up to my neck, and completely covering her. She laughed breathlessly from under the covers and pulled herself up so her head was against my shoulder. She looked into my eyes. She didn't say anything. She didn't need to. She just kissed me once more, fiercely and passionately before falling back to my chest.

I wrapped my arms around her small fragile body, and I knew that I loved this woman, completely and absolutely.

"What was with the begging thing?" she asked suddenly.

"Well... I just felt like I needed to win one." I said 

"Well don't get used to it," she said smiling "your mine now, I own you"

I laughed.

"We'll see" I said pulling her close. She rested her head against my neck and sighed deeply. After a while we were falling asleep

"I love you" I blurted out. I couldn't seem to say it enough.

"Checkmate..." she whispered sleepily as she drifted away into her dreams. 

Dreams of me, I hoped. I knew that it wouldn't change for me. Every second of every day my thoughts would be of her, and I knew it would be the same for her.

"You win this round..."



Checkmate



For Steve McCarthy, the reason he became involved with the Union College Chess Club were two-fold. The love of the game was certainly one of them, of course, having been an avid player for most of his 57 years.

The second was that it allowed him to interact with young people, primarily men, and that always made him feel more alive. Having just retired from a life in the public sector, he had a lot of time on his hands and didn't want to become glued to the television.

Getting emotionally involved with any of the club's members was not on the list of expectations when Steve McCarthy signed on to help mentor at the school. Besides, what student would be interested in an old man three times their age?

.........

Chapter One: Child Prodigy.

The first thing that I learned after my initial session with the Union College Chess Club was that young people today are a lot smarter than I was at their age. Either that, or I've regressed over the years. I suspect it might be a combination of the two. 

Regardless, after spending a few hours with these young folks, I quickly discovered that there was no way I could waltz in the room and bowl these students over with my skills. There were a couple of these kids I immediately recognized as excellent players after watching them play for only a few minutes.

Several others in the group of about twenty were also very skilled as well, so I wasn't sure how much good I would do in the role as volunteer community mentor. Chances are if I wasn't careful I could find myself getting embarrassed, so I spent most of my time that first day introducing myself and offering advice only when asked.

All but one of the members of the club were males, and many fit that stereotype of the chess playing nerd I had become quite familiar with over the years. I had usually been the oddity in these gatherings, with my 6'2" beefy frame suggesting a lumberjack instead of a chess player. 

None of these students fit the stereotype more than Ryan Truman. Even in a room filled with many people that were introspective and aloof, Ryan was obviously a loner. The only person who seemed willing to play with him was the young woman, and after he dispatched her with ease, he sat by himself and immersed himself in a match with a non-existent opponent.

It was at that point I slid into the chair opposite Ryan and asked him if he would like to have a game. His eyes lit up and he jumped at the chess pieces, his hands shaking as he tried to set the game up quickly.

I managed not to lose that game, salvaging a draw against the little fellow, and at the time I suspected that my lackluster showing was due to me trying to figure my adversary out. My eyes spent as much time on Ryan as they did on the board.

By the end of the club session I was able to find out that that Ryan was a senior. That floored me, because he looked younger than all of the other students. As it turned out, at eighteen he probably was. It seems that young Ryan was a gifted student, having graduated from high school at the tender age of 15.

It was also clear why Ryan was a loner. He seemed incapable of making eye contact with me on that first day, despite my every effort to be my usual jovial self. He would only sneak peeks at me when he thought I was looking at the board intensely, and then his eyes would dart away when I would raise my head.

After playing that game with Ryan, I got up and worked the room again, all the while keeping an eye on the little man with the Harry Potter glasses and the pocket protector. No one else sat down to play against him, and after the members of the club left the room, I sidled up to the faculty advisor and asked about Ryan.

"Ryan?" the man said with a sigh. "He's an odd duck alright. Let's just say that there's been a few incidents with him on campus that's made him sort of a pariah."

When I pressed the man for details, he confided in me that Ryan had a reputation of being, as he put it in a way that guys do when they think they're talking to a fellow straight man, "a little light in the shoes".

"Not that there's anything wrong with that," he said with a laugh. "I know he got his ass kicked by some football player for peeking at him in the bathroom, and then there was something to do with a roommate in his dorm. That and his weirdness make him a bit unpopular."

"Maybe the fact that he's the best player in the room has something to do with it," I suggested, not adding that his social skills might be a result of being a fish out of water age-wise.

"That doesn't help," the faculty advisor said with a grin.

I tried to catch up with young Mr. Truman after that, but he had left the building, so I made it a point to seek him out the next time I came to the club's meeting. Ryan wasn't hard to find, as he was sitting by himself playing alone. He seemed happy to see me, and after I managed a draw and moved around the room again, I slid back across from the lad.

"You don't have to do this," Ryan said, looking around the room as I helped him set up the board. "They might think that you're..."

"Playing chess with you?" I asked.

"I appreciate what you're doing, but the others won't like it," Ryan said softly, seeming to think that the students around would take offense at him enjoying competing with someone instead of sitting alone.

After we drew again, I got up from the chair and started to leave, but before I did I whispered to Ryan.

"I'm sorry that I've made you feel awkward," I explained. "If you would like to play me sometime and somewhere else out of sight of your classmates, let me know."

Ryan looked up at me with a dazed expression, and mumbled, "Sure."

"If we do," I added before departing. "I don't want to you to let me get draws with you, because I find that insulting. I much prefer losing outright."

...

Chapter Two: After the meeting.

Ryan was waiting for me after the club meeting was over. He was standing at the end of the hallway, looking around like he was about to commit a crime as I joined him.

"Care to grab a cup of coffee or something?" I suggested, and Ryan agreed. We walked a little ways into town, at Ryan's request bypassing several of the usual student haunts, until we ended up at Dunkin Donuts.

We spent about an hour there, and after I was able to get Ryan to start talking, there was no shutting him up even if I wanted to. It was as if he had been waiting all of his life for somebody to talk to, and once the floodgates were opened it all came out.

After we parted outside and went our separate ways, I reflected on our conversation, or more accurately, Ryan's monologue. This was a tortured young man who so badly needed a friend.

"I wish," he had confided in me. "I wish that instead of doing my best on all those tests during grade school, I had missed some questions. Not enough to make me seem like an idiot, but just enough so that they left me alone."

Being left alone meant not skipping him over first and third grades, and then moving him through high school a year quicker. The result had left him resenting his intelligence and wishing to be able to be like everybody else.

"I should be graduating high school this year," Ryan said sadly. "Instead, I'm graduating college. I feel like I missed everything. I've got no friends and I've messed up my life."

After excusing myself to go to the men's room just before we left, I was busy relieving myself at the urinal when I happened to notice Ryan had entered.

"I'll be done in a second," I told him, since this was a one urinal bathroom.

"No," Ryan said. "Just have to wash my hands. The donut was sticky."

Ryan's hands may indeed have been sticky, but I instantly knew why he had come in there. My peripheral vision wasn't what it used to be, but I could see that while Ryan's hands were busy scrubbing away in the sink, his eyes were fixed on me.

Being a guy who neither flaunted himself or crawled into the urinal to hide myself, I stood there and finished doing my business. By the end I had figured out why Ryan had that "bathroom incident" the faculty advisor had mentioned, because after a lifetime of using public bathrooms I could pick out a pecker checker a mile away and Ryan may have been the most blatant of them all.

Ryan seemed overjoyed when I suggested we spend an evening together to play chess - serious chess, I had warned him. 

"That taking pity on your opponent stuff should be left to guys like me," I said with a smile. "I've done it enough to others that I can recognize it pretty easily." 

"I didn't want you to not want to play with me," Ryan said. "People seem to get mad at me if I beat them."

"I'd rather be beaten than pitied."

"I wasn't pitying you. You're really good," Ryan assured me.

"We'll find out tomorrow night then, okay?"

After I had offered to let Ryan choose the date and place, he had suggested it be anywhere but his apartment, which he seemed ashamed of. When I told him I lived nearby and would be happy to have him over, he readily accepted.

Now as I entered my place, the brownstone that I shared with my partner Albert for many years until his passing 18 months earlier, I wondered if I was doing the right thing. Ryan was so vulnerable and innocent looking that I felt like a predator.

Besides, Ryan wasn't really my type. Albert had been very similar to me physically and age-wise, and I had never been attracted to younger men until recently. Then again, when you get to be 57, most men are younger, and when you're 6'2" and about 220, most guys are not your size either.

There was always the slim possibility that Ryan wasn't gay and not interested in me in "that" way - and I laughed when that thought crossed my mind. After the way he had gawked at me in the men's room, there was little doubt as to his feelings along those lines.

While I had found his antics rather crude and tasteless, he had done it in such an innocent way that I couldn't make myself feel offended, although I could certainly see why other men might well be.

Besides, it had been so long since anybody besides Albert had looked at me with that look in their eyes, that I had to admit to enjoying the attention. Whether I was making a mistake or not would be something I would find out the next night.

...

Chapter Three: Alone with Ryan

Ryan was right on time the next evening, and I brought him into the den, where I had spent so many evenings playing chess with Albert. Ryan was impressed with my chess set, and was thrilled when I offered him a glass of wine, even though I suspect he didn't really care for it.

"Who's that man in the picture with you?" Ryan asked, nodding over at the photo on the bar.

"Albert," I said. "He was my partner for over a decade years. He passed almost two years ago."

"Partner? Like in a business?"

"No," I said softly. "Partner as in lover. Friend. Companion."

"You mean you're..."

"Gay?" I said after Ryan left the word unsaid. "It's alright to use the term, you know. They don't kill you for being gay anymore. Not usually anyway."

"No, I mean I didn't know - didn't think you were," Ryan mumbled.

"Is that alright?" I asked with a smile.

"Yeah, I mean, it's great," Ryan exclaimed. "I'm sorry about your partner though."

"Thank you."

"It must be nice to be with somebody like that," Ryan mused aloud.

"It is," I agreed. "I was a lucky man."

"I think I am," Ryan said, peeking up from the chess board for my reaction.

"Lucky?"

"No. Gay, I think."

"Oh."

"They probably told you at the Chess Club," Ryan said, and I shrugged my shoulders at that.

"I don't much pay attention to gossip," I told Ryan. "It was mentioned to me that there was an incident with you and another fellow."

"Which incident?" Ryan asked, studiously eyeing my Queen who was very vulnerable. "I get beat up a lot."

"I'm sorry to hear that," I said. "If that happens because of what you did in the restroom yesterday with me, I can understand why though."

Ryan's face turned crimson as he tried to concentrate on the game, making a blunder that was probably not intentional.

"Sorry," Ryan said. 

"Is that how you try to meet men?" I asked casually.

"Sometimes," Ryan said. "I've also been to the book store - you know Adult World?"

I nodded at the reference to the seedy porn shop down near GE, having ducked in there one time years ago.

"I went back to the booths - you know - the movies," Ryan explained. "I met a man that way once"

"What did he do, take you home with him?"

"No, he just had me - you know. Give him oral sex."

"Right there in the booth?" I asked, cringing at the thought of this poor lad in that place. "That's not exactly the most romantic thing I've ever heard of."

"Better than being alone," Ryan said.

I wasn't so sure about that, thinking that I would rather be lonely than lurking around peep show booths and urinals, but Ryan looked so depressed that I decided to bite my tongue.

"It's also a dangerous way to meet guys," I suggested.

"I know," Ryan said. "I found that out. That's why I don't go down there any more."

"Anything you care to talk about?" I asked, but Ryan just shook his head.

We played a few more games, and I managed to not lose them all, managing a real draw as the clock struck midnight.

"Time flew," I said as I yawned. "I don't have to get up in the morning, but I'm sure you have classes."

"Yeah, I suppose," Ryan said, although I got the impression that he would have stayed until morning if he had his druthers. "This was really fun."

"I enjoyed it a lot," I told Ryan. "We'll have to do it again sometime."

"Really?" Ryan said eagerly. "When?"

"I don't know," I mused, taken aback at Ryan's excitement.

"Tomorrow night?" Ryan said, looking like a puppy trying to impress a would-be owner.

I didn't have the heart to say no, and so I nodded. Ryan returned the next night, and that took us to where I was when I visited my old friend Father Mulgrew Friday afternoon.

...

Chapter Four: What's up Doc?

That was how Don Mulgrew greeted me when I showed up at his rectory around noon on Friday. The question was a jab at my old hobby back when we were schoolmates years ago. I had claimed I was going to be a doctor, so I would give Don physical examinations. 

They weren't very professional exams, and usually concentrated exclusively on a certain area, but we both enjoyed them, and although I never became a doctor, he likes to stick the needle in whenever he can even today.

Since we have a history together, I can trust Don like a brother, and although I rarely ask his advice, I've always found him helpful. How I would have gotten past losing Arthur without Father Don's help, I don't know. Even though our relationship has been strictly platonic for decades, I love him.

"I'm kind of in a relationship," I began.

"Splendid!" Father Don declared, his face beaming.

"Not so fast," I said, waving off the congratulations. "It's not like that."

"What is it like?" Don asked. "How long have you been seeing each other?"

"Seventeen days," I said. "Seventeen evenings rather. Every night." I explained to Don that ever since that first night, Ryan had kept asking if he could come back the next night, and I've kept saying yes.

"If you don't want him to be around, just say no." 

"That's the rub. I love his company. He's a great chess player and a brilliant student."

"Student?" Don asked.

"Yes. A senior," I said, before quickly adding, "over at Union. I met him when I started mentoring for the Chess Club".

"Ah! The protege/mentor system," Don said. "There was a Seinfeld episode about that."

"The thing is that Ryan is way better at chess than I am. He's a freaking genius."

"Then what's the problem?" Don said. "He sounds great."

"He's 18 years old," I said, explaining how he had enjoyed and suffered from an accelerated learning program. "And if you saw him, you wouldn't believe he was. Think Harry Potter - Wally Cox - Stanley Beamish, remember him?"

"Mr. Terrific!" Don smiled, recalling the old TV show from the sixties.

"Ryan is so - I don't know. I just feel guilty."

"Why? What have you done to him?"

"Nothing. Not a blessed thing. He gave me a hug last night when he left," I said. "It's just that I'm not sure how I feel about him. I look forward to him stopping by every night, and he's really changing. Opening up and all. I think maybe I'm falling in love with him."

"That's a good thing," Don said. 

"But I just don't know if I could do anything with him," I said. 

"Not attracted to him physically?" Don said. "Judging from how you've described him, he's certainly nothing like Arthur."

"My word no," I laughed, thinking of how different the two of them are.

"Well, if you find him unattractive, that will be a problem," Don said.

"It's not that," I said. "It's just that I feel guilty when I think about him."

"He's 18 and certainly not addled, from what you've said," Don asked. "Why the guilt?"

"Maybe I'm afraid that he's just desperate for affection - he's never really been with anyone," I said, mentioning briefly his bathroom antics and the time at the adult book store. "And maybe I've become so lonely that I'm that way too. After all those years with Arthur, I'm not doing this solo thing very well."

"So what is the harm in that?" Don asked. "Two lonely people being together is not a sin. As for you feeling guilty, or like a predator? The one thing I'm sure of in this world is that Steve McCarthy is the most gentle and caring man I know, and would never take advantage of anyone or hurt them for anything."

I shrugged and waved off Father Don's high praise, wishing that I could live up to the ideals he thought I had, but he continued.

"So what is the worst thing that could happen? The two of you are together for a while and it doesn't work out? So what? You both have a nice time and move on," Don said.

"He's just so naive and innocent," I explained. "He keeps asking what it's to be with a man, and how he doesn't know how to do anything."

"Then who better to show him than you?" Don mused. "I can picture this young fellow in my mind, and I can also think of how many other guys he could meet up with - and what they would do to him. Can't you?"

I cringed and nodded, having indeed thought that very same thing myself on more than one occasion.

"Just because you can't beat him at chess doesn't mean you can't mentor him in other ways," Don said. "More important ways. You know what's in your heart, and you'll do the right thing. I'm sure of that."

"Who knows?" Don said with a laugh as I rose to leave. "Maybe 20 years from now the three of us will be sitting around enjoying your anniversary. Remember, in 20 years you won't be three times his age any more. Just twice his age."

"How about in 50 years?" I asked with a laugh of my own. "What will I be then?"

"Dead, most likely," Don chuckled. "But why not live until then?"

...

Chapter Five: Friday night with Ryan

"Oh no," I said when Ryan appeared at my door later that day, armed with a little pastry box. "Have you been to Perreca's again?"

I had scolded Ryan in a joking way when he came to my house with some pastries one night, telling him that I had about 20 pounds I needed to lose, and now he had something else from that delicious bakery.

"It's a special occasion," Ryan announced. "We need a couple of plates and stuff."

I went to the kitchen and got some utensils, bringing them back to my den, where our nightly chess matches were held. Ryan had already cut the string on the box and had opened it up.

It was a tiny round cake with chocolate frosting, and on the top was written the number 19.

"It's your birthday?" I asked.

"The cake was too small to write my name on it," Ryan said, blushing.




Checkmate



"I wish you told me," I said. "I would have bought you something. Taken you to dinner."

"That's okay," Ryan said. "I like this better."

"Wait!" I said, jumping up and heading back to the kitchen, and after a brief search, found what I was hoping would be in the handy junk drawer.

"Now this makes it a proper cake," I said, putting the little green candle on top of the cake and lighting it up. "Don't have 19 of them, so this will have to do."

The lights were dimmed, making Ryan's eyes sparkle as he leaned close to the cake. He looked over the table at me before looking back down at the cake for a long minute and then blowing it out with a quick puff.

"Delicious!" I declared after letting Ryan cut the cake in half and splitting the one side in two, the rich chocolate melting in my mouth. "Even though I can feel myself getting fatter with each bite."

"You're not fat," Ryan said.

"Hope you remembered to make a wish before you blew out the candle," I said to Ryan as I savored the last bite of the cake while deciding whether or not to cut into the other half.

"I did," Ryan assured me. "I wished..."

"Wait," I said. "I don't think the wish will come true if you tell."

"If I don't say what it was, then I know it won't come true," Ryan said. "I wished that after we finished the cake, you would tell me that you didn't want to play chess tonight, and instead you wanted me to stay here with you overnight."

I took a deep exhale as Ryan spoke, and he quickly added, "You don't have to do anything to me. I just don't want to be alone."

"Sounds like a one-night stand," I said. "I'm too old for that sort of thing."

Ryan's face fell as I spoke, watching me while I folded the box up around the rest of the cake.

"I would like you to spend the night though," I said with a nervous smile. "Very much so."

...

Chapter Six: Reflections

I looked at my reflection in the mirror as I brushed my teeth, wondering if I was doing the right thing. In a minute I would be going into the bedroom where Ryan would be waiting. I would undress this man-child and we would explore each other's bodies.

What would I find under those clothes? I steeled myself to try and expect just about anything, but when I looked in the mirror I was reminded that I wasn't all that great myself any more.

The dark pelt of hair on my chest was now sprinkled with grey and the waist was a bit thick, and while I always kidded myself that I might not look 57 dressed, I looked at least that naked. I pulled my satin robe off of the hook on the door and wrapped it around myself before taking a deep breath and walking out into the bedroom.

Earlier in the week Ryan had arrived at my place without his pocket protector, proclaiming that while he had given it up because of my constant kidding, he felt naked without it.

Now, standing next to my bed, Ryan was truly naked. His clothes neatly stacked on the chair by the wall, Ryan had first had his hands cupped over his privates, but now took the hands away and stood there trembling as he exposed himself to me completely.

It was not only the most courageous thing I could remember seeing in quite some time, it was also the most erotic sight I could recall, once I got over the initial shock.

Ryan was visibly trembling as I approached him, his bony shoulders quivering as he looked down at the carpet. His 5'6" frame, that couldn't weigh more than 125 soaking wet, was pale and virtually hairless, with only a modest tuft of pubic hair braking the smoothness.

Whatever misgivings I may have had about Ryan disappeared when my eyes saw what he had been hiding; a penis that, while it may have been rather slender, was surprisingly long and made it quite clear that Ryan was indeed a man in every sense of the word.

I was now standing right in front of Ryan, way too far in to back out now, but I didn't really want to back away. Instead I said the words that seemed to fit.

"You're beautiful, Ryan," I said softly, lifting his chin with my hand and raising it up to kiss him.

His eyes were watering as he closed them when my lips made contact with his, and I nippled my way around to his neck and his shoulders after the initial kiss broke off. Ryan's hands were tugging at my robe, trying to pull it off of my shoulders, and when he managed to get it off he buried his face in my chest while his hands went lower.

"Easy," I said after Ryan's hand grabbed my cock. "We do have all night."

"Sorry," Ryan said softly. "I'm excited."

"I know," I told him. "So am I."

***

Chapter Seven: Relaxing Ryan

I eased Ryan down onto the bed, savoring the sweet smoothness of his skin and for some reason finding myself excited by Ryan's nervousness. My hands strayed over his flat stomach, going beneath his belly button and grazing the timberline of his pubic hair before sliding back up his body.

I resisted touching Ryan's beautiful manhood, but as I kept rubbing and stroking his body his cock began to get hard, and finally I took the slender shaft in my hand as it began to point upright. His entire body was quivering as I gently stroked his beautiful organ a couple of times before putting him in my mouth.

Ryan was so hard - one of the virtues of youth that I had forgotten - and as my lips slid down his throbbing manhood I knew Ryan wasn't going to last long. He was grabbing at my shoulders and his legs were churning when I felt the surge race through his dick an instant before he came.

And how he came! His cock kept jerking in my mouth as wave after wave of his seed spurted into my mouth and down my throat, and I had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the force and volume of his orgasm.

Ryan was so emotional afterward that it became contagious, as as we hugged I had to fight back a tear of my own. I had never witnessed anyone who had enjoyed an orgasm as much as Ryan, and he was intent on making me as happy as he was.

He rolled me onto my back and straddled me, with his crotch on top of mine, and as he ran his hands through my chest hair I could feel his balls rolled over my cock, which was pinned to my belly.

"Wanted to do this from the first minute I saw you," Ryan explained as his fingers raked the salt and pepper fur that covered my chest.

"Feels nice," Ryan sighed, his hands finding my nipples and tweaking them gently.

"Amen," I agreed, his touch making me shiver.

"You're like a bear," Ryan smiled. "So big and warm and furry. Wish I was hairy like you."

"I think you're perfect just the way you are," I assured him.

I let him take my wrists and pull them up over my bed, and when he buried his face under my arm and started to lick and nibble my armpit hair I felt my cock stiffen. This was something that Arthur used to love to do, and Ryan was inadvertently bringing back old memories as his teeth lightly teased me.

"Sorry," Ryan said when he looked at the expression on my face. "Did I hurt you?"

"No," I said, smiling when I realized there was a tear trickling from the corner of my eye. "Just the opposite. I'm just enjoying you."

"I can feel you getting hard," Ryan said as he ground himself into me. "Do you like this?"

"Very much," I sighed as Ryan lifted himself off me a little and reached down, wrapping his hands around my member and giving my stiffening cock a pull.

"Wow, you're even bigger than I thought," Ryan said, and I shook my head, telling him that we were pretty much the same in that department.

"Yours is way thicker," Ryan explained as he climbed off of me and knelt at my hip, sliding my foreskin down before licking the crown.

I groaned as Ryan's mouth took in the head of my cock. It had been nearly two years since I had experienced this, long and lonely months spent thinking of the past, and as I watched Ryan's mouth slid down and down I realized how lucky I was. 

This sweet young man seemed to think that I was doing him a favor by befriending him, when in fact it was just the opposite. I had forgot what being happy felt like, and watching Ryan's lips sliding up and down while his eyes twinkled with joy warmed my heart.

I was going to cum, and Ryan was doing everything he could to make it happen. His hand was kneading my balls while his mouth dove nearly all the way down my shaft, his face grazing my pubic hair each time.

"Oh," I whimpered, clutching the bedding as I came, and Ryan kept going up and down as some of my semen trickled out of the corner of his mouth.

Ryan looked up at me as I went limp in his mouth, and after he let go of me I pulled him up and hugged him.

"So good," I sighed as our bodies embraced, and I didn't let him go for the longest time.

***

Chapter Eight: Taking me.

"I want you to," I said to the lad who had coaxed two more orgasms out of my old bones by then.

It was 3 in the morning, and Ryan was showing no signs of slowing down or wearing out. He had asked me to do something to him, something that he had never experienced before, but even if I could have managed to get hard again, I really didn't want to, at least not then.

"I don't know how," he said as I handed him the lube.

"You'll do fine," I assured him.

For whatever reason, I needed Ryan inside of me. In my life I wasn't usually the bottom, but I felt like I should be with Ryan. His finger was tentative at first, probing me with his oiled finger, but when he saw me reacting by moving my hips along with his motion, he started probing deeper.

I got onto my hands and knees as Ryan greased his long prong, and as he climbed behind me he fumbled around a little at first.

"That's it," I sighed when I felt the tip of his dick at the entrance. "Give it to me."

"Ooohh!" Ryan gasped as his dick slid in the tightness, and as he sank all of it into my rectum I could feel his hands shaking as he held my hips before pulling back out.

"Oh, that's good babe," I said as he slowly moved in and out of me, his slender cock feeling good as he impaled me so deep.

"Gonna cum," Ryan grunted, way too soon for me, but he was too excited at this new sensation.

I felt his dick jerked inside of me as the warmth filled my cavity, and I shivered when he deflated member slithered out soon after he finished cumming.

"Sorry I came so fast. It was so tight and it felt too good," Ryan said as he hugged me from behind while I sank to the bedding. "Did I hurt you?"

"No babe," I assured him. "It was so good. You'll last longer next time."

"I like that."

"Like what?"

"When you said next time," Ryan said, kissing the back of my neck. 

"Well, I told you I'm not one for one-night stands," I reminded him.

"I love you Steve," Ryan said softly, and while I didn't answer, if I had to I could have said the same thing to him.

I know that Ryan will find somebody his own age someday, but until he gets bored with this old man, I'll love him too. 

***

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