17 comments/ 9382 views/ 13 favorites 30 - No One Will Ever Love You By: 40DayDream Hi again, it seems like I say this every time but this is a little bit of a weird one. To be honest, it started out a love triangle, but when I put the characters together they decided to take the story in a different direction. This story features dyslexia rather heavily. I want to make it clear that I really don't know much about living with dyslexia beyond some light research. I have nothing but respect for people who succeed with it while struggling through our text based world. Disclaimer: All characters who engage in slap and tickle are at least eighteen years old. All rights reserved. Chapter 1 You know when your kid rescues a pet, and the confused feeling that you experience when it happens? You're proud that your child is showing compassion and character, but on the other hand, there is little doubt that the person who will be taking the time to care for the pet is you. If so, you might understand what I was feeling right in that moment. Was someone rescuing an animal, you ask? No. My roommate was adopting a hooker. OK, take a step back before you get worked up. The poor girl looked starved and abused, and I felt for her too. It's just that I had been through this with Mel before, if not with a person. I spend a Saturday every now and then taking her two dogs to the vet. Every morning before I leave, I check the cat litter and fill up three food bowls. And I do it because Mel doesn't. So, I met Mel a year before, while looking for a roommate for my house. As an adjunct professor of history at the local university, I wasn't exactly rolling in cash. Of course, that's the great thing about history, it gives you perspective. I may be short of cash but I'm still a hell of a lot better off than a pre-Soviet Russian serf. It's a nice enough two bedroom house, even if it is in a fairly frightening part of town, but I had a very tough time finding a tenant. In the end, Mel was my best choice even though I would not typically have considered the possibility of rooming with someone like her. When she walked into the house, tall and slender with swimsuit model curves and supermodel looks, I was barely able to speak to her coherently. Mel was a graduate student in philosophy - of all things - and instantly seemed to warm to the place. Blond haired and blue eyed, she reminded me of one of those Swedish women who become famous without any perceptible talent except outrageously good looks. However, she was warm and friendly from the start. I guessed that she was three or four years younger than my twenty-eight. We became friends instantly. Maybe our moneyless-ness was our common bond, I really don't know. Either way, we would have dinner together in front of the TV a couple of nights a week. The rest of the time, she was out about town and I was working. I didn't intend to keep my adjunct status for long. Mel had the biggest heart that I had ever come across, even if paired with a less than exceptional sense of responsibility. I learned about that side of her when I found her rescued cat meowing pitifully in front of an empty food bowl. Before long, I had become the caretaker. It doesn't sound like a fair exchange, but that's not fully accurate. We just had an interesting relationship. You see, I'm a little bit of an introvert and I get nervous around women, especially of the beautiful kind. At twenty-eight, I had never had a real relationship and had been on few dates of any kind. Of course, I was in love with Mel. Sort of. You could say that I loved her like a sister, but that wouldn't be quite right. I would describe it by saying that I loved her like a cousin. We were family, and we were close, but I still wanted her. If only circumstances were just a little different, she could have been my girlfriend, but even so she was totally untouchable. I learned a lot about women (and my emotions) from Mel. My increased self-confidence may not have been drastic, but it seemed significant to me. For her part, Mel seemed to calm down a little. This was confirmed for me when some of Mel's friends visited. They discussed how much less frantic she seemed than before she moved in. Over the course of the year, Mel acquired the three pets. I acquired the responsibility for them. ***** So there we were, driving through a neighborhood even worse than ours, when we stopped on the side of the street to look up the directions to the theater. That's when the girl approached the driver's side. She spoke through the open window. "You... you looking for a party, mister?" Her voice was low and nervous. Mel was the one who responded to her, leaning over me to look out the window. The prostitute, I didn't know her name, was a little on the tall side. I honestly don't remember what Mel said to the girl, but the long term effect was that the two of them ended up in the back seat whispering to each other while the girl cried. (I mean, honestly, I would really like to know what she told a bitter prostitute in ten seconds to make her trust Mel like that. It's incredible, the effect she has.) Mel pulled the girl into a long hug before telling me to drive home. I could only guess that the prostitute had just been adopted. I was in too much shock to notice any more details about her. Chapter 2 When we got back to the house, the theater forgotten, Mel dragged the girl into the bathroom. Having the evening free, I decided to play with Mel's dogs, for lack of anything better to do. And besides, they had been acting a little neglected recently. I spent the next hour in the backyard - it is not a big one - throwing a ball for them. In the past year, I had learned enough to know that I was not wanted in the house. After a couple of hours, the dogs and I were exhausted, although I think that Sheppy, the golden shepherd, would have played ball until he literally died of exhaustion (if given the choice). Mel came out once during that time to talk to me. She looked hesitant. "Ray, do you mind me doing this? It's just that... that... she just needed help so much! And she didn't want to be doing what she was doing. I still don't know how or why she ended up there, it seems like she's really smart." Mel's voice had been rising and her eyes had started to flash, like they always did when she worked herself up. "But," She was more restrained as she continued, "I know you... I mean, I know that I don't take responsibility very well. You always take such good care of my pets." She was starting to cry a little, whether it was over the girl or not being able to take care of her pets, I don't know. Not knowing what to do - I never knew what to do around Mel - I pulled her into a hug. "Mel, you did a good thing. I thought she needed help too, but I didn't know how to give it. Please have her sleep in my room." "No, I can't..." "I insist. I'll be fine on the couch." "OK." Mel gave me a weak smile, before heading back into the house. Ten minutes later, I entered as well. It was starting to get late. I realized when I entered the house that there were things that I needed in my room, including my medication. The door was slightly open, so I crept in as quietly as I could, afraid to wake that poor girl. "Ray?" It was a sleepy voice from the bed. "Sorry, just getting my medication. Then I'll be out of your hair." "It's fine... Thank you so much for everything." "Happy to be there to help... but, umm... so, what's your name?" She gave a little laugh. "You want to know the name of the girl sleeping in your bed?" "Yeah." "It's Cassandra." "OK. Good night, Cassie." "Good night." As I walked out, the one thing that struck me as weird was the fact that she had not changed the sheets before climbing into the bed. Shouldn't Mel have thought of that? I headed into the bathroom to get ready, and came out naked, assuming everyone was asleep. I always sleep nude, it's this weird habit that I got into that I've been unable to break, so even on the couch I was au naturel. At least there was a sheet covering me. Sexually, I think it might have been the only daring thing I ever did... if you could even call it daring. I fell asleep quickly, like I usually do, naming Napoleon's marshals in my head. It's the historian's equivalent to counting sheep. Murat... Soult... Ney... Chapter 3 I woke to the sensation of Mel shaking my shoulder violently. "Ray, you've got to get up. You're going to be late." ... Groan... "Ray, get up!" ... Groan... (I am never easy to wake up.) "Dammit, Ray, get up! You're naked!" That woke me up. I began to sit up slowly. Oh, I was in the living room, and the sheet was on the floor. Why had I overslept? Wait, where was my alarm? In my room, now being occupied by a hooker. That's right. Mel was still standing in front of me with a towel wrapped around her. God, she was magnificent! I looked down at myself, before grabbing the sheet. "Sorry for the display." My senses were starting to come back and I had to blush. My impossible crush, the woman I thought I loved, had been staring at me naked for minutes. "Don't apologize, Ray. You're the one who gave up your room. That was so nice. Now, I'm going back to finish getting ready. You can go into your room to get clothes, the sight of you naked is not going to kill Cassandra." That was a weird thing for her to tell me, but Mel could be cryptic sometimes. She walked back to the bathroom and shut the door; yesterday's clothes were in there. Damn. I should have thought about this before and brought clothes to the couch with me. Evidently I'm not the tactician Hannibal was (although I'm not aware of him having dealt with this particular situation). So I bit the bullet, and walked into my room to grab clothes. Luckily, Cassie was still asleep. I searched through the drawers and found clothes for work, plus shorts to wear until I could shower. When I turned around, she was sitting up in the bed staring at me. Two women examining me naked on one day... I don't like being broken out of my routine, and apparently I make bad decisions when it happens. I quickly pulled the shorts on. "Sorry about that, Cassandra." "It's your room... and please, call me Cassie." I couldn't read the tone of her voice. "Is that what most people call you?" "No, but I like you calling me it." "OK. Well, good morning. I need to run, but there's food in the fridge so feel free to eat whatever. There's also the TV and plenty of books." I was rushing nervously through the words. She had an uncomfortable look on her face. This was the first time that I had gotten a good look at her, even if it was impossible to see anything about her figure. She had dark hair, messy at the moment, and soft brown eyes. Her features were a little sharp, probably due to how skinny she was, but she was very youthful and pretty. "I wish one of us could stay with you, but I have to get to class. Call me if you need anything at all, the number's on the fridge." With that, I fled the room and slipped into the bathroom just as Mel was leaving it. The house is small, so a shared bathroom is part of the deal. By the time that I left, Mel was gone and Cassie had yet to emerge. Chapter 4 I worked very long days for the rest of the week, barely seeing Cassie or Mel. It's not that I was avoiding going home, I just didn't feel a need to rush back to the new situation. And also, I was legitimately making a push to finish an article that I was writing for one of the journals. On the walks back home, my mind wandered and I would become concerned. Neither Mel nor I made much. We did alright by being careful and sharing the rent, but having another person to take care of... it was going to be a strain. Knowing her, Mel wasn't likely to think it through very carefully, so I needed to find a solution. The next time that I really talked to Cassie was on Saturday. As far as I knew, Mel had gone out Friday night and was not back yet. I can't say it was particularly alarming, she just did that every once in a while. Occasionally, it would be for a few days. I think that sometimes things just overwhelmed her and she had to get away from them. Cassie was in the kitchen frowning at the microwave. It looked like she was trying to rustle up some breakfast. "Morning, Cassie. Having difficulty?" "Yeah. I don't know how to use this one, it's different than my old one." She sounded uncomfortable. "That's alright, you just put in the time and push start." "OK." The frown didn't leave her face and she didn't move to press a button. "I can show you." I pressed 1... 0... 0... 'START'. "OK, that was easy. How long did you set it for?" "A minute." "Thanks." "No problem." I found what I was looking for, the remains of some sort of protein shake, and took a few drinks. She sat down at the table. I started to leave the room. "You're not having breakfast?" The frown was back a little. I smiled at her. "Nope, spending time naked in front of two beautiful women has made me question my commitment to fitness. I'm going for a run." "Can I come with you?" She replied. "Sure. You've got running shoes?" "Nope." That frown again. "Do you like to run?" Finally a smile. "Yeah! I was really good at in high school." I could hear her voice perk up immediately. "Well, we can go to a store and get you some running shoes." "OK!" More hesitation, "... umm... would you mind if we bought some clothes too?" "Didn't Mel do that?" I regretted my tone immediately. Cassie's reply voice remained even. "She got really frustrated with me when we went shopping, so we didn't get much." "OK, that's fine. I was hoping to take the day off anyway. Now I have an excuse. Just let me finish this run while you eat, and after I shower we can go." Once I was done showering and pitying my aching body (I think I know what the original Greek Marathon runner felt like), I realized that I hadn't left myself an exit strategy. My clothes were in the bedroom again. I wrapped the towel around me and headed towards the room. When I knocked on the door, I could hear Cassie call to tell me to come in. When I entered the room, I was surprised to see her standing to one side bending over to grab something. She was in her underwear. I originally thought that she was really skinny, and she definitely was, but I no longer thought she was outrageously malnourished. Cassie just had a very slight build, with a tiny waist and only slightly widened hips. She looked to be an A cup bra size. "Sorry, I didn't mean to... I just..." I stuttered to a stop. My lack of relationships had not prepared me for this. "Don't worry about it." I had my eyes averted by now, but I headed back over towards my drawers. By the time I had selected my clothes and turned around, she was dressed. "I'll leave to let you change, Ray." "OK, we can go after that." My voice was quiet enough, I don't know how she heard me. ****** We drove to a Walmart (what my budget could afford) and bought her a pair of running shoes and some clothes. The whole experience was surreal. When we entered the store, Cassie stood looking blankly at the sign that showed directions to different departments. When I headed in the right direction, she followed me. Once we found the area with shoes, it definitely became more perplexing. She didn't seem to know which part of the shoe section to go to, and once I pointed out the women's section, she seemed unable to find the running shoes. I asked Cassie what size she was and she told me that she didn't know. Once we measured her feet (she was a 6), Cassie was unable to find any running shoes in that size, even though it was a common size. She was looking right at one pair but didn't seem to see it. Fortunately, they fit. After that, we headed towards the clothes area. This time, I tried to subtly direct her to the right sections. I didn't have an extensive knowledge of learning disabilities, but even so, I had a pretty good idea what was happening. When she started looking, it became quickly obvious that she would need my help. We spent quite a while determining her size and picking out clothes that would fit. She found a few items that she said she liked after coming out of the dressing room. I even had to help her find the right underwear. I found that process to be uncomfortably arousing, especially after her seeing her that morning. There was no doubt that she was attractive. It did not make me feel better about myself. When we got home, we found a spotless house. Mel had returned, and as was sometimes the case, she had come back with an excess of manic energy to work out. The dishes were done, carpets vacuumed, sheets washed, and every other thing you could think of completed. She had even made some dinner, which was waiting on the table. I found her standing in the kitchen with a slightly crazed grin on her face, lightly covered in sweat. Caution was needed here. My voice was essentially the same an animal trainer uses to calm a wild animal. "Mel, thanks for cleaning everything. How are you doing?" "OK, Ray, I think I'm going to scrub the tub." I put my hand on her arm, gently. "Mel, could you do me a favor instead? Go take a shower and change, then come back and eat with us. I think Cassie and I would like that. OK?" She looked at me thoughtfully for a moment. "OK." A moment later, she was gone, and when I turned I found Cassie standing next to me. Her eyes were wide. "Don't worry about it, Cassie. She gets a little over-excited sometimes. If she allows herself to keep running around then she burns out and gets really depressed. I think we caught it early, so she should be alright this evening." After that, dinner was nice. Cassie and Mel were both in pleasant moods. They even put up with my discussion on my work for the History department. It was nice of them. (For some reason beautiful women rarely find the Vandal invasion of ancient Africa to be particularly fascinating.) I was feeling a little down, but it was due to the conversation that I was planning with Cassie. After dinner, I pulled Mel aside and told her my suspicions. I asked her to join me when I talked to Cassie, because I assumed that she would turn to Mel for comforting. Mel, of course, agreed to help immediately. We sat down on the couch, with Cassie in between the two of us. I had little enough experience with women, not to mention discussing extremely painful topics, to actually know how to go about it. I reasoned that my best choice was to be as gentle and supportive as possible, but not to beat around the bush. Tentatively, I placed my hand on Cassie's. "Cassie, I have a question I need to ask... umm..." This wasn't easy. I continued, "I don't know how to say this, but you don't know how to read, do you?" Followed quickly by, "It's alright if you don't. We really want to help you." She was visible quivering, but at least she didn't try to run away. It was going better than I expected to. Everyone was still here, nobody was bleeding, it could definitely be worse. Mel spoke up. "Sweetie, it's nothing to be ashamed of. I have problems of my own, but being honest with myself and Ray has helped me with a lot of them." I took up the thread. "Cassie, it's not as easy for some people to learn as it is for others. We will help you." Neither of us knew what to say to Cassie, who was staring at her hands while she shook lightly. Finally, Mel wrapped her arms around the girl to try to comfort her. To both of our surprise, Cassie seemed to wake up when that happened. Breaking free from Mel's grasp, Cassie threw herself onto my lap where she curled up in a ball. Leaning against my chest, I could feel her sobbing. Honestly, I didn't know what to do besides wrap my arms around her and wait. When Mel saw the quizzical look I shot her, she just shrugged as if to say: "Beats me!" 30 - No One Will Ever Love You "When I turned eighteen, my parents kicked me out." Cassie was speaking slowly, in between long, sobbing breaths. "They said... they said I was stupid since I flunked out of school... I just couldn't... the words, they..." A long pause followed, before she continued. "The writing never made any sense to me; I was always dumb. I would look at the letters and they would just... spin around on me. It would make me sick." I had wondered what the difficulty was. If she was dyslexic, it was possible that she was very intelligent. "I don't think you're stupid. It's just that you might be dyslexic." I said, going back to my animal trainer voice. 'What?" "It's when your brain works differently than other peoples, and it can make it hard to see letters. You're probably very smart." That just made her start sobbing again. "I couldn't find a job when they kicked me out... just... nobody would hire me. In the end, Frank found me and I didn't know what else to do. Nobody would help me." Mel was stroking her back. "We're going to help you now." Nothing much more was said for the next while. Eventually, Cassie climbed off my lap and headed into the bathroom. After that, all three of us got ready for bed. It had been an exhausting day. Chapter 5 You might wonder why I sleep naked. After all, it doesn't exactly agree with the shy man that I've described myself as. To be honest, I tried it on a whim once a long time ago and after a month, I couldn't go back to wearing clothes to bed. It feels too restrictive. It had never been a problem before. Solitude makes some things easier. Tonight, though, was different. About forty minutes after we all went to bed, I heard my door open and heard, or felt, someone creep out towards the couch where I was lying, half-asleep. A moment later, Cassie was slipping under my sheet. She seemed to burrow into my chest with her face, before relaxing. It felt nice, to have someone pressed against me as I drifted off. My arms were wrapped around her body again, and I could feel her trembling. Before I fell all the way asleep, though, I thought I could feel her go still. ***** I woke the next morning, pressed up to something unfamiliar. Whatever it was, I could feel that my morning erection was rubbing against a pleasant surface. I even had a smile on my face, which is definitely not normal for me in the morning. When I opened my eyes, Cassie was sitting on the couch in front of me, her butt pressing against my stomach. She was looking down at my face with an anxious look, but there was no longer any doubt that her long slender fingers, wrapped gently around my cock, had been what I was feeling. Her hand wasn't moving, it was just holding me. I had no experience in how to handle this type of situation. Actually, I had no experience with women touching my penis... period. Cassie interrupted my thought process. It was for the best, because if allowed to follow my instincts I would have continued to play dead like a possum for a long... long time. "Ray, I would like to made a deal... I don't think you are very comfortable around women, and you work too hard." It sounded like a rehearsed speech, stilted and formal. "Will you teach me to read? I will need help until I can get a job, if I ever can. I will help you become comfortable around women, and with sex, and I will try to help make your life easier if I can. At least, I can make sure to keep things clean." She exhaled painfully, her speech completed. I was dumbstruck, while Cassie stared at me expectantly. After a minute, she started to shift as if ready to get up and leave, disappointment obvious on her face. I was still yet to speak that day. Uncharacteristically for me, I couldn't think of a historical parallel for this situation. Of course, that might have been due to where my blood flow was concentrated. Coming to my senses, I grabbed hold of her. "Wait! I am sorry, I was too... surprised to know what to say... I mean, no one has ever offered anything like that." I smiled sheepishly, looking down towards my waist; I realized that the sheet had been completely removed off the couch, I was naked and exposed. "How could I do anything but agree? If you are sure, that is..." She smiled widely. Damn, but she really was cute. I could feel her hand squeeze me briefly, she had not removed it throughout the conversation. "You have class soon, right?" She was still grinning as she asked it. "Yeah." I started to struggle to get up, but she pushed me back down onto the couch, insistently. Cassie swiveled so that she was kneeling in front of the couch, at my waist. "I'll give you something to think about during class, then." And she bent over, taking me in her mouth before I could react. My toes and fingers curled at the novel sensation. Her mouth was so warm and wet and soft. I have, on occasion, watched porn and I thought that it had prepared me for certain aspects of sexuality, but I was wrong. She looked like nothing I had ever seen in a video, her eyes were closed as a look of total concentration covered her face. I could see a slight grin turning up the corners of her mouth. A minute later, I was climaxing violently. I had not even thought to warn her, but Cassie didn't lift off of me as I came. Never on my own, had I experienced an orgasm like this. I think she swallowed, but there was nothing theatrical about it (like showing my semen in her mouth or convulsively swallowing when she knew I was watching or something equally porn-ish). Cassie just quickly licked me clean, then pulled me to my feet. Before I knew it, she was pushing me into the bathroom to shower and get ready. As the door closed, I realized that I had not even thought to tell her 'thank you'. ***** She was right, I did think about her during class... and the rest of the day. In the end, I took off the afternoon to visit the library, instead of working on my manuscript. I checked out every book I could find on dyslexia, teaching dyslexic people, and even a few on ADHD. I spent the time pouring through them, selecting the ones that would be most useful to take home. I arrived back home late. When I came in the door, Cassie got up from the door and ran over to me. She threw her arms around me to wrap me up in a big hug. I tensed up, always unsure when it comes to physical affection. She had an odd smile on her face. Speaking softly, Cassie ask me, "You're happy to see me, I hope?" "Definitely!" "Then let me know it." She was speaking in an encouraging tone, not a reprimanding one. She was patient while I remained frozen a moment longer, before relaxing enough to hug her back, albeit a little awkwardly. She leaned into me when I did that, before reaching up and kissing me on the cheek. "That was nice. Now, let's eat dinner." We entered the kitchen. A concern hit me suddenly. "Cassie, did you eat lunch?" "Not really." "You could have made something... wait, I'm sorry. You couldn't read the ingredients, could you?" I had my hand on her arm, trying to be supportive. "Yeah, I tried, but I got confused." "OK, we'll take care of it. What would you like?" "Anything." "OK." I found us some food. Once we had eaten (and she was starved by the look of her), I walked through the kitchen with her pointing out objects and telling her their names. It was immediately obvious that she had an excellent memory, which gave me a further idea. Turning on the kitchen TV, I switched to a cooking channel, explaining that she could watch them cook if she wanted to learn. When I handed her the remote, she looked at it with a frown. I needed to be more thoughtful about these things. "Cassie, I need you to be honest with me when something is confusing." I could see the insecurity on her face, it was an expression I recognized from looking into the bathroom mirror. "For instance, I am very confused on how bra clasps work... but I'm willing to admit it to my new tutor." I smiled at her and she returned it. "Would you like a lesson on that? I think we could manage one." The smile she returned might have contained a more mischievous gleam than mine had. "In a moment, let's take care of this kitchen thing first." I continued, "So how are you at remembering the order of sequence of things?" She perked up even more. "Oh, I'm good at that!" "OK." The approach I took was to grab a few sheets of those happy apple stickers that a few friends had given me as a gag when I started teaching. Taking three of the stickers, I put one on the power button and the two number buttons she would need to punch in the cooking channels. I ran Cassie through the sequence in which she needed to press the buttons. She had it down immediately. I finished the evening pouring through the library books. Before taking any serious steps, we needed a plan on her education, or at least a rough set of goals and outlines. Chapter 6 I was taking notes, when someone shook my shoulder. It broke me out of the highway hypnosis that I can get when I dive deep into a study subject. Cassie was standing next to me. Apparently, Mel had come in, eaten, and gone to bed without me even realizing she was there. "Ray, it's time for you to go to bed. You have work tomorrow." Rising groggily from the chair, I headed towards the bathroom to get ready. When I headed towards the couch after finishing up, Cassie again grabbed me. She pulled me back to the bedroom. "Come to bed, Ray. You don't need to sleep on the couch. In fact, your lesson plan says you're not allowed to." Reluctantly, I allowed her to drag me back to the bedroom. She climbed into bed, wearing her underwear. (My second look at her in her bra and panties confirmed my initial suspicion that she was very sexy.) I quickly stripped down to my boxers and headed towards the bed. She stopped me again, holding up her hand. "Do you usually sleep in boxers?" I blushed. "No." "Can you sleep in boxers?" "Not as well." "Well then... just take them off." "I just... I..." Unsurprisingly, I was tongue tied. "Ray, it's not like I haven't seen you before. You have nothing to be ashamed of. In fact, this is part of your lessons. Take them off and stand there so that I get a good look... Don't worry, I won't be mean." Once again, I reluctantly did as she said. Honestly, I knew that women weren't really interested in seeing me naked. Their minds didn't work like that, and besides I was definitely nothing special. She actually made me stand there a couple of minutes, a grin on her face. "I like what I see. You've got a nice solid, square build and your arms look strong. It makes me feel safe. And your dick, because I know you're thinking about it..." Her smile got a little bigger. "Is quite nice. I'd guess it's easily average size, which is good. I don't like the really big ones." She laughed. I still felt awkward, but much less self-conscious. "And your hands... oh God, you have the best, big hands, Ray. Now come here, we need to try something." I slipped into the bed next to her and, at her encouragement, slid up next to her. "Grab my ass." I was surprised that she seemed so comfortable, although it shouldn't have surprised me. Even with all my neuroses, when I got up in front of a group to teach them about history, I felt fearless. Especially if I really liked the audience members. Maybe she was like me. Tentatively reaching out, I put my hands on her buttcheeks. "That's not grabbing. Give me a squeeze!" I gave a hesitant squeeze, followed by a firmer one. Her ass felt so good in my hands, firm and smooth, with such soft skin. "Oh, that's awesome! Your hands are definitely big enough. Remember that, when you flirt with women. You have awesome hands." I took a few more minutes to practice the lesson again, followed by stroking down the backs of her thighs and her lower back, softly. She seemed to be enjoying it, but she stopped me after a little while. "Now let's try that lesson we talked about earlier. Luckily, this is a front clasp." Now she definitely had a wicked smile. I reached up with less hesitation, trying to unclasp; I was getting bolder. After a handful of fumbling attempts, Cassie apparently got bored, moving my hands away. "I will do it this time. Don't worry, we will make sure you get more chances to practice." The wicked smile was back. When she opened it and I saw my first real life breasts, Cassie showed insecurity for the first time. "They're not very big, I know." The statement was accompanied by a little frown. I was too busy stroking them to respond. I could feel the nipples responding to my thumbs. Finally, I held them, one in each hand. Only then did I speak to her. "They're perfect." I didn't know what else to say. After all, what else needed to be said? She was a skinny girl with tits that fit her frame perfectly. She relaxed a little. "Thanks. What time is it?" I looked over at the clock. "Two AM." "Wow, I didn't guess it was that late. We need to get some sleep." She rolled over, and pulled back against me, allowing me to spoon her. I wrapped my arm around her waist, and tried to settle down to fall asleep. After all, I was more than a little worked up. Cassie reached down and pulled my hand to rest on her breast. It felt heavenly, but did not help my situation. My blood was boiling. Without thinking, my pelvis pushed forward, lodging my cock between her thighs. My body jerked a little at the contact. I was overwhelmed, and no longer thinking. Slowly, I began to piston gently, before I regained my senses. What was I doing? "I'm sorry, Cassie. I couldn't think straight. I'll stop." She giggled. "Why? You seemed to be enjoying yourself. And besides... there's nothing wrong with asking for a little relief every now and then, especially when the girl works you up. So..." We were back to the lessons, evidently. She wanted me to ask her for relief. "Cassie, can I... could I get some relief." "Of course, Ray." She responded more gently than I had expected. Cassie arched her back, pressing her butt more tightly against me and then reached between her legs to grab me. Instead of using her hand, she placed my cock between her legs with the top press against the cotton strip of her panties. "That might work better, give it a try." And I did give it a try, climaxing embarrassingly quickly. Once I did, I could feel her relax in my arms. "Now go to sleep." Apparently, she had no difficulty drifting off while still sticky. As it turns out, neither did I. I was asleep almost immediately. Chapter 7 I woke the next morning a little earlier than normal. During the night, Cassie had rolled over and she was once again lying with her face pressed into my chest. I honestly don't know how it was comfortable for her. We both had the morning free, and I intended to spend most of it tutoring her. It astonished me when she woke up with a smile on her face soon after. She looked up at me. "Morning." "Umm... Morning." That was my response. Apparently, my confidence of the night before had vanished. She just smiled at me. Wow. It was such a beautiful smile. It is in moments like this that a man can understand why Menelaus crossed the sea to fight for Helen... that is, if Menelaus ever lived. As I looked at her, I thought that it was more than a little sad that this was temporary, until she learned to read. I had already gotten the sense that she would be outrageously successful at something, once her illiteracy was behind her. Cassie was very quickly going to outgrow me. I had hoped my morning erection would go away, since it seemed rude to be jabbing her like that first thing after she woke up. Between her stretching and shifting, as she was still pressed against me, and her smile, I was fully hard again. She must have felt it, but didn't respond. "What's the plan, Ray?" "We'll eat a quick breakfast, then we are going to start teaching you how to read..." I hesitated. "It's not going to be easy, Cassie. All the reading that I've done says this could be really rough on you. If we wait a little, I think we could find you a specialist..." She gave me an indignant shove. "I want to learn from you. It's easy to see that you're feeling confident." "OK. Just wanted to give you the option. Well, let's get started." I started to get up. She grinned at me, pushing me back down, just as she had the day before. "I need to do something about this thing that's poking into me." "You don't need to, really." That earned me a jab in the side. "You're teaching me to live, while you pay all my bills, and I know you short on money, even though you're trying to hide it from me. So don't complain when I try and repay you a little." With that, she slid down the bed, quickly taking me in her mouth. Once again, the sensation was overwhelmed me, and I came before long. ***** A few minutes later, we were in the kitchen. I was already finding it fascinating, the way her mind worked. While I worked, she watched me intently. It was obvious that she was preparing herself to mimic my actions when needed. "Cassie, could you grab the oatmeal?" I was working on the coffee at that moment. More than needing help, I wanted to watch how went about finding it, and if she could. Cassie came over to me almost immediately with the oatmeal. She had stopped to think for a split second just after I asked, before opening the cupboard. When she did get to it, Cassie pulled the cupboard door open and reached in to grab the oatmeal without hesitating. She knew exactly where it was. While we sat and ate, I mustered the courage to ask the question that had been bothering me. "Cassie, should I have... you know... reciprocated? I feel bad for being so selfish." She smiled back at me. "I'm glad you asked that. Unless a girl tells you otherwise, I don't think you usually need to ask before you just do it... except for times like that. I have my period." "OK. But I'm still sorry for being so selfish." "Ray, you may be the least selfish person I know." It certainly didn't feel that way. After all, I had orgasmed three times in the last twenty-four hours. Even better, none of those times had I been alone. I spent the morning tutoring Cassie, starting slow. After lunch, I left for work. ***** I didn't return until about eight PM. When I came in the door, I was surprised to smell something cooking. Mel was a fantastic cook, but she only did it when she was feeling good and I hadn't seen any signs of a positive mood in a little while. Presumably, Cassie's problems were causing her to be down. It had happened before (and I acknowledge that there is a significant difference between a pet and a person), when Sheppy had gotten sick. Mel wasn't even able to be around him, it upset her that much. The sad thing was that Mel really was the sweetest person I knew. So anyways, I entered the kitchen to find dinner on the table, albeit a little cold, with a very bubbly Cassie waiting for me. She had made lasagna and wanted to show off. A few minutes later, I was sitting at the table eating Cassie's lasagna. And it was delicious! "Cassie, how did you make this? This is delicious!" That earned a huge smile. "I watched a cooking show and did the same thing they did." "Wait. You made this based on watching a cooking show once?" She was bobbing her head. "How did you know what ingredients to pick?" "I remembered some of them from when you told me and the ones we didn't talk about I figured out. Like the tomatoes had a tomato on the can. And the name of the cheese they used started with 'M', and I think the word on this bag starts with 'M', so I thought it was the right one." She was talking quickly and excitedly. 30 - No One Will Ever Love You "That's incredible. You're brilliant." Her tone had changed a little, although it still sounded happy. "You should come over and give me a hug and a kiss to congratulate me. Show that you really are impressed." So that's what I did. When we broke the kiss, she spoke. "Now, will you teach me some more this evening? I have a lot of lost time to make up for." I couldn't believe how excited she was. We ended up working until one AM, and I had an early class the next day. We went to bed exhausted. I will admit that I was still hesitant in bolding sliding in to bed with her without an explicit invitation. When I lay down next to Cassie, I found out that she was naked except for a pair of boyshorts. I could hear her softly telling me how grateful she was, but I was exhausted and admittedly was quickly drifting off. My descent stopped when I felt her mouth on my cock. I tried to tell her that she didn't need to, not to feel obligated. When I put my arms down to pull her off of me (I really did feel guilty at the inequity building in our relationship), she slapped my hands away rather fiercely. It sort of ruined the romantic ambience of the moment, but I got the message. So I lay back and surrendered myself to the pleasure. That is the last I remember before waking up the next morning. Chapter 8 I woke first and slipped out of the bed to shower. For days now, I had been shirking my work. I cannot say that I regretted it, but it was clearly unsustainable. I was going to ignore Winston Churchill's advice, about fighting on the beaches and in France and all of that, in order to beat a hasty retreat. That went double for fighting in the hills and on the landing strips. If I could get out of the house, I thought, it might be possible for me to get some real work done and still be back in time to do some serious tutoring with Cassie. The first step was to get away. Of course, it was just then that I heard the door to the bathroom open. "Mel, I'm in here!" The door closed again, that was a relief. I don't know why I was sure that it was Mel and that she had left, but I do know that when the shower curtain suddenly pulled open, I jumped right out of my metaphorical britches. Cassie slipped into the shower in front of me. She told me good morning, but her smile had a certain smugness about it. So she knew my plan... I recovered from my shock to realize that this was an earth-shattering moment... an anniversary to be remembered... a day that will live in infamy. I was standing in front of a fully naked woman! She wasn't bribed, or drunk, or anything. (Well, I guess she was sort of bribed, but no money changed hands and that's the important part. I hope.) And no, it doesn't count if you have to cover your eyes and apologize profusely. Besides, my aunt was seventy-four years old, and using a walker at the time. It's just not the same. Back to the point, I was standing there, with a naked woman. A naked woman who was smiling at me. I know that I had seen Cassie in states of undress before, including topless, but it was different this time. I could see the whole image of her, the entire Cassie. From her gleaming black hair, now wet, down her lean, sparing curves to her cutely painted toenails (I hadn't noticed them before, just adorable), Cassie was perfect. Of course, she had other things on her mind. She was pulling my hand down towards her cunt. "Ray, are you going to go ahead and touch me or are you going to run away again?" What was that about fighting on the landing strips again? Of course, I did not make it to work early. In fact, I was late to my own class, which I was supposed to be teaching. We played around in the shower. Cassie encouraged me to become familiar with her body and I washed her until the world's worst germaphobe would have been convinced she was clean. At the end, she knelt down and sucked on me for about a minute, just long enough to allow me to get worked up, before pushing me out of the shower with a grin. "You'll need to save something for tonight, Ray. Try not to think about it at work, otherwise you won't get anything done." It was the worst workday of my life. I accomplished nothing... just nothing at all. No, wait. That's not right, I did accomplish something. I was so distracted during my class that I insisted that John Hancock signed the Magna Carta first. Then a student called me on it, very rudely, so I spent five minutes fiercely arguing with him under the confused thought that a professor should never admit to being wrong. All of that would have been fine if a video of it didn't end up on YouTube. ***** When I got home, as frustrated as I had ever been, I found Mel sitting happily at the table with Cassie. They had just started dinner. I don't remember a single damn thing about that meal, or what anyone said, except for two things. First, when I managed to get into the kitchen alone with Cassie, I grabbed her... hard. She looked at me with a smile that was half mocking and half sympathy. Cassie pushed my hands away (I had regained control of myself enough that I wasn't actually gripping her anymore), and told me, "You'll just need to wait until later." I might have said something then. In my memories, I just growled at her. This was an aspect of myself that I had never been acquainted with. To make it worse, Cassie just patted my cheek. "Ray, I guess it's time for another lesson. A woman like me might love to be bent over the kitchen table and fucked like there's no tomorrow, but... she is unlikely to be so willing if her friend is still eating at that table. Be patient." Was this what being in a relationship was like? I think I preferred being alone. The second thing that I remember, and vividly, is her apple pie. Presumably, all of the dishes were items that had been on the cooking channel that day, but the apple pie definitely was. Cassie proudly told us that it was a special, extra cinnamon, apple pie. At least it was enough to get my mind off... other troubles. I love apple pie and I always complain that it's not spicy enough. There was no doubt that I was excited to try it. The first bite nearly killed me. It was definitely spicy enough, after all she had mixed up cayenne pepper with cinnamon. I found myself on the floor, wheezing badly, lungs burning, with Cassie leaning over me crying. In truth, the pie probably wasn't that spicy but you just don't expect to get a fierce Cajun kick in your first bite of apple pie. In the shock of it, I think part of the bite went down the wrong way. Whatever was the cause, I was in agony and Cassie was nearly as upset. We got me back up in the chair and when I was able, I told Cassie not to worry. It can happen to anyone. At least that's what I tried to croak out, what they actually heard is anybody's guess. Whatever I told her was enough to calm Cassie down, because I found her in my lap clinging to me. Mel just stood back with an odd smile, part of which I could understand. It had the makings of a very funny prank. "Cassie..." cough "... do you really enjoy cooking..." cough "... I mean..." cough "... not just as a way to repay me?" Her voice was wavering, "Yes, although I like it less right now than I did ten minutes ago." In the end, the explanation was simple. I hadn't spent any time on the spices with her, assuming they were irrelevant. When the nice lady on the cooking channel told her to get the cinnamon, Cassie found a spice that looked sort of like it. She knew the spice she wanted started with 'C', since they had put the ingredient instructions on the screen when the lady added the cinnamon. Couldn't she have made the mistake with cloves instead? "OK, we'll need to set the kitchen up to be more Cassie friendly." I laughed. "What, Ray?" "I will never tell my Mom that she should make the pie more spicy again!" At least we were both still able to laugh at that. It was a little strange, Mel had nothing to say the rest of the evening. Chapter 9 We were heading to bed that night after another several hours of tutoring. I had stripped down and was just starting to relax, when Cassie came into my view. She had stripped as well. "Ray, aren't you forgetting what we were in the middle of?" I sputtered for a moment. "Should I remind you?" She was stalking across the bed on all fours towards me. When Cassie reached me, she again went to suck me. I was afraid of being slapped again, but I didn't think this was the plan. "Cassie, weren't we going to..." She was smiling at me. The tease had been replaced by the gentle teacher. "If we did anything now, you'd blow in record time. Don't worry, this match is going to run several rounds." And she was right, it seemed like only moments later that I did explode. After which, I was able to regain blood flow to my brain. "Cassie, it's your turn. How do you like it?" "Don't worry about it, Ray." That made me a little upset. "Yes, I damn well am going to worry about it. If there's one thing that I want to walk out of this knowing, it's how to please a woman. So what gets you all hot and bothered? The glimpse of man's calves who doesn't need to pad with horsehair?" I lifted one of legs up towards her. The nonsense was really just to put her at ease, since she seemed a little anxious, which was strange. I doubted that Cassie knew what I was referring to. "I don't know. All of the men that I've been with... they just haven't really been interested in pleasing me." That threw me a little. "OK... well, what do you like? Cunninglingus?" "Does that mean having my pussy eaten?" She looked a little confused. "Yeah." "It's nice, but not a big deal." I persisted. "Well, what do you like?" "I like fingering myself." She grinned a little when she said that. "We can work with that. Can you show me how?" "I guess..." She opened her legs for me to get closer. "I like rubbing the inside, right about there the best." She was pointing to a spot on the front wall of her cunt, a few inches in and a little off center. "Well, let's give it a try." I stuck one finger inside of her... another first for me. Rather blindly, I started rubbing trying to aim for that spot she had shown me. It was not as easy to find as it appeared to be from the outside. After a little bit of time, she shuddered slightly. Cassie's voice was breathy. "That was it!" This was exciting, maybe if I could use another finger... "Stop, Ray! Only one for now." She was grabbing my wrist, rightly fearing that a second finger was about to join the first. A little while later, she let go. "OK." I put the second in, continuing to try to rub that spot. Cassie was beginning to writhe a little, moaning. For some reason, that made me think about the clit. I hadn't tried that yet, so I moved my thumb to where I am guessing it was. (Like the Baths of Diocletian, women have complicated plumbing.) That sparked a more dramatic response, as Cassie began actually moving around, obviously no longer coherent. Somehow, she ended up on all fours, as I knelt behind her using my fingers. Her reaction reached the peak when she went through a violent fit of shivers as her cunt gripped my fingers tightly, almost painfully. I expected Cassie to collapse over limp, maybe asleep, but she reacted in an entirely different manner. As I pulled my fingers out of her, she was struggling to speak, but I was able to make out the general gist. "Ray... stick your... fuck... ing... dick in me!" I was painfully hard already, but I hadn't expected the invitation so it took me a moment to react. Thankfully, things were all lined up and I was able to insert myself into her fairly easily. She wasn't giving me any guidance, so I began to awkwardly stroke in and out slowly. It was incredible. All the frustration in the world would have been worth this. After a minute, she began to shiver again and I felt her clamp down on me. With my fingers it had been alright, with my cock it was more painful. I froze until she was over and waited for her instructions. Cassie wasn't talking, but she also wasn't pushing me away or collapsing over, so I took it as a sign to continue. A minute later, the same thing happened again. The third time that it did, I was actually ready to climax, myself. The tight grip ended up preventing me from being able to. Fifteen seconds after her orgasm passed, I had mine. It was more intense than I imagined possible. A little pathetically, I collapsed on her. Fortunately, Cassie was able to wriggle out from under me, so that we were laying side by side. "It can't always be like that, can it?" I was incredulous. She had a sleepy, goofy grin. "Not in my experiences." We were quickly fading. Cassie climbed on top of me, sprawled across my chest and legs as I lay on my back, pulling the sheet over us. As I fell asleep, I could feel something dripping on me where her legs met. Chapter 10 The days began to pass quickly. Our time was taken up by the tutoring, her cooking, my work, and a lot of sexual exploration. In many ways, Cassie was the most gifted person I had ever met. She could watch someone do something once, and then imitate it perfectly. Watching her dance was a thing of beauty. Once we organized the kitchen, including pictorial labels on key items, she continued to astonish me with her cooking. That she was acquiring all of the expertise watching the cooking channel was astonishing. Things became exciting, and then a little depressing, when Cassie discovered porn. Of course, she had known about it before, but she told me that she had never watched any. It turned out that her talents extended to that realm as well. She could watch them fuck in some ridiculous position, and then repeat it herself, unless it depended on me for some feat of strength or flexibility. I eventually had to ask her to tone down the porn study a little. It was starting to make me feel inadequate. At the same time, I was withdrawing myself a little, trying to soften the blow that I would suffer when our agreement ended. ***** Another occurrence placed additional strain on our strange relationship. It happened when Cassie began to show real progress with reading. My initial hope was to get her to the point where she would be able to read street signs or labels, things like that, but I became optimistic that we might be able to achieve more. One day, I handed her a newspaper to read. She looked at me suspiciously, but I was eager to see her succeed, so I encouraged her to try it. Cassie took the paper and stared intently at it for a few minutes. I could see an unhappy look building on her face, but she seemed to be coping, until suddenly she put the paper down. As she turned towards me, I could see that she was feeling much worse than I had thought. And then she began to vomit, rather violently. When she was done, I held her while she cried. "The letters were spinning around so quickly... It made me really sick." "It's OK. We'll figure it out." "I'm sorry I threw up..." A pause, "All over everything." That earned a chuckle from me. "It's OK, Cassie. I just wished you trusted me enough to tell me that I was pushing you too hard." Later on, I would regret those words. If I had stopped and thought about it, Cassie was trusting me more than she had ever trusted anyone in her short life. To criticize one small slip-up, what was I thinking? ***** Later that afternoon, I took her to an electronics store to buy her a tablet computer. It was stretching the budget very tightly for me, but I had come to realize that it might be a life saver for her. We spent some time installing voice-to-text and text-to-voice features, as well as trying to edit the options so that she would be able to use it without discomfort. As she began to learn how to use the features, I could almost see the hope building in her eyes. The tablet, and software, had not been cheap and I had been saving in order to manage it, but I felt repaid just seeing the happiness on Cassie's face. She apparently did not feel that to be an acceptable form of payment because she rewarded me with a night of the most selfless sex I could imagine. As we lay, her on top of me, slowly catching our breaths after what she referred to as the 'third downpayment', I was struck by a melancholy thought. That bout of emotional and selfless fucking I had just experienced was purely commercial. I had purchased her something she needed, and she had repaid me with the only coin that she had available. She was a whore again. I did not sleep that night, wishing that she had simply told me thank you for the tablet, that I could do the evening over again. That was the last time that we had sex. I continued to tutor and support Cassie, but I refused all of her advances. In the end, the only solution that I could find was to move back out onto the couch. Mel gave me a strange look the first morning that she found me back out there. Thankfully, she didn't say a word. ***** I began to date. Well, at first I only tried to date. The gist of the process I understood, but the specifics continued to elude me. I pushed through it, asking girls out whether I had caught any type of signal from them or not, and whether it was the right time or not, because I really had no idea on either point. Eventually someone made the mistake of saying yes. She was tall, taller than me, and a little awkward but that was ok, so was I. The evening consisted of some of the most painful conversation I have ever experienced, but we both pushed through it. I did not ask her to a second date; she would not have said yes. The second girl who said yes was blind. I know there's a joke to be made there, but to be honest, it's disrespectful... and also a little hurtful to me. That dinner was in some ways even worse, I did not know how to act around someone who is blind, but at least she laughed at one of my jokes so I considered it progress. The number she gave me at the end of the night was fake, but the really sad part was that we worked at the same school. She couldn't exactly hide from me, but she did it anyway. I found that revelation to be a little soul-crushing. It continued on like that for a few months. None of the women I dated were in the same ballpark as Cassie and Mel, but that was OK, neither was I. The two of them had began to act as a sort of pantheon for me. The untouchable goddesses. Yes, I know I could 'touch' Cassie, but I couldn't ever really have her the way that I wanted. Chapter 11 The change came as quickly as my progress the last few months had been slow. I walked into the living room after work and Mel was sitting on the floor by the couch, bawling. Cassie was in the kitchen, avoiding her, I think. I slid down next to Mel and took her hand. By now, I was practiced at this art of calming her down, and I think I was pretty good at it. "Fluffers died." That was all she said. Fluffers had been the name of the cat. The rest of my evening was spent holding a disconsolate Mel who was clinging on to me for comfort. From time to time, Cassie would walk into the room with a sad look on her face before leaving again. I assumed that she was missing Fluffers as well. After all, the three pets had taken quite a liking to her. Mel finally became tired and Cassie and I were able to successfully put her to bed. Afterwards, she sat down next to me on the couch, still with that same sad look. "Ray, is our agreement over?" I thought it was obvious that it was, but I had never actually said it. That would have been too final. "I think so, Cassie. Or at least the sex part of it, you don't need to worry about taking care of me any more. If you don't mind keeping up with the cooking and housework that would be nice. I'll keep tutoring you of course." Her reading had advanced more quickly than I had expected. 30 - No One Will Ever Love You There was a follow-up question. "You love her, don't you, Ray?" Surprisingly, I had to think for a second before I answered that. I had seen a different aspect of affection since meeting Cassie, something more determined and full of hope than Mel. But this was Mel, the woman I had loved since the first time we spoke! "Yes, or at least I think I do." "I thought so." A long pause. "You should ask her out." I had not been expecting that. "What? I mean, she doesn't date guys like me... It would... it would just make things tougher around here. I might even lose her as a roommate." Cassie put her hand on my arm, it was shaking a little. I think the day had been hard on all of us. "Ray, believe me that if you ask her, she will say yes." I gave her an incredulous look. "How do you know?" "I just know. Call it intuition... or experience." "You're sure?" "Yeah." This had me cheered up a little. Maybe there was hope after all for one of the goddesses! I stood up, not with a plan in place, but just out of nervous energy. Cassie pulled me back down onto the couch by my arm. "Don't ask her now, you dumbass!" We looked at each other and couldn't help but laugh a little. It wasn't a particularly happy laugh, but some is better than none, you know? ***** The next evening, when Cassie was out of the room, I popped the question to Mel. No! Not 'the big question'. Of course, as nervous as I was, that is probably how I would have felt proposing marriage. "Mel, I... you see... I..." This was going well. Time to blurt it out and hope nothing stupid comes out with it. "Mel, will you go out with me?" - "Yes" - "I mean, you don't have too if you don't want to, but if you wanted to... you know then maybe we could... or not... it's all up to you..." My voice trailed off. Had she said yes? "Wait, did you say yes?" "Yeah." I didn't have a response. To be honest, it's like those people who win the lottery. They know they're supposed to be so happy, but they never really expected to win it. There were no plans in place for if it happened. I'm sure I stuttered something else, because we agreed on a local Italian place. It is unlikely that I suddenly knew enough sign language to finish the conversation nonverbally. Chapter 12 I was dressed up. Mel was dressed up. It was really pretty nice. We were able to talk for what seemed like the first time in months. Mel was as happy as I had ever seen her. To my surprise, Mel not only allowed me to discuss history, but she actually engaged me in the topic. I had not known her to do it as willingly as she did then. It was during dessert, that we were sitting and discussing Empress Theodora. I was discussing her with Mel, who had never heard of Theodora. "So there she is, this woman with literally almost nothing but sex to give someone, on the face of it, but she ends up..." I trailed off. A woman with nothing but sex to give someone... When Cassie had made the offer, she had been offering me the only coin she had, I knew that. But... it was the only thing she had that she considered to be of value. In her mind, that was all she could give me... all she was worthy to give me. And so she had been generous with it, far more generous to me than I would have asked for. My mind raced back to those first few days. She had turned to me for comfort, not to Mel. It had been to me, and then, even though she probably knew that I would treat her well anyway, she had offered me the only thing that she thought she had to give. Mel was saying something to me. I couldn't understand it. It didn't matter. "Mel!" I interrupted her. "I need to go talk to Cassie... I need to... to..." I didn't know what to say. I was surprised at Mel's reaction, expecting a scene. Instead, she sat there with a look of sad acceptance on her face as I sprinted out of the restaurant. ***** When I got back to the apartment, I was nearly frantic. Cassie wasn't in the kitchen or the living room. When I entered my room, I couldn't see her, but I heard the sobbing. She was sitting in the corner of the room, knees pulled up under her chin, sobbing as she held on to one of my shirts. I got down on my knees in front of her and tried to grab her hands. She started to push them away. "Cassie..." I was holding her head in mine, looking into a pair of very puffy, red eyes. "Cassie, you had so much more to give me than just the sex. If I had thought I had a chance with you, I would have... Cassie, I love you." She was looking at me through tears, the disbelief clear on her face. "Cassie, why did you let me go on that date with Mel?" "You loved her, not me. Why would you love me? She's so smart and beautiful." A short sob. "I'm an illiterate whore, Ray. You don't love me..." I kissed her before she said something worse. It was a long time before either of us came up for air. We were resting our foreheads together, catching our breath. "Cassie, you're not a whore. You did what you needed to do, like anyone would have. And you're not illiterate... you're barely literate, and getting a bit more every day." We both smiled at that. "And I will be the judge of who is so beautiful and smart that I need to have them." We kissed again. In the end, we somehow ended up on the bed. So many of the times before had been energetic or exotic, but this couldn't have been more simple. Cassie lay under me as I entered her, with her legs wrapped around me. It was slow and peaceful. We never changed positions, never sped up, and our eyes never left each other's. I was lying on the bed afterwards, my arms wrapped around my girl. (That was the first time that I could let myself believe it.) When my curiosity was too much. "Why my shirt, Cassie?" She smiled a little, her face turning red. "You know when I first got here, and I slept in your bed?" "Yeah, you never changed the sheets. I thought that was weird." "I loved smelling you, it seemed like you were there. Ray..." Her voice had lost all traces of the giggle, "I loved you since the very first. Remember that night when I climbed onto the couch with you? Mel had washed your sheets, and I was so alone in the bed I couldn't take it. When you woke up that next morning I knew I would do whatever I needed to just to get to be near you." "You couldn't have loved me from the first. Mel was the one who took you in!" "Yeah, but you were going to be the one who was there for me, who would care for me. I could tell from the very beginning." Cassie snuggled in closer. "Was I wrong?" She whispered. Epilogue You may wonder how things turned out for Cassie and me. In two words: 'Happy Ending'. I am still a history professor, although thankfully one who now has tenure. For her part, Cassie will never be a comfortable reader. She never did progress too far beyond the point where she was able to read street signs. Don't feel bad for her, though! She's the real breadwinner in our house bow. Her new cooking show has a lot of viewers, and some say it's largely because you don't need to be a particularly skilled reader to follow what's going on. The show is very visual. She also has written a couple of cookbooks. I participated by editing the final drafts before we sent it to her publisher. Neither of us thought we wanted to let it out of the house with things like the instructions to: "Crumbel sossage into a medium skillit. Cook over medium heet until evenly brown; drane." I usually get three calls from her a day. One is to tell me that she loves me (we're still sickeningly sweet on each other) and the other two are to ask me how to spell a word when not even Google or Microsoft Word can figure out what she's actually trying to type. I hope you enjoyed it. Like I said, no disrespect was intended towards anyone with dyslexia. I'm not dyslexic, but I dabble in that end of the pool enough to know that I can't really imagine how hard it is. I do know that I have immense respect for people who struggle through it. Depending on how this story does, and how it's received, I think I will try something meatier with a dyslexic main character. I feel like I just skimmed the surface of that topic. I know it's a short story, so there are plenty of loose ends. The big one is Mel, who really isn't a bad person and seems to have gotten the the short end of the stick here. Obviously, she has challenges of her own and she originally was going to be a big part of the story, but it swerved in a different direction and she couldn't stay on the bus. If there's interest, and people like her from the little bit they saw of her, I might write a story for her. We'll figure it out, I'm sure. As always, comments and feedback are welcome. Be Kind, Please Rewind.