He entered the lobby, nervous at what he was planning, but also eager to complete
it successfully and see how she handled it.  He ran a gloved hand over the
frosted intercom panel, stopping and pressing one labeled "9 - Sanders" and
cleared his throat.

"Yes?"  It was the sound he'd fallen in love with - the voice of this woman he'd
never met, but knew as intimately as he knew himself.

He immediately assumed the lazy Southern drawl he'd been practicing, covering his
normally flat voice. "Phone company, miss.  You a 'Ms. Sanders' who wants a
second line installed?" "Oh, yes; you're early - the person at the office said
this afternoon-" the disembodied voice replied.

"Well, yer lucky; my first call was supposed to be a repair job that'd take all
morning, but they cancelled."  He was having trouble not adding small things like
"darling" or "my lovely lap-dancer".

"Good; the sooner I get the line installed, the sooner I can log-on and-"  The
rest of her plans were drowned out by a harsh metallic buzz.  He grabbed his
toolbox and reached to open the door, unable to suppress a grin at the irony of
her statement.  He breathed deeply as he mounted the half-flight of stairs,
shaking his head to rid himself of any stage fright. He'd always worried about
the wrong things before - surely this meant that all would go well?  The hard
part was getting his body to believe it.

He concentrated on projecting the image of an American phone technician on his
first job of the day.  A coil of cable was over his left shoulder, a large
tool-case in his right hand and blue, insulated coveralls obscuring his body from
neck to ankle.  A hard hat covered his dark hair - 'she'd spot that right away
after what she said upon getting my picture' he thought - and to complete the
facade a worn, weathered clipboard in his left hand.

He stepped to the correct door, stuck his gloves in a pocket, placed his toolbox
on the floor, and rapped on the door. To add to the illusion, he stood on his
toes - adding to his apparent height.  He also grabbed a pen from his chest
pocket and started 'writing' on the clipboard held *just* in between the fish-eye
and his face - right-handed to further lull his prey from detecting her
"Grammar-Checker".

He was rewarded with a series of clicks and the door opened.  "I'd like the plug
near the table over there-" she said as she pointed back into the apartment, and
gasped as the 'phone technician' dropped his things and hugged her, surprising
her with a deep, passionate kiss.  She felt the bristle of his moustache,
myopically saw the small scar on his cheek, and stopped resisting.  When they ran
out of breath, they separated and she cried out his name with a child-like look
of delight on her face.  "What ARE you doing here?"

"Gee, what do you THINK, lover?  We've both been champing at the bit to meet
finally."

"How'd you do all this?"

"Simple - you mentioned that you were finally getting an ISP and extra phone
line.   I stayed at that motel just outside Geneva and waited to see a phone
company van to go by - handy thing, you living in a small town.  I was lucky
enough for it to pull into a gas station on the way.  When the driver went in to
pay, I slipped up and took a peek at the work orders."

"But what if I'd have been the first client of the day, or if he hadn't stopped?"

"Just lucky I guess - there's only so much planning you can do.  Anyway, happy
birthday."

They kissed again.  "Thank you; it's not 'til Wednesday, but I think this is a
wonderful gift.  One question remains - how could you even afford a plane ticket?
 You never got that work term in Kansas City!"

"Well, there's an interesting story that will explain my ability to be with the
one I love...but that will wait for lunch; right now we've got some things to
attend to."  His mouth curled into a salacious, wolf-like grin - showing her what
he'd meant every time he added "<sg>" to an email comment.  He turned to grab his
things in the hall and was rewarded with a slap on the buttocks.

"Hello?"

"Hmmm, looks better in person," she replied.

"Well, it's had some exercise since my last batch of photos - I was hoping to
surprise you when you picked me up at the airport."

"But you called and said your school could only get work terms for six students
with the government," the woman pressed.

"Yes, that was true, BUT this will wait 'til we're eating a meal."  He dropped
his tools and pulled her into his embrace. He kissed her again, his tongue
lancing between her lips and sliding across her teeth to brush lightly against
hers.  She moaned, and massaged his shoulder blades, stroking up and down his
back.  He broke off, stood back to behold her in her comfy clothes of a sweat
suit, and growled like a great cat.  "You look even more beautiful than I'd
hoped!"

"Liar; even you've gotta admit that my choice of clothing leaves something to be
desired."

"On the contrary, your apparel is loose enough to let the imagination work away,
yet tight enough to show off your lovely curves.  You are inarguably the most
gorgeous woman I've ever beheld," he spoke with absolute sincerity.

"Even?" she asked, worried of his response.

"Yes, even Angela.  She was only a girl - she never lived long enough to mature
into a woman.  I admired her lithe, athletic form, and she had a cute face, but
even my rose-tinted memories of her pale when gaze upon your lovely body."

"And you're okay?" she pressed, concerned.

His features softened from lust to appreciation.  "Yes, and thank you for caring
to ask.  I still regret her death - the world became just slightly colder and
impersonal when she passed away, but I don't feel pain when I think of our time
together. I *certainly* don't blame myself anymore - just remember that you're
doing all the driving when we're together!" he exclaimed with a grin creasing his
features, dimples just barely forming beyond the ends of his moustache.

She smiled, relieved at his happiness.  "Good, and now..." she let the last word
linger seductively.  He responded to this with a throaty bark, shot forward and
gathered her up in his arms.  He then proceeded to glance around in comical
confusion.

"Um, this seemed like a good idea at the time - which way to your 'place
d'amour'?"

She glanced pointedly in the correct direction and wrapped her arms around his
neck.  He whipped his head back, dislodging his hard hat. They proceeded swiftly
into her boudoir.  He dumped her unceremoniously onto the bed, looking up to
admire the furnishing.  "A genuine four-poster..." He stroked one of the ornate
posts supporting the canopy above them.

"I found it at a rummage sale - it wasn't too expensive, and has been quite
useful in the past," she purred, loosening her clothing and kicking off her
slippers.  He glanced back to her, his eyes raking possessively over her body as
he shrugged out of his coveralls, clad only in a pair of tented jockey shorts.

"My, grandma what a big-" she intoned in a 'little girl voice', not much
different from her normal mode of speech.  "All the better to *love* you with,
dearie," he retorted in the breaking half-screech of an elderly woman.  He ripped
off his boots and kicked free of his jump suit, and walked up to the bed.  She
started to pull off her top, but he stopped her.  "Let me," he commanded, and
started to stroke her belly, sliding his hands underneath the sweatshirt.  
	"Mmmmmm," she purred. "You sure you haven't studied massage?"

"Nothing specific, but I've learned what feels good.  Oh, and remember - it's
been seven years; I'm out of practice."  He started to push the top upwards
gradually as he continued kneading her flesh. "I'm sure you've got preferences,
so feel free to let me know if I could do anything better."

"Ohhhh, I can't think of anything yet..."

He took another couple of minutes to bring the sweater up to her shoulders,
avoiding her breasts the whole time.  He then snapped her arms up, whipped off
the article of clothing, and extricated her glasses from it, replacing them over
her eyes. She held her breath, expectantly.

"Ahhhh - Beautiful," he breathed as his fingertips traced delicate patterns
around the two globes in front of him.

"You're sure they're not too small for my body?" was the concerned question.

"Hardly, they're fantastic - remember the line from _Weird Science_?  'Anything
more than a handful is wasted.'"  His attentions were evoking some response from
her body.  He leaned down and ran the point of his outstretched tongue around the
rim of her areola.  She shivered and the nipple stiffened.  He flicked across it,
and proceeded to do the same with her other breast.  His hands stroked their soft
undersides, running up the sides to rest on them, thumbs over her now hard
nubbins.  His mouth slid down to kiss the valley between them and his digits
started to rub circles over the tips of her breasts.  She moaned, took his head
in her hands, and pulled him up to her face.

Their lips met quickly, hungrily sucking each other's taste into their own
mouths, their tongues attempting to fuse together. She withdrew to breathe, and
he nibbled on her lower lip.  He then eased up, and playfully licked the
underside of her nose, between her nostrils.  She cooed, and started to knead his
chest in reply to his hands' ministrations.  His nose nudged her glasses up onto
her forehead and he kissed each closed eye. He lay on his side next to her and
whispered in her ear, his hot breath distracting her from his meaningless words.

She rolled to face him, kissed his cheek and announced "You keep that up and I'm
gonna have to get out the restraints!"  He chuckled in reply to her standing joke
of "two fun-filled weeks of being tied to my bed" that he had won.  She slid down
his body, kissing and massaging as she went, and eliciting contented sighs from
her visitor.  Eventually she reached the only clothing he was still wearing.  She
glanced up and asked, grinning "May I see the fruit of your loom?"

"What-" he stopped as he realized the gist of her request. He smiled and shrugged
good-naturedly.  She returned her attention to the task at hand, hooking her
index fingers into his waistband and inching the shorts down.  He was stimulated
by the friction of the elastic on his member as it was slowly revealed, and
gritted his teeth in anticipation.  She tugged the underwear past the tip, and
his cock sprang out, fully erect.

"Well, I guess you ARE happy to see me!"  She gasped.

"Gee - I'm offended you even thought otherwise," he chided.

"Careful, man - you *are* in a compromising position!"  She playfully tapped his
head, and he flinched with excitement.

"Mental note: never upset a woman who has you by the short and curlies," he
breathed as she began to inspect her new toy. He squirmed as she stroked his
length and then ran a finger over his circumcised head.  He gasped a warning to
her "Careful with that thing - it's loaded and hasn't been 'fired in anger' in a
long time!"

"Well, there's only one way of 'clearing the barrel', you know," she replied and
continued to stroke him.  He moaned and clenched the sheets in his hands.  She
massaged his balls with her free hand, evoking a shiver in his body. "I can't -"
he hissed and came; his semen flying from his prick to land on his groin and her
bare breasts and abdomen. "I...I'm...sorry," he gasped, visibly shaken.

"Don't worry, it was a long time coming, and I'm sure your gentlemanly nature
won't leave a lady unsatisfied," she teased, twirling a finger in one pool of his
cum on her chest.  "Hmm, now what *can* we do in the meantime..."  Her smile was
suggestive and faintly cat-like.

He inhaled, turning it into a predatory snarl as he raised himself up and stalked
across to her, lapping his jism from her breasts.  She glanced down in surprise. 
His gaze met hers as he began to massage her nipples.  "No, I've never done that
before - it's a little bitter, but if it gives me a chance to suckle these lovely
orbs..."

He stopped talking as he ran his tongue around her tit, decreasing the circles he
made and stopped at the areola, clasping its tip between his lips. "Mmmmmmmmm"
she groaned, and leaned back against the bedpost as his tongue tickled her
entrapped nipple.

He cleaned her other breast, and then began to work down her belly, stroking her
scar with his mouth - pausing only to murmur "beautiful".  He shifted his weight
back onto his knees, provoking a pair of loud clicks. Her eyes shot open. "Your
knees-" she began.

He chuckled and silenced her with a kiss.  "Relax - it sounds a LOT worse than it
is - it doesn't hurt at all, in fact. It's just a very unsettling thing to hear,
as I'm sure you'll agree!"  She acquiesced, but her face still showed signs of
concern.

"God, you really do care for me that much, don't you?" he asked with a look of
admiration and wonderment.

"But of course, 'I'm offended you even thought otherwise'," she mimicked.

His arms encircled her and he hugged her tightly.  "I love you, darling," he
whispered in her ear.  "And just to show you how much..."  He resumed his
ministrations to her lower torso, untying the cord of the sweatpants she began to
loosen ten minutes and half a year ago.  His hands massaged her hips, pushing the
waistband of the pants slowly down.  She grabbed the post behind her and raised
her buttocks, permitting him to remove her last article of clothing.  He paused
and regarded her mound, entranced.

"You're not put-off by my c-section scar?" she asked with concern.

"Are you offended by my paunch?"  He leaned back and puffed out his chest and
belly.  "It's not as bad as when I took my photo - gotten a lot of exercise - but
it's FAR from a physique I used to have. Even so, I haven't heard any
complaints..." he finished, as sly grin taking possession of his features.

"Well, now that you mention it -" she began.  He laughed, and pulled her back
towards him, kissing her deeply and passionately to quell any criticism.

"<gasp> No - I don't find it at all unattractive, love.  It is part of what makes
you YOU.  How could I not love it?" he said, brushing a lock of hair from her
forehead.  "Besides," he continued, holding her as he lay back and rolled their
bodies over on the bed, "it gives me a landmark to follow in the dark!" He
demonstrated what he meant by running his tongue down the ridge to her bush,
sliding off the bed.  He paused and inhaled her musky scent, nuzzling her mound.

Grabbing a pillow, he raised her hips and adjusted the angle of her pelvis,
resting her legs on his shoulders.  He kissed the insides of her thighs, his lips
a butterfly that alighted on her sensitive flesh every inch or so.

"You gonna mess around down there all morning or are you gonna DO something,
lover?  I got the Phone Company coming by this afternoon," she called in
frustration.

"Just for that, I think I'll do a little more sight- seeing!"  He felt fingers
entwine themselves in his curls and pull his head into the vertex of her legs. 
He ran his tongue roughly across the length of her labia; it had the effect he
sought.

"Ooohhhhhhhhh."

His lingual muscle traced around her labia, sampling the traces of moisture
already there.  After some coaxing by his mouth, her lower lips opened like the
petals of a flower as they were engorged in blood, becoming warm to the touch. 
As his hands locked with hers, he plunged into her slit and stroked the silky
insides with his taste buds.  His efforts were awarded with a seeping of
honey-like fluid, which he lapped up eagerly. Satiated, he shifted his attention
to the apex of her cunt.  Her 'third nipple' swelled as he flicked it with his
tongue, causing her to shiver and squeeze his hands.  Then he returned to her
love nest, lancing his tongue deep within her depths.  He began to fuck her
orally, the bristles of his moustache brushing her clitoris with every stroke.

"Oooo...nnnn...nnnnggggggghhhhh" was his partner's only utterance. Taking this as
encouragement, the man increased his pace, only to have his eyes bug out as he
felt fingernails dig into the backs of his hands.  Her hips lifted from the
cushion, her back bridging - supported by her shoulders and her thighs on his
shoulders.  Her moans took a more urgent tone, and the flow of her honey
increased.  He continued his assault on her nether regions, and was rewarded with
a cry of "NnnnnaaaaaAA-AA-AA-AA!" and a trickle of pearly essences over his mouth
and chin.

He gradually eased his pace but did not stop as the woman above him shook and
spasmed.  As she came down from the plateau of her orgasm, he ceased his
thrusting and started to clean her genitalia, carefully avoiding her clit.  As he
slid up alongside her, she panted and gasped to him "Thank...you...that...was..."

"As enjoyable for me as it obviously was for you," he interrupted, placing a
finger on her lips to silence her.  "You just relax and catch your breath."  He
cuddled in close to her, kissing her lightly.  She kissed back and sucked her
juices from his facial hair.  "See, I *told* you I'd find sexual uses for that
caterpillar of yours."

"YOU? Gee, so how did you plant the idea in my head - telepathy, or was I just
too enraptured by your beauty to remember hearing you suggest things?" he asked
jovially.

"Whatever," she replied, turning her back to him. "Hold me."

"Gladly."  He slipped one arm underneath her biceps, and wrapped his other over
her body to meet its mate on her chest. He tugged her tightly to him, luxuriating
in her warmth.  He tilted his head and kissed the nape of her neck, his hands
slowly caressing her upper arms.

After a short pause, her breathing slowed and she apparently noticed his dick
pressing insistently into the crack of her ass. "So, is your little friend ready
for another round?"

"Oh, you could say he's up for the challenge!" he smiled as she playfully swatted
his arm.  She reached down behind her and shifted his penis down between her
legs.

"Hold on, dear - Stubby's not dressed for the party yet."

"Didn't you hear?  It's come as you are."

"Be that as it may, I know you've only been back on the Pill for a couple of
weeks at most, and that's not long enough. So..."  He rolled away from her,
reached down to the floor, opened his tool box, and took a little foil wrapper
from within. "I'd be a poor technician if I didn't bring appropriate safety gear
with me!"

"Oh, yes, and do I get to see the rest of your tools?" she asked suggestively,
propping herself up on her elbow.

"All in due course, my impetuous little lap-dancer," he answered, grinning at her
curiosity.

"I seem to recall we were about to do something else..."

"Oh, all right," she complained insincerely, a smile creeping onto her face as he
opened the package.  "So, who gets to dress him up?"

"Flip you for it?"

"Sure; do you want to be flipped on your head or your tail?" she teased, laughing
as he playfully punished her for the bad joke.  "Enough - enough!  I surrender -
how about this?  We both do it."

"Fair enough," he assented and drew the condom from the foil.  He steadied
himself, and with his free hand grasped the opposite end of the 'ring' as she
placed it at the tip of his manhood.  Together they rolled it down his length,
with him shivering at every touch of her hand.

"Hmmm, it's a little tight on you."

"Yes, I would notice something like that, darling," he teased, "I'll confess that
it's not 'as big around as a tuna can', but it IS 'longer than three inches'!"

"Yes, I can finally confirm that," she replied, encircling him with her hand. 
They stopped talking as he rolled her onto her back, replacing the pillow under
her hips, taking the opportunity of stroking her buttocks as he did so.  He
kneeled between her thighs, cracking his joints again.  She flinched.

"Sorry, but then it's better than farting, isn't it?" he exclaimed, trying to
disarm the tension.

"Enough talk," she commanded and resumed her grip on his sheathed sword.  She
pulled him to the entrance of her cunt, and he leaned down, placing his hands on
the bed at her sides.  He shifted forward slightly and his head pressed its way
into her.

"Ahhhhh...I'd almost forgotten how good that feels." "Oh, I hope you remember
that it gets better," she hissed as she thrust her hips up to take him deeper
inside her.  He reciprocated, and their groins met as they both exhaled loudly.
He began a slow, steady stroke, but was coaxed into a faster, harder rhythm.

"My!  Don't we heat up quickly?" he commented.

"Remember that it's been a while for me as well - I've been saving myself for
you."

"Tsk...tsk...tsk," he replied in time with his thrusts,
"we'll...have...to...remedy...that...won't...we?"  He moistened his thumb and
reached down to massage her rosebud.  She sighed and pulled him down to her,
their mouths locking in an embrace as carnal as that of their lower bodies.

She stopped kissing and sucked his lower lip between her teeth, pressing harder
and harder as she approached her climax.  He managed to pull free of her painful
grasp as she opened her mouth to gasp as the orgasm rolled over her.  When she
relaxed, he stopped stroking, rolled them over with her on top, and started to
buck her body up as he resumed his activity.

She sat up on his hips, taking his lead and riding his prick.  After a while, he
withdrew from her vaginal embrace and slid out from under her.  He shifted around
behind her, raising her up onto her knees, and entered her pussy from the rear. 
She braced her shoulders into the bed, and grasped the headboard as she met his
every thrust.  She raised her head and asked, "You're still not ready...to..."

"I guess it's my gentlemanly restraint coming back to me!" He growled, voice
belying his words.

"Ahhhhhhh-but don't you mean 'NOT coming'?"

"Keep that up love, and I'll leave right now!"  Again contradictory to his
speech, his hand started to massage her mound, the pinkie finger running over her
clit.

"Oh, don't leave!  Keep doing that!  Mmmmmmmm..."

"Whatever...you...ask..." he rejoined, his breath coming in gulps as his arousal
increased.  Their gentle shifting accelerated into a heavy pace and they fucked
with abandon as they felt their passions rise to that pleasurable summit.  A
sheen of perspiration glazed his face as he grabbed her hips in an attempt to
drive his cock even deeper into her cunt.  Her hands gripped the rungs of the
antique headboard so tightly they squeaked as she shifted to fuck him back as
strongly as he was doing her.  Her face and breasts flushed, and she stiffened
with rapture, her vaginal muscles clasping his cock and pushing him past the
brink.  He continued to pump into her as he came, roaring with pleasure.  As
their orgasms faded, they collapsed onto the bed.  He rolled off of her back and
lay gasping his eyes squeezed shut.  She shifted, sat up and took him in her
hand.

"Thank you, sweet prince," she breathed and kissed the latex-clad head of his
cock.  His entire body flinched, and his hand grasped her wrist. "*Please* don't
do that - I'm really too sensitive right now, even the contact of the condom is
nearly painful."

"Well, let's get your little man out of his confining suit then," she replied and
slipped the rubber from his manhood, making him shake on the bed.  "There, all
done!" she exclaimed proudly as she lay down to kiss him on the cheek.  "Thank
you - that was wonderful."

"Oh, the pleasure wasn't solely yours and I'm sure the credit doesn't rest on my
shoulders alone, my darling beauty," he responded and kissed her hair.  He
appeared to remember something and shifted slightly toward the edge of the bed.

"Um, miss - I don't think we've been formally introduced." He raised his hand up
to shake hers palm-up as its mate disappeared off the bed.  "Mikel Torsson, my
dear lady." She grasped his hand and answered "Nadine Sanders," and sighed with
amusement as he leaned down and kissed the back of her hand. Her sigh became a
gasp as his left hand returned to sight and placed the crimson flower in her
captured hand.  "I always said I'd felt bad about that 'email rose' being so
insubstantial, so..."

"Oh, Mikel - I LOVE you!" she cried out as she hugged him.

"Ow!  Yep, should've taken those thorns out," he exclaimed as his arms resumed
their comfortable embrace of her warm body.

"I love you too, Nadine - as much as it is humanly possible, and possibly even a
little more.  I will happily be whatever you wish - a friend, a lover, a servant,
anything - I'll be it.  I AM YOURS FOR AS LONG AS YOU WANT...I can only hope that
it will be a long, long time," he finished, tears welling up in his eyes.  She
kissed his chest, and pulled his body into hers even more tightly, sniffing
slightly.

They lay like that for a time, naked as the dawn, and held each other as the
afterglow of their passion made them drowsy. He recognized it for what it was,
pulled her head back, and kissed a trail from her forehead, down her nose and
onto her lips.  "Darling, as much as I would be the happiest man it the world
just to lie here and hold you for the rest of time, we have a lunch date and I
don't think we'll pass the dress code like this.  Does your plumbing give you
enough hot water for two showers, or must we share...feel free to lie if you
can't bear to be away from my body from that long."  His mouth curled up into an
immoral grin.  He fully expected the slap when it came, but not where it was
aimed.

"Ooo - aren't we prideful all-of-a-sudden; you make a girl come a few times an
already you're puffed up like a peacock! But sadly, I've got plenty of hot water.
 To make matters worse, the stall is a little small..."

"Oh, well - I guess my ego will have to take the separation," he said, releasing
her and sitting up.  "I gotta dash down to the car anyway and grab some proper
clothes - you go first.  Can I at least wash your back for you?"

"Done, and I'll hold you to that."

"Aw, I'd rather be held to your front," he joked as he stood to pull the jumpsuit
over his naked form.

"Ugh, I hope you catch some hairs in the zipper!"

"Ooo, thanks for the reminder!"  Mikel exclaimed as he shrugged his shoulders
into the coveralls.  He moved one hand over his patch of brown hair at the
juncture of his legs before the other hand pulled the zipper up.  He bent down to
kiss Nadine again and whisper "Better get up and get in there - if you're not in
the shower when I return, I won't be able to help you..."

"Mmmmmm, do I have to?"

"YES.  Now, up!"  He grasped her arms and tugged her to a sitting position.  He
snaked his tongue over the side of her neck.  She kissed his cheek and moved her
arms to encircle him. He removed himself from her embrace and said, "I'm sorry
for kissing-and-running, but it looks like I'll have to tease you into the
shower.  I promise that you'll get more when I get back, if..." and grinned as he
stepped back.  He was rewarded with his lover stretching and sliding off the bed.
 When he turned to leave the bedroom, he stopped.  "Um, Nadine darling? Something
just occurred to me - how will I get back into the apartment?"

Mikel heard her moving around behind him - and she slipped a key over his
shoulder, which he easily caught.  She then pressed into his back and hugged him.
 "Hurry back, my man."

"I promise, and you've seen that I keep my word."  Nadine hands slipped away with
a sigh, and she stepped towards the bathroom.

He returned to the front door, and a shock jolted through his gut - the door was
ajar!  He quickly scanned the room, and saw no one.  He'd only been through here
once, though, and had been too distracted to take an inventory of the items here;
he had no way of knowing if someone had burglarized the place while Nadine and he
were 'busy'...

He pulled the door open and heaved it shut behind him - breathing a sigh of
relief as he heard a click.  He was about to start off for the outside and the
parking lot, but something on the floor attracted his attention.

The coil of wire and clipboard he'd used as props to complete his surprise were
sitting next to Nadine's door, piled neatly.  Mikel thought back, and remembered
dropping the clipboard and spilling the coil off his left shoulder when he hugged
and kissed his beloved, so the wire should be in a messy pile ON TOP of the
board.  Someone must've been here, and cleaned up behind him!  As he grabbed
these things to return them to the car, he noticed his benefactor had written
something on the blank sheet of paper he'd stuck under the clip - "Good luck
Pal!" Mikel carried his props out with a broad grin on his face - there'd be
nothing missing from Nadine's apartment.

------------- End of Chapter One {empath} "A Birthday Wish Come True" ( M/F oral
rom ) [2/4]

Copyright 1997, by Empath

WARNING: This narrative contains subject matter that has been deemed unfit for
the perusal of those under the age of majority.  A good rule of thumb to follow
is if you are unable to vote where you live, don't take the risk of getting
caught reading this. (That also covers the less 'enlightened' of the world's
governments.)

-------------

She stood in the doorway of the bathroom, listening carefully.  Mikel had pulled
the door up behind him, but he was still just outside the door.  Maybe he'd
forgotten something and was going to come back?  She waited, not daring to
breathe. Then Nadine sighed as the 'clump-clump' of his work boots receded to the
outer door.  She grabbed a face cloth from the sink, rinsed it under the hot tap,
and briefly scrubbed her face.  She regarded herself in the mirror.  'He's here!'
she thought, a smile beaming on her reflection's face.  'Well, he's not quite a
Ben Chaplin, but plenty close enough, and HE'S MINE!'  She hugged herself at that
thought.

Nadine pulled the shower curtain back, and was about to turn the water on when
she noticed the end of his red toolbox poking out past the end of the bed.  'I
wonder what other tricks he's got up his sleeve?'  She stepped back into the
bedroom, sliding over the bed to gaze into the tool-case he'd left behind.  The
lid was open, and she saw the clear plastic wrapping with "FTD, Hastings" and the
distinctive logo of Mercury holding a bouquet of flowers on it.  Underneath this
was a half-dozen small foil wrappers, unmistakable circles bulging in them. 
Nadine smirked at the possibilities of his plans. This was just what was in the
upper tray, and she grasped the bar-handle of it to see what was underneath it.

Her jaw dropped at what was waiting there; a pair - no, TWO pairs of padded
leather cuffs, attached with chain; a black leather face mask; a studded collar
with a chain leash attached; a rubber ball with a long Velcro strap on it...and
IT.  It was a whip, but Nadine had never seen one this cruel-looking.  The handle
was wooden, and about a foot long, ending in a phallic- looking bulb and ridged,
though whether that was to improve the user's grip, or... She shuddered.  Past
the handle, the whip itself was three long leather thongs, pierced every few
inches with sharp-looking spikes.

She heard the scratch of key in lock and bolted to action. Nadine quickly shoved
the upper tray back into the toolbox, and raced quietly to the shower, turning
the water on hurriedly, ignoring the shock of cold water hitting her naked form.

The front door opened, and she heard Mikel exclaim in a faux-Hispanic accent
"Lucy, I'm HOMMMMMME!"  She grabbed the soap, and quickly started to lather her
chest as the water warmed to a comfortable temperature.  The squeak of an object
dropped on the bed announced this man's progress.  "So, Nadine, are you ready for
me to do your back?" he called.  She tensed as his footsteps neared the bathroom.
 He slid back the curtain, and she heard the zipper of his jump suit opening.
"Why, I think we could both squeeze into here, but we wouldn't get much bathing
done," he declared huskily, kissing her on the shoulder. When he began to stroke
her back, he remarked "Hmmm, you're rather tense - the water's not too hot or
cold, so why would..."

He paused, and she felt his hands grasp her upper arms firmly.  "Oh.  I know what
it is - you've been snooping around, despite what I told you."  The voice took a
sinister note.  "You must've taken a look at my 'tools-of-the-trade'...well,
since you've been such a *naughty* little girl, you'll have to be PUNISHED." 
Nadine nearly gasped at the strange relish with which he said that last word.  He
let her go.  She waited, and tensed even more.  She heard him sit on the toilet
and drop his boots on the floor.  She began to shiver in fear at the thought of
what that whip of his would do to her back.  Nadine felt his approach, and
prepared to whirl around and bite, scratch, kick, ANYTHING to escape what he
planned to do to her.

He grasped her shoulders again, and nearly jumped out of her skin when she felt
his tongue run between her earlobe and head.  Then he breathed into her ear
"Gotcha." and began to chuckle, hugging her firmly and warmly.  "I knew you'd be
curious what I had in that case when I was putting my disguise together, so I
popped over to a 'specialty shop' in downtown Hastings, and just grabbed the most
unsettling stuff I saw - it really gave you a fright though, didn't it?"

"YES!" she growled and reached back to slap him harshly. "That was positively
terrifying!  How could you, after we worked out those ground rules?"

Mikel continued to hold her to him. "I'm really sorry, honey.  I didn't think you
be so scared by the stuff, but you're right - I went too far with the prank, and
I apologize for it." He kissed her cheek. "Am I forgiven, at least enough to
fulfill my outstanding promise?"

She turned her head to look into his face, seeing his mouth curled down at the
corners and his lower lip protrude in a miserable pout, his brown eyes big and
his eyebrows arching sadly.  She tried to suppress a smile at this 'puppy-dog'
look he gave her, and assented.

He grabbed the soap, and started to run his hands over her back muscles, kneading
the heat of the water into them.  He coated his lover's shoulder blades, and
began to work his way down her spine.  "Lean forward a bit, dear."  She obeyed
and the jet of water started to pound the base of her neck.  His hands quickly
covered her sides with lather, and then gently brushed her lower cheeks.

One hand returned to her upper back as the other began to run the soap over her
ass.  "Let the water massage its way down your back - just inch forward a bit at
a time.  A small cloth found its way to his upper hand, washing off the lather
wherever its warm wetness touched her.

The soap was forgotten, its task completed as his lower hand slipped down her
crack, to gently tickle her nether lips. Nadine stiffened, and Mikel chuckled at
her surprise.  He shifted his attentions solely to rinsing her back.  "Good, I
was worried you might be considering another...well, delay," the woman sighed as
he massaged her sides.  "I'm eager to find out where this lunch date is - you've
seen Geneva and its food- service industry!"

"Oh, don't you worry - I think you'll find it rather interesting, love." was
Mikel's reply, concluded with another kiss on the back of her now clean neck.  He
grabbed the shampoo as he eased her head into the stream of water, and once her
chestnut tresses were wet, he began to work the soapy fluid into her scalp.  She
assisted him, and her hair was lathered and rinsed more quickly than if either
one of them had done the task alone.

Mikel turned her around, and took the cloth to clean her face of shampoo.  A kiss
on each eyelid, followed by one on each cheek, another to the tip of her nose,
and a final press of lips to hers.  They kissed as the water soaked them, and
broke off when they shifted and got the spray in their faces.  After recovering
from the shock, he pushed her chin up to gaze into her eyes.  Neither seemed able
of blinking for an era, and then they both tried to utter "I love you" at the
same time.  They simply hugged again, each trying to pull the other into their
body forever.

"Anyway, you're done, Nadine - you'll find a towel on the sink; if you could put
another there for me, I'll attend to the cleaning of this body you like so much!"
 His grin reappeared, creasing his cheeks with dimples, and laugh lines around
his eyes causing his second scar to appear.

"Fine, but don't take too long - there can't be that much hot water left, and I
don't want to show off a raisin to the neighbors!" They switched places, and he
reached down to grab the soap and got his buttocks fondled briefly by his lover.

He quickly began to lather himself, his mind swimming with emotions.  'She LOVES
me, she really loves *me*!' was predominant in them, and he just couldn't stop
smiling, even when he wore out the silent screaming of 'Those Three Little
Words'.  After a year-long 'email romance', it was still thrilling to have his
feelings returned in kind now that they had met face to face. Mikel thought about
his plans for the day, and his smile jacked up even higher; he had come to know
Nadine as well as he knew himself, and she'd love the next surprise he had for
her.

A call came from the bedroom: "How should I dress?"  Mikel stuck his head out of
the shower and replied, "Well, it's a nice day, but not too cold, by your
standards.  I suppose just something informal - not 'full battle-dress', but
clean and presentable - a blouse or a sweater and slacks, maybe?  I'm sure you'll
look gorgeous in whatever you pick out!"  He ducked back into the shower to avoid
the towel she threw at him.

When he had rinsed off and dried his hair and skin, Mikel strolled into the
bedroom to see his belle sitting on the bed, already dressed in a fetching blouse
and loose slacks; her hair pinned back from her face.  A long woolen coat was
folded on her lap.

He sighed pleasantly, and approached her to hug.  Physics, however, let him down
two steps into the room, when the towel wrapped around his waist slipped loose
and was left behind before he was halfway to the bed.  She smiled at his
accidental nakedness, and adjusted her glasses to better examine his crotch. 
"Hmmm, feels bigger than it looks."

"Oh, come ON; surely you know that cold water - which I was unable to avoid where
we took so long to clean you - causes 'the tortoise to draw back into his shell'.
 It's never a fair estimation of a man's, um, worth!  Besides, I was extremely
aroused when you last saw Mister Happy here - more than ever before."  He had
closed the remaining distance, and took her into his arms, luxuriating in the
feel of her body on his.

"Come on, come on; as much as I like this, I want to see what you've got planned!
 Get some clothes on!" Nadine demanded as she extracted herself from his embrace.
 He sighed  "Women are always telling me that!" and turned his attention to the
suitcase he'd dropped on the bed before their showers.  Opening the bag, he
remarked "Well, this one ain't been tampered with - did we learn our lesson about
snooping around?"  He looked up into the sulky face of his sweetheart.  "Again,
I'm sorry," he said and her pout softened.

He dressed quickly in a pair of casual slacks and a short- sleeved shirt.  He
completed the outfit with a pair of dress boots taken from the bottom compartment
of the suit-bag.  She regarded his color co-ordination and asked "So, Mr. Beige,
where are we off to today?"

"Well, first of all I ain't tellin', and secondly none of these articles is
actually beige; the pants are taupe, the shirt is a shade called ecru, and the
boots aren't even close..."

"Bitch-bitch-bitch!"  Nadine joked as she interrupted his trademark nit picking. 
He swooped onto her and kissed her passionately.  Mikel willingly broke off the
lip-lock, and told her "You know?  It's weird but I feel so in love with you when
you nag me like that. I look forward to spending a life being henpecked by you,
beautiful.  C'mon; let's go out to lunch."  He grabbed a parka from the suitor,
checked to ensure that his wallet was in it, and locked arms with her as they
left the apartment.

The couple walked to the entrance arm-in-arm, her head resting against his
shoulder and the side of his head leaning onto the top of hers.  Both squinted as
the couple stepped into the bright Nebraska sunlight.

It was a clear, sunny day with only a few small 'cotton- ball' clouds spread
across the pale cyan sky.  A chilly breeze blew across their faces.

He guided her towards a particular car in the lot - an anonymous, burgundy
two-door sedan.  She was lightly surprised at him separating from her and making
his way to the right side of the car.

"What, your vow that I'd do all the driving was sincere?"

"Well, partly that - it was in jest - but one: you know the roads and traffic
patterns around here better than I," he declared, ticking off points on his
fingers, "and two: I figure you should drive your car."

"Huh?"

"I mean it.  You complained that that old Citation didn't handle the winter too
well - check the registration slip in the visor.  You wouldn't BELIEVE all the
hassle a foreign national has to go through to buy and license a car for a third
party...without their knowledge!"  His dimples deepened as his smile was
increased.  Nadine stared at the piece of paper in her hands as the realization
seeped into her consciousness.

"You bought this NEW car for me!  How can you afford it?" Mikel opened his door
and got into the passenger seat.  "Well, my love, I know you well enough that you
won't do anything until I answer, so I'll tell you a little bit of it: remember
what I said about work terms, how I didn't need to do one if I found a job?"

"You got work already?  You just finished school!"  She lifted her legs into the
car and closed the door.

"Ah-ah; that must wait for polite dinner conversation; and DON'T bother
threatening me, Nadine.  You know how much I love my little surprises - just
humor me, please."  The man leaned across and pecked her softly on the cheek. 
She grabbed his head and increased the intensity of their kiss by several grades.

"So I just fucked a phone repairman who can somehow afford to take time off and
give his girlfriend a new car."

"Telecommunications technician, actually; but no - I'm working as a Cobol
programmer like I trained and I'm well-paid for it.  Oh, and before you say I'm
totally loopy, remember that I'm *supposed* to be in my line of work!"  His grin
threatened to split his head in two.

"FINE, fine, fine; I'm getting hungry so I guess I should just give up and drive
us to the restaurant."  She deliberately looked around, her gaze finishing its
journey on his face.  "How do I start my new automobile?"

He reached into his pocket, eliciting a sly smirk from his paramour, and produced
a single key with the manufacturer's logo on the base.  She started up, turned
the heater on full and pulled up to the road.  "Which way?"

"Get onto highway 41 and - to quote a famous pioneer of your people's - "Go west
young woman, go west!"

"But that leads out of town!"

"So?"

"The only thing on that road is Clay, and that's *miles* away."

"So?"

"All riiight," she consented, looking vaguely hurt at being kept out of the
secret.  They sat in silence as the car tried to forge ahead of the weak noon
sun, with Mikel keeping his hand on her near thigh and brushing her slightly
every now and again, attempting to apologize to her in a non-verbal way.

After a few minutes, he straightened up, and announced, the turning's not far now
- on your left and you won't miss the track."

She stared at him as if he'd just sprouted horns but returned her attention to
the road as they started to mount a small ridge.

Nadine found and easily took the turn-off from the road; there was no fence or
sign, and the track was just two tracks in an otherwise featureless snowy field.

"Now it's just over this rise..."

She slowed to ease through the snow more safely, and when they got close enough
the woman's eyes lit up like beacons.

A picnic.  There was a second car just up ahead in this secluded river gully, and
there was a man moving around the site Mikel must have chosen for them to eat
their first meal together in the open air.  A windbreak had been erected around a
large ground sheet, and there were a couple of coolers and a camp stove to one
side.

"Just pull next to the other car to let Mitchell out," he requested nonchalantly,
trying to suppress a smile at her amazement.

"This must've taken a lot of effort," she managed to say as she parked.

"Not THAT much - I went over a topographic map of the area back home: since
there's not enough trees to use for privacy, I decided to use the land itself -
this small valley.  The added effect of the low hill between here and the road
helps, too."

"And our 'waiter'?  How does he figure on our solitude?"

"Oh, he's just from the catering company in Hastings - I'd have done all this
myself, but I needed someone to hang around and watch everything.  He'll be
leaving now that we're here."

And sure enough, the tall man started walking towards the couple as they exited
the car.   "Thanks for all your help; you didn't have to do this!" Mikel declared
as he shook hands rather pointedly with the caterer.  "All in the cause of
romance, Mr. Torsson!" He then looked at his palm and started with surprise.

"I can't take this-"

"You already have - and don't say you wouldn't have earned that much with your
employers; I hope they don't get too mad."

"I'll plead car trouble; dead battery maybe.  Thank you and my best wishes to the
both of you."

"Right.  Drive carefully, Mitchell; and I'll drop off the windbreak and stuff
after we're done."

"Good-bye, miss."

"Good...bye...."  She watched the man get into his car, pull it around and
disappear over the rise.  "Who owns this land?"

He stepped behind her and embraced her, resting his chin on her shoulder. 
"That's rather up in the air, actually - I checked the title registry and the
last record they had was the purchase by a 'Seth Donaldson' back nearly a century
ago.  I tracked down his descendants living in Grand Island, and the lady didn't
even realize she owned the property.  Married and with kids, the woman doesn't
seem too interested in it either; she wanted to know what my offer was."

Nadine turned her head to regard her lover.  "God, you didn't buy it, did you?"

He laughed.  "No, I can't afford THAT!  When I explained I was just looking for
permission to hold a picnic, she okayed my request immediately.  It is beautiful
though - that semi-frozen river nearby."

"Yes.  I love it, Mikel."

They sat on the center of the blanket, and Mikel reached behind one cooler to
pull out a small, multi-shaded blue knit afghan, and draped it over his lover's
shoulders.

"This is..."

"What you knitted for me - I just had to bring it.  Now relax while I get us
something to eat."  He cracked open one of the coolers, grabbing two bowls.

"And what is on the menu, good sir?"

"Well, I apologize for not providing a choice, but I figure you won't mind too
much: chili.  We could use something warm in this weather."  He started to dish
out food for her.

"Fine by me, but WHAT'S YOUR STORY?  We're eating now; *tell* me!"

"Oh, all right - uh, what would you like to drink?" Mikel asked, holding several
bottles of different beverages. She pointed to one, and he poured her a measure. 
"My usual, of course, but don't change the subject!"

"Right, right.  Now this story actually begins not long ago, on a miserable
night...just after I called you.  I'm taking a long drive trying not to be...so
frustrated about having to break my promise of being with you for Valentine's
Day."

"Awww," Nadine interrupted, pausing from her meal.

"Do you want me to tell this or not?" he joked, taking a moment to fill his
glass.

"Go on."

Mikel told his story between mouthfuls of chili. "Well,...I'd driven north, past
Bedford and Sackville and when I'm almost to the airport..., I notice a glow
coming from somewhere across the divided road - down the far embankment, it looks
like.  So...I turn around, and come back down the other side.  And sure
enough,..there's a car that's gone off the road and into the chain-link fence at
the bottom. I stop, hit my hazard lights...and make my way down to see if I can
help.

"When I get there, I find an unconscious middle-aged man...in the driver's seat;
the car doesn't seem too banged up, but the driver's hurt...he's breathing and
got a steady pulse, but he's out cold and there's blood on the steering
wheel..and his forehead.  So I dash back up to the road, and wave someone down to
call an ambulance..then I go back down to the victim, doing a closer examination
- no other injuries. ID says he's ironically a Nebraskan."

"What?"  Nadine asked in surprise, wiping her mouth with a napkin.

"God's truth.  Name's Peter Van Heyn.  After a few minutes...the ambulance
arrives, I briefly confer with them and we move the driver out and up to their
vehicle.  A few minutes...later, the police finally decide to come out and I
spend a short time explaining what I knew of the accident...and then I make my
way to the hospital to see how 'my' patient is doing.  They let me up to see
him,...he's conscious now, and he thanks me for helping him out.  The doctor
tells us that Mr. Van Heyn is in fair condition and they just want to keep him
overnight for observation what with his head-injury.  You want any more?"  Mikel
asked as he took their empty bowls.  Nadine just shook her head.

"Now, you know what I'm like; I feel he could use some company, being in a
strange town, in a *hospital* on his own, so I stay and chat with Mr. Van Heyn. 
Of course, after a while I'm telling him about my problems: falling in love with
a woman thousands of miles from me.  Lucking into an Information Technology
training program that delays our being together.  And then - when it looks like I
can get to you for a romantic meeting and go on to my work term just in the next
state, that falls through and I'm stuck in Halifax.

"Well, sure enough, visiting hours are over, and we wish each other well, and I
go home to be despondent some more and get some sleep before my last week of
classes.  Imagine my surprise on Monday morning when I walk into the training
center and I see Mr. Van Heyn talking with the course administrator!"

"No!"

"Yes!  It turns out he works for Mutual of Omaha, and heard about our I.T.
program and came looking for more programmers to help with their Year 2000
problem."

"I'd have thought they would be well into it now."

"Oh, yeah - they've been working on it for over a year now, but the number of
programs they've got running is enormous! They don't so much need skilled
programmers to deduce how to solve their problems, they just need people who know
Cobol and can make the changes they've figured out, and they need *lots* of them!
 Van Heyn came looking to get our entire class.  And Mutual of Omaha is fairly
desperate - they're paying us handsomely for something that's only slightly more
challenging than data-entry."

"You're getting paid right out of school?  No probationary period?"  Nadine
snuggled up next to him as they looked down on the frozen stream.

"Well, I think I got slightly more than the rest for my good deed to Mr. Van
Heyn, but they're paying me!  I got enough of a signing bonus to take a vacation
and buy you a car. They'll accommodate all of us for free - the whole class
jumped at the offer - provide each with a car for transportation, and a nice per
diem for food and entertainment.  I won't even TOUCH my paychecks; they'll go
straight into the bank!"

"But you're Canadian, what about work visas?"

"They've done all the paperwork; I'll have to renew myself after six months, but
all the hassle has been taken care of."

"Sounds great!"

"Yes, and I start as soon as I can.  Here's the clincher: I'm working on contract
- I work with them for the rest of 1998 and we see what happens then."

Nadine looked worried.  "So you could leave at the end of that."

"No, so I could start my own consulting business wherever I wished...like maybe
Geneva, Nebraska.  I signed the deal Friday and started packing.  I landed in
Hastings last night."  He leaned over and kissed his lover on the lips, and the
kiss lasted for as long as they could manage.

Nadine pulled him into her arms and replied, "You given me the best birthday
present you could; thank you." Her eyes started to glisten under her glasses.

"I honestly couldn't think of anything else I wanted to do. You are the most
important thing in my life, honey."  Mikel's voice began to crack.

They held each other for another few moments and then lay back onto the blanket. 
They kissed again, and their mouths wandered; her lips massaged his cheek.  He
started to whisper to her: "Iloveyou-Iloveyou-ohGODIloveyou..."  Mikel ran his
hand down her arm, gloved fingertips massaging her muscles through the coat,
reaching her hands.  Their hands locked together, and he rolled Nadine onto her
back, spreading her legs with his knees.

"No, Mikel - please."

He shifted position without skipping a beat in nibbling her jawline, kneeling
outside her legs.  "S'ok, honey," he whispered as his teeth neared an earlobe.

"It's not that I don't want to, it's just that we're so...exposed.  It's
daylight," she moaned, still holding him on top of her.

"You didn't complain this morning," he pointed out sarcastically.

"No, I mean we're in public-"

"Hardly, this is private property, and we're not visible from the highway - heck,
even overflying aircraft can't see us!"

"Planes?"  She frowned and released his hands, hugging him to her.

"Oof!  Yeah, Mitchell and I saw a couple contrails of high- flying jets when we
were setting up - probably commuters from Omaha to Denver or something...they
wouldn't be able to pick us out even if we started waving flags."  He smiled at
her, and kissed up the side of her nose to comb her eyebrows with his lips.

"Well, that may be, but I just don't feel comfortable," she replied, before
sucking on the tip of his chin.

"Fine, we'll just neck for a bit longer," he announced, shifting down her face to
fulfill his prediction.  "<muh> We should be getting back to the apartment,
anyway: what time was that phone guy supposed to show?"

She placed a kiss on each of his closed eyes, and shifted them into a sitting
position.  "I thought you knew exactly what was going on..."

"Well, sadly my memory is as leaky as a colander - a lot of unforgettable stuff
has happened to me in the last few hours, so the details just slid out of my
head," he sighed, his lips curling into the grin she saw so often on his face.

The man pulled his lover tightly to his chest, as if he wanted to force their
bodies into one complete being.  "I love you," he announced, "and meeting you and
loving you, Nadine Sanders, has only strengthened that."

"I can't find anything wrong with you - even your few scars are attractive to me;
you are just so perfect," she gasped. "Flatterer!  Anyone'd think you wanted
something."

"I do...I want you - but just not here."

"Well, I've said my first priority is your happiness - where do you want to go? 
Back home?  To a cheap motel, or to the most expensive hotel in Nebraska?"

"NNNNNNgh, you KNOW I've got that appointment about the phone line, you *tease*,"
she laughed, reaching up and tousling his hair.

"Fine then, let's get going so we can meet this cable monkey and get on to more
serious things..."  He released her and stood, holding her hands to help her up.

"Finally!"  She gave her man a quick hug, and looked around at all the gear of
their picnic.

"Do we take this?"

"Yep, we'll put everything else in the trunk and then come back to collapse the
windbreak and pop that in the back seat. You can give me a lift to Hastings
tomorrow and we drop it off. I check out of my hotel and we get down to business
of a happy life together," he finished with a wicked, mischievous smile as he
tossed the afghan onto a cooler and packed up the camp stove. "Of course, I'll
have to find a place to sleep, but I hear there's a campground near Geneva - I
just have to get a tent and a warm sleeping bag..."

"Ha!  Like I'm gonna let you out of my sight for a SECOND," the woman retorted.

"So you'll put me UP?"  Mikel inquired suggestively.

"Heh-heh, I'll see what I can do," she replied, running her hand on his thigh.

"<growl> - fine then, but grab that cooler and take it to the trunk; you've got
the key!"  Nadine complied with his request, easily hefting the empty container. 
She walked to the car and placed her load on the bumper.  She fumbled in her
pocket, fished out her key, and opened the trunk.  About to heft the cooler into
the car, she was confronted by a black case.

"Hey, what's this?"

"What's what?" Mikel replied, stepping up behind her and putting down his load. 
"Oh, that. What does it look like?"

"Duh; a briefcase!"

"What's in it?" he asked, taking hold of her shoulders.

"I don't know," Nadine replied, playing along.  "Let's see..." She reached down,
flipped the catches, and lifted the lid to find a portable computer.  "Hmmm - a
laptop.  Yours?"

"Noooooooooo," he replied, his voice almost a purr.

"Another gift?"

"Well, I figure you could use something a little more flexible than that old
thing you had on the table. 'All the better to read my posts'," he answered,
embracing her.

"Love you, you extravagant man."



They returned to town, with her insisting that he drive, and she kept him
stimulated all the way back.  Despite these distractions, Mikel returned them to
the parking lot safely and quickly.  Getting back into the apartment was a
different story.

"I thought YOU took the key back.  It's your apartment; surely you'd concern
yourself with it."

"I figured you would make an EFFORT to give it back to me and *don't* call me
Shirley!" she replied.

"Yuuuhhhhh; you're right - I should have either thought to keep the key with me,
or consciously return it to you...I'm sorry.  But this doesn't get us inside - do
those windows open?"

Nadine sighed.  "No; I've got central air, remember?"

"Well, we can get the super to let us in."

"He doesn't live in the building, and isn't around on weekends."

"But you have a number to call in an emergency like this?"

"Oh, yeah...inside."

Mikel said a bad word as he sat on the floor.

"Well, maybe the phone repairman will have something," she posed as she sat
beside him.  Mikel rested his head on her shoulder, and looked up at her.  He
frowned for a second, then straightened up.  "Or maybe you've got something. 
It's a good thing you have long hair, honey - gimme one of those hairpins!"

"Oh, come ON - that's so cliche," she replied.  She did fulfil his request,
though.  "You mean to tell me you can pick locks?"

"No, this piece of metal is too thick, and I only know the basic theory behind
that, but I am gonna try something."

"What - you're MacGyver or something?" she joked.

"Almost certainly not - this probably won't work!"  He straightened the curved
strip of wire.

"It's better than sitting in the hall here until Monday, though" Nadine said,
standing up and pulling her boyfriend up after her.  He knelt in front of the
handle and fiddled with it a bit.

"What're you doing - I can't see!"

"Good - this is a State Secret; if I told you, I'd have to kill you," he joked.

"Whatever, I'll worm it out of you later."

Before long he cried out with success and pushed the door open.  "Aprez-vous,
Mademoiselle."

"Merci, mon tres, tres cher amour!"  She gave him a kiss for his efforts and
entered.  He smiled and stood with a click. She grabbed his hand and tugged him
into the apartment.

Once Mikel was sure the door was securely shut, they hugged and Nadine showed him
around her small domicile.  When they were done, Mikel remarked, "I gotta get you
a couch for Christmas, too."

"Oh, you're so full of practical gift ideas."

"Heh, you want to see just how *full* I am right now, love?" Mikel asked in a
deep voice as he stroked her back and put on his 'salacious grin'.  His audience
was prevented from saying anything by a sudden buzz.  "That'll be the Phone
Company - keep that thought for another hour and I'll make it worth your while!" 
She slipped out of his embrace and answered the intercom, allowing the real
technician up.

She glanced back to see him putting the notebook on the table before her other
computer.  "Eager to try my laptop out, hon?"

"Yes, and I'm dying to show you the ins and outs of your new computer, too!" her
beau replied, getting a throw pillow in the back of the head for his troubles.

They both made for the door when a knock was heard, the woman glancing through
the peephole.  "Could you show me some ID or a work order, please?" she called. 
There was a short pause, and she remarked "I *guess* that'll do," as she opened
the door, frowning disapprovingly at her lover.

The telephone repairman - or woman - stepped in, causing Mikel to raise his
eyebrows.  The look on Nadine's face said: 'there; that's one surprise I've given
YOU' before she turned to the technician and asked "I'd like the plug over near
the table with the computer - computerS on it."

"Oh, you want a MODEM line; we can put in a dedicated line for that and get you a
nice fast hookup.  It's not much more expensive than the second phone line,
anyway."

As his belle was mulling it over, Mikel stepped up.  "Well, I think she was
planning to save the money, uh, Joanne, but now that her primary reason for email
is HERE," he announced as he embraced Nadine from behind, "she MAY want to
'spurge' - especially considering that we can afford it."

"Yeah, go ahead with the special line," the hugged woman decided.

"Okay," Joanne replied.  "But I'll need better cable, and you'll have to install
a particular modem that we provide."

"Ohhhh, this'll take long, won't it," Mikel asked, nearly whining.

"Um, yes - I may even need to call in for some help-"

"Oh, I can help!" he blurted out.  "I'm rather adept with electronics and
computers; anything to save time - uh, well you must have other customers to see
this afternoon," he added hastily, provoking a vague smile from the woman in his
arms.

"Okay; excuse me while I go down and get the gear from the truck," the technician
replied.

"My, aren't we gallant, Mikel; are we attracted to Joanne?" Nadine asked after
the other woman had left.

"Hardly, she's too tall for one thing.  Why do men prefer short women?" he asked.

"Because they don't like to get sore necks from looking up all the time.  Yeah,
you told me."

"Well, the reason I offered to help is to get her done and out of here as fast as
possible so you and I can-"

>BZZZZZZZZT<

They laughed at the timing of the interruption, and let Joanne back into the
apartment.  "Okay, this is the cable I'll be stringing through the wall," she
said, handing Mikel a coil of heavy wire.  "This is the modem you'll have to
install - and here are the forms you'll have to sign, miss - this is a different
job than what you asked us to do originally," and she handed Nadine two pieces of
paper.

"Right, thanks."

"Well, I'd better pop downstairs to see where the phone switchbox is, could
someone show me the way?"

"Nadine, you had better; I've only been here...five hours," Mikel admitted,
checking his watch.  He picked up the box with the modem and opened it.  "Mind if
I use your tools, miss?"

"Not at all; like you say - you'll save me time, and I only need a measuring
tape."

"And maybe a flashlight," Nadine added, "the lighting isn't very good - just the
laundry area."

"Right then," Joanne grabbed the two items from her toolkit and handed it to
Mikel.  "Let's go."

When they returned, Mikel had completed his task.  Joanne got to work and before
long another plug was installed in the wall.

"You're now ready, hardware-wise," Joanne declared, ignorant of the smirks that
her customers failed to suppress.

"But we still have create an account for you."

Nadine spoke up.  "So when all this is over, I can just..."

"When we have your account ready, you're ready for anything!"

"How soon can you get the account ready?"

A pained expression accumulated on her face, "Now that's not so great - we'd
usually have an account ready for you in a matter of hours, but it's Saturday..."

"And the guy who does that isn't in on the weekends." Nadine realized.

"Sometimes," the other woman countered, "but only if he knows in advance he'll be
needed, and I thought you just wanted a regular phone line."

"Oh well, you'll have it for her on Monday then?"

"But I've got to be at school on..." Nadine began, but was cut off by her lover. 
"Remember, love - you don't HAVE to do anything anymore!  Do you *want* to keep
at the classes?"

She thought deeply for a moment, brow creased and a hand over her mouth.  "Yes,"
she finally decided. "I started it, and I'd like to finish it."

"Good for you then," and he hugged her from behind, his chin on her shoulder. 
"You can go on to classes on Monday, and I'll hang around here take care of this
for you; the phone call won't take long, will it?"

The technician looked surprised, "Oh, no - we'll have to drop off your
information; we don't give out that sort of stuff get out over the phone!"

"But you're the PHONE COMPANY," he exclaimed.

"Yes, and they know just how vulnerable their system is; why almost ANYONE could
- I don't know - maybe dress up like a repairman, and claim to work for them,
couldn't they?" his lover asked him with an evil grin.

He coloured, and gritted his teeth.  "Gee, well I *guess* that's possible...I've
never heard of it happening, but you're right - it wouldn't take much to fool the
average person..."

Joanne sensed a shift in the mood, but decided not to follow it.  "Anyway,
someone will just drop off a sealed envelope with your account name and starting
password...uh, tell you what; do you two want TWO accounts, or are you lovebirds
gonna be sharing this one?"

"Gee, is it that obvious?" Mikel asked insincerely as he pulled Nadine even
closer into his arms.  The two women just rolled their eyes.  "Well, what do you
think, hon?  Are you going to use this account in and of itself, or just use it
to piggyback to your HCC account or others you might get?  If you won't use it
for anything personal, we may as well both use it - I'll even be able to access
my old freenet account back in Nova Scotia."

"That sounds fine - I've been using my college account all this time, and that's
where people expect to find me - I'd hate to get them confused; we'll just take
the one and share, thanks."

"Okay then, good luck with your classes on Monday, and you'll get your account
info sometime that morning."

They gathered her gear together and Joanne exited quickly, noting the mood of
those two changing yet again, and thought wistfully of her schedule for the
afternoon.  'Two more calls, and then I can get back home - oh, I hope Geoff got
Mom to take the kids!'  She grinned at the force with which the door was shut
behind her. 'Huh!  I got outta there not a moment too soon for them!'

In fact the door had been closed by the weight of two people leaning against it;
Nadine, back against it and pressed by Mikel who was diligently attempting to
draw her very soul from her through her open mouth.  They kissed quietly but
passionately.  When they had exhausted themselves of air, he relinquished her
lips and tilted his head down so that their foreheads rested together and the
tips of their noses just touched.

"FINALLY, I couldn't wait for her to leave!"

"Oh, is that why you helped her out?"

"Hey, I was just making sure you weren't getting screwed...that's MY job," he
exclaimed with a wolf-like grin.

"Mmmmm, time to get back to work then, lover," Nadine ordered as she locked her
hands behind his neck and drew him back to her.  She trailed her lips up his
cheek to breathe hotly in his ear, running the tip of her tongue around the
ridges of his earlobe.  He was filled with desire and energy, and his arms snaked
around her body and bundled her up into his arms again.

She was surprised as he tilted back taking her body's weight on his abdomen,
their combined center of gravity securely over his hips and strong legs. 
"Careful," she gasped, but he stepped back, not staggering, striding slowly but
steadily toward the bedroom. They continued slowly and after what seemed to be an
age, they fell onto the bed side-by-side.

"Well, I don't want to complain, but I got the impression that you could've got
us here faster..."

"S'good practice; if I keep at it, before long I'll have the build to easily
carry you across the threshold..."

"You mean-"

Mikel took her head in his hands.  "I love you, Nadine; I want to spend the rest
of my life with you.  You are the most important thing in the world to me - your
happiness is foremost in mind.  And I've always skirted around this topic because
I couldn't talk of it properly - say what you will, growing up in a relatively
isolated culture has left a large part of me as old-fashioned: what I want to ask
of you I can only do so in person..."

She sat up cross-legged on the bed as he reached over to his suitcase and removed
a small square jewelry box.  He slid off the bed and knelt before her, taking her
hand in his.  "You know what I'm gonna ask, love, but there is a protocol that's
to be followed in these sorts of things," he jokingly admonished her, waggling a
finger in her smiling face.

"Will you marry me?" she blurted out.

"That's MY line!" he raged, grumbling as he eased up to the bed and pressed her
back into the mattress.  "Yes, I will be your husband, gladly and willingly and
for as long as you will have me, and you?"

"Yes," Nadine whispered, gazing up into his glistening eyes, and pressed her lips
to his.

Mikel's mouth opened and he sucked on her lips, coaxing her tongue to explore
him.  It was met by its counterpart, and the two muscles stroked each other and
pressed back and forth over teeth and lips.  They rolled around like a pair of
lovers, mirroring the passions of their owners.

His hands unbuttoned her blouse, and hers did similarly to him.  She pushed him
up and they stopped kissing to breathe.  He delicately removed her glasses,
assuring her that "I don't think you'll be interested in looking at anything more
than six inches from your face."  Each slipped their arms from their garments and
he encircled her, nibbling on her neck with tiny, tickling bites.  He reached
behind and, while one hand moved her adust mane clear, she felt a brief
tightening in her brassiere strap, then a release.

"Told ya I knew how to handle a bra-catch," he announced to her, smugly smiling
as he slipped the straps from her shoulders, revealing her breasts.  He bent down
to attend to her nipples, warming the air surrounding these awakening rosebuds
with his breath.  His fingers cradled her breasts gently squeezing and stroking
them.  Her heavy breath was testament to his activities' success.

As Mikel's lips encircled one nubbin, Nadine's hands ran through and grasped his
thick brown hair, guiding him to the intensity of his suckling.  Her chest
flushed, blood rushing to her breasts, causing them to swell, and her breath came
in gasps and moans.

With his mouth firmly attached to one breast, and one hand caressing the other,
his free digits wended their way down her torso, tickling this patch of skin,
pinching that, until they reached her only remaining articles of clothing.  His
hand cupped her sex, grinding the fabric of her slacks against the pubic hair. 
As his fingers began to stroke her labia through the material, she tensed and sat
up.

"No; while I can still think - let me do something." Nadine pushed him over onto
his back and stroked his bare chest. Her hands moved from his well-defined
shoulders, down past undeveloped pectorals and traced circles around the slight
bulge of his abdomen.

Mikel noticed the focus of her attentions, and spoke. "Yeah, I know, it's not
exactly the washboard abs of a 'Baywatch' beefcake..."

"Oo, hush," she replied, lightly slapping his belly. "What's important is that
it's part of you, and - most of all - it's *here*."  She concluded her comment
with a kiss on his navel.  "Now, there's other parts of you that I'd to take a
closer look at."

"Fine, fine - it's not like I can't guess what you're talking about," he replied,
grinning like the Cheshire Cat.

"Hey, careful, bub," Nadine retorted, planting her hand over his crotch and
gently squeezing.  Her lover's eyes widened with concern and he quickly blurted
"Sorry, sorry - you're beautiful, lovely, gorgeous, witty, sexy, funny, you make
people feel better just by being around..."

She snorted derision at Mikel's attempt of flattery, and grasped his belt. 
"Whatever!  I seem to notice that you're not quite so happy to see me..."

"Oh?  Ah well, you have to remember that the poor little guy has had more
exercise today than he's had in SEVEN YEARS; it's expected that he'd need a
little more time to get 'pumped' for the next event!"

She pulled the zipper of his khakis, and slid her hand under his jockeys to grasp
the topic of their conversation. "I'd have thought he'd be raring to go whenever
I was around - the available female?"

"Give him time - I'm sure he's willing...I know I am," the supine man replied,
his voice dropping to a lustful growl at the end.  And sure enough, as her hand
shifted to encircle him, she felt a twitch, and a slow warming of his manhood.

"Fine then, let me give him a little encouragement," she said as she drew his
shaft from his underwear.  "Aw, he looks so cute when he's little like that,"
Nadine exclaimed, enjoying the blush of Mikel's cheeks.  She lifted his prick
with a finger and thumb, taking a close look at the appendage in front of her
face.  She bent down and lightly touched her lips to his cockhead.  In response,
the shaft twitched again and his knob swelled.  "Oooo - he moved for me!"

"Yeahhhhhh," came a moaned reply.  Mikel's eyes were closed and his face a mask
of pleasurable concentration.  He frowned and inhaled quickly as he felt his
lover's tongue run down his prick.  She kissed her way back up to the tip, and
then slipped him into her mouth.  A hiss escaped from his lips as he she licked
the underside of his head, and her teeth grasped the ridge of his glans.  Nadine
then plunged her head down an inch or two on his cock, sucking as she drew back
and leaving a 'high-water mark' of her saliva.  Several more strokes had his
entire penis glistening and rigid.  She let it slip from her lips and said,
"there - now he's ready for action!"

With his eyes still shut, he heard the rasp of another zipper, sighed as he felt
a hand grasp him and awaited the feel of the condom.  He was surprised to feel
something rather different sliding over his cock.

"Woah, love - are we forgetting something?" he asked, as his eyes opened.

"No, and since you love quantifying everything, try this out," she replied
grinding her mound into his pubic hair as she ticked off her fingers.  "One: I'm
only a few days away from finishing my first prescription of birth-control, so
there's not *that* much chance to start.  Two: as you've said, this is Little
Willy's third time at bat, so whatever you give up is gonna be low on potency. 
And three: we've already gotten engaged just a few minutes ago.  Unless you're a
real two-timing prick," and her expression told Mikel that the pun was intended,
"I think if you did manage to knock me up, I wouldn't be too worried about
bearing the child of the man I love.  Just remember that I get the drugs at the
start this time, and get to hold and crush your hand during delivery!"

"Well," he gasped as she rode him, "I guess you're right - I've done a lot today,
and I'll almost be shooting blanks.  And as for your conditions," he replied,
pulling the woman down to kiss her quickly but warmly on the cheek.  "a) the
thought of you suffering the pain of merely a hangnail fills me with dread, and
b) I agree, it'd only be fair...but make it my right hand, love."

"Glad you consent, man - now let's get going," she sighed as she lifted herself
and slid down onto him again.  He responded by shifting his pants down to his
knees, and thrusting his hips up to meet her.

They caressed each other, and moved to meet at the apex of each stroke, starting
slowly, and building in tempo as her pleasure increased.  Mikel adjusted their
positioning so that his shaft brushed her engorged clitoris every time.  He was
rewarded with Nadine flushing with ecstasy soon after, her hands tweaking her
breasts, her voice a soft moan, her body shivering and her cunt clasping him
inside her.  She collapsed onto him, taking his head in her hands and initiated a
long, passionate kiss.  He encircled her shoulders, hugging her to him, and
kissed her back with equal verve.

They broke off, her nuzzling into the crook of his neck, he kissing his way up
her cheek to brush his lips across her temple. "Mmmmm, I have to thank you,
honey; you had the right idea with leaving off the condom - it just
feels...so...well, better unfettered."

"I miped id doo," she mumbled indistinctly into his shoulder.

"So you're saying it was also an improvement for you?" he asked, stroking her
eyebrow with his cheek.

"Ef, I mean 'yes'," came the reply as she moved her face to speak clearly.  "If I
wanted the feel of rubber inside of me, I'd grab my vibrator."  She ran a finger
along his collarbone. "Thank you."

"For what?"

"Everything: coming to see me, treating me the way you have, being so kind,"

"...And making you come so often!" he finished, a familiar sly grin returning to
his face.

"Yeah, that too," she admitted, twirling some of his sparse chest hair.  "I mean
here we are; I'm in the aftermath, and you're still inside me and hard as wood."

"Heh, well since you've pointed out that I like lists, three things: A) I once
heard or read some guy say 'if it feels so good, why let it end so quickly?' so I
guess I like the feeling too much to rush things.  B) I'm not sure, but I think I
must have some sort of 'chivalry' gene - every time I help someone out or do them
a favor or even just make them feel a little happier for just a moment, that
makes me feel really good.  And I'm talking like a hit of seratonin or something
- I get a real high off of altruism."  He ran his hands over her back, enjoying
the feel of her body shrouded in her long hair. "Oh, and take it from me I've
felt better than I have...well ever, ever since I first made you laugh over the
phone."

"Ah-HA, so the real reason comes out why you said my happiness was the most
important goal in your life!"  Nadine exclaimed, raising herself up to her elbows
and smiling evilly at him.

He broke comically into tears, pressing his hands to his face, and hamming it up.
 "Yes, YES!  I confess: I've been making you feel good solely for selfish
reasons; I was only interested in myself!  I admit it, I'm addicted to charitable
behavior; I'm hooked on good deeds!"   "HELP ME," he wailed. Slowly his 'sobbing'
petered out, and peeking one eye through his fingers, asked "So, did ya buy it?"
and received a pillow for his troubles.

"No I didn't buy it, you silly man," she giggled.  "So what's the third reason?"

"Oh, well.  Anyway, C)..." His smile remained, but she noticed that Mikel seemed
somewhat more serious.  "C is that ever since I grabbed hold of you in the hall,
just a few hours and half a lifetime ago, the very feel of your body, your every
touch, makes me feel just...so...agh, what's the word!" A frown took possession
of his visage, indicating his struggle to express the feelings he now
experienced. "Oh, it's happiness, and it's pride, and it's strength, and so many
things I can't even identify them - if this is what being in love is like, don't
let it EVER stop, I say.  I...<sigh>...I just feel so perfect when I'm with you;
like something God designed is finally happening the way he wanted...every stupid
little saying about love is true - I'm feeling them all the time now; I'm so
awash with emotion I'm surprised I can even talk coherently!  I LOVE you, Nadine
Sanders, and that you've consented to marry me makes me feel just so right!"

"Mmmmm; you're right - I feel just like you do."  Nadine rested on his chest,
listening to his heartbeat, and riding his lungs as they lifted her...up...and
down...and up...and down. "I've said that my previous experiences haven't been
quite so good.  And now, you're with me, and you're so nice, and you treat me
like how I feel matters to you."

"Ah, but it does, darling," he proclaimed, lightly tapping her nose with a
finger.  "Everyone who's treated you badly or stepped on your feelings or just
basically been less than civil has been, to put it simply, ignorant.  To not
notice a lovely, funny, sexy woman, so full of the capacity to cheer others, and
to be SO wonderful; it's just a crime..."

"So you're gonna jail the asshole who cut me off in the supermarket yesterday?"

"If I have to, yes.  Remember it won't be long before I'm rather wealthy, my wild
rose, and with wealth comes influence; maybe the local police need the building
renovated, or new cars or maybe a dental plan...pretty soon, that lout is being
watched by the cops for the slightest infraction.  And since people who cut in
lines tend to be equally thoughtless - on the road, for example - it wouldn't be
long before the guy who slighted you winds up with a handful of traffic
violations."

"Mmmmm, you'd do that for me?"

"Well, actually, the cops would do that for me, and I'd arrange it for you - just
putting credit where credit is due, love" and he kissed the top of her head.

"Oh no - I've created a nit-picking *monster*" Nadine murmured, running her nose
across one of her lover's nipples. His body flinched pleasantly, reminding her of
something.  "Oh! I can't believe we've been lying here talking all this time, and
you're still in me."

"Oooohhhh, I never forgot - it's been fantastic, feeling your every move on my
dick."

"But you got me off, so fair's fair..." and she shifted her hips and clenched her
cunt muscles.

"Oh...all right," Mikel replied, locking one leg around hers, clasping her to
him, and he rolled them onto their side. He kissed her cheek and pushed himself
into her, feeling his erection regain strength from the feel of her silky
insides.

She planted her hands on his shoulders, getting her entire body moving with their
stroke for a while, enjoying the feel of his hardening member brush her clit. 
Once he was fully erect again, she let him take over, thrusting into her with all
the passion and love he mentioned during their pillow-talk.

She ran her fingers down his chest, and circled his tiny, vestigial nipples.  
'Hmmmmmm.  Who was it that started talking about the redundancy of men's nips on
the newsgroup - Jane? Heather?  Aw, who CARES!' she thought, as a wave of warm
pleasure soaked through her.

She glanced down to see Mikel teasing her tits with his moustache.  She brought
her arms up around his head and pulled it into her chest.  He replied by latch
his lips around one of her aroused nubs, rolling gently between his teeth.  She
gasped as he flicked his tongue around her sensitive flesh, and a trickle of
moisture seeped onto his prick as it slid into her with gorgeous repetition.  His
head eased back and he groaned softly with the pleasure he was surely feeling.

As he gave her other nipple the same treatment, her fingers worked into his hair
and massaged his scalp.  Another shift in his posture caused multi-coloured stars
to appear behind her eyelids as her clit was pressed back into her nether lips. 
She pulled him up to her face, and sloppily kissed him, hugging him as if she
wanted to pull his entire body into her.  She felt his hands pull her legs over
his hips, and they rolled onto her back.  His cock was lower in her vagina as her
legs encircled him, but a thumb pressed into her moist cavern attended to her
clit.

She pulled at his lower lip with her teeth and moaned, feeling his tongue caress
the inside of her upper lip and gums. Nadine giggled as his moustache tickled her
nose.  A twinkle in her man's brown eyes showed he was inwardly laughing with
her. She released his lip and her tongue pushed his back into its home, stroking
the roof of his mouth.  Mikel shivered in response and his thrumming of her
engorged clit skipped a beat, causing a jolt of ecstasy to course through her
veins.

The man above her knitted his eyebrows in concentration, beginning to pant with
lust and arousal.  He slid slightly higher on her body, and Nadine felt her nexus
of so many pleasurable nerves dragged into her pussy.  She scratched his back
with her fingernails, wordlessly encouraging him to greater and greater activity.
 His pace increased, blurring the feelings that came from between her legs. She
sighed with the feel of his hot breath on the side of her neck.

A few strokes more and she was in the throes of orgasm, her fingers digging into
the muscles over his shoulder blades, her thighs squeezing his waist, and her
inner labia clenching his swelling prick.  A high, quiet keening came from her
mouth, accompanied by a roaring sigh from her lover's.  Even in the sensory
overload of her climax, she felt his hot seed filling her cunt.

Nadine's mind cleared, and she found herself lying across the bed with this man's
recumbent body resting over her, limp. She kissed his nose and Mikel sighed,
shifting slightly.  It took little effort for her to coax him to slide off of her
and he curled up, his face smothering itself in her hair and his slick, slowly
softening organ pressed into her leg.  His arm was still draped over her chest, a
bar of warmth on her cooling skin.  After a few moments she felt him shiver, and
his eyes slowly opened.

"Ngggggg...mmmmmuuu.  Wwwwooooooowwwww," he indistinctly intoned, bringing a
smile to her lips.  "Are you as chilly as me?"

"Yeah, I'm sort of cold," she sighed, rolling to face him and stroking his arm
with her free hand.

"Is the heat working?"

"It should be..."

"And those windows aren't open, so...oh, wow - I can feel your heartbeat!"

"So, we're pressed toget-"

"No, you don't understand - I can feel it in your *fingertips*!"

She grasped his wrist and draped his hand over her mouth; he was right, she could
feel a faint but rhythmic throbbing on her lips.

"Gee, did we heat up that much?"

"I guess so; we're just so hot together even room temperature seems cold," Nadine
mused as she shifted them to the head of the bed, pushing the suitcase onto the
floor.  Mikel stopped suddenly, dozy but alert to something she didn't notice.

"You know something, beautiful?  We forgot to finish something." His arm reached
behind him.

She frowned and tried to recall the events on her bed. "Well, I came, we talked,
and then both you and I came; I don't see anything missing with that."

"Not that - that was perfect, love.  I'm talking about before that."

"Oh gee, that's a little hazy-"

"Flatterer!  Here, maybe this'll refresh your memory," and Mikel opened the small
jewellery box in his hand a held it in front of her face.

She regarded the small, hazy diamond in her vision, vaguely disappointed, until
she realized her eyes were focusing properly - the central stone was nestled in a
ring...no a *halo* of tiny diamond chips that stretched down one side of the gold
band. She sighed and took the box in her hands.

"It's a comet - you probably don't remember that I commented about Hale-Bopp
early in our relationship, how we could look up at the sky and see the same thing
at the same time despite the distance between us.  It's stuck in my mind ever
since.  Now that I look back upon it, that errant lump of ice could've been a
sign that we were meant for each other, and I wanted to remember that lucky
coincidence."

"It's...c'mere you!"  She kissed him and nestled her head under his.  Mikel
sighed, half from happiness and half from exasperation. "Nadine, darling?  We're
still not done with this."

"What?  Oh, right.  Here."  She returned the ring to him, and pulled her left arm
out from under his body.  He had the circle of gold in his fingers, and grasped
her hand in his, kissing each knuckle softly.  "So, wanna get hitched, missus?"
he asked smiling as she laughed at his affected Cockney accent. "Naah, let's try
it like this," and his voice shifted up several classes.  "Dear, dear lady. 
Would you grant me the endless pleasure of being my soulmate *officially*?  To be
there both to console me and be consoled by me?  To share in my happiness and
yours?  To love me and be forever loved in return?  Will you marry me?"

"Yes.  I love you, Mikel, and everything you asked of me I'm only too happy to
agree to; I found you, and I don't ever want to let you go."

He slipped the ring onto her finger, fighting back tears of joy at her requiting
his love.  He pulled her to him, and kissed her passionately, a salty wetness
running down his nose and crossing onto hers.

"God, you ARE a soft one, aren't you, man?"

"Well, it's rather sappily romantic, isn't it?  Getting engaged a few days before
your birthday!  But yeah, I'm a big marshmallow. <sniff>  Just imagine it - a
wedding where the GROOM is crying!  It's just I've never been so happy in my
life."

"And how did you get the size right?"

"Huh?  Oh...I didn't."

"Yeah, right!"

He smirked guiltily. "No, you're right - I can't lie to you.  Do you remember
that letter you sent me?"

"Which one?"

"The one where you traced your hand on the page?  I got a jeweller to take a
guess from that - looks like he was right!" Mikel shivered as their bodies
cooled.

"Oooo, let's get under the covers!"

Her new fiance made no protest, his heavy-lidded eyes gazing possessively over
her as she shifted their bodies and pulled the comforter over them.  "Thank you,
fiancee," he sighed.  And kissing her on the forehead, he nestled into her
shoulder and drifted off.

She looked down his back to her left hand, watching the play of light on the
symbol of their love.  She whispered into his ear, "Thank YOU, husband-to-be, for
the best birthday present I could ever get," closed her eyes and dreamed of their
happy future.