Hollow Victory

An adult stories – Hollow Victory by Vaguewriter,Vaguewriter “Morning Aunt Sarah,” Ike called out as he walked past her trailer.

She sat in her rocking chair on the porch he had built for her last summer. She was a tiny woman well into her eighties who fiercely maintained her independence.

“Morning, Isaac. How are you doing today?”

“I’m fine. As a matter of fact, I feel so good I’m going for a walk up the holler.”

He pointed up the creek flanked by a steep hill on each side that disappeared into the trees.

“There isn’t a thing that’s changed since the last time you hiked up there. People don’t live up hollers like they used to.”

“Actually Google Maps shows that the hillside slumped last winter and dammed up the creek. It looks like there might be a swimming hole up there now. I thought I’d check it out.”

“Your mama told me that you have a job with the state this year.”

“Yep, I’m working for the highway department. They got me picking up dead animals and litter off the roads in the county.”

“Seems like your daddy could have gotten you a better job than that.”

“I didn’t ask him to, Aunt Sarah. I wanted to do it on my own.”

Sarah laughed and shook her head.

“You’re like every other Armstrong I’ve met, head strong and determined to do everything your way.”

“It didn’t seem right,” Ike shrugged, “to play the ‘my father’s a judge card’. I wanted to get the job on my own merits.”

“I find it hard to believe that no one where you work knows that your father’s a judge.”

“I’m sure they do, but they don’t treat me any different than anyone else. That’s what I want.”

“It’s already getting hot. Why don’t you come up on the porch and I’ll fetch you some iced tea.”

“I’m not really thirsty right now, but I’m sure I’ll be thirsty when I return. Can I beg one from you then?”

He hated telling her no. She had to be lonely living all alone despite the standing invitation to come to dinner with Ike and his parents every Sunday. Her husband had died years ago and all of her children had moved out of state looking for jobs. That was the sad state of affairs in Eastern Kentucky after the coal industry had collapsed. The old people stayed and the young people left for jobs in other states. His dad said it was foolish for him to stay.

“Well, be careful of ticks. They’re bad this year.”

“I will,” he promised as he shouldered his day pack and walked the path leading up the holler.

Ike’s dad pastured a couple head of cattle up here every year and they kept the weeds down so ambling up the creek would be easy until he began climbing to the ridge at the back of the holler. After that he had no idea what he would face.

When he crested the low ridge, he scanned the green chaos below. A wild profusion of trees and vines lay before him. He was sure other men had passed this way before, corn had been planted and cattle grazed, but he couldn’t prove it by what he saw. The green had taken over. Two creeks led off below him separated by a low ridge. After consulting the map on his phone, he took the holler to the left and splashed down the center of the creek to avoid the crown-of-thorns vines and the blackberry brambles blanketing the hillside. It was a hot, sunny morning; in the shade the syrupy air slid in and out of his lungs thick with humidity and the redolence of flowers and decay. For a moment he wondered is he had stepped into a fairy world where man no longer ruled.

He hoped the pond was worth the two and a half mile hike over rough country through scrub trees, thorny vines and kudzu. His canteen sloshed with each step. His water was half gone and he hadn’t reached the pond.

Despite the heat and humidity, Ike found himself whistling. These old mountains had cast their magic on him once again. He ached for them during the year at school where everything was so flat, so crowded and so dull. At school, he yearned to see hills scraping the bottoms off winter clouds the way they did at home, but the sky at school was as dull, flat and gray as everything else.

He missed the high lonesome sound the whistle made as the train climbed out of the valley headed east. He found no trails at school leading up a mysterious hill or down a holler waiting to be explored. There were no arrow heads to be found in rock shelters on the hills, or long gone farms to explore marked only by the standing field stone chimneys and in the spring by daffodils planted by a nameless wife along cabin walls long gone.

His papaw, Amos, claimed when these hills had soaked into you, it was where you wanted to be. You could leave for a while, but the hills pulled you back. Ike no longer wanted to leave.

“I want to get you out of these hills, son,” his father had told him, “go to college in Lexington or Louisville. There’s nothing left around here except old people and abandoned coal mines.”

Being a good son, he had gone to school in the plains beyond, and he had tried hard. People seemed grumpier outside of these old hills, and everyone was in a hurry. His accent marked him as a hillbilly.

Before long, the hillside leveled out to overgrown bottom land and the holler widened to twenty yards across. He followed a deer trail alongside the creek and made deeper progress into the fold between hulking mountains where the late morning sunlight was only now evaporating the dew. As the air grew warmer in the intense sun, cicadas began their long raucous calls adding to the low drone of the insects while red birds and blue birds trilled from deep in the brush. Around a bend in the creek, he discovered the new pond hard up against the steep slope on the far side and much easier to approach on this side.              

A woman nude from the waist up sunned herself on a smooth bit of shelf rock beside the pond. He caught his breath at the sight as she drew in her sketchbook unaware. Her breasts were perfect. They were high, full, and pale. She belonged there not so much adding to the beauty of the scene as being the beauty that adds color and life to everything around her. Lust coursed through him, but awe replaced it almost at once. She was beyond beautiful.

He considered walking up to her without any warning, but that seemed cruel. She had as much right to be here as he did. Instead, he chose to whistle as he broke a couple of twigs to announce his presence from cover and watched her slide her blouse on and button it before he emerged from the thicket.

“Hi!” he called, “can I approach you?”

That drew a sarcastic grin from her.

“Of course you can, silly.”

He walked up and sat on the flat rock across from her.

“I didn’t want you to think I was weird or anything,” he said as he slipped off his day pack and stretched his shoulders. The closer he got, the more beautiful she was. Her eyes were an intense blue that he might fall into if he gazed too long.

“What would you have done if I had told you no?”

He removed his U of K baseball cap and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“I would have begun talking to you about thermodynamics. In no time I would have convinced you that I was a dull, harmless harmless geek, but if you still said no, I would have gone home and come back another day.”

“Where’s home?” she asked.

He pointed back up to the head of the holler.

“It’s back over the ridge at the mouth of Glory Branch off Stillwater Creek. I think I’m still on my papaw’s land.”

“Are you an Armstrong?” the girl’s smile faded, “I’ll get off your land if you want me to.”

“Why would I want you to do that? You’re not doing anything wrong. My papaw don’t like people hunting on his land, but that’s about it.”

“Why are you here?” she asked.

“I saw on Google Maps a pond had formed, and I was wondering if it would make a good swimming hole,” he glanced over the pond, “it looks deep enough and the water looks clear. What’s your name, by the way?”

It was better to say that than to say he was drawn here by some force from the moment he had seen the pond on Google Maps.

“I’m Winnie Napier,” she held out her hand, “and you are?”

“I’m Ike Armstrong,” he took her hand and shook it, “Winnie is a name you don’t hear often.”

“My mother has been a Wynonna Judd fan for years.”

“Yep, that would explain it.”

“At least my name isn’t Naomi,” she said with a shrug, “why are you out here all alone?”

“I don’t have friends around here. My parents sent me to a boarding school over in Elizabethtown for high school. My closest friend from school lives in Berea and I go to college in Lexington. Why are you here all alone?”

“Sometimes I need to get away from the house. I live down at the mouth of this branch,” she replied pointing over her shoulder, “so are you going to test the water Ike Armstrong?”

He grinned at her.

“I was going to, but I didn’t anticipate anyone would be this far out into the woods so I didn’t bring a swim suit.”

A playful smirk crossed her face.

“You’ve seen my breasts so it seems only fair I get to check out your junk.”

Ike blushed.

“Sorry, I had to admire your form before I warned you,” he put as delicately as he could.

“Relax, I would have done the same,” she grinned, “so come on, let me ogle the goods.”

“How old are you? I don’t want to be arrested for corrupting the morals of a minor.”

“You’re safe, college boy, I’m eighteen. I graduated from Hickory High School last month. How old are you?”

“I’m nineteen, I’m a sophomore at the University of Kentucky,” he pulled his t-shirt over his head, “I’m studying civil engineering.”

He undid his belt and dropped his jeans and underwear in one motion leaving him naked. Why wasn’t he shy like he was around most pretty women? It was like his body was acting on instinct without consulting his brain. When he got control again, it was too late. His clothes lay in a pile at his feet. Free yet vulnerable was his mood at the moment. He clamped his hands to his hips fighting the urge to cover up. The only thing worse than being naked in front of a beautiful woman was being naked and shy.

Winnie looked him over and chuckled.

“Nice, too bad I’m not looking for a boyfriend.”

“And I’m a poor college student who can’t afford a girlfriend, so I guess we can spend a pleasant afternoon together then go our separate ways. Though our parting will be with reluctance on my part.”

“Aww, you’re sweet. You being here does give me something to sketch besides the hummingbirds on the honeysuckle over there.”

She nodded at a vine covered in orange trumpet shaped blossoms that had overgrown the chimney of a long gone cabin.

“I guess no matter what we do, nature triumphs,” she added, “this whole place is magical. It’s like the people who lived and loved here left their magic even through they’re long gone. There’s a graveyard up on the hill a little further down the holler. The name Burke appears a lot on the headstones.”

The breeze across his groin and her eyes on it, too, resulted in a fresh inflow of blood to his cock. Ike turned away to hide his firming appendage and sauntered down to the water knowing a good looking woman eyed him as he dipped a foot in. Ike had a decent bod from high school swimming, but too much pizza and not enough exercise had left a doughy layer over his once lean muscle.

“The water feels pretty good on a hot day like this. You may want to do this yourself.”

“Not a chance, college boy. I know all about you guys and what you do to innocent girls like me.”

He waded deeper into the water until it covered his waist. He relaxed knowing his erection was out of sight.

“It only seems fair you be allowed to sun yourself like you were before I came.”

She grinned at him.

“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? You’re trying to get my top off of me.”

“That’s exactly what I’m trying to do. It’s a shame to have such perfect breasts covered. Look, I swear I won’t tell anyone about our encounter.”

She smiled at his description of her breasts. She wanted to, she picked at the top button on her blouse as she thought about it.

“Nor will I touch you without your expressed consent.”

“Why should I trust you? I’ve never met you before.”

He grinned back at her.

“Have I ever lied to you?”

With a giggle and a roll of her eyes she unbuttoned her blouse and set it aside.

She had a head full of thick wavy auburn hair piled into a messy bun atop her head that fell into curls about her face in the humid summer air. He liked her freckled face. Her broad open smile hinted at a bit of devilment in her, and her intelligent blue eyes saw more than she let on. Her pale breasts were full and firm and dusted with freckles across the top. They moved bewitchingly as she sketched. He could spend this lovely afternoon kissing each freckle if she gave him the chance. This intelligent, sassy, topless woman fascinated him, but she was out of his league designed to send him packing in any other social context. For some crazy reason, that emboldened him.

“You know it’s July 14th,”

She looked up from her artist’s pad.

“So?”

“It’s National Nude Day. People are supposed to shuck off their clothes today.”

“Pretty impressive.”

“What?” he asked.

“Not many men have the nerve to wander out of the woods, drop their trousers in front of a stranger, declare it’s National Nude Day with their dick hanging out, and expect a young woman who they have never met before to follow suit, college boy.”

“Hey, it really is,” he objected, “Google it when you get home.”

It occurred to him he had wandered out of the woods, stripped, and then persuaded her to follow suit. Normally he held back in situations when he met women. What was it about this woman and this place? It was like his body had taken over and his brain was along for the ride.

“Stop right where you are,” she said squinting at him, “you’re the subject of my landscape. When I have my sketchbook out, you cross my path at your own peril.”

“You drawing me?”

She stuck the tip of her tongue out as she sketched. He wondered what it would be like to touch those full lips with his and feel her tongue exploring. Her naked breasts crushed against chest would feel sublime. His groin surged and he concentrated on the argument he had with his dad last night about him getting out of the hills to work in Lexington for the summer. He had to get himself under control.

She looked up and giggled.

“I’m drawing you walking out of the water. When I’m done, I’m calling it ‘Penis on a Half Shell’,” she giggled.

His cock now deflated, Ike waded out of the water and sat dripping beside her. Again he marveled at his new found boldness. He had never lounged naked out in the open next to a beautiful semi-naked woman before. There were advantages to it. The sun on his skin warmed him almost as much as Winnie’s glances.

“Could you add a little more meat between my legs,” he pointed a wet finger at the groin of the figure she had drawn, “I look inadequate in the Romance department.”

She looked up at him and grinned.

“I draw what I see, college boy.”

“The water was cold,” he protested, “look, it’s getting bigger as it warms up.”

She gawked at his groin and shook her head.

“You are the strangest man I’ve ever met. I do not believe there is a shy bone in your entire body.”

“Normally, I’m quite shy. I don’t know what’s gotten into me today. You make me bold for some reason.”

She grinned at him on the verge of laughing.

“What?” he said turning up his palms.

“You’re smooth, college boy, does that line work on other girls?” she reached over and stroked his chin, “I like you, but enjoy my breasts, that’s all you’re going to see today.”

They shared the ham sandwich Ike had packed. It seemed natural for Winnie to be topless and him naked as they enjoyed lunch, this enchanted place and the warm sun together. Winnie touched his arm several times as they talked. Each time sent an electric shock to his groin. No, that wasn’t right. Electric shocks hurt. These jolts were pure pleasure. He found himself in an odd situation where he wanted enough blood in his groin to look ample without getting a full erection. It was a difficult equilibrium to maintain. He had no idea where he could look. If glanced at her breasts he grew firmer, so he concentrated on her full lips and ample mouth and grew firmer. He switched his gaze to her eyes and grew firmer yet.

Those jolts of pleasure went both ways. When their shoulders touched as she was showing him her drawing of the hummingbirds, Winnie closed her eyes for a moment as she leaned into him. When she opened them, her eyes looked unfocused for a moment.

“Now I’m thirsty,” Winnie said when she had finished the sandwich, “do you have any water in your canteen?”

“Sorry, it’s a hot day. I drank it all coming out here, but I noticed a seep coming out of the bank above the pond over on the other side of the creek. The water is trickling out of a crack in limestone so it should taste sweet.”

Ike took his canteen in hand and waded out into the water then scrambled up the steep hillside on the far side. He heard her giggling.

“What?” he asked looking over his shoulder.

“You look like a big ole pale frog a’hanging from a rock.”

A few minutes later he returned with a canteen full of water.

“Here, I’ll give you first swig.”

Winnie took a long pull off the proffered canteen.

“Boy, that tastes good. I was getting powerful thirsty in this sun.”

She handed the canteen back to Ike who also took a long pull off it.

He became very aware of his body and of its magnetic attraction to the semi nude woman in front of him.

“I like your breasts,” Ike offered then blushed as it occurred to him what he had said, “I don’t know why I said that, I’m not that rude.”

He held his hands wide shaking his head.

Winnie sat up with her shoulders pulled back and her breasts on full display.

“Thank you. I’m proud of them. I grew them myself. I’ve got to tell you I’ve been admiring your cock,” she frowned, “I never say the word ‘cock’. When I think of something, I have to say it. Is it happening to you too?”

Ike looked down at his cock and noticed it stood proud.

“You should slide out of your shorts. After all, I’m naked and you should be too,” he nodded looking up, “you’re right, Winnie. If I think it, I say it.”

They stared at each other uneasy at the power they had over the other.

“I want to slide out of my shorts since you’ve asked. What’s going on?”

She stood and pushed her shorts off her hips and down her legs proving to Ike her hair color was natural. She was a beauty and he caught his breath. The long line of her body gave elegance to her every move. He could not think of a single thing that would add to her perfection. There was a grace to her even as she stood looking shy but proud at the same time. Her breasts stood proud on her chest not sagging a bit. As much as he enjoyed that, her narrow waist blooming into full round hips drew his attention. His arms ached to enclose her in a full bodied hug; he needed to kiss her and stroke her smooth, lovely skin. His self control eroded by the second.

Ike shook his head.

“You are breathtaking, Winnie. I don’t know what’s affecting us, but ask me to do something.”

“Ike, kiss me.”

She puckered up and closed her eyes.

Delighted at her command, he pulled her into his embrace marveling at the softness of her breasts yielding against his chest. Her lips were soft and pliant too, and he loved the heady aroma of her shampoo, perfume, and the light sweat on her body. She had to feel his erection trapped against her belly, but didn’t seem to care. His hands on her back dropped lower of their own accord until they enclosed the soft, firm globes of her bottom and pulled her hips tight against him. Winnie responded with a low moan. When they broke the arousal on her face mirrored the hammer blows of desire that thundered through him in time to his heartbeat. It wasn’t till afterward he realized he had no choice in the matter. When she asked he had to obey.

“Wow, you are amazing, Winnie. I…”

“Stop. Don’t think, and don’t ask me anything. Something weird is going on. If you ask me to do something I have to do it, and vice versa. I’ve got work this afternoon.”

He caught the note of anxiety in her voice and the pleading on her face.

Ike grinned at her as he realized he had as much power over her as she had over him. He considered asking her to do something he dared not think about, but chose to be a nice guy instead.

“You should get dressed and go home to get ready for work.”

She exhaled with relief.

“Thank you,” she murmured as she stepped back, stopped, and stepped forward and hugged him again.

“I want to be shameless with you, Ike. What is the power you have over me?” she asked before she kissed him.

“You have that same power over me,” Ike replied with a smile and a final hug.

He marveled at the way they fit together from knees to chest. When she stepped back it was like a part of him had been ripped away.

They dressed not daring to look at each other lest their lust run rampant. Once fully clad, Winnie turned to him blushing.

“Kiss me one more time like you mean it.”

Ike wrapped her in his arms and laid the deepest most passionate kiss of his short life on her. Winnie responded by molding her supple body against his until she hung from his frame.

“Wow, the girls at your school have no idea what they’re missing, Ike Armstrong,” Winnie whispered as she picked up her sketch pad, “thank you for a memorable morning.”

Ike watched her go knowing she carried a piece of his heart with her, but that was silly. They had a brief, intense encounter, nothing more. He watched her walk away and thought that she looked as good walking toward him as she did walking away. He fought the urge to call her back until she disappeared at a curve in the path.

The fun for the afternoon was over, Ike picked up his backpack and headed up the holler toward home wondering what the hell had happened.

He stopped at his Aunt Sarah’s trailer on the way back.

“Why does Trouble Creek have that name?” Ike asked as he sipped tea in the shade of the porch.

“The Burkes lived up there for a long time. They were a rough and tumble bunch. They brewed a lot of moonshine up that branch, and folks said their women were witches, but I don’t hold with that. Seems to me that people can get up to no good without magic being involved. Why do you ask?”

“I don’t know. I met a girl today. Winnie said that there was magic up there.”

“Winnie Napier?”

He nodded.

“You don’t need to be hanging around her. She’s the brother of that no account boy who made the drugs that killed those two kids in town. They couldn’t prove it in court, but everybody knows he did it.”

“Really? She seemed nice.”

“She might be, but don’t be spending time with her. Bad luck and hard times seems to dog some families, and them Napiers is one of those families.”

* * *

A week later, Ike and his work partner for the summer, Tom, pulled into the parking lot of Jim and Jan’s Diner for lunch. It was down the road from the transportation building they worked out of. They grabbed a booth, and perused the menu until the waitress walked up.

“Winnie! It’s nice to see you again,” Ike said looking up into her beautiful blue eyes.

Her cheeks and her neck colored, but she maintained her cool. Ike wondered if the blush extended to those firm, high breasts he had etched into his memory.              

“It’s good to see you again, Ike. What are you having today?”

Ike winked at her, but got no response. What had happened between them did not extend beyond their brief encounter. Their meeting had meant more to him than it had to her.

“I’d like the fried baloney sandwich and an Ale 8 to drink, please,” Ike responded with a small smile.

“Do you want fries with that?” Winnie asked all business.

He nodded and she turned to Tom for his order.

When she walked back to drop off the order, Tom leaned into him and whispered.

“You know her?”

Ike nodded.

“I met her a few weeks back. Why?”

“She was the ice queen of my class in school. She’s gorgeous, but none of the guys got anywhere with her. The few who tried got their ass kicked by TJ, her older brother. I’d take that beating too if I got a chance to look at that amazing ass.”

Winnie returned with their drinks.

“You guys work for the Highway Department?” she asked checking out their uniforms.

“Yep,” Tom replied, “we have the highly technical job of driving around the county picking up dead animals and debris off the highways and throwing it into the back of our pickup truck.”

“So if you’re planning a plane trip and need carrion, ask us,” Ike punned.

Winnie grimaced and shook her head.

“I’m surprised you ever get a date with humor like that.”

“You have to make allowances for him,” Tom explained, “he’s goes to UK and all he knows is basketball. He’s not sensible like the people who go to EKU like me.”

When she left to wait on other customers, Tom continued.

“Her brother is the biggest illegal chemist in the county, but they’ve never been able to catch him making speed.”

“Is she part of it too?” Ike asked.

“I don’t think so. I got the impression in high school she hated her brother. She was like any other girl in my class until her father died a few years back. After that she was insurmountable and inscrutable.”

Tom sat back satisfied that he had delivered the punchline. What he did not see was Ike’s quickly suppressed flicker of anger.

“Wow, Winnie thought my joke was bad.”

Ike sat back and shook his head at his surge of anger wondering where his desire had come from to protect this woman he hardly knew.

When Ike went to the back to use the facilities, Winnie called him over.

“What the heck happened to us the other day?”

“I don’t know, but I liked it. It happened after we drank the water from the seep. Could that have something to do with it?”

“I’ve drunk water from seeps up and down that holler and it’s never affected me like that. I was fine by the time I got home. What about you?”

“Same here. I better get back before Tom notices,” Ike said heading off to the bathroom again.

He and Tom continued to drop by for lunch when they were in the Hickory area. July slid into August.

Winnie came up to them with a smile on her face on Ike’s last day before going back to school. She had relaxed in Ike’s presence when she realized their tryst beside the pond was their secret and would go no further.

“What’ll you boys have for lunch today,” she asked looking between them.

“I’ll have the soup beans with corn bread,” Tom volunteered.

“And I’ll have the split pea with ham soup and the corn bread,” Ike added, “by the way, this is the last you’ll see of me for a while. I’m headed back to school Monday.”

“You’ll get me for another week, though,” Tom added with a grin.

“Well, I’m going to miss you both,” Winnie said with a genuine smile as she finished writing down their order.

Ike nodded. Confidence or was it desperation swelled within him.

“We could communicate over social media though, and I could DM you if you give me your phone number.”

Ike waited like a man about to be hanged as Winnie considered what he had asked. Relief washed over him when she pulled out her phone and asked for his number.

When they walked out to the truck after their meal, Ike caught Winnie watching him. It was like she wanted him to stay. Leaving her hurt.

It was a warm October day when Ike received his first text from Winnie.

“Went down to the pond since it was such a pretty day. The trees are turning,” she wrote, “but it wasn’t the same without you. I sketched a bit, but I missed your touch on my bare shoulder watching me draw. I miss you and can’t wait to share a sip of water with you.

He caught the meaning of ‘bare’. She was remembering their brief time together naked.

“I miss you too, my classes are going fine,” he wrote back, “but I’m lonely in those moments before I fall asleep and on those quiet weekends when the studying is done. I think often of that water too, and wonder if the magic was in the water or in us. Perhaps it was both.”

After that they messaged back and forth a couple of times each week. There was nothing romantic about it though he wanted more, they talked about his classes and her work, and how nice it was to have someone to talk to.

Winnie’s messages stopped in December. After the sixth or seventh unanswered message, he succumbed to heartache. Ike pulled out the lacquered hummingbird pendant he had bought her for Christmas and wondered what he would do with it. He slid it into his desk drawer where he would look at it as he pulled out his laptop to begin his day. Several times he tried to throw it away, but he could never bring himself to do it. Winnie had crept into his heart. He liked her there. She made him less lonely. It was his fault, not hers that he hadn’t informed her she was in a committed relationship with him. Would she want to be in that relationship with him?

He dove into his studies to fill the hole in his aching heart. When that wasn’t enough, he took a self defense class and also began target shooting at the ROTC range on campus. Captain Taulbee, a fellow East Kentuckian welcomed him and tried to get him to join the program.

In the flat lands around Lexington, his Appalachian accent marked him a hick from back in the hills. He missed the mountains and the people. The cold wind blew all day everyday here on campus in the winter, and people were less friendly. The hills were where he belonged.

He tried to date a couple of times; the women were nice and very attractive, but neither challenged him the way Winnie did nor did they click with him the way she had.

Clare, a nursing student, tried hard. She checked all his boxes. She was tall and slender with a full head of long shiny black hair and the bluest eyes he had ever seen. They dated a few times and one evening in February when her roommate was gone, they made love in her dorm room. When the stroking, the touching and the kissing was done, he lay next to this enchanting woman thinking about Winnie.

“I can’t get you to stop thinking of her, can I?” Clare said rolling over to face him. Her pale body glowed softly in the candlelight. He ran his hands over the valley of her waist and the round fullness of her hips while trying to convince himself that he was over his desire for Winnie.

“I was thinking of you,” he lied stroking her lovely hip.

“You were when we were making love, but I need you thinking of me now. You should be stroking me, teasing me, and telling me how wonderful I am, and you’re not.”

“I’m trying…”

“Trying isn’t good enough, sweetie, I can’t get past that wall around your heart,” she tapped his chest with her finger, “you’re a nice guy, Ike, but you should go now. We tried hard, but this isn’t going to happen.”

The lonely walk to his room that night was made slightly better by the warm southerly wind that brought the first promise of spring to the campus. He would be going back to Winnie if she would have him. How could he love a woman he barely knew, and who had lost all interest in him?

* * *

On a showery day in early May, Ike walked into the restaurant wondering if Winnie still worked there and broke into a wide grin when he saw her at the register. Her work uniform did a poor job of hiding the figure beneath.

“How are you doing, Winnie?” he asked when she brought over the menu.

“Pretty good, college boy,” she said with a smile, “where’s your buddy, Tom?”

“We’re not working in the same department this summer. I’m the gofer for the engineering department which is down the road a piece,” he pointed back over his shoulder toward town, “it means I’ll be in here most mornings getting coffee and picking up lunch orders around noon every day,” he looked into her eyes, “what’s new with you?”

“I’ve got a boyfriend now.”

Ike nodded and worked hard to keep the disappointment off his face. Still, his shoulders sagged at the bad news.

“I suspected you had one.”

He tried hard to maintain a brittle smile.

“Why?”

“You’re far too pretty to go unnoticed for very long. And communications dried up after I went back to school.”

He kept the smile plastered on his face until she walked back to the window with his order. He wanted to date her this summer, but that wasn’t going to happen. He had suspected she wouldn’t be unattached for long, she had an honest to God figure where most women in his age group were either rail thin or over weight. So many times over the winter he had imagined putting his hands on those luscious well rounded hips and pulling her supple body to his. That she was taken disappointed him, but at least he could see her here a couple times a day, and that was better than nothing.

A week later, Ike entered the restaurant for the morning coffees for the crew and discovered a different waitress.

“Winnie taking a day off with her boyfriend?” Ike asked Anita, another waitress, as he sat at the counter waiting for his order to be filled.

“What boyfriend?” Anita asked as she pushed a strand of wayward bang behind her ear, “she called in sick this morning.”

Ike kept his face as neutral as he could. Why on earth was Winnie pushing him away? He concluded she wasn’t attracted to him.

“You know, if ever you’re lonely,” Anita patted his arm, “you and I could get together.”

Two weeks later on a Saturday, Ike pulled into the restaurant with Leanne who he had picked up from the airport in Lexington. As they were looking over the menu, Leanne leaned in and whispered.

“Why is the waitress glaring at me?”

Ike looked up to see Winnie frowning. When he smiled at her, she looked away. He shrugged at Leanne.

“Beats me. She’s a friend, but that’s all she is.”

He was lying, but why go into the history between them? Their relationship, had there even been one, was over.

Leanne shook her head.

“I know that look. She’s jealous. Are you sure you’re only friends? She looks ready to punch me in the throat.”

Ike waved for Winnie to come over to the table. She came looking wary.

“Winnie, I’d like you to meet my aunt, Leanne.”

Winnie’s shoulders dropped and she smiled at them both.

“You two look the same age,” Winnie said glancing between them.

“We are. My father, his grandfather,” Leanne pointed at Ike, “remarried after his grandmother died. I’m from his second family. Ike picked me up from the airport in Lexington today. I’m on leave from the Army.”

Winnie’s frown transitioned into a smile as she returned to her waitressing duties.

Leanne leaned in and whispered.

“Are you sure you’re only friends? That woman loves you.”

Ike looked up and wondered what was going on in Winnie’s mind. She didn’t act like she was in love with him. Leanne’s comment heartened him, but why was Winnie so standoffish? She touched him often when he came in the restaurant, but became skittish if he hinted at a date. Did she only want to flirt with him for better tips?

The summer progressed as it did whether he was heartsick or not. On July 7th he walked into the restaurant and sat at the counter waiting for the lunch order. Winnie walked up and leaned across the counter to whisper.

“You know July 14th is a week from now. Are you planning to go out to the pond?”

“I’d given up on asking you seeing how you’re in a relationship,” he whispered back grinning.

“That relationship has changed,” she smirked, “if you bring the food and drink, I’ll bring the sunblock. You better be there, I took the day off. Besides I want to see if that water affects us again.”

After a long week that dragged, Ike arrived at the pond a little early and was dismayed to see rank weeds choking everything but the strip of shelf rock next to the pond. He sat in the shade of a pawpaw tree and waited watching the dragonflies skitter across the water. He heard her picking her way through the brush before he saw her.

“I was hoping you’d be naked so I could spy on you this time,” Winnie said as she sat down beside him, “I risked getting chigger bit coming up here so I better see some man flesh.”

She wore a t shirt and cutoffs; underwear did not appear to be a part of her ensemble.

“You want me naked? No problem,” Ike said as he stood and pulled off his shirt and shorts before sitting down beside her again.

“Wow, you’ve been working out, haven’t you?” she retorted looking over his chest and stomach, “I suppose you want me to lose my clothes, too.”

Ike turned and frowned at her.

“Well it is National Nude Day, but only if you want to.”

“You wouldn’t mind if I spent the whole day here without undressing?” she snorted.

“I’d be disappointed, of course, but I wouldn’t try to force you out of your clothes through guilt or derision. It’s your choice, not mine.”

“Okay, if that’s the case, I’m not undressing.”

Ike tried hard to hide his smirk, he knew a bluff when he heard one.

“It’s very warm even here in the shade. There isn’t a hint of a breeze,” he said standing, “if you don’t mind I’ll go for a swim.”

After total immersion in the water he lay down in the shallows allowing the cool creek water to flow across his body. The sun was hot enough to blister the paint off a barn.

“This feels awful good. At least come in the water with your clothes on to get a little relief from the heat. You know I’ve been looking into why they call this Trouble Creek. My papaw said he leased the land once to a logging company who tried to cut roads back into the timber with a bulldozer. The dozer died the moment they took it off the trailer and wouldn’t start until they hauled it back on the trailer. The same thing happened to a coal company who tried to strip out a seam of coal. Right about that time, a man from the state come to my papaw and asked him to name the branch. My papaw said to call it Trouble Creek. The name has stuck since then.”

She walked to the edge of the water.

“Sounds like the land is protecting itself. Why would it care about you and I?”

“I have no idea” he shrugged, “maybe it has plans for us.”

Winnie began stripping.

“It’s too hot and sticky today, and the water looks too nice. I can’t get my clothes wet, my mom would ask too many questions.”

She slid her t-shirt off, and then shucked off her cut-offs while Ike watched smiling his appreciation. A tiny smile crossed her face when she saw how much he enjoyed viewing her naked body. Her breasts looked fuller than he remembered them. He wanted to pull her into a naked embrace, and kiss his way down that lovely body lingering over her full breasts and lovely hips.

“I don’t want any touching like the last time,” she added as she sat beside him in the water, “but you’re right about how cool this feels.”

“Do you want to drink the water from the seep again?” Ike asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t want to make love to you if that’s what you’re aiming at.”

Ike frowned.

“I promise not to ask you to make love if we drink the water again.”

“Okay, I trust you. I’m curious about the water too.”

Ike waded ashore and grabbed his canteen then scrambled up the hill with Winnie following him.

“This is exactly where I took the water from last year.”

He pointed at the edge of a bit of shelf rock where a steady trickle of water flowed from a crack in the rock down the hill to join the creek. When he had his canteen full, he screwed the lid on and scrambled back down the hill with Winnie. Ike took a big slug of water from the canteen and handed it to Winnie as that odd sensation of being hyper aware of his body washed over him.

When he glanced at Winnie, she was stroking her arm as she examined it.

She broke her own rule a few minutes later when she put her hand on his chest as they were splashing each other. When she did, Ike grabbed her by the hips and pulled her to him luxuriating in the exquisite feel of her bare breasts pressed against his naked chest. She didn’t fight him, instead she snuggled in against his chest. They were touching from knees to chest, and Ike loved every indulgent moment of it.

“I love the feel of your naked body nestled in next to me.”

Again, he was saying whatever he thought.

“I suppose you want sex now,” she said looking up at him with a bit of a frown on her face.

Her resignation struck him wrong. The thought saddened her.

“Nope. I don’t want to make love to you until you’re as enthusiastic about the idea as I am.”

“Why not? That’s what all you men want. Fuck me, it’s all right.”

He sat down in the shallow water and pulled her down to sit between his legs facing away from him. He slid his arms around her waist and enjoyed the wonderful weight of her full breasts resting on his forearm.

“Oh, I want sex with you. I find you desirable, but I don’t want you as a slave to me. I want you as eager as I am and I won’t accept anything less.”

“You wouldn’t have sex with me even if I did this?” she stood, spun around and sat down again facing Ike with her legs over his thighs and so close Ike’s cock was trapped up against her stomach. Her kiss started chaste enough, but soon her tongue was at his teeth begging for entrance. He opened his jaw and she entered exploring his softness within. She surrounded him locking her legs behind his back and her arms around his neck. His hands slid under her bottom and lifted her until his cock head rested between the folds of her outer lips.

“Make love to me now.” she demanded between kisses on his neck.

Ike fought the magic. It would be so easy to slip into her. She had asked him and his body cried out in need, but he had promised he would not make love to her and he knew he would lose her if he made love to her now.

“Be careful testing my will power because it’s been a long time for me and I want to make love to you, but you’re in a strange mood today.”

“So no sex?”

He smiled at her.

“I’m going to hate myself tomorrow, but no.”

“How long has it been for you?”

“Months. Engineering students are considered geeky by most everyone on campus. Introverted hillbilly engineering students like myself have an even harder time, plus you don’t meet many women in the engineering building on campus.”

Winnie stared at him for a moment biting her lower lip before standing up and walking up on the shelf stone.

“Months is a long time, at least let me do this for you. Come here and lie down,” she patted the rock.

When he did, she crawled between his legs with her face centered over his groin. He on the other hand had a beautiful view of her breasts resting atop his thighs. She got to work right away kissing and licking his cock and sucking it into her mouth.

Ike moaned at the lovely sensation of hers lips and mouth surrounding his cock in warmth and silky softness. When she cupped his balls in her hand as she sucked him, he thought he might explode. The wonderful sensation aroused him way too soon, and when she looked up into his eyes, he lost control.

“I’m going to come,” he gasped out.

She sat up and giggled when he pulsed all over her breasts. When he was done, she rubbed her fingers in a puddle on his stomach.

“That gets sticky right away, doesn’t it?”

She glanced down at her cum covered breasts.

“Wow, it has been a long time for you,” she giggled, “you were like a fire hose.”

She got up to wash off the cum in the pond. Ike did likewise. When they returned to the shelf rock, Ike patted the smooth surface next to him.

“Lie down here, turnabout is fair play.”

She complied looking nervous.

Ike slid between her legs.

“You don’t have to do this,” she whispered, “men don’t like going down on women.”

What sort of sexual relations had she experienced, he wondered, where she pleasured, but never received pleasure in return?

“I want to do this,” he looked into her eyes while rested his chin lightly on her clit and grinned, “I’m going to enjoy pleasuring you and I want you to enjoy it, too. So talk to me, tell me what you like and what you don’t like.”

The arousal in her eyes from the mere touch of his chin made him grin. This was going to be fun.

Ike licked her slit from bottom to top savoring the salty tang of her. He found her clit swollen and ready for action. He spiraled his tongue around it getting ever closer until his tongue rested upon it making her arch her back and gasp.

“Oh my,” she whispered, “what you’re doing right there is perfect.”

He settled in placing a leg on each of his shoulders, and explored her inner lips with his tongue making her moan from the sensation. As he licked higher, he inserted one then two fingers inside her then turned his hand palm up to stroke her G spot.

“What are you doing to me? That feels so good.”

She went stiff, holding her breath and grimacing as she powered through an orgasm. Ike held still until she began to breathe.

“That was really nice, keep doing that,” she said in a breathy voice.

The mere touch of his tongue on her clit made her gasp her appreciation. Her heavy breathing signaled she was close to another orgasm.

Ike was having a very good time and in a bit of inspiration he began tracing ‘it was the best of times, it was…’ across her clit with his tongue. He never got to the worst of times because Winnie grabbed his hair and pulled him to her hips as she bucked beneath him convincing Ike it was the best of times for both of them.

Afterwards she lay spent in the sun while Ike stroked her lovely breasts. They were perfection. They were smooth, yet firm and soft at the same time. They were one of many contradictions that made this woman so fascinating to him.

“I really like you stroking my breasts,” Winnie said as she stroked his cock.

“I really like you stroking my cock.” Ike replied.

“How can it be so stiff one moment and so soft a wiggly the next?” she asked.

“It reacts to what I’m thinking about,” Ike said with a shrug, “all I have to do is think about you pleasuring me and this is what happens.”

“Oh, I can feeling it getting firmer. Is that for me?”

“For you only, my love.”

She rolled up on her side so she could look at him.

“Why are you so different from every other guy I’ve ever met?” she asked rising up on an elbow, “you’re considerate, and gentle, and only want me to enjoy myself. Yours is the first orgasm I’ve ever got from a man.”

“It’s a trick they teach you in college. You wine and dine women and treat them nice until you get them naked in bed then you turn into a monster,” Ike said before he kissed her on the shoulder, “your beauty excited me so much today I forgot the monster part. I’ll get better with practice.”

“Stop that,” she said slapping his chest, “you’re nice all the time.”

He sat up and kissed her lightly before taking a nipple in his lips sucking until the nipple stood proud.

“Maybe you’re dating the wrong guys when you should be dating me,” he said in a fit of seriousness, “I’m a full service kind of guy. You need a hug and a kiss, I’m your man. You need a breast stroked, I’m right there for you. You need a shoulder to cry on, say the word.”

Winnie sat up and gazed at him. Sadness clouded her face.

“I’m a dumb ass, mountain girl who lives beside a creek out in the boonies. I’ve never had a dollar in my pocket that wasn’t spoken for, and I never will, I suspect. I’ll never be more than what I am now. All men want from me is sex.”

Ike pulled her into his arms then stroked her cheek.

“I find you fascinating, so much so that none of the women I’ve met in college measure up to you. First of all, you’re smart, and that has nothing to do with the amount of education you have. The difference between us is I know a great deal more about engineering. You read a lot and think about what you’ve read, I know because your opinions are well thought out. Besides, if you’re worried about the education difference between us, go to the EKU extension in town and pick up a few classes.”

“Secondly, you’re not doomed to spend your life as a waitress because it’s the first job you got. There’s a whole world out there where nobody gives a damn about where you came from or the cost of the home you grew up in.”

Winnie leaned in and kissed him.

“I know you’re right, and I agree with everything you say, but emotionally I can’t shake the feeling you’re too good for me. Mom tells me all the time to not get above my raising, and you are way above my raising.”

“I hate that saying,” Ike began, “we’re born into this world and get brought up a certain way by our parents and we have no input into how we are raised. When it’s time for us to take over and turn into the people we choose to be, they warn us to not get above our raising yet they want us to be better people than they are. Talk about mixed messages.”

He kissed her hand.

“How can you say I’m above your raising? I find you so fascinating other women don’t interest me. I’ve spent the last year hoping you and I could meet one more time here. I’m enraptured with you. I want to date you. Give me the chance.”

“I can’t,” she said shaking her head.

“Why?”

“I’m not good enough for you.”

“Why aren’t you good enough for me?”

“It’s complicated, but trust me, I’m not. Let’s enjoy what we have and ask for no more than that,” she looked at her watch, “I’ve got to go home and get ready for work. I took the evening shift today.”

After she left, Ike got dressed and hiked back home. The water had worked its magic again like last time, but he had been able to resist it. He had some control. Where Winnie was emotionally was hard to guess. She wanted to have sex, but she didn’t; like she wanted to love him, but she couldn’t. She wanted more intimacy, more love, more joy in her life, but something stopped her.

Aunt Sarah was sitting on the porch fanning herself as he walked past.

“Lordy, you look like you’re carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders. You and that Napier girl get into a fight?”

“No ma’am,” Ike replied walking up the porch and sitting beside her, “it’s like she wants me closer and needs to push me away at the same time. I don’t know what to do.”

“You still attracted to her?”

Ike nodded.

Sarah fell silent for a while. Ike became aware of the June bugs buzzing around the flowers on the squash vine growing on the trellis beside the porch.

“Sounds to me like there’s some sort of problem in her life that she has to get out of the way before you can court her. Is she worth the wait, Isaac?”

“She is, Aunt Sarah.”

“Well then you wait. It’s like trying to catch a butterfly. If you run at her, she’ll only work harder to get away, but if you sit still with a flower in your hand, she’ll come to you.”

“Are you sure that will work?” Ike asked.

“I am. When you get old and crippled up like me, the only thing you can do that doesn’t hurt is watch people. Sometimes it’s funny what they do, and sometimes it’s sad, but it’s always fascinating. When my knees aren’t bothering me like they are today, I’ll tell you about your father’s courtship of your mother,” she stood and cupped his cheek, “be patient, she’ll come to you. Now, I believe that I’ll go inside a lie down for a bit.”

After that day, Winnie touched Ike every time she saw him in the restaurant. A small gesture, but it was progress, and Ike was happy. He could be patient, Winnie was worth it. She refused to date him though. The fear in her eyes made him not want to push her about it. In August on his last day before heading off to college, he dropped by the restaurant.

“I’m headed back to school tomorrow, and I wanted you to have this.”

He handed her a small gift wrapped box.

“What is it?” Winnie asked.

“It’s something to remember me by,” he said with a smile, “when I saw it, it made me think of you.”

“I want to hug you so bad,” she whispered.

“Remember how we said we would keep in touch while I was back at school? Let’s do it this year.”

“I want that, too,” she nodded, “I know how I can do that now.”

Ike wondered what she meant. Who prevented her from messaging him last year? This was no place to get into that sort of discussion.

“Guess what I’m doing while you’re gone?” she smiled down at him, “I’m going back to school to study graphic design.”

Then she was gone because other people had sat down in booths and needed her waitressing skills. When she returned to his booth with his food, the pendent nestled between her breasts above her cleavage.

After he had paid, he went to the back to use the bathroom. Winnie grabbed his hand and pulled him through the back door out into the alley. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. When they pulled back, they were both breathless.

“Thank you for the gift,” she whispered, “it means so much to me.”

Ike kissed her again.

“I’m going to miss you,” he whispered back, “you’re a hard woman to walk away from.”

That was exactly what he did though. Winnie walked back into the restaurant and Ike walked around the building and climbed into his truck. As he drove off, he remembered a Leonard Cohen song about finding love ‘between the garbage and the flowers’. They had found love between the trash cans and the milk crates. College would be lonely with his love seventy miles away.

A week later he received a message from Winnie with an attachment. When he opened it a selfie appeared of Winnie with the hummingbird pendant he had given her around her neck. The picture was cropped in such a way it was obvious she was wearing nothing on top.

“I love the picture, but I would love the uncropped version also,” he messaged back.

A few minutes later, he received a selfie of a very naked Winnie wearing only a smile and the pendant. In the clutter of her tiny bedroom, she stood in perfection with a wry smile on her face and an alluring cant to her hips. He saved the photo knowing he would treasure it forever.

They messaged back and forth the entire year with her using the pseudonym of Emily Dickinson for him. Ike saw her at Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Easter breaks. He got a hug and a kiss from her each time in the alleyway behind the restaurant, and a firm, “No,” from her each time he asked her out on at date.

School wasn’t lonely anymore. He missed her, but knowing she cared about him kept him going. Knowing she would see his body again this summer kept him working out.

* * *

The following May, Ike walked into the restaurant and settled into his favorite booth by the window. Winnie smiled when she saw him.

“Look who’s back,” she said handing him the menu and checking out his uniform, “what do they have you doing this year?”

“They’ve got me chained to a work site. I’m running slump tests on every load of concrete for the big bridge across Frozen creek on the Highway 15 extension. They’ve given me responsibility, but I’m going to miss the freedom of driving around.”

“You need to get down a good base tan by July 14,” she teased trying to hide a smile.

“It shouldn’t be a problem with me being out in the sun all day every day. By the way, how are your classes going?”

“Really well. They’re putting on a display of my art along with several other students in a couple of weeks. Would you like to see what I’m doing?”

“I would love to. In fact, let’s make it a date. We’ll look at your art, and then we’ll drive into Lexington for a nice dinner.”

A frown crossed her face, but it was replaced by a smile.

“As long as it’s a date and not a tryst,” she whispered.

Ike held up his hands.

“No obligation implied. I wouldn’t mind a kiss at the end of the date through.”

“I can do that,” she said with a smile, “what do you want? I have other customers I need to get to.”

“Do you have any biscuits and gravy left? I got a late start and didn’t have time for breakfast.”

She looked him over.

“You didn’t get that bod eating biscuits and gravy every morning,” she said running a finger along his well muscled forearm.

“I figure I can get away with it since it’ll be both breakfast and lunch.”

As she left, Ike wondered who the bastard was who made her so wary of men. It probably was her brother. TJ was known to be an asshole.

* * *

They were seated at a table for two in a quaint Italian restaurant in Lexington.

“You’re an amazingly good artist,” Ike said after they ordered, “I was impressed with your Yin and Yang drawing. Even though both figures were nude, there was nothing erotic about the drawing. I sensed they were at ease with each other and happy to be sharing time together, like they completed each other.”

“You got the gist of my drawing; that was what I was aiming for,” Winnie replied smiling, “I wanted to capture my emotions when I see you for the first time after a long separation. It’s about the feeling I get when I’m with you. When we’re together I feel whole. Like a missing part of me has returned. Am I making sense?”

Ike nodded.

“I know the figures didn’t look like us, but I sensed they were us.”

“You’re not mad, are you?” she asked reaching out to hold his hand.

“Not at all, I’m honored,” he replied kissing her fingers, “both for that one and for the Penis on a Half Shell. I want to thank you again for altering the face so no one can recognize me.”

He sipped his soda while Winnie basked in his praise.

“Your skinny and toothless brother was a jerk to me when I picked you up.”

Winnie shook her head.

“His favorite thing to do is get drunk. His next favorite thing to do is making me live the life of a nun. Did he show you his guns?

“He did, but before you came into the living room he took me out on the porch and began dancing around like he was going to box me. When I squared on him and got into a fighting stance, he took a playful swing at me which I blocked then counter-punched stopping about an inch from his nose. He then tried a karate kick, but he telegraphed it and I blocked it hard enough that he lost his balance and ending up on the floor.”

“My god, what did he do?”

“He asked me if I studied martial arts. I told him I live in the ROTC dorm on campus and they have self defense class in the basement every Wednesday night which I joined. He then showed me the most pathetic collection of cheap hand guns and worn out rifles I’ve ever seen. He seemed a little less happy when I told him one of my favorite things to do is target shoot at the ROTC range at UK and I was offered an ROTC scholarship after I won a pistol shooting contest. He looked even less impressed when I picked up his deer hunting rifle, ejected the shell he had left in the chamber, sighted down the barrel, and told him the barrel needed cleaning before he fired it again if he didn’t want it to explode on him.”

“Did you really do that?” she stifled a giggle, “I wish I could have seen it.”

“Can I ask you a very personal question about you and him?”

Sadness washed over her face.

“I wish you wouldn’t. I’m having a lovely dinner with a man I like very much. I don’t want anything sad to interfere with our evening.”

“You can tell me anything when you’re ready. I won’t judge,” he said kissing her hand, “now tell me, have you gotten any job offers from your artwork on display?”

At the end of the date she had him pull off the road at her driveway rather than drive her to the door. She gave him a long sweet kiss that left him wanting more and slid out of the car. She disappeared into the darkness leaving Ike to wonder what monsters she would encounter.

* * *

The week before National Nude Day, Ike sat down in his usual spot by the window at the diner.

“July 14th is a week away. Will you be coming out to the pond?” Ike asked Winnie after looking around to see if anyone was listening.

“I’m looking forward to it,” Winnie replied with a grin, “why are you asking?”

“I thought I’d hike back there a day or two before and chop back the weeds with a sling blade. I liked it better when the weeds weren’t crowding in. What’s the special today?” Ike asked setting down the menu.

“Chicken fried steak with mashed taters and sausage gravy.”

* * *

Because it looked like it might rain on the 14th Ike packed in a portable awning and a two man air mattress along with a small cooler of drinks and sandwiches. Winnie appeared a few minutes later wearing sunglasses. When he hugged her, she winced.

“What’s wrong?” Ike asked standing back.

Winnie pulled off her sunglasses showing a black eye and a broken blood vessel in her eye that had turned the white of her eye blood red.”

“Oh my God! Who did this to you?”

“My dumb ass brother,” she said breaking into tears.

“That’s not all,” she pulled off her t-shirt showing bruises and red marks up and down her torso and on her arms.

“What happened?”

“We got in an argument. He ordered me to never see you again. I belonged to him. I told him I would keep seeing you and he would never force me to have sex with him again. That’s when he began punching me.”

She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

“I had to see you today, so I slipped out of the house while my brother was sleeping off last night’s drunk.”

“Honey, this has got to end before he kills you.”

She nodded.

“I know, but for right now, all I want is you to hold me. I need you to stroke my skin and tell me you love me.”

She stepped back and slipped out of her shorts and panties while Ike undressed as well. He spooned in behind her on the air mattress and stroked her hip while afraid to touch her ribs or stomach.

“Don’t you want to keep your clothes on considering what happened to you?” Ike asked.

She shook her head.

“I want you close to me. I trust you. You and I lying together is the exact opposite of how TJ takes me,” she stifled a sob, “this is all I could think about last night. I wanted you so badly,” she whispered, “that’s when I knew I love you. You’re the first man I’ve ever wanted to give myself to, and now I can’t. This is so frustrating.”

“I’ve loved you since the day I met you,” he whispered before kissing her on the cheek.

“How can you love me? I’m little more than a whore to my brother,” she wailed.

Ike kissed her on the neck and stroked her avoiding any bruising.

“You’re not a whore, you’re a good person caught in an ugly situation. You’ve done nothing wrong. You’re the victim.”

“He said I enticed him into wanting me.”

“That’s the biggest lie of all. He was horny and drunk and you were close. That’s all there was to it. You did nothing to entice him.”

A gentle rain began falling. It was enough to cause a damp mist to drift over them.

“I wish I had brought a blanket to cover you.”

She rolled over wincing at the pain.

“I never want to be covered for you. I wanted today to be the first time we made love. I wanted to drink the water from the seep and surrender myself to the man I loved with all my heart. My girlfriends tell me it’s the most wonderful feeling in the world. Now I’m not in shape for anything but sobbing while you hold me.”

Ike kissed her shoulder making sure he didn’t touch any of her bruises.

“We have a life together ahead of us, Winnie, where we can make love as much as we want, and I assure you I’m looking forward to loving you every chance I get. Right now, I’ve got to make sure TJ never touches you again. Do you know where your brother cooks his meth?”

She thought for a long time about the implications of telling him. Ike didn’t push her. It had to be her decision.

“He’ll go to prison for a long time, won’t he?”

Ike nodded.

“He won’t be around to beat you or force you into sex. It’s the only way I can think of protecting you short of killing him myself and going to prison for it.”

“He won’t get away with a wrist slap?”

“A couple of high school kids in town overdosed on his stuff and died. So yeah, he’ll get the maximum. He has no friends around here.”

“He cooks in a small trailer way up Tyson Branch past the houses. It’s hidden under kudzu on a small creek that feeds into the bigger branch,” she said looking deep into his eyes, “but you can’t tell anyone how you know. He’ll kill me if he finds out.”

“I’ll always protect you. You can count on that.”

He kissed her on her neck below her ear.

“I feel so safe and protected with you,” she said after some thought, “around my brother I’m tense and angry all the time. When you touch me, I relax. What sort of spell have you cast on me?”

“There’s no magic, my love,” he kissed her shoulder, “I love you and I only want the best for you.”

“But why do you love me? I’m a mess.”

“I love you because you’re you. I can’t explain it any better than that. I can only describe what you do to me. When I think of you, the world’s a better place. I’m less lonely, and I find beauty everywhere. Your touch makes me shiver, your kiss sends me into a dreamworld where only the two of us exist where my only goal is to show you how much I love you.”

She rolled over to look into his eyes.

“I don’t deserve you, and you sure don’t deserve my brother.”

He kissed her gently. He loved the feel of her pillowed lips and the exquisite sensation of her naked body next to his. Sure it was sexual and yet transcendent at the same time. A sense of completeness filled him.

“You don’t deserve your brother, and it’s time you got away from him.”

“I want you so badly, do you think you can make love to me without hurting me?” Winnie asked.

“I think I can, but you have to tell me the moment it starts hurting.”

He had her lay on her back.

“I’m making love with you from a push-up position. The only part of me that will touch you is my cock.”

He bridged above her with his cock in position at her outer lips. Winnie reached down and whetted his cock with her juices.

“Tell me when you’re ready,” Ike said resisting the urge to push into her.

“Now,” Winnie whispered as he pushed into her eliciting a gasp from her.

“Did I hurt you?” he asked.

“No,” she said pulling his head down so she could kiss him, “this is so weird. You’re in me, but you’re not touching me anywhere else.”

Ike began stroking into her slowly at first ready to stop if Winnie asked him. She didn’t. Instead her head lolled back and forth as she got into Ike’s rhythm. He dropped to his knees and elbows when he realized that he could still remain above her from that position.

Long abstinence and his strange position meant he lost control of his orgasm far sooner that he wanted to. He pushed into her as far as he could without locking his groin against hers and pulsed and pulsed into her.

“Oh, wow, it’s like your cock was jumping around in me. That was the most amazing sensation.”

Ike bent down and kissed her.

“Did you have an orgasm?” he asked.

“I didn’t want or need one,” she replied stroking his face, “an orgasm would have hurt. What I wanted was the closeness. What you did was perfect.

They spent the afternoon in each other’s arms. When she moved, she winced. Ike hated her brother, TJ Napier, more than he had ever hated anyone in his life, and a plan came together.

She fell asleep in his arms. The rain continued to get heavier until it became a thunderstorm. Ike gathered their clothing and stowed it under the canopy, then dropped the canopy close to the ground to keep the rain out and cuddled in to protect Winnie. She started when a peal of thunder echoed down the holler.

“You’re okay,” Ike reassured her kissing her shoulder, “it’s only a thunderstorm. It’ll blow over then only we will remain.”

When the storm had passed, Ike kissed her awake.

“Time for you to wake up and get dressed before you brother comes looking for you.”

She sat up and stretched.

“I had the best nap,” she said with a yawn, “I know I’m safe with you. It isn’t sexy, but it means more to me than you’ll ever know.”

She kissed him.

“You amaze me Ike. I’ve never felt this loved and protected since my father died.”

Ike stopped at his Aunt Sarah’s trailer on the way back home.

“How do you protect someone you love from their own family,” he asked during a lull between them.

“You don’t,” his aunt said after a little reflection.

They were sitting inside. It was stuffy in the trailer, and Ike wanted to turn on the air conditioner, but didn’t because Sarah was wearing long sleeves and a sweater with a blanket thrown over her.

“One man can’t stand up against an entire family,” she continued, “You’ll get yourself killed doing it. In the old days, those sorts of problems led to feuds between families. Nowadays the best you can do is sic the law on them if they’re doing something illegal.”

She turned her head to focus on him.

“Are you still with that Napier girl?”

“I am. Her brother is sexually abusing her.”

“You’re not going to kill him, are you?” she frowned at him, “men get violent notions about how to handle a problem like that.”

“No, but I would like to see him in the prison for a long time. She was pretty beat up when I saw her today. If it continues, he might kill her.”

Sarah gazed into his eyes.

“You’re about to get mixed up with a hard man who runs with a rough crowd. Are you sure this girl is worth it?”

“She is.”

“You be careful,” she reached over and stroked his face, “I’m fond of you.”

Ike took the morning off to speak with his father who was the circuit court judge for three counties. He met with him in his office in Hickory before his day began.

“I need help protecting a girl from domestic abuse by her older brother,” Ike began.

His father studied his face.

“What is your interest in this girl, son?”

“We’re dating, I guess, but it’s complicated.”

Again, his father studied him.

“Are you in love with her?”

“I am,” there was no sense in being anything but truthful.

“If you fall in love with a local girl, you’re pretty much destined to live here in the mountains. Women don’t like to move away from their mothers. Are you okay with that?”

Ike nodded.

“You and I are different, Dad. You grew up out in the bluegrass and only came into these hills after you married Mom. I grew up here. The life’s blood of these mountains pumps through my veins. When I’m at school in Lexington, I’m miserable and count the days until I can get home again. I want to spend my life here.”

His father studied him again.

“You’re a man now. You’ve made up your mind and I’ll honor that. Now who is this girl?”

“Winnie Napier.”

“Is she the beautiful waitress down at the diner?”

Ike nodded.

“I admire your taste, son.”

“Her brother is TJ Napier,” Ike added, “he’s sexually abusing her, and I know where he cooks his meth.”

“TJ Napier,” his father repeated, “you want a no account like that for your brother-in-law?”

“She’s worth it.”

The first thing his father did was call in a state police detective to hear Ike’s story.

“We need to catch him cooking meth to put him away for a long time,” the detective Terrance Iverson said, “do you think you can get your girlfriend to tell you when he cooks?”

“I can, but her brother must never know she turned him in. She’s afraid he’ll kill her.”

“We can keep her out of this. We have a ton of surveillance on TJ, enough that we can convince him and his lawyer we discovered his lab on our own,” the officer assured Ike, “but, you need to keep away from Winnie so no one will suspect the link between you and her, and that’s doubly true after he’s arrested until he’s tried and sentenced. There are men who will be very unhappy their supply of meth has been cut off, and they may come looking for someone to take their frustrations out on.”

Ike nodded.

“I’m back in school next month so that shouldn’t be hard.”

“I’ll give you a burner phone to take to her so she can pass along information when he’s cooking without leaving evidence on her phone.”

Ike gave the phone to Winnie on her break at work the next day, and told her to hide it from her brother.

Nothing happened for weeks. Ike returned to school for his senior year. Two weeks into the term, he got his first text from Winnie that her brother, TJ, was cooking that night which Ike passed along to the state police detective. Nothing happened. In the meantime, Ike fretted about the beatings TJ might be inflicting on Winnie, but there was nothing he could do from seventy miles away.

A week before Halloween, Ike got Winnie’s text her brother was cooking which he passed to the detective. Nothing happened again.

In the meantime, Winnie called Ike nightly sharing her day with him. Ike lived for those moments of closeness. The week after Halloween Winnie video called him while naked. Their calls got graphic about what they wanted to do with each other and occasionally Winnie sent along a picture of her in various stages of undress which Ike appreciated. It all culminated with a mutual masturbation session via video on the phone. Winnie never said a word about what TJ may be doing to her.

“I want you here with me so badly,” Winnie gasped as she pulled on her nipples far harder than Ike thought could be comfortable, “my arms ache to hold you.”

“I need you here sitting on my lap,” Ike replied in a strained voice as he stroked himself.

They came at the same time. It was a poor replacement for holding her in his arms, but it was better than whacking off in the dark.

“I got so caught up in what was happening to me that I missed your orgasm face,” Winnie said between gasps, “I want to see what you look line in the throes of passion.”

“I missed yours too,” Ike chuckled, “I guess we’ll have to do this again sometime.”

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Winnie grinned into the phone.

“Of course I would. You fascinate me. You’re sweet, you’re loving and there’s nothing I would like better than being around you forever. I’ve read up on how women cope with the situation you’re in. Some get angry with men in general, others avoid sex with anyone, some develop split personalities to cope with the emotional torture they’re enduring. You’ve risen above all of that. Have you any idea how strong a woman has to be to do that? I’m not sure I’m worthy of you.”

“Loving a man who only wants the best for me really helps,” she replied with a smile.

The weeks moved along. Friends dragged him along to parties where Ike met women, but none of them excited him like Winnie did.

The Sunday evening before Thanksgiving Winnie reported her brother was cooking that night. Ike passed the intelligence along and forgot about it until he caught the news on TV at the coffee shop the following morning. The banner at the bottom of the screen read: The largest meth lab in Eastern Kentucky raided by KSP. The video showed TJ Napier looking very unhappy in handcuffs being led to jail where he was held without bond.

Winnie called that evening.

“I feel so guilty; I sent my brother to jail.”

“You did nothing wrong. TJ is in jail because he broke the law,” Ike persuaded.

Winnie’s silence confirmed she wasn’t sure.

“I went up the branch yesterday and collected the water from the seep and used it to mix up a drink for him. Then I told him to cook meth. So I kind of entrapped him.”

“No you didn’t. Remember when we drank the water and you told me to make love to you, and I refused? That water only makes you do what you want to do anyway. He cooked meth because he wanted to.”

“Can we start acting like boyfriend and girlfriend now he’s in jail?” she asked.

“Not until after the trial is over. TJ’s sister cannot be dating the son of a judge who might be trying TJ’s case. Even a bad lawyer would have a field day in court with that.”

“This is never going to end,” she sighed, “is it?”

“Keep the faith, my love. We have to wait a bit longer.”

Ike did see her again at the restaurant at Thanksgiving break, again at Christmas and Easter breaks. They grabbed a few moments together behind the restaurant. It was hardly romantic, but it was better than nothing.

“I miss you so much when you’re away at school,” Winnie whispered as she pulled him hard against her body, “I want to show you off to my girlfriends, I want to hug you whenever I want to, and I want to kiss you goodnight every night before I fall asleep in your arms.”

She shivered against him in the chill spring wind behind the restaurant.

He ached to see her more.

“I know it’s hard, but we’ve got to wait a little more. Summer is coming, and I’ll be home to stay. We’ve made it this far.”

He kissed her then stood back. If anyone saw them and began spreading rumors, there would be hell to pay.

Meanwhile TJ’s trial crept along at a glacial pace through the courts. Somebody somewhere hired TJ a decent lawyer who filed motion after motion delaying the trial. TJ faced a judge in the middle of April. The trial proceeded along as expected until the second day when TJ admitted on the stand he had cooked the meth that had killed the two local teens. Somehow TJ’s lawyer managed to get a mistrial declared.

“Did you give TJ any water before the second day of the trial?” Ike asked Winnie over the phone.

A long pause followed.

“I may have handed a bottle of water to TJ before the trial began,” Winnie said in a small voice.

“Don’t breathe a word about this to anyone,” Ike replied, “the important thing is TJ admitted under oath he cooked meth. It doesn’t matter whether a mistrial was declared or not. People will remember that.”

TJ was tried again in late June in a courtroom three hours away in Elizabethtown. After a week of testimony by the State Police, and several of TJ’s accomplices testifying to get a lighter sentence, the lawyer tried to claim one more mistrial which was denied and the jury found TJ guilty. The judge scheduled sentencing on July 12.

Ike awaited the result of the trial alone from afar. He had graduated and was supervising blasting away a hillside in Jackson County for the Kentucky Department of Highways. The highway department had hired him on as a field engineer. The defense lawyer put up Winnie and her mother in a hotel in Elizabethtown so they could be in the court because the lawyer wanted the jury to see TJ was loved and needed. The ruse hadn’t worked, but the lawyer had them back for the sentencing.

The day before of TJ’s conviction, Winnie called Ike.

“Will this ever end? Mom is worn out, I’m worn out and this trial keeps dragging out longer and longer.”

“It ends on July 12th. I talked with my dad and he says TJ is going to prison this time.” Ike paused, “do you think you’ll be able to make it home by the 14th?”

“I’m going to try, God willing and the creek don’t rise.”

* * *

The morning of the 14th dawned clear and warm. After breakfast, Ike packed the pop up awning, the inflatable two man air mattress, food, and drink onto his A frame back pack. The court had sentenced TJ to fifteen years with the possibility of parole in seven. The 13th should have been a travel day for Winnie and her mom so today Winnie should be free.

He hiked up the creek past Aunt Sarah’s trailer.

“Lord have mercy, where are you going loaded down like a pack mule?” Aunt Sarah asked from her porch rocker.

“I’m going to see Winnie,” Ike said with a grin.

He dropped his pack and walked up on the porch.

“You look like you’re moving in with her,” she replied pointing at his pack.

“No ma’am, I am going to spend the day with her at that pond I told you about.”

“You’ve been sniffing around her long enough. Ain’t it about time you either told her you love her or moved on?”

“I’m going to give her this today.”

He pulled a small gift case out of the pocket of his cargo shorts and snapped it open revealing an engagement ring.

“Now that’s one wedding I hope to get invited to,” she chuckled.

“You know you will, Aunt Sarah It wouldn’t be a proper wedding without you there.”

“The first chance you get, bring her around. I want to meet the woman who captured my favorite nephew’s heart. I can’t do much else besides give you two my blessing that you live as long and as happily together as my Edgar and I did.”

She pulled him down and kissed him on the cheek.

“Now scat. You got more important things to do than sit around and listen to old people ramble on.”

Ike made slow progress over the ridge and down to the creek under the bulky load. Along the way he patted the pocket of his cargo shorts several times to assure himself he still had the ring. The magic of the wild holler enchanted him once more. Rampant life thrived everywhere.

Every other holler in the area had been stripped of coal and lumber while this holler remained pristine. If he ever inherited this land, he vowed it would remain beautiful in his care. It was like this land rose up to enclose and protect them. It was precious and meaningful to him and Winnie.

He arrived as the sun cleared the hill and evaporated the dew off the grass and trees along the creek. He spent the next half hour setting up. After filling his canteen with water from the seep, he lounged in the shade of a persimmon tree. He worried Winnie had given up. In their last few conversations by phone she had voiced her frustration at the pace of the court proceedings.

He heard her before he saw her. She emerged from the brush wearing only her flip-flops. Her hair glowing a rich red-gold in the hot morning sun. A head to toe even tan covered her beyond perfect body.

“Where are your clothes?” Ike asked through a grin after a long hug and an even longer kiss. Her naked back and bottom feeling like heaven in his hands.

“I left them back up the path. I wanted to make an entrance and I thought you might enjoy seeing me dressed in my favorite summer outfit.”

She took a step back and did a pirouette and a curtsy with her pretend skirt.

“You like?”

Her beauty captivated him. The grace of her simplest movement enthralled him. This beautiful woman had managed to rise above her hard scrabble life. Her drive and perseverance amazed him.

“I love that beautiful body, but I love the woman inside even more,” Ike murmured pulling her back into his arms, “how did you get that gorgeous all over tan?”

“Even when I couldn’t have you, I had this magical spot to myself. I enjoy being naked outdoors. I’ll enjoy it even more now we’re together.”

After another long kiss where Winnie melted into his arms, she stepped back and began pulling up his shirt.

“You’re over-dressed for what I want to do with you.”

Ike offered her the canteen.

“I don’t need that. I need you.”

Once he was naked, she dragged him to the water.

“First, we cool off, then we make up for three long, lonely years.”

When the water was deep enough, she wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist as he slipped his hands beneath her bottom.

“I love our closeness,” she whispered into his ear, “if we stayed this way forever, I’d be happy. I love this pond and I love you.”

“And to think, it only took us three years and four visits to get it right,” Ike whispered back, “I love the silky feel of your skin against mine. For a while I feared I’d never enjoy your exquisite touch again.”

Although desire was in charge now Ike loved the closeness and the completeness as he held her in his arms. It seemed like they had both been half people until they held each other. That sensation on its own would have been overwhelming. Coupled with desire, he knew his life was reforming around Winnie. Forever after his life would center around her. He fought down a brief moment of panic. Yes he was transitioning into a different person where he thought in terms of ‘us’ rather than ‘me’, but Winnie was worth any freedom he may have to give up.

“That first time we met I couldn’t see a way out of my awful life. I was thinking about ending it all when you marched into my life and you were perfect. You made me laugh, you cared about me and my feelings and were the perfect gentleman. I never met anyone like you. You made it fun to be with you, and it was like I was drowning and you threw me a rope. Then we drank the water which made me see sex could be fun with the right person. I went home happy I had met you yet sad that I would never see you again.”

“So you didn’t fall in love with me because of my magnificent body,” Ike said with a grin.

“Stop joking, I’m serious,” she gave him a playful slap on his shoulder, “when you walked into my restaurant, I thought you’d blab our moments together all over town, but you didn’t. Again you were the perfect gentleman, and I liked you more. When you went back to school, we started texting and that’s when my brother discovered I was interested in another man by going through my phone. He threatened to beat the hell out of you if I didn’t break it off. I didn’t want to stop messaging you. You were the one shining spot in my awful life.”

“Is that why you stopped messaging me?”

“I had to,” she said with a frown, “I couldn’t see you beat up because all you did was like me. It’s also the reason why I told you about my pretend boyfriend that following summer, but you didn’t go away like other boyfriends had. Instead, it was my brother who went to Texas for a couple of weeks in July, and that was why I could see you on National Nude Day. That’s when I fell in love with you.”

“What did I do that was so endearing?” Ike asked mystified.

“The first thing you did was refuse to have sex with me even under the influence of the water because you didn’t want my body only, you wanted all of me. My mind was in a weird place, my body wanted sex with you so badly, but my mind had decided I wouldn’t enjoy it because you were a man, and men were nothing but trouble. I kind of hated you because you were a man, and I hated myself too because I wanted you despite my feelings about men. When you refused me I wanted you more. The second thing you did was show self-restraint even though you were horny as hell by your own admission. That’s when I knew I was safe with you and you’d never do anything to me I didn’t want done.”

She looked into his eyes as if she was searching for something.

“I gave you oral because you deserved it for being so nice and gentle with me, and because I was in control, but then you surprised me by giving me oral, too.”

She wiggled around in his arms until the head of his dick was poised at the entrance of her pussy.

“Wow, that thrills me,” she whispered into his ear, “let’s stay like this for a moment.”

“After that,” she resumed her story, “I needed you in my life so I entered your number in my phone under the name Emily Dickinson. I never realized how stupid my brother is until then. He never caught on even though he checked my phone often.”

“I like this too, but I’m going to like what happens later even more,” Ike hinted.

“Finally, the third thing you did that day was give me my first mind blowing orgasm, and even then, you didn’t try to go any further even though I would have let you.”

She dropped her legs and grabbed his hand pulling him gently toward shore.

“After that I was yours,” she touched the hummingbird pendant resting in her cleavage, “then you gave me this. No man had ever given me a piece of jewelry and it meant everything to me even though I had to lie to my brother about buying it for myself.”

She lay down on the rock in the sun to dry off and Ike lay beside her stroking her body from time to time. The flatness of her tummy and the way it flowed into the valley between her hip bones fascinated him. His hand found her clitoris and he stroked it lightly eliciting small moans from her.

“Why did you agree to let me take you on a date after your art exhibition?” he asked before he kissed her.

“Your love and affection made me strong enough to stand up to TJ. He slapped me around after our date but, I didn’t care. I would continue to see you no matter what. He gave up on beating you when he found out you knew how to take care of yourself and were a decent shot with a gun. That’s when I realized my brother was a coward and a bully. After that, I knew he wasn’t a man at all, he was a pathetic little monster with a tiny dick.”

“Then why did he beat you up on the day before National Nude Day last year?”

“It was his last desperate attempt to get me to submit to him. He had used so much speed by then all his teeth had rotted out and he was so skinny that no woman would have him. He got drunk and wanted sex, when I refused he beat me. That’s when you took care of me. You know the rest. Now I really, really need to make love to you.”

She walked over to the air mattress and laid upon it patting the space next to her while looking up at him with sultry eyes.

“I need to get something first,” Ike said getting up to run his hand into the pocket of his discarded shorts.

“If you’re looking for condoms, I’ve been on the pill for years,” Winnie said anticipating what he was looking for.

“Actually, I wanted to give you this,”

He handed a small blue box covered in velvet to her.

“Winnie, an engineer starting out doesn’t make much, but I’ve got a decent career ahead of me. Will you marry me?”

She looked up at him stunned. Then big tears welled in her eyes as she slid the ring on her finger.

“All I want to do is marry you,” she said brushing away tears to look at the diamond on her hand glittering in the sun, “it’s beautiful, but now make love to me before I burst from three years of yearning for you.”

She lay on her back with her legs spread and Ike slipped between those smooth firm thighs. When he got near enough, she grabbed his cock and whetted it on the moisture of her slit. After Ike kissed her, she whispered in his ear.

“Be gentle, my love.”

Ike slid into her slowly. He had had sex with a couple of women before, but this was so different. While they had willingly let him into their bodies he got no sense of the passion outflowing from Winnie. She didn’t want to hold him close, she wanted to merge body and soul with him. She didn’t want sex; she wanted to explore the depths of sensuality with him. Together they opened a new world of intimacy only they could explore.

“Fill me,” she moaned while using her feet on his ass to push him in.

She raked his back with her fingernails.

“Stop right there for a moment. You’re thicker than my brother and you’re stretching me in some very pleasant ways.”

After a moment, they fit together perfectly. She adapted to him and he to her. Forevermore wherever she was would be his home. The closeness, the passion, the softness of her body threatened to overwhelm him. A sense of completeness came to mind. They were meant to be joined this way forever. He never knew love could be like this. He never wanted to be without love again.

He lowered himself onto her to kiss her.

“Take your time,” he whispered, “I’m enjoying this moment with you.”

Her smallest movements sent ripples of pleasure through his body. Winnie moaned and gave him a full body hug with her arms and legs locked around him.

“You’re mine. Okay, start stroking in and out real slow,” Winnie whispered before kissing him, “yeah, like that, lover. I want this to last, but I don’t think I can. You feel too good.”

Ike began pushing in and out of her maximizing sensation. Winnie dug her fingernails into his back, yelped and held onto him as she thrashed beneath him. Then she lay limp catching her breath. A sheen of light sweat covering her body made her glow in the sunlight. Ike waited inside her until she slid her arms around his neck.

“I need more of you Ike Armstrong,” she whispered into his ear, “I was so ready for you I came after a couple of strokes.”

“I’m not far behind, darling,” Ike assured her in a whisper followed by a kiss.

He began sliding in and out of her once more amazed at her rapid climb back to her orgasmic state. Soon she was thrusting her hips up to meet his down stroke. Her second orgasm began with a gasp. This time Ike slowed but kept pumping into her. After that, one orgasm merged into the next until he lost count of how many times she came.

When Ike could not resist the growing pressure of his own groin anymore, he stiffened and pumped and pumped until he felt hollow inside.

“Oh, you’re pulsing inside me,” she moaned holding him tight.

Then she screamed and her hip muscles pulsed around his cock. When she was done, he remained atop her resting on his elbows and knees to keep his weight off her.

“O-o-o-h, I can feel you shrinking inside of me,” she whispered, “I love being this close to you. I want to know everything about you, what makes you happy, what makes you sad.”

“I love being this close to you,” Ike said between gasps, “and you know what makes me happy.”

“Sex?”

“You silly, you make me happy though I won’t deny sex with you is fun.”

Ike noted a bit of a frown on her face.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“When we were making love, I was so full and close to you,” she said looking into his eyes, “now I feel empty.”

Ike smiled and kissed her. In that moment he realized that Winnie would be the vessel that he would put all his love in, and the vessel that his children would come from. Yet she was so much more than that. She would make a home for them, fill it with her beauty, and make his lonely life a thing of the past. All she asked is that he love her.

“I feel empty, too,” he said kissing her, “I love the feel of our skin on skin and the incredible pillowy fullness of your lips. You look even more beautiful when we make love.”

She clambered over on top of him straddling his thighs, and began stroking his cock which responded.

“It’s growing in my hand,” she said squeezing it and running her hand up and down it, “that is amazing.”

When Ike was rigid enough, she centered Ike’s cock beneath her and settled onto it.

“I feel much better,” she said with a satisfied smile, “this is where I belong even though I know I’m going to be sore tomorrow.”

Ike bridged up.

“Don’t do that, sweetie. Be still for a while. I want to enjoy the feel of you inside me.”

Ike reached up and stroked her breasts.

“M-m-m-m, that feels so good,” she said putting her hands over his and pressing his hands into her chest, “stroke my breasts like this.”

After that, Ike’s hands dropped lower and began stroking her clit. She wiggled under the stimulation.

She let out a gasp, then her internal muscles clamped down on him and pulsed around him. She collapsed into his arms laying atop him.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into me. I’m behaving like a slut.”

Ike shook his head.

“No, you’re behaving like a woman in love. A slut wouldn’t be as concerned about her partner as you are. I love everything about you, Winnie. Relax and be yourself. That’s the way I love you.”

He rolled over so she was on the bottom and began pumping into her again, but this time his strokes were much more forceful.

“That feels so good,” she murmured as she slid her arms around his neck, “yeah, keep doing that.”

When she went stiff, Ike continued pumping into her letting her experience a nearly continuous orgasm until Winnie gasped, “Please, stop.”

Ike was right on the edge so he bridged above her so all that was touching her was his cock within her as he pumped and pumped.

“Oh, wow!” Winnie moaned, “your cock went wild within me just like last year. That is the most amazing sensation. I had an instant orgasm.”

Winnie slipped her arms around his chest and pulled him down on top of her.

“I don’t want to crush you,” Ike said resisting her.

“The good Lord built a woman to be able to withstand the weight of her man. Now get down here where I can feel your amazing body against mine.”

Ike settled in keeping most of his weight on his knees and elbows.

Winnie looked at the ring on her left hand and kissed him.

“It’s like all my dreams have come true,” she sighed, “I had given up. I was beginning to wonder how long it would be before you gave up and abandoned me.”

Ike rolled off her then lay on his shoulder so he could stroke her.

“Winnie Napier, I will never give up on you.”

“My therapist said you would wait for me. She said if you were half as good as I described you, then you would move heaven and Earth to be with me.”

“You have a therapist?”

She rolled over and nodded.

“The state police got me one. They said if I got called to the stand during the trial, they wanted me strong and clear headed. My therapist set me straight on a lot of things. She got me to see the huge difference between forced sex and making love. I’ve had terrible sex more times than I want to think about, but this is the first time in my life I’ve made love, and in a very real sense, I come to you as a virgin.”

“I agree, and I’m a virgin for the same reason. This is so different from anything I’ve done before that I feel as new to love making as you do,” he grinned at her, “we need to practice more until we get it right.”

“Slow down, tiger,” she replied with a smile, “I need a little recovery time. You’re kind of big.”

Ike stood and pulled her up into a standing position.

“Let’s cool off in the water.”

He sat down in the shallows and pulled her into his lap. While she stroked his face, he held her close enjoying the contrast between her warm skin and the cool water.

“I love this place,” Winnie said looking into Ike’s eyes, “when you’re here with me, it’s a place of excitement and having my deepest desires fulfilled. When I was here alone, it was my safe haven and a place of quiet contemplation where I could be who I truly am. I spent a lot of time here thinking about us, let’s come back here even after we’re married.”

“I could build a cabin up here if you want one,” Ike offered.

She shook her head.

“I like it the way it is. This is where I fell in love with the most wonderful man in the world.”

“So what do we do after this?” Ike asked.

“We get dressed and hike down to my Mom’s house where I introduce you to her and tell her we’re engaged.”

“Won’t she know what we’ve been doing up here?”

“Mom already knows about you, and she knows what you’ve done for me,” she said nodding, “she’ll be happy that we’re engaged at last. But first, I would like a swig of water from the seep.”

He got up and waded out of the water, grabbed the canteen and handed it to her.

“I collected the water from the seep a few minutes before you came.”

After a good long drink, she handed it back to him and leered.

“Drink, lover.” she commanded.

He took a several gulps and leered right back at her. Then she giggled.

* * *

They married the following spring. Sadly, Aunt Sarah didn’t live long enough to go to the wedding. Ike’s father discovered her in her trailer on a cold January morning sitting in her rocking chair with a picture of her long dead husband sitting in her lap. Ike and Winnie named their first child Sarah in her honor.

Winnie got her degree in Graphic Design and freelanced from home. Ike worked up through management in the Department of Transportation. TJ made a career out of prison. He got out for a while, was caught making drugs again and is in for a much longer time.

Winnie and Ike wondered if there was something magical about the water from the seep or maybe they had used it an excuse for the magnetic attraction between them. Ike, being a rational, data driven engineer choose the latter, but then spring would come when the dogwood and the redbud cloaked the misty hillsides in white and red blossoms. At that the time of year he would hike up Trouble Branch and visit the pond. Then he would know the magic of this branch. It was as ancient as these hills and it was available to anyone willing to stand and listen and wonder. When as young lovers they needed help the most, the branch cast its protective magic over them.

It’s his branch now. His papaw deeded it to Ike when he died. While other hollers have been stripped for coal or denuded for timber, the waters of Trouble Branch flow clear and clean. It would stay that way as long as Ike lived. Men had pulled everything they could out of these hills for centuries and given nothing in return. He would let this one branch be what it was supposed to be.

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The highway department offered to transfer Ike and promote him many times to offices around the state, but he turned them down. He couldn’t imagine how boring it must be to build and maintain roads across flat land. He was born in these hills and this is where he was happiest. It was like the mountains reached up to embrace him. He needed to live in that embrace.

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