The Girl Across The Street

"Well," I said, "at least take these flowers."

I handed Danielle the bouquet. She looked at it for a moment before saying, "You wouldn't believe how long it has been since anyone gave me flowers. They're beautiful. That's sweet. Thank you." Danielle gave me a quick kiss on my lips and took my hand. "Let's go to the kitchen so I can put these in water. We can go out to the pool from there."

As Danielle led me down the central hallway, I glanced into a room on my right that had a French door leading to the pool. Yup, there were a bunch of naked people around the pool.

In the kitchen, Danielle put the bouquet and some water in a vase. Setting the vase on the counter, she looked in my eyes. "I wore this tonight because I think it is sexy to undress with someone you like," she said. She turned her back to me and, over her shoulder, asked, "Would you unhook the hasp and take down my zipper?"

I did as she asked, revealing a nicely muscled bare back. Danielle pulled the top of the dress forward down her arms, bunching it at her waist. She turned back around to face me. Her gorgeous face and firm, tanned breasts competed for my attention. Her face won. Danielle put her hands on her hips and pushed the dress down to her feet. She had nothing else on and looked even more beautiful than she had when I met her on Wednesday. Stepping out of the dress, Danielle asked "Still like what you see?"

"More than ever," I replied.

Danielle smiled as she unbuckled my belt and unhooked my trousers. "Raise your arms," she instructed. As I did, she pulled my polo shirt up over my head and tossed it on a counter. She pulled down my zipper, hooked her fingers into the waistband of my boxers, and pushed my trousers and boxers down together. I slipped off my sandals and stepped out of my clothes. Danielle bent down, picked up my clothes and her dress, and put them on the counter with my shirt. She looked me up and down. "Yeah," she said with a smile, 'you get better the more I see you." She took my hand and said, "Let's go deal with my parents' friends."

Stepping outside naked to meet ten strangers was both scary and exciting. Once we were out in full view, I felt an odd sense of release. Here I am with my dick and my ass on display. There is nothing I can do about it. The party was, except for Danielle and me, made up of people who appeared to be in their late thirties to late forties. Carol and Bruce Webb were indisputably in the best physical condition of the group. Apart from them, I saw some droopy tits, saddlebags, beer guts, and shrinking dicks. Danielle walking nude into the middle of this group caused a small sensation. Everyone stared at her very openly. Danielle seemed to enjoy it. I was happy that Carol introduced me around as Danielle's boyfriend and Danielle didn't correct her.

No one was in the pool. Instead, everyone was standing around, drink in hand, talking. I had expected a group of complete strangers. However, one woman, who looked to be about Carol's age and was probably in the best shape of any woman there other than Danielle and Carol, looked vaguely familiar. The woman looked at me, obviously having the same reaction. Finally, she came up to me. "Aren't you with risk management at Heartland Bank?" she asked.

I didn't have time to think of a convincing lie, so I told the truth and admitted that I was. "I thought I recognized you," the woman said. "Elaine Marston, commercial loans, Indianapolis." Ms. Marston was starting to talk Bank gossip when Danielle swooped in, grabbed my hand, and said "let's swim." She led me to the side of the pool and gracefully dove in. I followed her. When I broke the surface next to Danielle on the far side of the pool, she grinned and said, "it looked like you needed rescuing."

"Thanks," I replied. "I am a little concerned because that woman works for my Bank in Indy."

"Relax," Danielle said, "she can't tell anyone about seeing you here without admitting that she was here, buck naked, too." Danielle had a good point.

Danielle and I were, by far, the youngest people at the party. We did not have a great deal in common with the other guests. Rather than trying to feign interest in boring monologues by increasingly intoxicated people, we stayed in the pool. You might think that Danielle's and my hands wandered a bit under the water. You might be right.

We got out of the pool to help Carol and Bruce serve dinner. Dinner was just burgers and sausage which Bruce cooked on his elaborate outdoor grill. I think most of the guests were more interested in their drinks than in the food, but Bruce did a good job.

After we had eaten, Danielle said, "Let's go over to your place." I agreed immediately. I followed as Danielle brushed by her mother while saying, "we're going over to Will's. Have fun." In the kitchen, Danielle said, "Grab your clothes but you don't need to put them on. We're only going across Poplar Creek." Danielle did not pick up any clothes. I had never driven nude, but I did that night: down Poplar Run, across Poplar Creek, and up my driveway.

I opened my back door for Danielle and turned on some lights. She looked around while I dropped my clothes in my home office. I caught up with Danielle in the living room. The thought crossed my mind upon seeing Danielle standing nude in my living room that she fit there perfectly.

"I really love the inside of your house," she said. "I would never have expected this from the outside."

"I know," I said. "I need to find time to work on the exterior."

Danielle looked at me sweetly. Lovingly? "It's fine Will, it really is," she said. "Let's go outside." I opened the front door and we went out on the front porch. Danielle took a deep breath. "I love the smell of the plants," she said. "I also love how we can't see anyone, and no one can see us."

Danielle turned to face me. "You are doing very well in your audition," she said, "but there's one more scene I want to try you in."

"What's that?" I asked.

"This," Danielle said as she put both hands behind my head and gently pulled my face to hers. We kissed on the lips. Our lips opened and our tongues found each other. I put my arms around Danielle's back and pulled her to me. Danielle lowered her hands from my head to my back and hugged me tightly. Damn, her nude body felt special pressed against mine.

I broke the kiss and lowered my face to one of Danielle's erect nipples. I circled my tongue around it before taking it in my mouth and sucking. Danielle stopped hugging me. She reached between us with her right hand and began running her index finger lightly around my dickhead. That felt extraordinary. With my right hand, I began stroking Danielle's mound. She spread her legs a little and I put my hand between her thighs. She was already damp. I began fingering her.

We played with each other for several minutes before Danielle took a step back. I had cut the front yard that morning. "You know," Danielle said, "I've never gotten laid on a freshly cut lawn . . . until now." She led me off the porch onto the grass. An urgent thought crossed my mind and I turned to go back into the house. Danielle tightened her grip on me. "Where are you going?" she asked.

"I think I have rubbers somewhere in the house," I replied.

Danielle grabbed my other arm and turned me to face her. "Trust, Will," she said. "We have to trust each other completely and implicitly." I couldn't argue with that.

Danielle held my hand as she lay on the grass on her back. She gently pulled me down on top of her. I was concerned by her sharp intake of breath as I slid into her. "You alright?" I asked.

"Fine, excellent," Danielle replied. "It has just been a long time since I've done this." It had been a while for me too.

While Danielle was not big, she was strong, especially in her thighs, hips, abdomen, and pelvis. Although I was on top, I think it is fair to say that Danielle took control. She engulfed me. It did not feel like we were two separate people. Danielle was also excellent at communicating, whispering for me to shift position slightly or to push harder on a certain spot. I know no words that begin to describe the sensations I was experiencing.

I had raised my head and shoulders up so I could see Danielle's full face. I've always believed that a woman looks most beautiful just before and during her orgasm. Danielle was lying flat, smiling at me. She put her arms around my shoulders and pulled her head and upper body off the ground towards me. "Oh, shit Will," she said, "It is coming. I haven't had one of these in a couple of years!" I was glad to hear that because I wasn't sure how much longer I could hold back.

Danielle's grip on me tightened and she pulled me down as her shoulders fell back to the ground. She kissed me fiercely, biting my lip. Her pelvis was pushing into me as hard as I was pushing into her. Suddenly, she stopped kissing me. She rolled her head back and arched her neck. "Oh . . . my . . . God," she said and then took several very sharp breaths. I felt her shudder. Danielle wrapped her legs around me and said "Come . . . Will . . . in . . . me!" I did.

We lay there, me on top of Danielle, kissing for quite a while we had come. Danielle and I were staring into each other's eyes. I had not known this woman long, but we agreed that night, without a word being spoken, that we would be together as friends, lovers, supporters, and partners for a very long time. I've never felt as happy and confident as I felt that night lying in the grass between Danielle Webb's legs.

We finally got up, went inside, and shared the shower. Being on her back on the ground, Danielle had gotten the lion's share of dirt and grass clippings. I washed her off and was, again, astounded at how physically beautiful Danielle was (and still is). After we dried off, we went into my kitchen. I opened a bottle of wine and poured each of us a glass. I started to say something, but Danielle cut me off. "Will, it's already been said." She was right.

We spent the night in my bed. When we woke up Sunday morning, Danielle felt my "morning wood" with her hand and said, "I can't let that go to waste." She pushed me onto my back, straddled me, and lowered herself onto me. Making love that morning might have been better than the night before. Danielle and I both felt more confident with each other. We had a better understanding of how to please each other. Danielle had another shuddering orgasm and I shot another load of semen inside her.

After Danielle rolled off me, she giggled. "Will, that's twice in about twelve hours you've come inside me. Don't worry, I am taking birth control, but, what if I'm lying about that? What would you do if I come back in three months and tell you I'm pregnant? Would that make you angry?"

"No," I said. "I'd be happy and proud to have a child with you."

"Good answer," Danielle replied and playfully punched my shoulder. I surprised myself with the realization that it was also a truthful answer.

We finally, reluctantly, got out of bed. I went to the kitchen and tried to fix Danielle breakfast. Danielle watched with, I think, some amusement. As I made a larger mess, I asked, "What do the folks at your parents' party last night do about going home? Some were drinking a lot. That woman from the Bank, Elaine Marston, is from Indy. They didn't all drive home, did they?"

"Oh no," Danielle answered. "Mom and Dad have some mattresses and sheets they put on the floor back in Mom's studio. Everyone crashes back there and sleeps it off. I think it makes them all feel like they're back in college or something."

I finally put a ham and cheese omelet on a plate in front of Danielle. She put a forkful in her mouth, chewed tentatively, then swallowed. "That was a lot better than I expected," she said. "You keep surprising me Will Lewis."

About 11:30, we decided that we had better go back to the Webbs' house and help clean up. It was a nice day and we wanted to walk, until we realized that Danielle had not brought any clothes with her the night before. I dug out one of my old swim team tee shirts. When Danielle put it on, it just covered her ass and mound. Good enough. As we were walking up Poplar Run, a gust of wind blew the hem of the shirt up to Danielle's waist for a moment. She certainly had a beautiful lower body. Danielle looked around grinning. No one else was around. "Darn," she said, "I was hoping someone saw that."

"I saw it, I said, "it was beautiful."

"You see it all the time," Danielle teased. "I meant a stranger. Oh well. It was still fun."

Carol and Bruce were in the kitchen drinking coffee when we got there. "You're just in time to help clean up," Bruce said.

"That was the idea," Danielle replied. "Good party?"

"Just old friends getting together, getting naked, and getting drunk," Bruce said. "We've done it for years. I'm not sure if we keep doing it because it's fun or because it's a habit."

Carol asked, "How was the sex dear?"

"Outstanding," Danielle replied, looking at me with a smile.

"Will, did Danielle live up to your expectations?" Carol asked me.

"Dear, you can't ask a guy a question like that," Bruce said.

Smiling at Danielle, I said, "Mrs. Webb, I'm not aware of anything your daughter does that she does not do exquisitely."

"Good answer Will," Carol said. "Indoors or out?"

"Both," Danielle replied.

"Bareback?" Carol asked.

"Mom!" Danielle exclaimed.

Bruce said, "Let's go clean up before your mother asks for every detail of what the two of you did with each other."

However drunk Bruce and Carol's friend got, they were not messy. Cleaning up was mainly gathering cups and empty bottles for recycling. It took less than an hour. Once we finished, Bruce asked me into his home office.

Bruce shut the door. "Will," he said, "this is not the 'stay away from my daughter' or 'make an honest woman of her' speech. To the contrary, Carol and I could not be happier that Danielle has found someone to give her sexual pleasure. However, after 22 years, I know my daughter. I'm not saying Danielle wouldn't date a guy just for sex. But, I'm sure that, even though she hasn't known you very long, she is attracted to you for reasons beyond sex. She is, by the way, very attracted to you. I just wanted you to know that, if I'm reading her right and I think I am, she wants a long-term relationship with you."

"Mr. Webb," I said, "I've known Danielle long enough to realize that she is an extraordinary person, unlike anyone I've met before. If Danielle is strongly attracted to me, I'm thrilled. I know I shouldn't be saying this, or probably even thinking it, having only known her a few days, but I'm pretty sure I love Danielle. If anyone ends the relationship, it will be her, not me."

"She won't," Bruce replied. "Danielle is one of those people who gets something she wants and, once she has it, convinces herself even more strongly that it is the best thing possible and nothing else could ever be better. Danielle has never gotten something she wanted then gotten bored with it and wanted something different. I guess that is the warning I'm trying to give. If you and Danielle become a couple, you will never be able to get rid of her."

"I think we're already a couple," I said, "and I think anyone would have to be mentally ill to ever want to get rid of Danielle Webb."

Bruce Webb looked at me for a couple of minutes, saying nothing. Finally, he said. "I think I'm a good judge of character. I probably give myself too much credit, but I believe you. Carol thinks you're wonderful. You have her and my full support."

Bruce opened his door, then stopped. "By the way," he said, "I'm glad you call her by her full name. Her female friends all call her "Dani" and that drives me nuts."

"To me," I replied, "'Dani' sounds like the male name 'Danny.' There is nothing about Danielle that is remotely male."

The Tuesday after Labor Day was my second work anniversary at Heartland Bank. I did not see that as any kind of occasion and was surprised to be summoned to the top floor office of Elizabeth Rand, Senior Vice President/Risk Management. Liz Rand was my big boss. It was a measure of her influence in the Bank that there was only one office between hers and the suite occupied by our CEO Geoffrey Cardon. People in the commercial lending groups called Liz the "RMB" for "risk management bitch." That was because Liz had vetoed a lot of deals that would have earned the commercial lending groups millions in fees and raises and bonuses for the people in those groups. Liz had also saved the Bank billions in losses. Those of us in risk management thought Liz walked on water.

When I was escorted into Liz Rand's inner office that morning, there was another woman sitting with her. Liz was about 52 and looked like, well, like a senior bank executive. I had seen the other woman around the Bank but did not know who she was. I guessed the other woman was, maybe, twelve years older than me. She was thin, had long straight dark blonde hair, and a cute face.

When I walked in, Liz Rand said, "Will, I'd like you to meet Trish Weld. Trish leads our Integrity Unit." People no longer shook hands, so we didn't. At Liz's gesture, I sat down.

Ms. Weld said, "Mr. Lewis, I've read your personnel file. You were a swimmer?" I nodded. "I was a diver at Indiana, albeit a few years ahead of you." I kept quiet.

Weld continued. "We are the Bank's internal investigators. Almost everyone at Heartland is honest and hardworking. But, when you have as many people as we do, spread over 150 offices in nine states, there are going to be some who give in to temptation to steal from the Bank or our customers or both. Our job is to try to prevent that and, when it happens, to catch it. I've looked at some of your risk assessments. You've been doing investigations too, into the borrowers, their industries, and, sometimes, the motivations of our loan officers. You do good work."

Liz Rand broke in. "An experienced investigator from Trish's unit just left the Bank for a private security firm. I want to assign you to that position. There will be a learning curve. There may be some travel. At times, you will have to go interview people. However, most of what you will do will be online, reviewing account records and employee e-mail, things like that, looking for hints that someone isn't playing by the rules. You will still work primarily from home. Are you ok with that?"

My reply was something you could only say to Liz Rand among the senior executives. I smiled and asked, "Do I have any choice?"

Liz smiled back and said, "no."

I followed Trish Weld out of Liz Rand's office. It was impossible to tell, given the conservative clothes everyone wore in the office, but I thought Weld might have a nice figure. In the hall, Weld said, "To the extent you need an office, we have three desks unit members share on 12. We hot desk, but that is the world these days. The door to our unit is password protected. You will get an e-mail with the password. Of course, nothing our unit does can be discussed with anyone outside the unit, ever, without my permission."

The elevator came and I followed Weld into the car. Her tone lightened a little. "You live out by Poplar Run, don't you?" I nodded. "I have friends out there," Weld said, "Carol and Bruce Webb. Do you know them? They have a daughter, Danielle, who is about your age. Exceptionally beautiful girl."