A Ferry Tale

April saw the number of books she owned had got my attention. "My proclivity for collecting books drove Lisbeth nuts," she told me. Then she smiled. "It cost more to ship my books home from England than it cost to get me home. Can I offer you something to drink?"

"I'm good, thanks," I said.

"I didn't really want to get a drink for you anyway."

"Huh?" I got out before April was against me, pulling me into a completely unanticipated kiss.

When she broke the kiss, she took my hand and gently tugged me toward the hallway. "I have something other than a beverage in mind."

I followed April down the hallway and into a nicely appointed bedroom. Though April was my focus, I couldn't help but notice more reading material, though only one book on the nightstand. When she got to the foot of the bed, April turned to me and stood barely inches from me, still holding my hand.

"I've been thinking about this since before I left your house this morning," she whispered. "Trying to make up my mind."

There was a slight tremor in her voice. She was nervous. I leaned down and touched my lips to hers. Just barely brushed them. "I'm in no hurry," I said softly. "I promise, I'll still want to see you if you want to wait."

April closed the miniscule gap between us, looked up at me, and took a deep breath. Then she put her head against my chest and sighed. "I like you, Jeff," she whispered, the first time ever she hadn't paired my first name and my surname. "I'm not in love with you. But feel like maybe I could be someday."

That made me a little nervous. Not because of what she said. But because all the times we'd sat together on the morning ferry ran through my mind. I wondered how many times I missed some subtle hint she dropped. Was I just too obtuse to pick up her signals? This time there was no hint. April was practically hitting me on the head.

I leaned down and brushed my lips to April's again. I got an explosively passionate response. April pulled herself against me forcefully. Practically crushed her lips to mine. In a flash, clothing was being shed. April undid my belt, pulled it off and then tugged my shirt out of my pants. I somehow unbuttoned the two strategically fastened buttons just below her breasts and pushed her shirt off her shoulders. It hung up on her elbows until she took a second to straighten her arms so it could fall to the floor.

April stepped back and grasped her blue Lycra top at the waist and pulled it over her head. I almost gasped when I saw she hadn't been wearing a bra. Small, firm breasts protruded from her chest. Her nipples were already hard and distended. Her abdomen was firm and flat. I pulled my own shirt over my head and dropped it, then kicked off my running shoes.

Once again, we came together, our chests meeting at the same time our lips did. Her nipples felt like hard, warm pebbles against my skin. April held me tightly while we kissed. Suddenly, I felt myself being pulled forward and then falling. April broke our kiss just before we landed on her bed. We were both already breathing deeply.

April scooched up the bed. Flinging her sandals off as she moved. I followed. She was pushing her tights down as wriggled onto the bed. I grasped the waist and pulled them down her legs, got up on my knees and pulled them off. This time I couldn't stop myself from gasping. Or staring.

April was a vision. I knew she was a marathoner, and apparently a somewhat accomplished one. I knew she'd have an athletic form. But she didn't have the gaunt, nearly emaciated frame I'd seen on the elite female distance runners I saw on TV. She was slender with firm, toned muscles. But she wasn't a stick. She had shoulders. She had feminine curves. Her breasts were small, but she wasn't flat chested. Her hips flared out from her waist. The skin wasn't stretched so tautly over the outside edge of her pelvic girdles it showed every nuance of their surface structure.

"Jeff?" I heard my name, but it seemed to come from far away. "Jeff?" The second time she sounded almost despondent.

This time my name broke through and brought me back to reality. "Yes?" I saw April was lying back, propped up by pillows stacked against the headboard.

"I thought I lost you there for a moment. Are you coming?"

"Not yet," I quipped. "And hopefully not any time soon once I get there."

April smiled, "That's what I hope, too."

I slipped off the bed again, quickly shed my pants and jockeys and lay on my side next to April. She rolled onto her side to face me. We looked into each other's eyes for a moment. I reached out to caress her cheek. But she caught my hand and redirected to a breast, pressed my palm to it, and sighed. The skin was soft and warm. The nipple hard against my palm. April whimpered softly and leaned into me. Our lips came together again in a firm but gentle kiss. Her lips parted and her tongue sought mine.

April scooted closer to me, trapping my erection between my abdomen and hers. Her skin felt warm against mine but cool against my erection. The skin to skin contact was almost enough to set me off but the urgency passed after a moment. I breathed a figurative sigh of relief until she shifted slightly. Her pubic hair was so soft it tickled my scrotum. I broke our kiss and gasped.

It was my turn to lean into her. I pressed against her breast firmly and leaned into her. April rolled onto her back in response. I rose onto my hands and knees, straddling her leg. I kissed her cheek and trailed a wet kiss along her jaw toward her chin. I nibbled gently down her neck, across her clavicle then into the shallow valley between her breasts. Opening my mouth widely, I encircled a nipple and inhaled, pulling the firm flesh and nipple against my tongue. April cried out softly and arched her back. She grasped my head with both hands and pulled my mouth tightly to her breast.

I gently suckled her breast and nipple until she arched her shoulders up and pushed my head away from it and guided me to her other breast. I encircled the distended nipple between my lips and pursed them into a kiss. When I darted my tongue to the nipple and traced the tip around the hard nub, April gasped loudly. This time she cradled my head in her arms and pulled hard, practically crushing my mouth against her breast. April held me tightly to her breast for several minutes, her hands entangled in my hair, her elbows pressing against my shoulders.

April arched her back and disentangled her hands from my hair. Her breaths were labored. She was squirming under me. I freed her breast and nipple and trailed down her abdomen, alternating soft kisses and gentle nibbles. I sucked a little skin below her navel between my lips, released it, moved a little lower and did the same. The next time I moved lower, I felt soft curls against my chin.

Just as I began to move lower again, April's hands shot to my face, hooked under my jaw and pulled upward. "No," she gasped hoarsely. "That's not what I want."

I crawled up so we were face to face again. April's hand grasped the back of my head and pulled me into another kiss. Her other hand slid between our bodies and cupped the head of erection, squeezing gently and rubbing her palm back and forth. After a moment of torturous stimulation, her hand slid down and encircled my shaft. She slid the head against her, up and down the gap between her labia while her hand moved up and down my length, squeezing tightly. I felt my crown growing wet with the mix of our warm, slippery secretions.

April broke our kiss and sighed softly. "I want you inside me. I need you inside me," she breathed tenderly.

When April pressed the head of my cock against her clitoris, she gasped again and closed her eyes. I clenched my jaw and gritted my teeth because I felt the tingling that heralds release beginning in my scrotum. April looked angelic in her arousal. The tingling abated when she relaxed her grip and stopped stroking my shaft. I sighed in relief as the sensation abated.

I took a deep breath. "April, I don't have a condom. I never imagined being here with you tonight."

April sighed and smiled at me. She hesitated for a moment. She caressed my cheek and whispered, "We don't need one. I've been longing for this moment and made sure I'd be ready if the time came."

I searched April's face for a moment. I saw contentment in her smile. And desire in her eyes.

"Don't wait any longer. Make love to me, Jeff Kintz," April whispered as she guided me into her.

April moaned loudly as I slowly entered her. When my crown popped past her entrance, a grimace conveyed discomfort. I stopped pushing and started to withdraw. I couldn't bear to see her in pain. April opened her eyes. "No, don't stop. It hurts, but it feels good, too." April grasped a handful of both buttocks, squeezed tight and pulled my hips forward.

We were already aroused to the breaking point. April's vaginal walls squeezed me so tightly as I entered her, I worried I'd ejaculate immediately. I lasted longer than anticipated but our first joining was hardly a lengthy endeavor. It was more like a short, quick walk on a hot day.

Nevertheless, we were both gasping for breath when I fell beside her. April rolled over and rested her head on my shoulder and kissed my neck. I sensed she was looking up at me. When I looked at her, she was smiling For some reason, that smile gave me a sense of contentment I never expected. When I squeezed her shoulder, she sighed softly.

We relaxed and held each other while our breathing settled. I felt everything was as it should be as I held her. Her breath on my chest was soft and warm. Her fingernails raised a trail of goosebumps as they lightly scratched my skin. April mewed softly as I caressed her back. I liked the feel of her hard nipple against my ribcage.

Inevitably, every sensation roused while we held each other caused stirrings in me. April either saw or maybe just sensed my growing arousal. The fingernails that had been caressing my chest drifted lower. April slid the back of her fingernails down my length and gently cupped my scrotum. When she tickled the crinkled skin, I felt myself begin to lengthen and grow hard again. April lifted her head from my shoulder and kissed me softly, still tickling the sensitive skin holding my testicles.

She began softly kissing her way down my torso. I said, "No, don't," when her chin nestled in my pubic hair as she continued kissing down. She put her hand over my mouth to stifle my protestations and sucked my crown between her lips and swirled her tongue around it. I gasped into her palm and gently squeezed her trapezius muscles.

It only took a moment for April to get me fully erect again. Soon, I felt my glans pop from between her lips. Before I realized she was moving, she straddled my hips. Her hands fell to my chest. She leaned forward to brush her lips to mine before sitting upright again.

April grasped my resurrected shaft and held me in place while she slowly lowered herself onto it. Though I slid into her easily, the fit was still incredibly tight. April grimaced slightly as she impaled herself. But once she was resting on my hips she breathed a sigh, her eyes closed, and her grimace disappeared. I reached up and rolled her nipples between my fingers. Her vaginal walls squeezed and relaxed as she slowly stretched around me.

Once the contractions ended, April slid up my length, then slowly slid back down. Because I felt a couple squeezes as she moved, I realized she was still adjusting to having my shaft inside her.

"April, what can I do to help?" I asked softly.

Her eyes closed in concentration, she put her hands over mine. "Keep playing with my nipples and keep still. I need to set the pace," she whispered.

April moved up and down my length slowly until the vaginal contractions ceased, then gradually began increasing the speed of her movement. I was aroused almost beyond control. I badly wanted to thrust up into her. But I forced myself to remain still and contented myself with enjoying the sensations she was rousing and playing with her nipples.

April surprised me when she suddenly fell onto me hard and began pivoting her hips back and forth while holding my hands to her breasts. She cried out loudly when her vaginal walls spasmed around my shaft several times. Her hips suddenly began moving rapidly up and down my length. Each time she came down, her buttocks crashed into me, and her hips pivoted back and forth before she lifted again.

I was frustrated with lying completely still. I badly wanted to meet April's movements with thrusts of my own. April leaned hard into my hands. I sensed she wanted to fall onto me. When we were chest to chest, her face inches from mine, she gasped, "Fuck me now, Jeff. Fuck me hard."

I held April's waist and began putting all my energy into driving into her. April's head fell to my shoulder and her hands held onto my shoulders tightly. April cried out twice moments apart. When she cried out a third time, her fingernails dug into my skin, and her body went limp.

I was getting close again. The pins and needles sensation in my scrotum was almost overwhelming. I was getting lightheaded. I couldn't breathe in enough air for the energy I was expending.

Just as I was about to explode, April groaned, "Don't stop! Please don't stop! I'm close again!"

Her words pushed me over the precipice. My whole body was wracked by sensations that rapidly spread from my groin. I pushed hard into April with each pulsation.

April's hand forced its way between us just before she sat up again. Her fingers found her clitoris and rubbed rapidly while I held her hips and continued driving forcefully into her. I was completely spent when April cried out loudly a moment later. She fell onto me, her body shivering between little muscular jerks. I embraced her tightly, wishing I could fuse our bodies together.

I was so exhausted I drifted off while I held April to my chest. Her hand gently shaking my shoulder returned me from dreamland.

"Hi," I whispered sleepily when I saw her smiling at me.

"Hi to you, too," she whispered.

April's hair was a mess. Her face and upper chest flushed.

"I guess I fell asleep," I said. "I'm sorry."

Still smiling, April responded with a little laugh, "It's okay. You earned it."

"What time is it? How long was I asleep?"

"Just a few minutes. It's a little after ten."

April rolled off me onto my arm. I was about to kiss her when she put a finger to my lips.

"I don't know what I'd do if you kissed me now," she whispered.

I laughed softly. "I doubt I could accommodate you. I'm exhausted."

April hesitated. "I hate to say this, but you should go home. We both have work in the morning. I need to do a quick review of my notes in the morning for my classes tomorrow. You'd get all my attention if you were here at breakfast."

I took a deep breath. I didn't want to leave but I knew she was right. I needed to shower and dress for work in the morning. It was better if I started the day at home.

"Can I take another minute before I get up?"

"Just a minute. I'm going to the bathroom. I'll drag you out of bed by your ears if you're still in bed when I return."

"Okay."

April bounced off the bed and walked toward the door. I watched, admiringly, as she went. She stopped just outside the bedroom door and spread her feet apart. I grinned and suppressed a chuckle as she scraped her hand along her inner thigh to collect the semen running down her leg. I reluctantly sat up and pivoted to put my feet on the floor.

After another moment, I got up, gathered my clothes, and got dressed. I had just finished tying my running shoes when April returned. She was wearing a paisley silk robe with a turquoise background that ended mid-thigh. She'd fixed her hair. The color of her face had returned, though her upper chest was still flushed.

I stood and tried to embrace her, but she put her hand to my chest to prevent it. At first, I felt like she was rejecting my affection for some reason. But she smiled at me.

"I'm a little surprised I invited you in tonight. Even though I've wanted this for a while, it's still not like me. I'm glad I did. I just hope it doesn't get awkward."

"I won't do anything to make it awkward. Can we get together and do something again? Soon?" I asked. "And before you wonder, no, I'm not interested only because you slept with me tonight and I want to again. I hope there's more nights like this. But if and when is up to you."

April smiled widely. "What time do you have to be at work tomorrow?"

"I should be at the office by nine, so I'll aim for the seven-fifteen ferry."

"I'll look for you," she smiled, then got up on her toes and gave me an affectionate, not passionate, kiss. "Now, you better get going so I can get some sleep.

April met me at St. George Terminal in the morning. We shared a pleasant journey across the bay. With much more to talk about. Over the next few months, we took the morning ferry together at least three times a week. Usually, we planned our morning ferry rides. But sometimes it was serendipity. We soon began sharing an affectionate kiss before we parted at Whitehall Terminal.

More to my liking, there were frequent evenings together. We did all the same things every couple does in a courtship. Movies. Restaurant dinners. We went on weekend bike rides. On a couple occasions April got tickets to Broadway shows from an NYU colleague in the theatre department. It was three weeks before we slept together again. That was a weekend I'll remember fondly. Several work colleagues interpreted my lethargy and inability to focus on Monday as illness and suggested I go home. I toughed it out, though I wasn't as productive as I might have been.

April's hours at NYU were more flexible than my work hours, plus my workdays were almost always longer. She often had to work after she got home, reading and grading papers, reviewing the reading she assigned, reviewing lessons plans. Some nights, I made dinner while she prepped or graded papers. Work rarely intruded on my weekends or off hours.

It didn't take long before I understood how April accumulated so many books. She was a voracious reader and seemed to have an inexhaustible source for books. She read incredibly fast with an amazing ability to comprehend and recall what she read. One afternoon while she was grading papers, I browsed through the stacks and shelves in her front room. The books ran the gamut of almost every genre. Fiction. Nonfiction. Twain, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Hemingway, and a host of others too numerous to list. Everything from classic British literature to American contemporary popular fiction. Including many writers I'd never heard of. I was surprised at the number of science fiction books she had, including a complete set of Asimov British first editions. She spoke Spanish and could read but not speak German and Russian. I had no idea what some of the books I found were. I met my university foreign language requirement with four years of middling success in high school Spanish classes. I understand much of the Spanish I hear around the city. I struggle when I try to speak it.

We got close enough inside of a few weeks that I took April to my mother's for Thanksgiving. Amazingly, she somehow managed to get on well with Victoria. Much to my mother's dismay, April took me to Indiana to meet her parents at Christmas. I got on well with April's mother, Barbara. Not so well with her father, whose conservative politics border on fascism. I shuddered to consider what he thought of April's relationship with Lisbeth, though he wasn't happy about me, either.

I was disappointed when I had to be out of town on business for what would have been our first Valentine's Day together arrived. I had a bouquet of her favorite flowers, white carnations with purple edges, delivered to her at her office. They weren't easy to find. I called more than two dozen flower shops before one gave me the number of a flower wholesaler that grew a wide variety of flowers that "might have them". I had to order six dozen and then arrange delivery. April said the woman she shared her office with practically oozed envy when they were delivered and then pestered her with questions for days about who they were from.