Birthday Presents

"Seriously? You think I'm the most beautiful woman you've ever seen?" he teased.

It took her a second to 'get it' but when she did, Miller was rewarded with that unbelievably gorgeous smile. "Ha, ha!' she said. "No, you are most definitely not a woman, beautiful or otherwise. But you may quite possibly be the most handsome man I've ever met."

"Then you need to get out more," he said in a self-deprecating way she found adorable. This time he was rewarded not only with another smile but with her laughter, as well.

"It feels so good to laugh again," she told him. "I haven't done much of that the last few years."

Not wanting to make her explain how bad her marriage had been, Miller smiled and changed the subject.

"Are you ready? If so, we may just make it out of here without running into Celeste."

"Oh, right. In that case, I'm definitely ready to go," she said grabbing her purse.

She locked the door behind them and Miller opened the car door for her. "Thank you," she told him. "I'm not sure I remember the last time that happened, either. Maybe it was around the same time a handsome man complimented me."

Miller got in and started the car then said, "Speaking of compliments, you look absolutely beautiful." He was no fan of heavy makeup, but the right amount could really add to a woman's natural beauty and Hallie was wearing just enough to do that. Her eyes were especially seductive with a small amount of shadow, liner, and mascara. Her perfume was also particularly pleasant and Miller told her so.

"Oh, thank you," she replied. "It's called Ombre Rose, and it's been my favorite for years. I haven't been able to afford perfume until recently, but it's a very nice luxury."

During dinner their conversation ranged from the trivial to the weighty. Before they left, they both knew what the other liked to eat, what movies they enjoyed, and where they stood politically and religiously. To Miller's very pleasant surprise, Hallie's views tracked very closely with his on all of the major issues.

Just before they left he said, "You know, I don't think I've ever met anyone I've felt so comfortable being with so soon before. I know this probably sounds cliche, but you're very easy to talk to." Before she could reply he smiled and added, "And very easy to look at."

Hallie was clearly touched and her eyes told him he'd struck a chord of some kind. "It doesn't sound cliche at all, Mike. I have to tell you I was sitting here thinking the very same thing." She looked down for a second or two before looking back up at him. "Then again, I haven't exactly dated a lot of guys. Even so, I feel this...this connection with you. Is that crazy?"

"Maybe. But even if it is, the fact that we're both feeling it must count for something, right?"

She smiled sweetly and said, "I think it counts for a lot."

That night he kissed her for the first time and asked her if he could see her again. She'd told him he could see her anytime he liked and he warned her that could be every day.

"That sounds rather nice," she replied before kissing him again before thanking him for a wonderful evening. Before she went inside he asked if they could exchange numbers and Hallie happily traded phones with him long enough to enter hers.

The following day he sent her a short text letting her know how much he'd enjoyed their date and he got an almost immediate reply.

"Same here! Oh, Celeste wasn't exactly happy when I told her where I'd been. I think it's time for me to start looking for my own place!"

Miller didn't even think before sending his reply: "Or you could just move in with me."

Had Hallie known he was deadly serious, she might have said 'yes' to his idea. Assuming it was just his way of being playful, she replied with: "Are you trying to get me killed?" It was followed with some interesting emojis and Miller left it that. At least for the time being.

In spite of the unbelievably thick tension his presence caused when he went to pick up her each day after work when Celeste was there, they continued to see one another as often as possible. They spent hours just talking—talking about virtually everything imaginable. Miller had a college education and Hallie had only finished high school and yet she was more than capable of discussing anything that ever came up and holding her own. That was just one more thing that deeply impressed Miller about this most amazing and beautiful woman.

"I love to read," she told him. "It was my escape from reality."

Like him, she despised reality TV, but also like him, she loved to read and to dream. She had the most vivid imagination which extended from fantasies about time travel to the bedroom. Her openness to new ideas was both refreshing and fascinating. She believed deeply in romantic love and her greatest dream was to be the love of a caring, tender man's life and, in turn, to be the most giving and caring wife possible.

Sexually speaking, she'd only ever been with her soon-to-be ex-husband. In fact, she'd only dated two other boys before he asked her out and from then on, he'd been her one and only having given herself to him after Homecoming, just days after she'd turned 18. Neither of them had any other experience meaning that what she knew was based solely on what they'd done. And what they'd done was very little.

"I dunno," she said trying to explain it. "I'm not even sure what all I've missed. I mean, I've had girlfriends who've told me things over the years, but I'm not sure what to believe is true or just...girl talk, you know? For me, my experience was basically some kissing, maybe a little bit of petting where he'd play with my boobs, and then I'd...you know..." She couldn't quite bring herself to say something like 'blow him' or 'go down on him' but Miller understood. "And then we'd have sex."

During that conversation, Miller learned her husband had never once gone down on her. He'd never even taken the time to make sure she had an orgasm by using his fingers, let alone during sex.

"I always enjoyed it...a lot," she said almost embarrassed to admit it, "but I always felt...frustrated when it was over. Like something important was missing."

Even more surprising was learning Hallie didn't masturbate. Miller had just assumed everyone did at least now and then. He'd read stats on it a time or two but didn't really pay attention. It was something like 90-95% of guys and something less for girls and women. He had no idea who the 5-10% of males were who claimed they never did, but he was pretty damn sure they were very, very old or liars. When it came to women, he just didn't know and accepted what she told him.

"So have you ever had a real orgasm?" he finally asked her one night when they were snuggling on his couch during their fourth date.

"I don't know for sure. I think I have. How could I not, right? I mean, we had sex all the time when we were first married, so I had to have orgasms, right?"

To this point, all they'd done was kiss. Not because Miller hadn't wanted more—much more—but because he was too afraid to rush ahead and possibly ruin this amazing thing that was developing between them.

He had his arm around her then said, "Would you like to have one to see if it's what you think you were having when you were first married?"

She lifted her head up and said, "If you're asking me if I want to make love with you, the answer is yes. It's been 'yes' since the first time you kissed me goodnight. I just thought you weren't interested."

Miller pulled back a bit and looked at her. "How could I not be interested, Hallie? You're so beautiful it...it makes my heart hurt. I think you about you constantly to the point I can't help but wonder if maybe I'm already in..."

"Shhhh. You don't have to say it. I don't need that to want you any more than I already do. I am so totally yours so...if there's anything you want...anything at all...just tell me or...or show me how and I will."

Miller took her hand and led her to his bedroom where they proceeded to slowly undress each other, kissing softly and smiling as they worked their way down to nothing. He made sure to tell her many, many times how utterly beautiful and desirable she was and he meant it each and every time he said it.

He didn't need that kind of reassurance but nonetheless loved hearing her tell him how handsome he was to her; how much she loved not only his mind but his body—every part of his body.

That night, he spent a great deal of time making sure she received nothing but pleasure from him as he brought everything he'd learned over the years with many different women to the table (as it were.) Hallie came for the first time in her life just minutes after he began gently circling her clit with his finger while kissing her passionately and telling her how beautiful she was.

Her body exploded in pleasure leaving her moaning and gasping for air as she said, "If that was an orgasm, then I've definitely never had one before," she told him.

He managed not to laugh when she said that to him that. He simply went back to work after giving her body a minute to recover. Several minutes later, his tongue brought her to a second climax even more intense than the first.

"Oh, my God!" she cried. "All these years..."

She had a third when he made love to her and when it was over, she lay there in his arms, warm tears falling from her eyes onto his chest.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he asked her.

At first she just shook her head. He stroked her hair as he said, "Tell me what you're feeling, okay?"

She ran her hand over his chest and finally managed to say, "I got to the point where I never thought I'd ever be happy again let alone find someone to make me feel like this."

"How do you feel?" he asked her quietly.

"I'm not sure I want to say," she told him. "I don't want you to run away."

"I won't run, Hallie. Ever. I promise."

"I feel...happy," she told him. "I feel...I feel...loved."

"You are loved," he assured her.

"It's...it's more than that," she said as more tears fell.

"Tell me," he said kissing the top of her head.

"No. I can't," she replied.

"Would it help if I told you how I feel?" he asked.

She nodded but didn't speak.

He put his hand on her tiny, bare shoulder and said, "I love you, Hallie."

She lay in there in silence and he felt her body began to shake as she began to sob. She put her arm around his chest and held him tight as tears fell freely. Finally, after what seemed like forever, she finally spoke. Her voice was choked with emotion as she told him, "I love you, too."

She looked up at him and said, "I am so in love with you, Michael. If you're not in love with me yet, that's okay, I just had to..."

This time, it was Miller who said, "Shhhh."

Hallie stopped talking. She was looking up at him through tear-stained eyes, her mascara running down her cheek and onto his chest as she listened.

"I'm in love with you, too. I am totally and completely in love with you, Hallie."

Not surprisingly, his revelation caused her to cry again and she cried tears of happiness and joy until all of the hurt and pain of her failed marriage, the love she'd wanted but never had, and the pleasures she'd missed for so long, ran their course.

When she stopped shaking and her breathing steadied, she looked up at him again. "I'd ask you to make love with me again, but I probably look so horrible, you wouldn't even want to touch me."

He smiled then quickly flipped her on her back causing her to yelp with pleasure. He brushed her wet hair back and looked into her blackened eyes. "Nothing could ever make you look like that to me. Nothing."

He kissed her and at the same time she reached for him bringing him to life one more time. Three orgasms later, two for her and one for him, she was finally able to enjoy the love he was offering her. Her heart swelled with happiness and her mind with hope.

Just two months later, he asked her to marry him and before he could open the box with the ring in it, she'd started screaming, "Yes, yes, yes!!"

It was another four months before her divorce was final, but when the paperwork arrived in the mail, they celebrated that night and filed for a marriage license the very next day. A month later, they married in his parents' large home in Redmond, Washington, and courtesy of his parents, began their new lives together in Fiji where they spent an amazing week together either on the beach or in their cabana on their honeymoon.

And so about a year or so after meeting and six months after marrying, their love and admiration for one another had only continued to grow. While their lovemaking had fallen off from virtually every day to 3-4 times per week, it was still an amazing experience for both of them each time it happened.

Hallie had grown confident in bed and now knew exactly what she liked as well as what her handsome young husband wanted from her and she was only too happy to give it willingly and often. She was also thrilled that he was still just as loving, caring, and giving with her outside of the bedroom as he had been that first time they went out, and she often felt there was nothing she wouldn't do for this man.

It was that thought that inspired her to offer him something special on his birthday that year, an event coming up in less than a month. In addition to the cake with candles and an inexpensive-but-heartfelt gift, she put a little handmade coupon in his card.

"What's this?" he asked when he opened the card.

"Read it," she said sweetly while sitting on his lap.

It read: "The bearer of this coupon is entitled to one sexual favor of his choosing redeemable anytime within one year from this date."

"Wow!" he said. "Thank you. So...what would you like us to try?"

"That's up to you, honey," she told him. "Just tell me what you want and we can try it."

The truth was, they already did everything he liked or had ever wanted when it came to lovemaking. Most of his fantasies revolved around her wearing things he liked and she happily did that quite often. It wasn't as though he was sexually naive, there just wasn't anything else he felt was missing.

"You're already so good to me," he told her. "This is really great, but I can't think of anything I want to try we don't already do. That's why I was wondering if you had some suggestions. Is there anything we don't do you'd like to try?"

"I don't know. In fact, I don't really even know what all's available. What kind of stuff is there to choose from?" she asked. She'd grown a lot sexually, but beyond the typical things most couples did, she was still rather inexperienced. Then again, so was her husband.

"Um, well, there's bondage stuff. I guess I could tie you up or spank you."

Hallie made a face then said, "Oh, sorry. If that's something you want to try, we can do it."

"No," he told her laughing. "That doesn't 'do it' for me. You?"

"No, not at all. What else?"

"Let's see. Anal sex is pretty popular with a lot of couples."

"Really?" she said making another face.

"I guess. It's never appealed to me, but it seems like something we could try. Then again, I'm not the one doing the um...receiving...so that's up to you."

"Oh, wow. Okay, I think I could do that. Is that what you want to try this year?"

He thought for a minute then said, "It's not something I'd have come up with, but it would certainly be...different. How about this? If we can't think of something more interesting, we'll give that a try."

"Okay, I'm game," she said not realizing the 'gamey' aspect involved. "Does it hurt?"

Miller laughed and said, "Well, again, I wouldn't know. I've never tried it from um...that end." He laughed again then added, "Well, from either end."

Hallie laughed to and said, "Um...point taken?"

"Well, you will be taking the point if that's what we decide to try, huh?"

She made another little face then said, "Who knows? Maybe it'll be fun. Nothing ventured and all that, right?"

They thought about it until the weekend and couldn't think of anything else so they did some reading on how to prepare. Hallie got things...cleaned out...and Mike bought the appropriate lube.

"You sure you want to do this?" he asked when they got ready for bed.

"Uh-huh. I have no idea whether or not I'll like it, but I definitely want to try it. After all, this was my idea, right?"

"Okay, then we'll give this a try," he said shaking the tube of lubrication like it was a limp dick. Hallie laughed and told him how much she loved him before losing her back-door virginity to her handsome husband.

When it was over, Hallie asked him if he'd enjoyed it.

"Uh, yeah. I mean, it felt a lot like the real thing. To me, at least. It was a little tighter and the lube felt different, but it was pretty close to vaginal sex. Did you totally hate it?"

"Actually? It was kind of fun. You know, after the head popped inside. It was weird at first, feeling all 'filled up' in there." She giggled then said, "It felt like I had to take a shit."

Miller laughed because she rarely cursed, bedroom talk aside.

"But...no pun intended...after that it felt really nice. Especially when I was playing with my clit."

"That really surprises me, but...no pun intended...if you liked it, we can try it again sometime if you want."

"Yeah, I think I would," she told him. "I don't know how often I'll want to do that, but I would definitely do it again." She smiled then said, "Happy birthday, sweetheart!"

Over the course of the next eight months or so, Hallie asked her husband if they could 'do the butt thing' three or four times. He never really understood it, but if his wife wanted it, that was enough for him. To his great delight, she came each and every time (with the help of her fingers) so if she was happy, he was happy.

That was around the same time his best friend sent him a video. He was still single and heavily into pornography of all kinds. He had his special kinks and would occasionally send a link or video to his good friend, Mike, with an admonition like, "Dude! Check this out!" Typically, he'd take a quick look and delete the video. It wasn't that he had something against so-called adult movies as long as all of the participants were legal adults. He just found the staged aspect of it all to be a huge turnoff.

To Miller, nothing was less sexy or interesting than seeing two people appear in a scene and seconds later be tearing each other's clothes off and going at it. There was nothing personal or romantic about it, and to Miller's way of thinking, nothing worth watching.

But this particular video was different. It absolutely wasn't staged and it was very personal. It was a video of a husband recording his wife having sex with another man. Miller had seen a cuckold video or two where the man wanted or needed his wife to humiliate him for having a pathetically small dick that could never please her, and he hated those as much as any staged scene. But this one was nothing like that.

The very attractive wife kept looking at her husband and smiling and occasionally asked him if he was enjoying watching her. The way she looked at him as the other man did his thing was somehow strangely erotic. The husband in turn told his wife how hot and sexy she looked as she went from a first kiss to deep, passionate kissing to petting, to oral sex, and finally to sex itself. He didn't think of it as lovemaking as he found it hard to believe the sex was anything more than just sex. And yet on some other level, the husband and wife were sharing some kind of deep, unspoken connection he didn't fully understand. In fact, he didn't understand it at all. He only knew he was immensely aroused and watched it several more times before finally going to bed and ravishing his beautiful wife.

"What got into you tonight?" she asked as they basked in the afterglow.