Unintended Consequences, Melissa

"More. I want you to know me. You are twenty-six and I know very little about you. I want to know about your favorite ice cream, your favorite music, what you like to eat besides turkey meat tostadas. I want to know what you like and what you don't. Where have you been and where do you want to go?"

"Ok! Let's get started. Beds are for sleeping and sex. I'm awake. You're awake and we're not having sex, so we should get up and go have breakfast."

"Where are your clothes?"

"In my car. Why?"

"No restaurant here. Carol didn't invite us for breakfast. We'll get dressed and drive over to the nearby diner and have breakfast."

We got up and did our morning rituals. I carried my jeans and shirt with us and we walked to Melissa's car. She held my hand. We dressed by her car and got in. On the way out we stopped at the gate and I made sure they knew we'd be back after breakfast.

Over breakfast we talked. I discovered she liked sausage more than bacon with her eggs (over medium) and pancakes. When the waitress brought my pancakes she sat a jar of peanut butter on the table. Melissa looked at me like I was nuts when I spread peanut butter on the pancakes and then added a light covering of syrup.

She watched me take a bite and then she asked if she could have one. I slid the plate in her direction and she took a bite. She spread peanut butter on her pancake and said, "I thought you were crazy. You aren't! It's good."

Melissa had a very good memory. She answered all the questions I had asked while we were in bed. Her favorite ice cream is Cherry Garcia or fudge swirl. She told me she loves soft jazz, bluegrass, ballad singers who don't sing victim songs and because of her Dad she loves John Denver. She likes Mexican food, pasta, sea food but not sushi, likes to cook but not just for herself. She liked hiking in the quiet, watching waves crash on the rocks, listening to rain hit the top of her car and the feel of sun on her skin when it isn't too hot. She told me she didn't like mushrooms, snails, sushi, small talk, being hit on, churches, cemeteries, cauliflower or okra unless it was in a good gumbo. She told me she didn't like big parties but loved small dinner parties where she got to talk to everyone. She was born in Idaho in a small town where everyone was family and moved to California when she was fifteen. On vacation the family had gone to Colorado, Washington and Oregon. As an adult she had gone to Las Vegas once. She didn't care if she ever went back. She wanted to go to Japan, Hawaii, Alaska and maybe some islands somewhere. She didn't want to go alone.

I answered the same questions for her. My favorite ice cream is Cherry Garcia and rocky road is for when I can't find Cherry Garcia. To her list of music I added folk. To her list of food likes I added that I like bar-b-que, especially ribs, gumbo, jambalaya, or most things Cajun and chili. I told her I had been to Japan, China, the Philippines, Australia and Bali outside the US and inside I had been in every state. I would like to go back to most of the places I had been and be able to show them to her. I added that there were some places I didn't want to go. The list was Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Cypress, Crete, Jordan, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya... she stopped me and said she got the idea.

After we finished breakfast we went for a walk. We held hands as we walked and as we passed stores she told me and I told her our feelings about the things they sold in each store. At one store I saw some old fashioned furniture and I asked, "Tell me about your family."

"My Dad is a banker. Monday through Friday he's in a suit and tie all day. When he was in college he played football and he's still in good shape for fifty something. He plays tennis now and so does my Mom. They met in college. She was a cheerleader. They tell the story that they met during a football game. He tackled a player and they came off the field and ran into my Mom and broke her arm."

I suddenly realized I knew her parents! Brenda had told me the story herself!

"Great how-I-met-your-father story! What are their names?"

"Walter and Brenda Watkins. They live in Riverside now, but Dad wants to move closer to San Diego next year when he retires."

When we got back in the car I asked, "After school, what then?"

"I'm not sure. I'd like to teach, but what level? I think teenaged boys are too caught in their own hormones for me to teach them. They look at my chest more than they hear anything I say. Really little kids are really little, you know?"

"I teach at college for good reasons, too. Really little kids are really little. Do you want kids?"

"Maybe. If I'm going to have kids I need to do it in the next five years. The statistics on birth defects as women get older are scary." I realized I was dealing with a woman who thinks, researches and makes good decisions. The events of the early morning seemed almost out of character for her.

We got in the car and on the way back to the resort we stopped and bought sandwiches at a sandwich shop. I also got some more iced tea and water for us. We parked in the same spot where I had been parked before we left and I noticed there were twenty or so cars in the lot that hadn't been there when we left.

"Melissa, I'll take our lunch back to the cabin and get the papers I still need to grade. I think you should meet people, interview them and get whatever you need for your presentation. I'll be at the same table I was at yesterday."

We enjoyed the rest of the weekend and at the end we reluctantly parted. She molded herself to me in the parking lot before she and I got dressed and again after we were dressed.

"Good! I like hugs from you clothed as well as naked." She said. On my way home I thought about the turn of events. I had not intended that number twenty-three pick getting naked in public as a project.

When the door to my house closed I suddenly felt alone. Everything was just as I left it. Everything in the house was mine. I didn't need to look in the fridge to see what was there. I knew what was there. I became sad and nothing I did for the rest of the evening helped.

There were two bright spots in the week. The Monday one o'clock class and the Wednesday one o'clock class. On Friday I went to my office and found a note on the floor. It was addressed to Professor Peterson. It read, "I'm going back tonight. We could save gas by going together. Interested? Call me. M." It gave her number.

I called. She answered by saying, "Where do we meet?"

I told her where a secure parking structure was located just off the number 10 freeway. She could leave her car there for the weekend and it would still be there when we returned.

"Do I need a sleeping bag?"

"Only if you want to sleep alone. If you want to share my cabin and my bed you don't need a sleeping bag."

"What time?"

"My office hours are until five. I'll be at the parking structure by five-thirty. Does that work for you?"

"I'll be waiting for you."

"The weekend just got a lot better. Thank you."

When I was eleven I remember sitting in class watching the red second hand go round and round the face of the classroom clock. The longer I watched the slower it went. At thirty-five years old it was still really slow. I closed the office at five till five and walked across campus to my car.

At five twenty-two I was off the freeway and saw Melissa sitting at the bus bench in front of the parking structure. She had the towel bag from last weekend and a small suitcase. I made a u-turn and stopped in front of her. Her smile lit up the day and she got in, kissed me and closed the door very quickly.

I drove to the on-ramp and stopped. She said, "Do we have time for a better kiss?"

I turned onto the on-ramp and pulled off to the side so others could slide by us. We leaned together and lit a fire with our lips.

When the kiss ended I asked, "Did you rub jalapeno on your lips?"

"No!"

"They sure are hot!"

"Maybe too hot?"

"No! It will take many kisses to increase my ability to withstand the intensity. Can we do it some more?"

She laughed and said, "Yes, but right now I think we should drive."

I drove and we talked. My hand found its way to her thigh. After an hour I asked, "Hungry?"

Her answer had me off the freeway and into a nice place to have a good dinner. As we left the restaurant she asked me to stop at a market. She bought things to go with the things already in my ice chest. An hour more and we were at the resort. We carried our stuff to the cabin and put things away. Along the way we kissed. We undressed and I commented on her matching pale blue bra and panties. She blushed a little and said, "Thank you, kind Sir."

At about eight someone knocked at our door. Melissa opened the door and it was Phil. He invited us for a little wine and cheese. We grabbed towels and followed him to number four.

For two hours we talked with Carol and Phil. Melissa asked good questions and found out that they limited their nudity to in the house or back yard at home, at the resort or on a nude beach in northern California. Carol showed Melissa her clothes and they talked about how conservative Carol was when she wasn't nude.

At ten Phil stood, stretched and said, "Time for this old man to go to bed. You can join us, if you'd like."

Carol laughed and said, "He's been making that offer to couples for seven years and I think he'd fall over in a faint if someone said yes."

Melissa stood and walked to Phil and when she was six inches from her chest touching his she said, "Let's do it!"

Phil went white. He wanted to believe she was kidding and he wanted to believe this beautiful young woman had just said yes.

I saved him. I put my arm around Melissa and said, "You promised me some private kissing lessons tonight."

"Oh, you're right. Sorry Phil. Maybe some other time." I guided her through the door and toward our cabin.

"Thank you for saving me." She said.

I locked the door with us inside and I got the kissing lessons I wanted. We snuggled together in bed and did not join at the hips.

In the morning there was another knock at our door. Carol delivered bagels, eggs and coffee. She thanked us for the game we played with Phil. After eating we went to our table by the pool and I went to work grading papers.

Melissa got a notebook from her car. She walked back towards the pool and cabins. She saw two couples sitting at a table talking and headed for them, pen and notebook in hand.

When I was sitting at the table I saw Walt and Brenda. They carried bottles of water and tennis rackets. If I remembered their pattern correctly in about an hour they would be at the pool beside my table splashing and having fun. They and their daughter were about to learn something about each other.

I read three blue-books and gave the grades they deserved when I was interrupted by Carol. "Well?" She asked.

I looked up and said, "She slept in my cabin. We didn't have sex. I don't intend to have sex with her as long as she's my student."

"I knew you were that moral. You're that kind of guy. If I didn't have Phil I'd probably go for you myself." She sat down and asked, "You will date her after the quarter is over?"

"Date and probably marry."

She looked at me hard and long. "You are serious."

"Serious as a heart attack. I am getting to know her and so far she is what and who I want. I'm not rushing but... this could be very serious."

"I'll make a sign and a hundred women will cry tonight."

"What sign?"

"Nick is no longer available!"

"Hang it from the awning of this table. It's true."

She got up and came around to me, got me to stand and gave me a full body kiss. "Congratulations! I'm very happy for you both."

"Thanks." We let the embrace go. "Carol, how well do you know Walt and Brenda?"

"They are damn good tennis players. Not overly aggressive but finesse players. Walt practices by putting a quarter on the court somewhere and going to the other side of the net and sees if he can return the shot from the machine to hit the quarter. I've seen him hit it more than once."

"What about off the court?"

"They are sociable, nice folks. At the parties and dances they laugh and everyone enjoys having them around, why?"

"I think number twenty-three doesn't know her parents are naturists."

"Nick! They're here!"

"I know. I saw them a few minutes ago headed for the tennis courts. Melissa is out interviewing naked people for her school project."

"Is she coming back to have lunch with you?"

"Yes. And, her parents will be headed this way for a dip in the pool when the tennis is done."

She turned to go, stopped and said, "Save me a seat. I'll get my stuff and we can watch together." She scurried off and in less than ten minutes was back. I finished one more blue-book while she was gone. I made room for her things on the table and she sat down on the same side as me.

I graded two more blue-books and Carol said, "Her comes your wife." She said it very softly. I looked up and she was right. Melissa was headed right for us, a huge smile on her face.

She got to us and said "Good morning" to Carol and "Hi Sweetheart" to me. I asked, "Have you put on any sunscreen this morning?"

"When we got up I did." I grabbed my tube of sun block and went to her side of the table. I started at her shoulders and did her shoulders, back and legs then I did her beautiful butt. When I finished her back side I said, "There."

She turned and faced me and softly asked, "Won't the front burn?" I looked at her face and knew she wanted me to touch her. I loaded my hands with sun block and started at her shoulders. She raised her arms and I slathered all the skin of her torso and arms. That process had me holding her slippery breasts in my hands and I felt the nipples tighten. When they did I looked at her face and she had half closed eyes and her head tilted back a little.

I sat and slathered her feet, ankles, shins and knees. She spread her feet apart just an inch or so when I started on her right thigh. I had reloaded my hands with sun block for her left thigh and had made the first application from knee to hip when I heard a man's voice say, "Melissa?"

She opened her eyes and focused on the man who said it. It took a few seconds for her brain to process that the naked man standing in front of her, next to her naked Mom, was her Dad. Dad and Mom were also in shock.

"Daddy! You're naked!" She screamed.

It was perfect. Dad, Mom and everyone nearby broke into laughter. She realized that what she said was stating the obvious and that she was naked too. I helped her sit down on the bench beside me.

Walt grabbed two chairs and put them by us. He and Brenda sat down. I stood and said, "I'll give you some privacy."

Melissa looked up at me and her eyes said, "Please don't go." Walt said, "Sit down." He was used to be obeyed. I obeyed.

"Melissa, I thought you were coming here next weekend." Her mother said.

"I was, but the more I thought about it the more I knew I needed to come and do the research before then."

"Well, the secret is out." Walt said. "Your Mom and I have been coming here for five or six years."

"Mom, why wouldn't you come with me? You do it anyway."

"Oh sure, I come with you and we walk onto the grounds and that guy over there (she pointed to him) says, "Morning Brenda." My cover would be blown. I figured if you came on your own, and you liked it, I could tell you about us. If you didn't like it, it would never be a subject of conversation."

"Nick, I see that you have covered my daughter in sun block. Are you a boy scout doing a good deed for today or is there something you want to tell me?"

"Actually, there are two things I want to tell you. First, I'm the professor who gave the assignment that caused her research. She didn't know I come here and I didn't know what fear she had picked to confront."

"You said two things."

"Yes. The second thing Melissa and I have talked around since last weekend without me saying it, or her saying it. The short version is, I intend to love, marry and care for your daughter for the rest of our lives."

I looked at Melissa as I said it and tears ran down her cheeks, she helped us to our feet and she kissed me with her entire body, mind and spirit.

"Is that a yes?" I asked.

"Yes!" I didn't let go. We both looked at her parents.

Mom watched us holding each other and then said, "I think you should get a room." Dad nodded. Then his eye brows went up and he asked, "Last weekend?"

"Yes," Melissa said, "I came last weekend too. I liked it and I like the man I met." She put her hand on my leg. "So, I came back. Nick has a room. I slept in it last weekend and last night and we didn't have sex. I plan to be in it again tonight, sharing the bed with him and sharing all of me with him."

Dad asked, "What about the student-teacher ethics question?"

"I plan to have the class grade her presentation and Carol (I pointed at her) re-grade her mid-term. That way I'm not in any danger of an ethics charge."

Dad looked at both of us for long enough I was uncomfortable. Then he said, "We're going swimming. An hour of tennis needs some pool time. Join us?"

The five of us walked to the pool and splashed and laughed together for a little while. Carol got out before we did and went to the office. When we got out we agreed to meet back at the bench with our lunches. Melissa went to get ours and Brenda went to get theirs. Walt and I sat as I gathered the rest of the papers into my roll around case.

"Is she a good student?"

"You know she is. You've done a great job of being Dad. She loves both of you a lot. She told me about you and she was a ways into her story when I realized Brenda had told me the same story."

"The broken arm?"

"That's the one."

"Best tackle I ever made."

"I agree. I get the long term benefit."

"I've been getting the long term benefit for nearly thirty years."

Carol walked up and clipped a piece of cardboard to the awning above the table. She had used a black magic marker to make a sign. "Nick is off the market."

We heard laughter and saw Melissa and Brenda walking towards us laughing at the sign.

"God, Son, aren't we lucky men? Look at them. I may be prejudiced, but they're both incredibly beautiful." The fact that he called me Son had not escaped my notice. It felt good.

Carol was joined by Phil and they went to have their lunch somewhere else. We laughed and talked through lunch and Walt and Brenda saw where we were in our intentional relationship. They asked good questions and we answered truthfully.

When I finally noticed the time it was because the sun had gone behind the pool house. It was after five. Brenda reminded Walt they needed to get home and so they left us. I got a hug from Brenda and a manly hug from Walt. Melissa said, "I'm going to their car with them. Shall I meet you at the cabin?" I nodded.

I watched Mom, Dad and daughter walk off with Melissa in the middle, her arms around her parents. I gathered my things, including the sign, and went to the cabin. Inside I got things together for the trip to my car. I sat on the couch and thought about the weekend. I also thought about the rest of my life.

The cabin door opened and Melissa came in. She sat beside me and she said, "I love you."

"I love you too."

"I want you to love me."

"I do."

"Ok. I want you to join your body to mine. I don't want to wait any more. Can we?"

"Well, as I recall, it's a process. I need to take you out to dinner a few times. We need to sit in a dark theatre a few times, sharing popcorn. We need to go dancing at least once and to a party at least once and I think I need to get you drunk. Then we can do it."

"Bull! We don't need any of that! We just need a bed, our warm bodies, some kissing practice and then I need a lesson in joining in love."