The BLTS Archive - The Summons
eighth in the Riding The Tick series
by R Schultz (cousindream@aol.com)

---

Part of the "Natasha Yar Saga"

Disclaimer: Paramount Studios is the owner of Star Trek. I'm not
trying to deprive Paramount of any money. Anyone who thinks I'm making
money off this is due for a reality check. This story is mine under
Berne copyright. Oct., 2000, 4500 words.

Spoilers: set in first season TNG episode "The Naked Now".

Summary: It's "Naked Now" time and everyone on the ENTERPRISE has
gotten drunk, including a certain Natasha Yar. This is set AFTER Data
has plumbed Tasha's depth so nicely, thank you. However, maybe he WAS
a little mechanical in his love making. Now Tasha wants MORE! Not
necessarily male.

Warning: This fiction contains a description of a sexual relationship
between two (fictional) adult consenting women. If f/f slash bends
your Jefferies tube, go. No one underage, or living in a locale or
country that forbids TrekSmut may enter. Your government in sincere
about protecting you and keeping you from finding out about reality.
Go whine at your parents if you don't like that. They like to listen
to you whining.

---

I still can't believe I did that. That I.... Oh hell. It was nice on
the ENTERPRISE, too. A lot of hard work, satisfaction at doing a good
job, support from the Captain on down. I'd enjoyed being on this ship.
Now I was already looking on my tenure here as an event in my past. I
even liked him, the Captain. You were supposed to respect your
Captain, not like him. Damn, damn, damn, damn. I felt like beating my
head against the railing behind the Captain.

Worf would have stopped me before I hurt myself, though. He was meine
Kameraden, and if he didn't know why I took such a shine to him, he
appreciated my doing so. It'd be sad doing without him. Or anyone else
here.

I felt like looking in the bridge dumper to see where my career had
just gone. Well, there was still some comfort. I might retire fifty
years from now still a Lieutenant, but they wouldn't throw me away. I
wondered what my next series of assignments were going to be?

What would be the worst duty I could draw?

I could still hear her and smell her 'Veracity'. It was a nice scent,
lighter than my 'Chandelle'. What had been in my mind?

Well, actually we all knew what had been in our minds. That bloody
infection. I don't think that it would be sufficient excuse for all my
sins.

Nothing for it. I had been told in no uncertain terms I had no options
at the end of shift. Be there.

We had a lot to talk over, that was quite an understatement.

"Worf," I made a motion. He flowed into my security position, barely
noticing my leaving. Suddenly Data was there. I reached out to him,
stopping him in his tracks.

"I did not mean what I said a few minutes ago, Data" I said. "It
happened, what we had last night, and I want you to know it happened."
A soft caressing of his chin, looking into his golden eyes.

Speaking softly, just for the two of us. "You were a tender and
wonderful lover, Data, and I shall always remember you to the end of
my days."

Which might be within the hour.

"I know it happened, Lieutenant Yar," he carefully said. "I am glad
you can remember now what happened. You had me .... worried, I believe
is the term. It is good you are better than you were."

What the hell. My career had just dropped it's warp core. Let everyone
look and wonder and probably guess the truth.

Screw discretion, let's make it obvious as my nose. Or my ass.

Data didn't resist when he let me pull his head down for a kiss. I'd
done more than my share of kissing. Most of the time women were
better, but in this instance I think Data had learned his lessons well
last night, this morning, whenever. I must be one hell of a good
teacher.

By the time I broke the clinch, I was smiling. Blazes, I might just as
well go out smiling as cursing. It confuses your enemies more.

The flurry of turning heads as no one pointedly looked at us, THAT
amused me. All was normal. No one saw a thing. Excepting Deanna Troi.
She didn't turn her head away. The Captain swung out of his chair,
Riker swung into it, giving me a nice smile. Not at all a smirk. Like
I said, nice people on this ship.

The hand patting my shoulder was Jean-Luc. More surprises. Nothing
said. Looking into eyes, and then he was off to his Ready Room. Maybe
he was advising me, us, to keep it off the bridge, our private lives.
He was more subtle than me, that was for certain.

It was too bad Data wouldn't appreciate the subtleties of the
reputation he was now going to carry for the next century or two. The
one who made the big bad boss Crocodile dyke on the ENTERPRISE smile.

We resumed our stations, and I pretended I didn't see any of the
glances coming my way or towards Data. Worf was simply and lovingly
confused. Klingons are like that. They see ourselves so well, but
sometimes the information can't be made head nor tail of.

Standing behind Riker I had plenty of time to reflect on my sins. Even
.... confused, sick, inebriated, I mean it was SUCH a classic case of
stupidity. There are even books written on it.

Nice stupid lesbian decides she's going to find the little dyke in
some straight girl and let her out into the sunlight. True love, true
lust at least, convert the pretty straight girl to wanting the
caresses a nice girl like me can give her. Happily ride off into the
sunset or the bedroom or whatever.

After a wild night of romance you take her off for her first piercings
and tattoo's. Okay, so that's not done any more. Hasn't been for
centuries. The idea intrigued me when I had found out about it. At one
time I was pierced.... Well, that's over now.

There were any number of nice lower decks would probably let me toss
them into my lonely bed, either gender. Why pick on our Doctor?

It had been utter chance, or at least it looked so from present
perspective.

---

Data had left me in my cabin. Duty called. Then I realized I wanted
more. Male, maybe. I admired myself in my mirror, then plugged in the
holo so I could watch myself from every angle as I began to fondle
myself. Woman watching herself having sex with herself.

It was really good to be able to yell, and to pace myself perfectly.
But once my legs had steadied again, the fever hit me as always. I
giggled, fondling myself anew. Turning to my carrybag of tricks.

Time for a woman, time to love a woman.

It wasn't one of the really expensive toys, but it was pretty good. I
brought it out of it's not-so-little stasis field, admiring the
authenticity of it's compoloidal masculinity. I hadn't used this in
quite a while.

A tapping of the signatured closures, and it unfolded into my hands. I
partially assembled it, then stepped into it like a pair of pants.
Only this pair of pants seemed to have two erect male members
attached. I was breathing hard just putting it together.

I squirted lots and lots of cold lube on the dick that would go inside
me.

Then I impaled myself in one smooth, easy movement, pulling on this
special garment. I went dizzy and had to lean against the wall. Then
my knees gave, and I went to the floor. I was sore, yes, but it was so
good to be filled again. Sooooo good.

Once I got back to my feet, I began tapping it tighter and tighter on
me. I had to groan as the device settled deeper inside me, moving. A
series of taps and it molded itself to me, tightening to my flesh. It
was just like our bra's, yes, but the change still amazed me. The
memory cloth would mold itself to my skin, adapting, becoming one with
me. Holding, lifting, almost a skin now.

In the holo I stroked my exterior erection, rubbing love lube on,
playing with the long shaft, becoming the Boss Crocodile dyke, the
Dom, the Top. Again.

Now to put on my new gauzy robe. Barely an hour old. Nothing hidden,
my breasts moving at the least movement. My belly button, my butt. I
could see my brown-blond hair above my nice long hard pink cock. It
poked a small tent in my robe front. Lovely!

I looked so much like a male with a hard-on. I loved it!

Oh, the thrill of standing at my cabin door. Anticipating my
appearance to others when they saw me. Thinking of my wild
desirability, of how goddamned molten hot I must look.

I opened the door. And there was Doctor Crusher, walking to me.

It must have been an evil and antagonistic fate. I mean, truthfully,
I'd wondered how she'd look naked, what she'd do when she came, how
she'd taste. The fact I'd fantasized that way about a dozen other
women on the ENTERPRISE didn't much matter. It was Doctor Beverly who
was there when I exited my cabin. Me and my long pink erection.

She looked at me, I noticed she'd lost her jacket somewhere, and what
I presumed was a lovely set of breasts were almost ready to slide out
of her shirt. No bra, I noticed. All I'd need to do was simply nudge
them a little and her tasty rosy nipples would pop out for me to
enjoy. Well, her breasts too, but I wasn't actually that far ahead
yet.

She hesitated as I reached her other side, placing her between me and
my open cabin door. Her eyes had taken in my costume by then, or lack
of it, and had noticed I now seemed a man, an erect one with a long
prick at that.

Yes, yes, normally I would be a lot slower in build-up and I adored a
long drawn-out seduction. Even including gifts such as dead foliage.
And I didn't normally wear anything this obvious and butchy on a first
date. Not my style.

Doctor Bev stopped, facing me, looking down at my toy poking her in
her hip, mouth open, looking so sweet and sexy and femme. I took her
unresisting hand. Right there in the middle of the corridor. Placed it
on my erect maleness, letting her hand curl around it, through the
nearly- transparent material of my robe.

It was so natural to lean forward to kiss her.

Then pick her up and carry her into my cabin. Wonderful thing about
muscles. They let you do things even when you shouldn't do them.

We both tumbled over my little couch, rolling onto the rug. I keep the
floor warm, so that was okay. I liked being barefoot in my cabin.

Somewhere, somehow, I'd opened her jacket, and her issue gray blouse.
Along the way I'd tweaked her breasts out of her blouse, and they were
rosy nippled, just like I surmised.

She wasn't saying much, excepting moans and groans as my hands roamed
all over her. She sure as hell wasn't resisting.

Her hands were all over me, and she shrugged her shoulders to help me
peel her uniform jacket off her. When I went to pull her blouse over
her head, her arms rose up to help me. She let me unseal her pants,
then didn't protest as I eased those pants off her. She was panting
too hard. When she wasn't mumbling. She'd worked my thin gauzy robe
down my shoulders and was raising welts on my back.

How was I to know she'd just spent some time trying to climb all over
Jean-Luc's wiry little body in that Ready Room of his? I was just the
recipient of all that denied lust. Lucky me. I got to rape a superior
officer.



Sorta rape, maybe. We never had a first date, and I never bothered
asking if she'd like a nice young dyke wearing a dildo. However, her
hands were saying repeatedly yes, yes, yes.

Oh, Bev The Untouchable was damned well touchable right then. One
pants leg and her panties was still caught on one ankle. We were still
on the rug, but thankfully I had them put in a deep rug in my cabin. I
liked walking through it barefoot.

It had to be the fever. Right. She was moaning in confusion, not lust.
She pushed my head into her breasts when I took her nipples into my
mouth.

Doctor Crusher was still gasping and mumbling and clawing at my
shoulders. She had short nails, thankfully.

She held on to me when I eased both of us to the rug. When I placed
myself on top of her she spread herself for me. Vulnerable.
Defenseless. Open. Wet. My robe went flying.

She keened when I entered her, a real high-pitched animal cry. Lucky
me. She enjoyed her rape, at the time. It took at least a quarter of a
minute for her to reach for me and her ankles to lock across my butt
to drive me and my false dick in her all the way.

Okay, so it was not a rape. Bev locked those lovely aging legs over my
butt and began to crank into the first of a series. As soon as we hit
the floor together Bev understood what was happening. Not once did she
protest. Not even an insincere squeaky 'No'!

So maybe the courtship WAS a mite brief. A matter of seconds.

She was biting me, drawing blood with those short nails of hers, and
cursing me between moans and keenings. She was a girl who came hard
and moved a lot to show her appreciation.

That Risan dick was in her to the hilt. It must have opened her cervix
up, it was so deep. She liked it, though. She kept rubbing her clit on
my holder and the base of the dick, and moving her hips in frantic
circles without losing a millimeter of that dildo.

Wow. She enjoyed the hell out of what we did. Which was why I more
than likely would not be formally court-martialed and immediately
executed.

The Sweet Doctor Bev came at least once more. Then she moved under me.
She rolled me over, then quickly worked to re-impale herself on me.
About then I had my own first cum. Bound to happen with the other part
of that toy in me. That was what it was supposed to do.

Once she realized I was coming, I think she did again. Bev was a
multiples kind of a woman.

Lucky me. Well, I wasn't complaining at the time.

Doctor Crusher must have been saving herself for quite some time. She
sat on me and rode me, she, herself. Changing pitch and groans as she
came I don't know how many times. Until she couldn't do it anymore. I
was sort of worn out as well. I quit counting how many times she and
my own dick made me come.

She sat on me, my toy still in her, panting and catching her breath.
The stars left my eyes and my groin began to cool as I understood
finally I was looking into the eyes of a superior officer.

Me, I was getting scared and a little sober and realizing I had a good
case of rug burn by then. Remind me not to have wild passionate sex on
the floor again.



I knew for sure I was too sore to have Bev any more, not this way, not
with this double-D. Not after we had cranked me into another few
comes. I'd had a busy night.

When she stopped, sweat was pouring off her. Most of it dripping on
me. I didn't mind. I was realizing how beautiful she was.

The ones who think young girls with flat tummies and young springy
breasts are the beautiful ones are only partially right. Women like
Bev are beautiful. Especially her.

Scars on her stomach from Wesley and age. Her breasts hung down, more
than a little sag, tempting me to fondle them, feel the weight, roll
her on her side and nuzzle her, suck on her lovely nipples for hours.
Beautiful. She might have had many things removed or repaired. The
Arcologies and good doctors back on Earth routinely gave women a body
thirty, sixty years younger. Bev had opted not to do that, and I loved
it.

Growing up on Turkana, my life in the Legion, I knew most women could
not afford to do that, have themselves repaired. Naturally aged female
was the only type of woman I'd known for most of my adult life.

When I made to caress her nipples she slapped my hand away. She didn't
look angry, but she didn't appear very friendly either. As an
afterthought she raised herself up, levering herself off my dildo. She
was tight, and her dick pulled up as she levered herself off it
despite the snug fit.

She had her pants back on when her comm buzzed. She found her comm in
a pocket and replied to the Captain about something important. Me she
mostly ignored.

Once on our feet, she edged away from me. Not exactly skidding away,
and not turning her back to me. But needing some personal space
between us. After two attempts I stopped trying to touch her or speak
to her.

Just before she called for the door, she stopped and turned towards
me. Looking down at where I was still an erect male. She started
giggling then, and left still trying to repress herself. She turned
and blew me a kiss from the open door.

At least she wasn't going to find a phaser and wax me.

I wasn't at all sure whether she was mad at me or wanted me dead or
would settle for my hide as a rug. A leathery trophy for her to wipe
her shoes on. Or just thought the whole interlude mildly pleasurable
or mostly hilarious.

Good ol' Tasha, a lover you never forget.

In thirty minutes I had calmed down, and was dressed for company.
Which might be a security detail. Bev was always very Strak before
this. Starfleet protocols were deathly important to her. It was a good
thing I was clothed because Doctor Hill came in with only a bare pause
at the door. He had a hyposhooter in his hand, and gave me a shot
without a single word. Exit intruder.

I went to bed with my robe still on, and immediately went to sleep.
C'sera sera. The sleep of the dead, the doomed.

A message was waiting for me as I dressed for duty. Calling me to the
sick bay. What words did I want written on my tomb stone? Girls just
wanna have fun?

It proved uneventful, though unnerving. I got a perfunctory
examination and a glass of greenish RH balance restorative. Bev came
over, PADD in hand, and asked me a few medical questions on my
apre-disease state. Ran a Tricorder over me a few times.

"That's fine," she said. "You're in good health." Looking me in my
eyes. Not a twitch on her face.

"We need to talk, have a serious discussion about last .... This
morning. Be at my door after shift. If I'm not there yet, wait. This
is essential. Don't disappoint me. I'll expect you there."

Then she turned around after she told me I could leave.

No security personnel at the sickbay entrance, waiting to toss me in
the brig. So far so good.

During shift, I try to remember Beverly Crusher with as large a pair
of rose-tinted glasses as possible. For the next thirty-eight years
while I'm the bed linen lieutenant at Star Base Fourteen, I'll have to
console myself with how much fun it was while it lasted.

I wouldn't get a Courts, but word would be out on me. Captains and
Admirals are a very small and select clique, after all. Even in a war,
Admirals might be friendlier to an enemy Admiral Of The Blue than they
could be to some lower-deck nobody. My goose was...what's the phrase?
Grilled.

Deanna Troi came by my station once, realizing something was
depressing me. At one time I might have tried talking sweet to her,
being cute and lovable to the straight, deliberately not scaring her
away. Right now I felt my sex life was on permanent hold. It'd be
depressing if I couldn't have the occasional ripe willing femme.

They do have females on all the starbases, didn't they?

---

By the time I was in front of Beverly's door, trying to get up the
nerve to press her vox, Doctor Crusher came around a turn in the
corridor. She didn't pause, but maybe she missteped on her way towards
me.

She opened the door, motioning me inside. No friendly greeting, smile,
or easy movements. She was tense.

"Please sit," she offered. In a minute she was back without her
jacket. She'd left it in the bedroom. She held her hand out and I put
my Comm badge in it. She left it in the bedroom also. Evidently our
discussion wasn't supposed to be accidentally recorded on anybody's
link.

She sat next to me on the couch. I've seen her more relaxed.

"Would you care to explain yourself?" she bluntly asked.

A number of replies buzzed quickly through my head, most of them
rejected. At least the Academy had made it natural for me to not seek
excuses, or reasons for forgiveness. Evasions wouldn't do, nor would
denial. I'd laid her down and had her good and proper.

That she'd enjoyed herself immensely didn't cut any ice either.
Starfleet was great on insisting sexual contact be consensual.
Anything else is an offense under the acts of war.

How to put it then? Unadorned, yes, but what else?

"I should not have done it, Commander, not without making sure you
wanted to make love with me. There is not much else to say. I am at
your mercy, Commander."

"Hmmm." She was staring at me. Waiting for more.

I tried not to sweat. Finally she asked me something unexpected.

"Why me? Have you had some sort of a crush on me? Pardon the pun. Did
you think I have been leading you on somehow? Or was it simply a
chance thing, a freak happening of nature?"

I was about to say no to all three questions when I stopped.

"Actually you have figured in my thoughts before.

"I've loved more than my share of women in my time, and some of the
most memorable of them have been mature women with their own opinions
of what they wanted and how they intended to get it?"

"Mature, am I?" she asked. A faint grin taking the sting out of the
words. Maybe there was a better word or phrase I should have used.
Dead sexy old broad? No....

A moment. "Do you see me as an old Alpha female, being the boss,
telling others what to do?" she asked.

"With all due respect, you ARE an Alpha female, Commander." Skipping
the old part as impolitic.

"You might become unsure or confused, but it never lasts. The next
minute you know what you want and set out on a course of action like a
Klingon ship on a suicide mission."

"Really? I would have thought you'd prefer someone more... Weak
person. No, forget that. Someone who you could be the dominant with.
Or are those concepts out of style again? It's been years since my
student days and our gab fests."

I must have been staring, for she giggled again.

"Oh, DO relax, Tasha, it's not the end of the world. It feels
wonderful, what we did together. Woman to woman I won't deny it was
fun.

The cold tone was suddenly back. "At the same time I feel like tearing
your head off for not at least asking pretty please with sugar on it.

"I am NOT a toy, Lieutenant Yar, and I'll expect you to remember that
in the future." We had went from friend Tasha to FIRST LIEUTENANT Yar
in a few dozen words. Suddenly I realized something and the gleam in
her eyes told me she had been expecting me to understand her hidden
comment.

"Commander....Doctor...ah, why aren't you more upset that I just made
love to you as a lesbian? You've never struck me as having a hidden
dyke inside, not even a little tiny lez one." Hoping for an answer.
Maybe all was not finished for my career after all.

She openly smiled and the knot in my stomach loosened just a hair.

"Do you know how many years I spent in schools? More than I wish to
remember. In all that time, do you think I could go on without running
into the sporadic attentions of other women who wanted to show me
their .... love?"

"This isn't your first..." I managed to squeak. In more ways than one,
had I just gotten lucky? It's all right. I'll accept any bone I'm
tossed.

"Speaking strictly woman to woman, and I'll thank you to keep this to
yourself, I've tried that woman-to-woman thing before. Three times,
and I have to state it was distinctly underwhelming. Lez sex was not
something waiting for me to try again."

Silence. How to say again how sorry I was? I didn't feel a threat to
my career now, but I could feel immensely stupid and cruel to have
taken Bev the way I did.

"If it's any comfort, Doctor, I've always known I'd love to love you."
There, right, that'd make her trust me again. Certainly. In forty-four
years and then some.

She laughed, still not coming closer to me.

"You think the old Alpha female still has it? Whatever it is that
we're all supposed to have? Believe it or not, Tasha, that's
comforting to hear. By the time you reach my age you begin thinking
how much better you'd feel with a touch here, a touch there, and maybe
get rid of the wattles under the arms too."

"They still determine who's pretty and who's not, don't they?" I
added. She knew of whom I referred.

"Men? Oh yes. We've got our own pack load of guilt there. We don't
need to believe in their illusions. But no one ever denies them...."

It was so relaxing to sit there, now. Just us two girls. Don't know
what she was thinking but I was remembering those sweet rose-nippled
breasts of hers. Wonderful thing about redheads. Red nippled breasts.

Bev broke into our silence with more words.

"I heard an interesting rumor today, about a certain butchy blonde and
an android." Smiling at me. "Maybe you've heard it as well." Oh, oh. I
am not going to like this.

"The rumor says this blonde confronted the android at beginning of
shift and told him it never happened. One wonders what happened that
never happened after all, don't you, Lieutenant Yar?" My ears were
hot. Goodness, the scuttlebutt on this ship must approach Warp Nine
for speed of movement.

"Of course," she continued, "any number of things never happened.
Someone might wish they happened, but they're suffering from
delusions. Aren't they, Lieutenant Yar? Memory is such a chancy thing
unless you take it firmly by the throat and squeeze until it stops
wriggling, yes?"

I'd never known the good Doctor to be that poetic.

"You can rely on me, Commander. My memory has just been blown out the
airlock." She was openly smiling now, not that nervous little
half-smile she wore too much. Nice phrasing that. Out the airlock.
There but for the grace of redheads might have gone me.

"You and me? I don't remember anything. Do you?

She got her command look back into her face. "There is an amendment to
that. I will never never never EVER hear about how a woman under my
command got away with doing and screwing me fart blind, now will I?"

I hope to hell I looked as sincere as I felt. Maybe in my own dreams
I'll remember the way you fed me your swinging breasts as you rode me.
But no one else'll ever know.

Bev smiled again, reaching over and patting me on my hand. Letting me
be thoroughly wrong by my own admission. "It's okay, Tasha. I still
love and respect you, and I still think you're beautiful, and I hope
we'll return to being shipmates together.

"And I hope you remember how painful it might get after I flay the
skin off your living ass, and then rub salt in it, if you ever, ever,
ever, EVER touch me again without saying cross my heart and pretty
please please first."

She quickly rose and I followed. Presenting her cheek. "Give me a
kiss, then get your ass back to your cabin." Afterwards; "Dismissed."

---

Wesley passed me on my way to what I knew was going to be an
interesting attempt at finding sleep. He didn't appear to be relishing
going to bed this night either.

He wouldn't meet my eyes, but then that was probably for his own sins,
not mine. Tales of his screw-up must be half-way back to Terra by now.
Poor Wes. He was a bit of a fool at times, but this time he'd really
done it up golden.

Yeah, I reminded myself. Like someone else I knew. My own mistake
would never now be spread across half the quadrant. There but for the
grace of Buddha go I......

Once back home I stripped to undies, had a biscuit with blackberry
marm, and decided to put off my exercises until tomorrow. My sex toy
had been on the floor when I awoke this morning, and I debated either
cleaning it or tossing it in the replicator chute for disassembly.
Naw. It had cost to much. I'll clean it.

When the door chimed, I grabbed my short robe, the one with the elbows
out.

"Enter."

It was Beverly, Doctor Crusher. She walked inside, looked around,
nodding her head. "Looks peaceful, calming, nice work with the walls.
Didn't get to look around much this morning. Maybe you could show me
around, this time?"

Stammering; "Ah, wha, well, ah, could I get you something? I have some
Bajoran spring wine in the stasis? What could....?"

"Wesley knows only that I might not be back. Tonight."

Hello?

She draped her jacket neatly on the back of my couch. Smiling at me.
Kicking off her boots after tapping the binds. The Doctor handed me
one of the dermal regenerators.

"If you have rug burn like I do, we both need that regenerator. It
works beautifully to soothe someplace where I'm still a little sore.
It should ease your innermost aches as well."

She pulled her issue shirt off, making her breasts move in their gray
undershirt blouse. She was sliding her pants off her hips when she
giggled again. Sweet girlish giggle, I loved it, and wished she'd use
it more in sickbay. "Do you like?", meaning her body. She was gorgeous
to my eyes.

"You know, we don't need the toy." Indicating what I had laid on my
sidetable. Oh sweet Jeez. "I think we can manage quite nicely without
it. I have this female intuition about that. Just a hunch."

Bev finished stepping out of her trousers. "We are going to take this
back to your bed this time, aren't we?

She had her bra off and was allowing it to gather itself into its
compact unworn state when she put on her Command mask.

"Well? Haven't you something to say, dear sweet Tasha?"

Oh my, did I get lost in the smile she gave me when I said the words.

"Cross my heart... Pretty pretty pretty please, Bev, darlin'?

"With....?

"With sugar on it?"

Her eyes were closed for our first kiss.

---

continued in the ninth story in the Riding The Tick series 'Balance Beam'