The next six months were perhaps the most peaceful, and enjoyable time in Pete’s life. It had taken a simple statement from Pete to have him removed from Miss Sarah’s care, and a quick guardianship hearing the week after for Amelia to have the boy officially move in with she and Ashley. For the first time in his life, Pete was able to relax within his own skin. He finally began to excel in school, not living inside a nightmare allowed him to put his full effort into his work. It quickly became apparent to all of his teachers that they had very little to teach the boy. His grades went from barely scraping by in the first marking period, to a 3.92 GPA by the time his sophomore year ended. The only person happier for Pete was Ashley.
Physically, his change in living was having an even greater effect on Pete. A steady, and healthy diet allowed him to finally pack on enough weight to fill out his enormous six foot four inch frame. His body mass increased from one hundred ninety, to almost two hundred thirty pounds, and the fact that Amelia enrolled him in the gym she used, meant that the extra weight was a lot more muscle than fat. In the school halls, the word was out about Pete as well, after the story of his second fight had made its rounds, it became his last fight. Absolutely nobody wanted a piece of him. The fact that he had fought to protect Ashley, a girl that by this time was a constant fixture at Pete’s side, even added a romantic twist to it all, making him sort of a legend in his own rite. And as he continued to fill out, a lot of the girls began to take notice of him, sadly for them, they all knew, he only had eyes for Ashley. By the time the school year had ended, everyone already considered them a couple, though, much to Ashley’s dismay, Pete continued to avoid most physical contact. Though he did concede on the point of holding her hand, or giving her a hug when she needed it, he still shied away from most else.
It was August. Ashley and Peter sat in their living room, she loved thinking of it that way, their living room, talking about nothing in particular, simply going over their plans for the next school year, Ashley ribbing Peter about when he was finally going to get his license, and just generally having fun before they both went to bed. Ashley got up to grab a glass of ice water, and coming back to the living room, she froze. Peter was staring at her, not like Frank had, with that perverse sense of desire in his eyes, but with awe, as if she were the first female he had ever seen. “What?” she asked self consciously, looking down at herself. She had on a baggy t-shirt, and terry cloth shorts that came down to mid thigh, an outfit she had worn a hundred times. “Is something wrong?”
“Ash… Ashley…” Peter stammered, his eyes locked on her, “When the… When the light from the kitchen… Behind you…” His face was pale, he could barely find the words, “I um… I’m sorry… I uh, I can see through your shirt” he blurted out finally
“Peter…” Ashley said lightly, her smile was warm, and affectionate, “I’ve um… Kinda been trying to get you to look at me like that for months now…” She blushed, this was the first time in her life that she had actively been trying to get a man’s attention, and she had begun to despair of ever catching Peter’s eye in more than a protective way.
Pete slowly got to his feet, and walked over to the blushing girl, and put his hands gently on her shoulders. He had by now noticed the fact that Ashley no longer even had to restrain the impulse to flinch with him, it was simply no longer there. “Ashley, ” he began, looking directly in her eyes, wanting her to know exactly how he felt as he spoke, “I have thought the sun rose and set on you from the first time you took the time to look at me not the shell that used to surround me.” his voice was steady, and calm, he had been trying to find a way to say these things to her for a long, long time now. But he had no experience in this area, so he never knew if it was right, until now. “I thought you were the single most beautiful person I had ever seen. And now that I know you the way I do, I know that what I thought then, pales in comparison, to what I now see every time I look at you.” he took one last deep breath, and plunged on with what he now had to get out before it blew up within him. “Ashley, I never tried anything, because I wanted you to know that what I am about to say I mean with everything I have. I love you Ashley Waters.” Then, with no preamble, or hesitation, he bent down, and kissed Ashley gently on her full, moist lips. The kiss only lasted a few seconds, and when he stood back up, he saw a dreamy smile spread across Ashley’s face, her eyes still closed, in that moment, frozen in time in Pete’s mind, she was the absolute most beautiful he had ever seen her. “Goodnight Ashley.” he whispered, and walked down the hall to his bedroom.
Ashley opened her eyes when she heard Peter’s bedroom door close, and her smile broadened, as she remembered the five words, Peter loved her! The very thought of it made her want to scream in joy, that beautiful, intelligent, wonderful boy loved her! It was more than she could process, and suddenly she felt very insecure. Ashley spun quickly, and raced up the stairs to her aunt’s bedroom door. Normally she would have knocked, and waited, but this was far too important to wait, and so she pushed the door open, and ran to Aunt Em’s bed. “Aunt Em, wake up! We need to talk, now!”
Amelia sat up groggily, looking at her niece in concern, thinking there was some sort of emergency. She almost panicked until she saw the smile engraved across Ashley’s face. “Ashley…” she said, sleep still deep in her voice, “It’s almost midnight honey, what’s the matter?”
“It’s… It’s Peter…” Ashley stammered, not really knowing where to begin, “He uh… He told me something tonight…”
Amelia sat bolt upright, concern written all over her face, “What happened?” she demanded, “What did he say?” she had always harbored a fear that, one day, Peter would decide he could not live in her house any more. That his resentment would return, and he would leave, and the idea of failing him again was almost more than she could bear.
“Aunt Em… He told me he loves me!” her smile could have lit up a small city, it was so bright, “He told me he’s loved me since the first time he caught me looking at him. Aunt Em…” tears filled her eyes as she spoke, “What do I do now?”
“He said what?” Amelia asked, not believing that Peter, that shy boy, would ever find it in himself to admit that he felt how, Amelia knew, he felt towards Ashley. “Tell me what happened.” she said again, more intently this time. And so Ashley settled in, more comfortably, and began explaining the entire incident, she was not shy about how she had tried to seduce the boy, and when she got to where Peter had finally told her exactly how he felt about her, her smile was so radiant it was nearly blinding. Amelia was overjoyed for her niece, they had spoken many times in the past months, Ashley coming to terms with the fact that Peter was the part of her that Frank had taken from her. She had listened to her niece, as she began to realize herself, that the broken pieces of her own life, fit perfectly together, with his. Amelia hugged her happily crying niece, and whispered, “It certainly took him long enough, didn’t it honey?”
The next two weeks were very confusing for Pete. While Ashley seemed ecstatic that he had finally admitted that he loved her, she also seemed both nervous, and flirtatious at the same time. He would catch her, when she though he wasn’t looking, casting appraising looks his way, but he never felt that sick hunger he had felt all of his life. This was different somehow, with the looks came gentle hugs, and brief kisses, which he was all too happy to reciprocate, but as soon as they began, she retreated again, leaving him in questioning silence. But, he thought, as long as she was willing to kiss him before she ran off, it was a deal he could live with. Ashley also seemed to be spending a lot of time, closeted away with her aunt, the two of them spending hours at a time in Ashley’s room. And the only explanation Pete ever got when asking what was up, was a knowing smile from both of them.
Pete’s birthday finally arrived. If Pete had to be honest with himself, he didn’t even know what date his birthday fell on, it had been so long since he had been allowed to celebrate it. So Amelia again went to her case files, and found out that Pete had been born on August twenty third, and Ashley had insisted that they have a party for him. He really didn’t know how to react to it all, he’d never really had a birthday worth celebrating before. But there he sat, in the kitchen, eating his favorite dinner of grilled hamburgers, and curly fries, with Ashley and Amelia, for the first time, understanding what it was like to have a family.
Dinner was done, and the cake had been eaten, they had discovered early on, that Pete had a fondness for red velvet with cream cheese icing, and tonight Ashley had decided to make a double decker cake for Pete, all on her own. After they had finished putting the dishes away, and wrapping up the leftovers, Ashley grabbed Pete by the wrist, and smiling, began dragging him toward the door to the back porch. “C’mon Peter!” she said, her excitement bubbling out in every word, “It’s time for your present!”
The screen door to the back porch banged shut, and Ashley plopped him down in an Adirondack chair, “Close your eyes Peter,” she whispered, as she she hugged him around his neck, kissing his cheek tenderly, “And happy birthday sweetie.” A squirming, squeaking, bundle was deposited in Pete’s lap, “Open your eyes Peter!”
Pete opened his eyes, and looked down into the honey colored eyes of an adorable, dark brindled, pit bull puppy. The little dog began wagging its tail as it climbed up his chest, curiously examining its new owner. Pete stared down in disbelief, as the inquisitive face of the puppy finally made it to his, and began sniffing its new owner. Tears began to slip down Pete’s face, as his large, scarred hands, gently began to stroke the soft fur along the puppy’s back. “Thank you so much!” he whispered hoarsely as his tear rimmed eyes looked up at Ashley and Amelia, “I don’t deserve this, but thank you, both of you!” he said, as his puppy began to lick the salty tears off of his cheek.
“No Peter,” Amelia said softly, tears standing in her eyes, “You deserve this more than I can say. Ashley decided to call this little guy Brooklyn for the last three days,” she said as she too began stroking the puppy’s back, “He’s been pretty hard to keep a secret.”
Pete, and Ashley were, by now, sitting next to one another, crying openly as Brooklyn tried to lick both of their faces at the same time. “Happy birthday Peter.” Ashley murmured, and reaching up, took his battered, tear streaked, face in her hands and kissed him. This kiss was different than any other they had ever shared, and Pete could feel it instantly, it was not gentle or hesitant, it was deep, and searching. There were no warning flares, there was no screaming inside his own head, there was only a profound sense of right. Ashley pulled away slowly, her eyes shining as they looked into Peter’s “I want you to know something Peter…” she said gently, never taking her eyes off of his, “I love you too Peter Daniels.”
It was later that night, Pete had spent hours playing with his new dog, and looking up at Ashley, both of their faces glowing, as they caught each others eyes. The night had finally worn down, and Pete had brought Brooklyn to his room, bedding him down in a small basket with one of his old t-shirts. Pete woke up in the dead of the night, knowing instantly that he was not alone, his years of abuse, warning him when someone was close to him. “Peter…” the whispered voice came from just beside his bed, “You awake?” Pete rolled over slowly, his wary eyes softening instantly, as he saw Ashley standing before him. Ashley bit her lip, insecurity, and fear written all over her face, “Peter…” she whispered softly, as she crawled onto the mattress beside him, “Peter, I need…” tears were in her eyes, as she reached up to touch his face, her fingertips gently caressing his cheek, “I need you Peter. I need you to show me that Frank didn’t steal this from me too,” her heart was breaking in her voice, and the fear of rejection was written all over her face, “Please Peter, please…”
Pete silenced her pleading with a finger placed gently against her lips, “Ashley…” he whispered, and leaned up and kissed her, his hand gently sliding around her head, to hold her to the kiss. Ashley moaned into his embrace, as her lips gently parted, and accepted Peter’s tongue into her mouth. There was no warning cry in Ashley’s mind, there was no sick hunger in Peter’s touch, there was only that same, warm, safe touch she felt the first time he ever touched her. Peter slid his other hand up Ashley’s thigh, and hesitated at the hem of her night shirt, his strong fingers squeezing her flesh softly. Ashley’s moan intensified as she felt Peter’s hand so close to where she wanted him to be.
Taking the initiative, Ashley grabbed Peter’s wrist, and pulled it up under her shirt letting his hand come to rest on her soaking wet slit. “Please Peter…” she whispered, looking deeply into the eyes of the boy she loved so deeply, “I need this so badly…” she moaned, as her hand slid down Peter’s stomach, and under the band of his boxers. Her eyes widened in surprise as she came into contact with his firmly erect cock for the first time. “Please Peter, I need to know this is how it’s supposed to be. I need you to make love to me.” the fear of rejection was still written all over her face, as she began pushing his boxers down urgently.
Peter dragged his finger slowly through Ashley’s slit, as she moaned more loudly into his mouth. She was soaking wet, and her hips bucked into his touch, when he finally found her clit. Knowing how to pleasure a woman was something he had learned at the brutal hands of Miss Sarah, but for the first time, he felt like this was something different. This time he was deriving pleasure from giving this beautiful, scared, fragile, girl kissing him, pleasure. He circled his finger lightly around the erect bud of her clit, increasing the pressure as he felt her responding to his touch. “Oh God Peter! Just like that!” Ashley gasped as a wave of orgasm crashed over her, her arms pulled Peter into her, as spasms rocked her body. Pete could feel her erect nipples drilling into his chest through her nightshirt, and her hand lock into a strangle hold around his cock. “Oooohhhhh Peter!” Ashley moaned loudly, her head thrown back, her eyes squeezed shut in pleasure.
Ashley collapsed next to Pete, her body drenched in sweat, and shaking from the most intense orgasm of her life (in truth it was the first one she had not given herself). Impulsively she threw her arm over Pete’s chest, and pulled him to her, kissing him hungrily, for the first time in her life, she felt an actual desire for a man to be inside of her body, and she desperately wanted it to be him! “Peter, I need you right now,” she said, in a husky voice, as she nibbled on his lower lip, “I need you inside of me Peter! I need to give this to you!” her voice was intense, as her need spiked when she felt Peter begin to pull her shirt up over her body. She wanted Peter to see her, she needed him to see her. She needed to see in his eyes if he wanted her or if he was only seeing sex. She wanted to see desire, but she needed to see love, and compassion. When the shirt passed over her head, and landed somewhere in the darkness, she looked up at Peter, and waited, biting her lip, hoping that he could be everything she needed him to be.
Pete looked down, and gasped, Ashley’s breasts were firm, and full, her pale pink nipples topped off the perfectly proportioned C cups, which were heaving up and down as Ashley gulped in breath. He quickly scanned her body, her full breasts sloped down to a flat stomach, Ashley was trim, without that hard muscularity that seemed to be so desirable these days, instead she was soft, and supple, with her curves more of an accentuation of her beauty, instead of a definition of it. Her hips flared out gently, tapering into a pair of the most gorgeous legs Pete had ever seen. And at the juncture of those legs, was her swollen, and dripping sex, shaved smooth except for a single small tuft about half an inch above her exposed clit, her pubic hair the same rust red as the glorious locks that Pete now ran his hands through.
Pete looked up into Ashley’s expectant, fearful eyes, and her heart soared, he was looking at her, and seeing Ashley, the woman he had fearlessly, and fearsomely defended, the Ashley he had cried against, and who’d cried against him. He was seeing Ashley, the girl he loved beyond anything else in the world, yes there was desire in his eyes, but it wasn’t just that hunger that she had seen all those years with Frank, this was tender, and amazed, and it made Ashley feel like a real person for the first time since Frank had come to her room all those years ago. “You are absolutely amazing Ashley,” Peter whispered as he gazed into her eyes, “And I love you so…” his words were cut off as Ashley pulled his face into hers, her mouth searching out his, and forcing her tongue into his mouth, as her hands continued to push his boxers down and off.
It was now Ashley’s turn to examine Peter, and her eyes roamed hungrily over his muscular frame, she no longer saw the scars that laced his body, she had long since looked beyond the mere surface, now she only saw his body, flushed with excitement and need, his broad chest heaving with deep breaths, and his hard muscled stomach tensing as her eyes followed their lines down to his tapered waist, and lower to his erect cock, throbbing in desire of her. Ashley smiled wantonly at Peter, as she pushed him onto his back, and threw her left leg over his hips. “I’ve wanted this since the first day you came to visit me here Peter,” she hissed, as she pressed her vagina onto the rigid underside of his cock, “I needed to know I could do this for you, and it feels so right!” she reached down between them, and, grasping his hard rod, she rose up, and slotted his head into the entrance of her dripping wet hole. “Peter, I need you so badly, pleeeeaaasssseeeeee!” Her last word was a long drawn out moan, as she slowly pushed herself down his cock.
Pete was amazed, Ashley was the polar opposite of Sarah. Where Sarah had been hot, and wet, just like Ashley, she had also felt open, and sloppy. Ashley was tight, and firm, and her pussy walls gripped Pete’s cock like a fist made out of velvet. “Oh God Ashley!” he moaned, his hands sliding around the soft curve of her hips, as his eyes bored deeply into hers. “You… Ugh! You’re sooooo…” the words were strangled out of him as Ashley settled down on the base of his dick. He couldn’t speak, he could barely think, it was as if her pussy had been custom made for his dick, and it gripped him in ways he had never imagined possible. He slid his right hand up her body, and gently cupped her breast, her nipple drilling into his palm, as her breathing increased. He felt Ashley reverse direction, and slowly drag her pussy up his cock, and he gasped in ecstasy, “Ughhh!”
“Oh yes! Peter, just there!” she panted, as she slid back down along his hard meat, raking her clit against it, until it slapped into his pelvic bone. In a flash of inspiration, she began to grind their hips together in a soft circular motion, causing both of them to groan. Her tempo slowly increased, she would bounce her slit on Peter’s cock for a couple of strokes, and then grind on him for a few rotations, and repeat. But as she got more accustomed to Peter’s size, and girth, her speed began increasing, her pattern became more erratic, and finally, she was simply pumping up and down, her pussy sliding over that glorious, hard cock, as she looked down into the glowing, groaning face of her Peter, her Peter, forever hers. The thought of him being with her forever, combined with the erotic thrill of making love to this amazing man below her, was too much, her back arched, her eyes screwed shut, and her teeth clenched, as an orgasm unlike any she had ever experienced slammed into her like an avalanche. “Ooohhhhhh Fuuuuuuccccckkkkkkkk!” she moaned loudly, as she shook in spasms of pleasure, finally collapsing onto Peter’s heaving chest.
She was glowing in the aftershocks of her most incredible orgasm ever, when she was suddenly shocked, as Peter grasped her leg, and rolled her over so he was on top of her, his cock never leaving her pussy. He smiled down at her, as he leaned in for another, hungry, passionate kiss, his motion causing his cock to slide inside of her again fully.”Oh God Ashley,” he whispered as he slowly began sliding out of her, “I love you so much.” and so saying, he slid back inside of her. His tempo was slightly faster than when she had began riding him, his thrusts were more powerful, but she could feel he was intentionally holding back.
Ashley’s hand came up and cupped Peter’s face, forcing him to look her directly in the eye, “Peter… I want… This to be… Yours too!” she grunted, her words stuttering with the timing of his thrusts, “Let it… Go Peter… I’m yours… And You’re… Miiiinnnnnneeeeee!” her last word became a squeal as Peter finally understood. She was okay with this act of love, it was finally clear that they belonged together, and she wanted to experience it fully, not just on her terms, but on their terms.
Peter’s thrusts picked up, his tempo increasing until his hips were pounding into hers, her hips flying up to smack into his, as she thrust up to match his own. They created a tempo all their own, as passion, and pleasure, and love, all mingled into one beautiful act. Ashley wrapped her arms around Peter’s back, her short nails trying to claw at his flesh, as she lost herself to the pleasure he was giving her, her legs locked around his hips, pulling herself up to meet his thrusts, causing her clit to scrape along his cock in the most amazing way. Finally, she couldn’t hold back anymore, her body began to shake, and she pulled herself up and buried her face into Peter’s neck, and screamed, as seizure like tremors shot through her body. Peter felt her pussy clamp around his cock, her orgasm triggering his own. With one final thrust into her body, he unloaded his cum, firing rope after rope of fiery hot semen deep inside of her. When Ashley felt him unloading inside of her, it caused her orgasm to peak again, the shaking and wailing intensifying until, at last, both of them collapsed, Peter rolling to his side, his arm laying across her heaving, gasping chest, and they laid there, together in the afterglow of their first time together.
They laid together, for how long, neither of them knew, but Pete finally got his breath back, as he looked at the luminous smile spread across Ashley’s beautiful face. “Ashley, ” he whispered, as his hand slid up gently cup her face, “It was never like that before. It was never beautiful…” he wished he’d had a better way to explain it to her, despite his extreme intelligence, he felt like the words were so inadequate, that they did no justice to what he was trying to express.
Ashley’s smile only broadened as she saw him struggling to put it into words, “Peter,” she whispered, placing a tiny finger gently to his lips, “When I was a little girl, I thought Frank had stolen my life from me. It wasn’t until the first time I kissed you, that I felt like it was being given back to me.” she explained slowly, “Aunt Em says that there are no perfect people in the world, only people who’s pieces fit together perfectly. Peter, we were both broken when we found each other, but those jagged edges…” she leaned over, and kissed him softly, her lips lingering on his for several seconds, “They fit together perfectly Peter. I love you Peter Daniels, and I’m not ever going to let you go!” she whispered fiercely, as her arms tightened around his torso.
“I love you too Ashley Wat…” his words were cut short as a curious, furry face suddenly launched itself onto both of them. Brooklyn, having been woken up by their love making, had crawled up onto the bed, and was investigating the strange sounds being made by his new owners. His wet nose burrowing in between them, as he tried to make sure they were both alright. The tense mood was shattered by light giggles, as the little puppy wormed his way comfortably between them, and nuzzled them both into submission.
At the top of the stairs, sitting in the subdued darkness of the early morning, Amelia Warren sat, and listened, as her niece, and the boy she had come to think of as her own family, had finally given in to the feelings they both shared. She smiled, as she came to terms with what had happened between them. They had both been so fragile, and damaged, by the trauma of their past, but they fit so well together, she could tell, that the two of them were going to be so much stronger, now that they had finally admitted how they felt about each other.
The next two weeks were a blur for both Peter, and Ashley, while they had acknowledged their love for one another, and had made love on several occasions, it was all still new to them. They had never been intimate with the people they had been forced to have sex with, so this was a completely new experience for both of them. By the time school began, Ashley was sleeping in Peter’s bed with him, almost as often as she slept in her own. They didn’t always have sex, most of the time, it was simply the intimate contact of holding each other in their sleep, that they either needed or wanted. What had changed most dramatically, was how open Peter was in his affection for Ashley, he would spontaneously hug, or kiss her, just to show her he was thinking of her. Some days he would scoop her tiny frame up in his arms, and plop down on the couch, with her leaning into him, as Broadway, Hudson, and Brooklyn, all clamored for spots on the couch with them. Amelia had never been happier for them, as she was when she saw just how deeply they loved one another.
The first week of school was an eye opener for the rest of the students. They had seen the relationship between Pete and Ashley, in its infancy, but when they all returned from summer break, they were seeing it in its full bloom. The couple walked hand in hand down the halls, their fingers intertwined, and stole kisses between classes. They suddenly found themselves to be the most talked about couple in the school. Every boy who saw them couldn’t help but wonder how a girl as hot as Ashley Waters could stand to be seen with a scarred up, hulking freak like Pete Daniels. Every girl that looked at them, was jealous that their boyfriends weren’t as attentive, or affectionate as Ashley’s. And the fact that Pete had put several boys in the hospital defending her, made Ashley the most envied girl in school.
Neither of them paid it any attention, they didn’t care what other people had to say about them, it didn’t matter one lick. By the end of the first week, the looks had turned from curiosity, to envy, several of the school’s social elite, the most popular girls, had tried to find out what made Pete so special, some of them being very bold in their approach. Pete either ignored them entirely, which drove the girls, who were so used to getting their own way, completely mad, or he rebuffed them, very firmly. One girl in particular, Stacy Granger, who the year before, had been very vocal in her dislike of Pete, calling him things like”Whipping Boy” because of the scars he could not hide, had tried to get him to take her to the Band room.
“Hey Pete…” she had begun, gently running her fingers along his forearm, “A bunch of the girls were wondering, ya know, how Ashley got so lucky,” her eyes were full of lust, as she felt the hard muscles in Pete’s arm, “I was wondering… If maybe you wanted to share?” When Pete realized that ignoring her was not working, he looked down into the vapid, blue eyes, and he saw it. The one thing he could never, ever, stand seeing again, that same, sick desire, that he had seen so often in the people that had hurt him, before he could respond, Stacy continued, “C’mon Pete, the Band room is unlocked, and Ashley doesn’t have to know…”
Pete knew his answer before she even finished speaking. “I don’t think so Stacy,” he said loudly enough for the entire hallway to hear, “I don’t think I’d ever go to the Band room with you, or any of your friends. I don’t think I could stomach it.” and he turned and began walking away.
“What’s wrong Whipping Boy?!” Stacy shrieked, outraged that this stupid freak had had the nerve to say no to her! “Don’t think you could handle it?”
Pete simply turned, and with pity in his eye, replied “It’s not that Stacy. It’s just that Ashley is so much better than you are.” and he walked away, leaving a stunned, silent Stacy in his wake. By the time he sat down next to Ashley at lunch, the story, and several truly embarrassing videos of Pete’s rejection of Stacy had been circulated. Ashley’s million watt smile preceded a kiss that had the entire cafeteria hollering encouragement to the couple.
At the same time, several of the guys who fancied themselves God’s gift to the school, had tried to find out what made Pete so loyal, figuring Ashley had to have some sort of trick that would blow them away. It was much easier for Ashley to push them away, since all she had to do was remind them that it would only take her word that they had tried something, and Peter just might put them in traction. After last year, with some of the biggest ‘Alpha Males’ in the school demolished, absolutely no one wanted to risk becoming Pete Daniels’ next target.
By the end of that first week, things had settled down socially. Peter didn’t care that he didn’t fit into a social group, and Ashley, who had never tried, was simply happy to have the man she loved. Academically however, things became much different for both of them. Peter had been a year behind Ashley, but it was obvious that he did not belong in his classes. With his GPA from the year before, he had been placed in all advanced courses this year, but even then, his teachers were stumped as to how to keep up with him. His guidance councilor Mrs. Jacobs decided to have the boy’s I.Q. Tested, to find out just how far he might possibly go. So one day, after lunch he sat down with a state auditor, and took his first I.Q. Test since sixth grade.
A week later, he was sitting in Ashley’s room, helping her with her physics homework, when they heard Amelia scream in shock from the kitchen. They raced downstairs, concerned she might have hurt herself. They both loved the woman dearly, but she should never be left alone in the kitchen, the results were usually devastatingly bad. They found Amelia sitting at the kitchen table, her jaw hanging open in shock, holding a tri-folded form letter. As soon as they entered, her eyes jumped from the form, to Peter, and back. She swallowed slowly, “Ummm… Peter…” she began, shock still evident in her voice “Your I.Q. Test results were in the mail today…” She slowly slid the form across the table, where Ashley scooped it up.
She quickly scanned the letter, it had the usual preface, with a bunch of nonsense about the test having no baring in any scholastic outcome. But was quickly followed by a table showing the designations of functionality based on test score, starting at 0; or profoundly retarded , all the way to 145+; being ‘genius level, and beyond’. Ashley’s eyes scanned further down the page, and she stopped, unable to believe what she was seeing. In a single highlighted line ‘Subject’s completed form percentage: 100% Subject’s form results: 179. Recommended Placement: Gifted or “Above”‘ “Oh my God Peter!” she whispered, as she showed him the highlighted entry.
Pete had no idea how to react. He had been told so often that he was worthless, that he had actually believed it. And now, holding Ashley in his arms staring down at the letter was proof of what Ashley had told him all along. She had always told him that he was special, and now she had the proof she needed to really hammer that statement home. But something in Pete was unsettled, One the foundations of his life, ‘Love is a sham’ had been utterly destroyed, vaporized under the realization that people actually cared about him, for no other reason than they wanted him to be happy. Now the second pillar that had supported everything he believed about his life, was about to crumble. Not knowing what else to do, Pete bolted for the back door.
A half hour later, Amelia, and Ashley, found Peter sitting in the back corner of the yard, behind a century old rhododendron, with Brooklyn curled up in his lap. He was sitting in the mulch, stroking the puppy’s back, as tears gently fell down his cheeks, as he whispered to the dog. “Why did it have to say that buddy?” he asked, as the dog looked up at him, “Why did it have to say I was different again? Ya know? I thought I finally found somewhere I could just… Be me,” he sniffed, his voice cracking slightly, “And now that paper says I’m some kinda genius or something…” his voice choked out as he sobbed again, “How can I ever just be me now? Now everyone is gonna want me to be special, they’re gonna expect me do something. I’m not sure if I can buddy…” Brooklyn had, by this point, crawled his way up Pete’s chest, and with a whimpering whine, began to lick Pete’s face. It was almost as though the beautiful puppy was trying to say ‘But you are special! You’re my daddy!’
It had taken Ashley and Amelia almost three hours to talk Peter down, both of them knowing exactly how he felt. They had both seen in Peter, something extraordinary, but the boy was so self effacing, that he could never see it in himself. Just as he now accepted that Ashley loved him unconditionally, he was still not sure what he had done to deserve it. Ashley had promised him, that neither her nor Aunt Em would ever expect more from him than he expected from himself. It was bittersweet, to see this wonderful boy, who had been so beaten down, so ground under heel, that even when absolute proof of his worth was being handed to him, he was unable to fathom it of himself.
The news of Peter’s I.Q. Test results hit the school like a bombshell. Suddenly, the quiet, introverted boy, who had so ferociously come out of his shell last year, became the first accredited genius to ever grace the halls of Walker Centralized High School. His teachers were floored by the news, they had known by the end of his first week that they had very little they could teach him, but he had just catapulted past them in astronomical fashion. Attention was still something Pete was immensely uncomfortable with, and his new found celebrity made it nearly impossible for him to function.
Somehow, he survived until lunch period, and as he walked toward the cafeteria, Ashley caught up to him. Lacing her fingers into his, she whispered, “Come with me Peter,” and dragged him down the hall. Ashley was insistent, and tugged Peter along, like Broadway, and Brooklyn, on their way to the dog park. They finally came to a stop at the storage room, where their improbable relationship had begun, and Ashley turned to Peter, and gave him a coy, yet wicked smile. After she led Peter into the storage room, she pushed him roughly up against the door, and dragged his face down to kiss her. “Peter,” she breathed heavily, “When we have sex, you give me so much, and you always make sure it’s all about me,” her fingers had already slipped open his belt, and zipper, and she was roughly pushing his pants down his legs, “I know you need this Peter, and I want this to be all for you,” her hand wrapped around his thickening cock, as she fell to her knees, and slowly took him into her mouth.
Peter gasped loudly, as Ashley’s tongue rolled over the head of his cock, he had always purposefully avoided this act, knowing she had been forced into it so often as a child. Now, as he looked down into Ashley’s glorious gray eyes, he could see that she was doing this as much to cleanse her old memories, as to build ones with the man she loved. Ashley bobbed her head back and forth, setting a slow easy tempo, that allowed her to begin taking more and more of Peter’s cock into her mouth. He closed his eyes tight, pleasure written all over his face, as he felt his balls gently come to rest on her chin. His gasp was strangled out of him, as he felt Ashley begin to swallow around his cock. Without even thinking, he placed his hands on the sides of her head, and gently ran his fingers through the soft rust red locks of her hair, and he felt her hum in response to the sensation. Ashley pulled back, dragging her tongue along the bulging vein on the underside of his cock, the tip coming to rest on the extremely sensitive patch of skin just behind the crown of his head, flicking along, causing white hot sparks to flash through his entire body.
“Jesus Ashley!” he groaned, his voice thick with lust, as he looked down again into those shining eyes, “If you don’t stop I’m gonna…” he trailed off into a long moan of bliss, as Ashley forcefully thrust her head down on his pipe, not stopping until he was firmly seated in her throat. Looking up at the grimace locked across his face, Ashley hummed deeply in her throat, knowing that he needed this almost as much as she did. “Ash…UGH!” was all the warning she got from Peter, as his cock throbbed deep in her throat, and blast of scalding hot cum rocketed down her gullet. Fighting back a gag response, she whipped her head back until only his head was in her mouth. Her tiny hand caught the base of his cock, her fingers not able to wrap all the way around it, as she jerked him off into her mouth. Pete’s cum was salty, and thick, but had a sweet, silky feel as it coated her tongue and pooled in her mouth. Finally after six massive bursts, Peter’s orgasm ended, and as he looked down, at this amazing woman he had somehow been lucky enough to wind up with in his life, he was amazed one last time, as she slowly, and languidly, swallowed every last drop.
Ashley shuddered slightly, and flushed a deep red, as she looked up at Peter, as he gazed in amazement back down at her. She couldn’t believe herself, as the tremors continued to course through her body. The simple act of swallowing Peter’s seed, had actually caused her to orgasm! Something she had once reviled, as one of the most disgusting acts she had been forced to do, had now made her cum! Her smile up at Peter could have dimmed the sun. “I think I needed that even more than you did baby.” she whispered huskily, as she kissed his cock one last time.
The remainder of the school year was a whirlwind of ups and downs, Pete had been given, and scored off the charts on, an advanced placement exam, his test scores showing that he was already working at a post graduate level. Amelia had helped Pete petition the school board for permission to double his schedule, and allow him to graduate with Ashley. The added course work barely slowed him down, but it did cut into their alone time together. Pete and Ashley survived their first series of arguments over his ‘lack of attention’, because Pete was unable to find any peace knowing she was angry with him, and he refused to go to bed angry, some nights sitting up, all night, in the hallway across from Ashley’s bedroom door. The look of amazed contentment on Ashley’s face when she saw Pete, leaning against the wall like a statue, just gazing up at her in the morning, was all the confirmation she needed that he still loved her.
The couple took their SAT together, and were both happy with their results, Ashley scored a 2038; Critical Reading 680, Writing 752, and Math 606. They weren’t the greatest scores ever, but they assured her, she would at least attend a good college. Pete, naturally dropped a bomb on his councilor once again, his SAT scores came back with a perfect 2400. He even received a small amount of national recognition, as one of only four, first time test takers to achieve a perfect score. What made Pete stand out in that small group was, he was the only student, that didn’t attend either a private, or prep school. It had seemed to Pete, that the more support he got from Ashley and Amelia, the harder her wanted to push himself. He felt that, since they obviously believed he was special, he owed it to them to prove it to himself too.
The college offers poured in for Pete. It seemed like almost every major university was drooling over the prospect of a genius level I.Q. being added to their rolls. Pete however refused to accept or decline any of them. Confused by his delay, and needing to know what he thought, Amelia knocked on his bedroom door one evening while he was doing his homework. “Peter?” she asked gently, as she pushed his door open, “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
Pete looked up from his calculus textbook, and smiled gently. It was one of the things Ashley had done for him over their time together, she had given him his smile back, and Amelia’s heart warmed, at seeing the expression, it seemed to fit his face so well. “Sure Aunt Em,” he replied lightly, he had taken to calling her Aunt Em, at first out of a desire to feel like part of a family, but now it was because he knew he was part of one. “What’s up?”
She sat on the edge of his bed, and put her hands in her lap, as she looked at him, “Peter, I need to ask you a few questions. That okay?” she asked gently. She had always been uneasy about asking Peter anything, always afraid that the wrong question would drive him away, but seeing him gently nod, she continued, “Peter, I know you must have seen the stacks of mail coming in for you right?” he nodded again, “Well honey, I was just wondering, if you had given any thought to which, if any of those schools you might want to attend?a”
Peter shrugged, looking at Amelia uncertainly, “Honestly Aunt Em, I was gonna wait and apply wherever Ashley decided to go,” his complete inability to lie to either of them, had forced him to avoid this question many times, the last thing he wanted was to be apart from Ashley, but he knew she would read him the riot act if she thought he was sacrificing his future just for her. “I never thought I’d ever go to college,” he said honestly, “But now that I can, I don’t want to go anywhere, unless I can be with her.”
Amelia started to say something before Peter held up his hand, cutting her off, “Please Aunt Em, let me finish saying this,” he said earnestly, “I’m not naive enough to think you don’t know what Ashley and I do together,” he stopped and waited until he saw a slight smirk appear on Amelia’s face, “I still try not to be disrespectful about it though. And as much as I enjoy what she and I do, this decision has nothing to do with that,” his eyes were intense, as he tried to convey his reasoning to Amelia, “If she told me that our last time was our last time, I would still… I dunno… I guess need is a good word, I’d need to stay close to her. If, for no other reason than, someone would need to protect her,” he could see he wasn’t making much sense to her, so he stopped to gather his thoughts.
“Peter, I know you love each other, I don’t think I’ve ever seen two people who love each other more than you two actually,” Aunt Em replied rather ruefully.
“That’s just the thing though,” Peter interrupted, “I do love Ashley, I didn’t think I’d ever know how it felt to be loved until I met her!” his heart was in his eyes, as he thought of Ashley, “But that’s also the problem. Ya see, when… When I’m with her, there is nothing that can touch me. Just being close to her… She makes me invincible! That day, last year, when Greg and his cronies came at me, if Ashley hadn’t been there, I know I wouldn’t have fought back. But she was, and she needed me to protect her, and nothing they did could hurt me. I don’t think I could be that way if she isn’t there…” his voice was choked with the tears that rimmed his eyes, “And even worse, I don’t think I’d be able to survive it, if someone hurt Ashley when I was supposed to be there to protect her, and I wasn’t.”
It clicked. Peter wasn’t afraid of making a choice in schools, and he wasn’t waiting because he just wanted to keep having sex with Ashley. He was terrified that, if he and Ashley wound up attending different schools, something might happen to her. He wasn’t even afraid that she would fall in love with someone else, he loved her so much he would just be happy that she was happy. Amelia suddenly remembered the conversation she had had with Ashley the day of Peter’s fight with Greg. Her niece had told her what Peter had said in that hallway, he had sworn that he would keep Ashley safe, and that as long as he lived, no one would ever hurt her again. “I’ll be right back Peter, there’s a few things I need to show you.” Aunt Em said gently, and quickly left the room.
Aunt Em returned maybe ten minutes later, with a few of the booklets that had come from the colleges, and a small walnut box with silver fittings. “Peter,” she began, as she took her seat on the edge of the bed once again, “I know we don’t talk about our pasts in this house, and for the most part, that is a good thing, I’m trying let you and Ashley build a future instead,” she had a quiver in her voice, a kind of pain that Peter had never heard there before, “But you need to know this, before I say anything else. Ashley never knew her real father, his name was Stephen, and he joined the Marines before she was born, so that he could support his new family.” she blinked back tears as she spoke, “He was my brother, and when he died, it not only broke my heart, but Ashley’s mother’s as well. Ashley’s mother Paula eventually met, and married Frank, when she was only two,” there was a bitter twist to her face as she continued, “Frank seemed like a great man for Paula, in the beginning. It looked like he adored her, and he positively doted on Ashley.” the irony in her voice was absolutely palpable, “And then Paula died in a car crash when Ashley was only five. Frank seemed like he was the perfect person to help her pick up the pieces, but we both know how that turned out…” She gave a bitter sob as she thought of the pain her niece was forced to endure, “I guess the only good thing to come out of all that is that Frank never lived to see his sentencing date. One of the guards at the jail let it out as to why he was there. They found him in the showers stabbed to death with his dick cut off.”
For the first time in his life, Peter felt a surge of appreciation for the criminal element. But he subdued his smile, and nodded for Aunt Em to continue. She said, “The reason I’m telling you this, is because of this,” She slowly opened the walnut box, and pulled out a silver ring, it had a large heart cut star sapphire as it’s center piece, and was surrounded by small diamonds, Peter really had no knowledge of jewelery, but he had to admit, it did look nice. “This was the ring my brother Stephen, proposed to Paula with…” her voice caught in her throat as she explained, “I… I want you to give it to Ashley, when you ask her to marry you too…”
Peter looked at her with that deer in the headlights look, as he processed what she had just said. His mouth went dry, as the realization of how little his life would mean to him if he didn’t have Ashley there with him, dawned on him. “Do… Do you really think she’d say yes?” he asked, his throat constricting as all of the possibilities unfolded in front of him.
Aunt Em smiled, and impulsively hugged Peter tightly around his neck. “Oh Peter…” she sighed, as she patted him gently on the shoulders, “You magnificent, naive, boy. If you asked Ashley to walk through fire with you, she would.” she explained softly, “She loves you that much Peter.”
The next half hour opened doors in Peter’s mind that he had never imagined. Aunt Em had shown him several booklets that had been sent to him, from colleges that Ashley had applied to as well. They were all offering him full academic scholarships, as were at least a dozen other schools across the country, but these were especially significant. Among each of these particular offers, were dispensations for housing, providing on campus housing for married couples, and any children they may have. One in particular had Peter so excited, he was literally bouncing in his seat, not only was it Ashley’s second choice school, but they had one of the best chemistry and engineering departments in the country, fields he was very interested in. But most importantly, it also had one of the top schools of music, and art in the country as well.
The rest of the school year passed like nothing Pete had ever experienced before. His doubled schedule did not so much slow Pete down, as it did add fuel to his motor. He breezed through to his finals, taking a full course load of “Advanced Placement” classes in math and science. To everyone but his family’s surprise, he coasted into graduation as the class valedictorian, his GPA a perfect 4.0, and his test scores so far ahead of the curve, that it wasn’t even a contest. When Pete was given the news, he was told he was supposed to give a speech to the entire class. A year before, this prospect would have crippled him, but, since he had finally come into his own, he had found a measure of popularity, and as long as he had Ashley with him, Pete was indestructible.
And so graduation day finally arrived. Aunt Em was in the seats, smiling proudly at both of them. And for the first time in his life, Pete knew that what he was going to do, as he walked toward the podium, was exactly what he was meant to do. Pete adjusted the microphone, looked out into the crowd, cleared his throat and began speaking, “My fellow students, I know many of you didn’t know me last year, and if you did, you certainly didn’t want to admit it,” he smiled out at the assembled students, as a light chuckle ran through them, “But last year began a journey, well maybe more of a marathon,” again, he paused, knowing most of the students understood he managed to become class valedictorian while taking double course work, “But that journey brought me here, to commencement, which I am proud to be sharing with all of you. The word commencement implies the ending of something, but that is not the case. Tomorrow morning is going to dawn, as the first day of our lives, because after tomorrow, it will be our lives, lived on terms we have chosen. So today, I choose to think of this, not as the finishing line, but as the starting line, and I am proud to be standing at the starting line of life, with all of you.” there was a small smattering of applause as the idea slowly settled into the minds of the students in front of him, “I never imagined myself, standing here, and I never imagined giving a speech like this, mostly because I never thought I’d make it this far. Until last year, when I met the people I now consider my family, I had none. They are the ones who made me understand what I could achieve, so long as I had people who cared, and loved me, to help shoulder the burden. So if nothing else, I leave you with this. Keep the friends you’ve made here, but as you walk down the paths your lives will follow, remember to surround yourself with people who care as much for you, as you do for them, they will be the ones that help you pick yourself up when you think life has you beat. And never let what is in your heart go unsaid, because you may never get the chance to say it again.”
He looked at the principal Mrs. Klinger, raised his eyebrow in a question, and she smiled and nodded. He had asked specific permission to do this, and wanted to make sure it was still alright. Pete plucked the microphone out of it’s stand, and looked out into the crowd again “With that said however, I’d like to ask you all for your indulgence, while I finally say what, in my heart, needs to be said.” the students were murmuring uncertainly, trying to figure out what was going on, as Pete walked down off the stage, and down to the fourth row of seats, on the left. Sitting on the corner seat, in her graduation gown in the school color of emerald green, was Ashley. Pete stopped, and looked down at this amazing woman, that he was so lucky to have, and spoke again, “Ashley, a year and a half ago, you changed my entire world, with a few simple words, and a little bit of kindness. For that I will always be grateful. But then you tipped it upside down last summer, with just three simple words.” There were tears in Ashley’s eyes, as she stared up at him, her smile bright enough to blind.
“And now, Ashley Waters, I’m hoping you will change my life, with one more, simple, word.” his hand slipped beneath his gown as he slowly went down to one knee. Suddenly, half of the girls in the crowd were bouncing, and squealing in excitement, as Pete pulled the ring Aunt Em had given him out of his pocket. “Ashley Waters… Will you marry me?”
The tears were running, unchecked, down Ashley’s cheeks, as her hands covered her mouth. She was beyond speech, as she held her left hand out to the man she wanted to be with forever. As the ring slid down her finger, her smile went brighter, and brighter. And as the ring settled down, just below her knuckle, she let loose a scream, “YES!” and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him into a kiss.
It took nearly a half hour to calm everyone down enough to proceed with the ceremony. And by the end of the day, everyone had their diploma. After they had all tossed their caps in the air, and filed out, Pete, and Ashley found themselves mobbed by their fellow students. The girls all insisted on seeing the ring, and gushing over Ashley, being lucky enough to have found such an unpolished gem as Pete. The guys were all insistent on slapping Pete on the back, and congratulating him on catching an obvious keeper like Ashley. After nearly an hour, they both finally got to make their excuses, and made it home. As soon as she walked through the door, Ashley marched upstairs, and without preamble, or explanation, began moving her things down, into Pete’s room.
The next morning, Ashley woke up with Peter’s arms wrapped around her, his warm hands caressing her skin, in their bed. She smiled at the idea of it, their bed, and then blushed, as she remembered the night before, as Peter had held her, his belly against hers, pulling her onto his beautiful cock, as they made love in a frenzy. Ashley had bitten Peter’s shoulder while she came, bitten so hard, that when they had finally come to a crashing halt, she looked at it, and saw an angry looking hickey. And Peter, this amazing man, who was now her fiance, had only smiled at it, saying “A small price for having you in my life.” The feel of Peter’s arms tightening around her, as he woke up, and hugged her to him, made her groan in happiness, this was a feeling she would always cherish. Waking up in Peter’s arms, was the last piece, the last thing she had though Frank had taken from her forever, and now here it was, being given back, by a boy no one but her had ever bothered trying to love, this was what felt right for them both.
They sat at the kitchen table, Ashley sipping coffee, Peter, orange juice, while Aunt Em flipped through the daily newspaper. She stopped, and read a small article, accompanied by a smaller picture, and began laughing. “You two have got to read this!” she said lightly, as she turned the page towards them. A small headline posted above a black and white picture of Peter kneeling in front of Ashley, read ‘Graduate Raises The Bar’ The article was cute, and was definitely written as a feel good piece, but it did name them both, and the author wished them both all the luck, and happiness in the world, before going on to wish future valedictorians luck, in capping Pete’s performance.
The next few days were spent doing a lot of nothing, both Pete and Ashley were already enrolled in school, Pete’s scholarship being accepted, along with Ashley having been offered a fellowship to it’s school of the arts offering her fifty percent tuition, they felt they were in a comfortable zone, allowing them to relax for part of the two months before they were to begin. It was on a Wednesday evening, as Pete, and Ashley played in the back yard with Broadway, Hudson, and Brooklyn, when the phone began to ring. Aunt Em, excused herself, and went to answer it. It didn’t take long for them to figure out that the call was not a pleasant one, perhaps a minute after she walked in the back door, they heard her screaming, and though they couldn’t make out what was being said, screaming was enough to bring both of them running.
As they barged in the door, the heard her from the living room, “I said no! I don’t care who you are, or who you claim to be. You stay away from that poor boy, and this family, or I swear not even God will be able to help you!” And violently hanging up the phone.
They both peeked their head around the corner, and saw Aunt Em, sitting on the sofa, crying. “Uhhh… Aunt Em?” Pete said gently, as he took a seat next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders, “Why are you crying, and who are Ashley, and I, gonna have to beat up because of it?”
Aunt Em giggled at that, even through her tears, she knew that part of him was deadly serious, and that he would, if need be, commit terrible violence to defend his family. But she also knew, that this giant of a man, who could inflict pain like no one else she had ever seen, never really wanted to. It amazed her even more, knowing how he had been abused, all of his life, that violence was never something he wanted to turn to himself. Peter was very special to her, because of that trait. Her career as a social worker had shown her, how a child raised with violence, was so prone to it themselves, that Peter’s kindness meant even more to her. Everything he had endured in his short life, should have broken him, it should have turned him into the meanest of beings, practically incapable of feelings, and uncaring of who or what he hurt. But it hadn’t, he had refused to break, he had walked through hell, alone, and e had come out, battered, scarred, and beaten, but not broken. “No Peter, you don’t have to hurt anyone. I just dislike it when people try to take advantage of situations.”
Peter looked at her in confusion, “Take advantage of what?” he asked, but his questions were cut short, as the phone rang again.
“Oh for God’s sake!” Aunt Em exclaimed, as she looked at the caller I.D. Just before answering. “Look! I told you no, and I told you to stay away! Got it?” she said heatedly into the phone, and as she waited for an answer Peter, and Ashley watched her face go pale. “Say that again, very slowly, or I’m hanging up.” she said finally, and began nodding, as she listened to whatever the person on the other end was saying. “Alright, I’m going to look into that whole story, if even one bit of it is out of place, so help me God, you will regret it!” and hung up abruptly.
“What the hell was that?!” Ashley demanded, as she stared at her aunt in disbelief.
“That was someone claiming to be someone. I’m not saying another word until I look into everything he just told me.” she explained cryptically, as she erased the caller I.D. History.
Over the next three days, Pete, and Ashley both watched, as Aunt Em went absolutely wild on her work laptop. They never quite got to see what she was working on, but she had become very withdrawn, and when she thought neither of them were looking, they caught her looking at them. Their was a kind of quiet pain in her eyes, that neither of them could understand. It bothered them both, and to make matters worse, whenever they asked her about it, she purposefully avoided the question.
Monday morning dawned, rainy, and miserable, the summer thunderstorms finally rolling down out of the northern mountains. Peter hugged Ashley from behind, as he breathed in the scent of her hair, since she had ‘moved in’ with him, it had become his morning ritual, just to soak in every aspect of this spectacular woman he woke up next to. “Good morning, beautiful,” he whispered softly, as he felt Ashley respond to his hug.
“Mmmm…” she sighed in response. “This is how I want to wake up every morning,” she whispered, as she pressed her ass back into the hard cock that was poking her. Ashley always loved the way Peter made love to her, but for some reason this morning, she wanted to feel him inside of her with urgency, she wanted him to desire her so badly, that he just took her. Her grinding became more intense, as she dragged his hands up to her breasts, forcing his fingers into her flesh. Peter finally got the message, and began to knead her flesh with a rough grip, that sent sparks directly to Ashley’s pussy, and she groaned as she felt herself start to leak all over the shaft sliding down between her thighs.
Peter groaned loudly in her ear, as he pulled her closer to his body, the exquisitely soft skin of her back felt amazing as it rubbed along the hard muscles of his scarred chest. His hand slowly started to trace its way down her stomach, and he groaned in frustration, when she stopped his progress. He heard her giggle softly, as he humped his cock against her wet twat. He knew she was teasing him, but this was different, he could tell she wanted something, but every time he tried to move, he felt her move away, just enough to cause another frustrated groan.
Her giggling increased, as she pulled away from his cock for the fourth time, as he tried unsuccessfully, to once again slowly enter her. His groaning had now become a growl, and with an insistence he had never shown while making love to her, Peter rolled over onto his stomach, pinning Ashley beneath him. Ashley’s giggle became a moan of desire as she felt her fiance drag his hands down her stomach, and force her hips into what could only be described as a ‘fuck me’ pose. The second she felt Peter’s cock nudge against her pussy, she groaned and thrust herself back against him, shuddering as she felt the head of his cock invade her.
Peter knew a signal when he saw it, and this was definitely a signal. He was always so worried about hurting, or dredging up those terrible memories in Ashley’s past, that he invariably took it slow with her, always letting her dictate terms. But today, she was clearly telling him, she wanted him in control, and he was not about to let her down. Grasping her hips, Peter thrust himself into Ashley’s soaking wet cunt, and was happy to hear an ecstatic groan escape Ashley’s lips. Taking this as all the permission he needed, Peter simply began to fuck. There was no caressing, or gentle kisses, there was no whispered proclamations of love. There was simply Peter, all six foot four inches, two hundred twenty five pounds of him, slamming nine inches of rigid cock into a happily grunting, five foot two inch, one hundred twenty pound Ashley, as she smiled, and thrust back at him, both happily rutting like animals.
Ashley was moaning incoherently now, feeling Peter’s cock invading her pussy like a battering ram, was more than she had expected, but was exactly what she needed. Her back arched downward, causing her ass to slap into his abdomen, this motion caused him to penetrate her even deeper, and touch her in places she had never felt before. Before she was even aware of it, her entire body was wracked in a spine shattering orgasm, her muscles clenched, as she threw her head back and yelled “Ooooohhhhh Fuck! Peeetttteeeerrrrr!!!” her voice trailed off into a long drawn out squeal, as she clenched her fists in the bed sheets, and her petite, tiny feet kicked rapid staccato into the mattress. The feeling of Ashley cumming this hard, her vaginal walls clamping in a strangle hold around his cock, was more than Peter could take, and with one, final, massive thrust, he threw his head back in a muted howl, and came, firing rope, after scalding rope of his cum deep into Ashley’s already drenched pussy.
Their simultaneous orgasms left them completely drained, as Peter collapsed, and rolled to Ashley’s left, wrapping his arms around her, and pulling her into his body. “Jesus Christ baby,” he whispered softly kissing her neck tenderly, “Where did that come from?”
Ashley giggled again, her skin extra sensitive in her post orgasmic glow, “I don’t know honey,” she sighed, as she snuggled closer to him “Some days a girl just wants her man to take charge,” she wrapped her arms around his, as she basked in the contact between them, “And my lord… Did you ever take…” as had become his ritual, Brooklyn, again, suddenly leapt between them, cutting Ashley’s train of thought short, as with his cold, wet, nose, and the enthusiasm only a dog less than a year old can manage, he began licking and nuzzling their faces, welcoming them both into a new day with him!
An hour later, after Brooklyn, and Broadway had been let out into the rainy morning to take care of nature, and then been happily, and playfully dried off in the small sun room off the back porch, Peter, and Ashley were surprised again this morning, as Aunt Em made her way down the stairs. It was a Monday, and nearly ten in the morning, so it was a complete surprise to them both, that she wasn’t already at work. “Morning you guys,” she said, the drawn look on her face a clear indication that she had not sleep well the night before, “There any of that coffee left?” she asked, pointing at the steaming mugs in both of their hands.
“We didn’t know you were still home Aunt Em,” Pete explained, as he handed his mug to her. He had never drank coffee before moving in with them, so he had developed his taste for the drink based on their habits. Aunt Em smiled at him gratefully, as she sipped the strong black liquid, just as she liked it, no cream, no sugar, and powerful enough to jump start a diesel engine.
“Oh jeez,” she whispered, as the hot coffee started to seep into her system, “You’re an angel Peter, and this is sent right from God.” and she took another sip. The entire scene was so surreal, that both Pete, and Ashley, could not help but bust out laughing, as Aunt Em sat down at the kitchen table and began laughing along with them.
“So ummm,” Ashley started, after finally calming down enough to speak, “You’re not at work today because..?” she left the question hanging, as she looked at her aunt with a raised eyebrow.
“Because I have someone coming over, and I wanted to make sure everything was on the level.” she replied flatly. Her tone implied that, even though she had invited this person over to their home, she was reserving judgment until a later time. “They’ve made a few claims, and if they’re lying, I’m stringing them up from the oak tree in the back yard.”
They sat in silence as the steel in Aunt Em’s voice let them know not to ask. No one moved from their seats, they could tell, now was the waiting game. It was all down to how long they would have to wait, which as it turned out, was exactly twenty eight minutes. At 10:28 exactly, the doorbell rang, Brooklyn being Brooklyn, an ever exuberant over grown lap dog, was at the door in seconds, jumping and pawing at it in excitement. Broadway took the long view on things, outweighing Brooklyn by almost fifty pounds, he decided to just stand at the kitchen door, and look down the hallway. If things looked like he might get some petting, he knew he could always shoulder the smaller dog out of the way. Hudson, as always, was squatting under the small bench in the hall, waiting for the right moment to get in on the action. Aunt Em smiled at the scene in front of her, then sighed, and walked to the door.
When she opened the door, she was greeted by a sight that almost made her heart stop. The man standing on the porch was maybe six foot two inches tall, and perhaps two hundred forty pounds. He had the rigid frame of someone who had seen too many years in the military, and his regulation high and tight hair cut was a dark brown, sprinkled through with silver, though the left side of his scalp was marred by a grizzly looking spiderweb of scars. He was wearing a pair of carpenter jeans, and a gray t-shirt, and was leaning heavily on a cane in his left hand. He appeared to be either in his late thirties or early forties, and had all of the usual signs of wear that that age brings to a person. But what shocked her the most was, the man in front of her could have used Peter as a shaving mirror.
“Miss Warren?” he asked politely, his voice was somewhat deeper than Peter’s but the timbre was unmistakable, “We spoke on the phone yesterday? You told me to be here at 10:30?” he left the question hanging, as he stared meaningfully at the door, that still blocked his entry into the house.
“Yes, sorry, please come in,” Aunt Em said, suddenly jerked out of her morbid observations, as she led the heavily limping man into the living room. “Wait out there you two, until I say so.” she said to Pete and Ashley. Aunt Em sat on the couch, as the man sat in the large chair next to the coffee table, his left leg stiffly jutting out, the knee barely bending at all.
“I’m assuming by your invitation, that everything I told you checked out?” he said, with a slight grimace, as he pulled his left leg into a proper seated angle. Aunt Em only nodded, as she studied his face, “Here is everything I have, to prove what I said.” he said softly, as he dug a thick envelope out of his back pocket, and placed it on the coffee table.
Pete and Ashley sat at the kitchen table for nearly an hour, hearing the muted conversation in the living room, when finally they heard Aunt Em call them in. When they came into the room, they were greeted by the strange man, standing next to the chair, leaning on his cane, with a look of apprehension on his face. Aunt Em was standing next to the couch, looking down at the coffee table, which was strewn with papers. “Peter, Ashley…”she began, taking a deep breath, “I’d like you to meet Major Michael Daniels.” her voice was almost choked by the tears ringing her eyes, “Peter… This is your father…”
The words struck Pete like a physical blow, the air rushed out of him in a sharp gasp. Suddenly the room began spinning around him, he couldn’t breathe, his ears were ringing like he’d been standing next to an explosion. “Get out!” he screamed, tears running down his cheeks, as he turned and staggered back to his bedroom.
The slamming of the door behind him, told everyone in the house that Pete wanted to be alone. But for some reason, neither Aunt Em, nor Ashley could understand, Mike refused to take his son’s reaction sitting down. “I don’t care if he tells me to go die afterward,” he said quietly, his voice taking on the edge of someone who was all too used to being listened to. “But before I leave here, he is going to know, that I did not simply abandon him. He deserves at least that much.” he said, then picked up a small stack of papers off the coffee table, and, not waiting for permission, he began limping down the hallway.
When he knocked on the door, he got no response, and so knocked again. “Peter.” he said, not trying to be gentle with his tone, “Either open the door, and hear me out, or I’ll take it off the hinges right now!”
“Try it fucker!” came the reply through the door, “And I’ll bust up your other leg, you lying fuck!”
When the door opened in Pete’s face, he was stunned, to see Ashley there with Mike, holding the door key in her hand. “Listen to him Peter,” she begged, her heart in her eyes, “Please, for me.” she knew, that with that single plea, she could have expected Pete to raise himself from the grave if she had asked him to.
He pointed to the small desk chair in the corner of the room, his eyes never leaving Mike’s face, “You have five minutes to convince me,” he said, his voice was so cold it made Ashley shudder before she turned and bolted down the hallway, “If I don’t like what I hear, you either leave, or I make you leave. Got it?” he growled as he watched Mike sit down slowly, his left leg sticking out stiffly.
As it happened, it took quite a while longer than five minutes for Mike to tell Pete everything he had to say. After showing him a picture of a much younger Mike, smiling with his arms wrapped around a very pregnant Janice, Pete had grudgingly agreed to let Mike say his piece. It took nearly two hours to explain everything. He had explained how Janice had filed restraining orders against Mike, claiming domestic abuse, and how, even though there was no evidence to prove he had ever hit her, they were granted ‘better safe than sorry’ the judge had said. He also went on to tell Pete how, after begging to be allowed in his life, Janice had even refused to put Mike’s name on his birth certificate, simply to be spiteful.
Mike had even tried to send money to Janice, simply to try and help, she had sent the checks back, torn in half. After every attempt to be allowed into Pete’s life had failed, Mike had signed on with the U.S. Marine Corps. Staying with them for fourteen years, through four tours in Iraq, and Afghanistan with Force Recon, until an I.E.D. had derailed his career. He explained how, by the time he had gotten back from Basic Training, he had tried to find Janice again, but she had left the small house he had inherited from his father, and he had no idea where she had gone. It wasn’t until a year ago, that he even knew she was still alive, in fact. He had been living in Virginia, recovering from his injuries, when he had gotten a call from the state prison board. It seems that even though Janice had claimed to hate him, she had left him as her medical proxy, and they asked him to come home, because she was being given a compassionate release, apparently the brain tumor had come in under the radar, and by the time the doctor had detected it, she had only had a few weeks left.
There were tears in his eyes, as Mike explained to Pete, how she had laughed, as she told him what she had done to him. He had had no idea that Pete had been so mistreated, and he began to cry openly as he tried to make him understand, that no one had ever even tried to contact him on Pete’s behalf. There was, Pete knew, nothing for him to apologize for, he had honestly tried everything he could. And suddenly Pete felt very ashamed for how he had acted toward this man. Finally, Mike came to the single point, he had wanted to make, before everything simply came spilling out.
“Peter…” he began, his voice seemed oddly tentative, as he looked across the room at his son. “Even though your mother refused to accept my help in raising you, and even though I had no idea how I was going to find you,” his eyes had a deep sadness, and regret in them as he said that, “I want you to know, I never stopped thinking about you. I never stopped wondering what kind of man you were going to become. I’m just sorry that I didn’t get to play any part in it, because, despite what I know happened, and what I can only assume happened after, you turned out to be a much better man than I ever was.” his smile was full of pride, as he looked at Pete, sad of course that he had been forced out of his life, but proud none the less, for the type of person he had become despite it.
“The only reason I wanted to meet you Peter, was to make sure Janice hadn’t ruined you, after I heard about all of that,” his voice was heavy, as he recalled her snide laughter, as she saw the look of shocked horror on his face, after she callously admitted to trying to kill her own son, “And I just wanted to give you this.” he placed a small blue booklet down on his bed, and slowly got to his feet. “I’ll leave you alone now Peter,” there were heavy tears in his eyes, as he looked at his son, for what he knew, was going to be the last time, “But just remember son, your dad never stopped loving you, even though I was never allowed to show you how much.” And he slowly, heavily, limped out of the house.
Pete sat in silence, his heart heavy, and his mind a whirling mess, as he slowly digested everything his father had told him. Everything he had said about Pete’s mother, was absolutely accurate, she had been, an evil, spiteful, bitch, and, even though there was a slight shame behind it, simply knowing she had died, alone, and in pain, made Pete feel better, almost as if karma actually worked. He shook himself out of his morbid revelry, as he saw Ashley and Aunt Em walk into the room.
“Everything alright Peter?” Ashley asked cautiously, she was afraid he would be angry at her for letting Mike into the room with him.
“Everything is fine sweetie” he replied with a genuine smile, “He honestly had no idea what had happened. And… I dunno… I wanted to be mad at him, I really did. I wanted him to try and give me excuses, so I could hate him. But all he wanted me to know was that, even though he wasn’t allowed to show me, he never stopped loving me.” Pete honestly didn’t know what to feel, this whole morning was just far too surreal for him to really process it all.
“Holy shit Peter!” Ashley exclaimed, as she flipped through the small blue booklet Mike had left on their bed, “You need to look at this!” she said, passing the book over to him.
The book was a deposit record, that dated all the way back to Pete’s day of birth! On the day he had been born, his father had deposited $500 into a savings account for him. And the deposits continued on, gaining in size, every month, until a year ago. They had figured the deposits had stopped, right after Mike found out that there was almost no way he would ever find his son. But the total balance in the account, was over $240,000. In the back of the book, in a scrawling hand, was a message written to Pete from his father. ‘Hey there son; I opened this account for you today. I hope, when you’re old enough to ask, your mother tells you about me. Even if she doesn’t, the bank has orders that this book be mailed to you on your 18th birthday, so at least you’ll know, your dad might not have been allowed to be there for you, but he never stopped thinking about, or loving you. I hope some day I can at least get to give you a hug son, but if I can’t, I hope you can forgive me for not being there like I wished I could have been. I love you son, and I always will. Love; Your Daddy, Mike.’
“I know you know, Aunt Em,” Peter said suddenly, as tears were unashamedly tracing down his cheeks, “Where does he live?” his voice was firm, and there was a tone of command in it that neither Amelia nor Ashley had ever heard before. “He deserves at least a chance to be a dad. My mother stole that from him, I want to give it back to him.”
An hour later, Ashley and Peter pulled up in front of an old, though well maintained, house, on one of the avenues in the historical district of the town. It was one of those neighborhoods that had obviously been there as long as the town had. Most of the houses were colonial, with huge yards, and incredibly old landscaping such as old growth oaks, and elms, or hedges so dense they may as well have been brick walls. The smaller homes were the types of houses that the original owners had probably built to house servants, and were now simply tiny plots of property that checkered the edges of the larger properties. It seemed that they were none too soon in getting there either. As they jumped out of the car, they watched as Mike tossed a duffel bag into the trunk of his beat up old Toyota.
“Hey old man!” Peter said, his voice firm, almost as if he intended to start screaming at Mike, “You forgot something when you left!” A couple of swift strides brought Peter right up in front of his father, who was standing there, his face numb, almost accepting, of what he thought was about to happen. Peter could see it in his face, he was waiting for the storm he felt his visit would bring. Peter simply smiled, and wrapped his huge arms around his father’s shoulders and hugged him. “You forgot to give me the hug you said you hoped for.” he whispered, as tears started down his cheeks again.
Mike was floored, for nearly eighteen years, he had wanted this, he had simply wanted to hug his son, and now, as he finally wrapped his arms around Peter, he began to cry. He cried for all of the years they had lost, and for the pain his only son had had to endure at Janice’s hands, he cried, because even though he had hoped his son might one day forgive him, he never really thought he would. The hug tightened fiercely, as Mike’s emotions ran roughshod through him, and the tears continued to stream down his cheeks. Finally, after a lifetime of regret and misery, he was hugging his son!
After a few minutes, the hug finally ended, as both men pulled away from the embrace. Peter turned to see Ashley, standing there with tears in her eyes, and a huge smile on her lips, staring at both of them. “Dad…” he said hesitantly, trying to get a feel for the word, “I’d like you to meet Ashley Waters. My fiance.” as he held his arm out for her, to include her in this moment, he had never thought he’d have. When Ashley extended her hand to Mike, he shocked them both, by pulling them both back into a tear filled hug.
###
Pete and Ashley were married, in a small ceremony in front of a local justice of the peace, two weeks before they were to leave for school. Surprising all of them, Mike had decided to sell the small house he had been living in in Virginia, and move back home, and so, dressed in full Marine Dress Blues, he got to watch his son, place a ring on the finger of the girl, he loved more than anything in the world.
Their time in college was, for the most part, a decent experience, though Pete did almost get expelled in his junior year, after hoisting a guy who was known for sexually harassing girls on campus, up by his throat, and threatening to break his neck, after he had groped Ashley’s breasts. In truth though, it was his own fault, he was stupid enough to do it right in front of her husband. Ashley graduated with honors from the school of performing arts, and though she was being offered positions in several prestigious orchestras across the country, the fact that she was four months pregnant with their first child, made it easy for her to turn down the offers graciously.
Pete, graduated Summa Cum Laude, with a double degree in Organic Chemistry, and Electrical Engineering, was already offered several high paying jobs in both fields. The offer he accepted however, was from a smaller firm, specializing in creating new technologies in computers. His degree in engineering, and his almost instinctive ability to think far beyond the norm, made the offer, though slightly lower in pay than the larger firms, almost a no brainer. This was the kind of work, he was born to do. The fact that the company was less than sixty miles from their home town, only made things that much simpler.
Using the money his father had saved for him, Pete and Ashley bought a modest home, with three bedrooms, and a large back yard, where a happy Brooklyn, and an older, fatter, but just as happy Broadway, could play. Hudson had passed away, quite peacefully, one night near Christmas, when Pete and Ashley had been home visiting, and while it was sad for everyone, they all knew he had died happy, having got to see Ashley one last time before he did.
Their first child was born, on October twelfth, a healthy, happy, baby boy, that had his father’s olive skin, but his mother’s gray eyes. There was absolutely no question about what they were going to name him, and so, with Aunt Em, and Mike, in the room after the birth, and with Ashley contentedly nursing their son, Pete introduced them to William Arthur Daniels.
Life had dealt both Pete, and Ashley terrible hands. They were forced to walk through crucibles that would have destroyed most adults, when they were only children. But, like Aunt Em had told Ashley all those years before, “There are no perfect people, only people who’s pieces fit perfectly together”. Pete and Ashley found out their broken pieces fit, and because they found each other, their broken pieces became something unbreakable.
*** End ***