Loading...Ellie Carson was a fifty six year old woman who owned the neighborhood flower shop, or as she was fond of saying, the shop owned her. It was all she had to show for a lifetime devoted to a husband who had left her years ago, and she kept opening the door everyday out of habit pretty much because she had no place else to go.
Her health was good and the business, while not exactly thriving, was good enough to keep a roof over her head and the wolves away from the door. Outside of the shop, Ellie had no life. The friends she had made as part of a couple were long gone, scattering like people do when they have little in common anymore.
There were little moments in her day that made it worth getting up in the morning, and one of the most enjoyable of those were when she got her lunch delivered. Not because of the food, as good as it may have been, but because of Anthony, the energetic little fellow who delivered it from the deli down the street.
*
Chapter One: At the sound of the bell.
The jingle of the bells attached to the top of the door got Ellie Carson’s attention, and when she looked up and saw who it was, her face broke into the same wide smile that it always did when Anthony walked into the shop. While it would have been more profitable for it to have been a customer instead of Anthony, he was certainly the next best thing.
“Hello Mrs. Carson,” the little guy chirped cheerfully as he cruised into the flower shop with the small brown bag that held Ellie’s lunch.
“Anthony! Right on time as usual,” Ellie said, adding with a touch of sarcasm, “You just missed the rush.”
“Eh!” Anthony said. “Business is bad all around here. Guess we need a stimulus in this neighborhood too. Of course, every time I see you I get stimulated enough for the rest of the day.”
“I guess I get baloney even when I order a salad,” Ellie answered with a shake of her head.
It was a ritual that they would play out every day that Ellie ordered something from the deli Anthony’s family owned. He would come in and say the most outrageous things to her, flirting and kidding, and Ellie would act shocked or amused, depending on the comment. Boys being boys, sometimes Anthony got a little racy, but to Ellie, Anthony was so adorable that he could do no wrong.
Goodness knows that with business the way it was, she could use a little cheering up, and Anthony rarely failed in that regard, even when he was in the way or being a pain in the butt.
“Mrs. Carson, I’ve got to ask you a question,” Anthony said as he followed Ellie around the little store. “How can it be that in a flower shop, you smell nicer than anything else?”
“You used that line last week, Anthony,” Ellie reminded him. “I guess that means my flowers need help.”
“No, it’s you that needs something,” Anthony suggested. “You need a man like me around the place to help you out and keep reminding you how beautiful you are.”
“And what would your father do without you around?” Ellie countered.
“Same thing he’s gonna have to do in the fall when I go off to college,” Anthony said. “Besides, I love him and the deli, but not the way I love you. I think you and me, we should go out on a date! Let me take you out on the town.”
“I think that you can do a lot better than me,” Ellie laughed. “You sure can do a lot younger.”
“Girls my age are too silly,” Anthony said as he leaned over the counter. “I need a woman that’s more mature. Besides, I’m way too much man for any 18 year old girl around here.”
“You’re way too much alright,” Ellie said as she handed Anthony his money for the salad, and was actually a little sad when someone else came into the store.
This would always be Anthony’s cue to leave. Always brash and bold when they were alone, but respectful and business-like when there were others around, he seemed to know the right way to act when others were present. If he were only 40 years older, Ellie thought, sighing as she greeted the customer that had sent Anthony on his way.
**
Chapter Two: Dress code.
“I love it when it gets really warm out,” Anthony said as he delivered Ellie’s lunch the next day.
“You certainly don’t look like you’re enjoying it,” Ellie said. “You’re sweating like a racehorse.”
“Must be on account of me being Italian,” Anthony said, standing in front of the fan. “We’re very hot blooded, did you know that?”
“No, I didn’t realize that, but that explains a lot of things,” she replied with a smile.
“You could find out really easy, you know that Mrs. Carson?”
Anthony had such a bright white smile to go along with his youthful brashness that he could get away with a lot, Ellie thought as she glanced out at Anthony drying off in front of the squeaky fan. He had a Sal Mineo look about him that must drive the girls wild in school, and one time when she had mentioned that actor’s name and his resemblance to Anthony, she realized that she was giving away her age, because he didn’t have the slightest idea who she was talking about.
Although Anthony was short and slight, he had a way about him in the shop that made him seem taller than the 5’6″ or so that he was. Out on the street, when he would pass by the shop with his friends, he seemed to be the runt of the litter and although they were probably only kidding, he did seem to be the target of their barbs and kidding.
Ellie had heard Anthony one time being called by what seemed to be his nickname, Rigatoni, but after seeing his reaction to the name she certainly wasn’t going to use it herself. Maybe they kidded him because he was so small, but there might have been some jealousy involved too, because he looked so cute that the girls probably did find him irresistible.
Not only did Anthony have very handsome features, but his wavy black hair made him look very dashing to Ellie as well. Smooth olive toned skin and dimples didn’t hurt either, and he looked nice in shorts too, with slender yet muscular legs that were covered with thick black hair, a stark feature that offset his otherwise boyish looks.
“Don’t you want to know why?” Anthony asked, breaking her out of her trance, and she felt embarrassed that he had apparently said something to her while she was daydreaming.
“I’m sorry Anthony,” Ellie said. “What did you say?”
“I said that I loved it when it gets hot because you wear blouses like the one you have on,” Anthony said, pointing to the rather drab grey and purple shell she had on. “My favorite is the the white one with the pink stripes, but any of the ones you have without sleeves are really nice, because you have beautiful arms.”
“Is that so?” Ellie said with a sarcastic lilt in her voice.
“Really hot!” Anthony said, walking over to where Ellie was changing water in the bouquet buckets. “Your arms are soft looking, but when you lift something I can see the muscles rippling underneath, and that’s really sexy.”
“I hear that all the time,” Ellie said with a upraised eyebrow accompanying her laugh.
“I believe it,” Anthony said, moving along with Ellie down the row of buckets. “I love the freckles on the upper part of your arms, and that other blouse is cut so it shows more of your shoulders, and there’s more freckles there too.”
“Oh, there’s freckles galore.”
“That’s great to hear, but the only way I could be sure is if I got the chance to get a better look, like maybe some time when you and me – maybe we could go the beach for an afternoon and go swimming?”
“You’re a pip, Anthony.”
“Don’t know what that means, but I hope it’s good,” Anthony said as he leaned closer to her. “It’s neat the way the inside of your arms is so pale compared to the outsides. The skin looks so soft too. Even your underarms usually look smooth and creamy – like butter.”
“I have armpits like butter?” Ellie chuckled.
“Usually, except some days like today, when you have a little peach fuzz because you didn’t shave,” Anthony said.
“I had no idea I was being observed so closely,” Ellie said, feeling her face flush a bit as she moved behind the counter, hoping for once that a customer would interrupt.
“No, that’s sexy too,” Anthony said. “Even sexier, I think. It still looks soft too, and I wonder what it would feel like to touch you there.”
“Anthony, I know you’re kidding around, but this conversation is getting a little bit much.”
“I’m not kidding,” Anthony said. “I wish you would stop treating me like a kid. I’m a man, and I would love to prove it to you.”
“UPS!” the gruff voice bellowed at the same time the door jingled, and as the perpetually frenetic delivery guy flew in, he cast an eye at Anthony while dropping the box on the counter and scanning the bar code.
“Everything okay here?” the man in brown asked, noticing the way Ellie’s hand trembled as she signed for the parcel.
“No, we’re fine, thank you,” Ellie said, realizing that she probably looked as if she was being harassed or something, and gave him a reassuring smile in gratitude. “He’s fine. We’re fine. Thanks for asking.”
The UPS guy nodded, gave Anthony a cold look as he passed him, and flew out the door as fast as he had entered. Anthony lingered for a minute by the door, shuffling his feet and looking contrite.
“I’m sorry if I made you upset, or anything like that,” Anthony said in a much softer tone than he usually used.
“It’s nothing, Anthony,” Ellie assured him. “It’s just that sometimes you get a little carried away. My fault actually. I guess I like hearing some of the things you say when you’re teasing me.”
“I never lie to you,” Anthony said, noticing a couple of women at the door preparing to come in to the store. “Never once. Not about things that really matter, at least. Everything I ever said about you was the truth.”
***
Chapter Three: Dress to impress.
Ellie Carson was fully prepared to not order from the deli that next morning, or at least that was what she kept telling herself as she delayed calling in her order until the last minute.
“Who am I kidding?” Ellie said to the empty store.
Ellie wanted Anthony to come to the store today, just like she did every day. She loved the banter, and she loved the attention Anthony paid to her. Even loved the flirting, even if he was throwing the bull most of the time. It had been many years – hell, decades – since anybody had said anything remotely provocative to her, that she had forgotten what it was like to be flirted with.
Warren had long stopped flirting by the time they had divorced six years ago, and the eligible suitors hadn’t exactly been lining up at the door for her since then. Of course, it didn’t help that she made no effort to socialize herself, content to just open the shop every day and carry on as best she could.
Looking at her reflection, Ellie wondered where the years had gone. Once filled with so much hope and promise, Ellie’s life today was a big comedown from being the perky cheerleader of forty years past.
Nearly thirty years of marriage, the first half of theem great with an affectionate husband and an adorable child, followed by the most unimaginable tragedy that parents can endure. After that, as the conversations became briefer and less frequent and the affection became almost non-existent, they had drifted apart. Warren had affair after affair, and had finally decided that one of his flings was good enough to keep, so he left Ellie, and left her the store as a going away present.
“A fitting remembrance,” Ellie mumbled to herself as she dialed in her lunch order before unlocking the door and flipping the CLOSED sign around to OPEN.
For some reason, business was good that morning, so Ellie hardly noticed the time had flown by when Anthony arrived with her lunch. Ellie had seen him approach the door a little tentatively, but when he came inside and saw her, his face broke into the widest grin imaginable.
Anthony held the door open for the last customer and then strode up to the counter with his usual swagger. His t-shirt was drenched with sweat from the humidity of the day, but his eyes were on Ellie as he set her lunch order on the counter.
“Oh Anthony, you look like you’re dying,” Ellie said, going into the cabinet and getting a fresh hand towel for him to use.
“Hi, Mrs. Carson,” Anthony said, his eyes fixed on the white blouse with the pink stripes while he wiped his face with the towel. “It’s not all because of the temperature, you know.”
“Well, in that case, I’d better not wear this blouse anymore,” Ellie joked. “It’s a pain anyway.”
Noticing that her right bra shoulder strap was showing, Ellie reached up and slid it under the fabric, stifling a giggle when Anthony’s eyes bulged wide when she briefly raised her arm to make the adjustment.
“You shouldn’t wear a bra,” Anthony said suddenly.
“You mean I don’t need one?”
“NO!” Anthony almost shouted. “I mean, I love girls with small tits – I mean breasts. Most of my girlfriends have had little ones. Even smaller than yours I bet. I meant that you would look extra sexy without a bra.”
“Anthony, you’ll have to take my word for this, but bras were made for old women like me,” Ellie said as she took the wrap out of the bag. “There may not seem to be much there, but what’s there would be dragging on the counter without help.”
“I would like to see that,” Anthony said as he leaned toward the counter.
“Giving me one of these is no way to win my heart,” Ellie chided, removing the wrapped pickle from the bag and shaking it at Anthony, who made a face as she threw it in the garbage. “No pickles! I even loathe the smell of them.”
“Sorry. The old man should know better by now,” Anthony said apologetically. “So the weekend is almost here. How about we go to a movie or something?”
“Maybe we should go to the drive-in,” Ellie laughed.
“Okay!” Anthony said excitedly. “Uh – I don’t have a car though.”
“Neither do I,” Ellie said. “Oh well. It was a thought.”
“So a movie is good?” Anthony said hopefully, and when Ellie shook her head no, Anthony nodded.
“You mentioned a drive-in so nobody would see us together like at a theatre,” Anthony surmised. “You’re ashamed to be seen with me.”
“No, that’s not it at all,” Ellie replied, before catching herself. “Wait, that’s not true. Yes, I would be ashamed – for you. Can you imagine what we would look like together, even just to go to a movie?”
“Sure I do,” Anthony said. “Can’t you?”
“Of course I know what we would look like,” Ellie said. “We would look absurd, unless people mistook us for a grandmother taking her grandson to the movies.”
“I’m not a kid, I’m a man,” Anthony said defiantly.
“I know, you always tell me that.”
“That’s because you don’t take me seriously,” Anthony said. “I’ve been with lots of women. Ask around. All the ladies know about Anthony!”
“So that’s what this is all about?” Ellie asked. “Walk me down the street so your friends can laugh at me?”
“I…” Anthony said, his voice breaking. “I would never do that to you.”
The door jingle was a merciful interruption, and Ellie noticed that Anthony stuck around while she took care of the customer, pretending to be looking at things as she rang up the order. Ellie watched him wipe his eyes with the back of his hand at one point, adding more to her confusion.
“Anthony, I’m sorry,” Ellie said after the customer had left and they were alone again. “It’s just that I don’t understand any of this. You’re always talking about how popular you are with the girls. Why in the world would you have any interest in me?”
“Because I think you’re the prettiest woman I’ve ever seen,” Anthony said. “All those other women are nothing compared to you.”
“That’s nice of you to say, honey, and I love the way you flirt with me and all, but let’s face it. I’m – do you know how old I am?”
“I don’t care. I don’t even want to know.”
“Fifty six, Anthony,” Ellie said. “That’s old. Too old by decades for an 18 year old boy – or man.”
“You don’t look 56, Mrs. Carson,” Anthony said. “But I don’t care if you’re 56 or 106. I like you, and I thought you liked me too.”
“I do, Anthony,” Ellie protested.
“I know you never order from the deli on Mondays, and I figured out that it was because that’s my day off,” Anthony explained. “Plus, I go past here all the time, even when I don’t have to, and I see the way you look when you’re here in the store by yourself, or even with customers. You’re nice to them, but not like you are to me. You seem to get happier when I show up.”
“That’s true, Anthony,” Ellie said, surprised that he had found out about her not ordering lunch on Mondays. “You always brighten up my day.”
“Then why won’t you go out with me?”
“Seriously? There’s no future in it for either of us. What are we going to do, get married? You have a wonderful future. Heading off to college with the whole world for you to conquer,” Ellie explained, her voice fading as she ended. “Me, I’m just an old lady in a flower shop.”
Ellie might have laughed at the scene if it was taking place in a Lifetime Channel movie, with the two of them getting dewy-eyed over the counter, and thankfully nobody came in the store to see it. Anthony wet his lips and moved his arm over the counter.
“Sorry. Always wanted to do that,” Anthony explained after he finished.
It was a simple and innocent gesture; Anthony’s hand reaching over and touching Ellie’s shoulder, and then letting his hand slide slowly down her slender arm, right to the wrist before letting it move back up to her shoulder before pulling his arm away and apologizing.
“It’s okay,” Ellie shrugged, the goose bumps that appeared on her arm mimicking the way chills ran through her body at the touch of the young man.
Anthony’s olive hued fingers were such a contrast against her pale white skin, and his touch was so delicate and tender that Ellie was almost sorry that his caress had ended. She had to brace herself on the counter while she lost her balance for a second, because she had been leaning toward him while he stroked her skin.
“See ya,” Anthony said softly, and turned to leave before Ellie’s voice stopped him in his tracks.
“If you would like,” Ellie said, having to clear her throat before finishing. “If you would like to have dinner with me, I’d like that. At my place. Tomorrow night.”
“Your place? Great!” Anthony said, spinning around so fast that he nearly lurched right into a potted plant. “Where do you live?”
“Here,” Ellie shrugged. “Upstairs.”
“That’s fantastic!” Anthony said, bouncing on the balls of his feet as if he was preparing to take off through the ceiling. “What time?”
“Seven?” Ellie asked, and Anthony nodded enthusiastically before spinning around to the door, and then hurrying back to the counter.
“Thank you,” Anthony said, reaching over and taking Ellie’s hand in his.
“Always wanted to do that too,” Anthony said after kissing the back of her hand, and with that skipped out the door, waving though the window at Ellie as he headed back to work.
Ellie returned the wave before picking up the moist hand towel from the counter. The scent of him got her attention, and as she raided the towel close to her face Ellie inhaled the aromatic blend of Anthony’s perspiration and testosterone, and it was not unpleasant. Not unpleasant at all.
****
Chapter Four: Before dinner.
Anthony was there knocking at the door about 10 minutes early, and Ellie was happy that she had gotten ready early, anticipating that. When she opened the door she had to bite her lip for fear she would either burst out laughing or crying.
“Hi, Mrs. Carson,” Anthony said. “This is for you.”
“Oh, you shouldn’t have done that,” Ellie said, shaking her head at the box of chocolates that Anthony seemed proud to give her, and with good reason because they were an expensive brand that she never would have splurged for herself.
“I would have gotten you flowers but then you would have known you were getting them,” Anthony explained. “And if I bought flowers from someplace else you would have gotten mad.”
“Chocolates were a wise choice,” Ellie assured him. “And don’t you look handsome!”
Anthony fidgeted over the attention Ellie was paying to his wardrobe, but gave her one of his brilliant smiles and explained that the suit wasn’t his.
“It’s my brother’s suit,” Anthony explained. “I don’t usually wear stuff like this, but since it’s a special occasion and all I borrowed it from him. Plus, when you see me everyday I look like a bum.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say that, but you surely are sharp looking tonight.”
“So are you, Mrs. Carson,” Anthony gushed. “That dress is really nice, but then again you always look pretty.”
Ellie smiled as she led her guest into the kitchen, chuckling inside at the ill-fitting suit that probably looked better on his brother, who must be about a half foot taller and fifty pounds heavier. His collar was loose as well, but he had obviously made a considerable effort to make a good impression, and was trying to act so adult and suave that she made sure that she kept a straight face.
“Can I offer you a drink?” Ellie asked. “I have root beer and cola.”
“Are you going to drink wine?” Anthony asked, nodding toward the box of Corbett Canyon on the counter and the half filled glass nearby. “I usually drink wine on dates with women, or even with dinner at home – for special occasions.”
“Really?” Ellie said.
“Yes, Mrs. Carson,” Anthony assured her. “On the holidays we always have wine with dinner. My uncle even brings wine that he makes himself.”
“Well… okay,” Ellie said. “Maybe a glass of wine would be nice right now.”
“Those earrings are really pretty, Mrs. Carson,” Anthony said. “I’ve never seen you wear those before.”
“Oh, thank you,” Ellie said. “I guess they’re a little fancy for everyday.”
Ellie had to reach to the back of the cupboard to get a second wine glass, and noticed Anthony watching her as she did, grinning as she pulled out the glass and wiped it off.
“Not used to needing a second glass,” Ellie said with a touch of sadness. “Why are you smiling?”
“It’s just that I love looking at your arms,” Anthony said. “They’re so beautiful.”
“Oh yes, that’s right. I do seem to remember you saying that yesterday in the store,” Ellie said. “I’m glad that I picked this dress to wear tonight then.”
Actually, Ellie had picked this dress especially for that reason, figuring that it would get Anthony’s attention.
“I’m glad you wore it too, Mrs. Carson,” Anthony said. “I could see some of the freckles on your back when you reached up. Plus, you shaved under your arms since yesterday.”
“Oh!” Ellie said, stunned at how incredibly intense Anthony’s inspection of her was. “Well, it was a special night so I went all out for you. I’m always amazed at how a young man can be so attentive to detail.”
“Was that something I shouldn’t have said?” Anthony asked, and Ellie suspected that her blushing was the reason for his question. “I do that sometimes, I guess. Say the wrong thing, I mean.”
“No,” Ellie said. “It’s just that I guess I’m not used to people paying such careful attention to me.”
“Maybe they do and you don’t notice it,” Anthony suggested.
“Perhaps,” Ellie said.
“I am going to study criminal justice in college, you know,” Anthony said while Ellie poured the glasses of burgundy.
“That’s right. I remember you telling me that. Well, that explains your very observant nature,” Ellie said while handing him the glass. “Here you go, Anthony. Hope you like it.”
“It has a very pleasant bouquet, Mrs. Carson,” Anthony said, making Ellie grin by swirling the wine in his glass and looking at it studiously.
“It’s just box wine. I only have a glass now and then, and a bottle would be too much for me alone. And since I’m giving you wine and we are supposed to be on a date, I think it’s time for you to stop calling me Mrs. Carson. Ellie will do just fine.”
“Really?” Anthony said loudly, seeming to be overjoyed by that. “Okay – Ellie.”
…..
Chapter Five: Dinner.
“This tastes just as good as it smelled,” Anthony commented, and judging by his ravenous eating of the roast beef, he wasn’t kidding.
“I didn’t know what to make, since you have just about everything at the deli, and with you being in an Italian family, I surely wasn’t going to go in that direction.”
Watching Anthony eat so enthusiastically made Ellie feel glad that she had made the right choice for dinner, and when he surprised her by tearing into the cream puffs she had bought at Marino’s bakery, she couldn’t believe what an appetite the little guy had.
“This was great, Ellie!” Anthony declared after finally throwing in the fork. “You’re a sensational cook. Just as great as my mother.”
“Thank you, Anthony. I didn’t make the pastry though.”
“I know. It was from Marino’s. I could tell, but it tasted better sitting here eating with you than wolfing it down on the street,” Anthony told her. “You know they say that there is nothing more that a man could ask for than to enjoy a delicious meal with a beautiful woman.”
“Is that what they say?” Ellie said with a chuckle, getting up to pile the dishes in the sink.
“I can help you do the dishes,” Anthony offered. “Matter of fact, why don’t you let me do them? You went through all this trouble cooking for us.”
“I have a better idea,” Ellie said, touched by the sweet gesture. “Why don’t we put them here in the sink and relax. This is supposed to be our date, right?”
“Okay!” Anthony said with a grin.
“Would you like to watch some television? Is there something you like on tonight?”
“No, not really,” Anthony said as they went into the living room. “I don’t watch a lot of TV. You sure do have a lot of records.”
“I’m surprised you even recognize what a record is.”
“My parents still have a bunch of records.”
“I doubt whether I have anything that you would like,” she said.
“Pick something out that you like, Ellie,” Anthony said. “I bet I’ll like it too.”
“Oh, I’ll bet you won’t,” Ellie said as she lit the candle on the coffee table. “I do have some CDs too, just to prove I’m not a dinosaur. I’ll bet you that I can play something that will make you beg me to stop.”
Ellie picked out a Luciano Pavarotti compilation and slipped the disc in the player. She hit the play button and adjusted the volume just as Luciano began.
“Nessun Dorma,” Anthony said after about two seconds went by, and Ellie’s jaw dropped as she stared in wonder at the little guy on the sofa holding the still half empty glass of wine in his quivering hand.
…
Chapter Six: Even you, O Princess.
“None shall sleep! None shall sleep! Even you, O Princess, in your cold bedroom, watch the stars that tremble with love and with hope!” said Anthony in a soft voice, barely audible over Pavarotti’s booming tenor.
“Anthony?” Ellie said as she walked over to the couch. “How…”
“I hear Turandot at my house all the time,” Anthony explained sheepishly. “It’s my mother’s favorite. Please don’t tell anybody around here that I like it too. My friends would never let me live that down.”
“My lips are sealed,” Ellie promised, easing down on the couch next to Anthony. “And I’m really quite impressed.”
“And my kiss will dissolve the silence that makes you mine!” Anthony whispered, the wine dancing near the rim as the glass shook in his trembling hand.
“I’ve never been serenaded so wonderfully before,” Ellie said, her eyes watering as Anthony interpreted the lyrics almost word for word.
“Can I kiss you?” Anthony asked – almost pleaded, his big brown eyes sparkling in the candlelight.
Ellie looked around, not able to conceive what was happening, and even more unable to believe what she was doing as she took the glass from Anthony’s hand and set it down on the coffee table.
Nodding, Ellie moved her face close to his and waited for his lips to reach hers. Their lips met, and Anthony simply pressed his lips against hers for a few seconds. It was as simple and chaste a kiss as there could be given the circumstances, but Ellie could feel the intensity surging through Anthony as their lips met, and was sorry when it ended.
“You kiss very nicely,” Ellie said, and as she spoke Anthony moved in for another one.
This kiss started out just as sweetly as the first one, but as it continued Anthony began moving his lips into hers, and when she felt Anthony’s hands sliding up her arms Ellie backed off.
“Anthony,” Ellie started to say.
“Sorry. I’m sorry,” Anthony said quickly. “I didn’t mean anything.”
“It’s okay honey,” Ellie assured him, patting his hands and smiling. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just that – well, I wasn’t expecting this. Guess it’s been a while since I’ve dated. I can see why all your girlfriends are crazy about you though. You’re really quite the romantic.”
“That stuff I told you about my girl friends, and all that. I made it all up because I was trying to impress you. I don’t have any girl friends. I’ve only really made out with a couple of girls.”
“Oh,” Ellie said.
“The only girl that I ever did anything at all with laughed at me because I’m so small,” Anthony explained. “I figured that if I did stuff with you, you were always so nice to me that you wouldn’t laugh.”
“Anthony, I’m not sure what you mean, but you’re a very attractive young man, and you shouldn’t let a bad experience with one person ruin your life.”
Ellie clasped Anthony hand with her own and tried to give him a reassuring smile.
“I want to be with you,” Anthony finally said, his voice wavering as he kept looking down at their hands.
“You are,” Ellie said. “It’s been a wonderful night.”
“That’s not what I meant,” Anthony said, and as Pavarotti moved on to Verdi, Anthony’s hand went onto Ellie’s arm again.
The olive toned hand slid lightly up Ellie’s arm, almost to her shoulder, and as it let it slide back down Ellie’s breath caught in her throat. The next time the hand slid up, it stopped halfway up her bicep before moving right over to her breast.
“Anthony,” Ellie whispered, her breath coming in jagged rasps as she looked down at the hand that was kneading her breast through the layers of clothing, but even through the bra and dress the outline of her nipple became obvious.
“You’re so beautiful,” Anthony said, almost crying as he rubbed the bulge in her dress. “I really want to be with you. Ever since I first saw you that’s all I’ve ever thought about.”
“Honey,” Ellie whimpered, looking at the candlelight twinkling in his big brown eyes; eyes that were staring at what his hand was gently kneading, gazing at her as if she was a treasure of some sort. “We can’t.”
Anthony’s eyes rose to meet Ellie’s, and then he leaned forward and kissed her again. This time after letting his lips press against her own for an instant, she found herself responding, kissing him back with even more passion, bringing her hand up to his and squeezing it tighter on her breast.
“Not here, honey,” Ellie said as Anthony started to lean on her.
With that, Ellie left Luciano on and picked up the candle with one hand and Anthony’s hand in the other, and as Verdi played on she led him to her bedroom.
…….
Chapter Seven: Guilty
This is so wrong.
That was all Ellie could think of as she brought the man/child into her bedroom. A room where no man had been since Warren abandoned her, and one which she was certain would never be shared with another ever again.
Yet here she was, bringing this young man into her bedroom. It was wrong on every level. She could imagine how she would feel if Anthony went around to all his friends tomorrow, boasting how he had sex with her. She could picture them looking in the window at her and laughing at the silly old woman who would do such a thing.
And what if his parents found out? Things weren’t depressing enough in her life as it was? To be run out of the neighborhood, or to be forced to live with that cloud following her forever would be unbearable, so when they reached the bedroom Ellie set the candle on the dresser and faced her young admirer.
“You’ve really never been with a woman before?” Ellie asked, and Anthony nodded rapidly in response. “Well in that case, you should know that when a man and a woman are together, it’s nobody else’s business what goes on behind closed doors.”
As she spoke, Ellie eased the door closed, and when she came back to Anthony he seemed even more nervous than she was. Ellie thought that it was strange that for someone who had moments ago seemed to be desperate in wanting to be exactly where he was right now, he wasn’t acting that way any longer.
“Do you understand, honey? This will just be between you and I. It has to be.”
“I know,” Anthony said. “I swear I will never tell a soul. Audrey told everybody about being with me and I hated that.”
“I’m glad you understand,” Ellie said, her hands coming up to take Anthony jacket off, and as she began to undo Anthony’s tie she watched his Adam’s apple bobbing under the loose fitting collar of his shirt.
“And this will never happen again,” Ellie added. “Tomorrow we go back to the way it was before. Okay?”
Anthony nodded, swallowing hard as Ellie’s hand caressed his face before moving downward. He was only an inch or two taller than she was, which made her task easier than it might have been. Her shaking fingers went down the row of buttons, and once she had reached the end she gently tugged the bottom of the shirt out from under his pants and pulled it off of his shoulders. Anthony’s upper body was slender and he looked much smaller now that he usually did in the store.
Ellie’s hands slid across his hairless chest, his nipples almost purplish in hue in dark contrast to the smooth olive skin around them, and as her hands caressed Anthony’s chest she could swear that she could feel his heart beating.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a man,” Ellie explained. “So I’m a little bit nervous too.”
Anthony nodded and tried to say something, but his mouth was so dry that nothing came out, and as Ellie undid his belt his face began to take on a panicked expression, almost as if he dreaded it when the belt came open.
Anthony’s pants fell straight to the ground, the belt having been the only thing holding the over-sized garment up, and as he stepped out of them his hands went straight to the pouch of his underwear.
Ellie watched him tugging furiously at himself and took his wrist in hand, pulling it away from there with a smile.
“Why don’t you let me do that?” Ellie teased, and when her hand moved in to replace his, Anthony’s face took on a look of dread, almost as if she didn’t want her to touch him, and since that was what Ellie thought he had wanted, this confused her.
After a brief second of surprise, Ellie managed to keep the same expression on her face as her hand found Anthony’s penis and stroked it through the fabric of his briefs.
“That’s nice,” Ellie whispered to Anthony, who had his eyes screwed shut and his face distorted as if he was expecting a bomb to go off or something. “That’s very nice.”
Ellie let go of her outside hold on him and moved her hand up and let it slide under the elastic of Anthony’s underwear. After her fingers went though the little thicket of coarse hair, they found the source of what seemed to be Anthony’s embarassment.
That was what he meant when he said that the girl had made fun of him being small, Ellie recalled as her fingers took hold of Anthony’s tiny limp stem, and as she tugged down his underwear with her free hand she began to pull on it more aggressively.
“Mmm, feels nice to feel a man again,” she told him, and Anthony’s eyes opened when he realized that the sky hadn’t fallen, and when Ellie felt his penis getting a little bigger in her hand she leaned over and kissed Anthony’s ear.
“Would you like to take my clothes off for me?” she asked, and after Anthony tried to say yes, Ellie smiled and turned around.
The only thing that Ellie could think of was that she was glad that the candlelight wasn’t TOO bright, or else she was afraid Anthony would lose what small degree of arousal she had coaxed from her touching him right away. Ellie felt the zipper of her dress go down, and when had reached the end Anthony eased it off of her shoulders.
His breath was hot against her neck as Ellie stepped out of the dress, and when his hands reached up and rubbed her bare shoulders Ellie rolled her neck in reaction to his touch. Then his hands were at the bra clasp, fingers fumbling with the hooks for a moment before she felt them come loose one by one.
When the last one came free, Ellie shrugged it off her shoulders, feeling her small breasts sag down loosely. Anthony was leaning into her now, his hands coming under her arms and searching for her breasts, which were probably lower than he had expected.
“Oh!” Anthony cried out meekly when his hands managed to cup her breasts from behind, and he continued to make little sounds as his hands kneaded them. Ellie looked down, ashamed at how much they sagged these days, but Anthony not only didn’t seem to mind, he was practically snorting as he leaned into Ellie, his face buried in her neck as he kissed and nibbled her.
What was even more amazing to Ellie was feeling the hard prodding her butt was getting from Anthony’s erection, and when she felt that, Ellie made a little moaning noise herself, reaching up behind her head to pull Anthony’s head even deeper into the back of her neck.
Anthony was grinding into her now with a fury that was almost animal-like, and as she clung onto the back of his head, Anthony’s hands slid up and down her body, rubbing sensuously through her smooth moist underarms before going back to her breasts.
“My panties,” Ellie said breathlessly, her own heart beating so fast that the most morbid of all thoughts passed through her mind.
Please, she prayed, if I’m going to have a stroke or something, whatever you do please make it later, after Anthony is gone. Don’t ruin this for him, Ellie kept thinking. Please don’t ruin this for him. For us.
……..
Chapter Eight. Hitting the sheets.
Ellie’s decidedly un-sexy panties came off, and when Anthony’s hand came down and raked through her sparse bush and found her opening, he found her wet. A miracle of sorts, since Ellie had feared she was not going to be anything like that.
Ellie backed up and eased down onto the bed, with Anthony right behind her. His penis bobbed in front of him, the brown thin tube not much longer than a man’s thumb, but so stiff that it curled back up towards himself.
Anthony immediately mounted her, climbing on top of her with an intensity that made the air crackle around them. Ellie wanted to tell him about foreplay – about building up the desire in a woman – but to her surprise she was too aroused to want to wait herself. Too much in need of the same thing Anthony was, so when she felt him probing around, all she could do was ask him to be gentle.
“Don’t hurt me, honey,” Ellie gasped seconds before she reached down and took his cock in hand and helped him enter her. “Be gentle.”
Despite the fact that he was so modestly endowed, his penis still stung as it tore into Ellie’s long neglected opening, but after a few tentative strokes the feeling became that of pure pleasure, and once Anthony got going, there was no stopping him.
Ellie held onto his hips as Anthony furiously thrust in and out of her, and it was starting to really feel good to her when she saw his face contort. Anthony let out a moan, and as he eyes rolled back in his head Ellie felt his cock twitch inside of her, and after that she felt the warmth of his seed as he ejaculated inside of her.
Too bad he couldn’t have lasted a while longer, Ellie thought as Anthony kept humping above her, a delirious looking smile covering his face, because it had been starting to really feel good to her.
“Did you like that, honey?” Ellie asked, and he nodded while continuing to thrust away.
Ellie was just about to tell him that he could rest now, when she felt him start to get hard again. Soon he was just as hard as before, and as he proudly kept pounding in and out of her she started giggling with delight, grabbing his butt and squeezing it tight.
With that, Anthony became even more energetic, thrusting into her with a speed that seemed impossible. There was no technique involved; no tenderness or anything besides the feral lust of him for her, and despite how crazy it might have seemed to Ellie for Anthony to be so aroused over her, she began to feed off of his energy.
Soon she was feeling what she thought she would never feel again. Her body started tingling as the orgasm built up inside of her, and as it grew closer Ellie wrapped her legs around Anthony’s rear end and pulled him close to her, their sweaty bodies completely wrapped around each other.
Ellie came as intensely as she could ever recall, her orgasm making her head spin as Anthony managed to push the two of them all the way across the bed with his furious passion, and while she writhed and cried out while tearing at the sheets and pillows, Anthony filled her womb with more of his seed before collapsing on top of her.
“You’re so good,” Ellie gushed, squeezing him tightly as his now limp penis slipped out of her. “That was so good, honey!”
“Really?” Anthony asked.
“The best,” Ellie declared. “What an incredible man you are.”
………
Chapter Nine: Pointer.
It was near midnight when she felt Anthony’s manhood poking into her backside again, and even though Ellie was exhausted she had to laugh. Whatever Anthony may have thought he lacked in other ways, his resilience more than made of for, and after nearly three hours of virtually non-stop lovemaking, apparently Anthony was ready for more yet again.
“Anthony,” Ellie said in weary exasperation as she felt his kisses on her shoulders and back, and apparently the little guy had finished with the task she had given him of counting the freckles on her shoulders and upper back because he was moving in for more.
“Can we do it again with you on top of me?” Anthony asked hopefully.
“Honey, I’m very tired.”
“Okay, then you can just lay down on your stomach,” Anthony said, trying to maneuver Ellie into that position, but Ellie resisted.
“Anthony, I can’t,” Ellie said, rolling around to face him. “I’m very sore. It’s been wonderful but I haven’t been with a man in so long that I’m not used to this.”
“Never been with a man that was so virile either,” Ellie said, reaching down and taking his erect stem in her palm and softly caressing it. “You’re amazing.”
“Ooh, that feels nice,” Anthony moaned, thrusting himself into Ellie’s hand. “Way nicer that when I do that to myself. When you touch me like this it makes me feel like a real man.”
“You are a real man,” Ellie said with a smile.
“Audrey,” Anthony said. “I’m used to the guys making fun of me in gym, but it was worse with her. When she saw how small my dick was, she laughed at me. Said I had the littlest one she ever saw, and she said she had seen a lot of them.”
“That’s not really something a woman should be proud of,” Ellie told him. “Seeing a lot of them, I mean. Sounds like a girl you would be better off not knowing. Believe me honey, you have nothing to worry about. You’re more than enough man for any woman. Why, I’ve had more orgasms tonight than I did my last whole year of marriage combined.”
“Really?”
“Absolutely.”
“Can I just put it inside of you, then?” Anthony asked, almost pleading as Ellie slowly stroked his red hot member. “I won’t do anything else. It just feels so nice inside of you.”
Ellie sighed, and as they lay side by side she lifted her leg up onto his thigh and pulled the tip of his erection in between her labia, causing them both to sigh.
“You said you just wanted to be inside of me,” Ellie playfully chastised her lover, who had started to gently nudge his penis very slightly in and out of her gateway.
“Sorry,” Anthony said. “Carried away. I don’t want to hurt you.”
“It’s okay,” Ellie gasped as the tip of the little guy’s manhood began caressing her clitoris, and as he continued to find the mark with amazing accuracy, Ellie started to breathe heavily again. “Just like that, Anthony. Omigod.”
Ellie leaned back and held onto Anthony’s shoulders, and as Anthony kept swabbing her pearl with his penis, his hands went to Ellie’s breasts, kneading the doughy cones roughly as Ellie began to breathe faster and faster.
“OH! Not again!” Ellie cried out as the waves of pleasure began washing over her.
Ellie reached down and grabbed Anthony’s cock and started to rub the head of it into her clitoris briskly, and when she started to cum she felt Anthony erupt as well, spurting his hot seed onto her inflamed orifice while her body jerked and bucked wildly.
“Oh man,” Anthony said after watching Ellie’s body finally start to stop shaking. “That is so cool.”
Ellie smiled sheepishly as her orgasm was replaced my a warm glow.
“Omigod. Sorry,” Ellie said, letting go up Anthony’s limp organ after she realized that she was still holding onto him with what had to be a painful grip, but he didn’t seem to notice.
“You really looked cool when you cum,” Anthony exclaimed. “You weren’t just trying to make me feel good, were you?”
“Of course not. I haven’t had orgasms in so long I wouldn’t remember how to fake one. It was sensational. Just like the other – I don’t know how many times,” Ellie assured him, giving him a kiss and hugging him as she felt his semen drooling onto her thigh. “You’re going to make some lucky woman very happy some day. Just like you’ve made me tonight.”
Ellie held Anthony close, and as she drifted off to sleep she felt Anthony’s body quiver. She couldn’t tell whether he was laughing or sobbing, but she realized that it really didn’t matter, because whatever he was doing, he was doing it out of happiness.
……….
Chapter Ten: Dessert.
“Anthony, what am I going to do with you?” Ellie said as she felt his erection poking into her belly. “I think your parents are going to be worried about you if you don’t get home.”
“Do you want me to leave?”
Well, no,” Ellie said, the idea of sharing a bed with Anthony having been the farthest thing at the beginning of the evening, but suddenly the idea had some appeal to her now. “I don’t want you to get in trouble though.”
“I told them I might be staying over at a friend’s house tonight,” Anthony said. “So it’s okay if I stay?”
“Sure,” Ellie said. “As long as you like to cuddle. I used to love to snuggle with my man.”
“Okay, but first can we do it that same way again? Me just rubbing into you? I loved watching you cum.”
“I can’t honey. I wouldn’t be able to. I’m absolutely drained. You’ve worn me out. Really.”
“We can do it anyway you want to.”
Ellie really wanted to sleep, but Anthony wasn’t having any of that, and despite her weariness she got up on her elbow and looked at her seemingly insatiable young lover.
“Lay back down,” Ellie said, her eyes going down the lithe body next to her, and in particular his manhood, which was curled back against his belly.
Ellie found herself leaning over Anthony, about to do something that she used to love to do to Warren. An act that Ellie had always considered the most giving thing a woman could do to a man, and an act that had turned into something disgusting in her mind when she found out that the thing she had been so eagerly going down most of those times had been inside another woman earlier in the night.
This was different, and as Ellie reached over and took the slender shaft in her hand and lifted it upright, she remembered how much she had loved doing this. The cock that she held was probably half the size of her ex-husband’s, but was so much more beautiful to her that there was simply no comparison.
Anthony was so hard that the veins seemed to be pulsating, and the skin beneath the ridge of the acorn-shaped glans was stretched so tautly that the skin looked like violin strings on the underside of his manhood, Without a word, Ellie let her lips slide down his penis, all the way down until her nose was buried in the coarse tuft of black hair above it.
Anthony’s gasp made it clear that this was not something he was expecting, but then again, Ellie reasoned, neither was she. Now though, this act that had been a source of revulsion to her for years had once again became the act of love that it had been long ago, and Ellie soon discovered that when it came to doing it, it was like riding a bike.
Ellie’s mouth began to do marvelous things, and as her mouth and tongue did their magic, she let her hand cup Anthony’s scrotum, first letting his balls roll around in her palm and then sucking on each of them before going back to his member. The more she went down on him, the more Ellie began to get into it, and the noises Anthony made in response to her efforts only inspired her to keep going.
She teased and tormented Anthony mercilessly, bringing him to the brink of orgasm time and time again before letting up on him, until he was half out of his mind.
“What’s the matter, honey?” Ellie asked playfully as she looked up at Anthony’s face, which seemed distressed. “You want to cum?”
“Please,” Anthony grunted, and after Ellie licked the bead of semen off of the tip of his dick he groaned again.
“I’ll bet that if you cum again we’ll be so tired that we go to sleep,” Ellie suggested, and when Anthony nodded Ellie let her mouth go back down the shaft of his cock.
This time Ellie kept going, and as Anthony’s legs churned and his hands gripped her hair, Ellie implored him to cum, her hand churning his sac while her tongue danced on the underside of his member as her mouth plunged down briskly on it.
Anthony let out a loud cry that likely got the neighbors attention, and as he came Ellie felt his seed splashing onto the roof of her mouth, She sucked on him hard, trying to drain him as his cock kept twitching between her lips, and it wasn’t until he had been totally spent that Ellie lifted her mouth from his deflated stem.
With the both of them exhausted, Ellie crawled up alongside Anthony and eased into his arms, burying her face into his chest and letting herself slip away again.
………..
Chapter Eleven: Bacon and eggs.
Ellie squinted as she looked at the clock on the night stand, stunned to see it was after 7. As she began to regain her senses, the scent of breakfast cooking somewhere filled her nose.
Every bone in Ellie’s body ached as she struggled to her feet. A glance back at the bed confirmed that what had happened was no dream. The numerous damp stains all over the middle part of the bed confirmed that she had actually done it. She had actually gone to bed with little Anthony.
If the bed wasn’t evidence enough, Ellie’s hand provided more, as she felt her pubic hair had become a demented, swirling mess with dried semen making a bizarre sculpture of her bush.
Out in the kitchen, Anthony was apparently cooking breakfast. In her younger days, Ellie would have skipped out to the kitchen as she was, but the reflection in the mirror made her cringe, and even Anthony in all his infatuation would not find her attractive now.
So Ellie brushed her hair and put a robe on before going out to face the morning. She was almost embarrassed to come face to face with her lover, but Anthony seemed to be having none of that.
Dressed as he was last night only without the suit jacket and tie, he was busy draining the bacon when he saw Ellie emerge from the bedroom, and he smiled when he saw her reaction to the table, which was set for breakfast. The dishes from the night before were done and put away, and there were roses on the table as well.
“How in the world?” Ellie asked as she shook her head in wonder.
“Borrowed the flowers from downstairs,” Anthony said sheepishly. “Hope it was okay.”
Ellie nodded, biting her lip to keep from crying as she saw what Anthony had been up to for what was probably a good amount of time.
“Be right back,” Ellie said as she walked – waddled would be a better word – to the bathroom. Behind the closed door, Ellie let her emotions out, the combination of everything that had gone on over the last 12 hours taking a toll on her, before returning to the kitchen.
Anthony stood beaming proudly by the table, even reaching out his hand to guide to to her seat before sitting down himself. Bacon, eggs, toast and juice were all ready and waiting, and although Ellie rarely was big on breakfast, for whatever reason the idea appealed to her this morning.
“This is amazing,” Ellie said as they ate. “You’re an excellent cook, in addition to all off your other – ahem – talents. Must be nice to have all of that energy. I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been able to prepare anything like this if I had managed to wake up first. Seems somebody wore me out last night.”
Anthony grinned as he bowed his head and ate, clearly pleased that he had made her happy. After they ate, he even insisted on helping with the dishes, and it wasn’t until they were all put away that he grabbed his brother’s suit jacket and tie and stood awkwardly by the door.
“Got to get to work,” Anthony said with a shrug.
“Me too,” Ellie agreed.
“I just want to tell you,” Anthony said. “How much you mean to me. Lots of times I wish for things to happen, and if they do, it’s kinda like a let down. Not last night. Not you.”
“I know, honey,” Ellie said. “Last night was one of the greatest nights of my life. I will never forget you.”
“Me too,” Anthony said, leaning forward to kiss Ellie, and she found herself kissing him back with a passion that surprised both of them. She was kissing him for the last time, because in a sense she was, because once he walked out the door, they were going to go back to their real worlds, and Anthony’s would not include Ellie in it. At least not in the way that it just had.
“And Anthony,” Ellie said as she opened the door. “Always remember. No pickles!”
“I promise,” Anthony declared, and after he skipped down the stairs Ellie closed the door and leaned back against it, smiling the kind of smile that she hadn’t had for the longest time.
…………
Epilogue.
True to what they agreed upon, they acted for the rest of the summer like the night between them had never happened. Oh, there were the occasional glances and winks, but every day when Anthony would deliver her lunch, they acted just like they always had toward each other.
Finally, the day came that Ellie had been dreading. The last day before Anthony would head down south to college. He made her the last stop that day and stayed for a long time, talking about what he would be studying, and by the end Ellie was sorely tempted to flip the OPEN sign to CLOSED and drag him upstairs for a proper send-off.
In the end she didn’t, and not because she wasn’t in the mood. Indeed, since that evening with Anthony she had found herself more and more interested in the opposite sex, even starting to banter with one of the truckers that made regular deliveries to the shop. He was no Anthony, but seemed like a nice fellow more her age. Who knows, maybe some day if he asked her out, she might accept.
No, a last fling with Anthony would only be anti-climatic, Ellie concluded. They did share a very special kiss when he bid her farewell that last evening, with Anthony promising to come back and visit her when he was able to come back home during school vacations, and Ellie was certain that he would.
So there were no regrets when Ellie turned the OPEN sign to CLOSED after locking the door, and when she turned on Luciano Pavarotti during dinner alone that night, the tears that welled in her eyes were not from sadness but from the joy of being alive and able to feel once more.
“And my kiss will disolve the silence that makes you mine,” Ellie said softly along with the music as she spun the pasta on her fork, shaking her head with a smile as she recalled that magical night when for one special night she became somebody’s princess once again.