EXCERPT
 He was
wiping oil off his hands when he was startled by a quiet
cough behind him. Turning, he saw her sitting on the rock
retaining wall which bordered one side of his driveway.
She was barefoot, wearing an old faded pair of cutoff
Levi's and a very short red tank top; the soles of her
feet were stained green from walking through freshly-cut
grass. Now he recognized her: she was the girl who had
been watching him from her window as he moved into his
new house.
"You startled me," he said to her,
laying his shop rag on the fender. She stared into his
eyes; he found it difficult to look away. "I'm
Daniel Ross," he stammered. Do you live in the
neighborhood?"
"I'm sorry," she replied, smiling.
"I didn't mean to startle you. I'm Jane--I live next
door." She held out her hand to him; it was very
small but she had a firm grip, like that of a man. She
was a tiny pixie of a girl, slender without being skinny;
delicate without appearing fragile. Long chestnut hair
tumbled unstyled halfway down her back and shoulders in
waves, framing her oval face. Judging from her elfin
size, Daniel guessed her to be about fourteen or fifteen
years old.
"Jane," he said, releasing her hand,
"it's nice to meet you."
"It's nice to meet you, too, Daniel,"
she replied. Her voice was soft, low, and musical--a
mature, adult voice. She laid back on the grass, propping
her head up on one elbow. Her tank top rode up, revealing
her hip and the sharp curve of her waist. "So are
you all moved in?" she asked, studying him.
"Pretty much," he said, trying not to
stare at her but not having much luck. "I have a few
things in storage, but I've run out of time--I have to
start back to work tomorrow."
"What are you doing to your car?"
Daniel glanced around at his car, then back at
her. "Oh, nothing, really--just messing around. I
should be inside unpacking boxes, but I've been doing
that for two days now and I'm tired of it. This is my
'play' car."
"It's pretty," she said. "Would
you take me for a ride? We could play in your play
car."
"Uh," he replied stupidly, not knowing
what to say, "I guess so, as long as it's okay with
your parents." He wondered what she meant by
"play."
Jane frowned. "My parents are both
dead," she said softly. "I live with my sister
Ellen."
Daniel looked at her lying there on the grass,
one leg dangling off the retaining wall. Her cutoffs were
slit up the sides clear to the waistband and were laced
very loosely with leather thong; there was no hint of an
undergarment. She sat up and patted the top of the wall
next to her.
"Come sit by me," she said. "You
don't have to stand there, I don't bite--not hard,
anyway." She smiled at him and clicked her teeth
together.
She sat up; he turned around and sat beside her.
The top of her head barely came up to his shoulders. She
scootched over until their legs were touching.
"There," she breathed. "Isn't this
nice?"
Daniel could feel her smooth leg against his and
her arm pressing against his back. "Yes," he
admitted, "it's very nice." He turned his head
and looked down at her; she smiled, her large brown eyes
lifted to his. Her smile was very warm, her cheeks
dimpled.
Jane snuggled up against him; despite the warm
temperature, he could feel her body heat against his
side. She shifted against him; he could feel her tank top
sliding against his skin.
This isn't right, he thought to himself --I'm a
thirty-year-old man snuggled up against a little girl.
Daniel corrected himself: little she might be,
but definitely not a girl; she had none of the gangly
awkwardness of an adolescent, she was proportioned
perfectly and she moved with grace, every muscle under
smooth control like a ballerina.
"Jane," he said, "I don't think
we should be sitting this close--we don't even know each
other. What if your sister saw us?"
"Ellen's at work," Jane replied.
"And what's the big deal? We're just sitting here
talking." She gave him a crooked smile, then she
took a deep breath. "Now it would be a big
deal if you did this..." She grabbed his
hand and jammed it up the inside of her thigh under her
cutoffs.
"Hey!" Daniel gasped, jerking his hand
away. "Why did you do that?"
"Because I want you," she said,
staring into his eyes. "And you want me; you know
you do. It's inevitable, Daniel. It will
happen--it did happen."
"Huh? What do you mean, 'it did
happen?'"
"I meant...I meant it almost
happened."
Daniel sighed; he put his arm around her
shoulders. "Listen to me, Jane. You have your whole
life ahead of you; you shouldn't even be thinking about
these kinds of things yet--you're not old enough."
"Just how old do you think I am?"
"I have no idea, Jane. Suppose you tell
me."
Jane smiled. "I'm old enough to be your
lover, Daniel. And your wife."
|
