One Who Understands

Ed was there by himself as Shirley had gone to bed. He was watching something dumb but Grace didn't want to be alone.

"That was a really pretty dress you were wearing when you got home. You looked really nice in it!" Ed said in his deep rumble as he slumped on the couch with his legs out on the ottoman. She looked over at him and felt a pang in her heart. She needed some human contact. She tucked herself against his body and he wrapped his arm around her. She sighed happily as she cuddled into the big man. They watched TV together like that until they fell asleep.

Grace woke up in the middle of the night with Shirley standing next to her.

"Get up Grace and go to bed," her mother grumbled at her. Ed jolted awake and looked over at the two of them with a panicked look.

"You fell asleep watching the TV. I heard it on and came down to shut it off. Everyone go to bed." Shirley scolded them and Ed looked relieved as he said his good nights and left quickly. Grace plodded up to her bedroom wondering why her Mom looked so disappointed.

Chapter 16

The rest of the summer was very busy with more installations and repairs. Ed learned a great deal on each job and was excelling in his night course. The year passed quickly and in January Ed graduated from the course at the top of his class. His boss was delighted and had him write the certification exams right away. He passed the State exam and got his Universal Certification which allowed him to work on any level of HVAC systems. Once more his boss was very pleased with his new employee's performance.

There was a sudden cold snap in February of that year and all hands were called in to deal with a surge of furnace repair calls.

Mr. Drakos' daughter Lydia worked the dispatch desk and received a service call requesting Ed specifically. She looked at her father and he noted the address. It was in Silverton Heights, a very posh neighborhood he'd been trying to drum up business in for years. He would have sent a more senior technician but that might upset the customer. He called Ed himself and asked him to be his absolute best on the call as this customer could lead to much more business.

Ed drove the van up to the front door of a familiar mansion. He zipped up his parka and walked around to the back of the van to get his tools. He didn't even have to ring the doorbell as the door opened as he approached it and he stepped inside. The door closed and he turned to see Rachel Thompson wearing a form fitting ski suit and big furry boots. It was very chilly in the house.

"Edward! Thank goodness you're here! The furnace won't come on!" she gasped.

He took off his boots. "Can you show me the thermostat?"

She nodded and led him to a wall display. It was a touch tablet mounted on the wall. He made his way through the menu and turned the temperature up. There didn't appear to be any issues at the thermostat. The furnace wasn't responding to it.

"Where is the furnace?"

Rachel led him through the house to the stairs leading downstairs. He saw the room he'd been exposed in and caught Rachel looking at him with that knowing smile once more. They entered a room for the house's utilities. Ed noted the furnace had no power. He looked at the electrical panel and noted the breaker was flipped for the furnace.

"There shouldn't be anything else on this circuit. Did you notice a power outage? Did a light turn off or some other appliance shut down unexpectedly?" he asked.

Rachel thought for a bit. "The lights inside the garage won't come on," she replied.

"Can I see that?"

Rachel led him to the garage and he smelled ozone and burnt plastic when he entered the open space. He walked over to the far side of the garage and found a melted space heater plugged into a wall socket. He put on his insulated gloves and unplugged the dead heater. He then tested the receptacle and found it was dead.

"Didn't you notice the smell of burning plastic?" he asked the woman.

"Yes, but it's the garage. There are lots of smelly things in here," she said defensively.

Remembering his boss wanted him to be nice to the customer he just nodded. "Luckily the breaker popped so you didn't have a fire."

She looked nervously at the space heater. The melted slag was close to a tarp which showed signs of bad scorching. Ed lifted the corner of the tarp and underneath were a number of plastic gasoline cans. He counted at least eight. He let the tarp drop again and looked over at Rachel.

"Any idea why someone would want to point a space heater at gas cans?" he asked.

Rachel's expression showed fear as she looked at the evidence before her then it switched to a fierce anger.

"That BASTARD!" she raged. She pulled out her phone and dialed 911.

Once the police arrived they took Ed's statement as to what he did and saw when he arrived. They questioned Rachel separately while Ed waited. While this was happening the fire department's inspector was in the garage taking pictures. Once he'd documented the scene he had everything put in bags and taken out as evidence. He used the ladder in the garage to get to the access door to the attic space above the garage and discovered the firewall between the garage and the house had been compromised. He bagged a hatchet he found in the attic over the garage. That space butted up against the master bedroom.

Finally, Ed was given permission to get the furnace back online which was just a matter of resetting the breaker. He tested it and confirmed it was working. The house would be warm again in a number of hours.

He had to get back to the office as they had texted him to come back ASAP as they had more customers to deal with. Rachel paid him with her credit card and signed the work order. She gushed her thanks and he just nodded and smiled.

When Ed arrived at the office his boss greeted him with a huge smile.

"Edward! You did well! I just got off the phone with your customer and she was very pleased! She said she wants you back in the spring to service the air conditioner and said that she will let her friends and neighbors know about our excellent service!"

Ed smiled at the kind words. He nodded to his boss as he took the address for the next customer from Lydia.

Mr. Drakos patted Ed's shoulder as he walked back to his office with a huge grin on his face. He was very pleased with himself for investing in Ed. It looked like it was potentially going to pay off with new business in a lucrative neighborhood.

Chapter 17

It was early spring when Ed was woken in the middle of the night once more by Shirley. She was sitting on the edge of his bed facing him. He flashed back to her previous middle of the night visits and his stomach clenched in worry. He glanced at his door but it was closed.

"What's wrong?" he asked, fearing her answer.

"I'm so sorry Ed. I stayed away as long as I could." She looked at Ed hopefully.

"What- uh, what do you need?" he croaked.

Shirley looked down at his groin. "My skin needs a treatment," she whispered and licked her lips with the pink tip of her tongue.

Ed felt the tug of his cock waking up. He glanced at the door again. "I thought you said your boyfriend was taking care of you- that."

"Jerry just doesn't have the energy to provide me with what I need on a consistent basis," she answered. "And his cum doesn't work as well as yours does. You have so much!" Her voice turned breathy.

Ed's cock surged as he took in Shirley's large breasts lifting under her shear negligee with her heavy breathing. She was biting her lip as she watched the swelling of his cock begin to tent his shorts.

"Oh my, you are so much bigger than Jerry too!" she gushed as she reached out and ran her hand along his shaft through his shorts.

Ed sucked his breath in sharply as her touch brought his cock to full size.

She took a grip on the waistband on his shorts and looked up into Ed's eyes anxiously. "May I?"

Ed realized he could tell her no and she would leave. He really wanted to do that but he thought about how happy she'd been in those early days and how recently she wasn't quite so happy. In fact, he realized that lately she'd been almost melancholy. He didn't want her slipping back into her depression. It would break Grace's heart. He looked her in the eye and nodded.

Shirley's eyes lit up. He could see her mood swinging back to the positive already as she slipped the shorts down and off. He glanced at the door again. "Did you lock the door?" he asked.

She stopped and looked at him with an impish grin. She jumped to her feet and hustled over to his door to press the lock button. She turned and looked back at him lying on the bed with his thick cock stiff and throbbing on his belly. Her eyes flared with lust and she prowled back to his side and sat on the edge again.

"Have you been with a woman yet, Ed? I mean aside from what we've done."

He looked up at her for a second then nodded.

"Would you like to show me what you've learned?" she breathed, sliding the fingers of her right hand along his shaft.

"She said most women wouldn't like the things she did," he said trembling.

"What did she like?" Shirley's curiosity was piqued.

"Her husband, when he was alive, was big like me. He was rough with her. She liked that," he said quietly.

"A widow? I assumed the woman you'd been with was your own age!" Shirley exclaimed.

He shook his head and closed his eyes as surprise tighten her grip on his cock.

Shirley's mind was racing and her nipples were stiffer than they'd ever been. God, she felt so alive!

"So, she- she liked it rough? With pain?" Shirley had a difficult time imagining Ed inflicting pain on anyone.

"So-sometimes," Ed stuttered.

"I've had a little too much pain to find it enjoyable. Did you do anything gentle with her?" she asked.

He thought for a bit. "Yes."

"Could you show me?"

Ed looked at Shirley's hopeful expression. "OK, but you have to promise to be quiet. She was very loud when I did it and I don't want Grace to hear." He stopped for a second then looked at Shirley. "If I do this can you teach me how to kiss?"

Shirley gaped at him. "You've been with a woman and you don't know how to kiss?"

"I've only kissed a girl at a party and she didn't know how to do it and- the woman... who didn't want to," he admitted.

"You forced a kiss on her?" she said surprised by his revelation.

"NO! She kissed me but then she broke it off as she'd broken her rule about no kissing." Ed felt stupid even saying it.

Shirley saw how uncomfortable he was talking about this and saw her chances of experiencing something wonderful slipping away through her fingers... literally. He was shrinking fast.

"I'm sorry, Ed. I didn't mean to pry. Of course I'll teach you how to kiss! I used to get compliments on my technique when I was younger." She smiled at him and saw him relaxing. "Why don't we start with the kissing? That's the usual order of things anyway."

Ed grinned at that and nodded.

"OK, first things first. Kissing begins with the lips. Leave your tongue in your mouth until it's invited to come out to play."

"That's what the girl at the party did wrong. She was all tongue and sloppy too," Ed explained and Shirley nodded.

"Quite a turn off isn't it! Subtlety is the name of the game. Sit up next to me and face me," she said and moved back a little on the bed.

Ed was soon facing her just a short distance away. She took in how wide his shoulders were and how strong his arms were. He was a beautiful specimen of a man!

"I want you to mimic my actions and the level of pressure I'm applying. Alright?" she said. He nodded.

She leaned forward and he moved in as well. Her lips brushed against his and she felt his mouth gently caress hers back. A thrill shot through her as she leaned back. His eyes were closed and he was gently smiling.

"That was nice!" he breathed. His eyes opened with a look of wonder.

Shirley caught her breath and blinked at him. "Ok, that was a great start. Next lesson. Again, do as I do."

She leaned in as did he and this time she pressed her full lips against his mouth with little more pressure and felt him gently sucking at her lower lip. A jolt shot from her lips straight to her pussy and she pulled back.

"Hey, no jumping ahead in the lessons!" she panted.

"It felt right," was all he could say though his eyes hadn't left her lips. She was getting so wet from his kisses and hungry looks.

She leaned in again and this time they both sucked at each other's lips and the pressure went up again. He was really good at this. His gentle nature worked in his favor. He had a very sensual touch and she found herself slipping her tongue up to caress his lips. He nibbled his way across her lips with his as the tip of his tongue danced with hers. She tried sucking on his tongue but it proved elusive and she pressed harder until she found herself lying across his body with him on his back.

Shirley's head was spinning. She was so charged up from his kisses! Her breath was coming out in gasps. His hands were in her hair and she felt his hard cock pressing against her. God, she wanted him.

"OK... lessons over... You've learned... all I can teach," she said between breaths.

"Then it's my turn," he said and rolled her over onto her back with a loud squeak.

"Shhh! You promised to be quiet!" he hushed her.

"Sorry but you surprised me!" she hissed quietly.

Before she could say anything else he dipped down and kissed her again. Her mouth was so soft and inviting. He stroked her plump lower lip with his tongue as he sucked on it gently and she moaned softly.

When he cupped her breast in his palm through her nightie her back arched automatically to press the flesh more firmly in his hand. He slid his thumb up to stroke across her stiff nipple and a small whimper of desire slipped from her lips. Knowing she had no taste for pain he avoided pinching her but he did give the nipple a squeeze and slight tug.

"Oh fuck!" Shirley gasped against his mouth and her tongue slipped forward to explore his mouth. Ed sucked on it as she'd tried to suck on his and her kiss became more insistent as he squeezed her tit.

Shirley pulled back from the kiss. "Please! Let me take the nightie off."

Ed slid off the bed and Shirley sat up and pulled the satin sleepwear up and over her head. When she laid back down Ed leaned over her and pulled her panties down. She lifted her ass and he slipped them down her legs and dropped them on the desk next to the bed.

He gazed upon the woman lying on his bed. Her thick brown hair was spread out behind her head like a huge mane. Her brown eyes looked up at him with a smile. She'd taken a beating from those years of chronic pain, alcohol and pills but she was still a lovely woman now that those burdens had been lifted. She'd lost a lot of the extra weight she'd put on in those years as she'd returned to her exercise program so her curves were returning. She still had extra padding in some places but it didn't really diminish her beauty.

"You're so beautiful!" Ed said in wonder as his eyes took her all in. He noticed that she'd shaved herself completely down below.

Shirley's smile lit up her face and she reached up for him.

He laid beside her and leaned over to kiss her again. Their lips met and soon she was panting with need.

Ed moved his lips to her neck and kissed his way down to her large breasts. Her pink nipples weren't large but they were stiff and sensitive when he stroked his tongue across them. She gasped and grabbed his head to hold his mouth over her tit. He sucked more into his mouth and ran the tip of his tongue in circles around the sensitive tip.

"OH FUCK!" Shirley gasped and writhed under him. He moved to the other tit and gave it the same treatment and her gyrations increased. He continued down her chest and across her stomach which she was still a little embarrassed about. He shushed her and moved further down.

"What! Where are you going? What are you-" she gasped as she lifted her head from the pillow. Her eyes were wide and worried.

He looked up at her. "You've never had a man do this?" He ran the flat of his tongue from the bottom to the top of her pussy in one stroke. He flicked her clit at the top.

Shirley slapped a hand over her mouth and cried out as her hips lifted slightly off the bed. Which was impressive considering Ed was pinning her legs down with his body.

She looked at him in shock once her senses returned. He looked up at her with a sly grin as she tried to catch her breath.

"So that's a no?" he said breathing on her sensitive clit.

She trembled and shook as he stroked her again. Shirley grabbed a pillow and held it over her mouth so her cries were muffled.

Ed slipped his tongue deeply into her pussy and she moaned. He slowly dragged his tongue upwards as he felt her body jolt and shake. He reached her clit so he gently sucked it into his mouth and ran his tongue around it in circles as he slipped two fingers into her pussy.

He had some trouble holding on as Shirley's body writhed under him. He eased off on her clit and each time she relaxed he'd begin again. His fingers moved in and out in a steady pumping motion and he gradually increased his tempo.

Shirley was making wonderful mewling sounds into the pillow and he felt her body begin to stiffen as she got close. He sucked her clit back between his lips and strummed it quickly with the tip of his tongue as he pumped his fingers rapidly.

"MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFKKKKKKKKKK!" came through the pillow as Shirley's body stiffened and shook through her orgasm.

She pushed his head away when the sensations became too intense. He crawled back up the bed to lie next to her leaning up on his elbow to gaze down on her flushed face. She was gasping and panting and looked up at him.

"That's the gentle thing I learned to do," he said with a smile.

"That's... a good... thing!" she managed to get out as her eyes struggled to focus on his face.

She felt the heat from his hard cock pressed against her thigh.

"Ed, straddle my chest and place your cock here," she pointed between her tits.

He carefully knelt on the bed and lifted his leg over her torso. Once she was below him he leaned forward to hold the top rail of his headboard with one hand while he pushed his thick cock down between her large tits.

Shirley squeezed her flesh around his cock and felt its heat. Her face flushed with desire. He was so fucking big! The fat head of it was poking out from between her tits as he pushed forward. She watched it get closer to her face until it pressed against her lips. She opened her mouth automatically and ran her tongue over it. Ed gasped and closed his eyes. He pulled back and slid forward, the light dew of perspiration on her chest lubricating his way. Once more she kissed the head and stroked it with her tongue. Her nipples were stiff with lust and Ed lightly squeezed them and gave them a gentle tug as he stroked faster between her tits making her moan.

He was feeling really good and felt his orgasm approaching. With each stroke she sucked on the head of his cock and the intense bursts of sensation were tipping him closer to his release.

"Shirley, I'm gonna cum!" he growled as his strokes sped up.

"Oh god! Cum on my face Ed! Please, I need it so much!" she moaned.

That was it for Ed and he began to fire stream after stream over Shirley's cheeks, chin and chest. It went on and on and Shirley was moaning loudly. Ed reached down and placed his fingers over her mouth to quiet her but she sucked them between her soft lips and continued to moan. A jolt ran through him and his body squeezed out a few more streams in reaction. He pulled back and lifted his leg back over her to slump back on his bed. He tried to catch his breath as he watched her spreading his cum evenly over her face, neck and chest.