Ooh Child

"Shut up Jordan," she said. She rolled the rubber down over two fingers, grinning the whole time.

"Oh, Lena," I heaved as she pressed into me. I squeezed around her two fingers and watched her eyes light up. We hadn't been doing the whole penetration thing for too long, but when we did, it was always with enthusiasm.

"God, baby, that's it. Oh my ... "

Lena had her lips on mine and was busy exploring my mouth with her tongue while her nimble fingers probed the bundle of nerves between my thighs. She was not in a rush, but she never left me wanting for too long. Lena was an exquisitely skilled lover.

I had often wondered about her past, but never felt the need to bring it up. She was definitely way more skilled than a woman her age ought to have been, and that led me to believe that I was definitely not her first, or her second or third for that matter. But given our situation, and the limited time we had, it just didn't seem that important. Right now it was just us and that was enough for me.

"Oh Lena. Oh my god, baby." I squeezed my eyes shut. My mouth moved, but no words came out. The trembling in my thighs had started and I knew it wouldn't be long. Lena knew it too.

"What's the matter love?" she teased. "Cat got your tongue?"

"Ohhh," was all I could muster. Don't let the cat get your tongue had started out as some kind of half joke, half reminder for us. A cute way to say no tongue in the pussy, no fluid exchange. Recently though it had morphed into a way for Lena to tease me whenever I lost my power of speech under her touches. It had been happening a lot.

"Oh baby," I heaved. "Oooh."

"It's OK honey, I've got you. Lena will make everything alright, and then you can talk again. But until then ..."

"Oh-mi-god. Oh-mi-god. Lenaaaaa!" I shuddered and slapped my palm against the mattress while Lena drove me mercilessly on toward the cliff. "Oh! My! God! Ahhhh."

I opened up my passion-sealed eyes to see Lena's beautiful face smiling down on me. I puckered up my lips and tried to look as cute as I could muster. Apparently it worked, because she laid a nice long smooch on me.

"It's so sexy when you refer to yourself in the third person, baby." I grinned. "Lena will make everything alright. Mmm-hmm."

"Shut up Jordan," was her only response before she smothered my lips again.

*

By some strange miracle Wild Cherry was singing about playing that funky music after we had just suffered through Glen Campbell and some other horrid song called Afternoon Delight. I would never understand why this old truck could only pick up the lamest of radio stations.

We were barreling down Route Sixty-Six again, cruising through New Mexico and stopping anywhere that advertised fresh-made sopaipillas. God those things were addictive, and better yet Lena didn't mind putting them away by the half-dozen.

Poor girl was still awfully thin though. And the last place we stopped she had picked up a cough that just wouldn't quit. She insisted that it was nothing, but it sounded horrible and she always looked so drained after a bout of it. Now she was caught in the throes of it again.

"I think we need to stop at a hospital, baby."

"I'll be fine," she said after she caught her breath again. "Besides you know we don't have insurance."

"We'll go to the ER. They can't turn you away there."

"I'm fine," she said and gave me a weak smile.

Amid Lena's continuing protests I steered the truck into a motel parking lot. She insisted that we should sleep out under the stars. But I really wanted to be close to the nearest medical facility, and I told her that my back was stiff after the last time we camped out.

"You're getting old," she teased, and then proceeded to hack and wheeze for at least three solid minutes while I held her in my arms. Neither one of us felt like calling dibs on the shower after that. We just snacked on what was in the cooler and crashed out with me snuggling up behind Lena, afraid to let her go.

*

There must be something about Arizona and the dry desert air. Maybe that's why all the asthmatics move out here. Whatever it is, Lena's cough seemed to clear up and there were now at least three strong radio stations to choose from. Of course they all seemed to play the same crap, but at least Lena sounded better.

"Camp out in the desert, baby?" she said smiling. "Please?"

"How can I say no to this face?" I touched my finger to her cheek while Lena admonished me to keep my eyes on the road.

I settled for checking her out in the rearview mirror instead. She looked pale and gaunt, but I wasn't about to tell her. Besides, to me Lena was still the most beautiful woman in the world. I reached over and stroked her thigh.

"How many of my special egg and toast sandwiches you gonna eat this time?"

"How many you gonna make?"

I chuckled as I steered the truck toward the ranger's office. I came back with a sticker for the windshield and a campsite map that I passed to Lena. "He said we're number twenty-two. Help me navigate?"

I made Lena sit on the picnic bench while I set up the tent and the sleeping bags. She tried to protest, and in the end I had to resort to threatening her with no egg sandwiches before she fell silent. She slumped over and hugged that ratty old army green pack of hers, resting her cheek on it just like she did halfway across the country and what seemed like half a lifetime ago.

I turned away from Lena as I reached up to wipe a tear from my eye. I silently wondered how much longer we had together, and if we would actually make it all the way up Highway One-Oh-One to Puget Sound like we planned.

But that night she managed to fill me with hope, while I carefully filled her with a pair of condom-wrapped fingers. "Make love to me under the stars, Jordan," she said. And if you think that for one minute I could have said no to that request, then you have not really been paying attention when I describe my dear Lena.

The woman oozes sexuality. It doesn't matter what her body looks like, that I don't even have to run my fingers over her skin to count ribs anymore. It doesn't matter that her cheeks are sunken when she puckers up to kiss me. When Lena says make love to me, I snap to it. Because there isn't a woman in the world who is more deserving of my affections than she is.

"I'll just slip the rain fly off, baby," I said. "Promise not to run away, OK?"

Lena smiled as I slipped out of the tent. When I came back, there was nothing but mosquito netting between the two of us and the great big Arizona sky. We had our matching sleeping bags zipped together and a handful of condoms at the ready. And we both oohed and ahhed as we watched a meteor fly overhead, putting the final touch on what was shaping up to be a perfect evening.

"I love you, honey," I said as I slipped my arm around Lena's waist.

"I know," she said. "Now shut up and fuck me."

I smiled and pushed her t-shirt up, helping her slip it over her head. She reached for mine, but I pushed her hand off to the side.

"Not yet." I lowered my mouth to her breast and flicked my tongue back and forth a few times over each nipple. "I love making them stand up," I said, repeating the same mantra she regularly used on me.

Lena didn't argue, she just arched her back and pushed her chest toward my mouth. She had lost so much weight that there wasn't a lot there anymore, but it didn't stop me from enjoying every inch of her, and teasing out several lusty moans along the way.

I unwrapped a rubber and slipped it down over my fingers. Slowly and carefully I teased Lena apart and slid my tongue over her neck while she gasped in my ear. I knew just where to touch her to set off the fireworks, and she knew it too. Lena was grinding against my hand, and wrapping her fingers up in my hair.

"Oh -- Oh, god," she moaned, and then nothing. I raised my head to peer into her face. Her lips were still moving, but no sound came out.

"It's OK honey," I teased. "Jordan will make everything alright. Then you can talk again."

"Ohh-ahh," was all she managed.

I smiled as I continued pressing and rubbing right where I knew she liked it, the place that made Lena shimmy and shake, and move around like a woman possessed.

"Ohh. Ohh."

Yeah, she was possessed alright.

"Oh, Jordan. So fucking good, baby. Mmm." Lena's thighs were shaking and her feet were kicking inside of the sleeping bag, making the zipper jangle.

"I love you, Lena."

"Oh god. I love you too, Jordan." Lena's shuddering had increased, and whenever she wasn't talking there was this low moan passing over her lips. "Jordan. Ohh. God, yes Jordan." I felt her squeeze against me. "Oh-mi-god. Oh. My. God. Jordan. Ohhh."

I clasped Lena to me as she collapsed under the weight of her orgasm. I held her until the shaking stopped, until her breathing was no longer coming in ragged gasps, until that one final sigh crossed her lips as they turned up at the corners into a smile as big as the Arizona sky.

"Thank you," she said.

I hugged her to me and nuzzled her neck. "Better put your clothes back on baby. The desert gets chilly at night."

"But you'll keep me warm, right?"

"Always," I said. "Always."

*

Well, we made it up to Puget Sound finally, Lena and me and my old Dodge truck. The Eagles were playing on the radio as I turned off the main road. The fucking Eagles, man.

It wasn't the easiest drive, and it certainly wasn't the quickest. We had a long stop over in Eureka while Lena spent some time in the intensive care unit and I fretted and worried over her. But we got through it.

I turned toward the window and wiped a tear from my eye before stepping around to open up the passenger side door. It still had an awful stick to it. I gave it a good yank and it opened with a groan. I leaned in to pick up Lena's funeral urn. "We made it, baby. Puget Sound. It's just as beautiful as you said it would be."

I pushed my shoulder against the door and it closed with a squeak and a thud. With the urn cradled in my arm I set off toward the sound, breathing in the cool salty air.

"It's absolutely gorgeous, sugar." I walked on until I had a good view of the water. "You're going to love it here." And very softly I started in on the chorus of Ooh Child as I opened up the urn and let the wind take Lena the rest of the way home.

* * *

Afterword

Oh come on, you can't be mad about the ending. It's not like I didn't tell you from the outset that Lena had a fatal disease. And you have to admit that her final days spent road tripping with Jordan were probably the happiest of her life.

So go ahead and let me have it in the comments. I can take it. Still though, I hope it was a worthwhile read for you.

And find The Five Stairsteps' Ooh Child on you favorite streaming service. It'll make you feel better.

-WP