Reaching Out

"Yes?" She answered.

"I just wanted to see if you were awake." He said.

"Okay."

James started to relax a little until he realized that he had an erection and that Dana was laying on it. He must have tensed a bit, because Dana asked what was wrong.

"Um, I just thought about it. I have a, you know." He stuttered.

"Your dick is hard." She said. She sounded nervous saying it.

"Yes." He answered. He didn't what else to say.

"It has been for a little while. Ten minutes or so." She said. She was not just laying on it, like with her stomach. No, it was her crotch that was laying on it, the base of his dick uncovered by the gap between the start of her thighs, her mound pressing on the shaft.

"I thought about touching it." Dana whispered after a moment. She sounded very unsure of herself. James thought she felt like she was taking a very large risk in admitting that. He thought that that was a big step for her. To take large risks like that (not necessarily in that subject) in conversation despite the fear of judgment.

"That's okay." He reassured her. "I have thought of touching you. When you wear that shirt and I can see you. When I hold you and we kiss. And now, with you so close. I think it's natural for two people to feel that urge to touch when they are attracted to each other. Our situation may be different than normal, but I think that the same basic urges are there." He said. His voice was a bit uneven. He tried to sound calm, but he wasn't. He knew she could feel his racing pulse, his tense body, and could dissect his voice, but he still felt like he had to try to sound calm.

"If you want to touch me, that's okay. I think I would like it if you touched me." She said. He found he could hear the fear and excitement in her voice, feel the way her muscled thrummed almost imperceptibly under her skin, the way her breathing sharpened just the tiniest bit. He could gather from all this that she wanted him to touch her. She wouldn't come right out and ask for it, she had said the closest to asking him as she could, but her body was telling him what she couldn't.

"If you want to touch me, you can as well. No judgment, remember?" He said, his hands rubbing gently on her back.

"No judgment." She echoed quietly. She stretched up and kissed him, then lay back down. He thought she would want to explore his body, or hers. But she seemed content in the knowledge that he was alright with her doing so, and that he knew she was alright with him doing so. James was happy to simply hold her. He didn't know if he was ready to go any farther than they already had. His body yearned for it, obviously, but his nerves, his heart, were still jittery at the thought. He began drifting back to sleep. Dana was gently, slowly rubbing small circles on his chest with her fingertips. It was a lulling, almost hypnotic sensation in the quiet dark. He was asleep shortly after she started.

---

When James woke next it was to a wonderful feeling. His mind swam up into consciousness as Dana kissed him, one hand caressing the side of his face, the other gently rubbing his chest. He realized he could see her. The sun was coming up. She leaned back and looked to her hand on his chest.

"Mom and dad will be awake soon." She said. He knew what that meant.

"I better get downstairs, then." He said. He didn't want to, but he felt it was safest.

"Will you come back tonight? To sleep here?" she asked.

"Only if you want me to." He answered with a smile.

"Yes. I want you to. Very much." She answered. He could hear the need in her voice and see a hint of the urgency in her face. He was getting a sense of how she read people so deeply, now that he was aware of it and trying it.

"Then I will be here." He said. He gave her a quick kiss and went downstairs.

James had a mug in hand, pouring coffee when his mother came in. He handed her the mug and grabbed another for himself.

"Thank you. Did you talk to Dana this morning? I know she wakes up early, and I thought I heard voices coming from her room earlier, while I was getting dressed." She said. Everything in her voice and body language said to James that she was unconcerned, just curious. He relaxed a bit and nodded, sipping at his coffee.

"Yeah, I wake up a little early too, can't sleep long on that couch before it gets to my back. So we talked for a bit." He said. He did not like deceiving his mom, it made him feel bad, like he was stealing from her in some way. But he knew it would hurt her far worse if he told her the truth in these circumstances. So he clamped down on his feelings of guilt as best he could and tried to think instead of Dana.

"What did you talk about? If it's ok to ask." She added quickly.

"I was showing her the comments on her pictures. She was pretty happy about it." James said, relived to be into a more neutral subject.

"Oh? What kind of comments are they getting? I would think they would be good." She said, her face already beginning to show pride.

"Yes indeed. A lot of people have commented. It is all positive. They are praising her skill and asking that she keep up the good work. There are a few that have said that looking at her artwork makes them happier. I think that was what made Dana the happiest." James said, unable to keep from smiling. He couldn't help it. He was just like his mom; proud of Dana's work and the praise it was receiving.

"I'm so glad. I knew people would like it. Do you think it would be alright if I told her that I am proud of her for putting her work out there and for how well it's doing?" She asked, unaware that Dana had walked up behind her silently while James had explained the comments. Dana had heard everything mom said.

"It is alright. Thank you Mom. I appreciate it." Dana said in a low voice. Her cheeks were brick red and her eyes were riveted to the floor but she had a small smile. Mom jumped a little at Dana's voice and turned around. She stood up and pulled Dana into her arms for a hug. Dana hugged her back.

"I am so proud of you. What you did took courage." Mom said simply.

"Thank you." Dana whispered. When mom released her Dana left, heading back to the stairs. She wasn't hurrying though, like did when she was flustered. She was walking casually like she did when no one was paying attention to her.

"I don't know what you are saying to her when you two talk, but whatever it is, please keep it up." Mom said to James, almost in tears. James nodded and sipped his coffee. He thought again of what all their conversations entailed and tried to think of how his mom would react if she knew. He still couldn't guess, but he thought it wouldn't be anger. He thought if anything, it would take a form of sadness. That was as far as he could guess.

---

Mom and dad were soon off to work. Dana had the day off. As soon as the door shut behind dad, James was climbing the stairs. His ascent was silent, as was his short walk to Dana's door. He noticed neither, though. He knocked lightly on the door. He heard Dana call him in and he entered, closing the door behind him. She was on the bed, sitting cross-legged. She was not wearing a shirt at all, only a pair of panties. Her cheeks were red, and she stared at her hands. She was clearly scared to be this bold, but determined to make the effort. James pulled his shirt over his head and took off his pants. He figured she may feel better if he made the same gesture. He stood before her in just his boxers. She looked up, her eyes running over his body, touching his face for a moment, before settling on his chest.

"I like your body. It looks good." She said, her voice hesitant, unsure of how to word it. James looked down at himself. A little on the pale side, not much definition, his arm weren't big or muscular, but he wasn't really scrawny either. His legs tapered but weren't really shaped. He thought it wasn't that great.

"Average I guess, if I was to judge it." He said.

"No judgment here, remember? I like it. It doesn't look all angular and over-worked like in the underwear and gym ads, and you're not fat or anything. Your body is smooth. Each part flows into the next without a bunch of hard angles." She said. James looked back down and tried to see it the way she described it. He could see where she was coming from, but it still looked less than wonderful to him.

"Well, I'm glad one of us likes it." He said, and went to sit next to her. As soon as he sat she straddled his lap again and held him tight. Now that they were nearly nude it was much more intimate, whether she intended it or not. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her neck, her shoulder, working to her mouth. She kissed him back hard.

She gasped slightly when she felt his dick press against her. It was putting pressure right on her clit. James turned red and tried to shift away, but Dana held tight and ground down against him. When she did, he froze. She let out a small moan and made another pass, slower this time, pushing harder. She stopped and looked up to James' face.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what happened. I couldn't resist the urge to do that." She said. Her voice was uneven and after she said it she bit her lip and looked away, clearly embarrassed. James took her chin in his hand and turned her face back to his.

"It's okay. You can touch me however you want. Remember? Besides, no judgment. All else aside, that felt good to me, too." He said.

Dana just looked at him for a while, still as a statue. He knew now that when she went still she was thinking and observing, examining everything about him she could with her senses. He waited. After a moment she leaned closer to him, the tip of her nose almost touching the tip of his.

"I've thought of you before. While I was rubbing it. I thought about you." She whispered. Her eyes were piercing as she watched for his reaction. He smiled.

"That is very flattering, Dana. I hope that if we go that far, I do not disappoint you." He said.

"I want to. I want to go that far. I want to experience it instead of just thinking about it. If you want to." She said. Her eyes held his transfixed.

"I would like that. But we will have to be very careful if we are going to bring love making into our relationship. Very careful indeed." He said. He felt himself getting harder and harder at the thought of it. It wasn't that difficult with a mostly naked beautiful young woman with her legs wrapped around him on his lap.

"I have lived my life being careful." She said, a hint of a smile on her mouth. He could see the small twitch in her eye and hear the slight lift in her voice. She had almost laughed while saying it, and he couldn't blame her. She was right. James kissed her lightly and moved his hips slightly, letting his dick rub against her a little. She closed her eyes when he did and put her forehead on his shoulder. She started to rock her hips back and forth in time with him, her breathing getting heavier as she did. James ran one of his hands down to her ass, and the other to her breast. She moaned again at that and rocked faster. He felt her short fingernails digging into his back and the back of his neck. He concentrated on every sensation he could. Her fingernails, the grinding, her hot, fast breath on his shoulder and rolling down his chest, the clench and relax of the cheek in his hand, the racing pulse in the palm of his other hand, the slight tremor he could hear in her throat in her moans and her breathing. It was electrifying. If she was open to all these sensations and more through her constant observation, he could only imagine how stimulating any erotic act must be.

James reveled in this sensory cascade, but was careful to control himself. He wanted to make this an experience for her. He took his hand from her ass and placed his fingertips at the base of her neck, just below the hairline, and let his fingernails drag lightly down her spine. She shuddered as he did, and he grinned. It was something simple he had picked up in college, from a girl at a party. Dana's breathing became ragged, almost panting. Her grip on James tightened further. Her pressure on his dick increased with her speed. She whispered his name when her orgasm peaked.

She all but collapsed against him, all of the strength and tension of just a moment ago gone. James lay back, taking Dana with him. His dick was still hard, he had not come, but he was not worried about that. He could take care of that whenever with just a couple minutes work. He was smiling and caressing Dana's back. He could feel the fluid that had soaked through her panties and his boxers on his dick, and it made him happy. Knowing that he could make Dana feel good made him happy. Now he just had to figure out how to keep making her happy. How to ensure that he had the chance to.