Sweet Elizabeth

"Hi, Matt! Emily's not here right now, she's gone out with Sean."

That was Elizabeth, the younger sister of one of my good friends. The very pretty younger sister of one of my good friends. She'd finally fought with their crazily barking dog, Chloe, long enough to see who it was knocking at her door on that cloudy suburban Saturday. I remember thinking, the first time I met Liz, that there was no way someone that cute should even be allowed out of her room by her parents, let alone any farther.

Liz is the kind of little sister that all your guy friends would give their left nut to have a shot at, and that all your girl friends would give their left... well , their left anything to look like. Olive skin, black spirals of hair that bounce ever so slightly when she laughs, and a smile so contagious it should be kept in a jar away from mankind. You get the idea.

After a moment, it occurred to me I should stop gawking at her and say something.

"Oh, okay. Er... do you know when they're getting back?" I asked her.

"Actually, I don't, sorry. So long as they've got everything out of their systems by the time they get back, I don't care how long they're away," she replied, rolling her eyes.

Sean and Emily were somewhat of a sexual couple, you see. Anywhere, anytime, so long as they could find a reasonably dark or secluded place.

I smiled back at her. "Getting a little tired of walking in on the two of them, I'm guessing?"

"Let's just say that's not the kind of education I need to get from my sister."

As if they were replying to her point, the rain clouds that had been sitting menacingly across the sky chose that moment to open themselves up and start dumping the heavy load of water they'd been promising all day.

I cursed loudly, and my expression fell as the rain began beating steadily on the top of my head. As I looked up at the clouds, the sky was illuminated by a fork of lightning that cut across it, followed closely by a clap of thunder that shook the house. Liz screamed, causing me to whirl my head back around to look at her.

"Matt, I have a little confession," she told me, "I'm scared out my mind by storms."

"That might explain why you almost deafened me just now," I retorted with a slight grin.

"No, I'm serious. They really frighten me. And I'm all on my own here, because my mom and dad took David out shopping."

I was never much of a person to jump to conclusions, having suffered a good emotional plummet or two in the past for having done so. Maybe this one was as obvious as a large sledgehammer to the groin, but I was determined not to be misinterpreting it.

"Okay," I mumbled dumbly, hoping for a little confirmation of what I couldn't believe could possibly happen.

"Do you think you could come in and keep my company until they get back?" Liz asked, looking at me with a pair of puppy dog eyes so entrancing, I think I might have started drooling. That is, if I hadn't been opening and closing my mouth like a guppy as I tried to think of what to say. Taking my hesitation as a sign of doubt, she started to blush and stutter an explanation. "I mean, you don't have to, it's just that I really don't want to be by myself if the power goes out like it did the last time there was a storm, and I don't mind being alone with you, if that's what you're worried about, and I could call my mom's cell phone to check if it'd be okay, and..."

"I'd love to," I blurted out, possibly a seeming a little too quick after the previous hesitation. Somehow, she missed my eagerness, and gave a little squeal of delight and clapped her hands together, before shoving open the screen door and letting me come in.

I glared at Chloe, the family dog, as she raced around me, barking. For some reason, I am the only person Chloe barks at, all the while wagging her tail so furiously you have to be sure any fragile objects in the vicinity are firmly secured, preferably with duct tape and super glue. Everyone in Liz's family also know how much this bothers me, my not being much of a dog person, and so Liz quickly grabbed her by the collar and dragged her off to her cage. I was left, dripping ever so slightly from my unscheduled shower, to remove my shoes before stepping beyond the door mat.

After fiddling with my laces long enough to extract my feet, I wandered into their dining room to find Liz. As soon as did, Chloe, who had finally been convinced to stop barking, realized I wasn't as gone as she thought I was, and started up again.

"Go into the basement and stop tormenting the poor dog," Liz giggled at me, pushing me from the room. I mimicked her words with my hand, like a puppet, but opened the door to the basement and headed down there anyway. I lay down along the length of the couch, as I do every time I'm over there, and tried to figure out what mindless movie was playing on the TV. Liz came wandering down the stairs a moment later, cringing badly as another clap of thunder echoed around the room. I smiled in what I hoped was a reassuring manner.

"What is there to be so worried about? It's just noise," I told her, hoping, for some weird reason, I could make her fear less with just my words. She didn't look all that convinced, but she smiled at the effort.

"It's not the thunder that's the problem. Not really anyway," she explained. "It's the stupid lightning. I've just always been worried about being hit by it. It's always like that whenever there's a storm like this. I know it's silly, and it's more likely I'll be hit by a car or something, but it's just really not something I'd like to happen to me." She reached the bottom of the stairs and rolled her eyes again as looked at my legs taking up half the couch. "Are you going to move or do I have to sit on you?"

"You're not going to catch me complaining about it," I half joked. "Although I guess my legs are probably not the most comfortable of places to sit." I gave an exaggerated sigh and slowly pulled my knees up, vacating the far end of the couch so she could sit down. "So, what is this crap that's playing?" I asked, jerking my head in direction of the TV.

"Some movie of Emily's. I was only watching it because I've seen all mine about a million times and there was nothing decent on the TV."

"Yeah, sixty three channels and nothing to watch," I muttered, repeating the phrase my parents had chanted of American TV when we used to live in England. I gave another sigh and lifted my legs back up, before planting them across Liz's lap, wriggling slightly as I sunk my shoulder blades back into the couch. With the timing that always seems to happen just as life is getting to the good bits, the phone rang upstairs before she could say anything. She leapt back to her feet, my legs being dragged up with her and pulling me off the couch onto the floor. I landed on my side, with a resounding thud.

"Ouch," I said, rubbing my hip with an exaggerated expression of pain, just for the look of concern I knew it would bring out on Liz's face. She threw her hands up in mock exasperation, trying to decide if my pampering was more important than the phone. "Go on, go answer the damn thing," I told her with a grin. She scampered off up the stairs as I hauled myself up into a sitting position, turning my attention to the TV again. Julia Stiles face flashed across the screen briefly, tear stricken after reading her poem in what I finally recognized as "Ten Things I Hate About You." I hadn't enjoyed the movie all that much the first time, and figured I'd distracted Liz from enough of it that it wouldn't matter if I decided to watch something else. I grabbed the remote and started channel hopping, trying to find something that was worth my attention. The familiar beeping of a storm watch briefly caught my attention, so I stopped my hunt long enough to see what they had to say about the current downpour. As I expected, suburban Cook County was high on the list of places expecting a severe storm watch, with a somewhat smaller risk of flash floods. I hit the mute button, my interest in the screen already wavering. I could hear Liz's voice over the gentle drumming of the rain, although I couldn't make out the words.

I shut my eyes and put my head back on the couch, waiting for her to come back downstairs. Even though I had my eyes closed, the next flash of lightning still seemed to be beyond bright, and the crashing, roaring sound of the thunder that followed almost immediately had me slamming my hands over my ears faster than I'd known I could move them. As soon as it died down, I opened my eyes again, removed my hands from my ears and heard, once again, the sound of Liz's screams. I scrambled to my feet and went up the stairs practically on all fours, rushing into the kitchen where Liz was huddled into a ball by the wall, no longer screaming but whimpering slightly, the phone dangling by it's cord from the wall. I ran over to her, crouching down next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's okay, Liz, just relax, breathe deeply," I tried to make my voice sound calm as I clenched her shoulder, squeezing it gently. Her noises died down a little, and she lifted her chin up from her arms to look me in the eyes. In that moment, looking into her frightened little face, there was nothing I wanted more than to wrap my arms around her and protect her from any thunder or lightning that so much as thought about threatening her existence. "It's okay," I repeated, not letting go of her shoulder but reaching for the phone with the other hand, hearing the concerned voice coming from the ear piece.

"Hello?" I said, unsure of myself and trying to keep my voice steady.

"Matt?" I recognized the voice of Liz's mom.

"Yeah, it's me. I think the lightning struck something pretty close to the house, it's shaken up Liz pretty badly," I informed her, all the time not breaking my eye contact with the scared girl in front of me. "Um, I'm sorry if I shouldn't be here, it's just that..."

"It's okay. In fact, it's a good thing you're there, because the traffic from here is really bad, and the rain's still getting worse, so we're probably not going to make it back for a few hours. Is it okay if we ask you to keep an eye on Elizabeth until we get back? If you've got other stuff to do, that's okay, but it would really be great of you if you could."

"I'd be happy to, Mrs. Solomon," I told her, trying not to give away quite how happy I was to get to be with Liz, alone, even at their request. I passed the phone back to Liz, who had regained a little of her composure, and stood up to lean back on one the counters. After rounding off the conversation, she hung up and the phone and took a deep breath.

"Thank you so much for agreeing to stay here, Matt. You have no idea how much this means to me," she told me, the relief showing in her voice. I couldn't help but smile at her.

"It's really not even close to a problem. I didn't even have anything else to do anyway, and you'll never find me complaining about getting to spend time with a pretty girl like you." She rolled her eyes at me again, a smile coming to her own face for the first time since the lightning had struck.

"You're crazy, you know that?" she told me with a sigh. "I'm not pretty." I just stood there staring at her, not quite able to believe that the angel in front of me could possibly have said that. I smiled a little, then felt it turn into a cocky grin and poked her in the side. She squealed, and I took a step back raising my hands to block the return poke I had a feeling was coming. She chased me back down the basement, the two of us jabbing each other as we went, and giggling madly.

Me being the one going backwards, I didn't see the couch until I was falling over it already, grabbing Liz by the wrists in a hope of steadying myself, but to no avail. I found myself sprawling backwards, and taking Liz with me, the two of us ending up with me on my back, and her on top. The giggling stopped, now our noses were almost touching, both of our mouths slightly open, me staring into her eyes, her staring into mine.

The moment was stopped almost immediately as I realized the arm of the couch was right under my back, and actually causing a lot of pain.

"Argh," I groaned, pushing myself upwards, and lifting her off me with reluctance. "Remind me not to do that again," I said, half jokingly.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" she asked, concern showing in her face. I grimaced, easing myself back down into a sitting position on the couch.

"I've been in more pain," I replied. "I'll be alright."

She sat down next to me, crossing her legs and picking up the remote again.

"Anything you want to watch?" she asked me.

I shook my head, "No, I had a look earlier and there didn't seem to be anything particularly interesting on."

"Mind if I go back to the movie I was watching before you shut it off then?"

"Go right ahead," I told her, gesturing aimlessly in the direction of the TV. She hit the play button, throwing the remote down on the far end of the couch. We watched for a little until, as the movie was nearing its close, the weather decided to interrupt again, a bright flash of lightning killing the power and sending Liz half diving into me. She ended up with her face on my chest and her arms wrapped around me, practically crushing my chest and driving the air out of me. I put an arm around her, gently rubbing my hand up and down her back, trying to soothe her. "It's alright, Liz, nothing's going to happen. I'm not going to let anything happen to you."

She looked up at me, watery eyed. The small amount of light that still trickled in through the window wells caught her eyes and made them sparkle. I brushed aside an errant piece of hair before resting my hand on her cheek. She nodded ever so slightly, and nuzzled back up to me. Running my hand through her hair, I pulled her closer toward me, trying to figure out why I was allowing myself to get quite so close to her. She sniffled a little, and moved to sit up straight, leaving her arm around me, and mine around her. "Do you really think I'm pretty?" she asked me.

I smiled at her. "Of course I do. Liz, you're one of the most beautiful girls I know."

"So, how come no guys are ever interested in me?" she questioned.

"They're not?" I asked back, genuinely surprised. She shook her head and sniffed again. "Well, then they're all blind, stupid, or both. I think you're absolutely gorgeous. If I was your age, I'd be after you like... like... I don't know what like, but I would certainly want to be with you."

"Really?" she asked, a little skeptically.

It was my turn to nod this time. "I love watching you smile, and the way your hair falls around your face, and your eyes, and... everything about you, really."

"But... no one's ever said anything like that to me before. I've never even kissed a guy."

I just looked at her, taking in her beauty, unable to believe what she'd just told me. "Their loss," I said, half under my breath, but loud enough for her to hear me. "I'm sure I'd love to kiss you."

"Well," she said, a little breathlessly and very quiet, "it's not like I'd stop you if you tried."

That was all I needed to hear. I moved my hand up to her chin, gazing into those amazing eyes, and lifted her face up to mine. I could feel her breath on my lips for what seemed like an age before my lips finally touched hers. Soft, warm, gentle. I know I broke the kiss off almost as soon as it began, but I could have stayed in that moment forever. Just feeling everything about her, her gentle heartbeat, her soft breathing, and her silk smooth skin under my fingers.

I slowly pulled away from her, finding myself looking into her eyes once again, her gazing back into mine. "I... that... that was quite something," she said, when one of us finally found our voices again. I smiled at her, glad I'd done something at least partially right.

"That's certainly not the best of it, either, even if it is pretty good," I told her. "Although, I'm sure you've figured that much out from Emily and Sean's example." She giggled a little at this, her smile causing me to do the same.

"Well, I have some idea of what they get up to, but I don't really know how it all works. Not even the bits that get done to the girl," she told me.

I nodded, seeing why it might not be the easiest thing to pick up from interrupting your sibling while they were at it. "I'm figuring you've never tried doing anything like that to yourself," I said, more a statement than a question.

She frowned at me. "Done what to myself?" she asked, puzzled by what I'd said.

"I guess that answers the question, at least. Er... pleasured yourself. Masturbated."

She scrunched up her face again, a slight look of disgust on it. "No, that's gross!"

Determined to get somewhere with this, now I'd already started down the path, I gave her my retort. "How can you know it's gross if you've never even done it?" I grinned a little at this one, knowing she probably wasn't going to come up with much of an answer.

"It just... I don't know. It just seems like it would be," she responded, realizing she didn't quite know why it was all that gross. I saw a chance to make some sort of exploitation of this.

"Actually, it feels really good. At least, I know it does for guys, and all the girls who I know that do it say it does. Well worth the effort, considering how it makes you feel," I informed her.

"What do you actually do?" she asked me, still a little perplexed.

I was shying away from this one a little, not entirely sure of the answer, or how to phrase it. "Well, you kind of just put your hand down there and... do stuff," I finished lamely.

"Could you just show me what to do?" she asked innocently. My eyes widened at her suggestion, half from surprise, half from willingness.

"I can't do that! I mean, I want to, and I'm sure we'd both enjoy it and all, but Emily would kill me, and... well... you're so much younger than I am."

She started pleading with me. "Oh, come on! I'm not exactly going to tell Emily, and to tell you the truth, I've always really wanted to try everything she's doing with Sean and..." she stopped abruptly, as though she was about to say something she shouldn't. I stared at her quizzically. "Well, I've sort of thought about you like that before. And I really wouldn't mind doing things like that with you, and have you be the one to teach me about it all."

Surprised as I usually am by someone showing affection for me, I was left a little dumbfounded. I eventually found my voice again. "Really? I mean, I can't say I've never thought about you that way either. I just didn't ever think it'd be anything more than a fantasy."

"So will you show me what they do and how to do it?" she pushed, sensing me giving in. "Please?" Looking, once more, at her wonderful face, her eyes still sparkling, I felt my resolve draining away.

"I guess... I guess it can't cause too much harm. If you really want to. And if you really trust me," I said, not wanting her to do anything she'd regret at a later point.

She giggled, her eyes smiling at me. "Matt, there's no one in the world I'd trust to do this more than you. I know you won't do anything to hurt me."

"And at any time you want to stop, you just have to say. You don't have to do anything you don't completely want to," I added.

She was silent for a moment, before she grinned. "There's nothing I wouldn't want to try with you at least once." That silenced me pretty quickly. Not for long though.

"That's nice to hear though. Well... how do we start this? Er... what do you know how to do?" I asked, trying to figure out where and how to begin this.

She looked a little mystified. "I really don't know anything. I mean, I know French kissing involves using your tongue, and then everything else involves putting hands and mouths in places, but... I really don't know how to go about it."