“Hey hero..." Cherys shifted on the couch and we easily settled into our positions.

Once Cherys got my arm comfortably situated around her waist, she stared off at the TV and asked, "You're sounding better. Brianna finally talk to you?"

“I wouldn't call it talking. But when we passed in the hallway she said

“Hello David' and actually smiled at me." I was smiling right then and

I'm sure Cherys could hear it in my voice.

"That's good," she said brightly and then settled her head against my arm and rubbed my bicep.

I let myself lean over and breathe deeply. I'd forgotten how good

Cherys smelled. I might as well enjoy it for the next half-hour before

Danielle came home.

FALL (September 2005)

“Hey gorgeous..." There was a flirtatious tone in my voice as I said it.

“Hey hero..." Cherys answered back in a sultry voice of her own.

Once we were cuddled together on the couch, I let myself lean forward and breathe in her sweet scent. And then without thinking about it, I kissed the back of her head.

Cherys giggled and snuggled herself closer.

“You're in a good mood."

I really was. Over the past few weeks Brianna had been more and more comfortable running across me in the office. And today had been the watershed event.

Around the time of my usual afternoon break, Brianna had slid next to me in the cafeteria with a newspaper, the header titling it as USA

Today. I wondered why she was showing me the paper, especially since this was the first time she'd taken an active effort to contact me.

Then her pencil reached out and tapped a Sudoku puzzle in the LIFE section, a brand new game ready to make waves across the U.S.

I smirked and looked at her.

“I told you it would be big someday."

The smile on Brianna's face was bright and genuine. I knew then that everything would turn out alright.

Cherys had turned her head to face me, her iridescent eyes glowing as she Listened to the story. She was Likely more excited to see me happy than genuinely excited over Sudoku of all things, but still her obvious enthusiasm helped maintain my emotional high

We hit a natural lull in the conversation and she turned back around before snuggling deeper into my grasp. And as she did so, I felt my arm squeezing just a Little tighter around her

Cherys had always been a beautiful girl. When I was a teenager, I was having sexual fantasies of her every twenty minutes or so. And yet ever since our one and only time being intimate with each other, I'd never made another move... until today.