by T. M. Haught
“No problem,” said Penny.
“We’ll be okay,” said Jonah. “You be careful, too, Mom.”
Rebecca knew exactly what he meant, especially after their discussion about the accident and Penny’s mother. She gave him a hug. “I always am, dear.”
CHAPTER NINE
Naked lunch
The morning had gone by quickly. True to her word, Penny had done the laundry, using the washer and dryer in the utility room behind the house to wash and dry the clothing from the hamper and the bed sheets as well. She had smiled a secret smile while taking care of the sheets, remembering the previous three nights she had shared with Jonah and happy not only to help out, but also to be able to wash the ones from her room and Jonah’s before Rebecca got to them, just in case.
Jonah had made good on his promise too, getting out the lawnmower from the shed and cutting the grass in the small yard that surrounded the old house. It hadn’t taken that long, really, and after putting everything away again he took a quick shower—by himself this time—put his nice clothes back on and returned to the ground floor looking for Penny. She wasn’t in the living room or the dining room, but he found her in the kitchen, happily fixing lunch for the two of them.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi yourself,” she said with a grin as she saw him. “I just called both my dad and your mom a few minutes ago, to say hi and let them know that you mowed the lawn and I did the laundry, and that everything was fine. They sounded relieved.”
“Good,” said Jonah. “I’m glad they’re okay too.” He glanced at the plates on the counter. “What’s for lunch?”
“Nothing fancy,” Penny said. “Just tuna fish salad sandwiches with lettuce on whole wheat bread, and some chips. What would you like to drink?”
“Cola would be great,” said Jonah. “Shall I put the plates on the table here in the kitchen or in the dining room?”
“Neither,” Penny replied. She faced Jonah with an impish grin. “I have another idea. An interesting idea... Squirt.”
That stopped him in his tracks. That grin and the look in her eyes was enough to send a chill down his spine and an electric tingle through the rest of him, simultaneously.
“Idea...?” he said.
“Yeah,” she replied. “Could be fun! How brave are you? No, wait---cancel that question. After yesterday, I have no doubts about your bravery. But when it comes to living outside your comfort zone, can you handle it?”
Jonah swallowed hard, excited by the prospects of whatever it was she had in mind, but slightly nervous, too. “Me? Sure. What did you want to do?”
Penny motioned toward the back door as she went to the refrigerator for the cola. “The patio out back is such a nice cozy place, intimate, sheltered by the house on two sides, with the utility building and that tall wooden fence with the trellises on the other two sides. No one can see us. I thought we could have lunch out there.” She winked. “Clothing optional.”
“Oh,” said Jonah, his eyes widening a bit. He mulled it over briefly. Very briefly. Before Penny came into his life he would have never ever thought about doing such a thing. Now however... with her... it was quite another matter. “Okay.”
“Cool!” she said.
Jonah picked up their plates and put them on a small tray, added a stack of paper napkins and a small bowl of fruit from the counter, and started for the back door. He hesitated a bit as he reached it.
“Penny,” he asked, “are you maybe doing this... just as your way of thanking me again for yesterday?”
She thought a moment. “Well, that might be part of it. You did say you wanted that sassy girl back, didn’t you?”
“Yeah. And I meant that. But you don’t have to do anything. I’ll still feel the same way about you, regardless.”
“I believe you, Jonah,” she said, coming alongside of him carrying two glasses of soda. “Truth is, though, I want to do this for me, too. You’re not the only one with fantasies you know. And although I’m not really as wild a girl as some people think, I do want to be a little wild... with you. Is that okay?”
The vulnerability was in her eyes again, lurking beneath the impish gleam, making it hard to refuse her anything, especially something that he wanted himself as much as she did. He kissed her lightly on the cheek and gave her a smile.
“Yes,” he said. “Definitely okay.”
The patio was one of the prettiest features of the old house, nestled in the corner between the slightly L-shaped building and the added-on utility building that housed the laundry area. Large patio stones of warm earth tone, perfectly smooth on top, created an outdoor floor that filled the space and narrow planter boxes lined the area, brimming with flowering plants of every hue. The remaining side of the patio was effectively closed off with a high wall of vertical wood planking, with two trellises supporting vines bearing more flowers. At one edge was a simple solid door that was always kept padlocked. A wide roll-out canvas awning angled out from the wall above the back door far enough to provide shade for the small table and chairs there.
Jonah carefully sat the tray he was carrying upon the table at one side. The glass-topped table was round and about 30 inches in diameter, with the transparent surface supported upon four sturdy posts arranged in a square pattern with space between them. The four chairs that went with it were armless but had comfortable weatherproof seat cushions and backs. Several extra matching chairs were nearby if needed by visitors.
Penny put the two plates with sandwiches and chips at opposite sides of the table, positioned the glasses of soda in the proper alignment, put a napkin by each plate, and surveyed it all. She paused to take in the beauty of the patio with its patches of light and shade, breathed in the scents of the various flowers, soil and mulch, and let out her breath with a happy sigh.
“I love this place,” said Penny.
Jonah took it all in, too, seeing it suddenly as if for the first time. “Me, too.”
She glanced around with a quick and cautious look, then approached Jonah. “All right, Mister. Let’s get you into cool and casual mode.”
Penny quickly unbuttoned his shirt and slid it off his shoulders, laying it on one of the spare chairs. Next to go was his T-shirt, carefully removed so as not to knock off his glasses. Jonah stepped out of his loafer style shoes and added his socks to the pile, then helped as Penny undid his slacks and slid those off as well.
“Hmmm...” she said. “I’ve got to get you some nicer boxer shorts, Squirt. Maybe some silk ones with cute little red hearts on them.”
Jonah gave her a twisted grin of his own now. “Yeah, right. That would be subtle.”
She helped him out of his shorts too, tossing them on the pile. “Can’t blame a girl for trying.”
Jonah liked the feel of the warm patio stones beneath his bare feet, almost as much as he liked the touch of Penny’s delicate hands undressing him. He was glad that the occasional rains had kept the stones washed clean.
“One down,” said Penny.
Jonah took that as his cue and helped her get undressed, too. He undid her blouse and slipped it off, then reached for her bra and... and stopped. He frowned.
Penny studied his face, then smiled understandingly and reached out to give him a reassuring pat. “I know... you’re remembering yesterday... what Travis did. Just... just put that out of your mind. This isn’t the same. This is just you and me. It’s okay.”
Jonah nodded and sighed, then returned her smile. He helped her slip out of her bra and added that to the nearby chair where he had put her blouse, then helped her out of her jeans as she kicked off her own shoes. The panties were the last to go, and then they were both standing there completely naked.
“Just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden,” said Penny with a silly grin.
Jonah frowned. “Except that didn’t work out so well, as I recall.”
Her grin faded. “Yeah. You’re right. Bad analogy. How about the teenagers in that Endless Love movie?”
> Jonah grimaced. “Not much better. And don’t even try Romeo and Juliet.” He shrugged. “What’s wrong with just ‘Penny and Squirt’?”
She brightened. “Not a darn thing. We’ll make our own legend! Let’s sit down and eat our lunch before the bread gets stale.”
They settled into their chairs opposite each other, getting comfortable, and Jonah liked the way he could see her in all her glory, not only above the top of the table but through its transparent surface as well. He adjusted his glasses and flashed her a goofy grin.
“See?” Penny said. “Told you this would be fun.”
Jonah nodded. “A little weird, but definitely fun. At least, with you it is.”
She batted her eyelashes at him, then picked up her sandwich and started to eat. Jonah began eating his lunch as well.
“Hey,” he said, “you’re good at making sandwiches, too.”
She smiled wryly. “Thanks.”
Jonah glanced at her cell phone, which she had brought out and placed on one side of the table top. A thought crossed his mind.
“I’m glad your dad got you a new phone,” he said suddenly. “Just promise me one thing.”
“Sure. What?”
“No selfies! Not here and now, anyway.”
“Hah!” She exploded in laughter. “Yeah, can you imagine? That would be the end of us for sure. Don’t worry. I’m definitely not that wild!”
“Good to know.”
They continued to eat, munching on chips between bites of tuna sandwich, then her cell phone gave out with a musical ring tone. It was mildly startling.
Jonah tensed. “I hope that’s not your dad or my mom, saying they’re on their way home.”
Penny checked the caller ID on the screen. “Nope, relax. It’s just my friend Isabel, from math class. She’s one of the few girls here that’s been nice to me. Wonder what she wants.”
“Answer it and find out,” suggested Jonah.
Penny took the call. “Hi. What’s up?” She listened for a long moment, then said to Isabel, “Yeah, I’m okay. We both are.” She winked at Jonah. There was another long pause as she continued listening. “Really? They did? Oh no... you’re kidding! They said that?”
Jonah gave a curious frown. He started to speak, then changed his mind and merely silently mouthed the words, “Said what?”
Penny grinned but then made a shush expression with her lips. Speaking into her phone again she added, “What else?” She made a slight face. “Okay, Isabel, thanks for letting me know. Bye.” She ended the call and placed the phone back on the table.
Jonah took a sip of his cola and sat the glass down. “Now I’m curious.”
She leaned forward slightly to look at him, and lowered her voice a bit, as if there was anyone else who might hear. “Isabel told me that some of the kids who were waiting for rides yesterday saw the paramedics carry out Travis and the other boys on stretchers to the ambulances. Then they saw that woman cop escorting the two of us out to her police car and helping us inside while another cop brought Tiffany out in handcuffs.”
Jonah’s expression turned serious. “Go on.”
“Well,” said Penny, “one of Tiffany’s mean girl pals apparently spilled about what she had done and how she’d gotten Travis involved, so one of the cops took a statement from her after we left. The kids put two and two together from what they saw and overheard and they figured out what must have happened. Guess what they’re calling you now?”
Jonah blanched and his brow furrowed. “I’m afraid to ask. But... guess it can’t be much worse than what I’ve heard before.”
Penny grinned. “They’re calling you ‘Ninja Nerd’,” she said.
He let out a sigh of relief and broke out in a broad smile. “Ninja Nerd? Wow... that’s so cool!”
She raised an eyebrow and gave him a look. Jonah’s smile quickly faded... a little.
“Well, okay, maybe it’s not that cool,” he said. “But it sure beats what Travis was calling me.”
“I’ll give you that,” Penny said. “So now the word around school is that, when we do go back, nobody better mess with me or they’ll answer to you.”
“Good,” said Jonah. “They’ve got that right.”
Penny smiled at him tenderly, then took a sip of her own cola. Her features clouded briefly. “Isabel also told me that this morning there was a TV reporter from the local station sniffing around, trying to talk to the school staff and some of the students.”
“I don’t like the sound of that,” said Jonah. “How did they find out?”
“I don’t know,” Penny told him. “Probably someone living across the street from the school or someone driving by saw the cop cars and ambulances and called the TV station. Isabel said the reporter wasn’t there very long before the security guards chased her off.”
“Good,” said Jonah. “We don’t need problems like that.”
They resumed eating, remaining silent and reflective as they finished their sandwiches and chips and drank the rest of their colas. Penny sat there a moment, then placed her plate back on the tray at the side of the table and put Jonah’s plate on top of it, with the crumpled paper napkins on top.
Jonah said, “That was good, Penny.” But he looked disappointed. “So I guess we’re through with lunch?”
She studied him speculatively for a moment, then fluttered one eyebrow. “Maybe not.” She looked at the table, and through the table, gauging the distance between them. “Hmmm... this has possibilities. I’m glad there are no cross-braces.”
He raised both eyebrows. “Why?”
Penny met his gaze for a moment, then looked back down again. She straightened her right leg out and brought her foot carefully up between his knees. Jonah watched spellbound, admiring that beautifully shaped and totally bare leg and that foot that was surprising pretty, especially with the hot pink polish on her well trimmed toenails..
“Scoot forward a bit,” said Penny. “Just a few inches.”
Jonah looked up to meet her eyes, then angled his gaze through the glass tabletop once more. “Ah... okay.”
As he edged forward, Penny smiled and used her toes to teasingly toy with the end of his manhood. It was already starting to grow and had never really been fully flaccid since the moment they had stripped and taken their seats.
Penny now scooted forward a bit in her own chair and gently, very gently, used her toes to lift the end of his penis up until the length of it was flat against his lower belly, trapped there between his own flesh and the sole of her foot which lightly pressed against it. She held it there a moment, enjoying the feel of it against her skin, then slowly slid her foot up several inches... then slowly slid it back down again. It was dry contact, and there was friction, but it was a delicious kind of friction that made Jonah sigh faintly.
“Don’t forget, Squirt,” Penny told him. “We still have unfinished business from this morning in the shower.”
“How could I forget,” said Jonah. “It’s all I could think about while I was mowing the lawn and then cleaning up. But I was kinda hoping we’d be a lot closer together than this.”
“Don’t worry. We will. This is just the warm-up.”
She slid her foot up and down once more, then pulled it back far enough that his awakening erection could straighten out to a pointing forward position. Clear moisture from his glands was forming on the end of it, and the sticky wetness got on her toes.
Penny put both hands on the sides of her chair and braced herself, then raised her left leg up as well. She angled her feet to bring the undersides of both sets of toes together, pointing up, transferring the moisture from right toes to left, then arched all those toes slightly to create a channel between them. She positioned that channel in just the right spot and straightened her legs fully, sliding that toe-tunnel along the length of his shaft. She went back and forth several times, then stopped to gauge his reaction.
Jonah’s head was tilted back a bit and his breathing had quickened. “Careful,
” he said. “Any more warming up like that, and you’ll be out of luck for anything else.”
“Good point,” agreed Penny. “Don’t want you getting there before I do. Let’s try something else.”
She lowered her feet and brought them back to rest on the patio stones on either side of the front legs of her chair. She spread her knees a bit.
“Okay,” she said. “Extend your right foot over here to me... carefully, mind you...I doubt your toes are as gentle as your fingers.”
Jonah hesitated a moment, not wanting his movement to trigger anything. He felt he was already close to the edge. Then as his breathing calmed he did as she asked and raised his own leg as she had done. He brought the toes of his right foot slowly into the space between her legs and let them touch her private parts. Her inner lips there were starting to moisten and as he lightly made contact with both them and her clitoris, that moisture increased.
He got the feel of the area, with the sensations so wonderfully different to him coming from the surfaces of his toes instead of his fingertips, and then he gently circled them over and around the varied surfaces of Penny’s vulva. After a few circles, he tried holding his toes in one place and merely flexing them a bit, each toe tip caressing different spots. He glanced up to Penny’s face to be sure that her expression was not one of discomfort. It wasn’t. Her eyes were half closed and her lips half open.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Fine,” she replied.
He continued the flexing motion, teasing the nerve endings of her pleasure center. Then on a whim he curled his four small toes down and carefully inserted his big toe just into the entrance of her vagina. He was rewarded with a small gasp.
“I’m glad I cut my toenails after my shower,” said Jonah.
“You’re glad?” Even in awakening ecstasy mode there was a trace of the familiar smirky grin.
“Have you ever done this before?” Jonah inquired.
“Thought about it,” Penny said between breaths. “Never tried it. ‘Till now.”