Ben and Beth's First Time

Right now I'm happy just snuggling in your arms," Beth said, burying her face in Ben's shirt. "I missed you so much, Ben. That's why I stopped eating."

"You what?" He put his hands on her shoulders and looked into her eyes, shocked.

"After she forced me to break up with you, I just stopped getting hungry. I didn't drink very much either. My heart was broken. One day I felt so tired and weak that I just lay down on the sofa, and the next thing I remember, I was waking up in the hospital and you were sitting by my bed."

"Oh, Beth," Ben whispered, clutching Beth tightly again as he tried desperately to stifle the rage he felt at Stacy. He wished that there were something more he could do to her than just having a restraining order filed against her. He longed to see her imprisoned for a very long time. Her actions had nearly cost Beth her life. If she were a man...but, no. He couldn't do anything to risk getting into trouble himself. There was Trinity to think about. And now Beth as well...

"How did I get to the hospital, Ben?"

"I tried to call you and didn't get an answer, so I went to your home and rang your doorbell. When you didn't come to the door, I looked through the window and saw you lying on the sofa unconscious. I called the paramedics and they came and took you to the hospital."

"So you saved me again, Ben." Beth's voice was soft with wonder. "That's twice you've saved my life."

"I'm just so very glad I found you before it was too late." Beth heard the catch in his voice and felt a bit awkward. No man had ever cried over her before.

"So, what do you think of Trinity?" asked Ben.

"She's beautiful!" Beth exclaimed. "Such a precious little girl. You're such a lucky man, Ben."

"I know I am," he said soberly. "I thank God every day for her."

"I don't know how in the world she could have just abandoned that adorable little girl." Now Beth herself was near tears. "I certainly never could have if she were mine."

Ben's hand slowly covered hers and squeezed it. "Well, I'm certainly willing to share her with you as much as you like."

Beth smiled. To Ben, she'd never looked more beautiful than she did in that moment. He felt a warmth inside, a tenderness coupled with desire. Wouldn't it be wonderful if...he wasn't sure whether he dared hope.

After Trinity awakened from her nap, they walked to the park, where Ben and Beth took turns pushing her in a swing. When it began to get dark they walked back home, Ben holding one of Trinity's hands, Beth holding the other.

"So what shall we have for dinner tonight, Trinity? Lasagna or stroganoff?" Ben held a couple of boxes of Hamburger Helper up. "Or shall we let Beth choose, since she's our guest?"

"Whatever Trinity wants is fine with me," said Beth.

"Stroganoff," Ben decided, putting the other box away. "Unfortunately it won't be nearly as good as my mother's, but it'll have to do."

"What can I do to help?" asked Beth.

"You can sit and relax and wait to be served." Ben grinned. "You're my guest, remember?"

After dinner they watched a couple of Strawberry Shortcake videos, and then it was time for Trinity's bath. Ben read her a bedtime story and tucked her in, then rejoined Beth in the living room.

"Time for some more adult fare," he announced, turning Netflix on and browsing through the offered selection. "Anything you especially want to watch?"

"Whatever you want to watch is fine with me." Beth yawned.

"Ah, poor baby." Ben cupped her chin in his hands and gazed into her eyes. "We really wore you out today, didn't we?"

"That's all right," Beth told him. "I had more fun today than I've had since...since that day you took me to the amusement park."

"We'll go there again some day, I promise," Ben said tenderly.

"Do you think Trinity likes me?"

"She adores you, Beth. Almost as much as her father does."

"Ben..." she whispered. The next thing she knew, his lips were on hers, and she was responding eagerly, passionately, desperately. His tongue slipped between her lips and met hers, and at that moment the rest of the world fell away, and it was just the two of them. Vaguely Beth was aware of Ben gently lying her back on the sofa and then lying beside her. His hands were all over her body, and hers were all over his.

"Let's go to the bedroom where we'll be more comfortable," Ben whispered. He took her hand and led her to the bedroom, where he lay on the bed and pulled her down beside him, and they began to cuddle and caress as they had on the sofa. Ever so slowly, Beth's hand moved to touch the evidence of his arousal.

"Can I see?" she asked.

"Of course!" He removed his jeans and underwear and lay back on the bed. Beth's fingers gently and skillfully moved up and down his length, lightly covering every inch of skin. Ben felt himself melt inside. What Beth was doing felt so good...

"Which feels better, when I touch you here or here?" she asked.

"Here." He moved her fingers to his most sensitive spot. With her other hand she lightly cupped his balls, massaging them as well. "Does this feel as good?"

"Not quite as good, but it does feel nice."

"Would you like to see me too?" she shyly asked after awhile.

"I'd love to!"

She shed all her clothing and lay back on the bed. Slowly he kissed the length of her neck, then across her collarbone. He took his time with her breasts, slowly teasing and suckling each nipple until it was fully erect. Beth began to moan softly, causing his swollen member to ache with desire. He kissed her abdomen all the way down to the fine tuft of hair where her legs met her torso. She parted her legs, and instantly his lips and tongue were there, doing wondrous things that brought her indescribable pleasure. He continued his ministrations until she was writhing and begging him not to stop.

At last he gave her a devilish grin, quickly slipped on a condom, and positioned himself at her entrance. He thrust inwards ever so slightly, then a little more, met with resistance and heard her yelp in pain.

"Oh, Beth, I'm so sorry! I had no idea," he said. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"You never asked."

"But I just assumed..." He chuckled, feeling foolish. "Do you want me to go ahead, then?"

"Yes. Oh, yes!"

He entered her slowly, gently, trying his best not to cause her any pain. From the way she clung to him and moaned, she seemed to be thoroughly enjoying what he was doing.

If Beth did feel some slight physical discomfort, she was too caught up in the moment to really notice. At long last she was engaged in the ultimate act of love with the man she'd never been able to completely get out of her mind, and for her it was the culmination of a long-cherished dream.

Ben climaxed, quickly disposed of the condom, lay back beside Beth, and pulled her close to him. He saw that there were tears in her eyes and was instantly alarmed.

"What's wrong?" he whispered, tenderly brushing her tears away.

"I never stopped loving you, Beth," she told him. "After you left, when you wrote and told me about Stephanie, I tried. I tried so hard to forget about you, to find someone else to love, but it never worked out. And now I know why. It's because no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't forget about you. I just couldn't."

"Dearest Beth." Ben felt awkward, unsure of what to say. He felt terrible about the pain Beth had suffered as a teenager after he'd left, and he felt the overwhelming urge to protect her, to make sure that she never got hurt again. "At the risk of sounding selfish, I'm glad you couldn't forget about me." He chuckled softly. "When I donated my bone marrow to you, I gave you a second chance at life, and now I feel like I've been rewarded with another chance to love you, and I swear to you, Beth, things will be different this time. I'm an adult now, and I can live wherever I want. I'll never have to leave you again, ever."

"When I found out I had leukemia, all I wanted was to live," Beth said. "I never in my wildest dreams imagined that because of it you'd come back to me!"

"You've been through so much, sweetheart, and all I want is for you to have nothing but happiness and love in your life from now on."

"Oh, Ben." Tears were streaming down her face. Tenderly he kissed them away, then held and caressed her until she fell asleep.

Ben awakened the next morning with Beth in his arms, the warmth of her skin against his own, the soft rise and fall of her chest as she took each breath. Memories of the previous night came flooding back to him, and he could scarcely believe that it had really happened, that she was really here in his arms, here in his heart. To him the years seemed to melt away and they were once again seventeen and fifteen, with their whole lives before them.

She stirred, and her eyes fluttered open. "Good morning, beautiful." He smiled and kissed her nose. She yawned. He laughed gently, squeezed her tightly, and kissed her forehead. She moaned softly and snuggled up to him as close as she could.

"Daddy?" Ben heard Trinity's voice just outside the door.

"I'm coming, sweetie. Just a minute." He hurriedly dressed and tossed Beth's clothes to her. As soon as they were both presentable, he opened the door, scooped Trinity up into his arms, and carried her to the bed, where he sat her down beside Beth.

"Good morning, sweetheart!" Beth smiled and awkwardly reached to hug the little girl, who trustingly went right into her arms.

"Are you gonna live here with me and Daddy now?" asked Trinity.

"No, I'm just visiting for a few days," Beth replied.

"And what would you two lovely ladies like for breakfast?" asked Ben.

"I want cereal with marshmallows!" Trinity crowed.

"And what will you have?" Ben asked Beth. "Pancakes, waffles, omelets, whatever you want..."

"It doesn't matter. Anything's fine," Beth told him.

"How about...ta da!...chocolate chip pancakes?"

"Hurray!" shouted Trinity, jumping up and down.

"Chocolate chip pancakes it is, then!" Ben grinned. "Only the best for my girls."