The Ability

He stopped me with a finger to my lips. I had to fight an urge to flick my tongue across them.

"It's all right. I've moved on as much as I can, and I'm all right, most of the time, then something will trigger off a memory, in this case a good one. Thank you again. It's been a while since I've been this peaceful."

I snuggled harder. sliding under his arm. We sat for a few minutes, about a thousand years too short, before a shadow loomed over us. It was my boss. Brian jumped up, and people watched as my normally reserved boss hugged him, Brian hugging him right back.

His wife came up, also giving Brian a hug, before looking me over. I felt like she was making a threat assessment. In a way she was. I never knew until that day that she was a retired police detective, out of service because of wounds she had received in the line of duty. We shared a table during lunch.

"So, you and Brian?" The boys had gone off to try their hand at horseshoes or something, leaving us to talk.

I looked her dead in the eyes. "No, no me and Brian, but I'm working on it."

"Is he?"

"Not yet, but I've gotten some signs today, and I will be following up. I don't think I'll lie here, don't even want to try. I want him. I've wanted him for almost a year and a half, ever since I first met him. And I was married then. I wouldn't have done anything, and I know for a fact he would never interfere with a relationship(except maybe mess with your head to make you see things as they really are). But I'm divorced now, from an abusive, controlling asshole, and a lot of it because of some advice he gave me, indirectly. He defended me when my ex tried to beat me to death, helped me get my job when I was at a low spot in my life, he even helped me save my house, along with your husband and my divorce attorney. I owe him, but that's not why I want him. So yeah, me and Brian."

She was smiling halfway through my speech. "So you're the one. Hubby has already tried to scheme to get you guys together. One of his oldest friends and one of his newest hires,it seemed perfect to him. You could have knocked him over with a feather when he saw you together. If you need another member for your support group, give me a call. She wrote her cell down on the back of one of Donovan's business cards, and punched my into her phone.

By then the boys had returned, and he had some teen girls watch the kids while the adults played.

The DJ and master of ceremonies got everyone's attention.

"All right people, this one is called 'How Much Do You Know About Your Partner'. We'll ask a question of one about the other. It could be food preference, eye color, favorite alcoholic beverage, anything. The one with the biggest number of correct answers get a his and her spa visit. So get ready, here we go."

One of the single girls walked around with the questions, to be drawn from a Jar. The first one for us was easy. "What color are his eyes?" "They're gray." She looked at Brian for his answer. "Is there such a color as warm brown?"

The adults oohed and ahhed.

The questions got progressively harder, but it was like we had been together forever, or were just plain physic. Favorite color for him? Green. Favorite for me, yellow. When it got to those kinds of questions we had to write the answers on a grease board. We were down to three couples, then two. We had run out of regular questions, so they brought out the tiebreaker jar.

"These are a little more personal, maybe even embarrassing, but it's all in good fun, and if you don't want to answer, you don't have to."

We got through the first two questions pretty quick, then he pulled out the next one and grinned.

"All right, we have to ask this question separately, and you can't speak to each other or see the answer. They will be compared, and shown to the group. Ready?

I nearly died when I got the question. "What sexy lingerie does your partner say is his favorite?"

I don't know what they asked Brian, but it only took him a second to write something down. They showed the answers to the audience, to loud applause. I scribbled the first thing that came to mind.

When they showed ours, the group burst into applause,Jackson and Becky, his wife,were almost crying, laughing so hard.

Our competitions' answer? Hers, pink Victoria Secret thong and matching corset.

His? Nothing, he liked her naked. The way she frowned up, I got a feeling this weekend would be a long one for him.

MY answer? Black Soma pushup bra, trimmed in silver, and matching cheekie panties.

His answer? Black pushup bra trimmed in silver, with matching cheekie panties.

I was glowing red while he hugged me, whispering in my ear. "It's the only lingerie I've ever seen you in,and if you hadn't told me what it was, I'd have been lost."

"It's the only thing that came to mind. Oh, and I'm wearing them today."

I felt him stiffen, then laugh, keeping me in the hug.

It was twilight, the kids exhausted and flopped out on benches. We were getting ready to leave when the DJ played a slow song. He took me in his arms and led me to the dance floor they had laid out, and started swirling me in gentle circles.

We were the only ones on the floor, and I didn't care. I molded to him, moving as sensually as I could. I bumped him, and the bulge was obvious.

It was all I could do not to throw him down right there in front of everyone. Instead, when he tried to move away, I snuggled closer. When the song ended, he just held me in his arms for a minute. Then he drew back and kissed me! And he kissed me like he meant it! I was about to give his tonsils a tongue inspection when he pulled back, red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry. I don't know what...," He had to shut up then, because it's hard to kiss and talk at the same time. When I turned him loose, we were both breathing hard, cheers and clapping echoing through the park.

We pulled apart, and he would have had to cut my arm off to make me let go of his hand. A few quick goodbyes, a kiss on the cheek for Martha, and we carried two tired kids to the car.

They finally held up long enough for us to buckle them in, and I handed him the keys.

"You drive. I have something that needs doing."

"What?"

"This," I said, sliding over the bench seat and settling under his arm. "Now drive nice and slow. After all, you're only using one hand."

He did, and we floated serenely down the streets, catching stares when they saw the car. It seemed to be just a second, and we were in front of Amanda's.

We carried the kids in, and they were sleepily trying to tell Mom about how much fun they had, but couldn't stay awake.

Brian had gone back outside, and was standing by his car. "I really enjoyed myself today. Thank you, Angel."

I felt like I wanted to melt every time he called me that, especially tonight.

"You're very welcome, my knight. Now, don't think for a moment this day is over. Drive your land yacht home, and walk back to my house. Give me an hour, all right? Don't you dare say no. Please?"

He didn't speak, but nodded. As he drove away I rushed into my house, showered, checked for stubble, did my hair, makeup, and slipped into the bra and panty set I had saved from that night long ago. I just couldn't seem to wear it after that night. I had told him I was wearing it earlier just to wind him up, and I'm pretty sure it worked. I watched until I saw him walking up the sidewalk, then scooted out back, hoping my plan would work.

I had left him a little note on the door.

"I'm outside, by the bench. Come out and join me."

I watched him from the darkness as he walked slowly out on to the patio, looking for me. The moon was full, as it was that night, and I was standing in the shadows.

"Over here, honey."

He walked out, and as he got close I dropped my robe and stepped out into the light of the moon, putting my hands behind my head and twirled twice with agonizing slowness. For once he was speechless.

I had stopped twirling and covered the space between us, pulling his head down, pouring my soul into his. His arms wrapped around me, holding tightly, but with infinite gentleness.

As the kiss deepened, his grip got tighter, Finally, I pushed out of his embrace, pulling him down to the bench, tugging his shirt over his head, and sitting in his lap. "This is much, much better.," I whispered into his ear, reveling in the feeling of flesh on flesh.

I moved around until I straddled his lap, guiding his hands to my breasts, happy to see he knew about the operation of front clasp bras. I shrugged out of it, melting at his hands caressed me, tweaking and rolling my aching nipples until I was whimpering. I could feel his hardness beneath me, seeming to throb with every heartbeat. I jumped up, shimmied twice, and placed the panties in his hand.

I reached out, pulling him up,and we went into my bedroom. We didn't have sex, we made love. He was in turns gentle and demanding, pushing me to the edge and over several times, before he reached his peak. It was almost an out of body experience. When we finished the first round, I rolled into him, snuggling, smiling as tears slid down my cheek. Brian, wise man that he was, said nothing, just caressed my hair. I'd had three lovers before the slug that was my husband, and Brian was shorter than two, but still had a very nice size, and most importantly, knew how to use what he had. Never in my life had I had multiple orgasms, mostly none at all. More importantly than my bodily reactions, I think my soul orgasmed, if you can grasp the concept.

I was planning more activities, but it had been a very long day, and the afterglow floated me into sweet dreams. I made sure to make up for it in the morning, waking him just before I slid down to his hilt, and rode him through two screaming climaxes before he lunged up so hard he almost threw me off.

We showered together, getting familiar with each other. By the time we were done, we were probably two of the cleanest people on the planet, and probably the most sexually sated.

I slipped on my sheerest, shortest gown, and made us coffee. He came in, accepted a cup, and we sat in silence for a bit.

"Do you want to talk about what happened?"

I grinned. "Not in the least. Well, maybe a little. All I have to say is this isn't a hook up, booty call, or one off. This is real. And it will get even more real as time goes by. I know you're not completely done grieving, but I can be patient. I had little to mourn, so it was easy to move on.

"Now, I moved far enough, and I've reached my destination, and it happens to be right beside you. When you're ready, we'll both know. At that time, I have expectations, expectations about a ring on my finger and a ceremony at a church, the eventual patter of little feet, and a happily ever after. If you can't see that future, tell me now, so I can let go of my dreams."

He pulled me over the table, giving me a perfect kiss, and sat back smiling. "I have expectations myself, you know. No one had ever affected me like you do, not even my wife, though I loved her deeply. I think I fell in love with an Angel in the moonlight, the first time I saw you. My feelings grew deeper every time I saw you, how sweet you were to everyone, especially children, how your true colors shined through in everything you did, every interaction you had. especially with me. So, for now, we're going to date, spend time together. And I don't expect to ever sleep alone, either here or at my house. So I'm willing to follow the program, and see where it takes us.

...

Amanda, Chloe, Martha, Becky, and almost every friend I'd made on the block and at work were at my house the next weekend, to get the scoop.

I tried to tell them, but I couldn't stop laughing or crying. I think they figured it out.

And we did go slow, much slower than I liked. He told me about his work, and his gift.

"it's rare but not unheard of. It's a combination of conscious and unconscious parts of your brain working in unison. And my training has helped. Many religious leaders, priests, rabbis, preachers, have it to some degree. So do sociopaths, politicians, and cult leaders. Mine just seems a little more developed. It has made me very successful, but sometimes I tire of seeing the worst of humanity. But then again, I think of the life I wanted for my boys, and our kids to come, and how much I want this to be a better world for them. So I swim in the cesspool minds of murderers, rapists, and child molesters, seeking the truth, to make the world better. Sounds a but idealistic, doesn't it?"

My head was still swimming with the words 'our children yet to come', but I understood, and told him so. I also made him promise, on the souls of those yet unborn children, that if it gets to be too much, he will walk away.

It was no surprise to anyone that we got married almost exactly a year later, in my back yard, under that cedar tree, as twilight fell.

...

"And so it came to pass that the Moonlight Angel was saved from the Ogre by the White Knight, with the help of a band of other Angels, and he carried her away in a shiny yellow carriage, to live happily ever after and have beautiful children. And that's enough stories for tonight. Now kiss Mommy and Daddy, and go to sleep."

"Is that really a true story, Mommy?" I kissed my five year old daughter on the forehead, then did the same to her brother. Apparently twins run in Brian's family.

"Every word."