MORE PROGRESS... really (Part 12d)

I'm pretty sure it was another few nights before we took the next step. We did our usual routine with her lying on my lap. But there was something different. There was no indication on Elle's part that this night was any different than the previous. But, after my fingers started caressing her panties she surprised me by taking my hand. At first I thought she wanted me to stop. It was anything but. She placed my hand right on her crotch and then, still sort of holding it, hooked her fingers under a leg elastic and pushed my fingers inside. I couldn't believe how soft her flesh was right there. I know I had to be holding my breath. I could feel some wetness (she hadn't peed) but as I "explored", it soon dried up and became uncomfortable for her. That was about it inside her panties for that night. Even though it was only a short visit it was certinly "stimulating and I was certainly happy about it.

Again, the days between these incidents are somewhat of a blur. I do know the next time we got to that point we'd been at the gas station but left with time to go to the inlet. I remember Elle using the toilet just before we left and complaining that there was no toilet paper of towels. (Ooops... my job!). We didn't really have all that much time and that's why I remember fighting with folds of cloth (her skirt) when we got into our normal positions. There really wasn't time for our usual routine. I also remember that when my fingers got to her panties I was surprised at how wet they were. I even asked Elle if she'd leaked and she said it was from not wiping. It wasn't long until she led my fingers inside her panties again. WHEW! In any case, this was the night that I/we discovered the "magic button". WOW! When I fisrt touched it she sort of jumped. I thought I'd hurt her... but it only took a few seconds to realize it was anything but hurtful. I got excited because she was excited! I'd never seen her like this. It was probably the first real passion that she'd ever exhibited. Because it was so new to her she'd make me stop after just a few seconds or so and then indicate she wanted me to continue. I remember her getting up and out of the car and then walking around a bit. Reason prevailed and we got home in time... but with great anticipation for the next night. The only thing was it was going to be quite a while for that "next night".

The next real excitement came on August 19th when hurricane Diane hit us. Thinking back now on South Florida getting hit last year with three hurricanes, it seemed so improbable. That our small area would get hit with three in less than one year is truly unbeleivable. Florida is a whole state with hundreds of miles of coastline so they're quite vulnerable. However, in our case, the eye of these three storms all hit within a 50 mile stretch. It would be like three hurricanes hitting a place like Cape Canaveral in one year, and that's never happened before or since. The difference between this storm and Hurricane Carol was that everybody was pretty much sensitized to the word "hurricane" this time. Carol had snuck up on us, arriving during the night. When word got out that hurricane Diane was out in the Atlantic and appeared to be travelling the same course as Carol had the year before, people took notice. Radio stations were telling people how to prepare and the public was responding. As soon as I got to work it was evident. There were far more people downtown than usual. The biggest customer we had at the market was the local Country Club. After Carol, they had purchased a commercial generator with the basic intent of keeping their walk in cooler going as Carol had caused them to lose all their stored food. My boss contacted them and arranged for us to take all our meat provisions down there, just to be sure. During lunch I drove to the gas station and found Cliff trying to adapt an old power reel lawn mower to be able to pump gas. Even though he'd had success after Carol using his wife's car, it had been difficult, at best. I then took a turn by the sailing club and found people there retrieving their boats. I don't know why but, in spite of almost losing my boat in Carol, I hadn't even thought about it until then.

By the time I finally arrived home (with the boat) it was after 2 pm and Elle had walked to work. What could I do. You have to what you have to do and I had to move my boat. I spoke to Elle's mother and explained. She understood as Elle's father had called to tell her he'd moved his boat into a safe harbor but was planning on staying with it until the storm passed. When I walked out to look at the bay it reminded me of what it looked like in the winter. Not a boat in sight. They'd all been moved up into the creek for protection. With Carol, not a one had been moved and, out of about two dozen, eight or nine had been ruined. My boss wasn't too happy with me when I finally got back but he did understand. The market would normally close at 6pm but, because of the impending storm he decided to stay open until 9pm. I told him I'd come back and help him move the meats to the Country Club at that time so at least that made him happy.

I did run over to the drug store to explain to Elle where I'd been. I also told her that I'd promised to help move the meat at 9pm and unless she could get a ride home from somebody she'd be helping too. I could see from the look on her face that that didn't exactly appeal to her. So I told her I'd stop by her house when I did get done and she promised to wait up. Now, with all this hustle and bustle about the storm I'd not had any time to think about what had been transpiring between Elle and I over the previous two weeks. The first real chance I had was on the way home from the Country Club. I really had wanted to be with her that night and even though it would be at her house I knew it was better than nothing. My excitement was short lived. My father was waiting for me to help him put the storm windows up across the front of the house. Since they'd survived both Carol and Edna without them I thought it was a waste of time... and it was preventing me from seeing Elle. By the time we were through it was almost midnight and I knew Elle had gone to bed a long time ago. By then I was REALLY tired and NOT very happy!

With daybreak there was no sign of a storm but the old saying "red sky in morning, sailors take warning" was a hint of what was to come. My father regularly tuned to a radio station that gave the latitude and longitude of all hurricanes in the Atlantic Ocean. We got up and got the coordinates and plotted then on a map he kept on the dining room table at such times. I remember being amazed at how similar the paths were from the previos two storms. My father said it would probably arrive around noon. It did... and by 3pm the wind was howling and the rain sounded like pebbles against the wooden storm windows we'd put up. We lost power around 1pm and the eye of the storm came through around dinner time. I ran over to Elle's to make sure she and her mother were OK but I was told to come right back. There's not much to do when you have no lights but my father and I kept a vigil until about midnight. Then we went outside and I remember looking up at the sky and seeing stars. There were a lot of branches down but, unlike Carol, no trees. We'd had a few days of rain prior to Carol which had softened the ground so it was easy for the wind to blow them over. The only rain we saw this time was a couple of hours before it started and then it stopped when the eye passed by.

The following morning I went over to Elle's first thing. She wasn't up but her mother was. The only real damage they had was that the cellar was partially flooded. The tide had come up but no where near as high as with Carol but it was still enough to cause a problem. I then walked on down the road and it appered to be relatively clear so I got in my car and headed for town. It was pretty much the same sight just about everywhere. A few downed trees but mostly limbs and wires. Lack of electricity was the real problem. I drove out to the gas station and Cliff was already pumping gas with his lawnmower rig. I went back to the market to wait to see if my boss would show up. About half the businesses were open with the drug store being one. I went and asked if they needed Elle but they said no. The only thing that they'd be doing was filling prescriptions. When my boss hadn't shown up by noon I took off for home. I was looking forward to spending time with Elle but my father was waiting for me so we could take the storm windows off. It was like a conspiracy to keep us apart. I did get to run over to her house to tell her she wasn't needed at work but that was it.

To be continued...