by: Marty Chrisman

After supper was over and the dishes done, the family gathered in the living room. Daisy and Kelly watched TV, while the boys played a game of checkers. Around nine o’clock, Jesse left to make his deliveries, reminding them all to make sure they were in bed by ten. When Daisy went upstairs to take a shower, Luke walked over to Kelly and bent down, whispering in her ear “Meet me in the barn after Daisy goes to sleep.” Kelly smiled and nodded

They all went upstairs at ten o’clock. Kelly and Daisy went to Daisy’s room, which was across the hall from Uncle Jesse. The boys went to their room at the other end of the hallway. The girls got ready for bed and climbed under the covers. Kelly lay there in the darkness listening to the sound of Daisy’s breathing, waiting for her to fall asleep.

An hour later, Kelly slipped out of bed and quickly pulled on her jeans and blouse. Barefoot, she left the bedroom and quietly made her way down the hallway in the dark. Opening the back door, she ran across the barnyard and into the barn. A couple of chickens squawked then settled back on their perch, momentarily disturbed by her presence. She climbed the old wooden ladder that led up to the hayloft. She paused for a moment to let her eyes adjust to the darkness of the loft, the only light in the barn was from the moonlight that filtered in through the cracks in the walls.

She yelped in surprise as she felt Luke suddenly wrap his arms around her from behind. He laughed softly, as she leaned back against him, knowing that he was lucky she didn’t sock him for scaring her. For the last couple of weeks they had been meeting like this in the loft after everyone else had gone to bed. With Jesse gone on a run, they knew they’d have several hours alone before they would have to sneak into the house and go back to bed.

Luke took her hand and led her around a large stack of hay bales to a private little corner of the loft where he had made a pallet out of some loose stray and covered it with a blanket. As they settled down on the blanket, getting comfortable, Luke looked at Kelly and said, “Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?”

“I bet you say that to all the girls.” Kelly said playfully. Kelly knew that she was prettier than most girls but she never gave it much thought. But she sure liked to hear Luke say that he thought she was beautiful.

“Only the ones I like” Luke teased her, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her down beside him onto the blanket. Smiling at him in the moonlight, Kelly eagerly sought out his lips for a kiss. She moaned softly as she felt Luke’s hands touching her in the dark. They kissed, just as they had kissed that afternoon, long slow kisses that slowly turned more hungry and demanding.

Luke looked at Kelly with a surprised expression on his handsome face when she gently pulled away from him and sat up. He caught his breath sharply as he watched her hands reach for the buttons on her shirt. Gently, he reached out to stop her from going any farther. “Are you sure you want to do that?” He whispered

“I’m sure.” Kelly told him, her heart pounding in her chest. She was afraid, but only because this would be her first time. And she wanted it to be with Luke, more than anything else in the world she wanted it to be with Luke.

Luke let his hand drop back to his side and watched as she slowly unbuttoned her blouse and slipped it off. He felt his own heart beating wildly in his chest and his mouth suddenly felt like it was stuffed with cotton. She was even more beautiful than he had imagined. He slipped off his own shirt and pulled her into his arms, enjoying the feel of her skin against his. He had been wanting this for so long and he wanted to savor the moment. He knew that this was Kelly’s first time and he wanted her to enjoy it too, just as much as he knew he was going to.

For a long time, all Luke did was kiss her and caress her until he was sure she was ready for the next step. Slowly and with great care, he finished undressing her. Kelly lay there in the moonlight, watching him as he stood up and began to undress himself. When he lay back down beside her, she went willingly into his arms. Kelly cried out softly when she felt him for the first time, then she wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and gave herself to him completely.

Afterwards, she lay cradled in his arms, tired but happier than she had ever been in her life. More experienced than Kelly, Luke had never felt this way before. He didn’t want to let her go. He never wanted to let her go again. “I love you, Kell.” He whispered, for the first time speaking the words that he suddenly realized were true. Words he had been wanting to say to her for a long time.

“I love you too, Luke.” She whispered back, tears glistening in her eyes. “I always have.”

“We’d better get back into the house before Jesse gets back.” Luke said, reluctant to end the moment. But he knew if Jesse caught them they would be in a whole heap of trouble.

“I know.” Kelly said with a soft sigh of regret. She just wanted to stay here in his arms. They lay there in each others arms for a little longer, then finally gathered up their clothes and got dressed. Sneaking back into the house, Luke went to his room and Kelly went to hers.