Author's Note:
This is the second story I've submitted to this website in the "non-erotic" category. The first one was received quite well.
Be forewarned: There is no sex in this tale, none at all. It's that's what you are looking for, you better keep on looking as you won't find it here. Below is just a cute, somewhat romantic story, about an 11-year-old girl who is smitten with her brother's 20-year-old friend. It is based on a true-life incident that happened to me many years ago.
Part One
One of my high school buddies came from a large family. Barry was the second of seven children in the Forrester clan, while I had just one sibling. Therefore, whenever I, Vince Greenwood, dropped by Barry�s house, it was typically chaotic by my standards. I really didn�t pay too much attention to his siblings, but one was apparently paying quite a bit of attention to me.
Barry wasn�t much of a scholar; he saw no point in attending college. Accordingly, Barry quickly entered the working world shortly after he graduated from high school. He was blessed with good people skills which helped him do quite well. By the time he was 20, Barry was the assistant manager at a large and popular pizza and pasta restaurant in my hometown.
I, meanwhile, pursued higher education, enrolling in a broadcast journalism program. Barry and I still kept in touch�which was not too difficult because his house was located just two blocks from mine. We�d get together for various outings, watch sports on TV, and basically continue to do the things we did in high school to amuse ourselves.
Whenever I visited Barry�s home, I could be guaranteed that three or four of his younger siblings would be around. It escaped my attention that there was a constant: Nicole, the youngest of Barry�s three sisters, was almost always present.
Nicole was nine years my junior. She was a cute little girl who had a head of straight, dirty blonde hair that was typically shoulder-length, if not longer sometimes. Nicole was one of those girls who had what I like to call �muted beauty.� If you glanced at her quickly, you noticed nothing particularly special about her. However, if you looked at her long enough you would consider her to be quite appealing. Of course, when I was 17 and Nicole was eight, she was just another member of the Forrester clan. I was always polite with all the Forrester kids, and Nicole was just another one of them to me.
Part Two
I always had a love for music from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. For the most part, their lyrics were upbeat and hopeful. Barry�s parents had a large record collection. When I showed more than an average interest in it, they graciously invited me over for a night of listening to music. As Mr. Forrester accurately stated, �Vince, the simple pleasures in life are always the best.�
Apparently, Mr. and Mrs. Forrester regularly relaxed with the stereo playing their sizable collection of albums and 45-rpm disks. That night they invited me to be their �guest deejay� and select a bunch of songs. I did so in a chronological fashion. I picked a string of hits from the 1950s that I particularly liked. I recall that �Where the Boys Are, � �Hello, Mary Lou, � and �Put Your Head on My Shoulder, � were three of them. Another was �Born Too Late, � a 1958 song by a largely forgotten girl group from Ohio called The Poni-Tails. Barry�s mother was especially pleased by that selection as that song was a favorite of hers, too. It�s about a young girl, desperately in love with an unnamed older man. She laments that he will be elusive because of their age difference.
Anyone in the family was invited to enjoy the music and encouraged to sing along. Even though I can�t sing worth a darn, I always participate in such activities. There�s something magical about singing among friends that has always appealed to me. Apart from Barry, the only other Forrester kid in the room was 11-year-old Nicole. Singing along to oldies turned out to be great fun, so I asked if I could come again sometime. I was told by the Forresters that I was more than welcome to attend another one of their record-playing nights anytime I pleased.
Two days after the singalong, I dropped by the Forrester house on a Saturday afternoon to talk to Barry about something that I have long forgotten. However, I�ve never forgotten what happened as I was leaving. Nicole came running out of the front door carrying an envelope. �Vince!� she called out as I was about to get into my car. �Here�s something for you! Open it up when you get home!�
I had no idea what might be in Nicole�s envelope or even why she had given me a note. It wasn�t my birthday or anything like that. I just said, �Okay, Nicole, I�ll do that. Thanks!�
When I got home a few minutes later, I promptly opened the envelope. Inside it were two pieces of paper. On the first page was a large heart. Inside the heart was written �Nicole & Vince�. Underneath it, printed in block letters, was �I LOVE YOU!� On the second page, Nicole had hand-written the lyrics of �Born Too Late�. I got the message. Boy, did I get the message.
I was floored. I had no idea that Nicole had any feelings towards me. Of course, her letter was a great boost to my male ego. The fact that it was written by an 11-year-old girl was irrelevant. I sat down and stared at the papers for the longest time. I needed to respond to Nicole somehow, to gently agree with the sad sentiments of �Born Too Late�. I grabbed a notepad and got as far as �Dear Nicole: That was a wonderful letter you gave me, but...� I stopped. �No!� I said to myself. �Why not make my friend�s little sister a very happy girl for one night?�
I got back into my car and drove the two blocks to the Forresters� house. Mrs. Forrester was surprised to see me so soon after I had just departed.
�Did you forget something, Vince?� she asked me.
I smiled and said, �No, I�m here to ask your daughter for a dinner date.�
Mrs. Forrester was perplexed. �Christine isn�t here right now, Vince, � she replied. �Besides, her steady boyfriend might not like the idea.� Christine was Barry�s 17-year-old sister. Barry also had an older sister named Carol. She was 22, married, lived 30 miles away, and had an infant child.
�Wrong daughter!� I pronounced. I handed Mrs. Forrester the letter that Nicole had written to me. �I�m here to show my appreciation to the little angel who wrote this unbelievably sweet letter to me. How can I not respond to it favorably?�
Upon reading it, Mrs. Forrester sighed. She noted, �This certainly explains why Nicole played �Born Too Late� about a dozen times on the stereo yesterday. She wanted to get the lyrics right.� She continued, �This is so like Nicole! She acts on impulses without thinking things through. I�m sorry, Vince. You can ignore the letter.� She handed it back to me.
�Ignore it? No way!� I replied. �This is extremely flattering to me. That took a lot of courage for Nicole to open her heart to me this way. I want to thank her by treating her to dinner at Barry�s restaurant tonight. Knowing full well what the answer would be, I paused for a moment and smiled before adding, �Do you think she�ll say yes if I ask her?�
Mrs. Forrester just laughed at the whole situation before responding, �You�re a sweetheart, Vince. Do you know that? You�re a real sweetheart. I think Nicole is upstairs in her bedroom.�
�Please summon her, � I asked.
Mrs. Forrester went to the foot of the stairs and shouted, �Nicole! Come down here, please. You have a gentleman caller.�
�I have a what?� Nicole yelled back, obviously unfamiliar with the old-fashioned term.
�There�s a very fine young man here who wants to ask you something. Come see who it is.�
Nicole took the first three or four steps with a normal gait, but when she saw me, she started taking them two at a time. She had trouble coming to a halt and almost ran into me.
�Over to you, Vince!� Mrs. Forrester said, shaking her head at the whole situation.
I pulled the letter out of my pocket and said, �Nicole Forrester, you sweet girl, that was the nicest letter I�ve ever gotten in my entire life. There�s not even a close second.�
Nicole began to blush.
I then asked in a most gentlemanly fashion, �Miss Forrester, it would give me great pleasure to give you a kiss. May I?�
Nicole�s face lit up. She quickly said, �Yeah, sure, Vince!� I bent down and gave her a tepid peck on her left cheek as if I were her brother.
To my delight and her mother�s horror, Nicole said, �No...not that way!� Then she embraced me and gave me an on-the-lips smackeroo. I liked it!
�Nicole, control yourself!� her mother scolded her. She looked at me and said, �See, I told you Nicole acts on impulses way too much.�
Nicole was happily oblivious to being chastised. With her arms still wrapped around me, she got me back on track. �What did you want to ask me, Vince?�
�Unless a beautiful young lady like you already has another date for tonight, � I said, �may I take you out to dinner at the restaurant where your brother works? It would be a great thrill for me to have the prettiest girl in the city as my dining companion.�
Before Nicole answered in the affirmative, her mother rolled her eyes and editorialized, �Good Lord, Vince! You�re just oozing charm today, aren�t you?�
Nicole looked at her mom and asked, �Can I?�
�Sure, � she said with a dismissive wave of her left hand. �I think you two knuckleheads deserve each other.�
Nicole officially said yes, kissed me again on the lips�much to her mother�s consternation�and started to head upstairs. �Hey, � she suddenly realized, �I�ve never been on a date before. I wonder what I should wear.�
�Wear whatever you like, � I told her. �I�ll pick you up at 5 p.m.�
Nicole was out of earshot when I told her mother, �I�ll take her out for some ice cream afterwards, too. She�s a doll. I want to make sure she has a memorable night. When is our curfew, Mrs. Forrester?�
�You can keep her if you want, Vince, � she kidded. �Nicole is becoming more and more of a nuisance every day.�
�I just might do that, � I said with a smile.
Part Three
When I arrived at the Forrester house at 4:55 p.m., I saw Nicole�s face staring out the living room window. She was obviously waiting eagerly for me. I did my part by sprucing up my wardrobe from its usual casual Saturday level. I wore an expensive sweater with dress pants and leather shoes. I even dabbed on a few drops of cologne to smell my best.
Mr. Forrester answered the door. He comically put on an exaggerated act about being a concerned father who was meeting his daughter�s date for the first time. �Good evening, young man, � he began. �I understand you are my daughter�s date for this evening. I don�t want any monkey business tonight�unless you think it�s absolutely necessary.� Then he laughed. A moment later he put a hand on my shoulder and added, �Seriously though, Vince, what you are doing is very classy.�
I just shrugged and then I saw Nicole in the distance. I was pleasantly surprised by the beautiful girl I beheld. She was clad in a lovely pale-blue dress that actually highlighted the burgeoning womanly charms she possessed. Nicole wore white knee socks and Mary Jane shoes. She looked like she was going to a formal occasion somewhere.
�My, you look beautiful in that pretty dress, Nicole, � I commented with complete honesty. �Is it new?�
�Not quite, � she said. �I�ve worn it just once before, for a wedding a couple of months ago.� Then she added, �I only wear it on special occasions�or for a special person.�
Those last five words touched my heart. This girl really was a living doll.
When we arrived at the pizza restaurant, there was a cute surprise waiting for us. This was an eatery that generally did not take reservations except for large parties. However, Colin, the employee who seated people, said to me, �Ah, the Greenwood and Forrester couple has arrived! We�ve been expecting you! I have a romantic table for two for you.� He walked us to the secluded area that only had tables for two. The diners were obviously seated there for the privacy and ambiance. Colin pulled a book of matches from his pocket and lit the candle on the table.
�This is great!� Nicole said, clearly approving the romantic touch of candlelight dining.
�Thank you, Miss Forrester, � said Colin. �We hope it meets with your satisfaction.� Then he added, �Mr. Greenwood, I have a note for you.�
He handed me an envelope. It was a missive from Barry, who obviously had been apprised of the situation. It read, �Vince: This is a supremely nice thing you�re doing for my little sister, the junior coquet. It�s way beyond the call of duty as my friend. Have an appetizer on me. If Nicole gets too flirty, you have my permission to give her the spanking she deserves.�
Nicole said, �That�s from Barry; I recognize his handwriting. What does it say?�
I replied, �He says I can give you a spanking if you get out of line. That�s not going to happen, Nicole. Before the night is over, I might kiss you�in fact, I will kiss you�but not spank you.�
Nicole promptly got out of her seat and kissed me on the lips for the third time. This girl was something else!
We enjoyed cheese-covered garlic bread (courtesy of Barry) and had a three-topping pizza along with an icy pitcher of root beer. The smile never left Nicole�s pretty face throughout the whole meal. My good deed was being fully appreciated.
In a moment of seriousness, I decided to talk to Nicole about the letter she had given to me. I said, �You know, Nicole, honey, there is a lot of truth in the lyrics of �Born Too Late�, but what it doesn�t account for is a situation like this one. I�m 20 and you�re 11. Obviously, we can�t run off tonight and elope. But in 10 years, our getting married is entirely possible. You�d be 21 and I�d be 30. There�s nothing wrong with that at all. So, let�s make a secret deal: If you want to marry me in 10 years, just give me a call�and I�ll be at your house in five minutes. What do you say?�
Nicole said nothing. Instead, she got out of her chair again and planted kiss #4 on my lips. I took that as a definite yes.
When we went to the ice cream parlor, it was a busy place. There were no parking spaces available, so I parked my car in the empty lot of a hardware store some 50 yards away. It was closed for the day.
We had to wait for a while to get a table, but it was worth it. I had a delicious hot fudge sundae. Nicole chose strawberry. When we had finished eating, Nicole took me by the hand as we headed back to my car, which was cute.
When I parked my car outside the Forresters' house, Nicole asked me if I was coming inside. I told her I figured I would just to show her parents that I had brought her home safe and sound like a good gentlemen should.
"I really liked the date tonight, Vince. It was great fun. Maybe we could have had even more fun if you weren't such a gentleman!" she declared.
"Nicole!" I said with fake anger. "That is exactly why Barry said I was allowed to spank you!"
We both laughed. Then I suggested we have a little fun with her parents--especially her mother. I told Nicole I had a plan.
Part Four
When we got inside the house, I announced to Mr. and Mrs. Forrester that our pizza date had been a smashing success, Nicole had been a wonderful dinner companion, and I had done my very best to be a gentlemanly escort in every way.
I also said there was once complication, however. "Nicole insists I should give her a romantic good-night kiss, but I don't think that would be appropriate under the circumstances. However, I think if we shared just one non-romantic kiss as a compromise, that would be perfectly alright--if it's okay with you two."
Mrs. Forrester gave Nicole a dirty look and reluctantly said that would be acceptable. Mr. Forrester was more liberal-minded. "Have at her, Vince, " he amusingly encouraged me. "This was an expensive night for you. Kiss Nicole--and get your money's worth!"
As we had planned, I sat on a chair...and Nicole sat on my lap! She gave me a long, passionate kiss that would have melted the polar ice caps. After about a minute, with our lips still locked, I pulled a hand-written note from my pocket, handed it to Nicole, who passed it along to her mother.
It said, "Isn't it amazing how long one non-romantic kiss can last?" Then we broke off the kiss and burst into laughter. I noticed that Nicole was in no great hurry to get off my lap, though.
When Mr. Forrester read the note, he thought it was a great joke. Mrs. Forrester just shook her head and reminded Nicole that it was getting late. "Nicole, it's time for you to go upstairs and to bed." She paused for a moment and added one extra word: "Alone!"
That remark startled the three other people in the room into complete silence.
Mrs. Forrester finally broke the ice by declaring, "See, I have a sense of humor, too!"
Nicole did eventually go upstairs to her room, but not before giving me a cute peck on the cheek. I stayed to have coffee with her parents. I told them every detail about what happened on my date with their cute 11-year-old daughter, including Nicole's occasional impromptu kisses. "She knows I'm quite the catch!" I kidded.
As I was departing I told Mr. and Mrs. Forrester, "This does create a bit of an awkward situation, though: How do I tell Barry I'd rather hang out with his little sister than with him?"