Dallas Mayo: Girl-crazy girl

Not that it showed. Oh no, it was buried in my own mind, never rising to the surface. I saw only admiration in people's eyes, even envy in some, a genuine tribute to the beauty that was blossoming from within me. As foretold long ago, my garish red hair had deepened to a rich and attractive auburn. I was still a bit gawky, with coltish legs and a bosom that hadn't yet filled out, but the old predictions weren't far wrong: little Loi Morlock was developing into a beautiful young woman.

Nor was my popularity ever in doubt. At our parties and dances there were innumerable would-be swains vying for my favor. I partied and danced with them all – small boys, big boys, polite boys who stayed within the bounds of propriety, and politely sneaky boys whose notion of fun was to "cop a feel" and then brag about it. All of whom I handled with finesse, if not exactly a flair. And yet, deep down inside, I knew that the proverbial knight on the white charger wasn't for me. Or at least I sensed it, puzzled but not overly pained by this rather strange discrepancy in my character.

Funny thing. For some extra pocket-money, I had been doing a lot of weekend and holiday baby-sitting – and even in that, somehow, my instinct was to avoid little boys whenever possible. With the exception of one brother and sister pair, all my kids were little girls, all easy to take care of. Easier for me, anyway, even though there wasn't much difference in the actual work. I just naturally leaned in that direction, feeling more relaxed and self-confident with girls. And there was no thought of anything sexy, either, I had long since swept all that childish foolishness into a dim and dusty corner of my mind. Oh no, baby-sitting was just a job to me, pleasant but usually pretty dull. Or so I figured – until little Jackie Quigg upset my applecart…

The kid was no stranger to me. I had stayed with her before, although never overnight. For that matter, overnight sitting was something new for me, and Jackie's parents had even called my father to get his okay. It was a gala occasion for them, an anniversary or some such, and they had made reservations at a classy country-style hotel. For the first time, then, I was left in complete charge from Saturday evening until late Sunday afternoon. Oh sure, I had a list of instructions about food and the like – along with a phone number to ring in case of emergency – but it was still pretty exhilarating to be the boss of the house. And I rather enjoyed the way the little girl fawned over me, practically catering to my every wish.

She had permission to stay up late and watch television, a change in routine that a baby-sitter might find objectionable, but I really didn't mind. After all, I was being paid for this night's work. Then too, Jackie herself was good company, cute and cheerful and never one to complain, a cute little elf with dark hair and big blue eyes and a shy but sincere smile. Even the dimples in her cheeks seemed to light up when she laughed. She was ready for bed, too, freshly bathed and wearing only her nightie, so I would have no trouble tucking her in when sleep time came. Not that I anticipated any trouble at all actually, not from a child who had practically put me on a pedestal. The kid truly liked me. Although I didn't expect her to say so with such girlish enthusiasm.

"You mean it, Loi? I can stay up for the late movie?"

"Uh-huh. It's a jungle picture."

"You're so nice to me. Oh, I love you!" She reached out and grabbed my hand. "I'd rather have you than…"

Only her voice faded, not the gesture. She was lifting my hand to her lips. Mildly embarrassed, I permitted the impulsive kiss but went on looking at the TV screen. And then I was too flabbergasted to pull away when the kiss turned into a prolonged caress. What the hell was the crazy kid trying to do?

It wasn't just her lips now, that squirmy wet sensation could only have come from a tongue. It was licking the hollow of my palm and dabbing between my fingers every so often, moving slowly, daintily, sending hot and cold chills through me. She did it like a finicky kitten testing a bowl of cream for texture and freshness, hungry enough but still taking time for a preliminary appraisal. And meanwhile I couldn't do a damn thing but sit there and stare blankly at the television set, feeling almost feverish as those shivery thrills raced up and down my spine.

Then the word sex popped into my mind. Followed closely by another word that I refused to confront consciously, it was just too ugly. Certainly too ugly for a baby-sitter entrusted with the care of a child. It jolted me out of my daze, though, and I managed to end the weird moment without creating a fuss, pulling away quite casually to stand up and go tinker with the TV knobs. At least I hoped it appeared casual, shaky knees and all.

The picture didn't need readjustment, but it was easy to make the pretense, knocking the colors out of kilter and then starting from scratch with the flesh-tones. Easy to stay there until I felt calm again, anyway. And I returned to my seat with a sense of relief, glad to see that Jackie had evidently gotten over her burst of affection. She had moved to the corner of the sofa, all curled up in a ball now, with only her tiny bare feet visible outside the nightie. All settled down to watch the jungle flick, no doubt – no more hand-kissing, no more childish declarations of gratitude, no more problem for me.

Or was I being unduly optimistic? I couldn't tell. Maybe the kid was just stretching her legs. Oh well, it wasn't as bad as that kiss – only the contact of her feet, one barely touching my thigh and the other behind me in the sofa cushions, snuggled against the sunken curve of my hip. Just keeping warm, perhaps. Only it wasn't exactly cold there in that cozy living room. Far from it, in fact. I could almost feel myself breaking out in a sweat, another attack of chills and fever coming on. And it got immeasurably worse when the pressure on my thigh increased and the toes in back of me began to wriggle around in a kittenish manner. Oh, she was some kitty cat, my little friend Jackie Quigg. I just didn't know what to make of this new development, this new and rather frightening facet of someone so familiar to me, familiar as an old shoe and usually just as pliant. Nor could I blame it on my imagination, either. One way or the other, I had to call a halt here.

"S'matter, honey? Not enough room for you?"

She giggled. I rose and sidled over a step – the sofa wasn't all that long really, just soft and deep – and then plunked myself down again. Only to find a lump under me, a very lively little lump that seemed to cleave my buttocks apart like a wiggly wedge. Its warmth penetrated my skirt and panties, her toes jabbing, right up into me – it could have been a hot coal down there, that was how fast I scrambled back up out of the cushions. While her giggle rang in my ear once again, rising almost to a shriek of laughter…

Exasperated as I was, the humor of the situation didn't exactly escape me. I must have looked pretty silly shooting up from the sofa like a rocket off its launching pad. Goosed by a little bare foot, imagine! And it was only a bit of mischief, no more, just a trick that the kid was playing on her baby-sitter.

With a sheepish grin, I regained composure and sat down again, scooping her leg up by the ankle. Then, still grinning, I kissed the offending little foot and let it drop into my lap, making light of the entire matter. And like a good-natured teacher chiding an inattentive pupil, I murmured something about stopping all this nonsense and getting back to the TV film. Which might have worked, except that a commercial break came on at that very moment, just in time to undermine my authority. And all of a sudden I found myself regretting that impetuous little kiss, a conspicuously looming shadow now, picking up an unintended significance during the lull. Like the last move made in an unfinished checker game…