Lisa signed her name at the bottom of the page and closed the portfolio. Leaning back in her chair and breathing a deep sigh, she closed her eyes and pushed away from the mahogany desk.
“Thank god that’s over with,” she said.
She sat still for a moment waiting for a response. When it was apparent that none was forthcoming, she opened her eyes and looked at her assistant. The woman, dressed in a simple but stylish blouse and skirt, waited patiently for Lisa to give her the documents she had just signed.
“Marcy, honey, I’m sorry. I know you want to get home to those darling girls of yours.”
Lisa pulled herself back to the desk. This deal had been a nightmare from day one, but she and her team had pulled it off. Grabbing the portfolio, she handed it to Marcy.
“Lock this up, then go home and have a great weekend,” she said. “And tell Holly and Ivy that Aunty Lisa sends them hugs and kisses.”
“Will do. We’re still on for dinner Easter Sunday right? The girls will be pissed if you don’t show.”
“Try and stop me,” Lisa replied to her friend with a smile.
Though Lisa had made it a point not to get too close to her employees, Marcy was the exception. She had first met Marcy when the young woman started as an intern at her father’s company after graduating from university. They became good friends, and when Lisa took over the business after her father’s death, she asked Marcy to become her personal assistant. Lisa had also come to love Marcy’s twin girls and cared about them as if they were her own. She knew deep down that if she had met Marcy outside of work they probably would be lovers.
Lisa watched Marcy leave the office before she stood and walked over to the credenza. After pouring herself a small drink of scotch, she raised her hand in a toast.
“Here’s to you, Dad,” she said to the large portrait of her father before draining the tumbler. Lisa set the glass down and turned toward the floor to ceiling windows of her 20th story office and gazed out over the harbor city below. It was early spring and still light outside as the commuters started their homeward migration at the end of the day. In the distance, dark, ominous storm clouds threatened to cut the daylight short.
Lisa’s work day hadn’t quite been finished when she told Marcy she could leave. By the time she pulled out of the parking garage in her Lexus, the rain was falling. Softly cursing to herself, Lisa headed out of the city and toward her home in the country. She kept a loft apartment in town just to be close to the office, but the place she loved the most was a cozy three-bedroom bungalow on the beach, about 40 kilometers outside of the city.
Still several minutes away from her destination, the gentle storm had become an angry tempest. The rain poured down harder as lightning streaked across the sky. The winds had picked up, driving the rain with force making for poor visibility. Common sense dictated that she should pull over and wait for it to let up. But she didn’t. Lisa decided to move on, even if it was at a snail’s pace. And that was when she saw her.
On the side of the road, under a street light, a lonely figure stood in the rain. The car’s wipers had a hard time keeping up with the torrent, causing the person to appear as a ghostly blur. The apparition had an arm outstretched with a thumb in the air. Of course, Lisa was not about to pick up a stranger on the side of the road. That would be stupid. Too many slasher movies had taught her better.
As Lisa drove slowly past, however, she could see that this wasn’t Freddie or Jason but a girl, a child. Lisa kept moving. Not my problem, she told herself.
She heard a small voice inside her head. ‘Are you really going to leave that poor girl out in this storm?’ Images of young Holly and Ivy flashed in her mind.
“Fuck me! I’m probably going to regret this,” Lisa mumbled as she applied the brakes and shifted into reverse.
Reaching the hitchhiker, she hit a switch and lowered the passenger window. “Hop in,” she called. “You’ll drown or die of pneumonia if you stay out there much longer.”
Hesitating, the girl peered in through the open window for a few moments. Lisa smiled and beckoned her forward. “Come on, honey. You’re letting the rain in. I won’t bite, I promise.”
The girl finally opened the door and got inside. Lisa pushed the button to put the window back up.
“Where are you off to on such a miserable evening?” Lisa asked while looking the stranger up and down as best she could.
“Kamloops. I have an aunt there,” came the curt reply. The girl clutched her backpack in her arms and stared straight ahead.
The interior lights of the car, which had faded, along with occasional flashes of lightning allowed Lisa to surmise that this skinny little thing could be no more than 12 years old. Sitting back in her seat, she thought for a moment.
“Kamloops must be at least 300 kilometers away. You’re not going to get there tonight, that’s for sure,” Lisa explained.
“Could you drop me off at a bus stop or something then?”
Lisa’s heart broke at the sound of despair in the young girl’s voice.
“Listen,” she said, “my house is just down the road. How about we get you some dry clothes and a warm meal first? We can discuss travel plans after the storm is over.”
“Oh, uh, okay.” Excited at the prospect of a hot meal, the child stumbled over her words. She smiled meekly at the woman, hoping that she might have found a friend in her.
Lisa shifted the car into drive and slowly headed home. Neither of them spoke as they drove on. When the car pulled into the driveway, Lisa pushed a button on the steering wheel. The lights of the garage came on, and the door began to rise. Lisa parked the car and led the girl into the house. In the foyer, Lisa kicked off her shoes and got her first good look at the little hitchhiker.
The four-foot-ten-inch girl stood motionless just inside the doorway, dripping water on the floor. Lisa guessed that the child was probably a runaway. Her outfit consisted of a pair of jeans, a plaid shirt, and a jean jacket. On her feet was a pair of old sneakers with holes in them. Every piece of clothing was soaked through. Her dark hair was unkempt and strands stuck to her cheeks, her round face smudged with dirt. And as Lisa looked into the girl’s big brown eyes, she knew she could easily lose herself in them.
“What is your name, sweetie?” Lisa asked
“Charlene. But everyone calls me Charlie.”
Lisa couldn’t help but feel sympathy for Charlie. Even though she had just met the young waif, she felt herself being drawn to the girl as if they were somehow meant to be together. At the moment, Charlie looked like a vagabond, but Lisa could see that underneath her waterlogged and dirty clothing, there was a beautiful treasure, a hidden pearl.
“Hello, Charlie. My name is Lisa,” she smiled, holding out her hand.
Charlie took the offered hand and held it for a few seconds. “Hi,” she murmured as a shiver ran through her.
“Oh you poor girl, you must be frozen. Come on, let’s get you out of those clothes and into a hot bath,” Lisa suggested.
Charlie nodded in reply, and after she’d kicked off her shoes she let Lisa lead her down the hall toward the bathroom.
It was strange. Charlie felt safe. This was something she hadn’t felt in quite a while. She couldn’t explain it, but her gut told her she could trust this woman. And that was good enough for her, as her gut was usually right.
Lisa took a large bath towel from the bathroom closet and placed it on the counter. “Get out of those wet clothes and wrap yourself in the towel, okay? I’ll run the bath for you.”
Then she began filling the tub while Charlie peeled off her wet clothes. Lisa gave the girl a bit of privacy as she undressed by keeping her back to her. But a surreptitious glance at the full-length mirror on the closet door allowed her to see Charlie’s reflection just as she pushed her panties over her narrow hips and down her legs. She admired the young girl’s cute bum.
“How old are you, Charlie?” Lisa asked casually.
“I’m 11. My birthday is in a couple of months.”
Turning around, Lisa said, “Would you like bubbles in your bath?”
The girl, now naked, was facing toward her. She held the big towel behind her and was just starting to wrap it around herself, a bit awkwardly. Lisa was able to take a quick look at the little beauty.
Charlie was thin, probably hadn’t had a proper meal in a while. Her hip bones and ribs were evident beneath her pale skin. Lisa felt sorry for the child, but still relished the opportunity to gaze at her budding breasts and pussy. There were wisps of brown hair above her puffy young slit. Lisa felt a twinge of guilt for taking advantage of this situation for her own pleasure.
“Yes please!” Charlie exclaimed, apparently oblivious of Lisa’s ogling as she stepped over to where the woman sat on the edge of the tub. “I like bubbles. My mom used to give me bubble baths all the time. I mean, my real mom did.”
“Your real mom?” Lisa asked.
“She died two years ago,” Charlie answered, sadly hanging her head.
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry,” Lisa said, placing a hand on the girl’s shoulder and lightly caressing it. “So, is it just you and your dad then?”
“No, I never had a dad. He left before I was born.”
As Lisa looked at the lovely girl, her heart broke into a thousand pieces. It made her want to cry. She poured the bubble soap into the tub and stirred up the water with her hand. Once there was enough warm water and plenty of suds, she turned off the taps.
“There you are, honey. I’ll leave you alone and let you soak,” Lisa said, getting up to go.
“No! I mean, please stay, okay?” Charlie pleaded as she grabbed her hand. “It’s just, I’ve been alone for so long.”
Lisa smiled, “All right, sweetie. I’ll stay with you.”
The girl let her towel fall away and stepped into the bath. Kneeling on the rug at the side of the tub, Lisa picked up a facecloth and bar of soap. “Would you like me to wash you?”
After the child nodded in eager agreement, Lisa began with her face, gently cleaning the dirt away. “Oh my goodness, look at that,” she teased, “under all that dirt there’s a beautiful little angel!”
Charlie giggled happily.
“Did you go to live with your aunt after your mom passed?” Lisa asked.
The girl shook her head as Lisa began to wash her arms. “Uh-uh, I went to a foster home first. I really liked it there. My foster parents, Jean and Mark, were nice to me. They had their own daughter Karen. She’s a year older than me, and we were really good friends. I lived there for about a year, but then I had to leave when Jean caught Karen and me, um…”
Charlie stopped speaking and looked Lisa in the eyes, uncertain whether she should continue.
“What it is sweetie? It’s okay, you can tell me, whatever it is,” Lisa said, reassuring her.
The child cast her gaze downward and fiddled with her fingers, still not sure if she should reveal the truth.
Lisa studied Charlie for a moment. She had a pretty good idea of what might have happened, but didn’t want to force the answer from her.
“You don’t have to say anything, sweetie,” Lisa finally said. “When I was just a year or two older than you, I had a very close friend, a girl named Leah. We did everything together, we were inseparable. We even fell in love with each other,” the woman explained.
Charlie raised her head. “Really? Is that true?”
“Yes, honey, it is. When she would sleep over at my house, we would make love, and it was so wonderful. But one day after school, we were at Leah’s house fooling around in her bedroom. We were both naked and touching each other when her mother suddenly walked in on us,” Lisa continued, watching Charlie’s reaction to her story.
“Then what happened?” Charlie asked, eyes wide.
“Well, see, that’s where my story gets sad. Leah’s mother was furious. She kicked me out and forbade Leah from ever seeing me again. She called my mom and threatened to tell the police. She even had Leah transferred to another school. They eventually moved away, and I never saw her again.”
“Sort of like me and Karen,” Charlie said, not realizing she had just confessed. Then she asked, “Was your mother mad at you?”
“No, not at all. She knew I liked girls and she supported me. As a matter of fact, she liked girls too. So… is that what happened with you and Karen? Her mother caught you two making love?”
Charlie nodded, “Uh-huh. It made me so sad to have to leave Karen. I really miss her.”
“I know how you feel, sweetie. I was sad too when Leah went away. But when I think of Leah now, I try only think about the good times we had. That’s what you need to do too, Charlie. Only remember the good times you shared with Karen,” Lisa said, kissing the girl on the forehead.
She shampooed Charlie’s hair after washing her torso, legs, and feet. “Stand up, so I can clean your bum and between your legs — unless you would rather do that yourself.”
Charlie stood. “No, you do it. It feels nice when you wash me.”
Lisa felt a familiar twinge in her belly as the warmth between her own legs grew. Charlie wasn’t the first little girl who had turned her on like this. She had been messing around with friends her age since she was introduced to lesbian sex by her loving mother at only 9 years old. When she was in her early teens, she would often babysit, and sometimes her young charges would be more than happy to play secret games with her.
The suds slowly dripped away from Charlie as she stood in the bathtub. Lisa turned the girl and placed a hand on her bottom. She rubbed the smooth round globes for a few moments, enjoying the sensation of touching such tender young flesh. When she heard Charlie let out a soft contented sigh, she realized that the facecloth was in her other hand. Lisa switched sides and washed the girl’s bottom.
“Turn to me please,” Lisa instructed, admiring the naked 11-year-old as she slowly turned to face her. She placed her cloth-covered hand on the girl’s thigh and moved it up and onto her young pussy. Lisa gently rubbed the facecloth all over, pushing one of her fingers into the folds and over Charlie’s clit. The girl flinched and moaned softly, but didn’t say anything.
Lisa was on fire and wanted nothing more than to take this beautiful child to her bed and make love to her all night long. But she knew it wasn’t the right time. She didn’t want to scare her.
“All right, sweetie. Let’s get you dried off now and put some food in your belly,” Lisa said, and was surprised to see a look of disappointment cross the girl’s face. Was that because the bath ended, or the pussy play ended? Lisa wondered.
Once Charlie was dried off and wrapped in a big towel, Lisa led her out into the kitchen and sat her at the table before rummaging through the fridge for something they could eat.
“So where did you go after you had to leave that foster home?” Lisa asked as she opened up a couple of Healthy Choice frozen dinners and placed them in the microwave.
“I went to another home. But I only stayed there for about a month before I ran away,” Charlie explained.
“How come? Didn’t you like it there?”
“My foster mom was sorta okay, I guess, but her husband gave me the creeps. He always wanted to pat my bum. It was their teenage sons, though, that really made me run away.”
“Did they pick on you?”
“They made me swallow their cum,” she stated flatly.
Lisa froze. “They did what!” she exclaimed, turning to look at the girl in a silent rage.
“One of them would twist my arm behind my back and threaten to break it if I didn’t suck the other one’s dick. They took turns doing it. I didn’t want to. I begged them to stop but they wouldn’t,” Charlie said, her eyes filling with tears.
Lisa moved to the child and took her into her arms. “Oh my god, sweetie, that’s just awful. Did you tell anyone?”
Charlie was starting to weep into Lisa’s shoulder. “I, I told their mother, but she said it was my own fau-fault, and that I was a little whore. That’s when I decided to r-run away,” she sobbed.
Lisa pulled the girl away from her, holding her at arm’s length and looking directly into her eyes. “That horrible woman was wrong, Charlie. You did nothing bad at all. It was not your fault. And you are definitely not a whore.” She wiped tears away from Charlie’s face, all the while fighting to hold back her own.
“You are a beautiful little girl. You did not deserve that, and it wasn’t your fault. Do you understand me, Charlie?” Lisa drew the child closer, kissing her tear-stained cheeks.
“Yes,” Charlie sniffed her reply as she tightly hugged her new friend. “Thank you for being so nice to me, Lisa.” She pressed her lips to the woman’s, holding the soft kiss for a long moment, then hugged her again. They held each other, rocking gently, until the microwave beeped.
While Charlie started eating, Lisa put the girl’s clothes in the washing machine and then joined her at the table. As the storm raged on outside, the two talked about all kinds of things, then watched TV for a couple of hours until it was time for bed. Charlie slipped on a pair of panties and a tee shirt once they had come out of the dryer. Lisa tucked the adorable girl into bed in the spare room.
“Sweet dreams, pretty one. I left the bathroom light on for you. And I am right next door if you need me,” Lisa said, tenderly kissing the child’s lips.
“G’night, Lisa. I wish I could stay here with you forever.”
Lisa smiled at the little angel, kissed her once more, then turned off the lamp by the bed. As she was leaving the room, she looked back at the girl named Charlie before closing the door.
“So do I, sweetie. So do I.”
Continue on to Chapter 3