Marianne sits across from me, at the footend of the bed, her head raised on a bunch of pillows, dressed in a dark blue sweatshirt i gave her from my closet, which she accepted but not before reminding me.....

'I thought you said you don't want me wearing somebody else's clothes'

I stare at her, confused for a second, then i recall the incidence with the little black dress and frown.

'Just take it' i hold the shirt towards her.

'Ever' she recounts.

'Marianne!!' I growl and she finally takes it with a smile.

'Hypocrite' She mumbles under her breathe.

'I heard that....Only mine. You can only ever wear mine'

"So, tell me something about you that will surprise me, something personal" i ask her, after an hour or so of discussing politics and basically disagreeing on everything about it.

I have my back against the head board, my fingers playing with her toes on my lap.

She wrinkles her nose thoughtfully.

"What would surprise you? lets see.....uuhhmm....Oh, can you believe i was a cheerleader back in highschool" she grins.

"No way"

"Don't look so surprised" she pouts and i laugh.

"I am serious. What's so funny?" she tries to pull her feet from my lap and i grip her ankles tighter as i laugh more.

"Well you are not exactly cheer material, don't get me wrong, you have the body and face, but you are not exactly oozing with pep and team spirit" i can't help but laugh at the image of her in a cheerleaders outfit with pompoms.

"Well, i was, seriously" she frowns.

"If you say so babe...This is quite a surprise, i bet you hated it.... Maybe stood at the back of the group?" i poke fun at her.

Sudenly, she stands up on the bed, and drops down with a full split.

"I can also do cartwheels and backflips, with a full twist." She says sitting properly.

"Whoa, you had that in you this whole time" i beam at her flexibility.

Will this girl ever stop surprising me?

"I think I would have liked cheerleader Mary" I jest.

" Hey, cheerleader Mary would have been a minor to you at the time" She laughs.

"Sounds like you had the perfect teenage dream"

"Well, not so much" She frowns.

" Why? I thought cheerleaders are the epitome of the teenage dream" I ask, noticing how her face has lost color.

"Well, i..uhhmm, kind of did something that changed alot of things back then" she murmurs sadly.

"What did you do?" i try to sound as casual as i possibly can, hoping i don't desuade her from telling me more.

She looks at me thoughtfully and i smile back.

"Well, during my final year, there was this guy that i really liked. He was one of the star players on the football team. I had had a crush on him for the longest time, until he kind of started to notice me. We started texting and hanging out for a couple of months and i thought he really liked me.

And then he wanted to.....take things to the next level, you know, have sex, but i wasn't ready, i had never been with anyone before and even though i liked him alot, it just didn't feel right yet. So when i couldn't do that, he started asking for some...uhhmm sexy pictures..i thought it was a good compromise....and so we started to exchange pictures every day" She looks up from her fingers and i smile, encouraging her to continues, but all the while, feeling my nerves tightening up.

"Then later he started to ask for more revealing pictures and one day, i just went with it...because i thought we were a couple and i trusted him.

But when i got to school the following morning, i found that there were naked pictures of me in both the girls and boys bathroom" She says, her voice barely audible at the end.

"Then what happened?" i ask, suddenly feeling alot of heat in my chest.

She rubs her face with her hand, embarrassment clearly visible on her face.

"My supposed 'slutty' reputation spread ofcourse, nothing was the same after that, plus i was in trouble with the school administration, while he didn't face any consequences because the team didn't want to loose one of their star player, he just got away with doing that to me...and i didn't want to make it drag, so i just let it go"

"Am sorry you went through that"i say sincerely.

"Don't be, it was my fault for doing something so stupid i guess. I should never have compromised myself like that, right?." she scoffs.

"My parents....they were really disappointed, especially my mother, she is a teacher too, and taught at my school at the time. So not only did i ruin my reputation, i ruined hers too, along with the respect from her colleagues, other parents and basically the rest of the students who couldn't take her seriously anymore"

The room goes quiet as i contemplate what to say, my mind currently lost for words.

"Growing up, i was very close to my dad, we were two peas in a pod...but even he was really dissapointed. Then after he died, my whole life just fell apart"

"How did he die" I ask, feeling a lump in my throat. Her face turns even sadder, and i regret asking.

"Car accident" She replies after some hesitation, then proceeds to quickly wipe away a stray tear from her eye.

At this point i start to really regret the direction the conversation has gone in. I don't know what to do.

"I was driving. The accident that killed my dad, we were together and i was driving" she adds randomly, looking at me intently, as if waiting for me to rebuke her or reject her too.

"Marianne" i say upon seeing the frightened look in her eyes as i reach for her legs again.

"Sorry, i didn't mean to say all these things to you. Am sorry. Excuse me" She gets up and heads for the bathroom.

I can see she is holding back more tears.

"Marianne" I utter, following after her.

I desperately want to hold her but she is quick, and closes the bathroom door just before i can grab her.

"Mary?" i call out, my head against the closed door.

"Just a....minute....I.... just want to use the bathroom real...quick" she mumbles and i am convinced she is crying already.

I feel a tightness in my chest at not being able to comfort her.

"Marianne?" i call again after a couple of minutes, although it feels like an hour has passed.

The door opens and she comes out, her face washed.

"Sorry...I shouldn't have told you any of that. It's just that..its just that i haven't talked about it in a long time and it all just started to come out and ." i embrace her tightly, cutting off her mumbling.

"Am sorry you went through all that"

We sit down on the bed, still locked in a tight embrace.

"Is that why you are estranged from your family now?"

She nods.

"It was my fault he died, i was distracted" She pulls away and sits down facing me.

"We were having an argument, i wanted to pull out of my course in college and he didn't agree with me, that's when i hit into a truck. He was badly injured and died a few minutes later. I walked it off with a few scratches, nothing more than a headache and concussion." she looks down at her hands again.

"My relationship with my mom just ..i guess it was just too much... I know she doesn't hate me, but we just didn't know how to act with each other after that. My brother hated me for it, still does." she shrugs.

"We just grew further apart and now...... here we are... atleast mom and i are trying to have a relationship again, and i hope things go well at Dad's memorial.

"Teaching, Is that why you took up teaching as a career, to be like her?"

"I thought it would bring us closer together after dad died and i had finally quit my major in college, but it didnt....Dad wanted me to be an architect, like him.

"And you, what did you want to be?" I ask, brushing some hair off her face.

"I don't know...for as long as i Can remember, my dad and i talked about me doing what he did, and I wanted it with all my heart, but when i went to college, i realized, it wasn't really my dream....

There was a time i wanted to be a journalist, Or writer, am pretty good at that and actually i help Luke write some articles for his job and they have appeared in the paper." She laughs, the action adding some bright color to her cheeks.

"Come here" i pull her on my lap, in a strandling position

"I think you are an amazing, strong woman and i am really proud of the woman i got to meet." I speak from my heart, meaning every word.

"I don't know about amazing but..... I try to be strong"

"Well you are, and i am really glad i got to meet you." i smile.

"Thank you" she smiles back.

"It's 4am..i need to get you in bed" i say, staring at the clock.

*

I wake up three hours later, Marianne fast asleep besides me. I watch her sleeping and think about every thing she told me a few hours earlier.

I feel bad at what she went through, she made some mistakes, but she doesn't deserve the life she has had to live, after losing her father in such a way, she needed her family around her, but yet, she has had to live with the guilt all on her own. I remember how upset she was that day at Nick's house when she got that text from her brother and i shift on the bed uncomfortably.

I wish i could protect her, from all the hurt she carries inside, takecare of her.

I lean over and brush her cheek for a while and she purrs in her sleep, causing me to smile. I like having her in my house, my bed, i can't imagine it any other way. I am tempted to get back fully into bed and give her something to wake up to, but i am reminded she has only been sleeping for a couple of hours, she needs the rest.

I am really happy she opened up to me at last, and i have to admit that i have developed a whole new level of respect and affection for her now.

I am so fucked.

I get up and head for the gym, leaving her sleeping.

All throughout my workout session, i think about all the things i have come to learn and like about her.

The fact that she is extremely smart and can maintain intelligent conversations with me, backed up with alot of facts, i love a good argument and i like that i don't have to go easy on her.

I also like how she stands up to me, challenges me. How kind she is to the people around her. How independent and self sufficient she is.

And then there is the little things, like how easy it is to make her blush, her cute laughter and giggles, her shyness at our intimacy....that vein that pops up on her forehead when we have sex.

I have discovered that she likes it when we take it slow, but only because that way she gets to maintain her control.

But i love it instead when she loses herself when the tempo picks up....like in bed earlier, when she started to mimick my movements and meet my every thrust eargerly and when she started to open up her legs wider, offering more of herself to me, or when she stoped trying to restrain her pleasured moans.

Shit, the direction of my thoughts are going in is getting me all worked up and knowing she is just a few doors away from me right now is very distracting.

I thought the initial excitement of being with a new lover will wear off like it usually does, but it seems this time, things are happening in reverse.

I pick up my towel and wipe away the sweat on my face, calling it quits for today.

Mary is still asleep when i get back to the bedroom and it being a Saturday, i let her get some more sleep.

*

"Thank's Mario" i say to my house keeper and occasional chef for the breakfast he just cooked up.

I take another sip of my coffee and focus on my laptop again.

"Goodmorning" Marianne murmurs, walking into the kitchen.

She is still wearing the sweatshirt from last night, paired with grey leggings she must have left from the other night she stayed over.

"Good morning babe" i smile.

"You cooked?" she asks genuinely shocked, when she sees all the food on the table as she comes to stand next to me.

" i am about answer when Mario speaks from the other end of the kitchen where Marianne didn't see him.

I introduce them, wrapping my arms around her.

"Did you sleep well" i ask, kissing her cheek.

"Mmmmhhmm" she grins.

"Uuhmm, last night, we didn't really clean up in here after we....you know...did he?" she whispers a little too loudly and i chuckle.

Juat then, Security calls, cutting off my response, informing me we have visitors.

"C'mon, we have guests for breakfast" i say, standing up and pulling her by the hand.

"What? Who" she murmurs.

I don't answer and just bring her to the door with me, opening it.

"Hai" i say.

"Goodmorning" Lana and Lexi both murmur, walking in.

"Morning" i respond, letting the door shut behind them.

"Hello" Marianne utters next to me when my sisters notice her.

"Hi, i am Alana" Lana smiles, extending her hand, then turns to me, giving me a huge smile, just like i expected she would react upon meeting Marianne.

"Marianne" she responds.

"Lexi" i say, noticing Alexis' silence.

" Hi.....I am Alexis" she finally extends her hand towards Marianne.

"I am hungry" Lexi adds, turning towards the kitchen.

Lana winks at me and follows her.

Marianne lets go of my hand and glares at me briefly, before she exhales and follows after them.

I sigh and take a slow walk to the kitchen.