Mark stood and offered his hand. She smiled and accepted the help. In one gentle, fluid motion, he lifted her from the chair and then into his arms. The kiss that followed was long, natural, and perfect. 

After her confessional the night before, Ann would never again mentioned her high school experience. The next morning, on their short walk to work, she didn’t even bring up Gwen kissing Mark or the Diet-Rite bet on whether it would happen again. Gwen had begun to wonder if she’d forgotten. Then as they parted, Ann said, “Have a fun time.” Her teasing smirk made it clear what she meant.

There would be little time to think about Ann or bets that morning. With many of the patients having surgery scheduled, Gwen’s usual workload included helping prep them and then receiving them back onto the ward afterward.

During the middle of the morning, she saw Mark come out of the nurse’s station wearing the same grey suit he had on the day they first met. But this time she had a chance to see him up-close. Even with the thick glasses, she thought he looked handsome, stylish, and very masculine.

He didn’t notice her at first, and she wondered what to say. When he looked her way, she blurted out, “Why Mr. Cahill, you look nice with clothes on.”

Mrs. Anding, who had followed Mark out of the nurse’s station, began giggling. Gwen felt stupid. That didn’t come out the way she intended. But she put on a smile as if it were a joke.

Mark returned her smile. “Why thank you, Miss Kaplan. I’d say the same about you, but Miss Anding might hit me.”

Between more giggles, the head nurse pushed him toward the door. “Don’t tempt me. Now get going or you’ll be late for your appointment.”

There had been so much going on, Gwen didn’t notice when he returned. But by the middle of the afternoon, all the patients were back from surgery and cared for. As the pace slowed. Gwen began to wonder about Mark.

After some hesitation, she decided to check on how he was doing. Besides, she’d been on her feet all day and they were complaining. So maybe she could rest them while they talked. But that was all. There’d be no repeat of what happened the day before. She liked Mark, liked him a lot, but not that much, or that way.

Mark sat on the edge of his bed, as usual. She sat in the bedside armchair, further away than the day before, but close enough so she could take off her shoes and prop her aching feet on the lowered bed rail. Neither said anything about the kiss. Mark seemed content to talk about his doctor’s appointment and listen to her account of the busy day on the ward.

When it was time to leave, she began putting on her shoes. Mark stood and offered his hand. She smiled and accepted the help. In one gentle, fluid motion, he lifted her from the chair and into his arms.

The kiss that followed was long, natural, and perfect. When their lips parted, she didn’t try to pull away.

They began kissing again. His hands went around her waist and pulled her closer. Her body molded against his. There was a vague sense of hands sliding softly over her bottom. It felt nice.

Later, she managed to finish the shift without the staff noticing anything different. But she couldn’t fool Ann. The moment they met for their walk back to the dorm, Ann began to laugh.

Gwen felt a little embarrassed, but didn’t mind. “So do you want that Diet-Rite in a can or bottle?”

After that, there was no longer an issue about whether they’d kiss. It happened every day she was on the ward, usually in Mark’s room, though sometimes in the linen closet or other secluded nooks. Gwen felt a sense of unreality about what was happening. During the week she and Mark were making-out with ever increasing ardor. Then on weekends, back home in Queens, she and Johnny would go out, make love, and plan for their future.

With his new job at the post office, Gwen decided it was time to publicly announce their engagement. After a little convincing, Johnny agreed.

The announcement was a formality, but indicated both families approved of the match. Apparently resigned to having Johnny as a son-in-law, her mother even agreed to invite his family over for dinner.

Then on the Monday before the announcement, Johnny’s work scheduled was changed. He’d be working all weekend. They decided to mail the announcements, but postpone everything else for a week.

Faced with an unexpected open weekend, Gwen remembered how Mark spent his weekends alone in his room at the VA. Getting out into the fresh air and sunshine would be good for him and she had nothing better to do that day.

Armed with good intentions, she told him about being free on Sunday afternoon. Would he like her to drive back into town and go shopping with him for some new records? If the day was nice, they might even go over to the park.

To her surprise, he didn't seem very interested and spoke about wanting to stay in and listen to a big Yankee doubleheader. Something in his manner convinced her it was pride, not love of baseball, which prompted his response.

To give him an excuse for saying yes, Gwen said she had to come back into town anyway, and that shopping and visiting the Central Park zoo were two of her favorite things. While the parts about shopping and the zoo were true enough, she had absolutely no reason to drive from Queens into Manhattan other than to be with him.

The touch of mendacity worked, however. As she hoped, the southern gentleman in Mark wouldn't let him deny her a chance to shop and visit the zoo.

When she arrived to pick Mark up, he was wearing blue jeans, an off-white dress shirt with French cuffs rolled up and loafers with no socks. It was the first time she had seen him in something besides pajamas or a dress suit. She liked the look.

Shopping for records was fun. With her tiny allowance, she usually had to limit herself to buying singles. Now she got to browse through the album section, while helping him read the prices and liner notes.

Some of his final selections surprised her. While everyone was buying the new LP by Chicago, his other two choices were a black group Gwen had never heard of called the Edwin Hawkins Singers and something classical. Shopping completed they headed for Central Park.

It had been cloudy in the morning. But by the time they spread out the plaid car-blanket Gwen brought, it had become a post-card beautiful day. Around the edge of a small, remote meadow, leaf covered trees, their limbs swaying gently in a light breeze, muffled the sound of city traffic. Mercifully, there were no portable radios blaring. The loudest noise came from squirrels and pigeons fighting over stray pieces of popcorn and candy.

While an occasional passerby might come and go, there were few permanent residents. An old couple sat on a bench deep in animated conversation. Two skinny guys were lying on a blanket, sunbathing. And in the deep shade of an old oak, Gwen Kaplan was sitting astride Mark Cahill.

As she continued to look around, Gwen wondered if any of them realized Mark was softly massaging her breasts. Of course they didn't. Since she was straddling his chest and leaning forward, her unbuttoned vest acted like a curtain, concealing his activities.
No one could tell her T-shirt was pushed up so far, if it were not for the vest, and his hands, her breasts would be totally exposed to view. Still, it was exciting to think they were making out, in public, in Central Park.

Glancing down, she noticed the pleased expression on his face. "Are you glad you came, now?”

Mark's grin widened and he nodded. "This is nice. Very, very nice. Not every beat-up vet gets to lay in a park on a sunny day and play with the boobs of a pretty student nurse. And very nice boobs they are, I might add.”

"Just doing my patriotic bit." She laughed, feeling flushed and pleased. "But thanks for the compliment. However, I'll have to trust your expertise on boobs.”

"Well, I'm still not sure what you're doing here with me on the day your engagement is being announced. But believe me, patriotism or whatever, I'm glad as hell you are.”

He slowly rotated her hard nipples. "Now, of course you realize that my evaluation of your anatomical resources is purely preliminary in nature. To give a complete and accurate appraisal, I'd need to perform a more extensive and detailed examination of the subject in hand.”

He squeezed her breasts for emphasis while giving her a big wink. "However, to answer your original question, I suppose that everything considered, I'd rather be here than back in the VA listening to a baseball game.”

####

This girl puzzled Mark. She was totally different from all the others he’d known. Of course most of those girls were, like him, from the south while Gwen had spent her entire life in New York. Still, he always enjoyed being with her, whether back in the hospital or here in a park. Even if they hadn't been making out, she was so smart and easy to talk to, being with her would have been fun.

But they were most definitely making out. The reality both pleased and confounded him. He initiated it, of course. As a card carrying, heterosexual male, he adhered to the adage he learned years ago. "It's the man's place to ask, and the lady's place to say no.”

It was his firm conviction that if a guy didn't make some sort of move on a girl, she'd either get mad or have her feelings hurt. Most would shake their heads. But sometimes they’d add a sweet, tantalizing, southern belle type smile that said they weren't that type of girl, at least not at first, but maybe try again…

Based on that past experience, Mark had assumed Gwen would make a similar response. She was, after all, both a “nice” girl and engaged. And then there was this business about her engagement being announced today.

While he wasn't sure what that meant in this part of the country, he figured it must be pretty important. But she acted real casual about the whole thing, had told him all about it on the way to the park. It seemed odd to observe the occasion with another guy, and even stranger to tell him what she was doing. Still, he had no complaints.

Since he first surprised her with a kiss a few weeks ago, they’d kissed almost every day. While she seemed to enjoy it and even tolerated a little light petting, he’d been certain she'd take a much less tolerant attitude towards any serious making-out.

However, the park seemed a perfect place to try something more, even though he had little hope of success. They could still go on being friends even after she said no. But the parameters of their brief, summer flirtation would have been well defined.

To his pleasant surprise, she didn't say no. Of course, she didn't exactly say yes, either. But her resistance included little more than grins, giggles, and a few mild protests. Then she submitted to his roaming hands. Now as his fingertips gently caressed Gwen’s hard nipples, he had absolutely no complaints at all.

###

Mark’s unexpected question about her motives bothered Gwen. Why did she bring him to the park? More important, why was she letting him get away with doing this, especially on this particular day?

Why she brought him was simple, Johnny’s work schedule was changed. Otherwise she’d be back in Queens with him. And with nothing else to do, she decided getting Mark out of the VA would do him good.

But as his fingertips carefully kneaded her breasts, she reminded herself that taking a lonely patient out for a stroll is one thing. Making-out with him in the middle of Central Park, well, that’s something else. This make-out business was most definitely not part of her careful planning. It just sort of happened.

Gwen was glad she convinced him to come with her and glad they were in the park. And as she sat astride Mark’s body enjoying the feel of his fingers caressing her flesh, she was even glad they were making out. But she didn’t know why. So she decided to just ignore the question and concentrate on enjoying their time together.

"So you're not sure you wouldn't rather be listening to a ball game, huh!" she demanded, in mock outrage. Then she swooped down and began nuzzling Mark's neck.

He laughed and pushed her away. "Control yourself, woman. There may be callow youths nearby.”

Yelling, "Let them find their own neck!" she brushed his hands away and dove back toward his throat, determined to give him a highly visible hickey.

He made a half-hearted and totally futile effort to stop her as they laughed and rolled around, becoming entangled in the blanket. When they stopped rolling, he was on his back covered with the blanket while she was on her side facing him, still sucking on his neck. Then he groaned and pulled her closer.

Without thinking, Gwen slipped a hand under the blanket and placed it on top of the bulge in his jeans. She wasn't sure why, and tried to tell herself she shouldn’t. After all, they might get caught. Also, what would he think of her, especially after his remark about her engagement to Johnny being announced today?

But she rationalized it didn’t matter what he thought. It was Johnny she loved—not Mark. Johnny was the one she was going to marry—not Mark. So what difference did it make what this guy from the south thought about her?

Besides, she couldn’t help feeling sorry for him. His reaction to her kissing his neck and the swelling inside his jeans made the extent of his need obvious.

Although her experience with men was limited to Johnny, she could sympathize with Mark's situation. After Vietnam and a year spent in and out of Army and VA hospitals, after having one eye removed and undergoing God only knows how many operations, after all that, he was now alone, a long way from home and very, very horny.

There was little she could do about his battered eye. But she could try to ease his loneliness by being his friend. As for his present physical need, well, if she were careful, she might even be able to alleviate that problem.

While giving him a gentle squeeze, she looked around. The bench where the old couple had been sitting was now vacant. The two sunbathers were still there, but she had a hunch they weren't the types who'd care about what she planned to do.

Resting her head on Mark’s broad chest, she listened to his heart rate increase as she rubbed the big bulge inside his jeans. Despite her best efforts, she couldn’t quickly finish her relief work. The longer this took, the greater the chance of their being noticed. After checking that the blanket was in place, she unzipped his fly and slipped her hand inside.

When her fingers touched his flesh, he gasped and went rigid. Moments later, he broke the silence. "I want you to know this is all really one hell of a lot of fun, and now that you put it this way, yes, I would most definitely rather be here than back in the VA listening to a ball game. But, if you don't, uh, stop soon, we're going to have a huge mess down there.”

The warning touched Gwen. Despite his obvious need, he was thinking about her. She lifted her head and gave him a smile. "That's okay. It’s biodegradable.”

"Well since you put it that way, please don't let me stop you," he replied with a sigh.

Soon, very soon, with his passion spent, they lay together, savoring the moment. Gwen kissed Mark on the cheek. "There, wasn’t that more fun than listening to a ball game?”

He answered with a pleased look and a small nod. "Good,” she said, a got to her feet. .

“In that case, let's go see the zoo.” With a teasing grin, she yanked the blanket away from Mark's prostrate form, and started walking away.

Displaying feigned difficulty, he struggled to his feet and followed her with an exaggerated, bow-legged, stride. "If you don't mind, I've got this situation that's slowing me down just a tad.”

She stopped and watched him, a mischievous grin playing across her face. "So what caused that, Mr. Cahill?”

“I know who caused it. I even know what she did to cause it. But I'm not certain why she caused it. If I can figure that one out, I might try for a repeat, even if it means missing another ball game.”

They both laughed as she swung the blanket at him in mock rage. On her second swing, Mark grabbed the blanket and tossed it over his shoulder. "You’ll be kind enough to treat this hallowed cloth with some respect, young lady. It holds fond memories for me.”

He put an arm around her shoulder and they began walking together. But then he stopped, wrapped her in his arms and ground his mouth against hers in a long, deep, passionate kiss.

Gwen’s knees almost buckled as she held him tight and returned the kiss. It felt like being in a scene from some romance novel about a nurse and a wounded soldier. And as her tongue explored his mouth, Gwen was glad the soldier was a tall southerner named, Mark Cahill.

Their lips parted. In her haze, she barely heard him say, "I'm a stranger in these parts myself. Would you help me find this zoo with all the wild beasties?”

With a satisfied smile, she linked her arm in his. "Well, since you asked so nice, just follow me, soldier. Always glad to lend a hand to someone who's lost and a long way from home."

Note to readers: any thoughts on how to improve this or any of the 'More Than Just A Kiss' stories would be appreciated ~ rdw