Having forgotten all about my smothering mother, I strolled through the woods, a giddy smile plastered across my face. I was so pleased to be surround...d by nature once more that I almost started to skip. Almost. After a few minutes, I heard a branch crack. Freezing, I glanced around and soon spotted a deer strolling through the forest. From the massive antlers that stood atop his head, I instantly knew he was a stag. Standing perfectly still, I watched him wander around. It was obvious he had. A parting squeeze, I realized, but was delighted when he merely moved them down, encircling my stomach — high and low. His upper arm was snuggled against the underside of both breasts, the lower hand splayed across my abdomen, sort of implying he’d include my entire torso if his hand would reach that far. This position was less sexy, but infinitely more intimate. I brought my free hand down and started gently caressing the back of his splayed hand with my fingertips. “So you see, don’t you,. In fact, they'll do whatever ittakes to keep that from happening. If they try to hurt you, protectyourself with your shield." I will, Daddy, but where do I throw them?" I asked. "Is there like abig trash can for them?"That question earned a slight chuckle from my father, though, I had noidea why he thought it was amusing. "No, angel. You just deal with themlike one of the balls," he explained, adding two gestures, one slicingand one exploding, with his hands to clarify his point. "After. I tried the celebrity gambit, “It looks like Louise Brooks.”She smirked at that, “Good line. You thought of that pretty quickly.”I was hit with an intense pang, a physical and emotional interest for this stranger. I had forgotten about Michelle entirely. Maybe Peter’s suggestion was making sense. Then I saw I had barely touched my vodka and I took a deeper draft of it.I was grateful that she had something to more to say, “I assume you must be - what, a sophomore?”“That’s right.”“You should know.