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XXV

Tuesday At the Computer Show

The next morning, the alarm woke Michael at 0030. He looked down and saw Amanda starting to stir. She stretched her arms and legs and yawned luxuriously. She reached her left arm across his chest and stopped. He didn't make a sound as she touched him. He had a strange feeling that he knew what was about to happen. Suddenly, she eyes popped open and she looked him right in the eye in shock.

"What are you doing in my bed, Michael!?"

"I'm not in your bed; you're in mine." He answered, calmly.

She sat up and looked around the room, a shocked look in her eyes. "What am I doing in your bed, Michael!? What did you do to me last night!?"

"I brushed your back; I walked with you to my room; I put my arms around you so you could fall asleep."

"No. No. No. Besides that."

Michael shrugged and said, "I read computer pamphlets; I got into bed and slept."

"No. No. What did you do to me in bed!?"

"I already told you, Amanda. I held you in my arms until you fell asleep."

"You swear?"

"Amanda, think. Didn't I tell you not long after we met that I'd never knowingly lie to you?"

"Yes."

"Okay. I know you're upset and worried about the situation; but, why would I violate my promise to be honest with you?

"This is what I was talking about when I said that, if I gave in and made love with you, you'd regret it."

She slipped out of the bed and crouched down. Michael saw the nightgown go up a bit and he knew she was verifying his statement that nothing had happened last night.

"I've still got my panties on. My night gown isn't damaged. Why am, was, I in your bed?"

"I had a feeling you wouldn't remember. You started your heat Friday. Friday night you started begging me to let you sleep with me because you wanted us to make love. I asked you to try for an hour to sleep alone and, if you couldn't, you could sleep with me. When you couldn't, I picked you up and brought you to my bed. I also promised you that you could sleep here as long as you were in heat as long as you understood that there was to be no sex."

"So, I'm still a virgin?"

"Yes, and, if I have anything to do with it, you will still be a virgin on your wedding night."

"I'm sorry, Michael." She hung her head in embarrassment. "You know by now how being in heat affects us. I vaguely remember what happened this past weekend. Please tell me I didn't do anything embarrassing."

"Well, while we were in Brantawick, you would growl at other women and kept saying, 'Mine!'"

"Did I upset you when I did that?"

"I will admit that it bothered me; but, to be honest, I was a little honored that you acted that way. I had never had a woman want me so badly that she was willing to fight to keep me; however, I did sit you down and ask you to not do that. I explained that you didn't need to tell every woman that I was yours and I said that I wasn't interested in anyone other than you."

She leaned on her elbows on the bed and, smiling happily, said, "Really? You're interested in me?"

Michael smiled back. "Yes, Amanda. You're sweet, loving, beautiful, and intelligent, everything I look for in a woman."

She sat back and, with a sad look on her face, said, "But, I'm a humanimal and you have a mental block about us."

"Yes, I do. However, that block is slowly being chipped away the more time I spend with you.

"Now, go to your room and get dressed. Breakfast awaits."

"But, I'm just wearing my nightgown."

Michael looked at her sympathetically and said, "Amanda, I've seen you in your nightgown all weekend. Last night, I saw you wearing a whole lot less than that. But, if you want, I'll go to the bathroom and change. That way, you'll be able to go to your room without me seeing you in your nightgown."

"Please?" She said in a little girl's voice.

Michael laughed. "All right. Give me a few seconds."

He got up, gathered his clothes and went into the bathroom. He smiled as he dressed; he was thinking about how embarrassed Amanda was when she realized that she was in his bed and snuggled up to him. She most definitely wasn't the flirty, sexy little vixen she had been all weekend. As this thought crossed his mind, Michael started to realize that he was going to miss that Amanda. Likely as not, she wouldn't kiss him, cling to him, hold his hand, or even want to sleep in bed with him now. Those thoughts brought a bit of sadness on him.

Michael thought, "Boy, has your attitude changed. Before Friday, the thought of a humanimal being attracted to you was more than a little abhorrent. Now, you're upset at the thought that Amanda may ignore you. Get your act together, boy!"

Michael heard Amanda knocking on the door. She said, "Michael? Are you dressed?"

He said, "Wow! It didn't take you long to change clothes. Give me a second and I'll be right out."

He zipped his pants and opened the door. He was taken aback when he saw her standing there still in her nightgown. Before he could react, he was taken even more aback when she jumped into his arms, threw her arms around his neck and gave him a soft, lingering kiss.

"What was that for?" He asked, smiling.

"I'm still in heat. What do you think it was for?" Michael smiled knowingly at her. "I'm not lying, Michael."

"I didn't say you were."

"Your eyes and your smile did."

"Amanda, I don't think you're lying to me; however, I think you're lying to yourself." She looked at him in shock. "Don't look at me like that. Remember, just a few minutes ago, you were scandalized that you woke up next to me. Now, you kiss me like that and say that you're still in heat? Who are you lying to?"

Still looking away, she said, "What are you talking about? I--I never said I wasn't in heat. Humanimal heat lasts five days; today is the fourth day of my heat. Why are you accusing me of lying to you?" She was on the verge of tears.

Now Michael was truly shocked. She was definitely acting like she was still in heat. But, why did she act like she wasn't in heat any longer when she first woke up? What was going on? She was right, though, that kiss was the kind of kiss she would give him all weekend long. Plus, now, she wasn't embarrassed that he was seeing her in her nightgown. That was all the evidence he needed to believe that she was still in heat, although his confusion over how she acted earlier still lingered.

With his arms still around her from her hug, he whispered into her ear, "Amanda, I would never do that, unless I had incontrovertible proof you were lying to me. I'm just more than a little confused because of how you acted when you first woke up. Besides, today is the fifth day of your heat. It should be completely over by lunchtime today.

"I really do enjoy your kisses, even though I complain about them. You don't have to surprise or trick me. Just kiss me and I won't push you away. I promise.

"Now, go get dressed. I'm getting hungry and we've got a long day ahead of us."

She smiled at him and practically skipped across the room to the connecting door. There, she stopped, turned around and blew him a kiss and then she disappeared into her room. A few minutes later, he heard her knocking on the connecting door.

"Who is it?" He asked, impishly.

She opened the door and, giving him a bit of a dirty look, walked into his room. "'Who is it?' You ask. 'Who is it?' Who else could it be, silly?"

They laughed and Michael said, "Come on; let's go eat. The day's wasting."

She took his arm and they went to breakfast.

*****

After breakfast, they walked the twelve blocks to the Convention Center and Michael signed them up for five seminars. Even though Amanda had said she thought the seminars would be boring, she sat and listened as raptly as he did. Every now and then, she would ask him a question about something that was said and he would ask the presenter her question. She was genuinely amazed that her question was worthy to be asked.

However, she whispered to him, "Don't you know the answer to my question?"

"Yes. But, the presenter doesn't know that you don't know the answer. He's assuming that everyone here is knowledgeable enough about computers that he doesn't need to be that specific. I'm sure others have similar questions but they're afraid of looking ignorant."

"So, my questions are stupid?"

"Amanda, if you don't know the answer to your question and you are wanting to learn the answer, there's no such thing as a stupid question, except for the unasked one."

She was pleased with his explanation and, when the presentation ended, the presenter sought them out and said to Michael, "Sir, you asked rather simple questions along with the more difficult ones. Why did you ask the simple ones?"

Michael indicated Amanda and said, "This young lady is the personal secretary to the president of the company we work for. She's not computer literate, but she's very intelligent. Her job here is to make sure I don't spend money on a system that our company doesn't need. I guess you could say that she and I are on opposite ends of the spectrum where computers are concerned. So, her questions are simple for you and me to understand but they are questions about things she doesn't understand. So, her, our, concern is to make sure your computer system is user friendly enough that I won't have to spend days, or weeks, training my people how to correct any potential problems and train our people in how to get the best use out of your system."

"Oh, good." He turned to Amanda and said, "Thank you, my dear, for reminding me that quite often I fail to consider that there are those that aren't computer literate and may not understand things that I consider simple. I hope you'll consider purchasing our system."

"Thank you." Amanda replied. "We'll give your system a fair consideration. Do you have a business card?"

"Yes, I do." He reached into his pocket and handed each of them a card. "Here."

Michael accepted his card, shook his hand and Amanda and Michael walked to the next seminar. At the next, and subsequent, seminars, Amanda grew bolder with asking her questions. By the time they returned from lunch, she was asking her questions directly to the presenters. While all of the presenters answered her questions, a couple answered her like a parent answering a child's ridiculous question; one answered her questions but directed his answers to Michael; two were on the snobby, arrogant side. One presenter, a honey badger who had introduced himself as Mr. Shikoko, however, went so far as to ask her what she was doing in his seminar if she didn't have even a modicum of computer savvy. As he berated Amanda, Michael felt his anger starting to boil and he glared at Mr. Shikoko. After the attack, Amanda sat down and refused to say anything else. However, Michael spoke to Amanda in a voice loud enough for the presenter to hear.

"Not very user friendly, is he?"

Mr. Shikoko turned an eye on Michael and said, "I'm sorry; did you say something?" He must have thought that Michael was just another pushover. He was wrong, very wrong.

"I said, 'Not very user friendly, is he?'" Everyone in the seminar giggled.

"What are you talking about?" Mr. Shikoko asked in an irritated voice.

"I mean just what I said, Mr. Shikoko. This young lady had concerns that she believed you had failed to address. So, she asked you questions that she wanted to know the answer to. You chose to insult her, implying that she had no right nor reason to be here. She is doing her job. Just because she has no computer training doesn't make her questions invalid. She's asking questions you should be answering in your presentation. You shouldn't assume everyone in your audience is computer savvy. In fact, from what I've seen at other seminars so far today, I'd guess that less than half of your audience understands even 50% of what you're saying. Fortunately for this young lady, I'm a C. I. T. and I have the paperwork to prove it. I can answer all of her questions. I could probably tell you things about your system that you don't know yourself; but, does the rest of the audience have that luxury? Likely as not, they don't. Those that don't have a C. I. T. are afraid to ask you the questions that I encouraged my companion to ask for herself. Now, because of your arrogant and condescending attitude toward her, she is afraid to ask you any more questions."

Michael looked at Amanda and, once again in a voice loud enough to be heard by everyone nearby, said, "Amanda, don't worry about him. We'll sit through the rest of his presentation since we're already signed up for it. However, I believe we'll recommend to Mr. Blaidd to not purchase this system." Michael received a loud ovation from the audience.

After the seminar, Mr. Shikoko, caught Amanda and Michael before they got out the door. "Sir," he said. "Please accept my apologies for my attitude earlier. I'm not used to answering questions of such a simple nature. It never occurred to me that there might be anyone in the audience that wasn't computer literate."

Amanda looked at the floor as Michael replied in a calm, measured voice, "Maybe next time you'll think before being so insulting. My thought is that your customer service reps are just as insulting and condescending. Mr. Blaidd, our company's president, has a habit of firing CSRs that are anything less than friendly, courteous and professional. He says that just because someone asks a simple question doesn't meant they are simple minded; it merely means they don't understand what they are asking about."

Mr. Shikoko said, "Mr. Blaidd? Are you talking about Edward Blaidd, the president of SoGa Industries?"

"Yes, why?"

"My company has been trying to get his business for years."

Michael gave him a hard look as he said, "Well, it looks like it's going to be a few more years before he'll consider your company. Excuse us, please." Michael had a bad habit of being rather short with people who had upset or angered him or someone he considered a friend.

They left. Amanda was holding Michael's arm as if she was afraid he was going to leave her and never come back. Fortunately, the seminar they had just left was the last for the day. As they exited the convention center, Amanda spoke.

"Michael, why did you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Defend me so vehemently."

He took her hands off his arm, put his arm around her shoulders and said, "I think you know why, Sweetheart. My sense of justice wouldn't allow me to sit idly by and allow someone I care about to be so rudely insulted by someone who isn't worthy enough for her to step on."

She leaned into him as she said, "Really?"

"Mm-hmm."

"You care about me?"

"Yup."

Michael could feel her eyes looking at him even though she never turned her head. "How much?"

He smiled as he said, "More than I should and yet not as much as I want to."

"That's an enigmatic answer."

He leaned over a bit and said, "Unfortunately for you, that's the most in depth answer you're going to get for now."

"That's fine. You told me more than you think you did. Thank you for defending me, Michael."

"You're quite welcome, Amanda. I expect you would do no less if the roles were reversed."

Amanda smiled as she said, "I can guarantee that.'

*****

Amanda and Michael decided to visit the Golden Panda for dinner again. The flying fox, Miss Xiongmao, was, once again, the hostess. She told them that she only had one night off per week and that was Friday. Mei seated them and, since Tuesday was traditionally a slow night, stayed with them and talked as they ate. She said that on her most recent night off she had become engaged to a Sumatran tiger she had been dating since they were in junior high. His parents didn't approve, they were speciesists, but his parents knew that they were in love and they wanted him to be happy. Her parents weren't very happy with her choice, not because they were speciesists but because they didn't think he focused enough on his future, but, like his parents, knew that she was happy with him and wanted her to be happy. When Amanda asked, Mei said that she and her fiancé were planning on marrying in two years, after he graduated from college and got a good job.

After eating, they thanked Mei for her attentiveness and congratulated her on her engagement. She asked if she would see them again soon and Michael told her that they were only visiting Jaguarville that week. Mei asked them to wait for a minute and she went to retrieve her parents. When Mr. & Mrs. Xiongmao came out of the kitchen area Michael understood why the panda on the sign didn't look exactly like a panda. Mr. Xiongmao was a giant panda, except that the "white" parts of his body were a bright golden-yellow.

As Mr. & Mrs. Xiongmao approached, Amanda looked at Mrs. Xiongmao and whispered to Michael, "I've never seen a race like that. What is she?"

He whispered back, "She's a red panda. It's Mr. Xiongmao that has me confused."

Mr. Xiongmao stopped and gave us a small bow. Michael reciprocated which surprised him. After a second, Amanda bowed also. Mr. Xiongmao looked at Michael and said, "You know Chownese tradition?"

"Somewhat, sir. I know that most east Asians bow upon meeting one another."

"Ah. It is good that you know this. You are curious about my coloration, yes?"

"I must admit to being shocked."

Mr. Xiongmao laughed and said, "Is genetic. I have been golden-yellow and black since I was cub. Parents say I am beautiful child. Name me Jinse. Mean golden in Chownese. Many in village in Chowna consider me good luck. Many say I am freak. Me? I say, 'Big deal. I am different; I am golden panda.'" Michael laughed when he heard this.

"I was youngest cub mother gave birth to. Also, was rather puny, uh, small as cub. Could not work in fields or rice paddies. Mother decided to teach Jinse to cook. Jinse very apt student; learn everything mother teach. Soon, mother allow me to cook meals. I was so interested in cooking I started to experiment. I try mix different vegetables and meats. Come up with interesting flavors. Parents and siblings amazed at Jinse's meals. They like meals I cook.

"When I am 16, I decide to come to Amurica. I want to live where Chownese restaurants are rare. I ask questions. I am told Jaguarville, Flamingo, have few Chownese restaurant so I decide to go. When I come Jaguarville, I open restaurant. I named it after me." He laughed at his joke. "Most Chownese restaurant name, Golden Dragon, White Tiger, similar name. I have plenty business because odd name."

He put his arm around his wife's waist and continued, "I meet most beautiful wife here in Jaguarville. She didn't speak Chownese; but, I teach. Now, she speak and read."

As Michael listened to Jinse talk, he was confused by the way Jinse talked. When Jinse spoke of his wife, Michael turned to her and she smiled. He said, "You are very beautiful. My mate is also very beautiful. Yes?"

Mrs. Xiongmao smiled as she said, "Mr. Thomson, even though my race is from southern Chowna, I was born here in Jaguarville and was educated here as well. There is no need to speak to me like English isn't my first language."

"I'm terribly sorry, I was rather insensitive to assume that you didn't speak English proficiently, Mrs. Xiongmao. I have no excuse other than I responded without thinking."

"You are forgiven; you are also not the first to see me and assume the same thing, Mr. Thomson.

"In answer to your question, yes, she is as beautiful as our daughter said she is. She's why we're out here. When Mei said you had returned, we wished to meet her." She turned to Amanda and said, "You have tiger ancestry. Which race?

"I have Siberian on my mother's side and Javan on my father's. But, there hasn't been any tiger blood in my family for over 200 years."

"Ah. Mixed tiger ancestry? It explains your beautiful markings. By your family name, I'm guessing that you are mostly red fox, aren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Michael said, "Mrs. Xiongmao, Mei said that you weren't happy with her choice of a husband."

"Please, call me Diane.

"Yes, we aren't happy with her choice of a husband. Oh. It isn't because we're speciesists; we oppose speciesists. Until he went to college, he had no ambition. Our daughter lit a fire under his most sensitive parts." Michael laughed uncontrollably at this description. "She told him that he gets nothing from her, other than a kiss, until he has a good career. I heard her say this, after he begged her for more. Afterward, he chose a good career in college and, in two years, he will graduate from ROTC as a Computer Information Technician."

"Really? Military? Which branch?"

"I believe he said, Air Force."

"Good choice. I had several friends when I was in college who were Air Force ROTC. And C. I. T. that's my career field. My mate and I work for a company in Catlanna. We're here for the computer show. Our president has decided we need to upgrade our computer system from the ground up and I'm to select the best system; Amanda is to make sure I don't spend too much money on unnecessary items."

Mr. Xiongmao said, "Future son-in-law visiting this week. You would be so kind as to meet with him and help him, yes?"

"Well, sir, we are leaving for Catlanna early Sunday morning. But, if he would like to talk with me, I am in the Marmoset Hotel, room 1101. He can call me and we will meet with him. However, not tonight please. I'm tired after a long day at the show. I believe we should be able to meet with him any time the rest of the week."

"Ah. Thank you, Mr. -"

"Thomson."

At the same time, Mrs. Xiongmao and Michael said, "Like the gazelle."

Mr. Xiongmao laughed and said, "You have heard this question before?"

"Yes, sir. For almost a year now. Don't worry; it's like a joke to me now. That's why I responded in unison with your wife's response.

"I look forward to meeting your future son-in-law. I hope he will be accompanied by your daughter. I'm afraid Amanda may be bored listening to two computer guys talk computers."

Out of the corner of his eye, Michael saw Mei nodding her head. Mrs. Xiongmao was smiling as she said, "I believe we can give our daughter an extra day off this week." Mei squealed with delight and hugged her parents' necks.

*****

Amanda and Michael left and returned to the hotel. They arrived at his room and, surprisingly, Amanda followed him into his room. Michael sat in a chair and sighed appreciatively. Amanda stood by the chair looking at him. He looked at her and said, "Is there something wrong?"

"I'd like to sit down."

"Okay. I'm not stopping you."

She pointed at the chair and said, "There's not enough room."

He looked at her in surprise and said, "You want to sit by me?"

She smiled shyly and said, "Yes. If you don't mind."

He shrugged, got up and moved to the love seat. "Okay. Is this all right?"

She smiled broadly. "Perfect."

She sat down, leaned against him and sighed contentedly after hooking her arm through his and interlacing her fingers with his. Michael took his arm, put it around her shoulders and pulled her close to him.

"I could fall asleep right here," she said happily.

As they sat there, Amanda moved her feet under her, put her arms around him and sighed again. Michael smiled and lay his cheek on the top of her head. Just then, the phone rang.

Michael picked up the receiver and said, "Hello?"

A familiar voice said, "Michael?"

Michael instinctively straightened up, causing Amanda to fall behind him, and said, "Mr. Fuchs!"

"Take it easy, Michael. So, is Amanda with you?"

Michael looked at the bottom half of Amanda and said, "Yes, sir. She's, hold on a second," He reached behind him and helped Amanda sit up, "sitting here next to me."

"That explains why she didn't answer her telephone."

"Well, sir, if you called more than five minutes ago, we were on our way to the hotel after dinner."

"Okay. I called about ten minutes ago. How's she doing? Is she over her heat?"

"She says she is but, I believe it's just not as bad as it was this past weekend. You should have seen her . . ."

"Seen her?"

"Uh. Well, since you already know, you should have seen her when she woke up this morning. She accused me of sneaking into her bed. Then, she accused me of doing something to her last night. Then, she made me go to the bathroom to change so she could go to her room and change." He looked at Amanda and smiled before finishing. "Lastly, she grabbed me as I left the bathroom and gave me a kiss. She said she kissed me because she was in heat."

"What did you do when that happened?"

"I told her that she should stop lying to herself because she wasn't fooling me."

Jacob started laughing gently. "What did she say?"

"Nothing. But, she was hurt. I took her in my arms and told her I didn't mean to hurt her but she wasn't fooling me."

"And?"

"She went to her room a very happy tiger-striped vixen and, even though her heat's easing, she still wants to be near me."

"Good. How was the computer expo?"

"It was fine until the last seminar today. The presenter was dull and gave us very little information about the system, except for information only a C.I.T. would understand. Amanda asked him questions to try to learn more about the system and he was rather rude to her. Finally, I called him on it. I told him he had no right to talk to her like that and that she would make the final decision as to whether or not we would purchase from his company. I also said that I would recommend we go with someone else."

"Really? What did he say?"

"Oh. He crawfished big time."

There was a pause as Jacob considered what Michael had said. Finally, he said, "Uh, crawfished?"

"Yes, sir. It's a saying from when I was growing up. Basically, it means he was backing away as quickly as possible like when I crawfish flips its tail to get away from a predator.

"When he found out who we work for, he fell all over himself apologizing. He really wants SoGa's business."

Michael could hear a smile in Jacob's voice as he said, "What did you tell him?"

"I said that he had such bad customer service skills and, by inference, their customer service personnel didn't either. Therefore, it looks like it'll be several more years before he'll be able to do business with SoGa."

"Good. You did all that because of how he treated Amanda. Hmm. Let me talk to Amanda for a minute, please."

"Yes, sir." Michael handed the telephone to Amanda.

"Yes, Daddy?"

There was a short pause as Amanda listened to her father. "Well, I thought it would be boring but I found myself becoming more and more interested as the day went along. Michael was so nice to me and he defended me from that condescending salesman. He told that salesman that, if he treated potential customers in such a bad manner, he suspected that their customer service would treat customers worse than he did."

"Yes sir. He did. I was amazed that he didn't lose his temper and call that honey badger a lot of bad names but, Michael told him off in a very calm voice which, I believe, said more to him than if Michael had lost his temper."

She laughed lightly and continued. "We-ell. Not yet but, I can feel it easing. I'll be over my heat by morning."

"Really? You told him that? Then, I guess I'll say that when I woke up this morning, I didn't know where I was. When I recognized where I was, I thought that Michael had done something."

"He denied it and I verified the truthfulness of what he said."

She had an exasperated look on her face as she said, "Yes sir, I'm still a virgin."

"Daddy! Michael would never do that! He's an honorable man. He's turned me down flat all weekend long and said, without equivocation, that he would never do that to me, or my future husband."

"Yes, sir, he said it that way."

Michael watched her face as she spoke with her father. She saw him looking at her and smiled at him. "No, sir. I believe he wouldn't try anything with me no matter what I did. He even saw me naked more than once and never even tried to kiss me." She whispered but Michael could hear her say, "Personally, I think he loves me romantically but is afraid of what you'd do if he tried anything."

After laughing uproariously, she said, "Yes, sir."

She handed Michael the telephone and said, "Michael, daddy wants to talk to you again."

Michael took the phone and said, "Yes, sir?"

"Michael, tell me the truth. You heard Amanda just now. So, tell me. Do you love her romantically?"

"Probably more than I'm willing to admit to at this time."

"All right. Then, ask yourself this. Would you love her romantically if she was human rather than humanimal?"

That question caught Michael totally off-guard. He had to ask himself, "Would I love her if she was human?" After thinking for a few seconds, he had to admit, "Yes, sir. I most definitely would."

"Then, why do you care whether or not she's human. You love her and she loves you. Michael, I told you Friday evening that I don't care if you make love with her. Obviously, she wants you to make love with her. That means that it's all up to you."

"Sir, with all due respect, it isn't her; it's me. I respect her too much to do that with her before marriage."

Michael could imagine Jacob smiling as he said, "Good. Michael, I don't care what Ophelia says; I'd consider myself to be a lucky man to have you as a son-in-law. All I ask is that you give the idea serious consideration."

"Yes, sir."

"Good-bye, Michael. I'll see you two when you return Sunday. Take good care of my little girl."

"I will, sir. Good-bye."

After Michael hung up the telephone, Amanda asked, "What did daddy say?"

He answered as he turned away from her, "It was personal."

As he finished speaking, he felt 120 lbs. of tiger-striped red fox vixen land on his back and his ear lobe being nipped. "Ow! You little vixen! That hurt!"

"Good. Now tell me what daddy said to you."

"No. And if you bite my ear again, you'll regret it."

She nipped his ear and, after verifying that he was near to and facing the bed, he flipped her over his head with her landing on the bed. Before she could move, he had landed beside her and pinned her to the bed.

As she flipped over Michael's head, he could hear her squeal in fear or delight, he wasn't sure which at the moment. But, when he landed beside her, he could hear her giggling. "That was fun, Michael. Do it again."

"No, Amanda. That would tire me out, quickly." Michael thought for a few seconds before adding, "Please understand that what your father said to me was said in confidence and I don't betray a confidence. Okay?"

Putting on a pouty face, she said, "Okay. But, you know I'll find out what he said sooner or later. Either you'll tell me or daddy will."

"Now, go to your room and go to bed."

"I can't sleep with you tonight?"

"Isn't your heat over? The promise was for the duration of your heat. I don't want to tempt fate because, Amanda, you're a very beautiful young woman and, physically speaking, I'm a young man. Even with my resolve, I don't know if I could resist your charms the whole time we're here."

She got up off the bed and sashayed toward her room as she looked back at him with a mischievous, or was it a seductive, smile on her face. As she walked through the doorway, she turned back, winked at him and blew him a kiss. All he could do was rub his temples with the fingers of his right hand and smile.

"She's not very good at it but she does try. If she knew the truth right now, I'd never get her into her room." He thought.

Michael got undressed, turned the bed linens down and got into bed, smiling the whole time.