Afternoon Delight

By Donna and Ev

    As soon as Dani had his chores done, he raced back into the house to clean up. By this time, Carol and Marie knew without a doubt that he had a girl somewhere, but they didn't know who! He still claimed that she was a leprechaun.

    Dani was happier than he had ever been.  He had never had a regular girl since he was a teenager and then his brother had pestered him about it.  Now he was living in a place where people were happy for him, even if they didn't believe what he told them about her.  Life was good!  He whistled off key
while he worked and smiled so much that Carol threatened to take his temperature. 

    What was even odder was that she wasn't having to bug him about taking baths and changing clothes more often!  He was even shaving every morning! As was his habit now, once the morning chores were done, and everything Carol wanted him to do accomplished, he set out *flower and herb hunting* with an
empty basket. And he never complained about not having a lunch!

    Carol and Marie exchanged a look while he finished getting ready to leave.  "Looks like our little Dani has found true love,"  Carol grinned.  "I'm just dying to know who it is, aren't you?"

    "Definitely!  I can't imagine who it is!  I haven't heard anyone talking about him in town.  I wish we could find out somehow."

    Carol thought for a moment, a slow smile lighting her face.  "I could follow him."  Fab chose that moment to voice her opinion about being without mommy for so long.  "Well, maybe not."

    Marie giggled.  "Mommy is needed here.  What if I do it?"

    "Have you ever followed somebody before?  You wouldn't know how.  Oh! Wally's working on the plumbing in the dairy barn.  Have him go with you.  He knows how to do it."  She paused and giggled.  "You can take that a number of ways, actually." 

    Marie rolled her eyes and went out to the barn. Wally was more than happy to help track his look-a-like down. He made her go pack a lunch though, telling her that it might take awhile.

    Marie rushed to the kitchen and put together some sandwiches and filled a couple of water bottles.  "Will this do?"  She showed Wally what she had made.  "I've never done this before. How hard is it?" 

    "Terribly hard," Wally teased, his eyes shining in a way that made Marie blush crimson.

    Marie grinned and shook her head.  "Between you and Carol, I'm not sure which is worse.  Anyway, we better get going.  Dani's on his way out past the barn right now." 

    "We will give him a head start. He always goes the same way, so by now, I'm sure he has laid a nice little path for us to follow."

    "He has?  Have you been watching him already?  Have you noticed the way he's acting so different lately?  We're dying to know who the girl is,"  Marie grinned, her eyes sparkling with interest. 

    "Cole is after me to find out too. The change in Dani's appearance alone is enough to send up warning flags," Wally chuckled. "Ok, he is in the woods now.  Let's go." 

    Marie grinned and hurried to keep up with Wally's long strides as they headed along the same way Dani had gone into the woods.  "How do we know where he went from here?" she whispered when they got to the shadow of the trees. 

    "We just follow his trail," Wally said, showing her the signs that Dani had left behind. Bent grass here, a footstep in the soft dirt there, and other things that were disturbed by his passing. "Listen, hear the birds? They are complaining about his whistling too, just like Carol!" 

    Marie giggled softly.  "We're not the only ones, then.  All right.  But how do we know when we're getting close?  So we don't get too close and give ourselves away." 

    "Don't worry," Wally said as they passed Gideon's cottage. Andrew and Shannon were outside planting some flowers with their daughter Angel in the window boxes.  

When questioned, they laughed, and pointed out the way that Dani had gone. "He has a lady friend," Angel giggled. "I like her. She is funny." 

    "You've seen her?  What does she look like?  Who is she?"  Marie couldn't help herself.  "Is she fae?"  Marie felt as though she could ask a million questions, but she managed to confine herself to that much for the time being. 

    "No," giggled the child. "She is one of the little people. She has red hair like me and Mum!"

    That got Wally's attention.  "Little people?  A leprechaun?  So she's about two feet tall?"  He paused, wondering why that would make him so happy.

      "Sometimes," Andrew chuckled. "But she can can *grow* at will."   

      "Really?"  Marie was fascinated.  "And here we thought he was making up a story.  He seems so happy lately that we knew there had to be a girl, but he's been so mysterious and wouldn't tell us anything except that she's a leprechaun."

      While Marie and Wally were talking about him with Andrew and his family, Dani had met up with Nickel, and he had sat down with her on the tartan blanket that was spread with the lunch she always provided. 

      As Dani made short work of his lunch, Nickel was rubbing his shoulders as she stood behind him, still in her two foot high form. "Hmmm, you smell good," she breathed into his ear, making him squirm. 

      Dani smiled.  "I did it for you.  I've been shaving every day and taking a bath every day.  I want to look good for you.  I'm glad you like it. You smell good too." 

      She laughed and nipped his ear, making him yelp. "You taste good too," she giggled.

      Dani laughed.  "Now you have to let me have a taste too, so I can see if you taste good.  I never tasted a leprechaun before, so I have my doubts." His eyes sparkled with mischief. 

      Changing into her bigger form, she took the mug of ale from his hand and took a big swig. Then turning his head to hers, she kissed him, long and deep, letting the liquid flow from her mouth into his.

      He was startled, but appreciative.  When the kiss ended, he smiled, "Oh yes.  You taste great!"  He couldn't help himself, suddenly a thought popped up and he had to give it voice.  "I bet you taste good all over." 

      She looked into his eyes, laughing at the pleading look he was giving her. "Wouldn't ye be wantin' to find out then?" she giggled as his hands slipped under the sweater she was wearing.

      "Oh yes.  I want to find out everything."  He slid his hands higher and cupped her breasts.  They felt good.  A perfect fit.  "You feel good," he grinned. 

      "Yer a terribly desperate man," Nickel said with a soft moan. "What am I to do with ye, Dani me boyo?"

      "I can think of a couple of things."  He gave her a hopeful statement. "Would somebody like me have a chance with somebody like you?" 

      "Could be," she said with a wicked grin as he pinched her nipples. "And if ye keep doin' that, won't ye being payin' fer it sooner or later?"

      "Paying for it?  How do you mean?"  He kept on playing with her nipples while he waited for her answer.  She didn't seem to be pulling away, so he was encouraged. 

      "Ye did not think ye wa' be gettin' me treasure for naught did ye now?" She said, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Ye have only to do three small tasks fer me."

      Dani looked at her with something bordering on panic in his face. "Tasks?"  He wasn't even quite sure what that word meant. 

      "Aren't ye wanting to lie with me?" she asked. When he nodded, she reached under her sweater and removed his hands, holding them tightly in hers.  "Listen closely, little man," she said firmly. "Before I lie one night with ye, it is six questions that you must answer first. When ye ha' given me
the answers, won't I be giving ye the second task?"

      His heart sank.  Questions?  He had just learned how to read!  How could he answer questions.  "Questions about what?  Are they hard questions?"

      She threw back her head and laughed. "Listen carefully, Dani me luv. What is rounder than a ring? What's higher than a tree? What is worse than womankind? What's deeper than the sea? What bird crows first, what tree buds first? What first on them does fall? Answer them true Dani me boyo, and then it's you and I in the one bed lying!"

      At that very moment, Wally and Marie finally caught site of Dani.  He was hard to see with the tall grass and the bushes in the way, but they could tell that was him sitting on the ground.  He was talking to someone.  Marie turned to Wally and whispered, "Who's he talking to?  Can you see?"

      Before Wally could answer, there was a shout from Dani and he looked around and spotted them.  He didn't look too happy.  "We were having a picnic!  Why did you have to spoil it?"  He held up his mug of ale to show them, and  just as he did, it disappeared. 

      He jumped up, panic on his face. "NICKEL! Where are you? Don't run away!" he called out.  He then turned to Wally and growled, "It's your fault! You made her disappear!" Balling up his fist, he took a swing at the Immortal.

      "Dani, calm down!"  Marie went toward him and put a hand on his arm.  He shook it off and took another swing at Wally.  "Dani!  Stop that!  We didn't mean any harm, we just wondered where you were going every day."  He didn't seem to be listening, so she got out of range to let Wally handle
things.  Odd, there was a scent of food in the air.  Smelled good, too. 

      Wally of course easily side stepped each wild attempt to hit him. The third time though, he grabbed him by the arm and with one smooth, quick motion, swept Dani's legs out from under him. He then sat on the almost hysterical Dani, holding him down until he finally managed to get himself under control. 

      Dani finally quit struggling and looked like he was trying to keep from crying.  "What if she never comes back?  What will I do without her?" 

      He looked so lost, Marie wanted to take him into her arms and comfort him, but as she moved to do so, a piece of paper rolled up and tied with a green ribbon appeared in mid air right in front of her!

      Startled, Marie caught the roll of paper.  "What's this?"

      Wally finally let Dani up and looked at him, frowning thoughtfully. "This girl is real?  I thought you were making it up?"  He took the paper as Marie handed it to him, and he handed it over to Dani.  "This must be for you."

      Dani untied the ribbon with trembling hands and unrolled it.  At first he was smiling, but as he read, the smile turned to a sigh.  "It's from Nickel.  She wants me to do three tasks.  This is the first one.  I have to answer all these questions."

      Marie smiled.  "At least you get to see her again.  We didn't mean to spoil anything for you, you know."

      Dani shrugged as he concentrated on trying to read the parchment. It was written in fancy script and he couldn't make head or tails of it. Maybe Carol and the others could help him come up with the answers. "S'kay," he sighed. "Let's go back home."