室友们都回家去了，只有我一个人留在宿舍。在 BBS 上虽然 talk 得很愉快，但是一关电脑，身心都觉得疲惫已极，只想找个女孩子共暖被窝；向来孤单的我心想：春天到底什麽时候来？

   「哈罗？」

一个女性的声音响起，很轻，带了点试验性质；我张大眼望了望，随即感到好笑；自己的房间自己清楚，哪里会有女人？唉，幻觉都出来了，拥紧棉被，还是赶快睡吧。

   「哈罗？」

又来了，这次听得真切，真的是女人的声音。我几乎跳起来，紧张地问着：「谁？谁在我房里？」左手摸到灯开关打开，整个房间刹时亮了起来 怪....怪了？什麽都没有？

那个声音又响起来，「别慌，也不用怕。我没有恶意的。」顿了一顿，「我来你房间的原因是....是....」

   「是什麽？」我有点颤抖着问。

   「是因为....我喜欢你....」她的声音逐渐变细，尾音几不可闻。「我真的很喜欢你，所以才鼓起勇气出声招呼；希望不要吓着你了。」

我在床上坐着，背靠着墙，棉被拉到下巴，努力的揉揉眼，没错，房间里没其他人，但声音似乎从每个角落响至....「奶到底躲在哪儿？奶说奶喜欢我是什麽意思？」

那声音悠悠叹了口气：「我也不知道为何喜欢你，算是缘分吧！我跟着你已经有一年了。喂，不用找了，你看不到我的，我根本没有身体呀！」

我呆呆地摇头：「不对，这一定只是个梦。现在是晚上，所以我在作梦。」可是这个梦却又如此逼真。我把棉被拉到下巴，向着空气问：「奶没有身体？这什麽意思？奶到底是谁？」

   「我只是一个精神体啦！人类都叫我们什麽来着？鬼或是幽灵啦。」

   「奶....奶到底是什麽东西....我不相信神鬼之类的，奶不要骗我。」

   「你相不相信并不重要，」她调皮地说，「真的有鬼存在，而且就在这里，而且那个鬼喜欢你，想要蠃得你的友谊！」

   「以这种方式开始？怎麽可能。」我被吓得有点生气，「你说你跟了我多久？一年了？跟着我上课、去图书馆、吃饭？」

   「嗯，还有上厕所、洗澡....我最喜欢你冲浴时沈醉在热水里的样子了。现在我最想做的，就是陪你睡觉罗！」

   「什麽？你说什麽？」我吃惊道。

   「我说：我想陪你一起睡。你要我吗？」

我吞了口口水，这算什麽？倩女幽魂？虽然我二十好几了，但是跟女鬼睡觉？「我....我从来没有跟女孩子睡过。」

她带着同情的口吻说：「这我知道，我就喜欢你的纯洁嘛！所以....你希望我有什麽样的身体呢？」

一时反应不太过来，「你的意思是：你可以变成任何我想要的样子？」

   「是的。」

我张大嘴巴，好一会儿才说：「听起来很不可思议。」

   「会吗？为什麽？」

   「我也不晓得，反正就是觉得不可思议。这太疯狂了，我一定还在作梦吧？地球上有二十五亿的男人，怎麽可能单单有个女鬼半夜在我房间里，还问我希望跟哪种身体睡觉呢？」

   「其实我碰到过不少男人....只有你能让我心动。」

我真不知道是该感觉倒楣还是骄傲。「但是，为什麽奶会喜欢我呢？」

   「人类喜欢什麽人需要理由吗？」她不答反问。

   「我想不需要。」

   「刚好我们鬼也一样。」她又调皮一笑，「好啦，你喜欢我长什麽样子呢？」

我有点迟疑，跟鬼玩，会不会减阳寿？但是她说话的声音听起来蛮真挚的，说不定真喜欢我呢！好吧，姑且一试，反正我平日行善，佛祖会保佑我的。「我喜欢....跟我差不多高的。」

   「那容易。」她说：「再来，肤色呢？」

   「肤色嘛！」我喃喃地说：「白种女人蛮不错的，但是肤质差了些....黑女人我又不太喜欢....对了，变那种有点天然黑的皮肤，像是印度那一带的。」

   「没问题。头发颜色呢？」

   「黑的。而且要又长又直！我希望你看起来有点印度女人的样子。」

   「但是大多数又高又苗条的印度人五官都像西方人耶！」

   「真的吗？好吧，就这样没关系。」

   「随你罗！」她又问：「那你喜欢什麽样的身材的呢？」

   「唔，中等胸部，大奶头的如何？」

她轻笑出声。「这真是出乎我意料之外，你竟然会喜欢这种身材的；无论如何我照做就是了。那体格呢？瘦弱的，轻盈的，还是很强壮的？」

   「苗条，但是带点肌肉。」我说：「不过不要那种练出来健美的肌肉啦，是很自然运动产生的。」

   「体毛？」

   「我真不敢相信....」突然感觉好像在餐厅吩咐师父要煮几分熟的牛排，加上多少的调味酱一样....体毛？

她又笑了：「对不起啦，我知道这有点疯狂；但是我必须依你的希望产生....你希望我有腿毛、阴毛、腋毛吗？」

   「喔！」我想了一想，然後自己也笑了。「我知道人类要自然一点比较好，但是我想要一个没有毛的身体....」

   「好吧！我可以变成没毛的女人。」停了会，「我要现身了哦，你准备好了吗？」

   「等一下。」突然发现自己几乎是脱光睡的，「先让我把衣服穿起来。」

   「没穿衣服有啥关系？我不能变衣服出来，所以我也是裸体的；再说我跟了你一年，早就把你身体看得一清二楚了。我喜欢你没穿衣服的样子。」

我叹了口气，说道：「好吧。」

就是那麽简单；上一刻，我还孤独地一个人待在房间里；下一刻，她冒了出来，站在我床前。就着床头灯看，她真是美 苗条、健康的黑皮肤，小小的胸部上覆盖着两圈比肤色更黑的乳晕，长长的黑发如瀑布般直泻腰际。她以皇后般的幽雅伸出手来，我迟疑了一下，迎向她的手；我又吃了一惊，原以为鬼是虚无飘渺，或是冷冷冰冰的；但是她的手却是如此的温暖，皮肤如此地光滑，就跟我们人类的一样。

她对着我微笑，然後拉我的手去碰她娇软的胸部。「来吧！来摸摸我，来摸摸这个你创造出来的躯体。」

我可以感觉手在颤抖。「我真不敢相信....我是在作梦吧？」这真的不是我的幻觉吗？她的胸部是那麽的真实，那麽地温暖，还带了浓浓女性身上特有的幽香。如果这是梦，那也做得太过火了一点。

她跨了一部，坐上了床，整个身体靠在我的肩上；我可以感觉到她的乳间碰到了我上臂。她吐气如兰，说着：「就算是作梦也没关系....你何不现在尽情享受，把是不是梦的问题，留待天亮再讨论呢？」

   「好吧！」虽然亲眼见到，我还是怀疑着：「喂，奶不是什麽离家出走、又会变戏法的未成年少女吧？不要愚弄我哦！」

她嘻嘻一笑，忽然又隐形了，「你看我是不是在愚弄你呢？」

她就这样不见了，真是奇妙啊！但是在几秒之内，有「人」轻轻地碰我；嘴唇有着潮湿的感触，一双手缠住我的背，两团肉球贴着我赤裸的胸膛；我眼前的的确确没任何东西，但感觉又如此真实....

我躺回床上，她还是绕着我；我开始回应她的吻。她离开我的唇，开始吻我的脖子，手指在我身上恣意探索着。终於她找到了我内裤的裤带，焦急地褪下这个障碍。我抱住看不见的她，在她背上爱抚着。

我跨下的器具以最快的速度升起，然後被一股潮湿而温暖的物体所吞噬。我还是看不见她，但是可以感觉出她在我的怀抱中，享受着我的处男的献礼。这麽紧，这麽有力，像是有东西在吸 着。我全身肌肉都绷了起来。忽然，一股想像不到的痛快，像电一般流过我的身体，一阵狂喜的痉挛，好久没有得到宣泄的白色精液像火山爆发喷、喷、再喷，一次比一次喷得更高。

这个痛快好像持续了几世纪之久，然後她的唇又回到我嘴巴上，胸部又贴回我的胸。我们再度接吻，这就是做爱了吧，我心想，全身骨头似乎都软掉了。但是在一分钟内，下部又不安分地逐渐地挺了起来，好像刚刚没有损失半点男性的精力，可以重来一样。

似乎一整晚我们都重复这样做着，每次都欣喜，每次都完美，每次都很不可思议，而且在每次过後，我总是可以生龙活虎地马上再来。假如这是梦，那就是我做过最不可思议的春梦了；我宁愿这样梦一辈子。

隔天早上，我在满室阳光中醒来。好久没有睡得正麽沈了，好像整个星期的疲劳都在昨夜调息过来。昨天晚上我作了个好奇怪的梦....这个怪梦，呵呵，想起来就好笑。我拉了拉被子，想赖一下床....奇怪，我手上碰到的是什麽？谁在我棉被里？我猛然睁开眼，她那头长发就在我眼前几公分远。

   「你醒啦？」

   「我醒了！」我回答。我醒了吗？是不是还在作梦？「奶....奶是谁？哦不不不，奶是什麽东西？我们昨天晚上真的....真的....」

她把我的手拉到她小而柔软的胸部上。「真的....真的什麽？」她咯咯一笑，「我们昨天晚上是不是真的做爱了？当然是罗！而且做了一整夜呢！就一个没经验的人来讲，你的表现十分不错哦。至於我是谁？你还记得吧，昨天晚上还没帮我取名字，我们就急着玩乐了。如果你问我是什麽东西....」她忽然有点悲伤地讲：「好久好久以前，我也是一个有名有姓，健康正常的女孩子呢！」

   「好久好久....是多久呢？」

   「有几百年了吧？我也不太记得了。时间对没有躯体的人而言，是没有意义的。当我还是女孩子的时候，我很羡慕传说在空气中自由飞翔的精灵、女巫什麽的，但是一变成了虚无的灵魂，反而怀念有躯体实实在在的生活了。谢谢你帮我创造出这个身体来。」

我沈默了一会儿，「有没有其他像你一样的女孩子？我的意思是，像你一样的....嗯...女鬼....变成人形的？」

   「可能吧！人死了以後都会变成灵魂的，应该都有一个天使来带领她上天堂....我的天使不知道为什麽没有来，害我一个人孤孤单单地在人世间漂流，每次看到别的天使带领着灵魂到天堂去报到，就觉得好羡慕。」她悲伤地说着：「我流浪了好几年，在很多地方修练，法力逐渐增加，好几年前我发现可以藉助人类的希望，把我变成真实的形体；一年前又遇到了你....看来我要感谢那个失约的天使了。」

   「听起来奶度过了好一段孤独的时光。」

   「还好啦！」她开朗的说：「能和你在一起，我就要谢谢上帝了。」

我不知道该如何表达我心内的感伤，她曾经一个「人」，孤单的过了几百年，这个孤单的滋味我是知道的，非常的痛苦、空虚。我伸出手去，拥紧她，希望能去除她孤单的感觉。

唔，我也不知道是怎麽回事，一会儿之後，我才发现拥紧的部位，正好是她细致的胸部。她的双手在我的前臂上来回游动。我看着她，现在的她是真实的，一点也看出是女妖或女鬼；在晨曦的照射下(别问我鬼为什麽照了阳光不会消失，我也是昨儿夜里第一次碰到鬼的)，除了嘴唇和硕大的乳圈外，她的皮肤是温暖的深褐色。她幽雅地甩甩头发，转过身来，一只手不安分地溜上了我的裸胸。

一面看着这性感美女，一面感觉她的手指在皮肤上的动作，我很快地又兴奋起来。她一言不发地伏到我身上，对着我的坚挺，慢慢地坐了下去。刚开始她很慢，很柔，柔的我想发狂；然後她也感觉到我的需要，动作逐渐加快，狂野，尖尖的指甲拼命在我胸上画圈。我再也忍受不住了，抱起她，转过一个位置，把我的男性特徵深深地埋进她体内。再一次的，我把白色的种子播进她的容器中，我俩在狂喜中轻喊，一起到了天堂。

我下楼买了早餐，刚吃饱，我从她的眼中发现她又要了。我把她的手从我的颈子上拨下来：「不行，我和同学约好了，待会要去写 SA 的作业。」我看着她，这女人真是漂亮呀，把她留在寝室会不会有问题？

我心中突然闪过一个念头：「奶说奶会法术，那奶的法力有多强呢？」SA 作业又多又难做，如果....唉，我这种想法真要不得。

   「法力？哦！其实我法力很弱的....」她说：「前几年修练完，我就慢慢摸索，发现如果我能积存到一定的能量，要施展法术就很简单。本来我常施法作弄一些神经兮兮的家伙，後来碰到你，觉得可以把法力作更好的运用；所以这一年来，我几乎不施法，直到昨天，把我自己弄成这模样，法力几乎消耗殆尽....我想我大概得这样过一辈子直到老死了。」

我没有说话。听起来她作了一个很大的牺牲，但是对象是我，值得吗？我再度凝视着她，为她的高贵及刚才心中的念头感到羞耻。终於我出声打破沈默：「奶有名字吗？」

她愉快的说：「你可以替我取一个新的呀？现在的我跟新生的一样。」

   「但是....你本来出生时是叫什麽呢？」

   「彭丝妲....」

   「这个名字很好嘛！你介意我叫你丝妲吗？」

   「也好！」她笑了，「我真高兴我选了你。你知道为什麽吗？」

我微笑：「哦？为什麽？」

   「因为，你是一个真正有风度的男人。」

   「谢啦！」我笑着，眼睛不由自主地又溜向她美妙的胴体。「我该走了，我会写一整天程式，晚上才回来....奶呢？打算做什麽？」

   「我也不知道，这样好了，你叫我做什麽我就做什麽。」

   「喂，我可不希望你一天到晚待在我寝室里，当我爱的奴隶，找点自己的事情做做嘛！」

   「好吧！」丝妲想了一想，「也许我会到市中心逛一逛。」

   「去逛逛也好....」我突然想到一个严重的问题：「那衣服怎麽办？我没有女孩子的衣服耶！」

   「别担心。你忘了吗？我跟你尺寸是一样的，你的衣服我应该都能穿。当然啦，我得先跟你借套衣服，几天而已....我想你不介意！」

   「但是钱呢？钱怎麽办？我只是个穷学生。而且，你没有身份证或护照哇！最近抓非法外劳抓这麽凶，奶一出门可能马上就被逮捕了！」

   「别担心。」她笑着说：「只要我待会儿写几封信就万事 OK 了！来吧，我们先去挑衣服。」

我拉开衣橱，幸好有好几件牛仔裤。我抓出其中一条深蓝色的丢给她，然後皱着眉说：「我没有女性的内衣裤啦！」

   「不要紧，暂时而已嘛！」

   「那你喜欢穿Ｔ恤还是衬衫？」我一面问着，一面在衣柜里翻，心中却想着，我的牛仔裤穿在她身上不知是什麽模样。

   「白色、圆领，有三颗扣子的那件好了！」她喊着。我突然惊觉，她真的跟着我一年了，连我有什麽衣服都清清楚楚的。

我将衣服递给她，看着她把衬衫自头上慢慢套下，我又开口了：「丝妲，你确定你要穿这个？」

   「是呀！有什麽不对吗？」她调整了一下衣领，问着。

   「我觉得....不太适合！」

   「会吗？我觉得不错呀！」

   「可是你的皮肤黑，穿这个，这里特别明显。」我比了比胸部，「不信你自己看看。」

她在门後的小镜子上照了半天，笑着说：「你不喜欢这个效果？」

   「我当然喜欢啦！」我说。

   「这可以啦！你还没看过我还活着的时候，穿过什麽样的衣服呢！赶快吧，你自己说得去写程式的，不要让别人久等了。」

我离开以前留了一串钥匙，还有身上的一千多块给丝妲。在系馆奋斗了一天，等到要回寝室的时候，我有点希望她已经离开了。当然，丝妲很迷人，但是毕竟不是人类呀！

我走到寝室门前，就听到我的喇叭流泄出轻柔的巴洛克音乐。打开门，迎面而来的是丝妲的笑脸：「程式写得怎麽样？」

   「还好。」我说。事实上，今天几乎没什麽进度，写程式时我一直在想着她。

simon@PornStar.Dorm10.NCTU.edu.tw
赛门@脱星.十舍.交作业大学.教育部.台湾

附录：英文原文

This story is another from the archives, and is not written by me.

Requests for just about anything concerning these posts will be ignored. See the FAQ in a.s.s.d for more information.

I went to bed Sunday night feeling a bit depressed. Weekends didthat to me, with the knowledge that others went out and had fun while Idid nothing, and it had been the kind of warm spring weekend that peoplesay is ripe for romance. I was lying on my side wondering if I wouldever find a girl, one arm under my pillow and the other arm hugging thecovers against my ear when I heard a quiet voice.

   "Hello?" it said, sounding tentative. It was a softly femininevoice, but there was nobody in the room who could have spoken. After abrief startle, I ignored the voice and assumed that I'd imagined it.

   "Hello," it said again, more firmly, just as my thoughts had begun todrift.

   "Who are you? What are you doing in my room?" I answered, sitting upin the darkness as I groped for the bedside lamp. The light flashed on,partially blinding me, but I could see well enough. Nobody was in theroom with me.

   "Don't get upset," the voice said, pleading. "I don't really have aname, I guess you can pick one. I'm in your room because I like you,and I've decided that it's time for me to introduce myself. I hope youdon't mind."

I sat in my bed with my back against the wall, staring around myempty room and seeing no sign of anyone. The voice seemed to come fromnowhere in particular. "Where are you hiding? Come on out where I cansee you. What do you mean, you like me."

   "Just that. I've been following you for a year now, and I like you.As to why you can't see me, I don't have a body yet."

I slumped in my bed and pulled the covers back up to my chin. "Thenthis must be a dream," I said. "What do you mean, you don't have abody. What are you?"

   "I guess I'm a spirit, or something like that."

   "What do you mean, you guess. Besides, I don't believe in spirits."

   "It really doesn't matter what you believe," the voice said, with achuckle. "I'm me, I'm real, I like you, and I'd like to be yourfriend."

   "It's a hell of a way to begin a friendship," I said, sitting upangrily in bed. "Following me around for, what was it you said, for ayear? Where have you followed me anyway?"

   "Everywhere, most of the time. I'd like to sleep with you."

   "What?"

   "What I said, I want to sleep with you. What kind of body would youlike me to have?"

   "I've never slept with a girl before," I said, feeling very unsure ofmyself.

   "I know," she said, sounding sympathetic. "I'd like to make lovewith you. What kind of body do you want me to have?"

   "Are you saying you can materialize, that you can look like anyone Iwant?"

   "Yes."

   "That sounds obscene!"

   "Why?"

   "It does, that's all."

   "There must be a reason."

I sighed and slumped down in my bed. "I don't know. This is tooweird! Maybe it's just that dreams, fantasies, things like that, maybethey aren't supposed to come true. Shouldn't I have to earn my friendsand accept the bodies nature gave them?"

   "Usually," she said, sounding serious. "But you did earn me, andsince I don't have a body right now, you have a choice about how you'dlike me to look."

   "What do you mean, I earned you?"

   "You earned me, just that. I've followed many men over the years,and you're the first one who's interested me in a long time.

   "Why me?"

   "Do people need reasons?"

   "No, I guess not."

   "OK, so how do you want me to look?"

I hesitated, and then decided to play along. "How about tall andslim, about my size."

   "Easy enough," she said. "Pick a skin color."

   "I don't know," I said, and then chuckled. "Suntans look nice, but Ithink tanning's a stupid activity. How about naturally dark skin, likepeople from India or something."

   "Hair color?"

   "Black, I suppose. Anything else would look out of place. Make itstraight and long, and I guess your features should look Indian too, youknow, oriental."

   "But most tall slim Indians have western looking features."

   "They do? OK, if you say so."

   "What about my figure."

   "How about medium to small breasts, with big nipples."

She chuckled again. "This is fun, I guessed that one from the kindsof girls you like to watch. How about build, skinny, lightly padded ormuscular?"

   "Slim but muscular," I said. "Be functional, not decorative."

   "Body hair?"

   "I don't believe this," I said, flustered by the thought of orderinga human body the way you'd order a meal in a restaurant.

She chuckled. "I'm sorry, I gess this is a bit weird, but do youwant my body to have hair, pubic hair and armpit hair?"

   "What choice have I got? I mean, it's stupid for women to shavetheir bodies, but I guess I like the idea of a hairless body."

   "OK, I can make me hairless," she said, and then paused. "That aboutcovers everything, ready for me to materialize?"

   "No!" I said, suddenly aware that I was naked. "Let me put somethingon."

   "Why bother? I can't materialize clothing, only a body, so I'll benude. Anyway, I've followed you around for a year; I'm used to what youlook like when you're nude, and I like it."

I sighed. "OK."

She was there. It was that simple. One moment, I was alone in myroom, and the next moment, there she was, standing in front of me as Isat in bed. She was beautiful in the light of my bedside lamp, slim,dark-skinned, with even darker areolas that almost covered her smallbreasts, and long black hair down to her waist.

She took a step towards me and held out her hand. I took it, and itwas warm and solid, as real as my own. She smiled at me as I looked ather, and then she pulled my hand to her breast. "Come, feel me, enjoythe body you've helped create."

   "I still don't believe this," I said, my hand trembling as I touchedher breast. It was soft and warm, real flesh, and very feminine flesh.

   "What can I do to convince you that I'm real?"

   "I don't know," I said.

She sat on my bed beside me, her thigh against mine, her breasttouching my arm as she rested her arm around my shoulders. "I suppose,"she said, speaking softly, "I suppose it doesn't really matter. Why notjust enjoy a fun night of fantasy and let the question of whether I'mreal wait for the light of day?"

   "OK, but I've got to go to work tomorrow, you know."

   "Don't worry, I promise, you'll wake up rested and ready for actionin the morning."

   "Then convince me," I said, getting out of bed and turning to lookat her. "Convince me that you're magic."

   "OK," she said, grinning, and then disappeared. She was gone, but inseconds, I felt a soft touch. Lips touched mine, hands slid over myback, and warm breasts pressed themselves against me. It was the stuffof pure fantasy, but it felt so real.

As I sat back on the bed, I gave in to the fantasy and beganreturning the kisses. There was nothing to see by the light of mybedroom lamp, yet I felt a woman on top of me as I lay down in bed. Herlips kissed my neck, her fingers touched my chest, and I stroked herinvisible back.

My penis rose between my legs with an intensity and speed unlikeanything I can remember, and then it was engulfed in soft moist slidingwarmth. I looked down and saw nothing. My hands rested on nothing toeach side of my erect penis, but I could feel it. I could feel her bodybetween my hands and I could feel her body surrounding my penis.

My curiosity was overwhelmed by the sensation. The pressure in mypenis mounted to limits I'd never experienced in my solitary pleasures,and then I felt an orgasm like nothing I'd ever expected. It roaredthrough me, it mounted higher, and roared again, sending waves of pureundiluted pleasure through my body as my penis slid in and out of theinvisible soft velvet of her body.

It lasted a long time, and then I felt her lips on my mouth and herbreasts on my chest. We kissed, I slid my hands over her invisiblebody, and I wondered what was happening to me. In no time, I felt myerection returning, and the rise to another orgasm swept my thoughtsaside.

It seemed like the entire night went on like that, one impossibledreamlike orgasm after another, each perfect, each satisfying, and eachleaving me rested and ready for more. If it was a dream, it was themost incredibly sexy dream I've ever had, and if it was real, there wasno way I could reconcile it with anything I knew about reality.

Monday morning, I woke up aware of her body pressed warmly againstmine. Her fanny was against my hips, her back against my chest and myfingers were on her hard nipple. I could smell her, and when I openedmy eyes, I could see the back of her head only inches from my face.

   "Are you awake?" she asked, in a very quiet voice.

   "Yes," I answered. "Who, what are you? Did we really ... ?" Ibroke off flustered.

She chuckled and held my hand to her small, soft breast. "Did wereally what? We really did make love last night, almost all night, ifthat's what you want to know. For a beginner, you're pretty good, itwas fun. As to who I am, I don't have a name yet, but you're welcometo name me. What am I? I'm not sure what I am now, but I was born agirl, a very normal girl, a long long time ago."

   "How long ago?"

   "Hundreds of years, and it's been a century or so since I last tookhuman form." Her voice sounded sad. "When I'm in human form, I get sodisgusted with people, but when I'm a spirit, I miss having a body somuch."

   "Are there others like you? There's a word, a succubus, is that whatyou are?"

   "A succubus? I've played that role at times, and I'll admit that itcan be fun, but it's not something to dedicate a life to. I don't knowif there are others like me. I guess it's possible, but I've neverfound any evidence of any except in folktales."

   "It sounds like you've had some lonely times."

   "I have," she said, and then took a long breath. "You know, in allthose years, I've never talked about it with anyone else."

I didn't know how to respond to her, but I liked the feeling of herbody against mine and I liked the way she held my hand to her breast.She stroked my forearm with her hand, and then sat up beside me andlooked down at me. Her skin was a warm brown in the early morninglight, except for her dark brown lips and the dark circles of her largeareolas. She gracefully shook her long hair, smiled, and slid a handdown my chest.

It was exciting looking at her and feeling her fingers on my skin,and when she noticed my excitement, she wordlessly straddled my hipswith her thighs and slid herself down to engulf me. She was gentle atfirst, sitting on my hips and moving ever so slightly while she smileddown at me and fingered my chest, but as my excitement mounted, shebegan to rock harder, and then I could see that she was excited too. Ipulled her to me as we neared a shared climax, and the exquisite touchof her nipples on mine sent me over the edge as we kissed.

After breakfast, I think she wanted to make love again, but I stoppedher. I pushed her away as she tried to hug me and lead me back to bed,and then I confronted her, standing facing her in the bedroom doorway.

   "Look," I said. "Whoever you are, I've got to get to work. I'll belate as it is." Her beautiful brown body was very tempting as she stoodnaked before me. "You said you started as a normal girl, then became aspirit or something, and now you're very much a girl, but what the hellare you? How did you become a spirit?"

   "Magic."

   "Right," I said. "The trouble is, that tells me nothing."

   "I was trapped, my father was a monster, he wanted to force me tomarry for his political advantage, and I might as well have been inprison the way I lived. Worse, I was in love with a boy. Under thosecircumstances, wouldn't you try things, anything? I did, I found an oldbook, a wizzard's book, I think, and the result was what I am now."

   "What else can your, uh, your magic do?"

   "Not much, not now. I've discovered that the less use I make of mymagic, the better it is. In the first few years after I earned myfreedom, I fooled around with it all the time, and it got boring. I'velearned that in the long run, it's more fun to play by the rules. I'vealso learned how to use my magic powers to temporarily nullifythemselves, and late last night, after I materialized, I did it. Now,I'm all but powerless until this body dies."

I didn't know what to say. It sounded like she'd made a hugesacrifice, and it sounded like she'd made it so she could live with me.I looked at her for a while, trying to understand her, and I felt a bitlame when I finally broke the silence. "Do you have a name?"

   "Each time I've taken a material form for any length of time, I'vetaken a new name. You chose my form, you may as well name me too."

   "But what name were you born with?"

   "Beryl."

   "It's a pretty enough name, do you mind if I call you that?"

   "OK." She smiled. "I'm glad I chose you, you know?"

   "Why?"

   "Because you're a gentleman."

   "Thanks," I said, looking at her beautiful body as she stood in frontof me. "Look, what are we going to do. What am I going to do withyou?"

   "I don't know."

   "That's crazy. I've got to go to work today, what will you do?"

   "Whatever you want me to do."

   "No! What do you want to do? I'm sure as hell not having you hangaround my apartment all the time as some kind of love slave."

   "Mabe I'll go out and look around the town."

   "What'll you wear?"

   "To go out? I don't see much point in wearing clothes around thehouse. We're the same size, you know. I'm not used to wearing men'sclothes, but these days, I guess I could. Do you mind if I borrow someof your clothes?"

   "What about money and identification? Nowdays, you can't very wellrun around town without money. Don't get me wrong, you're very pretty,and so far, you've been lots of fun, but you're a legal non-person, andthat poses problems."

   "Don't worry," she said. "I have a few letters to write and that'llbe all taken care of. Let's get dressed."

I backed into my bedroom and pulled out a pair of jeans for her, thenhesitated. "I don't have any girls underwear."

   "That's OK. Last time I had a body, they hadn't invented modernunderwear yet. Quite frankly, I don't see much point to wearing itanyway." She stepped into my jeans and pulled them up.

   "What about a shirt," I asked, admiring the way my jeans looked onher.

   "With my dark skin?" she asked, and then paused. "Here, I'll showyou," she said, stepping into my closet and pulling out a whiteshort-sleeved shirt. It was a knit shirt, pullover style, with threebuttons at the neckline. "How about this?"

   "OK," I said, and then it struck me how odd it was that she knew whatclothing I had in the closet. She really had been watching me for along time.

As she pulled the shirt on over her head, I began to have secondthoughts. "Beryl, are you sure you want to wear that?"

   "Why?" she asked, adjusting the collar.

   "Well, it's not very modest."

   "What do you mean?"

   "With your dark skin, your nipples show, look at yourself."

She looked at herself in my bedroom mirror, and then turned to me andgrinned. "Don't you like the effect?"

   "Well," I said, looking at her. Her dark areolas were visiblethrough the thin fabric, and the lumps of her nipples stood out clearly."I won't say I don't like looking at you."

   "Then OK. You should have seen the dresses I wore two centuries agoduring the Greek revival craze. Come on, as you said, you're in a hurryto get to work."

Before I left for work Monday morning, I left the spare key to theapartment with Beryl along with forty dollars. I half expected her todisappear with both before I got home from work, but as I walked up thesteps to my apartment, I heard music coming from my sterio.

   "How was work?" Beryl called as I opened the door.

   "OK," I said, closing the door behind me. Actually, my day hadn'tbeen very productive; I'd spent too much time thinking about Beryl.

   "Sit down," Beryl said as she came out of the bedroom. "When was thelast time you went out to dinner?"

   "It's been a long time," I said, looking at her. She wasn't wearingthe clothes she'd been wearing when I left her in the morning; instead,she wore a short white skirt, perhaps fingertip length, with a silvercamisole top. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she wore arow of four rings in each ear.

   "Like it?"

   "I'm not sure," I said, staring. "You're awfully sexy lookingdressed like that." The colors set off her brown skin nicely, and thefabric of the camisole draped gently over her small breasts, hinting attheir shape instead of frankly revealing them the way my knit shirt had."Did I give you enough money to buy all that?"

   "I spent a few of the dollars you gave me on fabric, then spent a bitof time sewing. The earrings only cost four bucks a pair at that Indianimport outlet in the mall."

   "But ear piercing, they don't do that for four bucks a pair."

   "I did that myself with a sewing needle."

I must have blanched a bit at that, because she walked up to me andgave me a gentle hug. "Don't worry, I've got enough magic left that itwasn't any problem."

   "Sounds like you went to quite a bit of effort," I said, trying tocollect my feelings. "Where'd you get a sewing machine."

   "I did it by hand," she said, looking down at herself as she steppedback to pose for me. "I've never used a sewing machine, and I grew upsewing my own clothes. Anyway, these modern styles are pretty easy."

She smiled. "Come on, let's go out to dinner. I know you haven'tbeen out socially in the year I've been following you, and you need it."

   "OK," I said. "Where?"

She had a place in mind, and I didn't seem to have much choice. Idrove there, and it turned out to be a bar, not a dive, but a place withfood that looked decent and a dance floor. There was evidence that aband would be playing later, but as we walked to a table, the only musicwas canned, and that wasn't too loud to prevent conversation.

We sat at a small table, and after we'd ordered, Beryl leaned forwardon her elbows to look at me. I enjoyed the way her camisole hung,almost but not quite exposing her nipples as she faced me. "I guesswe've got some talking to do," she said.

   "You're not kidding. Where do you want to start."

She took a deep breath. "I don't know. I've never done it like thisbefore. I always either completely hid my true nature or played it upall the way, you know, appearing from a burning bush and making like I'msome kind of angel."

   "So? I'm glad you want to be honest, but is that the problem?"

   "Not really."

   "What is?"

   "In a way, I guess it's modern times."

   "What's the problem?"

   "Freedom. I guess you can see that I like the idea of being able toexpress my sexuality, and I like the idea that a girl who likes a guycan just move in with him, but, well, there are some things you can'ttake for granted these days."

   "Like?"

   "In the old days, a girl could expect men to support her without muchtrouble. She'd keep house and keep the bed warm, and her man would earnthe money and deal with the world. It's not like that now."

   "Right, and it's worse. To get a job, you need a social securitynumber, and to get a number, you need proof of legal residence andemployability in the United States."

She grinned at me. "I know, I haven't been asleep all these years.The first thing I did this morning was buy a postal money order andwrite for a copy of my birth certificate."

   "What? I thought ..."

She shushed me, then continued in a low voice. "I was born inWyoming 22 years ago and I'm half American Indian. My folks named meJenny Smith, but I've gone by the name Beryl since I ran away fromhome."

   "What about school records, things like that."

   "I'm self-educated, and damn proud of it!"

   "Do you have relatives?" I asked as I realized what she was implying."And what about friends? They could really mess things up."

   "They're all dead. Don't worry about it."

The waitress delivered our food, and soon after that, the bandstarted to play, drowning out any effort at continued conversation. Ilooked at Beryl while I ate, unsure about what she'd done. It certainlydidn't sound legal, but at the same time, I couldn't imagine any legalway for a spirit, if that's what she was, to get a legal identity intoday's world. Had there been a Jenny Smith? How had she died, and howdid Beryl think she could claim her identity. I wasn't sure I wanted toknow, and in a way I was glad that the music was loud enough to preventme from asking.

The food was quite good, and the music was good enough that eventhough I'm no dancer, I was tapping my feet and gently nodding my headto the beat of some of the pieces. My knees touched Beryl's under thelittle table, and after she finished her small meal, she slid her handdown under the table and rested it on my knee, smiling as she touchedme.

   "Want to dance?" she asked during the first lull in the music afterwe finished eating.

I hesitated. "I'm no good."

   "So? I haven't danced in years, come on."

The evening passed in a whirl. She may not have danced for acentury, but she did know how to dance, and better than that, she was agood teacher. After a short while, I forgot my awkwardness and beganenjoying myself. Beryl was fun to watch as she gyrated in front of me,and I could tell that she wanted me to watch her.

As the music slowed, I wanted to hold her, and judging by the way shedanced in my arms, she wanted to be held. Her fingers gently traced thecurve of my back, and she felt warm and soft as she moved against mewith the beat of the music.

As the piece ended, she whispered in my ear. "Let's go home."

   "OK." I said, and followed her to the door. Following her was fun.Her short skirt seemed awfully short when seen from the rear, barelydecent but very fun to watch. It was almost disappointing as we leftthe lights of the bar and went out into the dark parking lot.

   "That was nice," Beryl said as we walked into my apartment. She tookme by the waist and kissed me, holding the kiss for a long time,stroking my back with one hand while she held her other hand on mychest. I felt a bit awkward, unsure what I should do with my hands,until I realized that it must be reasonable for me to do with my handswhat she was doing with hers.

   "That was nice," she said, breaking the kiss. "I like the way youtouch me."

An uncomfortable thought struck me as I looked at her. "Do we haveto worry about, well, birth control? I mean ... "

She smiled. "No, but if you want children someday, we can have them.Would you like to dance some more?"

   "OK," I said. "What kind of music?"

   "Something long?"

I put on a tape, and then she held my hand and we began to danceagain. She was a sensuous beauty, and it wasn't long before I wassexually aroused by the way she touched me and moved with me.

   "Don't get impatient," she whispered as I fondled her breast throughthe thin satin of her camisole. She pushed away my hand, and for a fewminutes, we danced, facing each other but not touching.

Beryl danced gracefully, back to me, and I wanted to hug her to me,but she shrugged off my arms and began to undo my shirt. Her touch wasgentle as she pulled my shirt off, but she never stopped dancing, andwhen my shirt was off, she flowed into my arms once again.

   "You can undress me, if you want," she whispered as I slid my handsover her body.

I felt clumsy taking off her camisole, but she smiled as I set itaside, and then she stepped back from me and danced, letting me watchthe gentle swing of her long black hair and the bounce of her smallbreasts as she moved.

   "You're beautiful," I whispered as she came back into my arms. Herbreasts pressed softly agains my chest as we danced, and I could feelthe four earrings in her ear against my cheek.

She didn't answer, but slid her hand down my back and slid a fingerunder the waistband of my pants.

   "Keep dancing, don't say anything more," she whispered, kneeling infront of me, still swaying with the music as she kissed my belly andundid my belt. She gently pulled off my pants, and as she freed myerect penis, she gently kissed it before standing to hug me and kiss meon the lips.

My penis pressed agains her as we danced, and she smiled down at itand petted it before stepping back and pulling my hand to the buttonsthat held her skirt. I knelt to undo the four buttons, and then kissedher belly as I set the skirt aside. Unbuttoned, the skirt was littlemore than a band of fabric a yard long and a bit over a foot wide, andshe wore nothing under it.

She pulled away from me when I tried to hold her, but she keptdancing, letting me watch the erotic motion of her body for a fewminutes before she finally pulled me to her and kissed me. Our dancinghad degenerated to just swaying together, and as I kissed my way awayfrom her mouth, she hugged me by the back of the neck and directed myattention downward, first to her soft breasts and hard nipples, andthen lower.

I knelt to kiss her belly, and then hesitated about kissing anylower. She knelt to face me, her knees to my knees and her hands on mybuttocks, kissing me again as we swayed to the music. My penis pressedeagerly into the space between her legs, and after a minute, she pushedme gently back into a sitting position on the rug and then straddled mylap and worked herself down over me. As I entered her, she kissed me,hard, and then leaned back, holding me with her hands behind my neck andsmiling at me as we rocked to the rhythm of the music.

She looked down at where our bodies joined, and I looked down,following her gaze and feeling a bit awed. I slid my hands from herfanny up her sides, and her smile turned to bliss as I began to gentlytouch her breasts.

I lost track of time as we rocked to the music. My attention wasfocused on the moist warmth of her body surrounding my erect penis, andthen an intense look came over her face as she pulled me to her andbegan kissing. Her hips rocked in my lap, and I could feel waves ofmuscular contraction rippling through her from within. She gasped, andthen I was gasping myself, feeling the pumping within me as I rocked myhips in a desparate effort to thrust myself even more deeply into her.

We held each other for a while after that, still rocking gently tothe beat of the music, but relaxed and happy in the warm afterglow ofwhat we'd done.

   "You're fun," I eventually whispered.

She smiled shyly. "You too. Let's get into bed and I'll teach yousome more ways to do it."

.