Honeymoon for Three

and pants.”
    Penny didn’t move, hoping he wouldn’t insist.
    Alfred ripped the blankets off her. “You don’t sleep that way with Gary. Take off your sweater and pants.”
    At least he hadn’t asked her to take off all her clothes. Yet. She sat up and turned toward him so she could watch his reaction. She pulled the sweater over her head, revealing her bra. He was looking at her body, but he seemed to be focusing lower than her breasts. She unzipped her pants and slid them off her legs. She thought Alfred was concentrating on her stomach. At least it was flat, unlike his. But then she realized that he was looking at her navel.
    In the past, having a man look at her like that would sometimes make her tingle. Now it scared her. She hesitated, wondering whether he would ask her to take off her underwear. He didn’t say anything, so she scooted back under the covers, relieved. He didn’t know that with Gary she usually slept in the nude.
    Alfred turned out the dome light of the camper. They were in almost complete darkness. Penny lifted her head to see what he was doing. It appeared that he was also taking off his outer garments. In the dark. He was a prude. He didn’t want her to see him undress. This gave a slight lift to her spirits. She felt the balance of power shift a little.
    He climbed into the bed, being careful not to touch her. A further lift to her spirits. She went back to the fetal position against the side of the camper. Alfred settled down, and all was quiet. Penny almost didn’t breathe, her ears alert to the slightest movement on his part. Five minutes passed.
    She felt his hand on her back. She tensed. Now it was going to happen. She was prepared to fight for her honor. She would die before she would let him have sex with her. That was Gary’s exclusive territory. Alfred’s hand slipped around her waist until it reached—her navel.
    She remembered the evening in the campground when they had taken a walk together. He had gone for her navel then, too. Detective Landon’s analysis that Alfred had a navel fetish was correct. He began to investigate her navel with his finger. Penny didn’t like his hand on her, but it could be a lot worse. If this was all he wanted, she could stand it.
    “Alfred, I want the light on. I-I’m scared of the dark.”
    He didn’t say anything. He kept playing with her navel. Penny sat up on the bed, cast off the blankets, and swung her legs around, leaving his hand behind. She slid to the floor of the camper, feeling the cool night air on her body. At least she was still wearing socks so her feet wouldn’t get cold. She had watched Alfred turn off the dome light, and she was able to find the switch by feel. She turned it back on.
    She swiveled back toward the bed and saw that Alfred was now the one with the covers up to his neck. He was looking at her with an expression she couldn’t interpret. Surprise? Uncertainty? She lifted the sheet and blankets high enough to see what Alfred was wearing, and then slid back under them. A T-shirt and boxer shorts. Not the most appropriate costume for seducing a girl.
    This time Penny lay on her back. She took Alfred’s hand and placed it on her belly. He lay on his side, facing her.
    “You like navels, don’t you, Alfred? Here, you can play with mine.”
    Whatever happened wasn’t going to happen in the dark where Alfred could hide from the truth of it. Or pretend he was normal when he wasn’t. To make it even more real, Penny decided she was going to report a play-by-play of the action. Out loud. And she was willing to give in to him to some extent if that would help to keep him out of her pants.
    “Do you like my navel?”
    Alfred continued to feel her navel. He grunted something that sounded like an affirmative.
    “What do you like about my navel?” Make him face his secrets.
    “It’s an innie.”
    “An innie? Oh, I know what you mean. What’s yours?”
    He didn’t answer. She turned her head and looked into his eyes, inches away. He looked stricken. She took her right hand and ran it lightly down his shirt to the hem. She pulled the shirt up so she could reach his bare skin. His skin gave way under her touch like a partially inflated balloon. It wasn’t firm, like Gary’s. She could feel his body tremble.
    She found his navel. She swore that it withdrew when she first touched it, like a girl the first time a boy touches her breast. She persisted and placed her fingers squarely on it. It protruded