Message-ID: <22222asstr$947430601@assm.asstr-mirror.org> X-Original-Message-ID: From: artie Subject: {ASSM} TGM: Finding a New Life 5/7 by artie (MF ROM) Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2000 10:10:01 -0500 Path: assm.asstr-mirror.org!not-for-mail Approved: Newsgroups: alt.sex.stories.moderated,alt.sex.stories Followup-To: alt.sex.stories.d X-Archived-At: X-Moderator-Contact: ASSTR ASSM moderation X-Story-Submission: X-Moderator-ID: dennyw, kelly <1st attachment, "t05.txt" begin> Tales of the Golden Mule (c) Copyright 1999 by artie@netgate.net This work may not be reposted or redistributed without the prior express written permission of the author. A work of fiction, meant for adults. Read something else if you are not an adult, or are offended by stories with sexual content. Then again, if all you're looking for is in-out, in-out, in-out, you should probably read something else. I welcome constructive comments. Enjoy. Tales of the Golden Mule - Finding a New Life - Part 5 A beeping noise woke me. I woke fast, realizing it was coming from the handheld radio on my nightstand. I grabbed it and rolled out of bed, rushing to Nancy's side. As I got there, our bedroom door opened. I nearly peed on the floor. Karen stuck her head in and hissed, "Lock the door! Bathroom! Stay there!" She closed the door and I ran over and locked it. I hurried back to bed and got Nancy up. She wasn't quite awake. I locked the bathroom door behind us, and tossed a couple towels into the tub. "In the tub, now," I said, helping her in. That woke her up, and fast. "What's happening?" she squeaked, clutching me suddenly. "Quiet; I've got you," I told her as I grabbed a terrycloth robe from the back of the bathroom door. "Lay down in the tub, scoot over a bit." Our tub was good sized, and cast iron. That's the part that interested me -- an additional barrier to whatever might be going on. I covered us with the robe, mainly to keep us warm. Nancy was shivering and holding me. I raised my head to look at the time. We had a blue-green nightlight with a clock built into it. It was one seventeen in the morning. Nancy's heart was beating wildly. Mine was surprisingly calm. My hands and feet felt cold. I held her close, rocking a little. She started to settle down. We've got small, high, frosted windows above the toilet and tub. Suddenly additional light came in -- the exterior floodlights must have come on. Before I could think about it much, we heard yelling, then the unmistakable sounds of gunshots and glass breaking. There was more yelling, then a few more shots and glass breaking, sounding as if it came from our bedroom. I felt something warm and wet on my leg, and held Nancy tighter. More yelling and one more shot followed, sounding as if it came from further away, mixed with sirens approaching. Nancy held me, gripping my arms tight. "Are you two all right?" the radio asked. It was Karen. I found it, picked it up, and pushed the button. "I think so. What now?" Karen replied, "Stay put. It may be a while. Okay?" "Got it." "Good. Just stay put. Police are on scene, and he's taken off down the hill." "Okay. We'll stay where we are." I put the radio down and held Nancy tighter. She'd been so scared she peed on us. "It's over, darling. We're okay. You heard Karen -- the cops are here. I've got you." She cried as I held and rocked her. I tried to be as comforting as I could be. I was mad. I wanted revenge. But that cold thought wasn't helping Nancy. "I love you, Nancy. I love you and I need you," I told her. She was still almost hyperventilating, clutching me so tightly. I talked to her, and started coaching her breathing, getting her to breathe slow and deep, slow and deep. After a couple minutes, it started to help. We heard more sirens, and saw flashing lights through the windows. After a bit we heard a helicopter overhead. I kept working on her breathing, our breathing. It seemed to help. "Bill, Nancy, how you doing?" asked Karen on the radio. I picked it up. "A little better. What's our prognosis?" "Where are you, exactly?" "We're curled up cozy in our cast iron tub in the bathroom." Karen actually laughed a little. "Okay. It's going to be a while, maybe an hour, while we clean up some things down here. We may want you to just stay there, or we may come and get you. We'll decide in the next five or ten minutes. Okay?" "Okay, Karen. Thanks for letting us know." I held Nancy with both arms again, kissed her on the forehead, and said again, "I love you." She sobbed a bit, but said, "I love you." I had a wild thought. We were stuck here for a while, why not. "Nancy, I have a question for you." She shivered and snuggled closer to me. I rubbed her back with one hand. "Oh Bill... Hold me please... What is it?" I felt warmer. Would I regret this? Only one way to find out. "Nancy, will you marry me?" It was easier to say than I'd expected. She made a very strange squeaking noise, and held on tighter. "Nancy, will you be my wife?" I asked again. Her squeaking noise changed to a sort of chortle, then a laugh, and at last she said, "Oh yes, Bill. Oh yes!" Now she really held me tight, and started crying again. Her crying was different. I held her and rocked her more. "Are you two dressed?" Karen asked on the radio some time later. "Of course not. What's going on?" I replied. I could hear other voices in the background. "Get up and get dressed. Stay away from the sliding doors, there's probably glass all over the floor. Let me know when you're dressed, and we'll send someone up to get you." "What kind of occasion are we dressing for?" I asked. "You're probably going to be outside for a while, so make it warm and comfortable." "Okay. Give us a couple minutes." "Just don't spend time fooling around!" "Yes, dear." I helped Nancy out of the tub, and dried her off. She started apologizing, and I kissed her to shut her up. "How do you know it wasn't me that peed on us? Better use the toilet now, we may not have a chance for a while." She grabbed something from the cupboard and sat on the toilet. "Okay if I turn on lights?" I asked into the radio. "Sure." I went carefully into the bedroom and turned on the lights. I could see the drapes covering the double French doors at the end of the room blowing in the breeze. There was glass all over the floor near them. Luckily, they're heavy, lined drapes, and had caught most of the glass. Still, I'd stay away from that part of the room. I got my clothes -- jeans, shirt, sweater, shoes, leather jacket, and hat. I grabbed a small bag and dumped in clean underwear and socks. In the bathroom, I swept my usual stuff and some of Nancy's into the bag. Nancy looked at me and started to cry. "No time for that now, love, pack your overnight stuff in here and get dressed," I told her, giving her a squeeze. I used the toilet. I needed to go. She was just about dressed when I got through. I picked up the radio and said, "We're set." I gave Nancy a hug. She was wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and a jacket. I grabbed my cell phone while she continued to toss things into the bag. The knock on the door startled us both. "Who is it?" I yelled, just as the person on the other side of the door called out, "Police, you can open up." I opened the door cautiously. There was a uniformed cop standing there. I pulled Nancy to the door. He nodded, and said, "Please follow me closely, and watch out for the glass." We went downstairs. The lights were still on. One wall of the house, the wall facing the patio and pool, is pretty much all glass. We have two big sets of sliding glass doors, and glass panels above those. A lot of that glass was now on the floor. One of the overhead panels was gone, and it looked as though most of the sliding doors were gone. The cop led us quickly out one of the shattered out sliding glass doors, around the side of the pool to the side of the house, and out the gates along the garage. Another cop led us to a car a couple hundred feet back down the cul de sac street. Our nearest neighbor is half a mile down the road. We looked back at the house to see an array of police vehicles, and a strange car in the driveway. Karen walked up to us. Carl was talking to a cop. I had one arm around Nancy's shoulders, and held our bag in the other hand. "What's all the chaos? Who does the car belong to?" I asked Karen. She looked at her watch. I looked at mine by reflex -- a little after two in the morning. "The car belongs to our friend. We surprised him, and he took off down the hill on foot." "After shooting up our house," I added. A large police vehicle drove up, towing what looked to be a big barrel on a trailer. My eyebrows went up. Karen nodded. "He took off after setting some booby traps on the front and garage doors of the house. We're not sure about his car. That's why we wanted you out." "Okay, what now?" She gave us a half smile. "The usual. We wait." We found a place for Nancy to sit, in the back of one of the police cars. I talked to one of the cops, describing what I'd experienced. Jill showed up during that process, waved to me, and went to talk to Nancy. Jill walked over to me a few minutes later. She was smiling, and had some tears in her eyes. She put her arms around me. I laughed, and Karen walked up and asked, "What's going on?" I gave Jill a hug, and turned to Karen. "Well, there we were, huddled in the tub while some lunatic shot up our house -- what could be better, or more romantic? It was certainly a memorable occasion. I asked Nancy to marry me." Karen gave me a hug. The three of us walked over to the car Nancy was sitting in. Nancy stood up and the two of us hugged. My legs were getting wobbly, and I needed to pee, among other things. "Karen, when can we get back in the house? Nancy is exhausted, and I'm close behind." Karen nodded, said, "I'll find out, but I'd bet not for an hour or two," and walked over to some of the cops. Karen was walking back to us when another car pulled up. Out of it stepped the older lawyer from the insurance company. Jill went over to him. "Who called him?" I asked Karen as she returned to Nancy and me. "I'd guess Jill. I called her right after the cops arrived, and filled her in. Incident commander says it will be at least three hours until they get the things off the doors. The car is loaded with crap, and they don't want to move it until it's checked out. My guess is you'll get in around eight or so." Nancy wilted at the news. Jill walked over with the insurance guy. He held out his hand. Hell, he'd come out here, I owed him that at least -- I shook his hand. "Mister Wilson," he said, "I'm terribly sorry about this. We'll do all we can." I sighed and looked at Jill. "Jill, I need to get Nancy off the street. Suggestions?" She fished in a pocket and pulled out her car keys, handing them to me. "Use my car, I'll hang around with Karen. Where are you going to go?" I thought for a moment. The futon at the office was too small. We'd gotten rid of the passion pit, and my old townhouse. I didn't want to drive all the way to the beach house. We walked over to Jill's Lexus, and I put Nancy and our bag in the passenger seat. I closed the door and walked around the front of the car with Karen and Jill. I put my arms around them, to help me stand up as well as to hold them. "We'll try Hyatt Ricky's on El Camino. I'll give you a call. I've got an appointment with the shrink for this morning, then one with Marshall to sign the will. After that, I think we'll get out of the area for a few days. How does that sound?" Jill nodded. "That sounds good. We'll probably need to talk around lunch time, would that work?" "Yup, I figured we'd come back after the shrink and pack, then see Marshall, and split." "Where were you thinking of going?" "I'm not sure. Maybe Sonoma. We'll need to come back and get things together for the Europe trip, but I don't want to be in the house for a few days." Karen said, "Good idea. We should have things cleaned up in two or three days." Jill nodded her head at the insurance guy. "They've agreed to settle on Janet's insurance, and he tentatively agreed to pick up the repair costs to the house." "It's going to be a lot easier to patch up the house than it is to patch us up," I sighed. Jill patted me on the back. "We know. So does he. Go get some rest." I got in the car and started to drive off. A cop moved in front of the car signaling for me to stop. Jill and Karen ran to him from one side, and Carl from the other. They talked for a bit; Karen used her cell phone for a while. Nancy had reclined her seat -- her eyes were closed. The conversation seemed concluded -- the cop walked away and Jill walked to my side of the car. I rolled down the window. "What's up?" I asked. She smiled. "They're going to give you an escort to the Hyatt. They've got a room for you. Call me on my cellular when you wake up. Now go get some rest." "Thanks, Jill. Sorry to do this to you." She waved us off. I was directed to follow a cop car. We drove to Palo Alto. The cop even walked in with me as I checked in. They were expecting us. Another ten minutes and we were in the room. It wasn't our bed, but it was a bed. I set the alarm for 9:30; my appointment with the shrink was at 10:30. I got Nancy into bed, then went to the bathroom again, and joined her. It wasn't our bed, but it was a bed, and we were both in it. It was almost four. I held her tight and went to sleep. The alarm went off and I whacked it. Nancy moaned. I held her tight for a moment, then got up. "Where are you going?" she called out. "Shower. We have an appointment in an hour." I was about to ask her to join me when I saw the size of the shower. Oh well. I got my soap and shampoo out of the bag and had a quick shower. She was sitting on the toilet when I got out of the shower. She flushed and stood up. I went over and held her. "Did you sleep, hon?" I asked. She sighed and held me. "Yes. Bill, what are we going to do..." I held her head up so she was looking at me. "Well, we're going to the shrink, together. He gets us both today, like it or not. Then we're going back to the house. You're going to pack for us for a few days. We'll have some lunch, and go to Marshall's office to sign my new will. Then we're leaving town, and probably will be back Monday." She nodded, smiling a little. I hadn't asked for her agreement. "Good. Now shower so we can get going. I need something to eat." I kissed her on the forehead, and we hugged a bit more. My shaver and hairbrush were still in the bag. I took my towel and left the bathroom. I picked up my cell phone and called my favorite travel agent. I wanted three nights at a resort-spa in the Napa/Sonoma area. Massage facilities were paramount. We'd be up there around dinner time, and would need a massage this evening, both of us. What could she do? Price was no object. She liked the challenge. I gave her my cell phone number, telling her the house one was out of service currently. I did my hair and face, then called Jill. "They catch the bastard yet?" I asked when she answered the call. She sighed. "No. I'll tell you later, but you don't have to worry. How are you two holding up?" I sighed. "I'm okay, I think. I'm worried about Nancy. I'm dragging her to the shrink with me." "Good idea. Going to swing by the house after that still?" I outlined my plans. They sounded good to her. I told her I'd call if things went askew. Nancy came out of the bathroom toweling off her hair. "What's happening?" I filled her in on what I knew from Jill. We hugged and kissed some, and got dressed. We checked out of the room, and even found Jill's car in the parking lot. I kept pushing the lock and unlock buttons on the remote until I found the car that made noise. The debris inside looked familiar, and the key fit, so we took it. Our quickie breakfast was a gourmet delight from McDonalds. Nancy gave me a sideways glance as I downed my second Egg McMuffin. I told her I was feeling quite brave. She gave me a nervous laugh, and held my hand. I got a call from the travel agent just as we were finishing. I stepped out of Nancy's earshot and reviewed options. I went for the suite, and the massage schedule for tonight and the following morning. I thanked her for her help. We made it to the shrink about on time. He started out surprised when I told him I wanted Nancy in the session, and was even more surprised when we told him of the night's events. He excused himself for a moment, then returned to us. That session was gut-wrenching, but I kept my breakfast down. It was intense for the three of us -- Nancy really let a lot out, and so did I. We were all dripping wet by the time we wore down. We both thanked him profusely. I told him I'd see him in a few weeks. He suggested to Nancy that she might consider something similar, either with him or colleagues he could recommend. We shook hands and left. When I looked at my watch as we were waiting for the elevator, it was after noon! We'd gone over by a good amount. I had Nancy call Jill and tell her we were on the way. Nancy even laughed a bit on the phone. "What did you think of that, hon?" I asked her, squeezing a thigh. She sighed and shook her head. "Thank you so much for dragging me in there. I didn't want to do it, but I'm really glad I did." "See something like that in your future?" She shook her head. "I'm not sure. I'll know better when we get back from Europe." Then she laughed. "I'm surprised you held on to breakfast. I love you, Bill." I laughed a little as well. "I figured it was a good opening gambit, sort of like women and their long hair. But now that you're caught, I don't need it anymore." That had her howling with laughter. It was so good to see her laughing again. We both sombered up as we pulled up to the house. There were a couple of big blue trucks there, as well as a pickup I thought I recognized. Only one cop car remained. The mystery vehicle was gone. As we walked up to the open garage door, Carl greeted us. He was smiling. He turned and called out, "Jill, Karen -- they're here." I shook Carl's hand. "Haven't had the chance to talk to you, but boy am I glad you were here." He nodded. "It was real." We walked into the house. It was pretty busy inside. We could hear vacuum cleaners going upstairs. The glass had been cleaned up downstairs, and the drapes were being taken down. Jill, the general contractor, and the cop walked over. "This is quite a party," I told them. I shook hands with the general, and the cop. Jill got a hug. "You two look a lot better than last I saw you," Jill told us. Nancy gave her a hug. "I feel better. Can I go up and pack?" Karen walked up and said, "Sure, I'll go up with you. They're still cleaning up." I went to the kitchen and got a can of 7-Up. We sat around the kitchen table. They filled me in. Thanks to his camera, Carl saw our visitor drive up. Carl alerted Karen, and called 911. Our visitor did something at the front door to the house, and the garage door. Carl assumed the worst and went to the glass sliders. When Morris went through the gate by the pool shed, the alarm system turned on all the outside lights. That's when the he lost it. Carl yelled at him to freeze, but instead, he shot off a few rounds in Carl's direction, taking out the sliding glass doors. For good measure, he put three into the sliding glass doors in our bedroom. The angle on those was such that they went in near the tops of the windows, and the bullets went into the ceiling. Backups started arriving around then, and Mr. Morris jumped the fence and took off down the hill, through the Manzanita and poison oak. Down the hill a ways, he managed to find a BMW sitting in a carport, with the keys on the driver's seat. They didn't get the stolen car report until 9 in the morning, giving him almost six hours head start. The bomb squad took their time with the goodies he'd set up -- they would have killed anyone nearby. His car had more goodies in it, and was eventually towed off. The cops finished photographing and documenting the scene around 10, and let the cleanup crew start in. The cleanup crew was courtesy of Janet's insurance company. I made some mention about that showing the guy had a heart, and Jill scowled, telling me they were valiantly trying to limit their already mounting liability. The contractor told me glass was on order, but would take a while. I told him it could take a couple weeks -- all the door panels had to be energy efficient double-glazed, and he should see what he could do about the upper glass. He smiled and nodded. I got serious for a moment and asked him about reinforcing the master bath -- the walls and the door. I looked at Carl -- he nodded and said that was probably a good idea. The contractor said he'd done that kind of work before. He'd look it over and be able to give me a quote in a couple days. I told him Monday would work -- we were leaving Wednesday on our trip. I asked him to look at the same for the office downstairs. He nodded. Then it was "Oh shit, I'm going to be late for Marshall." Jill laughed, and told me she'd called ahead, and besides -- I was the client, and could show up any damn time I pleased. I went upstairs. Our room wasn't that much of a mess, but still, I felt violated. I saw red arrows taped to the ceiling, pointing out three bullet holes. The drapes were gone, and the glass was cleaned up. It was going to take a lot of roses to make this room romantic again. I went to Nancy's side and held her. "So what do I pack? Where are we going?" she asked I held her to me. "We're going away until Monday to relax. Pack casual, pack swim wear, once nice outfit for a fancy dinner. Okay?" She held me and burrowed her head into my shoulder. I started picking out things for me, but she slapped my hand, and said, "Scat! I'll do it!" I chuckled and headed downstairs. The contractor was on his cell phone. "Hey, the damn phone shut up!" I exclaimed to nobody in particular. Karen told me the phone line had been switched at nine, an administrative person fired at nine ten, and the number changed again at nine thirty. We should be okay now. The phone company was apologetic, and graciously agreed to waive their normal change fees. I asked what she was going to do now. She said she and Carl were going to stay in the house for a while, to watch things. I saw the look in her eye, and told her where the cushions and the extra sections of bedspread material were hiding. She blushed just a little and laughed, thanking me. They were also going to visit the beach house and sweep it for uninvited technology. I told her I was concerned about Tahoe as well. Nancy called out for help with our bags. I headed to the stairs, but Carl was halfway up them already. He brought down a large suitcase, and a midsized one. "Hey, it's only a few days!" I called out. Nancy looked down her nose at me. "Get your hat, and your sunglasses. We're taking my car." The cop bothered me to sign some paperwork. I just remembered to swing by the office. I popped the secret compartment, grabbed the cash envelope, and took out half its contents. Then I put that half back, and put the whole thing in my inside jacket pocket, zipping it up. Gee, we had a safe I'd never looked at. Oh well, something to do Monday. One of the cleanup crew moved a truck so we could get Nancy's car out of the garage. We bid everyone goodbye, promising to stay in touch, and sped off. It was actually quite a pleasant, if surreal, sendoff. About two blocks from the house, it hit me, and I slumped in the seat. God, I was beat. "How long should you be at Marshall's, and where the hell are we going?" Nancy asked as we zipped along. "We shouldn't be that long, and we're going North, over the Golden Gate, up to the Wine country, Highway 12, so we should get the hell out of town as fast as we can." She rubbed my leg. "Okay, what do you want from Togo's?" They're a sandwich chain, and there's one near the law office. "Small turkey and avocado, provolone, no onions or peppers, just mustard, mayo, salt and pepper, and a Sprite to drink." "You got it, sweetie." She dropped me at the front door of the law firm, and zipped off again. I was glad she was showing more spirit. When I looked at my watch, it was only one twenty -- we'd done well. I was beat but feeling better. Marshall practically ran out to meet me. We walked back to a conference room. We reviewed the will in detail. Then I signed, signed, and signed some more. We shook hands after that, and he said he'd send a copy to Jill for me. I asked him about the other question I'd given him. He looked up for a moment, then laughed. He told me it didn't pose any problems, but they'd want to make some changes to protect things. I was satisfied with that, and told him that most likely, nothing would happen for a month, unless of course we got married in the next 48 hours. We laughed and shook hands again, and he showed me to the door. Nancy was sitting in the car, engine running, waiting for me. I got in and we sped up Page Mill Road to the freeway. My lunch was in a bag on the floor. "Where's yours?" I asked. She very smoothly moved her hand from the shift lever to her stomach, belched, and moved her hand back to the shift lever again. I laughed and told her I loved her. I ate as she drove. It felt good to relax. I was looking forward to tonight, and hopefully some peace. I leaned the seat back and closed my eyes. I opened them again and we were on 19th Avenue in San Francisco, going from where the freeway ends, through town, to the bridge. She rubbed my neck. We beat the traffic and arrived at the Kenwood Spa (http://sterba.com/kenwood/inn/) about two and a half hours after leaving Palo Alto. It's a small place on Highway 12 in the Valley of the Moon. I'd wanted to go there for a quite a while with Janet. Here I was -- with Nancy. How the world had changed in a few weeks! As we went to check in, Nancy threw her arms around me. At the desk, the gal greeted us warmly, and went over our arrangements. We had an upstairs suite, and were scheduled for the Ti Amo Togetherness Massage at eight that evening. Nancy gave me a very nice hug at that. I told the gal we'd select our packages for tomorrow by then. She smiled and said it wouldn't be a problem, but if we wanted something Saturday morning we should probably select those as well. We went to our suite. It had European antiques, lush fabric treatments, feather beds and down comforters, and a fireplace, along with the balcony. We both used the loo. As I took another swipe at my face with the shaver, Nancy was looking over the Spa card. "What were you thinking of for tomorrow?" she asked me, a gleam in her eye. "Oh, get up whenever. I'd like a massage, probably deep tissue. You can go for whatever you want. The only thing I want to do is visit some wineries, especially Gloria Ferrer back down the road." She smiled. "Okay, I'll pick for us." I shrugged. "Fine. But let's get going. There's a rib place up the road that's pretty good, but gets crowded. I want to let dinner digest for a while before our massage." She stood up and gave me a great kiss. We headed off a few minutes later, and had a good meal. The ribs weren't as good as the ones in Tahoe, but the sauce was a bit better. Some memories of Tahoe were good -- especially dancing. Gail is quite a woman. Some memories weren't as good. I'd let myself get distracted. We returned to Kenwood, and changed into our swimsuits. We lounged by the pool and outdoor Jacuzzi for a while, letting out some of the kinks. Nancy went in to tell the staff what we'd decided upon for Friday morning, and I think Saturday -- I didn't know, but she looked quite pleased with her selections. We headed back to our suite in time to get ready for the massage. Nancy told me the package included a complimentary bottle of champagne, but we were going to save that for another time -- tonight we'd drink lots of water. I smiled and agreed. Then she went to the bathroom and came back with two glasses of water, and a pill for each of us. I nodded and sighed. It was a good idea. As things were being set up for our massages, Nancy gave a few pointers to the gal who would be working me over. The massages themselves were good, although a little short. Somehow we managed to get into bed afterwards, and went to sleep holding each other. I got up around two to pee -- all that water had run its course. Sitting on the can, two this morning seemed a whole lot more peaceful than two the previous morning. And I'd actually done it -- I'd asked her to marry me, and she'd accepted. Act in haste -- repent in leisure? This was going to be a whole lot different than being married to Janet. I was going to make it better. It already felt better. Still, I had some apprehension. I thought I'd loved Janet deeply, as much as I could love anyone. I knew better now. My feelings toward Nancy were stronger than anything I'd felt with Janet. And living together -- with Janet, with both of us working, we were together on the weekends, and then what -- five or six waking hours a day? Nancy and I would be together almost all the time. That was going to take commitment, effort, love. I'd need her help. But hey, we'd been together almost constantly since that Friday evening. We'd made it this far. Yeah, but... Were we being held together by the adversity? Is that what we had in common to hold us together? What would happen when that finally dissipated? What would we do when we were faced with just each other? I didn't know. I don't want to hurt her. I don't want to hurt me, either, but I don't want to hurt Nancy. That's what upset me so much about this recent shit -- hurting Nancy. "Going to sit there all night, sweetie?" I looked up to see Nancy standing in the doorway. I flushed and stood up. "Sorry, got occupied." She had a wrapped tampon in her hand as she sat down. "That's okay. I love you. I'll be a while as well." I closed the door partway for her and crawled back into bed. It had the pleasant aroma of the massage oil they'd used on us. I could get used to that. I was just about asleep again when she crawled back to bed. She pulled me to a nipple. She'd put on perfume. I sighed, took a deep breath, and gave myself to her. We awoke for the room service breakfast Nancy had ordered. She scampered into the bathroom while I put on a terry hotel robe and let our breakfast in. I gave the guy a reasonable tip, and spread things out on the table. "Breakfast is here!" I called out, tossing my robe back on the bed. Nancy came out of the bathroom, hollered, "Eek!" and went back in, grabbing the other robe. "What's the matter?" I asked as I sat down. "The blinds are open!" she scolded me. "So? We're upstairs, we're adults, and we're at a spa." She laughed and shook her head as she sat down to breakfast. "So what's on tap for us this morning?" I asked. She looked at the clock. "We've got forty five minutes to get down to the spa. We'll be there about two and a half hours, then we can go looking around. I'm still trying to set things up for tomorrow, but it will be about the same -- spa in the morning, wander around after. Sound okay, sweetie?" I nodded. "Especially if it's with you." We finished our breakfast. "Do I need to shower or anything?" I asked as I shaved. "No, just wear your swimsuit under the robe, and the sandals. Come here when you're through shaving." "Okay, I'm going to brush my teeth first." I brushed my teeth, then went back to the bed. She'd drawn the drapes and was sitting on the bed, smiling. I think I liked that smile. She patted the bed next to her. "Right here, sweetie." She put me on my back, and kissed me, running her hands on my body. As I started fondling her breasts, she moved down on me. "Now enjoy it, sweetie -- I didn't bring anything to tie you down with." I sighed and relaxed as much as I could. She ran her hands over me, exciting me, then moved in with her breasts. She felt great, but ... it was hard for me to let go. After a bit she stood up. She came over to me and looked at me, smiling. Then she dropped a towel over my face. "Close your eyes and no fair peeking, sweetie." That actually got me a bit more excited. I heard her rummaging around, it sounded as if she was going through the suitcase or something. Then I felt her hands stroking me again, and she was telling me how much she loved me, and how much she wanted me to relax and enjoy it. Then I felt that soft fabric of our spread on me. I sighed and let my hips take over. I moaned as I got closer, and the fabric was replaced by her breasts, and then her mouth, as I came, shuddering and shaking. She let me rest a while, then helped me up. I used the toilet again, got in my trunks, got the robe and sandals, and we headed to the spa. I'd had massages before, but never from a guy. Frank was going to be working on me. He looked my age or older, and in good shape. Nancy told him in great detail about my shoulders, low back, and hips. "Enjoy, sweetie," she told me, and we had one parting kiss. "She's some lady," Frank said as we walked down the short hall. "Yup, she sure is." "You newlyweds?" "Nope, in fact I just asked her to marry me last night -- no, early this morning? It was some time in the last 48 hours anyway." He laughed a little. "You move fast!" I shook my head. "That's the way life is some times. We're here to slow down for a bit." He opened the door and pointed to the table. The room overlooked sort of a terrace. "That's what we're here for. Start on your stomach, towel over your rear." I nodded and went in. I touched my hands to the floor, stretching a bit, then got on the table, arranging the towel. Frank knocked and came in. He touched me gently, exploring. "You had a massage last night?" he asked. "Yup," I said from the face cradle as he probed my upper back. "The Te Amo package. Good, but a little short." He chuckled. "When's the last time you had a massage before that?" I had to think. After we moved out of the townhouse? "In the last two weeks." "Your body is telling me it's been through some wild times." I laughed, lying there on the table. "You wouldn't believe half of it. I'm not sure I do." He laughed along. "Well, we'll do what we can on your upper half today, and leave the lower half for tomorrow." Damn but he was good. He coached my breathing through the rough spots, especially between my shoulder blades. There were times when it was hard for me to relax and let him work the deep tissues, even though I knew it was helping a lot. At the end, I wasn't so much relaxed as worn out. I was on my back, and he finished up working on my chest and shoulders. I heard a knock on the door. He put a hand on my shoulder. "Okay Bill, you stay right there for the second part. I'll see you tomorrow morning. Remember to drink plenty of water today." I sighed. Moving around, my shoulders felt better. "Thanks Frank. I appreciate it." I opened my eyes to see two gals come in, one carrying a large bowl. "Mister Wilson," one of them said, "now you get a facial and a relaxing massage." One gal started massaging my feet while the other spread warm goo over my face. When my face was covered, the work on my feet stopped, and someone started in on my head, neck, and shoulders. It was heavenly. I would have sighed more, but my face was covered with goo and wrapped in cloth. I don't know how long that went on. It could have gone on longer. Too soon someone was peeling the stuff off my face, then washing me with a warm, fragrant cloth, and drying me. Since nobody told me the traditional "Take your time getting up," I decided to stay where I was. I was comfortable and relaxed. I heard the door open and close. I felt a pair of warm lips on mine, and familiar hands on my body. I raised my hands and held her through her terry robe. She pulled away and I opened my eyes. "I love you," we both said, and laughed a little. "How do you feel?" she asked. I reached out with my hands for her breasts. She stepped back and gave me a low laugh. "Flip over on your tummy, big boy." I groaned a little and did as I was told. She felt along my upper back, and moved my shoulders. They felt a whole lot better. She made approving noises. "Nice job, very nice. Was he gentle with you?" "No." She laughed. "I didn't think so. It took some work to get out those kinks." She felt my bottom appreciatively. "Get your robe on and join me by the pool." I sighed and got up, putting on my suit, robe, and sandals. My upper body felt a lot better. My face felt tingly. Not bad, not bad. I could get used to this. Nancy looked great, sitting back in a lounge by the pool sipping iced tea. I sat next to her and she handed me a glass. I drank most of it at once. It was good. "You look wonderful," I told her, "how do you feel?" She sighed and smiled. "I just wish it was tomorrow, so we could finish this properly." I raised my glass and finished it. A gal came along and refilled my glass and topped off Nancy's. "So what did you have?" I asked. Her shoulders went up and down as she took a full, slow breath. "A very nice massage and a skin treatment as well. I talked to Frank -- I think tomorrow we're going to start you with Deb for a bit to get you relaxed, then have Frank do the hard work." I sighed. My shoulders were loose, but I might be a bit sore later. "Okay, as long as someone works on my head and neck afterwards like today." "Oh, don't worry, sweetie. We'll take good care of you." She laughed. I knew I was in for something. We rested for a bit drinking our herb tea ("to help flush released toxins from our systems" we were told -- I figured that meant I'd be spending a lot of the day peeing). We headed back to our suite and had a very long intimate shower together. I got her pressed up against the wall with a nipple in my mouth, and ran a hand between her legs. The way she moaned and held my head, I hoped I knew what she needed. I caressed between her legs gently as I sucked, and soon she had a loud, shuddering orgasm. I held her in my arms and we kissed as we rinsed. We dried and dressed, and got on the road -- time to visit wineries. We visited a few, mostly along Highway 12. Most were overblown. Some were very good. I think our favorite was Kunde. We had a very nice tour, and even bought some wine and some of their garlic dipping sauce. Chateau St. Jean was also good. We ended up in downtown Santa Rosa, walking along the shopping area. We started dipping into jewelry stores, looking at wedding bands. We looked at perhaps eight or ten places. We sat on a bench outside one place, holding hands, smiling. I looked into her eyes. "What was it, the third or fourth place?" I asked her. She nodded. "I know where it is. You liked those?" I nodded. "Very much." She nodded. "I did too." "You sure? They have to last a long, long time." She took my hand and led me back. The gal recognized us. She'd managed to find a few pair in the requisite sizes. They were a folded metal design, simple yet pretty. The gal wanted to know if we were interested in engagement rings. Nancy told her no. We selected a pair. When the gal asked how I wanted to pay for them, I took the envelope out of my coat pocket. I looked at Nancy. She was a little teary eyed, but she smiled, and even giggled a little. I paid cash. They went into boxes, which I put in my inside jacket pocket with the remaining cash. We thanked the gal for her help and walked outside, hand in hand. Out under the shop awning we kissed. "Thank you, John," I said softly. Nancy sighed and whispered, "Bill, I love you." We walked around some more. I almost bought a shirt at the Pendleton shop on the corner. We walked and looked a while more. Nancy told me we had to head back so we could get changed. "For what?" I asked. "For dinner. We've got reservations." "Where?" "I don't know. I had the hotel do it." I laughed. "Makes perfect sense to me." Nancy drove us back to the resort. She told me to go to our suite while she checked on things. Okay, I can do this. I finished shaving again and brushing my teeth when she came in, smiling from ear to ear. She gave me a hug and a kiss, then put out clothes for me to wear. "We need to get you a better sport coat," she said, coming back into the bathroom. "We could stop in the City on the way back Monday -- where does Mayor Willie shop?" She gave me a raised eyebrow. "I don't think he buys clothes off the rack." I almost made a remark about being able to afford anything, but reconsidered. "Yes dear. We can go to Nordstrom or Macy's at the Stanford shopping center. You want something else for me to take to Europe?" "Yes," she said, brushing her hair. "I was planning on doing that earlier in the week..." I stood behind her and put my arms around her waist. "But we got distracted. I love you." She sighed and held my arms around her. "I love you too, Bill. Now let me get ready to go!" I laughed and left the bathroom, after giving her a quick feel. She wore a simple but ravishing dress. I wore a dress shirt, slacks, and coat. She gave me the car keys, and fed me directions. We went to a continental-style place. We had a leisurely, good, and expensive meal, pigging out on two desserts each. We waddled back to the car, and she let me drive again. "What would you like now, darling?" she asked, hand on my leg. "How about I do your feet? Would that be good after all the walking we've done." She sighed, but then said, "I've been meaning to ask you about that! Just where did you learn that?" I laughed and confessed. I didn't remember how many days ago it had been though, when I'd spent the morning with Angie. Nancy rubbed my shoulders. "You are very special." I nodded and told her, "You deserve better than you've gotten, hon." We went back to our suite and got ready for bed. We ended up flipping a coin, and she lost. I massaged her feet until she stopped moaning, then massaged them some more. I tucked her in, cleaned up in the bathroom, and climbed in with her, snuggling up close. We woke up to the room service call. Nancy scampered to the bathroom again, and I grabbed a robe and let them in. This time when I called to her, she came out wearing a robe. We cleaned up and got "dressed" for the morning Spa routine. Nancy told me I was in for something special. As we walked down to the spa, hand in hand, I was thinking about the rings, and about her, and about my commitment to her. Tahoe bugged me. She had been willing, even encouraging. Gail and Chris had been willing. Hell, everyone was willing. So, what was bugging me? The only person upset about it seemed to be me. I didn't want to turn into another John. That scared me. What he'd done to Janet scared me, saddened me, infuriated me. They way he'd hurt Nancy saddened and infuriated me. "What's the matter, Bill?" Nancy asked as we stood together at the spa entrance. I looked in her eyes as she put a hand on my brow to smooth out the wrinkles. "Just thinking." She shook her head. "Think later. Now is the time to relax." A gal walked up and said, "That's right. Bill, I'm Deb. We'll be starting out together this morning. Come on back." I hugged Nancy's hand and followed Deb. She seemed to be in her 30's, about Nancy's height, a little slimmer, short hair and brown eyes. We went to a different room, but it still overlooked the terrace. She pointed me inside. "We'll start with you on your back today. Towel over the middle. I'll knock before I come in." I nodded. I liked this routine. I stretched a bit, and rolled my shoulders. They felt good, a lot looser than they had in a long time. I was a little sore though. Some parts felt more tenderized than loose or relaxed. I got on the table, adjusted the towel, and sighed. With a knock, Deb came back in the room and pulled a stool up to the head of the table. "Nancy said you needed some help unwinding, so that's what we're going to do. I'm going to work on your head and neck and help you relax. Then Frank will come in for the hard work, and then I'll finish up with your neck and head again. How does that sound?" I let out a breath, letting my eyes close. "I could get used to this." She laughed. "Good, so could I. To start, I want you to take a slow, deep breath, and when you let it out, let go of all the tension, all the troubles." As I exhaled, she started massaging my temples. It felt very nice. We kept that up for a while, and while her hands stayed on my head, neck, and shoulders, her voice relaxed me from top to bottom. It was funny -- as she talked, I could feel the space between my ribs increasing, and later on I could feel my hips loosening up. I was on my stomach, and Frank was coaching my breathing as he went over my upper back again for a while. Then he focused on my lower back, hips, and legs. My calves were so tight, or what he was doing so intense that I almost flew off the table. He moved on to hamstrings. I'd settled down again when the door opened and I heard Deb's voice. She and Frank whispered for a bit. She moved to my head and I felt her hands again. "Bill, I want you to listen to me again. I'm going to help you relax so Frank can work on your legs." That tightened me up again, the mention of that, but after a couple minutes I was relaxed and floating again, and was able to breathe through what was happening to my legs. Then it was back to my head and neck again, drifting and floating. I woke up to Nancy kissing me again. We kissed for a bit, and she helped me get up and get dressed. We repeated the previous day's routine, sitting sipping tea for a while. I was still somewhat spaced out. "Did you like that?" Nancy asked. I took a breath, letting it out slowly. "Wow, yes. What was that gal's name?" Nancy put a hand in the pocket of her robe and pulled out a card, waving it. "Deb. She's local, with her own practice. We might see her tomorrow. Would you like that?" I sighed and frowned. "Can we sleep in tomorrow? Please?" She laughed as she put the card back. "Yes, dear, we can sleep in. We can also sleep in on Monday -- it won't do us any good to leave here before eleven anyway, because of the commute traffic." I took another sip and nodded. "Okay then. We need to go to Gloria Ferrer this afternoon, though. Time to shower?" She started standing and held out a hand. I took her hand and we went back upstairs. Our shower was slow and sensuous. As I got a little more personal, she held me and whispered, "Tonight, darling, I promise." I kissed her shoulder and held her. "I can wait." She dug fingers into me and growled, "Well, I can't!" I dried off quickly. Thinking about the last few weeks, some parts were already a blur. What did I want, looking forward? What was I worried about? I dropped my towel and went to find my coat. As Nancy was calling out, "Bill? What's the matter?" I got out the rings. "Nothing, I'll be right there." I went back into the bathroom and took her by the hand. "Come sit with me. Now," I asked her. She gave me a puzzled look. "Where?" I stepped into the tub. "Here. Please." She started to laugh, but saw I was serious. She stepped into the tub and we sat down. She put her legs over mine. I had both rings on my little finger. I held her hands as best I could. "Nancy, I love you. I don't want to hurt you. Some of the things I've done in the last few weeks bother me. I need to be reminded, I want to be reminded of what's important." I handed her my ring. "Nancy, I want to be reminded that you're the most important person in the world." I held out my left hand. Her chin jiggled and her eyes filled with moisture. She sniffled a little and her hands shook as she placed the ring on my finger. Then she held out her hand, and smiled. I brought it up to my lips and kissed her hand, then slipped the ring on her finger, then kissed her hand again. "I love you," I whispered. I whispered because my voice wouldn't make any louder sounds. We held each other, sitting naked in the tub, and cried. "You're crazy, you know that?" she finally said, wiping her eyes. "That makes you Mrs. Crazy," I told her, and kissed her hand again. She laughed and sniffled a little more. "I guess it does. I'll be whatever you want me to be." "No, Nancy. I want you to be what you want. I want you to be happy, healthy, and with me, for a long, long time." We hugged again, and got out of the tub. She looked down at it and laughed. "I'm never going to be able to think about bathtubs the same," she told me. I brushed her hair with a hand. "Neither will I. It's just one of the things that makes us special, I guess." I moved my hands to her breasts, holding and caressing softly. She held my hands and looked at me, almost laughing. "Okay, Mister Crazy, let me get ready to go!" I rolled her nipples gently, watching her eyes close a little. "Okay, if you insist," I told her. I left the room to her low laugh. We dressed casually, and headed down to the Carneros region and Gloria Ferrer. They specialize in sparkling wines, and have a very nice facility. It wasn't too crowded for a Saturday. I had a definite purpose in mind for our visit, besides tasting some good wines. I'd visited the place before. Walking around with Nancy, holding her hand, I noticed a gal wearing a name tag, and motioned to her. She walked over to us. "So, what do you think about having the wedding reception here?" I asked Nancy as the gal approached. Nancy stopped, then looked around slowly. She started laughing, and gave me a hug. The gal asked, "Are you thinking of the wedding as well, or just the reception?" As we turned to her, she held out a hand, and said, "I'm Julie." I shook her hand. "Hi, Julie. I'm Crazy, and this is Nancy, soon to be Mrs. Crazy -- but most people call me Bill." She laughed. "Glad to meet you. Let me get one of our event planners for you." We got our glasses refilled while we were waiting. "Did anyone ever tell you just how good that ring looks on you?" I told my future bride. An older gal joined us. We walked over to a table off the tasting area and looked over brochures. They could do the whole thing for us. Nancy was still a bit shaken, and we didn't have many specifics, such as dates or numbers of guests. We were told in a serious tone that for certain dates, they had minimum party sizes. I smiled and told her that would not be a problem, as price was not an issue. For grins, I asked her if there was a helicopter pad on the property. Without blinking, she told me that while there was not, they had done temporary pads in the past, and permits were usually not a problem. I realized then that I didn't have any business cards. I'd have to make up something. Maybe "TGM Inc." Whatever Jill and/or Marshall suggested. I gave her our Woodside address, and told her we'd be in Europe for three weeks, but would get back to her as soon as we could. I asked what dates were already booked. She brightened at that, and went off to get us a list, and more information. "What was the helicopter bit?" Nancy asked, able to speak again. I looked at her; she has such pretty eyes. "Oh, a way of saying I've got more money than sense. It would be fun, actually, to ferry some of the people up here by chopper, and take us away to our honeymoon." She sighed and shook her head, but she was smiling. "So do you like this place? We could run off to Tahoe instead. We just have to be sure Jill and Gail are there." She held my hands and looked at me with a furrowed brow. "This would be wonderful. I'd love to get married here. I'd love to get married to you anywhere." "Okay, so can we pick a date now?" "Are you nuts?" "Yes! Will you marry me?" She laughed. "Of course." Our hostess returned. She had a copy of a calendar with dates marked off. "What about the racetrack, Sears Point, down the road? Do you have their schedule? I'd hate to be competing with something major." Our hostess nodded with a smile. She glanced at another sheet. That narrowed us down to three Saturdays during the summer, or off into September or later. Now we were getting to the tough stuff. I looked at the calendar. I looked at Nancy. She sat back a bit. "Okay, September 9, or October 7. Can we give you a deposit to hold those dates, and pick one in the next month? Nancy?" Nancy's eyes got big. I laughed. "What's so hard? We know who the bride and groom are going to be, right? The rest is details." Nancy sputtered, then started laughing. She took my hand. "Were you serious, or trying to be funny?" "Yes," I told her -- a safe answer. Nancy sat up and looked at our hostess. "He's clueless. October 7." She turned back to me. "Do you have any idea how much goes into planning a wedding?" "No. Not my job. I just pay for it. I've got a beautiful bride, rings, I know what flowers I want, and who I want to invite. The rest is details. We hire people for that." Nancy took a deep breath and sat back. She looked at our hostess and shook her head. "Clueless, but I'm going to keep him." We all laughed. We talked sizes, people, deposits. I had two blank checks in my wallet. I filled out one for a mid-four-figure amount. I also gave the gal one of Jill's cards, telling her she would know how to contact us in Europe if the need arose. We walked around a bit more while paperwork was prepared. "You're serious about this," Nancy said as we walked back to the tasting bar. Our hostess made some kind of sign to the guy pouring, and he hauled out a different bottle, filling our glasses. I took a sip. This stuff was good. I knew what we'd have at the wedding. "Yes, I'm serious. Am I pushing too fast?" She smiled as she sipped from her glass. "No, darling, it's just that you have no clue as to what has to get done." I looked her in the eye. "And I don't care! We'll get it done!" "Yes, dear." I signed some contract forms. I asked the gal to fax a set to Jill; she readily agreed. We shook hands and she headed back to the office, a big smile on her face. "Another tough sell," I muttered. Nancy put a hand on my shoulder. "You don't care how much this costs, do you?" "Well, Tahoe would be cheaper. But I only plan to do it once. I'd like to keep it under half a million, though, and I don't want to go really nuts. I guess we should start figuring out who's going to come, and where we'll have them stay." "What?" I walked us back to the bar. "Whatever that was you poured for us last, we'll take two bottles." I turned to Nancy again. "I figure people in the wedding party come up on Friday night and stay Saturday night, go back Sunday. We can talk about it later." "We're leaving for three weeks on Wednesday. How? What? ..." I kissed her. "Don't sputter, dear. We'll manage. Shall we go back to the hotel?" She gave me an exasperated look. "You are crazy...." I emptied my glass and set it on the bar. "And you're my wife, Mrs. Crazy." I paid for the two bottles of bubbly. They were expensive, but what the hell. I drove us back -- Nancy was mumbling to herself, alternating between shaking her head and laughing. When we got back, I put on my swimsuit. "Care for a swim before dinner?" She looked at me in shock, then came over to me and gave me a hug. She laughed and said, "No, darling, you go ahead. I've got some things I want to do." "Okay, and pick a place for dinner for us tonight." She was quiet for a moment, then held me tighter. "Yes, dear. Enjoy your swim. I'll be down in a while." It was still nice out, and the water was warm. I put my cell phone, robe, and towel on a lounge, then started swimming laps in the pool. Nancy appeared a while later, with someone from the hotel. She called me over. "Are you serious about putting people up for Friday and Saturday?" she asked. I nodded my head. "I figured for the wedding party, the intimate bunch, yes. And that means I'd pick it up." She nodded, then handed me a clipboard. It had the other blank check made out to the hotel, for a large amount of money. "Okay, sign it. We're taking the place over for those two nights, as much as we can." "Towel?" I asked. I dried my hands, then signed the check. "Thanks, hon, that was a good idea." The two of them walked off. I got out and picked up my phone. I gave Jill a call. "Hi there, wondered if I would hear from you two. How are you?" "Pretty good. Mark the weekend of October 7 on your calendar. You're busy." "Oh? What's up?" "That's when we're getting married -- Gloria Ferrer Caves in Sonoma." "Congratulations! Who else have you told? When did this happen?" "You're the first. We picked the date a while ago." "And how is Nancy taking things?" "Oh, pretty well now. She's freaking out about the wedding, so she isn't worrying about other things." Jill laughed. "I won't tell her you said that!" We talked about other things. I asked about business cards. She said TGM, Inc. would be fine. She'd set things up and I'd sign Monday; she'd clear things through Marshall to be sure. She also filled me in our dear Mister Morris. I had to laugh. "So tell me, Jill, is someone going to sue me over this?" She thought for a moment. "I don't think so, but if it happens, I wouldn't be surprised. Want to get rid of the poison oak?" "Hell no! I want it to grow! Maybe we should put up signs -- 'Please don't molest the poison oak' or something like that." "I like that. You're driving back Monday then?" "Far as I know. We may stop on the way for clothes -- Nancy wants me to have another jacket for the trip." "Okay, call when you get into town. Repairs are going quickly at the house. You've got a very good contractor." "Ok, Jill, we'll see you Monday." I stretched for a bit, then headed back to the room. I knocked on the door. "Who is it?" Nancy asked. "Land shark," I replied. She opened the door and gave me a strange look. I kissed her. "Never mind," I told her, "old joke from Saturday Night Live." She shook her head and laughed softly as she walked back into the room. A notepad was on the bed, with sheets of paper strewn about. I walked up to her, holding her from behind and kissed her neck. "Am I pushing too fast on this?" She took my hands from her hips and pulled them around her waist. "No, it's not too fast. Too sudden, yes, but not too fast." "Okay. Feel like dinner?" She turned in my arms, putting hers around my neck. "Yes. We're going to an Italian place called The Villa. It's up in the hills. Sound good?" I ran my hands up her back. "Sounds delicious. I know what's for desert." She wiggled her hips. "Oh do you?" We kissed. "Go shower so we can get going." I kissed her on the nose, then the forehead. I missed my spacious shower. This one was nice, but there's something about home. That was funny -- it was home. I took a quick shower, got out and dried off, and ran the shaver over my muzzle again. When I went into the other room, Nancy was standing in front of the mirrored closet doors, wearing her bra and panties. I recognized the look, the posture. I walked up beside her, looking at myself in the mirror. I turned sideways a little. "What do you think?" I asked, "Are my hips too big? I've given up on my thighs -- I've got my mother's thighs, and there's nothing I can do with them." A smile broke through on her face, and she started giggling. "No," I pleaded, a serious look on my face, "I don't know what I'm going to wear!" Her giggles turned into full laughter, and she grabbed me and pushed me on to the bed. We kissed, and she pulled up her legs, sitting up on me. "What am I going to do with you?" she asked, holding my shoulders down to the bed. "Keep me?" I asked hopefully. She made a growling sigh and ground her hips into me. "Oh yeah... Now get dressed." She got off me and moved to the closet. "Meanie," I said, pushing out my lower lip. She looked back at me and laughed. I got up and got dressed. She drove us to dinner. It was a good Italian place. I had the fish stew -- tasty. "I talked to Jill this afternoon," I said as I soaked a piece of sourdough bread in the broth. "And?" "Told her to reserve a weekend in October. I think she'll do it." Nancy reached over and squeezed my hand. "I hope so. She's my maid of honor." I nodded. I didn't know who would be my best man. Dale? He made the most sense. "Oh, she updated me on our visitor. Like to hear the tale?" She sat up, a bit more attentive. "Does it have a happy ending?" I chuckled. "Not for Mister Morris, it doesn't. It seems he took the first flight out of San Francisco to Vancouver, Canada. The authorities are hot after him, but you'll never guess who at first." She looked puzzled, a partial smile on her face. "Not the police?" "Oh, the cops are after him now, but originally it was the Health Department." "What? Why?" "Well, it seems Mister Morris tangled with quite a bit of poison oak. By the time he landed in Vancouver, his hands and face were showing the effects. He also contaminated the hell out of a plane seat. Until Jill and our friends down here contacted them, the folks up there were worried they had some funky disease on the loose." She smiled. "How nice. He's still on the loose?" I nodded and tore off another chunk of bread. "Yup. But he's popular. Jill figures he's got some money, and some friends up there as well -- he grew up in and around Vancouver." "But he won't be able to cross the border again." I shook my head. "He wouldn't be able to get through a major customs point like an airport, but probably wouldn't have any problems driving across. We'll see. But, he's cut off from further sources of information on us. He'll turn up sooner or later. He left a bag of nasties in the car -- it was recovered in the SFO short term parking facility. If he shows up, he's facing a very long time in the slam." She nodded slowly. "What about his former employers?" I shook my head. "Didn't ask. I told Jill we'd see her Monday afternoon." Our waiter came by to check if we needed anything else. Before I could say anything, Nancy said, "No, just the check, please." I looked at her. She held my hand again. "I want to go home tomorrow afternoon. If not to Woodside, then to the beach house. I need to pick up my address book. Bill, I've got so much to do! You saw that pile of paper on the bed!" I nodded and smiled. "You need to learn to use a confuser. Okay, we'll go back whenever you want. I thought we were going to do the routine tomorrow? I was getting to like that." She smiled. "You don't mind? Really?" I shook my head. "No. I understand -- I'm asking a lot. There is a lot to be done. But I expect we'll find someone to help, right?" She nodded. "Oh yeah! I've got a couple people to call for recommendations." "Okay, we leave whenever." The waiter dropped off the check. "Let's get going," Nancy said with a growl, digging nails into the back of my hand. I paid the bill and we headed back to the hotel. Nancy stopped at the front desk -- she told me to get ready for bed, squeezing my bottom as I headed to our suite. I brushed my teeth and shaved again, and was just flushing the can when she returned. We kissed just inside the door. She ran her hands over my naked body, and whispered, "I'm glad you're happy to see me." I laughed a little and kissed her neck. "Wait for me -- I'll be a few minutes," she said. We parted slowly, our hands grazing each other as we stepped away. I turned down the bed and relaxed on my back. It would be good to get back to our bed, either at the big house or the beach house. Of course, we're going away for three weeks, so strange beds were going to be the rule for a while. I drifted back to the session earlier in the day with Deb. That had been so relaxing -- almost as good as being in Nancy's arms. I heard her come into the room, and felt her crawl on to the bed. I let out a long sigh as I felt her hands on my legs, moving up from my knees. I enjoyed letting my body respond to her hands. That was such a simple thing, and yet it was something Janet and I hadn't shared. Why? I took another deep breath as she slid her hands along the sides of my cock -- think later! She moved her hands slowly, rhythmically, and my body responded. It was so nice to get lost in that, letting go and letting my body respond. And respond it did, with a sharp breath and a tuck of the hips as she feathered her hands out along my hips suddenly. "Oh, that's so nice," she whispered. "Mmmm..." After a while, I felt something cool on me -- it felt like Astroglide. We used it occasionally, but most of the time relied on nature's own. Her hand spreading it vigorously along my cock soon had me breathing harder. "I'm still a bit dry -- I hope you don't mind," she whispered. "Not at all," I managed to say. After a bit more teasing, she slid up and suddenly I was deep inside her -- heaven! "Oh God, I missed you!" she moaned as she started rocking. "Hurry up or don't rock so much -- I'm not going to last very long." I told her. In response, I felt one of her hands go between her legs. The quality of her rocking changed. I raised my hands and felt for her breasts. I stroked the outsides of her breasts gently the way she loved. Her moaning let me know I was on the right path. As her vocalizations changed, I moved to caressing her nipples with my fingers, rolling them gently. I shifted my hips in response to her rocking, and felt myself now pressing on her inner threshold. That seemed to do the trick. "Oh God!" she moaned on top of me. I tugged her nipples in time to her motion. "Slow and strong, please," I begged her. My breath was following her motion, in and out, in and out. The sound she was making changed, and her motion became more insistent -- I knew she was close. I was close as well, feeling the strong waves flow through me. She took a sharp breath, and I felt her coming around me. I squeezed her nipples a little harder, and she pressed down harder on me. I let go and came inside her, my hands falling away. She leaned forward, putting her hands on my shoulders, as we rode the waves together. We kissed as the waves died out. Every time is the same, yet every time is different -- we slide apart, but the sounds and sensations are different every time. As she moved off to the side of the bed, she kissed me on the forehead. "Don't go anywhere. I'll be right back." I sighed and she pulled the covers up over me. I heard sounds of the toilet, and water running, and her soft laughter. "What was so funny?" I asked sleepily as she crawled into bed with me. I smelled her perfume and let go again. "You are," she said as she pulled me to a soft, warm, perfumed nipple. I sighed in her arms and settled in to sleep. END of Part 5 Tales of the Golden Mule Tales of the Golden Mule by artie@netgate.net http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/artie/www http://artie.web1000.com/ The entire Tales of the Golden Mule is available in HTML format on my web site (http://www.asstr-mirror.org/files/Authors/artie/www/TGM.html). It's also available as a single LARGE (about 800kb!) text file on the asstr ftp site (http://www.asstr-mirror.org//pub/Authors/artie/text/tgm.txt). ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ This post has been reformatted by ASSTR's Smart Text Enhancement Processor (STEP) system due to linelengths exceeding the 75 character limit. ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ <1st attachment end> ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ Notice: This post has been modified from its original format. The post was sent as an email attachment and has been converted by ASSTR ASSM moderation software. ----- ASSM Moderation System Notice------ -- Pursuant to the Berne Convention, this work is copyright with all rights reserved by its author unless explicitly indicated. +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ | alt.sex.stories.moderated ----- send stories to: | | FAQ: Moderator: | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+ |Archive: Hosted by Alt.Sex.Stories Text Repository | |, an entity supported entirely by donations. | +---------------------------------------------------------------------------+