Adam's Journey Pt. 34

Dana, for her part, always seemed to light up when he was around, and I said a brief prayer that it was the right thing, and that she would accept if Harley popped the question.

As for Dana and I, the wall had definitely been smashed down, and we began to really enjoy each other's company. She was comfortable enough around me now to even prop her arms on my shoulders and lean forward, her face right next to mine, looking at the screen as we worked on a problem on my computer.

We weren't alone in the room, but I was able to say very softly "Mmm, you smell good!"

She whispered "You too!" before rubbing her cheek on mine and giving my ear a gentle nip, which sent tingles through me. It was a fun game of innocent sexual teasing, but something we would never have done a week ago, and we laughed and had fun while we worked, and were very at ease with each other.

She caught me in private, out in the utility shed on the morning of the day I was leaving, to tell me that Brian had continued to be very kind and helpful toward her, and that a half hour earlier he had actually apologized for his behavior. In my mind it was the least he could do, but I was still amazed that he had done so.

"And what did you say to him when he said he was sorry?"

"I accepted his apology, and told him I was sorry I had to hurt him." She laughed softly. "It was kind of funny, he winced and kind of covered up his groin when I said that. I don't think he even realized what he was doing, but it made me feel awful. I guess I really hurt him pretty bad."

"He deserved it, you should have ripped his balls off and had them mounted or bronzed as a trophy for your desk. You woke him up and made him see what an ass he was being, which is good for all the rest of us too."

She laughed at my suggestion. "Yeah, but still. Hey, you're leaving today, right?"

"Yup, in a few hours. I'm not much looking forward to it though."

She cocked her head to one side, frowning. "I thought it was a vacation. Aren't you doing anything fun?"

"Well, we're renting a houseboat on Lake Powell for the week, but it was supposed to be three couples and now it's boiled down to just me and my neighbors, Ron and his wife Kori. I kind of feel like a fifth wheel, even though I love 'em dearly, they're great folks."

"I can see where that might get a little awkward, for a whole week. The houseboat and lake sound like fun though. I've always wanted to do that."

I shrugged. "Yeah, it should be fun. It's a huge boat, all the toys. Hot tub, slide, fancy galley and nice quarters, satellite TV, you name it. Ronnie always gets the best."

"So you and Kristi are really separated, huh?"

"Yeah, apparently. The ball is kind of in my court, and I'm a little confused about where to go."

"Do you want to tell me about it? Maybe I can help in some way. I don't know Kristi very well, but I feel like I do from overhearing you talk about her so much to the guys. Harley told me you were head over heels for her." She put her hand on my arm.

"No, I guess not Dana, but thanks. I just have to work through it."

"Well, OK, but if I can help in any way..." She paused. "It's a shame you didn't know earlier that you were going to be separated, you could have taken me with you to Lake Powell."

A quick laugh escaped before I could stop myself. "Yeah, now there's an idea! Why didn't I think of that?"

She frowned again. "Why is that funny? I would have gone with you, it would have been fun!"

"No Dana, it's not funny, I'm sure it would have been great, but what about you and Harley?"

"Humph! I can't put my whole life on hold waiting for that old man!"

I laughed at her. "Ah Dana, the impetuousness of youth! You want instant gratification, but think about him. If you're right, and he does intend to propose, it's a huge, huge step for him. He's probably scared to death!"

"Adam, I'm not really all that scary."

"No, but the idea that you might say no would be."

She thought about that. "Oh. I suppose that's true, if he really loves me, huh?"

"Yes, it's true. Give him a chance to work up his nerve."

"You're right, I will. Hey, did you ever remember what you wanted to ask me the other night? I mean that other, wonderful night?"

I smiled at her. "Nope, it's gone with the wind. My Alzheimer's, remember?"

She laughed. "Oh yeah, that. Hey, we better get back to work, but give me a goodbye kiss before you go, we probably won't get a chance to do that later."

I did, and it turned into a long, deep sexy kiss that would have been a prelude to an afternoon of slow, relaxed, quiet, amazing sex, if I had my way. Unfortunately we were not in a place, physically or emotionally, that afforded us that luxury, and we went our separate ways, both wanting more. Her lips were so soft and sweet, and her taste lingered!

Late that afternoon I loaded up my Jeep, tossing my bags of dirty clothes in the back with the bags I'd packed for the lake, and prepared to leave. As I fired up the engine and turned the car around, I saw Harley wave me down from over by the office. I pulled over in front of him and shut off the engine.

"Hey Harley, what's up?"

"I just wanted to catch you before you left. This is your vacation houseboating trip, isn't it?"

"It is. I'll be gone for about ten days total, but Carl is supposed to be here in the morning, so if you'll hold down the fort 'til then I'd appreciate it."

"No problem. Can I talk to you for a few minutes before you leave?"

I nodded. "Sure. Do you want to go in the office, or is here OK?"

"No, this is fine." He seemed distracted, and looked away over the roof of my Jeep. I got out and stood beside the vehicle, facing him, and realized he was gazing at Dana as she walked across the lot. The love in his eyes was unmistakable.

"So Harley, what's going on?"

"Well, I kind of wanted to thank you for trying to intervene in that situation between Dana and Brian. It's good you were looking out for her."

I laughed. "Oh yeah, that. I kind of got the feeling you were looking out for her too, which is great, but it turns out she can take care of herself, huh?"

He laughed too, both of us enjoying Brian's ultimate pain and humiliation far too much. "Yeah, she's a tiger! She's really something special, that girl."

"She's great Harley, I just came to find that out myself. We kind of bonded that day we worked out in the field together, she's truly something else."

"Yeah, she enjoyed that day with you too Adam. She thinks you're a really great guy."

"Just goes to show you I can fool some of the people some of the time, huh Harley?"

He laughed. "Yeah, I told her you'd do in a pinch."

He paused, so I prompted. "Anything else Harley?"

"Yeah. I love her Adam, I think I'm going to ask her to marry me." He blurted it out, then turned bright red. I had to act surprised, but still, I couldn't let him off the hook.

I smacked him on the shoulder. "Well you old dog! Have you been using all your wily old tricks to get her to fall for you? You should be ashamed, trapping that poor, innocent girl like that."

He grinned sheepishly. I had never seen Harley get embarrassed or flustered, but he was now. It was kind of cute!

"Give me a break Adam, this is tough enough already."

"Hey Harley, I think it's great. Congratulations. Does she know how you feel?"

"I think so. We're pretty close, we spend a lot of time together." He blushed again.

I studied him for a moment, until he squirmed. This was turning out to be fun for me! "Why Harley, you should be ashamed! Are you sleeping with that innocent child? I'm shocked!"

He bristled. "She's no child Adam, and that's none of your damn business!"

I thought for a second he was going to punch me, until I laughed, and he relaxed. "I'm just yanking your chain Harley. You're right, it is none of my business, but all the rest of us are going to be jealous if you're banging her."

He blushed yet again, his face giving him away. "Yeah, well..."

"Why tell me this, Harley?"

"I just wanted to know what you think."

"Why?"

"Because I like you, all right, and you have a way of seeing things clearly, and I value your opinion."

"Oh." I was touched that he felt that way, and felt a severe pang of guilt about screwing Dana, but in my defense I hadn't known how they felt about each other until after! I answered him as honestly as I could.

"Harley, I think she is a beautiful, brilliant, and very incredible young lady, and I think you're one of the best guys it has ever been my privilege and honor to know. I think you'd both be getting something very special in the bargain, and I'd wish you all the happiness in the world. I know how tough it's been for you since Eileen passed, and I'm so glad that lightning struck twice in your life."

He didn't speak for several moments, then he said "Thanks Adam, I really appreciate that. I'm kind of afraid to ask her. What if she says no?"

I looked him in the eye for a few seconds. "What if you don't ask her and she would have said yes?"

"You're right. That's why I talk to you, it clears my head. I'm going to do it!"

"Good for you. Right now?"

"No, but soon. In the next couple of days, when the situation is right. Damn, I have to buy a ring!"

"She doesn't strike me as the type to stand on tradition. Ask her soon and buy the ring later, I don't think she'll care."

He smiled. "You're right again, I will."

"Good. Can I go on vacation now?"

He looked startled. "Oh yeah, sure. Sorry to slow you down. Oh, but one last thing..."

"Shoot."

"If she says yes, will you be my best man?"

Now I was touched, I hadn't even considered that! "Harley, I would be deeply honored to be your best man, it would be my pleasure. Would I get to kiss the bride?"

He laughed. "Sure. If she says yes. I sure hope she says yes."

"She'd be a fool to turn you down Harley, and I'm pretty sure she's no fool. She'll never find a better man."

"Thanks Adam. You have a good vacation, I'll see you in a couple weeks. Wish me luck!"

We shook hands. "Luck Harley, but I don't think you'll need it. Take care."

I got in my Jeep and started the long bounce down to the paved road, heading off on a trip I didn't want to take. I really just wanted to rush to Denver and see Kristi, but I'd promised my friends I'd be there, and Kristi didn't want to see me anyway or she'd be going along.

I don't know why everyone else seemed to think I was Dr. Phil when I couldn't even solve my own problems!

I bounced and rattled on down the track, thinking about the events of that week. I really wondered how the company would feel about them getting married, if in fact it happened, and even more about how they would handle the logistics if they both remained at the project site for any length of time.

To my knowledge we had never dealt with a similar situation before, primarily, I'm sure, because we had never had a woman assigned there before. There would be no way that they would have any true privacy, and I knew from experience that Dana liked to be pretty noisy during sex, and even more so at orgasm. I groaned, thinking about eight or ten other stiff cocks in the room as we all laid there listening to Harley and Dana going at it! Shit, that could cause problems!

Oh well, they'd dealt with that up 'til now without being found out, but somehow I didn't think they would want to keep sneaking around once they were married.

After about thirty minutes of crawling down the trail (I won't flatter it by calling it a road), I saw that I was beginning to catch up to Justin, who had left about ten minutes ahead of me on a supply run. I soon came up behind him in his larger, slower truck, and when he reached a wider flat spot he swung out to allow me to go past. I pulled up alongside of him on his right and stopped, leaning out to talk to him.

"Hey Justin, how's it going? You got kind of a late start today, huh?"

"Yeah, pretty late, but I'm staying in town tonight, and I'll come back up tomorrow morning."

I decided I should talk to him about something that was nagging at me, so I shut off my Jeep and got out, walking around to the driver's window. I noticed that he had seven or eight of the 5-gallon metal gas cans strapped in the back, along with the spare 50-gallon plastic barrel. I hadn't realized we were that low on fuel.

"Lucky you. You going into Rawlins or Rock Springs?"

"Rock Springs this trip."

I was a little surprised. "Really? Rawlins is a lot closer. Is there something we need from Rock Springs, or you just got a girl there or something?"

He grinned. "Both. I know a girl there, and there's something I need real bad!"

I laughed. "Ah, I understand! I kind of wondered if maybe you and Dana wouldn't hit it off pretty well. You're about the same age, aren't you?"

I was trying to get a feel for whether or not Justin might be a major problem if Harley and Dana should go forward as expected, if there might be any jealousy.

"Yeah, I'm twenty three and she's, I think, twenty one, but we don't have too much in common otherwise. She's really nice though, I like her, and she sure is pretty!"

"I'd have to agree, Justin, she's a looker. Smart too; she's incredibly talented, we're pretty lucky to have her."

"Yeah, she sure is smart. I'm just an old redneck cowboy that barely finished high school, so give me a Bud and a babe and an old pick-up truck and I'm in heaven. Girls like her are a little high-maintenance for me."

I laughed, relieved. "So you don't have any romantic designs on her?"

"Romantic designs? You mean am I courtin' her?"

I laughed again. "Courtin' her? How old did you say you are? I haven't heard that expression in years!"

Now he laughed too. "Hey, I told you I was just an old redneck! About Dana though, I'll tell you something, but you have to swear never to breathe a word of it!"

"Sure."

"Me and her, we were fuckin' for awhile, but she kind of broke it off. It didn't mean nothin', I think she was just using me for sex." He grinned at me. "I guess I should be upset about that huh, being treated like a sex object?"

I grinned back at him, shaking my head. "Worse things could happen, right?"

"You sure got that right. I got to fly first class for awhile there, it was great, but it was just sport fuckin'!"

"So, no hard feelings?"

"Nah, she's a sweet gal, I like her. I was gonna kick Brian's ass for her, but she wouldn't let me."

I laughed. "You'd of had to get in line. But she handled it pretty good herself, huh?"

He laughed. "I'll say! He'd of probably rather got his ass kicked. Hey, wait a minute, you're not sweet on her, are you?"

I laughed again at his down-home style. "Me, sweet on Dana? No, I like her a lot, but..." At that moment I decided to take Justin into my confidence. A thought had occurred to me, and I'd need his help to pull it off. He seemed like a very honest, straightforward cowboy, and I was sure he'd be happy to help.

"Listen Justin, now I have to tell you something that you'll need to keep quiet about, I need your help with something."

"Sure chief, whatever I can do."

So I told him all about Harley and Dana, and the likelihood of them getting married. I knew I was betraying a trust, but I had a good reason and I felt pretty good about Justin's trustworthiness. When I was finished, he gave a long, low whistle.

"Well that old dog! Good for him, hooking himself such a fine gal. Of course if he ever finds out I was bangin' her he might just snap me in two, but it wouldn't be the first time I've had a pissed off husband after me!" He laughed.

"Fuck, Justin, be careful where you mention that! I'm sure Harley knows she's not a virgin, but let's try not to rub his nose in it! And hands off now, OK?"

"Sure. I got no rules against fuckin' married women - unless they're married to my friends, that's my one hard and fast rule. Besides, she'd probably hurt me if I tried."

I smiled. "You'd deserve it. Now, about what I needed you to do for me. While you're in Rock Springs, are you picking up beer for the guys, at the liquor store?"

"Sure, of course. And groceries and stuff." He grimaced. "And Dana asked me to buy her some tampons."

I felt his pain, but I laughed as I pulled a hundred dollars from my wallet and handed it to him. "While you're at the liquor store pick up some champagne - that should get you two or three bottles of a halfway decent bubbly - and figure out some way to stash it to keep it cold, where nobody will see it."

"Sure, no problem, I'll put in one of those mesh bags and sink it down in the creek. That water's so damn cold it hurts, even in summer!"

Clever boy! "Great idea! And if they announce all this before I get back, you're in charge of breaking it out and helping them celebrate. Do a nice toast for me, all that kind of stuff. You can take credit for the booze, but you'll probably have to let them know I clued you in on it. Can you do that?"

"Yeah Adam, no problem, I'd be happy to. That's awfully nice of you, to think of that for them. But I need you to do me a favor in return though, OK?"

"Sure, if I can."

He grinned, a big ol' shit-eating grin. "If I get shot full of holes on one of my trips into town, will you come claim my body and bury me out in the hills somewhere?" He laughed out loud. "Because this lady I'm fuckin' tonight has one big, mean motherfucker of a husband that can't seem to get his little dick hard, and I don't think he'd like me fillin' in and fillin' her up for him!"

"Jesus Justin, you're insane!"

He laughed again. "Yeah, probably, but somebody's got to help this poor lady out, she's got a hot, wet pussy and nothin' to put in it!" He reached down and rubbed his crotch. "Fuck, my dick's already hard just thinkin' about it, and I still got three hours of drivin' ahead of me!"

I laughed. "You know, somehow I suspect you won't have any problem keeping it hard until you get there."

He moaned "Yeah, that's the problem! I'm gonna fill that little lady so full of cum before I send her home, her husband's gonna think she's melting!"

I laughed. "Just be careful, OK? And don't get yourself killed until next trip, I need you to take care of our little errand this time."

He grinned again, completely irrepressible. "I will. There's too many poor neglected married ladies out there that need me. I can't go and get myself killed before I take care of all them, now can I?"

I shook my head and walked back around to my Jeep, waving at him. "Good luck Justin. You're gonna need it!"