An Angel's Fix Pt. 04

"You both did," Ashley called. "Anyway, you want to come Jill?"

Jill agreed and they were heading out the door an hour later.

Joe was sitting on the couch with Jasmine coiled up in his lap. They were kissing affectionately and Joe's hand was under her shirt when Ashley walked in. Both looked at her as if their hands were caught in the cookie jar. The other two girls just stood awkwardly, not really knowing what to expect from Ashley's reaction. But, Ashley just said hello, and invited her own "dates" to share the shower with her to wash the sweat off from the dancing.

Jasmine looked at Joe and he shrugged. She opened her blouse, undid her bra and freed one of her breasts. Pulling his head to her chest, she laid back on the couch, reached into her panties and diddled herself while enjoying his tongue play on her nipple. Jasmine came twice by the time Ashley reappeared, and Joe sat back up.

"He's ready for you now," Jasmine giggled as she also sat up, leaving her breasts exposed.

Ashley leaned down and kissed Jasmine. "Thanks." She cupped her friend's breasts, then felt the damp panties. She glanced over at him as he watched intently. "Hmm...he can watch for a bit, I think." Then, her head disappeared under Jasmine's skirt.

Joe didn't watch for long. He knelt behind Ashley and transitioned from watching to enjoying.

* * *

The school year started in earnest and after the first week of getting their bearings, the group excluding Joe got wrapped up in "rush week." Joe didn't feel the need or even want to involve himself with a group of guys who wrapped their partying in the thin shroud of helping each other with schoolwork. Ashley felt the same way, but participated anyway at the urging of the other girls. They went to a number of social functions designed to entice the freshmen to join, but at the end of each night, found themselves gravitating back to the sorority who's president had walked them "home" during orientation. Ashley resisted until the end of the week when a group of "sisters" took her to an upstairs sitting room for a private chat.

They felt that she liked the sorority, but wanted to know what was holding her back. Ashley said that she just did not feel that there was enough time in the day to squeeze in the requirements of a sorority. Asked why, she mentioned Joe first, and the ladies at once understood that point of view. They overcame that objection by saying that Ashley had a built-in date for each of the dances and other social functions, and that an exception could be granted here and there to let Joe in during some of the required study halls, since he was not just a boyfriend, but her husband. Ashley then brought up her heavy course load that included classes for three languages. The ladies perked up at that mention.

"We have a few linguists in our membership," Mary, the president said. "They could certainly help you study those. Which languages?"

"Well, for voice, I have to have a year in French, German, and Italian, along with a year of diction for each."

Mary went over to a computer and punched up a program. "We have a copy of Rosetta Stone for all of those on our server." She stepped out of the way so that Ashley could see the splash screen. "Your membership would let you use it without limits."

Ashley had priced the program when she first learned of the requirements for her study, and each language started out at about $600 for just the beginner course. It captured Ashley's interest, and Mary knew it. Mary went on with her sales pitch, personalizing it to Ashley, who really did not need the dating scene many of the freshmen desired. She focused on community service, and friendships that last beyond college. Unlike many fraternities, sororities tended to have alumni who would remain active and bonded to each other years later.

Ashley was sold and signed the contract at that point. Jill and Jasmine were very happy that she pledged with them, and they talked into the early morning hours guessing what hazing would happen for "Hell Week." Kim did not share their enthusiasm, and in fact hid in her bedroom starting shortly after the other girls returned.

* * *

Once everyone had settled into school, Cindy returned to Joe's house and began to take up residence there at his wish. Joe worried that even with the secure gate and the continuing landscape maintenance, an empty house only invited trouble. So, she spent a few weeks leisurely moving her belongings to the house, interrupted once in a while by one of the girls asking sometimes oddball stuff like where they put their keys last. Not being there, Cindy would have no idea, but she would happily walk them through the possibilities until they found what they needed. With them being away, and having a schedule pretty much set in stone, Cindy found herself getting bored. Even calls and emails were getting sparse from Carter, as the new CEO now had his legs firmly under him.

Joe was paying her well enough, and she just didn't know what else she'd possibly do. It was doubtful that she would be treated as if she were family like with Joe, should she find a new boss to assist. Cindy would shudder at the thought of learning a new personality all over. The transition from the Smiths to Joe was easy, since she knew him through them. But, something was missing from her life. She had to be challenged in order to be happy, that much she knew. The only thing was she just didn't know how she could leave Joe and not be unhappy.

Doug moved in with her at Joe's urging, and things were better on the nights he was home. But, the world's nature of being in constant flux required him to be gone with the admiral he was attached to. She was alone more nights than he was there. One of those nights, the house phone rang, and Cindy nearly jumped out of her skin. She was so accustomed to her cell phone chiming in the middle of the night that she would answer it without actually waking up half the time. But, the house phone NEVER rang until now.

A timid and slurred young female voice urgently asked if Joe was there. Cindy answered that he was away at school. The girl groaned and sobbed that he was the last chance she had at someone helping her. Cindy asked what was wrong, and all she needed to hear was "party." She asked where and eventually the girl blubbered out the location. Cindy grabbed her jeans and a t-shirt and was out the door in seconds. The noise in the background of the call prompted Cindy to think that this was a large party, and when she found the house, she was dismayed to find that it was larger than she thought. Kids were hanging out on the front lawn, some with a bottle in each hand. Lights were starting to come on in the neighbors' windows, and she knew that police would not take long to show. She parked in the middle of the street, locked her car, and strode in.

A boy who she presumed was the host wobbly greeted her, saying she couldn't come in without putting beer money into the beer hat. She put a hand on his chest and shoved him aside. She had no idea on how to find the girl who called, since she didn't wait for a description. Instinctively, she peered into corners, hoping to find her quickly. Unable to find what she was looking for downstairs, she headed up, almost pleading to herself that the girl wasn't in one of the bedrooms. As she made her way down the hall, she opened each door. Bathroom, study, master bedroom, bedroom, bedroom...ah ha. Four boys were crawling over a mostly naked girl who wasn't resisting, but she wasn't helping either. One of them ripped off her panties just as Cindy stepped inside.

"Get the fuck out!" she hollered.

Three of them scurried out, holding their undone pants up. The last one was cocky, and he faced her while trying to intimidate with his dick.

"You're hot. Why don't you join us?"

She glanced down and then looked him in the eye. "You're tiny. Why don't you get lost?"

He flared at the insult, reached over to the dresser and brandished a knife. Cindy berated herself for not seeing that coming.

"I said join us. Or, get hurt."

Cindy was pretty quick herself. He had stepped so close to put the knife to her belly that he heard the pistol click at his head before he noticed she had moved. "And I said, get the fuck out," she growled low. He glanced to the side. "Yes, it's loaded. Leave." The jerk backed away to get his clothes. "Leave naked. I thought you were proud of your twig..."

* * *

It was more than a month later when Cindy told Ashley about that night. Ashley had called Cindy for one of her many chats, and chills went down her spine when the answer to her question of how Cindy was spending her time was revealed.

"So, was it Doug's gun that you had?"

Cindy answered, "Yes, during the summer he taught me how to use it, and we went to the range from time to time to spend the afternoon together."

"Odd date."

"I guess, but it was fun for me. He knew with his schedule that I would be alone for long periods, so he signed me up for some self-defense courses, and he gave me weapons training. At least of what he remembered from his own lessons. I got my concealed permit just after y'all went to Tallahassee."

"So, you spend your time getting calls intended for Joe, and rescuing teens in trouble?"

Cindy laughed at that. "No, that's just how it started. I've become friends with the girl, and she comes by for me to tutor her in math. Word has gotten out, though. Last week, twice I got called to pick up a couple of friends of hers who's dates had gotten trashed enough that they weren't comfortable riding home with them. At least they called before things were so far out of hand."

Wanting to change the subject, Cindy turned the tables and asked Ashley about something she rarely mentioned in her calls. How were things with the sorority? It worked and turned Ashley into a chatterbox. She loved it. Hell Week was hard with the intentional sleep-deprivation and teasing, but was mild compared to stories she had heard. Ashley loved the study halls, and especially being able to use their software to help her with the languages. The house was starting to pressure her to meet Joe, since she was the only married pledge; she was still undecided on whether to ask him to oblige. The girls assigned to her study hall time slot were very sweet and enjoyable to be around, but Ashley was still happiest being at home with Jill, Jasmine, and Kim. Although Kim would get rather irritable at times.

"Then give her some attention, Ashley," Cindy lectured. Then she mumbled, "I cannot believe I just said that."

Ashley caught it. "Why not?"

Cindy coughed and cleared her throat to give herself some time. "Well, you're into your female friends, and hurray for you. But I can't see myself doing that, so it kind of surprised me that I would encourage you to keep a female partner happy. Anyway, why do you say she's irritable?"

"Well, she gets this piercing look, and snaps out of the blue when you ask a question..."

"Okay, okay!" Cindy giggled to interrupt Ashley's familiar sarcastic response. She thought by now she could steer clear of fodder for Ashley's antics. "What made you mention it?"

Ashley lamented that like everyone else, Kim was busy with school. But unlike the others, she wouldn't even try to have fun. Her tests were okay, but something told Ashley that Kim's heart just wasn't into her studies. She was afraid they were going to lose Kim altogether.

Cindy agreed with the assessment, and said that Kim had told her pretty much the same thing. She had let Kim know that she was welcome back at the house at any time. She told Ashley that she should reaffirm the invitation, as it would carry more weight coming from her. "Better to give her a place to go, rather than have her feel no other choice but to run away," Cindy said.

Ashley was disheartened to think that things had come to this point, but agreed.

Cindy glanced at the parcel on the table. "You have a package here, you want me to send it to you, or did you want to wait for fall break?" The return address reminded her just then to check something online.

"Um, who's it from?" Ashley asked, then heard Cindy gasp.

"Holy SHIT!"

"WHAT?!"

"Ashley, have you checked your account lately?"

"Yeah, this morning. It's dead-on what it's supposed to be. Why?"

"Your OTHER account?"

"No...hang on." She brought up the bank's website on her laptop, then it was her turn to gasp. "HOLY HELL! How did THAT happen?"

"Have you been signing things I don't know about?"

"No. Is this RIGHT?" she asked in disbelief over the much inflated amount.

Cindy stepped over to the table. "Your package was sent from your album's company."

"Well open it."

"Just did. Note says 'Surprise, surprise!' in parenthesis it says 'we were.' Then, 'congratulations again.'"

There was rustling in the background and then Cindy was silent. Ashley's heart hammered in suspense. "Go on!"

"Oh Ashley! It's wonderful, congratulations!"

"What is it?"

"A replacement trophy for your album. 500,000 sold. You're a platinum artist now!"

Ashley screeched just as Joe came home and she told him the news. Ashley wondered how that was possible, since even the recording company had all but given up on substantial new sales when they gave her the gold trophy. Cindy surmised that the recent release of her third single had something to do with it, but said she'd research it further.

What Cindy found about a week later surprised even Ashley, and she rewarded the person responsible with bear hugs, tears, and even kisses. It turned out that the sorority president had emailed their headquarters about the fledgling star pledge. She thought it would be nice to help the new sister out by getting as many sales as they could, stating that the album was worth buying anyway, because it was actually fun and entertaining. The email was broadcast to sorority alumni nationwide, and it took some effort to get stores to order the album again, but their persistence paid off. In turn, Ashley prepaid four years of sorority dues for herself, Jill, and Jasmine, as well as for the five girls in her study group.

Near Halloween, Joe finally agreed to go with Ashley to a study session. It felt more like an ambush, since not only was Ashley's study group was there, but the chapter's board and many upperclassmen ensured they were around to meet him as well. They had heard stories of his kindness not only from Ashley, but also from Jill and Jasmine. The meeting in the parlor lasted a couple of hours until one of the girls said she was hungry and started to excuse herself. Ashley offered to have Joe cook something for them all, and they skeptically eyed him, saying he would be beyond perfect if he could cook, too. He liked the challenge and said he'd fix something, even though he was warned that not much was left in the kitchen.

Not much was right. Frozen chicken nuggets and vegetables, TV dinner pot pies, milk, some spices, and a few packages of Ramen noodles. When he called to them that dinner was ready, they were amazed by what was set out at the table. He apologized for it looking bland, as they were correct in saying not much was in the house. But to the girls, it looked like an exquisite meal. On each plate was a helping of what he termed as a chicken-loaded casserole topped with crunchy uncooked ramen, a vegetable garnish, and buttered toast corners. They asked him to join them at the table, which he did next to Ashley. In answering an obvious question, Joe joked that the hardest part was using a hammer to break up the frozen hockey pucks of pot pies. One girl about choked, and he reassured her that he really didn't do that.

"There weren't hammers in the kitchen, so I used my shoe," he joked to a swell of snickers.

He was begged to return the following night. The president wanted more of the house to sample his talent, and he agreed. When Joe arrived at the appointed time, he was immediately directed to the kitchen and set to work. A much broader offering of ingredients had been stocked earlier that day, so he took inventory of what was available, received the night's guest count, and got started. To say the meal three hours later was a success would have been a massive understatement. Twenty girls attended, and all loved the dinner. The president decided to bribe him to cook for the semi-formal the following week, and he said he would after Jill, Jasmine, and Ashley threw their weight behind the proposal.

The Saturday came, and Joe started working at noon, first making sandwiches for the ladies who were working to get the house decorated for the dinner. Jill and Jasmine helped him in the kitchen, but Ashley had previously agreed to join her class's study session for Italian. She made it in time to help serve the thirty or so couples out on the back deck. By half way through the dinner, more than a few commented that Joe should open his own restaurant. After dessert, an informal vote was taken and a resounding "aye" hired Joe to be the house's chef.

A couple of hours later in the rented ballroom, Joe and Ashley were in each other's arms swaying to the music.

"Mmm, this is nice," Ashley purred with her cheek against his chest. "Been a long time."

He played with the fingers of the hand he was holding. "Too long. I've missed you."

She looked at him. "What do you mean? You see me every day."

"Yeah, for like twenty minutes when we're not asleep." He caught her look. "I know, I know. You're busy, I'm busy. I'm just saying I agree that this is nice to be together for once." He glanced at Jill and Jasmine who were dancing with their lottery pick dates from the sorority's brother fraternity. "They look like they're having fun. Think they'll get lucky tonight?"

Ashley turned her head to watch for a bit. "Uh, Jill might. I haven't decided about Jasmine yet."

"You don't think her date's interested?"

She slit her eyes at him. "Really Joe? What guy wouldn't be interested in taking her?" Ashley sighed. "No, she'll beg off to have him take her home, maybe let him kiss her at the door, and that will be the end of that. She'll want to do something with me...and I haven't decided yet on whether to oblige."

"Why not?"

Ashley stepped over his leg and gave his thigh a rub through her dress. "Because I'm horny for you right now."

He kissed her mouth's invitation. "I'm patient. You could come to me after."

She smiled. "There's a thought. You'll be asleep by then, though."

"Well, Kim will probably be home after striking out at the club again. Maybe Jasmine can cheer her up."

Ashley shot him a look. "That's so uncool, Joe."

"What? Kim's different now. So moody. I miss the old Kim."

The song ended and Ashley pulled Joe with her to a table in the corner. "I miss the old Kim, too. But, how would you feel if you couldn't join a sorority with your friends? Or, if you had to get an AA degree before being able to get into a university, while all your friends are there already? I can feel that things really suck for her right now."

The music had started again, and even though their cheeks were touching, Joe could only hear about every third word, and had to mentally fill in the rest. "You wanna leave and talk?"

She pulled away and looked into his face while she thought about it. Dancing with Joe was so much fun, and they hadn't done it since the wedding. But, her studies and practices lasted into the afternoon, and some of his classes were at night. All the other times were filled up with getting ready for school, or meals with everyone around. Ashley figured she made her required appearance for the sorority event, and this was a chance to talk with Joe alone. Finally, she nodded and they left.

They found themselves at a McDonald's, and Joe opened the lid to his sundae while Ashley slid her apple pie out of its sleeve. "God, you can be so mean," she kidded while eying the ice cream.