Ann: A Love Story Ch. 22

Ann and I had had our first mini fight, all surrounding her short-lived jealousy of my fucking Tina in the ass. It wasn't much of a fight, at least from my recollection of what a fight was like. Then again, my only frame of reference was the fights I'd had with my ex, so my history in that regard was certainly tainted. Still, it was a fight, so it counted.

And in the end, Ann had assured me before she hung up that she had messed up her own plans with her overreaction, and that she was going to make it up to me. That thought alone had me wondering. Wondering what in the world she meant, and how could she make up for something that was, in her words, a gift to begin with.

She had called me that initial weekend one more time to apologize again, and she even sent off another letter to make sure I knew that she was sorry, and that she wanted to continue to surprise me. Not just for getting upset about my fucking Tina in the ass, but for being so bossy in how she approached our relationship. She said she wanted our marriage to be an equal partnership, and she was determined that neither one of us was going to wear the pants...so she kept finding ways to get me, and herself for that matter, out of them.

In the three weeks that passed from that night, Ann went out of her way to make sure she 'made it up' to me. She'd taken to Tina, for whatever reason. She liked her, and found her funny and personable. And Ann, now knowing she could trust her, was using Tina to fulfill any carnal needs she had an inkling that I might have. She did so by having Tina become her surrogate sexual stand in, so to speak.

Ann said in both the call and in the letter that she was going to take care of me from afar. While I didn't really think it was necessary, I was starting to get intrigued by the scenarios she was setting up. And while it was hard to believe, it actually helped Ann and I become closer to each other.

I'd fuck Tina, and then I'd tell Ann about it later that night, which would be a Friday or Saturday, depending on Ann's work schedule the next day. When I would tell Ann what happened, it would lead to Ann fucking herself wild with her trusty dildo 'Antonio', named after my middle name. The sex with Tina was good. And yet, while it didn't seem rational to say it, in reality, at least to me, it was nothing compared to the phone sex it led to with Ann...which was amazing. I felt more alive and connected to Ann in those moments than I would have ever thought possible considering the distance between us.

Tina didn't mind being used. In fact, she reveled in the roll. She and Ann talked often, and they were becoming close friends...at least, as close as you could get for being half a continent away. Ann commented to me that she felt Tina was like the sister she never had. Tina commented that she'd never been as close to a woman as she was to Ann. She also said she couldn't believe the lengths that Ann was going to to make sure I got laid, and she marveled at her inventiveness and seemingly boundless energy and determination to make up for a perceived wrongdoing. Not to mention Ann's penchant for setting up unusual sexual encounters.

One of those nights, I walked in to Tina's shop to find her naked and handcuffed to the hair washing chair she had towards the very back of the shop. I was told to show up at 10 on a Saturday night, and when I did, the whole place was dark. As it turned out, Ann had told Tina I would be there at nine, deliberately. She wanted Tina anticipating my arrival, and on edge from my not showing up until an hour later.

It was a very arousing scene that led to an interesting few hours together. When we were done, Tina was lying face down on the doormat by the front door of her shop, where I'd just finished fucking her doggy style as we looked out onto Main Street at about one in the morning; my cum running out of her pussy. Tina looked over her shoulder at me and smiled.

"Your fiancée has a kinky side that I find very interesting. I think you're going to have your hands full once you two get married."

"What makes you say that? She wasn't the one that told us to fuck here in front of the door. That was you."

Tina laughed and said, "That's what you think."

That was one of three times I'd been with Tina since that first night. Ann had taken to calling me every Wednesday at work just before lunch time. It was 8:00 in California, but she'd get up and make the call to say hi, and to set up the next adventure between Tina and me. She'd call me to set the time and the place, and then she would hang up and call Tina to set the details. And then she'd call Tina a couple more times before we would get together. I was talking to Ann twice a week, but she was talking to Tina more like five. I was beginning to think Tina knew more about Ann than I did.

That's why I so looked forward to Wednesday's. It wasn't that Ann was setting up something with Tina. If she did, fine. If she didn't...just as fine. I didn't care about the sex as much as Ann thought I did. I cared that she cared about me so much that she would even consider doing what she was doing just to arrange it. And more importantly, I looked forward to Wednesday's because Ann was calling me at work, just like she had when she was in town with me that wonderful, magical week fate brought us together.

Whenever Ann would call the plant on Wednesday's, she'd always spend a couple of minutes talking first to Nancy, the plant receptionist, making nice. One of my concerns since I'd gotten engaged was staving off Nancy, who had the rightful impression that I was going to fuck her once Ann left town. And Ann had confessed that Nancy was a concern. She didn't trust her. I didn't question it, since I didn't have a woman's intuition about those kinds of things. If Ann felt that way, I knew I needed to be very cautious and very wary around Nancy at the plant.

But it never came to that. Ann had been proactive, protecting her 'turf', as she put it. She called Nancy the first week after she flew back to California, on the pretenses of talking to me. And Ann did talk to me. But the purpose of the call was really to talk to Nancy. She never told me what she told her specifically. Ann would only say that she informed her that we were getting married. But I knew it was more than that. It had to be.

I had to give Nancy credit, because I know she was disappointed. She didn't pursue anything, or cause any issues. When Ann would call me, she'd always talk to Nancy first, smoothing things over somehow. I suppose she was reinforcing to Nancy that the danger that would have been created by our being together, because of our jobs, wasn't ever going to be worth the risk. And Nancy seemed to agree, but the side effect was that she avoided me like the plague. I suppose she stayed away so that she wouldn't be tempted to try something. But I was sure she also was a little hurt by how it all played out.

Still, Nancy was always pleasant on the phone to me, and on the rare occasions that we actually met face to face. And she was still dressing more provocatively, which was a good sign. Hopefully, she was getting what she needed elsewhere. As hot as she was, I found it hard to believe she'd be lonely unless she wanted to be. I was pretty sure that even though she may be disappointed that she never got to fuck me, she'd found several suitable substitutes to take my place.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The phone rang at my desk at just before 11:00. I was sitting there, practically anticipating the ring. Ann had called every Wednesday at around that time since we had our little tiff about my first staged encounter with Tina. The reason she was calling didn't matter. That she was calling me did.

"Good Morning, Neil Thomas," I said gleefully, answering before the first ring finished.

I was in a good mood, and that wasn't affected by the male voice on the other end of the phone. Thinking it was a customer, I proceeded to listen, waiting for a question regarding a job. And I got one. It just wasn't about a job in the plant, it was about a job. The guy was a headhunter, looking for Managers to work at a new facility being built out East.

I listened to his spiel, waiting for him to finish describing the position, and the type of person they were looking for to fill it.

"Do you know of anyone that has the qualities and qualifications they are looking for?" he asked at the end of his prepared sales-like speech.

"I thought you were talking about me?" I said with a laugh, kidding in a way because I seemed way under qualified for the position.

The next thing I knew, I was giving the guy all my particulars, including my parents phone number, so I could get a call from the gentleman in charge of the department later that night. I was going to have a phone interview for a job. It all happened so fast that when I hung up the phone, my head was spinning.

Nepotism is a funny thing. If it wasn't for my father, I would have never gotten the job I had when I got out of college. But no matter how hard I worked, and how far I advanced in the seven years since I'd graduated, there were those co-workers that would always think that the only reason I had been moved up in company was because of who my father was. It was the classic curse of being the son of a VP. Leaning back in my chair, I thought about the chance to start fresh. An opportunity to further my career. I wondered if I had the courage to leap out from under the long shadow that Darren the Vice President cast over me.

The phone rang again, shaking me from my daydream. I answered it, not nearly as gung ho as I had the previous call, my mind still preoccupied.

"Good morning, Neil Thomas."

"Hey sexy, how are you this morning...you sound down."

"Hi babe. I'm not down, just deep in thought."

"I love it when you think 'deep' baby," Ann said with her sultry voice.

I didn't bite, still thinking about the previous call. "How would you like to live in West Virginia?" I asked.

"Wow, you sure know how to get a girl excited."

"I'm serious Ann. You weren't too thrilled about coming back here anyway, right?"

"What are you talking about, babe?"

"I just got off the phone with a headhunter. I may have an opportunity to further my career. It would mean a fresh start for both of us."

"Where at in West Virginia...you're not talking coal mining country, are you? That's no place for a girl from California."

"You're not from California," I said with a laugh.

"I like to think of myself as being from here. I certainly don't brag about being from there. Now where are we talking?"

"Not the center of the state. It wouldn't even be in the mountains. We'd be in the Shenandoah Valley somewhere. It's between Maryland and Virginia."

"The Eastern panhandle?" she asked.

I almost got hard. Ann not only knew where West Virginia was on a map, she had described it perfectly. I was surprised she knew that much about geography, although I shouldn't have been. Ann never ceased to amaze me in what she knew. The location wasn't all that far from where I grew up before moving back to Indiana in high school. Less than an hour, actually...and it's beautiful there. Ann and I talked about it for a while. In fact, we talked into my lunch time, which didn't bother me. After discussing it back and forth, she finally came to grips with what I was asking.

"Well, you're right. I wasn't necessarily looking forward to living in Indiana again. I'm just not sure I'll like the East any better. But if it's a better opportunity for us, then why not go for it."

"Ann, there's a lot of things that have to happen first, starting with a call tonight from the Manager of the department that's hiring. I have a phone interview with him. And that's a stretch just to get past him. Truthfully, I'm under qualified for the job."

"What makes you say that?"

"The job description he described. It's the same industry, but it's a totally different market. All the equipment is different, and this is on a much bigger scale. I'm in over my head."

"Neil, that's bullshit. You're not giving yourself any credit for all you've done. You can do anything you set your mind to."

"It's not that simple, Ann. They're not going to give the job to some guy running some little department in a company they've never heard of in the middle of nowhere."

"First of all, it's obvious they've heard of it, because they called you."

"That was a headhunter," I said, my voice low and somewhat sarcastic.

"So...he still got in touch with you, and you're the one they're calling tonight. Baby, this is a chance for you to prove to the world that you're more than what they think you are. You are qualified. You just have to start believing in yourself."

I sighed. I was struggling. While I'd come so far, I still had moments where I felt the effects of the previous year and a half. Personally, I was on the rise, having turned things around. But professionally, while I'd had some success, I still had times where I doubted my own abilities. I'd wonder if the naysayers were right, and that I had only advanced because of my dad. Deep down, I really didn't believe that...but when my marriage collapsed, it became easier for those doubts to creep in.

Ann sensed my distance. Mentally, I was floating...now even further from her at that moment than just the mileage from Indiana to California. "Neil," she said quietly into the phone.

"Yes," I answered, suddenly back on at my desk where I'd been moments before.

"Honey, I believe in you."

That felt like a lifeline thrown to me, saving me from sinking further into a sea of self doubt. "Thanks, babe. I needed that."

"You need to be positive in your interview, okay. I want you to think about us, and about how great we are together. I want you to think about us doing something crazy and sexy and fun. Whatever memory you want to use...but I want you to think about that...and how you are with me. Strong, positive, resourceful...manly. You name it. You are more handsome and sophisticated and intelligent than you think you are sometimes, baby...and I see all of those things. Think about us, and let that shine through."

Feeling suddenly upbeat, I smiled. "You're right, Ann. I'm in a better frame of mind already."

"Great! I'll call tonight to see what happened, okay?"

"Okay. But that means there's nothing on with Tina, right?"

"Well, I'd planned on it...but I don't have to. You do like being with Tina, right? She's nice, isn't she? And of course, she puts out," she said with a laugh.

"She's not you, Ann. She never will be."

"I like hearing that. And I know she's not, stud. I just love farming you out on loan. But if you need a break, that's okay too. I would only do it if you're into it. I just don't want you out of practice when we get back together again." Ann had even taken to calling me Stud when it came to Tina.

"There's no chance of that," I said with a laugh. "And it's not that I'm not into it. I like Tina and all. And the sex is okay."

"Okay? That's not exactly a glowing endorsement, is it?"

"It's good Ann. But now that I've been with you, there's been a standard of excellence set that...well...your the best babe I've ever had babe. I don't know how else to say it."

"That's sweet, Neil. And you too...I thought I knew what great sex was. And then I met you, and I realized what I'd had before wasn't even close."

"You see...that's the thing, Ann. It's funny, but the thing I like most about fucking Tina, is what happens afterward, when you call me. I love the time you and I share later that night...you get so fucking hot, and that excites me so much. But it also makes me miss you that much more."

"Well...that's fine...we'll take the weekend off and you and I'll just talk. What would you do instead?"

"What do you mean?"

Ann laughed and said, "Well, you're going to have a few free hours on your hands. You're not going to just sit around and wait for me to call, are you?"

"No...Matt and I were talking about going to see the new Bond flick that just came out."

"Wow. I'm surprised you've waited this long to see it," she said with a laugh, knowing how much I loved James Bond films. Once I had shared that fact with her in one of our talks, Ann's imagination ran with it, telling me she was having fantasies where I was James Bond, and she was one of the Bond girls. "Sounds like fun. I wish I could be there to go with you. I'm sure we could have some fun with that," she said, her voice thick with sexual overtones.

"You can be my Bond girl anytime, babe," I said, laughing again.

"Okay...talk to you later...James!"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Friday afternoon came, and I was once again nervous. I usually got that way going into a weekend since Ann had been setting me up with Tina. It wasn't necessarily about the sex. I'd gotten used to the idea of fucking Tina. And I liked the lengths that Ann was going to just to arrange things. Plus, the way Ann was getting off over the phone when I told her about what we had done was the highlight of the weekend for me...it was amazing.

As good as the sex was with Tina, those moments where I would describe to Ann what happened, and she would cum from fucking herself with my rubber stand in were...magical. I got tingles, and most of the time, I ended up jacking off with her and we'd eventually cum together to end that part of our night.

And the absolute best part, after all the talk of the staged action between Tina and myself, and after the orgasms that Ann and I would have in recapping the action, was that Ann and I would just talk. It was like we'd just made love, and we were lying together in the afterglow of our passion for each other, talking like best friends. Those were the moments I cherished the most...because Ann was becoming my best friend.

We'd talk about anything and everything, learning about each other. What our desires were, besides for each other. What our dreams were, separate and as a couple. We shared thoughts about going on vacations or growing old together. And about music that we liked or movies we loved...which was how she learned of my love of Bond movies weeks before. We talked about all the things we never talked about in the week we had together because we were so busy fucking each other we didn't want to waste time. And because we didn't know how that week was going to end, so we never took the time.

Ann would learn about me, and I'd learn about her. We shared fantasies, sexual and otherwise. During those moments, we weren't trying to turn each other on, although that was an occasional byproduct. We were feeling each other out. And that was important; finding those common things we shared to confirm that we were compatible. And we were. With each passing week, we'd discover something that we both loved, and we'd get excited about it.

The thing that struck me was just how attentive Ann was. She would remember something in the details of the fantasies discussed, or about things we really liked that we had talked about, and she'd use those moments to come up with scenarios that Tina and I would play out. She WAS inventive; more than any woman I'd ever met.

Finding Tina handcuffed that one night was one example...inspired by a movie that Ann had described to me...on of her favorites. It turned out to be a porno movie that Missy, her sex shop friend, had recommended. I told her I would have loved to watch it with her, and how we could have acted it out like Dawn and Jill had for me and Mark.

Instead, the next week she gave Tina some details for us to act out a scene. I didn't realize it until Ann called me that night and told me to put in the tape that she'd sent to me that week with explicit instructions not to open the box it came in until she called. She had a copy of the tape too, and we watched them in unison. We were over two thousand miles from each other, but we were watching it together just like I'd told her I wanted to do. Well, not exactly...but it was as good as it could be considering the distance, and the fact that she'd thought of a way for us to share it was special to me.