Rough Cut Ch. 01

Chapter One - Sammi's Story

Sammi Quinn held the quarter tightly in her left hand as she scratched the lottery ticket in front of her. She was determined that this was the one that would change her life. She taught art history at a small Midwestern liberal arts college which meant everything in her world was small - even her classes! She taught classes five days a week, usually with less than 10 students in any one class.

Sammi, Samantha Jane (O'Reilly) Quinn, was born in a small town. She grew up in a small town and went to the local branch of the State University, majoring in Art History. She had been interested in art from an early age. Her mother was always showing her photos of the great art works of the world and read her stories of the artists so art history was a natural choice of major.

In her sophomore year, she met Henry Blankenship, the resident art history guru in the university town. Henry held impromptu classes for students at his art store and regaled them with stories of artists past, little known facts that brought art alive, at least to Sammi. In her junior year, she moved in with Henry and essentially traded sex for art history education.

She continuously hounded him with her "why" questions about Manet, Monet, Van Gogh, and a host of others. Although she cared about the art itself, she was more interested in what drove them to create the art they left behind. In exchange, she was his all too willing accomplice in whatever sexual adventure he wanted to pursue, except for doing drugs which she absolutely refused.

Sometimes he would tie her up and tickle her. Other times, he was the most gentle lover and drove her to multiple orgasms before letting her rest. By the end of her senior year, Henry was exhausted both mentally and physically. He could no longer keep up with her amazing appetite for love-making nor could he stand her continuous barrage of questions. Just before her graduation, they ended their unusual relationship by mutual consent.

Sammi enrolled in graduate school and, due to her constant questioning of Henry, breezed through with a straight "A" average and was easily accepted into the Doctorate program. That was when she met Ian, the bookworm. Something about his quiet manner intrigued her and they dated off and on through her Doctorate years and ended up getting married soon after she completed her studies. Now she was the teacher trying to pass on her love of art to her students.

Ian, the bookworm, passed his CPA exams and went to work for the State as an auditor. He seemed to be doing well in his job as his income continued to increase along with the long hours, mostly in travel to small towns. He was always attentive when he was home but lately his job took him out of town more and more often.

Two years ago, to make up for his many absences, Ian had an in ground pool installed in their back yard along with a six foot high fence insuring privacy for Sammi as she liked to sun bathe nude when possible.

Thus it was that Sammi found herself wearing her tiny bikini, laying back on a chaise lounge by the pool in mid-April, getting an early start on her summer tan and trying to win something on this scratch ticket.

"Damn", she said out loud, "Only $5. Oh well, at least I got my money back. Maybe next time."

She lay back on the chaise and untied the top of her bikini, letting it fall to the ground next to her. She closed her eyes and let her mind wander as the sun's rays began to warm her body. Ten minutes later, her cell phone rang and she jumped to answer it on the first ring.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sammi, what are you up to today?" her friend Debra asked. Debra was a fellow teacher at the university in the Social Sciences Dept.

"Not much, Deb, just getting a little sun. And you?"

"Just finished grading my mid-terms. Do you have any plans for dinner?"

"Not really. Ian's out of town and I haven't given it any thought. What did you have in mind?"

"There's a new art exhibit down at the waterfront. I was thinking of going and finding a new place to eat, if you're interested."

"Sounds good, Deb, what time and where?"

"How about my place around 6-ish, ok?"

"Deal. I'll see you then. Bye."

Sammi checked the time on her cell phone and found she had over three hours so she lay back on the chaise, closed her eyes and once again began to dream. An hour later she was startled out of her dream by the nearby barking of a dog. She shook her head to become fully awake, thankful that the events she was experiencing were only in a dream.

She bent down and retrieved her top and her cell phone, then rose from the chaise and walked into the house. She needed a shower and a fresh set of clothes before driving across town to meet Debra.

When the two women arrived at the waterfront, they parked in the lot and walked thru to the display area. Debra was already eyeing the available males while Sammi's eye caught a display quite unlike the others. She tugged Deb's arm and angled them toward the edge of the display area. She stopped in front of a long, wooden boat, a scull really, and marveled at the design.

As she reached out her hand to run it over the apparently smooth boat, she heard a warning shout just as her finger was pierced by a splinter of wood.

"Ouch", she said, "that smarts."

"Sorry," he said, "I tried to warn you. I guess I should put up a sign saying "Rough Cut". It still needs a lot of sanding but I just didn't have the time before the show. How's your hand?"

"Ok, I guess, I think I got just a small splinter."

"Here, let me see your hand."

He gently took hold of her hand as she extended it to him. With his other hand, he extracted a small tweezers from his pocket and quickly extracted the small piece of wood from her finger.

"Thank you.", she said. "I'm Samantha Quinn and this is my friend Debra Johnson."

"Pleased to meet you both." he replied. "I'm Rick Stanton. Are you looking for a scull?"

"Heavens, no." Sammi replied. "We're just here to see the artwork."

Sammi noticed his expression change as she spoke.

"Is your boat for sale?"

"When it's finished it might be, if I can find someone who will love it and give it a good home. Even tho she's a traditional scull she isn't really meant for racing."

"Why not? She has very graceful lines. I'd imagine she would do very well on the water."

"Thank you, but today's sculls are mostly fiberglass or lightweight aluminum and they would leave this beauty in their wake. No, this is just for enjoying the freedom of gliding over the water."

"Well, thank you for the information, Rick. If I'm ever in the market for a beautiful scull, I'll certainly look you up. Do you have a card or something?"

"Sure do. Here you are. Thanks for stopping by."

Sammi slipped Rick's card into the pocket of her jeans and looked around for Debra, who she found several stalls away looking at some paintings. She walked towards Debra, swinging her hips provocatively for the drooling Rick.

When she caught up to Debra, she pretended interest in the shawls that were available until they were more or less alone.

"Thanks for leaving me stranded back there."

"No problem. I'm not the boating kind. Besides, he was definitely taking an interest in you. Don't think I didn't notice that sexy walk on your way over here."

"Debra Ann, I'm a married woman! But he was kind of cute."

They continued through the stalls then went to dinner at a local cafe. When Sammi dropped Debra off at her apartment around 10 pm, she still felt a little restless. She smiled as she remembered the look on Rick's face as she walked away but quickly put the thought out of her head and went straight home. As she was undressing for bed, she discovered Rick's card in the pocket of her jeans. Slipping the card into her wallet, she grinned again and whispered "maybe someday". The vision of Rick's smiling face was the last thing she remembered as she drifted off to sleep.