A Conference to Remember

"John, I really don't want to go."

"Ben, you're the lead teacher in the history department."

"Right, lead teacher, not an admin."

"You're going to this conference. It's two days and we are getting a lot of pressure from the county to implement this program next year and your name came up in discussions. Leave next Wednesday, conference runs Thursday and Friday, and come back Saturday."

"Why in the hell did my name come up?"

"I guess the Super was pretty impressed with those sessions you ran in the fall at the PD Day."

Ben Samuals rolled his eyes, "You mean the sessions that you begged me to do so they'd get off your back?"

Jon Hines nodded his head and replied, "Yes, those, and I need you to bail me out again, so they'll shut up again."

With a sigh and head shake, "Fine, but who else is going?"

"You and the new art teacher Emily Wen. Ron Johnson was going to go but he backed out."

Jon shrugged his shoulders, "We had three spots to fill, and Emily was more than willing, and then that left me convincing you."

"Are we taking a district car?"

"Well, that's a problem...I was wondering if you could drive you and Emily?"

"What! Why me? Why not a district car?"

Seeing Ben get angrier, Jon signaled with his hands for Ben to calm down, "All the county cars are being used for other things, and with Ron backing out, they aren't willing to spring for a rental for just two people. That just leaves you and Emily, she is new to the area and doesn't know it."

"I don't even know her. I've only helped her a bit with technology when she first got here and then passing hellos in the hall or mailroom."

"Well, you'll have a three-hour drive to get to know her."

With a heavy sigh, Ben said, "You know you owe me big time?"

"You're right I do; I'll have Brittany make you some cookies."

"Damn right. I assume the county will at least pay for gas?"

"Yep, and your meals minus alcohol like usual. Just save your receipts and use GoogleMaps for mileage."

Ben turned to leave Jon's office, but turned before leaving, "If she's as weird as she seems, I'm never doing another favor for you again."

"Noted."

Brandon exited the office and headed towards the art wing on the opposite end of the building, hoping that Ms. Emily Wen was still in her classroom even though it was Friday at the end of the day.

****

Emily Wen found herself still in her classroom at 4 on a Friday afternoon; she thought to herself, "This is absolutely pathetic, I'm 25 years old, I shouldn't be at work painting when I could be home with the cat or out with friends."

She had to scoff at the last part; the truth being that Emily didn't have many friends in the area. She had moved with her then fiancé when he got a job at the local Dow plant. She had made a few friends through him and was friendly with her coworkers. All her friends dried up when she came home from work one day sick and found her fiancé, Stephen in bed with his coworker Michelle, someone that Emily had seen as a friend.

Luckily her name was on the apartment's lease, so once she kicked them both out, wrapped in nothing but sheets, she began to throw all his things on the curb. What she found later though as she began to call people to hang out, they were all still loyal to Stephen because of work. Falling into a funk, Emily withdrew into herself and work, and even after seeing a therapist, she was having a hard time putting herself back "out there."

She had taken time to work out and join a gym. One of the things that Stephen had commented on, was that once they got engaged, he had made subtle comments about how she'd look in a wedding dress. At the time, she didn't think a lot about it, but she did go on a strict diet after she found a dress she liked. After she kicked his ass out, she realized that she was very thin, you could see her ribs if she were to have been in a bathing suit, weighing in at only 110 pounds on her 5 '9 frame. One of the things the therapist and her had worked on was developing healthy body image, hence the gym. Now she was a much healthier 145 lbs. She was still thin and fit, but she had a little extra "meat" around her butt and hips, something that she had grown to accept.

People were always a bit surprised by her because while she had an Asian last name, she wasn't Asian, far from it. With fiery red hair and green eyes, she could have come straight from Ireland. Her last name came from the fact that she had been adopted by a wonderful man and woman when she was just a few months old after her drug addict mother skipped out of the hospital on her.

She was trying to take a more active role in the happenings at school and be involved with her coworkers, hell the school had 125 teachers, there had to be someone she clicked with. She still found herself being hesitant to get close to anyone or allow them to get close to her for what was likely a subconscious fear of being abandoned like her so-called friends from the relationship with Stephen. Things were getting better, and when her principal John emailed about a conference that was out of town, Emily jumped on it for a chance to get to know coworkers better, to benefit the school, and more honestly, get a break from her lonely apartment.

She was snapped out of her thoughts by her classroom phone ringing. She walked over and saw "J. Ray" on the caller ID, answering it, "Hello Mr. Ray."

"Oh, good I wasn't sure if you'd still be here."

"Yep, just wrapping up an example for the kids for Monday."

"Great! So, I just talked to Ben Samuals about the conference, and he is in. I also asked about driving since he knows the area, and all the district cars are spoken for, and he agreed."

"Oh, okay. So, he's going to be driving all three of us?"

"Actually, it'll just be the two of you. Ron had to back out due to an event with his wife's family."

"Oh..."

"Is that a problem?"

"No, no problem, I just don't know Ben that well."

"He's a nice guy and between us, one of the best teachers we have, just don't let him know I said that."

Emily chuckled, "Don't worry, it can be our little secret."

John laughed and then added, "I figure he will stop by either today before he leaves or Monday morning to discuss logistics."

Just as Emily was about to respond, there was a knock at her door and she looked up, seeing Mr. Ben Samuals standing in the doorway, "Mr. Ray, he just knocked on my door."

"Perfect, then I'll let you two get things figured out. Remember to keep your receipts for everything so you can be reimbursed."

"I will and thank you for the opportunity."

"You're welcome, enjoy your weekend."

"You too, buh bye."

Emily hung up the phone and smiled at Ben, "Come on in, Mr. Ray said you were going to drive?"

Ben smirked, "I suppose, how did he rope you into this shindig?"

"I actually volunteered, I think it will be good for the school and will especially help my 9th graders out with transitioning to high school from the middle schools."

Ben nodded his head slightly, "Alright then. Our hotel reservations are good Wednesday night through Saturday. I figure it is about three and a half hours to Albany assuming there is no snow heading across I-90. So, if we leave here at 330ish that puts us there around 7 or 8 depending on stops."

Emily nodded, "That makes sense to me."

"Does your fiancé need your car, or do you just want to leave it here and we can leave right after school."

Emily looked down and didn't say anything. Noticing the change in expression, Ben looked at her, then at her hand and noticed the ring she wore at the beginning of the year was gone. The room was filled with an awkward silence and Ben didn't know what to say. Luckily, with a deep breath Emily looked up and with a half-smile said, "We aren't together anymore."

"Oh shit, I'm sorry I didn't know."

"It's okay, really. We can just leave from here, leaving my car in the back lot is fine by me. Maybe someone will steal it and I can get a new one."

Ben laughed, "Well that's one way to look at it." Just then Ben's watch vibrated and looking down, he saw a text from a friend about happy hour. He swiped it away and stood from the chair he had found a seat in. "I don't want to be rude, but I'm supposed to meet some friends for happy hour, and they have started without me apparently.

Emily smiled, "Well that sounds like fun, I won't keep you."

Ben started towards the door but turned before leaving, "Emily, I'm sorry again for bringing up the fiancé, I truly didn't know."

Emily smiled, "It's really fine, I'm working through it and am truly better off."

Ben smiled, "I don't know how you pack, but I have a truck, so there is no need to pack light."

Emily smiled, "Will do. Have a nice weekend, Ben."

"You too!"

*****

The weekend and Monday and Tuesday went by without anything of note and Wednesday went off without a hitch for both Ben and Emily. When the last bell rang at 3:15, Ben erased his boards, made sure he had the papers he planned to work on while at the conference, packed his laptop and headed to Emily's classroom.

At the same time, Emily was running around her room chaotically. Her 8th period had left supplies everywhere and she needed to get them cleaned up for the sub that was covering her classes Thursday and Friday, plus she knew Ben wanted to leave right at 3:30. Right at 3:30, she was throwing the last of the paint brushes in the back sink when she heard a knock at the door, "Emily?"

Sticking her head out of the storage closet she yelled, "Back here!" Ben walked into her classroom and found Emily soaking a handful of paint brushes in an empty peanut butter jar. She smiled at him, "I'm sorry I'm a bit behind, my 8th is a bit rambunctious."

Ben laughed, "I think that is everyone's 8th."

Emily finished cleaning up what she was doing and reached behind her, untying the apron she was wearing, hung it on a hook and said, "All done. I just have to get my bags out of my car, and we are good to leave."

"Sounds good to me. I have to say, I don't know how you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Teach in heels all day. I quit wearing dress shoes a couple years ago and now just wear sneakers."

Looking down at her outfit, Emily found herself blushing a bit. She had chosen a simple cotton dress with leggings and sweater today because of the 3-and-a-half-hour car ride ahead of them and a pair a black wedges. "Well when you're only 5'2 and you teach high schoolers, you need every advantage you can get."

Ben laughed, "I can understand that I guess, being 6'2, I don't have that issue. You do look nice and make it work."

He smiled at her, causing Emily to blush a bit more, "Well thank you, I try to look cute and comfortable, and sometimes that is tough. Ready to go?"

"Yep! Let's get this show on the road."

Emily chuckled and grabbed her jacket and her school bag, following Ben out of the room and locking up. They made their way to the staff parking lot and Emily pointed to her little Honda Civic, "That's me over there."

Brandon pointed out his truck, "That's me over there, I'll bring it over." Emily looked across the parking lot to see a dark red GMC pickup running. She nodded and went to her car, popping the trunk as Ben jogged towards his truck.

After pulling a duffle bag and a small rolling suitcase out, Emily shut the trunk and said to herself, "Maybe I did pack too much."

Her thoughts were interrupted by the beep of a horn, and she looked up seeing Ben's truck parked in front of her car. He came round the front and grabbed her bags, "Pack enough?"

She looked down, feeling a bit self-conscious, "I didn't know what to expect, I've never been to something like this."

Ben laughed, causing her to smile and feel a bit better, "It's no big deal, I'm just messing with you. Let me get those for you."

He grabbed both her bags, opened the back door, and set her bags on the rear seat as she walked towards the truck. As she got to the door, she realized this was the tallest truck she had ever had to get into. "Ummm, got a step stool?"

Once again Ben laughed, "No, open the door and the running board will fold down." Emily did as he instructed, and the step did fold down in front of her. She turned to see Ben chuckle, "Ma lady, I wouldn't make you jump."

She shook her head and climbed in, shutting the door behind her.

Ben walked around the back of the truck, kicking the ice off the mud flaps, and thought to himself, "She doesn't have much of a sense of humor, this could be a long drive. He reached the driver's door, kicked the slush from his shoes, and climbed in the truck.

****

Surprisingly, the ride over the next few hours wasn't too bad, they didn't have any weather to deal with, which was a bit of a surprise given that it was February in upstate New York. Better yet, Ben found out that while Emily was shy, she did have a sense of humor.

It emerged about 20 minutes into the trip when Ben changed lanes quickly to get out from behind a semi and Emily muttered, "Such a nice truck, but no turn signals?"

Brandon looked at her, causing her to blush again, but the blush was soon overcome by a smile as Ben began to laugh.

As they neared their hotel, they had gotten to know each other a little bit better. Emily opened up a little more about the end of her engagement, Ben adding in his own struggles with dating since he broke up with his long-time college girlfriend a couple of years prior. "Sounds like we both have issues with the dating front."

Ben laughed, "Yeah, but there's no excuse for me, there's more women in the Rochester region than men by a wide margin."

Emily smiled, "Well at the risk of being inappropriate, I don't see how you have any issues. You're a nice guy who seems to have his life together and is independent."

Ben smiled, "Thanks and not that it means much, but your ex is a moron."

With a smile, Emily thanked Ben and turned her eyes back to the road as they pulled up in front of the Renaissance Albany Hotel about 15 minutes later.

They pulled up in front of the entryway and a doorman walked out to greet them. "Welcome to the Renaissance Albany, are you staying?"

Ben spoke, "Yes, we are here for the education conference being hosted next door."

"Wonderful sir, if you and the lady would like to go in, I'll get your things to your room, what is the name?"

Emily spoke up quickly, "Umm we are not together, my last name is Wen and his is Samuals, there should be two rooms."

"My apologies ma'am. I'll make sure the bags are deposited in the correct rooms."

Ben nodded and shut the vehicle off and grabbed his backpack before handing the key to the valet. Emily climbed out, grabbing her purse, and following Ben into the hotel.

As they reached the check-in line, Ben turned to Emily, "Am I that horrid?"

"What are you talking about?"

Ben laughed, "You were VERY adamant for that doorman to know there were two separate rooms."

"Well, there are, I just don't want stuff to end up in the wrong place."

"Sure, sure." Ben said as he approached the check in desk.

Over the next 10 minutes, they were able to get checked in and were told that there were welcome packages and conference info in their rooms. Ben was still talking with the clerk as Emily wrapped up checking in and getting all the pertinent information. Emily was just getting into the elevator when she heard Ben call out, "Hold that!"

Emily quickly stuck her foot in the door, causing them to open again and Ben to slip through. "Thanks for that."

"You're welcome. What floor are you on?"

"6, Room 609. How about you?"

"6 too, ummmm." Emily paused to pull out the key card with the room number on in it, "Oh! We are right next to each other, room 611."

"Hope you don't snore. Once we drop our things off, I was gonna walk over to the meeting hall to see where things were, maybe grab a drink at the bar if you're interested?"

Emily giggled and thought for a moment, "Thanks, but I think I'm going to catch up on some grading and just relax tonight."

As the elevator dinged, signaling the arrival to their floor, Ben replied, "You sure, there is plenty of time for grading during the conference."

Emily laughed as Ben followed her out of the elevator and down the hall, "I'm actually interested in what this conference is about."

"I know, I know." They arrived at their respective doors, Ben smiled as Emily bent down to fish her room key out of her purse and opened her door, "Then I guess I'll see you at breakfast. The clerk said it starts at 6, but with the conference starting at 8:30, I was planning on heading down about 7."

"That sounds about perfect, knock before you go."

"Will do. Enjoy your night, Emily. Oh, before I go, my phone number is (585)236-1542."

"Oh, that would be helpful to have. Mine is (360)347-1658. Enjoy your walk, Ben."

*****

Emily walked into her room and dropped her bag in amazement. Her room was overlooking the convention center and was adorned with a huge king size bed, a built-in desk and huge lounge chair. "Wow."

She looked and saw her suitcase and duffel bag sitting beside the dresser. She walked in and picked up the bottle of water on the table, taking a long drink. Feeling the urge to use the bathroom, she turned and found the bathroom and was once amazed. The bathroom had a stand-up shower that could fit 2 people easily, 2 plush robes hung from hooks by the toilet, and the sink and counter were big enough for all her stuff at home times 3. "Staying on the district's dime does have its perks I suppose."

After peeing, Emily headed back out into the main room and began to unpack. She moved all her toiletries into the bathroom, and then got her work set up on the desk. Seeing that it was nearing 8, she decided to go ahead and shower before settling in to work for an hour or so.

She grabbed her pajamas and headed into the bathroom. She turned the water on, allowing the shower and the bathroom itself to steam up. She slipped her dress over her head, then removed her leggings, leaving her in just her bra and underwear. As she looked in the slowly fogging mirror, she thought to herself, "Wow, all the work is starting to pay off." She smiled at the positive thought that while still uncommon, was becoming more frequent.

One of the things that she had begun to do after the engagement had been called off was to allow herself to buy cuter and sexier bras and underwear. While she and Stephen had sex a few times a week, she had always steered toward utilitarian undergarments rather than the cute and sexy things. Now instead of white's, tans, and black, her collection now consisted of reds, greens, pinks and todays, a personal favorite of hers, a matching blue set. It was a simple set, nothing extravagant, but how the bra cupped her 34DD breasts and contrasted her pale complexion and her freckles and how the hip hugger panties held her firm butt, she thought to herself, "Ben is right, Stephen is stupid, I'm hot."

She chuckled to herself as she unclasped the bra and shimmied the panties down her legs before stepping into the shower. As the hot water cascading over her, she let out a soft groan as the stress of the day released from her. After allowing the water to completely coat her, she began to wash her hair, and her mind began to wander to the ride over and the conference over the next few days. As she massaged her thick hair, she sighed, realizing this was the first time she had gotten away in the 6 months since the breakup. As she switched to washing her body as the conditioner set, she used the soft washcloth and her own shower gel to scrub her body. As the scent of coconut filled the air, she paid particular attention to her breasts, causing her to let out a slight groan.

Going from sex 3-4 times a week to a complete dry spell had been a particular shock to her system once she had gotten through the anger part of the breakup. After a month or so trying to ignore it, she couldn't anymore and at the insistence of her older sister, she ordered a small vibrator that helped take the edge off. At first, she couldn't believe she had stooped to that level, but considering she wasn't about to go whoring herself out, the vibrator and then her fingers had become a necessity.