Brains & Brawn

John looked up at her with a quizzical look.

"John, if I'm going to go into business for myself someday, I'm going to have to have a large circle of contacts, especially in the area. It couldn't hurt."

"I guess," John said, returning to his reading.

This was one area in which they were as different as night and day. John was not a people person. He was more comfortable living in his world of academics than meeting and socializing with new people. It was not that he was antisocial, he just had trouble making small talk; his was the world of math and physics, the theoretical world. It was why he agreed with Katie that he should accelerate his advancement towards his ultimate goal of getting his doctoral? degree. The sooner he could finish his undergraduate and master's work, the sooner he could start his research work.

Katie shrugged and retrieved her Management of Business textbook, kicked off her sneakers and fell onto the bed. She had a chapter to read before her class tomorrow. As she read, she tried to apply the information in the book to situations she had encountered at work. The more she read, the more she realized how smart a businessman Tim O'Shea was.

After a half an hour John closed his book and turned to look at Katie; she was still hard at work. He thought about before and how wrapped up he was in his studying, realizing that he had basically ignored her. He knew that she was the best thing that could ever happen to him and that he should never forget that. He eased himself onto the bed behind her and gently rubbed her shoulder.

"I'm sorry. I guess I was just too wrapped up in my world to listen to things that you considered important in yours. Let's talk about it."

Katie closed her book, rolled onto her back and started to talk.

"John, the more I think about it the more I like the idea of opening up an Irish Pub here in Tucson. I've checked around; there is not one Irish Pub in the entire area. The closest one is the one where I work during the break. Tim is teaching me all about the business. He's been doing it for over thirty years, so I think he knows what he's talking about. I asked him what he thought of the idea of opening up a pub here. He said he was too old to do it again, but he thought it was a good idea. We would need to get a good location near the main part of the campus. It will take a good deal of money to get started; but if we can get a business loan, and maybe some grant money, I think it could be done. I could work for Tim while you finish school, then once you have your masters you could get a teaching post here and do your research for your doctorate."

"Katie, that would mean living apart again; I'm not sure I could take being stuck here all by myself for months at a time. I would miss you too much."

"That's sweet, John, really sweet, but I could work my schedule so I can be home a couple of nights a week. Tim and I stumbled on a way to make some additional money so I don't have to work as many hours. I never told you: this past break, I started arm wrestling the guys at the bar. I get seventy percent of the winnings; Tim gets the rest because he covers the bets. I made over $1,100 so far."

John could feel his cock throbbing in his pants. He was getting really turned on by the mental picture of his wife's powerful arms forcing down the arm of some loud overconfident guy at the bar. Katie could feel it too.

"Hold that thought for later, stud," she said with a laugh. "We have to get something to eat and workout before we can play. If you're really good later, maybe I'll give you a free demonstration."

Chapter 13

Katie and John were busier than ever. Katie pledged Chi Omega and although she didn't like some of the crap she had to put up with as a pledge she stuck with it, bonding with the rest of the girls in her pledge class and the sisters of the sorority. Her social life was beginning to have an effect on her academic performance, which meant that John had to spend more time helping her study. Most of his day consisted of class time, studying for his exams, and helping her. In his 'spare time' John worked out and had his meals. The best time of day for the both of them was the time that they spent in bed, making love or just cuddling, until fatigue got the upper hand and they fell into a peaceful sleep.

Before they knew it, it was exam time again. After their last exams, they packed some things into Katie's car and drove to her mom's, dropped off some laundry to do later, and headed over to see John's parents.

They stayed for dinner and left about at about ten, returning to her mom's place. Margaret greeted them at the door and hugged them both saying, "I have your room all ready; I assume you'll both be staying here for the holidays. Let's have coffee and we can talk."

It was a wonderful relaxing week; a time to decompress. They alternated between the two houses spending time and sharing their experiences. Two days after Christmas, Katie returned to work and John was getting restless; he wanted to go back to school. Because the pub was busier than normal, with kids returning from college and snowbirds returning to the Valley of the Sun, Tim asked her to work twelve hour shifts. Since she was now twenty-one, Tim had Katie working the bar much of the time while he looked on, helping her learn the proper way to draw a perfect pint of Guinness, or how to mix the various cocktails of the day. She was loving every minute of it, flirting with the customers and learning the finer points of bartending. The money was great, but that left John home alone most of time. Katie felt bad about leaving him and, after she came home from her shift, she took a quick shower and crawled naked into bed.

"Shhhh, we have to be quiet, we don't want to wake up my mom," she whispered in his ear. She started at his mouth, moved to his neck and made her way down his body, kissing, licking and biting as she went. Her ultimate goal was clear and John trembled with anticipation and desire. Her hands tugged at his briefs, until his blood-engorged cock sprang into view. She was always amazed that such a relatively small guy could have such a magnificent cock. She took it into her hands and began to run her tongue around the still exposed head. John let out a soft moan. She could feel him trying to lift his hips off the bed in an attempt to get more into her mouth.

"Patience my dear, this is only the beginning."

She continued to tease its head with her tongue, occasionally pulling back, while stroking its length.

When she sensed that he was close to cumming she grabbed the head firmly until the moment was past, and then started over again. Katie did this several times; each time the interval between crises grew shorter until she sensed that he was near the point of no return. Now she reversed her position and, throwing her leg over his chest, presented to him her dripping pussy. Crazed with desire, he pulled her down so he could attack her clit, while she engulfed his cock. The result was like two runaway freight trains colliding; each felt the climax of the other, their cries muffled by the other's body, each receiving the juices of the other.

Katie was the first to recover; cleaning his now deflating member, reversed herself and began to lick his face like a cat cleaning the milk covered faces of its kittens.

"I'm sorry I had to leave you all alone again today; I hope you're not mad at me?"

How could he ever get mad at her? He cuddled up behind her and held her tight as she rolled over onto her side and fell asleep.

The next morning he woke up early, crept out of bed, dressed and walked out to the kitchen to make a pot of coffee. Margaret came out of her room about twenty minutes later dressed and ready for work.

"Good morning, Mom; can I get you a cup of coffee?"

"That would be wonderful," she replied. "It's not often that I have a cup before I leave for work. I usually just stop on the way and pick up a cup at the McDonald's drive-in."

He poured her a cup and sat back down, knowing that she took her coffee as he did: black, no sugar.

After sitting for a few minutes in silence, Margaret said, "I heard you two last night; I woke up with the sound of the shower and had trouble falling back to sleep."

John could feel his face getting red.

"Don't be embarrassed John, I think it's wonderful that she's found someone who truly makes her happy. You two make such a cute couple. I think you're perfect for one another. I just wish I had found someone like you when I was your age."

It slipped out before he could stop it: "What about Katie's father?"

"I guess Katie never told you, I never really knew who her father was." She told him the story that she had made up so long ago and had repeated in her head so many times that even she had begun to believe it was true.

"There was a party, I got drunk and woke up the next day in some no-tell, motel, alone. Katie was conceived that night. I never knew who the father was."

Embarrassed and feeling sorry for her, John sat there listening in silence, until she was finished.

"I never met my birth parents, I was adopted."

"See you both have something in common, neither of you know who your father was," she said trying to lighten the mood.

He didn't want to contradict her so he never mentioned the fact that he knew the names of both of his birth parents or the story behind his adoption.

"Well, I have to get going; I don't want to be late for work. Thanks for the coffee and especially for being such a wonderful son-in-law."

After she left, John poured himself a second cup and went out to the living room to watch the morning news. At nine o'clock he shut off the TV and looked in on Katie. She was still asleep but must have been restless because she had kicked off the blanket; her glorious body was totally exposed. John, the memory of the prior evening still fresh in his mind, undressed and crawled onto the bed.

'Payback is wonderful,' he thought as he gently licked along the edges of her exposed pussy; occasionally blowing on her extending clit. He looked up at her face; she was making the cute little faces and whimpering noises she always made when she was approaching her climax. John returned his attention to what he was doing; he could see her juices dripping out of her and could feel her hips slowly gyrating.

Quickly he got into position over her, taking care not to wake her; and positioned his cock between her lips. Slowly he entered her; all of his weight was supported by his arms and legs. He began moving slowly in and out, with long even strokes. Her breathing became more erratic and she became flush. John froze, buried deep inside her, as he felt the tiny contractions of her orgasm begin. Her eyes suddenly opened, a look of total confusion on her face until her conscious mind caught up with the sensations that her body was sending to her brain. John renewed his movements as Katie grabbed him behind the head and mashed their lips together in a passionate kiss. He felt her legs cross over the backs of his thighs forcing him down on her urging him on.

"Harder; faster, that's it. Oh God, yes, I've missed this so much."

She screamed as her second orgasm rush through her body, and John exploded within her.

When they both recovered she said, "Please tell me my mom is already at work."

John nodded, "when she left and I saw you lying here I figured I'd wake you up so you could get ready for work."

"Hmmmm, that was a wonderful way to wake up, a lot better than our alarm clock."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Chapter 14

New Year's Eve was one of the pub's busiest nights. John would have been alone that night, because Katie had to work, so she convinced him that he should come to work with her. He could see first-hand what she did and how much she enjoyed it. John had never been to an Irish Pub before. In fact, he had never been to any type of bar before. He sat on the last stool, at the far end of the bar, and watched as Katie worked the bar. He could tell that she was in her element, doing what she loved to do. She laughed and talked with the customers as she hustled their orders. It was a little slow during the day, but the bar began to fill up around four o'clock. Tim stayed with her until six, when his two partners came in to take over for the evening. They each took a side of the bar; Katie took the side that John was sitting at. Because John was not much of a drinker, she would give him a pint of beer, which he nursed as long as possible; when he needed a refill she would give him a glass of water or diet soda. Over the course of her twelve hour shift he probably had six beers in all. He spent a lot of time in the bathroom. In between drink orders she would walk over by him and talk about how she loved what she was doing.

Sometime around ten o'clock, one of the regulars that had been there for about an hour or so, called out to Katie as he propped him arm onto the bar,

"Katie O'Hara get over here. I challenge you to a test of strength and I have twenty bucks that says I can beat you."

Katie tried to ignore him, figuring that it was the alcohol talking. But the longer she ignored him the louder he got. Finally, she shrugged her shoulders, walked up to him and coupled her hand in his. She looked at the bar, there must have been close to three hundred dollars in bets in front of the patrons, who were all sure that they couldn't lose. Tim had already gone home for the evening so it was up to her to make good on the bets if she lost.

John watched as Katie prepared for the contest; worried that her challenger appeared to be bigger than she was, but also excited that he was going to be a witness to the event. Almost mesmerized by all the shouting, John got out of his seat and walked around until he was able to look into her eyes.

The other bartender came over and started them with, "All set; go!

Katie's arm swelled as the contest began. Neither contestant appeared to be gaining an advantage. John could see the smile on her face as she stared into the eyes of her opponent. After a minute of the stalemate, Katie looked up into John's eyes. She could tell by the expression on his face that that he was aroused by the action. She gave him a wink, blew him a kiss, and -- slowly at first -- proceeded to gain the advantage. The crowd was shouting encouragement to her opponent, but it would be of no help. With a final burst of strength, she slammed his hand down onto the bar. She gathered the money from the bar and walked back to the corner were John was just returning to his seat.

"That was awesome," he whispered in a lustful tone." When does your shift end?"

"Just after midnight," she replied as she handed the cash to him. "Watch this for me."

As the countdown began, Katie made her way over to John's corner and as everybody yelled "Happy New Year" she held his head in her hands and gave him a very passionate kiss. When she finally broke the kiss she whispered in his ear,

"I'll be wanting a lot more of that tonight, kind sir."

She told her fellow bartenders that she would be leaving in a few minutes and announced to her patrons that this was her last call for the evening. The crowd seemed to thin out almost immediately, only the serious partiers remained. She scooped up her tips from the bar and retrieved the rest from her tip mug under the bar.

"Good Night all, and Happy New Year," she shouted as she came out from behind the bar and met John at the door. Arm in arm they walked out to her car.

"I'd better drive," she said as she got behind the wheel.

"I'm fine," John replied.

"I know that, but you drive too slowly. I want to get home before Mom gets back from her night out."

In less than ten minutes, they were pulling into the complex and ten minutes after that they were naked in bed. Katie was on top, riding him hard as she held John's hands over his head and offered her breasts for him to suck.

"You liked that back at the bar, didn't you? It really turns you on knowing that your wife is so strong."

All John could do was nod his head in reply.

"Well it turns me on as well, knowing that I have the strength to do whatever I want with this body of yours and that there is nothing that you can do to stop me."

She increased her pace as her hips pounded down onto his body. Soon they were both coming hard.

Afterwards, as they lay side by side recovering in the afterglow, Katie whispered, "I'm sorry if I was a little rough tonight, I didn't hurt you did I?"

"No you didn't hurt me and there's nothing to be sorry about; I loved every minute of it."

"Good, I'm glad you enjoyed it as much as I did. Sometimes I just get the urge to totally dominate you; just knowing that I can makes it that much better for me. I just want you to know that I love you and that I would never ever do anything to hurt you."

Just then they heard noise coming from the kitchen; keys rattled as they were tossed onto the table. They heard footsteps in the hallway as Margaret headed for her room.

John looked at the clock; it was nearly 1:30 in the morning.

"Your mom must have had a good time tonight."

"It's not what you think. She and a few of her lady friends get together every New Year's Eve and have a little party, they play cards, get drunk, stay up until midnight, then stay to clean up. It's only a few blocks from here so she walked home. It's sad really; she never goes out on a date, she has no male friends as far as I know. I think, after what happen that night I was conceived, she just gave up on men altogether."

Katie turned onto her side and John held her tight; it felt so good to hold her in his arms.

They spent a quiet New Year's Day with John's parents. John said his goodbyes and they returned to Margaret's house, packed the car, and settled in for the night. The following morning, they drove back to school and, after checking in, they returned to their dorm room. Katie stayed for a couple of days, but the day that John's classes resumed, she drove back to her mom's and returned to her job. John felt like he was on an emotional rollercoaster; his days were filled with intellectual stimulation, but his nights were filled with loneliness, until Katie returned for the start of the spring semester.

Chapter 15

The spring semester, and the summer that followed, were more of the same. Katie led her team to the conference championship and a second-place finish at the World Series championship in Oklahoma that year. John completed another perfect 4.0 semester, and during the summer session completed his undergraduate degree in Physics with a minor in Astronomy. He was looking forward to beginning his master's degree program in the fall. Katie continued her education in tavern management with Tim.

At the insistence of John's parents, they agreed that John would attend graduation ceremonies the following spring when Katie was scheduled to graduate. Once again John set his schedule on an accelerated pace, if all went according to plan he would not only receive his undergraduate degree, but would also his masters degree at the same time.

Their fourth year in school was much like their third. John spent almost all of his time attending classes, and studying and writing papers. Katie, on the other hand, spent more of her time centered around the sorority, attending classes, but concentrating on those classes which she felt would be on the most help to her upon graduation. They still found the time to work-out together three days a week, with Katie spending an additional hour afterwards on the free weights.

During the spring semester, Katie would get up early on the weekends and would go out into the area surrounding the main campus for morning runs. She would run through the streets of Tucson looking for a building that could be used for an Irish Pub. On one of her runs she found what she was looking for. The building was located in the business district, approximately two blocks from the main part of the campus. More importantly however, it was also on a heavily traveled street. The building itself was a two-story stand alone structure with three retail shops on the first floor and what appeared to be apartments on the second. There was plenty of street parking and a parking lot in the back of the building. The retail space was currently occupied by a small deli, an insurance agency, and a gift shop. And best of all, there was a 'for sale' sign on the building.