How the Story Ends Pt. 03

"So, you could have any woman you wanted; why me?"

"I didn't want just any woman, I wanted someone who would love me despite my wealth, not because of it. Someone who was unpretentious and down to earth, like you. You're used to living in a van and you're quite happy to do that. You don't seek fame or fortune, and I have a feeling that even if they were offered, you would choose happiness and love before those. Am I right?"

I snuggled against him, holding his arm as I tried to digest this new information. "Yes, honey, you're right. It would make no difference whether you were a beggar or a king, I would still love you exactly as you are."

We kissed then, gently, sexily, oblivious to the world as it passed by, until I heard someone clearing their throat beside me and looked up to see a bronzed surfer waiting for service.

"I'm sorry," I said as I broke away from Gerald, "How can I help you?"

"I want to hire a board," he said, looking at us both.

"You're a keen surfer, by the look of you," I replied, "I'd have thought you'd have had your own board."

"I did, but some low-life stole it a few days ago, so now I'm reduced to hiring."

I glanced at Gerald, who had been listening to our conversation.

"That's too bad. Could be anywhere by now. Help yourself to a board, any one you like, and just take it, no charge."

"You mean you'd let me hire a board free?" he asked in amazement.

"No, I mean I'm giving you a board free. A gift, not just a hire."

He stood there, dumbfounded, thinking I was crazy. Then he came to his senses and began looking over the boards leaning against the trailer. He chose one and carried it to me.

"This one Ok?" he asked.

"If it's the one you want it's fine by me. It's all yours; enjoy."

"So, I ... I don't owe you anything? Nothing?"

"That's what free means. Enjoy. It's your lucky day."

"Th ... thank you so much."

Impulsively he stepped towards me and threw his free arm around my shoulders, giving me a one-armed hug. I hugged him back, then he stood, thanked me again, and strode towards the ocean to try out his new board.

"That was a wonderfully generous thing you did," said Gerald after he was out of earshot. "Why did you do that?"

"Sweetheart, he was obviously a very keen and very good surfer, I would think, and for that to happen to him would have been devastating. Yesterday I was alone and lonely, until you rescued me from that. I can thank you, and I do, but really, except for my love, there is nothing I can give you, nothing I can buy you that you can't afford a thousand of, so when situations like that happen, and they do occasionally, I like to pay it forward. I've just given him something he really wanted and couldn't afford. Later today or tomorrow he will meet someone who needs something which he can provide, maybe love, maybe reassurance, maybe advice, maybe just a kind word. By receiving my gift, he will be more inclined to stop and help that person, again paying it forward. Just imagine what kind of world we could build if giving became a general principle, instead of everyone seeking to get as much as they could."

"You really are a wonderful person," he said after a short pause, "You certainly have given me so much. Your companionship, your acceptance, your love, in all possible ways. Thank you, darling."

"I think we've given each other those things," I replied, embracing him, "And long may that continue."

To cut a very long story short, two days later I gave the surfer, Brad, the rest of the boards, the hire business, the van and the trailer. He was, of course, over the moon with joy because, instead of flipping burgers, he was working with his passion. Meanwhile, my passion was taking a different turn as I moved in with Gerald and we went through the relationship development phase, finding out each other's likes, dislikes, preferences and funny little quirks. It was a time of experimentation and fun, made completely carefree by there being no plans, no financial worries; we could just be ourselves. The hardest decision we had to make each morning was which position would we make love in today. It was, in all senses of the word bar one, a perfect honeymoon. But even perfection becomes mundane after a while.

"Honey, how do you feel about a road trip? We've been here for a month now and while it's wonderful and has been a fantastic place to get to know each other, I've got itchy feet," Gerald suggested as we lay snuggled together in the afterglow of love one morning.

It never ceased to amaze me how people who have a really close relationship can almost have joint thoughts, because I had been thinking the same thing for several days now. "Absolutely," I agreed, "That sounds wonderful."

We spent the next few hours poring over maps on the screen, working out an itinerary without setting any dates. We could just allow time to take its own course while we went where we wanted, when we wanted. I did notice that we both tacitly agreed that we'd have some time skiing, so I suggested the field where I had worked with Alex would be an excellent venue.

We spent a leisurely several months travelling northwards, out of California, through Nevada with its night clubs, Oregon, to Seattle in Washington, then to the Montana ski resort where Alex and I had worked. It was interesting and quite emotional to return to the resort, this time as clients rather than as staff, and I met many of the old hands there and introduced Gerald.

Our accommodation was first class, of course. It had taken me a while to change my mental set of choosing the cheapest accommodation to choosing and expecting the best a resort had to offer. We hired skis and I began introducing Gerald to the skifields. He was a passable skier and I was able to give him some tips that improved his competence until we were both excellent skiers and I was confident that I could return to the place where Alex had been killed in the avalanche, almost a year ago.

The day before the anniversary of Alex's death I arranged a surprise for Gerald. That evening we had a special meal and I told Gerald that tomorrow was a special day for me, a day of remembrance and a day to finally still the ghost from the past. I even told him about our special song, and he, of course, immediately called a waiter over and asked him to find it and play it on the sound system.

As the first chords came from the speakers, I held Gerald's hands across the table and tears poured from my eyes as I remembered the night a year ago when Alex and I had made love for the last time, as the song played from the radio. I wondered how this new story would end, not at tragically as it had a year ago, I hoped. I remember thinking how tenuous life is, how, despite all our hopes and dreams, all the plans we made, life still lived itself out and went its own way, oblivious to whatever it was that we desired.

Once the song was finished, I cleaned up with some tissues, then smiled at Gerald.

"Just think, if my relationship with Alex hadn't ended, we may never have met," I said thoughtfully. "So, in some way Alex's death could be seen as a sacrifice to allow us to enjoy each other as we have. Probably the ultimate sacrifice a person can make, albeit unknowingly."

"Well, if you look at in that way, it makes it even more important that our relationship thrives and grows to make his sacrifice, if it can be called that, worthwhile."

"Yes, darling, I guess so. Take me to bed, darling; show me how worthwhile Alex's sacrifice really was."

We walked out of the restaurant with our arms around each other, my head resting on Gerald's shoulder. As soon as our door was closed, we embraced, hugging and kissing each other, grinding my mound against his hardening cock.

"I want you inside me now," I murmured into his ear.

We stripped each other as we stood, then he scooped me up in his arms and carried me to bed. He lay me on my back and spread me wide apart, then bent down and began licking and nibbling my pussy, sliding his tongue along my slit, teasing my clit and then hardening his tongue and sliding it a small way into my entrance. I alternated between pulling his head harder against me and caressing my breasts, squeezing my nipples hard, just as I liked it best. Finally, Gerald lifted his head and grinned at me.

"I think you liked that, judging by your sounds."

I hadn't been aware I was making any, then realized that perhaps I always made soft mewling sounds when we made love. "I want you in me, honey," I growled, pulling him forward by wrapping my heels behind his ass cheeks.

He moved forwards, then reached for a pillow which he slid under my ass, raising and tilting my hips to just the right height and angle before he moved slowly forward, his cock sliding into me as he took over my breast and nipples manipulation. I tilted my head back and let out a soft animal growl as I felt him progressively filling me up, spreading my vagina apart, slowly, too slowly, I wanted more, faster, but he remained in control. The more I tried to hurry the process, the slower he seemed to go, teasing me, tantalizing me, loving me as I wanted to be loved for the rest of my life.

Eventually I was fully impaled on his rod, my clit being squeezed by his pubic bone as hard as my nipples were by his fingers. It was complete bliss; total, erotically painful bliss. My eyes were closed and I felt my hips pulsating as the walls of my cunt gripped and released him, massaging the intruder. We remained like that for a long time, it seemed, without conscious movement, until the time was right and he began withdrawing almost completely, then pushing back inside, hard and fast, time and time again, each time seeming to enter me further. I felt myself seeking release, waves of sensation pouring from my nipples, clit and cunt, causing me to writhe in pleasure as I approached my climax. Then I was there, out of control, screaming, writhing, shuddering and clawing at Gerald's ass, trying to pull him further into me as I felt the ecstasy of my orgasm annihilate me.

I think I passed out momentarily, because when I was next conscious, Gerald was leaning over me, still firmly embedded, grinning down at me.

"I think you enjoyed that, honey," he said as he reached forward and kissed me tenderly and lovingly on the lips.

"Mmmm, yes, it was beautiful, darling, but I hope you're not finished 'cos I want more, and I guess you do too."

"Well, time for a change, darling." Without further ado, he withdrew and flipped me over, placing my ass high, knees wide apart and head on the covers as he positioned himself between my legs and fed his rock-hard cock into my drooling love tunnel. In this position there was far less stimulation for my clit, just the occasional tap by his balls, and I felt myself becoming frustrated, wanting more. His hands were holding my hips, pulling them backwards against him as he thrust deeply, the head of his cock stroking across my cervix, a feeling I had grown to enjoy. We fucked like this for a while, pleasant but not outstanding, until I could feel that he was approaching his release.

"No, not yet, not like this, please darling."

He stopped and withdrew. "You choose, honey, how do you want it?"

"Lie on your back; I want to ride you and I want you to punish my tits as I do and I want to cum on your hard cock as it pumps stream after stream of its juices into my thirsty cunt."

"Mmmm, I love it when you talk dirty," he replied, withdrawing and lying on his back beside me.

I straddled him, leant forward and kissed him, then slowly engulfed his pulsating rod with my sloppy love tunnel until he was fully inside. I sat back, wriggling to position him better inside me, then began moving back and forth, using him as a dildo to stimulate me inside while my clit rubbed back and forth across his hairy pubic bone. Without needing to be asked, he gripped my breasts, kneading them, squeezing them and my nipples hard, sending sharp pangs of painful arousal through my body as I moved faster and harder on his cock. It only took a few minutes until I was ready to cum again. I drew myself upwards, leant further back to gain even more penetration, gripped my breasts around the base while he continued to stimulate my nipples and felt the earth move as waves of orgasm washed over me.

Gradually the ecstasy passed and I leant forward onto Gerald's heaving chest and relaxed. He wrapped his arms around me and we cuddled, his cock still rock-hard inside me, awaiting its opportunity for release. We lay like that until our breathing had slowed, then we kissed and began again. This time Gerald held my ass cheeks and slid me back and forth, my nipples sliding along his hairy chest, my clit sliding over his hairy pubic bone, feeling intense stimulation with each movement. He began lifting his hips, thrusting deeper each time I moved downwards, stimulating me both inside and out. I knew I couldn't take this for long before I came yet again, but I was determined to make him cum with me. I began tilting my hips also, changing the angle of penetration, eliciting a low moan from his lips. I could feel the intensity of his movements increasing, causing me to move faster as my next release welled up inside me. I bit my bottom lip, intent upon holding back until I knew he was beyond the point of no return. I heard his breathing increasing, felt his loss of control and then with a scream I came hard at the same time as he gave a grunt, pushed himself inside me as far as possible and I felt his hot juices squirting against the end of my cunt.

We lay together with little movement for a long time; I may have even gone to sleep for a few minutes. When we began moving, we kissed gently and contentedly before we rolled onto our sides and, still embracing, we slept.

The anniversary of Alex's death dawned as a perfectly clear, still day. It had snowed very little in the past week so the chances of an avalanche were minimal, but nevertheless I had checked with the ski patrol when I had discussed my plans with them.

We met the snowcat early and were taken high up the mountain where we were dropped off. It was then I told Gerald that today we were going to ski the same track as Alex and I had skied on that fateful day a year ago, this time with little possibility of an avalanche. I didn't know it at the time, but Gerald had a surprise of his own for me that day.

The skiing was superb, the snow crisp but not too icy as the early morning sun softened the surface. We made long gentle sweeps across the pristine slopes, free from other skiers and the lifts and tows that intruded into the snowy mountain peace. After a short time I led Gerald around the corner to the fateful slope, the snow once again perched high above, but this time securely frozen to the underlying rock, I had been told. We stopped in the place where I had watched Alex as he was buried by the tumbled snow and ice and we unclipped from our skis.

"That's where Alex died," I told Gerald, pointing to the spot lower down the slope.

I had hoped that I had healed enough to be able to suppress the tears, but I was wrong. The tears flowed and Gerald turned towards me, holding me in his arms, comforting by his presence while allowing my grief to flow down my cheeks and drip from my chin. I felt myself shaking with emotion as he managed my safety, ensuring that I wasn't going to slide down the mountain. After what seemed like an age, the emotion was spent and his comforting turned more to cuddling.

"Thank you. darling," I muttered against his anorak.

"That must have been really traumatic, watching Alex die so suddenly and unexpectedly," he murmured in reply, "At least with my wife I had some time to prepare."

"Yes," I replied, lifting my head away from him and taking off my gloves to find a tissue to wipe my eyes and blow my nose, "It probably was the suddenness of the event that was most shocking. One moment he was alive, the next he was gone."

"So, you don't like surprises then?" asked Gerald with a grin.

"I wouldn't say that," I replied, "It depends on the type of surprise."

Gerald had been removing his gloves also and he now reached inside his anorak and took something out of his pocket. Then he went down on one knee in the snow, looked up into my eyes, and snapped a box open in his hand.

"Evie, I love you and I want you for my wife. Will you marry me, please darling?"

I looked down at the beautiful ring with a huge diamond glinting in the sun, then at his even more radiant face. I thought of what life would be like with Gerald; the love we would share, children of our own, places we could visit, the life we could enjoy together, and did I mention the love we would share? Why wouldn't I want that? I looked again at the place where I'd last seen Alex alive; Alex, the love of my life, was gone, but I could almost feel him telling me not to pass up this opportunity, that it was fine for me to marry someone else and that he would certainly bless our marriage. I turned back to Gerald, still kneeling in the snow, waiting expectantly.

"Yes, darling Gerald, I love you deeply and it will be my absolute pleasure to marry you and be your wife."

He grinned one of his widest, sunniest grins and slipped the beautiful ring onto my finger. Then he stood and we kissed lovingly, standing in the snow where a year ago I had feared that my love and my life were ended.

"Thank you, sweetheart," he replied, "I guess we may now go forward together and find out how this story ends."