I Only Wanted You Pt. 03

"Too bad. That'd be a hell of a thing to be able to perfectly remember."

"Humanity would be doomed," she joked. "One good orgasm and that's it. Your own personal drug-haze until you starve to death because you forgot to eat."

"I'll put that at the top of my list of ways I want to die. Mind-blowing orgasmed to death sounds like a pretty good way to check out."

She glanced down at herself, at my cum all over her breasts and stomach. "Speaking of checking out, look at me."

"Believe me, I've been looking."

She watched me staring at her cum-covered breasts. "Why'd you pull out anyway? I'm on the pill."

I almost said 'habit,' and I'm really glad I didn't. "Dunno. Just a spur of the moment thing."

She eyed me as if she could somehow sense the word I hadn't spoken, but she just said, "Well, it was kinda sexy, to be honest. Still messy, but maybe this'll be easier to clean up."

We stayed there in bed for a while longer, long enough for my cum to start drying on her chest, so eventually we headed to the shower to rinse off.

After that, we wandered back out into the main hall where more people were collected, back from their snow adventures. We grabbed some snacks and drinks and socialized for a while. Lynn, my boss, was there with her husband, and she seemed intent on chatting with Natalie. I guess I'd talked Nat up enough, now it was time for people to get to know her.

For her part, Nat eased quickly into it. She was friendly and well-spoken, and allowed herself to get sucked into a conversation with a group of other women, and they all seemed to be having a good time.

One of my co-workers, a guy named Steve who had worked side by side with me for weeks, sat down next to me and offered me a beer. I declined, indicating my mostly-full bottled water. "More for me," he said with a shrug.

He gestured at the group of women. "Your girlfriend is hot, man."

"Uh, thanks," I said, unsure where he was heading with this.

"You guys gonna get married?"

"Dunno what's happening on that front. I mean, I'd be all for it, but we haven't talked about it."

"Don't let people scare you out of it. You hear about those couples who seem like they hate each other, or say they never have sex anymore, but, man, that's bullshit. If you marry the right girl, marriage is awesome."

"Which one's your wife?"

He pointed, and just then, a woman with her hair pulled back into a thick braid glanced over and smiled and waved. He grinned back. "There she is."

I watched his wife return to the conversation. She was sitting right next to Natalie. "How do you know you're marrying the right one?"

He took a long pull from his beer. "It kinda crept up on me. Lacy and I had been dating for about a year and one day I was looking at her and realized she was my best friend. I think that's it, man. Marry your best friend."

"Best friends, huh," I mused.

He leaned back, swirling his beer and watching the motion. "There's a lot of shit that can go wrong in a long term relationship. Being friends helps you get past most of it. Being in love helps you get past the rest."

I looked at him. He was a little red-faced, though I didn't know if it was from the cold or from too many beers. "Shit, Steve, that's deep. You're dishing some good advice here."

He barked a laugh. "Lemme call Lacy over and you can say that again so she can hear. She likes it when I get all sensitive."

The afternoon turned into evening. An excellent dinner came and went, and everyone started retiring for the night. Passing by the theater, Nat and I even heard someone exclaim, "Christmas Vacation?" which got a shared grin from us.

We walked hand in hand back to our room and got ready for bed. We were tired and it had been an awesome day, so by mutual agreement we cuddled in bed and fooled around for a bit, but the quiet mantle of sleep inexorably slipped over us and, fingers entwined, we were out.

Chapter 22: Heading Home

The next day, we slept in, which surprised us both because I had totally been planning on some morning sex. Instead, we didn't drag ourselves out of bed until after ten. We had breakfast with two other late-rising couples, chatting amiably while we ate. It turns out they were the ones who owned the snowmobiles, and they invited us to take a turn.

"I've never driven one," I said. "How hard is it?"

Turns out, it wasn't that hard. After getting into our snow gear, they found a couple helmets that fit me and Nat, and showed us how to drive the snowmobile, and we spent about an hour zooming around the snow-covered fields with the others, though we kept it slow because most of us were inexperienced. Natalie even took a turn driving, which was fun because I got to sit behind her and wrap my arms around her while she drove. I may or may not have accidentally felt her up.

Around lunchtime, word spread through the group that Lynn wanted all of us in the main hall, so we spread our snow gear out so it could dry, changed into comfortable clothes, then went to the meeting, where a bunch of chairs had been arranged into a big C-shape.

Lynn stood in the center and waited for the last stragglers to arrive, then started in on the speech I'd been expecting the whole time. I mean, it's a company-sponsored event. At some point, business is going to come up. Natalie sat next to me and held my hand.

"I want to thank everyone on my team for all your hard work," Lynn began. "And all the rest of you for your support. I know it was a long time away from family and friends, and the company wants to thank you for it."

She went on for a while, getting through the stuff she was obviously required to say, and then into more friendly stuff, which she was clearly much more interested in talking about. Her husband sat off to the side, a little apart from the rest of us, and I got the impression that he liked watching her work. Someone asked about the bonus, and she confirmed it was coming, though she didn't know an amount.

After that, the group broke up, with some heading back outside, some heading into their rooms, and some into the kitchen to make lunch. At around two, the first couple headed for their car, packed it up, and drove slowly out of sight. That put a bow on it for everyone else.

Some of the guys helped me load the truck with what was left of our supplies. I was pretty impressed at how much food the twenty of us had eaten over three days.

Lynn encouraged everyone to clean up, chipping in herself to set an example. "The more we do, the more of our deposit we get back," she said, but I couldn't tell if she was joking our not.

Finally, everyone was either gone or at their cars, except for me and Nat, and Lynn and her husband, Pete. Lynn did a quick walk-through of the cabin, then we all went out the service entrance, which I locked behind us. Nat and I tossed our bags into the truck, then I closed and locked it as well.

Lynn turned around in a slow circle. "Hell of a weekend," she said in a satisfied tone. Pete slipped his arm around her and they shared a quick smile.

"Yep. I'll meet you back at the dock at work, and we can return this thing," I said, patting the side of the truck.

"Nobody got hurt, nobody broke anything, nobody got into any fights," Lynn said.

Natalie blinked. "That's happened?"

It was Pete who answered. "Oh yeah. The first time the company did this, they had an open bar. Big mistake." He laughed, but Lynn had a sour look.

"Bunch of assholes who thought 'open bar' meant 'get totally shit-faced and cause a scene'." She grimaced. "What a load of HR paperwork that was. One guy even ended up fired because of it." She looked at me. "You'll note that the company provided zero alcohol this time. Anything anyone had, they brought themselves."

"Turns out, most people are a lot more careful when they have to pay for the booze themselves," Pete said.

"Well, let's get out of here," Lynn said, taking him by the hand. "Rob, I gotta stop by my sister's to pick up my kids, but then I'll meet you at the dock."

With that, Nat and I climbed back into the truck. I started it up, and we sat there shivering while we waited. By the time it was warmed up, everyone else was gone, and we were the last out. The parking lot was full of tire tracks in a thin layer of snow, but already the emptiness of the place was almost pushing us away. I sighed as I got the truck going. I was reluctant to leave, to go back to normal life. Nat squeezed my knee and gave me a look that said she understood.

As we settled in for the drive, she leaned her head on my shoulder. "Thanks so much for this. I haven't had this much fun in... well, maybe ever."

The road was clear, so I slipped my arm around her. "It was a great weekend, wasn't it?"

"We had sex for the first time. I'm not a virgin anymore," she said.

"Yep, I was there."

She giggled. "You sure were." After a while, she said, "And then I sort of gave you a blow job."

I chuckled. "That was awesome."

"But the best part was the jacuzzi," she said, her voice changing to something more sensual. "Fooling around in it, and then moving to the bed." She put her hand on my upper thigh, not far from my cock. "Using the vibrator while you fingered me. That orgasm was incredible." She moved her hand to my cock and gave me a little squeeze. "And then we had sex again."

"We did other things than have sex, ya know," I joked.

She laughed. "Oh, I'm aware. But this weekend was a serious step forward for our relationship."

"That it was," I agreed.

"And you still haven't gone down on me," she said. I took a quick glance at her. She was blushing, but at the same time, she had her lower lip caught between her teeth. She saw me looking and gave me a quick wink.

"Don't you worry, I definitely, absolutely, want to feel your clit on my tongue."

She sucked in a quick breath. "You say these things... especially when I'm feeling like this... and it's so exciting."

"Feeling like what? Are you... horny?"

"Yes, Rob, I'm horny," she said in a flat voice, but her lips threatened to break out into a smile.

"Wanna have sex when we get back home? We can do it in your bed, or my bed. Or both."

She rolled her eyes at me, but she wore an easy smile.

We spent the rest of the trip talking about mundane things, or in comfortable silence, watching the outside world flow by, mile after mile. It was like we drove to a different world, one of snow, and love, and sex.

Eventually, I pulled into the parking lot at my job and drove around to the loading dock. Lynn was there, and waved as soon as she saw me. I backed the truck into place and got out.

Lynn and I chatted while we waited for the truck to be unloaded, then Natalie got my attention. "I need to use the bathroom," she said.

"Go ahead and take her inside," Lynn told me. "Show her around while we wait. It's Sunday. Hardly anyone's here."

I led Natalie inside the building and to the nearest bathroom. When she was done, I gave her a quick tour.

She looked around with interest. "Where's your desk? Or office, or whatever you have?"

I showed her my desk, which was super boring. I'd done little in the way of personalization, having spent so much time away from it. It could have been anyone's.

"No pictures of me? Or any pictures at all?" she asked, hands on her hips. "Well, we need to get a good one of us framed."

We headed back out just in time to grab our bags from the dock guys as they were closing up the truck. I handed Natalie my car keys, then she and Lynn followed me back to the truck rental place.

"I'll handle this," Lynn said as I gave her the keys. "You go on home. See you tomorrow, Rob."

Natalie and I tossed our bags into my car. "Where to?" I asked as we buckled up. By then, the winter sun was setting.

She took my hand and thought for a moment. "Let's get dinner, then go to your place. I kinda want to just cuddle and watch something. I feel like relaxing. Gotta go back to work tomorrow, the both of us. But before that, I want to enjoy this evening."

I put the car in gear. "Works for me."

Chapter 23: The Best Thing

Now that I was done with the business trips, Nat and I were able to settle into a stable routine, though I don't think she would have liked that term. I sure didn't. But that's what it was. Work, school, sleep. Work, school, sleep...

"Work, school, sleep," I complained. "That's all I do now."

Nat glanced at me. "Well, somebody should have done more of his schoolwork when he was away." It could have come across as chiding, but we'd already had this conversation and it was just a gentle tease.

"I'm mostly caught up," I said, leaning back on the couch. "Should be fully caught up in a couple weeks."

"I'm surprised you didn't just withdraw. You were already super busy."

I chuckled ruefully. "I thought I could manage it all. Didn't count on spending so much time fooling around with you."

She snorted. "Oh no you don't. You can't blame me. Besides, it's way too late to have regrets about that."

I grabbed her and gently pulled her close for a kiss. "Oh, I'm having no regrets. No way. What's the opposite of regret? That's what I'm having."

"Hmm," she said, thinking. "The opposite of regret... I guess that means you're--" she cut off as her lips curled into a big smile. Then she very unexpectedly teared up and her smile gained an emotional edge to it. "You're happy," she finished huskily.

"Yeah." I paused to let it sink in. Happy. That was definitely it. "I am." I studied her face, trying to figure out what had just happened. "You okay?"

She pressed her face against my shoulder, nuzzling my neck. She swallowed audibly. "Yeah."

I put my arm around her and held her close. I took a contented breath and let it out, nice and slow. She clung to me and I could feel wetness on my neck.

She planted a little kiss on my jaw, below my ear, then whispered, "I've very okay."

***

The next time I saw Natalie, she immediately held up an envelope, then handed it to me. "This came in the mail today."

"Monica's wedding announcement," she said impatiently when I took too long fumbling with the envelope. I managed to pull out the announcement and read it.

"Next month, in Phoenix." I glanced at her. "You wanna go?"

"Yeah." She grimaced. "I really do, but--"

"I'll pay for the tickets, Nat. We'll go together. It'll be fun."

She was silent for a while, so I occupied myself with slipping the announcement back into the envelope. When I looked at her again, she was studying me, her face serious. It looked like she wanted to object, but she eventually relented. "Okay," was all she said.

I handed the envelope back to her. "Are you a maid of honor? Do you need to get a special dress or anything?"

"Nah, she's not doing that. When she still lived here, she talked about it with all of us. She wants to do her wedding her way, and that means no maids of honor, and some other stuff."

I shrugged. "More power to her. Whatever the couple wants, that's what they should get. It's their wedding, after all. Are Ashley and Brooke going?"

"Hang on," Natalie said, pulling out her phone. She quickly sent a text, and the replies started coming back almost immediately. She grinned and turned her phone around so I could see the screen.

Ashley: FUCK YES!

Ashley: I'M SO GLAD!

Ashley: WE HAVE TO GET TOGETHER BEFORE AND DO OUR HAIR AHHHHHH

I chuckled. "Does she always text like that?"

"Nah, she's usually way more foul-mouthed." Another text came in while she spoke. "Brooke's excited, too."

I nodded. "Phoenix it is. Never been there."

We spent the rest of February getting together when our schedules allowed. I was busy with work, where we were starting on a new project while still providing support for the previous one. I was busy with school, where I was busting my ass catching up before it was too late. And I was busy with Natalie, because I wanted to spend every waking minute with her.

That, however, turned out to be totally unrealistic. She, too, was working full-time and taking online classes, plus she spent a lot of time looking for a new job.

"I have an interview tomorrow," she told me as we ate dinner, having finally gotten together after days of barely even having a chance to talk.

"Cool. Where?"

She told me, but she didn't sound excited about it. "It's basically the same exact job, just in a different location. But it says their starting pay is a couple dollars an hour more, so that's good. But..." She trailed off and toyed with her food.

"But...?"

She twirled her fork, tines down on the plate. "But it's not right on a bus route. If I have to get a car, a couple dollars more an hour isn't any better than my current job. Maybe worse." She shrugged. "Dunno. Haven't done the math."

"I can help out," I said softly.

She screwed up her face, then forced herself to relax, blinking rapidly. She pointed her fork at me. "You're so free with that offer."

"Then what about getting a roommate? You have a spare bedroom."

"I know. I've thought about it. I like living alone, though."

"Lots of people have to get roommates to afford rent. That's totally normal. You lived with that girl for a while, after moving out and before moving here."

"Anna," Natalie said absently. "Her name is Anna. And that was different."

"How so?"

"I didn't pay rent. I literally just lived with her. I slept on a second bed she had in her bedroom."

"Be that as it may, a roommate would pay half the rent. Half the utility bills. It'd help you out a lot. You'd be able to afford a car."

She looked annoyed, so I shut up. I think I pressed too far.

"I know all this, Rob. I know you want to help me. To fix my problems. But please, stop. I've told you what's going on in my head, why I feel like I have to solve this myself. As far as a roommate goes... maybe. My lease is almost up. I'm going to wait until I find out the new terms from the new landlord, and then I'll decide. Okay?"

I nodded. "Okay," I said, but what I really wanted to say was "What about us getting married?" But that seemed like exactly the wrong thing to say, so I forced myself to avoid it.

***

March rolled around and the time came for our trip to Arizona. We packed our things and headed for the airport.

"My favorite place in the world," I said sarcastically as we drove around the giant longterm parking lot, looking for a spot.

"Look on the bright side," Natalie said. "This time I get to fly with you."

I found her leg and gave it a squeeze. "Now that is a bright spot. And this isn't for work. I don't even remember the last time I flew anywhere for fun."

"Yeah. The last time I flew anywhere, it was my parents running me away from you."

"Huh. I guess that's technically what happened, isn't it."

She shrugged. "Running me away from life. From daring to like a boy. This will be a million times better."

I found a spot and we parked. We got out, pulled our luggage out of the trunk, and headed for the shuttle stop. The next thing I knew, by which I mean multiple boring hours later, we were landing in Phoenix.

After we squeezed out of the plane, while waiting for our luggage, I stretched and twisted my head all around, popping every vertebrae I owned, and caught Natalie watching me with an amused expression.

"What?" I said. "I'm too big for planes, I think. No leg room, can only stand up straight if I'm in the aisle, the bathrooms are so small I can hit both sides if I stick my elbows out."

She slipped her arm through mine. "My poor, tall, extremely handsome man." She glanced around, but there was nobody too close to us, plus the luggage return area was pretty noisy. Still, she squeezed up next to me so she could get her mouth close to my ear. "When we get to the hotel room, I want you."