Loosening Up Bk. 10 Ch. 36-40 - End

Marty was a cross between a dark blonde or a light brunette. She was booby and had a very curvy body. She might have carried a few extra pounds but being busty and having a narrow waist gave her a real edge in the looks department.

Dave introduced Marty to Ashley and then to the others in the room in a large sweeping gesture. When things quieted down and she wasn't such a focal point, she handed Dave a piece of paper; it was her lab test results from two days prior showing she was clean as a whistle. She smiled and said, "Ginger told me ALL about last night. Count me in, please. I have an edge on her, too. I finished reading Cricket's book on the plane down here from Wichita, and I've been watching most of the TV episodes of the show when they aired. If you'll have me, I'd also like to become a pledge." She looked up at Dave with the most hopeful expression he'd seen.

Dave hugged the pretty long-haired brunette and then they shared a slow kiss for the first time. "You need to meet everybody, love everybody, be loveable, and play by all the rules. If you read the book, you know what those are. You're off to a good start." He handed the lab report back to her and chuckled.

It took another two hours to finish folding up the gear before everyone got back to the hotel. It was about midnight. The group had made arrangements for a late dinner with the hotel, and they put on a great spread for everyone. By then the entourage topped fifty people. They occupied various tables with six or eight at each table.

Dave watched Ginger escort Martha over to meet Robby and Ricardo. Both men broke into exceptionally wide grins at whatever the two girls were telling them. Soon, they were all sitting together, and the sexual energy in the room doubled. Robby seemed especially enthralled with the new girl in the mix.

Dave came down the stairway of the Cessna Citation and broke into tears as he reached the ground. He got down on his knees and kissed the tarmac. He hadn't been on Circle soil since June first, and here it was a Sunday afternoon a week-and-a-half before Thanksgiving. He'd been gone almost six months. He couldn't imagine what some of the military men felt like when they got home after two back-to-back yearlong tours in some godforsaken place in the Middle East. He had a new appreciation for what they did.

Further, adding to how choked up he already was, most of the Circle had come down to the little airport to welcome him home. The crowd surrounded him in front of the sleek jet and it was another half-hour of hugs, kisses, handshakes, back slaps, and tears by many before he finally made it up to his actual home.

There'd been seats on the plane, so Alice invited Ginger and Martha to come along for the trip. Zoey and the Circle, plus Ashley, Kyle, and her band, headed back to Nashville on a charter flight, also from Love Field. They were all going to be at the Circle in a little more than a week's time for the Thanksgiving holiday and then for the Christmas and New Year's holidays.

Most of the crowd walked back up Airport Road to get back to the Circle. Dave and many of the others rode up in some of the many golf carts that had been brought down for everybody. Some of the younger kids were driving the carts and acting as taxi drivers, taking three or four people back to the main Circle before turning around and getting more people from the airport.

Dave looked around to be sure no one was being abandoned as he got into one of the golf carts driven by Sean, his nephew. He saw that Alice and Rose were happily shepherding Ginger and Martha, along with their luggage. Martha had brought a few more things for Ginger to wear. They all looked very sporty and he was sure that Rose was giving them the dirty scoop on every aspect of the Circle. She liked to do that, especially for shock value.

Samantha and Taylor had brought all the kids down to greet the plane. Dave had hugged everyone of them, commenting on how big each of them had grown. Everyone had indeed shot up and inch or two over the six months. He was starting to rethink the second phase of his trip; he wasn't sure he liked the idea of another six months on the road without a trip or two home in the middle.

The patio was decorated with a big Welcome Home sign that again brought tears to Dave's eyes. The mood was festive and there was lots of lively chatter. Only as things quieted down slightly did he start to notice more and more of the newer people he'd never seen in the Circle setting.

Sue Gaylord came up to Dave. They didn't say anything, but they hugged and kissed. Her presence at the Circle said it all. Lila and Kami appeared next, bubbling over with how much they liked the Circle. Next, he saw Skye St. Clair waving at him with his police friend Jim Hotch standing with an arm around her

Jessie Parker came into his arms and they also kissed. She summed up the past few months for herself in a couple of sentences: "I work at the Club Ecstasy now with Jim and the others. I also got a new tattoo from Greg." She pulled down the front of her nearly indecent shorts and there was the colorful round tat that most of the Circle women sported.

Gabbie Carson appeared, topless, for her kisses. Ken and Patty were with her and joined in welcoming Dave home. Ken said, "We're planning to marry Gabbie and her friend Ellen whenever we have one of our ceremonies, and, yes, we know she also wants to marry you. We love Gabbie and Ellen dearly."

Carli Winston, his equestrian friend from Kentucky, appeared with Patrick and Ellie in tow. She quickly told him, "I moved my business -- Talentations -- to Sarasota. Patrick and Ellie came, too. We're a very loving group of people and we love the Circle. Please come and be with us when you can." Dave marveled at how her entire attitude had changed from the stuck-up rich bitch he'd first met at her parent's farm.

Next to appear for kisses were the girls he'd met at Louisiana State University: Phoenix Skye, Devon James, Bonnie Lou Delacroix, and Mallory Hawkins. They had a younger girl with them, Coral Howard, the babysitter for Ashley that he'd met and loved in Nashville. Coral quickly said she was a Kappa Delta Alpha pledge as well as a Circle pledge. She was just finishing her first semester in college at the nearby university, and the other girls were upper classmen there.

Macy Martin, the daughter of Simon and sister of Lindsay, that he'd met in Wisconsin appeared for kisses. She said, "I'm still living with Jack and Grace, and doing architecture stuff for him. He's such a great mentor. Thank you so much for loving me enough to arrange for me to be here. I still love you as much as ever." They shared an epic kiss.

Macy told him, "Lindsay and Simon are trying to figure out how they could close up things in Canada and move down here permanently. I think you might expect a few more pledges in the future."

He saw Ginny Fuller and Doris Partridge standing a few feet away smiling at him and waiting for a chance to see him. Doris smiled. Dave went and hugged her. "You made it?"

"I sure did. Ginny and I click like you wouldn't believe. It's like we're sisters, except we think alike on so many things, and then we inspire the thinking in the other to new heights. We're already working on a management book, and we got a new client just a week ago that we're just going to blow out of the water with the value that we can add together for them. We're so happy." She snickered, "Her husband Bob loves me, too."

Ginny nodded. "Thank you. I heard about your counseling session from Doris, and you becoming a singer is just the right move for you." They shared a brief kiss.

Dave thanked her. Somebody put a glass of white wine over ice in his hand and he was besieged by others in the Circle wanting to hear more about his trip and especially about his new singing career that Ashley had discovered.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to finding an obviously pregnant Cindy Worthington standing in front of him. "Hi, Dave ... or perhaps I should say Daddy Dave."

They hugged and kissed. Dave pulled away and looked at the gorgeous woman, "Really? Mine?"

"Yep, for sure, unless you believe in immaculate conception. You did the deed that one night -- the first night of your trip. I'm due about March first."

"How pissed off is Mark at me?" Cindy's husband was billionaire Mark Worthington.

"Not a bit. He's very happy. When you see him, he'll fill your ears with some of his ideas to have the Circle and the Worthington Clan interact more together than we have been. Of course, the baby will be the proof that interaction can produce amazing results."

Tracy, C.K., and Ahleah appeared next to Cindy. After they all got kisses, Cindy said, "I hired all of them. They all work downtown at the investment business I set up here two years ago. They're breaking records and have really raised the bar for the others in the office."

Somehow, time flew by like lightning, dinner occurred amid all the conversations, and then he was with Julie, JR, and Tatiana in one of the big beds in his bedroom. There wasn't much conversation, but there was a lot of love expressed. He knew he'd reconnect with his other wives, his old friends, and his new ones starting in the morning.

Loosening Up -- Book 11 -- Road Trip: West