My Sweet Canadian Girl Ch. 05

"Remind me why I drink again?" she asked when she rolled over with a weak groan.

"Because getting drunk with me is so much fun," I said.

"Everything with you is fun and I was drinking long before we met," she said with a smile. "This is just what I needed," she said sipping the tea. "Thank you Dickie."

"So Lei went to Tim's room after we went to bed last night," I said almost making her spill her tea.

"What happened?" she asked looking stunned.

"Nothing. He put her back in bed but I figured I should tell you. She might remember it differently but Tim wouldn't lie to me if something did happen between them," I said.

"Poor Lei hasn't had a man in her life for months now. Being around us must really get to her sometimes," Cassie said. I'd might have been worried about her saying we should tone it down if she wasn't completely addicted to sex just like me.

After drinking our tea and coffee together I left Cassie to continue sleeping off her hangover. I took a shower and got dressed for a trip to the grocery store down at the strip mall. Having just gotten back from a week away I didn't have a whole lot of food. Tim passed on going with me in favor of a shave and shower so I went alone. By the time I got back with hands full of shopping bags Lei was up and sitting on the sofa in shorts and a t-shirt drinking a cup of coffee.

"Tim still in the shower?" I asked her when I sat down after putting everything away.

"Well he's not with me that's for sure," she said with a little anger.

"Are you okay?" I asked her wondering how she remembered last night.

"I'm fine thanks to you," she said. "Whatever you said to Tim must have scared him half to death. He looked like a ghost when I went to his room last night."

"You were drunk..." I started to explain.

"We were all drunk," she said correcting me. "I knew what I wanted but you decided for me."

"He's only here for a few days and I don't think he's interested in staying," I said.

"Not everyone is looking for what you and Cassie have. I want to find someone to love like that someday but there's nothing wrong with a little fun before that day comes," she said.

"But..." I really wasn't sure what to say but she cut me off again anyway.

"Would you rather I found a random guy at a bar instead of someone I feel perfectly safe with?" she asked. "He's cute too," she said with a little grin. "Oh don't look so shocked Rick. I know more about what goes on between you and Cassie than either of us would like. I'm a woman with needs and I need someone to satisfy them."

"I think I've heard enough," I said getting uncomfortable. We were roommates and she treated me like an old friend now but this was too much to share.

"Well I won't be drinking tonight so you won't have to worry about me. Save that concern for your friend," she said as I retreated to our bedroom.

Cassie was still sleeping so I turned on her laptop and checked my mail. There was a message from my mother wanting to make sure we made it into Vancouver safely and a bunch of junk mail. After sending a quick reply, I pulled up my list of jobs to apply for and started deleting the ones that were no longer posted. I went ahead and applied for the others not waiting to waste any more time before getting the résumés in. It was something that could have waited but it helped keep my mind off the situation with Tim and Lei. I didn't want to talk to Cassie about it but I had to. Hopefully she wouldn't be mad at me for bringing Tim to visit when she found out.

Watching Cassie sleep was always a special treat. The way her chest rose and fell ever so slightly with each shallow breath completely enthralled me. Her beautiful face looked serene though occasionally she'd murmur a dreamy sigh as she changed positions. I could watch my sleeping beauty all day and never get bored. When she woke up at last I put on my special smile for her and waited for her sleepy eyes to find me. Once they did she returned my smile and reached her hand towards me, which brought me close for the kiss she wanted.

"Feeling better sweetie?" I asked her.

"Much better," she said smiling. "That tea and a couple more hours of sleep did wonders for me."

"Good because I have some bad news," I said telling her about my conversation with Lei.

"What's so bad about that?" she asked with a little smile. "They're our friends not our kids. They can do whatever they want."

"I just though you'd be mad at me," I said with a shrug.

"You thought I'd be mad with you because my friend is interested yours?" she said snickering at me. "You can be so cute sometimes. Let's go take a shower together," she said getting up and putting on her robe.

"I already had a shower earlier," I said.

"And?" she said leaving the room and laughing as I ran to catch up to her.

After our shower together we went to the living room to see what our friends wanted to do. Tim and Lei were sat next to each other on the sofa and it looked like they'd managed to work out any problems that might have come from last night. They both blushed when Cassie said they looked cute together. She offered to cook breakfast but they had already eaten so Cassie and I ate some cereal in the kitchen before deciding on what to do. Remembering her promise to take me to the Vancouver Aquarium at last we got ready and headed down to her car ready to spend the afternoon there.

We stayed at the aquarium for a couple of hours. When we left there we drove around the city showing Tim some more of the sights. There were plenty of things I hadn't seen yet either so some of it was still new to me. Instead of going back to the apartment and out again we went to a restaurant for dinner. Throughout the day Lei had been flirting with Tim and whatever she'd said to him this morning he was a lot more receptive to it despite being completely sober. My little talk with Cassie when she woke up had allowed me relax and whatever happened between them now was their business.

When dinner was over we decided to play some pool. I hadn't played with Cassie yet and was hoping she was bad enough that I'd have an excuse to give her some hands on tutoring at the bar. The place we went to had a large enough crowd that we were lucky to get a table right away. Cassie was driving and wasn't going to drink at all, but Lei said the same thing while looking right at me as she said it. My girlfriend was off the hook now and could drink if she wanted. By the time I was on my second beer her morning hangover was long forgotten.

Cassie wasn't a horrible pool player but she was by far the worst out of the four of us. I didn't mind taking her as my partner at all though. When it was her turn to shoot she'd look to me for suggestions if there wasn't an obvious easy shot available. We played for a few hours getting comfortably buzzed again while Lei drank water or sodas. Cassie and I only won every third or forth game but she was used to losing all the time when she played with Lei and our old roommate Jana so she was actually pleased that teaming with me gave her a better chance.

Eventually we got tired of circling the table and switch to playing one on one to give people a chance to sit down. In order to make it a fair match between Cassie and I, I agreed to a penalty of having to sink my balls in order as if I was playing 9-ball. Playing that way we were about even, though she still turned to me for shot advice when she wasn't sure. That I might try to sabotage her with bad advice never entered her mind, or mine for that matter. Tim and Lei had made some sort of bet before their last game and though I didn't know what it was I could make a good guess when they both seemed happy when she won.

On the way home we sat in the back seat and Tim was up front with Lei who was driving. Lei said she needed to make a stop along the way and pulled into a 24-hour drug store. Again I didn't know exactly what it was for but I was willing to bet on my guess. When she came back she smiled at Tim and handed the shopping bag to him before pulling out of the lot. I'd told myself not to worry what was happening between them but it wasn't until we were home and Cassie had dragged me to our bedroom to give them some privacy that I was able to stop thinking about it.

The next morning I was up early and found Tim already out of bed sitting in the living room alone. He gave me a wide smile when I looked at him that I quickly recognized. Lei came out while I was starting breakfast and sat close to Tim. So far so good I guess but I was still worried about what would happen when he left the following morning. Maybe she'd be okay with it but Tim had a tendency to fall hard for women and I was concerned for him too. When breakfast was ready I went to get Cassie who almost wore a pair of shorts to the kitchen table. I smiled like an idiot and she realized what she'd been about to do. She hanged into pants to hide her scarred knee from Tim before leaving our bedroom. Remembering how hard it had been for her to let me see it, I didn't pressure her about it all. It could remain a secret to share only with those she was closest with forever if she wanted it to be.

After breakfast, Cassie dragged me away from the apartment for the day with just the two of us. I knew it was more to give them a chance to be alone than it was for us but once we were out driving around it was easy to forget everything else in the world. It was our first chance to really talk since I'd got home. She explained how excited she was to have me back with her to stay. I told her I had sent out some résumés the day before and needed to get a laptop like hers this week. In the excitement of getting back I'd forgotten to tell her about my father's amazing graduation gift and she laughed saying my father sounded like a dream compared to hers.

Over dinner at a restaurant we'd never tried before we continued to talk about our new life together. Being the new girl at the hospital, Cassie was at the bottom of the seniority list which would make it hard to get any good holidays off. She'd be able to take some long weekends though and we could do it during American holidays if we wanted. Canada Day was coming up on the first of July and while she'd have to work then, she could take the forth off if we wanted to go down to see my mother. We'd be going down for the Dodgers game at the end of the summer so we decided to put that off for now and planned a camping trip where we were sure to have our own Fourth of July fireworks. Other than that, Cassie wanted me to meet her other brother Jay though she made no mention of the woman he was engaged to.

On the way home we stopped to rent some movies. Cassie told me to make sure and pick something Tim would watch. We got one new release we'd been wanting to see and their five movies for five days deal so there was plenty to choose from. When we got home they were sitting in the living room looking very comfortable on the couch together. The four of us spent the evening watching movies until it was time for Cassie to go to bed. She was the only one of us with a job so we had a few laughs at her expense. I was going to stay up and watch one more movie until she looked at me like I was out of my mind and I realized our friends probably wanted to be alone.

The next morning Cassie woke me up for a quickie before she left for work and told me to go back to sleep unless I wanted to drive her in and take her car for the day. I'd call and check on my own car later but was fine without one for the day. On her way out of our bedroom she gave me a kiss goodbye and reminded me to thank Tim for coming. When I said I think Lei had already thanked him enough she giggled at me told me to behave myself. By the time I got up Tim was in the living room with his things all packed and looking like he'd been waiting for me before getting on the road.

"I guess you need to get going," I said.

"Yeah I want to be back home before it gets too late," he said. Lei was sitting on the sofa next to him and didn't seem too upset yet.

"Well thanks for everything Tim," I said shaking his hand as he stood up. "Cassie said she was happy to have you visit and you can come back anytime."

"Thanks I had a great time," he said glancing down as Lei as he said it.

"Come back whenever you want," she said standing up. She gave him a long hug and a soft kiss on the cheek before letting go.

"I need to get on the road," he said looking guilty about the whole thing.

"I know you do," she said smiling at him with no trace of tears in her eyes. "Drive safe Tim," she said waving at him as he walked out the door.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Are you sure?" I probed.

"Don't you do this to me Rick. Don't you make me cry," she said in a rising voice. "We had a great time but we knew it was just a weekend thing between two friends."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel sad," I said.

"I know you didn't. You're so much like Cassie now, thinking about other people all the time," she said smiling at me. "But I need something else to think about for a while."

We spent the day together at home. I was on Cassie's laptop looking through job listings on the internet most of the day. Lei sat in the living room with me watching TV but keeping quiet for the most part. The day went by surprisingly quick and I took a shower in the afternoon so I was ready to go out when Cassie got home. I needed to get that new laptop and had some other errands to run too. I'd gotten a call for an interview on Tuesday morning and needed a few things to make sure I was ready. Cassie might have somewhere to go too so we'd figure it out once she arrived.

I was expecting her home shortly after four but it was well past five before I saw her. On the way home she'd stopped to buy new sheets and blankets for our bed. Before deciding to keep them she wanted to show them to me and make sure I liked them too but I told her they were fine without even glancing at them. Cassie wanted to talk to Lei and see how she was doing and sent me off alone. Just before I left, I asked if there was anything she needed while I was out. She was going to have dinner ready when I got back but she was in the mood for ice cream and wanted me to pick some up on the way home.

During the day I had gone online and found the exact model of laptop I wanted. I knew how to get to the store I was picking it up at and headed there first. Once I got there I quickly picked out the computer I wanted and paid for it on a credit card that I'd pay off when my next statement arrived. I was out of there in no time and went to pick up a few more things I needed before stopping by the grocery store for Cassie's ice cream.

Soon as I got home I could see that Cassie hadn't started dinner yet and must have still been in Lei's room with her. I was sat around the apartment all day and should have had supper ready for her when she got home. Checking to see what we had that I could actually cook I decided on chicken fajitas using one of those ready made kits, some boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and fresh vegetables from the fridge. While things were simmering I got my new computer out and plugged it in to make sure the battery was charged.

When dinner was almost ready the smell of it drew them out of Lei's bedroom without me having to go get them. Lei smiled at me brightly and whatever Cassie had done for her certainly cheered her up. We sat down to eat as Cassie filled us in on her day. While I was away for a week Cassie had gone down to hospital and spent her evenings with the kids. She was planning to keep doing it once a week and I thought it was a great idea. It was the only time she got to have fun with the kids without having to worry about her duties and they loved having her around. She was really happy to hear about my interview and was sure I'd get the job.

The following day I dropped Cassie off at work and headed to my interview with a good luck kiss. I found the place easily enough and the human resources guy doing the interview seemed happy to see me. Everything was going well until I dropped the temporary work visa bomb near the end. It was an entry-level position and they had lots of qualified applicants so I could see his expression change almost immediately. There just wasn't enough to separate me from the other people he'd seen and he couldn't justify the extra hassle it would take to hire me. They needed someone to start this week if possible and couldn't wait to see if my paperwork would clear. I thanked him for his time and left feeling a little down. That night Cassie did her best to cheer me up and by the time we went to sleep the lost job opportunity was long forgotten.

About a week later I got an e-mail from my old Tae Kwon Do instructor telling me he'd found a place for me to continue training. I'd gone through two more failed interviews since then. It always came down to that damn work visa. The second job was like the first one, easy enough that they could fill it without the hassle. My third interview was for a much better job but they were worried about having to guarantee several months of employment up front to a college graduate with limited experience. I was certain I could have had either one without the problems of securing a work visa complicating matters. A new place to train couldn't have come at a better time. It had been nearly two months since I had a chance to attend classes and I was more than ready to start training again. The instructor wanted me to come by for a private lesson he could put me through my paces and evaluate me before live classes. By now I had the car my father had given me but Cassie wanted to come along to see what it was all about.

"It's just you and this instructor guy Steve tonight?" she asked looking confused.

"Yeah he wants to see where I'm at before he places me in a class. It's been a couple of months so I'll be a little rusty," I explained.

"But what will you do? Do you have to try and kick him or something?" she asked sounding completely serious.

"No," I said smiling at her. "We may do a little sparing at the end but he'll have to take it easy on me. I'm okay but no where near his level."

"He won't mind if I watch will he?" she asked.

"I don't see why he would. There won't be anyone else there besides us. This is the place," I said pulling into their parking lot. We went inside and I found the man I hoped would become my new teacher waiting and going though some stretches. "Hi Steve," I said extending my hand. "Rick Kellogg," I said introducing myself. "And this is my girlfriend Cassie."

"It's nice to meet you both. She's the reason you moved here?" he asked and I nodded with a grin.

"Do you mind if she stays to watch?" I asked him.

"No not at all. Why don't you go get changed and we'll get started," he said directing me towards the change rooms.

When I came back Cassie was sitting on a chair drinking a bottle of water. She smiled and waved at me like a proud parent watching her child in the school play. I started with some stretches and running laps to warm up. Steve told me to take my time and tell him when I was ready. Soon as I told him I was good to go he had me stand in the middle of the gym and began running through moves starting with the most basic things a white belt would learn. I smiled thinking it was some sort of joke but he said my kicks were sloppy and there was no snap on my punches. He sent me to sprint two laps of the gym and made me do fifty pushups when I got back counting them out in his loud voice.

I saw how this worked now. The penalties made me focus and I was ready to show him what I could do the second time around. He circled around me as I moved up and down the gym going through an endless stream of kicks and punches. When I screwed up one of the punch kick combos he made me run two more laps and do another fifty pushups. The pushups weren't up to his standards so halfway through he made me start over. I caught a glimpse of Cassie and she seemed a little concerned for me but I was fine. I'd much rather a teacher who was hard on his students. There wasn't anything I could learn from one who was too soft.