Off Campus 04 Pt. 04

"The next thing on the agenda is the religious crackpots sticking their noses into our bedrooms," I warn. "Like they did during all the gay-bashing in the '50s and '60s. That would hurt us, and our business, big time. A "romantic destination" in a state that openly discourages romance? Not a winner."

"Anyway," I continue, "enough of the soapbox. Let's get our days going. Cyan, you good for a nooner? Guys, I hope nobody minds, but I'd like to spend some quality time catching up with my wife. Just us."

"Yes, sweetheart. I love you."

Head nods.

"Bar after work?" I query.

More nods.

"See everyone there. I'll call each of you after I hear from Hannah. Ally, Phil? You gonna ride up with me? You, too, Amber, if you can. Have an idea we need to talk about."

"Sure!" Amber responds.

I rise and push my chair in, leaning over to kiss Jen and then Cheyenne. The longing eye contact with each makes me melt inside. Jess runs over for a quick hug and a kiss.

Four of us go for the elevators, although Ally breaks away to talk to the front desk for a capsule status report. It's a short ride up one floor, but Amber takes the opportunity to lean-hug into me.

"Steven," Phil noting Amber's posture, "you're amazing. I know you love my Jen, and she you, but how you surround yourself with all these beautiful and incredibly smart ladies, and balance them is some sort of divine miracle."

"He's right, sweetie," Amber adds.

Saved by the bell. The door opens to the second floor and the meeting suites, and our offices.

"Good morning Steve, Phil," Gail welcomes. "You, too, Ms. Haverty."

"Amber!" she smiles.

"Steve, a couple of messages on your desk. Contractors."

"Thanks, Gail. Gail, expect to see more of Amber around here."

Gail gives Amber the up-and-down.

"Steven? Another really pretty one? You're impossible."

I chuckle as I escort Amber into my office, shutting the door. I sit on the edge of my desk.

"Have a seat. I should wait for Ally to get here, but I have a proposition."

"What's that, Steven? Something fun, I hope. Sexy? Oh, you wanna fuck?" as she starts to undress.

"No no no!" I laugh. "Appreciated, but not right now. Serious. But fun, in the long run."

"Oh?"

"How would you like to buy into one of the residence suites on our floor? Instead of your house. You haven't closed on it yet, right?"

"Oh! Tell me more. Live here?"

"Well, aside from unfettered access to The Gang," as I do my Cheshire grin thing, "it's a great place to live, as we discovered. We were surprised, actually. You've seen Ally's place. The others are just like it, some with a mirrored floor plan."

A soft tap on the door interrupts.

"Come in, Ally! It's just us!"

Ally quickly ducks in the door, closes it and leans down to kiss Amber, fondling her exposed breast.

"Any left for me?" I chuckle.

"Always," as my little pixie reaches to me for a hug and sustained kiss.

"And button up, Amber!" I laugh. "Later!"

I get a silly shit-eating "gotcha!" grin from Amber. And Ally!

"Whatcha guys talkin' about? Besides screwing?" Ally asks laughingly as she sits down and leans into Amber.

Amber jumps ahead of me, "Oh, it's a hard sell about buyin' a condo here."

"Steven!" Ally giggles. "Whose idea was this?"

"Mine. Sorry I didn't run it by you first. I'd like her to live with us."

Amber laughs, "Why didn't you put it that way! Of course I would! But how much?"

Ally squeezes Amber, "Oh, gawd, such a great idea."

"What are you paying for the house?" I ask.

"$135,000."

"Half that. And we'll pay for anything it costs you to break the purchase contract."

The pair hugs each other and jumps up to hug me, hard.

"Besides," I continue with my sales shtick, "living here comes with meal privileges in the café, and unlimited bar. Assigned parking space, too."

The girls laugh and plant kisses on each cheek.

"Oh, Steven..." they chorus.

I hug back, "Thanks. I'll have Phil start the paperwork."

I ask Ally, "How close are we to 'done' with 507?

"This week, I think. Maybe next. Punch list stuff."

"Which one's 507?" Amber is justifiably curious.

"Next door to Ally in 505," I answer. "Cyan and I are in 501, Phil and Jen are next to us, in 503. As you saw last night, the hallway has its own door separating the residences from the public space. Only 509 remains."

"What's going to happen with it?" Amber asks.

"Don't know yet," Ally responds. "We haven't started the renovations on it, so you're going to have to put up with workers and worker noises between 9 and 4 for the next couple of months."

I continue with, "We haven't announced the sale of any of them, so my inclination now is to keep the last one reserved for The Gang, or maybe refit as a playroom. Ally, we need to do this for us. We gotta let go of the penthouse to allow somebody else -- namely paying clients -- to throw sexy parties up there."

"Stevie, sweetheart, you're the boss on this one. But I agree wholeheartedly. It fixes a couple of revenue problems and best of all brings our lover into the fold. Everybody wins."

"Hey. Let me prank Phil. You two stay in here while I go tell him I've sold a unit. I'll leave the door cracked so you can listen in."

I step into the outer office, laughing inside at the trick I'm about to pull on my partner.

"Hey, Phil," as I walk into his office.

"Yeah? What's going on?"

"I've sold that rez unit we're finishing up."

"507? Already? We haven't even announced that anything was going to be available!"

"Yeah. Out of the blue. Young single lady. She likes the hotel. It was an easy sale. She's motivated."

"Okay... how much?" he sighs.

He's clearly gritting his teeth that I've given away the store.

"Sixty-seven five. And we buy out her contracts on another place she hadn't closed on."

"Goddammit, Steven, that's half... jeez... maybe a third of what we had talked about."

"Well, I... no... we committed to it yesterday. I'm not about to bugger this deal. Too important."

"Shit, man. You and women. You're going to break us with that crap. She'd better be worth it."

"Don't worry 'bout it."

"And a neighbor, now? No more running around naked in the hallway."

"WHAT?!" Gail overhears and interrupts.

"You didn't hear that, Gail. Go take a break or something," I chuckle. Leaning over her desk, "(I'm playing a big trick on Phil. You might want to not hear what's next. I sorta stepped over the line. Maybe a little.)"

She chuckles, "(Okay, Steve. You guys are nuts. See you in a half hour.)"

I'm starting to hear giggles coming from my office. Better wrap this up.

"Pull together the forms. She's standing by in my office to start the paperwork. Let me bring her in."

Big, annoyed sigh from Phil.

"(Ready?)" as I stick my head in my office door.

They're on the verge of full-out laughter.

"(YOU, sir, are a king-sized nutcase! But I knew that! I so love you!)" Amber whispers, taking my hand to lead her to Phil's office.

Ally is just a couple of steps behind.

"Okay, Phil. I'd like you to meet..." as I pull Amber into his office.

"Gail's on break, right? So... FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU FUCK YOU FUCK YOU!" as Phil doubles over in laughter. "You set me up, you bastard!"

The girls are laughing uncontrollably.

Regaining his composure, "So... seriously?"

"Yeah. Seriously. Amber hadn't closed on her house yet, and given everything we've been through to get to this point, and where we are going, it just made all sorts of sense. Let's do this. And yes, those are the numbers we agreed on."

"Okay, Steven. You're just so full of surprises sometimes. It's been quite a ride, and surely there's going to be more of the same. Have a seat, Amber."

Ally breaks in, "You know, Phil, if we don't sell 509 to somebody outside The Gang, the whole wing can be clothing optional. We haven't started the overhaul on 509 yet, so our options are open. I'm thinking two things."

"What's that?" Phil's curiosity piqued.

"Steve suggested 509 as a communal playroom, for one. Something better setup for chocolate syrup parties, for instance. Big shower for ten. Maybe a dungeon room... oh... did I say that out loud..."

"You can be so evil sometimes, Ally," I laugh.

"Well, yeah, but Hannah is going to want someplace to tie you up to beat on your nuts! You two are so bad about that! And you and me and Cheyenne? And Amber?"

Amber is nodding vigorously, with a big silly grin. She and I never discussed B&D, but I shouldn't be surprised it's in her repertoire. Hmm.

"Not you, too?!" I laugh. "What's your other idea?"

"Turning 509 into a roommate suite. For Jess, Thad and Hannah. With a guest room for Cheyenne when she stays over. Sort of a penthouse lite. Half and half, maybe. Half playroom, half guest rooms for overnighters."

"Neat ideas," Phil muses. "Sounds like a nude board meeting is in order for that. Rate each idea on how hard it gets the guys. If Thad's boner lifts the table we know we have a winner."

"PHIL!" Ally laughs. Amber grins and subtly shakes her head.

"Now... where were we? Oh, yeah. Paperwork."

Big sighs from Ally and me. We each kiss Amber and toddle off to our respective offices to let her and Phil get things going for real.

It's approaching noon and I'm getting really antsy in not hearing back from Hannah yet. On one hand she's a big strong woman, even headstrong at times, on the other hand is the nearly overwhelming fear she was feeling as she was leaving us last night.

My cell rings. Please, let it be Hannah. It is.

"Sweetie!" I answer.

"Steven. Oh gawd. It's done. They have the most wonderful people here. It's a couple of pills now, so the procedure is nothing. Most of their time with me is for the emotional trauma, and to stand by if something goes wrong."

"No surprise. Are you still at the clinic?"

"Yes. They need me to stay one more day, for the second pill. 36 hours between the doses, and then monitoring."

"They warn you about the spotting?"

"Yes they did. Also have a lot of reading to do on everything."

"Yeah. You're going to be offline for a while. You're welcome to squeeze my nuts, though. That'll be good therapy. Cheyenne did it for you this morning. You trained her well."

She laughs.

"Oh, Steven. You're so... so... you! How is everybody?"

"Great. Really great. They did the wee-hours party crash on Amber, Ally and me this morning. I'm so sorry you couldn't be there. It was insane. We miss you!"

"Like it always is, Steven!" she laughs.

"Oh. When you get back, Jess will regale you with a big prank she pulled on me this morning in the café. It was absolutely hilarious. And totally precious. It made a big impression on the clientele, and I suspect it'll put us on the map."

"Gawd. That sounds onerous!"

"Hey. Speaking of 'map', a heads-up for you."

"Okay?"

"Drive back via the straight east road. Colorado 94 and US40."

"Why? That's the way I came here."

"Well, good. You lucked out. Avoid Goodland, and Sherman County. Rumor has it they're hassling single women, especially young ones, trumping up crap justifying supposed stops for speeding or trivial traffic stuff. Sheriff there is on a mission to enforce the new abortion law. Way, way unconstitutional, but like Cheyenne says until the law makes it through various courts it's going to be the Wild West for a while."

"Thanks for the warning!"

"I gotta run, sweetheart. Lunch meeting with The Gang. I'll let 'em know you're okay."

"I am. I already miss you guys. Stick a couple of fingers in Jess for me, will ya'?"

I laugh. "I will! Call me tomorrow. Or whenever you need me. I'm here."

"Thank you, Steven. I love you."

"I love you, too, Hannah. Be strong."

"'Bye."

"'Bye."

I am so relieved. Hannah's voice was a little unsteady as I would expect, but gained in confidence and strength as I shared the day's events and humor. We're here for her.

I call Thad.

"Hi, Steve. You hear from Hannah?"

"Yes. She's doing okay. Still has one more special pill to take late tomorrow and then post-op monitoring, so she won't be back until Monday or Tuesday."

"Thanks. Anything special I need to know?"

"Yes. Just for your ears, Thad. She might be unable to have intercourse for five or six weeks. The medications mess with her uterus quite a bit, so at best sex will be uncomfortable. Let her determine when things are ready to go. Also, I don't know when she'll be able to go back on The Pill. I might talk to her about that for you, and me. We don't want a repeat."

"No sir, we don't!"

"You were first to know, so I need to talk to the others. She'll call me tomorrow."

"Okay, Steven. We'll talk then, if not before. Thank you. Wish her well for me."

"Certainly will, Thad. Talk to you later."

"Later."

I open my office door.

"Ally? Phil? Hannah called."

And presto, they're in my office. Ally knows to close the door.

"She's doing okay. First med was this morning, second late tomorrow. No real trauma involved other than the initial emotions and fears."

"I heard the process messes with her insides," Ally worries.

"It does. Her ability to play may be limited for several weeks."

Phil waxes wise, "Beats the alternative, Steve. That could easily have been the end of her playtime entirely. Take it from experience. Kids can be wonderful, but also a royal pain-in-the-ass. They change your life in unexpected ways. I thank my lucky stars we had them as early as we did. It was tough then, we didn't have much money, but Jen's body was elastic enough at that age for a nice recovery. I've seen some of the ladies at the resort who weren't so lucky."

"I'll attest to Jen's recovery, Phil. She's nice," I follow.

"Thanks."

"Steve," Ally asking, "when will Hannah be back?"

"Monday or Tuesday. They need to keep her for observation, in case something goes wrong. I don't anticipate any problems at all, given her great physical condition."

"When will you hear from her again?"

"Tomorrow, but I reminded her to call me any time if she needed to talk. Let's just say I'm a little less worried now. Oh -- she did dodge a bullet."

"What's that?" Ally wonders.

"Sherman County. If she had taken I-70, there was a greater-than-zero chance she could have been turned around by the sheriff there, even detained. The asshole is up to the same tricks he pulled when Colorado legalized pot, profiling people that might be carrying 'contraband'."

"I remember that," Ally confirms.

"I ran across a news bit just this morning that he and his minions were targeting young girls driving solo with trumped-up traffic stops, especially westbound. Illegal as hell, but unfortunately until some high-up court strikes down the law, he gets to be a prick. Again."

"Wow," interjects Phil.

"Hannah took the southern route into Colorado Springs, so no trouble. I feel sorry for the girls going to the Denver clinics from Topeka and especially Lawrence, with the big college there."

"Anyway," I go on, "we still cannot talk about this outside the confines of our private spaces. I don't anticipate problems, but given the current vigilante provisions of the law all it takes is one to create trouble for Hannah, and by association, me, or Thad. Keep it zipped."

"Okay," Ally affirms. "We hear you loud and clear, Stevie. You're in full protection mode, that's for sure. Oh, gawd, I love you so, so much."

"Me too, sweetie. C'mere."

A hug of reassurance is certainly in order at the moment.

"Hey, Phil. What'd you do with Amber?"

"She's out on a mission. Bank first to move funds around for us, and then to the realtor's office to cancel her purchase contract. She may be lucky. The seller extended the closing too far out, way past the original contract date. If she can make that point stick, she should be able to get out of it for nuthin'."

"She going to try for a mortgage?"

"No. Cash."

"That's my girl! I taught her well!"

"You and the ladies, Steve. You and the ladies," as he shakes his head in wonderment.

Ally giggles, and I get a quick peck on the cheek.

"Hey guys. I need to update Cheyenne on Hannah. Meet for lunch at 1:00? Phil, could you please tell Cyan, too? I don't know how intense it's going to get with Cheyenne."

"Sounds good," Phil confirms. "See you then."

"Bye, sweetie!" as Ally grants me another peck.

I relax in my chair, close my eyes and catch my breath for a couple of minutes. Nothing to do with Cheyenne, she's a dear and somebody I always enjoy, even when we're working on the serious stuff. It's just been an incredible two days. Hard to believe what has transpired in the less than 24 hours since Amber stepped into Ally's office. She's obviously as much an agent of change for me as I have been for everybody else.

I lean forward and dial Cheyenne's office.

"Miller, McLaughlin and Morris"

"You would not believe the day I have had, Judy."

"A couple of days, I hear! You're a busy guy!"

"Herding cats, Judy. I need to dump some of it on Cheyenne."

"Here you go!"

Cheyenne picks up.

"When in the hell are you going to fuck me for real, Steven?"

"Lemme check my calendar."

"Asshole!" she laughs. "Hear from Hannah?"

"Yes. She's doing okay. A little unsteady, but it's the situation and not the meds."

"Can't blame 'er, Steve. When is she back?"

"Monday or Tuesday. Observation time."

"Yeah. I read up on it. It's rough. She'll be out of commission for a couple of months, too."

"Beats being out of commission for the rest of her life," I counter.

"The whole situation could've gotten really ugly. She made the right decision. You're a good counselor. But I knew that."

"Thanks. You catch that bit this morning about Sherman County?"

"What a goddamn motherfucking son of a bitch shit asshole! I also read where he pulled the same crap right after Colorado legalized pot."

"Hannah could have driven right into the hornets' nest."

"FUCK! That's right! How?"

"Southern route into the Springs. Thank goodness. I told her this morning to come back the same way."

"Good. Anything else fun?"

"Amber's buying 507."

"You guys sure move fast. It is a sprint to keep up with you! But I'm not surprised."

"How's that?"

"Smart comes with a really good memory. You know that yourself! I recall catching a little aside in the bar 'tween you and Cyan that Thursday night after you bought the hotel, after you and I put Darren in his place. When we were talking about the residences. Something was up."

"Yeah. You didn't..."

"I just did. You two knew this day was coming."

"I can't say that we were caught or anything like that, but I will admit it was a wish, a dream then. Not planned at all. Things just happen. I can't explain it."

"Whatever it is, I know better than to fight it. Anyway, she clear of the house contract?"

"Looks like it. Seller kept postponing the closing and it's now outside the contract date. If the realtor gives her any guff I'll sic you on 'em."

"Ha! They'll see my phone number on the caller ID and it'll be all over but the cryin'. You guys using my forms for the sales contract?"

"Yes."

"Good boy. You get a cookie."

I crack up. "You're awful. We'll pass the forms when she and Phil are done with 'em. It'll be easy -- she's paying cash."

"Really?"

"We extended a lover's discount, obviously."

"No... really? With interest rates as low as they are now? She'd be money ahead by messing with a mortgage and investing what she would have paid."

"Not much to gain with that small an amount. Besides, one of my guiding financial principles is to own your home outright when possible. That way it's not at risk if the going gets tough and you have to decide who not to pay on time. Or at all."