Polishing an Old Trophy

After explaining this to her, Jacob then brought up the prenup that Al Too's father had her sign. It outlined a payment schedule should the couple divorce on grounds other than infidelity, which was a lump sum based on years married in lieu of maintenance. With his client's best interests at heart, he recommended that she reconcile with her husband. It really galled her, but Sylvia ended up slinking back, her tail between her legs.

It was cold in the Nestor household, but Al Too was used to it by now.

~ ~ ~

ABOUT THREE MONTHS after Willa and Trey were shown the door Derek was making his way out of the office after a long day. It was the middle of August and the oppressive Toronto humidity would not let up. Walking to his truck quickly, anticipating the air-conditioning, Derek spied someone sitting on one of the picnic tables set out in front of the building. Turning his head, he caught Amelia's eye, who waved at him when she saw him looking.

Walking over, he waved back. "Hi there," he greeted as he got close enough. "Surprised to see you here."

"Well, I could give you the excuse that I'm waiting for Chris or Luz, but it's 6:30 and I'm hungry. Dinner?" she asked with a brilliant smile. Derek gave her a bemused look, and shrugged.

"Why not? What are you in the mood for?"

"How about Dairy Queen? It's crazy hot and a Blizzard would be great after dinner," she suggested.

"Yeah, I think we can swing that. How'd you get here?"

"Uber. Figured I could ride with you? Dinner's my treat," she offered. Derek chuckled.

"C'mon, I'm over here."

"Yeah, I know," she said softly as they walked in companionable silence.

Fifteen minutes later they were ensconced in a booth, burgers, chili cheese dogs, fries, and soft serve treats spread out on the table. They chatted about everything and nothing of importance as they ate, catching up on the minutiae of each other's lives. As she started on her Blizzard, Amelia looked up.

"Derek?"

"Hmm?" he responded; mouth full of banana split.

"I'm sorry," she apologised, reaching across for his hand. Derek put his spoon down and reached over the table to take it.

"Hey, what's the apology for?"

"It's... ah... I... it's just that...," Amelia sighed and looked up, blinking back tears as she composed herself. "Listen Derek, I was totally selfish, the way I treated you."

"How?" his look conveying his confusion.

"I fell into bad habits, pursuing you, then leaving you high and dry because I needed 'some time to find myself' or some such bullshit," Amelia making air quotes at the appropriate time. "The wrinkle is, I fell in love with you."

"Wait. Back up. What? You're in what, love with me?"

"Oh, yeah, that," Amelia admitted sheepishly. "I get if you think I'm a psycho, some gold digger who's faking love and after your money or some obsessive, stalker chick or something. Not that it matters, the way I've treated you," she sat tearing at a napkin little by little.

"Well," Derek sighed, "I may not be in love with you yet, but I'd like to find out...," he offered. "I mean, yeah, the last few months sucked, and I couldn't even bring myself to date anyone else, and since you went to get to know yourself, it's only fair that I get to know you too."

"OK, that's fair," she acknowledged. "How do you propose we do that?"

"Well, seems like you've got some time before school starts. How about we see if we can get along?" he suggested, and she quickly agreed.

Amelia and Derek did spend all their spare time together the next week, getting to know each other again.

Seated on the couch in his den the following weekend, Amelia snuggled up to Derek as they scrolled through the movie choices on his streaming service. They were just at the farmers' market and came home with some fresh pastries and coffees. They were settling into a relaxing day after all their other activities over the week.

"I can't believe you'd let a bunch of students rummage around in your head," he scoffed.

"Hey, they're supervised by their professors!" she laughed, shoving his chest lightly in protest. "It lets the students get their practical counselling experience and lets us get counselling services for free," she explained. "You know, they were pretty good too!"

"Really now?"

"Yes, they really have helped me come to terms with things about my past and my personality," she told him. "A lot of it was a bit cliché, you know? Daddy complex, mild narcissism nurtured by my mother, who was projecting, et cetera, et cetera."

"And?"

"Well, I did find out a lot about myself, and what triggers my behaviour. I also learned to forgive myself, to love myself. I think that was the missing thing. I was narcissistic, but ultimately, I didn't love myself because I always thought I wasn't good enough. Mom saw to that," she said, a bit downcast.

Derek pulled her in closer and kissed her gently on the forehead. "Well, I'm glad you learned to love yourself," punctuating that with a kiss to the tip of her nose. "And I'm glad we spent the time this week getting to know each other again," he said, kissing the apples of her cheeks. "Because I love you too," he told her, softly touching his lips to hers.

Stunned, Amelia could only look up into his eyes for a few moments, unable to say a thing. Then a brilliant smile broke on her face, the sparkle in her eye signalling her happiness. She reached out to grab the back of his neck and pulled him in, their lips touching. Amelia caught his bottom lip lightly between hers and darted out the tip of her tongue to tease it.

"So, you love me, eh?" she asked giddily. He nodded and murmured his acknowledgement. "Then maybe you could show me how much?" she asked coyly, hooking his collar with her finger and pulling him off the couch.

Grabbing his hand, she led him down the short hallway to his own bedroom. The suddenness of this turn had Derek so discombobulated that he could only follow and hope that this was leading to where it was. Amelia paused at his door and gave him a tentative look over her shoulder.

"Am I rushing you?" she asked.

"Huh?" was Derek's brilliant response.

"Am I too ahead in thinking that you want to be with me... physically?" she asked again, this time with more hesitancy. Derek, slowly coming out of his fog, shook his head.

"No, no, no," he quickly rushed to reassure her. Derek paused for a second before explaining. "Um..., I don't know how to say this without sounding like a creep but..., would you hate it if I said I'm totally excited about this?" A brilliant smile grew on her face. Then, with a twinkle in her eye, and a quick smirk, she responded.

"As long as your excitement lasts longer than three minutes!" Derek burst out laughing. "I hope I'm not walking into any weird sex dungeon, am I?" she asked. Derek snorted.

"Dusty, unused sheets more like it," was his rejoinder. Amelia grabbed him by the back of the head and pulled him into a scorching kiss. Lips were nipped and tongues were tangled, leaving the couple breathing heavily. Amelia opened the door and dragged Derek in.

"Too bad, there are a lot things we can get up to in a sex dungeon," she said, laughing heartily. Backing into the room, she untied the tails of her gauzy button down, tossing it into a chair in the corner, leaving her in only a white tank top and short black skorts hugging her curves and barely supporting her chest. "Off," she commanded, tugging on his golf shirt. Derek chuckled.

"You seem a little impatient," he suggested with a half-smile, as he pulled his shirt over his head. Amelia eyed him hungrily, placing her palms on his chest, luxuriating in the contrasting warm softness and firmness of his chest.

"I'm in a rush right now," she confessed. "My man loves me and it's got me all hot and bothered," she admitted, shivering in anticipation.

"And who's idea was it to wait," he teased. He felt a smack on his chest.

"That wasn't very gentlemanly of you to mention. If I wasn't so horny, I'd stop this right now," she said, pouting and feigning outrage. Giving up and giggling, she buried her face in his chest. Kissing it, she backed away, shimmying her skorts over her lush hips and smooth, firm legs. She then pulled her tank top over her head, leaving her in a lacy pair of panties and a matching bra, struggling valiantly to contain her bounty.

Derek mutely drank in the vision of her, confirming again in his mind that she was a walking wet dream, but now it seemed that she was his to enjoy, and he was hers. Reaching for her, he pulled her in, kissing her hard, and feeling her melt into him, pressing herself into his bare chest. The hardon he had been sporting the last few minutes stiffening even more. Amelia rubbed her belly across his groin, groaning in frustration as they kissed. She pushed him back and dropped to her knees.

"OK, these are coming off," she determined, unbuttoning his shorts and pulling them down with his boxers. His cock sprang up, almost hitting her in the face. She grunted her desire and reached for his shaft, enjoying the soft warmth, pulsing in her hand in contrast with the iron hardness his excitement conveyed. Surveying his ample offering, she licked her lips and took the tip of his cock in her mouth, closing her lips around the crown and running her tongue around the spongy softness, drawing a sharp intake of his breath. Pulling her head back, his cock, popped out of her mouth.

"Mmm, tasty! I'll have to get back to that again soon," she enthused. She stood back up and hurriedly unclasped her bra, tossing it to where her shirt was and bent at the waist, pulling her panties down. "But right now, I need to get good and well fucked," she declared, hands on her hips. All Derek could do was nod numbly, thanking whatever lucky stars there were for his luck as he surveyed her curves, her full breasts, capped with puffy, dusky pink areola, down to her flat stomach, trim waist, full, flaring hips, and the apex of her legs, completely bare excepting a small, dark blonde landing strip.

Amelia took his hands and pulled him along as she fell back onto his bed, spreading her knees to allow him to fall between her firm, toned thighs. Derek sensed Amelia hunching her hips feeling the most heat of her pussy lips rubbing along the shaft of his prick. Kissing her again, he nipped her bottom lip and pushed himself up to her groan of protest as he moved down her body, hoping to taste some of that moist heat.

"Nuh uh," she shook her head, pulling at him back up. "Not now, but definitely next time," she told him. "Right now, I need you inside me, like NOW now!" she instructed him, undulating her hips to emphasize the point. Derek chuckled.

"Whatever the lady wants." He positioned his hardness at the entrance of her pussy. She reached down to grasp his cock, splitting her lips with his head, rubbing it along her slickness, paying particular attention to her clit. Shuddering, she hunched her hips again, taking his crown into her channel.

Instincts took over and Derek began to sink himself into her intense heat. "Condom?" he asked, stopping momentarily, breath heaving in the monumental effort to stop mid-stroke.

"No. Pill," she told him. "Diseases?"

"Clean. You?"

"Yeah, now just fucking fuck me already!" was her response through gritted teeth.

Derek let out his breath and sank all the way into her furnace smoothly, her channel slick with her arousal. She sighed and brought her legs around his hips, gripping him tightly as he bottomed out. Derek stopped momentarily to let Amelia get used to him. She twitched her hips, signalling that she was ready to continue.

He withdrew slowly, stopping halfway and pushed back in just as slowly, grinding his pubic bone on her clit, sending little pulses of pleasure through Amelia. He continued this slow motion, building up her excitement and simultaneously staving off a quick release. With a low growl of frustration, Amelia pulled him in with her heels at his back and met his thrust with an upward one of her own.

"Get to fucking Ringer! Mama wants to cum!" she instructed.

"Whatever you want sweetie," he chuckled as he leaned down to kiss her hard, increasing his pace, curling his hips so his cock stimulated her g-spot. After a few minutes, the pressure for both built until Derek couldn't hold on any longer and exploded into Amelia, sending her over the edge and triggering a shattering orgasm. Grabbing onto Derek with both her arms and legs, she squeezed and shook through her climax, her pussy pulsing around his still rampant erection, milking him for everything he had.

Nearing the end, she released her arms and fell back, still quivering. "Ha! Look at what more than three minutes gets me!" she joked, drawing a sharp laugh from Derek, who nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck. Breathing heavily, he rolled over onto his back, pulling her along with him.

Spent, Amelia collapsed on Derek's chest, her heavy breathing matching his. She, in turn, nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck, and lightly nipped him with her teeth, salving the spot with her tongue. A low growl rumbled in his chest. Kissing his neck one more time, Amelia sighed and retreated to lay her head on his chest, his softening member slipping from her drenched pussy.

"Wow," she breathed.

"Yeah, wow," he agreed. Derek felt her shift and looked down at a pair of aqua eyes widely staring at him, a small pout on her kiss-swollen lips.

"Derek?' she asked in a small voice.

"Yeah?"

"So, you know my mom had an insurance policy that I'm using for part of my tuition?" Derek nodded, confused at the tangent the pillow talk took. "Well, I also just got a study grant out of the blue, and it's going to cover the rest of my tuition, my books, lab fees, and a bit extra."

"OK?"

"Well, the thing is, I got into the program!"

"Hey! Congratulations!" Derek told her with a big grin.

"Aa..nd, well, with the insurance money, and the grant, I can actually take a full course load, plus some online courses and prereq courses from other places pretty much every semester and over the summers." she began to explain.

"And?"

"And with the courses I took over the summer, and some of the ones from my Communications degree as electives, I can cut the program from four and a half years to the next three!"

"That's amazing Amy! But I get a feeling there's something you want to ask me..."

"The way it works is that every semester I have about two weeks off after exams, depending on the schedule, and I only have a week left before I knuckle down again," she continued to explain.

"So...?"

"So, with the week left, I was really hoping that we could..., y'know, keep doing..., well, this," she said, wiggling her bare body against his.

"And how often would you like to do..., this?" he asked, softly thrusting his hip into her.

"I was thinking..., maybe a few times a day for the next week? 'Cuz once the semester starts, there won't be much time for us to do this...," her voice tailed off. Derek chuckled. Then he rolled himself over her and seated himself between her legs, kissing her in the crook of her neck to her delighted squeals.

"Let's see if I can rise to the occasion then, shall we?" he smiled down at her, sliding his quickly hardening arousal along her swollen lips.

~ ~ ~

AMELIA'S FIRST FULL year of her degree was difficult for both herself and Derek. Between the extra course load, the group work meetings, and never-ending exams, the only time Derek saw Amelia was either Friday or Saturday night or when he dropped off takeout to her group meetings. By the time finals ended in April, Amelia was ready for a week's worth of pampering, sleeping, and some hardcore lovemaking with her man.

By the end of that first week of break, they both decided that it would make more sense for Amelia to move in. The commuter train station was a block away and was more convenient than the dearth of transit options at her grandmother's. Moving in with Derek had the added bonus of seeing him every night and having the time to properly enjoy their couplings.

After a particularly vigorous bout of mating, Amelia remained on Derek's lap, his still hard member warmly ensconced inside her depths. She gave him the look that he recognized as one of stubbornness. She rolled her hips, caressing him inside her, sending a spasm of pleasure and pain in his well-used organ.

"Sweetie," she said in a deceptively quiet voice.

"Ngh," was all he could grunt with a pleasurable shiver before he lifted her off him and lay down, pulling her and the cover over him. "Yeah sweetie?" he said, half mockingly, softening it with a chuckle.

"You have to let me pay rent," she pouted.

"I don't see why," he countered. "It's not like I need the money, and it's not like you've got an income coming in at the moment."

"But I've got to pay my way," she protested.

"OK, how did you handle that sort of thing with your grandmother?"

"I gave her money for living expenses like groceries and utilities and stuff."

"How about this? You keep giving that money to your grandmother and we'll call it even," he suggested. Amelia lifted her head in surprise and looked at Derek, trying to gauge his expression.

"But she's my babcia. Why do that for her?"

"Hey, she'll be mine soon too," he shrugged. Amelia's eyes welled up with happy tears.

~ ~ ~

THROUGHOUT THAT SAME time, life was not easy for Willa and Trey. Trey, used to living in the filthy, all male frathouses at university, was not picky with his accommodations and found a rundown, but sizable, apartment in a not so decent neighbourhood. Since his car was a perk of his position at Nestor's, he had to learn what public transportation was all about.

Luckily, Trey was able to find a middle management role at a small grocery chain close to his new place. It definitely did not pay anywhere near what his role at Nestor's did, but he was able to get by. Some of the allowance he was able to unlock as he hit personal hurdles supplemented his income, even though some of it was carved away to secretly provide Amelia's surprise scholarship.

His sister approached things with a combination of defiance and willful ignorance. Trading on the cache of her name, she was able to lease a swanky apartment in the posh Yorkville neighbourhood. Public transport was beneath her, so Uber Premium it was. Never having learned to cook, the restaurants of Yorkville had her credit card's patronage.

After missing rent twice after three months in and having her credit cards cut one by one, she found herself in a succession of her friends' guest rooms until she outstayed her welcome. In some instances, she would outstay her welcome in a matter of hours. Propositioning her friends' husbands or boyfriends did not help.

After another month of couch surfing, Trey opened his door to Willa, and the siblings became roommates.

~ ~ ~

THE CHRISTMAS OF her second year in school, Derek took Amelia to celebrate the end of her exams. They ended up at the same restaurant where Derek first picked her up two years ago. Amelia wondered why he would bring her to the place where she was humiliatingly fired, but put it out of her mind. She was happy not to have run into her old manager, and they were able to enjoy a wonderful meal together.

As they were walking back to Derek's SUV, Amelia noticed that they were taking the long way around. She looked up at him with a questioning look. "Hon, why are we going this way? It's a bit chilly to be taking a stroll outside, no?"

Derek shrugged and smiled, leading her along. Resigned to a bit of cold, Amelia followed along until they reached a bus shelter. Thinking they were going to walk past, she kept walking, only to be pulled back when Derek stopped. She turned and gave him a look of confusion and annoyance, but when he took a knee, she gasped in surprise.