Polishing an Old Trophy

Derek had stopped at the bus stop where he first picked her up two Christmases ago. He reached into his coat and pulled out a jewelry box containing a dazzling ring. Tears welling in Amelia's eyes, she nodded to the cheers of the mall workers and shoppers waiting for the bus. She couldn't wait to get him home fast enough.

They made it as far as their foyer before clothes started to come off. As soon as the door closed, Amelia pulled Derek by his lapels into a scorching kiss. Simultaneously pushing him away and pulling his coat off, she did the same to her coat, leaving both on the ground in the hallway. Drawing him back into another lip lock, she slowly pulled him along as she backed into the house, kicking off her heels and deftly avoiding the fishbowl, where TV and The Game swam along, oblivious to the humans.

In their wake, pieces of clothing dropped like bread crumbs along a forest path. By the time they reached the bedroom door they were down to panties and boxers, lips separating only if completely necessary. Amelia shimmied out of her panties right before she fumbled behind her for the doorknob. Pulling away from Derek as he shucked off his boxers, Amelia walked to the bed, reaching for his painfully stiff cock.

Derek followed the rest of the way, paying full attention to wherever Amelia's soft hand was leading him. That soft hand pulled his shaft towards her waiting mouth, her tongue snaking out and circling his near purple crown, fully engorged with excitement. As the tip of her tongue teased his glans, he shuddered and his knees almost gave way.

"Amy...," he groaned. She grinned and looked up into his face with her dazzling aqua eyes and a mischievous grin.

"My gift to you," she purred, engulfing the first two-thirds of him into her hot mouth. As she bobbed on his prick, her tongue teased him along the way, pulling another groan from him. Derek could feel her smile at that as she took him deeper, until the head of cock touched the back of her throat.

"Amy, I'm gonna cum..," he warned as she worked her lips, tongue and hand along his shaft and head, while caressing his hip and stomach with the other hand, driving him crazy with all the competing sensations. She pulled her mouth off his cock, smiling up at him, continuing to stoke him with her hand.

"Then cum for me, baby," she encouraged. "It'll give you some time to return the favour," she told him, returning her mouth to its task. Derek chuckled as he let himself go to enjoy the stimulation.

"Baby, I'm really gonna cum now...," he warned. Amelia began to hum as she quickened the pace, paying special attention to the underside of his shaft and head with her hot tongue, driving him over the edge, his orgasm shooting multiple ropes of cum into her mouth and down her throat. Derek would have fallen over if it weren't for Amelia's hand on his hip.

His cock fell out her mouth with a pop as she visibly savoured his spend. Catching his breath, he leaned over and kissed her. As he leaned in, Amelia started to pull herself along the bed, pulling her legs up and spreading her knees, her glistening, wet pussy flowering open as she lay back.

Derek breathed in her musky scent as her lips spread. Looking down at her glistening petals and her clit peeking out from its hood, he bent down, running his tongue from the bottom of her pussy to her little pink button, collecting her sweet juices along the way. Pausing, he quickly suckled her clit, sending jolts of pleasure through Amelia, her stomach clenching and releasing in pleasure. He slipped a finger into her slick channel as he continued to suckle on her. Curling his finger, he reached the spongy mass of her g-spot and pressed up. That was all it took for Amelia to cum a flood onto his face, her body shuddering in orgasm.

Since discovering a few months ago that she could squirt when she came, it had become a regular occurrence during oral, and Derek was unperturbed. Crawling up along her body, he stopped to take each hard nipple into his mouth and lave them lovingly as she calmed down. Kissing along the crook of her neck, he nudged her to turn over. Reaching over her for a pillow, he slipped it under her hips as she flipped over onto her stomach. Running his hands along the insides of her thighs, he gently pried them open slightly.

Bending over again, Derek teased her frenulum with the tip of his tongue until she squirmed her impatience. Chuckling, he lay his body on top of her, slowly feeding his resurgent erection into her soaking pussy, his cock placing steady pressure on her g-spot as his body smothered her tightly, cocooning her and focusing her attention only on the stimulation at her centre. Derek began to rock his hips, continuing to stimulate her g-spot, and driving her to distraction, increasing the pressure building up within her. Amelia reached down and squeezed her hand down to her clit and started to strum it lightly, alternating between that and caressing Derek's balls.

As soon as both lovers got into their rhythm, Derek picked up the pace, thrusting steadily. Amelia began to feel the tingles that presaged her climax, the pressure to release now almost unbearable. Derek loved this position since it put pressure on the right places of his cock. The continued overstimulation began to get to the pair.

"Derek, I'm gonna cum!" Amelia yelled into the mattress just before the pressure released and she tumbled over, squirting a little one more time. She grunted as she shuddered through the peaks and valleys of her orgasm, the tingling spreading throughout her body.

When Derek felt her pussy begin to flutter and squeeze along his shaft as she came, he couldn't hold out any longer and came along with her. He was surprised that he still had more to give, filling her with his spend, thrusting each time, driving Amelia to a second, small climax. Feeling his arms ready to give way, Derek let his body collapse alongside Amelia, turning onto his back and pulling her along with him.

Breathing heavily from their exertions, Amelia snuggled into Derek and sighed in satisfaction. Slowly rubbing her hands across his chest, she turned her eyes on his and widened them in an excellent imitation of Puss in Boots.

"Derek?"

"Hmm?" he responded non-committedly, recognizing from her tone that she was about to try and squeeze something out of him.

"We need a prenup," she declared.

"Why?"

"I need it to prove to you, and to myself, that I'm not a gold digger anymore," she explained.

"But you worked that out with your therapist, right?"

"God, I love you Derek, and I love that you trust that I've changed, but I really need to do this," she beseeched.

"Sweetheart, the last prenup you signed really screwed you over."

"Yeah, but I really was digging for gold there, and I was in the wrong," she acknowledged. "I trust you to be fair with me, and I really don't care about your money, or anything like that. I just want you."

"You've got me, and I don't care about those things either."

"Derek, you and your family have your business to think of, all the things you've wrecked hard for, before I even came into your lives. And I really want to prove that I can succeed without taking from someone else."

"You aren't, and I don't see why we would need a prenup."

"Hon, no prenup, no marriage," she clung on stubbornly. Derek sighed.

"OK, I'll call the lawyers in the morning," he acquiesced.

"And the parish. I need to get an annulment," she told him. Derek shot her a questioning look. "Grandma's still Catholic, so it's gotta be done," she shrugged.

~ ~ ~

AMELIA'S LAST YEAR of school required her to put together an efficiency study as a final project. Initially, she was adamant that she would like to do everything herself, independent of Ringer or Nestor's. Derek was content to leave her to her own devices but when Davis heard about it, he lobbied her to take on Ringer as a project.

Davis loved both of his sons, and was very happy that they both decided to join the family business. Derek would eventually take over and Caleb would be a great second to him. While he loved both of his sons, he also knew them very well, and knew that they had no desire to get into the nitty gritty of the operations and manufacturing side of the business. Amelia was going to be family and was his last hope to have someone in the family take over the operations aspects.

Amelia took on the project hesitantly, but quickly found that she enjoyed digging around the nooks and crannies of how the company operated. When her project was complete, Davis put on the full court press to have her join up once she completed her degree. Having heard that Al Too had reached out as well, he didn't hesitate to pull the family card.

"Mr. Ringer, I..."

"Call me 'Dad'," he requested. "I hope you'll be calling me that in a few months anyway." Amelia took a quick moment to clear the lump in her throat.

"OK, Dad. You get that I'm trying to be as independent as I can though, right?"

"So, be an independent business owner."

"Oh, I can't do that. I made sure to sign the prenup so I don't take anything away from you or the family," she baulked.

"No, no," he began to correct her. "You'll get your piece of the business when you begin working here again," he explained.

"But I don't want a handout...," she began to protest again.

"It's not a handout, Amelia," Davis said, cutting her off. "You get that you might be the only one of the family that could take over the manufacturing side of the business, right?" Amelia nodded tentatively. "You'll be taking on quite a bit of responsibility. So why shouldn't you own a bit of the company?"

"When you put it that way... But, what about Derek? Isn't he taking over."

"The whole kit and kaboodle, yes. But he hated dealing with the operational stuff, and Caleb has his head stuck in the books, so you're it."

"I guess you have a point..."

"Then it's settled," he gave a curt nod. "You'll start here after your honeymoon," he said, offering her a handshake. "And don't even think about letting Al Too try to get you to work for him," he chuckled. Her eyes grew wide.

"You knew he was trying?" Davis just smiled and tapped his temple.

~ ~ ~

AMELIA TOUGHED OUT the last semester of school and graduated to the cheers of her friends from the co-packing line, her grandmother, and the Ringer family. After a nice, quiet, celebratory dinner, she and Derek parted ways with his family and her friends, drove her grandmother to her apartment, and headed home. Entering the front door, she let out a big sigh and stretched her arms overhead.

"Done! Done, done, done!" she cheered quietly, doing a little happy dance. Derek walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing the nape of her neck.

"You can finally get some sleep," he suggested. She turned around in his arms to face him.

"Nu uh. Don't think you can get away without rewarding me for graduating!" she scolded him. Derek feinted deep thought, and came up with a small jewelry box from inside his jacket pocket.

"You mean this?" he asked as he opened it up to a pair of diamond earrings, made to match her engagement ring. Amelia gasped.

"Oh, Derek! Those are beautiful!" She took them out of the box and replaced her costume earrings with the new ones. "They're beautiful! Oh my gosh, you shouldn't have!"

"Well, you deserve a reward for all the hard work you put in for the last three years. I hope you like them."

"Derek, I love them, and I love the sentiment," she told him, "But I had another reward in mind..." she said slyly.

"And what would that be?" he asked, playing along.

"Well, since I worked SO hard to graduate, we never really get the time to en-JOY each other..., and it would also be a reward for YOU, because I can REALLY get into it now that I don't have to worry about homework, or getting up early...," she teased. Derek chuckled.

"And what would that reward entail?" he asked with a smile.

"We-ell, I can tell you that it doesn't entail clothes of any kind..." she smiled wickedly, "but I CAN leave the earrings on...," she offered as she walked backwards to their room, dropping pieces of clothing as she went.

"Well, how can I refuse that kind of reward," he responded, following her into the room, where they spent the rest of the night, making love, stopping only to quench their thirst, and change the drenched sheets.

~ ~ ~

IF AMELIA WAS excited about graduating and starting her new job at Ringer, Derek's mother, Patricia, was even more excited. Having had only sons, she had given up hope of planning a wedding with a daughter. When Amelia asked Patricia to plan the wedding with her, she was overjoyed.

The day came quickly and Amelia was a bundle of nerves. Patricia and Magdelena fussed over her, making sure not a hair was out of place in her upswept French twist, that her ivory satin gown fit just right, and that her bouquet of hydrangeas wasn't shedding any petals. Her heart pounded but she was ecstatic, something she didn't feel when she married Trey. Someone knocked on the door and Patricia went to answer it.

"Amy, it's time," a voice announced to her from the door. Amelia turned and smiled brightly at Al Too, who agreed to walk her down the aisle. Al Too was the first, and closest thing she had to a father figure and he was honoured to have been asked.

Amelia took a steadying breath. "Ready," she said with a nod, reaching for her bouquet, then taking Al Too's arm. They took the quick stroll to the doors of the sanctuary. As the music swelled, the doors opened and they walked down the aisle, Amelia taking in the smiles back at her in the pews. Her friends from work, a few of her close engineering classmates, Derek's family, and her babcia. Two gloomy faces almost held her up, but a gentle nudge and a smile from Al Too had her moving along without a misstep.

As an added twist, Al Too had offered up a small financial incentive if his two children were to show up and behave themselves at the wedding ceremony. Given that rent was due and both siblings were currently unemployed, Trey for sexually harassing an admin from HR, and Willa fired from her sixth job since Nestor's, each job from chronic bad attitude, the influx of cash was not something to give up. It was worth even the humiliation of watching the relationship they tried to scuttle come to its opposite outcome.

After that, the rest of the day was a blur for Amelia, who just basked in her glow of happiness. Right after the requisite dances, the happy couple were whisked away to their honeymoon, courtesy of Davis, who hoped for two weeks of rest and relaxation so they could come back energised for work.

~ ~ ~

TWO YEARS AFTER returning from their honeymoon, Amelia and Derek were coming back to work from a quick holiday to celebrate their second anniversary. They pulled into their parking spot early to allow Amelia to walk the floor before shift started, which she was now doing with less ease. Anyone looking out at the parking lot would see a visibly pregnant Amelia, now seven months along, walking towards the entrance with a glow about her.

Many would assume the glow came from her pregnancy, but both she and Derek also knew that the glow came from the daily lovemaking during their weeklong babymoon. Her pregnancy aroused an untapped well of desire that Derek didn't even realise they had. As he caught up to her, she reached and took his hand, relishing in the warmth she felt from him, and wished they were still naked in bed, but they also had responsibilities.

In the first year of her role, Amelia shadowed Davis as he took her in hand and taught her everything he knew. He had already relinquished much of his management responsibility to Derek and in the last year he began paring back his operational responsibilities as well. Amelia would be meeting with him later in the morning during their regular touch base, which had taken on a greater importance in the last month since Davis would come back to cover her role for the six months she decided to take for maternity leave.

Similar meetings would be happening between Derek, Caleb, and the department heads since Derek would be taking three months of paternity leave along with his wife. Luz, who used to work on the line with Amelia, would sit in on the meeting, supporting Caleb in her new role in sales finance. Amelia was able to convince Caleb that her skill set would be a match to anyone they could find for the role, and that she already knew the business, so would be an asset. Caleb didn't regret it.

Usually, maternity leave covered a whole year, but since Amelia pushed for the onsite daycare a year ago to help employee loyalty and retention, she was not concerned about being away from her baby at work. The daycare was under the responsibility of their employee wellness coordinator and onsite nurse, Christina, who had completed her nursing requirements and had started at Ringer the week after getting her licence.

Christina was an early recipient of the Ringer Educational Foundation. When Amelia found out that her surprise "study grant" came from Al Too, via Trey's trust fund, she insisted on paying it all back. Al Too refused, telling her that if she insisted, then he would rather it go to a worthy cause. With his help, and a generous initial donation, the foundation was created providing grants to immigrants in need of funding to requalify for their chosen professions. Nestor's continues to be a patron and many of their associates as well as those of Ringer benefitted.

As the couple enjoyed the morning breeze, and each other's company, they were thankful that Trey tired of his trophy. Together, their efforts polished Amelia up, and she shone brighter than ever.

END

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I didn't really set out to make this a story about the immigrant experience in Canada, but I know these people, sometimes figuratively, and many times, literally. The PhD Chemist from Iran, who drives a taxi, the nurse from the Philippines working at the fast food restaurant, the engineer from Croatia who's a clerk, and the doctor from Argentina who cleans floors so he can work in a hospital. You can't live in Toronto, and in Canada, without coming across many of these people. Though the ones in the story ended up the better, many do not and live their unfulfilled lives to provide better for their children. Something to think about.