Stacy King and I Ch. 06

"I may not like it, but I can't deny that you two love each other. If you're going to do this, make sure you never lose that love. Always hold onto that heart for each other and that focus on meeting each other's needs. That applies to whoever you end up with, not just each other. But if this," she raised her arms toward us, "is your future, you have to work at it even harder, more diligently, because if it ever ends, you lose more than a romantic relationship. You lose your best friend. You lose your sibling."

"We know, mom," Stacy said. I nodded.

"I know you do, sweetie." Mom's eyes started to tear up. "But it's still new to me and will take some time to work through." She walked toward us. "It's not that I don't love you, both of you. You know I do. And anyone would be lucky to have either one of you. You're incredibly beautiful, talented, compassionate young people. It's just hard to accept, you know?" She started crying more now. Stacy let go of me and stepped toward mom to hold her as she cried. My own feelings of guilt and confusion returned, but I knew they would pass as they had before. Stacy and I were in love and we were best friends and we had denied ourselves the relationship for years before we finally got together. People were just going to have to understand that, or get over it if they didn't.

After a few moments, mom backed up out of Stacy's arms and said, "I'm sorry." Stacy shook her head in sympathy at that. "I just love you both so much and I don't want anything to come between all of us." She was wiping the tears from her cheeks as she spoke. She cleared her throat and looked at us, saying, "Your father must never find out about this. He would be devastated."

"We'll make sure, mom," Stacy said. "And we'll try not to put you in any awkward situations."

"I know you wouldn't do that. For now," mom cleared her throat and lifted her chin, "We have a trade show to get to, so let's get moving." She smiled and kissed us each on the cheek before retreating to Stacy's room to get ready.

We were on the road by 8 a.m., following mom down to the convention center. Before we left town we stopped and grabbed a quick breakfast at a local fast food place and ate it on the way down. Because it was early Saturday morning the traffic into Atlanta wasn't too heavy and we made good time. The trade show opened at 10 and we arrived a little before that. When we arrived at the booth, dad greeted us with big hugs and a lot of excitement. He kissed mom, patted her butt and whispered something in her ear that made her giggle. It made me feel good to see that. They had always flirted back and forth and when we were younger it was embarrassing and frankly, a little gross. Now that we were adults we had expressed to each other that we found their open romance oddly comforting.

"Hey! Before I forget!" Dad reached into a large blue plastic tub in the corner and pulled out two small boxes, looking to read the ends of each box before handing them to us. I turned the box and on the end was attached a Kitchen King business card with my name on it and the word "apprentice" printed underneath as my title.

"Business cards?" Stacy asked excitedly. "Thanks, dad!" She threw her arms around his neck and raised up on her tiptoes to reach. He had to bend down a little because he's pretty tall compared to us. After she kissed him on the cheek, his face lit up like he had given her the world. Stacy had a tendency to make people feel that way, always appreciative for even the smallest effort or gift. I hugged him as well, expressing my appreciation before Stacy turned to me and said, "I've never had business cards before. I feel so official."

"Well, you are official," dad replied. Now each of you has 500 cards and I expect some of those gone by the time you leave here at 6 tonight. Any time you meet someone you give them your card and tell them if there is any way you can help them, you'll do whatever you can. Today you start learning about networking."

"Your job today," mom continued, "is simply to meet people. Go and see what they have available and how they do things. What do they say that makes you feel welcome? How do they treat you? How do they display their products? What do they do that pushes you back or throws up red flags? All that stuff. And feel free to sign up for free giveaways. Anything you win is yours to keep and some of the giveaways are pretty good."

Dad jumped in. "If you shake a hand, that hand gets a card before you leave. When someone introduces himself, say 'Thomas Hunter, Kitchen King.' Or obviously, 'Stacy King, Kitchen King.' Even if you're not interested in what they're selling, act interested. You'd be surprised how much business we get from referrals because another company liked our people."

"Act professionally," mom said. "No one knows you're our family or are each other's family. Today you're employees of Kitchen King, so act like it."

"We will, mom," Stacy said.

"I know you will. Now, they'll close the hall from 12-2 for lunch, so you have two hours to meet some people and then you'll be back out there this afternoon. So get going."

"Make us proud!" dad yelled as we walked toward the booth next to ours and introduced ourselves to a flooring rep named Martin. For the next two hours Stacy really turned on the charm, doing most of the talking and a little flirting before an announcement came on saying that the hall would be closing in ten minutes. We talked about things over lunch with mom and dad and surprisingly really enjoyed ourselves. That afternoon we went back out and had met people from cabinet makers, countertop manufacturers, plumbing, flooring, decking, and tons of companies you wouldn't even think would belong there, but they were. Our cards had been dropped in countless jars and were placed in several hands over the course of the day. By the time 6 o'clock rolled around I was beat. Stacy shared the same sentiment.

We helped mom and dad pack up and they invited us to dinner. Over dinner they asked us what we thought and we shared back and forth, picking up advice and telling about the good contacts and the not-so-good experiences we had. They expressed their genuine appreciation for our willingness to come and to help out and their pride in our increasing maturity and networking skills. After dinner we announced our exhaustion and need to go home since we had such a long drive.

Dad gave us each a hug and again told us how proud he was. Mom gave Stacy a hug and whispered something in her ear, then gave me a hug and whispered, "I love you very much. Remember what we talked about." Before pulling away, she kissed my cheek as I said, "I love you, too, mom. Thanks for everything."

I opened Stacy's door for her and closed it behind her before climbing in for the drive home. Stacy immediately laid her head back on the headrest and sighed.

"You okay?" I asked.

"Tired."

"Me, too."

"And horny."

"Yeah," I laughed. "Me, too."

"God, I can't wait to get home and get our bed back."

"Neither can I. You have no idea how badly I wanted to find a hiding place so I could drill into you today. I've been hard off and on all day. I have a serious case of blue balls."

"Awww," she laughed, "I'm sorry."

"Shut up," I laughed, shaking my head. She laughed again.

After a minute Stacy reached into her purse and pulled out her smartphone. Her fingers were a blur and her face was blue from the bright light on her screen in the dark car. I assumed she was checking her e-mail or replying to missed texts until she said, "Take 285 north."

"What? Why?"

"Just do it. I need to take care of something."

"Is this going to take long?"

"Probably."

I rolled my eyes and kept driving. We talked about dumb stuff like usual, the local country station playing in the background. When we got to 285 I took the exit ramp and then she looked at her phone and said, "Follow it to 75." I knew her well enough to know she wasn't going to give me any additional information so I didn't even bother asking. She told me the gossip and funny stories from school and continued telling me stories from her time abroad as they were somehow connected, albeit loosely, in her brain. Again, her laugh was infectious and did my heart good.

Following her directions I got off on 75 and the next exit was only a couple miles ahead. She directed me to turn, turn again and pointed to the entrance of a short brick tower about 5 stories tall. I gave her a funny look when I read that it was a hotel. The building was beautiful and we took the curving driveway up toward the building, Stacy smiling as she looked at it. Every window had an iron rail like it was supposed to be a balcony and on each side of every window was a black shutter.

"Drop me off and park the car," she said, gathering her purse. I dropped her off under the overhang at the front entrance and she practically jumped out the car and walked quickly toward the front sliding glass door. I pulled ahead and found a parking spot on the side of the building and had to walk back toward the front. On the lower level, I noticed, there were trellises that had blossoming vines climbing it and it looked pretty nice. The building was illuminated by floodlights buried behind the brick wall of the planters, shining up along the pink brick.

When I approached the front doors, they opened for me and I was suddenly surrounded by marbled tile, iron and brass. Stacy had her back to me, standing at the front desk on the other end of the lobby. I looked up and saw iron railings and balconies all the way up on every side and behind each rail was a French door, presumably opening to a room. The ceiling was frosted glass and pointed and I was expecting an action hero or villain to come crashing through at any moment. Off to my left was a dining area with small tables and two ornate iron chairs at each one. In the corner was a gazebo with a four-piece white drum set resting on the back portion of the raised platform.

As I approached the front desk, I heard Stacy's voice as she talked with the desk attendant.

"Yes, ma'am. That's right. It's all included in your package."

"Great. Thank you so much. I really appreciate you working with me with such short notice."

"No, ma'am. We appreciate you choosing to stay with us tonight. Now, if you will sign here while I make your keys, please." Stacy signed a sheet of paper and as I leaned over to see what it said, she turned her back to me and hunched her shoulders, hiding it from me before turning it over and sliding it across the solid black desktop. The attendant pulled it over the edge and handed her two card keys with a picture of the hotel on the front. "Breakfast is at 9 and checkout is at 11. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

"Yes. Could we please get a late checkout, and we'll need two emergency kits please."

"Absolutely." He began typing into his computer and within a few seconds he looked at us and said, "You're all set." He then went behind a wall and returned with two plastic bags, one black with a gold hotel logo and one gold with a black hotel logo. He handed me the black one and Stacy the gold one.

"Thank you," Stacy said with her charming smile.

"It's my honor. Will there be anything else?"

"I don't think so."

"If you change your mind, don't hesitate to call. Your tray will be up within the hour."

"Okay. Thanks again." Stacy waved and turned to me, tucking her hand in my elbow and smiling as big as I'd ever seen, almost like she couldn't contain it. "Let's go."

I was speechless, but had so many questions. Stacy led me around the corner to the glass elevator that reminded me of the one from Willy Wonka, which would explain the glass ceiling. Once we were inside, Stacy pressed "3" and turned to look out the windows as we glided upward.

"Stacy, how much did this cost?" I asked, a mixture of concern and awe in my heart.

She never even turned from the window. "Less than you're worth."

A lump suddenly formed in my throat. "I love you, Stace."

This time she turned. "I know you do. And this is a way I can show you how much I love you. I'm taking care of everything. Just relax and enjoy me." She smiled at me before stepping in to kiss me gently and briefly on the lips. The bell rang and the door opened to a railed, carpeted sidewalk which led straight ahead. We could see the balconies and French doors spreading out on either side, but there was only one door we could take, a white paneled door straight ahead. The only thing breaking the theme was the large metal button with the blue wheelchair on it, sticking out of the wall by the door.

I reached for the large brass handled and pulled the lighter-than-it-looked door open and we continued forward until the hall dead ended about 25 feet ahead. Stacy quickly studied the brass plaque with room numbers and pointed right. Soon enough she said, "317. This is us." She swiped her card and the lock clicked, so I turned the knob and pushed forward to let Stacy in and I followed close behind.

"Oh my god, T. Look at this." She sounded like she was in awe. In some ways it looked like standard hotel fare: a bed, a long dresser with a swivel television, a two person breakfast table, a short couch, and a bathroom. In other ways, however, it was quite different. Everything was nicer than the places we had usually stayed, typically for family trips growing up, so it made sense. The furniture had a more ornate quality. The furniture was cherry and the shaping had more detail of swirls and loops and curls. While the chairs matched the ones in the dining area downstairs, they were softer somehow, more suited to the room. The bed looked plush and the white covering looked like a cloud. Laid out on the bed were two thick white robes with the hotel logo on the left chest.

Stacy had apparently wandered into the bathroom because I heard bath water running. "Okay, T. Decision time!" she called before walking out with a smile. She had each hand wrapped around a small bottle, which was only apparent because the threaded lip was sticking up out of her fist. "Close your eyes." I closed them. "Tell me which one you like better. Do you like the smell of this one?" I inhaled and smelled a soft flowery scent, but nothing heavy. "Or this one?" I inhaled again and smelled fruit of some kind. I tried to imagine them more subdued and muted rather than concentrated in the bottle.

"The first one," I said and opened my eyes. She smelled it and said, "Mmmm, good choice." As she walked back into the bathroom, she yelled back, "Get undressed and put on the robe. Someone will be here in a little while to get our laundry."

"Laundry?" I asked.

"We've been wearing these clothes all day, and I don't want to put dirty underwear back on. I've been leaking in them all day while I thought of you."

"Damn, Stace." I muttered. I doubt she could hear me over the water, but I doubt she cared if she got a verbal response. She knew me well enough to know I was responding anyway. I quickly undressed and put on the robe as she requested before bringing the robe and bag in to the bathroom. Stacy was already undressed and was sliding her royal blue panties down as I walked in. She was sideways to me and her ass was rounded, her legs mostly straight and her heavy breasts hanging free. She turned her head to look at me and smiled.

"See something you like?" she teased.

"I see lots of stuff I like."

She stood up and faced me, one hand on her hip, the other she gently rubbed back and forth across her upper chest. Her head was tilted slightly to the side. "Be more specific."

"The list would be shorter if I said what I didn't like."

"Hmm. Okay. What don't you like?" She had a weak smile, teasing me.

"Not a damn thing."

"Really? You can't think of anything you don't like about this?"

"Only being this far away from you."

"Mmm. Tell you what." She turned away and placed one hand on the bath handle and began stepping into the tub as she looked at me over her shoulder. "You wait there for room service, and I'll just wait for you in here." Damn, she looked amazing lowering herself into that tub. She moaned as she slowly lowered past the bubbles. Without even looking she said, "Don't be too long. I need someone to wash my back." She settled back with her head against the edge of the tub and her eyes closed.

Where the hell is that room service? I thought. My sis...girlfriend is in the tub naked and waiting for me and I've been out here for...I checked my watch...fourteen minutes waiting for...

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! "Room service!" If the hotel room dash was an Olympic sport I would be wearing a gold medal and standing on a podium right now. I had never moved so fast in my life. As soon as the door opened I saw a young man there in a white shirt and black necktie, a cart with a white table cloth and variety of fruit, cheese, and bottle of something (I guessed champagne) in a silver bucket. There were two champagne flutes between the tray and the bucket.

"Thank you," I said as calmly as possible. "Oh, yeah. Here you go." I handed him the bag with our laundry in it before handing him a ten dollar bill (is that what you tip in a place like this? I don't know. But it's what he got.) He graciously accepted with a nod of his head.

"Thank you, sir. Just leave the cart in the hallway and enjoy your evening." He turned away and I closed the door.

"What's all this?" I called out.

"It's our romance package. Well, part of it. Now get undressed and get in this tub!"

I quickly joined her in the bathroom and when she opened her eyes she saw my erection pointing straight out.

"Now that's what I've been waiting for. Get in here." She leaned forward and I slid in behind her, the head of my prick grazing along her back, causing her to shudder and giggle. She settled back against my chest and my arms immediately settled on her waist. This tub was a huge soaker tub which we weren't used to and we enjoyed it. While it was a jetted tub, Stacy apparently wanted a bubble bath tonight instead, and who was I to complain?

I began to gently stroke her skin, from her shoulders and neck, down her arms and sides. Naturally I wrapped around and caressed her breasts. Her nipples were already hard. Maybe they've been hard for a long time, or maybe just at my touch. Either way, I was enjoying it. She moaned and placed her hand on mine, her other hand likely stroking herself as she became aroused. She began writhing a little bit, her hips rotating. I placed my fingers on her chin and turned her face more toward me and leaned in to kiss her.

We kissed passionately for several minutes. Sometimes she would take a break to relax her neck and I would kiss and nibble along her neck, shoulder, and ear, keeping her fire going. Soon enough she would come back for more. Fortunately for both of us, we both liked to kiss. A lot of our lovemaking times started out with an intent just to kiss. Sometimes she would walk up to me while I was on the couch working on school work and she would pick up my laptop, placing it on the ottoman before straddling my waist and kissing me. Very rarely did we ever JUST kiss. If we did it was due to an outside circumstance: our environment or somebody walking up. Sometimes we would just kiss to keep the fire going until we could be together that night or after school. So, yeah, we loved to kiss.

After a few minutes I couldn't take it anymore and told her I had to taste her. She moaned and kneeled before taking a seat on the wide corner ledge of the tub. She placed one foot on the side of the tub and one on my shoulder. I looked into her heated eyes as I wiped away the froth of bubbles that had traveled with her as she made her way out of the water. I leaned in and began licking around her labia, one hand stroking myself and the other squeezing her inner thigh. This kept her from sliding back into the tub and getting hurt as she writhed on the slippery surface and pressed her back against the wall.