The Convertible - Hot Wheels

Stupidly, he still believed he could overtake me. He was inching up, trying to pass me again on my left - perhaps to give me the finger as he passed -- when he and the pickup ran out of road.

At the last second, he veered off to avoid colliding with the bridge's concrete abutment. A good choice, since with his high center of gravity if he'd run into it his truck would have cartwheeled like a freaking gold-medal gymnast. Instead, the old Silverado ended up slightly submerged, water up over the hood to the bottom of the windshield as it sat nose-down in Battle Flag Creek. Turns out he needed that truck snorkel after all!

I stopped the car when I got on the other side of the bridge and ran back to the center. I saw my opponent down in the water, wading his way to the shore. I got my smartphone out and yelled, "Hey, U-Boat Commander!"

He turned and looked at me, and in the full moonlight I got a few good photos of his truck in the water and, better yet, his scowling face. I yelled, "You can keep the $100! Seeing you in the creek is worth it!"

The Rhinestone Cowboy swore a few colorful epithets and threats at me but I just laughed, ran back to the TR2, and jumped in.

Julia had taken the helmet off, and looked beautiful in the moonlight. I started the car up, turned it around and headed back the way we came, albeit at half the speed I'd driven to get us there. My hands were shaking a bit as my adrenaline wore off. Grinning like I'd just won the 24 Hours at Le Mans, I said to her, "I'm in the mood for an ice cream cone, how about you?"

She hadn't said a word to me since I'd asked her to put the helmet on. For all I knew, this might have been our first and last date. Then she smiled at me, and I knew it wasn't the last.

"I want two scoops on my cone."

Chapter 6 - Welcome To Paradise

Over the next few months, Julia and I started going out a couple of times a week. We'd do different things to change it up -- museums, movies, the theatre, the art gallery her twin sister Octavia managed, and sometimes she'd even come with me to my Triumph sports car club events.

Other times, we'd just hang out at Julia's and I'd cook dinner. Julia's cooking skills were awful, not because of her disability, but because she had never really bothered to learn. When they were teens, she and Octavia spent way too much time looking pretty, and zero time in the kitchen.

I became adept at doing lateral transfers, and started doing more partner-y things for her like running errands, and doing laundry, and sometimes personal hygiene tasks if needed. She had a personal care aid, Chelsea King, who'd been working for her the last couple of years who assisted Julia three days a week with laundry, showering, grooming, and personal hygiene tasks. The day I met her I realized I'd actually had met Chelsea before although I didn't mention it, given the circumstances.

It was at a housewarming party back when Bella and I had first moved in together. Bella had invited a bunch of her stuck-up bitch friends over to the place we shared for drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Turns out it was true what they say about how you can judge a person by the company she keeps.

I'd tried to chat with a few of Bella's friends, Chelsea being one of them. All of Bella's friends basically snubbed me that night, so I withdrew and ended up spending most of the party in the den playing Grand Theft Auto on my Sony gaming system. I'm sure I'd heard at least one of them muttering "loser" through the den's open door. Now here was Chelsea, one of the queen bee bitches, working as a Personal Care Assistant for my new girlfriend, proving it was indeed a small world.

The thing about being in a relationship as opposed to being a paid caregiver: as a caregiver, it's a job. As a boyfriend, it becomes a portal to intimacy. A caregiver doesn't give a second thought to something like assisting with a lateral transfer from a wheelchair to a car, or giving her leg massages before bed, or rubbing her skin with lotion in places where a sore might be developing. For me, the contact required is quite intimate.

I came to learn every square inch of her body well, from the feel of her skin to the muscle mass in her limbs. Even going so far as to help clean her up if she'd been away from home for too long and needed clean-up because of her control issues. Sometimes she'd use a catheter, sometimes she'd use a diaper, but either way this was not a problem, it was a pleasure. I realized that I loved Julia, and it felt good to care for her.

Leg stretching and massages before bed to reduce the chances of atrophy and spasticity sounds like a burden, but I enjoyed doing it. It made me feel closer to her. Despite what you might think, I especially loved Julia's legs. Don't get me wrong, her breasts looked delicious, her face was quite lovely, her ass is fine, but her legs were what really got my motor running. They were so damned long, and I'd spent so much time massaging them and kissing them that when she wore a sundress, a swimsuit, or shorts, I just lost my mind.

For a couple of months we were dating and happy, but despite me having helped maintain that luscious body, as of yet we hadn't done the 'wild thing'. During those months we were building a wonderful friendship, and could talk about everything from work to managing finances. At the end of the evening after I helped Julia get ready for bed, I would kiss her goodnight and go back to my apartment, where I'd manually relieve myself while fantasizing about the day I could finally make love with her.

One night as I was tucking her in, I finally asked, "Julia, how would you feel about me not going home? I'd really like to wake up next to you."

She giggled softly, "I have to give you credit, Landon. I've been waiting for you to ask. You've done such a great job taking care of me and been a perfect gentleman about it. I'd love for you to spend the night. I have to tell you, though, I'm a little nervous. I haven't had sex since before the accident. I'm going to be like a virgin all over again, figuring out what parts do what."

I leaned in and softly kissed her, then said "If you think about it, I'll be a virgin too. I'll be learning about your body with you and finding out what gives you pleasure. I mean, intimacy is when two people are vulnerable and open enough to experience something completely new together, right?"

Using the padded grab bar bolted to the bed's headboard, Julia pulled herself upright, then held her arms out to me. I sat down on the side of the bed within her reach, and she wrapped her arms around my neck, pulling me in for a passionate kiss that made me instantly erect. "I'm not exactly sure how to get started," she whispered.

I reached up and started unbuttoning her pajama tops. "I have a few ideas," I murmured, and kept unbuttoning until her breasts were completely exposed. "Julia, you're so gorgeous," I whispered, then pulled my sweatshirt off so my chest was naked as well. I lowered my head to her nipples, teasing them with my lips and tongue.

She shivered and asked, "Do you think I'm sexy, Landon?" I took her hand and placed it on the crotch of my jeans.

"Babe, I've got a steel-beam erection, does that answer your question? Every night when I'm massaging your legs and rubbing cream on your skin, all I can think of is making love with you."

"How have you held it together so long?"

"I haven't. I relieve myself every night thinking of you. If you saw how much I'm spending on tissues, you'd understand." Reaching down, I put my thumbs in the waistband of her pajamas and pulled them off. "You're the sexiest woman I've ever been with." I then slipped off my pants and underwear, my erection standing high and proud. "Right now, I want to make you feel good."

I gently laid her back down, spreading her shiny light brown hair out on the pillow above her head. Damn, she was a lovely sight, so much so that I could barely breathe. I went down to her feet, and began kissing my way up one leg. I knew she had no feeling there, but I wanted her to see me worship her whole body. When I reached the soft skin on her pubic bone, I asked, "Are you feeling this now?"

"I'm definitely feeling something. The doctor told me that even though my injury would generally block sensations below my waist, because it was an incomplete injury, I'd have what's called zones of partial preservation, so I'd probably feel some sensations, like now." She reached down and stroked my hair, "I'm not feeling your body heat, but I feel your lips and tongue."

Moving down, I began to orally explore her vaginal entrance. A few seconds later, I felt her arms stiffen and heard her cry out. "AHHHHH!"

"Are you OK? Did I hurt you?"

"No, I'm fine. I think I had a mini-orgasm. I feel hyper-sensitive down there! Landon, please come and hold me!" I kissed my way back up until I was on top of her, then laid to her left side and pulled her onto her right side facing me. Putting my arms around her, I pulled her in close. My cock was throbbing with desire, but now was not the time to hurry.

"I suppose I should ask you, after your injury, are you able to have babies? If you can, I need to go get some condoms or something."

"My legs don't work, but my ovaries definitely do. Last month when I went in for a checkup, I told my doctor I was seeing someone, and at his suggestion I got an IUD. We're safe for now. Anyway, if I do somehow get pregnant, at least I won't need an epidural because I already have permanent one!"

"Well, that's good news that you're protected." I rolled her on her back, climbed on top of her, and kissed her. "Are you ready? Can I try this now?"

"Yes, please."

I spread her thighs far enough to get me into position, and slid into her in one smooth motion. It felt heavenly to me. "Julia, this is wonderful. How does it feel to you?"

"It doesn't feel like it used to before the accident, but it's still very nice. It's not the same as it was, but I can definitely tell something good is going on down there. Try moving in and out a few times."

I did as my love asked, but it felt so good I didn't stop after just a few strokes, it was more like a dozen. I stopped, lowered my head, and kissed her neck. "How does that feel?"

"It's nice. We have to use more lubricant, though. My gynecologist warned me my vagina might not make enough natural juices to keep me wet for more than a few minutes of sex. There's a small bottle in the medicine chest."

I took the opportunity to get in a few more strokes before kissing her again, and told her "I'll be right back, don't you run away!"

She gave a little laugh, "That's not going to happen any time soon."

When I got back, I slathered a little lube on my still-rigid member and slid right in again. She wrapped her arms around me as I moved in her, kissing my shoulders and neck. A minute later, she gasped again, her arms stiff once more. I stopped my movement for a moment.

"Was that another 'mini-o', babe?"

"Yes, it was nice. I can feel my body responding, the nerves that work are all tingling." Lowering my head, I sucked one of her nipples in my mouth and teased it with my tongue. To my surprise, she gasped and stiffened again!

"That was another," she gasped. "My orgasms used to be like a big explosion, but now this is more like a string of smaller firecrackers going off! It's wonderful!"

I carried on, and the firecrackers kept popping off for her. She had so many I was almost jealous, but I was overjoyed I was giving her pleasure. When I finally came, my balls felt like a grenade going off. I wasn't sure if she felt it, but after so long not climaxing inside a woman, I shuddered as I shot multiple streams into her. That IUD would be getting a workout tonight, for sure.

Afterwards, I collapsed next to Julia, pulling her close and spooning. "I love you so much, Julia," I whispered. "I haven't been this happy in a long time."

"I'm happy too. This was so different, but better."

"Better how?"

"It was very intimate. It was as much about touching and feeling your energy as it was about physical pleasure. The physical part was nice, but just watching you enjoy my body made me feel good. I was very stimulated watching you."

"Wait, your telling me I made you horny?" She closed her eyes as if embarrassed, then nodded.

"Wow. I think I'll list 'I make Julia Morgan horny' as a qualification on my resume! You think that will get me some job offers?"

Julia took my hand and pressed it between her breasts. "I'd hire you, for sure."

I, in turn, reached down and cupped her warm ladyparts and joked, "I don't mean to be crude, but if you hire me, I require payment in pussy!"

"I think that can be arranged," she answered seductively. Bringing my hand up to her mouth, she licked my index finger, then sucked on the tip. I felt myself getting hard again. I lifted her left leg, and slipped into her from behind. After entering her, I lay still. I began running my fingers up and down her spine, feeling the lumps of her vertebrae and the scars of her surgeries under my fingertips. She drew a sharp breath.

I immediately stopped and asked, "Did I hurt you?"

"No, it's just my back must look hideous back there with all those scars." I leaned forward and kissed the base of her neck.

"Julia, I love your body. All of it, even the scars." To prove my point, I began to move inside of her again. "This is the way your body was when I met you, understand?" A poetic streak I didn't know I had then revealed itself, and I told her "To me, your scars are just part of the tapestry, woven in to your beauty." I began to thrust a little faster as I reached around and played with her topmost nipple and whispered, "You're perfect to me, Julia Morgan. Promise me you won't forget you are..."

Suddenly I could feel her upper body go rigid. Another mini-orgasms rippled through her. I took this as my cue, and sped up my pistoning in her until I, too, had my own 'mini-o'. Afterwards, I lay on my back and pulled her up close, her body under my arm and her head on my chest, one of her arms across my waist.

I kissed the top of her head and said in a low voice, "Julia, what would you think of me moving in, so I never have to leave you to go home? My home would be here, with you."

"It's a big step. You already know there's a lot to taking care of me, do you really want to take that on full-time?"

"I very much do," I responded. I leaned down and kissed her passionately for emphasis. "Very very much."

Maybe it was the passion of the moment, maybe it was just me trying to tell Julia how wonderful I thought she was, but I reached down and caressed her belly. "And one day I hope that IUD will go away, because I think our babies would be beautiful."

I heard her draw a sharp breath, but she didn't say anything. We just lay there, two lovers in the dark. As I was drifting off to sleep, I felt a few tears roll down the side of my chest. I pulled her in closer and kissed her hair, then happily slipped into unconsciousness. A new chapter of our lives had begun.

Once we began sleeping together, the rewards were rapid-fire. We talked with her neurologist and he confirmed that because of her spinal cord injury, her orgasms were smaller but there were a series of them. As her lover, watching and feeling her respond to my efforts was very motivating.

Although we had some limitations -- Julia couldn't do cowgirl, it was usually missionary or on the side, we continued to experiment by using pillows and soft wedge forms to find different sex positions for her pleasure and comfort.

While sex with Julia took effort, it was mostly physical prep: toilet time for her, massaging her legs for me. Foreplay was mostly me just being romantic; if Julia's head were in the right space, a warm breeze could get her in the mood. Mapping her body and finding her sensitive spots was a real turn on for both of us.

Compared to my ex, well, although many men may have found Bella's bedroom skills to be superlative, in hindsight she was...forgettable. I realized sex with her had been a two-dimensional game of checkers, while making love with Julia was 3-D chess; incredibly intimate and pleasurable, and yes, the best damned sex of my life.

Being in a physical relationship meant I had to learn everything about her body, not just the nice squeezy bits. I quickly learned that autonomic dysreflexia is a condition that causes sudden, extremely high blood pressure, the body's response when it perceives it's being injured; whether from some kind of injury, like a burn or broken bone, or something as simple as overly-active sex or even tight clothes.

AD was most common for people with T1 through T6 injuries, but there was a slight chance it could happen for people with injuries to T7 and below. Because of this our lovemaking was always gentle, and I learned the symptoms: a bad headache, nausea, blotchy skin above the injury point, clammy skin below it, or a tightness in her chest. If any showed up, I put the blood pressure device on her immediately, even if we were in the middle of sex.

The day after we made love the first time, I promptly gave 30-day notice on my apartment and moved in with Julia the following week. Since Bella had lived there with me until I'd thrown her out, I wouldn't miss it.

After moving in with Julia, I went to my job every day counting the hours and minutes until I could go home to her. She didn't have to commute because she worked from home during the day, taking customer service calls as a reservations agent for a national hotel chain.

Living together our lives were better, easier than they were apart. On weekends, I'd mow the lawn, do the laundry, and cook while Julia paid bills, grocery shopped, and planned meals. We both would clean, our duties based on what she could do; I'd clean the bathroom mirrors, for example, since she couldn't reach them, while she'd run the vacuum cleaner. We also continued to get to know each other, discovered that our dreams and goals were fairly aligned.

There was one dark spot: her caregiver, Chelsea King. With me living in the house and taking care of Julia now, having her around was kind of uncomfortable. She was good friends with Bella, and let's face it, even when Bella and I were together, Chelsea never liked me. I'm sure once I moved in with Julia, she most likely loathed me. Citing the Bella association, I managed to talk Julia into letting Chelsea go. Plus, money-wise, that was a few hundred dollars a week Julia didn't have to spend now. I pointed out that money could buy a lot of gasoline for the van instead.

In the end, one Friday while I was at work, Julia let Chelsea know that the following week would be her last week. She even gave Chelsea a bouquet of flowers and a $200 gift card to thank her for the two years of being her caretaker. Because Chelsea was friends with Bella, I suggested a boot in the ass as an alternative thank-you gift, but Julia shot that idea down.

++++++++++

Chapter 7 -- Baby Please Don't Go

One night, Julia and I were watching a movie when her phone buzzed from an incoming text.

"Oh, wow, I just got invited to a Chelsea King's bachelorette party Saturday night."

I was immediately suspicious. "Kind of short notice, isn't it? Anyway, we've got a reservation at 7:30 that night at Benvenuto Amico. Can't you skip it?" There was a reason for the reservation that night -- I was planning on proposing.

Plainly, Julia was disappointed in my response. "She was my caretaker for 2 years, after all. I feel like I owe her."

I tried to make my point without being too obvious. "It's nice that you care about her, but can't you just throw a bridal shower for her or something later?"