You're Not a Serial Rapist Ch. 13

"Bill, thank you for that last song."

"Val, you are definitely my angel. Our angel. If it weren't for you... none if this would be happening. I am forever in your debt.

"I love you Valerie."

Kiss.

"I love you Bill."

One last kiss, she turned and went inside. I could see her hand go up to her face to wipe away a tear. I did the same, as Kathy came into my arms.

"That was sweet," our lips meeting, "You two. You'll always have a connection.

"I know we'll be seeing each other in a couple of weeks; but, it's still hard. Harder than I thought it would be. Valerie will be coming to see us, probably a few weeks later. I'll be busy getting all of my stuff together. Deciding what to bring. How much I can stuff into my car. Imagining what it will be like... us... together... really together," that brought a smile as she pulled back to look at me.

Our lips met... and met... and met.

"Kath, in a couple of weeks we'll be able to wake up next to each other every morning, in our bed, naked. Turn our heads and kiss each other Good Morning."

"I know. And that thought will be with me until that morning comes."

Kiss.

"I love you, Kathy, my precious love," choking and swallowing hard.

Kiss.

"I love you, Bill, my love," her voice cracking.

One more deep kiss and she turned and went inside.

..................................

The bar was slightly crowded. My parents had found a booth off to the side. I got a beer.

"Valerie's quite a girl," my mom said in her 'motherly' voice. "Besides being totally cute with such a personality, you two seem really close... I mean, all three of you seem to be really close. We both saw it all afternoon. The way you two interacted. I especially saw it when you asked me to take your picture together, and then just a while ago. The way the three of you danced together. The way you two danced. The way Kathy just watched you two, with a knowing smile."

They kind of knew Valerie and my history on how we met. I don't think I ever went into detail on how our friendship developed and blossomed.

I explained how, after our first meeting, how we became friends... then good friends, through me helping her on her math and science classes. That we would meet every Thursday night for dinner and talk about our week and if there was something coming up that weekend that we may want to do together. That at times, Kathy would join us. It wasn't like we were dating, just doing things together, as friends. I did say that Valerie had gone out with a few guys; but never more than once and that she always shared with me the details.

That a lot of the girls on her floor thought we were a 'couple' last year and even some of the guys on my floor did too, given the amount of time we spent together and how we acted around each other. Kathy even thought so for a while, before Valerie explained how we were determined to just remain friends. That she wasn't looking for a boyfriend; but, that we would do things together, as friends... then good friends. How I was introduced to Kathy one night while I was hanging out in Valerie's room. And that Valerie had thought about setting us up for a date; but the timing was never right. I didn't go into the whole Kathy 'boyfriend' issue.

That earlier this year, the three of us would get together quite a bit, and just hang out. Sometimes going to the bars together. Sometimes a movie. We never double dated. I think that would have been uncomfortable for everyone. Plus I thought that whoever Valerie might be with, would pick up on our 'connection', even though I would be with Kathy.

I obviously decided to leave out the topless sunbathing and the nude and semi-nude drawing sessions.

....................................

The next two weeks were a whirl wind of activity for me. I had moved in and was getting the house ready. Got the utilities turned on. Being a farmhouse it didn't have a natural gas line. The furnace and stove were fed off an outside 500 gallon liquid propane tank that hadn't been filled in quite a while. It would take a couple of days. Fortunately it was summer, but the stove was gas. The first few evening meals were hot dogs over an open fire in the back yard. Back then there wasn't a lot of take-out, except for pizza from a local tavern.

My dad came over on a Friday, when I wasn't there and rototilled the garden area. I visited a local nursery and picked up some potted tomato plants and planted a few cucumber seeds. This was going to be fun in a few months.

At my job, I was starting to get some 'real' project assignments, mostly 'standard' water systems that needed a bit of 'tweaking'. But, it was something more exciting than reading technical stuff. Lunches continued to be fun. The guys at work were curious on my graduation went. But, mostly when Kathy was going to be joining me. I had yet to enjoy a lunch with a vendor, although I was introduced to a number of them as they worked with the other engineers on existing custom projects.

Kathy and I continued our letters. I would call her on Sunday evenings, when the rates went down. It was the highlight of my week. One of her letters said she had to delay her arrival by a week, as the originally planned arrival wasn't a good "time" for her. I got the message. A little disappointed, but it was fine. I just told my parents she had something unexpected come up.

While I had done some cooking at school, with the guys... I was limited to pot pies, hamburger and tuna helper. I vowed those three thing would never grace my table again. My mom had a few recipes and I visited a bookstore and got a couple of cookbooks. She gave me ideas, and tips on how to shop wisely. I was going to impress my girlfriend with my culinary skills, or whatever.

Anxiously waiting for the arrival of my very best friend and the love of my life.