Chapter 12B

I moved away for a second and considered my options for a moment. I knew with absolute certainty that it was the right thing to do and Beth would be happy about it. Beth looked up as I came to my decision.

"What is it Alex? You've thought of something haven't you?" She seemed very hopeful. Body Dreams might sound pretentious but it was a very nice place to spend time. It didn't have the testosterone-driven feel of many gyms and the people here were more like family.

I looked at Josh and said "What he is doing is actionable, isn't it? I mean he cannot legally do it. He is holding their debt over them to force them to run the place his way right?" Josh nodded. "Are Betty and George around today or can you get them on the phone?"

Bob looked at me and said, "I can get them on the phone for you. Why, though, if you don't mind my asking?"

I looked at him and said, "I have had enough of people and their power plays destroying lives. If that asshole gets away with this, he'll do it to someone else. I'm going to put a hole in his boat and chum the waters. My friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law is one of the biggest great white sharks out there!"

Josh piped up and said, "It's been a while since I've had a good meal." His grin was almost feral.

Bob shook his head and said, "I'll have them here before you guys finish your workouts." He moved over to the phone.

I took Josh and showed him to the locker room. We changed and went out onto the floor. I gave him the discount tour and then the world stopped again.

Beth came out of the Ladies in a bright yellow sports bra that barely held her impressive mounds in check. Her nipples were standing proudly erect. The matching bottoms were so tight I could plainly see she wasn't wearing anything under them. The lips of her sex were well defined and outlined. A distinct camel toe was evident for all to see. Beth strutted over to me, and absolutely every eye, both male and female, was on her. The predatory look in her eyes told me I was in trouble.

As she came up to me I gave a halfhearted smile. "Beth what going on?"

Beth threw her arms around me and whispered, "There were a few ladies in the changing area making rude comments about how they were going to steal you away from the 'Dyke Bitch' and take you home tonight. I'm just showing them who's going home with you tonight and every night forevermore!" With those words, she began to kiss me quite thoroughly, and yet again, time stopped. I know we stood there kissing for several decades but again no time seemed to have passed. We parted and it took several minutes to settle my heart and breathing back down so I could begin my workout. The jealous looks we received were very much an ego booster for both of us. The covey of women who had insulted Beth stood with their jaws hanging open as I caressed her glorious ass cheek and gave it a squeeze.

We started on our workouts and Beth, Josh, and I took turns spotting and playing coach. We were nearing the end of a solid two hours of heavy workout when Bob came over to us, smiling. "Betty and George are here. They are in the office and will see you whenever you are ready."

I held out my hand to him and said, "Tell them we'll be there as soon as we shower and change." He started to move away only I held onto his hand, "And Bob, if all goes well today, you won't have to worry about being forced out. Their new partner won't permit it." The look on his face was one of shock and gratitude.

I took a very quick shower and met Beth and Josh in the foyer. Bob came over and showed us into Betty's office. Her brother George was seated on a couch to the left of her desk and watched us like a hawk. Mistrust was evident in every fiber of his being. I had never met George, but Betty and I had had lunch at the Shak a few times and Beth was a good friend of hers.

"Alex, Beth. It is so good to see you. You haven't been around much of late and Bob tells me you're full of surprises today. Oh, forgive my manners. This is my brother George. George you know Beth." She looked at Beth for a moment and caught her gazing lovingly at me. "Alex is the 'ONE MAN', isn't he, Beth?" Beth blushed and nodded. "So this must be your brother, Josh." Betty held out her hand to Josh. "A very great pleasure to make your acquaintance, Beth has sung your praises and makes you out to be the second coming of Clarence Darrow."

Josh chuckled. "I don't know if I'd go quite that far but I can hold my own in a courtroom."

George piped up in a very belligerent tone, "If we can get on with this I have work to do to get ready for the bank meeting tomorrow. I don't have time for old home week."

Betty started to berate her brother. "George! How dare you be rude to my guests!"

I jumped in, "Do you have time to tell Harold Barsdale to kiss your ass just before you get him fired and brought up on charges?"

That got both of their attention very quickly. I pressed my advantage. "I need to know the amount of outstanding debt, the monthly expenses, and the monthly average gross. I have a lot of readily available cash and I'm willing to buy your debt from the bank. I'm also willing to sign a guarantee that states that the management of the facility is yours exclusively. Instead of paying the bank, you would pay the note back into my trust fund. I'm also willing to sign an agreement that makes me a very silent partner until the note is paid. I'll guarantee the interest rate is one percent as well."

George piped up, "Right. Sure. You just happen to have two million dollars sitting around to just toss into any venture that strikes your fancy. How much is Barsdale paying you for this prank? It's not funny you know?" He got up and started to leave.

Beth spoke up. "You never told me that your brother was such an arrogant self-important ass Betty. You told me he had a head for business."

George spun towards Beth. Betty stepped between them and promptly slapped her brother across the right cheek. Georges head rocked with the blow. "Just because you are pissed at Harold Barsdale does not give you the right to insult my friends. If you are going to behave this way, you can leave. I am senior partner in this operation and I do not need nor do I require your approval. If you can't behave go home and let the grown-ups talk a little business."

George looked as if he had never seen this woman before in his life. Her voice softened, "Georgie, we are running out of time. Barsdale says we have to fire half of our training staff because they are gay or he'll call our note. We need help and they are offering it. The least you can do is hear them out. I've known Beth since before we opened. She wouldn't set me up like this."

"All right I'll listen. I still say it sounds fishy." George sat back down still rubbing his cheek.

I started off the conversation, "Let me tell you about the last nine months of my life..." I told them everything about what Lisa had done and about the theft of my trust; Beth and Josh interjected points I missed or hadn't been aware of. At last the story came to a close, "... so I'm getting married, I have a large amount of readily accessible cash and I really hate to see good people get hurt by power hungry assholes like your banker. If we do this, we will also be suing his bank and as I said, Josh is one of the best lawyers around. So, that's my story. That's my proposal. If you accept, we'll walk over to the bastard's boss's office and file the complaint as well as drop off the check for the full amount of the note. Josh can then serve them with notice of the suit. You have plenty of witnesses. I think they will be begging for a settlement to keep this quiet. You can keep the money or apply it to the debt, whichever you want; I don't really care. I'm not worried about the money."

Betty had started several times to cry and held the tears at bay by a sheer act of will. Georges attitude softened but I got the feeling he still didn't quite trust me. I looked over at Josh, "How long would it take to draft the documents we would need as I have outlined them?"

He gave it some thought. "If I had access to Joyce, she could probably put it together in a couple of hours. As it is, I'll need at least a day or so. I don't even have a paralegal at the moment. I can draft the documents that would cover the situation at the bank in the morning and have it ready before noon." He turned to Betty and George. "I'm sure you have your own legal counsel so I won't try to make any plans without your input and his or her approval. As it is though if you are going to take Alex's offer you need to contact them immediately and get them working on a partnership document. I will understand if you would rather I not represent you in this."

Betty looked at George and he shrugged. "Go ahead and put together a document for the bank. I don't know how much farther we will go together but we need help and you are the only ones offering it."

I stood and shook Betty's hand and reassured her again, "I am not out to take over your business. In fact I know nothing about running a place like this. I'm an architect by trade; I build buildings and design places like this; I do not operate them. I plan to spend the next couple of months on vacation with my fiancée and then be on honeymoon for a while. I only want to help you. I like coming here to workout and train. This place is special, the people are special and should be protected."

With that, I held my hand out to Beth and we said our goodbyes. Josh would handle the legal parts and get the paperwork in order. We walked out into the mall and headed for our cars. I hung back, whispered something to Josh, and then said for Beth to hear, "Josh, meet us at my place and then we'll go take a look at a piece of land that I want to show Beth." At his nod, we headed to our separate vehicles.

Beth beamed at me, "I'm so happy that you are going to help them."

I smiled at her and took her hand in mine. "Betty and George are good people and they don't deserve to have their dream stolen from them like that. Speaking of stolen dreams..." I looked at her and saw a look of puzzlement and fear cross her face. "You told me the other day that you wanted children but had given that up to have me. It did not register at the time what you were saying or we most certainly would have talked then. Why on earth would you think you couldn't have me and my children?" As I began speaking, she held her breath.

I went on, "Beth I love you, and I would love nothing more than to have children with you. Did you think I wouldn't want more kids because of the twins? What would make you think that?"

She let out a shuddering breath and said, "I've been afraid to talk to you about it. I didn't think that you would want children to remind you of what Lisa took from you."

I gave her a tender smile and caressed her face, "Foolish woman, Lisa took my future with the girls from me, not the past. The only real thing out of the last fifteen years of that relationship is the joy of their births. The memories of birthdays and tea parties before Lisa poisoned them. I take from this only the good memories. I do hope you will agree to make new ones for me --us-- and our children."

Tears rolled off her cheeks as she realized a dream she thought dead was indeed alive and well. "You just keep making me happier and happier. I love you so much."

I smiled and let her see how much I loved her, "Making you happy is my number one priority in life." She leaned over the console and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We arrived at my place and went inside. "Have a seat Beth and I'll get the laptop." I went over to the area I had set up as my office and pulled my new toy out. I had recently bought a new top-of-the line notebook computer with the fastest available processor and video ram. It set me back more that ten thousand dollars, but I could take it anywhere I wanted and still complete my designs. After Lisa filed I finished the two sets of plans I had going and had not used it much since. The last set was the one I was interested in.

I took the laptop and set it up on the coffee table. I connected it to the forty-two inch plasma screen television I had gotten a good deal on when I moved into this apartment. The laptop's screen went dark and the plasma screen lit up showing my desktop. Beth was shocked to find that my wallpaper was a collage of three photos: one of her Josh, and me in college, one of the twins, and finally one of Beth alone in her bikini taken on vacation two years ago.

Josh arrived and Beth let him in while I was doing that. We settled ourselves and I started the 3-D walkthrough of the home I had designed for Beth. The walkthrough started with a three hundred and sixty degree panning view of the exterior. The front held a wrap-around porch, which included a swing for two. The back yard showed a water feature in the form of a small pond with waterfall.

"The colors can be changed to whatever you like." I said. I cued the program to take us into the house through the ornate front door. It opened onto a great room complete with fireplace and winding staircase. I showed Beth how to use the remote to tour the house and the look of delight on her face as each feature revealed its self was more than payment for the work I had put into it.

She looked up at me, wonder lighting her face, and said, "You remembered everything I said I wanted. It's all in here. You made it live for me." She stood and wrapped herself around me and I think if Josh hadn't been sitting there on the couch I may just have been raped on the spot! (I know! I know, you can't rape the willing!)

Josh asked, "How long have you had this ready Alex?"

I was a little embarrassed to say, "I had intended to give this tour and the completed plans to Beth at the New Years Party I never made it to. The plans weren't yet finished by Christmas so I figured I could give it to her as a New Years present. Lisa had me served the day I finished the plans and got them back from the printers. The courier that delivered them was followed into my office by the process server who served me with divorce papers." I shuddered at the memory of going into shock at the office. My secretary had had to call a cab for me and book a room for me at the Doubletree for the night as Lisa had gotten a restraining order to bar me from the house.

"Anyhow, you had told me about your dream house several times over the years and I took notes every time. I spent six months getting the tour ready and the bugs ironed out so that I could show you your house. I'm sorry it took me so long to get this to you."

I felt ashamed that it had been nine months and I hadn't made time for her. She had been my best friend for so long and I had shut her out of my life; the gag order helped keep her away. She must have seen what I was feeling because she pulled me into a hug and kissed me quite soundly. "I'm not sorry. This means I get to live in my dream house with the man of my dreams. If you had given this to me then, it would have sat on a shelf and maybe been forgotten. As it is, you get to take me and show me where we are going to spend the rest of our lives being happy together. I get to spend the first night in that house with the man I love. That is well worth it to me."

Beth kissed me again and I could not remain in my melancholy mood. I smiled and knew that it reached my eyes. "Let's go see what we can do about getting my wife's new house built then shall we?" I looked at Josh and said, "Do you want to ride with us or follow us in your car?" I cocked an eyebrow asking the silent question.

Josh nodded and the said, "I'll take my own car. That way you guys can be footloose for the evening once I'm ready to go."

I pulled the blindfold I had retrieved from the apartment out and put it on Beth with a passionate kiss. I helped Beth into the rental and I drove out to the northeast shore of Lake Torrington. It took a little better than half an hour to arrive. I slowed down as we approached the turn off and let Josh pull around me. The sun was about an hour from setting and if we did this right, Beth and I would enjoy our first sunset together here.

I ran to the other side of the car and helped Beth out. I smiled when I saw the place Josh had laid out for us. I led her over to the edge of a blue print blanket that had been laid out with a gourmet picnic, for two, of roast chicken, potato salad, a garden salad and cherry cheesecake (her favorite weakness) for dessert. The view from the blanket was what I wanted Beth to see.

I turned her towards the lake and said, "Close your eyes and I'll take off the blindfold." She nodded her head and waited for me. I took off the blindfold, wrapped my arms around her, and after a second said, "Okay Beth, you can look now."

She gasped, "Oh, Alex, this is beautiful! How did you ever find this place? The view of the lake is stunning!" As she spoke several sailboats came into view from the east side of the lake.

"As for how I found this place, my Grams brought me up here quite often for picnics when I was little. I own the land... Well my trust does. Anyway, I made sure after Grams died that the property was safe. It can never be sold, and no developer will ever destroy it. Grams is buried in a small family plot to the southeast of us. She would have liked to have us live here I think. The house I shared with Lisa was her idea. She did not want to live a half-hour from town. I own two and a half miles of the northeast shore of Lake Torrington. This hill has the best view of the lake. If you like it, I'd like to build here. All I need is your okay to start."

Beth looked around and sighed in pleasure at the view. "They can start tomorrow as far as I'm concerned. I couldn't imagine a more idyllic setting for our home." She turned in my arms, looked at me and asked, "Why didn't you ever bring me here? This place is absolutely lovely."

I looked at her and said, "In truth, this is the second best view of the lake. Grams plot is in a meadow that has the best view. She had Grampa buried there and she now rests beside him. The meadow is where they met all those years ago. It was the border between her fathers land and his fathers land. They were married in that meadow. Now they will rest there forever in peace. I always considered this a romantic spot and I never felt comfortable bringing anyone here until now. I showed Josh the land when he helped me protect it from a developer years back. He kept my secret though."

"What secret?" She looked at Josh.

Josh smiled and said, "This is the best possible outcome for this place, Alex. Beth, if you had ever decided to marry or settle down permanent with a girlfriend, Alex was going to build you your house here as a gift. Lisa has never seen this place because she could not be bothered to leave the "Big City Life" to move here. Now, you get to live here and he gets to keep this special place and give it as his gift to you." His grin was infectious and Josh and I both smiled at her. "Now on that note I'm going to be on my way and let you two enjoy a little alone time and this excellent meal."

I held out my hand, "Thank you for taking care of this," I indicated the food. "I really do appreciate everything you have done for me."

Josh took my hand and just nodded his head at me. "You can repay me by making my sister happy. That's all I'll ever ask of you, Alex." With that he turned to his sister and said, "I'm very happy for you Sis. You take good care of him 'cause I know he's going to take care of you." She gave him a peck on the cheek and he returned to his car and was gone.

I couldn't help hoping that Josh would find his special someone soon. He really did deserve it. I walked Beth over to the blanket and we ate our meal quietly listening to the sound of the birds and squirrels. As we sat there, we watched two deer, a mother and her young one, come out of the treeline perhaps twenty yards from us. As we watched, they made their way down to the water's edge and began to drink. When they had finished they moved west into the woods and were lost to our sight.

"Oh Alex, they were so beautiful! I can't believe they walked right in front of us and didn't spook." The look of wonder on her face caused my breath to catch in my throat.

"That's why Grams and I liked coming here so much. We would watch the lake and the animals. I'm glad you like it." The sun had begun to set and it looked like the lake had been set afire. We sat there for perhaps another hour until the sun had fully set.

We gathered up the blanket and our trash and I carried it to the trunk of the car. We drove back to the city chatting about the view of the lake and about the house we would share. We stopped at a service station. I refueled the car, got rid of the trash from the trunk, and we headed back to the hotel.

We arrived back at the suite and decided to clean up. I for one wanted to repay Beth for her earlier activities. As she moved around the room gathering her things for her bath, I took the opportunity to admire the beautiful creature that had consented to spend the rest of her life with me. I smiled and thought about how I was going to pleasure her this night.

I also covertly located the vibrator Joyce had packed. I thought about how much had happened and marveled that it had all taken place in so short a time. I waited for Beth to get in the shower and then retrieved the vibrator and placed it under one of the pillows as I stripped the bed. I then went to the other bath and took a quick but thorough shower of my own. I made it back to the bedroom before Beth emerged from the bathroom. I gathered her brush and made sure there was a bottle of her lube at hand next to the vibrator.

Beth returned from the bath wearing the nightie she had bought for our first night together; she looked as spectacular in it as I remembered. I whistled at her and as she blushed, I patted the bed in front of me. "Come sit down and I'll brush your hair" A look of surprise crossed her face. I love the feel of her silky hair, I always had. My Grams had shown me how to properly brush a woman's hair when she had gotten sick and medication made her joints ache too much to do it for herself.

I sat and stroked the brush through Beth's hair and felt an erotic charge unlike any I had ever felt. The woman I loved trusted me to brush her hair and not to make a shambles of it. The thought made me smile.

Beth could see my reflection in the mirror over the dresser and asked, "What's so amusing?"

I looked into her eyes and replied, "I was just thinking that you won't let professional stylists touch your hair but you'll turn me loose with a brush. It just struck me as amusing."

She turned to look at me and said, "That's because they don't love me and you do. They don't care how it would hurt me to have them screw up; you do care, so you'll take care never to screw up."

I wrapped my trembling arms around her and said, "Oh Sweets, please don't give me so far to fall. I have screwed up so many times with us I cannot count them. Please don't expect what I can't promise to deliver."

She stroked my arms and said, "You have never made a mistake with us that was your fault. I kept things from you and handled others poorly. You just responded to the poor situations I helped bring about. I love you and want you to make love to me after I braid my hair." She was quiet for a moment and then chuckled, "You know Maddi is going to want to cut my hair now."

I nearly had a heart attack, "Cut... Cut your hair? Why? What for? I mean..."

Beth laughed at my panic and said, "You really don't know, do you? My hair, aside from a trim to keep it healthy, hasn't been CUT since the day you told me you were "steadies" with Lisa. I decided not to cut my hair as a kind of silent protest. And because you told me you had a thing for long hair. Now, I wouldn't want to cut it, but I told Maddi about my little "protest" and she said if I ever got you, she would cut my hair for me so she would know it was done properly."

I thought about that for a moment. "That is probably the silliest," She got a hurt look on her face, "sweetest, most adorable thing I've ever heard." The look fled from her eyes only to be replaced by one of love and tenderness. I wrapped her tightly in my arms and gave her the best hug I knew how.

She took a scrunchie and wrapped her hair in a loose ponytail. I tugged at it and asked, "Why do you pull your hair away from your face all the time? I think it looks so much better when it's loose. I love to see the wind blowing it out around you like a ruby curtain."

She tilted her head back, brought her hand up to the back of my neck and claimed a kiss before saying, "You say the sweetest, most romantic things. I keep my hair pulled back to make it easier to manage. It gets in the way of my favorite shared activity." She waggled her eyebrows at me suggestively.

I slid onto the bed and pulled Beth up next to me. I lay her head back onto the pillow and stroked her face with the back of my fingertips. She sighed and relaxed into the softness of the bed. I leaned down and kissed her. It was a long, wet, tongue filled kiss and it liked to curl my toes. I broke from the kiss and discovered I wasn't the only one panting in need.

I slowly began to untie the bow that kept Beth's treasures hidden. Her breasts separated slightly as the tight bodice fell away. Her nipples stood proud and erect like a couple of rose-hued cherries. I bent over, took one of her luscious tips into my mouth, and began to flick it with my tongue garnering me a hissed, "Yesss!" from my lover.

I took the other nipple in my fingers and began to squeeze and release it. I did this repeatedly. With each repetition, I increased the pressure on her tender nub and each time her panting became more and more labored. I increased the suction on the nipple in my mouth and began to apply pressure with my teeth. The more I abused her nipples the more Beth liked it and was vocal in her moans of approval.

I removed my mouth from her breast and seized the tip with my other hand and applying as much pressure as I dared I pulled sharply up and away from her body bringing her to a shattering climax. With a cry of, "YES AAALLLEEEXXX!" Beth came and came, climax after climax rocketed though her body. Her climax and its aftershocks lasted a good five solid minutes. Her eyes were open but I truly don't think she could see anything as they were completely unfocused. I quickly retrieved the vibrator and lube from under the pillow where I had stashed it before she caught on to my intent.

I gently pulled the left-side tie binding her panties. The scent of her arousal was compelling. I kissed my way down her glorious body and laved every available surface with my tongue. Her moans told me that my efforts were not in vain. Beth brought her hands to the back of my head, tangled her fingers in my hair, not to direct my movements but to caress me and show her love for me. As she did so, her legs came up to rest around my arms, her legs spread wide to accommodate my broad shoulders. As I approached the tiny scrap of fabric that covered her hot sex, I pulled the right-side tie to release it. I left the panty covering her though. I moved down and nuzzled my nose into the fabric and found it to be very wet, I used my nose to push the fabric between the lips of her sex and bumped her clit.

Beth's back shot up off the bed and she cried out, "Oh God Alex don't tease me! Please, don't tease me! I need you please, please!" Her hands had tightened in my hair but were still letting me go where I pleased.

I moved my mouth down and pushed my tongue into the fabric and pointing it brought it upwards from the bottom of her pussy to her clit in one sharp lick through her panty. Beth began to thrash and whimper. "Please Alex. Please don't tease me. Please!"

I smiled up and looked into her eyes, "Tell me what you want, Sweets. You know how to get me to do what you want. Until you do I'll continue to use my new playground as I see fit." I lowered my head back to her sweet sex and through the panty; I took her clit into my mouth and gave it a suck. At the same time, I pushed the tip of the vibrator into the gusset of the panty and ran it up and down between her sex lips. Her back arched again trying to force more contact and I again pulled away.

She broke my resolve. Beth started to sob with need and plead, "Why won't you make me cum Alex? I want to cum for you so badly, why won't you make me cum?" In her frustration, she was crying and I simply could not have her unhappy tears associated with something I had done. It was unacceptable.

I pulled the panty aside, slid my tongue into her sex, and repeated what I had done earlier only, when I got to her clit, I took it between my teeth and flicked it repeatedly with my questing tongue. I slid the vibrator into her and it was at that point that she realized it hadn't been my finger. I pumped the vibrator in and out of her a couple of times in long slow strokes. Then I turned it on its lowest setting.

It was narrow, maybe an inch wide, and a baby-blue in color; perhaps six inches in length. The base held the switch with settings numbered one through ten. As it jumped to life in my hands, Beth screamed out at the sudden stimulation. I withdrew the vibrator and ran its quivering tip from her puckered little rosette to the tip of her clit. I ran it between her lips, around, and around her clit without actually touching her clit. Beth began to sob in need again so I turned the dial up to its maximum setting.