Chapter 4

When Shelley awoke, Rick was in bed next her. He was leaning back against a couple of pillows. His computer was on his lap and he had a couple of papers spread out around him. The TV was on, but the volume was down and the closed captioning on.

Shelley was under a mountain of covers, but wasn't hot. Her naked body was covered in sweat. Her head still hurt, but not as badly as the night before.

Rick looked over as she raised her head slightly. She brushed her hair out of her face.

"Good morning, sleepyhead." He smiled gently. "How are you feeling?"

"Like crap."

"I guess that's better than, 'like shit'." Rick set his papers and laptop on the nightstand next to the bed.

He leaned over, ignored her morning breath and gave her a proper wake up kiss. She smiled dreamily.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked.

"Just something to drink." Her throat was parched.

He reached across the nightstand and handed her a full glass of cold water. She downed it all.

Taking the glass from her, Rick set it down on the nightstand. He motioned for her to get up.

She had to lean on him for support, but she made it to the bathroom. Still naked, she went straight for the toilet and sat down. She half-expected him to leave, but he stood there expectantly.

Her bladder emptied and she let out a sigh of relief.

"You know," she said, "Most guys wouldn't stick around for that part."

"Yeah, well, Terri and I have been living together for over a year," he grimaced at the mention of his girlfriend. "I'm used to it."

"You're not one of those guys who thinks it's kinky to watch someone pee, are you?" she teased him.

"Let me think about that for a minute ... Um ... No."

Shelley smiled sardonically. She knew that his girlfriend and her boyfriend would come up several times over the course of the trip. "Speaking of Terri. You'll have to thank her for me."

"What for?"

"Making me sick."

Rick looked puzzled for a second. Then the recognition dawned on him. "Well, gawd-dayum. I hadn't even thought of that. I guess I should tell her she needs to go to the doctor."

"No, you shouldn't," Shelley replied quickly. At least part of her was thinking clearly.

"Why not?"

"How are you going to tell her you found out what she has? You aren't sick."

"Well, I'll—" he started, and then got very quiet. "You're right."

"Of course, I'm right; I'm a woman," Shelley managed to laugh. "Remember that. Now help me up."

Rick wrapped a bathrobe around her shoulders as she brushed the morning taste away and then led her back to the bed.

He started to lay her down, but she pulled him close and kissed him tenderly.

"What was that for?" he asked when she let him go.

"For being so good to me," Shelley replied. "You didn't have to, you know."

"It's my privilege, my lady." He may have been playing with her, but she couldn't think of anyone else she would rather have as her gallant knight in shining armour.

"Do you need anything to eat?" he asked.

Shelley shook her head. "I don't think I could keep anything down. I'm surprised I didn't taste dinner again last night."

"Are you going to be okay if I leave you alone?" he asked worriedly.

"I should be," she replied. She had forgotten that they were at a conference. Her boss was going to kill her if she missed a full day's worth of sessions. "What time is it? I should be getting dressed."

As she started to get up, Rick pushed her back down on to the bed.

"No," he said firmly. "You need to lay down and get back to sleep. You've already missed the first two sessions and you're in no condition to go anywhere. If I didn't have to lead an open forum, I'd stay with you all day."

I know you would, Shelley thought to herself, and that only made her appreciate him more.

Rick went into his room and threw a polo shirt on to go with his khakis. He ran a comb through his hair and put his shoes on.

Shelley watched him gather up his things, a soft, tender look on her face.

He came by one more time and kissed her gently.

"Call me if you need anything." He set her phone next to the bed. "I'll be back at lunch. Get some sleep."

When he kissed her again, she pulled him close and stuck her tongue down his throat. She might only be feeling about sixty-percent, but her desire for him was only heightened.

For a moment, she thought she wouldn't let him go, but he pulled back and walked to the door. He flashed her a quick smile then was gone.

Shelley closed her eyes and went back to sleep.

Throughout the afternoon, Shelley faded in an out of consciousness. Rick came back to the room at lunch. He brought her some apple juice and two cups of soup. The chicken noodle wasn't quite like mom use to make, but it was close enough. They both took another round of amoxicillin and then she went back to sleep.

By the time he returned from the day's seminars, Shelley was awake and feeling much better. Her fever had broken and the throbbing in her head was mostly just a dull ache.

Rick came through the door looking ragged. He didn't get a lot of sleep the night before. When they finally got back to the Bellagio, Shelley had tossed and turned all night, so on top of being up at 1 in the morning with her at the doctor's, her restlessness had cost him some sleep, too.

Even though he had skipped out on two of the morning sessions, he had to go the others. He dropped his book bag by the door, then threw his wallet and keys on the desk next to his laptop.

He smiled weakly at her. "How are you doing?"

"Much better," Shelley replied. "Thanks to you. How do you feel?"

"I'll be fine. I just need to get off my feet for a minute."

"Wait! Don't sit down yet," Shelley said, scrambling out of the bed. She was still wrapped in the bathrobe and she dragged Rick into the bathroom.

"Honey, I—," he started.

"Shhh." She kissed him before he could say anything else. "It's my turn to take care of you."

Shelley let her robe fall to the floor. Then she went to the tub and started the hot water running. She was sure to be extra dramatic in bending over to give Rick a good long look at her shapely legs and round backside.

Once the tub started to fill, she turned and faced Rick. His gaze first went to the breasts that hung between them. Then he looked up and straight into her eyes.

She smiled at him. A warm smile she reserved for only her closest friends and family.

Her hands went to his belt buckle and soon his pants were on the floor. His boxers followed and so did his shirt.

Shelley took a moment to admire his handsome body. He was 27 years old and his metabolism was still going strong. He had a full, muscular frame that would one day sport a paunch around the waist and some flab, but for now, he was perfect. At least as far as Shelley was concerned.

After putting her hair up with a scrunchy, she stepped into the large jacuzzi tub and motioned for Rick to join her. She leaned back, and Rick sat in front of her. He leaned back, pressing his back against her chest.

The tub continued to fill with hot water as Shelley nibbled on Rick's ear and neck.

He just closed his eyes, savouring the feel of her lips on his skin.

She put her arms around him and held him tight.

Finally the tub was full. They were mostly submerged in the steaming hot water.

Rick had his head back against her shoulder. She kissed his cheek and he smiled slightly.

Reaching over, she pressed a button on the side of the tub. They both moaned with pleasure as the jets came on.

They stayed like that for the better part of an hour. Both just wanted to feel the touch of the other.

Every now and then, Shelley would plant a series of kisses across his shoulders or suck on the nape of his neck.

He would respond by caressing her leg, massaging her calves or rubbing the soles of her feet.

When their skin was shriveled up, they emerged from the tub and dried off.

Shelley hadn't felt that relaxed or content in months. She gave him a final, lingering kiss before she went back out to the bedroom, leaving Rick to clean up for dinner.

She headed for the armoire, but stopped in her tracks when she looked over at the phone. The voice mail light was on. The phone must have rang while they were in the tub.

Who would have been calling? There were three possibilities: her boss, her mom or her boyfriend.

She looked over at the clock it was 6:30. That meant 8:30 back home.

Her hands shaking, she followed the instructions on the card next to the phone and retrieved the voice mail.

"Hey, babe." It was Jared. "I haven't talked to you since you left and just wanted to see how you were likin' Vegas. Have you won me any money at the blackjack tables? Anyway, call me when you get this."

Shelley was torn. She knew she needed to call him. If she didn't, it would look like she was ignoring him.

"You have to call him," Rick said from the door. His voice was quiet. "I need to call home, too."

He retreated into his room and closed the adjoining doors.

Shelley dreaded what was next, but she knew she had to do it.

Flipping open her cell phone, she dialed her boyfriend's phone.

Voice mail, she thought, Please go to voice mail, please go— "Hello?"

"Hi, honey." She tried to muster as much excitement as she could. "What are you doing?"

"Trey, Jimbo and I are at McIntosh's. I think we're gonna go by Shaub's later for his poker game."

Bullshit, Shelley thought. You're on your way to a titty bar.

"I called a minute ago—"

"Yeah," she said. "I just got back from dinner."

"Isn't it kind of late for dinner?"

"No," she replied, trying not to sound defensive. "It's just 6:30 here."

"Oh, yeah," Jared said. "I had forgotten about that. What are you doing tonight?"

Shelley thought for a moment. Make up something good. Nothing too outlandish and something I can tell him about when I get home.

"I think I might catch a show," Shelley said. "The conference was giving out tickets to see Carrot Top and I met some girls here who said they were going."

She winced as soon as the words were out of her mouth.

"Carrot Top, really?" Jared sounded impressed. "That's one funny dude. You'll have to tell me about it when you get back. Listen, I've got to run. I'll talk to you later."

"Okay, honey. Bye."

"Bye."

The phone flipped closed and Shelley let out a sigh of relief.

It would have been nice for him to at least seem like he missed me, she thought.

Shelley lay on the bed for a few minutes, then got up and got dressed. She put on a white t-shirt under a jumper that buttoned down the front, then dug through her bag for some heels.

After putting on a little makeup and pulling her hair back, she opened the adjoining door on her side. She started to push on Rick's door when she heard his voice. He sounded agitated.

"... —we've been pretty busy ... No, we were out pretty late last night ... Well, maybe if you had called..."

Shelley knew she should pull back. This wasn't a conversation she needed to hear half of.

"No ... No ... Look, I really don't want to talk about this right now ... If I'd called you last night after dinner it would have been 10:30 for you..."

She started to close the door.

"Yeah, that's it ... Yeah, I met another woman and flew all the way out here just to be with her ... and the three sessions I'm presenting are all an elaborate ruse..."

His voice was getting louder. He sounded more irritated than angry. Shelley couldn't make out her reply, but Rick's girlfriend sounded upset.

"It's okay," his voice softened a little. "Look, I'll make it up to you when I get back ... Okay ... Okay ... Love you, too ... Bye."

Shelley closed the door as quietly as she could. A part of her wanted to rush through the door, grab the phone out of his hands and tell the other woman to keep away from "her" man.

But she couldn't do that. What right did she have? Rick wasn't hers. If anyone had the right to be upset it was definitely Jared and Rick's girlfriend.

She went back into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.

Physically, she was a changed woman. When she was with Rick, she wanted to look good for him. He made her feel sexy. She was more confident. She took the time to dress up. The twinkle was back in her eyes.

She hadn't felt that way about Jared in months.

Yet inside, she felt horrible. She knew what they were doing was wrong. She had known it since the minute she had talked her boss into sending her to this conference. Still she had gone through with it. Why?