Chapter 41

Elaina hadn't come back before he decided it was time for bed, but she was there when he woke up. When he'd asked her what she'd bought, he was told he would see it before the date. He shrugged, briefly pondered the mysteries of the female species, and set about his day.

When he sat down to eat his breakfast, Elaina asked what they were going to be doing on their date.

"She wants to go to a movie premiere. She told me about it, but I don't remember the details. Some romantic comedy, I think."

"That doesn't matter," she said impatiently. "That she wants to see it is all that matters."

"Yeah, that's what I thought, too," he said, smirking at her. She stuck her tongue at him.

"What are you going to wear?" she asked.

"Whatever you pick out for me," he replied with a grin.

"Smart boy," she said smiling.

"Um, I don't mean to be a wet blanket," he asked hesitantly, "but have you heard anything from Hugh lately?"

"Not a single thing," she said calmly. "I'm staying vigilant, but he hasn't touched my borders since that night almost two weeks ago. I'm hoping I chased him off for good, but the only way to be sure would have been killing him myself. We'll see."

"Good. I hope that's the last we see of him," he said.

Rob had just got back to eating his breakfast when Elaina piped up again.

"What are the arrangements for the date? We picking her? Is she coming here?"

He held up a finger as he chewed the mouthful he'd just taken and cleared it with a slug of coffee.

"She's meeting us at the Starbuck's near the theater," he replied impatiently. "I've got the movie time and we'll join her about a half-hour before then." She nodded her approval of the plan.

Rob finally got to finish his breakfast, and he thanked her for taking care of him. He gave her a kiss and headed off to work.

It was a perfectly average morning at work, the time passing quickly, and he met up with Dawn at lunch. They talked of many things, but neither brought up the impending date except to say they were looking forward to it.

The work day ended the way it began: with no crises to handle or fires to put out. Brenda was sliding into her role as office manager as if she'd been born to it, with Marge giving glowing progress reports.

Rob finally figured out what Jessica was up to: she was going to be Brenda's backup when she was out, something Marge never really had.

His evening at home was similarly relaxed, with the two of them hanging out together on the couch, watching silly shows on cable and talking about things in general. Before the evening was over, they retired to the bedroom where Rob tried his best to get his little lover to pass out from too many orgasms. He didn't quite accomplish his goal, but she expressed her heartfelt appreciation for trying.

They fell asleep to the sound of rain beating against the window.

Although Rob couldn't see it, the morning dawned grey and wet, the outside temperature dropping close to freezing. When he struggled out of bed, Elaina was gone, leaving him a note that said she had some more shopping to do before tonight.

He started the chores, gathering all the dirty laundry, and other things he did on a Saturday morning. He waited a bit to see if Elaina would get home, then figured he better get to the laundry or it would never get done.

Several hours later, he dragged the clean laundry through the door to find Elaina busily dusting the living room. He hauled the clothes to the bedroom and put them away. Elaina called out a warning, telling him to stay out of her bags. He spotted a little pink bag sitting on the dresser and had a hard time resisting his curiosity. He hurried to finish so he could escape temptation.

He wandered out to the kitchen when he'd finished to find she'd made him another Dagwood. This time he took the time to explain about the cartoon character who would make a three-foot tall sandwich with everything you could imagine sticking out around the edges. Then, proving he was just as good as Dagwood, he ate the whole thing.

Rob started pestering Elaina about what she'd bought, and she retorted that if he didn't stop, he would never find out. The little pink bag she'd brought home had his imagination fired up all the same.

Rob put on the grey casual slacks and matching turtleneck sweater Elaina had laid out for him, putting on socks and stepping into the loafers she'd picked up for him. Despite not having tried them on, the loafers fit quite comfortably. Elaina remarked that it wasn't that big a deal, she'd just checked his other shoes for size.

Elaina chased him out of the room so she could get dressed. When she was done, she came out in an emerald green wool skirt that barely covered the top of her thighs, with a matching green silk blouse. Over the blouse she wore a contrasting vest left unbuttoned. In her hands were a pair of soft doe-skin thigh-high boots with lacing up the back and short heels.

"Rob, could you come in here a minute?" she asked politely. "I could use some help getting these boots on."

He didn't consider the fact that she'd worn boots like that before and had no difficulty getting those on, and he also didn't notice that she positioned herself on the bed so that the bedroom light was coming over his shoulder. He kneeled in front of her and accepted the boot she offered. He positioned her foot, sliding it into the boot, and pulled at the leather to get it up her leg. She straightened her leg and rested her booted foot on his shoulder to help him along. Being a man, Rob couldn't resist following the exposed thigh with his eyes up into heaven ... and froze.

"Rob?" she asked coyly. "Is something the matter?"

What the "matter" was, was that instead of seeing her familiar and beloved flower, his eyes now rested on a scrap of light green silk that failed to cover her fur at the top, and disappeared into the crevice below.

"Y-you wore panties?" he barely managed to say.

"Well," she answered coquettishly, "We wouldn't want Dawn to think badly of me. You know, in case a stray breeze should come along."

He softly said "Wow" and reached for the silk panel. She slapped his hand away, then proceeded to show him she hadn't really needed his help in the first place.

Rob shook himself and gathered his thoughts, trying to put everything back in perspective. Once she was done with her boots, he offered a hand to help her stand up in the heels.

"You didn't wear those for me, did you, Elaina?" he said, giving her a look of consideration. She dipped her head for a moment, then looked back up at him with a shy smile.

"A girl can always hope, can't she?" He laughed to show he wasn't concerned and her smile spread to cover her face.

"Shall we go find our date?" he asked as he offered his crooked arm.

"Yes, let's do," she replied, taking it.

They caught a cab heading downtown and arrived at exactly a half-hour before the movie would begin. They found Dawn seated at a table with a wanna-be Romeo trying to talk her up. She smiled happily when she saw them enter, and abandoned Romeo without a word. He looked around to see who had her eye and appeared puzzled when he saw her greet a gorgeous woman with great legs at the door. He didn't notice Rob behind her and assumed he'd been pitching to the wrong team. He shrugged and wandered off, looking for another conquest.

"Elaina!" Dawn squealed, "I wasn't sure you'd come." She gave Elaina a glancing kiss, just barely brushing her lips. As Dawn turned to Rob, Elaina licked her lips and sighed. A sadness passed through her eyes at the feelings she already had for this woman. She felt a passing guilt for her lost lover, but she knew Dawn could find her own place in her heart.

She turned her eyes to Rob and saw that he and Dawn were still engaged in a silent greeting, their passionate embrace drawing comments and giggles from the surrounding patrons. She harrumphed loudly to get their attention and they separated, both jumping at the sudden noise. There was laughter in the shop when Elaina upbraided them like naughty children.

"Break it up, you two. We have a movie to catch." Rob caught the swirl of rainbows as her eyes began to shine and he gave her an urchin's grin. He leaned down to her ear.

"Jealousy becomes you not, my love," he whispered.

The was more laughter from the crowd when she slapped his shoulder. Dawn stood by with wide eyes, not sure if she was in trouble or not. Elaina eased her concerns when she leaned over and kissed her cheek.

"We better get this troublemaker to the theater before he gets up to any more mischief," she teased, and she took Dawn's arm in her own. Rob circled around behind and took her other arm, and they escorted her out of the coffee shop to the mournful calls of the crowd.

Both women were still giggling when they approached the ticket booth of the multiplex. Rob paid for the tickets and they went to the snack counter to get Rob his popcorn and whatever else the ladies wanted. They found the correct theater just in time to see the end of the coming attractions and seated themselves with Rob in the middle and Elaina on the aisle. They talked through the ads that followed.

As the lights began to dim, Elaina stood up and bent over as if she had dropped something and was picking it up. Rob watched as her skirt rode up and exposed her pale green thong and her soft, round buttocks to him and Dawn, the silk panel saving her from a full disclosure.