Chapter 22

The next morning, I woke up early, feeling like I was ‘home’, I guess; I could faintly hear JB and Angie were getting re-acquainted, so I dressed in my PT gear and went for a run. When I got back Angie was in the pool house, sitting in a corner of the couch in her robe drinking a cup of coffee; she had a glass of juice waiting for me, and had me sit in the middle of the couch, putting her feet in my lap with a grin.

“I let JB go back to sleep; tell me what you’ve been up to,” she said as I started her foot massage. “JB kept me informed about what you two were doing during our weekend phone calls, but I didn’t get a lot of details. What’s this about a fight you got into; rescuing a girl at her cottage?” I told the story, making it as inconsequential as I could; I added what I thought were a couple humorous comments about the whole thing, she smiled faintly but didn’t laugh. “That’s pretty much what JB told me about it,” she said; “he said you didn’t even hesitate; you just stepped down off the porch and took care of those two guys; he didn’t have to do much of anything. I know you guys needed to do something right then; but after he told me about it, and I had time to think about it; I got the shakes, and I wasn’t even there.”

“I was just the guy there, at the right place and time,” I told her; “what if it had been you, or Becky, or any of my girls? Actually, I’d have jumped into a situation like that, no matter what woman was involved; those two guys were assholes. The good thing is; now I know what could happen, and how to recognize when things are going bad. JB and I talked about it, and talked about it with all the other girls there that night; none of us will probably get in another situation like that, but we now know how to handle it, and hopefully de-escalate a bad situation before it gets violent.”

She and I talked about it for several more minutes, and a couple of other things; eventually JB joined us and took over ‘foot massage duty’; I went to my bedroom and got cleaned up. We had breakfast with the Brooks, then just relaxed for a couple hours; that night we all decided to attend the show at the new Grand Ole Opry House that had just opened, and had a great time. We went early and had a nice dinner before the show downtown; then went to the show and afterwards went dancing; it was a very nice night. Sunday morning was a lot cooler with rain; JB and I did an abbreviated run and then he and I made breakfast for everyone. A bit of a surprise; Becky called Angie that morning; and I got a chance to talk to her for a while. She was doing very well; she had pretty much done on-the-job training right there on base and was very happy in Pensacola. She had bought a car, a new Mustang hatchback; and was planning on taking leave and driving it home the first week of July; could we maybe meet in Nashville that week? I told her JB and I were hoping to take a week’s leave that week ourselves; we could get together then, if possible. Angie and Becky talked for a bit, working out the details; then Becky talked to JB for a few minutes, then ended the call; it was nice hearing her voice.

The rest of the afternoon we just relaxed and talked, and watched a little TV. Angie wanted to go out on the town again that night, and asked me if it was okay if Karen joined the three of us.

“Okay,” I replied; “but, who is Karen?”

“You’ve met her; she’s one of my classmates from college. She was at the Sunday barbecue the first weekend you came here with JB. Tall, red-haired, out-going personality; you don’t remember her?”

“Maybe,” I answered. “There were a lot of new faces there; I don’t think I talked to her, did I?”

“Probably not, you were pretty focused on Becky. Anyway, she’s one of my best friends and she was interested in you; I told her a little bit about you and she’d like to go along if we go out.”

“Interested in me? She’s not looking for a boyfriend, is she?”

“I don’t think so; she just needs to get out and have some fun. And you are different, that’s why she’s interested. Anyway, she’s living with her parents now; we’d need to pick her up on the way.”

“I guess that’s okay,” I told her. “We’re not getting all dressed up, are we?”

“No,” JB chipped in. “The ladies may dress up a little, but we can just stick to jeans and a decent shirt. Karen is very nice, and very pretty; but she’s probably a little too tall for you.”

“You mean, I’m too short for her.”

“That’s what I said.”

Angie called Karen, and we arranged to pick her up around 7 and go get supper somewhere; then go to a couple of the clubs downtown, maybe do some dancing. JB and I got dressed in jeans and polo shirts; Angie was looking really good in a cowgirl outfit, with a jean mini-skirt and boots. When we picked Karen up; she was also dressed up nicely in a cute, button-up sleeveless blouse showing a bit of cleavage; a pleated skirt, and wedge sandals. Now I remembered her; she was beautiful, and several inches taller than me; especially in her heels. Her hair was more ginger than red, and had a bunch of freckles sprinkled on her fair skin; she was a very striking young woman. We ended up at a local family restaurant for supper; we all chatted about a bunch of different stuff, and Karen and I got to know each other a bit. She was easy to talk to, very animated and out-going, and the rest of the night out was fun; we hit three or four of the clubs and did lots of dancing. Karen and I moved together well, despite our difference in height; she taught me to 2-step and a couple other dances; we even tried a slow dance and she was somehow able to slouch down a little so we fit together reasonably well.

None of us had anything planned to do on the Monday holiday, so we stayed out until well after midnight, when the places started closing down. Angie and Karen were still wound up and chatting, so we all headed back to JB’s parent’s place to relax a bit. Once we got into the pool house, Angie immediately kicked off her cowboy boots and settled onto the couch with an expectant look at JB.

“I know that look,” JB smiled. “It’s foot-massage time.”

“You should do Karen’s feet,” Angie told me. “I’ve told her how good you are at it, and how you’ve taught JB how to do it; I know she’d really appreciate it.”

I looked at Karen; “You don’t have to do that,” she said. “You don’t really know me.”

“That’s okay,” I told her; “it’s one way to get to know you. But if we’re doing this, I want to do it right; you just sit on the couch next to Angie; we’ll be right back.” JB and I went into the bathroom and got a couple of hot, wet washcloths and towels; then went back into the living room and sat ourselves on the coffee table in front of the ladies. “Just lean back, relax, and get comfortable,” I told both ladies. I unbuckled Karen’s sandals and sat them on the table next to me, then used the washcloth to wash her feet, and the towel to dry them. “Are your feet very sensitive; ticklish?” I asked Karen as I started rubbing.

“A little,” she said.

“I’ll go slow, and use a moderate touch; if it gets to be too much, just let me know.”

Angie had quickly melted back into the couch with a big smile and a groan; “This feels so good!” she exclaimed. “I am so glad you taught JB how to do this. I swear; it’s the second-best thing I’ve ever felt; only sex is better,” she giggled.

Karen was watching me pretty closely at first, but soon she eased back in the couch and smiled at me. “This is nice,” she told me; “very nice. How did you learn to do this?”

I told her a little bit of my past; how the two girls that lived with me before I joined the Marine Corps had been waitresses, and after being on their feet all night their feet would get pretty sore; I’d massage them. That led to more questions from Karen about my past, and a bit of a discussion about the women I had known and been around. Angie added a couple things, but after a few minutes I was able to change the topic; saying I had moved on from all that; my circumstances had changed. We got to talking about JB and Angie’s future; how they were planning on getting married once she graduated college in a couple years; and that then she’d move to NC to be with him. Karen asked about my plans; I told her I’d probably be in the Corps for quite a while, and was looking forward to traveling and seeing the world. Karen wasn’t sure what she was going to do after college; at the moment she was taking liberal arts classes, and hadn’t committed to anything more.

We had massaged the ladies’ feet and lower legs for close to 45 minutes when Angie gave me a long, contemplative look; then announced she was tired and it was her bedtime; she then asked if I could drive Karen home when she was ready to call it a night. What? Angie and JB are going to bed, and Karen is staying a while longer; something is up. A little confused, I agreed; he and Angie stood up, bid us ‘goodnight’, and then disappeared into their bedroom.

Karen just looked at me for a couple seconds as I continued gently rubbing her feet, then spoke up; “This has been such a nice night, I just don’t want it to end quite yet; could we sit here and talk a while longer?”

I’m beginning to think whatever is happening has been planned in advance; at least between the two women. “Of course,” I told her. “I’ll take you home whenever you’re ready.”

“What if I don’t want to go home?” she whispered. “Angie said you aren’t really with Becky anymore; is that true?”

Ahhh. “Yes;” I paused, “and no. Now that we’re not stationed together, we’ve pretty much gone our separate ways; I guess we’d be friends ‘with bedroom privileges’ if we met up again.” Karen shifted to the corner of the couch, and I moved up to sit near her; her feet still in my lap, me still lightly massaging. “I don’t know what Angie has told you about me; but I’m not interested in settling down, getting married, or having kids; and I probably won’t ever be. Hell, I’m not sure just how often I’m going to be back in Nashville; it may be quite a while before I return. JB and I are close, and I’m closer to his family and Angie than I am with my own family; but I don’t want to impose on them all the time. Besides,” I smiled at her, “aren’t I a little too short for you?”

“That doesn’t matter to me,” she smiled back; “does it bother you that I’m a taller?” She pulled her feet from my hands and rubbed them along my leg; “I really like you, and I’m not looking for a permanent, long-term relationship either. What would it take for us to be friends, with maybe some occasional bedroom time?”