Chapter 14: Get Used to It

I sauntered into work on Tuesday morning right after our Monday flight back to Boston from Denver. I hadn’t even been engaged for twenty-four hours yet. I had, however, spent a good portion of the intervening time riding Josh’s cock and having orgasms – both last night after our dinner at the Prudential where he proposed, and this morning before I left his bed and his condo.

The weather was nice, so I wore a summer frock and a shawl. I had noticed after my morning shower that I had gotten some sun in Puerto Vallarta. My skin was a little pinkish, and I hoped heading towards a start on a summer tan.

I greeted the group of people that I worked with. I think it took exactly 2.36 seconds for Beverly, one of my graphics artists, to spot the engagement ring. Of course, I was waving my left hand around inviting observation.

Bev almost shouted, “WHAT’S THAT?” She pointed at my left hand.

I grinned broadly. “My engagement ring.” I tried to sound nonchalant.

Bev swore, “W. T. F. Who? Were you dating somebody in secret? I thought you’d sworn off men? Besides, didn’t you have to go out west to a wedding or something?”

I proudly explained, “I am engaged as of last evening to Josh. I met Josh eight days ago at the coffee shop where I get my morning brew, and yes, we went to Denver.”

Lacy said, “You got engaged to a guy you’d only known for eight days?”

“Seven actually,” I corrected. “Today is the eighth day.”

“What exactly happened in Denver?”

I blushed, “I fell in love with Josh and his whole family. His sister got married and even involved me in her wedding as a bridesmaid. The next day we flew to Puerto Vallarta for a day.”

“You are sunburnt,” John verified. “A day in the hot sun will do that.”

Bev said, “And then you flew back here yesterday?”

I nodded, “Yes; in Josh’s plane. He has a Cessna Citation. I sat in the co-pilot’s seat on all our flights.”

Bev squinted at me and whispered so only Lacy and I could hear, “Mile-High Club?”

I grinned and nodded.

“YOU DEVIL. You were my idol before and now you’ve moved into goddess category. Spill the beans. What’d you do every step of the way?”

“Well a week ago today, Josh asked me to be his ’temporary girlfriend’. He’d been a workaholic and not been dating. His sisters and family were on his case so he felt he had to show up at his sister Fiona’s wedding with a girlfriend on his arm. He asked and for some reason I said I’d help him.

“We spent the week trying to learn enough basics about each other so that we could pull off the ruse with his relatives. In the process, I realized that I really liked Josh – a lot. We started to get serious before we even left Boston to head to Aspen. Once at the ski resort I met his family and instantly fell in love with every one of them. They were so open and so engaging. The bride-to-be and I bonded instantly, and she surprised me with the request to be in her wedding party.”

“And how did Puerto Vallarta coma about?” Lacy asked.

“Well, Josh and I were asked to fly the newlyweds there to start their honeymoon.” I suddenly decided to be provocative: “The three of them.”

“Three?” Four people asked at the same time. The group had gotten larger and my left hand was still under scrutiny.

“Well, the couple that got married also had another ‘wife’ – they were a throuple. Very modern. They’re in an open marriage. In any case, Josh and I got some time in the sun before we had to leave to get back last night.”

Bev asked, “And your ... fiancé ... has his own plane?”

“Yes. A Cessna Citation; ten passengers plus pilot and copilot. We flew along at about 500 miles per hour and went from the Bedford airport straight to Aspen, and then from there straight to Puerto Vallarta. The plane has great range. With some minor modifications, he can take it to Europe.”

My four staffers stared at me like I’d lost it. Bev asked, “Just who is Josh?”

“Josh Bannock.”

“Holy mother of fucking god. You got engaged to HIM? He’s been written about in the Boston Globe as the most eligible bachelor in the state ... in the fucking world. And you ... you ... you got him to propose to you?”

I didn’t know all that. I said, “We fell in love almost instantly. He told me his name but I didn’t know all that about him when we met. I think I got wind of it about two days later somehow. I don’t care about his money. He does have a wonderful condo in Charlestown though. I’ll be moving in with him.”

Lacy and Bev muttered, “Fuck.”

Bev said, “If he has any brothers, I’m available.”

Lacy said, “I remember the whole story about when the older Bannocks were killed in that plane crash a dozen years ago. Christ, they were worth billions at the time and it was front page news. You didn’t know any of that?”

I shook my head. “Josh mentioned a little of it. He heads the Bannock Foundation here in Boston.” I pointed in the general direction of Josh’s offices. I added, “His brother is already married.”

Bev and Lacy turned in complete circles flapping their arms about.

Lacy said, “You just became the fucking luckiest girl in the whole fucking world.”

Bev pointed at my ring, “I agree. I know diamonds. That ring is worth well over a hundred-thousand dollars. Make sure you have it insured.”

I gulped. I was getting my first outside views of Josh and his wealth. Maybe I should get used to this.

I declared, “Enough ‘show and tell’. Let’s get back to work.” I sat at my desk and took a sip of my latte. I had passionately kissed Josh goodbye at the Starbucks as we headed off in different directions with our coffees.

Josh helped me move a carload of my ‘stuff’ to his condo Tuesday evening before we went out for dinner. He was as enthused about living together as I was. I told myself that the third time was a winner.

Josh made space for my clothing in his closets and for the more solid stuff in one of the condo’s three other bedrooms. I hadn’t realized the two nights that I’d been there that the place had four bedrooms, each with an ensuite bath. We shot up to Harvard Square to find a place to eat. I loved riding in his little Porsche.

Over dinner, I told him that my friends at work had spotted the ring and made a suitable big fuss about my engagement and also about him being ‘the guy’. He laughed and brushed off the apparent notoriety I mentioned. In answer to one concern, he confirmed that the ring was ‘suitably insured’. He never mentioned the value and that scared me a bit. I was walking around the city with a fortune on my finger. Fuck!

Josh mentioned that he’d told a ‘few people at work’ too, and I let it go at that.

I also asked Josh, “What does it take to become a pilot? Sitting up front in the jet got me all sorts of interested in flying and aviation and everything. You make it look so easy.”

Josh chuckled, “It is easy until something goes wrong – and it will. In any case, there are schools that you can go to for a couple of weeks to get your PPL – private pilot’s license, or you can tough it out yourself over many months and get it. Check on the Internet and you’ll see. I bet there’s a school right at the Bedford Airport.”

“What do I have to learn besides the actual piloting?”

Josh chuckled, “Well, the list sounds kind of long, but it’s not really that hard to get all the ground school stuff in hand. You have to understand all the basics about a plane – aerodynamics, its systems, and capabilities. Then there’s weather, navigation, radio communications, emergency procedures, FAA regulations, all the different kinds of airspace and routes that have been defined, and then there’s the actually flying – maneuvers, emergency recoveries, inspections that you saw me do, and probably a few things I’m forgetting to mention. I do it all by rote now.”