Chapter 2: New Years in New Orleans

Laura Miller stood in front of the mirrored bi-fold doors of her closet, critically examining her reflection. Laura wasn't a vain woman, but she did take care of her appearance. Of course, now that Robby was in her life, she was even more careful to ensure she always looked her best. A flush went through her as she thought of Robby, and her heart went pitter-pat. 'Robby, Robby, Robby' she mentally chanted, 'what you do to me.' In the three days since Robby's unexpected arrival on her doorstep Christmas Eve, Laura had been on an emotional high no drug could have induced. She had been thirty seconds from suicide when he arrived and the happiest woman in the world when he left early Christmas morning. He was her Saint Robby.

Laura smoothed the denim miniskirt over her shapely hips and turned slightly to make sure it was unwrinkled across her butt. Satisfied that she was presentable, she headed for the kitchen to wait for her man. It was Saturday evening, and she and Robby were going on their first real date. Laura was as excited as a young schoolgirl.

Three houses away, Robby was already dressed. He was sitting in the living room with his mom and dad, listening politely as they once more tried to 'talk some sense into his head'. Robby had known from the start that his parents were not going to be happy with a serious relationship between him and Laura, but it was not his nature to lie to them to conceal it. He respected their concerns; they were probably the best parents in the world. He hated that his love for Laura would cause them distress, but he could not deny his heart.

"Rob, think about the future", his dad, Carl, implored, "Not just your future, but Laura's also."

"That's all I think about, Dad, and I can't see a future for me without her. Laura feels the same way."

These discussions were especially hard for Carl and his wife, Louise. Robert was such an amazing boy; even his existence was a miracle. Robert was born when Carl and Louise were in their forties. Louise had thought she was in menopause and had stopped using contraception. Robby was unexpected but not unwanted. He became the center of the universe for the Davis family, doted on by not only his parents, but also his sister. His sister Karen had been six when Robby was born; either because of or in spite of the age difference, Karen was a constant nurturing influence on her brother.

Another difficulty the elder Davises had in trying to dissuade Robby was his uncanny knack for doing the right thing. It did not help their cause either, when his sister lined up squarely behind him. As far as Karen was concerned, if Robby said it was right, it was right, period, end of discussion. The bond and loyalty between Robby and his sister was almost supernatural in its intensity. From the day of his birth, when he clutched her finger with his impossibly tiny ones, they lived for one another.

"Robert, we are not going to tell you what to do; you've been past that since you were twelve. We trust you, but sometimes a person's heart can overrule their brain. Love can make you blind," Louise said.

"Yeah, Mom; ain't it great?" Robby replied with a grin. Then he continued on a serious note, "Listen, Mom, Dad, you are going to have to trust that I know what I'm doing. I'm not going to quit school or give up my plans for the future. Everything is going to stay the same except Laura is now going to be a big part of my life. I want her to be a part of yours too."

Robby's parents hesitantly accepted what he said. They said they would try. That was all Robby could have hoped for. Robby gave them both a hug. With a 'you are the greatest, ' he dashed out of the house, headed for Laura's.

Laura answered the door immediately when Robby rang the bell. Too bad if he thought she was anxious to see him, she had no ego when it came to him. Robby let out a whistle when he saw her. She was wearing a red short-sleeved blouse, a denim mini, and penny loafers. Her long honey colored hair was in a ponytail tied with a red bow. The outfit and hairdo, combined with her slim figure and youthful face, made her look like one of his schoolmates. Laura gave him a smile; his reaction was exactly what she had been gunning for.

Robby took her to Universal Studio's City Walk for their first date. Laura was beyond impressed. Robby made it the most fun and romantic evening of her life. They walked though the shopping venues and dined at Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville. Then Robby whipped out two tickets to see Pat Benatar at the Hard Rock Live. The head of the music department at his high school had attended Julliard with Benatar and had scored Robby sixth row center seats. It was midway through the show and Benatar had just sung Heartbreaker, when there was a pause as the singer caught her breath.

"I don't recall ever doing this before, but then I can't remember anyone as deeply in love as the sincere young man that asked me to do this today," Benatar said. "So, Laura, this next song is for you from Robby."

She sang Somebody's Baby. Laura thought her heart had stopped. Her face flushed as red as her shirt and goosebumps covered her entire body. Everyone for ten rows around them knew who the song was for when she involuntarily squealed and threw herself on Robby, almost knocking him out of his seat. The witnesses to the event started chanting "LAURA-LAURA-LAURA."

They arrived at Laura's house around midnight, blanketed in a fog of love. Laura took Robby by the hand and dragged him to the bedroom. She sat him on the bed and undressed him. Robby started to say something but she put her fingers to his lips. Laura took a couple of steps back and slipped off her blouse and skirt. Robby groaned as she posed in the red satin thong and bra set from Victoria's Secret. Robby stood up and pulled back the bed covers, he held them for her so she could slip between the sheets. Then he walked to the door and turned off the lights before crawling into bed beside her.

While Robby was turning out the lights, Laura was wiggling out of the thong and shedding the front clasp bra. Robby pulled the covers up over their heads, cocooning them in the sheets. It was dark and quiet under the covers, she was lying on her back, he was on his side, whispering in her ear. His words were galvanic, the soft lexicon of love he murmured in her ear made her shiver in arousal. Then he touched her, lightly caressing her as he poured out his heart. Laura's body convulsed as waves of small orgasms wracked her. The pungent aroma of her arousal was palpable under the covers.

'Whoever schooled Robby so well that he can make me climax just by talking has a friend for life, ' she thought.

Finally, she could take it no longer. She grabbed him and tried to pull him on top of her. Robby had another idea though; rolling onto his back, he pulled her on top of him instead. 'Even better', Laura thought, as she reached down for his manhood. It took but a second for her to envelop him in her slippery steaming slit. When he was fully seated, she fell forward to get as much skin-to-skin contact as she could. Her lips found his and she kissed him with a passion she hadn't know existed four days ago. Robby lightly stroked her back, content just to be holding her. It was a perfect moment, the two of them joined in the most intimate way possible, in their own private little world. The quiet union was, however, metastable; in a short time, small quiet movements by one partner triggered quivers and shakes in the other until neither could resist sliding and thrusting. Slide and thrust turned into buck and howl as peace and quiet fled the scene.

They made mad love far into the night; Robby took her to undreamed of heights. She was shamelessly wanton with him as she eagerly lapped her juices off his face after he had tongued her to a roaring climax. She happily took his staff into her mouth and licked off their combined spend. She enjoyed her first sixty-nine, savoring the taste of his thick copious spending. Laura could not believe how much she liked pleasuring him with her mouth. She was an inexperienced but most willing student, determined to be as good a lover for him as he was for her.

The next day Robbie talked her into coming to his house to talk with his parents. She dreaded the thought of their reaction but knew it had to be done. True to their word, Carl and Louisa welcomed her warmly. They had always like her anyway and had been there for her after the accident. The two couples sat in the living room and worked out guidelines for the future. The discussion was honest, open, and at times, embarrassingly frank. In the end, they all agreed that Robby and Laura would split their time together between the two houses. School nights Robby would stay home; he could stay at Laura's on weekends. Laura would spend weekday evenings with the Davises if she wanted. The basic hard and fast rule was that school came first.

Laura helped Louise prepare Sunday dinner. It was awkward at first but the basic good natures of the women soon had them chatting and laughing. Robby and Carl sat in front of the television watching the Dolphins continue their mediocre season against the equally inept Jets. From time to time, Carl began to think about the reasons Robby and Laura were so attracted to each other, but the images of them together would steam his brain, so he forced himself to watch the game instead.

At dinner, they all talked about Robby's upcoming trip to New Orleans. His high school's band was performing at half time at the Sugar Bowl in the Super Dome. Robby played the snare drum for the marching band; strangely enough, he also played violin in the concert band. The band was flying out on a charter on the thirtieth, complements of Nokia, the game's sponsor. Robby had asked Laura to go, so she was taking off from work at noon on the thirtieth and catching a flight at three. The band's appearance at the event took on added significance because the game between Louisiana State University and the University of Oklahoma was for the national championship.

Laura landed in New Orleans at six-fifteen local time, Wednesday evening. She picked up her bags and caught the hotel's shuttle bus. She called Robby's cell phone from hers as soon as she was on the road. When she pulled up to the hotel at seven-thirty he was waiting for her at the curb. Laura flew off the bus and into his arms, they had been apart for fewer than twenty-four hours, but to Laura it felt as if it had been a week. Robby walked her into the lobby and stood by her as she checked in, then carried her bags to the elevator. They had the car to themselves for the ride to the fourteenth floor. They were in each other's arms as soon as the doors closed.

Laura had booked a nice room in the same hotel where Robby's band was staying. She had a small suite with a king-sized bed. The band and their chaperones were scattered throughout the hotel, two to a room, boys on one floor, girls on another. Robby's roommate was covering for him so Robby could stay with Laura. Laura opened the door of her suite and Robby followed her in. He put her bag on the bed, handed her a big white bathrobe, and told her to undress and put on the robe. While she gratefully stripped out of her business suit, he went to the bathroom. When he came out five minutes later, she was in the robe and unpacking the suitcase.

Robby took her hand and led her to the bathroom. Laura gasped as she went through the door. Half a dozen candles lighted the room, a vase of yellow roses was on the vanity, and the tub was full of bubbles. Robby took her robe and held her hand as she stepped into the tub. She sighed in satisfaction as the warm water enveloped her. Robby knelt by the tub with washcloth in hand and gently bathed away her arduous day.

"I think I'm going to keep you," Laura said dreamily.

"Good idea," Robby replied.

After bathing her, Robby lovingly dried her and slipped the robe back on her shoulders.

"We have dinner reservations at eight-thirty," he said.

Laura nodded and started dressing. It was just as exciting for Robby to watch her dress, as it was to watch her get naked. Laura was, by now, comfortable with him watching her. She enjoyed the unabashed adoration in his eyes as he watched her do girlie things. Laura slipped on a skirt and blouse, and took her long blonde hair out of the French braid she had worked and traveled in. Robby grinned when she opened a pack of smoky gray thigh-highs and sat on the bed rolling them up her slender legs. They made it to the restaurant with five minutes to spare. Dinner was intimate and romantic; Laura resisted the urge to pinch herself to see if she was dreaming.

A few of Robby's band mates came over to say hi to him. He introduced each to Laura, which is what they were angling for anyway. Everyone liked Robby and they were dying of curiosity to meet the beautiful woman he was dining with. Robby had a reputation as a lady's man; he had dated a lot but had never tied himself down to one girl until now. He was a hot topic of speculation among the females at school. He was a major stud and discreet to boot. Word was that, if you wanted primo loving without ruining your reputation, you looked up Rob Davis. Rumor also had it that Robby was even taking care of a couple of the teachers. Robby denied everything, of course, much to the displeasure of his male friends. If they were not getting any, they at least wanted to hear from someone who was.

Mr. Kelly, the head of the music department came to their table to say hello. Robby introduced Mr. Kelly to Laura with the explanation that Mr. Kelly was the one who had gotten them the prime tickets for the Benatar concert. Laura thanked Mr. Kelly profusely; she told him it was the best concert evening of her life. Mr. Kelly told her it was his pleasure then bid them good evening.

They were just finishing their meal when a very attractive young woman approached their table.

"Hello, Robert, how are you?" the woman said.

Laura's rotating rival radar came on to spin at full force, as she looked the woman up and down. She was in her mid to late twenties, tall, and had a spectacular figure. She had medium length auburn hair and green eyes. A nose a little too large kept her from being beautiful, but she was dangerously pretty. With that body, she must have been the stuff of many a horny student's fantasy.

"Hi, Miss Billings, I'm fine; this is my girlfriend, Laura. Laura, this is Miss Billings, my English teacher."

"I didn't know you had a girlfriend, Robert. Jenna Billings," the woman said, "pleased to meet you."

Laura thought she looked anything but genuinely pleased and the feeling was most definitely mutual. They exchanged awkward pleasantries for a few minutes then Jenna departed. Laura did not know what had gotten into her but she was suddenly almost insanely jealous; if she were a cat, her back would have arched and her hair would have fluffed straight up.

"I'll bet she teaches you more than conjugating verbs," Laura said caustically.

Robby cocked his eyebrow and said, "Relax, she's my friend; you are my girlfriend, big difference."

Laura could not let it go, "Maybe you need different friends. I don't like all of the ones I've met so far."

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Laura, good friends are hard to come by, I'm not giving them up on your whim."

"Whatever," she said petulantly, "I'm tired, I'll see you tomorrow."

Robby sat at the table in stunned silence as Laura stalked out of the restaurant. That was certainly not how he envisioned their evening ending. Robby paid the check and walked out of the place a few minutes after Laura's abrupt exit. His feelings had been hurt and he was irritated and displeased. If Laura could not handle the idea of another woman any better than this, she was in for some rough times if and when he ever told her any details of how he had learned to please a woman. Yes, he loved her more than anything, but she was not his only love. Robby shook his head ruefully and headed for the elevators. Jenna Billings watched him depart and timed it so that they arrived at the elevator at the same time.

They had the car to themselves so she put her arms around his neck, pressing her substantial breasts into his chest.

"I'm sorry if I caused you a problem, Rob; I was just curious," Jenna said.

Robby put his hands on the generous flare of her hips. His penis stiffened in his pants as he recalled the feel of her supple body without the cloth between them.

"It's okay, Jen, you didn't do anything wrong. I can't believe she picked up that we had been together so quickly, though."

Jenna laughed, "Women are born with a sixth sense about things like that, Rob. It's like we can smell our man's scent on another woman, no matter how long ago they were together. The question is -- what about you and me? Are you off the market now?"

"Yes, ma'am," he said. "If Laura still wants me, I am."

"Oh, she still wants you; you can bet on that. Meanwhile, I am going to stay out of her way; it is me she's mad at, not you," Jenna said.

Jenna rose on her toes and gave him a quick kiss as the elevator stopped at her floor. She was a chaperone for the girl band members who were housed on the floor below the boys' rooms. "Good luck," she said as she stepped out of the car.

In room 1407, Laura was mentally kicking herself. Her conduct had been monumentally stupid; Robby could not help having a past any more than she could. So what if he had other women before her, she knew with every fiber of her being, that he loved her. Plus, he had introduced her as his girlfriend, acknowledging their relationship in public. "Shity shit, shit, shit," she cursed, then put a hand over her mouth. Now she was even cussing, something she did about once a year. Her little outburst did make her feel better though. Now how was she going to fix this mess?

An hour later, Robby was lying on his bed, reading a brochure from the New Orleans Museum of Art and contemplating a visit to the new Besthoff Sculpture Garden when the phone rang. He was alone in the room so he answered it.

It was Laura. "Robby," she said in a small voice, "please come see me."