Chapter 10

Bill's flight back to San Luis Obispo arrived on schedule and he found himself more than eager to see Ashley. The short break opened his eyes to the realization of how important she had become to him. Their earlier weeks together had forged a bond that he couldn't have imagined would happen to him again. He thought, "Yeah, Ashley, you're in this alone."

She wore the same miniskirt and heels with a low, scooped neck. She thought, "He's going to get a good look at what he's been missing." Then, she saw him coming down the concourse and her heartbeat resounded in her head. She crowded to the exit and grabbed him as he came out of the exit gate.

He put his arm around her and held her close as they walked out to the baggage claim. He kissed her cheek and said, "My bag has rollers, so I can get it and we can walk to the parking lot."

She looked up at him, "I'm so glad to see you. I had no idea I could miss you this much."

"You haven't had an easy week, either. I wish it had all happened before I left. How's it going?"

"I felt awkward and awed by sitting in her office. It took a whole day to clear enough off her desk to see the wood. I found unpaid invoices, undeposited contribution checks, notices that we had to renew licenses. I mean, it was a mess."

"That wasn't your image of her, was it?"

"Not at all! I expected to find the pencils lined up in the holder, all facing the same direction. I haven't been in that office for months. It will take me forever to work out from the backlog and then there are the regular crises every day."

"How did you get so organized?"

"I was the treasurer of the sorority. I did such a bang-up job that they re-elected me. That was a real mess. Like, I had my fun and all that, but I worked my butt off getting that house in order." She stroked his face, "Then, I was kind of taken with this indifferent professor and spent a lot of my time scheming my next move."

"Scheming is in your genes. No way you spent time worrying about me when you had checks to write and reports to make."

She smiled up again, "OK. That was a little stretch. Just wanted to check if you were listening."

As they rolled the bag out to the car, he said, "Something is missing. Last time I came here, someone else was with us."

"If you're referring to that ill-behaved yapping dog of yours, he is at home. God knows I wouldn't take him out in public again."

"I'm going to tell him exactly what you said."

"Please! Please, don't! My life is rough enough. I can't stand it when he pouts."

"Told you not to spoil him. He knows that."

She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk and threw her arms around him. He hugged her close and kissed her. "God, it's good to see you, Ashley!"

They could hear Benny yapping hysterically when they pulled into the garage. She ran to open the door and Benny ran immediately around the yard twice before finding a suitable place to stop. Then he ran back to Ashley. She picked him up and then he saw Bill and wiggled excitedly until Ashley handed him over.

"I missed you, too, Benjamin. I was home without you and nobody to lie on my lap or my bed." He scratched ears and ran his fingers through the dog's hair. Benny was wiggling so much that Bill could barely hold him. Finally, he put Benny down to run around again. As they walked in the house, He carried his laptop to the office and rolled the suitcase to the bedroom.

Ashley said, "Unlike last time, I think we have time for a little playing before dinner. Would you like me to wash your back?"

"I feel in need of a shower after that long ride. Please get it clean for me." He admired her naked body as she prepared to step in the large shower.

As the water came on them form all angles, providing a fine mist, they soaped and caressed until each of them felt the need for the body oil. She applied his first and then he rubbed hers, using two applications.

She came to him and held her face up to kiss as the slippery, wet oil made their skin feel nothing short of magnificent. She wiggled her hips against him and he kneaded her butt until he could feel her excitement.

He said, "Let me dry you and we can continue our play on the bed."

She enjoyed the feeling of the towel against her oily skin and then dried him, making sure that his crotch received priority treatment. She said, "I thought about what you did with the ropes and whip before you went home. Maybe you could do that again sometime."

"Not today, but sometime in the near future. You looked beautiful in your helpless state and aroused me beyond belief."

"I feared for my life the first time, but later found it highly stimulating. It made me wet when I thought about it after you left."

"Maybe we can find some other toys, too."

After kissing and becoming totally reacquainted, their lovemaking was gentle and caring, saving the wild passion for another day. When they both felt completely sated, he pulled her to him against his belly and his arms around her.

She turned to him, "I missed this. You make me completely comfortable when you hold me like that."

He kissed her and said, "I felt like you had been cut from my body. Sleeping alone, after having you next to me, has absolutely nothing going for it."

The five days he spent in the Eastern Time zone caused him to awaken early. He carefully extracted her from his clutch and went to find coffee. Some days, he felt that the invention of the coffee pot with the automatic timer might have been one of life's greater inventions. Although it was too early for the automatic function to have occurred, he simply pushed the button and soon heard the gurgling and dripping, as another of life's great pleasures gradually came into being.

He filled the covered cup that he also considered to be a small miracle to keep his coffee hot and went in search of the paper. Benny was at the door waiting to go outside. He was again thrilled as the fog drifted in and out of the trees, making alternate light and dark patterns in the clouds. Back in the house, he sat on his throne and attacked the newspaper. Benny lay beside him apparently in a deep sleep.

He put the paper down and resumed the worrying that had been surfacing every day since he learned of his position in the competition for the job at Poly. He knew for sure that tomorrow, he would begin putting the finishing touches on his presentation to the faculty describing his most recent research. He knew that the presentation absolutely had to go well for them to consider him. He felt haunted by the idea that he had only one chance in three of being picked and was so deep in thought that his coffee became too cold to enjoy.

He realized that he was no good to himself and would be poor company when Ashley awakened, so he decided that he needed to run.

Bill ran down the hill and across by the golf course at a faster than usual pace trying to get control of his emotions and the anxiety of change coming in his life. After 45 minutes of brisk jogging, he felt much better as his last few hundred yards up the hill left him breathless and likely at his maximum safe heart rate. He opened the door to let Benny out and enjoyed walking around the yard as he cooled and returned to normal.

Ashley was sipping coffee at the counter when he came in. She greeted him warmly, "Morning, darling. Been out abusing your knees?"

He kissed her gently, "Yes. I needed to work out some tensions and anxieties."

She turned and put her head on his chest, "I guess you were working them out during the night. You have never been more restless. Is something wrong?"

"Not wrong. I've been thinking about all the changes we might go through and it's hard to put them aside."

"Tell me."

"Suddenly, the job at Poly looms heavily. I want it. I want to be here with you. I recognize that it doesn't matter how much I want it, that won't have anything to do with the faculty decision."

She stood and hugged him. "I felt so positive when you applied that I more or less assumed that you would get it. I mean, why wouldn't they hire you? You're the best."

"I appreciate your confidence, but I know the others. They could let us draw straws for the job and not go wrong. We each have strengths and good records."

Reality intruded on Ashley's positive thoughts as she weighed the impact of his assessment. She quickly realized that she might be the person moving to a new location. Although she agreed to move when he asked her, she knew that it would be a difficult time. What could she do with her parents' house? All of this flashed through her head in less than thirty seconds and she returned her attention to Bill.

"I'm beginning to understand your concern. I guess I figured that if I loved you, they would, too. I mean, I have never let myself think that you might not get it."

"I've been looking at the empty half of the glass, too. I have a good job and good situation and have never before been tempted to move. Some colleagues would tell me that I'm moving for the wrong reasons."

"Does that bother you?"

"No. Might have twenty years ago. Right now, I can move for any reason I choose and not have to justify it. I don't care how it looks on my vita."

"I didn't know how seriously you were taking it until right now. I thought you were being casual about it."

"The casual was a front to hide my potential disappointment. I don't want to be without you. That's what worries me."

Her tears came down her face and she kissed him. "You told me that you loved me, but I still thought I was out here all alone like I was before. Now, I'm beginning to understand your point as well." She stood back. 'I think I can even begin to believe that you love me, too."

"Believe it or not, but that's how I feel. I don't like being without you even for a week."

"Maybe we'd better get something to eat and get our heads back on. We can't let this worry us that much. Isn't healthy." She dabbed her eyes.

"Let's put on our jeans and go downtown for breakfast. I don't feel like cooking and I doubt that you do."

"Great idea. I know someone who will pout, though."

"Some days, I have to forget his problem and work on mine."

They found an old-fashioned breakfast place owned by a local family. Been serving the same menu for fifty years. As they ate, he said, "Tomorrow, I am redoing my presentation. I thought I'd just start over and try to come up with something new. That ought to keep me busy."

"With all of these questions that you raise, I almost feel like going in to work this afternoon, just to keep my mind focused. We're open seven days a week, you know."

"That's fine, if you want to. I have plenty of work to do. Maybe we can go to a movie later."

He kissed her seriously before she left for work. She said, "If you do more of that, I won't be able to leave. Maybe after the movie, we can play with each other."

He saw the leash. "Do you take him to work?"

"Of course. He has a special bed in my office. I mean, I couldn't leave him alone, could I?" She opened the door and Benny ran out to the car, eagerly waiting for her to open the door. She blew Bill a kiss and drove off.

That afternoon while she was away, he worked intensely on his research presentation. When Ashley returned several hours later, he was still unhappy with the results. She came to his office and looked at the screen with her head on his shoulder.

She stood and massaged his neck. "Come on, you have to be tired of that now. Get a fresh start tomorrow." She then licked where she had been rubbing.

'You're right. I am tired of it. Maybe I'll have better ideas tomorrow."

"Since neither of us probably felt like cooking, I stopped at the Chinese place and got the super sodium special. Let's get our drinks and then I can heat it up in a while."

He asked, "Did you get anything done?"

She snuggled closer to him on the couch as she said, "I managed to move some overdue papers to the out box. Then, a deputy sheriff brought a young woman with two children. I had to process them."