Chapter 18

STEVE -- Wednesday, JUNE 7 1961

Sandy and I drove off at the same time; soon I was back in the test cell about to make my first run of the evening. Sarah had fixed the problem I'd found with the simulator last night, and I continued with the debugging of my program. I got to a point where I was stymied; I knew the program was right, but it was missing one of the branches half of the time. I finally pulled out the tables of the hardware code points for the fields of the control words, and looked carefully at the machine code for the instruction that was failing. I was astounded when I realized that there was an error in the assembler! I made a note of it for Sarah, and continued working on other parts of my program. Aside from the time wasted because of the assembler bug, I had a productive night. Tired, but happy, I drove back to the motel and called Sandy at home. When I started telling her about my experiences, she said, "Oh, Steve! I can tell just from listening to you that it went well."

I said, "Yes, I think I'm getting the hang of programming this thing, and even debugging the stuff. I still have a long way to go, but this will give me an excellent head start with the acceptance test as well as my real application."

We talked a moment or two longer, exchanging loving words, until she said, "Steve, I have to run now. Sleep well, my Tigger. I'll call you this evening."

Again, I slept very well Thursday, waking up only for a quick lunch. I was half-awake when Sandy called, telling me, "I'll be there in ten minutes, dear one! Unlock your door now, and I'll come in and wake you with a kiss. We have some catching up to do."

What a delightful prospect. I quickly unlocked the door, and then lay down on the bed. I must have dozed off again, because the next thing I knew, Sandy was beside me, kissing me over and over as she started undoing my shirt. That was a very pleasant and very effective way to wake me up. I retaliated by removing her blouse and her bra, and caressing the sides of her breasts. When I moved a hand and touched a nipple, she moaned, "Steve! Oh, Steve, YES!" and then jumped up, pulling me up with her. Quickly we shed the rest of our clothes, and then I hugged her bare body to mine, trying to touch every inch of her with my own body. She pushed me back onto the bed, and jumped on top of me, holding herself up with her arms. I reached up and put my hands on her nipples, rubbing very gently around them. She moaned more, and quickly lowered herself onto my erection. I continued to cup and caress her breasts, as she started slowly and gently raising and lowering her body. I was in heaven! I groaned, "Sandy! Dear Kitten!" as I felt her pick up the pace. When I tweaked a nipple, it drove her into a frenzy and a shuddering climax, which triggered my own release.

We luxuriated in the afterglow, whispering, "I love you" to each other, over and over. Finally, Sandy asked me, "How long do you think you'll be staying?"

"I was told that I won't be able to use the machine after next Tuesday; they have promised the time starting Wednesday night to another customer. I'm not sure whether there is going to be any time over the weekend, but even if there is, I can definitely stay until sometime Wednesday in clear conscience."

She said, "I spoke with Sarah today. She made it pretty clear there wouldn't be any time this weekend. She also said that she'd fixed the assembler bug. In the process of checking it over, she found and fixed two more similar problems."

I said, "If there's no machine time over the weekend, we'll just have to figure out something else to do."

Sandy gently batted me on the arm, and then said, "I have an idea. I'll call out and order a pizza. In a few minutes, we can quickly slip into some clothes, and bring it and some sodas back here. This will give us more time here for each other and that shower I promised you we would take tonight."

I said, "That all sounds very good."

Sandy called in the order, and we returned to the bed, holding and touching each other for a while longer.

The pizza was good, but what was better was that Sandy and I were sitting next to each other with no clothes on, eating pizza. I was eating a wedge, when she reached over and ran her hands all over my back and my chest. I finished my slice, noticing that Sandy had started on another piece, and retaliated, running my fingers up and down the sides of her lovely boobs. She put her pizza down for a minute, kissed me hard, and said, "Let's finish this now; it's not going to be anywhere near as good cold. Then I'll finish with you."

We quickly ate the last of the pizza. Sandy stood up and pulled me up, hugged and kissed me fiercely, and pulled me onto the bed. She was a wildcat, with her hands all over me, making up for the lost time earlier in the week. Naturally, I responded in kind. I looked into her wonderfully warm and loving eyes, saying, "Sandy, my Kitten, I love you so very much!" She moaned, "Steve, Steve! Oh, my love..." As we continued touching each other, our skin quivered and tingled when we touched each other. We gently caressed each other, murmuring incoherently. It was so wonderful! Finally, neither of us could wait any longer, and I slowly pushed into her. Things just got even more wonderful after that.

Finally, we slowly tumbled down the slope, holding each other very close, giving each other quick loving kisses all over. Sandy was radiant, and I'm sure she saw the love in my eyes. I said, "Sandy, dear, I want this to go on forever, but there's that shower that we owe each other. I want us to have enough time to do a good job of washing each other."

She said, lazily, "Mmmm, Steve, this was so good! I get to wash you first."

We had a long tender shower, ending up by carefully drying each other off. Reluctantly, after one last hug, I pulled on a fresh pair of jeans and a clean shirt while Sandy put her clothes back on. Before I opened the door, I hugged her again, saying, "I'll call you in the morning again. Good night, dear love."

"I'll be looking forward to that call. I hope you have a good productive session on the machine tonight."

After one more kiss, we left, again driving off in opposite directions.

I had a very good session with the simulator that night, except that the other group using the machine was slow to give it up for my last session. With the assembler bug fixed, I reran the part of the program that it had impacted, and it ran perfectly. I still had a lot to do before my testing would be finished, but it was going faster now than it had at first. I was making a number of changes to my program based on having worked with it for several nights now. The programming techniques that I had refined during the week didn't hurt, either.

Friday was a repeat of the previous day. I called Sandy in the morning, slept through the day, and she woke me up with a phone call when she was about to leave work. She said, "Mom insisted that you come for an early dinner tonight. Get dressed now, and I'll drive us to my house. We'll be done in plenty of time for me to drive you back to your room for something special."

I didn't quite know what she had in mind, but I was waiting at my door by the time she drove up. I got in her car, gave her a warm kiss, and we drove off. Sheila had made my favorite stew, and I had to admit that it was good to have some home-cooked food for a change. Sandy went up to her room for a moment, and soon reappeared with a suitcase, telling me, "I'm staying in your room tonight and until you leave, so I can be there to start off our weekend together."

That sounded good to me. When we got to my room, Sandy took her bag into the bathroom as she told me, "OK, Tigger, off with the clothes! Sit on the bed and wait for me."

I quickly complied, and turned the lights down just before Sandy emerged. She had on a short, filmy negligée that made her lovely body look incredibly exciting and desirable. As she came slowly towards me, she turned gracefully, giving me a different, equally beautiful view through the translucent fabric. I rose, and moved to where I was almost touching her. She must have put on some perfume, because there was a subtle scent that complemented her beauty. I slowly reached out one hand and gently touched her face, saying, "Sandy, you are so beautiful, so lovely!"

She murmured something to me, and then, as I ran my fingertips lightly down and around her body, she started to moan quietly. I maintained the lightest touch possible, and I could feel her skin shimmer under my fingertips. I brushed her lips with mine very lightly and gently, and she put her fingertips on my body, causing me to tingle with delight from her touch, which was even lighter than mine. I moaned, "Oh, Sandy!" and continued with my gentle caresses, slowly moving towards her nipples and the magic spot between her legs. As I did, I could feel her body respond until it finally got too much for her. Finally, she cried out, "Tigger! I can't take this much longer! I need you, NOW!"

I took her hand and led her to the bed, gently laying her down on her back. I got on my hands and knees, raised myself above her, and continued tormenting her with my fingertips. Finally I slipped one hand under the thin garment, and touched her nipple while burying my face in the perfume in her hair. By now she was constantly moaning and thrashing, until she suddenly started to tense up and quiver all over. I knew what was coming, and quickly but gently entered her. We rapidly drove each other to a stupendous climax that left us almost limp. We held each other tenderly, still gently caressing. All I could say was, "Sandy! Sandy! Sandy!" as she was making some very happy noises.

We held each other for a long time, until I happened to see the clock. I turned to her, saying, "Dear Kitten, if we want to shower together, we'd better do it right now.

She said, dreamily, "Steve! That was so special. I don't want to get out of bed, but I don't want either of us to have to shower alone." We managed to pull ourselves up and into the shower. As usual, we washed each other, gently and tenderly, although I hated to wash the lingering scent of her perfume off of her skin.

As I was pulling on my clothes, she said, "I'm going in to my office for a few hours. I can do some work on my test plan and make better progress than I can with all the interruptions and stupid meetings that keep breaking my train of thought during the day. If you give me your key, I'll come back while you're still working and sleep a little bit. That way I'll still be able to sleep some more after you get back. I'll leave the door unlocked for you."

What she said made sense to me. I knew that if she had been sleeping all night, I'd want to stay awake with her, and would end up grouchy and exhausted. This way we could sleep for a while during the day, and not be too tired to go out for dinner Saturday evening. We agreed that we would go for a long hike Sunday if the weather remained decent.

We left the room, sharing one last kiss, as we both drove down to IBM. I had another productive session in the test cell, and knew that I would be in good shape after my last two sessions Monday and Tuesday.

I hurried back to the room and went in. Sandy was asleep, and I didn't want to wake her quite yet. I sat in the chair, thinking of my good fortune in having met this wonderful person. She looked so lovely with her head on the pillow. I must have made some noise, because she woke up, asking me, in a sleepy voice, "How long have you been here, dear?"

"Just a few minutes. When did you get back in and get to sleep?"

She sighed, saying, "Not until sometime after two-thirty. I was writing furiously and lost track of time. Come to bed, dear Tigger!"

I walked over and kissed her. Then I quickly shed my clothes, had a quick wash, and joined her in bed, putting my arms around her. It was quite a while before we fell asleep.

I woke up sometime in the afternoon, and realized that Sandy wasn't next to me. I looked around the room, and saw her sitting, stark naked, at the table with a folder of papers, writing on a lined pad. Somehow she sensed that I had woken up, and put her pen down, saying, "Steve, you seem to have slept well."

"Yes, but now I'm starving!"

"I am, too. Let's put some clothes on and get a snack that will hold us until I take you out for dinner tonight. By the way, it's your choice where we go."

"Are you up for a drive? Someone told me that the Bear Mountain Inn, down across the river from Peekskill, has an excellent buffet dinner. Does that sound nice?"

"I've never been there, but several people have told me that it's very good. They even have a band, and we can dance after dinner."

"I'd love to dance with you, but I hope I don't mash your feet before the evening is done. I know you are so much lovelier than any of the partners I had when I took lessons back my first year of high school."

We went out for a snack, and swung by Sandy's house for her to get different shoes and a better dress for dinner, returning to the motel well before five. Sandy had made a reservation for around eight, so we had more time for some tender delights and a quick shower before we had to leave at seven.

SANDY -- Saturday, June 10, 1961

I was still tingling with delight from our lovemaking sessions, especially last night when Steve had so deliciously tormented me with his fingertips. He let me drive his car to Bear Mountain, and we had a feast from the buffet. The high point was a huge bowl of shrimp in the middle of the buffet, and by the time we had finished off large plates of that, we barely had room for the main course. Since Steve didn't have to work nights for another couple of days, we shared a bottle of wine.

When the band started playing a slow song, Steve took my hand and led me to the dance floor. Dreamily, we danced along to the music, holding each other as I rested my head on his shoulder. What he lacked in experience he more than made up for with his thoughtfulness and caring. That, along with the closeness, made it wonderful for us.