Chapter 8

"You're awake! I thought I could move away from you before you realized what I was doing. I'm more than happy to be here the way we are, if it's okay by you." Robert tried to move forward a little bit to get them even closer than they already were.

"I must have slipped my hand into your top during the night. I can't say that I'm entirely unhappy with that, though." He gave her breast a little squeeze before moving his fingers to tweak her nipple. Her sigh of contentment let him know that she didn't seem to mind.

"Actually, Robert, I undid a couple of buttons and put your hand in there about 10 minutes ago." She giggled and added, "I didn't think you'd mind."

The two of them lay there like that for a few more minutes, during which Robert discovered that she seemed to enjoy having her neck and ear nibbled on. Finally though, he knew he had to break their enjoyable connection.

"I hate to say this, Annie, but I really have to pee. How about you just stay where you are for a couple of minutes. I'll be right back." Robert carefully slid from under the covers and trotted to the bathroom.

When he came back a couple of minutes later disappointment flashed across his face the instant he discovered that Annie had gotten up and was removing clothing from a drawer, clothing she obviously intended to wear that day.

She looked up at him and laughed before saying, "Sorry, Robert. You had your chance, but you blew it. You made your choice, and now you'll have to live with it."

Robert had moved up beside her while she spoke, and he happened to notice that the gap in her partially opened pajama top gave him a clear view of the top of the scar that ran up her chest. The narrow white line contrasted slightly with the natural skin color of the area between her breasts. In a few seconds his stolen view disappeared when Annie straightened up.

He had quickly brushed his teeth while in the bathroom, hoping to spend some time kissing Annie before they got out of bed. Not yet fully agreeable to accepting her decision, he took her in his arms and leaned in to give her a kiss before she could object.

A few seconds later she broke it and said, "That's not fair; you brushed your teeth, and I haven't had a chance to do that yet. Give me a minute now to make a pit stop, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer she darted around Robert and quickly entered the bathroom. He noticed that she closed the door, but he didn't hear her lock it, despite paying close attention and waiting for the distinctive sound. When she returned the pajama top had been replaced by a blouse, and he could tell that she had put on a bra as well.

She moved quickly into his arms and said, "Now, where were we." She moved forward to kiss him and this time she quickly included her tongue in the action, something she had avoided just moments before.

When she broke the kiss Robert was a bit disappointed until she said," I ... I love you, Robert. Last night was like the fulfillment of an impossible dream. I never thought I would be able to be that close to a man again, and for most of yesterday I didn't believe that you would be that man. I'm so glad we took the time to talk last night."

"So am I, Annie, so am I. I truly never thought that I would find someone to love, and certainly not someone like you. You're beautiful, and intelligent, and being with you brings me such great joy." Robert finished his statement by leaning forward and giving Annie another short kiss.

When they broke their kiss Annie said, "You know, I'm starting to feel very hungry. How about we go down for brunch. It will take me a little while to get ready, so I should get started."

This time she leaned in for another kiss, and it turned out to be a longer one. As they separated she said, "I really do love you, Robert. That knowledge sort of snuck up on me. One day I just realized how much I enjoyed being with you, or hearing from you. Lately I had to start every day with sending you a message, or reading your latest one to me. Our phone calls became an added bonus."

"I feel the very same way, Annie. One day I enjoyed being with you, and the next day I realized I loved you. I just never thought you could ever feel the same way about me." He took her into his arms and just held her.

Their brunch that morning had been a leisurely affair. It seemed that after their barrier breaking talk of the night before everything had changed. They seemed to have a new level of comfort with each other. Neither of them seemed at all hesitant to speak their mind; neither one couched their language with phrases designed to protect their own feelings.

"I'm sort of looking forward to seeing how we do at the tables this afternoon, Annie. I know that yesterday between hands I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I could approach you on the subject of your emotional health. I don't think I really managed to learn anything about any of the other players at the table. The only reason I didn't do worse was that I was aggressive enough to take the blinds fairly often."

Annie laughed and replied, "I know just what you mean. I almost had myself convinced that you were looking at me as a 'practise', non-threatening, female relationship. Don't ask me how I got that idea; I probably couldn't explain it. It was the amalgamation of a bunch of crazy thoughts I was having."

Their comfort level continued to grow quickly. By the time they headed for the poker room they were comfortable holding hands where space permitted as they walked through the casino. Once again they were unable to get seats at the same table, and as Annie walked away in the direction of the table she had been assigned she turned, smiled, and finger waved at Robert. He replied in kind.

At quarter to six Annie and Robert met as had been prearranged and headed across the casino to the restaurant. As they walked down the glass enclosed hallway that formed the last 200 feet of it they could see Annie's parents coming across the parking lot to the main entrance. The four of them met just feet away from the maître d's station.

Robert had reserved a table earlier in the afternoon, so the four of them were quickly seated. Pleasantries had been exchanged and they were just about to get their menus when Annie and her mother decided to go together to the ladies room. Robert and Angus were left to their own devices, and they quickly began discussing the possibilities for the Minnesota Twins in this year's baseball season. They were still on that topic when the two ladies returned.

As Louise Sargent walked the last few steps to the table she quickened her pace, and sat down beside Robert before Annie could. She slid over beside Robert and gave him a hug before leaning towards him and whispering in his ear, "Annie tells me that you have helped her over one of her last remaining hurdles in getting past what happened to her. Thank you so much for that."

She moved back for a moment and then leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. She followed that with another whispered conversation saying, "She also told me that the two of you have been able to admit your feelings for each other. I'm really happy for you both."

It was at that point that Angus spoke up, feigning mild anger as he said, "Isn't it enough that you have won over my daughter? Now you have to set your sights on my wife?" He quickly laughed to let everyone know that he wasn't serious.

While Louise got up and Annie took her place Robert replied, "I'm tempted, Angus. It's easy to see where Annie gets her good looks. It's also nice to know what Annie will look like when she ... gets more mature." He laughed with the others. It was true though; excluding the fact that her mother had shorter hair with a touch of grey, the two of them shared a great similarity in their looks and figures.

After she had taken her seat beside her husband, Louise had a quick and private conversation with him as the two whispered back and forth. When it was over her Angus looked up at Robert and Annie and said, "My wife tells me that the two of you have decided that you're more than just friends. Congratulations to both of you."

The four of them had a leisurely supper, followed by coffee and two orders of bread pudding smothered in whiskey sauce, with each couple sharing one of them. By the time they were finished, Robert and Annie had converted her parents into fans of the dessert.

Just after eight o'clock Angus and Louise Sargent pulled out of the parking lot after having been accompanied to their car by Annie and Robert. The younger couple strolled back to the casino hand in hand, headed once again to the poker tables. They both had better luck in the afternoon than they had the previous evening, and both of them hoped that the trend would continue after supper.

That night they retuned to their room a bit earlier than the night before. It seemed that they were both anxious to get back to the privacy of their shared accommodation. Neither of them complained of being tired, but they quickly agreed that while Annie showered and got into her pajamas, Robert would quickly check his email account for any urgent customer requests.

By the time she emerged, dressed in her pajamas, Robert was standing by the door with his in his hand, ready to have his own shower.

He quickly had his shower, brushed his teeth, and dressed himself in his pajamas before coming back into the sleeping area. He was hoping that he and Annie would be able to spend some time together before going to sleep, but he wasn't quite expecting what met him as he entered the room.

Annie was in his bed, sitting up right in the middle, leaving him the choice of which side he wanted. "Hurry up Robert! You're wasting time! Don't you want to start where we left off?"

He quickly slid into the bed beside her, taking the side adjacent to the lamp. He decided to leave it on for the time being, hopeful of perhaps being able to see more of Annie. "Are you sure Annie? Do you need some time to fully digest everything that's happened in the last 24 hours? Are you sure there's no danger of us getting ahead of your comfort zone?"

Annie giggled and said, "Boy, are you ever full of questions." She reached over and took his hand before continuing, "I feel sure we can push those boundaries back a little more. If anything makes me uncomfortable, I'll let you know."

The two of them slid down under the covers and turned to face each other. Robert couldn't believe how comfortable he now felt with Annie, and leaned over to kiss her. She welcomed him with a slightly opened mouth and soon had her hand behind his head and was holding him in place.

It didn't take long before kissing wasn't quite enough for either of them, and they began exploring each other over their pajamas. Robert was able to slide his hand up under her pajama top, and traced her scars before finally concentrating on her breasts and nipples.

She had tensed up a little when he began touching her scars, but soon relaxed. Her own explorations ranged across his back and chest, before she finally made the decision to explore his butt. She was quite tentative, and seemed to intentionally steer clear of the front of his pants.

Robert was trying to mirror her explorations now, and was soon caressing her ass. When his fingers began to push the fabric into the crevice of her ass, getting near to her anus, he felt her tense up and her own hand froze where it was. He took that as a sign that he was in potentially dangerous territory, and quickly withdrew his hand, moving it back up under her pajama top.

After a few more minutes Robert shifted his position so that he could slide both of his hands under her top, enabling him to favor both of her breasts with equal attention. He didn't notice the little imperfections in her skin where the scars were located; instead he was losing himself in the moment.

He had moved one hand out of her top to begin undoing the buttons when Annie said, "I ... I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, Robert. I don't know if I can let you see my scars yet."

Robert stopped his task and said, "Let me finish undoing them. I won't open the front of it unless you say I can." He took her silence as agreement, and slowly finished undoing the buttons. Carefully he slid his hand under the fabric, trying not to disturb it, and then leaned forward to begin kissing her neck.

He slowly worked his way down to the top of her chest, kissing and nuzzling as he went, and when he reached the loose collar of her pajama top, he slowly pushed it down as he continued kissing her chest.

He took his time, and he could feel Annie slowly relax as he worked his way down. When his lips reached her nipple, she put her hands behind his head to hold him in place. She wasn't so much preventing his head from moving as she was keeping it in contact with her breast, and soon he was able to work his way down to the scar below her breast. After he kissed it from end to end he sat up and looked Annie in the eye. "Is it okay if I take your pajama top off now?"

Annie had started to breathe more quickly, and he could see that she was getting tense again. It seemed like she was on the verge of hyperventilating, so he added, "I'll shut the light off first, okay?" When she nodded her head he did just that.

With the light off Annie had relaxed again, and quickly helped him remove her pajama top before they returned to kissing and gentle fondling. Before too long they were back spooned together like they had been the night before, with Annie holding his hand to her breast. Despite the thick sexual tension in the air, they eventually drifted off to sleep.

Sunday morning Robert was awakened by movement in the bed, and was able to get his eyes opened in time to see Annie getting out of the far side of the bed, still wearing only her pajama bottoms. It was the first time he had seen her naked back, and she made sure that it was almost all he saw as she rushed into the bathroom with her pajama top in her hand. He caught a very quick glimpse of the profile of her chest as she turned the corner into the bathroom.