Chapter 20: A warm, wet, wrap

Our two nights and days in the hotel room were exhausting, but by Monday night I was looking forward to Karen's telephone call.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm making notes regarding the upcoming investors' meeting," I answered, knowing that I was giving her more detail than she wanted. Saying more about the investor's meeting would have been ignored.

"Am I disturbing you?"

"Not at all," I said, knowing what she wanted to hear. "I look forward to your calls."

"You do?"

"Hearing your sexy voice is almost as good as seeing your sexy body."

"Say what you really mean, Sammy. It's my sexy ass that you're talking about, isn't it?"

"Well, since you mention it."

"I shouldn't have let you do those things. You know I don't like it."

"I promise to not even look at your ass if you'll go to the wedding with me."

She abruptly ended the call, saying that she had to go inside. It rained most of Tuesday, and I was surprised when my phone rang at a quarter after nine.

"I hope you appreciate what I go through to hear your voice," she said, adding that she was sitting in her car to keep from getting wet.

"Does my voice affect you the way your voice affects me?"

"I can almost feel my bottom lip being pulled back and released when I hear your voice."

"Your voice gives me an erection."

"Oh, Sammy, must you be graphic? It makes me have visions of your penis just..."

"Just what?" I asked.

"Just before you decide that I'm ready. Sometimes I think I spend half my life on my back, waiting for you to put it in me."

"Is that what you're thinking about right now?"

"Hmmm."

"That's it. Do that again. It makes your voice explode with sex."

She laughed, but refused to say, 'Hmmm, ' for me. I attempted to tell her that Zelda was going to accompany Victor to Denver. "Her parents are professionals and he comes from a working class family," I said, thinking that she would see my point that opposite backgrounds attract.

"The rain is picking up. I've got to go in now," she said.

Why had I tried to give her insight into my job or my friends? It was the same with her. She never talked about her work. She didn't even want me to attend her softball practices. Hell, I'd never heard the first name of her ex-husband. It was becoming clear that all she wanted from me was a male companion for her son and a hard cock to satisfy her need for release. If she wasn't so fucking sexy, I'd tell her to stop calling. Wait, what was I thinking? Most guys would give their left nut for an arrangement like I have.

Aside from her mild curiosity with my attraction to other women, Karen had no interest in what I did when we were apart. I was looking forward to her Wednesday night phone call.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"I was just waiting for the phone to ring. Do you remember that girl who was talking to me at the tennis tournament?"

"Why? Did she call you?" she asked, letting alarm creep into her voice.

"No, I don't even know her name. Do you know it?"

"Why do you want to know her name?"

"She's a dead ringer for a competitor I'm negotiating with. They look so much alike that for a second, I thought she was Sandra Lynch."

"Sammy, can't we talk about something important?"

I laughed. "I know what you want to hear. You want to know why it takes me so long to make sure you're ready to receive my cock."

"Hmmm, I don't know why you make me wait so long. Can't you see desire in my eyes?"

"Come to the wedding with me, and I'll look into your eyes," I suggested, and knew immediately that I'd said the wrong thing. Karen wouldn't even consider attending Skip's and Laura's wedding. She offered so many excuses, that I began to wonder if she didn't want to be seen in public with me.

"I'm still recovering from last weekend. They're your friends, I wouldn't know anyone. I can't miss another softball practice. You go and have fun, I'll still be here when you get back," she said.

Was she embarrassed about being eight years older than me? No, she'd let me take her hand at the tennis tournament, and that was in a place where she knew everyone; she would be among strangers at the wedding.

I held out hope that she would change her mind until the last minute. Then, when I called to reserve a hotel room, they were fully booked for Friday night, and I had to settle for a hotel two blocks away. The wedding was scheduled for Saturday afternoon, and I planned to leave right after the reception so I didn't book a room for that night.

We talked on Thursday night. "Will there be any old flames there?"

"I don't think so."

"Come on, Sammy, I know you had girlfriends at school. Will any of them be there?"

"If you would change your mind about going, you would be able to meet my old girlfriends."

"How many will be there?"

"Is this just idle curiosity, or do I hear something else in your voice?"

"I've told you before that this is a physical attraction, nothing more. You're free to do as you please when we're not together."

"By the way, there's another wedding next weekend, but I promised Marcie that I'll be her date. You remember me telling you about Marcie, don't you?"

"Yes, I remember. Is Gary going to come by for Kevin on Sunday?"

"I'll call him now," I offered.

"Give me his number. I'll call and ask him to pick my son up both days, since you're going to be gone next week, too."

I gave her Gary's phone number, and she said goodbye without learning that I wasn't planning on sleeping with Marcie.

I left work early on Friday, drove for two hours, checked in at the hotel, and since I was to be an usher, I headed to the tux rental shop for a last minute fitting.

It took some time to find the church where the wedding was to take place. A wedding coordinator was the first person I saw, and after I gave her my name, she told me that she would go over my duties as soon as the third usher arrived.

Third usher? Who was the second one? That became clear as soon as I saw Charlie coming my way. We shook hands, and I asked him who the third usher was. He didn't know.

Our attention was drawn to the front of the church, where Skip and Laura were surrounded by a small group, some of whom I recognized. Naturally, Kent would be the best man, and Amy would be one of the bridesmaids. I spotted Debra and ... was that Megan standing next to her?

Charlie must have seen my jaw drop. "Didn't you know she would be here? She came to visit Deb and see the baby a couple of days ago."

"It's a long distance for someone to ... no, I didn't know. Who are those other people?" I asked, wanting to change the subject.

"They must be friends of Laura's."

"The other guy is Darien, Laura's brother; you must remember him from school?"

Charlie didn't respond to my question. He turned, and that made me turn to see Chase being greeted by the wedding coordinator. That answered our question about the third usher. I hadn't seen or heard from him since graduation, and after the way Megan and I left the block party, I wasn't looking forward to our reunion. He and Charlie shook hands, and then he offered his hand to me, smiling. Chase hadn't changed. He was still the affable, unflappable, natural salesman I'd been friends with at school.

The wedding coordinator quickly explained our duties to us. As far as I was concerned, "Seat the old farts down front so they can hear the ceremony," was the most meaningful part of her instructions.

Her counterpart was wrapping up his part of the practice, and the small group was breaking up. Laura looked jubilant as she and Skip rushed to greet us.

"Look, Skippy, it's the belly bracelet boys," Laura said, as she hugged me, and then Chase. I shook hands with Skip, and we laughed about how long it had been since we'd seen each other.

"Sammy, I want you to meet Nora," Laura said, pushing one of the bridesmaids into view. "You're to be her escort. She's my oldest friend, and I've warned her about you, so try to behave yourself."

I glanced at the rest of the group and saw Megan nodding at me, like she was acknowledging my presence. She was just as I remembered, stunning. Why wasn't she stepping forward to say that I was to be her escort? I felt other eyes on me as I returned her nod. There was nothing to do but to accept the responsibility that had been thrust upon me.

"I'm pleased to meet you," I said to Laura's oldest friend, and watched her give me the once over before her lips broke into a broad smile.

"I won't be any trouble," Nora said, making me peg her as a fun person.

Darien took charge and whisked the wedding party out of the church before I could say hello to Kent, Amy and Debra. Everyone seemed to know where we were going but me. We were in the parking lot before Darien told us that he would lead the way to the restaurant. "It's practically next door to the hotel, and there's plenty of parking," he said.

I opened the passenger door for Nora, and had to wait for her to decide to get in.

"Laura said you were rich, but this is outrageous. Was it a graduation gift? I know you didn't already earn enough to buy a new car."

Aside from a high forehead, she was a pretty girl. Her eyes matched her dark hair, and her mouth matched her saucy disposition.

"It's a ninety-three," I said, disregarding her question as to how I came by the car.

We were waiting for some of the other cars to join the procession when I spotted Chase holding a car door open for Megan. It was a dark sedan, obviously a rental. She looked comfortable with him. Was there something going on that I hadn't heard about? Nora interrupted my thought.

"I've heard everything about you, how you met Laura and Darien, how you introduced her to Skip, and how your pizza parties were the highlight of the week. I've even heard how you got that scar on your cheek. Tell me, Mr. Oldham, do you have a significant other?"

We were moving, and I paid attention to the car I was following until we were on the street. "You're way ahead of me. Tell me about yourself, Ms. Nora."

She turned in her seat, and I couldn't help but notice how her skirt was hiked up to show a small amount of thigh. "I was Darien's first girlfriend. We went steady until he and Laura went away to college. I stayed here, graduated from a local college two years ago, and work in my dad's mattress factory. Is there anything else you want to know?"

She probably wanted me to ask if there was a significant other, but I saw that as a trap. I would have to respond to the same question and right then, I didn't have an answer.

"I know everything I need to know about you. If not, all I have to do is look," I said, openly staring at the way her skirt was showing another two inches of her thigh. If she minded my taking notice, she didn't take any action to cover her leg.

Darien was right about there being an abundant amount of parking, and when we got inside it appeared that the entire restaurant had been reserved for the occasion.

Kent caught up with us, and he and Amy took seats across the table. Charlie and Debra were sitting midway down the table, opposite Skip and Laura, and next to Debra was Megan, with Chase seated next to her. I counted eighteen people in the party, including two older couples that turned out to be the parents of the bride and groom. First, Laura brought her parents around to be introduced to everyone, and she was soon followed by Skip and his parents. Both couples said they remembered meeting me in Pontiac, but I drew a blank.

Music was soon playing, and wine was flowing. I saw Chase and Megan get up and walk to the dance floor.

"May I have the honor of this dance?" I said to Nora.

"Why so formal?" she asked, as she let me help with her chair.

"Ah, you don't know as much about me as you think you do. I attended a military high school, and that's how we were taught to ask a girl to dance."

"Aren't military schools all male?"

"Yes, there were one hundred and sixty of us, all starving for female ... ah ... companionship, but just across the river there were one hundred and fifty young ladies, who ... ah ... while not starving, let's say they had healthy appetites for the likes of us."

Nora felt light in my arms, and the talk about Cromwell Military Academy had made me forget the reason I was on the dance floor.

"It's nice to see you, Sammy."

I would have recognized Megan's voice anywhere, in the middle of a thunderstorm, in the middle of the ocean, or in the middle of a bed.

"Hi, Megan, it's nice to see you, too. Have you met Nora?" I asked, feeling stupid. They were standing next to each other in the church. Of course they had met.

"We've met, but Nora hasn't met Chase," Megan said, and she proceeded to introduce them.

We continued to dance, but something didn't add up. Debra and Megan had transferred to Pontiac after Laura graduated. They'd only met once or twice when Laura came to visit Skip.

"How can Debra and Megan be bridesmaids?" I asked.

"They're not. Amy, Freda, and I are the bridesmaids. Debra's in the wedding party because she's married to Charlie. I don't know how Megan got invited because she's with Chase, I suppose."

"Who's Freda?"

"She's Darien's current girlfriend," Nora said, mockingly enouncing 'current.'

I was glad when the song ended. Anyway, the first course was being served. We ate pasta, drank wine, and told wild, exaggerated tales. Since nine of us were Pontiac College graduates, and Debra had attended the school until she became pregnant, we were entitled to dominate the conversation.

Many of the stories centered on me, from my Friday night pizza parties to the sale of hip huggers. I'm sure that Megan was just as relieved as I was when the subject changed. She'd only posed for the measurement photographs at my urging. I was also happy when nothing was said about our kiss at the block party after graduation, and running in the direction of my apartment.

The servers were pouring more wine, and delivering the main course, chicken. After the pasta, I wasn't very hungry, and was happy to accept Nora's invitation to dance. Several other couples had the same idea.

"Were Megan and Chase together at that school you attended?" she asked.

"It's a small school. We were all friends, but it appears that they've become close more recently."

"How do you feel about that?"

"What makes you think I feel one way or the other?"

"What do you take me for, Sammy? Anyone can see that you can't keep your eyes off of each other. You're looking at her, and she's looking at you."

"Maybe you should lay off the wine," I said, thinking that I should take my own advice.

Nora pressed her body to mine, and whispered, "I'm in room six twenty-four."

I didn't know what to say about her giving me her room number. Dessert and coffee was being served when we got back to the table. Kent and I brought each other up to date on our work and our tennis game. We didn't get into anything personal, such as when he and Amy were getting married or if I was dating. I was surprised that they knew that Victor and Zelda were still together, but they were unaware that she was going to accompany him to Denver for the summer.

"I wonder if Wendy knows," Amy said, and I informed Nora that Wendy was Kent's sister.

The party was winding down. Darien announced that our cars would be safe in the parking lot, as the restaurant owner was a friend of the family and we would be returning for the reception that was to follow the wedding. We said goodnight to Laura, who was going home with her parents, and left by the front door.

My hotel was two blocks in the other direction, but I felt obliged to accompany Nora to the front door of her hotel. The group now numbered fifteen boisterous members, and I heard talk of continuing the party as we walked the short distance. I waited until we were at the door before telling Nora that I wasn't going inside.