Chapter 30

I made it back to the house and pulled out Sophie's bra and blouse from my backpack. I carried them upstairs to the fourth floor, saw both girls were awake, and had their doors open. I stood between their doors and said, "I need some help."

Both girls came into the hall to see what I needed. I asked them, "I seem to have made a mess of some clothes. Are these things salvageable or do I need to replace them?"

Shawna said, "Britt, this is a nice blouse. What's on here?"

"Some cocktail sauce and maybe some barbecue sauce. The strawberry shortcake wasn't out before I took these off her."

"Let me have them. I'll try to get most of it out, but you should take them to the dry cleaners in the morning. She has some nice lingerie," Shawna mentioned as she inspected them.

Annie grinned and said, "She wore matching panties and they looked pretty hot as well."

"I knew a girl in college that worked at a lingerie store. I appreciate people who wear nice undies," I said.

"Well then you can pay to get them cleaned," Shawna told me.

"Thanks Shawna, can you drop them off for me?"

"So they'll think that I'm a slob?"

"Blame it on your boss."

"So they'll think that I'm a slut and not a slob?"

"You're right, I'm sorry. Annie, since it's your job to make sure that I don't look like a sloppy boss that hires sluts, can you take these in for me?"

"Britt, at times, you act as if you're an ass, but I'll take care of it. Remember this when it's time for my Christmas bonus," she complained jokingly.

"Write a note to Craig and explain what happened, so that he can make sure that he thinks about this when bonus time comes around," I suggested.

"I'd rather not tell Craig if that's all the same. I'll drop them off for you. When do you need them back?"

"As fast as they can clean them. That might be her only bra, and if so, I don't think we want to totally disrupt Washington while she jiggles around town."

"I'll tell them to put a rush on it."

"Thanks, Annie."

Shawna asked, "Who is this mystery woman?"

"Sophie is her name, but I don't know her," Annie said.

"Sophie from Senator Cranston's office? She's a hot looking lady, but she's probably 12 years older than you, Britt."

"I don't know who she is. I just met her at a barbecue and spilled some food on her by accident."

"I don't want to know anymore," Shawna said, turning to go back to her room.

Annie said, "I'll try to get the stains out and then drop them off in the morning. Since it's my job to protect your reputation, maybe I should come down to your room and you can tell me the entire story, so that we don't have any surprises."

"I'm fine with that, but I still have some developing to do before I go to bed."

"I'll clean this up and may come down later."

I went back to the basement, switched to eight by ten inch paper, and developed six different prints that were better than the rest and hung them to dry. It was after midnight when I climbed the stairs to bed and found Annie, already curled up and asleep beneath my covers. I brushed my teeth before climbing in behind her, and spooning close around her before falling asleep.

I woke at six thirty and snuggled against Annie, who was still asleep. Reluctantly, I pulled away from her, got out of bed, and took a leak before starting my push-ups. I was happy to have the full use of my shoulder back. Annie was awake and watching me as I finished and started my sit-ups. She pouted, "Come back to bed and make me happy."

I replied, "I'm going to run and swim, but if you want to drop off the dry cleaning and meet me at the gym, you can work out and then we can have some fun before you leave for work."

She wasn't happy, but had enough motivation to get out of bed and grab her workout clothes. It was only three miles to the gym, but I ran the long way, and ten miles later, I made it to the gym. Annie was working hard on an exercise bike and sweat was running down her face as I walked by. I went to the pool, swam a quick mile, and then dried and changed back into street clothes. I rode back home with Annie, and we went straight to bed where we had straight sex.

Annie had a real bad itch, so I had to work long and hard to reach the spots she needed me to reach, and then work on them for a while for her to get her relief. When she had enough, she thanked me for taking care of her. I kissed her and then flipped her over on to all fours, before taking her hard from behind. Annie was moaning, and I was holding her hips, as I worked at getting my release. By chance, I saw Shawna at the door to my room. Someday, I'll learn to close that thing. She was watching, so I waved her in.

I asked Shawna, "Are you going into the office now?"

"No, I'm going to get some breakfast."

"Annie and I are just finishing our second work out of the morning. It appears that you're getting lazy," I chided.

"I gave myself a workout if you must know," she smiled playfully.

"I think you may need supervision. Let me know next time, so I can watch."

Annie scolded us saying, "Can you two please wait until later? We're kind of busy at the moment."

I sped up my thrusts and then shot deep into Annie as she rocked back into me. Shawna smiled at me and waved as she left for the kitchen. I had a shower and threw on some jeans and a t-shirt before going down for my coffee. Annie had gone up to her room to change and met us in the kitchen. Shawna said that she knew of a congressman who needed a donation as things got tight in his re-election campaign, and I may want to stop by and meet with his chief of staff.

I told her to set up a meeting at four, and I'd be there. I went over to the club and things were looking good. I met with the manager and the chef and we talked about the goals and atmosphere that we were looking for; they were both on board and ready to get the place open. Annie had left the dry cleaning ticket for me and told me that I could pick it up after two.

I stopped for a shirt box at my tailors and ordered a couple more shirts. I took some tissue paper and lined the box. I put the photos in the bottom and then, after stopping at the dry cleaners, I put the bra in the box with the blouse on top. I had it tied up with a ribbon and stopped by Senator Cranston's office. I handed the box to the receptionist and asked her to give it to Sophie.

After dropping the box off, I went across the street to meet with Shawna. We then went to meet with the congressman's Chief of Staff. He was a Republican that lived to close to the ocean, and the state was turning more liberal with each election. He had a good record, but had an 'R' next to his name. I donated to his campaign and wished them luck before Shawna, and I left. The week was over, and she wanted to go out on the town.

We got home, and there was a message from Sophie to call her back.

The receptionist put me through. Sophie said, "Britt, you're a naughty boy. The receptionist stayed in the doorway to see what was in the box. I was reluctant to open it, but I finally took a peek and told her that it was a blouse. That somehow, mine had received a stain and you were kind enough to make sure to have it cleaned. She left and closed the door. When I lifted the shirt to see if the stain was out, I saw the bra and pictures underneath. I was so glad she was gone and I was so embarrassed."

"I bet you were, until you figured out how wet and excited you were, and then you jilled off until you came."

"Jilled off? I've never heard it called that, but I did, exactly what you said; right here in my chair, in my office. I think you're going to get me in a lot of trouble."

"I had fun last night as well. Maybe we can do it again sometime?"

"Maybe we can. Listen, I have to get back to work. Thank you for getting my clothes cleaned, I thought you'd just throw them away."

"You're welcome. Have a good night, Sophie."

Annie and Shawna wanted to go to happy hour, so we went out and hit a local bar. As we were drinking, we ran into some people the girls knew. When we finished with that bar, we went to another bar, that had some good pub food, so we relaxed a bit and drank some more. After, we went back to the house and changed into some different clothes, before calling a cab and meeting the same gang of people at a nightclub. We drank some more and danced. I met some new girls, and both Shawna and Annie danced with some guys. By the time midnight rolled around, I didn't know where either of the girls went.

I was dancing with Rhonda and Kelly, who I met at the first bar, and they met up with some of their friends. I was introduced to a hot girl named Daya, whose parents were both from India, but she was born here. She said that in her language, her name meant kindness. She was very petite, and stood just over five feet tall. We danced close and talked in each other's ears for a while. She worked at a law firm in town. As the night got later, we started to make out in a booth at the club; she was a good kisser and her body felt great.

She asked if I wanted to go somewhere more private, and I said that I'd like that. She told me that she had some roommates, but had her own room if I wanted to go to her place. I mentioned that I shared a house with some girls, and she said that she'd feel more comfortable at her house.

We didn't see any of her roommates between the front door and her room. Her room was small, with a bed, and a small desk with a chair tucked away in the corner. She led me to the chair, swiveling it round to the room, and said that she wanted to suck my cock. I helped her get my pants off and she pushed me to sit down before kneeling between my legs. Her blowjob technique was excellent, and she was incredibly active and into it. Her enthusiasm in part was because she liked the size and thickness of my cock and you'd think the way she worshiped it, that it was an idol. She bobbed her mouth and stroked it with her hands to give me one of the best blowjobs I had ever had.

I didn't last long, as she brought out sensations that I hadn't felt before, and I blasted into her mouth. She swallowed it all and licked her lips, looking up with a big smile and a sparkle in the eye. I told her, "That was fantastic," and stood to take her to the bed.

She pulled back hesitantly, and said, "Britt, I love to suck cock, and you have one of the most beautiful ones that I've ever seen. I love the power and feel of what I just did. However, I promised my mom that I'd be a virgin on my wedding day, so that's all we can do. I didn't mean to lead you on, but I promised, and I want to keep that promise."

I said, "I'm sorry, Daya. You're a very pretty girl and after what you just did, I want to do so much more. I respect you and I respect your promise. Can I at least return the favor for what you did for me?"

"I'm afraid that we'd get carried away," she said, biting her bottom lip.

I took her hands and promised, "I can get dressed first, and I won't do anything to make you uncomfortable. I'd feel better if I could do this for you."

"I'd really like that," she agreed. "Britt, I'm putting my trust in you, so please don't break my trust."

"Daya, I should know before we start, can I use my hands and fingers? What I mean is do I have to worry about breaking your hymen?"

"No, I took gymnastics as a girl and had a bad accident that took care of that. That was when my mom and I had the talk, and I made the promise."

I put my pants and shirt back on, before I helped her out of her dress. We went back to kissing and I slowly removed her underwear and bra. I had her lie back on the bed, and kissed down her body to her pussy. I proceeded to lick, and suck on her pussy lips; starting to use a finger, then two, inside her. I felt for and found her G-spot, and she went wild. She was screaming, and she was thrashing through her first orgasm; the door burst open and, unbeknownst to me, her roommate came in with a baseball bat in her hands.

Since I had not seen her roommate come in, I didn't know what was going on. I had heard Daya say "No, No," which caused me to immediately stop to see if she was OK. Then I felt the pain and hunched over to protect myself from a follow-up blow. I gradually looked behind me to see her roommate in only a pair of panties holding a bat over her head.

Daya said, "Joan, it's alright. I'm OK." I guess that Joan thought that I was hurting Daya and came to help.

I backed off and away from Daya to let Joan see that I wasn't a threat. The next thing I did was to sit down in a chair and hold my head. I was glad I had ordered some extra shirts, because after being tackled by Susan in New York and reinjuring my shoulder, and now here I was with blood coming from my head, running down to my collar. In addition to the injuries I had suffered, I had ruined two more shirts.

Joan dropped the bat and grabbed a towel from the bathroom to place on my head wound. Daya was getting up, and kept asking if I was OK. At that point, I felt alright, but I was feeling claustrophobic in the small room with two girls hovering over me. They led me out to the kitchen where they could see better, and I let them see the cut before returning the towel to my head so they could continue to put on pressure. Daya stayed while Joan went to get some clothes on, and then Joan stayed and apologized while Daya went to get dressed. I really didn't want to go to the hospital, so I just kept the towel on my head to stop the bleeding.

While we sat together, Daya told the story about being with a guy who started to get out of control. That past event was what caused Joan to overreact to the situation, thinking that I was trying to rape her friend. I told Daya that she was lucky to have the naked and female version of superman nearby to look out for her.

Eventually I got the bleeding to stop, and Joan insisted on driving me home and making sure that I made it to my room. I was not going to let her walk back out to her car alone, so I let her watch me get in the house from the car before she drove home.

When I looked at the clock, it was close to three-thirty. I wanted to get a glass of water so I could take some aspirin before I went to bed. I walked in to the kitchen, and I was surprised to find a guy in his underwear with his head in my refrigerator. When I made some noise he looked up, and I recognized him from the bar, but I didn't know if he was with Shawna or Annie. At that point, I was very glad that we had the special locks and frames installed on the expensive artwork.

He said, "Hey, do you live here?"

"I have the third floor. Where are you staying?" I questioned him back.

"I'm staying with Annie on the fourth floor."

"Are you staying the night or just taking a break?" I was being intrusive, but hell, it was his head in my fridge, and after the night I had I didn't care.

"Annie fell asleep. I did too, but I had to take a leak and needed something to drink."

"What did you want to drink?"

"I don't know. I was going to get some milk. Do you mind?"

I took my glass and got some ice and water from the door of the fridge. I handed him a glass from the cupboard and said, "Don't drink out of the carton."

I left him, but went up to the office on the second floor rather than my bedroom. As I sat at my desk, I took some aspirin out of the drawer, and took two, while I waited for lover boy to go back to bed. I guess that there were girls that can rob houses too. The girls and I needed to come up with some agreement. Although my head still hurt, I still gave the guy a brief wave, as he continued up to the fourth floor.

I made sure that anything important in my office was in a locked file cabinet or the safe before turning in. I slept off and on and woke up early. I took a shower, and while trying not to reopen the cut, used a washcloth to get the caked, dry blood out of my hair. By seven o'clock, I was wide-awake and up for good, and was downstairs making some coffee; I sat in the living room to read the paper.

By nine, it was still quiet, so I called to talk with Beth. Mary answered and we talked, and talked, and talked. She was in second grade now, and told me about her teacher Mrs. Fox and her friend Jody. She told me about their trips to the condo at the beach, and her new bathing suit. I learned about how good she was at skiing behind the boat. She then told me that she loved me, and missed me, and that her mom said that they might come up and see the museums and stuff.

I told her that I loved her back, missed her, and that I was looking forward to seeing her. I asked to talk to her mom and she said, "She's shopping. Do you want to talk to Daddy?"

John got on the phone, "Hey, John. How's things in Orlando?"

"Hey Britt, everything is good. Did you actually need me or were you just calling for Beth?" he asked.

"I was calling for Beth, but got the rundown on Mary's life instead."

"She asks about you all the time and when we say grace at dinner she blesses the food and blesses Britt. This call will be the highlight of her week."

"I guess that I need all the help I can get," I sighed.

"Is everything OK?"

"I got hit in the head with a baseball bat last night."

John sounded worried, and said, "Did you get in a fight?"

"No, the roommate of a girl I was with attacked me. The girl was having a screaming orgasm and the roommate thought that I was raping her, so she came in to save her friend and bashed my skull."

"Are you alright?"

"I got the bleeding stopped and took some aspirin. I feel better today," I said dismissively. "I was just checking in with Beth to see if there was anything new I needed to work on this weekend."

"I'll have her give you a call when she gets home. Oh, and by the way, keep a look out when you climb in bed with a girl," he chuckled at my misfortune.

"Let's just say that I had my face in a place that made it difficult to look over my shoulder at the same time."

I could hear John grinning, "No wonder she was screaming so loud."

If he was going to have fun then so was I, I thought. "Exactly. I bet you have to gag Beth, so that she doesn't wake the kids. I'd hate it if Mary hit you on the head with a bat for hurting her mommy."

"I'm not even going to respond to that. I'll tell Beth that you called. Talk to you later."

"Bye John."

I caught up on copies of the Wall Street Journal from the week, and I was almost done when Shawna and her man came down. She came into the room and said, "Good morning, Britt. Do you remember Jim from the bar yesterday?"

"Hi Jim, how are you this morning?"

"I'm doing great. This is a nice place you have here."

"Thanks, I like it."

They went into the kitchen for some coffee and stayed in there for a while. I turned on the TV and, after switching channels, I came to a college football preview show. I put my head on a pillow, and stretched out to watch the show. Shawna and Annie met in the entry of the house as Shawna was letting Jim out, and Annie was coming down the stairs and showing her guy to the door without the coffee.

Annie returned looking all smug and said, "I bet you didn't even know we had them here. It's not a big deal like you tried to make it out to be."

I looked at Shawna, but she did not look as confident about my reaction. I asked, "Did you notice a glass on your nightstand this morning, that wasn't there last night when you passed out? When you went into the kitchen, did you see your lover boy's lip marks on the milk jug that he was drinking from before I offered him a glass? Do you see the millions in artwork that you left alone, while you slept off some good sex? Do you see that you made your own rules, because I think that I only made one when I let you move in?"

I looked at Annie and shook my head, "After what happened last night, it might be that this just isn't going to work out. Do you think Susan will be upset if I tell her that we lost confidence in your ability to look out for our best interest, and we had to move on to someone that placed us first?"

Shawna said sadly, "I'm sorry Britt."

Annie was quiet, and she was looking at the floor. Her face was white and she didn't say anything. After waiting thirty seconds, I said, "Shawna, we need to figure out what to do, but it wasn't Jim that I ran into at three thirty this morning IN HIS UNDERWEAR, with his head in the refrigerator."

"I'm sorry," Annie finally managed.

"Are you sorry for bringing him home or getting caught? You should thank that girl who hit me with the baseball bat last night. If I didn't feel like shit, at three thirty this morning I might have kicked all four of you out of the house. Let's not continue this conversation, because I might not make a reasonable decision. Right now, I need to get away for a bit."

I got up and left. I went to my room and angrily, and hastily, packed my backpack. I walked out the front door and headed toward the Capitol. I caught a cab and had him take me out to the truck stop. It took a while and a hundred bucks, but I was there.

After I had some lunch, I went into the office to talk to the dispatch manager. She was very nice, and after I introduced myself, she found a ride for me and I took off. The driver that she was hooking me up with was around thirty, and she introduced me to him as a new guy heading to a different region. I talked to him a little, but mostly just tried to listen.

He told me about what driving a truck was all about and what the differences were between driving the old way and the Freedom Trucking way. He was happy with his new job, and the hours he was working these days. The pay was steady, and the benefits made him breathe easier when he went home to his family at night.

At the drop point, he got out and then headed back, in a different truck, towards Baltimore, while I stayed with the load. A new driver got in, he started heading out, and we started to talk. All told, he'd been driving for thirty years and he told me how lucky I was that I was starting now instead of under the old system. He talked about how well he felt they were running the company, and about how nice the trucks were that all he had to do was drive, that he could drop them off at the next stop, and let the yard maintain the trucks. At the turnaround point, he got out at the turn around, and again, I stayed with the load. Trucks were swapped and then I continued on the journey.

I got a new driver who had just made the turn and was heading home. He liked the hours and with his wife working, he could set up his schedule, so that someone was always home with the kids. The bank just approved them to buy their first home, and they were very excited. As we rolled into his home stop, he told me that I needed to get out. When I got out, I used the restroom and then stayed with the load. Before we started out though, they changed trucks because the schedule called for an oil change for the rig. I hopped in the new truck, pulling the same trailer and two hours later, at two AM, we pulled into Orlando. I called Doug, woke him up, asked him to come and get me. He blearily told me he was on his way.

It took him thirty minutes to get near where the I-4 and the turnpike intersected, but he found me having a cup of coffee and a waffle; I skipped the chicken. He slid in the booth across from me and asked how I was doing.

"I'm doing better now than I was fourteen hours ago. Although I still have both of my parents, I sometimes feel like you did when you lost yours. I'm mad, frustrated, lonely, and scared, and I had to get away before I did something that I might regret."

He ordered a cup of coffee and, as we drank, I related to him all the detailed crap required for the businesses, and how big a pain the entire project was becoming. I told him how all of this had overwhelmed me, and then I told him about Annie and walking in on her date.

"Do you know if anyone knows where you are Britt?" he asked me.

"Just you and me," I sighed.

"I'm going to call Beth. I'll bet her phone hasn't stopped ringing all day."

Although I wasn't trying to hurt anyone, I still felt guilty. I finished my waffle and then my coffee. When he returned, he stared at me, and said, "I've been ordered to take you to the office."

He told me that the next time I decided to disappear, to just call him; then he'd have a reason to come up and kick my ass. He asked me if I'd still be all right for the wedding. When he asked the question, I thought back to April's wedding, and the pain I went through for that. When we arrived at the office he didn't get out, but I could see the light on in the office or boathouse. I got out of Doug's car and went in, and I saw Beth. I told her that I was sorry.

She just wrapped her arms around me and said, "You're getting to the point where I may have to make you quit, or at least take a vacation. You're like a yo-yo with your emotions and it isn't good for you or anyone else."

"I'm sorry Beth. I'm trying to stay strong, and I don't mean to disappoint you, but as soon as I stand up, someone or something knocks me back down. The people I depend on let me down and the people who I love aren't around. I'm a grown man, but whichever way I turn, I feel like there are so many people depending on me."

"Britt, you're a very young man. I think that you're putting more pressure on yourself than anyone else involved in this project. Most of the time when I hear from the CEOs and investors, they're all tickled about how well things are coming together and how fast they're growing. I think that you need to slow down. You're not a lobbyist. You should only attend those meetings where they definitely need you, not all of them."

"Craig and all the CEOs have directors of marketing and advertising. You aren't qualified to run a marketing division. If it isn't broke, don't kill yourself trying to fix it, baby. I spoke to Shawna yesterday, and she was very sorry about what they did. It was several different factors; being drunk, horny, and a little bit rebellious. They're both worried sick about you."

"I knew that I was going to do something that I'd regret, so I packed and left. I was ready to throw something, punch someone, or do something drastic. Instead, I went out and got in a truck pulling a load of canned goods to Orlando, to get to people who cared about me. I met four drivers and listened to their stories about how the changes we've made are changing theirs, and their family's lives. It made me feel good about what we're doing and seemed to trivialize some of the crap that I was so upset about."

"I'm worried about you. I don't want you to have a heart attack or stroke because of the stress in your life. Is it true that someone hit you on the head with a bat?"

"I was trying to relieve some stress with a woman I met, but she was a virgin. She wanted to save herself, and I was in her room pleasing her orally, when her roommate heard her scream, and came in to save her friend."

Beth stood up and felt the knot on the back of my head. She started to cry and then we just moved together and held, and rocked each other. We moved together to lie down on the day bed and I held her, stroked her hair, and kissed the top of her head gently. We fell asleep fully clothed and slept for a couple of hours until the sun came streaming in and woke us.

She went to the small kitchen and started to get out the stuff for coffee. Beth changed her mind and said, "Come with me, I'll fix you breakfast at home."

I followed along with her to her house, it was just a block away, and she fixed coffee and then made batter for pancakes. John came out when he heard the noise and asked if everything was all right. I told him that I just needed a break from everything and had hopped a ride with some trucks heading this way. Beth was starting the pancakes, looked over at him, and said that I was fine, and he took that as enough information.

As I was sitting at the table with the paper open when I looked at the headlines, I had a real surprise. I smiled and said, "Beth, do you remember when I sent you your bonus earlier this year?"

"What was it? I have it pinned to my bulletin board, but I don't remember what it was."

"You don't remember your bonus? I got it in Las Vegas. It's a ticket for a bet on the Dodgers to win the World Series."

"When is the series?"

I held up the paper in front of her, and the headline read, "Dodgers beat the Yankees to win the Series."

"How much did I win?" she asked excitedly.

"Thirty to one," I answered, drawing it out.

"How much did I bet?"

I grinned at her, "A grand, so you won thirty grand."

She looked shocked, "I won thirty grand?"

"Is that enough of a bonus for you?"

"Yes," she beamed as she came over to give me a hug and a kiss.

Mary came trotting out in her little nightdress, and when she saw me, she jumped into my arms and sat facing me on my lap.

She was ecstatic, and said, "You do really miss me and love me! I can tell because you came to see me. I missed you too." She kissed my lips and hugged my neck, as she pulled the rest of her body to my chest.