We tried to call Sara when we changed planes at LAX, but we never got an answer. We tried again when we arrived in San Francisco. The line was busy, which was a good sign, but a different woman answered when I called a few minutes later.
“Hey,” I said, “who’s this?”
“Daphne. Who’s this?”
“Hey, Daphne! It’s Paul.”
“Paul…? Paul who?”
“Hughes. From Knoxville.”
“Knoxville? You sound like you’re in the next room.”
“We sort of are.” I explained about our layover.
“Oh. Okay. But… who’s ‘we’?”
“Sorry, I’m with Christy. You probably don’t remember her. Petite, blonde, bright blue eyes. She’s an artist.”
“Oh, her. Yeah, I remember her. She told people about Sara and me. She was nice to me after, though. She’s your girlfriend now?”
“Yeah. For about a month.” So much had happened that it seemed like longer, but we’d only been together—officially, at least—since Thanksgiving.
“She’s pretty,” Daphne said. “You should be happy with her.”
“I think so too. She’s… amazing.”
Christy herself blushed.
“Anyway,” I said to Daphne, “we were hoping to get together with Sara.
And you, of course.”
She fell silent, and I could imagine her trying to come up with an excuse.
“Sara isn’t here,” she said at last. “She’s working today. And… um… now maybe isn’t the best time.”
I heard something in her voice, and Christy’s hopeful expression fell as she read my own disappointment.
“You broke up?” I said to Daphne.
“Yeah. Did Sara tell you?”
“No, but we talked about it before the holidays.”
“Oh.”
“I’m sorry. For both of you. But you’ll survive. And… she told me about Austin.”
“She did?”
“Yeah. She wants you to be happy. So do I, for that matter.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Just say thank you. You deserve to be happy. As long as Austin treats you right.”
“He does.”
“Good. Don’t stick around if he doesn’t. Just tell Sara or me and we’ll kick his ass.”
She laughed, but I could imagine her sad smile.
“I mean it,” I said.
“Thank you. That means a lot.”
“I know. Okay, let’s talk about Sara. D’you know when she’ll be back?”
“No, sorry. She’s doing something for her gallery friend. She said I could come by while she was out and… pick up the rest of my things.”
“Ah, okay. I understand. Do you mind leaving her a note?”
“Not at all.”
“Tell her we’re sorry we missed her. Our flight to San Francisco was a last-minute thing. We’ll be here for another couple of hours, but—”
“Slow down. I can’t write that fast.”
“Sorry. Just tell her we love her and we’ll call when we get home to Knoxville.”
“Okay. And… thanks.”
“For what?”
“For caring. Sara needs a friend like you, a guy she can trust.”
“I know. You can trust me too. You know that, right? If you ever need anything—and I mean anything—just ask. Things didn’t work out between us, but I’ll always care about you.”
“Thanks, Paul. That means a lot.”
The silence threatened to draw out, so I said, “Hey, it was good talking to you.”
“It was good talking to you too.”
“And I hope you’re happy with Austin. You deserve a guy who treats you right.”
“Thank you.”
“Well, I’d better let you go. Take care, Daphne.”
“You too, Paul. I’ll leave the note for Sara. Sorry you missed her.”
“That’s all right. Like I said, it was a last-minute thing.”
“Okay. Well… goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” I hung up and sighed.
“What’s the matter?” Christy asked.
I thought about it for a long moment. “I don’t know if I can explain. I just… want her to be happy.”
“Daphne?”
“Yeah. The world really screwed her over, but instead of becoming stronger, like Sara, she built walls to protect herself and then retreated behind them.”
“I know what you mean.”
“And I’d like to find all the guys who did this to her and beat the shit out of them.”
“Now you sound like Rich.”
I shot her a rueful look. “He and I are more alike than I wanna admit.”
“I think you are. And that’s another reason I’m attracted to you.”
My eyebrows twitched toward the ceiling.
“You’re like all my brothers rolled into one: ambitious like Harry, smart like James, funny like Danny, protective like Rich, and happy like Laurie.
But…” Her blue eyes flashed. “I can do things with you.”
“Naughty things?”
“Very naughty.”
We arrived in Atlanta a little before midnight. It was only nine o’clock as far as our bodies were concerned, but we’d been traveling all day. And we still had a three-hour drive before we reached Knoxville and our own beds.
“Back to the real world,” Christy said as we hauled our luggage and skis out to long-term parking.
“Yep, no more skiing and hot tubs.”
“No more other things either.”
I glanced at her sideways. “Oh? Are you breaking up with me?”
“No, of course not.”
“Good. ’Cause I was hoping for some ‘other things’ in the car.”
She rolled her eyes but then looked startled. “Oh my gosh, you’re serious!”
“Darn straight. It’s been more than thirty-six hours.”
“Haven’t you…?”
“Are you kidding?” I set down the suitcases and opened the Cruiser’s tailgate. “I jerked off this morning in the shower. You?”
“If you must know… in bed.”
I began tossing our bags into the back. “Last night or this morning?”
“Um… both.”
“I thought you were a little too relaxed at breakfast,” I laughed.
“For your information, I normally don’t discuss my personal habits with strange men.”
“But you’ll make an exception for me?”
“Maybe. It depends.”
I closed the tailgate and unlocked the passenger door. Then I walked around to the driver’s side and climbed in. Christy took off her coat and gloves, while I waited for the engine to warm up a little before I turned the heater to high.
“Depends on what?” I said. “I mean, I have a vested interest in your happiness. I need to know these things.”
She scoffed. “You need to know when I… you know?”
“Of course. If you aren’t doing it enough, I need to tease you more. If you’re doing it too much, I need to spend more time taking care of you. It’s a delicate balance,” I deadpanned.
“I shouldn’t be doing it at all.”
“That’s crap and you know it. Everyone masturbates.”
“Still, I feel guilty for doing it.”
“Why? You don’t feel guilty when we do things together.”
“That’s different. Men and woman are supposed to… uh… please each other.”
“Speaking of which…” I unzipped my pants and reached inside.
“What’re you doing? We’re in public!”
“We’re in a deserted parking lot in the middle of the night.” I extracted my manhood and waved it at her.
“I can’t. What if someone sees?”
“Who’s going to see? Besides, even if someone does, they’re only going to see me. You’ll be out of view. Come over here.” I put some steel in my voice. “Now.”
She jumped as if I’d pinched her. “Yes, sir.”
I guided her head into my lap and sighed as she began kissing my semi-hard cock. She forgot her objections once she took me in her mouth and began sucking, so I settled back to enjoy myself.
After a few minutes of mindless bliss, I pulled up her dress. She was wearing stockings and a garter belt over dark satin panties. She wore them because she enjoyed how they made her feel, and I wholeheartedly supported the idea.
I caressed her firm little butt through her panties. She moaned deep in her throat, so I gave her a light swat. I followed it with a firmer one, which prompted another moan. She flinched when I smacked her even harder, but she didn’t stop sucking.