Getting Them Together

Welcome to my first piece for the public. I have written a few stories for a special friend, but those will always be for her.

I would like to express gratitude to the two people who edited this for me. LadyCibelle is a Literotica Volunteer Editor and moderator of the Editor's Forum on the Lit bulletin boards. The other editor is a friend who is a much better writer than me (though a lot more shy than me. About her writing, anyway.  ) Their tremendous insights helped turn an unreadable mess into something that I hope you find enjoyable.

Now for the disclaimers:

The story that follows is intended for adults. If you are a minor, or if explicit descriptions of sexual activity between consenting adults offends you, do not proceed further into the story.

The characters and events in the story that follows are completely the product of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons or events is purely coincidental. (However, if it resembles your life, congrats!!  )

While many of the events take place in a U.S. national park and many of the places and facilities described actually exist, nothing in this story should be taken to mean that the U.S. government, any of its agencies, officials, employees, volunteers, or contractors encourage, approve, or even tacitly condone sexual activity between freely consenting adults.

Also, this story takes place in a universe where STDs and unplanned pregnancies don't occur. That universe has nothing in common with this one. Practice safe sex, because STDs and unplanned pregnancies do exist in this universe.

Finally, if you are looking for a story where every character hops in to bed with every other character, or if you are looking for something that is 1% setup and 99% sex, keep looking. This ain't it.

Getting Them Together Chapter 1…

Alex Adams sat, stunned. He knew that this day would come, but nothing had prepared him for this. Everything that had happened since his wife left them eight years ago was easy compared to this. The years of serving as both father and mother; being the only soccer dad at his daughter Jill's games; keeping her grounded during the giddiness of her first crush, and consoling her during her first heartbreak; watching her mature into an intelligent and confident young woman; seeing her through high school and off to her first year of college. None of this had readied him for the announcement she made when she arrived home for her first Spring Break.

"Dad, I have met someone special, and we are going to move in together at school."

This is not what stunned Alex – he knew his daughter was an attractive woman now, with intensely green eyes, long red hair, and an athlete's toned body, kept that way by playing soccer throughout high school. She had discovered boys, and they her, years ago. He had met her boyfriends, and while no father ever truly likes or trusts his daughter's boyfriends, he had no real complaints about any of them. Jill was smart and responsible in her choices. Boyfriends were no exception. Alex trusted her judgment.

Alex knew that Jill's falling in love was inevitable. He just couldn't help worrying that this new development would move her focus away from her education.

It was Jill's next statement that was the stunner.

"We met during intramural soccer season, and became friends. It turns out she is from here in town, she was two years ahead of me in school. One thing led to another, and we started going out. Her name is Rachel, and she is in town visiting family during break…"

"Dad? Are you ok with this??...Dad??"

Alex's mind flashed through the years since his ex-wife left… facing the initial shock and denial… bottoming out when the divorce papers arrived in the mail…vowing to be both mom and dad for Jill…overcoming the loss together… watching her grow from his little girl into an intelligent, athletic, and caring young woman.

"Well, I am not 'not ok' with it, but I guess I am still digesting it all. For what it is worth, I just want you to be happy, and if Rachel is a part of that happiness, then it is alright with me. Invite her over for dinner tonight. I would like to meet her."

Alex and Jill were almost finished making dinner when the doorbell chimed a few minutes after 7. Jill went to the door while Alex pulled dinner out of the oven. He was putting the salad onto the dining room table when he heard steps behind him and turned to see his daughter standing next to a tall, lanky brunette with the sharpest blue eyes that he had ever seen. Those eyes and the rest of her pretty face were framed by shoulder-length hair. The jeans and a simple t-shirt she wore over an athletic body combined with her eyes made for a simple but stunning package. Alex could understand Jill's attraction to this beauty.

After the appropriate introductions, they sat down to dinner.

Most of the dinner conversation revolved around Rachel answering questions lobbed at her by Alex…talking about school, she was an electrical engineering major on an academic scholarship,...how she met his daughter--soccer field…how they were going to work out the practical considerations of them moving in together over the summer--Jill was staying at school to do a summer internship for her sociology studies…Rachel asking about Alex's work…when all was said and done, Alex couldn't help but be impressed with Rachel.

After clearing the table, Jill let her father know that she and Rachel were going to a movie, and that she should be home by midnight.

"That's fine, Jill, but don't forget to bring your jacket. It will be cool tonight."

Jill, being the bright daughter that she is, got the hint. "Ok dad. It's upstairs. I'll go find it and be right down," and scampered off to find her jacket.

Alex turned to find Rachel smiling at him. "You aren't comfortable with me dating your daughter, are you, Mr. Adams?"

"Well, I may be more comfortable with you than you realize – Jill brought home a few boyfriends during her high school years, and you are going to get the same speech that they got." Alex paused for a moment, and then went on. "Jill is a sweet and smart woman, and she makes responsible decisions. She has decided that you are special to her, and having met you, I can understand why. I respect her choice. However, please understand, she is still my baby girl, and as her father, I will always be protective of her. As long as you make her happy, you and I will get along just fine – but if you ever abuse or hurt her, you will answer to me for it. Is that clear?"

Her eyes widening, just slightly, Rachel replied "Umm, that is definitely clear. I can say…"

Alex interrupted gruffly. "Just don't forget what I said. Now, do you need any money for the movie, or a lift?"

"No, we're good. Thanks, though."

Alex turned toward the stairs. "Jill, have you found your jacket yet!?"

"Just found it dad! Be right down!"

After they left, Alex chuckled, pondering life's unexpected twists. Later, while reading in bed, he heard the front door open. He glanced at the clock. 11:40. Smiling, he closed his book, and turned out his light.

The next morning, Alex was in his home office fighting with his computer over its refusal to open up some tax return work for a client when the doorbell sounded. Expecting to find some neighborhood kids selling something, or maybe some Mormons doing their door-to-door routine, he was pleasantly surprised to find a pony-tailed brunette in denim shorts and a sleeveless blouse standing there with her hands on her hips. Even though she was probably in her late 30s, she had only put on a few pounds, and to use a cliché, the extra weight was "in all the right places". At 5'2", tops, 140, a 34D bust, and a well-rounded ass, she was the epitome of voluptuous.

As she raised her sunglasses, Alex immediately recognized those piercing blue eyes. He did not know the owner of this pair of eyes, but a set exactly like them took his daughter to the movies last night.

"Hi, can I help you?" he inquired politely.

The brunette blurted out "Did you threaten my daughter last night?!?"

"Excuse me?? What are you talking about? I haven't threatened anybody."

"My name is Gail, and Rachel is my daughter. She told me about your little conversation with her last night."

Comprehension fully arriving, Alex coolly replied "Nice to meet you Gail. Your daughter and I did talk, but I did not threaten her. I thought she was an engaging young woman. I just treated her the same way I would treat anybody who was dating my daughter. I expect that you and your husband may have given a similar speech one time or another."

"That's what she told me." Bursting into a radiant smile, Gail went on. "Actually, I want to thank you."

"Oh?"

"You were the first man in her life not to freak on her or leer at her for being who she is; instead, you were civil and polite. And fair. She was surprised by you. Actually, the word she used was 'floored'. I wanted to meet the person who could do that to her."

Alex then invited her in for coffee. Alex led the way to the kitchen, with Gail following behind, taking time to enjoy the view. He was average height, maybe 5' 11", and at 40 had the small spare tire around his middle that seemed to show up one morning around the same time at his daughter's tuition bills. Broad shoulders drew attention away from his middle and directed Gail's eyes upward to the curly brown hair that he kept closely trimmed. Combine all of that with the salt and pepper mustache and the amazing smile that he flashed to her at the front door, and he probably had more than a few of the neighborhood housewives panting after him.

Coffee turned into lunch as they spent the rest of the morning talking. Gail told him about getting pregnant during her senior year in high school with Rachel's older brother but finishing her diploma on time, marrying her husband one week after graduation, and then having Rachel a year later. Times were tough but good during those first few years, as she and ex-husband Nate struggled to raise a family and get a college education. The trouble started when all their struggles began to pay off. She and her husband finally found decent jobs. The problem was that her husband had the time and money to start drinking. Not just a little either. That started the spiral downward.

Then that fateful day four years ago. Her drunken husband went ballistic when their daughter announced that she was a lesbian. He told her she wasn't morally fit to be part of his family. She was disowned. He told her to leave. However, Gail surprised both her husband and daughter, and herself, when she told him to get out. She was done with him and the drinking and the yelling and the anger.

"Your husband or your daughter. That must have been a tough decision," ventured Alex.

"Not really. I really was sick of his drinking, and I was pretty sure that he was cheating on me. Turned out I was right – that hypocritical jerk moved right in with his secretary/drinking partner. The only really bad thing about the whole situation was that Rachel's older brother Randy was in a tough spot. He had to choose. He chose to live with his father, and to try to serve as a mediator. It didn't work. When he graduated high school the next year, he went straight into the Air Force. He finished up his enlistment and is going to college in Oregon now.

During the conversation, Alex found himself opening up to this woman, the mother of his daughter's girlfriend. He told her how one day eight years ago, his wife of a decade decided that their life together was not what she wanted for herself. Neither was their daughter. When Lynn left, she left their daughter, saying that she would send for her once she was established in her new life. However, after a few months of occasional phone calls, it became obvious to both Alex and Jill, even in their emotional daze, that they were on their own. After the divorce papers arrived in the mail, the only contact Jill had with her mother was the sporadic birthday and Christmas cards. Eventually, even those stopped coming. He also shared with Gail how he realized after the divorce how shattered Jill was by her mom's physical abandonment, and his emotional abandonment. At that point, he resolved to do whatever it took to help his daughter heal. In doing so, he started his own healing process.

"One of the things I changed at the time was my career path. I was in corporate America as a staff accountant for a huge manufacturing company. The money was good, but the hours were devastating. The time and attention that I gave my job was a big part of why my marriage failed. For too long, the job was more important to me than my family. So I quit and started my own practice. The money is just about as good, and I am able to spend more time with Jill. One of the biggest benefits is that I am able to work from home when I want. Though my computer doesn't always cooperate, like today."

"Let me take a look at it. I have a small consulting business where I help small businesses with their computer problems. My full-time job is in IT for the city, but I have found that a lot of small businesses need more support than your typical home user. The big computer companies expect their small customers to make due with phone or email support and that just isn't quite enough for business users. I meet a need and supplement my income pretty nicely."

Ten minutes and a few keystrokes later, the problem was solved.

Thus began a close friendship. Besides having their daughters as a connection, they began to refer business to each other – he had many clients that needed IT support with that human touch, and she knew many small businesses that needed some accounting help. With all of that in common, their relationship developed to the point where they spoke a few times per week, and even went out to lunch or dinner once a month or so. However, neither tried to take the relationship in a romantic direction – they were each seeing other people. Those relationships were pretty casual, but that was enough. Even though both thought the world of each other, neither really considered taking their friendship to another level.

The girls finished up that spring semester, and, as planned, Jill moved into Rachel's apartment over the summer. They visited their parents once during the summer, but Jill's internship helping a social worker at a school for homeless children took up most of her time. When she wasn't working and Rachel wasn't in summer classes, they haunted the quiet coffee shops, empty bike trails, and sparsely-attended art galleries that are the social scene of a college town during summer break.

Once the fall semester rolled around, the casual lunches between Gail and Alex continued. During one of them, he broached the idea of a combined vacation during the Christmas break. He suggested a snowmobile tour of Yellowstone National Park. Gail loved the idea.

Jill and Rachel loved the idea as well, and after working out the finances with Gail, Alex was given the green light to make the appropriate reservations. Within a day, Alex had booked them for a 2-day snowmobile tour of the park, complete with hotel reservations at the Snow Lodge and at a hotel in Jackson Hole. He even had the airline tickets booked.

The semester flew by, and before they knew it, the trip was upon them. They flew into Jackson Hole early Sunday afternoon. After checking in at their hotel, the foursome checked out some of the sights of the area, including the National Museum of Wildlife Art.

While Rachel and Jill lost themselves in the maze of the exhibits, Gail and Alex sipped coffee in the museum café, making small talk.

"It is so nice to be able to relax and forget about business for a few days," breathed Gail through the steam rising from her cup.

"Yes it is," replied Alex, "and this time of year is usually slow enough that none of our customers are going to miss us, either. They're as busy with the holidays as we are."

"And it is great to spend some time with Rachel," Gail enthused. "I haven't seen her this happy since before her father left us. Between that and losing some of her friends from school when it got around school about why he left, she became pretty introverted during high school. She ended up pouring her energies into her studies, and doing well enough to win her scholarship, but it was kind of lonely for her, and she didn't smile much. Jill has really been the light at the end of the tunnel for her."

"Jill handled the abandonment a little differently." Alex paused for a second, and then went on. "She became more of an extrovert. She played sports, worked on the school newspaper, visited homes of the elderly for a local charity, and maintained a wide circle of friends. In her case, she tried to fill the void that her mother's leaving tore into her, with so many other people that I was afraid that she would have problems in college. I mean, in high school, her natural intelligence was good enough to get decent grades, but college requires a lot more focus from students. My biggest worry with her involvement with Rachel was the possibility of her getting distracted from her studies. Apparently, though, Rachel has been a good influence on her."

Outside the café, unseen by their parents, Rachel and Jill stood watching their parents. Jill bent toward Rachel's ear and said "Goddamn, they are taking their sweet time about it."

Glancing at her, Rachel asked "what do you mean? They're waiting here for us."

Jill answered in a mildly exasperated tone, "I mean they are taking their sweet time about getting together. Don't they realize how right they are for each other?"

Understanding dawned on Rachel. "It really looks like that's where they are headed. Let them have some peace. I think you don't have to be Suzi Matchmaker here. Nature will take its course."

Her gaze straying to her lover's face, and seeing Jill's eyes narrowed and lips pursed, Rachel realized her advice was too late. "You already have a plan, don't you babe?"

"Nothing specific yet, but I will. Just go along with me when the opportunity comes."

Hand around Jill's hip, Rachel squeezed her close and kissed her ear. "You are so into seeing people are happy that you become a force of nature when you decide two people should be together. I wouldn't think of getting into your way. Now let's go get them. It's almost time for the sleigh ride through the Elk Refuge."

They arrived at the outfitters just after 6 the next morning to meet their guide, find the right snowsuits and have their sleds trailered to the edge of the park. All of their clothes and personal items had to be carried in on the back of the snowmobiles. Watching the girls try to pack three days worth of supplies into two saddlebags each was entertaining to Alex; to put it mildly. He helped out by giving them the space in his saddlebags, while he carried a backpack for his gear.

The four of them, Alex, Gail, Jill and Rachel, along with their tour guide J.C, were on four snowmobiles. This way if one of them became tired, they could ride double with someone else. They started out with Alex and Jill on one sled, and Gail and Rachel each on a separate sled.

The first day was exhausting yet exhilarating.

Entering Yellowstone at the south entrance, they had a nice 20 mile run to West Thumb Geyser Basin, on the western edge of Yellowstone Lake. The journey allowed them to get acclimated to both the weather and the snowmobiles. The highlight of that part of the tour was not one of the many wildlife and scenic photo opportunities; it was when they had to stop while a herd of twenty or so bison rested in the road. When the herd moved to the side of the road, they were able to sidle by them. The bison were close enough to touch as they went by, but none of the party was daring or stupid enough to try.