Los Cinco Hermanos Ch. 12

"Say goodnight, Elizabeth," he told me.

"Goodnight, Elizabeth," I repeated and he carried me to my room, laying me on the bed and getting a warm washcloth to remove most of the remaining juices from my skin.

"So you don't sleep so sticky," he informed me.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" I asked. I really hoped I wasn't sounding demanding.

"Of course," he smiled. "Just give me a few to finish up some stuff. You want a nightcap?"

"An Irish Cream over ice, if I'm still awake," I told him. He left to do whatever he was going to do and I settled in. The Sandman was beating me to death.

"I understand you ordered this, ma'am?" Cassie's voice came from the doorway some indeterminate time later. She walked in with my Irish Cream, adding "Dave will be along in a minute. Scoot in. I want to say something to you."

I wasn't sure what scooting in had to do with talking, but she showed me soon thereafter. She crawled in bed with me, both of us naked and mostly cleaned up, and she wrapped her arms around me in a most marvelous hug. She looked at me with those emerald eyes and I just got lost in them.

"You are a special woman, Elizabeth Stoner," she told me softly and it felt like her words were echoing in every cell in my body. "I am very glad you came into my life. And my brother's. And, hell, everybody else's. I do hope you'll return and I do hope we'll have time to get to know each other properly. You were the perfect companion to pick me up at the airport and listen to me as I tried to rein in the chaos. I appreciate that time together in the car more than you will ever know. And to steal from Rocky Horror... 'and by night you're one hell of a lover!'... wow!"

"You asked if I was using sex as an escape, and I told you no. And I don't. But I do use my brother's love for me as an anchor in the storm and it does come with a sexual side. That isn't exactly an escape, but it is a safe harbor, a retreat from all the craziness out there. And I'm sure it sounds strange that to jump into a bunch of crazy sex is shelter from the crazy world, but it is. For me, anyway. And tonight, I felt like I connected with something in you that is good, and warm, and caring, and precious."

"So, thank you. I know the words don't cut it, but thank you."

I didn't wait for her. I leaned in and kissed her, gentle and caring and comforting and long... Dave walked in as we were breaking it.

"Oh, sorry," he told us. "I'll come back later."

"The hell you will!" I told him. "Get your ass back here, Sailor! You have a duty to perform."

"Both of you?" He almost seemed anxious.

"Don't worry about it, Sailor," Cassie smiled, getting out of bed. "I'm done here. Jerry's waiting for me. Guess I'll see you guys at breakfast."

"Aye-aye, ma'am," Dave smiled to her as she left, then came over and crawled in.

"One poor excuse for a sailor, reporting for duty, ma'am," he told me as we snuggled.

"Just hold me like you know how to do, Sailor," I told him gently. "I need sleep, and I need your arms around me. Figure it out." Then I turned my back to him, pushed out my butt and pulled a pillow down under my head and chest, falling asleep almost immediately.

* * * * *

Dave woke me gently in the strange green twilight that was the bedroom in the morning.

"Hey, lovely lady," he murmured in my ear as he gently stroked me. "Not sure when you wanted to get up, or if you had anything you wanted to do before you leave today, but since it's coming up on 10am, I thought I'd chance it."

I rolled over and pulled him into a kiss. Long and slow and sweet and gentle. Eventually, I eased up.

"Dave, you have been one very incredible companion and I am going to miss you very, very much," I told him, drinking in those electric blue eyes of his, burning the image into my memory.

"I'll miss you, too, Ms. Elizabeth," he smiled. "I'm damn glad you picked us up at the bar."

"I picked you up?" I countered, confused. "I thought you picked me up!"

"Naw... the way you came sauntering in, gliding down the bar and showing off your figure, passing right in front of me and Paul... staking out your hunting spot and surveying the prey. You had us snared from the start," he smiled.

"Not quite the way I remember it," I told him, "but it'll do. To answer the implied question, I don't have anything planned for today other than packing. As tempting as you are, I'm actually pretty fucked out. I am hungry, though, and I'm not going to take a pass on a Molly breakfast. Would you care to escort me?"

"How about we shower and dress, then wander upstairs?" he suggested. "Molly will have breakfast available, regardless of the time."

"Deal," I told him and eased out of the bed and off to the bathroom, Dave and his magic fingers in close pursuit.

Half an hour later, he and I were sitting in the breakfast nook, devouring apple pancakes á la Molly.

"Girl, I really wish I could spirit you away home," I told her between bites. "I could so use a housekeeper like you." Molly laughed.

"You'll just have to come back out here more often, and I promise, I'll pamper you," Molly smiled.

"I'll hold you to that," I told her.

"How about, for now, if you just hold me?" she asked, still smiling, but serious.

I got up and walked into her hug -- and then kiss -- and I knew I was going to have the same problem with all of them. I'd fallen in love with the whole crew. That's when Sandy walked in.

"Hey, save some of that for me!" she called to us. Molly and I both turned to face her and at the same time, said, "Sure!"

Okay, we had to laugh. The timing was just too perfect. Sandy walked up to get in on a group hug, and then grope, and then shared kisses -- until Dave politely coughed at the table.

"Oops!" Molly smiled and broke loose from us. "Slacking on the job -- not good!" She got the coffee pot and warmed Dave's coffee while Sandy and I regarded each other.

"So, you gonna take the promotion?" she asked, straight out.

"I figure I'll take a week at home to settle down and think about it," I told her. "But right now, it's a probable Yes."

"That'd be great," she nodded. "Beth, I'm amazed at, and appreciative of, all the changes that have happened between us and what I think is becoming a very solid friendship. You helped me more than you'll ever know with the Sandra/Sandy split, as has everyone out here. But you the most. So get your ass back to the Left Coast as soon as you can. If you're in for the Santa Clara office, don't bother with a hotel. I've got extra room and I'd love to have you."

I told her thanks, I would, and sat back down to finish my breakfast. Sandy grabbed some food, too, and we knocked around some possible client scheduling coming up and whether we'd be on the same team again, until Jerry and Cassie walked in, beaming.

The phrase "well and truly fucked" came to mind, looking at them. And not the bad sort.

"Where's Ginger?" I asked as they sat and Molly brought them breakfast. "I want to make sure to say goodbye."

"Crashed out in Jackson's room," Jerry told me nonchalantly, but Cassie couldn't suppress the smile.

"She got pounded into next week!" she bubbled. "Who knew that little girl could take such a big dick?"

"Oh, sweetheart," I smiled back. "Have Jerry show you the Los Cinco Hermanos movies."

"He's already promised to do that, but it won't be until after you leave," she informed me. "Any idea when you're coming back?"

"Not yet," I told her. "I have a few things to figure out first."

"Well, if I'm not here, call me. I can be on a plane pretty quickly. Or if you're in the vicinity of Cambridge... hell, the whole state of Massachusetts... look me up. I'd love to spend time with you."

"Ditto," I told her. "Right now, though, I have to figure out how to pack. I wasn't planning on being a tourist, so I didn't do the bag within a bag trick."

"Anything you want me to ship, just leave it with a note," Jerry told her. "I'll get it to you."

"That, good sir, simplifies a number of things," I told him. "I'd picked up souvenir stuff for friends and family. If you can ship them, I'd appreciate it."

"Done," he smiled. "What about you, Sandy?"

"I'm good," she told him. "Just one checked bag, my laptop for carry-on and my purse. I'd like to get there early, though. I've got the worst luck when it comes to getting through TSA in a timely manner, even with pre-check."

"If you want, I can solve that problem for you," Jerry offered.

"Ooooohhhh!" Cassie virtually exploded. "You're going to take Red Chief! Can I go? Can I?" Jerry held up his hand to stop her.

"Um, not to be indelicate," I ventured, "but what the hell is she talking about? What's Red Chief?"

"She's talking about me giving Sandy a lift home and you getting one more thrill before you have to leave," he explained, not really clearing anything up.

"And..." I prompted.

"Red Chief is a reference to the short story The Ransom of Red Chief by O. Henry," he went on, "originally published in a collection called Whirlygigs. Cassie made the jump from that to Whirlybirds, and Red Chief is what she's named my helicopter. She loves to fly in it."

I'd almost forgotten he had a helicopter. Wow...

"And you're offering to fly Sandy back to San Jose in it?" I wanted to make sure I was hearing him right.

"Yeah, sure," he smiled. "It's about 2 hours... 4, round trip. I could get Sandy home and you back to LAX in plenty of time for your flight."

"Yes!" Sandy cut in before I could say anything else. "Yes, yes, yes. We accept. Don't we, Beth?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Didn't you once say, what Sandy wants, Sandy gets?"

"Smart woman," Sandy beamed. "Do I have to pack anything special?" she turned back to Jerry.

"Just pack like you normally would," he told her. "Then kick back and relax. We don't need to leave for the heliport until 4 or so."

"Aye-aye, sir!" she grinned, then turned to me. "I like taking orders from him!"

It turned out I was going to miss saying goodbye to Jackson. He'd already left for the practice field. But I did manage to make Ginger's morning when Cassie, Sandy and I descended on her with coffee, the pain ointment and a long massage.

"God, I'm going to miss you..." she mumbled as we worked her over.

"Why? Because I give a mean massage to a woman who refuses to recognize her limits?" I asked.

"No, because you and Sandy are the two funnest people to come into my life in a long time, and you've really stirred things up around here. Life may go back to boring once you're gone."

"Only if you let it," I told her, then made sure to thoroughly massage her mons, getting a low groan and small cum out of her.

"You are a wicked tease, Ms. Elizabeth Stoner," she informed me.

"Hey, we don't have to leave until around 4 this afternoon," Sandy told her. Ginger looked up at her for a moment before suddenly grabbing her and pulling her down into a major make-out session.

"Oh, well..." Cassie sighed as she moved me slightly so she could spread Ginger's legs and go down on her. I'm not sure how much of Ginger's groan was pain and how much pleasure, but she sure tried to come up off the bed.

"Hey, it's not me!" I joked in self-defense. In response, Ginger grabbed my wrist and dragged my hand down to her tit, planting it there. I got the idea.

Two hours later, Molly showed up with a tray of iced tea.

"Thought that might be what happened," she told us as she handed out the drinks. "Jerry's on a conference call and Dave's all by his lonesome out on the pool deck, catching some sun."

"You know what?" I ventured. "I'm packed and ready to go. So I'm going to go join Dave on the deck and get a last little bit of Hollywood Sun before we have to leave. Anyone is welcome to join me." I got up, collected my clothes and dropped them on the bed next to my suitcase, and walked out to meet Dave in my birthday suit.

And just about died.

No one had said a word about Mr. Pedersen sitting at the patio table with Jerry, on a speakerphone.

And that's when my Big Girl decided to just plain brazen it out. I walked straight out, knowing he was watching me, straight for the pool. When I got to the edge, I turned slightly towards him and said "Hi!" -- then dove in, clean and neat and stayed underwater all the way across the pool.

When I surfaced, Dave was standing there -- in trunks -- holding out a robe and a mojito.

"We have company today," he informed me as he helped a very embarrassed me out of the pool and into the robe. "One of Jerry's business associates. Didn't Jerry tell you?"

"Would I have walked out of the house starkers if he had?" I demanded, swilling down a good portion of the drink.

"I don't know," Dave grinned. "Would you?"

"Dave, Mr. Pedersen is the Executive Vice President of my company," I hissed at him.

"Oh..." was Dave's simple reaction.

"There goes any thoughts I had about catching some rays before we leave," I lamented, probably more pissed than sorry.

"Not necessarily," Dave smiled again.

"Why?" I asked, starting to walk towards the chaise lounges. "You got an extra bikini tucked away somewhere?"

"No," he admitted, "but Beth... this is Hollywood. People sunbathe naked at home all the time. Just grab a chaise and aim it at the sun, take off the robe and lie down. I'll get you a towel to cover your head. And I'll even throw in a massage with a high SPF suntan lotion."

I stared at him. And then suddenly, what he was saying made sense. This wasn't work. This wasn't the office, or a client. This was me on vacation and hell, he was probably going to find out about the Los Cinco Hermanos porn movie anyway. I turned to Dave.

"You, sir, are a scholar and a gentleman."

"Hey! No need to go insulting me," Dave grinned. "I'm just a poor gob, workin' on Petty Officer."

"I meant, I will take you up on your offer," I corrected myself. Then I did as he had suggested, picking a chaise and aligning it, dropping my robe and lying down with the drink next to me. Moments later, Dave gave me a towel to protect my head and told me he'd be right back.

He was, and I got the most wonderful, hour-long massage as I lay soaking in the last of my vacation.

Maybe a half-hour after that, as Dave lay in the chaise beside me and I was dreaming about all the things we could do the next time we were together, I was brought back to reality by the sound of Mr. Pedersen's voice addressing me.

"Sorry to intrude, Beth," he said and I lifted the towel just enough to see his neatly pressed slacks and dress shirt before I mumbled, "S'okay... can I help you?"

"You could say 'yes' to the promotion," and I could hear the slight smile in his voice. "Beautiful and talented... you are a lucky woman. I'm leaving now -- Jerry and I are done -- but I didn't want to take a pass on the opportunity to tell you one more time how impressed the whole management team is, from the Board down through the VP's. Your performance has been stellar and we seriously hope you'll take us up on our offer."

"Believe me, Mr. Pedersen, I've been thinking about it since you made the offer. I'll have an answer for you by the end of next week. And feel free to ogle... it'll probably hit the internet in the next month. Just in case you want to change your mind." I still hadn't taken the towel off my head.

"Like I said, beautiful and talented," he answered. "I see no reason why I would need, or want, to withdraw the offer. Have a safe journey home, Ms. Stoner."

"You, too, Mr. Pedersen," I answered, then lay back and tried to get my pulse under control. I heard his steps walking away on the pool deck and let out a sigh.

"The Brass is gone," Dave informed me. "You can look embarrassed now."

"I really hope I didn't just screw something up big time," I told Dave from under the towel.

"You didn't," I heard Jerry's voice. "We've all been telling you, Beth, you are a beautiful woman. In case you care, and you didn't hear it from me, Jim is a member of a local nudist club. He is perfectly capable of seeing your body in a natural light, although I don't know why he'd want to. And based on comments during our meeting, I'd say not only are they interested in getting you promoted, you could probably milk it for some hefty perks."

"It's getting late enough, though, that you'd better say your goodbyes. We should head into Burbank pretty soon. That's where my 'bird is."

I acknowledged him by taking off the towel and sitting up.

"Would you have Molly make me a BLT or something, to go?" I asked. "I'll meet you, Sandy and Cassie up at the garage."

"As you wish," he smiled, then tipped his hat in Dave's direction. "See you later tonight, Sailor."

"Fly safe, Jerry," he answered, then pointed at me. "Precious cargo."

Jerry nodded and headed for the house while I grabbed the robe and Dave. In reverse order. I pulled him up out of his chaise.

"You, sir, have won an old woman's heart," I told him. "I really like all you guys, and this has been the most wonderful and unexpected Wonderland of a trip. But you are first in my heart, and not because you were the first to talk to me. I don't know what it is about you, mister, but you ring all my chimes. I am going to miss you something awful." I reached out my arms for the hug and he stepped into it, two naked bodies, one male, one female, and I was sorely tempted to be late.

We held each other for maybe a couple of minutes, not saying anything, before he gently told me, "we'll stay in touch Ms. Elizabeth. You have my Navy and personal email addresses and I have yours. We'll just have to be electronic pen pals until we can get together again."

"That's fine with me," I smiled, looking up at him. "Dave, I love you." It just came out. I don't think I intended it, but it did. And it didn't bother him a bit.

"I love you, too, Beth," he told me and we both leaned into the kiss. The kiss that was going to have to last me a very long time. I wanted it seared into my brain. I wanted the feel of this man burned into my neural pathways. I wanted to be one with this Property of the United States Navy.

Eventually, we had to let up.

"C'mon," he offered. "I'll walk you out."

I grabbed my bags and swung through the kitchen where Molly had packed me a brown bag lunch. That was another long kiss I wanted to remember, though I had a better chance of seeing her sooner. Jerry, Sandy, Cassie and Ginger were waiting for us on the driveway. I got another intimate goodbye from Ginger, who told me to check out YouTube when I got home. She was going to post some videos of Fuzion and thought I might like them. And then we were off.

Jerry drove the Rapide this time, with me riding shotgun and Cassie and Sandy in the back. Jerry decided to go the "scenic route" through the Hollywood Hills so we could do some rubbernecking. What should have been a half hour drive was closer to an hour, but we still made it to Bob Hope Airport in plenty of time. Jerry had called ahead and the ground crew had his helicopter -- a Bell 214ST, I was told -- waiting for him on one of the helipads. It took another hour to store Sandy's and my luggage and get the basic tour of the aircraft and the safety procedures.

Then we were ready to lift off. Jerry had Cassie ride copilot, since she was familiar with the "chopper", and Sandy and I sat in the rear, one on each side so we could look out. My heart was in my throat before liftoff but descended to somewhere around my knees once we took off. Vertically.

Jerry had shown us how to use the headphones before we took off and I took advantage of them to ask him a boatload of questions as we flew over the Los Padres National Forest on our way to the Pacific shore. He intended to take us via San Luis Obispo and Highway 1, past San Simeon and Big Sur and Monterey on our way to San Jose. I found out the joke about IFR vs. VFR, with IFR meaning "I Follow Roads" in our case, and that we had to stay at least 1,000 ft. above the ground because of the cities, but that we wouldn't be doing any Mile High Club things because he didn't want to take us that high.