The Bedtime Tales of Be287m

Friends and Benefits, Chapter Thirty-seven

I sat back on my haunches.  “I can’t do this,” I said.

Sensing something was wrong, the women untangled themselves.  I waited until Lisa met my eyes.

“As much as I want to,” I said, “it wouldn’t be right.”

Her face fell, but only for a moment.  “Yeah,” she said, “I got carried away.”

“That’s okay,” Sherri said, reaching out to place a reassuring hand on Lisa’s shoulder.  “Nothing bad happened.”  She looked at me.  “And I don’t think anything would have.”

The corners of Lisa’s mouth turned up.  “Yeah.  Joe’s a gentleman.”

“I don’t know about that,” I said, “but I am your friend, and this would have been wrong.”

Sherri chuckled, surprising me.

“What?” I asked.

“You’re pretty decisive about that.”

“So?”

She just shook her head and then looked at Lisa. “Why don’t you take pictures now?” she said.

Lisa tilted her head, but then nodded and went over to where I’d set the camera.  Then Sherri turned back to me.

“Do you want to continue?” she asked quietly.

I glanced at my now soft penis.

“I’m not sure I can,” I said.  “As much as I want to.”

She leered.  “That’s easy to fix.”  But then she paused, staring off to one side.

She looked back at me.  “What about yab-yum?”

“That’d be great,” Lisa said, sliding up next to us.  She looked at me.  “I think you should do it.”

I paused for a moment, and then shrugged.  Yab-yum, with Sherri sitting in my lap while my cock was inside her, was nice but definitely a different mood than where we’d been going.  Less wild and more connecting.

I couldn’t help letting the smile slip from my lips.  “Sure,” I said, shifting so I was sitting cross-legged.

“Let’s get you hard,” Sherri said.  She moved close to me, sitting so our knees lightly touched, and then leaned forward to run her fingers up my thigh.  When she reached my cock, she began caressing and stroking me.

I leaned back, watching as she slowly teased me back to hardness.  I heard a click and turned to see that Lisa had just taken a picture.  She grinned and me and then snapped another.  Then she zoomed in on Sherri and my cock.

“I’ve got one for you,” Sherri said with a devilish grin.

She shifted around so she could lower her head to my lap.  I lay back and she swept her hair aside so Lisa could see.  Then Sherri stuck out her tongue and touched the tip to the side of my now-hard shaft.  As Lisa snapped away, she slowly, agonizingly slowly, licked my cock from my balls to the crown.  I was gasping by the time she quit.

Sherri pulled back.  “Get a condom,” she said to Lisa, who promptly scrambled for Sherri’s purse.

I sat back up and took the foil package when proffered.  As the women watched and grinned, I extracted the condom and rolled it on.  Then I wrapped my arms around Sherri as she slid into my lap.  With a little bit of shifting around, we got everything aligned and she slowly sank down on to me, surrounding me with her heat.

“Meet my eyes,” Sherri said.

I did so, remembering to look into her left eye, as Lisa faded out of my field of view.

“Remember how to breathe?” Sherri asked.

I nodded, and started to breathe in and out, just as she’d taught me.  We slowly settled into sync, and then she began to squeeze my cock in the same rhythm.  I bit my lip as the first bolts of pleasure started shooting up my spine, but I didn’t break eye contact.

Which was harder than I expected.  While Sherri and I gazed at each other and breathed together, Lisa circled us, taking pictures.  When she was behind Sherri, I couldn’t help seeing her in my field of vision, and it was a mighty struggle to keep my eyes on Sherri.  But Sherri was the one with her pussy around my cock, and she had ways of shifting or tightening her muscles that guaranteed my attention.  At least until Lisa ran out of film and then sat beside us, waiting.

Sherri turned to her.  “Get behind Joe and breathe with us,” she said.

Lisa nodded and a moment later, I felt her scooching in next to me.  She and Sherri shifted their legs so that Lisa could nestle against my back.  I felt her breasts pressing into me while her hair tickled my shoulders.  Sherri transferred her hands to Lisa’s shoulders as Lisa wrapped her arms around my waist.

We slowly settled down and then back into our breathing rhythm.  Lisa cuddled in, placing her cheek against my skin.  I met Sherri’s eyes and she grinned.

A Joe sandwich, I thought.  Does it get any better?

“Let’s bring you to climax,” Sherri said, clamping down on my cock and sending shudders of pleasure through me.

I guess it does.

“Breathe,” Sherri said.

I nodded and started breathing deeper and more fully.  I also began gently rocking my pelvis, thrusting up into Sherri on my exhales.  Thrust by thrust, the pressure and pleasure built.

As my breathing began to get ragged, Lisa started kissing my neck and shoulders.  Sherri grinned and pulled my head forward, pushing her tongue into my mouth.  I groaned and she pushed down to meet one of my thrusts.

I gasped.  Waves of ecstasy coursed through me and I just let go, shuddering as my cock pumped shot after shot into Sherri.   I grunted and collapsed forward.  Sherrie chuckled and held me until I’d recovered.  Then she took my face in her hands and kissed me deeply.

“Enjoy that?” she said as she pulled back, her eyes sparkling.

I snorted.  “Oh, yeah.”

“It looked big,” Lisa said from beside me.

“It was,” I said, nodding.

Sherri met my eyes and once I’d nodded, pulled off my lap.  I stood and stumbled toward the bathroom, where I disposed of the condom and cleaned up a bit.  When I returned, Sherri was sitting on the couch while Lisa dressed.

“Have to go?” I asked.

“Yeah, I do,” Lisa said with a frown.  “I promised Robert I’d be by afterward.”  Her face lit up.  “He’ll want to hear all about it.”

Sherri chuckled.  “Are you going to tell him before or after you jump him?”

“During,” Lisa said with a leer.

I laughed.  I could already picture how worn out Robert was going to be when an already worked-up Lisa finished with him.  Sherri’s mirthful grin betrayed similar thoughts.

“I’ll see you to the door,” I said.

Lisa smiled and finished getting her things together.  I quickly snagged a robe so as to not scandalize the neighbors if they happened to be out and walked Lisa to the door.  She gave me a goodbye hug and then pulled back.

“I hope we get to see you again,” she said, her eyes a little misty.

“I’m sure you will.”

She gave me another quick hug and then let go.  For once, she didn’t say anything, but merely waved as she disappeared down the steps.

I returned to the living room to find that Sherri had unfolded the sleeper sofa and was putting the sheets on it.  I pitched in and soon we were done, and then even sooner we were cuddled nude in the middle.  Lightly stroking Sherri’s shoulder, I relayed Lisa’s parting words to her.

“Well,” she said, “we’ll both miss you, if you have to end the friendship to make things right with Tina.”

“And I’ll miss you.  But I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

“Mmm.  But it’s more important that you be decisive.”

I nodded, and the pulled her close.  “That’s not going to be easy.”

“But you can do it.”

“Yeah,” I sighed.  “I can.”

“What are you going to tell her?”

“I haven’t figured it all out,” I said.  “I think I have to tell her that we—that’s you and I and Lisa—have a sexual history together.  I think it would hurt for that to come out later, so I need to tell her up front.”

“True.”

“I’ve already told her about your center,” I said.  “I don’t think I need to tell her about you being an escort.  At least not up front.”

“And if she asks?”

I let out a deep breath.  “I make sure she really wants to know the answer to that question, and then I tell her.”

I paused.

“But why should it matter?” I asked.  “That’s your past.  It’s not who you are today.  You’re a healer now.  A true healer, and not just a woman trying to save the world one man at a time.”

She laughed lightly, jostling against me.  It was a contented laugh, and so I held her tighter.

“Still trying to save the world, mind you,” I said.  “Just in bigger chunks.”

Sherri lightly punched me in the side, so I kissed her forehead.

“I love you too,” I said.

She laughed, harder this time.  “I may someday regret teaching you to be more assertive.”

“Maybe,” I said, “but not tonight.”

“True, not tonight.  Not after everything that’s happened in the past year.”

She snuggled in closer and my mind started to wander back, reliving all the memories we’d had together in the past 12 months.  Somewhere in that wandering, I drifted off to sleep, never quite knowing when the memories shifted into dreams.

•   •   •

We gently, slowly made love in the morning.  No words, but just gentle kisses as I thrust into her and came to a quiet orgasm and it truly was time to begin the day.  I cooked a quick breakfast while Sherri showered.  Afterward, she offered to do the dishes while I cleaned myself up.  When I returned to the kitchen, she was writing something on a piece of paper from the pad I kept by the phone.

“Do you have an envelope?” she asked.

“Sure.”  I ducked into my bedroom and retrieved one.

“What’s it for?” I asked as I handed it to her.

“It’s a letter to Tina,” she said.

“Oh?”

“Mmm hmm.”  She finished whatever she was writing, made a flourish for a signature and began folding the paper to fit into the envelope.

“What’s it say?”  I asked.

She shook her head.  “That’s between Tina and me.”  She placed the letter in the envelope and sealed it, and then picked up her pen again.

My eyes widened as I realized what she was doing.  She’s signing across the seal.

“You don’t trust me?” I asked.

“I do,” she said.  “But this way, Tina will trust you too.”

I snorted.  I hadn’t looked at it like that.

Sherri left the letter on the table when she was done.  She looked at me, waiting.

“I suppose you have to go,” I said.

She nodded.

She was largely packed, but we did one final check and then slowly walked to the door.  I gave her a long hug, and then a short kiss.

“Thanks,” I said.

“You too,” she said.  Then she turned and walked to the stairs. At the top, she paused and looked back.

“Make sure she knows you love her, Joe.”

And with that, she was gone.

•   •   •

The rest of the day was almost melancholy quiet, as I cleaned and shopped for Tina’s visit.  I missed Sherri and Lisa already, even though I knew they weren’t really gone.  Yet the silence of the apartment was a comforting quiet.  Unlike the loneliness of the year before, this time I felt comforted and cocooned.  I took my walk early, heading down to the 7-Eleven right after dinner, enjoying the quiet hum of the evening traffic.

When I returned, there was a message on my machine from Tina.  I smiled at the sound of her voice and then picked up the phone to call her back.

“Hi, Beautiful,” I said after she answered.

“Hi, Joe,” she said, “I’ve got an interview!”

“Huh?  You do?”

“With the admissions committee at Georgetown,” she explained.

“Oh… so it’s part of deciding whether to accept you?”

“Right!  It means they liked my application enough for me to get to the next step.”

“That’s great!” 

“So… I told them I’d be in town, and we scheduled the interview for Friday.  Can you take the day off from work and drive me?”

“No problem,” I said.  “For you, anything.”

She let out a deep breath, but it sounded happy.  “Thanks.  I wasn’t sure I’d get this far.  I mean a ton of students apply and I know a lot of them are smarter than me—”

“You’re pretty smart,” I said.

“Thanks!”

”Oh, Joe, I’m so close to getting in!”

I could hear the pleasure in her voice, which made me smile.  “I’m really glad to hear that.  We’ll get you to your interview.  Then maybe we can have lunch nearby.”

“That’d be nice.  What’s the weather like?  Do I need to pack my sweater?”

I smiled.  As an Arizona native, she might, though the forecast for her visit wasn’t too cold.  Just overcast with some rain.  But, for probably one of the few times in my life, I was delighted to talk about the weather.  We slid into other mundane topics, which I found delightfully fascinating, simply because it was Tina.  An hour later, we finally said goodnight, leaving me in a happy bliss after I hung up the phone.

The week, of course, both flew by and dragged.  I know I got some programming at work done, with thankfully few bugs, but I barely remember it.  Instead, I kept thinking about Tina stepping off the plane on Thursday night.

When she finally did, I was there, shifting my weight back and forth in nervous eagerness, holding a small bouquet of roses.  She smiled and threw her arms around me in a deep hug.  When she pulled back, we both had loopy smiles.

“Welcome to Maryland,” I said.  “It’s great to see you.”

“It’s great to see you too!”

We disentangled and went in search of her suitcase, while she told me all about the flight.  During the car ride home we continued talking about minutiae, which was restful and just plain happy, up until we arrived at my apartment.

That’s when my stomach started to churn.  I knew we had some serious topics to discuss, and I knew it’d have to be soon.

Tina sensed it too.  After she’d dropped her bag and quickly looked around the living room, seeing I wasn’t sure what because it hadn’t changed much in the past year, she settled into one of the chairs at the kitchen table.  She smiled, more hesitant and timid, when I sank into the one opposite her.  Time prickled for a moment or two before I took a deep breath.

Now is no time to hesitate.  You’ve thought about this enough.

“I’m glad you came,” I said.  “I’m already so much happier with you here.”

Tina smiled, her eyes bright.

I took another deep breath.  “I know I haven’t always been a great boyfriend,” I said.  “But I do love you.”

She didn’t stop smiling, which I took as a good sign.  Seizing my courage, I plunged ahead. 

“When I met you, I didn’t think it would work.  I figured that with the age difference, and me wanting to get out of Arizona, we’d just be ‘friends with benefits.’”

I took a quick breath.

“But I hadn’t learned what love really is,” I said.  “It’s not the deep sighs and the hormonal rush of infatuation, or the giddiness I’ve felt in the past.  It’s cooking together every week and loving it.  It’s studying together and looking up and having my breath taken away.  It’s… it’s wanting the other person to be happy, even if that means walking away yourself.”

“Wow.”

I paused, just meeting her eyes.  They were warm, hinting of a smile.

“Like I said, I love you.  But I’m glad I didn’t have to walk away from you,” I said.

“No,” she said.  “You did a great job this past year.”  She smiled.  “I really felt you could be a friend too.”

“It’s what you wanted.”

“Well,” she said, “not at first.  But my dad insisted, and I think he was right.”

My smile was bittersweet.  “Your dad was right about one other thing.  My friendship with Sharon is over.”

Tina arched her eyebrows but just waited for me to go on.

“Oh, she’s not the jezebel he called her,” I said.  “More of a lost, obsessed woman.  She wouldn’t talk to me for most of the year until she thought Allen might be getting a divorce.  Then… well, we got together over Christmas and it was a disaster.”

“What happened?”

I took a deep breath.  “We had a fight, and I walked out.  She hasn’t made any attempt to call me or contact me since.  But then, neither have I.”

“Are you still mad at her?”

I shook my head.  “It’s more… more like I’ve got better things to do with my time.  Better friends that I should be spending my time with.”

“Sherri?”

“Yeah, though….”  I took another deep breath.

“Sherri and I have talked.  If you don’t want me to be friends with her, or Lisa for that matter, they’ll understand and it’ll be okay.”

Tina’s brow furrowed.  “Why would I want that?”

“I’ve slept with her.  Them.  I won’t again if you and I get back together, but since there’s a history….”

She frowned for a moment, but then her eyes open wide.  “You mean you’d give up being friends with them because I might be uncomfortable around them?”

I nodded.

“Wow.” I couldn’t tell if she was surprised or awed, because her expression quickly changed to more thoughtful.

“I… I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” she said.  “At least not for that reason.”

Now it was my turn to raise my eyebrows.

“It’s in the past, right?  If you can be friends with them without obsessing over them, I don’t see why they couldn’t still be friends.”

“I’m not going to obsess,” I said, trying not to be sour.  I knew I wouldn’t, but still twinged at the thought of what I’d done.

“Are you sure?”

I nodded firmly, but Tina didn’t appear convinced.  She looked ready to say something challenging, but then stopped herself and met my eyes.

“Besides…,” she said and then grew hesitant.  She looked at me, as if searching my face.  I willed myself to relax and just smile back.

“Besides,” she said, “I’m not going to give up my friendship with Marcy, so how can I ask you to give up Sherri?”

“What?  You and Marcy?”

She recoiled a bit.

“Nothing wrong with that,” I said.  “I’m just surprised.”

Tina nodded.  “One night we got drunk.  I was curious and, well….”

“You don’t have to give me the details,” I said.

“Well, I’m not curious anymore,” she said.  “And I definitely prefer guys.”

I raised my eyebrows, but didn’t ask.  If she wanted to tell me about that period over the summer when she’d been cryptic about who she was going out with, she would.

“And… well, I guess I still had a thing for you.”

I smiled, though my heart was pounding.

“That’s what I told my dad,” she said.  “And he agreed.  I needed to come out and see if I still felt that way.”

“I hope you do.”

She smiled.  “So far, it’s been a good trip.”

“Well, it’s still early,” I said, grinning back.  “We’ll try to keep it that way.”

“Good.”

“So now what?” I asked.

She shrugged.  “What do you normally do on Thursday nights?”

“Go for a walk,” I said.  Inspiration hit.  “Want to join me?”

“Sure.”

We both smiled, our eyes meeting, and I realized my gut was serene once again.

Before the walk, we decided to take care of a few things first, like getting her interview outfit out of her suitcase and ironed.  I showed her my planned menu and she made a few suggestions for what we could cook over the weekend.  We also discussed what tourist attractions we might see.  While she was unpacking her toiletries, I remembered Sherri’s letter.

“Hey,” I said, coming over to her as she knelt by her suitcase, “Sherri told me to give you this.”  I flipped it so she could see Sherri’s signature.  “I don’t know what’s in it.”

She nodded.  “I’ll read it later.”

“Sure,” I said, setting it down beside her.

It still lay by her suitcase when we left for the 7-Eleven a few minutes later.

We talked about food and restaurants as we began our stroll.  We laughed and smiled as we exchanged stories.  During one of the conversational pauses, I reached over and took her hand.  She gave me a squeeze, and we continued to hold hands all the way to the store.  It felt natural, as if we were walking across the University of Arizona campus, instead of down a chilly Maryland road.

At the 7-Eleven, I explained my habit of scratching a single lottery ticket, and insisted she be the one to do the honors this time.  She accepted a quarter from me and proceeded to make silver fuzz as she exposed the print on the ticket proper.  Then she looked up, eyes wide.

“We won!” she said.

“We did?” I asked, reaching for the ticket.

“A hundred dollars!”

I checked and she was right.  We laughed and hugged, and on a whim, I kissed her.  She kissed me back, passionately, before the shuffle of the clerk reminded us we weren’t alone.  A little abashed, we cashed our ticket and Tina enjoyed fanning the twenties before tucking them in her pocket for our walk back home.

“I can’t believe we won!” she said.

“Maybe it’s an omen.”

“Maybe,” she said.  “But it could just be dumb luck.”

“Does that mean there’s such a thing as smart luck?”

Tina just grinned at me, and squeezed my hand.  She nestled in, so I put my arm around her.  While it slowed our pace, we held each other all the way home.

Once we’d gotten in, we both settled onto the couch.  Tina glanced at me, her eyes flicking back and forth.  I didn’t hesitate.  I leaned in and kissed her.

Her lips yielded to mine, and I pulled my arms around her.  She reciprocated, and our kisses quickly heated, leaving us both panting.  I trailed my lips across her cheek and jaw as she moaned, but she quickly made me return to her mouth, our tongues meeting.  We pulled back for just a moment, our eyes meeting, hers twinkling, before I leaned in and kissed her again.

Tina moaned slightly between kisses, and I trailed my hand over her thigh and rested it on her hip.  But she stiffened, just slightly, when my hand slid further up her side.

I stopped and pulled back.

“We can just kiss,” I said.

Tina let out of hiss of breath and nodded.  I smiled broadly and she smiled back.  I leaned in and kissed her again.

We did ‘just kiss’ for over an hour, if steamy, passionate, keep-your-heart-pounding kisses can be called ‘just kissing.’  I was breathless by the time we finally slumped apart and Tina looked both tired and exceedingly pleased. 

Then Tina yawned and I glanced at the clock.  Somehow it had gotten really late, and we had an appointment at Georgetown in the morning.

“We should get some sleep,” I said.  “Help me with the bed?”

She nodded and we unfolded the sleeper sofa.  While we were putting sheets on, I looked up at her.

“I think I should sleep in my own bed tonight,” I said.  “As much as I want to…  well, I think the temptation to do more than sleep would be too much.”

She sighed and nodded.  “Part of me wants you with me, but….”

“Yeah,” I said.  “Me too.  But we’ve got time.  No need to rush.”

She smiled and stepped over to me, and tilted her head up.  I kissed her again, sweet but long this time.  We pulled back, both still smiling.

“I love you,” I said.  “I’ll see you in the morning.”

Her eyes twinkled.  “Sleep well.”

“Do my best,” I said with a grin.  We said goodnight and I quietly closed the door to my bedroom.

•  •  •

I did indeed sleep well, once I’d quietly relieved the ‘tension’ that had built up with all our kissing.  I awoke without remembering my dreams, but feeling rested and optimistic about the day.

I slipped into the shower first thing.   When I got out, the smell of brewing coffee permeated the apartment.  I dried off, wrapped a towel around myself, and followed the scent.

“Hey,” Tina said when she saw me.  She looked me up and down and grinned lasciviously at my near nakedness.  “Good shower?”

“As good as it can be alone,” I said, returning the joke leer, which wasn’t as effective since she was in sweats and a t-shirt.

“Maybe tomorrow.”

I raised my eyebrows.

“Maybe.”

She glanced toward the kitchen table where Sherri’s letter sat, now open.  “She had some good things to say about you.”

“Can I see?”

Tin bit her lip, but then shook her head.  “I think I’d like it to be between just us.”

I shrugged, since I didn’t really mind.  “Okay.”

Tina’s eyes widened a bit at my nonchalance, but then relaxed.  “She did say she’d be willing to talk to me in person if I wanted….”  She looked into my eyes.  “Do you think we could, I mean I could, later today?”

“Sure,” I said, “I’ll give her a call.”

Tina smiled.  “Thank you.”  Then she set her coffee down.  “If you’re out of the shower….”

“Go ahead,” I said, “I’ll start breakfast.”

I didn’t prepare a feast that morning, just some simple eggs and toast, but Tina oohed over it nonetheless.  She’d started to think about her upcoming interview, but I assured her she’d do fine.

“It’s not like he’s going to reject you because you say ‘um’ or something,” I said.  “Besides, you’re friendly.  Very smart and good at school.  You’ll do fine.”

“I hope so.”

I gave her a reassuring squeeze and then quickly cleared the table, so we’d be able to leave with plenty of time to find parking and navigate our way across campus.

During the drive to Georgetown, we chatted more about her application and the details of what her first year of school would be like.  I didn’t track all the technical details, but it didn’t matter.  It just felt comfortable to be on our way somewhere together.  I gave her a hug and a kiss for luck when we found the building and promised to meet her just outside an hour later.  I used that time to find a payphone and call Sherri.  I didn’t catch her at home or the Center, but left messages on her machines about Tina’s request, saying that we’d stop by her studio at one, and hopefully they’d be able to talk then.

Tina came out of her interview glowing.

“Oh, Joe!  It went well!  It went really well!”

“Wow!” I said with a laugh.  I held out my arms and she rushed into them for a congratulatory hug.

She pulled back and smiled up at me.  “Afterward, one of the committee members talked to me in the hall.  He said I was exactly the type of student they were looking for!  I have the grades, he said, and the test scores.  He couldn’t tell me that I’d get in because, well, they still have to meet, but he said the odds were really good.”

Wow,” I said again, more soberly as it sunk in.

“The committee chairman also said he’d seen my application for the minority scholarship and that he was glad I’d applied….”  She shrugged.

“I’m so happy for you!”

“I was so worried,” she said, now looking relieved.  “And nervous.  But now it looks like I don’t have to be!”

Tina continued her excited chatter as we navigated to the car and then drove to lunch.  I asked for all the details of her interview and the more she talked, the more I became convinced she was a shoo-in.  The Head of Admissions hadn’t been able to say outright she’d get in, but he’d all but said it between the lines.

After lunch, I started driving us toward Sherri’s center.  Tina fell quiet when I mentioned where we were going.  I let her sit in silence for several minutes before I asked if she was okay.

She nodded.  “I’m just thinking of what I want to say to Sherri.”

“Oh.”

I tried to read her expression, but I couldn’t pull my eyes off the road for very long and she was looking out the window.

“Well,” I said, “I’m sure she’ll listen until you get the words right.”

Tina snorted softly.  “I’m not worried about that.  It’s just, well… there are some things I want to know.  I’m just not sure I want to ask.”

“Ah.”  I fell silent, considering my own questions I wasn’t sure I wanted to ask.  But as I sorted through them, I realized that none of them were important.  Not Tina’s time and activities when we were apart.  Not whatever Sherri might have written.  Not even what Tina wanted to talk to Sherri about.

All too soon, we arrived at the Center.  I found parking not too far away.  We walked to the door, holding hands, and when I knocked, Lisa opened it.  She smiled at us.

“We got your call,” she said.  “You must be Tina.  I’m Lisa and I’m glad to meet you.”

Tina’s eyes flicked over to me and she squeezed my hand tightly, but then she willed herself to relax and smiled at Lisa.

“Good to meet you too.”

“Sherri’s in her private studio,” she said, ushering us in.

Tina turned and looked a question at me.

“I’ll wait in the main room,” I said, giving her a reassuring squeeze.

I let go of her hand, our fingers caressing each other as she pulled away.  She gave me one last smile over her shoulder as she followed Lisa down the hall and out of sight.

--Fin--

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Read the next chapter in this story: Chapter Thirty-eight

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