Ch. 02 - Intermission
I'd added Shannon's number to my phone at the last convention. If not for my assumption about her marital status, I would have asked for it in San Diego.
Me: "Saying goodbye to sunny SoCal?"
Shannon: "I will be back in a few months!"
Me: "I was wondering what you do with your house while you're away so long. Does someone look after it?"
Shannon: "I rent it out. Have a management company look after it. I'm going to need it cleaned up when I return anyway, might as well make a profit."
Me: "Is it worth renting out for only a couple of months?"
Shannon: "Beachside, baby. Pacific ocean views. Premium prices. Management company will be here in a couple of days to put valuables into storage, while I'm reacquainting myself with Lynn at head office."
Me: "Lynn, is it? Hope she has plenty of stamina!"
Shannon: "She's not you, but she's enthusiastic."
Me: "I guess I'll take that as a compliment?"
In Dallas, I'd asked Shannon what she did before getting into sales. "College," she'd said. Unlike me, she'd gone straight into sales for a regional US office of her company. Though she had no technical background, she studied every factoid about the product and its purpose, and was successful enough to be promoted into her current position, where she worked from home, independent of a sales office. She travelled to conferences and sales meetings for any US region, and when convenient - which generally meant when summoned to a conference in Europe - visited head office in Bristol in the UK for training and debriefing.
I'd mentioned she could debrief me whenever she liked, and the conversation had taken a sideways turn.
In contrast, I had been a developer for eight years with no thought of going into sales. I moved into management, from where I was co-opted for several radiology show-and-tells, which went well enough that I was recruited into sales engineering, and eventually became the de-facto public face of the company. It hadn't been a stress-free transition. Being recognized had meant I also had to help with PR for a high-profile problem, and I'd been afraid that I'd be fired or pushed aside, but I'd survived it, and I didn't mind the exposure. I found that taking center-stage, as I had in San Diego, was stressful, but overall, I was much happier - and had much more disposable income - than I had been as a developer.
I didn't quite have Shannon's freedom to work from home, but I mostly set my own hours, and earned plenty of vacation. I didn't travel internationally, other than to Canada and occasionally Mexico. As stressful as international flying had become, I didn't envy Shannon that.
Shannon: "Bad news. Lynn quit the company."
Me: "Aww. I'm sorry. Are you going to look for her?"
Shannon: "That sounds too much like a relationship waiting to pounce. We had a good time while it lasted. If we'd been at all close we'd have stayed in touch, and her leaving wouldn't be a surprise."
Me: "Fair point."
Shannon: "Besides, French girls, right?"
Me: "Right! 😊❤️❤️😉"
OK, maybe I was envious of some aspects of Shannon's travel.
Of course, it would be a couple of months before she made it to Paris. Maybe there would be Swiss girls or German girls in the mix before then.
I'd be in Ottawa in three weeks, and Toronto two weeks after that. I'd even have a trip to Hawaii before Shannon returned to the US. That last was a three day conference, but pretty much everyone extended the visit to at least a week.
Shannon had been far from my first convention one-night stand. On the road it was very rare for sex to blow up into drama or hurt feelings. An encounter may not usually be as exceptional as my time with Shannon had been, but I wouldn't see her for at least three months, and possibly much longer, depending on our shared schedules. If the chance for a night of pleasure arose, I had no reason not to take it.
Hawaii, especially, had always been an opportunity to meet interesting women who were trying to clear their minds of business for a few days. I'd never failed to hook up there, and I wouldn't avoid it this year. Shannon wouldn't care if someone else met my needs, just as I didn't care about Lynn or her French girls. Wouldn't have cared about Lynn, that is, and was disappointed on Shannon's behalf that they'd lost contact.
Between the Ottawa and Toronto conventions, I met up with my friend Lauren for a mildly-inebriated pub party at the Englishman, a pub with a wide-ranging selection of craft beer. She'd invited me to join a group from her office, as we hadn't seen much of each other for months. We had such a good time catching up that we got together again after Toronto, this time with only one co-worker, Rachel, a vivacious blonde who persuaded me to continue on to a downtown gay nightclub after Lauren headed home.
Rachel was over ten years my junior, which didn't bother me, but I thought it would her, so I was pleasantly surprised to end the evening in her apartment. Beneath her braless crop-top her body was lean and agile, with high, firm breasts. The body of a woman not long out of her teens.
Her nipples were narrow, and the same shade as her breasts. With next to no tan lines, there was little color variation over her whole body, save for the narrow strips of dark fuzz on her sex, giving her the appearance of a statue, though with the dexterity and stamina of an athlete.
Rachel didn't inspire the heights of passion in me that Shannon did, but still, spending many energetic hours with her was intensely satisfying. I left her apartment feeling that I probably didn't need the gym for a few days, and with a sense that my afterglow might last even longer.
I hadn't planned to see her again, but was surprised to discover a voicemail from her after I'd flown back from Hawaii.
"Hey, Kathryn, I know you don't know me well, but this is Rachel. I wanted to take Lauren to this weekend's show at the drag bar, but she's started seeing someone. I wondered if you'd like to go. No commitments, that's not my thing. Call me."
The idea of Lauren finding someone was more interesting than the show, but the weekend was several days away, and I was sure I'd be recovered from my Hawaii trip by then. So I called Rachel. I warned her that unlike Lauren I wasn't looking for someone to date.
"I've got you," she said. "Like I said in the message, it's not my thing, either. Most of my friends are out of town, Lauren's unavailable, everyone else at work is straight, most are boring, and you and I had a good time at the club last month. So I figured I'd check."
"I can go for that. I need to check in with Lauren. I didn't know she was dating."
"I don't know that she's dating, but she has that look, yannow?"
"I'm rooting for her," I said. "She deserves it. Her last GF was a bitch."
"No shit, man," Rachel said. "So, take an Uber, meet at ten?"
I called Lauren to get the full story on her dating life, but she didn't have much more to add, since the relationship was only a few days old.
"But I really like her, Kat," she said. "I like her a lot. Please wish me luck. And enjoy... your evening with Rachel."
I had the feeling she'd been about to say "enjoy Rachel."
Rachel melted against me at the show, surprising me with the level of PDA she wanted. She kept moving my hands onto her waist, under her shirt, leaning back to grind against me when my fingers stroked her waist.
We took an Uber to my place, where I thought we'd be more comfortable than her apartment. When we reached my bedroom, her eyes seemed almost black with lust. Running my fingers over her waist and belly made her pant softly, and I began to realize that her dilated pupils weren't only due to arousal.
Within five seconds of turning to face me, she'd shucked off her tee shirt, revealing her high, perky breasts, and was lowering her shorts. Whatever she'd taken - E, I assumed - caused her to moan at my touch, and made her easy to pleasure, though her need for my skin against hers and the passion it produced in her excited me, too.
Either her boundless energy was another effect of the drug, or she had amazing natural stamina, because she exhausted me, continually finding new ways for her naked body to turn mine to jelly.
When she left in the morning, it was with a quick kiss, a smile, and no backward glance, while my body still glowed with satisfaction.
And yet, the body I really wanted against mine was still thousands of miles away.
It had been almost four months since Shannon had arrived back stateside. We'd stayed in touch by text, but though we'd both been travelling to conferences, none of them included both of our areas. New York would, and we'd be located in the same convention hall.
Our crew had been setting up new equipment. It hadn't been demonstrated at a convention before, and management wanted to ensure a smooth showing, so we'd all travelled out a day early. It was not yet FDA-approved, and we wouldn't be able to operate the real device at the show, but we could present realistic results and back it up with data. Since the machine was essentially a mockup of a mockup, it wasn't as stable as it should be, and I replaced my salesman's hat with my old developer's hat, working with Ellen, a developer ten years my junior who'd been co-opted onto this trip, until it gave the results we were looking for. So when we finally returned to our hotel for dinner, I was wearing a loose green tee shirt and shorts, my dark hair held in a tail with rubber bands.
We'd made it to dessert, when Sergiy frowned, looking at the door. "Isn't that your girlfriend?" he asked.
I followed his gaze to where a blonde was scanning the room. She was perfectly made up, if wearing a more casual dress than I was used to - a simple indigo sheath dress with a plunging neckline. I waved at her, and her eyes widened for a moment before she gave me a warm smile and walked in our direction.
"Not girlfriend," I said to Sergiy. "We're just friends. But don't try hitting on her. It wouldn't go well. Though Ellen might stand a chance."
"Noted," said Sergiy, with a grin, while Ellen's dark skin seemed to turn a shade darker.
"Hey, Shannon," I said, when she arrived. "We're finishing up, but take a seat, unless you're with anyone. I'll stay."
"Sure," she said, pulling out the free chair beside me.
I introduced her to the crew she hadn't met in - where was it last? Dallas? Yes, there. They were all fascinated with her field of work, especially Ellen, who was the only active developer present.
"No poaching," I mock-warned Shannon. "We like our engineers. Oh, I have something to show you." I held up my left hand to show my faux wedding ring. She made a fist of her left hand and held it beside mine to compare rings. "I guess we're married now," I said.
Shannon laughed at the confused faces, then explained the reason for her ring. The others nodded in understanding, especially Ellen, who I guess had encountered the problem.
She had almost finished her meal when the rest of the crew filed out. "I didn't think you were going to be here until tomorrow," I said.
"When you texted that you'd be here today, I decided I could rearrange my schedule. I don't need to be here until tomorrow, but I don't have a reason not to be early. It's been over seven months since our paths last crossed."
I chuckled. "French girls didn't do it for you?"
"There were no French girls," she said, shaking her head sadly. "Although there was an Italian woman in Zurich, and a German in Paris."
"That's the extent of your philandering?" I asked. "I'm disappointed."
"Not quite all," Shannon said. "There was a woman in Bristol. Miriam. I might have misled her. It wasn't deliberate, but on the road everyone knows the score. When you're working at a location it's different, and I guess I didn't make that clear. I saw her more than once, and I think she thought that implied I was looking for long term. I apologized, but..." She shrugged. "What about you?"
"I spent a couple of late evenings with a friend of a friend," I said. "Rachel. We're not close, but she holds a charge better than my favorite vibe."
Shannon laughed at that, then started coughing. I held up her glass of water, and she managed to gulp some down, then switch to taking a sip of wine. Of course I took the distraction as a great opportunity to stare down her dress.
"And there was one encounter on the road," I added, "but you don't want to hear about the hardships I suffered in Hawaii."
"Okay, now I think I hate you," Shannon said.
"Are you settled back in at home?" I asked. "Any issues with your short-term renters?"
"No more than usual," Shannon said. "It's fine. I like living there, but I'm beginning to detest travelling from there. The last three months I've been doing more short-term trips. When the airport is forty-five minutes to three hours from home, twice each trip, it gets wearing. I almost missed my flight this afternoon. And I might never have had the chance to see you in casual shorts and tee shirt."
"It would be better if you hadn't," I said. "You might start to think I'm only human."
"Would you like to go out?" Shannon asked, abruptly. "I have events every evening after today."
"Go out where?" I asked.
"Dancing," she replied. "From where we are you could probably bounce a rock off an LGBT club and have it hit another."
"Throwing rocks at a gay bar might not be an impression you want to convey," I said. "I'd need forty-five minutes to get ready. Would that be too late?"
"It's the city that never sleeps, babe."
"Fine," I said. "You're going as you are? That dress is seriously doing things to me."
"Imagine how much it will do with a couple of hours of close dancing," Shannon suggested, and I groaned.
In my room I eyed the clothes that I'd brought. I hadn't packed for socializing outside the event, but I had a gold cami to wear under my suit, and the burgundy pencil skirt without a blouse would be casually dressy. Though I wouldn't be wearing the jacket, I decided I'd still be okay without a bra. I'd held my shape well enough for being just over three years from forty. I could rarely afford myself that much freedom at a business social event.
Choice made, I took the quickest shower I could, working on my face before finishing dressing. I missed by estimate by a little over five minutes, which I didn't think was too bad, then texted Shannon.
Shannon: "Wear shoes you can walk in. Recommended place is 15 minutes from here, at least as long by uber."
Me: "Is it safe to walk?"
Shannon: "Yes. Safer than the ride, I think. Wear a jacket, it's still chilly in the evening."
Me: "YES MOM!"
"Never sleeps" was right. Even though it was midweek, the sidewalks were far from empty, becoming quite crowded around the nightclub we were heading to.
The drinks in the quieter bar upstairs were delicious, and the bartenders friendly, in spite of the bar being busier than I expected. There were far fewer women than men, but the staff had seemed very friendly, and we'd received polite nods and smiles from several of the male customers.
"This beats raiding the minibar," I said, as we leaned against the bar. "Except on the wallet. Jesus."
"I know, right?" Shannon agreed. "But everywhere here will be pricey, and the drinks are almost worth the cost. I'm itching to expend some energy downstairs."
"The bass is exciting," I agreed. I'd been the one to insist on visiting the bar area first, after turning my lightweight jacket over to the coat check. I wanted to be sure to get my first drink promptly. After that, I didn't plan to drink much.
Shannon raised her glass with her left hand, reminding me of my initial misunderstanding. I smiled, and raised my hand. "They really are going to think we're married," I said.
"Do you think that will stop anyone hitting on us, here?" Shannon asked.
"I don't know, wife, will it?"
She snorted. "If anything, it will identify that we're not curious straight women," she said.
"Huh, I hadn't considered that," I replied. I downed the rest of my cocktail. "I'm ready to experience unfiltered bass," I said.
"I bet you are." Shannon grinned at me and drained her own glass.
Shannon was right about the rings not preventing pickup attempts. Not long after moving downstairs we were quite skillfully separated by a redhead and her partner - or, more likely, her wingwoman, I guessed. Shannon gave me a brief over-the-shoulder glance, with a shrug, then turned to the girl who'd chosen her; a brunette with purple highlights, purple lips and well-muscled arms in a short-sleeved shirt. My partner, the redhead, was a little taller than me, in a glossy green backless minidress with a high panel that didn't entirely cover the sides of her breasts.
The redhead moved well, her body swaying against mine as she drew me close, her fingers snaking into my loose hair. We hadn't said a word of greeting, and it was clear that what was on her mind didn't need words, when she stepped closer, her belly gliding against mine. I responded, my breasts sliding against hers, and my hands settling on her waist. I was glad I'd skipped the bra, as the young woman's wide, hard nipples scraped against mine. Her dress offered as little shielding to our contact as my cami when she rubbed against me, nipping at my earlobe.
She tried to plant her lips on mine, but I turned my head slightly, so the kiss only reached the very corner of my lip. She frowned, clearly wondering whether to try again. Shannon had turned her partner, so that she could see me. I saw her mouth the words "Go for it."
Eyebrows raised, I gave her a small shrug. I didn't know what she was contemplating. I wasn't going home with a random girl in a club when my preferred partner was five feet away, even if the feel of her nipples on mine was making me horny, but when said partner wanted me to prolong the experience by making out with the girl, I wasn't going to refuse.
The redhead's face was still drawn back, her brows lowered. Her hands had fallen from my hair. Turning my face directly toward her, I took her hands, threading my fingers into hers, and gave her the most challenging look I could conjure. She smirked, then moved back in, lips parted, and we began to make out, our bodies in contact.
With each breath, I lifted my chest against her, back slightly arched, so that my nipples again stroked hers, breasts more firmly pressed to hers than before, then lowered them to experience the touch again as I exhaled. At each contact with my lips she'd begun to seek my tongue, exploring it with hers for several seconds before withdrawing.
She worked her fingers out of my hold, then tangled them again in my hair, pulling me closer to her with each kiss. I raised my hands to curl my fingers around the side of her rib cage, where the panel exposed an inch or two of pliant firm skin, which undulated as my breasts moved against hers. Resting my thumbs on the edge of the firm mounds felt unthreatening but enticing, and her breasts quivered against my touch.
This seemed to excite the girl, who nibbled my tongue as she ground against me.
The problem now was how did I extract myself? My libido was working overtime, but I lusted for the woman I'd arrived with, and with whom I'd be returning to the hotel. I'd have to draw the makeout session to a close very soon.
Meanwhile, with my thumbs partially hidden by the girl's dress, I couldn't resist letting them explore further. The feel of yielding flesh excited me, as did the way the shape of her breasts changed within the visible gap as I circled my thumbs against her smooth skin. She drew her face back to give me a knowing grin.
Taking the look as permission, I widened the circles, feeling the soft skin sink inward, moving with my touch, making her nipples slide against the fabric of her dress.
When the music changed, I stopped exaggerating the movement of my chest. Though there was plenty of outrageous behavior going on around us, I had no intention of fondling her openly. But she was clearly okay with my touch, so I drew my thumbs down beneath her breasts and pressed up, circling firmly, making her breasts flex against mine.
The girl gasped into the kiss, but didn't offer any objection, and for several minutes I kneaded her boobs by molding them against mine with my thumbs. My own nipples were rock hard by this point. The slightly spongy feel of her breasts against my thumbs and nipples thrilled me, and my heart raced, though I worked hard not to show her how much she was turning me on.
I couldn't tell if the sensation in my fingertips was my own pulse, or hers against her rib cage, but the girl was clearly reacting strongly to my touch. Her kisses had slowed, and had become passionate rather than aggressive. I felt her moan into the kiss, though the music was too loud for me to hear it.
I discovered that I didn't have to solve the problem of walking away when, after a few minutes of this, I saw the brunette step back from Shannon. I let my thumbs caress the girl's silky skin as I moved my hands from her body. The brunette said something directly into her ear. The redhead eyed me for a moment, gaze seeming hungry, before shrugging, and walking away with her friend, leaving me frustrated and dangerously aroused, but relieved.
Catching Shannon's waist, I moved in to speak directly into her ear. "What was that about?"
"I told my dance partner that I was still the one who'd be taking you home," she said. "I guess they decided not to make an issue of it. Shall we get a drink?"
"Yeah, but why did you want me to encourage her?"
"Foreplay, babe. It was exciting watching you get into it with her, knowing who you really want to be with."
"Assuming!" I retorted. "The way she kissed me might have changed my mind."
She leaned over the bar to place her order. Watching her only confirmed how correct she was, but I wasn't going to feed her self-assurance. "You don't know about her secret weapon," I said, when she finished ordering.
"Her breasts?"
"Well yeah, but she had me before we started making out. I'm a sucker for sideboob."
"That was a pleasant view," Shannon agreed, handing me my drink. "We're they real?"
"Mmm, I think so. They felt real." I drew her away from the bar. "Do you want to know how she made me feel?"
"Sure?" she said.
Holding my drink well out of the way, I cupped the back of her neck with my free hand and pressed my mouth to hers, pouring every ounce of passion the girl had inspired within me into the kiss. It wasn't the slow, profound emotion that was Shannon's specialty. This was hard and deep, and caused Shannon's breath to shudder.
Stepping back, I asked her, "Time to dance?"
"I don't think either of them was over twenty-five," I said, as we walked back to the hotel. The sidewalks were even busier than they had been earlier, and we were both tipsy, so we weren't progressing as fast. Shannon's fingers were interlaced with mine. "Rachel's about twenty-five, too. If I'm not careful you're going to think I have a thing for younger women."
"You do!" Shannon objected. 'I'm younger than you!"
"Thirty-two doesn't count. Four years is nothing at our age," I said. "Besides, I don't think of you as any particular age," I said. "I just think of you as hot. And smart. And great company."
"And incredible in bed," she offered.
"That might be true," I replied, "but memory fades after seven months. I think you need to prove it to me again."
"I plan to," Shannon said. She turned her face to grin at me, and almost lost her footing, but I kept her steady. "I'm impressed at how you turned that girl around,"
Frowning, I asked, "What do you mean?" I was imagining rotating her on the dance floor, which hadn't happened.
"They came up to us all arrogance and demands, but the look she gave you when she left, she had a serious case of the hots. She'd have given you anything you wanted." She leaned in and nipped at my ear, her gait perfectly stable this time. "I know how she feels."
"Do you need to pick up tomorrow's clothes?" Shannon asked.
"I don't trust myself to make outfit decisions right now," I said. "I'll just have to be sure to leave early enough to get ready tomorrow morning."
"You can shower and borrow my robe if you like," she said.
"Why do you bring a robe?" I asked. "I barely ever have room for what I need."
"I think it's essential," she said. "Middle of the night questions. Impromptu strategy sessions. One night my fax software refused to work with the hotel internet. I had to carry my laptop to the print room. Dressing is inconvenient."
"I'll borrow the robe," I said. "I was just curious." We were alone on the elevator at this point. I was still a little buzzed. "Why do we always use your room?"
"Tradition, I guess," she said. "First time I seduced you. Second time I brought toys."
"For the record," I said, pompously, "you only seduced me because I wanted you to."
"I know," she agreed. "Should we alternate rooms, then?"
Shaking my head, I said, "No, I just wondered. It's good to know where the magic's going to happen."
When the door to Shannon's room closed behind us, she stepped out of her heels, then cracked open a bottle of gin. From the calligraphic styling of the label, I assumed it was a local artisan brand. The minibar included lemon slices, so the gin and tonic she made was quite good for a hotel room. I sipped mine, renewing my pleasant buzz.
Shannon held my eyes for what felt like minutes before, by unspoken agreement, we both set down our drinks and stepped into each other's personal space.
As always, she did things with my upper lip which should probably be illegal, and which made me clamp my thighs together. Not that it helped. She was right about what two hours in her arms, with that low neckline between us, would do to me. Especially after making out with the girl with the oh-so-sexy sideboob. With all that and seven months of being deprived of her, I was wetter than ever, and aching for her to touch me
Instead, she released my lips and buried her face into the side of my neck. Her warm breath, soft lips and the occasional touch of her teeth drove my desire into desperation. I wanted so much more, but I also wanted her to own this moment. If I gave in to my desire to rip off her dress and throw her to the bed, it would be amazing, but she was so much better at patiently teasing out my need that letting her lead me in this would take amazing to the next level.
My heart was pounding and my breath was rasping rapidly when Shannon stepped back. She smirked wickedly, as if she knew what was going through my head. Then she leaned forward and lifted the hem of my camisole.
As at our first night together, Shannon relieved me of my skirt next. I slipped my hose down, leaving my panties in place. Pantyhose look good below the dress or skirt, but they've always felt unsexy to me uncovered. Weird, maybe, but I preferred to stand in nothing but panties for Shannon's view.
Before either of us could continue, I croaked, "I want to watch."
Shannon understood perfectly, moving further away, smiling at me as she unzipped her dress. Lightly pushing the straps over her shoulders, she held the bodice in place, turning to let me see the back fall open, smooth skin from the top of her stockings to her neck barely interrupted by her thong.
"I should switch to stockings," I mused, my voice rough, "but I could never look as good as you in them."
She examined me over her shoulder. Her eyes were dark. "I think you would look very hot in stockings, babe," she said.
She turned around to face me, one arm still preventing the straps from falling further. Then she released the fabric. The dress floated to the ground with a soft sound, and I gulped as her succulent full breasts came into view. This reveal excited me as much every time I saw it.
I approached Shannon, my breasts pressing into hers as I kissed her lips.
With my hands on her waist, I guided her back to the bed, until she was sitting on the edge. She immediately turned the tables, pulling me onto the bed beside her, then rolling me onto my back and centering my body. Before I could react, she was lowering herself onto me, her mouth on mine, her breasts encompassing mine, her legs together forcing mine apart as she began to move.
My hands slid over her waist, her ribs, and the side of her firm breasts, my thumbs rubbing the rough sides of her nipples. Neither of us had taken the time to remove her underwear. Shannon's stockings rubbed my inner thighs.
My arousal was extreme, yet she took an excruciatingly long time bringing me to my peak. When I was almost there, I groaned, "I'm going to come."
"Do it, babe," Shannon encouraged me. "I'll be right there with you."
Our kiss caught my cries as I found the edge of the cliff and toppled over. I thrust my pussy up into hers, feeling her body stiffen. Then her sounds joined with mine. We writhed together for what felt like minutes.
Much later - hours later, I think, though we hadn't been checking the clock - I was naked, pressed to the naked woman's back. We'd worn each other out.
"Hey, Shannon?" I murmured, against her neck.
"Yeah, babe?" she said.
"Why do I get so horny when I'm with you? I mean, we're only casual, but you take me places I'd never expect to go with a hookup. Places I've never been with a partner."
"We just have great chemistry, Kat," she said. "I thought at first it was because you looked so hot in your skirt suit, but I think it's more that we work together well. That first night, we were only together for a couple of hours before you had to leave, but I felt thoroughly fucked. In a good way. And I feel the same every time we meet."
Flights to Vancouver had a minimum of one stop, airport customs and immigration to deal with, and were only a couple of hours less than driving. The border in both directions was easier to deal with on the highway, even these days, and driving would avoid getting to and from airports, and having to rent a car. Shannon drove to all of the California conventions for similar reasons.
Car rental was especially significant at this destination, because I had three separate conventions in different locations back-to-back. Bringing my SUV meant no baggage restrictions. I was fairly sure that I wouldn't be deported or arrested for transporting sex toys across an international border, and I didn't have to keep the bottle of lube under three ounces.
Unfortunately, I'd only get to use them for a short time, since Shannon would have to leave after the first conference. I needed to make the time count.
After letting the crew know not to look for me this evening, I texted Shannon to meet me at the hotel lobby for dinner. She showed up wearing a dark blue top under a lightweight wrap, with dark pants. I drove us to a Vietnamese restaurant I'd enjoyed during my last visit. I'd confirmed that it was still open; the city tended to have a high turnover, even of popular restaurants.
Inside, Shannon removed her wrap. The blue top was high-necked and quite elegant - except that it was sleeveless, with the armholes being narrow but long. The sight made my heart skip.
"Ooh, you are so going to pay for wearing that top," I hissed into her ear.
"Hmm? What's wrong with it? Oh, right!" she exclaimed, as if a thought had just occurred to her. "I remember now. Sideboob is your undoing. I had totally forgotten!" Her tone was the opposite of innocent.
Sitting at a table for two was torture. Being across from her, I could see the gaps in the top below her arms, but all that was within was shadow. She smirked at me several times when she caught my eyes being drawn back to the top.
Walking back to the car, she asked exactly how I was going to make her pay.
"You're coming to my room tonight," I said. "I have an extra suitcase. Pick up your clothes and bring them."
"Okay," she said, sounding eager.
In my room, I undressed Shannon, breathing a huge fake sigh of relief when I pulled the top down her arms and caressed the sides of her breasts. She helped me out of my clothes, though I kept my bra and panties on. Shannon still wore her panties when I instructed her to lie on the bed.
Her eyes widened when I took soft rope out of the suitcase. "Oh, my," she murmured.
Sitting on her thighs, I asked for a safeword before winding the rope around her wrists. Then I leaned forward to loop the rope about the headboard and tie it in place.
Moving aside, I drew her panties down. She hadn't been wearing her usual thong and stockings with pants. I tied her ankles together, loosely enough to splay her knees outward, then I perched between them and leaned forward to toy with her breasts. It didn't take long for her nipples to become firm, but I kept pinching lightly, squeezing and caressing each soft, rounded surface.
Her eyes were dark when I climbed off the bed, several minutes later. Opening the case, I removed a small rechargeable clit vibe and the lube.
Shannon's eyebrows rose as she took note of my prizes. I set them both down on the bed, then removed my bra. Taking the lube, I squeezed a little onto each of her nipples, then caressed them to distribute the gel. Her breasts rose further when she breathed.
Kneeling between her parted thighs, I leaned forward until my breasts came into contact with hers. Feeling the slippery lube against my nipples, I moved my body against hers, to stroke her nipples with my own. Maybe the encounter with sideboob girl had reminded me how erotic nipple-to-nipple caresses could be. They seemed to be working for Shannon, whose breathing became shallow and rapid, her hips rolling against me.
Leaning further over, I brushed my lips against Shannon's, but evaded her attempts to kiss me, until she groaned in frustration. When I let her succeed in meeting my lips, I kissed her deeply. She arched her back, trying to press her breasts into mine. I enjoyed the feel of her body against mine for a minute, then withdrew, leaving her sighing at the loss of contact.
Dribbling lube onto her pussy, I worked it into her lips and clit. "I should have kept this in the fridge, shouldn't I?" I asked.
"No you shouldn't!" she said, in a tone that would have been stern if it wasn't husky with arousal. I grinned, and lubed the tip of the vibe.
With the vibe on a low setting, I stroked her labia and clit. Her arousal grew slowly, evidenced by the glistening of her sex, and the flush in her cheeks and breasts. Whenever she began to gasp, I would increase the vibration intensity, holding it as her excitement grew, then withdrawing it. She groaned in frustration as I slowed the vibrations, then set the device aside to kiss her thighs and belly, occasionally licking the wetness from her slit or planting a soft kiss on her clit.
She had begun to make small soft cries even when I stopped touching her. I slid a finger into her, pressing against the front wall of her sex as I let the vibe rest against her clit. She began to pant rapidly, making an "Aa!" sound with each exhale. I turned off the vibe, setting it aside, as I lowered my face to her sex, stiffening my tongue and waving it side to side, driving her clit left and right, her delicious tang on my tongue.
Mere seconds passed before she lost control. She had no pillow to smother her sounds, but she clearly tried to hold back. I don't know how successful she was. Her cries excited me, and at that point I didn't care what my neighbors might hear.
Her climax wasn't only explosive, it was long, but I didn't stop licking when she began to calm down. In seconds, she cried, "Oh, God!," then tensed until her body spasmed again.
This orgasm didn't last as long, but judging by her sounds and the writhing of her hips, it was still powerful.
I kept licking even after her third crest. She groaned, then said, "I can't again. I can't!"
She was wrong. She lay for much longer, then her breathing started to change. Her hips pressed up into my mouth as her sex gripped my finger one final time. She pulsed around my finger, making soft whimpering sounds as her climax waned.
Withdrawing my finger, I slid off the bed, headed to the fridge and opened a water bottle for each of us. Shannon drank cautiously when I held the bottle to her lips, nodding when she'd had enough.
"If that's... my punishment... for sideboob," she huffed out, "I think I need... to wear that top more."
"I won't object," I said, before guzzling from my own water bottle.
Leaving her tied up, I discarded my panties, then lowered myself onto Shannon's body, my thigh wedged against her sex, while hers slid against my pussy lips. Our breasts moved together as we kissed, the passion between us intense, my hands on her waist strengthening our movement. I had to yield to pleasure before she was ready, but managed to bring her to that place a few minutes later, her soft moans travelling from her chest to mine in the kiss.
Shannon found me in the hotel gym early on the last morning of the convention. There's a price to pay when you spend every evening at restaurants and live on snacks during the day.
"Ready for this to be over?" she asked.
I didn't slow my pace on the treadmill as she took the machine beside mine, but I did click my headset off.
"Yeah," I said. "It will be good to have downtime for a few days. No flights, no office visits."
"Hmm. Five days, right?"
"Yeah, I have a couple of hours setup, but I think I'm going to do some sightseeing and spend a few days in bed."
"Want company?" she asked. "Oh, God," she added immediately. "I mean for tourist stuff. Though maybe for the other, too." She waggled her eyebrows.
"That wouldn't be restful, would it?" I said. "Do you have downtime?"
"Yeah, I do," she said, "or I could rearrange my schedule a little, maybe handle a couple of calls in my room."
"Screw that," I said, "stay in my room while you're here. No point in having to justify expenses for downtime."
"You've twisted my arm," Shannon said.
For the next five days we played tourist. We consulted hotel staff, paper fliers and Google. The name on one of the fliers caught my eye: "Shannon Falls." It wasn't a long drive, so we decided to schedule it on the first day. The fliers showed a spectacular waterfall and a gondola ride up a mountain.
"If we take that, Shannon had better not fall," I said. Her eyes showed she wasn't pleased with that pun.
Another benefit of bringing my SUV that I hadn't considered was that I could allow Shannon to share the driving without having to deal with riders on a rental policy. She offered to take either leg of the round-trip journey, so I opted to drive to the falls; she could bring us back to the hotel.
The falls were indeed spectacular. I borrowed Shannon's phone to take photos of her with the falls in the background.
After about two minutes on the gondola, Shannon's hand wrapped around my wrist. When I glanced over at her, she seemed pale. "I'm not very good with heights," she said. "I'll be okay when we are on solid ground."
Her grip tightened as the car rose higher, and I moved my free hand onto hers for additional comfort.
The gondola deposited us on a wide, solid wooden platform. As she'd hoped, Shannon was much less uncomfortable there. But when we came to move around the central building to a narrower, fenced walkway, she moved to my right, further from the fence, and took my hand again. "Sorry," she whispered. "Keep going."
But as we approached the viewpoint and the start of the trails, Shannon froze. I turned to look at her, finding her face so pale it seemed yellow. People were stepping around her. "I can't," she said, her voice unsteady. "I just can't."
Behind me, now that I'd turned my attention to Shannon, was the suspension bridge that we would need to cross to walk any of the trails. She was clearly not ready even to get close to it. If she was this scared of heights it would be cruel to ask her to try.
"Let's go back, Shan," I said, trying to soothe her.
"I don't think I can do that, either," she said. "Oh, God, what do I do?"
Turning her to face the gondolas and the wide platform, I wrapped my arms around her from behind. "Just look to your left and watch the building, not the walkway or beyond," I said. "I've got you. Slowly, one foot in front of the other."
She nodded, and began to move forward. I held her close to the building and watched her feet. Partly so that I could ensure she didn't stumble, and partly to avoid looking at the side of her face, and seeing the unhealthy color of her skin.
At the platform, I guided her close to the center. Her breathing seemed to calm, and she lowered herself to sit on the wooden planking, but reached for my hand for comfort.
"I'm sorry," I said. "I didn't realize it would be so bad."
The color was returning to her cheeks. "No, I'm sorry," she said. "I'm fucking up your vacation. I shouldn't have stayed."
"Don't be silly," I said. "I want you with me. Especially when the sun goes down." I lifted one eyebrow and attempted a lascivious grin.
She laughed once. "There is that," she said. She added, "You should go see the waterfall from the trails. I'll be fine if you leave me here on the ground for a while."
"Would you really be okay?" I asked.
"Yeah, I'll be..." She shuddered and took a sharp breath. "To be honest, I'll be terrified until you return, but you deserve your view." She laughed again, unconvincingly. "I've seen Indiana Jones."
Squatting down beside her, I took her hand in both of mine and squeezed it. "No, I won't leave you. Let's get in line for the gondola down."
"But..." she began.
"No," I said, standing again. "Let's get out of here. If it isn't fun for you, it isn't fun for me. And we had a great ride on the gondola." After a second, I amended that. "Okay, maybe not so great, but at least you can say you've done it."
I tugged on her hand until she stood. Moments later we were floating on the descending cables.
Gripping her hand tightly, I examined her face for signs of panic. She gave me a weak smile. She was doing better than on the trip up.
"I'm pretending it's a plane," she said. "Isn't it weird that I can handle being miles high in a tin can with wings, but I can't walk on a solid wooden walkway with a fence? I think it's because I'm not exposed in an aircraft cabin. I'm not a great flyer at all, but I'm better there than outdoors."
I didn't let her take her turn at driving. We found a coffee shop in a nearby town. By the time we'd had coffee and pastries Shannon was much more relaxed, but I still kept the car keys.
That night, I didn't initiate anything with her, but she said, "I'm not fragile, you know. I'm fine now we're back at ground level." Then she rolled onto me.
The remainder of our mini-vacation was much more successful. We went shopping in the city. We took a ferry to Victoria and had afternoon tea at a tea room recommended by the hotel staff. We spent a large part of the following day in bed, and headed out dancing in the evening.
We took the final day easy, other than for the couple of hours I needed to spend with setup.
"Are we stupid, doing what we're doing?" Shannon asked, late that night.
I was thoroughly exhausted by our last night's activities. Shannon would be leaving the next day, and we wouldn't be seeing each other until San Diego, so we'd put in a little extra effort. "Having sex with each other?" I asked. "Seems the opposite of stupid, to me."
"No, I mean our work," she said. "I love the job. I'm good at the job. I even think it's a benefit to humanity, even though it's mostly a benefit to the shareholders. But it's very tiring. I'm wondering if I should try to find a way to destress."
"Yeah, that's fair," I agreed. And travelling most weekends is death on relationships. It's certainly killed mine."
"I'm thinking about selling the house and moving out of state, too," Shannon said. "Finding somewhere closer to an airport without California traffic. Colorado, maybe. There's a lot to think about, and I never have time."
"It's hard to believe we only met a year ago," Shannon said. "We haven't even spent that much time together in total, but it feels like you've been around to ease many stressful trips."
"Almost a year," I said. "One year tomorrow, since the convention is a day earlier."
She rolled her eyes. "What I said about you helping relieve stress? Ignore it."
I grinned and headed into the bar with her. Marc and Erika were sitting a couple of tables over from where I'd joined them last year, and incidentally met my now friend with benefits.
We took two empty seats at the table, Marc's eyebrow rising at both of us arriving together, but he didn't voice any curiosity, and we were soon talking shop.
Marc and Erika were talking with customer staff when Shannon leaned close to me. "Is your ticket changeable?"
"Uh, yeah, always," I said. There were often reasons to change our travel start or end date.
"Do you want to come to my place for a couple of days after the show? I'm still thinking of selling, but it's a lovely house with a great view, and I think it would be a shame if you don't get to see it."
"I can do that," I said.
"Great," she said.
"Is this where I find out after knowing you for a year that you're really a secret perv, and you're going to kidnap me and chain me in your sex dungeon?"
"Damn, you've seen through my ploy," she said. "I would totally do that, but I'd have to rely on the management company to keep you fed and attended to."
"Well, I'd rather be trapped in your sex dungeon than anyone else's," I said.
Erika gave us a curious look. My voice must have travelled more than I'd thought. I grimaced, hoping it hadn't reached the ears of the radiologists talking to Marc. From the fact that they were still talking politely with him, I thought it had not.
"Turn in your rental at the airport," Shannon suggested. "I'll bring you back there on Tuesday."
"Are you sure?" I asked.
"Yeah, it's a long drive. Gives us the chance to talk," she said.
I'd transferred my cases to her vehicle before heading to the airport, so once I'd driven into the return line I hopped into Shannon's passenger seat and she took off for home.
"I can split the driving with you, if you like," I offered.
"Huh. You wouldn't even let me drive in Vancouver," she said.
"That was for reasons!" I countered. "And it was only one day."
She grinned, then shook her head. "I'm still sorry about that day. I feel like I let you down. And you'll no longer see me as perfect."
"I never thought you were perfect," I said. "Uh, that didn't come out right, did it? You're not responsible for your irrational fears. If anything, I see you as a more complete person. Unless we ever want to have sex in a hot-air balloon, I don't see it affecting us."
"I think having sex in a balloon basket would be dangerously cramped," Shannon said.
"And I'm never going to learn to fly one, so there'd be someone watching us the whole time," I said.
"There's something I want to talk to you about," Shannon said, "that has nothing to do with heights or hot-air balloons."
"Or sex?" I asked.
"Maaaybe about sex," she said. "I'm not going to be in Dallas this year. There's a training class in Bristol that the company wants me to attend. I'll be leaving for the UK late this week."
"Oh... and not coming back early, I'm guessing?"
She shook her head. "No."
"Damn. It was seven months last year. With our schedules it will be eight."
"That's what I wanted to talk to you about," Shannon said. "Since the training's going to be early and in-depth, I'll probably have little to do after Zurich. I'd really like to show you around Bristol. You could meet my friends. Go to the purple bar. Visit the countryside. Could you take a couple of weeks' vacation?"
"Hmm, I'd have to check my balances.The last time I did, I only had nineteen weeks banked. It might be close."
"God, tell me about it," said Shannon, with a laugh. "See what you can do. I might be able to do three weeks between shows. It would be great if you could come over."
"And what about the French girls?" I asked. "You are going to be gone a long time."
Over the past few months, "French girls," had come to mean other casual sex partners. Ironically, of course, since Shannon's casual dalliances last year were with English, German and Italian women.
"Hmm. I should talk about French girls," she said, "but let's wait until we get to the house."
Shannon's house was beyond peaceful. Blissful might be a better word. The Pacific was a short walk, the houses tastefully camouflaged so that each appeared to own its section of the coastline. The sea was calm, the sound of breaking waves faint but persistent.
"God, why would you want to sell this?" I asked.
"I don't want to," Shannon replied, "but I don't think I can keep up with the flying commute anymore. I'm getting old." She smirked at me, since I was four years her senior.
"Ouch," I said, "though I hear what you're saying." I sighed. "Maybe I'll get more chances to visit before you put her on the block. Now tell me about French girls."
"I'm feeling... um, ambivalent about hookups on the road," she said. "Like you said once, it's good to know where the magic's going to happen. It happens between you and me, babe, wherever that is. Last year's French girls were fine, but even then I was feeling like I was mostly killing time. Now, I just feel like I'd be wasting time, if she isn't you. I don't know how to say it and make sense, but I'd prefer to wait until we can make magic. So, no French girls."
"Are you saying you want for us to be exclusive?" I asked.
"No-o," she said, slowly. "I'm saying I guess I will be exclusive, but I have no reason to ask you to do the same. De-facto exclusive, if you like. I'm not about to try to restrict how you live your life."
"I need to think about that," I said. "I have to admit that I enjoyed my time with Rachel last year, and I won't say we had no chemistry. She wore me out. But after you returned, I had no desire to seek out Rachel or any convention hook-up. Which is... kinda weird. Even though we couldn't be together, I felt like I should wait. So maybe I could go along with the idea. Still, eight months?"
"Eight months here, but split by three solid weeks in England."
"True enough," I admitted. "Okay. I'll sign up. No French girls."
We spent the next two days sunbathing, swimming, and testing the robustness of Shannon's very comfortable bed before she drove me to the airport. We'd each checked on vacation time. It would mean Sergiy taking the lead in Hawaii, which didn't disappoint him in the slightest, and Shannon travelling soon after the three week break was up, but neither of our managers objected.
So she'd be leaving in a couple of days, and I'd see her in England, with no conventions to interrupt us.