Awakenings - SF1 (20 page)

Your heartaches may be great, burdens heavy, but look around you and with whom would you change?

She was deep in thought when she felt Ryan's warm hand on her shoulder. "You okay?"
she asked gently.

"Yeah, yeah,"
she said as she shook her head a little. "I was just thinking of how lucky I've been. I mean, I just feel like I haven't experienced any terrible sorrows or know any serious troubles."

Ryan gave her a gentle hug, as she leaned over and whispered, "Don't rush it, Jamie. Live long enough and you'll know your share." She looked up at her friend and rested her head against her broad shoulder for a second. In a flash it hit her...she wasn't commenting so much about her charmed life...she was fervently wishing that she could remove the sad, haunted look that came over her friend's blue eyes when she thought about her own losses. But she didn't feel comfortable sharing this thought with Ryan so she just gave her a little squeeze and sat down until her friend had finished investigating the church.

When they returned to the bright sunshine Jamie pointed out some markers of her family history, including the spot under a beautiful redwood where her father had proposed to her mother. "That's really neat, Jamie,"
she marveled. "How old were your parents when they married?"

"Mother was only 20 when she had me, so I guess she was still 19 when they married. He was 24 at the time."

"How old is Jack?"
Ryan asked thoughtfully.

"He's 24," Jamie replied.

"And when is your wedding set for?"

"The summer after I graduate,"
Jamie replied. "I want to have the whole college experience as a single woman. And I want Jack to have a years work out of the way."

"Does he know where he is going to work?" Ryan inquired.

"Yeah, pretty much. He really wants to clerk for a federal judge after he graduates this summer. That could take him anywhere, though. He can't be too picky about the location. He wants the 9th Circuit Federal Court of Appeals. That would have him in the western region, but it could be Montana or even Hawaii. That's why I didn't want to get married right after he graduates."

"Wow, won't that be hard if he's that far away?"

Seemingly for the first time Jamie considered that. "Um, I guess it will but it's what he wants and it will help his long term career prospects."

For the second time that day Ryan bit her tongue rather than comment on the strange ways of these people of the Peninsula. "What are his plans after the clerkship is over,"
Ryan asked.

"It's pretty obvious that he'll get an offer from Morris, Foster,"
Jamie replied.

"What firm does your father work for?"
Ryan asked casually.

"That would be Morris, Foster,"
Jamie admitted with a little blush.

"I'm not prying, am I?"
Ryan asked with a hint of concern in her voice.

"No, not at all. I know that Jack is really talented. It just seems like an ideal opportunity for nepotism even though I know it's not. I guess I'm just sensitive to people perceiving me in a certain fashion."

"I certainly don't perceive of you as anything other than a hard working woman who I am certain would never marry anyone other than a hard working, talented man,"
Ryan said confidently. "Besides, the mere fact that your father works for the firm isn't that big a deal. I mean, it is a huge place, isn't it?"

Jamie rolled her eyes a bit as she revealed, "Yeah it's huge all right...but my dad doesn't just work there. He's the managing partner. That's about like being the CEO of a business."

"Oh...um...well, I bet in a way that will make it a little harder for Jack. The last thing your dad wants is to hire some dolt and have everyone think it's mere nepotism."

"Thanks, Ryan,"
Jamie replied, a bit relieved. "It's just that I know people think that everything comes so easily for me, and that my parents just get me everything I want,"
she admitted. "I worry that people will think that Jack got his job because I demanded it."

"I know that's not true,"
Ryan said gravely. "Money can't buy everything, Jamie. It can't buy you big quadriceps!"
this last sentence came from over her shoulder as she put on a terrific burst of speed and left Jamie in her dust, a mellow laugh trailing after her.

"I thought the key for this ride was long SLOW distance!"
Jamie huffed as she finally caught up to Ryan's slowing form.

"It is, Jamie,"
she said seriously. "Why, do you want to go fast?"
she asked with the most cherubic of faces.

"It's obvious that you were raised with brothers, Ryan O'Flaherty,"
she sulked.

"Yeah, sometimes it's painfully obvious!"
Ryan teased, as she burst into another flash of blinding speed.

They completed the scheduled 15 miles with just a few more sprints. By the time they returned to the apartment Jamie was definitely beginning to tighten up. "I don't think I could go another mile,"
she moaned.

Ryan looked fresh as a daisy, of course, and this slightly irritated Jamie. "You know, you could at least try not to look like you've been lying on the beach for the afternoon."

Ryan laughed and did her best to put on a tired and bedraggled expression. She dragged herself over to the buzzer and rang it several times. "I guess Jack went out,"
she finally said after 3 tries.

"And I was going to bribe him to carry me upstairs, "Jamie whined.

"Well, you're way too heavy for a poor tired woman like me,"
Ryan teased. "But I could help you out with this." At that she leaned over and grabbed Jamie's bike frame with one powerful arm and hefted it onto her shoulder. She grabbed the wheel with her hand to steady it and then repeated the series of motions to pick up her own bike. She turned and grinned at a startled Jamie, "Lead on Princess."

Jamie climbed the stairs quickly, extracting her key from a small, hidden pocket in her bike shorts. She held the door open fully for Ryan to enter with her cargo. As she carefully squatted and placed all four wheels on the ground Jamie stood in front of her and steadied both sets of handlebars.

"Thank you, Oh
,
Powerful One,"
she intoned as she bent in praise.

"Oh, that's nothing,"
Ryan replied casually. "I probably could have left you on the darn thing, but it would have upset my center of gravity."

"Yeah, right!"
Jamie teased along with a little poke in the gut. "Hey,"
she said seriously as she poked again and was met with a very firm resistance, "Maybe you're right,"
she marveled. "I thought you said your tummy was flabby,"
she chided.

"I'm quite sure I never said that,"
Ryan assured her with a chuckle. "I said that I have a thicker layer of abdominal fat than you have but my abs are in great shape if I do say so myself. Keeping them built up really helps with bike riding."

Jamie reached over to pat her again. "They are firm,"
she admitted, wishing that Ryan would lift her shirt for a peek. "How do you get them so firm? Do you do the same crunches you showed me?"

"Yeah, sometimes,"
she advised. "But I like to challenge myself a little so I've devised some little tortures that I don't think you'd like,"
she said with a grin.

Jamie crossed her arms across her chest and glared at her friend. "Like what, Tough Stuff?"

"Well, my new favorite is to lie on a declining bench and do some crunches."

"That doesn't sound so hard,"
Jamie scoffed.

"No, that part isn't hard. But I have someone toss a medicine ball at my gut while I'm doing them,"
she said with a casual look on her face.

"WHAT!? One of those heavy, sand filled, leather balls?"

"Uh huh,"
she said as she blithely refastened her pony tail, trying to suppress a grin at Jamie's shocked expression.

"I don't think I believe you,"
she finally mumbled.

Ryan could never resist a challenge. She stood tall and gazed at her friend with a daring look and said, "Hit me."

"What?!"

"Hit me,"
she repeated. "Hit me in the gut...hard as you can."

"Ryan! I wouldn't do that! I would hurt you!"

Ryan gave her a slight smirk as she scoffed, "Don't think so."

"You don't think I could hurt you?"
she asked incredulously. "I'm not as weak as I look!"

"Prove it,"
she demanded, her blue eyes sparking fire.

"Fine!"
Jamie fumed, quite insulted that her friend treated her like a weakling. Ryan tensed her abs and jutted out her chin defiantly. Jamie pulled her arm back and popped her right in the gut at about 50% of her capacity. She had closed her eyes as she swung since she did not want to see the pain in her friend's face. But when she opened her eyes Ryan was not only not in pain she was laughing at her.

"Is that all you've got?"
she scoffed.

"You want more? I'll give you more!" This time she kept her eyes wide open as she reared back and slammed her fist into Ryan's midsection with as much force as she could generate. But at impact it felt like she had slammed her hand into a brick wall. Only this wall was smirking at her.

"That was better,"
she advised. "Wanna switch?"

"You are truly mad!"
she fumed, rather outraged that she had been unable to hurt Ryan's body or her attitude. But just as that thought hit her she slapped herself in the head. "You made me want to hurt you!"
she gasped. "I've never hit someone with that intent before!"

Ryan slung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a sound hug. "Boy you missed a lot not growing up with brothers! If one of us wasn't bleeding or crying at the end of the day we just felt incomplete!"

"Well I've had enough,"
she grumbled. "I don't ever want you to taunt me into hitting you again! Are you sure I didn't hurt you?"

"Nope,"
she declared. She reached out and grasped Jamie's right hand and closely examined the wrist. "You didn't hurt yourself did you?"
she asked solicitously.

The smaller woman shook her hand roughly a few times. "No, but it does sting a little. How on earth do you make your abs that hard?"

"Nothing but hard work, Pal." Ryan cast a glance at the slight quiver in Jamie's thighs, "Time for a little rub down, Buffy,"
she ordered.

"Ohhh, my favorite part of any exercise,"
Jamie enthused.

Jack walked in to the apartment as Ryan was finishing her massage of Jamie's hamstrings. His face was friendly, but a little impassive, to Jamie's eyes.
Please don't let this bother him
. "Hi, Honey. Where did you go?"
she asked brightly.

"I had to run down to the bookstore for a few minutes. I'm sorry I wasn't here to help you bring the bike up."

"You should be, I really needed a hand,"
she lied. She glanced at Ryan to see if her lie would get a reaction, but Ryan's head was bent in concentration at her task. "Ryan's a massage therapist," Jamie added, even though Jack had not commented on their activities.

He forced himself to banish the thought of Ryan giving a woman an intimate all nude massage, and said weakly, "Oh, that's nice."

Jamie was pleased that the rather intimate contact with Ryan didn't seem to bother Jack.
Maybe he's really getting used to her
, she hoped.

Late that night as Jack hovered over her, claiming her with a need that was foreign to their lovemaking, Jamie wondered if Ryan was the cause.
Whatever the cause
, she thought,
this is a very good thing
.

Early the next morning as Ryan lay quivering in Ally's arms she thanked the gods that she had the foresight to request gentle treatment on Friday night.
My God, if she had done me like this on Friday I would have had to cancel our bike ride. I'm not even sure I'll be able to ride my Harley home
.
Oh well
, she thought as she drifted off to sleep
, I sure couldn't choose which of those orgasms to give back, so I guess I'll keep them all!

Not only did they not have brunch before their appointment with Mark, they barely made it to the gym by noon. Ryan just did her job on autopilot and by the end of the hour she wasn't sure if he liked Ally or not. But he happily agreed to switch and he gave Ryan a big kiss goodbye and wished her luck.

Ryan looked at Ally through her bloodshot eyes and moaned, "If I don't get some food into this poor abused body I'm gonna faint!"

"We've got 3 hours until our next appointment. I'll buy you some lunch, Sweetness. What would you like to eat?"

"Anything, as long as it's fast,"
she replied.

Ally didn't take her seriously. She knew that Ryan needed some nutrients to get her through the day so she took her to a nice little café right on Market that specialized in low fat vegetarian food. Ryan scanned the menu and tried to find something that did not appeal to her. She was unsuccessful so she ordered a cheese and mushroom frittata and a fruit salad. She also asked for a large orange juice and some coffee. Ally got an egg white omelet and oatmeal, her normal breakfast fare.

Ally dashed off to use the restroom and Ryan whiled away the time thinking about their relationship. It dawned on her that they hadn't shared a meal in a restaurant in years.
Ally suggested we have brunch together,
she mused.
And both nights she let me touch her much earlier than normal. I wonder what's up with that? And she just seemed to assume that I would stay with her all weekend. Normally she doesn't extend that kind of invitation. Could she be changing the rules? Do I want her to?

She was pulled from her reverie by Ally's light kiss on her cheek as she passed by to take her seat. "Miss me?"
she asked with a twinkle in her eye.

Ryan gave her a sweet smile and reached out to lightly grasp her hand as she honestly replied, "Often."

Ally cocked her head and looked like she was going to ask what that meant but she obviously decided not to pursue the issue. "So tell me more about this new job."

Ryan gave her a little more info on 'Women Power' and filled her in on how the opportunity came up.

"Is that the same woman you went on your bike ride with?"
she asked.

Ryan was surprised that she had caught that detail. "Yeah, it is. She's a woman from my 'Lesbian Sexuality' class at school."

Ally just shook her head at that. "Do you think they offer that class at normal schools or just Berserkely?"
she asked, using the playful moniker for the ultra-liberal campus.

"I think it's probably common at the big, liberal universities, but I don't think it's the norm by any means,"
she admitted.

"Sounds like a great way to pick up women,"
she said with a wink. "Had any luck besides this Jamie?"

"Yeah, I've had a couple of nice evenings with my classmates,"
she admitted. "But not Jamie. She's actually straight. She's engaged to a guy who goes to Stanford. That's why we were riding in Palo Alto. She goes down there on the weekends to stay with him."

"Uhh huh,"
Ally said with a knowing smirk. "All the straight girls take a class in Lesbian Sexuality. And even more of them want to hang out with you."

"No really, Ally, she's straight,"
Ryan patiently explained.

"How many straight women are you friends with, Ryan?"
she asked her directly.

"Umm..." Ryan furrowed her brow as she ran through her list of friends. With a chagrined look she finally admitted, "None."

"Exactly. And I'm guessing that it's not because you don't like straight women. But most straight women feel uncomfortable being really close with a lesbian unless they want to flip...at least temporarily. I guarantee she wants more from you than just friendship,"
she predicted.

"Hmm, I don't know how I'd feel about that," Ryan reflected. "I think I like her too much to have a fling with her. I think it would screw up our friendship."

"Is she cute?"

"Oh yeah,"
Ryan said with a playful chuckle. "She's totally cute. About 5'4", slim, but with some nice muscles beginning to develop, blonde hair, sea green eyes, pouty little mouth..."

"Okay, okay,"
Ally said with a laugh as she held up her hands, "I get it!" She looked at Ryan for another minute as she added, "If she ever gets kidnapped I hope the cops ask
you
for her description."

Ryan flushed a little at the implication. "I'm just observant,"
she said rather defensively.

"Hey, you don't have to convince me,"
Ally reminded her. "But if I was her boyfriend I'd keep her away from you,"
she said firmly as she patted Ryan's hand. "Mother Teresa would want to flip for you, Sugar,"
she said fondly.

"She's dead, Ally,"
Ryan reminded her.

"Wouldn't matter, Baby. You could bring the dead to life!"

Monday morning found Ryan lying beneath Ally's sprawled out body. After their 4 o'clock appointment Ryan had gone home for dinner but as soon as the dishes were clean she packed up her things in her backpack and headed on back to Ally's. They had spent the night making love with nearly as much passion as they had possessed on Saturday night, and Ryan was almost ready to shut off her watch alarm and just stay cuddled up.

The insistent alarm woke them both and Ally crawled off of her to go to the bathroom while Ryan waged a small war with her well hidden lazy side. When she returned she reached for Ryan and started to stroke her belly in a very friendly manner. Ryan knew if they got started again she'd lose the whole day so she gave her a kiss and softly patted her cheek. "Gotta go, Babe,"
she murmured softly, forcing herself to slip out of bed avoiding Ally's reaching hands. She stumbled into the shower and when she came out her friend was sound asleep again. Ryan checked the alarm clock to make sure it was set for 8 since she assumed Ally had to be at work by 9 and then she walked over to the kitchen table and left her a note.