This part picks up the morning after chapter three with Rick and Cassie getting ready to drive back to Vancouver together. Thanks for reading so far and I hope you continue to enjoy the story with this chapter. As always I urge you to practice safe sex unlike my fictional characters. Comments, good or bad, are always welcomed too.
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After lying awake thinking for half the night my alarm woke me up with a groan. Cassie hopped right out of bed like woman on a mission as she put on her bathrobe. I wanted to go back to sleep though I knew I had to get up. She smiled at me sweetly and said she was leaving in an hour so if I wanted to come with her I better be ready. Bolting wide-awake I got out of bed practically tripping over the blankets in my haste as she snickered at me. The look in her eyes said she'd never make good on her threat to leave without me.
We took a shower together but didn't have time for sex. I washed her body thoroughly though taking special delight in her soapy breasts. I dried off quickly afterwards and got dressed in the clothes I set aside the day before. I left Cassie in my bedroom to get ready and pack up the rest of her things. Carrying my luggage downstairs I put it in the trunk of her car. Making two more trips for the boxes I looked around for something I might be forgetting as I waited for her. I didn't find anything and was ready to cook us a quick breakfast when I heard footsteps on the stairs. It was Cassie coming down with my roommates in tow. She was smiling at me and Miguel was carrying her suitcase for her.
"What are you guys doing up?" I asked.
"They didn't want you to leave without saying goodbye," Cassie explained.
"She woke you up didn't she? Sorry guys," I said smiling at their grumpy faces.
"No it's alright," Greg said. "I can't wait to see the last of you now." We stepped outside and got Cassie's luggage put in her car. I stared at the guys unsure of what to say. It was Tim who broke the tension.
"I'm going to miss you Rick," he said refusing to shed the tears that pooled in his eyes. "And you," he said turning towards Cassie and giving her a hug. "Take good care of him for us," he said.
"I promise I will," she said wiping away her own tears. "You should come visit us sometime. When Jana moves out we'll have a spare bedroom."
"Maybe when Rick comes back for the rest of his stuff," he said.
"Good luck my friend," Miguel said shaking my hand. "Thank you so much for everything Cassie," he said hugging her too.
"I want you to keep us updated on things between you and Anita," Cassie said smiling at him. I'm sure in her mind she already had them living happily ever after.
"Well I don't care that you're leaving, but I'll give her a hug," Greg said grinning and patting Cassie on the back. "Seeing you find someone to love gives hope to rest of us Rick. If there's anything I can do for you."
"I'll be fine," I assured him.
"I've already asked my father to check with his contacts to see if they know someone in Vancouver looking for recent finance graduates," he told me.
"Thanks Greg," I said smiling at his thoughtfulness. "Well this is it guys," I said. "I'll never forget these past four years with you."
"Quit standing there and give him a hug," Cassie said when she grew impatient with our standing around.
"Bye guys," I said getting in the car.
"See you in a few weeks," Tim said waving as I backed Cassie's car out. With a blast of the horn I waved one last time and drove off to start a new life with Cassie.
"Are you okay?" she asked softly.
"I'm fine sweetie," I said smiling at the sweet concern written across her face.
I tried to keep quiet so she could study as I drove. From time to time I'd point out something we were driving past and I asked her if she wanted anything when I stopped at a gas station along the highway. Other than that I didn't really speak unless I was spoken to. She closed her last book when we were about an hour from the Canadian border and said she was done reviewing everything. Since it was her car, I pulled over and switched seats with her so she could drive across the border. If we did get selected for a thorough search, that would be a much better way to start.
While she was studying I had noticed she had some sample questions from past finals. Sitting in the passenger seat I started quizzing her and made her laugh with my horrible pronunciations of some of the medical terms. My claim that I was more familiar with the American spelling of these words that seemed to have a few too many vowels for their own good was met with more of her sweet laughter. I wouldn't let her see the paper though because the correct answers were already circled. Spelling the words I was butchering too badly for her to make out I was pleased when she only got one wrong and that was because I didn't read the question right.
Sure enough we were pulled over at the border crossing for a complete search when they saw my boxes in the back seat. I'd been expecting it and we had nothing to hide so we cooperated fully, letting them look through all our things. Cassie was a Canadian citizen returning home from a weekend visit to America so they had no problem letting her in of course. They looked at my identification plus the amount of stuff I was bringing with me and knew it wasn't for a vacation. I was informed that by law I had to apply for legal immigrant status if I planned to stay. They were very nice about it though and gave me a pamphlet with a lot more information. Letting us cross the border they said welcome to Canada as we drove through.
I had mentioned stopping to eat earlier but Cassie suggested we wait until we crossed into Canada because she wanted to take me to a restaurant just on the north side of the border that she liked. The food was fantastic and we were both hungry after skipping breakfast that morning to get on the road quickly. When she came back from the bathroom and snatched the bill from my hand saying she'd pay because I didn't have any Canadian money I knew right away that was a big part of the reason she wanted to wait to eat. It didn't occur to me until much later that a restaurant within shouting distance of the border probably would have been happy to accept U.S. currency.
Vancouver is a beautiful city right on the Pacific Ocean. Of all the places in the world she could have found her dream job I knew I was lucky she'd picked the city she did. There was skiing and snowboarding almost year round just a couple of hours away in her hometown of Whistler and so much to do and see. They had their own stock exchange that was a far cry from Wall Street, but still it should offer some decent job prospects for me. We were still on the west coast too only much further north than I ever imagined living. It meant I'd get to watch Dodger games without having to stay up late and there were daily direct flights to LA when we wanted to visit my mother.
