Thank you for your comments on the first chapter, which was quite a while ago. Sorry, but sometimes life interferes with plans.
My original intent was that it was going to be a stand-alone chapter with nothing afterward. But several comments were made that there were many directions that it could go. And I felt that if I stopped, then the introduction of Sam into the story was a waste of my time in writing it and your time in reading it.
So, I picked a direction. Hope you enjoy it. Like my other stories, it's long and slow but, descriptive.
There are references to Obstetrics Nursing, the Martial Arts Discipline, Karate, and PTSD in this and subsequent chapters.
I have personally experienced none. Everything here came from my research into the subjects. So, if I got something incorrect, or not quite accurate. Please just let it ride. This is for your, as well as, my enjoyment.
As always, everyone is over 18.
A brief recap of the first chapter, in case you don't want to reread it. However, reading the first chapter will set up the emotions, and understanding of the two main characters that will be playing out in this and subsequent chapters.
The main character, Bill, is a mechanical engineer employed by a defense contractor. He randomly meets up with an OB/GYN nurse, Sam, at a local Park District-sponsored karate class. They find an attraction, and have a casual first date, ending in a brief kiss.
The weekend after their date, Sam has plans for a family get-together, so Bill drives out to spend the weekend with his parents like he has many times before. His mom sends him into town to pick up some specialty herbal vitamins. It is there, that he comes face-to-face with his high school girlfriend, Michelle. Michelle broke his heart when she suddenly broke up with him, without telling him the reason. Alone, in the vitamin store, Michelle confesses that the reason she
had
to break up with him was that she had become pregnant, while he was away at school.
Bill and Michelle never did the deed, but they did mess around, as hormone-raged teenagers. He was terrified of her becoming pregnant and ruining their future, so he was still a virgin. Selfishly, Michelle convinces Bill that, while he couldn't be her first, they turn back the hands of time and spend an hour or so, giving themselves to each other.
As Bill leaves, he has mixed and conflicting emotions about their coupling.
.................................................
I got back into my weekly routine, although the Saturday afternoon with Michelle made it difficult to concentrate at work and
especially
in my alone time at night.
My mind drifted to what I said, as I left the store that afternoon. Did I love her, or was it just the cascade of emotions from our coupling coming out? Did giving her my virginity make her a lasting part of me, even though, she belonged to someone else? Like Michelle said, "You'll always remember your first time". And that my first time, was with my long-ago high school girlfriend, made it even more special and even more difficult, to just let go.
But I knew that I had to. I promised Michelle that I wouldn't do anything to upset her family, and I meant it. Being a small town, it would have been relatively easy to find her phone number and where she lived. I couldn't see myself as a 'home wrecker'; too many lives would be affected, and hurt. That's not who I am. Besides, we both knew that it was a one-time thing. I also knew, from her various comments, that the only thing that kept her in her marriage was her son, who she deeply loved.
As I lay in my bed, in the quiet of the night, I wondered what was going through her mind. Did she just leave everything in that room, when she locked the door on her way out that afternoon? Or was she as conflicted as I was? I would never know.
Lying there, the little voices in my brain at work. "Are you some kind of a moron? Why are you complicating the simple? Are you really that dense? Really that stupid?"
It was a rare moment of clarity when I realized the obvious, as a three-letter word came to me... Sam.
I knew that I would have a much less complicated life if I followed my instincts, and got on with my life. Leave Michelle behind. Yeah, what we shared that afternoon will stay with, and be part of me. But I wanted someone that I could grow with. Somebody, that if the stars aligned themselves right, I could be happy and content with. Somebody who I could love and, most importantly, somebody who would, unconditionally, love me back.
It seemed like a simple decision. A simple path. Sometimes, it pays to listen to those voices.
......................................
The first karate class after that weekend pretty much made me focus on something other than Michelle. It was a welcomed distraction. And then there was Sam, with her bright infectious smile, petite little body, cute little bare feet, her blonde hair pulled back in a casual ponytail, and bubbly personality, taking up a spot next to me on the mat. The spot that she had claimed as her very own. We each exchanged warm smiles, as we hadn't seen each other in a week.
Visiting our favorite bar after class, the group settled in and casually talked about nothing in particular. I found Sam, once again, sitting right next to me, as if marking her territory and claiming me. We were both wearing shorts, and at times our knees touched. I found it electrifying, as Sam never pulled away, whenever we made contact. It seemed like that innocent contact made her scoot over a bit. I saw some of the other women giving us knowing smiles, as they knew
exactly
what was going on between us. I have to admit, I liked it.
The rest of the group headed out again for some music and dancing. Sam and I stayed. It was the first time we had been able to talk since our last class. She had another early morning and a full day ahead of her, so she needed to make it an early evening.
Sam talked about her weekend at her family cabin. It was just her, her younger brother, her parents, and her one grandmother.
It sounded really nice. It was about three hours north, an easy drive on the interstate, and then about a thirty-minute drive to the lake. The more Sam described the cabin, the more I had the impression that this was
not
a rustic small log cabin in the woods.
It had been in her family for generations and shared by relatives on both sides. Over the years, many improvements and additions had been added. A six-bedroom two-story cabin on the shore of a medium-sized lake with about 150 feet of sandy shoreline that sat back from the sandy beach by about 100 feet.
Her dad had a ski boat, so she spent a lot of time water skiing during the heat of the day, when the fishermen were off the lake. Sam grinned as she said that she would swing side-to-side behind the boat, bouncing and jumping over the boat's wake on one ski. The fact that Sam sounded like a pretty accomplished skier didn't surprise me in the least. It wasn't that she was bragging, she was just being her relaxed and confident self. I loved it.
A vision of Sam in a bikini flashed through my fertile brain: long toned legs, flat tummy, her small breasts contained in her bikini top, and then there would be those firm buns of her butt against the tight material of her bikini. I don't know if she picked up on it or not, but I tried to maintain my concentration on what she was saying. I think I pulled it off. Still, that image stayed with me.
I told her that I had only skied once and that I lucked out and got up on the first try, but I was nowhere near being able to jump over the boat's wake. She just grinned, squeezed my arm, and said, "Maybe we can do something about that."
