Dear reader: you are about to read the conclusion of a story that has a plot line. You will enjoy it much more if you first read
part one
,
part two
, and
part three
.
*
The knock on the door seemed unnaturally loud, interrupting, as it did, such a pleasant afterglow. Scott and Audry both took a split second to react; then Scott, nimbly and noiselessly, was scampering into the bathroom with most of his clothes in his hands. Audry, simulating drowsiness, called out, "Just a minute," while quickly rummaging through her luggage for her robe. Finding it, she put it on and made for the door. She opened it slightly.
Outside was Pat, smiling brightly. "Hey, let's celebrate!" she said. "It was a false alarm about my mom. She's fine. My girl Shirley at the front desk told me your room number." Pat gave Audry a quick hug and bustled into the room, pulling a travel suitcase on wheels behind her. She smelled of lilacs.
"I was just lying down," said Audry. Technically, that was the truth. As she spoke the words, it dawned on Audry that the room was awash with the heady fragrances of sex.
Audry was full of conflicting emotions; she was happy to see her old friend, she was guilty about having just bedded her husband, she was still aroused. She noted with a bit of embarrassment that Pat's dress was wet from the rain outside, and it was possible to see through the thin fabric that her nipples were erect, probably from the brisk wind of the storm.
Pat was dressed to the nines. She wore a fashionable, somewhat daringly short dress, made of a slinky material made slinkier by the rain. It was quite a contrast to her usual conservative business suits. It was very flattering; she still had a model's body, tall and slender, not as full breasted as Audry's but very womanly nonetheless. Her light brown, curly hair was cut short in a manner reminiscent of a flapper from the 1920s. Pat seemed a bit giddy, chattering as she put her suitcase up on the bed and began to open it.
"They were all talking about your speech downstairs. It sounds like a resounding success! I hope you're in the mood to celebrate. I know I am. Look what I brought!"
Near the surface of the opened suitcase was some sort of large plastic container full of ice, which Pat was now opening to reveal two bottles of champagne.
Meanwhile, in the bathroom, Scott was weighing his options. He decided that further delay would only make him look more guilty. He was fully dressed now. He cleared his voice loudly and called out, "Pat, is that you?"
"Hi, Honey!" she responded brightly. "Wait 'til you see what I brought! It's party time!"
Scott emerged from the bathroom, examining the champagne. Pat crossed the room and gave him a big, slow kiss on the mouth. That was not like her -- she avoided public displays of affection. Not that this situation was really public. Scott wasn't sure how one ought to describe it. He was feeling more guilty than Audry was, dreading Pat's inevitable realization that he had been cheating. Pat, however, showed no sign that she had figured it out. Scott's mind was geared up to provide a plausible explanation. He was barefoot. He yearned for the imagined security of shoes and socks.
"Audry wasn't feeling well after her speech," he said.
"She gets stage fright, don't you, Audry?" said Pat. "But you'll be fine. Especially after a few glasses of this." Pat was expertly removing the little cage from the champagne cork. Pop! And now she was pouring it into three plastic glasses. Scott seated himself on the bed, on the other side of the suitcase from Pat. Audry pulled up one of the armchairs.
Distributing the glasses, she addressed herself to Scott. "Mom only had the twenty-four hour bug, Honey. It was a false alarm."
That explains it
, thought Scott.
Drat!
He should have seemed more curious about her early return from Green Bay, but guilt had stopped him from asking about it. Scott was a bit dizzy -- had she figured it out, or not? And what was with that kiss -- it seemed to have a bit of extra pizzazz. He was greatful that Pat seemed so upbeat, and he was greatful for the champagne -- he needed to relax, try to think this through. He took a hasty drink.
Audry's head was also awhirl. What was Pat up to? She remembered drinking champagne with Pat back in the dorm room, some years ago. That was when Pat had "borrowed" Audry's flame at the time, a Hungarian student named Laszlo. She had sex with him outdoors, in a dark area under the trees near the Rathskeller. She was so proud of herself that she offered a toast, and before long they were both naked on their respective beds, giggling and sharing the details of Pat's conquest, until they were no longer giggling but gasping and moaning as they fingered themselves and talked each other to climax. Audry sighed to herself and adjusted her legs a bit, thinking back on that night, until her reverie was interrupted by Pat, who was talking once again:
"I'm
so
glad that the two of you had a chance to get acquainted." Scott swallowed. Pat kept talking. "I've always thought that you would hit it off. Isn't this champagne scrumptious?"
"Yes, it sure is," said Audry, drinking rather rapidly. "Here, could you fill this up again?"
Pat merrily filled Audry's glass, and then her own. "Audry, isn't that your robe that you wore in college?"
"Yep," replied Audry, taking another swallow. "It never seems to wear out, and just gets more comfortable."
"Remember the story you told me about Richard?"
Audry almost choked on her champagne. "Yes," she said guardedly. Where was this headed?
"You were wearing that robe, right?"
"Yes, I think so."
"Scott, I don't think I've ever told you about the project that Audry and I had when we were dorm-mates. You don't mind if I tell, do you, Audry?"
Audry didn't think she was in much of a position to argue. She smiled wanly, shrugged her shoulders, and took a generous sip from her champagne glass.
"Audry and I used to party together, and I guess we were a little boy-crazy. Hey, look what else I brought!" Pat fished around in her suitcase, and pulled out a bong that Audry recognized from their campus days. Audry's blood stirred a little, as if by reflex. The bong always was a prelude to sex talk. Pat produced a baggie full of reefer.
Scott's eyes were saucers now. When he was first dating Pat, she had already made the transition to successful businesswoman. The idea of her smoking weed was a novelty to him. He had tried it himself in college -- didn't everyone? -- but never with Pat.
"Have you ever done this, Honey?" Pat asked him. He nodded. He was not in a position to argue, either. Pat was busily loading up the bong. She took a hit, and passed it to Scott with a look of expectation. He followed suit.
Audry was trying to fathom all of this, but intoxication was quickly overriding her anxieties about the situation. And she was becoming aware that she was once again seriously aroused. She adjusted her legs again. It was her turn to use the bong.