Amber Decides

After lunch and a two-hour drive, we arrived at the third and final college on our weekend tour. We missed the last campus tour of the day, but that was fine.

Arm-in-arm, we crossed the campus, primarily silent as Amber drank in the surroundings and tried to get a sense of the college atmosphere. Of the three colleges, this was clearly the "party school" as evidenced by the loud music coming from the dorms, and also the scent of marijuana -- which I hoped Amber did not recognize -- as we passed by a basement-level dorm room with a slightly-ajar window.

One sound we did hear was a sound I was slightly surprised we had not heard at the previous two colleges: the sound of two students fucking in a dorm room. The hard slapping of bodies was quite noticeable, and the sound of someone being spanked was fairly prominent, but the feminine cry of "Oh God! Harder!!!" was unmistakable.

"Do I sound like that?" Amber asked me in a hushed tone.

"On occasion," I admitted with a knowing smile which she instantly returned.

*****

We found a hole-in-the-wall family-owned restaurant for dinner. There was quite a crowd of patrons, and the resulting noise was fairly loud for such a small place, but that also meant that Amber and I could have a rather private conversation without needing to lower our voices very much.

Invariably, the chatter turned to the three colleges we had visited.

"I don't know about the last one," she admitted. "It would be a fun place, but that could also be distracting from getting any actual studying done."

"In a way," I said honestly, "I'm glad to hear you say that. If you're going to spend that much money over four years getting additional education, you may as well get your money's worth instead of throwing it down on the bar."

"Very true. Although..."

"'Although' what?" I asked.

"Well..." Amber hesitated. "I wish we could've stayed there and listened to the fucking."

Underneath the table, I slid my ankles against hers. "I think that might have been just a bit obvious," I noted with a grin.

"I know. But also..."

"Yes?" I prompted.

Amber simply shook her head. "Nothing. Just something I need to figure out for myself."

*****

In our hotel room, Amber and I relaxed together in a hot bath. There were no nicely-scented bubbles and no candlelight to create a romantic atmosphere, but those elements truly were not needed for us to enjoy the loving scenario.

I held her close, my caresses chaste despite the fact that Amber and I were both quite naked. From the very slow and very steady breathing, I was almost certain that she had fallen asleep as she leaned back against me, but soon, she surprised me.

"Aaron," she whispered, "do you really want me to go to college?"

Her question surprised me. While I had always told her as she grew up that it would be important for her to go to college, while I knew deep inside that she would become an even better person by furthering her education, I honestly did not want to see her go to college.

...at least, not yet.

I gave her middle a gentle squeeze. "Yes and no," I confessed. "Yes because of all the reasons I've told you over the years, and because of how college helped to change me and introduce me to new things, to new concepts and new people. But no because..." I hesitated for a moment. "...because I don't want to be separated from you. I know that's selfish, but I really don't want to be so far away from you and no longer able to awaken beside you and share a meal with you and hold you close while watching TV and taking a Sunday drive through the countryside..."

Amber nodded her understanding. "I'll miss all those things as well," she said, and I knew then that she had made up her mind: She was definitely going to be attending one of the first two colleges we had visited on this weekend tour.

I sighed sadly, and as I gently cupped and squeezed her breasts, I knew that I had to set my selfishness aside, even though it could mean that I would lose my precious Amber. The French saying, "Loin des yeux, loin du cœur," certainly seemed to apply here, and that was exactly my fear: I was deeply afraid that, many miles away from me and surrounded by countless scores of guys her own age, Amber would slip away from me give her heart to someone else.

Again, I sighed sadly. I tried to console myself with thoughts of modern technology and how it could be used to maintain contact with this precious young woman, but it simply would not be the same. All the pictures and e-mails and Skype calls and instant messages could never replace her actual presence.

"You could always come with me, you know," Amber noted. "You work from home, and you don't travel very much. We could buy a house or a condo near the college, and it will essentially be just like it is now: You work during the day while I am in classes, and then the evenings and weekends are 'us' time."

"I've thought about that," I said, "but the housing market right now just doesn't want to support that idea. But even though I don't want to lose you, I definitely do want you to go on and continue your studies. You'll become a better person because of it."

We lapsed into a deep, thoughtful silence. The temperature of the water had cooled noticeably by the time we finally rose from the bath, taking our time in drying each other. I dried Amber first, and then, as she dried me, she knelt before me, taking me into her mouth, suckling the tip of my manhood.

"Amber..." I said softly.

"Shhhh..." she admonished me. "Just enjoy."

I leaned back against the bathroom counter, looking upon this wonderful woman and wondering just how many more times I would have the opportunity to see her kneeling before me with her head bobbing back and forth. With her mouth and her hands, she took her time in slowly enticing me, shifting position several times because she was kneeling upon the tile floor for such a long time, yet she did not complain. Her sole intent was to give me pleasure, and she did so quite well, sucking and stroking me to the point at which I felt the climax was near, but knowing me well enough to maintain the pleasure while pushing back my release.

Eventually, however, I could not wait any longer. Seizing her head in my hands, I took my pleasure from her mouth and released my love down her throat as I groaned aloud with each volley of white. In the afterglow of my climax, as I leaned against the counter, she slowly rose before me, kissing her way up my body until she stood before me, her arms wrapped tightly and protectively around me, and as I held her, I was certain that this was her way to begin to say goodbye.

*****

In the morning, as I packed my small travel bag for the trip back home, Amber came and stood behind me, gently scratching me along my spine. "I've decided," she announced.

That definitely captured my attention, and I turned to face her, taking her into my arms. "Whatever you decide," I said sincerely, "I'll support your decision one million percent."

She smiled knowingly and placed a soft kiss upon my chin. Looking deep into my eyes, she proclaimed, "I'll attend the first college."

Sadness welled up within me quickly. I felt my throat tighten, and I knew that I had to rapidly gain control of myself or else tears would come to my eyes, and I did not want to cry before her. I wanted to be strong for her, even when that meant that what I truly wanted would not come to pass.

"But I'll attend next year."

Amber smiled at my expression of confusion. "They've accepted me, so they'll almost certainly understand if I inform them that I accept with a one-year deferment. If they don't, then I'll just apply again, with an Early Decision application. After all, if they've accepted me once, they'll almost certainly accept me again."

"But... why?" I asked, overjoyed yet genuinely bewildered by Amber's decision.

"Because of you," she explained quietly. "I don't want to be away from you if at all possible, and this will give us plenty of time to sell the house and find a new place near campus. And if you're that close to campus, then even though I'll officially have a dorm room because of the rules for first-year student housing, I'll be able to be with you every day. It would be like it is now: You working and me in classes all day, and then the evenings and weekends would be just for us, our 'together' time, just like now."

Once the unexpectedness of Amber's decision had passed, I seized her in a bear hug. This time, I did not mind crying in her presence, for these were tears of joy, tears which Amber shared.

As we pulled out of the hotel parking lot, Amber had an idea. "Let's swing by campus," she suggested, "and take a look not at the college, but at the houses in the area instead."

I could not contain my grin as I anticipated a life with Amber in a new place.