Jenny Ch. 03

"Don't go rushing to find out, Jen. I hurt Steve badly at least once with the wrong words and a lack of trust. It took me a long time to forgive myself, longer than it took for him to forgive me," she said regretfully.

"I don't mean to be nosey, but since it's in my nature, how's your love life now?" Ingrid probed.

"Oh Ingrid. It's fabulous. He is so gentle and yet so strong. He's thoughtful and caring and unselfish, he worries about me and not himself. I just wish we could be together every night," she said wistfully. "Every day would be OK too," she giggled.

"Well, as you already know, ours is still red-hot too. I hope it never changes," Ingrid smiled.

"Steve's a secret wolf in sheep's clothing. He pretends to be Mr. Innocent, but every once it a while he pulls off some sex stunt that absolutely can't be learned any other way than by doing ... and probably more than a couple of times."

Ingrid was bragging now.

"What makes it more exciting is that he's completely unpredictable. I used to accuse him of not being spontaneous but I was way off base. He almost seems to know when things are getting a little ... repetitive, and comes up with something that absolutely sends me over the moon."

"Sounds exciting," Jenny said with a smile. "I'm the crazy one in our relationship. Tom is so afraid that he'll hurt me that I scare him when I go wild."

"You? Wild? Jenny, I would never have guessed," Ingrid said in genuine surprise.

"Neither would I, Ingrid," Jenny said, shaking her head.

"It came out of nowhere, the first time we made love. I have never acted like that before, but something triggered it and I just went crazy. I became a different person. I must have scared Tom because the look in his eyes was something to see. I guess I hadn't had sex for so long that I just exploded ... trying to catch up."

"Wow," was Ingrid's only comment.

"I was soaked in sweat and dripping all over Tom when we finished. Gasping for breath and lying flat on my back in complete surrender," she laughed.

"How did Tom handle it?" Ingrid asked.

"He was wide eyed for the first few minutes but pretty soon he was right there with me ... not the craziness, but he sure was along for the ride," she reminisced.

"And it was some wild ride! Just shameless all-out sex. I was using words I never use. We were so noisy Nikki heard us," she laughed.

"Oh no!" Ingrid laughed. "What did you do?"

"Tom handled it. Good thing too. I was dumbstruck," she said shaking her head.

"Luckily, no harm done."

"It's not like that every time," she said seriously. "It's like you said with Steve. Every once in a while I just get this crazy feeling and I just let go. Tommy ... I mean Tom ... is used to it now," she concluded.

"Tommy?" Ingrid asked with a grin.

"Shhhhsh!" Jenny admonished. "It's a private name I'm not supposed to use ... except ... well, you can guess."

"Okay Jen, your secret's safe with me. Some day when I've had too much to drink, I may tell you about Indigo," she laughed

Ingrid stood looking out over the blue water with a thoughtful expression.

Jenny interrupted Ingrid's reverie.

"As long as we're sharing secrets, how long did it take before you and Steve ... made love?"

"Forever!" was Ingrid's one word abrupt answer.

"I thought he was never going to touch me, much less let me get him into the sack! Actually it was only a couple of weeks after we met, but we had so many false starts that it seemed like it had been months. In fact, our first time was right here on 'The Matron,'" she concluded.

Ingrid had a far away look in her eyes. "What about you?" she asked.

Jenny flushed a bright crimson and looked away.

"Come on girl, 'fess up," she smirked.

"It was the first night we met," Jenny almost whispered.

"Whaaat!" Ingrid exploded, wide-eyed. "Do you mean that night after our party?"

"Yes," she answered simply.

"Now that I didn't expect! Was that the night you went crazy?"

Jenny just nodded.

"Well I'll be damned," Ingrid said in admiration. "You know what you want and just go get it, huh?"

"It was all your fault. We went to say thanks and goodbye that night and you and Steve were in the bedroom, and we could hear what was happening. I think it must have turned both of us on," she giggled.

"Well, then I'm glad we contributed to you two getting together ... in more ways than one," she laughed.

-0-

Steve and Tom were chatting in the wheelhouse and each sipping a beer as they cruised north-west along the Sunshine Coast.

"I can see why you and Ingrid love this boat, Steve. It's very comfortable and spacious." Tom commented.

"Yep. The old girl's my mistress and Ingrid's secret lover," he laughed.

"Ever take it on any long trips?" Tom asked.

"Yes, a couple. The first one we headed up north, cruising in and out of the inlets along the way. The weather was iffy, but the scenery was so spectacular that it didn't matter. We took two weeks and had a glorious time. It was the best vacation any couple could have wished for."

"And the second trip?"

"We decided to enter a long cruise slash semi-race around Vancouver Island. Big mistake!" he smiled ruefully.

"Bad weather?"

"No, in fact it was great weather. We just didn't realize how long it would take and how much hard work it was. A couple of times I was ready to abandon and head for home, but Ingrid wouldn't let me. By the time we finished, we were exhausted. We still had to go back to work and catch up for the time we were gone." He shook his head in remembrance.

"So now it's just pleasure cruising?" Tom asked.

"Exactly. Maybe another northern cruise someday, but for now, we're happiest to have weekends and maybe a stolen day here and there. That way we aren't so tired that we can't enjoy each other's company at the end of the day," he smiled.

There was silence for a few minutes.

"You getting pretty serious with Jenny, Tom?"

"Yes. She's terrific, Steve. She's what I've been hoping I'd find for a future Mrs. Blanton," he said directly.

"So when do you ask her?" Steve asked, immediately realizing he was "out of bounds."

"Ooops, sorry Tom. None of my business."

"No, that's OK, Steve. I would have asked her the day I met her if I had the nerve. I knew almost right away. We are so right for each other," he said with a satisfied smile on his face.

"Well what ever you do, don't tell Ingrid that. She set you two up and she would be impossible to live with if she thought she was that clairvoyant," he laughed.

"Actually, I can't thank her enough," Tom said seriously.

"If she hadn't put us together that afternoon, I'm not sure the fates would have put us together at all."

"OK, but as a personal favor, keep that thought to yourself," Steve grinned.

"Nikki is obviously a vote in your favor too," Steve observed. "You two seem to be very close already."

"Yeah, she's a sweet kid. I wish Jenny had a couple more. I'd love to have a houseful of kids," Tom said seriously.

"Well, it isn't too late. How does Jenny feel about it?"

"I don't know. I guess I should ask her, shouldn't I?"

"Would it make a difference ... I mean ...?"

"No, I don't think so. I love her first. The kids are just the icing on the cake. Besides, we've already got Nikki," he answered seriously.

"Then it isn't that complicated, is it?" Steve said.

"You mean, what am I waiting for?" Tom smiled slyly.

"Something like that." Steve answered grinning.