A day that Kerry Weaver had off.
Or to be strictly accurate, an evening. She'd worked up until 3pm - the drunks had been coming in all day, but she was going to miss the fireworks injuries.
Another big plus to getting off at three was that her boarder was also off for the rest of the day. As Kerry headed home, seated next to Carter on the El train, she couldn't keep from smiling. "So what party do you have lined up for tonight?" Kerry knew she had a habit of living vicariously through her boarder - she'd faced up to that when he was still dating Roxanne and had found herself listening eagerly for the small snippets of their dates that he sometimes mentioned casually in the kitchen.
John shrugged. "Nothing planned. That new guy, Malucci, mentioned something about a party, but . . . " Since he didn't know Dave Malucci all that well, John wasn't too keen on going over to his place and partying.
"Oh." Kerry had been wondering if Carter would end up going to Malucci's party - it seemed that half the ER had been invited - the half that didn't include her. It wasn't that she resented being left out of the residents' activities - in many ways that was right and proper, but...there had been a lot of talk about it. She'd have liked to know what went on there. Live vicariously - it was better than not living at all. "So what are you doing to celebrate?"
John grinned. "I know this might sound silly, but I was thinking of heading over to the Navy Pier later. They've got a concert planned and there will be fireworks tonight." He shrugged. "It just seemed like a neat idea to go without anything planned and just do whatever I feel like doing. Like riding the Ferris wheel fifteen times in a row or something."
Kerry nodded, and looked up at the tall resident seated next to her. "That sounds like fun." It did sound like fun. It also sounded like a place jam-packed with people. It wasn't that Kerry disliked crowds, it was just that once, before she'd started using this type of crutch, she'd had her stick swept away from her in a bunch of people. And a fun night had rapidly turned into a scary one.
John nodded. "Yeah, it should be. Navy Pier's got a great Ferris wheel - 25 stories tall, and you're in an open gondola rather than strapped in, so you can move about. Anyhow, what are you doing to celebrate the 4th?"
Kerry turned away slightly. "I don't know. Open a bottle of wine maybe." And watch other people enjoy themselves on TV. Or turn on some music. Read a book. Sit out in her yard. There were lots of things to do.
"A bottle of wine?" John frowned, not liking the idea of Kerry spending the evening at home with a bottle of alcohol at her side. Wasn't that one of the warning signs for alcoholism? "I have a better idea. Why don't you come with me to the Pier?"
"I don't know..." Kerry demurred automatically. It wasn't right that the handsome young resident curtail his social life for her....but he'd just said that he was going alone.... He'd said that he wanted to do things without a plan, on a whim...surely having his boss and landlady along would stop that. And the crowds. "I don't know...."
John grinned. "Just say yes. We'll have a great time. We can sit down whenever we want, do whatever we want, eat whatever we want. It would be a lot more fun for me to go with someone. Say yes. Please?" He looked at her with his best begging expression on his face. The one that countless girlfriends had cursed him over because they claimed it made it difficult for them to say no to him when he used it.
It was nice to have someone say *we* and include her. It felt good. And Carter sounded sincere - like he actually wanted her along. He was smiling, and his big brown eyes looked like . . . Kerry mentally slapped her own face. You do not think about your resident and boarder's big brown eyes. All the same, she found herself smiling. "Okay. Sounds fun."
John's grin broadened. "Great. I'd like to shower and change and then we can go. I don't think that a suit is the best thing to wear when walking around the Pier. We had better take the El, too. There's no way we'll get decent parking there. Or I can call us a cab. Now that Gamma has relented on my trust fund, I can easily afford that." His eyes twinkled as a new thought hit him. "Or, even better, we can rent a limo and arrive in style."
Kerry listened to him smiling in disbelief. A limo! The idea did sound oddly attractive though. She shook her head. It was easy to forget that her young boarder was a multi-millionaire. He was just Carter to her. But now that he was talking to his family again he had money to burn, and he did seem happy about this limo idea. All the same it was totally frivolous. But it did sound fun. She wrinkled her nose; "I'll leave that to your discretion, Carter."
John grinned. Definitely a limo. With champagne and strawberries and whipped cream thrown in for a snack on the way to the Pier. Kerry worked hard and deserved a little bit of pampering. "Good. I'll call as soon as we get home to see what's available."
Kerry shook her head again. "And speaking of home." The train was drawing up to the stop before theirs. She reached for her bag, automatically knowing that her crutch was still safely leaning against the seat. A limo! No planning, no forethought, he'd just decided he wanted a limo. Still he'd said he wanted to be impulsive earlier. This meant that she wasn't slowing him down, that was good.
John reached down and quickly grabbed Kerry's bag then handed it to her, not really paying attention to the expression on her face. It was an automatic reflex for him to not let a lady strain herself to get something. And his mind was on what else he could do to make tonight especially relaxing for her.
Kerry frowned - she could have got the bag herself, but she swallowed her complaint. If she wasn't going to slow him down tonight she'd need to let him do things like that. Speed things up. She didn't have to like it - just put up with it. And the evening at Navy Pier did sound more fun than being alone with the TV. Not as much fun as it had a minute ago though. Kerry gripped the bag and stood up, preparing for her own station.
The train came to a stop and they exited, walking to the house. Kerry made sure that she was half a step ahead of Carter. He wasn't going to have to slow down on her account. Never.
John saw that Kerry was struggling to stay ahead of him, so he slowed down his pace. With his long legs, it was way too easy for him to get ahead of people without realizing it. He would have to remember tonight to not walk too fast -- he didn't want Kerry getting frustrated with him.
Kerry was grateful when they got to her house and the air-conditioning hit her in the face as she opened the door. It was blessedly cool after the heat of the street. She knew her face was red - but the heat was only part of the reason. She was sure that Carter had slowed down part way home. Maybe she shouldn't have agreed to go out tonight.
As soon as he was inside the house, John headed for the basement. "I'll let you know about the limo, okay?" He headed straight for the shower, pausing only slightly to toss his bag on the bed and then stripping on the way to the bathroom. He could pick up the clothes later, he thought. Right now, he just wanted to wash away the stench of the hospital and the sweat from the short walk from the El station to the house.
Kerry headed to her bedroom. Carter had been right about one thing - work clothes wouldn't be suitable for the Pier tonight. She pulled out a long cotton skirt - long enough to cover all of her leg. It would be cool to wear on this hot summer evening, and she didn't often get to wear skirts, but it would also maybe puff up in a breeze, wrap itself around her crutch, and generally slow her down. Pants would be more practical - she had lots of pants to choose from, and pulled out a bottle green pair. She laid the garments on her bed and stared at them.
As he stood under the cool spray of the shower, John wondered what Kerry was doing. He didn't hear the telltale sound of her shower running, so she wasn't in her bathroom yet. She was probably deciding on what she was going to wear first. Women were like that. He remembered the way his sister would go through several different combinations of clothing just to go hang out with her girl-friends. Getting ready for a date with a guy she liked had been a nightmare and John had tried to make himself scarce at those times so he wouldn't get roped into the "which dress looks best on me?" routine. Thank God, Kerry wasn't like that. She just seemed to know what to grab out of her closet and never looked unattractive.
It was stupid to spend time worrying over what to wear tonight. Pants or skirt - it didn't matter. It was only Carter, for Heavens sake. Kerry left the clothes issue undecided and went to her shower, glad to wash away the sweat and smells of the shift.
The small amount of hot water in John's shower abruptly disappeared at the same time he heard more water surging through the pipes. He smiled as he realized that Kerry was in her shower. Now, that was an intriguing thought. Kerry, her entire body as pale as the little bit of skin she let people see, standing there under a hot stream of water, eyes closed as she let the water caress her body like a lover's tender fingers...whoa! He knew better than to get carried away with thoughts like that. This was Kerry Weaver, his landlady and one of his bosses at work. She wasn't interested in him at all. Didn't even bat an eyelash when she caught him in the kitchen in nothing but his boxer shorts on mornings when he was trying to get a quick cup of coffee and didn't think she was home, or awake. Now, if only he could convince his body that he shouldn't think about Kerry like that.
Then there was the problem of the top. It was only Carter, but it WAS the Fourth of July. And if you were going out to celebrate your country's birthday then it was appropriate to look good - or at least as good as you could. Kerry soaped herself thoughtfully. She liked her curves - she wasn't as full breasted as some women, or as skinny as others, but was - she thought - rather pleasingly in the middle. Kerry ran her hands slowly down her body - she liked it, above the hips and below the neck at least, she thought she was pretty. It was just a pity that no men seemed to agree with her - or if they did they thought that the rest cancelled the good bits out. Kerry shrugged and turned to face the water, feeling it streaming down her face. Carter had thought it was better to spend this evening with her than alone - that was something. Carter of the big brown eyes who seemed to have half the women in the hospital swooning over him. Kerry shook her head to dislodge the image of Carter's eyes, and turned off the water.
John frowned as he saw that no amount of concentration was going to get rid of his raging hard-on. There were only two ways to handle this, and since he was currently without a girlfriend, the first method was out of the question. He leaned against the back wall of the tub and closed his eyes as he wrapped his hand around himself. Usually a pretty good fantasy would make this go faster, and in the past those fantasies mostly consisted of some voluptuous women doing incredible things to him. The past few weeks though, he had been surprised when the image that popped into his mind each time was of Kerry Weaver doing incredible things to him. What surprised him even more was when that image made him even harder -- like now. With a loud moan, John gave up trying to chase away the errant thoughts of his landlady, instead he embraced them, seeing the two of them entwined on her bed, her mouth wet and warm on his cock as she slowly sucked him off. God, it would feel so good. He just knew it would. He cried out as his orgasm rocked his body, then he slumped against the wall, spent. The quickly cooling water slowly invigorated him and he shook off his post-climatic lassitude to finish his shower, determined to keep further thoughts about Kerry Weaver and her body out of his mind.
Those sounds were coming out of the pipes again! Kerry knew it was just her imagination but sometimes - when she was in her bathroom and the water was running in the downstairs bathroom - the pipes groaned, like, well like sex. Kerry shook her head and continued toweling herself. She knew she was imagining it. It had been nearly a year and a half since Ellis, a long time - too long. She ran her hands down her body, feeling the skin tingle as she touched it. The sounds were arousing. She cupped her breasts in her hands then ran her thumbs over the aureole, almost arching her back in response to the sensation. Even in the warmth of the bathroom her nipples swelled and mounded. God, she needed sex, it had been far too long. She continued caressing in time to the groans from the pipe, and moved her right hand down to rub her clitoris. God, she needed sex, she needed it badly. The sounds reached a climax and abruptly stopped. Without the accompaniment Kerry, too, stopped - immediately aware of where she was and what she'd been doing. She didn't want to do this to herself; she wanted a man to do it to her. How desperate was she that she got turned on by the sound of water in pipe? How desperate? Kerry looked at herself in the mirror in disgust. Her nipples were subsiding as if they'd never been inflamed; she turned away from the mirror and limped into her bedroom.
After his shower, John pulled on clean underwear and looked in the mirror, running his hand over his cheeks and chin. His whiskers weren't too pronounced, but he thought that it would look better if he shaved. If he had ended up going out alone he wouldn't have bothered. But, hey, it was a night of celebration, and he was going out with Kerry, so being neatly groomed just seemed right.
Once he was satisfied that his skin was smooth, and after a modest application of after-shave, John headed into his bedroom and grabbed the yellow pages, quickly finding the section for limousine rentals. Ten minutes later, he hung up the phone, feeling slightly dejected. There were no limos to be had in the city of Chicago -- they were all booked. And Kerry had been looking forward to riding in the limo, too. Then John wondered what his grandparents were doing tonight -- they had a limo and a driver. If they weren't going anywhere, then maybe they would let him borrow them for the evening. It would be a little nicer to know that he could depend on the driver and the car. Nodding to himself, John dialed his grandparents.
In her bedroom Kerry was looking at the clothes on her bed. There was no point in trying to look pretty. This wasn't a date; it was just Carter who didn't want to spend the evening alone. She was better than being alone, well Carter was better than being alone too - that, after all, was why she was going out. Kerry glanced over at the far side of her bed - a bed than no man had slept in since Ellis. The only thing that had any right to be on that side of the bed now was a pipe of water. Would it be a small slender burnished copper pipe which warmed her up with its heat nearly instantly? Maybe something thicker - stainless steel - solidly and uncomplainingly lasting a long, long time? Or a main - concrete and cold, a little bit rough at the edges. Kerry shook her head and grinned - at least there'd be no arguing about who got the wet patch.
Anyhow clothes. It wasn't a date, of course. But it was a party - and it was only right to dress up when you went to a birthday party. So...a clingy top to outline the good bits. And...the skirt. Kerry nodded decisively - the skirt. It was a party. She just wouldn't let it slow her down, that was all there was to it. And maybe the yellow top? It would bring out the yellow in the skirt - that would look festive enough.
Kerry quickly dressed, applied a small amount of make-up and made her way to the living room. She put on some music, feeling suddenly cheerful. Going out WAS going out, and sat back to enjoy a patch of sunshine coming in through the windows.
With everything arranged, John headed up the stairs. He saw Kerry waiting for him, looking radiant as she sat in the living room. The sunshine that was streaming through the window was creating a halo effect around Kerry's face and it almost took his breath away. Then he reminded himself that this was Kerry Weaver, his landlady and one of his supervisors at work. She wasn't interested in him. At the most, they could maybe be friends, but certainly not lovers. No matter how exciting and beautiful he found her.
"All ready?" he asked with a smile, putting all thoughts of romance out of his head. This was going to be an evening of fun. Spending the 4th of July with a friend instead of alone.
Kerry smiled. "Yes." He'd come up those stairs looking fresh and alive, and ready for fun. She wasn't going to have him have to wait for her, not now and not later. "So car or El?" It seemed almost improper to mention that the car might be a limo instead of a cab.
John's smile widened as he heard the excitement in Kerry's voice. "Car. And it should be here any minute. I hope." John walked to the window and pushed the curtain aside. No limo yet. He frowned. "It should be here soon. So, what do you want to do first? Grab a bite to eat or go on some of the rides?"
Kerry shook her head. "I thought you wanted to be spontaneous?" She wasn't about to start dictating the plans for this evening. "Maybe see when we get there?" Even as she spoke Kerry found herself imagining junk food. A huge stick of cotton candy or a greasy hot-dog. She usually ate sensibly, but...but maybe not today.
John nodded. "Spontaneous sounds good." He saw a black car pull up to the curb and he grinned. "Our ride is here. Ready?"