3 comments/  18939 views/  4 favorites

Lip and Annie Ch. 01

By: jake60



There are a few poker terms used throughout the story, and if you have no understanding of them, or experience with them, you can look on the net for an explanation of each one. There aren't that many; poker is not the primary purpose of the story. Regardless, you may want to check out the reference to Jennifer Tilly though.....

Note -- there is reference to violent acts, but they don't occur in the period covered by the story. If you have a very low tolerance level for brief descriptions of sexual sadism you may want to skip this story, or the few paragraphs involved. It forms an integral part of the story, and I don't see how it could be left out.

Chapter 1

It was obvious to all of the players that the dealer was getting a bit tired. He was starting to have difficulty shuffling the cards, and they could notice that he was checking his watch after every hand was completed. Robert Porter had also been checking his watch, and he knew that they would be playing at least another three hands of Texas Holdem before there would be a short break while the dealer was replaced, and a fresh deck was brought into use. He was looking forward to the break as well, as it would give him a chance to take a necessary trip to the bathroom.

It was a quiet Sunday afternoon, and most of the people at their table had been there for at least a couple of hours. Robert himself had been there for over four hours, and knew that he would probably play for at least another hour before taking a supper break. It made no sense for him to leave too soon, now that he had gotten to the point where he was able to figure out most of the players styles and their 'tells' that were permitting him to have a bit of an advantage at the table.

They were playing $5 and $10 Limit Texas Holdem, which meant that the pot could get fairly sizable when up to three raises were made. The dealer would remove up to five dollars from each pot as the casino's share, or rake, which usually didn't make too much of a difference in the size of the pot, but still would cost the players a lot of money in an evening.

There was one female at the table, a pretty, dark haired woman he judged to be of about his own age of 30. She seemed to be pretty good at playing the game, but he had picked up one very valuable tell from her; he just hadn't had the opportunity to make use of it yet. He fully expected that the information he had filed away on her habit could either save or make him some money. Robert also noticed that she wasn't taking advantage of her good looks or figure, a surprising mistake in his mind.

From the size of the stack of chips in front of him he knew that he was likely ahead by at least $250 for his afternoon's work so far. That was about the result that he had hoped for, based on how past afternoons spent at the tables had gone for him. With still an hour to go before he planned to take a lengthier break, he was very hopeful of adding to his winnings.

The woman was sitting practically across from him and was immediately to the dealer's left. There were two other players between her seat and his, and they were both players that seemed to be losing more than they were winning. The remaining five players to his left were a mixed group. The two closest to him were both decent players, and it seemed that both of them were ahead a few chips. The next player was one of the bigger losers for the afternoon, one of those players that were necessary if the others were to make any money from the game.

The last two players, the ones closest to the dealer's right hand, seemed to be average players that were probably close to breaking even. Robert was hopeful that once he gained more information on their play he might be able to make a few dollars at their expense. A lot of people felt that playing poker was a fun experience, but Robert had learned that if you looked at it that way it was going to cost you some cash. He knew that he had to watch his opponents closely, so that he would have every advantage available when he made his bets.

++++++++++

Just as he had expected, the break occurred three hands later, and he was able to make a quick pit stop at the men's room. He hadn't been the only one to do that, but they all made it back in plenty of time for the start of the next hand. Robert was just about to sit down at the table when an old friend of his walked by and noticed him standing there.

"Lip! How the hell are you doing? I haven't seen you in at least a couple of years." The speaker was a man of his own age, and close to Robert's height of 6 feet. While Robert had sandy blond hair, his rapidly approaching friend had dark brown hair and was also notable for his rugged good looks. Good looks were not something that Robert had ever associated with himself, though, as his face, while otherwise normal, bore a very obvious scar from reconstructive surgery for a cleft lip and palate.

"Fred, it's good to see you! You're right, it's been too long." The two men shook hands before continuing their conversation. The surprise Robert felt at seeing his old friend made him speak more quickly than usual, and as a result his Hypernasality became very noticeable, as his words became overly nasal. It was as though he was "talking through his nose," and several of his fellow poker players quickly glanced up as he spoke. 

"So, Lip, you're a poker player now. I hope you're not losing your shirt!" Fred was grinning as he said it, as he knew full well that Robert wasn't a person known for foolishly squandering his money.

"I play a little now and then, Fred. So far I've managed to keep my pickup and my condo. What are you up to these days?" As he regained control of his breathing and slowed down his speech his Hypernasality almost disappeared. The many months of training spent with a Speech Pathologist served him well, and in normal situations his speech sounded almost indistinguishable from anyone else's.

"Nothing new or different, really. I still work in the office at the paper mill. I guess I've been spending too much time with Sherry, my girlfriend. You know how it is, Lip; they don't like their guy spending time with his buddies." He laughed heartily at his little joke.

Robert joined him in his laughter before asking, "Are you staying here tonight, Fred? Maybe we could get together later for supper or a couple of drinks."

The smile disappeared from Fred's face as he said, "No, Lip, I'm not. Sherry is in the casino, playing the slot machines for a few minutes, and then we're headed back to Thunder Bay. She has to go to work in the morning. We only stopped in here for a few minutes on our way back from Minneapolis; we were there for a concert."

Robert could see that the dealer was just about ready to begin his first deal, so he said, "That's too bad, Fred. How about I give you a phone call later this week, and maybe we could get together for supper back home." He laughed before continuing, "I'll even spring for supper for your girlfriend if she wants to come along. It would give me a chance to meet her, and to tell her what you are really like."

"That sounds like a plan, Lip. Except for the last part; how about you just forget the war stories. She has enough things to give me a rough time about as it is." The two men shared a laugh before each gently slapped the other on the shoulder and Robert turned back to the table to retake his seat.

On the first deal the big blind was posted by the man two positions to Robert's right. When the player who was under the gun failed to make a bet, Robert raised the bet to $20 while holding an Ace and an 8. All of the rest of the players mucked their cards, leaving him with a gain of almost $15. He made the same play three more times during the next 12 hands, and in every case he collected the blinds minus the rake. It almost seemed as though the other players didn't like to take him on.

On the thirteenth hand he was in the small blind position, and received the Ace of Diamonds and King of Spades, the best cards that he had been dealt in a while. The third player on his left, the afternoon's big loser, called the big blind, and the woman across from him raised the bet to $20. The player to his immediate right called her raise, as did Robert with his Ace King. The player to his left folded the big blind, and the first caller threw in the extra $10 needed to call; there were going to be four of them in the hand.

Robert was paying close attention to the players who had decided to play this hand, and noticed immediately that the woman across from him was indicating that she had a good hand. The tell that he had noticed earlier was warning him that she had very good cards, and he knew that the other two players in the hand were prone to stay in hands waiting to see the flop with any kind of decent cards. He knew he would also have to wait for the flop to see whether he should stay in the hand himself.

The flop came up with a pair of Kings and an Ace, giving Robert a full house, Kings full of Aces. It was a great hand, and he quickly raised the initial $10 bet from the man on his right. The next player called, and the woman across from him calmly raised the bet another $10. The man to his right made the third raise, and the pot had grown by over $100 on that round of betting. He had been watching the woman closely, and realized that in spite of the fact that he had a rare great hand, it was a loser. After a momentary hesitation he folded the two cards and watched the dealer pull them into the pile of dead cards.

Robert carefully watched the remaining rounds of betting on the turn card and the river, confident as he watched the woman's play that he had made the right decision. The player to his right obviously felt he had the winning hand, as he kept raising her raises. He wasn't sure what the third man in the pot had, but he kept calling every bet. Robert had judged him in the earlier play as a rather undisciplined player, and truly, what cards he had were anyone's guess.

By the time the hand ended, the pot was almost $500, the best one of the afternoon. When the woman showed her pair of Aces, her Aces full easily beat the ace high flush held by the player to Robert's right, and the three Kings held by the remaining player. While the chips were being moved over in front of the woman, Robert said, "I'm sure glad I folded Big Slick."

The woman immediately reacted to his comment, saying, "I'm calling bullshit on that! There's no way you folded an Ace King after that flop." A couple of the other players made comments in agreement with her.

The dealer was just reaching for the pile of dead cards when Robert asked, "If no one objects, could you turn over some of those cards? You'll find the Ace of Diamonds and the King of Spades in there, and they should be together."

All of the other players nodded or voiced their agreement, so the dealer started turning over the cards. The fifth and sixth cards were the ones that Robert had folded, and seeing them displayed just as he had predicted created a buzz of conversation amongst the other players. The woman across from him was particularly amazed, and quickly said, "How could you know that I had you beat? It must have been just a good guess."

"It wasn't a guess. I knew you had me beat." He grinned at her before continuing, "You didn't say it in words, but you told me pretty clearly what you had." He spoke carefully, keeping the Hypernasality in check.

The buzz at the table subsided, and the woman was clearly a bit frustrated as she sat there, occasionally looking across at Robert, as though she would be able to figure out how he had managed to read her hand if she simply kept an eye on him. In response Robert simply smiled at her whenever he noticed that she was looking at him again.

For the next half-hour play continued normally, with Robert picking up the blinds a couple of times, as well as winning almost $200 on a set of Jacks. They were approaching the time for the next break when the player to Robert's right said to him, "I thought I heard your friend call you Lip. Was that right? Is that because of your... scar? I hope you don't mind me asking."

Since neither of them was in the hand that was being played at that moment Robert replied, "I don't mind you asking. It's a nickname I've had since I was in grade school. One of the kids thought he'd give me a rough time about my scar with that nickname, but I didn't mind too much; I've been called worse. It has stuck with me ever since."

The man seemed satisfied with Robert's answer, and just nodded. As Robert turned back to the table, he noticed that the woman across from him had been listening to their conversation. Play continued for another 15 minutes or so until the next break started. Robert managed to break almost even over that period of time, collecting the blinds once in return for his obligation to post the blinds when they worked their way around to him. When the break finally began, he let everybody know that he was leaving and picked up his chips.

+++++++++

Robert was standing at the cashier's enclosure counting the nearly $500 he had received in trade for his chips. He had started with $150 in chips, so it wasn't a bad afternoon's work. He was about to turn away and head up to his room for a few minutes when a woman spoke up behind him.

"I'd really like to know how you knew I had a pair of Aces."

Robert turned in surprise, and saw the woman who had been sitting across from him was standing in the line behind him. He stepped out of her way so that she could approach the cashier and then replied, "I knew you had the nuts, even before the flop. That could only be a pair of aces, and when you showed me the same tell after the flop, I knew for sure you had me beat." He grinned at her when she turned momentarily from the conversation she was having with the cashier and gave him a look of exasperation.

In a moment she turned away from the cashier, her chips now converted into cash, and said, "I'd really like to know how you did that. How about if I buy you supper, and you can tell me what this supposed 'tell' is. I still think your probably bullshitting me." She was standing a few feet away from him as she spoke, and it was obvious that she was a little nervous.

Robert laughed at her suggestion before replying, "I bet you wouldn't want to give up your secret if the roles were reversed. What if we end up at the same table again? I'd have lost my edge." He wasn't used to speaking to strange women, especially attractive ones, and his Hypernasality made a return with his nervousness.

She was looking a little upset as she answered, "There isn't much chance of that. I only come down here every three or four weeks from Duluth. I heard you tell your friend you would see him in Thunder Bay, so really, how much chance is there that we would ever end up sitting at the same table again?" She was holding her purse tightly to her body, and it occurred to Robert that she appeared to be ready to run if he had stepped in her direction.

After noticing her reaction, Robert took a closer look at her. Her dark hair was longer than he had realized, as she had it tied up in the back. She was wearing a pair of black, loose fitting slacks and a knit sweater that fit very loosely and covered her from her wrists to her neck. She didn't seem to be wearing any makeup, and the total combination did little to emphasize her obvious good looks, or what seemed to be a decent figure. In an effort to present a more calming impression, he decided to try to soften his voice and made sure that he smiled before he spoke.

"You're probably right. I guess if I can't use what I've learned to make a buck from you, having you buy my supper would be a fair deal. I was planning to go up to my room to do a bit of work and freshen up before I go for supper. How about you drop by my room and let me know when you're ready to go down to the restaurant? I'm assuming you're staying here in the Casino Hotel."

She seemed to become even more nervous as he gave her his answer, but finally she said, "I... I guess that would be okay. I wouldn't mind going up to my room to change before supper, anyway." She began walking toward the elevators and Robert joined her, making sure that he gave her some space as they walked.

As they strolled along on their way to the bank of elevators, passing row after row of slot machines, Robert said, "I guess you did fairly well this afternoon. That one pot alone should've made your day."

She quickly glanced at him before saying, "I did alright. I'm over $500 ahead for the day. How about you? You seemed to be cashing in quite a few chips."

"I'm ahead about $350 or so. That's enough to make me happy. I come down once or twice a month, usually for a weekend. I like to come down on Friday morning and go back late Sunday afternoon or on Monday morning." They had arrived at the elevators and one of them was waiting there with its doors open. Robert put his hand on the edge of the door to prevent it from trying to close unexpectedly and motioned for the woman to enter the elevator.

She quickly stepped into the empty elevator and took up a position with her back against the wall and beside the push button panel. "Which floor are you on?"

When he answered her question by saying that he was on the third floor, she continued, "I'm on the third floor too." They both stood there quietly while the elevator quickly raised them to the third floor. When the doors opened the woman swiftly stepped through and waited for Robert to join her.

"I heard your conversation with the man beside you at the table." She glanced at him quickly before continuing, "I don't think it's right that you have a nickname like that. That sounds like some sort of a cruel kid's name. What's your real name? My name is Annie, Annie Sargent."

Robert laughed and said, "It bothered me a lot at first, but I was pretty young then. It followed me through high school, but by then I was used to it and it didn't seem to matter any more. Generally I go by Robert. My name is Robert Porter. I'm pleased to meet you, Annie."

He extended his hand to her, and she seemed flustered at first before finally extending her hand and giving his a very brief shake. "Likewise, Robert."

They had been walking down the main hallway towards the junction of the East and West wings. Robert pointed to the right and said, "I'm down here, room 314. I have to do some work online with my laptop, probably no more than half an hour for that. I'd like to shower and change first, so how about you come by my room in about an hour."

Annie pointed to the left and said, "I'm down here. I'll come down to your room in about an hour then, and we can go for supper." They waved goodbye to each other and headed to their respective rooms.

As he walked down the hallway Robert thought to himself that it was strange that Annie had kept her hand in her purse the entire time that they had spent in the elevator and in the hallway. He finally decided that she most likely had her hand on her room key card, and didn't want to drop it.

++++++++++

Almost exactly 1 hour later, while Robert was busy on his laptop editing a file for one of his clients, there was a knock at his door. He quickly got up to go to the door and open it, and he found Annie standing there as expected. "Come on in for a few moments, Annie. I have a little bit of work to finish before I can go down for supper."

Annie was clearly flustered, and remained in the hallway as she said, "I can just wait here. I don't want to bother you."

Robert continued to hold the door open and said, "Don't be silly. I only have a small amount of work to do. There's no sense for you to be standing out there. I can't offer you a drink while you wait, but I can offer you a chair to sit down on at least."


Lip and Annie Ch. 01



After a few moments hesitation Annie stepped inside, quickly walking past Robert, and found herself an open area beside the bed where she turned and watched him. He motioned towards a chair on the opposite side of the bed, just past the chair that was arranged at the table where his laptop was situated.

"That's okay. I'll just stand here if you're not going to be long." She seemed nervous as she stood there, and once again her hand was in her purse.

Robert had changed into a pair of dress slacks and a short sleeved pale blue shirt. He noticed that Annie had changed into a long sleeved white blouse buttoned to her neck. She was now wearing a rather plain below-the-knee length black skirt as well, and it appeared she had restyled her hair.

He decided not to bother arguing with her, and instead he went back to his chair in front of the laptop. "I have a business designing and maintaining websites for businesses that don't want to be bothered with the details. Part of the deal is that I will make any of their desired or required changes on a same day basis. The sites are all on a pair of servers in my office, which is in my condo, and as long as I've got an Internet connection I can do whatever they require. I just have to rebuild this one file and then I'll be done."

He had been working as he spoke to her, and about the time that he finished the last spoken word he began the final build of his client's database. He turned to Annie and smiled while the rebuilding took place. "Just a few more seconds. I collect a monthly fee for these updates and rebuilds, and I can't really leave it too long if I want to fulfill my contract. I give them a free month if I fail to get things done within 24 hours, and I've only had to make good on that guarantee a couple of times."

His job was his main interest after poker, and he was naturally calm and in control as he spoke about it. There was no noticeable nasal quality to his speech as he described his work to her. A few seconds later the blue line crawling across the screen reached its end, and he said, "I'm done. We can get going now. I'm sorry that I wasn't ready when you arrived."

By this time she was looking slightly more relaxed and said, "That's okay. I am starting to get a little bit hungry though." She laughed nervously as she walked to the door, following behind Robert. He quickly opened the door and she hurried past him, stopping when she reached the center of the hallway. She appeared to be almost completely relaxed now, and Robert noticed that she finally removed her hand from her purse. He decided that it was perhaps just a habit of hers. Everyone had their habits, as he knew full well from his own history.

Their walk to the restaurant took them through the entire casino, but there wasn't much opportunity to speak as they made their way down the restricted walkways between the rows of slot machines. There was no such thing as a straight route across the casino; they were forced to zigzag their way past the noisy and flashy banks of electronic slot machines. They did manage to let each other know that neither one of them was very interested in playing the slots. Robert preferred the challenges of poker, with the requirement that one had to know the odds as well as the other players' habits and idiosyncrasies. He assumed that Annie's motivation would be the same as his.

When they reached the long hallway leading to the restaurant they were able to leave the noise and crowds of the casino behind them and were finally able to carry on a bit of conversation.

"It's certainly obvious that they feel they make most of their money from the slot machines," Annie said. "You can't go anywhere around here without being forced to walk past rows and rows of them. Once in a while I'll play one, if I'm trying to kill some time."

Robert was walking beside her and replied, "I have played the slots for a few minutes now and then, but only when the poker tables had no openings. I'd rather play poker online than sit in front of one of those slots."

Annie took a quick glance at him and said, "I've never played online for cash. I'm afraid that if I started, I might not want to quit. I usually just use a computer as a source of information. Obviously, with your job and your online poker, you're much more computer literate than I am."

They had reached the maître d's station at the restaurant, and were quickly sidetracked from their conversation as they requested a booth. In just a few seconds they were being taken to their requested booth in the non-smoking area.

"Go ahead and order whatever you'd like, Robert. I don't think there's anything on the menu that's going to break my bank, and if you can tell me what it is about my play that lets you know when I've got Pocket Rockets, it will be worth it." She seemed much more relaxed now that they were sitting amongst the other diners, and smiled as she picked up the menu.

"I'll go easy on you, Annie. I'll have the regular cut of prime rib. It's really good here." He didn't even bother checking the menu before making that statement, as it was the meal he usually had when he visited the casino.

"That sounds good. It's something that I've never tried here, so I think I'll join you with the prime rib." She set her menu to the side and that was the signal for the waiter who was hovering near their table to come over and take their orders.

When the order had been taken and the menus collected, Robert said, "Well, I won't leave you wondering. Do you remember that nut flush you flopped about an hour after you sat down? I think you had the Ace and five of Diamonds."

Annie looked at him curiously as she nodded in agreement.

He continued, "That was the first hand that you had the nuts, and I noticed that you didn't check your stack of chips at all as you played the hand. Every other hand you were in you would often glance over at your stack, as though you were debating how many of the chips you could afford to lose if you're hand wasn't good enough. When you had that Ace five you knew that you were going to win that hand, and you never once looked at your chips. When you got that pair of aces you did the same thing. The only way that you could have the nuts on that hand, both before and after the flop, was if you had Ace Ace."

Annie looked at him in shock before saying, "I can't believe you picked up on that. You must be a real good student of human nature and how people act and react. I am really impressed."

Robert was looking across the restaurant as he said, "I've had lots of time to study people. I guess it's from watching their reactions to me. For years I've paid attention to how people handle being around me. When they noticed my lip they often work really hard at looking anywhere but back at me. The opposite extreme is that they can't seem to do anything but stare at me. There are also lots of reactions that fall in between those two extremes."

Annie didn't say anything right away so he continued, "Besides the scar there's also the sound of my voice. I know that I have a bit of a strange sounding voice because of the cleft lip and palate I was born with. I could probably have another operation to clear that up some more, or maybe I could see a speech pathologist again, but I've never bothered to follow up on that. Anyway, some people react oddly to my voice."

"I just can't hardly believe that you were able to pick up on that little quirk of mine. I've never been able to pick up clues that way on other people, beyond what I would call the obvious. There have been a few people who get noticeably excited with a good hand. It's easy to tell with them when they don't have such a great hand." She was shaking her head as she said this, and then continued, "I'm going to have to work hard at changing that habit." She laughed a little as she continued shaking her head.

"That shouldn't be too hard for you to do, now that you know about it. I don't have to worry about tells quite as much as you'd have to, because even at the poker table people react to my lip. For a lot of them, that's all they can see, so any tells I might have are missed. Other people don't seem to look at me as much as they do the others at the table, I guess in fear of upsetting me with their attention. You seem to fit into that category, by the way."

Annie was a bit flustered with that news, and said, "I'm sorry if I reacted poorly to your condition. I'm a nurse, and I see lots of people in situations where their appearance has been drastically affected." She got very quiet and appeared to be almost on the verge of tears as she continued, "It's very upsetting to me to learn that you have noticed me reacting that way. I really am sorry." She seemed to be deep in thought for a couple of moments before continuing, "I really should be more conscious of things like that: of all people, I should have been able to avoid that kind of reaction. After what I've been through, I feel a bit ashamed of myself."

Robert chuckled loudly before he said, "Don't beat yourself up about it. You're just being normal in your reactions, even though you are a nurse. I believe you just over corrected when you realized I have this condition. People that behave the way you do are for the most part trying to avoid acting like they're staring at me. I look at it as being the better of the two extremes." He laughed before saying, "I really mean it. I'm not offended at all. I've never known life any other way than with my scar, and I've adapted myself to it."

There was something else that he wanted to say to her, but he was a little unsure about how to phrase it. Finally he said, "There's something else I need to say about your poker play. You aren't taking advantage of your own good looks, like you should be doing." He noticed that she blushed a little when he said that, but he was determined to continue. "You should be wearing something a little more revealing than that bulky sweater you had on this afternoon." 

He chuckled and continued, "You should be showing a bit of cleavage. Have you ever seen Jennifer Tilley on TV when she's playing poker? She knows how to distract the men at the table from watching for a tell."

It was Annie's turn to look at her hands while she spoke. "That's never going to happen. I've seen her on TV and I know what you're talking about, but like I said, it's not going to happen." She looked up at him and he could tell that the subject was closed as far as she was concerned. He thought she was making a mistake, but decided not to pursue the subject. It did seem more than a little strange to him that she would be so emphatic about it.

Annie then made an obvious attempt to change the subject. "You know, I'm really looking forward to this supper. I had a late breakfast, and then I skipped my lunch, so I am really ready for a good meal. I'm glad I offered you this deal. I'd probably be sitting here by myself again, having some meal that I've tried before, instead of trying their prime rib." She thought for a second before continuing with, "This is almost like a date, and I haven't been on one of those in over five years"

Robert looked at her curiously while he thought about what she had said. "I guess you could consider this a date, if you overlook the fact that you were actually bartering for information. However, I guess it would be nice if this was a date, because this would be my first date ever." He took a drink from his glass of water while Annie considered what he had just said.

"You can't be serious! What are you, around 30? You must have been on a date. I'm ready to call bullshit again." She was looking at him in some amazement, waiting for him to retract his statement.

He blushed a bit before looking down at the table and saying, "I'm not joking. I've been out as a single for meals and shows with other couples, but I've never been on anything that could be classed as a date." He looked back at her before continuing, "You don't need to be concerned about it. It's just something I've accepted over the years. I have more reason to be shocked about you not being on a date for five years. You are a beautiful woman, and I think you must be kidding me."

Annie wasn't quite sure what to say, so she finally replied, "Thank you, but believe me, I'm serious. Someday maybe I'll explain it to you. I just can't get over the fact that you say you've never been on a date. When I asked you for supper I didn't think I would be dining with a 30-year-old virgin." She laughed to lighten the mood.

Robert laughed as well and said, "I said I'd never been on a date, which is true. I never said anything about being a virgin."

She looked at him curiously and asked, "Well, that doesn't make much sense. How can you be one, but not the other?"

He didn't reply right away, but finally said, "To quote a phrase that I've just recently heard, someday maybe I'll explain it to you."

They were both thinking about his reply just as the waiter arrived with their meals. Conversation was soon forgotten as they decided that satisfying their appetites defeated their interest in more conversation. After they had both taken the edge off their hunger, light conversation did resume, but it was limited now to comments about the restaurant, their meal, and other dishes that they had enjoyed at the Grand Casino Hinckley Restaurant.

When both of them had finished their prime rib, the conversation turned to the prospect of having dessert as well. Annie was emphatic that she wouldn't be able to handle a dessert, but she finally did agree to split an order of Bread Pudding, a dessert that they were both familiar with from past visits to the restaurant, and which they both agreed was phenomenally tasty. Annie made a point of saying she would add it to the bill, and that he should consider this a bonus.

When their shared dessert was finished they each ordered a cup of coffee to sip while they let their meals settle. They were both complaining about being overly full now, but neither one would state that they shouldn't have ordered the dessert.

Before they left the table they exchanged email addresses and promised to be in touch after they had returned to their home towns. Both of them planned to spend the evening at a poker table, and agreed that it probably wouldn't be quite fair if they were to join the same table. Instead, each would find their own table to play at. Both of them planned to leave the next morning, Annie heading for Duluth, and Robert on his way back to Thunder Bay, Ontario.

They walked back together to the poker room, and waved goodbye to each other as each headed for their assigned table. Both of them were happy to have made a new friend, especially one with a shared interest in Texas Holdem poker.

To Be Continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 02



Two days after returning to Thunder Bay, Robert sent Annie an email, asking how she had done at the tables on Sunday night. He let her know that he had managed to come out ahead by $150, which when added to his previous day's winnings meant that he had had a very successful weekend.

About three hours after he had sent her the message, he heard his laptop announce that an email had been received. When the TV show that he was watching had ended, he went to check his messages and discovered that Annie had replied to his earlier message.

She let him know that she had broken even that last night, but was quite satisfied considering her large win on Sunday afternoon. Throughout the evening she had been working on making sure that she developed a standard routine when checking her chips, and felt that she had been able to eliminate the tell that Robert had taken advantage of. She thanked him for agreeing to share his knowledge of the habit that had cost her his participation in the hand that had won her so much money.

It was mid-November, and Robert's business was getting busier day by day. A lot of his clients sold their products on the Internet, and the Christmas rush was already well under way. When he wasn't busy on their behalf, he found time to play poker online. Even though he couldn't pick up clues from the physical appearance of the other players, he was able to make some observations of their online habits that allowed him to come away with a profit most days. He missed the opportunity for human contact though, and was already looking forward to his next trip to the Grand Casino Hinckley.

At the end of his first week back he received a mailing from the casino that included coupons for a free stay over the last weekend of the month. There were also coupons for $40 worth of free chips, and he immediately decided that he wanted to make the trip to Hinckley that weekend. Once he had made that decision, he wondered if Annie would also receive similar coupons. He had enjoyed her company at supper that night, and while he knew that she doubted he was telling the truth about never having been on a date, it was true. While he entertained no thoughts about anything developing between the two of them, he wouldn't mind talking with her again.

With those thoughts in mind he sent her an email that night, letting her know that he had received some coupons for the casino, and that he intended to go down for the last weekend of November. Shortly after he had sent her the message, he made a phone call to the casino to book his room.

+++++++++++++

That weekend Robert took Fred and Sherry out for supper, and did manage to slip in a couple of mild stories about Fred's years in high school. It was nice for him to spend some time with the couple, and he soon decided that he really liked Sherry, while Fred had been a good friend for what seemed like forever. Later, after enjoying a good meal with them, Robert begged off when they suggested he join them for drinks and dancing in the attached bar. 

He had been in that situation a few times in the past; the unattached guy with a couple who wanted to go out and party. It always ended up with him feeling embarrassed at being turned down by an unattached female after he had asked her to dance. It seemed that in every case the couple he was with would feel obligated to find him a dancing partner, and the night would always end on a sour note when they couldn't convince a female friend to join their group. He couldn't help but know that his scar and the nasal sound of his voice were the largest contributors to the problem.

The weekend ended on a good note though, when he found a new message from Annie in his mailbox on Sunday night. She told him that she had received a similar coupon package from Grand Casino Hinckley, and would probably be using her coupons as well. She had already verified that her shifts at work wouldn't conflict with the plan, and all she had to do was reserve her room. Robert was feeling surprisingly happy about the news, and sent her a quick reply saying that he looked forward to seeing her there. Even though his trip to Hinckley wasn't scheduled for almost 2 weeks, he was already planning for it.

+++++++++

Robert was kept very busy over the course of the next seven days and didn't have much time to think about his upcoming trip. With some free time on Sunday afternoon he began to think about preparing for the drive to Hinckley, wondering what the chances for early winter weather were going to be. It occurred to him that since he was going to be passing right through Duluth, he could offer Annie a ride to and from the casino. With that in mind he wrote her another message, this time offering to pick her up and asking for her address in Duluth. He was looking forward to hearing back from her.

As each day of the following week went by, he anxiously awaited Annie's reply, and was rather surprised that he hadn't heard from her. Finally on Thursday night, just before he was going to retire for the night, he found her reply in his Inbox.

He was rather surprised by the curt nature of her message. She simply said that she appreciated the offer, but she would be taking her own car to Hinckley. There was no explanation as to why she wanted to take her own car as opposed to accepting a ride from him, and he was surprised at how much the tone of her short message bothered him. For someone who was quite used to getting negative responses from the opposite sex, he hadn't anticipated this reaction from Annie. He finally decided that perhaps he was simply reading too much into her email or how she perceived him.

+++++++++

The next morning he packed his suitcase, gathered his toiletries and laptop, and was on the road by 9 a.m. He was looking forward to a couple of days of relaxation, good poker and good meals. He had been looking forward to Annie's company as well, but her reaction to his offer of a ride to the casino had more than dampened his enthusiasm. Most men would simply plan on moving on to the next available woman, but that wasn't an option for Robert. He had few female friends, and none who were interested at all in playing poker.

The trip was made without incident, and he arrived at the casino at 3 p.m., which was the normal check-in time. He quickly made his way through the check-in process and was soon on his way to his room where he quickly had his clothing unpacked and his toiletries set up in the bathroom. He had made enough of these trips to be able to take care of these normal activities quickly.

Rather than immediately heading for the tables, he decided to check his email account and take care of any of the required website changes he would find there. There were three requests for information and modifications, so he spent the next hour dealing with those. By the time he was finished, a fourth request had also arrived, so he spent another half hour performing the work that it demanded. With all that time spent playing catch-up, he decided that it was late enough in the afternoon that he may as well go down and have supper before heading for the poker room.

By the time he was seated in the restaurant, he realized he had been watching for Annie on his way through the casino, and even in the restaurant as they took him to his seat. Later, as he was enjoying his meal of prime rib of beef, he thought of her again, and how much he had enjoyed her company the last time he had eaten a meal like this. It was obvious that she had had an effect upon him, something that he thought he had hardened himself against. He decided that he would just have to work harder at protecting himself from disappointment at the hands of the opposite sex.

By seven o'clock he was seated at a poker table, and the only thing on his mind was developing a read for the other players around the green felt. He was in his element now; it was Robert against the world. Over the course of the next six hours he did make a lot of headway against the other players that came and then went as their chip stacks dwindled away. Robert had a very productive evening, and a lot of the chips that the other players lost ended up in front of him. By 1: 30 in the morning he was seated at the bar enjoying a beer, with almost $600 in profits safely in his pocket.

It was five minutes after 2 a.m. when he entered his room. He immediately went to his laptop to check the status of his email account. There were two new messages from clients requesting work on their sites, and when he checked them, he saw that one of the jobs would only require about five minutes of work. Believing that there was no time like the present, he called up the required files and had the job done quickly. The other job could wait until the morning.

As he undressed for bed he happened to notice that there was a flashing 'message' light on his telephone, so he called the front desk for the message. There were very few people who knew he was in Hinckley, so he was a bit curious as to what the message was about. He was surprised to learn that the message was from Annie, and had been left there for him early in the evening. Considering the time, he decided against calling her room, and instead planned to do that in the morning.

The news that she had tried to reach him cheered him up as he lay in his bed, and his last thought before drifting off into sleep was to wonder what it was that she had called for. He had already managed to start relegating his thoughts of her to the back of his mind, and he hoped they weren't going to be dragged back out to hurt him. That had happened to him too many times in the past for him to want to go through the 'same old same old' once more.

++++++++++++

Robert was sound asleep at 8:30 the next morning when the ringing of his phone woke him up. Normally he would be up by this time, but because of the late night spent at a poker table, he hadn't set his alarm clock. He was still getting his bearings as he picked up the telephone and answered with a curt, "Hello."

After a couple of seconds a woman's voice, a voice that he quickly realized was Annie's, said, "Robert? Is that you, Robert?"

He was completely awake now and answered, "Yes, it's me. Good morning, Annie. I was going to call you this morning. I got your message last night, but it was pretty late. What can I do for you?"

Annie could sense the detachment in his voice, and quickly replied, "Oh, I wasn't needing anything done; I was hoping to join you for supper last night." She hesitated before continuing, "I guess we could have breakfast together instead, if you like."

Robert was momentarily at a loss for words, but finally said, "Sure, if you'd like to go for breakfast, that would be great. It will take me about half an hour to get ready, as I need to take a shower and shave." He reached over for the note that he had made the night before, looked at it and said, "You're in room 418, aren't you? How about I meet you there as soon as I get ready?"

Annie seemed unsure as she answered, "Ah... okay; that would be fine, I guess. I'll be waiting for you."

After saying their goodbyes, Robert bounced out of bed and headed for the shower. He wasn't sure what he had expected Annie to say, but being invited to join her for breakfast hadn't made the list. He was soon whistling under the spray of hot water.

+++++++++

Right on time, Robert knocked on the door of room 418. It was opened almost immediately, and Annie stepped out quickly into the hallway. She smiled at him and said, "I'm sorry I woke you up. I didn't want to wait too long in case I missed you; I was afraid you'd be down in the poker room."

Annie was smartly dressed in a pair of dark slacks and a figure hugging green sweater. It seemed that she had changed her hairstyle a bit, although Robert couldn't be certain of that. He just knew it suited her.

He smiled at her and lied a bit as he said, "I shouldn't have been sleeping so late. I don't mind having you wake me up; I'm quite ready for breakfast."

The two of them walked the familiar route through the casino to the restaurant, and were soon seated in the same booth that they had occupied almost a month earlier. After they placed their order Robert said, "I'm sort of surprised that I heard from you. When you said you didn't want a ride down here, I sort of assumed you weren't interested in hearing from me."

There was obvious discomfort on her face as she said, "Oh, Robert. I'm sorry if I gave you that impression. I... I just didn't want to agree to travel with you until I got to know you better. I should have explained myself."

Annie's revelation that she was hesitant to join him for the 1 1/2 hour drive from Duluth to Hinckley surprised Robert. He had never before had anyone express hesitation about being alone with him, and he found it hard to understand. He began wondering if he had given off some form of signal that caused her concern. "I'm sorry if I gave you cause to wonder if you were going to be safe with me. I can assure you that I have nothing but respect for you."

Annie was clearly embarrassed, and seemed at a loss for words. Before she could say anything else Robert added, "I never considered that you would be nervous around me." He laughed before he continued, "Believe me; I am the most trustworthy person I know."

She was still clearly embarrassed, but his comment drew a smile, and she said, "I really am sorry, Robert. Someday maybe I'll explain to you why I have this problem. Please don't be upset with me."

Robert smiled broadly at her and said, "How could I be upset with you. You're my only poker playing female friend, and I enjoy your company. I just sort of thought that you were pushing me back a bit. I have sort of come to expect that type of treatment, and maybe I overreacted."

Annie looked at him questioningly and finally said, "I'm not sure what you mean by 'that type of treatment'."

Robert thought about how best to say this, and twice opened his mouth to speak before reconsidering, and thinking about it again. Finally he replied, "I know I'm not the handsome sort of guy that most women think of. I grew up with this appearance, and I guess my nickname, Lip, sort of says it all. It's defined me all of my life." He smiled at her before having a sip of coffee.

Annie looked stricken by his words, and quickly said, "Oh, no Robert! My refusing a ride with you had nothing to do with what I think of your appearance. Believe me, that's the last consideration I would ever have." She stopped to think about something and finally said, "Some day I'll explain, but you have to believe me; at one time I may have been as guilty as the next person at judging someone by their appearance, but that definitely isn't the case any more."

Something about her statement and the sincerity of her words and actions connected with Robert, and he reached over and patted her hand. He noted she immediately drew it back, but he ignored that reaction and said to her, "I'm sorry if I insulted you, Annie. I didn't mean to." He was upset with himself because he realized that he had implicitly suggested that she was reacting to his scar. He hadn't thought of all of the ramifications of what he had said, and he wished now that he had simply kept his mouth shut. "I've always related everything that's happened to me to the scar on my lip, and the odd sound of my voice. I should never have made that assumption when you sent me that email. Please accept my apology."

The waiter was standing there with their breakfast orders, and while he placed their plates in front of them Annie said, "I have to apologize as well, Robert. I didn't know how to answer your offer, and I waited until the last minute to write you. Even when I hit send, I wasn't very happy with the way I had worded my message. I could have been much more polite and avoided making you feel that way."

Robert waited until their waiter had finished and was headed back to his station before saying, "I think we just need to accept each others' apologies and carry on normally from here." He smiled and continued, "Right now I think we need to enjoy our breakfast, and we can start fresh once our appetites have been taken care of."

Annie smiled at him and said, "That sounds like a good idea. I'm famished!"

+++++++++++

An hour later the two of them were back in the elevator heading for their rooms. Robert still had work to do, and Annie insisted that she was going to change into something she felt was more appropriate for playing poker. He had tried to convince her to wear the sweater she had on now, but she was adamant that she wasn't going to be playing poker while wearing it. As soon as Robert tried to tell her how good she looked in something more revealing than the attire she usually wore to the tables, she froze up, and he realized that he had best drop the subject; she was obviously not going to change her mind.

They agreed to meet back at his room at one o'clock. There were very few poker players at the tables in the morning, as many of them played all night and slept for most of the day. While Robert worked, Annie was going to catch up on some reading, change her outfit and perhaps visit some of the shops in the concourse outside of the casino. She told him she would call him on the phone before she came to his room, just in case he wasn't finished his website work.

As it turned out, Robert was on the phone for quite a while with one of his clients when Annie tried to call him, so in the end she simply showed up at his door. The phone call had put him behind schedule, and he was still working at 1 p.m. when she arrived. When he invited her inside to wait for him, he noticed that once again she was acting nervous, and had her hand in her purse. This time she did agree to take the chair that he offered her, but he could tell that she was a bit uptight as she sat there.

It took Robert about 15 minutes to finish the work he was obligated to do, and during that time he continued to carry on a limited conversation with Annie. A couple of times he glanced over at her and saw that she continued to keep her hand in her open purse. It almost seemed to be something she was unaware that she was doing, and when he thought about it, he realized that the only time he noticed her doing it was when they were alone together.

When he was finally finished the job he was working on, and had saved the files, he turned in his seat and said, "Tell me something, Annie. I notice that you almost always have your hand in your purse when you're here, or we're in the elevator." He smiled and continued, "I hope you're not sitting there with a gun pointed at me." He gave a short laugh to let her know that he was making a joke, and noticed that she immediately yanked her hand from the purse on her lap. She glanced down into her purse and then back up at Robert as her face slowly lost its color.

"I... I... I'm sorry, Robert. I didn't realize I was doing that." She was obviously flustered and didn't seem to know how to handle herself now that her actions had been acknowledged by Robert.

"So what is it that you find so fascinating in your purse? I was kidding about the gun, by the way." Robert was hoping that by having her answer his question the minor situation would be defused, and the two of them could head down to the poker room for the afternoon.

It didn't seem as though Annie had any alternative but to address Robert's question. As she began to put her hand back into her purse she said, "It's not a gun, Robert. It's a Taser. I've carried one for almost 5 years now, and I guess I must have developed an unconscious habit of holding onto it." As she finished her explanation she withdrew a pink device about the size of an electric razor from her purse and held it up to show Robert.

To say that he was surprised would be an understatement. It wasn't a gun, but it wasn't a long stretch of the imagination to equate a gun with the Taser she was showing him. "Wow, Annie. I'm surprised. Why would you be carrying a Taser?"




Lip and Annie Ch. 02



"I... you... you caught me by surprise, Robert. I'm not really mentally prepared to tell you the whole story about what happened to me, but I will tell you that I was attacked and raped five years ago." Annie got up from her seat and walked to the window, obviously uncomfortable with speaking about what had happened to her. As she stood there she was holding the Taser to her chest with both hands.

This whole conversation had veered wildly from what Robert had expected, and he quickly said, "I understand, Annie. You don't need to say any more about it; I understand why you have that in your purse. Just please realize that you don't have to worry about me in any way. I can't even imagine a situation where you would want to use that Taser on me."

Annie turned to face him, still holding the Taser with both hands and said, "I'm really sorry, Robert. I only remember once when I know I felt a little uncomfortable around you, and that was the first time I came in and waited for you in your room, before we went for supper that day. I didn't really know you then." She was looking at him with a clearly sad expression on her face, well aware that she had just admitted to being uncomfortable with him that day.

Robert quickly thought back to the day he had met Annie and realized that in her situation, as the victim of a rape, it was not surprising; in fact it was totally understandable that she would be hesitant to enter a hotel room with a man she had just met. Knowing that his intentions were entirely above board, and not knowing her history, it had never occurred to Robert that his invitation for her to wait for him in his room could have been looked at as potentially being a danger to her.

"I didn't know, Annie. I'm sorry that I inadvertently caused you concern." Robert was now quite aware that his conversation with Annie was approaching a point where it would be better to return to a more normal subject, so he continued, "Let's just go down and play poker. I'm sorry I brought up the subject. I would never have mentioned your habit with your purse had I known anything about your history."

Annie slipped the Taser back into her purse and said, "I guess it's probably good that you did mention it. I didn't realize I was still being so paranoid about my safety. I've been seeing a psychiatrist for years to help me deal with... things, and I haven't seen her in over four months. I think I'm going to make another appointment with her as soon as I get back home, because apparently I still have a long way to go before I get past this, or maybe I'm having a bit of a relapse."

Robert was about to apologize again for bringing up the subject when Annie continued, "I don't want you to think it's just you. Last Christmas I was visiting my parents, and we were watching a Christmas show on TV. At some point my dad got up to get some potato chips, and when he came back with the bowl he touched me on the shoulder, intending to ask me if I wanted some. I must have had my hand on the Taser while I was watching the television show, because the moment he touched me I had the Taser out, and was all prepared to trigger it. I think I was milliseconds away from tasing my own father."

As she finished her explanation, tears began to flow and she was quickly back at digging in her purse, but this time it was for a tissue. As she finally blotted away the last of her tears she said, "It's a good thing I don't have on any makeup, or I'd have to redo it." She managed a small smile after saying that.

Robert smiled back at her and said, "Let's go downstairs. You look very lovely without makeup, and your tissue has taken care of the tears." He led the way to the door, and then held it open for her. Robert couldn't tell whether it was an intentional decision on her part, or whether their little discussion had cleared the air between them, but he noticed that she was carrying her closed purse in a normal fashion, and exhibited none of the caution that he now realized she had displayed earlier. Knowing that she seemed more comfortable with him, for whatever reason, pleased him more than he had expected it would.

+++++++++

They spent the afternoon playing poker, and both of them were only mildly successful. They had played at the same table, as Annie wanted Robert to see if she had changed her playing style enough to eliminate the tell that he had picked up on earlier. When they stopped playing to have supper, neither of them had won enough chips to be interested in cashing them in. Instead, they kept them for use later in the evening when they returned to the poker room.

They had a pleasant supper, and it was obvious that they were both more comfortable together. Their conversation about Annie's Taser had cleared the air somewhat, either by making both of them realize that nothing should ever be taken for granted, or by prompting both of them to try a little harder to be friendly and to enjoy their time together. In truth it wasn't hard to do, as they both enjoyed each other's company. Annie was pleased to find out that Robert hadn't noticed any evidence that her chip viewing habits were still giving away the quality of her cards.

Robert found it was very pleasant to be with a woman who seemed to pay no attention to his appearance, and Annie was happy to spend some time with a man she now knew that she could trust, one who really seemed to enjoy being with her, but who wasn't trying to push her into a relationship of any sort.

When they finished their meal Annie passed over her Taser to Robert so that he could take a look at it. He gave it a quick inspection and after getting some information from Annie on how it was used, he passed it back to her and she quickly replaced it out of sight in her purse. In the course of their conversation Robert found out that she had three of these units. She had spent close to $1000 in order to have one in her car and one in her nightstand, as well as the one in her purse. She explained that by doing that, she never had to wonder where she had left her protection; there was always one close by.

When they returned to the poker room they found that it had become much busier, and they were forced to put their names down for the next available seats. As a result they ended up at different tables. At just before midnight Annie walked by Robert's table and quickly told him that she was going back to her room for the night. Her big smile when he asked her how she had made out gave him the answer to that question. Robert stayed at his table and played until almost 2:30 in the morning, eventually leaving with winnings of just under $400.

+++++++++

At 9:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, Robert called Annie in her room to see if she would like to go for breakfast. He discovered that she had been waiting for his call, not wanting to phone him and possibly disturb his sleep. By 10 o'clock they were on their way to the restaurant for a pleasant breakfast and more enjoyable conversation. When they compared their winnings from the previous night it turned out that they had enjoyed very similar successes. Both of them planned to spend the afternoon and evening playing poker, and both would return home on Monday morning.

Robert spent a couple of hours working on his business accounts, and then both of them spent the afternoon and evening as planned, playing poker. They managed to have supper together again, and on Monday morning they had prearranged to meet for breakfast at 9:30 a.m. After an enjoyable breakfast, and agreeing to keep in touch by email, they both went to check out and begin their individual drives home. Once again they were both heading home with a profit for their time at the poker tables, although neither of them would get rich from their winnings.

To Be Continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 03



The month of December always passes quickly, and it was that way for Robert and Annie. They were in the habit now of trading almost daily emails, discussing minor events in their lives, and often trading simple messages and jokes. Robert was still playing online poker, and managed to win a very welcome $1500 in an online tournament. Annie was still not a fan of the online game, much preferring to play live in a casino.

About a week after their return from Hinckley, Annie described how she had made an appointment with her psychiatrist and they had attempted to address her lingering fears. After describing what had happened in Hinckley to her Doctor, the psychiatrist asked a lot of questions about Robert and what had happened. 

According to Annie, in a message that was one of the longest that she had sent to Robert, the Doctor felt that it would be good for Annie to continue interacting with Robert, as he seemed to be a very safe male figure for her to be with.

When he received that message, Robert wasn't quite sure what he should think of it. It seemed to suggest that Annie would be pleased to continue their friendship, because her doctor thought it would be good for her. Considering that he enjoyed her company, he decided that he would accept being Annie's "safe" friend. 

It seemed very much to him that continuing their friendship would be beneficial for both of them. He would have a woman he could enjoy corresponding with, someone who shared his love of poker, and she could have a non-threatening male friend.

On December 15th Robert received another package of coupons from the Grand Casino Hinckley, another attempt to entice him to visit their poker room. The coupons were good for the next six weeks, and it immediately got Robert thinking about making another trip for a weekend of poker. 

He decided to ask Annie if she had received the same coupons, and whether she would be interested in accompanying him to Hinckley. He was already considering the last weekend of December because New Year's Day fell on the Monday following it.

New Year's Eve parties were never something that Robert worried about attending, because he made a point of avoiding events that would require him to have a date. As a result, it was the perfect weekend for him to consider a trip to the casino. Once he had made up his mind that it would be a natural weekend for the trip, he wrote Annie asking her if she'd be interested in going on the same weekend. While he was hopeful that it would be a good weekend for her to get away, he also assumed that she could have other plans.

Both of them had Christmas plans that had been in the works for quite some time. Robert was going to be traveling to Toronto to spend Christmas with his only sibling, his sister Patty. Patty was a year older than Robert, had a long-term relationship with her boyfriend, and worked in Toronto as a Corporate Lawyer. Their parents had died in an auto accident while he and his sister were both in university, and they had only each other now. 

Christmas with Patty was becoming a tradition for the two of them, and Robert was looking forward to seeing her and her boyfriend, Mike. Annie's Christmas would be spent with her parents, who lived in Minneapolis.

Three days later Robert received an email message from Annie in which she accepted his suggestion to share a getaway to Hinckley on the last weekend of the month. She was off work already, having booked her last week of vacation for that week, and had been wondering what she would do with the time off. 

He was reading her message, pleased that she had agreed to make the trip at the same time as he was going to be there, when another message arrived in his Inbox. It too was from Annie, a simple one sentence message asking if his previous offer of a ride to and from the casino still stood, because she was willing to accept it now.

Rather than reply by email, Robert immediately picked up the telephone and called Annie. He emphatically confirmed his willingness to pick her up on his way to Hinckley, and also offered to make the reservations for their rooms. His offer was quickly accepted, and very shortly after he got off the phone with Annie, he called the casino to make the reservations for two rooms, one in each of their names.

+++++++++++

Robert's Christmas visit with his sister Patty went very well. Mike and Patty had apparently moved their relationship to the next level, as they were now sharing the condo that had previously been Patty's alone. Robert was tempted to ask them if they intended to someday be married, but decided against delving into her relationship with Mike, knowing that his sister would once again ask him what he was doing about finding himself a girlfriend. 

He knew he could have stretched the truth a bit about his friendship with Annie, especially since they had what seemed to be an ongoing relationship, but he wouldn't have wanted to be forced to admit that it seemed that Annie's interest in him was that he was a safe male figure. He was comfortable with the way that he and Annie related to each other and didn't see a need to bring his sister up to speed on that aspect of his life. Hell, for all he knew Annie could decide at any time to move on with her life and leave him behind.

Two days after Christmas Robert was on a plane back to Thunder Bay, with one day to catch up on his business and get ready for his trip. He was looking forward to seeing Annie again, and wondered if she had managed to conquer some of her residual fears. 

Robert had thought about his interactions with her a lot, and he realized that there were a lot of signs that she had been uncomfortable around him at times. He simply hadn't picked up on them, but now that he was aware of her story, he knew he would be able to catch most of the signals that had so easily gone over his head before. So much for his ability to read people's 'tells', he thought wryly.

+++++++++++++

At 11 a.m. on Friday, Robert pulled up at the address that Annie had given him. It was a modest home on a quiet street in the East End of Duluth, and once he was parked he got out and started up the walk way to the front door. She must have been watching for him, because as he reached the foot of the front steps, she came out of the door carrying her suitcase. They exchanged belated Christmas greetings before Robert took the suitcase from her hand and led the way down to his three-quarter ton pickup that was parked in front of her home.

"I didn't realize you drove a truck, Robert." It was a large model, and was tall enough that a running board was a major convenience for anyone getting into the truck. It was one of the extended cab models, and Robert opened the passenger-side rear door in order to place Annie's suitcase on the rear seat.

"I have a car as well, but this truck has four-wheel drive, and if the road conditions aren't great that feature will come in handy. I use the truck for fishing and hunting in the summer and fall more than anything. It's a diesel, so I hope you don't mind the fact it's a little bit noisier than normal vehicles." He proceeded to open the passenger door and assisted Annie as she got into the passenger seat.

As they pulled away from the curb in front of Annie's home, Robert asked, "Have you eaten lately? I skipped breakfast this morning, so I'm wondering if you'd be interested in stopping at the Perkins Restaurant on the way out of town for brunch."

Annie was in complete agreement with this suggestion because she hadn't had very much for breakfast either. Just a couple of minutes later they were pulling into a Perkins that overlooks the Duluth harbor, and is just off of the beginning of I35. As they were placing their orders they were also taking their first sips of the ubiquitous cups of Perkins coffee.

Robert could already sense that Annie was a little more relaxed around him, smiling and laughing much more freely than he had ever noticed before. They engaged in polite conversation about how they had spent their Christmas day, and it seemed that both of them had had an enjoyable holiday. By the time their meals arrived, they had pretty much covered the subject of Christmas.

Neither of them had ordered anything that was very fancy or time-consuming to eat, so it wasn't long before they both finished their meal and were back at their bottomless cups of coffee. After he set his cup back down Robert said, "I'm really looking forward to this trip. Christmas is always so hectic, and I find sitting at a poker table to be pretty laid back most of the time."

After Annie voiced her agreement with his sentiments, he continued, "That afternoon that you showed me your Taser, you mentioned that there was more to your story. Maybe you could explain what you meant on our drive to Hinckley. We'll have about an hour and a half on the Interstate."

"Oh, I hadn't considered that. I've seen my psychiatrist a couple of times, and she suggested that I do precisely as you ask, but I'm not really sure if I'm quite ready for that right now. Maybe instead of me telling you all about what happened to me, you could tell me how you came to have never had a date, and yet you claim that you are not a 30 year old virgin." She sort of grinned at him after saying that, and then added, "I'm still not sure you have me convinced that you're telling me the whole truth about that."

The smile quickly faded from Robert's face with her suggestion that he be the one to provide the details of his experiences before she completed her story, but realized there was really no reason that he could use to refuse her request. 

In a moment he answered, "I guess there's no good reason for me to insist that you make your explanation first. I'll explain how what I said is true when we get on the highway. I don't really want to get into that while we're here, in the restaurant." He was blushing a little as he finished his statement, and the return of his Hypernasality signaled he was more than a little affected by his decision.

"I'm going to hold you to that, Robert." Annie could sense that he was both embarrassed and hesitant to get onto the subject, so she didn't push against his request to wait until they were driving.

There hadn't been a whole lot of conversation as they drove through the maze of overpasses and on and off ramps that skirted West Duluth. When they finally climbed the long hill that ended with the turnoff to the small town of Proctor, Annie finally turned to Robert and said, "Spill it, Robert. Explain how you can say things about yourself that seem to be pretty well mutually exclusive." She grinned at him as though she had already won the minor contest over whether his statements had been entirely truthful.

Now that they were past the section of I35 that required constant vigilance, Robert had relaxed a bit and turned to look at Annie, as she sat beside him in the passenger seat. The truck sported high backed bucket seats, and she had reclined hers just enough to be very comfortable. He noticed that she was wearing another of her apparently endless selection of long sleeved turtleneck sweaters under her winter jacket. 

The heater in his truck was quite good, and she had fully unzipped her outerwear so that she could be a little more comfortable. It was impossible not to notice that she appeared to be very fit, and was in possession of very elegant curves beneath her sweater. 

Robert didn't consider himself an expert in the matter, but he certainly felt that she was more than amply endowed. After having dealt with her reluctance to be alone with him for this drive a month earlier, he was actually quite impressed with the change in her overall attitude. The counseling she was receiving from her doctor seemed to be doing some concrete good.

The night of their first supper together Robert had found it quite easy to suggest that at some future time he would explain to her how he could truthfully say that he had never been on a date, while maintaining that he was also not a virgin. Now that that time had arrived he was finding himself at a bit of a loss for words. 

Most of what he would have to tell her was not the type of thing that he had discussed with others in the past. He finally decided to honor his promise, as there didn't really seem to be a reason to expect she would be able to talk about him to anyone else he knew. Mind you, he didn't really think she was the type of person who would do that anyway.

After clearing his throat he began, "Well, I guess I can start back when I was in my second year of high school. I must've been 15 at the time. I was going through the awkward years where I had begun to notice girls, but besides the normal shyness of a 15-year-old boy, I also had the added burden of the appearance of my face,... my lip. Teenagers of both sexes can be pretty cruel at times, and I got more of that than most of them."

"There was a girl in my class named Brenda. She wasn't one of the ones that were involved in sports or cheerleading or got on the honor roll for her academics. She was a decently pretty girl, and for the most part she just did her best to get along with everyone. Anyway, one of the cheerleaders, Amanda, whose boyfriend was a running back on the football team, got into some kind of a disagreement with Brenda. She and her boyfriend hatched a plot to get back at Brenda, and they used me to do it."

He glanced over at Annie for a moment, and could see that she was following along very seriously with his words. He continued, "What they did, was the boyfriend, Adam, told me that he and Amanda had arranged a blind date for me with a friend of theirs. I was pretty excited, since I wasn't one to normally even think about going out on a date. Being on a double date with Adam and Amanda made it seem all the better, because they were quite popular."

"I found out much later that Amanda gave pretty much the same story to Brenda, except they told her that her date was with one of the football players. I remember being so excited that I even told my parents and sister that I was going on a double date with one of the most popular couples in the school. They were so happy for me, because usually I was picked on pretty badly." He stopped speaking for over a minute as he relived the events in his mind. Annie was about to ask him if he wanted to forget about telling his story when he started speaking again.

"The big date was set for Saturday night, and at seven o'clock Adam and Amanda picked me up at my house. I can still remember looking back and seeing my parents standing off to the side in the living room watching me leave." There was another hesitation now, but this time he carried on without waiting for more than a handful of seconds. "Mom and Dad had been so excited for me; they had me in a really good mood as we went to pick up my date."

"Eventually Adam pulled up in front of a house and they said that I should just walk to the door and surprise my date. Well, I guess it was quite a surprise for her, because the moment that she saw it was me she let out a yell. I was just registering the fact that the girl I was going to be taking out was Brenda, when she burst into tears and I heard the laughter coming from Andy and Amanda as they stood there by his car." Robert stopped then for another long delay, and Annie could see that he was beginning to get upset as he remembered the incident.

"It seemed like only an instant before Brenda had run back into her house after slamming the door, and Andy and Amanda had got back into his car and left. There I was, standing by myself in front of a closed door, while the people who had brought me there drove off." 

After another short hesitation so that he could regain control of his voice, Robert continued. "I was so upset and hurt, that I didn't know what to do. It was obviously a big joke, and Brenda and I were the victims of it. It was a nice spring evening, and there were people outside their houses along that street. Some of them were standing there watching me."

"I knew I had to get out of there, so I took off running down the sidewalk. I only had a vague idea of where I was, so I started running in the general direction of the heart of town, trying to get to an area that I knew. I must've run 3 miles before I finally wore myself out. I ended up sitting on a bench at a bus stop, and a few minutes later when a bus pulled up I just got on it. I had no idea where it was going. I think I sat at the back of the bus for a half an hour, regaining my strength and, yes, drying my eyes."

"Eventually I recognized where I was, and I got off the bus and went into a small restaurant, one of those diners that caters to the down and out. I spent the rest of the evening in a booth at the back, stretching out a couple of large Cokes. Finally I left so that I could catch a bus to get me back home for my 11 o'clock curfew. When I got home I told my parents about what a great time I had, how nice my date had been, and what a great movie we had seen. They were so happy that I had finally been on a date."

"Well, after that I never even thought about having a date in high school. The story of the whole, miserable episode made it around the school the following Monday. I toughed it out, but Brenda left at noon on Monday and never came back that week." 

"When she did come back, she wouldn't come anywhere near me, or even look my way. I was just as happy with that; all I wanted to do was become invisible, something that isn't easy to do when you're the usual victim for everyone that wants to have someone to pick on. I was lucky my sister was understanding, because I swore her to secrecy about it all. I didn't want my parents to ever find out."

Annie spoke up now when he hesitated and said, "I'm sorry I pushed you to dredge up all of these memories. I can see that it's hard to talk about. Why don't we just forget about it?"

Robert looked over at her and could see that she was a bit upset, apparently regretting that she had pushed him to tell his story. He smiled at her and said, "I don't mind telling you about this. It's been a long time since I thought about some of this stuff, and I suspect it's probably good for me to talk about it. The only other person that has heard the whole story is my sister, and that wasn't until we were both at University."

Robert took a deep breath and continued with his story, "During my last year of high school Brenda came over to me one day and apologized for her reaction. I told her that she shouldn't worry about it; the real culprits were Adam and Amanda. I told her about how I had gotten a bit of revenge about a month after the episode occurred." 

"I ran into Adam in the locker room and he tried to rub in what they had done. I challenged him to a fight, right there and then, and I guess I was so emotionally involved I didn't even feel it when he hit me first. He chipped one of my front teeth, but my first punch broke his nose."

"After that, I didn't see very much of him at all. I never heard anyone say that it was me who had broken his nose, and I guess he never admitted it to anyone. I just wanted to stay out of the spotlight, so I never said a thing to anyone except Brenda."

"When I got to University I just carried on with my personal code of self-preservation. I ignored the opposite sex, and buried myself in my books and computers. After a while it became a way of life that continued until you asked me to have supper with you." He turned and smiled at her before saying, "I know, I know. It was more of a barter than a date. If you don't mind I'll be happy to consider it a date, though."

At that point he looked at his watch, and said, "We should be in Hinckley in about half an hour. Unless you have any more doubts about me calling our supper a date, I guess I may as well tell you the rest of my story."




Lip and Annie Ch. 03



"I didn't think it was possible for someone to have gone through life to your age without going on a date, but you have me convinced that your story is true. It has the ring of truth, and I don't have any questions for you." She laughed a bit and added, "At least you had the pleasure of breaking his nose. I hope it hurt him good. I don't have any sympathy for bullies or people who would pull that kind of stunt." When she finished speaking Annie reached over and patted his forearm in a quick expression of sympathy.

It was obvious to Robert that Annie had definitely made some progress, as she hadn't come that close to him even once in the time they had known each other. In the back of his mind he still realized that her friendship was probably predicated upon her desire to have a more normal relationship with a man than she had been capable of since her attack. He decided that even if the likelihood was that she would want less to do with him once she had regained her confidence, he would enjoy the time that he had with her as his friend.

After taking a deep breath Robert began the rest of his story. "This next part will probably have you thinking a whole lot less of me, but it is what it is. Just after I graduated from university with a degree in computer science, I decided to start a business designing and maintaining websites. I put advertisements all over the Internet trying to generate some customers. One day I got an email from someone called Yvette, who said she was part of a small group that was looking for some website design work to be done."

"My advertisements had my address, and Yvette offered to come over with her three partners the following Sunday to discuss their requirements. It seems that they were also located in Thunder Bay, so I quickly agreed to her suggestion. I never thought any more about it until my doorbell rang at two o'clock the following Sunday afternoon."

"When I answered my door I found four very good looking young women standing there, so I quickly invited them in. To make a long story short, the four of them were involved in an escort service, and they wanted me to design and maintain a website for the four of them to use for advertising and as a pay site for, well, I have to be blunt, pornography that they would produce themselves."

By this point Robert was slightly red in the face, and was clearly a bit embarrassed. He looked over at Annie to try and gauge her reaction to what he had said so far. She was sitting calmly, watching him, and when he didn't say anything further she said, "Go ahead Robert; I'm with you so far." Since he didn't see any sign of disgust or displeasure on her face, Robert continued with his story.

"It was obvious that the four of them had a pretty good idea of what they wanted their site to be like. They directed me to several other sites of a similar nature, and commented on changes and additions that they would like to have included in their own version of the pages. I made a lot of notes and a number of suggestions that they seemed to agree with, and before they left we had a signed contract for $1200 plus or minus 10%." 

"In spite of the nature and content of the website, nothing they were asking me to do was in any way illegal, and frankly I needed the experience. They left me a DVD with a number of short videos that they had produced themselves." 

"The four girls were Yvette, Denise, Tiffany and Blanche. Don't for one second think that any of those were their real names. They regularly advertised in the local newspaper, and those were the names they listed in their ads."

Robert glanced over at Annie to see whether he had lost her yet, and when she nodded at him he continued, "It took me a week to put together a website that was pretty close to what we had discussed, with a section devoted to advertising their services, and a pay for entry portal set up so that interested parties could use a credit card to subscribe for monthly access to the videos and photos spreads that they had provided me with, and others that they would produce in the future."

Robert glanced over at Annie, who was still sitting there impassively. He continued, "I contacted Yvette and we made an arrangement that they would come by on Sunday afternoon. This was a week after their first visit. The job had taken me longer than I had expected, but because I didn't have much other work, and I was quite happy to work more than eight hours a day, I had managed to get quite a bit done in a week. It was actually a fully functional website incorporating everything that we had discussed on their first visit."

"All four of them were very happy with the results, and made only half a dozen change requests. I knew that they wouldn't take long to incorporate, so I left my price at $1200. In case you're wondering, the content wasn't over-the-top at all. There was nothing that was degrading or suggesting acts that weren't consensual. Yvette and Tiffany are a couple, so they did have a number of girl-girl scenes." 

After he finished saying that, Robert happened to glance over to Annie, and could see her cringe and pull her coat tightly around her. He immediately realized that some of his comments weren't at all thoughtful, considering that he knew she had been raped.

"Oh God, Annie. I'm so sorry to have been so thoughtless. Here I was, going on and on without thinking about how you may be affected by what I was saying." Annie quickly glanced at Robert and could tell immediately that he was sincere. He almost looked close to tears.

"Please Robert, you don't have to apologize. I have to be able to learn to accept language like that. There was nothing you said that I haven't heard others say in the past. Sometimes just a word will bring back terrible memories, and I have to be able to get past that." Once again she reached over and gave Robert a pat on the arm. "Carry on with your story, Robert, and don't censor it for me."

Robert, of course, said okay, but chastised himself for his remarks, and decided to be more cautious with what he said in the future. Annie might have told him to say it like it was, but he had no intention of being careless again. After a few moments of thought he continued, "I explained to them that I would be able to host their website on my servers, and explained the monthly charges that would be applicable, and what they would cover. They were very quick to accept my prices and terms."

"They talked amongst themselves and came up with an offer that I guess I would be able to safely say, I couldn't refuse. They wanted to pay the $1200 fee for designing and creating their site by the barter system. Since they were equal members of their little service, and would share in the profits or losses of their website, they made me the offer of three 1-hour sessions with each of them in trade for my work." 

He thought briefly about adding more details before saying, "I'll skip to the end and just say that's how I was able to lose my virginity, even without a date. The four of them referred to our times together as appointments, and that was precisely how they handled them."

When he finished his explanation, he looked back at Annie, and could see an amused smile on her face. After a moment she said, "Well, I see now how you can say that you never had a date, but were not a virgin. I can't imagine any man in his mid-20s turning down an offer like that." When she finished talking she laughed, adding, "I imagine you're still collecting payments from them for the monthly charges."

Now it was time for Robert to get very serious, and she could tell by the look on his face that she had stumbled upon a part of the story that perhaps wouldn't have been included in Robert's explanation. They had reached the off ramp for Hinckley, and as they pulled up at a stop light Robert said, "Actually, I've been accepting all of their payments for monthly charges and maintenance on a credit card account that they share in. The story of my arrangement with their escort service has a dark side that I wasn't going to bring up, but it deserves to be told."

"I had just completed my 'collection' of their original $1200 bill when I went to Toronto for a month to visit my sister and have a bit of a vacation. While I was there I got an email asking me to remove Blanche from the website completely; the escort service was now comprised of the three remaining girls only. I asked Yvette what had happened, but I never did get a response to my email. I did the work necessary to make the changes they wanted, and then I sort of forgot about the whole thing."

"About a month after I got back home from Toronto I went into a McDonald's for lunch, and it was one of those ones with a kids' play area. I had just sat down when I happened to notice a woman with a young girl two tables away from me. It was the woman I knew as Blanche. She had been the nicest of the four of them, and so I picked up my meal and walked over to her table. She was watching the girl, her daughter it turns out, playing, and she didn't notice me sitting down until I said 'Hello, Blanche'. To say she was shocked would be an understatement, and she quickly looked around to see if anyone had heard me."

"She let me know that she wasn't too happy that I had called her Blanche, as her daughter didn't know her by that name. I told her I was sorry that I had caused her concern, but she quickly let me know that no harm was done as she could now see that her daughter was out of earshot."

"We talked for a few minutes, and I asked her why she had left her partners. She finally told me she had left the business, and was leaving the next day for Kingston, where she had enrolled in an MBA program at Queen's University. She said the others planned on making the escort service their careers for the foreseeable future, but she had always intended to get out of it when she had enough money to finish her education. Then she let it slip that she had been diagnosed with... an STD, and was leaving a little sooner than she had planned."

Robert looked over quickly at Annie, and could see that she was deep in thought. He continued, "I asked her how that could be, as all four of them had been religious about the use of condoms. She explained that occasionally a condom would break, and she had been... coerced in one instance to engage in... behavior she had normally avoided. Anyway, after I found out that she had contracted something, I decided that any more 'bartering' with the remaining girls was just asking for trouble." 

"In fact for the next year I had myself repeatedly tested for STDs, in case I had been infected by Blanche, or one of the others. Fortunately, I was in good health, but I did accept the whole incident as a warning."

He took another glance at Annie before finishing with, "And that's the end of my story."

They were just pulling into the driveway leading to the main entrance of the Casino Hotel when Annie said, "Blanche has HIV, doesn't she." She looked over at Robert, waiting for his confirmation of her statement. When he nodded his head she continued, "I can't imagine how devastating that must be to her, wondering if she'll be around for her daughter as she grows up. I had those tests too, and it was months before they could guarantee I wasn't infected. The waiting was terrible, as I'm sure you realize."

Robert was suddenly very somber, as he remembered his own concerns. "Yeah, that wasn't any fun, but at least I didn't have a specific serious incident to give me cause for concern." 

Annie didn't respond to his statement which caused Robert to wonder if he had seriously damaged their budding relationship.

To be continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 04



They checked in separately and met at the elevators where they discovered that they were in adjacent rooms. As they were standing almost side-by-side using their key cards to enter their respective rooms, Annie said, "Well, if we decide to go out together for supper, we won't have far to go to meet." Robert was laughing in agreement as they both entered their rooms.

About a minute later, Robert was knocking at the door separating their two rooms, and when Annie opened her corresponding door he said, "It's going to be even easier to get together. These rooms are connected. I hope the wall between us is well insulated in case I snore."

Annie laughed in response before replying, "You had better hope that I don't snore. You might be the one that won't be getting any sleep."

Neither of them planned on heading for the poker room immediately, as Robert still had a bit of work to catch up on, and Annie said she wanted to relax for a while. They agreed that Robert would knock on her door when he was ready, and they would decide on when they should go for supper at that time.

+++++++++

Robert was engrossed in his work for a lot longer that afternoon than he had anticipated. It was 4:30 when he finally completed his jobs and knocked on the connecting door. It took a full minute for Annie to answer the door, and when she did open it, the reason for the delay was fairly obvious. 

She gave every indication of having been asleep and quickly confirmed that she had dozed off. Both of them wanted to freshen up before going for supper, so they agreed to take 20 minutes before they would get together and go down for their meal.

Both of them were ready to leave their rooms when Robert knocked at the connecting door a second time. Annie had once again transformed herself into a vision of understated good looks, wearing a white blouse, with yet another long sleeved sweater; which this time was totally unbuttoned. 

It seemed that she was being a little more conscious of her appearance, because she was wearing a pair of formfitting slacks and had also applied a bit of makeup. Robert approved of her choices, but kept his comments to a simple whistle that seemed to embarrass her.

After having a pleasant supper together, they headed for the poker room, but not before Annie did up all of the buttons on her sweater, which turned out to be another of her baggy selections. Robert was a bit disappointed, and said, "And here I thought you were about to go Jennifer Tilley on us." His remark elicited a hearty laugh from Annie, who simply said, "In your dreams."

+++++++

They played together at the same table for a little while, but after about two hours the floor manager came over to close the table when the players had dwindled to five. They were moved to fill empty slots at other tables, and the two of them were separated. The evening went by quickly, and after an initial run of poor luck, Robert finally connected with consecutive good hands that let him win two medium sized pots.

When Annie came by at midnight to say that she was quitting play for the night, Robert decided that since he was still a couple of hundred dollars ahead, it might be a good time for him to do the same. Annie waited for him for about five minutes as he wanted to play until the big blind reached him. It didn't take long for the two of them to be walking side by side to the elevators.

"So how did you do, Robert?"

"I guess I'm ahead about $200 in chips right now. I had a couple of good pots earlier. How about you?" Robert glanced at her as he asked the question.

Annie grimaced and replied, "I'm down $100. I got beat while I had pocket Aces and I'm lucky that they gave me $100 from their Bad Beat Fund, or I'd really be down right now. That's the first time I've collected on it."

Robert had a short laugh at Annie's expense, and then said, "You're a good player Annie, and I know you'll do okay tomorrow." He stopped walking towards the elevators, prompting Annie to stop with him, and then continued, "It's not that late, yet. Would you feel like stopping at the bar for a drink before we go up? I think they have a band there."

Annie gave him a quick look and sort of laughed before saying, "You really want to be sure that you killed that 'I've never been on a date' idea, don't you? Sure, we can go have a drink... but just one, okay?"

As they changed direction to head to the bar instead of the elevators, Robert replied, "Oh, I think we've been together for enough meals to qualify as having been on at least one date by now, but just in case we still haven't crossed that line, let's do it; I feel like having a beer."

There was a band playing, and they both stretched out their drinks until the band went on a break. While Robert had a cold beer, Annie enjoyed a glass of white wine, something she said she hadn't had for quite a while. It was almost one o'clock when they finally got back to their rooms. Both of them had enjoyed their time together.

10 minutes after they had entered their rooms, Annie knocked on their connecting door. Robert called out, "Come in, Annie. I'm decent." He had removed his shirt and shoes, but hadn't yet gone to bed, preferring to check his email first.

Annie opened the door slowly, and then peeked around the edge. "I don't want to keep you up, Robert. Let me know if you're anxious to get to bed. I'm wide awake right now, and I wondered if you wanted to talk for a little while." 

When Robert quickly agreed to sit and talk with her, Annie slowly opened the door and entered Robert's room. It was immediately obvious that she was a little bit nervous, so Robert quickly moved to the chair that was the farthest from the now open connecting door and offered her the one in which he had been seated.

She slowly walked over to the offered chair, sat down and pulled her feet up beneath her. She was wearing a pair of plain cotton pajamas with a full-length housecoat firmly belted around her. It was very obvious that she was nervous now that she was seated across the small table from Robert, with his laptop between them. 

She was fidgeting with her hands, but finally said, "I hope you're not offended because I'm so nervous, Robert. This is a big step for me, sitting here in my pajamas in your room." She laughed to break the tension and then added, "And I don't even have my Taser with me."

Robert smiled and said, "I really want you to be comfortable around me. I meant it when I said that you would have nothing to worry about from me." He got up and picked up his shirt from the bed and put it on, hoping that his action would send the right message.

When he was seated again Annie said, "I guess you must work out a bit. You look pretty fit."

"Thank you. I belong to a fitness club at home, and I try to get there at least three times a week." He laughed before continuing with, "I have too many bad habits, like the beer I had this evening, to be able to get by without some sort of fitness regimen. You look pretty fit, yourself. Mind you, it's awfully hard to tell right now the way that you're bundled up."

Annie looked flustered when he said that, but replied, "Thank you. I have a treadmill and an elliptical trainer at home. I need the privacy I have at home. I could never go to one of the fitness clubs, as I could never wear my workout outfits in public."

Robert was very serious when he asked, "Why is that, Annie? Are you afraid to show yourself off, now that you've been attacked by some lowlife? You should talk to your Doctor about that."

Annie was looking around almost as though she were trying to avoid answering his question and then asked, "Do you have any soft drinks or bottled water here, Robert? My throat feels really dry."

Robert let her know that he had nothing at all to drink in his room, and offered to go get a couple of Cokes from the vending machine area. She quickly took him up on his offer, although she preferred a 7-Up or similar drink if it was available. Robert was quickly back with two cans of 7-Up and a bucket of ice.

After she'd taken the first sip from her glass, she said, "I guess I should just explain to you the whole story of why I'm like I am. Maybe after you hear all of it you won't be so anxious to be around me."

Robert leaned forward and said, "I can't believe that. If you're comfortable with talking about it, go ahead, but I don't want you to feel pressured to do it."

Annie picked up her glass for another sip of 7-Up, and then began her story. "It was a Friday night, and I had just finished my shift on the pediatric floor. I was walking to the bus stop, just like I always did, and I don't remember seeing anything that was even a bit suspicious. I was walking past a white van, just like the vans that contractors use, when all of a sudden I was grabbed and something was put over my face that made me lose consciousness: later I found out it was ether."

"When I came to I was in the back of the van, naked and with a gag in my mouth. I was on my back on an old blanket, actually one of those pads that the movers put around furniture so it won't get scraped up in their truck. My hands were on either side of my head, and I was handcuffed to two rings that were welded on the floor of the van. I must have made some sound, because the man who had grabbed me got out of the driver's seat, came around to the side door and got in the back with me."

"He never said a word, and with the gag all I could do was make a few sounds. He took off his clothes, and then he raped me...twice." She stopped to take another sip from her glass of 7-Up, and looked up at Robert to see what his reaction has been to what she had just finished saying. It was obvious that he had found her story sobering, and when he didn't make any comment, she continued with it.

"That was just the start of it. He kept me in that van for two days, two days that I can hardly believe that I survived. Every few hours he would get dressed, move the van to a new location, then get in the back and do things to me; some of them were unspeakable things. I lost track of how many times I was raped. I... I still haven't told anyone but Dr. Maier about everything that happened in that van. I can't tell you, either." She looked up at him, and he could see that there were unshed tears in her eyes. Once she had wiped them away she continued.

"He didn't make any attempt to hide his face from me, and after a while, when I saw how his van was equipped as a... a dungeon, and he had all these things he used, like the handcuffs, the different types of gags and how he took pictures of certain things he did, I knew that he intended to kill me. He had knives and... things, hanging on the wall, attached to pieces of plywood, the way most guys would put their tools in a workroom. My dad had tool racks like that." Her eyes were fixed on a spot on the wall, and it was almost as if she was reciting a piece of memorization, or maybe she was reliving the events as she spoke.

"He never said anything to me except instructions on what to do next. I might have slept or lost consciousness for a few minutes here and there as he drove around, but I don't really think he slept much at all. A couple of times he left me tied down with only one handcuff on, and I started looking around the van trying to figure a way out of their, some way to escape before he killed me. I found a few things that were interesting, but nothing that I could use to defend myself, or to get the handcuff off my hand."

"Finally, on Sunday night, just when I expected to die, a miracle occurred. He had me on my back, gagged, with both hands handcuffed, and he had started to cut me with one of the knives. There was blood all over me, and the pain was something terrible. He had just undone the handcuffs to move me to another position. I think he was going to stand me up and handcuff me to a bar that was attached on the ceiling, when somebody pulled up behind us."

"They weren't really close to the van, but their headlights were shining on the windows in the rear door. The glass was painted with something, so they couldn't see in, but I think the lights scared him a bit."

She stopped to take another drink from her glass, and it seemed obvious to Robert that she intentionally avoided looking at him. Finally she continued with her story. "I was still on the floor when he jumped up to see what was going on with the vehicle behind us. He got out of the side door, but when he tried to close it the corner of the furniture blanket blocked it, and stopped it from latching. I'm sure he didn't notice that, because it would have been so easy for him to move the blanket and slam the door shut. If he had done that, I don't think I could've gotten it open in time to escape."

There were tears slowly running down her cheeks as she carried on with her story. "I could see the movement through the windshield as he went around the front of the van to get into the driver's door and drive away. Somehow I managed to get up and get out of that side door before he noticed me. I was running towards the car with the headlights when he shouted behind me. I never looked back, and when I got to the car, and the couple inside got out to help me, I looked back and saw the van driving away. I was naked and covered in blood, but the couple never hesitated to get me into their back seat and drive me to the hospital."

She was clearly crying now as she stopped for a moment for another sip of 7-Up. "I was hysterical and feeling faint from the loss of blood when they got me there, and if the emergency department hadn't immediately rushed me into an emergency operating room, they told me that I would've lost too much blood within the next few minutes. As it was, they were able to quickly stop the worst of the bleeding, and get me transfused. I kept saying I had been raped, and they took swabs to get his DNA while I was under anesthetic. When I finally woke up I was in a recovery room hardly able to believe that I was still alive."

Robert took the opportunity presented when she stopped speaking, seemingly out of enough energy to continue. He asked, "Did they ever catch the guy? Did his DNA lead to them figuring out who it was?" He suddenly thought better of his urge to find out more and said, "I'm sorry, Annie. Just forget I asked. I can see that you're wiped out from having talked about what happened." He felt the urge to put an arm around her shoulder, but was afraid that doing that would alarm her, or maybe do her emotional harm, instead of being taken as a comforting gesture.

She wiped away her tears before saying, "That's okay, Robert. My doctor says that it's better for me when I talk about what happened, but it's hard for me to do. They did catch the guy, but it wasn't the DNA that helped them do that. When I was looking around in the back of his van, I found a pair of license plates. I remembered the number that was on them; they were from South Dakota."

"The police came to see me as soon as I got out of the recovery room, and I told them about the license plate number. The FBI and State Police were waiting for him when he returned to his home in South Dakota."

"There was a shootout, and he was killed. I found out later that when they searched his home and garage they found evidence that he had killed at least five women. His DNA was already on file in two of the cases, but the other two hadn't been connected to him until they found the things that they called his 'trophies'. He was keeping the five blood soaked furniture blankets in plastic containers in a freezer, as well as underwear and jewelry in a drawer."

"They told me that the DNA from the blood matched the four bodies they had found, but there was no record of who the fifth woman was, or where her body was."

Annie finally looked up at Robert and held his gaze as she took another drink of 7-Up and then continued speaking, "Later I realized how lucky I was that he was killed in that shootout. If he had survived, I would've had to testify in court about what had happened, and I don't know if I could have survived that. It's been five years, and talking to you right now about it is as hard to do as it was the first time I gave my story to the police."

Robert very much wanted to console her, and took the opportunity that presented itself when she hesitated in her story to ask, "I really think you need a shoulder to cry on. I'm offering mine, but I'm scared it might upset you and make you feel worse. Please don't be upset by my saying this."

Any looked at him in a strange way, almost surprised at his offer. She slowly got up from her chair and then said, "I think a hug is called for right now. Dr. Maier told me that since I have begun to trust you, and you're not my Dad, it would be good to talk with you. I guess a hug would be the next step."

Robert got up slowly, and went to stand in front of her with his arms open. He was still hesitant about what her reaction might be, so he let her make up her own mind. Annie slowly moved towards him and then very hesitantly put her arms around his waist and her head on his shoulder. He felt her flinch when he put his arms carefully around her, but she soon relaxed. He didn't notice it at first, but soon he could feel her shaking as her emotions got the best of her and she began to cry again.

As he held her the sensation of her pressing against him, the scent of her hair, and the emotional content of what they were doing combined to push his feelings beyond the simple bounds of friendship to something more than he was used to. While she cried on his shoulder, he said nothing nor did he attempt to progress beyond simply holding her. 

They stood like that for well over five minutes, and during that time her crying became more obvious and louder. He could feel her tears on his shoulder as they soaked through his shirt.

He didn't really notice when it started, but he had become aware of her breasts pressing against his chest, a sensation that he was a little more used to than Annie's tears. He thought back to his times with the four girls from the escort service, and immediately became concerned that he would react to the closeness that he felt with Annie in that age old way of all men. His concern that he would cause her harm if he let her realize that he found her sexually arousing overrode his normal reaction, and that made it all a non-issue.

She appeared to have almost cried herself out when she slowly began to relax her grip on his waist and raised her head from his shoulder. He took her actions as a cue to let go of her, and she slowly stepped back from him. She appeared a bit embarrassed by her actions and said, "I got your shirt all wet; I'm sorry." She wouldn't bring her eyes up to his, and slowly sat back down in her chair. Robert returned to his seat, and waited for her to continue the conversation.

Eventually she said, "I really needed your shoulder tonight. It has been a long time since I repeated that story, and even though I didn't give you all the details I'm sure you're imagination can fill in a lot of the blanks. I'm almost surprised that you could bring yourself to touch me, as I'm sure that you were imagining what some of the things were that that animal made me do. I still feel unclean from some of what happened."

Her comment shocked Robert, and he said, "I don't for one second hold what happened against you. You are a victim, and you did what you had to do to survive that horrible situation. Don't ever think that I, or anyone else, should have cause to think less of you because of what you went through."

"Hell, I could say the same thing. I've told you that I spent a dozen evenings with four different... prostitutes, and I'm sure you can imagine what happened during those 'appointments'. When they found out that I was a virgin, they took it upon themselves to try to completely educate me. I even think they competed amongst themselves on that."




Lip and Annie Ch. 04



His words must've had some good effect, because Annie looked up at him and gave a short laugh. "I never thought of it that way, and I want you to know that I never even considered what you told me as a negative."

Her laughter seemed to be the catalyst that got them past the story of her horrific experiences. Robert really only had one question left, and so he asked it. "The cuts that you endured: did he damage your muscles or tendons? I guess you would have scars from them, but did they have any more permanent effects?"

Annie lost her smile as she answered, "I don't have any muscle damage because mostly he didn't cut that deep. There was a lot of bleeding, and fortunately they stopped it quickly. I have to wear clothing that has long sleeves because both of my arms have scars from his knife."

"There are other scars on my chest. One extends from my navel up almost to my collarbone. There are other cuts beneath my breasts, and he stabbed me in my left breast. Some of the scars aren't too bad, but others are very noticeable. I can't bring myself to wear anything that shows any of them."

Robert reached over and patted her hand before saying, "It's time you started to get beyond that. Why don't you show me your arms? That would be a start."

He almost wished that he hadn't asked her that because her immediate reaction was to jerk her hand back and sit there stiffly. Her face lost a lot of its color and she finally said, "I don't think I can do that. I haven't even shown my parents most of my scars. Only my doctors have seen all of them." She sat there wringing her hands together until Robert spoke again.

"I would really like you to show me your arms, Annie. I know that I'm not going to feel any differently about you by seeing them, and I think it might be good for you to cross that bridge." He decided not to say any more about it, and would simply let Annie make up her own mind. After sitting there for a minute in deep thought, Annie slowly pushed the right sleeve of her nightgown, and the pajama sleeve below it, up to her elbow.

There were two scars that intersected at about the mid-point of her forearm. One was noticeably more obvious than the other. After letting him see that arm for a while, she slowly began to uncover her left arm. When those sleeves were also up to her elbow, she held both of her arms out in front of her so that he could see them clearly. Her left arm was for all intents and purposes a match with her right arm. The scars were irregular, almost as though they had been drawn on her arms with a crayon in the hand of a young child.

After a few seconds Robert reached forward slowly, and ran the fingers of his right hand down each forearm, feeling the slight differences between the scars and her untouched skin. Annie sat there frozen as he did that, and when he had finished tracing his fingers down both arms he sat back and said, "I realize you find these scars terribly unsightly, but no one would know by looking at them how you received them. Most people would assume you were in an auto accident, or maybe had fallen against something with sharp edges. I just don't think you should be ashamed of them."

Robert wasn't sure if he should say what was on his mind, but finally decided to continue. "I know more than a little bit about scars, and how people perceive them. I know you believe that anyone seeing these scars on your arms would be so turned off that they would not be able to avoid showing it, but I don't think that would be the case. People are much more forgiving of scars, birthmarks or amputations if they aren't on the face."

Annie looked up at Robert in alarm as she realized the implications of what he had said. Her scars were completely forgotten as she lifted one arm and placed her hand in front of her mouth. "You're right, Robert! Here I have been feeling sorry for myself about how I can't wear a short sleeved blouse, never once putting two and two together to place my scars in context with yours. I feel so embarrassed, but I have to thank you for taking my blinders off, at least a little."

Robert was very relieved when he saw her reaction and said, "You have nothing to be embarrassed about. I've had a lifetime to deal with my scar. I've never known a life without it. If you had been born with your scars, you would know what I mean." 

He sat back and relaxed, feeling that he may indeed have done Annie some good. She already looked much more relaxed, and was sitting there looking at the scars on her arms, almost as though she had never seen them before.

Annie left her sleeves pulled back for the rest of the time that she was in Robert's room. Neither of them was trying consciously to get beyond the scars, but in fact that is what they both did. Annie decided to use his laptop to call up the news articles about her attacker, and his fate, and Robert spent a few minutes reading those reports. When he had gone through a handful of the search results, he felt that he was fully up to speed on what had happened to Annie's attacker.

After he read the last article he logged into his own server, and called up the web pages for the escort service. The pages he showed her didn't include watching the videos on the pay site, although he showed her the main pages that one would normally pay for. She commented on the apparent high quality of the website, and on the fact that all three of the remaining partners were extremely good looking women. When she asked about Blanche, he brought up a page from his archives that included several good pictures of her.

It was almost 3 o'clock in the morning when they finally said goodnight. They agreed that they would probably sleep till noon, and that the first one up after 12 o'clock would call the other. Annie still had her sleeves pulled back as she stood in her doorway and thanked him for his caring and his shoulder.

As she closed the door to her room he didn't hear the click of the lock, but didn't go over to check on its status. It was apparent that Annie had made some progress with her handling of her ordeal, and whether or not she had locked her door wouldn't make much of a difference.

++++++++++

Even though it was late, Robert didn't fall asleep immediately. He thought about the events of the evening, and how happy he was that Annie had seemed to take a step forward. As his thoughts ranged over the circumstances of their minutes spent holding each other, another image flashed into his mind. He was suddenly back at Brenda's front door when he was 15 years old, only this time he remembered the incident as it had really happened.

He had never told anyone about what had actually been said on that doorstep that day. Brenda didn't just holler at him, she had said, "If you think I would be going anywhere with Scarface, you must be crazy." Her words had been directed at the two originators of the plot to convince both Brenda and Robert that they were meeting for a blind date. She hadn't even looked at Robert again after her initial recognition that he was her 'date'.

He hadn't just run from the scene in embarrassment; he had been in tears. It was almost surprising that he had made it to that bus stop bench, considering that he had been almost blinded with his tears as he crossed streets and several major intersections. For several fleeting moments as he sat at the bus stop the thought of stepping in front of the approaching bus crossed his mind, but his love for his parents and sister stopped him from acting upon it.

Remembering the hurtful 'Scarface' he sometimes heard during high school, he was thankful that the more friendly 'Lip' became his official nickname. He finally fell asleep with pleasant thoughts on his mind, as he relived his shared embrace with Annie.

It was just after noon when the ringing of his telephone woke Robert up. When he finally got the phone to his ear, he discovered that it was Annie with his wake-up call. She had just awoken so the two of them agreed to meet in half an hour once they were both presentable. As Robert stepped under the shower he wondered how Annie would react to him after having told him her story. He hoped that she didn't regret having opened up to him.

The two of them went down for their noon meal and were soon engrossed in one of their normal conversations. Nothing was said about Annie's story, but Robert did notice that she was once again wearing a long sleeved blouse, buttoned to the neck. He had hoped that she would have left her forearms bare, but realized that may have been hoping for too much.

They split up and joined separate tables for an afternoon of poker, agreeing to get together around 6 p.m. for supper. As the end of his afternoon poker session approached, Robert realized he probably shouldn't have been playing. Only good luck had kept him from being an even bigger loser this afternoon, as his mind just wasn't with the game. 

He had begun to realize that he was spending more time thinking about Annie than about his cards, and the players he was facing. That wasn't the way the game was played by those who were successful at it.

Robert and Annie enjoyed another quiet meal together before they returned to the poker room, where this time Robert was able to enjoy a little bit of better luck. When the two of them headed back to their rooms at midnight, both of them were ahead for the day, although Annie had fared a little better than Robert. 

On their way down the hallway they passed the bank of vending machines, and Annie asked if they could share a soft drink again, before retiring for the night. Robert was quick to agree as he hoped that they could once again address the subject of Annie's ordeal and the scars she wore.

Five minutes later the two of them were seated at the table in Robert's room, enjoying their soft drinks. At first they spoke about their luck at the tables, and exchanged a couple of stories about bad beats that they had both endured. It wasn't long though before the conversation returned to the same subject they had covered the night before.

"So, Annie, do you regret telling me about your scars, and how you got them?" Since Annie had apparently been avoiding the subject, Robert decided to take the direct route.

Her embarrassment was evident by the slight color change that took over her face. "I'm sorry, Robert. I know I've been ignoring the subject all day. I don't regret anything I told you. I just wish I could get past it, at least a little." 

She thought about what she was going to say before continuing, "You have given me a great deal of help in getting started down the path I know I have to take. When I get back I'm going to be talking to my doctor about what my next step should be." Her smile let him know that she was sincere.

They continued their conversation for a few more minutes before mutually deciding that it was late enough that they should get to sleep. After only brief seconds of hesitation, Annie moved over beside Robert and gave him a quick hug before leaving through the door into her room. Once again Robert was left with pleasant memories of their momentary embrace.

+++++++++

The next two days were spent in much the same way as the ones that preceded them. Poker by day and evening, shared meals, and a wrap up conversation in Robert's room while they shared soft drinks. Soon enough it was time for their trip to end, and by noon on the morning that they checked out they were back on the highway in Robert's truck, driving to Duluth. 

They never got onto the subject of Annie's scars during the final two days or their shared drive. Annie seemed content with letting the subject drop, and Robert didn't want to obsess about it with her. They both had a lot to think about, considering the life experiences they had each shared with the other over the course of the trip.

At Annie's front door, standing there as they said goodbye, they promised to keep in touch by email and telephone until the next poker trip that they had already agreed they would try to make together. 

Robert passed her the suitcase that he had been holding for her, and after sharing one last hug he headed back to his truck, a smile on his face. It had been an enjoyable trip, and he really felt comfortable with Annie. 

He still wasn't willing to consciously contemplate having her as his girlfriend, but the idea was already tucked somewhere in the back of his mind.

To be continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 05



Over the course of the next two weeks they exchanged emails on an almost daily basis. Robert could tell that Annie seemed to be much more open as she corresponded with him. On several occasions, late in the evening, he found an excuse to phone and speak to her directly. They had pleasant conversations for over an hour each time. 

Neither of them was quite ready to plan their next poker trip. Robert had lots of work with his business, and she was working extended hours due to injuries three nurses had suffered in a traffic accident on the icy streets.

The third week of January proved to be of great consequence to both of them as individuals, and ultimately to their budding relationship. 

It started when Annie wrote an email that excitedly informed Robert that she had been invited by one of the male nurses to accompany him to a retirement party for one of their supervisors. She had agreed, and was positively excited about having had the confidence to agree to attend the party with him. 

This information caught Robert very much by surprise, and upset him much more than he would have thought it would. This message had the effect of making him believe that he had helped Annie to get over some of her fears, only to let one of her coworkers be the beneficiary of her new-found confidence and courage.

There wasn't much time for him to mull over this news, as the very next day his sister phoned him in a panic, wanting him to arrange to come immediately to Toronto to do some work on a computer network that her company's lawyers used. 

The firm that normally did the work had suddenly declared bankruptcy, and it seemed that the other firms that should've been able to take on the job were already backlogged with new clients that had resulted from the bankruptcy. The legal office was having trouble with their server, and were unable to generate billings.

Patty sounded desperate on the phone, "Please say you can catch the first flight for Toronto. I know you can help us out much better than the smaller companies here could. We're sort of desperate. You can stay with Mike and me, in our guest bedroom, and the company will be happy to pay your other expenses as well as your hourly rate."

By the time he got off the phone, Robert had agreed to take the next flight to Toronto to help his sister's firm out. He knew that he could do his normal work from virtually anywhere, including Patty's condo. By the next morning he had arranged an early flight, packed his suitcase and laptop, and was standing on the concourse of the Thunder Bay Airport waiting to check in. 

Two hours later he was in Toronto taking a cab to his sister's office. She quickly introduced him to the office manager, and he wasted no time in getting to work.

That night, at his sister's condo, he was finally able to thank her for getting him the job, and settled into the guest room in her condo. Patty was a willowy 5 foot eight, just a bit shorter than her brother. Her shoulder length hair was lighter than her brother's, approaching dark blonde. Mike, her boyfriend, was just slightly taller than her, and sported a shock of red hair. 

Robert had met him on an earlier occasion and found him to be fun to be around, as his sense of humor was infectious. He also noticed that the two of them had settled into a very comfortable living arrangement together, and he decided that they were as good as married by their actions.

+++++++++

The next few days were very busy for him, but by the end of the second day everything was under control with the balky server, and he was spending his time auditing the hardware and software that had been in use at the firm. He had already advised his sister that there were improvements that they could make to prevent a similar outage in the future. 

Within half a day the firm's senior partners and their accountant gave Robert the go ahead to prepare a proposal for them. As a result of his long and busy days at the law offices, he was forced to skip over Annie's emails so that he would be able to have enough time to maintain his own business in the evenings.

Finally, with some time to sit back and relax, Robert brought up the various emails that he had set aside for lack of time. Besides several from Annie, other friends had also been in touch with him, and he began reading and replying to them in order. 

When he finally reached the first of Annie's emails, he discovered that it was a long and very cheerful description of how much fun she had had at the retirement party.

As he read, and then reread her message, Robert felt himself slowly but surely becoming deflated. This description of how Annie, and her date Sid, had enjoyed dancing at the club that the majority of the guests had attended after the retirement party was over, got to him. 

He couldn't help but feel that he had given Annie the confidence she needed to carry on with her life. She even told him how in the low light of the dance club she had been able to remove the sweater she wore over her short sleeved blouse. She was ecstatic that none of their party had commented about the scars on her arms, assuming they had noticed them at all. She thanked Robert profusely for helping her to see herself in a new light.

It took Robert a few minutes to work up the desire to even answer her message. When he did write, his reply to her was a terse three lines congratulating her on finally getting out, and letting her know that he was working in Toronto for the next week or so. 

His interest in replying to any of his remaining messages had evaporated in tandem with his growing belief that Annie would be moving ahead without him, and he soon shut down the laptop before heading for the shower and his borrowed bed.

+++++++++++++

Robert managed to keep very busy the next week as he inspected the network, decided on a course of action to recommend, and then implemented the changes that were agreed to almost immediately after he had made them. Finally, he created documentation that would allow any future firm contracted to work on the system to fully understand the system and what he had done with it. 

He had spent most of his evenings at the law firm, leaving himself hardly any free time to keep up to date with his own clients, and virtually no time to spend with his sister and Mike. His personal email accumulated in his inbox, as he continued to skip over it so that he could select only messages that were necessary to maintain his business clientele.

On Friday afternoon Robert was finally finished at the legal firm, and he insisted that Patty and Mike accompany him for a nice supper and night out. When they finished their Irish coffee after the meal, they moved to the nearby lounge with its dance floor. Patty and Mike soon spent a lot of their time dancing to the quartet that was performing. 

As he watched them dance, Robert immediately pictured Annie and her faceless date Sid in their place, and the image quickly depleted the enjoyment he had been having. He did manage to enjoy a couple of dances with his sister, but when she suggested that it was time for them to leave, he quickly agreed. For some reason he simply wasn't in a dancing mood any more.

The next day he was determined to get caught up on his email messages, as well as finishing up a few of the jobs for his own clients that he had set aside. As he worked his way through the emails, he came to several from Annie, wondering why he hadn't been in touch with her. 

Rather than answer them all, he deleted them after he read each one, having decided to send her one email when he finished the last one in his inbox. Eventually he was caught up, and he quickly wrote a message to Annie that summarized in two paragraphs what he'd been doing in Toronto. 

His third paragraph told her he'd be returning to Thunder Bay the next day, Sunday, and that he hoped they'd run into each other in Hinckley. Where his emails used to be friendly and folksy, the last two messages to Annie had been cool and business-like, a change that fit with his new assessment of their relationship. 

Deep down he now believed that he had to insulate himself from Annie. He knew that as her confidence grew she'd be less and less inclined to want to spend time with him; after all, it was the way his life had been ordained to be.

++++++++

Early Sunday evening, after Robert had unpacked and thrown his laundry into the washing machine, he finally got a chance to sit down and put his feet up, a cold beer in his hand. He had just picked up the remote to see what was available on cable, when he heard a light tapping at his door. 

He was a little surprised by that as his was a security controlled building, and no one had buzzed for admittance. Likewise, his neighbors were mostly retirees, and he didn't know very many of them well. He set his beer on the coffee table and went to the door.

When he opened the door, he was shocked to see Annie standing there. "Annie! Where did you come from?"

She gave him a small, nervous smile and said, "I just drove up from Duluth. I got off work at four o'clock, and I have a few days off, so I came to find out why you're avoiding me all of a sudden. I was just going to buzz your condo when a nice older lady let me in." He could see that she was a bit skittish, and he immediately wondered if he was making her nervous again, or if it was something else.

He quickly got over his surprise, and his curiosity about her nervousness and said, "Come on in, Annie. I'm just surprised to see you." He stepped back and ushered her into his condo, his confusion plain on his face. 

She walked past him, turned, and once he had the door closed she began to speak immediately. He could see the look of determination on her face as she spoke.

"You've really got me upset, Robert. I thought we were really getting to be good friends, and all of a sudden you're emails were so distant I didn't know what to think. Dr. Maier suggested I should phone you, as she says that she's really noticed how it has affected me, but I decided to come and see you in person. I have a few days off now, and I want to get some answers from you before I go back home." 

Her words had come out in a rush, and now that she had finished speaking she was standing there looking at him, her face flushed, and her hands clasped together in front of her.

Robert was very surprised by Annie's statements, but he immediately realized that she had a point, as he had intended to dial down his relationship with her. He had assumed that she was getting on with her life and was leaving him behind. He was now both embarrassed and flustered, and finally said, "I am sorry, Annie! I... I didn't intend to upset you." 

He suddenly realized that she was wearing her winter jacket and boots, and quickly added, "Please, let me take your jacket. You can put your boots over here, and we can sit and talk when you're comfortable." He escorted her to the closet where he hung up her jacket, and she placed her snowy boots on a plastic tray where they could dry.

Annie hadn't said anything more beyond a polite, "Okay," when he asked her about taking off her winter wear. When that was done, the two of them went into his living room, where Robert resumed his seat on the sofa, and Annie took the offered seat in a comfortable armchair adjacent to the sofa.

"Would you like a beer or something to drink, Annie? I can offer coffee or tea, or a glass of juice if you prefer that."

Annie appeared to be a bit more relaxed, and replied, "I wouldn't mind some orange juice, if you have it. I drove straight through from Duluth, and I didn't realize I was thirsty until you mentioned it."

Robert immediately left to get her a glass of cold orange juice, and when he returned with it she gratefully took it from him. After taking a large drink, she said, "Thank you, Robert. I needed that." 

She shifted in her seat, and began speaking again, "I'm sorry if I've caught you when you have other plans, but I just had to talk to you. Your friendship has meant so much to me. I don't know if you intended to back away from our... relationship or not. I just had to find out. If me and my problems have been more than you want to be involved in, just say so."

Robert was a little bit embarrassed as he thought about his rationale for stepping back from Annie. He wasn't sure if he should tell her what had really been behind his decision, but finally decided that he had to be up front with her, especially since it had meant enough to her that she drove almost 200 miles from Duluth to see him.

"Well, ah... I wasn't sure... I didn't know if you were going to still want to be as close with me, now that you have started to get out on your own,... and have a more normal life." He was finding it hard to put his feelings into words, as he realized that his reasoning was pretty selfish. 

"When you told me how much fun you had with Sid at the nightclub,... and how much you enjoyed getting out, I just sort of... I assumed you and he would be going out again. I thought I would give you the chance... to get back to your life, on your own."

A look of surprise crossed Annie's face, and she blurted out, "I think you're jealous that I was out with Sid! Sid is.... here, wait a minute while I get my camera out of my purse. I have a photo here of Sid." 

She fumbled in her purse until she withdrew her digital camera and then spent a few seconds scrolling through her stored pictures. Finally she found the one that she wanted, and held up the camera so that Robert could see the display. 

"Here's a picture of Sid, and it is obvious that he's a little too old for me. I think he's 62, and that's not all. He's gay! His partner was away on a training course, so that's why he asked me to go with him. It's why I felt comfortable going with him." She was clearly amused now that she realized the cause of Robert's decision to cool down their relationship.

Robert was obviously embarrassed now, as it was plain to see that Sid was old enough to be Annie's father, and if he was gay, that made Robert's actions all the more off-base. He wasn't sure what to say, but sheepishly came out with, "I guess I just made a lot of bad assumptions, didn't I?" He was red in the face, and didn't continue speaking because he really didn't have much else he could say.

Annie decided to let him off easy, as she could see how embarrassed he was. She reached over and patted his hand before saying, "I'm flattered that you would be affected that way: it made my drive worthwhile! And here I was thinking you didn't want to get mixed up with a messed up person like me."

Robert decided that the best way out of the situation was to change the subject completely, and asked her, "If you didn't stop for anything to drink along the way, I guess you're probably hungry too. I had a very late lunch, and sort of planned on ordering a pizza this evening. Can I interest you in joining me for a late supper?" 

He couldn't believe how happy he felt, now that he had learned Annie and Sid weren't a potential couple, and that she valued his friendship enough to drive for four hours to confront him about his rather cold replies to her messages.

Annie took him up on the suggestion, and they soon agreed on a selection of toppings that they both liked. Robert phoned in the order, and once that was done they carried on with their conversation.

"I need to know something, Robert. Is there a motel nearby that I can check into? My trip was a little on the impromptu side, and I didn't make a reservation anywhere." Annie looked pleased now that they had apparently cleared up her concern about Robert's feelings about her. She had her feet tucked under her as she sat on the armchair, obviously comfortable. 

Robert took the opportunity now that the bump in their relationship was smoothed out, and their pizza was ordered, to check out Annie and the outfit she had on. She was wearing another of her unending supply of sweaters over a white blouse, along with dark slacks. Robert wondered if she owned any other types of clothing, and realized she probably did, but simply didn't wear them in public.

After thinking about her question he said, "There is one motel a couple of blocks from here, but I doubt that you would be comfortable there. It's pretty old. The nicer places are over on Arthur Street, and it's a couple of miles from here. Really, you don't have to take a motel room if you don't want to. I have a guest bedroom that you're welcome to use. It wouldn't be a problem at all." 

He could see that she was unsure about this suggestion so he continued, "Let me show you around my place, and what the room is like. I have an ensuite bathroom, so the main bathroom can be all yours."

Robert proceeded to spend the next 10 minutes showing Annie the layout of his condo. He actually had a three-bedroom unit, but the room between his master bedroom and the guest bedroom was taken up by his office and his servers. 

She noted that the guest bedroom looked spacious and well equipped, with a queen size bed, and with plenty of closet and storage space. Robert explained that the room was usually used by his sister when she returned to Thunder Bay for a visit.

Annie was quite impressed with the tour that she received and especially liked the large kitchen. "I know most guys don't do a lot of cooking, but I don't see any stack of empty pizza cartons in the corner, so I guess you must make some use of this kitchen." She turned towards him after making the remark, and her smile let him know that she was making a joke at his expense.

Robert laughed and said, "Actually, I do quite a bit of cooking for myself. My refrigerator is a bit empty though: I haven't had a chance yet to replenish my groceries, but after I make a trip to the supermarket I'd be happy to make you a meal."

Annie agreed to his offer of the use of his guest bedroom, and the two of them went down to the parking lot so that she could retrieve her overnight bag. As they got back to the main entrance they met the pizza delivery man at the door, and Robert was able to complete that transaction there on the spot. 

They were riding up to his floor in the elevator when Robert realized that Annie hadn't seemed to have been nervous getting into it with him, and in fact she seemed quite relaxed in his company. He decided that he needed to find out more about her therapy sessions, and how she was making out with them. It seemed to him that they must be doing her a lot of good.

Once they were back in the condo they headed to the kitchen where Robert got them plates for their pizza, and then directed Annie to the refrigerator for suitable beverages. They met at the table, he with two plates of pizza and she with two bottles of beer. "This is great, Annie. Pizza and beer; two of the essential food groups." 

The two of them shared a laugh at his remark and proceeded to sit and enjoy their impromptu meal. They each finished their first slice of pizza and made a good start on the bottles of beer before they began a conversation.

"Something else we have in common besides poker, Annie. Any time I take the easy route for supper, and have pizza and beer, I think of my university days. Sometimes I think it was all that a lot of us lived on." The edge taken off of his appetite, he got up to get them both napkins, and when he sat down again, Annie replied to his comment.

"I know what you mean, exactly, Robert. It wasn't any different in the dorms where I lived during my college years." Annie reached for one of the napkins and wiped her fingers, before continuing, "Where did you go to university, Robert? I took nursing at UMD, the University of Minnesota in Duluth."

Robert took another sip of his beer before answering, "I attended Lakehead University, here in Thunder Bay. As you know, I took computer science, but I also took a few courses in business and marketing during the evenings. My sister took a couple of years there as well before going to the University of Toronto for her law degree."




Lip and Annie Ch. 05



He had a couple more bites of pizza before getting up and getting a photograph from the wall in the hallway. It was of a younger Robert standing beside a girl who looked slightly older than he was. "This is a picture of my sister and me that was taken during our university days. She's a year older than me. Maybe someday you'll meet her: I think you'd like her."

They continued with their meal, and when both of them were finished with all of the pizza that they cared to have, Robert put the dirty plates into the dishwasher. He got them both a second bottle of beer, and then joined Annie back at the table. 

"I realize now that by not using my head about your night out with Sid I might have lost your friendship, Annie. They say that for all dark clouds there is a silver lining, and I guess having you come up here to Thunder Bay for a visit to straighten that out is my silver lining. I've missed the little talks we had after calling it a night at the poker tables." It was obvious that he was sincere in his comments, and Annie smiled and nodded her head in reply.

"I still think you were jealous, Robert, but you're right about the silver lining. I've always wanted to come here and never had a good reason before. I'm glad we were able to get over the whole thing so easily. I was afraid I'd have to hope to run into you at the casino to get to really talk to you again."

"Well, Annie, I guess it couldn't have worked out better for both of us. I don't know if I can agree on the jealous part of it, since I've never been in a position where jealousy would have been an expected emotion. I do know that I've probably not given you full credit for your honesty, and for being so upfront with me about your feelings." 

The slightly pink complexion of Robert's face made it obvious that he was more than a little embarrassed by the whole situation, and how he had handled it.

Robert took another sip from his beer and then said, "Let's agree that I won't be so foolish again, but if I am, that you'll straighten me out with a kick in the butt; just figuratively I mean." They both laughed at his comment, and Annie replied, "I'm not sure how figurative it will be. I have a lot of experience kicking a soccer ball, so I might be able to make an impression on you, if I have to kick you."

Robert got very serious and said, "I can't believe how comfortable you seem to be with me now. When I think back to how nervous you used to be I wonder just how you've been able to get such a good handle on your emotions."

Annie's face reflected the serious look that was on Robert's as she said, "I have to thank Dr. Maier for a lot of it, but you are the key. You've been so patient with me, and so completely open and trustworthy, that you've managed to sort of renew my trust in men. I know it was just that one bastard that was responsible for everything, but I guess somewhere in my mind I confused him with men in general." 

She reached across the table and patted his hand before continuing, "Sid was a pretty safe guy too, but I would never have accepted his offer to take me to the retirement party if you hadn't already helped get me over my most severe problems."

After thinking about her words for a few moments, Robert replied, "I realize that I have to thank you for something too, Annie. You're probably right that I was jealous of Sid being out with you, but I sort of think that maybe I've been running away from our friendship so that I wouldn't be hurt. Realizing that I was really bothered by your date with Sid has made me realize that I was afraid of letting you get too close to me and having you in a position where you could hurt me." 

He looked up at her sheepishly, and continued, "I know now that that was pretty foolish of me. I'm not saying that I expect you to be more than just a friend, but I think I may have subconsciously decided to push you away so that I could protect myself from any chance of future hurt."

Annie stared at him as she pondered her reply to what he had said, but eventually said, "I'm so happy to have you as my friend, Robert, that I'm going to do my best to not do anything to cause you pain. I do have to ask that you be patient with me. How about we agree to just keep our friendship safe and go from there." She reached her hand across the table, obviously waiting for Robert to shake her hand as she said, "Deal?"

Robert quickly smiled, took her hand in his, and repeated, "Deal!"

The two of them spent the next couple of hours talking about poker at the Grand Hinkley Casino, and about their respective university days. Eventually, though, it was time to go to bed for the night and they said goodnight to each other after a brief hug in the hallway. 

They both retired for the night with pleasant thoughts about their renewed and strengthened friendship, and if someone had been able to take a look at their faces just before they separately drifted off to sleep, they would have noticed their smiles.

+++++++++

Robert was up early the next morning and after starting a pot of coffee he quickly dressed. Once he had left a note for Annie to tell her to help herself to coffee, he quietly let himself out of the condo and went to a nearby small 24 hour supermarket. 

Twenty minutes later he quietly returned to the condo, carrying two plastic sacks of groceries. When he entered the kitchen he found Annie sitting at the kitchen table, dressed in her pajamas and a thin robe, sipping on a fresh cup of coffee.

"I wondered where you had gone, Robert. You didn't need to go out to get groceries this early, as I would have been happy with a slice of that cold pizza in the refrigerator." Annie laughed after saying that.

Robert set the two bags on the countertop and replied, "I couldn't take a chance on feeding you pizza again. I'm sure you'd be wondering if I really do live on take-out food. I needed to get a few things anyway, and I decided to pick up enough that I would be able to make you pancakes this morning."

"You're anxious to prove that you really do cook for yourself, are you? I believed you, you know." The two of them exchanged these minor barbs while Robert put the items he'd purchased into the proper cupboards and the refrigerator.

He poured himself a cup of coffee and joined Annie at the table. "Do you like blueberries, Annie? I'm planning to make you buttermilk pancakes with blueberries, if that's all right with you." After she admitted that the planned breakfast sounded great to her, Robert set about making them. 

He quickly realized he was enjoying the opportunity to show off his cooking skills to Annie. It wasn't long before the first batch was finished and he gave them to his guest, insisting that she eat them while they were hot and fresh.

When their meal was over, and the dirty dishes were in the dishwasher, Annie said, "Those pancakes were great, Robert. You really can cook very well, maybe even better than me, I suspect. Maybe someday, if you don't intimidate me too much with your talents, I'll take the chance to make a meal for you." Her offer was quickly accepted by Robert.

++++++++++++

They spent the morning in his condo, as Robert had some work that needed doing that day. Around noon he rejoined Annie in the living room where she had been reading the newspaper and said, "Do you, by chance, remember my friend Fred, the guy I was speaking to in Hinkley the first day we met, when we were playing at the same table?" 

After Annie confirmed that she did vaguely remember his friend talking with him at the casino he said, "I had an email from him, and he wanted me to go out for supper again with him and his girlfriend Sherry. They're both on vacation, and wondered if I wanted to get together with them. Would you be interested in going out for supper with me and Fred and Sherry tonight? That's assuming that they haven't made other plans: I can give him a phone call."

After Annie agreed to the idea, Robert phoned his friend and the arrangements were made. They would meet at 7:30 p.m. at one of the better local restaurants. Annie was a little unsure if she would have appropriate clothing for a fancy restaurant, as she hadn't had those requirements on her mind when she left Duluth. Robert agreed to go with her to one of the local malls for a few minutes so that she could pick out something suitable. She laughed when he insisted that it not be another sweater.

That afternoon, before their trip to the mall, Robert showed Annie around town, visiting local points of interest, and driving through the campus of Lakehead University. On their visit to a local mall, Robert was able to convince Annie to buy herself a nice short sleeved blouse and a skirt that ended about 3 inches above her knees. 

Annie seemed very reluctant to make the purchases at first, but eventually did after a lot of encouragement from Robert. She surprised him when she said that she hardly ever wore a skirt, that the last time had been at her parents' home for Christmas, and that she couldn't remember the time before that.

"Why on earth would that be, Annie? Was it an issue with scarring?" Robert asked the questions without any air of importance attached to them, and Annie didn't seem to mind providing an answer to them.

"I'm not really sure, Robert. It's not a problem of scars. I think it was probably my way of trying to avoid being noticed by men. The first few years after my attack I was really paranoid about interacting with any man, even the doctors around the hospital." 

Robert could tell she was a little embarrassed by the admission, and they walked together for quite a while before she continued, "I eventually got over it, or so I thought, until things like this hesitation to purchase a nice skirt come along. Thanks for bearing with me and pushing me towards buying it." 

She laughed before continuing, "Most of my dresses and skirts are horribly out of style now. Maybe this one will end up being the start of a whole new wardrobe."

To be continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 06



After stopping at the condo for enough time to freshen up and change their clothes, Robert and Annie timed their arrival perfectly, and met Fred and Sherry at the entrance to the restaurant. They were soon seated at a table where formal introductions were made. 

From the first few minutes of their time together it was obvious that Annie fit in with Fred and Sherry as easily as Robert did. The two women could have been cousins, as at least in height and hair color they were very similar. Sherry had short hair, which was a major difference between them.

Eventually they finished their meals and while they sat waiting for the arrival of dessert menus they got into a conversation about music. Fred announced that he was a big fan of Bob Dylan, among others, and Annie surprised him by letting him know that she lived about a block from his first home in Duluth. She was quite knowledgeable about his Minnesota roots and had a spirited conversation with Fred about him and his music. 

Once their desserts were ordered, the two women decided to make the obligatory joint trip to the ladies room. They had barely left the table when Fred said, "I really like your girlfriend, Robert. Maybe I could ask her to get me a photo of Dylan's first home. I'd really like that: do you think she'd mind?"

Robert was a little embarrassed as he said, "She's not my girlfriend. We are friends, for sure, and no, I don't really think she'd mind your request at all."

Fred looked a little puzzled as he said, "Well, you may not think she's your girlfriend, but from the looks I see her giving you, she hasn't got the memo yet. She's one heck of a good looking woman, and it's obvious that she really likes you. She's constantly smiling as she looks your way, and she does that a lot. You had better get off the fence, or someone is going to beat you to her." 

Robert was obviously flustered now and said, "I... I guess I didn't notice that. I'm not used to the idea of having a girlfriend, but Annie would certainly be better than I probably deserve." He saw that the two girls were on their way back to the table, and didn't say any more than that. Fred noticed that Robert did look at Annie closely as she came back to the table, and it was obvious that she had a big smile on her face, and that it was directed towards Robert.

++++++++

It was almost 10 o'clock when they left the restaurant, and everyone was in agreement that they'd had a great meal. Rather than call an end to the night they decided to visit a nearby bar that advertised a band and dance floor. As they entered, Robert and Fred told the girls that they would limit themselves to one drink so that they could drive safely, but the girls could enjoy more than one if they wanted to. 

Since it was a weeknight, there were several tables and booths available, and the two couples were soon seated in a booth enjoying their first beverage. The two men chose light beer, while their companions decided to try something fancier.

It wasn't long before both couples were on the dance floor, enjoying themselves. For Robert it was especially enjoyable, as he normally didn't get a chance to dance unless his sister was in attendance. Annie seemed to be quite comfortable with the idea of sharing a slow dance with him, although he noticed a couple of times that she stiffened up when he moved such that their bodies made full contact. 

He was trying to keep that from happening though, as he knew that he'd likely respond in a way that might cause a bigger reaction in Annie. That had almost happened the last time they had been this close together, the night that they held a lengthy embrace in his room in Hinckley.

The two couples were on and off the dance floor often over the course of the next hour, and at one point Fred suggested that they switch partners for a dance. Robert could see that Annie was momentarily flustered, but she soon smiled and said, "That would be fine, Fred." The two couples changed partners and carried on with the next dance, another slow one.

Robert and Sherry were only dancing for about half a minute before Sherry said, "I really like your girlfriend, Robert. She's really nice, and you two seem to get along very well."

After a few seconds Robert answered, "I was telling Fred that Annie and I weren't really a couple, that way. We are good friends, though, and I guess I wouldn't mind at all if she was my girlfriend. We haven't really ever talked about anything like that."

"Well, I can safely say that she seems to like you a lot. She told me that she came here to Thunder Bay because she was afraid you were trying to discourage her from getting to know you better. She said that the two of you straightened that out, and she certainly seemed happy about that." Sherry chuckled at the look of confusion on Robert's face and continued, "Oh come on, Robert! Surely you realize that she would be more than happy to be your regular girlfriend."

After a few seconds Robert responded with, "Thanks for the information, Sherry. I guess I'll have to do something about that, but I'm not really experienced with girlfriends, or even dealing with the whole subject." She had given him a lot more to think about, and his mind was now on Annie, and whether his friends were right about her feelings.

The subject ended when Sherry said, "Just be yourself, Robert. I don't know you well, but what I've seen of you makes me realize that you should be any woman's idea of a good boyfriend."

Robert wondered briefly if Sherry was serious with her comment or not, but realized he already had enough to think about. As they continued their dance he looked over and noticed that Annie looked very good in the skirt she had chosen to buy. Her legs were slender and flawless below her skirt, and he was happy that he had convinced her to switch from her normal attire.

Sherry had added a lot more information for Robert to consider, and for the rest of the time that they were in the bar, his mind was partially occupied with the here and now, while the rest of the time he was considering what his friends had said.

++++++++++++

At slightly after midnight Robert and Annie returned to his condo. She was feeling the effects of the two mixed drinks that she had enjoyed in the bar, and thanked Robert for a wonderful night out. "I haven't had this much fun in a long, long time. I really like your friends, and maybe someday the three of you can come down to Duluth and I'll take you out on the town there."

"Be careful what you suggest, Annie, as we may take you up on that. I know that Fred would probably go down there tomorrow if you could point out the house that Bob Dylan first lived in. I knew he had grown up in Hibbing, but I didn't know about the Duluth connection."

They continued their conversation as they sat in the living room, with Robert pointing out that over the course of the evening Annie didn't seem to even notice the fact that her scarred arms were visible. She had to acknowledge that neither Fred nor Sherry seemed to take note of them. Eventually, though, they agreed that it was time to call an end to the night. As the two of them walked into the hallway leading to the bedrooms, Annie turned and then took Robert into her arms. 

"Maybe it's the two drinks I've had, or maybe it's just time, but I'd like to have a kiss from you."

Robert could tell that she was a bit tense as she leaned forward so that their lips could meet. They started out very tentatively, but it wasn't more than a few seconds before it became a little more heated, and Robert felt her lips open slightly. Their kiss lasted almost another minute, with each of them letting their tongues join the activity. 

When the kiss ended Annie said, "That was nice Robert. I didn't think it would ever be possible for me to share a kiss with a man again." She suddenly burst out laughing and continued, "Don't even think that I meant I contemplated sharing a kiss with a woman. That's not my thing."

After they exchanged goodnight wishes they each headed for their separate bedrooms, although both of them were thinking about what might have been. Robert had just taken off his clothes and crawled between the sheets when there was a light knocking on his door.

"Yes, Annie. What is it?"

"Could I come in Robert?"

"Sure! I'm already in bed so it's no problem." The door opened and Annie, dressed in her pajamas, walked in tentatively and stopped when she got to the end of the bed.

"What I'm going to ask you probably is very, very unfair to you. I'd like to expand my progress with my... problems by getting into your bed with you... just to see if I can handle it."

Robert didn't need to think about his answer and quickly said, "Certainly, Annie." He smiled and continued, "I promise to be on my best behavior, but I have to warn you that I don't wear anything in bed." He thought about that statement for a couple of seconds, and then gave a nervous laugh and added, "I suppose that's more information than you needed to know."

Annie was noticeably nervous now and slowly worked her way to the far side of the bed, opposite to the side that Robert occupied. "That's okay. I just want to see if I could push my boundaries a little." 

She lifted the blanket and sheet and quickly climbed into bed, facing away from Robert, and as close to the edge as she could get. It was obvious to him that she was very anxious, and that her body looked very tense.

The two of them lay there for a couple of minutes without saying a word. Eventually Annie turned enough to look over her shoulder and see how far she was from Robert. Slowly she slid herself over so that she was about a third of the way across the large, king-sized bed. She stopped while there were still over a couple of feet between them. 

Since this was Annie's decision, Robert stayed where he was and didn't say anything. He was watching Annie, and the image of having her there beside him in his bed on a permanent basis flashed through his mind. He knew, though, that he couldn't be that lucky.

Another couple of minutes passed before Annie said, "Robert, could you move over this way a bit, and give me your hand." 

He didn't reply, but his movements showed that he was acquiescing to her request. She had extended her right arm and hand behind her, and when Robert felt it with his hand he moved forward far enough that he could stop a few inches from her back. He was very nervous that if he moved any closer to her she would feel the erection he was now unable to control.

Annie was now holding his right hand, and after squeezing it several times she pulled it up onto her waist to a point about where her pajama top ended. Another delay ensued before she slowly brought his right hand under the top of her pajamas, stopping when it was near her navel. 

She shifted her grip on his hand and then took his index finger and moved it to an area of the skin that felt a bit uneven. She slowly began to move his hand upward, tracing the uneven skin with his index finger. He realized immediately that his finger was tracing one of Annie's scars.

She continued to move his hand upward, and he realized that she was going almost to her neck, as he noticed his free fingers dragged along the side of her left breast. He could feel her body get tense when that happened, but she didn't stop moving his finger along the scar. When the scar ended she hesitated a few moments before moving his hand down and over to a position below her right breast where she traced another scar with his finger. 

This one wasn't as long, perhaps all of four or five inches. When that one had been traced there wasn't a delay before she moved to the other side of her chest and traced the scar below her left breast. To Robert it seemed very much like the one on the right side.

Annie seemed to be thinking about something and the two of them lay like that for almost a minute before she slowly brought his hand up onto her left breast and traced a 1 inch scar. He thought it felt like it must be high enough up on her breast that it would have come close to the areola around the nipple. 

Another long pause was accompanied by more squeezing of his hand after she moved it so that it lay back near the center of her stomach. This was Annie's time, and he let her have full control of it, not moving or saying anything throughout the time that they lay there together.

It seemed as though Annie was trying to make up her mind about something, as finally she began to move his hand lower, below the waistband of her pajama pants. Robert was now very unsure about what she had intentions of doing, and decided to just let her continue to control the situation. He was beginning to think she was moving his hand to her pussy when she moved his finger slightly to the right, and he could feel another scar, this one horizontal. 

She slowly traced this scar, by far the most uneven of the ones she had traced to this point. It extended across her lower stomach, at about the same level that the top of a small bikini would cover, and ended just before they started tracing around to the side of her hip.

When Annie finished that scar she pulled his hand back up to her stomach and they lay there quietly while she was squeezing his fingers again. Another minute passed before Annie said, "They feel obvious, but they look even worse."

Robert wasn't sure quite what to say at first, but he finally replied, "I don't care what they look like; they don't define who you are, so don't let them control your life." He knew how difficult this was for her, as he had felt her alternately tensing up and then relaxing as she took his finger on the extended tour of her scars.

Another delay ensued before Annie made what turned out to be the most important move of their time together in his bed. She turned to her right, let go of his hand, and used her free hand to pull him closer to her so that she could give him a kiss. Their lips had barely touched when she turned her hip far enough that his erection slid up onto her upper thigh. 

She immediately tensed up completely, let out a small cry, and quickly got up from the bed and ran out the bedroom door towards the guest bedroom. 

Robert was shocked, and he didn't react until after she had gone out through the bedroom door. He suddenly moved into action, quickly getting up and slipping on his bathrobe and then heading out the door towards Annie's room.

He could hear her sobbing in the bedroom as he stood at the closed door. "Annie, are you okay? I'm sorry I... upset you. It wasn't intentional." 

He was really worried, because he realized that she had been doing extremely well until his erection touched her unexpectedly. He could imagine that that must have brought strong memories back to her. His despair at having caused her such alarm had brought back his Hypernasality more severely than had happened in years, and his words had actually been difficult to understand.

"It's not your fault, Robert! I'm so sorry that I reacted like that; you didn't do anything wrong. It's me! I'm the one that's screwed up!" She cried for a short while, and Robert was just about to say something, anything, in the hope that he could help make her feel better when she continued, "Things were going so well, and I'm so sorry."

Robert asked her if he could come in with her, but she said that she would be okay, and that both of them should just go to sleep. She apologized again, and repeated that he wasn't at fault. 

Robert reluctantly returned to his room, scared that if he continued to attempt to get Annie to open the door that she would get even more upset. He got back into bed with a heavy heart, certain that his short-lived relationship with Annie was once again in doubt. Both of them found it difficult to get to sleep.

+++++++++

The next morning Robert awoke to the smell of fresh coffee, and after putting on his bathrobe he went to the kitchen where Annie was sitting at the table with a cup of coffee, dressed in her pajamas and a housecoat.

"I really am so sorry about last night," Annie said, as soon as he entered the room. "Maybe it was the drinks I had... maybe I just went too far trying to expand my comfort zone. Either way, I'm really sorry for what happened."

After he poured himself a cup of coffee Robert sat at the other end of the table and said, "I don't like you blaming yourself. I should have been in better control of myself." He looked up at her and continued, "You had a big effect on me, as you could tell." He smiled at her tentatively, and waited for her reply.

She got a bit flushed and then said, "I should have expected something like that, and not pushed myself too far. I wanted you to know what my scars felt like as there is no way that I can imagine showing them to you." As the pink tint faded from her cheeks she smiled and added, "At least not for quite some time."

Her words brought a bit of renewed happiness and some new images to his mind, and smiling broadly he said, "I'll be quite agreeable to waiting for that day. Just don't beat yourself up about what happened last night. I have to say that I enjoyed the time with you in my bed. I could still smell your perfume on the pillow this morning."

Since he could see how well Annie was reacting, compared to her panic the night before, he felt safe in saying, "There is one thing that I was wondering about Annie. That last scar, the one that runs across your lower stomach.... You didn't mention that one when you described your scars during our talk in Hinckley. It felt like the most severe of all." 

He could see that when he mentioned the scar she turned away from him and looked across the room at some point on the wall. He didn't have much option now, but to continue. "Does that one bother you more than the others? Are there any other ones that you didn't want to... tell me about?"

Annie looked back at him quickly, a look of mild panic on her face. "Oh no, Robert! There aren't any others: you know about all of them, now." He could see she was thinking about something before she continued, "That scar, the one that runs across my stomach just above my.... from hip to hip, is definitely the worst, as far as looks is concerned. They had trouble closing that one, and they had to finally use some staples. It kept reopening because it got infected." 

She looked down at the table before continuing, "They say they could maybe improve it a bit with cosmetic surgery, but I'm not sure if I want that or not. I'm sort of afraid it could make things even worse."

They agreed that they wouldn't let the incident interfere with their friendship, and after a filling breakfast of bacon, eggs and toast, the two of them got dressed. Annie had to work the next day, and she wanted to get home early enough that she could do a bit of work around her house. Robert walked her down to her car, and after placing her bag in the back seat he asked her if it would be okay to have a goodbye kiss.

"I insist Robert. I want you to know that what happened last night wasn't about you; it was about my memories overwhelming me. I'll be seeing Dr. Maier within the next couple of days, and hopefully she can help me with some advice on how to deal with things like this."

Robert smiled at her and said, "I guess I have to accept that a description of your visit here, with all of its details, will end up in your doctor's notes." He put his arms around her, and even though he noticed her momentary flinch, he didn't hesitate to bring their lips together for another lengthy kiss. 

"Be sure to tell her about this kiss too." He laughed when she gave him a gentle punch in the shoulder.

"Don't worry! I will have nothing but good words about you. I'll make sure that she records it all for posterity." She laughed with him before getting in her car and starting it. They waved their final goodbyes, and Robert stood there watching as she drove out of the parking lot and onto the street. He watched her until he lost sight of her car in the traffic.




Lip and Annie Ch. 06



++++++++++

It was over six weeks later that they finally had an opportunity to get together again. It seemed that whenever Annie had a weekend off, Robert was either busy with his business or in Toronto. On both occasions he was actually busy in Toronto for his business. Word had gotten around that he was a good person to solve system problems, and this had opened up new directions for his business to take. He was happy to be able to combine working with an opportunity to visit his sister.

Annie and Robert corresponded on virtually a daily basis now. It was usually by email, but they also made frequent phone calls back and forth to each other. Dr. Maier was not in complete agreement with Annie on how she had chosen to try to get past her demons, and Annie was again seeing the doctor on a regular weekly basis. 

Apparently the doctor was trying a new therapy with her, trying to move her past the association of a male body with her tormentor, and the mental, physical and sexual torture she had gone through. 

She explained to Robert that it involved fairly equal parts of hypnosis, relaxation techniques, and discussion with the doctor. Robert couldn't help himself when he offered her his silent prayers, along with the more obvious encouragement he gave Annie verbally, and in his frequent messages to her.

When he wasn't working or otherwise occupied, Robert often passed time at the virtual poker tables on the Internet. He entered a lot of tournaments, and slowly began to do a little better than he had previously. 

A couple of the tournaments were of a special type, with a main prize of a free entry in the World Series of Poker. After one of these special tournaments he could hardly wait to tell Annie of his surprising result. 

He decided to make a special effort to take Annie on a trip to Hinckley for some live poker, as soon as he was able to arrange it. With that in mind, he phoned Annie the next afternoon, knowing that she was scheduled to work an evening shift and he would be able to reach her before she left for work.

The first few minutes of their conversation were taken up with exchanging views on how they were doing at their jobs, and how much they wanted to get together in person.

"How is your schedule for next weekend, Annie? Do you think you would be able to get away for a weekend at Hinckley? I think it's about time that we took another poker trip, don't you?" Robert was hopeful it would be possible for Annie to switch a shift so the two of them could get away. "It's been a couple of months since we've been able to do that."

Annie laughed softly, and replied, "I know what you mean, Robert. I was just thinking about that last night. We are overdue! I think you must be psychic or something, because they just changed my schedule yesterday, and I have this coming weekend off. I'd love to be able to go down there. I haven't had any coupons from the casino lately: have you?"

"It must be a sign from the poker gods; I just got an envelope with some discounted room coupons this morning. If you're agreeable, I can phone the casino and reserve a couple of rooms for the weekend. They aren't the usual free room coupons, but that doesn't matter. I've won enough money there to be able to spring for the difference." He laughed after he finished making the comment.

Annie hesitated for a few moments before replying, "How about we go down for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. I am off from Thursday night until Tuesday morning. We could also go for only two nights if you would prefer." Just before Robert was going to answer her in the affirmative, she continued, "I... I guess we could just get one room for the two of us. You could request one with double beds." 

After another short hesitation she added, "I think that might fit in with what Dr. Maier has been saying lately. She seems to think that I'm getting close to a point where I should be okay with that. That's if... you don't mind.... I mean... just sharing the room."

Robert laughed and replied, "I don't have anything against that idea, at all. I'll just make sure to bring along some pajama pants, at least." It'd been quite a while since they had spent those few minutes together in his bed, and the memory of that time together immediately ran through his mind. Just as quickly, though, he realized that she was suggesting that they simply share a room for convenience sake, and nothing more. 

It took some of the enjoyment out of the moment and he added in a more serious tone of voice, "As long as you're okay with it, I'll phone and get the room booked right away."

Annie confirmed her agreement, and after a few more minutes of pleasant conversation, they hung up so that Robert could book a room and Annie could get prepared for her night shift. He was in a decidedly happier mood when he got off the phone, pleasant images of him and Annie enjoying themselves on the weekend having taken over his thoughts. He was humming to himself as he located his coupons and then made the call to reserve the room for their weekend trip.

++++++++++++

Time passed very quickly for Robert as he waited for Friday morning to arrive. He was on the road to Duluth almost an hour earlier than he normally would have left his home, and he laughed to himself as he came to the realization that he was so anxious to see Annie that besides leaving early, he had almost forgotten to pick up a Tim Horton's double double for the road. When it was safely in his cup holder he turned south onto Highway 61, with Duluth his destination.

Normally the trip to Duluth would take him a little over four hours, if he didn't take his time and make stops along the way. He was usually in no great hurry, because he knew that check in at the hotel would be 3 p.m., and he would plan his arrival for that time in the afternoon. Today he made the trip in four hours flat, having made only one quick stop for fuel along the way.

It was 15 minutes before noon when he pulled up outside of Annie's home. Rather than just show up at her door he used his cell phone to let her know that he was parked outside her door. He was quick to add, "I'm not telling you that to get you to rush. I just had good roads and minimal traffic, so here I am, earlier than planned."

"This is great, Robert. Come on in, and I'll show you my place. I have a surprise for you as well."

As he got out of his truck and walked up the pathway to her door, Robert couldn't help but wonder what her surprise could be. It didn't take him long to find out.

Annie met him at the door, and held it wide open as he stepped in. "My parents came up from Minneapolis yesterday, and I want them to meet you, and for you to meet them."

Her statement caught him completely by surprise. He felt his heart race as he wondered what they would think of him. If he could have done it, he would have run back to his truck, but knew he had no such alternative. 

For better or worse, he knew he would have to try and make the best first impression he could. He knew his voice would sound terrible if he let his anxiety and nervousness take over, so he immediately began trying to calm himself down.

"Just go ahead into the living room, Robert. It's on your right." 

He made the turn into the living room while trying desperately to remain calm. As he entered the room a couple in their early 60s, who were seated on the sofa looked up at him, and he was pleased to see that they had smiles on their faces. As Annie entered the room behind Robert, her parents stood to wait for their introduction to him.

Annie had told him about her parents, both of them retired teachers, and how close she felt to them. He hadn't seen a picture of them and immediately noticed how trim and fit they were. They were both a little shorter than he was, and her father's gray hair was cut short in a brush cut and her mother's dark hair showed a few traces of gray. Robert was glad to see that they were both dressed casually, just as he was.

Before he had time to think about what he should do first, Annie stepped forward and said, "Robert, I'd like you to meet my parents. This is my dad, Angus Sargent, and my mom Louise." She quickly continued, "Mom, dad, this is Robert Porter. He's the friend I've been telling you about."

Robert and Annie's parents exchanged handshakes and greetings, and Robert felt great relief when he realized that it didn't seem like his voice had let him down. He felt strangely calm and comfortable meeting them, realizing that if they were anything like Annie, and his first impression was that they were, he had nothing to worry about.

Before they could all become uncomfortable with trying to decide what to say next Annie asked, "Since Robert got here earlier than I expected, he can join us for lunch." She immediately realized what she had said and quickly added, "That is, if you're hungry, and don't mind joining the three of us."

Robert immediately got her off the hook by saying, "I'd love to join you all for lunch. I didn't stop for anything along the way, and I'm sure I could use some time to get to know your parents better." 

Although he was less than convinced her parents would be anxious for their daughter to build a relationship with someone whose speech and appearance stood out as greatly as his did, he knew he had to do his best to present himself in the best light that he could. He instinctively knew that Annie would put great weight on the impression of him that her parents came away with.

Annie was smiling broadly as she heard that reply from Robert and quickly said, "Why don't you two men sit here in the living room for a few minutes while mom and I finish preparing lunch." As the two women turned to leave the living room, Robert quickly looked around and saw that there was a comfortable looking chair beside the sofa, so he took a seat there as Annie's father resumed his place on the sofa.

There was an awkward silence for a few seconds as Robert tried to think of something to say. He was just about to ask where they lived in Minneapolis, when Angus Sargent beat him to the punch.

"I'm so very pleased to meet you, Robert. I think it's most appropriate that I meet the man who is going to spend three nights in a hotel room with my only daughter." 

To be continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 07



Angus managed to maintain a straight face for several seconds while he watched Robert's face turn white. That mission accomplished, he quickly added, laughing as he did so, "I'm just having fun with you, Robert. Annie is a big girl now, and she makes those decisions on her own."

"She has told us a lot about you, and just how good you have been to her. She also explained that the room will have two double beds."

Robert was immediately put at ease by the older man's words, and he quickly said, "I'm glad she explained that to you. Annie and I are good friends, and I wouldn't want you to think that I would ever take advantage of her friendship. I really enjoy having her as my friend, and I would never jeopardize that."

Annie had heard her father's laughter and was on her way back to the living room to warn Robert about his offbeat sense of humor when she heard Robert's reply. His words took the smile from her face, and instead of joining the two men, she turned and quietly walked back to the kitchen, a troubled look now on her face.

In the living room Angus and Robert had turned their conversation to Holdem Poker, a game which Annie's father also enjoyed. He limited his exposure to the game to some of the free poker websites available on the Internet. He was emphatic when he stated that Annie hadn't inherited her skill at the tables from him, as he found it exceedingly difficult to build up his stack of free chips at the fun poker websites he visited on occasion.

The two men then moved on to fishing stories, a subject that they both felt comfortable with. It's a well-known fact that two men who enjoy fishing can spend a lot of time discussing their favorite equipment, fishing holes, and the ones that got away. They were still on the subject 10 minutes later when Annie came to get them for lunch. 

It seemed to Robert that Annie was a little more subdued than she had been, but that impression faded as the four of them engaged in small talk while they enjoyed lunch together.

By 1:30 in the afternoon lunch had been finished and Robert had received his tour of Annie's house. It was an older home with a lot of character, and she was effusive in her praise for her father and the help he had given her in renovating the home. 

Angus made it very clear that the work he had done had been an enjoyment for him, and certainly hadn't been something he had felt compelled to do. He explained how his love of working with his hands had meshed with Annie's desire to restore her home to its former glory.

Later, after the two women had gone back upstairs to get Annie's suitcase, Angus explained to Robert that he and Louise had spent almost 2 years living with Annie after her attack, after deciding to take early retirement so that they could look after her. It was then that he had had the time to do the extensive work on her house. 

Angus left him with the distinct impression that without their support and presence, and the wonderful skills of Dr. Maier, Annie's recovery would have been slow, and perhaps even unsuccessful. 

Robert was left with the uneasy feeling that Annie's descriptions of her ordeal and its aftermath were perhaps more incomplete and consequential than she had let on. He now had something new to contemplate.

As they were getting ready to leave, Annie mentioned that her parents would be spending Friday night and most of Saturday in Duluth. After hearing that, Robert suggested that perhaps they should meet him and Annie at the Grand Casino Hinckley for supper as they drove through on their way back to Minneapolis.

Angus immediately said, "That's a great idea, Robert. How about we plan that we'll meet you at the restaurant at 6 p.m. Would that work for you two?"

After only a moment's hesitation Annie replied for the two of them when she said, "I'm sure that will be fine. We usually stop for supper somewhere around that time, anyway." Once Robert voiced his confirmation, everything was settled for the next night.

Within another 15 minutes Annie had joined Robert in his pickup and the two of them drove away after exchanging waves with her parents. The hour and a half it took them to get to the casino timed things just about perfectly, as Robert was able to check them in shortly after the 3 p.m. check-in time. 

Their drive had been leisurely and they had spent the time driving discussing their tastes in music. It wasn't a subject they had really covered before, and they were both surprised to realize they had been at the same rock concert in Minneapolis during their university days.

There had been a number of gaps in their conversation as each of them considered things they had heard while they were at Annie's home. Each noticed that the other was being quite introspective, and both of them assigned their own reasons for these observations; reasons that were all wildly off the mark.

It didn't take them long to settle into their room. There was a certain amount of awkwardness as they divided the territory, each of them staking a claim to one end of the bathroom vanity for their toiletries and personal items. They each took one end of the single closet, and then shared the drawers in the cabinet below the big-screen TV.

"Well, Annie, I think this is going to work out quite well. Just be sure to let me know if I step over a boundary somewhere. Don't forget that I've never shared a room with a woman before, and my etiquette may be a little off." Robert laughed a bit after saying this, but Annie quickly assured him that she would let him know if she needed more space.

"If you don't mind, Robert, I'm going to change into a tracksuit that I just got. I'm going to go down to the fitness center, and if it isn't crowded I may use their treadmill and elliptical trainer, if they have one. With my parents visiting, I haven't been able to keep up with my routine." 

She gave a nervous laugh before she said, "This will be the first time I've used a public center in years, so if I end up back here in the next few minutes you'll know that I chickened out."

Robert smiled to give her encouragement before saying, "I'm sure you'll be fine, Annie. You are far from being the woman I first met here last fall. I hope you still have your Taser in your purse, if you feel more comfortable with it, but I've noticed that you never keep your hand on it the way you did the first day we met."

"I'll bet you that the gym will present no problem to you. I need to do about an hour of work for one of my old clients, so that should work out just about right."

Annie gave him a nervous smile as she walked to the door. "Thank you for the positive reinforcement, Robert. Dr. Maier says that it seems you say the right thing just when I need it."

Before he turned on his laptop, Robert sat in contemplation about Annie's situation, wondering if beneath the calm surface there was a relapse pending. He certainly couldn't see the signs of anything, but he did feel that he didn't know everything that he'd probably need to know to be certain of that. 

He wondered if Dr. Maier would speak with him, if he were to call her. He doubted that she would say anything helpful to him, because doctor's privilege would surely prevent it.

Realizing that there wasn't much that he could gain by just thinking about the situation, he booted up his laptop and soon lost himself in the job at hand.

+++++++++++++

A little over an hour after she had left, Annie returned to their room. Robert had just finished freshening up for supper, his commitment to his business complete.

"Wow, Annie! You look like you put in a pretty good workout." Her hair was unkempt, and a few straggling hairs were stuck to her forehead. When she turned around to close the door he could see that a dark sweat stain was evident between her shoulder blades.

She was carrying a towel she had evidently brought from the fitness center and used it to wipe her face before answering. "I haven't been in a real center for so long that I think I got carried away trying the different equipment they had there. I don't think I'll ever be satisfied with the little fitness center in my basement again." 

She laughed nervously before continuing, "I don't think I've ever looked this bedraggled in front of you before. Please try not to remember me this way," she asked.

"I'm just glad to see that you were able to manage so well. I was sure you could do it if you gave yourself a chance." Robert watched as she selected some fresh clothing from her drawers and the closet before turning towards the bathroom.

"I'll be a few minutes getting showered and making myself presentable again." She took a couple of steps before adding, "I don't want you do take it personally, but I'll be locking the door. It's not that I distrust you, or that I'm a prude, but I'm still not ready to have anyone other than my doctor see my scars." 

She gave him a nervous smile before continuing into the bathroom and closing the door. He could distinctly hear the click of the lock.

++++++++

The two of them went for supper before heading to the poker tables. In an unplanned bit of nostalgia, they were able to return to the booth that they had used when they had their first meal together.

"I almost think we should get them to put little plaque on the wall here. Something that says 'Robert and Annie's Favorite Booth' would seem almost appropriate, don't you think?" Robert was grinning at her when he finished saying that.

Annie had a whimsical smile on her face when she replied, "I don't think they would go for that, Robert. I'm sure the management would frown on us personalizing our favorite booth that way."

There was something Robert couldn't really put his finger on, but he sensed that Annie still wasn't her usual self. It bothered him a little, because he had grown accustomed to her cheerfulness once she had broken out of her shell that night that she had shown him her arms. It wasn't the time or place to be asking her about what was bothering her, but he knew that he would have to broach the subject at some point.

For true old time's sake, they each had prime rib, followed by a shared bread pudding for dessert. They didn't sit around for long after their meal was finished, but instead they headed towards the poker room, ready to go head-to-head with their competition for the night.

They weren't able to get seats at the same table, but did agree to leave together at around midnight, or possibly a little later if one of them was having better than normal luck.

++++++++++

Perhaps it was the poker gods, or maybe it was that neither of them was able to concentrate fully on their cards, but when they met at midnight neither of them had done exceptionally well. Robert was only a few dollars short of breaking even, and Annie was ahead by not quite $50.

"I sure hope we do better tomorrow, Annie." Robert was walking along beside her as they headed to the elevators. Neither of them seemed to be their usual self.

Annie laughed wryly and said, "You have that right, Robert. I just didn't seem to have it tonight. I let a couple of good hands get away from me. There's always tomorrow..."

"Thank goodness for that. I just worry I've used up all my good luck." He didn't continue with an explanation of why he had said that, or what he meant.

They were on the way up to the fourth floor when Annie asked him, "What good luck do you think you may have used up? I wouldn't have thought that you considered poker a game of luck." She looked at him while waiting for an answer.

Robert gave her a quiet smile and said, "I'll explain when I get to the room." This statement left her wondering, and she glanced at him quickly, but it was obvious that he didn't intend to carry on now with an explanation.

+++++++

He picked up a couple of cans of 7Up along with some ice on their way to their room, and poured them each a glass before inviting Annie to sit in the chair beside him at his laptop.

"I want to show you something, Annie." With a couple of clicks of his mouse, he called up an image of a certificate. He leaned back to let her see it clearly and said, "Read that. I kept it as a surprise until now."

Not having had an opportunity to look at it before or be told what it was, Annie soon said, "You won $10,000? Wow! That's great! How did you do that?"

"I didn't actually win $10,000. Read this part again." He pointed with his finger to the second paragraph.

"Oh! You won a $10,000 entry into a poker tournament!" She reread the whole message again, and then summed it up by saying, "So you won an entry into the World Series of Poker, plus $1000 spending money. That's absolutely wonderful! Congratulations!"

Robert couldn't help but smile broadly as he said, "It's in Las Vegas in July, and all I have to do is book a room and my flights. I can't get the $10,000 in cash; I can only claim the prize by entering the tournament." 

He hesitated before continuing, "I've been wondering if you might be able to take a week or two off in July to go there with me. It could be a vacation as well as a tournament. I don't have any illusions about winning the bracelet, but it could be a good time."

Annie was obviously excited as she considered Robert's suggestion. It didn't take her long to say, "I would love to go with you, but are you sure about this? Are you sure you wouldn't want to take one of your friends from Thunder Bay? Someone like Fred, perhaps?"

"There's no one I would rather take than you, Annie. I'm only concerned about whether it would be a strain on you, spending a week in Las Vegas with me. Do you think you would want to talk to Dr. Maier first? I don't want to make you commit yourself to a trip like this without thinking about it." 

Annie thought for a minute before saying, "Maybe you're right. Let me think about it." She got up and took her pajamas from the drawer before leaving for the bathroom to change for the night. Once again he heard the click of the latch as she locked the door.

Robert was a little confused by her reaction. From immediate excitement to sudden introspection seemed like an unusual switch for her to make. He was still thinking about this, and the questions he had been bothered by since speaking to her father early that afternoon, when she returned from the bathroom in her pajamas. Robert wordlessly exchanged places with her when he entered the bathroom to change for bed. 

He didn't expect her to disturb him in the bathroom, and didn't even worry that the door wasn't fully closed. In less than a minute he was back into the now darkened sleeping area and had crawled into his bed.

"Goodnight, Robert."

A moment later he answered, "Goodnight, Annie. Have a good sleep."

There was very little light in the room, as Robert had made sure the blackout drapes were fully closed, something he did whenever he stayed at the casino. The morning light would usually wake him up, and since a lot of his nights at the casino used to end well after midnight, he had become accustomed to making sure the heavy set of drapes were closed.

Neither of them could see the other as they lay there, each of them thinking about their day and the unanswered questions each of them had.

At least five minutes passed before an errant sound caught Robert's attention. He was certain that it sounded like a suppressed sniffle, and he wondered if Annie was upset.

"Are you okay, Annie? Is sharing this room with me upsetting you? I know this is a major step for you, and if it's a big problem, I could call down to the desk and see if there is another room available that I could move to."

Annie replied quickly, her voice heavy with emotion as she said, "No, Robert! I'm just upset about something. I'm okay with being here in the room with you; that's not the problem."

Robert hesitated a moment before asking, "What is it, Annie? Share it with me, please. Maybe I can help somehow." 

He waited another few moments and when Annie didn't answer he continued, "I really want you to tell me what it is that's bothering you. I've noticed all day that you've been out of sorts, not the happy Annie that I've grown accustomed to." He tried to be lighthearted with his last comment, hoping to elicit something similar from Annie in reply.

Her answer came back in the form of a question when she said, "I've noticed that you've been pretty withdrawn at times today, too. Maybe... could you... explain to me why you seem to have changed?" 

She gave a short laugh, and it was obvious that it was a strain for her to feign amusement. It was clear that she was still upset, and it seemed to Robert the she was close to a major cry.

Robert wasn't sure if he should tell her about his concerns, but he finally decided that perhaps if he was honest with her, she would answer in kind. 

"Yes, I have been a bit more tied up with my thoughts that I would usually be. Something your father said not long before we left has been on my mind all day. From what he told me, it is clear that you were in a much worse.... mental state after you got out of hospital, than you indicated to me."

"He told me they were very concerned that you might never recover, and implied that there were still many things you hadn't told anyone about. I'm concerned that, because you haven't told me about a lot of what happened to you, you're keeping too much inside yourself, and I'm afraid that not talking about it is going to eventually make things a lot worse for you." 

His words had come from the heart, and he realized that because of the emotional content he added to the words he had failed to control his speech, and the nasal sound was becoming obvious.

He took a few seconds to regain control of his voice before continuing, "I really... care about you, Annie, and I'm upset and concerned that you haven't been able to get past a few of these things that are bothering you so much."

Robert stopped speaking now, waiting to see whether Annie would reply. He could hear an occasional sniffle and he knew that she was still upset.

Time progressed slowly until about a minute later Annie said, "There are things I haven't told you, things that I want to talk about, but I'm afraid of what you'll think of me. To stay alive I had to do... things, and put up... with things, but I find them just about impossible to talk about."

Robert thought about this for a few moments before saying, "Well, if you want to wait a bit longer before you talk to me about that, why don't you explain what's been bothering you? Is it the same thing that I've been worried about?"

There was no delay this time, and she promptly replied, "No, Robert. What's been bothering me has nothing to do with.... the things that happened to me." 

She did pause before continuing, "There was something you said to my father that is bothering me. It's bothering me more than I can really understand."

"I heard you tell my father that I am a friend of yours. We've never talked about it, but I had hoped I was more than just an ordinary friend to you. I.... feel you are... more than a simple friend. I've been developing feelings for you that go beyond friendship, and I had hoped you felt the same way." 

The strain of admitting these feelings to Robert weighed heavily on her, and Annie began to cry gently.

To say that Robert was amazed would be a gross understatement. He was shocked, and he quickly said, "I only described you as a friend... because I was afraid.... that was all I could ever be to you. I've never had these types of feelings for a woman, and I didn't want to admit to anyone that I feel you are more than a friend, no, much more than a friend to me." 

"I'm sorry if I hurt you with my words; I couldn't bring myself to tell your father how I really feel about you, especially since I have never told you how I feel."




Lip and Annie Ch. 07



Robert could hear movement from Annie's bed, and in a moment the bedside light turned on. Annie was in the process of getting out from her bed and had turned on the light so that she could see Robert's face. She wanted to watch him reply as she said, "What did you say? Are you serious?"

Robert was lying in bed on the side closest to Annie's bed, and he rolled onto his side and propped his head up with his left arm before saying, "I said I... think of you as much more than a friend." 

There was obvious concern on his face as he continued, "I'm... taking a big chance here, but I don't think you'd say anything to intentionally hurt me, so here goes. I've never felt anything like this before, except maybe for my parents and sister."

"I... I... think I've fallen in love with you, Annie. I think of you all the time, now. Realizing that you're still suffering from what happened five years ago pains me to no end. I would do anything at all to help you get over that. I think talking about it with me might be the answer, but I don't know that for sure. If I thought Dr. Maier would be able to give me advice on the subject, I would phone her in an instant."

While he was talking Annie was paying rapt attention to his every word. Her face changed from sadness and tears to a broad smile in a matter of seconds, and as he spoke she quickly moved to his bed and sat on the edge of it beside him. 

As the last word cleared his lips, she leaned forward and brought her lips to his. She leaned forward, and one of the tears she had shed rolled across her cheek and to her upper lip. Both of them could taste its salt as they broke their kiss.

"You have just made me so happy, Robert. I was so afraid my feelings for you weren't going to be returned. I was in love with a guy in my first year at university, but our feelings for each other didn't survive when he transferred to UCLA."

"Maybe we were too young, but I know my feelings for you now are every bit as strong as the ones I had then, in fact they seem much stronger. When I heard you and thought you only liked me as a female friend, I almost got sick to my stomach."

Annie leaned forward to kiss Robert again, and this time he brought his arms around her and held her to him. They shared a lengthy kiss this time, and when it ended Annie said, "I'm going to join you in your bed, at least for a while. I want you to hold me while I decide whether I can tell you what you've wanted to hear about my secrets."

She quickly moved around the bed and slipped under the covers. She was obviously not over thinking what she was doing, as she moved immediately to his side. While she walked around the bed he had moved onto his right side, and as she moved up to where he lay he took her in his arms. 

There were tears of happiness in both their eyes as they each realized that on one of life's big uncertainties they were in apparent total agreement.

"Just hold me, Robert. Let's enjoy this moment together. In fact, let's make it a lot of moments. I want to lay here with you for a while and not think about the past. One other question has been answered, though. I would love to go to Las Vegas with you, even if I have to take a leave of absence instead of taking vacation time. Please make your reservations and plans to include me, okay?"

Robert hadn't had the opportunity or desire to interrupt Annie as she spoke. Having been given the opening, he now eagerly said, "I will start making plans with you tomorrow. Maybe we can get a flight from Duluth or Minneapolis with good connections and a good price. I'll take a look at the hotel availabilities tomorrow."

"They are still running qualification tournaments, so there will still be quite a few rooms still available. If we can save a bit on flights and rooms we'll have more to spend on shows and entertainment. I want this trip to be a really good memory for both of us."

Annie snuggled up against him, and they both shifted so that she could rest her head on his shoulder while he held her in his arms. Their proximity had its expected effect on him, and he carefully moved his hips away from her so that she wouldn't notice. They lay there for the next five minutes in quiet contentment, neither of them speaking as they found it quite sufficient to simply enjoy being together.

Eventually Annie rolled onto her side to face him and they were soon enjoying a long kiss together. While Robert was trying to keep his erection from pressing up against her, Annie was moving herself closer and closer to him, until finally he knew she could feel it. She immediately backed off, but he soon noticed that she moved forward again, maintaining contact with him for several seconds before backing off again.

She kept this up for the next several minutes while they kissed, until finally she was able to maintain contact for longer than the time she spent moving away from him. 

Eventually she broke the kiss and said, "I'm sorry, Robert. I'm not being very fair, am I? I can feel you against me, and I know I have to be able to accept things like that for us to have any kind of normal relationship at all. I'm just not ready for anything much more than that right now."

Robert leaned forward and kissed her gently for a couple of seconds before moving back and saying, "I understand, Annie. I have to admit you're making it hard on me." He laughed and added, "I didn't mean to have that come out quite that way. There was no pun intended."

Annie joined him in laughing at his juvenile joke and said, "I think that's one thing I really like about you. You have a sense of humor that is similar to my father's. He'd make that kind of joke to my mother."

Robert laughed before answering, "I already made the acquaintance of your father's sense of humor, and he almost gave me a heart attack. The very first thing he said to me was to say that he was happy to meet the man who was going to spent three nights in a hotel room with his daughter." He laughed again before adding, "I swear he had me convinced he was really upset by it."

After sharing some more laughter and giggling, the two of them went back to kissing. Annie made a point of not coming into contact with Robert's erection, and after a pleasant interlude of kisses combined with gentle stroking of Annie's cheek, Robert eventually began moving his hand down until he was able to take her breast in his hand. His gentle squeezing through the covering of her pajama top had its expected result, and her hard nipple was soon making its presence known.

After playing with it through the fabric for a couple of minutes, Robert moved his hand back up to her cheek and said, "I guess I'm not being very fair either. I'm enjoying this too much, and I really don't want it to end. I guess I have to end it though, or I don't know where things may lead. I'm not sure that you're ready for that, or are you?"

Annie snuggled up against him and said, "You're giving me feelings I haven't had in years. You're right though, I don't know myself whether I'm ready for more or not."

They lay like that together for quite some time, neither one of them wanting to lose their close connection and yet neither one of them wanted to push the envelope any further for fear of the possible consequences. Finally Annie broke the quiet period they were enjoying.

"We have accomplished something else, Robert. I'm going to try and tell you some of the things that I've been holding back for so long. I think I want you to shut off the light so that you can't see me while I'm speaking, and I can't see your reactions to my words." As soon as she said that, Robert leaned over and shut off the light, pitching the room into complete darkness.

They lay there quietly for another couple of minutes before Annie finally began. "There were a lot of things that happened in that van during the time I was held there. I told you that he raped me... repeatedly, but it wasn't all... vaginally."

"Sometimes he would handcuff me... face down... he would put a couple of old pillows under my hips... then he would... then he did.... things to me." Annie continued with her story, and the more she spoke the more easily the words flowed.

She began to describe in great detail some of the things that were done, and how she had been degraded and abused. She snuggled up to Robert's chest while she spoke, and he held her tightly with both arms to give her an increased sense of security and safety. 

He could feel her tears landing on his chest as she spoke, and for most of the time that she recited her litany of depraved treatment, his own tears flowed gently down his cheeks.

She gave him a complete, sequential and detailed description of everything that went on from the time she was grabbed on the street until her miracle escape over 48 hours later. She said that there would always be the possibility that some of her memories had been repressed too deeply, and according to Dr. Maier they might never resurface. 

She said she didn't think there was anything that she hadn't eventually recalled, and she spilled the details out in a steady torrent.

Neither of them kept track of the time it took, but eventually she finally was able to say, "And that's my whole story. I've told you everything, even the things I tried my best to never think about." 

"I know that it wasn't that long ago that I wouldn't have been able to even contemplate telling anyone this, but you have been such a help to me in getting to the place where I am now." 

Robert continued to hold her, unwilling to say anything until he got his emotions in check.

Annie continued, "I feel like a great weight has been lifted off of my back. Thank you so much for being such a good listener, and such a patient man."

It was time now for Robert to speak, and he soon joined in with, "I know it took an awful lot of courage for you to tell me all of this, but I really think you're going to be able to look back on this as the day you started a whole new life. I know that's the way I feel. The physical part of our relationship can wait until the time is right. I'm sure we'll both know when that time arrives."

The two of them lay there in each others arms for long enough that they both fell into a contented sleep. Annie was happy to be free of some of her demons and comfortable knowing that Robert felt about her in the same way that she felt about him. Robert was now secure in the knowledge that there was likely nothing that he didn't now know about her terrifying ordeal. 

That meant it should be easier for him to know which subjects and actions would potentially bother Annie the most. He knew he would be able to approach certain things with some confidence about how they might interact with her memories and experiences. He too felt a great deal of relief with the knowledge that he and Annie had similar understandings of their relationship.

Over the course of the night they moved around, as people are known to do in their sleep, until finally at almost 9 a.m. Robert awoke on his side with Annie in front of him and pressed back against his body. They were spooned together totally with his left arm over her and his hand resting comfortably inside her pajama top and holding her right breast. 

When he realized his morning wood was pressed firmly against the cleft of her ass, he slowly tried to back away from her before Annie awoke.

"Don't move, Robert. Let's just lay here like this for a while." Annie moved one of her hands to trap his left hand on her breast, and wiggled back a little to restore their firm connection.

To be continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 08



"You're awake! I thought I could move away from you before you realized what I was doing. I'm more than happy to be here the way we are, if it's okay by you." Robert tried to move forward a little bit to get them even closer than they already were.

"I must have slipped my hand into your top during the night. I can't say that I'm entirely unhappy with that, though." He gave her breast a little squeeze before moving his fingers to tweak her nipple. Her sigh of contentment let him know that she didn't seem to mind.

"Actually, Robert, I undid a couple of buttons and put your hand in there about 10 minutes ago." She giggled and added, "I didn't think you'd mind."

The two of them lay there like that for a few more minutes, during which Robert discovered that she seemed to enjoy having her neck and ear nibbled on. Finally though, he knew he had to break their enjoyable connection.

"I hate to say this, Annie, but I really have to pee. How about you just stay where you are for a couple of minutes. I'll be right back." Robert carefully slid from under the covers and trotted to the bathroom. 

When he came back a couple of minutes later disappointment flashed across his face the instant he discovered that Annie had gotten up and was removing clothing from a drawer, clothing she obviously intended to wear that day.

She looked up at him and laughed before saying, "Sorry, Robert. You had your chance, but you blew it. You made your choice, and now you'll have to live with it." 

Robert had moved up beside her while she spoke, and he happened to notice that the gap in her partially opened pajama top gave him a clear view of the top of the scar that ran up her chest. The narrow white line contrasted slightly with the natural skin color of the area between her breasts. In a few seconds his stolen view disappeared when Annie straightened up.

He had quickly brushed his teeth while in the bathroom, hoping to spend some time kissing Annie before they got out of bed. Not yet fully agreeable to accepting her decision, he took her in his arms and leaned in to give her a kiss before she could object. 

A few seconds later she broke it and said, "That's not fair; you brushed your teeth, and I haven't had a chance to do that yet. Give me a minute now to make a pit stop, okay?"

Without waiting for an answer she darted around Robert and quickly entered the bathroom. He noticed that she closed the door, but he didn't hear her lock it, despite paying close attention and waiting for the distinctive sound. When she returned the pajama top had been replaced by a blouse, and he could tell that she had put on a bra as well.

She moved quickly into his arms and said, "Now, where were we." She moved forward to kiss him and this time she quickly included her tongue in the action, something she had avoided just moments before. 

When she broke the kiss Robert was a bit disappointed until she said," I... I love you, Robert. Last night was like the fulfillment of an impossible dream. I never thought I would be able to be that close to a man again, and for most of yesterday I didn't believe that you would be that man. I'm so glad we took the time to talk last night."

"So am I, Annie, so am I. I truly never thought that I would find someone to love, and certainly not someone like you. You're beautiful, and intelligent, and being with you brings me such great joy." Robert finished his statement by leaning forward and giving Annie another short kiss.

When they broke their kiss Annie said, "You know, I'm starting to feel very hungry. How about we go down for brunch. It will take me a little while to get ready, so I should get started."

This time she leaned in for another kiss, and it turned out to be a longer one. As they separated she said, "I really do love you, Robert. That knowledge sort of snuck up on me. One day I just realized how much I enjoyed being with you, or hearing from you. Lately I had to start every day with sending you a message, or reading your latest one to me. Our phone calls became an added bonus."

"I feel the very same way, Annie. One day I enjoyed being with you, and the next day I realized I loved you. I just never thought you could ever feel the same way about me." He took her into his arms and just held her.

++++++++++++

Their brunch that morning had been a leisurely affair. It seemed that after their barrier breaking talk of the night before everything had changed. They seemed to have a new level of comfort with each other. Neither of them seemed at all hesitant to speak their mind; neither one couched their language with phrases designed to protect their own feelings.

"I'm sort of looking forward to seeing how we do at the tables this afternoon, Annie. I know that yesterday between hands I spent a lot of time trying to figure out how I could approach you on the subject of your emotional health. I don't think I really managed to learn anything about any of the other players at the table. The only reason I didn't do worse was that I was aggressive enough to take the blinds fairly often."

Annie laughed and replied, "I know just what you mean. I almost had myself convinced that you were looking at me as a 'practise', non-threatening, female relationship. Don't ask me how I got that idea; I probably couldn't explain it. It was the amalgamation of a bunch of crazy thoughts I was having."

Their comfort level continued to grow quickly. By the time they headed for the poker room they were comfortable holding hands where space permitted as they walked through the casino. Once again they were unable to get seats at the same table, and as Annie walked away in the direction of the table she had been assigned she turned, smiled, and finger waved at Robert. He replied in kind.

+++++++++

At quarter to six Annie and Robert met as had been prearranged and headed across the casino to the restaurant. As they walked down the glass enclosed hallway that formed the last 200 feet of it they could see Annie's parents coming across the parking lot to the main entrance. The four of them met just feet away from the maître d's station.

Robert had reserved a table earlier in the afternoon, so the four of them were quickly seated. Pleasantries had been exchanged and they were just about to get their menus when Annie and her mother decided to go together to the ladies room. Robert and Angus were left to their own devices, and they quickly began discussing the possibilities for the Minnesota Twins in this year's baseball season. They were still on that topic when the two ladies returned.

As Louise Sargent walked the last few steps to the table she quickened her pace, and sat down beside Robert before Annie could. She slid over beside Robert and gave him a hug before leaning towards him and whispering in his ear, "Annie tells me that you have helped her over one of her last remaining hurdles in getting past what happened to her. Thank you so much for that." 

She moved back for a moment and then leaned forward to kiss him on the cheek. She followed that with another whispered conversation saying, "She also told me that the two of you have been able to admit your feelings for each other. I'm really happy for you both."

It was at that point that Angus spoke up, feigning mild anger as he said, "Isn't it enough that you have won over my daughter? Now you have to set your sights on my wife?" He quickly laughed to let everyone know that he wasn't serious.

While Louise got up and Annie took her place Robert replied, "I'm tempted, Angus. It's easy to see where Annie gets her good looks. It's also nice to know what Annie will look like when she..... gets more mature." He laughed with the others. It was true though; excluding the fact that her mother had shorter hair with a touch of grey, the two of them shared a great similarity in their looks and figures.

After she had taken her seat beside her husband, Louise had a quick and private conversation with him as the two whispered back and forth. When it was over her Angus looked up at Robert and Annie and said, "My wife tells me that the two of you have decided that you're more than just friends. Congratulations to both of you."

+++++++++

The four of them had a leisurely supper, followed by coffee and two orders of bread pudding smothered in whiskey sauce, with each couple sharing one of them. By the time they were finished, Robert and Annie had converted her parents into fans of the dessert.

Just after eight o'clock Angus and Louise Sargent pulled out of the parking lot after having been accompanied to their car by Annie and Robert. The younger couple strolled back to the casino hand in hand, headed once again to the poker tables. They both had better luck in the afternoon than they had the previous evening, and both of them hoped that the trend would continue after supper.

+++++++++

That night they retuned to their room a bit earlier than the night before. It seemed that they were both anxious to get back to the privacy of their shared accommodation. Neither of them complained of being tired, but they quickly agreed that while Annie showered and got into her pajamas, Robert would quickly check his email account for any urgent customer requests. 

By the time she emerged, dressed in her pajamas, Robert was standing by the door with his in his hand, ready to have his own shower.

He quickly had his shower, brushed his teeth, and dressed himself in his pajamas before coming back into the sleeping area. He was hoping that he and Annie would be able to spend some time together before going to sleep, but he wasn't quite expecting what met him as he entered the room. 

Annie was in his bed, sitting up right in the middle, leaving him the choice of which side he wanted. "Hurry up Robert! You're wasting time! Don't you want to start where we left off?"

He quickly slid into the bed beside her, taking the side adjacent to the lamp. He decided to leave it on for the time being, hopeful of perhaps being able to see more of Annie. "Are you sure Annie? Do you need some time to fully digest everything that's happened in the last 24 hours? Are you sure there's no danger of us getting ahead of your comfort zone?"

Annie giggled and said, "Boy, are you ever full of questions." She reached over and took his hand before continuing, "I feel sure we can push those boundaries back a little more. If anything makes me uncomfortable, I'll let you know."

The two of them slid down under the covers and turned to face each other. Robert couldn't believe how comfortable he now felt with Annie, and leaned over to kiss her. She welcomed him with a slightly opened mouth and soon had her hand behind his head and was holding him in place.

It didn't take long before kissing wasn't quite enough for either of them, and they began exploring each other over their pajamas. Robert was able to slide his hand up under her pajama top, and traced her scars before finally concentrating on her breasts and nipples. 

She had tensed up a little when he began touching her scars, but soon relaxed. Her own explorations ranged across his back and chest, before she finally made the decision to explore his butt. She was quite tentative, and seemed to intentionally steer clear of the front of his pants.

Robert was trying to mirror her explorations now, and was soon caressing her ass. When his fingers began to push the fabric into the crevice of her ass, getting near to her anus, he felt her tense up and her own hand froze where it was. He took that as a sign that he was in potentially dangerous territory, and quickly withdrew his hand, moving it back up under her pajama top.

After a few more minutes Robert shifted his position so that he could slide both of his hands under her top, enabling him to favor both of her breasts with equal attention. He didn't notice the little imperfections in her skin where the scars were located; instead he was losing himself in the moment.

He had moved one hand out of her top to begin undoing the buttons when Annie said, "I... I'm not sure if I'm ready for that, Robert. I don't know if I can let you see my scars yet."

Robert stopped his task and said, "Let me finish undoing them. I won't open the front of it unless you say I can." He took her silence as agreement, and slowly finished undoing the buttons. Carefully he slid his hand under the fabric, trying not to disturb it, and then leaned forward to begin kissing her neck. 

He slowly worked his way down to the top of her chest, kissing and nuzzling as he went, and when he reached the loose collar of her pajama top, he slowly pushed it down as he continued kissing her chest.

He took his time, and he could feel Annie slowly relax as he worked his way down. When his lips reached her nipple, she put her hands behind his head to hold him in place. She wasn't so much preventing his head from moving as she was keeping it in contact with her breast, and soon he was able to work his way down to the scar below her breast. After he kissed it from end to end he sat up and looked Annie in the eye. "Is it okay if I take your pajama top off now?"

Annie had started to breathe more quickly, and he could see that she was getting tense again. It seemed like she was on the verge of hyperventilating, so he added, "I'll shut the light off first, okay?" When she nodded her head he did just that.

With the light off Annie had relaxed again, and quickly helped him remove her pajama top before they returned to kissing and gentle fondling. Before too long they were back spooned together like they had been the night before, with Annie holding his hand to her breast. Despite the thick sexual tension in the air, they eventually drifted off to sleep.

++++++++++

Sunday morning Robert was awakened by movement in the bed, and was able to get his eyes opened in time to see Annie getting out of the far side of the bed, still wearing only her pajama bottoms. It was the first time he had seen her naked back, and she made sure that it was almost all he saw as she rushed into the bathroom with her pajama top in her hand. He caught a very quick glimpse of the profile of her chest as she turned the corner into the bathroom. 

In a few minutes he heard the toilet flush, and a couple of minutes later she came out, fully dressed.

"Darn it Annie! Why did you go and put it back on? I was looking forward to getting to see those two beauties of yours. Anything that feels that good must look wonderful." Robert laughed lightly as he noticed Annie get red in the face from his comments.

"One day, hopefully soon, you'll get your wish, but it won't be this morning. Make use of the bathroom, if you need it. I'm going to go in for a shower in a few minutes." She tried to give him a stern look, but ended up shaking her head as he quickly got out of the bed and hurried into the bathroom.

Robert didn't seem to rush in the bathroom; it was almost 5 minutes later when he strolled out. He had combed his hair a little and brushed his teeth after using the facilities, and based on what it happened the day before he didn't expect what he saw when he returned to the sleeping area. 

Annie was lying on the bed, still in her pajamas and waiting for him. "Boy, I could've fallen asleep waiting for you to get back in here. I owe you something for having to turn you down last night, so why don't you come here and join me in bed. Come and hold me."

That was more than enough encouragement for him, and he quickly joined her on the bed, taking her into his arms and immediately moving his lips to hers. Since it seemed obvious that Annie wasn't in any hurry to break their kiss he put his arm around her waist and pulled her to him. 

She didn't resist, and although he knew that she could feel his erection growing, she didn't pull back away from him right away. Taking this is a good sign he began to run his hands over her eventually bringing them up under her pajama top to tease her breasts.

After a few minutes of this Annie pulled back and said, "I'm going to have to book an extra session with Dr. Maier this week. I can't possibly tell her about everything that has happened this weekend in just one visit. She is going to be so shocked!"

Robert laughed before saying, "I've thought about speaking with or maybe even meeting Dr. Maier, but if you start telling her everything, I think I will be embarrassed. You visiting her and telling her all of our secrets is sort of like having a diary that you make public."

Annie was quick to reply, "This is not like that at all! What I tell her is in strict confidence." 

Annie thought for a moment before saying, "Mind you, she has said that she might ask for my permission to write about my case in one of the journals that the members of her profession subscribe to. Maybe you'll end up in there as the mysterious man known as RP, who saves the patient AS from a life of constant fear and discomfort around men." 

She laughed when her statement caused a look of consternation to appear on Robert's face.

"I'm not really kidding, you know. She really did mention the possibility of writing up my case someday in the future. I've seen things like that in journals that I used as sources for papers in university. They really do refer to real people by initials like that."

Before replying Robert leaned over and gave Annie another kiss. "I guess I can live with that. Being a man of mystery can't be all bad." He laughed and continued, "Sounds sort of James Bond-ish, don't you think?"

Their conversation prompted both of them to decide it was time to get up. They agreed that while the interlude was very enjoyable, they should give themselves a break before they vaulted any new boundaries. Annie was a little nervous about moving too far, too fast, and Robert was of a like mind; the last thing he wanted to do was push Annie past her comfort zone.

An hour later they were having brunch and planning their day at the tables.

+++++++++++

After an acceptably successful afternoon of poker the two of them tried a new restaurant in the complex, this one a buffet that featured a vast selection of foods to choose from. They enjoyed a leisurely meal before heading back to the poker tables for their last evening of poker. 

Knowing that they would have to leave in the morning, they decided to leave the tables by 11 p.m.. Both of them had their last night together in mind when they headed up to their room.

This time there wasn't any attempt to rush, and they cooperated in sharing the bathroom so that both of them could shower, brush their teeth, and get into their pajamas. Robert made a point of shaving, hoping that he'd be able to spend more time kissing the tender skin of Annie's chest. He had shaved the night before as well, and she had appreciated it enough to comment on it.

Annie was waiting for him in bed as he came out of the bathroom, and it was obvious that they were both anxious to see what the night would bring. As he sat on his side of the bed Annie said, "Please put off the light, Robert. I don't want to have to interrupt you later to turn it off." She was giggling as he reached back to turn off the lamp.

"And what did you have in mind, Annie? Are you planning on taking advantage of me?"

She could notice the amusement in his voice, and replied, "I don't know if I would go quite that far Robert. I still want you to stop whatever you're.... doing, if I'm too uncomfortable. I don't feel ready for you to see my scars quite yet. I didn't think I would ever be lying in your bed, though, so I can imagine getting past that point some day soon."

They quickly had their arms around each other, momentarily pulling themselves into full contact from chest to knees. It wasn't long before what started as kisses progressed to nibbling on each other's neck and shoulders, alternating as each took their opportunities as they came. 




Lip and Annie Ch. 08



Robert hands were busy playing with Annie's breasts and nipples, and she didn't object as he slowly undid the buttons on her pajama top. 

When they were all undone he wasted no time in moving her onto her back and folding the front of it wide open, moving his kisses down onto her chest, licking and nibbling on her now hard nipples.

He paid special attention to each of her scars, kissing his way along each of them, and then laving them carefully with his tongue. This seemed to be quite popular with Annie, as she lightly held his head to her chest, never stopping him from moving where he wanted to go. When he had worked his way up the scar from her bellybutton to her neck he moved his lips back to hers where it was obvious that they were welcome.

As he kissed her he let his left hand roam across her chest and down the vertical scar between her breasts. He didn't stop when it ended at her navel, and moved his hand onto the fabric of her pajama bottoms, slowly moving his fingers towards the junction of her legs. When his destination soon became clear, he could feel her tense up, but when she didn't break their kiss and object, or use her free hand to take hold of his roaming left hand he slowly continued to move it down her body.

It was a short distance to cover, and when he arrived he began to caress her pubic area gently with his fingers. He could feel her squirm a bit as he did this, and wasn't sure if it was a vain attempt to move away from him, or in pleasure. 

Robert decided not to ask her, knowing that she had methods available to her to stop him if she wanted to. He was using the training he had received from his bartered website skills, as all of his four 'instructors' had taken pains to try and educate him in pleasing a woman. 

Although it was obvious that they usually 'faked it', he was quite sure that during their training sessions he had passed the final exam more than once. His unexpected introduction to the dark side of the escort business had managed to scare him off from any further physical contact with his three remaining customers, but he never regretted what they had provided him in pleasure and education. He couldn't imagine having enough confidence to be here with Annie without that experience.

It wasn't long before he realized that there was no doubt that Annie's gentle rolling of her hips was in pleasure, and not in discomfort or in an attempt to stop him. At that point he moved his hand up to her waist, a move that elicited a sad groan from Annie while they kissed. He quickly reversed his direction back to the area he had just left, but this time his hand was under her pajama bottoms. He felt her tense up again, but he didn't deviate from his course. 

When he encountered the hair covering her pubic mound he slowed down, but he didn't stop. He began his ministrations with his fingertips again, and it wasn't more than a few seconds before Annie began moving her hips again, apparently anxious to encourage him. 

Taking the message that she seemed to be giving him, he moved his fingers down until he was able to insert the tip of his middle finger into her damp opening. When he was sure that he had suitably moistened it, he brought it up to gently caress the area of her clit. 

Annie broke her lips away from his and said, "Oh... that feels so much better than my own fingers. I mean, what you're doing is what I could do myself, but knowing it's you makes it so much nicer." She immediately went back to trying to devour his tongue, and by her words and actions he was convinced he was on the right track. 

He kept up his trips back and forth from her vagina to her clit, bringing fresh lubrication with every trip. Her hips were soon in constant motion, and it was obvious that she was on a short and direct trip to a climax.

She suddenly tensed up, a long drawn out groan coinciding with her attempt to raise her hips as far as humanly possible from the bed. The hand that had been wrapped around his neck was now suddenly on top of his, pulling it in place on her clit as he vigorously strummed it from side to side.

She jerked her head back, breaking their kiss and exclaiming, "Oh god oh god oh god, don't stop Robert. Please don't stop." The words finally stopped and she reverted to groans until perhaps a half a minute passed. 

She slowly lowered her hips back to the bed, and then suddenly grabbed his hand and yanked it back from her pubic area, but this time she exclaimed, "Enough, Robert, enough! Oh, I'm so sensitive." As he attempted to pull his hand up from her crotch, she let go of his fingers and let him do it.

She turned onto her side and pulled herself against him before saying, "That was wonderful, Robert. I can't believe I let you do that, and it didn't even seem to bother me very much, except maybe just a little when you started. Just hold me now. I need you to hold me."

Robert's erection was painfully hard, but that didn't matter to him now at all. Annie had responded to him as a woman does for her man, and it was all that mattered. He had waited all of his life for a moment like this, and he could stand to wait a bit longer for his own satisfaction. Annie was healing before his eyes, and he couldn't be happier.

They lay there for over 10 minutes before Robert realized that Annie had fallen asleep. Once he noticed that he slowly extricated himself from her arms and went to the bathroom where he manually relieved his condition. It didn't take very long, and the visions in his head as his cum rocketed into a handful of tissues were all of Annie. After flushing away the tissues and washing up he returned to the bed.

Annie was awake, and quickly pulled him into her arms. She must have sensed immediately that his erection had disappeared as she said, "Did you.... I mean.... you're not hard, now.... is that why you went to the bathroom? I'm sorry." 

He knew what she meant, so he quietly answered, "Yes, I had to do something about it." He laughed and continued, "I had a painful reaction to you." He pulled her tight and added, "That's okay; it wasn't an allergic reaction. I'll just take a rain check."

She sighed and then said, "You're too good to me. I can't imagine another man being so patient. I feel so lucky."

"You aren't the only one who feels very lucky." He leaned forward and kissed the top of her head.

+++++++++++++

The next morning he finalized their travel arrangements and booked them into a hotel in Las Vegas for the tournament. Their flight would leave from Minneapolis, and he would pick her up in Duluth on his way there.

They were on the road and headed for home before noon, and used the time to great advantage, discussing their feelings for each other and the events of the weekend. Robert spent enough time at Annie's on the way through that he was able to have a late lunch with her before he drove home. Neither of them seemed anxious to part, and their lingering goodbye kisses attested to their reluctance, but they both had jobs to do and other commitments to keep.

Robert was smiling throughout most of his four-hour plus drive home. He couldn't imagine the weekend having gone any better than it did. He just hoped that he and Annie would be able to spend more time together, and the sooner the better. 

It was unfortunate that they had such a long distance separating them, added to their commitments to their jobs. On top of that, Annie had her ongoing sessions with Dr. Maier, sessions that obviously did her a lot of good. There was no way that Robert wanted to interfere with them.

He was happy the door to her emotions had opened and it had been opened more than a little. A little more patience and that door could be history, with their future a bright one.

To be continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 09



Their first week back they were both very anxious to hear each other's voices on a daily basis, so their phone calls back and forth became routine. Annie was working a lot of night shifts and trying to sleep in the day, and they usually talked in the late afternoon. Robert was busy too, but he was fortunate that his business didn't run on set hours, and he could usually make time for Annie whenever she was available.

She had told him that the first available appointment with Dr. Maier would be the next Wednesday afternoon, and he was quite surprised to see her cell phone number show up on his call display at 3 p.m. that day.

"I wasn't expecting to hear from you this early, Annie. Didn't you have an appointment today?"

"Ah... yes I do. In fact I'm with Dr. Maier now. I've given her written permission to speak with you about me, and she'd like to speak to you privately. If it's okay with you, I'll give her the phone and then wait in the outer office while she talks to you. I'm... not sure... I don't know what she wants to talk about. Is that okay? Do you mind talking to her?" Annie sounded a bit flustered on the phone as she spoke to him.

"I don't mind at all, Annie. You should know by now that if there's anything I can do that will help you out, I'll be happy to do so," Robert quickly replied.

"Thank you, Robert. I'll give the phone to Dr. Maier."

There was half a minute of dead air, and Robert could hear a bit of rustling and a few muffled words before hearing the distinct sound of a door closing. A couple of seconds later he heard a woman's voice, sounding pleasant but businesslike, speaking with a very slight accent that he couldn't quite place.

"Good day, Mr. Porter. I'm Dr. Greta Maier. I understand that Annie has told you that I see her regularly. She also told me today that she has been very open with you about her ordeal, and says that she has given you all of the, shall we say, 'gruesome' details of her captivity."

Robert quickly answered in the affirmative to all of the doctors statements, and then continued, "I have come to realize that I am in love with Annie, and if there's anything I can help you with, please let me know what it is."

"Well, Mr. Porter, I must say that speaking to a third party isn't a normal routine for me, but then, Annie isn't a normal patient. I'm sure you're now well aware of the hell that she survived, and I have been shocked and amazed at the recent signs of recovery that she has shown. She attributes almost all of it to you."

Robert didn't quite know how to comment on that statement so he said, "I don't know that I can take that much credit for the great strides she seems to be making. A lot of it is Annie's willingness to trust me, something she apparently found impossible to do with other men. I think she really wants to make improvements, and that I've been fortunate to be the conduit she's used."

Dr. Maier chuckled and replied, "I don't think you realize just how much of a match you are for Annie at this stage of her recovery. She has told me about your acceptance of your own scars and how well you deal with the issue. You have set a very good example for her."

"It appears that you think there's something I could do to assist with Annie's continuing recovery. I'm completely willing to follow any suggestion you can give me." The sincerity in Robert's voice came through loud and clear to the doctor.

Dr. Maier sounded very happy as she replied, "More of the same, Mr. Porter. That is my request to you; more of the same. I wanted to speak with you to confirm Annie's high regard for you, and I think I have done that. I don't believe there is any likelihood that you're going to misuse the trust that she is giving you." 

"I like to think that I'm a good judge of character, even if I have to make that judgment solely on the sound of one's voice. I sense that in you. I would ask only that you talk to me first if for any reason your feelings toward Annie should change."

Robert began to interrupt with a statement disagreeing that that could ever occur when the doctor quickly continued, "I'm not suggesting anything of the sort will happen, I'm just asking that in the unlikely event that anything comes up to negatively affect your relationship with Annie, that you give me a heads up right away." 

"I am fearful that Annie could suffer a drastic relapse in her condition if that happened and it was not properly handled." The doctors concern was evident in her voice.

She continued, "Don't for one second feel that you are 'stuck' in a relationship with Annie. These things can happen, and I feel confident I should be able to get her past anything that comes between the two of you. I only ask that you think of her, and let me know first, so that I can prepare her for it."

Robert was emphatic as he said, "I can't imagine that a circumstance such as you suggest could ever happen. My feelings have become very deep for Annie, much deeper than I would have ever imagined. I have never in my life expected to find someone like Annie, someone I could feel so much love for." 

"I know what you're asking, and to put you at ease I will unequivocally assure you that I will do as you ask. But to put it simply, I just know it's not going to happen."

"Thank you, Mr. Porter. You have me convinced." Dr. Maier continued by providing Robert with both her office and cell phone numbers.

Robert reciprocated with his own contact information and emphatically stated, "Please be sure to call me if there's anything I can do to help."

He continued with, "Thank you, Dr. Maier. I'd prefer if you called me Robert though." He gave a short laugh and added, "I'm not used to this Mr. Porter title." He thought for a moment before asking, "How much of our conversation can I repeat to Annie? I know she's going to wonder what we spoke about."

The doctor gave a small laugh herself and replied, "Very well... 'Robert'. You should be able to tell her everything about our conversation. Your judgment with her has been good, so how you do that I will leave up to you. Thank you again for speaking with me. I can see that I can be much more confident that the remarkable progress shown by Annie will continue. Goodbye, Robert."

The doctor hung up, and after Robert had done the same he sat there looking at the phone, a smile on his face and happy with the knowledge that Annie's steps forward were now confirmed as being very real and most likely permanent.

++++++++++++

Later that evening Annie called, and one of the first things she asked was what had Robert discussed with her doctor. Robert did give her a short rundown on the conversation, but he didn't give any mention to the doctor's request for a heads up if he ever wanted to stop seeing Annie or tone down their relationship. He didn't want Annie to dwell on a possibility that he himself discounted completely.

Annie was satisfied with his explanation, and they didn't discuss it again. Instead, they began making plans for their next trip to the casino. Robert wanted to get in more practice with live people, because he was afraid that too much Internet poker would give him the wrong kind of preparation for the big tournament he was facing.

+++++++++

Several weeks passed, and just a couple of hours before Robert was to leave for Duluth to pick up Annie for their planned trip to Hinckley he received a frantic phone call from her.

"Oh, Robert! I'm so glad I reached you. Two of the nurses in our department have booked off sick, and they really want me to go in to help cover their shifts this weekend. I really don't want to say yes, but they've been so good about letting me take time off for our trip to Las Vegas that I don't see how I can refuse." It was easy to see that she was upset at the prospect of missing their weekend in Hinckley.

Robert wasn't very happy about the situation either, as he'd been very much looking forward to spending a couple of nights with Annie. He did some quick thinking before he spoke.

"That's disappointing news, Annie. I've been really looking forward to us spending a couple more nights together." He hesitated before continuing as an idea was forming. 

"I guess if you feel it's necessary, we could change our plans a little. How about if I go to Hinckley as planned, but come back Sunday evening and spend the evening at your place? I really miss you. That way I can get some live poker practice in, you could fulfill your obligations at work and we could still spend some time together."

It didn't take very long for Annie to agree. "That sounds like a good solution, Robert. Let's plan on you being here for supper with me on Sunday evening." She giggled before adding, "I can give you breakfast on Monday morning, too. I don't go in until the afternoon on Monday."

+++++++++++

The weekend worked out as planned, with Robert getting in a lot of practice at the tables. Since he was there by himself he was able to revert to a schedule he hadn't followed for months, ever since he had begun spending time with Annie. He played late into the night on Friday and Saturday nights and then caught up on his sleep during the day. The only problem was the need to check out by noon on Sunday, but he managed it with a few minutes to spare.

It was prearranged that he would be expected at Annie's at five o'clock, so he spent the last couple of hours before he left at the tables. Maybe it was the anticipation of seeing Annie, or maybe just bad luck, but he would have been better off skipping the Sunday play as it left him with $60 less than he had woken up with that morning.

++++++++++

Annie met him at the door, opening it before he even had the chance to press the doorbell.

"Come in, Robert. I've missed you so much." She stepped comfortably into his arms and they kissed eagerly. It had been longer than either of them expected since they had last seen each other. Their jobs and life in general had conspired with the miles that separated them to keep them apart.

He followed her to the kitchen, where the two of them sat at the table and talked for a while before she got up and began to take out dishes and cutlery to set the table with. At that point he joined her to help, and only a couple of minutes later they were seated to enjoy a meal of lasagna and a salad that she had made after getting off work. The lasagna had been made the night before, and only required re-heating. It was a good meal, and Robert let Annie know that.

Robert had poured wine to accompany the meal from a bottle that Annie had selected. After they finished eating they took their glasses and the remaining part bottle of wine to the living room where they alternated between sips of wine and shared kisses. By the time the bottle was empty they had progressed to much hotter kisses combined with a lot of fondling, especially on Robert's part.

"It's so nice to have you here Robert. I never believed it would be this long until I saw you again. If I didn't have to work nights this week I don't think I'd let you leave."

"I don't think it would have been very hard to convince me to stay. My biggest regret about the way things worked out is that I didn't simply come down here to visit you for a few days and look after my business from here. At the time it just seemed like our stars didn't align properly. I'm here now, though, and I hope we can make up for some lost time."

"I know we will Robert, I know we will." Annie pulled him back to her and the rest of their conversation was wordless.

The sun had almost set when they finally made a mutual decision to turn down the heat. It was only a few weeks until their trip to Las Vegas, and they began to make plans on what they would have to bring with them, and what type of entertainment they would try to see while they were there. 

Both of them had spent time on the Internet looking for information on things to see and do in Las Vegas when you weren't in a casino.

They spent almost an hour discussing things that each of them would like to see, and eventually realized that there was probably more there than they would ever have the chance to work into the trip. 

Robert knew that he would be spending a lot of time in the casino taking part in the tournament, if he had any kind of good luck at all. He'd already made up his mind that he would try his best to play tight in the beginning, trusting that there would be a lot of undisciplined and 'dead money' players to watch out for.

The trouble with players like that was that there was no easy way to determine when they had a good hand or when they were just not playing according to the odds. He felt that if he could survive the first day, he might have a chance to get to the paying positions. He wasn't planning on ending up at the final table; he just wanted to be able to say that he had made the most of the experience.

When the two of them had agreed on some of the things they would like to see and do in their free time, Robert realized that there was something he had forgotten.

"Before I completely forget it, I have to go out to my truck and get a couple of things I got for you. I'll be right back."

Annie got up and went with him to the door while saying, "You didn't need to get anything for me. Just having you here is all I needed."

It didn't take Robert long to go to his truck to get two packages and then return to the house. Once he was back in the living room he handed the largest box to Annie and said, "Careful, it's a bit heavy. It's something I got you for your house."

Annie exhibited all the wonder of a kid at Christmas as she unwrapped the package. When she finally opened the box and lifted out a fancy mantle clock she exclaimed, "It's beautiful, Robert. I've seen these in the antique stores, and often wondered if I should get one. Thank you so much." She reinforced her thanks with a kiss.

"I remembered your fireplace from the first time I visited, and when I saw that in a shop in Thunder Bay I knew I had to get it for you. It's probably about the same age as your house, and it should look good on the mantle above the fireplace."

Annie removed the winding key from the envelope that Robert had put it in, and between the two of them they figured out how to wind the clock's two springs. One was for the clock itself, and the other for its built-in chimes. Once they had set the time Robert placed it at the center of the mantle where it obviously fit right in.

"Oh, Robert! It's beautiful. Thank you again." This time she threw her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers.

When they were finished their kiss Robert said, "There's another gift there for you as well. This one is definitely not for your house." He gave a small chuckle as he handed her a much lighter but fancier wrapped package.

Annie shook it before sitting on the sofa where Robert joined her. It was obvious that she had no idea what the box contained as she began to unwrap it. When she opened the box, there was a second box inside. It was a fancy pink see-through one decorated with images of abstract flowers and lace, and she could see that it contained sheer, black lingerie; a very fancy but tasteful combination of an underwire bra and matching bikini panties.

Annie was obviously shocked and she turned slightly pink before saying, "They're lovely, Robert. What made you decide to get me these?"

Robert chuckled and said, "I was walking past the La Senza store in the mall and saw them on a mannequin in the front window. I immediately thought of you, and pictured you in them." He gave a slight laugh and said, "It was a very pretty picture, and I'm sure you will do them justice."

Annie took them from the box and looked at them carefully. "These are exactly the right size, Robert. You made quite the guess. I'm impressed. Your taste in lingerie is very good too; these are lovely."

Robert laughed outright now as he said, "I can't claim to have guessed. I checked your drawer in the hotel while you were having a shower. It wasn't hard to remember 36C." He continued smiling, but got a little red in the face as he added, "I'm not some sort of pervert or lingerie bandit. I just thought it was a bit of information that might come in handy one day, and it did."

When Annie didn't seem upset he laughed again, then held up his cupped hands and said, "I couldn't very well ask for a bra this size, although I'm sure there are guys who have done that."

The two of them laughed together before Annie paused and said, "I'm sorry, I don't have a gift for you. I'll have to think of something to get you."

Robert hesitated for only a second before replying, "I know the perfect thing." His eyes flicked down to look at the lingerie on her knee as he added, "How about you model these for me."

Annie's face paled momentarily before returning to normal as she said, "I...I don't...Okay, I'll try." After a slight delay she added, "Later. I'll have a shower first."

Her answer more than satisfied him, and so they went on to other topics of conversation. Annie's new mantle clock softly chimed every quarter hour, and when it signaled 10 o'clock they decided it was time to go upstairs and prepare for bed.

+++++++++

Annie's older home had only a single bathroom for them to use, so Robert made the first use of the shower after Annie firmly but politely turned down his offer to share it with her. She told him that she hoped to be able to do that one day, but that today wasn't the day. He was dressed in his pajamas when he came out of the bathroom and let her know it was available.

20 minutes passed before Annie joined him in her bedroom where he was waiting for her, seated on one side of the bed. While he was waiting for her he had experimented with the lighting so that when she entered the room, only one bulb in a small lamp was on and it provided only a soft and friendly glow. He hoped that Annie would be more comfortable out of the harsher glare of full lighting.

She was wearing an ankle length robe, a new one that Robert had not seen before. She appeared nervous and he tried to calm her down by saying, "You decided to keep me waiting. You must be a believer in the powers of anticipation." He said this with a smile so that she would know he wasn't leveling a criticism.

Annie appeared to be a bit flustered and replied, "I... I wasn't sure if I could do this." She looked at the lighting that he had adjusted and continued, "Thanks... for turning off the other lights. This is much more comfortable."

It appeared that she had made up her mind as she promptly turned her back to Robert. He could see that she was working on something in front of her, and the only thought he had was that she was undoing the sash on her robe. 

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before slowly moving the robe off her shoulders and letting it slowly slide down to the floor where it formed a puddle around her feet. Her back was flawless, her smooth skin hidden only by the black bands formed by the bra straps and panties.

She seemed to freeze at that point, and Robert quickly crossed over to her and gently placed his hands on her hips. He could feel her tremble when he did that, so he did nothing more than just hold her while he leaned forward and kissed her neck.

"You look lovely Annie," he whispered to her. From where he was standing he could see the tops of her breasts, and he could tell that she was breathing deeply, probably in an attempt to calm herself down he thought.

"Oh, Robert, I don't feel lovely. I just know you're going to stop loving me when you see these scars." In spite of her words she didn't stop him when he used his hands on her hips to turn her slowly to face him.

Robert didn't look down at first, and this let him see right off that she had her eyes closed and that tears were forming in both of them. He stepped back slightly and looked down, expecting the scars to be noticeable, and they were. Annie had her hands against her lower stomach, just above the black panties, but they came away easily when he took hold of her wrists and moved her hands aside.




Lip and Annie Ch. 09



The scar she had been hiding was wider and angrier than the others. Where the others were narrow stripes of light colored scar tissue, this one was wider and more uneven. The small scars left by staples were visible at irregularly spaced intervals on each side of the main scar. 

It seemed she had been trying in vain to cover it by pulling up the panties tightly, as he could see the material had begun to force its way between her labia.

Robert had relied on the sensation of touch by both his fingertips and lips, combined with a very brief peek at the vertical scar between her breasts to believe Annie's scars would be even worse than what he saw them to be. If only Annie could see them with his eyes, he thought.

He leaned forward and whispered again, "You look lovely Annie," before pulling her into his arms. His words seemed to act like the turning of a switch, as Annie slumped slightly in his arms. They also seemed to release her tears, as he felt them on his shoulder.

"I love you, and these scars aren't going to change that."

She pushed herself away from him so that her now open eyes could look into his before she said, "I love you too, Robert. More than you can know."

++++++++++++

15 minutes later they were lying on the bed holding each other. Very little had been said as they had used the time to simply hold each other. Annie had finally stopped crying and Robert had begun to kiss her, concentrating his attention on her lips, ears and neck. She was beginning to respond.

Annie was still wearing the black lingerie, but when Robert suggested that it was time to remove it, she began to assist him. It was apparent that she had made the decision to accept his assurance of his love for her. In just a few seconds she sat up before reaching behind her to undo the bra. When it was off she raised her hips to let Robert remove the bikini panties.

He began working his way down her body, leaving a trail of kisses as he went. He paid special attention to her breasts and they were soon displaying her interest as her nipples grew harder and the areolas surrounding them began to crinkle. As he came to her scars he gave each one his attention. 

When he got to the last one, the one that bothered Annie the most, he slowly kissed his way from one end of it to the other while using his fingers to begin gently working on her pussy. It didn't take long before he was able to begin transferring her wetness from her vagina to her clit, using his middle finger. He could tell he was meeting with success when she began to gently roll her hips as her wetness increased.

To Robert it seemed that Annie had made the decision to ignore her fears and place her complete trust in him. When he moved his hand to her thigh and gently tried to push it to the side, her resistance was only momentary. Switching the pressure to the other leg, he soon had her legs open and she was completely exposed to him. In seconds he had moved between her legs and his kisses had moved from her scar to her glistening lower lips.

In his description to Annie of the time he had spent with the four escorts, he hadn't told her of their decision to train him in pleasing a woman. Yvette and Tiffany in particular seemed to enjoy the competition of trying to teach him their special tricks for pleasing each other. They said he was a quick learner; he was hoping they had told him the truth.

It soon became apparent that he was doing something right, as Annie was quickly moaning and raising her hips, offering herself to him. Soon after she began to encourage him with, "Oh Robert, that's good. That's so good."

He was surprised at how quickly she had her first orgasm, and if the amount of pressure she applied to his head with her thighs was any indication, it was a strong one. When she relaxed, he moved up beside her and said, "I think you liked that, didn't you?"

She gave a little laugh, her first since she had shown him her scars. "That's by far the most sexual pleasure I've had in years."

Annie leaned over to give him a kiss, one that was very passionate and lasted for almost a minute. "I'd forgotten what I tasted like." She looked down, embarrassed by what she'd said, but continued, "I don't want you to think I was 'easy', but I used to have a normal appetite for sex, and I really enjoyed having a man make me come with his mouth." 

She looked up into Robert's eyes before she added, "I've never enjoyed it more than that. Thank you."

Robert was pleased, not just for her words, but for the fact that she seemed to have accepted his oral ministrations without obvious fear or flashbacks to her captivity. He decided it was probably because receiving oral sex hadn't been part of the memories she carried; her attacker hadn't had any thoughts of gratification other than of his own twisted desires.

After an extended period of kissing and fondling, Robert began his second trip down her body, moving to her breasts and bringing them once again into an obvious state of arousal. He was about to move further down when Annie stopped him.

"Come back up here, Robert. I want... I need to try... let me pleasure you."

It was obvious that she was nervous and unsure of how she would manage this, but she sat up beside him and moved to her knees beside his waist.

Robert reached out for her hand and said, "I don't want you doing anything you're not ready for. I've enjoyed pleasing you, and I think I can be patient for a while longer."

Annie gave him a nervous smile, but she didn't move back to lie beside him. Instead she took hold of the waistband of the pajama pants he was still wearing and tried to move them down. Robert raised his hips slightly to give her some assistance, and watched her closely for her reactions. 

He saw her nervously bite her lip before starting to remove his pajamas. When his erection became visible he could see that she avoided looking at it, instead continuing to remove the pajamas completely.

It was no longer possible for her to ignore his erection, and after looking at it for a few seconds she reached out slowly to take hold of it with her left hand. Although he knew she must be tormented inside, he couldn't see any clear signs on her face or in her actions. The soft touch of her hand made him even harder, something he hadn't thought possible. 

Her hand felt warm, and he was enjoying the pleasurable sensations her touch was giving him. Those sensations were doubled when she moved her right hand to join her left. He could feel her gently squeezing him, something that added to his pleasure. She leaned forward, and when he thought she was going to take him in her mouth he began to panic, realizing that if she did that he would likely come almost immediately.

At the last second she turned her face to the side so that she could hold his erection to her cheek. She knelt there for about a minute, time that he found enormously valuable, as it allowed him to get himself back under control and allow his imminent need to ejaculate to fade somewhat.

He was glad that he hadn't said anything to her, as he didn't want to interfere with whatever she felt she was capable of doing to get past her memories.

She soon moved, and this time she did take the end of his erection into her mouth for just a few seconds before she sat back up. He wondered if she had been bothered by the copious amounts of precome that were now leaking from his penis. There wasn't much time for him to consider that, as she began to move her hands up and down, slowly achieving a rhythm with her hand job that quickly brought him to the brink again.

"I'm going to come soon, Annie." This statement didn't change anything, as she slowly continued to firmly jerk him off. When his penis expanded it felt as though she was gripping him tighter, but they both knew what was really happening. She continued her motions as his whole body stiffened and he ejaculated his semen onto his chest and stomach.

Robert had been very vocal during the completion of the act, but he quickly came back to the here and now as he concentrated on Annie's face, trying to see if she was displaying any signs of discomfort. 

While he watched, he was able to see her face break into a smile. She was still slowly masturbating him, although he had begun to shrink, and she was only able to use her left hand now. When it was obvious that there was nothing left to spurt, dribble or leak from his depleted cock, she stopped.

"That went really well Robert!" He could see that she was actually excited. "I can hardly believe I was able to do that. I have lain awake here so many times, worried that we could never be here like this."

She looked down and could see that there was some of his semen on her fingers so she got up and said, "I'll be right back." She seemed almost giddy with excitement as she hurried naked from the room, headed to the bathroom across the hall. In less than a minute she was back with clean hands, a damp washcloth and a towel. She cleaned Robert's stomach and crotch and quickly returned the soiled cloth and towel to the bathroom.

During this time Robert had not said a thing. He was fascinated to watch her; he was amazed that she seemed to have forgotten her scars for the time she took to go back and forth to the bathroom.

When she returned to the bedroom he held out his arms and she fell into them, joining him on the bed. "Oh, Annie, I'm so glad that we've crossed that threshold." There was no need for her to reply.

The two of them lay face to face kissing and fondling each other. It didn't take Annie long to restore his erection to its excited state, and his fingers soon had her moaning into his mouth.

He rolled her onto her back and began kissing his way down her body once again, but this time he only got as far as her breasts before she said, "Now... do it now... please." She was tugging him up into a position face to face with her, and as she did that she spread her legs.

Robert placed the head of his erection between her labia and move forward until he had just entered her. He could feel her tense up and a stricken look crossed her face. He reached down and maneuvered the now slick head of his erection out of her vagina and slowly moved forward so that it slid up and over her clitoral hood. He began slowly repeating the movement, simulating what he had been doing earlier with his finger.

It wasn't too long before it worked, and the tension on her face began to dissipate. Her hips slowly began movement beneath him, and it became difficult for him to prevent himself from impaling her with his erection. His desire was certainly there, but he was still concerned that they might be proceeding too quickly for her to handle. 

His concern was proven to be unwarranted when after a couple of minutes of this form of foreplay she took matters into her own 'hands' when she hooked her heels behind his hips and pulled him completely into her.

"Stop teasing me Robert! Just do it. I want you." He could tell she was extremely wet with desire and he could feel and even hear it as he began to slowly piston in and out of her.

They both thought that they would love to continue this for a very long time, but it didn't work out that way as they both climaxed in just a couple of minutes.

++++++++++

The next morning Annie called Dr. Maier just after she got up and spent 10 minutes on the phone with her, locked in her bathroom while they spoke. Robert was able to hear the murmur of her voice, but had no idea what they spoke about. He only knew that it must have been good when Annie came out of the bathroom smiling from ear to ear.

"I have an appointment with Dr. Maier on Wednesday afternoon before I go to work, but I just couldn't wait until then to talk to her." Annie's grin got wider, but she didn't answer when he asked what they had talked about.

+++++++++++

Annie didn't go in to work that day; she was able to get one of the other nurses to cover her shift. Robert had to phone and rearrange a couple of appointments so he didn't have to leave until the next day. 

By then Annie's worries about her scars and Robert's concern about whether he and Annie could ever have a normal sexual relationship were both old news, erased by the day and a half that they had spent together, mostly naked and in bed.

Each of them felt a sense of relief, excited for their future.

To be continued



Lip and Annie Ch. 10



Late Wednesday afternoon Robert made a phone call to Dr. Maier from his home in Thunder Bay. Although he was sure that Annie was completely past her emotional problems, he decided to seek confirmation from her doctor.

"This is Dr. Maier."

"Hello, this is Robert Porter calling. I know that Annie had an appointment earlier this afternoon, and I'm wondering if I could speak to you about her."

He could hear a sharp intake of breath, even over the phone. "What is this about? Has this to do with what we discussed a while ago? Surely you aren't..."

Robert interrupted with, "Oh, no! I'm not thinking of breaking it off with Annie; I'm even more in love with her! I just wanted to know, if you can tell me, what you think about her... her mental state... now that we've been active sexually. I just wanted to know if you think we've gone too far, too fast."

Dr. Maier quickly answered, "Absolutely not! I'm so glad that Annie gave me permission to speak with you. I can assure you that she is doing fine, even better than I could have ever hoped. She is the happiest I've seen her in all the time that she has been my patient."

Dr. Maier had given Robert exactly what he was hoping to hear; complete reassurance. The two of them spoke for a couple of minutes before ending their call. It was Robert's turn to smile broadly after a telephone conversation with the doctor.

+++++++++

A few minutes later Robert was on the phone to his friend Fred. Annie had told him the night before during their longest telephone conversation ever that she was planning on coming up to spend the weekend with him in 10 days. She had suggested that perhaps Fred and Sherry might like to get together for supper again.

After they had exchanged greetings Robert said, "Hey, Fred. Annie is coming up the weekend after next. We wondered whether you and Sherry might like to join us for supper, I'm thinking Saturday night here at my condo."

His invitation was accepted, and when Robert suggested that maybe he should phone and talk to Sherry first, Fred just laughed, saying that she was right there beside him; she had moved in with him two weeks before.

++++++++

It was Friday and Robert was nervously waiting for Annie's arrival, anxious to be with her in the flesh, rather than by phone. When his intercom finally buzzed, announcing that someone was trying to contact him from the building entrance he was very quick to get to the speaker. The moment he heard Annie's voice he quickly pressed the door release to let her enter the building.

Annie must have hurried, because she was at his door in what seemed like just a few seconds. Robert managed to say, "Hi Annie," before she was in his arms and her lips were on his.

When their kiss ended, and they had exchanged more traditional verbal greetings, Robert picked up her suitcase and started carrying it down the hall towards the bedrooms.

He didn't want to appear that he was taking Annie for granted, and when he got to his bedroom door he stopped. "Did you...."

That was as far as he got before Annie said, "Of course, silly. You don't want to have to wash two sets of sheets, do you?"

They had set their course now, as in no time they had Annie's suitcase empty, her clothing in his closet and a couple of the dresser drawers, mixed together with his.

Robert had made a simple casserole for supper, something that he was able to leave heating in the oven while he waited for Annie to arrive. After their simple meal, followed by dessert and a leisurely half-hour spent in the living room enjoying an after dinner liqueur, Annie excused herself to have a shower and freshen up.

Half an hour later she called him to his bedroom where she met him dressed only in the lingerie that he had bought for her. She had dimmed the lights, and except for that one concession to her demons, she was as relaxed and open as she had been on their last day together in Duluth.

An hour later Robert emerged naked from the bedroom and quickly made the rounds of his condo to shut off the lights. He seemed to be in a hurry to get back to his bedroom.

The next day they emerged late from the bedroom and spent the first part of the day relaxing around the condominium. Later in the day they started preparing the meal they intended to share with Fred and Sherry that evening. Annie would make lasagna, and Robert would handle the Caesar salad, garlic bread and dessert. 

Their tasks kept them occupied for several hours after which they changed for supper and then spent a pleasant half-hour with a glass of wine each while they waited for their company.

Their shared supper with Fred and Sherry had been enjoyable, and Robert sent the two ladies to the living room with a glass of wine each while he cleared the table under the watchful supervision of Fred. He had convinced the two women that since it was his condo, he knew where everything had to go. It hadn't taken too much convincing to get them to go and relax with their drinks in hand.

Robert was busy loading the dishwasher when Fred said, "I guess you're not going to argue about Annie being your girlfriend, now are you? While I was telling you about how Sherry and I had decided to move in together, I heard her whispering to Sherry that the two of you were practicing being a... couple."

Robert looked up sharply when he heard Fred's words, because he had missed the conversation that Fred was referring to. "Annie said that, did she? I wasn't sure if I should mention she and I were getting that close. Obviously I didn't need to worry about what she would think if I said something."

He laughed and glanced towards the living room before continuing, "You probably realize I've never had a girlfriend before; that's pretty common knowledge, I think. I can't tell you how much it means to me that Annie and I have hit it off so well."

Fred smiled back and replied, "All I can say is that we are blessed with two very good looking women, Lip." He smiled conspiratorially and quietly added, "I'm seriously thinking of popping the question to Sherry very soon. I've never met anyone else that I've felt this way about."

Robert smiled and said, "I know what you mean Fred, I know what you mean."

The rest of the weekend was as pleasurable for Robert and Annie as Friday night had been, however their parting on Monday morning wasn't easy for either of them. 

+++++++++

A month later Robert and Annie were entering their room at Bally's Hotel and Casino. It seemed to be at the heart of the Las Vegas strip and wasn't very far from where the tournament he was entered in would be held.

"Well, what do you think of it Annie? Is this room going to be okay for the next 14 days?"

Annie had quickly checked over the amenities and soon replied, "This room is great! Lots of space and the bathroom is just fantastic." She gave him a wicked grin and added, "I hope you don't get too tired out at the poker tables, because it has a lovely shower that will hold two very comfortably."

He took her in his arms and they were soon well on their way to losing track of time. He finally broke their kiss and said, "We need to get unpacked and put everything away. I have to go over and see which day I play in the first round. No matter how it works out we'll have the other three days of first-round play open to do whatever we want."

"I hope I can get into tomorrow's session. At least we'll know quickly whether I have to worry about being around for the rest of the tournament. Not that I'm expecting to get knocked out in the first round. I mean, I hope that doesn't happen." His nerves were a little frayed, and he noticed that his speech was being affected.

++++++++

Robert had managed to get into the Saturday session, and he was somewhat glad that Annie had insisted he get a good nights rest. He could see that several of the other players at his first table seemed to have spent the night partying, at least judging by their bloodshot eyes.

The day progressed better than he had hoped, and he managed to end the day without being knocked out. In fact he had a respectable number of chips to carry forward to the next level the following Wednesday. The winners from the Saturday and Sunday sessions would be playing together to weed out more of the players prior to a further consolidation on Friday.

By prior arrangement he phoned Annie, and they decided to meet back at their room. She was waiting there for him when he walked in.

"Robert, you made it! I'm so glad that you survived the first round. How did it go?"

Robert had been sitting for most of the day, and he was quite happy to remain standing for a while, so he simply removed his shoes before replying, "I think it went great, Annie. I've got almost four times the 30,000 in tournament chips that I started with, and I know that there were people at my last table who had very few left. I managed to avoid any bad beats, anyway."

Annie was very interested and quickly asked, "What was your best hand? Did you have any really good hands where you really cleaned up?"

Robert laughed and answered, "I had a couple of really good hands today. I got pocket aces twice, and both times an ace was turned on the flop. Both hands did very well for me. I knocked two people out of the tournament the first time. A small pair flopped with the ace, and my Full House was golden."

"The second time my set of aces didn't do as well for me, as I think most people figured me for only a pair of aces, and nobody else had a good hand. One guy didn't believe I had trip Aces and stayed with two pair, aces and threes. I got quite a bit of his stack."

Annie knew that Robert was quite tired, worn out from his stressful day, so she didn't argue when after dinner he had a shower and went to bed. She joined him, both of them naked, and when she could see that he was wiped out, was content to cuddle and then spoon up to him when he drifted off to sleep.

The next morning Robert woke up refreshed and horny, spooned up behind Annie. When he began playing with her breasts she woke up too, and they soon decided to share the shower. They had already been together for a shower in Robert's condo ensuite bathroom, and knew what they both liked when it came to sharing a shower. 

The only thing that was still off limits for Annie was anything that suggested anal sex to her; this meant that they were a little limited in what they could do in the shower as approaching her from behind was off the menu. Being inventive, though, they both managed a climax under the spray of warm water.

Robert and Annie spent Sunday touring the nearby casinos, even spending half an hour in one of their poker rooms playing their usual Limit Holdem game. Between them they broke even, as Annie was ahead by the $30 that Robert was short.

They had supper at a dinner theater that featured a topless review. By the end of the show their meals were finished and they had come to agreement that one of the hiring requirements for the dancers was a minimum D sized chest. They couldn't agree on how many of the ladies were sporting silicone enhancements. 

Robert did manage to gain a few points when he told Annie that he wouldn't trade hers for any of the ones on display. She flushed a pleasant shade of pink when his comment was obviously overheard by the couple at the next table, but she calmed down when he reminded her that What Happens in Vegas....

Later, after enjoying a glass of wine and a beer in the piano bar of their hotel, they returned to their room. It was obvious that Robert was nervous about something once they entered the room, and Annie gave him a couple of worried looks before he took her hand and seated her on the bed beside him.

Robert swallowed twice as he worked to get his speech under control. Finally he took both of Annie's hands. There was still a look of concern on her face, but he didn't really notice that.

"Annie, I'm not sure how to go about this, but I need to know something." He swallowed again before he continued, ignoring the look he was getting from her, "I love you very much, Annie, and I believe you love me too. I... I would like... Annie, would you marry me?"

Robert felt like his heart had stopped as he waited for an answer from Annie. She had listened to his question, but it almost seemed that she didn't understand it. The look on her face had quickly changed from concern, to shock, and then to the most wonderful smile that seemed to take over her entire face.

After what seemed like forever to Robert, but really was probably no more than a handful of seconds Annie answered, "Oh, Robert! I will!" Her face seemed to cloud over and she continued, "Are you sure? Are you sure you really want to marry me?" Concern quickly washed over her face as she waited for him to answer.

Robert instantly answered, "I've never been so sure of anything in my life, Annie. I know we haven't known each other for even close to a year yet, but I know you're the one for me." As he held her hands he leaned forward to gently brush his lips across hers.

Annie moved quickly into his arms and said, "I never expected this! What made you ask me this now?"

Tears of joy had appeared in their eyes, and Robert answered her by saying, "Las Vegas has a reputation for something else besides casinos. When I was looking into hotels and things to see and do while we were here, I kept running into the websites for wedding chapels and information on getting married here."

He continued, "I thought that maybe... perhaps we could get married while we're here. What would you think of that idea? We could go out tomorrow and find an engagement ring and matching wedding bands. It wouldn't be hard to make all the arrangements. All we need is $55 for the license, and someone to marry us."

The tears coming from Annie's eyes contrasted greatly with the big smile on her face. "I think you have a great idea!"

She hesitated a moment before saying, "I... I'm not sure... I guess it would be okay to get married here, and then let my parents know when we get back."

Robert quickly answered, "I have already been thinking about that. What would you think if we phone your parents as well as my sister and her boyfriend to tell him what we plan to do, and see if they can attend? I think I'd like to invite Fred and Sherry as well."

"I would bet that we could find tickets on the Internet to get them all here for, oh say, next Saturday. We could plan on a wedding in the morning, in case I am still in the tournament that afternoon."

Annie had grabbed him around the neck so tightly that he had to loosen her arms before he continued, "If I've been knocked out of the tournament by that time, we could probably change it to an afternoon wedding. Would that work, do you think?"

Annie was bouncing around by this time, happier than he had seen her in the entire time he had known her. She quickly responded with, "Yes! Yes! That would be wonderful if we could arrange it. Oh, Robert, I love you."

The next hour was spent on a series of phone calls back and forth between Robert and Annie and their families. It was fortunate that his sister had some open vacation time that she planned to use to attend the wedding, and Annie's parents were so happy that they would probably have canceled anything to attend.

It was going to be a little more awkward for Fred and Sherry. When they were invited Fred said, "I have to talk to Sherry when she gets back from the supermarket, but we'll find a way to get some time off. We wouldn't want to miss this for anything, Lip, I mean Robert. Count us in!"

It was agreed that Robert would arrange for all of the tickets in their names, and they would reimburse him when they arrived. Within an hour he had flights from Toronto, Thunder Bay and Minneapolis for their guests, and they were able to finally relax a bit.

After a quick shower together the two of them jumped into bed naked and began planning their wedding details. Robert had already checked out everything on the Internet, and after a bit of discussion they were agreed on what they would be doing the next day; getting a license, looking at rings and choosing a chapel. With that decided, they spent the next hour consummating their engagement.

Monday was spent taking care of the arrangements that they knew had to be completed if they were going to be getting married. Neither of them wanted to have a quickie ceremony at a drive-in chapel; both of them wanted a real minister and a tasteful chapel. 

By the end of the afternoon they had arrangements made for a 10 a.m. service with the option of moving it to the afternoon with reasonable notice. Annie had found an engagement ring she fell in love with, and they would be picking it up the next day after it was resized. They agreed on plain gold wedding bands and those were being engraved, to be picked up the next day as well.

That evening they were enjoying a pleasant supper in one of the fancier restaurants in the hotel. They had just been served their dessert when Annie said, "Something has been bugging me today." When she saw a look of concern on Robert's face she quickly added, "It's nothing to worry about. It's just that I think maybe I should invite Dr. Maier to our wedding, as well."

"She has been such a big help to me. She's become almost like an older sister or an aunt. Would you be okay with that?" Annie had taken Robert's hand while she spoke, and she now sat quietly waiting for his answer.

"I think that would be wonderful, Annie. You aren't the only one that owes her something; without her help I'm sure I would never have gotten to meet you. I'm certain you would never have agreed to go for supper with me that first night without her having gotten you to that point. Hell, I bet you wouldn't have even been there playing poker without her help."

Annie looked down at her hands and lost her smile as she answered, "You are 100% right. Without her help I have no idea where I would be right now."

She looked up at a big smile came across her face as she continued, "I know I wouldn't be sitting here in a Las Vegas Hotel dining room with my fiancé."

With the decision made, Annie used her cell phone to call the doctor at home. She had called her private number many times in the past when a crisis occurred for her. This time the doctor was overjoyed to receive her call, and quickly agreed to try rearranging her schedule so that she could attend with her husband.

+++++++++

The past few days passed by in a whirlwind of activity. After picking up their rings they spent the rest of the day seeing Hoover dam, Lake Mead and other sites including taking a helicopter tour of the area. It was a busy day for both of them, and they ended the day with tickets to a musical review at the hotel next to theirs. Both of them were happy to see their room at the end of the day.

Robert left the next morning for a continuation session of the poker tournament. He was very tired when he returned to their room after the end of the evening session. He had made it through another day, but his chip stack was below average compared to the other survivors. 

Annie had spent the day by the pool, wearing a one-piece suit she had purchased earlier in the week at Robert's insistence. It was more modest than Robert would have preferred, but it covered her scars almost completely. He didn't push too hard because he was more than happy to have her move past another barrier.

Only the scars on her arms and the upper few inches of the one down her chest were visible, and it didn't seem that anyone had noticed them. She was quite pleased by that, and even happier that she had picked up a bit of a tan beneath the sunscreen she wore. Just before she returned to the room she even got up the courage to enter the pool and do a few laps.

Thursday was another day off for Robert while the remaining first-round winners played to complete the roster of Friday players. On Friday everyone who was still in the tournament would play together. They spent another day touring the city, its casinos, and enjoying two more of the many shows that were available.




Lip and Annie Ch. 10



+++++++++

It was about four in the afternoon on Friday when Annie received a call from Robert. She was at the pool again, and he told her he would put on the swimsuit he had purchased the day she got hers and would join her at the pool.

"I guess you must have been knocked out of the tournament, Robert." Annie was looking a little sad as he pulled up a chaise beside her.

Robert gave her a chuckle before saying, "I sure was, Annie. I'm just amazed that I made it as far as I did." He pulled a piece of paper out of his wallet that he had set on the table beside them. He passed it to Annie with a smile on his face.

Annie unfolded it before exclaiming, "Oh wow, Robert! You won over $16,000? How did you manage that?"

"I was somewhere in the 200-300 range of finishers, I think. I wasn't really paying that much attention once they told me they had a check for me. Especially once I saw how much it was. I figured I was in the money, but I didn't think I was there long enough to make this much. It's not bad for a free entry, anyway."

There wasn't much time to discuss what they could do with his winnings, as there were a lot of things to do if they were going to be getting married in the morning.

They were able to arrange to have the ceremony rescheduled for 2 p.m., a time that seemed more traditional. All of their guests were arriving early in the evening, the latest being his sister and Mike. They decided to reserve a table for all of them to have a late supper. The rooms they had reserved for their guests were all within a floor of theirs, so coordinating everything once everyone arrived at the airport was simple.

+++++++

The ten of them were seated in a small private dining room, one that was meant for occasions such as this. Robert had finally had the chance to meet Dr. Maier, who was a 50-ish short blonde woman with a very good sense of humor away from her office. Her husband was a little more reserved, but very likable. They were a diverse group that got along as though they had known each other for years.

Patty really took to Annie, just as Robert expected she would. There were tears shed on both sides when they met. In fact there were tears of happiness apparent in almost all of their eyes at one time or another, with the exception of Franz Maier, the doctor's husband.

At the end of the meal Patty stood and said, "I would like to make a toast to my brother and his wonderful fiancée, Annie. The two of you have made me so very happy to be able to make this toast to you now. I just wish our parents could be here now to share the joy."

The toasts came one after the other, as each of them found a cause to celebrate. Robert took the last one and stood to say, "I would like to propose a toast to Annie's parents. They have raised the most wonderful daughter. Thank you both for letting me make her my wife." 

Robert almost expected his soon-to-be father to make some joke, but Angus was far from in a joke cracking mood. There were tears in his eyes as he got up from the table to embrace Robert and say, "Welcome to our family, Robert. You're the son we never had."

++++++++++

The entire group got together again for a pre-wedding brunch, a relaxed affair for everyone but the nervous bride and groom. Annie was able to count on the other women for help with her case of anxiety, as all of them left after the meal to help her get ready. Poor Robert was left to the not so tender mercies of the other men who kidded him repeatedly until it was time to go to the chapel.

With Fred and Dr. Maier as their attendants, at just after 2:10 p.m. the simple ceremony arrived at its climax. In front of their eight guests and the white-haired minister who performed the service there was this simple exchange:

"I do," said Robert, in perfect tone.

"I do," repeated Annie, her smile providing reinforcement.

After a brief consultation with his new bride Robert announced that they had decided to use some of Robert's winnings to treat their wedding guests to supper and one of the popular shows Vegas is known for. The supper was made all the more memorable when Fred and Sherry announced before the meal that he had proposed just after the wedding and Sherry had accepted. They were tentatively agreed on having their wedding the following June. 

Robert and Annie stayed on in Vegas for several more days, time spent sightseeing and behaving like newlyweds while their guests all returned home on flights leaving Sunday evening. 

Epilogue

During the course of the next five years Robert quickly made a permanent move from Thunder Bay to Duluth. Once he got his green card he was able to fully establish his business in Minnesota. He still had customers in Canada, but in his line of work it was easy to look after them from nearly any location.

The website started by Yvette, Denise, Tiffany and Blanche still existed, but it had undergone several more changes over the years. Yvette, Denise and Tiffany had been replaced by Nicole, Eden, Laura and Anthony. The four new owners of the site kept the original format, but all of them had supplied their own unique material for its content. The site no longer supplied much of Robert's total income, but he kept it for old time's sake.

Annie was working part time, filling in on occasional shifts when they could arrange that Robert would be able to spend time at home while she was away.

This arrangement was necessary because neither of them wanted daycare for their three children. The twin girls, Greta Louise and Patricia Ann, had just turned four, and their little brother Robert Angus was almost two. 

Their doting grandparents as well as their Aunt Patty and Uncle Mike made regular trips to Duluth to visit with the children, and their parents.

Robert and Annie both realized that while they had met across a poker table, their loving relationship was no gamble.

The End.