Back to Chapter 19
Chapter 20 - January in Davenport
Mike and Ruthie left early the following morning to return to the
university. Mike was very relieved to be headed back to Davenport,
because the atmosphere at home totally depressed him. More importantly,
the on-going conversations between his girlfriend and his father had
made him extremely nervous. He was creeped-out by the relationship that
had developed between those two, and by the fact that Ruthie totally
loved a lot of his father�s favorite music. She rolled her eyes at most
of the Heavy Metal Mike liked to listen to, and yet was totally
enthralled by that dead �70�s stuff of Mr. Sinclair.
The trip was very tense, because Ruthie was extremely moody, sullen, and
quiet. Her emotions were in turmoil over her father�s efforts to make up
to her through giving her money, her mother losing it and kicking her
out of their apartment, and her wistful conversations with her
boyfriend�s dad. She fidgeted in the car and nervously looked down,
because she was unable to articulate everything that was going on in her
mind.
Now that she was out of Mike�s house and away from his family, Ruthie
had time to think about her own situation and the fight with her mother.
She felt both guilty and resentful over what had happened. She had not
meant to hit her mother, but at the same time she felt that Do�a Lisette
had it coming for striking her across the face. She knew that her mother
would never see it that way. The church was very adamant; the duties of
good parents included physical discipline when necessary. According to
that line of thinking, Do�a Lisette simply was acting within her
obligation as a mother and in Ruthie�s interests when she slapped her
for swearing.
Ruthie still was devastated by her mother�s order to get out of her
apartment, but deep down she knew that within a few days Do�a Lisette
would call her up, expect her to apologize, and the incident would pass.
She knew it would be that way, because twice before the same thing had
happened. Ruthie simply went over to her cousins� place to wait until
her mother�s temper calmed down. When she apologized, she was told to
return home. She deeply resented having to apologize for something that
she felt was not her fault. However, just like the business of
pretending she still was a Christian, Ruthie was accustomed to making
false apologies to get along with her mother. Anyhow, she had no choice.
When classes were not in session, Ruthie still needed a place to stay
and her mother�s apartment was the only option she had.
In spite of the hurt she felt at the moment, Ruthie tried to look at her
mother in a fair manner. Do�a Lisette was indeed a difficult person to
deal with, but in her own way she did love her daughter and tried to be
as supportive as possible within the limitations of her sparse
education, unpleasant life experiences, religious brainwashing, and
economic difficulties. Even the topic of the latest fight was a reminder
that Do�a Lisette had given Ruthie more freedom than her uncle had given
to her cousin Rosa. Ruthie�s mother did not object when she left home to
go to college. Ruthie did not have to run away to pursue her ambitions,
while Rosa did.
Ruthie knew that her uncle also was furious at her, but as far as he was
concerned, that was just too bad. Unlike her mother, she felt no
obligation to apologize to her uncle. In reality she did not need him
anymore, because the two cousins she had been close to, Gerardo and
Rosa, no longer were living in his house. Gerardo was tied up with his
wife and new baby, and Rosa was gone, probably for good. Meanwhile, the
two younger cousins had turned into obnoxious delinquents. Her uncle and
what remained of his household could go to Hell.
Mostly to break his girlfriend�s silence, Mike suggested having
breakfast in Santa Cruz. Upon leaving the restaurant, they spent a very
long time browsing through the used music stores in search of the titles
Ruthie wanted. He obligingly bought her several CD�s, including a
greatest hits collection from Kansas. In a slight act of rebellion he
insisted on playing one of his Queensryche CD�s on the final stretch of
the journey northward. If Ruthie wanted to listen to his father�s music,
she�d have to do it on her own time.
----------
Mike and Ruthie returned to his dorm and set up to live as a couple for
the next week and a half. She had everything she needed to make herself
at home in Mike�s room. The best part of the arrangement, as far as she
was concerned, was that Mike was at his job in training from 7:30 until
5:00. That meant that he left at 7:00 and was not back until 5:30. There
was no one else on the floor, so Ruthie had not only the room, but the
entire floor to herself.
During the week before the staff arrived, Ruthie did what she most
enjoyed doing, wandering around the building completely naked. She loved
to walk up and down the hallways stretching her legs and go into places
she normally would be prohibited from entering, such as the offices, the
supply rooms, and the men�s bathrooms. There was a room with some old
gym equipment, so Ruthie did not need to go outside or get dressed to
exercise. About mid-day she got on one of the treadmills and measured
three miles walking and half-heartedly jogging. She finished up with a
few arm exercises on another machine�nothing overly strenuous, just
enough to wear off stress. She wished that she had access to the
university pool, but the Rec Center was closed during vacation and
anyhow, she would have been required to wear a swimsuit.
Ruthie was happy to not have to deal with Mike during the days, but she
tried to have everything set up to make his life as pleasant as possible
when he came back in the evenings. As soon as he left the room, she
straightened it and cleaned whatever clothing was dirty from the day
before. The dorm had a kitchenette, so every afternoon Ruthie cooked
dinner. Instead of eating in his room, they ate in one of the study
rooms where they could sit properly at a table. He undressed before
eating, and after their nude meal the two students showered together. He
was grateful for the dinners and happy to think that he was getting a
glimpse of his future domestic life with his girlfriend. To be able to
enjoy a week of �normal� living with Ruthie made Mike love her even
more. He became convinced that eventually he would want to propose to
her.
When she was not wandering the hallways or exercising or cooking, Ruthie
relaxed. For hours she lay on her bed in Mike�s room masturbating and
listening to her new collection of �70s music. She especially liked the
songs that had long instrumental parts, because her imagination could
wander into other realities. Her mind drifted through the earth�s past:
sometimes she was standing on a cliff watching pterodactyls soaring over
the inland sea, and sometimes she was wandering along the Devonian
shoreline picking up trilobites from the shallow waters. Sometimes she
imagined herself as a naked Phoenician dancing girl, her body standing
out in front of the flames of a Temple fire as the entire city admired
her. Other times she pictured herself as a servant girl in ancient
Egypt, with nothing covering her body except a collar and a thin belt
around her waist, kneeling and waiting on a Divine queen. Other times
she imagined herself as a naked Druid priestess, her bare body shivering
in the cold fog of prehistoric England.
By the end of the week she had spent so much time in the nude that she
had ceased to notice it. From Tuesday to Thursday she never left the
building, which meant during that entire time not once did she have to
put anything on. It was delicious to be able to live like that, but by
the end of the third day being nude felt totally normal. It was lucky
that the weather outside was overcast and cold, or she would have been
very tempted to go out undressed and wander naked around the deserted
university. Even so, if she was reasonably sure that no grounds-keepers
were outside, every so often she succumbed to temptation and did a quick
streak around the dorm. She returned after just a couple of minutes of
running around Mike�s building, winded and covered with goose-bumps.
----------
Ruthie�s mother called three days after she returned to Davenport. She
was crying, but did not say anything other than asking if Ruthie had
safely returned to the university. Ruthie wanted to say: �well�I�m here,
aren�t I?� Instead she knew that it was up to her to bring up the topic
of the fight and punching her mother�s arm. Ruthie took a deep breath
and apologized for the punch, saying that she did not know what got into
her. Her mother responded:
�Ruthie, you do know what got into to you. You let the Devil speak to
you.�
Ruthie tensed up, but responded: ��yes Mom�I�ve been praying for Jesus
to forgive me�and�I�I�m asking you to forgive me too.�
�You know it�s gonna be hard for me�because of what you did to me��
�I�m sorry Mom�I don�t know what else to say. I was wrong for hitting
you.�
The conversation continued along those lines for a few minutes, as Do�a
Lisette tried to make Ruthie feel as guilty as possible over what had
happened the prior week. Ruthie shook from anger and frustration, but
she managed to play along until her mother �reluctantly� accepted her
apology. Finally Do�a Lisette hung up, satisfied that her daughter fully
understood the terrible thing she had done.
Ruthie sat quiet on Mike�s bed for several minutes, trembling with
impotence and rage. She stood up and with all her strength threw her
cell phone against the wall. The case broke and the battery fell out.
For several minutes she stared at the device as it lay on the floor.
Finally she picked it up what remained. She noted that not only was the
back cover broken off, but also the screen was cracked.
Great�just what I needed�to have to buy a new cell phone�
----------
While Ruthie was relaxing in the empty dorm, Sam spent the week teaching
Mike the remaining details of the duties that the student needed to know
to be his alternate. They were able to concentrate on the technical
parts of the job because meter collections had dropped to almost
nothing. There were a few meters near the alumni center and the
admissions office that still were being paid, but otherwise the parking
lots were totally empty. Sam showed Mike how to fill in logbooks and
place orders for supplies and how to account for money paid out to
contractors for repairs and replacement meters. It was a lot to
remember, because Sam was showing Mike how to do all parts of his job,
not just collecting meter money. Most of it was tedious, but Mike knew
that it certainly would look good on a r�sum�.
As Mike gained his trust, Sam showed him some additional details about
the university. For example, he showed his prot�g� the locations of all
of the campus security cameras. Some of the cameras were turned on and
some of them had been put up for show and were not even connected. Sam
told Mike which cameras were which and how to tell if a security camera
had been activated. It was rather strange information, but Sam pointed
out that he knew of several incidences of students getting assaulted
right in front of cameras that were not turned on. He pointed out a
couple of places the campus police officers liked to hide out and rest,
when they were supposed to be patrolling. He added with a sarcastic
smile:
�If you�re thinking of doing anything naughty with your girl, now you
know where to go and where to avoid.�
Once again, Sam had made a comment that left Mike wondering what, if
anything, he was hinting at.
----------
During the week they had the dorm to themselves, Ruthie and Mike had sex
every night. However, what they did together was changing now that
massage had been added to their foreplay. Ruthie normally massaged Mike
prior to sex. Because she wanted to shorten the intercourse portion of
their sexual contact as much as possible, she got him aroused and hard
before she let him get on top of her. He thrust vigorously, but then
climaxed quickly. When he was done Ruthie breathed a sigh of relief.
Then it was Mike�s turn to massage Ruthie. While massaging aroused Mike,
being touched put Ruthie to sleep. It was comforting to fall asleep
under the touches of the man who loved her. Mike did not complain,
because he enjoyed looking at and touching her naked body, especially
her bottom and thighs.
Mike still did not grasp that Ruthie did not enjoy having him inside
her; that she viewed allowing him to enter her as a chore she had to
fulfill as her duty to the relationship. Ruthie continued to be angry at
herself that she did not enjoy sex with Mike, but she had accepted her
situation and continued to keep it secret from her boyfriend.
----------
The Housing Department staff returned from vacation the second Saturday
after New Year�s Day. The directors set up in their offices and the RA�s
took up residence in their rooms. The cleaning staff was back at work,
preparing the buildings for the influx of students who would be showing
up a few days later. The return of the housing staff meant Ruthie�s
temporary refuge suddenly shrank to Mike�s room. With other people
running around the hallways, the freedom of running around in the nude
that she had enjoyed for five days quickly ended. Starting on Saturday,
she sullenly put on her clothes every time she left the room, totally
resenting the imposition society was placing on her.
The following Monday Ruthie returned to her own dorm to see what her
living arrangements were going to be for the spring semester. She was
desperately hoping that she could keep the room that she currently had
to herself, but of course that was not to be. The receptionist told her
that she would remain on the fifth floor, but that she would have to
move to another room that she would share with a senior called Jen
Gordon.
Ruthie cringed at the thought of losing her privacy, but if Jen was a
senior, hopefully she would be more serious and more compatible than
Shannon. The fact that Jen was living on a floor of graduate students
was a sign that, even if she was not compatible, at least she would be
quiet.
The receptionist gave Ruthie a key to her new room and told her to have
her stuff moved within 24 hours. Sighing with frustration, Ruthie went
upstairs, sadly looked at the room that had been her private space for a
short time, and piled her stuff on a push-cart. When she entered the
other room, it was clear that Jen had been there since the previous
semester. Her side of the room was neatly organized. She had a lot of
books and numerous photos of herself with classmates and relatives on
her desk. There were posters and pictures on her section of the wall of
some of the most beautiful landscapes Ruthie had ever seen. Several of
the posters had �New Zealand� written on them. Ruthie picked up some
envelopes from her roommate�s desk. A couple of the envelopes had New
Zealand stamps and return addresses.
That�s another positive sign, thought Ruthie. It looks like Jen�s not
from the US. Maybe this won�t be so bad after-all.
----------
Jen showed up three days later, struggling with a couple of suitcases.
She introduced herself and mentioned that had flown in from Vancouver,
Canada, where she had spent Christmas with some friends. She was a bit
taller than Ruthie, with reddish-brown hair and blue eyes.
From the beginning Ruthie could tell that she had much more in common
with her new roommate than she had with Shannon. She was dressed in
jeans and an old baggy sweater, so it was apparent fashion was not a
concern in her life. Under her baggy clothing Ruthie could tell that
Jen�s figure was more filled out than her own; more European-looking and
more voluptuous. Like Ruthie, Jen wore no make-up. Later Ruthie would
find out that Jen was 25, and that she had taken several years off to
work before entering the university in Aukland.
Jen was spending a year in California on a university exchange program.
She spoke with what seemed to Ruthie a strange accent that was sort of,
but not quite, British. She did not seem very friendly, but in a way
that was totally different from the way Shannon had been. Jen�s
personality was quiet and stand-offish instead of abrasive and
belligerent. She was the sort of person that took a long time to warm up
to a stranger, but if one gave her time and space, eventually she would
open up and become more social. Later she would confess to Ruthie one of
the many things that totally irritated her about the US was the habit of
people being friendly on the surface without taking a real interest in
her. A pet peeve of hers was the American habit of saying �hello� by
asking �how�s everything going?� As she put it:
�I don�t want you to ask me how my bloody day is going, unless you
really need to know.�
One detail was very clear from the start: like Ruthie, Jen did not like
noise. The two roommates discussed their feelings about noise and
discovered they were in perfect agreement about having a quiet room. It
turned out that Jen had the same problem with a noisy roommate the
previous semester that Ruthie had. The only difference was she was a lot
more forceful about objecting to her roommate�s noise than Ruthie had
been with Shannon, so Jen had open fights with her roommate from the
very beginning of the previous semester.
Jen admitted that she was worried about having Ruthie as her new
roommate because she was a freshman, but the dorm director had told her
that Ruthie was a scholarship student and �nerdy enough for you, I�m
sure.� Ruthie did not appreciate what the dorm director had said about
her, but there wasn�t much she could do about it.
After Jen had unpacked, Ruthie found out there was a specific reason her
roommate wanted the room quiet. She laid out some art supplies on her
desk and set to work on an illustration she had worked on over
Christmas. It was clear she wanted to concentrate on the drawing and
that she did not want any interruptions. Ruthie could feel an invisible
wall of silence surrounding Jen as she was drawing. She said nothing
more.
Well, at least if nothing else, Ruthie would be able to study in peace
in her own room. She decided that she would gradually continue moving
her stuff out of Mike�s dorm, which eventually would include her
computer.
----------
The semester began the day after Jen showed up. Ruthie decided to cut
back her hours at the coffee shop and take a full load of classes,
because she was concerned that semester could very well be her last at
Davenport State University. She still left every morning at 4:30 to open
at 5:00, but requested that her shift end at 10:00 instead of 11:00 so
she could make it to a morning class. Her manager was not at all happy
about her request, but Ruthie knew he was stuck with her because no one
else would be willing to open.
Mike accompanied her to the bookstore and helped her carry heavy sacks
bulging with overpriced books to his room, where she sorted and
organized them by class. For the first three nights of the semester she
stayed overnight with Mike. He was elated, hoping that she no longer was
interested in using her own room and was planning to live with him.
However, she had not made up her mind about what to do living with her
older, distant roommate. Finally, on the third day after classes
started, she told Mike that she apologized for the imposition that she
had placed on him and that she would once again start sleeping in her
own room. She could tell that he was hugely disappointed. However, the
direction of their relationship was making her increasingly nervous
because she still had not worked out what exactly she felt for him or
what were her expectations for their future.
Ruthie returned to the fifth floor of her dorm with a backpack full of
books and notebooks. The room was so quiet that she thought Jen must be
out. However, when she opened the door, her new roommate was working on
one of her drawings. She was totally absorbed in her work and did not
look up. However, she acknowledged Ruthie�s entrance by waving a brush
and then returned to her work.
In spite of Jen�s minimal greeting, Ruthie was both shocked and
heartened by the fact that her roommate was wearing nothing but a black
t-shirt. From the waist down she was completely naked. She made no
effort to cover up, nor did she offer Ruthie any explanation about her
state of undress. She simply continued working on her drawing.
Ruthie wasn�t sure what to do. She had been careful not to be naked
around Shannon, but it was apparent that Jen wouldn�t mind given that
she was sitting at her desk bottomless.
Ruthie decided to test her new roommate. Her heart was pounding as she
took off her clothes and wrapped a towel around herself to take a
shower. She spent several long minutes in the bathroom getting cleaned
up and brushing her teeth, and nerving herself to return to her room and
see how Jen would react if she remained naked while she was studying.
Finally she did go back. She hung up her towel, spread her books on her
bed, and pretended to study. Jen seemed not to take notice of her and
continued working on her art project.
After a few minutes Ruthie�s nervousness wore off and she was actually
able to concentrate. Jen finally finished her project for the night and
put away her art supplies. She stood up and rummaged through her closet
while Ruthie admired her voluptuous bottom�white and full and
well-rounded, and her sexy thighs. Jen casually stripped off her shirt
and wrapped a towel around herself. She left the room for a few minutes
to get cleaned up. Ruthie remained naked on her bed, waiting to see what
would happen when her roommate returned. When Jen came back in, Ruthie�s
heart pounded again. Jen cast a casual glance in her direction and
commented:
�I see that you don�t fancy wearing knickers either?�
Ruthie looked up and shook her head. �Not really�you don�t mind me
studying like this?�
�No, of course not. Why should I mind?�
Jen said nothing more. She put on a clean t-shirt but remained
completely uncovered from the waist down. For several minutes she
wandered about her side of the room getting ready for an early class the
next day. Ruthie watched her, once again admiring her large white bottom
and feeling the urge to run her hands over its soft smooth skin. Jen
seemed not to notice. She turned out her light and got in bed.
Ruthie stood up to put her books away. She suspected that Jen would say
something if she left her side of the room disorganized, and the last
thing she wanted was to offend a roommate with whom she had so much in
common. So�it seemed that for once Ruthie had lucked out; that around
Jen she could do what she most enjoyed doing.
She turned out her light. For several minutes she lay naked on top of
her bed, enjoying the thought that she could be undressed around someone
other than Mike. She glanced over at Jen, vaguely wishing that she had
not pulled the covers over herself. Finally, she pulled the sheet over
her own body and went to sleep.
----------
The two women settled into their nightly routine within their first week
together. Jen was never very talkative, but Ruthie figured out that was
just her roommate�s personality and nothing specifically directed
against her. Anyhow, Jen�s detached behavior was her only bad point. In
everything else it turned out the two women were totally compatible.
They both needed silence in the room to work on their respective
assignments, they were asleep well before midnight, and neither was a
partier. Like Ruthie, Jen had a boyfriend, but she never invited him
into the room.
Jen had a nightly ritual that would have seemed strange to most people,
but Ruthie found it very appealing. The room they shared overlooked the
edge of campus and had an unobstructed view of the Pacific Ocean. Just
before she went to sleep, Jen liked to open the window and spend some
time "unwinding" before going to bed, by quietly looking at the night
sky and reflecting on life. During her "unwinding" time, she was
perfectly quiet and asked Ruthie to be quiet during those moments as
well. She put her hands on the window sill and just stood silent.
Within a couple of days of moving in, Ruthie joined Jen during the
minutes of "unwinding". While Jen leaned out the window, Ruthie quietly
sat on the bed right behind her. It became a nightly ritual that the two
women enjoyed...the cool air coming in the window...the silence of the
room...and the Pacific that stretched beyond the horizon. It was time
that they shared and yet time each spent alone...each student wrapped up
in her own thoughts and reflections.
During her �unwinding� Jen usually was bottomless, wearing just a
t-shirt without any �knickers�, as she put it. Ruthie always was
completely naked. She loved the feeling of the cool air coming in
through the window and caressing her bare body. She also enjoyed looking
at Jen, studying her bare bottom and legs in the darkness. Her
roommate�s smooth round backside was so much more attractive than Mike�s
thin flat butt�
----------
Mike�s training with Sam was suspended for the first two weeks of the
semester. The supervisor instead ordered him to train two new students
as ticket officers. If those two students were expecting a relaxed
training, they were sadly mistaken. Mike was hard-core and saw to it
that his trainees ticketed the meters instead of wandering the
university looking for more interesting hits such as fire-lane
violations. Mike�s insistence that the new employees stay put instead of
drifting around made them nervous, because they knew that the students
abusing the meter spaces would return before their shifts ended and
undoubtedly be abusive upon seeing the tickets. Mike made it clear that
he cared less about what the violators thought of him, and by extension,
what they thought of anyone he was training.
By the end of the spring semester�s second week Mike and his two
trainees had cleared the freeloaders from lot Econ-A. Most of the meters
were being used by people who were paying them and Mike had the lot
under control. With that he released the two trainees, who immediately
fled to central campus to spend their shifts wandering around doing
nothing.
When Mike�s self-appointed task of clearing the meter violators from lot
Econ-A was completed, he returned to working with Sam assisting him with
collections and meter replacements. Nearly two generations separated
them, but the two men continued to enjoy riding around campus and
chatting about the university. They both liked gossip and exchanged
interesting tidbits about various people working for both the parking
department and the campus police department. Sam seemed to know all the
dirt about the office staff and the miscellaneous affairs and scandals
that had plagued the department over the years. As best he could, Mike
reciprocated with what he knew about other student ticket-writers,
although his information was not nearly as interesting as what Sam had
to say.
----------
Throughout January Ruthie and Mike continued developing their
relationship. Ruthie chatted incessantly about what she was learning in
her geology classes as the couple walked around campus or went on hikes.
Unfortunately the weather along the coast was cold and drizzly most of
the time, so going to the beach was not much of an option. Instead, on
weekends they went inland and explored.
Two weeks after the semester started they went to Sacramento very early
on a Sunday morning. Ruthie had something special in mind: she wanted to
have Mike take some pictures of her standing in front of the state
capitol building with nothing on. The Sacramento photo session was the
most risky they had ever attempted, because of all the security around
the building. Mike knew better than to argue, however. They came very
close to being caught, but after several tries, they managed to time her
posing during the few seconds that no one else was in sight. Once they
had the pictures, Ruthie rushed to pull her dress over her head. They
heard someone yelling at them, so they took off running. Fortunately
whoever it was did not follow. Of all the nude pictures Ruthie had of
herself, the ones she had taken in front of the California legislature
were her most prized, precisely because of the challenge she had Mike
had to overcome to get them.
As for what they did on campus, their lives had settled into a routine.
Ruthie�s new schedule allowed her more time to eat lunch, which she
always had with Mike. However, in the evenings Ruthie and Mike did not
always eat together because of their class schedules. When Ruthie was in
class Mike ate with his friends from the Danubian Solidarity Committee;
when Mike was in class Ruthie ate with Jen. Jen seemed indifferent
whether Ruthie accompanied her to dinner or not, but to Ruthie it was
extremely important never to be seen eating alone in the cafeteria.
Several times she saw Shannon or some of Shannon�s friends looking at
her with total disdain, so there was no way that Ruthie ever would
humiliate herself by letting those bitches see her sitting
unaccompanied.
----------
Throughout January Ruthie became increasingly skilled at massaging Mike.
She started with him facing down, going from his feet to his shoulders.
That part relaxed him, but when he turned over for her to work on his
front, she concentrated on getting him aroused. She started with his
shoulders and chest; then worked her way to his stomach and thighs. When
she was about to finish she asked him to spread his legs so she could
massage the insides of his thighs and his pelvis. She gently brushed his
testicles and penis until he was hard. As soon as she saw a drop of
pre-cum she stopped and lubricated herself while he put on a condom.
One night she decided to try something different. She was having
menstrual cramps and was in no mood whatsoever to have him enter her.
When she saw the drop of pre-cum, she did not stop. Instead she
continued massaging his pubic area and teasing his testicles. When he
tried to sit up, she placed her hand against his chest to push him back
down. Then she began massaging his penis. She stroked him back and forth
until she felt his organ pumping in her hand. A few seconds later jets
of white sperm shot out and splashed all over his stomach and chest. She
winced slightly because she was totally nauseated at what she was
seeing, but she continued pumping his penis. Mike arched his back and
groaned with pleasure. Ruthie kept at it, determined to get all of the
semen out of him before she stopped. He grabbed her thigh and groaned
again as he emptied another round of cum onto his stomach. For some
reason she was irritated when he grabbed her thigh, but she was relieved
that she had managed to get him to climax without having to deal with
actually having sex.
When he finally went limp, she glanced at the disgusting mess on his
stomach. The smell was unpleasant. She knew that in porn movies the
woman would be expected to lick off the semen, but there was no way in
Hell she would do such a thing, and Mike knew better than to suggest it.
Ruthie got a towel and rubbed it over his body. She was hugely relieved.
Mike�s portion of the evening�s pleasuring had ended. Now it was his
turn to massage her and they would be done for the night. She made sure
he was completely dried off before she threw the towel at his dirty
clothes sack. She handed him the massage oil and lay down to wait for
her massage.
An hour later Ruthie and Mike got cleaned up. When he walked her back to
her dorm, they were quiet. Mike was wondering about the strange thing
Ruthie had done to him, getting him to climax without wanting sex
herself. Ruthie, having made a valuable discovery, was wondering how
often she could get away with giving Mike a simple hand-job without
arousing his suspicions that she really did not enjoy having sex with
him.
----------
Throughout the second half of January, Mike continued to help Sam
collect coins from the meters. There were days the take was well over $
15,000. As always, whenever Sam ran across a meter that was jammed, he
casually dumped the coins into a beat-up plastic box stored in the
toolbox of his pick-up truck. Mike didn�t think anything about those
coins for a while, but then he realized that he had never seen Sam bring
those extra coins into the office to deposit in the coin counter. The
next day he observed Sam and noticed that once again, his partner must
have �forgotten� to bring in those coins. It seemed that every day Sam
�forgot� about the money in his truck�s toolbox. Mike smiled at the
petty embezzlement, but then he realized it was not so petty. If Sam
kept the earnings off ten to twelve jammed meters from each shift; that
would amount to $ 500 per day, or $ 2500 per week. Not a bad way to
supplement his salary.
Mike never considered telling anyone about Sam�s toolbox. As long as his
co-worker was not putting him at risk, Mike had no motivation whatsoever
to report the theft. What would he get out of it? Sam was a nice enough
guy and was generous with offers of free Cokes and coffee�so what would
be the point of doing anything against him? Besides, Sam had found a way
to stick it to the system, to get a piece of the action for himself.
Hey�as long as he had the guts to do it and could get away with it�more
power to him. Taking coins was not something Mike would consider doing,
but if Sam did it; that was not his problem.
They next day Mike stood looking down a long row of meters, while Sam
sat in the pickup writing some notes in a logbook. He thought about
Ruthie�s situation�how just $ 5,000 had made the difference whether she
could continue with her studies or have to sit at home in Salinas doing
nothing� $ 5,000�half of what Sam was taking out of the meters in a
typical month.
There were 30 meters in the row he was looking at. Multiplied by $ 50
per meter, that would be $ 1,500 in coins just from a single row. If one
or two of those meters was jammed�and a couple more in the next row�
Mike took a deep breath. No�he needed to stop thinking like that�
