Honesty - SF8 (32 page)

"Nope. But will you always keep your hand there? I mean,
I
don’t mind, but…"

"Just making sure they won’t be too tight if they shrink that much," Ryan assured her. "Just trying to be professional, ma’am."

"You haven’t worked here, have you?" she asked, ruffling her hair.

"Nope. But I have had my hand right there on quite a few pairs of jeans…"

"Are we done, wise guy?" She leaned over and placed a sweet kiss on Ryan’s lips. "Let’s go pay for your stuff and get going."

"We’ve just begun the process," Ryan insisted. "Now comes the fun part." She poked her head out the curtain and told the clerk that they were confident of the size. When she drew her hand back inside she held a small strip of some type of synthetic fabric fashioned into what promised to be the most ill-fitting thong in the history of lingerie.

"Can’t I just leave my own on?" Jamie asked, indicating her lavender satin panties.

"Yes, you could, but they’ll look like they came from one of the tie-dye merchants on Telegraph when you’re done here."

"Huh?"

"Trust me," Ryan said. "Put these on and then put on the jeans."

Jamie blew out a breath, fluffing her bangs as she exhaled. "This sounds potentially weird, Ryan. Are you sure you know what you’re doing?"

"Yep. I’ve been here with several people. I used any chance I could to get a woman naked." Her bouncing eyebrows caused Jamie to crack up as usual, and moments later she sat down to put her shoes back on.

"No shoes. And take your socks off," Ryan instructed. "You also need to put this T-shirt on," she said, handing her a well-worn shirt.

Giving her another look, Jamie did so, then left the dressing room to find the young man filling the large stainless steel tub. "Is this temp good for you?" he asked Ryan, obviously assuming she was the brains of the operation.

She stuck a hand in and decided, "A little more hot water. She’s a delicate one."

Jamie eyed her carefully and asked, "I’m gonna get in that?"

"Yep. Ergo the shrink element of the equation," Ryan said, giving her a little smirk.

"Oh boy."

Ryan went to pay for the jeans, a prerequisite to getting into the tub. She brought the receipt back just as the tub was full, and she took Jamie’s hand to guide her, smiling at the comical expression on her face as she sat down in the warm water, the jeans adhering to her skin with a strange, clammy sensation. "Uck," she said, a look of distaste on her face.

"Oh, it’s not so bad. I’ve had my jeans on in water before. You’ll get used to it."

"I don’t even want to know," Jamie decided, giving her an aggrieved look.

After 15 minutes, the salesman asked her to stand while he and Ryan assessed the fit. They walked around her and gazed critically at various parts of her, but only Ryan touched her, giving the young man a pointed, proprietary look when his hand strayed too close to her precious partner. "Ten more minutes," Ryan decided, adding, "A little more hot water, too. She’s starting to look a little chilled."

"Coming right up," he said, adding the hose to the tub once again.

Jamie sat back down, playing with the rubber ducky and the various squirt guns provided for her pleasure. Ryan, of course, got shot a few times, with Jamie managing to hit her right on the nipple, leaving a nice dark mark on her bright blue shirt.

During the next fit-check, both critics agreed, and Jamie was allowed to exit, her toes now severely wrinkled and tinted a nice shade of very light blue. She started for the dressing room, but Ryan guided her to an enclosure on the perimeter of the display area. Jamie entered what looked like a partial dressing room, the Formica panels running from the floor to mid-chest. The salesclerk pushed a button and a powerful, warm fan hit her from all sides, as she let out a startled squawk. "Now comes the fit part," Ryan smiled, leaning on the panel as she crossed her arms and smiled broadly at her partner. "Now you know how your poor clothes feel when you put them in the dryer," she joked. She tossed her dark hair and went to pay for her own purchases, leaving a scowling woman on the permanent-press cycle.

"I don't want to let you go," Jamie pouted early the next morning as she curled her body all around her lover's in a python-like embrace.

"And I don't want to go," Ryan agreed as she nuzzled her face into her partner's neck.

"Whose idea was it that we be on teams competing at the same time?" Jamie moaned as she snuggled even closer and trailed her fingers down Ryan's concave belly.

Ryan caught the wandering hand and brought it up to her mouth, kissing the warm palm and each of the fingers in turn. "I think it was a joint decision, Baby, but I have to get up now. We're having a quick run through of our defense and then heading to the airport." She tossed her legs from the bed but found her partner's 120 pounds still tightly coiled around her. "Come on, Honey," she said softly as she lovingly stroked her back. "It's hard for me too."

"I know it is," she said. "I think I hate it so much not just because you'll be gone, but because I won't see your first game."

"That's exactly how I felt when you went up to Oregon. I mean, think of it. I made three long distance calls in one day to check on you. That's unheard of!"

Jamie laughed at her partner's claim, knowing it was close to the truth. "It was hard to play those matches without you. It really helped to have Mom there, but it didn't stop me from missing you."

"I know. I hate to think of looking up in the stands and not seeing your sweet face. I know we'd win if you were there, but without you..."

"I'll let you go," Jamie finally relented, "but you have to promise to think of me every minute."

"I promise," Ryan intoned as she solemnly crossed her heart with her index finger.

"Okay, you can go," she said as she released her grip and withdrew her entwined body parts from her lover's body. Ryan bent down for a quick kiss and then dashed into the bathroom to take a shower. Jamie graciously got up and began to pack her bag, since she had kept her so thoroughly occupied the night before. As Ryan was drying her hair Jamie finished her packing and went back into the bathroom to present her with one little gift.

"I know you like to carry your big organizer with you because it's got all of your important numbers and your schedule, but I thought you might like a little money clip for carrying just a few things." She handed her a very small money clip with tan leather compartments for her license and two credit cards. The brass clip on the outside securely held an abundance of folded bills.

Ryan gave her an amused grin as she opened the compartment to find that Jamie had already filled it with her license and her debit card. But when she looked closely, there was a new card in with the others. She extracted the platinum American Express card as she lifted one eyebrow at her partner.

"I can't have you going all over the country without a credit card! You can't use your debit card for car rentals or even some hotels."

"Uh...I think the school covers the hotel, Jamie. They don't just throw us out there and hope for the best."

"I know, Love, but I'll feel much more secure if I know you can take care of yourself in case of a financial emergency."

"Platinum?" Ryan asked weakly. "Why not a nice little Visa card?"

"I just called American Express and had them put you on my account as a signer, and since my card is platinum, so is yours."

"I'm not going to win this argument, am I?" Ryan asked as she bent for a kiss.

"Not likely," Jamie honestly replied, pulling her down even closer for a much longer kiss.

Jamie drove her over to the gym a few minutes before seven. They were parked in front of the building for quite a while, as Jamie had a very difficult time letting her go. "I love you, Ryan," she said, holding her face in her hands and kissing every available surface.

"I love you too, Baby," she agreed when she was allowed to use her mouth for speech, "but I've got to go."

She pulled herself away and grabbed her bag from the back seat. Running around to the driver's door, she placed several more delicate kisses on Jamie's lips and was just about to turn when she was grabbed firmly and given a scorcher. When she was released her eyes were nearly crossed, and her legs felt a little rubbery as she heard a low laugh from behind her. "Time to go, O'Flaherty," Jordan's voice rang out.

Jamie patted her cheek and gave her one last gentle kiss as she waved to Jordan. Ryan gathered her wits and approached her smirking friend. "You get more action on the street than most people do in bed," Jordan teased, tossing an arm around her shoulders.

All in all, Ryan was quite pleased with the outcome of her first NCAA Division I volleyball game. They won their first match of the weekend three games to one over a young team from the University of Washington. They had worked well together as a team and even though she did not play as many minutes as she wanted to, she was a significant contributor.

These weekend matches were particularly important since they were the first PAC-10 matches of the season. Obviously, it hurt to lose their first five games, and realistically speaking they had probably ruined their chances to play in the NCAA tournament, but they still had the PAC-10 to think about. The conference champion received an automatic bid to the tournament, and even though there were some very strong teams in the PAC-10 this year, Ryan thought they had a chance to beat anyone on any given night.

Ryan's diminished stamina barely got her through the game, but by the time the match was finished all she could think of was a warm bed. She knew she wasn't fully recovered when bed sounded better than dinner, but she satisfied herself with a couple of energy bars and a bottle of Gatorade.

Of course, Jordan was raring to go, and when she could not coerce Ryan into joining her she rounded up most of the other players and headed off for a late dinner.

After a quick call to Jamie, Ryan hit the sack and slept so soundly that she did not even hear her roommate come in.

She woke at seven and stretched for a bit.
Ummm, I think I need a little cuddle before I can face the day
, she thought happily as she snuggled up against her lover and blew the long blonde hair away from her face...
LONG? God damn it, Jordan! Get out of my damn bed!
She was unreasonably cross at her friend for climbing into her bed again, and she decided to read her the riot act as soon as she woke.
Who the fuck does she think I am? I'm not a human teddy bear! If you want sex-look elsewhere! If you need comfort-get a girlfriend of your own! I'm sick of being put into this position!

She didn't need to get up yet, but she was so ticked off at Jordan that she decided to get up and go out for breakfast. Just as she started to roll out of bed, Jordan started to stir. She draped her arm around Ryan's waist and muttered, "This doesn't bother you, does it?"

Ryan was on the verge of telling her how much it did bother her but paused for a moment to make sure she didn't sound too harsh.

"Ryan?" she asked with a tone of voice Ryan had never heard from her. It was the voice of a young girl, and it seemed very incongruous coming from her friend.

"Yes?" she replied softly.

"This doesn't bother you does it?" she continued in the same fragile, childlike voice.

"No, it doesn't
bother
me," she wavered, but before she could finish Jordan added.

"I got scared in the middle of the night and I woke up in a panic. But I saw that you were here and I ran over to your bed and crawled in with you. I felt so much better," she said softly. "I fell asleep almost immediately just by being close to you."

Ryan's compassionate nature took over immediately. She opened her arms to her friend and smiled down as Jordan cuddled up against her side. "I don't mind, Jordan. I'm sorry that you get scared though. I really wish you didn't have things that tormented you at night."

"That's the perfect word," she admitted. "I am tormented." She snuggled deeper into Ryan's arms and let out a heavy sigh as she sank back into sleep.

The second game of the weekend, this one in Pullman, Washington, went even better than the one the night before. Ryan played over half of the match, and she felt awfully good about her contribution. They won the first two games handily, 15-7 and 15-5, and were rolling towards victory in the third when Coach Placer took her out and refused to put her back in even when Washington State tied them at 14-14. Ryan was actually glad that he didn't put her back in, since it gave their talented but raw freshman outside hitter Heather a chance to play in a game that was nearly in the bag. Luckily Jordan rescued the game with a kill, and their defensive specialist, Michelle Chang, served out the match 16-14.

Once again she was more tired than hungry, so she took the shuttle back to the hotel, leaving some of her teammates and Jordan to go out for a snack.

As soon as she got to her room, she dialed Jamie. "I love you," she said softly when her partner's sweet voice answered.

"And I love you," Jamie replied immediately. "I heard the whole game on the Internet," she said proudly.

"Cool! I was afraid that Broadcast.com wouldn't work that well."

"No, it was pretty good, actually. It comes through the RealAudio player, just like any other radio broadcast. I was pleased to hear that my teddy bear played such a good game. The announcer said you were one of the most talented athletes in the PAC-10."

"Ooh, the bribe paid off," Ryan joked, quite pleased to hear that she had been mentioned. "I must admit that I played better than I thought I would. I assume you noticed that I had twelve kills, six digs, six blocks, and a pair of aces," she said happily.

"Oh, Ryan, I'm so proud of you," Jamie gushed, while she wondered where to find out what kills, digs, blocks and aces were. "I just wish I could be there to see you. You know, I haven't even seen you in your uniform yet."

"Boy, I took a lot of shit about my uniform yesterday and today. Jordan gave me the hardest time for not wearing underwear under my shorts."

"You go commando?" Jamie said, using the O'Flaherty boys' term.

"Yeah. I would wear something, but everything rides up. As long as I'm going to be yanking I just want one thing to yank on."

"What does she wear?"

"Most of them wear thongs. The rest wear normal panties."

"Maybe you should try a thong too," Jamie suggested.

"I've never worn one for anything active. Well," she amended, "that's not quite true. But I've never worn one for anything athletic." She paused just a second before she added, "Well, technically that's not true either..."

"I get the picture, Tiger," Jamie giggled, always enjoying it when Ryan spoke of her randy past. "How is it going sharing a room?"

"Fine. She doesn't snore, and I wake up before she does so I get the bathroom first. She went out last night and I didn't hear her get in, so I would say she's been a pretty good roommate. But no one can compare with you. You are the ultimate!"

"Thanks, Baby. Just come home to me as quickly as possible."

"I will. We're scheduled for a six a.m. flight out of here."

"Six a.m.!"

"Yep. There are only two flights a day to Seattle. We get there at 7:15 and take off again at 7:58. We're scheduled to be at SFO at 10:00. A couple of vans will pick us up and take us back to Haas. I'll call you when we're there, okay?"

"You hurry up and get to sleep so you're well rested, okay?"

"I will. See you tomorrow. Think of me tonight."

"I think I'm going to sleep with that little topographical survey the computer did of your body," Jamie joked, referring to the little printout they had been given after Ryan had her new jeans fitted.

"Whatever works for you, Love. Sleep tight."

An hour later Ryan was still tossing and turning while trying to unwind when Jordan came in. After spending a few minutes getting ready for bed, she put on a T-shirt and came to stand by Ryan's bed. "Can I?" she asked longingly.

Ryan did a quick run through of the rest of their schedule and decided that the four remaining road trips would not be too big a burden to bear. She pulled the covers down and opened her arm to her friend as she gave her a big smile. "Come on, Cuddles. The sooner we go to sleep, the sooner we'll be home."

They had to run like hell to make the 7:58 flight back to San Francisco, but luckily they all managed to hop on the 737 moments before the door was secured. Amy Pali sat in the third seat, and Ryan was just glad that Jordan had another ear to bend on the trip. As soon as she thought it polite, she put on her headphones and let the soothing tones of Clannad lull her to sleep.

Ryan had chosen the aisle seat and a sharp bout of turbulence jerked her out of a very pleasant dream. "Hey, are you okay?" Jordan asked as her eyes flew open.

"Yeah," she said as she stretched and yawned. "It felt like somebody slugged me," she added, rubbing her cheek.

"Somebody did," Jordan replied helpfully. "Your head was on my shoulder and we jerked quite a bit. Your head bobbed around like a rag doll's, and you hit the top of my shoulder with your cheek."

"I was asleep on you? I'm sorry, Jordan. I must have really been wiped."