Summoned Again?

Once again, Susan had the best date of her life. She had thought that no one could have ever topped the first date she had with the most elusive man she had ever known, and she was wrong. Oh boy, was she wrong. It was a new bar that Damon had set and she was sure that this time, he would never be able to top it. She was absolutely positive that it wouldn't get any better. How could you top having a date in a theme park?

Then the next day arrived and she was proven wrong again. They had another date and it was even more spectacular and magical than the last one. She had no idea how he was managing to sweep her off her feet so many times, and at this point, she didn't really care. She let herself flow with everything and things just got better and better between them.

Not only that, the sex was amazing. She didn't know how he could do the things he did to her and make her feel every single touch, every brief caress, every powerful thrust and every gentle sliding motion. He drove her wild and her body felt like a huge bundle of nerves that he played with and made her feel things that her mind just wasn't quite ready for.

By the end of their third date, her brain was so completely into him that her entire body was nothing more than a large sexual organ. He just had to look at her and she could almost feel him making love to her again. In her eyes, that was incredibly sexy, because she had never been so in sync with someone like that before. She'd had some great sex with other men, and a few of them had gotten her horny when she wasn't expecting it; but, never every single time she saw them.

She could be looking out the window or working on her course work, then she would think about Damon and look over to wherever he was. She would see him looking back at her with a similar 'I want you' look and she was wet instantly. He would approach and ask if she wanted to, his erection both prominent and inviting, and she would always say yes.

Susan knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that if he asked her to marry him, she would demand it happen immediately. She did not want to let these feelings go and she was sure that she would need to talk to her mother about how she felt. She couldn't fathom how her life had been before meeting him, because it all seemed too far away to matter. She only cared about him as he was now, and who he might become in the future.

They spent the whole weekend together and she didn't really remember doing anything. None of the rides, none of the people around them, and none of the children they had brought along, had made it very far into her perception. The only exceptions were Nat and Crystal, and that was because Damon loved them both and they were close to his heart.

Susan desperately wanted to be there, too. She knew she was making progress, considering he almost never dated anyone, and she let that knowledge fill her heart. He had gone to so much effort to romance her and to make her feel like he was solely focused on her, that it made her love him even more. She had told him that she loved him a few times, almost jokingly, in the hopes that he would say it back.

He's not ready yet. Susan thought as she looked at Damon's laughing face while he played with Crystal and Teddy. Maybe someday.

*

Crystal's entire world was filled with bright colors, music, rides, and fun. She had the most wonderfullest time with all of her friends all weekend and they had the bestest adventure ever. She knew it wouldn't last, because it never had before, so she enjoyed it as much as she could while she could. She didn't even complain when she was told to pack and their fun time with everyone was ending.

That had earned her several hugs and a few kisses from both Uncle Damon and Nat Nat, which made her giggle and blush a little. She knew their kisses meant more, because they always made her feel special when they did it. They flew on the plane that wasn't scary anymore and headed back home. That didn't make her sad, because she and Teddy played games with Uncle Damon.

Crystal loved Uncle Damon with all her heart. So much so, that her little mind was starting to forget what life was like without him, because it wasn't important. She was trying to convince herself that he was always there and that the way she lived before was just a bad dream that she had woken up from. She loved her new life and she wouldn't give it up for anything, not even her mommy. She had a new family now and she looked into Damon's eyes and saw that he was just as happy as she was.

*

Nat had enjoyed the weekend, even with being relegated as the fourth wheel. Damon had offered to have the clerk at the art supplies store come along, and Nat rejected that idea. They weren't at the 'going away for the weekend' stage yet and she didn't want to rush things and scare the girl. Damon had laughed and called on her behalf, using her cell phone, and asked the clerk to come along.

Unfortunately, she had to work and couldn't book off the time on such short notice. Both Damon and Nat were sad to hear that, until the girl said that she could book time off for the next weekend and they could have a quick getaway then if she wanted. Nat agreed right away of course and she had been riding that emotional high for the whole trip. Now they were on their way home. Everyone was winding down and accepting that their fun time was coming to an end.

*

All of Crystal's friends knew why they always had so much trouble trying to invite Crystal to different things before or to get invited over to her place. It was her mother's fault. Now that she was with her Uncle Damon, that they all knew wasn't really her uncle, it was just too much fun!

There wasn't anything he wouldn't do for her. He had even brought along the whole class and a bunch of other girls that Crystal and the girls from her class hung out with during lunch and recess, and their families, along with Crystal to the best vacation that any of them had ever had.

Even their parents and siblings had fun, which almost never happened. There was always an argument, or hurt feelings, or something happening when they went anywhere, except for this time. This time, there was no pressure on the parents, no stress or worry, and it didn't transfer to the kids like it normally did. The kids had fun, the adults had fun, and they would all be talking about the trip for quite some time.

*

“I'm really glad that's over!” Nat said as the plane landed. “I need to paint!”

That made me laugh and Crystal giggled.

“Don't worry, I'll keep my promise.” I said and Nat beamed a smile at me.

“Have you seen her apartment?” Susan asked with a laugh as the plane taxied to a stop by the small terminal building. “I don't think I can count how many paint cans threw up in there.”

“I'd say a lot more than you think.” I responded and Nat whacked my shoulder. “What? It's true.”

“You're not supposed to agree that I'm being excessive, even when I am.” Nat admitted. “Oh, damn.”

Crystal giggled and I unbuckled myself, then her and Teddy.

“No one minds.” I said and gathered up everything we were taking from the plane and said goodbye to Miss Carlyle. “In fact, I should drop you off to visit my grocery store.”

“Ha.” Nat barked a laugh. “Food shopping spree!”

“Yay!” Crystal said loudly and Susan nodded her head.

“We still have to go home first to drop off all our bags, unless we want to pile the groceries on top of our laps.” I said and thanked the maintenance man for the trolley cart to put them all on.

“Good point. Home first.” Susan said and Nat and Crystal agreed.

We did just that and went home, dropped everything off without unpacking anything, and climbed back into the car and drove to my grocery store. It was the same one that I had bought so much from the last time and as soon as I stepped through the door, the manager was right there and had called for the stock manager to meet us.

“I cannot believe you bought the whole store.” Nat said.

“It was the easiest way to get my hands on cheap bulk purchases.” I said as the stock manager came over to us.

“I had a feeling I'd be seeing you again.” The woman said and held a hand out to me.

“Are you relieved I didn't fire you and then hire you for the same job?” I asked and took her hand.

She laughed. “You're not stupid enough to try and undermine my pay and seniority.”

“Nope, I'm not.” I said. “Did you have much trouble with the excess orders?”

“Only with having to stack them three pallets high instead of two.” The stock manager said. “I assume you're here to arrange delivery of it to another address? There's barely any room in the back now.”

I nodded. “I did kind of go overboard with the initial purchases.”

“Kind of?” The stock manager asked and shook her head. “Come to my office and we'll get this sorted out.”

“You heard the nice lady.” I said to Nat, Susan, and Crystal. “Go make yourselves useful and shop while I'm busy with work.”

“I get my own carrrrrrt!” Crystal said and took off running.

“Get back here, you!” Nat said and ran after her.

“See you later.” Susan said and followed them.

I thanked the store manager for attending me when he didn't have to, and we went to the back of the store with the stock manager and I spent a bit of time going over what I had ordered and sorting the loading priority into the refrigerated truck. I had to admit having direct access to products made my huge purchase a lot cheaper than buying it commercially. I hadn't realized how much cheaper until the manager gave me the extra large bill for the store purchases and my purchases combined.

After a quick bit of phone tag, I transferred the money to the store's bank account and he was extremely happy with me. They usually had to struggle for the first part of the week as they tried to recoup the initial purchase price as quickly as possible, then slowly eked out as much as they could during the rest of the week until the next shipment was due. They usually only had one or two large purchases a month for canned and dried goods, since they lasted the longest.

Lucky for me, this was one of them and I had piggybacked my own needs and wants onto the normal order. Needless to say, the distributor was more than happy to increase the order to make that much more money. The store manager left the office a happy man, because his worries for that month had pretty much evaporated.

“Now that he's gone, do you want a raise?” I asked the stock manager. “Or another assistant?”

“Wh-what?” The stock boy beside her said, his voice cracking a little.

“I meant an additional one, not a replacement.” I clarified and he relaxed.

“Are you serious?” The stock manager asked.

“I do own the place... well, my corporation does.” I said. “You just need to submit your request in triplicate and sign over your first born...” I stopped talking at the stern look on her face. “Okay, that part I was joking about. I'm serious about the raise, though. I know how much extra work I just had the two of you do.”

“Me, too?” The young man asked, surprised.

“Sure. She's not doing it all herself, is she?” I asked and they both shook their heads. “Give me a few minutes and I'll handle it.”

The two of them sat there and watched as I talked to one of my assistants.

“Hi, Stephanie. I'm sorry for bothering you.” I said. “I was wondering how to handle giving someone at my grocery store a raise. Officially, of course. I don't have a clue how to do it myself.” I had to hold the phone away from my ear for a few seconds. “She's laughing right now.”

The stock manager laughed herself and the stock boy grinned.

“Yeah.” “Uh huh.” “I don't want to worry about stuff like that, so that's why I hired two smart women like you and Bethany.” I paused and listened. “Wait, what? It's that easy? You're pulling my leg.” I listened a bit and chuckled. “Well, damn. All right. Send it through for me, will you? I'll handle the bonus part myself.” “Uh huh.” I smiled. “No, I can't take a selfie. I'm in a business meeting.”

“You better do it, man.” The stock boy said. “Girls don't let stuff like that go.”

I sighed. “Just a second.” I said and turned so that I could get all three of us into the picture, then took it. “There, are you happy?” I asked and waited. “What? No, I didn't sleep with her.”

The stock manager's face flushed red.

“Yes, I offered a while ago.” “She said she was married.” “No, no ring.”

“I can't wear it to work.” The stock manager said.

“Yeah.” “All right.” “Thanks, Stephanie. I'll call you tomorrow to show off the new pendants we made.” I waited for a second. “Because I forgot to take a picture and they're back at the apartment.” “No, I...” I sighed. “All right. As soon as I get home I'll take one and send it to you.” “Okay.” “Bye.”

“I told you they're relentless.” The stock boy said with a grin.

“Voracious would be a better description.” I said and looked at the stock manager. “I'm sorry about that. You know she wanted proof and...”

“I'm still married.” The stock manager said.

I chuckled. “I didn't say I didn't believe you. Stephanie just wanted to know why you were crazy enough to say no.”

The stock manager gave me a disbelieving look. “She's your assistant and she didn't?”

“She wasn't my assistant at the time.” I said and pretended to take a leather pouch out of my suit coat and opened it.

“Jesus.” The stock boy said at the sight of the huge wad of cash and I took out a thousand dollars.

“The raise is going to be mostly taxed and taken from you, so here's an actual bonus that you don't have to claim, because I'm giving it as a gift.” I said.

The young man stared at the small stack of ten hundred dollar bills in his hand.

I counted out two thousand dollars and gave it to the stock manager. “Thanks a lot for handling my order so well and for the extra work.”

The woman didn't even look at the cash in her hand. “You really...”

“I've had enough of the government screwing me over.” I said and stood up. “I'll be waiting for the delivery tomorrow morning at that address.”

The stock manager and the stock boy nodded acceptance. I left them in the office and went out to the front and used Detect and Search to easily find Nat, Susan, and Crystal. Their carts were full, which made me laugh.

“You're lucky the refrigerator is so big.” I said and then they told me that they weren't done shopping. I shook my head and then we went around the store and picked up a few more things. The checkout girl was surprised when we showed up with three full carts of groceries and she rang them all through. The guy bagging it all looked like he was getting tired, because there was just so much of it.

“Thanks.” I said when he was done and handed him a twenty dollar bill.

“Thanks, mister.” The guy said and tucked it away before anyone else saw it.

We left the store and the others climbed into the car while I pretended to get everything into the trunk. I shut it and drove us home. It was going to take a while to put it all away, if we did it the traditional way. I wasn't going to, though. I'd get them to take showers and change for bed while I put the groceries away using my inventory. I could put them away without touching them or having to move.

You gotta love the little joys in life.