“I agree, we can do it. Just listening to this and we’ve cast our lot with them. One of the kingdoms is behind this. No one can get this much gold. I’ll tell Samual in the morning that we’ll do it.”
Almost There
Mike took off in June to attend his sister’s wedding. He and Jack were both ushers. Mike was in a tux and Jack in his dress whites, sans sword. Mike really did like dress whites. Apparently, weddings do something to women and one of the bridesmaids ‘had her way’ with Mike. He didn’t object at all.
Except for the wedding, Mike and Dave were absorbed in their research. Sue had gotten her PhD and moved to New Jersey to teach at Rutgers. The research team lost Ava and Tom. That left Mike and Dave as two of the more seasoned researchers on the team. Mike was diving into his work on carbon nanotubes for his thesis. Between his thesis work and the research assistant job, most of this time was spent in a lab.
Mike was without female companionship, which in his view sucked. To compensate, he went much harder at his physical training. He knew that the major challenges he would face in the Marines were physical and having the mentality to push through when it got really tough. He was pretty sure that he would be able to handle the physical part of it and he hoped the mental discipline he got from martial arts would carry him through on the other part. With that in mind started to go to the local dojo more regularly.
On the research side he felt that he was on a roll. He’d long ago learned that this was 99% hard work and frustration and he shouldn’t expect breakthroughs every week. What he did find was some synergy between his two areas of research, which is what he’d hoped for. In the middle of the summer he found something that he thought Dr. Peterson’s research team could follow. It wouldn’t be a big breakthrough but more of an incremental one. Maybe they could get a paper out of it. He first ran it by Dave, who made some suggestions and then they took it to Dr. Peterson. He liked the idea and put the team on it.
It was early August and it was one of the days Mike had set aside to run with weights. He’d put in a good seven hours in the lab and would run in the evening after the sun was lower in the sky. Dave was pretty sure that his roommate had more than a few screws loose. Mike spent ten minutes doing stretches and then put the weights on. He had two pound ankle weights to give him the same feel as heavy boots. He had forty pounds in his weight vest. His goal was to run five miles in fifty minutes or under. He hadn’t quite done it yet, but he was at fifty-two minutes. He wanted to do it consistently.
His route took him from his residence on the MIT campus through the Harvard campus and then back to MIT. There he would cool down, take off the weights and do some after running stretches. He admitted to himself that the reason he went through Harvard was that there were more women there and he could at least girl watch while he was running.
He took off and set the pace that would do a ten minute mile. He’d wait a day and then go for six minute miles without the weights. That would be his routine for the rest of the summer and maybe into the fall. This depended on his workload. Part way through his run he came to a group of five girls jogging along the same route he was on. He waved and they waved back. A couple of them looked at the weight vest and he could tell they weren’t sure what he was doing. Their pace was faster than his and they gradually pulled away.
As per his plan, after a day’s rest from running he went out about the same time and was going to run a longer route, some seven miles and do six to seven minute miles for that. This time there would be no weights. He encountered the same group of girls. He was going a bit faster than they were, but decided that it would be much more enjoyable to match their pace. They stuck up a conversation. One of them asked what was the deal with the weight vest?
Mike explained that he was in NROTC and would be doing Marine OCS that summer and he was getting in shape for that and that this was his without weight day. They told him they thought he must be a football player on the Harvard team, since they did things like that. Mike laughed and told them that the only sport he played was soccer. He then found that they were all soccer players on Harvard’s female soccer team. That gave them something to talk about. He spent a pleasant run with them. Once they peeled off to head back to get showered and changed, Mike picked up the pace for the last two miles.
When he got back to his residence, he showered and went for dinner. After dinner, he decided to relax for the evening. He thought about the girls. There were more than a few cute ones in there, nice long legs. Definitely something to think about. As to entertainment, The Yankees were playing the Red Sock, so the game was on TV. He got out a beer and settled in to watch the game.
The running routine went on for a couple of weeks. Mike noticed that one of the girls, Ashely, seemed to be especially interested in talking to him. She was a pretty brunette with nice long legs. Mike had finally figured out that if a woman was interested in you, she let you know. He was pretty sure that Ashely was interested in him and he found her attractive. The next chance he got he asked her if she’d like to go out for a bite to eat on Friday. He was pleased when she said yes and gave him her phone number. This was a weight vest day, so the girls soon out distanced him.
When they’d pulled away one of the girls said to Ashley. “Well, he’s a cutie. Brains and muscles, if you don’t want him, I’ll take him.”
Ashely laughed. “I don’t know. Let’s see how this Friday date goes. He doesn’t seem like a playboy, which is good. I’m pretty sure with him going into the Marines, he’s not going to be looking for a wife. That’s exactly what I need. A boyfriend to hang around with and to fuck my brains loose a couple of times a week. Perfect.”
“Maybe he knows some geek girl who wants a girlfriend.” Said Bev. “I love geek girls.”
“What so you can play tie up games.” Said one of the girls laughing.
“Hey there’s nothing wrong with tie up games as long as I’m doing the tying.” Said a laughing Bev.
Thursday evening, Mike called up Ashely and suggested that they go to this place off Harvard Square, which was a burgers and beer joint. It was casual, and he was going to wear, shirt, shorts and sandals. She agreed and Mike agreed to come by her residence around 7PM and pick her up. When he hung up, he was pleased. Dave just looked at him and went back to reading a journal article.
Friday came around and Mike got ready. For him it was quick. For Ashely on the other hand, it was a bit more complicated. She and her girlfriends went over her wardrobe.
“Which pair of shorts?” she asked as she held up two pair of shorts.
“The white one. Even though you’re from West Virginia, not the ‘Daisy Dukes’. The white one show off your legs.”
“Ok the white ones it is. Now which t-shirt. I’m going braless. I want to give him a decent look at the girls.”
“That one, it goes with your hair. You sure you want to let the girls go free. It may distract him.”
“The sports bra really constricts them, so he has no idea whether or not I’m flat chested. Plus, I think it adds a bit of daring and confidence and downplays that I’m from Beckley West Virginia.”
“Ashley, when he gets a good look at those, he won’t care if you’re from the moon.”
Mike arrived at Ashley’s residence and was pleased to see her. She looked really good and he was sure to compliment her. He’d already been aware of the long, toned legs, but it was obvious that she wasn’t wearing a bra and she had a very nice chest. Mike manned up and kept his eyes on her face. He failed to notice that Ashley had already checked him out as well.
They walked to combination bar, burger joint talking easily. Mike let Ashley lead the conversation. He quickly discovered that she was in pre-med and from Beckley, West Virginia. He’d never heard of it but from what Ashely said it was a small town in a rural part of West Virginia. Ashley’s father was a doctor in the town. Mike told her about his sister and his Uncle.
They arrived just before the crowd and got a small table near the back. The
menu was pretty much burgers and that’s what both got with some fries and beers. They both passed the eye test, and nobody was really carding anyone in the place. Both knew people, who came up to talk with them. All and all, it was a pleasant evening.
Mike learned that Ashley was into sports, hiking and camping. She didn’t hunt, but both her father and two brothers did. To Mike those were all positives. She was slightly surprised to learn that Mike was getting his PhD. Ashley kept Mike talking and learned a lot about him. She liked all of what she heard. In her mind she was thinking that Mike fit the bill for the boyfriend she was looking for. She’d go on a couple of more dates before she was positive.
The stayed enjoying themselves to about 11PM when they decided to leave and head back. When they reached her residence, they did a little necking and Mike really enjoyed the feel of her body against his. When he got back to his apartment, he got ready and went to bed.
It was completely different with Ashley. Her girlfriends were waiting around for her to get back. They carefully went over everything that went on during the date, to help Ashely evaluate Mike. Ashley gave her friends the overview. “He’s a doctoral candidate in materials science and has two more years to go. He is very smart, and he went to what he calls ‘nerd school’ for both grammar school and high school. He went to college at Columbia at fourteen and started his doctorate when he was eighteen. His father was in the towers on 9/11 and got out. That’s when he decided to join the Marines. He likes sports, the outdoors and does the normal guy geek stuff, video games etc. He doesn’t talk too much about his research. Oh, his last girlfriend got her doctorate in Math and went to teach at Rutgers. That about sums it up.”
Ashley and her friends spent the next couple of hours going over Mike in great detail. At the end of the discussion, they all agreed that he might be a ‘keeper’ as far as a boyfriend went. The big question was is Ashley going to see him again. She let them know that Mike was going to try and get tickets to a Red Sock’s game and they’d go to Fenway Park to see it.
Mike found he could get tickets to the Red Sock, Toronto Blue Jays game on Thursday, so he called Ashley to see if she’d be interested. She was very enthusiastic about going. Mike thought they should drive. Game time was 7PM and he didn’t want to trust public transportation back. Ashley agreed with that. That Thursday, Mike picked Ashley up in his Mustang. He had the same car, he always had, and it was still in really good shape. He saw no reason to change it until he graduated.
They arrived at Fenway, parked and got to their seats with fifteen minutes to spare. They’re seats were midway down the first base side on level four. They had a pretty good view of the game. It was a close game with Pedro Martinez as the starting pitcher. Big Papi had the game winning hit in the eighth, a double down the right field line that scored two. Both Mike and Ashley cheered the home team. Fenway food is traditional ballpark food, hotdogs and beer, which is what they both had. As they were driving back, Mike asked her to guide him to her residence. Ashley put her hand on the inside of his thigh, right near his crotch and said. “Let’s go to your place, Mike.”
He readily agreed, he managed to get the car parked and get out. He had a raging erection and Ashley had him by the arm and was hurrying him along. They managed to get into Mike’s bedroom, before she lost her t-shirt and bra and was working on her shorts and panties. Mike kicked off his sandals and was out of his clothes as quickly as he could without falling. They practically feel into bed. Both of them were ready and there was practically no foreplay. Ashley had Mike inside her as soon as she could and they both quickly climaxed.
As they were laying together in the afterglow of sex. Ashley turned to Mike. “God, I needed a good relaxing Orgasm. You are just what the doctor ordered. I’m hoping that if I let you rest up and then I can get a couple more out of you. You don’t mind if I’m on top, do you?”
Mike immediately agreed. A few minutes later they started again, this time slower and more focused. Mike enjoyed the feel of Ashley’s body and spent a good deal of time in foreplay. Eventually, they finished and fell asleep, with Ashley draped over Mike. As Mike was fond of saying, his favorite cover. Early the next morning Mike awoke to a pleasant sensation in his groin. As he opened his eyes, he saw Ashley straddling him with a look of concentration as she worked herself back and forth and up and down on Mike. Once she was done, she changed positions and quickly brought Mike off.
Mike lay in bed as she was getting dressed. “Mike I really enjoyed our evening both before and after” she said smiling. “Maybe we can hang out on Saturday. Watch a flick, drink some wine and you know.”
“Sounds good to me. I like hanging around with you.”
Ashley left for her residence and Mike fell back to sleep for an hour feeling totally satisfied. When he got up, he got a shower and cleaned up his room. He was heading out for breakfast when Dave exited his room and joined him. Dave was pretty interested in Mike’s new flame. Although for him, a three minute synopsis was all it took. The conversation then switched to their studies. The next semester would start in ten days and they both wanted to get as much research time in as they could.
After breakfast they headed off to Dr. Peterson’s lab to continue the work that he’d given them. They were basically diving deeper into the subject of their paper and patent. It looked like a good line of research to mine. He told them that he thought there might be more there. Certainly, another paper, if not expanding the current patent. Mike and Dave were not quite convinced, but it was interesting, and they should trust the Dr. Peterson’s experience.
This was the year that the government was going to start paying him for being in NROTC. It was a nice amount of money. With school and board paid for it gave him some more spending money without having to tap mom and dad. It was also the time when his studies diverged somewhat from the rest of the midshipmen corps as he was one of three third year Marine Options. The new marine was a Captain Jameson. Mike thought that they stamped them out of the same mold. The main difference was that Captain Jameson was black. Other than that, he was very similar to Captain Smith.
The first laboratory day, Captain Jameson and the Gunny gathered them in one of the classrooms. “Good morning gentlemen, you all know who we are, so I’ll skip the introductions. Besides the academic portion of the program, I need to concentrate on your upcoming summer. This will be a six week OCS course. I’m going to make sure that you are prepared and that nobody flunks out. Those six weeks are going to be intense both physically and mentally. It will give you some idea of the basic course you’ll all go through upon graduation. So, to prepare for this I’m going to make sure that your physically fit and able to handle the humps. For those of you who don’t know the humps are, they are hikes with full pack. The pack will be approximately 80 lbs. You are going to need to be able to take long hikes with that weight. Gunny please, pass around the handouts.”
The gunny handed each of a three page typed set of tips. After they finished looking them over, they looked up.
Captain Jameson continued. “You’ll notice that the first page details how to take care of your feet. That is absolutely critical, if you’re feet are fucked up, you will not finish the course. This is a guide on what to do to keep your feet in good shape. Here are the things that you will take with you to help your feet, first some glide, second silk socks and third moleskin in case you do get a blister. It might help if you toughen your feet up. A little rubbing alcohol on the soles a couple of times a week. Walk barefoot in your apartment or residence. Once they get tough try walking outside, in the spring.” Everyone laughed at that.
The next thing to go over his how to pack your rucksack. This is not a trivial exercise. Pack it wrong and you and your back will suffer. So, let me go over the basics. Separate your gear, clothes with clothes etc. Put the pack laying down on the ground to pack it. The put the heaviest items in first, make sure they are against the frame with the heaviest on the bottom and the lighter near the outside of the pack. This
will balance the load and your back will thank you. We’ve got some practice rucksacks that you gentleman will be hauling around so you can get used to it. That will start two weeks from today.” Everybody nodded.
"We are going to do a couple of Saturdays out at Holcomb to familiarize you with the M-16. Starting next week, we’ll be going over the M-16 and explaining each part of it. By the time you go to OCS you’ll be able to field strip it and put it back together. You’ll also have some familiarity with shooting it and with the .9mm Berretta. I know that Mr. Mulvaney shoots and is familiar with .9mm, but not the M-16. Any of you others have any significant time shooting a rifle?” Nobody raised their hands. When he saw that, Captain Jameson said. “Not a problem, this way you won’t have any bad habits we need to get rid of. See you next week.”
He spent the rest of the morning meeting with his thesis advisor and going over his literature search and his research plan. He got a couple of good ideas from him and headed out to the laboratory to get setup. He was going to be spending a lot of there and with his thesis advisor in addition to his work with Dr. Peterson. He was well passed the time where there was any real classroom work. This was the time for research. Mike tried to keep it from 9 to 6 with a couple of hours more of reading research papers and writing reports after dinner. He was lucky to have Dave to bounce things around with. Also, to have a girlfriend to keep some normalcy in his life.
One day Dr. Peterson asked him if he was going to OCS that summer and Mike told him yes. He filled him in on all the things that they were doing to get ready for the physical nature of it including the humps and taking care of his feet. Peterson laughed. “That lugging stuff around for long distances was never my thing, that’s why I was in Armor.” Dr. Peterson reminded him that he owed him a full explanation of what it was like when he came back.
Through the Gate: The Chronicles of Cornu Book 1 Page 24
