Both boys saw her immediately as Karin came down the stairs with Cassie walking slowly behind. Karin gave each of them a hug and a kiss on their cheeks; they had to bend down as they were so much taller than their mother. Cassie stopped on the last step watching them greet their mother.
“Boy’s, I’d like you to meet my friend and slave laborer Cassie, Cassie these are my son’s, Alex” who came forward to shake Cassie’s hand “and Caleb” who also shook her hand politely. Caleb looked at her funnily and asked “aren’t you Cassie Summers the singer?” and Cassie nodded politely in response with a grin.
Caleb turned to his mother and asked laughing “you got Cassie Summers to help you pack up this place?”
Karin shrugged grinning and Cassie could see where Caleb got his looks from, his smile was a duplicate of his mother’s. “I get help where ever I can, especially if they volunteer!”
“We didn’t volunteer” Alex reminded her in his deep voice. He was tall and blonde with a short haircut and Cassie wondered if he looked like his father as he was different from Karin and Caleb.
“No, this is a command performance but then a lot of it is your junk too!” she teased.
“I see you two have been busy?” Alex noted the boxes stacked in the living room and the bare shelves of the units lining the wall.
“I see you two didn’t arrive until after that work was done” she grinned to show she was still teasing.
“It took forever to get down here with that U-Haul” he noted.
Karin glanced at Caleb “well, he was picking me up” he defended himself. He only lived across town.
“Well it’s too late to move much, what say you we all go out to dinner instead?” Karin asked and they all agreed.
Karin and Cassie took turns washing up in the bathroom upstairs as the boys brought a couple of pieces of furniture down the stairs from Alex’s bedroom to be taken out later to the U-Haul trailer parked in the driveway. Karin had parked on the street knowing she would be in the way otherwise. They took Karin’s rental to a nice family restaurant. The boys were at ease with their mother and Cassie saw another side that delighted and pleased her. Karin as a mother? This was an unexpected delight. The teasing and shared memories were fun to observe. They included Cassie as though she was one of them and Karin was pleased. It didn’t seem to bother either of the boys that she was their mother’s girlfriend and she relaxed even further as the night went on.
They popped a movie in the VCR that night as Karin made popcorn and they drank wine to watch. It was relaxing and they enjoyed themselves as they made comments over the movie they had obviously watched a million times before. Soon Karin and Cassie both were yawning over their long day between traveling and packing and headed up to bed. As Karin tried to make love to Cassie, for the first time Cassie refused her.
“No, stop” she protested as Karin began kissing and caressing her.
Karin pulled back in surprise “why not?”
“Your boys are downstairs” she said matter of factly.
Karin grinned barely holding back her laughter “what does that have to do with anything?”
Cassie shrugged feeling foolish “they might hear us.”
Karin chuckled “they are down in a basement two floors away” the boys had sprawled out on the bed and futon left in Caleb’s room so they could all get an early start at filling the U-Haul and packing.
“I know but it just feels wrong somehow” Cassie did now indeed feel foolish, very foolish, but she couldn’t help how she felt. She understood now why Karin had felt as she did making love in her father’s home in Kansas.
Karin just laughed letting it go and snuggled close as they both went to sleep after their tiring day.
Cassie woke to the most delicious dream. She had had this one before and had told Karin about it many times. They were apart too often for the amount of sex either of them wanted to participate in and occasionally told each other their fantasies on the phone when they spoke at night. It had led to more than one bought of phone sex that they shared. This dream though felt amazingly real. Cassie was exposed from the waist down and Karin was going down on her, her tongue wrapping itself around her clit and doing its worst, her two fingers of her right hand adroitly playing inside seeking and finding Cassie’s G spot. Cassie gasped in pleasure as they stroked it ever so gently. It felt so delicious, and so real! Karin’s other hand caressed its way up Cassie’s body and grasped her right breast with her warm hand fondling the entire mass in the palm and then gently teasing the nipple that rose up in response as she tweaked and played with it. Cassie moaned slightly, it all felt so very delicious as she arched into the palm and rubbed her pussy into Karin’s face. She came violently awake when she realized it was real. Karin held her in place effortlessly as she squirmed to get away.
Karin had awoken before Cassie. Her internal alarm clock telling her it was six a.m. and the digital clock on the dresser confirming it. They really didn’t have to be up yet she thought and she looked at Cassie sleeping in her bed with delight. She was totally relaxed and looked very vulnerable. Her arm was thrown over her head in abandonment, her blonde hair spread out over the pillow her mouth slightly ajar as she slept deeply. She wore a sleep shirt with the picture of a horse galloping across it. Karin could see she had thrown the covers off to bare her legs and cool herself off in the warm upstairs room. It had exposed the fact that she was wearing a thong. Karin grinned in delight, it was too delicious to let it pass and Cassie had refused her the previous night, it didn’t mean that Karin didn’t still want her. They weren’t together enough to suit either of them and she couldn’t let this opportunity pass. She slowly and stealthily slid down on the bed and maneuvered herself carefully. It wasn’t difficult to slide the thong aside, she didn’t need to remove it for what she had in mind as she bent her head to start licking between Cassie’s spread legs. She was soon rewarded with a return wetness and her fingers started playing with it. Unconsciously Cassie’s body was responding to her ministrations and Karin was delighted with the game she was playing. Her left hand began to caress its way up Cassie’s body under her shirt towards the erect nipples she could see pointing through the material. She knew the minute that Cassie started waking up.
Cassie’s hands came to Karin’s shoulder’s to push her away saying sleepily “stop” but Karin only increased her efforts and Cassie pushed ineffectually against her as her body betrayed her. She had been so relaxed and so into her ‘dream’ that she was too far along, she needed the release that only Karin could give her. Karin put Cassie’s legs over her shoulders and then raised her body up to bring Cassie’s lower half up and grabbing a pillow she bolstered Cassie’s buttocks up to have better access between her legs. Cassie’s hands fell aside except to return to encourage Karin in her efforts her fingers clawing and grasping at Karin’s shoulders as she enjoyed herself. Her head fell back and she gasped for air it felt so very good. She grabbed a pillow to scream into in time as she came over and over and her body convulsed. Karin waited until she felt she was finished before removing the bolster and climbing up Cassie’s body rubbing her own against her as she kissed her way north. When she looked down into Cassie’s contented face she said with a delighted smile “good morning” grinning at the mischief she had created. Cassie wrapped her legs around Karin’s body and turned them both in the bed nearly rolling them off the edge before righting them both as she attacked Karin to return the favor for her ‘turn’.
They both came downstairs after washing up in the bathroom and Karin looked into the fridge. There was nothing but condiments inside since she was so rarely there. The freezer was empty and she turned it off. There was no point in wasting the electricity anymore as they wouldn’t be staying here. Karin went out with Cassie and showed her the neighborhood in the early morning light as they got coffee, juice, donuts, croissants, and bagels for them all. The boys were up and dismantling Caleb’s futon couch which wouldn’t fit through the narrow doorways any other way.
It was apart and the nuts, bolts, and screws in a bag taped to the frame before they stopped to eat breakfast at the dining table together. The easy camaraderie returned as they chatted over breakfast.
“So are you moving all your stuff to New York?” Alex asked his mother as he helped himself to a bagel and smothered it in cream cheese.
Karin watched him “how can you eat that stuff” she meant the crème cheese.
“Grandma taught me” he smiled as he took a big bite.
“I don’t know yet, I’m thinking I should put it all in storage” she answered his question.
Cassie wanted to volunteer her moving in with her again but thought perhaps this wasn’t the right time in case it turned into an argument. She didn’t want any discord in front of Karin’s sons. She wasn’t exactly sure what Karin had told them about their relationship and an argument right now would not be a good thing.
The boys moved all of the heavy oak furniture from Alex’s room into the U-Haul first. Karin and Cassie boxed and packed up the dishes and cookware in the kitchen. Karin was only keeping a few pots and pans for sentimental reasons, they had been her grandmother’s but the boys were dividing up the rest to use otherwise she would have given them to Goodwill. Moving the furniture seemed to take all day. Karin carefully dismantled her oak dining room table and took off the top and put the nuts and bolts in a bag she taped to the bottom. It allowed them to move it all when she was ready. The boys brought her trunks and dressers down from her bedroom as well as the bookshelves and put them in the now cluttered living room that was filled with stacked boxes and furniture. Karin had given Alex the entertainment center and the cat-tree. That afternoon Karin ordered pizza to be delivered and they all stopped to rest. The boys divided up the tools in the garage and made sure to pack the rest of the furniture including the mattress set from Karin’s room they were taking in the U-Haul. Karin had insisted after doing a last load of laundry while they finished packing that the boys take the laundry set from the laundry room and this got them to help bring her antiques up from the basement and into the living room as well.
Early the next morning Karin drained her fish tanks until they were barely full having pulled the plants from one of the tanks and put them in a pail full of water from the tank. Some fish were mixed with them but the majority of them were still in the tanks. The boys carefully put the tanks in the back of Alex’s truck and packed them well so they wouldn’t move around in the trip north on the freeways. They loaded the last few things and this and that including two very disgruntled cats in separate kennels and giving their mother and Cassie a hug said goodbye. They would stop by Caleb’s apartment and take the mattresses from his room and the futon up to his place before Alex set off for his long trip north to his house. Karin had made sure he had someone to help him unpack the U-Haul when he got home especially the heavy furniture as well as the fish tanks which really were a two person operation.
Karin looked around her now bare house. Everything was practically in her living room and garage now in boxes or sitting there waiting to be moved out. There was nothing in the closets or bedrooms upstairs. Cassie had packed up the bathroom items in a box which now sat down in the living room. Karin had repeatedly checked each room and closets to be sure nothing was missed. The only thing upstairs was the large amount of plants in front of her south facing window; she didn’t want to move them until she had to. There was nothing downstairs anymore they had gotten it all.
As she looked around one last time Cassie came and put her arms around her from behind and asked “sad?”
Karin smiled as she hugged her arm closer as she answered “yes and no, it was time.”
“Now will you move in with me?” Cassie asked hopefully.
Karin smiled again “I don’t know, I need to get back to work” she said and sighed. She worked a lot and there would be no need to come back to Milwaukee unless she visited her son and perhaps her brother’s family. She didn’t want to decide yet what to do with all her stuff. The boys had taken theirs and it was finally out, everything left was her’s to do with and she didn’t need to make a decision yet. She hadn’t told her brother she was packing up but then they only really communicated through Christmas cards these days. She was okay with that. It wasn’t really any business of his anyway.
Cassie wanted to sigh loudly. This brilliant, beautiful, and stubborn woman was so hard to pin down. She wanted to it to be settled, she wanted her to visit Nashville more often but she had to admit as much as she worked on each coast a house in California, especially Los Angeles wasn’t a bad idea. She’d have to ask about the tax benefits of another house from the brilliant team of accountants that now worked for her from Karin.
Besides their suitcases Karin carried one of the many pots of ‘Sword Plant’ that she wanted for her apartment in New York. She was heading east while Cassie was heading back to Nashville and a series of singing engagements that Karin had arranged for her including a charity event that would culminate in a huge Thanksgiving Gala. Cassie hoped Karin would be there for her this time. She wanted to go out in public with her by her side.
There was a huge Christmas party for clients of Kreske Public Relations in the weeks prior. It included Kwanza, Hanukah, and the Solstice. Cassie was invited and intended to come. It was being held in a huge ballroom and Karin’s clients and teams would be well represented as well as the firm’s other team leader’s and executives, client’s, potential clients, and employees were flying in from Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco and all their other satellite offices throughout the country. It was a good chance to smooze with the right people, to be noticed, to realize who was who in the company and show the clients they were well represented in the firm of Kreske Public Relations. Not everyone could attend of course but those that could, would. For some clients this was the only time they would actually meet the movers and shakers who controlled their careers and destinies besides their handler’s, agents, or promoters.
Cassie arrived with Chet and Alex. She had insisted someone from the band come and they had both taken the opportunity to bring their wives to New York right before Christmas for shopping. They all looked fine in their tuxedos and gowns. Cassie had chosen a gray blue gown that barely draped over her toned body and made her look incredibly sexy. Three inch heels assured she wouldn’t be making large strides that gave away her ranch upbringing and made her look tomboyish. There was nothing masculine about this woman though to those who saw her in her beautiful gown. She was a star and they knew it as they took her in. Chet and Alex headed to the bar with their wives and Cassie began to make the rounds talking to a few of Karin’s team she recognized and she had worked with time and again.
“Ah Ms. Summers” a cool voice said to her and she looked up into the eyes of Elliott Kreske. He looked debonair in his tuxedo.
Cassie smiled and shook his hand saying “please, call me Cassie.”
Elliott smiled. He was pleased that she was part of his corral of important clients. The last sixteen months had been very profitable for his firm. Cassie’s success had netted them many important clients and the entertainment division had really taken off. He had known applying the right pressure to Karin Myers would be good thing. It had also allowed them to hire some of the best in the industry to handle them. Kreske was flying high and he knew it. He couldn’t help but be in a good mood as he looked around the gathering of well-respected and influential people. A few had been invited in the hopes that they would sign with Kreske just because of who they had in their stable already.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” he asked cordially looking down at how fetching she looked in her gray blue gown. It really was a shame she was gay he thought as he admired how it draped on her body.
“Yes, I am,” she answered distractedly “is Karin going to be here?” She had given herself away with that simple question.
He smiled; it was obvious that Cassie was very smitten with Karin. He didn’t mind if that ‘personal’ touch was what she n
eeded and he had heard Karin was very ‘personal’ and very good at her job. He knew that from the reports and profits he garnered. He had known for years she was a top notch employee. “She had a meeting before the gala with a new client but I’m sure she will be here” he informed her before being distracted by another client who was honored to meet the head of Kreske’s in person.
Cassie tried to keep herself busy while she waited for Karin to arrive. She had been to hundreds of parties without Karin whose career was as busy as her own but for some reason she had really wanted to be here with Karin at this one. It was in New York after all, she had changed at Karin’s apartment now that she had a key, but it still didn’t mean they were living together. Karin’s boxes and furniture were still in that house in Milwaukee and it bothered her no end her lack of commitment to move in with her.
“Mr. Schwarz I assure you Kreske Public Relations can handle all your needs” Karin said. She was uncomfortable since she was wearing the gown she would wear for the Gala for this meeting instead of the practical business suits she normally wore. There would be no time to change later after this meeting and she wasn’t going to change in the limo she had waiting downstairs.
“I’m not sure” he hesitated for the umpteenth time “I’m used to having an agent, a manager, someone I can talk to. He handles my contracts, my promotions; the bookings are all handled at the publishers.”
Karin smiled, she was good at this “in this day and age a promoter does all of that and more. With the digital age we help sell your books through the internet in conjunction with your publishers. By bringing it to our group you get a better service than just one person handling each and every step you have a team effort. Your publisher contacted us to get you to sign with us because they felt we could do a bigger and broader job for you. Your editor will still be supplied through the publishing house but they have us to do the promotions, the websites, and the bookings now. We are a complete agency.” She knew he was old school and it took longer to convince some of these older author’s but it really was in his best interest for the development of his works to sign with an agency these days. It was a big world out there and their results were phenomenal, you couldn’t argue with success like they had shown time and again. “I will give you my personal cell, any time you have questions I will be there for you. My team will handle it all for us and make sure you are satisfied. If you aren’t, you call me, and I’ll handle it for you” she knew he needed that personal touch she was good at as many clients would tell anyone.
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