ASHLEY:

      The sound of running water slowly works its way past my ears and into my brain, and when I manage to force my eyes part-way open, the faint lightening of the sky showing through the blinds tells me that it's fairly early in the morning. I reach out to pick my phone up from the nightstand, and see that it's just past six-thirty, so I turn over to snuggle up with Steph, only to figure out that she's not here.

      I manage to disengage myself from the covers just as the sound of the water stops, and realize that it was coming from her bathroom, so I swing my legs over the side of the bed and take a couple of minutes to finish waking up before I start searching the floor for my clothes. On my first pass, there's no sign of them, but as I go to check the other side, I find them folded on top of the dresser, and when I pick them up, they're still faintly warm from a run through the dryer.

      From behind me, I hear, "I was up early letting Mickey out, so I decided to go ahead and run a load of laundry, and put yours in with, since you don't have any spare clothes over here yet." 

      Turning around, I see Steph standing in the bathroom door, wearing jeans and a tie-dyed sweatshirt, with her hair still damp from the shower, and I toss the clothes on the bed and walk over to wrap my arms around her. "Good morning, darlin'. How come you didn't wake me up? We could have conserved some water and showered together."

      "That does sound interesting, but maybe not today," she replies. "We managed to trigger some muscles I didn't even know I had last night, so I think I might need a few hours to work out some of the kinks. Besides, I need to go make breakfast, before we end up with Macy or Lylah banging on my door."

      "Shit, I'm sorry, babe," I blurt. "You know I'd never deliberately do anything to hurt you. Why didn't...?"

      She puts a finger over my mouth to make me stop talking, and says, "No, I didn't say that, weren't you listening? I said I had a few muscle kinks, kinda like if you ride a bike or something like that after not doing it for awhile, but the shower took care of most of them. Plus, if you remember our little talk last night, I'm not exactly used to quite so much... activity, shall we say? So if you wanna take a shower while I get some food together, the towels are in the closet behind the door, and I have extra toothbrushes and some combs in the vanity drawer, so you can pick some to use when you're here." Then she gives me a mischievous grin and adds, "But I'm afraid you will have to kind of sort through the shower gels to figure out what you can put up with smelling like today."

      She heads for the kitchen as I step into the bathroom, and I see what she meant, because on a shelf next to the shower is a basket with probably fifteen or twenty bottles of gel stuffed into it. After I grab a towel, I rummage through them and figure out that she seems to prefer fruit scents, along with a few florals, but I find one labeled "Ocean Breeze" that's sufficiently neutral to avoid any odd looks today, and since it's one of those three-in-one deals, I don't have to worry about using her honeysuckle shampoo, either.

      Once I get everything taken care of and get dressed, I make my way to the front of the house, but just before I reach the kitchen, I hear a rather loud squeal, and then Lylah's voice says, "Damn, looks like girlfriend's been holding out on us, wouldn't you say, babe?"

      "Just a little bit," Macy replies. I hear Steph mutter something that I can't understand, which makes them all laugh, and Macy says, "Okay, good for you, sis, you finally found a guy who's actually worth the effort. And you know I'm not gonna push you for details, but we would appreciate it if you'd answer just one question."

      "And that would be what, exactly?" Steph inquires.

      "Does he actually live up to all of his hype?"

      I can feel the blood creeping into my face when she asks this, but then it slams up in a complete rush when, after a slight pause, Steph replies, "Actually, if you must know, he exceeds expectations. And that's all I'm going to say on the matter."

      This starts up another round of hoots and squeals, so I wait by the side of the door until I'm reasonably sure that my face isn't as red as my shirt before going into the room. Finally, I step around from behind the wall and say, "Mornin', everybody! Do you suppose that there's any chance of getting some coffee, so I can finish waking up?"

      "Gotcha covered, dude," Lylah replies as she pops a pod into the Keurig. "Grab a seat, it'll just be a minute." 

      So I drop onto a chair and turn it around to watch Steph stir something in a bowl, then put some sort of contraption on the counter before opening the oven and removing a large iron skillet. "So what are we having?" I ask.

      "I've got a pan of peach sweet rolls here, and there are hash browns over there on the warmer. And I'm gonna do omelets while the rolls cool off enough for me to glaze them." Then she points to a collection of containers sitting on the counter and tilts her head toward Lylah and Macy.  "I know what these two like, but what do you want in yours?"

      I get up, walk over to where she's standing to check out the options, and decide on mushrooms, tomatoes, and a bit of cheddar. She sets the pan of rolls on a hot pad, then starts dropping various items into the compartments in the gizmo sitting in front of her. She then pours beaten eggs out of the bowl over everything, closes the lid, and presses a button that makes the thing start buzzing. She then turns to look at me, and asks, "Didn't you forget something?"

      I pause to think for a second, but I'm drawing a blank, so I just cock an eyebrow at her, and she raises a finger to tap her lips.

      "Oh, that's right, you were already out of bed when I woke up. Sorry about that, babe," I say, before cupping her face in my hands and giving her a very thorough good-morning kiss.

      When I finally come up for air, Macy and Lylah are clapping and whistling, and Steph gives me  a big smile. "That's more like it," she declares. "Now, since you're standing here, would you mind unstacking those plates right there so I can get these eggs on them when they finish?"

      I shuffle them out, and a couple of minutes later she pops the lid on the omelet maker, starts doling them out onto the plates, and Lylah starts ferrying them to the table while Macy grabs the potatoes and Steph pours her glaze over the rolls. We finally sit down, and as we're eating, Lylah looks up and says, "Oh yeah, Steph, you do remember that we're leaving this afternoon to head out for our friend Paolo's wedding, right? So the two of you will have the place to yourselves if you feel like being 'adventurous', shall we say."

      "Right, your trip to San Diego. That's why neither of you are working for the next couple of days," she replies. "What time are you leaving?"

      "We're prolly gonna take off about two or so," Macy responds. "We have our room reserved starting at five, and it's about a two-hour drive, so we figured that we should give ourselves a bit of leeway in case the traffic is heavy. And I suppose we should have thought about this before yesterday, but are you okay with keeping an eye on Sinatra while we're gone?"

      When the cat hears his name, he jumps down from the windowsill where he's been laying and prances over to the table, winding his way around everyone's ankles before he stops between me and Macy, giving us a sad-eyed look. "I think someone is looking to mooch a little bit of breakfast," I chuckle. "Sorry, buddy, but I'm pretty sure you won't be interested in a chunk of tomato."

      Macy plucks a small hunk of sausage from her omelet and holds it out to Sinatra, who very delicately takes it from her fingers. When she looks up, both Lylah and Steph are staring at her with raised eyebrows, and she says, "Oh, come on, you two! I know he can't eat people food on a regular basis, but there's nothing wrong with giving him a treat every once in awhile. If you remember, Steph, even Dad would give Bo a bite of his burger sometimes."

      "Yeah, I remember," Steph answers. "I also remember that the one time I saw him do it during the meal, Mom whacked his knuckles with a spoon, because she said she wasn't going to have Bo or any other animal getting in the habit of begging at the dinner table. I have no issue with the treat thing, 'cuz Mickey will most likely get his fair share, but only in his dish, or away from the table."

      "Sorry, love, but I'm on your sister's side with this one," Lylah adds. "If we give in when he starts begging, next thing you know, he'll be jumping up on the table trying to eat out of the dishes, and knocking things over. And I don't think you want to deal with that any more than we do."

      "Okay, no more sneaking food at the table. Got it," Macy sighs. "But while we're on the subject of the animals, we need to get in gear if we still want to get that pet door put in before we have to leave." She then glances between me and Steph and inquires, "Do you guys want us to go get it while you get everything together, or would you rather go?"

      "Why don't you let us go?" I say. "If I'm gonna hang here with Steph again tonight, I should probably make a run to pick up a few things for future use, and stop by my house to grab some clothes. That way, you two can get the stuff for your trip loaded up while we're gone, and then we can all tag-team the door."

      Everyone agrees that this is probably the best plan, so once we finish eating and get everything put away, the two of us get into her SUV and head for Target to grab some basics, like shower stuff and deodorant, a razor, a couple more boxes of condoms, and an extra flatiron, so I can keep my hair in order. I also suggest that she get some things to drop at my place, for whenever she stays over with me. Then we go to get the pet-door kit, and I actually decide to grab an extra one to install at my place, so she can bring Mickey with her occasionally. It's been awhile since I gave my dogs away, but I still miss them quite a bit, and it'll be nice to have one around the house again sometimes.

      After we finish shopping, we go to my place so I can get some extra clothes and drop off the door and her supplies. She puts her stuff away in my bathroom as I'm deciding what to pack,  and once I get that settled, I decide to go ahead and rearrange a few things so she can have a couple of drawers and a bit of closet space when she needs it. Then just as I'm zipping my bag, her phone, which is laying on my bed, rings, and after a quick glance, she taps the screen. "Hey there, Paul," she says. "How's everything going?"

      "Just fine here," a man's voice responds. "I'm calling because we still need to get together and work out the details for transferring your trust. I was thinking that you could come to my office sometime in the next couple of days, but Gina suggested that I call and see if you were free to come to dinner tonight, and we can all talk about it here, where it's more comfortable."

      "I'd like that, we haven't really had a chance to hang out much lately," she tells him. "But I do have a question for you. Would you be okay with my boyfriend coming along with me?"

      "Are you sure that's wise? We are going to be discussing some rather sensitive information, you know."

      "I'm well aware of that, and anything you want to talk to me about you're more than welcome to say in front of Ash," she informs him. "I trust him, and I have absolutely nothing to hide from him."

      "All right, if that's what you want, then he's more than welcome," he says. "It'll give us all a chance to get acquainted."

      They decide on a time, then end the call, and she turns to me and says, "I apologize for roping you into spending the evening with people you don't know, but honestly, I'm not entirely sure of what they're going to tell me, and I'd kind of like some moral support. But if you'd rather not go, you don't have to, I'll totally understand."

      "Hey, it's perfectly fine with me," I reply. "I'll be spending time with you, which is what I want to do anyway. And since these folks are your friends, we probably should get to know each other sometime. So, since we have actual plans for the evening now, we should probably head back to your place and get to work on that door, so we have time to clean up and change before we need to be there."

      We go back to the house and, between the four of us, manage to get the door installed before lunchtime. It seems that Mickey has used one before, because he almost immediately barrels through it to run circles in the backyard, but Sinatra needs a bit of convincing before he'll go through on his own. Then after we eat, we hang out and just shoot the shit until Macy and Lylah leave for their trip, and then Steph informs me that she's pretty sure she's worked out the worst of her "muscle kinks", so we decide to let Mickey and Sinatra out in the yard to play for awhile while we take advantage of our "alone time". 

      Then, after we shower and change, and make sure the animals are fed, we leave for her friend's house, and get there just a few minutes before the time she told them to expect us. We actually met at her party the other night, but we have a chance to actually get acquainted over a meal of  tossed salad and homemade chicken enchiladas. Then, as we're enjoying our dessert of angel food cake with raspberries, her friend Paul looks across the table at me and says, "I have to be honest with you, Ashley, I was a little concerned when Stephanie introduced you as her boyfriend the other night, considering your age difference. And your line of work, to be truthful."

      "So I'm guessing that you've run some kind of a background check or something, right?" I inquire.

      He doesn't say anything right away, but his expression pretty much lets me know that I'm right. Steph looks completely shocked, then angry, but before she can say anything, I put my hand on her arm and say, "Chill, babe, he was just doing his job. Considering what he said on the phone earlier, I kind of get the impression that this trust of yours might be a bit more significant than everyone has assumed, and if that's the case, I would have worried if he hadn't checked me out a bit. And to be honest, if everyone hadn't already been acquainted with you when we started going out, either Blasko or Dina probably would've had you investigated, too."

      Paul cocks an eyebrow at me and replies, "Yes, Steph, he's right, that sort of thing is part of the job that your grandpa asked me to do when he hired me, as well as something I felt that I should do as your friend. Although, I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised, because most people don't take it quite so well when they figure out that they've been checked out."

      "Maybe it's because I'm used to people expecting me to be something I'm not," I say. "Or maybe because I'm in show business, as well as being a businessman myself, and I'm used to being a bit paranoid about people's intentions. And I'm not going to ask what you might or might not have come up with, but I'll tell you that she already knows about a good number of the bad decisions I've made, and if she wants info about anything else, all she has to do is say the word, and I'll tell her whatever she wants to know. I'm open to full disclosure, if that's what she wants."

      "Like I told you earlier, Paul, I trust him," she declares. "He didn't bail on me when he found out I was hiding things from him, so why would I do it if you find out something I wasn't aware of?"

      They both seem to be a bit confused by this, so we explain how we actually knew each other when she was still Billy, and that she hadn't mentioned it to me at first. I also admit to being stupid enough to get hooked by Cyndee, which earns me head-shakes and rolled eyes from both Paul and Gina. Then, when we finally finish hashing things out on that topic, we go to his study, and they both fire up their computers as well as handing Steph a sizable file folder stuffed with papers.

      "All right, just to be sure you both understand exactly how this was set up, I'm going to explain the basic setup of the trust," Paul says. "When Dalton McCracken realized that his health was going downhill, he came to me and asked that Gina and I help him set up and administer a trust for Stephanie, who was still Billy then, of course. He had basically lost all patience with his son and daughter-in-law in regards to the way they behaved with their kids, and didn't trust either of them to care for her properly without some method of controlling their behavior."

      "So he rewrote his will so all of his insurance payouts, as well as a few other investments, were left to Stephanie, with her parents inheriting only the family home and a small amount of cash," Gina adds. "And while it turned out that things left a lot more to be desired than we were made aware of, Paul made sure that Rod and Helen knew that they had to provide at least the basics of adequate care for her by informing them that if we saw any indication that she was being mistreated or neglected that we would contact Children's Services and recommend that both girls be removed from the home."

      "Yeah, I'm sure that idea flew like a cast-iron kite," I chuckle. "I'm surprised that threatening to take their precious little Cyndee away didn't have their heads exploding."

      "We should have been so lucky," Steph mumbles. 

      This gets a laugh from everyone, and after that, they get things back on track, and it turns out that I was right, and that even Steph has been underestimating the size of her trust. The terms of her grandad's will specified that the money was primarily for her education, or for major emergencies, and that if anything was left, she would get it at age twenty-five. She has a fairly good memory of her college costs, and told us that she had figured that there might be forty or fifty thousand dollars left over, but Gina's reply to this renders her speechless for a good couple of minutes. 

      Apparently they have been investing the money for her, and after what was paid toward her degree, she now has access to slightly over one-point-three million dollars, which actually seems to rattle her a bit. "Shit! I have no clue what I'm supposed to do with that kind of money," she mumbles.

      "Whatever you want," Paul answers. "It's all yours now, and you don't have to answer to us, or anyone else now regarding how you spend it."

      She goes quiet for a minute or so, then says, "Then we might as well keep things the way they are, because it seems to be working pretty well so far. As of right now, the only big thing I feel like I might want is to maybe take a vacation trip somewhere really cool at some point, and I'll just keep the rest in reserve in case of an emergency, or to fall back on if my career goes belly-up on me. Just because I have it doesn't mean I have to spend it."

      She has to sign several papers, which Paul says that he'll fax to the bank in the morning, and then we go back to the living room to sit and chat about non-legal stuff for a bit before Steph and I excuse ourselves to go back to the house. After saying our goodbyes and getting back on the road, I glance over at her as she maneuvers the SUV through the side streets back toward the freeway. "So did you want to go out somewhere to celebrate your new financial independence?" I ask her. "If you do, I know several places you might get a kick out of."

      "Maybe another time," she replies, giving me a quick glance before turning her eyes back to the road. "I kind of had something else in mind right now."

      "Sure thing, babe, I'm up for whatever you want to do."

      She giggles at this, then says, "Well, if you're not now, you soon will be." And as the words are leaving her mouth, one of her hands leaves the steering wheel, makes its way to my crotch, and gives me a squeeze. "Since I know what I've been missing now, I'd much rather have a private celebration with you. So, in the immortal words of Susannah Hoffs; 'C'mon, honey, let's go make some noise', if you take my meaning."

      "Oh, I most certainly do," I growl, as it occurs to me that I've apparently jump started a libido almost as strong as mine.

      I get the feeling that this is the beginning of a long, beautiful relationship.