Nora Ray (Ray Trilogy)

chapter Seventeen

“School starts in two weeks,” Nora commented to Jeremy one day on her day off. “I’ve already turned in my resignation at the hospital. Saturday will be my last day.”

“Why so early?” Jeremy asked looking up from his papers he was writing. “It takes me about one hour to pack and one hour to get to the airport.”

“How much longer do you need for this report you are working on?” she asked. “The reason I asked is I wanted to spend the rest of my time with you but not in this tiny room.”

“Well, that puts a different spin on things,” Jeremy smiled with a leer. “If you are through on Saturday, then so am I.” He put his arms around her and rocked back and forth, “What do you have in mind?”

“I know this sounds really bold, but I have never had a vacation. Would you like to go on a road trip?”

“Just the two of us?” he asked surprised.

She nodded her head, “Yes.”

“Not with out condoms! Nora.” He stepped away thinking about what their parents would think.

Her face turned red, and she shrugged.

He looked at her incredulously, “You’re serious!”

She nodded.

“Nora, I have to think about this. God! Nora, look at me. I’m so turned on my pants don’t fit.”

She walked over and touched him. “I’m ready, Jeremy.”

“I will make this work, Nora.” Jeremy ran his hands over his face. “You be ready Sunday morning. Lord, I’m so horny, I can’t walk. If you want to wait until Sunday morning, you better go home right now.”

They had two days left before the trip, they spent a lot of time on the phone but Jeremy didn’t trust himself now that they had planned the deed. He told her to bring her swimsuit. He made some plans but he wouldn’t tell her what they were in case she accidentally spilled the beans. He didn’t want anyone to know where they were going, especially his mischievous brothers.

Their parents weren’t happy about the trip but fortunately for Nora and Jeremy, their own misdeeds they had done at that age were still pretty clear. Not something they wanted to divulge either.

When Jeremy drove into Nora’s drive way, she was sitting on the porch swing with her bag in hand. She got in the car and threw her bag in the back seat. She looked at him with a big grin from ear to ear. He leaned over and kissed her and said, “Me, too.”

He backed out of her drive way and headed south on HWY 69 to Chouteau then turned east on HWY 33 toward Locust Grove. Nora scooted as close to him as she could and leaned her head on his shoulder.

Nora thought I don’t care where we go I just want to be near him. She felt his warmth go all through her.

Jeremy interrupted her thoughts saying, “I made reservations at this little motel on the other side of Locust Grove. They have individual cottages to rent. There is a natural spring that comes out of the side the hill and empties into a small gravel lined creek that flows behind the cottages. Have you ever been by there?”

“Yes,” she said, “but we never stopped.”

“It’s not a fancy place, but it does have some privacy.”

“Sounds good to me.”

They drove east through Locust Grove to the Pike Springs Motel located about a mile past town on HWY 33. Jeremy went to check in and get the key. Nora began to feel a little nervous. She began to twist her hands wondering what did I get myself into?

Jeremy came back to the car and saw her sitting against the door clasping her hands together, “Nora, if you’re not ready, we can wait on this.”

“I’ll be fine, Jeremy, I need a little time.” Nora said, “I’ve had two days to get nervous since I talked to you Thursday evening.”

“Let’s put our things in the cottage and take a walk,” he suggested.

They walked the length of the creek, then they stopped and took a drink at the pipe spring. They watched little crawdads swim around and found a school of minnows swimming near the edge of the creek.

Jeremy kept putting his fingers in the water and flipping it at her until she picked up the challenge. It wasn’t long until their competitive spirits took over and it was an all out a water fight. Fortunately they both wore tennis shoes, because it wasn’t long until they both were knee deep in water. Nora stepped on a slick rock and felt the water splash up to her neck.

Concerned that she might be hurt, Jeremy rushed to her aid. He reached out his arm to help her up.

Nora, determined not to the only one wet up to her ears, clasped his hand and jerked hard. He yelled and fell into the water beside her with a big splash.

Shocked but pleasantly surprised, he ducked her. She came up sputtering and shaking her head. “Jeremy, that wasn’t nice!” she yelled as she gleefully tried to duck him.

He was too strong for her. He stood up and pulled her up and before she realized his intention, he carried her into deeper water and dropped her. By this time they both were totally soaked. After another hour of play, they began to tire so they headed back to the room.

They headed to the bathroom to take off their wet clothes. Jeremy determined to be nice to her asked, “May I come in with you?”

She thought a moment and nodded her head, she started taking off the wet clothes that now felt cold.

“May I?” he asked brushing her hands away from the buttons on her blouse.

She let him but she felt a little foolish. Nobody had unbuttoned her blouse since she was too small to dress herself. His hands opening the buttons down the front of her blouse began to feel so sensual. As he opened the front he kept brushing her breasts which were responding appropriately.

Jeremy reached around and unfastened her bra. Her breasts were perfect as he knew they were. He touched them reverently and then kissed each one. He quickly finished undressing her. He sat on the edge of the tub and pulled her to him and kissed her belly. “My beautiful Nora, you are lovely and perfect.” He stood and lifted her face to kiss her.

She began undressing him. She had seen him without his shirt before, but she had never had the pleasure of touching him. She ran her hands over his chest and kissed his chest in every place that took her interest and there were plenty. She unfastened his jeans and pulled them down and it seemed that he exploded forth. She stepped back startled. She had never seen a man’s erection before. She laughed, “No worry about you getting ready.”

Jeremy agreed with a laugh, “Not a bit.”

They quickly showered together and Jeremy picked her up and carried her to the bed.

By three that afternoon, they came out of their room ravenous.

“The first place we find to eat, we’ll stop,” Jeremy said hungrily.

Nora was as hungry as he was spotted it first. “There,” she said, “pointing at a little café on the north side of Main Street.”

“Gosh! Nora,” Jeremy exclaimed, “I want everything on the menu!”

“You do that and I won’t be able to find the snap on your jeans under your belly,” Nora teased.

“Well, in that case, I want the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and apple pie ala mode.”

The waitress brought them their drinks and Jeremy placed his order.

Nora said, “I want what Jeremy ordered but I want salad instead of cole slaw.”

After hungrily eating, they both sat back and felt like rubbing their stomachs.

“What would you like to do next, my lovely Nora?”

“Let’s window shop and walk off some of this food,” Nora suggested.

“Sure,” Jeremy said. Window shopping is not my thing, but I will be with Nora.

They held hands and walked both sides of Main Street.

“That didn’t take long,” Nora said disappointed. She pointed toward the hill on the south side of Main Street. “Let’s walk up there,” she suggested.

They walked leisurely along looking and commenting on the houses, pointing out the flower gardens that adorned them. One house especially took their interest because it was painted bright yellow and had a screened in porch which housed at least two dozen parakeets in various colors. Several birdcages and swings hung from the ceiling. As they stood on the sidewalk appreciating the birds, the owner came out and visited with them. She explained that she was a breeder and sold them to various pet shops.

“How interesting!” Nora exclaimed. “That must be a peaceful occupation, listening to birds chirping and playing.”

Soon they walked a short ways farther and heard someone praying. Jeremy and Nora stopped and looked at each other in surprise. They looked around and saw that the prayer was coming from the church on the corner. They walked a little closer. On the front of the church was a sign that simply said, Holiness Church.

Interesting they whispered to each other.

They walked three more blocks and saw another church with music drifting out the open door. The sign over the door said, Undenominational. They stood for a moment enjoying the piano and guitar music.

“Must be someone warming up for the service tonight,” Jeremy commented.

They turned and walked back to their car to return to their cottage.

Jeremy said, “I brought some cards, I’ll challenge you to a game of Rummy.”

“You’re on, but I’ll win,” Nora promised.

He laughed, “You can try, but you can count on it. I plan to win.”

They only lasted five hands before they found more interesting things to occupy them. At nine, that night they left to find hamburgers and ice cream. Finally, they found a Dairy Mart at the far west end of Main Street as it turned to go out of town. They were already in the first stages of closing but Nora and Jeremy begged them to fix them a hamburger. The ice cream machine had already been cleaned. When they received their hamburgers, they thankfully gave a big tip for their kindness.

The next morning they checked out of the Pipe Springs Motel and drove east. The road curved so much that after a few minutes Nora begged Jeremy to stop. She stepped out on the grass at the side of the road and felt everything moving under her feet. She stepped a few paces toward the back of the car and upchucked the last of the hamburger she ate last night.

“Ugh,” she said.

Jeremy ran around the car and handed her a clean handkerchief.

“You gotta’ slow down, Jeremy. I feel green,” she begged shaking her head and shuttering. “Uck!”

“I’m sorry, Nora. I promise I’ll slow down,” Jeremy said repentantly.

Nora got back in the car and rolled the window all the way down and sat with her face into the wind hitting her face.

By the time they reached Little Kansas, Nora had color in her face again. They had been traveling over thirty minutes since they left the motel. Jeremy turned off the road to see if there was a café or store somewhere that they could find food. After driving about three blocks north they came to a tee in the road. To the right he could see a grocery store. An old well stood in front of the store in the middle of the street. It must have been a community well at one time. It appeared to be capped. How quaint they commented to each other.

Jeremy asked the man behind a counter “Is there anywhere to buy breakfast?”

“Don’t reckon,” he shook his head. “I can make you a sandwich, if that would be what you’d want.”

Jeremy looked at Nora and she nodded her head.

They ordered sandwiches. Jeremy got a cola and Nora got a lime soda. Jeremy collected some fruit and cookies to take with them. They sat on the bench outside the store and enjoyed the sandwiches and drinks. At the last minute Jeremy decided to buy a couple of six packs of colas before they left.

About ten miles down the road, they came to the Illinois River. Jeremy pulled over where people were camped out at the river. “What do you think? Does it look like fun?”

“Absolutely!” she laughed as she opened the car door.

There was a gas station nearby, so they went over to change into their swimsuits.

When they got into the water, Nora said, “Be nice to me, Jeremy, because I’ve never learned to swim.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Nope,” she shook her head. “I’ve always been a nerd. I’ve never done anything except study and work. I’ve never had a vacation before.”

“Wow!” he said amazed. “I feel honored that I get to take my love on her first vacation.”

“Jeremy, you’re such a mess. It’s going to take a lot of kisses to help you.”

He stood waist deep in the cool river water. He turned to her and seriously said, “I really feel like we should get started on those kisses before I get worse.”

Nora looked around at the others in the campsite and in the water, she giggled, “Jeremy, you are a goober. I promise when the circumstances are better we will get started on that.”

“Oh, well,” he said sorrowfully. “I guess it’s time to teach you to swim.”

Jeremy had placed one of the cartons of cola in the cool water so they could drink some when they came out of the water to rest and lie in the sun. They stayed at the Illinois River all day and went to West Siloam to get a motel room for the night.

The next day they went to Tahlequah and floated down the Illinois River in a raft. Back in Tahlequah the next day they went through the Indian museums and the College.

They also took in Fort Gibson and the submarine near Muskogee.

They had seen and done a lot of things. It was a fun and restful vacation without driving far and costing a lot of money. They returned home tanned and happy.