Sara grabbed a wind breaker from a hanger, then tied her curly blond hair into a pony tail and put on a headband making sure to cover her ears. She hated cold ears. Then she dropped her pink cell phone into the pocket of her windbreaker. She left her room and hurried down the long hall towards the back of the house.
She bounced her way down one of the rear staircases and found her brother in the small drawing room with his feet propped on an ottoman and his computer on his lap. She stopped and leaned against the doorframe to stretch. "You're going early", he observed, not looking up from the screen. Charles was three years younger than Sara. He was tall though, unlike Sara herself who was only 5'41/2" on a good day. Charles was the starting quarterback for his high school team and had all the girls after him. None of that mattered to Sara who always thought of him as Charlie, her little brother.
"I can't sit in my room any more. I have to do something." Sara leaned over and put her forehead to her shins before clasping her hands behind her calves and pulling her shoulders back.
"I know you're waiting on your boyfriend, but you could do something constructive… Like take out the trash or wash dishes", Charles said with a grin. Sara looked up and shook her head. That was the same grin he gave to the girls at school to make them pant. It didn't work on her.
While she was in the middle of her stretch, Sara reached out with her mind and pushed the power button on Charles' laptop. It started shutting down. "Oh come on, Sara! I was in the watching of a movie." She smirked and ran out the door.
Charles was mad for a second or two, but then laughed. He was so glad to have Sara back home. They had always been very very close and Charles looked up to his big sister figuratively because he'd been taller than her since he was ten. These days though, he found himself having to think about her often to ward off the voices. He wasn't sure what was going on with him, but having Sara around helped him somehow. He wished that when Christmas break was over that she wouldn't go back to college, but he couldn't tell her his problem. He wondered what people would think about Charles Hewitt hearing voices. He shook off the negative thoughts and resumed his movie.
After her jog, Sara took a long shower but sighed when she looked at herself in the mirror after getting out. "How are these going to fit in the jeans I picked out?", she asked herself as she ran her hands down her still pumped up thighs. She put her hand flat on her thighs, and flexed hard. "Umm. I probably shouldn't encourage this." She traced the tracts of her quads, and flexed her abs. Sara'd had abs for about a year now, but looking at them never got old. "Focus Sara", she told herself. It was true that she'd built her body to be a little dynamo, but this wasn't about the power of her tight body. She was worried about a power that couldn't be seen. This was the reason Sara had rarely taken a chance on having a boyfriend.
Sara was one of the world's most powerful telekinetics and one of the world's strongest telepaths too. It was part of who she was. She shared that part of herself with her immediate family and with her close friends. Sara was good at keeping her secret, but as she got older, she tired of having to hide such a huge part of who she was. It helped that her two best friends were also gifted. Around Jan Caufield and Alisha von Edder, Sara didn't have to hide her power. Some days she thought that Jan and Alisha's friendship was the only thing that kept her sane. Even her family couldn't understand. No regular person could.
She went to the back drawing room where Charles was still sitting but now with a book. Charles had been distant for weeks before Sara's return, but whatever his problem had been he seemed to be over it. They talked for a second before she walked out into the sunny, but cold afternoon towards the detached garage behind the house. There were dozens of vehicles in there from limousines to pick-up trucks to everything in between. She went straight for the keys to a tan Durango. She'd left her own Hummer H3 back in Atlanta.
Sara was going to the airport in Jackson, Mississippi to pick up her boyfriend who was flying in to visit her for a few days. She hadn't brought her last boyfriend to her home instead she'd gone to his home in Arizona. He'd asked to come to Mississippi to visit her, but she'd turned him down more than once. It got to the point that Chris, her former boyfriend, had thought that she was ashamed to bring him to her house. That hadn't been it at all, but Sara was a rather low key person, and her family home was anything but. Either way, Sara was determined to not make the same mistake again… whatever that mistake had been.
Armen Petrosian got off the airplane and headed straight for baggage claim. He'd just traveled half way across the country to spend time with his girl friend of a month. Sara wanted Armen to meet her family, but he knew it was more than that. Sara wanted to show him a glimpse of her life. Armen had lived in a comfortable suburban home in Kansas City for the last ten years. It was nice. He knew his neighbors and all that, but Sara hadn't grown up that way. She'd grown up on a big farm. Sara didn't talk much about her home which got Armen's imagination going. He was pretty sure that Sara's father wouldn't want him sleeping near his daughter. Armen chuckled at the idea of sleeping in a barn with horses and cows. As long as he didn't have to sleep near chickens. He hated chickens. The only things chickens are good for is laying eggs and frying.
Armen got his luggage and walked outside not knowing what to expect. He turned to his right and saw the sweetest thing he'd seen all day. Sara was about fifty feet away leaning against an suv messing with her phone. Armen's eyes scanned her up and down. She wore a purple jacket that didn't show off the shape of her superb upper body, but it didn't matter because Armen's eyes locked in on Sara legs confined in tight jeans. Her butt and thighs looked squeezably perfect encased in that denim, but he knew better. Sara was a serious runner now, and if he'd squeezed Sara's legs he'd feel the hardness of her muscle beneath.
Armen felt himself go all gooey. He hated that feeling, but Sara's sexiness was so deceptive. It wasn't like her friend Jan whose looks could stun a man from half a mile away, or Alisha who's body was the very reason that regular women got plastic surgery. Sara's appeal was subtle but no less powerful, from the soft natural curls of her flaxen hair to her always pleasant face to her blue-grey eyes to her body that didn't reveal its secrets at first glance. Everything about Sara was like that. She usually looked like she was in control, like she knew what she wanted and how she wanted it, but right here in this moment, leaning against the fender she looked like a flower on a stem, delicate and vulnerable. Sara would never be in danger when Armen was around though.
Sara sent her text then looked up. Her whole face brightened like a spotlight when she saw Armen standing there with his bags. She hurried up to him. "Hey, Armen." She stretched way up and puckered her pouty lips. Armen's put his luggage on the ground and leaned over. He put his arms around Sara's firm body and pulled her in close and planted a kiss on those pouty lips. People walked by and tried not to look at the two young people smooching in front of the airport. Sara smiled and pulled away.
"How was your flight?", she asked in her proper Mississippi accent.
Armen smiled. He loved her voice. "It was cool", he uttered while licking his lips after the kiss. "Thanks for the ticket."
"It was nothing. Let me help you help you with the bags." Armen watched as Sara leaned down and hefted one of his suitcases and tossed it in the back.
"Somebody's been drinking their milk", Armen teased and tossed a bag in the back.
Sara snickered. She could pick up the whole darn Durango if she wanted to. "Why do people always think I'm weak or something?, she asked and picked up an even heavier bag.
"I don't." Armen tried to back peddle. "I'm just saying take it easy Wonder Woman."
Sara shook her head. "Get in Armen before I leave you here."
"Yes ma'am", Armen said in his best southern accent. It was good enough to make Sara chuckle. He climbed in and off they went. It would take more than an hour for Sara to drive home. Armen looked out the window at the scenery while they traveled into the famed Mississippi Delta Region. After a while Sara got off the main highway and turned onto a road that had a rock wall running along one side.
Armen saw some houses in the distance. They were big new houses like the gated subdivisions he saw back in Kansas City. He was surprised to see houses like that in the middle of this farming area. He had a fleeting hope that Sara would turn down the road that lead to one of those houses, but he should have known better. She didn't live in one of those. He wasn't going to be that lucky. He was going to living a bit more rustic for the next few days.
Sara took another turn, this time through a large stone gate with an arched wrought iron sign above it that read 'Clover Bottom Farms' in ornate script. Armen sat forward in his seat as soon as they started down the driveway to Sara's house. Massive live oak trees lined both sides. Their leafless branches stretched from side of the road to the other. Mixed in with the oaks were big southern magnolia trees as well. In the spring, summer, and fall this driveway had to look like a postcard. It was too bad he was seeing it in the winter. There were winter flowers in beds around the trunks of the trees to add color, but Armen knew that he was just getting a taste of what this usually looked like. Beyond the trees was a lawn and groves of trees. All of it looked neat enough to be have been groomed with scissors instead of lawnmowers. He saw Christmas decorations spread out on that manicured lawn. This was his first taste of what lay beyond. He'd only seen something like this on a postcard, but he hadn't seen anything yet. He was too busy looking around to notice the pensive look on Sara's face. She was taking a bit of a chance with this.
"Man this is a long driveway", Armen commented after they'd been driving for a while.
Sara sighed and didn't look at the passenger while she spoke. "Back in the old days a long driveway was a symbol of status and wealth. We're almost there."
"Status and wealth? I thought you lived in an old farm house."
Sara howled with laugher. "Who told you that?"
Armen didn't know what the joke was, but Sara seemed to be out of the shell that she'd been in. "Alisha told me. It's not true?"
Sara was still laughing when she spoke. "No, it's true. She wasn't lying or anything. I do live in an old farm house." Her laugher rose again. "I've just never heard it called that before. I'm going to have to tell Charles that one."
Sara wouldn't stop laughing and Armen was wondering what the joke was when they crested a small hill and there it was, Clover Bottom Mansion. It hit Armen like a brick… or rather millions of them. The mansion was massive and took his breath away. Sara's family home had three floors, but stood nearly 60 feet high from the ground to the roofline with 20 massive square columns holding up the three story porch and balconies that wrapped around three sides of the house. The front entrance to the home was a fifteen foot tall double door made of polished black walnut and the windows that flanked it were ten feet high with shimmering handmade glass panes. The slate roof look big enough to land a jet and the details of the workmanship were out of this world. Four chimneys rose near the corners of the house and even from a distance, Armen could tell that the brick work was artistry.
The driveway turned into a roundabout in front of the house that helped frame the plaza. There were four huge Christmas trees at the corners of the plaza with a few Santas and reindeer, but the centerpiece was a life size Nativity at the center of the plaza right next to the sundial. Sara pulled the Dodge to the front of the house and got out with the engine running.
"You've got to be kidding", Armen breathed as he looked around like a babe in the woods. Sara took her boyfriend by the arm and led him up the granite stairs. She turned the knob because the front door was unlocked.
The inside of the house was even more impressive than the outside. Armen was speechless. He thought he had been in a wealthy person's home back in Kansas City, but comparing the modern houses to this one was like comparing paper plates to fine china. This place oozed money, status, class, and above all power.
The front foyer was as large as some hotel lobbies and the inlaid wood floor cost more than a starter house. The chandelier hanging from a chain suspended twenty feet overhead had more crystals than the Fortress of Solitude. There was an expertly carved Italian marble fireplace positioned between the dual staircases that lead to the landing that overlooked the entrance. The Christmas tree off to one side the stairs was decorated richly and despite its large size it fit well in this oversized entrance. Portraits of Hewitt's past hung on the walls and other artifacts were nearby including a beautiful Tiffany lamp that had to be a hundred years old. Armen was afraid to touch anything as Sara gave him a quick tour of the ground level. The floors in every room looked too fine to even walk on. He was surprised that Sara didn't ask him to take his shoes off and put on booties.
He saw members of the household staff moving about down halls and corridors in the distance while Sara showed him around. They gave him quick looks, but they kept to their business while he looked at one elegant room after another. His tour ended in the grand ballroom. He stood there mouth agape staring at a polished marble floor made up of alternating black and white squares five feet across.
"So what do you think?", Sara asked with an anxious half smile.
He shook his head. "You could have told me about all of this instead of like smacking me in the face with it."
Sara's tentative smile became a frown. "That wasn't my intention. I just couldn't figure out a way to describe all of this without sounding boastful or something. Look I didn't buy any of this stuff. I just live here."
Armen took Sara around the waist. He loved the feel of her tight body under all those clothes. "It's cool Sara. You live in a house from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous."
Sara stretched up and popped a kiss on his lips. "Well for the next few days you're going to live here too. Want me to show you to your room now?"
Armen put his arms over Sara's shoulders and down her back until they were almost touching her nice round ass. "It can wait." He leaned in and planted a proper kiss on Sara's pouting lips. Her face flushed a little at his touch, and her body tensed. He pulled away and Sara pressed against him. He'd given her a pretty good kiss. He leaned in for another, but before he could press against her wetted and waiting lips, he heard footfalls getting close.
Sara winced and turned towards her brother who had a big grin on his face and a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Hey, Charlie", Sara greeted him with just a touch of venom in her normally pleasant voice.
He gave his sister a little wink before he held out his hand while he looked her boyfriend over. Charles and Armen were both over six feet tall, but Charles was broader while Armen was rather lanky. Sara's new boyfriend had serious looking brown eyes, a fairly short crop of black hair on his head, and dimples when he smiled.
"You must be Armen. Charles Hewitt; pleasure to meet you." His accent was just as aristocratic as Sara's.
"Nice to meet you too Charles. Sara talks about you all the time."
Charles laughed. "Only believe the good things about me."
Armen cocked his head a little as he replied, "She only says good things about you."
That caught Charles short because he knew Armen was telling the truth. He paused for a moment to get back on track then looked at his sister. "Umm well, he's staying in the Grant Bedroom?"
Sara nodded.
"Sara if you don't mind me playing host."
"Oh no, you go right ahead. Be my guest."
The little group went down a hall towards a staircase then to the second floor. This level was as ornate as the first. He came to a room and Charles opened the double door. Armen found himself inside a room that looked like a suite at some swank hotel, and the furniture was so fine that he'd only seen pieces like that in the duPont Registry. His luggage was already in the room set up on stands. "Why do you guys call this the Grant Bedroom?", Armen whispered to Sara while Charles was showing him where the closet and bathroom were located.
"Because Grant stayed here for a while."
"Grant who?"
Sara looked at Armen and frowned. "Ulysses S. Grant."
Armen's mouth fell open. Sara left her boyfriend to get settled in, while she and her brother went down the back stairs. They were in the middle of the staircase when she hit him in the shoulder.
"Ouch! What was that for?"
"How long were you looking at us in the ballroom before you interrupted?"
The look on his face told her everything she needed to know. She hit him again, harder.
"Man, you're heavy handed. That was for turning off my movie."
Sara bit the inside of her jaw and glared up at Charles. "Even?"
Charles squinted down at her. "For now", he allowed seriously before they both started laughing. Charles headed towards the rear drawing room.
Later that afternoon Armen found out that the entire Clover Bottom mansion wasn't as formal as the first two floors. The third floor was much less ornate, almost normal. It was still massively huge, but the rooms were somewhat smaller than the ones on the first two floors. The walls were painted in lighter colors without the oak paneling that many of the downstairs rooms had. The third floor held all the homey touches like family photos along with the tacky modern amenities that make life easier, but didn't fit in with the stateliness of the rest of the house. That included a 120 inch flat screen television. Armen got dizzy just thinking about watching football on that thing.
"Daddy's plane just landed at the airport", Sara announced when she came into the room where Armen and Charles were sitting getting to know each other. "He'll be here in about thirty minutes."
"Yeah, I knew he'd make it back before dark", Charles put in.
Armen just frowned. It had taken more than an hour and a half to drive from the airport in Jackson. He had no idea how Sara's father was going to make it in half an hour. Charles smiled and walked out of the room.
Less than thirty minutes later Armen heard a buzzing on the horizon. Sara showed Armen to a window where he could get a view. "No way! Now that's cool!" Mr. Hewitt's helicopter came in over some trees in the distance and hovered over the helipad located about a quarter mile from the house. "Sara come on you could have told me that you guys have a helipad and a helicopter!" He turned to see Sara's beautiful smiling face.
"I could have, but wouldn't that just seem like bragging", she drawled. Armen laughed. "We haven't had it too long. Dad just thought that the ride from the airport was too long when he entertains clients and stuff. So he put that in about a year and a half ago."
Mr. Hewitt was not a large man, but Armen could very well understand the power a man like Napoleon could exude. William Hewitt was only a few inches taller than his daughter. He had sandy blond hair closer in color to his son's. He had keen grayish eyes. Armen felt like he was looking at a Medieval lord, but Mr. Hewitt put that to rest right away. He was very gracious and inviting.
The family ate supper on the third floor in a fairly intimate dining room that could have seated about ten people comfortably. They didn't need room for more than that because they had a formal dining room downstairs that could comfortably seat more than ten times that many. Armen could tell that Sara and her family were very close, but the conversation was mostly about Armen. He told a little about himself. Armen had lived the first nine years of his life in his native Armenia, and to his surprise, Mr. Hewitt had visited the tiny Caucasus nation several times.
"So Armen do you still speak the language?", Mr. Hewitt asked.
"Yes sir." He said a couple of sentences in his native tongue. "When I came to America that was the thing that scared me the most. I hated the idea of not knowing what anybody was saying, but then I found out that I'd be living with an ethnic Armenian family here in the US. They didn't tell me that they wouldn't speak a word of Armenian to me. They could understand what I said then reply in English until I stated speaking it too, but they never wanted me to forget the homeland. I had to get used to the lifestyle here too. It worked out."
"Have you been back since you came to America?"
Armen chewed and swallowed quickly before answering. "Yes sir, I have."
"Did you like it?"
Armen's face was unreadable for a moment. "It has good memories and bad ones I guess, but I enjoy going back especially for the festivals."
"Speaking of festivals", Sara began and looked at her watch. "We better hurry up."
The family ate the rest of their meal quickly, which Armen knew couldn't be normal. Sara stood up while she was still chewing and took Armen by the arm. "Come on, you don't want to miss this." To his surprise the nearly lifted him completely out his seat.
"Miss what?"
They went across the house to a large window that looked out over the front lawn of the farm. There were busses and vans parked around the roundabout and plaza area. People in winter coats were milling about. There was anticipation in the air. Armen squinted in the low light to make out that most of the people he saw were children with adult chaperones. Armen had no idea what was going on. He looked over at Sara and her family for some clue, but there was none. Then a million lights came on at the same time. The front lawn that had been completely dark was bathed in a thousand colors. The sounds of camera shutters were only drowned out by the cheers and shouts from the children.
The canopy of live oaks was lit up with twinkling white lights that made a starry tunnel that stretched off away from the mansion. The mansion itself looked like a giant gingerbread house with candy cane lights going up the columns and every window was trimmed in shimmering lights. Armen hadn't seen them, but the decorations went to the roof and those chimneys and off to either side of the house stretching way out. At night the Nativity was lit and looked so real and lifelike.
The Hewitt's went down after a few minutes and met with some of the people in front of the house. Armen was standing next to them when the household staff brought up what looked like a truckload of boxes. They stayed down there until every single child had a gift. While he was there helping hand out gifts, Armen found out that the Hewitt's invited underprivileged children from all over the Southern Delta region to the house to see the lights and get a present. They'd been doing it for years. They would do this several times a week until Christmas day when they threw a big dinner for some struggling families. For some kids this would be the only gift they would get this Christmas. He just loved the look on the children's faces when they got their presents.
Armen went with the family back into the house. Mr. Hewitt went to his study to read while listening to Nina Simone's Pastel Blues. It was easy to see where Sara had gotten her varied taste in music from. Armen went back to his big ostentatious room to call his adoptive parents in Kansas City. After being on the phone for nearly an hour, Armen went looking for Sara. She was nowhere to be found. Armen did find Charles sitting on a couch talking on the phone. It didn't take long to figure out that Charles was talking to a girl. It was the head cheerleader from high school, but Charles wasn't one to brag. He'd been meaning to call her for a while, but he'd just recently felt up to it. He put his hand over the phone when Armen came in. "Looking for Sara?"
Armen nodded.
"She's in the basement." Charles took his time giving Armen detailed instructions on how to find where she was. Armen left too quickly to see the mischievous grin on Charles' face.
Armen followed the
directions that lead him to an elevator near the family's dining room.
He walked in and pushed the button to the basement. The door opened to
a corridor. He looked left and saw an old door that looked like it
hadn't been opened in a long time so he looked to his right. There were
bright lights coming from that way. He heard music too. The elevator
door closed and Armen slowly made his way towards the bright lights
coming through a partially opened door. When he got closer he heard
clanks like metal hitting metal and then he heard something else… a
sound both erotic and pained. Armen leaned to the crack in the door and
peered into the lighted room.
Sara's eyes were narrow as she pumped out another rep of alternating curls. Her biceps were screaming for mercy, but she had to work them harder. She forced the weight up one more time and fatigued muscles bunched up and obeyed her commands. Sara squeezed her biceps at the top of each rep causing even more protests from her arms. She didn't look at her arms though while she worked them. She had turned away from the mirror and instead looked at a blank spot on the wall. She didn't want to see her arms. She didn't want to be satisfied. Instead she had to focus on making her muscles ache in order to get her body the way she wanted it. She had goals and this was just one little piece to her puzzle. Finally she put the weights down and allowed herself the pleasure of looking in the mirror. Sara raised her arms causing the pink and blue striped sports top to stretch showing off more of Sara's nice deep cleavage. It was her arms that she cared about though. She held them out straight for a heartbeat or two just to take in the unflexed shape. She loved feminine lines of her muscles from her delts to her biceps and triceps down to her forearms. Then she slowly curled her arms. Twin peaks of hard knotted muscle rose up on Sara's arms. The combination of her small frame and serious pump caused her arms to look ready to explode. She extended her arms and flexed again, this time really pouring it on. Her hard earned teenage muscle forced veins to the surface of her skin. Sara traced the veins and arteries that snaked over and around her surging muscles.
Sara turned profile and held up her right arm for a rear look. She already knew what she would see. Sara had a wonderful rear biceps peak. It wasn't just a hint of a peak. It looked like a knob on a prairie. Sara had a serious rear peak and she knew it. If anything her arms were more impressive from the back than from the front. Her triceps were the key of course. They were the key in any impressive arm. That was something she'd learned from Jan. Actually Sara had learned a lot about sculpting her body from her six foot tall roommate. Sara's years of hard work were paying off, and Sara herself was showing off.
She put her hand behind her head and crunched her abs. Her six pack came to life. She twisted her hips to show off her obliques. They were so tight and sharp right now. Sara twisted her hips even more to one side to the point that her abs looked sharp enough to cut someone. Sara relaxed her flex and looked down at her lower body. She was wearing pink shorts that showed off the sweep of her thighs and the round sexiness of her butt better than any other outfit she owned. Sara was a middle distance running in college even though she'd never done any track in high school. She had forced her body to live up to its potential. Even she hadn't known how much potential there was. Standing here in the mirror, she didn't have to flex to know how close her legs were to her idea of ideal. They were damn close. She could flex her legs and look like a sprinter or she could just stand here as she was doing and admire their shape. She had nice proportions because as powerful as her thighs were, her calves were nice too. She went up on her toes a couple of times just to see the muscles of her lower legs flare. She finally stopped all of her flexing and relaxed to get a good overall look at her pumped up body. She reached to a bench and grabbed a bottle of water. She took a couple of sips then wiped her face with a towel.
Armen backed away from the door when she started his way. "Ut oh", he muttered under his breath and hurried down the corridor towards the elevator. Armen had seen Sara flex before, she'd had more clothes on the other time, but that wasn't the problem. That time lots of people had been looking and this time she'd thought that she was alone. He didn't want her to think that he was a creep even if her brother had sent him down there. He couldn't let her know that he was down here. He started to push the elevator button, but that would take too long. He looked all around and saw another corridor leading away from the elevator. He hurried into the darkened space. "Ouuch!", he wanted to shout when he tripped on the rise of a stair and fell. He'd walked into a staircase in the darkness. It was a most fortunate if slightly painful accident. He started up the stairs leaving the basement behind, but having no idea where these steps lead. Armen stopped halfway up and looked behind him. Sara was standing in the corridor with her water and towel. She looked good enough to eat up as she shifted weight from one leg to the other. He saw her quad flex for an instant… innocently, but it caused his heart to palpitate. Sara did that to him anyway. She was like a hot choir girl who drove the guys crazy, but didn't even realize it. Armen turned and went back up the stairs. He found himself on the first floor when he got to the top, but he had no idea where he was. The lights were off in the rooms and only the halls were lit. Armen wandered around for quite a while until an older lady came up to him.
"Are you lost sweetheart?", she asked in a slow country drawl.
"Yes, ma'am, I am. I came up some stairs and I was trying to find my way to the bedroom. And…"
The women held up her hand. "I was heading home for the night, but I can't have you wandering around the house until daybreak. Follow me." The woman led him to the second floor and straight to his room.
"Thank you so much."
"Don't mention it." The woman left shaking her head.
Armen finally got into the bed. His head was full of visions of Sara. He knew her fairly well he guessed, but there was so much more to her. Just like this trip. It wasn't anything like he'd thought it would be. Of course he had gotten one thing right. He wasn't sleeping anywhere near Sara. He just rolled over and closed his eyes with a smile, because as soon as he did he was peeping all over again.
The next morning, Sara came and got Armen for breakfast. She usually wasn't an early riser, a fact that her father and brother gave her a hard time about, but this day was different. She was excited about spending time together with Armen. She had led him to a stable not too far from the main house where he was having a hard time with a horse.
"You have to touch her gently", Sara began. White puffs escaped her mouth as she put her hand on Anastasia's mane. The horse nudged her. Armen made an attempt to do the same thing, but failed. "Come on Armen. Like this." She stood in front of him. "Touch her like you would a woman. I know you can do that."
Armen looked down at her with a fair amount of shock. "Sara!"
"I mean it. Make her think you know what you're doing."
Sara pressed her body against Armen. A chill went through him, and it wasn't from the cold morning. He took his hands from the horse, and put them on Sara's hips. He ran them up the curve of her waist then up her middle. Sara arched her back slightly. "Do you think I know what I'm doing?"
"Not with Anastasia you don't", Sara managed.
He tightened his arms, and Sara felt the same chill he did. "Good thing you're not a horse."
Sara laughed and turned to face him. "We're going to get this right. Now let's try again."
An hour later Sara was on her personal horse Winston, and Armen was unsteadily riding Anastasia. She was used to people on her back and was pretty forgiving of a novice rider even though she wasn't used to them. Sara led Armen out into the fields far away from the house. They were completely alone again. They talked and laughed, but Sara had to start most of the conversations which wasn't the norm. Armen was a bit drawn up this morning. Of course she knew what it was about.
"You've been rather quiet. Don't like my company?"
"No no of course I love your company", Armen replied without a bit of hesitation.
Sara nodded her head. "Oh, in that case maybe you're just too busy trying to remember what I looked like last night when I was finishing my workout."
Armen's body went as stiff as his dork had been the night before. "Umm how… how did you…"
Sara leaned over quickly to take him by the shoulder. "Don't fall off Armen", she warned with a giggle. "It's not that big a deal. I knew you were there. I was sort of hoping you'd come in to join me."
Armen hadn't gotten over the initial shock of being found out. "What? Really?"
"Yeah, really. You don't think I just flex like that all the time do you? Maybe a little bit but not for that long. So did you like what you saw?"
Armen just chortled.
With the weight of his guilty pleasure off his chest, Armen and Sara were able to have a normal conversation. "You know this horse riding thing isn't so hard", Armen observed after a while.
"Well, Armen we are riding at a pretty slow pace. We haven't quite gone two miles since we started."
"Two miles sounds like a lot", Armen put back.
Sara grinned and patted him on the shoulder. "When Jan and Alisha came down we'd covered five or six miles by now. But they're experienced riders. Of course I can't imagine how you grew up in a village in Armenia and never learned to ride a horse."
It was Armen's turn to laugh. "We had a truck. My father was a blacksmith… well a farrier I suppose. Which is kind of ironic, but he needed the truck to get from place to place to shoe people's work horses. I saw lots of horses when I was a kid, but I never rode one. In Armenia only poor people have horses, and here in America, only rich people do."
By the end of the morning, they'd ridden around enough and Sara lead them to a big steel building with lots of farming machines around it including big tractors and combines in various states of completeness. He could see guys working on the machines. Some of them wouldn't have to be ready before the end of winter so the guys weren't in a rush.
Sara tied the horses up then introduced Armen to the guys. To Armen's surprise, Sara knew every single person who worked on Clover Bottom Farm by name. She didn't have to know them because she was the boss's daughter and an heiress like Armen couldn't imagine, but to Sara people were people. The guys at the shop were just getting ready for lunch, or dinner as they all called it. Sara and Armen joined them. The guys had ordered barbecue and brought it here. They didn't mind the extra company on their lunch hour. It gave them two extra sets of ears to listen to their stories and jokes. These men were hard working, practical, and funny even if their jokes and stories were often vulgar. Sara laughed along with them although her face did turn crimson at a couple of jokes. Armen was surprised that Sara would listen to some of the stuff, but there was more to learn about his girlfriend.
That night after eating, Armen was ready to settle in front of that 120 inch television to watch some football when Sara came to him. "Hey get dressed. I'm taking you somewhere."
"Huh, what?"
She slapped him on the arm. "Come on. You didn't think I brought you down here to just sit in the house did you? Put on something nice. I'll be waiting." Armen met Sara at the back door where she had the Durango warming up. He got in and they took off down a side driveway. This one wasn't lit up like the front drive with Christmas lights. This way was as dark as the night, but Sara navigated without a problem. After a while they were on the highway heading west. Sara wouldn't tell Armen where they were going, but he saw a sign that said that they were entering a town. He saw people going around, some of them no doubt shopping for Christmas gifts. They drove right through the downtown area and into a part of town that had two dilapidated building for every intact one. "Sara where are we going?", Armen demanded with a bit of frustration. He couldn't take the suspense anymore.
"Armen we're in the Mississippi Delta. This is the birthplace of most American music. We're about to go to one of the places where the music was born."
Sara turned into what looked like a driveway to house that no longer stood, just an empty lot. She kept on down the driveway over an uneven dirt path into the woods. Armen just hoped that Sara knew where she was going. The Durango bounced around on the path until they came to a clearing. Cars were parked in no particular order around what looked like a really big clapboard shack with Christmas lights strung around the outside. Armen didn't know that those lights stayed up year round and had little to do with the Holiday. There were people inside already. Armen could make out their yellow backed shadows through the dingy windows. A steady stream of smoke came from a rusted stack in the center of the building and a steady stream of people walked into the place in twos and threes. Every one of them was dressed to have fun. "What is this place?"
Sara opened her door. "Ever heard of a jukebox?"
"Of course I have."
"Well this is a juke joint… a real one. There are people who fly from all over the planet to experience a real Mississippi juke joint. Most people go to the over commercialized places, but this is an authentic one. Now come on."
Sara could be bossy when she was excited, Armen thought as he stepped out onto the crunchy dead grass. Armen didn't even begin to fit in to the crowd going into the joint, but Sara looked even more out of place than he did. She stuck out like a really sore thumb. She was oblivious to all of this though and took Armen to the door. The place was bigger on the inside than it looked from the outside. There were tables in there and some benches, but there was a big area for dancing right in front of the low stage. It was still early, but the crowd was getting warmed up. A lone man was on the stage sitting in a chair with a ramshackle looking guitar on his lap. He'd plugged the guitar into an amp that looked like it'd been made in a garage. It put out all sorts of rattles and pops with each note, but that only added to this man's world weary voice. There were some people grinding on the dance floor to the loose shuffle being played. Armen's eyes opened wide. Damn a couple of those people probably needed to get a room .
Sara looked around for familiar faces, but she got spotted first. "Oh hell, what you doin' here Blondie?"
Sara turned and smiled. "Came to see you make a fool of yourself Red."
"Shit, you know better than that. You gonna throw down tonight?"
"Maybe."
"Who's your friend?"
"Armen Petrosian", he introduced himself and extended his hand.
"You Sara's boy?"
"Boyfriend? Yes sir. I am."
Red looked at Armen for a moment then laughed. "Blondie, where'd you find him, in the library or somethin?"
"You leave him alone", she warned playfully. "Come on Armen we'll find some nicer people in here."
"Good Luck!", Red yelled and hooted.
Inside the juke, there were lots of people but room for plenty more. There were little pockets of people talking and laughing and drinking. This place didn't have a beer or liquor license so people brought their own. The alcohol flowed pretty freely. Sara found them a table then went off. She came back with a tray of great smelling soul food, but she'd brought back tea to drink instead of beer or whiskey. After a while a new band came on stage and cranked the music up enough to be heard outside. This was the sort of music that other musicians came to hear when they were anywhere near Mississippi. This mix of gut bucket and soul was infectious. The dancing started, and Armen realized that the music was more than anything a pretense to have a good time. Sara dragged Armen to the dance floor. At first he was reluctant, but the thought of feeling Sara's tight body rubbing against his was enough incentive to get him out of his seat. He wouldn't go back to the chair the rest of the night.
When the party was good and warmed up the owner of the joint, Red, went on stage with a big suede sash around his shoulder. Armen didn't notice at first, but there were 12 pockets sewn into the sash. Inside each pocket was a Hohner Marine Band harmonica. He plugged in his long microphone cord then cranked the amp. "Everybody ready to party!!", Red shouted.
The crowd replied in kind. "Then put the little chil'ren to bed cause bout to be some babies being made on this dance floor tonight!" He took a deep breath and blew through his harmonica and Armen thought the reeds were going to break. The band came in behind him and the place went crazy. They were rockin this place down to the foundation. Armen watched a man pour liquor on a woman's legs and lick it off all while moving to the beat. He watched two women sandwiching a man between them. Sara was gone in the music too. Armen didn't know that Sara could dance, but she could. Her hair was whipping all over the place as she gyrated and ground her body into his. Red never slowed the pace. He rocked hard for an hour straight. Armen and Sara were covered in sweat as they danced together. Armen had lost any inhibitions that he had left.
After a ten minute jam, Red went to the mic. "Blondie get your cute little ass up here before I kick you outta my place!"
All eyes turned to Sara who looked at the stage then at Armen. She planted a kiss before hopping on the stage and snatching the microphone from Red's hand. She whispered something to the band then turned towards the crowd. The band started in with a funky shuffle that got the people dancing again. Sara strutted to the front of the low stage and filled her powerful lungs with air. She waited to the right time and shouted, "Call me Flamin Mamie cause I'm the hottest girl in town! When it comes to lovin' I'm a human oven, and I know how to mow 'em down!"
"Hot damn!", Red yelled when the first sound came out of Sara's mouth. Armen's eyes went wide. He knew Sara could sing, but her voice was like a tornado when she opened up and belted like this. That wasn't even the most shocking thing. Sara was usually a good girl, but up on stage she stalked like a panther. She exuded pure sexiness with every single motion. Armen couldn't even dance he was transfixed. He had no idea that this woman was inside Sara, his Sara. When she looked right at him and pushed some hair from her face, Armen about lost it right there. She smiled at him while Red took a solo on the harp. Sara came back in so strong that Armen didn't even think she needed the microphone to be heard. "Yes, I loved my way to Hell, I love the Devil and I loved him well…", she sang to Armen's continued amazement. Sara belted out another burner, before slowing down. She hopped off the stage and sang the song while dancing with Armen. Tuned down with the band swinging mellow, Sara's voice was as smooth as buttered teflon. Armen put his arms around her while she sang this ballad, but before the night ended, she went back on stage to sing a few more roof shaking, foundation cracking songs. By the time it was over, Armen couldn't remember ever having more fun.
"That was the most amazing thing ever", Armen exclaimed when they were in the Durango heading back to Clover Bottom well after midnight.
Sara pulled into a gas station. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. I thought you might."
"Yeah, I didn't even recognize you up there."
Sara smiled like she was thinking something then turned to Armen. "Well it's inside me all the time. It just takes the right song… or the right man to bring it out." She opened the door and got out before Armen could say anything. She started the pump with a credit card before she went in to buy something from the convenience store. Armen went in with her. He'd lost a lot of fluids at that juke joint. A couple of trucks pulled in quickly while Armen was walking towards the door. A couple of guys got out laughing and pushing each other. They'd obviously been to a party too, but Armen didn't think those guys had been drinking tea.
"Outta the way!", one of the guys told Armen and pushed past him through the glass door. Armen got angry for an instant, but brushed it off. He was feeling too good to let this neck get on his nerves. Armen went in and grabbed a soda. He was heading towards the front when he found Sara trying to decide between Hostess Cakes and Keebler cookies. Armen came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. He put his chin lightly on top of her head. "So which one do you think?"
"Why not get them both?"
Sara chuckled. "Because I want a treat, not to be as big as a house. Would you like me if I was big as a house?"
Armen just laughed. "Okay, get the Hostess cakes." He reached out and handed her a package. They headed to checkout. The guys from the trucks were already in line with a couple of cases of beer. It wasn't a problem until one of them turned around and looked at Armen. Armen tried to ignore him, but the guy kept looking. Finally he turned back. "Can I help you?"
"Yeah, you can. Why don't you get outta my country and take all of your other A-rab friends with you."
For a second Sara was too stunned and offended to talk. Armen wasn't. He stepped up to the guy. "I've been an American citizen for six years, so this is my country too. Besides, I'm not Arab. I'm Armenian. But even if I was an Arab, so fucking what!"
"I don't give a fuck what you are. You better get outta my face before I wipe the floor with yours." The guy bumped chests with Armen. And the other guys turned to back up their friend. Armen didn't back down.
Sara stepped between them, and shoved as hard as she could, which was more than hard enough to separate them. "Stop it!" She looked at Armen then at the other guy. "You should be ashamed of yourselves! You guys are the sort of people who give us a bad name! I hear it everywhere I go. TGFM! Don't you jerks get it!" Sara huffed and dropped a ten dollar bill on the counter before storming out.
Armen went out behind her. "I could have handled myself", he told Sara when they were back on the road.
"What's that supposed to mean, Armen? Do you think that I would think more of you if you got in a fight and beat up some drunk redneck?"
"No, that's not it. I just don't need people trying to protect me. I can handle myself."
Sara let it drop. She didn't want to argue. Not over those jerks. They were silent for a few miles until Armen asked, "What does TGFM mean anyway?"
Sara sighed. "Thank God for Mississippi. It means that no matter how bad your state is, it can't be worse than Mississippi. I even hear that from Arkansas and that really pisses me off. Those guys back there are the sort that prove the stereotypes true. Makes me mad whenever I see it."
Armen put his hand on her shoulder. "I know everyone's not like that. Those people at the juke were really cool."
"Let's be honest here, Armen. It's not the black people that gave this state the reputation that it has." Armen tried to cheer Sara up the rest of the trip back to Clover Bottom. It sort of worked. He got a couple of genuine laughs.
"Goodnight, Armen", Sara said as she pulled away from him in front of the door to his room. She started down the hall.
Armen wolf whistled. Sara stopped and turned. "You know you look as good going as you do coming." Sara shook her head and chuckled before turning down the hall towards the stairs to the third floor.
The next day went smoothly enough. Sara seemed to have gotten over the negative parts of the night before and concentrated on the good. They didn't go riding, but Armen enjoyed himself. More children came to look at the Christmas lights. Armen had a good time handing out presents, but a little later he was stretched out in front of that 120 inch television watching football. It was pretty damn close to a guy's idea of perfect. The sound system was theater quality and the picture was as clear as anything he'd ever even heard of. Armen was watching the game when out of the corner of his eye he saw Sara coming around the corner. She was dressed for a workout. She was wearing some powder blue shorts that showed off every bit of her legs and hips and the bottom of her abs. The top barely contained her breasts and the spaghetti straps over her shoulders looked like they were just asking to be taken down. Sara had a towel in one hand and a jug of water in the other. Her hips swayed from side to side as she passed right by Armen. She gave him a quick look, but kept going. Armen nearly sprained his neck to look at Sara's ass in those tight shorts. His started going stiff. She had the most amazingly hypnotic butt. Armen finally exhaled and sat back in the cushions like he'd just had some sort of physical exertion. He knew that he wasn't the sharpest knife in the set, but he wasn't a block of wood either. He hopped up from the sofa and rushed to the second floor. He'd brought workout gear. He put it on quickly and hurried to the basement.
Sara was there but not near the weights. She was in the back of the room where there was a large area of mats. The twinkle in her eyes made Armen come closer like he was in a trance. "You said you could handle yourself", Sara began and kicked off her shoes. "Let's see how you do."
"Umm, I don't know Sara." Armen towered over Sara as they stood on this mat.
"Afraid?", she asked impishly.
Armen looked askance. "I know you work out and everything, but…"
Armen didn't get another chance to speak before Sara slid in next to him and popped him in the solar plexus as she went by. He bent down out of reflex just enough for Sara to hop up and wrap her arm around his neck. She brought her other arm down and held her boyfriend in a classic headlock. "You've seen my biceps. I think you've even drooled over them a couple of times, but now you can feel 'em." Sara squeezed, but not as hard as she could have. Armen could feel Sara's tight girl biceps pressing into the side of his neck and head. It was literally like a rock under her soft skin. He leaned back lifting her feet off the ground, but she just gave him a quick squeeze. He put her back down. "You've got to do better than that!", she teased him.
Armen put one of his long arms around her back and very carefully made his next move. He tickled her ribs. Sara curled away from his fingers and lost her hold. "Hey no fair!"
Armen stood up straight rubbing his neck and grinning. "What do you mean? It worked didn't it?"
Sara twisted up her face and shot in on Armen. He tried to back away, but was no use. She grabbed up one of his legs and twisted her entire body quickly. Armen went down with a boom against the mats. Sara worked herself up his body and locked his arms behind his head while her legs were wrapped around his right leg keeping him in the position she wanted. "Ok, try your little tickling now."
Armen couldn't. His fingers were high above his head. He could wiggle them, but he couldn't even bend his elbows. He could barely move at all. It was even hard to breathe. Sara held on for only a few seconds before she let him go. She pulled her leg back and pushed him in the back. Armen rolled to his feet. Sara stood on the mat looking at him with her head cocked to the side a little. "You're gonna have to do better than that Armen."
The taller boy bent down a little and put his hands in front of him. They circled each other in the crouch. Armen made the first move. He moved in on Sara and took her around the waist. He could feel her muscles tense when he got a good hold. Armen lifted her off the ground and swung her around. He was behind her now. While they jostled he'd managed to trap Sara's arms in his hold. "Okay what do you think about this?"
"I think you squeeze like a girl!"
"Oh yeah!" Armen bore down a little and put on a good squeeze. "How's that?"
Sara smacked him with her pony tail while she whipped her head from side to side. "Better", Sara grunted. "But I can still get out."
"Oh yeah, try!" Armen squeezed a little harder.
Sara's hard abs resisted Armen's force, but he was squeezing pretty hard. He felt her muscles start to flex as she began to power out of his hold. She turned her hands palms up and started curl her arms up. The expansion of her biceps and triceps and deltoids was putting strain on Armen's grip. Sara kept at it. She took in quick sharp breaths making her chest expand. Her upper body was getting rock hard beneath Armen's arms. He knew by now that Sara could feel him getting hard too. Her butt was right against his crotch.
Sara kept curling her arms up until they were at 90 degrees. Her biceps were actually pressing against her boyfriend's arms so hard it hurt, but he wouldn't give up that easily. He threw his head back. "Oh no you don't."
Sara exhaled as Armen squeezed harder. She started forcing her arms out from her sides. They were locked in this struggle of strength on strength long enough for Armen to begin to shake. Sara was fairly sure she could have outlasted Armen and muscled her way out, but she didn't. She put her feet behind his knees and pulled forward forcing his knees to bend. Armen lost his balance and his hold. Sara spun away. Armen could see the marks on her arms where he'd been holding her. For a moment he wondered if he'd gone too far, but she attacked him and flipped him over her shoulder. He landed with a thud. In half a heartbeat, Sara was on top of him. She sat on his chest with her knees on his arms. She looked down on him in triumph with her fists on her hips.
As Armen glanced up Sara's body, she could have been the most powerful woman in the world. Her quads were taunt and stretched. Her abs were deep and went deeper with every breath. The curve of her hips and waist flared into a perfect taper to her shoulders. Sara was so wonderful that Armen couldn't imagine how he'd gotten this lucky. His eyes swept up and down her, but settled in on her shorts which were right in his face.
"Eyeing your ultimate prize?", Sara asked a bit wryly.
Armen grinned up at her showing the dimples in his jaws. "No, it's not the ultimate prize, but it might be a close second."
Sara rolled off of him. She lay on her back next to him for a couple of seconds before Armen rolled over on top of her quickly. He reached down and put his arm at the crook of her knee and pulled up. "ONE! TWO! THREE!!", he yelled and hit the mat three times with his other hand. "It's all over! It's all over!", he yelled and hopped around the mat. Sara shook her head at him while he pretended to put on the championship belt. He then did his best Stone Cold impression. Sara rose up on one elbow and watched his over the top performance with amusement. Armen really did know how to make Sara laugh and think at the same time.
The next morning they went riding again. She took him to some beautiful spots on the land that hadn't been touched by farming in the nearly 200 years her family had owned the farm. Armen was starting to understand how this place could get under a person's skin. Sara knew every inch of the farm. She'd traveled it all on horseback at one time or another. She took him to a fork of a river and showed him the old docks where cotton, sugar, and indigo from the farm had been loaded onto river barges in years past. They stayed down by the river for a while. It wasn't busy anymore. A barge hadn't gone down it in decades. It was just peaceful now. Sara and Armen sat on the decaying wood of the dock for a while before they mounted up and went for lunch. Armen found out that there were actually two full fledge towns on Hewitt land, one on the western side of the farm and another southeast of the main house. Sara and Armen ate in the western one. Sara knew everyone in town, and of course they knew her. Their horses were tied up on the main street with a big pan of water like it was a century earlier. Except these two horses were milling around between an F-150 and a Honda.
The ride back to the house was really peaceful. Armen looked all around. They were leaving the more wild areas of the land and getting back to the cultivated portion. They were shadowing one of the service roads when they heard the roar of an engine coming down. They turned to see a truck coming down the road in a hurry. Sara frowned and moved Winston closer to the road. She could feel the tension coming off the driver of the truck. It was Willie she knew. Sara couldn't help but use her powers some in a situation like this. She flagged him down. The truck skidded to a stop. "What's going on?", Sara yelled.
"It's Johnny. There's been an accident. We called 911, but they ain't got a crane heavy enough to get that damn thing off of him. He's gonna be crushed. I got to get to Pee Wee's and get his mobile crane over here." Willie spilled it all to Sara quickly, but the look on his face told her that he didn't think he'd be able to do what he had to do in time to save Johnny.
Sara motioned with her hand. "You better go. Go!" Willie pushed the pedal to the floor and sped off. Sara had to keep a good grip on a frightened Winston, plus he was probably feeling her tension. By now Armen had come over. "What's going on?" He could see the look of worry on Sara's face.
"There's been some sort of accident."
"Wasn't that one of the guys we ate lunch with at the shop the other day? Let me help!"
"No, you stay here." Sara wheeled Winston and took off down the service road at full gallop. She was tucked in like the expert rider she was while Winston ran as fast as he could. Sara didn't know what had happened, but they said that needed a crane. They didn't have time to get a crane, but she was the next best thing.
Armen watched Sara ride away and knew that he couldn't even begin to keep up with her. He patted Anastasia on the neck. "Okay, girl. Let's follow." Anastasia could have kept up with Winston, but Armen was the weak link. So they walked instead of ran.
Sara and Winston were off the road now and galloping towards the big steel building. Sara could hear the sounds of engines running and when she got closer she saw what had happened. They had been working on one of the farm's huge cotton harvesting machines. They were truly massive machines. They had hoisted this one off the ground to work on the undercarriage, but there had been some sort of accident, and it had fallen trapping one of the men beneath the tons of dead weight. The other workers had cranked up some of the other machines hoping to pull the harvester off of Johnny. It was slowly going down crushing him beneath its weight as the hoist gave away. Sara had to do something, and she was the only person around who could. She kicked her heels into Winston's sides and the horse dug down for a little more speed.
Sara was close enough. She didn't wait for Winston to stop; she just jumped off while he was still going more than 20 mph. She used her power to slow her fall and land easily on the ground. She ran up closer to the scene of the accident and it was even worse than she'd thought. Sara didn't waste time. She stood near a broken down tractor and reached out with her power. This machine was heavy, but Sara was desperate. The men in the shop were frantically trying to free their friend and coworker. All of them to a man were praying for a miracle, because they knew they weren't strong enough to save him even when all of them shoved together. They didn't know that pretty little Sara who they all knew was stronger than all of them combined.
The men working to free Johnny with big chains and pry-bars and tractors first felt a great wave of pressure near them like the air itself was getting too thick to breathe. The pressure was like nothing they had ever felt. It forced them back gently, but they couldn't resist it either. When all the men were forced several feet away from the harvester, they began to hear groins like metal being stressed. The hoist structure began to vibrate and the chains that had been holding the harvester shook freely as they lost their burden. Something else was holding it. The men didn't know what, but they saw that harvester rise up. The machine weighed more than ten tons, and it was being lifted, but what they had no idea. It kept going up so high that they could see Johnny trying to crawl his way out. He'd crawled about a few inches using nothing but his arms because both of legs were broken. The other workers snapped out of their amazement long enough to get down and reach for Johnny. They were beneath the suspended farm machine, and they prayed that it stay hovering in the air the couple of seconds it took to slide Johnny to safety. It did. They pulled the injured man well away from the machine. They watched as it lowered back down. The chains took the weight again, but that wasn't the end of it.
Sweat was running down Sara's head and her body shook from the outpouring of power. One side of the big hoist had broken and if she simply let the harvester dangle like it had been, there was a chance that someone else could get hurt trying to lower it to the ground. She was going to take care of that herself. With all the weight back on the chains, Sara went to work on them. She used her power against them just like she'd done with the dead weight of the harvester. The men watched in awe as the thick chains actually stretched like rubber bands under some sort of invisible onslaught, but unlike rubber, steel didn't bounce back. Each thick chain broke after being pushed too far. The harvester landed on the ground and the chains fell all around it. There wasn't any more danger. Sara finally opened her eyes and nearly fell from dizziness. She was leaning against the tractor catching her breath when Armen arrived. He fell to the ground trying to get off of Anastasia. He rushed over to Sara. She looked worn out completely. "It's okay now", she said though deep breaths.
Armen didn't get a chance to ask her what happened. Fire trucks and an ambulance sped past them. And right behind them came a crane truck. Willie had managed to get that thing pretty darn quickly, maybe even quickly enough to have saved Johnny's life, but Sara hadn't been willing to take that chance. She'd rather risk someone finding out about her secret. She went over to Johnny. His legs were broken in a couple of different places, but the wounds weren't life threatening. That was a relief.
Sara was regaining her strength by the time she walked into the office of the shop and called the farm operations manager in another building a mile or so from where they were. He already knew that there had been an accident. Sara wanted them to send a car to Rolling Fork to pick up Johnny's wife so she could meet her husband at the hospital. Armen just listened.
"We don't have many accidents around here", Sara explained as they got back on the horses. It was getting dark now. They were in the short days. She and Armen went to the stables. She took extra care with Winston this afternoon. He'd run like he was ten years younger. Armen helped Sara tend the horses, mostly he handed her things when she asked. Sara went to the second floor of the stable to hang up her bridle assembly. She was still tired in a way, but grateful that she'd been here to help. She decided that she'd sit for a while to let the stress of what could have happened bleed off.
Armen came up and sat down next to her. He didn't know what had happened. By the time he'd gotten there it was over. He did know that the men at the shop talked as if they'd seen a miracle. He also knew that Sara was tired like he'd never seen her, and a little fragile too. She got like that when she was tired. It was a little cool in the loft, but not when Armen was there. Sara never had to be cold when he was around. He put his arms around her shivering shoulders. "Is that better?"
"Yeah."
He just held her there in the loft until she spun towards him. She looked Armen in the eyes. Neither said a word because none had to be uttered. They could both feel the moment. Sara didn't want it to pass. She'd had moments like this with her last boyfriend. Maybe that had been her mistake. If Armen wanted this, then she would let him have it. Some stupid ideal wasn't worth being lonely. She took Armen's face in her hands and pulled his lips to hers. She kissed him deeply and passionately. Armen pulled her close to him. Sara pulled off her jacket and threw it to the side. Their lips rarely separated now. Armen loved the taste of her and the feel of her skin on his. He ran his hand up her shirt higher and higher until one of his big hands cupped Sara right breasts. It was big on a girl her size and so soft and warm. He gave it a gentle squeeze before he went to her left one. Sara rubbed her hands up Armen's chest and abdomen. She then reached down and snatched her shirt over her head. Armen reached around Sara's back in a quick motion and unclasped her bra. Sara closed her arms down tightly, keeping the unclasped bra from falling down. Sara looked down at Armen. He could see all sorts of doubts and questions pass across her face. Armen knew that she'd never done this. He slowly reached up and put his hands on her arms before moving them to the bra. He gave a gentle pull and Sara slowly moved her arms letting the bra fall down her arms. Sara's breasts were absolutely perfect. Her pink nipples were erect in the cool air. Armen leaned up and took one in his mouth. Sara moaned and arched her back, her blond hair falling towards her ass where Armen had taken up two handfuls. Armen unbuckled Sara's jeans and she helped him pull them down. This was it, Sara thought. She prepared herself as best she could.
Her hands fumbled a bit when she tried to unbuckle his pants. They managed though and now Armen was partially atop her. Her body was warm and waiting beneath him. His member was fully ready for action, but he hesitated. For the last minute or so he'd taken all the action. He looked at Sara beneath him. She looked back up at him. The questions were still on her face. Armen reached down and rubbed high on Sara's leg. He felt her body quiver beneath him, and a small sound escape her lips. He'd never seen this look on her face, and he didn't like it, but be took hold of himself and prepared to do something that he'd done before. This would be Sara's first time though. He knew that she was giving him what she thought he wanted, but it wasn't right. He rolled off of her and lay next to her breathing in the dark cool air.
"Something wrong?", Sara asked in a breathy, but small voice.
"No, everything's fine." Armen had a smile on his face. She could just make it out in the low light.
"Then why'd you stop?"
"Because you didn't really want to go all the way. I could tell."
"I mean… Armen, I want to do it if you want to. I don't want to lead you on."
"Don't worry about it, Sara. I'm not forcing it on you. When you're ready we'll both know."
Sara had to keep herself from tearing up. He couldn't read minds, but he was so right. She'd been tired and emotional and she thought that this was what he wanted.
"You know how you were talking about the ultimate prize." He put his hand over her heart. "That's my ultimate prize. When I get that from you, I won't have to worry about anything else." Sara put her hands on his and he rolled over to face her again. "I don't want anything from you that you aren't willing to give." They curled up next to each other still naked. They lay there until they both got hungry. It was cold night, but Sara never once got a chill.
Soon it was time for Armen to head back to Kansas City. Instead of packing his stuff into the Durango for the hour and a half trip to the Jackson airport, they were packing his bags into the rear compartment of the family's helicopter. Armen stood with a grin of excited anticipation on his face while he thought about soaring over the ground getting a real bird's eye view of the Earth. The pilots were going through the preflight checks.
Charles came up to Armen and extended his hand. "It was nice meeting you, Armen", he said with a bit of emotion behind his voice.
"It was nice meeting you too Charles, and the whole family. This was a great trip. I'll have to do it again."
"Love to have you. You're a good guy. I think you and Sara are great together."
"Sara's a special person."
Charles opened his mouth to say something, but didn't. Sara came up then and put her arm around Armen's waist. "I bet you didn't think you'd be riding back like this did you?"
"No", Armen admitted. "I didn't. This is really cool though. Thanks."
"Maybe next time I'll come to Kansas City."
Armen turned to her. "That would be great. You'd love it there. I better hurry up so I won't miss my flight. I know a helicopter is fast, but I better go." It hurt to pull himself away from Sara, but she let him go.
"Call me when you get a minute", Sara told him.
Armen climbed into the cabin of the helicopter and said another good-bye before the craft took off and headed towards the horizon.
Charles stood next to his sister and watched it go. "Does he know what you have waiting for him?", he asked.
"Nope."
Charles grinned. "I think he's gonna blow a gasket."
The helicopter landed on the tarmac at the Jackson Airport right on schedule. Armen looked at his watch. He only had thirty minutes to get through security and to his gate. Jackson wasn't the biggest airport, but this was going to be a tall order. Armen started rushing towards the airport door, but a man came up and stopped him. "Mr. Petrosian?"
"Yes."
"This way, sir. Your plane is ready."
Armen turned to where the man was pointing and came face to face with a Gulfstream IV. "No fucking way", Armen breathed.
The man was amused. He put a hand on Armen's back and gently nudged him towards the waiting plane. He stood at the foot of the steps and watched as his baggage was loaded onto the plane. He pulled out his cell phone. "Sara! Did you know about this!"
"If you're talking about your change in flight arraignments", she began calmly then shouted, "Of course I knew. Merry Christmas!"
"Man this is too much", Armen breathed.
"No its not. Just enjoy it. You're worth it."
"It's almost like I'm dreaming."
"No, it's not a dream."
"This whole week's been like a dream. How can you be sure?"
"Because…" Sara paused. She couldn't believe she was about to say this because Sara didn't take words lightly. Words had power, so she searched herself one more time. For a woman who could read other people's thoughts, sometimes she had a hard time deciphering her own.
She cleared her throat. "Because Armen, I love
you."
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