Dani pulled her crimson Ford Explorer out of the driveway and headed toward Disney World. Sam and Dani yawned simultaneously and then broke into laughter. "I thought I told you not to stay up all night," Sam teased.
"Well," Dani laughed, "you know how it is, one thing led to another and......"
"And you and Sweet D fucked each other's brains out all night." Sam finished Dani's sentence for her, laughing.
"Well, not ALL night, but about half of it." Dani smiled with satisfaction. "I guess you didn't sleep well?" she asked her friend.
"No, not really. Too many memories creeping into my dreams." Sam said quietly, looking out the window. Seeing an opportunity, Dani jumped in with both feet, hoping not to drown. "You really should give AJ a chance to explain, Sam. Maybe what you saw and what really happened are two different things." Sam watched the scenery go by. "He was wearing nothing but a towel. She was wrapped in the bed sheet with her arms around him. How could it possibly be anything other than what it looked like? Besides," she added bitterly, "I hadn't even been gone two weeks before they were announcing how happy they were to be back together again."
"Amanda was announcing it, but I don't recall AJ saying anything one way or the other," Dani spoke up. "And he did try to get in touch with you," she reminded Sam. "You're the one that refused to talk to him."
Sam laughed in exasperation and ran her hand through her hair. "Dani, you're my best friend. You're suppose to be on my side," she informed her.
Dani laughed at her. "I am on your side. It's just that you two were so happy together before Amanda showed back up. And you didn't even try and fight for him. You just let her. . . . ." Dani's voice trailed off as she looked over her shoulder to merge the car onto the freeway concentrating on the traffic.
"Dani," Sam said, changing the subject abruptly, "that black car has been behind us ever since we left your house."
Dani looked into her rear view mirror at the car Sam had mentioned. "It's probably just a fan," she explained to Sam. "Or the press. It's not unusual for them to follow me sometimes," she told Sam. "I don't even notice it anymore."
"Probably tabloid press," Sam said making a face. "I wonder what juicy story they'll be spreading about you and Howie next week. God, I'm glad I never ended up working for a tabloid." Sam occasionally glanced back at the car following them. It felt odd to be on the other side for a change, although she had been lucky enough in her profession that she'd never had to stalk a celebrity. When they finally lost the other car at the entrance to Walt Disney World, Sam managed to shrug off the uneasy feeling she'd had since they'd realized they were being followed. Ready to have a good time, she forced herself to relax as Dani showed the attendant her season passes and pulled into the parking lot. "What shall we do first?" Dani asked her.
"You and Howie are the Disney experts. You lead, I'll follow. Just get me as far away from reality as possible." Sam said emphatically.
"I'm for that!" Dani said as Sam's comment brought the program on the CD back to the surface. She reached down and touched her laptop. Without knowing why, Dani had felt the need to bring her laptop and the prototype CD with her today. "Sam, shove my computer under your seat, will you?" Dani asked. "If we're going to put reality behind us, The Magic Kingdom is the best place to do it. We can catch the monorail from here," Dani said as she turned her car into one of the parking spaces at the Ticket and Transportation Center. "Hey, maybe we can find one of those handsome princes that Disney is so famous for." Dani said whimsically.
"Girlfriend, you already have one. The next one we meet is mine!"
The two friends spent the morning taking on the more adventurous attractions. They hit all the "mountains", some more than once. They both loved a good roller coaster, and although Disney's were tame compared to some of the one's they had ridden together, they still had a ball. Dani's favorite, Splash Mountain, left them soaked and shivering on this chilly fall morning, so they immediately headed over to Big Thunder Mountain Rail Road for a quick blow dry on the coaster. They continued the touring throughout the morning, forgetting their problems and laughing their way through the park.
By lunch, the two women were definitely ready to sit for a while. They boarded the Monorail to take them to EPCOT for their lunch reservations at Alfredo's in the Italy Pavilion. Both women sighed with relief as they sat down on the train. "Oh, my feet." Dani said slipping off her sandals and rubbing her arches. She noticed Sam had seemed distracted as they were leaving the park.
"Dani, maybe I'm getting paranoid, but do you see that blonde man that just got on?" Sam said in a whisper.
"The tall one? Yeah, so?" Dani whispered back switching to the other foot.
"I've seen him at almost every attraction we've been on today. And now the monorail. It's like he's following us, Dani."" Sam said suspiciously.
Dani laughed as she realized what was going on. "Not to worry, Howie must have arranged for a plain clothed Disney security guard to watch out for us. When Howie and I come to the parks together, we usually have Disney Security discreetly follow us so that they can get us out of trouble if he gets mobbed. I'm pretty much out of the closet now as his girlfriend, and the fans have been known to hassle the girlfriends, so...."
"Don't I know it." Sam interrupted.
Dani smiled sympathetically. Although the fans had been kind to Dani for the most part, they hadn't been as accepting of Sam's relationship with AJ. "I'm older than Howie too. I have heard the same cradle robbing and old lady insults that you have," Dani reminded.
"Dani, you're only three years older than Howie. There's a big difference between three years and twelve years." Sam said firmly, as the monorail lurched to a halt. The blonde man had to grab a handrail to keep his balance. "You'd think Disney security would know to hold on to the handrails," Sam remarked as she and Dani got up to leave. They glanced over at the man, giggling. He looked embarrassed and averted his eyes.
"So, what are we doing after lunch?" Sam asked, trying to keep the conversation from turning back to AJ.
"Well," Dani said mysteriously, "Howie arranged a little surprise for us. All I know is that we're supposed to be at the Grand Floridian Resort in 90 minutes and at the entrance to Cinderella's Castle at seven."
"Ooooh! A Howie surprise! That man is entirely too good to you," Sam declared. " I just love tagging along on one of his little surprises," she said excitedly.
"AJ wasn't too bad at surprises either as I recall." Dani added.
"Dani," Sam said, a tone in her voice that warned her friend to drop it.
"Okay, okay, I'll stop," Dani said apologetically. "Let's just get lunch and see where the day takes us." She smiled secretly to herself knowing, at least, what the evening held and hoping Sam would still be speaking to her in the morning. After lunch, a Disney escort was waiting for them in front of the restaurant. He led them to a private boat launch for a short boat ride over to the resort. Sam noticed that the other Disney security guard didn't follow them onto the boat. His presence still perplexed her. She couldn't shake the feeling that she had seen him somewhere before. Shrugging off the eerie feeling he gave her, Sam graciously accepted the glass of white wine that the new escort offered her. The girls took their seats under the boat's canopy and enjoyed the peaceful ride to the resort.
Once at the resort, Sam and Dani were escorted through the ornate lobby and taken to a private spa and suite on one of the top floors. The attendant greeted the women and showed them to the changing area. The private spas were located in large suites, complete with all the comforts of home and then some. Dani entered the room with trepidation noting the large number of people that were there for the sole purpose of fussing over her.
"Howie does it again!" Sam said with delight as she looked around the suite. She knew good pampering when she saw it. Sam dragged Dani over to the massage tables. "Oh come on, you'll love it!" she said. Dani wasn't accustomed to being pampered, preferring to take care of herself and others instead. Howie had been on a mission since they first met to make her see that she didn't need to be so independent all the time. Sensing her friends hesitance, Sam asked "Didn't you know Howie was going to set this up? What did you think he had planned when he told you to be at the Grand Floridian?"
"Believe me, I had no idea about this part...." Dani pretended to cough trying to cover the words that almost slipped out.
"Let the man indulge you a little!" Sam scolded her. "He's trying to make up for the fight even though it was your independence and wanting to fix everything on the CD without telling him that caused it, you know. You don't have to always be so independent now. Let him take care of you. At least some of the time," Sam said, hoping Dani wouldn't take her remark the wrong way.
"I know," Dani sighed. "But I've always had to take care of myself. Even as a child. It's hard to let somebody else be in charge for a change." Dani smiled. "But he does try awfully hard to make me happy." Both women smiled and Dani silently thanked God for sending Howie to love her.
Together, the two friends had an afternoon of facials, manicures, pedicures, herbal baths, and massages. Even Dani had to admit as the day wore on that this spa thing wasn't too bad. Sam relished in the attention, especially the massage. And the two drop dead, gorgeous masseuses made it even more enjoyable. It was all Dani could do not to laugh out loud at Sam's bold, flirtatious manner. The makeup artist had just arrived to do their makeup for the evening when two packages arrived, one for Sam, and one for Dani. "Dani, if you ever decide that you don't want Howie anymore, I want him," Sam said excitedly as she opened her package. "Don't hold your breath!" Dani advised her, laughing, as she opened hers too.
Sam's box revealed an emerald green silk dress with a mandarin collar and little cloth covered buttons down the back. She knew the Oriental design would look great on her. Matching shoes were included with the dress. "How did he know my shoe size?" Sam pondered after she had oooed and awed over the dress. "Howie must have raided my gift file," Dani told her. "I keep a little book with everyone's sizes and tastes written in it. His family is so big I can't keep track of them all. So I cheat!" Dani laughed. She loved his big family and all the commotion it brought with it. Much better, she thought, than her lonely, only child upbringing.
Dani's box contained a silk dress that was the most beautiful shade of bronze she had ever seen. It was a simple slip dress with spaghetti straps and a draped neckline. Under the dress, she found a corset, matching panties, a garter belt, black stockings and black high heeled shoes. Sam glanced into Dani's box. "Wow, I think I know what D is planning for you! How come he didn't send me undies?" Sam pouted, pretending her feelings were hurt.
"There is a very nice lingerie section in the resort's boutique," volunteered one of the spa attendants. "Shall I have them send something up for you?"
"That's a wonderful idea" Sam said. "Tell them to make it something naughty," she said, laughing.
Dani shook her head, secretly planning to put her own naughty undies to good use tonight.
Links to other sites on the Web
© 1997 crunkgrl62382@yahoo.com
Get your own Free Home Page