"About six weeks or so back. Just before I started here I went home for the weekend. I chat with them sometimes, my mom sends me packages."
"Good. I know you're a long way from home so if you need someone to talk to then I'm here. Just wanted to put that out there."
"Thanks." Summer loved it when they were alone together like this, just talking about stuff but like most good things it had to come to an end.
"Okay, time to go back to work. Don't forget, I expect to see you in my office this afternoon."
"I know," Summer said, the slim hope that maybe he'd forgotten about it like she had faded away.
"Come on. This afternoon we're cleaning windows."
"Yay. Windows," Summer said with a fake smile.
* * *
Even though she was doing the tedious job of cleaning all the exhibit windows, the afternoon flew by incredibly fast and before she knew what was happening, she was walking to Ben's top office like she walking the last mile. She kind of hoped that maybe he'd gotten too busy, but what if he had? Should she wait? Should she go home? No, that wasn't an option. He'd come looking for her and then he'd really be mad.
"Hi." He was waiting for her when she got there.
Well that put that question to rest. "Hi."
"Close the door."
She wasn't able to pick up on his mood from the tone in his voice. She closed the door and locked it. If she was going to be ass up she didn't want anyone to come barging in to ask a question or anything. She noticed his desk had been cleared of the papers and catalogues that were strewn all over it last time. A spring clean maybe? She doubted that.
"Take off your coveralls and come over here."
"Couldn't I come over there and then take off my coveralls?"
"Just do as I say, Summer."
His voice had risen just enough that she knew it was time to stop pushing, not that that's what she was doing, but she could see how it would seem that way to him. He was definitely a cup half empty person.
"Summer."
"I am. I was just thinking."
"You would have been better to have done your thinking the other night."
"I know."
"Then take off your coveralls and come over here."
Summer undid her coveralls and let them drop to the floor. She wasn't silly, though. Last time, she only had on skimpy underwear and a short tank top. This time, she had on the biggest t-shirt she owned and a pair of boy shorts. She kicked off her outer clothes and shuffled over to Ben in her socks and underwear.
The large man sat sideways on the edge of the table and stood her in front of him and took her hands. "Just because I said we can't date right now doesn't mean I don't care about you. That's why I'm going to spank you; so you know what'll happen if you ever put yourself in danger like that again."
Summer found herself nodding, but she doubted he would have waited for her approval anyway, because as soon as the stern words left his mouth she was tipped over his knee. He was tall and the desk wasn't short, so this left her legs dangling while she was sprawled across the desk. She had to reach to get a grip on the edge just as his large hand made contact with her poor rear. Her boy shorts, though tight and quite thick as panties went, were no protection for the hard whacks that rained down over and over. "Stop it! Ben please stop!" she wailed.
Ben shook his head at the panties that had been worn to cover most of her bottom and even the very top of her thighs. They were doing a good job. When he thought he'd covered the area well enough, he hooked his fingers in the waistband. "Lift up," he said.
"No, don't take them off, please!"
"You should have thought about the mess you would get yourself into when you decided to get drunk and wear barely any clothes. Now, lift up!" Each word was accompanied by another spank.
Reluctantly she did, tears now running down her cheeks, her legs kicking wildly in mid-air.
Ignoring her fuss, he yanked her panties down to her knees and then started to paddle her already stinging bottom with his large hand.
Her mind was swirling. The fire in her ass had been lit and was growing and spreading. The spanks were even louder now that his hand was making contact with her bare skin. Each solid smack fanned the fire until she felt she might just burst into flames. "I can't take anymore!" she bawled.
"No more drinking!" he said, walloping her poor bottom. "Promise me."
"I promise!" Summer would have promised him anything at that point to make him stop. "Please stop!"
Ben made sure that every last inch of her bottom was bright red before he stopped and helped her stand again in front of him. "Don't you dare break your promise to me."
"I won't," she sobbed, clinging to his shirt for both balance and comfort. He pulled her into him and for the first time gave her a warm hug with his chin resting softly on her head.
Chapter 6
Summer was very careful to stay on Ben's good side for the next five weeks. She got to work on time, she went to bed early and she hadn't had a drink since that fateful night. Even Poppy had calmed down. Calmed, not stopped, but at least she didn't hassle her to go out. So it came as a shock to her when she got to work one morning and she could tell things weren't right.
"Come in," Ben said. "Close the door."
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No, you've been so well behaved that I thought you must have snuck a twin sister in here or something."
"Nope. No twin sister, just me your resident angel."
"Take a seat."
"Ok, you have me worried now."
"No, it's nothing to really worry about. I need to tell you something," Ben said.
"Oh? Tell me Ben, you have me worried here."
"We have the date that Pickles is leaving."
"No!"
"I told you it was coming, Summer. You just have to remember that this is for the best, for Pickles. It isn't about us."
"I know, but it's sad. So sad."
"A little, but this is what happens when you care for animals. It's unpredictable. Part of this job is steeling yourself."
"I guess it is. Well, we have to give him a party before he goes. Can we? Please?"
"I think that's a very sweet idea. It'll be a good way to celebrate his time here and say goodbye."
"We need to make a cake out of fruit. 'Specially melon. He loves melon."
"Yes we will. We'll figure it out together. It can be like an ice cream cake without the ice cream."
"Yay! And presents, can we give him presents?"
"Yes Summer, we can him anything you want, within reason. It's two weeks away so we have time."
The weeks just flew by as they made lots of plans and sent out press releases. It seemed that they weren't the only ones that wanted to give Pickles a good send off. Nearly everyone that worked with the primates wanted to be in on the celebration. "I can't believe the two weeks are up already," Summer said as she and Ben worked on the final preparations.
"I know." Ben lined the large cake pans he'd borrowed from kitchen with silicon paper, meticulously smoothing out every wrinkle as he talked.
"What have you got organized to keep Char busy for a while?"
"Just his own usual frozen treat. He likes those. I'll hang it so he has to climb to get it. Hopefully he'll be so busy trying to get it that Pickles will be able to have this to himself for just a while. I'll do some others around, too. The girls can be just as greedy."
"Though not as pushy as Char."
"True."
"You do realize I only have another week here myself."
"I know. I've been watching the days, believe me."
"Glad to get rid of me?"
"Stop fishing for compliments," he hissed so as not to be heard. He had a giant grin though, so she knew he wasn't really angry.
"Hi guys," Cher said, bringing in two large paper mache balloons that had been drying outside. "These are finally dry."
"Cool. I'll help you bring them in."
"Are you
girls going to be okay to come in early tomorrow? Because obviously, you can't fill those with fruit any earlier than tomorrow morning."
"You serious? I probably won't sleep, I'm so excited."
"Me either. Why don't we have a slumber party and stay here? That way we can start as soon as we get up and we won't have to waste time getting here."
"No dice kids. You need to go home, get some sleep and come back fresh tomorrow. It's going to be a huge day. Don't forget that every child that comes to our exhibit tomorrow will get a party hat, an ice cream bar and a gift bag, so once we've set up everything for Pickles and the rest of the family, we need to concentrate on that."
"Will it be just us?" Summer asked wide-eyed.
Cher was waiting for that answer as well.
"No it won't be just us; but this was your baby, Summer, so you have to be here to help set everything up. Smile at the kiddies and such. The party itself will go for an hour, after that we'll wander around and hand out the kids' gifts. They're just a coloring book of gorillas and some crayons. A couple of free ride tickets and some promotional material for the kids' parents."
"Got to keep the funds rolling in," Summer said as she disappeared outside to get more balloons.
"Yep, that's what keeps this place going," Ben agreed.
* * *
"Ben's nice isn't he?" Cher asked as she and Summer ate lunch. Ben had stayed in the office to make more phone calls.
"Yeah, he's nice." Summer grinned at the girl that had become a friend.
"You like him, don't you?"
"I just said he was nice, didn't I?"
"You know what I mean."
"It's complicated."
"Because you work together?"
"Yeah. I don't see what that has to do with anything, but yeah."
"Oh, well, you won't be working here forever."
"I wish I could. I would love for this to be my job forever."
"Me too, although I think my first love would be the chimps."
"It was good of you to give us a couple of days of help, we needed it. What started out as a small party got huge."
"It'll be fun though, and a nice way to say goodbye to Pickles."
"Yes it will. Now I guess we better get back to it before Ben comes after us."
* * *
"So girls, bright and early tomorrow," Ben said, a hand on each of the girl's shoulders as he walked them up to the gate at the end of the day. Everything that they could possibly get done a day early was done.
Summer was so busy enjoying the rare treat of his touch that she didn't hear the next thing Ben said or Cher say goodbye.
"Summer?"
"Huh? Oh, yeah sorry, I didn't hear you."
"I was just thanking you."
"Of course." Ben had dropped his hand from Cher's shoulder and she was walking away. The hand dropped from her shoulder as well. Did she imagine that? Did he leave his hand on her shoulder for just a little longer than Cher's? She was going mad. The feelings that she had for Ben were steadily growing, and having him so near, but seemingly not interested, was hard. "I love being here, Ben. Nothing makes me happier."
* * *
Summer was careful to get the night right. She showered, ate dinner and went to bed and made sure her phone was all set.
Poppy stuck her head in the door when she had only been in bed a few minutes. "Can I come tomorrow? To the party?"
"You want to? That'd be great! You can help pass out gift bags or something."
"Ooh, gift bags?"
"Relax, they're for the kids. Crayons and stuff."
"Ok, it still sounds like fun."
"Well good, but we have to leave early so you better go to bed."
"Look at you all responsible. Ben's rubbing off on you. Is he rubbing off on you yet?" She giggled as she closed the door.
"Goodnight, Poppy," Summer said, tossing a pillow at the door.
"See you in the morning."
Summer couldn't believe that they actually managed to get out of the house on time. Early even. She'd had a weird feeling that something was going to go wrong, although she couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly that was. Maybe that wasn't unusual, considering if it was going to happen, it hadn't happened yet.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing really, I guess, I don't know. I was so excited about today and now I just feel weird, like something's off."
"Um thanks, I love you too."
"I didn't mean you, Pops. I can't explain it." The words were no sooner out of her mouth than Summer heard a siren behind her.
"Uh oh," Poppy said. "Did you just run a red light or something?"
"No, I've been very careful." Summer cautiously pulled over and waited for the officer to come over to the car.
He tapped on the closed window. "Open please." His voice was muffled through the glass but she heard what he said and was quick to comply.
"Is there a problem, Officer?" she asked with a shaky voice.
"I'm afraid there is, Miss. License and registration please."
Summer opened the glove compartment and produced both. She'd been listening when she was told to keep her papers close.
"Step out of the car, ma'am," he said.
"Why? I didn't do anything." Summer wasn't trying to be difficult and her tone wasn't rude in any way; she just didn't understand, she'd been careful.
"Step. Out. Of. The. Car."
"I don't think we're being punked here, Sum. You better do it."
"You can leave the vehicle too, Miss."
"Am I in trouble?" Summer asked. "I didn't do anything."
"This time. Miss, you have unpaid fines, your license has been suspended."
"Oh, no! The fines. I completely forgot!"
"I'm sorry, Miss, but I can't let you drive this car until you pay your fines and have your license reinstated."
"But I have to. You don't understand! I have to get to work."
"I'm sorry, Miss, rules are rules."
Summer burst into tears. "If you let me drive to work, just this once, I can pay the fines and I won't drive my car again until I know the payments clear."
"No driving."
"Can I drive the car?" Poppy asked.
"Do you have your license?"
Summer looked at Poppy hopefully. She was going to be late on the single most important day ever. Tears rolled down her face. Not because Ben was going to be angry, although he was going to be angry, that was for sure, but she was more upset that she'd let him down. Ben, Cher and everyone else that got involved in something that had been her idea.
"Well, not on me exactly." Poppy winced at Summer, rubbing her friend's arm to try and comfort her. "I didn't think I was going to need it, but I promise, Officer. I do have one."
"You can't drive a car unless you have your license on you."
"Ok, here's the thing. We have a problem. A big problem. We need to get to the zoo and we need to do it quickly."
"That's your problem, Miss, not mine."
Summer just cried harder. Not only were they late, but Pops was going to keep arguing with this highway patrol guy until he arrested them. "Pops, it's ok."
"No, I know it doesn't have to be your problem, but I know that you wouldn't have chosen this job if you didn't want to help people. I can see it in your face. You have kind eyes. Very blue."
"I'll ask you to close up your car, Miss. You can get someone to come and pick it up or you can have it towed," he said, ignoring Poppy's compliments.
Summer nodded and opened the car door to get out her bag.
"Seriously, is there anything at all I can offer you that would make you give us a lift? It's only a couple of miles down the road," Poppy begged.
"You need to get your friend to be quiet, because that was sounding very much like a bribe," he said to Summer.
"Poppy!" Summer whined.
Poppy put her hands up again. "Sorry, sorry. I didn't mean it. I was just desperate, that's all. It's scary for two young gir
ls to be stranded on the freeway by themselves. Anything could happen to us."
"She's just trying to help because she knows how important today is to me, to all of us. 'Specially Pickles."
"Who's Pickles?"
"Pickles is a gorilla and tomorrow he's leaving the zoo and we're giving him a party and it was my idea. Now I'm not even going to be there on time to help and I promised."
"You promised Pickles?"
"I promised Ben!"
"Wow. I'm not even going to ask who Ben is. I've heard some stories in my time..."
"This isn't a story, I swear!" Summer wailed.
"I'm sorry, really, but I just can't drive off the job to take you. Would you like me to try and call you a cab?"
"No, it's ok," Summer said. Poppy had no bag and she had no money; how were they going to pay for a cab? She certainly wasn't going to ask Ben for the money.
"It isn't safe to walk along the freeway," he said.
"I'll call a friend to come get us, it's ok."
"All right then." He tipped his hat and hopped back in his car.
"And the next plan is..." Poppy said. "Nothing?"
Summer shook her head.
"I guess we're going to have to hitch."
"No way."
"You want to just not turn up?"
"Hell, no." Summer walked out towards the middle of the road and stuck out her thumb.
"You've never hitched before have you?" Poppy asked.
"No, not really."
"I think you better hide behind that bush until I get someone to stop."
"Why?" Summer was slightly offended. Her friend thought she was too ugly to get them a ride.
"It's not you; when you're dressed up you're hot, but in that get-up... you look a bit like you should be picking up trash on the freeway, not driving on it."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome. I'll get us a lift." Poppy took off her heels, shimmied out of her jeans and then put the heels back on again. She bent over and shook her hair to fluff it up and then finally adjusted the top she'd been wearing to look like a short dress. "See? Watch this," she said.
After an hour of trying, the situation was almost hopeless. Poppy was still on the side of the road looking decidedly like she was hawking her wares and Summer was still sitting in the bushes having a quiet stroke. "It's no good, Pops," she cried out. "I'm going to have to call Ben. I can't just not go."
Saving Summer Page 7