Fluff and sexual content.

Facing the Music

"So, Nick. Did you bang that bitch Wednesday night? I heard that you two were pretty cozy in the cafeteria yesterday afternoon," Carmen asked as he emptied the trash in the empty room. Carmen and Nick had been assigned to the room because it was a STAT clean. "Is it true that you two talked for five whole hours? She better have put out after that!"

"What the hell could you two have been talking about for that long anyway?" he continued while sweeping the floor. "What? Was she telling you her life story or something?" By now, Nick was pretending not to 'hear' him, thoroughly insulted on his own behalf not to mention his woman after his five-minute tirade against Nesa and women in general. The deafmute simply continued cleaning the bathroom, his mind full of the coding he would have to do on the newest project he'd been assigned in class. Just before he could finish his task, Carmen clamped down on his shoulder.

"Hey man. I'm talking to you," he said angrily. Nick simply tapped his watch, shrugged the meaty hand off of him, and got back to work.

"Yeah… You're right. We'd better get this room in order or the nurses will give us shit." The room was finished in good time once both men were working on it. Wheeling their cleaning carts away from the room, Carmen caught up to his coworker. "So you never answered my question before. Did you bang her that night?" Nick gave the man a stare that chilled his blood before pulling out his pad.

No. I did not 'bang' her as you so crudely put it, and even if I did make love with my woman, why would I confess something like that to you?

"Hey! There's no need to be rude, man. I was just making conversation."

Insulting the female half of the species more like.

"You know what? Fuck you," the man growled, walking away as Nick's pager went off. He ignored Carmen's dirty look as he went to find a computer to answer the page. Another room needed cleaning. Thankfully this one didn't require the asshole to tag along at three in the morning. It was getting annoying; the female housekeepers were fawning and swooning all over him. The male ones were acting more like Carmen. Yesterday he'd been euphoric after his date, now he wished that he'd been more discreet in claiming his woman for himself.

"Oh don't mind Carmen, Nick. He's a woman hater and a major narcissist," Jennifer said with a flirtatious smile. "You're popular right now. Nesa's a lucky woman." Nick nodded along with the woman, waiting for the other shoe to drop. He'd learned that women who complimented his girlfriend were usually going in for some overarching insult.

"I'm a little surprised that you would go for one of those bubble-headed, common sense-deprived nurses though. There are a number of women right at your fingertips who would have been happy to date you."

Women who never said anything until I made my choice. Women who don't hold my interest.

"I promise you that I would hold your interest now that I know you're available. Nick, there are quite a few women in our group that wouldn't mind having a little fun with you. We don't even mind your disabilities. You don't have to waste your time with someone that's beneath you. I could-" Nick stopped her with a soft finger to her lips, shaking his head gently.

I've made my choice.

I'm not in the habit of changing my mind

Jennifer hissed at him and stomped away.

"What was that all about?" Carmen asked. Apparently, his anger was short-lived in the face of gossip. The deafmute shrugged and walked away. This was insane. Hurt his woman for a bunch of random females looking to add a 'deafmute' notch to their bed posts. He'd never been pursued before. Knowing that his lady wouldn't be working for another two days, he got to work, wishing that he could contact her somehow. He hadn't thought of getting her cell phone number so that he could text her. Only three more days until he could see her again…

… …

Three days later Nesa returned to work to the buzz of the unit. Everyone was excited about the courtship between the housekeeper and the nurse.

"So… You and Nick, eh?" Nancy asked slyly. "I heard you two were getting rather cozy in the cafeteria the other day."

"We were… We were just…"

"Oh sweetie, there's no reason to be embarrassed," Janet said dreamily. "I was there during your date. I've never seen a man put a claim on a woman like that before."

"I heard it was magical," Gladys sighed happily. How long until you two marry?"

"Marry? Gladys, that was our first date! People have been teasing me all day about this. I think I'll say 'no' the next time he asks me out!"

"No, Nesa. Don't let others dictate your relationship," Janet said vehemently. "I remember letting that happen to me when I was your age. I was so embarrassed and let my parents and friends decide my course of action. I'm pretty happy with the life I lead now. But sometimes I wonder what my life would be like if I'd been stronger back then." Nancy, Gladys, and Nesa all stared at the woman, never having heard her speak so passionately about anything. Janet was usually pretty low-key. "You have to promise me that you won't let others decide the course of your relationship," the older woman said intensely, grabbing Nesa by the chin. "It's important that you make your own way in this, the same way you didn't allow anyone to talk you out of losing all the weight you wanted to. Promise me, Ganesa."

"I promise," the girl said, at last, not appreciating being manhandled like this.

"Good," the older nurse finally released her face. "Now, I need a medication waste. One of you want to help me?" The shift continued on as if nothing had happened. Nesa was looking forward to the end of the shift and possibly seeing her boyfriend after three days away from the job.

… …

Give me your cell phone number. I want to be able to contact you on your days off

"That sounds perfect," Nesa smiled at him. "I've missed you."

Are you sure?

The girl groaned. "You're right. It's been a long shift with everyone teasing me and giving me opinions about our relationship. Opinions run the gambit between 'you can do better' and 'you should be grateful'. There are even a few 'you need to stop playing with that poor boy's affection, you sinful harlot' thrown in there for good measure. People seem to have a vested interest in splitting us apart. I wonder why that is?"

Because people are petty. We're happy together and some people can't stand that.

"Well… I'm not interested in what everyone wants. In fact, I'm used to doing the opposite of what others want. You should have seen the fallout when I got serious about my weight loss. People had tons to say about how skinny and unhealthy I was getting. But I persisted and now I am at the weight that I want. I've been maintaining since January and it's May now. I'm so proud of myself!"

I'm proud of you for sticking to your guns. No one has the right to tell you what to do with your body but you

When are we going shopping?

"I don't know. I don't even know where I should shop or for what. I guess I'll start at Walmart and-"

I was thinking of Talbots at the Southcenter Mall. Between the two of us, we could get an Uber on the way home with your purchases. There was this one beautiful dress I'd love to see you in…

"Oh, I don't know about that. Malls tend to be expensive…"

I'm sure that you've been saving up for a long time, dreaming of this day.

"You're right, of course. I've put over three thousand dollars in my clothes shopping budget over the last year. Whatever I don't use I can add to my car shopping budget. But if I'm going to shop enough to fill up a car, I might as well rent one for the weekend. We can go on a real date, one that doesn't involve our coworkers." Nick looked pleased with this idea, sighing when his pager went off. She wrapped her arms around him lovingly. "Have a good day, Nick."

The man smiled as he watched her go, determined to add her number to his phone so that he could text her at will.

"You're going clothes shopping with her? On purpose?" Joe asked curiously. "Man, you got it bad. Women live to shop. She'll have you holding her purse and carrying her bags like a chump."

None of your business

"Alright, Nick. You're right. What you do with your off time is your business and no one else's. Do you even know how to drive?" Nick shook his head shortly, sensing another lecture coming on. He was right and used his page as an excuse to get away from the well-meaning busy body. Over the next few days he planned her wardrobe, texting her whenever he felt like it. Turns out that his lady was a veritable font of information about just about everything. They discussed religion, politics, business ventures, his schooling… whatever tickled their fancy. Two weeks later, Nesa pulled up to his apartment building in a Kia Forte. He was waiting outside for her and he couldn't help a sigh at how cute she looked sitting in the car. Resolved to ask her for more details about her car shopping budget, he waved at her.

"Hey baby! Hop in, I'm finally ready to get new clothes!"

Hello, my love. What's the game plan?

"We'll hit Talbots and see if they have anything worth buying. I think there's a few more clothes stores in the mall too if Talbots is a bust. I still want to hit Walmart and the goodwill for some things. If I can get clothing I like at a fraction of the mall costs, I'll die a happy woman. Is there anything you want to do while I have the car? I have it till Friday morning. Since we both have the next three days off, it seemed like a good deal to me."

Honestly, I would love to see Banff. I've never been and I've heard that it's lovely up there

The girl smiled happily. "I've never been either. I've heard that the hot springs are amazing up there. And Nancy said that the massage place over the hot springs can't be beaten. But… It's a two-hour trip one way. Are you alright with being 'quiet' for that long? I mean, I won't be able to answer long notes or anything while I'm driving."

I think you look cute behind the wheel. I could stare at your profile all day. And I don't mind being 'quiet', love. I'm not much of a 'talker' anyway, I prefer to watch you sing. And if I have something pressing to say, I'll ask you to pull over. Let's get to the mall. I know it's only Monday morning, but I want to shop with you.

The two took off for the mall in high spirits and spent the majority of the day looking for nice clothes. Ganesa was just excited that she could shop in these 'skinny girl' stores. She accumulated a modest pile of shorts, jeans, shirts and even a few dresses. She always looked at the clearance racks first, which Nick found amusing. It reminded him of his mother truthfully. When he told her that, she laughed.

"A habit I picked up from my mom. She wouldn't be caught dead in a department store. The prices here would give her a heart attack! This is a woman that found an old cookbook of ours online for $2.99 and got mad because she would have to pay $0.25 shipping. We call her 'Sister Sales' in my family. She can get a deal on anything. The last time she was here, she got a discount in the cafeteria! I can't get a discount in our cafeteria! She's something else, let me tell ya."

She sounds like a real spitfire. So what does she think of you dating me?

Nesa rolled her eyes. "She thinks I'm selling myself short. But as I told her, as long as you're not a Satanist, an alcoholic, a drug addict, and don't beat women, I'm cool with you just the way you are." She hugged him happily and the man sighed in relief. Then he held up three fingers with a mischievous look in his beautiful blue eyes.

"You're a drug addict?" she asked doubtfully. He shook his head and held up three fingers again. "You're an alcoholic Satanist with a drug problem?" she corrected herself. Nick winked at her.

I would never hit a woman

Her face fell for a moment. Then she giggled and stuck her tongue out at him. "Let's get these things back to the car. I think I'm done shopping for the day. I picked up plenty of clothes in my size. Wanna put this stuff in the car and hit the food court?" He nodded and they were off. After eating they headed to her home. She showed off her place, even the empty rooms. Nick was impressed that she would buy such a nice place for herself. It matched her personality perfectly, all full of light from the large bay windows

You're going to have a hell of a time boarding up all these windows when the zombie apocalypse hits

"But it'll be a pretty sweet ride up until that point," she quoted a show in a funny voice he couldn't hear. "I'll deal with the apocalypse when it gets here. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy my amazing house. Lyndon's mom gave me her old table and chair set and I got my buddy Alex to install that projector setup when I first moved in here. I've been contemplating getting an actual four-poster bed for the bedroom, but it's just a hair out of my budget. Maybe I'll start a bed budget for myself after I finish."

I have to admire your restraint, sweetness. I don't know if I would be able to resist the urge to impulse buy.

Mind helping me out with that?

Nesa blinked. She'd been budgeting for things since she started working at age 14. It was how she had such a good credit score. Then it dawned on her. Nick never had a mother to teach him how to budget. Nick never had anybody to help him with this stuff. He'd been forced to learn it on his own and at his cost.

Feeling sorry for me, Sweetness?

She gave a guilty start. "No! I wasn't - Okay, so maybe I was just a little. My mother pounded the importance of good credit into me for years before I even had a credit score. You didn't have that. You had to learn it all on your own. Just shows you how much I take for granted, eh?"

It's not 'taking it for granted' if you never knew to miss it, love. I suspect that you take very little for granted. You thank God for every little thing you have. I don't want your pity. I've been doing fine on my own. It just seems like you have a good system going for yourself. I have a habit of over-spending and using my credit card to bail me out. I'd love to learn how not to do that.

"Hey, I use credit! You saw me today. I bought all of these things with credit!"

I also saw you transfer the money back to your credit card almost immediately.

"Well that's just how you build credit. It's why I got such a great deal on my mortgage." At his dumbfounded look, she sighed. "Let me start from the beginning. Credit card companies want to see how you manage your money. You should aim to not have more than half of your credit limit on your card at one time."

Too late

She nodded with a sigh. "Most people I tell this to say that. So let's keep that in mind for a long term goal. Right now we want to focus on paying down your debt. I'll show you how I do it." She led him back upstairs to the computer that was set up in her bedroom. The computer she had was solid, but hopelessly out of date. The software was current though, probably the result of her tech friends. "Let's start by making you a budget." It took until after dark for the two to come up with an Excel spreadsheet with all of his expenses and savings on it. She explained how to pay down his credit cards by paying a certain percentage more on them each month than the minimum payment. His budget was based on her own and Nick was impressed with how extensive her budget was. Nothing was left to chance, she budgeted down to the cent; any extra over her paycheck deposit went straight into her savings so that the budget matched. The final budget for him was not so tight. There was room for the occasional junk food binge or computer part. Things that he wanted, like shiny new tech or a thousand-dollar cushion for himself, were taken out of his checking account and put in his savings so that it would be harder to spend it on the crap that he wanted now. All of it was based on what they determined was his base pay, so that they weren't overspending his money.

Wow. You're amazing Bliss. I never would have imagined I could be this organized with my money

"Anyone can do it," Nesa demurred. "Just most people don't think this way. Or they've never been taught how. We'll try this budget and see how it fits you; making a budget and sticking to a budget are two different things. And it took me years to figure this thing out for myself."

You have a $8000+ cushion for yourself. I'd say you've figured things out rather well for yourself

The girl blushed hard at that. No one knew how much she had in the bank for herself. But her only real expenses were the mortgage and her utilities. She'd finished paying off her student loans last year and her credit card balance was always zero. She had room for a car and anything else she wanted, she just didn't want anything right now.

We should upgrade your computer while we have the car and can get to Memory Express.

"I don't need a new computer," she protested.

How old is your computer, Sweetness? I can see the inside of your computer and that Ram is at least 6 years old. I'm a tech, darling. Trust me, you need a new computer.

Don't worry, we won't blow all your savings on it. But you need to blow a couple hundred to protect your internet and documents

"Lyndon's always complaining about how expensive computers are."

He's either insisting on the very top of the line or he just doesn't know how to put things together on a budget. Trust me, we can get you a kickass system without going bankrupt. Trust me?

"Exclusively," she smiled into his eyes. The man claimed her lips and all thoughts of budgets and money went out the window for the night. He didn't pick her up and put her on the little futon in her room like he wanted to, not wanting to scare her. Instead he leaned her forward in the office chair she was sitting in and possessed her sweet mouth with abandon. Now that they had some privacy, he took the time to really savor her mouth like a fine wine. She felt so good in his arms! His tongue came out to play, swirling in her mouth as those wonderful vibrations of hers went straight to his head. He'd have groaned if he'd been capable of making a sound. Instead, he wrapped her up in his strong arms and pulled her closer to him where he'd been kneeling before her all afternoon, learning how to manage his money better. She was now on his knee and he only wrapped her tighter in his embrace as he licked and stroked her mouth lovingly.

Nesa trembled in his arms. This was the most intense kiss he'd ever given her and she loved it. Her deafmute was so dominant! She surrendered to his touch, moaning for all that she was worth. She was rocking herself against his knee, her eyes closed as she luxuriated in his touch on her body. He wasn't even touching her inappropriately, but every part of her he caressed felt alive and sensitive. Arms, back, neck… She felt like one raw nerve. She sped up rubbing her crotch against his knee, feeling something building inside of her as he consumed her mouth. She suckled his tongue, still feeling that 'something' building in her. Her body tingled with this 'something', tightening as he deepened the kiss. She felt like this sometimes when she touched herself, but when it became intense like this, she usually stopped. She didn't want to stop right now. Everything in her begged him to continue; God, and he was only kissing her! She'd heard of kisses like this; kisses that stole your breath and rocked your world. But she'd never actually been on the receiving end of one. She was flying high right now, speeding towards something glorious, something delicious. She thought she might die if she didn't get that something that her body was speeding towards. As he continued to savage her mouth, she rode his knee furiously, chasing that something that was building inside of her.

Without warning her whole body tightened up and she screamed out her fierce orgasm. She pushed away from him, feeling like her world was tearing itself apart. The girl knocked him over as she made a beeline for the bathroom. He grabbed her ankle and she fell to the ground. The two lay for a moment, breathing heavily. Then he crawled up her prone body slowly, touching her trembling form softly as he made his way. Without skipping a beat, he slid his arms around her from behind and squeezed her. Her body spasmed and she yelled out in ecstasy. Just as fast as it happened, she relaxed against him as if all the marrow had been stolen from her bones. She turned her face into the thick rug under her cheek and sobbed. Nick gently turned her tear-stained face towards him. She looked at him at last, her face a study in shame.

"I… I never-" The deafmute kissed her lips sweetly and her body relaxed against him where she'd been tensing up to run. Nesa relaxed completely against her man, feeling deathly tired all of a sudden. Nick, seeming to understand this, picked her up and put her on her futon. He undressed her slowly, giving her ample opportunity to tense as a sign that she didn't want this. But the exhausted girl offered no resistance. Once she was in her horribly mismatched underclothes, he covered her up and brushed a chaste kiss on her forehead. He saw himself out and for that she was grateful. She turned so that she was lying on her stomach on the bed and smiled against the pillow. She'd never had a full-blown climax before. Wondering if it would be like this every time - and looking forward to finding out - she snuggled against her pillow, yawned, and promptly slipped into oblivion.

Well, that was intense. Join me next week to see what happens next, fam! :D