Date: Sun, 15 Mar 2015 14:10:50 -0400 From: professorboxers@yandex.com Subject: A Learning Experience Part 2 Disclaimer: My stories contain descriptions of consensual sex between adults. All characters and situations are fiction. Any resemblance to real people is strictly coincidental. All stories are property of the author. Please consider making a donation to Nifty so that this great site can remain free and available to all on the Internet. You may send comments and constructive criticism to ProfessorBoxers@yandex.com I've tried to keep the story as realistic as I can, while holding a level of fantasy. ******************************* The summer was already passing by quickly, and I should have been starting to prepare for the fall semester. Instead, I was spending almost all my time with Cassandra. By the middle of August, we had a regular routine. We would decide first at who's home we would spend time. We'd get together around 11 am, have sex for an hour, then have lunch. After lunch, we'd spend several hours reviewing material necessary for the PCAT pharmacy exam, which Cassandra now planned on taking in November, instead of the end of the summer. After studying, we would cuddle and talk, as we were still getting to know each other. We always ate in, and the owner of the house had to cook dinner. We developed a little competition as we both loved to cook, trying to outdo the last meal. Evening would find us sitting outside, again cuddling and talking quietly over wine or beer, and we would end up starting foreplay outside, before having sex inside. Cass insisted that because of her hormone treatments she wouldn't always be in the mood, but there never came a time where she didn't want to do something. If she couldn't get herself erect, she'd spend a lot of time giving me pleasure. How could I argue? Well, I did argue quite a bit, insisting that we should only do anything when we could both enjoy it. I thought that as we grew together as a couple, we would find other ways of pleasure that didn't involve sex, but that would come later. Cass convinced me that I should relax and just enjoy it, because she derived a lot of pleasure out of seeing me happy. After a few refrains of that argument, I finally gave in completely, convinced that I was not taking advantage of her. Neither one of us had mentioned going any further in our sexual intimacy. I had wanted to have sex, but knowing that Cass has a long and twisting sexual history, I didn't want to push things. It had been made clear through our conversations that I was her first lover since fully transitioning, and I wanted to give her the opportunity to set the pace. Cass had also hinted at some flexibility, when meant to me that either one of us could be the top and the other the receiver. I know from my own experience that I was interested in trying both ways, but I wanted a full discussion about the subject. I just didn't know how to bring it up. Two weeks before the start of the fall semester, Cass and I had our first real date out. Both of us were nervous to present ourselves as a couple to the world, in part because of our previous professor/student relationship. Since nothing happened until after she had left the campus, there was no violation on my part, though there would always been some questions from the rest of the staff that knew of Cass. Cass felt some justifiable nerves at being singled out as transgendered upon coming across some idiot homophobe, as she had done in my class. I tried to assuage her fears as she did mine, but we were both still nervous as we set out that night. We decided on a restaurant just outside of town, which had a good reputation. It didn't look like much on the outside, or the inside for that matter, but the service was exemplary and the food delicious. We spent a long time eating, talking, and holding hands over the table. There was something very freeing about being together in public, unashamed of showing affection. We had a corner table, and no one but the waitress bothered us. By the smiles that she was giving us when she approached, she seemed to approved of our affection for each other. Our date was going so well that we decided on getting a drink at a good lounge not to far from our neighborhood. I had been there a few times when I wanted to watch a baseball game I couldn't get at home. I knew one of the bartenders, Brian, and fortunately he was there when we entered. I waved, and made a gesture for two pints of my usual beer, and he brought them right over to the table. Brian hadn't met Cass before but I gladly introduced him. They were chatting amicably as I sat sipping my beer, when something caught my eye: two guys visible in the window outside, apparently ready to enter. The two jocks from my class two years before. The two jocks that had said some very derogatory things about Cass. Inside, they went right to the bar and my friend disengaged himself to serve them. My apprehension must have shown on my face because Cass immediately took my hand. "What's up, Jason?" Her eyes were full of concern. She understood very early on that I wore my emotions on my face. Without speaking, I nodded in the direction of the two jocks, who seemed to already be in an inebriated state, based on their awkward gaits. She looked over at them in confusion. I recalled that she wasn't even aware of what the two jocks had said. She knew the story only from my perspective. I leaned in to her to explain. "Those are the two guys from your first year of class to me that said some pretty nasty stuff about you." Her confusion changed into a very dark look and she took several sips of her own beer. I started to hope that they wouldn't notice us, but one turned around and saw me. "Hey, Dr. E!" I tried to recall their names as the first came over, followed by the second. Chris and Eric. Chris was the real jerk and he flanked Eric, as Eric spoke to me. "How are you doing, Dr. E? It's been awhile. Is this your date? She's pretty hot... I mean for you..." Even a jerk when trying to pay a compliment. These two were pieces of work. "Date? Woman? She's the tranny dude. Remember from class?" Chris said with a drunken leer. "I guess it turns out that Dr. E's a fag." He said it rather loudly. The entire bar froze. I could see Brian frown, and he started to move out from behind the bar. I knew that he wouldn't take any of this kind of situation in the bar. Cass was looking down, obviously horrified at the situation. I had a split second of indecision, but in the end, I stood up, almost getting in Eric's face, since he was closest. "Excuse me? I'm not sure how you were brought up, but I don't think it's polite to use that kind of language in mixed company. Especially to your elders." I have some vague sense of how stupid and condescending I was sounding, but I was also seething. I never yelled when I was this angry. Eric was leaning in as if he had trouble hearing me. "Come on, man. She's got a dick. If you're into that, you're a fag, pure and simple. I don't care if you are a professor or not," Chris said with a chuckle. I wanted to look to Cass, knowing she must have been in a worse state than me, but I didn't want to show any weakness in that moment. My heartbeat was pounding in my head, and subconsciously I was wondering if I could take on both of them at the same time. "What I'm into is no business of yours. Frankly, you saw her first as a beautiful woman, which is what she is. What else is "attached" as you say doesn't really matter, does it?" Cass made a small, unidentifiable noise. I still didn't look in her direction. Now both guys were essentially on top of me, and I was starting to feel fear mixed with anger. Two on one gave me little chance, and I didn't expect Cass to get involved. "Does she bend over for you or is it you who takes it up the..." Chris began, but suddenly both guys were being pulled back. Brian had somehow managed to find one of the local cops outside, off duty, and before I could say another word, Eric and Chris were being unceremoniously banned from the bar and escorted out. I was still standing there with my fists clenched, my ears ringing, when I felt finger enclose my wrist. "Jason," she whispered and took my hand. I finally looked at her and there were tears streaming down her face, her lip trembling. "My anger broke at that moment and I took her into my arms. She was sobbing into my neck. "Take her home, Jason," said Brian, whose name was Pete. "I'll make sure those two never do anything like that again around here." He patted my shoulder. "I'm glad you didn't try to fight. But good for you standing up like that." Cass pulled away from me enough to give Pete a watery smile. He moved back behind the bar and I guided Cass out to the car. Our drive home was short, but Cass had resumed crying on the way. Without think, I helped her out of the car and picked her up, carrying her into her house. When I set her down, she kicked off her heels and went right for some tissues. At this point, her makeup was rather a mess. "I'm sorry for all that, Jason," she mumbled, not looking me in the eye. "It's my fault for being..." "No!" I almost screamed the word and Cass jumped, looking at me afraid. My fists were clenched again. "It's isn't your fault for being... you! It's them. Fucking idiots. They ruined our beautiful night and made you cry. I would have fought them if I had any chance. It would have been worth it to teach them a lesson. It wouldn't have sunk in though, just like the chemistry I tried to teach them. No one insults someone I love in front of me." Cass gasped. I didn't understand what I had just said, though the feeling was true. Without acknowledging it, I had fallen in love with Cass. True that it had been a month into our real romantic relationship, but much emotional connection had been built up before that. "You... you..." was all she could say, her entire body trembling. I thought she was going to faint, so I came to my senses and scooped her up again. She held me lightly around the neck. "You... I... please take me to bed, Jason. Please." I didn't move for a second. My words had come back to me, and I began to understand Cass' response. "Oh... um, okay," I said and kissed her nose. I walked slowly back to her bedroom and placed her gently down on the bed. She opened her arms for me, then suddenly touched her face and got up. "No... not like this... let me freshen up first." She went right to the master bathroom and shut the door, leaving me alone, and a little confused. "I love you," I whispered to the dark room. I turned on one of the lamps and unbuttoned my shirt. I heard the water run, then the toilet flush a couple of times and then the water run again for a few moments. Cass opened the door, with a clean face, hair teased and looking incredibly beautiful as always. She had a bottle of lube in her hand. "I... want to make love tonight," she whispered as she walked over. She tossed the lube on the bed and put her hands on my bare chest. Though I knew the answer, I couldn't help but ask, "Why tonight?" She hesitated for a moment as she looked into my eyes. "Because you stood up for me. Because the last month has been the happiest time of my life. Because you are the one I've been looking for. Because I love you too." The words poured our of her mouth in a rush, her lip trembling. I grabbed her and pulled her against me kissing her deeply. While she was in the bathroom, I had wondered if I would be able to get aroused because of my anger. But all of that had melted away into passion, and within a moment I was hard and ready for Cass. She pushed me down on the bed all of a sudden, and went right for my pants, which she managed to pull off with surprising speed. My boxer briefs came down almost as quickly, though my hardness made that a little more difficult. Her lips her on my cock instantly, swallowing me almost completely, my shirt forgotten. She was moving her lips over me with such pressure that I knew I wouldn't last long if she kept it up, but she suddenly stopped. She grabbed the blue and poured it over me, making sure I my shaft and head were completely covered in it. "What about..." I started, but she stopped me mid sentence. "No, we won't need it. I know we're both clean. And I, um, did a quick cleanse..." I didn't get her meaning until she pointed at her butt, and then my eyes went wide. She smiled and nodded at my comprehension. She put the bottle away and laid down on the bed, looking over at me. I flipped over, right on to of her, my slick cockhead nudging her smooth balls, which made her moan. "It's been a long time, but I'm ready," she whispered and we kissed deeply. I didn't trust my aim, so I lean back, and lifted one of Cass' legs. I saw between her cheeks, seeing her hole already slick with lube, something she must have done in the bathroom. I held the base of my cock and rubbed the head into her crease, until it rested against her hole. "Please, Jason. Please." I looked into her eyes and pressed. There was a surprising amount of resistance, something I didn't remember the few times I had been with a woman previously. I hadn't done anal sex with any of them. I pulled back and looked at Cass. She bit her lip. "I'm sorry. It's just nerves. I really want to but I know it will hurt a little. Just... keep going. I'll relax." I pressed again, but I let her leg down and reached up to caress her cheek. This little sign of love seemed to do the trick because her ring of muscle gave to me and I entered feeling sudden delightful pressure around my cockhead. She grabbed my arm and I froze, waiting for her cue to keep going. It was a long moment, in which she took a few deep breaths. Eventually, she released my arm and nodded. Once I felt like I could spare both arms, I placed them next to Cass' shoulder and used my leverage to push deeper. I kept it very slowly, trying not to let the pleasure of her tight channel consume me. It felt so incredibly good and tight. I saw Cass wince a few times, but she didn't stop me anymore. At one point, I pulled back, then stopped, giving her a moment to breath again. She beamed at me, and her body relaxed more. Then I continued until I was completely inside, and I wrapped my arms around her. I felt her breasts against my chest, her soft cock squeezed between us. I kiss her a passionately as I could, not really wanting to move anymore. For a moment, I felt that if I moved at all, I would instantly cum, but I tried to put that energy into the kiss, and it seemed to work. I felt my body move away from orgasm, and I pulled my hips back a little, then thrust. "Yes... yes, just a little at a time, go slow, make it last. It's so good now. The pain is gone. Oh fuck, I missed this," she hissed in my ear. "I don't care when you cum. Fast or slow, I just want you to enjoy it." Something about the sentence made me lean back a little. The same old discussion about enjoying pleasure together. "But... I want us both to..." I started. "Oh shut up," she said, just little seriously. "I've already told you I'm loving this. But it isn't about making me cum. It isn't about you cumming either, you know. It's about being together." I nodded. She was quite right, and I kissed her deeply as I started to move my hips again. She moaned into my mouth. We really were making love. As terrible as the bar had been, this more than made up for it. I didn't go too fast or even pull back to much. I craved as much body contact with Cass as I could. Her hands stayed on my back and ass, to encourage me, but she really did let me do what I wished. I wanted to make it last, last the whole night if I could, but instead of the physical sensations pushed me to orgasm, it was the emotional connection with Cass that triggered that release, and as the orgasm hit, I buried my face in Cass' neck, moaning loudly as she held me. I was sure I heard crying again, but this time, it was the good, happy kind of crying. And it wasn't just Cass. I was crying myself, after the release of my anger, the acceptance of love. We held each other for a long time, even after I softened, but as I slipped out, I could tell that we were making a mess of the comforter. I made a move to get up, ready to clean up, but Cass held me fast. "No, honey, not yet. I don't care about the comforter. It can go in the wash. I'm not ready to let you go yet." She kissed me softly and for a good ten minutes we kissed and nuzzled, until finally Cass sighed and pushed me up. "Okay, if we must. Let me get a wash cloth." She did so, and cleaned up both up quickly, before throwing the washcloth on the comforter, bundled it up and took it down stairs. I stretched a little and looked out through the window. The sky was clear and there were many starts twinkling in the sky. My first thought was, "Which house are we going to move into?" My brain was always four or five steps on where it should be, but I couldn't help but feel right about the situation. I knew that there would be more evenings like this one, full of prejudice and hatred. But I was ready to face those thing with Cass, and for Cass. I heard her steps behind me, but I didn't turn around. She wrapped her arms around me from behind and put her head on my shoulder. "This wasn't the evening I expected," she whispered. I put my arms over hers as she held me. "I'm glad of how it ended, though. I really do love you, Jason." "And I love you, Cass." I turned finally and kissed her, holding her close and strong. ****************************** We decided against moving in together for the time being, since the semester was starting for me, and Cass was going to be doing some free lance photography. I got the sense through several long conversations that Cass wasn't sold on a late-blooming career in Pharmacy. Though she was talented, and I knew she would be able to do well on her PCAT exam, she didn't hold the same kind of enthusiasm for the career path as many traditional aged students. I didn't push her on the issue, largely because we were doing so well as a couple, and I didn't want to force her into any decision. If she did decide on that path, the nearest school was an hour away and that was not a good commute for a graduate school student. Cass seemed far happier when she was in the role of photographer, focusing on that craft. Her mini studio was perfect for short sessions, and when I sat in on one of them as her assistant, I could see she was a nature at getting the right poses, getting kids to stop fidgeting, and finding the right lighting. She had said several times that her profit from doing a few sessions every month wasn't large enough to live on, but I felt that if she did a little more marketing, took on a few more clients, she could make it a living and be happy with it. Her house was paid for and it seemed like she still had a decent savings. As the semester progressed for me, I had a lot less time to spend with Cass. I didn't always have time to go over every day, so we had to be content with short phone calls on some days. We spent every weekend together, and those were the highlight of fall. Long walks through the colored trees, a picnic at a local park, even a lovely warm Saturday canoeing. I had never really thought of committing to someone before, but as we held each other after making love one Friday night, I gave serious thought to looking for a ring. I needed to discuss it with my mother first. Not that I sought her approval, but I was always open with my mother. She should know the whole story before I moved forwards. A quick phone call the next day reassured me that my Mom was simply happy for me regardless of who I was with. We didn't go out much after that rather disastrous incident in late summer. I did take Cass to an informal faculty dinner, but only after telling some of my friendlier colleagues about the situation. None of them raised any objections, and one of them was the faculty leader of the LGBTQ group on campus. Cass was incredibly nervous before the dinner, but she was welcome warmly by all, and based on looks and conversation, my relationship with her was welcome and approved. We spent a little more time together as November approached, but only to further review for Cass' exam. She seemed intent on doing very well on the test, even if her future plans had become muddled. She had not yet started looking into applications to pharmacy school, despite a little pestering on my part. I was also dealing with a lot of stressful situations at work, so sex was largely put on hold. We supported each other as much as possible, but the strain was showing. Cass took her exam right before Thanksgiving, and did well by her own estimation. Her mood completely lifted, which allowed me to focus more energy to keep myself from completely freaking out. I always seemed to let stress and anxiety get to me, but being in such a loving relationship had kept a lot of that away for a time. Thanksgiving was going to be the first family event for me that included Cass and while I was a little nervous about it, I knew it would be fine. It was other things, specifically campus politics that were really draining me, and two days before Thanksgiving, after my last class, I had a rather terrible panic attack. I was still in my office when it hit. The shaking, the chills, the pounding heart, the sweating. I had panic attacks before knew them well enough to know that I wasn't going to die, or that I wasn't having a heart attack. I still couldn't move well enough to drive myself home. I managed, with difficulty, to call Cass and she immediately came to pick me up, looking incredibly scared. She hadn't seen one of my panic attacks before, and insisted she take me to the hospital. I flat out refused, knowing that the symptoms would go away in time. We left my car on campus and drove to her home, where she took me immediately to bed and held me, trying to get me to stop shaking. Instead of stopping, it only made me start to cry uncontrollably, which is something I didn't really want to do in front of Cass, at least this early in our relationship. I couldn't stop it though. I couldn't get out an intelligible words, so Cass just stayed with me, trying to calm me, using soothing words, until an hour later when the attack finally started to go away. I was completely embarrassed, but Cass reassured me that she had seen worse, and didn't think less of me. I needed a shower, but Cass drew a bath for me instead, and went to get some dinner for herself, since I wasn't interested in eating. I cried a little bit more in the bathtub, still overwhelmed by my emotions. I managed to convince myself that I hadn't ruined anything, but in my mind, I always thought that suffering from anxiety and panic was very unmasculine, and that no one would ever want to see their partner in that situation. I was so tired after my bath that I climbed right into bed and went to sleep. When I woke in the morning, Cass was already up and making breakfast. I didn't have any classes that day, so I went downstairs, ate a little bit, then went back to bed. Cass checked on me a lot in the morning, but in the afternoon she had a photography session. I was quiet in the bedroom so as not to bother her. In the late afternoon, after her session was finished, Cass convinced me to come down into the basement for what she called "radical therapy". I was confused and a little nervous, but the sparkle in her eye convinced me to go a long with her. On the basement carpet, Cass had placed several couch cushions, over which she had placed a large plastic sheet, and over that, an old sheet. She told me firmly to undress and make myself comfortable. I was used to her directing in bed from time to time, so I complied without a word. I can't say that the cushions were the most comfortable, but since my body was still tired, I managed to get relaxed. I heard the rustle of clothes, and then Cass was kneeling beside me. I suddenly smelled something rather sweet, and understood it to be coconut oil. I felt a good measure of the oiled poured onto my skin, and then Cass' hands massaging me. Soon, it wasn't just her hands, it was he whole body. Apart from feeling her slippery curves, the weight of her body was strangely soothing. I moved my arms so that they were at my side and out of the way. While I wasn't physically aroused, largely do to the aftermath of my panic attack, I was certainly enjoying the attention. I could tell that Cass was aroused, as her erect cock was constantly rubbing different places as she moved over me. A couple of time, she managed to nudge it into the crack of my ass. I didn't really react to it, but the feeling wasn't unpleasant. "Flip over, my love," Cass whispered. Because of all the oil, this was easier said than done, but it was clumsy movement getting on my back. I saw her now, completely covered in oil with her hair pulled way back in a pony tail. She looked like a Goddess as she poured more oil on my chest and moved over me again, now rubbing her breasts on my belly, looking up at me with a sly smile. "I'm sorry I'm not... " I said as my eyes flicked to my crotch, but she shushed me. "It's not about that, Jason. I knew when I thought of this it would be difficult for you after last night. I just want you to relax. I wanted to give you something very different to distract you. Alway remember one thing, it's not all about your cock. Or mine." She smiled lovingly at me, and even rubbed her breast on my cock to tease me. There was a little obvious reaction, though I didn't get completely hard. That response seemed to please Cass, but she moved lower, rubbing my legs starting at the thigh. For her own part, Cass was still completely hard, and I thought that this might be one of those times that she was on the receiving end and that was it. Something about the situation was moving around in my brain, without real thought, as though my body was reacting. I spread my legs a little more, and Cass moved her hands back up my legs, giving me a curious look. I wasn't sure exactly what she was intending to do, but rather than keep moving up, she moved to my side, her hands on my chest. I reached out with one hand and started to stroke her. Used to holding her cock without this much lubrication, she slipped from my hand a few times, which made both of us laugh. I started to turn over, to pay more attention to her, but she pushed me back. "No, love, just relax. That can come later if you want. The massage isn't over yet." I relaxed again, and Cass playfully tweaked my nipples. "Put your hands to the side and don't move them," she commanded and I did so. She moved behind my head and starting working on my shoulders, digging in with her fingertips. This provided a fair bit of discomfort, given my tense muscles, but she seemed insistent on getting rid of the knots. Eventually, she pulled in my shoulders in such a way that told me to turn back over. She again worked on my shoulders and neck, but starting moving down my back after a time. Again, my body reacted on instinct and I spread my legs a bit. When I did, Cass paused, then her hands grabbed at my ass. We both said at the same time, "Is there something on your mind?" and we both laughed hard. "Well, I would be lying if I hadn't thought of this kind of situation before," Cass said, still massaging my ass. "I haven't taken a guy in this way in so many years, but I used to enjoy it. Transitioning hasn't really changed that." "And I would be lying if I said I hadn't thought about it since meeting you. I just wasn't sure how interested you would be. And I kind of nervous about it." "Are you saying I wouldn't be completely careful?" asked Cass. "I know you would be. I'm not afraid about my sexuality either. I just figured that you cock is bigger than your finger, and it might hurt just a little." Cass smiled. "It might. But after a little pain, it would hopefully feel very good." She looked at me again to gauge my reaction. I reached down and pulled back my legs, struggling a little because of the slippery oil. Cass' eyes went very wide. She started to speak but I just nodded with a smile. Cass managed to get up on the covered couch cushion with me, holding her glistening cock. While stroking it, she moved her finger over my ass and hole to make sure I was slick enough. I did everything I could to relax, but it didn't work. I know it would make it more difficult to go inside me. "Don't think about it, Jason," Cass purred. "Think about us. Think about how we feel. Think about being together with me." Her husky words did breakthrough my nerves and I calmed a bit. I lifted my ass up a bit, but I slipped back down because of the oil. She pushed at my hole with her cock, and with enough pressure, she penetrated. There was that familiar burn, similar to her using her finger on me, but it wasn't as strong as I expected. For that reason, I relaxed even more and soon she was pushing in rather easily, moaning at the same time. I wasn't making an sounds yet, because my body was processing have a real cock in my ass. Cass was not that big, but she certainly felt it as she pushed further into me. "Just breath, Jason. You haven't taken a breath," Cass said with concern. I suddenly gasped for breath and I could feel my ring grip Cass really hard. She made a slightly weak grunt like she was in mild discomfort. "Sorry... sorry," I murmured. "I'll relax again." I tried to take slow, deep breaths, and Cass rubbed my back with one of her hands. "That's better." Cass grabbed both my hips and started to fuck me properly, entering completely with each thrust. It didn't take long before it became very good for me. All the times I had played with my ass by myself, even the times that Cass had used her finger on me paled in comparison. The part that made me the happiest was that Cass, by her grunting, made it obvious that she was really loving this. I didn't have to worry about getting hard or cumming, I just had to let Cass have her way. I had a feeling that it would have been a lot easier for her to move without the oil, because she slipped a lot, but at least we both though it was funny. She would slide out of my ass, and then remount and go back in again. I was starting to wonder after awhile if she was going to cum, but I heard her grunts increase in intensity, and she suddenly pulled out and I felt warm liquid hitting my ass and balls, mixing in with the oil. "How come you didn't cum inside me?" I asked, taking a look back, seeing Cass holding her cock, which was still dripping a bit. She was panting and it took a few minutes for her to speak. "I didn't know if you wanted that. It can feel kind of weird the first time." She grinned rather awkwardly, then moved beside me, helping me up to a kneeling position, kissing me deeply. We held each other in silence for a few minutes before she spoke again. "Thank you for letting me do that. I don't think it will be a regular thing, but as a special treat..." She broke off and looked in my eyes. "I loved it too, but you're right. I prefer the other way." We got to our feet and went slowly to the small bathroom in the basement, which gratefully had a shower. We spent a long time getting off all the coconut oil, then I disposed of the plastic sheet. I walked out back of the house completely naked, which was a little thrill, to throw the sheet out in the trash. I had no idea what time it was, but the moon and stars were out. We decided on dessert, each having a large bowl of ice cream, sitting on the couch naked and watching TV. I hadn't recovered from a panic attack this fast before. Though I was still very tired, my mind was clear and I felt safe. That was all due to Cass. It just reinforced the emotional connection we had, and the love that was blossoming. *********************** Cass received her exam results in a few weeks, and she was in the 96% percentile nationally. There was no doubt that she could use that results to get into any program that she wanted. But I could tell when she told me about it that she had little interest in continuing that path. She thought that I would be disappointed, but it was just the opposite. I knew that she could really pursue her photography now, and when I told her my thoughts, she was overjoyed. The end of the semester meant a release of stress for me, so we spent the last two weeks before Christmas in a state of bliss. Little did Cass know that I had secretly went shopping and had purchased a lovely diamond ring. I got some advice from my mother, who was fully supportive. Three days before Christmas, after a lovely meal that I had prepared for us, I got down on my knee and proposed. I thought for a moment that Cass was going to faint, because she swayed a little on the spot. I quickly shoved a chair underneath her and she sat. Tears began running down her cheeks, and she whispered, "Yes," in complete disbelief and joy. After a night full of lovemaking, we decided to tell friends and family right away. The next order of business was to plan a wedding and a honeymoon.