Ryan began to nibble down her soft, smooth neck, pausing to whisper, "If you’re that thankful for a few introductions, you’re gonna build a shrine to me when I’m done with you tonight!"
"I already worship at your feet," Jamie gasped out with a quavering voice as a spine tingling jolt of desire shot down her body. "Ooh yeah, I can picture the shrine already!"
The holiday weekend over, Ryan was back into her routine on Tuesday morning, leaving for her weightlifting session while Jamie was still trying to pry her eyes open. When she returned home, she was pleased to see that her partner was dressed and waiting for her, an expectant look on her face.
"Good morning, Princess. I trust that you slept well?" Ryan looked relaxed and happy this morning, and Jamie realized that it was the first time in days that there were no signs of tension on her face.
"I did indeed," she said, a sunny smile lighting up her features. "My fabulously talented lover put me to sleep nice and early, she let me sleep in this morning, I’ve had breakfast, read the paper, listened to the news–I’m ready to rock!"
"And just where do you plan on rocking?" Ryan asked, bending over to greet her with a proper kiss.
"It’s time to pay a little visit to the bank," she declared, much to Ryan’s immediate dismay.
"Aw gosh," Ryan said in her most adolescent manner, her lower lip sticking out just a tiny bit. "Do we really have to?"
"Honey," Jamie said as she got to her feet and scratched Ryan’s belly in a soothing gesture, "my parents know about us now, so there is no reason not to start acting like what we are…permanently partnered. I want you to be able to write checks for things around the house and for emergencies. And I want you to have an ATM card so you can get cash when you need it."
"But I never need it," she complained. "I like the way I have things set up now. I know how much I can spend, and that’s what I keep with me."
"Ryan," she insisted. "You’re going to be traveling all over the country with your team. You need to have an ATM card, Honey. I’ll travel with you as much as I can, but if I make the golf team I’m sure our schedules will conflict at times. I will worry about you unnecessarily if you don’t have the ability to get money in an emergency."
Letting out a sigh, Ryan sidestepped her partner and sank into the cushions of the loveseat. "There is one little detail of my discussion with your father that you need to know about." She had an odd look on her face, and Jamie wasn’t sure what it meant.
"What is it, Baby?" she asked, sitting next to Ryan as she scanned her face for further clues.
Ryan’s knees were spread, and as she leaned over, her hands dangled between them. Slowly, she slid her hands together, fingers interlaced, and stared at them for a moment. "I told your dad that I was going to start paying rent, since I was taking Cassie’s spot in the house. He thought that was a good idea," she added quietly. Her only reason for not bringing this up earlier was because she knew Jamie would not take the news well. Her hunch proved correct when she saw the determined headshakes begin.
"No…no…no. That is unacceptable." The perturbed blonde hopped to her feet and paced across the well-polished redwood plank floor. "You are not a tenant. You are not a roommate. You are my spouse, Ryan, and I will not tolerate your being treated with this kind of disrespect!"
"Jamie," she soothed, the lines of tension now renewed on her forehead, "Don’t make a big deal about this. Let’s see where things settle and revisit it in a few months. I can easily pay the rent until I quit my job. Heck, if I tried, I could probably work another five or six hours a week, and that would give me a little breathing room."
Jamie turned and stared at her for a long minute. "You don’t need breathing room, Ryan. I have enough money to support your entire family for the rest of their natural days. I happen to know that my father makes close to a million dollars a year, so he clearly doesn’t need your rent money. He’s just trying to make it clear that he’s withholding his approval of our relationship." Her tone was calm, measured, but there was a steely determination to her voice that Ryan had no interest in trying to break.
"Sweetheart, we both knew this would be hard for one or both of them to accept. I think they both behaved really well, and we need to support that by giving in a little now. Let’s just pay the rent and let this rest for a while."
Jamie sat down next to her on the loveseat and grasped Ryan’s hand in both of her own. They sat in silence for a few minutes as Jamie slowly traced each of the tendons and veins in the strong hand. "I know that you don’t want to cause trouble, Babe. And I know that you sometimes wish I didn’t have this much money." She looked up and caught the acknowledgment in the clear blue eyes. "It’s going to be a struggle for us to figure out how to live in a way that makes both of us happy."
Ryan nodded, leaning over to kiss the top of Jamie’s herbal-scented hair. She detected a note of lilac, and decided that the fragrant flower was a perfect complement to Jamie’s natural scent. With a start, she realized that she had completely zoned out, and she shook her head a little to renew her concentration. "I uh…I know that it’s gonna be hard, Jamie. That’s why I think we should wait."
"I can see that’s one way to look at it, Ryan, but I want you to consider the alternative. Taking a few small steps towards merging our lives makes it clear to all concerned that we are a partnership. If we treat each other like roommates financially, it makes us complicit in demeaning our relationship. I don’t want that, Honey. I want to take a stand on this one small element. I want to add you to my checking account–get you an ATM card, and tell my father that I don’t want you to pay rent."
"And if I don’t want to do any of those things just yet?" Ryan’s gaze was unwavering, and Jamie knew she had to allow her partner to take these steps at her own pace, even if it was maddeningly slow for her pleasure.
"Then we wait," she agreed. "I only want to do this if you feel comfortable."
"Damn!" Ryan leaned her head back against the back of the loveseat, and let out a heavy sigh. "I was hoping you’d be unreasonable and insist we do it your way. Then I could refuse to go along with it and feel like I was justified." Her eyes held a hint of mirth, but Jamie knew there was an equal measure of sincerity in their clear blue depths. "Okay, Jamie," Ryan said, in clear, measured tones. "I see your point, and I guess I agree with it. I don’t really want to throw away $1500 a month if I can avoid it, and I can understand that you want me to be able to write checks for things around the house. I give." She held her hands up in surrender, and Jamie grasped her around the neck and pulled herself onto her lap.
"That was a longer, more involved discussion of finances than I had in three years with Jack," she murmured, placing whisper soft kisses all along Ryan’s salt-flavored jaw. "I really appreciate that you try to see my point of view, Honey."
"I do, Jamie. I think I understand your position better. It’s gonna take us a long time to agree on everything, but as long as we keep talking about it, I’m sure it will work out eventually." She pressed a grateful kiss onto Jamie’s lips and patted her on the butt. "Hop off, Babe. I need a shower if we’re gonna go to the bank."
With a final nibble on Ryan’s neck, Jamie slid off. "I guess not everyone likes you sweaty and salty, huh?" Her expression was one of pure fun, and Ryan grabbed her nose between two fingers and gave it a tug.
"Not many are among that number, Sport, and it surprises the holy hell out of me that you are!"
"That’s my goal," Jamie insisted, grasping Ryan’s hand to accompany her upstairs. "I like to keep you guessing."
When Jamie entered Cal she had visited the local branch of Bank of America to introduce herself, and to switch her account from the San Mateo branch to the Berkeley office. The pleasant young man who had been assigned as her account manager had recently left the bank and his replacement, Richard Merriman, now gazed across the desk at them. "Okay, now what did you want to do today?" he asked in a slightly distracted tone.
"I want to add my partner onto my checking account," she repeated.
"Okay, um…you do understand that by making her a joint signer you in essence would allow her to close the account by withdrawing all of the money for her personal use if she so chose?" He looked at Jamie to make sure she understood the ramifications of her actions, ignoring the rather outraged look from the blue eyes that bored into him.
"Of course I understand that," she said carefully. "She’s my partner, Mr. Merriman, no different than if we were married."
"Right," he said with a thin smile. "Well, let’s see," he mused as he looked at his computer screen to find her accounts. "Hmm, is this your only account with us?" he asked as he looked at her checkbook to ascertain her account number.
"Besides my trust, yes, the checking is all that I have here."
He looked at her face, then back at his screen. "Are you the Jamie Evans who is the income beneficiary of the William A. and Phoebe Dunlop Smith Trust?"
"That would be me," she said with a small smile.
"Pleasure to meet you, Ms. Evans," he said, now sitting up straight in his chair and gracing her with a broad smile. "Is this the only thing I can do for you today?" he inquired brightly.
"Yes, just add Ms. O’Flaherty to the checking account," she patiently replied.
"Well, that will take a few minutes," he mused. "And then you’ll need to order more checks. Would you like me to bring the paperwork to your home so you don’t have to wait?" His now eager face reminded Ryan of Duffy’s need for approval when he performed one of his few tricks.
"We have time," Jamie replied.
"Here are the styles of checks you have to choose from, Ms. Evans. I’m sure you’ll find something you like," he enthused, pushing the big binder in her direction.
"The account is now for both of us," she reminded him firmly.
"Right…right…no offense, Ms. O’Flaherty," he said sincerely as he now smiled eagerly at Ryan.
She gave him a cross between a smirk and a smile and looked through the book with Jamie while Mr. Merriman went to find the papers they had to sign.
"Are people always like this?" Ryan whispered when he was out of earshot. Like what?" Jamie asked in an intentionally obtuse manner.
"Like they want to lick your boots," Ryan said with a deep chuckle. "He jumps to attention faster than I do around you!"
"I wouldn’t go that far," Jamie playfully scoffed, gaining a bemused smirk from her partner. "You’ll get used to it after a while, but I agree that it’s disconcerting at first," she granted "If they personally benefit from pleasing you they act like you’re a goddess, but if they don’t benefit you often get the very cold shoulder."
"That’s so odd," Ryan mused as Mr. Merriman came scampering back.
"Okay, Ms. Evans and Ms. O’Flaherty," he obediently addressed them both, "you need to sign these new signature cards, and then I’ll need I.D. from both of you."
They followed the instructions, then Ryan informed him that they had chosen the "Hi Tech" series of checks. He put all of the papers together and promised that the new checks would be delivered in a few days. "I could have them messengered to your home," he offered.
"The usual delivery will be fine," Jamie assured him. "Now, Ryan will have an ATM/debit card too, won’t she?"
"Absolutely," he stated. "Do you need me to expedite delivery for you, Ms. O’Flaherty?"
Ryan was taken aback by his obsequious attitude, having never experienced anything remotely close to this in her own business dealings.
"No, not at all," she assured him hastily. "No big deal."
As they walked to the door, Mr. Merriman offered CD’s, money market funds, lines of credit and every other possible product the bank had to offer. Jamie practically had to close the door on him but he finally waved goodbye, looking after them rather longingly.
"This is a whole new experience for me, and it’s not one I think I’m gonna like," Ryan muttered as she got in to drive the Boxster home.
Jamie’s gentle touch upon her arm caused her to make eye contact before she drove off. "Are you okay with this, Baby?" she asked softly. "I had a long time to get used to it, but I’m asking you to just jump in as an adult. I know it’s hard."
Ryan smiled over at her sweetly. "Thanks for understanding, Hon. It’s gonna take me a while."
The reassuring touch continued as Jamie lightly ran her hand up and down Ryan’s leg. "Do you want to start using this account for your paycheck and things like that, Honey?"
"Nah. I’ll stick with my normal way."
"You haven’t explained what your normal way is," Jamie reminded her.
Ryan gave her a smile and informed her, "It’s quite simple, and very low-tech. I take the checks I get during the week and go to the bank on Saturday. I just keep the amount that I need for the week and deposit the rest into my savings account."
"Okay," Jamie nodded, seeing that such a process could work as a general rule. "But what do you do when you need more? Isn’t it a drag to have to go to the bank to make a withdrawal?"
They were at a stoplight so Ryan was able to turn slightly to face her. "If I want to do something or buy something and I don’t have the cash, I wait until the next week when I get paid again," she explained patiently. "There’s rarely anything that is that urgent."
"Don’t you ever charge things?" she asked, still stunned by this 19
th
century style of finance.
"Don’t have a charge card," Ryan informed her.
"Not
any
charge cards?" They were inundated by offers for charge cards at school, and she personally knew several people who were already tens of thousands of dollars in debt from the readily attainable credit. It seemed incomprehensible that Ryan had never succumbed to the lure of the credit card companies, but Jamie didn’t want to show just how odd she thought it was.