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Author Topic: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!  (Read 28646 times)

Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #45 on: 01. July 2021, 18:04:15 PM »
Chapter 27

The Blind Lunch Date



Back at my place, the first thing I did was to take my clothes off.... and get into the shower! I took out my braces, and rinsed my mouth out, then washed my hair, then my body, and finally brushed my teeth and my braces. Having towelled myself down, I went into my bedroom, where Amanda was waiting.

"Oooh, yes, you smell a bit better now" said Amanda, putting her arms around my still slightly damp body, "but there's just one thing: take your braces out...."

I took my braces out, and put them on the bedside table.

"Now, put these in...". She had my twinblocks in her hand. I took the top one, and pushed it firmly up into my mouth: whilst my fake brackets had 'loosened' due to the regular wear, these were still very tight, needing a bit more effort to put them in, and even more to remove them. Then I took the lower appliance, and pushed that firmly down onto my lower teeth. I let my tongue run over them... over the large expanse of plastic in my mouth, and over my teeth. Then I felt the clasps and the wires.... It all felt very good! It was a shame that I couldn't really wear these out in public, as they were by far my most favourite of my appliances. Ok, well maybe first equal with my double headgear. Or the facemask....

Amanda pushed me gently back onto the bed, and got on top of me, then put her mouth to mine, pushing her tongue furtively into my mouth so that she could feel the wires and clasps and the small amount of plastic that was on the front of my teeth. I could tell that she also needed to feel the large amount of plastic inside my mouth too, but I teased her by refusing her tongue's requests to open my mouth, forcing her tongue to keep feeling the metalwork outside of my teeth. After a while, I opened my jaws just enough to push my tongue through, still refusing her tongue entry. Our tongues danced together for a while, then finally I pulled my tongue back, giving her tongue the entrance that is desperately wanted. Whilst I could feel that her tongue was inside my mouth, the large amount of plastic meant that I could feel nothing unless her tongue happened to touch my tongue.

As we kissed, I ran my hand through her lovely long and naturally red hair. Then my hand went down a bit, to where the zipper was on her dress: I took hold of it, and started to move it downwards. Then I moved my hands to her..... am I allowed to write the word 'bra' without breaking the rules of writing stories? I moved my hands to her bra, and undid it......

<the next bit you have to imagine for yourself>

We lay on top of the bed, holding each other.

"Is it too soon to say 'I love you'?" asked Amanda

"Well, we've been going out together for three weeks.. so no. Besides, I think I love you too...." I replied, kissing Amanda yet again. "So, I guess next weekend we'll need to decide if we want to continue our relationship."

"I guess there's actually no reason we can't decide now... I mean, you don't leave renewing your insurance to the last minute, do you?"

"So, do you want us to continue?" I asked

"Hell yes! I'm only just getting to know you, and I do like what I've seen so far. WHat about you?"

"Well, actually...." I said, teasing her a little, "... actually, I'd like to get to know you a lot more too, so yeah. What do you think, another 4 weeks? Or do you want to go longer?"

"Good question.... let's just go for another four weeks, I think by then we'll know how we feel about each other a lot better."

"Ok, so another four weeks it is....!". Whilst I didn't really doubt that we would both want to continue things, it was nevertheless a pleasant relief to know that we now had another five weeks to see how we got on. From my perspective, I've really enjoyed the last three weeks, it's been so much fun in so many different ways, and I was really looking forward to when Amanda got her braces!

I got dressed, Amanda got re-dressed, then we had time to sit down for a while, before we went to collect Janice. She was ready, and to be honest, looked quite gorgeous: she had clearly made a big effort to look especially good: She had her hair (still coloured red) clipped back and out of her face, a very gentle bit of carefully applied makeup, and nicely painted nails. Her outfit was simple, but very flattering. In fact, I was trying to think the last time she had spent as much time on her appearance when we had gone out somewhere together, before I'd met Amanda!

It didn't take long to get into town, and we were nicely on time as we walked up to the bistro, where Mike was already waiting for us.

"Hi Mike! So this is Janice... Janice, meet Mike!". The two of them looked at each other, and I got the feeling that their first impressions were good for both of them. "We have a table booked for.... about now" said Amanda, checking the time on the elegant watch she was wearing today. "Are we ready to go in?" she asked. She led the way inside where, needless to say, the staff recognised her.

"Good afternoon, Ms Spencer!" said the waitress who greeted us. "Please follow me, your table is ready for you...". Whilst I'd never been here myself, I could see why Amanda came here: it was nice and bright, felt spacious, and the decor was fresh. I sat down with Amanda to my right, Janice to my left, and Mike opposite me. "Someone will be over to take your drinks order in a moment, but here's the menu. If you look over at the blackboard, you'll see that we also have a few specials as well" said the waitress, who then left us.

Amanda looked over at Janice and Mike. "Guys, feel free to have whatever you like, do NOT worry about the price: I've kinda set you two up, so knock yourselves out, and enjoy the treat!". I was starting to appreciate that Amanda tried to be very generous where she could, not just to me, but to others. You hear stories about people who have money can be very stingy, but that was not Amanda. That's not to say she wasted her money, I would say she was 'wise' with it, using it to allow herself and others around her to have a pleasant time.

"So, Janice, Mike is one of our clerks at chambers: I'll not say any more, otherwise you won't have so much to talk about. Mike, I know that Janice works at the Natural History Museum, doing some sort of scientific research, and I'm actually interested to learn what it is she does too, but again, I'm going to leave it to you to ask her about it! I guess I should also introduce my boyfriend Danny, I think you guys have met briefly once before... As far as I can work it out, Danny does technical support and training at some sort of manufacturing equipment place, and of course, I'm a barrister, working at the same chambers as Mike" said Amanda, introducing everyone.

The drinks waitress appeared a moment later. "Do you know what you'd like to drink yet?"

Amanda was looking at the drinks menu. "I have a fun idea: who would like some Pimms?" she asked. I will admit that I've never had Pimms before, so I was willing to try. I nodded.

"I've heard about them, but never actually tried one, so yes please!" replied Janice.

"I'd like to try one too" said Mike.

"Ok, so a good sized pitcher of Pimms then, plus I guess some water too".

We all spent a few minutes looking at the menus, and at the list of specials, then having all decided, Amanda looked up towards the waiting waiter ho came straight over. "You're ready to order?" she asked. We each told him what we'd like, with him asking us how we'd like things cooked, fries or baked potato and so on.

With our order taken, things went silent for a bit. It was clear that both Janice and Mike were a little awkward. "So, Janice, do tell us a bit about what you do at the Natural History Museum" said Amanda, starting the ball rolling.

"Well, I studied Environmental and Marine Biology, and I'm now part of a research project that's looking into bird evolution. It probably sounds quite boring, but we have an amazing collection of specimens at the museam - most of which the public don't get to see - that we are reviewing using more up-to-date technology than was used originally, and we're actually discovering all sorts of interesting things" explained Janice, who spent a couple of minutes telling us a bit more about what she did.

"So, I know that a Barristers Chambers is where barristers work, but I have no idea what a Barrister's Clerk does" said Janice.

"So, whilst barristers like Amanda work at the chambers, they are actually all self employed, but pay for the privilege of having a fully-serviced office... so a bit like having a room at a Regus building. There's a whole team that provide everything the barristers need, from receptionists, IT support, as well a several clerks. We're sort of the 'Office Admin' team, but it goes a lot further than that. We look after their diaries, schedule their clients, send out bills, liaise with the courts, even do a bit of research too" explained Mike.

"You missed out the most important thing, Mike: you guys make us coffee, and make sure there's always a good stock of biscuits!" said Amanda

"So how did you get into doing that then?" asked Janice

"Well, like Amanda, I studied law at university. However, unlike Amanda, it wasn't as prestigious a university, and I didn't get as good a degree as I'm sure Amanda did... so rather than thinking about becoming a barrister or a solicitor, I decided to become a barrister's clerk"

"And does it help, having the law degree?" asked Janice.

"Well, I think it helped me get the job in the first place, but it also means I can help Amanda and her colleagues a lot better - when I read something legal, it actually makes a lot of sense to me..."

Once the two started talking, things went very well. We let them do most of the talking (and to be honest, I think we both found it interesting learning more about Mike and Janice), but joined in occasionally.

We all enjoyed the Pimms, and the food was excellent too. We even managed a desert! And Janice and Mike seemed to be chatting together quite happily.

"Janice... I don't suppose you'd like to do something together this evening would you? Maybe a drink at a pub or something" asked Mike as we left the Bistro.

"Yes" replied Janice, "I'd like that. Let me give you my number...."

"I'll see you again later" said Mike to Janice, as he left us. I looked over at Janice, and could see a smile on her face.

"Something tells me that you like him..." I said to her, as we all walked together through town.

"Yes, he is rather nice! Amanda, thank you so much for lunch, it was a lovely idea! And the company was rather good too!"

Offline Braceface2015

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #46 on: 01. July 2021, 20:03:36 PM »
I'm enjoying the story, and looking forward to them both having braces.

Offline eddiestobbart

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #47 on: 02. July 2021, 16:30:48 PM »
This story is moving on very nicely. You've taken great care to craft each character with all their back stories and it really adds to the enjoyment factor when reading.

Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #48 on: 02. July 2021, 21:32:05 PM »
Chapter 28

Keys to the doors?



After walking around town a little, we dropped Janice off at her place, then went around to Amanda's place, where we had another coffee. As we drank it, we chatted.

"So, it seems like Janice and Mike hit it off ok"

"Yeah they did, it actually went a lot better than I thought it would."

"I never really knew what Janice did, it was something we never really got around to taking about. Plus it was interesting learning what a Barrister's Clerk does"

"I'll be honest, I couldn't do my job without having them there to back me up." We talked about Janice and Mike for a bit, clearly both of us felt hopeful that something further might develop between them

"Anyway, less of them, more about us.." said Amanda, going to her bag. "You can start by taking out those braces, and putting these in again". She handed me a large braces box, which I discovered contained my twin-blocks, which she had clearly put into her bag earlier on. With the twin-blocks in my mouth, there was clearly only one thing to do: exchange tongues!

Then she got up: "I also have something else for you", and she went over to her bag, and took out an envelope, and something a bit smaller.

"So, that's the car key, and the others are the keys for the flat" she said, passing me a keyring. "And can you sign this for me?" she said, taking a couple of bits of paper out of the envelope.

"What is it?" I asked. (Look, I've been going out with a lawyer for three weeks now, and one thing she has drilled in to me is 'never sign something unless you're 100% happy you know what it is')

"It's an application form so you can have a credit card on my account. Don't worry, I'll be paying the bills". I looked at her quizically. "It just seemed to me that it would be a lot easier for us both if you had a copy of my credit card... so as well as using it when we're out together, you can use it to pay for cabs if you need to get here, and all that sort of stuff" she explained. It actually made a lot of sense.

"Wow, you trust me that much?"

"Of course I do! That's one of the first things I worked out about you, Danny... you're a straight-up decent and honest guy. Just don't go buying a sports car on it though!" she added, smiling.

"So, what do we want to do for the rest of the afternoon?" I asked

"Hmm, I don't know... hey, don't suppose you have a bike do you?"

"Yes I do, why?"

"How about I put the bike rack on my car, put my bike on, then go collect yours, and we could go somewhere like, say, Hampstead Heath for a ride. It's a lovely day, and I think we could both do with a bit of exercise"

"Yeah, ok, although I suspect I'll need to blow my tyres up..."

"Don't worry, I have a good bike kit, with a decent pump."

So, after Amanda changed into something a bit more suitable for cycling, I helped Amanda fit the bike rack (which was actually quite simple, it effectively just hung on the back door, with its bottom on the rear bumper), and put her bike on it, making sure it was strapped in place.

Back at my place, I too changed my clothes, then we went and got my bike out of the shed, pumped up the tyres, and gave it a quick check-over: it looked fine. After putting it on the bike-rack, I went back inside, and was just removing the twin-blocks that I'd left in, ready to put my fake brackets back in again, when Amanda came over to me.

"How would you feel about wearing your facemask this afternoon?" she suggested. I'd not worn my facemask much since being back in England, so the idea appealed to me. I found my 'facemask plate', which I put into my mouth.

"Go on, put the facemask on now.... the car's right outside, so I doubt anyone will see you". I could see her pleading face.

"Ok" I replied. "Which one?" I held up the blue one that had the wires that go around the face, and the red one, that had a single thick bar down the centre.

"Blue one, I think" she replied. I got a couple of elastics, and fitted them to my braces, then put the facemask onto my face, putting the elasticated strap over my head. Finally, I hooked the two elastics over the two short bars that were an inch or so in front of my mouth.

"Tell you what, I'll also bring my brackets and double headgear along, in case I want to change over" I suggested.

"Sounds good to me" she replied. I put the braces, along with some bottles of water, into a lightweight rucksack, and we walked out of the front door. I was, of course, feeling very nervous: whilst many people had seen me in my braces, and a few had seen me in my headgear, I'd never worn the facemask out in public since returning to England! Plus, trying to explain why my brackets had all suddenly disappeared would be a problem!

I walked down the stairs, out to the car, and sat in the passenger seat: luckily there was no-one around to see me. Being a Saturday afternoon, the traffic was fairly heavy. Away from home, where I wasn't know, I relaxed about the facemask. Stopped at traffic lights, I even turned and smiled at a couple of kids in the car to the left, who smile back when they saw my facemask. Finally, Amanda parked the car at Hampstead Heath. Still wearing my facemask, I got out of the car, and helped Amanda to remove the bikes from the bike-rack, then removed the rack, and put it into the back of the car, lest it get stolen.

The likelihood of bumping into someone who knew me this far from where I lived and worked was pretty minimal, so I was able to relax as we started riding our bikes across the common. There were quite a few others both walking and cycling on the common, but with so much space it wasn't at all crowded for the most part. We cycled uphill for a while, finally reaching the Parliament Hill Viewpoint. Whilst there were nice views from there, there were also quite a few people, and I could spot a few pairs of eyes looking at me for a few more seconds than you might normally expect. I could feel my heartrate go up a notch.

Plus there was one pair of eyes staring straight at me: Amanda's. She seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the experience of being with her boyfriend, who was wearing what could only be described as 'an extreme orthodontic appliance', and out in public! Ok, so I admit, I was also rather enjoying the experience as well!

We took a look at a map on my phone. "I have a suggestion: let's cycle to the north of the park, through the trees, and then stop at the teashop next to Kenwood House - I bet they do ice creams there...." I suggested. "Looks like it's about a mile"

"Ok, sounds good to me!"

The ride was fun, but when we got there, there were rather a lot of people about. We parked our bikes, and locked them. Amanda took my hand. "Don't worry, I doubt if anyone here actually knows you, so you'll be ok". It was dangerous to say things like that, because it means that five minutes later I would probably bump into my parents or my sister, who 'just happen to be there'. Luckily, I didn't actually meet anyone I knew, but the mere possibility made it a bit more exciting for us both.

In the shop, where they sold the ice creams, we were served by a teenage girl, who I guessed probably just worked there at the weekends. Of course, my facemask shone out like a bright beacon, and her eyes were looking at me as we walked over to the counter. It pleased me greatly to discover that she had a lovely set of fairly large metal brackets on her own teeth. I just hoped she didn't ask me about 'my treatment', as I'd not actually worked out what treatment I was having, that required me to wear a facemask!

"Hi, how can I help?"

"Well, I fancy one of the two scoop ice creams" I replied, looking at what was on offer. "I think I'll go for one scoop of that pineapple and coconut, and one of the pistachio. Amanda?"

"Oooh, it's so hard to decide". After a few moments thought, she went for one scoop of banana, and one of orange sorbet.

Despite looking at me, the teenage girl never mentioned the facemask at all, which was a great relief. Outside, Amanda asked me "So, it it actually possible to eat an icecream wearing a facemask? I think you should give it a try...."

I led Amanda over to a bench, where there was space for the two of us. With many others around us, I tried putting the icecream up to my mouth, underneath the horozontal thick metal wire that was in front of my mouth. Whilst I could just about reach the ice cream with my tongue, there was clearly no way I was going to be able to eat it with the facemask on. I passed my ice cream to Amanda, and unhooked the facemask from my face, leaving the elastics attached to my brace, and put the facemask on the bench between us.

"You're enjoying seeing me in that facemask as much as I'm enjoying wearing it, aren't you?"

"Yes, it is rather fun....".

There was a certain strange pleasure in seeing someone in their late 20s, and a professional at that, gaining such excitement from seeing someone wearing orthodontia on their face!



Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #49 on: 03. July 2021, 16:51:34 PM »
Chapter 29

Patently a problem at work




First thing Tuesday morning, I had just arrived in the office, and was putting my bag down at my desk, when my boss came over.

"Hi, Danny. Can you make yourself available at half-past? There's a rather important meeting happening in the boardroom, and I'd like you to be there, we may need your skills"

"Yeah, no problems - what it's about?" I asked

"Probably best you get the full story in the meeting. So get a coffee sorted out, check your emails, then take your laptop up with you, just in case"

So, I grabbed a coffee, checked my emails, then just before half past, walked up to the board room with my coffee. The door was open, so I walked in, to find several of the bosses there, plus someone I don't know. It's always worrying when you're asked along to a meeting, and several of the bosses are there.

"Good morning," said Mr Jones, "Danny, isn't it? Come in, take a seat. I hear you are the person who is good at explaining stuff.... you did that training recently in Asia, didn't you?"

"Yes, that was me... so what's this meeting all about then?" I asked, sitting down, and putting my laptop on the table in front of me.

"We'll explain everything in a few minutes, once everyone is here. To be honest, we may not even need you...."

Over the next couple of minutes, several others came in: my immediate manager, the design manager, and a couple of the product design guys.

"Thank you all for coming. Can I introduce you all to Mr David Sampson, he's the company's solicitor. I'll let David explain things....

"Thank you. So, I'm David Sampson, I work for Davis, Smith and Lyons solicitors, we work with your company when they need any legal help. Yesterday, your company received a letter from a solicitor who represents one of your competitors, they are alleging an instance of patent infringement. We need your help to understand the issues here, and work out if there is, in fact, a patent infringement."

"Erm, excuse me... Mr Sampson...." I said, interrupting. "I'm Danny by the way.... I don't know if it could be at all relevant, but my girlfriend is an IP lawyer, I believe this is the sort of stuff she deals with all the time, I wonder if she may be of use to us?"

"Oh... who is your girlfriend?"

"She's Amanda Spencer, I don't know if you've heard of her?"

"Oh, I definitely know of her, she's at the top of my list of specialist lawyers to contact after this meeting."

"Would it help if I called her... like now?"

"Ummm.... why not, it might actually save us quite a bit of time......"

I took out my phone and called Amanda. She answered on the third ring.

"Hello sexy, what you doing calling during the day?" she said

"Hiya.... you got ten minutes?"

"Yeah, sure.... what is it?"

"Amanda.... this is a business call.... I'm in our boardroom, with several of our bosses and other people, plus the company's solicitor. It seems that we've been accused of patent infringement, and I was thinking you might be able to help us."

"Sounds exactly like what I do...."

"Ok, why don't I put you on speakerphone, and pass you over to Mr Sampson, he's the solicitor?"

"Sounds good to me...". I set the phone to speakerphone mode.

"Can you hear us ok?" I asked her

"Loud and clear... go ahead!"

"Hello, Ms Spencer, I'm David Sampson, I work for Davis, Smith and Lyons solicitors, we represent Jones Machinery. Yesterday, the company received a letter from Brigstock and Parks, who are the solicitors for Gumball Processing, claiming a patent infringement. I'll admit that patent infringement isn't a particularly strong point for me, so I was planning on calling your office after this meeting, then Danny offered to call you. I'm wondering if you may be free and able to help us with this issue?"

"Good morning David, do call me Amanda. I don't think we've actually spoken before, but I have worked with a couple of your colleagues before." said Amanda. "Yes, definitely something I can help you with. I'm actually free at the moment, I wonder if it might be useful if I just come over there right now? I know where Danny works, I could probably be with you in 10 or 15 minutes..."

"Oh, excellent, yes, I think it could be VERY helpful. I'll have a word with our office to contact your clerk, to make everything official - I'll assume standard rates?"

"Sound fine by me. Ok, can you get copies of the relevant documents organised? I'll be with you shortly... Danny, you there?"

"Yes, I'm here"

"Can you meet me in your reception?"

"Yeah, I can do that. Anything else?"

"Ummm, I'm gonna need internet access at some point, I know in some places that can be a pain to organise, so can you make it happen?"

"Sure, no problem!"

"Ok, I'll be with you as soon as I can!". She ended the call.

"Danny, thank you for that, that might make things happen a lot faster. Can I suggest we all take a short break while we wait for Ms Spencer to arrive".

I called the IT support team. "Guys, I need a contractor login for the wifi please... name is Amanda Spencer..... she's a legal lady coming in to sort out a problem. Can you email me the details when you've done it, please?... Thanks!". Luckily the IT guys knew me well enough that when I asked for something like that, they were willing to help. I went downstairs and had a word with Brinda on reception.

"I'm guessing this is related to the solicitor guy who's here?"

"Yeah, Amanda is a specialist in patent law. You'll remember her, she dropped off that rose for me a few weeks ago".

"Oh yes, she was nice..." said Brinda with a smile

A couple of minutes later I saw Amanda's car arrive: she went and parked and came in to reception.

"Hi Danny!" she said, giving me a 'professional hug and kiss'. As ever, Amanda was dressed perfectly, her look clearly saying 'I'm here to do business'. "Hello again," she said to Brinda with a pleasant smile. "I had to double park.... if I give my keys to Danny, then you can call him if it needs to be moved, that going to be ok? Got a bit of paper and a pen?". She took the pen and wrote down her registration number.

"Ok, so I filled in your visitor pass, but you'll need to sign it.....". Brinda took the pass, and put it into a plastic holder, and passed it to Amanda.

"Your call was timed nicely," Amanda said to me, "because I didn't have anything specific in my diary for today. Ok, so let's go meet your bosses, and see if I can sort out your problems". I led Amanda up to the boardroom, where everyone was waiting. I was about to introduce her, but she did that herself: "Good morning everyone!" she said, clearly taking command of the room. "I'm Amanda Spencer, I'm an Intellectual Property Lawyer, and I'm here to assist you with your Patent issue...."

"Good morning, Amanda, David Sampson, we spoke a few minutes ago. Thank you for coming straight over. Please take a seat, and maybe everyone can introduce themselves very briefly" She sat down, putting her bag down next to her, and taking out a notepad and pen. One of the bosses went around the table, asking everyone to briefly introduce themselves.

"And finally, I guess you know Danny.."

"Yes, I do, but Danny, can you tell me your relevant skillset?". Wow, she was handling things very professionally.

"Product installation, pre and post-sales tech support, and training" I replied

"We asked Danny in, because he will be good at giving you a good overview, and a certain level of detail, of our products", added my manager.

"Ok, thank you all for that information", and she wrote notes for a moment

"Amanda, would you like a coffee?" I asked as she wrote.

"Oh, yes please...". She didn't need to say how she wanted it, I knew that she usually had it white with no sugar. I was about to go to the kitchen to get the coffee, when someone pointed out that containers of coffee and biscuits had been brought into the room. I poured two coffees, one for me, one for Amanda, then took the coffee, and the plate of biscuits, and put them on the table next to Amanda. Over the next few minutes, David and Amanda talked, then Amanda scanned through the legal documents.

"Ok, so this is a very common thing we see: Gumball Processing believe that we have used their patented process, and quite rightly, want to get some money out of us. In principle, there's 3 general responses we can make. First, we prove to them that we are not in breach of their copyright, in which case they drop the case, and that's pretty much an end to things. Second, we accept that we HAVE breached their patent, fully or in part, in which case it's my job to help negotiate a suitable licensing deal with them. The third is that we don't reach a suitable agreement, and we go to court. We want to avoid number 3 if at all possible: it will take too long, it will cost too much, and our products could end up in 'limbo' until things get sorted out." I quickly picked up on the way she was using the word 'we' and 'our', making it very clear that she was on our side.

"Now, one thing I should make clear to you all is that there should be no blame here. Unless one of you knowingly used the information in the patent, then the breach of the patent was undoubtedly accidental. The first thing I need to do is to work with you guys to understand the patent, and understand the way YOUR equipment works, so I can ascertain whether there IS a breach or not."

The meeting went on for pretty much the whole morning. I had received the email from the IT guys, and got Amanda's wifi connected: she needed to get online to pull up the patent details, which we displayed with the projector, so everyone could see.

Having worked out what bit of our kit the patent was applying to, I gave a product overview - using some of my training slides - and a bit more detail relating to that relevant module. She also had an initial chat with the design guys.

"Ok, thank you, everyone, for all the information, I don't know about you, but I need a break and some lunch. After lunch, I think I would like to talk with the design team in a bit more detail. I'm guessing that you probably have some original design notes, so if you can dig those out, and find the relevant bits, that might be very helpful....."

Before this morning, I didn't really appreciate what Amanda did, how she did it, and how completely professional and in control of things she could be. My respect level for her was way off the chart, and it explained so much of the Amanda that I was getting to know.

"Hey, can I take you to lunch?" asked Amanda. "This time it's a legitimate expense!". We walked the short distance to town and found somewhere to eat.

"Wow, Amanda, that was pretty impressive, the way you took control in there...." I said as we looked at the menu

"It's the way I work... the way I have to work. If I don't keep things tightly focussed, then we can waste a lot of time. And I will admit, you came over pretty professional too. And hey, thanks for calling me in the first place, I was wondering what I was going to do this week! The court case I was supposed to go to got adjourned yet again.". I explained to her what had happened, and that the solicitor had her at the top of his list to call after the meeting.

"Yeah, the problem then would be that their guys talk to my guys, and it's several days before we could have all got together. No, systems are there to bypassed when needed, and today has worked out well for everyone. Anyway, it's lunchtime, less work talk! What are we going to eat?"

By the end of the day, it had become quite clear that we had, in part, used the tech in their patent, and Amanda had already spoken to the other company's lawyer, and got an approximate cost for licensing the technology. She asked me to get the relevant managers together.

"I've had some great help from all the staff today, so do please thank them all. Moving on to the claim: it's clearly your choice, but I strongly recommend that we accept that we breached their patent, and that we should pay these licence fees - they are actually very reasonable" said Amanda to them, showing them the figures. "I suspect that re-engineering our product would cost us way more, and besides, it appears that the current design work for the upgraded product will breach that patent even more. There are 3 or 4 other patents that their lawyer has highlighted to me, I suggest that we carefully review those too. In addition, I can recommend a good patent engineer, and I suggest that you might want to get him to do an in-depth patent review with you"

So, today kinda sums up Amanda: she knows her stuff, picks up new things very quickly, interacts amazingly with others, and is able to instantly take control of situations.

It also explains why she sometimes wants someone else to take control of things.

Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #50 on: 04. July 2021, 19:19:27 PM »
Chapter 30


We're now a couple of weeks later. Janice and Mike do seem to have hit things off, and are now officially boyfriend and girlfriend. So we're now having coordinate diaries so that Janice and I are actually able to meet up! Of course, Mike knows nothing of Amanda's and my braces interests, and we don't plan to tell him... I'm assuming that Janice won't say anything either.

Got a message from Mei last week to say that Amanda's teeth models had arrived, and that they were excellent (and didn't she have nice teeth!), so she would be starting on making all the braces on that long list!

Then I got a quick WhatsApp earlier today from her, with some pics of the upper & lower brackets with HG tubes she had made: as you would expect, they looked amazing! Apparently the next ones she would be making would be the upper & lower retainers. She explained that the lab was busy right now, so it would take a few days before she got through the long list of braces for Amanda.

I continue to wear my 'braces': I changed the lig colours to pink the other week, and have had a couple of fun comments from people at work. I've been wearing them for over 2 months now, and I find that I often forget I'm wearing them. Mind you, at other times, I find them to be quite annoying and frustrating.

It is clear that Amanda's favourite braces for me are my twin-blocks, and luckily, I like wearing them too. The thing we seem to both like about them is the sheer amount of plastic: if you remember, as well as having plastic plates, with the plastic going straight across the roof of my mouth between my molars, and on my molars, the plastic comes right over the tops of my front teeth, and about 5mm over the front.... so I have plenty of plastic to enjoy inside my mouth, and Amanda can also enjoy a lot of plastic from outside my mouth.

Whilst the plastic plates aren't all that thick, the plastic on my molars is lovely and chunky, and the effect of all that plastic, plus the fact I can't actually close my teeth, is that it gives me quite a lisp, which both Amanda and I quite enjoy.

I've slept in the twin-blocks a few times now: when I first put them on, there's a certain 'discomfort' as the lower jaw is pushed forward a bit from my normal rest position. But when I wake up, my lower jaw has now become accustomed to naturally being in a slightly forward position, and stays like that for up to an hour... a strange yet nice experience!

I went with Amanda to another formal evening meal last week: I seem to be coping quite well with these events, although I know that if Amanda wasn't with me, I'd be panicking! And I think she's enjoying being able to actually take a partner along to these events. In terms of braces, I am so tempted to wear my twin-blocks along to one of these evenings, if only to see what reactions I got. But that wasn't going to happen, for so many reasons, but it was still fun probably being the only one with braces at such events.

So yeah, things seem to be going well between Amanda and me: we're past that initial 'infatuation' stage, and are starting to get to know each other a lot better. And despite our differences (or maybe because of our differences) we are enjoying each others company a lot.

Our 'contract' comes up for renewal again in a couple of weeks, and unless anything goes badly wrong, I'm rather assuming that we'll keep our relationship going for a while longer: in fact, I'm going to suggest that we go for a 3 month contract this time.



Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #51 on: 05. July 2021, 22:28:38 PM »
A very different chapter, but an opportunity to see our characters in a very different setting. Not much braces though, but we do get to meet a few more of Amanda's family.

------------------------

Chapter 31

Oh, no! (you'd better get those hankies out)



I had just got to work when I had a phone call from a very tearful Amanda:

"Danny.... I really need you...."

"Oh, what's happened?"

"I just just had a call from mum: it's grandpa, he's had a stroke, and he's...... he's...... he's dead!". I could hear sobbing from Amanda, which didn't surprise me in the least: she was VERY close to her grandparents, and grandpa was a REALLY nice guy. I'd gone with Amanda to have Sunday lunch with them a couple of weeks ago, and had found grandpa to be most welcoming, very laid back, and a truly nice person. Hearing the news that he had died brought a few tears to my eyes, so I knew Amanda would be in a mess.

"What can I do?" I asked

"Mum and dad are driving up, but they won't be there for ages, so I need to go up to be with grandma... but I'm in no fit state to drive there.... I don't suppose you could drive me, could you?"

"Of course... let me have a word with my boss, but I'm sure it will be fine..."

"Danny, thank you so much..... I love you!". We chatted a little more, I was trying hard to calm her down a little, but not sure I had a huge effect.

I went and had a word with my boss:

"Erm, I need a favour" I asked "A big favour"...

"What sort of favour?". I explained what had happened. "Are you doing anything that is time critical at the moment?"

"Not at all, I'm just working on some Tech Notes, and some more training materials"

"In that case go, be with Amanda. Keep in touch, let me know when you'll be back: if anything important happens, we can always call you."

"Thanks. I'll have my laptop, so I can always remote in....."

So I quickly packed my stuff, then walked through town to where Amanda's chambers were... I guess I could have called a taxi, but it would probably have been no faster, plus the walk gave me a few moments to gather my thoughts. As I walked, I called the chambers, and spoke to Suzannah, asking if she could be there in reception when I got there.

"What's going on?" Suzannah asked when I got there.

"Is there somewhere we can talk privately?"

"Sure...". Suzannah lead me to a small meeting room. "I went in to see her about ten minutes ago, and she was in quite a state, crying"

"Yeah, she'd just had a call from her mum: her grandpa had a stroke last night, and has died". We were both silent for a moment.

"Shit, that is terrible news! I'm not surprised she's in such a state, she loved her grandpa! So what's happening?"

"I'm going to drive her up to be with her grandma, which means she's going to be out of circulation for a day or two at minimum: what's in her diary?"

Suzannah typed on the tablet that she had with her. "She's clear this morning, but has a client this afternoon... then nothing tomorrow morning, but another client in the afternoon."

"Ok, so you'll definitely need to cancel the one this afternoon... how about you pre-warn tomorrow's client that there's a possibility you'll need to cancel... but you can confirm early tomorrow morning what's happening"

"That sounds like a plan to me. Anything else I can do?"

"Yes, I'm sure you have some small bottles of water around... can you get... hmm, four bottles for us, for the drive? Oh, and can you tell Chris". (Chris is the head of chambers, who we had dinner with a few weeks ago)

"No problem. I will need to get you signed in on reception, then I'll take you up to her..."

"Thanks: look, you have my number, if there's anything you need, call me rather than Amanda"

"Ok, yeah, I understand"

Having signed in, we walked up to the second floor, and Suzanna knocked on her door. "Just go straight in" she suggested. Amanda was sat on the settee, over by the window. I put my bag down and went straight over to her, and put my arms around her.

"Thank you for coming, Danny..." she said between sobs.

"That's ok, I'm yours for as long as you need me....". As we held each other, I spotted a decanter and some glasses, I guess normally used when she had important clients visiting. "Hey, let me get you a drink.....".

"What at this time of the morning?"

"Don't argue, it will help relax you a little". I took the glass stopper out of the rather nice cut glass decanter, and poured her a good sized glassful: from the smell, I guessed it was brandy.

"Here, drink...." I said, passing it to her. She stood up, looked at the glass for a couple of seconds, then drank it down in a single go. Three seconds later she took a couple of deep breaths, as the strong alcohol hit her.

I held Amanda in my arms again, trying hard to comfort her. "I had a word with Suzannah: your diary is clear this morning, and she's going to cancel your client this afternoon, then we'll sort out tomorrow a little later. So what's the plan, assuming there is one?". From a combination of my being there, plus maybe also the strong alcohol, Amanda was starting to calm down.

"So mum and dad are on their way, but they won't be there till a lot later, it's a long drive from Cornwall... so I need to get up to be with grandma as soon as I can. Evelyn (that's Amanda's sister) can't make it till this afternoon, and Alfie is away on business, so not sure if he'll make it any time soon"

"We planning on staying over tonight?"

"Yes, I think so. I'm ok, I keep a 'grab bag' in my boot, in case I need to be away unexpectedly, but we'll need to drop by your place so you can grab a change of clothes."

There was a knock at the door. "Come in" I said. Chris, the head of the chambers came in, and walked over to Amanda.

"Amanda, I'm so sorry to hear your news, I know you were very close to both your grandparents, but I'm glad Danny is here for you. Look, Suzanna has explained things, and she seems to have things under control, so just take as much time as you need"

"Thanks Chris...." Amanda replied. There was another knock on the door, and Suzanna came in.

"I've got the water for you, I also put in some packs of biscuits: I'll leave them on the desk.." she said

"Thanks Suzannah" I replied, and she left again. "You want to get going, or do you want a bit more time?" I asked Amanda.

"Let's get going" she said, taking my hand. On the way out, we grabbed our bags, plus the carrier bag with the water in. I drove us to my place, went in and quickly grabbed my washbag and a change of clothes and shoes, then we started driving up to her grandparents' place. Traffic was fairly light, so we made good time. About 15 minutes before we arrived, Amanda used the car's hands-free to call her grandma. It turned out that she was still at the hospital, having had to sort out some paperwork, but was waiting for a taxi, so would be home when we arrived.

Moments after I pulled the car into the driveway, her grandma came out the front to greet us.

"Go... be with her" I commanded. She rushed over to her grandma, and threw her arms around her. I got out the car more slowly, went over to them, and put my arms around both of them. There were no suitable words for that moment, so we all just held each other for a while.

A few minutes later, we all went into the house: I could sort out our stuff in the car later. "Hey, it's nice outside: why don't you two go and chat out in the garden, and I'll make us all some tea. Oh, Amanda, can I have your phone please?"

"Pardon?"

"Your phone... The last thing you need right now is a phone call interrupting you, so I'll act as your 'Personal Assistant' for the moment"

"Ah... ok.....". I don't think Amanda was 100% with it: she took the phone from her bag without any argument, and passed it to me, telling me the passcode. Wow, that is some trust she has for me! I put her phone in my right hand trouser pocket, mine was in my left pocket. While Amanda went outside with her grandma, I made some tea: I vaguely remembered where stuff was, but it took me a moment to find the actual tea! I got a tray, put the teapot, 3 mugs (I decided that mugs would be better than elegant cups and saucers if we were drinking outside!), strainer, small jug with some milk in, and the sugar bowl on to it, and carried it outside, putting it on the picnic table.

Amanda and her grandma were chatting as I walked out, which was good. I put the tray down on the table. Hell, what do you say to a lovely older lady whose amazing husband just died? Or to Amanda, whose grandpa just died, for that matter? I guess I'm lucky, all four of my grandparents are still alive, I've not suffered the pain of their deaths yet, so I didn't really have much experience with this.

"Hey, grandma, how do you like your tea?" I asked.

"A touch of milk, and one small spoon of sugar, please Danny" was her reply. I put a little milk into the cup (which I'm told is absolutely the correct way to make tea!), then poured the tea from the pot, through the strainer, and into her mug. I then added a small spoon of sugar, stirred it well, and passed it to her.

"Thank you, Danny... and thank you for bringing Amanda up to see me!"

"That's ok, grandma, it's the least I could do". I didn't dare mention the state that Amanda had been in earlier on. "Amanda.. white no sugar?" I asked.

"Yes please". I poured her cup of tea out, passed it to her, then did mine, then moved one of the chairs so I could sit down next to Amanda. As I looked at Amanda, I could tell she had been crying a little, so took her hand.

I took a deep breath. "Well, I only met grandpa that once, a few weeks ago, but he was a really nice guy" I said. The three of us sat out in the pleasant sunshine, drinking our teas, and talking about grandpa. Well, I mainly listened, and grandma and Amanda exchanged stories and memories.

I had finished my tea, and whilst sitting there with Amanda and grandma was nice, it was a bit boring for me. Amanda picked up on that fact: "Hey, Danny, don't feel you have to stay with us... if you want to go in and do some work or whatever, that's ok with us". So I went to the car, got my PC bag out from the boot, and went inside. I set up my laptop on the kitchen table, found the wifi login from the router - which was in the hall - and started working on the Tech Notes.   

As I worked, Amanda's phone pinged a few times, with non-urgent emails. Just before 12, her phone rang: it was her sister, Evelyn.

"Hello Evelyn, this is Danny" I said. I should add that I had never met or spoken to Evelyn before.

"Oh, hello Danny, why are you answering Amanda's phone then?"

"Oh, I confiscated it from her earlier, so she could spend some time with grandma, without getting distracted"

"Good idea! How are grandma and Amanda?"

"They are both out in the garden, chatting and reminiscing about grandpa. By the way, I'm so sorry about your grandpa, Amanda told me how much you both enjoyed coming here to visit him"

"Yeah, he was a lovely guy...."

"So, would you like to speak to Amanda?"

"Not necessarily, I was really ringing to let her know that I was about to leave, and I'll be with you in about 30 to 45 minutes.... hey, have you guys planned any lunch yet - it's just that I could pick up some sandwiches and stuff on the way if you like"

"Let me go outside, and have a word...". I walked out with the phone. "Amanda, Evelyn's on the phone, she's just about to leave, so will be here in about 30 to 45 minutes, but she was asking if we'd like her to pick up some sandwiches on the way". I passed her the phone.

"Hi there Evelyn, how you doing?". Slight pause as Evelyn replied. "Yes, sandwiches sounds like an excellent idea - grandma, you ok with some sandwiches for lunch?" Grandma nodded. "Yes, sandwiches will be great, and some nice cakes too." Another pause. "No, just the three of us and you, mum and dad won't be here for another 2 to 3 hours". They chatted a few moments more, then ended their call. "So Evelyn's gonna get us some lunch, and will be here soon".

"In that case, I'm going to nip in and use the loo" said grandma, leaving me alone with Amanda for a moment. Amanda passed her phone back to me. "You know, I'm glad you took my phone, it's stopped me from getting distracted".

"You guys ok?"

"Yeah, amazingly so. But I think grandma is glad to have someone here, I have a feeling that she would have struggled a bit if she were alone". As she talked, she looked at me, with amazingly relaxed, loving eyes. I went back inside again, and started working again. About 10 minutes later, Amanda's phone rang again: this time it was her mum, another person I'd never spoken with,

"Hello Amanda's mum, this is Danny"

"Hi Danny, nice to talk to you, albeit not in the best of circumstances. I'm betting you've taken Amanda's phone from her to stop her getting distracted?"

"Yup, that's the idea. How's your journey going?"

"We've just stopped for a break and a drink near Bristol, the traffic has been terrible, but it seems to getting better now. According to Google maps, we should be with you in a couple of hours. Has Evelyn got there yet?"

"No, she just rang a few minutes ago, she's on her way though, bringing some lunch. Amanda and grandma are out in the garden chatting,  they both seem to be coping ok. I don't know what the weather is there, but it's lovely sunshine here."

"Oh, good, I'm so glad you two were able to get there so soon, I can't think how grandma is feeling."

"Do you want to speak to Amanda?"

"No, I won't disturb her, just let her know how we're doing, and that we'll see them both soon."

"Ok, fine. Do call again if there's any problems..."

"Ok. Thanks Danny!". I went outside, and passed the message on, then stayed outside and chatted with them for a bit, then went back inside again. It wasn't long before I heard a car arrive, so went to open the front door. A lady, aged around 30, got out of the car.

"Hi, I'm Evelyn, I'm guessing you must be Danny. Here, want to take this?". She passed me a carrier bag containing sandwiches and cakes.

"Hi Evelyn, nice to meet you, Amanda has mentioned you a few times"

Evelyn laughed. "Amanda doesn't stop talking about YOU!"

"Come on in, they are still out in the garden". As we walked in, Evelyn suggested cutting the sandwiches up smaller, and putting them all on a big plate, same with the cakes.

"Nice braces, by the way, they suit you!" commented Evelyn, before she turned and walked out the back door. Hmm, not the sort of comment I would have expected, but maybe Amanda had told her that I 'had braces'. I stayed in the kitchen, letting Evelyn go out to the garden alone... they didn't need me getting in the way. I could see them all hugging each other, trying very hard to make the best of a rather sad day.

I put the kettle on again, rinsed the teapot and mugs out, and got another one out for Evelyn. While I waited for the kettle to boil, I unwrapped the sandwiches, cut them, and put them onto a plate, then did the same with the cakes. The kettle boiled, so I made a fresh pot of tea for us all.... while the tea brewed, I took the plates out, and put them onto the large outdoor table, then returned to collect the tray with the teapot, mugs etc, which I also put on the table.

Amanda got up. "Hey, come here" she said to me gently. As I got to her, she put her arms around me, giving me a lovely hug, then a soft kiss on my lips, then put her head beside mine. "Thank you, Danny....". I heard a slight sniff, and realised that she was starting to cry again. She had managed to cope for the last two hours ok, so it didn't really surprise me. I put my arms around her, and held her for a while, saying nothing.

"Hey, your big sis is here now"

"Yeah, and it will be even better when mum and dad get here...."

Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #52 on: 08. July 2021, 18:38:02 PM »
Chapter 32

Meet the parents....



We were all out in the garden a couple of hours later, when Amanda's phone rang: it was her mum again. I answered the call.

"Hello again" I said

"Hi Danny, just a quick call to let you know that we'll be there in five to ten minutes"

"Oh, great, I think everyone will be very happy to see you both. I'll go get the kettle on again: see you soon!".

There are a few things that quintessentially identify the British. One is that they spend so much time talking about the weather: if you have ever been to the UK, you will understand that this is simply because we have so much of it. Unlike places such as mainland Europe or America, where the weather tends to be stable for days and weeks at a time, the weather here changes on a daily, if not hourly, basis, due to the fact that the weather is driven from one of three (changing) directions: from the north we get colder arctic air. From the south (more in the summer) we get dryer hotter air. But much of our weather is driven by the wetter weather coming from the west, the Atlantic. So much to choose from!

Another one is that the British are reknown for 'putting on the kettle' when visitors arrive, or simply when 'it's been a while since the last one'. Ok, maybe we drink a bit more coffee now, but that doesn't matter, it's the ceremony of 'putting on the kettle' that really matters!

Today, the weather was clearly coming from the south, making it sunny and warm. And it was time to gather up the dirty cups from earlier, and get that kettle on again! Evelyn helped me take the dirties inside.

"I'm starting to see why Amanda likes you... I've never heard her go on so much about a boyfriend before, she clearly likes you a lot. But don't say I said so!". I smiled, if only because this was actually news to me. I knew things were going fairly well between us, but Amanda isn't one for actually saying too much about it. "I mean, today, she's actually amazingly calm, so you're clearly doing something very right!"

"Well, I'm not really sure what it is that I'm doing, but I'll try and keep doing it!" I said

"Oh, by the way, you got your toothbrush handy? There's a bit of food stuck in your braces" commented Evelyn. I ran my tongue around my brackets, and found something stuck at the top. "You go brush them, I'll sort this lot out". I went out to the car, and brought Amanda's and my bags in, taking my toothbrush kit out of my bag, then left the bags to the side in the hallway. The house has a downstairs cloakroom, so I went in there, and locked the door. Looking in the mirror I could see a few bits stuck in my braces: some green lettuce leaf at the front, and more leaf and some ham at the side. The thought that some one other than Amanda had spotted food stuck in my braces felt good.

I removed the braces from my mouth, rinsed them, then brushed my teeth, and my braces. I packed up my toothbrush kit, and was just putting it on top of my bag when I heard a car out the front, so went to the front door and opened it. A lady was just getting out of the car.

"Hello there, Amanda's mum...."

"Hi Danny, we're finally here. Oh, call me Mary for goodness sake, you can't keep calling me 'Amanda's mum'. This is my husband, Neil, by the way... and it's nice to actually meet you!". Mary had come over to me, and gave me a quick hug.

"Hi Mary!" I replied. Then went over to Amanda's dad and took his hand. "Hello, err, Neil" I said shaking his hand. "I only met your dad the once, a few weeks ago, but I know he was a really nice man, so I was very sorry when I heard what happened"

"Thank you, Danny... thank you" he replied.

"Last time I saw them, Grandma and Amanda were out the back, and Evelyn was in the kitchen". I was of course wrong, as they had heard the car arrive too. Amanda had rushed out, and put her arms around her dad, then Evelyn joined them moments later.

"I think you and I are going to be on tea duty" said Mary, walking with me towards the door, "so the rest of the family can talk... although I do need to visit the cloakroom first". Everyone came inside, meeting up with grandma in the hallway, where there were, of course, many more hugs. I went back into the kitchen, and finished off what Evelyn had started, then Mary joined me in the kitchen a couple of minutes later.

"Well, not quite the way I thought we might meet, but it's nice to meet you nevertheless. Amanda keeps saying nice things about you..."

"Yeah, Evelyn said that too..." I replied, slightly embarrassed

"... but I'm guessing maybe Amanda's not been quite as open about it with you. Don't worry, she's a bit like that. I think she gets that from her dad...". She helped me make the tea, which we took outside, using a second tray for the larger number of mugs. After she had put her tray down, Mary went over to grandma, have her a big hug, and had a quick chat with her.

"So, I remember that Amanda said you're a fairly good cook" said Mary when she came back over to me.

"Yes, I'm ok at it"

"In that case, you and I can make dinner later on. There should be plenty of food in the freezer, I'm thinking maybe a casserole"

"Nice and straightforward... might be worth getting some meat out now, so it can defrost"

"Good idea, I'll go do that before I forget..."

We all sat out in the garden. I was very much a listener, I knew very little about grandpa, other than what I had learnt a few weeks ago. Mary obviously knew him a lot better, so could join in rather more, but we both enjoyed the rest of them telling their stories about things that they did with grandpa, and so on.

"Come on" said Mary a while later, "let's get going with this casserole". Between us we found some fresh vegetables as well as some frozen ones, and put some of them, along with the meat into a casserole, and into the by now hot oven. We prepared the rest of the vegetables, including some potatoes, ready to cook a bit later. As we prepared the dinner, Mary and I chatted about this and that: she was a really nice lady, and I could see where Amanda had got that side of her personality from.

A couple of hours later, Amanda and I got the table in the dining room ready. Evelyn found a couple of bottles of wine, and by about 7pm we were all sat around the table, ready to have dinner together. The wine got poured out, warm plates were put in front of everyone, and the casserole and other vegetables were in serving dishes in the middle of the table.

Before we started, I stood up in front of them all. "Look" I said, "I hardly knew grandpa, I only met him the once, a few weeks ago, when Amanda and I came here for Sunday lunch, and we had a very relaxing afternoon. But in that short time, I learnt what a really nice gentleman he was. Polite, gentle, sharing, funny too. Definitely loving, I saw him sharing his love with Amanda... and with Grandma, of course. I saw a man who enjoyed life, enjoyed people. If I close my eyes for a moment or two.." I said, closing my eyes, "I can see a handsome relaxed face with a smile on it... a big warm smile". I paused. "Hey, everyone... just close your eyes for a moment, and think of the happy times you had with him.....". I closed my eyes again, remembering him telling us one of his jokes. After a slight pause, I picked up my wine glass. "How about we start dinner with a toast: to happy memories of a lovely man.... to grandpa!".

"To grandpa!" said everyone, raising their glasses.

The day had been a strange one, a mix of sadness, but also of joy. Saying 'goodbye' to one nice person, but saying 'hello' to three new ones.

"Thank you for everything you've done for us today" said Amanda as we cuddled together in bed. "And those words you said before dinner, they were just spot-on.". I could hear Amanda starting to cry again, obviously thinking about her grandpa, so I just lay next to her, with my arms around her, trying to make things a little bit better. I will admit that a small tear did come to my eye too....

The next morning after breakfast, Amanda spoke with Suzannah from chambers. With her mum and dad there for several days, she decided there wasn't really a lot she could do to help, so we decided to drive back mid-morning. this meant she would be back in the office by lunchtime, and would be able to meet with her afternoon client. I also called my boss, updating him on the situation, and decided I would work from home for the rest of the day.

Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #53 on: 09. July 2021, 22:57:08 PM »
Chapter 33

I love you!



Amanda's grandpa's death last week has brought us even closer together. I have got to know a more emotional side of Amanda, and she has got to see a stronger, supportive side of me.

We went back to her grandma's at the weekend - her parents were still there. Things felt a lot more relaxed this time, I think that everyone had managed to get over their initial strong emotions, and were now waiting for the funeral, to bring a bit more closure.

I managed to go for a pleasant walk with Amanda's dad - Neil - and Amanda, giving me a chance to get to know Neil a bit better. Now that he was less emotional, and a lot more relaxed, I could see certain traits that he had inherited, or maybe learnt, from grandpa. 

Like last week, we've taken things gently this week. We went out on Wednesday to a semi-formal dinner with a small group of Amanda's barrister friends and their partnets at a rather posh, up-market restaurant. I hate to think how much it cost, probably more than I earn in a month! It's such a different world, where contacts are so important. Unlike techie people like me, who would just meet at the pub, and share a few packs of crisps!

So, next week, it's grandpa's funeral, on Thursday. The end of next week is also when our second 'contract' expires, so it seemed to me that we needed to chat about our relationship now, rather than then.

On Saturday, the two of us went out and had a rather nice, but simple, Thai meal, then went back to my place, where we sat together on the settee.

"You know, things seem to be working ok between us, don't they?" I said

"Yes, they are. I will admit that I was a bit apprehensive when we started, but no, now I'm getting to know you more, I am really enjoying being your girlfriend, plus enjoying having you as my boyfriend.". I sat there, saying nothing: I was hoping she might be a bit more forthcoming. "Look, I'm not really good at this, but... I enjoy every moment I'm with you. I look forward to being with you when I'm not with you. You have been a great strength for me the last couple of weeks since grandpa died: I'll be honest, I'm not sure how I would have coped without you being there for me.". She paused for a moment, then continued: "I love you, Danny, I love you so much, and I hate to think how I would manage without you". I put my arm around her, and put my lips to hers, kissing her gently.

"So, do I assume that means you'd like to continue our 'contract'?" I asked. Amanda smiled, then laughed.

"Of course it does, my darling Danny!"

"How would you like to make it 3 months this time?"

"Yeah, ok, that sounds sensible..... um, just a thought though?"

"What?"

"How about we take few days break from each other first... so the week after next, we don't meet up during the week? I think it might do us both a lot of good, we've been on top of each other quite a bit recently" suggested Amanda

"Ok, I can cope with that... how about we get together for dinner on the Friday?"

"Yeah, I'm up for that. By the way, I've not said it, but I WILL be there for Grandpa's funeral next week, I'm taking the day off."

"Thank you Danny, I have a feeling that it's going to be quite an emotional day for everyone..."

We sat and hugged and kissed for a while. "Hey" said Amanda, "go put your twin blocks in for me, you know how much I like them!". Who was I to deny such a request. As I went to get them, I started to think about Amanda's braces: Mei sent us a message a couple of days ago, along with a load of pictures of whet we'd ordered... they looked amazing, and when I showed the pics to Amanda, she was very excited. They were now in the post, so we now just had to wait. If we were lucky, it would be a few days; if we were not so lucky, it could be several weeks.


Offline eddiestobbart

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #54 on: 10. July 2021, 10:58:39 AM »
Thanks for continuing this story - I'm really enjoying it. And I'm impressed with the speed you post new chapters!

Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #55 on: 10. July 2021, 11:37:35 AM »
Certain bits of the story got written a while ago, which allows me to post regularly. You may have noticed a pause for a couple of weeks a bit ago.... I was busy, so unable to write. I'm likely to be quieter next week too

Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #56 on: 15. July 2021, 18:01:48 PM »
Chapter 34

It feels a bit like christmas
!



Last week was grandpa's funeral. I took the day off work, and went with Amanda. I finally got to meet her brother and his wife. I was treated amazingly pleasantly: clearly I had made a suitable impression on Amanda's family, and as Amanda's boyfriend, I was made to feel part of the family. Most pleasing was that I had a really nice chat at the wake with Evelyn, Amanda's big sister, and she told me a few stories about when she & Amanda were kids. As Amanda's big sister, she was obviously very protective of her little sister, but seemed to approve of me.

Even better was that I had a chat with Amanda's mother: I'd already managed to spend some time with her the day we met, when cooking the dinner, and we got on really well. "You must persuade Amanda to take some holiday, and come down and see us in Cornwall!"

After the funeral, we went back to Amanda's, where we made dinner together, but Amanda was quite quiet. After dinner, I sat next to her on the settee, just holding her, saying nothing, letting her lean against me: I could tell that today had been a very emotional day for her, and she just needed time to come to terms with her feelings. The good news is that, by the weekend, she seemed to be feeling a lot better, possibly helped by the fact that I made sure we did plenty together, to help distract her.

So, this week we're about to start our new 3-month contract and Amanda and I had agreed to take a few days break from each other: she was right, we had spent so much time together, especially the last couple of weeks, and we did need a short break from each other.  So, Monday I had an evening in, being a couch potato, and watching TV!

On Tuesday, Janice and I managed to have dinner together at my place: like me, she's been a bit busy, spending lots of time with her new boyfriend, Mike, but I explained what was happening, and she made the effort to have an evening without Mike for a change. After dinner, we chatted for a bit, about her and Mike, and about me and Amanda, then we walked to my local pub, and had a drink together. The evening was very nice, but in a different way from ever before: this time we were both happily in relationships, and neither of us felt any need to even consider..... s e x !

On Wednesday, I went with a couple of the guys after work for a pint, which turned into going to the local Chinese restaurant. It's odd, it doesn't matter how carefully you order, there is ALWAYS too much food! But it was am amazingly pleasant and fun evening.

I hadn't worked out what I was going to do on Thursday, but mid-afternoon I had an unexpected  call from Amanda.

"Hiya" I answered. "I wasn't expecting to hear from you till tomorrow"

"And I love you too.... I mean that by the way!"

"You sound cheerful"

"Well, I have several reasons to be cheerful. For a start, I'm talking to my lovely boyfriend. Second, I won my case in court this morning, and finally......". She paused

"And finally?"

"You know, it's been strange but nice having a few days apart, but I feel sort-of refreshed, and very much wanting to see you again..."

"And finally?" I repeated. I could tell Amanda was trying to tease me.

"I hope you don't have anything planned for tonight?" she asked.

"No. But I thought we were getting together tomorrow?"

"Yes, we are, but we need to get together tonight too - something rather important has happened!" Amanda sounded far to cheerful for this to be something bad.

"Ok, what's happened that's so important then?"

"Well, there seems to be a smallish cardboard box on my desk.... one that's come from deepest Asia! And I want to open it with you, but there's no way I'm gonna be able to wait until tomorrow!"

"You mean you've not opened it already?"

"You kidding? I'm not risking anyone here seeing what's inside! They'll think I'm a weirdo!"

"But you ARE a bit of a weirdo, aren't you?". I lowered my voice. "You have a braces fetish, you weirdo!" Amanda started giggling.

"Yeah, ok, but I don't want THEM knowing that, do I?" she whispered back. "Come on over here after work, and we can go back to my place, and see what santa has sent me...."

"You sure you really can't wait till tomorrow?" I asked, starting to tease Amanda

"Oh, Danny, don't you dare...".

I started giggling. "I think it sounds sufficiently important that we should meet up a day early.... I'll come over to your office after work. And hey, Amanda...."

"Yes?"

"I love you too....."

Sometimes, time flies past quickly. However, it is a well known fact that if you are looking forward to something, time slows right down. Tonight I was looking forward to seeing Amanda again. And I was looking forward to seeing her new braces. More importantly, I was looking forward to seeing Amanda IN her new braces! And I was looking forward to watching her reactions as she opened that box, and sees her braces for the first time... then puts them into her mouth for the first time.

Amanda has put various of my braces in her mouth on many occasions, but of course, they are MY braces, and don't fit her. Tonight, the braces WILL fit her.

Anyway, time... this afternoon time went stupidly slowly, simply because there was something exciting to do a little later on! I found it hard to concentrate on what I was supposed to be doing, I kept trying to imagine what Amanda would look like in her own braces. How she would react to them.

FINALLY! It was time to go home. I unplugged the PSU from my laptop, and put them both, along with my mouse, into my bag, then saying goodbye to people as I left, I walked to Amanda's office.

"Good evening, Danny!" said the guy on reception.

"Hi there!" I replied. Then I stopped, as I realised that I STILL didn't know his name. "Um, you know, I still don't actually know your name...."

"Oh, sorry, yes, noone has ever actually introduced us, have they? I'm Jacob!" he said, introducing himself.

"Hello Jacob! I'm here to collect Amanda, do you need me to sign in?"

"If you're just collecting her, then no. As far as I know there's noone with her at the moment, so feel free to go on up, I'm sure you're used to where her office is by now!"

I knocked on Amanda's door, and she said to come in, so I did. As I walked across to her, she stood up. She looked a bit different, but I couldn't quite work out what it was. As I got to her, she put her arms gently around me.

"I've missed you..." she said, "I know it's only 4 days, but I still missed you". She put her lips to mine, and we kissed.

"Yeah, it's been strange....I've missed you too!" I replied. "So, you have a box from Asia?"

"Yes, here it is" she said, picking it up and passing it to me. "You might as well carry it, let me grab my bag...".

"You excited?"

"Yes... very!"

"I bet you've been imagining what it will be like to have one of these items in your mouth since the parcel arrived, haven't you?"

"Ummm, I will admit that I have been a bit distracted this afternoon!"

"The lovely feel of the plastic plates intimately connected with your mouth... running your tongue over the plastic and the metal" I said, teasing her.

"Oh, stop it, will you!"

"You feeling horny?" I asked quietly. "You are, aren't you?". She smiled, then opened her office door, and led the way downstairs. As I follower her, I was looking at her, then suddently realised what it was that made her look different.

"Hey, you've had your hair done, haven't you? Maybe a slight trim?"

"Well spotted, I was wondering if you'd notice"

"I actually noticed something was different when I walked into your office, but couldn't quite work out what it was".

Finally, we got to Amanda's place. We made a cup of tea, and were about to sit down together, to open the box, when I realised that Amanda would need a mirror.

"Do you have a small mirror?" I asked.

"Ah, yes, good idea.... I have a makeup mirror...". She went into her bedroom and returned with it moments later, putting it on the coffee table. Next, she picked up the package, used a small knife to cut the tape, and carefully opened the box. Inside we could see paper packaging, but on the top were a couple of pieces of paper. One was a receipt, the other was a hand-written letter from Mei:

"Hi Amanda and Danny!

I hope you enjoy wearing these braces as much as I enjoyed making them for you!

Amanda, you're going to have great fun trying braces for the first time: I hope you enjoy the experience!

Danny, your replacement brackets are in a box marked with your name.

I've made you both an extra free gift, they are the ones wrapped in special paper: wait till you've opened the others before you open them!

Love to you both!

Mei"

(After ordering Amanda's braces, one of the clasps of my fake brackets had broken, and I was now wearing the brackets that Mei had made for me when I was in Asia... so I had asked Mei to make me some more fake brackets, which she had sent with Amanda's braces)

"Oooh, extra pressies...."I said, "that's nice of her, I wonder what they are? So, you ready for this?".

Amanda carefully removed the paper packaging from the top, revealing a set of different coloured braces boxes. Most were the normal, slim, retainer-sized, but one was bigger. Below them, I could see several plastic bags: they would contain facebows, headgear and facemasks, plus hopefully a load of elastics, ligatures, and power-chain. I let Amanda remove the many braces boxes, and put them onto her coffee table: we noticed that she had put labels on the boxes for us. Next she took out the plastic bags, and that was when we noticed what, under the bags, were a couple more retainer boxes, but wrapped in colourful paper: our 'presents' from Mei.

"OMG, there's so much stuff!" said Amanda. I looked at the boxes, and spotted the one that said 'Danny - brackets', so put that to the side. Then I found one that said 'retainers', and passed them to Amanda.

"I think you should start simple, and try in the retainers....." I suggested. I looked at Amanda, she seemed a little nervous. "You ok?"

"Yeah, just a little nervous: it's finally happening, I've got braces!". She took the box from me, and opened it, and opened the tissue inside that stopped the braces rattling in the case. The look on her face was just like a child who discovers that Santa has given her the game she so wanted for Christmas. She removed them from the case, and looked at them closer: she had chosen to have pink clear plastic, and they looked lovely. She put the lower one back into it's box for the moment, then angled the mirror (it's one of those circular ones that's on a stand) so she could see her mouth, then carefully put the upper retainer into her mouth, then pushed it up... I heard a slight 'click' as it seated itself into place.

Amanda closed her eyes, and let her tongue feel the top of her mouth. Without really thinking about it, I did the same, feeling the smoothness of the plastic in the roof of my mouth. For me, this was something that I had felt many times, but for Amanda this was the first time she had experience the rather nice feeling. I watched as her tongue came out of her mouth, and started to feel the wire over her front teeth, then to the sides as she felt the clasps. By the time she opened her eyes again, she had a huge smile on her face.

"It feelth abtholutely amathing!" she said with a bit of a lisp. "OMG, i've got a lithp!" she said, starting to giggle.

"Put the lower one in" I suggested. Before she picked up her lower retainer, she put her finger up to her mouth: she started by running it along the archwire, then she turned it, and put it into the top of her mouth, touching her top plate. I remembered back to when I got my first braces, and I'm pretty sure I did something similar! Its one of those thigs that you can only experience once: the first time you have braces in your mouth (and ones that fit you, rather than someone else's... Amanda had tried my braces in he mouth on several occasions, but they didn't fit her, so the experience was nothing like as 'intimate')

She picked up her lower retainer, took another look at it, then put it into her mouth, pushing firmly down on it until it too clicked into place. Once again her tongue explored, both with her mouth open, and jaws apart, and with her mouth closed. There was a look of joy, even ecstacy, on her face. Amanda was clearly enjoying this experience greatly.

"There's tho much plathtic in my mouth" she said, with a stronger lisp, "but it feelth great!". She opened her lips wide, and looked at her mouth in the mirror. Finally, she relaxed her lips, smiled, and looked at me: her lips were a bit apart, and I could clearly see the two archwire over her front teeth: it was a lovely sight!

"You look good with retainers.... would you like to try a kiss? I'll warn you that you won't feel anything when I put my tongue into your mouth though". I leaned over to her, and she leaned towards me, and our lips met, our tongues touched. For the first time, I ran my tongue over her teeth, feeling the thick wire at the top, and then the one at the bottom. Finally, I gently pushed my tongue between her lips, and felt the smooth plastic of her top plate. I had sudden memories of the first time I had EVER kissed a girl with braces: when Mei was wearing her retainers. But my feelings for Amanda were much deeper, and this just felt so much better.

"Itth odd" she said, "I could hardly feel your tongue kithing me. But wow, these retainerth feel tho good!". I didn't really know -although I could guess - what effect the braces were having on Amanda, but they were certainly doing something to certain parts of MY anatomy!

"Want to try the brackets next?" I asked

Offline eddiestobbart

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #57 on: 15. July 2021, 20:31:03 PM »
What a fantastic update - really good! I love the description of Amanda's first time in retainers. Can't wait for the rest!

Offline acornjohn2001

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #58 on: 16. July 2021, 18:24:11 PM »
Sparky, I admire you so much! Your stories are so good!

Offline Sparky

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Re: Story: Asian Braces 2 - Back in London!
« Reply #59 on: 18. July 2021, 23:04:02 PM »
Chapter 35

The fun continues...


Of course, never having worn braces before, Amanda wasn't used to removing braces from her mouth. Mei had made the braces so well, that they fitted to her teeth quite tightly, and she had a bit of a problem getting them out that first time - I think it was mainly a matter of her getting used how to pull, and in what direction.

Having removed her retainers, and put them back into their box, I passed her the box marked "top / bottom brackets". As she opened it and pulled back the tissue paper, I could see the braces: clear plastic, with quite large brackets, and, of course, headgear tubes on the molar clasps. Amanda took them out of their box, and inspected them, once again completely enthralled by them. She lined up the mirror, and put them in to her mouth, first the top ones, then the bottoms, each going into place with a pleasing click.

I had thought that she looked good in the retainers, but these brackets were even better, and they looked so real. Amanda was smiling widely, looking at the large amount of metal apparently on her teeth. However, when she tried to close her lips, she had a bit of a problem, as her lips were catching on the brackets. So she used her fingers to lift her lips over and onto the brackets.

"Don't worry" I said, "You'll soon get used to pushing your lips out a bit when you want to close them". With her lips now on her brackets, she opened her mouth a little, and put her tongue over her brackets at the front, lifting her lip up out the way, so she could explore her new braces. It was, once again, fun to watch her as she explored her new braces whilst at the same time looking at her mouth in th mirror. While she ran her tongue across her brackets, I ran my tongue over my brackets, to remind myself of the sensations that Amanda would be feeling.

At that point, I wasn't sure what effect the braces were having on Amanda, but they were definitely having quite an effect on me! Our heads once again moved closer, our lips touched, my tongue pushed itself between her lips, and touched metal... I ran my tonge first over her top brackets, then over her lower brackets. Whilst this was not the first time I had kissed a girl with braces - I'd kissed Mei when I was in Asia - the circumstances were very different today. Amanda is my girlfriend, and this is her first real experience of braces.

I pulled back from kissing her. "Amanda, I think we need to get into the bedroom fairly quickly...." I commented

"Oh, what'th the wush? I'm enjoying thith..."

"And I'm enjoying it too, but probably rather too much, if you know what I mean..."

"Ah, right....". We both got up and quickly went into Amanda's bedroom, where various things happened (that you will have to imagine, as I'm not allowed to give the details in this story!).

"Well, that wath kinda unexthpected...." said Amanda with a big metal smile just a few minutes later.

"Sorry about that, but I didn't want to 'waste it'!" I replied, "I should be ok now.... tell you what, you do look hot as hell in those braces! Although there is something that will make you look even hotter..." I suggested

"What'th that?"

"Headgear!" I replied. "Tell you what, why don't I bring your braces stuff in here, so we can continue to play....". I went out to the lounge, pulled all the packaging from the box, then used it to carry the braces boxes and the headgear stuff into the bedroom.

"Ok, so if you give me your upper braces....". Amanda tried to remove her upper fake brackets, but they were tightly in her mouth, but after trying a couple of different ways, she managed to get them out. "Don't worry, they'll slacken off a bit as you put them in and out a bit more. I looked at the facebows that Mei had sent, one bag said 'top' the other 'bottom'... I took the top one out of its bag, and it fitted nicely into Amanda's braces: Mei had already adjusted the facebow for us. I passed it to Amanda, so she could put it back into her mouth. "So, which headgear would you like to try?"

"Oh, so many decisions in life..... let's go for the neck strap!" responded Amanda with a lisp. I opened the plastic bag that contained the cervical strap, and then spent a few moments attaching the two force modules to the fabric strap. I put the strap around Amanda's neck...

"Ok, can you hold the facebow in place for me?". Amanda put her hand up to hold the front of her facebow in place, while I attached the straps on both sides. "So, you need the third hole for your cervical strap" I commented. Amanda picked up the mirror, and looked at herself, and smiled. "What do you think?" I asked

"I never in my life ever dreamed that I would ever get to wear braces and headgear, this is just amazing!!" she replied. Her lisp was slightly different, because of the facebow. I moved towards Amanda, putting my lips around the facebow, and kissed her on the lips. Again, this is something I had done before, with Mei, but it was a completely new experience for Amanda.

After kissing for a bit, I pulled back. "You know, I don't know about you, but I'm thinking we need to sort out some dinner."

"Hmmm, there's some stuff in the freezer.... or why don't we just get something delivered?! she suggested, talking stightly strange because of her braces and headgear.

"Home delivery sounds pretty ok to me". I got my phone out, and ran up the 'Deliver2Me' app. "OK, what do you fancy... there's pizza, donner kebab, Thai..... Chinese and Indian of course.... ah, Nandos if you fancy something spicy. Or if you're desperate, there's even KFC...". We decided to go for the Thai, so spent a few minutes deciding what to order.

"Remember to use my credit card" said Amanda. When I got to the checkout, it still had my card details, so I got 'her' card out (ok, actually my card, but on Amanda's account), and added it as an alternative card. The app suggested that it would be about 30 minutes before it got delivered, so I suggested that Amanda could try in some more braces.

"Hmm, what next? I said aloud. I thought about giving her the expander next, but an evil idea went through my head, so instead I found the one that said 'NOT a twin-block :-)'. This is the one we had asked for that was 'something that has plastic all over the teeth, kinda like my twin-blocks, but not a twin block'. I opened the box to find an upper and a lower brace. Made of fairly thin clear pink plastic, the top one was a horse-shoe shape, with the plastic coming over the teeth to the outside, and about halfway over the teeth - and when I say that, I mean over ALL her teeth, molars and front ones alike. The lower one was similar: a thin plate, but with platic over the teeth. In a way, they looked a bit like essix retainers, but a lot thicker, pink clear plastic, and only covering half of the outside of the teeth.

"These are your twin-blocks that aren't twin-blocks" I said, passing them over to Amanda.

"Mmm, nice...." she commented. I helped her remove her facebow and neck-strap, and she removed her brackets, then put the plates into her mouth. When she smiled, I could hardly see any white teeth, everything was covered in pink. It was only when she smiled wider that I could see the white tops of her teeth. I watched as she sat there, running her tongue over her 'teeth', but in reality the plastic over her teeth. I could imagine what she was feeling, as my twin-blocks were similar, but of course hers were completely smooth, no lumps like the twin-blocks had. "Oh, yeth, jutht ath good ath I hoped they would be...." was her initial comment.

Of course, I wanted to see what they felt like, so leaned towards her, and we kissed. I gently pushed my tongue past her lips, and immediately felt the lovely smooth plastic that covered her teeth. after enjoying the feel of the outside of the plates, I slipped my tongue between her... well, I was about to say 'teeth', but I guess it needs to be 'plates' or 'plastic covered teeth'. Mmm, nice, the plastic continued over the back of her teeth, and back as far as my tongue could reach. I could feel nothing of her teeth, or the rough skin of her palate, just the smoothness of the shiny plastic. I assumed that, like when she kissed me in my twin-blocks, she could feel almost nothing of my kiss, except on her lips and her tongue.

"It'th odd, but I think thethe are my favouriteth tho far" she lisped. She put her finger up to her teeth, and felt the smooth pink plastic that covered all of her her teeth.