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Road Trip Pt. 01

By: Anonoauthor



Kelly and I had known each other since we were both eight-years-old when she and her family had moved in next-door to mine. Separated in age by only a few months we had struck up friendship almost immediately.

We had been in the same classes throughout school and in our pre-high school years spent many long hours playing together.

Naturally as time moved on Kelly lost most of what you would probably describe as tom-boy tendencies and we hung out less. However, we remained friends and continued to enjoy each other's company frequently mostly either playing video games or catching a movie together.

There was never anything romantic between us and we both dated other people. Well to be precise Kelly dated other people and I tried my best, largely without success, to elicit any attention I could from the opposite sex.

At the end of high school we both applied to the main college in our home town and were accepted. Kelly was going to study psychology while I would be taking a history course.

Before I go on I probably better describe Kelly. She's only five feet tall and has dark blonde hair cut at just below shoulder length, blue eyes and a pretty face that lights up when she smiles which is something she does a lot!

As you'd expect from someone so short in stature, Kelly has a slight build with one exception - her boobs. These are a whopping 34d and, despite their size, are perky and firm looking and of course tend to draw a great deal of attention!

Anyway back to the story. It was a couple of days after graduation and Kelly and I were at her house watching DVDs and chatting about the future.

College was still three months away and we were both a little stuck for ideas on how to spend the long summer ahead. There was of course the option to get a job to save up money for college but neither of us was overly keen on that plan.

Then Kelly had the brainwave that would eventually change our lives and our friendship forever. "Road trip," she suddenly said out of nowhere.

"What?" I replied.

"Read trip," she repeated with a broad smile on her face. "That's what we should do. The classic college road trip."

"Ok Kell but first of all we don't have a car and secondly we're not at college yet!" I replied.

"First of all Phil you're such a geek," my friend responded playfully. "We are almost in college and we can get a car from my uncle. Come on Phil we gotta do this!"

Caught up in Kelly's enthusiasm, I put aside my initial reservations and said, "Ok but we need to plan it properly."

"Yes, yes Phil we will. But let's not wait. Let's go see my uncle now and get going," Kelly replied.

This didn't sound like we would be planning anything properly but I knew better than to argue with Kelly. Once she decided to do something she did it. Spontaneity was her thing plus a road trip sounded like a fun idea.

Without any further discussion we headed off on the short walk to the second hand car lot that Kelly's uncle Dave Randle ran.

When we arrived Dave was smoking outside his office. Kelly bounded straight up to him and grabbed him in a big hug. "Uncle Dave!" she said with a beaming smile.

"Hey Kelly," he responded, "What brings you over here?"

"We're going on a road trip and we need a car and I thought my favourite uncle could help us out," said Kelly finally releasing him from her bear hug grip.

"Who's we?" Dave asked having failed to spot me standing a few feet away.

"Phil and me," Kelly replied.

"Hi Mr Randle," I said with a nervous wave.

Dave and I had met a few times but I had failed to make a great impression and I got the sense he was not exactly my biggest fan.

The car dealer nodded his head in response to my greeting then took Kelly by the arm and led her into his office.

I stood outside waiting while I presume Dave was questioning Kelly as to why she wanted to go on a road trip with, not only a boy, but a boy like me.

After about 10 minutes my friend bounded out of the office clutching a set of car keys. "Come on," she said with a grin.

I followed as Kelly skipped across the lot stopping next to a rather battered looking blue Sedan. She opened the car's unlocked door and dropped into the driver's seat.

"This is us," Kelly said enthusiastically.

I decided not to ask what her uncle had said to her in his office and simply walked round the car and got in the passenger seat. I barely had time to close the door when Kelly started the engine and set off.

"I knew Uncle Dave would come through for us," she enthused, "I don't want to hang about. Let's go home, tell our parents the plan, pack and head off."

"What happened to planning things properly?" I asked.

Sighing, Kelly replied, "There's that geek again Phil. It's the summer before college. Be spontaneous!"

Caught up once again in my friend's enthusiasm, I said, "Ok Kell."

To my surprise both of our sets of parents raised no objections to our road trip. I suppose they thought we were 18 and had been pretty responsible in the past so they trusted we would be sensible. This parental vote of confidence boosted my morale and by the time Kelly and I had loaded up the car I was as really looking forward to the trip.

Promising our folks we would keep in regular contact and be back in no more than a week we headed off on our adventure.

"So where too first Phil?" Kelly asked as we reached the freeway.

"This was you're idea and you're driving Kell," I responded still giddy at the prospect of having such freedom for the first time.

"Spontaneity it is then!" Kelly retorted with a sly smile as we headed at speed for the interstate.

The next few hours were uneventful as we drove along chatting more about road movies we had seen than we did about the actual trip we were embarking on.

"I'm getting hungry and a bit tired," Kelly suddenly remarked. "What'd say we stop at the next diner to eat and at the same time we can ask for directions to the nearest motel?"

"Ok," I replied as it dawned on me for the first time that we had not discussed sleeping arrangements for the trip ahead.

It was only a couple of more miles until we came across a diner called the Cosy Coffee Cup and pulled in. Making our way inside it instantly called into question the validity of its quaint name.

The diner had 10 tables with chairs, four booths along one wall and a number of high stools at the service counter. The decor looked like it was something from a bad 70s movie and there we some funky looking stains on the furniture, carpet and ceiling.

Despite this we were hungry so decided to stay. Taking one of the booths we noticed we had drawn slightly unfriendly stares from the five or six truck drivers who were the only other diners.

"This place is a bit weird," I said in a hushed voice.

Kelly chuckled, "Yeah but don't sweat it Phil. We're on a road trip remember and anything goes on a road trip."

I was not sure I had signed up for anything goes but before I could reply the waitress arrived.

"What ya having?" came the less than welcoming query from the waitress who was in her 50s and almost as dishevelled as the diner.

"What do you recommend?" said Kelly brightly.

"Honey I recommend you order something, eat, pay up and go," came the terse response.

Clearly taken aback but remaining unflustered Kelly said, "Two cheeseburgers, fries and cokes."

With a grunt the waitress scribbled on her notepad and wandered off.

"Nice atmosphere," I joked.

"Yeah service with a smile," Kelly replied with a giggle.

The food arrived quickly and was actually quite good considering. Finished with our meals we headed for the counter to pay.

We agreed to take it in turns to pay for food and when we got to the counter I offered my credit card to the waitress.

"Nope," she said shaking her head and pointing to a tiny sign below the cash register which stated the diner accepted cash only.

"Shit," I said realising I had no money. Kelly too only had her card so I asked if there was an ATM nearby.

"Nope," said the waitress.

At that point a man appeared next to the waitress. He identified himself as the manager of the diner and said, "You should've read the sign. This check needs settling."

His menacing tone gave me a shiver and I replied rather meekly, "Well we've no cash. I'm sorry. We could go somewhere to an ATM and come back. You can trust us sir."

Not impressed with my suggestion or politeness the man said, "You ain't going nowhere til you pay or we settle this someway else."

I had no clue what he meant by that last remark but knew we were stuck. We had no cash and the last thing we wanted was for the police to be called and our road trip to be brought to an end before it had chance to get going.

"Well what are you proposing?" I said.

The man smirked and looked at Kelly with a revolting leer. "You're girl can settle this," he said.

"We're just friends and she's no cash either," I responded.

The waitress and the man both laughed. "Not money boy. Skin. She can show us some skin and we'll call it even," he said.

Stunned and repulsed I started to mumble a protest when I felt Kelly's hand on my arm.

"Ok," she said, "how much would I have to show?"

I was even more shocked now and began to try to argue with my friend but she put her finger to my lips indicating I should leave this to her.

The man sneered. "Everything," he said, "I wanna see all you got and I'm sure my regular customers here wouldn't object to seeing too."

I was seething at the man's suggestion and again opened my mouth to say no but before I could get a word out Kelly said, "Alright."

"Now missy just to be clear here I wanna see them huge titties of yours, that ass and your pussy before I tear up this check," the man said licking his lips and staring at my friend like she was a piece of prime meat. Kelly nodded her agreement.

"No Kell. You don't have to do this. We can sort it out another way. This is crazy," I said.

"It's ok Phil. Anything goes on a road trip remember? I'm fine," Kelly replied ushering me back to our booth.

I sat down and watched helplessly as my friend of 10 years was helped onto the counter by the diner manager. The truckers who had given us such an unfriendly welcome were now staring only at Kelly.

"Let's put on some music for the show," said the lecherous diner manager flicking a switch on a cd player which he had placed on the counter.

A guitar riff struck up followed by the opening chords of a cheesy hair metal song from the 80s.

"Make it good darlin'," said the manager looking up at Kelly with a lustful sneer.

With that the talking was over and Kelly nervously fumbled with the hem of her blue t-shirt. She lifted it up exposing her black bra that was holding in her considerable boobs. 

The bar manager clapped sarcastically as Kelly dropped her shirt to the floor and kicked off her pink tennis shoes.

"Looking good honey," shouted one of the truckers.

To my surprise Kelly smiled at his call and gave a little wink. "Was she actually enjoying this?" I wondered." No she couldn't be."

Kelly was now unbuttoning her denim shorts as two of the truckers, including the one who had shouted out moments earlier, made their way from their tables towards the counter intent on getting a closer look.

Unbuttoning complete, Kelly slid the shorts off her butt and down her legs. Stepping out of them as they reached the counter top, she kicked them to the ground joining her shirt and shoes.

As she reached her hands behind her to unhook her bra, the diner manager shouted out crudely, "Here we go sugar. Let then big ol titties free!"

This drew laughter from the waitress and truckers but the remarks only heightened my anger at the situation my friend was in.

Kelly though did not seem to care. She smiled and finished unhooking the clasp on her bra. With a shimmy her arms slipped out of the straps and the bra dropped revealing her magnificent breasts.

I had seen Kelly in a swimsuit a few times and even in her underwear on one occasion but never anything less and I have to admit I was impressed by what I saw.

Her boobs were large but still firm looking. She had dark areola with sizable nipples that were sticking out to attention giving further backing to my increasing feeling that she was actually having fun up there exposing herself to this group of strangers.

I too was beginning to forget the circumstances that led to Kelly's predicament and I also have to admit that seeing my friend shedding her clothes was turning me on.

As I previously stated there had never been anything romantic between us but now, as she stripped off on that counter top, I was for the first time seeing Kelly for the beautiful young woman she had become.

Down to tiny white socks and black panties, Kelly was now walking up and down the counter giving everyone in the diner a good look at her attractive, toned body.

Her big boobs swayed and jiggled with each step and were undoubtedly the centre of everyone's attention - at least for now.

"Look at the titties," called out one of the truckers, "Bet she gives a helluva tit fuck."

This remark drew yet more laughter and even Kelly seemed to find it amusing breaking out in a slight giggle."

"Great tits darlin' but let's see that sweet pussy now!" yelled the revolting diner manager.

Kelly stopped her parade along the counter and stared at him. For a moment everyone in the diner went quiet wondering what she was going to do or say.

Then the tension was broken as Kelly's face lit up with a huge smile. This removed any lingering doubt left in my mind that she was indeed enjoying herself and lessened the guilt I felt at the growing boner in my pants!

Full of confidence now, Kelly strode over to the end of the counter where the manager was stood. She bent down with her boobs swaying as she did so.

Kelly grabbed the man by the shirt collar and pulled him towards her. She said something I could not hear over the music and the next thing I knew the manager had joined her on the counter top.

Kelly turned her back to him and stuck out her butt. Grinning wildly, the man reached down and grasped her panties and in one quick motion pulled them down her butt, passed her legs and to her feet.

Naked except for her socks, Kelly stepped out of the panties and, bending over right in front of the manager, picked them up in her right hand.

Standing straight up again she twirled the panties around her head before handing them to the manager who promptly held them to his face and sniffed them.

With her arms stretched out wide, Kelly then did a 360 degree turn giving everyone a look at her naked body from all sides. As she turned to face me I did my best not to let her see my excitement but I couldn't drag my eyes away from her exposed pussy.

It was trimmed neatly with only a small line of blonde hair for covering and her pussy lips could clearly be made out beneath.

The truckers were cheering, whistling and clapping loudly by this stage and as she hopped down off the counter top Kelly blew them a kiss.

Looking up at the manager who was still standing on the counter she said, "Debt paid?"

He nodded and said, "Yup."

Kelly gathered her clothes and with a cheeky grin replied, "You can keep the panties. Consider them the tip."

Without waiting for a response and still naked, Kelly walked over to me, grabbed my hand and led me outside to our car.

"I'm so, so sorry you had to do that Kell," I said making certain my hand was masking the bulge in my pants.

Kelly laughed. "It's ok. In case you couldn't tell I actually got into it by the end."

She put on her shorts, shirt and shoes but tossed her bra onto the back seat of the car. Kelly threw me the keys and we got in the vehicle.

"Where to?" I asked.

Kelly smiled. "Wherever. Spontaneity Phil remember?"

I turned the key in the ignition and we were off again. It had certainly been an eventful and unexpected start to our road trip and who knew what would be next?

Road Trip Pt. 02







Road Trip Pt. 02



"Morning Phil," came the cheery greeting from Kelly as I entered the motel room.

My friend had still been asleep when I left in search of breakfast around half an hour earlier. But now as I returned clutching a bag of muffins and two sodas, she was wide awake and seemingly full of energy.

"Morning Kell," I responded, "Sleep well?"

"Certainly did," beamed Kelly as she got up off the bed and took the bag of food from my hand. "Muffins! Great stuff Phil I'm starving."

I chuckled. Kelly was always eating but never seemed to put on any weight to spoil her shapely figure.

"Good news too Kell," I said, "the gas station accepted my card so you can keep your clothes on!"

My reference to last night's incident at the diner when she had literally stripped for our supper brought a smile to her face. Then she playfully threw a muffin at me and said, "Your turn next time Phil!"

We hadn't really talked about what had gone on the previous evening. After leaving the diner I had driven us a few miles while Kelly slept in the passenger seat.

We had found this motel and having checked in to a twin-bed room quickly both crashed out without much discussion of any sort.

But now fresh from a good rest I wanted to know how Kelly felt about the events that unfolded the previous evening.

"So Kell what about last night?" I said probing the subject tentatively.

"What about it?" replied Kelly as she moved on to her second muffin.

"Come on Kell you know what I mean," I said. "You were naked in a diner in front of a bunch of dirty old men and me."

"Oh yeah I'd forgot," said Kelly sarcastically with a sly smirk and a little chuckle.

"Well?" Did you mean what you said that you actually enjoyed it?" I continued my questioning.

Finished eating for now, Kelly walked over to the mirror and started brushing her dark blonde hair.

Glancing at me in the reflection she said, "Yes I did. It was a thrill and a turn on. All those guys staring at me and wanting me."

"Wow Kell I never knew you were an exhibitionist," I said.

Moving on to fixing her make-up, Kelly laughed and replied, "Neither did I but I guess I am now."

"So you gonna do it again?" I said half in jest and half hoping she would say yes so I would get a chance to see her gorgeous body again.

"Maybe," she responded. "No forget that. Definitely. It was such fun Phil. I'm definitely going to do it again and soon!"

Surprised and excited I ran out of things to say and turned my attention to packing my bag.

Kelly finished getting ready and, after settling our bill at the motel reception, we were back in the car and headed out on the first full day of our road trip.

Not much happened for a few hours. We drove, chatted and finished off the muffins.

It was about 1pm and we were thinking of stopping for lunch when the car, provided for us by Kelly's uncle Dave the previous afternoon, made a sputtering noise.

"That doesn't sound good," I said.

"It doesn't," agreed Kelly.

Smoke began appearing from under the hood and it was clear there was something pretty wrong.

As luck would have it we had just passed a garage so, hoping the car would make it, I did a U-turn and we headed back in the direction we had come from.

The car only just made it to the garage forecourt before giving out another bigger sputter and coming to a halt.

Hearing our noisy arrival, a middle-aged looking mechanic dressed in blue, grease spattered overalls and a ball cap wandered out of the garage. We got out of the car as the mechanic neared.

"Sounds like you've a problem there son," said the mechanic stating the obvious.

"We do sir," I replied. "Can you take a look?"

I popped the hood and the mechanic, who identified himself as Matt, tutted. "Needs a new set of spark plugs and a few other bits," he said. "It's a bit of a mess in here."

"Expensive?" I asked.

"Since you seem like nice kids I'll sort it for 300 ok?" said Matt.

While that was probably a good price it was also a sizable chunk out of our budget for our trip. But knowing no car meant no trip anyway; I agreed and helped Matt push the Sedan into his workshop.

Leaving Matt and another mechanic looking into our car's engine, I went back to the forecourt where Kelly was standing sipping from a soda bottle.

"I think this road trip is cursed," I said glumly.

"What you on about Phil?" came the typically cheery retort from Kelly. "This is what road trips are all about. The unexpected."

"Perhaps but we could do without forking out 300 dollars right now," I said not sharing my friend's bright outlook.

Kelly smiled. "Ah well I've been thinking about that."

Intrigued I said, "Ok?"

"I think I can negotiate us a much better deal and try out my new found exhibitionist steak too," Kelly said with a grin.

I could feel my dick twitch in my pants as I took in her suggestion but I was also a little concerned about what she was proposing.

"Careful here Kell we don't know these people," I cautioned.

"Don't worry so much Phil. Anything goes on a road trip remember?" Kelly replied as she brushed off my concerns and skipped towards the workshop.

By the time I caught up with her, Kelly was already talking to Matt and his buddy. Judging by their smiles the two men obviously liked what they heard.

"It's a deal then," Kelly said shaking Matt by the hand before turning to me and winking. "They're going fix it for 100 bucks Phil," she said cheerily.

"But what are you going to do?" I asked.

"You'll see," she replied. "Stand over there and enjoy the show."

Giving up on reasoning with her and secretly excited, I took up position by the entrance and waited.

Matt and his assistant had put the hood back down on our car and were standing eyes fixed firmly on the 18-year-old blonde they had just done some sort of deal with.

Kelly hopped up athletically onto the hood of the car and immediately whipped off her pink T-shirt revealing a white bra and of course her more than ample cleavage. I gulped and felt a twitch from my dick as it anticipated what was to come.

Smiling broadly Kelly threw the shirt to the workshop floor and slipped off her tennis shoes. Before I knew it she had removed her denim shorts - the same pair she had also been wearing at the diner.

Standing on the hood of the battered old Sedan she looked amazing in just her bra and matching white panties.

Matt and his assistant were only feet from her and staring intently at her every move. Clearly enjoying herself, Kelly unhooked her bra and, having slipped her arms out of the straps, let it slip off to the ground.

Displaying her growing streak for stripping, she cupped her 34d boobs in her hands and teased her audience before finally letting go and revealing the full extent of her magnificent chest.

Her nipples looked even harder than they had at the diner which matched the feeling in my pants as my dick strained to break free.

Kelly rubbed her boobs and shook them provocatively at Matt and the other man before reaching for the waistband of her panties.

Turning her back to the two mechanics and I, she arched her back slightly and twanged the elastic waistband so it slapped back onto her bare skin. Glancing back over her shoulder to watch our reactions, she then slipped the material down slowly across her butt cheeks.

As the panties slid off her rear, her butt hole and pussy came into view and my dick twitched yet again as pre-cum began leaking out onto my shorts.

With her panties finally discarded, Kelly turned to face her audience and, with her arms stretched out wide, gave us a perfect view of her glorious pussy which to my surprise she had shorn of all hair since last night.

Her pussy lips seemed larger than at the diner and had a slick, almost shiny look that was most likely a combination of their recent shave and Kelly's excitement at exposing herself once again.

"That's it then," I thought. But Kelly apparently was not done.

She sat down on the car hood and motioned with her finger for the two mechanics to get closer.

As I watched on transfixed, the two men moved to within inches of my friend.

I shuffled forward to gain an unobscured view and as I did I saw Kelly reach down between her now spread legs. She pulled apart her pussy lips letting the two mechanics see right up inside her most intermit of areas.

I gasped at just how brazen she had become but I too could not tear my eyes away from her. Having given Matt and his buddy a good look inside her pussy, Kelly inserted a finger into her clearly moistened hole.

Shooting her hips forward she pushed a second finger in and with the other hand began rubbing at her clitoris.

The wet patch in my underwear was growing fast as I stared at this beautiful blonde who had been my friend for more than a decade and who was now masturbating fully naked for two strangers and I.

Kelly tossed her head back as her rubbing became more frenzied. I could hear the sounds of her juices as she hurtled towards a climax. Then with a last surge of her hips she let out a loud yelp as her body convulsed with a massive orgasm.

As she slowly came back down from her climax, Kelly slid off the car hood and gathered her clothes. The two mechanics stood open-mouthed and then broke into a round of applause.

Kelly smiled and winked at them as she began to get dressed. "Nice doing business with you boys," she said in a provocative tone that I had never heard her use before.

"She really is getting into this stuff," I thought to myself silently.

Recovering my senses as my dick began to return to its normal state, I walked over to the car and handed Matt the 100 dollars we owed him.

The mechanic seemed unable to speak and took the money without uttering a word. Now fully clothed, Kelly grabbed the keys from keys from the other man and we got into the car.

With a cheery wave to the dumbstruck men, Kelly reversed the vehicle out of the workshop and before I knew it we were back on the road. As we headed off my mind was spinning as it tried to fully take in what I had just witnessed.

"This has been fun," Kelly quipped breaking my train of thought. "Can't wait to see what happens next."

I simply nodded and smiled. "Can't wait indeed," I thought as the car picked up speed taking us to who knows where or what.



Road Trip Pt. 02



At the end of the drive were several buildings and about twenty cars. From the largest structure, I could hear the muffled sounds of a country band playing. A couple of photographers stood near the parked cars. They showed unusual interest in us as we rode up. As I stopped and parked the bike, each of them started taking pictures of the two of us. At Crystal's whispered suggestion, neither of us said a word or responded to the dozen or so questions hurled at us by the two reporters.

Inside, Crystal said, "I'll explain later about the paparazzi, but for now just come with me. I think you'll enjoy yourself. Of course, if you get bored you can leave; I'll find a ride home from one of the band or my agent." 

I followed her down a short hallway, and we entered a room with the largest mixing board I'd ever seen. In front of it sat two men in casual dress, nudging various slide controls to manage the audio they'd already recorded. In front of them, on the other side of glass wall, nine musicians stood listening to the playback in a large recording studio. Two backup singers – a man and a woman – also sat on tall stools in the studio listening to the playback. Each instrument and singer had their own microphone, and there was space for several more singers or instruments.

Everyone in the control room greeted Crystal with smiles and hugs. Her tardiness was not mentioned. Crystal introduced me to Terry Ross – her agent, Dan – her publicist; Ben and Wayne, the control panel gurus; Dave – her producer; and Eric, the agent from the music company she'd signed with. She waved enthusiastically to the band and singers on the other side of the plate glass, and they all waved back with smiles. I could tell Crystal was well liked.

Dave and Crystal went into a huddle right next to me. He explained about the songs he wanted to 'lay down,' and how far along the band had gotten with the music tracks. I listened to a whole new vocabulary about music and recording that I'd never been privy to before. I found it fascinating, yet I had a lot of questions about what was going on.

After a few minutes, Crystal picked up some sheet music and went into the studio. The band members filed out for what I assumed was a cigarette break. Ben announced he was starting the instrumental track for 'Country Playgirl,' and I figured out from his comments that they'd worked on the song a few days before.

Crystal laid out the sheet music on a stand in front of her, and put on a large, oversize pair of headphones. Ben hit a button on the panel, and we could all hear the music of the song without the lead singer over speakers in the control room. Crystal mouthed the words throughout the song and did some dance steps here and there. She had a serious and intent look on her face. I could tell that she was a professional about her singing and took this work seriously.

At the end of the song, Crystal's voice came over the speakers: "OK, I think I'm ready to try this again when you are."

Ben said, "We are ... and we're starting the music in five, four, three, two, and ..." He made a gesture to the studio with his hand to indicate the recording had started.

The music started playing and four bars in Crystal's clear voice came through the speakers. I stood in awe at the quality of her voice and how well she sang the song. I never heard a missed word or a skipped beat throughout the rendition. Her voice had a slight edge to it that separated her from the 'wanna-be' country singers; this girl had 'it.' She had as distinctive a voice as Reba McEntire or Dolly Parton, a characteristic that would serve her well and ensure a long career. As far as I could tell, the song was perfect too.

I guess the others around me also thought her singing got an A+, because about ten seconds after she ended the track, everyone applauded. Ben's voice broke through the applause, "Wow, darling that was perfect. You nailed that. Does anybody think we need a retake?" The silence in response to his question proved the answer.

Crystal came back in the control room with the sheet music. Dave congratulated her on a job well done and handed her another song; she studied the notes and words on the pages. I could see the name of the song on top of the first page: 'Texas Dawn.' As they looked over the music line by line, she'd ask him a question about what mood he wanted, or the edginess, tempo, slurs, timbre, color, crispness of a word, where accents belonged, reverb, and so on – new vocabulary. Dave had all the answers; he seemed to be the 'go to' guy for this session.

I listened in, soaking up the recording scene; this was an intimate look at Nashville I hadn't expected, and I was enjoying every second like a kid in a candy store with a fifty-dollar bill. To my surprise, everyone accepted my presence without question; they were so friendly and inclusive. Sometimes, one of the professionals even asked for my opinion about the music in some way.

Crystal listened to the instrumental part of the new song when she was back in the studio. As she did, a few of the band members filtered back into the control room to watch her recording. Don introduced me to the band. Terry took snapshots with a high-end camera using only the ambient light. I even got included in some.

After the playback Crystal said, "Let's make a run at this one, OK?" She sat up on a tall stool and adjusted the microphone to her height. I thought she looked so sexy, and wondered how she could fend off all these males around her, yet everyone acted professional.

Ben nodded and counted down again. I listened, and this time I could hear some slurred words, a hiccup when her tempo fell behind the instrumental track, and flatness in her voice. At the end of the song, she said, "Let's do it again, but only the first verse and coda."

Ben counted, music started, she sang – this time with more animation and zeal. I liked it, but still something was missing. They tried it a couple of more times until Dave called a break.

Just as the break started, some of the people who had been on the stranded bus arrived – three women and two men, including Brad the Bodyguard. I nodded to him, and he looked pleased that I hadn't kidnapped his ward.

Crystal came into the control room and stood beside me as she talked to Dave, "I can't put my finger on it, but something is keeping me from making this song come alive."

I said in a low voice, "I know. I figured it out after your last try."

Dave, Crystal, Ben, Wayne, Terry, and everyone else in the control room looked at me. I said, "This song should be a duet – oh, it should emphasize Crystal, it's her song – but you need a male voice at the start of each stanza, and for the last line of the song – maybe for a few others. This is an unbalanced duet."

There was silence in the room. I felt like a teenager who had loudly farted in church.

After the silence felt too heavy, Dave said excitedly, "That's it. That's it." He looked around the room, "Crystal, whom do you want to do the duet with you? " Crystal gave it some thought, and I could see her considering her backup singers or the members of the band as she looked around the studio. After a few seconds, she turned to me and said with a saucy smile, "Will you give it a try? It's your idea. You can sing, can't you?"

My face must have reflected my shock and horror at the request because everyone around us laughed. I bumbled out that I'd never sung professionally, and while I felt I did reasonably well singing along with music on the radio or in the shower, I wasn't sure my voice would help the song at all. Everyone ignored my protestations and urged me to give it a try. Crystal led me into the studio, and as we walked, she told me I'd be fine and that half the country singers couldn't carry a tune anyway. She said sarcastically, "Think of Bob Dylan or Willie Nelson – they can't sing for shit, but they're big stars." She made me laugh, and I relaxed a little.

We stood at the mic and rehearsed the words of the song in low voices. Crystal coached me here and there, and I pointed out the parts where I thought I should lead or join in. I took a colored pencil to the sheet music and marked where I'd come in and exit. We tried a few lines here and there throughout the song. As we did, I found my voice limbering up and my ability to carry the melody improving. Crystal was supportive and lavish in her praise when I got something right. She was so easy to work with.

We had the instrumental played and mouthed the words in time to the music; Crystal used one finger like a conductor with a baton to get me in sync with both the music and her. Next, Wayne came in and set up another microphone next to Crystal's mic, but in a way so we could both see the same pages of sheet music and see each other. 

Dave said he wanted to try it, 'just for kicks.' Ben counted down from the control booth, the instrumental started, and I took my cue to sing. In my husky, twangy, country music voice that I usually used when working around the house, I sang the opening line of the poem that had been turned into the song: "Texas dawns comes early when you've been awake all night." Crystal joined in with her lines, her crisp and distinctive voice carrying the song forward, we shared a line or two, and then she took off with the main part of the song. I'd join in on the refrains, and then the two of us sang the ending together: "So Darlin' let me wake with you for all your Texas dawns; I promise that I'll love you ... forever." The love song actually had some teeth to it, as well as tenderness. I thought it did have potential as a hit – as a duet, but that was only my humble opinion. I wondered who they'd get to really sing with her, someone famous no doubt.

After the ten seconds of silence, the sound from the control room got piped into the studio: applause – everyone in the control room applauded. Crystal and I gave each other high five, and then she hugged me and told me how proud she was of my singing: "Jim, you're a natural. You can sing on my recordings anytime." I was stunned and considered her words a high compliment.

Dave was jumping around the control room with joy, and so was Terry. They had us do the song or parts of it about two-dozen more times that afternoon, varying all sorts of things for each recording. I thought it got better and better with each tweak any of us made.

During the many variations of the song, my voice adjusted to singing aloud, and I got used to being recorded. Everyone lauded praise on me for joining in with Crystal, and for making the song a real hit. We tried two other songs 'just for kicks' after Dave and Eric said they were satisfied with at least today's rendition of 'Texas Dawn;' those also went well. Crystal and I were having fun singing together.

When we broke, Terry pulled Dave, Eric, and Crystal aside, and I could see they were having a serious talk. Next I knew; Terry gestured for me to join them. "Jim, if you're willing I'd like to sign you up – officially – not only for this song, but for a couple of others on the album Crystal is making. She wants you in on this too. We think you're a real addition to the music we're making." Crystal nodded enthusiastically as he talked. She grabbed ahold of my arm and hugged me to her to encourage me to accept the offer.

I was still in a daze and didn't really believe that this was happening. A few hours ago I had just been an ordinary guy about to tour Nashville. Now, I was being offered a record contract? Then my thoughts went back to what I had been thinking as I rode out of Memphis – I had concluded that I needed to focus on being more creative and more social, and even on the look out for a job that I could enjoy. Could it all have been waiting for me just around the corner by the bus? Should I take a chance and see where this leads me? I quickly decided to accept Terry's offer with the caveat that he realized this was a totally new venture for me, and I'd probably stumble around a lot trying to get used to singing and recording. I explained that I'd need a lot of practice and someone to aim me in the right direction. I wanted to be sure I was a help and not a hindrance to their productivity. 

Crystal kissed my cheek and told me how happy she was that I'd signed on. She promised to be my guide until I learned the ropes. The two of us also talked about 'synchronicity' – my coming along that road at just the right time, and then turning out to have the perfect voice to complement her singing.

As people started to pack up and leave for the evening, Crystal cued me in about the paparazzi – the few photographers that we'd find outside, and how to respond or not respond to their questions. "Because you're with me, there'll be some buzz about our relationship. They try to build mountains out of mole hills." She laughed and went on, "You can say anything you like – the more outrageous the better. It'll help me sell records and keep my name out there, and that's part of this whole game – name recognition." She thought for a moment and added, "Hey, it'll get your name out there too – that'll be good for the album we're making together."

As Ben and Wayne started to work editing some of the tracks we'd done to try to create a 'perfect' version of 'Texas Dawn,' Terry took me aside and we arranged to get together the next day to work out the details of my contract. I wanted to let Terry know that I still had my road trip to finish before I committed myself to many more recordings. Then Terry and some of the band members left, followed by Crystal and me. 

Sure enough, as soon as I came out of the building behind Crystal, I experienced momentary blindness from the flashes of a dozen different cameras. Crystal pulled up next to me, and we put our arms around each other and posed in a natural way; more pictures were taken. She then turned to me and said, "Let's kiss." I was willing, and so we smooched for the photographers; a million flashes went off as photos were taken.

Next, a dozen questions came at us simultaneously – many to me alone. "What's your name? What's your relationship with Crystal? Are you in music? Where are you from? Do you always ride that motorcycle? The bike has Massachusetts plates on it; is that your home?" On and on, the questions came without allowing us to answer.

Crystal nudged me to talk. I held up one hand; "The motorcycle is a 1988 Harley Davidson Heritage Softail, and I rebuilt it about three months ago – from the ground up. Yes, originally I am from Mass – I grew up there, in Dillon."

Crystal chimed in, "This is Jim Mellon – M-e-l-l-o-n – and he is a great country singer you're going to be hearing a lot about soon. We're working together on my next album that'll be titled 'Texas Dawn' – we were working on the title song and a couple of others today. The album may not come out for a few months – you'll have to ask Eric Bennett about that; I do know that we'll start using some of the songs in our concerts soon."

One of the paparazzi yelled, "Are you two an item?"

As I handed Crystal the motorcycle helmet, she grinned and whispered to me in a low voice, "You answer that one."

I turned to the reporter and said with a high degree of flippancy, "Of course, we're an item. Why do you think she invited me to be on her album? I love 'everything' about her – and I mean everything!" With that, I gave a broad wave to the dozen reporters, and mounted the bike in front of Crystal. Crystal hugged me tightly to the photographers' delight. The Harley roared into life when I hit the ignition switch, more camera shots were taken, and we rolled down the driveway amid more flash photos being taken.





Road Trip Pt. 02



Probing further, Crystal got me to talk about catching the felon in Arkansas, rescuing the farmer in Pennsylvania and the two kids in South Carolina. The more she probed; the more interesting I seemed to sound to her. 

Walter and Emma came and cleared the table. Crystal dismissed them for the night. After they'd left, she explained that the couple had an apartment at the front of the house over the garage.

The evening dusk turned to darkness as we'd sat eating and sharing the wine. I realized for the first time, how much darkness produces a new intimacy between couples; I could tell Crystal felt it too. We had a couple of candles on the table, and that only added some mystique to the scene.

Crystal asked me, "Would you like to swim. I love this pool. There's a spa too – over there."

Ten minutes later I'd retrieved my running shorts that doubled as swim trunks from my bike, and changed into them in a guest bathroom. I knew I'd have to change my dressings later, but a swim might do me good. Crystal met me at the door to the patio wearing a bikini that would be banned in most states. I apparently gawked at her apparently, because she laughed and said, "I'd been hoping to get that reaction from you. Do you think it's sexy?"

I told her quite bluntly but sincerely, "Crystal Lee, I think everything about you is sexy. You are desirable in every way anyone could think of." I paused and added in a teasing manner, "And, that's another reason why I'm glad we're an 'item' and that I love 'everything' about you."

She smiled at me as she came up to me to kiss. I expected a peck on the cheek, but instead she gave me a deep, soul-touching, romantic, mind-blowing kiss. As she pulled away, I said with a touch of humor and sarcasm, "Wow! You really are a heavenly dream – an angel, because no human could possible kiss the way an angel does." As I intended, we both laughed over my schmaltzy compliment. Crystal pulled me to the edge of the pool, and we jumped in together. 

Meanwhile, my brain had shifted into high gear trying to figure out why this beautiful Nashville star had kissed me that way.

We swam around for a short time. Crystal said to me, "Jim, would you do me a favor?" I nodded. "Would you be sure to always treat me like a normal girl, and not as some piece of porcelain that you put on shelf and only look at?" She drew close to me. "I like you. I'm attracted to you – a lot, and in many ways. The last thing I want is to be put on a pedestal and left untouched."

She kissed me again, and I took her at her word and kissed back with everything I had. We French kissed, and Crystal exploded into a passionate woman who wanted to be loved. Her words and the way she erupted showed me that she had a huge pile of unfulfilled needs, and I guessed she saw I could help her with some of them. I hoped I could before I moved on down the road.

After many kisses, and as we looked in each other's eyes, I carefully reached for the tie behind her neck that held her bikini bra up. I paused so she knew exactly what I was thinking. I studied her face for permission or rejection. 

Crystal nodded her head and smiled invitingly.

I pulled the string, and the fabric fell down her body exposing two perfect breasts – each a hand full with a little left over. I reached around to her back and pulled the other tie; the brassiere floated away from between us. I tossed it up on the patio.

As we kissed, we crushed into each other; her breasts flattened against me. I could feel her erect nipples against my chest, and it raised my temperature past that of the sun. Our hips ground together. This relationship had turned a corner – it had become a runaway train with a single destination. 

I toyed with her breasts, until, with her full awareness, I reached to one of Crystal's hips and pulled the tie holding the small and colorful bottom part of the bikini to her body. I did the same on the other side, and then pulled the flimsy piece of material through her legs and away from her. I tossed it to the patio as well.

Crystal pushed my nylon shorts off my hips. So she didn't have to duck under water again, I kicked them off, retrieved them, and tossed them away too. We came together again, this time she moaned in pleasure as my inflating shaft rubbed against her; she caught it between her legs and held me tight against her labia. We both groaned into another passionate kiss.

I made love to Crystal's breasts as we stood there. I used everything I had ever learned about how to love a woman's nipples, areolas, and honey mounds. I stroked her neck, blew warm air into her ears in a passionate way, and kissed my way to each breast with my tongue oscillating wildly to please her. Everything I did escalated the sexual desire in each of us.

In the back of my mind, I could see Kim smiling at me, urging me forward and reminding me of my partner's pleasure.

I picked up Crystal, and she put her arms around my neck. I walked up the stairs out of the pool and placed her gently on a poolside chaise. I tossed a pillow down, knelt on it, adjusted her position, and allowed my mouth – my tongue – to dive into her pussy. I reveled in her taste. She responded, and soon we were awash in her lubricating fluids that I lapped up as fast as she could generate them. 

Crystal came, grinding her cunt into my face as she held me tightly to her groin. She said, "Let's go inside. I want you to make love to me ... all night long."

I answered firmly: "No! Here. Now." 

Crystal nodded assent. I rose over her on my arms and buried my cock in her pussy. As I slid in, I felt that wonderful rush of happiness and joy, and knew she did too. This act of joining carried us each to a new level. Purrs and moans confirmed our happiness with what we were doing. Crystal became my single point of focus in the universe; I wanted to bring her happiness.

I didn't prolong our union the way I could have. We came. I timed my climax to hers. Our orgasms ripped through our bodies like lightning bolts from a towering thunderhead. We were as one; each of us felt every sensation the other felt in addition to our own. We crested in an explosion of light that started deep within each of us, and raced out through every pore of our bodies. As the climaxes subsided, I lay down next to Crystal. She rolled to me so we could kiss and be face to face. She had tears on her cheeks. We kissed tenderly. She was speechless, but I could tell she was trying to form words and sentences. 

Eventually, she spoke as I cradled her in my arms: "Jim, these moments ... I don't know how to say it ... Thank you ... I'll never forget this. You are amazing. You made 'us' amazing."

I kissed the tip of her nose. Crystal said in a serious tone, "I hate to admit it, and I've had sex with more than a few men – I don't think I'm promiscuous or a slut or anything like that, but I have enjoyed the act often." She sighed and took a deep breath, before going on; "And, I have never ... never even come close to anything like what we just did – what you did to me." She choked up a little as her last words came out.

I said softly, "We did it to each other. We were both open to not only the lust, but also to the spiritual act of joining two people together in love. We just allowed our energies to merge in an open and exceptional way." As she apparently did, I too found my feelings for her had moved beyond a quick fuck.

"Oh, God, I think I really want to be with you forever," Crystal crooned as she hugged me with all her might. "Come inside and let's do this again." 

We did.





Road Trip Pt. 02







Road Trip Pt. 02



Crystal adjusted her under garment, skirt, checked herself in a full-length mirror, and led me back to the green room. Terry gave us both an 'I-know-what-you-were-doing' glance. We all sat in near silence listening to an increasingly raucous band and crowd. I started to feel some of the crowd's energy. The band was good, and Cindy Wonder had a sound sort of like a country Stevie Nicks of Fleetwood Mac. 

After what seemed like a long time, Ellen came into the ready room and gave us a five-minute warning. She handed Crystal and me earpieces so we could hear ourselves sing over the sound of the band and the noise of the crowd. The band members stood up and did some brief limbering exercises. Crystal closed her eyes; I could tell she'd entered a short meditation. That seemed like a good idea, and so I started to meditate as well – gradually, sliding away from the tension and stress I'd been feeling, and clearing my mind of everything but the hum of one of the air conditioning units.

Next we knew, Ellen opened the door again and said in a loud voice, "NOW!" She led all of us to the side stage as the opening band finished their last number. Amid a round of applause for the first band, the lights dimmed and went dark. The ten band members walked onto the stage to their opening positions, some carrying their musical instruments. The pallets with the other band's drums and electronics were rolled off the other side of the stage from where we stood, as some of our electronics and instruments from our band rolled in from the back of the stage. The whole transition of bands took about two minutes.





Road Trip Pt. 03



... continuing from Part 02 ... 

Chapter 12

Michigan

Just north of the Ohio-Michigan border is the Coldwater Lake State Park, an undeveloped piece of land with a few trails on a modest size lake. I'd set this as my travel goal because I left Greenville, Ohio, so late in the morning. I pulled into the small park, and took advantage of the fact that my motorcycle could follow a well-trod foot trail to get to a better campsite than those along the road through the park. I setup camp beside the lake, and had an easy dinner from some of my supplies. 

After dinner, I meditated for an hour, trying to cleanse my mind of all my confused thinking and the nearly unanswerable questions rolling around in my head. My focus dwelled on the sounds in the park as my eyes glazed over in my elevated state - birds, insects, the leaves in the rustling wind, the water lapping at the shore, and even a jet high overhead.

When I'd finished meditating, I reflected on all the crazy things going on in my head: Karen's secrets, falling in love with multiple women, the near overload of sex I'd been enjoying, my guilt about my grief fading, my incestuous thoughts about my sister, the feeling of angst over what I felt were changes to my fundamental values around relationships and sex, and my newfound fascination with group sex. There were more, and I let them all scramble my brain for a few minutes, not reaching any conclusion other than I could stew about them all day. Instead, I decided to focus on 'gratitude.' I started to list some of the big things I could be grateful for.

I started with Karen's death - it had been painless for her, just a slow erosion of her strength and life; there are many worse ways to go. I thought of all our friends and their outpouring of condolences to me and the rest of her family who attended the memorial service we held. There was much love expressed in those tragic moments.

I thanked the Universe for Anna for staying with me after Karen's passing to be sure I could function. My gratitude also went to her idea to ride the motorcycle across the country. I thought of my father, and the joy he briefly had with the Harley Davidson motorcycle before he died; I thanked the Universe for the skills I had to renovate his bike after the years of neglect. I thanked my mother for always being there for me when I was growing up. 

I moved on in my thanks to Lauren and the outpouring of love and passion she shared with me. I discovered how in tune the two of us had been for the entire time I'd known her sister. Lauren launched me into my trip with an open and willing mind for new relationships. Each time I saw Lauren I was struck by her appearance; she looked so much like my late wife. Increasingly, I found the memories easier to deal with.

I expressed my thanks for the friends I'd found in the Circle of Love in Pennsylvania, particularly June - one of the women in the Circle that took me under her wing and who became one of my lovers with the other two women in the Circle. She also introduced me to her sister Kim who became my confidant, mentor, and lover. 

I thanked the forces in the Universe for having me in the right place at the right time to rescue a farmer from burning barn, and some young children in a tough situation as their small boat drifted far from shore. I felt fortunate to abort a rape by four men against a pretty woman in Alabama.

I expressed my thanks for the help and affection by Attorney Lacie Landers and her daughter Lindy in Louisiana, and then Pat Peyton at her diner in Arkansas. I felt accomplishment in helping the police stop a rash of robberies there too.

My expression of thanks and my enthusiasm grew as I remembered the synchronicity of events leading me to Crystal and into country music in a way I couldn't have dreamed, and then how we extended the love we shared to her sister. I felt glad that I could provide some entertainment for so many people though my music and concerts, hoping that I might lighten the load of someone grieving in the way I had been for months.

Lastly, I thanked the cosmos for Summer - the wife of a long-time friend, and sometime, months from now, the mother of our child. I had left her bed only hours earlier, and in my mind I was sure, as she was, that we'd succeeded in our goal of insemination. Maybe this would be the child Karen and I would have had if she'd lived, manifesting in another way. Thank you Universe!

I prayed, not for salvation or for some 'thing,' but for guidance and willingness to follow the path the Universe revealed to me each day. When I finished, darkness had fully enclosed the park and my campsite. Only my small fire lighted the surrounding area, one small light in the darkness. I hoped I gave a thousand fold as much light to the women I had encountered and loved along my travels. They were slowly transforming me.

My focus on the many things I had to be grateful for helped ease my continuing sorrow for Karen's loss and clear my befuddled mind sufficiently so I could sleep. I would deal with my questions at another time.

* * * * *

I emailed Pete Krakowski. In a day or so I expected to drop in on him on Mackinac Island - a small tourist island between the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan.

I took a pretty straight shot north, right up the middle of the Lower Michigan Peninsula, varying east or west slightly to stay off the Interstate highways. Gradually, the scene shifted from mostly industrial and residential, to more agricultural, and then to sections of dense forest. The further north I went, the narrower and less maintained the roads were. I felt as though I were fleeing civilization.

I pulled into Mackinaw City about four o'clock. My only stops had been for gasoline and lunch. I found the Star Line Ferry, and booked a seat on the boat. The pretty clerk told me where I could safely leave my motorcycle and rent a locker for my gear. An hour later, on foot, I walked aboard the Joliet - a ferry resembling a sleek looking luxury yacht. I carried my saddlebags from the motorcycle that hooked together to make a passable backpack. About a hundred other passengers boarded with me. Exactly at five o'clock, the boat pulled away from the dock and soon skated across the lake leaving a high plumb of water behind the hydro-jet ferry. Not too far away, the Mackinaw Bridge spanned the water between Lake Michigan and Lake Huron connecting the two parts of the state. The ferry trip to Mackinac Island took only a few minutes.

The resort town on Mackinac Island is small, with most of the town within a short walk of the ferry dock. No automobiles or motorcycles are allowed on the island. I got my bearings and walked along the narrow pedestrian street to the Mackinac Inn and Spa. This was the place my friend Pete Krakowski managed and partly owned with his family.

At the front desk, a pert and efficient young woman informed me that Peter had reserved a top-of-the-line room for me. She also handed me a note in an envelope; I opened it and read: "Welcome - Meet me in the bar at six. Dress code requires a jacket and tie - left them in your room. Ciao. Pete." I maneuvered up two floors and out to the end of one wing. The room was spectacular - a king-size bed, pleasant sitting area, and a view over the Main Street and harbor that seemed unparalleled. I felt well treated by my friend.

Pete had left a blue blazer and rep tie on the bed. I chuckled, because he assumed I had an adequate shirt. It was only because of Crystal and our entertaining that I did have a nice western-style shirt, although it had been well crushed in my backpack. A search of the room revealed an ironing board and iron; one problem solved. I had to assume blue jeans would be passable, along with my new western boots.

I shaved, showered, dressed, and decided I looked natty as I checked myself in a large mirror on my way out the door. I did notice I'd started to look more like a raccoon from wearing my sunglasses so much in the sun; plus I had a helmet line across my forehead. On the other hand, I had a deep tan and more of a ruddy complexion than I'd had with the pasty tones left by the previous winter in New England and my desk job.

I got noticed as I sauntered into the hotel bar. I'm not sure all the male heads turned in my direction, but I was certain that every female head did - teenager to a grand dame seated in the one chair in the room resembling a throne, her doting family around her. Several women smiled and nodded in my direction; I nodded back with a smile. I made a mental note to myself to dress this way more often.

I heard a shout from behind the bar, "Jim. Jim, down here. I saved a seat for you."

Pete came out from behind the bar, and we did the mandatory backslapping and shoulder buffs that old male friends do when they haven't seen each other for several years. Pete and I had been fraternity brothers together in Delta Tau Delta on the University of Delaware campus. 

Pete explained he was tending the bar to make up for an unexpected absence of an employee. He ran down some of the stats about the Inn: ninety-six suites or rooms, full dining room doing three meals a day for near eight hundred meals a day, full service bar, pool, full spa, and about one hundred fifty employees - a mix of part-time and full-time. He explained about the short season from Memorial Day to the middle of October, just after the colorful foliage had fled the trees - it was then the whole island closed down. In the winter, a caretaker or two ensured security of the buildings; however, the only visitors were the intrepid snowmobilers that visited the island by coming across the frozen water.

Pete expressed his condolences again over Karen's death, and then we moved on to more pleasant topics. He had seen the issue of People magazine with Crystal and my picture on the cover, so that became a major topic of conversation. He saw several people in the large lounge keep looking in my direction; and thought that I'd been recognized as a celebrity. Personally, I didn't think people recognized me as a celebrity. I thought it was more that I stood out from the others with my deep tan and rugged appearance, and the mix of the jacket and tie with the boots and jeans.

As we talked, Pete offered me dinner at the bar. He joined me in a small steak and Caesar salad. Along with the wine, this proved to be the perfect dinner. Pete kept working the bar, but as the dinner hour passed, things slowed down, and we could talk with fewer interruptions. Many of the staff would rush in, toss a question at him, get an answer, and fly away. He seemed to know everything going on in the inn.

During a lull in activity, I asked, "Are you having fun?"

He laughed and said, "Hell, yes. I wouldn't trade what I'm doing for anything. This hits me right where I live - constant change, challenge every minute, problems calling for fast creative solutions, beautiful people from all walks of life - working here or as guests, an opportunity to improve my leadership skills, and good money. Now and then I even get to apply my skills as the resident psychologist when some interpersonal problem arises. The rest of the year, I teach at a small college down the peninsula, and do the planning and logistics to keep this place running."

Pete got me talking about my cross-country trip, where I'd been and where I might go in the remaining states. Eventually, we got around to women, and I allowed him to slowly pull from me some of the events and liaisons of the past couple of months. As a bachelor, Pete looked in amazement at me; "You're my new idol, not because you can sing, but because you've laid about every woman from Vermont to Florida, and back up here to Michigan." He paused, with a grin, and added, "Oh, wait! You haven't gotten laid in Michigan yet ... well, we'll have to see what we can do about that." We laughed and jested at each other for another hour or so.

I yawned a few times as the evening slid by; apparently my posture also started to sag. I'd been up a good part of the night two nights ago making love with Summer and had risen early for my ride to the Island. Pete finally observed, "Jim, you are falling asleep in your cups. Why don't you turn in? I'll be working the front desk tomorrow morning, so find me there. I'm about ready to close up here; if you haven't noticed, business falls off rapidly after nine o'clock."

I nodded at his wisdom, and slid out of the bar, up to my room, and found the bed all too comfortable. I slept like a baby.

* * * * *

In the morning, I woke up before most of the small town. I took a brisk walk, stopping by the pretty harbor and letting a small envelope of Karen's ashes empty into the waters of the lake. I meditated along the shore as the sun started to break above some of the trees in the distance. Sometimes, during or immediately after a meditation, I sensed messages left for me by the Universe ... or maybe Karen. Today, I got a couple of messages: exercise, be more open, offer help and friendship, and don't forget past friends. As I walked back to the hotel, I analyzed each 'message,' and thought about what it meant. I developed a 'to do' list based on my thoughts.

At the hotel, I found the exercise room. I did a workout, but again carefully stretched or compressed my left side where the bullet wound still healed. I did weights and Nautilus, a chance to really workout some of the specific muscles that had been dormant for a few weeks.

I went back to the room, showered and dressed in casual clothes, and then set off to eat and find Pete. A pretty young waitress served me in the dining room. I could tell she recognized me, and finally she asked, "Are you Jim Mellon ... the country singer?"

I shook my head, laughed, and said, "People tell me I look like him all the time, especially since he appeared on the cover of People magazine."

"Oh!" she exclaimed with a smile but a hint of disappointment in her voice. Her name tag said, 'Julia.' 

I said, "Julia, let's have some fun. Don't tell anyone you think I'm that Jim guy, but you can call me by that name when no one else is around. OK? I think I might enjoy it too." I gave her a conspiratorial grin.

She managed a big smile: "That'd be fun. I can pretend I'm waiting on the famous singer, and you really do look like him. I like to play games anyway so this'll be fun."

I thought this could get interesting. She never asked for my real name, and I didn't volunteer.

Julia went back to waitressing, but with a new friend - 'Jim.' After I'd eaten, I scribbled my name and room number on the chit along with a big tip. The message I'd received during my meditation that morning said to be 'open' so by giving Julia my room number I was be open and hopeful. I smiled to myself.

Pete was in the final stages of checking out a young couple with a four-year old. All seemed to go well, and I could hear the adults promising to come back next year about this time. In Pete's business, I knew repeat customers were important.

Pete saw me approaching the desk as the family left. "Oh, man, am I glad to see you."

I said hello, and raised a brow to respond to his statement.

Pete said, "I've had a couple of no-shows by staff today, including my trainer. Do you think you could bluff your way through a day as a trainer and masseur? I'll pay you!"

I suggested he tell me a little more, and Pete launched into a crisp description of the duties. The trainer would coach an individual customer or family through some exercises and make suggestions for what they might continue later. The masseur gave massages that were booked by the front desk. There was a special massage room near the pool and spa, and some of the massages were given in a guest's room on a portable table that I'd have to lug up there and use, then fold up and return to the spa. 

I recalled in happy detail the massage I'd gotten at the spa near Kim's home in Florida. If I could replicate that for someone, I knew they would leave a happy customer. As for being a trainer, I still recalled the physical fitness regime I'd gone through as part of the Special Ops team for almost eight years. I warned Pete of my limitation beyond these experiences.

Pete said, "Just make it up as you go along, and if you act as though you know what you're doing, no one will know you aren't the real McCoy." He waved a key under my nose, "This is the key to the spa to use outside posted hours. You'll find the massage table down there, as well as some sport shorts and a collection of sneakers and shirts with the Inn's logo on them." He checked a separate ledger book, and came back to me, "Your first appointment is at eleven; a couple needs a trainer. You also have appointments for massages at one, three, four, and five o'clock. Sometimes I get a request for an after-dinner session too. Check back with me later this afternoon about that time slot. You're a life saver."

I found the spa, suited up in the official Inn training outfit, found the massage table, and some oils, and had time to think about what a trainer might do with a couple wanting to get in shape on a short vacation.

Norm and Vilma Ketso came into the spa a few minutes before eleven. I rose and greeted them. We talked for a few minutes about their training goals and what they hoped might come out of my session with them. I had each of them do some squats, lunges, push-ups, tilts, and turns, to sense their agility and current state. Both were seriously overweight and out of shape.

An hour later, the Ketsos left the spa exercise room sweating profusely, and probably sore. Both commended my 'toughen up' attitude with each of them, and they promised they'd stick with the program I suggested for them after they left the island. The program followed some of the Army's basic training.

Pete and I had lunch together. Julia waited on us, and we gave each other knowing glances. Pete saw the subtle interaction and said, "You've already had a piece of that haven't you?" He sat back, as though in utter disgust. However, he was laughing at the possibility.

I politely said, "A gentlemen never tells, but in this case I assure you that your staff's virginity remains in tact - barely. I almost took her on the breakfast table this morning, but she worried what the other guests in the dining room might think of her." Pete smiled. I followed Julia's trim body towards the kitchen; she deserved special attention.

We went over my afternoon schedule. The four o'clock had cancelled while I'd been with the Ketsos. During our discussion, I learned that all my afternoon customers were women ... and, according to Pete, damn fine looking ones too. He'd also booked me for one evening massage in a guest's room. His final words to me were, "Well, since you don't work here I can't fire you, but try to leave the reputation of the Inn unsullied as you slave away on those luscious female bodies all afternoon."

* * * * *

Pam Saunders from Chicago was my one o'clock. She arrived in the spa, and my jaw dropped open - she was drop-dead gorgeous; about my age, she wore a short tennis skirt that accentuated her long shapely legs, and a matching top that snugly revealed significant breasts. I suggested she make herself comfortable in whatever she would like to wear while I worked on her, and then lay on the table. I told her I'd excuse myself for a few minutes while she undressed; I gave her two towels to use as a cover ups. I felt a surge of lust and resolved to control my emotion during her massage.

I left the room to get the warm oils and lotion. When I came back Pam was lying on her stomach on the table with her head in a 'doughnut.' A small white towel had been delicately arranged over her butt, yet I could immediately tell that she was naked. Why had I ever gotten into computers when I could have been giving massages to women like this?




Road Trip Pt. 03



Two days had passed since Kelly's 'performance' at the garage and to be blunt it had been an uneventful time.

With our car now in working order, we had driven on stopping only for meals, a classic horror movie marathon at a quaint little theater we discovered and of course to sleep which we had done at two low budget highway motels.

Conversation was dominated by old memories and hopes for the future. In fact things had so much returned to normality that I was beginning to think Kelly's exertions at the garage had extinguished the spark of exhibitionism that was previously burning so brightly. However, as it turned out I could not have been more wrong.

"I'm bored Phil," Kelly announced with a sigh as we drove aimlessly on.

"Ok Kell what do you suggest?" I replied.

Spotting a sign advertising a mall in three miles, Kelly said, "Let's go there."

"Shopping! Great!" I responded sarcastically. "That'll be fun I don't think."

Kelly tutted, "No Phil. I said let's go there not let's go shopping."

Puzzled I replied, "That's what you do at a mall Kell, you shop."

Kelly laughed and as I took my eyes briefly off the road to glance at her I noticed a look on her face that I had also seen at the garage two days earlier.

"Just take us to that mall Phil and you'll see," she said.

Intrigued and more than a little excited, I put my foot down on the accelerator and in no time at all we were pulling into a parking space outside the mall.

"Well we're here so what's the plan?" I asked.

Without replying Kelly undid her seatbelt, lifted her hips and put her hands up under her dress. She wriggled a little and then removed her panties handing them to me.

"Take these for me Phil. I won't be needing them," she said before opening the door and getting out of the car.

Taken aback, I sat motionless holding Kelly's panties. She was standing next to the vehicle with the door still open and as I continued to watch in stunned silence, she did that thing girls do where they remove their bra from under their clothes.

Bending down into the car and looking at me with a smile she handed me the bra. "Take that too and let's go," she said.

Holding her undergarments I got out and rather naively queried, "Shall I bring these with me?"

Kelly rolled her eyes and laughed. "Err no Phil. Leave them in the car," she said in mock exasperation.

Dropping the bra and panties on my seat, I locked the Sedan and we headed into the mall.

Kelly looked amazing in her light blue summer dress that ended just above her knees. Released from the confines of a bra, her 34d boobs swayed gently under the material as she walked and the outline of her rapidly hardening nipples could clearly be seen.

Aside from the dress all Kelly was now wearing was a pair of three inch wedged heal shoes that accentuated her already well-toned legs and helped push her butt up making it even perkier.

The knowledge that this beautiful blonde I was accompanying was naked under her thin dress was making my heart beat increasingly fast and my dick was once more straining against my pants.

It was mid-afternoon but the mall was busy with shoppers. Kelly pointed to a staircase leading to the first floor.

"That looks like the place to start," she said.

Knowing what sort of view anyone at the bottom of the staircase would get I replied, "You go on up and I will follow. I need to redo my shoelaces."

This was probably the lamest lie I had over told and unsurprisingly it failed to fool Kelly.

"Yeah right Phil," she giggled, "You just want to see my ass and pussy as I go up the stairs."

Embarrassed and a tiny bit ashamed I was stammered, "No, no..."

Kelly cut me off mid-sentence and said, "It's ok Phil. I've already seen the bulge in your pants and it's not like you've not seen my bits before. Maybe we can have some fun with that bulge later?"

This last remark really made my mind spin. "Did I hear right?" I wondered. It seemed our 10 year platonic friendship could be about to head in a very different direction.

Without waiting for me to respond, Kelly strode off confidently towards the stairs. As she climbed the first step she looked over her shoulder at me and winked.

Having moved directly below the staircase, I looked on totally transfixed as she sauntered up each step.

As she reached halfway a group of three men in their early 20s joined me in my prime position while a middle-aged man a few feet away was doing his best to check her out without alerting his wife who was chatting on her cellphone.

Kelly looked back once more and seeing she was drawing a crowd she quickly lifted the hem of her dress exposing her entire butt.

"Fucking awesome," said one of the men to my side exchanging a high five with another of the group.

Kelly flattened her dress down and moved further up the staircase as young couple came over to see what was going on.

"She's got no underwear on," said the woman stating the obvious.

"Yep and what a butt!" replied her male companion who received a punch on the shoulder from the woman for this remark.

Kelly was at the top of the staircase by this point and spun round to face her new fans. Smiling broadly she lifted the front of her dress exposing her clean-shaven pussy. She held the pose for about 10 seconds before dropping the hem down again and walking off.

Leaving the rest of the onlookers to digest what had gone on; I hurried up the stairs and caught up with Kelly who was in fits of giggles.

"Phew that was fun," she said.

"Are you crazy?" I blurted out, "What if someone reports you or they saw you on CCTV?"

"Don't be such a worrier Phil. Did you enjoy the show? Yeah you did I can see," Kelly said nodding towards the raging boner in my pants.

Feeling a wave of embarrassment coursing over my face, I adjusted my pants in a futile attempt to mask my excited dick.

Kelly laughed and said, "Don't worry Phil. Like I said we might have some fun with that later. But not yet. Come on. I want to show off some more."

Without waiting for a response, she grabbed my hand and skipped on in excited fashion. As we strolled through the mall Kelly and her swaying boobs drew plenty of admiring looks which she acknowledged with smiles and the odd wink.

Spying a sign saying 'pool hall - top floor' she said, "That could be interesting."

I nodded my agreement and we headed for a nearby elevator. As we entered we discovered it had a glass back giving anyone inside a view of the mall car park. Kelly's eyes lit up with a mischievous twinkle.

As the doors closed behind us and the elevator started to move, she turned to face the large glass panel and without speaking popped her boobs out of the top of her dress.

"Press the stop button Phil," she said as the elevator passed the third floor.

I did as requested and the elevator came to a standstill. With that Kelly shuffled over to the glass panel and pressed her liberated boobs tightly up against it. I peered over her shoulder to see a small crowd gathered in the car park below looking up at us.

"Shit Kell you're going to get us in trouble," I said urgently.

"It'll be ok Phil," came the calm response. "Watch this."

Kelly stepped back a pace releasing her boobs from the glass. Grasping her right boob in her hand she brought it up and licked her erect nipple. The crowd below had swelled to about 20 by this stage and some produced cellphones to take pictures of this sexy young girl who was putting on a show for them.

Having repeated the same trick with her left boob, Kelly then reached down to the hem of her dress and quickly pulled it up and off over her head. She was now standing there totally naked except for her shoes.

Dropping her dress on the floor, she rubbed her hands over her body paying particular regard to her smooth pussy. She then did a slow pirouette allowing her audience to get a view of her naked butt which she playfully slapped.

Then, as suddenly as he had taken it off, she picked up her dress and put it back on. Turning one last time to face the glass panel she waved to her latest fan club below and said, "Start the elevator Phil."

Again complying with her orders, I pushed the button and we headed on up as I once again battled to readjust my pants as my dick strained and twitched inside them.

"I am so turned on!" said Kelly breathing heavily.

"Me and a few others too I'd imagine," I replied bringing another grin to my friend's face.

The elevator reached the top floor and we got out. The pool hall was dimly lit and there were a dozen or so tables around half of which were in use. We paid at the bar for a table and two pool sticks.

As we made our way to table number seven, Kelly drew the customary stares from the patrons and staff. I racked the balls and broke off.

Now it was Kelly's turn. Ignoring an easy shot, she sauntered around the table and stretched across it with one leg in the air. Of course this brought the hem of her dress up and immediately attracted the attention of the two middle-aged men playing on the adjacent table.

Despite having to reach, Kelly made her shot and moved round for another. I looked across the hall and noticed all games had now come to a halt and there were 15 to 20 men watching her every move intently.

Kelly too had spotted this and was loving it. She bent over to take her next shot and this time, instead of lifting a leg, she pulled up her dress barring her entire butt. She missed the shot and stood up. "Darn it now for my forfeit," she said.

"What forfeit," I replied. "We didn't say anything about forfeits."

"Ssh Phil," replied Kelly with a chuckle.

Placing her pool stick on the table she reached down to the bottom of her dress and, just as she had minute's ago in the elevator, pulled it up over her head and off before tossing it on a nearby chair.

"Your turn," she said matter-of-factly picking up her stick.

Not wanting to take my eyes off her stunning body for any longer than necessary, I quickly took my shot and missed. Not that I cared.

Kelly laughed, "Something distracting you Phil?"

I did not answer and instead just stood and watched as she circled the table picking out her next shot. The players from the other tables had gathered closely around us by now and every eye was on Kelly and she knew it.

Bending down to take her next shot she parted her legs more than was probably required giving the lucky men behind her a perfect view of her butt hole and pussy. Inaudible remarks could be heard as the men took in the sight.

Kelly missed her shot and stood up turning to face the majority of the audience. "Forfeit time," she said with glee.

I had no idea what to expect by this stage but I knew it would be good. Kelly put her stick down and then lifted herself up onto the edge of the table. She scooted back further onto the baize and spread her legs wide drawing more inaudible remarks from the attentive crowd.

"Pass me my stick please Phil?" said Kelly.

I handed it to her and stood back as she turned it so the larger butt-end was towards her. Then she began sucking on the stick as if giving it a blow job.

"Crap babe I can give you some wood if you want," came a comment from one of the pool players causing laughter and a smattering of applause.

Kelly winked and, taking the stick out of her mouth, said, "Not right now thanks."

With that she resumed sucking on the stick, her legs still splayed wide giving all who wanted a look at her visibly mostioning pussy.

Removing the stick once more she shuffled on the table and placed the butt-end at the entrance to her pussy. We all guessed what was going to happen next but when she did it there were still a few gasps.

Kelly pushed the stick passed her pussy lips and into her hole. It slipped in easily and she continued to push until several inches had disappeared up inside her.

Letting out a moan she then proceeded to use the stick like an extra-long dildo pushing it in and pulling it back out of her pussy with increasing pace.

A few minutes passed and Kelly had her eyes closed and was totally immersed in her actions panting heavier and heavier as the stick thrust in and out.

Suddenly she opened her eyes and looked at me. "Rub my clit Phil!" she yelled.

Stunned I said, "What?"

"Get over here and rub my fucking clit!" Kelly screamed.

Gleefully following instructions I hurried to the table and began rubbing her engorged clitoris. I was giddy with excitement and rubbed faster as Kelly's quickened the pace with her pool stick.

Suddenly her body convulsed and it was happening. She plunged the stick deep into her hole and screamed as she came all over it and my hand.

The pool players cheered and whooped their appreciation as Kelly slumped back coming down from her orgasm with the stick still up inside her.

"You ok Kell?" I asked.

"Couldn't be better," she replied finally sliding the stick out of her pussy and dropping it on the ground.

I helped her to her feet and she put her dress back on. The crowd had dispersed and returned to their games although most kept an eye on us just in case Kelly was up for an encore.

"That's enough pool I think," said Kelly with a chuckle.

Not bothering to return the sticks we headed out of the pool hall and back into the elevator. Kelly looked a bit dishevelled due to her exertions but still beautiful.

"You're amazing Kell. I never knew you had this side," I said.

"Me neither until we started this road trip," she responded. "But I love it. All those people watching me get off and wanting me is like a drug I can't get enough of."

The elevator reached the ground floor and we stepped out making our way back through the mall to the car park. As we reached our car Kelly grabbed my arm.

"Oh yes I just remembered how's that big bulge of yours Phil?" she said with a smirk.

"Still there," I replied without thinking.

"Well we can't have that can we?" she said. "Get in the back seat and lay down."

Growing accustomed to doing as she asked I complied and got in the back of the car. Kelly reached in and unzipped my pants before pulling my rock hard dick free from my underwear.

Her hands felt soft and warm around my shaft and as she started to stroke I knew it would not be long before I came. Cupping my balls with one hand, she gripped my thick trunk tighter and pumped her fist up and down rhythmically growing in pace.

I was so close now and my body was swimming with pleasure as Kelly brought me nearer and nearer to the brink. I could feel the cum making its way to the tip of my dick and put my head back on the seat to enjoy the forthcoming explosion.

Suddenly Kelly's motion stopped and I looked up. "Don't worry Phil I'm not going to leave you hanging. I just don't want to make a mess," she said slyly.

With that she brought her head down and took my dick in her mouth. That was enough for me and I thrust forward as several waves of cum spurted out and into her mouth. When I was done I looked up again just in time to see Kelly swallowing the last of my load and wiping her lips with the back of her hand.

"Nice stuff Phil," she said as I pulled up my underwear and pants. "Shall we get going and look for somewhere to eat? I'm starved," she added.

Still not fully registering what had occurred but knowing it was amazing; I nodded and made my way to the driver's seat and we set off.

"Kelly," I said, "Where are we heading with all this? I mean..."

"Ssh Phil," scorned Kelly, "Spontaneity remember? It's all about spontaneity."



Road Trip Pt. 03



I dimmed the lights, put on some soothing music, and said a few professional words about how I would proceed for the next fifty minutes. I started on Pam's feet, working scented oils carefully into each foot and toe, around her ankle, and lower leg, and further up her calves - confining my rubbing and kneading to below mid-thigh. Next, I changed ends, working on her shoulders, and then her back and lower back, spending significant time kneading each muscle group and the surrounding ligaments.

Pam squirmed occasionally on the massage table, her hips grinding into the sheet covering the table. I tried to ignore the potentially sexual nature of her writhing. I shifted to her spinal column and the back of her arms.

As I got near her hips, Pam reached back and pulled the towel away from her buttocks. God blessed a few women in the universe with fine asses; Pam's was one of them with a shapely and tight curvy set of cheeks. She said in a husky voice, "Don't forget my ass and thighs. I'd like you to do me ... all over."

I think I muttered some acknowledgement. I took more oil and used both hands to knead the slippery liquid into her cheeks, pulling each way, and pushing deep into her gluteus maximus. Pam moaned some more to express her pleasure. I extended to her upper thighs as well, feeling the tight muscles relax as I kneaded them.

I suggested that she roll over so I could reach other muscles and parts of her body. I offered her the towel, but she rejected the tender. I kept silently repeating to myself, "I am a professional. I will not step out of bounds." Pam rolled over, her bare pussy fully exposed to my feasting eyes. She watched me take in her nakedness and smiled up at me. We maintained eye contact for several extra seconds, and in that time I knew we'd have a fun fuck in the very near future.

I did Pam's scalp, face, and neck, carefully massaging various muscles as I worked my way over her upper body. I did both arms, focusing on each hand right down to her fingertips. Next, I worked on the front of her legs from high-thigh to each foot. 

Pam said softly, "You've forgotten the middle - don't miss anywhere."

I repeated my silent mantra about being a professional as I got more oil. I dribbled some oil from my hands onto Pam's flat stomach. I got a smile, although her eyes remained shut. I worked from just below her breasts to just above her pubes, doing the sides and hips as I moved around her body.

Pam said, "You've forgotten my breasts and ... my pussy. Please." Her voice had a pleading tone to it. 

I dribbled warm oil over her two luscious breasts. As I started to rub the oil into her skin, I noted the large areolas and the rising nipples on each mound. I wondered if Pam had an augmentation, and decided she hadn't because I couldn't detect any scars or marks of surgery. The more I massaged, the more Pam writhed and hummed in happiness.

After a few minutes, I felt her hand reach out and grab my inflated cock through the thin athletic slacks the inn had provided. I nearly exploded, but resisted that urge. Pam said, "Now, you've saved the best for last ... my hot pussy."

I asked, "Are you sure?"

Pam's eyes opened and engaged mine, "Oh, most definitely yes. I want the full treatment." She started to masturbate me through my nylon pants. I hardened in response to her touch, and that only seemed to encourage her.

With a copious supply of oil, I rubbed her pubes. Pam spread her legs far apart, giving me complete access to her nether region. I rubbed oil into all the places I'd missed. I didn't want to move; lest I change the way she could reach my cock. With one hand I massaged the oil into her labial lips, often running my finger through the entire slit in a way I knew would touch her clitoris. When I did that, Pam would jerk and moan. I thought she might have had a small orgasm at one point, but couldn't be sure.

Pam made eye contact with me in the dim light and said in a happy but slurred voice, "I want you to ... to massage my G-spot. I assume you know how to do that."

I thrust two fingers into her cunt, getting an immediate moan for my efforts. Pam's midsection rose to meet my fingers as I started to massage her inner body. I rapidly oscillated them in and out of her pussy before I focused on finding the place inside her where she practically floated off the table. Again, I thought Pam had a small spasm.

Pam muttered, "Eat me. I want a cunny attack by your tongue." After a pause, she added, "Your hands and fingers are wonderful too."

I used a damp washcloth to warm the area and wipe some of the oil away before I ran my tongue into her again; I knew the lotions would have ruined her natural taste. I stroked down her body with both hands, and moved so I knelt between her legs. I put one leg over each shoulder, lapped at her cunt, and tasted her for the first time. My fingers kept working on the subtle spot inside her that she reacted most too. A few minutes later, I could feel her vaginal muscles spasm around my entrenched fingers; she came again. 

She spoke again in a sexy voice, "Why don't you get undressed. I want an internal massage with this." By 'this' she meant my erection that she'd managed to work up to full strength.

I said something dumb like, "That's sort of outside the policy of the establishment."

Pam chuckled and said, "Well, fuck the policy, fuck the establishment, and fuck me - now get busy up here with that beautiful shaft. I want to see it and suck on you."

Seconds later, I had complied with her wish. She had a marvelously adept mouth and throat, taking me completely inside. I almost came, but resisted. After a few seconds, Pam asked for me to put what I had inside her cunt; I did.

We had a long lovely fuck: soft music playing, the aromas of the various oils filling the air - now mixed with the sexual odors of our juices and bodies. I maneuvered around, pretending to myself that I was merely continuing the massage with another part of my body in another part of hers. Pam moaned a lot. I kept massaging her, only now emphasizing her breasts and other erogenous zones.

After a while, I lifted Pam. She held onto my neck, her legs around me, and her large breasts pushed into my chest. I bounced her on my cock, as we stood in the massage room. Next, I had her stand and lean against the table as I pounded into her from the rear. After that, I lay on the table, and Pam mounted me, taking pleasure from delivering to my mouth each of her breasts. I ignored the taste of the flavored oils and sucked hard on her nipples. 

We changed positions a few more times; I was glad I didn't have an immediate appointment after Pam's time slot as we were running over her allotted time. 

"How should I end?" I asked. I stood holding Pam's hips, pulling her onto my cock, as she reclined on the massage table.

"Deep inside. I'm on the pill ... and I want something to remember you by for the rest of the day." I could tell by the tone of her gasped words she was near.

From deep within me, I could feel the telltale microscopic spasms starting to signal my own release if I allowed. I warned Pam, "Well, here it comes, you beautiful woman." I leaned in, and we kissed again; her erect nipples raked across my chest again. In the next few seconds, I swear I could have plotted the journey through my body the semen took - the spasms inside my testes, the explosion through my vas deferens as my juices flowed through my body collecting the heavier seminal fluid, and then the race through my prostate and my penis into Pam's gorgeous cunt.

I jetted shot after shot of my fluid deep into Pam. She lay back on the table as her own climax arrived - a long loud wail of pleasure escaping from her throat. We were joined in the paroxysm of bliss for those few seconds. Nothing else in the universe existed; there were only the two of us - joined in this act of union and communion.

As both our spasms ceased; we kissed again. Pam said, "Oh, wow! THAT was the best massage I've ever had." She paused and added, "And, THAT was the best fuck I've ever had too. You are fabulous!" She pulled me to her, and we kissed some more.

I delicately disengaged, and kissed her. I said with a touch of humor, "Well, Ms. Saunders, you're a good lay yourself." I kissed her again. We laughed in humorous relief at our own intense feelings. 

I said, "I suggest you shower. There's a private shower through that door ... and I'll join you, if you don't mind." She sat up fully, we kissed some more, and then the two of us walked across the room to the shower. She looked so great without any clothes on.

Pam disappeared after our shower. She slipped on a robe and walked through the inn carrying the rest of her clothes. I thought she had that 'just fucked' looked, but then so did I.

* * * * *

My three o'clock appointment was with Tina Devoe, a studious looking but shapely dirty blonde about fifty years old. She wore those dark frame rectangular eyeglasses, carefully styled to give a sexy appearance to her eyes. Tina spoke with an English accent, and as I did my introductory spiel, I learned she was from a small town outside Manchester and that she'd recently moved to the United States, although she was a little vague as to why. This weekend trip with a friend was her first 'time off' since she'd started working in the U.S. a year earlier.

I left the room, ostensibly to get the oils and lotions I'd need for the massage, but actually to give a few minutes of 'private time' while the man or woman prepared themselves for the massage. When I returned to the room, Tina was naked, sitting on the table waiting for me. The modesty towel I'd left for her sat unused at the end of the bed. 

I got aroused instantly although I struggled to forget her nakedness - and how sexy and fuckable she looked. I reminded myself that I'd just had an unforgettable fuck with Pam, but that didn't seem to help.

I got into the massage of Tina, repeating the steps and actions that I'd found pleasure from in massages I'd had and what I'd just done with Pam. I worked carefully and professionally over Tina's lily-white skin. Soon, she too started to moan and writhe around on the table although I'd done nothing sexually overt to her.

When Tina rolled over for me to do her front side, there was no pretext by her about the massage. She wanted me. Before I even reached for the oils, she directed me to eat her pussy. "I want a tongue massage ... down there;" she pointed at her widespread pussy, the pink lips of her labia and the dark hole of her vagina inviting my attention. "... and up here on my breasts."

I did what I'd been directed to do, and Tina writhed into my every move with some moves of her own. Soon, I was naked - again. And, soon too, my cock was embedded deep into Tina's tight pussy. 

I applied all the Tantric techniques Kim had taught me weeks earlier, plus generated a few of my own that seemed to bring pleasure to the two of us. I thought of the quote from Anais Nin's diary, "What everyone forgets is that passion is not merely a heightened sensual fusion, but a way of life that produces, as in the mystics, an ecstatic awareness of the whole of life." Our senses raised, our whispered words inspiring the erotic nature of the other, and our organs grinding together in joy and happiness.

Several orgasms later, I ejaculated the conclusion to our time together deep into Tina's cunt. She in turn flooded the two of us with her girl juice. 

We showered together, and Tina left as Pam had: nary a care in the world, naked beneath her short hotel robe, and carrying the few other clothes she'd arrived with. She allowed as how she wished she could sign up the following day but that she had to leave and travel back to her job in California. I would miss a repeat performance with her.

* * * * *

Daisy Wheaton came into the spa at five o'clock. She'd already been in the sauna for a stint, so had a rosy appearance to her skin. When I touched her, I could feel the heat radiating from her skin. Daisy had never had a massage before though she looked older than I was. She said a friend she'd met at the Inn had insisted and paid for her experience. Because she was new to all this, I took extra time to explain the protocols and steps I'd go through. She listened with rapt attention, and when I was done she appeared eager to proceed. 

I left to 'get the oils and lotions' while Daisy prepared herself as I'd suggested. When I came back she was face down on the table, still clad in her thong with the towel over her derriere. I initially sensed some relief that I wouldn't have to 'perform' sexually as I had with Pam and Tina. I'd treat the thong like a chastity belt.

Instead, however, my magic touch again produced a horny woman who wouldn't take no for an answer. We started fucking only about ten minutes into the massage session. Daisy explained that I had touched her in all the 'right' places, and that was all it took. We went another hour before I enjoyed my own climax. Daisy had about a dozen orgasms in that time, and I set a record for the longest time I'd eaten pussy.

After our showers, Daisy dressed and left. I went to find Pete where he was tending the bar. I wanted some soothing wine to come to grips with what had happened that afternoon. As I entered the lounge area, I saw Pete light up with a smile when he saw me. He gestured me over, and by the time I got to the bar he tended he had a Chardonnay on ice waiting for me.

Before I could say anything, Pete spoke, "I don't know what you did to our massage clients this afternoon, but they were all raving about you. The two that will still be here signed up again - but only if you are the masseur. I assume from their requests that things went well with each of them."

I just sort of nodded. Pete suddenly got that look of sudden realization - the eyes widen, the head moves back slightly, and the mouth opens into more of a gape. He stared at me, and then spoke again, "Oh, shit. Jim, you had sex with one of them." He watched my reaction before he added, "Two of them ... oh, fuck; you had sex with ALL of them?" His words were as much a statement as a question.

I just nodded with a slight smile of contentment as I sipped my wine and looked out across the bar to the dining room. I didn't regret anything either; I wondered if I should have some reservations about fucking three women I didn't know. Well, I knew them pretty well now. The experience with each of them had been pleasant, just not rewarding on any level other than the satisfaction of mutual lust. If I'd started the afternoon horny, I surely wasn't now.

I recalled my visit to Pennsylvania. Hadn't I had sexual relations with June, Jan, and Trish, although I hadn't known two of them before my visit? Trish I barely knew from her marriage to my friend Bob. Was this afternoon with Pam, Tina, and Daisy so different? This would be something to think about later.

Pete stammered and stuttered, trying to get a few words out. I guess he was amazed as much as horrified in some way that I'd screwed some of his inn's guests.

Finally, Pete got his wits about him. "Do you know who those women are?" The question had a certain punch to it, so I knew they weren't just casual guests.

"No, please tell me."

Pete said, "Tina Devoe is some big wheel in Sony Music from the west coast - LA. Daisy Wheaton is a socialite from Gross Point; she has more money than God, supports aspiring artists including many names you'd know, and is a big wheel in a couple of national charities. Your first appointment was Pam Saunders - she's the CEO of an outfit that now goes by CCC - it used to be the Chicago Consulting Company, but as they grew they changed to just the initials; they're big in media and marketing - billion dollar big. She and Tina probably know each other." He thought for a minute and added, "In fact, all three of them probably travel in the same circle - important women having a high impact on the world."

After another pause, Pete said, "I sure hope you're going to be around tomorrow. We do like to please our customers. I'm jealous as all hell, but you apparently made three women very happy - and I don't know how you did it. Mr. Stamina, that's what I'll call you from now on."

Just then, I saw Tina coming towards me in the mirror behind the bar. She could have won the Best Dressed In The Country award at that moment; she was beautiful. She'd intentionally come out of her way from the dining room to talk to me. When she arrived she ran one finger across my back and neck in a sexy way. I saw Pete gape. I turned and got a thousand watt smile and a brief kiss. She said, "I just wanted to thank you for the beautiful ... massage ... this afternoon. I hate to leave, so I'll miss another session tomorrow - a great deal; maybe we could book a special session when you're in my neighborhood." She looked hopeful.

The next words from her shocked me; "Meanwhile, here's my business card. Call me," she smiled and added, "Or have your agent call me - Terry Ross, isn't it? We'd like to do a record deal with you ... and Crystal too. I got good reports about what the two of you did in concert in Louisville and Indianapolis. Nashville Records is good, but we can do better up at the corporate level with you two. We can build on what you've done in ways you wouldn't believe." As an afterthought she added, "And, we can be very generous."

I nodded numbly and smiled back. She'd never given any indication that she'd recognized me - or knew of my new celebrity identity. 

I said a few words acknowledging her request, we kissed again - this time with a little tongue, and she sashayed away with an extra wiggle in her walk. Pete just stared between the departing high-class ass in tight designer jeans and high heels, and me. Tina knew how to flaunt it.

I looked at Pete with an obvious question on my face. He said, "I didn't tell her." He held up a hand as though taking an oath, "I swear." I knew he was telling the truth. Tina knew her celebrities.

Pete and I settled down to drink a little, and have dinner served at the bar while he worked. About eight-thirty he leapt up and said, "Oh, shit. We almost forgot your evening massage appointment. It's complementary, 'on the house' so to speak. You've already met her, so it won't be that much of a surprise. I owe her, and this is what she asked for this evening."

I looked at Pete waiting for him to reveal the name. He grinned back, and clearly would not tell me a thing more, except it was at nine o'clock in Room 443. I wondered a little, since this was on the top floor, and I'd learned some of the staff had rooms up there.

A half hour later, I knocked on the door of room 443, my trusty massage table beside me. To my surprise, Julia, my cute waitress from the past couple of days, opened the door. She wore cutoffs that showed off her long sexy legs, and a white shirt tied off in a revealing manner beneath her bare breasts. I got a smile. She said in a sexy voice, "Oh, Jim Mellon, the answer to my dreams. Please come in."

I wasn't quite sure how to proceed, but I brought the table into her room and leaned it against the wall. "Julia, this is a surprise. Pete said you had complementary massage coming." I started by playing it straight.

Julia came up close, inside my personal space. She put both arms around my neck, and leaned up and kissed me on the lips. I automatically held her hips and kissed back. She said, "I've always wanted a massage from a celebrity; so this was a rare opportunity. I mortgaged my soul to Peter for this hour, and he's a good guy so I might even let him collect." She gave me a sly look.

I could tell she had no doubt about my real identity. We weren't game playing about my celebrity status any further. I wondered whether everyone on this small island knew I was hanging out up here - out of the limelight. I asked how she knew.




Road Trip Pt. 03



Julia smiled and said, "I'm a big fan of country music and People magazine." She kissed me again and then backed away. "I studied the photos in the magazine after I met you at breakfast, and I did some homework about what the entertainment websites said might be your next destination. Northern Michigan seemed an obvious conclusion, although nothing I read said that."

I set up the table in the room's open space as I gave Julia the same spiel about how to prepare for the massage. She just stood there barefoot and slowly started to untie her shirt with very deliberate moves, each move revealing more and more of her buxom body. I turned on the bedside radio to some dreamy music, and dimmed the room's lights. When I turned back to focus on Julia, she was nude. She came up to me and kissed me again; I kissed back. I had an idea where this evening would end up.

I did give a credible massage before we made love, but then Julia was massaging parts of my body too. Julia had the enthusiasm of youth on her side. I was driven by curiosity about what she'd be like.

After we had sex, we lay on Julia's bed panting after our sexual exertions. She said, "Thank you, Jim Mellon. I can go to my grave knowing that the best fuck in my life also came from someone famous. I don't know how you know what you know about women, but ... well, you should patent that stuff - all those techniques. Every single move you make turned me on, lifted me higher, and sent me to some other universe where the only important thing seemed to be how long I could make my orgasm last, and boy did you know how to make them last. Every woman in the country will want to get fucked by you."

I must have looked pained from her remarks, because she continued, "Oh, Jim. Don't worry, I won't blow your cover or talk to the tabloids. I did tell Pete I knew about you being a celeb. I have my own aspirations to get into the movie industry, so maybe I'll join you someday. If you can ever point me in that direction I'd appreciate it, but no obligation." She squirmed a little beneath me to heighten the effect of our still joined genitals. She rolled her eyes in physical happiness.

As our breath came back, our hands started to fondle and pet our exposed erogenous zones. Julia said, "I asked Pete why you'd ended up here - at the Inn - being a substitute trainer and masseur. He said you'd tell me more than the People magazine article did."

And so I did. We lay there, and I gave Julia the fifteen-minute version of my life story and the road trip. An hour later, we had sex again. I surprised myself being able to respond a fifth time in the same day; however, Julia was young, vibrant, and luscious, and she knew which of my buttons to push to get me going again. Some of the buttons involved the talented use of her mouth. After we finished round two, we went to sleep with Julia happily cradled in my arms. She purred.

* * * * *

Sunday was similar to the day before. Somehow, I'd restored my sexual prowess and gotten horny again overnight. Pam and Daisy showed up for their extended afternoon appointments with large smiles and high expectations for an erotic two hours. In their comments, I learned they knew each other and Tina as well; the day before, Pam had told the other two about her fabulous fuck, and then I was really in demand. One other woman came in for a 'straight' massage.

Julia had made a date with me for the evening, knowing as she did that I'd have had at least two fucks earlier in the day. I did not disappoint any of them. That day, I took time to learn a little more from each woman about how they liked to be treated in their love making: rough, loud, tender, oral, kinky, sex stories, dirty talk, fantasies, and more. I drew out of each woman her preferences. We had fun - and I learned a few things to try in the future on other women: places to touch, the right pressure to use, whether to hold or rub, and whether to use fingers, hand, or tongue.

Pam and Daisy left Monday morning, but not before finding me to say goodbye in some intimate way. Each gave me their business card, asked that I look them up in their hometown, and gave me a conspiratorial wink. Clearly, they both knew my celebrity status, and that being a masseur was not my real profession. Now, I really worried about the tabloids. I had to stop screwing every woman I met ... didn't I?

Julia brought me to a complete stop that evening with a simple question: "Did you like fucking my mother as much as me?"

"Huh?" My jaw must have been hanging down to the floor.

Julia looked surprised. "Oh, I thought she told you. Daisy Wheaton is my mother. We're pretty open with each other, so I knew you'd given her the best fuck of her life before we got together that first night. You came with high recommendations, including rave reviews from her friends Tina and Pam."

Before I could stop myself, I blurted out, "Pete said your mother was loaded. What are you doing working here?"

Julia snorted, "My Mom and Dad are teaching me the value of work and money, or so they think. I have to make it on my own before they'll help." She paused and added, "I've been a bit of a leech up until this summer. I don't think they liked the direction I'd been headed."

I just nodded.

Julia continued, "I moved out after last summer - well, my parents sort of forced me out on my own. I had a girlfriend in Montana, so went to live with her. I worked over the winter at a ski slope near Helena and did a little waitressing nearby, and then landed this job for the summer. I'd been here as a guest years ago. I guess I'm shaping up in Mom's eyes; this trip we felt closer to each other than since I turned fourteen, and even started sharing some of our intimate encounters with each other."

Oh, my God, I'd found another mother-daughter pairing who I'd made love to. Did I have some kind of a sign painted on my forehead that drew these people to me? True, they were both outstanding women and a pleasure to make love with, but I didn't expect any behind the scenes relationships.

My fourth day on the island, I played the tourist, prowling through each shop, taking a hundred photos, and mailing a few postcards to friends and loved ones including some of the women I'd met along my road trip. As I sat at the bar Monday night having a drink with Pete, Julia came by after the dining room closed. She gave me a little smile to indicate she wanted my amorous attention yet again. I nodded, and we set a time for her to come to my room in an hour.

* * * * *

Tuesday morning, Julia had me autograph each of her breasts with a Sharpie before she dressed in the morning - Jim on her right breast, just below the nipple, and Mellon on the left. "I want it to last more than a few hours," she explained regarding the indelible Sharpie. She also had me take a picture of my handiwork with her cell phone. I wondered whom she'd share it with. She again promised not to talk to the tabloids. Just to be sure, I had scribbled my signature.

Julia also kissed me goodbye in a passionate way, but with tears in her eyes. She told me, "Jim Mellon, I hope our paths cross again. You are easy to fall for, and I'd hate to think I wasted all the psychic energy I've spent on you the past few days. I want you as a long-time friend ... and fuck-buddy." She tucked her regular, off-island address and cell phone number in my pocket. After a kiss, she left for her waitress job in the Inn's dining room. I put her data on my phone before I lost the piece of paper.

Pete and I lingered over a cup of coffee out on the veranda of the Inn. The horse drawn carriages were already out on the streets carting the tourists around the small island. I thought the place was picturesque enough to come back to someday, maybe even on a honeymoon. Pete thought I should come back and bring all the women I felt an attraction for at one time - he wanted to see the resulting orgy and volunteered to help orchestrate things.

Pete helped me carry my gear down to the ferry dock. I boarded the ferry for the mainland, and soon waved goodbye to him across a widening gap between boat and shore. As I waved, Julia came running down to the dock to join Pete in waving goodbye. The two of them stood there looking happy together. The last I saw of them that day was the two of them walking back to the Inn with their arms around each other. Now that was an unexpected ending; something was going on there I hadn't been privy to. I wondered why Pete orchestrated my time with Julia if the two of them had something going on between them: more questions without answers.

I retrieved my motorcycle and the rest of my gear from my locker, repacked things for traveling, and headed across the Mackinaw Bridge to Upper Michigan - the longest suspension bridge in the Western hemisphere. The day was warm and sunny, traffic was light, the Universe felt friendly, and I was happy. 

Chapter 13

Wisconsin

In late morning, I crossed the Mackinaw Bridge and hugged the shore of Lake Michigan for the rest of the day. With the late start after my midnight escapades on Mackinac Island with Julia, a stop for lunch, and my resolution to take it slow and enjoy the scenery; I got only part way across the Upper Peninsula. 

I camped overnight at a state forest. The temperature dropped to around fifty degrees. My sleeping bag did its magic in keeping me at just the right temperature; but getting up in the morning proved to be an onerous chore. I didn't bounce out of bed the way I did on warmer days. I'd become soft in the middle.

Just after dawn, I took a long slow run for an hour along trails through the forest; that warmed me up. I got in a meditative trance while running. Due to my gunshot, this was my first long run in many weeks. Back at the campsite, I built a fire, and did some other exercises, trying not stress my left side. I prepared some breakfast from my collection of freeze-dried food, and dressed warmly when the time came to start riding on the motorcycle.

I started to sing my widening repertoire of country songs for which I knew all the words. I sang into the facemask of my helmet, so I could actually hear myself over the rush of the wind and the rumbling sound of the Harley Davidson. I liked the whole idea of being a country music singer. The entertainment industry had always fascinated me, and now I had an open door. I wondered if I'd been led to this door by some unusual force in the universe, and maybe by an angel named Karen.

I tested how important finishing my ride across the forty-eight lower states was to me, and decided I still needed to complete the trip. This trip would give me closure about Karen's death and allow me to have accomplished something 'big' in my life, not that the sudden stardom wasn't also big. Here was this country music career that I could ride for a while. Maybe I would try to do more music or concerts during my trip; despite my fear of singing in front of a large audience, I did have fun singing with Crystal.

I got to Green Bay about four o'clock in the afternoon, just as the sun broke out and the temperature started to rise again. The most obvious attribute of the city was their unrivaled support of their NFL football team. Green and yellow banners were everywhere along my route with the 'G' logo of the team. I rode by Lambeau Field stadium, just so I could say I'd seen it. Later in my stop in Green Bay, I learned that the stadium held about 60,000 people - this in a city with a population of about 100,000. I guessed they had a lot of visitors for home games. The number of motels around suggested that as well.

After a stop to get directions on my iPhone, I found Lloyd's Guitars where I splurged and became the owner of a used Blackbird Rider steel string travel guitar, case, extras, and a 'how to' book. The travel guitar was a fraction of the size of a regular acoustic guitar with a shortened neck and a much smaller body - a carefully crafted sound box to render close to normal guitar sounds but with a fraction of the size. I had big plans for the next phase of my country music career. I wanted to be able to play the guitar the way Crystal did.

I chose an early dinner at a restaurant that had Wi-Fi. After ordering, I used my laptop to check my emails. One email from Kim Hume stood out above all the rest and made my heart soar.





Road Trip Pt. 03



The sunny morning was a complete change from a few days earlier; the temperature had already reached the mid-seventies and promised to go into the eighties in the afternoon. I went down to the lake for a quick bath before I suited up for the next leg of my trip. The lake water was chilly, so my ablutions were short and to the point - get wet, soap up, and rinse fast. I also washed out my running shorts, ankle socks, and singlet. Since no one was around this part of the park, I bathed in the nude, only wrapping a towel around me to head back to camp carrying my damp exercise clothes so I could dry them by my morning campfire. 

As I walked up the wooded bank and neared my camp, I heard voices and a laugh - a man and a woman. I stopped and listened, however, they didn't seem to be moving. They were in the clearing where my tent was pitched, and where my motorcycle stood. 

In another fifty feet, I could see the couple through the brush. I paused. They stood face to face near the clearing's picnic table, oblivious to my active camp fifty feet from them. The couple was in their thirties; they were trim and tanned, but dressed in what I'd come to call business casual attire. As I watched to see what they would do, the couple started to make out. There was a lot of pent up passion each of them showed for the other - raw, sexual lust and energy.

I froze, wondering whether to announce my arrival someway. In the few seconds while I pondered what to do, the man lifted the girl's summer dress from her body in one smooth move. She cooperated fully, raising her arms over her head with a smile. Her beautiful full breasts emerged into view; she hadn't been wearing a bra. Even from my distance, I could see the ripeness of her globes, the dark areolas, and the pointed and excited nipples. The man instantly leaned in and suckled her nearest tit. She held his head and spoke words of encouragement, as her head looked skyward in enjoyment of his attentions.

Making normal walking sounds - twigs snapping and leaves rustling, I continued on the path another twenty feet or so taking small steps to give warning, until I could be clearly seen at the edge of the clearing with no intervening foliage. I stood still again, but shuffled my feet. I really couldn't get to my tent - and my dry clothes - without walking within ten feet of the amorous couple.

The man sucked and lapped at both breasts like a starving man finding food. I could hear the sucking noises he made, and her moans of delight. Although it appeared awkward, the girl started to unbutton the man's shirt. At one point, he broke lock on her breasts and rapidly pulled the shirt off, tossing it on the bench seat of the picnic table next to them. She fumbled with his belt, and in seconds, after kicking off his loafers, his pants, and boxers had joined the pile of clothes. His erect cock bounced proudly in front of him.

I silently chuckled to myself. I had come so close to them I was sure that when I got spotted one of them would shriek in surprise, and there'd be a frantic scramble to cover improperly displayed body parts. I hoped neither of them opted for violence or called the police.

That thought had no sooner left my mind than the naked man slowly pulled the girl's white thong down her long and shapely legs with her obvious willingness, leaving her nude except for three-inch spike heels - incongruous here in the woods. He lapped at her cunt for a few seconds before he stood. He then fingered her cleft as they kissed again - lips and tongues rapidly moving in and around each other's mouths. She moaned so loud; I could hear clearly. 

The pretty brunette dropped to her knees - even spreading her legs apart in her kneeling position so her pussy was in full view. She pulled his inflating cock to her. Holding him with one hand, she inhaled his swollen member, and her head started bobbing back and forth as she fellated him - using her hand to masturbate him when he was mostly out of her mouth. The man instantly closed his eyes and looked to heaven as he savored the experience. 

Now, I stood transfixed by the scene in front of me. My towel had tented from my own erection at the eroticism of the lusty couple. I reached through the fold in the towel at my front and touched myself, not to masturbate but to protect my penis from a roughness on an edge of my towel. I remember thinking I'd have to jack off after the couple left. 

And then, the girl saw me. I could tell the instant she became aware of my presence; her eyes enlarged and they looked straight at me - studied me: Threat? Voyeur? Participant? She paused in the blowjob she administered, but continued to hold his cock in her mouth. Instead of yelling or taking some action to cover her nakedness, she repositioned so we could see each other better, and she spread her legs wider to me. She continued her ministrations on the young man as she watched me - no doubt continuing her evaluation. I tried to look harmless and horny.

She obviously wanted to please her partner - plus now I realized she had started performing for me as well. Her actions became more contrived, more pornographic and X-rated. She slurped and made an event out of finding some pre-cum on his cock. She started to use both hands to milk his cock. The man moaned often, but remained oblivious to my presence.

Several minutes after she became aware of my presence, I heard the girl say to him, "We're being watched. I don't care. In fact, I like it. Now, fuck me. Show him what you do to me."

The man spun and saw me. I held my fully erect cock in one hand, my tactic having shifted from the thought I'd had a few minutes earlier. Between the live sex show the couple had presented me with so far and my dreams the night before, I wanted ... no needed relief soon. 

The man smiled at me, and turned back to his girlfriend as she sat on the picnic table, lay back slightly, and pulled her legs up so he could penetrate her pussy with his now engorged cock. From my angle, I could see him slowly slide into her hairy pussy. The table was at the perfect height for him to deeply penetrate her. He reached forward and pawed at her breasts, kneading and twisting her tits. First, he pumped slowly into her body, but then his pace increased. He glanced back at me several times; one time even holding her leg down and making sure I could see his cock entering and leaving her body.

The pretext of having the towel around me had passed. I dropped the towel and my wet clothes to focus on the couple. As the couple continued to fuck, the man looked over his shoulder at me and said, "Come closer. Take a better look. She'd love to suck on you," he looked at her and continued, "Wouldn't you?"

The girl gestured with one hand for me to come closer, and she said to me, "Yes. Come closer, watch us while you jerk off next to me - hell, let me help." I walked closer, and she reached out to fondle my exposed rod. She shifted on the table so I could stand beside her as she got fucked. She smiled at me to indicate what she would do was fine with her; she said, "I like this. I've wanted a threesome - so you're fulfilling a fantasy. You look like a nice person." She grasped me and masturbated me for thirty seconds before pulling my shaft to her open mouth. 

To my surprise, her first inhalation of my cock resulted in her taking the entire shaft down her throat in one erotic gesture. Without gagging, she started to pull me to and fro into her mouth; often urging me to fully engage with her so her nose hit my pubes. She had a talented approach to a blowjob using lips, hands, teeth, and tongue. 

As we did this, the man continued to fuck her, even increasing the pace and intensity of his thrusts into her cunt. He watched her fellating me, and nodded his approval through his physical strain. He was giving her all he had to bring this woman off.  

I watched every nuance of the dogging act from my vantage point, drawing further stimulation to my own sexual act. He nodded to me more positively than before, a sign I took that he not only approved, but also was about to cum. Seconds later, I heard him start to pant, grunt, and moan as his orgasm approached. He moaned at his moment of ecstasy. My own climax arrived only a few seconds after his, triggered by the combined actions of the couple in their orgasms. My God, I thought, what an unexpected experience. 

I erupted into her mouth, having warned her of my imminent orgasm. She chose to catch and swallow most of my cum, allowing a portion to drip over her chin and cheek from the way she had her head tilted. She looked so hardcore. I knew the display of my juice around her mouth was an attempt to turn on the man and me even more.

I pulled away as my orgasm ended, and the jets of cum stopped. She lapped at me for a few seconds, cleaning my shaft. I moved to the side, giving the couple room, and the man stepped into the position I'd had and presented his cock for her to clean, and clean she did with great enthusiasm. Meanwhile, I looked at her exposed pussy and found further stimulation in the rivulet of milky white sperm that oozed from her vagina.

I moved to a large nearby rock to catch my breath, my cock slowly deflating. I sat. The lust I'd carried into the day from the night before felt partly sated. I recalled a term Pete had used about the sex I'd had only a few miles away in Michigan when I'd played masseur and fucked each of the good looking women who were my massage clients. A 'zipless fuck' he called it. An expressive term, to be sure.

A few feet away, the man helped the girl sit up on the tabletop. Both of them were panting from their energetic efforts to please each other. The girl smiled and spoke with me without a trace of modesty; "I'm Val; this is Kevin."

I volunteered with a silly grin, "And, I'm Jim. A pleasure to meet you both ... a real pleasure in every sense of the word." They laughed. I asked, "And, to what do I owe the honor of this occasion?"

Val laughed and said, "Well, we're having an affair - have been having one for four months. Neither of our spouses is as horny as we are, so we decided to ... to, you know, get together every morning to start each day off on the right foot. We've been using this spot a lot this summer. I'm surprised you found it; it's well hidden."

Looking around, I raised my eyebrows in neither approval nor disapproval. I asked, "How'd you get here?" I gestured over my shoulder to my motorcycle and tent.

Kevin tossed his head in one direction, "We walked in a couple of hundred yards from where we can run our cars off the road so they won't be seen." He added, "When cold weather comes, we'll have to find some other way ... some other place to ... to get together." He looked endearingly at Val.

I said, "You surely started my morning off the right way. Do you do this often - I mean with others?"

Val responded, "I did a threesome once a long time ago, but with a guy I knew real well. You're the first stranger I've done. You could fuck me if you want. I'd really like that, and so would Kevin. He'd like to watch me get fucked. You're nice, and you taste good too."

"No, I'm fine. You give a superb blowjob. That'll last me all day ... maybe all week. I'm grateful, but I don't need to go further." I thought I might be weird about turning her down. She was a pretty girl, thin in the middle with breasts that equaled a hand full. She had gorgeous hips, and as I studied her leaking pussy, a rather attractive slit. I was sure that most guys would already be humping away at the suggestion of the offer Val had made.

Kevin started to kiss her neck and pinch her breasts; she moaned a little as he hit her hot buttons. She kept looking at me, hoping I'd change my mind and fuck her. Kevin asked her, "Got time to go another round?" He turned and winked at me. 

Val looked between the two of us - Kevin with a partial erection as he stood beside her, and me with nearly a full erection again sitting on a rock only a few feet from her. She said, "Yes. Yes, let's repeat that again ... only this time, let's go a little slower and savor all the tastes and feelings in our fuck ... and my suck on Jim's cock."

I rose, and went to the other side of the table from where Kevin stood. I latched my mouth onto one of Val's nipples as Kevin did the other. I kneaded the mound of flesh with my hand, deeply massaging her mammary. Val moaned.

I ran a finger from her nipple down to her cunt, circling back and forth with a light touch as I crossed her tummy. When I reached the small tuft of pubic hair, I tousled the hair, and then plunged two fingers into Val's sopping cunt. I gave her a rapid and rough finger fuck, which got her attention and made her groan in pleasure into a kiss she shared with Kevin.

Kevin brought his fingers down, and the two of us each put two fingers into Val's sodden pussy. We massaged, and prodded, tested, and fucked with our hands. Val popped off a couple of orgasms as we played for several minutes. I found her G-spot, and focused on that as Kevin moved inside her elsewhere.

Val sat up from her supine position, looked at Kevin, and gasped, "Go to the spot Jim's touching inside me and memorize that fucking location. From now on when you finger fuck me, I want you on that spot - a lot." She panted a little and added, "And ... oh shit ... Jim, you're making me cum again ... ooooooooooooh!"

I'm sure both Kevin and I could feel the spasms of Val's vaginal muscles. After she came down a little from her climax, I taught Kevin how to find Val's G-spot. Val helped too, by arching her back in a near convulsion when he found the place. Val then had another climax.

I turned down a second offer to fuck her, but did accept another fabulous blowjob. Kevin fucked her long and hard a second time, much to Val's delight. When we were through, Val produced a couple of washcloths and towels from her large purse, and the three of us walked naked down the short trail to the lake. Val had a cute bubble ass to watch. The two of them washed up the smelly parts, I went swimming again, and we walked back to the campsite.

Kevin and Val dressed. I noted that Val produced a brassiere this time from her oversize shoulder bag. They asked whether I judged them presentable, and I told them I did. Kevin explained that the two of them worked in the same office about ten miles away. He pondered the fact that they'd both be late - again, and hoped no one would be too suspicious.

They bid me goodbye with a handshake and from Val a kiss - a really passionate kiss. The pair hiked away as I pulled on my shorts. 

What a great way to start the morning. After they left, I realized I didn't know their last names.

* * * * *

I dressed and fixed myself breakfast, taking advantage of the permanent grill at the campsite. I ate on the picnic table where Val's lover had twice plowed into her pussy, and where simultaneously I'd gotten two erotic blowjobs. To one side as I ate there lay a small puddle of cum that had leaked from Val's pussy.

After packing, I reflected back on the surprise sexual encounter earlier in the morning with the couple at my campsite. Val and Kevin seemed so relaxed and accepting of their infidelity with their spouses, as well as their exhibitionist behavior at a public picnic area - and clearly one populated by a camper. I wondered if Kevin's wife and Val's husband were secretly carrying on another affair at the other end of the same campground. I actually laughed aloud at that thought, my sound annoying a squirrel high above me.

I was close to Milwaukee, so had plenty of time before Kim arrived. I pulled out my new guitar, the miniature version of a full guitar using a new pitch pipe, and reviewed the few chords I vaguely remembered from some guitar lessons a girlfriend in college had tried to teach me. G, C, D7, Em, Am, and F came back readily. 

I opened the 'how to' book and started from scratch, learning the strings, the notes, fingering, and a couple of other chords. By the end of an hour, I could play and sing the song '500 Miles' with passable accuracy. The ends of the fingers on my left hand stung where they had fingered the steel strings. I stopped, realizing it would take many sessions and days for me to build up calluses at those points. If I were going to be a country music singer, then I figured I'd better know how to play the guitar. The few times I'd watched Crystal play, her skill seemed so natural for her. I knew the only way I'd reach that same plateau was with many hours of practice.

I pulled out my computer and wrote in my journal too, filling in details from the past couple of weeks and adding to my feelings and reactions to various situations including the 'zipless fuck blowjob' Val had given me as Kevin fucked her on the very table my computer rested on. I also composed emails to Lauren, Anna, Ellen, and Crystal. Lauren, Crystal, and Ellen wanted all the lurid and sex-filled details of every liaison I had in my travels, writing to them made me horny. I edited a version of their email for Anna, although I had begun to believe she might like the unexpurgated version as well.

With Crystal, I also mentioned Tina Devoe specifically, the woman executive with Sony that wanted a 'serious deal' with the two of us. I asked Crystal to share the information with Terry, our agent, and see what he thought. I didn't know what ties and obligations she - or I for that matter - had to the Nashville Records that we had just done the recordings for.

I walked around the campground after I'd prepared all the emails, until I found a Wi-Fi spot near the park headquarters. I sent off the emails and picked up a couple of my own, nothing of note. I also checked the weather for the next week along various parts of the routes I thought I'd take.

The longer I thought about Crystal; the more I missed her. I got really down on myself too, wondering just who I was to think I could have a girlfriend who was as pretty as Crystal, and a country music star. My self-confidence plummeted as I thought about all the talent that Crystal had. I questioned whether I had a good enough voice, or musical ability, or the élan to give a good concert performance.

The record company had said that the 'Texas Dawn' album would come out about two months later, but, in my down mood, I wondered whether anyone would like the single 'Texas Dawn' enough to release the recording, even as a single.

An hour later, my cellphone rang. To my joy, it was Crystal. She started our conversation with some special words that turned my whole day around, "Jim, I miss you like crazy. When are you going to be in one place long enough for us to get together?"

I told her I missed her, where I was, and where I planned to go over the next week or so. 

Crystal interrupted, "I've got to tell you some important stuff. First, I got your email, and I talked right away to Terry about Tina Devoe and Sony. He's over the moon, and wants all of us to talk together really soon. Just so you know, after the 'Texas Dawn' album comes out on Nashville Records, we have no further obligation to them - so we're free agents, but, get this, it probably won't matter because they are a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment! So, your connection with Tina is a big break for us; it can move us from a minor label to the big time if she likes us. I hope you treated her well, and left her hungry for more!" Crystal laughed.

She went on, "The bigger news ... are you ready for this ... they released the single of 'Texas Dawn' the day you left Nashville. I didn't even know about it until two days later. It went up on iTunes, Amazon, and at least a dozen other music download sites. They also did a splash to the various country music radio stations across the U.S. Well, everyone likes it ... better than likes it; they love it. We're a hit! We're the number one download at most sites. If you don't have it, get it on your computer. They decided to use our third version of the song."




Road Trip Pt. 03



I stammered and stuttered my shock and happiness over the news. I assured her it was her name, popularity, and great voice that had carried the song.

Crystal said, "Bullshit. Stop putting yourself down. To the contrary, your star continues to rise. Everyone loves your voice. Terry told me that the record company is scrambling to put an album together that is mostly you singing. They're thinking it'll go 'platinum' in record time - do you know what that means? It means they expect to sell a million albums by download or CD - a friggin' million; that's a very big number in this business. You, My Darling Lover, are a star."

I was speechless. The insecurities I'd had moments ago evaporated. I mumbled a few words to Crystal to that effect. She laughed in a nice way about my innocence and lack of confidence in the music industry and in my own musical skills. She told me a few other good things about my singing, how much she liked singing with me, how she wanted to do more, and how she just wanted to be with me. 

Crystal finally asked, "Hey, I've got commitments until Monday - public appearances, but after that can I come and join you for the rest of next week? Can I ride with you? I'll go anywhere you're going and then catch a flight back from there."

I blurted out, "Why, I'd love that. Yes, I really want you with me. I've thought about you so much since I left you in Indianapolis."

I figured before she came I'd better tell her about Kim; I knew this was a big risk, but I believed in our openness and hoped she wouldn't get so mad she'd hang up and never see me again. I mumbled, "Errr, Crystal, this is delicate, ... but I'm spending the weekend ... with Kim in Milwaukee. I just figured I'd better say ..."

Crystal interrupted, "Oh, Jim, that's so wonderful. I know how dear she is to you. I'm so glad. I hope to meet her someday, particularly because she's so special for you. Have fun - make love like crazy, but save a little energy for me on Monday because I'm going to arrive into your arms horny and sex crazed." She laughed gaily.

Now that was not at all the response I'd been expecting. I was speechless. Crystal didn't seem the least bit upset that I'd be spending time with another woman, and seemed to even encourage the connection.

"Jim? Jim, are you still there?"

"Oh, yeah. Thanks ... I'll be ready for you, and I can't wait to see you. I really miss you."

Crystal said in a more business-like tone, "Let me do some checking about flights and all. I'll text you within the hour when I arrange flights, and just to be sure, you could pick me up midday on Monday at O'Hare? Let's head south along your planned route and see what we find. When the time comes, I'll break off and come back home from wherever we are."

"That works for me. If you're up for it, we could camp out a night or two."

"Great. Oh, Ellen says hello too; she wishes she were coming with me, and she said to tell you she loves your sexy emails. Later, I'll email you my exact flight times ... since I figure you'll be in bed all weekend!" Big laugh. "I love you. See you Monday." She broke into another round of laughter and we rang off.

* * * * *

Kim's sleek white Cessna Citation floated down the runway to a smooth flawless landing as I watched from behind a fence at the general aviation terminal in Milwaukee. I watched as the jet taxied back towards me, and then turned into the parking ramp. A young man with two red batons directed her to a parking location near where I stood. The jet turned, parked, and almost immediately the jet's engines started to spool down from their high pitched whine. The line boy put chocks under the front tire.

I could see Kim in the cockpit throwing switches and shutting down the aircraft. Two minutes went by, and then the side door on the aircraft opened and steps unfolded. Kim stepped through with a large purse, a briefcase, and a pull-along suitcase. At the bottom of the staircase, she opened a panel on the aircraft, pushed a few buttons, and the stairway folded up into the aircraft and the door apparently locked.

Kim turned, and this time I waved and caught her attention. She ran over to me with the happiest look on her face. Over the low fence, Kim and I hugged and kissed. I hoisted her suitcase and briefcase over the fence, but wondered what we'd do with all her bags on the motorcycle. 

Kim read my perplexed look; "Darling, I rented a car. If you want you can leave your bike here, or you can follow me to the Pfister Hotel downtown. I hope you like it; I've been there once before, and I loved it. We can walk to a million different things ... when we're not in bed." She gave me a foxy grin.

I looked over my shoulder at my heavily laden motorcycle. I made a snap decision that it would probably be safer in some hanger at the airport than in a parking garage downtown. I told Kim.

An hour later, Kim and I stood alone surrounded by our luggage in an exclusive clubroom suite on the twenty-first floor in the new wing of a restored turn of the century hotel. I felt seriously underdressed for the occasion, particularly compared to the sharp business suit that Kim wore.

Kim came into my arms as soon as the bellhop closed the door. She grabbed ahold of my shirt and started to undo the buttons. "Now, you are seriously overdressed for what I have planned for us for the next hour or two ... hell, for the whole weekend."

I grinned, and helped her off with the stylish jacket that went with her suit. Beneath the jacket, she had a gorgeous white silk blouse that showed a modest amount of her cleavage. I carefully unbuttoned her blouse as she did my shirt. We both finished about the same time, and shrugged off our layer of clothing. The lacy bra Kim wore disappeared to the pile of clothing, and then we brought our naked chests together as our tongues found each other's mouths in our most passionate kiss of the day.

After that kiss there was flurry of pants, nylons, panties, jeans, boots, socks, and briefs that flew in every direction. We studied each other, taking in our nude bodies with lurid pleasure. Kim was stunning, and I visibly hardened just looking at her beauty and sexuality.

I picked Kim up and carried her to the huge bed in the suite. In seconds, we were at each other; unable to do all the things or to say all the words we wanted to fast enough. Kim spread her legs to reveal her moist pussy to me. I'm not sure I ever felt such hunger for anyone as I did in that instant. My fingertips inched their way up her leg, breaking off just before her pussy. I moved my hand to her other leg and repeated the slow stroke. This time I stroked her slit from ass to clit, and then slipped two fingers into her folds. Kim lurched forward and clutched at my arm as though it was a life preserver in a turbulent sea. She moaned and came just from that simple touch.

I moved in front of her, stood close to the bed, ran my dick up and down her slit, and then with the slowest of motions sank into her a millimeter at a time. Our eyes locked onto each other with the palpable intensity of lust and love. I could feel the walls of Kim's warm tunnel clenching and releasing me as I moved forward into her. As our groins touched, I gripped Kim's hips and for her pleasure somehow forced still more of myself inside her. I swelled with lust.

My mind soared with pleasure and my heart soared with the love I felt for Kim. Oh, this felt so right - so perfect in every way. I never wanted the feeling I had in those few seconds to end; I wanted to freeze them in time and live in them forever.

Kim rocketed to a thunderous climax, her eyes becoming slits of pleasure as the wave swept over her. Her legs hooked behind me and pulled me into her. I resisted the spasms and my own need for release. When Kim's bucking slowed, I began moving inside her at a fast and hard pace, pulling out until only the barest of our bodies touched, and then surging inward with passion until I filled her cavity again.

Kim moved higher and higher in her passion. She couldn't get enough of me - of my cock. Our bodies slapped together, filling the room with the sound of our lovemaking - wet flesh slapping against wet flesh. Kim's juices and lubrication flooded our junction ... flooded the bed.

I reached down and with my thumb I stroked her clit. 

Kim looked at me and gasped out, "Not fair." But, she made no move to stop me. A minute later, she eked out, "I ... am ... about ... to ... explode. You'd ... better ... come ... this ... time."

My thrusts got faster and harder, my cock had become the consistency of granite, yet I could feel minute sensations from deep inside her body along my shaft I'd never felt before from anyone. My throbbing started, and I passed the point of no return.

"Oh, God, Kim, I love you so. I LOVE YOU." I blasted my seed deep into her cunt with surge after surge of pleasure, of love, of lust, of spiritual connection. Beneath me, Kim's body arched and pushed into me with wild uncontrollable spasms from her cuntal muscles. I couldn't stop pumping. I filled her with my life and my soul. Kim grasped my arms with Herculean strength, but I loved her strong touch.

For a few minutes time did stand still, and then I carefully lowered myself to Kim, and we rolled to our sides. Kim and I were both crying from our love and passion. I couldn't think of the last time I said 'I love you' to someone - Karen. I had wanted to say them to Lauren, maybe to June, and to Kim the first time we met; however, I'd held back because I had a rigid definition of what love meant. Maybe as I'd started to open my thinking, I was also opening to a broader definition of the term.

Kim whispered, "Oh, Jim. I love you. I have never ..." I kissed the tears on her cheeks, as she wiped my own from my face. We held each other for a long time in the very special post-coital silence only a few special lovers ever know - a bliss so joyful it is indescribable, unshareable outside the space surrounding the two lovers, and with a rapture common man will never know or understand.

* * * * *

I found a men's store a block from the hotel and bought a sport shirt, tie, and a western cut dress jacket. I carried my swag back to the hotel, and dressed as Kim watched my transformation from motorcycle rider to western gentleman. I dressed the same way I had at Pete's hotel in Michigan - natty. 

Kim looked at me with such love in her eyes the whole night, and I know I poured my heart out to her with every glance. Kim and I had a romantic late dinner in the steak restaurant in the hotel. I had the maître d' put a single candle on our table in the dimly lit booth. I think several people might have recognized me, a point Kim took great delight in acknowledging. We were so romantic, touching and holding hands across the table, and our legs tangled together beneath.

Back in our room, we shed our clothing as fast as we could and then merged our naked bodies together again, this time without the rush to orgasm. Once coupled, we moved just enough to sustain my erection and keep Kim's juices flowing. We stroked and petted each other's chests, breasts, necks, faces, and ... everywhere.

Kim giggled a little and asked, "OK, now tell me about your most recent sexual encounter."

I smiled and started, "Well, this morning, as I came out from a quick swim in a lake ..." I told her the story of Val and Kevin, and my surprise blowjobs. Kim thought that outrageous and highly stimulating; so much of the latter that as I rubbed her clit she popped off an orgasm and ended clutching my shoulder for dear life. 

In her afterglow, we kissed, and then Kim said with a smile, "And the encounter before that? Michigan?"

I regaled Kim with vivid descriptions of the four women I'd massaged in Michigan. Kim probed for details, and then even got me to withdraw from her pussy and massage her body the way I had Pam, Tina, Daisy, and Julia. I also demonstrated my improved oral skills on her until Kim had two more orgasms and made me stop the cunnilingus because of over stimulation. She pulled my member back inside her body's warmth.

After that, I told Kim about George and Summer, and becoming a father in a the middle of an odd relationship. Kim just glowed. She said, "Jim, I am so proud of you for reaching out and helping that couple ... and for making love with Summer. That's so important for both of you. I know you'll have a peculiar family status there, but you guys will work it out. Oh, I love you just more for doing that."

When we were comfortably propped up in bed, Kim asked, "Now, tell me about Crystal and Ellen, and the others since you left me."

I first told her about Betty Sue, the rape, and my shooting. I'd sent her the link to a newspaper account of the event, but telling her was different and more detailed. Kim tenderly kissed the ugly scars that remained from the bullet wound. 

I described my fling with the Louisiana lawyers, and then Pat at the diner. 

I guess the tone of my voice changed as I started to talk about Crystal. I didn't notice it, but Kim did. After telling her about meeting Crystal, my entry onto the music scene, the magazine articles, and then our romance, and Ellen joining us, Kim stopped me. She said, "Crystal is the most special woman in your life right now, isn't she?"

I paused and sincerely said, "Except for you."

Kim said, "I'm glad for you, and I'm glad I'm high on your list too. Does Crystal know about me?"

"Yes. I share everything with her too... also Lauren ... and somewhat with my sister."

Kim said knowingly, "Start sharing everything with your sister. My intuition tells me that this is the right thing to do - for the two of you. She won't think less of you; it'll bring you closer together, and you need her."

I nodded in understanding. I needed a woman's point of view.

We started to move our bodies together in a languid manner. Kim pumped her hips into me a few times. She pulled me over her into the missionary position with a look of lust in her eyes. "Jim, all this talk about my favorite subject has me all worked up again. Let's get down to business." 

And, so, we did.

* * * * *

In the morning we made love, had a room service breakfast, walked to Veteran's Park, visited the art museum, strolled for a couple of miles, and then rented a paddle boat for two.

As we walked, we talked about some of the things that were bothering me. I guess she could read me like a book, and could tell I'd been stewing about some things; Kim called it 'cracking my egg open.' As she put it, "I can tell you've got a lot on your mind ... that things are bothering you. Are you still brooding about Karen's death and her secrets?"

I shot a look of amazement. "Yes ... and no. I think my grief is mitigating, but I feel guilty about that. There's a whole bunch of other stuff that keeps racing through my head about her. Lauren told me that her sister would go pick up guys and fuck their brains out just for kicks, that on top of her group living arrangement before we got married and her bi-sexuality and incest. Secrets! Bah! I end up kicking myself around for being such a prude that she couldn't tell me stuff like that. I must have come across as so judgmental to her; I probably was."

I took a breath and went on, "And, then knowing what I know now, I realize what a boring guy I was sexually - Mr. Plain Vanilla. God, Karen must have laughed at me behind my back because I was so naïve, inexperienced, and unadventurous in the bedroom. Even my job was boring - a software programmer. For most of our marriage, we were so in a rut, as though we were programmed like the computers I worked on. She'd been with all these other people - even fucking strangers - and her sister implies she was daring and sophisticated in her sexual skills, and much more liberal than I ever was. I bet she wanted to go fuck other people instead of me."

"Last about Karen and almost in another direction, is that I keep weighing the things I do in the shadow of the question, 'What would Karen think?' So, I think of being with her sister, you, and the others I've met, and I feel guilty - just one of my sources of guilt. I guess I'm into that."

Kim stopped us and came around in front of me. She kissed me, and I knew I would get some 'tough love.' I even smiled at the thought.

She firmly asked, "First, were you good at your job - your computer work?"

"Yes."

"Did Karen say you were boring?"

"No."

Kim smiled, "So, lose the self pity! You had a good job, provided your share of your marriage economically, and added stability and reliability to your combined existence - being in a rut has its positive side. I bet before Karen met you, she had none of that. Now, you have this great new career in front of you that offers unlimited potential. Don't blow it by wallowing in a lot of 'what if's' about the past. Stuff like this is only 'boring' if you label it so. Don't make value judgments like this about your life when no one else does. For what it's worth, I thought you were anything but boring when we met, and now you're a country music star who can make my body sing you're so sexy. All that, plus you're a damned nice man. You, my love, are an exciting man in every way."

She went on, "As for Karen's pre-marriage behavior, forget it. It's old news. She apparently didn't bring it with her when she married you, and even if she did, so what? What she did was experiment. She was finding her limits and boundaries; she even lived at those borders a while. What she learned led her to you and into your marriage. She loved you, silly. She chose you over one-night stands, over staying in her group arrangement, and over a long-term lesbian relationship. You won! Appreciate it, savor it, and move on. As for playing around with her sister, think of it as the two of them finding a beautiful way to tell each other 'I love you.' Weren't they fortunate to be able to do that? It didn't take anything away from you. If they'd pursued the idea of the threesome with you that you mentioned, you might have found yourself closer and more loving to the two of them, but that's in the past. Forget it."

Kim said, "You say you were unreceptive and a prude about her secret stuff so she didn't feel she could tell you about her past. First off, there are probably more secrets, but so what? Stop caring. She's dead, and the only thing hearing about her other activities will do is pull you back to a time you no longer live in, and it'll make you sad or mad or remorseful. You don't need that. What's past is past. Live in the 'Now.' If Lauren brings up some other secret about your wife, blow it off; don't let the past run your life today or ruin your life today. You can reprogram yourself; hell, you are reprogramming yourself more than anybody I know. The fact that you can see that about yourself tells me you've moved on from those days. Don't beat yourself up for the way you used to be or for lost opportunities. You can't go back in time knowing what you know today. Instead, I'd be spending my time figuring out how I want to be in the future and making the necessary changes - reprogramming myself; that's more productive."

"As for your having been Mr. Plain Vanilla, well that's a great flavor, and I love vanilla. You didn't have to give Karen a million orgasms a day or make love hanging from the chandelier. I'd bet you two had a comfortable sex life, maybe not as either of you would have liked, but no one - no one - has exactly what they want except for a minute or two here and there. So, forget all that stuff."

"You say you worry about 'What would Karen think?' Well, wake up. She's not here in these dimensions we live in to worry about anything you do. She doesn't get a vote about your behavior anymore, and if she does you'll never know about it. Let her go. When you raise a question like 'What would Karen think?' all you do is create hurt and anxiety for yourself. You start to act like a victim, and that's not you."




Road Trip Pt. 03



Kim continued, "Last, you worry about your fading grief and you feel guilty about it. Let me ask you, what do you want your grief and memories to look like a year from now?"

I stammered, "I don't know ... less grief or none, but that I haven't forgotten Karen and our good times together."

Kim said softly, "I didn't know Mindy - Ron's wife before she died. I know he thinks of her every day, sometime a lot. I know he sometimes measures something I do by her yardstick. I can't change that, but I love Ron, and that makes it OK. He doesn't lord it over me, thank heavens. He never even mentions her, but I know. You will always remember Karen, and little things will happen to remind you of her a thousand times a day for a long time - maybe forever. For certain, when you're not thinking of her, you don't have to feel guilty. Your grief is supposed to fade unless you go out of your way to hang onto it. Life makes it that way; you don't want to carry the grief you felt right after she died for the rest of your life. Put her death in perspective and move on. Live! I'd bet she told you that before she died."

"She did."

"So, move on. You are moving on. Look at all the new friendships you've built just this far in your trip - people that love you and that you care for deeply. People I know that you care about. That's not bad, that's wonderful. Allow them to flourish. It's reason to celebrate not feel guilty."

Tears came to my eyes, "But some days it's so hard." I choked out the last words.

"Sure, but it'll get easier as the weeks go by, as you meet interesting people and do things that divert your attention from the tragedy of Karen's death at so young an age. When you have one of those 'downer' thoughts about her death, could you do me a favor?"

"What?"

"Think of something good that you shared with Karen: something she did, a personality trait that you particularly liked, or things the two of you did together that were fun and that made you both happy. Please don't go back into the shadows about other stuff you could wallow in. Let that rest with Karen."

* * * * *

We walked a half-mile before either of us said anything again. Kim and I had our arms around each other, and she held me tightly to her side. She was sending me messages of love and support.

Eventually, I said, "You ready for the next crack in my egg?"

Kim nodded.

"This concerns Anna. I don't know how to say this any other way, but for a long time I've had incestuous thoughts about her. I'm just realizing how strong some of them have been, and even how close we've come to that boundary a few times. She's done some things and said a few things that make me think she's like-minded ... but then, I'm not sure. I do love her. I'm sure I could love her physically as well. I also find myself evaluating my new relationships and behaviors also in terms of 'What would Anna think?' just the way I've been doing with Karen."

Kim chuckled. "You're talking about incest with someone who has an incestuous relationship with her sister, and whose husband has too - plus I've been with the others in the Circle in their presence. You know June and I have a loving physical relationship, so I don't know whether my suggestions in this area will be unbiased."

She looked up at me, "My take is that you are both consenting adults, and far beyond your teenage years where you might do things to satisfy your curiosity or in some daring experiment. If you find love in each other's arms, I'd say go for it. I don't think I'd have children together, I think there are worries there. You need to sit with her and level with her about your feelings. Even if she's not of a like mind, she'll still love you for being open; I promise. It'll bring the two of you closer together."

"As for 'What Anna thinks?' I wouldn't worry about it. She won't withdraw her love because you misbehave according to some yardstick she has. She might think some of your preferences and actions weird or kinky, she might tell you or not, but again, keep an avenue of communication open with her so you can talk about this kind of stuff if she's willing. You might be in danger of learning something about yourself ... and about her. I think it's sweet that you feel this way about Anna. It makes me love you more that you even consider the option. I support the two of you getting together. And, oh, you told me you sent racy emails to Lauren, Crystal, and Ellen; well start sharing them with Anna and see where it leads. If she doesn't like them, she'll let you know - and I want on that explicit details email list too! I'm as horny right now as all of them put together and I love you heaps."

Kim's last comment surprised me. She even gave me a little squeeze to reinforce her comment.

Kim laughed at her taunt and said, "Next area?"

I thoughtfully said, "OK, next. I think I fall in love too easily; I worry I'm just bouncing around in some kind of rebound situation after Karen's death and my marriage ended. I mean I saw Lauren and felt all gooey about her right away - and the feeling was mutual; then I did the same with your sister and you; not so much with the others in the Circle, or Betty Sue, Lacie, Lindy, and Pat, but now I'm all gushing and palpitating about Crystal and Ellen, and then Summer, and even some of the women I met in Michigan. I don't know whether I'm unbelievably fickle or a man-slut or what. Moreover, I hate to leave almost every one of them, yet I feel driven to complete this trip. Aaaargh!" I threw my hands up in the air in a gesture of frustration.

Kim laughed and pulled me back to her side, "You are a beautiful sensitive man who empathizes with other people, particularly women. Of course, you hate to stir up emotions and then leave the scene, but let's go back little. For whatever reason, you came out of your marriage with an inferiority complex - low self-worth. When a woman finds you 'worthy' you perk up. Come around to the point of view that 'You are worthy,' and start your thinking from that premise. Personally, I'm glad you fell in love with me. You are a bright light in my life, second only to my husband. I think a lot about you every day, and I know you think about me. I love that."

I said, "I do love you, but I'm not sure what thinking I'm worthy does for me?"

"Well, try this, love is hard to find, but amazingly you keep finding it or it keeps finding you. For you, love is easy to find. A billion people would trade places with you in a flash, and I can introduce you to a couple of hundred of them that I know personally. As for loving and leaving them, you have a model about relationships that whispers in your ear that relationships have to last a long time - surely more than a few days or nights or a one-night stand. Where'd you get that model from?"

I shrugged.

Kim probed, "Do all relationships have to last a long time?"

"No." I thought of how my relationship with Karen was supposed to last forever, but it ended after such a short period of time.

Kim went on, "Then, meeting an interesting woman, spending a little time with her, and then continuing with your life without her is OK. She may have a different model or rule about relationships, but that's why people 'talk' in the early part of their pairing - to make sure they're on the same page."

After digesting that, I said, "I guess. It just feels funny, and I don't want to hurt any of the women. I don't want them to feel that I'm deserting them."

Kim said, "It's 'funny' because someone 'programmed' you to think that if you found someone you liked that you had to stay with them for a long time, maybe even forever." She said with a chuckle, "As for your fickle-man-slut comment, the same kind of thinking applies. I'm guessing you have a little voice in your head that is telling you that it's not all right to make love to many women in a short period of time."

"Hmmmm. I think you're right."

"So, where'd that rule come from? Is it true for everyone?"

"I guess it came from society in some way, and it's not true for everyone."

Kim chuckled, "Of course, there's a double standard for men and women about this, because if a guy does what you've done he's a stud; if a woman did it she's a slut. What about adopting a new rule that says, 'Consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want to do about sex'?"

I laughed, "I guess there'd be a lot of people having sex right on that lawn right over there." I gestured to where several dozen couples were spread out in different areas of the park having picnics or just basking in the sun together.

I thought for a minute and said, "I had trouble getting into the threesome with you and Ron, but not as much yesterday with that couple north of here. Then there was Lacie and Lindy, and then Crystal, Ellen, and even Lauren when the four of us had sex together."

Kim responded, "Somewhere you picked up a rule that a sexual union has to be between two people - a man and a woman. Does it? It seems to me you're getting past that rule."

"No, apparently not."

Kim said, "So we're back to our new rule: 'Consenting adults have the right to do whatever they want to do about sex.' I like that rule better than the others."

I sought confirmation, "So, bisexual threesomes, foursomes, and orgies would be all right with you per that rule?"

"So long as everyone agrees and is of legal age." Kim grinned at me. "Some of those combinations sound like fun. Maybe we should try them." She poked me in the ribs.

As an afterthought Kim added, "Jim, allow yourself to have fun with your sexuality. Be open to experimentation or at least considering some of these things. I'm not advocating anything other than open-mindedness. Everyone has different boundaries; I just want to see you set them consciously rather than see you buy into some idea or rule that someone else planted in your head. Most of those rules are untruths, but we treat them as sacred and unbreakable rules. When we do that we become victims of some virus of the mind that someone else put there. Go to your boundaries consciously, look at what's beyond them, explore, test, experiment, think, and then make a conscious decision."

I felt like I'd been talking to the wisest guru on the planet. I said to Kim, "You are amazing. How'd you get to be so smart and so full of wisdom?"

Kim smiled graciously, "A good set of parents I hope you'll get to meet someday. They didn't buy into things just because somebody told them they had to, and they taught June and me to think and challenge - critical thinking. I run my business this way: think, challenge, experiment, explore. The people I work with love the approach, and so far it seems to be working there too."

"What do your parents think about June and the Circle?"

Kim said, "Oh, they support her a hundred percent, because they know she went into it with her eyes open, with clear thinking about the situation, and with a view on the options. Think of the rules that June disobeyed by helping create the Circle: you can only love one person at a time, monogamous marriage, only the two parents raise a child, sex outside marriage is a sin, the definition of family unit, never enjoy physical love with your sister or brother, and many others. They're all artificial rules someone made up to impose on someone else. You can break them if you wish. Sure, there may be consequences, but that's what critical analysis is all about - analyzing the situation before you make the decision.

Kim asked, "You said Crystal knew about us getting together. What'd she think about us?"

"She encouraged me. She was happy that we could see each other because she knows how important you are to me."

"Was that what you expected?"

"No, I expected her to get mad ... maybe not see me again."

Kim said, "So you expected to find a boundary there, but didn't. You expected she'd exercise the infamous 'Monogamous Dating Rule,' but clearly she doesn't buy into that rule or doesn't care about it. Instead, she's happy to see you be happy. That's a much better situation."

I asked, "How do you know where to look for a boundary or rule?"

Kim said, "When you find yourself in some situation saying it's too difficult or risky or time-consuming or lonely, or when you feel you don't deserve something, or you're too busy or scared to proceed, or when you feel you can't do something you want to do - that you could do, but just have a feeling you shouldn't."

We were silent again for a while. I gave Kim an appreciative smile and said, "You really are an awesome mentor."

"Well you better take me back to our hotel room so I can mentor you some more on that big bed." Kim gave me a lecherous grin that indicated we'd walked and talked enough, and it was time to make love.

* * * * *

Sunday afternoon, Kim and I lay on the luxurious carpeting of the suite we were in, basking in the sunlight pouring in the windows that overlooked Lake Michigan. With laughter, we had disobeyed the rule that states that sex must be conducted in bed. We'd made love on every piece of furniture in the suite. The warm fuzzy feeling of afterglow surrounded the two of us and the room wreaked of sex - really good loving sex.

I mumbled, "Wow! It keeps getting better and better. You keep making it better and better."

Kim whispered, "That's because we fall deeper and deeper in love." She leaned in and kissed me again; "And, you're improvising - and I really like that." She giggled, "You're a great student ... and a great lover. You're the best lover I've ever had."

I thought of the implications of her last statement. I laughed, "I should thank Ron for giving you up this weekend. I hope he wasn't too lonely."

Kim smiled, "Oh, he wasn't lonely. He has Barbara with him."

"Barbara?"

"Yes. She's a congressional aide to one of the senators that support solar technology. She's very nice. I've met her a few times."

"Do the two of you ...?"

Kim chortled, "No, just Barbara and Ron. I just never felt the right chemistry with her to suggest we go any further than polite social contact. Ron and she clicked; we didn't. Different strokes for different folks."

"Does she know she has your 'permission,' so to speak?"

"Ron told her I knew about their relationship. He said it took her by surprise, but she's a smart woman and has seen other unusual marital arrangements; so, she adapted. I've seen her a couple of times since, and she's been gracious and warm to me and the overall situation, even warmer than when she thought I didn't know."

I said, "That situation breaks a few more rules doesn't it?"

Kim nodded.

I speculated, "I wonder what you'd think about Crystal and Ellen, or some of the other women I've met - whether you'd find them attractive in a bisexual way. I'm realizing I get turned on thinking about those situations ... particularly if I'm involved."

Kim stroked my chest, "For me, it's the chemistry. I think I can tell in the first thirty seconds, and I bet whomever it is can too. Affection and words have to follow as well. I'm open to whatever comes."

Kim thought a minute and said, "I'd really like to meet Crystal and the others important in your life - Ellen, Lauren, and Anna, for instance." She smiled and pushed her lithe body against mine, "Who knows where it might lead. Because I feel such a strong bond with you, I'd wager our chemistry would be quite nice, and we could make fireworks together. But, just so you know, I'm not evaluating every woman I meet or see on the basis of whether I want to make love to her or not."

I retorted, "Oh, I didn't think of you that way! Pat told me I had pheromones that sent her signals I was desirable and lovable; she reacted to me accordingly. Somewhere, I also read about 'auras' that people have - the atmosphere around each of us that can wordlessly communicate everything about us - in those first thirty seconds, or maybe earlier. Some people think they extend quite a distance from each person - a hundred feet or more."

Kim speculated, "So, two people's auras rub together, and they know the chemistry is there or it isn't?"

"That's the idea. They signal the other person that they're available, willing, lovable, and lots more about themselves, even things they may not want them to know."

Kim surmised, "Maybe that's why I knew you had a whole lot going on inside you that you needed to talk about this weekend. I sensed that in your aura."

I said, "Probably. What else do you sense?"

Kim reached down to my flaccid cock, surrounded the flesh with her hand in an erotic way, and said in a sexy voice, "Well, I sense ... that we should rub our auras together again, Lover."

"And so we did."

Chapter 14

Illinois

I watched Kim's Cessna Citation soar into the sky with Kim behind the controls, the jet's wheels folding into the wings and belly just after liftoff. Kim had given me a lot to think about, really new ways to think about the world. The whole idea of 'rules' that artificially became 'facts' and 'shoulds' about how we had to behave or about how the world worked made me realize how imprinted I'd been growing up with the beliefs of my parents, teachers, ministers, and my surrounding culture. I'd just accepted them all as fact, truth, the only way, and the one right way. Kim told me they were 'memes' - ideas planted in my head from another head.

I thought of the rules or memes around someone dying who's dear to you. We're taught to grieve, experience pain, take a long time to recover, dispose of the body one way or another, do some kind of memorial service, deal with friends or relatives and their sympathies, and on and on. If we get any of it 'wrong' in some way - violate the meme or rule - we feel guilt and remorse, and friends or relatives will let us know we stepped outside some boundary.

As I rode from the Milwaukee airport to O'Hare International, I chuckled: what if the family gathered around the dying person in the hospital, they died, and the family just walked away after the person died - no one claimed the body, no last rites, no services, no visitations, or anything; everybody just goes back to whatever they were doing before the person got sick? There'd be no coffins, hearses, services, visitations, cemeteries, or religious mumbo-jumbo. Just a short 'goodbye while the loved one was alive and their goodbyes could matter.'

With Anna's help, I'd done everything I'd been 'taught' when Karen died. In the end, it didn't make any difference. She was gone, the pain persisted, and overtime my mind would cover the pain with scar tissue and it would slowly ebb - just like the pain from my bullet wounds.

So, as I rode to Chicago, I thought about the rules I was breaking on this day. I'd just left one girlfriend I loved dearly to immediately see another I felt the same way about. Both women knew about the other, and encouraged the alternate romance besides the one I had with them. Girlfriend #1 was married ... and had her husband's blessing to spend romantic and sexual time and emotional energy on me; he also had a dear friend he had a sexual and emotional interest in. Girlfriend #2 was bisexual (so was Girlfriend #1), and had really liked the sexual fun we had with (a) her sister, and (b) my sister; she'd also described herself as 'modestly experienced' with men, a term she laughingly told me sounded considerably better than 'slut.' Those were a few broken rules I could be thankful for.

Crystal got away earlier than expected, so I found her waiting for me when I got to the sprawling airport, and found my way to the right curbside location. After using a dozen bungee cords, we got her two duffle bags strapped to the motorcycle, and then she sat happily behind me on my motorcycle hugging me in a way that let me know that she loved me more than anything in the world. I'd been hoping no one would identify us as celebrities, but that idea evaporated when a few paparazzi spotted us at O'Hare and attempted to chase us on foot as we pulled away from the curbside. Crystal laughed gaily at having frustrated them. She waved back at them.




Road Trip Pt. 03



Leaving O'Hare, we headed southwest, going through Beloit, and then south deeper into Illinois. We stopped in Rockford for a cozy lunch at a café we spotted on a side street. I'd kept a careful look in the rearview mirror and was certain we'd left the paparazzi behind; it was almost a game of hide and seek. As we lingered over lunch, we talked about what we'd like to do the next few days. Accordingly, I pulled my laptop and did some research for places to stay ... places that had big comfortable beds as Crystal suggested.

The two of us were so happy to be with one another, and I noticed our happiness was contagious. People we talked to cheered up and smiled more. The two of us just beamed at each other. We both knew this relationship was going somewhere special, and we'd just started to enjoy the journey as opposed to trying to rush to some destination.

* * * * *

The place we chose to stay was the Sheffield Lodge, a beautifully restored nineteenth century inn well off the beaten path in a town of the same name. The large bed and breakfast inn sat in the middle of several acres of trees that in turn sat in the middle of wide-open farmland dotted along the horizon with homes, barns, and silos. The pretty nearby town had a population under a thousand and had obviously suffered decades earlier when its primary mission as a coaling station for the railroads went away with the change to diesel locomotives. 

The lower rooms in the inn comprised the owner's apartment, a kitchen, a spacious dining room, a large living room with an extensive library, and a foyer with a highly polished banister and wide carpeted stairs leading to the upper floors where several well-outfitted and modern bedroom suites had been laid out.

As we checked in, Paul Binford, the young owner-manager of the inn told us there was one large business in town that made wooden doors and shutters, but not much else. Paul was a good-looking young man about thirty with black hair and a square jaw; he had that freshly scrubbed and newly minted look to him. In our opening conversation, we discovered that Paul and his wife Tori had done most of the renovations on the old inn over the past two years.

Ten minutes after checking in at the inn, Crystal and I were making love in our room. The gear from the motorcycle and our clothes lay scattered around the large second-floor suite. Since I'd picked her up in Chicago, we never spoke explicitly about what we wanted to do; we knew, it was obvious, and we did it. Like my initial hookup with Kim, neither of us wanted to prolong our first fuck after we hadn't been together in over two weeks. Ten minutes after we started, I lay on my back with Crystal straddling me - our genitals still joined after our orgasms.

"Oh, I am so happy to be with you," Crystal crooned to me as she came down from her high and lay across my body, her hard nipples trying to carve her initials in my chest.

I responded, "Me too. I've thought about you a lot every day since I left Indianapolis. I'm so glad you could get away." I looked down at where our bodies remained joined; "I'd be content to stay like this way for the rest of your time with me."

Crystal laughed and then got a little serious, "Before tonight, I'd love to find a drug store. There are a few things I need. I did travel light, but I realized I should have brought a few girly things - other cosmetics." 

We pulled apart, cleaned up, and redressed. On our way out of the inn, I met Tori Binford and Crystal asked where she could buy what she needed, and where we could dine. Tori was a pretty, young woman who wore sexy glasses and had a friendly demeanor and sparkling personality. She gave Crystal directions to a small strip mall that had an all-purpose drug store. A surprise to us, Tori also invited us to join the two of them for a pot roast dinner she was preparing - compliments of the inn. We accepted, and it looked as though it would be a pleasant evening chatting with the couple. Obviously, neither Paul nor Tori had identified us as well-known country music stars.

We found the store, and Crystal shopped while I roamed around outside getting a feel for the small town. As Crystal was putting on her motorcycle helmet, she said, "We've got to get a couple of bottles of fine wine for the couple that run the inn. They didn't have to invite us to dinner. I really like them; they're cute."

I agreed. After asking for directions, we found a liquor store a couple of miles out of town, bought a nice Pinot Noir and a Chardonnay, packed them in my saddlebags, and headed back to the inn.

Tori and Paul Binford met us as we came in from parking the motorcycle. I got more of a chance to talk to Tori this time; she was in her late twenties, seemed eager to please and excited about having us as guests. They liked our company, and the feeling was mutual. I helped Paul set the dining room table, and he commented that we were the only guests at the inn that night and probably for the next few nights. We presented them with the wine, and excused ourselves to freshen up before dinner.

A half hour and a crowded shower later, we joined Tori and Paul. Over cocktails, we had a lot of conversation about the inn, its history, their renovation projects, and how the two of them happened to end up in this small town in north central Illinois. Neither was from the area; they'd pooled their savings when they wed and bought the inn as a business they could partner in and as an investment.

Tori's bubbly personality came through as she talked to us. I thought she must have been a cheerleader in school she was so vibrant. Over dinner, she posed the obvious question: "What do the two of you do?"

Somehow, neither Crystal nor I had anticipated that question. I jumped in and gave an evasive answer: "I'm on a cross-country trip to my sister's home in California - San Diego, actually. I thought I'd try to go through each of the lower forty-eight states, usually staying off Interstates and with a few exceptions avoiding big cities, and that's how we found you. Crystal is my girlfriend who decided to join me for part of the trip." Crystal looked relieved at my creative and evasive answer.

There was some back and forth discussion when I revealed my background in computers and music, although I admitted to doing little with the latter in a professional vein during my overall career. Crystal started to laugh and almost blew our cover. A coughing fit by her redirected the moment. When the subject came back to her, she said she had tended bar and sung 'here and there' on stage to earn a few bucks. Everything we told them was true, just things had moved much further along and more rapidly than we indicated.

We shifted the conversation to what it was like running a B&B - a bed and breakfast inn. The two of them took turns talking about their venture, a risky one that ate up all their cash and had the pair in debt up to their ears. I shuddered at their financial exposure; I was more conservative in that regard. Crystal also expressed her conservative stance. There seemed to be little rationale for having the inn in Sheffield, except the purchase price of the old building had been in range of something they could afford. Now, they were paying the price with more empty rooms than they counted on.

The more we talked, the more it became apparent that Tori and Paul had divergent views on money management and many other things revolving around the inn: marketing costs and approaches, their roles around the establishment, and going back in time even the selection of Sheffield as a location for their purchase. Paul was the saver and realist, and Tori the spender, and optimist; she had a list a mile long of projects the inn needed. They each had different priorities for managing the inn. I even caught some scowls by one or the other of them over some of the things the other said about the inn and their approach to running it.

Tori produced a fabulous dinner that clearly displayed her skills as a chef. Crystal and I offered to help with clean up, but our offers were rebuffed. Over coffee, we did keep the pair company as they bussed the dishes and put things away. Afterwards, we expressed out thanks and excused ourselves. We went to our suite in the inn, and not surprisingly slipped into some fun lovemaking.

* * * * *

An hour later, Crystal and I lay naked on the large bed, panting from our intensive sexual loving. We'd both pleased each other in many ways. I held Crystal in my arms. The room smelled of sex and the fluids and odors we'd emitted.

Crystal asked with a snicker, "Now's the time to tell me the details about Ohio, Michigan, and Wisconsin - the stuff you didn't cover in your emails. I know you fucked your way through each of those states before you picked me up, but I want the nitty-gritty."

I laughed, and quickly promised to be entirely open and revealing to Crystal. If she didn't like what I'd been doing, I guess I'd have to make other choices if I wanted to preserve our relationship.

I began by telling her about my friends in Ohio - George and his wife Summer. Crystal sat up and listened intently as I told her more about George's war injury, his infertility, and their request to me to impregnate Summer. She pushed me into revealing some of the details about Summer and my time together, as well as the deep loving feelings we developed for each other. As I talked, I watched her carefully; she relished the stories and seemed to enjoy my sexual adventures secondhand, even slowly humping her mons along my leg.

Before we continued, Crystal and I had a revealing discussion about my own and her own hypothetical situations. Would we take similar steps to have a family if I was infertile? How did I think about long-distance fatherhood? Did I want my own family? What role did I want with the child Summer and I would have? How soon did I want kids of my own? How many? We even talked about about having a wife with a serious career, and what family priorities might be in such a situation. We were both feeling each other out around some important issues and moving things to the next level. The questions led us to talking about Karen, my late wife, and some of the dreams for a family that we'd had. Crystal was sympathetic without being maudlin over the way fate redirected my plans. 

Eventually, she led the conversation back to my trip into Michigan. I described how I'd succumbed to lust with four women on my second day there - three on the massage table, and one giving a massage to a hotel waitress who turned out to be an heiress. With glee, Crystal approved of my exploits, and expressed amazement at my ability to please so many so fast. She made me promise to give her a full massage the next day after we bought some lotions and oils.

Our conversation shifted to my exploits in Wisconsin, and I told her about coming up from my morning bath in Lake Winnebago, only to find a couple romantically and sexually christening the picnic table by my campsite. I told her how I'd been invited to join in, getting two extraordinary blowjobs before the couple rushed off to work, and then related the time Kim and I had spent both making love and having deep conversations about the areas in my life that had been perplexing me. Again, Crystal milked every detail of the encounters from me as she used one hand to toy with my cock.

About that time, the two of us joined again in a lazy fuck with Crystal on top of my prone form. We made novel use of fingers, hands, and mouths. We kissed a lot, and I sensed that after our discussion, our relationship had taken a turn for the better. The whole concept of 'girlfriend' came back to me. I wanted Crystal as a serious long-term girlfriend and probably more.

* * * * *

A crash from downstairs rapidly brought Crystal and me out of our combined reverie. Then, we heard the raised voices of Tori and Paul yelling epithets and slurs at each other. Another crash like the first could be clearly identified as glassware of some kind shattering against the dining room wall right beneath our suite. 

The yelling moved off towards the kitchen of the inn, so the words were less distinct, but the volume and angry tenor of the words were hard to miss.

I said, "The two of them seemed pretty happy with each other over dinner; I wonder what happened?"

Crystal said in a concerned voice, "I think we should intervene, offer support to the two of them, and to try to stop them throwing of things. Someone might get hurt."

I thought a moment about that idea, and then agreed as we heard something else break against a downstairs wall and Tori's voice raging in anger at her husband.

I slid on my shorts and my boots, mindful of the broken glass we'd find downstairs. Crystal slipped on my long t-shirt over her sexy body and stepped into her shoes. We boldly walked downstairs following the noise coming from the arguing couple, and hoping the sounds of our arrival would end the argument they were having. 

As we got closer, we could more clearly hear some of the words being said. First, Tori yelled, "You never help around here - you think I'm nothing but a servant. Well, you didn't want a wife or partner, you wanted a chambermaid you could fuck - and fuck around on." Then Paul responded, "Yeah, well, I didn't think my chambermaid would flirt with every male who came in the door - who knows, maybe you've fucked them all, you slut."

"Ahem!" I said loudly as we stood at the door to the kitchen looking at the pair. Crystal came up beside me and put her arms around me. Tori and Paul stopped in the middle of their argument and looked at the two of us sheepishly with their mouths open, obviously ashamed that their guests had caught them arguing so vehemently.

I went on, "We couldn't help hearing part of your argument ... and a few things breaking. We thought we should come down and see whether we could cool things down a bit between the two of you. There are more constructive ways of arguing, you know."

I was surprised at my assertiveness in this marital situation. I'd been anything but a marriage counselor during my own marriage; usually caving into whatever Karen wanted us to do. Fortunately, she had remained sensitive to our relationship, so I seldom felt put upon by what she decided.

Paul and Tori both started to talk at once, arguing their positions to Crystal and me. We could hear nothing substantial as a result.

With the command voice I'd learned as a Green Beret, I said loudly, "TORI! Go with Crystal, and talk to her. She'll help you. I'll stay here with Paul, and we'll talk about what's going on. After things have cooled down, we'll get the two of you back together." My instructions left little room for argument, and the two automatically nodded in agreement like good Army recruits would have done in the presence of such strong commands. I nodded to Crystal and whispered some additional suggestions to her. She left the room with Tori.

Paul shook his head in disgust. He muttered, "Shit. I hate arguing with her." I maneuvered him into a sitting position at the kitchen table. I continued to stand near him in a power position.

I asked, "Do you know for certain she's sleeping around?" I asked in a strong tone that would have been confrontational if I had a stake in the answer. I didn't.

He thought a moment and said, "No, not really. She just flirts with everyone - as she did with you at the dinner table. I bet somewhere along the line she's screwing around on me."

I told him, "Paul, just so you know, I didn't think there was any flirting going on today. Your wife has a bubbly personality - she's friendly. That's good, and as a guest at an inn I found it refreshing and delightful - both of you are that way. As for your speculations, what does she say?"

"She denies that anything has ever happened since we got engaged three years ago and got married shortly after."

"But you don't believe or trust her?" I paused and asked, "Why don't you leave - pack up and move on down the road and divorce her?"

Paul looked a little shocked. I'd read him correctly. He looked up at me and studied me. He stammered a bit, trying to find the right words. "I know I should trust her ... hell, I don't trust myself. And, I don't want to leave her ... I love her. When I raise the issue, she accuses me of the same thing, but I haven't messed around with anyone although I've been tempted after some of our big fights."

"So throwing plates around the house is a demonstration of that love?"

He softened, "No, I guess not. She was doing the throwing anyway... but I guess I provoked her with my name calling."

I asked, "Why did the first plate get thrown?"

Paul launched into a discussion that sounded remarkably like an angrier version of the divergent opinions about the management of the inn we'd heard over part of dinner: money and division of labor around the inn issues. Ultimately, he'd sparked off her anger, and she overreacted.

I pushed harder, "Why are your divergent views on money worth fighting about?"

Paul shrugged. He didn't have a ready answer to that question. Without much conviction he mumbled some words about Tori spending too much money and putting them into debt as a result. I could tell he didn't really believe that it was all Tori's fault. He knew he shared responsibility for their current financial situation.

I asked, "What else do you fight about? Sex? Having a family? Relatives? Friends?"

Mostly Paul shook his head. He said in a quiet voice, "We fight a lot about money. That takes a good sex life off the table, as well as willingness by either of us to start the family we both want. Neither of us has family nearby, nor do we have any close friends. We're too new to the area."

I asked, "Can you name five things that you'd like to see happen about your financial situation?"

He thought for a moment: "First, I'd like to build reserves so if we have a crisis we have some dough saved to deal with it. I think five thousand would be good for starters. Next, I'd like to figure out how to control our spending - we don't do well at this; we just use the credit cards without a care until the bills come in. We're building a debt that we've got to payoff - the interest payments on our card balances are killing us. So I guess paying off all that would be my third thing."

I waited patiently for him to think of two more things.

A minute or so later, Paul said, "Fourth, I think we both need allowances so we can each have our own mad money." He thought for a while and admitted, "And fifth, we do need to market ourselves the way Tori wants us to do, particularly in Chicago - it's not that far away. We could be a getaway weekend or something; we've talked about it, but haven't done anything yet."

"Do you have a budget and an accountant?"

"No on both counts."

"Do you think one of each could help you?"

"Yeah, I guess. At least, we'd know where we were overspending and why." He thought for a moment and added; "I don't know that we could afford an accountant right now. We've almost maxed out our Visa card; we've got to pay that down. We're right on the ragged edge ... it keeps me awake at night."

Without thought I said, "What if I offered to pay for you to visit with an accountant for a few visits, so you could get a 'system' in place ... one you both agree on and one that you can follow."

Paul looked up at me in disbelief, "You'd do that? You barely know us."

"Yeah, I like saving marriages. I miss my own. My guess is that you'd miss yours too, if you two split."

He nodded, "What happened to your marriage?" My widower status had not been raised at the dinner table.

"My wife died about eight months ago."

"But, Crystal ... she's ..."

"A girlfriend. We're just at the start of something interesting - very interesting that I hope lasts a long, long time."




Road Trip Pt. 04



... Continuing on from the previous chapter ...





Road Trip Pt. 04



Everything had changed between Kelly and I. In a few short days on the road our decade-long platonic friendship had rapidly evolved as her love of exhibitionism also gathered pace.

Just hours earlier she had ordered me to help her masturbate in front of more than 20 men at a pool hall in a mall. Then she had given me an exquisite hand job and taking my cum load in her mouth in the back of our car.

I was desperate to know how she saw this all developing but, as had become the pattern after her brushes with public exposure, she was in no mood to talk about what had gone on. In fact she almost seemed to have blocked it from her mind completely as we continued on our aimless journey.

We had eaten at a roadside diner and then hit the highway again with me driving and her either dozing off in the passenger seat or making small talk about the scenery.

My head was spinning with thoughts and struggling with the growing realisation that I wanted much more from Kelly than the friendship we had enjoyed for so long. But I did not want to push her so kept quiet and waited for my opportunity.

Kelly had just awoken from her latest brief nap as we entered another fairly non-descript small town. It was dark by now and soon we would need to be looking for a place to stay.

"What time is it Phil," she asked with a yawn.

"Around 9," I replied. "We probably better find a motel here or we'll end up sleeping in the car."

"Stop!" Kelly yelled suddenly.

Startled I hit the brakes and the car jolted to a halt.

"What's wrong?" I said.

Kelly looked at me with that smile again and said, "Nothing. I'm getting that urge again and I think I've just seen the perfect place for it."

I knew full well what she meant and felt my heart-rate start to pick up in anticipation. Now wide-awake, Kelly pointed to a basketball court where four men were shooting hoops under the floodlights.

Parking the car around 250 yards from the court I turned to Kelly and asked, "So what have you in mind this time?"

"Oh come on now Phil. It's far more fun if I don't tell you and just let you find out. Plus I actually don't know myself," Kelly said with a giggle as she checked her hair and make-up in the mirror.

"I know Kell. It's all about spontaneity," I replied.

"You got it," she said with a grin as she opened her door and got out of the car.

I followed suit and joined Kelly at the kerb. She had not bothered to put her bra back on after the mall and the cool night air combined with the excited anticipation of some more exhibitionism had left her nipples poking prominently against her flimsy blue summer dress.

"I'm getting wet already;" she said, "Good job I left my panties off or they'd be getting soaked."

I gulped and could feel my dick hardening once more inside my pants. My friend's liking for exposing herself was becoming almost as addictive to me as it clearly was to her and I craved to know what she was planning.

We made our way over to the basketball court. As we entered through the gate in the high fence that surrounded the court, the men halted their game. All four men were in their late 20s to early 30 and all seemed pleased to see the attractive blonde who had interrupted their game.

"Hi there. Can we help you?" one said.

"We were driving by and wondered if we could join your game," replied Kelly.

The men looked at each other and all nodded. "Sure," said the man who had greeted us. "I'm Tony and this is Carl, Tom and Calvin."

"Nice to meet you boys," Kelly responded. "I'm Kelly and this is Phil."

"Hi," I muttered.

"Ok," said Tony. "How'd you wanna do this?"

"I'll join your team and Phil can be on the other. Is that ok?" Kelly replied. "I know I'm a girl but I'm a good player I promise," she added with a sly smile.

"No problem," said Tony.

"Excuse me but you aren't exactly dressed for basketball," commented Calvin.

"You're right," said Kelly. Turning away from the men she bent over at the waist and undid her wedged heeled shoes kicking them off in turn. I could see the men checking out her butt which was peeking out beneath the hem of her dress as she did this.

Her shoes removed, Kelly walked up to Tony with her 34d boobs swaying gently against her dress with each step. She took the ball from his grasp and went to take a shot at the hoop.

Just as she was on the point of releasing the ball she stopped and faced the group. "You know what I still don't feel comfortable," she said tossing the ball back to a puzzled Tony.

With that she reached down and took hold of the hem of her dress. She slowly lifted it up revealing more and more of her naked body that lay underneath the material.

First her toned thighs came into sight, then her silky smooth pussy followed by her flat stomach and finally her glorious boobs with their large nipples that were standing to attention in the centre of her dark areola.

With a final tug, she pulled the dress off over her head and casually flung it to the side of the court. One of the men whistled while the others stood in stunned silence.

Kelly walked right up to Tony and retook the ball making sure to brush her boobs against him as she did so.

"Let's play then guys," Kelly said taking a shot that missed the hoop by some way.

"Uh Ok," mumbled Tony retrieving the ball but keeping his eyes firmly fixed on the naked blonde beauty a few standing yards from him.

In an almost surreal way a game of sorts then began although the two men on my team seemed far more interested in marking Kelly as closely as possible than in making baskets.

We had been going like this for a couple of minutes when Kelly stood still and said, "Time-out."

"What's up?" said Calvin.

"I don't think I'm as good at this game as I thought I was. How about we play a different one?" Kelly responded with a seductively smile.

"What did you have in mind?" said Calvin.

"How about you guys have a free throw contest?" she replied.

"And what are you gonna do missy?" said Tom in what I think was the first time he had spoken since we arrived.

Kelly laughed and said," I will stand here naked and watch. Then I will suck the winner's cock!"

Yet again there was stunned silence on the court until Calvin said, "I'm in."

The other three men agreed while it was suggested that I, as an outsider to the group, did not take part. To be truthful that did not bother me as I am hopeless at basketball. What is more I had hopes that the raging boner in my pants would be satisfied in another way later that night.

Kelly clapped excitedly and said, "Great."

I stood next to her on the side-lines while the four men haggled over the rules of the competition and who would shoot in what order.

"You sure you want to do this Kell?" I said. "Are you really going to give a blow job to one of these strangers right out here in a public place?"

"Certainly am Phil," she replied still grinning broadly. "Are you having fun? I hope you are."

"I am Kell as long as you're not doing anything you're going to regret," I said.

"That's sweet Phil and no I'm doing all this because I want to do it. Feel how excited I am," she said grabbing my hand and putting it on her pussy.

I could feel a warm wetness as her juice leaked out of her lips onto my fingers. My dick strained in my pants eager to be inserted into her pussy. Forcing myself to pull my hand away I said, "Yep Kell you are definitely excited."

Kelly chuckled. The free throw contest had begun and it quickly became apparent that Calvin would win. As the other three men bemoaned their bad luck and his undoubted ball skills, he sank his three shots while they all missed at least one.

Holding his arms aloft Calvin yelped, "Oh yeah. Who's the man?"

Kelly walked across to him and taking his hand said, "You are it seems Calvin."

Beckoning for the losing players and me to follow, Kelly led Calvin to a corner of the court that could not be seen from the road and pulled down his shorts and underwear.

His dick was fully erect as it popped free and Kelly started tugging on it gently. Temporarily releasing her grasp, she kneeled down in front of him and then re-established her grip on his shaft.

After first checking that the rest of us were watching, she cupped his balls in one hand and placed her mouth around the tip of his dick. She nibbled the tip playfully for a few seconds and then, with one last glance up at her audience, plunged the entire shaft into her mouth.

Her head bobbing back and forth and her boobs swinging away, Kelly sucked Calvin's dick slowly at first and then picking up the pace. He grabbed her hair and closed his eyes as she sucked faster and faster.

Then with a final thrust forward he came in her mouth as the rest of us watched on in envy. When he was done, Kelly slipped her mouth free from his dick and swallowed.

"Damn girl you suck a good cock," said Calvin.

Getting to her feet Kelly replied, "Thanks."

"Another game?" said Tony with a hopeful look on his face.

Kelly chuckled, "Sorry boys Phil and I have plans. Right Phil?"

Unaware what 'plans' these were I just nodded my agreement. I jogged across the court to retrieve Kelly's dress and shoes for her while she exchanged farewell kisses with each of her new friends all of whom she allowed to have a feel of her boobs as she pecked them on the cheek.

I handed Kelly her dress and after she had slipped it back on as well as her shoes we made our way to our car.

Back in the vehicle Kelly said, "I am so horny. That was awesome. Let's find a motel and you can fuck my brains out Phil."

Even with all that had gone on these past few days this remark still shocked me. "What?" I stammered.

Turning to face me and looking me straight in the eye she replied slowly, "I want you to fuck me Phil. Unless you don't want to that is?"

"I want nothing more than that Kell," I responded.

"Well then let's find that motel and quickly," Kelly said.

As luck would have it we came across a motel within minutes of setting off. Having barely listened to a word the woman on reception said as I checked us in, I grabbed the keys to the room and we literally ran to get there.

Bursting through the door I threw off my clothes as Kelly removed her dress. She pulled me onto the bed on top of her and we began kissing. My hands were all over her not knowing where to touch first.

To my surprise and initial disappointment Kelly then stopped kissing me and brought an abrupt end to my hands' exploration of her body.

Looking at me with that sly grin again she pushed me off her and got up from the bed. Throwing open the curtains she turned back to me and said, "I want us to be seen."

At this stage I did not care who might see us. I just wanted her. "Ok with me," I said.

Kelly walked back to the bed and pushed me backwards. She climbed up and stood over me looking down. Without a word she lowered herself down slowly eventually impaling herself on my dick.

Words cannot do justice to the sensation as her pussy slipped onto my dick. I was in heaven and closed my eyes as Kelly began to bounce on my shaft.

Moaning and muttering she pumped herself up and down my dick. I glanced up to see her as she thrust herself on me with increasing fervor. He huge boobs were swinging wildly. Her eyes were closed and she was panting heavily.

I leaned back again let her have her way with my dick until suddenly she yelped and I felt her pussy muscles grip tighter around my shaft as she orgasmed. Almost immediately I too reached a glorious climax firing load upon load of hot cum into Kelly's warm, wet pussy.

Both satisfied, Kelly collapsed onto my chest. We lay there like that for a couple of minutes with my dick slowly returning to its less-excited state inside her soaked hole.

Having recovered her breath sufficiently, Kelly dismounted and rolled over. We both looked up at the ceiling silently.

Then Kelly said, "I told you spontaneity was good Phil."

"You did Kell, You did," I replied. "And you know what? You were right."



Road Trip Pt. 04



I spoke in a pleasant but matter of fact voice, hoping to pull her out of her despair over the tire, "Hard to fix something like that? Do you have spare?"

The dirty blond looked up at me. Mascara streaked the pretty features of her face along with the glistening tracks of many tears. She talked and sobbed simultaneously: "No ... spare ... no ... money. I'm done for."

I thought for a moment and looked around. About a block away I could see the sign for an auto and truck center. Almost in answer to the situation I could see the word 'Tires' below the larger letters in the sign. 

"Do you have a jack? You know, so we can get the tire off your car?"

Again, she spoke through her choked up voice, "In the trunk ... I think." She held up a set of worn car keys in my direction. 

Her cries slowed as she watched me get the car jack and lug wrench from the trunk. She stood, sniffled, and kept asking me what I intended to do because she had no money for a replacement tire. I popped the small hubcap off the wheel, loosened the lug nuts, and then jacked the car so the tire rose off the ground. Two minutes later the tire fell off the car into my hands. I'd left the knife in it so the hole would be easy to find.

As I'd worked, I'd extracted a few pieces of information from the pretty woman: her name was Shaye, she'd had a boyfriend up until that morning – they'd argued, he punched her, stuck a knife in the tire, and left for points west. He'd also taken all her money. She was from Texas, miles away, and knew no one in the town.

I suggested she stay with the car while I got the tire fixed. I carried the tire the block to the repair shop. A no-nonsense man met me at the door; he'd seen me approach with the tire in hand. 

I started to speak, but he held up his hand for me to remain silent. He read the tire size, touched the knife, and then led me into one of the large empty garage bays. He pulled a tire off a metal rack and verified the size, then turned to me: "It'll cost you $80 - mounted and balanced. The tire you've got is no good; couldn't even put a tube in it with the gash the knife left."

I smiled and told him to go ahead. He stood still until I peeled four twenty-dollar bills from the small roll in my pocket and passed them to him. He smiled at me and went to work replacing the tire. 

When I got back to the woman's car rolling the new tire in front of me, she had disappeared. I shrugged, resigned to complete my second good deed for the day. I got halfway through mounting the tire when Shaye appeared next to me. 

She said in a dejected tone, "I had to wash my face. I know I looked a mess - runny makeup and all. I'm not normally like that; it's just that today's a low point in my life. The guy I've been living with for two years took off this morning, and I know I'll never see him again. He took my half of some money we'd saved - over two grand. I have about thirty bucks. We were supposed to play a gig down the street, so he's screwed them over too. I can't work alone, and I'll never get a chance to work here again now that their Saturday night's entertainment is a no-show. I also can't pay you for that tire. I'm sorry."

"Whoa!" I said, "Slow down; one thing at a time; how do you know your boyfriend's gone and are you sure he took the money?" I asked as I started to get the lug nuts in place to hold the tire on the car.

She said in a sad voice, "He told me; said he'd wasted his sorry ass taking care of me, and that I owed him the money. I think he got it all backwards; I took care of him and deserved at least my share of the money. I was the one getting us guest appearances. I have the better voice. I just let him takeover – I'm such a loser."

She squatted down so she was more at my level as I knelt to put the tire on the car. I noted how nice her blue jeans hugged her perfectly shaped ass. The muscle tone of her shapely legs also showed as they stretched the denim. When she leaned forward, the fullness of her breasts also showed through the open neck of her western shirt. I wanted to open more of the western snaps to see more. I struggled to keep my eyes on her pretty face – she was easy to look at.

She kept talking about her situation, "He and I sang country music. We traveled around in the central states - even did appearances a few places in Canada. My guess is he went after some little tramp he went ga-ga eyes over in Calgary a week ago. He said he was headed up that way."

I asked, "And why can't you appear solo tonight or get a job after this?"

Shaye thought a long time before answering; I struggled with a reluctant lug nut. "I've haven't sung alone in years. I can play guitar and sing, but I've always been part of a duet or larger group – I take comfort in numbers on stage, otherwise I'd be too nervous. Hank and I were together for two years. God, I'm dumb!" I could see the self-directed anger starting to emerge.

I volunteered, "Show me that you can sing, and maybe I'll sing some with you to get you started. Some folks think I can sing, although I should warn you, my guitar playing is pretty basic."

Shaye stared at me a long time, getting outside her self-pity and really taking in what I looked like for the first time since we'd met. "Oh, shit," she muttered loud enough for me to hear; "You're him ... that guy ... Crystal Lee and you ..."

"Hi, again. Jim Mellon at your service."

Shaye sputtered about. I had to stop and tell her to calm down. "Look, I'm just a guy who happened to have a string of good luck - meeting Crystal, recording songs, and all. Don't go all flaky on me. You're as special as I am and as Crystal is. Heck, Crystal tended bar and waited tables and sang in between, then someone happened to like one song she did – 'Flirty, Flirty Cowgirl.' It can happen to you too."

She spoke with awe in her voice, "You're riding your motorcycle through all the states, right? Where's your motorcycle?"

I gestured down the block to where my over packed motorcycle sat in a parking space.

Shaye fell back from her crouch next to me onto her butt. She was overtaken. "I've never met anyone so famous."

"Get over it," I implored. "I'm just a guy - a nice one, I hope, that's helping a stranded lady fix a tire. Now, I'm also offering to do a little impromptu singing with her; if, and I mean a big 'if', she can prove to me that she can sing, and we can get our act together before you go on tonight."

Shaye sputtered some more and finally said, "Oh, God, I'd be so honored to sing with you. What do you want me to do, sing for you right here, right now?" Her tone of voice told me that if I'd asked her to jump off a building, she'd immediately leap right off without a second thought.

I responded, "No, let's go somewhere a little more private. Is there a park near here?"

She replied, "I saw one two blocks that way." She gestured to the north.

I tightened the last of the lug nuts, popped the hubcap on, and let the car down off the jack. As I stowed the jack back in the trunk of the car, I said, "You lead, I'll get my bike and follow you. I see the guitar back in the back of your car; bring that too. Let's find a nice place to practice."

"Oh, thank you. Thank you so much. I can't pay you now for the tire, but when I can, what will I owe you for the tire?"

I shook my head as I walked to the bike. I said back at her, "Pay me back by singing up a storm tonight. Now, come show me what you can do."





Road Trip Pt. 04



We pulled the other musicians with us as we went to a back room behind the bar for our break. Before we could ever start to talk, the Buck's owner rushed in; "You guys are fantastic. I've never had so many people in here." He turned to Shaye; "You have a great voice; you can sing here anytime." To me, he said, "You devil. I didn't know who you were until someone told me. I guess you're her friend, and I thank you for being here. I sure hope you won't charge me your normal concert rate." He laughed, and I shook his hand, assuring him that the evening was a freebie for him as long as he kept Shaye coming back to sing for him. He congratulated the other musicians, all of whom he seemed to know on a first name basis.

The six of us quickly planned the next set, and talked briefly about the one after that. We picked up two more musicians at the start of the next set, a saxophone player, and a violinist that really knew his country music. I thought the eight of us sounded great. We were having fun on stage, and even Shaye had relaxed and started to roll with the evening. I could tell she felt responsible for the entertainment at the roadhouse. I kept pushing her to the front of the stage as our leader, and urging her to use the microphone to front for the group, a job she finally started to enjoy. I felt comfortable following her, the same way I'd felt comfortable following Crystal when we first started playing together.

By midnight, Buck's Roadhouse had over six hundred people in it or hanging in through the open doors. We did a fifteen-minute encore to large rounds of applause. The owner told us later that many people were calling their friends and telling them to 'get down here,' this music is the best we've ever had in the State. He was grateful the fire marshall hadn't shown up and closed him down. He'd opened all the doors and just allowed people to come and go, counting on their honesty to settle their tabs. I suggested he pay Shaye in cash that night and even give her a bonus; he thought about that for a moment and then agreed she'd more than earned that by her performance and by bringing me to sing along. 

Despite the presence of a celebrity on stage, I managed to deflect the responsibility for the group's success to Shaye. She blushed, but accepted the accolades. She knew she'd done a good job, and that six hundred people agreed with me. The owner felt the same way, and suggested to Shaye that she make his place a regular stop when she was in the vicinity; he'd even offer her steady employment if that was what she wanted. Shaye looked pleased, and told him she'd let him know her plans in a day or so. Later, I found out she'd expected a hundred dollars for the night, but she'd received six hundred dollars. The owner had also given a stipend to each of the volunteer musicians.

At my urging, Shaye got the names and contact information for the guys who had volunteered to sit in with us. Several of them expressed interest in playing more with her if she'd line up the business. I suggested she call the group 'Shaye Sadler and the Volunteers,' and they all seemed to like that name as well as her taking the lead.

As we were standing around talking, a young man came up and quickly introduced himself as a DJ from KUSB, the local country music station in Bismarck that covered all the Dakotas. He wanted to do an interview with me, but I ducked the opportunity. Instead, I aimed him at Shaye, telling him she was the one that needed the break and the publicity. I shook his hand warmly and poured on the charm as I steered him in her direction. He looked exceptionally happy to meet the belle of the evening. As I walked away, I could see them swap business cards to set up their meeting.

The patrons gradually filtered out of the dance hall now that the live music had stopped and 'last call' had passed. Shaye and I ended sitting at the bar nursing a glass of wine, and celebrating a job well done.

About then, I realized I didn't have a place to stay. I asked Shaye, "Where are you staying?"

She laughed and said, "In the backseat of my car, probably behind this place."

The bartender overheard her comment and volunteered, "Shaye, there's a room upstairs with a bed in it; nothing special, but it's clean and safe. You'll be locked in overnight, but you can get out if you need to." He gestured to a flight of stairs and a closed door at the top. "No one's using it, and I know the owner wouldn't mind – not after what you did for his business tonight. We ran out of almost everything." He chuckled to himself and gestured to the half-empty shelves behind him.

Shaye said, "I'll take it." She turned to me and asked, "Where are you staying?"

I shrugged. "I was going to camp out, but it's late and I'm tired. I guess ..."

The bartender again interjected, "And, it's raining outside. Got a cold front movin' through tonight. Probably clear off tomorrow sometime. Really windy too."

I thought of trying to set up my tent in wind on a cold rainy night at two in the morning. Somehow, the prospect didn't excite me. As I held that image, Shaye leaned in and whispered in my ear, "Please, come join me upstairs?" I caught that glint in her eye that betrayed more than just a simple invitation. She had the same vibes about me that I had about her.

I think the bartender overheard her whisper; he shuffled down to the far end of the bar and got busy doing something else so he could politely ignore us and not embarrass Shaye.

I slowly nodded yes. I added, "I'd be delighted."





Road Trip Pt. 04



"Sorry. I think what you have is a 'green stick' fracture of your tibia – that's your main lower leg bone. It carries ninety percent of the load for that leg; you also have a smaller bone called a fibula that seems all right. The break may be like what a tree branch might do when it cracks but not all the way through. We've got to immobilize the leg before we move you, or we might do greater damage getting you back to civilization." 

"How do you immobilize me here – there's not much around to work with and you're in running shorts and a t-shirt?"

"I'm going to go down to my camp and get some materials and come back. We'll immobilize your leg, get you off this ledge, and take you down the mountain. Where's your car?"

"I have a rental car parked at Sylvan Lake. Do you know where that is?"

"No, but I can find it. Give me the keys I want to move it closer to where I'll bring you out of the woods below. I'm on a motorcycle, so that won't do to transport you."

Mils studied me a second, I guess evaluating whether she could trust me with her car and whatever valuables she'd left in it. A wave of pain caught her for a few seconds. The car keys rapidly appeared, and she dropped them in my hand. She described the car to me, and where she'd put it in the parking area.

"It might be an hour or two before I get back. We're still a way from the campground that's the nearest to where you are; that's where I'm camped. I'll take my motorcycle to your car and then drive it back. Be patient. If someone else comes, ask for them to stay, and to me help get you down the mountain when I get back."

"Bring me some food too, if you can – please. My stomach is growling; I've missed two meals."

I agreed, and then studied a descent over the lower cliff, from the ledge to the rocky floor below. I scaled down that cliff face, noting the paucity of hand and toe holds. Once I got down and a few feet away, I turned and took a picture of the cliff. I didn't have cookie crumbs to lead me back to Mils, but I could take a picture every few feet to be sure I could reverse play my journey down the mountain. Occasionally, I'd also move a few rocks into a signpost as well.





Road Trip Pt. 04



Towards the end of dinner, I could see Mils start to droop. I caught her in a couple of yawns; she looked embarrassed she'd been seen, but couldn't help it. She gave me a silly grin. A night without much sleep on a ledge in the forest, the pain in her leg, and the painkillers were getting to her. By the time we finished our dessert, we were the last people in the restaurant. I suggested that she head for bed and get a good night's sleep so that her leg could start to heal.

Mils nodded somewhat automatically. As we exited the restaurant, I stopped by a lounge area with a few nice chairs; I said, "I've got to get a room. Do you mind waiting here while I go to the front desk?"

Mils gently touched my arm just as I turned to her. "Jim, why don't you stay with me? Please." She looked me straight in the eye, and I felt a jolt of sexual energy pass between us. I'd guessed we clicked, but I didn't want to presume anything. We'd been building up the static charge between us during dinner, and now with her few words a small detonation occurred. 

"I'd be delighted, but are you sure? You're awfully tired." I gestured to the sterile white cast on her leg.

Mils looked at me with a tired look and said, "Right now, my mind is willing, but my body is fading fast. If you don't mind a rain check on anything further than a kiss goodnight and a good night's sleep, please come and bunk with me." 

That sounded like the best deal in town.





Road Trip Pt. 05



... continuing from the previous chapters ...





Road Trip Pt. 05



The eight members of the band, Tina, Terry, Ellen, Crystal, and I followed Alan through the maze of corridors under the stadium to some elevators that whisked us up to the sky boxes. A buffet table had been set up in one of them, and we filed into the attractive wood paneled room for lunch. A row of high stools sat against a counter that looked down on the field for an unparalleled view of every bit of the action. Several sexy 'stewardesses' were in the skybox to help with anything we needed, according to Alan. During the conversation, I learned that the skyboxes are usually corporate rentals: a twenty-year lease with thirty skybox season tickets netted the stadium forty million dollars! My jaw dropped open at the cost.

I watched as Terry and Tina got into deep conversations. Initially, I thought it was about our music and recording new tracks, but then I watched as the two started to place their hands in strategic locations as they talked in increasingly hushed tones. Tina's hand would stroke up Terry's thigh. Terry's fingers stroked up Tina's arm, wandering slightly to the sides of her full breasts. The both looked content at their interactions. Everybody seemed to be getting horny, yet there was work to be done.

We rehearsed with the band in the afternoon. We felt comfortable with the various songs we chose, started to iron out the transitions in the medley, and took a large step to getting the one I'd written ready for prime time. Alan arranged for drinks and dinner at the Four Seasons. After a long and busy afternoon, we had cocktails and ate outside on the patio at the hotel.

After dinner as we left the table, Tina pulled me aside; "Jim, I'm in that room over there just off the pool, why don't you come by in a few minutes?" This blatant offer of sex had much appeal. I now had three women who wanted 'cock time,' and I wasn't sure how to respond to Tina's offer, particularly after I knew that Crystal and she had a revealing conversation about our sexual predilections. I had started bumbling my indecisive reply when Crystal appeared at my side. She turned to Tina and said in a low voice to Tina, "Terry, Ellen, and I are having a little party after the party in our suite; I think you two would really like it. It'd give you and Jim the opportunity to get to really 'connect' with each other again - really well, plus you could share your assets in a group setting. Do you enjoy group settings?" Crystal winked at Tina.

Tina smiled and said, "Oh, this sounds like so much fun. Let's get started."

I offered my arms to Crystal and Tina. We strolled from the large patio to our suite.





Road Trip Pt. 05



In a quieter voice I said, "I forgot we'd be on TV. Your words just caught me by surprise. How many will be watching?"

Tina said, "If it's like the last couple of Cowboy games and like most Sunday Night Football, somewhere in the vicinity of twenty million viewers."

I started to stammer and stutter again, " TWENTY Mo ... Ma ... Me ... Mil ... Million!"

Tina caught on to my anxiety about that time. She tried to calm me, "Jim, you won't even know it's happening. The camera guys are barely noticeable as they move around you. Just focus on ... on Crystal! Sing to her, not to the stadium or the cameras. The rest will take care of itself."

I became glum for a few minutes and grumbled around the inside of the tour bus while Crystal had her face put on. I thought she had looked good before. I got the treatment too, even eye makeup. A hair stylist worked on my unruly locks for twenty minutes, most of which would be under a western hat part of the time. A very naked Heather had done my last haircut only a few days earlier; I took some solace in that fact.

A caterer brought a dozen trays of small sandwiches and hors d'oeuvres to the bus. We spread them around inside, and I migrated from tray to tray sampling all the goodies. Eating made me feel better - comfort food. On the bus' TV, we all watched the kickoff for the game. New England had won the toss and opted to kickoff.

At the end of the first quarter, Alan Roswell, the man in charge of the halftime show for the Cowboys, banged on the door and entered the bus. He looked happy but serious. "Alright everyone, we're all set for the best halftime show ever! Now, Jim and Crystal I need you on your motorcycle. There's an escort outside the bus and they will take you to a holding point. You'll wait there until the cue to start riding into the stadium; just follow the escort right to the bottom of the stage stairs, dismount, park your motorcycle, walk up the stairs, and you're ready to sing. Your wireless mics and headsets will be handed to you at the bottom of the stairs; you can put them on as you climb to the stage."

Crystal asked, "What about timing with the stage crew?"

Alan answered, "We've timed the trip from the holding point. The police escorts you're with know the details. The blimp overhead will cover your journey, and we'll project that on the stadium screens to build excitement. You should arrive just as the stage is completed and everyone else - the band and stage crews - is ready to start. This is a great idea, because it puts the focus on your arrival instead of the crew setting up the stage. As you arrive at the bottom of the stairs, you should hear the lead in to  'Flirty, Flirty Cowgirl.'  After your show, just reverse everything and exit behind your escort."

Crystal and I stepped down out of the van. Four motorcycle cops were waiting for us along with a crowd of fans. We waved to everyone, and introduced ourselves to the motorcycle officers. I heard a thousand cameras start to snap as we shook hands with them. To one side of the crowd, I caught sight of Bart Kenesis again, but things were too hectic to do anything about him.

We mounted up and fell in line behind two of the motorcycles. Crystal held the hats we'd wear while we sang. The other two patrolmen followed us. They had all their warning lights blinking, and occasionally would turn on the sirens to clear a path for us. The crowd parted, and we slowly rode away from the stadium. 

The police phalanx led us about a half-mile from the stadium onto a residential road. Four more motorcycle policemen met us there. We were organized by a senior officer into a two-two-one-two-two formation, where Crystal and I were the 'one.' With all the lights blinking we were unmistakably important people. Crystal pointed up at the blimp. I could also hear the chatter on their police radios about the estimated time to the start of our short trip to the stadium.

At eight-thirty, we got the "Go" command. We started up our bikes, and I followed the four motorcycles in front of us as we wove out of the treed neighborhood onto some of the streets and parking lanes that led to the stadium. We maintained a nice even pace, maybe about ten miles an hour. Every light on any motorcycle in our entourage had been turned on; our formation blinked wildly with red and blue emergency lights as we approached the gated tunnel that led onto the field. The blimp circled us overhead. I could hear the crowd noise over the sounds of the cycles.

We were waved through the tunnel by several private security guards. Our entire formation rode into the stadium with sirens and all the lights blinking. The crowd went wild. Even over the noise of the nine Harley's, we could hear the screams, whistles, and shouts. We rode two-thirds of the way around the perimeter of the playing field on a path that had been cleared for us. 

As promised, our escort led us right to base of the stairway leading up to the stage. We got off, the bike, got our mics and headsets, donned our hats, and ran up the stairs onto the stage. The segue music for  'Flirty, Flirty Cowgirl' had started and a huge spotlight lit up Crystal. I faded to the background and tried to look useful by cavorting with the lead guitarist. The motorcycles had all been turned off and darkened. The focus and spotlight were on Crystal.

As Crystal sang her song, I peeked up at the rows and rows of people in the stadium. I couldn't see an empty seat in the place. I thought, "So, this is what eighty-thousand people look like." I found the scene scary on the one hand, and empowering on the other. I chose to dwell on the latter emotion. If I'd remained a computer geek, would I have ever found myself in such a situation and in front of so many people?

About three minutes passed, and I heard the band start the musical bridge into  'Texas Dawn.'  Crystal turned to me, and I moved up beside her into the main spotlight. We gave each other a little kiss before we started. The crowd went wild with cheers, and a thousand more cameras flashed.

We sang the opening line to  'Texas Dawn' - 'Texas dawns come early, when you've been awake all night' - and the crowd noise rose in a huge crescendo, so loud I could barely think. We were singing about Texas to a Texas crowd, and they loved it. They quieted slightly as we got into the song. After that, I gave a brief introduction to  'Lone Wolf Mountain' and we sang that. I couldn't tell whether it had been well received or not. Lots of people were screaming anyway, so it was hard for me to tell appreciation from general exuberance. As we sang, I watched six guys dressed like Ninja's with wireless television cameras sneaking around us on the stage and below the stage on the playing field. We segued into our medley that ended with a jived up version of  'Dallas' that bought the stands to their feet cheering. Tina had it right; she'd said, "Always play to the home team." 

As we finished, we gave a wave to the stadium, ran down the stairs, took off our hats, handed off the wireless mics, and hopped back on the motorcycle. Our police escort had been waiting for us in the shadows of the stage with their engines and lights off. As we mounted the bike, all the blinking lights came back on and all the cycles started and revved their engines. We motored away from the stage, as the stadium crew started to dismantle the structure.

We completed the rest of the loop around the stadium and left the way we came in. As we cleared the stadium parking area, most of the motorcycle patrolmen waved and departed our group. Two patrolmen stayed with us, and led us back to the secure parking area and the tour bus. We stopped, thanked them, and shook hands. Crystal kissed each one on the cheek; they left us with big smiles on their faces.





Road Trip Pt. 05



I turned to a cluster of some press members and said, "Ladies and gentlemen of the press, it appears you have among you a liar, pervert, and a Peeping Tom in this man. I don't know what he thinks he saw, I guess he thinks that we wronged him in some way. He appears to me to be a reckless journalist, a pervert trying to sneak lewd photos of one of the country's prettiest women in her home by peeking in her windows with camera in hand, and a threat because he's a stalker and he's dangerous - you just heard him threaten us. I suggest you all watch whom you're dealing with. I know that from today on we will." I was friendly enough with them so they didn't feel any animosity from me except about Bart Kenesis' character. 

Several people turned to Kenesis, wanting more details and corroboration about my pervert and stalking comments and his reaction to my counter threat. He backed away a step. A few other cameras flashed, this time taking pictures of the photographer. Fortunately, none of the shots caught the two of us together. Kenesis might tell them what he saw that night in Missouri, but I'd damaged his credibility, alluding to the story as his fabrication. Further, he knew it; we had much greater credibility than he did.

I held my breath, but Kenesis glared at me, turned, and stomped away in the opposite direction. Several members of the press yelled after him, "Hey, what gives? What were you two really arguing about? Are you really stalking Crystal - peeking in her windows?"

Alan Roswell took Crystal's arm and led her from the awkward encounter. I followed them down in the elevator and out of the stadium to the tour bus. Tina and Terry were close behind. We were all silent as we walked, and ignored a couple of shouts in our direction of 'Hey, what was all that about?' Fortunately, most of press corps hadn't heard the interchange. I hoped it wouldn't appear on the front page of some tabloid.

Once we were out of sight in the bus, Crystal laid a big kiss on me. "You were magnificent."

Terry agreed; "We've worried about him for weeks, and now you've put a lid on the fallout from our outdoor games."

I shook my head. I said to Terry, "No, that wasn't any kind of 'lid.' That was only the first salvo. We have not heard the end of that man."





Road Trip Pt. 05



Here was the most beautiful distinction to the southwest. I instantly became spellbound. She was tall and lean, with jet-black hair down her back to her waist that had a luster to it that only heritage and care could give. Her facial features were angular with beautiful smooth dark skin and high cheekbones. Her deep dark eyes watched me studying her until I broke eye contact, slightly embarrassed for staring. She broke into a smile, and I caught a flash of pearl white teeth behind her lush lips. She radiated warmth to the world.

I told her I'd finished shopping, passing the wicker shopping basket of items to her. She looked surprised that I had picked out so many things. I studied her face as she reviewed each item, carefully peeling the price tag from each, and noting on a carbon invoice what the purchase had been. She looked up at me several times, each time catching me studying her beauty.

As though she read my mind she said, "I'm Tama, and before you ask, I'm Native American or Indian, if you prefer. My name means 'Beautiful Thunderstorm,' but you'll figure that out the longer you know me. I'm Navajo - one hundred percent. I made all the jewelry you're buying; it's my avocation and vocation - I love the creative outlet." Her voice sounded like a thousand angels singing. I was smitten.

At the risk of insulting her, I said, "You're beautiful. I wish I had a picture, but I shall remember you forever." I instantly thought how corny that sounded, but did nothing to retract the statement.

She laughed. "That's the nicest thing anybody's said to me in weeks - maybe years. Thank you, and you're not too bad looking yourself cowboy ... and, if you want, we could get our picture taken together by someone. Somehow, I know you'd always look back at it and remember this moment. What do you say cowboy?" She teased with a broad smile.

Now, I was the one who laughed, for there I stood in my ruddy western boots, faded jeans, a checkered shirt, and a crumpled western hat. I did look as though I'd been an extra in some John Wayne movie or other oater. As I laughed, she laughed again. I could tell a special rapport had already developed between us.

I arranged with her to ship most of the jewelry to Anna. I carried little of value on the motorcycle except my travel guitar, and didn't want to worry about jewelry. When I got to California, I could arrange to appropriately gift the items I'd bought to Crystal, Ellen, Tina, Anna, Lauren, Kim, and a few special others I'd met along my road trip. 

The late afternoon sun and the buildings nearby left this part of the plaza in long shadows. Few people roamed nearby as the air got a new chill. We completed the expensive credit card transaction. Tama put the new watchband on my watch, and the belt buckle on a new polished brown belt I'd chosen. I wanted to wear each of those items as well as a masculine looking necklace and ring I'd bought. Tama looked pleased that I liked her work so much. As she worked on the items, I raved about her other work, even picking out several more pieces I hadn't seen earlier. For some reason, I made sure Tama knew that the shipping address was my sister.

As I turned to reluctantly leave, she touched my arm, holding me for a minute. I turned and gazed into her beautiful eyes. She fixed me with a long penetrating stare. We locked eyes and she stared into my innermost being. After a full minute during which we were motionless, she continued to touch me and her eyes got glassy. Eventually, she said, "You have been in pain, it is healing and soon you'll have only good memories and feelings. You have replaced one lost love with more than one - several. You know of loss, love, intimacy, and ..." She paused, and added in a whisper, "Sexuality. You have taken a new direction in your life - maybe a new job? You are on a journey, an important trip, and you are nearing the end. You're postponing some decisions until you complete your journey, but whatever you decide will yield a good outcome - even if you decide not to do anything." Tama suddenly shook her head, and looked away, as though to regain her perspective on the plaza.

I turned to face her. I asked, "Did you read the magazines and newspapers about me?"

She gave me a puzzled look, "No," she said, "should I know you?" She dropped her hand from my arm.

Her confusion looked genuine. I modestly said, "In some places, I'm becoming increasingly well known. I thought you might have recognized me."

She put her hand out in a firm handshake that almost commanded response and said, "I am Tama Nizhoni. Now, you must tell me who you are." Her smile demanded a response.

I held her hand in both of mine, "I am Jim Mellon." I paused, and there wasn't even a glimmer of recognition of the name in her eyes. I went on, "I am a new country music singer, and I have a new album - my first album. I do many songs with Crystal Lee. I think we're very popular." Again, there was just a blank look. I asked, "Do you listen to music?"

She said in an embarrassed tone, "I'm terrible about that. I do listen, but I pay no attention to who's singing or even the names of the songs. So, I'm sorry but I don't recognize you or your name. I apologize." She blushed.

"Oh, please don't apologize. I'm trying to keep from developing an ego about this singing business. So many people in the industry seem to have egos about the size of a city block." I thought for a moment and then returned to the statements she'd made that took our conversation off in this direction. "Your comments before - about me - where'd they come from? What made you tell me about loss, intimacy, and all? Are you a fortune teller?"

She hesitated and looked down and away from me. In a low voice she said, "I am a seer ... a shaman. I 'get' messages about some people - only a very few. Usually, they're people who are supposed to come into my life for some reason, or I am to come into theirs. I don't understand this gift. It's strange and sometimes scares me."

"Say more," I encouraged her, now curious about her gift.

"As you started to walk away, I felt compelled to explain that I just had a 'flash' about you. I had seen inside you, and in that minute I knew a lot about you. Oh, not the details as if I know your big secrets, but I read the emotions you've felt recently ... and don't worry, I won't tell anyone, I promise, but you've got to tell me whether I was right or close to being right."

I nodded and said, "You are very right. Scary right."

"Will you share the details with me? These skills are somewhat new to me - they matured in only the last couple of years, and they aren't there every day. Tell me the reasons for those feelings and why those feelings came to me?" She thought for a moment and added, "Oh, dear. I'm being terribly presumptive. You want your privacy, and I've just invaded it. I'm sorry." She backed away from me.

I chuckled at her concern. I knew that as I became more of a public figure, my privacy would all but disappear. The dying rays of the sun made me look at my watch; it was almost six o'clock. I said, "Let me buy you dinner or a drink or a cup of coffee, and I'll tell you some details. What time does the store close?" I gestured to her store.

She smiled again, and said in an excited tone, "Whenever I want, it's my business. Just let me close-up." She left and returned with a large box. She carefully lifted each tray of jewelry from the battered sidewalk table and placed it in the box, stacking them one atop another. After she removed a dark blue tablecloth the scarred top of the plywood table was revealed. Tama took the box inside the shop, came out a few minutes later, and locked the door. She made a gesture, as in 'What way should we go?'

I shrugged and said, "I just got here this afternoon; I don't know the restaurants. You must be the expert living here?" I paused and added, "Oh, and I need a hotel for the night."

Tama pointed across the plaza to a building with a discrete sign proclaiming 'La Fonda on the Plaza.' She said, "There's your hotel, and they have a good chef in their restaurant as well." We slowly walked in that direction, and she played tour guide to the sights around us.

A few minutes later I'd checked into the hotel, and we had a dinner reservation. I explained that I wanted to get the luggage from my motorcycle before we ate. Her eyebrows went up at my mode of travel. Maybe now she understood the 'cowboy' style of my clothing. She patiently waited in the lobby while I moved my bike behind the hotel, locked the helmets to the bike, and brought my gear in on a hotel trolley: saddlebags, helmets, three duffle bags, and my travel guitar. As I walked by her pushing the cart, she looked intrigued. She gave me another bright smile.

Over wine and tapas, I told her about my life story, and how it related to what she'd 'seen'; my wife's death, the road trip, Kim, Summer, Crystal, the others, and my entry into country music, plus even the affectionate feelings I had for her.

Tama asked, "But I felt you had multiple loves now - was I wrong?"

I stammered slightly, "Well, I have several women I like ..."

Quick as a flash, Tama interrupted, "No, you love them ... a few - to some many. Others you are close to loving, but in a different way ... with a different intensity." No sooner were the words out of her mouth, than she jerked her hand up to her mouth in a gesture of embarrassment. She slowly said, "I'm sorry. I must learn to hide my gift instead of just blurting out what I see or feel as it comes."

I reached beside me in our dinner booth and held her hand. The moment seemed romantic at that instant: our deep eye contact, our touching, the light jazz of a piano player in a corner of the dining room, the dim and intimate atmosphere of the nearly empty restaurant.

I said, "Tama, you are right ... and please don't hide what you see or know." As an afterthought I asked, "You've indicated you can see the past. Can you also see the future?"

Tama nodded. "This place is too distracting, and I should warn you I'm unpredictable ... or rather, when I 'see' something about someone, there's no knowing whether it's accurate or not. Let's find a quiet place after dinner, and I'll see whether I see anything about your future."

I spoke and said with a warm smile, "Well, I can see the future too ... and I see us dancing out there with the other couples in about sixty seconds." Tama laughed, and accepted my hand as I helped her out of our booth and onto the dance floor. She was comfortable and easy to dance with. She read my dance steps perfectly, and I'm no Fred Astaire. For certain, as we danced, we liked being in each other's arms. When we saw our entrée arrive, we had to stop. We affectionately held hands as we walked back to the table.





Road Trip Pt. 05



After a few minutes of our petting, Tama stood in front of me. She carefully undid the ties that held her skirt together, and allowed the pleated garment to fall to the floor around her. She kicked off her demi-boots, and stood proudly nude before me with her arms reaching forward in a loving manner.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, I ran one finger from between her breasts in a curvy line down her body and into the darkness of her untrimmed dark pubic hair, feeling the cleft of her sex. I rubbed my finger against where I thought her clitoris should be. Tama's head rolled back, and she groaned in response to the sudden pleasure. I repeated my track several times.

I stood, and she eagerly worked to remove my boots and then my pants and briefs. She became satisfied only when the two of us stood naked and face-to-face only inches apart. We each allowed one finger to trace out interesting contours of the other's body.

In a low voice, she asked, "What happened here? This looks like a fresh wound."

"I was shot a few months ago in Alabama. Four men had just started to rape a young woman, and I stopped it. One of them pulled a gun and shot me; the bullet went through me."

She looked surprised, but went on; "And here? Another bullet?" she asked.

"I planted some explosives on a bridge in a foreign country during a war. Before I could get far enough away, they detonated. I got hit by a piece of shrapnel."

"And here?" she asked at another scar on my chest.

"I had to fight someone ... a very bad person. He had bodyguards. One of them had a pistol" I pointed to another wound, "I got shot here too. I had rescued a hostage in a Middle Eastern country, and we almost made a clean get away."

I paused and said, "Tama, I was in the Army - Special Operations. I did many distasteful things, and almost all of them I now deplore. I see the world differently. I have found that if you view the world as full of threats, then every day you will have to deal with threats; if you view the world as loving, then there are many loving experiences to enjoy."

"My people have learned the same lessons the hard way, as well," Tama said. She reached down and fondled my tumescent cock, pulling on its length, and rubbing the rod between her two hands.

I fondled her breasts with one hand, and had started to massage the nub I felt rising from its hooded hiding place with my other hand. We kissed over and over again, now all pretext at conversation lay behind us.





Road Trip Pt. 05



I took a hard run around the town, probably about ten kilometers. One thing I realized during my run; you don't really know a place until you've run or walked through it. Riding in a car isolates you from the ambience and feeling of a place - passing through somewhere on an Interstate is even worse. A motorcycle is a little better, probably because you have to be aware of the nuts out there. A bicycle is better still because it's slower. But when you walk and run you are part of a place for a while; you have an instant relationship with the people and things in the locale. Your feet trod where the people that built the town had walked. If you want to really know a place - a city or town - stop, get out of your vehicle, and take a long walk. The weather was crisp; I enjoyed my run and 'felt' Santa Fe. 

Along my run, I stopped at a dry ravine. In the stiff afternoon breeze, I let fly an envelope of Karen's ashes. The place was picturesque, western, and where nature worked her way with the landscape. I did a short meditation, thanked Karen for being my relationship muse, my sexual muse, and then continued running. 

I ran by the Harley Davidson repair center. They'd finished putting a new tire on the bike, replaced the torn seat, and checked out everything else. Nothing else seemed to have been tampered with, and the bike ran as good as new. The repairman and I talked about the scrapes on the side of my bike that had happened during the tornado in Kansas. We agreed that I would have to take apart the bike and send away the pieces to get them repainted. Repairing the tornado damage would have to wait until San Diego and the end of my trip. 

Tama kept me out of the kitchen until dinner. Thus, I showered, shaved, and sat in the living room and sent long emails to Lauren, Anna, Kim, Crystal, and Ellen. I told them about some of my escapades over the past couple of weeks. I hadn't written them much since I'd told them I survived the tornado in Kansas and had met Midge. Next, I wrote a description of my Oklahoma visit that took on epic proportions as I described the women I'd met - and fucked: Heather, and then the orgy I'd attended after the debutantes' ball. I also told them about the sex-filled week in Dallas preparing for the concert, and my run-in with the paparazzo. I talked about the trip Ellen and I took, and lastly, I described Tama and how we met, noted her vision into the future for me, and included the artful snapshot I'd taken of her sitting nude on the hotel windowsill. I also added all of that to my journal, mostly by copying the emails over to it.

Well, I figured if I were going to receive pejorative comments from Anna, this email would certainly do it. I couldn't help but think she'd react to my recount of Heather and the Oklahoma orgy, or the picture of Tama nude, regardless of how artistic it looked. Nothing came back from Anna that afternoon. Maybe I thought her a prude, as I'd been, and she was anything but. Maybe I'd been so straight-laced I thought the rest of the world was too.

Tama came and looked over my shoulder. Just as I finished, I tilted the laptop so she could read the email. I watched Tama's eyebrows go up ... and up ... and up. She said in an amazed tone, "You  'did' almost all the debutantes at some ball in Oklahoma ... and you're telling your sister and sister about it? And these other women you care for?" She poked me in the ribs; "You really are a man slut - and I love it." She leaned down and kissed me passionately. She said, "I want more details later. Hey, send me a copy of that email too." She rattled off her email address.

I hemmed and hawed a bit; "Well, Oklahoma was unique, and telling my sister Anna about my adventures is something I started doing recently. I think she's OK with it; she hasn't said anything. I guess I'm building a new relationship with her in some way - more open in any case. Lauren too, although she's my sounding board." I didn't explain further.

Tama laughed as she sashayed away from me. Over her shoulder she said, "Well, I know why I got such strong vibes about your sexuality. I'm glad you radiate your vibrations and that I felt them." As she walked away, I noted she wore only an apron; she had no other clothes on. Now, how had I missed that before? I hit the send key and raced after Tama.

We made love before dinner while 'things' simmered on the range. I told her more about Oklahoma. We had a delightful dinner afterwards, and then made love again. What a delight.





Road Trip Pt. 06



... continuing from the previous chapters ...





Road Trip Pt. 06



Julia was a beauty - stacked, mid-twenties with long lithe legs that I recalled I loved to have wrapped around me as we fucked. Her trademark consisted of large hoop earrings that gave her a really sexy look. The last time I'd seen her body, she'd handed me a Sharpie and had me write 'Jim' on her right breast, and 'Mellon' on her left breast just before I left the Michigan resort where she worked. We'd spent the prior night together.

Julia smiled and leaned in and kissed me again. As we pulled apart, she said, "Hi, Jim. Miss me?"

"Of course, but how'd you get here? How'd you find me? How do you know Craig?"

She laughed and looked at Craig. I could tell his cock had swollen significantly in his pants because of her pawing around inside them, and no doubt from the sight-picture of me getting a beautiful sloppy blowjob. She gestured, and Craig leaned in and kissed her.

She said, "I'd never met Craig, until a half-hour ago - but he's as sexy as you are. We talked a dozen times on the phone, keeping up with your travels as best we could." Julia moved forward, straddling my chair, and lowered her pussy down to my erection. I took the base of my cock and aimed it into the folds of her cunt, and then Julia dropped and I sank deep inside her. Both of us closed our eyes in appreciation of the ecstasy we felt in those seconds.

Talk about compartmentalization, as she started to move up and down on my shaft, she continued as though our fucking had nothing to do with the discussion. "Remember I worked for Pete Krakowski at his inn. He knew you from college, and so did Craig; Pete said you'd all been in ROTC together and lived in the same dorm. After you left the island, I kept pumping Pete for more information on you, who your friends had been, and where you might go next. I wanted to see you again. You were my best lay ever, plus I still hope you'll introduce me to some key people in Hollywood, particularly after I read that you might make a movie."

"The rumor magazines keep a good estimate of your journey on a day-to-day basis. When I could see you heading into Montana area near where I'd lived, I asked Pete whom you knew up here, and Craig's name came up. He put us in touch. I grew up only a few hours back down your route in Montana, so I drove up to connect with you." She looked down at where my cock slowly moved back and forth into her body, and added, "And connected we are!"

Julia unbuckled and dropped Craig's pants, pushing them off his hips to the floor. Now, as the two of us fucked, she leaned sideways and inhaled Craig's cock, sharing the same talents of fellatio that she'd demonstrated to me a few minutes earlier. I got harder than ever.

I turned to Craig, "What say, we take this threesome into your bedroom, or somewhere more comfortable and less exposed than your living room with people walking by outside the window?"

He agreed.

Julia rose from my dick, allowing the sticky wet shaft to air dry. Craig pulled up his pants and led our threesome into his bedroom. Once there, he stripped off his clothes. I helped Julia undress the rest of the way, a job that only took a few seconds since she'd been left with only a skirt on her hips. I was naked in another thirty seconds. 

I gestured to Craig that he should move into position to fuck Julia; he did, and the pair coupled in seconds after she lay back on the bed. Now, I was the one getting the blowjob as he fucked her. Craig and I switched back and forth several times.

At one point, Julia said, "I've never been DP'd, but I'd sure like to try." She turned to Craig and asked, "Do you have any lube?"

He produced a tube of Astroglide, and we slathered up Julia's ass. She came over me cowgirl style, and we started fucking in a more traditional way - woman on top. I caressed Julia, as Craig came knocking on her backdoor. He was gentle, and didn't rush entry, so, Julia enjoyed the double penetration as we both sank deep into her body and all three of us started our gyrations of pleasure. Based on Julia's shrieks, I expected the neighbors might have thought some kind of rescue was needed at Craig's residence; however, no one showed up. 

Craig didn't last long at that point. We'd turned Julia around, so she still had his prick up her ass, but she lay back against his chest. I knelt between their legs and reentered her vagina. We got a few minutes into that posture, and Craig blasted his cum into her chute with a steady stream of comments about how great this was.

We broke the threesome apart after his orgasm. I mounted Julia again, and resolved to deliver some pleasure to her before I came. With some attention to her clit by my hand, I helped Julia to two orgasms, before we agreed to crest together for her third and my first. I filled her pussy with my man-juice as that heavenly feeling swept over me; and she had those long, lithe legs wrapped around me at that instant.





Road Trip Pt. 06



As Craig opened the door and took in the sight, he froze in position; the door open behind him.

Julia told him in a little girl whiney tone, "Jim's all tired out for the present, and I need some serious lovin' before dinner time. I wondered if you'd like to ... well, you know, help a needy girl out of her troublesome predicament."

Craig allowed the door to swing shut behind him. He stuttered, "Yes, oh, most definitely yes," as he shed his coat and dropped it on the floor. 

Julia held her arms out to him, and he came to her and they kissed. I was doing more emails in the living room, and enjoying the blatant seduction taking place only a few feet away. I'd been at it all day with Julia, so I didn't think I was missing anything that I hadn't already enjoyed to the fullest.

Julia put her legs down temporarily, and started to strip Craig. He scrambled to keep up with her. She helped him shed his shirt and then helped push down his pants. She grabbed a hold of his penis, a shaft that lengthened and hardened by the second. After a few strokes with her hands, she pulled her legs back up and thrust her pussy forward while still atop the credenza. Craig sank his cock into her body, and the pair began a rather energetic fuck that resulted in the credenza pounding against the wall and alerting every other person in the row of townhouses what was happening. They didn't care.

The pair made noises appropriate to their exquisite fuck that I wished I'd recorded so we could have enjoyed the soundtrack later. Julia was moaning and voicing her pleasure, even calling out 'harder and faster' instructions when she wasn't using 'dirty talk' to further excite Craig and me. Craig told her how she felt, and replied with his own brand of dirty talk as they fucked. I didn't think to time them; however, five minutes would have been a long time, but in those five they covered what a normal couple might take twenty minutes to do. Craig exploded into Julia's pussy, and she climaxed simultaneously, her wail of pleasure ending the pounding the credenza made against the wall. Still connected to each other, Craig picked up Julia and duck walked over to the sofa, his stride limited by the pants around his ankles. The pair sank to the sofa and made out for a while. I could see they really liked each other - an understatement at best.





Road Trip Pt. 06



I got in the large ambulance and told Liz I had to arrange transport for my bike, but that I'd be right back. She relaxed slightly. At the moment, most of what I owned was tied to the bike in some way. The EMT read my concern and said, "I'll have someone take your bike to the hospital." He hailed a man in a blue jumpsuit - a wrecking truck driver who'd arrived on the scene. We arranged for him to transport my Harley. He quickly lowered the ramp to his truck, and with the EMT's help, we rolled the Harley onto the flatbed and anchored it in place with multiple lines. I gave him my cell phone number and noted the name of his company.

I got in the ambulance, and sat next to Liz. She put her hand out and commanded in a sweet voice, "Jim, please hold my hand - hold my hand tight and please don't let go." She broke into tears for minute. I held onto her as I buckled into the jump seat. The ambulance started up with siren wailing and the wrecking truck behind us, until we pulled away at high speed. Liz closed her eyes on the way to the hospital, but opened them every minute or two to be sure I remained at her side. She had the prettiest blue eyes.





Road Trip Pt. 06



I candidly told her, "Yes, I have; I've had the pleasure many times of making love to more than one woman at a time, if that's what you mean."

"What was it like? Weren't you ... overtaxed?" Her genuine curiosity showed as she leaned towards me over the table.

I laughed, "Yes, sometimes. It always proved enjoyable, loving, and full of care for everyone involved. I think that's the best way to have it work well, making sure everyone is on an even footing, no one is being taken advantage of, and that people care for each in addition to the sex."

"Wasn't it kind of ... raw?"

"No, although that probably depends on your point of view and how free-thinking you are. I've been in some creative situations with women and men, although I'm not gay and don't even lean in that direction. As consenting adults, you can mutually agree to almost anything."

Liz asked about whether I felt jealous and betrayed, admitting that seeing John with her friend had provoked that response, and that in turn had led to her 'flight' response.

I gave the short version of my jealousy philosophy. I told Liz, "We get so that we think jealousy and rage are the only responses to a situation like you encountered, but there are others."

"Like what?" I heard genuine curiosity in Liz's voice.

"What if you'd gone and kissed the two of them, and genuinely told them you were so glad they'd come up to the cabin and were sharing themselves with each other? What if you'd stripped off your clothes and joined in, sucking, licking, and fucking the two of them with all the lust you could summon? What if you'd waited for them to finish, so you didn't interrupt their pleasure, and then you all sat and talked about how they should have talked to you beforehand? You could probably come up with more options or scenarios."

"You think I should be more forgiving - to just forget about it?" Liz' tone of voice signaled to me that she had started to seriously think about less severe reactions than the ones she'd had the day before - divorce, murder, inflicting pain.

"I don't think you should forget about it. Not so long ago, I would have responded as you did. Now, I understand there are more options. I've found a sexual side of me that enjoys 'open' relationships; I appreciate that other people may do this too - with others. I'm serious about Crystal Lee, and we both think openly about our relationship even though we're in love. We each know we care for each other, and while we're apart we see others without fear or guilt. Responding with shock and anger just doesn't seem like the right thing to do with anyone you care about."

I changed tack suddenly, "What would your husband say if you told him about the night you've spent with me?"

Liz stammered, "I ... I didn't think ..."

"So, I'm a revenge fuck?" I was on the verge of laughing. She was so easy to tease.

"Oh, no. Well, yes, but ... I didn't mean ... you weren't ..."

"Liz. It's all right. I figured it out. This relationship thing is all about communications - open and honest communication. Now that you know I know the whole situation, and you know you have many more options than you first thought, you have to decide what to do next. I'm open to just about anything to help you through this crisis in your life." I held her hand.

Liz got silent for a long time as she thought about her options. We ate our food with only a few words spoken, and none about the accident, or her husband and friend. She asked me about Crystal some more, and somehow that led me to tell her about our Branson foursome, the photos, Bart Kenesis, being stalked and shot at, and my quandary about how to get rid of the man. I think Liz read between the lines that I probably had something to do with the disappearance of the photos. She wisely didn't ask.





Road Trip Pt. 06



Liz said in a brusque manner, "Now, just answer a couple of questions and we'll take this discussion in an interesting direction." Ellie and John nodded somewhat begrudgingly. "Do you love each other? Did you two make love after I left and last night?" 

Both of them looked chagrined and avoided eye contact with her. Finally, Ellie's near inaudible voice said, "Yes, and it was beautiful." John nodded.

Liz glanced at me and said, "Jim and I did too - and I thought our fuck was beautiful too." She emphasized the 'f' word to needle her husband, then paused and let that sink in. 

John winced. I had the feeling that for the first time, he felt the gut-wrenching feelings that Liz had felt when she found him in bed with Ellie. I felt uncomfortable being 'the other man.' John did look at me and then at Liz puzzled at where she intended to lead us in this discussion.

Liz reached over and took John's hand, "No, don't get jealous on me, after all you started all this." She kissed him. "Here's a 'Truth' with a capital 'T' - I love you, and I want us to be together and to be in love forever." Liz turned to Ellie and held her hand too, "And, you! You're still my best friend, although my nose did get out of joint about things. I don't want to lose you either. I love you too. However, it is essential that we be open, honest, and trust each other. Without that we will not be able to have a lasting relationship." Liz turned to me, "And, Jim, I'm still feeling highly affectionate and attracted to you - so don't you go away."

Liz said, "After my shock at finding you two fucking and my accident, I needed someone to comfort me, and at that moment you two weren't on my favorites' list, so Jim became that person because he gave of himself in a caring way. He's a compassionate person: he talked to me about upbeat things, rode with me in the ambulance, held my hand at the hospital, got us a good room when I'd been released, got me a car, and held me when I needed to be held. I'd been scared shitless about the accident and my marriage. He didn't hit on me once. He was a perfect gentleman."

She paused and added, "BUT, I came onto him, not because he rescued me - although that might have played a role, not because I'd found you fucking each other - although that too may have also played a role, and not because he's a popular singer, but because of his sensitive caring nature. We clicked. We connected. There was immediate chemistry, so I followed through and tried to fuck his brains out. I then discovered what a great lover he is too."

Liz stood, and walked into the center of our circle; we were all seated around her. "We are going to redesign our relationships, right here and right now. No one leaves until we have agreement, whatever that means. All right?"

I nodded automatically, and I think Ellie and John did too.

Liz continued, "This weekend you two unexpectedly created an 'open marriage' for us. We were close, and John and I had even talked about the sexual part of such a relationship in order to arouse each other, but we never talked about how to make it happen or the specifics of one. So, here goes ... I'll start with a principle about how we'll live, and then we discuss it. And Jim, you've been in some of these situations, so I'm hoping you'll be sure we cover all the bases."

After widespread nodding in agreement, Liz stated, "First principle, we can have sex with whomever we want provided that we talk about it ahead of time. The second principle is that any of us can make love any time we want to with anyone else in this circle - a 'free pass'." Liz made a gesture of a circle that included the four of us in the room.

Ellie looked surprised. John looked stunned at the implications of her statement. He glanced at Ellie to judge her reaction. Ellie said shyly, "I like those rules ... and I'm honored to be included in your circle." Then Ellie looked at me and said, "I'm attracted to Jim; I can feel his chemistry and I know what you felt. What if I want to sleep with him too?"

Liz grinned, "You have my blessing. He's very good, and you'll love him!" I laughed.

John said after reflecting, "I guess those rules are more than all right with me too. Are you sure?"

I posited, "What if one of you wants group sex, a threesome or foursome or moresome?"

Liz smiled and addressed both questions: John, yes, I'm sure. As for group sex, that's the best suggestion I've heard all day. Ellie, I put you on notice that I'm going to hit on you, and we are going to have some serious sapphic loving." Liz had just appealed to Ellie's prurient interests.

John's eyes got big as he took in his wife's last statement.

We looked at Ellie. She blushed, and said in a hushed but excited voice, "I'd love to try group sex ... I can't wait ... and I'd love to be with you Liz. I've dreamed about it."

The discussion of further principles got temporarily postponed as the four of us moved onto other, more sensual activities.





Road Trip Pt. 06



"What's the message?" I asked casually.

"He said to tell you he hired a money manager for you. His name's Carl Hansen, and I use him too; he's saved me a lot in taxes and all. I think I've mentioned him in the past. He wants you to call him tomorrow. I'll text you his phone number so you'll have it."

"That's good. Do I really need one?" I had created a joint account with Terry for my professional funds, and had coupled it to my older personal checking and savings accounts."

Crystal persisted, "Terry thinks you need one now, before the end of the year so there's time to reduce your taxes and try to make things you want happen, for instance, donating some money to the upcoming Children's Fund Telethon. Terry suggests that you add Carl to your bank accounts, but you will need to authorize that to make it happen. Carl has had some good investment ideas for my money, so I am sure he can help you invest yours too."

"Why? What's the rush?"

"Well, the end of the year is coming, and you should do something to avoid some of the taxes you'd have to pay."

I asked, "How much is involved?" I couldn't see any big rush to save a couple of hundred dollars. I thought I might wait until I got to San Diego to honor Terry's request.

Crystal said, "Well, Terry told me today he just put another five million in your bank account."

After a very long silence, Crystal spoke in a confused tone, "Jim? Jim, are you still there?"

I spoke slowly, my brain barely in gear, "Five million what?" The number was so big, and it came at me so suddenly, I clutched.

"Dollars, Silly."

"And ... you ... said ... another five million?"

Crystal went 'tsk,' "Jim, I don't know how many deposits he's made into your account, but it's been at least two or three - maybe more. This is probably the largest, plus I think he only told me about this one because I got the almost the same amount for similar reasons - the royalties for the second and third quarters from our song Texas Dawn and a few other things."

"Why so much money?" I stammered out in a near panic. My heart had started to race. I felt like I'd won the lottery, but then realized that a mistake must have been made and someone would eventually want their money back. I said to Crystal before she could answer, "Crystal, there's got to be some mistake. Someone moved a decimal point or something."

Crystal adopted a tone as though she was being patient with a three-year old, "Darling, I've got to teach you the economics of the music industry. You are making money from all the plays on the radio of Texas Dawn plus the other songs you did, or we did together, plus there are your single and album sales - for instance on iTunes or Amazon; there were further proceeds from the three concerts - you do remember that you never got paid until now for the Dallas Cowboys halftime concert we did? Oh, and you get extra loot for that song you wrote that's still in the top ten, The Wolf on Lone Wolf Mountain.  You sold the rights on that to Sony for a pretty penny."

I couldn't talk for a moment. I gradually squeaked out, "Do you know my bank account balance?" My knees were weak; I plopped down on the side of the bed.

Crystal said, "No, but based on what's been going on, it's probably over ten million dollars. Hey, you had two single hits in the top ten and three more in the top forty since your album came out - all this year, and your album has been a best seller since it came out. By the way Texas Dawn went double platinum last week. That's exceptional, especially for a beginner. This does pay well. Terry calls it the law of large numbers." 

"What's that mean?" I muttered, still in disbelief about what Crystal was telling me.

"Well on each sale of your album on iTunes you make about a dollar, maybe more. The rest of that ten bucks goes to others, like Sony. The law of large numbers comes into play: if a million people download your album you just made a million dollars. Based on what I overheard Terry tell my sister, you've sold more than ten million albums on iTunes alone. I suspect Sony may even give you a bonus payment too, if they haven't already. Terry will have to tell you."

I fell backwards on the bed. I'd had good news before, however, this topped anything anyone had ever told me - ever. 

I was speechless.

Crystal spoke, "Look talk to Carl, and get your hands around your finances. I'll text you his name and number so you can call him. He'll make some tax havens for some of your loot. I'm doing the same thing. As the saying goes, it's not evasion, it's avoidance ...but be sure to call him tomorrow. He's good and I trust him."

I numbly said, "OK." I guessed that my simple checking and savings accounts must be overflowing with money - most of it at very low interest rates. The bank must love me.

She went on, "I've got to go. Ellen is waiting for me to drive her downtown. We're meeting some girlfriends for dinner." After a pause, she added, "I've been thinking as we talked that I'll hire a jet to take me direct to Sedona, so I'll end up at the general aviation terminal there. I'll text you my arrival time. Given the distance, it'll probably be a four-hour trip."

I mumbled, "OK" again. Crystal laughed. She so enjoyed shaking me off my even keel.

We ended the call with words of love, and then I sat up and grabbed my laptop from my saddlebag. A few minutes later, I logged into my bank accounts for the first time in a couple of months; I seldom went there as I had no bills to pay now that I'd become a motorcycle-riding vagabond. I used my credit card a lot, but I'd set up for the monthly bill to be paid automatically from my over-funded checking account. Occasionally, I used an ATM to get some cash.

My jaw dropped open; I had nearly fourteen million dollars in my money market account. My original savings account remained untouched from when I last left it, except for some accrued interest - a measly ninety-thousand dollars, my share of the sale of my parent's home months earlier. My personal checking account showed a balance of about a hundred thousand dollars, most of that money from the Kentucky and Indiana concerts months earlier and an advance that Terry had given me for Texas Dawn.  This was what I'd been living on as I meandered across the country.

I thought, 'Fourteen million dollars!" My brain nearly exploded with possibilities. I think I sat for an hour as the wheels spun in my head.

I called Anna next. I didn't want to tell her what I'd just learned. I wanted to surprise her in some way - to rock her world in a nice way. As we talked, and I caught up with how she was managing with my niece and nephew; I asked what bank carried her mortgage and what she used. I asked the question in the context of wanting to change my own banking accounts when I got to her house so I had something close by to her home. She didn't get suspicious at my inquiry. I also told Anna about the Children's Telethon in Reno the following week. I also told her Crystal was going to join me in Sedona. Anna and Crystal had not met, but I'd told each of them so much about the other; I think they both felt as though they'd been lifelong friends.

Anna asked about Lauren. I felt remiss since I hadn't called her in over a week. I said to Anna, "I haven't talked to her, but every few days you know I send her an email - like the ones I send you; she asked for them when we first got together back in May."

A long silence ensured, and I held my breath waiting for Anna to start hitting me over the head for sending her lurid descriptions of my sexual encounters during my road trip. I heard her take a deep breath, and she said in a low and shy voice, "Don't stop sending them to me. I like them too."

Anna's words electrified my mind almost like the discovery of my new wealth. She liked the sexy emails I'd been sending, and she wasn't mad at me. Her remark made the rest of our conversation go by in a blur. I didn't hear anything other than 'don't stop.'

Anna was a pretty woman, tall and willowy just like our mother had been. Anna had gone to college on the west coast, stayed out there, married shortly after graduation, popped out two children in her marriage, divorced, and created a circle of friends and a fulfilling job that helped a lot of people and that made her want to stay in San Diego.

Anna's words about the sexy emails, 'Don't stop ... I like them too,' rolled around in my head the rest of the evening - along with discovering my money. Wow, nothing like blowing a traditional brother-sister relationship out of the water. My mind started to do the jumps I'd fretted about, think about how much I wanted a physical relationship - a deep romantic relationship - with my sister.